I have read the reviews and I like all of the ideas that I have seen. If I don't use them in this fic, I'm certainly going to implement them in others if I write them. I want to thank everyone that's stuck around so far for this. I appreciate every single one of you. I do not own Naruto or anything that comes from it.


Gates of Konoha

Naruto stood near the gates that led out of the village. He silently waited for his sensei to appear, and he was also coming to terms with what he needed to do on this mission. 'I'm expected to kill on this mission. Am I ready for this?' Naruto mused to himself. While the young blonde would never be mistaken for a genius, he wasn't as oblivious as most people made him out to be. He understood that as a shinobi, it was expected of him to lie, cheat, and kill for the village's good. However, the theory of killing a person and putting that theory into practice are two entirely different things. While contemplating the current situation, Naruto overlooked two of his former classmates walking close by.

"Naruto, is that you?" asked Shikamaru, almost in disbelief that he had barely recognized the other loud blonde from their academy class. From the new clothes and the fact that Naruto was sitting still, Shikamaru couldn't believe it. Choji wasn't much better once he realized that the person sitting in front of them was Naruto.

Naruto looked up and stood to greet his two friends. "Hey Shika, Choji. How are you guys? I haven't seen you since team placements," Naruto said with a small smile.

Choji was the first to respond, "It's been good, just training and D-ranks mainly. What's with the change? Not that we're complaining." As Choji gestured to Naruto's new outfit, Shikamaru muttered, "Troublesome."

Choji was the first to respond, "It's been good, just training and D-ranks mainly. What's with the change? Not that we're complaining." As Choji gestured to Naruto's new outfit, Shikamaru muttered, "Troublesome."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head and played off the question, "Oh, you know. I can't exactly be a shinobi while wearing a jumpsuit that's brighter than the sun, now can I?"

Choji and Shikamaru could only nod as they silently agreed with the blonde. "Naruto, are you ready?" asked the silver-haired cyclops from behind the pair. The two young boys, for their part, stiffened slightly as the newcomer had appeared by them so suddenly.

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei. I'll see you guys later. I've got a mission," Naruto said as he stood and pulled the hood of his jacket up to hide his blonde hair.

As the jonin and his student walked out the gates towards their mission, the remaining members of team 10. "Hey, guys. What's going on?" asked Ino as she looked at Shikamaru and Choji. "Who was that you were talking to?"

Shikamaru muttered troublesome to himself while Asuma answered for the pair, "That was Kakashi Hatake and his student. Kakashi is probably the strongest in the village outside the Hokage and the Sannin. In fact, for him to even be teaching someone is odd. Although if I'm right about his pupil, that kid will be more powerful than anyone in recent memory."

The trio of gennin just stared at their jonin sensei incredulously. Shikamaru and Choji couldn't believe that Naruto could be that powerful, especially since he never showed anything like that while in the academy. Ino was trying to figure out who could gain such praise from her sensei and was picked as a student by a strong shinobi. Broken out of their thoughts by their sensei, "Alright, let's go grab a mission or two, and then we'll get into some training." \

"Great. What'll be today, painting a fence or fetching groceries?" Ino asked sarcastically. "Then after that, our training will be Choji stuffing himself, you and Shika playing shoji, and me watching all of this happening, right?"

The three guys of the group could only sweatdrop at the response by the mindwalker of the team as they headed towards Hokage tower.


South of Konoha

(2 days later)

Kakashi and Naruto traveled southeast to a small village. "Ok, Naruto. As you know, this is a C-rank mission. Our mission is to clear out a group of bandits causing problems to this village. I'm going to let you lead from here on out. The reason for this is that I want you to be able to operate in a way that is efficient but, more importantly, that also does not cause any unnecessary risk for your team once you join others for missions like this one. After all, you are my student," Kakashi stated while giving an eye smile to the younger boy.

Naruto nodded at the man. The two made camp in a small clearing in the forest near the small town. While setting up traps in case a bandit wandered into their campsite, Naruto spoke, "Kakashi-sensei, I'm to kill on this mission, aren't I?"

