Hey there everyone. Things happened, and this chapter took longer than it should have. What can I say? Now that we've gotten past the entrance exams, it's time to head over to the Land of Waves! Again, same idea, different path. I hope you enjoy!
It was Monday morning, and Naruto slept soundly in his bed, only his blond hair visible from under the sheets. Then, his alarm rung. As usual, he rolled over and hit the snooze button. "Stupid first day…" he groaned as he snuggled back into the covers. After a moment, his eyes widened. "Holee-! It's my first day! MY FIRST DAY AS A NINJA!"
His fatigue completely gone, Naruto rushed out of bed, ate some toast, showered and dressed in his orange suit. He was about to reach for his goggles, but then saw his hiate on his desk. Remembering how important this day was, he reached for it and tied it tightly around his forehead, the spiral shape standing proudly in its center. "Alright!" Naruto pumped his fist towards his reflection in the mirror. "It's time to show the world what I'm made of!"
"Bye Mom!" Sakura called to her parents as she bounded down the stairs and out the front door.
"Be careful, sweetie!" her mother called from inside.
Sakura paid her no heed as she walked outside, practically skipping along. "It's my first official mission…I hope Sasuke-kun will notice me!" she thought, internally squeeing with excitement. Then, remembering Kakashi's harsh lesson from that day, she calmed down. "…for being a good kunoichi, that is. Of course." She tried to convince herself.
Sasuke got on two knees as he lit the incense, and waiting for the smoke to rise, ringed the small bowl. In front of it was a picture of a middle-aged man with gray hair, dressed in dark traditional clothing, and a woman with long black hair like Sasuke's, dressed in a beautiful blue kimono. And in the middle of them was Sasuke himself; he was seven when the picture was taken. Sasuke clasped his hands together in prayer. "Mom, Dad…I'm on my way now. You won't have to wait much longer." Staying there for a moment, he got up and left. A closer look at the portrait revealed the right side was torn, leaving a headless body next to his mother…
The three received instructions to meet Kakashi at the park. Sakura and Sasuke got there roughly at the same time, ten minutes before 10 (thank god for no more meetings at dawn). 5 minutes later, Naruto showed up. "Well, it seems you're on time for once." Sasuke noted.
"Morning, Sakura-chan!" Naruto smiled gleefully, ignoring Sasuke.
Sakura rolled her eyes at the honorific. "I guess I'll let it slide for now…" "Say good morning to Sasuke-kun too, Naruto." She replied firmly but politely.
"Don't bother him." Sasuke sighed. "He'll just throw a fit."
"Well, excuse me, teme! You don't exactly exude a warm, friendly atmosphere!" Naruto complained.
"You're too warm and fuzzy, dobe." Sasuke sighed as he crossed his arms. "I guess that's why I'm stuck with you; we'd be a trio of Care Trolls if I left you unchecked."
"Really, you two!" Sakura said, breaking up the argument before it could go any further. "We're a team now! So let's act like it!" She pumped her arm in the air to encourage enthusiasm. Naruto's mood did a complete 180, showing off his goofy smile. Sasuke was still as moody as ever.
"Well, we just have to wait for him to show up…" Sasuke said as he looked off into the distance…
"YOU'RE LATE!" the three shouted when their sensei finally arrived.
Indeed, Kakashi was half an hour late; not as bad as the official exam, but for most people this would still be inexcusable. "My bad." Kakashi said sheepishly, scratching his head. "I bought a new book; really got into it." Seeing nothing he could say would dissuade them, he sighed and clapped his hands. "Well, what's done is done. Are you ready for your mission?"
"Heck yeah I am!" Naruto shouted in excitement. Sasuke silently nodded.
"We're ready for anything, sensei." Sakura said, presenting herself as the composed one.
Kakashi nodded. "Very well. Follow me; I'll explain once we get there."
The three followed him, wondering what they would do. "Maybe we'll protect a princess from yakuza?" Naruto thought, seeing himself beating up an army of thugs, Sasuke cowering in a corner, and Sakura and the made-up princess in his mind staring at him lovingly.
"Perhaps we will gather intelligence on foreign countries?" Sakura thought, hoping to do something important but nothing to immediately endanger their lives. She could see herself stealthily moving along narrow halls, finding out all sorts of dirty secrets and sharing the details with her team, Sasuke in particular calling her amazing. She blushed at the thought.
"Here we are." Kakashi said. The genin snapped to attention…and saw a river, its bank littered with trash. "I hope none of this was you." Kakashi said as he observed, shaking his head. "Today's youth; so concerned about the environment yet can never be bothered to pick up after themselves."
"Do we really have to be debriefed on our mission here?" Sakura asked in disgust. "Can't we at least go somewhere cleaner?"
"Oh, this IS your mission." Kakashi clarified.
"EXCUSE ME!?" Naruto shouted.
Kakashi pulled out his scrolls and produced some trash pickers from them. "You're going to clean the river bank."
"Wait, what did we do to deserve this!?" Naruto shouted.
"Well…" Kakashi began, looking up in thought. "You passed the test, and you're genin now. And genin get D-ranked missions usually. And D-rank missions are generally maintenance work. I thought the Hokage explained that to you." Seeing the three were not satisfied with the answer, Kakashi shrugged "Well, if that's the way you feel, I could always take away your hiates AND my generous second chance I gave you…"
"NO NO!" Naruto waved frantically, rushing to collect the trash with his bare hands. "We're happy to serve!"
"Glad to hear that." Kakashi smiled under his mask. He tossed the three sticks to Sakura and Sasuke. "I think you two would prefer to use these." As he walked away, he said "I'll meet you at the Hokage's office when you're finished."
"OW!" Naruto yelped as he put his finger in his mouth. "Ahi fink I phricked myfelf!"
"Don't put your finger in your mouth, you idiot!" Sakura shouted in disgust and fright.
Meanwhile, Sasuke sighed in disappointment, and got to work.
After that disappointing day, the three hoped their days as genin would pick up. However, they were once again bummed out when Kakashi escorted them into a classroom and left them there. They found the other genin in there with them, and they all seem rather perplexed. "We're being made to take more tests!?" one yelled.
"I want to work, not go back to school!"
"I wanna kick butt out there!"
Naruto could only rest his head on the desk. "Naruto?" Sakura asked. "You don't look so good."
"N-no more…" he stuttered. His eyes were completely unfocused, and his body was trembling. It looked like he would pass out at any moment.
"Don't mind him; he's always like this when he's being tested on knowledge…" Sasuke said as he observed the blond dunce.
"Really?" Sakura asked.
Sasuke nodded. "We took the GE classes together. He totally panicked and froze up the first time. From what I understand, he had to repeat several times, and even then he only JUST passed. I think he got the second lowest score. I heard the one at the bottom…had issues."
Sakura sighed. "I knew you were dumb, but this is ridiculous…" she said to Naruto, though it looked like he didn't hear her.
"I think it's more of a confidence thing." Sasuke said. "Still, if he has any inherent talents, test-taking is definitely not one of them…"
Finally, an adult briskly walked into the class room. He was a burly man, his hiate made into a cloth cap as opposed to the usual headband, and sported three gruesome scars across his face. Instead of the usual ninja gear, he wore what seemed to be gray clothes underneath his black leather coat. His killer instinct eyes got the attention of everyone, even Naruto sat up straight in shock. "Good afternoon, maggots!" he said as he wrote his name on the board. "I am Morino Ibiki, Special Jonin! But you will only refer to me as Morino-sensei when you are in this classroom!" Naruto then raised his hand. "Yes?"
