"Talking"
'Thinking'
Jutsu/ Bijuu/ Summons
Flashbacks, Letters, and Setting
I don't own Naruto
Chapter 21: Mission to Wave Part 1
At the Hokage's Office
"Wait, you can't be serious! This is my guard detail? A bunch of kids? They don't look like they can protect themselves, let alone me! Look at that girl! She's blind for crying out loud! This is ridiculous! I paid good money for super ninja to protect me!" Tazuna, the elderly bridge builder from Wave, complained to the Hokage. He had expected better protection after scrounging together all the money he could to save his village. He was disappointed.
"Hey! Don't call Hinata a blind girl! She can see 1000 times better than you, you stupid old drunk man!" Narumi snapped back. She wasn't about to let this drunk man get away with disrespecting her friends, especially Hinata, who had a rough life at home.
"What did you say? Stupid old drunk?! It's just drunk old man to you, little tomato looking brat! Didn't your parents teach you to respect your elders!?" Tazuna yelled back at Narumi.
Everyone in the room cringed a little when Tazuna brought up Narumi's parents.
"Unfortunately, her parents died when she was born. So no, her parents were in fact, not able to teach her to respect her elders. Instead, I taught her to stand up for herself, and to stand up for her friends. I'd say she's doing a great job at that, wouldn't you?" Naruto told Tazuna with a nonchalant attitude and smile on his face that failed to make anyone feel safe.
The atmosphere in the room became even more awkward.
"Err… ummm… why yes… of course. Doing a ... umm… super job." Tazuna stammered out, barely able to string the gibberish response together. He knew he messed up with that last comment.
Hiruzen decided he had enough fun watching the awkward interaction that made everyone cringe, and broke the tension.
"Alright everyone. That's enough. Tazuna-san, you paid for a C-rank mission, and this team is more than equipped to deal with the kinds of threats you told us we could expect." Tazuna couldn't help but to guiltily gulp at that.
"Now that we are all acquainted with each other, and know what the mission is all about, why don't we all head home and prepare for it?" The Hokage dismissed everyone.
Naruto was grinning as he watched everything. He enjoyed watching people squirm uncomfortably from time to time. "Sounds good Hokage-sama. Alright team, meet me at the gate by 7:30 tomorrow. Pack for a month's trip. You are all dismissed."
Team 7 nodded and left with their sensei. Tazuna couldn't be happier to leave the room as well.
He took a glance at Team 7 as they left. He didn't know why, but he felt like he was in danger when he mentioned the redhead girl's parents.
He didn't understand the concept of killing intent, but he instinctively knew the blonde sensei was dangerous, even though his outward demeanor seemed relaxed. The pale boy had given off a dangerous vibe too. He decided he'd be a little more careful tomorrow.
The Uchiha Clan Head's House
The surviving members of the Clan Head's family were seated around the table for dinner. Izumi had been working with Mikoto on some police work, and was also present, staying for dinner at Mikoto's invitation.
"So, I got my first C-rank mission. I'm heading to Wave country tomorrow." Sasuke informed the two older Uchiha women at the table.
"A C-rank? Already? Didn't you say you only completed 5 D-ranks so far?" Izumi asked in surprise, stopping mid reach for a piece of teriyaki chicken.
Mikoto was shocked as well. "It's only been a month. Do you think you're ready to leave the village? Anything could happen out there." Mikoto was worried for her only remaining child. She had gotten more protective and worried for Sasuke ever since the massacre. She couldn't bear the thought of losing her last child.
"I'm sure he'll be fine, Mikoto-sama. Itachi and Naruto were out doing C-rank missions shortly after graduating too. And besides, Naruto will be with him." Izumi told Mikoto in an effort to assure her.
Mikoto felt a little better knowing Sasuke would be with Naruto. She knew Naruto cared for Sasuke almost as much as he cared for Narumi, and he would never let anything happen to him.
"So what will you be doing? How long will you be gone? Are you excited for your first mission outside the village?" Izumi asked Sasuke.
Sasuke couldn't hide his excitement. He nodded eagerly to Izumi's last question. He was finally doing real shinobi work instead of doing people's chores!
"We'll be escorting some bridge builder man back to his home in Nami no Kuni, and protecting him until he completes his bridge. We're expected to be gone for a month or so." Sasuke informed his mom and the girl he saw as an older sister.
