Chapter 14: A Real Mission
The first month of being a Genin went very well for Naruto. Asuma was a glut of information, and when he didn't know something, he found someone who did. Anytime Naruto wasn't working on a wealth of practical skills, he was improving his taijutsu and kenjutsu, or learning the Rasengan. Asuma had steered Naruto towards using his tanto for his precise penetrating attack, only reinforced with chakra. Naruto decided it was a good route, and began working on different ways of reinforcing his blade beyond just elemental chakra.
Asuma's efforts to train the other members of Team 10 were going less smoothly. Ino was improving rapidly but seemed unable to beat Shikamaru even once. Lately, it looked like she was pressuring him, but she always got stuck in the shadow jutsu. Naruto could see the look of frustration on Asuma's face every time Shikamaru pulled a win out of his ass. Shikamaru did what he was told, but he wasn't doing any more than the minimum work. Still, they all got along very well since the revelation about Naruto's status. Ino even mentioned her dad had completely come around.
Still, there was more to be excited about. Asuma was requesting a C-Rank mission for Team 10! The team gathered at the Hokage tower for their daily mission, this time buzzing with excitement.
"Otou-san, I believe we are more than ready for a C-Rank mission," Asuma said.
The Hokage eyed his son with a light smile. "I have just the thing for a first C-Rank. A protection detail to the Land of Waves. Bring in Tazuna-san please."
An older man walked in smelling of sake. He had tanned skin, a lean frame, and a grey beard. His clothing looked a bit shabby, in fact, he could have been mistaken for a drunken bum if he weren't so clean.
"What's this? Kids? I paid for ninja, not to babysit a bunch of brats." Tazuna took a swig of a sake gourd tied to his waist.
"WHAT? BRATS?! LISTEN DRUNK UNCLE, I-" Ino started to yell at the old man until Asuma put a hand on her shoulder.
"You're getting a Jonin out of the deal. And these so-called brats are pretty capable. Don't underestimate them," Asuma warned. "Everyone, prepare for provisions and meet at the East Gate in two hours."
# # #
Team 10 walked along the road in complete silence. Only the sound of footsteps on the loose, dusty ground could be heard, along with the occasional clanking of ninja tools, or a swish that came with a canteen. Or sake, in the case of Tazuna who walked in the middle of the group of ninjas. Even Ino was silent, though it was after she had been scolded by Asuma about how shinobi were supposed to treat clients.
They had walked for a few hours when Naruto noticed a puddle in the ground. It hadn't rained in days; definitely Shinobi, but lower rank, possibly missing-nin. Naruto looked over at Asuma, who met Naruto's eyes and then gave him a hand signal not to engage. Looks like Asuma wanted to find out what they were doing laying an ambush for a bunch of Genin.
A bladed chain shot out from the puddle and wrapped around Asuma-sensei, who replaced himself with a log. Ino and Shikamaru got into formation, getting between Tazuna and the enemy nin. Naruto stood by and waited for the enemy on the side, he wanted to see if they were after him, or this was part of the mission. Sure enough, two ninjas with metal gauntlets popped out, they went for the two Genin and the old man. They ran at an angle, trying to slip around Ino and Shikamaru, who performed beautifully by tracking their movements and throwing kunai to try and slow them down.
Their attempts were unsuccessful, the gauntlets the ninja were wearing bounced off the kunai like they were nothing. Naruto was going to let Shikamaru and Ino engage when he saw liquid on the blade. Shikamaru might be able to stop one with his jutsu, but Ino didn't have a way to avoid the poison with any of her techniques.
Naruto shunshin'd in a flurry of leaves to be in front of Ino, just in time for a metal claw to come bearing down on him. He smashed the claw with an uppercut, leaving the enemy nin completely overextended.
Naruto hesitated; he fingered his tanto but didn't strike. This would be his first kill. Not an easy thing. No. He was being self-indulgent, he didn't want his first kill to be so easy. What would it say about him if he didn't freeze like most on their first kill? Would it prove the village correct?
The enemy nin took the time to recover and lash out with another strike, Naruto dodged, but the chain extension shot out towards Tazuna.
"Ino! Occupy him please!" Naruto yelled as he caught the chain with his tanto, bending the claw away from Tazuna. The bladed chain came swinging at Naruto.
With a quick replacement jutsu, the chain wrapped around a log. While Naruto appeared to the enemy's back to strike.
"GUYS, I'm hit!" Shikamaru's voice rang out.
Naruto looked to see Shikamaru had the enemy in a shadow bind, but there was a gash in his arm. He needed to finish this. Forget giving his team experience, Shikamaru was poisoned now because he didn't go all out. He had gotten complacent because he knew Asuma was there, but Asuma wouldn't prevent every scrape and bruise.
Naruto made a ram seal. "Release!"
His restriction seals came undone. A single movement later and he was at the enemy's back. With a quick flash of the tanto, he severed the man's head.
