Hey everyone! I'm back to write out another chapter of Born Again! I've recently discovered that the app I use to type my stories in has an option to change what form of English it detects, so if the spelling of certain words is spelled differently from this episode on, that's why.
As always, some clarifications for you all. One of my reviewers asked me what exactly Naruto's Kekkei Genkai is. It's a valid question, and I have intentionally left the answer to that question unexplored so I could reveal more as this chapter began. You'll be getting a more specific answer to what his Kekkei Genkai's limitations are in this chapter.
Another reviewer pointed out to me that I don't have to follow the canon timeline of Naruto. I wholeheartedly agree with you! As of this chapter, there will be many divergencies from the original. I didn't want to stray too far from the source material until this chapter since there was no in-universe reason for the story to play out differently up until this point. Now that Naruto is a Genin, I can finally begin shaking things up a bit!
As always, I appreciate any feedback that my followers can provide to me, be it suggestions you may want me implementing into later chapters or your thoughts on previous chapters. It may not seem like much to you guys, but I value your input. It will help me become a better writer, and as a result, I will be able to provide you all with improved content.
And to the reviewer that confirmed to me that my update speed is good enough as it is and that I don't need to rush chapters out, thank you! Knowing that takes the stress off my back a little.
Anyway, that's enough from me for now. I hope you all enjoy this chapter of Born Again!
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Post Chapter Note! The editing program that I use to both type out and check the grammar for my story is kind of annoying. If there are enough words that have one apostrophe and two apostrophes, it will register every single character that has an apostrophe as a text inconsistency. It slows down my editing process because it causes my computer to lag, so from now on, I'll be taking slightly longer to edit the chapters.
Also, this chapter diverges heavily from canon. The chapter is also going to be a bit more graphic than the last ones. Just a warning in advance if any of my readers don't enjoy the Gorey stuff.
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Chapter 8: First Blood
(3 Months After The Bell Test)
Rooves Of Konoha
"Target in sight, awaiting orders," the voice of one Naruto Uzumaki stated, observing the mission objective. They had dealt with missions before, but this one had proven to be the hardest yet. "Will initiate my strike when granted permission."
"Transmission received. Strike now Naruto, don't let him get away from us." The voice of Kakashi-sensei replied through the headpiece. Not responding to his sensei's confirmation, Naruto weaved through hand signs swiftly, slamming his hands into the ground. 'Earth Release: Stone Immobilisation!'
Focusing his chakra towards the target, Naruto's Jutsu began to take effect, the ground slowly rising and wrapping itself around the legs of the prey. By the time it had noticed the stone that had gripped it, it was too late. Having completed his part of the mission, Naruto radioed in. "Target is secure. Prepare to extract."
"Transmission confirmed. Good work." Cutting off his end of the call, Kakashi radioed into his other students. "Naruto has secured the target, move in!" After a brief moment of silence, Kakashi received an in sync response from the two. "Transmission confirmed!"
Jumping down from their position on the rooves, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno moved in swiftly. Reaching the location of their objective, Sasuke radioed in as Sakura knocked them out. "Target secure. I repeat, Tora is secure."
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"I fail to see why we took a D-Rank mission Kakashi-sensei, we've been doing C-Rank missions for a good month or so. What's the deal?" Sasuke questioned, curious as to why their sensei had downgraded them to this manual labour. Since they had completed the bell test all that time ago, the team had undertaken over ten C-Rank missions. They'd started with D-Rank missions just like everyone did, but Kakashi quickly noticed that he'd be wasting their potential by keeping them on those for too long, so they'd made the change to C-Rank. Turning his gaze to his female teammate, Sasuke noted that their shift to C-Rank wasn't the only significant change that had occurred recently.
In the three months that they'd been training together, Sakura made leaps and bounds in her ability. She still wasn't anywhere close to where he and the rest of the squad wanted her to be, but she was making steady progress. The Haruno had become efficient in the more subtle arts of the shinobi world as of recent. She now specialized in trapping, stealth and shinobi tools. Not only had she found her calling as a kunoichi, but she had also been mastering the art of poison. To say she was anything like the pathetic girl she used to be would be insulting to his teammate.