"Uh, what makes you so 'special'?" The rest of the class burst out into laughter, while Sakura and Sasuke looked away from him in embarrassment.
"Hm…" he smirked as he rubbed his chin. "That's actually a good question! A special jonin is technically a chunin!" he explained. "However, some individuals become so good in a certain field to the point that their expertise is jonin level!"
"Oh good. I was worried it meant you were retarded." Naruto smirked.
The class laughed again, while Sasuke and Sakura scooted their desks away from him as subtly as possible. "I SWEAR, I DON'T KNOW HIM SENSEI!" Sakura's inner self screamed.
"Oh?" Ibiki raised his eyebrow (more like a quarter of an eyebrow). "Would you like to know what exactly my area of expertise is?"
Naruto gulped. "Well, uh…"
"Interrogation." Ibiki said. "I'm guessing you're clumsy, and perhaps a little stupid as well."
"HEY!"
"I wasn't much different from you when I was your age. However, one day, I was captured by the enemy…" He lifted his hat up. "…And then this happened!"
The entire class gasped, some screamed. Sakura in particular held her mouth, looking like she was about to lose her lunch. Naruto fell back into his chair and fainted. The scar on Ibiki's lip was the least of his worries; his scalp was covered in scars, and they could even see several holes drilled into his skull. "Knowledge is not only power. It can be a lifesaver." He continued. "I didn't have knowledge back then when I was captured by enemy ninja. But they taught me much. And now, I am better at interrogation than most others who crudely torture their victims." He smirked. "And this is just the top of my head. I could show you all the other scars I've developed over the years, but then I would be arrested for indecent exposure to minors." He smirked. "And what I'm about to teach you could save your life! Of course, you can choose to ignore my lessons and wind up like me…"
He looked to see Naruto completely out of it. Sighing, he took his cup of water and splashed Naruto in the face. "Pppfff!" Naruto sputtered. "HEY!"
"Let's begin…" Ibiki huffed as he began writing on the board.
Wednesday came. "Please tell me we're going to do something cool today." Naruto moaned as he and the rest of Team 7 met in the training grounds.
"Indeed." Kakashi answered. "We're doing something very cool today." Naruto and Sakura's eyes brightened up, while Sasuke remained as stoic as ever. "Training." Naruto and Sakura looked a bit disappointed, though Sasuke's eyes seemed to brighten up a bit. "Today, we're going to train the physical body. Hold out your arms, each of you."
Kakashi attached weighted bracelets to each of them, all three shocked at how much they weighed. "These weigh 20 kilograms each. Good for building stamina." Kakashi clapped his hands. "Now, let's get started."
He ordered them to run, and by run, he meant SPRINT. The three were quickly tiring out, even Sasuke. Sakura in particular kept falling behind, and Kakashi had to fall back and shock her to get her to keep up with the others. He then forced them to do upside down crunches, though none of them could completely rise up. Eventually, after several more exercises, Kakashi decided to do some sparring. "Okay. Now that you're all warmed up, let's develop you're taijutsu." He said.
Everyone was hunched over, breathing heavily. "We're too tired…" Naruto moaned.
Kakashi suddenly tripped him under his legs. "That's probably what's going to happen in battle. For whatever reason, you will not be at your best. You can either suck it up and win, or you can just give up and let them kill you." Kakashi stood straight again. "Now, attack me." He ordered.
"We won't stand a chance." Sakura said, raising her hand.
"No." Kakashi agreed. "But it's the best way for you to improve. Now come at me…or I will come to you. Your call."
The three finally did as he commanded, and throughout the session, none could lay a blow on him. Sasuke displayed excellent technique for his level, forcing Kakashi to parry all of his attacks. Naruto's technique, however, was very clumsy. Kakashi often just let him strike and the momentum from his strikes would cause him to fall over. Sakura's technique was decent, but she consistently lacked power. Kakashi would often take the blows, and use his own body to knock her back. Eventually, the sun began to set, and the timer on Kakashi's watch went off. "Okay. That's enough for today." He announced. The three collapsed in relief, desperately trying to catch their breath. "Sasuke, you may go." Sasuke released the weights, and bowed, leaving his two teammates. "Naruto…your technique is going to need a lot of work. We will have to work on that in the future." He then turned to Sakura. "Sakura, you really need to build up strength. It's going to be difficult, so be prepared." Sakura moaned. "Okay, you're having class with Ibiki tomorrow. See you then." Kakashi said as he waved bye to them.
Naruto then held up Sakura's arm, and supported her on his shoulders. "Ugh…how are you able to still move?" Sakura moaned.
"Dunno." Naruto answered. "I guess years of bike riding did me some good."
Sakura sighed. "I…I'm not sure I'm cut out for this…"
"Please don't give up." Naruto said. "We're just getting started, right? So we'll just get better." Sakura said nothing, leaning against him as he helped her out of the training area…
The next day, the team was sent back to Ibiki's class. "I hope everyone here prepared for today's test!" the special jonin said as he passed out papers as he went down each row, the genin all moaning.
Naruto was trembling now. "I didn't even take notes!" As the papers were handed out to everyone, Naruto breathed heavily. "Stay calm! It's about taking someone out! Nothing more! Should be easy!"
Finally, Ibiki slapped the exam in front of his desk. "You may begin!" Naruto looked at one of the problems:
"You are carrying a kunai weighing 2 kg. You spot an opponent 100 meters away, and are prepared to throw it. The wind from the west is blowing at 30 m/s. How much force do you need to put behind your kunai to hit your enemy?"
Naruto only stared blankly as he began sweating profusely. "I'M SCREWED!"
"So, how'd you do?" Sakura asked as their papers were collected.
Naruto could only roll off his desk and onto the floor. "Kill me now…"
Friday came, and once again Team 7 met Kakashi on the training grounds. All dreaded another session of physical training, even Sasuke. "So…" Naruto began.
"…today, we will be learning how to control our chakra." Kakashi answered for him.
"Uh-huh." Naruto said, scratching his head. "What's chakra?"
Everyone balked at his question. "You don't even know!?" Sakura yelled.
Kakashi sighed. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt to go over the basics at this point in time…" Kakashi composed himself and began. "Chakra is the spiritual energy in our bodies. It enhances our strength, allows us to perform our ninjutsu and shape the elements, but most importantly, it gives life to us all."
"Oh." Naruto said.
"How in the world are you able to make clones if you don't even know the source of it?" Sasuke asked.
"The scroll just said to focus my energy." Naruto shrugged.
"Well, you're not entirely wrong either." Kakashi said. "Before ninja came about, there was many terms for our internal energy by various warring clans. Sakura, by any chance would you know how chakra originated?"
Sakura thought for a moment. "It came from the Sage of the Six Paths, the first true ninja." Sakura answered. "He described the energy inside us as wheels, hence the name chakra."
"Still don't get it…" Naruto complained again.
"Chakra means wheel in the old tongue." Sasuke answered for him. "As our language evolved, so did the term for energy. The samurai and other martial arts practicioners changed the name of the energy to 'ki' and 'chi', but today all ninja refer to it by it's original name."
Kakashi took control of the lecture again."Anyway, the energy moves through our bodies through several circular motions, and if we focus that energy within, we can connect with the elements around us." Kakashi continued
Naruto nodded. "Okay. I'm still not sure I get it…"
Kakashi just looked at him. "With time, then." Kakashi ended the oral lesson. "First, let's get a grip on the nature on your chakra. Take these." Kakashi held up 3 strips of paper. "This is chakra paper. It is extremely receptive to chakra when it is channeled through it. If you put the right amount into it, it will react according to your elemental affinity." He handed them one each. "Begin."