"Wow! Over a month! Looks like this will be the last time I see you for a while then, huh." Izumi told Sasuke. "I'll be leaving for a mission tomorrow too. Why don't I see you off?" Izumi offered.
Sasuke looked over at his mom who gave him a small smile and nodded. He agreed to Izumi's offer.
After dinner he packed his bag for the mission excitedly, with his mom and Izumi helping him out.
At the Hyuuga Household
The Main Branch of the Hyuuga Clan were gathered together as they ate their dinner together.
Though they didn't chatter loudly as they ate as many other families did, they still talked about current events or things that were going on.
This was the appropriate time to let the Clan Head know if you were leaving the village for a mission.
Hinata politely ate her food as she stole glances of her father, looking for the courage and the right timing to tell him she was leaving for Wave tomorrow.
"Is there something you wish to tell me? Or is there something on my face? Stop your fidgeting and come out with it." Hiashi told Hinata, noticing her actions without even turning to look at her.
"Eep!" Hinata was surprised at being caught. She gulped nervously, as she tried to muster up the courage to speak to her father.
"O-otou-sama, my t-team has a C-rank mission t-tomorrow." Hinata squeaked out in a quiet voice.
Hiashi didn't even turn around to look at her as he continued to eat. "What did I say about your stuttering. Speak confidently. You're trying to inform me, not mumble to yourself. It's not becoming of a Hyuuga."
"Y-yes otou-sama." Hinata managed to say in a slightly louder voice. She mentally chided herself for stuttering again.
Hiashi chewed his food with the manners befitting a proper Hyuuga and swallowed before speaking. "So what is this mission you were speaking to me of? Where is it, how long will you be gone, and what will you be doing?"
"The mission is in Nami no Kuni. We'll be leaving t-tomorrow, and we'll be gone for around a m-month. It's an e-escort and protection mission." Hinata informed her father.
Hiashi continued to eat without looking at her. It was several awkward moments as Hinata sat there wondering if her father heard her.
"You will not be going." Hiashi finally spoke after thinking.
Hinata was not expecting that reaction, and looked at her father in surprise, dropping her chopsticks.
"O-otou-sama?" Hinata asked, not sure if she heard him properly.
"I said you will not be going on that mission. You are not ready to leave the safety of the village walls." Hiashi coldly told her.
"B-but otou-sama! M-my team! They'll be expecting m-me to be there!" Hinata pleaded.
Hiashi turned around suddenly to finally look at her with displeasure. "I am your father! I said you will not be going, and you will obey." He told her in a low hiss.
"You are not strong enough to go on such risky missions yet. I will not risk the Byakugan falling into enemy hands because you would rather please your team rather than your own clan."
"B-but otou-sama! I've gotten s-stronger than before!" Hinata begged.
Hiashi gave her a stern gaze. She was showing some backbone he hadn't seen before. He decided to test her resolve.
"Fine. Spar with your sister after dinner, and if you can convince me, I'll let you go." Hiashi told Hinata.
"…hai, otou-sama." Hinata said quietly. She hated these spars. She couldn't bring herself to hurt her own baby sister, but they always tried to make her. Eventually they began to think Hanabi was stronger than her.
Hinata ate the rest of her meal quietly, thinking about her dilemma.
Namikaze-Uzumaki Household
After eating a large dinner at Ichiraku's, as they wouldn't be able to have it for at least a month, the siblings returned home to pack for the mission.
Narumi was practically bouncing off of the walls in excitement as she grabbed everything she might possibly need, down to the smallest of possibilities.
Toothbrush? Check. Sword? Check. Spare kunai and shuriken? Check. Instant Ramen? Check. Swimsuit? You never know when you might go swimming. Check. Spare pillow cover? Hey, you might spill some ramen on your main pillow cover. Check.
Naruto smiled watching his sister's excitement. He was already done packing. He had pre-packed mission packs sealed into scrolls, sorted into different mission lengths and locations. He grabbed a month long mission pack for a wet environment.
"Onii-chan, do you think I'll need my fuzzy bunny slippers? What am I saying. Of course I'll need them! What will I do if I'm indoors but my feet get cold? How about my shoujo manga, onii-chan?" Narumi asked as she came out of her room wearing bunny slippers and holding several volumes of the shoujo manga she liked to read with Ino and Hinata.
Naruto chuckled and was about to respond when they suddenly heard a gentle knock at their door.
