Beta-ed by Jenny-Cat-Miaow.
Chapter 7
Kakashi hummed lightly to himself as he read the Icha Icha book in front of his nose.
Before him, were three not so excited genin while they waited in line, a very long line at that, to get their very first official mission. In fact, they looked like they'd rather go attempt a hostile takeover in Iwa.
The Hokage's eyes twinkled knowingly as he spotted the three genin and their sensei but he didn't say a word.
"Everybody stop!" Naruto suddenly yelled out in the overly crowded room.
The Shinobi were so startled that they did as the blond had shouted and froze instantly.
Two chunin had hurried into the room, having not heard the shouted demand from the Uzumaki and were immediately met with "For the love of RAMEN! DON'T FRICKEN MOVE!"
Utter silence greeted Team 7 as the Shinobi reflexes forced every person to instantly obey the strangely commanding yell from the shortest member of team 7. Even Naruto didn't seem to be too keen on moving just yet as his features scrunched up agonisingly, entire body twitching and wincing every so often.
"Can you hear it?" Naruto whispered loudly enough to be heard, his tone showing a measure of sadness as well as intrigue.
"Hear what Naruto-kun?" The Sandaime asked as the confused ninja all looked to their leader, none of them able to hear whatever it is that the blond boy could.
His sensei seemed completely unaffected and had in fact just turned a page.
His teammates looked like they were deciding between huffs of irritation or smirks of amusement. In the end, Sakura settled for irritation and Sasuke for amusement.
"Oh my bad, I have to be their voice so that you lesser beings can hear them too." Naruto tsked, shaking his head as though he were disappointed in himself.
Naruto lifted a foot very carefully before lowering it to the ground again. The moment any part of his foot came into contact with the ground the blond began to scream blue murder, breaking the surprisingly high pitched screech with things like "Ahhhhh! EEEEE. .(Scream) . . have mercy! Yelp. .(Scream) . . . . . EEP! Sweet mother of Kami is this the en– . .(Scream) . . Mayday Mayday! . . .(Scream) . We're all going to diiiiiiiiiiiiiiie! . .(Scream) . . . ." The scream was so sudden that the chunin from earlier found themselves jumping a mile in the air, scattering the papers they were holding.
In the chunins' defence making a Shinobi anxious, as Naruto had done, wasn't a very nice thing to do, as it tended to make them more likely to skewer any moving object enemy or foe. Questions may or may not be asked later. Mostly not.
At this point no one had any idea what the boy was going on about but Sasuke and Sakura understood what Naruto was doing. They tugged discreetly on their sensei's sleeve who had actually become quite interested in what Naruto was going to say next. In the distraction of the fluttering papers, dodging hastily thrown kunai, or just generally watching Naruto's antics, no one noticed Sasuke and Sakura's exchange of amused giggles.
"Oh, and who would 'they' be?" The Sandaime raised a brow questioningly as he contemplated his little genin.
"The millions of billions of micro-organisms we MURDER with every step that we take!" Naruto growled out as though this was the greatest offence any human could ever commit. The boy's face glared at the occupants of the room, daring them to question his logic.
"Ah well, Naruto-kun, didn't you perhaps think that maybe they were so small that we couldn't squish them no matter how hard we stomp. But we are also ninja, Naruto-kun and therefore we stomp very softly." Sarutobi supplied with a soft smile, years of patience being put into practise. Not to mention his own grandson Konohamaru.
Naruto's face zapped out of its glare and his eyes widened before he grinned widely.
"Well look at that Jiji, you're suddenly free of ninja aaaaand my team has gotten to the desk already. And here I thought I was going to be here the whole day, possibly dying a premature death from boredom. Lucky me."
Then the blond was strolling casually towards the rest of his team that had subtly been making their way towards the Hokage's desk that no one else had approached due to Naruto's outburst.
The Hokage shook his head before handing one of the grinning genin a scroll. Sasuke chucked it carelessly over his shoulder at the jonin behind them, who had for all appearances ignored what had been going on around him.
"Are we allowed to get more than one mission at a time?" Naruto asked with a pout.
"No. Now get to it, Team 7. That mission does have a time limit."
"Aww Jiji, that was mean." Naruto whined but it lacked the usual nasal quality since he saw the playful amusement twinkling in the old man's eyes.
Sasuke however scoffed before muttering under his breath, "A time limit? And he gave that to us?" the boy shook his head. "Not the greatest idea."
As the four walked out the door at a leisurely pace, activity within the crowded room seemed to resume and Naruto snickered.
"YOSH! I will do my best Gai-sensei! For I am in the Spring Time of my YOUTH!"
Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura froze as that all too familiar voice floated towards them. From the volume they knew that they had seconds, mere measly seconds, to find somewhere to hide.
"Alien ninja." Naruto whispered hoarsely in panic.
Sasuke suddenly henged himself into a bright pink flower hair clip that was attached to Kakashi's silver stands. Sakura whimpered with wide eyes, muttering "NO, not again, no more dating proposals." Before desperately grabbing Kakashi's Icha Icha book and tossing it at Naruto who fumbled frantically to catch it. The pink haired kunoichi then henged into an exact replica, albeit a slightly brighter orange Icha Icha book, –without the words mind you–, that suddenly found itself within the silver haired jonin's hands.
