I Don't Own Naruto, Any Other Anime/Manga or Its Characters.
All Characters Appearing In This Work Are Fictitious. Any Resemblance To Real Persons, Living Or Dead Is Purely Coincidental.
3 Days Later
3 Days later
It had been 3 days since the aftermath of the Chunin exams. All of the injured had been transported to the hospital where Tsunade to fulfil her promise to Hideyo had disguised herself and helped the Kumo medical nin heal the wounded forces.
After reading through Chiruku's file she realised that his wounds were very much similar to the wounds Rock Lee had suffered all those many years ago, and while Hideyo and his team of medics had done a good job on patching him up. Tsunade found that they were not able to fully repair the damage. But she was, so she once again prepped the surgery room and with doctor Hideyo and Moegi and Kenshin assisting her she was able to fully repair Chouji's fractured kneecaps and elbow, she was also able to speed up his recovery time by 40%. So although he was still on crutches and had to undergo physical therapy to learn to walk again he pain was not as much as before.
Once The Raikage was able to get things under control and his Anbu had taken over the job of protecting the hospital. Tsunade relieved the summoned animals from duty as well and asked them to back to their own realm, and although they were reluctant to do so at first, after being given a direct order by the Hokage they were not able to refuse and returned to their own realms, because although they were not directly under her command, the shinobi who held their contracts were under her command and as such in their absence she was their de-facto leader.
During this time Hirako, Kenshin and Moegi who had recovered enough that they were able to move about vacated their beds and took turns guarding the Hokage when their Jonin sensei were resting. At the end of the 2nd day Konohamaru had been awoken from his drug induced sleep and although he couldn't move about much he was cleared by the doctors who said he was well enough to eat solid foods. On the morning of the 3rd day he had been moved to Hanabi and Udon's room to take up less room in the already crowded hospital.
Udon was overjoyed to have his best friend in the room with him and was soon cracking jokes and playing cards, however despite their laughter and smiles, they were always on alert, at the slightest sign of attack kunai and shuriken would suddenly appear in their hands like magic. Even when laughing and smiling if one looked closely while their laughter and smiles were warm, their eyes still remained cold and restless always scanning the horizon for any impending attack. The genin did not regret their actions neither were they suffering from the trauma that affected a ninja on his first kill. No, they had killed before, but this was different this was war, this was totally different.
In Konoha
3 Days later
Kakashi had finally gotten things under control somewhat, the village was still under Martial Law while the prisoners were all being held and interrogated. He had decided at the Onset to divide the responsibility and leadership to help make things easier, starting with the Anbu. He had put Ibiki in charge. Ibiki then assigned Anko and Yamato as his assistants to help him with his responsibilities after a nod from Kakashi. He then left the leadership and running of the hospital to Shizune who had then further divided her responsibilities among Sakura and Ino. Since the two main functions of prisoner security and taking care of the wounded were taken care of he could concentrate on keeping the village safe.
As soon as he had things under control he had sent a messenger hawk with a secret encoded letter to the Hokage. In order to make sure there were no further attacks from the Grass village. He had sent three squads of Anbu ninja to the Grass Village to search for clues and if possible to prevent against further attacks. He had also appointed Gai and Kurenai as his council members and had gotten them each a table in the office next to him and for now they were helping him keep control of the Village.
Kakashi was trying to figure out how to prevent attacks to the village and how to set up a type of alarm system. When he hit upon an idea, the idea was so farfetched that he chuckled softly as he thought about the plan forming in his head.
Infact it was so farfetched it seemed like something only Naruto would do. But then again that wasn't necessarily a bad thing; Naruto had proved to him time and time again that doing something unpredictable and unexpected could be just the thing that saved your ass in a battle.
After getting up from his seat he walked over to the next office with his Anbu in tow, where he spoke with Gai and Kurenai for a few minutes about his plan. He then spoke to the hidden Anbu agents in the room and said "Phoenix, Fox; what do you think?"
