For anyone who was wishing for it or otherwise, I'm back with another chapter.
Quick update: Chapter 1 and 2 have been refreshed as of now. I hope they are now a better read than they were before. Going through them after this long time helped me in finding the errors I had made. While sadly chapter 1 is still basically a clone of canon, I hope it is better written. As I said in the last chapter nothing exactly new is added to them except for stuff that would make it easier to read and understand, I hope. My new word processor has done wonders for error checking.
Though anyone who is already up to speed with the latest chapter needn't bother with them unless you want too.
Okay, time for some reviews,
bloody dragon fang, TheWateringWizard, GunBlade2019 and EvilCuttlefish: Thanks for the support and the reviews.
Darkjaden: You are absolutely right. That is one of the reasons I put her and Naruto in different teams. Talking about fighting styles, don't you think it will be more interesting to show that in a free for all fight? Hint Hint.
Born2BeGodLike: You see, I don't see pairings as entertainments. I don't get bored of pairings. I may be unsatisfied with one, but not bored. Maybe relationships don't work like that in real life like as they seem to do in most mangas. But I don't want to keep reality so close to the fictional world. I may have not been in a relationship, but definitely would not want to be in one if, in the end, everything ends just because it got boring. Though it's obviously up to you if you want to read this further or not. But I will never get bored of NaruHina, and if I ever post any other Naruto fic you can bet it will be NaruHina again.
True Hyper Sonic: I really had no idea it was canon. Thanks for the information.
demigodninja21: Hmm…It's a bit complicated than that. As a character, I think what Sasuke did is what any person would do if given the opportunity. But counting the story as a whole, it seems to heavily revolve unfairly around him, or specifically the Sharingan. So, it's not exactly Sasuke that I hate, it's the Uchiha. But since Sasuke was basically the only one left for the most part of the story, he gets the full brunt of it. Some other Uchihas like Itachi and even Madara did whatever they did for a grand scheme of things. Sasuke to me seemed to act childishly, so did Obito actually. Sakura, well she is just plain annoying. I also hate people with God complex. You will get to know about that in future. (If you hang around for that long that is.)
Guest: I don't even know why you are back if you didn't like some part of the story. I commend you though for accepting the fact that you are a loser too.
Well, on with the chapter, but wait, Naruto franchise doesn't belong to me.
Chapter 19: The Race is on!
Even though the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, a huge crowd already had gathered at the port, where the race to Todoroki shrine was about to start.
"Whoa! Look at all these people. I didn't know this event was such a big deal." Kiba exclaimed. Akamaru barked his agreement from his jacket.
"Well, it IS an event that decides the fate of the village for four years. So, I guess this crowd is normal. Some of them are probably from neighbouring towns though, since this town definitely doesn't have this many people." Naruto explained calmly even though he was similarly surprised.
"Well, what kind of race is this anyway? Just run from start to finish?" Kiba asked.
"Yeah, something like that," Sakura answered. She took out a map and showed it to him, "They start from here, from the Degarashi port to the Motoroki shrine. That's the midpoint." She explained.
"So, wait. They walk of water?" Kiba asked since there was no other way in the map to reach the shrine without crossing the waters.
"Uh, no Kiba, the first part of the race is done by boat. Then the runners pick up the Ryuko jewels from the Motoroki shrine and the first one to get them to the great Todoroki shrine wins. And that's about where the rules go. Other than that, anything goes, shortcuts, dirty tricks, anything." Sakura explained further.
"And that's why hiring shinobis as bodyguards are allowed as well, I guess. Anyway, Kiba, Sakura, Akamaru, be on a sharp lookout. We haven't been able to find the shinobis that the opposite side has hired. We have to be ready for them." Naruto added.
"I don't know how they got past your sensing. Shouldn't you be able to sense and tell the civilians apart from shinobis?" Kiba asked him.
Naruto shook his head, "I don't know. They are probably not in the town and are waiting on the road ahead for an ambush. Also, we don't know what level of shinobi they have hired. I don't want to underestimate them, but their chakra maybe too weak for me to be able to differentiate between them and the civilians." He got serious before adding, "On the other hand, while I don't want to overestimate them either, they might be skilled enough or have some sort of jutsu to hide themselves among the others. That's why, stay sharp."
All three of his teammates nodded.
Idate, who was going through some stretches, said, "I don't care what you guys do, but stay away from me. I have a race to run, don't get in my way."
While Kiba wanted to yell at the brat, he stopped himself and compensated by gritting his teeth. Akamaru had no such reservations and openly growled at him.
The speaker sounded before any argument could spew up, "Attention! Attention! The great Todoroki shrine race is about to begin. Running from the Wasabi side is, Idate Morino!" The announcer announced getting cheers from the Wasabi side, while Idate himself just stayed quiet.
"And running for the Wagarashi family, Fukusuke Hikyakuya!" The Announcer said again, this time getting cheers from the Wagarashi side.
"Runners! Take your marks." The runners did so while the gate to the port opened.
"GOOOOO!" The announcer yelled at which both the runners shot off.
"Okay, let's go...ooo? Where the heck is he going?" Kiba yelled.
Indeed, instead of running straight to the boats that were set up for the runners to reach the Motoroki shrine, Idate had changed course and was running along the port.
"Guess we have no choice but to follow him, let's go," Naruto said before he and his team followed Idate.
Kurenai was also surprised when she saw Idate run in the wrong direction from her hiding place and cursed. "That brat better not put my team in unnecessary danger." She thought before sighing, "If Asuma was here, he would say I was acting like a mother hen." She chuckled to herself, before she too left after her team, but kept enough distance so that she could react to any ambush.
Idate had already run quite inland before Team 8 could catch up to him. Going through the forested area, Team 8 was tree leaping to reach Idate quicker.
"What does he think he is doing? He will never win the race if he continues going farther from the ocean." Kiba snarled.
"We can't do anything about it. We just have to follow him. Who knows, maybe he has a plan." Naruto stated before he suddenly stopped and looked in another direction. Seeing him stop made his teammates halt as well.
