A/N:
Hello everyone! Bruins35 here to give you another chapter. First off i'd like to extremely apologize on how long this chapter has taken to come out, since it's not as big as the previous chapters. The past week at my overnight job I had to work with two different people that kept fucking bothering the shit out of me at work. They literally kept asking what I was doing or wanted to talk, whereas my usual overnight partner and I either talk about apex, movies, or other nerdy shit then get on with us doing whatever we want. He knows I write fanfiction and knows at some point I'm going to be writing at work so he doesn't bother me. BUT THESE FUCKERS WOULD NOT SHUT THE FUCK UP. My god, I wanted to write this whole past week to get this chapter out since its setting up the first major arc of my story, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I had to have fucking chatty kathy's interupting me every fucking second of the fucking shift… AHHHHHHHHHHH. Anyways rant over, and on to things about this story.
One thing I want to address, because I'm sure it was a review on my other story, and it was about dialogue. I'm not a writer, I never was a writer, in fact English class was my least favorite subject. I promise you, I'll be trying my damn hardest to improve on my writing and my dialogue. I'm sorry if some of it is clunky or any of that. I really do wish I was a better writer or you know paid attention in English class on grammar and all that good shit. So I do want to apologize for all that =(. Also to the guest review from the previous chapter, Thank you so much for pointing out my mistake with Sakura and Inner Sakura talking to each other. So I changed it real quick and added what I was thinking in my head at the time I wrote that in the A/N at the end of the previous chapter in the edit. So once again thank you for pointing out my bonehead mistake lol.
Now I have an idea in my mind... And it's about Naruto's look. I'm going to be changing it again, it's going to come out in the next chapter or two, which means I need to go back to prologue to change something and add a sentence or two. You probably can guess what it is I'm going to be changing, but I'll let you figure that out when it happens.
Now real quick, I want to thank Natty for listening to me rant the past week about work not letting it let me write, and also him going over this chapter. Now like always Please don't be toxic, 2020 is already shit year, be excellent to each other and party on.
PS. I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto does.
Chapter 3: C Rank Mission?
It's been about two weeks since team eight started training with Anko on their taijutsu. Their arm and leg weights have increased significantly since they first started wearing them.
Naruto still hasn't perfected making resistance seals yet, so they were still stuck with weights. Team Eight besides doing their taijutsu training has been learning a lot about formations with Kurenai-sensei.
Kurenai has been trying her best to get some of the best formations down for them when they finally have to leave the village for missions.
Their chakra control was to the point where they could finally travel on trees. Kurenai was happy about that, but she knew at some point she's going to need to start teaching them basic ninjutsu.
Kurenai showed up at the end of their taijutsu practice and went over to ask Anko to see how her students were doing.
"Hey Anko, how are my kids doing?" Kurenai inquired.
"They're improving faster than I thought they would if I'm being perfectly honest with you Kurenai. Sakura has made leaps and bounds on her taijutsu, Shino isn't doing bad at all since he's from the Aburume clan, and we'll say Naruto's taijutsu is really good. They're all improving significantly, but they still need to get faster and stronger." Anko said.
"That's good to hear. If you're done with my students I'm going to take over from here." Kurenai said.
"Yeah, that's fine. Alright you three, I'll see you at our next training session." Anko said.
"Bye Anko-sensei!" The three said while bowing.
"Alright. Shino and Naruto, you guys can have the rest of the day off. Sakura, you and I are going to start working on your genjutsu training." Kurenai said.
Naruto and Shino both said their goodbyes to their teammate and sensei. They left and went home.
"Okay, Sakura. I want to start by having you try to place a simple genjutsu on me. Do you remember the hand sign I showed you the other day during training?" Kurenai asked.
"Yes Kurenai-sensei," Sakura replied, making the hand sign to demonstrate she understood the basics fundamental of the technique.
"Excellent. Now for today's exercise, I want you to place me in the genjutsu when I am least expecting it. I'm looking forward to seeing how you've progressed thus far, Sakura, so have faith in yourself." Kurenai smiled, getting a confident grin from her pink-haired student.
Kurenai turned her back on Sakura and started to head to the Dango shop to catch up with Anko.
Sakura watched Kurenai walk away and started to think to herself, 'If I was Kurenai-sensei, where would I be going right now?'
'I'd be heading to that attractive sensei of Team 10 and trying to go on a date with him' Inner Sakura said.
'Inner will you shut up! That is not helping me with my situation right now, and that's not how Kurenai-sensei is! Team 10's sensei would come to her because Kurenai-sensei is a very strong Kunouchi' Sakura said.
'You know what? You're right, she probably went to go visit Akno-sensei at the Dango shop to talk to her about training today!' Inner Sakura said.
'Inner you're right! Let's go to the shop and trap sensei in a genjutsu! Shannaro!' Sakura said, leaving her inner mind.
Sakura started running toward the Dango shop, taking a shortcut by running on top of the roofs to beat Kurenai there. Sakura landed on a roof next to the Dango Shop, keeping an eye out to see if she could spot her sensei walking towards it.
As Sakura was catching her breath after pushing herself so hard to beat her sensei here, she could finally see Kurenai slowly coming around the corner, heading toward the Dango shop.
'I know exactly how to trick her in this genjutsu. Granted genjutsu is supposed to be a lot worse when we are actually out on the field, but since this is training and my first time I think this would make her laugh.' Sakura thought.
