Tazuna's House
"Father you're back! Who are these people, with.. you?..." Tsunami trailed off as she saw the blood soaked form of Team 7.
Tsunami had opened the door to quite a sight. Her father looked relatively healthy, if not slightly worse for wear from the constant travelling. It wasn't his appearance that shocked her. What shocked her was the people he had trailing behind him.
A tall man with gravity defying silver hair, a face mask that only showed a quarter of his face. He seemed to be dresses in the typical Konoha Joiunin garb with a few extra puches here and there. It wasn't his general appearance that shocked her but the fact that from the tip of his right hand all the way up this shoulder was caked in dried blood. What had her father gone through to get here? And would Inari be at risk for housing these clearly dangerous shinobi?
If that wasn't bad enough, his troupe of children that followed behind him, who looked similarly roughed up and were oh so young. They were only slightly older than Inari for Kami's sake! Three innocent pairs of eyes stared back into hers and it made her heart ache. If she had been born into a different village this would have been the fate of her son. Training to be a killing machine before he gets his first hair on his chest.
If this was how things were now so be it. Time to put on her brave face and try to accomadate her would be protectors. It was her only real hope anyway.
"Welcome to my humble abode. You have my thanks for bringing my father back safely from his journey. What are the names of my mysterious heroes?"
"I'm no hero Ma'am, only heroes I know have been etched into eternity. Names' Kakashi, Hatake Kakashi. These are my brats, hey shitheads, front and centre. Introduce yourselves."
First was the pink haired girl, she had her hair neatly cropped up to look pretty and effective in battle. If Tsunami looked close enough she could see a slight glint of madness in the young girls eyes. What was their sensei doing to these poor kids?
"Hello! My name is Sakura. I'm 4'3 and I enjoy eating greens and breaking spleens! I'll have to thank you and apologise to you in advance for my teammates highjinks. They will irritate you, do not hesistate to use physical force to show your displeasure. I never do!" She said with a smile.
Well that was... Interesting.
Next was the blonde one, why did he look distinctly familiar? It must have been her mind playing tricks on her. Something must have reflected in those Ocean blue soul piercing eyes. Eyes that brimmed with innocence and a healthy amount of mischief.
"Yo! Im Naruto! Dattebayo!"
His speech was stopped by a prompt fist to the dome from his female team mate.
"STOP RHYMING IDIOT. Do a normal intro or I'll do one for you. Capische? Capische."
"Right, sorry about that. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I enjoy scaring adults and eating kids! Thank you for allowing us into your home! Naruto beamed at her, a chance for him to make a good impression on someone who didnt have preconceived ideas about him due to the conditions of his birth.
There was something off about Naruto Tsunami thought, he was very cheerful and full of life. She however couldn't get the image of tears of a clown out of her mind. There was something more to Naruto than he let show. Who was she to get involved in his private affairs. Best to leave it.
Now for the emo kid.
"Hn."
Right. Time to take from Sakura's book.
"Come here I have something for you. A present if you will, for protecting my dad."
Sasuke walked over to the lady awaiting his present. Clearly this present was only for him as the prince of all saiya... Uchiha's.
"Hn. Hn?!"
He used Uchiha grunt of surprise #43 when all of a sudden he was bent over the woman's lap.
"Now, you're gonna start talking or I'm gonna start slapping."
"Hn?"
Smack*
Time seemed to stop after she did this.
Kakashi and Naruto were both similarly trying to hold in their laughs and Sakura was horrified. Sasuke went completely bright red. Did this civillian just spank him?
"Hn?"
Smack*
"Hn!"
Smack*
"Hn! Stop!"
Smack*
"Okay, okay I give! I'll talk , just please stop this incessant slapping!"
At this stage Naruto and Kakashi were openly laughing and Sakura stood there mouth agape. Surely this wasn't real. They had all been captured into a genjutsu and everything would be back to normal.
She released chakra throughout her body but the scene didn't change. Sasuke had still been spanked by a civilian. Wave was truly a strange place.
"Very good, now, tell me about yourself."
