Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and I am making no profit from this story, it is only for entertainment.
Chapter Summary: In which the New Team Seven go on a mission and the Old Team Seven also go on a mission
Chapter 27: We're Going On An Adventure!
Naruto crossed his arms as he stood in front of the Mission Assignment Desk. It looked bigger from this perspective. Maybe it was the large columns beside it or the windows enveloping the entire wall behind it. It was strange being on this side of the desk; it had been so long since he'd been sent out on a mission. The last was Suna and that was over a year ago. He understood that they were being more careful about what mission they gave him after that fiasco and the memory of the large red stamp in his file appeared in his mind once again. There weren't many in Konoha as closely monitored as he was.
Would there come a day where he wouldn't leave the village at all? He had known his health would prevent it at some point but he hadn't considered that he would become tactically important to the security of the village. He hadn't even done it on purpose; they just kept giving him more and more responsibilities as the years went on.
He had received the message on his desk that he was to report to the Desk for an A-rank only a couple of hours ago and he was curious about what mission they had for him. Kazuya had arrived shortly before him and they'd been told that they had to wait for the final members of the team before they could receive their mission scroll. He knew that was the protocol but it hadn't stopped him from pestering Koutarou to get it earlier. The teen had just cringed and ran a hand through his short, black hair sheepishly; the next time he had a hangover, Naruto would not be covering for him.
"Sir, you know I can't give you the mission until all team members arrive," he said weakly.
Koutarou had only been at the Desk for a couple of years and while he was four years older than Naruto, he always called him 'sir'. Naruto hadn't been able to break the newer members of the Desk of this habit yet. Shikaku thought it was great and the majority of the chunin that had been there for the same amount of time or longer than him had taken to joining in, although usually with a grin or a smirk. He thought they were all traitors.
"You know, shinobi older than you calling you 'sir' is never going to get old," Kazuya grinned at him. "In fact, anyone calling you 'sir' is hilarious."
"Arai-san, Uzumaki-sama is one of the most senior members of the Desk and the village administration. He is responsible for much of the day-to-day running of the village and has some measure of authority in almost all of the administrative departments within Konoha," Haruka piped up, the fresh chunin attempting to stand up for him. "Anyone who doesn't defer to him should be written up for insubordination."
Kazuya turned slowly towards him after staring at the woman for a long moment.
"Uzumaki-sama?" He asked incredulously. "You're a tokubetsu jounin."
"I've been trying to get them to stop," Naruto sighed heavily. "They apparently don't care about my rank in the administrative sector."
"Uzumaki-sama, you do so much for the village," Haruka insisted. "Your rank doesn't reflect your true capabilities and responsibilities."
"Yes, thank you Haruka, I think he gets the idea," Naruto chided. "Now please concentrate on your work; I don't want any mistakes with dealing with the Land of Rivers. They're still annoyed at us."
She squeaked out a 'yes, sir' and put her head down. Naruto resisted the urge to facepalm.
"This is why I hide in my office nowadays," he muttered beneath his breath.
"Since when do you have an office?" asked Kazuya in surprise.
"Since Shikaku got his meddling hands on my schedule," he scowled. "He said with all the meetings and paperwork I needed a space to keep it all organized and that I shouldn't be overheard discussing confidential matters. He also said that it wasn't 'appropriate' to stay at my desk with the rest of them since I'm technically in charge of most of them and since my duties now extend beyond the Desk, it wasn't 'appropriate' for me to be stationed in that department."
"So wait," Kazuya was trying to keep up. "Where is your office now? Why didn't you tell me? Who knows about this?"
"It's right next to the Desk offices," Naruto shrugged. "And it wasn't important. I still come here for work every day; all that's changed is where I sit. I think Shikaku just wanted some privacy when he comes to bother me with stuff not related to work. He even took a nap in there last week."
Kazuya just stared at him and Naruto shifted uncomfortably. It wasn't that big a deal; Kazuya had his own office in the hospital. It was part of the whole 'running the Emergency Department' thing.
"I guess it just never clicked how much of a bigwig you're becoming," his friend stated slowly. "Like I hear that you have a lot to do and have lots of meetings and stuff but it just never occurred to me that you were so high up the food chain."
