Chapter 7
I'm back! Welcome everybody to chapter number 7 of 'Artist of Konoha'. In this one, our protagonists are going to be in their two first C-Rank Missions. No, neither is going to be the Wave mission. That is for next chapter. This is going the one where I introduce Tayuya and Fu. So, you can expect a long chapter. And now, let's go to the story!
Legend:
"Talking."
'Thinking...'
Jutsu Name
Chapter 7: 2 C-Rank in a Month
"I swear to god, if we have to catch that cat one more time..."
"Hnn, maybe if you are a little more useful Hyuga, it would be faster."
"Watch your tongue Uchiha. Or you'll have more than just scratches on your face."
"Come on guys, let's not fight here."
Kakashi watched with amusement how Naruto tried to calm his two teammates while holding the demon cat Tora. The three of them had scratches on their faces.
"Now, now. Why don't we hand the cute kitty to his owner." Kakashi suggested as the gennins turned to a fat woman in a kimono. Naruto looked at the cat that shook it head desperately. Naruto raised an eyebrow but shrugged. Why would the cat not want to be in its owner arms?
His answer came when the woman started to choke the cat with her massive arms. She thanked the three genins and left squashing the poor cat that was trying to break free at any way possible.
"So that's why it escapes all the time..." Naruto said.
"Now I feel bad for it." Neji added.
"Hnn. Let's get another mission. Maybe this time it will be a real mission." Sasuke finished as they went to the desk where the Third Hokage was handing missions.
"Oh! Team 7. Good that you are back. Now, we have some more D-Rank missions: Miss. Tozawa needs her fence to be painted or Mr. Okada needs to clean his house. Maybe you could help-"
"Oh, Come on! Can't you give us a REAL mission Old Man!?" Naruto asked and Neji slapped the back of his head.
"Namikaze, behave." Neji scolded and bowed to the old Kage "Please forgive my teammate behaivor."
Sarutobi for his part chuckled "No need to worry Neji. Naruto and I have a special relationship. Now, you were saying something about a 'real mission'?"
Naruto grinned, Neji smirked and Sasuke kept his same expression but he raised his head with a new glint in his eyes.
"So, Kakashi; do you think your team is ready?" Sarutobi asked their sensei that scratched his chin.
"Hmm, why not. What's the mission about?" Sarutobi smiled and handed to Kakashi a package.
"Your mission is to take this package to the leader of Taki. It is high importance that he received it and gives us an immediate answer. A team of Taki will receive you at the outskirts of the village."
Kakashi nodded as he put the package on his pouch. "Very well." He turned to his team "Go and pack for a week of travel at least. It should take three days of travel, but hey, you never know."
*Namikaze Compound*
Naruto was packing like crazy everything he thinks he could need. Mostly clay, clothes and some weapons. He was grinning. Finally, a real mission! Like the ones that Deidara goes.
"B-Big Brother?" He stopped when he heard Mei's voice. He turned around to see his confused little sister on the door step. "W-What are you doing?"
"Well Mei, I am going on my first C-Rank mission! Isn't it great!?" He asked excitedly.
"Really!?" Rin asked rushing from his room "Aww man! That's so cool. Mom only makes us do lame ass jobs for lazy people."
Naruto grinned as he closed his backpack "Welp, I'll better go. I don't want to deal with Neji and Sasuke fighting already." With that he left his two siblings.
"I am going to beg for mom a C-Rank..." Rin mumbled and Mei giggled.
*Konoha Entrance*
"Hey guys! Good to see that you are not killing each other!" Naruto greeted his two teammates. Neji opened an eye and nodded while Sasuke didn't move from his brooding. "Did sensei arrive yet?"
"I did." Kakashi said next to the entrance while reading his book. He looked that they were ready and closed his book. "It seems you are ready. So, let's go."
They walked out of the gates and Naruto looked back, ready to leave the village for the first time.
*3 Days Later*
"Soooo, here is it?" Naruto asked seeing the immense forest that was in front of them.