Kakashi continued, "That being said, just because we have to kill doesn't mean that we should enjoy. 'The moment when you start to enjoy killing was the moment when you lost your humanity,' that's what your father told me before the mission when I would claim my first kill. So, I'll be there for you just like he was there for me. The last bit of advice that I can give you right now is don't dwell on the kill at the moment. We will be taking a decent-sized group down, and I don't want you to freeze up. Ok?"

Naruto looked at the man that has become like a second older brother to the boy. "Ok, Kakashi-sensei. I understand. What's the plan now?" Naruto asked. Kakashi explained that the pair would track the bandits through Kakashi's dog summons. After finding where the group was camped out, the duo would watch how the group operated, and then when night came, the pair would strike when the bandits least expected. "Understood. So shock and awe, or slow and silent?"

Kakashi thought and stated, "Once we establish their movements, you'll be making the decisions, so it'll be up to you. I'll step in only if necessary. Got it?"

After hearing the plan, Kakashi thought that while the plan is relatively simple, sometimes the best plans are simple. "Ok, Naruto. It's pretty simple, but there's nothing wrong with that, especially since we're only going up against bandits this time. Once we get back to the village, we can dedicate some time to learn about battle strategies and tactics. You won't always have a Nara around to help, right?"

Naruto nodded at the statement. The two proceeded to prepare for the night ahead to carry out their mission.


Streets of Konoha

'This is not how it was supposed to go,' Sasuke thought as he walked through the streets. Ever the last loyal Uchiha was sent to the Gennin Reserves, his life was drastically different from what he imagined. He failed to be placed on a team while the dobe was taken on as a student. He was receiving looks of pity from the civilians, and glances of indifference from the village's shinobi did not sit well for the young teen. Then, the fact that he had been taken in by ANBU for the attack on the dead last. Needless to say, Sasuke Uchiha was not having a good time. Since being placed in the Reserves, Sasuke learned the most important lesson about being a Konoha shinobi, teamwork. It was a slow process for the young avenger to learn to rely on other people after being alone. The teacher that had the most impact on the Uchiha was Ebisu, the private tutor for Konohamaru Sarutobi. Ebisu and Konohamaru had positively influenced the revenge-obsessed young man. Sasuke was turning into a young man worthy of inheriting the Will of Fire. 'Although, it could be worse. I could be in jail or something. Time to go train, I guess.'


Konoha Academy

Iruka enjoyed his job as an academy instructor. He enjoyed instilling the next generation with the information and skills necessary to survive in the shinobi world. Although he did have a few headaches that cropped up in the past few years, namely Naruto and Konohamaru, the two knuckleheads aside, he found tremendous satisfaction in his career. While outlining his lesson plans for the next few weeks, he heard a knock on the classroom door. "Come in," Iruka answered while not glancing up from his paperwork.

Sakura Haruno entered the room and looked at her former instructor, trying to find the right words to say. "Iruka-sensei, I need some advice," she asked quietly.

"Sakura, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your team?" Iruka asked as he looked up at the young girl standing at his desk.

"Sakura, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your team?" Iruka asked as he looked up at the young girl standing at his desk.
"I'm actually in the reserves now, along with Sasuke. That's not why I'm here, though. I've been thinking about my career as a shinobi, and I wanted to ask you what I should focus on. I know that Hinata, Kiba, and Shino, they'll be trackers. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio is already well established for information gathering. I'm wondering what part I can fill," Sakura voiced to the chunnin. "It's just, I don't know what to do now. I need advice, and you're the only one I could think to ask."

Iruka sat there and pondered everything his former charge had just told him. Since Sasuke and she were now in the reserves, he realized that Naruto was not, which begs the question, what happened to one of his favorite students? "If you don't mind me asking, what happened for you and Sasuke to be sent to the reserves since you and he were at the top of your graduating class? Also, what happened to Naruto?" Iruka questioned the young girl. He then noticed her expression turned to one of embarrassment and shame.