The three concentrated. Almost immediately, Sasuke's paper crumpled up. "Interesting." Kakashi said. "Seems you have an affinity for lightning."
Sasuke looked at the paper in surprise as well. "I thought I'd be more of a fire-user…"
"Ninja can potentially use all the five major elements" Kakashi said. "Perhaps you just haven't learned the one that would come most naturally to you."
He then inspected Naruto and Sakura's; theirs remained whole. "I see." He said, taking them back. "Now, THIS is generally expected of genin." He said as he held them up. "You haven't quite mastered the use of chakra." He looked to Naruto. "Obviously, your mastery of the Kage Bushin shows you know HOW, but it's not perfect. It seems you have a large amount of chakra, and inversely, poor control. You will never find your elemental affinity until you learn to limit the amount you put out." He then turned to Sakura. "I suspect you have the opposite problem, Sakura. From what I've seen, you haven't had the opportunity to build up your chakra. The paper will not be receptive to you until you increase your strength, and therefore, your chakra" The two groaned. "Now, don't worry. We all have to start somewhere." He assured them. "Come." Kakashi beckoned them to a tree, where he sat cross legged under it. "Let us meditate."
The three followed his lead, and just sat here. It seemed to go on forever. Naruto eventually hunched over in disappointment. "This is boring."
And so the week ended. Naruto memorized the schedule as he marked them down on his calendar. Community service on Mondays. Studying and testing Tuesdays and Thursdays. Physical training on Wednesdays. And finally, Chakra training on Fridays. "I thought once I got in, I would be going on adventures and learning how to fight." Naruto thought as he tossed away the calendar. "Tenchu was right; I CAN be an idiot." Looking at the clock, he saw it was 10'o clock. "I might as well turn in early." He shrugged.
Naruto got into bed and yawned. "Well, tomorrow's the weekend. I guess a little down-time will do me some good." He closed his eyes, prepared to sleep until noon. Soon, he was out, smiling away into the night…
A blaring ring suddenly invaded Naruto's ears. "ARRGH!" Naruto shot up covering his ears.
"Rise and Shine!"
Naruto turned to see Kakashi on his bed, holding an alarm clock in his hand. "Kakashi-sensei!? What the hell are you doing in my room!?"
"You're late for training." Kakashi said as he tossed the clock away. "And your door was locked."
"Training!?" Naruto looked at his own clock. "At seven in the morning!?" Naruto slapped his face as he tried to focus. "Forget seven! It's freaking SATURDAY!" he shouted.
"So?"
"It's the weekend! It's our day off!" Naruto yelled.
"Oh." Kakashi said. He then smiled under his mask, pointing his finger up. "Well, today's your lucky day! All genin have to train over the weekend as well."
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?"
"So get dressed." Kakashi said as he walked towards the open window, no doubt his point of entry. "The others are waiting for you down below. For some reason, they seem to be as tired as you…" he postulated as he jumped out.
Naruto groaned as he fell back into his pillow. "What the heck have I signed on for?"
If the training over the week was bad, this was absolute hell! The three had to run all across the village, and it seemed while they were struggling to catch their breath, Kakashi was simply jogging ahead of them (and was getting quite frustrated with their inability to keep up).
Then they had to do a bunch of squats and pull-up like exercises. Naruto and Sakura could barely keep up the pace when Kakashi had them do jumping squats, feeling their legs practically becoming dead weights and sweating puddles onto the ground. Sasuke was faring better than both of them, though still struggling, and Kakashi took notice of him. "Well done, Sasuke." He commented, pleased with his performance. "You're proving once again you're much stronger than the average genin." Sasuke smiled slightly at that. "We better up your workout so you're at the same level of exhaustion as the rest of your team by the time you finish." Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as Kakashi suddenly shackled several weights to his limbs. Sasuke was then doing the exercises slower than before, clearly having to put more effort into it. "There we go." Kakashi smirked. Seeing Naruto and Sakura just standing there, he turned to them and snapped "I didn't say you could stop!" Naruto and Sakura got back to work.
Kakashi then had them practice with their shuriken. Sasuke and Sakura managed to more or less hit their marks (though the former's were much more accurate), but Naruto was way off. "We're REALLY going to have to work on that." Kakashi noted with disappointment.
He then had them attack wooden dummies with taijutsu. However, as opposed to the chunin instructors, who just taught them the basic strikes, Kakashi got to the nitty gritty of the techniques, demanding more accuracy and power, and doing his best to make sure they understood the concept and principals from each attack and block. Sasuke was doing well to keep up, but Naruto and Sakura were having trouble, struggling to lift their limbs. "Sakura, make sure your knuckles are the first to strike! You'll break your fingers if you're off by just a bit!" Kakashi yelled. "Naruto, you're telegraphing all your strikes! Anyone could see them coming! Attack with straight movements, and keep your body centered!"
"Oh, enough!" Naruto shouted as he hunched over in exhaustion. Sakura and Sasuke stopped dead in their tracks, knowing that Naruto had broken a big student-teacher taboo. "What's the point of all this!? You have us work our assess off, sit around to feel our spiritual energy or something, pick up trash, and study! I thought you were going to take us on missions to do some good! Make us like you!"
Kakashi said nothing at first, but they could see by the way his eye narrowed, he was angry. "Sakura." He said. "Do you happen to know how the genin rank was first formed and what is its purpose in the present day?"
Sakura gulped as she mustered up the courage to answer. "G-genin were first conceived during the Kobana war, before the five great shinobi nations were formed. I'm…I'm not certain of the exact reason, I just know that the clans believed they needed more ninja back then!"
Kakashi nodded in satisfaction as he began to circle Naruto, who was starting to tremble in his presence. "At first, we only had chunin and jonin, a simple division of normal and elite. However, heavy losses on all parties involved eventually forced them to bring children still in training onto the frontlines. Knowing they were not ready for the big stuff, they invented the term 'genin' and trained them to back up their superiors." Kakashi then stopped in front of Naruto, who quickly felt his bravado shrink to nothing. "Back then, the warring clans were desperate. They blindly accepted those with the bare minimum of the basics and threw them out into battle, opting for a quantity over quality approach. Many died within a month of being accepted. The more extreme clans considered it 'weeding out the weak' back then." Before Naruto could react, he felt something grab him and flip him on his back. Naruto saw a kunai coming right for his eyes, and shielded himself. Realizing he wasn't stabbed, he cautiously opened his eyes to see the kunai a hair's breadth away from him. "Today, we keep the genin rank around as a reserve unit of sorts, and train you to be ready for war…during times of peace. And that's precisely why you three are not out in the field just yet." Kakashi leaned his face down to Naruto's level. "I hear the Earth States and the Lightning Empire are on the verge of war. Perhaps I should push their buttons and throw you into the middle of that conflict?" Naruto gulped at the prospect. He heard the people of the Earth States were exceptional taijutsu fighters, and those from the Lightning Empire were said to have been trained from birth to be obedient soldiers. "Didn't think so." Kakashi said. Naruto felt himself practically fly up back to his feet as the jonin forced him back up. "So, be grateful I'm taking this time to make sure none you get killed in battle. Because as you are now, all three of you will be dead in a minute in a clash between shinobi."
Kakashi looked up to the sky, seeing the orange hue of the sunset. "Must be 6 pm." Kakashi looked to Sakura and Sasuke. "Now, we're doing the same thing tomorrow, so I suggest you all eat well tonight, go to bed early, and have a nutritious breakfast. And make sure you prepare lunches for yourselves tomorrow too." Sakura and Sasuke bowed, and walked away, grateful for the dismissal.