"Senpai, we don't have time to stop. He is getting away." Sakura told him.
"I sense three chakra signatures in that direction. Wait…two of them just vanished, probably Shunshined out. The last one is heading in Idate's direction." Naruto informed his team. He resumed jumping making his team follow and said, "Come on! We need to reach Idate before that guy."
"Wouldn't it be easier to take that guy out before he reaches him?" Kiba asked.
Naruto nodded, "Yeah, that idea came to me too. And since it doesn't look like he is that much strong, at least chakra wise, we should be able to take him out easily. But I want to avoid confrontation just in case his teammates are waiting ahead for Idate. So, it's better we stick with Idate then try and take on the other team."
Finding no arguments, Team 8 collectively increased their speed to reach Idate.
After a few more moments of trying catching up to Idate, which was difficult due to his speed, Akamaru suddenly started barking from inside Kiba's jacket.
"What did you say, partner?" Kiba asked his ninken. Akamaru gave a few more yips and barks, which while not understandable to the two non-Inuzuka members of the team, made complete sense to Kiba.
"What? A Genjutsu? On us?" Kiba asked. He sniffed the air to check if his partner was right, though he didn't have any reason to doubt him. But before he could conclude the matter himself, his teammates did it for him.
"Akamaru's right. We are in a Genjutsu. But it's not applied to us. It's an areawide Genjutsu. That is not easy to pull off." Sakura clarified.
Naruto nodded, "And that's why it was hard to sense since the chakra is not directly interacting with ours. But still, it can be easily dispelled." He made a ram hand seal, his teammates doing the same, "Release!"
Immediately the area around them changed from a normal tropical forest to a different one. Akamaru though still continued to converse with his partner.
"I'm guessing that he is saying that we are still in a Genjutsu?" Naruto asked his teammate.
The Inuzuka nodded, "Yeah. It seems we escaped one Genjutsu and fell into another one."
Naruto agreed, "That is exactly what it is. And I don't know if Idate has sensed it or not." He looked in the direction of the Wasabi runner and told his team, "I'll go on ahead and warn him of the second Genjutsu. You come after and keep an eye for any ambush."
Getting nodes from his team, he almost seemed to disappear even to his teammates' trained eyes.
Idate was still running when he encountered a peculiar looking tree. He stopped to inspect it a bit before concluding.
"I'm trapped in some sort of Genjutsu." He made the same ram hand seal and yelled: "Release!". Just like with Team 8, the scenery changed and Idate could see light peeking through the thick of the forest.
"Over there!" He exclaimed and ran towards the light. Just as he exited the previous scenery, he heard someone yell at him to stop but it was too late as he suddenly lost the feeling of the ground below him.
Shocked at finding himself devoid of any ground to stand on, he started to panic, but before he fell to his death a rope with a kunai at the tip wrapped around his waist and saved him from his imminent death. Because of, gravity and inertia, he was swung towards the cliff and slammed on it. The pain snapped him out of the second Genjutsu, where he finally realised he was nowhere near the forest he was supposed to go through.
"Phew! Made it just in time." Naruto said from the edge of the cliff holding the rope and by extension Idate before pulling the runner up.
By the time Idate was back up, they were joined by the rest of Team 8. Sadly, Idate didn't look the least bit thankful when he said, "Look, I didn't need your help okay."
That pissed off the team. Being the loudest of them, Kiba was the one to show their displeasure, "You didn't need it? Listen, you fathead, how about a little thanks for saving your life!"
Idate wasn't deterred, "You only did it because you are bound to by duty, you don't need for me to thank you!"
Kiba, as well as Akamaru, growled at him. Naruto, even though he didn't like Idate's attitude, told Kiba to let go, "Leave it Kiba. But look, if you don't want to wind up dead, you better stick close to us instead of running off on your own."
Sakura asked the question that was on their mind since the beginning of the race, "But anyways where are you going? What happened to port Degarashi?"
"What about it? Forget the port, I'm heading north from here." Idate answered.
His answer though obviously didn't explain much, so Sakura pressed on, "You are? Is it faster that way?"
Idate got a smug look, "That's right!"
Kiba sneered at him, "Yeah right! How do we even know we can trust him?"
"That's the problem with all you ninja." Idate spat, "Look at this time of the year, there are some pretty strong seasonal winds blowing hard across the sea. Back at the starting point, I noticed the clouds. I could see the wind was blowing towards us. On top of that, there is a port to the north where the ocean current flows into Nagi island. That's what I was saying you ought to use this a little more, right here." He explained while pointing at his head.
Seeing that none of the Team 8 members had any way to fault his plans, they just shrugged and followed close behind Idate.
After a few minutes of running, Kiba sniffed the air and said, "I can smell the salt in the air again. We are close to the ocean."
And sure enough a few moments later they came up to another port, albeit obviously smaller than the one in Degarashi. Looking at the sky, they could see that what Idate said was indeed true as dark clouds were surrounding a big chunk of land in the ocean. Which prompted Sakura to ask, "What's that out across the water?"
"It's the halfway point. Motoroki Shrine over on Nagi Island." Idate answered while looking around the place before continuing, "We can probably get ourselves there in an hour from here. One sec…" He ran to the side to the small house that was on the shore.
He knocked on the door and called, "Hey gramps. It's me, Idate of the Wasabi."
The door opened to an old man, who upon seeing Idate perked up, "Hey there, I've been waiting for you."
"It's going just as I thought it would. I'm gonna need you to lend me that boat." Idate said.
"You bet! I've got things all ready for you. You can use that one over there." The old man said pointing at a boat already in the water, "There isn't a faster boat around."
"Thanks a lot, gramps." Idate thanked him.
"It's not a problem. Jirocho has done a lot for me over the years. Just make sure you don't lose to those Wagarashi. I've had about all I can stand from them in the way they rule this land." The old man said.
