A/N: Hey there, AntiHero here! Sorry, I've been a bit busy with other things, but I'm back to writing again. So if you're still reading this fanfic, then thanks for waiting for this new Chapter! Time for the Ninjas of New York to embark on their missions with their teachers!
Disclaimer – I own nothing
Chapter 7 – First Real Mission
The three new members of Squad 5 were racing to meet their Sensei. "C'mon guys, step it up!" Karai said as she took the lead.
"What's the rush? It's not like this is that important," Raph commented.
"Every moment we spend as Squad 5 is relevant, Raphael. Besides, we don't want to make our Sensei mad right after she made us an official team," Leo said.
"I don't care if she gets mad that we're a little late. I'm not afraid of that dango dame!" Raph replied.
"Then I guess we'll see you there!" Karai called out as she started to go faster, with Leonardo following her.
"Wait up! I still wanna get this over with!" Raph admitted as he started to go faster.
At the photography place, Yūgao Uzuki, April Uzumaki, and Donatello Nara were waiting for Michelangelo Akimichi to arrive. "Where is that dummy?" Donnie questioned.
"I'm sure he's on his way. He was very excited for this," April said. "He's probably doing something dramatic to get ready for it." Just as she said that, the youngest turtle appeared wearing black paint under his mask in the form of three thick lines diagonally on his face.
"Should I even ask?" Donnie asked.
"You can't just take a picture looking like your usual self, you gotta sell it, brah," Mikey replied.
"You look ridiculous," the smart turtle said.
"Aw come on Donnie, it's not that bad," April said.
"I glad you think so, April, 'cause I brought some paint just in case you guys wanted to use it," Mikey said as he held out a small container of black paint.
"You can't be serious," Donnie said.
April shrugged and took the container and picked some of the paint and drew three lines on her face, one going vertically on her forehead and two horizontally on her cheeks. "Guess there's no harm in having some fun with it," she said.
"Guess I might as well play along," Donnie said as he did the same, putting a diagonal line over each eye.
"Alright, now gather around, kids," Yūgao said. The genins followed their master's instructions and stood together, with Donnie on the right, Mikey on the left, and April in the middle. "Now smile!" The Jonin put her hands on the brothers' heads as the four smiled and the photographer took their picture.
Minutes later, Squad 5 appeared at the photo place where their Sensei was waiting for them. "Took you brats long enough" she said as she placed a stick of dango in her mouth.
"I hope you brought enough sweets for all of us, Sensei," Raph joked.
"First, don't call me Sensei. And as a matter of fact I did," Anko replied before tossing the sweets to her students. They easily caught them. "Now stand together and smile, brats." The rookies stood with Leo on the right, Raph on the left, and Karai in the middle as the four placed the dango in their mouths and Anko placed her hands on the brothers' heads as their picture was taken.
The next day…
Bright daylight, the ninjas of NY were getting ready for their official missions; they grabbed their gear and put on their masks. "Finally, it's time for some action!" Raphael said eagerly.
"For once, I agree with Raph," Donnie said.
"Yeah, we finally get to go on a mission!" Leo said.
"Yeah boy! Ninja about to do what they do best, be awesome!" Mikey said.
"What do you think we'll do? Rescue? Bodyguard? Or infiltration?" Karai asked.
"Well whatever it is, we can handle it! We've done harder things before!" April said.
"Alright team, let's get out there, and do our best!" Leo said encouragingly. "Booyakasha!"
"BOOYAKASHA!" the others yelled excitedly. The six ninjas of NY dispersed to meet up with their mentors and start their missions for the day. Squad 5 ran through the village until they found their Jonin leader leaning against a small house chomping on a dango stick. "Hey rookies, glad you could make it," she greeted her students.
"Miss Anko, we're ready for our first mission!" Leo stated.
"So what's the assignment?" Karai asked.
"This way, kiddies," Anko said with a hand gesture. She led her students around the corner where they spotted an elderly woman tending to her garden. "Madam, your extra help is here."
"Oh, thank goodness," she said gratefully.
"You can't be serious," Raph said.
"Well what were you expecting, infiltration? Bodyguarding? Rescue?" Anko asked mockingly. "You're just a bunch of kids."
"We can handle it!" Raph argued. "We're ninjas!"
"Correction, you're rookies trying to be ninjas," Anko said.
"With all due respect Sensei, we kinda expected something that would test our skills," Leo replied. "This isn't what we've trained for."
"Too bad. This is the mission you've received so it's the one you're doing!" Anko said. "And it's not your place to question it or mine."
"Then who exactly do we go to?" Karai questioned.
"The Hokage," Anko said dismissively. "Now get to work!" The genins nodded obediently and started to assist the elderly woman with her gardening.
Elsewhere, Squad 6 was carrying bags of groceries for an elderly couple. "You know, I was kinda expecting something more serious than this," Donnie said.
"I know, right. Aren't we supposed to be a team of ninjas?" April said. "Feels just as demeaning as when I was a Kunoichi in training."
"Aw come on dudes, it's not that bad," Mikey said. "Besides, we're just at the beginning."
"Exactly, Michelangelo. You kids are just genins. You need to take things slow and build your way up to the big stuff," Yūgao advised. "Don't worry; when you're ready you'll get those real missions you that'll challenge you." The genins accepted the answer and proceeded with their mission.
For the next few days the missions were just as uneventful as house chores until finally on the ninth day, the NY ninjas decided they would make sure they get a real mission and each team had prepared to make their request to the Village leader. As Squad 5 was headed to the Hokage's office they passed and were greeted by Squad 7 escorting an elderly man. They stepped in and stood before Iruka and the Fire Shadow, who were ready to assign them their next assignment. "Now then, for Squad 5's next mission we have several available tasks," Hiruzen said. "Among them babysitting the chief councilor's three year old, helping his wife do the shopping, digging up potatoes and…"
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! IS YOUR CAP ON BACKWARDS, OLD MAN?!" Raph shouted with fire in his eyes.
