"Hey, Ten-" I hadn't even finished my greeting when I was tackled by a young kunoichi.
"Naruto!" Tenten shouted, laughing. After Hina-chan's party we had all stayed good friends, even Neji had forgiven Tenten for the marker incident.
"Can't- breathe… need… oxygen-" I gasped. Tenten may be the Weapons Mistress but that doesn't mean she's weak. Quite the opposite if my cracking ribs were a sign.
"Oh, sorry. I haven't seen you in so long," she blushed lightly, letting me go. "What have you been up to?" I held a finger to tell her to give me a minute and she waited patiently.
"You know, beating up your sensei," I said, nonchalant. Tenten's eyes widened then narrowed.
"You beat up Gai-sensei? What did you do? What were you doing?"
"Yeah… I cracked a couple of his ribs, broke a rib, and accidentally cracked his collarbone. It's okay, I healed him up; medical ninjutsu," I explained seeing her confusion. I lifted my hands, now glowing with green energy. "I was taking the jounin exam."
"The jounin exam? I thought you couldn't even pass the Academy!" Tenten shouted, not sure if she should take me seriously.
"I was kind of pretending to be stupid. It worked, didn't it? And Sandaime got the fight on video if you want to see it; I'm sure he's going to show it to your father at some point," I chuckled at the man's antics. Tenten looked in between punching me and congratulating me so I gave her the chance to calm down.
Five minutes later, she looked up with a straight face.
"So what are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to your father. I need another three dozen of my father's kunai and I'm pretty sure your father is the one that my dad went to for his equipment."
"The Hiraishin kunai?"
"Yep," I said, pulling one out. Tenten picked up the strange kunai and tested the weight in her hand, studying the seal and the three prongs. "I learned the Hiraishin a few years ago but I only just now found the kunai."
"I'll go get my dad," Tenten said, pushing the kunai back into my hands. "Otousan!" she shouted, running further into the store. A few minutes later, she reappeared with her father in tow.
"Ah, hello Naruto. What brings you here today?"
"I need three dozen Hiraishin kunai," I said determinedly. Tenten's father nodded and motioned me towards the back. I followed and found myself in a smithy of sorts.
"I already have two dozen; your father had ordered them before the attack and I thought that you'd eventually want them. I'll have the other dozen next week if you want to come back in," he said, pulling a box off a shelf.
"Why don't you send them with Tenten to the Namikaze house? I was planning on having a party," I explained. Tenten's father's eyes brightened.
"I heard about your promotion, congrats. Jounin at twelve, that's impressive," he said, handing me the box. I opened it and saw my father's kunai glinting in the light off the embers in the forge.
"Thanks. I'm already part of a team; due to my promotion, we have a team with only two genin. Sandaime-ojiisan thought it'd be a good idea for me to start with a team since I'm so young."
"I see… May I ask who's on the team?" he said, leading the way back outside.
"Myself, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Hatake Kakashi," I answered, smiling. Once we were back in the main store, I took an empty scroll from my belt and sealed the kunai in it. "That's better," I said as Tenten watched.
"You use scrolls too?"
"Yeah, it makes everything easier to carry around. Oh, while I'm here. My mask has a crack in it, do you think you could fix it?" I asked, unsealing my fox mask. Somehow, while dropping Gaara back at Suna, a long scratch appeared slashing through two whiskers diagonally. Tenten's father took one look at the mask and staggered back a step before regaining his composure.
"Kiiroi Kitsune?" he whispered as Tenten asked him what was wrong. I mentally groaned.
"Otousan? Are you okay?" Tenten asked, concerned. The man shook himself and nodded before taking the mask and inspecting it closely.
"Hai, I'm fine. Tenten, could you go upstairs while I talk to your friend? We need to talk business," he said, examining the mask. Tenten sulked but left us. "This is really excellent work… May I ask who made this? I've never seen a Konoha citizen make or wear anything like this."
"I had this mask made by an old friend of mine in Kiri, the woman who creates their hunter-nin masks."
"Who knows?"
"That Kiiroi Kitsune is twelve?" I asked. He nodded and I began to count. "So far it's only you, Kakashi, Hina-chan, the Yondaime Kazekage-"
"What?"