"Don't worry about a thing. I may be the underdog, but you are looking at the right-hand man of the Wasabi. Trust me I won't fail you. I promise." Idate assured.
Kurenai was just done showing the Ame (Rain) Genin that you shouldn't mess with students of Genjutsu Mistress using Genjutsu. Though she did acknowledge his skill in being able to cast not only one Genjutsu over another but also do it area wide. Even then, Konoha was on neutral terms with Ame, and if this was a sanctioned mission from the village it would be prudent to not kill the ninja. Truthfully though Kurenai was just not someone who would kill young Genins like him for no reason. So, after showing him just how dangerous Genjutsu can be, which made her almost think against of tying the Genin up, she tied him anyway and was in the process of getting information on his teammates.
She wasn't surprised that it didn't take as long to get the information out of him. Not only was he a mere Genin, but she also was friends with one of the best Interrogators in the village, Anko Mitarashi, second only to the head of that department. She, fortunately, or otherwise, still hadn't got a chance to meet the head though. The only thing she knew is that the guy preferred mental torture over a physical one. She could see the merit there.
Sadly, she didn't have time to think over it much as it seemed this Genin was a part of a typical Genin squad. So not only were his teammates still out there, but there was also a Jounin leading them. Unfortunately, she made a mistake in following Idate instead of his opponent, since now she didn't have any means to follow after her team. Unless she walks on water the whole way to Nagi island, which while not impossible, would be taxing on her chakra. She really envied Naruto, by extension Namiko, for his reserves in chakra department.
Sighing and resigning to her fate she ran towards the place from where her team and Idate had left for the Nagi island, hoping there were some means for her to reach them before the Ame Jounin does.
Kurenai's team, unaware of their Sensei's plight, were already halfway to their first destination. They had to give it to Idate though since it was proved that he was right in his decision to sail from the North since due to the current as well as the wind, they were able to attain some real speed. Add the fact that it seemed they would reach Nagi Island without going through some heavy rains just made it even better.
And just like that, as if to jinx them, clouds started gathering around them, and immediately started pouring. Though it wasn't water that came down from the sky.
"It's oil," Sakura observed.
"Yeah, we kinda got that," Kiba said while pinching his nose. Akamaru tried to do that too with his paws. The pungent smell of oil was apparently annoying for their sensitive noses. His eyes widened when he came to a realization, "Shit! We're being ambushed!"
Before they could question why their ambusher was using oil, an aflame arrow hit their boat igniting the oil in it. The flames quickly spread, surrounding the whole boat and engulfing everything in it.
Another boat moved up the burning one. The two breather wearing occupants of the boat watched the other one burn with glee. Sadly, that rendered them unaware of their surroundings putting them at the tip of the rapidly spinning drill speeding towards them.
Kiba's aim fell true, but only for one of them, because as soon as the first one was hit with Tsuga, the second one got out of his trance and jumped back to the front of the boat.
Unfortunately for him though, he jumped straight into the waiting Naruto's kunai. Though instead of stabbing him right away, Naruto held his kunai at the Genin's neck, "That was the fastest boat you just burned. I hope you don't mind if we take yours as compensation." He said.
The Genin looked back just enough to see who was threatening him before looking at his teammate who took the full brunt of Inuzuka's attack and was now pinned to the floor under the Inuzuka. He was not surprised to see that their target was not with them. Knowing he was already outmatched, he sighed, "Sure you can have the boat." He said before making a hand sign, "IN PIECES!"
Sakura and Idate heard the huge explosion and stopped their swimming to look back at what caused it. Their eyes widened on seeing a smoke cloud originating from where they knew Naruto and Kiba were fighting their pursuers.
The sight of fire was already getting to Idate. When Naruto said that they were being followed and suggested he replace them with clones to act as decoys while they hid, Idate had opposed it. Even after being saved from falling to his death, he didn't want any help from shinobis. Sadly, he ran out of options when he saw another boat approaching them. Naruto's plan did work to some extent, the shadow clones proved to be good decoys. Unfortunately, he hadn't anticipated them to make it rain oil and burning their whole ship down.
Finding it was time to improvise, he offered to take the enemy boat by taking them down, while Idate swam ahead of them to a safe distance with Sakura being there to guard him just in case. Again, Idate refused to do so, accusing them of using him as a decoy to run away. But when faced with the fact that Sakura was coming with him and that his boat would be nothing but wreckage in a short time, his hand was forced.
Now though seeing not only his but also their enemies boat going up in fire along with possibly Naruto and Kiba, brought old memories back. That was not helped when Sakura said, "Idate, go on ahead. I'll see what happened to Senpai and Kiba."
Idate looked at her with unbelieving eyes, "Can't you tell what happened to them? They are dead. And it's again because of me."
Sakura though was not deterred. She looked at him with determined eyes, "They are not dead. You don't know him but senpai, Naruto, will never lose to those Genins. He is strong, strongest of all of us Genins. He will not die so easily and will not let his friends die either. So, I don't believe they are dead unless I see it with my own eyes. But right now, your task is to win this race. If you don't Senpai's sacrifice will go in vain." She said before swimming towards the smoke.
Idate watched her go with a shocked expression on his face because of the trust Sakura put in her teammates. Realizing there was also someone else who had put their trust on him, he continued to swim towards his destination.
Sakura knew that running on the water would have been faster. But following Naruto's advice, in order to keep a low profile, just in case the enemies were still there, she kept on swimming. Contrary to the determination she showed Idate, she was indeed worried for her teammates.
Getting close to the site, she was relieved to hear barking. Leaving stealth to the wind, since Akamaru's barking made it a moot point anyway, she shot out of the water and started running on it towards the sound. Running through the wreckage she could see Akamaru standing on something. As soon as he saw her, just like a normal dog, he wagged his tail and started yipping at her.
As she got closer to Akamaru, she realised that it was Kiba that Akamaru was standing on. He himself was draped over a piece of floating wood. As soon as she reached him, she checked for vital signs and was relieved to find some. He also looked relatively unharmed except for some splinters of wood here and there, which seemed more to be stuck on his jacket than his body.
