Dont be afraid of your heritage. Your an Uzumaki! The best of the seal masters! The most stubborn of fighters! Your family will always be behind you, even in death so do not fear your enemy's. Show them the strength of an Uzumaki! ~Uzumaki shoji, the Uzukage, during the pre-battle rally Two hours before the battle of Uzu.
It didn't take long for the combined forces of team's 7 and 8 to get everything they needed, but then again it wasn't like they needed much. Kira was the one who had the most, even though she sealed a lot of what she was bringing with. The main reason being that she was trying to figure out how to get rid of the caged bird seal, as well as figure out how to make sure the brain didn't get destroyed in the process. Another reason she brand so much wi was because she knew exactly what was going to happen on this mission, as well as the fact that her mother was going to be on this mission as well. She was excited abut finally getting to see her mother again, even if she didn't know what she was going to do or say when it came down to it.
The final reason why she brought so much, was because she was going to do everything in her power, to get Hinata and Naruto into a relationship, somehow, while this mission was on. Naruto had gotten a lot smarter, ever since his clan joined Konoha's ranks, but it wasn't enough to get him to notice Hinata liked him. Sure he didn't have a crush on Sakura anymore as well, but he was still completely oblivious when it came to relationships. Kira had at one point blatantly told Naruto that Hinata liked him, and he said "Well of course she likes me, we are friends after all."
It took everything Kira had to not knock the blonde boy out because of that comment. It would take a hell of a lot to get the two together, at least on Naruto's end, but Kira was bound and determined to do it. Her mother would be a large help as well when it came down to it, but she just hoped that she didn't start on a rant about how her time was while she was gone. Kira knew from first hand experience that when her mother was away from family, for months or years, she ranted about every little detail about said journey. So far, that was the only thing that she was not looking forward to when it came to this mission.
"LET'S GO!"
And there was the other part of the mission she wasn't looking forward to. Naruto the loud mode Uzumaki, that put even the loudest of the clan to shame. It was understandable that he had never left the village before, but he didn't need to be so loud. He was loud enough that the whole village probably heard him, and it actually annoyed Kira enough that one of her eyebrows twitched, and she said "Yell louder Naruto, I'm sure Kiri didn't hear you from here."
Naruto frowned at that as he said "Lighten up Kira, I've never left the village before!"
Kira just gave an exasperated sigh as grabbed Naruto by his cheeks with one hand "You need to be quiet ok?" When Naruto tried to say something, her hair split behind her like nine tails and she glared at him "Your going to shut up right?!"
Naruto quickly nodded to the best of his ability since she was still holding his cheeks together, but Kakashi actually froze when he saw her hair moving in a very familiar way. His thoughts bordered that of his late sensei's wife, Kushina, as that was exactly the way her hair moved when it came to her being pissed, at either Minato, or himself. It actually, when he thought about it, the fact that her hair moved the same way, was enough to make a shiver go down kakashi's spine.
"Hey, am I gonna be safe with a brat like him?" Tazuna, the builder and client of the mission, asked while pointing at Naruto.
"You don't need to worry, you have both me and Kakashi here, and we are both jõnin rank." Kurenai stated "Though our students are more then capable of handling bandits."
Before Naruto could say anything else, he felt a chill down his spine, and he turned to see Kira, with her hair in the nine-tails mode, while she had a sweet smile on her face "You weren't about to yell again, were you Naruto?"
Feeling that he shouldn't say anything, he quickly shook his head, as he gulped and slowly slid behind Kakashi, who had a nervous smile on his face as well, since he knew that even if Kira was a genin in rank, she was more then enough to make him fight at the level of going against another jõnin. The only thought that was going through his head however was 'she's so like Kushina it's scary.
"Um... Anyway, how about we leave? We need to get there as soon as possible, or this mission will take even longer, as we need to stay until the bridge is finished." Kurenai asked, while eyeing her team, as well as Kakashi's.
"I'm ready to go!" Kiba shouted with a howl, that caused Kira to sigh again.
The two teams walked together, with the two jōnin in the back, with two genin on the other three sides of the builder, and the final two being closer to the builder then the rest. In the end everyone surrounded him so that no side was left unattended. Kiba, ended up walking next to Naruto, much to the annoyance of both, while Shino, was walking next to Sasuke, both of them silently conversing in a way only an Aburame, and Uchiha could do. Next up was the pair of, Sakura, and Shiro, who was starting to get nervous around her, which Sakura didn't seem to notice. Lastly was Kira and Hinata, who were to the left of Tazuna, talking to each other.
"So... When are you gonna tell Naruto Hinata?" Kira asked in a curious tone, while still staying soft enough that no on else could hear her words.
"What do you mean Kira-san?" Hinata asked slightly confused.
"I'm talking about how you feel towards him!" Kira stated "You can't keep hiding it forever you know. In fact, I'm thinking about helping you during this mission, in more ways then one."
Hinata raised an eyebrow in confusion, but after a few seconds her face turned red and she waved her hands in front of her quickly "N-no need! I-I'll b-be fine. T-there's n-no need! Y-you g-gave me e-enough help a-as I-it is."
Kira sighed deeply at the implication of her words. Ever since Kira had saved Hinata from not only getting the caged bird seal put on her, but the fact that she had a home, she felt like she owed a huge debt to the whole clan. Everyone in the clan had said multiple times that it didn't matter, and that she only needed to treat everyone like before, but she didn't have any of it, as she kept helping out in any way she could. She even help Shinji, and hiro on guard duty one day, so that she could help on a day she didn't have anything to do. It honestly upset Kira, and she had even said to Hinata multiple times that if she didn't stop, she was going to do something about it. Hinata didn't stop helping, but the amount of time she helped, significantly dropped after Kira explained why she didn't need to help if she didn't want to.