"Thank kami…" Naruto sighed, as he walked after them.
"Hold on!" Kakashi said, grabbing him by the hair. "For talking back to me, we're going to repeat this entire exercise! And one way or another, you're going to finish before 9 pm!" Naruto's face turned white at the prospect, and birds could be seen flying from the trees as his scream drove them away.
Another two weeks had passed; Naruto had done what he was told after that incident with Kakashi,, and he and the team were reluctantly starting to get with the program.
One night, Naruto found he didn't feel like going to bed just yet. Seeing that it was not that late, Naruto decided to go for a walk. As he aimlessly wandered the streets, Naruto finally settled on a bench somewhere. As he sat down to look at the night sky, he heard footsteps walk towards him.
"You have the look of someone who is wondering where he's going with his life."
Naruto turned to his side to see the Sandaime walk down the street, smoking his pipe along the way. "Old man."
"Seems proper etiquette has not been ingrained to you just yet." Hiruzen sighed. "Mind if I sit here?"
Naruto nodded, and the elder helped himself as he put his pipe out with his shoe. "And what are you doing out here?" the blonde asked.
Hiruzen sighed. "Things have been frustrating at work. I felt like I needed to go for a walk, clear my head for a bit." Hiruzen sighed. "Seems you're having a similar problem. Not satisfied?"
Naruto sighed in turn. "I feel like Kakashi-sensei is holding me back."
"Well, based on his reports, I wouldn't say that." The old man took a moment to word this. "Naruto, I understand your frustration."
"You do?"
"I was young and impulsive once, too. But please, try to understand what Kakashi is doing. It is his job as your jonin instructor to push you, both to ensure your survival, and to make sure you're the best ninja you can be, perhaps even better than him. He can be harsh, but he's not punishing you…except when he says he is."
"Don't remind me." Naruto shook as he remembered the evening of accelerated exercise. "But I want to get out there! I want to show everyone I can do this!"
"With time, I'm sure you will."
"The teme seems to get it all." Naruto mumbled.
"You mean Uchiha?" Hiruzen smirked. "Yes, he is most impressive. But he too needs to learn discipline. He may be a prodigy, but he's only getting what he needs and deserves. Nothing more." Seeing Naruto was not convinced, Hiruzen added "But how he does now is not a direct sign of how he will do in the future, nor you."
"But I feel like I'm going nowhere!" Naruto snapped.
"At some point in our lives, we all have." Hiruzen sighed. Stretching, he stood up. "It's getting late. I suggest you go to bed now; I still have some paperwork I need to catch up on. I suggest you reflect on your weaknesses and focus on improvement. Never a better time than peacetime." Naruto sighed, as he walked the opposite way. "Naruto!" Naruto turned to see Sarutobi hold up his hand with a thumbs up. "I have a feeling your time is coming soon. Be patient for just a little bit longer!"
As Hiruzen continued on his path, Naruto did as well. Oddly, he felt like smiling.
Sakura sighed at her desk, already dressed in her red flannel pajamas. She was reviewing her basic ninjutsu and math books before going to bed; strange bed fellows that she figured she could say goodbye to at this point in her life. Ibiki's class was hard even for her. "I thought I could move on to being an adult when I became a kunoichi." She then thought about a particular teammate. "I thought I could also get closer to Sasuke-kun…but none of us had a chance to take a breather to even have a normal conversation together." She sighed sadly.
Meanwhile, Sasuke was hard at work on a punching bag in his house; he nailed it with several punches and kicks. For his rank, they were superb. But for what he needed, it wasn't enough…
"Oni-chan!" a five year old Sasuke called, running down the hall towards the dojo. "Mom says dinner's ready!"
He stopped as he saw his brother hard at work on the bag. "Harder!" their father called as he watched over him. "Each of your strikes must finish him!" Sasuke's brother then jammed his fingers into the bag, causing the sand to spill out. "That's my boy…" the man said.
Sasuke stared at the small dent on the bag; it didn't look like it would burst anytime soon. "Not good enough." It was late, and he was spent. He picked up his towel and wiped his hair, deciding to leave training for another night.
It was another Monday, which meant more community service. The three genin had gotten used to the routine by now, and begrudgingly accepted their responsibilities. Naruto placed a plastic bag into a dumpster, while Sakura hosed down the immediate area, and Sasuke picked the trash from the street. Naruto sighed at the sight. "So, this is what we signed up for. What we ALL signed up for."
As Naruto walked over to help Sasuke, a familiar voice from above said "Well, you're doing a mighty fine job cleaning up."
The three looked up to see Kakashi, perched in a tree branch above them. "Yes." Sakura bowed respectfully.
Kakashi jumped from his branch to land back on the ground. "Well, in the past three weeks, I've gotten less complaining." Looking to Naruto, he said "Especially you." Naruto chuckled nervously. He would not wish Kakashi's remedial training on his worst enemy. "When you are all finished here, come to the Hokage's office."
"What for?" Sasuke asked.
"You'll see. Just finish up here." Kakashi waved as they saw him walk towards the monument.
"You have been training and serving the village for a while now. I'd imagine you've all gotten very comfortable in your position." Hiruzen said as he addressed Team 7, never looking up from his desk as he continued signing documents. The kids could only groan at his statement. "Of course, a comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing can ever grow there." Finally, he looked up to them. "I have a C-rank mission for you all."
"C?" Naruto asked, tilting his head in thought. "That sounds a little bit…average." He said. Sakura suddenly slapped him across the head. "OW!"
"Baka!" Sakura hissed. "You don't talk back to the Hokage like that!"
"Without getting too into it, you're simply not ready for anything higher." Sarutobi answered, now unsurprised by Naruto's stupidity. "All missions are given ranks. D rank missions are the bottom in importance, and as I'm sure you have discovered, don't pay very well. Anyone can do them really; it's just a formality when ninja are requested to do it. C rank is the average job that requires ninja; in fact, usually a team of chunin will handle these. Of course, in this case, Kakashi will be supervising you." Kakashi nodded. "It's nothing special; you'll just be bodyguards for a client requesting protection."
"Alright!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, pumping his arms up in the air. Now that sounded like something worth doing!
"You do know it's probably going to be very boring, right?" Sasuke sighed.
"But if they're requesting protection, they must be important! Something's bound to happen!" Naruto exclaimed
"Naruto..." Kakashi groaned as he face-palmed himself. "….you'll learn that a good security job is a boring one. Hopefully the easy way."
"So, who are we looking after?" Naruto asked the Hokage, oblivious to Kakashi's statement. "The Daimyo? Maybe a princess!?" Naruto thought of all the possibilities of all the important people he could meet and impress.
"You'll see." Hiruzen said, holding out a scroll. Kakashi walked up, and took it, bowing. "Your mission starts tomorrow. I suggest you all get an early start."
For once, everyone was on time the next day. Kakashi was there at the gates of the village when he said he would, and the three teens were awake despite the early hour, even Naruto. There was just one problem… "Naruto…" Kakashi sighed. "What part of travelling light did you not get?"
Naruto had gotten himself a huge backpack twice his height filled to the brim; he was having serious trouble standing straight. "What?" he asked. "You said to take what you need."
"Considering it's you, you probably do need a bunch of junk to help you on the way." Sasuke smirked.
"Set it down, Naruto." Kakashi said. "Let's take a look."
Naruto did so, and his teammates scoured through his backpack. Kakashi pulled out a bunch of candy bars. "You won't be needing these." Kakashi said, throwing them away.
