Chapter 7
In the Hidden Mist, the current Mizukage was contemplating what would become of a rogue shinobi and his sidekick. The matriarch gazed at the two after reading their profiles. Vigilantism is not uncommon, but on the scale of treason is pretty rare in general. However, the Hidden Mist isn't your average village. Plagued by tyranny and genocide, it took treason to bring peace to an otherwise destitute society.
Zabuza's indifferent eyes over his mask were resolute to accept anything, truly one of the Seven Swordsman. 'If he had succeeded, he would be Mizukage and not I...' she pictures him with the gown and hat on and smiled, which irked him "what you smiling at bitch?" He stated before getting clobbered over the head by one of the Jounin. '...but thanks to his actions, Yagura became more irrational and easier to manipulate, giving me the upper hand in the end'.
Mei closed the files and placed them on the desk. "I will give you a sentence worse than death, Momochi" "Damn..." Zabuza retorted. He knew what was coming. "You'll be working for me and will be reinstated as a Jounin." Zabuza let out a sigh. "Zabuza..." the auburn-haired Kage said seriously "You were top-notch during your attempted coup against Yagura, but you have gotten sloppy" The Swordsman wasn't going to act oblivious to the fact he just got his ass handed to him which is why he is here. "And why did you perform a coup in the first place if you wouldn't want to be here".
The shark-toothed Jounin knew what she was getting at, but trust doesn't come too easy. Mei felt the same. "As for the young girl that came with you... Haku was it?" Zabuza turned his head to Haku "you're a girl?!" "I'm a girl?!" Haku retorted in surprise. 'They're both idiots...' Mei thought. With a sigh she continued over their bickering "...How would you like to join the ranks?" Haku paused her frantic and vague remembrance of her life prior to meeting the rebellion leader. "I will follow whatever path Zabuza-sama chooses" Haku vowed. Zabuza looked over to Haku and grunted "do what you want". "Perfect!" Mei agreed "While our reports say that you have Chuunin level skill, you will be starting off as a genin with Zabuza as your retainer." "Pff she's not a weakling like some Genin, I've trained her properly". Somewhere on their way to Konoha, all of team 7 sneezed.
Just as planned, Mei reeled in the bait she cast "Very well then, your team will go to the Chuunin exams in the Leaf Village". "One... what the hell, lady?! Two... what do you mean team?" Ao stepped forward "Show some respect to Mizukage-sama!" "Unfortunately, you won't be participating since we can't provide you with a three-man team" Mei sighed. "You'll be doing reconnaissance of the new generation of Genin and Chuunin and reporting useful information of their respective villages. We have a prospective Shinobi that is a Genin in name only." From behind, a brown-haired young man stepped forward and bowed to the Demon-nin "I am Kiri, a student of medical ninjutsu."
Zabuza glanced at Mei before standing in front of the Medic "You look like someone who fades into the background if you don't get enough attention, Kid." "I heard that you're a no-nonsense type of person, so... you're welcome sir!" He salutes. The brow less Jounin cocked his would-be brow. "Look here kid, I've lived long enough to know who I don't want on my team and it's someone who is useless."
In the back, a shadow cast over Mei's face 'lived long— old — don't want— useless— ... don't want to marry someone who is old and useless..' "Momochi-san.." she eerily got the demon's attention "shut up, or I will kill you". "Ha..." he said, gulping at the immense pressure of the Kage's killing intent.
On the other hand, Team 7 was just returning from the wave. Due to there not being an intense brawl between shinobi, Naruto's reputation took a bit of a hit with the villagers. Gato was thoroughly dispatched by the villagers while Team 7 handled his group of thugs. The bridge was named the Green Leaf Bridge as a sign of respect towards Konoha for helping them in their time of need.
Sakura let out a sigh "I'm beat. I miss my bed." Naruto pulled out a scroll from his backpack and handed it to the pinkette "Sakura, I've written some notes here that might give you ideas on what you want to specialize in" Kakashi nodded, buttressing Naruto's point "being well-rounded and versatile will help you in this line of work. Don't feel like you need to stop at choosing only one." Sakura's mouth was agape for a moment, a bit shocked that they can still think about training right after that mission as well as a bit of relief that she can rely on them. She thanked both of them and waved at Sasuke as she left.
