Chapter Twenty Seven
Sup guys and gals, back again. Hope you like it blah blah blah blah you probably just wanna read the story so I'll shut up;)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto Masashi Kishimoto does. If I did, I probably would have people who could animate and draw the whole story for me!
The entire way back from his battle with the jinchuriki from Iwa, Naruto had been trying to make a life changing decision. After the shortest chat with his best friend, he decided he would do it.
Flashback from literally twenty minutes before.
"Do you love her?"
"Yes."
"Do you want to be with her forever?"
"Yes."
"Hn. Then do it you dipshit."
"Right, thanks S'ke."
"Hn."
End flashback. Honestly should have just wrote out the scene.
It was early in the morning after his meeting with the Hokage, and Naruto was in a rush. His chat with Sasuke hadn't taken long, but he still didn't want to waste any time. The jounin sprinted across the rooftops, quickly making his way to the academy. Half of the kids in the classroom almost jumped when Naruto came bursting through the door.
"Iruka-Sensei!"
"What!? God Naruto! Settle down. What is so urgent?"
Whispers from the children could be heard through the room behind their conversation. Things like "wow, is that really Namikaze Naruto?" And other things that would have made Iruka smile like, "Wait, he called him sensei, did sensei teach Namikaze Naruto!?"
"Sensei this is super important, I need you to take a quick break. Please. I'm super sorry to interrupt your class, but I need to talk to you for a bit."
"Alright Naruto, calm down. Let me go grab another sensei to watch after my class for today." Said Iruka, The man wasn't one to abandon his students, but one of his students desperately needed his help, and he wouldn't let him down.
Soon Naruto and Iruka were walking down the street away from the academy, and towards the market side of Konoha. "So what is this about?" The teacher questioned.
"Iruka….I'm going to ask Rikka to marry me. I know I'm only twenty, but I'm sure of it. I love her dearly, and don't want to be with anyone else. I know how quickly a shinobi's life can end, and I don't wanna have regrets." Naruto said with a huge grin.
"If you're absolutely sure, then I think you should go through with it. But you seem dead set on this, so I have to ask. What do you need me for?" Iruka asked with a smile while rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well, it's a little off, but I need help finding the ring. I don't want to go alone, and you're my only family." He said with a smile at his teacher.
Iruka looked almost shocked for a moment before smiling lightly at the blond. This child, that had grown into an amazing young man, and an incredible ninja, was very much like a son to the older shinobi. Iruka was so very happy that the Third Hokage had convinced him to teach Naruto. "Lord Third... if you could see him now."
They stumbled around some shops chatting and browsing. The two had a fun time looking for something they thought Rikka would like. Eventually, a ring caught Naruto's eye. When he showed his mentor, he agreed as well, and now, Naruto was one step closer to having his very own family. "Thank you so much for helping me with this Iruka-Sensei. You don't know how much it means to me."
"Of course Naruto, any time." Iruka said, happy as always to help his student.
"Let's grab some ramen sensei. I'll pay, but after, I gotta go try and figure out how I'm gonna propose to her." The blond said with a grin.
Iruka chuckled before responding, "We can brainstorm at the shop." As he finished, his face split with a grin of his own.
"Right!"
"Come onnnnnnn!" Rang the voice of the loud Namikaze as he dragged Rikka out of their home by her hand.
"Naruto settle down." The bluenette giggled. "Where are you taking me? What could be so urgent?"
"You'll find out! Just come on!" He shouted with a large grin.
"Tell me." She said blankly but with a smile.
"Ugh, you're so stubborn. Fine." He opened his mouth as if he was about to speak, but instead yanked her to him and wrapped his arms around her. Before she could even protest, the blond flashed them to the top of the Hokage monument. This startled a few villagers who were on a viewing platform that looked off the mountain. They soon realized it was none other than the hero who had appeared, and they watched with quiet curiosity.
"Naruto!" She smiled. "Where have you taken me?" As always, her voice was blank, but her face conveyed her feelings. "We're atop the monument no?"
"You would be right darling." It was dusk, and the village lights were a beautiful view. Naruto loved this spot, and knew Rikka enjoyed it a lot as well. He looked out over the village before speaking. "You see Rikka, this village is my home. I'll protect it until my dying breath. Every single person in this village is my family, and I will treat them that way." He smiled and turned to face her. "But out of everyone in this village, you are the one I truly love. I don't ever want that to change, and I want our love to be permanent, and I want it to be forever." Finally the last Namikaze dropped to one knee, and drew the ring he had purchased. "Rikka, will you do me the honor of being my wife? Will you be the beginning of my family, and be my forever?"
