Better Equipped
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.
: Thoughts
Chapter 7 – Hero Water
A few days after they got back, Team Seven got another rank C assignment. They were to guard the Leader of the Hidden Falls Village back safely.
Naruto didn't really mind going on this mission, but he felt bad that he had to leave Haku alone for a few days. But he knew everything was going to be alright since Haku didn't really have time to spare. As soon as they had gotten back from their first C Rank mission, Haku had to go through several test and application data entry to become a citizen of the Leaf. Unfortunately, he was already a registered ninja of the Mist which makes him a Missing-Nin. As long as he stays within the village, he would be secure. If he steps outside the Leaf, he was a prey to the Hunter-Nins of the Mist whom wants him dead. Since Haku was already familiar with the human body thanks to his Hunter-Nin training, he would make a good Medic-Nin. Naruto suggested that idea since he knows his friend didn't particularly like killing.
The mission so far has been simple. There were no bandits or the like when the journey started. Naruto knew better of course. He remembered this short special episode about them escorting the Hidden Falls Leader home and the village got attacked. They wanted something called Hero Water. It is special water that came out from the sap of the tree or something. It was suppose to increase your chakra for a short moment before it kills you. There were some percentages that you survive but he couldn't remember nor care about that detail. Kakashi had to return to the village for some Jounin meeting so he wasn't there. But it didn't really matter since all the enemies were weak.
As they got to a gigantic waterfall, they were greeted by two young kids.
"Shibuki-sama," said the young girl. "You're finally back!"
"You kids shouldn't be out here you know," said Shibuki, the Leader of the Hidden Falls.
"We're on a mission too," said the young boy. "There are a lot of trash in the water and we need to clean in up." Then he noticed the strangers with their leader. There was an old guy with gray hair and three younger ninjas. He walked up to the blond ninja and asked if he could help them.
Naruto couldn't really make the decision himself so he looked at his sensei. After seeing Kakashi giving him an okay, he and his team started working. Kakashi on the other hand sat on the rock and read his new book, Come Come Violence.
Making two Kage Bushins to help speed up the work, Naruto found himself with little else to do. He sat on a rock a few feet away from Kakashi and started to take something out from his camping bag. He took what looks like a notebook and a pencil. After opening the book and reading a few sentences from his last entry, he began to write again.
After awhile, everyone was staring at Naruto. Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru were still standing in the ponds with the Hidden Falls kids. Shibuki stood near Kakashi whom was wondering what his blond student was doing. Everyone in Team Seven remembered that Naruto would occasionally take out his notebook and jog down things which can take up to hours sometimes when they didn't have much to do. When asked what he was doing, Naruto would reply that he was writing a journal. Kakashi walked up toward Naruto using stealth methods to peek what the boy was doing. Kakashi was still considered stronger than Naruto thanks to his years of experience.
Naruto was too into what he was doing and failed to sense his sensei was behind him. He was working near the waterfall when suddenly he had inspiration. Kakashi read the first three sentences from Naruto's notebook and his normal eye almost popped from his eye socket.
"YOU'RE A GENUIS NARUTO!" Kakashi said out loud.
The boy was freaked out by the sudden scream. He immediately closed his notebook and gave his sensei a disappointed look. "Hey, what do you think you're doing, sneaking up on me like that?"
"I never knew you had such skills Naruto."
"Yeah well, you can call it a gift I guess but it's no damn bloodline ability. You don't have to be hasty. You'll get a chance to read in when the book is completed. You'll just have to wait like the others. This won't come out till sometime by the end of the year. It all depends on my co-author."
Minutes after, a hawk flew by which scared the daylights of Shibuki.
"Don't worry about the hawk. He's our Hidden Leaf Village's messenger." After Kakashi read that note on it, he stood up and told his students that he had to attend a special Jounin meeting. "After you are all done, head back to the village."
A half hour passed by and the gang was finished cleaning.
Hinata looked up and took in the scenery more. "The waterfall is so beautiful Naruto-kun."
"Yeah, and it'll be even better with some food around."
"Always thinking about food huh Naruto?" Kiba teased.
"That's because I've been working hard unlike someone here who makes a mess of the place. Don't think that I don't know what Akamaru did to that tree and the ground over there."
"Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun was just teasing you. He doesn't mean anything bad."
"I know Hinata. I was just playing around too. But I was kidding when I said I was hungry."
