10. Showing Team 8 The Ropes
Author's Notes: I realized I never gave Haku a rank. For right now he should be considered a high level Chunnin since he hasn't been tested for Jounin status yet.
The week following Naruto's declaration of his claiming clan heir status had gone by rather quickly for him and his partner. After Naruto had run Haku to the ground in a fight that was no holds barred on Haku's part figuring out just what the boy could do, he decided that if they were going to be teammates than he had to get the ice users speed closer to what his was.
Naruto's plan for that had two main parts to it. The first was to have him use gravity weights to increase his general speed over time. The second part was for him to become able to use his mirrors for a lot longer and modify it to cover longer distances than just the dome that the original jutsu made. Only problem was that the jutsu took up a ton of Haku's chakra reserves.
To solve that problem, Naruto had Haku use his jutsu as often as possible and also decided to teach Haku the shadow clone jutsu. While Haku could only make one clone and still be able to do anything, it would still help him increase his reserves. It also allowed Naruto to teach Haku more than one thing at a time or vice versa when it came to Haku teaching him how to use water natured chakra.
By the end of the week, both boys now had a c-rank jutsu for their secondary affinities and Haku was able to go both longer and farther in his mirrors. Now the two were testing just how fast and long Haku could travel through the mirrors by doing laps around the top of the mountain.
As they were coming up on their training site, Naruto spotted an Anbu standing next to the three logs. As Haku appeared in a mirror and jumped out he said "Anbu in the training ground. Let's see what he needs."
Haku nodded and the two shifted their course to land in front of the Anbu.
Once they landed, the Anbu spoke short and to the point. "Uzumaki-san, the Hokage wishes to speak to you and your partner."
As soon as Naruto nodded, the Anbu disappeared in a shunshine. Naruto glanced over at Haku who simply sighed before the blond disappeared with Haku vanishing as well an instant later.
Scene Change: Hokage's Office
Sarutobi looked up from the book he had been reading while his shadow clone worked on paperwork as he sensed the two boys appearing in his office. Haku shook his head as he usually did but didn't say anything since Naruto had told him that he was going to have to get used to those speeds if they were going to be partners. He was getting better at it but it still disoriented him a little.
"You wanted to see us Old Man?" Naruto asked ignoring the double at the desk with ease that came from working with clones for so long.
The original Hokage nodded and said "I did." before closing his book after putting a bookmark in and stood up from his couch to walk over to the desk where the clone handed him a scroll.
Walking back to Naruto and handing him the scroll, he said "I just assigned Team 8 their first C-rank. It's just a standard bandit raid for a village two days out but due to what happened on Team 7's mission, I've decided that whenever possible I should have someone of at least Chunnin rank to accompany rookie Gennin teams when they go on C-rank missions. I believe that the speed you two possess should be enough to prevent anything untold from happening during their raid. Team 8 will be expecting you at the gate in thirty minutes."
Naruto nodded as he opened the scroll and read through the contents briefly before rolling it back up and said "Understood, we'll be there."
Scene Change: Village Main Gate
Team 8 was leaning against the gate as they waited for the two man team that would be accompanying them.
Kiba hmphed and said "I still don't think that we don't need these guys. We don't need babysitters."
Kurenai sighed and said "I told you Kiba, after what happened to Team 7, the Hokage doesn't want to take any more chances with our less experienced Gennin."
Kiba frowned and said "So they ran into a little bit of trouble, so what? Doesn't mean that we will."
Hinata and Kurenai both frowned before Shino said "Even if that is true, it is better to be prepared in case things do go wrong. Which considering our mission, is more likely than other possible C-ranks we could have been assigned."
"I'd listen to your teammate if I were you Inuzuka. You never know when things could spiral out of control."
Team 8 glanced over to where the voice came from and saw Naruto with someone they had never seen before walking towards them. Hinata instantly saddened thinking that Naruto had found someone else besides her.
As Naruto and Haku joined them, Naruto nodded to Kurenai and said "Kurenai, it's good to be working with you again."
"Likewise Uzumaki." Kurenai said with a small smile.
She then glanced over at Haku and Naruto followed her gaze before saying "Oh, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce Haku Momochi, my partner. Haku, this is Kurenai Yuhi, the Hidden Leaf's resident Genjutsu Mistress and her team, Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka."
