The changes Jiraiya had warned him about had certainly not affected his beloved ramen. It was still good as it was – as his tongue recalled. The smell still caused his mouth to water with anticipation and his guts to grumble with impatience. Everything else could change and he could adapt, but not ramen. There were more Hyuga running around in hidden places and some in plain sight – just like when the Uchiha ran the streets, but that he could live with– even though he has never been favored by the clan. Had his beloved food changed, Naruto would have been forced to on an unprecedented hunger strike until the flavor he so loved returned.
For him, ramen was more than just food. It held sentimental value. This was the food he had been able to eat when everyone else rejected him. He could afford this. These people had even allowed him to eat for free when he had no money after being overcharged for a service. For all his moods, sad, angry, lonely and even hungry, there was a dish for ramen that would make him feel at ease. Nutritional balance could be damned: ramen had all the ingredients.
"Boss!"
He was on his fifth bowl when the familiar voice called him out with so much excitement that he stopped devouring his food for a moment to glance at the boy on the sides. Konohamaru: his perverted subordinate. Naruto smiled, waving his right hand. Even when his sensei had been strict in trying to separate the boy from him, even when he had no skills to talk about, he wasn't the brightest, this boy had looked up to him. He had respected him. Not everyone could hate you. Not everyone was cruel to the core.
There were people like Konohamaru who believed in your dreams, and reminded you of them every day. To be alive was worth it. To have connections with people was of importance.
"It is really you!" Konohamaru exclaimed, dashing toward the blond. He stopped just inches away, looking excitedly happy as if he was ready to explode like a filled up balloon. "I have missed you!" He held himself from jumping on the boss.
"I have missed you too, my unruly subordinate," Naruto said, ruffling up the boy's hair with his left hand. He then turned to his ramen. He didn't want it to get cold. He could finish up quickly. His head snapped up once more when he realized something; Konohamaru was wearing a headband. "Wow, Konohamaru, you became a genin!"
"Of course!" Konohamaru responded with a grin. "I couldn't stay an academy student forever. I have to advance and become stronger so that I can beat you into becoming Hokage."
Naruto smiled. "You may even succeed in that…" he said pointing at his chest. "We are apparently of the same rank…"
Konohamaru blinked. "You're still a genin!" He exclaimed with shock.
Naruto chuckled lightly seeing the expression of shock. "Yes."
Konohamaru settled after a couple of moments before waving his right hand. "Rankings are overrated. These people don't appreciate you, Ni-chan."
Brother, huh? A child was so innocent. It was a sweet thing, but now as he looked at it, a little sad. The shinobi world was nothing like this. But with time and experience, he would eventually learn. No shinobi remained ignorant to the true horrors of this world, not unless you were kept sheltered from leaving the village. Even just going outside, you could see some extreme things that made you realize the true cruelty of the human heart.
"I want to show you something, boss."
Naruto raised an eye brow. The moment he had seen him, it had become apparent that there was something that the kid wanted to show him. Naruto hoped it was a jutsu of some kind rather anything else weird. Konohamaru had been privately tutored. He shook his head – well, thanks to his influence, the boy had bunked those lessons and had to be chased down by that perverted sensei who called himself an elite, but he was just an overrated shinobi with some self-inflicted high self-esteem because he was hired to tutor the Hokage's grandchild.
Naruto nodded and finished eating his ramen. He paid before departing to a training ground – the familiar ground he had shared with Team 7. Being here, brought so many memories. The good and the bad. There had certainly been good moments. He had been home. Had teammates, and friends he could trust for the first time in his miserable life. Sasuke had at once nearly died for him after all, but he was corrupted by the lust for power. A power hungry fool who needed to be beat up to a pulp. Even Itachi was so disappointed. Though, as he pointed out to the elder, given that he murdered his entire clan, he was not the one to say. Naruto thought he had seen something flash in Itachi's eyes then.
"It better be a cool new jutsu."
Konohamaru nodded vigorously before doing hand seals.
"Orokie no Jutsu!"
In a puff of smoke, the thing he had once been infamous for doing occurred. Naruto stared expressionlessly hard for a moment before bursting out in laughter. And he had expected something different, not this. He shook his head. What was he thinking? Konohamaru was just as much of a pervert as his grandfather. Still, to think he would have learned to develop this jutsu by himself. His senseis at the academy must have been terrorized daily by this. He laughed just thinking of Iruka falling on his behind with a nose bleed while thinking naughty things.
Naruto grinned, "This is nothing," he said. "I have something even better…" he said holding a single hand seal.
"Hmm?"
Naruto suddenly took a flashy step forward with his eyes narrowed behind, while taking out a kunai. He then twisted around, flashing behind a baffled Konohamaru. He picked up the boy by his shoulder, putting him behind. Within a second, a white tiger lunged at him, teeth barred. He took a huge backward jump while hurling the kunai toward the tiger. The kunai went through the tiger's mouth. As he touched down the ground, the tiger exploded in a shower of black ink.
Naruto raised an eye brow in curiosity.
"Boss?" Konohamaru asked curiously, his eyes wore a loom of surprise and confusion.
Naruto put the boy down and then took two steps forward. He then let loose of a small breath seeing that was no more attack coming his way. He still didn't turn to Konohamaru as he spoke in a serious tone. "It looks like I won't get to show you my awesome new jutsu, today…" he said as he created a shadow clone.
Before Konohamaru could ask what was going on, the clone flashed behind him, placing both hands on his shoulders before disappearing.
A pale teenager walked into the clearing along with an old man with a walking stick. Naruto frowned. According to the images showed, this was Danzo Shimura. A problematic situation that he had been told to avoid as he could avoid someone with a contagious disease was occurring. But running now was not going to solve anything. If this man was serious, he was just going to come back to him again.
He stood still, and placed both hands inside the pockets of his pants.
Danzo stopped at a safe distance. Tsunade was probably going to show up any time soon. But he hadn't done anything wrong. Still, the blond had truly changed. It was a good thing. The only nagging feeling was that he was still not a loyal shinobi. Tsunade was allowing him to do as he pleases, as the Hiruzen had done to his students. He would have never allowed the village's valued assets to roam free while their village was facing difficulties. It was either they came to serve Konoha or they stopped breathing. If they were not for Konoha, it meant they were against it.