"What if I get hungry!?" Naruto shouted.
"These will only make you hungrier, and will give you the runs when you really start getting active…which is going to happen." Kakashi said.
Sasuke then pulled out a big radio. "We're going through a bunch of wildlands where we won't get signals, and by the time we do, you probably won't get the stations you like anyway."
"Aw, come on!"
"You may want to get a Walkman instead. Much more convenient." He said as he casually dropped it. "Actually, forget the music altogether. We need you alert out there; you could at least be our lookout."
Sakura also felt around, praying she wouldn't be touching any dirty underwear. She then felt several large hard objects. "What the heck is this!?" Sakura reached in…and pulled out a bunch of hard-cover manga. "The hell!?" There had to be at least a dozen of them!
"Kakashi said it would be boring." Naruto shrugged. "Just thought I should bring my manga collection with me."
"YOU BAKA!" Sakura yelled in his face. "What part of 'Take What You Need to Survive' did you not get!?"
"Well, I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT!" Naruto shouted back.
Kakashi face palmed himself. "Sakura, would you please take Naruto back to his place and make sure he packs correctly?" he asked.
"Why me?"
"I think this requires a woman's touch." Kakashi answered curtly.
Sakura's brow twitched at that comment. "Anyone can do it, you jerk!" her inner self shouted. However, seeing what would happen if she talked back to Kakashi, she put his rather questionable comment in the back of her mind and suddenly grabbed Naruto by the ear and dragged him back into the village. "Come on!"
"OW!" he complained.
"Let's get this over with!"
Sakura finally opened the door to Naruto's apartment, and needless to say, she was disgusted with what she saw. Discarded clothes, unwashed dishes, various books haphazardly tossed around (mostly manga and magazines of course), along with an unmade bed. Sakura's brow twitched several times over. "I can't believe your parents let you live like this." She hissed as she helped herself inside.
"Uh, I never really knew them." Naruto said, scratching his head, hiding the fact he was hurt by her blurting that out.
Sakura got to work searching around. "You'll need a change of clothes…probably 3." She randomly picked up three pairs of pants and shirts, and handed them to him. "You're getting your own underwear. I'm not even touching them." She then helped him get together some toiletries, and went to his fridge. Her face sighed at what she saw. "And of course, you have no fruits or vegetables in here. Nothing you can take without needing to cook…" She took hold of his milk carton, shaking it. "You haven't drunk this milk since you bought it." She saw it was expired for over two months. She then went to his cupboard, sighing again. "Well, it seems these will have to do." She got the cup ramen, and handed them to him. "Hopefully, Kakashi-sensei is going to go hunting for us as we go. You're going to go insane with just this."
"Never!" Naruto smirked. "I never get tired of it!"
Sakura face palmed herself. "Let's just go. Next time, properly prepare for the mission, because I'm not helping you again!" Naruto blinked at her statement as she walked out. "And clean up! You'll never get any girls to visit you if you continue to live like this!"
"Uh…you came here." He said in surprise.
"THIS DOESN'T COUNT!"
"Okay then." Kakashi said, satisfied with Naruto's now much lighter load. "NOW we're ready to go."
"YES!" Naruto raised his arms in excitement. Suddenly, a thought just occurred to him. "Hey, just WHERE are we going?"
He expected his teammates to face-palm themselves at his ignorance, which was becoming common lately, but to his surprise, they looked just as confused as he was, shrugging their shoulders. "I know where we're going, and that's all you need right now." Kakashi assured them confidently. He then waved towards the gatekeepers up above; seeing his signal, they opened them up. Beyond the gates, they saw a trail surrounded by trees. Suddenly, the three felt lumps in their throats. At this moment, they realized that they had never been outside the village and its territory. "Well, let's get going." Trepidatiously, they took a cautious step outside the gate's border. "Come on!" Kakashi shouted. "We have a week to reach the client, or else we will lose the mission to a competitor!" He clapped. "Hurry up!" Kakashi suddenly took off sprinting.
After a brief pause, the three ran after him. At this moment, Naruto was grateful to Sakura for lightening his load. He was giving it everything he got, but Kakashi was already far off into the horizon. He could tell by the way he carried himself, Kakashi wasn't even going at his top speed. Sasuke was ahead of him, but still nowhere near Kakashi's speed, and he was struggling to keep up as well. Trailing way behind the two of them, Sakura was running out of breath fast, still not used to pushing her slim body like this. "No! Come on, Sakura!" she told herself. "You…can…do….this!" Sakura let out a hoarse breath as she pushed further. "Even if it kills me!" She hoped it wouldn't come to that…
As Naruto focused on Kakashi ahead, he saw him disappear from the horizon altogether. "What!? Hell no!" Both he and Sasuke pushed themselves harder.
Sasuke felt like he was catching up to his teacher…and skidded to a stop as he stared down 20 meters of forest below. Sasuke looked around to see a whole mountain range around them. "This whole time…we lived on a plateau! And I never knew!"
Naruto also skidded to a stop, and bumped into Sasuke. The sudden force threw both of them off balance, and they both screamed as they fell to what they assumed to be their deaths.
Sakura, hearing the commotion ahead, got her second wind. She sprinted up to the edge, and gasped in horror. "SASUKE-KUN! NARUTO!"
The two screamed as they plummeted to the forest down below. Best case scenario, they expected the branches to catch them and cave their sternums in. Indeed, something caught them, but it was soft and springy. The two were silent, in disbelief that they weren't hurt.
"See?" they heard Kakashi say. "That wasn't so bad now, was it?"
The two looked behind them to see Kakashi relax against a tree branch. Looking below them, they saw they were caught by a net. "What is this?" Naruto asked.
"As of now, we have officially crossed the border of Konohagakure." Kakashi said. "Upon finding the village, both Uzumaki Harashima and Uchiha Madara agreed that though they needed the cover of the forest to protect them, it would not be enough." Kakashi looked up to the plateau, the two genin following his lead. "They then discovered the plateau you see before you. They agreed it was the perfect place to protect their people. Not only would the high cliffs make it difficult for invaders to come up and attack them, but enemies would waste their time scouring the forests below while they were safe up above." Kakashi smirked under his mask. "So, calling it the 'hidden leaf village' had a double meaning." Both Naruto and Sasuke were fascinated by his story. Looking below, Naruto saw they were still far up from the ground. "This safety net is spread across the canopy all around the plateau." Kakashi explained. "We're still 70 meters above the actual ground."
Naruto gulped. "I…I never knew we were so high up…"
"Of course, we could have found out the easy way if you didn't crash into me…" Sasuke snorted.
"Well, maybe if a certain teme didn't suddenly stop, he could have saved us a bunch of trauma-!" Naruto shot back
"Enough!" Kakashi shouted, breaking up the argument. "There will be more for both of you to discover in time." he said. "Now, I believe we are short one teammate…" Kakashi said as he looked up.
Sakura fidgeted uncontrollably on the edge of the plateau. "THERE'S NO WAY! THERE'S NO WAY THOSE TWO COULD BE DEAD!" she screamed inside of her mind. "…could there!?" She began to pace uncontrollably, still very much in panic mode. "What should I do!? I should go for help! Yes, I should…"
"SAKURA!" she heard Kakashi yell from down below. "YOU COMIN'?"
Sakura stopped upon hearing his voice. "Kakashi-sensei!" she yelled, her call echoing across the mountain range. "Are you all okay!?"
"Well, I am talking to you, aren't I!?" Kakashi yelled back. "Now jump!"
Sakura hesitated, looking around. "Uh…"
"It's alright!" Kakashi yelled again.