"You tell me if you think you need them." Naruto told Narumi as he headed to the door to see who it was.
He opened the door and found Hinata standing outside, eyes puffy and red from crying.
Naruto immediately pulled her in and closed the door.
"What's wrong, Hinata? He asked with concern visible in his eyes.
Hinata sniffled as she tried to calm herself down to speak. "I-I can't go to the m-mission tomorrow."
Narumi quickly came over, still wearing her bunny slippers on her feet and a sleep mask with a pair of open eyes on it on the top of her head. "What do you mean? Is it because you don't want to see that stupid old drunk guy? I'll make sure he behaves! Come on Hinata!"
"M-my otou-sama. H-he said I'm not allowed to go, because I'm too w-weak." Hinata stammered out quietly in between her sobs.
Naruto knelt down in front of Hinata and grabbed her arms near the shoulder to tell her she wasn't weak. He noticed she winced at his touch, and pulled her arms back and rubbed them.
He pulled up the sleeves of her jacket and found multiple bruises. He gritted his teeth.
"I'm gonna talk to your father." Naruto said with anger visible in his eyes.
At the Hyuuga Household
Hiashi sat in his study, going over some scrolls on clan affairs, when a cadet branch member called for him outside the door.
"Hiashi-sama? Naruto-san wishes to speak to you."
Hiashi rolled up his scroll and stood up slowly. " Tell him I'll be out shortly." He told the cadet branch member as he did so. He had an idea what this was about.
He opened the door for the guest reception room and found his daughter's sensei waiting for him with anger in his eyes.
"Ah, Naruto-san. What do I owe the pleasure of your presence tonight to?" Hiashi asked as he took a seat across the table from Naruto.
Naruto hated this whole polite façade thing that was going on right now, but tried his best to be civil. "Hiashi-san, I'd like to know why you're forbidding my Genin from going on a mission given by Hokage-sama."
Hiashi ordered a cadet branch member to bring some tea. He then turned around to answer Naruto's question.
"I forbade my daughter from going on this C-rank mission, because she is not ready." He told Naruto politely, but firmly.
"Who's to say she's not ready? As her sensei, I say she is more than ready." Naruto replied back.
Hiashi took the tea pot from the cadet branch member and poured himself and Naruto some tea.
He took a sip before responding.
"Naruto-san, do you know what risk a main branch member like Hinata carries when she leaves the safety of the village? She risks harm not just for herself, but for the entire clan. Unlike cadet branch members, main branch members like Hinata aren't simply killed. The Byakugan is highly sought after by everyone, and they'll do anything to make sure they get their supply, if you know what I mean. As such, she has the responsibility to keep her eyes and herself safe for the clan. This shinobi business is not a game, as I am sure you are well aware of. I, as Clan Head, have deemed her not ready to risk our clan's secrets and kekkei genkai for a C-rank mission, which she is taking after only a month after graduating, and 5 D-rank missions."
"And you tested her to see if she was ready by hurting her?" Naruto asked threatening tone.
"… I'm afraid I'm not sure what you are talking about." Hiashi responded.
"Don't pretend you don't know about all the bruises she has on her body!" Naruto yelled out.
Hiashi snorted when he realized what Naruto was talking about. "Though that is none of your business, I assure you, that was not inflicted by me. I wanted to see the growth she was speaking of, and had her spar with her sister. Her disgraceful performance has confirmed my assumption that she is not ready."
Naruto clenched his fists. "You're telling me what was supposed to be a light spar left her with all those bruises? And why would you pit her against her younger sister! You know she would never hurt her!"
"Naruto-san, I'm afraid what we do in this clan is none of your business. If that's all, I'll be asking you to leave." Hiashi told Naruto as he finished his tea.
"Fine. How you run your clan is none of my business. But I'm not done. I'd like for you to let Hinata go on this mission." Naruto told Hiashi.
Hiashi was starting to get annoyed.
"Have you not heard what I just told you? She is not safe outside the village."
"Hiashi-san, I'll swear on my life that I'll bring her back safely." Naruto promised Hiashi.
"… and should you fail?" Hiashi asked.
Naruto paused for a second to think. "I'll let you brand me with that damned seal of yours."
Hiashi's eyes widened in surprise. The caged bird seal was both a sign of submission and servitude, as well as a practical means to control someone. This basically meant Naruto was offering to become a slave of the Hyuuga.