The plan seems sound Hokage-sama, but, may i suggest on how to make itt better" Fox said. Kakashi nodded his head and said "I'm listening." Kakashi sat down on Kutenai's desk and listened as Fox outlined his plan in detail." When he was finished Kakashi thought it over for about 5 seconds and then said "that's a good idea, Fox you and Phoenix get to it, I want you guys to check the shinobi Database and find all the shinobi who have that particular skill." He then pointed to Gai and said this man here also is able to use the skill in question also my former student Sakura Haruno is also able to perform the technique, once you have gathered all the shinobi have them gather at Training ground 7 Gai and I will meet you there in an hour." The two Anbu agents nodded their heads and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
At the Konoha Hospital
Sakura and Ino were taking a break and having lunch in the Hospital canteen and were picking at their food as they recollected the previous day's events and how they had come to possess those skills that helped them in their battle: The two best friends, who were Shinobi medics by profession, entered the battlefield to do battle and help their comrades in battle.
Flashback
Though the two kunoichi were highly skilled in the arts of killing especially after training with Kakashi for 1 year to learn and control their relative Nature Release techniques. The two Kunoichi excelled in their training with Kakashi and Kurenai, at the end of the training session were each able to wield and control 3 elements each which was a feat in itself seeing as most shinobi could only master 2 elements. Interesting enough the two best friends also shared the same chakra affinities for; Water, Earth and lightning natured Jutsu. The two Kunoichi had not only added a substantial amount of elemental ninjutsu from Kakashi sensei, they had also added genjutsu to their arsenal which they learned From Kurenai sensei.
During this time Sakura who would not be left behind also perfected a new Taijutsu style while training with her now Fiance Rock Lee, Sakura over the three years after the Akatsuki invasion had also added a new weapon to her arsenal. It was a weapon not native to her land in fact they had been given to her by an elderly gentleman for whom she had once done a mission by retrieving his Granddaughter from kidnappers.
The old man was so thankful that he presented her with a pair of daggers that he had gotten as a gift very long ago as a young man. The handle had an ivory finish, but the blades themselves were odd in the sense that they highly curved with angled and smooth spines.
The man had called them: Kukri Knives, and although Sakura was a bit confused on how to use them in battle after a few sessions with Tenten she had quickly learned that the kukri was effective as both a chopping and a slashing weapon.
In combat, it could be used in two different styles: stabbing with the point, or slashing or chopping with the edge. Because the blade bent towards the opponent, the user would not need to angle their wrist, which made the Kukri more comfortable as a stabbing weapon than other straight-bladed knives. Its heavy blade would enable Sakura to inflict deep wounds and to cut through muscle and bone, which was perfect for her fighting style since Sakura used her strength to her advantage. Using these very same skills Sakura entered the battle with the help of Ino and her Urumi Curling blade which Ino wielded with great skill.
Sakura admitted even to herself, although they were friends they were still rivals. The two Kunoichi along with Izumi and Shima had managed to make short work of the enemy Grass village ninja that had attacked the hospital; they had managed to kill at least 100 enemy shinobi among the 4 Kunoichi, before The Anbu had taken over.
End Flashback
The two kunoichi were interrupted by a shinobi wearing an Anbu uniform and a Fox mask that suddenly appeared in the seat next to them and narrowly missed being hit by a volley of shuriken from the two kunoichi who were sitting at the table. Fox was shocked for a second at their quick reaction to his presence, but then again these two kunoichi were medical Nin and trained to notice every little detail.
Sakura turned towards the Anbu agent and saw who she had almost hit, "Damn it Fox what is it with you bloody Anbu do you always have to be so stealthy?" Ino backed her friend and said "yeah maybe we should arrange a seminar with Naruto and Lee teaching people how to be unstealthy," the blonde said. The two kunoichi then looked at each other and then collapsed into a fit of giggles as they tried to imagine that very scene, meanwhile Fox shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
He was an Anbu agent and was not used to be being the butt of anybody's joke, but then again these two kunoichi were not just anybody, so he sucked it up and said "this is not the time to be laughing ladies what with the state of affairs being the way they are in the village."