"I'm not that high," Naruto threw up his hands in exasperation. "I just spend too much time around Shikaku nowadays and everyone calls him 'Nara-sama' since he's a Clan Head and Jounin Commander and everything so people think I'm more important than I am."
"Whatever you say, Uzumaki-sama."
He glared at his friend before he was distracted by the signatures approaching the large room. The annoyance melted away as Hana entered the room, closely followed by the Haimaru Brothers.
"Boys," she grinned widely.
"Hana!"
Naruto took a moment to feel the happiness in their presence before his brain began to automatically slide the pieces into place. He had the advantage since he knew how the people assigning missions thought and their process for choosing candidates for A and B-ranks. He also knew that there had been discussion in the office about Konoha's current relationship with Kumo. He turned to Koutarou.
"Really? Could you be more obvious?"
"Sir, this was the best team for the mission," the teen replied nervously.
"And I'm sure the fact that we're not only the only team to attend a Kumo chunin exam but the only ones that made the final had nothing to do with it."
"What're you talking about?" Hana asked curiously.
"You're escorting Uzumaki-sama to Kumo," Koutarou began loudly.
He heard Hana whisper 'Uzumaki-sama?' behind him to which Kazuya whispered back 'I'll tell you later'.
"Kumo has asked us to send an fūinjutsu expert to help fortify their dams," Koutarou continued a bit more calmly. "The Land of Lightning has been experiencing severe rainstorms the past few weeks and it's resulted in flooding for some of their smaller villages. They need seals to make sure the new dams and flood protection doesn't erode or crumble."
"Why not just draw them up and send them to them?" Hana frowned. "Why send Naruto?"
"Paper seals would come off," Naruto answered her. "They need the seals carved into the stone if they're going to be used long-term. Even then, they'll probably need to be renewed every few years if this kind of weather keeps up but I can add some protection seals so that it'll stay for at least a decade or so."
"E-exactly, sir," Koutarou was staring at him, his brown eyes wide.
"And they can't send me and Kazuya alone like they normally do with our missions because I'm a security risk and they want me to come back. Kumo has a history of trying to steal shinobi from this village so Hana and the Haimaru Brothers are coming as insurance. Konoha can't afford to lose their resident fūinjutsu specialist but they also want to hold this over Kumo's head. It's a calculated risk."
"Do you want to give us the mission or are you going to let poor Koutarou do his job?" Kazuya failed to stifle his laugh.
Naruto jolted, realizing what he'd done.
"I'm so sorry, Koutarou," he said quickly. "I didn't mean to step on your toes."
"It's okay, sir." Koutarou's smile was small but genuine. "It just shows how good you are at this. You already know the mission parameters just from the request. It's really impressive."
Naruto stepped forward to take the mission scroll, bidding the teen goodbye as he followed his snickering team out of the large doors. Maybe it would be good to get out of Konoha for a while; things were still a bit awkward with Rio and this way he would definitely be able to give his brother space like he wanted.
"Here to report for the next available D-rank!" Kakashi said cheerfully, eye-smiling at the groans from his genin.
"We've got a gardening one," the man at the desk sorted through the stack of files. "Or would you prefer another dog-walking one? Or a painting one?"
Kakashi considered the options although he already knew he was going to go for the dog-walking. Any opportunity to hang with dogs was a good day in his book. He was interrupted before he could tell the chunin.
"No! No way! I'm not doing another D-rank! There has got to be something better!"
Rio huffed as he crossed his arms, taking a firm stance as he stared Kakashi down. Sakura was nervously glancing between them as Sasuke watched quietly.
"Rio, you know how this works," Kakashi said, maintaining the level of cheer in his voice. "Cute little genin do the D-ranks until you're ready for the harder ones."
"We are ready!" Rio burst out angrily. "We can all do the jutsu we need to leave the village and we've been stuck on these shitty missions for months!"
"Hn," Sasuke added, which Kakashi translated into an agreement with Rio's sentiments.
He looked at his final genin and Sakura seemed to dither for a moment before she nodded.
"Yeah, I think we can do it."
Kakashi scanned his team, considering their words. They had changed in the four months he had been in charge of them. Sasuke still wore his blue Uchiha t-shirt but he had switched to shinobi pants with bandages around the bottom. Rio too had switched to trousers with bandages but had kept his forest green sweatshirt with the darker coloured leaves decorating the hem and sleeves. They both wore their headbands across their foreheads.