At that note, Sasuke had already started to leave. "Ah, Sasuke!" The blonde called. "What do you want, dweeb?" Naruto let out an sigh "hey, that hurts you know". Sasuke rolled his eyes but gave the golden blonde his attention. "Here, something for you to read in your downtime" he continued handing the raven-haired kid another scroll. "Hn..." he responded before leaving. "What was that one?" Kakashi asked Naruto, showing intrigue with his one lifted eyebrow. "Nothing big, just a few pointers on how to practice Lightning Nintaijutsu."
The silver-haired Jounin grew even more suspicious of the boy. "Lightning nintaijutsu is mainly practiced in Kumo, how did you come across it?" "Sensei, the Yodaime was your instructor correct?" Giving Kakashi a small pause before he responded with "ah...yeah". Naruto nodded "then I'm pretty sure you heard the story of when he went up against the Raikage, 'A'?" Kakashi scratched his chin beneath his mask "yeah, it was pretty well documented. That's when the Yodaime showed the current Raikage that he was faster than the lightning nintaijutsu." Naruto nodded arrogantly, while I don't know the details on how to form it correctly, I left Sasuke a few pointers. He can figure out the rest."
A sweat dropped on Kakashi's brow "You know, he'll have a hard time if it's not his natural affinity." "Well, if and when he activates his Sharingan, he might find some use for it" the whiskered boy shrugged. Kakashi scratches his temple a bit thinking he should probably find out the Uchiha's affinity. "Well, Naruto, I'm off to report to the Hokage. Ja na." He said exiting the blondes' sight. Just then, Naruto's stomach began to growl. 'Ugh... maybe I should stop by Ichiraku's'.
A few blocks away Anko was dragging herself across town, a bit morose that her blonde toy had grown up and left with his team. 'I almost forgot how it feels to be abandoned' she thought. She can't let it get her down though, she knew that eventually he'll have to move on. Anko gripped her fist in her chest and looked towards the sky in a motivational way. A tear rolled down one of her eyes as thought 'don't worry, brat, I'll move forward in life. I'll be strong and one day I'll be able to kick your ass once again.'
Just then, Naruto turned the corner seeing the purple-haired domina—- torturer in her pose. "Anko-nee..." he stated. She looked down into his sky-blue eyes. There was a long pause before she ran up and hugged the blonde, burying his face into her bosom; squeezing tighter and tighter before she lifted him up and suplexed him into the ground. "How have you been, gaki!" She exclaimed with a big smile on her face.
Naruto was already disoriented from hunger and the suplex didn't help, but he hadn't seen the sexy Jounin in what seemed like forever. "Want to come with me to Ichiraku's? My treat" he offered still lying on the floor. Anko gasped "Are you asking me on a date, kid. My... young boys sure grow up fast." Naruto got up and dusted his shoulders off "Well... if I can go on deadly missions might as well go on dates" he shrugged. She enjoyed how Naruto always played along with her teasing. "Throw in some alcohol and you got yourself a wild night!" She exclaimed upping the ante.
They proceeded to walk down an alleyway and Naruto didn't respond, thinking he'd gotten uncomfortable. She threw her arm around his shoulder, "don't worry, Gaki, Anko-nee can take both pleasure and pain". Naruto honestly didn't have enough energy for this, but her teasing was blurring a line that he didn't want to cross (yet). With personalities like Anko, you have to fight fire with Fire is what he learned.
At that moment he henged into his adult self in which she backed up. This Naruto was wearing a white and red sleeveless vest and black military pants, roughly in his twenties. He put his hand against the wall behind her "So Anko..." the sound of his voice deeper and more assertive. His pearly blue eyes more decisive. His muscles more defined, he even added a scar on his arm even though he doesn't scar (adds character). Anko's pupiless eyes grew wider and wider "... which do you want first... the pleasure..." he continued moving the hair that had fallen a bit on her increasingly red face. His facial features more pronounced had burn their way into her vision "... or the pain?"
This was bad for Anko. While she was similar to Naruto in terms of personality, Naruto's personality was genuine, heart-on-your sleeve sincerity. Anko's was a facade of someone with a cold heart. Her being abandoned by Orochimaru in the past had created a rift in her ability to trust others. What she states to others is always related in terms of instant gratification, never reaching the emotional depth necessary to create trust. With a certain amount of emotional distance, you can do anything and never feel ashamed of it.
However, she treated Naruto different, as a quasi-kid brother that she was able to open up to and vent her emotional fatigue. She would show him the ocean of emotion, but he never reached into the depths. She took it as him just being a kid and not understanding the position he's in, and she felt at ease venting her frustrations. But this, the man in front of her, maintained not only the looks of a full-fledged shinobi, but the aura of gentle persuasion. Being both intimidating in presence, but also undoubtedly reliable. This was a man that can reach into those depths. This man was a threat to her facade.