By now the voice was almost in the room, loud enough to rattle a few sensitive ear drums.
Naruto gulped with a shifty eyed expression dominating his every feature, stuffing the book he suddenly found himself with down the collar of his jacket before he henged into a bright red scarf attached to Kakashi's upper arm, as though Kakashi were making some sort of rebellious statement.
"Ah Kakashi, my Eternal Rival!" Gai boomed upon entering and immediately spotting the other jonin due to his somewhat eccentric appearance. "Have you come to get a mission for your most youthful genin as well?" The man's teeth gleamed brightly as he smiled widely. "Speaking of your cute little genin, I have yet to meet them, my Eternal Rival. Where are they? Have you lost them again? I know that this is your first team but that is highly uncool of you."
"Huh? What did you say?" Kakashi asked blandly.
Kakashi was tempted to remain with Gai for a little longer just to see how long his genin could maintain their henge. But he really wanted his book back. "Oh would you look at the time? I have to go turn those frowns on the Hokage Monument upside down."
With a cheerful wave Kakashi shunshined out of the room.
.0.0.0.
"Target is MINE!" Naruto growled and he leapt into the air.
"I told you dobe! I got it." Sasuke hissed before jumping after the blond.
"Mine!" Naruto screeched over his shoulder, dashing towards their escaping mission target.
The blond pulled out kunai with paper bombs attached and for one frightening moment Kakashi thought he was going to throw them at their target. Instead, the blond cackled evilly before tossing them over his shoulder and at the Uchiha.
Sasuke shunshined out of the way, leaving Kakashi to deal with the now active kunai. He almost whimpered but used a replacement jutsu, leaving a log to take the damage.
"AHHHHHHH!" Sasuke suddenly shrieked in protest. "NO! The LOOOOOOOG."
"Log? What about a log?" Naruto, asked, even pausing in his mad dash to look to Sasuke questioningly. Kakashi's eye almost twitched, but he convinced himself that Naruto's feet had not made skid marks nor had they exuded dust clouds.
The only reason he refused to acknowledge this fact was because this was a D-rank mission and that would indicate that their target ran at jonin level.
"Your kunai blew up the log Kakashi-sensei replaced himself with." Sasuke wailed.
Oh no . . . Please don't be one of those ninja. Kakashi pleaded silently to himself as he watched both genin turn to him with wide eyes of utter disbelief.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto snapped. "By my estimation, you now have forty saplings to go plant!" he barked, eyes blazing with anger. "You must repent! You must go write your letter of apology! Now, now, NOW." By this statement there was a hint of hysteria in the blonde's voice that had Kakashi flinching back in somewhat fear. Yes, one of those ninja.
"By the Log, sensei!" Sasuke began to threaten, taking on a tone that Kakashi had seen him direct at Naruto only once, and Naruto had listened. Kakashi felt that in that moment, as killer intent far too efficient washed over him, that it was best to obey the two genin.
"I guess I'll be planting those saplings then won't I?" he chuckled nervously before shunshinning away.
"Now where were we?" Naruto muttered. "And he better write that apology letter." He added darkly.
"My target!" Sasuke screamed before dashing away, resuming the chase they had abandoned just moments before.
Tora the cat felt sure that all his past actions against the genin of Konoha were coming back to get him. Karma really was a bitch because right now there were two genin on his furry tail, hell bent on beating the other in capturing him, no matter what got damaged along the way.
Naruto made a grab for the feline, snagging his middle and hugging him close.
Sasuke delivered a kick to Naruto's arm powerful enough to break the bone, since Naruto had been forced to absorb all the impact least the cat get hurt. As a result, his arm went limp and Tora found freedom once more.
Not for long as Sasuke snagged his tail and Tora flailed around in the air, hissing and trying to scratch Sasuke for all he was worth.
"TEME!" Naruto roared before actually head butting Sasuke clear across the crowded street they had stopped in.
In order to ensure the cat wasn't caught in the crash landing that was sure to follow, Sasuke was forced to let go.
Not to be outdone by the blond, Sasuke wrestled Naruto to the ground and the two began to have a brawl that resembled something that two five year olds would engage in and not twenty something year olds stuck in twelve year old bodies. There was slapping, there was biting, and there was a whole lot of shrieking when pinches were a little too sharp.
Nonetheless, Tora took the opportunity to slink very carefully away.
Sakura, however, noting the time of the day snatched the cat up in a brown sack before tying the end together to prevent an escape.
There was a sharp riiiiiiip and Tora was making a beeline for a dark alley.
"That's it!" Sakura yelled. She'd had just about enough of that cat, in BOTH life times. And this time, not only did she have to contend with the cat, but she had to contend with D-ranks and immature teammates as well.
With a mad cackle she pulled out a kunai, complete with exploding tag, only this one packed more of an oomph than that of all Naruto's previous kunai combined.
And they called Naruto the impulsive one . . . . .
