Disclaimer: Obviously, this is a work of fan-fiction, as I do not own anything derived from the Naruto world-set.
Early Spring, Konoha Village, Entertainment District, Restaurant Kyoko's', 7:00am
Rock Lee is waiting for his Kyoko's House Special' order, enjoying a good ice water meanwhile. Gai-sensei says that I should not be eating these kinds of foods, as they would be detrimental to my physical development. But just having a little bit once in a while should be ok, right? he thinks. And besides, it is not as if I am going through a case of those sugary sodas Naruto likes so much... Frowning a bit now, he recalls the last time he and Konoha's #1 most suprising ninja' trained together. How could he go through that six-pack of 2 liters of soda, I will never understand. Give me good, old, ice water anytime... and it won't hurt my gleaming smile like that horrible lime-lemon stuff Naruto swears by would.
Hearing the kitchen door open with a squeak, Rock Lee brightens. Oh, here comes my order. Speaking of teeth, I''ll have to remember to pick up some toothpaste before I go back to my apartment...
Hana wheels out of the kitchen, holding a gigantic serving platter with both hands. Her curly chestnut hair bouncing as she pushes the door open with her back, she takes a moment to stabilize herself. Then, sighting Rock Lee with her own dark eyes, she starts over in her direction, if a bit uncertain in her steps... It looks as if that Hana is a rather small young woman from Earth Country, and Rock Lee's order of the Kyoko's House Special' (plus the carafe of Orange Juice) is almost too big for her little frame.
All Rock Lee can see, however, is that the Kyoko's House Special' is a lot bigger than he thought! It seems he had been under the impression that the poster board picture hanging outside was close to actual size! Poor Rock Lee's face takes on that same stunned look back from when Sakura first turned him down, dismayed by the size of the order: five enormous, fluffy platters of pastries stacked up 4 inches high off the platter (a platter about the same size as the one he and Choji had shared their barbecue order on), butter streaming down the sides in rivulets, pooling on top of the already soaking-in dark liquid surrounding the pastries! Not to mention the two cuts of ham looked like the they might be better off in a set of sandwiches for four... for a afternoon picnic!
Oh, dear he thinks, I hope I can get a good deal on that toothpaste Gai-sensei uses...
Early Spring, Konoha Village, Hokage's Offices, Black Room, 7:00am
All of Konoha's Jounin stand about the smallish room, nervously waiting for the Hokage to arrive. The room that they are waiting in sports only a small, decrepit desk. No chairs, and only the one lamp bulb hanging from the ceiling light the cramped space. The jounin, the best of their breed, are unsettled because of that very fact that they are the most top-ranked in Konoha; if all jounin are needed for some mission or announcement, it must be a terrible thing indeed. Additionally, using the Black Room, so nicknamed due to the incredible number of seals placed over every section of wall, ceiling, and floor is even more disturbing. The seals prevent the use of jutsu and magical items designed for farseeing and clairvoyance - like the Hokage's Viewing Sphere (A/N: the crystal ball' Sandaime Saratobi uses to watch Naruto in the first story arc). Even the much-touted Byakugan' Dojutsu (Eye Technique) is said to be blocked by the dozen-layer thick seals in this one room... If the Hyuuga are to be believed. This usually means that whatever is to be said or requested here will never be allowed to be discussed in public, ever, for any reason.
Well, almost all jounin have arrived. Kakashi and Gai have not arrived yet... And when we quickly peek outside into the hall, Hokage-sama is advancing carefully down the hallway, dreading the upcoming declarations, not twenty feet from the Black Room's door.
----PATTApattaPATTApattaPATTApattaPATTApattaPATTApattaPATTApattaPATTApattaPATTApattaPATTAPATTApattaPATTApattaPATTA----
FWOOooosh ! A green-and-black blur appears, tearing down the opposite way of the hall from whence the Hokage was slowly marching from. KBANG! the Black Room's door is opened-and-shut so quickly as the indistinct shape passes into the Black Room, we almost would say it did not happen at all, if not for the noise of the door smashing back into place.
