Rants: I'm back! I've been going through this story for nine chapters already and it is only now that I remembered to write this down.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto,its characters or any part of the manga and anime. This piece work ofwas made only for the sole purpose of having fun. I am not making any money from this so please don't sue meˆˆ
Damn, that felt good.
"AHHH!!! It's you!" Both of boys shouted, pointing disbelievingly at the other.
"Hmm? You two know each other? That's good then. It'll make the introductions short." The Hokage said.
"Mikoshi-sama! You've made a new friend! I'm glad!" Chitose exclaimed clapping her hands in glee, both her eyes turning moon-shaped while a wide smile spread across her face.
"NO HE'S NOT!! T-that's the indecent bastard who broke my camera!" shouted Mikoshi. He can still clearly picture the utter humiliation he received last night after Naruto and his little sidekick Konohamaru both performed the Oiroke no Jutsu on him.
"HA! Don't talk big you wimpy-looking pervert!" Naruto retorted.
"WHY YOU–!!"
"But you two seems to get along…" Chitose said placing a finger under her chin and sounded a bit confused.
"NO WE'RE NOT!!" Naruto and Mikoshi both shouted in response. 'What's with that oneesan. She's beautiful but she seems so dense.' Naruto thought, glancing at the mild mannered girl with narrowed eyes.
"Tell us what your request is." Itachi asked in an all serious tone of voice which caught Naruto, Mikoshi and Chitose's combined attentions. The way he said things made it sound more like a command than a question.
"Oh yeah, that's right." Chitose clapped once after being reminded of their reason for being here. "Mikoshi-sama and I are both tourists who came to see Konohagakure's famous Autumn Festival. Unfortunately, something came up back at home and we need to return right away but the group we came here with won't be leaving until next week. We couldn't go back on our own because we fear that some gang or armed robbers might come after us on the way. That is why we came to ask for your help. We need you to escort us all the way until we reach our home at the capital of the Water Country." She explained flashing a wide, childlike smile afterwards.
"'neesan, don't tell me that we're going to travel with that super stupid blonde moron?!" Mikoshi asked sounding totally scandalized at the idea. He raised a hand and pointed at the orange-clad boy for emphasis. "He looks more of a clown than a ninja to me."
Naruto didn't appreciate the praise and went all berserk. "I'LL KILL YOU!!! I'm going to kill you!" Good thing Itachi grabbed the collar of his jacket thus preventing him from cobbering the client they were supposed to protect. Against that, all that Naruto could do was to flail his arms and legs wildly in the air while shouting death threats at the offending kid.
"Naruto-kun, you have thirty minutes. Go home and pack your things for the trip afterwards report at the village's gates." Itachi instructed his pupil. Next, the Uchiha prodigy shifted his attention to the clients. "Mikoshi-kun and Chitose-san, please go pick up your luggage and meet with us at the same place. Also, please try not to be late."
"Okay." Chitose answered, nodding.
"Hmph! I don't like this at all." Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms as he marched towards the door. When he passed by Mikoshi, the boys caught each other's eyes. Immediately the two boys glared at the other, heated sparks flying from their eyes that lasted for a few seconds. After the short exchange, the two frowned and turned their heads sharply away upon which Naruto continued to march out of the room.
"Let's go, young master." Chitose said to the fifteen-year-old standing next to her. Mikoshi replied with a nod and the two left for the hotel to go get the rest of their stuff.
Two shadows raced silently through the woods.
"Alright! Let's go!" Naruto exclaimed aloud, both arms raised vigorously into the air, as the group of four took their first steps out of Konoha's massive gates.
"Hey, what are you so excited about?" Mikoshi asked sounding slightly pissed of Naruto's carefree attitude.
"Because I've never been abroad before. This will be the first time that I'm going to leave the Fire Country." Naruto explained wholeheartedly.
"I'm happy for you, Naruto-kun." Chitose said, clapping her hands and smiling widely at the energetic orange bundle.
"Hmph! What a brat." Mikoshi muttered grumpily. The boy turned his head sharply at the black clad teen standing just a couple of steps away. "Hey! Are we really going to be safe with that idiot hanging around?! He doesn't look very reliable!" Mikoshi asked pointing a finger straight at Naruto. Naruto, of course hearing it, stopped jumping around and started seething angrily whilst throwing deadly glares at the boy.