Kakashi nodded. "That's right. We should wait for the team to escort us inside."
"Why? Wouldn't be easier for us just go in? Like any other village?" Sasuke asked and Kakashi nodded.
"Maybe. But if Taki is known for something, it is their security measures they have. Only Taki shinobi know the way in and out of their village. That's why they never been invaded. Not even in wars." Kakashi explained while taking out his book.
"That's... impressive. And would they let us in sensei?" Neji asked and Kakashi nodded.
"Probably. Konoha and Taki are allies. It is for their best interest to not harm any of Konoha shinobi. And besides, they arrive." He pointed to a team of Taki gennin.
There were three men and one girl. Naruto didn't care about the men but he kept staring at the girl with mint hair and orange eyes. He even stopped molding the clay he had in his hands.
"Hello. You must be the Konoha team." The jonin of the team said and Kakashi nodded "Good. My name is Jin. They are Kegon, Yoro and she is Fuu."
Kakashi nodded and closed his book "Well I am Kakashi and these three are my team. Neji, Sasuke and Naruto. Now, there is something we need to hand your leader."
Jin nodded "We were informed. But I am afraid that to enter the village you need to wear these bags over your head." Je said taking from his pouch 4 black bags.
"Is that needed?" Naruto asked and Jin glared at him.
"Yes. The security of our village comes first. No matter what."
"C'mon man. I'll be busy with my art. I won't even notice where we are going." Neji sighed at his friends' antics and was going to apologize when the girl got interested.
"Art? So, you are like an artist or something?" Fuu asked and Naruto grinned.
"Well, I and many people consider myself as an artist."
"You and who else?" Sasuke asked with a smirk and Naruto gave him a look.
"WOW! So what do you do?! Paintings? Sculptures!? C'mon blondie tell meeeeeeeee!" Naruto eye twitched at being called blondie. Before he could answer the girl continued "Hey, can you teach me something!?"
Naruto smirked "Well, if you ask so nicely, I don't see why not. Here, make something while we are heading to your village." Naruto said handing her the clay. She grinned as she started to make something out of it.
The bags were placed on their heads and they were guided towards the forest. "Sensei, had you ever been in Taki?" Neji asked.
"I'm afraid not. Like our guide said, they are really careful with who they let in. Most people that tried to infiltrate Taki, get lost and die in the forest." Kakashi explained and the Hyuga nodded.
They walked for 10 minutes when they suddenly stopped. "Halt! We arrived." Jin said as they removed the bags from their heads. Taki was a small village with a lot of moisture in the air and a lot of small ponds. The houses compared to Konoha seemed really poor.
"And I finished my masterpiece!" Fuu announced as she showed... something made out of clay, to Naruto.
It seemed that it wanted to be a butterfly, but the result was a deformed figure. Naruto smiled softly at her. "It is good but it needs one or two touches to be perfect." Fuu grinned at him as they walked into the village.
"So, how much time had you been a shinobi?" Fuu asked the blonde Namikaze that shrugged.
"A month or so. This is our first mission out of the village." Naruto said as he took another fistful of clay and started to make a bird.
"So, this is your first village you visit?" Fuu asked again and Naruto nodded. Fuu grinned and puffed her chest "Then I'll make sure to make your first mission the first one! C'mon!" She said as she grabbed his wrist and dragged him away of the group.
"Wait!-Stop! Nejiiiiiiiiiiii!" Naruto screamed as the two teams just starred.
"Should we help him?" Neji asked and Sasuke 'hmph-ed'.
"If he can't escape a girl's grip, then yes. But, how weak can he be?"
Kakashi shrugged "Well, let's go. The package won't hand himself."
*Somewhere Else*
"And this, is my house!" Fuu said as she stopped and let go off Naruto wrist, letting Naruto drop to the ground.