"I beg your pardon?" the Hokage asked.
Before the redhead could answer, a needle was placed at his neck by his Sensei. "Apologies Lord Third; this brat's just too excitable and doesn't understand who he's talking to," Anko said sternly, trying to send her pupil a message.
He did not receive it and slapped her hand aside. "I know exactly who I'm talking to, an old man who thinks we're just a bunch of kids waiting to do chores! Well news flash, we're ninjas! So you'd better…"
"Ahem! Thank you Raphael, I'll take it from here," Leo interrupted. His brother growled at him but stepped back. "Look, Lord Hokage, my team and I feel as though we're not challenging ourselves as ninjas in training. We understand that we're just genins and that it's best if we just start out slow but we want to really test our skills. I think we can only do that on a real mission."
"You're all just rookies; you should take it easy and develop your skills further before moving up," Iruka advised.
"With all due respect Iruka Sensei, we've been through harder stuff before. These small tasks aren't really helping us improve. We need something daring if we wanna move past the beginner's state," Karai reasoned.
"If it's not too much trouble, I request we take a higher ranked mission," Leo said while bowing, as did Karai and also Raph though reluctantly.
The 3rd Hokage let out a breath of smoke from his pipe before asking, "Anko, what do you think about this request?"
Anko thought for a moment before replying, "Well, I don't have a problem with the missions you've given us, but if these ninja wannabes think they can handle the big stuff, I say we let 'em try. Besides, I am curious to see my students' skills in real life combat, if that's okay with you, Lord Third."
"Hmmm, very well. I shall grant your request; let's see how you do on an official mission," Hiruzen replied as he took another sip of his pipe.
"Finally! It's about time! I'm dying to bash someone's head in!" Raph said excitedly.
Leo nudged his brother before addressing the Village leader. "Thank you, Lord Hokage. We appreciate your generosity."
"Suck up," Raph muttered and was nudged again.
"So what's our mission?" Karai asked.
"It's a B-ranked mission. You'll be going to the village of blacksmiths on Benisu Island; the village has been taken over by an unknown organization. Your mission is to infiltrate this village and gather Intel on this organization," Hiruzen explained.
"Now we're talking!" Raph said.
"This'll be a piece of cake," Karai said.
"Rest assured Lord Third, we will not fail!" Leo promised.
"Confidence is a good motivator but words are only proven through actions; show me that you're true Shinobi of the Leaf. Now, get going," Hiruzen dismissed them.
"Hai!" the genins replied before following their Sensei out of the Hokage office. On their way out, they passed by Squad 6. They gave their fellow rookies winks and they responded with subtle nods before entering the office.
"What up, Hokage? We got something to ask ya," Mikey announced abruptly.
Hiruzen sighed. "Let me guess, you three want a real mission, too."
"Wow, good guess!" Mikey said.
"If it's not too much to ask, Lord Hokage, we want to test our skills and figure out ways to improve them. We can only do that when we face a serious challenge," April said.
"And before you say no, just think about it. Human physiology is said to reach peak performance during extreme circumstances. For a ninja, that means going up against tough opponents or mastering the art of stealth and…" Donnie started to say before being cut off.
"Very well, I'll give you a real mission," Hiruzen said.
"That's totally unfair! You can't just say—wait, did you just say yes?" Donnie asked.
"Is that alright with you, Yūgao?" the fire shadow asked their sensei.
"I've seen these kids perform minor tasks very well, so I am curious to see how well they'll perform ninja missions," Yūgao admitted. "We will accept your mission, Lord Third."
"Then in that case, I think I have a mission just right for your students," Hiruzen said. "This is a B-ranked mission: a creature is eating and destroying all the crops of the Village of Farmers from the Land of Bean Jam. You must find out what it is and capture it."
"Alright! We got a real mission!" Mikey cheered.
"Don't worry, Lord Third, we got this." April assured.
"I hope you'll all do your best and prove your worth as ninjas; live up to the Will of Fire of the Hidden Leaf," Hiruzen said.
"Hai!" Squad 6 replied. Yūgao bowed to the Village leader and took her students out of the office to prepare for their mission.
A few minutes later, both Squads were at the village gate, wearing their cloaks as they psyched themselves for their missions. "Hey Yūgao, I see your brats weren't interested in staying home either," Anko greeted her fellow Jonin.
"Kids are anxious. That's why they need us to steady them a bit," Yūgao replied.
"Alright, let's do this!" Mikey cheered. "Go ninja, go ninja, go!"
"Calm down, Mikey! You need to stay focused," Leo advised.
"Relax brah, I'm totally focused," Mikey assured.
"Why does that make me even more worried?" Raph asked.
"Don't worry guys, we've been on tough missions before," Donnie said.
"Yeah, this is what we trained for! We're ready!" April agreed.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go already!" Karai said. "Bet we can finish our mission before you guys!"
"You're on sister! Loser has to make pizza!" Mikey shouted before running off with his teammates chasing after him. Leo, Raph, and Karai nodded before racing out the gate too. Anko and Yūgao sighed before giving each other small smiles and then running to catch their genins. The two Squads stuck together until they met a fork in the road and each took a separate path, officially starting their bet and the journey to complete their first real mission.
A few days later, Squad 6 was reaching their destination, slowly walking towards the gate of the Farming village. "Alright, we made it! Looks like we'll win the bet!" Mikey cheered.
"Mikey you can't determine that from when we got here, especially when you don't know if the others got to their mission first or not. You have to determine how much time it took for us to get here, how long it'll take us to access the situation and then complete our tasks as well as…" Donnie started to say.
