Chapter 9
Someone was going to pay for this. Oh yes, Naruto was going to make someone pay for this. Whether it was Anko, Kakashi, the old man, Konoha itself, Naruto was going to rain unholy hell upon them. It had been a month since becoming a genin and he was at his wits end with these so-called 'missions'. They weren't missions, they were freaking chores. Why the hell was he doing the chores for people who were too lazy to do it themselves? He would have said so to the last client if it wasn't for Kakashi.
Kakashi explained to him that these missions were to promote team unity. Naruto scoffed at that as that was a joke to him. Naruto did not consider either Sasuke or Sakura his teammates. They didn't treat him like a teammate so why should he? It wasn't that he didn't try to be a better teammate to the two but they wouldn't allow him in. He just gave up after Sasuke ordered him on one mission to use his Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) to do his work. Sakura, like a loyal fan-girl, agreed with him. He told them both off and did his work. He told himself that he would work with the two but that was about it.
"Position C, are you there?" Kakashi's voice came through the radio.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. I've got my eye on the target." Naruto said.
"Okay then, move in and capture. Remember, we are to capture it, not kill it." Kakashi ordered.
"I got you! It isn't like we haven't caught the damn cat ten times already. Every time we do, it attempts to rip our faces off!" Naruto exclaimed.
"That's enough! Just do the mission and capture the target!" Naruto didn't say anything and charged at the target. The target saw him coming and attempted to run. As the target tried to run, his avenue of escape was cut off by Sakura. They tried another escape only to find it cut off by Sasuke. That's when the target was strung up with ninja wire. Naruto looked up at the target and made sure that it wasn't going anywhere.
Sakura walked up to Naruto and had a frown on her face.
"Hey Naruto, didn't you hear sensei? He said not to kill the target." Sakura said with a tone.
"The target isn't dead. I, for one, do not wish to be clawed every damn time we catch her. This way, we can safely take her back without being scratched." Naruto said.
"Either way, make sure that it's her." Sasuke said.
"Are you kidding me?" Naruto asked sarcastically. Sasuke ignored him and checked for the red ribbon. He touched his neck.
"Target is confirmed. We have Tora." Sasuke reported.
"Good work, come back and we'll return to the Hokage tower. Naruto, you and I need to have a discussion about you attitude toward the chain of command." Kakashi said.
"And that discussion will end the same way as always does. I'll listen, I'll pretend to care and I'll move on." Naruto said and took the radio out of his ear. He tossed it and made his way to the tower, leaving Sasuke and Sakura to deal with the cat.
XXX
Naruto watched as the daimyo's wife crush her cat. Naruto thought that was divine justice that it was happening. As she left with her cat, Naruto stood in front of the Hokage. He gave him a look, almost daring him to give him another lame mission. Hiruzen looked at him and smirked a little. He was proud of him for keeping his anger in check but he could see that it was about to end. He knew that there was a poll going about how long it would take the blond to explode.
"Very good team seven. Now, what is there left for you? We have several D-rank missions available." Hiruzen said.
"That's it! I've had enough! I will not do another one of these chores!" Naruto shouted. Some of the ANBU hidden cursed as they had lost the poll. Iruka looked really upset by how Naruto was acting.
"That's enough Naruto! You have been a genin for only a month. These missions are all you can do for now." Iruka explained.
"Oh come on, you can't call them missions. They're chores, plain and simple. You can justify it any way you want but the fact is that we're doing the chores of people who are too lazy to do it themselves." Naruto said.
"Why you…" Iruka said.
"That's enough you two. Naruto, do you even know why you do D-rank missions?" Hiruzen asked.
"It's to promote unity and all that. A more difficult mission would do the same thing. Weren't we trained to do such missions? I just want a mission that shows that we're prepared for the real world. I'm just asking for a chance to show that I have matured enough to be trusted with a more difficult mission." Naruto said. The small speech made the Hokage smile. It did seem that Naruto was growing up some.
"I guess I can agree to that, considering the alternative should I disagree. Do you believe that they are ready Kakashi?" Hiruzen asked.
"I don't see why not. It would be a very good experience for them." Kakashi said.
"Very well. I do have a C-rank here. Please bring in the client." The Hokage ordered. The doors opened to reveal a drunken man dressed in some pretty old clothes. His cheeks and nose was red, probably from the liquor. He looked at the team and frowned.
"What is this? I asked for ninja, not some snot nose little brats. The short blond one looks like the most stupid of the three." He commented. As he was about to take a swig of his sake, a kunai flew well below the waist line and embedded into the wall. The man gulped and looked at the boy he had just insulted.
"You want to say that again, old man?" Naruto snarled.
"That'll be enough Naruto. This man is your client. His name is Tazuna. Team seven is tasked with his protection to Nami no Kuni (Land of Waves). You will continue to protect him until the bridge he is building is finished. Do you understand?" Hiruzen asked.
"Yes Hokage-sama." They said. They left to get packed for the mission.
XXX
Naruto was waiting along with Sasuke and Sakura for Kakashi and Tazuna. He was flipping a kunai in his hand and was debating on what to do with it. He wondered how much longer it would take Kakashi when he appeared with Tazuna in tow. He saw that Tazuna took a few steps behind Kakashi as he saw the kunai. He just smirked and grinned at him. That's when he got a familiar feeling and whipped out another kunai. He spun to block the first attack and lashed out with the kunai in a reverse grip. The attacker blocked his attack with their own kunai and then engaged Naruto in a duel of blades.