That was another change that had occurred in Sakura. Her thirteenth birthday had passed only four days ago, and it was on that day that she finally decided to change her wardrobe. She now wore a grey long sleeve turtleneck shirt with a beige coloured trench-coat over the top. The coat itself had multiple patches and pockets placed throughout it, most likely to store her poisons. Additionally, she wore form-fitting black skinny jeans, with her kunai holder on her upper left thigh. To complete the look, she wore white sneakers that Sasuke assumed were for ease of movement, and a pair of black sunglasses.
Overall, his teammate was an entirely new person.
"Now now Sasuke, no need to complain. The mission was a test by me to see if you were all ready for what I had planned for us. And by looking at the results and your coordination with each other, I'd say we are." Kakashi's words brought both confusion and excitement to the trio of Genin. Their sensei, up until that point, had been training them in how to wield weaponry and control chakra better. Along with that, they had undertaken many stealth-based missions in the past few months. They could only assume that Kakashi had something big planned for them.
"Come on. Let's get this cat back to the Hokage's office. We'll pick up a new mission that I have in mind once we do that." Snapping out of their thoughts at Kakashi's words, the Genin nodded at their sensei. Not willing to waste more time, the squad of four dashed off towards the Hokage Mansion.
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The Hokage Mansion
"Well done. In the past months, your team has shown extreme diligence in completing their missions flawlessly. Madam Shijimi was quite pleased that Tora was returned without harm so swiftly to her person." Bowing their heads at the Hokage's praise, Team Seven waited patiently for the aged man to continue. "As it so happens, I have another mission for you to undertake. It's a C-Rank mission involving a matter in Wave country.."
"Hokage-sama, I had a different mission in mind for my team." Kakashi's interruption gave Hiruzen pause, and, looking up at the Jonin, the Sarutobi motioned for the man to continue. "It is as you said, my team has performed above and beyond the expectations provided these past months. That is why I am requesting that you assign us a low-level Hunt." Confused as to what their sensei meant, the trio turned their attention to the Hokage.
"A Hunt? Kakashi, you should reconsider. We are no longer in the war period. There is no need to force these children to perform such acts at such an age." Hiruzen seemed to be adamantly against the idea of allowing them to accept what Kakashi was proposing. Feeling underestimated by the Hokage, Naruto stepped forward.
"Hokage-sama, with all due respect, my teammates and I have not yet failed a mission. We have completed every task assigned to us with absolute perfection. Not once have we taken longer than required to accomplish the objective given to us. Whatever this Hunt may be, I assure you, I, Sakura and Sasuke are all ready to undergo it." Naruto's words were formal and utterly confident. Listening to their teammate offer his praise, Sasuke and Sakura nodded in agreement with the blonde's assessment.
Turning his lone-eye to the Hokage, who seemed to be aging rapidly in his chair, Kakashi spoke. "As you can see, I am confident that my team can handle whatever I throw at them. You know I would not be asking this of you if I was not sure they could do this."
Taking a moment to think on the matter, Hiruzen eventually let out a defeated sigh. Nodding at the silver-haired Jonin's words, the Hokage turned his aged eyes to the young trio before him. "I will be assigning your team a Hunt. Your sensei will explain what the village expects of you at the mission site. Kakashi, the details." Handing the younger man a document from his desk, the Hokage added a comment in a last-ditch attempt to dissuade Kakashi. "Be sure you know what you're doing."
Not responding to the Sarutobi, Kakashi gestured for his team to follow him, the four of them walking out the door a moment later. Shortly afterwards, a different squad entered the Hokage's office.
"Squad Eight reporting for duty," Kurenai Yūhi sounded off, her team of Genin standing confidently behind her. "I would like to request a C-Rank mission for my squad. Any C-Rank will do, I want them to begin building experience past D-Rank."
Taking a moment to assess the young Jonin's team, Hiruzen let out a hum from his throat. "As it happens, I have a C-Rank mission from Wave country available at this exact moment.."
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The Land Of Fire, 2 Days After The Meeting With The Hokage
Travelling with Kakashi to an as of yet unknown location, Naruto was in deep thought.