The two Kunoichi suddenly stopped laughing and Sakura became very serious and said "we are very well aware of the situation in the village. Fox, in fact we know more than anybody the toll this battle has taken on the village, would you like to see the number of dismembered and heavily injured Konoha Shinobi we have in the hospital and that isn't even counting the number of other severely injured shinobi who might never be able to live the life of a shinobi anymore. Now either state your business or get the Fuck out of here!" Sakura said pointing to the door looking very angry but sad at the same time. At that moment Fox finally understood why they were acting like that it was just their way of coping with the events that had taken place.
Ino consoled her best friend and said "hey it's ok Billboard brow he just got scared of your big forehead that's all." Ino told her friend consolingly. Sakura laughed despite herself and said "yeah, or maybe he just got scared of your face Ino pig." Ino laughed and said "maybe, you never know but Chouji-kun has no complaints about my face or any other parts of my body for that matter." Ino said with a smirk. Sakura smiled and said "yeah well they say love is blind." Fox suddenly felt uncomfortable and cleared his throat and said "excuse me ladies, but Hokage-Sama has called for you two at once!" The two Kunoichi then stood up and said together "why didn't you just say that in the first place, please lead the way." The two Kunoichi again fell into a fit of giggles along the way. Ino saw a passing nurse and asked her to tell Shizune senpai that they had been summoned by the Hokage.
At the Hokage's Tower
Kakashi stood on the terrace with his two Anbu body guards and he looked at the shinobi gathered before him stood 6 shinobi most of them Kakashi noted were from the Anbu, along with the shinobi stood the leaders of The Aburame, Hyuuga and Inuzuka Clan.
Hatake Kakashi looked at the people in front of him and said to Fox in an undertone "are these all the shinobi who meet the criteria I specified. Fox simply nodded his head and said "hai, Hokage-sama." Kakashi sighed and was about to speak when Sakura said "what's up Kakashi sensei why have you called us all here on the terrace no doubt, I assume this has something to do with Village security?" Kakashi gave his patent one eyed smile and said "as sharp as ever Sakura-chan yes, you're correct I have summoned all you here because the 10 Shinobi gathered here are all able to use a specific technique that is important in my plan to protect the village." Kakashi continued after catching a breath and said "The reason I have summoned you all here is because the shinobi gathered here are all able to use: The Kuchiyose No jutsu technique."
The gathered Shinobi were stunned, but they knew that Kakashi had a reason. So they all stood and listened to him Kakashi continued where he had left off and said "there are three possible ways we can be attacked and that is: Land, Air and Water.
No doubt some of the other villages will have heard of our recent difficulties, on top of that the Hokage and The Fire Daimyo along with many of our Jonin are in Kumo, I'm sure you all understand the situation we as a village are in. "
Tsume then spoke up for the first time and said "so in short we are up shit creek without a paddle correct?" Kakashi looked at her and nodded "yes, correct Tsume-san." Kakashi once again looked at the shinobi gathered before him and said "My plan is simple there are places we cannot protect in case of an attack, so instead of being there ourselves we will use our summons to help in that regards, such as we can have eyes in the sky and in the water which are places that we as shinobi cannot stay in for long periods of time." Shikaku spoke up this time and said "we get it Kakashi and we all agree to your plan so let's get on with it everybody here can see what Kakashi is saying right?" everyone nodded their heads. Kakashi sighed and said "ok, here is the plan: Gai I want you to summon you Ninkame and have them submerged in the large lake on the Northern border and be on the lookout for any attacks from the Northern side. Fox I want you to summon your sharks and have them patrol the southern side of the lake.
Aoba I want you to summon your crows and have them be on the lookout for anybody coming from the sky.
He then looked at Ino and said "I understand you only recently got a summoning contract 6 months ago I am very interested to hear how you got it and from whom?"
Ino nodded her head and said "your correct Kakashi sensei, while at the Anbu Uncle Ibiki made me train with an Anbu agent code-named Eagle to keep my skills sharp. I have to say that the guy really put me through the wringer everyday when we trained, and he used to often use his contract with the Washi Clan (Eagle Clan) to help me train and then just when I thought I had enough training with him. Eagle surprised me by offering me to sign a contract with the Washi clan, and I accepted." "I later realised that this was Uncle Ibiki's plan from the outright, because Eagle would be retiring from active Shinobi in 6 months and he wanted to pass on his most prized possession to a worthy student before retiring. After that he spent three months training me with my eagle summons until he was satisfied, only once he was satisfied did he give me permission to summon the Eagle clan in battle."
