Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters therein.
AN: This story is supposed to read like an extra story arc in the manga/anime. It's action/adventure, with a lot of the stuff you'd expect in Naruto. There are no spoilers for anything that comes after the Chuunin exams in the anime, though it's set just after the Wave country story. I hope you enjoy it!
Many many thanks to Shounen Suki who helped me a lot with translations, names and proof-reading.
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1- Out of the Smoke
Sharino entered the village and looked around. Konoha did not look at all like she had been expecting. She had expected something somewhat like her own home village; a drab place where all the people bore scars and faces that looked out with dead eyes on a world that, to them, was filled only with war. But in Konoha, children played in the streets. Adults sat watching with smiles on their faces while they guarded stalls filled with rich foods and a refreshing breeze rustled through the hundreds of trees that seemed to be everywhere. It really was beautiful. Sharino fell in love with the place as soon as she saw it.
Within a few metres of her crossing the borders into the land of Konoha, Sharino heard the whispering of rushing air and dropped to her knees, taking her Katana from her back and placing it on the ground in front of her. She bowed low, her face almost to the floor as she accosted the three ninja that now surrounded her.
"Forgive me," she said. "I know I am not an invited visitor to this village, but I come on an urgent mission from my home village. I wish to speak with Hatake Kakashi." She kept her head down, looking at the floor. One of the ninja came forward. He crouched down next to her and she saw that he was wearing dark blue with a green sleeveless over-jacket. A mask covered his face and his forehead protector was pulled down over one eye.
"I am Kakashi," he said. Sharino looked up into his face, comparing him to the description she had been given. Then she bowed again.
"Kakashi-dono, I have been sent here by my father, the leader of the hidden village of Smoke. My name is Umatatsu Sharino. We need your help."
The three ninja were silent, but Sharino saw a look of shock in Kakashi's eye. He obviously remembered the Umatatsu clan.
"Kakashi," said another voice next to her. Sharino looked sideways out of the corner of her eye, and saw another ninja standing beside him who was wearing the same uniform. Kakashi nodded to him.
"Genma, take her to the Hokage. I will be there shortly." With that Kakashi disappeared, leaving Genma and the other ninja with Sharino.
---
Kakashi was late as usual, and even Sasuke was beginning to look impatient as the three members of his team of Genin waited on the bridge for their ever-tardy Sensei to arrive. It had been well over two hours.
"Sorry I'm late," Kakashi said as he appeared, seemingly out of nowhere on the bridge. The team waited for one of his endless supply of ridiculous excuses, but none came. Instead, Kakashi looked unusually thoughtful.
"Unfortunately, I have been called away urgently and I may have a mission," he said. Naruto was the first to say something, pointing an accusing finger at Kakashi and shouting at him.
"We have to wait for hours for you and then you have a mission! What kind of mission!" Kakashi was by his side in an instant.
"Naruto, this is important. I do not yet have the details, but lives may depend on it. I am sorry." Sasuke's expression was inscrutable, but Sakura looked a little annoyed. Before any of them could launch any other complaints, Kakashi was gone, leaving his team staring in confusion at the spot where he had just stood.
---
The Hokage sat at the desk in his office smoking his pipe while Sharino made her case. Her father was in need of aid against a band of raiders and Missing-Nin who had been terrorizing the village for some time. The village was small, with a correspondingly small number of ninja, and they were suffering.
"The Missing-Nin vary in ability from weak Genin to Jounin. There are at least 40 of them in total. We have managed to hold our own until now, but last week one of the best Jounin of our village was killed on his way back from a mission. My father sent me to seek help from Konoha." Sandaime nodded and took a long puff of his pipe.
"I am afraid we have little to offer you by way of aid… Most of our Jounin are out on missions."
"Hokage-sama, I would like to request this mission for myself and my team."
"This an A-rank mission, Kakashi. Far beyond your three Genin," The Hokage said.
"They proved themselves to be most capable during our mission to the country of the Wave and they have all grown enormously. This mission may be beyond them if they were on their own, but I believe that with their help, I could help the Smoke." The Hokage raised an eyebrow.
"I agree that it is important to help the Smoke village, so I will allow this, but as soon as another team becomes available, we will send them to back you up." Sharino bowed to the Hokage.
"Thank you so much, Hokage-sama. Any assistance you can offer is greatly appreciated." At the back of the room, Genma stepped forward from where he had been standing silently, listening.