Sakura formed a tiger hand sign and whispered "Genjutsu!" when Kurenai-sensei was about to enter the Dango shop.
As Kurenai walked into the Dango shop, she saw Anko eating Dango up at the bar stand. "Hey, Anko!"
"Oh, hey Kurenai! You come by to ask about the brats?" Anko said.
"Yeah, do you mind filling me in on how their taijutsu is coming along?" Kurenai asked.
"Sure, dango stick?" Anko asked, offering out a dango stick to her.
"Yeah, I don't mind," Kurenai said, taking the dango stick from her and taking a bite into one.
As Kurenai started biting into one of the dango she realized it tasted a little bit different.
"So, Sakura has improved leaps and bounds from what I can tell. She needed confidence, and having Shino and Naruto there sparring with her has helped loads. Now, I don't know how she will actually react with an enemy approaching her to kill, but I can say she is doing better from when I first got her." Anko said.
Kurenai went and bit into another dango listening to her explanation, 'It makes me happy that Sakura has approved a lot. Now I just need to help with her confidence a bit more, and hopefully, get over this stupid crush on Sasuke. Ugh, why do these dango taste so disgusting.'
"Now, the Aburame has improved, but not as much as I hoped he would have. He still needs to grow stronger, none of his punches really pack a punch. When he tried to take out Naruto, he really couldn't so I think I'm going to up his weight or what will soon be resistance seals." Anko said, with Kurenai just giving a nod.
"And finally, there's Naruto. I honestly don't know how to explain it to you Kurenai, but it seems like whatever I teach him, he soaks it in like a damn sponge. Like everyone else though, it all depends on how he reacts to an enemy shinobi attacking him." Anko said.
Kurenai understood what Anko was saying because whatever she taught Naruto it seemed like he soaked it up. She bit into her last dango and finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Anko, what the hell type of dango are these? They taste so bland and disgusting?" Kurenai asked.
"Oh, they're fat-free dango! They're the new healthy options they have! I do need to keep my sexy figure together for the men!" Anko said
'There's no way in hell Anko would eat a healthy option for dango! This has to be Sakura's genjutsu. Well done, Sakura.' Kurenai said.
"Well thank you for the information Anko, I'm going to head out now!" Kurenai said, as she got up out of the chair and headed to exit.
She walked out of the dango shop, and whispered "Release!".
Kurenai spread out her senses and could sense Sakura on top of the roof nearby, and shunshin to her.
"Good job, Sakura! I'm impressed that you were able to get to me so quickly! Now obviously when we are up against enemy shinobi, you're going to want to show them hell and scare them to the point they might pass out. We'll start working on tougher genjutsu from now on." Kurenai said.
"Thank you sensei!" Sakura said excitedly.
"Alright Sakura, you are dismissed!" Kurenai said, and Sakura headed home.
Naruto just got home from training with Anko when he saw his mother in the living room reading a medical ninjutsu book.
"Hey mom, did gramps let you out early today from Hokage training?" Naruto asked.
Tsunade looked up and smiled at Naruto, "Yes he did. Would you like to work on some chakra control today? I have a new exercise for you to do!"
"Sure! I wouldn't mind since Kurenai-sensei is working with Sakura-chan on her genjutsu!" Naruto said.
'Good, that girl with a good sensei could become a really good Kunoichi. I'm seriously thinking about making her my pupil,' Tsunade thought.
"Okay, Naruto-kun. This one is going to be a lot more difficult than what we've been doing so far. In this container are several water balloons," Tsunade said pointing to the container outside in the backyard.
"Your goal is to get the water to swirl clockwise, and then counterclockwise. To be able to do this, you'll need significant chakra control. You'll most likely pop several balloons, but don't get upset. You have to remember you right now at this age has a chakra pool that's like a Jonin, maybe even more because of the Nine-Tails. So it's going to take you time to be able to do it, but I have absolute faith in you!" Tsunade said as they start to walk outside to the backyard.
"Also, since your father isn't here, I'm going to fill you in on a little secret. This chakra control exercise I'm teaching you is eventually going to help you out when it comes to the first ninjutsu your father is going to teach. Don't tell him I told you that though," Tsunade said, giving her son a wink.
"So mom, what's the ninjutsu dad is going to first teach me?" Naruto asked.
"Hahaha, I can't tell you that, or your father would kill me!" Tsunade said, chuckling.
Naruto pouted, "Well mom are you going to show me how this exercise is done?"
Tsunade picked up a water balloon, "Okay Naruto-kun, this is what happens if you pour too much chakra in the water balloon"
Tsunade began to pour a large amount of chakra into the water balloon. The water in the balloon went all over the place trying to force itself out of the balloon. A second later, the water balloon exploded and the water went all over the grass.
"See, now if you put too much chakra into it, it forces the water not to go in the direction you want it to. Instead, it goes in every direction trying to escape forcing the balloon to explode as it did. Now, this is what happens when you put in the right amount of chakra and manipulate the water into the direction you want it too." Tsunade said, as she picked up another water balloon demonstrating the correct way to do it.
Naruto watched as his mom demonstrated how to do the exercise, he can see how the chakra was manipulating the water in the balloon so the balloon wouldn't pop.
"Alright Naruto-kun, now that I demonstrated this chakra control exercise, I'm going to continue reading up on my medical ninjutsu while you practice," Tsunade said.