"He wasn't very nice to his son. You might know his son as the Araiguma? I took him from Suna for a year to train and learn how to defend himself from his father," I explained. "There are a couple people in Wave who know who I really am: a bridge builder and his daughter. Other than that, I'm pretty sure it's a well kept secret for now."
"For now?" Tenten's father asked, still studying the mask.
"I'm going to use the mask when we go out of Konoha on missions. I think traveling with a couple of big names- Kiiroi Kitsune and Kakashi of the Sharingan- will help the team get stronger," I said. The man nodded and finished inspecting the mask.
"The crack isn't that deep, it should be an easy enough fix. Should I have Tenten bring you the mask with the kunai?"
"No, I'll come get the mask. I don't think it'd be a good idea to announce who I really am; I've made more than a few enemies out there that I'd rather not attract to Konoha."
"Okay. Did you need anything else?"
"Hmm… I think I need a new sheath for my katana. The one I have now was for my old blade, Kamisora. It doesn't quite match Mizuchi," I said, pulling out my new weapon.
"The Namikaze blade. I haven't seen this since your father almost broke it in half after he fought the Raikage. He never was an expert in kenjutsu. How's yours?"
"After a month in Iron Country and a few weeks in Kiri I've learned a thing or two," I smirked. Tenten's father only chuckled and looked closer at the blade before picking out an ebony sheath with gold flames running down its length. I paid for everything and left, thanking the man. "Don't forget to tell Tenten to come over sometime, I don't see her that much anymore," I called into the shop at the door.
Walking into the street, I looked around, trying to decide what to do now.
You could summon me, Kyuubi almost begged, bored out of his mind inside my mind. I laughed at his boredom. You are too much like me, kit; laughing at my misery. You're lucky I don't completely hate you anymore.
Love you, Kyuu.
The demon didn't respond, grumbling to himself before he cut the connection. I smiled as he left his chakra to my use. If I didn't know better, I'd think the fox was getting attached to me. I heard a growl inside my head and I smiled.
Training ground seven. I had the best memories from this place, no matter what anyone said. I might have been tied to a log, poked in the ass, and a number of other things, but I always smiled when I thought of this place.
Looking at it now, riddled with scorch marks and craters from my fight with elite jounin, I chuckled as Sakura's jaw hit the ground and Sasuke scoffed. Like always, the three of us were waiting for Kakashi. Unlike last time, I didn't show up until nine. When I walked up, Sakura tried to punch me into the ground. I smiled to myself, remembering how weak she was before training with Tsunade-obaachan.
"You're-" Sakura began to scream at me. I winced, my sensitive ears ringing.
"I'm not late, I'm smart. Kakashi is always at least two hours late. You should have known that and come later. I also ate this morning," I announced, pointing at the three logs which, by some miracle, were stilling standing. Sakura had barely begun her tirade when Kakashi appeared, flickering into existence.
"Yo, sorry I'm-"
"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura shouted. Both Kakashi and I winced at the volume. He began to create an excuse when I moved to defend him, albeit in a roundabout manner.
"No, you were two hours early. He's the sensei, when he shows up, you're there. It doesn't matter if you just got there or had been waiting for hours. Kakashi is infamously late, a detail you should have picked up on. Also, I'd appreciate it if you'd lower your volume, my hearing is much better than yours'."
"Just because you're a jounin now doesn't mean you can-"
"It does mean he can, Sakura," Kakashi pointed out. "He's earned his place as a jounin by defeating four elite jounin, including myself, in an all out battle. Actually, we were going all out, he was barely trying. Now, it's time for you to earn your place as a genin."
"What?" she asked, sounding confused.
"The test at the Academy is only to see if you have to potential to become genin," Kakashi began.
"This test is to prove that you deserve to be a ninja. Fail this, and you're back at the Academy," I finished. Like last time, Sakura began to panic until she noticed Sasuke's aloof attitude.
"Bring it," the Uchiha challenged. I grinned evilly and Sakura took half a step back as I released some killing intent. "You know that doesn't affect me that much," Sasuke pointed out.
"No, but it does affect your teammate. Those who abandon their mission are scum, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than scum," I pressed. Kakashi looked at me with pride, smiling with his eye again.
