Chapter 6 – A New Mystery & a Meeting between Jinchuriki
After pushing themselves as fast as they could go, the group of three found themselves in a darker section of Konoha. This was where true scumbags resided, and at the moment a great many of them lay bloody and beaten on the ground. Finding one still conscious, the group of three quickly rushed over and knelt down beside her. "All right woman, tell us what the heck happened here. Did the Wind God do this to you?" Anko asked her.
Coughing and wheezing from what she assumed to be a collapsed lung, the girl laughed weakly and shook her head. "Damn guy saw us and attacked. We…we were m-minding our own d-d-damn bu-business and this guy dropped from the fucking sk-skies!" Forcing herself to sit up, the girl looked at the three and tried to make them out through her bleary vision. "F-Fuck it. I don't care who you are, just…just…do something…" And with that she passed out.
Sighing, Naruto shook his head and looked to Anko. "Might want to send a message to Jiji-sama. If Sean-sensei attacked these people, there's no telling what he might do. We might need Jiji's help to restrain him if he chooses to attack us too." Anko simply nodded and summoned a small snake to deliver a message to the Hokage for her before the three set off down the road again.
A short time later, they heard screaming coming from inside a rather packed bar before the streets were flooded with patrons fleeing the building. Entering the bar, their eyes widened when they felt an enormous amount of killing intent flooding the room. Naruto and Hinata quickly fell to their knees while Anko began to sweat. Slowly raising their heads, they watched as Sean threw a man into the far wall before disappearing and reappearing before him. "N-Not good…"
As Sean held the man against the wall, his hand crushing the man's skull slowly, he clutched his own face and shook his head violently. "Images…keep flashing in my mind. Doesn't happen often and they aren't usually so clear, but you…I see you quite clearly. Children…people I used to know…I don't remember their names, I can't see their faces clearly anymore, but you…" Lowering his hand from his face, Sean brought his knee up quickly and slammed it into his victim's chest, effectively slamming him through the wall and into the alleyway.
Stepping out after him, the Wind God watched as the wounded man before him tried to crawl away from him on his hands and knees. Muttering a few words under his breath and forming a few hand seals, a small dagger made of wind formed in his hand and he threw it, piercing the man's leg clean through and piercing him to the ground where he sat. "No, you don't get to run. You…You did something to people! Why can't I remember?! Whatever you did…it was bad. Really, really bad! I was so young then. I think they were precious to me. And you…you helped take them away! Tell me, where are they?! What happened to those people?!"
The man screamed shortly after emptying the contents of his stomach on the ground before him. "You…you fucking psycho! I knew they shouldn't have let you live 'Wind God'! You're like a fucking time bomb waiting to explode! Your family had to die. My group and I were paid real good money y'see? Ca-capture you…kill your family…you were supposed to be delivered to…to…oh fuck this hurts!" Reaching back, the man tried to grab hold of the wind dagger only to have his hand shredded down to the bone. Naturally, this caused him to scream out even more before he collapsed; his face landing in his own bile. "Fuck…fuck, fuck, fuck! You killed my men you sick fuck! A kid, barely seven years-old, killed all my men and crippled me! I was lucky you passed out, and now here you are finishing the job what? 24 years later? Just get it over with already you bastard!"
Sean slowly walked over and gripped his wind dagger in his hand, ripping it out of the man's leg before jamming it into his back. "I. Want. ANSWERS! What the hell are you talking about?! Why are these images flashing in my mind?! Who the hell am I really?! I can't remember! I know small things and that's it. I know I have some distant relatives out there, but I don't know who the hell they are. I know my reputation. I know my first name. I have friends, I have students, I'm a Jonin of Konohagakure, but I don't know who I am! Every month…every fucking month I get these flashes and I feel…I don't know what the hell I feel! But right now…I'm angry, I'm frustrated…but more than all that, I feel truly lost! I don't understand anything right now! I just keep seeing things. Nothing's making sense to me right now and you have answers! So talk goddamn it!" The Wind God reared his fist back, ready to slam it into the back of the guy's head.
Anko quickly grabbed Sean's hand and forced his arm back down to his side. When he looked up at her, the look in his eyes chilled her to the bone. Her fellow assistant sensei had tears streaming down his face, but it looked as if he couldn't truly see her right now. In fact, one could say he was simply looking right through her. It was obvious that he was lost at the moment, but that wasn't about to stop her, Naruto, or Hinata from trying to help him calm down from whatever was happening to him at the moment. "Seanie, calm down okay? Whatever's going on, maybe we should talk to Hokage-sama about it? If anyone might know something, I'm sure he will. And I can take this…this…well, 'man' I guess to see Ibiki. The two of us can extract information from him for you. You're not in your right mind right now Seanie-kun, so please, stop and sit here with us. Talk to us; tell us what's on your mind. The three of us will listen and help you in any way that we can!" The Snake Mistress pleaded with the guy she had been stalking for a good portion of the night.
Sean lowered his gaze and stared silently at the ground. The Wind God could feel hands on his arms and he could hear the voices of Anko, Naruto, and Hinata around him, but he couldn't truly focus on them right now. Looking over at the man that had recently fallen unconscious next to him in his own filth, Sean sighed and checked for a pulse. Sighing in relief, he found the man to still be alive. Turning slowly to where he heard the voices, Sean closed his eyes and let the images play out before his mind's eye.