Hiashi considered Naruto's proposal briefly.
"Fine. I'll put her safety in your hands. Should anything happen to her, I'll hold you responsible." Hiashi conceded.
Naruto nodded and stood up as he began to leave.
"Oh, by the way, thank you for the tea. It was excellent." Naruto told Hiashi before disappearing a Shunshin.
Hiashi smirked. 'Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto. What an interesting character.' He thought to himself.
At the Village Gates, 7:20am
Sasuke and Izumi walked up to the gates together after having breakfast with Mikoto. Sasuke was practically bouncing with excitement, but the excessively large bag on his back that held everything he, Mikoto, and Izumi thought he could possibly need, held him down.
He arrived to see Narumi and Hinata who waved at him and Izumi happily, as they were also excited for their first journey out of the village.
Sasuke noticed Hinata's bag was a lot smaller than his, and he rolled his eyes as he recalled how his mom helped him pack. He didn't recall her being so overprotective of Itachi.
Then he noticed Narumi didn't have any bag with her.
"Hey Izumi nee-chan! Hey Sasuke! You ready to kick some butt on this mission?" Narumi asked, her excitement evident in her tone.
"If you can't already tell by this huge bag that's crushing me, yes, I'm pretty much ready for anything. I feel like if I look hard enough there's a takoyaki griller in there somewhere, in case we run out of money and need to start a street food stand to make money." Sasuke said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.
"Oh hush, Sasuke-kun." Izumi said to the complaining boy. "We put everything in there to make sure you have everything you need."
"Then how come your bag is like the size of mine!" Sasuke complained.
Izumi and the other girls laughed at his complaints. "Well, it's because my mission is a simple diplomatic mission to Taki, an allied village. They'll have everything I need." She explained.
Narumi laughed at Sasuke's appearance. "Ha! You look like a turtle carrying its house!"
Hinata chuckled as she watched Narumi mimicking a turtle. When she was with her team, it felt like all of her problems were left behind. She loved being on Team 7.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever baka. Looks like you didn't even pack anything. Did you forget?"
Izumi answered for Narumi. "Actually, she probably has her stuff sealed up. I wouldn't expect Naruto's sister to do anything less."
Narumi puffed out her chest in pride. "Yup! Sealed it myself!" she pulled out a scroll from her scroll holding pocket to show it off.
Naruto arrived with Tazuna at this moment, Tazuna looking a lot tamer with Naruto, and seemingly sober. He looked like a child who had been scolded by his parents.
"Looks like you had the same dilemma as Narumi, huh?" Naruto chuckled as he asked Sasuke when he saw the massive bag on his back. "Or are you moving to another village?"
Izumi lightly punched Naruto's shoulder. "Stop teasing him, Naruto. I guess Mikoto-sama and I got carried away while we were helping him pack."
Naruto chuckled as he pulled out 3 scrolls. He tossed them to Sasuke, Hinata, and Izumi. "I'm not gonna allow MY team to walk around with backpacks like some civilians. Seal your stuff in these. You can get one too since it looks like you're going on a mission as well, Izumi-chan."
"Yay! I finally get one of these! I was wondering when you were gonna give me one of these, Naruto-kun!" Izumi said as she caught hers.
Naruto gave her a smirk. "Heh. You should have asked. Didn't know you wanted one."
Sasuke unrolled his scroll to see what was so special about this scroll. He saw that the scroll was divided into several sections, each for storing different items, unlike regular storage scrolls which sealed everything in the same place.
Izumi read through her scroll categories out loud. "Weapons, ninja gear, mission clothes, comfortable clothes, kunai and shuriken, instant food, fresh food, camping equipment, cooking utensils, miscellaneous? Wow, you really thought of everything, didn't you!"
"Umm, what's the difference between instant and fresh food?" Hinata asked as she looked through hers.
"Well, instant food is stuff like MREs, nutrition bars, food pills, and stuff like that-" Naruto explained.
"-And fresh food are things like this!" Narumi completed her brother's explanation by unsealing a still hot bowl of Ichiraku's Ramen.
"Amazing…" Izumi commented.
"Well, the seal was originally meant to preserve stuff like fruit, but yes, it works for Ramen as well." Naruto explained.
"Alright Team 7. I'm gonna give you guys 10 minutes to organize your supplies and seal them into the proper sealing section. I've made each seal different to accommodate whatever it's meant to hold."