After a few seconds, Naruto held the attacker at bay as they attempted to overpower him. Seeing that Naruto was holding them back, they let out a happy grunt.
"You're getting better at this brat. Looks like we're at a stalemate." She said.
"That's what you think." Naruto said through a muffled mouth. The reason for that was that Naruto had a kunai in his mouth and the tip of his blade right at the spot where her kidneys were. She saw the grin on his face and growled.
"Alright, you smug little bastard, you win this round." The two stopped their attacks but Naruto was still on guard. It was Anko after all. "Don't worry brat, I won't hurt on your first mission outside." Anko said.
"Swear on it." Naruto demanded.
"I swear on Iruka's cute butt, that I won't attack you." Anko said with annoyance. Naruto relaxed after that. Anko looked at him before smiling. "That was a good counter. I didn't even see you put the kunai in your mouth. I don't have to worry about you now."
"Careful, you don't want people to get the wrong idea." Naruto said with a smirk.
"Like they would say anything knowing that it's me." Anko replied.
"Excuse me?" a loud voice called out. They two turned toward the voice and saw that it was Sakura. "What was that about?!"
"Wow, she really is loud." Anko said.
"Told you." Naruto said. Kakashi stepped forward and faced Anko.
"If you're done Anko, my team and I need to move out." Kakashi said.
"Oh, before you go, I need to talk to you privately for a second." Anko said and lead Kakashi away from his team. Alone, Naruto's two teammates and client looked at him.
"Who was that Naruto?" asked Sakura.
"That's Anko, my oneesan." Naruto answered.
"That was amazing kid. I'm sorry that I insulted you earlier." Tazuna apologized.
"It's okay. I wouldn't be as good as I am if it wasn't because of her." Naruto said. A short while later, the two returned. Naruto couldn't tell because of the mask but Kakashi looked a little pale. Anko just had a big grin on her face.
"Well brat, you take care and do your job well. We'll talk when you get back." Anko said.
"Okay Anko-oneesan." Naruto said. He and his team left through the gates and into the world.
XXX
The team was walking for a few hours and could no longer see the gates. They moved in diamond formation. Sasuke was up front, Sakura and Naruto were at the flanks and Kakashi was taking up the rear. As they walked, Sakura noticed a book in Naruto's hands. She was curious and decided to ask him about it.
"Hey Naruto, what's that?" she asked.
"It's a geography book that I brought. I figure I should read up on the area that we're going to." Naruto explained.
"Why would you do that?" Sakura asked.
"So I can be prepared. Anko-oneesan taught me to always know where you're going as it can be an advantage to you and your team. It makes the mission that much easier." Naruto answered.
"Okay. Say, why do you call her your oneesan? I thought that you were an orphan." She said.
"Thanks for saying that so casually Sakura." Naruto said with annoyance. Sakura realized what she said and wanted to apologize for it. Naruto cut her off before she could do so. "She's one of the few that gave a damn about me. She taught me how to be a shinobi and treated me with respect. She's like a sister to me."
"That was an un-usual person to choose Naruto." Kakashi said.
"Well, no one else made any type of move except the few I respect. Besides, she's not un-usual. She's bat-shit crazy is what she is." Naruto explained. Back in Konoha, Anko stabbed the stand at the dango shop with a kunai. As people backed away from her, she could help but feel like killing something small. Sakura turned her attention to Tazuna after her questions were answered and asked about his home. As they continued to talk and walk, a puddle was in the middle of the road. Kakashi saw it and ignored it. They walked pass it and continued on. That's when two men appeared out of the puddle.
Naruto's danger sense kicked in and a kunai appeared in his hand. He spun to see his sensei wrapped in a shuriken chain, which was held by two men. The pulled the chain and the genin watched as Kakashi was torn in pieces. The two then made their move toward the team. Sasuke was the first to move, throwing a shuriken and pinning the chain to a tree. He threw a kunai to make the chain stick. Naruto made his move and appeared in front of one of the two attackers. He used his kunai, slashing at the left ninja's legs. He cried out as he dropped to the ground after his legs gave out on him from the wounds. Sasuke appeared and kicked the other guy who was cried out at seeing his partner hit the ground.
He disengaged himself from the chain and moved to take out Naruto. Naruto meet the charge and slipped another kunai out. That's when the man's momentum was stopped by a clothesline from Kakashi. He let out a gasp before going limp in the crock of his arm. He looked at the other man and saw that he was still alive. He looked at Naruto who was putting his weapons away.
"That was kind of vicious Naruto." Kakashi said.
"What are you talking about? I only took his legs out from under him. He won't die from those cuts. He'll just be in a lot of pain." Naruto said.
"How are you still alive sensei? We watched you get killed!" Sakura exclaimed. Naruto pointed to the pieces of wood that lay on the ground.
"A Kawarimi no Jutsu? (Body Replacement Technique)" Sakura said with confusion. Naruto ignored her and checked the headband of the two shinobi.
"These guys are Kiri shinobi. I didn't know Kiri operated out here. I thought they were still in the grips of a civil war." Naruto said.
"They are and these two are no longer Kiri shinobi. They must be nukenin (missing-nin)." Kakashi said.
"Why would Kiri nukenin what with us?" asked Sasuke.
"That's a good question. Perhaps you can tell us Tazuna." Kakashi said. Everyone turned to the old man who suddenly looked very nervous.
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