"Naruto!" Her breath hitched, and her voice went high pitched. She could hear villagers surprise in the background. She didn't care. Her focus was on this man in front of her. He was offering to spend the rest of his life with her. He wanted to build the family he'd never had, starting with her. He wanted her. This man who was the same boy who had saved her all those years ago. "Naruto….are you stupid?" She asked quietly. "Yes...of course I'll be your wife."
"Really!? Rikka! I love you! I thought it might be too early but you said yes!" He yelled jumping up from his knee, and picking her up. The blond laughed happily as he spun the woman around in the air.
"Of course I said yes stupid. I love you." The villagers watched with smiles and cheers, and soon started clapping. He was so happy, and she was just the same. The two held their embrace, before Naruto abruptly flashed them back to their home.
"Naruto, you sense anything?" The black haired jounin inquired.
"No not yet. No enemies and no friendlies." The blond said, removing his finger from the ground and standing.
The two men had been slipping past Iwa patrols for about two days now, and were still trying to come upon the place that Ebisu had described in his message. Naruto could only hope the team had survived, especially considering the implications of a main branch Hyuga being stuck behind enemy lines. Dusk was now taking over the day, and the pair had just come upon a small goat farm.
As they snuck up to the house, Sasuke peered through the window, and saw a family eating their dinner. "Hm, surprising they haven't evacuated." Thought the Uchiha.
The men were stopped when they hear a gasp and a whisper. "Shi-shinobi!" Instantly Naruto was behind the origin of the sound, blade to his throat.
"I don't want to hurt you old man, so please be quiet." The man shook slightly, but looked up at Sasuke's face. When the man saw the Konoha headband he smiled.
He spoke softly under his breath to the pair. "Konohagakure shinobi? I'm sure you're here for your missing team?"
"Yes we are, what do you know?"
"We stayed behind as we refused to abandon our home, even with the invasion. Not soon after Iwa came through did we run into your team. They came in about four days ago, and were tired and beat up. We gave them food and a nights rest before we sent them off to a separate farm. We figured if we can get them through enough homes and to the border, they can escape." With this Naruto let go of the man and apologized.
"Mister, can you take us to where you sent them next?"
"No, I cannot leave my family, but let me fetch you a map. I'll show you where."
"Thank you sir, you're saving the life of someone dear to me."
"It's my pleasure son. Never turn away someone in need. That's how my papa raised me."
After a few minutes and a small argument the man had with what Naruto and Sasuke assumed was the man's daughter and her husband, the elderly man came back outside. "Now, see here, about ten miles east there's a small farmhouse. They are kind people, but they may have evacuated. Hopefully there's something to put you on their trail there."
"Thank you again mister. I promise that Iwa won't stay in your country for to long. If they won't negotiate, then we'll kick them out ourselves."
"Thank you son, please have safe travels, both of you."
With that the pair left the man and his family. Naruto couldn't help but think about how wars like this ripped apart families made up of wonderful people like that old man. It was no wonder Jiraiya longed for peace.
Naruto and his companion sifted through the wreckage of the small farmhouse. It had been burned to the ground, and they were searching for any sign of where Team Twelve may have gone. The sun had set in the last hour, and the jounin would be on high alert searching in the dark. They got lucky with a bright moon and a cloudless sky.
"There's plenty of sign that points to them heading farther east." Reported the Uchiha.
"Ah, good. At least we can go after them. There's signs of a battle. Lots of earth torn up from earth style jutsu. I'd assume that's the Iwa nin. Tons of kunai and shuriken on the ground as well. Some of its damp, I'm pretty sure Ebisu is the only one who can use water style on the team." Naruto said, observing the battle damage.
"Who do you think burned the house down?" The black haired jounin questioned the blond. He asked more out of curiosity than concern.
"Either Ebisu or Konohamaru. Kono knows the Burning Ash jutsu, and probably more." Naruto replied, betting on the goofy Sarutobi.
"I see." Sasuke replied. "Betting on Konohamaru then."