Sasuke and Naruto stopped their brawling to look at Sakura with two very loud and identical gulps. When the exploding tag began to fizz in activation, they paled and very casually shuffled to the side, said shuffling looking somewhat awkward since both were still tanged in a heap on the floor.
"Fire in the goddam hole!" Sakura was considerate enough to warn before tossing the kunai.
.0.0.0.
A singed and still slightly smoking Kakashi was standing at attention in the mission room. His jonin peers were trying very hard to stifle the snickers.
"I didn't tell you to jump into an active explosion area, Sensei." Sakura scolded as though the poor man wasn't twitching slightly.
"You can't blow up the target of the mission." Kakashi hissed, staring directly ahead as he waited in line with his three genin and a one less than fluffy Tora cowering in his arms.
"Oh come on Sensei, now that cat will stay where he knows it's save. Genin have been going far too easy on that demon. Honestly, I was doing the Shinobi of Konoha a great service." Sakura argued.
Next to Kakashi and completely ignoring the kunoichi and the jonin's exchange, Sasuke poked Naruto. Hard.
"Your arm is out of line." He informed the blond.
"And whose fault is that?" Naruto glared back.
"Want me to fix it for you?" Sasuke replied innocently.
"You'd better. You're the one that messed it up." Naruto growled in warning. "I just might repay the favour."
"We both know you can take more hits than all of us combined and still sing about it the next day. So grow a pair would you." Sasuke scoffed before grasping Naruto's broken arm.
Sasuke then performed a pretty impressive flip rotation manoeuvre.
Naruto bit back the scream as a loud crack filled the room and Kakashi, the poor, poor unprepared jonin, whirled to them in shock.
"How does that feel?" Sasuke asked, completely uncaring of the looks of horror and disbelief they were receiving.
"Heh, better. But you're still an ass." Naruto replied swinging his arm this way and that. His fingers were still blue and he still couldn't move them very well but at least the bone was back in alignment and he would heal properly.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Sakura muttered before going over to Naruto and placing a glowing hand on his arm, healing the broken bone even though by the next morning it would have been as good as new anyway.
By this point Kakashi felt like he needed to sit down.
Medical ninjutsu at that level and used so casually?
He nearly jumped when a warm hand was placed on his masked cheek. He realised a second later that Sakura was healing the parts of his skin that had gotten slightly burnt in the explosion.
"Ah, thank you Sakura. Oh and Sasuke can we not make it a habit to break our teammates?" Kakashi eventually settled on saying. The three of them could've easily tended to their self-inflicted injuries out of his sight but they'd chosen to do it where he could see everything.
Trust.
It was a display of their trust in him.
He'd never had someone trust so explicitly within him and the prospect was more than a little daunting.
Yet at the same time, it was something he felt he could get addicted to and that scared him even more.
"Team 7." The Hokage called softly and Sakura pulled her hand away, leaving the stunned jonin feeling infinitely healthier than before she had begun.
Tora, the now trembling ball of skin, rather than the demon cat from hell was promptly delivered over to his owner and they all cringed when the poor thing was squeezed half to death by the woman. But Tora looked happier so maybe it wasn't all bad.
At the very least he'd be at home recovering for the foreseeable future.
"Let's go out to Ichiraku's to celebrate the completion of our very first D-rank mission." Naruto whooped and his genin teammates blinked at him with raised brows before they all burst out into peals of laughter.
Once again, Kakashi felt like he was missing something here, that he was an outsider looking in on a private joke.
Still, his genin were his genin and he was starting to understand that they were showing that to him more and more as they went. He was actually somewhat surprised they hadn't asked for another mission.
"Sensei? Did you plant those saplings?" Naruto asked suddenly, his laughter stopping just as instantly, a psychotic gleam in narrowed blue eyes winking at the jonin warningly.
"Yes, yes I did. In fact I managed to get Gai to plant some of his own as well." Kakashi replied with a large grin.
"Did you write the letter of apology?" Sasuke narrowed his gaze at the jonin and he suppressed the urge to gulp. Just something about the way he did that . . .
"Not yet Sasuke, since I had this sudden urge to be by my cute little genin only to find that they were trying to blow up the target." Kakashi replied with an even bigger smile. "So how about since I missed half of the mission so that I could go plant saplings, you three help me write the mission report after your celebratory ramen."
It wasn't a request.
"Yeah, sure. Just remember sensei, my mom wants me home before 10 tonight." Sakura reminded with a roll of her eyes.
"Hai hai. And I'll be walking you home, Sakura-chan." Naruto grinned.
"In your dreams blondie! I can walk myself home." Sakura growled.
"And if I said I'd come as well?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.
"If you must." Sakura replied with a shrug.
Kakashi couldn't help the smile as he walked behind his genin. They'd left the mission room sometime just before Naruto's yell for celebratory ramen and were now walking over to the ramen stand.
As they laughed and talked Kakashi merely watched. They interacted as though they'd known each other for years, so much longer than what their records said they did. He'd underestimated just how well they worked together. This ragtag bunch of genin really had the greatest potential out of all of them.
Kakashi allowed a slow smirk to tug at his lips.