"Hokage-sama, if you will permit it, I would like to accompany Kakashi and Sharino." From where she stood, Sharino examined this ninja for the second time. His forehead protector was tied over his head like a scarf and was actually on backwards, with the knot at his forehead. Brown hair poked out from under it to frame his face. He carried a toothpick in his mouth. Sharino could tell from the way he carried himself that he was a strong ninja.
"We do need some Jounin left in the village," said the Hokage. Genma nodded and bowed, but he didn't step back.
"Of course, Hokage-sama, but the Umatatsu clan are known to me and I wish to help them and, perhaps repay my debt to them, if I can." Sharino raised an eyebrow and turned back to the Hokage, who seemed to be considering this very carefully.
"Very well, Genma, you may go as well. Kakashi, you may leave as soon as you are ready."
---
Kakashi found Naruto, as he had known he would, at the Ichiraku Ramen, enjoying a second helping of his favourite meal. Sharino had come with him, and when she saw the boy in the orange outfit she was not impressed, like most who saw Naruto for the first time. However, she had heard a lot about Kakashi and knew that if he said someone was capable, then they probably were.
"Naruto, finish that quickly, we have an important mission."
Naruto started and spun around. When he saw Sharino, he viewed her suspiciously. He took in the Katana, the long hunting knife in a scabbard at her side, and her forehead protector, which belonged to a village he had not seen before. It was three vertical, parallel wavy lines. Her hair was brown and shoulder length, worn loose except for where it was held down by her forehead protector. Her clothes were simple, a plain black long-sleeved tunic, maroon bandages around her waist with the ends hanging loose down her back, perfectly fitted black trousers and black sandals. She wore finger-less gloves with metal plates on the backs of her hands and guards on her forearms and shins. The expression on her face was grim and somewhat world-weary, and her green eyes were constantly alert. Yet, looking at her face and height, she could not have been more than two years older than Naruto was.
"Who are you?" he asked her.
"I am Umatatsu Sharino," she replied, "nice to meet you." Naruto looked at Kakashi and then back to the newcomer.
"Is she coming on the mission too?" he said. Kakashi nodded.
"Go and pack. And if you see Sasuke or Sakura on your way, tell them we are leaving on a mission immediately. We meet at the village gates as soon as you are ready." Naruto's face showed a mixture of confusion and excitement, but he quickly nodded to his Sensei and ran off down the street.
Sharino watched him go, then turned to Kakashi.
"The other on your team, Sasuke; is that the Uchiha Sasuke?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow and nodded.
"I am surprised that you have heard of him, so far away," he said. Sharino smiled.
"My father spoke very highly of the Uchiha clan, when I was a child. When he was last here, about four years ago, it was around the time of that terrible event." Kakashi nodded sadly.
"He was the only survivor," he replied.
---
It was just an hour later when the six assembled, ready to leave the village. Kakashi was last to arrive, as usual, and he paused to examine his companions' faces. Sharino looked anxious; his Genin looked confused but expectant. After a moment, he nodded to Sharino and they started on their way to the village of Smoke.
They took off through the forest at a reasonably fast pace. Sharino kept her silence, except to occasionally confer with the two Konoha Jounin. Kakashi and Genma seemed to have contracted Sharino's sombre mood, and were quiet also. The group raced through the forest, hardly saying anything until they stopped in the evening to rest. When they did stop, Naruto went over to where Sakura was drinking, and sat down next to her.
"Sakura-chan," he said, glancing over at Sharino to check that she was not watching. "Have you ever heard of the village of Smoke before?" Sakura nodded. He knew that since they had got back from their mission to the Wave country, she had done some research into the other hidden villages and their ninja.
"It's a small village in a relatively small country. It is said that it was founded at the same time as Konoha, by a relative of the First and Second Hokage's. They have always been on good terms with Konoha, and it is said they even lent some of their ninja to Konoha to fight in various battles over the years." Naruto nodded.
"Who is Umatatsu Sharino?" he said. Sakura shook her head.
"How would I know?" she said, annoyed. "Just because I've heard of the village, doesn't mean I know every ninja within it!" Naruto looked back at the girl who was sat with Kakashi and the other Jounin, discussing the mission. He saw the way that Kakashi and Genma were treating the foreign ninja with respect and knew that she must be more powerful than she looked.