Chapter 3 – Collaboration Mission with Team 7
Upon reaching the small town near the border of Fire Country and Wind Country, the team stopped and glanced around. With a small signal from Sean, the Genin reactivated their gravity seals before stepping further into the town to investigate. "Kurenai-sensei? Sean-sensei? I'm confused. Shouldn't there be people here? It's only 7:00 PM isn't it? What the heck's going on?" Sakura asked as Team 8 cautiously looked around.
Mere moments later, the group was surrounded. Grumbling softly to himself, Sean held up his hand and signaled for the group to remain calm as he and Kurenai looked to the obvious leader of the bandits and the shinobi brothers that she had hired. "I have to admit, I kind of expected this. The brothers weren't wearing headbands to signify what village they were from, but you…" Sighing softly, Sean shook his head and stared calmly at the kunoichi standing across from him. "A rogue ninja from Sunagakure. I suppose it makes sense at least. When you went rogue, you stole some information that would ensure that you would be able to join another hidden village correct? Let me guess. You were heading for Kirigakure perhaps? Nobody would expect for you to go there now, would they? However, you didn't expect for a group of Konoha Chunin to retrieve the scroll from the group of bandits you had hired to sneak it through our country, did you?" At the snarl that the rogue Suna Chunin gave to him, Sean smirked. "I thought so. That was all the answer I needed darlin'."
Glancing at Kurenai, Sean nodded and turned to Naruto and Kiba. "Naruto, Kiba? I want the two of you to take on the Chunin that attacked us before. Be careful and don't underestimate them. We have faith that you can defeat them so long as you two work together. Kurenai? What would you like to do?"
Kurenai smiled at Sean and glanced at Sakura a moment before looking back at him. "Sean, can I request that you let me handle their leader? I would like you and Sakura to handle the bandits. It would be a good experience for her, and you can easily watch her back. After all, as you've said numerous times before: 'The wind speaks to you.' Correct?" Giggling softly, she watched as Sean nodded and gave her an affirmative before he and Sakura went off to finish off what remained of the kunoichi's bandits.
Naruto & Kiba
"Ah, so the little boys want to take us on this time? Personally, I was hoping to have the chance to destroy your precious sensei. After he defeated us last time and took my brother's arm, we wanted to pay him back!" As the younger brother snarled and raised his trident, his brother patted him with his left arm and smiled as he shook his head.
"Brother, calm yourself. I may be down an arm, but it's more than enough to use my techniques and help you destroy these little punks. After all, I doubt they can even put up much of a fight against the Vengeful Brothers. Correct dear brother?" With a smirk, the two brothers nodded to each other before turning to their foes. "Now come little Genin and let us play a little before we end your pathetic existence!"
Kiba sighed and shook his head. "Naruto? These guys are pathetic. One's a cripple and the other's a moron with a short fuse. Would you care to try our combination attack? It might be kind of fun. That and it would be a good test to see how powerful it is when used against true opponents and not our crazy sensei." Glancing back at Sean, Kiba chuckled and turned back to the brothers as he set Akamaru down and tossed him a food pill. "C'mon Akamaru, time to transform buddy!"
Naruto glanced at his best friend and smirked as soon as he and Akamaru used the Jūjin Bunshin (Beast Human Clone) technique. As soon as Akamaru was transformed and they were ready, Naruto turned back to face the brothers that his sensei had crippled the last time they met. "I'm ready Kiba. Let's show them why they should never underestimate a couple of 'kids' like us!" With that, Naruto quickly went through a few hand seals while Kiba and Akamaru charged forward with a Gatsuga.
When the blonde-haired Genin was finished with his hand signs, he thrust his hands forward and shouted, "Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!" A powerful burst of wind surrounded the Kiba/Akamaru duo and created numerous slashing blades around them as they continued to spin forward. When the dog and master separated and came around from the sides, the two brothers jumped away, but it just wasn't enough. As Akamaru and Kiba neared each other, they shot up at an angle, both of them aiming for a different brother. It didn't take long for both brothers to drop to the ground bleeding from numerous cuts and gashes across their bodies.
Once Kiba and Akamaru touched the ground, the dog rushed to his master's side and barked happily while his tail wagged left and right. It appeared that they had won their battle, but Kiba groaned when he was suddenly hit from behind and he was sent skidding across the ground, his face hitting the dirt. "Ow. Dammit what the hell was that?!"
Naruto grumbled angrily. The younger brother was standing, but the elder of the two didn't even appear to be breathing. As the younger brother gripped his trident tight and thrust it forward at Akamaru, Naruto focused chakra to the soles of his feet and quickly vanished, reappearing just a moment later in front of the weapon with a kunai outstretched to block the blow. Sadly, the force with which his enemy thrust his weapon forward cleaved the kunai in two and he soon felt a terrible pain in his side and stomach as two prongs of the trident embedded themselves into his skin. "Y-You bastard. How dare you target Akamaru?!"