At this stage, Naruto could not be trusted. He was no different than Sasuke: Itachi should have just killed him instead of leaving him to live. He could have a problem now if the Uchiha ever came to know the truth. Still, Danzo had the ultimate faith that Itachi would never tell village secrets. Unlike these brats, Itachi knew what it meant to serve a village and he had done his part. Of course, Danzo would not complain if he died any day now. It would only be a minus problem for him. And if the younger Uchiha was returned to the Leaf, he could take him in and frame into the perfect weapon for the Hidden Leaf.
"I know that there was a point when you escaped from Jiraiya and he spent months looking for you," Danzo suddenly stated in an expressionless tone. "Your refusal to return when called to return also raises questions about your loyalties to this village."
"Your point?"
"I don't trust you. No one in this village trusts you. You will have to prove to us that we can trust your loyalties to this village. If we can ascertain of that, we won't have a problem. You are a valuable Jinchuriki, and we cannot simply allow someone of your value to be without loyalties to the village that gave birth to you."
Naruto nearly rolled his eyes. He was not angry about this tone; this coldness he was receiving from the War Hawk. It was to be expected such words would come from him – at least as far was Jiraiya had said to him anyway. It was even laughable that this man wanted him to labor to a village that tormented his entire childhood. This village has done nothing for him but make him suffer. They should all just be happy that he was even willing to return here. Still, he would not say such words – not unless he wanted an Anbu to be tailing him everywhere he went, even outside of the village during missions.
"Of course, the village comes before everything. And I must prove myself."
Whether Danzo understood that Naruto was being sarcastic was a matter up for debate. The war hawk nodded. "It makes things easier if you understand your position. If you need any help in controlling the Kyubi's power, you can always come to me. That is a power that must not be held back. It must be used for Konoha's greatness and for its protection against its enemies. As you will realize, there are many of them…" Danzo then paused for a moment. "I came here because I want to talk to you about Sasuke."
"What of him?"
"I know where he is. Orochimaru has become severely weakened now because his current host is dying. If we make a move now, Orochimaru won't be a problem, and we can retrieve the Uchiha."
"For you…"
Danzo did not respond to this. "You don't have much time to think about this. Sai will become your teammate, and if you ever need to pass a message, pass it through him. I expect you to show your loyalties by doing something that you failed to do before, and bring back Sasuke here. Should you do that, you can expect to have my support against those who plot to make sure that you amount to nothing in this village. There are some people who would rather you not even be here. If they can get their hands on anything that could point at you being disloyal, there might be a campaign to drive you out. I can stop that."
And with that, the war hawk went away from him along with Sai.
Naruto stood motionlessly with an expressionless mask on his face. Tsunade must have seen this. And yet, she did nothing. He frowned just thinking that his life might become much more troubling in the days ahead. He didn't want to think that it was only despair that would awake him every day. He wanted to believe that there was hope. But Danzo's words, and Jiraiya's warning that things had changed, it made him feel uncomfortable and wishing that things were much clearer.
He hoped, this was not going to be another living hell.
The Following Day
Movement, finding the right balance and using just the right amount of chakra; these were key things needed for a shinobi to last longer in battle. Before, he would needlessly waste his stamina and chakra when using jutsu because he lacked finer control over it. It could not be helped since he had large reserves. Even as a fresh academy graduate, he had larger reserves than his Jonin sensei. But that still did no need to be an excuse to become careless. If he was going to surpass all, to become great, such flaws had to be removed in his fighting style.
Still, to think he'd fight Sasuke on equal footing even though his fighting style left him open for attacks. His determination, sheer will to continue fighting regardless of the punishment he received had served him well, and it would continue to do so. It had also helped that he had stamina to outlast anyone who stand in a battle against him.
He'd been stupid though. How could he not even realize that the clones always left memories of their experiences? How had Kakashi not stupidly pointed it out for him? The need for attention and to be loved had truly ruined him. He had never settled for deep thoughts. The back of his head had always been frightening. There was nothing but demons and the gate to abyss there. And so, he had avoided it at all costs.
Naruto stopped what he was doing as he sensed a presence, and then glanced at a tree toward his right.
"Yoh!" Kakashi greeted him cheerfully.
"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto responded with a smile. "You haven't aged at all…"
"Meh," the Jonin shrugged carelessly. "You have grown well… into a finer man, if I must say…"
"Ah!" Naruto exclaimed. "You don't swing that way, Kakashi-sensei, do you? Now that I think about it, I haven't seen you with any woman."
Kakashi blinked once as he absorbed what Naruto was saying before chuckling. He chose not to respond to this. "You seem to have grown a sense of humor."
Naruto shrugged as he settled down on a meditative position. "I've always had a sense of humor," he said in a subdued tone. He glanced at the Jonin for a second before closing his eyes. To think that this this man had been trained by his father, and then tossed him out to a glorified Chunin to help him fight against a prodigy. Couldn't he have done any better?
Kakashi stared down at Naruto, his eye smile a mere memory now. He didn't know what to say. It had been painstakingly pointed out to him that he was never a good teacher to his students. While he was not suited to teach someone like Sakura, he certainly didn't help her either. Her failures at the Chunin exams were just a testament to how much of a sensei he was to her. The fact that Sasuke felt he needed to get out of the village to get more power meant that he wasn't doing enough. And then there was his biggest failure: Naruto. There was nothing more to add on that. He had failed miserably.
"Jiraiya-sama says you enjoyed your trip. Well, what else aside from the happiness outside that would have made you resist the calls to return to the village?"
Naruto eyed the Jonin for a moment before closing his eyes once more. "Perhaps the thought of more misery," he said. "I had not gone out to be happy but to train. Admittedly, I learned many things about life as a shinobi, and found ways to enjoy my life. I won't say it was perhaps the happiest moment in my life: just maybe."
"I'm glad you had fun," Kakashi said. "You haven't seen Sakura or any of your friends, is everything okay? I know I may not be the best person to ask, but it does strike me as curious. Your friends may be feeling like you no longer value them or their friendship. I know Sakura was not always the best of teammates. I mean, she never appreciated you, but always berated, yelled, even though she was the one who was… useless…" Kakashi's words were not kind but very harsh.