And they were his genin too.
Though, he had to admit, not once had they tried to see under his mask. And that was surprising.
.0.0.0.
Sarutobi watched them leave with thoughtful contemplation. He knew that it would soon be time. Perhaps tonight even. They were ready. The village needed it and they would know what to do. He trusted them, even though most would not. It wasn't that he knew what their secret was, it was more like he'd been Hokage for so long, seen so many come and go, that he knew that he could trust them.
If people like Danzou ever found out the extent of Team 7's mysteries, then there would be far more trouble than one aged Hokage could deal with. His next course of action could truthfully either hinder him or take the village to new levels that had been lacking with his growing age.
Some things were worth the risk.
.0.0.0.
Naruto looked up in surprise as he continued slurping his noodles.
Sakura and Sasuke paused in their conversation to look at what had caught the blonde's attention.
"Jiji." Naruto greeted with a grin after he managed to clear his mouth of any noodles. "You here for some ramen too?"
"Ah no Naruto-kun. I'm actually here for you three, well four." The Sandaime stated after pulling out his pipe.
It was only then that Naruto noticed the old man wasn't wearing his Hokage robes.
Kakashi was instantly more alert. But to anyone else, he merely looked the same.
"Tonight, when you're all 'writing' out that report for your mission today, there's some scrolls I want you to look at." Sarutobi said with a wink and they knew that this, whatever it was, wasn't supposed to be widely known if known to others at all.
"You know what, I think I'll have some ramen after all." Sarutobi added thoughtfully, acting as though nothing was out of the ordinary. Team 7 could do nothing other than play along.
.0.0.0.
Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke followed Kakashi to his apartment, walking through the streets to get there rather than having Kakashi shunshin them there. It seemed they all wanted the time to think.
What could the Sandaime possibly have left for them to do?
They knew the old man knew they were hiding stuff but it was as though the Hokage didn't care. Not in a suspicious way at least.
Walking into Kakashi's apartment, sure enough, on the low coffee table near the couch were four shiny new scrolls.
One was bright orange with red edges and Naruto grinned before lifting it.
One was bright blue with white edges and a red dot in the middle which Sasuke snatched up.
One was pink with a cherry blossom imprinted onto it and Sakura smiled softly before lifting that one, leaving the deep black one with the silver edges for Kakashi.
Kakashi didn't appreciate the personal touch the scrolls had, concluding only that the old man was getting bored.
There was a heavy silence in the room as they each unrolled their scrolls and began to read.
None of them reacted to the words but the silence in the air grew heavier with every passing moment.
Eventually Naruto placed his scroll on the ground, biting his thumb and swiping it across a seal at the end of the Hokage's message.
Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi did the same and four of the blackest sets of armour poofed into the room. Four masks were balanced atop the piles of clothing and the Shinobi had no idea what to say at that point.
"It looks just like my ANBU mask, but its black." Kakashi eventually settled for.
"ANBU?" Naruto blinked.
"What did your scroll say?" Sasuke breathed, staring at the blank holes where his eyes were to be during his very special mission.
"Finance, Intelligence, Cryptanalysis, Chunin, Orphanage, Aviary." Naruto replied.
"Mine is the Hospital and the Library and archives." Sakura added, sounding stunned. "I've also got the Ninja Tool Research facility."
"I've got ANBU and surprisingly, the Academy." Sasuke answered before they could even look to him for his answer. "And the Correctional Facility."
"And I have ROOT, Torture and Interrogation and the Jonin forces which by default includes the genin." Kakashi listed.
"And over all security." They chorused together.
"Anyone have clans?" Naruto asked.
"No. Clan affairs are not village affairs." Kakashi answered.
"Clan affairs affect the village." Sasuke muttered lowly but the matter was dropped.
Naruto pulled out a brush and some ninja ink from his pouch before carefully picking up the pitch black mask that was now his. On the one side of the mask, a single orange line curled over the cheek in a soft swirl, not as tight as an Akimichi's though. That was all.
With swift motions he painted on the seal that would conceal his identity, literally allowing him to become a whole other person the moment he placed the mask over his face. The seal was a part of the Sandaime's orders but Naruto would have done it anyway.
Sasuke's mask was next and his, ironically in Naruto's opinion anyway, had the Konoha Leaf symbol etched in the same blue of the scroll on the forehead of the mask.
Sakura's mask seemed to be blank at first but when one tilted it towards the light, only then did they see the near invisible pattern of cherry blossoms imprinted onto the mask's surface.
Kakashi, as he had stated, was a coal version of his ANBU mask.
"My code name is Sasayaku." Naruto stated as he placed the seal on Kakashi's mask. "Whisper."
"Mine's Fukushu." Sasuke had knelt down at the table when Naruto had begun painting the seals. "Vengeance."
"Mine, refreshingly enough, means water lily." Sakura smiled weakly. "Suiren."
"And I have progressed from Hound to Wolf." Kakashi muttered, "Okami."
"And the old man decided to make us the rising sun that combats the ROOTs that grow in the shadows, the Asahi ANBU Black Ops Foundation." Naruto finished, handing Kakashi's mask to him.
