Hello! Chapter 5 is up! It's has my first real fight scenes. The ones prior weren't exactly fights. Now, I hope you enjoy Chapter 5 of A Journey to Greatness!'
I do not own Naruto-Kishimoto and the creators of Naruto do
Naruto was walking down one of the many shopping districts of Konoha yawning. He had just woken up and had scrambled to get out the door so as to not miss his team training, but then realized that his sensei would probably be late anyways. It was 9:23 right now and there weren't many people out. It was Sunday, usually a mob formed on Sundays. For one reason or another people would get angry with him and start chasing him across the village calling him terrible names and had rage in their eyes. Since he had started the Academy the mobs had stopped a little. Instead of it being a weekly thing it would only happen once a month now, though it was usually on a Sunday. Since he had started attending the academy, it had become rare to see a ninja joining in the mob. Only some low level chunins every now and then.
As Naruto turned the corner he noticed someone was following him. Acting as if Naruto didn't notice, he continued further until he reached an ally. Once he was out of sight Naruto jumped to the rooftops and went to find whoever was following him. Looking into the street Naruto saw a little boy with some sort of helmet and a long scarf running towards the alley. Landing behind him, Naruto asked the boy "what are you doing following me?". The boy flinched and turned around to say, "You knew I was following you? I thought I was being really stealthy!". Naruto's sweat dropped at the fact this boy thought he was being stealthy when even a genin fresh from the academy could notice him. "Who are you anyways?" asked Naruto.
The boy smirked and chuckled "I am Konohamaru Sarutobi! I'm going to become the strongest Hokage ever!". Naruto smiled since the boy had similar dreams to his own. "Wait, Sarutobi? Like Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage?" asked Naruto. "Yes! And if I can beat the Hokage I will be the strongest in the village! I heard you have a jutsu that was able to take out Jiji!" Konohamaru realized his mistake and covered his mouth hoping Naruto didn't hear. Unfortunately for Konohamaru, Naruto had heard it clear as day, with him being so loud. "Wait! You're the Hokage's grandson?!" asked Naruto. Konohamaru deflated and nodded, Naruto was confused by this, why would he be so disappointed that his grandfather was Hokage?
"Why are you so sad about it? Wouldn't it be cool to have your grandfather being Hokage?" asked Naruto. Konohamaru sighed "You'd think, but because of that, people always call me 'honorable grandson'. Nobody sees me as Konohamaru, they just see the grandson of their beloved Hokage. That's why you need to show me the jutsu so I can defeat him and then people will see me as Konohamaru and not the honorable grandson!". Naruto was taken back from this, for a kid who struggled to gain respect all his life, it was weird to hear about someone who had too much respect. "Alright, I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to use it in front of any girls." warned Naruto. "Why?" asked Konohamaru, oblivious to what the jutsu actually was. "Well… it only works on perverts, soo if you don't want a beating afterwards, heed my warning. Konohamaru now understood what type of jutsu this was, he knew his grandfather was a bit of a pervert, so he knew that the jutsu would be effective. However, he had also seen what had happened to some of the unfortunate souls that had been caught peeping at the hot springs. Konohamaru agreed with Naruto's conditions.
"Good, now I have to meet up with my team now, but tomorrow meet me at training field 3 at 7am. There I shall teach in the ways of the anti-perv," said Naruto. Konohamaru cheered "Yes! Now I'll become really strong and beat Jiji!". With that Konohamaru ran off to go find someone to play with and Naruto went to meet his team.
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When he arrived it was 10:17, and Hinata was not happy about him being late. "Where were you? Kakashi-sensei said 9:30 and here you are arriving nearly an hour late!". Hinata had arrived at 9:30 sharp and then had waited for her teammates and sensei to arrive. Sasuke had showed up a few minutes later and had once again started practicing his control over his fire element. "Well seeing as our sensei is lazy as a Nara, I decided to sleep in" replied Naruto. "And taking on his habits won't help any of us! You could at least try to act respectable!". Naruto laughed at this, Hinata was angry at his reaction. "I've been trying to be respectable my entire life and look where that got me" Naruto said sitting down next to Sasuke who had remained silent the entire time. Hinata didn't have a comeback to this, she didn't understand his words and didn't want to possibly dig herself into a deeper hole. Not having anything to say to that Hinata went back to studying her scroll.
Thanks to his clones Naruto had been able to master the techinique of writing seals the night prior as he was recovering from the torture he had endured from Hinata. Laying out his sealing supplies Naruto started creating a storage seal on a scroll. When he had finished he smiled seeing as this time the scroll wouldn't break after a few uses. Sure he'd have to strengthen the seal from time to time, but this was significantly better than his previous attempts. Deciding to start on a new seal Naruto started making a weight seal. He had read that the seal could be used for physical training and memorized the seal's design after reading about it.