"I am a jounin. There is nothing to worry about." Itachi replied. His words, however, didn't come as much of an assurance for the irritable boy.
'Actually, you look kinda suspicious too.' Mikoshi thought, watching Itachi through narrowed eyes.
"Grrr…" Naruto crossed his arms, his eyes twitching uncontrollably in anger. 'Dammit! This idiot is totally disrespecting us. I need to say something.' The blonde kid raised his arm and pointed furiously back at the insolent teen. "Hey idiot! Don't go underestimating ninjas!" Naruto moved the finger away from Mikoshi's direction and pointed towards himself. "I am incredible! I am an elite ninja who will one day receive the super great ninja title 'Hokage'! The name's Uzumaki Naruto! Remember it!"
Mikoshi didn't appear to be moved at all. He simply placed his arms at the back of his head and gave a wide yawn. "Hokage is the Leaf village's number one ninja, right?" He cast an incredulous look at Naruto, staring at him from head to foot. "I don't think a brat like you will ever become one." Mikoshi followed, shifting his head away.
"Shut up! I'm willing to go through any hardship to become Hokage!" Naruto shouted angrily. "If I become a Hokage then you and everyone else will have to acknowledge me!"
Mikoshi shifted his eyes back at Naruto for a second then rolled it away once more and began to stroll away. "Who's going to acknowledge a brat like you? Even if you become Hokage..."
Naruto gritted his teeth as he felt his temper reach new heights. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!" The raging blonde rushed forward ready to go out on a rampage. Itachi quickly grabbed unto Naruto's collar as soon as he took his first step forward thus stopping a full scale riot from erupting. "Let go, Itachi-sensei!" Naruto screamed, futilely fighting against his teacher's hold.
"Cut it out." Itachi commanded in a calm, cold voice.
"No! No! Let me at least hit him once!" Naruto pleaded waving his arms angrily into air, giving away the promise of a loud smack if they ever get within reach of the smug boy.
Unknown to any of them, two shadows have been lurking about. Hiding within the thick foliage of the forest along the roadside, the hunters watched the group intently, patiently waiting for the right moment to strike just like the predators who are going after their prey.
"Ne, Chitose-neesan?"
"Hai?" The pretty young woman responded turning over to Naruto.
"You guys are from the Water Country, right?"
"Uh huh." Chitose sounded, nodding her head in affirmation.
"Then, are there also ninjas in your country?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah there are. And they're not as stupid-looking as you." Mikoshi interjected with a smug look on his face.
"SHUT UP!!" Naruto snapped angrily at the other boy.
"That's right." Chitose answered, beaming down at the blonde with the perpetual smile that never seemed to leave off the girl's face. "The culture and customs of our country is a bit different from yours but a shinobi village also exists in the Water Country and we call it the Hidden Mist Village."
"Wow!" Naruto exclaimed his face starting to shine with excitement. "Then, then do you also have someone like the Hokage there?"
Chitose nodded again. "Hai. We also have someone like that but we don't address him as Hokage, instead we address him as Mizukage."
"Mizukage eh?" Naruto continued, becoming more curious as the more of his questions get answered. "Ne, ne, Chitose-neesan, what kind of a person is the Mizukage like? Is he a great man that will do anything to protect the village? Like a hero or something cool like that?"
"Let's see…" Chitose placed a finger underneath her chin as she gave the answer some thought. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun but I'm not very familiar with the Mizukage. You see, Mikoshi-sama and I live at the capital of the Water Country and it is located quite far away from the Hidden Mist Village…" The girl looked over and smiled at Naruto once more. "…but I think he might be something just like that."
"I see…" Naruo muttered, his eyes shining with admiration.
"Demo Naruto-kun," It was now Chitose's turn to ask. "Isn't your Hokage also a great man of honor?"
"Hokage-jiichan?" Naruto repeated. 'Hah! That old pervert a great man?' The kid shook his head as he recalled the numerous times he pulled his secret move, Oiroke no Jutsu, and the old man's eyes would instantly grow as wide as saucers. Powerful geysers of blood spurting out of the old lecher's nose and the great Hokage would then be reduced to a fainted old pervert twitching on the floor. 'Unlikely. Very unlikely.'
"Naruto-kun."
The blonde was snapped back to reality though after he heard Itachi's voice call his name. The remotest idea that his sensei was somehow able to read his mind made Naruto nervous to the core.