Naruto began to try the chakra control exercise, as he started, Tsunade sat down and started reading the medical ninjutsu book to see if she can learn anything new or improve certain techniques. As she sat down, Naruto's water balloon exploded on him, getting him wet. Tsunade couldn't help but chuckle to herself.
Naruto picked up another water balloon and this time pumped a little less chakra into it, just to get the same results of the water balloon exploding and getting him all wet.
About two hours passed, Naruto was only making slight progress with the water balloons. He was on his last one, and he can tell he was getting close to the right amount of chakra he needed to add to it.
Naruto started pumping a little chakra into the water balloon. He could feel the water slightly starting to move clockwise.
He was so excited that he was able to get it to move slightly that he didn't pay attention and pumped too much chakra into the water balloon causing it to explode again on him.
"Alright Naruto-kun, I think that is enough for today. You're drenched, and you're out of water balloons. I could sense that on the last one you slightly got the water to start manipulating clockwise, but you shouldn't get too excited. You need to learn this, you need to get better chakra control. Concentrate harder the next time we do this okay?" Tsunade said.
"Yes mom," Naruto said.
"Alright, I'm gonna go inside, and cook dinner. You stay out here, dry off, and clean up everything." Tsunade said.
Naruto mumbled a response and started to clean everything up, while he let his red and blue jacket, and black t-shirt dry in the sun.
Jiraiya walked through the front door, and headed to the backyard figuring his wife and son were doing some chakra control exercises. "So how's his chakra control coming along?" Jiraiya asked.
"It's coming, we just started the water balloon exercise, so we'll see how long it takes him to get this down. I'm going to go inside and make dinner, and don't help him clean up." Tsunade said.
Naruto finished cleaning up, and Jiraiya and him went inside to go wait for dinner. The three just finished eating dinner when Naruto asked Jiraiya, "Hey dad, when do you think I'll master resistance seals? My team would like to get rid of the weights and move on to the resistance seals."
"Hmm, you aren't far from mastering it Naruto. I'd say we can work on it now and we should have it down when we finish." Jiraiya said.
(A Month Later)
Tsunade is in the Hokage Office with the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen had to talk to Tsunade about two C-rank missions he had to give out to two Genin teams. Both missions have a chance to actually be higher than a C rank Mission, because he knew that both people paying for the help didn't have the money to afford higher rank teams.
Hiruzen knew the mission he was going to give to Team 8 could risk things with Naruto. He was going to be sending them to the Hidden Waterfall Village, and right now they were dealing with a lot of Hidden Stone Village shinobi trying to go after the Hidden Waterfalls jinchuriki.
"Tsunade, I need to talk to you about two upcoming C-rank missions I need to give to two Genin squads." Hiruzen said.
"Okay, what Genin teams are we talking about? And what are the missions?" Tsunade said to her sensei.
"Well the two Genin teams are going to be Team 7 and Team 8. I know what missions I'm going to be giving them, but they're both risky. I have a sneaky suspicion that both missions are actually higher than C rank, but the people that are paying can't afford the mission to have higher rank shinobi to go." Hiruzen said.
"Okay, let's start with Team 7. What mission are you thinking of giving them?" Tsunade asked.
"Well, since Kakashi is their sensei and who's on the team, I'm thinking of giving them an escort mission to the Wave. The issue though is that Wave is currently dealing with a man named Gato who is trying to stop them from building a bridge. If they get this bridge built, then they can start trading with other villages and prosper from it. I think he's hired some missing Nin to kill the bridge builder who they'd be escorting." Hiruzen said.
"So you want to risk a Genin team to go on this dangerous potential A-rank mission to the Wave?" Tsunade said.
"They're the only team we have around that I can trust to go on this mission since Kakashi will be with them. Do you think I want to risk their lives on this mission Tsunade?" Hiruzen said.
"No Hiruzen-sensei, but you're right. Since Kakashi is their sensei, and one of the strongest leaf shinobi, they should be fine. Now about the other mission with Team 8." Tsunade said.
"Team 8 will be going to the Hidden Waterfall Village to escort someone from their village to ours. I know it should be the other way around, but they're dealing with the Hidden Stone Village trying to assassinate their jinchuriki. The reason I want Team 8 to go is because of Naruto. Their jinchuriki is going through what Naruto would have gone through if you and Jiraiya didn't adopt him. I feel like he can help change their minds and also help us potentially set up a peace treaty." Hiruzen said.
"So let's see if I got this straight. You want to risk sending Naruto-kun to the Hidden Waterfall Village and being discovered by the Hidden Stone Village for being Minato's son? Are you crazy!? No, I will not allow this!" Tsunade yelled.
"Unfortunately, Tsunade, I was only asking for your opinion. And Naruto's team will most likely have to go on this mission. I know it's risky, but I need their team to specifically go!" Hiruzen said, slightly raising his tone.
"Like I fucking care! You're risking Naruto-kun's life! If the Hidden Stone Village realizes Minato has a son, they'll definitely try to assassinate him! It doesn't matter if Jiraiya and I are taking care of him!" Tsunade continued yelling!
"Tsunade, calm down! If you want, we can have Jiraiya's opinion on this too?" Hiruzen said.
"Fine! Call in Jiraiya, but you know he's just going to agree with me on this!" Tsunade said.
"Anbu!" Hiruzen yelled, and Anbu with a cat mask dropped in front of the desk.