Shino and Hinata gave nods when introduced which Haku returned. Kiba of course decided to try and flirt with Haku in his unrefined way.
Walking over to Haku, he said "Hey there, want to get something to eat after the mission?"
Naruto shook his head and said "Inuzuka, you do realize that Haku is a boy right?"
Kiba's eyes widened as Haku chuckled. Kiba opened his mouth to say something but only sputtering came out. Hinata let out a small sigh of relief which Shino caught but didn't comment on.
Kurenai meanwhile was frowning and said "Momochi…You wouldn't be related to Zabuza Momochi would you?"
Haku shook his head and said "Not by blood. But I was his apprentice before he requested Naruto-san and Kakashi-san to take me back to the Leaf when they finished their mission in Wave. He requested that I take his last name when I joined the Leaf."
Kurenai nodded and said "I see. Well, now that introductions are over with, I believe we should be going."
Naruto and Haku nodded and Naruto said "Agreed." Turning to the Gennin, he said "Don't worry Inuzuka, you won't even notice we're there once the fighting starts unless you guys get in trouble."
Kiba glared at the perceived insult but the other two simply nodded before Kurenai took off into the trees with the others right after her.
Scene Change: Next Day En Route To Client Village
Kurenai was once again in the lead position as her team followed with Naruto and Haku on either side and a little behind the Gennin as they traveled in a standard v-formation with Kiba and Akamaru at the point and Shino and Hinata behind him.
As he landed on a branch and shot off, Naruto sent out a light chakra pulse like he usually did when traveling at slower speeds and noticed Hinata's Byakugan active again. Naruto shook his head and thought 'She's been activating that thing near constantly now. She's lucky I've been limiting how strong my pulses are or I would have blinded her the first time she did.'
Naruto waited until both he and Hinata were once again in the air and said "Something the matter Hinata?"
Hinata flinched before looking over her shoulder at the blond and said "N-no, what makes you think something's the matter?"
"Because you keep on using your Byakugan. So what's wrong?" Naruto asked.
"N-nothing, I just don't want to be caught by surprise in case we run into an ambush." Hinata said with a small blush growing on her face.
Kurenai meanwhile had a small smile while Kiba was frowning.
Naruto rose an eyebrow and said "If you say so. Although I'm pretty sure that we don't have to worry about that just yet. Tell you what, turn off your Byakugan for a minute and I'll do a full scan on the area we're in."
(No, he's not completely oblivious like canon, he's just giving her a way out.)
Hinata slowly nodded and turned off her Byakugan as she looked back forward as Naruto gathered his chakra for a moment before sending it out in a visible pulse that would travel further than a normal chakra pulse.
After a minute of letting the pulse turn into a steady field and doing a thorough scan of the area, Naruto let the chakra dissipate into the air and said "All clear, nothing in a hundred yard circle except for some forest animals."
Hinata nodded without looking back and thought 'Now what do I do?'
Five minutes later, Hinata had finally gathered enough courage to say "U-Um, Naruto?"
"Hm? What is it Hinata?" Naruto asked as he focused on the girl again.
"W-well, I wanted to say thank you for the advice you gave me back at graduation. It really helped."
Naruto smiled and said "Don't mention it Hinata. And my offer from then still stands as well. You ever need any help with anything, just come to me and I'll help any way I can."
Hinata nodded as well as a small blush made its way across her face. Luckily for Hinata Naruto was behind her and didn't see it.
Scene Change: Forest Just Outside Of Client Village
The meeting with the village's mayor had gone fairly smoothly. He had told the shinobi that the bandit raids had always come from the east. Unfortunately, the bandits would sometimes kidnap some of the women so there was the possibility of there being a hostage situation which made Naruto a bit nervous.
In the past, whenever Naruto did a bandit raid, it was over nearly before it began since Naruto would use his bloodline to take all of the bandits out at once not giving them a chance to even recognize they were under attack which meant they couldn't try and play the hostage game with the blond.
But this wasn't Naruto's mission to complete, it was the Gennin of Team 8's. He, Haku, and even Kurenai were simply there to supervise and step in if things got too far out of control. And unfortunately those three were doing this sort of thing the first time.