"Akamaru, I'm glad you are alright. Don't worry Kiba is okay too. But where is Senpai." She asked the ninken. While she obviously could not converse with him as Kiba and other Inuzuka could, Akamaru was smart enough to answer her the way she would understand. He circled on Kiba's back before pointing his nose downwards towards the water.
"Underwater? Don't tell me…" Sakura said before jumping and turning around kunai at ready when the water behind her started spinning forming into a small vortex.
She waited for whatever was causing it when a guy in white jumpsuit surfaced and floated along the edge of the whirlpool. Her face lit up on seeing Naruto's blond head come up. But she frowned when instead of being alone he hoisted another similarly dressed guy with a breathing mask on another piece of wood before standing on the water himself.
"Senpai, while I think I know, I still have to ask who they are?" Sakura asked still frowning, already knowing the answer.
"Well, they are the ones who attacked us. One of them was already unconscious due to Kiba's attack. The other one who set off the explosive tag, not so much. Hah! Stupid guy thought he could overwhelm me with clones." Naruto answered.
Sakura got a tick mark on her forehead, "If you already know that, why are you saving them?"
"Don't worry they won't be able to do anything anymore." He said before taking out a brush and drawing something on their foreheads. "There, their chakra should be sealed now." He looked around before spotting a large piece of what previously was a boat and hoisted the two Ame Genin before depositing them on it. He unsealed some ropes and proceeded to tie them up. "They won't be any problem for us, or them, anymore." He said.
"Senpai, you still haven't answered, why save them?" Sakura asked again.
"Well, they were just doing their mission, right? There's no reason to just let them die like that." Naruto answered.
Sakura sighed. The guy was too kind sometimes. She decided to ask another question, "What happened here anyway?"
"Well, as planned, Kiba was able to take out at least one of them, and I stopped the other one. But they had already prepared for something like that happening I think, as they blew up the boat using an already planted explosive tag. I pushed Kiba off the boat using a wind jutsu before jumping away. It seems Kiba was standing right on the tag since he was flung even further. Akamaru was already in the water actually and probably pulled Kiba on that platform." Naruto explained. "Anyways we should hurry back to Idate. There may be more of these guys." He added. He walked up to Kiba before picking him up on his back. He nodded to Sakura and started running towards the shore, Sakura and Akamaru following him.
Kurenai had already abandoned the rowboat she had borrowed after seeing the smoke cloud and was now running on the water. She didn't need to be a sensor to know what or who was in that direction. Fearing that her Genin had already encountered the Ame Jounin, she stopped worrying about chakra and was speeding up to rendezvous with her team.
Naruto suddenly tensed and started running on the water faster. Surprised by his sudden increase in speed, Sakura nonetheless caught up and asked, "What's the matter, senpai?"
"There's another unknown chakra signature with Idate and this guy doesn't seem to be a Genin. He has more chakra than those three guys from earlier combined. We have to reach him fast." Naruto answered.
They were reaching up to the shores when they saw a man with a wooden umbrella standing over Idate. Naruto saw him about to stomp on Idate, so quickly threw a kunai at him. Instead of dodging the kunai though, the man just brought his umbrella in the way which deflected it. He jumped back nonetheless when a small white dog tried to pounce him.
"Hmm, a ninken. It seems in a fight between Leaf and Rain Genins, the Leaf Genins are stronger. But Genin no matter how strong they are, are no match against me, a Jounin." The Ame Jounin said before swinging his umbrella creating a strong gust of wind. Akamaru, being the lightest of all, was flung back and hit a rock. So was Sakura. Naruto was able to hold up, mainly because of this hold on the ground using chakra as well as the added weight of Kiba.
The Ame Jounin jumped back at a higher ground, "Fortunately for you, my work here is already done." He said before moving his gaze away when he heard the sound of the crowd cheering, "See, Fukusuke is already at the shrine and poor Idate only has a few moments to live. So, I'll spare you for now." He said before vanishing.
Naruto cursed. He set Kiba down and moved up to Idate to see what the Jounin meant. Though looking at the needles sticking out of him, he already had an idea. He saw Sakura get up and move to check on Akamaru.
He plucked out one of the needles from Idate and inspected the tip. Thanking his Nee-chan for teaching him and his sister about poisons, that was one of the fields were she was better than their mother, he took out one of the anti-dotes she had prepared that worked on most run-of-the-mill poisons, which this one thankfully seemed to be, and popped a pill in Idate's mouth and made sure he swallowed it.
Looking back, he saw Akamaru was already up and Sakura was checking on Kiba now. He plucked the rest of the needles out of Idate and picked him up. "Sakura, there's a cave up ahead. We should go there before treating these two. It is going to rain soon." He told her.
Sakura nodded and then showed her strength by hoisting Kiba on her similar to how Naruto had done to Idate. Giving him a nod, they moved to the cave.
When Kurenai had reached the place, which was littered with shipwreck, she half expected to see one of her Genins there. And even though she was relieved to see none of her Genins, she was indeed surprised to see two Ame Genins similarly dressed to the one she had caught. One of them was conscious and wriggling about on a big floating piece of wood, trying to get free from the ropes tying him up. She saw hope appearing in his eyes when he saw someone was there, but it soon turned into fear, probably when he saw her headband.
She had looked around to try and figure out what had happened, but figuring she could just ask her Genin, she gave an exaggerated shrug to the Ame Genin before continuing on her way to the Island.
She could already see land as well as something she had hoped to see. Or someone. Figuring that Naruto had already sensed her approach, she wasn't much surprised to find him already waiting for her at the shore even in the rain. But she was curious as of why he was there instead of being with his team and Idate. The only reasons she could come up with was either this was a Shadow Clone left behind to report to her, or something had happened to Idate or someone else. Wanting to get some answers, she ran up to him.
"Naruto, what the hell happened?" She asked as soon as she reached him.
"A lot of things actually. But I think we should move out of this rain before I report." Naruto suggested.