When Hinata had seen that her teammates had started studying more advanced skills she started looking for something for her to study too while waiting for their sensei. While she had some scrolls about controlling her water chakra, Hinata had taken out a scroll for basic medical ninjutsu. With her advanced chakra control Hinata had found the exercises to be relatively easy. While she didn't want to become a medical nin, Hinata thought knowing some first aid would be useful if she or her teammates had gotten hurt. At the moment she could heal small cuts but that was it.
Around 11:20 Kakashi finally showed up, happy to see that all three of his genin had started practicing in more advanced arts. Using the excuse that he had gotten lost on the road of life, Kakashi was greeted by the three annoyed looks of his genin. Moving things along Kakashi explained the plan for the day. "So for today's training I'll be assessing your individual skills, we'll start with chakra control and then chakra reserves. After that, we'll be doing sparring matches. Also, I need a list of all the ninjutsu, genjutsu, or fuinjutsu you know". The three genin nodded, Kakashi had taken out a clipboard with a pen and paper. They wrote down their jutsu as they walked to the training ground. Sasuke took the clipboard first and wrote down some fire jutsu he knew, along with a low level genjutsu. Naruto wrote down the shadow clone jutsu, the storage seal, and the weight seal. Hinata had written down two low level water jutsu she knew and basic medical ninjutsu.
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At Training Ground 7
Taking the clipboard back, Kakashi then handed out tiny pieces of paper. Handing one to each of his genin he then explained that the paper is made from a special tree, and helps determine a person's chakra nature. He then went to explain how the paper will react to chakra being put into it. He also explained how the paper might have multiple reactions for someone with multiple chakra natures and how the chakra nature means that the person finds that element easier to use than others, but it is still possible to use other elements that aren't your original chakra nature. To demonstrate Kakashi channeled some chakra into a piece of paper, causing it to crumple. "I find lightning jutsu easiest to learn, but I can still use fire, water, and earth jutsu too, it's just harder for me," Kakashi finished. Going one at a time Sasuke was first, his paper crumpled and then caught on fire. Taking note Kakashi then moved on to Hinata. Her paper started to fall apart from too much water. Kakashi also took note of this, impressed by the girl's aptitude for water. When Naruto channeled his chakra into the paper, several reactions occurred. First the paper crumpled, then it split in half, and before the halves could leave his fingers the paper turned to dust. Kakashi's eye widened, 'He has three chakra natures?! It's rare for someone to have two like Sasuke, but this!'.
Quickly writing down Naruto chakra natures Kakashi then sealed the clipboard in a scroll and took out something that looked like a laser pointer. "This device can measure the chakra reserves and chakra control someone has. The longer the lazer the more chakra, the more dense the lazer the more control" explained Kakashi. He then walked over to a nearby tree and channeled chakra into the device. A beam of chakra grew from the end to the device and grew to about 3 feet. Kakashi then slashed at the tree and slashed at it. The slash only went in about 2 feet though. "Those with good control can have the entire beam cut into the tree," said Kakashi. He then handed the device to Hinata. Channeling chakra Hinata's beam came to about 1 and a half feet, above average for a genin. Then she walked over to the same tree and slashed. A cut running 1 and a quarter feet deep was found. Naruto was next and had a beam 10 feet long, much to the surprise of his team, however, when he went to cut the tree, his beam only cut in about 8 inches. Hinata smirked and Naruto slouched over in disappointment. Handing the device to Sasuke, Naruto sat on the ground pouting. Sasuke's beam had been about 2 and a quarter feet and had made a cut 1 and a half feet deep. Happy with the results Kakashi told the genin what the pair ups for taijutsu would be. It would start Hinata vs Sasuke, and then Hinata vs Naruto. Finishing with Sasuke vs Naruto.
Sasuke and Hinata took their stances and waited for Kakashi to start the spar. As soon as Kakashi had finished saying "Begin" Hinata charged Sasuke, giving him only a second to react. Sasuke dodged the first strike Hinata had thrown out and then was forced to jump backwards to avoid being hit by another. Getting in his stance again Sasuke met Hinata's charge and the two clashed. Sasuke used various punches and kicks to try and knock Hinata off balance, but the Hyuga girl didn't seem to be struggling much against Sasuke's attacks. Trying something new, Sasuke jumped into the air and flipped, sticking his right foot out to smash it into Hinata.