Sakura had changed the most; abandoning the mid-length red dress she had in the academy. She now wore a much darker, maroon sleeveless dress that came to just below her black biker shorts. It was padded for protection in some areas and was a bit tighter on her frame so the fabric wouldn't restrict her movements. The biggest change was her much shorter hair; it hung at chin length and was partially kept back by her headband. It was far more practical and since she had abandoned the diet and perfume, Kakashi was happy to say that she might still make a decent kunoichi.
He knew it had everything to do with Kazuya and nothing to do with him. Kakashi had been too relaxed with them; the laid back approach wasn't going to work. He had to be better. He hadn't lied when he'd said to Naruto that he felt stuck; that if he tried to do more than the minimum he would screw everything up and get them killed one day.
But he'd realized that approach didn't help anyone either. It hadn't helped Naruto and Rio when they were younger and he didn't want to add to the pile of regret that was already weighing him down. He can't be afraid to teach them for fear of failing because not teaching them was failing before he could even start. He would never measure up to Minato-sensei but he could do so much more than he's doing now.
He had spoken to Genma since then and the man had been his savior. He had managed to raise a successful genin team already and Kakashi needed all the help he could get. Genma had given him plenty of tips but had stressed that his team had been nowhere near the norm. They had been almost too independent but there were still things that Kakashi could use with his own team. The bits that stuck with him in particular were to follow a daily routine and to always have them learning at least one new thing.
It helped him begin to plan out a new training regime for his team to follow and the more it came together, the better he felt. He was going to be more proactive with their training and while the fear still lingered at the back of his mind, he was determined to do better. He had spent enough time distancing himself in the past; not only with his team but everyone around him.
"Kakashi-sensei?"
He snapped back to reality as Rio's violet eyes scrutinized him. He really did look so much like Kushina and nothing like Naruto. They shared their eye shape and nose but that was it. It had been a strange transition going from a godfather to his sensei. He knew he was still technically his godfather but it felt different now.
Maybe he should take them on a C-rank. This could be the first step he needed to really commit to being a better sensei for them. They could handle a few bandits and once they came back, he could implement his new training schedule.
"Okay," he nodded. "Only if they have a spare one though."
Rio's eyes widened in shock before he grinned widely, turning back to the desk chunin expectantly. The young chunin shuffled the papers in his hands, scanning through them. He turned to his neighbor to ask and 'Haru' pulled out a scroll from her pile, handing it over with 'here, Kou'."
"We have a C-rank escort mission," Kou offered. "It's to escort a bridge builder by the name of 'Tazuna' back to his home in the Land of Waves and protect him until the completion of the bridge. Low risk, maybe some bandits, but pretty straightforward for a first C-rank."
"We'll take it!" Rio said hurriedly before he looked back at Kakashi.
"We will," he agreed.
"Okay, can someone call Tazuna-san in?"
Only seconds later, an old man stumbled into the room and Kakashi held his breath as the stench of alcohol invaded his sensitive nose. It was as bad as some of the bars and that was saying something. The man glanced around the room blearily before his eyes landed on them.
"Why are there kids here?" He slurred. "Where's my escort?"
"Tazuna-san," Kakashi stepped forward before one of his team could open their mouths. "I am Hatake Kakashi and this is Team Seven. We will be protecting you during this mission."
He turned to his genin to see Rio fuming and Sasuke not far behind him, the Uchiha's face twisted up into a deep scowl. Sakura wasn't angry but she certainly wasn't happy.
"Go home and pack for a month-long mission," he ordered. "Remember you have to carry whatever you bring and Rio, drop Momo off with the Inuzuka kennels since your brothers are away. Meet me at the front gates in an hour."
Naruto and Kazuya had left a week ago on a mission of their own so Kakashi hadn't had a chance to speak to the redhead since their talk on the Hokage Mountain. He knew things were still strained between the two Uzumakis but he didn't know the extent of it.
The genin scattered before Tazuna could say something else and he turned to the man.
"I'll give you an hour to sober up a bit," he drawled.
"Excuse me?" Tazuna snapped.
"We're going to do our best to protect you and complete the mission," Kakashi began, training his eye on Tazuna's face intently. "However, I won't have my genin scraping you off the road because you can't walk in a straight line."