Kakashi was impressed and said "Ino, Eagle is a man famous throughout Anbu he has trained many of the famous shinobi who later became Jonin, Infact he was my teacher when I first entered Anbu Black Ops. So if he has chosen you as his successor in regards to his summoning contract then I have to say I have high value for his opinion. Ino I am well aware of your capabilities as a medic and a shinobi so I want you and Sakura to be by my side helping me gather data from the summons reconnaissance teams."
He then looked at Iruka and Anko and said "I want you two to summon a few of your snakes and place them in strategic places around the border, because of your snakes being versatile I'm counting on you guys to act as backup for the other Shinobi, Is that clear?"Iruka and Anko nodded.
He then looked at a shinobi who wore a Lion mask and said "Shishi, I leave the mountains to you and your pride of lion summons to patrol as you see fit, is that clear?" The lion masked Anbu nodded his head. With that done he turned towards the clan leaders and said "Tsume-san I want you to choose 25 of your best shinobi to guard the Jungles bordering the Fire Nation. I want your Clansmen and their partners disguised as grey wolves which are native to those jungles not to mention the Inuzuka Clan knows the lay of the lad better than any shinobi here."
Tsume smiled and said "ha-ha, damn Kakashi got to say your plan sounds better by the minute, sure I'll get right on it, I'll be back in hour." With that said she left the terrace and disappeared as she did so she looked at Kuromaru and said "gather the forces and sound the alarm tell them to gather in the courtyard." The dog nodded and taking a long breath let out a long and piercing howl, the meaning which could only be understood by the members of the Inuzuka clan.
Kakashi then looked at Hiashi and said "Hiashi-san I would like your clansmen to help Shishi in guarding the mountainous regions of the Fire Nation, with your Byakugan you will be able to see past corners and have a bird's-eye view of any enemies coming from the mountains. Hiashi nodded his head and said "I shall get right on It Hokage-sama" with that said the Hyuuga clan leader also left the terrace. Kakashi then looked at Shibi Aburame and said "Shibi-san, I expect you already know what I expect of your clan members but I will say it even though. I wish for you and your clansmen to use your insects to burrow underground to gather any and all Information or enemies coming." Shibi nodded and dispersed into a colony of insects and scattered into the wind.
Kakashi finally looked at the Ino-Shika-Chou Clan leaders and said "My friends I leave the most important responsibility to you, I want you and your clansmen to fan out through the village and protect us from within while the rest of us focus our attention to other matters and other places. Shikaku nodded and said "Don't worry Kakashi we will not let you down" Kakashi smiled and looked relieved said "thank you my friends perhaps when this is all over we can meet at a more informal setting and speak of good times." The trio simply smiled and disappeared into the wind.
Kakashi sighed and then bit his thumb until he drew blood then went through some hand signs and then slammed his hands on the ground and said "Ninpou: Kuchiyose No Jutsu" ("Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu"). A poof of smoke appeared and when the smoke disappeared Kakashi's 7 ninken appeared. Kakashi looked at them and said: "Plan Omega is now in effect get in position and signal me once you're in position." The Ninken Nodded and disappeared in 7 different directions.
Once they were gone Kakashi sighed and slumped his shoulders he then looked at Ino and Sakura and said "Girls, you two are very gifted shinobi and I'm sure you have many responsibilities and patients at attend to at the hospital but I am afraid I must take you away from your patients. Sakura I want you to use your summoning of slugs to divide them and attach themselves to each shinobi that will be leaving the village to secure the borders of the Fire Country so that I will be able to be in contact with them and we can get real time information from them after they attach themselves I want you to disguise them as something else so as to avoid suspicion.
Ino I want you to summon a Convocation (a group of eagles) of your eagle summons and have them patrol throughout the Fire Country and its borders but make sure you're eagles don't patrol in the same skies as Alba's crow summons. I want your Eagles flying at High attitudes to escape detection from enemy ninja." Ino and Sakura nodded their heads and made the preparations for their respective summons while Kakashi watched.