Seeing his attack Hinata dodged, knowing taking the full force of that wouldn't be possible for her. Activating her Byakugan Hinata prepared to end this match quickly. Her vision becoming black and white Hinata saw Sasuke's chakra points and went into the juuken stance. Then, Hinata made her attack, quicker than Sasuke could blink Hinata closed the chakra points in his right arm. Sasuke realized this and tried to back up and make a plan. Hinata kept up the pressure and gave chase, continuing to close off chakra points. Within 11 more seconds Sasuke was on the ground unable to move with Hinata calmly standing above him. "Winner is Hinata! Next up is Naruto vs Hinata," said Kakashi as he helped his student get off the field after Hinata had opened his chakra points back up.
Hinata walked over to where she had started the previous spar and watched as Naruto made his way to stand across from her. "I'm going to enjoy kicking your ass, Naruto Uzumaki. Please know this is very personal," said Hinata, a smirk forming on her face. "Oh yeah? Well we'll just see about that princess" replied Naruto, a mischievous smile on his face. 'Well this could be either incredible, or a complete let down on Naruto's part' thought Kakashi. "Begin!". Unlike the previous match, both opponents stayed in their stances. Naruto had taken the academy stance that Sasuke had helped him fix after the teachers had taught it to him improperly. Getting impatient Naruto blitzed to Hinata. If not for her training in taijutsu since being 4, Hinata would not have been able to block the punch Naruto had aimed for her head. Continuing the assault Naruto continued throwing punches and kicks. Since Hinata knew the style and since the style wasn't a very good one, Hinata was able to block or dodge everything.
Naruto saw that what he was doing had little effect on the Hyuga and tried something he had read about at the library. Crouching low, Naruto went to sweep Hinata's feet. Seeing the move, Hinata jumped to avoid being set off balance. Using her immobility, Naruto stopped the spin and used his hands to push off the ground. With his speed and Hinata being airborne, Hinata took a double kick to the gut and coughed. The kick sent her flying into the air. Re-adjusting herself, Hinata landed on her feet hugging her stomach. 'Interesting, it seems Naruto is the type to improvise in the middle of a fight. Maybe having him learn multiple styles will be helpful' noted Kakashi.
Naruto smirked, "so when are you gonna kick my ass, princess?". He emphasized the last word, taunting Hinata. Hinata had taken a knee and had a shadow over her eyes. "Right… now," said Hinata, just loud enough for Naruto to hear. With that Hinata blitzed Naruto, using chakra to boost her speed. Activating her byakugan Hinata readied a juuken strike. Stopping right in front of Naruto, Hinata's arms were a blur. Within seconds Naruto had enough chakra points closed another other person would be paralyzed entirely. Naruto was sent flying backwards, smashing into a tree with the last hit and a dust cloud formed on impact. Hinata smirked, 'Serves you right Uzumaki'.
"OOOOWWW!". Hinata froze, 'How is he speaking? That attack would have paralyzed his entire body. Including his tongue!'. Naruto stumbled out of the dust cloud, aching all over and unable to form chakra. "Damn that hurt!" Naruto shouted, dusting himself off and taking his stance again. The tree behind him had a Naruto imprint in it and had started to crack. Hinata scowled and returned to her juuken stance, planning to end the fight with the next blow.
Kakashi and Sasuke were on the sidelines in shock at what had just happened. Neither had expected Hinata to have that much power. And even more surprising, Naruto was able to walk off an attack that would've taken them out tenfold!
Getting impatient again, Naruto charged Hinata again, although this time it was slower. Due to Naruto not being able to use his full speed at the moment Hinata was able to sidestep his kick and then grab him from the collar. Pulling him over her head, Hinata slammed the blonde into the ground and then pulled one of his arms back, while putting a knee into his back. Knowing he was defeated, Naruto yielded, knowing he still had to fight Sasuke.
Kakashi recovered from his shock first and announced Hinata was the victor of the match. Sasuke shook his head and was able to break free from his shock. Getting up from his spot he traded places with Hinata and got into his fighting stance.
While she didn't want to, Hinata reluctantly released Naruto's chakra points with Kakashi-sensei threatening a day of training with Gai. Hinata shivered at the thought, she had heard plenty about her cousin's sensei, and hoped to avoid him as much as possible. Naruto and Sasuke were confused by this, 'what's so bad about a day of training with some jounin?!' the two thought.
Once everyone was ready Kakashi began the battle. Being that the two trained together during the academy, they had an even match until Sasuke's more refined technique finally gave Sasuke an opening on Naruto. Using all his strength Sasuke used this opening and slammed a side kick into Naruto's stomach. Naruto was once again sent into a tree, although it wasn't as impressive this time since Naruto just bounced off the tree instead of denting the tree. Still recovering from his previous match Naruto struggled to get to his feet. Sasuke sighed knowing his friend wouldn't give up unless forced to. Charging forward Sasuke started a barrage of kicks and punches aimed at Naruto. Forced to block and dodge Naruto was backed into a tree. Sasuke suddenly crouched down and swept Naruto's legs out from under him. Before Naruto hit the ground Sasuke chopped the back of Naruto's neck, causing him to pass out.