Anko tried to save face for not. She wanted to make a witty comeback but stopped when she noticed the noise she let out was higher pitched than normal. She needed to leave. She placed her hands on his chest and gently pushed him away, jumping to the nearest rooftop soon after. This feeling was exhausting for her, but was it really exhaustion, or was it relief? Was she tired, or just relaxed? She couldn't tell any more. She went home deciding not to leave until she sorted out what she was feeling.
Naruto, on the other hand, undid his henge and nodded 'maybe she will stop messing with me this time'. As he took a step forward, he face planted on the floor from exhaustion.
In the Hokage's office, Kakashi was giving his report. "Naruto sure got into a lot of trouble then, overlooking your command" "yes, Hokage-sama. While in the end it turned out okay, he is definitely hiding something. There is no way he could have learned all of this from secondhand knowledge." Hurizen knows that his trust in Naruto is blind at the moment. Calling him out too soon is a gamble: it can prevent disaster or be their saving grace depending on Naruto's ambitions. He can brush it off as being a kid ahead of his time, but that's negligence. "I understand, Kakashi. You keep a watch on him while on missions. I'll have someone watch over him while he's in the village."
Kakashi bowed and took his leave. It wasn't long after that Kurenai came to give her report. "How has your team been, Kurenai?" He asked the Genjutsu mistress. Kiba still has some maturing to do, he can be impatient at times. Shino is..." she thought about the Aburame family and how their expressions are kind of lacking "...Shino. As for Hinata, she has made amazing progress in terms of her taijutsu and teamwork. I expect a lot from her in the future." The Hokage nodded in agreement "That's great to hear. By the way, have you seen Anko? I requested for her, but my ANBU couldn't find her" That came as a surprise to Kurenai as Anko, as carefree as she seemed, always took her job seriously. "I haven't, Hokage-sama, but I'll keep a look out."
After being dismissed by the Hokage, Kurenai thought it would be a good idea to stop by her best-friend's place. From outside her door, the red-eyed Jounin can hear someone screaming "Kai! Kai! Kai! C'mon, work damn it!" As if they were trying to release a genjutsu. Kurenai threw the door open to see Anko take a Kung-fu stance, shocked at the sudden intrusion "You're acting quirkier than usual, what's going on?"
Kurenai was the only other person that Anko trusts whole-heartedly. However, she knew it would cause her embarrassment if she brought it up. "Oh nothing, you know, just trying to stay as sharp as possible" the torturer said. Kurenai cocked an eyebrow "so sharp even ANBU couldn't tell you that you've been summoned by the Hokage?" "Umm... I'm not feeling too well" she told the mistress.
After explaining her symptoms of faster heart-rate, flushing of the face, and lack of attention, Kurenai's jaw dropped. "You fell for somebody?!" "No I didn't!" Anko defended to no avail. "To hook you in, who are they, what do they do?" Anko knew that keeping this from her best friend would sour their relationship. I mean, Kurenai already told her about liking Asuma. "Well, he has drive... he can be immature sometimes, but he's reliable and serious when it comes down to the important stuff." Kurenai let out a deadpan expression "Huh?! That's so lame!" "Fuck you, bitch!" Anko retorted. "For a babe like you to get an average joe..." she shook her head. Anko didn't agree and spoke softly "he'll be great one day, I know he will."
Kurenai can tell she was taking this seriously and decided to drop it. "Well, don't keep the Hokage waiting too long" she stated as she left. Anko buries her face into her hands "Ahhh why did I say that?! Do I really think that?! What is wrong with me?!" Anko was trying to calm herself down. 'He's just a kid. It was a prank. Let it be.' She brushed it off for now.
The purple-haired konouchi entered the Hokage's office. "You called for me, Hokage-sama." Hurizen took a drag of his tobacco, eyeing the Jounin's serious face before staring at the portrait of the Yodaime Hokage . "Anko, how close are you to Naruto-kun?" He asked her eyes widen slightly when her heart made a thump. "He's a little twerp that I trained when he was a kid. Smart as hell. I would say we get along pretty well." A bead of sweat started to form on the side of her head. The Professor didn't notice since he was having just as much difficulty of asking this from her. "Anko, keep an eye on Naruto" he stated. Anko was shocked to hear this and didn't like where this was going "There's a high probability that he may have ulterior motives than just him being a prodigy."