"I…I see things on the same day every month. It's been this way for as long as I can remember. It happens at the same time on the same day every single month and I don't…I don't understand what it all means. I see myself…but I see people I don't recognize. I can't see their faces, but I can see things such as hair color, their clothing, even things like jewelry and accessories, things they might be carrying at the time. But I also see locations, places I don't recognize. When…when I start seeing these things, I always 'wake up' in a different place from where I was before I started seeing things. I think…I think I had sisters, two of them. Both younger than me. I don't know their names, and I don't know what they look like. I had friends too, people I spent time with. There was another Hokage then too. The Yondaime I think. I see him sometimes and somebody else too. I see so many things, but none of it makes sense. Then this guy flashed in my mind and I remembered…I remembered seeing him before while taking care of Naruto-kun one day!"
Naruto frowned as he took a closer look at the man his sensei and longtime friend had attacked. Suddenly it flashed into his mind and he scowled as he remembered. This man had instigated an attack on him back on his seventh birthday. He was a total scumbag and he didn't feel sorry for him in the slightest now that he remembered the crap he tried to pull that night. Quickly returning his gaze to his sensei, the blonde continued to listen carefully to his story.
Sean shook his head and felt more tears trickling down his face. "I see this man standing over me with so many people around us. My sisters and another woman lay dead behind me. So much blood…and I hear so much laughter. This man speaks words to me, but I don't hear them. Suddenly the anger consumes me and the people around us drop dead while I stare into his eyes. Yondaime-sama appears with ANBU and…two other people and stops me right as I attack this guy. Something happens, and suddenly everything goes dark again. Before I lose consciousness, I glance back and see my family. So much blood…"
Slowly opening his eyes, Sean sighed and began to quiver. "Those images keep flashing in my mind tonight. All I could think of was 'I have to get answers. Find him and I'll get my answers.'" Shaking his head, the Wind God lowered his head again and chuckled lowly to himself as the Sandaime and a small squadron of ANBU appeared in the alley with him. "It wasn't hard to find this guy again. His hangouts are well known and with a little torture, it was virtually certain I could make him talk. But I couldn't think…I couldn't think…"
The Sandaime walked over to Sean and knelt down beside him as he ordered the ANBU to take the downed man to get him patched up before taking him to T & I for Ibiki to question when he's ready. After they had gone, the Hokage placed a warm, gentle hand upon Sean's shoulder and smiled softly at him as Sean looked into his eyes. "Sean…it'll be okay, I promise. You four, come with me to my office and I'll try my best to explain things to you. You're not in any trouble Sean-kun, I promise. But…this is dangerous not only to yourself, but to those you care for. It's important that you hear me out." When he received nods from all four people around him, the third began guiding them slowly back to the Hokage Tower so they could talk.
Fifteen Minutes Later – Hokage's Office
After arriving back at his office, the Hokage took a seat behind his desk before ordering his guests to take a seat across from him. Shortly after, Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered his ANBU guardians to leave, all those except for Yugao Uzuki as she deserved to hear things as well. After all, they did concern her as well now that she would be spending more time with Sean. As soon as he was sure it was safe, Hiruzen put up privacy seals so they could talk without the fear of interruptions. Turning quickly to face the Hyuga girl, the Hokage smiled and inclined his head slightly to her. "Before we begin, I would like you to know that I sent someone to explain the situation to your father. Should he try and berate you upon your return home, feel free to let me know and I'll speak to him for you. I've heard how he treats you Hinata and I don't approve of it."
Upon seeing her smile, Hiruzen nodded again and quickly fumbled around in his desk for his pipe. When everything was set, he lit his pipe, took a few puffs, and began to speak. "Sean, why did you not inform me earlier about these flashbacks? The Yondaime was afraid this might occur and I was asked to help look after you should you experience anything like this. You see Sean…after certain events in the past, the Yondaime had certain Yamanakas assist him in putting a mental block on you to block out certain memories."
Sean snarled at the thought and stared darkly into Hiruzen's eyes. "Hokage-sama, why would he do that to me? What the hell happened that would warrant such a terrible thing?!" Upon feeling his hand being squeezed, Sean glanced to his side to see Anko smiling softly at him. "There must have been a reason Sean. Please calm down and listen before you make any judgments all right?" Sighing in resignation, the Wind God slowly nodded his head and turned back to face the Hokage.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Hiruzen shook his head and groaned. "I'm afraid I don't know the full story Sean-kun. Somebody powerful knew about you and the family that adopted you. Whoever this person is knows about who your parents were and obviously felt that turning you into a weapon for him or herself to use was a good idea. In fact, this person was so certain that you were worth the trouble that he managed to coerce some of our very own shinobi into capturing you and bringing you to him/her. Whatever your heritage Sean, you certainly attracted a lot of attention, even as a child. And before you ask, I personally don't know who your parents were. The Yondaime knew, and I'm sure your adopted family knew, but there's so much about you that was unknown even then. You see Sean, you were placed under the protection of Konoha two short years after you were born. We don't know if your parents are still alive or even if you have any siblings, nephews, nieces, etc. I've tried to look into it, but your file doesn't contain much data about your past. It's mostly filled with info about your life here in Konoha as one of our shinobi. One thing is known for a fact though: you weren't born in the Land of Fire."
Sean chuckled at this and nodded his head calmly. "That pretty much narrows down all the leads to just that jackass I attacked now doesn't it Hokage-sama?" Receiving a small nod in answer, Sean shook his head and closed his eyes again. "I don't get it. I've lost my fair share of battles, Kakashi and Guy are both beating me in our little game we play, I can't possibly hold a candle to you or your previous students…what the hell could there be about me that would warrant such a thing? I just don't understand any of this. These flashbacks…they cause such a massive headache the next day that it feels ten…no, make that a hundred times worse than a freaking hangover, and yet I find myself wanting to see more every time. I know next to nothing about who I truly am Hokage-sama."