"BROTHER!" the other enemy ninja screamed, stuck in place.
Naruto instantly appeared next to the other ninja held in the shadow, and with the same movement, that man's head went flying. Naruto was breathing shallow breaths. He killed the men. The first one was necessary; he didn't even think about the second.
"Shika! Your arm!" Ino looked worriedly over at Shikamaru who was clutching his forearm.
Asuma appeared quickly and grabbed the offending tool with the poison.
"We'll have to bleed you a bit Shikamaru. Then Naruto can heal you up," he said.
"I'll make the process easier, stay still." Naruto inserted senbon into various locations on Shikamaru's shoulder and bicep. His arm went completely slack, after which Naruto grabbed the arm and made a small nick on the wrist, it bled profusely.
"We don't have time for Shikamaru to bleed slowly, and we don't have an antidote. This is the fastest." Naruto's hand glowed with medical ninjutsu to heal the wounds, as Shikamaru grabbed a blood-replenishing pill and swallowed it.
Seeing Shikamaru was taken care of, Asuma turned to Tazuna accusatorily. "Why are ninja after you Tazuna-san? This is hardly C-Rank."
Tazuna sighed, as he knew the jig was up.
"It all started with a man named Gato…"
# # #
Team 10 huddled together after Tazuna had explained his situation so they could decide what to do.
"Gato is a very rich man, he could hire Jonin level ninja," warned Asuma.
"But he didn't," argued Shikamaru. "He's gotten all of the wealth out of the country. It's useful to him, but a guy like that? Jonin are a huge liability to him. There's no way he keeps them in his regular employ. What if they turned on him? If he hired a Jonin, it's a particularly desperate one, and I bet Gato's relationship with them is very strained. He needs the bridge destroyed for its strategic purpose in his smuggling operation, he must be funneling money from other operations in order to pay whatever ninja he needs. He'd be better off with a team of Chunin. More manageable."
"We need to help him Asuma-sensei, those poor people!" Ino demanded.
"I agree with Shikamaru's assessment of the situation, Asuma-sensei," said Naruto.
"You're okay to go on Naruto? You made your first and second kill today, and a potential A-Rank mission is well beyond a Genin. Also, we're going to have a long talk about those seals and hiding your condition level," Asuma glared at Naruto. Naruto knew he messed up, what if Asuma made a split decision to save Naruto when he didn't need it on a mission?
"I'm working through it Asuma-sensei," Naruto replied, "Sorry…"
"Very well! Fine. We keep going! You should understand why though—Our teams are built to just complete the mission. If we wanted to, Konoha could take on fewer missions, and power our way through most missions without fear. We don't because the costs would increase, and the efficiency would fall behind other villages, making us less competitive. The mission ranks make it so our teams have a good completion rate, and have a good chance of pulling through in an emergency. This mission has a good chance of pulling through in an emergency, bringing in backup will not happen, at best they will recall us and send out an equivalently powerful team. All of your skills, with the exception of Naruto, at least allow you to hold up against a more powerful opponent. I could, because of your inexperience, choose to baby you. I'll ask one more time: you are taking on Chunin levels of risk and responsibility, are you prepared for that?"
"Yes!" Team 10 responded collectively.
# # #
The mist was thick over the water and land as Team 10 quietly made their way out of the boat.
"We were undetected getting onto the island, thankfully this dock has much less security than the ones next to the bridge. But we're a little bit out of the way. Now bring me home," demanded Tazuna.
Naruto was annoyed. The number of paths they could take from here on out went drastically down in number. If an ambush from a Jonin was coming, it would be on the way to Tazuna's house. He was sure the old man understood what was at stake, but it irritated Naruto to hear the man act so blasé.
"Y'know, you might be a little more appreciative of the risk we're taking by helping you," Shikamaru complained.
"Whatever kid. Just keep me alive until the bridge is complete. You'll have my appreciation then," Tazuna quipped back.
"Troublesome…"
They walked down a road with forest on either side of them, and despite moving inland the mist had not let up. Maybe an ambush would never materialize, but the invisible pressure around the team left them ready at a moment's notice.
Suddenly Naruto felt a spike in the intangible pressure, as if he felt movement from the brush on his right. He quickly reacted and threw his kunai into the offending brush, everyone got into protective stance. The brush didn't react, so Asuma carefully walked into it and pulled out a white rabbit with a kunai run through its stomach.
Shikamaru sighed. "False alarm then."
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the dead rabbit. Something was off. It could have been the rabbit, and he could have just been tense, considering the situation. He doubted it very much. If only he had a bit more experience, to develop his danger sense. He would know for sure.
"I've never seen a white rabbit before. Poor little rabbit." Ino frowned.
Shikamaru began to lecture, "That's because these rabbits only turn white if not exposed to the sun. Konoha doesn't have the deep winters required, and unless it's been held in captivity-"
The intangible pressure, but sharper!