While the trident was stuck in his stomach, the blonde Genin gripped it tight and refused to let it go. Meanwhile, he held his right hand out and smirked while blood leaked slowly from his wounds. "You'd best be prepared for some pain, punk!" Within seconds, a sphere of pure, blue chakra appeared swirling at incredible speeds in the palm of Naruto's hand.
Sensing danger, Naruto's opponent released his weapon and jumped backwards right as Naruto thrust his hand forward and shouted, "Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere)!" Feeling he was safely out of harm's way, he started to laugh at the blonde as he quickly went through his own hand signs. Sadly, he forgot about the blonde's partner. The last thing he heard before blacking out was Kiba shouting out, "Tsūga (Passing Fang)!"
Sean & Sakura
"Sean-sensei, would you mind if I took half? That'll give both of us nine bandits to defeat and I'm looking forward to testing my skills on these jerks." Sakura pleaded as she looked up at her team's co-sensei. When she saw him nod at her, Sakura grinned and pulled out two kunai, holding them in a reverse grip as she dashed forward towards her opponents.
"Lookie here everybody! A lil' girl wants to play with us. How's about we show her a real good time, right fellas?" One of the bandits suggested right before the many bandits began to chuckle. It didn't take long for the little girl to suddenly disappear before their eyes. Glancing around, they heard screams as three of the bandits suddenly dropped, their blood splattering on each other and on the ground. Eyes widening, they took up defensive stances and prepared to defend themselves against their opponent.
When Sakura reappeared, she laughed at them and shook her head. "You guys are pathetic. Kurenai-sensei and Sean-sensei trained the three of us really well this past month. Believe it or not, I'm the weakest one on this team and I'm not even going at top speed yet. You're lucky I have my gravity seals on, otherwise you'd all be dead by now." With a smirk, Sakura wiped the blood from her kunai and slipped them away again. It wasn't long before she began going through a series of hand signs.
"Sh-shit! Get her!" Soon enough, all of the bandits were charging at the young Genin, but they didn't expect for the man known as the "Wind God" to suddenly appear before them with a smirk. "Dammit! Get the hell out of our way you punk!" When the young bandit at the front swung at Sean with his sword, he groaned and collapsed to his knees. "W-What the hell…just happened…?"
Soon after, both Sean and Sakura disappeared from view and all the bandits began looking around for them. When leaves began swirling around them, the bandits knew they were in trouble. Soon enough, all of them began to scream while Sakura fell to her knees, exhausted. "S-Sean-sensei…you go ahead. I don't know how Kurenai-sensei m-makes it look so easy. Trapping so many in such a Genjutsu…just hurry, please."
Sean chuckled softly and patted her atop her head. "You did well Sakura-san. I'm proud of you." It didn't take long for Sean to take hold of his katana and smirk wickedly as he turned to the horror-stricken bandits. In a flash, Sean was on the other side of the group of fifteen bandits, quickly wiping a small trickle of blood from his blade. As he slid it back into its sheathe, each of the bandits suddenly stopped screaming and their upper halves fell to the ground. All of the bandits were now deceased, none of them ever standing a chance against the sensei/student pair.
Once Sean returned to Sakura's side, he helped her to her feet and shunshined over to Naruto and Kiba. Kneeling down, he let Sakura go so she could watch Kurenai's fight while he went about tending to Naruto's wounds. These wounds of his will heal soon enough, but I'll patch him up for now just so his teammates don't get suspicious. Sean thought silently to himself as he pulled out his first aid kit and went to work.
Kurenai
While the others were finishing off their opponents, Kurenai was in a heated battle with the kunoichi from Suna. Her wind and lightning jutsu were quite powerful, but so far they were nothing that the Genjutsu Mistress couldn't handle on her own. After all, between Kakashi, Sean, and Asuma, she had plenty of practice with those particular elements. On top of that, Kakashi and Sean had actually helped her learn how to counter said elements quite effectively should the need to do so ever arise.
With a low sigh, Kurenai decided to take a few calming breaths before she set herself on her next course of action. After bribing her fellow sensei on Team 8, Sean finally taught her a couple of wind jutsu, although her affinity was not wind. Thus, her next move would simply be a matter of luck if nothing else. She seems to use a lightning jutsu after using two wind jutsu. Let's hope she keeps the pattern up. I have to force her into using another wind jutsu before she'll switch to a lightning jutsu. Here goes nothing… Kurenai thought to herself as she drew a kunai and glared at her opponent.
"Why do you keep drawing those dinky little things? I'll just send it right back at you again and again and again. For a Jonin from Konoha, you sure aren't very bright are you?" Chuckling to herself, the rogue kunoichi performed a few hand signs and watched calmly as Kurenai threw the kunai at her face. Sighing, the woman opened her mouth and blew hard. "Fūton: Shinkūgyoku (Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere)!"