April put her hand on his chest to get his attention. "Donnie, you're doing it again," she said.
"Sorry, it's how I deal with stress," Donnie replied with a blush.
"It's alright, D. You're just nervous," April said. "But there's no need to be, we've done this kinda stuff before."
"Yeah but we usually had more than just our ninja training. We had gadgets, my inventions, vehicles, and more," Donnie said.
"We still have more than our ninja training, we have Jutsu," April replied. "Nin, Gen, and Taijutsu at our disposable."
"Relax D, we got sweet ninja magic now! We can do this!" Mikey promised. Donnie nodded and the Squad stopped right in front of a large gate where they were greeted by two lookout guards. "What up, y'all?"
"Who goes there?" they asked.
"We're Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf; we've come in response to the request you've sent us," Yūgao replied as she and her students showed their headbands. The Scouts nodded before opening and allowing Squad 6 to enter. As they were led through the village, they spotted multiple damaged homes, ruined crops and fields, and a few infirmaries with quite a bit of injured people.
"What could've done this?" April questioned.
"A Monster," the Scouts replied with fear. They eventually brought them to the village chief's office and left them to speak with the leader. "Leaf Shinobi, as the Chief Farmer, I welcome you to our village and express my gratitude for coming to help us. Though I must admit, I was expecting a team of fully-developed Ninjas; I didn't think we'd get a mother and her kids for the job."
"Excuse me?" Donnie asked, feeling insulted.
"I am their Sensei, not their mother," Yūgao corrected. "And with all due respect, my kids are well trained; they requested this mission and I believe they are more than capable to handle it."
"They look no older than my kids," the Chief argued.
"Looks can be deceiving," April said as she brought out her Tessen and hurled it; it flew through the air and she caught it. Donnie twirled his staff and brought out the blade before pointing it at the Chief while Mikey did a few tricks with his Nunchucks.
"I assure you sir when it comes to Ninjas of the Leaf, appearances are definitely not everything," Donnie said.
Yūgao smiled at her pupils before addressing the head farmer. "Now, about your mission request?"
"Hmm, very well," the leader complied. "I'm sure you're aware of the basic request we sent."
"You mean capturing the creature that's been attacking your village?" April asked and the Chief nodded.
"Can you tell us anything about this creature? Like why it's been attacking you?" Donnie inquired.
"We do not know, it just appeared one day and attacked our village; it feeds on our crops and destroys part of our homes," the Head farmer explained. "We tried leaving a large portion of our best crops aside for it to eat but that never seems to satisfy it. It's only interested in attacking us."
"How often does it attack?" Donnie questioned.
"Every three nights for the last three months," the Chief answered with despair. "And every time, our small village grows even smaller. The injured you saw were the lucky ones, some… don't survive the encounter."
The genins seemed a little taken aback from this info but didn't show it. "What does this creature look like?" Donnie asked.
"No one's ever seen its appearance; we just know that whatever it is, it has strong fangs, sharp claws, is strong, fast, and very bloodthirsty," the leader replied. "It also has these glowing gold eyes as though it can see even in the dark."
"That doesn't exactly give us much to go on, it could be anything," Donnie pondered.
"I know we can't provide you with more than what we already did but my village is truly suffering. My people live in fear, so much that they can hardly bring themselves to work when there's something out there waiting to destroy their hard work and end their lives," the Village leader pleaded before bowing his head. "Please I beg you, stop this beast and save my beloved home."
"I promise you sir, we will drive this monster out of village so that your people can thrive properly," April said.
"No worries bro, we got this!" Mikey said with a thumbs up.
"Thank you!" the Chief Farmer said.
"Now if you'll excuse us sir, my students and I need to prepare for when this creature will attack," Yūgao said before taking her genins out of the office. They went to an inn that was for visitors of the foreign villages. "Alright Squad 6, time to form a strategy."
"Alright guys, since Leo and Raph aren't here, that means I get to lead!" Mikey said excitedly.
"Uh Mikey, I believe Yūgao Sensei is in charge," April said.
"Oh, right," Mikey said, a little depressed.
"Alright genins, what do we know about this creature so far?" Yūgao inquired.
"It's really scary?" Mikey asked.
"It's apparently fast and strong," Donnie pointed out. "I observed the claw marks that the creature left, no animal in this entire world has claws like that, and based on the damage, its strength is definitely beyond human, so it's not likely to be a person posing as a monster."
"Whatever it is, it's certainly has this village scared," April said. "I can feel everyone's emotions; it's all full of fear. We've got to find this thing!"
"Yes, so here's the plan," Yūgao explained. "At night, I will head into the forest to see if I can locate this beast while April, Michelangelo, and Donatello will guard the village in case we don't find it in time. If you three encounter it, send a signal to call me back immediately. Everyone understand their roles?"
"Yes ma'am!" April and Donnie said before glancing at Mikey who looked to be in thought. "Mikey!"
"What? Just making sure I understood all that! Don't worry, I got it now," Mikey assured with a thumbs up.
"Good, now gear up and take it easy but stay alert; we'll need to be ready when night falls," Yūgao instructed.
"Um, excuse me," someone said from behind the Jonin. The Squad looked and saw a small boy nervously staring at his feet.
"Aww, how cute!" Mikey said with glee.
"Can we help you?" Donnie asked.
"I-I'm the chief's son," the boy explained. "A-Are you here to catch the monster?"
"Yeah, boy!" Mikey answered.
"T-Then there's something you should see," the boy said before beginning to walk away. The Squad followed him and he led them to one of the ruined homes. "T-That." The boy pointed to a small gray object within the wood pile. Donnie spotted the object, went to the pile, and removed it. "I think it came from the monster."