She in the surprisingly short span of 5 minutes, showed him the entirety of this village. Or at least her favorite places. They went to a food stand were she always eat, to the TakiKage (A/N: I am not sure how the leader of Taki is called. Yes, I searched the Wiki) Mansion where Shibuki worked and now they were at her house.
After the tour Naruto only had one thing in his mind:
'I need to better my cardio and strength...'
Probably because he was dragged by a girl way smaller than him.
He looked at the surroundings and noticed that they were pretty much in the outskirts of the village. The only trace of civilization was a small cabin that seemed to fall down at any given second.
Fuu picked him up and dragged him into the house. The inside of the house was just like the outside represented: poor, dirty and sad.
"So, you live here?" Naruto asked and Fuu nodded grinning.
"Yep! Mind the mess. I don't have guests often." She explained as she went into what he could guess was the kitchen. "I am going for something to eat! Make yourself home!"
Naruto started to look around the small cabin. He saw that the windows were broken and that the wood was kind of rotten. But something written on the wall is what called his attention.
There, covered by a poster but still kind of visible was written 'DIE'.
Taking the rest of the poster he saw written in big, black letters 'DIE DEMON BRAT'.
"Ehm, Fuu? What's this?" Naruto asked as Fuu came out of the kitchen smiling. Her smile quick faded seeing the writing on the wall.
"Oh. That." She said with a sad look crossing her face before grinning. "Just a jerk thinking that he could prank me. Nothing to worry about." She said with a really forced smile.
Her facade was completely broken when a tear escaped her eye.
Naruto grabbed her shoulders and looked her at the eye. "Fuu; what happened?"
Fuu looked away as she wiped the tear. "You promise you won't be freaked out?"
Naruto nodded "I do."
"Pinky promise?"
Naruto rolled his eyes "Sure. Now spit it out. What's wrong?"
Fuu took a deep breath. "Do you know what a Jinchuricki is?"
Naruto raised a brow and nodded "Yeah. I heard mom and dad talking about it once. What about it?"
"Well... you are talking to one." She said and closed her eyes, expecting him to scream, run or attack her like the others did. But instead...
"And?" He asked and she gave him a confused look.
"And what? That's all. I have a demon locked inside of me." She explained and Naruto laughed. She frowned.
"I don't see the funny part you jerk!"
"I-I'm sorry. But that's your problem? I thought it was something bigger like, I don't know, your parents committing treason against the village or something like that." Naruto explained between laughs.
Fuu looked at him with an incredulous look. "Y-You don't care about that?"
"Should I? Look, for showing me your secret, I'll show you mine." he said as he took off his gloves, showing to Fuu his extra mouths leaving the girl gaping "These are my bloodline, Bakuton. They let me create explosives out of everything these two eat. That's why I carry clay with me." He smiled at the girl that was getting emotional.
"S-So you like me for what I am?" She asked, looking for acceptance in his eyes.
Naruto grinned "Yeah. It would be a dick move to just shove you away after all this."
"So we are friends?" She asked again and Naruto nodded grinning.
"Yup. I thought it was clear before and- Woah!" He exclaimed when Fuu jumped at his arms throwing him to the ground. She hugged him and looked at him with a grin on her face.
"You know, you are my first friend." Fuu said and Naruto grinned.
"Then I'll do my best."
"Well, who would say you had it in you Naruto." Kakashi said, surprising the two young shinobis that looked at him. He wiped a fake tear from his eye. "I am so proud of you Naruto. Already making out with a girl."
Fuu and Naruto looked at each other before blushing and getting away from each other. "Wait! This isn't what it looked like!" Naruto quickly said and Kakashi shook his head.
"No need to be shy Naruto. This is an important step in a man's life."
"Shut up Ero-Sensei!"
"Now, now, we are done here so say goodbye to your 'friend' so we can go back home." Kakashi said as he left the cabin.
Both, Fuu and Naruto were blushing madly as Naruto turned to her and scratched the back of his head "Heh, heh, sorry about my sensei. He is kind of..."
"Pervy?" Fuu asked with a smile and Naruto nodded.