As soon as her kunai came flying back at her, the Genjutsu specialist dove to the side and rolled along the ground for a moment before quickly shooting up and glaring hatefully at the woman across from her once more. When she started flying through hand signs, she found herself smirking inside as the woman went through hand signs of her own. The crimson-eyed mistress purposefully let the rogue kunoichi finish first and laughed triumphantly on the inside as it was just like she had predicted. "Raiton: Jibashi (Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder)!" Kurenai noticed that despite the powerful technique, it was nowhere near what it could be. It was simply small lightning bolts shooting through the air towards her.
Allowing a small smirk to grace her features, Kurenai silently thanked Sean for what she was about to do. Finishing her hand signs, the gorgeous, crimson-eyed mistress threw her hands forward and shouted, "Futon: Daitoppa!" When it cancelled out the woman's lightning and lifted her off the ground, Kurenai felt like cheering because her plan actually worked! It only made her happier when the woman was slammed HARD into one of the nearby buildings.
When the dust finally settled, the ex-Suna kunoichi groaned and began stumbling forward towards her opponent. Her left arm hung limply at her side and blood was caking the left side of her face. "Y-You…bitch! I'll fucking kill you!" When Kurenai suddenly disappeared, she looked around frantically for her opponent, only to suddenly feel herself rooted to the spot she had been standing. "D-Dammit! Why can't I…m-move?" Shivering, she realized what was going on only too late. A tree had sprouted around her and Kurenai held a kunai to her neck.
"Magen: Jubaku Satsu (Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death)! Sorry, but you put my precious students in danger and caused us a great deal of trouble. And from what we've seen, you probably killed the poor citizens in this town as well, didn't you? It's over for you!" Before her opponent could even react appropriately, Kurenai embedded the kunai deep into her neck and released her, watching as she fell to the ground lifeless.
Sighing heavily, Kurenai looked to her team and brushed a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry you had to deal with such a thing so soon in your careers as shinobi Naruto, Kiba, and Sakura. Killing is never easy, and should you need it, Sean and I are here for you three to talk to whenever you need. Sean? Can you write a letter to send back to Hokage-sama for us? I will write a letter and send it forward to Kazekage-sama to inform him of what has transpired here. Our contact should be about an hour's distance away, so after disposing of these bodies and checking for any sign of the townspeople, I would suggest we get a move on and finish our mission before resting. Is everyone in agreement?"
The three Genin simply nodded with Naruto clutching at his side. As the group of five split up, each of the Genin found themselves shivering at the events that just transpired. Each of them was so caught up in the moment that the repercussions of what they had just done were lost on them. Now that the fighting was over, what they had done was now weighing heavily on their minds. Although such a thing was to be expected in their careers, these were their first kills. Chances are that tonight their dreams would be plagued by nightmares.
Sean
Sean sighed as he found a spot just outside the small village. After writing the letter to the Hokage to inform him about the events that had transpired so far, Sean rolled up the scroll, bound it with some wire, and began the hand signs for the summoning he was about to perform. With his bloody thumb, he slammed his hand on the ground and screamed out: "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!" After a brief moment, a young wind serpent appeared and floated before its master.
"Sean-sama! Good to see you. You have something for me to deliver?" When Sean simply nodded and strapped it to his summon's back, Sean patted the young wind serpent atop its head. "Young Delfan, can you please deliver this to Hokage-sama for me? It's important. I wish I could stay and chat with you, but my team is waiting for me to return. We are not yet finished with our mission, and I have requested that Hokage-sama up the difficulty of this mission to B-rank and that we be paid accordingly. If not for Kurenai-san and myself, then for the Genin at least. Anyways, Delfan, please be on your way. Be well, my friend." Bowing his head, Sean watched as his summon disappeared and smiled softly.
1 Hour Later/Border of the Land of Fire, closest to the Land of Wind
Kurenai held out the scroll to the envoy from the Land of Wind and bowed her head slightly. "We apologize for being late. We were held up slightly by a group of bandits led by a missing-nin from Suna. The problem has been dealt with, and I sent a letter to your Kazekage. Be well, be careful, and please give our best wishes to your Kazekage for us if you will." Smiling kindly at them, Kurenai watched as they handed over a small scroll and turned to leave.
After they were out of sight, the crimson mistress looked at the scroll and frowned. "Hokage-sama will pay us when we return to Konoha. So…what is this I wonder?" Handing it to Sean, she watched as he unfurled it and drew some blood over the seal. What popped out confused her greatly. "Two kodachi? Huh…" Turning to Naruto, Sean handed them over and smirked a bit. "Well, while these aren't the weapons I had planned to instruct you to use, these will work for now if you want them. I have to admit, the craftsmanship is impressive. I wonder if they made these." With a shrug of his shoulders, Sean was about to head to the inn and get some rooms for the night when he heard a hawk screech as it descended upon him.
Sighing heavily, the Wind God outstretched his arm and allowed the bird to land, its talons digging into his arm somewhat. Ignoring the slight pain to his arm, Sean untied the small paper tied to one of its legs. Petting it calmly on its head, the kind young man watched as it took off before he unrolled the paper and began to read aloud.