"I think you're right kid." Donnie said as he examined the object, which looked to be a claw bone. "No animal I've seen in this world has claws like this."
"How'd you know this was here?" April asked the boy, who didn't reply but just grasped his arm that had a bandage on it. April knelt to face the boy and patted his head. "You were very brave to show us this, it'll help us with our mission. Don't worry, we'll make sure that monster doesn't anyone again," she promised while giving a smile that made the boy smile back.
"Sharp, strong, and probably aerodynamic," Yūgao examined. "Could this be from some rouge summoning beast?"
"This claw… I feel like I've seen it before, somewhere…" Donnie muttered.
"Come on guys, let's do this!" Mikey cheered as he attempted to run to the forest but was stopped by April grabbing his mask.
"We're supposed to wait for nightfall, remember Mikey?" April asked.
"Oh right," Mikey said.
So hours later, the sky darkened and the Ninja Squad was ready to complete their mission. Torches were lit in the village so that the Genins could see during the night. "Alright April, Donatello, Mikey, be sure to stay sharp and protect this village to the best of your abilities!" Yūgao instructed her students.
"Hai Sensei!" the two replied.
"Alright, time to..." Yūgao was about to say before she was cut off.
"Wait! I wanna say it!" Mikey exclaimed. "Let's move!"
"But we're not going anywhere, Mikey," Donnie pointed out.
"Oh, right," Mikey said sheepishly. "Then you'd, uh, better get moving, Sensei."
Yūgao smiled at her student before patting his head. "Be careful and watch out for each other." The Jonin then sped off into the forest leaving her squad behind.
A while later, the three genin were still waiting for something to appear; a few times some of the villagers had come to check on them but everything had remained calm. April was meditating while the two brothers were throwing shurikens at trees. "So, how do you think Sensei's doing?" Mikey questioned as he threw another star.
"Everything's been quiet for a while so I'm guessing she didn't find the beast yet," Donnie answered, doing the same.
"This is starting to get boring, never been a fan of stakeouts," Mikey said. "Wanna play a game, bro?"
"Mikey, we're on a serious mission. We can't afford to get distracted," Donnie said.
"C'mon D, just one game. I'll go first," Mikey started the game. "I'm thinking of something... red. Red. Red."
"It's April's hair, isn't it?" Donnie easily guessed.
"Lucky guess," Mikey grumbled.
"When it comes to you, I don't need a lot of luck," Donnie replied.
April giggled as she heard her teammates antics; she then gasped as she sensed a dark prescense. "Guys, heads up!" she alerted them.
"What is it, April?" Donnie asked.
"Something with a lot of Chakra is coming, I'm willing to bet that it's our beast," April replied.
"Alright, time for some action!" MIkey cheered as he and Donnie retrieved their throwing stars.
"Should we signal our Sensei?" April asked.
"Not yet. Let's see what we're up against first. Maybe we can take it out as a team," Donnie said. The three readied themselves for attack as the creature got closer with every second. Their tension rose till they were sure it was about to attack them, and then... nothing. The brothers glanced around but didn't see the beast while April remained vigilant. "Uh April, you sure it's coming?" Donnie questioned.
"It's here. I can feel it," April assured.
"Then why won't it attack, yo?" Mikey asked.
"I don't know. It hasn't entered the village yet; it's just right outside waiting, almost like it's stalking us," April said as she spotted a pair of glowing gold eyes in the darkness. Something then jumped into the village and landed behind Squad 6; faster than they could react, the three were soon knocked off their feet. The beast then ran past one of the torches, putting it out before it could be spotted. "It's trying to put out the light so that we can't see it!" The creature continued its plan, moving with great speed and dousing each torch one by one until there were only two left.
"Mikey, grab one of the torches quick!" Donnie instructed.
"On it, brah!" Mikey complied by throwing his extendable chain to grab the torch; the beast attemtpted to reach the torch first but its claw was deflected by a flying metal object that happened to be April's tessen. Mikey's chain then wrapped around the torch and he pulled it over to his brother.
"Time to step into the light, pal," Donnie said as he held out the torch to reveal the creature. It flinched from the bright light and stepped back a bit, and that was when the Genin squad got a good look at it. The beast's body was long and bony, having the appearance of a skeletal-like wolf standing on its back legs, with dark silver fur and a long snout, plus sharp fangs and claws. The three stared in shock as the beast growled and glared at them with its gold eyes.
"Ho..." April said.
"ly..." Donnie continued.
"Guacamole!" Mikey finished. "Am I seeing things? Is that really who I think it is?"
"That depends, do you see a tall mutant dog with razor sharp fangs and... claws!" Donnie said as he pulled out the claw they found earlier and examined it.
"Well, this is a nice little surprise. Been a long time, hasn't it, boys, or should I say... Turtles," the beast snarled at the brothers. "I see you brought your human pet along, or are you her pets?"
"Hey, the only pet around here is you, dog man!" Mikey yelled.
"He called us turtles, he knows who, er, what we really are," Donnie stated. "There's no mistaking it, this beast is our old friend, Chris Bradford."
"That's impossible, right?" April asked. "Didn't he fall into the abyss that Kavaxas created?"
"That's what I remember seeing," Mikey confirmed. "Maybe he got out before I made Hothead fix everything?"
"I didn't. When I fell into that hole, I was sent to the worst place imaginable," Rahzar said.
"A world where pizza doesn't exist?" Mikey inquired. "I feel your pain dude, this world is the same and it is torture!"
"Some things never change," the mutant wolf muttered. "It was the Netherworld."
"So you did die again when we stopped Kavaxas!" April said. "But then how can you be here in this world?"
"That's my little secret, kiddies; just know that I have a friend with the power to do things you woudn't believe," Rahzar replied. "And it's becasue of them I'm able to see you guys again."
