Special Chapter - Rise to Jonin
To better understand the present, we must look to the past. The story of Konohamaru Sarutobi was one of hardship and trials on his path to Jonin, as well as his path to maturity.
It was the Jonin exam final round, and to pass, Konohamaru was pitted against a very wise and intelligent ninja of the Hidden Sand, with short black hair. The arena was a rock colliseum in the Hidden Sand Village, and every one of the Sand ninja had attended, including the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, much older and more experienced. And sitting beside him was Naruto. Also older, he wore a Jonin's flak jacket and watched the fight eagerly.
"Kurosuna is one of the Sand's most intelligent ninja." Gaara explained. "I do not expect Konohamaru will last against him." Naruto gave a laugh.
"Just you hold on to your gourd, Gaara, Cus you're gonna be blown away." Naruto replied. The young Chunin Konohamaru had just finished warming up.
"Ready to lose?" Asked a cocky Kurosuna. Konohamaru wasn't fazed.
"Man..." He thought to himself. "This is just too easy!"
"Begin!" The announcer of the battle called. Instantly, Konohamaru created twelve or so Shadow Clones. This got the crowd excited. And their excitement turned to ecstasy as the clones transformed into an army of naked female Konohamarus. The men in the crowd gave either wolf whistles, a stunned gasp or a waterfall of blood from their noses; while all the women tutted in disrespect. Poor Kurosuna never stood a chance as he was overrun by the Konohamaru's and collapsed from loss of blood lost from its nose. "Winner: Konohamaru!" The clones dispersed as the new Jonin cheered in victory. Gaara was astounded by the performance.
"I underestimated Konohamaru's resourcefulness..." Gaara said.
"Yup, no simple-minded man can defeat Konohamaru." Said Naruto.
"But Naruto, are you certain he's a good Jonin? There's more to being a Jonin than being able to knock people out through perversion, it's about leadership, skill, wisdom and the attribute that you and I look for: compassion. Konohamaru has not demonstrated any of these traits during this stage in the exam..."
"I understand what you're saying, Gaara...But I am certain Konohamaru possesses all these traits and more." Naruto assured. Gaara paused and smiled to not only his saviour but also to his friend.
"Then, I trust your judgement, dear friend." Gaara said stood and addressed the crowd. "Let it be known from this day forward that Konohamaru Sarutobi is an official Hidden Leaf Jonin." This got the crowd cheering, while Konohamaru cheered at this. There was, however one audience member of the crowd who was not happy: Hanabi Hyuga.
Three days later, once all the Leaf Ninja had returned to the Leaf Village, the party for Konohamaru had finally begun. The grounds of the Hokage mansion was the location of the party, and everyone had turned up to congratulate and celebrate Konohamaru's success, with sake and assorted foods.
"Congratulations, senpai!" A young Chunin girl said to Konohamaru.
"You're the best, Konohamaru!" Said a male Genin.
"I know, I know!" Laughed Konohamaru, a little tipsy with sake. "I aced that Jonin exam that it flipped the Kazekage's hat off!" The crowd cheered to this.
"Well he's certainly getting into the groove of it." Laughed Naruto, as he held a bowl of ramen.
"Though, he was nowhere near as bad as you were when you became Jonin." Laughed Sakura, who was nursing on some orange juice, on account of her pregnant state. Meanwhile with Konohamaru, after his 100th or so congratulations, he spotted someone in the crowd alone and hardly doing any celebrating.
"Hey, Hanabi!" Konohamaru smiled as he went over to the young Hyuga. "Wanna hear how I got the rank of Jonin?"
"No thanks, I was there." Said Hanabi, in a less interested tone and took a small sip of tea.
"Haha, spoiled sport!" Provoked Konohamaru.
"I suppose now that you're a Jonin, you'll be going on far more dangerous missions." Hanabi enquired.
"Of course, wouldn't be Jonin if I we weren't."
"And I suppose you'll be training until you reach new heights?"
"Who me?! Pshh! No way! My Shadow Clones, Rasengan and, of course, Sexy Jutsu is enough to defeat any opponent that comes my way!" At those words Hanabi sighed, took one last sip of her tea and walked away.