"Team 8,
Team 7 has run into an unexpected problem on their latest mission. Recently, Sasuke Uchiha got fed up with all the D-rank missions Kakashi had requested of them, thus I decided to give them what was supposed to be a simple escort and protection mission to the Land of Waves. Sadly, Kakashi sent me a letter shortly after they left that informed me of a pair of Chunin, the Demon Brothers, that attacked he and his team on their way to Wave. He believes that, with Gato behind the troubles in Wave Country, that stronger ninja may target the bridge builder next.
Kakashi has requested assistance to complete this mission. As he has specifically requested Team 8 as his backup, I sent this letter out as quickly as I could upon writing it. Hopefully you can reach the Land of Waves within three days. I do not know what dangers await Team 7, but it would be prudent for you to leave as soon as possible. Hurry!
~Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure"
Hearing his team groan, Sean found himself chuckling lightly. "Well team, it seems we can't rest just yet. If things are as bad as Kakashi made them sound, we should leave immediately. I promise that if any of you become exhausted, I will carry you. I can use the wind to help speed me along, so it's no problem. I recommend you deactivate your gravity seals once more as time is of the essence. Kurenai-san, are you ready to leave?" Upon seeing her nod and seeing his Genin nod as well, Sean grinned and the team took off.
Two Days Later
Panting and groaning in agony from pushing themselves so much, the three Genin and their sensei found themselves outside the bridge builder's (Tazuna) house. Wrapping her knuckles upon the door, Kurenai waited for someone to open the door so they could enter and rest. When a beautiful woman that appeared to be in her late twenties opened the door, they bowed their heads and did their best to calm their breathing enough to speak.
"Please dear Lady, may we enter and relax in your humble abode? We've been running almost nonstop for the past two days. We are exhausted and need our rest." Kurenai stated. When Tsunami nodded her head and invited them inside, Team 8 made their way inside and collapsed on the couches, groaning in agony. Tsunami soon ventured into the kitchen and explained that food would be ready in a matter of moments.
"If you do not mind my asking, where are the members of Team 7? Kurenai-san and I have questions for Kakashi-san and we need to know which rooms are available for use. Later, I would like to take our Genin out to train them and prepare them accordingly depending on the threat we now face." Sean explained calmly now that he had caught his breath.
Soon, Kakashi walked through the door and waved calmly. Hobbling over to them on his crutches, Sean chuckled softly and shook his head as he made room for the Copy Ninja to sit beside him. "Team 7 is training currently. Hinata is helping her teammates with the tree-climbing exercise, though Sasuke continues to try and put her down. Now, to fill you all in…"
It took some time, but Kakashi managed to fill Team 8 in on the battle with Zabuza, the mysterious hunter-nin, why he was in the shape he was in, the situation with Gato, and the estimated amount of time that they would likely be in Wave Country. When all was said and done, Sean let out a deep sigh and lightly thwacked Kakashi on the back of his head. "You dang moron. Be careful when you use the Sharingan dammit! Are you trying to make your friends worry about you?" Grumbling a bit, Sean turned his head away and huffed while Kakashi rubbed the back of his head and apologized a few times for his behavior.
Not long after, Tsunami entered the room with dishes stacked with a delectable dinner for each of the ninja assigned to protect her dear father. Sadly, much to the displeasure of Sean, Kurenai, and Sakura, Naruto and Kiba dug in quite fiercely into their meals. If they weren't so hungry, the Jonin senseis and Sakura wouldn't have eaten at all. Even Akamaru ate the food Kiba gave to him in a polite fashion.
About thirty minutes later, both Hinata and Shino entered the house and sat beside their friends. Eating calmly, Hinata found herself occasionally glancing at Naruto while Shino looked to the sensei and calmly began to answer their unspoken question. "Sasuke didn't want to come back until he made more progress on the exercise. He's going to end up exhausting himself at the rate he's moving at. With Hinata and I having finished the exercise, I think he became incredibly jealous and it has fueled the anger in his heart. Perhaps one of us should venture out and drag him back before it becomes too dark?" Shino suggested calmly before he worked on finishing his meal.
Sakura eagerly shot up and rushed to the door. When Kakashi explained where she could find her dear 'Sasuke-kun', she bolted out of the house to go and greet her crush. Sighing and shaking his head, Sean smiled at the remaining Genin and bowed his head. "I assume you two are doing well Hinata, Shino? You appear to be in good spirits despite Sasuke's belittling you at practically every turn I would imagine."
Hinata smiled and nodded her head. "Having the opportunity to train with Naruto-kun those few days we had the chance to really helped. He helped me learn tree-climbing and even tried to teach me a few jutsu, but I'm afraid I didn't take to them very well." Lowering her head, the Hyuuga heiress sighed sadly before she felt a hand on her shoulder. Glancing to her left, she realized that it was Naruto giving her a few reassuring squeezes. Blushing furiously, she shook her head and quickly looked away. "N-N-Naruto-kun…s-sorry."