"Well," Sakura started. She then went on to fill in Iruka about everything that had transpired. Iruka sat there and listened to her tell the story. After finishing, Sakura glanced at Iruka, trying to get a read on his emotions. However, she was having no such luck.

"Ok, Sakura. Thank you for letting me know. I guess I'll have to reach out to Naruto more often. Based on your chakra control alone, I think going into genjutsu, or medical ninjutsu would be best. With that said, I believe that you should focus on medical ninjutsu, based on the fact of not only your chakra control but also because I'm sure that you can handle all of the knowledge needed to become a medic-nin. If you want, I can ask around to see if there are any openings at the hospital to take on students," Iruka told the girl before him. Sakura could only nod at the advice the chunnin gave her and said to him that it would be more than acceptable. After Sakura had left the man alone, did he begin to wonder about the young blonde that had become like a younger brother? "Something to ask the Hokage when I see him again, I guess," Iruka muttered to himself as he went back to his paperwork.


Bandit Camp

(Later that night)

Naruto and Kakashi watched the guards slowly nod off outside the bandit camp. Kakashi saw and turned to his charge. "Ok, Naruto. It's time; this is your show now. I'll step in only if necessary. Got it?" the silver-haired jonin asked the boy. Naruto nodded and silently created 15 shadow clones to aid in the mission. Naruto knew that the bandits had around 15 regular bandits and the leader from the facts gathered about the camp. The shadow clones would break off to take care of the main force, while the original Naruto and Kakashi, as backup, would take out the leader in the early morning hours.

It was nearing the time to initiate the plan. Naruto had already put on his hood to better blend into the forest. Wordlessly, he gave his clones and Kakashi the signal to move out. He noticed that his clones were silently taking out the guards as he moved through the camp. He knew that once his clones were dispelled, he would receive the memories from them. To stave off the inevitable pain the memories would cause, he would wait to dispel them until after the camp was secured. As he made his way to the bandit leader's tent, he could feel his heart rate increase. He forced himself to breathe deeply. Slinking into the tent, Naruto readied himself. Suddenly, the leader woke up and shot up towards him. The leader reached out to grab the apparition that stood before his bed. Naruto, for his part, acted on instinct, swatting away the man's hand, and he plunged one of his blades in his armguard into the man's heart. Naruto watched as a swirl of emotions showed in his victim's eyes.
Anger, resentment, hopelessness, and worst of all, fear. Then, Naruto noticed that as fast as the emotions showed up, they were gone just as fast, leaving nothing but cold dead eyes staring lifelessly at the boy who hadn't even reached his teens yet. Naruto forced back the bile coming up his throat, reminding himself that he still needed to finish the mission. Then, he created a shadow clone and dispelled it quickly to relay orders to the rest of his clones. After a few minutes, he was flooded with the memories of the bandits being killed one by one. He was then hit with a memory that had nearly crushed his spirit. He signed to Kakashi that the bandits were taken care of and to also follow him to another tent. As the two entered the tent, the first thing that hit the pair was the smell. The tent contained several bandits that hadn't bathed for weeks or even months. The next thing that they saw was the four women chained to the posts holding up the canvas. The women's ages ranged from the mid-30s to one being around Naruto's age. The shinobi had silently wished they could have down more to the bandits other than simply slitting their throats or plunging a kunai into their hearts and brains. The duo looked over the women and noticed that they had no response different than to open their legs. Their eyes were dead, holding no life for them anymore. Kakashi motioned for Naruto to exit the tent for a discussion. Naruto obliged the older man.

"Naruto," Kakashi said with a tone that didn't seem to fit the man's laid-back attitude, "what I'm about to say isn't easy, but it's something that needs to be done." Kakashi sighed as he tried to find the words to say. "With the way those women are right now, I don't believe that there is anything that we can do other than to ease their suffering."

Naruto had a feeling that this conversation was going in a direction that would not sit well with the blonde. "What would that be, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked softly.