Naruto glanced at the three who were studying tracks from the most recent bandit raid and figuring out where they needed to go. From what he could tell, they were doing a good job figuring out how many bandits there were and how many people were taken. He just hoped they would do just as well when under pressure.
Haku stepped over to his side and said "They seem to know what they are doing."
Naruto smirked and said "They're a tracking team, I would sure hope they could find traces of a bunch of bandits passing through."
Haku nodded and said "I would hope so too." Haku then noticed that Naruto's gaze was more on Hinata then the other two. "Is there something going on between you and Hinata-san?"
Naruto blinked before turning to Haku and said "What gives you that idea?"
Haku rose an eyebrow and said "You seem to get along with her better than the other two Gennin."
Naruto snorted and said "That's not very hard. She was the only one to actually treat me like a human being when I was under cover to draw out that damn traitor Mizuki. Don't get me wrong, Aburame over there never picked on me or anything but he was still indifferent."
"I see." Haku said as he glanced back towards the Gennin who began walking with Kurenai falling in behind them. As the two boys fell in as well, he said "So there is nothing between you whatsoever?
Naruto took a quick glance at his partner before looking forward and said "Not that I'm aware of. I mean I know she has a crush on me but truth be told, I don't know if I'd ever like her that way."
"Well I guess only time will tell." Haku said and Naruto nodded before Kiba said "I've got a scent that's going the same way. We should be able to follow it straight to the camp."
Kurenai nodded and said "Good, lead the way. Let's try not to walk right on top of them before we have a proper plan though."
The Gennin nodded before Kiba took point again and began running at a moderate speed with the others following.
Scene Change: One Hundred Yards From Bandit Camp
The Leaf shinobi were about one hundred yards away from the bandit camp hiding in the trees to avoid any patrols as Hinata did reconnaissance with her Byakugan.
"I see the camp. There's fifteen bandits. They've got their tents in a circle with a fire in the middle. There's a few in the tents sleeping but most are around the fire eating. There's a cage holding ten women in the biggest tent. One of the bandits is guarding them but he is currently sleeping."
Kurenai nodded and said "Any bandits patrolling?"
Hinata shook her head and Naruto raised an eyebrow and said "That's weird. Either they're sure that no one can find this camp of theirs or they're just plain stupid."
"Most likely a combination of the two." Kurenai said before turning to her students and said "Kiba and Shino, I want you two to focus on the bandits while Hinata releases the prisoners. Shino, I'm going to need you to send your insects out first to drain them as much as possible. Have them do it as discretely as they can. The longer they don't know what's happening, the better. Kiba, five minutes after they start, I want you and Akamaru to tear through them with your fang over fang attack. Make sure you get as many as possible in your first sweep. Hinata, I want you to slip into that tent and take care of the guard and slip the prisoners out the back and bring them to me before Kiba attacks. Once the prisoners are safe, I want you to go back and give Kiba and Shino any back up support they may need. If things get rough, the rest of us well give you a hand with long range support. Does everyone understand?"
The three Gennin nodded and the group began to prepare.
Time Skip Ten Minutes Later
Naruto looked on from his spot in the trees as he saw Shino's bugs moving along the ground like a black living carpet as they headed to the ring of tents. Once the insects reached the tents, they began spreading out with some slipping into the tents themselves to feed off of the sleeping bandits. The rest encircled the camp before heading inwards in small groups that gave everyone a hard time spotting them if they didn't know what to look for. Meanwhile, the bandits that were around the campfire were having a jolly good time as they ate their meals unaware of the approaching threat.
Naruto frowned. The plan was going smoothly so far but something was nagging the blond at the back of his mind. Something wasn't right, and not knowing what it was was driving the blond crazy. Reaching to the radio that was clipped to his ear, he set it from standby receive to send and receive.
Naruto took another glance into the camp before tapping his mike and said "Haku, do you copy?"
There was a short pause before Naruto heard "I copy Naruto-san. Is something wrong?"
"I don't know. I just have this feeling that something is wrong. You see anything unusual on your end?"
"Negative Naruto-san. There is nothing on my end." Haku said.