"You didn't do anything. You're clones did the work for you!"
Shibuki who overheard the conversation decided to step in. "If you are hungry, you should go and find food elsewhere."
"Wow Shibuki-san," said Naruto. "I didn't know that you can be so rude. Aren't leaders supposed to handle situations with calm and caring manner?"
"You guys are done already so our contract is terminated. Please leave."
Being the somewhat the co-leader of the team, Naruto looked at his teammates to see their reaction. Kiba and Akamaru were getting really annoyed about how they were just tossed aside after their contract ended. Hinata looked very surprised and sad.
"I guess we should leave team. I don't think they want us to know the secret of their hidden entrance to their village. Seeing how they are so paranoid about us staying any longer, I assume the entrance is near by."
"But isn't Hidden Falls an ally of the Hidden Leaf?" Hinata understood the situation better now. She was somewhat surprised how Shibuki-san had suddenly grown a backbone.
"They are our allies, but there are some boundaries that must be kept right?" Kiba was very knowledgeable about territories. "Some like to keep their territories safe from outsiders which means they have to keep this a secret."
A bird flew by again near Shibuki and frightens him.
Is he really the leader of the Hidden Falls? It's a wonder how they manage to survive for so long if their leader is this weak. Must be the Hero Water that makes them strong.
Naruto suddenly sensed many presences. A number of people were coming this way. Each of them didn't have strong chakra though, so they won't be much of a threat. However, if they use underhanded tricks, things might get complicated. "I sense a number of people coming towards us. They have normal level of chakra and coming at high speed. I assume that they are ninjas. Hinata, turn on your Byakugan and watch out for whoever is coming. They could be friends or foes. Kiba and Akamaru, use your senses to pick up and scent."
Naruto then looks at Shibuki. "You weren't expecting any company were you?"
I know you didn't. If I remember correctly, the bad guys are going to attack soon. Wonder if I should finish them off soon or let Shibuki handle it. But Shibuki will fail even if he drinks the Hero Water. The opponent is his old sensei whom should be more skilled then he is. So Team Seven has to stay and fight or else people from the Hidden Falls will suffer. Think the villain gets a hold of the water anyways after defeating the enhanced Shibuki and it got destroyed by Sasuke later on. Hidden Falls may become a sitting duck without the Hero Water.
"We weren't."
"Naruto! I can hear foot steps coming closer. They should be here soon."
"I can see them. They are ninjas but they aren't wearing any plates so I can't confirm what villages they came from."
"Must be Missing-Nins from different villages. It doesn't really matter. Our contract with the Hidden Falls already ended. Continuing farther means we go outside of our contract."
"But Naruto-kun, Hidden Falls is still our allies. We must help them."
It seems like Hinata is more confident now. She changed.
"I was only kidding Hinata. Shibuki-san, you must know the situation we are in. Do you accept our help?" Without waiting for a reply, Naruto turns towards Hinata. "Hinata, where are they coming from?"
"An injured woman is coming this way. She came from around the waterfalls."
A woman was struggling to approach the group. She was the mother of the kids of helped cleaned the river. She told them that the village had already been invaded and she was lucky to get out of there.
"Hinata, can you see through the waterfalls into the inside of the hill? Can you see the village?"
Shibuki was stunned from what Naruto just asked. "How do you know our village is inside the waterfall?"
"You're village is called the Hidden Falls correct? By that name alone, it should have something to do with this waterfall."
Hinata nodded her head. "The villagers seemed to have been captured. I see the ninjas that we detected. They are heading this way towards the village."
"Kiba, you can relax now but be ready for a fight. Hinata, protect the woman and the children. You can rest now. Turn off your Byakugan and conserve your chakra."
Naruto concentrated chakra to his ears to increase his hearing. He could hear the heart beats of the enemy ninjas. They were right behind the waterfall now.
Ninjas jumped out of the waterfall and immediately rained down kunais.
"Suiton · Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" Naruto already readied the hand seals to create the Water Dragon Blast Skill that he learned from Kakashi after the fight with Zabuza. The water dragon launched into the air and knocked all the kunais away before hitting the ninjas themselves. The dragon ripped threw them as if they were made of paper.
This wasn't the first time Naruto killed. Couple of years ago, Jiraiya and him set off on a training journey. Naruto made a request to the Hokage to see the Toad Sennin. It was a wild shot but Anbus were able to spot the grey hair Sennin at the Hot Springs District in Konoha.