"DOWN!" Naruto yelled as he dropped to the floor with the rest of his team.
A huge sword swiped over their heads. Just as the wind from the sword swept by, Asuma was on the attack. He sent a flying kick towards whoever had just attacked them. The man managed to block with his sword but was forced to retreat away from Tazuna and the Genin.
"Momochi Zabuza, Swordsman of the Hidden Mist. You've fallen on hard times after your failed coup then, eh? Shit, worst case, should have known," Asuma spat out.
"Sarutobi Asuma, from the Twelve Guardians." Zabuza laughed as he faded into the mist. "Looks like we both hail from institutions. Hmm, your bounty with the money from Gato would give me some real startup capital."
"The mist is partially your jutsu, isn't it?" Asuma asked aloud. "Futon: Gale Force Hurricane!" Asuma stuck his hand in the air as it whipped around him. The mist dispersed in a wide circle around Asuma, even reaching beyond the rest of Team 10 and Tazuna. No Zabuza in sight.
From within the edges of the mist, Zabuza's voice came from multiple sides. "Your technique uses more chakra than mine, Sarutobi."
The mist began to fill the hole Asuma had created. Naruto, Shikamaru, and Ino tensed. If they were stuck in the mist, Asuma would have trouble assisting them. Naruto slapped his forehead internally. He had prepared for this exact scenario.
"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" four clones popped into existence.
"Kekkai: Beasts of the Four Directions!" a giant dome sprung around the team, with the four clones taking up spots in a cross pattern.
The mist was pushed back by the barrier, but they could no longer see Asuma outside. Suddenly, Zabuza looked as if he had teleported in front of the barrier with his sword ready for a downward strike. It smashed into the barrier and caused it to shake slightly, but it quickly recovered with no damage.
"Four shadow clones, impressive reserves for a Genin. But how long can you keep up a barrier with them?" Zazuba chuckled throatily.
"How long do you think you can hold up?" Shikamaru asked, holding Ino's shoulder, making signals to hide their real conversation. "You just learned it a few weeks ago."
"I could hold it for a long time without Zabuza attacking it. Under Jonin level attacks? Five minutes? But I'd have chakra exhaustion, and I'd be useless, and that's only if he doesn't break through," Naruto replied, also holding Ino's shoulder.
"Double that at least. Plus a surprise."
Shikamaru nodded, trying to hold back a smile.
# # #
Asuma ran to the barrier to intercept Zabuza. He quickly melted into water, obviously a water clone. Zabuza instead stood on top of the barrier. "Suiton: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
Asuma grimaced, he knew what Naruto was trying to do.
"Futon: Bladed Whirlwind!" The water dragon was shredded by a massive tornado, the barrier shook a bit under the collision of Jonin level techniques.
Asuma quickly moved in with his trench knives, wind chakra striking at Zabuza as they flitted around the barrier. Occasionally the barrier would look to be strained, only to return to normal again. As Asuma saw this he put on a frantic expression and attacked Zabuza with more vigor. He desperately swiped his trench knives, only to have Zabuza completely dodge and have it hit the barrier directly.
The Narutos inside the barrier were panting, Zabuza had disappeared once again into the mist.
"You shouldn't rely on brats to protect themselves Sarutobi. You lose! Suiton: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
A huge water dragon roared its way out of the mist, charging towards the dome.
Instead of attempting to block the water dragon, Asuma stood there in a relaxed pose and did nothing to stop it.
"Goading me into making a mistake won't happen. My little squad can take care of themselves." Asuma lit a cigarette.
From within the barrier, Naruto sprung into action and made a few hand-signs. "Guardian of the North: Xuanwu!" A mirage of a huge black turtle with a snake on it appeared. The water dragon pushed against it, but the turtle blocked the dragon with its shell; the snake ate the water dragon until it disappeared.
Zabuza attacked the barrier himself with his large sword again. "You're on your last legs! Your act can't fool me!"
The snake from the Xuanwu turtle appeared at the point of impact and unhinged its jaws, and out of the jaws sprung a water dragon which slammed into Zabuza. Zabuza flew until he hit a tree, and staggered slightly.
Asuma ran in for the kill, not trusting an injured Zabuza to remain in place. Two senbons rippled through the air and pierced Zabuza's neck right before Asuma could cut off his head with a well-placed trench knife.
"I thank you for your assistance," said a Kiri hunter-nin who appeared out of the brush. "I'll take it from here."
Asuma was wary of this new person, he did not want to start tensions with Kirigakure, despite their weakened state due to the bloodline purges. And to send a single hunter-nin after Zabuza, they must be strong or the team was not far off. Oddly, the hunter-nin shunshin'd away after Asuma checked Zabuza's pulse. Perhaps he wasn't the only weary one.
"Let's hurry up and get going, this is Kiri's business now," said Asuma.
They left the scene quickly.