"Yeah. Well let's follow this trail, it's only about a day or two old, but it looks like a chase happened." Naruto said, standing from his crouched position over some kunai imbedded in the ground, and some scuffed marks leading into the forest.
"Right, that time frame fits with what the old man said. Hopefully we can catch up to them in time." The Uchiha replied, following after the blond.
With this the two jounin set off on the trail. They slowly investigated, stopping to pull kunai from trees as they went, trying to see if they could identify if some of them had been made in Konohagakure. The two jounin stopped as they came upon a clearing about six miles from the burned farm.
"They stopped here. Maybe to rest?" Naruto guessed, seeing signs of the group stopping. Some ration wrappers here and there, and some kunai on the ground.
"No." Sasuke replied, walking toward the base of one of the larger trees. "Someone is wounded. They changed bandages here."
"Shit, hopefully they're still alive." The jounin said, slight worry for the team creeping into his mind.
"Looks like they got cornered here though. Had to fight their way out. Look at those burn marks on the ground and in the trees." Sasuke said, examining one of the marks closely, feeling the charred wood with his hand.
"Indeed, but they made it out. There's plenty of signs they used explosive tags to help them set the enemy back." The blond replied as he pointed up, where the tops of some of the trees had been blown clean off in a fashion that closely resembled the controlled explosion of paper bombs.
"That is true. Well, let's keep going." Sasuke said, as he leapt back into the trees.
The pair made steady progress following the trail, moving quickly but being thorough nonetheless. They came across two more places the team must have stopped and changed the bandages of the wounded member. They were running out of bandages, evident by the fact that Konohamaru's scarf was now discarded on the ground and covered in blood.
Soon, there was yet another break in the trees. This time however; they were greeted with a different sight. Before the two jounin was a large mine opening. "Fuck. I hope to god they didn't let Iwa nin drive them underground. That's a death sentence." Naruto said, a small bit of frustration in his voice.
"Agreed. Let's have a look shall we?" The other man said.
The pair made their way into the mine, but found the entrance blocked off from a cave in not too far in. But it wasn't what they found their that worried them, but who.
"Ebisu!" At Naruto's shout, the eyes of a man close to death opened.
"Masters Uchiha and Namikaze… it's good to..-" He cut off as he burst into a fit of coughs.
"Hold on Ebisu, I can get you to a medic quic-"
The jounin cut off the blond with a struggled word. "No." He coughed again, blood coming up this time. The man looked beat up, but had tons of internal bleeding. The massive hole in his leg wasn't helping anything either. Blunt force trauma was an Iwa specialty, unless they pierced you with a spear of earth.
"I'm already too far gone...I've been lying here for a few hours. I'm bleeding internally, and I've drained my chakra far enough that I cannot recover. Listen...Naruto ...Konohamaru...and the others, they managed to escape. Please go after my students. I-." The man was again cut off by a fit of coughs. "I do not want them to die here, I did my best to keep them safe, but there were too many of them. I sent the children on a straight shot back to Fire country..."
"It's alright Ebisu. You did well. We'll find the brats, and I'll get them home safe. Now save your breath, it's gonna be alright, I'll have a shadow clone get you back."
"Thank you… Naruto…. I think ...that I'll rest now….." With that, the man who had given his all to protect his students died.
"Damnit." The blond said, punching the wall of the mine shaft.
"Naruto, we need to get a move on, if the kids are out there alone, they don't have long." Sasuke said.
"Right." The blond replied forming three shadow clones. They would stay behind to seal away the deceased jounin's body and bring it back to Konohagakure for a proper burial.
With this, the jounin took off at an even faster pace, intent on catching up to the children. They hauled ass in the direction that Ebisu had sent the team. Naruto hoped he could make it in time, and was almost tempted to start flashing his way forward. He knew that would be a waste of chakra, and he needed to still be cautious of an ambush.
"We'll find them Naruto." Sasuke stated in a calm tone.
"I know. Thanks buddy." The blond gave a slight smile in return as he spoke.
"Hn."
About half an hour later, the jounin could still be found leaping through the trees. They came to a halt when they heard a loud bang and watched as smoke plumed from the trees about four miles in front of them. The two cast a quick glance at one another before using the body flicker to double their speed.
