Time was running by fast. The Chunin Exams were only a month away and my team had very little experience in true combat.
Our first C rank mission only gave them a taste of what was to come. It was my job therefore, to prepare them.
Training was extended from here on out. From now on, they had to meet me every morning at six. They griped and complained, but they eventually fell in line.
Our next two C rank missions were pretty standard, all things considered. It was to get rid of bandits.
They used different tactics each time which was good. They weren't ordinary shinobi, so they shouldn't use ordinary tactics.
Atleast that was my rationale when questioned. Save the predictability for the clans in this village.
Our fourth C rank mission, is where the real trouble began. You see, we had been given a mission to courier some documents to a border town.
The town is called Kito and it's on the border of the Land of Rice Paddies. AKA, Sound Country.
Not that anyone knows that yet. As soon as we leave the Hidden Leaf, I'm on edge. " Neji, use your Byakugan periodically, to check if I missed anything. "
He nods his head. We're moving at a fast pace through the tree tops. We should be at the border in two days from now.
The days themselves pass by uneventfully. We don't run into any trouble. I don't relax my guard though.
The team has probably noticed my tenseness. None of them comment on it though, or ask me, for which I'm glad. I wasn't sure what I'd say to them.
We arrive at Kito early in the morning. It's a moderately prosperous town. Because it's by the border, travellers coming and going often, brings it a steady stream of income.
It also makes it slightly dangerous, because nobody gives strangers a second glance, making it easier for infiltrators.
As soon as we entered I said " I will deliver the package to the mayor. You three may explore. Don't split up and don't drop your guard. "
They nodded their heads. Excited. I've been keeping a tight leash on them, during missions. They've gotten sufficiently skilled by now however, that I can afford to leave them to their own devices.
Even if it's for a little while. With that said, I split from them. The mayor's office I'm told, is towards the western edge of the town.
It's easy to make out, because it's the fanciest building in the town. I inwardly roll my eyes.
Unfortunately for me, the mayor is in an important meeting, so I have to wait. While I'm sitting, my eyes wander around the place.
Nothing really catches my eye, except the office at the far end is guarded by a pair of samurai. My eyebrow arches slightly.
While samurai are pretty common in the Land of Fire, due to the fact that they're a part of the Feudal Lord's army, their armour is pretty distinctive.
I've never seen armour like this before. It's very ornate. Rather like the armour a royal guard would wear. There is no other distinguishing features however.
The meeting the mayor is having drags on and I'm starting to get annoyed. Fortunately, that's when the door opens.
I'm shocked however. By the manner of dress, the boy who comes out, with who I'm presuming is the mayor, is a prince.
Only the royalty of nations wear such formal kimono. What someone like that is doing here, with only two guards, I don't know.
That's when I stand. The guards tense. My headband however makes it clear, where my allegiance lies.
They relax. The mayor steps forward then. " You must be part of the team that the Hidden Leaf sent. Where is your sensei? "
I instantly become annoyed. It doesn't show however. " You are mistaken sir. I am a Jounin. My team are wandering around town. "
All four of them looks surprised. The boy prince looks at me with interest. After getting over his surprise, the mayor asks for the package.
I give it to him. That's when the boy or rather teen, I should say, speaks. His voice is surprisingly smooth.
" Excuse me, I was wondering if you could give me a few moments of your time. I'm in need of assistance with something...? "
After a moment, I realise he's asking for my name. " I'm Hikaru Uzumaki. Jounin of the Hidden Leaf Village. " I see his interest sharpen when I say my name.
He must recognise my clan name. Which is surprising. Generally it's only older shinobi that do. Then again, he is nobility and they usually have lots of history books in their libraries.
He asks if the mayor can spare us a room, to which he acquiesced. As I enter, I wonder just what is going on.
" It's our pet dog Mu Mu, he ran away. My sister and the rest of our guards left to find him, but they haven't returned yet. "
I rolled my eyes internally, when he started talking about a pet dog. As he went on however, I frowned.
" How many guards accompanied your sister? " When he said thirty my frown deepened. I saw no signs of such a force nearby.