"Yes, Lord Hokage?" Cat Mask said.
"Whiskers, go find Master Jiraiya and bring him here, he should be at home," Hiruzen said.
"Yes sir." Whiskers said shunshin out.
(A few moments later)
"I heard you two were looking for me?" Jiraiya said, coming through the window.
"Can't you use the door for once?" they both said.
"Ninja's don't use doors. So what do you both want from me?" Jiraiya said as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Go ahead, Lord Hokage. Explain to Jiraiya, where you want to send our son," Tsunade said, making Jiraiya raise an eyebrow at this remark.
"Jiraiya, we have two C rank missions that are actually potentially high B to A-rank missions because the people hiring us currently don't have the money for those missions. So where I'm going to be sending Team 8 is to retrieve businessmen from the Hidden Waterfall Village." Hiruzen said.
"Okay, so what is currently the big deal?" Jiraiya said.
"The big problem is that the Hidden Stone Village has been attacking the Hidden Waterfall village and trying to get their Jinchuriki. If the Hidden Stone Village, possibly run into Naruto, they might notice his resemblance to Minato." Tsunade said.
"Sarutobi-sensei, is there really no other teams you can send out to for this mission?" Jiraiya asked.
"Unfortunately no," Hiruzen said.
"To be honest with you sensei, I really can't allow this. You're putting Naruto at risk for this, but if we can't change your mind, I will follow the group to make sure nothing bad happens. Is that okay with you Tsunade?" Jiraiya said.
"I still don't like it, but if you're going to be following them then I'll know our boy will be safe," Tsunade said.
"Alright, I'll call them to come in tomorrow for them to be briefed," Hiruzen said.
"If that's going to be all, then I need to head out and get new shinobi attire for Naruto so he has a spot for his scrolls." Jiraiya said.
"Before you leave Jiraiya, how is Naruto doing with his fuinjutsu?" Hiruzen asked.
"Well, he just mastered resistance seals and we started moving on to chakra suppression seals. He's also learned a C-rank fuinjutsu for attacking purposes." Jiraiya stated.
"Good, hopefully by the Chunin exams if they're squad is ready. He'll be able to show off his skills including fuinjutsu." Hiruzen stated. "You're dismissed, Jiraiya."
Jiraiya nodded and exited through the window to head to the shinobi clothing store to pick out some new attire for Naruto.
XXXX
Jiraiya was walking towards the shinobi clothing shop in the center of the shop to buy Naruto a whole new outfit. Well at least get him new shinobi pants.
He walked into the store, picked up a basket, and started looking through some of the clothing options that he knew Naruto would like.
Jiraiya picked orange shinobi pants and an orange jacket with blue on the shoulder. He couldn't help but laugh at an image of Naruto wearing it. He put it back on the rack and kept going.
Walking down another aisle Jiraiya couldn't find any red pants but found black Anbu style pants that had scroll holsters on the side of the leg that happened to be in Naruto size. He took four of the pants off the rack and threw them in the basket.
He headed towards the t-shirt section and grabbed some black t-shirts in Naruto's just in case he will need some more. Jiraiya then headed down the jacket aisle and found some red jacket's with blue shoulders that had some smaller scroll holsters on the right sleeve on the bicep.
Jiraiya went to the counter and put all the stuff he was going to buy on the counter. He gave a smile to the retired shinobi that was checking him out at the counter.
"Hello, Master Jiraiya. How is your day going?" The retired shinobi asked.
"It's been a bit tiring if I'm being honest with you, Fumio. How's retirement been treating you?" Jiraiya asked.
"It's going well! A lot of the clan heads have been stopping by to buy more shinobi clothing for their kids that are now in Genin teams. Are you buying all this for little Naruto?" Fumio said.
"Yep! I was going to buy him a completely new attire, but I think I will wait until after our training trip. I'm eventually going to take him on as my apprentice when he becomes a Chunin." Jiraiya said.
Fumio finished folding the clothes and putting them in the bag and said "Well Jiraiya, next time you come in make sure you bring little Naruto around! I'd like to see how he's doing."
"Will do, Fumio. Thanks for everything!" Jiraiya said, as he exited the store he decided to head home and pick up Naruto to head to the weapon shop for the three pronged kunai.
Jiraiya remembered when he went to Osamu and Atsuko weapon shops a couple of weeks ago to order them.
(Flashback)
It was a nice warm day in the Hidden Leaf Village when Jiraiya was walking to Osamu and Atsuko weapon shop to place a new order of three-pronged kunai for Naruto.
Jiraiya walked into the shop, and went to Osamu who was behind the counter, "Osamu, how are you doing?"
"Oh, hi Lord Jiraiya. How have you been?" Osamu greeted him in response.
"I'm doing good. I came by to place a special order of kunai for Naruto. I know Minato used to come to your shop for his three-pronged kunai. Speaking of which, how is Atsuko?" Jiraiya asked.
"She's doing very well! I believe she is out on a mission right now, so I'm running the shop till she gets back. But yes, Lord Fourth would come to our shop to have those kunai made. Are you planning on Naruto learning how to use those styles of kunai?" Osamu said.
"Yes. I do plan on Naruto learning Minato's style of fighting once he and I go on our eventual training trip. Speaking of, I believe your daughter is only a year older than Naruto, how is her team doing?" Jiraiya asked.