They actually made Naruto raise a curious brow, despite never opening his eyes. "Harsh, but true," the blond said calmly. "I can never forget them. They were friends, are friends. I won't say we studied together because I never did so, but we are comrades, and I do value their friendship," he said in an honest tone. "I'm just still sorting out my issues. Besides, it has only been a day since I returned… I didn't know Sakura was looking for me."
"Really?" Kakashi found that suspicious.
Naruto smiled. "You won't believe this, but sometimes ignorance is bliss. Besides, how would I know? I haven't met many people since my return…"
Kakashi nodded. There was sadness in Naruto's tone. He knew, that by now, the blond already knew that Minato-sensei was his father. It was something that Kakashi didn't want to deal with, especially given how Naruto is said to have reacted upon learning that he had been lied to through his whole life by the people he trusted.
"If you don't mind, you can join a couple of jonin later on for some drinks."
"Time?"
"Around 7pm."
"I will find you," Naruto said. "Sometimes I thought you were a recluse, sensei. If you were not doing missions, you were reading your book, or staring at dead people."
Kakashi chuckled lightly; it was just how Naruto said it. "At some point in my life, I was like that. My life has been a bit tragic, that at some point, I cut off from everyone…"
"Tragedy, huh?"
Naruto did not add anything.
After a couple of moments, Kakashi simply disappeared in a puff of smoke without saying anything
Tsunade wore a serious look on her face. This was the kid whose actions convinced her to return to this village. It has been challenging since. She wondered how, in his old age, her sensei had been able to hold onto this position. She couldn't do this forever. In a couple of more years, they would have to start looking for s successor, before she was ageing way too quickly. Her hair was surely going to lose its color soon enough if she was not relieved of her stressful moments. Naruto or at least his situation compounded to her every day stay. There had not been a day he didn't come to mind, or a meeting when she wasn't pressed about his whereabouts.
It was safe to say that people were truly afraid that he might turn against them. She had warned them against any movements. When it had become known that he knew about his parents, someone had suggested he be brought back immediately. It would only tarnish the village's name if the son of its greatest hero ends up abandoning it because of the cruel treatment dished out to him. Right there and then, Tsunade and loudly said it, perhaps even rashly, that it was not like they would not deserve anything that would fall on them. She had spat and scoffed at all the clans to their failure to protect Naruto and that none of them and even bothered to take him in when they knew that Minato was his father. They had simply abandoned him because they didn't want to be associated with the Kyubi.
Sighing deeply, Tsunade leaned back to her chair and her mask loosened slightly. She wanted to ask him how he was doing. She wanted to know why he was choosing to stay in his house rather than going out to meet with friends. But this was a non-personal issue.
"I called you here because I have signed you back in for active duty. Of course, you're still ranked a genin. How that changes will be completely up to you. And naturally, your ranking also determines the kind of mission one gets," Tsunade stated. In terms of strength, there was no denying that Naruto had proved himself as being worthy of wearing the vest, but his mental capacity was one thing to consider. He had failed to follow orders and was prone to acting on his own. That was a red flag for Chunin who were at times chosen to lead a team of genin outside the village for a mission.
"Please don't make me do D-rank missions." Naruto begged the Hokage. "No, those damned chores are not missions. Even when the Sandaime had tried many times to explain their economic importance, I'd always thought it was just complete bull being fed to genin to make them feel important while doing someone's laundry."
Tsunade smiled. At least some things never changed. "You are a genin: you can't make any demands."
"I'm grown. I have needs and wants. Chores cannot cover the amount of pay I require to sustain my living," Naruto stated firmly. That aside, he had a house that needed to be looked after, not to mention his other activities were rather expensive.
"Wait until the next Chunin exams, and you can raise you ranking, if you succeed or manage to impress," Tsunade said indifferently. "There is a mission that you will join. It is going to be in two days. Prepare yourself to depart and equipment. You may be gone for about two weeks. And I am sorry I have to send you out so soon after returning."
Naruto shook his head. "I need to be busy, and there is no better service to one's village than doing risky missions," the blond said.
"When you return, you will re-join Team 7. And with a new member who will join you to make the numbers. I believe you have already him earlier with Danzo," Tsunade said with narrowed eyes.
Naruto adopted a thoughtful look before nodding. "Anything else I should know?"
"He is there to spy on you… your new teammate," Tsunade said with a slight wave of her right hand. "Details about your mission will be given when you leave. You will be summoned when it is time. For now, speak to your friends, and put on a smile…"
Naruto nodded. "As you wish, Ba-chan."
"You are insulting me by calling me 'that' when even bowing your head respectfully," Tsunade said with a sharp glare.
Naruto grinned and said. "Enjoy the rest of your day, Ba-chan," he said and then turned around to leave through the door. The moment he turned away from Tsunade, his mask slipped, replaced by an expressionless mask. As he walked through the passages, he came across a very familiar face: Neji. The Hyuga was as stoic as he could remember, but he had truly grown.
"Hello, my vanquished foe," Naruto wanted to say, just to press the Hyuga's buttons but he decided against it. "Neji."
"Naruto," Neji responded with a nod before walking past the blond.
He was never friends with the Hyuga. He was not part of the Konoha 9. Besides, the Hyuga had never been a likeable person with his character.
Neji had expected something childish from Naruto. He had already known that the blond was back in the village. He was hardly a silent person, but his presence has always been something that was felt throughout the village. Still, this time it was not by his doing. As far as the Hyuga clan was concerned, the blond wasn't integrating himself with anyone but just minding his own business. Well, things change. People change. Situations change. He'd thought such a notion was impossible but it was not. Partially thanks to the very same Naruto, in his eyes, cursed to live with an unbearable burden.
When he walked into the Hokage's office, he greeted the woman respectfully and then waited for her to speak.
"I'm going to send you out on a mission to the Earth country. It is a very important mission, and you will be meeting someone from Iwagakure. She is going to give you some valuable information. The danger is that you might get ambushed or come across Iwa shinobi. Nothing must happen to her in your watch and you must get that information and return it. It mustn't get into the wrong hands. And if you come across Iwa shinobi, fight when forced. If it is possible, avoid it," Tsunade said in a hardened tone. "Your partner will be with Naruto. You will have Anbu following you in the shadows only within the fire country. But once you leave, you will be on your own."
Neji had questions about Naruto's abilities, but he would not question the Hokage's decision. "When do we depart?"