"Sasuke is the winner" announced Kakashi, the fight had taken 30 minutes and he was happy it was finally over. Sasuke had dragged Naruto over to his sensei and teammate. "Well done team, you all show promise. Now tomorrow we'll have our first mission, our meeting place and time will be the same every time unless I say otherwise. The two conscious genin nodded. Having finished what he needed to say Kakashi said, "Well that's it, I'll be analyzing my notes on each of you and will try to find exercises and jutsu that would work best for you". He then left his genin to go to the library, for two reasons. The first being that he could research jutsu and chakra exercises, the second reason being so he could continue reading his book.
Hinata and Sasuke watched as Kakashi walked away. It was about 3 in the afternoon and both had plenty of time to kill. "So, would you like to go get something to eat with me and Naruto?" asked Sasuke. "Like I would ever willingly eat with that idiot. I need to head home and take care of some clan duties and chores," it wasn't a complete lie. Hinata did have a couple chores to take care of, but she still had plenty of time to eat and then do the chores. She just didn't want to spend another second around Naruto. The one person who seemed to get any emotion out of her besides her family.
Not pushing the subject Sasuke watched as Hinata left him with Naruto. Sasuke looked at his friend and smirked, he knew just what to say to get his friend to wake up. "Hey Naruto, you up for Ramen?". Instantly Naruto was on his feet and started running to Ichiraku's. Sasuke chuckled at his friend's antics and ran to make it to the ramen stop before Naruto had started going for 10ths.
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The Next Day at Training Field 3
"No, you're not doing it right! You need more curves and the face is terrible!". Naruto had been training Konohamaru in the ways of the anti-perv for an hour already, and while Konohamaru had made incredible progress for his age, he still couldn't get the jutsu right.
At the moment Konohamaru had henged into an underdeveloped girl who's face looked like the hunchback of Notre Dame. While he had Naruto's jutsu to work off of and some magazine clippings, it was still hard without an actual girl. Naruto was proud his student learned so fast, he had considered taking Konohamaru to the hot springs, but decided against it when he had nearly been caught last time when he had been developing the jutsu.
Konohamaru scowled and tried again and looked at the magazine clippings Naruto brought for . This time he had turned into a slightly curvy girl and had fixed the face so it looked like an actual girl. "Yes! You did it!" congratulated Naruto. Konohamaru unhenged and cheered, "Haha! Now I'll be able to take down Jiji and become Hokage!". "Hold on, two problems. One, you need to practice more so the jutsu is a knockout to any pervert. That last one was good, but still needs work. Second problem, Hokage isn't about being the strongest in the village! It's about protecting the village! To be strong means that you have something or someone to protect, and that's what you use your strength for. A Hokage protects an entire village! That's why our Jiji is so strong," Naruto explained.
Konohamaru was taken back from those words. He had never thought about his grandfather's role in that light. Trying to understand more, Konohamaru asked "so who do you use your strength to protect?". "Well, there's my friend Sasuke, Jiji, Old Man Teuchi, Ayame-chan, and I also guess Kakashi sensei and Hinata-san" replied Naruto, while he found the Hyuga to be a bitch, she was his teammate, and if they were to ever work together he'd have to protect her anyways.
Konohamaru was deep in thought about these words. Who did he have to protect? 'Well there's Ka-san, Uncle Asuma, Jiji, and… who else?'. Since Konohamaru was often seen as a way to gain popularity within his class, he didn't really have any people he could call his friends. There were only three other kids in his class that didn't treat him as the honorable grandson.
Naruto saw Konohamaru understood what he had said and decided to take his leave. "Well, I think that's enough for today, I'm going to head off to meet up with my team. See you around Konohamaru!". Konohamaru broke out of his thoughts and waved goodbye. "Thanks Naruto!". "No problem, I had fun Konohamaru!" said Naruto. He then walked away with his hands behind his head and a smile on his face. 'Thank you Naruto, for seeing me for who I am, and not who my grandfather is' thought Konohamaru. Seeing Naruto had left the field Konohamaru started off to go find those kids from his class who he thought could be his friends, then he remembered something. 'Wait! Why did Naruto call Jiji, Jiji?!'.
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Naruto had made it to the bridge before both of his teammates, since he had trained with Konohamaru early he had about 45 minutes before his teammates should be arriving. Plopping down on the bridge Naruto decided to try the weight seal he had been studying. Unsealing his sealing ink and pen from his left forearm, Naruto went to write the new seal on his other arm. Finishing the seal Naruto formed the ram sign and directed a little chakra into the seal. For anyone else using the seal they would've gained about an extra 20-25 pounds when trying to put in a little chakra to start the seal. With Naruto's overwhelming chakra reserves however, he had put on an extra 130 pounds. Struggling to get up, Naruto did some exercises to get used to the added weight. Once he had adjusted to the weight Naruto's speed was reduced to an average genin and he now found throwing kunai and shuriken to be more tiring since his arm was now double its actual weight. Satisfied with his work, Naruto practiced activating and deactivating the seal.
