AN: Hello everyone, I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed, followed, or favorited this fic so far again. It's motivating to see how people are enjoying and engaging with this fic. As a reminder, I read all the reviews even if I don't respond to them. It's interesting to see where everyone thinks I will take this fic.
I'm especially happy to see how well Hinata was received. Writing that scene with her took the majority of my time for that chapter. It took me 6 drafts, each proofread by my fiancé to make sure that I was able to simultaneously express the thoughts and feelings of a hormonal 15 year old boy without over-objectifying a 15 year old girl.
As I mentioned in the last chapter, I am looking for a Beta.
Anyway: This chapter marks the point in the story where I start building less of a foundation and the plot begins to develop.
—-
Chapter 5: The Mission to the Land of Sound Part 1
—-
"Well done, team 7. You've completed your 35th D-rank mission. And you've also set a record for painting Mrs Watanabe's fence in the shortest time. And to think, it's only your second week as genin." Hiruzen congratulated the team of genin, who looked a mix of run down and disgruntled.
"What can I say? Naruto's clones really do come in handy." Kakashi replied with an eye smile. Naruto mumbled something about slave-driving jounin under his breath.
"Iruka, give them their pay." The team's demeanor lifted slightly as Iruka fumbled with a set of scrolls at the Hokage's command. "Now, what would you like to do for your next mission? The choices are…." Hiruzen narrowed his eyes as he fetched a scroll off his desk and began reading aloud from it.
"...cleaning the Inuzuka kennels…" Satsuki grunted in disapproval.
"...babysitting a merchant's children…" Naruto's eye twitched furiously.
"... and retrieving Tora, The Daimyo's Wife's cat." Sakura frowned as she ran a hand over the multiple lacerations and puncture wounds from their encounter with the cat earlier that morning. How did it escape already?
"Umm, Hokage-sama?" Sakura interjected. "Isn't there any other type of mission we could do?"
"Are you requesting a C-rank, Sakura?" The Hokage asked with an eyebrow raised in amusement.
"What? No, I mean-" She panicked, waving her hands in front of her in denial."I wouldn't dare -"
"Sakura! You're not ready for a C-rank, you're genin fresh out of the Academy." Iruka spoke with concern in his voice "You should appreciate these D-ranked missions! They let you build your teamwork and establish rapport with the civilians." He lectured.
"Don't be so hasty, Iruka. We should ask their Jounin sensei what he thinks." The Hokage spoke as he gestured towards Kakashi with his pipe. "Well?"
Kakashi only hummed lazily, feigning consideration without raising his eye from his book. "I'll leave it up to you." His team looked at him, betrayed.
In response, Hiruzen hummed aloud before asking one last person. "Satsuki, what do you think?" Naruto's eyes widened in shock. Sakura tilted her head in confusion but this was later replaced with understanding.
Satsuki remained tight-lipped for a moment as she looked at the others in the room. "I think these D-ranks are stunting our growth at this point."
The Hokage hummed as he puffed his pipe. "Very well. Iruka, please inform the gentleman from the Land of Sound we've accepted his mission."
"But Hokage-sama!" Iruka started to protest, but held his tongue when the Hokage shot him a look that suggested the conversation was over. He looked at Kakashi with a pleading look, but was met with an empty eye smile. Iruka sighed and left the room.
The Hokage picked up a scroll. "Team 7, listen closely as I will be discussing your next mission. Your client is Sakurai. He hails from the Land of Sound, formerly the Land of Rice Paddies, where he works as the spokesman for a Coal Miner's Union. Your job is to escort him back to the Land of Sound and protect him and the miners while they negotiate a new contract with the mine's owner. From previous missions such as these, we can expect that you will encounter bandits or lightly armed ronin. As such, the mission will be assigned as a C-rank mission with appropriate pay. If you encounter anything outside of these parameters, you are to request immediate reinforcements or disengage. As the commanding officer, I leave the choice up to you, Kakashi. You depart tomorrow morning at 4 AM from the village's main gate. Am I understood?"
"Hai!" The team chanted.
—-
"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" Sakura called as she took off her shoes.
"Welcome home, Sakura!" Her father called warmly. She walked to her house's kitchen to find her father cutting vegetables. He was a tall man with a star shaped haircut and sideburns which connected to his mustache. His hair was several shades duller than hers, but still pink. "How was your day?"