Kurenai sweatdropped. The way he said it, seemed more like he was answering a subordinate instead of the other way around. Still seeing he was right, she followed him.
"I see," Kurenai said after listening to her Genin's report. Kiba was also up, partly thanks to Sakura's treatment and partly because he was not much wounded anyway. Idate though was still out, thankfully it was not the poison keeping him down anymore.
"What do we do now, Sensei? That Wagarashi runner has a lot of head start and Idate is still unconscious. Moreover, there is that Jounin too." Sakura asked.
"Well, the Jounin isn't that much of a problem actually. Aoi Rokusho was an average Chunin at best when he was in the village. He may have improved a bit, but the main problem isn't him, especially since we know that he is alone now. The problem is indeed how to make Idate win the race." Kurenai stated.
"You know that Jounin, Kurenai-sensei?" Sakura asked her surprised by her Sensei's knowledge of the Jounin.
Kurenai nodded, "Yeah. He was a Chunin in our village and an instructor in the academy. He is charged for stealing an important scroll and the 'Sword of the Thunder God' from the village."
Naruto perked up at that, "He stole great-granduncle's sword?" He asked not knowing that bit of information. He knew there were many artefacts of his clan that were now locked up in village vaults. His mother seemed content with it seeing no reason for those artefacts to come out anymore.
The answer to Naruto's question though came from an unexpected source, "No, I stole that sword, along with the scroll of sealing." Idate's voice, as well as answer, surprised everyone, even Kurenai. Being a newly minted Jounin, she still wasn't privy to every titbit of such information.
Sakura's surprise changed into realisation, "I knew you got training from one of the hidden villages. You have too much speed to be a simply trained civilian."
Kurenai was surprised that she didn't recognise Idate at all. She had also taught in the academy at one point and only now realised who Idate was. "Idate Morino. Yes, I remember you from the academy. You are the brother of the head of Leaf's T&I department, Ibiki Morino."
Idate went wide-eyed from that news, "You knew my brother?" He asked her.
Kurenai shook her head, "Well, I won't say I know him. I have only heard of him from my friend who is his second-in-command."
Idate noted the present tense in her sentence, which prompted him to ask, "'is'? You mean he is still alive?" He asked perplexed.
Kurenai frowned, "Well, I may have not met him, but he is definitely still alive. What make's you think he is dead?"
Idate's surprised eyes change to those of sadness before he looked down. Deciding to press that matter for later, Kurenai asked a different question, "What did you mean when you said it was you who stole the sword and scroll?"
Idate, still sad as well as happy to hear that his brother was alive, looked up again before saying, "It hit me hard when I failed my first Chunin exams when Aoi approached me saying there was another way to become a Chunin."
Hearing that, Naruto had already formed the rest of the story in his head, "He told you to steal those two things and bring them to him as proof of your skills. But when you went there, he told you about his plan to turn traitor and seeing no choice you had to run as well. Right?"
Everyone except for Kurenai turned their surprised eye on him. Kurenai was already aware of the debacle between Sasuke and Mizuki, as well as the Senju twins' role on dissuading it. When Idate gave an unconscious nod to Naruto's theory, she couldn't ignore the uncanny similarity between the events. Deciding to put the matter in front of the Hokage when they went back, she turned to Idate when he continued.
"I don't know how you figured out that much. But yeah, that's almost exactly how it went. He told me I could be a Chunin in the Village Hidden in Rain by using the sword and the scroll as gifts, where he would become a Jounin." Idate explained further clutching something in his hands tightly.
Noticing Idate's gesture Sakura asked, "What is that your holding? You have been clutching that all this time."
He opened his hands to show a pocket knife with intricate design on it. He gritted his teeth and said, "All that time and training, all for nothing. Nothing I do goes right. I have never been of any use to anyone. But even so, Boss Jirocho still trusted me, put his faith in me." He clutched the knife harder, "And now look what I've done. Because of me, the Wagarashi will win again." He said in self-loathing.
Everyone in the room became silent for a while. They didn't know what to say, before Naruto spoke, "Well, I don't know anything about being useful to anyone. But you still haven't lost the race." Everyone turned their eyes on him again.
"But Naruto, the other runner has a huge lead now. Even if Idate is faster, catching up to him is almost impossible." Kurenai said. Even though she didn't want to upset Idate any more, she couldn't hide the truth.
"Not if the other guy is taking the rabbit's way of running the race," Naruto said while looking at a portion of the cave wall. Probably in the direction where the other runner was at the moment, Kurenai guessed. He looked back at his team and added, "Also it's impossible if all we do is run after him." Naruto said with a smirk. Kurenai raised an eyebrow. She knew Naruto and Namiko had a penchant of pranking, but that had not shown itself during any of their missions till now. Granted they were mere D-rank chores.
"Unlike us who have been guarding Idate, they used their resources to hinder him. Obviously, they were successful. But I think now is the time we turn the tables on them." Naruto explained further.
Kurenai frowned though, "You mean, we block Fukusuke from advancing? Even if we want to do that, we would still need to get ahead of him." She argued.
Naruto nodded, "That's true. But only Idate needs to go through Motoroki Shrine to get the jewels. We are not hindered like that and can move into position faster. And since we know that Aoi is the only one remaining, we can split up the jobs." He elaborated. He looked at Idate and asked, "What about you, Idate? Can you run? Or should I ask, will you run?"
"But the other runner has already reached Motoroki!" Idate replied.
"So, you are going to give up then? If you are, you have no right to take about being useful to anyone. No one wants to put their trust on a person who gives up so easily. Idate, if you give up now, you would be repeating your mistake all over again." Naruto said.
While they were just words, Idate felt them like a slap to his face. It was true, he realised. If he gave up now, he would be betraying Jirocho this time. But unlike before, this time he had a chance to redeem himself with these ninjas before him. He had to move forward.