He left the man spluttering as he shunshined away.
Naruto slogged his way to the village, regretting his choice of mission attire. The warnings of rainstorms had not been exaggerated and Naruto feared that he would never be dry again. His shinobi pants were soaked through and the mesh undershirt did nothing to protect him from the elements. As practical as his black crop top was for accessing the storage seals on his ribs and abdomen, it was terrible for retaining heat. He was glad he had left his orange jacket at home but the loose black jumper he'd thrown on the minute they crossed the border stuck uncomfortably to his skin.
Kazuya wasn't faring much better in his tight black turtleneck and Hana's chunin vest showed the goosebumps that ran the entire length of her arms. He didn't envy the bike shorts she wore either. The Haimaru Brothers seemed to have shrunk in size as their fur was plastered to their bodies.
They had the grey, waterproof ponchos that had worked for a time but the sheer volume of water falling from the sky had rendered them useless. They all wore them but Naruto knew that everything beneath was soaked regardless.
"Are you guys trying to become the new Land of Water?" Hana said grumpily, trying to pull her hood further over her head.
Their escort laughed, throwing a sharp-toothed grin back at them. Her blonde hair was plastered to her face and she seemed to escape the air of gloom that surrounded his team.
"We always get pretty bad thunderstorms this time of year," Nii Yugito shrugged, her steps light. "It's just particularly bad this year and some of the villages weren't prepared for the flooding."
"I would have thought someone who liked fire techniques so much would be miserable in this kind of weather," Kazuya huffed.
"I grew up with it," Yugito's gaze was sharp.
They continued walking in silence for a while and Naruto tried not to keep glancing at the Kumo nin. The demonic chakra felt so similar to Rio's but it also didn't. It felt much warmer and there was something he could sense that made it slightly different to the Kyūbi and the Ichibi. He didn't know which tailed beast she had sealed inside her and he wouldn't know how to tell. Shukaku also felt different but he still wasn't able to pinpoint why.
"We're here if you're quite finished staring at me."
Naruto held up his hands in surrender as she glared at him. He broke her gaze to take in his surroundings and something uncomfortable settled into his gut at the sight of the destruction.
The rain was still falling but most of the flooding had already subsided. He watched a villager struggle to walk in the deep mud, almost dropping the basket in her arms as she became briefly stuck in the shin-deep dirt. The ground was churned up no doubt by others trying to walk around and there were still puddles all over the place. The houses he could see were damaged; one was missing an entire wall, another's roof now lay on the ground beside it and the one closest to him was barely hanging on to the wall it had left.
"This area was one of the worst hit," Yugito said quietly. "It's never usually this bad but they get some sort of flooding every year. The damage built up so when the storm hit, it just took everything with it."
"What's going to happen to them now?" Hana asked, subdued.
"They'll be relocated to Kumo for now," Yugito explained. "We have emergency shelters for this kind of thing. Once the season is over they'll come back and rebuild before next year."
"Why come back if this is just going to keep happening?"
"This is their home." Yugito shrugged. "And with Uzumaki's seals, we can prevent something on this scale from happening again. When they return and rebuild, it'll have a level of protection they've never had before."
"Why not get someone to write these seals before?" Kazuya watched a cat stranded on a rock. "Why wait until now?"
Yugito kept silent for a moment.
"Kumo has never had an fūinjutsu expert," she said reluctantly, the words seeming to pain her to say. "Every shinobi can write an explosive tag or storage seal but the kind of level we need for this is hard to find. Suna had one or two but not ones that were of any use."
"What about Jiraiya and the Yondaime though," Naruto pointed out. "They're better than me and could have helped years ago."
"We only got a peace treaty with Konoha eight years ago and things haven't exactly been peaceful between us even then," Yugito sighed.
"Why ask now then?" Hana demanded.
"You guys came to the chunin exam five years ago," she replied. "It was a sign that you trusted us enough not to just outright murder you the moment you stepped into the village. When Raikage-sama saw Uzumaki's sealing abilities, he wanted to ask you then but we had to wait until you improved a bit more. After what happened in Suna, we decided to go for it although it took us a while to convince the council that we could trust Konoha."
At their dubious looks, she amended her statement.
"That we could be safe in the assumption that Konoha wouldn't just try to sabotage us," she admitted. "I don't think there will ever be trust."