"It was great, dad! We caught Tora, delivered groceries again, and painted Mrs. Watanabe's fence in record time!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out her payment scrolls. "Look! I can pay rent this month!"
Her father laughed. "That's wonderful! How many missions does that make now?"
"35!" She beamed. He hummed in approval. "You know though… Although I appreciate your willingness to help out, your mother and I don't really need the money right now. Why don't you save the money for now? Or treat yourself to something." He reasoned.
Sakura paused, squinting her eyes in confusion. "What do you mean? I'm an adult now, dad, I have to helpout."
Her father laughed and shook his head dismissively. "It's really alright, Sakura. That money is yours. You should really consider saving it for the future. After all, I'm sure you'll need it when you get married and have kids in the future."
"Pffttt, that's like waaay the future, dad. Besides, I plan to work even after I have kids. I doubt money will be an issue." She reasoned.
"You ummm…" He scratched his chin as he looked for what words to say. "... you want to keep working even after you have kids? Honey, isn't that dangerous?" He asked with concern in his voice.
"Well, yes. But what I'm doing now is also dangerous. This is what I signed up for, dad." Frustration seeped into her voice as she attempted to tow the line between easing his fears and expressing her own desires.
"Yes, but you have a jounin with you now. You're going to be on your own at that point." He countered.
"Dad…" Her hair shadowed her eyes as she clenched her fist. "...I'll be the jounin by then."
Her father held his breath at her response and a pregnant silence settled between the two as they stared at each other. Her feet were facing him, but he was halfway turned towards the countertop with the vegetables he was cutting. After a few moments, he let out a sigh and a false smile came on to his face.
"Of course, honey. But hey, maybe you'll find yourself a strong husband and you'll be able to afford staying at home without running around and doing dangerous missions." He shrugged with both arms in an attempt to offer appeasement.
She didn't respond. She just grit her teeth and rushed upstairs. Once she locked her door, she buried her head in a pillow and screamed silently. She didn't even realize that she forgot to tell him about her new mission.
—-
The Next Morning
It was an ungodly hour.
Satsuki arrived at the village's main gate a full half hour before the team was due to depart, backpack in hand. Naruto arrived 15 minutes after her, wearing what he usually did. She raised an eyebrow. He greeted her with a wave of his hand and a tired smile. "Yo."
"Hn." She shrugged. They stood in silence under an oil lamp. Satsuki broke the silence after several minutes. "Hey, idiot, where's your backpack?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I keep telling you, my name is Naruto."
"Whatever." She replied with a roll of her eyes. She knew it upset him, but considered it fair given how often he got under her skin.
"Tch." He clicked his tongue but otherwise stayed silent.
After a minute, she spoke again. "Don't expect me to share supplies with you if you didn't bring your own."
He chuckled. "I can take care of myself, bastard." He walked up to her and stood with his arms crossed, head leaned to the side. "How about this? You tell me why the Hokage asked for your opinion yesterday, and I'll tell you why I didn't bring my backpack. Deal?" He extended a hand out to offer a handshake.
She stared at his hand for a second, considering his offer. She shook her head in rejection. With the team traveling together, it'd be impossible for him to keep that information from her for long.
He frowned and rolled his eyes. "Meh, Satsuki, you're always trying to act so mysterious."
She leaned back on the lamp and tilted her face away. It was ironic for him to say that, given how little she knew about him even after a week. "Hn." Conversation over.
He sighed. "Fine, keep your secrets."
Sakura arrived precisely on time, an abnormality given her record of always being the first to arrive. They greeted her with a nod. Her eyes were somewhat puffy, Satsuki noted. She didn't care enough to mention it though. She carried a backpack which was slightly larger than Satsuki's. She wondered if Sakura was really carrying only things that were useful.
Kakashi arrived 5 minutes later with a tall, muscular man. The man had pink hair which had dulled with old age. He smiled warmly at the group in the dim light.
"Good morning everyone." Kakashi greeted his team with an eye smile, he was the only one who seemed to be unaffected by the time. "I'm glad to see you all show up on time. I'd like you to meet our client, Sakurai-san." He said as he gestured to the pink haired man.