"Stealing my motto, Naruto?" Kakashi said, chuckling. I smiled back and he shook his head. "This is going to be a little different from the other genin tests; because there are only two of you, there is a greater chance you will be sent back to the Academy. Your objective is to get a bell from either myself or Naruto," he said, holding up his bell as I raised my own for the two see before attaching it to my belt. "To be a little fairer, Naruto and I will not be working together. Whoever doesn't get a bell by noon gets sent back to the Academy," Kakashi announced, setting the alarm. Sakura looked scandalized and almost screamed before I put a hand on her mouth, ready to say my part.
"Come at us with the intent to kill. You can use anything, any jutsu you know, any weapons you possess, to attack us. If you don't get a bell, you get tied to the logs while the rest of us eat lunch," I finished, smiling evilly. Kakashi nodded.
"Start on three. One…"
"Two…" I said.
"Three!" we both shouted. I stayed where I was while Kakashi Shunshined away. I looked around at the two, both running towards the treeline. I sighed, knowing that they'd try to play defensive until they got serious. I pushed chakra to my eyes and watched with red eyes and they hid in the foliage. I saw Kakashi, just yards away, sitting in a tree and reading his orange book.
I sat down in the lotus position, ready to meditate. I sat, observing the nature chakra around me. I was careful not to absorb any, transforming into a fox in front of two fresh genin could be intimidating. I studied the flow of nature around me, noticing each time Sakura shifted her weight nervously and each time Sasuke tightened his grip on his kunai, watching me as I sat motionless. A bird flew to me, landing on my shoulder. I smiled as the bird cuddled into my neck.
Sakura moved towards Sasuke in what she might have considered a stealthy move. I chuckled as she nearly tripped on a root.
"Sasuke-kun… Sasuke-kun!" she hissed into the tree. He glanced down at her.
"What do you want?" he growled back.
"We aren't going to get a bell by ourselves. Why else would Naruto be so relaxed? He must know we don't have a chance against Kakashi-sensei," she reasoned. I smiled, watching with my senses as Kakashi stood and Shunshined next to her.
"Are you two going to do something? This is getting a little boring," he said. I opened my eyes and the robin hopped off of my shoulder, singing as it flew away.
"I agree with Kakashi. How about we make this more interesting?" I said, my hands forming the familiar cross. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"
The forest was instantly filled with my clones, surrounding Sakura and Sasuke. As one, we spoke.
"I'll dispel all the clones if you too start playing offensive. It's almost ten," I announced. The clones all vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving me besides Kakashi. "Are you two going to get serious? At this rate, you'll never get the bells."
The two genin jumped away and ran from us. Kakashi looked at their backs with a narrowed eye.
"Did you-"
"Put a Hiraishin on each of them? Yep. I don't think they even noticed," I smirked, feeling my chakra drawn to the seals I had placed on each genin's back. Kakashi sighed and jumped into a tree, opening his book again. "That really is garbage."
"Blame Jiraiya. He's a good writer," Kakashi defended. I rolled my eyes at the ninja.
"So are you my sensei or am I their sensei?" I asked. Kakashi closed his book and looked up, thinking.
"I think you're their sensei. You've surpassed me, there isn't anything I can really teach you."
"The only thing you taught us was water and tree walking. Everything else we learned from the Sannin," I pointed out to the Copy Nin. He shrugged and went back to his book. I went back to the field and began to clean it up a bit, making sure the ropes were ready for their next victims.
I laughed, eating my lunch as Kakashi told stories from Team Minato. Hearing about my father as a sensei, not as a Hokage, was funny. At least it was to me, the two genin tied to the logs didn't seem to think so.
"So then Rin had to deal with all the scratches that demon cat gave Obito and Minato-sensei," Kakashi laughed with me, remembering the good old days, chasing Tora around the Leaf.
"How long is that cat going to live? I hear it's still wreaking havoc."
"Who knows," Kakashi chuckled, eating his lunch without taking off the mask. I sighed, remembering the many times Team Seven tried and failed to unmask the ninja.
"I remember this test," I said, watching Sakura struggle against her ropes. "I was starving until my sensei left for a while and one of my teammates gave me some food. That was one of the nicest things he ever did for me, now that I think about it," I mused.
"What do you mean? You barely graduated, how could you've had a team?" Sasuke asked, breaking his personal silence for the first time.