Naruto helped Tazuna seal his stuff, and soon everyone was ready to go.
"Alright everyone! Good luck on your mission! Come back safe!" Izumi waved towards Team 7, who waved back as they left for their first C-rank Mission.
On the Road to Wave
The Team walked in a diamond formation, with Naruto in the front, Sasuke and Narumi at the sides, and Hinata at the back. The client, Tazuna, was at the center.
The entourage walked at Tazuna's pace, chatting as they walked, while still keeping an eye out for trouble.
Naruto didn't do much talking but did a lot of listening. He wasn't about to let anything happen to his team, who he saw as his little siblings.
An hour or so after leaving the village gates, Naruto sensed 2 chakra signatures from a puddle up ahead. He held back a smirk. 'Amateurs. Really? A puddle?' He thought to himself.
He put casually put his hands in his pocket, where he used one hand to weave through the hand seals for a genjutsu.
He cast a subtle genjutsu on the owners of the 2 chakra signatures, as well as his team and Tazuna. He wanted to see how his team would deal with the threat.
Hinata periodically activated her Byakugan to scan the area for threats. She activated her Byakugan as she walked by a puddle and saw 2 sources of chakra in it.
Narumi sensed killing intent radiating from the puddle as she walked by. Odd. Since when did puddles want to kill people?
Sasuke didn't sense anything, but he immediately knew something was wrong with the sight. It hadn't rained for a couple weeks now, and there was a puddle this big in the middle of the road?
The 3 Genin shared looks, pointing at the puddle with their eyes. The three of them looked towards their sensei to see what he thought of it, but he seemed to be oblivious, not even sparing the puddle or any of them a glance as he walked ahead. They assumed everything was fine by his reaction, but couldn't help but stay a little vigilant at the strange sight.
Meanwhile, the real Naruto was off to the side, invisible to practically everyone as he hid himself with his Meisaigakure no Jutsu (Hiding with Camouflage Technique).
He was pleased to see their awareness and the way they kept their guard up, despite their sensei's apparent obliviousness. A good shinobi needed to trust their instincts.
All of a sudden, two ninja burst out of the puddle, each wielding a clawed gauntlet on one hand that was connected by a chain with sharp spikes and blades sticking out of it. They wrapped up the Naruto at the front of the formation quicker than the Genin could react, and jumped in opposite directions.
The Genin's eyes widened in shock as they saw their beloved sensei get torn to shreds and fall to the ground in a bloody heap.
"1 down, and 4 to go." One of the assailants, who appeared to be a missing nin from Kiri, told his partner who looked very similar to him, only distinguished by their outfits and hitai-ite which had 1 horn on one of them, while the other had 2.
The 3 Genin of Team 7 quickly snapped out of their shock and sprung into action, refusing to be caught flat footed.
Narumi drew her sword in absolute fury after seeing her beloved brother and only remaining family member get turned into some minced meat.
"YOU! HOW DARE YOU!?" she could hardly put her rage into words. Her sword spoke for her instead, as it moved in a blur, catching the 2 Kiri missing nin Chunin by surprise.
They were, by all means, supposed to be more experienced and skilled than some Genin, but Narumi was really laying into them with her ferocious slashes.
"Gozu! I need some help with this redhead bitch!" one of the missing nin called out to his partner as he used his metal gauntlet to try to defend himself from Narumi's relentless assault.
The so called Gozu, however, was in no position to help. "I've got my hands full with this brat, Meizu! What the hell are they feeding Genin in Konoha these days?!" he yelled out as he tried to fight off an enraged Sasuke who fell upon him like a man possessed.
Sasuke used his smaller and more agile frame to weave through Gozu's attacks, and used kunai in both hands to defend and attack at the same time.
The chain was becoming a hindrance to the two Chunin, and they decided to snap off the chain in order to gain mobility.
Hinata guarded Tazuna as she watched, and she scanned the area for any other potential threats. When she saw none, she decided to help her friends take out their opponents before their advantage of being underestimated disappeared.
She charged in to Sasuke's opponent, who was closer, and weaved in and out between Sasuke's attacks delivering her jyuuken strikes. All of the blocks Gozu thought he made were actually accruing damage as Hinata hit chakra points and nerve clusters. Gozu didn't notice in the heat of the moment, but he was slowing down.