"I'm Sasuke Uchiha, I like tomatoes and fighting, main goal is to kill my brother."
Right well that was simply horrific. A child this young and his main goal is to kill a family member. Thank kami-sama she was born into this remote fishing village and wouldn't have to sacrifice her child's early years for the sake of the nation's military might.
"Alright, let's get you situated to your rooms, also I'll show you the wash rooms and where you can throw your laundry. I'm sure you guys want to wash up after a long journey from Konoha to Wave!"
"I'll take up the offer on the wash room. I'm sure I look and smell less than appetizing right now." Kakashi said with a small smile. Fighting Zabuza wasn't exhausting, but keeping a civilians pace had fried his brain. Taking this long to travel anywhere is a sin.
"Kids be good. Or I'll beat you up even more than usual in training."
"Hai Sensei!" Three child soldiers answered back.
Seeing this military relationship disturbed Tsunami again. It was time to get those thoughts out of her mind, the show must go on!
She brought Kakashi to the wash room and showed the genin their sleeping quarters. Beyond seeing her dad again and seeing some overly violent kids. Today had been a pretty quiet day.
Hours Later
Team 7 sat at the dinner table refreshed and ready to take on the world again.
"Alright the guard rotation will be Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura then me. I'll get up at the same time as Sakura to help her with a project that the Hokage assigned her. I need you all fresh and ready every morning so be sure to get as much sleep as possible. Any questions? No? Good." Kakashi laid out the guard detail and gave Sakura a subtle wink.
"Sensei when are we killing Gato?"
The table went silent.
"Why do you think we're killing Gato Naruto? Kakashi asked, curious to see the way his blonde protege thought.
"Well, we're clearly already on a mission that is beyond the norm for a C-rank. We might as well kill two birds with one stone and kill the guy that is destroying this country by draining it's resources and also take enough of his assets so that Konoha gets a fair trade out of this."
"Naruto... when did you get so smart?"
"Oi!"
"Seconding Sakura, what you've said is entirely correct. I'm proud of your line of thinking. Who wants to volunteer for the assassination mission?"
Three hands shot up.
"WHY ARE YOU GUYS TRYING TO BE HEROES? IT DOESN'T MATTER ANYWAY YOU'LL ALL DIE! THEY ALWYAS DO!" A small emo child made his displeasure known.
"Inari..." Tsunami thought back on that fateful day where Kaiza died. When Inari lost all hope in heroes.
"Who let the midget in?" Naruto grumbled
"Sensei, the kid has a point, all the heroes we know are dead." Sakura said to Kakashi
"Well little genin let me tell you a secret as to why we won't die. We are not heroes, we are shinobi. We lie, kill, steal and cheat. So don't worry mini Sasuke, we will survive a few civilians."
"Now back to the important part. Eenie Meanie Mynie Moe, I choose the Emo."
"Maaaan."
tch*
"Nice! So when are scouting?"
"We aren't, for the first two nights we will continue our regular guard schedule. During the day I will train you guys. On the third day I'm going to drop you behind enemy lines with no Intel and I expect you to make it home. Do not disappoint me."
"Hai Sensei! Will you be there on overwatch in case anything goes wrong?"
"Naturally. Tsunami, we'll be out of your hair within 3 days. Again we appreciate your hospitality."
Tsunami was shooketh. This was a 12 year old not only ordered to assassinate a grown man, but he was excited by it. She had to say something. Surely the teacher could do this grisly job.
"Sasuke-kun are you sure you want to do this? You'll be killing a grown man! Does killing not worry you? And you Kakashi! Ordering a child to assassinate someone. Surely someone sees something wrong with this?!"
Team 7 stared at her as if she had three heads.
Then Naruto spoke up, rather quietly for him which was strange in itself. "Miss Tsunami, we're shinobi. This is kind of what we do. Be glad we're not bringing the trouble here and cutting the head off the snake immediately."
Tsunami was close to fainting. In what world was a child debating the finer points of murder to her in any way normal. The other two thought it was strange as well. That anyone would object to committing unspeakable acts at the young age of 12.