Kakashi looked at the boy who had been so much like his former sensei and wife. He didn't want the boy to face the truth of what the shinobi world was like so soon but better to know the truth too soon rather than too late. "Naruto, we need to end their lives. Right now, they are no more than living puppets. For them to find peace, we must help them obtain it. Do you understand?" Kakashi kneeled to look the boy in the eyes to ask the question. Naruto nodded, knowing what was being asked of him. Kakashi noticed his student's eyes harden into a resolve he hadn't seen since the Third Great Shinobi War. "Ok, you don't have to be a part of this. You have more than outperformed what was expected of you tonight."

"I want... No, I need to do this. We're shinobi, right?" Naruto said while walking back toward the tent, stopping just outside of it; he expressed humorlessly, "besides, what's a little more blood going to hurt." Kakashi could tell underneath the cold, steely-eyed blue of the boy he could see just a little bit of life left.

The pair entered the tent to find the women had only moved to close their legs once they realized that they weren't being used. Kakashi pointed at the two younger women in the group. Naruto, understanding what was being said, positioned himself in front of the older of the two. He placed his hands as if he would lean to kiss her. He released the blades on the underside of his armguards so that they would pierce the brain stem, freeing her of the hell that she had faced. Slowly placing the young woman on the ground, he turned to the girl who looked no older than he had. Placing his hands in the same manner as the one before, he looked into the cold, dead eyes of the girl sitting in front of him. Unleashing the blades, Naruto watched what little life in the girl's eyes fade from existence. For the first time, he saw something in the eyes of one of the women. Noticing that, Naruto felt a weight that he didn't realize had been placed on his shoulders disappear. The emotion that Naruto had seen before it had faded into nothingness had been peace. Peace in knowing that she had been freed from the horrors of a life that would see no end for years. Naruto laid the girl down and shut her eyelids, lifting a soft prayer to help guide the girl's soul to the afterlife.

After gathering all the bodies and equipment, Kakashi used a Katon jutsu to set everything ablaze. As the pair watched the pile burn into nothing, Kakashi could hear the soft sobs coming from the boy, who was slowly becoming like family. He pulled Naruto into a side hug, wordlessly letting him know that it was ok to let it out. The duo stayed like that until only embers remained. The pair left as the ashes were scattered to the wind as nothing was left behind except only memories.


Hokage Tower

(2 days later)

Hiruzen was having a good day. He was almost through the daily amount of the accursed paperwork, which meant he was close to reading the most significant thing that his student had ever done, Icha Icha. Just as he was reaching toward the drawer that contained his copy, Kakashi and Naruto shunshined into his office. Resigning that he would have to wait until later to read, he sighed and decided to light his pipe. "Well, hello, you two. I take it that your mission was a success."

While placing his book back into his hip pouch, Kakashi stated that it was and that he would give a more detailed report later. Noticing the look in Kakashi's lone eye, Hiruzen nodded and let the two know that they could pick up their checks at the mission desk. He then excused Naruto for the next three days. Naruto nodded and bid the two older men goodbye in a manner that was far too subdued for the liking of either man.

"Well then, let's not waste any time. What happened?" the old Hokage commanded with a tone that conveyed that he would not tolerate any of Kakashi's antics. Kakashi, for his part, complied and went into detail about the mission, everything from the moment that they left the village and their subsequent return. Sparing no details, Kakashi explained the likely reasoning for Naruto's current mood. The older man merely sighed at the report and the information that someone that he viewed as a surrogate grandson had so much blood on his hands despite only going on one real mission so far.

"I take full responsibility for this, Hokage-sama. I took this mission so that Naruto could get his first kill in a somewhat safe environment. I wasn't prepared that there would be so many or for the women to be there," Kakashi expressed this to his leader, hoping that he would be understanding.

"I understand, Hokage-sama. Is there anything else?" Kakashi asked, knowing he dodged the proverbial bullet.