Sasuke used the opportunity to step back and fly through the hand seals for his signature jutsu. "Hinata!" he yelled out in warning.
Having trained for this maneuver, Hinata delivered one last strike to distract the missing nin, and ducked out as Sasuke yelled out his jutsu.
"Goukakyuu no Jutsu! (Grand Fireball Technique)"
A huge ball of fire flew towards Gozu, who tried to jump away. However, when he tried to jump, he found that he was a lot less agile than he normally was, and he was unable to channel chakra to his legs for a chakra powered jump. He did his best to dodge the fireball, but the size of the attack meant he wasn't able to avoid it completely.
He screamed in pain as his left leg and arm received serious burns, and began to swell painfully.
Meanwhile, Meizu wasn't having any better of a time. Narumi was like a little red storm of blades. Kiri was renown for its swordsmen, but Meizu hadn't seen anyone Narumi's age with her skill.
Each of her strikes that he blocked sent shockwaves through his body, as Narumi put her whole weight into each strike, and carried the momentum as she came for another strike.
Instead of slowing down like he expected her to, she slowly became faster and faster, and Meizu began to accumulate cuts all over his body. Even his gauntlet wasn't holding up to the punishment, and small bits of it began to break off.
After parrying one of Meizu's strikes, Narumi countered with a slash that cut into Meizu's bicep and thigh. He fell to one knee, incapacitated on 2 of his limbs.
Hinata appeared from behind and delivered 5 rapid strikes to various points on his neck and back that promptly knocked him out.
Tazuna stood there in fear, his underwear slightly damper than it was 5 minutes ago, as he watched the kids he disrespected fight with the ferocity of a tiger. In 5 minutes, the two assailants lay at their feet, incapacitated or unconscious.
The 3 Genin were still running on adrenaline as they huffed to catch their breath from their exertions.
They were broken out of their small trance when they heard a slow clap.
"Sensei/ nii-chan! You're ok!" the 3 Genin shouted out in unison. Even Hinata didn't stutter this time.
"Of course I'm ok. You thought those amateurs could take me down? I just stepped aside to give you guys a chance to show me what you can do. And let me tell you, I'm impressed. Flawless teamwork, and decisive and ferocious attacks." He clapped again.
"Seriously, well done. Give yourselves a clap. This was your first life or death fight, and you guys dealt with it splendidly. You didn't even let my apparent death throw off your game for too long. These two are known as the demon brothers. Chunin level missing nin from Kiri according to my bingo book, and you guys gave em hell. I'm so proud right now."
Narumi sheepishly scratched the back of her head, embarrassed at overreacting at her brother's apparent death, though she was proud of her performance. That'll teach them not to mess with her family! The little tricks she picked up as she sparred with Yugao paid dividends as she fought less skilled opponents.
Sasuke and Hinata were on cloud 9. They took down 2 Chunin! And they were fresh Genin! A little over a month ago, they were still sitting in class at the Academy!
Sasuke was happy to be praised by someone he looked up to greatly, being acknowledged for his own skill. All that hard work was so worth it.
Hinata too, was elated. Sure she failed when she fought against her sister Hanabi, but she proved to herself that she wasn't the weakling her father made her out to be. When the time came, she didn't buckle under the pressure like everyone expected her too, but instead she was able to rise to the occasion and play a big role in taking out 2 Chunin.
Naruto took out a notepad and wrote down what he saw. "Excellent. Excellent work. I'll make sure this goes into the mission report."
Tazuna was just glad the situation was over and he was safe. Guess those little brats were super ninja after all. Even the blind girl.
"As pleased as I am with your performance, there's another reason I hid myself. I wanted to see who they were targeting. Was it me? Was it any of you? Why would they target a bunch of no name Genin? It's not like they seemed to know who you were."
Tazuna gulped when he heard Naruto's deductions. He hoped Naruto wouldn't figure out the deception.
"What I saw as a bystander, is that they were aiming for Tazuna, before being intercepted by you three." Naruto stated as he turned around to look at Tazuna, who had all the color drain from his face.
"You knew you had ninja after you, didn't you?" Naruto asked Tazuna, staring down at him at point blank distance.
Tazuna was unable to meet Naruto's piercing blue eyes which seemed to dare him to lie. He decided to tell the truth and avoid the pain that he knew would follow if he lied.
"Y-yes." Was all Tazuna was able to say.