"It's the same on our end anyway," Kazuya agreed easily.
Yugito led them away and towards the walls that seemed out of place amongst the sodden remains of the village. They were in good condition and built high and thick from smooth grey stone.
"We have shinobi that are going ahead of us to rebuild these," said Yugito. "There's some at the nearby river that also need to be sealed but these are the last line of defense. It shields the village against the overflow from the river and diverts it around the village. The ones at the river should mean that these don't get used but the river ones crumble a lot quicker. The village will still get flooding from the rain but this prevents most of the damage."
Naruto bent down to examine the base of the wall. The rain was lightening up a bit and while still cold, was much easier to deal with.
"How far down do the walls go?"
"As deep as we can make it," Yugito answered.
He ran his hands up the wall and looked along, trying to judge the length. He might need a few seals; maybe he can add a linking component so he could make sure that there were no parts uncovered. It would add a layer of complexity but better safe than sorry.
"And it's mainly earth and stone?"
"Yeah," she answered, slightly frustrated. "Why does all this matter?"
"I need to know what it is so I can use the right seal," he answered absently, still examining the wall. "I wouldn't use the same seal to fortify the weak points as I would to prevent water damage."
He didn't wait for her response.
"Different materials don't respond to water in the same way." He stood, pushing his hood back as the rain became a soft mist. "It depends on how much space there is in the material for the water to sink into or how hydrophobic it is. The seal I'm using will be hydrophobic in nature but I need to know the material so I don't mess with the structure itself while the seal is active."
He finally looked at his guide's face and there was no comprehension on her face. He frowned and looked over to Kazuya and Hana but they had the same look.
"I guess this is why we needed an expert," Yugito said slowly. "None of our people ever mentioned anything about this."
"I mean, you can slap a water-repelling seal on and it would work," Naruto shrugged. "It just wouldn't work as well as a tailored one and the seal really needs to be ingrained into the material rather than using sealing paper."
"And you can do this?"
"Yep," Naruto grinned. "Give me a while to figure out the components and design. I have a base already drawn up but I need to tweak it."
"Wait, I thought you were going to do it now," Yugito challenged. "Why the delay?"
Naruto ignored her as he picked a rock nearby to settle on. He whipped out his notebook from the storage seal on his left rib and took out a brush to start working on it. He tried to filter out the conversation happening nearby.
"Trust us, this is still faster than anyone else you could have got," reassured Kazuya. "There aren't many people who can just create a seal on the spot. I tried once and the training ground was never the same after that."
"That was you?" Hana demanded. "The betting pool on who did it has been going round for years!"
"Oh, who won?"
"No idea, but I know you aren't on the list. I think Genma-sensei had sealing accident though but he was sure it was Naruto."
"Nice."
"As interesting as this is, if you could go away and leave me to work on this," Naruto drawled, raising an eyebrow at them. "I'd like to get this done before the next shower."
The pair sheepishly apologized before they wandered away, although they stayed in his line of sight. Yugito was throwing them strange looks before she crept closer, eyeing the pages in his hands. Naruto looked back down and added a couple of lines. He really did need to get this done. He still had another five villages after this.
Rio walked in front of the group with Sasuke, the drunken bridge builder behind them and Kakashi-sensei and Sakura following up the rear. Rio had been at the back to begin with but he couldn't stand the smell. The old man was oozing booze and Rio hated it; the strong stench irritating his nose to the point of pain. He didn't know how Kakashi-sensei was coping.
Despite the less than desirable company he was happy to be out of the village. He had never left Konoha before and he was excited to finally do something other than painting fences or chasing cats. When he had asked Kakashi-sensei for a better mission, he hadn't expected to succeed. Kakashi-sensei had been different in the past two weeks; he was still late with his nose in his orange book but the training exercises he set them had been much harder and Rio felt like he was finally pushing them.
Another bonus of being out of the village was avoiding the risk of interacting with Nii-san. They had talked when Nii-san had come back home after their argument but things had still been tense and weird since then. He could see Nii-san trying to give him space and holding himself back from offering help when Rio complained about things and he was grateful that his brother was trying. It did feel good to be independent and to be able to figure things out for himself without his brother nagging at him to do this or that or butting in.