Naruto shook his head and smiled kindly at his friend. "That's not exactly true Sean-sensei. Whether you realize it or not, you've shaped yourself into a truly wonderful person. You taught me and raised me well; you've guided me along and even helped give me a home. You care for your friends so fiercely that anybody would be lucky to have you consider them a friend. You're incredibly powerful, regardless of what you might think. Sure anybody that's decently skilled in fire jutsu could probably beat you if you can't counter them with your water jutsu, but that's beside the point. You're determined, you're confident, you believe in yourself and your abilities, but most importantly, you draw your strength from your desire to keep your friends and other loved ones safe. Plus, you're truly kind to people Sean-sensei. You might be incredibly strict and a tad on the psychotic side at times when it comes to your students, but you push us hard because you believe in us. You have a lot of love to give, and you have a lot of people that really care about you. That's who you are Sean-sensei! You might not know anything about your past or even your last name, or even if you belong to a clan or not, but it doesn't matter! We know who you are Sean-sensei, and it's time you learned it as well!"
Hokage-sama nodded his head and took another few puffs of his pipe. "Naruto is correct Sean-kun. I believe these four around you know you and understand your pain far better than you might realize. Each of them knows their own loneliness and can relate to you quite easily. Naruto never knew either of his parents and grew up in a life of suffering and misery. Anko-chan is the former student of Orochimaru of the Sannin. Because of his actions, she's suffered and the villagers have treated her quite similarly to what Naruto went through growing up. Hinata-chan is constantly ridiculed and belittled by her clan. They claim she is undeserving of being the heiress to the clan and will only continue to let them down. She is an outcast in her own clan, her own family! And Yugao…"
Hiruzen sighed and shook his head. "You get my point, don't you Sean? You have people that both love and understand you. You, Anko, and Yugao may not know each other well, but it might be a good idea for the three of you to spend more time together just talking. Open up to each other, confide in one another about things that happen to be troubling you, do whatever it takes to feel better and unburden your mind. I promise you that I will continue to look into your past for you Sean, but in the meantime I think it's a good idea that we keep this chat to ourselves. Understand?"
Sean nodded while the others looked about ready to ask why. However, Sean soon raised his hand to silence them as he stared Hiruzen deep in his eyes. "You don't want this getting back to Danzo, Homura, and Koharu, correct Hokage-sama?" At the Hokage's nod, Sean grinned and found himself chuckling lightly. "Besides them, we don't want this information getting out to the wrong people. It's hard to know who can be trusted in the village after all. As for Danzo and your ex-teammates, it's easy to assume that even if they aren't directly involved with what happened to me back then, after hearing about my attack on those scumbags tonight, despite the criminals they are, the three of them could very easily stretch the truth to get what they want. They've never trusted me, nor have they ever liked me. With the influence they have over the people of this village, there's no telling what they could do." Sighing heavily, Sean lowered his gaze to the floor again and shook his head. "Just my luck, huh Hokage-sama?"
The Sandaime Hokage frowned and nodded his head. "That's exactly why we need to keep this amongst ourselves. That is also why I sent my ANBU guardians away. It's truly hard to tell who can be trusted with information such as this. After all, Naruto's secret got out easily enough when it was supposed to be an S-rank secret. The news spread like wildfire that he holds the Kyuubi inside of him. However the truth was distorted along the way and people began to truly believe that you, Naruto-kun, are the demon incarnate or some such thing. But, worse than that, Danzo continues to try and get his claws in you. Please, don't ask, it would only worry you. I just feel you should know that if the man ever approaches you that you should inform me or one of the sensei you trust immediately. He's getting bolder and it's becoming harder to trust him to follow my orders these days." Frowning at that, the Hokage deactivated the seals from earlier and waved his hand. "You are dismissed. All five of you." Glancing to Yugao, Hiruzen gave her a look and nodded his head. There was an unspoken message between them and Yugao immediately nodded in response. She understood perfectly what it was the Hokage wanted her to do.
Sean nodded and quickly left the room without saying a thing. His companions each nodded to the Hokage and said their farewells to him before rushing out of the room to follow after him. Alone in the room with the Hokage, Yugao smiled softly at him and nodded once more. "I'll watch over him Hokage-sama. I can see you're worried." With that said Yugao shunshined out of the room to keep an eye on Sean from the shadows.
Outside the Hokage Tower – Seven minutes later
The Wind God frowned and shook his head with a small smile tugging at his lips. "You do realize that you three don't need to follow me right? I promise that I won't go killing anyone or destroying anymore buildings. Why don't you three go home and get some rest, huh? We're all meeting up at our individual training grounds again tomorrow and I believe Team 7 is going to be picking up a mission tomorrow." Shooting a look back at Hinata, the Wind God smirked and nodded his head. "I also believe your father is probably waiting for you by now. I can't imagine he'll be too happy if you stay out much longer."
Hinata sighed and shook her head. "I don't care Sean-sensei. Right now making sure you're okay is more important to us. Please don't send us away. Like Hokage-sama said, it's best if you let us in instead of trying to deal with everything on your own." Naruto nodded alongside her and frowned. "Even after all this time we've spent together, I still don't know all that much about you. I learn more about you every day. In fact, this time spent with you as my sensei these past months I've learned more about you than the years we've spent together. You don't open up to anybody, do you Sean-sensei?"
Sean sighed and walked with them for a while longer before he led them to one of the training grounds where he took a seat beside a small pond. The three of them quickly followed suit. For a good while they sat they waiting for him to speak, and when it seemed like he was never going to, Anko was about to speak up. "Sorry." Sean said quietly and the three of them turned to gaze at him curiously. "You're right. I should open up more. I really should. The problem is: what the heck am I supposed to say?"