"Then why did you lie to the Hokage? Do you know this is grounds to terminate your contract?" Naruto asked Tazuna.
Tazuna was desperate and he fell on his knees. "No! Please! I would have paid for a higher rank mission but I had no money! I scraped together all of the money I could get from my village, and this was all I could get! Please, if this mission fails my village is doomed!"
To Naruto such a threat level was a joke. He was actually glad for some action after 5 errands, err I mean D-rank missions, and wanted to continue, especially after seeing what his Genin could do. However, he decided to hardball the man to teach him a lesson.
"I don't care about all that. All I know is that you put my Genin in danger by not being honest with them, and lied to us and the Hokage. We can't have our clients think it's ok to lie to us. Sets a bad precedent." Naruto responded coldly.
Tazuna's heart sank. If they left him alone here, he would die for certain. As bad as that was, he was more worried for Wave. He was their last hope. With his death, his village would be doomed. His shoulders sagged and his face fell.
The 3 Genin felt bad for the guy. I mean, they were clearly capable of handling such a threat, right? What was the big deal? The guy looked like he was about to cry.
"Awww, come on nii-chan. Sure he's a jerk, but look at him! He looks so sad. He said he did it for his village, but he had no money. Maybe he can pay the rest later? Let's continue the mission, please? Please nii-chan? I mean, don't you think we're strong enough?" Narumi pleaded with her puppy dog look.
While it was slightly less effective than it was when she was 7, it was still Naruto's weakness.
"What do you two think? Do you think we should continue?" Naruto asked Sasuke and Hinata.
Being the compassionate girl she was, Hinata wanted to help the poor old man who seemed to need their help to save his village. She nodded to show her support in continuing the mission.
Sasuke was less compassionate, but he wanted to continue the mission to have more chances to prove himself. He nodded in agreement as well.
"Fine. Since my Genin seem to have a weak spot for you, I'll let it slide this one time, and continue the mission."
Tazuna perked up, and his face lit up.
"But you better pay up the difference when you get the money later, you got that?" Naruto threatened, and Tazuna nodded his head rapidly.
"Now that's settled, time to get some information out of these two. Sasuke, tie these two up with your ninja wire." Naruto ordered Sasuke, and Sasuke went straight to work.
Shortly after, Meizu and Gozu were bound and propped up against a tree.
"Alright. You guys stay back. I'm gonna interrogate them, and it might not be pretty." Naruto warned as he stepped up to the two bound missing nin.
He slapped both of them awake. "Enjoyed your beauty sleep?"
Gozu and Meizu looked up to see a tall blonde man looking down at them with his arms crossed. They were shocked. They thought they had killed him!
"You! But we killed you!" Meizu stammered out.
Naruto grabbed his stomach and laughed violently. The 3 Genin watching watched him laugh for such a long time that it soon became awkward.
Naruto had tears streaming down his face. "You thought you killed me? You? You guys got beaten by 3 Genin! They were still in school not 2 months ago!"
The 2 Chunin looked down in shame when they heard that.
Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes. "Aww man. That was a good one. Anyway I want you guys to tell me who sent you." He asked them casually.
Gozu spit on his face. "Go to hell! We're not telling you anything!"
Naruto nonchalantly wiped the spit from his face, before he slapped Gozu with a slap that would make Tsunade proud. In other words, he slapped the shit out of him. Gozu was sent flying a short distance away.
He dragged Gozu's unconscious body back to the tree Meizu was still propped up against. Meizu kept his mouth shut.
Naruto pulled out a small towel and put it over Gozu's face. He then pulled out his canteen and began to pour water over his face.
Gozu woke up with a gasp, but couldn't breathe, until Naruto took the wet towel off of his face. Gozu gasped to catch his breath.
"Now that we're all awake again, let's cooperate with each other. Otherwise, some of us might get hurt. Why not be civil? No more spitting on each other's faces. How does that sound? Hmm?" Naruto asked Meizu and Gozu, who nervously nodded. The blonde man in front of them seemed slightly unhinged with his carefree and nonchalant attitude mixed with his spontaneous violence.
"Good. Now let me ask you again. Who sent you?" Naruto asked.
"I'm sorry, but we can't tell you." Meizu said in a much more civil tone this time.
Naruto nodded as if he understood their position, before he began to flip through some hand seals, and Gozu saw Meizu's leg get engulfed in flames as he screamed.
