Chapter 21
AN: Another chapter, this one primarily a flashback chapter. Enjoy, I got a day off today and the weather isn't great today so I decided to write- which is why Academy to ANBU got finished and was updated today as well.
SHOUT OUT: One of my favorite reviewers and readers, eniox27, gave me this idea for Kiba- thank him/her for this.
Flashback, day three of Danzo's reign…
Danzo spat at his rival's picture- the jerk went on a bonding trip with his ANBU, leaving Root and Danzo to keep the village together. Sarutobi assured him it was just a coincidence the treaty with Suna needed a final draft by Friday-all one hundred pages- but Danzo knew: Sarutobi was lazy and wanted to avoid thinking about it, and thusfound an excuse to pass the hat off to him.
"That monkey." He growled as he looked at a useless tax report while a clone stamped mission records. At least it was quiet, he mused.
"Danzo-jiji! Save me!" the bane of his existence barged in. Danzo suppressed a shudder. He was sure Sarutobi had pawned him off to the chunin.
"Yes, Kitsune? What do you need?" Danzo asked plaintively.
"Oh, uh, well…I sortakindadruggedIrukawithinsomneadrugsandnowhethinkshe'sapuppy." Naruto blurted out. Danzo blinked. Then shook his head.
"Try again. Because I know you didn't just say you drugged a chunin teacher with something that makes him unable to sleep and now he's broken mentally and regressed to being a dog." Naruto chuckled nervously and Danzo groaned. He would have to kidnap the chunin and the subject a Root agent to cover, and then have Fuu fix said chunin. Unless…
"Say, Kitsune. The Inuzuka would be perfect to fix this- they do work with dogs, after all." Oh yes. Naruto would take his temporary pet to the dog clan, where the laws of the universe would bend to the blonde's craziness, and thus create mountains of paperwork not even clones could counter.
And Danzo would leave it all for Sarutobi. After all, he had no authority over ANBU, after all, and his powers as interment Hokage didn't extend to punishing shinobi. By the end of the week, his rival would learn not to shirk his duties and the bane of his existence would be given some suitable punishment- Camp Danzo was still weeks away, and Danzo didn't feel vindicated enough.
"Great idea, Danzo-jiji! I'll go get the traitor from Dragon's office and find Kiba!" And he bounded off, leaving a smirking Danzo. Even better, the old warhawk would have vengeance on the ANBU commander who cleaned him out the last poker night.
Dragon's office…
Dragon was not a man easily scared- he lived through the third shinobi war, completed hundreds of S-rank missions, and- most impressively- survived after swiping Kushina's ramen twice, which was two times more than many others.
But somehow, his ten year old slave/apprentice proved on more than one occasion the ability to drive him bonkers.
Walking into his office after a coffee break to see one Iruka Umino- one of the few non-ANBU who were aware of Naruto's identity- frothing at the mouth with paper sticking out of his cheeks, tied to his chair, finally did it.
"I saw nothing I know nothing" He said dryly. Draining his cup, he tosses the cup into the trash and grabs his wallet. "I believe Ibiki-teme would appreciate another poker match" Dragon muttered to himself. Vowing to never speak of what he just saw, Dragon abandoned the poor chunin in his office, vowing to give Naruto a particularly nasty mission later.
Inuzuka compound…
Naruto dragged a struggling Iruka down the street without a care in the world.
"Make way, for the friendly neighborhood ANBU and his pet!" Naruto called cheerfully to the passerby. Ringing the doorbell Naruto bounced on his feet. A startled Kiba shows up with a dubious look.
"Kitsune, why is Sensei on a leash…and acting like a dog?" Naruto rubbed the back of his hood sheepishly.
"He, uh, had an accident! And now your teacher believes he is a beast. I need him coherent for interrogation later so can you fix him?" Naruto begged, activating the masked version of puppy dog eyes. Kiba falters, and Akamaru tries to snap his master out of it. Naruto, seeing this, adds Shin's super secret ingredient: bribery. "Help me out, and I'll give you some explosive tags" Naruto said, playing every boy's love of explosions and mayhem. It worked.
"Deal" Kiba said immediately. Pulling on Iruka's leash he yanks the two inside. "We'll hide him in the kennels- I'm in charge of them for the week! Though, how are we gonna cover him at the academy?"
Naruto thought for a moment.
"Oh! I'll just let Mizuki-sensei know- he always helps out."
Next day…
When Mizuki was told by a whispering Kitsune- the densest ANBU he'd ever met- that the man the ANBU thought was a "spy or traitor in disguise", his 'friend' Iruka, was tied up in the Inuzuka kennel going through withdrawals from anti-sleep drugs and currently fancied himself a mutt, he did the only appropriate thing.