"I'll still have to keep up the appearance that we're taking D-ranks." Kakashi frowned. "We all will. This is where Naruto's Shadow clones will come in handy. Perhaps a seal, since I see you are proficient at them, to ensure they do not dispel as easily and that a Hyuga won't see through their henges." Inwardly he was amazed that his genin were powerful enough to be considered for their current missions. He knew more experienced ANBU and Jonin that wouldn't have been able to complete this mission.
"Hai. Taichou." Naruto nodded.
Kakashi cocked his head at the name. Which did he prefer, sensei or taichou?
Didn't really matter he supposed.
"So, I'm guessing the old man knows more than what he lets on." Sasuke muttered.
"He does have that crystal ball thing and he was the one that suggested the training ground that we've been using." Sakura replied thoughtfully, fingering the edge of her mask.
All four of them now had unlimited access to anywhere in the village, any secret, any jutsu. They were allowed an infinite amount of weaponry and medical supplies.
The only thing they did not have access to, free access anyway, was food.
"This is going to take a while to break into. I wasn't expecting this at all." Naruto muttered.
"These pay checks seem a little ridiculous." Sakura muttered, reading over the figure in her scroll once again.
Kakashi leaned over to see what hers said before chuckling. "Yeah it's not as much as mine. I'd think it was ridiculous as well."
Sakura spluttered. "I meant that it was high. Extremely high. Not even a Hokage's apprentice would earn this much."
"Why would they?" Kakashi scoffed, "They're just an apprentice. What Sarutobi-sama has just asked us to do, is to integrate ourselves into the workings of the entire village, and to change it for the better. He has apparently come to the conclusion that our Shinobi have been come lax in this comfortable peace they are enjoying and the lack of efficiency is worrying to him."
"So we have to investigate as well as remodel the entire village, but do it in a way that doesn't appear that we're doing it that way." Naruto summed up, scrunching up his nose. He might have been older but there were still some things that flew over his head.
"We should get Sakura-chan home. It's nearly her curfew anyway." Sasuke suddenly stated. "Besides, judging by these scrolls, we're going to need plenty of sleep for tomorrow."
.0.0.0.
"I'd say this is more than a little unexpected. Do you think the old man knows?" Sasuke stated, his tone conveying the serious nature of the conversation.
"I think he knows something is up and maybe he's finally seen a way to figure out what exactly is happening." Naruto shrugged. "He probably thinks we're like Itachi-kun, or rather you are and you're draggling us along."
"It seems strange though." Sakura admitted, leaning closer to Sasuke. "I mean I feel a little overwhelmed, regardless of where we really come from, this is odd."
"That's true. But it's also obvious that he's not suspicious. If he was, he'd have arrested us, not promoted us." Naruto pointed out. "I think the best thing to do for now is to wait and see. We'll use the opportunity to fix things that need fixing and carry on from there. There's not much else we can do without giving too much away. As it is, Jiji knows too much."
The heavy silence that followed showed a grudging consent, but only because they weren't sure what the old man was up to. Guess now they knew how the Sandaime felt when it came to the three of them.
.0.0.0.
Every member of Team 7's heads were still reeling in shock the next morning but they had packed away their armour and masks, sealing them back into the scrolls they had been delivered in before tucking them away some place safe.
They schooled their features into happy smiles before meeting up at the mission desk to receive their second official 'mission'.
Today, however, there was a small difference as, each one of them, apart from Kakashi, was wearing a scruffy blue bandana tied to their upper arm, complete with a henohenomoheji embroidered onto the fabric.
"Ah Kakashi?" Asuma coughed from behind them. His own team of genin yawning and shuffling along beside him.
"Oh, that's a nasty cough you have there, Asuma-sensei. You should really stop smoking so much." Sakura stated sweetly, with concern lacing every syllable.
The jonin paused for a moment to look at the pinkette who smiled warmly, concern even able to poke through in that positive expression, before he managed to brush the statement aside and continued to address Kakashi. "Isn't it a bit of an overkill to brand your genin the same way you brand your pack? Also, I'm not entirely sure that you're allowed to do that."
"Oh, the bandanas?" Kakashi asked gesturing to the one on Naruto's arm and Asuma nodded. "It was their idea." He shrugged while the three genin giggled.
"Also that's not branding. That's the only way I can tell the difference." Kakashi added with an eye smile at the confused jonin who couldn't decide whether or not it was worth it to ask.
Nara Shikamaru looked at the three genin with a frown. They were hardly acting the same way they had used to act in the Academy. They looked almost like friends at first glance.
"Hello Ino-chan." Sakura greeted the Yamanaka cheerfully and Ino waved back uncertainly. Even she had noticed the difference and for Ino, that was saying something. While Shikamaru wouldn't exactly call his blond teammate stupid, but he wouldn't call her one of the sharpest kunai in his pouch either.
"Hey Shikamaru! How many missions have you guys done already?" Naruto asked loudly and Shikamaru was unhappy to see that that hadn't changed much at all.
"One." Choji answered before chomping onto another chip.
