Brothers of the Blade

By: Ferahgo

Here is the third chapter of "Brothers of the Blade" ENJOY! I was happy with my four reviews this time, thank you all.

Also, I fixed a couple of mistakes no one noticed in the second chapter. In the original, Sasuke calls Yamato, "Yamato-sensei," but Yamato never told Sasuke his name. I went back and fixed it so don't worry.

"Speech"

"Thoughts"

"Jutsu"

"Kenjutsu Moves"


Last Time…

"Will you teach me?" asked Sasuke.

"Yes Sasuke, I will train you as my student, but you only on several conditions, if you break even one, I will teach you no more"

"What are these conditions? Tell me!"

"The conditions are that you will listen to what I teach you, and you will do exactly as I say. The second is if you hear anything of Itachi, you will not go after him on some chase, and the third condition is that you will co-operate with the other student I am bringing with us"

"What! Another student! Who is he?"

"You know of him already Sasuke, the other student is Uzumaki Naruto"

"What! Why are you taking that Dobe?"

"I am taking Naruto, because he is also quite a skilled and powerful genin, and my Dragon Style, along with his skill with Kage Bushin, will make him powerful and more deadly. Also, I am taking two students so that both will have a training partner, to practice with. Each of you will always have a reason to get stronger, and that reason is the other student. You will constantly challenge each other in an effort to grow stronger"

"………I accept your terms, and am glad that I get to beat the dobe into the ground"

"Good, meet me before the Hokage tower tomorrow at six a.m., come packed"

"Why Yamato-sensei?"

"Because we are gong to leave the village"


CHAPTER 3

Sasuke arrived at the Hokage tower at exactly 6 a.m. as he was instructed to. He sat down on a bench outside the outer doors, and quietly waited for Naruto and Yamato to arrive. Naruto arrived about 5 minutes later, yawning and trying to slurp down a cup of instant ramen, which wasn't going to well for him. He was slurping it up quite fast, and barely chewing, so whenever Naruto had to yawn, some of it would slip back into the bowl, which was gross, but at the same time a bit comical. After a little while, he finally got is all down and sat beside Sasuke.

"When do you think Yamato-sensei will arrive?" asked Naruto slowly, as he had to yawn.

"I don't know dobe…look, there he is," said Sasuke curtly, as Yamato walked up to them, only about 15 minutes late.

"Hi guy's, sorry I'm late. I had to…do some stuff," said Yamato, as he motioned for Sasuke and Naruto to follow him through the large doors that led into the Hokage tower.

Sasuke and Naruto took seats in the waiting room, while Yamato approached the Hokage's secretary.

"Excuse me miss, but I have an appointment with Hokage-sama," said Yamato to the tired looking secretary.

"Go right in, the Hokage is expecting you"

Yamato motioned for Naruto and Sasuke, who then arose from their chairs and followed Yamato into the office of the Sandaime Hokage.

Naruto, Sasuke and Yamato seated themselves before the third Hokage. The office was large, with a large window situated behind the Hokage, surrounding him with the morning light. There were books and scrolls every-where, even the Forbidden Scroll of Seals was in the office. The Hokage cleared his throat.

"Hello Yamato-san"

"Hokage-sama, its nice to see you again, this fine morning,"

FLASHBACK

(A/N this takes place after the fight with Sasuke and Yamato)

"Naruto," shouted Yamato entering Naruto's apartment, "Come here!"

"What is it?" said Naruto, peeking his head around the corner.

"I've picked my other student, and the one that you will train with"

"Oh, oh, oh, who is it? Do I know him?" asked Naruto, who was excited.

"It's your teammate, Uchiha Sasuke"

"WHAT? Why are you taking that teme?" shouted Naruto.

"Because, he will make you strive to beat him, which will make you want to train harder, you do want to be able to beat Sasuke don't you?"

"Of course I do! I hate that teme!"

"Well, my point is proved, now, meet me in front of the Hokage tower at 6 a.m. tomorrow, and come with your things"

"Hai Yamato-sensei!"

With that, Yamato left Naruto's apartment, and walked to the Hokage tower, where he removed his Hitae-ate, storing it into his pocket. He made an appointment to meet with the Hokage tomorrow morning.

Yamato then made his way to what he thought would be the quietest place in the village; the Hokage monument. He sat himself down atop the head of the third Hokage, and began to meditate.

"Do you enjoy sitting on my head?"

Yamato sprang up and looked at the man before him.