" In which direction did they head? " I stilled when he said the Land of Rice " The more he spoke, the more concerned I became.
He and his sister, were the children of the Feudal Lord of the Land of Noodles. An ally of the Land of Fire.
It put me in a difficult position. I had to assist him because he was allied royalty, but technically, I wasn't supposed to leave the Land of Fire's borders.
Thinking quickly, I created a clone and had it rush towards the village. Using the body flicker technique, it should reach the village in about six hours.
I looked towards the prince and he appeared wide eyed. " You need have no worries. I merely informed my village's leadership about my intention to cross borders. "
" Can you describe your sister and dog to me? " After a moment, he complies. I take my leave of him then and go to find my team. I hope they haven't gotten into any trouble.
Luck is apparently smiling down on me. Neji was able to keep Naruto in check. Yakumo just looked amused at their antics.
When they saw me and my expression though, they became serious and gave me their full attention.
" It seems we have a new mission. A princess, from an allied country as well as her retinue, have gone missing. "
" It falls upon us therefore, to find them. We are going to cross the border into the Land of Rice. "
" There have been murmurings of suspicious activity there. Do not stray. Follow my orders to the letter. I'm looking at you Naruto. "
" Disobey me on this mission and I'll see that you are thrown out of the shinobi corp. Do I make myself clear ? "
As I finished speaking, I saw the shock reflected on all their expressions. I could understand why.
I've been fairly easy going as sensei, my training methods aside. I'd never spoken to any of them in the way I just did.
They realised then, that something was likely going on that they didn't know about. That this was no game, it was serious.
" We will set out immediately. If it comes to a fight and you think you're outclassed, hold nothing back. "
That being said, we head out. Neji in the lead, Naruto on the right, Yakumo on the left and me in the rear.
A classic diamond formation. As we cross the border, I create a dozen clones and let them fan out for clues.
I'm really hoping we don't run into any Hidden Sound ninja, or worse, their leader. That kind of battle is beyond me for now, not least because I have to ensure the safety of my brother and team.
We travel for an hour, before we see a clue. Nothing like dead bodies to give things away.
There are two ninja wearing headbands with a musical note on them, dead from the slash wounds in their sides.
It's who's with them that catches my attention. Eight dead samurai. Some are badly burnt, while the rest appear to have died of multiple stab wounds.
We pause for a few minutes, looking for clues. It's Neji, that spots the indentations in the ground. Heading in an easterly direction.
We immediately pursue. The bodies only appear to have died a few hours ago. There's still time, hopefully.
We move with renewed urgency. Sadly, as much as I've tried over the years, I don't have a huge sensing range. The details are perfect, but I can only sense about a square mile.
That's why I'm slightly caught off guard when Neji says he can see our quarry. According to him, about fifteen of the samurai are still alive.
There are four more dead enemy shinobi there. He says that two people, with strange chakra, are heading in their direction.
A grim feeling settled over me. A strange chakra. I bet I know exactly what he means. I can't allow this to drag out any longer.
" Listen you three, when we arrive, take the princess and lead her guards away from the battlefield. Don't interfere, you'll only get in the way. "
That being said, I immediately start circulating my chakra inside my body faster. When we're about a hundred metres off, I start going through handsigns.
We burst through the foliage and into a field. The samurai look exhausted but determined as they turn to face us, moving the princess behind them.
Neji quickly takes the lead and starts talking to them. I quickly move past them and face the direction of the forest where the enemy are approaching from.
A few seconds later, they burst into the clearing. I control my expression when I realise I know who they are.
Kidomaru and Jirobo. They see my headband immediately and start moving closer. What morons I think. They should have transformed.
They never get the chance. This is overkill, using an S ranked jutsu on them, but better safe than sorry. Fire Style Majestic Destroyer Flame.
My hair blows back slightly. Then I take a deep breath and exhale, as they halve the distance.
Fire bursts from my mouth, half a mile in diameter, it rushes forward. I feel their tainted chakra exploding out of them as they desperately try to save themselves.