Naruto simply chuckled softly and shook his head. "No need to apologize Hinata-chan. You should know I'm here for you whenever you need me. Ignore Sasuke-teme and anyone else who tries to put you down. I may not be the best teacher, but I am trying to help you. With Sean-sensei and Kurenai-sensei here, along with your own sensei to help out, I'm sure we can get you ready for the upcoming battles with Zabuza and that strange hunter-nin. You'll kick ass dattebayo!" When Hinata simply turned redder and eventually fainted, Naruto grumbled and glared at Sean when he started to laugh. "It's not funny sensei! I'm trying to help her get over that problem, but with her crush on me I dunno what to do!"
Kurenai smiled and gently patted Naruto on his shoulder. "Don't worry too much about it Naruto. Hinata will come around with time and you two will get to spend a lot more time together, I'm sure. Though if I find out you take her on dates to Ichiraku's Ramen, I'll use such a nasty Genjutsu on you that you'll never feel safe again. It's okay to take her there occasionally, but not everybody worships ramen the way you do." When Naruto nodded, the Genjutsu mistress smiled and looked to Tsunami. "Can you please lead Naruto to Hinata's room? It would be a good idea to lay her to rest in her bed for now. Then we would appreciate it if you could show us to our rooms. Please and thank you." Bowing her head to the kind woman, Kurenai watched as Tazuna's daughter led Naruto off up the stairs.
At Sean's smirk, the others in the room sighed heavily. "We know that look. You have something planned for the Genin don't you? Please, please wait until tomorrow. They're tired at the moment and don't have the energy for whatever you have in mind. Please, please, please let them rest for tonight. If you do, I promise Kakashi-san and I will help you with whatever you have planned." Kurenai pleaded. At this, the Wind God simply chuckled and nodded his head.
"That sounds fair to me. Shino, Kiba, why don't you two go on and speak with Tsunami-san and have her guide you to your rooms. Inform Naruto that he's to rest as well. Knowing him he'll try to argue, so if you have to tell him that if he tries to leave, he'll have to deal with me and it won't be pretty. Now go, go. When Sakura returns with Sasuke, I'll send them to rest as well. Kurenai-san and I would like to talk with Kakashi-san for a while before we hit the hay." When the Genin nodded, the three sensei watched as Kiba lifted Akamaru into his arms before Kiba and Shino walked off together.
"I assume you have some plan to deal with the 'Demon of the Hidden Mist' Kakashi-san? This is your mission, so Team 8 will follow your lead." Kurenai said calmly as soon as the Genin were out of sight. When Kakashi nodded, the Crimson Mistress smiled slightly and looked to Sean when Kakashi motioned his hand towards him. "Figures you would use our local Wind God in some way. Tell us the plan."
Next morning – 8:00 AM
"Sasuke, stop trying to force it and calm down. You're letting your jealousy cloud your judgment. If you ever want to reach the top of these trees, you need to focus!" Kakashi had been trying to lecture Sasuke for the past two hours since venturing out to this spot with his student again. If it wasn't for the fact that Sasuke had the Sharingan, albeit with only one tomoe in both eyes, and the fact that the Council was so set on pampering the 'last Uchiha', Kakashi would have been seriously tempted to send him back to the academy for his attitude alone. He was such a pompous jerk who let his anger get in the way of his judgment at every turn. On top of that he constantly belittled his teammates and tried to make himself sound more important than anyone else in the village. Sadly, despite having the most chakra out of the three Genin on Team 7, Sasuke was proving to be the least effective teammate on the team.
Grumbling at this, Sasuke stepped back and tried to calm himself down as he looked up at the tree again. So far he had made it past the designated branch, but he just wasn't making any more progress than that. What frustrated him even more was the fact that while Hinata was off watching over Tazuna, Shino was with Team 8 learning jutsu or who-knows-what! At this time, he, the mighty Uchiha, was stuck trying to climb a stupid tree! Grumbling again when Kakashi insisted he try again, Sasuke tried his best to calm down and began again.
With Sean & Shino
"I have to admit, I'm not surprised by your elemental affinity Shino. I kind of expected you to have the earth affinity. So, because I was proven right, I want you to study up on the information in this scroll here and do the exercises before you try to learn any of the jutsu. Kiba's already in pretty good shape with his earth-based training." Nodding his head proudly, Sean handed over a scroll to Shino and watched as the bug-user walked off to sit under a tree and study up.
Meanwhile, the Wind God had Naruto, Sakura, Kiba, and Akamaru working with Kurenai to improve themselves. Glancing towards them, Sean found himself smiling at their progress thus far. I have to admit, they've come a long way from when Team 8 was first formed nearly a month ago. I'm quite proud of them. Sakura's still an annoying fan girl, but we've been beating that out of her. Almost literally. Chuckling at his own thoughts, Sean turned and glanced towards the area Kakashi was training Sasuke in tree-climbing. Shaking his head, the Wind God closed his eyes and began to meditate. At this point in time, until his team required him for more training, Sean simply wanted to focus his mind and think calmly about the upcoming battles.