Seeing that he still had 15 minutes, Naruto then started to make tags with the weight seal on them, so in battle he could cripple his enemy with a single touch.
Hinata arrived at 9:30 sharp once again and was surprised to see Naruto already there making tags. Not wanting to start a conversation she went to the railing and took out her scroll on water jutsu. She had started practicing the water gun jutsu. It allowed for her to condense water on the point of her finger and then fire it out with enough speed to potentially pierce steel. Forming the hand signs Hinata then pointed at the creek below and fired the water. All that came from her finger was a weak stream of water. Canceling the jutsu Hinata tried again.
Sasuke had been late today, arriving around 10:15. When asked where he had been, he responded "I came across a little old lady who needed help with her groceries". Hinata pinched her nose and sighed, 'You're supposed to be the normal one!'. Now all three were studying their various jutsu and waited for their sensei.
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Kakashi yawned, trying to rid himself of weariness. When he had woken up he saw it was already 11 and decided to get ready to see his team. As he walked he saw Anko wave him into a Dango restaurant. Shrugging his shoulders he made his way to see what his fellow jounin wanted.
Sitting down at the table Kakashi decided to have some fun with her, "So how's Iruka been?". A slight blush had formed on her face, "why would I know what he's been up to?" Anko replied nervously. She and Iruka had started dating and they had agreed to keep it a secret unless things got serious. "Well, I was walking to Iruka's the other night to ask about some of my genin. All though…" Kakashi paused to torture Anko a bit more. "When I arrived at the door, I heard what sounded like a two person party inside. Not one to ruin the fun I decided to leave and ask later". All of the color had drained from her face. Someone had found out about her relationship with the academy teacher! She cursed herself for being so loud, but she just felt so free with Iruka. Kakashi chuckled at her reaction, and went to play it off as if he didn't notice, "Now that that's over, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?". Anko, snapped out of her daze and faster than a sharingan could see, had a kunai up to Kakashi's throat. "If you tell anyone. I'll make sure to give you the most painful and slow death I can imagine" threatened Anko in a whisper. Kakashi held up his hands in surrender promising to keep her secret safe.
Sitting back down, Anko asked what she had originally intended to do when she called him over. "Now, would you like some dango?". "Sure" replied Kakashi, taking one of the many sticks of dango in front of her. Anko quickly grabbed her camera she had hid under the table and aimed it at Kakashi. "What's that for?" Kakashi inquired. "Hey, I just want to make sure I have up to date photos of all my friends, this is a perfect photo opportunity!", actually, Anko wanted to get a picture of what was behind that mask that he always wore. There was a 5000 ryo bounty on such a picture, and she planned to claim it. Kakashi shrugged and brought the stick towards his mouth.
He stopped right before he was about to pull down his mask and then squinted to try and see something behind Anko. "Hey is that Iruka over there? Hey Iruka come one over!" shouted Kakashi. Anko blushed and turned around for a millisecond to see if it was actually Iruka. Fortunately for her, it wasn't. When she returned to look at Kakashi, he had an empty stick in his hand and was dabbing where his mouth would be under the mask with a napkin, as if to wipe any food off. "Well that was delicious, now if you excuse me, I have to see my genin now. It was nice seeing you Anko!". Kakashi waved goodbye and walked off.
Anko had slammed her face into the table when she saw that she had missed her chance to catch a picture of the infamous face of Kakashi Hatake.
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Hinata had finally mastered the water gun jutsu. Although, instead of it just being a squirt of water, the jutsu became like a laser. Unless she stopped the jutsu the water would just keep streaming from her finger. She decided to ask Kakashi-sensei about it, and then moved on to a jutsu that could summon a rain cloud for the caster to use.
Naruto had run out of tags a little while before Sasuke had arrived and had started working on chakra control exercises. He was currently balancing a kunai on his finger, with the point of the blade the only thing that he touched. In order to successfully do this exercise the kunai needed to stay upright and the user needed to reinforce the skin on their finger so the kunai wouldn't cut through. Sweat had formed along Naruto's brow, he was able to protect himself from the blade easily enough, but the Kunai would keep on falling after a few seconds.
Sasuke decided to start working on his lightning chakra nature and had a stack of leaves with him that he would try to crinkle. Most of the time though, the leaves would burst into flames. There was one life that disappeared in a white flash, while it wasn't what Sasuke was going for, he was curious as to what caused that to occur. He too planned to ask Kakashi-sensei for help later.