"This is Kurenai. I don't see anything unusual on my end either. Keep an eye open though. I don't want to be taken by surprise."
"Understood." Haku said.
"Roger that." Naruto said.
The three vets then watched as twin spinning drills burst out of the woods from two different directions and tore through a tent each on their way into the circle and began tearing apart the bandits who could only stand before suddenly falling over from having their chakra eaten.
The fight, if you could call it that, was over in minutes. Now none of the tents were left standing and the bandits were all sprawled out on the ground either all ready dead or bleeding out from the cuts Kiba and Akamaru had given them. Said Gennin was currently being given the "First Kill Talk" by Kurenai while Naruto and Haku finished off the survivors. Hinata and Shino meanwhile were doing their best to not look at the two vets as they sealed everything the bandits had stolen into sealing scrolls. Fortunately, Naruto had already created clones to lead the women back to their village so they were spared from having to see one of the dark sides of the shinobi world.
Five minutes later, the group was getting ready to follow Naruto's clones when the hairs on said blonde's neck rose.
Naruto frowned at the tingling sensation he was getting and said "Hinata, whatever you do, don't activate your Byakugan unless I say otherwise."
Hinata looked confused but nodded and said "A-alright Naruto." as Kurenai and Haku started looking around trying to figure out what had Naruto on edge.
Naruto began pulsing his chakra out before turning to the trees behind him and said "Alright, come on out. I already know you're there."
Someone chuckled before the Leaf Nin heard a voice say "Heh, good job. Most people don't sense me until I'm right on top of them, if ever."
They then saw a man who was about six foot two with spiky red hair that reached just past his shoulders and blue eyes that were just a shade darker than Naruto's walk out of the trees. He wore a shinobi's typical clothing and had a Katana strapped to his back with the hilt over his left shoulder. Tied to his forehead was a shinobi headband with a spiral symbol on it.
"Well, well. When I heard that the village nearby was having bandit troubles, I decided to help them out. Imagine my surprise when I find Leaf Shinobi already taking care of the problem. This must be my lucky day since I've finally found someone from the Leaf who could possibly give me a challenge. I don't usually bother asking my enemies this since their usually dead before they can make me break a sweat, but since you were able to sense me, I think I'd like to know my opponent's name." The man said as he pulled his sword out of his scabbard.
Naruto frowned and said "It is customary to give your own name first when asking another for theirs, but my name is Naruto Uzumaki. Mind telling me why you believe we are enemies?"
The man's eyes widened when he heard Naruto's last name and he said "Uzumaki? But you're just a kid. Still that means there must have been other survivors."
The man then narrowed his eyes and said "Oh where are my manners? You want to know my name? My name is Kuroda Uzumaki, Elite Jounin of the Hidden Whirlpool village. You know, it's kind of ironic. I had been looking for survivors for so long, but when I finally find someone whose parents were survivors, they end up under the banner of the enemy."
Naruto's eyes widened as well and he said "You're an Uzumaki as well? But I thought everyone but my mother was killed when the Hidden Stone attacked them in the last war. Wait a minute, what do you mean under the banner of the enemy? The Hidden Leaf and Whirlpool villages were allies!"
Kuroda scowled and said "Allies? Ha! Don't make me laugh! The Hidden Leaf wasn't our ally, it betrayed us! When we were attacked by the Stone, they only sent two Gennin teams, TWO! How the hell could two teams comprised mainly of GENNIN of all things make a difference? They couldn't, we were obviously not worth the Leaf sending any real help."
"They were the only ones close enough to reach you in time!" Naruto shouted at the man while everyone else was doing their best to figure out what was happening.
"Man, what's going on between these two? I mean aren't they related?" Kiba asked while the others simply shook their heads showing their own confusion.
"Oh, and how would you know that? You weren't there! You weren't even born yet!" Kuroda shouted right back at the blond.
Naruto narrowed his eyes and said "Because I've read the reports of not only my father but also my mother's. And they clearly said that the Leaf was sending backup but it didn't reach the village in time. The Hidden Leaf Village sent three platoons to the Whirlpool once they received the message for help. Three platoons that could have been used elsewhere at the time. My mother had joined them since she wanted to help defend her homeland. But when they got there, all that was left were ruins. The two Leaf teams that had been sent were severely injured and were found hiding in an abandoned dock warehouse with about twenty survivors who were even more injured. The medics that the platoons had with them did all they could but none of the survivors made it during the journey back to the Leaf. We did everything we could."