Upon arrival, the pair were greeted with the sight of Konohamaru standing defensively over his teammates. Ten Iwa nin could be seen standing before the boy, one of them walking towards him menacingly. Another ten sat hidden around the small clearing in the trees, no doubt making sure there was no escape.
"Time to die brat, just like your sensei. Then we're going to take your little girlfriend, and bring a whole new bloodline to Iwa." At this Hanabi recoiled in fear. Naruto and Sasuke couldn't blame her for being scared, encountering this many high level enemy nin while still a genin would nearly break even the hardest of fresh genin. "Then finally, we'll gut your dog boy friend as well."
With a quick nod to his partner, Naruto made his move. The ten nin in the clearing suddenly found themselves surrounded and intermixed with over a dozen tri-pronged kunai. The man closest to the young Sarutobi was the first to notice. "What the fu-" He was cut off as one of Naruto's kunai cut clean through his throat, and blood spurted out onto the blond and some got on the genin.
The young boy's eyes widened at his role model's sudden appearance and intervention. Naruto flashed out of existence and reappeared behind two more of the Iwa nin. Without hesitation he buried kunai into the back of their skulls. At the same moment, a shrieking sound ripped through the air, one reminiscent of the chirping of birds. Lightning screamed through the treetops, bursting holes through the chests of half the nin up high.
Naruto wasted no time, and quickly dispatched the rest of the Iwa shinobi before they even knew what hit them. In conjunction with Naruto's quick kills, Sasuke took advantage of the expert body flicker he now possessed. Naruto and Kakashi firmly believed that Sasuke was now as skilled, if not more skilled with the body flicker than even Uchiha Shisui himself. Between the speed of Naruto and Sasuke's attacks, the two of them dispatched twenty Iwa ninja in under thirty seconds.
Naruto quickly crouched and placed his finger to the ground. Once he knew the area was clear, he stood and turned to the shell-shocked genin. "You guys alright?"
"Big brother Naruto… is… is that really you?" Konohamaru asked with tears in his eyes.
"Yeah, it's me buddy." The blond replied with a reassuring grin.
"Naruto!" He yelled as the flood gates opened. The boy leapt forward and latched onto the blond. The young Sarutobi cried into the blond's shirt as Naruto rubbed his back. At this moment, Sasuke dropped down from the tree tops and started to console the other children. The jounin knew they needed to get the kids out of their as soon as possible, but they also knew that the children were in dire need of rest.
"Alright kiddos, let's get you some rest then we'll get you home." The blond jounin said with a reassuring smile to the children. He and Sasuke quickly tracked down a spot to let the kids rest while they took watch.
It had taken them a few hours, as they needed to calm their panic, but Team Twelve finally managed to doze off. After a while, Sasuke approached Naruto. The Uchiha may be a loner, but he still got bored.
"So, when's the wedding?" The man questioned.
"As soon as we get back from the summit. She wants it sooner rather than later." Naruto replied. He couldn't help but smile at his soon to be wife.
"Is she sure about that? There's a chance that any of us could die if war breaks out." The raven haired shinobi asked.
"That's why she wants it now, live while you still can Sasuke. Do you want any regrets when you die, or would you rather die knowing you lived a happy life?" Naruto replied looking Sasuke in the eye.
"I suppose you make a good point." The Uchiha said, ending with a grunt. "Hn."
"Of course I do, I'm not stupid." The blond replied with a cocky smirk.
"Our childhood says otherwise." The Uchiha quipped with almost a snort.
"Oh go fuck yourself." Naruto retorted. "But seriously, didn't you want to rebuild your clan?" The blond asked, seriousness taking over the conversation.
"Yes...but this romance stuff is difficult. I'm… a little too antisocial." The man admitted.
"Well, what about Sakura?" Naruto offered, he knew the two had run quite a few missions together, and were quite close.
"I've… well I've considered it. She's strong now, much stronger than I ever thought she might be. And she's our friend, she's close to us and that builds a connection already. But… I don't know, I still have no idea." The Uchiha replied thoughtfully.
"Just take her on a date, and test the waters. She's and adult just like us, I'm sure she'll understand if you two don't work out." Urged the legendary twenty year old.
"Well-..." Sasuke started, only to be interrupted.
"Just fuckin do it already. Quit being a scaredy-cat." Naruto demanded.
"Fuck you Naruto." Sasuke said with a snort.
