CHAPTER 11: LESSONS FROM THE PAST! ON THE DEFENSIVE!
Naruto's eyes raced back and forth as he thought about the events he had witnessed in the last 15 minutes. Replaying the scene over and over in his head, he tried to make sense of it, and failed. Keywords raced through his mind: Akatsuki, Sand Village Incident, Gatekeeper, and IT. No matter how hard he tried, he didn't understand any of it. "Argh, I only recognize one of these things and I have NO CLUE WHAT IT IS!" Naruto screamed, tugging at his hair.
"Calm down, Naruto." Iruka grinned, walking in. Looking at the table and the nearly empty bowl of ramen, Iruka couldn't help but laugh. "Couldn't wait for me, eh? I don't blame you. I am a tad late." However, Naruto wasn't amused, he didn't make any sign of emotion. He just sat in concentration. "Uh...Naruto?" Naruto still didn't move. Tapping him on the shoulder Naruto let out a startled yelp.
"AHHHHHhhhhh..." Naruto screamed, then getting an annoyed look in his eyes. "Hello Sensei. You're late."
"I know." Iruka smiled. "What's got you so bugged out anyway? You need to calm down! You're in the Chuunin finals you know."
"That...isn't important right now." Naruto said, seeming more mature.
Iruka couldn't form a word. Whatever happened to Naruto it was big if he wasn't caring as much about the Chuunin exam. "What is it Naruto? What happened?" He asked, becoming very serious.
Naruto sat straight up and looked Iruka deep in the eyes, making his sensei feel uneasy. "Good!" Naruto smiled, snapping back to his old self. "Its you!"
Iruka gave a curious look. "...Of course its me, who else would I be? Or be me for that matter."
"The cloaked man..."
"The who?" Iruka said, beginning to think Naruto was on another wild goose chase.
"You asked what happened right? Well here we go." Naruto took a deep breath and released, trying to relax. Iruka just stared. "As you were coming to the restaurant, did you see a group of shinobi, one in a cloak with a Leaf Hitai-ate, one with white pants, one with a sword, and the tall sand genin in the finals?"
Iruka thought for a second. "Yeah, I did. Why?"
Naruto slouched. "Ugh. That's the problem. I don't know who they are, but they were creepy."
"C'mon Naruto. Don't judge a book by its cover."
"If you had heard what they did, saw what they did, you'd be worried too." Naruto stammered, crossing his arms.
"Well? What happened?"
"I didn't understand a lot of it, but they were talking...about some not so good things." Naruto began.
"Such as?" Iruka inquired.
"For one, I don't think that Sand guy is a genin. Secondly, The cloaked guy used henge with making any katas. NONE. And 3rd, they kept talking about Gatekeepers, it, an incident in the sand village, and the Akatsuki, whoever the hell that is. I just can't remember."
Iruka's eyes widened in surprise. "Naruto, this is VERY important. Are you sure they said, 'Akatsuki?'"
"Absolutely sure."
Iruka put his hands behind his and sighed. "Shit."
****************************
The Demonic quad walked through the streets several hours after their meeting in Ichiraki ramen. The were getting glances from people everywhere, some of which saw them and dashed off.
"Master..." Domen whispered softly.
"Yes?" Memnoch answered, stopping to let a cart go by.
"We're being followed. But I can't figure out why." Domen wondered.
"Heh. I'm not surprised. Someone in the restaurant must have heard our conversation. Oh well." Memnoch shrugged.
Sonari and Domen chuckled.
"I can't believe how easily you guys can handle this." Jamshu said astonished. "They know who you are, won't they come after you!?"
The three others looked at each other and began laughing hysterically. Wiping a tear form his eye, Domen chuckled out a response. "They're not idiots kid."
"Huh?" Jamshu said, not understanding Domen's comment.
"Listen Mr. Dragano. If anyone of them know who I really am, it would be the most surprising thing of the century. Even if they DID know who we are, they wouldn't be stupid and foolhardy enough to come after us."
"Why not?" Jamshu asked.
"Simple. Because I'd destroy them."
************************
"So...that's everything Naruto?" Tsunade asked back at Leaf HQ. Kamaasu, Kakashi, Iruka, and Shikamaru were in the room as well.
"Yeah...that's the whole thing." Naruto replied.
Tsunade slumped down in her chair, and covered her eyes with her hand, muttering how things couldn't get any worse.
"Uh...who were they? And what the hell were they talking about?" Naruto asked.
Kamaasu shuffled in place, his face getting a little red. Kakashi saw, and chuckled. "Something you'd like to share with Kay?"
"No. Just a little warm." Kamaasu said, giving a forced smile
"...You still haven't answered my question." Naruto said, tappng his foot impatiently.
"The Akatsuki is an organization consisting of approximately 9 members. Orochimaru used to be a member." Tsuande explained, still covering her face with her hand.
"What's the point of it?"
"This organization wants to learn many jutsus around the world, but they don't care how they get it. Uchiha Itachi is a part of it."
Naruto froze with fear.
"You see? We're worried the Akatsuki might be here looking for-" Tsunade noticed Shikamaru was in the room. "Certain forbidden jutsus. We don't want anything to happen, so we'll just up the security to make sure nothing goes wrong."
"What about the suspicious guys?" Naruto asked.
"We looked into it. The sand fellow is in fact a genin. Its on the record. But we don't know who the others are. But don't worry Naruto, we'll handle it." Tsunade smiled.
"Okay then...I gotta train some more!" Naruto shouted running out the door.