The Hokage stops. Her face (once bearing a downcast expression, dark golden eyes fallen to the floor), clears in sudden disbelief and shock. What was tha-- She thinks, startled by the noise and force of the violent passing. Then, her blank expression lightens, a wry smile takes place of the dropped jaw, and her dark eyes lighten in recognition. Ah-HA! It looks like the Beautiflul Beast' has once again triumphed over his Modern and Hip' eternal rival. Those two have always been good for lightening my mood in the past. She continues on, with maybe a bit of a lighter step to her tread.
Once arrived at the doorway to the infamous Black Room', she bows her head, clipboard full of medical notes tucked under the heavy lefthand sleeve. She intakes a great breath, and lets it go just as deliberately, then pushes her way into the Black Room.
Early Spring, Konoha Village, Entertainment District, Restaurant Kyoko's', 7:45am
Passing back to Rock Lee, we find now that Kyoko's House Special', or The World's Biggest Western Breakfast' is just now being finished up by the lone customer. Consisting of 5 buttermilk pancakes nearly half a foot across, two hunks of cut ham, lightly seasoned, as well as amounts of butter and maple syrup enough to supply a small ninja clan specializing in pastry-jutsu for a week (or so appeared to the stunned Rock Lee). Not to mentioned he had ordered the equivalent of a litre of fresh Orange Juice.
!bbuurr-UURRPP!
Heavy eyebrows scrunching in embarassment, the irises of his eyes shrink to mere points, and his wrapped hand hides the lower portion of his features hurriedly. The genius of hard work looks back and forth, looking a bit discomfited over his sudden lack of manners. Excuse, please! he calls quietly... Whew, no one was out front; I hope Choji's cousin did not hear that clear in the kitchen!
Now recovered, Rock Lee carefully places all of the strange utensils that came along with the feast on the wide plate, making sure to place his glass lengthwise across the now-cleared plate. After scooting out of the table's seat, he makes a point of using a spare napkin to clear any remaining bits of mess left over from his morning repast from the table, in unthinking consideration of the employees working. And then, he stuffs the damp napkin into the glass part way, to show he is definitely complete with this... meal, if you can call it that.
Before turning towards the door, he leaves enough coin to cover the bill left with the order, along with a good 25 tip for good service. Recalling the near-disaster when Hana tripped over a seam in the carpet right next to the table, he realizes That was the most unlikely use of the Fist-Without-Shadow I have ever heard of, much less performed . Rolling his round eyes with a touch of regret, he considers further that I managed to catch that plate of pancakes' handily enough -- any ninja could have done that -- but to also prevent the orange juice from spilling, not to mention grabbing that side dish of ham before it smashed to the floor... I really have thank Gai-sensei s training for that technique.
uRRp
Maybe I should have let that ham hit the floor, after all, instead of trying to impress that waitress Rock Lee reconsiders.
With the bill taken care of , Rock Lee picks up his duffle bag, twisting his left hand around and around to gather the loose straps into a secure grip. He turns to the direction of the door, and heads back outside. After stopping to check the skyline for the time (as he has always been a good judge of time - even Neji has stated as much), he resumes his path back to his apartment. Well, Choji's cousin was right, that was quite a meal, but I will have to get an few extra hours of heavy exercise in tonight, to burn off some of those heavy calories he realizes. I will definitely recommend that menu order to Choji though - all that heavy calories would be perfectly suited for the Akimichi Family Taijutsu .
And with that, he continues his way home.