Soon enough, Sean actually found his thoughts wandering to the upcoming Chunin Exams. Hmm. After this mission, we'll take on a few more C-ranks and the rest of the missions will likely be D-ranks until they qualify. During the months before the Exams, Kurenai and I will train them harder than ever. Team 8 will definitely make it through to the final round and they'll kick ass the entire time. Of course, I'll have to check and see if Jiraiya-san is in Konoha when we return. The Uzumaki's were seal masters and he's the only seal master I can think of that could help Naruto learn his family's sealing jutsu. He might also be able to help Naruto make sense of the Hiraishin now that I think on it.
With a shrug of his shoulders, Sean turned his thoughts to the other members of Team 8. Sakura should learn more Genjutsu from Kurenai, but I'll also be helping her with her elemental jutsu. I suppose I could further train her in the use of kunai and shuriken, but there are those much better than me that could perhaps teach her more than I could. As for Kiba and Akamaru, I could work with the Inuzuka women and train him until he drops I suppose. I'm sure they have plenty more they could teach him about the Inuzuka style of fighting. On top of that, I could try and teach him a little about wind jutsu. If he could learn a few wind jutsu, he could at least attempt to combat lightning jutsu when it's used against him. It all really depends on how long it takes him to truly understand what I'll be trying to teach him.
Frowning at that, Sean ruffled his hair somewhat before he heard his name being called. Turning around, the Jonin stood up and waved his hand. "Coming, coming. Sorry, I was thinking on a few things. All right you three; let's get started on your physical training…"
Two Days Later – Nighttime
While joking around and eating dinner with the other members of Team 8 and the members of Team 7, Naruto found himself feeling ecstatic. After all the training he and the others had been put through, he honestly felt kind of invincible. Sadly, it all came crashing down when the little brat known as Inari suddenly walked up and thrust a finger in his direction. "Why do you keep laughing and smiling?! Don't you know that you're going to die soon?! Everyone that stands up to Gato dies! You should leave while you still can!"
Sighing at this, Naruto looked towards his 'Wind-sensei' and then glanced back at Inari. "Listen kid, I dunno what happened to make you this way, but I've got a few things to say to you. One: we're trained ninja and none of us is gonna die. This Gato guy? He's just a punk that'll meet his end sooner or later. When compared to great ninja like us, that idiot doesn't stand a chance. Two: whatever happened to you doesn't matter in the slightest. So the hell what if you lost somebody? It doesn't give you the right to act like a brat every second of every day accusing us of shit and trying to make us leave. Three: I've had it pretty damn hard too. I'm sure you've had a rough time since this Gato jerk showed up, but believe me when I say you've got it pretty damn good Inari!"
Grumbling, Naruto looked at the others and then closed his eyes for a moment before he set down his food and made his way to the front door. "Inari. For a long time…I was alone. I'm hated in my village. Hardly anybody actually respects me. Wind-sensei and a few others looked out for me when they could, but when they weren't around…" Shivering slightly, Naruto went quiet and shook his head. "Never mind. Just shut up and enjoy what you've got you little brat. I'm gonna go out for a while." With a shrug of his shoulders, the blonde-haired, knucklehead ninja left the house and disappeared into the forest.
Back at the house, Inari stood dumbstruck by what just transpired. Kakashi soon rose and walked over to him. Gently taking the kid's hand, the Copycat Ninja led him outside and sat with him at the pier nearby. "Inari? He's not really mad at you. You know that right?" Upon seeing the little kid nod in response, Kakashi gave him an eye smile and nodded his head. "Good. Naruto's had a rough life back where we're from. Despite what he said about some people looking out for him when they could…for the most part he's been alone. Naruto never knew his parents as they died when he was born. The exact details aren't widely known; even I don't know them fully. People blame him for the Yondaime Hokage's death and believe he's a demon when he's not. When he was younger, before he became a ninja, Naruto was beaten, harassed, insulted, and more virtually every day. On his birthday, it was usually much worse. Like he said, you should be happy with the time you got to spend with Kaiza and the time you still get to spend with your mother and grandfather. They love you very much and are doing their best to keep you healthy and safe, despite everything that's happened thus far."
At the look of shock on Inari's face, Kakashi gave another eye smile and nodded his head. "Yes, your mother told me the story recently about your adopted father and how he stood up to Gato. It's a shame what happened to him, but you should remember him as a hero rather than a fool who threw his life away for nothing. It might help somewhat in the end. Now, what say we go back inside, finish our dinner, and get some rest all right Inari?" At the little boy's nod and the small smile adorning his face, Kakashi rose and took his hand, leading the young boy inside.
Naruto
Despite not being angry, the young Genin had no intention of returning to the house just yet. In fact, at the moment, he was training himself harder than he ever had before. He wanted to get even stronger so whatever happened with Inari wouldn't ever happen to anyone he cared for. Seeing somebody like that really rubbed Naruto the wrong way and he wouldn't be able to handle it if Hinata or another of his dear friends began to suffer in such a way.