It did result in awkward silences as Nii-san didn't speak at all sometimes. He never asked how his day was going anymore or what they did at training. He always asked Sasuke and Rio'd had to stop himself from adding his own commentary; he couldn't exactly ask for space and then be the one to break it. He was being given what he asked for but for some reason it wasn't as great as Rio imagined it would be. There was a distance now and although Rio knew he was the one to put it there, he couldn't help but feel annoyed at Nii-san.
Surely there was a way to give him his space without making him feel like Nii-san was avoiding him. He didn't like the way things had turned out; it wasn't supposed to be like this.
"Kakashi-sensei, are there no shinobi in the Land of Waves?" Sakura spoke up.
"There used to be," he answered easily. "The Uzumaki used to run the shinobi village Uzushio decades ago and although they were based in the Land of Whirlpools, they covered the Land of Waves too."
"Wait, Uzumaki?" Rio interrupted.
Kakashi-sensei nodded.
"Yeah, the Uzumaki clan was an old clan allied with Konoha. They were renowned for their fūinjutsu and longevity; you could tell someone was an Uzumaki a mile away from their red hair."
"That sounds like Naruto," Sasuke said quietly.
"Yeah, he really takes after them despite being born after the clan's destruction. You probably have more in common with your mother, Rio, but he's obviously an Uzumaki."
"And I'm not," Rio muttered.
"You have her eyes and her joy," Kakashi eye-smiled. "You may not have the red hair and fūinjutsu but that doesn't make you less of an Uzumaki. You've certainly got the energy they were also known for."
Rio accepted his words despite the doubt that was lingering. It was strange to hear about a whole clan of people who died before he even existed. He knew the general record of events from his history lessons; his mother must have been alive when Uzushio fell. He wondered how she must have felt.
"They were known for longevity?" Sakura added.
"So we're going to be stuck with Rio and Naruto for much longer than necessary," Sasuke deadpanned, although Rio could see the amusement in his eyes. "Wonderful."
"I'm going to outlive you at least," he shot back.
Before his friend could retort, Rio noticed that they were walking up to a puddle. It seemed a bit out of place in the middle of the bone dry road and years of ambushes from Nii-san and Kazu-nee had taught him to be vigilant. He looked to the side to see that Sasuke had noticed the same thing he did. He slowed down, waving at Tazuna and Sakura to stop. They had just stopped walking when two figures burst out of the puddle. Rio ducked as chains whipped towards him. As they passed over him, Rio spun around to check on his teammates.
Sasuke had managed to deflect the chain and Sakura had grabbed Tazuna and hit the deck. The chains surrounded Kakashi-sensei and as they were pulled taunt, blood splattered the ground around him and his body was shredded into large, bloody chunks. They hit the ground with a dull thud and Rio's stomach churned at the sight.
Rio couldn't look away from the remains of his godfather, horror and anger warring within him the longer he stared. The concept that he was dead just wouldn't register; it was Kashi, Kashi can't die. An absent thought passed through his mind that he couldn't smell any blood but he was too upset to focus on that detail.
He turned furious eyes on the enemy nin, Sasuke taking a defensive stance next to him. He tore several kunai out of the pouch on his thigh and threw it in an arc towards the men. He managed to snag parts of their chains and nail them to the tree just beside the road. The enemy nin were pulled forward as the chain was attached to each of their hands and as they tried to free themselves, Sasuke took action.
He leapt into the air, landing with one foot in each of their faces. The force of his kick detached the chains from them and they were shoved in opposite directions. Rio went after one as Sasuke launched himself after the other in the corner of his eye.
The man swiped at him with his massive claws and Rio dropped to the ground, trying to swipe the man's legs out from under him. The enemy jumped and Rio rolled backwards as the man dug his claws into the place where he'd just been. Rio flung himself forward and grabbed the man's arm with both hands, pulling with all his strength to tear it out of the ground and fling the man away. The man bounced once before he landed on his feet, glaring harshly at Rio.
Rio took off towards him, trying to limit the man's ability to think and react. It didn't work and Rio narrowly dodged a punch that would have taken a chunk out of his shoulder. He responded with his own hit and he barely managed to hit the man's throat. The man coughed and spluttered, the spit flying from his mouth and Rio threw another jab to the same spot, dropping the man to his knees as he struggled to breathe. Rio made sure to kick the man in the face as hard as he could and he dropped like a stone, the blood from his nose running into the grass.
