Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I just write my own unofficial stories about the characters.
Chapter 3.7 – A new mission begins! Start the Journeys!
ANBU training day 2, while Naruto and gang are training, somewhere in another practice field:
Gai's team is out in a practice field practicing the Chameleon Technique, and frankly, everyone but Gai are partly worn out. Tenten was the first to learn the technique, at about 11:00 last night before Gai released them to rest up. In the morning, Akamaru learned the technique, resulting in Gai loudly praising the dog and getting exasperated looks from Neji and Kiba. At about 12, both of them finally got the technique down. With that, Gai let the team take a rest (Kiba and Neji fall in exhaustion and triumph from finally mastering the technique). With the technique being mastered, Gai dismisses them all and tells them to meet him here in the practice field tonight at seven. With that, he vanishes. Tenten joins the others and asks what now? Neji says he is unsure, but from Gai-sensei's urgency, they will probably leave tonight and head toward their destination first. Kiba is surprised that they are heading toward their targets already and says so. Neji then says that since their mission is to scout, it will probably not require them to get in too dangerous of situations. Whatever, says Kiba, as long as we get some kind of fight. Tenten then asks if they want to do anymore training. Both Neji and Kiba say no, they need to rest. Tenten frowns, then asks Akamaru if he wants to do some practice. Akamaru barks, and then uses the Human Bunshin Technique. Both take a fighting stance, and Neji and Kiba sit up, interested. They then charge at each other. Tenten launches an assortment of weapons, and Akamaru is forced to use the Piercing Fang technique. Tenten pulls out a bokotan and they hit simultaneously and land 10 feet apart. There is silence for a few minutes, and then Akamaru transforms back and whimpers in pain, while Tenten clutches her left arm where it was hit. It is bleeding slightly and Akamaru is down on the ground. This gets Neji and Kiba running toward them. Kiba holds Akamaru, checks him, declares he is okay, and tells Tenten that Akamaru found Tenten hard for a girl. Tenten confesses that she never thought she would have that much of a problem with a puppy. Neji then asks her if she is okay. She says yes, and then declares that that is enough for know. Neji asks if there is anything else they should do before they go. Kiba then suggests they go eat at a restaurant, since training was hard today. Akamaru seconds the idea with a bark. Tenten starts to disagree, but Neji says that that is a good idea since he is also hungry. This comes as a slight surprise to Tenten, who could never remember when Neji wanted to do stuff like this. When they started, she thought, his eyes were always cold and he kept to himself. Even with her and Lee, he could be cruel and arrogant, always relying on his faith in fate and his belief that everything was set in stone. This was shattered, she thinks, when he lost to Naruto. She didn't hear much of this from him, but from Gai-sensei, who got the conversation from Kakashi who got it from Sakura. After that, Neji no longer seemed cold, and even though he still mostly kept to himself, he didn't place himself above others, smiled more often, and even gave tips to people. His friendlier attitude toward his cousin must be proof of this; I should thank Naruto-kun later, Tenten thought. Neji, who asks them where they should go eat, interrupts her thoughts. Kiba says he heard of this place from the Akamichi's... They head to a restaurant famous for their beef-pot meals and steak (kind of like a Japanese steakhouse). They all sit at a table and wait for a waiter. Neji remarks that he had never been here before, so how do you know of this place, Kiba? Kiba causally remarks that he heard of this place from Choji, who comes here often. Tenten looks around and says she doesn't see any of the Akamichis or anyone they know for that matter. Neji guesses they are all training or on missions at this time. At this point, a red-faced waiter shows up. He is so red that Kiba asks if he is constipated. The man then points at Akamaru and remarks that since they are one of the finest restaurants, they will not allow dogs!! Akamaru transforms with the Human Bunshin Technique, and Neji, with his eyes closed and head down, asks if anyone said Akamaru was a dog. This gets the waiter pale-faced. Tenten remarks that they are just trying to have a nice dinner so please be quiet. Or, says Kiba growling, do you want to take it outside? The waiter is sweating at this point, says no, and takes their orders at that point. They all have a pleasant dinner laughing at the expense of the red-faced waiter, pay, and then leave the restaurant as the sun is setting. As soon as they get out on the street, Gai-sensei appears, breathing heavily. Tenten asks Gai sensei if something is wrong. He says that he has been trying to find them. He just got the order to move out from the Hokage and the council. They need to meet him at the East Gate in ten minutes. Kiba asks loudly why they weren't told this before, or otherwise they wouldn't have eaten so much?! Gai says that the council sped up the order, probably because something happened. So, he says, head to your houses, get anything you may need, and head to the East Gate, I will meet you there in ten minutes. Go!! With that, they vanish. At the East Gate ten minutes later, each of them arrive on time. Kiba packed extra solider pills and smoke bombs, Tenten weaponry, and Neji, explosion notes and extra shrunken. After a cursory inspection, Gai announces that they are to go and scout out land near the Sound/Cloud nation. After that, they will take a break to train until their next orders come. And also, we will be meeting up with another team on the way, so lets be courteous. Any Questions? They say no, and with that, they leave the village and head out into the night.