"Hokage-sama, I never noticed you there," said Yamato quickly, as he was startled; he had not heard or sensed the Hokage's approach.

"Calm down Yamato-san, don't look so surprised," said the Hokage calmly.

"Hokage-sama, how did you know my-" began Yamato.

"Your name? Well Tsurugi Yamato, special Jounin of Kazegakure no Sato, I know your name because I am the Hokage, and it's my business to know these things," said the Hokage with a smile, "may I join you, or would you rather be alone?"

"Please, feel free to join me Hokage-sama"

The Sandaime seated himself beside Yamato in a cross-legged position.

"Personally, I find it ironic that I'm sitting on my own head," said the Hokage with a small chuckle.

"Hehehe, indeed it is," said Yamato.

"Now," said the Hokage, getting serious, "what are your intentions with Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun?"

"With your permission, I would like to take them both to my family manor in Kazegakure, where I will teach both Naruto and Sasuke separate Kenjutsu styles," said Yamato.

"Why do you wish to remove them from the village? Wouldn't it be better for them to learn here, in their home, with their friends and comrades?"

"The reason I'm taking them out of the village is because of the village itself"

"Why is that?"

"Well, for Naruto, I want to get him away from the villagers, I want to get him away from all of the hatred and contempt. I think this will be better for the boy, before he goes insane with all of the hatred. Also, it will increase his stability, and thus the stability of his tenant, which, if his stability is not increased, could go on a mad killing spree among the villagers, which will force you to sick the ANBU on him, and you don't want to do that do you?"

"No, I see Naruto-kun as my grandson, and I would never want to do that to him, now, what about young Sasuke-kun?"

"I feel that Sasuke will also benefit from some time away from the villagers. They all idolize him as their 'precious Uchiha,' who can do no wrong. I feel that this will start to affect Sasuke soon, making him think that he is invincible, and can throw himself into potentially dangerous situations, in which he wouldn't survive. Also, in Kazegakure, due to its…condition, it will be hard for Sasuke to hear of any information of Itachi that would cause him to run off after him," said Yamato.

"Not that I wouldn't like to do it," thought Yamato.

"Your argument is sound Yamato-san, and I agree with your reasoning completely. I will allow Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun to leave with you to train on two conditions"

"And those are?"

"One, don't hurt them, you can train them into the ground, but don't hurt them, and two, you must have them back in two months," said the Hokage.

"I agree with the first one but two months…Oh! You want their team to participate in the chuunin selection exams don't you? Don't worry, I'll have them back for you on time Hokage-sama"

"Excellent Yamato-san, come by my office tomorrow morning and we will do this formally, paperwork and all," said the Hokage cheerfully, "oh great, more paperwork"

"I already have an appointment, so I'll be there at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning with Naruto and Sasuke. Until then Hokage-sama," said Yamato standing up, and leaping off the Hokage monument and into the darkness.

END FLASHBACK

"Hokage-sama, I formally request that I, Tsurugi Yamato, be allowed to take Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke out of the village for a two month training trip," said Yamato.

Just then Kakashi burst into the Hokage's office.

"Hokage-sama! Why do you want to split up my team?"

"Ah, Kakashi-san, nice of you to show up, seeing as I called for you an hour ago," said the Hokage sarcastically.

"But Hokage-sama, I had to help a very slow old lady across the street…" lied Kakashi.

"LIAR!" shouted Naruto.

"Hokage-sama, as I said before, why on earth do you want to split up team seven, my team!" asked Kakashi hurriedly.

"This man," said the Hokage, pointing to Yamato, "Tsurugi Yamato, has offered to take Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun out of the village for a training trip," said the Hokage.

"But why? Why isn't he taking Sakura too? And why does he have to leave the village?" asked Kakashi desperately.

"Because, Kakashi-san, I am taking them out of the village for the sake of their own sanity. For Naruto, to get him away form the villagers and their hatred and contempt, and also for the stability of his tenant. For Sasuke, it is to get him away from all of the idolization. As for not taking Sakura, I feel she doesn't have what it takes to keep up with Naruto and Sasuke. Besides, with Sasuke gone, Sakura will be able to focus on her training as a kunoichi, instead of chasing after Sasuke. You could focus on her poor stamina and charka capacity," said Yamato calmly.

"I don't want to be stuck with Sakura," panicked Kakashi, "what about teamwork, isn't that what the genin teams are for?"