"Yeah. Kind of."
Fuu nodded with a smile. "Well, hope we can meet again Naruto. It was really fun."
Naruto nodded as he took some clay and handed it to Fuu "Keep this. Next time we meet you can show me how much you improved."
Fuu grinned "Ya betcha! When we see each other again, I'll be the best artist of Taki! Wait and see!"
Naruto chuckled "I can't wait."
*Konoha, Some Weeks Later*
"Where is he!?" Naruto screamed as he was waiting with his team on the bridge were, they usually meet.
"Can you keep it down? It is too early for your screams." Neji said with his eyes closed.
"But would it kill him to be early for once!?"
"Naruto. Just shut up or we will tell about your girlfriend of Taki." Sasuke said and smirked seeing the blush go to his teammate face.
Naruto grumbled a little before crossing his arms and sitting down. They waited another hour before their sensei appeared.
"You are late." Neji said and Kakashi shrugged.
"Well I was busy."
"Hnn. What's your excuse this time?" Sasuke asked and Kakashi took out his book.
"Nothing special. Only me getting another C-Rank mission." At the words Naruto grinned.
"Another!? And is it something awesome!?"
Kakashi scratched his chin "I don't know. It is something about protecting a princess of Rice or something like that." He smirked under his mask seeing the stunned faces of his gennins "Well, meet me in the office of the third to start our mission. See ya." And he shunshined away.
Team 7 stayed in silence not really knowing what to say. "Did he... say princess?" Naruto asked and Neji and Sasuke nodded.
"We are going to protect a princess." Naruto confirmed to another round of nods.
"YES! Finally, something worth of my talent! I am going to impress her with my incredible pieces of art!" Naruto bragged and Sasuke scoffed.
"I doubt she would get interested in some clay animals." He smirked "She would be crazy for a survivor of a noble clan."
They started to walk towards the Hokage Tower "You two don't know anything about relationships or chivalry." Neji said "I know diplomacy and how to be a gentleman."
"A Hyuga being a gentleman? What a joke." Sasuke said and Neji glared at him.
"Like an Uchiha not being a prick, right?"
"C'mon guys. We are almost there." Naruto tried to calm down his two teammates as they were walking upstairs the tower.
"Well, want to make a bet?" Sasuke asked as they were on the door and Neji raised a brow.
"What about?"
Sasuke smirked "The one that makes the princess fall for him, wins 100 Ryo."
"I thought you weren't interested in girls Sasuke." Naruto said with a smirk as Sasuke glared at him.
"I am more focused in my revenge, but a little distraction might help. So, you accept?"
"I'm in." Neji said smirking.
"Me too. I can't wait to have 200 extra Ryo." Naruto said as he finished making a rose made out of clay. He opened the door a little bit to hear a feminine voice scream:
"WHERE THE FUCK ARE, THEY!?"
Naruto quickly shut the door and looked at his teammates that seemed to be as shocked as him "Want to raise the bet to 300? I mean, a challenge is a challenge."
Sasuke scoffed as opened the door "Whatever. I am going to win. Watch how an Uchiha does things." He entered the room and had to dodge a scissor that was aimed to his head.
"YOU THREE FUCKHEADS ARE LATE!" She exclaimed and next to her, a large man with orange hair tried to calm her down.
"Tayuya-sama, please don't curse."
"Shut up Fatso!"
Hiruzen sighed "Team 7. good to see you. This, is Tayuya and her bodyguard is Jirobo. Your mission is to escort her to the borders of Rice country. Questions?" Naruto raised his hand.
"Yeah. Are you sure she is a princess? I mean, she doesn't sound to royal to-Wow! What was that!" Naruto exclaimed as he dodged yet another scissor threw but Tayuya.
"I am a princess with more fucking money that you could ever wish to have! So show some fucking respect shitty shinobi!" She demanded.
"She is more like a brat." Neji muttered and grabbed the scissor aimed to him.