"Two days," Tsunade said. "You will be in charge as the higher ranked shinobi. Naruto won't know about the Anbu and they are not going to interfere in your mission unless it becomes clear that you won't save the scroll you will receive."
"Was Naruto told this?"
Tsunade shook her head. "He doesn't need to know. I didn't want to tell you either but you're team captain. Naruto will likely out before you even notice them however. If anything else must happen, I will trust your judgment but the scroll must be secure – if you get it."
This was dangerous. The Anbu were not going to be there to spy on them but to take care of loose ends that the Hokage didn't want them to do. Neji was not going to ask – this was how things worked in this world. He just had to do his part.
"Hai, Hokage-sama."
Sakura was a little nervous coming to this place. She had been told by Tsunade that Naruto was living in this house. Still, she hadn't had the guts to go alone, just thinking about the way he left and the fact that she was warned that Naruto was no longer the same. But what truly made her nervous about seeing him was the fact that she hadn't been a good teammate to him. Even when he had done well, she had never congratulated him. She smiled miserably at the thought of when Sasuke had nearly bit her head off for saying Naruto didn't know anything because he didn't have parents. They were the same. Admittedly, the two had been much closer to each other than her.
"Did you drag me here just to stand here?" Ino asked with impatience. Sakura had dragged her from the flower shop because she needed some emotional support. Ino would not have come here but she was interested in seeing Naruto. Asuma sensei had said he only saw him from a distance but he had truly grown.
Sakura glared at Ino for disturbing her thoughts but before she could say anything in response, the door slowly opened, in a creeping manner. Naruto stepped out, wearing dirty clothes; his face a little black with something like grease; he was barefooted. When he smiled, something seemed to light up.
"I'd been waiting for you to finally knock but I grew impatient," Naruto said in a casual tone. "Sakura, Ino… it is pleasant to see you two…"
Ino blinked; this was Naruto? Something was wrong in this picture. Since when did Naruto speak like a normal person? She didn't mind him being dirty, he was obviously busy with fixing something. "At least some things change," she said, eyeing him from head to tor. "Are you not going to welcome us into your house?"
Naruto smiled. "Why do you say it like that Ino? This is indeed my house."
"Last time I checked, you were living in an apartment… in a crappy environment…" she said, folding her hands across her chest. "But of course, that was some years ago."
"Indeed; you'll forgive my appearance, I busy trying to fix my drainage system and some things," Naruto said of his appearance. He then stepped out the way, to allow to the ladies to step into the house.
The passages were silent. But unlike Naruto, they were clean. The house was nice. The air felt fresh. He led them toward the kitchen, saying he couldn't put them in the sitting room because he was busy working. It was then that Ino and Sakura noticed something – portraits of the Yondaime Hokage and his wife.
"Since when do you fix stuff?" Sakura asked… trying to ease into the conversation before asking what bothered her.
"I'm too broke to buy a new fridge… this looks burst though… I don't even know what I was doing," Naruto answered, staring at the fridge. "Well, at least I managed to fix the drainage system…" he added with a smile. "I'm surprised you came to visit."
"We are teammates…" Sakura said. "And I'd honestly missed you… Sometimes when things are not around, you realize you value them." She added in a sad tone.
"It is such a pity that it takes 'loss' for us to see value," Naruto answered, staring at Sakura. "But you look different, sound different…" though, her chest remained the same.
"You just made a silent comment about my chest, didn't you?!"
Naruto smiled, both hands held up. "I wouldn't want to piss you off like that… I heard you learned your trade from the old hag…" he said before he could add, Ino spoke.
"If you're not going to ask, I will…" the blonde cut in in a serious tone. "Why are the pictures of the Yondaime Hokage in this house?"
"I bought them… He is my hero… it isn't weird is it?"
Ino snorted. "You don't have money to fix the fridge but you have money to buy portraits… and those look like they have been there for a long time…"
"You don't have money to buy kunai but have money to get your hair done… priorities…"
"My hair is important… there are people who see me everyday…"
"And we like what we see…"
Ino stared. Did Naruto just say that in a sly tone, a sweet smile that would make a girl blush? The Naruto she knew? The loudmouthed idiot who could never get his eyes off Sakura?
"Blond hair, blue eyes… if you were not a known orphan, an idiot and someone loathed by almost everyone in the village, I'd suspect you were related to him, but there is just no way someone related to the past Hokage, especially the Yondaime who is loved by all, could have been allowed to live and be stupid in the way you were…" Ino said in a flat tone.
"Was I that stupid?"
"Of course you were… You probably couldn't even spell stupid back then…"
Sakura just stared expressionlessly at Naruto. He noticed it but ignored it.
Kakashi smiled seeing Naruto walk into the bar with causal clothing, and rather watchful eyes. He had thought perhaps the blond would not make it. And the only reason he had invited him was because Jiraiya had said that he was no longer a child and did many adult activities. Well, the shinobi world did have a saying: once you become a shinobi, you become an adult. Naruto was however, an adult in the sense of the word.
He raised his hand, waving it for the blond to see. Upon arrival, Naruto raised an eye brow. He was looking at three men, in a bar. While Naruto had gone to bars with Jiraiya, he had never made it a permanent fixture, and they all went their different ways when night had come.
He sighed, well, there were those nights. Besides, he didn't feel like going crazy. Tomorrow morning, he had to see his friends as team 8 had a mission during the afternoon.
Neji really didn't know how this mission was going to end. He could only hope that things wouldn't be too hard. It was an S-rank mission and they just had to meet someone and collect a scroll, but there was a possibility of coming across dangerous opponents along the way, hence the rank. He'd never led an S-rank mission before, let alone do one from the onset. Even when missions ended up being S-rank, there was always those green beasts to do most of the damage. Those two never tire, but the same could be said about Naruto.
The blond was carrying a small bag, waiting for him at the gates. Neji stopped, and stared – the blond stared back. He was finding it difficult to deal with this Naruto. The old one was much easier to deal with than this one. After a moment, he realized, the blond was amused about something. Was he reading his thoughts? Neji shook his head – that was impossible.
"Naruto," Neji started in a slow tone. "I just want to remind you that this is an important mission and I am leading this team. You will be following my lead as the Jonin and you a genin."
Naruto shrugged. "Whatever you say, Neji," he said. "But as long as you are not leading me to death, I will follow you. However, if you are leading me where I don't want to go, you go alone, you'll find me rooted to the same spot."