Anko laughed a moment at that and shook her head. "You don't really have to say much. Just talk to us, open your heart to your friends Sean and bask in our company. Talk about your problems with us. Talk about what's on your mind. It doesn't matter. Just let the people that care about you in. Though I admit, I know the feeling. Don't tell anybody, but my life sucks too." Anko laughed a little more before she lowered her coat, revealing the curse seal to them. "Take a look. As the old man said, Orochimaru did this to me. The jerk abandoned me because apparently I'm some kind of failure. A lot of the villagers treat me like crap, some for different reasons than others, but you know what? Screw 'em. I don't care if they blame me for Orochimaru leaving or if they think I'm his damn spy or whatever the hell they want to think. The guy's a bastard."
Pulling her trench coat back up, she listened as Sean began to chuckle. Grinning widely at her accomplishment, she wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him in close. "See? Just let out your frustrations. Say whatever the hell you want to say and get this crap off your chest. We're your friends and we'll take care of you Seanie-boy!"
Sean blushed at the close contact with Anko and quickly squirmed out of her grip. Fighting down the furious blush on his face from being so close to her sizeable bosom, Sean nodded his head slowly and let a smile slowly form on his face. "Y-Yeah. I guess you're right. I know their story, and you at least spoke up a bit about your problems, so I appreciate that. Guess…I should vent a bit huh?" Rising from where he was sitting, Sean raised his hand and formed a wind sword in his hand again. With one quick motion, he swung his sword and sent a huge blast of wind that cut a deep gash into the land before him. The pond was literally split in two with the water slowly draining into the crack beneath the surface, and the land's wound continued on for as far as they could see. Angrily, he swung a few more times, creating longer gashes into the earth with each swing.
Finally Sean threw the sword into a tree nearby without looking and smirked slightly. "You can come out now Yugao-san. No need to hide, I'm not going to do anything." When she shunshined over to the group, Sean let out a soft sigh and shook his head. "I hope you and Ibiki can extract all the damn information you can from that bastard Anko-chan. Anything, any damn clues he might be able to provide I'll be grateful for. Being a fucking amnesiac pisses me off. Hell, why block my memories to begin with?! It's not like I knew anything before…right…?" Blinking a few times, Sean fell on his butt and held his head in his hands. "Hell, I'm not even sure if I can make that claim at all. Maybe I did know something, but there's no way to know for sure. It's just so infuriating that I can't remember anything! I don't have any direct family right now, at least not that I know of, but just knowing that my parents might be alive and actually out there somewhere…heh. I'm 26 freaking years old right now for Kami's sake! You'd think they might actually care enough about their SON to come and see me just ONCE! And what about those other relatives I know I have out there? Don't…any of them care?" Bringing his knees up to his chest, the Wind God buried his face into the space between his knees and just let his tears flow. "None of this makes any damn sense."
The four around him looked at each other then and decided that until Sean was ready to go home and rest that they would spend as much time with him as needed. Despite how tough he usually was and how confident he appeared to be most of the time, this was a side of him that nobody ever expected to see. For a long while, the four just talked with him and did their best to make him smile again.
Two Days Later – Hokage's Office – Team 8
As Team 8 stood in front of the Hokage, Naruto found himself thinking about his longtime friend, the Wind God of Konoha. Just yesterday he and the rest of Team 7 left on a C-rank mission and were expected to be gone for at least four days. What the mission was, he wasn't informed of, but he found himself wondering how Sean was currently doing. Naruto, Hinata, Yugao, and Anko had spent hours with Sean just talking about whatever came to mind. Sean had finally calmed down after a time and by the time everyone got home, it was near midnight. The blonde immediately fell upon his bed at that point and thought about the events of that day.
Meeting Anko, his date with Hinata, Sean-sensei's assault on that man, learning what he did about Sean from the Hokage, and then spending the rest of the night with Hinata and three of the assistant sensei had really worn him out. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep. The next day he spent doing a few D-rank missions with his team and training as they so often did when they were together. Poor Kiba had so many bruises by now and yet he still seemed so full of energy. It was amazing to see him now. Though Naruto got the distinct impression that his best friend was actually extremely tired despite how he was behaving.
Focusing himself back on the discussion at hand, Naruto quickly picked up on what was being said. "…and thus you're going to travel to Takigakure and assist their ninja in hunting down and dealing with some missing-nin from our village. They're a disgrace to Konohagakure shinobi and because of them relations with Takigakure are strained at the moment. They have been for a little over two months now. Here's the file. You leave in fifteen minutes so prepare, say good-bye to your families, whatever. Just get this done." Team 8 nodded and they immediately dispersed to go home and get their things. From the sounds of it, it was going to be a hectic mission.
Meanwhile, with Team 7 – the Land of Waves
"You have to be kidding me. How can these guys be in trouble again already?" Sean grumbled as they approached the Great Naruto Bridge. Shaking his head, the group began walking across the bridge, but not even halfway across they encountered a problem. "Tch, bandits. This isn't some fucking toll bridge. Do everybody a favor and get lost before you lose your damn lives." Sean stated as he folded his arms before his chest.
Kakashi sighed and brought a hand to his face. Same old Sean; always has to antagonize the enemy. Like these idiots will actually listen to him. He thought quietly to himself. Glancing at his Genin students, he motioned for them to step forward. "All right team; show them what you've got. Sean and I will be observing you, so make us proud."
The leader of the bandits stepped forward and pointed at the Genin of Team 7 before looking at the two adults of the group. "What the hell's wrong with you two? Ye're sendin' kids against us? Don't you know who the hell we are?!"