Early Spring, Konoha Village, Hokage's Offices, Black Room, 7:45am
...And that is how it is; evidence points to deliberate action by someone, not an accidental, one of a kind occurrence. The Hokage states firmly. Akimichi Saito was just promoted to Jounin status with the Hunter-Nin branches; even so, note that even his stout physique is estimated to have contracted this... condition only two months ago. Questions will now be fielded. At that, gloved hands shoot up, showing just how concerned this gathering was. Yes, Kurofuji Toju? the Hokage confirms. states the heavily-built male jounin. So, this means that this... condition destabilizes a ninja's Chakra Control, eventually causing even the bodies' ability to properly handle the normal flow of Chakra to the vital organs to come completely undone? And, there does not seem to be an immediate cure? Hokage-sama, is there any indication how this was contracted' by Saito-kun?
At this question, the Hokage's head dips towards her folded hands. She sits at the small, rickety desk, resting her forearms upon it for support. She knew Kurofuji would be one of the first to ask that question. His Kurofuji clan, distantly related to Akimichi clan, often had close bonds of friendship with the size-changing ninja.
And Toju had been best friends with Saito since both of their Chuunin days...
From what I saw, the symptoms are similar to a rare drug known to disrupt Chakra Control... but they seem to worsen with time, unlike the drug so it must be a radical improvement, or something completely new. It could be breathed in, but it's more likely ingested somehow. It's also theorized that the effect hastens the more a ninja uses most juts. Basically, the disruptive effect increases with the molding of Chakra. Lifting her face to meet the field of faces arrayed, she pauses a moment before continuing: This means that whatever this toxin is, it was designed to work against a ninja's specific advantages over mere bandits and everyday soldiers.
(A/N: she's speaking of the same drug she used to poison Jiraya, during her introduction to the series)
If the room was not already dismayed at the bad tidings so far, a couple of jounin's eyes flared in... fear?
Even the normally-lazy single eye of the Technique Specialist Kakashi was wide awake, now, and as focused on the proceedings as a arrow upon the bow. He had not even resorted to his Icha Icha Paradise' throughout this whole meeting, if that be any judge of his concentration.
This could this be an attack not just on Konoha, but upon the entire Ninja Way... the gray-haired Copy-Ninja thinks.
Be extremely careful of any supplies you must acquire in the field - from this point on, all food and water supplies in Konoha, as well as any foodstuffs we import, will be examined by Medic-Nin Squads three times a week. the Hokage commands. At this ruling, some of the attendant Medic-Nin stifle sharp intake of breath -- the procedure mentioned was only to be used if Konoha was not only already under full wartime conditions, but under siege, something that, technically, has never strictly occurred before in the history of Konoha. Venturing a unsteady smile, she adds Actually, it might be best if all ninja on missions outside of the Village be messaged this information as soon as possible, and supplied with food and water from our emergency stores - we can prove that no one has tampered with those supplies, and it may prevent our traveling members and teams from suffering Akimichi Saito-san's fate.
Standing wearily, a hint of the hours she has already put in attempting to save the newest jounin of the Akimichi clan passes over her. This is what we are going to say to the remainder of Konoha's ninja -- that we will be practicing our siege-warfare procedures, and implementing full wartime punishments for breaking those rules. That way, we won't have a panic, but will still have control.
In closing, she also adds Finally, and I want to point out that I may likely be wrong on this, this Chakra Corruption' may not have any effect on non-ninja whatsoever. This is why, for now, we are not going to mention this to any civilian of any security clearance. At this, some of the more concerned of the gathered jounin relaxed somewhat, their worries for their non-ninja family members' fates somewhat relieved... But, obviously, this conversation has not occurred ! If any present fail in this, they will be stripped of rank and immediately imprisoned - along with those that were informed. While the imprisonment will be only for the duration of this crisis, the removal of rank and all privileges will be final. DISMISSED. Those that had just relaxed, if fractionally, tensed up again - and so did everyone else... Getting oneself imprisoned was one thing - but to guarantee that whoever you leaked' to a berth in the secret prisons of Konoha, regardless of who they were... the mind shudders.