Kakashi was on one of the beams that went above the bridge looking down on his genins. 'Hmm, Naruto doesn't seem to have anything for elemental jutsu. Sasuke's working on his other element, but what was that white flash? I'll have to check it out at the library later, maybe he'll be able to mix his two elements. Hinata's advancing incredibly for not using shadow clones! She was able to fire a constant stream of water, an ability not heard of since the Nidaime! Could she possibly have his level of ability, or greater, in water jutsu?'. His team certainly seemed to be composed of kids with incredible potential. 'Now if only they'd all get along. Hinata seems to tolerate Sasuke, but as soon as Naruto opens his mouth it's like he killed her dog. I hope these lower ranking missions will help smooth things out'. Having finished his thoughts, Kakashi dropped in the middle of the three genin.
"Sorry, but a black cat crossed my path and I had to take the long way around". Sasuke sighed, Naruto face faulted at the lame excuse, Hinata decided to maintain a neutral expression and made a mental note to get at Kakashi later. Kakashi continued, ignoring the reactions of the genins, "Now, let's get going, don't want to be late for our first mission!". Kakashi then walked off to the Hokage's office with his eye smiling. Naruto groaned and trudged off to join his sensei. Sasuke scowled and shoved his hands into his pockets before following. Hinata didn't make any physical complaint, but in her head, she had started blasting curses strong enough to make Orochimaru blush.
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Arriving at the Hokage's office the team was greeted by the warm smile of the Third Hokage. Naruto had a smile grow on his face, "Jiji! How have you been?!". Hinata was startled by this, 'Wait, did he just call the Hokage Jiji?!'. Kakashi had raised an eyebrow and Sasuke was unfazed, having heard Naruto's nickname for the Hokage several times and knowing that Naruto wasn't actually the Hokage's grandchild. While it was subtle, Hiruzen noticed the slight widening of Hinata's eyes and decided to explain. "I've been very well Naruto. For those of you who don't know, Naruto is not my grandchild, however, I helped him when he was younger and gained the nickname jiji because of it".
Hinata nodded in understanding, but was also confused by what the Hokage had said. 'Why would he have needed to help Naruto?'.
"Today's mission, is to catch the Fire Daimyo's Wife's cat, Mr. Cuddlekins the 5th". Kakashi giggled at this. He too had to do such a D-rank mission, it was considered a tradition that every genin team would hunt down the cat of the Fire Daimyo's Wife. Of course, when he had done it though, it had been the 4th.
Naruto face faulted, since he often wandered the streets of Konoha, he saw many of the D-rank missions genin had faced. Chasing the infamous Mr. Cuddlekins, while it had been the most fun to watch, was the most difficult of all the missions. In fact, he had even heard talk of it being bumped up to a low level C-rank mission, but those were just rumors.
Sasuke and Hinata were oblivious to what the mission entailed, and became even more suspicious and curious when seeing the reactions of their teammate and sensei. 'It's just finding a lost cat. How hard can that be?' both of them thought.
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5 Hours Later
'What the hell is this cat!' Thought Hinata. She and Naruto had just made their 17th attempt to capture the feline. Well it was more Hinata and Naruto having their own plans and getting in each other's way whenever the other was about to succeed, allowing for the cat's escape. She and Naurto boasted a multitude of scratches and were covered in dirt. Of course the scratches didn't last long between Hinata's medical jutsu and Naruto's inhuman regeneration rate.
Sasuke had left around the 14th saying he had some things at home that would help. Hinata was starting to get annoyed with the Uchiha, it had been 14 minutes and he still hadn't returned. When she had asked Naruto, in a brief moment of putting aside her distaste for the boy, he replied "don't worry, once Sasuke gets back this cat will be easier to catch than you in a bad mood". Naruto received an elbow to the gut for the last remark.
Hinata was currently chasing the cat into an alley that was a dead end, hoping that her teammate wouldn't mess things up again. Naruto had grown tired of chasing the cat and no longer wanted to outdo the Hyuga, instead he had planned to back her up for any surprises the cat had in store. Hinata noticed that Naruto seemed to finally come to his senses and focussed on catching the cat.
Mr. Cuddlekins attempted to jump off the wall and to run out of the alley. Unfortunately for the cat, Hinata was trained in close combat and could react to counter the Cat's speed. Struggling to restrain the cat in her arms Hinata walked out of the alley and Naruto fell in line behind her as she made her walk back to the Hokage's office.
They were half way there when Mr. Cuddlekins managed to bite Hinata, causing her to loosen her grip on him and to allow for his escape. Healing her hand, Hinata scowled. "That cat will know hell on earth when I get him!". Naruto shuttered at this and hoped they'd catch the cat soon, otherwise he might accidentally do something to redirect that fury at him. He silently followed the enraged Hyuga after the cat. Although, they didn't run far, because as soon as they turned the corner, they were met with Sasuke calmly cradling the demonic cat in his arms.