His decision made, he tried to stand up but ended up falling back. He cursed at himself again, as it seemed even if he had decided to not give up, his body wanted otherwise. But he was surprised when he felt himself being lifted up. He saw Naruto below him, who looked at him and said, "The poison still hasn't left your body completely. Till then I will carry you. I don't think there is a rule against it."
Kurenai sighed on having the decision taken away from her hands. But wanting her team's first mission not to end in a disaster relented to Naruto's idea anyway. "Naruto, you will guard Idate during the rest of the race. We will take care of slowing the other runner down. Be careful though, Aoi may still be around."
Naruto nodded and sped out of the cave.
Kurenai sighed again, 'It's hard to tell sometimes which one of us is the leader.' She thought.
She looked at Sakura when she said, "Sensei, I think we should move out too."
Kurenai stared at her for a few moments before sighing again, 'Definitely hard to tell.' She thought. "We have to work on our team dynamics, but yeah let's go." She said before walking out of the cave.
Sakura and Kiba looked at each other before shrugging and following her.
Even while carrying Idate, Naruto was fast enough to have already reached the stairs to the Motoroki Shrine. But even after having experienced the harsh training his mother and uncle had made him and his sisters go through, the number of steps intimidated him.
"We have to go all the way up there? That's pretty high. How many steps are there anyway?" Naruto asked.
"I'm not really sure. But that's why they call this the Spirit-Breaker." Idate answered, "But Naruto I think you should put me down now. I'm not exactly sure that riding like these is allowed or not. I don't want to be disqualified. Also, I think I can run on my own now."
"You sure?" Naruto asked which prompted Idate to nod.
As soon as Idate was let down, he wobbled a little before steadying himself. He gave a nod to Naruto and started climbing the stairs, Naruto following him.
They were already halfway up when Kiba and Sakura reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Naruto-senpai…really…has a…lot of energy, huh?" Sakura half-asked, half-stated while panting heavily. After getting out of the cave their Sensei had ordered them to provide backup to Naruto since there was more chance of Aoi waiting for them. Additionally, hindering Fukusuke was not a three-man job anyway.
"Hah! Not…as much as…me, right Akamaru?" Kiba tried to boast but obviously fell short because of own his panting as well as because of the obviously non-agreeing whine that his partner gave earning a laboured giggle from Sakura.
The crowd that was still at the Motoroki shrine cheered when they saw Idate appear. Idate though didn't pay them any mind and proceeded to the lone Ryuko Jewel that was left. Quickly placing it in his bag he turned and ran in the direction of Todoroki Shrine. All the while Naruto was still taking a breather on the ground. This was a workout even for him. But seeing Idate already far ahead of him, he sighed before getting up and following.
Fukusuke, the runner from Wagarashi, was at the bridge connecting the Nagi island to the Ouzu Island. Assured that victory was already his, he had used some of the time back at the Motoroki Shrine to get comfortable, though he told the others he was waiting for the rain to let up a little. His reasoning came to bite him back when the rain did let up and he was forced by Aoi to resume his race. So, having run from the shrine to this point, he was taking another breather when he was startled by Aoi.
"I suggest you get moving. Idate has made it to the Motoroki shrine already and is making his way here." Aoi told him.
"What!? Didn't you say you took care of him?" Fukusuke asked.
"I thought I had, but now is not the time to discuss it. Hurry up and cross the bridge." Aoi said getting fed up of Fukusuke's attitude.
"Huh! Some ninja, you're worthless." Fukusuke spat turning away from Aoi to resume the race.
He was halted by a hand on his shoulder, which forcefully turned him around before he was lifted off the ground by a hand to his throat.
"Listen here, I'm here because I have to, It's my duty. But one more little crack like that, I'll break you in half." Aoi threatened his own client.
Fukusuke apologised the best he could while getting his throat crushed making Aoi let him go. He quickly got to his feet and ran across the bridge.
Aoi went to follow him before his view started getting blurry. He saw Fukusuke fall on his face on the bridge just short of crossing it. That made him realise what was happening. He quickly brought his hands in a seal and released some chakra breaking the Genjutsu taking hold of him. It was fortunate that he did it on time as he had to immediately jump away to dodge the shurikens aimed at him.
"So, you have improved slightly after turning traitor then." Kurenai's voice said. To Aoi though it seemed like it was coming from all around him. But he answered anyway.
"Still relying on your weak little illusions I see, Kurenai."
"It's funny when you say that since your own students used these same weak illusions." She replied.
Aoi smirked, "Those brats? They aren't my students. Their weak ass of a Jounin sensei got himself killed in his last mission, so I had to babysit them on this one. And given how those brats were taken out by your Genins just proves my point." He reached for his back pocket and took something out that looked like a vajra. Channelling some chakra into it caused a blade of lightning to form on the top of it. The chakra also effectively broke Aoi from the second Genjutsu he was in, making him realise he was not facing the bridge anymore. Though there was still no sight of Kurenai. Acting quickly, he took out a senbon needle and shot at Fukusuke.
The needle hit Fukusuke in his butt. The pain of which caused him to break out of the Genjutsu with a start.
"Don't just sit there. Get on with it!" Aoi yelled at him making Fukusuke scramble up and start running again, but not before taking the needle out.
Aoi looked back trying to sense Kurenai out. When he couldn't he resorted to taunting, "I didn't think Konoha ninjas had it in them to directly attack an uninvolved civilian like that. Something must have changed back in the village. Tell me, did the Hokage finally grow a spine?"
Sadly, that taunting didn't earn the response he wanted. He went to press on but stopped when he heard what sounded like footsteps on something wooden going away from him. Looking back at the bridge though he didn't see anyone. Realising what that sound was, he gritted his teeth and swung his sword to cut the ropes holding the bridge suspended.
He managed to cut one side before he had to stop and jump unless he got skewered by Kiba who yelled, "Like we will let you!" and used the Tsuga on him.
Aoi though may not exactly be Jounin level but proved his worth as a Chunin when without missing a beat he fired kunais at the ropes successfully cutting them disconnecting the bridge from that side.