"You know I'm right S'ke. Now shut up, we've a whole damn company coming our way. Definitely Iwa nin, their chakra feels like dirt." The blond said, shifting into full shinobi mode.
"How fast?" The Uchiha asked quickly.
"Pretty quick, they must have a sensor. They seem to know where we are." Naruto said, finger on the branch.
"Damn, what's the plan?" He inquired, leaving the tactical decision to the blond.
"Have the kids run and hold them here." Naruto said confidently.
"What if they get attacked on the way?" The Uchiha asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"I'm gonna give Kono one of my kunai." He replied with a smirk.
"Alright, that works."
"I'll be back." Naruto quipped.
"Hn. Don't take too long." Sasuke replied with a grunt.
Naruto leapt out of the trees and down to the ground. Quietly but swiftly he made his way to where the kids slept. He gently shook Konohamaru awake while holding his mouth closed and shushing him. After waking the other genin, he addressed them.
"Listen up. We've got a ton of Iwa nin closing in fast. Me and Sasuke are going to stall them, but we can't go all out with you guys here. You need to run back to Fire country. Friendly lines are only about five miles out. Stick together, help each other, and don't stop. Got it?" He said, addressing the children with a highly serious tone.
"You're not coming with us?" The small boy asked, fear creeping onto his face.
"I'll be right behind you, but I have to handle these guys first. Don't worry, I won't let any of my teammates die, that includes you guys now." He said with a grin. He stopped and reached into his kunai pouch. He withdrew a tri-pronged kunai that was slightly larger than usual. "This is a special one of my kunai. I tweaked my formula a lot, so I can flash to it from much further away, okay? Take this with you, and if something goes wrong, flare your chakra. I'll sense it. But when you flare your chakra, you also have to push as much into this seal on the bottom as possible." He said showing the boy an engraved seal in the ring of the kunai. He had created it so anyone on his team could use it as a beacon to get help from him. It had an effective range of six miles, which was well outside his sensing range, and his normal teleportation range. "It's special, so don't lose it buddy. Be safe, and call me if you need me. I'll be there in a flash." Naruto finished with a wide and bright grin, reassuring all the kids that they would be safe. He then pulled Konohamaru's hand out, and opened his palm. He then gently placed the kunai in the boy's hand. "Now get going."
"You got it boss. Don't lose alright!" Konohamaru said quietly but with enthusiasm. Naruto's words had, as always, reassured the boy. He stuck out his fist to the older shinobi.
The blond bumped his fist off of the young Sarutobi's and replied, "I never do."
"Naruto, their closing in!" Came the shout of the combat ready Uchiha.
"Got it! Get going brats." Naruto said sternly.
With that, the brown haired boy pushed the Inuzuka forward, who then started running. Seeing Hanabi, who even though she was no longer scared was still unmoving, Konohamaru grabbed her hand and took off with her into the trees.
"Sasuke, I never did ask. Did Tsunade do the transplant?" Naruto questioned.
"Yeah. She did why?" A look of curiosity on his face.
"Just wanted to know if we can count on that Susanoo and black fire of yours." The blond said, his brain was running through many battle scenarios.
"Obviously, but I doubt we'll need it. Between the two of us, we'll mop these rock biters up quick." The Uchiha said with confidence.
"Don't be so hasty." Naruto cautioned.
"You're no fun Namikaze." The man quipped in return.
"Shut up, and don't hold back." Naruto said, with a light smile.
As they bickered, a squad of Iwa nin landed before them. Naruto could sense the rest of their company spread out through the trees.
"Turn back, and let us be on our way, there is no need for any bloodshed today."
"Fuck you Namikaze! Your pops killed tons of our shinobi, we're gonna kill you for it."
"You do realize he has the same skills as his father? He can just do exactly what his father did and slaughter you." Sasuke said, internally stunned by the arrogance of the Iwa nin.
"The last Uchiha too huh? We heard there was a Hyuga but to have a chance to grab up the Sharingan too? That's just icing on the cake." With this the Iwa nin drew their blades, and the slaughter began. The company was made of mostly chunin, but the squad before them were all jounin.
Sasuke's eyes quickly changed, and he set the squad ablaze with the black flames of Amaterasu. Seeing their comrades die, the rest jumped into the fight. The flashing then started, and men and women began falling dead. Sasuke proved capable yet again with his body flicker, and over the course of about six minutes the entire company was dead, save for one last squad.