Neji frowned. But he didn't want to get into an argument with the blond. It wasn't like he was an idiot who would willingly walk into a trap. He was far smarter than the blond, even though he did end up losing their last match. But he'd only lost because of arrogance and he had underestimated the blond. After all, he had dismissed his chances of winning the moment it was announced they would fight in the first match of the final founds.
"Let's just go," Neji said, turning away from Naruto. Without delay, he followed.
"We need to make a stop somewhere. There are certain things that I must collect," Naruto suddenly said as they went through the trees, hopping up and down from tree to tree.
Neji glanced at him once more. "We have a mission and if your collection has nothing to do with the mission, we can do as when we return."
"It cannot happen. I'm not sure if I will find it when I return," Naruto said in a firm tone. "Would you rather I send a clone to do it? I imagine that may raise some suspicions of my conduct during the mission. For full transparency, it would be best if we go together."
Neji resisted the urge to frown. From the tone Naruto was using, he knew the blond was not going to be an easy person to deal with. He nevertheless wasn't being unreasonable. They were surely not going to go out of their way to go to this place Naruto wanted them to stop by. If so, he would have said they changed directions.
"What are we going to take?"
Naruto smiled, "You'll see."
They arrived at what appeared to be a shrine. It looked old, like it has been around for many years. Neji was wary about getting inside. This was still by the outskirts of the Leaf, and yet he didn't know anything about it. That is when the Hyuga clan has taken it upon itself to map the outskirts of the village, just in case there was an attack.
"What is this place?" Neji asked, with his Byakugan activated. There was even an underground place that looked secure.
"A shrine belonging to the Uzumaki clan. As you are from the Hyuga clan, I doubt you are ignorant about my clan," the blond said as he stepped in. "I only found about it going through some of the things my mother left behind…" he then stopped before walking inside and put on a blank look, facing Neji. "You know about what is inside of me, don't you? As we are doing this mission, the old hag must have told you, and you must have seen my 'second' source of chakra in our fight at the Chunin exams."
The air felt intense, like there was a wrong answer. Neji felt anxious, but he didn't show it in his face. "I know."
Naruto then suddenly smiled. "You Hyuga's are not fun. I would have expected that you'd have removed the stick up your ass but no. In any case, this is a temple with some masks. I want to collect all of them. These are perhaps the only valuable possession I have of my clan since everything was completely destroyed."
"You don't sound particularly happy about that," Neji said, as they stepped into the temple. There were different masks, with different faces. They were strange. Naruto didn't immediately respond as he took a sealing scroll and started sealing everything. He did what he was doing silently before he motioned they move ahead into their mission.
As they silently hopped through the trees, he finally responded. "I'm just a little sad about the fact that masks are the only thing I have left of my clan. When tragedy strikes, it does not pick only those who are nasty." The blond then glanced at the Hyuga for a moment before looking ahead. "Sorry I took us of schedule. This was really important to me."
Neji found himself nodding. "I understand…" he said.
The rest of the journey was peacefully silent, but Neji had questions. With each jump, he became curious about Naruto – at least the Naruto he was dealing with. He was completely different from the blond he once knew. This was a different person. And it was a curious thing. He wanted to know more about what he was thinking, but he could not ask just like that. They were not friends. They were just in the same group that participated in the Chunin exams, representing Konoha.
Along the way, he realized: Naruto was much more aware of their surroundings. Not only that, his alertness and preparedness to step in when called made him feel a bit reassured that he was at least dealing with someone who was disciplined. The old would not have halted the moment he said, halt. He would not have been so observant to take note of shinobi lying in wait, fighting over something. They had quietly went past them: not wanting to be drawn into troubles they did not want, and their mission was slightly a covert operation.
When night came, they had already covered some distance but had not yet crossed the borders of the Fire Country. Neji had deemed it appropriate to get as some rest as they could. They would have crossed the border before dawn, but they were still on schedule. And it was safe to rest in their own country than in the Earth or Grass. There was no telling what would happen. Perhaps the logical decision would have been for him to rest first and allow the blond to take the long watch given that he was less tired than him. But Neji wanted to deal with the issue of their security first by scanning their entire surrounding first before allowing Naruto to keep watch.
And so, he allowed Naruto to take rest while he scanned the area.
The target was simply sitting beside a fire with an expressionless look on his face. His teammate was sleeping inside a tent. There had been no movement there, so it was safe to say he was dead asleep. But with shinobi, you could never know. One moment he was snoring and the next, he was wide awake, holding a kunai to your throat.
"The Hyuga will notice us the moment we get close. We can't go head on. If we get noticed, we awakes his teammate and that will become a problem."
They were six of them, ready for action and their opponents were just two. They had more means of attack than just one. A sneak attack on someone who could gain an entire field of view with his damned eyes was near impossible. The moment the Hyuga senses something or hears a stick snapping, he was going to stay still and activate his Byakugan. If that happened, they would all be exposed and their surprise attack gone into smokes.
"Aerial attack then," another suggested.
"Yes, we drop something big on them while two jump on the Hyuga. There has to be the biggest threat. But gaining either will still be considered a success."
"But the Hyuga can still recognize that."
"How about we throw one at them, lightning from above. The Hyuga looks up, and tries to avoid it. We pounce while he is trying to move. We then could attack all at once as his teammate will be alerted of the danger."
Xxx
Neji's senses suddenly picked when he felt something shift in the air. He knew there was something coming. He had already been warned that there might be attacks along the way. But he hadn't thought that such attacks would find them while they were still within their own country. He quickly stood up and activated the Byakugan. His vision immediately went up, watching the objects falling down. He frowned, there were six opponents. There was no movement from the tent. Naruto appeared to be peacefully sleeping. He wanted to rush toward the blond but those things falling on him were unmistakably explosives.
He jumped away from where he stood stopped, further distancing himself from Naruto. Probably what the opponents wanted. But there was no other choice. He just hoped that Naruto would handle things well. Why wasn't he already up anyway?
Boom!
A round of explosions occurred the moment Neji touched down. He didn't get a chance to look at what had happened on Naruto's side. The blond had too been hit by the explosions. He was surrounded by four shinobi. Was he the biggest threat, or did they just think that Naruto was easier because he was sleeping?
Neji took a stance and sized up his opponents. They were not that strong. Judging from their chakra levels, they were probably high-chunin. Not much of a problem but he was not going to underestimate them.