Kakashi simply rubbed a pinky finger in his ear and yawned. "Huh? I didn't catch that tough guy. Whatever you said, it doesn't really matter. My Genin are more than enough to deal with lowlife bandits like you. It shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes for them to finish you all off and then we can be on our way. In the meantime, I think I'm going to read for a while." And with that, the silver-haired Jonin reached into his pouch and retrieved his beloved Icha Icha book. Flipping it open to where he last left off, Kakashi waved to his Genin and walked over to lean against the railing of the bridge so he could read without interruptions.
At this, Sean sighed and shook his head. "I'd say something about that 'damn book' of yours, but the fact of the matter is I happen to be a fan of the series too. Probably not for the same reason you are though. Jiraiya-sama's actually a surprisingly talented author." Reaching into a small bag attached to his hip, the Wind God pulled out his own copy and flipped it to the first page of chapter 1. "I've been pretty busy so I haven't even gotten around to reading the first chapter. Don't go spoiling anything for me Kakashi." Smirking, he walked to the other side of the bridge and leaned over the railing so he could read as well.
At their sensei's antics, the three Genin could only sweatdrop for a moment before they turned and faced their foes. "It looks like there's about seven for each of us. Hinata-san, Shino-san, let's try to finish this up in the time limit presented by our dear sensei alright?" Haku asked with a smile. When her teammates nodded and responded with a "Yes!" they each faced their own opponents and began to fight.
Back with Team 8, thirty minutes from Konoha
"Naruto, I swear you attract trouble to us somehow. I don't care if you mean to or not, this is just plain ridiculous!" Sakura shouted at her teammate. She had been so much nicer to him as of late, but that didn't mean she didn't still yell at him from time to time. Especially when it came to situations such as these.
A short time ago, approximately four minutes at the most, Naruto had accidentally stumbled upon a small group of missing-nin from Kiri when he went to relieve himself behind some bushes. In the process, he overheard their plans for ransacking a nearby village before they continued on their way to Sunagakure. Sadly, upon hearing this, Naruto stepped on a twig and grimaced as it snapped. Soon, four missing-nin appeared around him, each one shooting him a deadly glare.
And now that brings us to Team 8's current predicament. The blonde knucklehead had blasted them away with a wind jutsu taught to him by Sean before rushing to his team and informing them of the situation. Now they were facing off against the four Kiri shinobi in what turned out to be a rather difficult battle despite how advanced they were in their abilities.
Currently, Naruto and Kiba were facing two brothers together, Kurenai and Sakura were battling the sole kunoichi of the group, and Anko was battling what seemed to be the leader of the group on her own. "Well, this is quite the pickle you've landed us in this time Naruto. However, I have to say that it's a good thing we encountered this group when we did. If it's truly as you say and they planned to ransack a village within the Land of Fire then it's our duty as Konoha shinobi to deal with them before they do." Kurenai stated calmly as she defended herself against her enemy's assault while Sakura tried to attack the woman from behind.
Meanwhile, Kiba and Naruto were recovering from a series of powerful blows delivered to them courtesy of the brothers before them. Grumbling to himself, Naruto wiped some blood from his mouth and shot a nasty glare at the men. "You jerks are gonna pay for that. Ready Kiba?!" Receiving a nod from Kiba, Naruto immediately focused his chakra and swung his arm forward in a wide arc. "Jūha Shō (Beast Tearing Palm)!"
The more muscular brother tried to dodge out of the way, but his body was shredded and he let out a terrible scream while his brother had barely managed to escape the attack. It didn't seem to matter though as Kiba was ready for that. Appearing at the man's side, Kiba punched him to the ground and quickly went through a series of hand seals before slamming his hand to the ground. "Doton: Doryūsō!" As quickly as he said it, a series of earth spears shot up underneath the duo and pierced them both in numerous locations. "Naruto, did we get 'em?!" Kiba shouted at his friend.
Naruto frowned and shook his head. "They're wounded, but they're not done yet. Be prepared Kiba." When Kiba nodded, he was soon slammed in the side by a huge ball of rock connected to a chain that appeared to be in the hands of the more muscular brother. Wincing at that, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief when Kiba simply turned to mud and dropped to the ground. "Good, just a Doro Bunshin (Mud Clone). Don't scare me like that Kiba!" Naruto shouted as he dodged a spear wielded by the thinner brother with ease.
Kiba chuckled as he came out from behind a tree. "Heh heh, sorry about that one Naruto. Can't be too careful right?" Receiving a nod from Naruto, the Inuzuka heir turned to his opponent and cracked his knuckles. "You want to test your strength against mine? Well that's fine with me. Shikyaku no Jutsu! Tsuga!" Rotating violently, Kiba slammed into the man's Doton weapon and tested his power against his opponent's. At first it appeared to be equal, at least until Akamaru joined in and hit the man from the side with a Tsuga of his own. As soon as the weapon was out of the way, Kiba continued with his attack and tore into the man's chest with his attack, thus finishing him off. When he finished, Kiba collapsed on his butt and breathed heavily. "I swear, these damn gravity seals really wear a guy down."
Meanwhile, with Naruto, he finally had enough of his enemy trying to turn him into a Naruto shish kebab and gripped the shaft of the spear tightly, snapping it with brute strength. "There, that takes care of that thing. Now, how about I show you a nice little technique and you can rest in hell with your brother all right?" Naruto smirked as his opponent looked over at his downed brother. Taking that opportunity, the blonde boy formed a Rasengan in his hand and slammed it violently into the younger brother's chest as hard as he could. Watching as he went spiraling into a tree and listening as he screamed out in tremendous pain, Naruto winced and began to laugh softly. "And that is that my friends. Hey Kiba, you all right?!"