Jiraiya agreed to come with them after he heard that his old sensei needed a request. Turns out, the son of the Fourth wanted to see him and learn more about his father. He took the brat around for awhile on his journey. While looking for materials to write in his book, Jiraiya was also following his teammate the Snake Sennin and watch him carefully. Jiraiya has a feeling that Orochimaru was up to no good.
A lot of things happened on the journey. A few bandits were robbing a family of travelers which Jiraiya and Naruto spotted. In the heat of battle, Naruto eventually killed one of the bandits.
Naruto was full of guilt for the next couple of days. He had never killed anyone before in his life. Being in a world where killing is common, Naruto knew that he had to commit that act some time in his life. There was no way of knowing that his first experience in killing would come so soon. In his past life, it was illegal and considered a sin to kill which made it very hard for him. He told himself many times that he now lives a new life in a different world where the laws and customs are different. Although killing is still considered a bad deed in this world, it only applies with the person killed was bad.
Jiraiya knew it was hard on the boy so he tried his best to consult him. In the end, he had to tell the boy to grow up because a ninja's life is filled with these situations. If the boy can't cope with it then he has no gift on being a shinobi.
The leader of that group however was able to dodge the attack since his men acted like a shield for him that gave him time to avoid the water dragon. "Pretty good for one so young."
"Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Naruto clones began to rise from the water surrounding the enemy ninja. The man had no time to react and had his throat slit from behind. He fell dead in the water.
Everyone was surprised at Naruto's level of skill and how he was able to perform water element jutsus.
"Damn and we just finished cleaning the area too. Naruto! Where did you learn those jutsus from?" Kiba grind his teeth together. His rival seemed to have gotten stronger again.
"Got them back when we were at the Mist territory." Not wanting to waste time explaining more, Naruto turns towards the Hidden Falls' leader. "The other ninjas have captured and surrounded your people. Our next fight will be in there. What are they after?"
Not wanting to wait either, Shibuki ran away towards the group to where the Hero Water is secretly kept.
"So he's the leader huh?" Naruto contemplated. "He's kinda unorganized. I'll send a Kage Bushin to keep an eye on him. We'll go over a strategy to defeat the enemy."
We should wait here. The other team should be out here soon so we'll just confront them right away. Better split the enemy team up so we don't have to handle so many in the last confrontation. The woman is too injured to walk anywhere so our best option is just stay here.
Suien was waiting impatiently at the village. He use to be a Jounin of the Falls Village but decided he was better off else where. Now with his own team, he was able to make it back and demand the Hero Water. He didn't get a hold of it before since the place where it is kept a secret and is past down to leader of the village. He didn't have the fortune to become the leader, but his weak student has. "What is taking Murasame so long?"
"My team and I will go out and check on his status," said Kirisame.
Kiba was left in charge of detecting the enemy while Naruto tend the woman's wounds. It surprised him that Naruto had a background in Medic-Nin techniques. He then heard foot steps coming. He signaled the rest of the group about the incoming threats and everyone got to their station.
Hinata was beside the woman and her kids while Kiba and Akamaru were latched onto the side of the hill. Naruto was standing behind one of the trees in front of waterfall.
The enemy group came out and immediately surveys the area. They saw the lady the first team had been chasing hurt and being attended by a blue hair girl. Two small kids were also by their side. As they got closer, Kiba initiated the attack.
Kiba threw a smoke bomb at the group. He then proceeds to throw shurikens into the smoke area. Only three ninjas out of the six came out of the smoke screen but were quickly dispatched by Naruto. Naruto threw kunais at them as soon as they exited from the smoke which hit them straight at the heart. None of the enemy ninjas was prepared for the second attack. Another ninja came out from the cloud of dark smoke but he looked as though he could hardly defend himself. Several shurikens were attached to his back and neck as he wobbled around. Akamaru bit on the ninja's pants and tried to pull the guy down. The ninja fell on his back which further thrust the shuriken deeper inside.
Man, they really are weak.
"Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, I think its time for us to visit the Hidden Falls Village and finish this soon."
His teammates nodded.
Shibuki was holding the Hero Water in his hands. The water was kept inside a glass bottle in kept in a secret room within the gigantic tree where the magical water is produced.