He heaved a breath in as he stared down at the man. Kazu-nee had taught him that; to go for the most vulnerable points on the human body. It had been several long afternoons with Kazu-nee's anatomy textbook and it wasn't until now that Rio found himself appreciating those lessons. Nii-san had taught him how to throw that jab.
He looked around to see Sasuke standing over his own opponent, Sakura still hovering protectively over Tazuna. His eyes were drawn back to Kashi's remains; he could only see scattered pieces of wood and the blood had vanished. He opened his mouth but was interrupted by a puff of smoke, his teacher reappearing with a cheerful 'Yo!'
Rio took in the sight for a long moment before he stomped over to his godfather, punching the man hard in the stomach.
"You are never, ever, allowed to do that again!" He yelled, swallowing the lump that was rising in his throat. "You hear me, Kashi! If you ever make me think you're dead I'll…I'll…I'll tell Nii-san!"
He didn't want to use his brother as a threat but it was the most effective one he could think of right at this moment. Kashi barely reacted to the blow but his features softened.
"My bad, Rio-chan," he said, ruffling his hair. "I just wanted to see how you guys would cope on your own. You were amazing."
Kashi then turned to face Tazuna, the builder suddenly looking very nervous.
"Now then, Tazuna-san," he said with fake politeness. "Would you care to explain why shinobi have just tried to kill you? I'm sure you know that is at least a B-rank and yet, I recall that this mission is a C-rank. Strange, yes?"
Tazuna gulped before he caved, spilling the story of Gato and his iron grip on their home.
Naruto was finally released from the grip of the gate guards, walking over to meet up with the rest of his team.
"You know, this is the third time we've come to Kumo this week," Kazuya grumbled, glaring at the guards. "You'd think they'd expedite the searches a bit."
"You're from Konoha," Yugito shrugged. "It doesn't matter how many times you come here, they're still going to be cautious."
Naruto understood where she was coming from but it didn't make it any less annoying. They always took the longest with him due to all the storage seals he had on him. He followed the Kumo nin as she spoke to Hana, Kazuya trudging along beside him.
It had taken longer than anticipated to perfect the seal and he'd only managed to finish the one village. They were staying in Kumo so they'd been forced to return for the night with plans to set off for the next one in the early morning. He'd reassured their guard/guide that process would be much faster now he'd figured it all out. He was particularly proud of this one; he would say it was one of his finest and he knew by the time he'd finished them all he would be able to do it with his eyes closed. The only issue he had thought of with it was maintenance.
He wouldn't be around when these seals would need renewed. Annual maintenance would extend the need for renewal for a decade or two but he couldn't come back once a year just for that. What would Kumo do once he passed? There were no budding fūinjutsu experts in Konoha; Tenten was doing well but she had no interest beyond what she could apply to her weapons. Naruto wanted this to be a long-term solution.
"What're you thinking about?" Kazuya nudged him.
"Not much," he shrugged. "Just that we may never be dry again."
"How're you doing with that?" Kazuya prompted, his pink eyes scanning Naruto carefully. "How's your chest doing?"
"I'm fine, Kaz," Naruto rolled his eyes. "I promised I would tell you if I got bad. At the end of this mission, it's probably going to be a different story, but for right now, I am fine."
"Okay, okay, dropping it," Kazuya held up his hands in surrender. "What do you think about that situation then?"
Naruto followed his gaze to the women walking just in front of them. Their heads were bowed together slightly and he could see a smile dancing on Hana's face. She was more relaxed than he would have thought in an enemy village. The Haimaru Brothers trotted along beside her and they were much more alert.
"What situation?" He asked, confused. "It's a good thing they're getting along."
"Oh they're getting along alright," Kazuya huffed in amusement.
Naruto frowned. He was missing something. Kazuya stared at him for a long moment before he rolled his eyes.
"You are hopeless, you know that? I feel bad for your future partner, whoever they turn out to be."
Naruto was about to retort when he felt a signature enter his range. He stopped in the middle of the yellow path that ran through the village and turned his head in its direction. Kumo had two Jinchūriki? Why didn't he sense this one during the chunin exams?
"Naruto?"