"Hello everyone. Like Kakashi said, my *Cough* name is Sakurai. I'm the spokesman for the Coal Miner's Union in the Land of Sound. It's a pleasure to meet you all, please take care of me." He took a deep bow at the end of his request.
The genin looked confused. "There's no need to be so formal, Sakurai-san. We're at your service." Kakashi stated with a wave of his hand. "Team, why don't you go ahead and introduce yourselves?"
"Yo! I'm Naruto!" He said with a grin and wave.
"A pleasure, Sakurai-san. I'm Sakura." She spoke, with a bow of her own. "I can see we have a few things in common." She joked, running a hand through her long hair.
"Satsuki." The ravenette said in a dull tone.
"Aren't they just the cutests little bunch of genin?" Kakashi asked as Sakurai sweatdropped and offered a reluctant nod.
Kakashi turned back to his team. "I assume you're all prepared? You've packed enough supplies for 2 weeks?" The team nodded in affirmative. "Very good."
"Now, although the Hokage briefed us on the mission yesterday, I'd like to go over everything one more time so that we're all on the same page." Kakashi pulled out a map from one of his vest pockets before continuing.
"We are here." He referenced The Hidden Leaf Village, located near the center of the Land of Fire. "We are to escort Sakurai-san to The Land of Sound which lies directly to our North."
"The Land of Sound is a small country separated from us by a mountain range. There is a single road where we can cross, given that we're traveling with a civilian. Once we cross the border, it will be a short walk to the town where Sakurai-san lives. In total, the trip should take 3 days at walking speed." Kakashi traced the route as he spoke.
"Once there, we will stay with Sakurai san until the miners can negotiate a contract with the mine owner. We expect that this will take up to two weeks and that some lightly armed thugs or ronin may be hired to intimidate the miners. You must inform me if you suspect the presence of enemy ninja at any point." Kakashi stressed the last point by staring each genin in the eye and waiting for affirmative nods.
"You may resupply in the town if needed. I expect that you will report any rumors, suspicious people, or anything else you may find while there. If a mouse shits in a rice field, I want to know about it. Now, are we ready to head out?"
"Hai."
—-
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
"Come in!"
An old man wearing a brown-over-white robe walked into the Hokage's office. He was heavily bandaged such that his forehead and right eye were covered, as well as his right arm, which was also hidden under his robe. His left arm held a walking stick. "You called for me, Hiruzen?" There was no need to refer to one's teammate with honorifics.
"Yes, Danzo, please take a seat with me." Hiruzen responded. "There is something that I've been meaning to talk to you about. It concerns Uzumaki Naruto."
"The jinchuriki?" Danzo asked.
"Yes."
"Have you finally decided that it's time to have him properly indoctrinated? You're aware of the importance of such a tool being loyal to the village." Danzo reasoned. "If you transfer him to the ROOT ANBU, I could-"
"No." Hiruzen quickly rejected while shaking his head. Even when he didn't make the first move, Danzo always had an agenda. "We've been over this. We can't have our Jinchuriki being an object of fear among the civilians. The people need to know that they can expect safety. This is best done with him in the spotlight, especially given that he is the Fourth's son."
"Would they not feel safer if their enemies were eradicated?" A familiar argument, one which they'd been having for decades. Danzo believed that Konoha should stand supreme, with her enemies eradicated or subjugated. Hiruzen believed that such a strategy would be foolish. After all, the hardest part of war is not the victory but rather the occupation. Instead, Hiruzen strived to capture the village's hearts and minds. With powerful and courageous heroes to defend the populace from all of the world's terrors, Konoha would thrive.
But Hiruzen was not in the mood to argue today. "This is not why I called for you." He lit his pipe and took a puff before speaking. "I'm in need of your services."
In spite of his views, Hiruzen was aware of Danzo's utility. With Danzo and his ROOT ANBU working in the shadows to weaken Konoha's enemies, it was that much easier to realize his own world view. This was, after all, why he kept Danzo around as his shadow Hokage.
"Oh? Speak then." Danzo urged.
"Naruto's background remains… unclear." Hiruzen reached into his desk and pulled out a file which he demonstrated to Danzo. "As you are aware, he just returned recently from his travels with Jiraiya."