"Yo!"
The Hidden Falls leader was shocked at the sudden noise. He turned around and saw Naruto next to him. "What are you doing here?"
"I followed you of course. You ran outside so quickly and didn't explain anything." Naruto then noticed the water. "So that must be the Hero Water. Looks very complain to me."
"This water is made from this tree itself. In the past when the Hidden Falls was at war to protect our home, many ninjas drank the Hero Water to gain an increase in chakra. Our ninjas were invincible. However, the Hero Water had a huge side effect once taken. Anyone old who takes it will die no matter how powerful they area."
"I guess their bodies were stressed out other the limit and stopped functioning."
"That could be it. The young ones however manage to survive."
"Are you planning to drink the water to save your village?"
Shibuki looked down. "I never wanted to be the leader in the first place. My father died after drinking this water. He may become powerful but it was only for a short while until he died. Everyone calls him a hero but it's just stupid."
Looks like I'm gonna have the same talk with him just like Inari.
"Look Shibuki-san, I know exactly how you feel. My father also died protecting the Leaf Village from Kyuubi. He died for a reason. He loved his village just like your dad loves his. He wants everyone there to live happily and used his life to exchange for that dream. That is why people call him a hero. Your father is the same way. You can be a hero too if you have courage."
Seeing how none of his teams are returning, Suien became worried. He waited years for this moment and he doesn't want anything to screw it up.
"Shall I look for Kirisame and Murasame and their teams," Hisame asked.
Suien looked at the only female in their group. "Stay here. I don't know what happened to them but staying here is the best option now. We can't risk falling into a trap." He then went to a random villager and grabbed them by the collar. "Shibuki! Do you hear me? I am going to kill one villager every minute if you don't show up and give me the Hero Water. Do you understand me?"
Shibuki recognized that voice. It was his old sensei who left the village. He now understands how the enemy had gotten into the village so easily.
"Show some courage Shibuki-san. Many people told me before that real courage shows up when you have important things to protect. You are the leader of this village which is a thing many people dream of. Remember that well. The people in this village are the important things you need to protect. Show your courage and protect them."
Shibuki was still confused on what to do. He really did want to runaway and hide but he knew Naruto was right. He was about to ask Naruto if the young man had a plan but didn't see him anywhere.
Team Seven was watching the scene from a hidden place on the tree. They heard the villains' demands but made no effort to stop him. They agreed that this was a Hidden Falls' problem and it should be up to the leader who starts the battle of retaking their home. Each one of them hoped that Shibuki will make his decision and come out soon.
Suien started to make a countdown and made sure it was loud enough for the whole village to hear. He was disappointed in this student as he was about to finish counting. "A coward to the end," he said sadly. His right hand rose with a kunai and was about to kill his first hostage when a water tornado came out and killed his men.
Kiba got impatient and also jumped into action. He paired up with the female villain. "Akamaru, lets take her down before we fight the old man."
The dog barked saying that he was ready.
Shibuki then jumped up from the water and started performing hand seals. He was bathing in his own chakra due to the power boost from the Hero Water. A water dragon appeared and attacked his old sensei however the enemy avoided the attack.
Shibuki looks like Goku when he is powering up with the chakra coming off his body. Do I look like that when I do that?
"It seems like you drank the Hero Water but don't think that it will help you. Your chakra potential is still lower than my current level."
The sensei and the student created swords from the water and decided to fight close range. In the end, Shibuki did not meet up to Suien's skills. Suien dropped up his sword and stabbed through the body of his student.
Naruto quickly threw a kunai at Suien which made the older man jumped back. Making quick seals, Naruto grab hold of Hinata and teleported next to Shibuki. "Hinata, please stop that old guy while I tend to Shibuki's wounds."
The Hyuuga heir nodded and faced her opponent. I can't be afraid, I will win because Naruto believes in me, she told herself.
"Don't hold anything back Hinata."
Kiba didn't find that lady hard to fight with. She was about his level or lower. No wonder, Naruto didn't have a hard time against these guys, he thought. "Shikyaku no Jutsu!" Kiba body began to morph into more beastlike features. He grew craws and longer teeth. He was moving too fast for his opponent to follow. Because his opponent was a girl, he didn't bother to use his claws. He used his elbows and fists to do the damage.