"By the time Naruto and Sasuke return, they will have teamwork like no other even if I have to literally etch it into their skulls," answered Yamato curtly, causing Naruto and Sasuke, who had been quiet as church mice for the whole conversation, to gulp loudly.

"But what about the-" began Kakashi.

"The chuunin exams?" finished Yamato, "don't worry part of my agreement with Hokage-sama is that I have them back two weeks before the chuunin exams"

"But Hokage-sama…" whined Kakashi.

"Kakashi! It has already been decided, they will return two weeks before the chuunin exams for you to re-asses their skills and to re-integrate them with Sakura-chan," said the Hokage, almost snapping at Kakashi, "you're dismissed, and no buts about it!"

Kakashi looked at Yamato with a glare for a second, and then left.

"Yamato-san, you are also dismissed, Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun will be listed ass 'off duty' Nins, so don't worry about that, just be sure to have them back on time," said the Hokage to Yamato.

Yamato then arose from his chair and strode out of the room. Naruto and Sasuke also rose, and followed their sensei out the door.

"Naruto-kun," called the Hokage from his desk, "have fun"

Naruto and Sasuke followed their sensei to the front doors of the Hokage tower, where Yamato turned to face them.

"Naruto, Sasuke," started Yamato, "return home and finish you packing, we leave by the front gates in one hour"

"Hai!" said the two boys in unison, then said boys took off into the village.

As Sasuke sped through the village, he was stopped by the annoying voices of his pink haired teammate and her blonde friend.

"Sasuke-kun!" shouted Sakura and Ino in unison.

"Oh great, not them," thought Sasuke, "I'm so glad to be getting away from this"

"Sasuke-kun want to go out on a date with me?" asked Ino, pushing Sakura out of the way.

"No, Ino-pig, Sasuke-kun want to go out with me!" shouted Sakura, shoving Ino out from in front of Sasuke, "Yeah! You tell her," shouted Inner Sakura.

"Pppfftt, why would Sasuke-kun want to go on a date with you forehead girl?" yelled Ino.

"Umm, ladies? Could you please stop this? I'm kind of busy," said Sasuke, trying to get a word in edge ways.

"What are you busy with Sasuke-kun? Shopping? I'll carry all of your bags for you! Cleaning? I'll clean your house from top to bottom! Cooking? I'll cook you a seven course meal!" said Sakura enthusiastically.

"Packing," said Sasuke quickly.

"Packing? I'll pack all of your bags for you…wait a minute, why are you packing? Do we have another mission out of the village?" asked Sakura.

"Nope, the dobe and I are leaving on a training trip, and we'll be back in a few months"

"Well then, I'll go pack my things too then," said Sakura happily.

"Why?"

"Well, isn't Kakashi-sensei taking me too?" asked Sakura.

"Nope, we're not going with Kakashi-sensei, we're going with someone who can make me strong, very strong," said Sasuke, who then took of as fast as he could hoping that the two fan girls wouldn't give chase.

Sakura stood there for a few minutes with a dejected look on her, face while Ino took after Sasuke. "Why wasn't I invited…?" thought Sakura sadly. She then raised her head and resumed her chase after Sasuke.

An hour had finally passes after the trio had last met. Yamato stood to the left of the main gate to Konoha and watched his two students approach to gate. Sasuke approached from the right, where the higher-class of the villagers lived, while Naruto approached from the left, where the run-down of the village resided. They both made it to the gate at the exact same time with their bags slung over their shoulder.

"Ready to go boys?" asked Yamato.

"Hai Yamato-sensei!" shouted the two boys in unison.

"Turn around, and take a good look at Konoha, as it's the last time you'll see it for a while"

Naruto and Sasuke both turned to look at the village. After a few minutes, they turned and looked at each other, then nodded.

"We're ready," said Sasuke for the both of them.

"Good, then we're off!" shouted Yamato, running down the path leading away from the gate and Konoha. Naruto and Sasuke both turned to look at each other, and after a few seconds, turned and ran full speed after Yamato, each genin intent on out lasting the other.


Well, I hope you enjoyed it. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!

There won't be any updates for about a week and a half, because I'm going on a family trip, but expect a long chapter when I get back

Omega Gilgamesh- I answered some of your questions in E-mails, but I left out the answer to the 'Why did Yamato taunt Naruto/Sasuke?' question. I had him do this so that they would fight to their fullest, because both Naruto and Sasuke fight best when they are mad/protecting someone, also, it was to provoke them into showing him their jutsu, so he knew how powerful they are.

PLEASE READ & REVIEW!