Sakura just stared down with a skeptical look. "Like a thousand meter drop would count as 'safe'…"
"Come on, Sakura-chan!" she heard Naruto yell. "It's safe!"
Sakura's face soured even more. Finally, she shrugged her shoulders. "If an idiot like him can survive that…it shouldn't be a problem for me!" Sakura backed up a bit, ran, and jumped like she was doing a cannonball at a pool. "ON SECOND THOUGHT, THIS WAS A REALLY BAD IDEAAAA-!" she screamed as she felt gravity take hold…
Sakura's scream came to a halt as the net caught her. "See?" Kakashi smiled, his eye closing. "That wasn't so bad now, was it?"
"So…much…spinning…" she moaned as her eyes spiraled.
Kakashi sighed. "Help her stand up." Naruto and Sasuke helped support her by the shoulders as she got her bearings straight. "Now come on." Kakashi said. "We've got to get a move on." Kakashi leaped into the tree branches, Sasuke quickly following after him.
Naruto and Sakura, however, hesitated. "I'm not at their level…" the two thought.
"Hurry up!" Kakashi called again.
"Uh…don't you think we should get to the ground level first?" Naruto asked.
"We're traversing by tree!" Kakashi called back. "It's safer when there are potential enemies on the ground, and it's faster than navigating the maze of trees down below. Plus, this will train your bodies and coordination!"
Naruto gulped. He breathed deep, and took a leap of faith. He touched down on the closest branch, but he felt his balance begin to give way. "WHOA-!" Naruto rapidly flapped his arms, eventually regaining his balance. Sakura did the same, landing a bit more gracefully. It seemed it was only the height getting to her.
"Get going, or we're leaving you behind!" Kakashi yelled.
Naruto gulped, and jumped again, Sakura doing the same. Thankfully, the forest was so dense that the distance between branches wasn't that great, and even this high up they were rather thick, ensuring a landing. After a while, Naruto got used to it. However, he was not as agile as Sasuke and Sakura, and as a result he was the last one in line…
Soon, the forest became a vast grassland. "Wow…" Naruto said in awe. The gold grass painted a beautiful contrast to the bright blue sky above.
"Kakashi-sensei, what now?" Sakura asked.
"Well, does anyone know a jutsu that allows you to fly?" Kakashi asked. He waited for a moment, and no one answered. "Didn't think so. So…we're going down." Kakashi simply jumped off his branch, and landed from a 10 meter drop without a hitch. "Get down safely, however you can!"
Naruto gulped; his teammates also began to sweat a little at the task before them. Slowly, they managed to get down as anyone else would, grabbing hold of branches and placing their feet carefully on the next. Eventually, they all made it down. Of course, Naruto slipped and fell on his back; good thing by then he was almost down. "Come on." Kakashi said, helping him up. "That took us about two hours. A seasoned chunin would have been able to get out of there in half an hour." Quickly, he stood in front of them again. "Now!" Kakashi rubbed his hands. "When we no longer have the safety of the trees, we still must use the environment to hide, even in broad daylight! Here, the grass is about a meter tall. So, we're going to run. Stay as low to the ground as you can!"
Kakashi leaned down and took off. None of them could see him from the grass. Sasuke looked at his teammates and shrugged. He took off, and the other two followed after him. Despite being half his height, their heads managed to poke through the grass while Kakashi successfully remained hidden. "Lower!" Kakashi called back. They all tried, but going lower was compromising their speed.
Naruto began to run on all fours, but stopped when a pebble hit him in the forehead. "Ow!" he winced as he rubbed it.
"If I want somebody to accompany me on all fours, I'll summon a dog!" Kakashi yelled back. "Now, back on your feet!" Naruto sighed, and did as he was told. It felt like they were running for an eternity, and their lungs began to burn. Still, they stayed focused as best they could.
As they were coming into a clearing, Kakashi raised his fist. "Stop!" As the genin skidded to a stop, Kakashi quickly looked around. Spotting a boulder, he quickly waved for them to hide behind it. "What's going on!?" Naruto shouted.
"Shh!" they all hushed him.
"The point of hiding is not to make noise, dobe!" Sasuke hissed.
Naruto crept behind the border of the boulder. Over the horizon, he could make out four shapes heading towards them. As they came closer, Naruto could see they were people. "Ninjas…?" Naruto wondered. Soon, they were coming into view.
"Draw your kunai." Kakashi whispered. "Just in case."
Soon, the strangers were clear within their eyesight. Naruto, crouched behind a small hill, made out the best details of them he could. Like them, they seemed to be a four-man squad; an adult, and three others not much older than Naruto and his friends. The adult was dressed in a manner similar to most of the other ninja in the village Naruto saw, but his vest was colored beige. He also wore a white turban on his head, and had a slight scar on his lips. Naruto then turned his attention to the three teens. One seemed rather ordinary with dark clothes and a mop of brown hair, similarly shaped to Naruto's. However, his face was covered in stripes purple face-paint that connected to his lips. "Weird…" Naruto thought. He noticed that he had something strapped to his back, wrapped in bandages. He had no clue what it could be. The next person was a girl, probably about 14, maybe 15. She was actually kind of pretty, sporting dirty blonde-hair tied into four ponytails in the back; two pointing up, and the other two pointing down. She was dressed in what seemed to be a purple kimono, and carried what seemed to be a large black stick on her back. Then there was the third, a young boy about Naruto's age. He was pale and thin, hinting that he didn't go outside to exercise much. His head sported spiky red hair. His clothes were brown, and he carried a large gourd on his back; judging by the size of it, Naruto would have thought the kid would have been exhausted carrying it, but he showed no such signs. And for some reason, he felt both drawn to him and repulsed at the same time. He seemed to have something red across his eye, but from the distance, Naruto couldn't make out specific details if it was kanji or a tattoo.
As he observed them, he saw the leader look his way. Panicking, Naruto ducked and held his hands over his mouth as he flattened himself to the ground. As the others observed the strangers, the leader signaled his squad to follow him as they ran across the grass. After a minute, Kakashi relaxed. "It's okay." He stood, and the others followed him.
"Who were they?" Sakura asked.
"Ninja, but not from around here." Kakashi said. "I couldn't be sure, but I think they were from Sunagakure."
"What are they doing here?" Naruto asked.
"I don't know." Kakashi answered honestly.
"Well, it's a good thing they didn't see us!" Naruto smiled, stretching his arms behind his head.
"Of course they saw us." Kakashi said. Naruto nearly turned white at his answer. "However, we were not their mission nor a threat to them."
"I thought we had a treaty with Suna." Sasuke said.
"Very aware for your age, as usual Sasuke." Kakashi praised him. "We do have a truce with Suna, but that does not prevent them from coming into the country if they must. Still, whatever they're doing, it's clear their mission is within our land."
"Do we go back?" Sakura asked. "To tell the Hokage?"
"I'll send him a message when I have an opportunity." Kakashi answered. "But we can't go back. Not yet." Kakashi then took off. "I think you all had a good rest. Let's go!" The three moaned as they once again struggled to catch up with him as they dashed across the field, avoiding the path of the Suna nin that just passed by them.
Soon enough, night came. "Let's stop for now." Kakashi signaled his team. The three hunched over to catch their breaths, Sakura in particular falling to her knees. "Get some dry twigs for a fire. I'm going to message the Hokage about what we found earlier."
As the three did what they were told, the jonin cut his thumb with a kunai, and made three hand signs: The ram, enclosing one fist in the other, the snake, clenching his hands together, and then the Ox, interlocking his fingers perpendicular to one another. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Kakashi placed his hand on the ground, several markings appearing in a circle around Kakashi. And then, an explosion of smoke occurred, revealing a small dog in blue ninja garb.