"Can't say that we missed you," Donnie said.
"You have no idea the pain I suffered in that fiery hellhole, but I suppose I should thank you; surviving that experiance and coming to this world has made me stronger than I ever imagined," Rahzar said with a dark smirk. "And now I finally get to have my revenge, by sending you all to the Netherworld to take my place!"
"Squad 6, attack!" Donnie ordered. The Genins rushed at the mutant dog; Donatello reached him first and tried to strike him with his Bo staff but the beast grabbed it and swung it, hurling the smart turtle into his brother. April brought her Tessen and Tounto, slashing at the super mutant. Rahzar evaded her attacks before catching her blade with his claw and slamming her into the dirt; he then pinned her down with his large claws and prepared to bite down on her with his fangs, but he was quickly restrained by one of Michelangelo's chains being wrapped around his neck. Rahzar was then smacked away from the redhead by Donatello.
"You ok, April?" he asked her while extending to help her.
"I'm fine! Focus on Bradford!" April advised as she got up and went to attack. Donnie followed her pursuit, pulling out his blade from his staff. The two attacked Rahzar repeatedly but he blocked their strikes with his claws when suddenly the chain on his neck vibrated; he glanced over and saw Mikey running along the chain towards him. With his claws occupied the wolf man was forced to take a few kicks to the face from Mikey before grabbing his leg with his mouth. He then threw the orange masked genin to the side and fired his bone projectiles at the other two still attacking him. They blocked the flying claws but this gave Rahzar just enough time to cut the chain and free himself.
He then pounced on the smartest turtle and attempted to bite his face but was held back by the Bo staff. April and Mikey jump to attack the mutant wolf from his right and left side respectively, but Rahzar stood up, keeping his foot on Donatello to pin him down and used his claws to grab Mikey and April before slamming them together and throwing them aside. Donnie jabbed the former martial arts star in the head before weaving a few signs just as Rahzar was about to impale him; he gasped when he was struck before turning into a piece of wood. "Substitution," Rahzar growled as he turned to see his adversaries regrouping.
"Alright squads 6, time to get serious!" Donnie ordered.
"Got it, D!" April complied.
"Oh yeah! Time to bust out the Ninjutsu!" Mikey cheered. The Genins put their hands together and began channeling their Chakra through their bodies.
Rahzar cracked his neck and got down on all fours. "Bring it on!" he said before rushing at his prey.
In the forest, Yūgao was still wandering around. "It's been a while and I still haven't found this beast yet. Maybe I should head back and check on my squad." she muttered. In the trees, a large man wearing a metal mask was glaring down at her. He pulled out his blade from his sheath and jumped to attack the Jonin; Yūgao quickly blocked the strike with her own blade, having sensed the attacker's bloodlust. The two stared each other down before backing away. "I hadn't expected to find a Shinobi here, but this explained what the beast attacking the village is. A summoning beast," Yūgao stated. "Who are you? And why are you attacking this village?"
"That's my business, lady, not that you'll have to worry about that since you're about to die," the masked man answered.
"Guess I'll just have to make you talk!" Yūgao said as she readied her weapon. The two charged at each other and clashed blades.
Back at the village, the three Genins had spread out and were ready to take the offensive. April started off by weaving signs and taking in a deep breath. "Water Style: Heavenly Weeping!" She fired multiple liquid needles from her mouth; Rahzar evaded them and rushed to attack her. Before he could, he was struck with a blast of air. He quickly recovered and looked to see Mikey preparing to use the technique on him again. "Wind Style: Air Bullets!" The youngest Turtle fired multiple projectiles of air at the mutant dog as April continued hurling water senbons. As Rahzar continued to evade their attacks, a shadow slithered closer to his; he noticed it at the last second and jumped away from it.
"I see, so those two are restricting my movements with their attacks. The girl is aiming for my vital spots so her attacks are more dangerous while the idiot is trying to land solid blows. At the same time the smart one is trying to immobilize me with the shadow possession," Rahzar thought as he looked at Donnie manipulating the shadow to move. "Not a bad strategy, but they won't get me that easily." The Genins resumed their attack and Rahzar still dodged; at one point he was forced to jump into the air to evade Donnie's shadow. Mikey threw his chains to restrain the dog but he grabbed them with his mouth and pulled Mikey towards him before kicking him higher into the air. Rahzar then stuck one of his claws into a tree to prevent himself and his shadow from touching the ground; Donnie's shadow slithered after him as he climbed higher up the tree. He then jumped, taking his shadow with him. Above him was Mikey weaving signs to use another jutsu; Rahzar intended to stop him from finishing when he noticed that April was right below him preparing to do the same.
Thinking the girl would only fire water senbons again, Rahzar braced himself to endure them as he planned to fire his bone projectiles at Mikey. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" April exclaimed as she released a massive gust of wind from her mouth; the jutsu blew the mutant mutt upward, pushing him closer to Michelangelo, who started to get bigger.
"Expansion Jutsu!" Mikey's body had grown exponentailly before beginning to rotate rapidly. "Turtle Boulder!" The giant rolling turtle collided with the Super Mutant and pushed him back towards the earth, squishing him in the process. As Mikey bounced away from him, Rahzar groaned while standing, only to find that his body was suddenly paralyzed; he glanced down and saw that Donatello's shadow was now connected to his own.
"Shadow Possesion complete!" Donnie declared.
"Oh yeah! How do you like that, dog?!" Mikey cheered
"Pretty good, brats. Since you were kind enough to show me your tricks, how about I show you mine?" Rahzar offered.
"Don't bother, Bradford, you're paralyzed. Just tell us why you were attacking this village!" April demanded.
"And how did you get to this world?" Donnie questioned.
"The same way you did," Rahzar answered as he started channeling his chakra.