"Enjoy your party." She said, leaving Konohamaru to ponder her motives.
"Rgh! She scares me!"
It was only two days afterwards that Konohamaru and eleven other high ranking Jonin, including Hanabi, were present for a mission briefing from Tsunade. "Alright, team, we have an S-Rank mission that must be met with extreme caution!" Began the current Hokage.
"A criminal mercenary group has plundered a large amount of money from one of the neighboring villages of the Fire Country. There have been reports of the group consisting of six members and all are terribly strong. Our job is to neutralize this group and recover the stolen goods to their respective victims. Team 1 will consist of recon, they will go on ahead and gather intelligence of this group and come up with effective battle strategies. Team 2 will be the main assault group; they shall receive the intelligence from Team 1 and act according to their plans. Team 3 will be the medical group; reports also suggest the main guardsmen and various villagers have sustained multiple injuries, they will help to cope for the injured and when done, regroup with the first two and provide medical assistance should they need it. Understood?" The twelve gave a yes, with Konohamaru giving a more zealous yes. "Very good, move out!"
Konohamaru belonged to Team 2 along with Hanabi, a tall silent man called Seishoku who had black hair and a ragged Jonin flak jacket; and a somewhat petite woman called Mikoro, who had short blonde hair and had a generally calm demeanour.
"Alright!" Cheered Konohamaru. "Time to kick some bandit ass! We'll walk up and down them, they won't know what hit em!" Hanabi growled to herself, while Seishoku remained quiet.
"You must be pretty confident in your abilities." Said Mikoro. "I'll be counting on you."
"Don't worry!" Said Konohamaru. "If all goes well, you won't have to fight! Alright team, let's go!" And the four headed off with all their speed. During their run, however, Seishoku approached Hanabi.
"Is Konohamaru-kun strong?" He asked, finally dropping his silence. "The way he runs his mouth would suggest he's-"
"He's not." Said Hanabi bluntly. "Be extra careful, if not Sarutobi may just cost us the mission." Seishoku grunted in thought at this.
It was just over an hour later before the team arrived at the spot where Team 1 told them to come. It looked to have been a mountainous cave entrance with heavy woodland surrounding it. The Leaf team had the advantage of both stealth and hiding. Soon Konohamaru's team regrouped with Team 1 who were surveying the situation.
"What's the situation?" Hanabi asked one of the Team 1 Jonin.
"It's as Lady Tsunade said..." Began the leader of the team. "Six members have just stolen a large amount of money from the nearby village. After going to said village, we discovered they took four hostages to secure their getaway." Konohamaru's team saw four hostages, two men and two women tied up beside where the bandits were.
"Cowards..." Said Mikoro.
"Bastards..." Growled Konohamaru.
"The group are counting their haul to make sure they have what they need." Continued the recon leader. "Once they do, they'll cut one of the hostages free, make their getaway so that hostage can free the others."
"What's the counter plan?" Asked Hanabi.
"We must wait for when the group cut the hostage free. When they do, our team will liberate the remaining hostages and take them out of harm's way, while assault team do what they do best. We only have a small window to attack them, so make it count..." With this, Hanabi grew nervous; normally she could take them down in half the time the recon leader described, but she also needed to make sure Konohamaru wouldn't screw things up. But before Hanabi could think of ways for Konohamaru not to screw up...
"Forget that! We should all-out attack!" Konohamaru boasted. "If the hostages aren't there when we make the attack, they won't see how cool I am!" And as quickly as he said those words, he jumped out to face the mercenaries.
"No, no, no!" Hanabi screamed, as her fears came true.
"What the hell is he doing?!" Yelled the recon team. Quickly the mercenaries spotted Konohamaru.
"Well look what we have here!" Taunted one. "Someone's trying to be a hero!"
"Alright, scumbags!" Commanded Konohamaru. "Free the hostages and come quietly then I won't have to kick your ass!" This made the group howl in laughter.
"And what are you gonna do, Leaf ninja?!" The biggest of the lot asked.
"Thought you might say that!" Konohamaru laughed. "Now watch in awe!" He then transformed into his sexy form, harboring large breasts and a cute face, expecting all six to be out cold. "You want some, boys?"