They had managed to actually stay alive and fighting with the pair. The squad was made up of some of the best ANBU Iwa had ever produced.
Sasuke was forced to side step as a massive fist of stone impacted the ground he had occupied. With a quick body flicker, he finally made his way behind the attacker and ran him through with his sword. He was caught off guard when a spear of earth skewered his target straight through and managed to stab into his own shoulder. Wrenching himself free, he rolled away as a shower of kick ball sized stones rocketed into the ground he had landed on.
Meanwhile Naruto flashed away as another hole opened in the earth, pulling everything above it in and quickly snapping shut with force. It was quite the annoying jutsu, though he supposed they could say that about his own as well. The enemy was removing his kunai from the battlefield in large numbers. He had plenty more at home, but he had neglected to bring his scroll along this time. Luckily, he did have a backup set in a storage seal on the inside of his pouch at all times. A large explosion went off that sent Naruto hurling into the air. The blond quickly flashed away to regain sense of his surroundings, and at the same time, Sasuke joined him.
"What just happened?" Asked the Sharingan weilder, he'd heard the loud explosion, but hadn't seen the cause.
"I dunno, the explosion came out of nowhere. Did you get any?"
"Just one."
"Three left then."
Two Iwa nin dropped down on each side of them, before one dropped down in the middle. The man wore a brown kasa, and had a large box strapped to his back. "I am Dojuro. Part of Iwagakure's blast battalion. They sent these two boys with me to fish out the Konoha scum that were hiding in our new addition."
"This land belongs to Taki, not Iwa."
"We took it, so it's ours. You tree huggers aren't gonna stop us."
"I'm tired of this Naruto." Spoke the Uchiha. His Susanoo roared to life around him. The now armored form struck fear into one of the Iwa nin.
"Wha- What the hell!" Before the man could turn and run, the last Uchiha skewered him with an arrow.
"Shit!" Yelled the man now identified as Dojuro. He flew through hand seals, and silently set off a jutsu. The lid of the box on his back popped off, and a massive worm like column of white clay shot from it, and as it sailed over the pair of Konoha nin, a large length dropped off. Meanwhile the remainder of the column retracted back to its owner.
Sasuke quickly recognized just what this white substance was. He glanced over at his friend as the Iwa man moved his hands into the snake seal. Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw that Naruto's full focus was on the last nin they faced, and the blond was far too oblivious to the danger that had just reached them. "Naruto! Teleport!" He screamed.
The blond finished parrying his attacker, and slid his blade across the man's throat. The spiky haired man then spun around to face his friend. "Wha-? Oh fuc-" The jounin was cut off when the explosive went off. It tore apart the entire clearing as the Iwa nin surrounded himself with a protective dome of stone. Everything in a half mile radius was blown away, and most of it incinerated. "Naruto!" Yelled the Uchiha, uncaring as the armor of his Susanoo was ripped away by the might of the explosion. This left Sasuke standing alone in a crater, covered in the skeleton of his Susanoo. It had all happened in under five seconds.
"Naruto?" The Uchiha asked, disbelief in his voice. He glanced around and saw the final Iwa nin had made a hasty retreat during the blast. "Naruto don't fuck with me." He spoke aloud.
A quiet noise was heard and a flash of yellow light went off next to the last Uchiha. He spun around and saw his best friend. He was far from relieved when he saw his companion. The blond's flak jacket had been shredded. His chest, arms, and legs were covered in burns, cuts, and shrapnel. Blood poured from a large wound on his leg. "Shit man!"
"Heh, I guess I got careless. Can't do much….with speed….if I don't know what's going on around me. I thought….Jiraiya beat situational awareness into me...ow…"
"Naruto, it's gonna be alright, hang on." Said Sasuke as he grabbed the blond and began to lift him up. "How'd you survive."
"I flashed away, but I did it too late to avoid catching some of the blast." The blond spoke through gritted teeth. Suddenly the blond's eyes widened, and Sasuke felt him tense.
"What is it."
"Konohamaru is in trouble. Hang on."
With that, the two felt the sensation that came with teleportation via the Flying Raijin. They appeared behind the genin, and quickly took in the situation. Naruto saw a large Iwa nin standing over the Sarutobi boy, a sword poking at his chest. The man was obviously going to skewer the genin.