"TenTen is doing great! Her sensei is Might Guy. He's a little eccentric, but for TenTen he's actually perfect for her. She's very talented with weapons, and is actually very good with fuinjutsu! Maybe you can give her some tips the next time you come around!" Osamu said.
Jiraiya put his hand on his chin, "Hmm, well I'm having Naruto learn fuinjutsu also. Maybe I'll come by sometime if she isn't with the team to take her and Naruto to a training ground and see what she's got with seals and potential attacking fuinjutsu."
"Really? That's great I'll give her a heads up! Alright, I'll have this order done for you in the next couple of weeks Master Jiraiya." Osamu said.
"Thank you Osamu. See you in a couple of weeks." Jiraiya said.
(End Flashback)
He walked through the village until he got to his house. Jiraiya was pretty sure Naruto should be home now, and maybe Tsunade after finding out about her and Sarutobi-sensei getting into a pretty argument about the mission.
Jiraiya walked into the house, and took his shinobi sandals off and put them next to Naruto and Tsunade.
'Ah, so they both are home. I wonder if Tsunade forced him to start doing the water balloon chakra control exercise with one balloon in each hand. If he can get them both down, he might be able to get the Rasengan down faster than I did when I trained him on it.' Jiraiya thought as he walked into the living room.
He noticed outside in the backyard that his initial suspicions were correct. Jiraiya saw Tsunade laying down in her favorite chair in the backyard while Naruto was focusing on his chakra control exercise with a water balloon in each hand.
Jiraiya entered the backyard and went over to Tsunade and kissed her on her forehead where the diamond mark was.
"How's he doing on his chakra control?" Jiraiya asked.
"Well, he got the one balloon down with one hand, but he's realizing now after probably the 50th balloon with using one balloon in each hand it's a lot more difficult. Is that Naruto's new gear?" Tsunade asked.
"Yep. It's not a full new attire, but it's new pants with the same style jacket. The only major difference is that this one has scroll holders on the right upper sleeve of the jacket." Jiraiya said.
As Jiraiya said that Naruto heard him and got distracted. The water balloons exploded again and he got all wet. Jiraiya and Tsunade chuckled.
"What about new attire? I like my attire!" Naruto said, pouting.
"Sorry, Naruto. But for the time being, you need new attire for your fuinjutsu scrolls. Until you become more proficient at it, you can't have a massive scroll on your back like me. Now check out your new attire and then get ready, I have one more thing to give you and we need to head out to get it." Jiraiya said, giving him a big thumbs up and handing the bag over to Naruto.
"Well, how about we all go together?" Tsunade suggested.
"I'd love that mom! Is that okay with you dad?" Naruto said
"Sure! And if your mother is okay with it, we can go to Ichiraku Ramen!" Jiraiya said.
"Ugh, fine. We can go to Ichiraku Ramen after!" Tsunade said, sighing at how silly her family is.
"YAY! Okay, I'm going to put on my new attire and then we can leave!" Naruto said as he ran inside up to his bedroom to change.
"Do you think he's going to like the new pants I got him Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked, pulling Tsunade into a quick hug before Naruto came down.
"It's from you, I'm sure he will love it Jiraiya," Tsunade said, as she looked up into Jiraiya's eyes and gave him a kiss on the lips. She was about to deepen the kiss when she heard Naruto leave his room.
They separated when they heard Naruto running down the stairs in Anbu style black pants, and his red and blue jacket.
"So what do you think about it Naruto-kun? Do you like what your dad got you?" Tsunade asked.
"I love it, but I'll definitely miss the red pants y'now." Naruto said.
"Alright let's head out!" Jiraiya said, and the family of three head out to the village to head to the weapon shop.
After walking for a little bit they arrive at Osamu and Atsuko weapon shop and head in.
"Hello! Welcome to Osamu and Atsuko weapon shop!" The girl at the counter said as she greeted them she was shocked who came in the door. It was every Kunoichi's idol, Tsunade Senju.
Atsuko walked out from the back and saw her daughter staring in awe at Tsunade Senju, "TenTen, close your mouth. You're embarrassing us."
"Yes, sorry mother." TenTen said, receiving a giggle from Tsunade.
"Hello Lady Tsunade, Master Jiraiya, and you must be Naruto! What brings you three in?" Atsuko asked.
"Oh I'm here to pick up my order I made with Osamu," Jiraiya said.
"Oh, the three-pronged kunai like Lord Fourth?" Atsuko asked.
"Yes that's the one, Naruto here is learning how to use them, and I'm eventually going to teach him Minato's style of taijutsu," Jiraiya said, noticing Naruto's shocked look.
"Well, you aren't teaching him his style until your training trip. So don't get his hopes up yet." Tsunade said laughing.
"So you must be TenTen, your father told me you have a knack for fuinjutsu?" Jiraiya said, looking at TenTen.
"Yes Master Jiraiya, I do," TenTen said.
"Well, you're about a year older than Naruto, so he isn't ready yet to read up on these fuinjutsu yet. So here take this book, and learn what you can from it! I'll stop by sometime soon to see how you're progressing and see how Naruto holds up to you with fuinjutsu." Jiraiya said.
"Oh, Naruto is also learning fuinjutsu?" Atsuko said.
"Yes, he is! He is going to be my student, after all, it'd be silly not to teach him fuinjutsu." Jiraiya said.
"Well, you aren't wrong about that. Anyways Lady Tsunade, I don't know if you noticed, but my daughter looks up to you." Atsuko said as she heard Osamu coming from the back.