Back In Kumo
Tsunade and the rest of the Konoha Shinobi minus the Genin, who were still being treated in the hospital, were discussing the events that had recently taken place, when a hawk suddenly landed at the windowsill and started pecking its beak against the glass window. Tsunade looked at the hawk and was surprised as she knew the hawk to be Takamine: Konoha's fastest hawk. It was only used in extreme emergencies when delivering messages meant the question of life and death. This made his presence very alarming. Tsunade opened the windowsill and allowed the hawk to land on a nearby table where she gave it some food and water while she read the letter it carried. The more she read the darker her expression got and even the Jonin were getting worried.
Finally Tsunade finished reading the letter and looked up at her ninja and put a finger on her lips. She then closed the open door and window and then pointed at Tenten and then made a circular motion across the room and then closed her hand and nodded her head. Tenten understood exactly what the Hokage meant. She then removed a sheaf of seemingly blanks papers and attached them to the walls and door and roof of the room. She then cut her finger and traced the kanji for silence on each paper and when she was done she made the hand sign for the Ram. Suddenly the papers started glowing and covered the room in a bluish green glow for about 30 seconds and then the light disappeared.
The Hokage then went through a series of hand signs and said "House of Silence!" She then made another set of hand signs and said "House of Shadows!" she waited for 30 seconds and then finally she spoke. The reason I put up a three layered silencing barrier in this room is because I have just received some very bad news but before I share the news with you, I think it will be better if we bring Naruto back here."
She turned to Shikamaru and said "please give me the scroll Shikamaru. Shikamaru was intrigued at what news the Hokage had received that prompted her to take these steps. But he simply complied and gave her the scroll. Tsunade looked at the scroll and then cut her finger to draw blood and then drew the kanji for release on the scroll. When the scroll opened it revealed another scroll within that contained a very complex looking seal.
Tsunade studied the seal and said smiled and said "heh, the kid has a real knack for Fuuinjutsu, to think he would be able to design such a complex seal, his fuuinjutsu skills have even surpassed his father and his master. It seems he has inherited his mother's skill for Fuuinjutsu." She then studied it for a few more minutes and then laid it down flat on the ground and then said "Shikamaru, Hinata and Shino I want you to stand at one corner of this seal." The Jonin complied without question and once they had taken their positions. Tsunade looked at Shikamaru and said "Shikamaru I want you to use your Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique) to attach your shadow to all four of us but allow me to control everyone's movement it is imperative that I maintain control of everyone movements precisely." Shikamaru simply nodded his head and said in his usual bored voice "Hai, Godaime-sama"
Once the preparation were complete Tsunade went through the required hand signs with her three Jonin following suit while the others watched in interest. Once the required hand signs were made the 4 Jonin simultaneously slammed their hands on the scroll and said "Release!" A big poof of smoke appeared to fill the room for a few seconds and when the smoke cleared there sat Naruto bare chested sitting in the meditative pose with his eyes closed. While his eyes showed an orange hue and with a chakra cloak covering his body, the cloak slowly disappeared and Naruto opened his eyes which were not his usual blue but yellow with black Irises indicating he was in sage mode. Naruto looked at everyone and while his eyes rested on Hinata for a few seconds longer while Hinata looked into his eyes the both of them communicating silently with their eyes. He then looked upon his leader and with a smile playing on his lips said "you rang Baa-chan?"
Despite the tension everybody started laughing at the innocuous statement made by Naruto. Tsunade stopped laughing after a while and looked at Naruto and said "when did you learn such an advanced Fuuinjutsu formula Naruto?" Naruto smiled a sad smile and said "I'm not the same little Genin Gaki who challenged one of the legendary Sanin to a fight outside a bar for insulting The Hokage name Baa-chan. I have had to grow up and face reality, but to answer your question I've studied my mom's fuuinjutsu scrolls and found the formula in there." Tsunade nodded and then looked at all her Jonin and said "all right everyone takes a seat while I tell you what has happened so far."
Once everyone was seated Tsunade recounted the events that occurred after Naruto disappeared as well as also informing them of the contents of letter that she had received via messenger hawk. Once she was done Kiba was the first to speak and say "so what happens now?" Tsunade sighed and said "honestly I have no idea what to do."