"Yeah, well it obviously wasn't good enough was it?" Kuroda growled out before saying "I should have known someone born in that village would side with it. But I can not believe that Kushina would side with them over her homeland."
Seeing Naruto's eyes widen again, Kuroda chuckled and said "Yeah, I know who your parents were. Not very hard seeing as how Kushina was the only Uzumaki in the Leaf village at the time. And you look more like that Namikaze fellow that had been at the village at the time than an Uzumaki. What was his name again? Oh yeah, Minato. Minato Namikaze."
Kurenai's eyes widened when she heard that but a quick glance from Naruto kept her from saying anything.
Focusing back on Kuroda again he said "My mother chose to stay in the Leaf because we were allies. We were still at war with the Hidden Stone and Cloud villages."
"Which you conveniently won just two months after our destruction! I find it odd that your father was able to complete his jutsu just after Whirlpool was destroyed!" Kuroda shouted out.
Naruto's eyes hardened as he said "Are you saying that the Leaf wanted the Whirlpool to be destroyed?"
"Well it sure looks that way from where I'm standing." Kuroda growled out before his hair began fluttering around like it was caught in a breeze of wind and everyone began feeling the sensation of being in the middle of an ocean during a storm.
As everyone besides Naruto started lightly shivering at the Uzumaki's presence, Kuroda said in a dangerous tone "But it seems that talking will get us nowhere. You have decided to stand by the Leaf and so you are just as much my enemy as any other ninja from the Leaf or Stone."
Naruto frowned before he began matching his distant relative's presence with his own and then swallowed it in his own making everyone's eyes widen as they suddenly felt like the ocean they were in was suddenly in the middle of a massive maelstrom five times worse than before with fifty foot waves crashing down around them. Naruto's hair began swaying all over the place like he was caught in a cyclone as the two Uzumakis began glaring at each other waiting for the other to make the first move.
"W-what's this sensation?" Hinata asked as she began to shiver uncontrollably.
Kurenai opened her mouth to answer but Haku beat her to it.
"Everyone has a presence that is hidden deep down in you that defines you. There are those who can bring that presence out in order to intimidate their foes better than any kind of killing intent. Zabuza-sama was one of those able to do it. It had felt like you were being stalked by some unknown predator, but it was nowhere near this level. By the looks of things their presences are strong enough to even physically manifest themselves a little."
Before Haku could say anything else, Naruto disappeared just as a shell of what the others could only assume was chakra that was multicolored appeared before Kuroda's sword arm moved at impossible speeds to his side and met the kunai that Naruto was holding in a clang.
Naruto's eyes momentarily widened before he just barely blocked Kuroda's free arm as he tried to backhand the blond. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he disappeared and reappeared in front of the other Leaf Shinobi.
Looking at the chakra shell around his opponent, he said "So that's why my mother was always able to keep up with my father whenever they fought in spars. She must have used the Uzumaki chakra to control her body movements and make them faster."
Kuroda grinned and said "That's right."
Naruto frowned and said "The only downside is that it takes extreme amounts of focus to have that chakra manipulate your movements in the right way without harming yourself. Which is why not many Uzumakis could use it in battle since it's so hard to make your feet move properly without using your muscles."
Kuroda's grin turned predatory as he said "Looks like you did your homework about our history boy. Although it seems that what you are doing is more like what that father of yours did. Makes things interesting when your opponent can move around as fast as you."
Naruto smirked and said "Oh no, what I'm doing is five times better than what dad did."
Right after he said that, a blue shell of chakra surrounded Naruto before five clones appeared around him and the six blonds disappeared.
Kuroda's arm once again moved faster than the others could see and five smoke clouds appeared before Naruto reappeared up against a tree that he was thrown against with a chain made out of the multicolored chakra wrapped around his arm and leading back to Kuroda's free arm.
"Naruto!" Hinata shouted out and was about to rush towards the two Uzumakis before Kurenai grabbed her and said "No, don't! You'll only get in the way."