He had been experimenting more with his Kekkei Genkai recently and had made some intriguing progress. As Naruto understood it, his Kekkei Genkai allowed him to resurrect the dead, but only as mindless zombies that did as he commanded. After a certain amount of time, depending on the size of the reanimated target and focus used to bring them back, the zombie will die. Once a target has been resurrected and died again, they are no longer able to be brought back to life a second time.
So far, he had only tested this ability on animals. Over the last five years, he hadn't been focusing on his Kekkei Genkai that much, more focused on keeping up with his Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. Because of that, he wasn't aware of what effect it would have if used on a human corpse, and if Naruto was honest with himself, he was curious. Not that he would go out and kill an innocent civilian for the sake of experimenting with his powers. But if he ever got the chance to handle a corpse that no one cared for, he was going to use that opportunity. If no one was going to miss the body, why let it go to waste, right?
"Stop here," the voice of Kakashi echoed into Naruto's mind, causing him to stop with the rest of his teammates and snap out of his thoughts for the moment. "We're at the designated location."
"But what are we doing here? You haven't told us anything about the mission since you requested it." Sakura was curious as to what their sensei had planned for them. She wasn't aware of what a Hunt was, but Kakashi had made it seem like a big deal when asking the Hokage if they could partake in one. "You seem a lot tenser than usual sensei, what's the matter?"
Turning to face the trio of Genin, Kakashi's expression was easily readable as grim, even with his face mask and forehead protector covering it up. "We're here today to introduce you all to the realities of the shinobi world." Seeing the confusion etched into his student's faces, Kakashi gestured for them to come to where he was. Following the Jonin's instructions, the group turned their gaze in the direction of their sensei's.
Below their position in the trees above, there was a bandit camp. At least it seemed to be that way. Seemingly filled to the brim with at least thirty bandits, the area itself didn't seem to have that many defences. No scouts were patrolling the area, no walls to protect the inhabitants and the bandits themselves were relatively intoxicated. Overall, a standard bandit camp.
"These bandits have been attacking the travelling merchants that come and go from the village. As you can imagine, merchants that get raided by bandits is unfavourable for business. So long as these men continue to harass these merchants, they will refuse to travel the route to Konoha. It's our job to make sure they stop doing just that." Kakashi explained in a light-hearted tone.
"So our mission is to capture them all and bring them back to the village? That could take a while with how many of them there are." Sasuke understood why they needed to handle the bandits. But it seemed very impractical given the number of men. They'd need at least fifteen people to bring them all back, and even then it was two bandits per person. Sasuke's thoughts ceased as he suddenly concluded what they were supposed to do.
"You want us to kill them all, don't you?"
Not responding for a moment after Sasuke had spoken, Kakashi eventually replied to the frozen group of Genin. "Correct. Our mission here is to take out every bandit in the camp. Our intel didn't have an exact number to go off, but there aren't enough to warrant a threat to us. Given we all play our roles, we can swiftly kill them all without issue."
"You expect the three of us to walk in and murder these men? We haven't been training for this at all!" Sakura was horrified at the thought of killing the bandits. Sure she knew that she would eventually have to kill other people, but she assumed that would be much later in life. She was only thirteen. She didn't know if she could do this. "It's wrong! We can capture them easily enough!"
"Capturing them won't resolve the issue," Kakashi retorted instantly. "Bandits are numerous and never come quietly, meaning that we will inevitably have to fight them. It is impractical to try and deliver this many outlaws to the proper location in a reasonable amount of time. By the time we got the first batch of them back to the village and returned, the other bandits would have already escaped. After they escape, what do you think the first thing they would do is?"
"Tell their fellow bandit camps what happened," Naruto responded instantly, causing Kakashi to nod.
"They would either go into hiding until they could rebuild their numbers, or run to fellow bandit camps and inform them of what we did here. If the other bandit camps became aware that we were starting up Hunts against them, they would become significantly harder to find. Any bandit camp aware that a shinobi group is after them knows to lay low. Furthermore, if the survivors that escaped eventually regain their members, they will be smarter the next time around. Overall, leaving these bandits alive is not an option. The most efficient method here is to kill them and dispose of the bodies."