Naruto who had his arms around Hinata's waist as she sat in his lap and had been silent until now finally spoke and said "I had a feeling this would happen." Tsunade looked at him sharply and said "what do you mean?" Naruto took a deep breath and then told them about his conversation and fight with Kabuto. Tsunade looked at him and asked "where is the scroll now?" Naruto waved his hand said "it's with Gerotora right now; I can summon him here if you want." Naruto told his leader, when Tsunade nodded, Naruto cut his finger and went through the hand signs required and said "Ninpou: Kuchiyose No Jutsu" ("Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu"). Gerotora appeared and with his arms folded and said "what's up Naruto, I guess you called me here for the scroll right?" Naruto nodded."Well I checked it for everything I could think of and then everything I couldn't think of and I did that twice, and as far as I can see, the scroll is not booby trapped." The scroll toad said. Once he had given the scroll to Naruto, he gave it to Shikamaru and said "check it again." Shikamaru once again looked the scroll over for any latent traps while Shino's bugs checked the scroll for any other traps. Once Shikamaru pronounced the scroll as ok, Naruto created a single shadow clone and gave it the scroll to open, which it did but only after standing at the far end of the room away from anyone. The clone then broke through the seal and then still standing at the far end of the room and started reading the scroll aloud.
10 minutes later.
The clone had vanished and the scroll was in Tsunade's hands and she was fuming, which was always dangerous. "To think those two old Geezers Homura and Koharu would stoop so low as to commit treason and as for the Hyuuga elders, it seems they have forgotten what happened to The Uchiha clan when they plotted Treason against the Hokage.
It seems there are also some elements In Suna that are partly responsible for the war in Kumo as well. I think it's best if I meet personally with the Raikage and Kazekage and discuss this issue only after that can we make a decision.
Naruto, Shikamaru I want you to go the Raikage and Kazekage and tell them that The Hokage requests an immediate audience with them both. She then turned towards Chouji and Lee who had both been silent so far and said
"I want you two to go and tell Crow and Pigeon about what have happened so far and help them to keep a closer eye on The Daimyo. Hinata I want you to go with them and tell The Fire Daimyo of what has happened to Konoha, but DO NOT tell the Daimyo about the letter from Kabuto.
The rest of you got to the hospital and check on the Genin, Tenten your in charge I want you to check with Moegi and Kenshin as well as Hideyo the Head doctor and see who is ready to be discharged, I think everyone except Tatsuki and Kenpachi can be discharged, if Hideyo agrees then discharge everyone but Kenpachi, Tatsuki and Chiruku Its important that we get back home as soon as possible, but we have to make sure that our wounded shinobi are cared for properly. The shinobi nodded their heads in understanding and left the room to complete their respective assignments.
Few Hours Later
Tsunade was in a very frustrated and stressed out mood, she had just finished her meeting with her fellow village leaders as well as the Fire Daimyo, after informing him of the events that had taken place, The Daimyo had at first been shocked to learn of the events that occurred, and wanted to know the next step of action, and while that was frustrating trying to convince the old Politician to let her take care of things, what really got her frustrated was that every few seconds the Daimyo's eyes kept slipping from the Hokage's face to her breasts, and while Tsunade noticed it. She had to restrain herself to not slap the old fool lest she kill him which would only cause her to deal with more paperwork.
Finally after what seemed to be hours along with Naruto, Hinata and Shikamaru she had finally finished her meeting, and had finally reached home, and saw that all the Genin except Chiruku, Kenpachi and Tatsuki were present.
Tenten came up and told the Hokage; that Tatsuki would be discharged the next day since the doctors had mostly closed and healed the wound, but that in order for her to fully heal, the doctors had put her in a comatose state and that they would bring her out of it tomorrow morning after ensuring that her wounds don't re-open over night.
Kenpachi was still in a drug and Genjutsu induced Coma to help calm him down, the doctors said that the side effects of opening two chakra gates as well as prolonged usage of mentally synching with his summons had caused his brain to go into a near primal state but with the help of Genjutsu experts they were able to heal him but that he still had to be kept overnight to let the rest of his wounds heal.