Hinata struggled before Haku said in a calm voice "She's right Hinata-san. This kind of fight requires speed that you do not have."
Right as he said that, mirrors made out of ice began appearing all over the area surrounding the two fighters in a large dome that appeared to be completely solid with no gaps. Immediately after they appeared, the temperature inside the dome and around it instantly began dropping to the point where everyone could see their breath. The rest of the Leaf Shinobi outside along with Kuroda stared in surprise as Haku walked into the back of the mirror in front of him before suddenly reappearing in another mirror right by Naruto who was shaking his head as he stood up and broke the chains around his arm with a burst of his own chakra.
"Are you alright Naruto-san?" Haku asked as he stepped out of the mirror.
"Yeah, he just caught me off guard with those chains of his. I was under the impression that it was something only my mother could do among the Uzumakis of her time."
Kuroda smirked from his spot where he hadn't moved from at all and said "You would have been right about that five years ago, but I figured out how to do it as well, although it wasn't easy. Your mother was truly a genius when it came to using our bloodline."
"Good to know." Haku said before he stepped back into his mirror and his image appeared in all of the others as well.
Kuroda rose an eyebrow as he looked around and said "Well that's new."
The images all rose their throwing arms over their chest revealing braces of senbon needle and said "You seem able to handle multiple opponents quite well, but I wonder if you will be able to handle this as easily."
As soon as Haku finished speaking, the dome was filled with senbon needles heading towards the redhead. But to both boys' amazement, Kuroda's chakra shell seemed to expand a little as the redhead moved at speeds that turned his body into one big blur even to Naruto's eyes.
Once the barrage of needles was over, Naruto and Haku's eyes widened as they saw Kuroda standing with a grin holding a bunch of senbon needles in his hands with the rest being held in the air in groups by chakra strings that were connected to various points on his body.
"Well now, that was interesting. If I was anyone else, I would have been a pincushion for sure. But it seems like a waste to use all those needles and not be able to use them again. Why don't I return them to you?"
Naruto's eyes widened as all the needles pointed themselves at him before launching themselves towards him at speeds that would give even him trouble to avoid even if he had anywhere to move. Just as the first needles reached him, Haku's hand shot out of the nearest mirror and pulled him through it. As the two boys appeared on the opposite side of the mirror they heard the needles impacting the inside of the dome.
Naruto sighed as he pulled out a needle from his arm that had managed to get him before Haku pulled him through the mirror and said "Lets not do that again."
Haku nodded before they heard "Hidden Sword Art: Sword Blitz Jutsu!"
The dome began shuddering as the Kenjutsu user began bombarding the inside with numerous blades of chakra. Ten seconds later the blasts died down and Haku frowned as he concentrated on repairing the damage the attack had done to the mirrors. Naruto frowned as well as Kuroda shouted out to them.
"So you put chakra into the mirrors to keep them in existence and repair them. Very clever, but it must be a real drain on your reserves. I can simply wait until you run dry and then finish you off."
Naruto glanced over at Haku and said "How long can you keep those up?"
Haku glanced at the mirrors before turning back to Naruto and said "With that many about another ten minutes. Less if he attacks them again. After that I'll be pretty much useless."
Naruto nodded before looking at the mirror and cocked his head in thought. After a minute, his eyes lit up and he said "You can manipulate those mirrors so that you can use the water in them for jutsu right?"
"Yes, but if I take any of the water out they well be weaker against his attacks and require more chakra to repair." Haku said wondering where his partner was going with this.
"What if we surrounded him in water and froze him in it?"
Haku shook his head and said "It could be done but it would take too long to freeze him. By the time he was surrounded he could simply blast the water away with his chakra before I could lower the temperature enough to fully encase him."
Naruto frowned before his eyes lit up again and said "What if I added my wind natured chakra into the mix. Would that speed things up? Or could we at least make the dome so cold that it freezes him to death?"
Haku's eyes narrowed in thought before he nodded and said "That could work. We would only get one chance at this though."
Naruto nodded and put his hand on the closest mirror and said "Then we better make this count."