Naruto who was following behind Idate felt the bridge give away. He let go of the Genjutsu that was masking them, making both him and Idate shimmer into existence, before grabbing Idate by his waist, "Hold on!" He yelled and jumped as hard as he could towards the cliff. It proved enough when he saw it approaching and readied himself to stick to it with chakra. After successful gripping the cliff wall, still holding Idate tightly he ran up the wall before front flipping both of them to the edge and on flat ground.
"Hah! That was a rush. Now get going Idate, we will take on that creep." Naruto stated.
Idate nodded before resuming his race. Naruto got up and saw Kiba fighting against Aoi in a kunai vs Lightening sword fight. Looking at the destroyed bridge below him he groaned, 'I'm going to kill the old man for putting me and Miko in different teams. I could have used the Chakra Chains to get to that side.'
Looking at the fight, it was obvious that Aoi was at least strong enough to overwhelm a Genin. The light-sabre-like sword only made it harder. But he saw Aoi block one of Kiba's kunai strike before turning around and swinging at something behind him. Almost immediately his eyes went wide and quickly turned back to Kiba again.
Naruto realised that his Sensei had put him in a Genjutsu at that moment, but he had somehow broken free from it almost in an instant. Recalling from earlier on how he was not able to do anything like that before taking the Sword of Thunder God out, Naruto concluded that the sword probably had something to do with Aoi's ability to dispel his Sensei's Genjutsu so easily.
Aoi was getting fed up of not only fighting the Genin but also of the myriad of Genjutsus trying to take hold on him every now and then. It was only thanks to the side effect of the sword disrupting his chakra whenever he used it that none of those Genjutsus was affecting him as much.
Not wanting to push the fight any further since the sword was a chakra glutton, he went for a killing strike on Kiba. But a rope tied to a kunai quickly wound around the hand holding the sword before he heard the other Genin shout from the other side.
"Take that sword now, Sakura!"
Almost laughing at the naivety of the Genin on shouting his plan out in open, he went to block whatever this Sakura was about to do with his umbrella. But before he could, it was knocked aside by a kick to his hand by Kiba. That was followed by kunais to his other arm. Kunais that were apparently aimed specifically to make his arm go slack along with his wrist, making him let go of his sword.
Naruto yanked the rope he was holding, pulling Aoi with it. This caused Aoi to turn around giving Kiba time to perform one more Tsuga on his enemy. This time Aoi couldn't dodge and took the full brunt of the spinning drill on his back. Sadly, Kiba's attack didn't pack as much power as it would if done in conjunction with his partner to complete put Aoi down. Even then Aoi was already on his last leg which was pulled from under him when his eyes closed, and he dropped to the ground with a thud.
Kurenai landed on the ground, "Weak illusions, are they? I bet you say that only because you don't have any resistance against them." She spat. She didn't like when people insulted Genjutsu like that or thought that she was weak because she used them primarily.
Kiba, Sakura and even Akamaru sweatdropped when they heard her. They knew what their Sensei was thinking. They also knew considering their Sensei weak because of her fighting style was also a very bad idea.
"Naruto go on ahead. We will catch up. It wouldn't look good if our client reaches the finish line without any of his hired bodyguards." Kurenai yelled from her side. Naruto nodded before running towards the Todoroki shrine.
Meanwhile, Kiba had picked up the vajra-like hilt of the Sword of the Thunder God. He looked it over before shrugging and channelling chakra to it. He only had a few moments to marvel at the lightning which took the shape of a sword before his eyes rolled up in his head and he fell back, letting the sword go.
Akamaru ran over to his partner in concern and started whining when he didn't get any response from him. Sakura was already upon him running her green medic chakra coated hand over him.
Kurenai sighed, "You shouldn't use something like that so brazenly."
"It looks like chakra exhaustion. Does it mean that the sword consumes that much chakra? Even if Aoi was a Jounin, looking at the speed at which it drained Kiba's chakra, even he shouldn't have been able to hold it for so long." Sakura said.
"He was constantly turning it on and back off. Also, Kiba was probably already drained a lot. The sword just consumed what was left. Or it may be because Kiba may not have any affinity towards the lighting element. We won't know for sure. Seeing that the sword belonged to the Second Hokage, I think Tsunade-sama or the Third Hokage will be able to tell us more. Anyways, patch Kiba up. We will have to wait till he is at least able to walk. I hope I don't have to tell you not to try what Kiba did?" Kurenai told her student who nodded fervently.
Fukusuke was already celebrating his victory in his head. So were the audience from the Wagarashi side when they saw him so close to the finish line. His internal celebration was broken though when the other side of the crowd also started to cheer. He looked back and saw Idate closing in on him. The surprise almost made him stop before he caught himself and started running faster.
Idate could see Fukusuke as well as the finish line. Not willing to let his Boss down, he increased his speed even more.
The crowd cheered more after witnessing both runners running neck to neck. Having witnessed almost a completely one-sided race till now, the excitement of actually having a fierce race like this was overwhelming. The Wagarashi who had already assumed their victory were now nervous because of how Idate was not only catching up but seemed to be overtaking their runner. The Wasabi who had already given up hope when they didn't get any news of Idate were now ecstatic to see Idate ahead of Fukusuke.
Naruto landed on the top of the last tori gate which was supposed to act as a finish line to the race just as Idate shot past Fukusuke and touched the finish line ribbon first. He saw Fukusuke stop and hunch over taking deep breaths. Idate didn't stop at the finish line though. He ran directly into the shrine. Probably to place the Ryuko Jewel he had in its place, Naruto guessed.
Kiba having finally woken up thanks to Sakura's treatment was now with his team attending the award ceremony held for the winner of the race, though he still needed Naruto's support to keep standing.
Idate was standing on a slightly high platform while the announcer announced, "The winner to this year's race is Idate Morino of the Wasabi family." The gathered audience cheered loudly for the winner.