It had no effect whatsoever. If anything, it only caused the group to laugh harder, throwing Konohamaru off and transforming him back. All the hostages could do was watch helplessly, as their savior was being ridiculed.
"That's all you can do?!" One of the mercenaries laughed.
"The Leaf village must be pretty desperate if they made you Jonin!" Another laughed.
"Stop laughing!" Konohamaru yelled, as he charged in with a Rasengan, but his target dodged and grabbed Konohamaru by the throat.
"Call yourself a Jonin?!" He laughed and kicked Konohamaru so hard, he could feel his ribs smash on impact. At this point, the kick Konohamaru suffered brought him back to reality, that at his current state, he had no chance. "You don't even deserve to be ninja!" But before the bandit could deliver another blow, a great whirlwind appeared and bashed the attacker away. Mikoro had joined in.
"Stay away from Konohamaru-kun!" She yelled. It was then that the other six joined in too.
"It's an ambush! The commander of the group yelled. But it mattered not, as the strong mercenaries were clobbering the recon group. "Forget these weaklings! Take the hostages and loot and fallback!" They did as they were told, making their swift retreat while everyone was down. But one stayed behind to handle unfinished business.
"You may think you're a ninja!" He laughed as he approached Konohamaru. "But you're gonna die here!" He took a Kunai and lunged it at Konohamaru. But before the ninja's dagger could pierce him, he collapsed from the pain of the last kick.
Konohamaru thought it was all over. He thought he had died, and was reunited with his grandfather and uncle...However he groggily woke up to hear an argument between the leader of the recon group and Hanabi.
"Damn it, Hanabi! What was the Hokage thinking putting an idiot like that in this group?!"
"It wasn't my decision to bring him along! If it were my decision, I'd have never picked him, even if he were the last ninja in the Leaf Village!" Hanabi argued.
"Whatever!" The leader argued again. "Our team are all better now, we'll go on ahead. Make sure Seishoku gets healed up and...you know what to do." The argument ended as the leader and his team set off.
"Ah! Thank goodness!" A kind hearted voice called. "Konohamaru-kun is alive!" The voice was a female medical ninja that came from Team 3. Konohamaru sat up to see his upper clothes were removed and his torso bandaged up.
"What happened...?" He groggily grunted.
"You fainted from the pain." The medic briefed. "We made it just in time to help you." Konohamaru took this time to look around, blood had spilled the ground all around them.
"And the mercenaries?" He asked.
"They got away..." The medic continued. "We suffered heavy injuries, and..." Before she could finish, Konohamaru spotted Seishoku who was getting a nasty wound to the chest being treated by two medical ninja.
"Seishoku..." Konohamaru gasped. The tall ninja remained quiet and only pointed to something. When Konohamaru looked in the same direction, his eyes widened in horror.
Mikoro was lying face down, blood surrounding her body, dead.
"No..." Konohamaru shuddered. He crawled over to the dead body of Mikoro to see if there was any signs of life, her pretty face was blank and didn't react to any of Konohamaru's actions. Konohamaru couldnt hold back his emotions and finally gave a scream in sorrow.
"Why?!" He cried. "Why did she have to die?!" He sobbed, but then Hanabi walked to him.
"She died trying to save you!" Hanabi informed. "Mikoro...Her Wind-Style Jutsu was unrivaled in the Leaf Village, except Naruto Uzumaki, of course. Her skills were vital for the success of this mission, now, it's bordering on impossible..."
"Why!?" Konohamaru yelled. "Why would she want to protect me?!"
"Because she liked you!" Hanabi yelled back. "She liked how you were constantly flexing your muscles, that she found you likeable! But as it turned out your motor mouth and your inability to back up your words got her killed!" Konohamaru was shocked by this revelation. "Do you know what her last words were before she died?!"
"H-How should I know?!" Konohamaru whispered.
"'If Konohamaru-kun ever lives through this, I hope he becomes a great ninja.'" Hanabi recited. "Hah! Whether you live or not, you will always be a weak ninja! Mikoro's sacrifice was such a waste!"