Seeing that his students were hesitating, Kakashi rounded on them. "You said yourselves that you were ready to take on any mission I threw at you. In the shinobi world, you cannot get by without killing others. If you are unable to murder these men now, then what will you do when battling enemy shinobi? It may seem morally bankrupt to rob others of life to you, but I assure you that the enemy will have no such problem." Looking down at the trio, Kakashi continued. "You have to make a choice. Fully commit to becoming a ninja and see the mission through. Or quit being a Genin and never return to the forces. We don't have time for weakness or feelings. If you're unable to act, those that can are sure to leave you behind." Folding his arms, the Jonin waited patiently.
"Now choose."
Silence reigned in the area for an unknown amount of time. Then, slowly rising to his feet, Naruto nodded at Kakashi, his red eyes swirling. "I'm ready." Turning his head to look at his best friend, Naruto reached out with his right hand to the raven-haired boy. "Sasuke, it's ok." Looking up at the blonde, the Uchiha nodded gently, taking hold of the extended hand. Pulling himself up, Sasuke turned his attention to Sakura, who was shaking violently.
"Sakura," the sound of her crush speaking to her broke Sakura from her thoughts. Turning her unsure gaze to the Uchiha, she waited for what he had to say. Squatting down to the pinkette's eye level, Sasuke took her hands in his own. "I know that you're scared. We all are. But we can't go ahead with this decision if we aren't all on board with it. If you can't do this, we won't do it. We're a team, no matter what."
Hearing the Uchiha's words, Sakura looked to her blonde teammate to see if what she had heard was true. Staring right back at her, Naruto gave a subtle nod in response, causing the girl to smile at him. Nodding in thanks to the both of them, Sakura rose from her position with the help of Sasuke. "I-I think I'm ready." Nodding at his fellow Genin, Naruto turned his attention to Kakashi, who was looking at them with an odd gaze.
"Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." Naruto quoted to his sensei.
Smiling in pride at the blonde's words, Kakashi nodded at the trio. "Know that we can't let any of them escape. Not one." Seeing that his students understood, the Jonin turned back to face the bandit camp below. "We'll wait until night to strike. Few will be awake, and the rest will be easy pickings after that."
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Bandit Camp, Later That Night
Creeping towards the bandit camp, Naruto readied himself for his first kill. He had often wondered when this moment would occur, and he was honestly glad that it was this early in his life. His powers relied on corpses being present, so he needed to learn how to make people die as efficiently as possible. Kakashi had split the group up for this moment, so he was all alone.
Ducking behind some crates as he saw a bandit wandering around, Naruto breathed in deeply. 'Alright, don't be afraid. Just do it.' Waiting for the man to move past his location, Naruto reacted instantly. Swiftly sneaking up behind the bandit, he lunged, stabbing the criminal in the back of the head. In that instance, it was over. Watching as the once living individual dropped to the ground with a thud, Naruto only had one thought in his head at that time.
'People die a lot easier than I expected.'
Taking a moment to make sure that his team wasn't nearby, Naruto went to inspect the corpse of the man he had just murdered. Deciding that he should probably take his weapon back, the blonde placed one hand on the back of the bandit's head, using the other to wedge the kunai out of his skull. Blood now lathering his hands, Naruto was more interested in the corpse than his appearance. Reaching forward, the Uzumaki rotated the head of the bandit so that his dead eyes were staring into his crimson ones.
'You are my first actual kill. I don't want to waste you, so if you would kindly...' Getting ready to attempt his ability on a human for the first time, Naruto acted. '...Resurrect!'
Concentrating solely on the bandit, Naruto poured all of his thought into his current activity. The world around him seemed blurry, with the only thing in focus being the man before him. Staying there for what seemed like hours, Naruto was suddenly interrupted by Kakashi. Registering that his sensei had been shaking him for some time, the blonde turned his gaze to Kakashi's lone one. "What is it?"