The same day, from Kurenai's House:
Kurenai and her team are practicing assortments of Genjutsu and Genjutsu reflection. All of them are doing well with the Genjutsu, yet Ino keeps having problems with Genjutsu deflection. At about around three o'clock, after about 8 straight hours of practice, Ino finally masters all of the Genjutsu deflection. With that done, Kurenai tells them to rest up and meet back here for six. With that, she vanishes. Shikamaru then turns to Ino and asks why it took so long for her to get the Genjutsu deflection down. Ino yells at him to shut up, saying that Genjutsu deflection was always her hardest area. Sakura looks at her, and then brags that that was always her best. This really pisses Ino off. Shikamaru sighs to himself, thinking this is completely stupid. Ino then yells at Sakura to shut up, or do you want to duke this out, huh?! Sakura is at first shocked, then leers at Ino, saying that she really wanted to beat her since the Chunnin Exam. Both get in a fighting stance and ignore Shikamaru who tells them to stop. They charge at each other. Before they land their first blow, however, they suddenly find themselves unable to move. Shikamaru had just used the Shadow Mimic Technique, and started to tell them to quit. Ino yells at him, asking him who does he think he is?! This gets Shikamaru pissed, and he suddenly yells at Ino to SHUT UP!! This gets both Sakura and Ino stunned quiet. He then goes on to say that they are about to go on a spying mission, a mission where they will have to blend in a work together. Disunity like this will only get us killed. And furthermore, he yells, I am above you in rank, so if I say to stop fighting, I mean it. He then releases them both from the Shadow Mimic, takes a deep breath, and then quietly tells them to not make him do that again. He then turns, tell them he will meet back with them at six, and walks away, hands in his pockets and whistling. Ino and Sakura are just stunned. Sakura asks what just happened out loud. Ino says she has no idea. The two stand there for a bit longer until Asuma happens to see them standing there. He calls out to them, and they snap out of their daze. He asks what's up, and Ino tells him shocked that Shikamaru just completely blew his head at them for fighting. Asuma looks surprised, then chuckles, telling them that he is finally glad that he did that, since he was beginning to think that Shikamaru would never show any emotion. Sakura asks him if he will do a mission soon. Asuma says yes; his mission will coincide with theirs, but how, he can't say. Actually, he says, he came to find Ino and anyone else to wish them good luck on their mission. Ino says thanks, and asks if he has seen Choji recently. Asuma says no, he can't find where the ANBU are training him. Both Sakura and Ino are shocked at this, and Ino asks how the hell Choji got to train under the ANBU. Asuma says he can't tell. He then gives them to free meal tickets at a beef house restaurant, and tells them to eat. He going to go see Shikamaru and see if he can get one more game of Shogi out of him. So, take care!! With that, Asuma leaves. Sakura looks at the ticket to find it is for one of the best beef houses in the Village. Sakura says they should go get a meal in before they go. Ino agrees, and with that they head out to the restaurant. Shikamaru, meanwhile, has just entered a Shogi parlor and sits in a chair. He sighs. He can never remember losing it like that, but man, he thinks, sometimes that Ino...His thoughts are interrupted when Asuma comes in and starts to look for Shikamaru. He calls out when he finds him, and Shikamaru is brought out of his thoughts. Asuma sits across from him at a table, and they start a game. The conversation between them goes nowhere until Asuma mentions he heard he finally blew up at Ino. Shikamaru looks surprised, and then says nothing. Asuma then laughs at that point, asking Shikamaru if he is this nervous about the upcoming mission. Shikamaru frowns, then smiles, and says yeah. I just can't stand being with that Sakura and Ino, since they fight all the time. It's a pain, he says with a sigh. Asuma agrees, but says that without him, a Chuunin and who he is, there would be no unity on the team. Also, you're the cleverest tactician and your shadow techniques will be extremely useful on that team. Shikamaru thinks all that over, thanks Asuma for