"What?! That's impossible!" April argued. "Our sensei would never bring you here!"
"Your sensei? Got a new one, huh? Who might that be?" Rahzar inquired.
"Not another word, April! We can't tell him anything! Let's just signal Yugao Sensei so we can take this mutt back to Konoha and interrogate him there," Donnie instructed.
"I don't think so!" Rahzar said as he slowly started to move his right claw. He brought out a small pill and put it in his mouth. After eating it, his fur turned blood red and he roared wildly at the Genins.
"His chakra's going haywire! It's increasing dramatically!" Donnie stated.
"Can you keep him paralyzed, D?" April asked.
"Definitely... not!" Donnie said as he reached his limit with his shadow possesion techique, releasing the mutant mutt as his chakra continued to grow; he then fired his bone claws at the Squad. The Genins deflected them but were caught off guard by the beast charging at them even faster than before. Rahzar struck both turtle brothers and knocked them into trees. He then glared at April and tried to slash at her, but the redhead dodged his attacks while weaving signs. "Wind Style: Violent Whirlwind!" She let out a powerful stream of air from her mouth that the mutt jumped into the air to avoid it. April then pulled out six shurikens and hurled them at the mutant before clasping her hands together. "Wind Style: Gale Palm!" The throwing stars were propelled at their target by a strong gale force. Rahzar smirked as he suddenly started to spin with ferocious speed, looking like some kind sharp twister, deflecting the shurikens as he spiraled downward. April jumped back to dodge it but the impact knocked her onto her back.
Rahzar stopped spinning as he towered over the Uzumaki and got ready to impale her. "Booyakabunga!" Mikey yelled as he used his turtle boulder technique to bash Rahzar, pushing him away from April. The wolf growled just as he noticed the rolling turtle still coming at him; he jumped out of the way and ran as the juggernaut chased after him. "What's wrong, doggie? Don't you wanna play ball?" he taunted the super mutant.
"I'd rather play-" Rahzar replied as he turned around and started spinning wildy again "Tsuuga! Tunneling Fang!" The two charged right at each other, intending to clash and see who came out on top; Rahzar nailed Michaelangelo in the gut, stopping his rolling and pushing him right into a tree. "Game over, brat!" Rahzar declared as he stopped just before he could be hit with a liquid projectile from April.
"Water Style: Liquid Bullets!" she exclaimed as she fired balls of water at the Super mutant. Rahzar deflected her attacks with his claws as he raced towards her; just as he was about to impale her, there was a loud bang heard. The two looked and saw Donatello with his hand in the sky and above him was a cloud of smoke.
"That was a bomb! He must've used it to signal their leader," Rahzar thought. The brothers then readied their weapons and rushed at the wolf man. Rahzar turned and fired his claws, impaling them in their arms and legs.
"Guys!" April cried as she tried to slash the mutt with her Tessen; Rahzar blocked her attack and cut her stomach with his claw. She staggered back before using her blade to keep the mutt from biting down on her head. Just as he got close enough to lick her face, someone sped towards them and struck the mutant dog, knocking him off the Uzumaki girl. April looked up to see her Jonin leader extending a hand to her.
"You okay, April?" Yūgao asked.
The redhead accepted her Sensei's hand and was pulled to her feet. "Definitely gonna feel this tomorrow," she answered as she held her stomach. "Look out!" she warned when she spotted someone coming down to attack Yūgao; the Squad leader responded by swinging her sword, knocking the metal mask off the attacker and making him crash into the earth. As he stood up, the genins managed to see his face and they were definitely shocked.
"No way!" April said. "Chris Bradford!"
"You know him?" Yūgao inquired.
"Yes, we've met before," April replied.
Mikey and Donnie helped each other up as they stared at the former Martial Arts Superstar and the Super Mutant. "Whoa. Chris Bradford and Rahzar? How is that possible?" Donnie questioned.
"Are they holograms? Like that time with Fugitoid?" Mikey asked.
"No, shell brain, they're definitely not holograms, and keep your voice down. We don't want Sensei to hear," Donnie warned his brother.
Bradford cracked his neck as Rahzar regrouped with him. "Well, I'd love to stay and catch up with some old friends but we really need to be heading back. But don't worry, we'll be back to finish the job, count on it," he promised as he held up two fingers; a swirl of leaves surrounded the man and mutt, and when the leaves dispersed the two were gone.
Moments later, the Jonin and her students were inside one of the village homes getting their injuries treated; Yūgao was wrapping bandages on Mikey's arm while the genins refused to look at her due to them feeling ashamed. "Uh Sensei, aren't you gonna scold us?" Mikey inquired.
"Nope," Yūgao replied.
"But we didn't obey your instructions, shouldn't you be angry at us?" Donnie asked.
"My instructions were for you to signal me if you encountered the beast, and you did. Besides, I expected that you'd try to take on the monster before sending the flare," Yūgao explained.
"But we couldn't stop that monster, he got away. Don't you think we failed?" April asked.
Yūgao shook her head. "You three managed to hold your own against a summoning beast, that's quite impressive. If anything, I should be apologizing to you; I suspected earlier that this mission might've had a mastermind controling the beast, but I didn't expect it to be Shinobi of the Inuzuka clan."
"Are we sure about that, by the way?" April asked.
"Definitely sure, sister," Mikey answered. "I hang out with Kiba and Akamaru a lot, I'd know their special move anywhere."
"In any case, you all did very well in protecting this village. I'm proud," the Jonin said.
"So what's our next move, Sensei?" Donnie inquired.
Yūgao finished tightening the bandage on Mikey and moved onto April; when she looked at her stomach, she was surprised to find that it had already healed. "Her wound's gone. How is she healed already?"
"Uh Sensei, is something wrong?" April asked.
