CHAPTER – 6
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Anime.
AN: Thank you all those who showed their appreciation, it compels me to make it better and keep on writing.
Sorry for the long absence, I really had no time. Trust me, I got reasons.
Please review. I'm just a humble author who likes to see others enjoying my work.
All the OCs that I use belongs to 'Scarease'. Any OC that will be my original will be mentioned. Thanks to him for the excellent OCs.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
'Flashback'
It was night and Tayuya was the lone person awake. Her patience was finally brought to fruition. She could no longer stay with the team, or else she would forget her original venture; money.
This was her last chance to grab all the money she can and run away. It was a good chance, since the group's savings were around seven thousand ryo. She had no idea how she would cross the ocean, but she will do it tonight.
Tayuya stealthily slipped past the sleeping forms of everyone and got to Naruto. On his waist, a scroll was fastened which Tayuya had to steal. Slowly she grabbed the scroll and began to pull it out of the holster. This scroll had almost the entire money savings of the team. From the start, it had been her objective to steal all the money she could get her hands on and run away.
The scroll almost came loose. Just to be sure, she glanced at Naruto's face. To her shock, Naruto's eyes were open and he was wide awake. Tayuya's mouth went agape and she dropped the scroll which came loose. "You should have used a genjutsu. You woke me up" he said.
In a few moments, she recovered from the blow "L-Listen N-Naruto, I can explain" she said desperately "What? There's no explaining it" the blonde stood up. She looked at him, at his eyes, which held pure disbelief and disappointment.
She was struck by fear, which came from disappointing him 'Why am I upset? I shouldn't care about him…I just need the money…kill your emotions!' she desperately yelled in her head "Not feeling sleepy, right? It happens to me a lot of times." Naruto said "You thought of counting the team's savings, since Emi added her share recently, and you thought that you will get sleepy while counting, right?" picked up the scroll and tossed it at her.
She was dumbstruck by his actions.
"Here" he said "I counted it a few days ago. There were six thousand five hundred ryo. Emi deposited her money after that. I'll be getting some sleep" with that, he lied down without any worries. Tayuya was utterly shocked. She looked back and forth between Naruto and the scroll. 'This guy…' she thought 'He didn't doubted me for even a second! He thought I was taking the money to count it…even for a second…he didn't thought I was betraying him or the team…'
Naruto's words rang in her mouth 'We are comrades!' he often said. The memories of her time with the team flooded her. All the bonds she had created, all the friends she had made, all the comrades she had…she was willing to break all the bonds over money? She had been wrong. This was a bad decision, maybe the worst decision of her life. Moreover, Naruto was family; a family she never had, a family she finally got. Not only him, the whole team was her family. She was about to turn her back at the only family she had. She had been so wrong.
All these thought welled up in her mind. After a few seconds, she broke. Her eyes became watery and she ran out of the cave. She ran towards the forest and climbed up on a tree. Finally, she let her emotions flow. Tears began flowing and she sulked. The whole night, she thought about what she would do and came to a conclusion; she would try to protect her dear ones i.e. her family; her team. It was the only way to get over the regret and to repay the debt she owned them.
She made her way back to the cave. It was morning already and everyone was up. She went straight to Naruto, who was stretching his arms, being woken up recently. He looked at her and she tossed him the scroll back "How much is it?" he asked "I didn't count it." she answered. Naruto looked at him, expecting an answer "I began feeling sleepy. I didn't get a chance to go count" he shrugged and pocketed the scroll.
A month later:
The team was doing the usual training. Naruto and Haku were sparring on water, while Tayuya and Kisuke were doing genjutsu and ninjutsu training respectively. Emi was doing the water walking.
Early in the month, when Haku had checked Emi's chakra reserves, it turned out to be quite low, which was quite obvious. So, just like Tayuya, she was advised to do chakra training. Tayuya's reserves had grown significantly in comparison to her old self; inspired by which Emi learned and started practicing chakra training.
Suddenly, a sharp sound was heard and a kunai came whistling towards Kisuke, who parried it with one of his own. The team immediately went on alert and regrouped.