the talk, and then calls checkmate. Asuma grumbles to himself that there were only ten moves. They play a few more rounds till about 5:30. Shikamaru heads back to Kurenai's house in much better spirits than when he left, and meets Sakura and Ino. They greet him, and he asks them what they did. Ino said they went to a restaurant and Sakura ate so much that she would start to look like Choji, and Sakura counters with a grin and saying she was inferior to Ino the Pig. This gets them quarreling again. Shikamaru laughs to himself and smiles. When they notice that he is smiling, they stop fighting and ask what's up. He says nothing at all. Kurenai comes at that point and says to gather any extra weapons or scrolls they need, along with money, and then head to the North Gate. Each return ten minutes later. When the genins get back, Shikamaru announces that he had just seen Choji. Ino is interested and asks what Choji was doing. He says nothing much, while Shikamaru silently thinks to the fight he just saw Choji in. Sakura then asks if he ran into anyone like Naruto or Sasuke. Shikamaru says no. At that moment Kurenai shows up, saying they are going to a city in the Fire Country to get training in mimicking people. After that, they will proceed to their target. With that, they hurry over the North Gate and move with all speed to the north.
The same day, in the forest around the village:
Sasuke, Lee, and Shino are all sitting by a lake. Sasuke is sitting in a tree, Lee is lying by the lake, and Shino is looking for bugs. They had just finished one-on-one combat training with Kakashi that had lasted from about 8 to 3. He was letting them take a break for now, and they were to meet at his place at 7 to move out. Sasuke scoffed out loud at the idea Kakashi would be on time. Lee and Shino ask him why. Sasuke dully remarks that Kakashi is usually late for everything, no exceptions. He then asks them what their sensei was like. Before anyone else answers, Lee declares that Gai sensei is super cool and the greatest. Shino asks if he makes them wear the green body suits. Lee says no. Sasuke mentions to Lee he might want to get something of a more neutral color on, because green might stand out where they are going. Lee still says no, and the others drop the subject. There is silence until Lee wonders out loud if they should get anything or train more. Shino says now would not be a good idea since they may be heading on a mission and straight to a fight. Sasuke speaks up, saying he would rather wait to see everyone's special moves later, it would be no fun now. They fall into silence again. Sasuke speaks up again by asking them if they want to go get some food, since there is nothing else for them to do. Lee asks where. Sasuke is quiet and then tells them of this place he knows about...The three arrive at the ramen booth where Naruto usually eat. Shino is surprised and asks if this is the place where Naruto always eats. Sasuke says it is, and then asks Shino how he knew that. He said he heard about it from Hinata. Lee then asks Sasuke why he chose this place. Sasuke just shrugged and said it was the only place for eating in town that he knew about. Also, they had once treated Kakashi to ramen here in order to see his true face. Lee asks to hear more of that story. Even Shino seems interested, but suggests that they sit down first and order. Sasuke orders a bowl of seafood, Shino some beef stew, and Lee took some teriyaki. All of them also order water. Sasuke begins to tell the tale of that time. While he is telling it, a man comes in the restaurant and orders some ramen and clear wine. His wine comes, but he only finishes half and then starts to eat. While listening, Lee randomly takes some water, but keeps his eyes on Sasuke. However, by complete accident, he takes the man's wine cup and drinks, puts it down, and starts to sway. The man notices that Lee has drunken some of his wine and stands up and starts yelling at Lee. This makes Sasuke stop the story and cause him and Shino to look at the scene unfolding in front of them. The man reaches out to punch Lee from behind, but quick as water, Lee moves, grabs the man, and throws him out of the restaurant, and immediately jumps out. Sasuke senses he is going to hurt the man, and immediately he leaves the restaurant and manages to block Lee's attack. Shino comes hurrying after him. Lee is now using drunken