All the present jounin nod their acknowledgment of the new procedures put in place, some sharing weighty looks as they file out of Black Room, and back to their duties. A little wiser, and a lot more unsure.
As Maito Gai and Hatake Kakashi are about to pass through the Black Room's door frame, Tsunade asks Gai, Kakashi, I need you both for something. Please, shut the door. Knowing from her tone that it is likely to be more than a tongue-lashing for nearly being tardy to the meeting, they both turn back to the now-cleared floor space in front of the disheveled desk. Kakashi shuts the door, again empowering the seals of secrecy throughout the Black Room. Gai stands at attention, hands bundled at his sides, preparing for the challenge to come face on, while Kakashi slouches, ready to roll with the punches.
Early Spring, Konoha Village, Chuunin Apartment Complex, 8:00am
Ahh, here we go! Rock Lee thinks to himself. He has already picked up that brand of toothpaste, as well as a good supply of mouthwash to go along with it. He starts up the interior stairwell, after passing through the exterior doorway. After that huge meal, I am going to really do a good job brushing... I think I still taste some of that sugary Maple Syrup'. I can practically feel all that sugar chewing away at my teeth . Once inside his small apartment, he tosses the duffle bag on his reinforced couch-foldabed (He has long since reworked most of his furniture to withstand both the weighted gear he often uses, and his own heroic strength).
Well, it may not be much between training and missions, but at least the price isn't bad, since the Hokage's office pays for the heat and electricity, Rock Lee considers. I wonder why Naruto has always stayed at that run-down complex clear on the other side of Konoha - maybe he gets a deal on cable over there? Or is it because it's closer to that Ichiraku ramen restaurant? I understand from Sakura-san that he is an orphan like me, so I would have thought that he would prefer to save what money he can by rooming at the apartments that are supported by the Hokages office...
A/N: There are large apartment complexes for each level' of ninja, near the Hokage's office, that have price breaks' on the absolute necessities, strictly available only to ninja of each rank - but they are often claustrophobically small. For the Chuunin' variety, think the average Tokyo single-occupant apartment one hears about. Jounin ones would be roughly a two person version, while Genin apartments are set up as three person set ups; however, that is because three Genin do share the premises. Many Genin teams made up of orphaned ninja share such arrangements. Rock Lee lives in one of the Genin-class apartments, for the aforementioned reasons - it allows him to scrimp on his bills, and since he spends so much time on missions, training, and so on, that he almost doesn't mind the size.
Glancing at his wall calendar in passing onwards to the tiny bathroom, he sees his own specially-designed shorthand detailing a very important schedule on today's date box. he shouts (quietly - would not want to disturb the other Chuunin that take the overnight shifts...), pumping a tight fist in triumph. Even though I spent nearly an half-hour longer than normal at that cafe, I still have time to cross paths with Sakura-san on her way to personal training with Hokage-sama on medical jutsu - if I can hurry just a bit. With that thought he closes the bathroom door.
Early Spring, Konoha Village, Hokage's Offices, Black Room, 8:00am
And that is what you two are going to be handling. Kakashi, go make your preparations, along with this - The youngest-seeming of the three states, while handing over a special plaque. The lone eye of Kakashi wanders down the face palm-sized plaque, before returning his superior's gaze. Well, I guess I'd better hide this from Naruto, otherwise he''ll try to requisition all the cup-amen in Konoha the disaffected Jounin deadpans while shoving the item in a interior vest pocket. I assume that this will be good in most parts of the Five Countries? he confirms with a question. That's right - and it is the only one in Konoha - so treat the protection of it as a Rank B Mission. Konoha is bound to pay any bills that are signified with the special seals burned into that plaque - even if means totally bankrupting the entire village. But, I suspect you'll need it more as proof of the seriousness of the mission, less so to request the various resources for your team's mission outside of Fire Country The Hokage finishes with a slight grin. If only I'd had that back when I was on my gambling trips... oh well she thinks to herself.