Anko
"Sen'eijashu (Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)!" Anko shouted as she sent numerous snakes at her opponent from both sleeves of her trench coat. As this happened, her opponent's eyes went wide and he began to shiver. Quirking an eyebrow at this, the Snake Mistress was generally surprised when he didn't move and her snakes easily bit into the guy's neck. When the man collapsed, she frowned and shook her head, recalling her snakes back to her before she walked over and kicked him. "Okay, that was pathetic. A shinobi afraid of snakes to the point he froze and allowed himself to be killed far too easily. I'm…disappointed." Sighing, the Snake Mistress turned to see the Genjutsu Mistress and her student finishing off their last opponent. I wonder how Sean's doing right now. I haven't seen the poor guy since the other night.
Frowning, she shook the thoughts from her head and shrugged her shoulders. Looking to the missing-nin, the beautiful Snake Mistress and Kurenai removed their heads and sealed them in scrolls for later when they returned to Konoha. "All right team, let's head out. Hopefully we can make it to our destination before nightfall, but if not I'm sure they'll understand. Especially if we explain to them we were attacking by some idiots from Kiri." Anko chuckled a moment before they all nodded and set off once more.
With Team 7
"Well Tazuna-san, it looks like everything's been settled again. I feel I should make a suggestion though." Kakashi stated as he looked the elderly man in the eyes. "You might want to invest in hiring some more permanent protection for your village. We won't always be able to come around and save you I'm afraid."
Tazuna nodded with a sigh and shook his head. "I'm working on it. For some damn reason the villagers are coming to me for help with making important decisions and crap, and I guess it's time I put my foot down and get things settled before we're harassed again. Thank you again Team 7, I truly appreciate all your help. And when you get back to Konoha, mind giving Naruto-kun our best wishes? Tsunami and Inari really miss him."
Chuckling softly to themselves, the team nodded and decided to go to their rooms for the night. "We'll leave early in the morning. It would be good to get back to Konoha so we can resume your training." Sean said with a look of glee in his eyes. Shivering at the implications of such a thing, the Genin of Team 7 quickly scampered off to their rooms. As soon as they were gone, the two senseis shared a laugh at their expense before making way to their shared room for the night.
Takigakure – Team 8 – 10:00 PM
Upon finally arriving at their destination, the members of Team 8 were currently attempting to catch their breath as three people approached them to greet them. Rising to meet them formally, Anko and Kurenai bowed respectfully as their Genin did the same. Soon enough the group was led to where they would be spending the night: a pretty fancy looking inn of sorts. Shrugging their shoulders, Anko and Kurenai instructed the Genin to enter and find out which rooms were theirs.
As soon as the Genin were out of sight, the two senseis turned and looked into the eyes of the man in front. "Okay, now that the Genin are out of earshot, why not tell us what the general plan of action is and who's coming with us? We'd like to begin the hunt early if we can, as well as get to know what we can about whoever we'll be working with." Anko stated somewhat forcefully.
The man simply nodded calmly and spoke with an authoritative tone. "We will be sending one of our young Genin with you. I assure you that she is more than capable and will be a great help to you. It will also do both her…and us some good to get her out of the village for a time. I promise that you'll meet her in the morning. We'll send her to meet you at the crack of dawn. Good night ladies and do be well." The man smirked and soon turned and walked away with his companions.
Kurenai sighed and looked into Anko's eyes. The two of them shared a knowing nod and stepped inside where the Genin were waiting. "Well, it seems we've got good news and bad news Gakis. Good news: they're staying out of our hair for the most part. They're only sending one of their Genin along, but something tells me there's more to the story than what little they told us about her. Bad news: these people don't trust us one bit. There's no telling what they may pull, so while we're hunting down these bastards that are ruining Konoha's good name, we'll have to be careful. All right Gakis?" Anko explained. When they all agreed and proclaimed that they understood perfectly, Team 8 set off to get some rest for the night.
Early the next morning – Inn's Lobby
While Team 8 sat in the lobby eating what breakfast they could, they each discussed the mission and what they should be expecting. After a time of actually being quiet, mostly, Naruto decided to pipe in with his thoughts on the matter. "You know guys, this could just be a trap. This person they're sending with us? We don't know anything about her. It could be a possibility that they're sending her along to assassinate us either before or after we've dealt with the rogue ninja. Knowledge is power, especially in situations such as these. At least that's what Sean-sensei taught me. The lack of knowledge on this mission is frightful."
Going back to quietly eating his breakfast, Naruto closed his eyes and listened to his team converse some more about both the mission and whatever came to mind. He was just too tired to truly focus on their conversation at the moment. After all, who the hell has to wake up at 4:00 in the flipping morning?! Ugh, that's right. It's not the earliest I've had to wake up before. Sean-sensei used to wake me up at random times back then. An hour of sleep here, three hours there…he was preparing me for these kinds of situations. Still doesn't mean I have to like it.
As Naruto was lost to his thoughts, a young, thirteen year-old woman with a tanned complexion, green hair, and dark orange eyes stepped into the lobby and looked around for a moment before her gaze settled on the team she was to be assisting. Grumbling about having to work with a bunch of brats, despite being their age, the young woman made her way to the group and bowed politely before them. "You must be the team from Konoha. My name is Fū and I am the Genin that has been assigned to assist you. Since you've taken the opportunity to eat breakfast, I'm going to assume we can begin?"
Naruto looked the girl over a couple of times and frowned. There was something familiar about her, but he just couldn't put his finger on what that was. Noticing her glaring at him, the blonde quickly waved his hands defensively. "Hey, hey! Don't get the wrong idea Fū-san, I just…you seem familiar is all. I've never met you before, so I can't say why, but it's weird. Sorry, I don't mean to offend you in any way. Have you eaten breakfast?"