When one lunged at him, another dashed in behind. Neji's hands glowed with chakra, and he took a single step forward. He sized up the shinobi rushing towards him and the one behind. He needed to be careful and not waste movements. There was no telling what awaited him ahead. They couldn't afford to waste chakra here.
He leaned down slightly, ducking under stretched out right hand that attempted to grip him on his face. As he did so, he drove his right hand forward, and his index finger hit the shinobi at a pressure point on his chest. He quickly danced around, flashing his feet as he twisted around. He leaned to the left trying to avoid a kunai. He barely avoided it as it grazed through his ear. What had bothered him were the movements of the other two, who simultaneously, jumped toward him.
"Kaiten!"
Naruto's eyes flashed open as the danger senses kicked him wide awake. He could feel the chakra signatures moving in close to him. He could not see what was happening. He shouldn't have allowed Neji to take the first watch. But the Hyuga insisted, saying he could do it. His first watch was going to be shorter anyway. He didn't get up but stayed down.
Boom!
An explosive tag hit his tent, engulfing it in a cloud of crimson flames. It was resounding enough to completely destroy the tent. Within a second of going off, the flames started twisting, controllably. They then became a burning tornado.
"Ah, shit!"
The shinobi cursed, seeing the flames twisting furiously toward him. It was not expected and the speed of the flames was faster than what he could handle. Within a second, the flames engulfed him. He cried, feeling the burn. The intensity of the flames had increased. His entire body was being burnt. He could not even cry as his clothes started burning. His pained cry only increased in volume, causing the sleeping birds to awake and flee. His shrieks lasted for a full minute, and there was just nothing that overpowered it.
"Well, that was unpleasant. Men is a cruel thing but if you're human, you really don't want to hear such a pained cry do you?"
"Hmm?" the shinobi flinched, upon hearing the sudden voice from behind. Wasn't the blond in the tornado? How had he even moved fast enough without him seeing or even getting behind him? And why the hell did he sound sincere about his words?
When he twisted around, while trying to jump away from the blond, his flailing right hand was caught, and he was yanked forcefully back. He yelped silently by the force behind the yank. It was a sudden pull that made him feel like someone was trying to tear off his hand from his shoulder.
Naruto proceeded to pound him on his chest with a powerful punch. The air inside his lungs escaped in the blink of an eye. He felt his energy leave, body weak. Was it even possible to even feel like that with just one punch? He thought as he fell down on his knees. A brutal knee hit his face, sending him crashing toward a tree with his back. He didn't make a pained cry, but gritted his teeth as small amounts of blood started to flow out slowly.
How had this gone wrong? Their opponents were not supposed to be this stron-
"Arg!"
A foot crashed into this throat, cutting his airflow. He struggled to break free, hands hit hard on the leg. But he was being pressed against the tree's trunk.
"Naruto," Neji called out. "We need them alive…"
Naruto turned to face the Hyuga without saying anything. He didn't have any plans to keep at it, he was simply making sure the man did not move. He knew that Konoha had some careful mind readers and people capable of extracting information. After a moment, he allowed the man to breath, and then took a step back, but he then brutally slammed his right foot on the man's forehead. There was so much strength that he was knocked out before he even hit the tree's trunk.
Neji merely shrugged indifferently at Naruto's actions. There was must the right amount of force to keep the man knocked out for a while. Unlike him, the blond didn't have his Doujutsu to hit specific chakra points. That was just an old fashioned method – and it worked.
When the blond suddenly settled down in a meditative posture, he spoke again.
"We can't stay here for too long," he said.
Naruto nodded. "I know and I also know that your vision covers a certain range. I need to be able to see beyond your view to see where we stand in terms of potential obstructions," the blond said with his eyes closed.
Neji just stared, just wondering what the blond was doing. He realized, he was gathering energy around him. It was something else. The amount of chakra and its potency; it was powerful. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. After a couple of moments, the blond opened his eyes, which were sharper and placed both hands on the ground. Once more he closed his eyes.
"Looks like we are safe, but I sense four shinobi watching us… they are not hostile… Do you know anything about it?" He asked without looking at the Hyuga.
Neji waited until Naruto finished what he was doing and then responded. "Anbu," he answered. "Clean up duties. We can leave this for them and continue with our mission. We can rest once we have crossed the borders."
"A town would make a perfect hiding place, but we'd need to put on a henge…" Naruto said. "I know a town not far from here… but we'd still have to travel some distance."
"How is that not far if we have to travel a distance?"
Naruto smiled. "I mean for me it is fine. But you haven't had much rest."
Neji frowned.
"I can carry you if you don't mind."
Neji stared for a moment. "Your suggestion is okay. At this rate, we will arrive far sooner than planned. Our source is supposed to meet us at a specific place at an appointed time. It would be best if we could scout the area before meeting 'her.'"
Naruto nodded, "As you say, captain… I guess I am leading the way," he added.
As they hopped on the trees, Neji spoke. "You didn't tell me you were a sensory type," he said, a little surprised about the fact.
"I'm not… well, at least I am when I am using natural energy. It is not an ability that is forever activated. Only when I am in this mode can I keep it. And it isn't like the Byakugan which I can just activate and deactivate. I need to be gather natural first and balance it within. Obviously I cannot keep it forever, when I burn the chakra, I will eventually lose the mode. But I can keep it for now since I assume you keeping your Byakugan also burns a little more of your chakra."
"How accurate is it?"
"You're smart enough…"
By that, Neji realized, Naruto meant what had happened earlier.
The following day
Slowly, Neji's eyes opened into the unfamiliar scene. He had arrived early morning, after an all-night travel with a stamina freak. Even as they ran, tearing through their energy reserves, Naruto had displayed few signs of weariness. It had been dangerous to arrive as tired as he was. What if someone had attacked them upon their arrival? He wouldn't have been able to fight at his best. He was being careless. Shaking his head, Neji breathed in and then stood. He'd slept leaning against a wall, with his bag safely tucked in between his legs. It was already daylight, and there was no sign of Naruto in the room.
He wanted to activate his Byakugan but sensed a chakra signature above and then decide to follow it. He found the blond lying on the rooftop, reading. He blinked. Strange things have happened. As far as he was concerned Naruto had a well-documented enmity with books. He was after all the dead-last of his academy class, not for the lack of effort but simply because he didn't know anything. Well, some things changed.