'Shit! We are found" scowled Tayuya. "Must be the rebels" Haku stated.
The group had done the research and they knew that the Water Country was going through an intense Civil War.
A man jumped out of the shadowy trees. "Who are you brats?" he yelled. The man had seen the reflex of one of them and had seen them all training. He assumed they were mid-Chunin level missing ninjas, since none of them wore a hitai-ite. Still, one can never be too cautious. There was still a chance that they could be enemy spies.
The man was a Rebel Commander, the second highest post among the rebels, and he knew he wasn't a fool. He didn't make the mistake of underestimating them, even though he was an exceptional Jounin himself; and so he had bought a small battalion.
With his sensory skills, Haku hastily checked the area around the clearing.
"How many?" Emi asked. "A dozen" Haku replied stiffly. "Their skills are well above us" he clarified. Naruto gritted his teeth.
He couldn't see a way out.
If Naruto had been alone, no doubt he would have fought, no matter how hard. But it was different now. He had his team with him. What if his decision led them to mishappenings? Naruto was gradually beginning to understand the burden of being a Leader. The investment of courage and faith required for the position was simply affordable for a normal person; but Naruto was not normal in any way.
He would lead them to success.
'It's tough, being a leader' taught Naruto 'Logically, no matter what; we couldn't win in any way. There's only one way I can think of…'
"Who are you brats?!" the man asked again, this time with a bit more aggressiveness. He made sure his men were ready to attack at a moment's notice.
"We are…Team Stampede" Naruto answered.
The team looked at him puzzled. After a moment's silence, Kisuke commented "I like the name" Naruto chuckled, "I knew you would like it"
"Team Stampede?" the man asked. Naruto nodded. Suppressing his pride, he dropped his kunai "And we surrender"
Naruto could see the man was with the rebels, since his hitai-ite had a scar, and he was with obedient men. He knew the rebels wouldn't kill without a reason. If he had fought, he and his team may have been killed in combat. Surrendering was the best thing they could do in the situation.
Following their leader, Haku and Tayuya too dropped their senbons and kunai. Kisuke was puzzled, but he too let go of his kunai. Emi was itching to try her new katana in combat, but it seemed that her leader had something else on his mind. Respecting his decision, she lodged her blade along with the sheath in the soft ground.
"Smart choice" the man grunted and made a few quick hand-seals. In a second, all the members of Team Stampede fell on the ground, unconscious. His A-ranked genjutsu had worked to perfection.
The rebels in hiding came out. A few of them shackled the insentient shinobi, while others rummaged through the clearing.
"Wasn't that too much to use on such weaklings, Commander Ao?" one of them asked to the Rebel Commander. Ao snorted "You can't underestimate today's generation". After the search was complete and the knocked out shinobi properly chained, Ao signalled them to follow and they took off towards the Rebel Camp.
:::::
Naruto had a heavy nausea when he woke up. He let out a grunt; being unable to resist his throbbing head. It took Naruto a few seconds to register the situation. He was lying on sheltered ground.
He sat up and looked around, observing the space around him. A few rays of sunlight managed to sneak in through the few holes in the roof to produce just enough light so as to make things faintly visible. The Fukuro noted that he was inside a large tent. 'The Rebel Camp maybe' he supposed. He tried pushing a little bit of chakra to his feet to test his suspicion. He wasn't able to do it. His suspicion turned true; there was a chakra suppressing seal placed somewhere on his body.
"He's awake Captain" he heard a voice. A few moments later, the door flap flipped open and a large man, followed by a moderate sized man entered the shelter. The masculine man's subordinate placed a steel chair in front of Naruto for the man to sit.
The Captain looked straight at Naruto's eyes while sitting. "Answer me genuinely boy and I promise you this will be the easiest thing you would have ever done in your life" the Captain said in a hoarse voice. Naruto assumed him to be the Interrogator.
"I'm Takehiko Higuchi. Who are you?" the man began.
"Naruto Uzumaki; missing-nin from Konoha" Naruto said.
"Who are the others? What are you all doing in the Water Country?"