"Well I hate to break up your bonding time kiddies but we're up." Kakashi grinned at the six genin and only three grinned back. The other three shuffled a little closer to Asuma-sensei.
"Ah Team 7. Our expert Cat Explosion Corps." The Sandaime chuckled while said Team 7 went very rigid.
"Meh Jiji, don't tell me you weren't itching to do it too." Naruto grumbled, folding his arms behind his head.
"Well Naruto-kun, I never had to catch Tora." Sarutobi reminded him with a soft smile before presenting them with a scroll. "Painting a fence seems to be slightly safer for Konoha. Unless of course you decide to do something else you probably shouldn't."
"Now why would we do that Hokage-sama? It's not like I was planning on putting explosion tags in the paint buckets to watch my genin's faces when I activate them or anything." Kakashi's eye smile was back in full force, hitting the Hokage with an extra dose of creepy.
"Oh not at all Kakashi-kun. That would be considered extremely un-Konoha-like." The Sandaime agreed easily enough.
The Shinobi in the room were surprised by the casual conversation and even more stunned at the contents of the conversation. It was simply not seen every day if ever at all.
"Run along now. The Hokage is a busy man." The Sandaime made a shooing motion with his hand and the four trooped off without another word.
"Neh, Kaka-sensei." Naruto began, "We need to get our team photo taken. Can we keep the bandanas on for that?"
"Naruto, I wouldn't care if you showed up in a dress." Kakashi muttered, more absorbed in his book. "You're the one that has to be seen like that."
.0.0.0.
Elsewhere in the village, a different set of essentially the same ninja were gearing up to complete the first part of their mission from the Sandaime as Asahi ANBU.
Kakashi was patient as he instructed his young, innocent, genin on how to strap the pitch black ANBU armour into place. He tried to distract himself by reminding himself that this mission didn't involve death, that they weren't even going to be leaving the confines of the village walls. Still, his heart tightened with every strap of the armour they silently buckled into place, his mind seeing images of Itachi and Tenzou doing the same thing many years go.
"Is that too tight? Can you move effectively?" Kakashi asked quietly, tugging on Sasuke's vest.
"No, it's perfect." Sasuke murmured. He was in a strange mood himself and his teammates attributed it to the fact that Itachi had been in ANBU before leaving.
Naruto was next, Sakura having been the first one and once again Kakashi patiently explained the process of placing the armour on correctly. He tried not to look into those blue depths too often because Naruto was perhaps the one that made his heart squeeze the most, even if it was Sasuke that was taking on the most dangerous sections of the missions.
The dark ANBU cloaks they were to wear over their armour were smaller in cut then a normal ANBU cloak, not hiding as much of their body structure as Kakashi felt comfortable with. The fabric was softer, lighter, which made it hug their small forms rather than drape loosely around them. As it was he kept eyeing how small his students looked in their dark uniforms, their bright hair and sparkling eyes such a contrast to everything the masks strapped to their waists represented.
What was the Sandaime thinking?
His genin were talented and smart, but even Kakashi and Itachi had been more experienced and quite a bit taller before joining the ANBU ranks. What ranks were they even? Higher than ROOT?
But ROOT just snuck into the places they weren't allowed to go into. It was the Asahi's job to make sure they couldn't break in to anything they weren't supposed to as well as other things that the Sandaime had requested. Because if ROOT could do it then so could an enemy.
What was the Sandaime thinking? Again Kakashi couldn't help but wonder. What did the old man know because his genin were too calm about this? He expected them to be at least somewhat shaken, but no. They were absolutely serious.
"So, for now, we're gathering information and getting a feel of things. Don't engage in any confrontations if you don't have to." Kakashi warned. "Your identities are to be kept hidden at all times, no matter what. I will not have this order failed, understood?"
"Hai." Three quiet replies.
Kakashi gave them another once over, his heart squeezing once again at how tiny they looked. Then he was pulling his mask into place over his head, tightening the gloves on his hands and securing the katana strap across his torso.
Three tiny genin mimicked his actions. They had surprised him in producing weapons he had not even known they were capable of using let alone where they could've gotten them from. They'd assured him they were most proficient at kenjutsu.
"Meet back here at three. We still have a genin photo to take." Kakashi, no, Okami-taichou ordered. "Don't allow yourselves to be followed."
"Hai." Three dead replies were that of his ANBU subordinates and no longer his tiny, innocent genin.
Having those blank masks directed at him was a wakeup call in itself. Their chakra signatures had disappeared the moment the masks were donned; no doubt his own signature had done the same as well. The hoods of the cloak ensured their hair was hidden from view as well.
Okami gave the signal to scatter and they did.
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Sasayaku walked calmly into the room, mentally sighing when no one even looked up at his appearance. He knew that his chakra was masked but his physical appearance was still quite visible and since it was the middle of the morning, and he was wearing fairly dark clothing, they should have spotted him several moments earlier.
Approaching the person that appeared to be in charge, Sasayaku spoke in a dead tone. "I would like to see all the records of the Leaf's finances since its founding." Although his words had been polite, they were not a request.