Grunting and sweating, the blonde-haired young man summoned even more Kage Bunshins into the clearing and lowered his head slightly for just a moment before pointing his finger at them all. "C'mon! I need to get stronger, so come at me! I'm going to practice the jutsu that Sean-sensei taught me and perfect my darn Taijutsu style before he lectures me anymore!" With that, Naruto continued with his harsh training regimen throughout the night.
Next morning – 7:00 AM
Naruto suddenly awoke when he felt a presence far too close for comfort. Flipping forward onto his feet, he turned around with a kunai clutched tightly in his hands. Upon seeing a woman that appeared to be just a few years older than he was, the blonde relaxed and put his weapon away. "You shouldn't scare me like that. I could have seriously hurt you Miss…?"
Chuckling softly to herself, the lovely young lass rose and bowed slightly to the young ninja. "Haku. My name is Haku. 'Tis a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mister…?"
"Naruto Uzumaki. It's nice to meetcha Haku! What are you doing all the way out here in the middle of the forest? You never know what kind of creeps might be lurking out here. You really ought to be more careful!" Chuckling softly to himself, the blonde-haired ninja walked over to the lass and held out his hand. When she reciprocated the gesture and shook his hand, Naruto grinned widely and nodded his head at her.
Haku giggled a moment before responding. "I'm picking herbs for my uncle. He's sick you see and I'm working on a cure to help him recover faster. You can help me if you'd like Uzumaki-san?" When Naruto began to laugh, Haku looked at him strangely for a moment and frowned. "What's so funny?"
Naruto laughed a moment longer before shaking his head. "You don't need to be so formal with me Haku-chan. Just call me Naruto. I don't really deserve that kind of respect from anybody. I'm not all that special just yet. I'm still learning from my sensei after all. I've got a heck of a long way to go yet before I can achieve my goals." After taking a moment to calm down, the kind-hearted young man nodded his head and began to help her look around. "I'll gladly help you look for herbs to help your uncle. It'd be a shame if you were to lose him. I can tell he means a lot to you Haku-chan."
As Haku nodded, she glanced at him on occasion as they continued to pick herbs for Zabuza. "Yes, my uncle is very precious to me. But enough about that, I actually have a question for you. Seeing as you are a ninja, would you mind telling me what it is that you are fighting for? What are these dreams you speak of Naruto-san?" Upon seeing him freeze for a moment, Haku went to apologize, but Naruto soon stopped her with his ever present grin.
"It's pretty simple actually. I want to become the Hokage of my village, Konohagakure. Despite how I've been treated and how lonely I've been, I still want to keep the people of the village safe. Not only that, but I want to earn their respect as well. I'm working towards becoming the most powerful ninja in the village to achieve these dreams. Sounds kinda stupid though when I think about it. All most of the people have ever done is beat me or treat me like crap and here I am saying I want to protect all of them. I must be an idiot or something, huh Haku-chan?" Naruto frowned and scratched the back of his head nervously, fearing that this cute young lass would make fun of him and his dreams.
Haku simply smiled and shook her head. "That's not stupid of you Naruto-san. In fact, you sound like a very noble young man. Tell me though; do you have people that you hold dear to your heart? People that you would give anything to keep safe and happy?"
Naruto smiled softly and nodded his head immediately. "Of course. Hinata-chan, Kiba and his dog Akamaru, Hana-chan (Kiba's sister), Tsume, Sean-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, Kakashi (as weird as he may be), Shino…heck, I have lots of people I'd do anything for. Jiji-sama, the Hokage of Konohagakure, is just another person I'd give anything for. I refuse to let anything bad happen to any of them, though I know that sometimes it might be out of my control. Still, I'll always do my best to keep them all happy." Grinning still, Naruto found himself suddenly frowning at the look on Haku's face. "Are you okay Haku-chan? What's wrong?"
Haku simply smiled and shook her head, wiping away a small trickle of a tear that made its way down her face. "Nothing's wrong Naruto-san. I'm just glad to have met you is all. You truly are a very noble young man. I truly believe that you will become a great ninja. Never give up on your dreams Naruto-san. I have to go now. I am looking forward to meeting you again." Moving closer to him, the kind young woman placed a gentle kiss upon the blonde's cheek before walking off with her basket of herbs.
As Naruto sat there, his face soon lit up in a dark shade of red. What Haku had done was totally unexpected for him. It was actually to the point where he didn't even notice Sasuke approach until he was flicked in the forehead. "Dammit Dobe, wake the hell up. I was sent to tell you breakfast was ready. Get back to the house so they stop worrying about you, you idiot. I'm going to work on that technique Kakashi-sensei showed me before I head back. See ya later Dobe!" Snickering at the angry expression on Naruto's face, Sasuke raised a hand, waved good-bye, and disappeared into the forest.