"Sometimes we forget how different the lives of shinobi and civilians are. Miss Tsunami we are the premiere front line team of Konoha. When something goes wrong we are called to deal with it. It's part of the job description unfortunately. Especially with someone as valuable as Kakashi Hatake leading our team. This is simply how we have to operate."
Tsunami felt sick. Best to mind my own business. Ninjas are truly cruel beings. Kids should never have to justify assassination and murder to a grown adult. She was staying as far away from this as she could. A flashback of a blood soaked Kakashi came to mind and she shuddered. Truly a different breed, these monsters of the night.
Team 7 plotted until the first guard rotation. Sasuke took his place on the roof of the house and Team 7 went too their respective sleeping areas to retire until called upon.
2 Days later
"So Sauke-kun, how are you feeling about today's mission?" Kakashi inquired.
"Nervous but ready sensei. You've trained me for this." Sasuke said determinedly
"Yes, I suppose I have. If you do this without getting a scratch on you, I will reward you very handsomely."
"It's not like that Tsunami woman's rewards is it?"
"Nothing of the sort." Speaking of said woman, she had been oddly quiet in the past 2 days, barely making eye contact with any of team 7. It's as if she didn't know what to say anymore after the revelations of the first night.
"Alright, go out there and make me proud. I expect absolutely no issues for you. Remember the only thing worse than death is failing me, so make sure you don't.
"Man Sasuke sure is lucky getting the first assassination mission. Hey Kaka-sensei when will I get a mission like this?" Naruto whined.
"Naruto if I ever need you to kill someone for me it will be an army as opposed to an individual. Your skillset lacks finesse but makes up for it in pure raw firepower."
"When will we fight an army sensei?"
"Trust me Naruto, the day that we require your skill set will be an incredibly dark day indeed."
"Maaaaaan."
"Alright, Sakura, Naruto, protect the client with your life. If you're in over your heads use your flares. I'll be back soon."
"Hai."
With Sasuke Gato's mansion
Sasuke climbed up the side of the building using the tree walking exercise. Thank god for ninja magic right? He made his way onto the roof and looked in through the sky light. 'In a world of ninjas who uses sky lights? how impractical.'
Sasuke saw his target sleeping in his bed. As helpless as a new born babe. Sasuke could do this silently and throw a kunai through the glass and get out of the area.
Or he could make an explosive entry and kill his way out. He looked over to Kakashi who simply held his finger to his mouth. Damn the easy way so.
Sasuke angled his kunai to hit the sky light at the right angle and launched it with unnering accuracy. He had coated it with lightning chakra so it barely made a sound as it passed through the glass pane.
Gato's head exploded in a shower of gore. 'Kill confirmed.' Sasuke jumped off the roof of Gato's mansion and made his way to the rendezvous point. Kakashi was waiting there for him and simply gave him a nod.
Kakashi and Sasuke made their way back to Tazuna's house. Halfway there Kakashi turns to Sasuke. "Great shot. When we get back to Konoha we're gonna work on unlocking your legacy. Then I'll show you what it truly means to be Uchiha."
Sasuke said nothing, he was stunned. He had the fear that he was one of the few Uchiha that was born without his bloodline. The certainty in which Kakashi told him he would help unlock his legacy ignited a hope that he was strong in his lineage and his pride. He would make his parents proud and avenge his clan. He was sure of it.
AN: AND THATS A WRAP. Next chapter we'll be back in Konoha and slowly learning more about each character and the little power boosts they'll be getting. I may do one or two Interlude chapters and then go on the fast track for the Chuunin exam arcs! That should be fun! Writing 400 fights sounds like my kinda torture :).
Also to the dude who said inner Sakura is cute, you're wrong.
As Always to all of my guest reviewers I wish death and plague on you.
To the real ones. PogU
Join the bloody damn Discord Server. Invite code is StPc5V
ANYWAY SEE YA NEXT TIIIIIME
OH ALSO BTW, IM GONNA BE DOING STUFF OFF SCREEN SO FUCK YOU IF YA THINK YA GOT ME