"I have a life outside of you, Sasuke," I said, shrugging. "That's old news. By the way, you two passed," I announced. Sakura began to shout and Sasuke glared at his ropes. "Listen, this test wasn't about getting a bell. Kakashi and I are way out of your league. The point of this test was to judge your teamwork skills. Sakura, by going to Sasuke and creating a plan together, you passed the test. Sasuke passed when he didn't brush you off like usual.
" Aside from that, you two have to wear weights starting now," I said, pulling out a scroll that contained my extra sets of chakra weights. Right on cue, Sakura began to complain and Sasuke didn't looked fazed, reminding me that I had already started him on weights.
"He's right; weights are a good way to get stronger and faster," Kakashi said, backing me up. I flashed him a smile and went to release the two genin.
"These are chakra weights, they activate when you push chakra into them. The more chakra, the heavier they feel. Sasuke, I know you're already wearing weights from training with me so you're going to have to increase the weights. Sakura, this is your first time with weights. Don't push them too far to try to impress Sasuke, you'll only hurt yourself," I said, my hands forming chakra scalpels as I sliced the ropes.
"I can take it," Sakura insisted. Kakashi shook his head at her and looked at her sternly.
"Naruto's right; if you put too much stress on your body at once you can damage your muscles. He could probably heal you with his medical ninjutsu but I doubt he would after warning you."
"Okay," I said, standing and brushing the dirt off of my black jounin pants. "Sakura, I want you to put twenty pounds on each leg and fifteen on each arm. I'd recommend that you also get a vest or jacket that you can put weights into. Sasuke, what are you up to now?"
"25 on each arm, 30 on each leg, and another twenty on my chest."
"Good. Leave it at that for a few more days."
"And how much weight are you wearing?" Sakura asked me. I glanced at the kunoichi and stifled a laugh; she was now kneeling from the extra weight.
"I'm wearing 330 pounds of weights. 75 on each arm and leg with another thirty on my vest. I'm wearing more on my arm than you have on your entire body. Don't feel bad though, I've been wearing weights since I turned five," I said, turning towards Kakashi. He nodded and I turned back to my meditation.
I felt Sakura take a step towards me, her fist raised, and I smirked, killing the idiot mask.
"You can't touch me Sakura, even while I'm meditating. I can see the smallest pieces of chakra when I concentrate like this. I can watch and predict every move you can make. I can even-" I stopped, pressing my chakra to Sakura. She froze, her heartbeat accelerating before I released her. "freeze you were you stand."
"Naruto, don't do that. If you lose control of your chakra you might kill her," Kakashi warned. I nodded and stood slowly.
"No problem, taicho," I said, smiling at the change in name. Kakashi turned to Sakura.
"I'm not going to protect you from Naruto. He is your sensei whether you like it or not. You need to obey him, now or on any mission, or it could cost you. That goes to you too, Sasuke. You've trained with Naruto, you know he is the stronger. If you don't listen to him, you'll get yourselves killed on the first C-rank mission you get."
Sasuke scoffed but nodded and walked up to me.
"So, sensei," he exaggerated, "What are we doing now?"
"Kakashi, I think they should have the day off to get used to the weights. Sakura can learn tree walking tomorrow and we can test their chakra affinity," I planned. Kakashi nodded, already pulling his orange book out. Sakura looked eager and, as if she had forgotten about her weights, ran up to Sasuke without a second thought. He took one cold glance at her.
"No," he said before she even had a chance to ask him out. She began to try to reason with him and I found myself needing to hold my ears again. Losing patience, my hands went to seals.
"Mizu Sutairu: Yoku Idaina!" I shouted, slamming my palm on the ground. Knowing what to expect, Kakashi and Sasuke jumped back. Sakura was not so fortunate and was carried some distance from us. Sasuke nodded at me gratefully and Kakashi shook his head at my actions.
"I'll go to Hiruzen and get us started with the missions," I assigned myself. "Maybe I can avoid Tora for a while, that cat hates me even more than he hated-" I paused, about to say Sasuke as I remembered our genin days. I shrugged, leaving the sentence hanging.
"Good idea. I'm going to go-"
"Read garbage?" I chuckled. "Ero-sennin is going to get punched next time I see him," I said as I watched Sakura, dripping wet, stalk towards me and raised a fist. Just as the fist came close to my skin, I Hiraishined to the seal I had placed on her back, appearing just behind her. "You need to add chakra to your fist, just at your knuckles. It adds a lot more power to your strike," I advised. The green eyes glared at me before she turned away and ran towards Sasuke's receding back.