"They all are missing-nins and one of them is a bounty hunter. We survived a shipwreck and got to the harbour. We were about to leave the country when you caught us" Naruto answered everything candidly. Winning the rebels' trust was his first priority.
The man raised an eyebrow at his answer. "You mean the pirate ship?" Naruto nodded.
There had been a news of an infamous pirate ship been destroyed by a group of missing-nins, but naturally, no one assumed the group to be a bunch of teens. Takehiko glanced at his subordinate, who in turn nodded. His subordinate was in fact a skilled sensor who was carefully observing Naruto's chakra, so as to notice slight change to prove that he was lying, but there was none.
Takehiko had already questioned the rest of them. All of them told the same story, none of them lied in the slightest. He was thinking what to do with them when the kid in front of him said, "I want to meet the Leader."
Takehiko's eyes widened in the slightest. "That is not possible. You and the others will leave this land and not come back again. You all are lucky to survive" he clarified.
"It's really urgent. I have something that I can only give to the leader" Naruto insisted.
"Enough of this!" the Captain snapped "I'm throwing you all off the country right now!" he began forming handsigns when Naruto shouted "I've got one of the seven blades!"
Takehiko's handsigns stopped midway, his expression a mixture of awe and dubiety. He looked towards his subordinate, who had a similar expression. He once again nodded to the Captain "He's telling the truth" the deputy replied. "Keep an eye on him" Takehiko said and paced out of the tent.
He returned a few minutes later. "Follow me" he commanded. Naruto complied and the Captain took Naruto out of the tent. While out in the open, Naruto noticed that there were several grey coloured tents in the forest clearing, similar to the one he was is. The whole forest seemed to be embedded in a thick mist, and the tents effectively camouflaged. Takehiko led Naruto to slightly larger tent, which was guarded by a pair of rebels. The Captain turned to Naruto "Our leader is waiting for you inside" Naruto nodded and entered the tent.
Inside the tent was standing a lady. Her most noticeable feature was her red hairs. Beside her were standing a few more people. Naruto recognised one of them as the shinobi who intercepted his team. From the kunoichi's body language and from the body language of those standing beside her, Naruto confirmed her to be the Rebel Leader.
All of them had the same expression of scepticism as that of Takehiko. "I believe you have something for us, Naruto Uzumaki" she said. Naruto nodded and gave a low bow "I assume you are the leader?" he asked for a final confirmation. The kunoichi nodded "My name is Mei Terumi and I am the Rebel Leader" she confirmed.
Naruto had talked to Haku about keeping the Throat Cleaver. Haku had almost immediately told Naruto to get rid of it, since it reminded it of bad memories, but Naruto sealed it in a storage scroll, figuring that it would be handy later. His intuition proved to be correct, since he got to return Kiri's legacy.
Without wasting any more time, Naruto took out a moderate sized storage scroll. He unrolled it on the floor and looked at Mei "I need to use my chakra" he said. Mei signalled to one of the female guards standing behind Naruto. The girl did a simple deactivating jutsu and touched the back of Naruto's neck, which dissolved the chakra suppressing seal.
Naruto pushed a small amount of chakra into the scroll. There was a small puff of smoke. The smoke cleared in a few moments, revealing the Throat Cleaver. Mei's eyes widened visibly. She picked up the blade as if it was an antique artefact, scanning it from the hilt to the tip. After being satisfied, she handed the blade to one of her subordinates.
"The blade is in fact genuine" clarified Mei, her voice quavering. Naruto could easily tell that she was trying hard to keep her composure. In fact, he was sure that if Naruto wasn't present in the room, she would've been screaming and jumping with joy. Nonetheless, she continued "Do you happen to be one of Copy-nin Kakashi's student?"
Having caught by surprise, Naruto nodded dumbly. "And is Haku, your teammate, the former apprentice of Zabuza Momochi?" it was more of a statement. Again, all Naruto could do was nod 'She knows her stuff…' was all he could think. Mei sighed. "I thank you profously for returning Kiri its legacy Naruto Uzumaki. We will never forget this action. If there's anything we can do for you or your team, feel free to ask" she concluded.