(A/N: If it isn't clear, the small plaque Tsunade gave to Kakashi is the ninja equivalent of an Unlimited Credit Card - all purchases will be forwarded to the Office of Hokage for final payment, and by extension, the entire Leaf Village. Each Hidden Village has one, more often used as proof of sincerity of what a diplomat- or message-nin states in political exchanges is true - like a badge of truth - rather than as a credit card. The fact that she gave it to Kakashi, means that Tsunade is expecting his team to incur unusual expenses, or be away from the village - or more likely both at the same time)
Finished with that issue, the Fifth asks Gai, is there any question over your team's missions? Or, do you think that the assignments should be made over? of the big, expressive Jounin. NO! Shaking his head strongly, Your plan is ideal - it is an excellent use of my teams Special Advantages (A/N: Yes, he DID say those last words with an uppercase, underlined emphasis... Gai's goofy like that. ;) Poor Kakashi almost succeeds in muffling a groan at this statement. Special Advantages? Tha's a charitable way to term them. Gai's team is almost strictly geared for open warfare, what with those two close-in fighters with diametrically-opposed methodologies covering each others' tactical weaknesses, and a ranged-combat specialist for sniping support. How could the Fifth think that Gai's team would be a good choice for this mission? Well, true, Rock Lee's supposed role would be almost literally impossible to see through, but his eagerness' makes for too great of a chance to blow it, in my mind. But, that opinion is going to have to stay where it is - the Copy Ninja thinks. His left eye peeking over towards the taller of the two Jounin, he continues with -and maybe this will burn off some of Gai's excess energy -- that crack-of-dawn summons today... What was he thinking, giving me that piggyback ride AFTER he'd dropped his training weights' as he calls those monstrosities. Almost lost yesterday's dinner with that stunt, and cleaning these face-masks is a real chore.
At the same time the still slightly-queasy Kakashi is considering dropping Gai's name in the pro-bono missions' weekly drawing for the next year, the Beautiful Beast' himself is having a hard time restraining his cheer over his little teams' challenge. This will challenge the whole team's skills in ways that they haven't trained for in years. And Lee will able to Burn most Brightly with the Flames of Youth, showing how even his more base skills have improved, due to his Most Vigorous Training.
As the first female Hokage dismisses her two most accomplished Jonin, all three silently share the same thought... But, what if we cannot stop this? The end of all Chakra Manipulation could mean a new war... one the likes of which even the First and Second could have not even dreamed of...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Notes:
Well, here we go, the third installment of To Abide By, and Protect My Ninja Way. It actually took me a while to come up with a good story name that not only reflected the star character, Rock Lee, well - but also framed the main story plot well. The threat of some toxin, element, or technique that eventually kills any Chakra Manipulator (Ninja) who comes in contact with it. Sounds like Konaha's rising stars may well have to protect their ninja way' in a most literal way - or go the way of the samurai.
We've seen that the Naruto World has somewhat-comparable technology to ours - maybe not in firearms technology (but if Chakra Manipulation becomes a thing of the past, you can bet that will change), but surely in machine-making, metalsmithing, and perhaps even communications. Didn't we see Satellite Dishes built into the secondary rooftops beneath the Hokage's and Kazekage's seating area, during the last section of the Chuunin Exam? If anyone can provide further proof of satellite communication capability with info from official sources' like the manga, anime, or the authorized data books, this author humbly asks for a quick note to that effect in Reviews. Some of the later chapters may have to be changed, depending what I can find by the time I post those chapters.
Another thing - some may have noticed how I am bouncing back and forth between several different scenes that are occuring simultaneously; I apologize if this is confusing, and I am attempting to signify the change of scene as clearly as possible. If anyone prefers a certain method others have used in other stories, let me know in the Reviews, and I'll take the most popular approach.
Finally, contrary to what has happened so far, I'm not planning on winding out this story minute-by-minute. I just wanted to show a bit of the everyday' abutted with