"Sasuke-kun! Wait for me!" she yelled, disappearing from sight as she chased him into the trees. I chuckled and turned to Kakashi, just in time to see the last of a Shunshin dissolve into nothingness. Accepting the goodbye, I closed my eyes and Hiraishined back to the Namikaze Manor. Opening my eyes, I turned away from the gates, walking instead towards the Hyuuga compound. I was about to talk to the man at the gate when I heard a familiar voice.
"Naruto, what are you doing here?" Hiashi asked, sounding surprised under the usual propriety. He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly before noticing my outfit: the standard green flak jacket over my orange and mesh shirt followed by my Sage coat. My black jounin pants were a little dusty from the training ground but no less recognizable.
"Hello, Hiashi-sama. I was wondering if I could speak to you about Hinata-chan," I stated, bowing my head slightly. Hiashi nodded and motioned me into the compound before leading me to main house.
~Two Weeks Later~
"Naruto, in position," I murmured into my headset.
"I'm ready," Sasuke said into his microphone.
"Sakura, ready."
"Kakashi, en route. Pushing target to Sasuke," the jounin said, stalking the creature, trapping it in a triangle made of myself, Sakura, and Sasuke.
"Target sighted. Rush in three… two… ONE!" I shouted, jumping from my hiding spot and tackling the ball of fur that was the Daimyo's wife's cat. The two genin ran to meet me, prying the cat off of my face and grabbing it by the scruff.
"Got him!" Sakura cheered, holding the demon away from her. I growled at it, my akuma no me activating.
"Naruto," Sasuke warned. I shook my head, letting the chakra dissipate.
"I hate this cat," I spat, holding a glowing hand to my face. Glancing at my teammates, I noticed that I had the worst of the injuries. Kakashi walked towards us from his spot, further down the street, nodding in approval.
"Good job, guys. Let's take him back to Madame Shijimi," Kakashi said, trying not to glare at the cat. I chuckled before wincing as a deep scratch on my cheek started to bleed. "You should probably heal yourself, Naruto. Some of those cuts look pretty bad."
"No kidding. Why does he hate me so much? I didn't even do anything to him!" I complained, holding a glowing hand to my face. Kakashi shrugged.
"You look like your father; sensei and Tora weren't very good friends either," Kakashi explained briefly. Whatever the reason, I steered clear of the cat until he was safely suffocated by Madame Shijimi in a painful hug.
~At the Hokage's Office~
"Good work," Sandaime said, nodding at us. "I have a few more D-rank missions if you want-"
"Hiruzen-sama, with all due respect, I think that Sasuke and Sakura are ready for a C-rank," I cut in. The Sandaime glared at me for a moment before remembering who he was talking to. After all, I was just following the timeline. His gaze softened and he glanced back down at his papers, knowing what mission I was talking about.
"I do actually have a C-rank here: protecting a bridge builder from the Land of Waves."
"We'll take it," Kakashi said. Sandaime nodded and looked towards the ANBU.
"Get Tazuna-san. He's going back to Nami," he ordered. The ANBU left, reappearing minutes later escorting an old man. Tazuna, the super bridge builder, took one glance at me and smiled.
"Naruto?" He asked. I nodded and smiled.
"It's good to see you Tazuna. How are Tsunami and Inari?" I asked, walking towards the bridge builder and shaking his hand. Tazuna's eyes flashed briefly with worry but it was soon disguised.
"They're well."
"Laying off the sake?"
"Eh, a little… So, the Kiiroi Kitsune's one of my bodyguards? I never thought I'd see the day," Tazuna chuckled, making me wince. Hiruzen leaned back in his chair as the ANBU guards moved to defend him. Sasuke and Sakura glanced around them, confused. "Did I just blow your cover?" he asked nervously. I sighed before shrugging.
"A little. I was going to tell the village when I got back. I'm wearing the mask on all out of village missions," I explained, unsealing my mask and holding it up to Hiruzen. He sighed tiredly but nodded.
"I don't want to know," he insisted. I smiled and nodded.