"Eh, whaddya want?" it said as it scratched its ear.
Naruto and Sakura balked. "D-did that dog just talk!?" Sakura stuttered.
"Oh good." Naruto sighed, clutching his heart.
"What!?"
"It means I'm not crazy!" he huffed. Looking to her, he asked "Right?" Sakura just looked at him dumbfounded.
"This is Pakkun." Kakashi explained. "He is a summon animal; they are more like avatars representing the real thing. I have a contract with the dogs, and with the right blood sacrifice and chakra, I can summon any of them at any time and they will do what I require of them." Turning back to Pakkun, he said "I need you to deliver a message to the Sandaime for me."
"I got my pack on me." Pakkun said, turning his back to him to show the ninja. "Whenever you're ready."
Pulling out a piece of paper and a pen, Kakashi wrote and rolled his message up, placing it in the container. "Thank you." Kakashi reached into a pocket and gave him what seemed to be a treat. Without another word, Pakkun took off, much faster than a dog of his size and build should be able to run. "In exchange for doing my work, I must reward the animals I summon. For the dogs, it is usually rare treats; they're very food motivated."
"So, they work for food?" Naruto asked.
"Depends on the animal…and the summon." Kakashi answered. "But beware the animal you make a contract with. Because some are not as easy to please as others, and demand a high price for their services."
As they got the fire going, Kakashi looked to the sky. "Despite your rather sluggish start, we actually managed to make half-decent time in the end. We should be right on schedule now." Kakashi then pulled out a vial, dispensing several small pellets. "Here, eat these."
The three chewed. "Ack!" Naruto hacked.
"Just finish it." Kakashi ordered. "It will go down faster."
Though Sasuke and Sakura were more disciplined in this regard, Sakura still made funny faces as she tried to down it. "What is this, sensei?"
"Food pills." Kakashi said, shaking the vial. "They are packed with all the nutrients the human body needs for an entire day, minus water. They are easy to carry and take no time to eat."
"Couldn't you have made them taste better!?" Naruto yelled, taking a sip of his canteen.
"Rations never do. I promise you, when time is no longer of the essence, we can eat real food. But for now, this is what we're going to have until we have reached our destination." Kakashi then pulled out his futon. "Let's get some sleep. We're getting up early, so I want you to be up and at it by sunrise." Naruto and Sakura groaned, while Sasuke took his futon in silence. Soon enough, the four fell asleep.
The trek continued, Kakashi making them do various training exercises along the way. At the moment, he simply had them jogging across a trail in the grassland. It was probably not as rigorous as the other exercises he made them do, but after all they had been through, it felt as great a challenge as all the others. Of course, Sasuke was in the lead, though his face was turning red and sweating profusely.
"You-(huff)-won't be (huff) King of the Mountain for long, ya know? (huff)?"
Sasuke looked back to see Naruto catching up to him, though it seemed he would pass out any second. "You're actually keeping up." Sasuke noted. "Impressive."
"Hey, I'm going to be Hokage one day!" Naruto huffed back. "I can't play second-fiddle to you forever!"
"Hokage, huh?" Sasuke smirked. "Doubt it." He then genuinely smiled. "BUT…if by some fluke you DO make it…you can count on me to be your right hand man."
"What?" Naruto blinked.
"Only the best become kage." Sasuke said. "So if you manage, I trust it won't be a mistake."
Meanwhile, Sakura was lagging way behind, the new kunoichi barely able to keep them in her field of vision. "How is this happening?" Sakura thought as she struggled for breath, focusing in particular on Naruto. "He barely made it by accident. I passed with an average score at least!" She saw that they were getting farther away from her. "They're so far away. So far away from me…" Sakura nearly collapsed, but forced herself back up. "I gotta catch up. Gotta catch up…"
Later, at sunset, they made camp again. As before, Kakashi ordered them to get firewood as he sat on a rock, reading his book. Somehow, Sakura found herself tagging along with Sasuke while Naruto went off on his own direction. As they gathered twigs, Sakura realized "This might be a good time to get Sasuke-kun to notice me." She tried to speak, but her words died in her mouth. "AGH! WHY IS THIS SO HARD!?" She tried again. "S-So, Sasuke-kun, uh, nice weather we're having!?" "IDIOT!" she screamed at herself. "That's what HE'S supposed to say!"
"Didn't notice." Sasuke answered, continuing with his task.
Sakura sighed as she struck out. "Okay, let's try something else." "Uh, did you see the trailer for the Princess Fuun movie?" Sakura asked, trying to gear the conversation towards entertainment. "I personally thought it gave away-"
"Don't watch movies." Sasuke answered.
Sakura nearly growled in irritation. "Okay, come on! Your beau-to-be doesn't have any hobbies (yet)! Maybe…talk about ninjutsu! Yeah, a guy like him must be super into ninjutsu!" "Um, maybe you could teach me your fireball technique?" she asked. "I'd really like to learn it." That certainly was true.
Facing away from her, Sasuke's face turned from stoic to annoyed. "Well, I'll give you points for once caring about being a ninja." Sakura's face lit up. "But I'm in no mood to teach anyone anything."
Sakura's face soured at his comment. "You give Naruto tips all the time…"
"Well, an idiot like him needs an extra tip or two." Sasuke sighed as he walked away.
Sakura looked down at the ground sighing. "Way to go, Sakura." She thought sarcastically.
Kakashi looked on from his sitting rock. "She's a lot like you, Rin." He thought. "Maybe a bit clumsier."
The trek seemed to go on forever; the three genin still didn't have a clue where they were going. "I'm getting tired of doing what he says without knowing why." Naruto thought.
They continued jogging up the hill, Kakashi still way ahead of them. When he reached the summit, he held up his hand. "We're here." Curious, the three forgot about their fatigue and picked up the pace to meet him. They saw a large, green island off in the distance. A village could be seen on the west side, but other than that, it seemed to be a pristine island. "THAT, is our destination." Kakashi clarified. "The Land of Waves."
"What exactly are we supposed to protect?" Naruto asked.
"First, let's rest for a bit." Kakashi said. "I want you all refreshed and presentable when we meet the client."
For half an hour, they drank water and lay down. Finally, they walked down the hill towards the coast, this time Kakashi not pestering them with a taxing exercise. "Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura suddenly asked.
"Yes?"
"Doesn't the Land of Waves have a ninja village of its own?" she asked. "We traveled such a long way; surely, hiring us from so far away is inconvenient for them when they could have asked for local help."
"Ah." Kakashi said, nodding in understanding. "Good question, Sakura. In this case, no. In ancient times, the countries on the mainland would have an army of samurai or ninja to protect them from their neighbors. The Land of Waves had natural protection from the water, being an island. Plus, the nation doesn't have any valuable natural resources nor is it in a strategic military location. However, times have changed. Naval tactics and technology have evolved, and the criminal underworld has eyed this island as a safe haven…creating problems for the locals."
Finally, they came upon a solitary boat on the shore, the boatman resting on the edge, his kasa covering most of his face. "Are you the ninja I'm waiting for?" he said as he took a swig of his sake.
"If we weren't, you wouldn't have an opportunity to ask that question." Kakashi answered.
Satisfied with the answer, the boatman stood, lifting his kasa and revealing an old man with a white goatee and hair. He also wore small glasses. However, Kakashi could tell the man was in good shape, even at his age. "The name's Tazuna. And I'm the client that hired you."