Hisame couldn't take it anymore. This kid who just appeared before her was seriously kicking her butt. If this last any longer, she would surely lose. Every time she began to made hand seals, the dog boy kept interrupting her with an attack. She already had two broken ribs. Couldn't he play a little nicer, she asked herself. She then played dirty and kicked sand up and luckily hit her opponent's eyes. She then created a whip made of water and began her first offense.
Akamaru communicated to his master and told him to jump to avoid the female ninja's attack.
Kiba completely trusted his partner did as was told and ecaped from harm's way. During the leap, he had successfully cleared his eyes from the sand and was no staring angry at her. "Tsuuga!" Kiba spun around with amazing speed and clawed his way to his opponent's side. He put a large gash on her abdomen which continued to her left side. He automatically became unconscious from the Piercing Fang attack.
Hinata was facing off with Suien. She couldn't forgive him for hurting Shibuki-san. Although the Hidden Falls leader was a cowered most of the time and rude to them after they helped clean his river free of charge, he was still a nice man. She already locked some of Suien's chakra points which should make him unbalance.
Suien was dumbfounded on why he was losing control of his movements. It was like he couldn't move his body the way he wanted too because it was out of energy. He used all available chakra he had and created another sword from the surrounding water. As soon as he got close to the girl in the middle of a strike, a blue blur appeared and sent him away in pain. His body was burning from whatever hit him. Before he had the chance to stand up, the last image he saw was the pale eyes girl ran straight to him delivering a single blow to his heart.
Hinata closed a dangerous chakra point near the heart which causes a huge amount of stress around that area. The internal damage he had finally took a toll on him. The man spit out blood and ended up unconscious. Hinata's Byakugan revealed that he was really out of commission and was no longer a threat.
Naruto was still beside Shibuki and tending to the guy's wound. He gave him a blood clotting pill that would help stop the blood from rushing out of his wounds. Using a technique he learned from the Medic-Nins, he gathered chakra into his hand and sent the energy to his patient's body. The chakra helps the cells to multiple at a fast rate, hastening the healing process.
I didn't expect Suien to go down that easily. Maybe it's because he didn't drink the Hero Water this time. I guess shinobis of the Hidden Falls are not really a threat unless they drink the Hero Water. Looking at the place again, I don't see other ninjas around. Don't tell me this guy is the only ninja of the village!
The group assembled again outside the secret entrance to the village. Team Seven explained how they just completed a B Rank mission to Kakashi. After seeing how his team hadn't returned, he came back to check on their status. The young ninjas also promised not to tell anyone about the secret entrance to the Hidden Falls Village.
"So what was so important about the meeting that they had to call you back for Kakashi sensei," Naruto asked.
"It was something to said," Kakashi replied. "Hokage-sama spoke with the counsel about the unlooked threat to the village and wanted us Jounins to be present."
"Oh? How did it go then?"
"Plans haven't been made yet but Hokage-sama did mention about contacting other Kages and renew a peace treaty."
"Will that work?"
"It's as good as a verbal agreement. But for now, it'll help ease any tension we have with other villages."
As Naruto was walking he noticed that there was dog dung on the floor a feet away from him. "See Kiba, I could have stepped on that!"
"That is gross Kiba-kun."
"It wasn't me okay. It was Akamaru!"
The dog barked repeatedly trying to defend himself. Unfortunately, only Kiba was able to understand him.
Shibuki went back to the secret location of where the Hero Water was stored. He wanted to be alone for awhile to pray to his father and ask for his forgiveness for being a coward. But when he checked the Hero Water again, it seemed to be less in amount than what it should be.
I didn't drink that much water right?
Author's Notes:
Some places called this village the Hidden Waterfalls Village while the anime itself called it the Hidden Falls Village. I think I'm going to keep the anime translation for now. Why don't I write a long conversation for the enemy? Because they are really unimportant and died too easily. It was sad.
I thought Geese's special move was called Raging Storm too but when I looked it up at , its said Raising Storm. Raging Storm sounds much cooler though. Do you think I should switch to using Raging Storm or Raising Storm?
I'm almost finished writing chapter 5 of my other fic called Power Comes With A Price. It's about 60% finished. I ate some bad food the other day and now my stomach hurts. I woke up several times last night due to the pain. It really sucked.
The Chuunin Exam saga is coming up next. Naruto will find out again that things don't happen according to plans.
Thank you for your reviews!