"Probably not." I looked to Sasuke and Sakura, ready to explain. "Instead of going to Academy like you two did, I created an advanced type of clone, a flesh clone, to go to class. I left Konoha for a year and created the alias Kiiroi Kitsune, the Yellow Fox, so that I could make a name for myself as my father did using the Yellow Flash as well as protect my identity as his son. Iwa wouldn't be very happy if the Yondaime's son strolled right in. They didn't really mind the Kiiroi Kitsune for a while. Along the way I took a student, a child who was being abused in his home village and trained him into who you might know as the Araiguma. We've been to every major ninja village as well as many minor villages and countries, taking names and training. That trip is one of the reasons I'm as strong as I am now."
"You're being very vague," Tazuna commented, messing up my hair. I grimaced, knowing that I was still the shortest. "He and the Araiguma have been making enemies left and right. I know for a fact that Iwa would like your head."
"Iwa is still weak from the Third Great Shinobi War. They don't have a force large or skilled enough to take me down yet. I think it'll take another three or four years before they really get back on their feet. Enough about my enemies, we need to get you to Kumi. Sakura and Sasuke, meet us at the village gates at nine with a few weeks' supplies."
"Hai," Sasuke and Sakura answered. Sakura was excited for her first real mission; Sasuke couldn't care less. I smiled at the familiar reactions of Team Seven before glaring at Kakashi.
"And you will be on time tomorrow. I don't care what you do, get to that gate or I will find you," I threatened. Hiruzen chuckled as Kakashi shuddered, frozen momentarily by a wave of killing intent I sent his way.
"Naruto, you are scaring you students," the old man said. I glanced at the genin, frozen and breathing shallowly.
"Sorry," I said sheepishly, scratching the back of my head once again. "It's difficult to control the direction. I still need to work on my control a little…"
Sasuke was the first to relax again, his previous encounters with my chakra showing their worth.
"You've got to quit that," he complained.
"I'm preparing you for what's out there. I've been outside of Konoha for over a year of my life and there are people who's killing intent will do more damage than mine. One of my teachers, back in Kumo, could knock most ninjas out with one pulse. It took me down until the fifth or sixth time."
"You put yourself through that much killing intent? Why?" Kakashi asked, sounding concerned. I smirked at him.
"Getting protective, Kakashi? I was training. Araiguma could take it after the second time. I don't like to be shown up."
"Your pride is going to get you killed one day, Naruto," Hiruzen said, shaking his head.
"Probably. At least I know when to stop. I might not be a Nara, but I'm not stupid. Okay, enough of my exploits. Let's save those for the road. We should get home and packed," I advised. I was about to Hiraishin out of the office when I got an idea. Taking out one of my weapons scrolls, I unsealed four of my father's kunai. "I want each of you to take a kunai before you leave," I decided. Kakashi took it without a second glance, storing it in his belt; Sasuke picked it up, testing the weight; Sakura studied the three prongs; and Tazuna chuckled, recognizing the kunai.
"Never thought I'd see one of there," he said, picking up the kunai.
"Don't make me regret it," I chuckled at the old man. Turning to Sakura and Sasuke, I went back into sensei mode. "These are Hiraishin kunai. My father used these to earn his name as the Yellow Flash. Using the Hiraishin, I can teleport almost anywhere with very little chakra loss. This is one of the few jutsu I will not teach you; my father designed this to be a Namikaze jutsu so it'll stay a clan jutsu."
"Why are you giving them to us if your not going to show us the jutsu that goes with them?" Sakura asked, twirling the kunai in her hand. Kakashi smiled sadly under the mask before explaining.
"He's being smart. His father did the same thing on my first mission as a jounin. Any time we throw these kunai or send chakra into them, Naruto feels it. That means that, if we ever get into trouble, he knows to come help us out. This trick saved mine and my teammates' lives during the Fourth Great Shinobi War."
"That's where I got the idea," I admitted. "This way, if we're ever in a tough battle, I can get to where I need to be quickly and virtually undetected. The only sign of this jutsu is the yellow flash left behind. If this works out, I'll get more permanent seals made for you two," I said to Sakura and Sasuke, thinking of Hina-chan's necklace. They nodded and stored the kunai in their belts. I smiled, nodding determinedly. "Okay, everyone meet at the gates at nine o'clock. Anyone late gets hunted down by me."
Tazuna chuckled as all the ninja, Sandaime included, shuddered.