"Shut up!" Konohamaru bellowed. "Mikoro didn't have to die for me! And I will be a great ninja!" But then Hanabi got into a stance.
"Then show me! Try and defeat me!" Hanabi challenged. Konohamaru primarily picked up Mikoro's body and laid her down out of the way.
"Hanabi-chan, is this necessary?" Asked the medic who treated Konohamaru.
"It is!" Hanabi answered. "Now stand aside!" The two readied for battle with one another. Konohamaru quickly charged and attempted to punch Hanabi, but she quickly dodged and tapped Konohamaru with her fingers. The attack caused Konohamaru to spit out blood as he fell to the floor weakened.
"Konohamaru!" The medic cried in panic.
"If you can't stand a chance against me, what hope is there in fighting against ruthless warlords, evil tyrants or powerful Rogue Ninja?!" Hanabi asked. "You're arrogant! You spent all your time showing off and saying you're the greatest, when most Chunin can beat you!" Konohamaru tried to kick her then, but Hanabi dodged again and kicked him onto a tree. "I trained twelve hours everyday since I was a child to have even a chance of becoming Jonin! Yet you go around as if it's the easiest thing to do! A Jonin is a leader, wise, caring, and is supposed to be the pride of their village! You are none of those things!" And finally, Hanabi said something which got to Konohamaru the most:
"Your Grandfather would be ashamed of you." This made the medical team gasp at Hanabi's audacity.
"Aaaargghhh!" Konohamaru screamed and charged with a Rasengan, but Hanabi dodged again, causing Konohamaru to trip in the dirt. "Take that back!"
"I will not!" Yelled Hanabi. "I speak the truth! If you want to be a great ninja, like Mikoro wanted you to be, then you should be stronger than your grandfather! You wouldn't last five minutes against him!" All the while she spoke, Konohamaru tried to land a punch, but all were futile. To end his pathetic attempts, she delivered a painful punch to his recently healed wound, greatly winding him.
"Damn you..." Konohamaru grunted.
"Call this defeat number 1." Hanabi said. "In your long career as Jonin, expect that count to go way up." She began to walk away, as Seishoku joined her, now recovered from his injury.
"Where are you going?!" Konohamaru yelled.
"We have a mission to continue!" Hanabi said. "You will stay here and wait for our return." But no matter how he wanted to get up and declare 'I want to join!', he couldn't do it. He could only sit and watch as Seishoku and Hanabi headed off.
"Damn it!" He growled. But then, the medic came to Konohamaru.
"She's right, you know." She said.
"What?!" Konohamaru panted.
"My name is Kaisei." The girl explained as she continued to heal him. "Not only am I a Medical Ninja, I'm a sensor too. Despite what Hanabi-san claims, you have a vast wealth of Chakra most ninja would kill for."
"So?" Konohamaru asked. "If I'm not strong enough, that Chakra's no good."
"I can tell, you want to help Hanabi-san, don't you?"
"Of course! This is my first mission, I don't want to fail it ...Not after Mikoro gave her life for me..."
"There's just one way for Hanabi-san to recognise you. You must show her an ability that proves your strength."
"But all I know is Shadow Clones and Rasengan!" Konohamaru argued. "How can I let Hanabi recognize me if I use Jutsu she knows?" Then, Kaisei took out a scroll and gave it to Konohamaru.
"Mikoro wanted to give you this before she died...It's a Jutsu scroll that was her signature move." Konohamaru opened it and read the name of the Jutsu.
"Wind-Style - Tornado's Cry?" Konohamaru read.
"Yes. I believe if you show your understanding of this Jutsu to Hanabi-san, she'll recognize your talents." Konohamaru looked to the scroll then to Mikoro.
"I can't learn a Jutsu in just two seconds flat!" Konohamaru said in despair. "And if it's Mikoro's signature move, that makes it all the more harder!"
"Even a basic understanding would be enough to prove it." Kaisei said. "I can sense your primary element is Wind Chakra. Learning the first steps to this Jutsu is easiest, but the latter stages are the hardest." Konohamaru thought for a second; he wanted to prove his worth, and learning this Jutsu in its earliest stages was the only way...
"Let's do it!"