They needn't have bothered. I hear their screams a second later, I don't let the jutsu go until I feel them dying.
That's when I stop. And stare. And stare. I've never used this jutsu before, so it's only natural that I'm caught off guard.
The land before me, for a mile, is destroyed. The edge of the forest and beyond is gone.
Of the two of them, only charred bones are left. It seems like their partial transformation stopped their bodies from being destroyed.
This is a massive mess. I can't afford to let Orochimaru know how strong I am, or the Akatsuki. I go through more handsigns.
Earth Style Mobile Core. The destroyed clearing sinks into the ground. With another application of chakra, the chasm closes.
I turn then. My team's jaws are hanging open. As are the princess and her guards. I merely smirk however. I move towards them then.
" Princess Maki I assume? " The girl still looks shellshocked, but to her credit, she rallies quickly. " I am yes. Who are you? "
That's when I tell her. I also tell her how worried her brother is about her. She looks shamefaced then.
Tearfully, she explains why she went after the dog, which fortunately, is with her. It turns out that the dog was the last gift her mother gave her, before she succumbed to an illness.
So for that reason, the dog is worth more than anything to her. I sympathize with her slightly, still. A dog isn't worth the lives of her men.
I don't say any of that though. None of the samurai look resentful in the slightest. After that, I create a few clones and they gather the bodies of the dead samurai.
I seal them inside of a scroll and give them to one of the guards, who accepts it gratefully.
We then head towards the border. I ask my brother to create a clone to carry the princess. She protests, but I quickly shut her down.
I tell her that we're not safe here. More of the enemy could arrive at any time. It's already almost midday. I don't want to risk sleeping here.
It's very likely, that the two I killed will be noted as absent. We have maybe three hours, till a pursuit force is sent.
It's likely Orochimaru will sent his best men. Or come himself. I'm hoping it's not the latter. Even if we do get reinforcements from the Hidden Leaf, none are a match for a kage level shinobi.
Kurama is beginning to thaw towards me, but using his power won't be enough. What's more, to take on Orochimaru I'd probably need to use four tails.
That would cause me to go out of control. I can't risk that. Not with my team here and especially not with the fragile tagalongs with us.
I tell Neji to keep his Byakugan open periodically. " Princess, if we are attacked, my brother's clone will take you across the border and your men must follow. "
" The enemy is likely to send their best after us, we can't afford distractions. " After a slight hesitation, she agrees.
It's very likely, that today was the first time that she's witnessed violence of any kind. I'm a pretty perceptive shinobi. I can see under her facade that she's still rattled.
It's unfortunate that these samurai don't have horses. We're traveling slowly. I'm tempted to create clones to carry them, but I'm sure they'll object.
Not just that, but it's best I conserve my chakra for my trump card. If Orochimaru does appear, I'll have no choice but to call upon my summons.
It's a few minutes later, after nearly three hours of travel, that Neji sees we have hostiles incoming. Perhaps twenty minutes away.
I tell Naruto to create a few clones to set traps and buy us time. I then tell Yakumo to create a double layered genjutsu over us.
To conceal our exact position. If anyone looks, they won't see us moving, just our illusionary copies, a few feet to the left.
We quicken our pace slightly then. It's very fortunate, that all these samurai are young and fit. Otherwise we'd have a bigger problem.
It's when we're about a mile from the border, that they finally catch up to us. I'm relieved however, that the clones I created earlier in the day, are waiting for us.
I quickly order them to engage the enemy. I also tell the samurai to head towards the town. They do so hastily.
I feel my clones getting dispelled, but I don't let that distract me. I turn towards my team.
" Yakumo, you take care of the girl. Neji and Naruto, you two take care of the one with the two heads. I'll take care of the leader. "
I'm not surprised by who the pursuing enemy is. The remainder of Orochimaru's bodyguards.
Kimmimaru. Sakon, Ukon and Tayuya. I can see the anger in the expressions of the latter three. That's when Kimmimaru speaks.
" You trash are trespassing. Our master, the Otokage has sent us to kill you. So say your prayers, because you're about to die..."