New and Improved
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters in it. I just own the plot and please don't send any flames, I know I can't write. TT
A/NAuthor's Note
"blah" talking
blah jutsu
Chapter 7: Gaara of the Sand
Team 7 was coming back after finishing another D-class mission. When Kakashi left them to fill out their mission form, the 3 other boys turned into smoke.
Bored of doing D-class missions when they could've been doing something useful, Naruto had come up with the idea of using kage bunshins instead of themselves.
While the copies finished the missions, the three of them trained.
Sometimes they learned new jutsus from each other, but most of the time they sparred in 3 way battles or thought up of new formations.
Today, they fought against each other. Naruto was glad of the progress the others were making. At first the battles were boring but as their skills grew, they got better and more of a challenge.
When the other two teamed up, it usually left Naruto looking like he did now; covered with bruises and scratches that were slowly fading away.
He was all alone, Shikamaru went to hang out with Team Ten and Sasuke went to do whatever he does after training.
Shika had offered for him to join them but Naruto turned them down. Sasuke, not wanting to be near the girls on Team 10, left too.
Then Naruto noticed a strange looking box with two holes following him.
Do they really think I won't notice that thing there, Naruto thought, walking and 'accidently' kicking it.
"Hey!"
"Ouch!"
"Oow!"
Suddenly the box exploded and three different colored smoke bombs went off.
"We are the...!" a young voice shouted but ended up in a series of hacking and coughing.
When the smoke cleared, three kids, a girl and two boys, were revealed.
He recognized one of the boys as Konohamaru, who he helped by 'defeating' his sensei, Ebisu and the 3rd Hokage.
The other two he didn't know, but were probably the boy's friends.
"What were you doing following me, and who are these two?" Naruto asked.
"See, this is big brother Naruto! He's really strong," Konohamaru boasted, facing his friends.
"Hello Naruto-san, my name is Moegi," the girl said shyly. Naruto edged away from her, she had hearts in her eyes.
Then the boy with glasses introduced himself as Udon.
The three of them forced him to play ninja with them. While they were playing, Shikamaru walked over, coming back from the steakhouse.
"What are you doing?" he asked as he watched the three kids pounce on poor Naruto.
"Playing ninja," the girl shouted, clinging onto Naruto's head, riding on his shoulders.
He recognized the Hokage's grandson in Naruto's arms but didn't know the boy who was hanging on his back.
"How can a ninja play ninja," he drawled, leaning back on a tree.
"Don't be so catty, Shika," Naruto said, laughing as he went to chase the kids who had jumped off of him to hide.
"I am not catty!" Shikamaru exclaimed. He started chasing Naruto and was soon enjoying himself.
They found Moegi and Udon and was searching for Konohamaru when a scream cut through the air.
"Konohamaru!" they exclaimed, recognizing his voice.
Running to the source, Shikamaru sensed 3 strong chakras and a weak one; Konohamaru and three strong genins.
They finally arrived and saw a tall guy holding Konohamaru by his neck.
He had red markings on his face and wore a black one-piece suit, black sandals, a freaky bandaged thing on his back and the hatai-ite of the Sand on the hood over his forehead.
The girl next to him was also tall and had her hair tied into two(four?) high pineapples, she was also from the Sand and had a large, closed fan on her back.
"That hurt, brat," the guy said.
"Let go of him," Naruto yelled.
Behind him, Shikamaru pushed the kids back and stood next to Naruto.
"Why? I should give him a beating, he ran into me," the man replied.
"He is the Hokage's grandson and you are but a guest to our village," Shikamaru stated, "Do you want to start a war because of a small grudge?"
He looked slightly worried now but covered it well, "So? I can do anything I want!"
The girl behind him tapped him and whispered, "The Kazekage told us not to cause any trouble, idiot."
Still reluctant, he stubbornly held onto the scared boy.
Suddenly a rock flew from a tree and hit his hand, hard, making him drop the boy. Naruto quickly gathered Konohamaru in his arms and went back, glaring at the Sand-nins.
"Is it really smart to provoke Leaf-nins when our alliance is so new?" Sasuke asked, sitting on a branch.
The Sand nin glared as Sasuke jumped down to join his teammates. Both Moegi and the other girl had hearts in their eyes.
"Do you want to fight?" Naruto asked, one hand already performing seals, "Now that Konohamaru's out of danger, we'll be glad to."
The three boys stood menacingly and glared at the Sand duo.
"No, we don't."
Surprised, Sasuke and Shikamaru turned abruptly to the tree where the voice came from.
The person who spoke had great control on his chakra and hid it well, not even Naruto sensed him. However, his nose had caught onto a strong demon aura when they arrived.
A redhead jumped down and landed in front of the other two strangers. Like them, he was from the Sand.
He had emerald green eyes with black circles around them, he wore dark clothes and had a gourd on his back.
All three Leaf nins became cautious; unlike the other two, this one, though younger, had a killer intent.
His eyes were cold and focused, those of a predator.
The redhead and the three of them stared at each other for a while longer before he spoke.
"Say sorry, Kankurou."
Surprisingly, the older boy obeyed. It seemed that the other two were afraid of him.
"They will not cause trouble again," the redhead stated, smirking slightly.
"...What is your name?" Sasuke asked.
"Who, me?" the girl asked, blushing a dark pink.
"No, the redhead," Sasuke stated, slightly irratated.
"Gaara, Gaara of the Sand," he replied, "And your's? You've all proved... interesting." (In Shonen Jump, they sometimes use Gaara and sometimes Gâra, it's so annoying.)
"Sasuke."
"Shikamaru."
The others stared at Naruto, waiting for his answer. Nevertheless, he was still silent, still looking at Gaara.
"My name is Naruto," he said slowly, "It's nice to meet you..." Shukaka, he mentally whispered to him.
With that, he walked away, motioning for the others to do so, too.
When they were gone, Kankurou let go of his mask and exclaimed, "Damn you, Gaara, putting me down in front of them!!"
"...Naruto," Gaara whispered, softly, as if tasting the name on his lips. Then he smirked, disappearing in a whirl of sand.
Up in the trees, another trio listened in on their conversation.
"What do you think?" one asked.
"They're good, but not what I had in mind," another replied.
They all chuckled evilly and disappeared.
End of Chapter 7: Gaara of the Sand
Chapter Preview
Naruto held a kunai at his neck while Shikamaru was behind the other chûnin, a hand pressed against his heart.
The all moved back at the same time, seemingly, no one hurt.
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