"Thank you for catching it, Sasuke, now I can thank that demon for biting me earlier", Hinata said lifting an arm, readying a juuken strike. She froze however when Sasuke responded, "If you touch this cat, I will place you under so many genjutsus, you won't know fantasy from reality". It wasn't what he said that froze the Hyuga, it was the killing intent released with it. Not testing the Uchiha's threat, Hinata let her hands fall to her sides and let Sasuke lead the way to the Hokage's office.
Naruto was still processing the scene he had just witnessed and had nearly peed himself out of terror! Finally breaking out of his shock Naruto hesitantly followed his teammates, keeping a distance of 10 feet. Kakashi was silently laughing at the whole ordeal and had dropped beside Sasuke, asking how he was able to tame Mr. Cuddlekins. "The Uchiha were close friends with a ninja cat clan outside of Konoha, their hideout is one of our storage houses. We learned long ago that using a plant called Catnip, cats become more relaxed". Kakashi was curious about this catnip plant, 'if this plant was made known to the future genin, this mission would be seen as light work! I'm going to have to make sure Sasuke doesn't just tell anyone about it'.
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When team 7 arrived at the office, they were greeted by a very large woman who instantly scooped up the poor cat in her arms and hugged it so hard, one could swear they heard bones breaking. Sasuke cringed at this, but held his tongue, not risking insulting the Fire Daimyo's Wife. After a dramatic goodbye from the Fire Daimyo's Wife, the team turned to the Hokage. Sasuke, Hinata, and Naruto were all trying to wipe a wet lipstick mark from their cheeks.
"Well team, here is your payment, 1 million ryo each. Now don't spend your money all in one place," advised the third Hokage. Hinata was unfazed by the money, being from one of the wealthiest clans in Konoha. Sasuke had raised an eyebrow at the amount, 'this was just a D-rank mission though, why does it pay so much?'. "The Fire Daimyo's Wife treasures her cat, to regain such a treasure, she is willing to pay the village what some make in a year," explained the Hokage.
Naruto was drooling over the money, he had never had so much at one time! 'The amount of groceries I could get! And my rent would be covered for at least 3 months! And who knows the amount of ramen I could eat!". Hinata mentally cringed at the display, hoping they'd be allowed to leave soon, so she could get away from that repulsive sight. "You are dismissed, I'll see you when you come for your next mission" finished the Hokage.
Team 7 left the office and Hinata made a bee line for home, hoping to take a bath and then relax. Kakashi didn't partake in the catching of Mr. Cuddlekins, so he had no reason to return home now, instead he opened his book and started walking the streets of Konoha. "It's only 5 o'clock, want to get some food?" asked Sasuke. "Only if we have ramen," replied Naruto. Sasuke smirked and nodded, knowing that they'd visit Tenrai Dango after. Together the friends went off to treat themselves to accomplishing their first mission.
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2 Months Later
"Aaawww come one Jiji! Can't we have a C-rank mission?!". Naruto had been, single handedly, trying to persuade the Hokage to give his team a C-rank mission, but the Hokage just wouldn't give him one. "Naruto, I can't just give a fresh team of genin a C-rank Mission. If Kakashi thinks you're ready, then I'll reconsider, but at the moment my answer is no". Naruto slumped at this and started to walk away, then he realized what the Hokage had said. 'So if Kakashi says we're ready, then he'll have to give us a C-rank mission!'. Naruto sped off to find his sensei.
After finding his sensei in the at an Icha Icha Paradise fan club meeting, Naruto dragged him outside, and explained to his sensei the situation. Kakashi nodded in understanding, he believed his team could handle a low level C-rank. Promising to ask the Hokage for one next time Kakashi was able to return to the meeting.
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The Next Day
"Today Team 7 you will be cleaning the gutters of…" Kakashi interrupted the Hokage saying, "Actually Hokage-sama, I believe my team is ready to take a C-rank mission". Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at this, "Oh, and do the team members feel the same way?". Naruto was repeatedly nodding his head, Sasuke had given a small nod to show his agreement, and Hinata spoke what all three of them were thinking, "Yes Hokage-same, we believe we are ready to take a C-rank mission".
Hiruzen sat back into his chair, with a small smile. When he saw Naruto running out of the office yesterday he knew he needed to prepare, so he had already had a mission ready. "Okay then, Team 7 your mission will be to escort a bridge builder to the land of waves, just to protect from any bandits or dangerous animals according to the client" explained the Hokage. Naruto cheered, Sasuke and Kakashi had small smiles, and Hinata smirked, happy to have been able to get a C-rank mission.