"Don't touch him!" Yelled Naruto before Sasuke even had a chance to react. The blond pushed himself out of Sasuke's grip and at the same moment flung a kunai at the Iwa shinobi. The man turned and managed to tilt his head slightly to the side and dodge the blade.
The enemy grinned maniacally at the blond and said, "too late." As the kunai passed by his skull.
With this Naruto returned a smirk of his own, and simply replied with, "never." The blond for the moment having forgotten his injuries flashed behind the man and buried a Rasengan into the man's chest cavity. Blood squirted out, and covered some of Naruto's arm.
"Big brother Naruto! You came!?"
With a smile the blond looked down at the boy, but felt his strength fading. His body was using a large mix of his own chakra and the Nine Tails' to heal his wounds. "I told you Kono, I'll be there in a flash." With those words, Naruto collapsed from physical exhaustion. The rapid healing rate put a great deal of strain on his physical strength, along with tiring him out quickly. Sasuke caught the blond just barely before he hit the ground.
"Is he gonna be okay?" The Sarutobi boy asked in worry.
"The idiot? Yeah, he'll be fine." Sasuke said with a light chuckle.
"Oh good, I was worried."
"Hn. Alright, let's get out of here."
"Right!" Came the response of the genin.
"Congratulations on the successful rescue of Team Twelve." The Hokage said, addressing the jounin. She soon turned her gaze to the three genin. "I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm going to need you to recount the events of your mission."
Sakumo's gaze turned to the floor, and Hanabi still looked slightly shell-shocked. Konohamaru however; griminced once, before looking up and staring the Hokage in the eyes. "Okay. I'll tell it."
Takigakure, the day of the Iwagakure blitz.
"Team, let's go!"
"Sensei what's going on!?"
"Taki is being invaded. Come children, we need to get back to Konohagakure and inform them of what is going on."
"But sensei!-"
Konohamaru was cut off by the extremely stern and heavy voice of Ebisu. "Konohamaru. No more questions. You will do what I say, when I say it. That goes for all of you. If you don't, I have no doubt the Iwa shinobi will wipe us out. Do you understand?"
He got a single reply from all three genin at once. "Yes sensei."
"Good, now let's move."
After some time of rest, and a lot of stealth evasion of enemy patrols, the team had found themselves at the old man's home. He gave them food, and let them get a nights rest before sending them on their way to the next farm.
Team Twelve sat resting in the second farm. They had arrived at the farmhouse to find it abandoned. They made use of the home as a quick shelter for the night. Unbeknownst to the Konohagakure shinobi, a decently sized squad of Iwa nin had caught their scent just before they had found the farmhouse. Night settled over the farm, and Sakumo sat outside on lookout duty. The Inuzuka boy and his dog Kaoru had taken first watch, and were unaware of the nearby threat. Upon noticing the Inuzuka and his dog, the Iwa nin took extensive measures to hide their scent.
Finally, after some more observation, the nin made their move. One launched from the trees at the boy, and only thanks to his enhanced hearing was he able to stop the attack. The boy stared the Iwa nin in the eyes as they locked blades. As they did, the dog let out loud barks, alerting the shinobi in the house.
The Konoha nin were outside in seconds, and a fight broke out quickly. Ebisu launched off water jutsu, trying to attack and counter the Iwa nin. The earth ripped apart and reshaped around the team, Iwa ninja showing their aptitude for earth jutsu as always. Meanwhile, the genin exchanged kunai and shuriken with some of the other Iwa nin, the young ninja barely holding up against the enemy. Suddenly, Ebisu's voice broke through the silence. "You three! Get inside!" With that, Ebisu strained himself to fire off a massive version of the water wall jutsu. The river near the farm house and the massive amount of groundwater in the area were the only things even making this possible. At the same time, Konohamaru and Hanabi had made it in the house, but Sakumo had just started for the door.
An enemy nin, seeing an opening on the Inuzuka boy, sped through hand seals. The Iwa nin let off his jutsu, and a spear of earth rocketed at the boy. At the last second, Ebisu appeared, and tackled the boy through a window, the spear of earth rammed through the man's thigh, but the earth broke away without stopping their momentum. Ebisu rolled through the window, boy and dog in hand, and was greeted with Konohamaru and Hanabi. The man quickly bandaged his wound, before he motioned for the team to follow him. As they made their way to the front of the farmhouse, three Iwa nin came busting through the windows in the back. A quick thinking Konohamaru filled the house with ash, and as Ebisu ripped the boy from the home, he ignited it with his teeth. The resulting fireball blew the house apart, and roasted the Iwa shinobi. This all took place over the course of a minute.