"It's nothing," the Squad leader replied. "As for what we'll do next, I'll send a report to the Hokage about the mission. Once you've all rested for a bit, we'll head back to the Leaf and I'll request that a Squad of chunins accompany me back here so we can track this rogue Shinobi."
"But this is our mission," Mikey said sadly.
"Be that as it may, this mission has proven to be tougher than what starter genins can handle," Yūgao reasoned. "Handing it over to a more adequate team is the logical option to ensure this village's safety."
"She's has a point," Donnie said, though he didn't seem to like it.
"Donnie," April said.
"You saw what Rhazar did to us; we gave that fight everything we had but it seemed to me like he was only messing with us. If we went up against him again, who's to say the outcome won't just be the same or worse?" Donnie inquired. "What if we're in over our heads here? What if we are just rookies?"
"We may be rookies, but we're still Shinobi!" April replied. The Uzumaki removed the headband around her waist and held it out. "When we graduated with this headband, we accepted that we would face many challenges in this Shinobi life. But no matter what, we must endure, show our strength and carry on with determination."
Donnie looked away, still unsure. "But Bradford and Rhazar are..."
"Are what? Stronger? Tougher? Different than anything we've ever faced before? So what?" April questioned. "We've been in over our heads before and we made it through, 'cause we didn't give up! We asked for this mission, so it's our responsibility to finish it and make sure these people are safe!" The Redhead put her headband back on and held out her hand. "No matter what, I'm seeing this through to the end. Are you guys with me?"
"You know it, April! We're gonna kick that dog's tail in next time we see 'em!" Mikey said before putting his hand on April's. "How about it, D?"
"Just so you know, this is illogical, irrational, and above all not the smartest decision we've ever made… but then again, that's just us. We don't quit, we get the job done!" the smart turtle answered and put his hand in too. "Count me in!"
"Alright! Time for some payback!" Mikey cheered.
"Ahem!" the Squad leader reminded her students of her presence. "You three seem to be forgetting something, I'm in command here."
"Sensei, we know we didn't do so well earlier, but we'll do better next time," Donnie assured.
"It wouldn't feel right to just leave our mission to someone else, we have to be the ones to finish it," April said. "We have to in order to be real Shinobi."
"So, you kids really want to finish this mission, huh?" Yūgao inquired. "I hope you understand that despite your determination, you're still not at the level to handle Rogue Ninja." Her students looked down in depression, thinking their request was being denied. "So, in order to make sure you're ready for the ambush, I'll have to train you some more."
The NY ninjas looked up with joy. "You mean..."
The Jonin nodded. "That's right, we're finishing this mission!" she declared before recieving a hard hug from Mikey. She pets him before placing him to the side. "Get some rest, we start first thing in the morning."
The next morning, Yūgao Uzuki waited outside for her students; as she did, she made a hand sign and exclaimed, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" In a puff of smoke, a perfect replica of the Jonin appeared right next to her. "You know what to do." The clone nodded before rushing off into the forest.
"Good morning sensei!" Squad 6 greeted their teacher.
"Up bright and early, that's good. I hope that means you're all ready for some training?" Yūgao asked them and they nodded. "Good. Now, let's start off with a review of chakra; it's a Shinobi's basic source of power. Understanding chakra is vital."
"I think you'd better explain, Sensei, just in case one of us doesn't remember what chakra is," Donnie advised.
"Hey, I know what Chakra is, bro!" Mikey said defensively.
"Really? Then why don't you give the explanation, Mikey?" Donnie replied.
"Gladly," Mikey accepted the task. "Chakra is the elemental life energy a ninja uses in jutsu."
"Good. How about a more detailed description?" Yūgao requested.
"Well, uh…" Mikey said sheepishly.
"How about I take this one," April offered. "The energy of Chakra has two forms: physical energy, which is the stamina the body uses, and spirit energy, the primal source of power that is increased through training and experience."
"Right. Right. I knew that," Mikey said.
"These two energies have to be drawn out simultaneously in order to perform a jutsu," Donnie continued the explanation. "By using hand signs, we focus our chakra before releasing it into our jutsu."
"Excellent. Now you must be wondering why I'm bringing this up," Yūgao said. "It's because even though you've already been using chakra for jutsu, you haven't actually mastered wielding it yet."
"What do you mean, Sensei?" April asked.
"Each jutsu requires different types of chakra in different proportions, you must select and combine them in exactly the right way. Up till now, you've only been using your chakra in an unstable way. Even when you're releasing a large amount of chakra, it's pointless if you're not able to balance it out; the jutsu would never work properly, and you'll just end up wasting your reserves of energy and become an open target," the Jonin told them.
"So how do we balance it out?" Donnie inquired.
"By training so hard that controlling your chakra becomes second nature; to achieve this you be willing to put your life on the line," Yūgao answered and her students got serious looks on their faces. "Now for your training, you're going to climb trees."
"I'm sorry Sensei, but did you just say climb trees?" Donnie asked.
"I did," Yūgao replied.
"That's easy! Watch!" Mikey said as ran towards a tree and shimmied up it quickly.
The Squad leader laughed at her goofy student. "Try not to be so impatient. While I did say to climb a tree, I meant you'd be doing it without your hands."
"How?" April asked.
"I'll show you." Yūgao put her hands together, focusing her chakra to her feet; she then approached a tree and began to walk up it vertically.
"Fascinating. It's like some sort of vertical climbing technique," Donnie observed.
"Amazing," April said.
"Cool!" Mikey said as he landed beside his team.
The Squad leader stopped at the highest branch and hung upside down from it. "Focus your chakra to the soles of your feet and use it to connect to the tree. This is how to properly apply the power of chakra," she explained. "This exercise will teach you to draw a precise amount of chakra to a precise point in your body, a skill that even the most advance shinobi have trouble with. This technique takes a subtle mix of physical and spiritual energy at the soles of your feet, which is the most difficult point to channel your chakra into. This will also help you to maintain your chakra levels. In battle it can be difficult to control and maintain your chakra levels and that could be fatal."