Haku nodded again and placed his hand next to Naruto's. The two then closed their eyes in concentration as they began pumping elemental chakra into the dome. As Naruto pushed more wind natured chakra into the dome, the temperature of the dome itself began dropping dangerously low. The boys only had the chakra running through their arms moving the cold air away from them to keep them safe from frost bite.
On the other side of the dome, Team 8 was shivering as the temperature near the dome kept dropping.
"Man, it's freezing out here! What the hell are they doing in there?" Kiba asked as Akamaru jumped into his coat to stay warm.
"T-they're not in the d-dome." Hinata said stuttering more from the cold than from insecurities and lifted the hood on her coat as she saw what was happening with her Byakugan. "N-Naruto and Haku are on the other s-side of the dome and are pushing some kind of chakra into it. It's m-making the temperature around us drop. I can already see frost completely covering the ground inside."
"It's not just inside. There's some on the ground around the outside as well." Shino said as he pointed at the ring of frost that was steadily growing towards the Leaf Shinobi.
"Everyone back up. I don't know what those two are planning but I don't want us caught in it." Kurenai said.
The three Gennin all nodded and all four began backing away from the dome.
On the inside, Kuroda was trying to use his chakra to insulate his body but was still shivering as well. The entire ground around him was covered in frost and the dome was nearly completely filled with a freezing mist.
As the mist continued to fill the dome, Kuroda raised his sword into position and swung it while calling out "Hidden Sword Art: Sword Blitz Jutsu!"
The blades of chakra launched themselves from his sword and slammed into the dome. But to his surprise, the dome repaired itself even faster than before. He then heard his distant relative's voice drift in from outside of the dome.
"That's not going to work Kuroda! It's not just Haku's chakra keeping those mirrors together anymore. Tell you what, if you promise to leave the Land Of Fire and not attack anymore Leaf Shinobi, we'll let you out!"
On the outside, Haku looked at Naruto in surprise and said "I know he is your relative Naruto-san, but is that wise?"
Naruto glanced over at him and said "He's family Haku. I have to try."
Kuroda frowned before shouting out "You actually expect me to allow the Leaf to go unpunished for what they have done? You are either naive or a fool!"
Naruto sighed before saying "All right, I gave you a chance but if that's how you want it then I guess we have no choice!"
Right after Naruto stopped speaking, the mist began closing in on Kuroda and began freezing on his body. As Kuroda began to try and break the ice off, the mirrors began rippling before water shot out and hit him from all angles freezing over as soon as the water made contact with his body while the mirrors began shrinking.
As the mirrors completely disappeared, everyone was able to see Kuroda again who was standing in the middle of a gem shaped pillar of ice.
Hinata gasped as Kiba said "Holy." under his breath, unable to even finish his sentence as he stared at what had happened to the redhead.
Naruto slowly walked towards the ice formation and stared into his relative's eyes before placing his hand on the ice.
As Naruto gathered wind chakra into his hand, he said "I'm sorry."
The ice and figure in it was instantly turned into powder as Naruto's wind natured chakra tore through it leaving no evidence that a human had ever been in that spot. Not even Kuroda's sword or headband survived.
Hinata gasped again before all three Gennin turned their heads from the sight of the powder falling to the ground with their eyes closed. Kurenai turned her eyes away as Naruto closed his own in sadness.
Haku stepped over to the blond and put his hand on his partner's shoulder and asked "Are you going to be alright?"
Naruto nodded before saying "Lets head back to the village."
Haku nodded and the two jumped into the trees with Team 8 following.
That night, the Leaf Shinobi were sitting around a fire as Team 8 and Haku were eating their dinner while Naruto was staring into the fire with his plate of food remaining untouched.
As Hinata glanced over at the blond, Haku gave her a light nudge. When Hinata turned to the ice user, he gestured over to Naruto and said "Why don't we go talk to him Hinata-san."
"B-but I don't know what to say." Hinata said..
Haku gave a gentle smile and said "So don't say anything. Just show that you're there for him."
Before Hinata could say anything to that, Haku stood up and began walking around the fire. Hinata quickly stood up and followed as Haku sat down on one side and Hinata took Naruto's other side with a small blush.