"You don't have to look at me as if you saw a ghost," Naruto said casually before flipping a page. "Aside from hearing other people talk, there is no other way of gaining knowledge aside from reading. Knowledge broadens your understanding of things… I lacked that understanding when younger."
And then some, Neji wanted to add but he stopped himself from doing so and just sat beside the blond. "How do you know this town?"
"During my travels, I came here. I hardly stayed in one place but made it a point to know the shinobi world," Naruto said.
He glanced at Neji for a moment. It shouldn't be difficult talking to Neji. He was after all different from the other Hyuga's. His contempt for him hadn't been for the Kyubi but for the fact that was an idiot, inferior to him. That hadn't ended well for him, but still.
"I understand we don't question missions, but what do you think is happening here? Who were those shinobi?"
Neji shook his head. "Kumogakure headband but they did not fight like shinobi from Kumo. Such things occur when another village wants to sow divisions. They could have been from any village…"
"But we may likely never find out," Naruto added in quiet tone. But he could ask Jiraiya – or maybe get in contact with someone who knows things. Along the way, he had learned a couple of things about making connections. It did help that he was travelling with Jiraiya.
"Possibly, but as things stand, we might know eventually," Neji said. "This isn't a normal mission after all…"
Shinobi were merely tools. Armed weapons to be used to achieve the objectives of their villages. They were walking into this without any details. The presence of the Anbu meant another thing. They were not there to watch over them but to do other things. It was likely that the person they were going to meet was being hunted down by people from Iwagakure. If that was the case, they might encounter shinobi from the Stone and they could prove to be problematic.
"I honestly thought you would not be suited for this kind of mission when I was told its importance and the dangers posed…"
"Obviously, judging from my past attitude," Naruto said without taking offence. "Things change… so have you, apparently. You making friends in the Hyuga clan?"
Friends? They now had a higher opinion of him and he was allowed to learn things that were left for the main family. Things had changed for the best since the Chunin exams. "While I cannot excuse make for my attitude towards Hinata-sama, the lack of knowledge on what happened to my father and the idea of being tied by a seal hadn't made me happy."
Lies. Half-truths. Naruto now knew what actually happened some time ago. It was pitiful that the Sandaime allowed the village to be bullied by Kumogakure. The village had sent someone to try to kidnap a Hyuga and when it failed, it threatened war. The cloud was surely a power hungry nation that will stop at nothing to get what it wants. Even his mother had nearly been kidnapped. Yet, Konoha did nothing and that was because the Sandaime had become weary of the wars. But wars defined the shinobi world.
A shinobi does not listen to words but to power.
"Ignorance at times is not bliss… it leaves you with other ideas of why things are like that way," Naruto said in a quiet tone. "How do we scout the area?"
"I'll do it," Neji said. "We don't know who we are meeting. We just have to be at the meeting place in the arranged time…" Neji paused and then shook his head. "It would be best if we do it together. There are things that I cannot see, that you can sense and things that you can sense that I can see. It would be best to get the whole picture."
Naruto nodded.
The following day
"This looks like a trap, doesn't it?"
They were standing atop of a tree branch, not far away from the Stone. This was the anointed location. They had already scouted it and there were no traps that were laid for them. But their contact wasn't anywhere to be seen. Not to mention, they didn't know her. Whoever was going to show up here would be their contact and give them the scroll before they could depart back home. Their contact wasn't showing up. They'd been here since morning, and it was already hours, and there was nothing.
"Or maybe something happened to our contact," Neji responded, scanning the area with his Byakugan. "But why do you say that?"
"I'm sensing a single chakra signature coming here, but it is very powerful. From what I understand, we are meeting someone who is a spy, but this person feels too strong to be a spy. In any case, there are also multiple chakra signatures following this person and they are in high speed."
Neji frowned. Could it be that she was late because they were being chased? Or had something bad happened? They could not afford to leave this location. They just had to sit here and wait to see what would happen.
"Where?"
Naruto pointed and Neji focused on the area. He frowned deeply. He couldn't see anything yet. His range of vision was really not that great. "We don't want to be dragged into a fight with Iwa shinobi in their own country. The relationship between the two villages has never been that great. We have to be ready to flee if anything comes, do you have anything in your arsenal we can use to escape even if surrounded?"
"Yes… I can summon a toad and we can leap away from this place," Naruto said. "You think things will come to that point?"
"We have to be prepared for anything."
They waited in silence for about 20 minutes before someone finally arrived. It was a kunoichi. But Naruto frowned when seeing her. The good thing about working with Jiraiya was that you learned a lot of things and the important people in all other Hidden villages. He knew this person, and she was definitely not the kind of person they were meeting. Or maybe he was wrong.
Kurotsuchi grinned looking at the two Konoha shinobi. "You'll have to forgive me for coming in late, but there was a bit of a situation and I believe this is what you want…" she said taking out a scroll.
Neji deactivated his Byakugan but did not say anything. He trusted Naruto to have his back. "Are you going to hand it over?"
"Ah, sorry," Kurotsuchi said before throwing the scroll to Neji. The Hyuga caught it and was ready to leave but Kurotsuchi stopped him. "Open it."
"I'm afraid that is not according to our orders. We were simply told to collect the scroll."
"Obedient shinobi… aren't you curious, even a little?"
"No." Neji said before quickly activating his Byakugan. He turned his eyes to the scroll to scan it. His eyes widened slightly before he threw it up into the air.
Boom!
It exploded into a powerful explosion that tore through the area, blasting air waves all around. There was a huge cloud of intense flames in the air. Neji didn't focus on the flames but on the handful of shinobi who suddenly flashed into the trees, surrounding them. He turned to Naruto, only to find the blonde doing hand seals. He breathed out in relief, thanking him for being quick on his feet.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
In a huge cloud of smoke, the Toad Chief appeared, waving his huge sword around. "Why have you summoned me, brat?"
Naruto and Neji were already atop of the Toad's head. "We need that little of escape jutsu to escape out of a tricky situation. You know unlike Jiraiya, I don't summon to escape from you angry women…"
The Toad Chief looked around, he could see that they were surrounded: It was Iwa shinobi. Were there problems between the two villages again? The last one had ended because Iwa feared losing more shinobi to Minato. Without even responding, he did a quick huge jump into the air, leaving the Iwa shinobi grounded. As they jumped, Naruto dropped a couple of smoke bombs to the ground.