Tazuna steered the motorboat as the ninja hung at its sides. Naruto, however, looked rather perturbed. "I was hoping we were going to guard someone more…important." Naruto sighed. Sakura quickly punched him in the gut, causing him to keel over. "Oof!"
"Baka! That's no way to treat the client!" Sakura hissed.
"What?" Naruto said.
Sakura quickly pinched his ear and pulled him close. "IT'S CALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE!"
"Ahh, you're hurting me!" Naruto flapped around.
Tazuna, observing the scene, groaned. "I may not be important by most standards on the mainland…but still, I was expecting a bit more for my protection." He then addressed the jonin at the front. "Hey! Didn't your Hokage get my message!?"
"The Hokage read it himself." Kakashi said, not bothering to look back. "Whatever his reasons are for sending us here, I trust him. Perhaps you should too."
Tazuna sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing, ya spikey-haired fool…"
"So, just what is it we're protecting exactly?" Sasuke suddenly asked. "It seems there's more to you than meets the eye."
Tazuna stayed silent for a moment. "Well, at least there's a sharp one among you." He then directed them to the left side of the boat. "Essentially, by protecting me, you're also protecting that."
They all turned to see a large bridge…or at least part of one. It stopped in the middle of the water, far away from the mainland. However, Naruto was still in awe. Pillars of steel supported the bridge several decameters above the surface, and Naruto could see from the machinery, people were still hard at work. It was unlike any bridge he had ever seen. "That there is my bridge." Tazuna said. "Well, more like WILL be my bridge. And I need to survive until it's completed."
Naruto blinked at his statement. "What is such a big deal about this bridge that someone would want you dead?"
Tazuna balked at his question. "Naruto!" Sakura hissed. "Just shut up!"
"That's enough, Naruto." Kakashi hushed him from the front. "I'm sure we'll find out more on the other side." Of course, Kakashi had quite a few ideas of what was going on with this man…
Up from above on one of the bridge's towers, a masked figure observed the boat. The only physical features that could be clearly discerned from the figure was the black hair flowing behind him. He wore a red, flowing kimono decorated with what seemed to be blue snowflakes, and his mask resembled an arctic fox with red tear lines down the face. The person in question also had a hair bun in the back of his(her?) head. Feeling he observed all he could from this vantage point, he sprinted off the ledge and dove off.
"Why don't we just waste him now, boss?" A rough-looking man in a dimly-lit room asked.
"If we do it ourselves, we'll only draw attention. Tazuna already has the people behind him; if mere Yakuza are found murdering the man who will save the economy of the island, the populace will fight back." A man explained as he signed a paper on his desk with blood pricked from his thumb. "If I am to continue my appearance as a legitimate businessman, we need to be careful. And patient." He then looked to the corner of the room, his dark glasses reflecting the poor light. "And that's what we have you here for, Zabusa-san. Because if the murder is the result of a ninja…no one would dare raise a peep."
A tall, built man stood off in the corner with his arms crossed. His raggedy, black hair reached down to his neck, sporting a green sleeveless muscle shirt and gray military pants. Like many ninja, he also wore a hiate around his head, several small lines like rain-drops carved into the metal, signifying his origin from Kirigakure, the village hidden in the mist. However, a large scratch was etched across it, also showing him to be a rogue ninja; ninja who abandoned their village for personal gain. The only other notable physical feature was that his face below his nose was wrapped in bandages. Personally, he would rather not kill an old man. But, an assassin doesn't choose his own targets. The customer does. "I will begin shortly. I just need my apprentice to complete his report." He said. With that, he exited the room.
As he helped himself into the lounge down the hall, he stopped. "Zabusa-sama." A voice said, the fox-masked boy emerging from the shadows behind him.
"Haku." Zabusa said. "I take it Tazuna has hired help?"
"Yes, Zabusa-sama." Haku removed his mask, revealing a feminine face with red lips and sparkling blue eyes. "It seems Tazuna-san has hired ninja to guard him."
Zabusa rubbed his chin. "He likely can't afford very good ninja…unless someone did a favor for him. Tell me, could you make out any features of his protection?"
"Three children my age; genin, I presume." Haku answered. "However, an adult was with them as well. From what I could see, he wore a mask over his face and had silver hair. I would presume him to be of jonin rank."
Zabusa's eyes widened. Under his mask, he sneered. "It must be the White Fang, Hatake Kakashi…."
"Sir?"
"Prepare yourself, Haku." Zabusa walked to the room and picked up the handle of a very large sword, the blade resembling a cleaver and as long as his body. He slung it over his back with ease, as if it was a normal katana. "Hatake is one of the most famous jonins on the continent; I'm amazed he was never promoted to Hokage. Still, he is a worthy opponent."
"And our target?" Haku asked.
"We will finish him. But first, I want you to investigate this team. Discern their strengths and weaknesses, see if they hail from any clans worth noting. They will probably amount to nothing, but it's best to make certain."
"Yes, Zabusa-sama." Haku kneeled.
And that will be all for now!
Keeping in with the school theme, I'm having all the genin go to class while they are under a jonin's instruction. Of course, I had to put in Ibiki. I'm not positive about what else I can put him in, but I'm hoping to give him a larger role than in the original series. I really liked the problems he gave out during the chunin exam, and thought I would put more of a role on actual academics as well. Hopefully I can expand upon that beyond physics.
While they will occasionally still do community service, I'm making sure Kakashi puts an emphasis on training as well. I don't know if it was due to pacing, an unclear vision that Kishi didn't communicate or an intentional fault of his character, but now it really bothers me that Kakashi wasn't active in his students' development in the beginning (except for Sasuke). While I get he's not to be the best teacher, here I want him to at least try to be.
I've also changed the geography of Konoha a quite a bit. I get that in the original they get protection from the forest, but that wouldn't be enough (plus a lot of people seem to know where the village is, so what's the point?) I thought it would be fun to make the setting more fantasy-like, hence raising the village up on a plateau. It was also a good opportunity to have the three train to move like a ninja, with the tree hopping and the running with the arms back; I don't think much of it back then, but it's a bit odd that three pre-teens who were just learning how to become ninjas could fall into those movements so easily.
I've also altered the rules of the summons here. I recently saw on a blog on tumblr somewhere asking what the summon animals get in return. And I realized that was a very good question. For the dogs, they are already on good terms with people and generally only demand treats in return (they are only allowed to receive the award from the summoner). However, not all summons will be so easily compensated.
I've also introduced Team Gaara in this chapter, though they will not have a role in this arc. It's just a tease of things to come and have Naruto's friends encounter ninja outside of their village without resorting to hostilities (not yet anyway).
One other thing: the clients requesting protection. I think back then we just went with it when the client showed up to the Hokage's (or other Kage) doorstep and request help. But then it occurred to me: most of these people aren't ninjas. And these villages are supposed to be hidden…SO HOW THE HELL CAN THEY FIND THEM SO EASILY!? In this version, anyone can contact the ninja villages, but most people who have never been in a ninja village before cannot locate them so easily. For one, no one outside the village can know of their location, and if a client did try to go directly to them, whoever wants to murder them can either hit them before they receive protection, or worse, discover the village and cause a whole mess of other problems.
I thought it was also necessary to give an explanation to why these villages train children. Again, back then we just went with it back then knowing it would probably never work in real life. Of course, Part 2 then brought up these morally grey areas…and in the end did nothing to solve them just so they could be the next generation's problem. I hope the explanation suffices for now, and gives SOME justification.
As usual, if you have any other questions, let me know (preferably by a signed review or PM…it will be far easier to answer your questions that way).