"I see, so this training will help us to maintain our chakra levels to the point where it's effortless," Donnie speculated.
"Exactly. Like I said, you must train until chakra control is second nature to you; while this may be difficult, the results will be worth it. If you can master this, you'll have the potential to master any jutsu," Yūgao said as she jumped from the tree and landed on the ground. "That's enough lecture, time to get to the exercise. Bring out your kunai."
"Why?" Mikey asked as he and the others did so.
"You're going to use your knives to mark the highest spot on the tree you've reached, after that you'll try to reach a higher point and mark that and so on. This will help me to assess your strength and weaknesses in your chakra control so that we know what you'll have to improve upon to complete the exercise," Yūgao instructed. "Be sure to run at the tree so that you can build up momentum to get as high as you can."
"Got it!" April replied as she put her hands together to focus her chakra to her feet.
"Understood!" Donnie said, doing the same.
"No prob, teach!" Mikey assured as he did it too.
"Are you ready?" Yūgao asked.
"Ready!" the genins replied with confidence.
"Go!" the Jonin yelled, and her students immediately began running towards their trees.
Michelangelo reached his first, then April and then Donnie. The goofy ninja ran up his tree and made it a quarter off the ground before his foot cracked deep into the bark; he marked the spot but found that he could not get his foot out. "Uh, a little help?" Mikey requested while trying to pry his foot out. Donnie ran up but he didn't get much higher than his brother before his foot slipped, so he marked his spot and fell back to the ground on his hands, flipping to his feet before taking a few deep breaths. April was still climbing. She managed to make it halfway before slipping herself, marking her spot and somersaulting back to the ground. "Hey guys, I'm kinda stuck here." Yūgao jumped to his tree, pulled her student and brought him to rest beside his teammates. "Thanks, Sensei."
"Alright, can anyone tell what went wrong with their technique?" Yūgao asked. "Donatello, you go first."
Donnie stared at his tree, examining every detail. "From where I had managed to reach and from what happened before I fell, I'd say my chakra wasn't enough," he guessed.
"More like your stamina wasn't," Yūgao corrected. "Your physical energy wasn't perfectly mixed with your spirit energy; thus, your chakra wasn't strong enough to cling you to the tree for long. Michelangelo, what about your technique?"
"Well, uh…" Mikey replied while scratching his head.
"Come on, Mikey, it's so obvious," Donnie urged his brother, who still didn't get it. "Your chakra was too strong,"
"Say what?" Mikey questioned.
"Donatello is correct. Michelangelo, you're a high-spirited kid and this is what threw you off, or got you stuck," Yūgao clarified. "You were too excited, and your spirit energy made your chakra unbalanced; your chakra grew stronger than necessary, and you ended up cracking the tree rather than clinging to it. Excellent deduction, Donatello." The smart turtle smiled proudly while his brother scowled at him and threw a pebble at his head, receiving a glare in return. "Boys, play nice. Now what about April?"
The Uzumaki stared at her tree with uncertainty. "I'm not sure Yūgao Sensei. I thought I had everything balanced but I still fell."
"You did have everything balanced, that's how you got the farthest," Yūgao replied.
"Then what went wrong?" April questioned.
"Control. You lacked sufficient control," Yūgao explained. "As I said before, maintaining control is difficult too. This can throw off any technique. In short, you were all unbalanced in some way, and you need to overcome that. Donatello, you need to improve on your physical capabilities so that your chakra will grow stronger."
"Be strong like the mountain," Donnie thought, remembering his first sensei's words. "Understood."
"Michelangelo, you're a little too wild and rambunctious; you can be energetic, but you need to remain calm so that you don't use more chakra then necessary," Yūgao advised.
"Be calm like the forest," Mikey thought. "Got it."
"April, you need to practice maintaining your chakra level constantly. You're already ahead of your comrades, but you still have a ways to go before fully mastering chakra control," Yūgao told her.
"Hai Sensei," April replied. The turtles looked at April feeling something: competition.
"Why do I feel so competitive? I don't think I've ever felt this way before with April. Is it because back in New York she's been working to catch up to us but now she's… ahead?" Donatello pondered.
April was having a feeling of her own. "I know we've been trained to be ninja by Splinter and the Hidden Leaf, but this is the first I've felt… superior to them. I think I like it."
"Alright guys, let's get back to it!" Mikey exclaimed.
"I just said to calm down, Mikey. Take a break first, then continue training," Yūgao instructed.
"Don't worry Sensei, we're fine. We're ready to keep training some more!" April assured and the boys nodded in agreement.
Yūgao smiled at her students' determination. "Alright then, get to it! But don't overdo it." The Genins then raced to climb back up the trees as their Jonin observed. "They may be rookies, but they've got the will of true Shinobi; it's my duty to train you kids to be the greatest ninjas you can be, and I promised not to let you down!"
Deep in the forest, the Yūgao clone was hopping through trees as she scanned the surroundings; she stopped when she saw claw marks on various trees and some footprints. She followed them to a small entrance structure in the ground. "So this is it," she muttered.
Then the lights came on
Brighter than ever before
Can you see them shine?
Go ninja go, go ninja
Won't let them fade
This city's meant for much more
Gonna hear us shout
Go ninja go, go ninja
…
A/N: Done! I'm so sorry that this took so long to update, I've been having trouble with spare time and remembering my ideas. But I'm getting back to it, though it'll still take some time. I'm rewatching both series to bring back the ideas I had. Thank you for all your patience. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Until next time, TTFN! AntiHero out!