"Actually, there is." He paused for a moment "I…We all want to get strong. And we are all migrants; we don't have a place to stay…If you trust us enough, my team and I would like to learn the shinobi ways…from the rebels" the request caught Mei off guard, but she smiled a second later.
"In honour of my fallen comrade and in honour of the debt we own you; Naruto Uzumaki, this is the least we could do for you." She said. "From this moment onwards, Team Stampede is a part of the Rebels and the Rebel Commanders and I myself will overlook the training of Team Stampede personally." Mei declared. "The guard behind you will escort you to your comrades. Meet me here along with the whole team in an hour, understood?" she commanded more than asked.
Naruto smiled and gave a deep bow, struggling to keep his composure. He had passed his first test as a leader. He had successfully made the right choices and led his team safely. He had absolutely no doubt in his mind that his teammates will respect the decisions he took.
"Hai!" Naruto said confidently and walked out of the tent, leaving Mei smiling.
:::::
Mei gained a few protests by some of the commanders regarding Team Stampede joining the rebellion. 'We own a great deal to them for returning the Throat Cleaver, but that doesn't mean we will let them join our rebellion. They are outsiders. Your carelessness may make us pay.' Were the points they put up, but Mei knew better.
She had seen the truth in Naruto's eyes herself. That kid was not even capable of turning his back to someone, let alone treason.
Mei Terumi was not an idiot. She knew the boy hadn't had a normal life, him being a missing-nin, but there was something apart from that. The Rebel Leader sighed. She would think about it later. If things go accordingly, this team could be a great asset for them. These kids were still partial blank. They still had a lot to learn. The more powerful she makes them, the more beneficial it will be for the rebels. She would think about the distant future later. Right now, she only thought about getting Kiri back.
:::::
Team Stampede reported in the main tent at the desired time. Each one bowed, showing proper respect. Terumi glanced at every one of them. She got the list of their names, place of affiliation and field of specialty a few minutes ago. She motioned for them to gather around the collapsible table. She unrolled a large map of the Water Country.
"Look at the black crosses. They are our base camps. The base camps are moved every month. Every base camp has almost equal number of shinobi. There are at least two commanders at the base camp at a given time. The shinobi too change camps often. Also, the camps are assigned the names 'North', 'South', 'East', 'West' and 'Central'. These are position of the camps with respect to each other and not with respect to the earth. Any doubts up till now?" she asked her audience. The members of Team Stampede shook their heads in negative. Terumi internally sighed in relief. 'None of them are dumb. Good' she thought.
"The camps consist of about a thousand shinobi. The camps also have a stock house consisting of all the basic and some advanced ninja equipment. They all are free to take for any needing rebels. It also applies to you guys from now onwards. There is also a medic tent in each camp" she explained briefly, leaving no doubt at all.
"Now, take a look at the red dots. These are the outposts. They consist of a few shinobi on the lookout for any possible dangers. The outposts have a limited stock of basic weaponry and first-aid. The outposts change position every ten days. Clear?" they all nodded again, leaving Terumi pleased.
"That is all for the initial debriefing. I will introduce you to the commanders tomorrow. From now on, for the next six months, Team Stampede will be staying in whichever camp I stay. You are all dismissed for today. The guard will show you your tent. See you tomorrow at 7 am." They bowed and were about to leave when Mei said "also a word of advice; you guys wouldn't want to sleep too soundly at night. This isn't a peaceful village. There can be an invasion any second." After a short pause, she smiled and said, "Welcome to the Rebel Army"
AN: I know it is shorter than an average chapter, but I barely managed to squeeze out some time. I know the update speed is very slow. I trust you guys to bear with it for a few more months. I will be constantly and rapidly updating the chapters of all three of my stories after May, '17.
Review and let me know how you liked the chapter. I updated my writing style a bit. A handful of good reviews help!
If I get enough motivation, I might be able to squeeze out another chapter before May, '17.
EDIT : 8th January, 2017 – Added some more content.
If you find any mistakes or plot-holes, feel free to correct me.
Smell ya later.