Chiruku would also be released tomorrow, because it seemed that he although he had mostly recovered although he still had some trouble walking and although he was fine, he would still need some physical therapy to be back to 100%. It seemed he had suffered an allergic reaction to some of the antibiotics given to him and they had given him something to flush the antibiotics out of his system, but it would take some time before the antibiotics were flushed out of his system.
Tsunade nodded her head at the information she received and noted that Tenten had not mentioned the primary reason for getting them back here which meant that she would have to tell them the reason.
As she looked at the assembled genin she saw that although they were at attention their faces showed curiosity and their eyes showed fatigue. She made her decision. She took a deep breath and said: "well done my young Genin, I am happy to see that you have all performed valiantly and for that you have the thanks of your Hokage." She smiled inwardly as she saw the young genin exchange grins and smiles of triumph, she continued and said "however, one thing I want you all to keep something very important in mind, while you are no doubt skilled Shinobi and while I do not doubt your abilities. ONE THING TO ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND IS: while skill counts for much on the battlefield, experience counts for a lot more. You have all seen what has happened on the battle field. "
"Many of you genin are still suffering from the wounds that you gained on the battlefield. Let those scars be a reminder of how gruesome war is and how merciless your enemies can be. I am afraid that I must burden you with more bad news my young Genin: in our absence from Konoha, our Homeland has been attacked by enemies foreign, and although we have won that battle as well, and Kakashi sensei has assumed temporary command of the village."
"Understand young Genin that I am under no obligation to share this information with you, but your senseis have assured me that it is the best course of action. Now I want you all to go and pack your things. But before you go among all this bad news I do have some good news. The Raikage and The Lightning Daimyo have expressed to me and The Kazekage their personal thanks for Konoha's and Suna's help in this war and have thus decided to reward each one of our shinobi by gifting them three complete sets of the Standard Shinobi Battle Gear that all shinobi carry. It goes without saying that they will be the best money can buy my young ones." Upon hearing this statement all the genin cheered semi-loudly.
As genin the money they made from missions was not much and so they could not often afford to buy a complete set of the Standard Shinobi Battle Gear which was very expensive on a Genin's salary. To find out that they were getting not one, not two but three complete sets of weapons gear was very good news indeed. However their good mood was tempered by the memories of what had occurred a few days back as well as the realisation of possibly losing even more comrades due to the War in Konoha.
Tsunade nodded her head and smiled as she saw the expressions on their young faces. At that moment she knew she had made the right decision by letting them fight in this war. "That is all for now, my young genin dismissed." The Genin stood at attention and then quietly one by one left the room leaving only the Jonin in the room alone with the Hokage. Tsunade then sat down and after sighing said "Naruto, I know your still suffering from the battle, but I'm afraid I can't wait, I want you to summon Fukusaku-sama I need to send a message to Konoha."
Naruto shrugged and said "ok, fine you're the boss he then went ahead and summoned one his toads. Fukusaku then appeared and said "what is it Naruto chan why did you call me here" Tsunade answered for him and said "my apologies lord Fukusaku, I asked Naruto to summon you here." Oh why is that Tsunade-chan is everything well?" "No, I am afraid it isn't Konoha was attacked while we were gone, so could you please take this scroll and take it to Kakashi Hatake the acting Hokage. You are the only one who will be able to do it. "Fukusaku looked thoughtful for a moment then nodded and said "very well Tsunade-chan give me the scroll."
Tsunade gave him the scroll and said "thank you lord Fukusaku as he turned to go he said if I get any response I will reverse summon Naruto since that will be easier for me. Tsunade nodded and said "very well." Fukusaku gave everyone a thumbs up and then disappeared in a poof of smoke. With Fukusaku gone Tsunade dismissed her Jonin as well and ordered everyone to get some rest. The Jonin went to their respective rooms and quickly fell asleep; Tenten and Hinata went to sleep with the genin kunoichi while Naruto and the other leaf Jonin shared their rooms with their Genin comrades.
A/N: well there you have it another chapter finished. Sorry for the long delay in my defense I can only plead laziness. Anyway Read and Review. Thanks.