Their cheers were brought to halt when the leader of the Wagarashi family, Kyuroku, came forward and said, "Hold on. That's enough." When the crowd became silent, he continued, "It seems this kid rode on the back of a hired ninja for part of the way. That's a violation." He finished with a smirk.
"What!?" Jirocho asked not believing him.
"I have proof." Kyuroku countered. He took out a photo and showed it to him, "Just look at this photograph." Indeed, it was a photograph of Naruto carrying Idate.
"They have to make it here by their own strength." The prime minister said while coming forward, "Those are the rules of this race. The boy must be disqualified. Which means that Fukusuke Hikyakuya of the Wagarashi family is the winner."
"But…Wait a mi…" Idate tried to explain. But the minister cut him off, "I will hear none of your excuses. Jirocho you gave your word. I want the Wasabi family to disband immediately." He ordered with a smirk.
His smirk was wiped out of his face when the Daimyo himself came forward, "Wait a moment. There is no such rule. Stop talking nonsense."
"But… my lord." The Minister tried to argue but was shot down when the Daimyo said, "But what? Are you suggesting I simply let the Wagarashi win simply because you wish it? Or perhaps the reason you want to win so badly is because it will put an end to all the bribes you have been accepting." He brought out a photograph of his own showing the Minister accept money from Kyuroku. The Minister's face went white as a sheet on seeing the picture. So did Kyuroku's.
"You ignoramus. You will give up your position and don a monk's robe." The Daimyo ordered.
The Minister could only give a weak yes for a reply.
"And you Kyuroku," The Daimyo continued, "I've heard a great about the evil deeds you have committed. Your crimes against the people of port Degarashi are unforgivable. From this day forth, the Wagarashi family is no more. Is that clear?"
Kyuroku just looked down and relented.
Everything taken care of, the Daimyo gave a laugh, "An auspicious today is. So now let us consider this matter ended." He announced making the crowd break into another round of cheers.
The next day
Kurenai was pleased. Scratch that, she was ecstatic. Her team not only completed a C-rank turned B-rank mission, but they were also able to re-acquire a stolen village artefact and capture a missing-nin. Speaking of Aoi, since he had joined another village, he would be more useful alive than dead. So, he was tied up with a chakra inhibiting seal applied on him. She and her team were waiting at the port for a pickup that they had requested to transfer him, as well as Kiba who would need a few days rest to recover the lost chakra.
On the note on losing Chakra, Kiba was glaring daggers at Naruto at seeing him swing around the Sword that had drained him completely of chakra like it was a normal sword, with no apparent chakra drain.
"How are you doing that? I could only hold it for a second before it sucked me dry." Kiba complained.
"I think it's because it is only supposed to be wielded by a Senju. Though since Aoi could also wield it somehow, I guess it is supposed to be used by a lightning user." Naruto answered. Turning the sword of, he continued, "That way the amount chakra required to be converted into lightning by the sword will be less. It also may be a result of chakra control. I'm able to use it mainly because I have a lot more chakra than it can drain."
Kiba still groaned. Since if that was the case, it would mean Naruto had almost infinite chakra.
Kurenai paid half mind to Naruto's explanation, but it did explain why Kiba was brought to the point of chakra exhaustion. Since while not a chakra monster like the Senju by any means, Kiba was no slouch. But since she still hadn't checked the chakra affinities of her Genins, it may be that Kiba didn't have the lightning affinity. Add the fact that in her team, his chakra control was the worst may have allowed the sword to take as much chakra as it could bringing Kiba to that state.
Their attention was taken by a ship marked with Konoha symbol docking at the port. The whole team was surprised when the person that disembarked from the ship introduced himself as Ibiki Morino.
Idate, who was there to see Team 8 off, was surprised to see his brother. He already knew from their sensei that his brother was alive. But it was a completely different feeling to actually witness it.
Ibiki though did not pay him any mind, "Where is the prisoner?" He asked. Kurenai just pointed at the prone figure of Aoi. Needing no further prompting, Ibiki's aid came forward to take him in. Though the aid's appearance itself surprised everyone again.
"Anko!" "Anko-sensei!" both the Sensei as well as Genins of Team 8 exclaimed in surprise.
"What not happy to see me, Kure-chan?" Anko answered with a smirk.
"N..no…that's not it. But what are you doing here? What about your team?" Kurenai asked after composing herself.
"It's a long story. Why don't you ask my team while I take a crack at my new toy?" Anko said licking her lips which if you asked her, she would deny vehemently about it looking similar to a particular snake man.
As if on cue an almost silent 'Naruto-kun' caused the person called to look at the one who said it, "Hinata-chan!?"
"You know Naruto-sama, we are here too." An amused Haku added from besides Hinata.
While the Genins of Team 8 went ahead on the ship to meet up with their fellow Genins, the Jounin Senseis of the team decided on what to do with Aoi.
Meanwhile Ibiki, already having his job done, was in the process of returning to the ship when Idate called out, "Big Brother! Hold on."
Ibiki didn't look back when he said, "Who are you? Only one person called me that. And he died three years ago." He finished while turning to face Idate.
Nothing more was said between them. Everyone had already left whatever they were doing to see what would happen. To their disappointment, Ibiki turned around and climbed into the ship again. Idate too just smiled.
"Big brother I figured out the answer to the tenth question of the Chunin exams." He thought.
Once everyone was on board, they bid their farewell to the people who had come to see them off.
On the way back home, Team 8 and Team 11 were exchanging stories of their missions. Team 8 was already done explaining theirs, so it was now Team 11's turn to do so.
Haku was the one who started, "Well, it started out just like yours actually with a simple mission, but then…"
AN:
That was longer than I thought it would be. But yeah, another team's mission done. And another is on the way. You probably know which ones next.
I obviously watched the anime for this arc and realised something. This may be the only mission in which Naruto didn't have to rely on Kyuubi at all. Not that there was much fighting involved anyway. But still, that is a plus.
Anyway, I hoped you liked this chapter. Stay tuned to for the next one. Good day to you or night depending on whenever you are reading this. Till next time.