"Oh, is that right? Do you want to be a Medic Ninja too?" Tsunade asked TenTen, as Jiraiya and Naruto are off talking to Osamu on the side.
"No, unfortunately, I'm not very good at it, and found out I'm very good with weapons, and fuinjutsu," TenTen said.
"Well do you know any ninjutsu?" Tsunade asked.
"No, Might Gai is my sensei, so he's a taijutsu specialist," TenTen said.
"Hm, well ask him to get you chakra affinity paper to find out what your affinity is. After that, stop by the Hokage office and maybe I can help you find some ninjutsu scrolls for you to learn." Tsunade said.
"Really? Thank you Lady Tsunade! I really appreciate it!" TenTen said with stars in her eyes.
"It's no problem at all TenTen," Tsunade said, smiling as Jiraiya, Naruto, and Osamu came over.
"Alright Tsunade, we're ready for Ichiraku!" Jiraiya said.
"YES RAMEN!" Naruto yelled.
"Ugh, fine let's go you two morons," Tsunade said, teasing her husband and son noticing them pouting.
The three said their goodbyes and went to dinner to end their day.
The next day, Naruto woke up realizing he was going to be late for training. He ran to get his new attire on, brush his teeth and ran to the training grounds.
Already at the training grounds, Shino and Sakura were both wondering where Naruto was. It wasn't like him to be late, and they knew Kurenai-sensei would be here within the next few minutes.
Sakura saw Naruto running over to them as fast as he could so he wouldn't be late for training. Naruto stopped right next to Sakura, slightly panting at how fast he had to run to get to the training ground.
"Am I late? Did I make it before Kurenai-sensei got here? Also, I have resistance seals for us to put on once we see Anko-sensei." Naruto said.
Sakura was about to answer the idiot when Kurenai-sensei poofed in front of them, frightening the three Genin and making Naruto fall on his ass.
The three of them laughed at Naruto briefly before Kurenai spoke up, "Yes, Naruto. You made it just in time for us to go report to the Hokage's office for a mission."
The three of them looked at their sensei and nodded.
After a short walk across the village, Team Eight finally arrived at the Hokages. Kurenai gave a gentle knock on the door until they finally heard a voice belonging to that of the Sandaime yell, "Come in!"
Taking that as their cue, the Genin of Team Eight followed their sensei inside the office, only to be greeted by the sight of Team Seven's presence as well.
"Good morning. Now that Team 8 has joined us, I'm going to brief both squads on your first actual missions as Genin." Sarutobi said.
Sakura couldn't help but blush a little seeing Sasuke, while Hinata's face started to turn beet red upon seeing Naruto.
Meanwhile, Naruto was frowning and getting a bit upset after observing that Sakura had still yet to move on from her infatuation with Sasuke.
This didn't go unnoticed by Shino either, who was already starting to think about the possible repercussions that could follow if he didn't do something to alleviate Naruto's frustration, 'Naruto doesn't seem too happy right now after seeing Sakura fall back into her bad habits when Sasuke is present. I wish she could understand that there's more to becoming a kunoichi than simply just using this as an opportunity to gain Sasuke's affection.'
He decided to look at Naruto and put on a stupid smile. Naruto looked at him strangely and realized what Shino was trying to do. He ended up showing Shino a toothy grin and calmed down a bit.
'Thank you, Shino. Although I only see you at training right now, I appreciate you trying to cheer me up. That means more to me than you know,' Naruto thought to himself.
During this whole exchange, Kurenai noticed everything and couldn't help be disappointed in Sakura falling back into that weak little girl she hates to be. What she also noticed was Shino cheering up Naruto. That ended up putting a smile on her face.
"Alright Team 7. Kakashi, your team is going to escort a bridge-builder to the Land of Waves, this is going to be a C rank mission. Team 8, Kurenai, your team is going to head to the Hidden Waterfall Village to escort a merchant from the Hidden Waterfall to here." The Third Hokage said.
"Alright, you both will leave tomorrow morning. I expect all of you to pack tonight and be ready to leave by 8 A.M. tomorrow. You're dismissed. Kurenai, Kakashi, I need you both to hang back." Hiruzen said.
All six Genin left, leaving Kakashi, Kurenai, Hiruzen, and Tsunade in the Hokage office.
"Okay. Your missions might potentially be higher than C rank missions. You need to be on alert at all times and be careful. Kakashi, I'll introduce you to the bridge builder in a few minutes. There are rumors a man by the name of Gato might want this bridge builder's head and has hired some missing Nin. I figured your team would be best to handle this mission considering your group knows ninjutsu, whereas Team 8 doesn't really know any attacking ninjutsu yet." Hiruzen said, noticing Kurenai's dejected look.
'When we get back from this mission, I'm going to look into their chakra affinities and teach them basic ninjutsu from their affinities.' Kurenai thought to herself, causing her to have a determined look on her face now.
"Now, Kurenai. I choose your team for this mission because of Naruto to be exact, and here lies the issue with it. I'll let Tsunade explain this issue to you," Hiruzen said.