He snapped his eyes back to his team who had also stopped. Yugito had narrowed her eyes at him.
"Sorry, it's nothing, I just thought I…saw something," he said sheepishly.
He was pretty sure Kumo didn't know about his sensing abilities and he wanted to try and keep it that way. It was bad enough that they knew about his fūinjutsu, he didn't want to imagine how they would act if they found out; probably try to kidnap him like they had a tendency to do.
The signature moved and Naruto could feel it directly in front of them. He began to walk at a brisk pace towards it, passing Yugito and Hana and missing the looks his teammates shared behind him. He finally spotted a large man in the near distance gesturing exaggeratedly as two kids followed behind him. As they drew closer, Naruto took in the man's appearance.
He was tall and built solidly with large muscles bulging across his dark skin. Blond dreadlocks were held back by a white Kumo hitae-ate which matched the long white scarf around his neck and the white, sleeveless body armor that had only one shoulder strap. A thick red rope wrapped around his waist and it coordinated with the red accents on his white bracers and shin guards. He had a blue tattoo on his bare shoulder and two red hilted swords were attached to his back. The demonic chakra within him was closer to Rio's than Yugito's but there was a sense of calm about it that he hadn't felt before. It was almost the opposite of Shukaku's chaotic, roiling energy.
As they drew even closer, the group having stopped in the middle of the street, he could see the long-suffering looks on the faces of what he assumed were genin. They reminded him of Neji and Tenten whenever Gai went on one of his 'Youth' rants. The white haired boy looked downright depressed and the redheaded girl was one word away from stabbing her sensei.
"Will this rain ever stop? It's dampening my style! Bakayarō! Konoyarō!"
The white haired boy actually groaned out loud before he spotted Naruto's group approaching.
"Yugito-sama!"
The large man stopped yelling and loved over, black sunglasses hiding his eyes.
"Yo, Yugito!" He held out his hands in a strange pose. "What is up, cool cat?"
Yugito rolled her eyes, her expression fond.
"I'm fine, B-sama," she answered respectfully. "How did your training go today?"
"My students are so good, yo! Their strength is solid! My hopes are high!"
He tilted his head.
"Who are these tuneless geezers?"
"This is the fūinjutsu expert from Konoha," Yugito gestured to Naruto. "These are his escorts and I'm guiding them around."
"So we're finally getting the flood protection seals?" The girl asked eagerly.
"Yup!" Naruto grinned despite the wary looks they were still shooting at him. "Finished it today so just gotta slap them on."
"Aren't you a bit young to be an expert?" The boy asked, his dark eyes watching him carefully.
"Omoi!" B yelled. "That's not cool!"
"Nah, it's fine," Naruto waved a hand dismissively. "You would not believe how many people ask the same question."
He slipped a hand under his poncho, unsealing the papers from the storage seal on his ribs. Taking it out, he offered it to the genin.
"Wanna see?"
Omoi hesitated so the girl snatched it out of his hands, Omoi shooting an annoyed 'Karui' at her. He peered over her shoulder to look at the scribbles that Naruto had drawn that day.
"Are you interested in sealing?" Naruto asked nonchalantly.
The genin didn't answer him but B stepped in.
"Omoi is more focused on his lightning jutsu, Bakayarō! Konoyarō! I caught him with some sealing books once and it was totally his style!"
"It's not as if we have someone that can teach him though," Yugito added.
"Naruto's self-taught," Kazuya announced with a gleeful look in his eyes.
He had the audacity to dodge the sharp elbow that Naruto tried to jab into his side.
"Really?"
The two Kumo jounin stared at him.
"Yeah," Naruto admitted. "There has been a lot of ruined furniture in the process…and trees…and one table at the library."
"Naruto subscribes to the 'trial and error' method of learning."
"Anyway," Naruto said loudly, hoping to get back on topic. "If you're free tomorrow, I can take you two with us to the villages and I can teach you how to apply and maintain the seals yourselves. That way I don't have to keep coming back and Kumo will have someone who knows how they work."
This drew a mixture of shocked and confused looks his way. He knew it was a bit unorthodox, to give away a potential leverage over a rival village, but he knew this was the right thing to do. It was now just a matter of convincing Kumo that he was being genuine and it wasn't some convoluted scheme to undermine them.
This should be fun.
Thanks for reading!