"Yes, actually. I need you and Naruto to accompany another team on a simple escort mission. The client will be ready in three days. The only one that will know about your involvement will be the jonin sensei. Think of this to sharpen Naruto's skills and yours," Hiruzen stated to the younger man.

"Ok, who's the jonin?" Kakashi asked, already having an idea of who was leading the mission.

"You'll meet in two days. They will lead the mission unless circumstances change, which I don't expect them to. Understood?" the Hokage asked. Kakashi nodded. "Good, tell Naruto and let him know that when he has the chance to come to see me. It does get quite boring around now." Kakashi eye smiled and the shunshined away. Hiruzen went to pull out his book when he noticed that the pile of paperwork had grown while talking with his subordinate. He cursed Minato for his ability to finish the bane of Kages everywhere.


Namikaze Estate

Naruto entered his home and nearly collapsed on the couch in the living room. Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, Kakashi appeared. Without moving from his current position, Naruto said, "What's going on, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi chuckled at the boy's position and stated that the two had a mission once their break was over. "I want you to try and relax over the next few days. Walk around town, hang out with friends, or find a hobby. You need to get your mind focused on something else. Also, when you get a chance, go talk to the Hokage. He misses seeing you. Alright?" Kakashi asked.

"Ok," Naruto answered. Kakashi left without saying another word. After a few more minutes, Naruto lifted himself up off the couch. Finally noticing the slight smell he was emitting, he decided to shower. After a long, overdue shower, Naruto went to his study to make some headway on his fuinjutsu skills and read more from his parents' journal. 'Thank Kami, that I learned shadow clones.' Naruto mused. He created several clones to start with the fuinjutsu training while he began to read some of his parents' journals.

After several hours, Naruto dispelled his clones. As the memories flooded his mind, he noticed that he took to seals like a fish takes to water. "Uzumaki blood for the win," Naruto quipped softly. Realizing he still had a few more hours of daylight left, he chose to walk around the village and then head to Ichiraku for dinner. Dressed in his usual shinobi attire with the hood up, he left the estate.


Ichiraku

"Can I get three bowls of miso ramen?" Naruto asked the unsuspecting ramen cooks.

Teuchi and Ayame looked up from their food prep to notice that their favorite customer had just walked in. "Naruto, where have you been? It's not like you to not show up at least once a week." Ayame said with a slight pout.

After pulling off his hood, Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, saying, "Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. I've been really busy with training this past month. In fact, I just got back from my first C-rank mission today."

"Really? What happened?" Teuchi asked while tending to Naruto's order.

"Um, it wasn't anything special. It was only a C-rank because it was outside the village," Naruto lied, not wanting the ramen duo to worry needlessly over him.

The two looked at him with concern but decided not to push the young boy. The blonde's order was quickly filled, and the trio caught up as stories were told and laughs were had.


After finishing his meal, Naruto left the ramen stand content with the past few hours. While walking the streets, he passed a flower shop that looked like it had quite the selection. Remembering his promise, he entered intending to honor the women that deserved more than what they needed up with.

"Hi. Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers. How can I help you today?" Sora Yamanaka asked. As the matriarch of the Yamanaka clan, she didn't have to work, but it gave her something to do after retiring from the shinobi corps not long after becoming pregnant with her daughter. Sora welcomed the young boy into the shop like any other customer. However, she didn't recognize him because of the hood that he was wearing.

"I'm looking for a few different things. I would like some flowers to lay on my parents' graves, and I would also like something to honor some people. I will be grateful if you can help me with that," Naruto said while still looking over some of the specimens on display.

"Hmm. What can you tell me about the people you wish to honor?" Sora asked, trying to get more information out of the boy.

Naruto thought for a minute and said, "Well, from what I've read and been told, my parents were madly in love, and no two others were more perfect for each other. For the others, I want something to signify their innocence."

Sora now knew who the young man standing near was. She had been devastated to learn that her friend Kushina had passed. She had always wanted to help out her friend's son but could never find him. She wished she could have done more, but now maybe this was Kami's way of giving her a chance to make up for past regrets. The woman schooled her features and said, "I may have just the thing. For the others, I recommend white lilies. They symbolize purity, but they represent grief as well. Now, I think a few white tulips with a single red rose should be placed between the two for your parents. How does that sound?"