Three hours later, with Hanabi, the plan they originally had was initiated. But the recon team were quickly eradicated before they could free the hostages. Although Seishoku too was knocked out, he took down four of the mercenaries, and Hanabi took down one, leaving just her and the leader left.
"Give up, girl!" The leader warned. "You don't stand a chance against me!" But Hanabi charged anyway, attempting to kill him with one Gentle Fist, but when she tried to make the attack, the leader caught her hand with perfect timing. And despite Hanabi's best effort, she couldn't break free, and was subjected to her hand being crushed.
"Aarrrghhh!" She screamed in agony and was kicked away. She tried to get up, but the leader grabbed her by her long hair.
"For your incompetence and arrogance, I'm gonna kill you, then the hostages! You should know by now! Having hostages is the best way to get what you want! The more people captured, the better! Now that your lesson is over, die!" He was about to strike her head and crush her skull, but he was kicked back by a new challenger: Konohamaru.
"You!" The leader growled.
"What...are you doing here...idiot?" Hanabi panted. "I had it...all under control!"
"Shut up." Konohamaru sighed. "I'm here to help...Now I'm gonna kill this bastard and save those people!" The hostages gave a look of insecurity, having seen Konohamaru perform. Even Hanabi was sketchy.
"You? Kill me?!" The leader laughed. "Alright! I'll give you one free shot! Hit me with your hardest!" Konohamaru smiled.
"That's all I need!" He said.
"Konohamaru, for God's sake, just get outta here!" Hanabi cried. "Mikoro gave her life to make sure you wouldn't die, don't let it be in vain!" But Konohamaru looked to her with very serious eyes that even got Hanabi scared.
"Shut up!" Then he formed a few hand signs. "Prepare to witness my new Jutsu!"
"What? I've never seen those hand signs!" Hanabi gasped. "Did he have a Jutsu he was hiding?!"
"Focus..." Konohamaru thought. "Focus..." His Chakra boomed straight up which made Hanabi gasp at its overwhelming power. "Raise your Chakra...then...now!"
"Wind-Style - Tornado's Cry!" Winds emitted all around Konohamaru, so strong, Hanabi had to clutch the ground to keep herself from being blown away.
"What...What immense Chakra..." Hanabi gasped. "How could I have missed this much power?!" Konohamaru screamed as he began to glow blue, making the leader nervous too. The glow was struggling to keep itself up, so one punch was Konohamaru's limit.
"One shot?!" Konohamaru yelled. "That is all I need!"
"W-W-Wait! Let's not be hasty here!" The leader pleaded. But it was too late, Konohamaru charged as fast as the wind for the leader.
"His speed!" Hanabi gasped. "It's astounding!" And with one punch to chest where his heart stood, the leader screamed in agony as he was brought to his knees and died on the spot. "And the power of his punches! He was never this strong! Where and when did he learn this Jutsu?!" But as fast as he defeated his foe, he quickly fell from lack of Chakra, but was caught by Hanabi.
"Yo..." Konohamaru panted. "Sarutobi..." Hanabi spoke. "I was an idiot...I let Mikoro die...But I promise you...I will get better...I won't stop until I get better..." At this, Hanabi gently smiled.
"Konohamaru...There is no doubt in my mind you are a powerful man...Your efforts just now proved that...But the road to becoming a Jonin does not simply end when you become a Jonin. Vigorous training, the ability to lead and the will to never give up are but just one of the few attributes that make a Jonin...But I know now, you will be a great ninja and do Mikoro proud..."
Konohamaru gently smiled to this as the medical team got to work healing Team 1, freeing the hostages and securing the mission.
When Konohamaru returned, he rested in his house for about three days to recover the Chakra he lost during his first ever Tornado's Cry. This also gave him plenty of time to think about his next steps on how to fulfil his promise and become a better ninja. Then he finally decided. He finally came to the Ichiraku ramen stand where sure enough, Naruto was there, feasting on his fourth ramen bowl.
"Hey boss!" Konohamaru greeted his childhood friend. Naruto took his eyes off his ramen to see Konohamaru.
"Oh hey!" Naruto cheered. "Finally better? C'mon, I'll treat you to some ramen!"