Kurenai gave a small smile while Kiba frowned. He was about to stand as well when Shino put his hand onto his shoulder. Kiba shot him a look but Shino simply shook his head causing the canine like boy to simply humph and go back to his meal.
"Are you alright Naruto-san?" Haku asked as he settled himself.
Naruto took in a deep breath before exhaling in a sigh and said "Tell me Haku, were you alright after you killed your father when he killed your mother and then tried to do the same to you after he discovered your bloodline?"
Hinata's and the rest of Team 8's eyes widened when they heard this while Haku was silent for a moment.
"Not at first." Haku admitted before continuing. "But eventually the pain lessened with time. And when I met Zabuza-sama it lessened to the point that I could put it behind me. You are lucky Naruto-san, you already have others who care for you that can help you through this."
"Yeah." Naruto said as he continued to study the flickering flames of the fire. "I just wish he didn't have to die like that. I've lived my entire life without my family. And then the hour that I finally met someone that I shared a blood relation with I had to kill him for the sake of the village."
"The world of the shinobi can be a cruel place. But if you have your friends around you, you can survive it." Haku said.
Naruto nodded and said "Yeah. Thanks Haku, you too Hinata, for being here." Haku smiled while Hinata simply nodded.
Scene Change: Hokage's Office
Kurenai, Naruto, and Haku were standing in front of the Hokage as the two Jounin finished giving their reports.
After they were finished, Sarutobi leaned forward and said "So there was an Uzumaki survivor in the area. I must admit I had thought your mother was the only survivor Naruto. It is unfortunate that this Kuroda figure felt the way he did about the Leaf. We could have used his skills as well as his help in rebuilding your clan. How are you handling it?"
Naruto looked down for a moment before saying "As well as can be expected sir. Having Haku around helped."
Sarutobi nodded and said "That's good to hear. Very well, if there's nothing else, then you're dismissed."
Naruto and Haku nodded but as they were turning to leave the office Kurenai said "Actually sir, there is something I need to ask you. When Naruto and Kuroda were talking, he said he knew who Naruto's parents were. He gave the name of Naruto's father and I was wondering if you could confirm it."
Naruto and Sarutobi frowned as Sarutobi looked at Naruto silently asking and Naruto nodded his head causing Sarutobi to sigh and begin massaging his forehead.
Looking back to Kurenai, he nodded and said "I'm afraid he was telling the truth."
Kurenai's eyes widened and she looked over to Naruto and said "Then that means that Naruto is-"
"Kurenai!" Sarutobi said in a sharp tone stopping the junior Jounin short as Sarutobi continued "The information about Naruto's full heritage is classified at the highest level."
Haku stepped forward and said "I'm sorry sir, but why would information about who Naruto's father was be classified so heavily."
"Because Naruto's father made a lot of enemies before he died. More so than his mother and anyone else who fought in the last war combined. If they were to receive word that he had a child that was alive than they would stop at nothing to see Naruto dead. It could even start the fourth shinobi war."
Haku's eyes widened as she glanced at Naruto who shrugged and said "You've seen how effective my bloodline is against multiple opponents. My dad took full advantage of that as soon as he figured out a way to get over the tunnel vision that occurs when we use it. Although we don't think the Stone or Cloud would try anything if they did find out about me due to the fear of what I could do on the battlefield, we still don't want to take that chance."
Sarutobi nodded before turning to Kurenai again and said "Have your Gennin made the connection?"
Kurenai shook her head and said "Not that I'm aware of. Should I go ahead and tell them?"
Sarutobi shook his head and said "No, there is no need for that. I will inform their parents to make sure they don't talk about it openly. Fortunately Hiashi was one of his teammates so he has always known and Tsume has known that they were at least related since their scents were so similar. I am sure that Shibi is aware of Naruto's heritage as well. They should be able to run damage control if their children come to them about this. I don't think I have to tell you how important it is that this information does not get out."
Kurenai nodded and Sarutobi dismissed them.
As Haku and Naruto exited the office, Haku turned to the blond and said "You are certainly full of surprises Naruto-san."
Naruto smirked and said "Haku, you have no idea."
And Cut! Man that, has to be my longest chapter yet. I'm going to be working on sensors next and then clones but after that are the Chunnin Exams.