Meanwhile, the Genin watching saw Naruto go through some handseals and one of the two tied up ninja began to scream like he was on fire.
"Eh? What's going on? He didn't even do anything to them? Are they just scared?" Narumi asked.
"Genjutsu." Sasuke replied. "He must have them believe that he's hurting them, even though he didn't do anything to them physically."
The 3 shivered at the thought.
"Please! Stop!" Gozu begged as he watched his brother's leg melt. Meizu passed out from the pain, but he continued to spasm.
He could take torture on himself to a degree, but he couldn't bear to see his brother go through so much pain.
Naruto's face remained unchanged as he watched Meizu's leg turn to ashes. "If you don't want me to burn the rest of him, piece by piece, I suggest you tell me what I want to know."
Gozu couldn't take it anymore. "Fine! We were sent by Zabuza who was hired by Gato to kill Tazuna!"
"Zabuza? As in one of the 7 ninja swordsmen of the mist? And Gato, as in one of the richest people alive?" Naruto asked in surprise. "Why would Gato hire someone like Zabuza to take out a small fry like Tazuna?"
"Yes! It's them! I don't know why he chose Zabuza, but Gato wants Tazuna dead because the bridge he's building threatens his trading monopoly in Wave and his control over the country! I swear! That's all I know! Please, let my brother live!" Gozu begged.
"Gato and Zabuza huh…" Naruto pondered. He released them from their genjutsu, and Gozu was surprised to see Meizu was unharmed. Well, besides for the wounds he got while fighting Narumi.
"Well this is getting more interesting." Naruto said with a wicked grin that unsettled Gozu. When Naruto unsealed his sword, Gozu thought this was the end.
Naruto swung the sword down, and Gozu closed his eyes in fear.
When he opened his eyes, he saw that Naruto had cut his binds. He looked up at Naruto in confusion as he slowly shook his brother awake.
Meizu woke up confused, seeing his leg was still there. Was that a genjutsu?
"You-you're letting us go?" Gozu asked in confusion.
Naruto nodded. "I need you to deliver a message to Zabuza for me."
The two missing nin nodded. "What should we tell him?"
Naruto gave them a smirk that chilled their bones. "Tell him the Fox of Konoha has left his den."
*Author's Note*
Back again with the latest chapter of the Jinchuuriki's Brother! It's the famous Wave Arc! The legendary arc where all the fanfics I like to read seem to be abandoned after. This and the Chunin Exams. Seriously. Can't tell you how many promising fics ended at those points. Lol is this foreshadowing? Only one way to find out! Lol.
Oh yeah, remember the thing I said in the last chapter's Author's Note? About the honorifics thing? Scratch that. Turns out my way of adding suffixes was alright. I'll just add a hyphen before 'sensei' and I think we'll be fine.
Anyway here are the votes so far.
Naruto's Pairing
Shizune 190
Samui 142
Izumi 100
Mei 102
Anko 98
Pakura 32
I'm considering pairing him with multiple women, though not simultaneously. I mean, in real life, most people don't end up marrying your first girlfriend anyway. It's not gonna be a harem, and sorry Izumi fans, I don't think I'm gonna have him paired with her, due to his personality and his friendship with Itachi, unless something big happens to change everything. Pakura also seems to be a lost cause at this point. So most likely he'll have some sort of relationship of varying degrees with the others on the list. Well at least that's what I'm considering right now. Let me know what you guys think! I still have a few chapters to go before his pairing status is decided.
Narumi's pairing
Sasuke 48
Shino 8
Shikamaru 36
Gaara 33
Haku 45
Kiba 1
Lol. Poor Kiba. At least he has Akamaru. You know I wasn't planning on having him be a jerk the whole time. I thought their past would give them an interesting dynamic if they got together but I digress. Anyway, I'm gonna choose Haku's gender in the next chapter, so it's the last time you can vote for him/her. I'll think about how Haku's sex and pairing status will fit into my story in the future, and I might not use him for the pairing even if he wins the vote. Just letting you guys know just in case. That being said, I won't completely disregard it either, unless it gets in the way of what I'm planning. Hope you guys don't mind!
Anyway, thanks for reading the latest chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed it! Let me know what you guys think, or any suggestions or questions you guys have. If I can answer your question without giving away spoilers, I'll try to answer your questions through a PM or something.
Until next time! Stay safe and healthy everyone!