"You've been sitting there for a whole minute. I was worried about you." The Jonin's expression seemed equally as concerned as it was disturbed by Naruto's actions. Taking a moment to look back at the corpse, Naruto was disappointed that it hadn't woken up. It seemed like his ability had failed. Turning back to face Kakashi, Naruto gave him a tiny smile. "I'm ok. Let's find the others."
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Sasuke honestly couldn't believe he was going through with this. He found no excitement in the idea of murdering someone. The only person he would ever enjoy the thought of killing would be Itachi. He was sure of that. His brother was a monster that deserved to die. He would avenge his clan, even if it turned out to be the last thing he ever did. The only thing Sasuke was interested in learning here was how to do it. And more importantly, how it felt to do it. He wanted to know what his brother felt when he massacred his family.
Grasping the hilt of the sword that Naruto had given to him all those years ago, Sasuke steeled himself. His friend probably had no trouble taking a life. Naruto was strong like that. If Sasuke ever wanted to have a hope of achieving his ambition, he couldn't hesitate over the thing required to complete it. Waiting patiently, the Uchiha noticed one of the awake guards coming towards his position. Unsheathing his weapon, Sasuke aimed for the man's neck, decapitating the bandit instantly.
Watching in horror as the head detached itself from the body of the once-living man, Sasuke felt sick to his stomach. No, it was worse than that. He felt like his soul was going to leave his body through his mouth. Getting as far as he could into territory away from the camp, Sasuke couldn't hold it any longer. He threw up violently, dry retching at the thought of the act he had just committed.
'This is how Itachi felt? Is this how my brother felt when he slaughtered us all?' Sasuke couldn't fathom it. There was no way his brother had reacted this way to every life he claimed that night. 'Does he feel nothing when committing murder? Did he not feel anything when he struck down Mum and Dad?' Sasuke was sure of it now. His brother was irredeemable. There was no way any regular human could not react to such a horrifying act. The Uchiha knew Itachi had to die. There was no other way now.
Feeling a presence behind him, Sasuke went to strike with his sword, only to stop short as he was caught in a fierce hug by his best friend. Not understanding what Naruto was doing, the blonde suddenly whispered in his ear.
"It's ok to cry."
Feeling tears beginning to leak from his eyes at the words, Sasuke gripped on tightly to the Uzumaki. Pressing into the hug, the Uchiha boy sobbed against the fabric of Naruto's jacket. "Naruto, we need to go." Kakashi's voice registered in Sasuke's ears, muffled by Naruto's body. Gripping the boy tighter in response, Naruto gave the Jonin the harshest glare he had ever produced. "Go find Sakura. Sasuke needs me right now." Sighing but nodding at the boy, Kakashi disappeared, going off to collect Sakura.
Holding the Uchiha closer, Naruto let the raven-haired boy rest his head on his shoulder. "You're ok now. I promise."
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Searching for the pinkette in the location he had sent her too, Kakashi was beginning to worry. He couldn't find his third Genin anywhere. 'Come on, give me something!' As if in response to his thoughts, Kakashi caught the slightest of movements in his eye. The Jonin made his way over to the location, and his heart dropped at what he saw.
There Sakura was, covered in a pool of blood. At her feet lay two bandits, one killed clean, the other looking mauled. Making his way over to the pinkette, Kakashi picked her up gently. "It's all over now. You're safe now." Seeing that the girl did not seem to register his words, Kakashi's heart panged. 'Did I push them too early?' Deciding that his question could wait until they were all safe, Kakashi made his back over to Naruto and Sasuke's location.
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"We need to burn the bodies."
Looking up at their sensei, the three recovering Genin didn't register what Kakashi wanted from them. Seeing that his students were waiting for him to elaborate, Kakashi internally sighed. "I've taken care of all the other bandits in the camp, but their bodies need to have disappeared. If they are still here, other bandits can come upon them and will know we were here. We need to burn the bodies quickly to avoid that." Hesitating for a moment, Kakashi steeled himself. "I'll need your help with moving the bodies. We'll be more efficient that way."
Slowly rising from the ground, Naruto stopped Sasuke and Sakura from joining him. "I'll do it. You two need more time." Glaring at Kakashi as if daring him to object, Naruto brushed past his sensei, the older man following behind soon after.