boxing on Sasuke, and even though Sasuke is able to block it thanks to the Sharingan, he is starting to tire, since Lee's swings and fighting style is becoming more unpredictable. Sasuke is suddenly knocked back by a kick to the chest by Lee. Lee then drunkenly flies at Sasuke, but suddenly stops when bugs from Shino drain him of most of his chakra. Lee collapses and is unconscious. Sasuke is breathing hard and wincing slightly from where Lee kicked him. He says it's impossible, but it seemed to him like Lee was drunk. Shino says that the fighting style that Lee was using resembles drunken boxing, but when did he learn that? The man from the restaurant speaks up at that time, saying that he accidentally took some of his wine for water. Shino is surprised by that news, and remarks that this must have been something that Lee was working on. Sasuke is still shocked by the sheer force and speed of Lee at that time. Lee wakes up at this time. He touches his head and asks if he was drunk again. Sasuke is freaked that Lee said again. Shino asks him if he is feeling okay. He said he is fine, so, why don't they all go eat now, since the female worker from the restaurant called out that their food is ready. She stops them before they sit though, begging them not to cause any more trouble. They agree, on the condition Lee sits away from the man. They are halfway through their meals when Kakashi comes in sits down next to them. He greets them and then immerses himself in a book. Lee asks him what book that is, and when Sasuke glances at the cover, he starts to sweat and is immediately fully interested in his food, gobbles it down quickly, and rushes out as Kakashi starts to explain the plot. He waits outside for a minute before he hears Lee and Shino rushing out, each look very nauseated. Kakashi follows them out a few seconds later, saying they forgot to pay. He paid since it was a mission with him, and also, we will leave now at 7, so get things you need and be at my house for 6:45. With that, he vanishes. Lee and Shino look at Sasuke with horrified looks and ask how he puts up with a sensei that reads such horrible things. Sasuke says it is just something that is unspoken. Lee then asks him if Sakura has ever been in danger, earning him a disgusted look by Shino and Sasuke, and Sasuke tells him that something like that has never happened to his knowledge. They all shudder in unison. Shino interrupts them by saying it is 6:30, so they need to go and collect equipment for their mission. Each split ways and end up back at Kakashi's house for 6:45. Unfortunately, Kakashi is nowhere to be seen. Sasuke says that this is no surprise, though he should be here soon. True to his word, Kakashi arrives at 7:00, with his head in the latest volume of Come Come Paradise. Kakashi greets them, saying he was having a literary discussion with a famous author. This makes the three look sick, but then Kakashi throws the book away and gets serious. He tells them they are heading for a special place near the border with the Rock Nation to train, and when their orders come in, they will move out. So, let's go! They all take to the roofs of the houses and head for the West Gate. On their way, however, a black-cloaked man intercepts them, and they land on a roof. The Genins take a fighting stance, but Kakashi is completely relaxed, asking the man what's up? The man lowers his hood to reveal a red snarling wolf mask, and says that he wants to wish them luck. Thanks, Mad Dog Soonaga, says Kakashi. Good luck Sharingan Kakashi, says Soonaga, and with that, he vanishes. The others asks who he is. Kakashi says that that man is a famous and very strong ANBU captain. Well, he says, we must continue. They enter the forest and head out toward the edge of the nation of Fire.
End of Chapter 3.7. In the next chapter, Gai's team reaches it target, and the other teams reach their training areas. For those wondering what will happen to Naruto and company, that will come by 3.10. Thank you for reading!!
I am sorry for not updating in a while. College does eat a lot of your time. Add two essays to that, one in English and the other in Spanish, and time seems to slip away. Anyway, I humbly thank you for your patience and wish everyone a happy week. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and I promise you all I will try to get the next one in on time. Well, have a great week!