Next Day – 11:00 AM
Naruto found himself grumbling as he waited with Kiba at Tazuna's house while everybody else went with the bridge builder to work on finishing the bridge. As he glanced over his shoulder at Tsunami washing dishes in the kitchen sink, he blinked a moment when the front door burst open and two samurai stood in the doorway with their weapons at the ready. With a heavy sigh, Naruto glanced towards his best friend and his dog. "Well, looks like Sean-sensei was right and Gato sent a couple of weaklings. Ah well, let's deal with them and be on our way. Sound good Kiba?"
Kiba smirked and nodded his head. When the samurai went to speak, they both suddenly found themselves doubling over in pain before collapsing unconscious to the ground. The two friends tied them up and were about to leave when Inari shouted for Naruto. When the blonde turned around, he smiled and gave Inari a thumbs-up. "Don't worry Inari, we'll be fine. You and your mom should be safe now, so Kiba and I are gonna go kick some butt and help save the day. Gato's goin' down and so are all his men, I promise dattebayo!" Gently patting the kid on the head, Naruto and Kiba turned and dashed off.
Inari turned to his mother and grinned as Naruto usually did. "Heh, he really is strong isn't he Kaa-san? C'mon, we should go too!" When his mother tried to argue with him and question his motives for wanting to do such a thing, Inari huffed and puffed for a moment before folding his arms across his chest. "Kaa-san, we need to get the others and go help out at the bridge! It's important!" And with that, he rushed off with his mother following shortly after.
At the Bridge
Sean glanced over his shoulder at the strange ice mirrors. "Well that sure is an interesting jutsu, isn't it Kakashi-san? Still, I've faith in Sasuke and Shino; they should be able to handle it." Smirking, the Wind God turned to face Zabuza and grinned. "I'd say go help out, but something tells me Zabuza-teme won't let us go so easily. Isn't that right oh mighty 'Demon of the Hidden Mist'?" Sean said with a smirk.
Zabuza groaned and looked towards Kakashi. "What the hell is with your friend? I've never seen him before and he's already getting on my damn nerves." Looking back towards Sean, the Demon of the Mist let out a sigh and formed his hand signs for the Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hiding in Mist Technique) before a heavy, well, heavier rolled in. "Let's see you find me now Kakashi! Your precious Sharingan can't possibly pinpoint me in mist this thick. Yes, I realized the weakness behind your precious doujutsu Kakashi, and I doubt your friend can do anything to dispel my technique either, right punk?!"
With a sigh, Sean decided to let the so-called 'Demon' believe he had the upper hand and simply drew his katana, clutching it tightly in his hand. "Oh Kakashi-san, whatever shall we do?" Chuckling softly at his sarcasm, the Wind God twirled his katana around in his hand before blocking a strike from Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō (Decapitating Carving Knife) with a small smirk. When Zabuza's eyes went wide, Sean grinned wider. "I'm not so weak that I can't defend myself against you Zabuza Momochi. You'd do well not to underestimate the two of us when we're working as a team!"
Sasuke & Shino
Sasuke groaned while his Sharingan eyes worked overtime to try and keep up with Haku's speed. The more ice senbon that pierced his skin, the worse he began to feel. Shino wasn't faring much better, though his bugs had weakened Haku somewhat before they got into this terrible mess. Still, nothing they did seemed to be effective enough to give them even a small advantage.
Finally, after so much damage, Sasuke turned to his teammate and grumbled a moment before speaking while they continued to try and dodge as many attacks as possible. "Listen Shino, we need to get the hell out of here! When I give the signal, run as fast as you can to one of the openings and do whatever you can to break free. I'll do the same, but I'll move in the opposite direction. If we're lucky, at least one of us will make it outside where we might have more luck. Got it?" When Shino nodded his head, Sasuke nodded as well and the two continued to try and dodge for a while longer.
Soon enough, the two saw their opening and Sasuke signaled for Shino to make his move. Running in opposite directions, both neared an opening only for the two of them to be sent tumbling backwards into each other, both suffering more injuries than they had before. Frustrated, Sasuke stood up and shouted at his foe. "Dammit! What the hell is going on?! At least one of us should have been able to make it out of here!"
Shino sighed and soon stood up. As he sent his bugs out in an attempt to drain more chakra from the Kiri hunter-nin, Sasuke went through hand signs to prepare for his Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu) only for him to have to cancel it and dive to the side to avoid more ice senbon. Growling angrily, he prepared to try another tactic, only for Shino to suddenly scream out and collapse to the ground as his body was suddenly riddled with too many ice senbon for him to count at the moment. Practically snarling, Sasuke prepared to try another attack, only for Haku to suddenly vanish into another mirror as a shuriken crashed into the mirror he had been zipping out of. Glancing to the side, he smirked as he saw the Dobe and his friend. Finally, maybe they can help out. Shino's useless right now, and this jerk's moving far too fast to see at the moment. Attacking from inside and outside may just give us the edge we need to win this fight!