"At first I had thought that there was a possibility that Jiraiya had mistaken someone for Minato's son. However, it's clear now that's not the case. All evidence suggests that Naruto was kidnapped from the village on the night of his birth." Hiruzen sorted through letters and photos from the file, demonstrating them to Danzo. The first few photos were of the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack.
"As far as I know, Jiraiya found Naruto 5 years ago in the Land of Hot Springs. They've been traveling together since. But that only accounts for a third of Naruto's life. Jiraiya says that Naruto doesn't remember much from the time before he was 8 years old. All that he's mentioned is nondescript and, quite frankly, useless in determining where he was."
"Until recently, our best assumption was that someone had kidnapped Naruto and raised him in the Land of Hot Springs until Jiraiya found him there. For what purpose? We don't know. Investigations on that lead have revealed nothing. However, a few weeks ago my grandson spent the day with Naruto and reported something… interesting." Hiruzen paused to take another puff of his pipe.
"And that is?" Danzo questioned, hand gripping his walking stick impatiently.
"Naruto knows how to play chess." Hiruzen responded.
"The board game?"
"The very same." Hiruzen answered. "As I'm sure you're aware, for the longest time that game was only played in the Land of Demons. It's only in the last 3 years that the game has been played in other countries. And it only reached us here in the Land of Fire in the last year. I'm confident that Naruto did not learn to play the game from Jiraiya. Rather, I would wager that whoever taught him how to play did so when he was much younger."
"In other words… We have a new lead." Danzo realized. "Very well, what are you asking of me?"
"Send someone to the Land of Demons, see if you can find any clue there about Naruto's past. I'm sure nobody would forget seeing someone like him, with that hair and those eyes." At this, Hiruzen offered Naruto's photo, recently taken after his genin examination. "And once he returns, have your stealthiest agent shadow him."
"Do you suspect him of being a spy?" Danzo asked.
Hiruzen shook his head. "No. It just makes me uneasy to have so many unanswered questions about such an important asset." He sighed. "And it seems that Jiraiya is too attached to the boy at this point to execute what I'm asking of you. Nonetheless, I'm sure you understand the importance of such a task."
"Of course." Danzo nodded. "I'm glad you brought this to my attention."
"One last thing, Danzo. The situation remains delicate with Naruto, as he wasn't raised here. Under no circumstance is he to discover that we are surveilling him."
—-
They had been traveling for two and a half days through the Land of Fire when the topography began to change. Slowly but steadily, hills began rising from what was just rivers and lowland forests. Green slowly gave way to the brown of rock and rubble as the elevation began to increase. Everything was quiet, scenic.
The silence made Naruto fidget. "Say, Sakurai-san, why exactly do you need protection right now anyway?" He asked.
The older man squinted in confusion. "What do you *cough* mean, Naruto-san?"
Naruto turned to face Sakurai, walking backwards as he spoke. "I mean, has something changed recently?"
The man considered the question for a second before answering. "I guess you could say that." He cleared his throat before continuing. "How about I explain it from the beginning?"
The genin all tuned in to the conversation, Sakura inching closer and Satsuki shifting her eyes in their direction. .
"The town where I live is the largest supplier of coal for the whole country. The mines in the town are owned by a man named Daisuke. Because most of the men in the town work in the mines, he pays most of our salaries. That means that he holds a lot of power. For a long time, he used to pay us just enough for us not to starve." He pursed his lips as he remembered a sour time.
"That all changed a few years ago when most of the men and I banded together and made a union. Then we started to strike. We figured that he couldn't fire us all at once and stay afloat, see? So we used that in order to negotiate for better pay. I mean, if he doesn't pay us enough we just sit around and refuse to work for him."
"Neat." Naruto responded. "Stronger together, huh?"
"Exactly." Sakurai said with a smile. "Anyway, a new Hidden Village popped up in the country recently. It's actually why the name was changed to 'The Land of Sound'."
Satsuki raised an eyebrow. That's something you don't see every day. The creation of a new ninja village was something that most never got to see in their lifetimes.
Sakurai continued. "And, you know, ninja need their weapons…"
"... Which means they need steel. And that means that you need iron and coal!" Sakura chirped, finishing the man's sentence.
"That's right." Sakurai congratulated her. "Say, you picked up on that pretty quick, didn't you?"
"So why are you striking now, exactly? Didn't you get paid enough before?" Naruto interrupted.