5 minutes later, a tipsy looking elderly man walked into the room, a bottle of sake in his hand. "So these are the brats that are going to escort me? A blond pipsqueak, an emo kid, and a dainty little princess?!". Team seven all shot him cold glares, the man didn't seem fazed by it though, because of his lack of respect for them or the booze, no one could tell. "Yes, Tazuna, this is the team that will escort to the Land of Waves, exactly what you paid for," replied the Hokage. "Hmp, I'll make do, now we leave in 2 hours, I need to get back as soon as possible! So, you whippersnappers better pack quickly, or else I'll be leaving you behind!" having finished, Tazuna walked out the door to wait by the gate for them.
After a long pause, Kakashi broke the silence "well you heard him, pack now or forever be miserable on the mission". The genins realized that the clock was ticking and ran off to pack. Hiruzen chuckedl, remembering his own genin days. Kakashi shunshined away to pack.
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Not having a lot to pack, Naruto took his time, getting to the gates. Enjoying the sights of Konoha one last time before he left for at least a week according to his research. He had received the information from his clones at the library and conveniently one was reading a map and assuming the amount of time it'd take to get to places at a civilian's pace and at ninja speeds.
Naruto turned the corner and was met by the sight of Hiashi Hyuga. Naruto froze, this was Hinata's father, and it wasn't a secret he and the girl didn't get along. 'Oh Kami, how do I get out of this?'. "H-hey Hyuga-sama. H-how's it going?". Naruto was sweating, Hiashi remained silent, evaluating the boy. "Naruto Uzumaki, I have heard much of you from my daughter…" Naruto was already making silent goodbyes to the people in his life. "...and it had been made clear to me that you and my daughter don't get along. I hope you can forgive my daughter for her attitude". Naruto was confused at this, "Wait, you want me to forgive her?". He had never been asked for his forgiveness, it was… different. "Yes, I know she's made many rude and hurtful comments to you, and I hope you can look past that," said the Hyuga head.
"Okay… but, may I be privileged to learn why I should forgive her?" Naruto asked carefully. While he didn't care for the subject, he had done a little reading in manners, having a Hyuga as a teammate, it was now paying off. Hiashi smirked, 'seems like he's learned a little about how to talk properly'. "Very well. Hinata lost her mother at a very young age. To lose her was to lose a part of herself, and has seemed herself off from making friends ever since. My wife, Hitomi, was alive, she was my daughter's greatest supporter and closest friend. The pain of losing her made her fear experiencing that pain again. I hope you can see why she acts the way she does".
Naruto hung onto every word. As soon as he heard Hitomi, he refused to forget anything that was said. He remained silent for a minute after Hiashi had finished. When he spoke again, he wanted to make sure he had heard right, "Hiashi-sama, your wife was Hitomi Hyuga, correct?". Hiashi nodded, Naruto continued "the same Hitomi that brought me to the hospital all those years back and died shortly after?". Once again, Hiashi nodded.
Naruto fell to his knees, he couldn't believe he had been so rude to the daughter of the person who was the closest he ever had to a mother. The only person to show concern for him besides the Hokage and Ichiraku staff. Standing up, Naruto bowed to Hiashi and said, "I deeply apologize for treating your daughter the way I did".
Hiashi was surprised by this, he did not understand what had caused the boy to react in such a way. 'Hitomi must have really touched Naruto in the little amount of time she met with him'. Of course he did not visibly show this, instead he maintained his neutral expression. "There is no need to apologize. I understand that Hinata can be quite difficult at times, but, please know, before she met you, she rarely showed any emotion. After meeting you, she opened up again. She gets angry, embarrassed, and annoyed by you, that is not a question. However, her shell is starting to break, and I hope with your help it will be broken completely".
Hiashi gave Naruto to process this information, then he continued to the real reason why he was here. "Now, I ask you, Naruto Uzumaki, to protect my daughter on the mission. She is strong, but her pride will be her downfall".
After several seconds Naruto responded, "Yes, I will protect her". Hiashi gave a small smile to the boy, a rare sign of emotion outside the compound. He then walked away, to attend to the numerous clan issues waiting for him. As he walked he said, "be warned Uzumaki, the amount of damage Hinata returns with, I will personally deal double the amount to you. A little more incentive to keep to your word".
Naruto gulped and watched the Hyuga Patriarch leave. 'Geez, that was stressful! To think Hinata is Hitomi-sama's daughter! Now I understand a bit of why Hinata acts the way she does, but… she sounds so lonely'. Shaking out of his thoughts, Naruto started to run to the Gates. Hoping that his team hadn't left without him.
Tell how you think the fight scenes went. If you know any authors with really good comedy or fight scenes, please recommend them to me so I can improve in the future.