Ebisu's team rushed into the tree line and made a run for it. About six miles into the forest, they stopped to change Ebisu's bandages. Hanabi helped their sensei re-wrap his leg, and the boy's set up some explosive tags in the trees. They were soon attacked again by Iwa shinobi, and Konohamaru once again managed to hold them back by using his ash as a trap. The team took to the trees again, and the boys set off the explosive tags as the enemy made to follow them.
They blazed their own trail through the forest, stopping to bandage their sensei's still bleeding wound twice more. Konohamaru was worried, as they had just used up their last bandage. Soon they were forced to make a third stop. Ebisu was losing quite a lot of blood, and it was starting to affect him. Konohamaru removed his scarf, and used it to replace the blood soaked bandages on his teacher's leg. Continuing on, the group finally came to a break in the trees. Here, they were greeted with the sight of a mine, and they could tell the Iwa nin were close.
Ebisu thinking quickly, formed three shadow clones, and had them transform into the children. This used up quite a lot of his chakra, and Ebisu found himself close to his limit, add on the blood loss, and things weren't looking good. The sensei turned to his students, and crouched down in front of Konohamaru. He looked at his student in the eye and smiled. "I was happy to be a sensei to all of you. Look," he said pointing off in the direction of the Taki/Konoha border. "Head that way, and don't stop alright? Stay together, and don't give up. I'll lead them away, and buy you time. I'll be right behind you after I deal with them."
"Sensei-."
Ebisu interrupted the boy before he could finish. "Konohamaru, that's an order. Be strong and look after your teammates."
"Y-Yes sensei."
"Good, now go!"
With that the children ran off into the woods, and Ebisu sent the shadow clones down into the mine as soon as the Iwa nin broke the tree line. With the shadow clones as bait, and Ebisu himself there to stall, he could only hope the genin would make it back to the border. As the children ran off, they heard Ebisu shout at the enemy, "I won't let you harm them!"
The children ran through the woods for a while, and eventually a large group of nin must have gotten past Ebisu, or avoided him completely, because they caught up. This is where Naruto and Sasuke found them, and the story of Team Twelve ended.
"And that's when Naruto showed up and saved us." Konohamaru said as he finished recounting his story.
"I see. Thank you for explaining." The Hokage responded. "Now, Naruto, you said you were injured? Looks like you healed up fine?"
"Ah yes, Sasuke and I stopped off at the border. The spot you set up a support effort to help Takigakure fight Iwa is impressive. (Tsunade had sent a guard group, and a group of medical nin to the border to help treat Takigakure's wounded.) Sakura healed me up. She's an impressive medic nin now. They're doing good work down there."
"I'm glad to hear that. Well now, Team Twelve will have to be put on the back burner until we can find you a new sensei-.." She was cut off when the door opened and in walked an angry Hyuga clan head.
"It's obvious my daughter was not assigned a strong enough sensei to protect her. What do you-."
Suddenly the man was cut off by Naruto. "I ask you not to disrespect the sacrifice Ebisu made to keep these children safe. Hang out for a minute Lord Hyuga, I think you'll want to hear this." He said to the clan head before turning back to the Hokage. "Ma'am, I hereby officially request that Team Twelve be rebranded as the new Team Seven. I will be their sensei."
Now, I know he jumped into the marriage early, but they've been friends for a while. Trust me when I say, when you meet the right person, you know. You know it's them. And that's how it is for these two. Add onto it they could die any day. Live while you still can. Plus if you really want to argue with me then I pull out my secret weapon: Plot Armor!
Check out Naruto and Rikka by wilczyca117 on deviantart. She's crazy good and did great work. I'll put the links here, there's one for a solo version of Naruto as well.
wilczyca117/art/C-Naruto-redesign-809015021
wilczyca117/art/C-Couple-809449240
I had a ton of fun writing this chapter, I feel like I did a lot better with my characters, and I feel like the writing was much better than normal. I'm pretty proud of it, and hope you enjoy it as well. That's all for now, thanks for your support. Darling in the Fox out!