"Sure, I'll lie that he's sick and cover for him." Mizuki said with a smile. After all, he was the actual spy, but helping ANBU deal with his annoyance would take suspicion off of him.
Next Morning…
Tsume Inuzuka quietly crept towards the kennels, going to check on her pup's work. She trusted him- he was ten and very responsible, if a bit obnoxious- but there was no way in hell the Inuzuka matriarch would not confirm that the dogs were taken care of properly. Opening the supply closet to grab the clip board, she comes across a sight she never thought she'd see.
An ANBU- the short one Hiashi complained about, she realized- and her son's academy teacher, were asleep… and Iruka was curled up like her ninkin while the ANBU snored on a high shelf.
"KIBA INUZUKA! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE, BOY AND EXPLAIN WHY I HAVE A MISSING CHUNIN AND AN ANBU IN MY KENNEL" Tsume Inuzuka screams up the stairs, and a petrified Kiba barrels down the stairs, falling on his knees.
"I'm sorry, okay! But Kitsune needed help with Iruka-sensei after he started acting like a dog and he gave me explosive tags for it and then we stuffed him in the closet to let him sleep off the medicine." The boy hyperventilated at the end, his mother's glare growing stronger.
"And how would you have helped that man 'become human' again if he was acting like a dog?" Tsume growled, not knowing who she should be angrier at- Kiba for his guallableness, ANBU for his using explosive tags as bribery, or the Hokage for not being around to keep a leash on the brat- everyone knew the youngest ANBU was Sarutobi's pet project.
"W-well… we didn't think that far ahead- but Iruka-sensei should be waking up soon." Kiba chuckled nervously. Tsume has Hana summon Danzo- the poor soul stuck with the hat- and drags Kiba to the kennel to wake up their 'guests'.
Naruto was having a wonderful dream- Dragon retired, Naruto became commander, and he made foxes official ANBU pets. That dream was broken when a clawed hand yanks him off the cozy shelf he found last night.
"Get up, you lazy brat. The interim Hokage will be here soon and YOU will be the one to explain." Naruto blinked blearily, wondering what was going on but fearing for his life.
Later…
Turns out Danzo wasn't a morning person. He had Fuu take bring a note that stated
Do what you will with the bastard. Just keep him alive and don't reveal his identity.
Danzo Shimura.
As such, Fuu dragged Iruka away for studying…and therapy, of course. Naruto and Kiba were tied to heavy rocks and told "clean the kennels till I say stop" and left to suffer.
"Kiba" Naruto whispered later.
"Yeah, Kitsune?" Kiba answered back, attempting to sweep the floors with a tooth brush while Akamaru whined in the corner.
"Inu-sempai showed me another wind jutsu a month ago"
"So what?"
"So, if we open the doors, I can use it to clean the dust out! I read a book a while back about a wolf that did something similar- it should work." Naruto grinned beneath his mask, and Kiba grinned back. It was a good idea, he reasoned. And it's not like Kitsune could blow the kennel down, right? Famous last words.
"Do it."
Naruto saw how dusty the place was and decided half his chakra should be enough. Nah, all his chakra to get out the rough spots. He wove through hand seals. "Wind style: Great Breakthrough!" And thus, the multimillion Ryo kennel roof and western wall was blasted away.
"Oops… I guess I overdid it?" Naruto chuckled nervously at the sight, and the various dogs previously contained found themselves free.
"Nice doggies" Kiba begged, as the horde of various breeds eyed the Inuzuka gates. The animals eyed the two weak children blocking their path, looked at each other, and charged.
Back with the Hokage, present…
Sarutobi palmed his face as Naruto finished the story of how he and the Inuzuka boy successfully rounded up all fifty dogs, but not before they over ran the main street and wrecked havoc. The Fire Daimyo's wife was traumatized when her 'innocent kitten' was frightened away from her. If the cat had actually died, I could forgive this, but not only did the brat almost drive Iruka off the deep end permanently- thank God for mind wipes- but also cost us millions in repair!
"Well, Naruto, let us discuss your punishment." He felt a smirk blossoming at his youngest ANBU's sudden fascination with the floor. Despite everything it was a beautiful week- first he got to torture his elite in the name of training and payback, bug Danzo by putting him in charge during a treaty revising, and now he could punish the Mascot. And he had the perfect payback. "I have a mission for you, one of grave importance."
End- next chapter- next chapter: a mission with Sai and Shin and…Hiashi? How will the clan head survive? And what could the mission be? After that, I might do the summoning contracts in the same chapter, it depends. I am trying to include characters throughout the story, is there any ideas or characters you want fleshed out? (My plan is to do an Inuzuka kennel part two- but it requires some characters that haven't been introduced yet- I wonder how Tsume will react to take two). Have a nice Friday.