"I like that. Thank you. Is there anything else you recommend?" the young blonde asked, more so out of politeness than anything else.

"Actually, there is. I assume that you have a flower bed." Sora asked. Naruto nodded in response. "Well, I think you would enjoy these." She pointed out a section of flowers of varying colors and some that were two-toned. "These are called bearded irises. When taken care of properly, they are incredibly hearty flowers, and they come in a wide range of colors. See any that catch your eye?" Sora asked, having now finished explaining the flowers.

Naruto could only stare at a flower that seemed to be calling out to him. It was a yellow and red bloom that stood about 12 inches tall. "This one. I'd like this one if you don't mind," Naruto answered, finally finding his voice.

'How interesting,' Sora mused to herself. "Excellent. I've always adored that variation. In fact, this was a favorite of an old friend of mine. I'm glad to see that someone has the same taste as her. Now, let's see, since this is your first time, how about half off, and I can even have someone help your new irises set up," she told the boy, who had a dumbfounded look on his face not entirely expected to be treated so well. He nodded at the older woman and informed her that he'll be leaving on a mission in three days. She accepted his payment and told him to come in again after his mission to discuss the flowers for his garden.

After watching her friend's son leave with his flowers, she made a mental to slightly coax her daughter to get to know the young man. Almost as if Ino had a sixth sense, she entered the front door not long after Naruto exited. "Hey, mom, who was that? He looked familiar," Ino asked her mother, who waved her off.

"Oh, he's the son of an old friend of mine. Today was the first time I've had the pleasure of meeting him," Sora said with a small, sad smile.

"Really? How come they haven't visited before?" the younger blonde asked her mother, failing to notice the pained expression on her face.

"Well, that's because she and her husband died the night of the Kyuubi attack. Her son was left alone. No one to care for him. I'm hoping to remedy that soon. In fact, you can help with something. I'm going to need some help planting some flowers at his home once he returns from his next mission. Plus, he could always use another friend," the matriarch told her daughter, who nodded in agreeance.

"You never did tell me his name, though," Ino said while tending to some of the flowers.

"Where's the fun in that?" her mother said cryptically before walking off, leaving a confused Ino.


Hokage Tower

(3 days later)

"I'm glad that you all made it here on time. Now, Kurenai, you and team 8 will be the leading force for this escort, which means she is in charge. Kakashi and his apprentice will be back up, and therefore they shall remain in the background. Kakashi, you and Naruto will treat this as a form of training. Team 8 is primarily a tracking unit. This will help you if you have to evade similar units later on. With all that being said, if circumstances change, Kakashi will take care over as leader of the mission. Does everyone understand?" Hiruzen asked in a way that made it seem like an order. The three shinobi all nodded in agreement. "Good, then you're all dismissed."

After everyone had left, the old man sighed and hoped that he was making the right choice.


Konoha Gate

"Ok, both of you know the plan, so there shouldn't be any problems. You can set up right outside the gates and follow us from there. Sound good?" the raven-haired woman stated to the odd duo. One looked bored and read a filthy book, much to her chagrin. While the other was listening with rapt attention. She smiled inwardly, silently thanking Kami that the boy wasn't fully turning into his smut-loving sensei. The pair nodded towards the woman and then left to set up for a simple escort mission to the Land of Waves. Although, something was telling Naruto that this mission would be anything but simple.


Parts of this chapter flowed out of easily while other parts, I had to drag out. I hope that you like Naruto's first mission outside of the village. I hope I did everyone involved when it came to finale of the bandit mission. I'm going to try to keep the Wave Arc to at most 2 chapters. I do have my reasons for picking team 8. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new chapter. I hope to get the next one out sooner, but life has a funny way of getting in the way. I hope all of you stay safe in this crazy world of ours.