Fū sighed softly and nodded her head. "Yes, I've had my breakfast and I'm fully prepared for this mission. No, there won't be anyone else assisting us. And yes, you seem kind of familiar to me too, but like you I can't quite put my finger on it. Now, if you are all prepared, I can lead you to where the enemy was last spotted. I'd like to get this all over with if that's alright with you?" Without allowing them to say a word, the young lass turned and left the lobby.
Sakura frowned and looked towards both of her senseis before turning to Naruto. "What was all that about? She's just a kid. And that attitude of hers…" Looking closer at Naruto, she could see a thoughtful look in his eyes and frowned as she reached over and gently gripped his hand. "Naruto? What's wrong?"
Naruto frowned and shook his head. "I honestly don't know. But I don't think she's meant to assassinate us. She seems almost…sad. There's just something about her that feels…" Sighing heavily, the blonde shook his head and rose from his chair. "Forget it. Let's just follow her and get this mission over with. Maybe we'll figure out what her deal is later. I just can't shake this feeling…" Gently squeezing Sakura's hand for a moment, Naruto released her and left the table to follow after Fū.
Looking to the rest of Team 8, Sakura frowned a moment before they followed after their teammate. Something weird's going on. This whole mission just screams weird! Naruto, I hope whatever's troubling you won't bother you for long. I hope we'll all be okay…
Moments Later – A Small Cave outside the Village
"All right boys, looks like we got ourselves some of that Hero Water we heard so much about. Might not be much, but with this we shouldn't have any problems pulling off our plan. Right?!" The leader of the five missing-nin shouted to his comrades. When all but one cheered, the leader turned and shot a nasty glare his way. "And why the hell aren't you excited woman?! Doesn't anything get you pumped up?! Ever since you joined us all those years ago, you haven't shown any damn emotion for anything. You're starting to piss me off."
The woman simply stared blankly at him and shrugged her shoulders. "Two bottles of Hero Water, small ones at that, is nothing to be excited about. Besides, from what I've heard about the side effects of using such a thing, I'm just not interested. I've helped you thus far because you've been mildly entertaining to me, but this particular plan is beyond stupid, even for you." When the man snarled and threw a punch her way, the woman lifted a finger and shot a small bullet of water into his fist, causing him to reel back and scream out as the pain shot up his arm. "Don't try that again. There's a reason I've followed you, and it's not just because I've found you somewhat entertaining. I doubt you even realize that you've been found out by Taki's own shinobi force do you? Of course not. I'm done with you four. Good-bye."
The leader growled angrily and gripped her shoulder tight with his good hand when she tried to walk away. "Where the hell do you think you're going?! You're going to help us get out of here damn it! I haven't given you permission to leave yet!" When his hand started to boil, he screamed out again and quickly removed it before the skin could melt right off. "Fuck! You've never acted like this before! What the hell is going on with you today huh?!"
The woman sighed and shook her head as she resumed walking away from the small group of four. "I don't answer to you and you certainly don't control me. If you know what's good for you, the four of you will flee before the six outside this cave decide to kill you. Believe me, I'd help them. Fools like you deserve what's coming."
With that, the woman ventured outside of the cave and looked at the four Genin and two Jonin women before her. "Don't give me that look. If you want those four idiots, go ahead and take them. But you…" Looking down at the boy with the blonde hair, the woman knelt down and smiled softly at him. "Tell me, how's my cousin doing little one?"
Naruto blinked a few times and tried to figure out just who this woman was talking about. She had long, flowing blue hair and light green eyes. She was also incredibly tall, standing at about five feet, eleven inches, towering over him and the others in his group. Looking into her eyes, Naruto felt a sense of familiarity in her. "Who are you talking about Lady? Who are you?"
The woman simply smiled and ruffled his hair. "Why Sean of course. My little cousin. He'd be about 26 years-old now right? About two years younger than me. I can only imagine the kind of man he's grown up to be by now. Ah, wait…you asked who I am right little guy? My name is Jima, but a lot know me by my nickname: Mizuno Megumi (Water's Grace) or something like that. Not sure who the hell came up with a name like that, but it had to have been somebody that's seen me in action before. I've heard the nickname given to little cuz. Wind God right? I have to admit, with all he should be able to do I'm kind of amazed that's what people call him nowadays. Ah well, I'm getting off topic. Sean's well right? I have to admit that I'd love to see him again, but I've been awfully busy. I doubt he even knows who I am." Sighing heavily, the woman closed her eyes and tried to imagine what her cousin looked like these days. Sadly, without having seen him in so long, she just couldn't get a good image in her mind.
The team from Konoha blinked a few times and Sean immediately looked to Anko. The two shared a nod and the blonde quickly turned and placed a hand on Jima's shoulder. "Sean-sensei doesn't know anyone that he's related to. He's been so certain that he has living relatives out there; you're now proof of that. But…he's troubled Jima-san. I'm afraid I can't say much, but if you'd return to Konoha with us, I'm sure he'd be glad to see you."
The woman shook her head and frowned. "I'm afraid I can't." Anko stepped forward at this point and grabbed the woman by the collar of her shirt. "Why the hell not?! Your cousin's not doing well! His mind's a complete fucking mess and meeting you might actually help with that! So what the hell is wrong with you?! Why can't you come and at least say 'Hi Sean, it's good to see you.' Or something simple like that, huh?!"
Jima chuckled and softly shook her head from left to right before releasing herself from the snake lady's grip. "I can't because I'm looking for his parents. My aunt and uncle. I've been searching for them for over ten years now and haven't found even one clue as to where they might be. If they were dead, I'm sure I would've heard about it. Still, you can let little cousin know I said hi if you want, I don't care. Just so long as he's alive and well, that's good with me."