"You just doubt Hokage-sama, didn't you?"
Naruto quickly shook his head vehemently in denial.
"If the Hokage is as great as you say…" Mikoshi rolled his eyes away so as not to catch Naruto's when he continued in a conclusive tone. "…then I guess that's just another reason why you won't become one."
"You really want a piece of me, shit face!" Naruto roared angrily flashing his tightened fist at the older kid.
"Oh my, Mikoshi-sama and Naruto-kun do get along perfectly with each other. How wonderful." A delighted Chitose exclaimed clasping her hands in glee. Itachi, on the other hand, remained completely silent; his face betrayed no trace of emotion, apparently unaffected by the two boys going after each other's throat.
Aside from the bickering that erupted every now and then, the long walk had been all in all uneventful. The scenery also didn't come as any help at all, just a simple dirt road cutting across the dull view of green from the trees and shrubs of the growing along the roadside. In fact, the only thing that broke the monotony of the surroundings was a small puddle on the barren ground, definitely not something worthy of their attention.
After the group had passed seemingly harmless puddle, a shinobi draped in a black cloak with a gas mask-like device covering the lower areas of his face emerged from the shallow pool of water. A second shinobi leapt quickly from behind the first one, launcing himself into the air and after performing some split second maneuver wrapped the thick metal chain linking their heavy gauntlets around the unsuspecting Itachi.
"What?!" Itachi exclaimed in surprise.
"Huh?!"
"What the–?!" sounded Naruto.
"One down." Both shinobis declared, activating the driving mechanisms in their arms. The chain tightened its grip over Itachi until it became too much and his body ripped into pieces. What followed was the sickening sound of flesh and blood falling unto the ground. Not one among Naruto, Mikoshi or Chitose was able to move after witnessing the gruesome sight.
"Itachi-sensei!" Naruto called out. Bad move. The assassins next appeared behind Naruto, the unlucky one who caught their attention and whom they've picked for their next target. The blonde was frozen dead in place when he felt their presence hovering dangerously over his back. He could almost feel the grins that curled over the two shinobis faces.
"Two down."
"Naruto-kun!!" The two Mist shinobis launched their chain straight towards Naruto but before it could wrap itself around the boy, Chitose appeared from out of nowhere knocking the kid out of harm's way.
'We missed?!' Both assassins' eyes widened in disbelief.
Despite the fact that it failed to subject its deadly coil around the intended target, the spiked chain still managed to lash out against the woman, creating a long nasty wound along Chitose's side while Naruto only suffered a small wound on the back of his left hand. Both Naruto and Chitose were blown away by the force of the chain and ended up rolling painfully along the hard ground.
"Chitose-neesan!" Mikoshi called over worriedly.
'The target.' The two Mist shinobis abandoned their pursuit of Naruto and turned their eyes at Mikoshi. Clawed arms at the ready, both assassins pelted their way towards the fifteen year old.
"Mikoshi-sama!" cried Chitose.
Back pressed against the trunk of a large tree and with nowhere to go, Mikoshi could only brace himself as the messengers of death dashed closer and closer. However, before the two could lay their weapons upon the boy, something forcefully rammed against the skull of the shinobi on the left propelling the poor man sideways knocking into the shinobi with a black cloak on his right. The force of the impact threw both shinobis tumbling unto the ground several meters away.
"What the–?" The one with the cloak muttered as he pulled himself up. What meet his eyes caused more than just plain surprise. Lying on the ground just a couple of feet from him was his partner, dead from the kunai that was stuck deeply on the left side of his head.
Looking up, the remaining Mist shinobi saw Itachi, alive and well, standing in front of Mikoshi. The calm, hard and overall confident look on his face made him appear like a real demon that has risen from hell. However, what frightened him the most was the twin red orbs on the man's face. "S-sharingan…" The Mist shinobi squeaked upon catching sight of the man's eyes, the blood red eyes that showed that the man had no remorse whatsoever in killing him.
Itachi marched forward slowly towards the downed shinobi. As he went, he took both hands and pulled out a set of shurikens apiece.
'T-this is bad…' The panicking Mist shinobi thought.
Without a word, Itachi released all the shurikens aiming them towards the Mist shinobi.