The startled ninja looked up at him and Sasayaku decided that he just might have over done it a little on those stealth seals. But they served their purpose so he wasn't complaining.
"Y-you're a–" The Shinobi stuttered before gulping and averting his eyes. "A black mask. Hokage-sama mentioned you might be coming sometime in the near future, I just did not think it so near as today."
So the founding of a new ANBU division was not to be a total secret. Interesting.
Sasayaku didn't respond to the words, merely waited for his request to be obeyed.
"Ah, right." The Shinobi blushed in embarrassment, "The Financial records are this way. I must warn you however, they are quite extensive. If you intend to read them all I'm afraid it might take you longer than you'd actually have time for."
Again, Sasayaku didn't reply, only followed as he was led to a large, very large, room that held rows and rows of shelves. Each row had perhaps over a thousand scrolls stored within it.
At first glance, the room was rather well organised and tidy. However, Sasayaku quickly realised that it was all only at first glance.
Suppressing a sigh, he came to realise that as he read, he was going to have to reorganise.
As a Shinobi however, there was the ever present problem of exactly how one should organise their information. They didn't want to make it too easy for an enemy Shinobi to find what they were looking for should they indeed manage to get through the defences.
As the Financial department, it was home to the mission records as well. Merely for the sake of convenience since mission payments could be linked to the mission itself. Sasayaku thought this was foolish. They were making it easier for the enemy as well.
Ending all problems he supposed he could have all the mission reports moved someplace else and then have a dimensional seal placed within the two rooms, locked to all but the highest of personal. It would create a door that bent space so that they might be walking out of this room but they'd be walking straight into another room across the village.
Also in this department was a list of every Shinobi to ever serve the Leaf as they had to be paid so their salary records were linked with their personal records. Convenient but also foolish. Chunin sure had gotten lazy.
The personal files not linked to this department were their health records. Those were at the hospital. But things like occupations, mission completion, address, skill and specialities were all listed in this department.
If a ninja wanted to take out the Leaf all they really needed was to attack the Finance Department. Not that finances on its own was any less devastating a place to attack, it was just that the Leaf had really placed everything where it was far too easy for the enemy.
"You may go now." Sasayaku muttered to the Shinobi who'd led him in there. He pulled out a blank scroll and some ink to make his notes on. Then, the moment the chunin had disappeared he created as many Kage Bunshin that could safely fit into the room and made them get to work.
All he really needed now was a general idea of what the Leaf spent their funds on, when they spent their funds, where they spent them and mostly, why.
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Suiren didn't say a word as she walked through the hospital hallways in the guise of a medic-nin. No one paid her any mind because under her henge she still wore her mask and the seal was still in effect.
But she was still frowning at what she saw. It seemed that Tsunade-sama's presence in the Leaf had been much needed; for more than just her position as Hokage.
Pulling out a blank scroll, Suiren began to make her own notes. Next on her list was to attack the records room. If what she was seeing so far was any indication, that place was likely to be a mess. She wondered what Tsunade-sama's reaction had been upon returning. She was almost sad she'd missed it.
But upon reflection maybe not so much.
After the records room she'd need to understand what their supplies were like. Perhaps a visit to the Naras was in order.
It wasn't that the hospital was dysfunctional. No, it was more like a child who found it easier to place their clothing on a chair or in a pile on the floor rather than in the cupboard where it truly belonged. It wasn't an utter mess, but it wasn't right either.
That was going to change. After all, that's what Suiren was there for.
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Fukushu stood at the head of the assembled ANBU. Next to him, towering above him, was the ANBU commander and Fukushu was intimately aware of the difference in their appearance.
He was small, almost gentle. His footsteps didn't bare much weight and his presence in the room was barely noticeable. Mostly due to Sasyaku's seal.
"Line up." The gruff bark of an impatient commander.
Fukushu took in the squads of Konoha's best and found himself wondering two things; which did Itachi stand amongst while he'd been there, and which had ROOT operatives leaked into them?
Their discipline was one of their greatest attributes and Fukushu silently applauded them. As it was, he was standing with his arms relaxed and by his sides. His posture was casual, not ramrod straight nor lounging, merely relaxed.
"As you all may have heard, Hokage-sama has founded a new ANBU Faction. It is unclear as to what this Faction's purpose is, or even what their Code name is, but rest assured it does exist and you will obey all members of this Faction as though it were an order from myself." The ANBU commander did not appear to be one for beating around the bush and Fukushu didn't blame him.
It was then that Fukushu could literally feel all the gazes in the room turn to him.
"They are identified by the black armour and the dark ANBU masks." The Commander continued, his gaze also shifting to Fukushu.
Although not a word was spoken in reply, Fukushu knew that questions were buzzing in the air, yet he felt no need to answer them. He remained relaxed, pondering his next move.
He needed to go over all the records in ANBU headquarters. That meant all classified information. All the information kept in ANBU was not to be seen by just anyone and Fukushu was surprised the Hokage felt that he was the one to be trusted with this and not their taichou, Okami.
"Hmmmm, so the ANBU ranks has gained another child." Ibiki mused, walking into the room, almost completely at ease.