"No, not now. I need to ask you something..." Naruto grew curious and swung round to face Konohamaru. "Will you-" But he was interrupted by none other than Kakashi.
"Naruto!" His old Sensei called urgently. "You need to come quick, it's Sakura!"
"What's wrong?!" Naruto asked in worry.
"She's giving birth!"
"What?!" Naruto and Konohamaru screamed. With every energy they could muster, Naruto, Kakashi and Konohamaru rushed to the hospital. When they arrived, Naruto went straight to by his wife's side, while Konohamaru and Kakashi waited outside.
"I heard what happened on your first mission..." Said Kakashi.
"What did you hear?" Asked Konohamaru.
"You saved Hinata's sister by using a new Jutsu." Kakashi said.
"Then you missed the part where one of my teammates died trying to save me."
"You must never feel grief for a comrade that died for your sake. If you do, it will never go away."
"But if I had been stronger...maybe it would never have happened..."
"Then, you only have one option left. Grow stronger and make sure nobody else dies for you." Before long, the doors to the maternity door opened to reveal Tsunade, who was the main nurse in the operation.
"You can come in now." She said with a smile. Both ninja entered to witness a scene Konohamaru would never forget...
Naruto was sitting beside a lied-down Sakura as she held in her arms her and Naruto's child.
"Th-That's..." Konohamaru said in shock. Naruto smiled toward them. "Sensei...Konohamaru...Say hello to Haruhi..." Kakashi smiled through his mask, which he still refused to take off. Konohamaru, too, smiled in happiness. Before he could go ahead and say his first hello's to Naruto's daughter, Kakashi put a hand on Konohamaru's shoulder.
"Although Mikoro died trying to save you, she also died protecting the child you see before you. The Will of Fire...She will live on in her, as long as there are children that must be protected..." Kakashi's short speech drew a short tear to Konohamaru's eye as he said his first hello to his future student...
Three years later, after Konohamaru's grueling training with Naruto, he was now ready to become a Shinobi his grandfather would be proud of. After his legendary battle with Naruto, and his injuries were healed, he traveled to a spot he swore he wouldn't visit until he was ready; the grave of Mikoro in the middle of the Leaf's cemetery. It was a beautifully designed gravestone with the words...
Mikoro Shiya
"May the winds of fortune guide you well."
Konohamaru smiled peacefully as he was finally able to look at it without remorse or guilt. Now that he was the ninja Mikoro wanted him to be, he had no negative thoughts towards her. Just then, he felt a presence he was very familiar with.
"You can come out now, Hanabi." Konohamaru said. Indeed, Hanabi was hiding behind a tree, masking her Chakra as much as possible, and when Konohamaru noticed her, she was surprised. She came out.
"Amazing! You found me, even though I was masking my Chakra?" She asked.
"Looks as though you have a few chinks in your armour." He replied. She came next him.
"So you finally decided to come?" Hanabi asked. "I was a little concerned when you never showed for the funeral."
"I swore I'd never face her grave until I become a great ninja..." Konohamaru said.
"And are you?" Without saying anything, Hanabi jumped up and tried to kick Konohamaru in the back of the head, but Konohamaru swiftly dodged.
"That's rude..." He said, before lightly using his Wind Chakra to push her back. Hanabi chuckled at this.
"Without a doubt, you've exceeded my expectations." She said gaining her composure back. "The future Hokage has taught you well." Konohamaru remained silent, still paying his respects to Mikoro. "Just answer me one thing. Did you grow stronger just to satisfy Mikoro's last wish?"
"That's half the reason."
"And the other half?" Asked Hanabi.
"I wanted to be a role model for the future generations, like Naruto's children. They need bums like us to show them down the proper road. I want to be the guide to that future..." Hanabi smiled at Konohamaru's maturity. Quickly, Hanabi hopped over to the tree she hid behind before.
"Then perhaps you should offer these?" Hanabi came back with a bouquet of windflowers. Konohamaru smiled.
"Thank you, Hanabi..." Konohamaru said, as the two of them lay the bouquet next to Mikoro's gravestone.
A gentle breeze blew across the cemetery...