Quickly clicking on his clawed metal gauntlet, the cloaked assassin released the chain linking him with his dead comrade and jumped upwards dodging all the shurikens. The Mist shinobi then landed on a branch of a tall tree and quickly made his escape, the thick cloud of leaves concealing him and his trail.
'Itachi-sensei… He's alive…?' "Then, that was…" Naruto, shocked and all, turned his head towards the site the Uchiha prodigy was supposedly killed. What he saw there were clopped pieces of logs scattered along the road. 'Itachi-sensei used Kawarimi…'
"Chitose-neesan, are you ok?" Mikoshi immediately rushed towards Chitose who was now sitting on the ground.
"Don't worry young master, I'm fine." Chitose replied with a smile and a nod. She started gathering chakra over her palm and began healing herself by running her glowing hand over her wounds. "Naruto-kun, don't move too much. I'll be there in a minute." She called out to the blonde kid. "There is poison on those shinobis' claws. We have to remove it quickly. We have to open the wound and leech out the poisoned blood. Please don't move or the poison will spread through your body."
Mikoshi then turned at Itachi. "Stupid show-off! If you were alive, you could have just taken those two bastards out already! Look at what you did! You've made them hurt Chitose-neesan and you almost caused me a heart attack!" The boy railed off.
Itachi, however, simply ignored the client's bitching and walked towards his pupil who was still down on the ground, apparently his shock have not yet washed over. "Naruto-kun…" Itachi said, looking down at Naruto with cold black eyes.
Naruto went to meet Itachi's gaze.
"I'm disappointed with you."
'I… I couldn't do anything…' Deep inside, Naruto felt his heart hurt with the pain of guilt and frustration. He should have been used to it as almost everyone in the village always called him that. Yet, he couldn't understand why it hurt so much now, more than how it was before. 'Why…? Why am I this weak…?'
"Itachi-san, please don't be harsh on Naruto-kun. He did try his best." Chitose said. With her wounds now completely healed, she pulled herself up and walked over to check Naruto's injury as it needed more attention.
Itachi cast one final glance at Naruto before turning his attention at Mikoshi. "This mission is now raised to A-rank and is out of our scope. We will be escorting you back to the village for safety reasons. There, the mission will be turned over to the Anbu. Also, we need to acquire medicine and see a doctor to cure Naruto-kun's injury." Itachi then bowed his head. "I am deeply sorry for this inconvenience."
"I understand…" said Mikoshi.
Unable to bear anymore of it, Naruto gathered his resolve and raised his kunai. He then stabbed the wound on his hand sending quantities of blood flying out, an action that clearly surprised everyone. 'I'm sick of this! I'm sick of always being a failure!'
"Naruto! What are you doing, you idiot?!" exclaimed Mikoshi worriedly.
'I should be stronger… I've accomplished lots of missions and I've practiced my jutsus everyday.' Naruto recalled all the missions and all the hard training Itachi-sensei made him go through. How he was made to run around the village with his body and everything around him feeling more than ten times as heavy as they should be and how he managed to get used to the sensation until it finally felt like normal. How he was made to run up a tree without using his hands. How he had to save Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon from drowning during the water walking exercise. How he practiced the difficult Katon jutsu everyday until he got too exhausted to the point that he'd collapse to the ground.
'I'm not going to need saving ever again.' The recent image of Chitose-neesan jumping over to knock him away from the Mist shinobi's clutches played in his mind. How she, the client he was supposed to be protecting, got painfully wounded to save his behind. He also remembered the time at the forest where Iruka-sensei shielded him from Mizuki's fuuma shuriken.
'I'm not going to be afraid and try to run away.' He remembered his first survival training with Itachi-sensei. That was the same time he promised to himself that he will not run away and went to face jounin with everything that he had, even when the chances of succeeding was very bleak.
"I swear it to the pain in my left arm…" Naruto turned to face the crowd with his blade still stuck on his bloody hand. A confident grin complimented with a set of deep blue eyes shining with determination and strength. "I will protect Chitose-oneesan and that bastard Mikoshi! The mission is still on!"
Itachi eyed Naruto intently. His mind wandered back to the talk he had with Sandaime Hokage-sama early that day.
"Itachi."
Itachi was about to step out of the reception room following Naruto and the clients when he heard the Hokage called. Immediately he turned heel and went to face in a totally respectful fashion. "Hai, Hokage-sama."