Tsunade took a deep breath and went on to say, "The Hidden Waterfall Village has been dealing with shinobi from the Hidden Stone Village. As you know our Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, Naruto-kun's real father has a lot of enemies from the Hidden Stone. If you do end up engaging them in combat, do your best to take them out or scare them off as fast as you can. We can't have them think Naruto-kun might be Minato's son if they do… They might eventually try to send assassins after Naruto-kun or worse try to start a war against us. The reason why Naruto-kun is actually crucial to this mission is that the Hidden Waterfall also has a jinchuriki, and just maybe we can set up an alliance and Naruto can help them open their eyes and treat their jinchuriki better. Kurenai, this is going to be a lot on your plate, but we have faith in you that you can do this. One last thing Kurenai, your squad isn't allowed to know, but Jiraiya will be following you just in case if anything happens. Here's the file you'll need on the merchant you'll be escorting, you're now dismissed."
Kurenai bowed and left the office to review all the information she just had to take in and to review the file she was given on the merchant they're escorting back to the village.
(Meanwhile with the Genins)
Team 8 and Team 7 walked out of the Hokage building and there was an awkward silence between them.
"So Sasuke, have you gotten any stronger since the last time we faced off?" Naruto asked.
"Why does it matter to an idiot like you?" Sasuke said.
"Naruto, I'm sure by now he's probably gotten a lot stronger than you," Sakura said.
He was going to retort back at Sasuke until Sakura's comment. Naruto's eyes slightly flickered to red and quickly moved back to blue.
Sakura looked slightly in shock at Naruto because she could have sworn she saw Naruto's eyes change colors making him look scary. She shook her head and realized she messed up with Naruto, and put her to the ground.
Naruto, on the other hand, could feel the Nine-Tails chakra slightly flow through him at Sakura and Sasuke's comments. He didn't know what came over him, and he's going to have to talk to the Nine-Tails tonight before bed to see what's going on.
"Well idiot, just for your information my Aunt Izumi has taught me a few more Uchiha clan ninjutsu, and Kakashi-sensei has been training us hard also on our taijutsu. Now, since we have to pack, I'm leaving. Bye idiot." Sasuke said, insulting Naruto one last time before leaving.
"Sorry, Naruto. Sasuke is still a stubborn jackass. Hopefully he'll come around. Cya guys around," Choji said, as he puts away a bag of chips and leaves the group.
"S..S..sorry Naruto-kun, ahhh bye!" said a beet red Hinata running from the group.
The last three looked at each other and really didn't know how to react. Sakura and Shino could tell Naruto was really angry.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow, and we'll probably have to put the resistance seals on tomorrow too be prepared," Naruto said.
Sakura was about to speak up to say something when she caught Shino shaking his head.
"Sakura, anything you say right now will hurt him even more. Let him be. I'll see you tomorrow Sakura." Shino said, leaving Sakura to her own thoughts.
She watched as Naruto walked away from them with his hands in his pockets, and his head down as he headed home.
She couldn't help but feel sadness for how she treated Naruto again with Sasuke around.
'Why do I feel bad for doing this? I love Sasuke-kun! I shouldn't feel sad about what I said to Naruto!'
'Well, have you thought it's because you know Naruto has feelings for you, and Sasuke-kun doesn't have feelings for us? Or could it also possibly be the fact you hate to admit you also might have feelings for Naruto?' Inner said.
'Inner, I don't know what you're talking about? Naruto is my teammate and friend, I don't like Naruto like that!'
'Keep telling yourself that, and you'll eventually realize your true feelings for him. It might not be today, tomorrow, a month, or even a year from now, but you will notice them and I hope you aren't too late when the time finally comes.' Inner said.
'Inner, one of these days I'm going to fully be able to drown you out and not have to deal with this all the time. Bye Inner,' Sakura thought to herself as she finally decided to head home.
(Later that night with Naruto)
He just finished packing his things into one of his storage scrolls before he added a few things to his backpack, and leaving out several Exploding Dragon Strike fuinjutsu scrolls to put in his new pant scroll holsters for tomorrow.
After he finished with that, he changed into his pajamas, and sat crossed-legged on his bed closing his eyes entering his mindscape.
Naruto found himself in the familiar sewer with what looked like a jail cell. He walked up to the jail cell and asked, "Nine-Tails can we talk?"
Naruto could hear an annoyed grunt and saw the massive Nine-Tail fox head in front of the cell, "Sure kid, what is it you want to talk about?"
"Earlier today, when Sakura and then Sasuke insulted me, I felt so angry, and I felt something change about me, but I don't know what it was?"
"Well kid, when you get as angry as you did earlier, you tap into my chakra. And when you do, your appearance can change. Since it was a brief instance, she might have seen your eye color change real quick from blue to red and back to blue." The Nine-Tails said.
Naruto put his hand up to his chin to think about what he was going to ask next, 'What else could happen to my appearance if I end up getting angry and using your chakra?"
'Your appearance will turn more fox-like, your canine teeth will get longer, your whisker markers will get even more noticeable and then eventually you develop a red cloak that will show how much chakra you're using from me, One to Nine tails. If we do develop a bond though, that appearance I believe will change, but that'll be a long time from now. Try to keep your emotions in check, especially if anything happens on this mission that isn't supposed to happen." The Nine-Tails said.
'So, if I use a lot of your chakra, will I lose control of myself?'
'I think you would be able to handle a little for right now, but if you draw on too much then yes you'll lose control.' The Nine-Tails said.
'Nine-tails, I know I'm asking for a lot, but could you try to keep me in check so I don't lose control?'