When the smoke cleared, Kurotsuchi was surrounded by the many shinobi. She had a huge frown on her lips. They were escaping. Chasing them was pointless even. At least now they knew that Konoha was going to become trouble. And the fact that those two escaped without even trying to fight, meant that they were afraid of igniting war flames with the Hidden Stone.
"Mission accomplished," Kurotsuchi said. "Let's go…" she said. "Well half-accomplished since we didn't get the scroll… but it doesn't matter since we found the crucial link."
"Thank you, sir." Naruto saluted the Toad Chief.
"You owe me… for disturbing my time…"
"I'll make it up…" Naruto said as the giant toad disappeared in a puff of smoke.
They were at a safe zone and the Iwa people were not chasing after them, so they could take a leisurely pace going back home. Still, to think that he would fail his first mission like this. Things had certainly not gone according to plan and that was going to reflect on his record. Well, there was nothing they could have done about the situation.
"This is just going to re-ignite the tensions between the Leaf and Iwagakure," Neji stated in stern tone. "We may have our names in Iwa's bingo books…"
"Nothing that can be avoided. Simply because you exist, and you will end up in someone's book," Naruto stated. "From what I understand, Iwa and Kumo have been feuding after the latter attempted to steal the former's Jinchuriki."
"Konoha has been keeping a low profile," Neji said. "I thought the village was not going to involve itself, but I was wrong. Things are just going to be dangerous going forward…"
Two Days Later
Tsunade faced both Neji and Naruto with an expressionless mask. Neither looked particularly pleased about their mission. But frankly, missions were not done to make them happy. Being a shinobi meant doing a mission whether you liked it or not. Whether you thought it was right or wrong. If Naruto was going to grow, he needed to be put in a position where he would do things that he disagreed with. Everyone served her, and they followed her orders. She was the Hokage, and all shinobi were her subordinates. Insubordination of a shinobi was a high crime.
"Did you get it?"
Neji shook his head. He'd realized, the Anbu had stopped tailing them the moment he went passed the borders of the Earth country. "No… we met someone else who was going to ambush us – the Tschikage's granddaughter but we did not fight her. I'll a provide a detailed report and submit it before the day ends. But ultimately, we did not achieve the desired result."
"You'll get your pay once the report comes. You can all report later on," Tsunade said as she leaned back to her chair. "How was his behavior?"
'Controlled and worthy of 'Jonin.." Neji said. "Further details will be on my report."
"You know I am right here…" Naruto said.
Tsunade faced him with a stern look. "The reason I sent you out on this mission was because I needed to see if you were ready. Jiraiya did say you'd grown, but I needed to see this. You did not exactly fail in your mission. You succeeded in doing what was expected. I never expected you to get the scroll, but it was already in someone's possession. The Anbu collected it and you were just a diversion.
"A month ago, one of our Anbu was sent to Iwa to gather information regarding its usage of the Akatsuki and its plans regarding the battles with Kumo... we lost contact with our Anbu two weeks ago… but she contacted us again, saying she was being watched and someone had blown her cover. We couldn't take her out… so, she gave her information to someone else. When she tried to flee the village, I assume Kurotsuchi attacked her. But the information she had was no longer in her possession. Of course, this does reveal our interest to Iwa, but it is within tolerance and we expect them to say something soon. It goes without saying that this is classified information." The Godaime said. "Neji, you may leave: Naruto stay behind, I want to talk to you."
"Hai…" Neji said before leaving the office.
"Previously, you had the tendency to go overboard and do what was not wanted because you did not listen to orders. You are indeed a genin, but you need to follow orders. When I tell you do this, you do it without question or second guessing me. If you are ordered to dispose of someone, even if you think they did nothing wrong, you will do it, because I instructed you. Do you understand what I am saying, Naruto?"
"Hai…"
"Good. Jiraiya tells me that you have developed your skills. I am going to use those skills. You will work with Kakashi in some 'missions' in the days to come. But normal missions will be carried out with Team 7. You will even be sent to do solo missions. These will be much more dangerous than what you faced on this one and I expect you to succeed." The slug princess then released a long breath. "On a personal note; if you ever feel that you are tired, or have had enough, please come talk to me Naruto. If you need anything, talk to me… I will help where I can. I know this village has failed you. I know people have lied to you. I know my sensei lied to you. I want you to know that you can trust me. And I don't give a fuck about what anyone says in this village about you. You are my shinobi, and no one is going to make this place hell for you.
"Now tell me, do you want me to publicly announce that Minato was your father? I'm not going to say anything about the Kyubi. Most people in your generation don't know about this, but the older generation know about it."
"Why do you want to do that?"
"Someone is going to leak it soon enough. I don't think it will gain any sympathy to you, but I want them to know that what they hated was the son of the very man they worship."
Naruto shook his head. "Let it leak… I don't want to become known as Minato's son. Besides, I have already accepted that I am Naruto Uzumaki, or contemptuously known as the Kyubi brat… it may seem a bit sad, but I am a host of the Kyubi and I cannot escape from that. I just have to embrace it. It doesn't make me a killer, it makes me one who holds an object of the people's contempt. My mother said this, 'you can defeat hate by love.' But I really don't think I have enough love in me."
Tsunade accepted this with sad look. "Do you still want to be Hokage?"
"I don't know… I just want to do my best, while trying to find myself…"
The truth was, sometimes, he thought he wanted to become someone so powerful and likeable that these people would even come to beg him to lead them, but he would refuse. He would tell them, they did not deserve him. He could not lead them – for they, even when knowing that he was just a child, they tormted him, hated him, called him names, refused to sell to him, overcharged him, and worst of all, told their children to stay away from him, even in his presence.
And then after, he would walk away from Konoha.
Such would not give him joy, but it would teach them a lesson.
You reap what you sow
Naruto will be nice to his friends. I just didn't want to focus on it on this chapter. I wanted to lay the groundwork for the kind of missions Naruto will do and reveal a bit about the state of the shinobi world. these relationships will be dealt with as we go. There was a bit of issues with Sakura's character, but I don't want to focus on that – she too has grown… and I won't be doing any bashing.
And thank you for your reviews.
The Omnipresent Sage