"I don't know how we're going to make it through this Chuunin exam..." Shikamaru chuckled.
Naruto's eyes raced back and forth as he thought about the events he had witnessed in the last 15 minutes. Replaying the scene over and over in his head, he tried to make sense of it, and failed. Keywords raced through his mind: Akatsuki, Sand Village Incident, Gatekeeper, and IT. No matter how hard he tried, he didn't understand any of it. "Argh, I only recognize one of these things and I have NO CLUE WHAT IT IS!" Naruto screamed, tugging at his hair.
"Calm down, Naruto." Iruka grinned, walking in. Looking at the table and the nearly empty bowl of ramen, Iruka couldn't help but laugh. "Couldn't wait for me, eh? I don't blame you. I am a tad late." However, Naruto wasn't amused, he didn't make any sign of emotion. He just sat in concentration. "Uh...Naruto?" Naruto still didn't move. Tapping him on the shoulder Naruto let out a startled yelp.
"AHHHHHhhhhh..." Naruto screamed, then getting an annoyed look in his eyes. "Hello Sensei. You're late."
"I know." Iruka smiled. "What's got you so bugged out anyway? You need to calm down! You're in the Chuunin finals you know."
"That...isn't important right now." Naruto said, seeming more mature.
Iruka couldn't form a word. Whatever happened to Naruto it was big if he wasn't caring as much about the Chuunin exam. "What is it Naruto? What happened?" He asked, becoming very serious.
Naruto sat straight up and looked Iruka deep in the eyes, making his sensei feel uneasy. "Good!" Naruto smiled, snapping back to his old self. "Its you!"
Iruka gave a curious look. "...Of course its me, who else would I be? Or be me for that matter."
"The cloaked man..."
"The who?" Iruka said, beginning to think Naruto was on another wild goose chase.
"You asked what happened right? Well here we go." Naruto took a deep breath and released, trying to relax. Iruka just stared. "As you were coming to the restaurant, did you see a group of shinobi, one in a cloak with a Leaf Hitai-ate, one with white pants, one with a sword, and the tall sand genin in the finals?"
Iruka thought for a second. "Yeah, I did. Why?"
Naruto slouched. "Ugh. That's the problem. I don't know who they are, but they were creepy."
"C'mon Naruto. Don't judge a book by its cover."
"If you had heard what they did, saw what they did, you'd be worried too." Naruto stammered, crossing his arms.
"Well? What happened?"
"I didn't understand a lot of it, but they were talking...about some not so good things." Naruto began.
"Such as?" Iruka inquired.
"For one, I don't think that Sand guy is a genin. Secondly, The cloaked guy used henge with making any katas. NONE. And 3rd, they kept talking about Gatekeepers, it, an incident in the sand village, and the Akatsuki, whoever the hell that is. I just can't remember."
Iruka's eyes widened in surprise. "Naruto, this is VERY important. Are you sure they said, 'Akatsuki?'"
"Absolutely sure."
Iruka put his hands behind his and sighed. "Shit."
****************************
The Demonic quad walked through the streets several hours after their meeting in Ichiraki ramen. The were getting glances from people everywhere, some of which saw them and dashed off.
"Master..." Domen whispered softly.
"Yes?" Memnoch answered, stopping to let a cart go by.
"We're being followed. But I can't figure out why." Domen wondered.
"Heh. I'm not surprised. Someone in the restaurant must have heard our conversation. Oh well." Memnoch shrugged.
Sonari and Domen chuckled.
"I can't believe how easily you guys can handle this." Jamshu said astonished. "They know who you are, won't they come after you!?"
The three others looked at each other and began laughing hysterically. Wiping a tear form his eye, Domen chuckled out a response. "They're not idiots kid."
"Huh?" Jamshu said, not understanding Domen's comment.
"Listen Mr. Dragano. If anyone of them know who I really am, it would be the most surprising thing of the century. Even if they DID know who we are, they wouldn't be stupid and foolhardy enough to come after us."
"Why not?" Jamshu asked.
"Simple. Because I'd destroy them."
************************
"So...that's everything Naruto?" Tsunade asked back at Leaf HQ. Kamaasu, Kakashi, Iruka, and Shikamaru were in the room as well.
"Yeah...that's the whole thing." Naruto replied.
Tsunade slumped down in her chair, and covered her eyes with her hand, muttering how things couldn't get any worse.
"Uh...who were they? And what the hell were they talking about?" Naruto asked.
Kamaasu shuffled in place, his face getting a little red. Kakashi saw, and chuckled. "Something you'd like to share with Kay?"
"No. Just a little warm." Kamaasu said, giving a forced smile
"...You still haven't answered my question." Naruto said, tappng his foot impatiently.
"The Akatsuki is an organization consisting of approximately 9 members. Orochimaru used to be a member." Tsuande explained, still covering her face with her hand.
"What's the point of it?"
"This organization wants to learn many jutsus around the world, but they don't care how they get it. Uchiha Itachi is a part of it."
Naruto froze with fear.
"You see? We're worried the Akatsuki might be here looking for-" Tsunade noticed Shikamaru was in the room. "Certain forbidden jutsus. We don't want anything to happen, so we'll just up the security to make sure nothing goes wrong."
"What about the suspicious guys?" Naruto asked.
"We looked into it. The sand fellow is in fact a genin. Its on the record. But we don't know who the others are. But don't worry Naruto, we'll handle it." Tsunade smiled.
"Okay then...I gotta train some more!" Naruto shouted running out the door.
"I don't know how we're going to make it through this Chuunin exam..." Shikamaru chuckled.