'I'll do my best, but do realize the more you lose control, the more I take over your body. Now I want to go to bed, and honestly kid, you should too,' The Nine-Tails said, pushing the shocked Naruto back out of his mindscape.
'Silly fox drops a bomb on me like that and then pushes me out of my own mind! What an ass!' Naruto sighed and thought it was time for him to finally go to be and laid down and fell asleep.
Team 7 and Team 8 were at the gate to the Hidden Leaf Village, waiting for their sensei's, when Team 8 saw Anko walking up to them.
"You three come over here with me real quick," Anko said, motioning them to a tree several feet away from Team 7 so they couldn't hear anything.
"First things first, Naruto, do you have the resistance seals?" Anko said.
"Yes Anko-sensei," Naruto said, taking out the resistance seals.
"Okay, Naruto. This is what weight I want on Shino and Sakura." Anko said, and then whispered the weight to Naruto.
Naruto walked up to Sakura and placed a seal on each arm and leg. Then, he walked over to Shino. Naruto would be lying if he didn't feel slightly bad since he knew Shino was getting a lot more weight than he was used to, but he had to do as instructed by Anko. He put the tags on each of Shino's arms and legs as well.
Shino felt the tags go on him, and the significantly increased weight. He looked at Anko-sensei with a questioning look.
"Listen Shino, your punches and kicks still don't have any strength behind them, so I had to up the weight on them. Kurenai said it was okay for me to do this. If you have a problem with it, say something to her. Now Naruto made a specific resistance seal where I can actually up the weight on them by just infusing some of my chakra. To temporarily release the weight from the seal, all you need to do is say release, but I forbid you from doing that unless it's a dire situation. Alright, I see Kurenai and that lazy ass Kakashi heading this way. Good luck you three and see you when you get back!" Anko said, shunshin away.
The three slowly walked back to where Team 7 was. They were walking slower because Anko added more weight to what they have been using.
Sasuke looked at the three weird and was wondering why they were moving slower than they usually do. He shrugged it off after he saw Kakashi walking towards them.
"Hello you three, this is who we're going to be escorting to the Land of Wave's. His name is Tazuna the bridge builder, team introduce yourself." Kakashi said.
"Wait, I'm going to be escorted by these three brats. I paid to have shinobi protect me, not these brats." Tazuna said.
"Well Tazuna, if you could afford it, you would have been able to have Chunin shinobi instead of my Genin squad, but don't worry I'm a Jonin and will be able to protect you," Kakashi said.
As Kakashi's team introduced themselves to who they were protecting, Kurenai went over to her squad to brief them.
"Hello you three, I see you guys have the resistance seals on you now, and it seems to me Anko made all three of you have a large weight on instead of just Shino. That's fine, but make sure to adapt quickly so we don't have to take breaks more frequently." Kurenai said.
"As you three know, we're heading to the Hidden Waterfall Village. The village is north of the Hidden Leaf Village, we won't be traveling with Team 7 at all once we hit the main roads. Now do you three have everything packed?" Kurenai asked.
All three nodded their heads to their sensei. Kurenai looked at Kakashi to see if they were ready to leave, she saw the famous Kakashi eye smile and knew it meant they were ready.
"Alright you three get information, we're heading out!" Kurenai said the three formed a triangle formation around Kurenai. Team 7 and Team 8 from there left the village gate to start their missions.
A/N:
Well folks that's the end of this chapter, finishing probably at roughly 8,000 words! I'm trying to still show the rivalry between Naruto and Sasuke, it is very small to show, but Sasuke telling Naruto about Izumi training him some clan ninjutsu would piss Naruto off more since all he knows in this put of the story is fuinjutsu, and shadow clones along with his taijutsu. Now you'll also notice where Sakura is still playing very coy about her potential feelings for Naruto. I do want to say don't expect them to start dating anytime soon =). Now you'll also see Kurenai bring up Chakra affinities! My goal in this story is for everyone not to be a weakling or at least know ninjutsu that is also not part of their clan techniques. I will say this Story will mainly center around Team 8 and with the other teams either getting flashbacks, or something I'll take from canon where I actually have to show them in action.
I really am sorry for how fucking long this chapter took to come out. Shit happened at work where I couldn't write for the whole week, and then I just felt unmotivated to write at all, BUT I did see a lot of kind reviews and I must say I really appreciate that, you guys don't realize how much that means fully to me and how much it motivates me to write! Now I will say I don't know when the next chapter will be out because I do need to work on Something Worth Fighting for.
The next chapter will have the change in appearance I have set for Naruto, Which I'll eventually have to go back to the previous prologue and chapter one to add a few sentences or paragraphs too. Part one of the Hidden Waterfall Arc will have fighting, Part two will have not or any fighting at all in it.
Also, the dialogue is probably the biggest struggle I feel, and I would like some tips on dialogue. Please feel free to dm me if you have an account to give me advice on dialogue.
Now feel free to favorite or follow so you can get updates, and if you want to review feel free too! I'm not like some of these authors being like YOU BETTER FUCKING REVIEW OR ILL FUCKING ABANDON THIS FIC BECAUSE YOU DONT WANT TO REVIEW! Nah I don't care if you review or not so don't worry about that =) If you do a review, don't be toxic, It's 2020 fam be excellent to each other, and Party on dudes! (Via Social Distancing or Zoom if you want to party.)
Also thank you Natty my friend for editing my chapter, much appreciated my friend.