The man sighed and shrugged. "That was then, and this is now. Things have gotten more expensive over time, but pay hasn't gotten better. We're back to where we started."
He frowned. "These conditions are unacceptable. So we're striking again. We've all got families that depend on us, after all." His frown softened as he thought of his family. The genin in the team had mixed, but silent reactions.
"Anyway, that's where you come in. Make sure he can't use anything to intimidate us into backing down, he's tried to do it in the past."
"That's ironic, wouldn't our presence count as you intimidating him?" Satsuki interjected.
"Tell yourself that if you want." Sakurai countered. "All we want is fair wages."
"And we can't kill him?" Satsuki asked.
"No, that would leave Sakurai-san and his village without jobs, Satsuki." Kakashi interjected to squash that idea.
"Why would he respect any contract you make after we're gone?" She asked.
"The Daimyo." Sakurai said confidently. "He's a good man, if a little young. He fashions himself a man of laws. We think his courts will enforce the contracts." Sakurai explained.
"So you think a signature on a paper will keep you safe?" Satsuki question, unconvinced.
Sakurai sighed and shrugged. "It's the best that we can hope for."
—-
"Fucking hell…" A tall, bald man spoke as he sat at his desk, pouring over a letter illuminated by candlelight. He let out a frustrated sigh. "...nobody wants to fucking work nowadays. They want everything for free." He spoke as he reached into a cabinet in his drawer, pulling out a cigar, which he lit. He took a puff and blew it out. "What a fucking headache."
*Knock**Knock**Knock*
"What?!" The bald man called out.
A second later, a younger man poked his head through the door. "Umm, boss? There's someone here to see you. She's kinda…." The man fumbled with his words, but made a gesture with his fist punching his empty palm while his face took an expression of false pain.
"Oh…" The bald man's eyes slowly widened. "Oh! What are you waiting for? Let them in!"
"Got it! I'll just -" The younger man began to speak, but was interrupted when a hand on his chest pushed him aside. "Get the fuck out of my way already. Geez." A young woman with red hair made her way into the office. She was wearing a tunic and a strange black cap with cloth wrapped around it, pinning several strands of hair over the center of her forehead and hanging past her chin. She turned to meet his gaze. "Are you Daisuke?" She asked.
He nodded hesitantly.
"Are all your minions this fucking stupid…?" She asked as she took a chair and moved it to sit in front of his desk. "... or do they think that they can get away with things because they've got a limp-dicked boss like you? Hmm?" She raised an eyebrow, daring him to retaliate.
He held his tongue. He knew why she was here - who she represented. As foul mouthed as she was, he couldn't afford the consequences of upsetting her. He stuttered as he tried to change the subject. "L-Listen if you're here about the coal-"
"Ah!" She interrupted. "So you know you fucked up." She leaned forward and placed a hand on his desk.
He gasped in fear. "No, please! I'm only trying my best. They just don't want to work! But if we're patient in a week or two they'll get tired of striking and then you can have your coal!" He offered a cheesy smile in appeasement. "See?"
His desk suddenly exploded. He jumped back and fell backwards on his chair in fright. He crawled back slowly. She walked over the husk of his destroyed desk and picked him off the ground by his collar using a single arm.
"Listen here you rat-ass smelling motherfucker." She growled. "We have very important things going on. Orochimaru has better things to do than babysitting you. I have better things to do." She hissed.
She tossed him to the ground and stepped on his crotch. He groaned in pain. "I don't care if you have to give them a raise. I don't care if you have to give every one of them the keys to your house and a night with your wife. I don't care if you have to kill them all and dig up all that coal with your own scrawny ass bitch-hands. If we don't get that fucking coal, next time I come here I'm leaving with your head." She spat on his chest and turned around.
"You've been warned." She stated as she walked to the door. A single look caused the younger man from earlier to hurriedly clear her path.
Daisuke laid on the ground for a minute after she left as the pain from his genitals subsided. He took a deep breath and sighed.
"That went better than I expected."
—-
AN #2: I bet you all thought we were going to Wave. If you didn't know yet that this fic is canon-divergent, this is your notice.
I hope you enjoyed what I wrote. Make sure to review if you'd like to offer your thoughts!
Thank you to those who have proof-read this work. You know who you are.