"I'll be honest with you. Those two are not just any simple tourists. Especially that kid." Sandaime raised a small scroll in his hand.
Itachi immediately walked over and took the said scroll from the old leader. He then opened the scroll and began to silently browse over its contents. "I see…" Itachi murmured after fully understanding the situation.
"I'm sure you understand why I'm assigning you this mission." The Hokage asked, lowering his pipe down. "This was originally listed as an A-ranked mission and an entire squad from Anbu was supposed to handle it. However, the mission was listed as C because of the boy's specific request. It is something that we cannot simply ignore. You are one my best jounins that is why I am leaving this to you."
"Please don't worry too much about it. My team will handle the mission perfectly." Itachi rolled the scroll up and placed it neatly inside his pocket.
The old man eyed the young jounin with all seriousness. "Listen, if anything outside the scope of a C-ranked mission happens I want you to immediately raise the level of the mission. Afterwards, you are to contact us for reinforcement or head back to the village depending on the situation. Either way, genin team eleven is to quit the mission and will let the Anbu dispatch team to handle the rest of the operation."
There rose a momentary silence in the air during which both Itachi and the Hokage stared at each other. The Hokage's was fierce and intense while Itachi's was a bit subdued. Finally, after short tense seconds Itachi closed his eyes and lowered his head. "I understand. We will do as Hokage-sama wishes."
Backto the present, Itachi nodded. He was greatly moved by his pupil's show of courage. A small smile curled across his lips. "I understand."
"Heh. I guess you're not as bad as you look." Mikoshi commented in his usual grumpy manner, apparently impressed by Naruto's spirit.
"Naruto-kun, it's nice that you took out the poisoned blood so spiritedly…" Chitose once again flashed her wide, carefree, mild-mannered smile at the blonde. "demo, you're going to die from blood loss if more comes out."
Naruto's face turned pale. Large beads of sweat falling from his forehead and the nervous trembling of his body increased.
"It's not good if we don't stop it right away." Chitose continued in a sing-song voice that seemed totally out of place. "Seriously."
"No! No, no, no, no, no!" A panicking Naruto screamed. The blonde was running back and forth, shaking in fear. "I can't die like this!"
"Can you show me your hand?"
"Help me!" Naruto pleaded showing his wounded hand at Chitose.
Holding Naruto's hand, Chitose was quite surprised upon seeing the boy's wound. 'His wounds are already healing?' she asked herself. Nevertheless, Chitose gathered chakra on her left hand and placed it over the boy's wound. The wound started to heal, closing upon itself at an astonishing rate. Soon, all traces of the injury had disappeared and Naruto's hand looked as good as new. "There, you're going to be alright."
"Are you sure…?" Naruto asked, still shaking.
"Of course!" Chitose assured, smiling a sweet smile at Naruto.
Itachi hooked his backpack over his shoulder and glanced over his charges. "Let's get going. We've wasted too much time already. The next town isn't too far from here so if we continue our pace we should reach it before nightfall."
An abandoned shrine stood in utter silence, hidden from outside world by the tall trees and dense vegetation of the forest that was its protector.
"Please forgive me for failing the mission." The whole place was covered in darkness except for some spots being showered with the little light coming in from the windows along the walls. One such spot is where the Mist shinobi knelt. "I will humbly accept the consequences."
"No need for apologies, Gouzu. He was, after all, an opponent whom you cannot hope to match." A voice hidden within the darkness spoke.
"The loss of Meizu-san was a huge blow on our cause. Also, since the Demon Brothers have failed in the abduction, they will be more cautious so things won't be easy," said a second voice.
"A good thing we have Mizuki's report to thank for. With all its information about Konoha, its shinobis, jutsus and tactics, devising a strategy against that guy should be easy," replied the first voice.
"Even so, fighting against that man and his sharingan will still be difficult. After all, he is hailed as Konohagakure's number one technician. The genius ninja of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Itachi." The second voice followed.
"I'll go face him," said a third voice. "It's been ages since I last fought a true, worthy opponent."
"No. I'll face him." The owner of the first voice stepped into the light revealing a tall, muscular man. White cloth was wrapped around his head forming a face mask that covered the lower part of his face. Hanging behind his back was a huge sword, the famed Kubikiri Honsho. "I am the Demon of the Mist, Momochi Zabuza."