"And if I was just small of stature, Morino-san?" Fukushu asked, no hint of amusement in his tone.
"It is mostly my job to know of the Shinobi in the village that hold enough power to be considered a possible threat. Of all those Shinobi, there were none that were 'small in stature'." Ibiki replied.
"I suppose you are referring to Shinobi such as Hatake Kakashi, or perhaps Sarutobi Asuma." Fukushu tilted his head to the side. "Yet, you have not taken into consideration those training in the ROOT Foundation. If you had, then you would know that they are more of a threat than the jonin within the Konoha ranks. You would not be wasting resources on such ninja and would be focusing them instead upon Danzou and his actions." While his mask might have been turned to Ibiki, his gaze was drinking in the reaction of the gathered Shinobi. They were good, he'd give them that, but even they could not hide everything.
"You're good kid. I like you already." Ibiki smirked. "But yes, I have taken ROOT into consideration. Hiruzen-Sama would not have chosen his Asahi ANBU from those in the shadows."
Despite himself, Fukushu found himself beginning to smile. A small, tight smile, but a smile all the same.
"Your information is not incorrect Morino-san. Perhaps if you, Nara-san and Yamanaka-san were to put your minds to it, you might discover something more but that is most doubtful." Fukushu wondered just where Ibiki was getting his information from and didn't think it boded well to have the man trying to figure out who they were. He just might succeed.
"Fukushu."
A soft voice with no chakra signature to link to it. "Okami-Taichou."
"You have much to learn still. Leave the games to me."
"Hai, Taichou."
"Ibiki-san. It would be in your best interests not to pursue this topic. My subordinate may be young, inexperienced in your games, but I am not." As Okami stepped out of the shadows, tension in the room grew noticeably.
"I suppose it is mere coincidence that your mask is that of Hatake's?" Ibiki asked, pointing out the same thing that all the ANBU had been thinking.
"Hai. Hatake and his genin team are currently painting a fence. Besides, my Code name is Okami." Here even Fukushu felt the dip in the room's temperature as his taichou finished darkly, "Not Haundo."
"Taichou?" Fukushu asked, turning the nearly blank mask to his captain. "Is there something you needed?"
"No. Our missions merely coincided. Your handling of this is poor, Fukushu. Stick to your objective and do not play games you do not fully understand yet." Omaki stated tonelessly. "Those games come later." Okami paused and when he spoke again, there was noticeable amusement in his tone. "Sasayaku is doing better than you."
"Taichou." Fukushu bit out in acknowledgement. "Understood." Okami-taichou lingered for a moment more before disappearing from the room, or appearing to at the very least. They couldn't be sure seeing as they couldn't sense his chakra.
Getting a reprimand from his taichou in front of the entire ANBU division was not something that made Fukushu want to sing with joy. Being told that even Sasayaku was doing a better job really put the Asahi ANBU in a foul mood.
"Stick to the objective. . ." Indeed.
"I would like to be taken to the records room." Fukushu bit out at the ANBU Commander, thoughts still swirling around the burn of his reprimand. Okami was right. He needed to do what he'd come here for, not waste time like he had been doing.
As he was led from the room, he managed to catch a whispered conversation. "Definitely not Hatake-senpai. Haundo-taichou would never have handled the situation so harshly."
And perhaps, that was the only reason he'd done so in the first place, choosing Fukushu merely because he was the one within the ANBU. After all, their identities were to remain a secret at all costs and ANBU just might have the skills needed to uncover who they really were.
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OMAKE
When Naruto's retribution for the Hokage came, it wasn't immediately obvious to the Sarutobi. In fact, he didn't notice it for a full three days.
What he did notice, where the looks of mortified interest he received every so often, the Shinobi who suddenly excused themselves from his presence possibly sporting bloody noses, and the women who were all suddenly angry with him.
It wasn't until Asuma came to get a mission from him, that someone finally had the balls to ask him why his pipe smoke looked like naked women in a strip club.
Mortified with the thought of how long his pipe smoke had been shapeshifting like that, and while he'd been trying to iron out some negotiations for the upcoming chinin exams, Sarutobi felt like handing the hat over to the nearest chunin just so he didn't have to face those delegate again.
But he was a Shinobi, he had his pride to maintain and if he was going to do anything then he was going to own this like he meant to have women floating in front of his face all day, even if he hadn't even noticed they were there at first.
"Because I was bored, Asuma-kun." Sarutobi replied, his expression remaining utterly blank. He held out a scroll to the confused jonin and shooed him away so the next shinobi could approach.
Naruto had really done it this time. He could have at least made it so that that Sarutobi could enjoy the women as well, as they seemed to wisp out of his sight the more he tried to look at them. Looking down at his latest report on the chunin exam preparations, the old man decided that maybe that was a good idea. Naruto-kun deserved a little cold water on his ego.
The brat was good, but when he was forced to play the genin the village thought him to be, how good would he be? Sarutobi chuckled at the thought of how frustrated Naruto was going to be at this one. For that matter, how frustrated all of them were going to be.
Still, looking at the names of the Suna genin team that was said to be arriving, perhaps Team 7 needed to enter after all.
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