Hiruzen sighed once again "Kakashi can you take them already?"
Kakashi nodded "If you insist. Go and pack for a week and meet us on the entrance." He ordered his team before turning to Tayuya "Now your majesty, should we go?"
"You already know the answer you shitty cyclops."
*Road to Rice*
"Oi blondie, where is your backpack? Did ya forgot it?" Tayuya asked Naruto that was his turn to protect her.
Naruto groaned. He really didn't like talking to her. "No, your majesty. I have my things sealed."
Tayuya raised an eyebrow "Sealing?"
Naruto nodded "Yep. My mom is an Uzumaki and a master sealer. She taught me a little bit some weeks ago." He stopped himself realizing something. "Right, you don't know what I am talking about."
"I do." She said "My name is Tayuya Uzumaki dipshit."
"Uzumaki?" Naruto asked "Are you sure?"
Tayuya glared at him "Of course I am fuckface! My mom was an Uzumaki. She taughted me until she was killed." She looked down with sadness.
"Oh. Sorry. And how come you became a princess?"
"Arranged marriage. I am not a princess just yet." She explained and Naruto nodded. She then got an idea. "Hey, need help with your seals?"
Naruto nodded "Yeah. I just started. But, what do you know about sealing?"
Tayuya grinned "A thing or two. Now look, the first thing you need to do is..."
*Days Later, Border of the Land of Rice*
"Well, our trip ends here. From now on, you two should be fine alone." Kakashi said as Jirobo nodded.
"Thank you Kakashi. Tayuya-sama, let's go." He said and she nodded.
"Hope that I was some help blondie." She said and Naruto grinned.
"Of course, you were. I improved a lot thanks to you. I owe ya." Tayuya nodded and blushed thinking of something a princess would do in this situation. Then it hit her. She leaned to him and kissed his cheek. He blushed as she and Jirobo went away.
Sasuke sighed "Guess you won."
Neji handed him the money "Congratulations. You tamed the beast."
Naruto grinned "C'mon. She wasn't that bad. She only had a potty mouth."
"You know, girls like her, really knows how to use the mouth." Kakashi joked as he read his book and smirked seeing the face of disgust of his students.
"Really, Kakashi?" Sasuke asked.
"You're disgusting." Neji stated.
"How the hell can you think of that!?" Naruto demanded and Kakashi giggled.
He really liked his team.
*Otogakure*
"Tayuya, Jirobo; how was the mission?" Orochimaru asked to them that were bowing in front of him.
"It was a success Lord Orochimaru. We got intel in Konoha." Jirobo said and the snake sannin smirked.
"That's good. Anything else?"
Tayuya nodded "We found also someone related to the Uzumaki clan that has some talent with sealing."
"Uzumaki you say?" Orochimaru said. He knew that the only true Uzumaki in Konoha is Kushina, then it must be one of her children. He isn't interested yet in the jinchurikis. That is simply too dangerous.
Then it must be the other. Yes, the one with the bloodline. Bakuton. The ability to create explosives. He smirked.
'He might be useful for Oto...'
"KuKuKu..."
And done! Like I promised, a long chapter. I hope that everything is clear but if not, here I explain some important points:
Fuu falling for Naruto: Naruto is the first one to treat her like an actual human being after knowing of her state as jinchuriki. It will be explained more in the future.
Tayuya falling for Naruto: She is interested in Naruto for being related to the Uzumaki clan. This will be explored more in the future.
Tayuya the princess: She isn't a princess in the story! Okay!? Put your weapons down. She was just pretending to get info of Konoha.
Orochimaru knowing about Naruto's bloodline: He has spies and knew about his bloodline the moment he was born.
And that's all! Remember to leave your Review that it helps my motivation, PM me for any doubts or suggestions, Follow and Favorite the story and me.
Till Next time.
Roy D. Harper.
Next Chapter: The Demon of the Mist
A/N: I am planning a new Naruto story about Jashin!Naruto. What do you think?