When the woman simply offered a smile and tried to walk off, both Anko and Naruto grabbed her by her wrists and glared into her face. Sighing heavily, she shot a glare at them both. "Let me go." "No! Didn't you hear us?! Sean/Sean-sensei isn't well damn it!" Again, Jima sighed and shook her head. "I can't…" "Yes you can!" Naruto yelled at her. Before he could say more however, the group of four Konoha missing-nin stepped out of the cave and pointed at Jima. Angry at this turn of events, the woman known as Water's Grace turned and glared at them angrily.
Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Damn it! Let's just deal with these idiots and then I'm going to kick your ass and drag you back to Konoha so you can see your cousin! Sean-sensei's lonely! For crying out loud, you can put off your search for a little while to spend at least some time with him!" The blonde ninja shouted before he turned and glared hatefully at the jerks that decided to not only slander Konoha's name, but also chose to interrupt when he was trying to convince Jima to return to Konoha for a time.
Without even letting them speak, Naruto formed two Rasengans in the palms of both hands and snarled at them before focusing chakra to the bottom of his feet. Disappearing from view a second later, Naruto reappeared and slammed both Rasengans into the chest and stomach of the leader, sending him back into the cave where all that could be heard was his screams of agony. Glaring at the others, Naruto shouted out to Jima. "Jima, after you and I deal with these idiots, you and I are going to settle this!"
While Naruto and Jima battled the Konoha missing-nin, the others stood back and just watched. Kurenai and Anko were amused while the three Genin just stared in amazement at the scene unfolding before them. What should have been a tough fight, especially considering the enemy had stolen two bottles of Hero Water, was quickly turned into nothing more than a joke as two very pissed off individuals tore into them, letting their frustrations out on the enemy. All the while, the two continued to bicker back and forth.
"Umm…Kurenai-sensei? What the hell is going on? Fū-san warned us about the Hero Water, but it looks like it doesn't even matter. The enemy isn't even using it. In fact, it looks like we won't even get to fight. So…what do we do?" Sakura asked cautiously as she watched Naruto and Jima intently. Here they had just met the first of Sean's supposed relatives and it suddenly turned into some insane competition between her blonde-haired teammate and this strange woman that showed a strange mastery over water. In fact, she reminded her of Sean, only with water instead of wind.
Meanwhile, Fū was simply trying to figure out just what was going on. These people were so strange to her and the power and energy that the little blonde boy possessed was incredible to her. She had never seen him before, and yet he intrigued her greatly. Ever since seeing him back at the inn, the green-haired lass had been trying to figure out why he seemed so familiar. Wait…he can't possibly contain one of those can he? He sure doesn't act like one. He has friends; his team genuinely seems to like him... Sighing to herself, Fū shook her head of the thoughts and silently laughed the thought off. It can't be. I must just be imagining things. Blondie's just another oddball like some of those other idiots.
Seven Minutes Later
The enemy had eventually managed to drink their bottles of Hero Water, but with how angry the duo was, even that hadn't helped them much. Naruto was a little banged up, but both he and Jima defeated their enemies and now were facing each other, glaring each other down. "Give up already damn it! I'm not going back to Konoha with you! Sean can handle himself. I have more important things to take care of! Can't you see that you little brat?!"
"No damn it! Sean-sensei's my oldest friend! He's already helped me so much and I refuse to let you go when Sean-sensei needs to see you! Please, just stop being so stubborn and come back with us. I'm not saying you have to give up your search, but just spend some time with your cousin! If I have to beat you up and drag you back there with me, I'll do it!" Naruto retorted, already forming the sign for the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.
"Fine kid, you're asking for it. Mizu Bunshin no...!" She was interrupted when the group suddenly saw themselves surrounded by Takigakure shinobi. Sighing, she looked to Naruto and nodded. "Okay, fine, we'll put this off for now so we can deal with this. Don't die Gaki." Naruto nodded and shook his head. "Same goes for you ya grumpy old lady." That comment caused Jima's left eyebrow to twitch dangerously.
One of the Taki shinobi stepped forward and glared hatefully at the group. "Was it really, really too much to ask for the demon to die for once? Why do you think we sent you on this mission?!" Naruto quirked an eyebrow, as did his teammates. Soon, the blonde stepped forward right as Fū was about to retort. "What the hell are you talking about? Why would you want to see me die? For that matter, how would you people even know about me?"
The group of 22 Taki shinobi looked at him curiously and shook their heads before pointing directly at Fū. "What the hell are you talking about kid? You people were just supposed to be collateral damage. The demon bitch over there is who I was talking about. We've been trying to figure out how to get rid of her for years now! This was the perfect chance. Why do you think we let those idiots run off with some of our Hero Water?! We made a deal with them. We'd give them the power they needed to do whatever the hell it was they had planned and they'd kill the demon bitch for us. Guess Konoha shinobi really can't get anything right."
Fū and Naruto quickly spared a glance at one another and their thoughts practically mirrored each other. We are the same, aren't we?! Naruto offered her a kind smile before looking back at their enemies. Fū meanwhile continued to stare at the blonde-haired young man and shook her head. The way he acted…I wonder which one he has in him. Why isn't he the same as me though? Aren't Jinchuriki treated badly everywhere?
Naruto soon stepped forward and pointed his finger at each of the Taki shinobi. "I don't care who you all are. Fū-san is one of you; she's a member of your village and one of your kunoichi! Treating her like this just goes to show there are truly monsters everywhere, no matter how hard they try to hide. And don't you dare try to use my words against me and point at her! You're the damn monsters here and Fū-san and I are gonna take you all out dammit! As the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, it's time to show you why you don't piss people like us off!" Putting his fingers together in a cross shape, the Konoha Jinchuriki grinned and shouted out: "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" and prepared to do battle with the people that chose to piss him off.