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They'd gotten nearly all of the bodies thrown into a pile in the middle of the camp now. All that was left was Naruto's first kill. He'd intentionally been saving that one for last, the man's body holding some sentimental value to him. Naruto's eyes widened at what he saw as he turned the corner to get the body. The bandit was gone. His first kill had disappeared. He knew for a fact that he hadn't moved the body by accident, and there was no sign of animals taking it. Excitement brewed in his chest as he considered the possibility that his resurrection had worked.
"Naruto, is that all of them?" The voice of Kakashi questioned from somewhere else in the former camp. Still staring at the place his first kill should've been, Naruto responded.
"That's everyone."
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Moving away from the burning pile of corpses, Naruto and Kakashi returned to Sasuke and Sakura's location. Finding the other two Genin still there and a little calmer then before, Naruto left Kakashi's side, sitting in between the two. Naruto wrapped his arms around his teammates, letting the two of them hold onto him in a three-way hug. Seeing that his squad needed the comfort, Kakashi came up behind them, wrapping his arms around all three of them.
"Is it always this hard?" Sakura murmured. "Killing people, is it always like this?"
Giving the girl a sad smile through his mask, Kakashi replied gently. "It gets easier. But you should never let it become fun. The thing that separates us from the rogues is that we take no pleasure in murder. We do it to protect our village and its interests. The feelings you're experiencing right now are disgust at yourself for taking another life. It's a natural response for the first time." Hugging the trio tighter, Kakashi continued. "All ninja eventually find a coping mechanism for their killing. That is what we must do if we want to function. Know that I am here for all of you to lean on should you need to confide in someone."
Staying in the camp for what felt like forever, the team eventually had to get moving. Taking one last look at the area, the Konoha ninja left in a flash.
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The Hokage Mansion, 2 Days Later After The Bandit Camp Mission
Entering the Hokage's office, Team Seven by that point had accepted what they had done at the camp. Looking much graver then they had when they initially set off, the three Genin stood before the Hokage stoically.
"I take it the mission was a success then?" Hiruzen ventured to Kakashi, waiting patiently for the answer.
"It was Hokage-sama. The three of them performed as I expected them too. The bandit camp no longer exists, and the bodies have bee disposed of appropriately. You can find a detailed version of the events in my report that I will submit later today." Kakashi finished his summary of the mission with his trademark eye-smile.
"I'm afraid that report will have to wait." The Hokage said gravely, catching both Kakashi's and the rest of Team Seven's attention. "I sent out Team Eight to handle a C-Rank mission in Wave country the same day I sent you to deal with the bandits. As of now, the mission has turned from C-Rank to A-Rank, and Team Eight requires immediate backup." Placing his hands on the desk, Hiruzen continued. "I will be sending your team Kakashi. We cannot spare any other squad at the moment. The village's defences would be too weak."
Frowning at being forced to take on a mission directly after his team had suffered through their first kills, Kakashi nevertheless nodded. "We will go as soon as possible Hokage-sama. What's the situation there?"
Staring into Kakashi's lone eye, the Hokage responded.
"What do you know about Zabuza Momochi?"
E.N.D Chapter 8
Hey everyone! So there's chapter 8 for you all. This one took a bit longer to create than the others did, mainly due to my brainstorming. I've got a clear idea of how I want the next chapter to go, and I hope you guys will enjoy what I do with it.
As you guys can see, I've already made a massive divergence from canon, and I'll be making an even bigger one next chapter. Sorry if you guys wanted to see Team Seven throw down with Zabuza this chapter, but for now you'll just have to wait.
As always, feel free to leave a review if you wanted to say something about the chapter or just in general. I appreciate any reception you guys give me and actively encourage you all to provide it.
I hope this chapter was long enough. I've changed the minimum for my chapters from 2500 words to 4000 words, so every chapter should be at least somewhat long. If you guys think they should be even longer than that though, I'm more than happy to try my hand at more drawn-out chapters.
Anyway, that's enough from me. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you in the next one!
- Raime