"Hina... How many times do I have to say it, I feel of you as a sister in all but blood, so why do you not want my help with something I've been trying to make happen for almost a year now?" Kira asked in an exasperated tone.
"Y-you'd really help me with something like that?" Hinata asked slowly "Why?"
Giving her a blank look Kira said "Your to shy." Hinata flinched at that, but Kira continued "You an incredible person Hinata, but your to shy. Everything else about you is fine the way it is, but you need to get more confidence. You've been getting better with your confidence issues, but your still a far cry from getting a solid back bone, so to speak. You can be nice all you want, but you need confidence."
Hinata, slowly digested what was said to her, until she sighed and said "Your a great motivational speaker, you know that Kira-san?"
"I try." Kira stated before she heard Sakura ask if there were ninja in Nami no kuni "I can actually answer that Sakura. No, Nami doesn't have ninja, but in most other countries there are ninja."
"And how do you know that?" Sakura asked in a confused tone.
"Before we Uzumaki arrived in Konoha, we traveled to lots of places, Nami no kuni included. It's a nice little country, but I've heard they are having trouble finance wise, currently." Kira stated with a casual tone, that betrayed nothing, including the fact she knew that this mission was going to go awry.
"That said, there really are only five nations that have a hidden village that everyone knows." Kurenai stated "They are in Hi no kuni, with Konohagakure, Mizu no Kuni, with Kirigakure, kaminari no Kuni, with Kumogakure, Kaze no Kuni, with Sunagakure and finally Tsuchi no Kuni with Iwagakure. Among those villages are the five strongest Shinobi In each of the villages, the Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage, And Tsuchikage."
"Before you go and say something about how fishy it is, remember that Sarutobi Hiruzen, was in charge during both the second and third Shinobi wars." Kira stated, gaining everyone's attention "He is also knows 'The professor' and 'Shinobi no kami' and those titles are for a reason."
Kakashi gave a nod as he said "She's right you know. Hokage-sama in his prime, could easily destroy a heavily populated area, without breaking a sweat. But don't worry to much, there isn't a chance for foreign Shinobi to appear on a C-rank mission."
"You mean to tell me we're stuck facing bandits, and theives?!" Kiba yelled annoyed.
"This is a C-rank mission, Kiba. You can't expect to have high stakes battles on your first C-rank." Kurenai stated with a tired sigh.
Kiba started to complain once again about being stuck on missions that are worthless, but a glare from Kira, was enough to shut him up. Shino, actually told Kiba that being quiet would be a smart idea as well, and then there were the two jōnin in the back who watched the whole thing with a tired look, with thoughts of regretting to take up genin, going through their heads.
After awhile, they had passed a puddle, and it seemed that none of the Genin noticed, but both of the jōnin noticed quiet easily. Sending a silent message to Kurenai, she agreed that they should not do anything, as well as fake their deaths, to not only test their genin, but to see who the enemy shinobi's target was. As they passed by the puddle, Kira put a hand on her sword, which had Hinata get prepared for whatever was going to happen. Shino noticed it as well, and he subtly had some of his insects spread out, so that they could attach to the enemy and suck them dry of chakra before they noticed. Kiba was literally the only one that didn't see the signs, so when the two Shinobi, in the puddle pooped up and had both Kakashi and Kurenai in chained lined with shuriken, he didn't react right away.
"Two down." Was all one of the Shinobi said, before they pulled on their chains, tearing both of the jōnin apart.
Kira, being the first to react, rushed forward, and split the chain they had connected to gauntlets on they arms in half, while also, kicking one of them away from Naruto, who they had tired to attack after that. Hinata was the next to react, as she rushed towards the one that Kira had kicked, and attacked him "Hakke: Sanjūni shō!" she hit him twice "Ni!" She his I
Him another two times "Yon!" She hit him another four times "hachi!" Another eight time "jū Roku!" Another sixteen times to finish the set "Sanjūni shō!"
The total of thirty-two strikes, was enough to make the chūnin rank missing nin, to fall onto the ground. He wasn't dead by any means, but his body, was pretty much shut down when it came to movement. When it came to the other chūnin rank missing nin, he was pretty much taken care of before he could cause much more then a scratch to to Naruto's hand. The reason being, that Shino not only drained a fair amount of chakra from the two Shinobi before they even did anything, but because Kiba, and Akamaru had hit the chūnin before he knew what happened. Not even a second after that, Shiro, had ran forward without anyone reacting, and his sent a solid strike into the guys stomach, that sent him flying backwards Ina way that was similar to Tsunade Senju hitting someone.
Once the two Chūnin were down, both of the Jōnin appeared in the clearing, while also getting a glare from Kira, who's hair was in nine-tails mode "Your an idiot Kakashi! Having genin deal with chūnin! Your lucky that they underestimated us, otherwise things could have gone a lot differently!" Kakashi, surprisingly looked down in a way that was similar to A child being scolded as she continued "To make matters worse, you actually convinced Kurenai to agree to a plan like that!"
Kakashi's slumped down even more as he mumbled loud enough that everyone could hear "I'm sorry Kushina-san."
That made Kira freeze in mid rant. She didn't know why, being called Kushina, made her body feel weird. She didn't even know how Kushina acted, and yet the way she was yelling at Kakashi's, reminded him of Kushina, her aunt. She honestly didn't know why, but she quietly asked "Did you call me Kushina...?"
Kakashi's realizing his mistake he laughed nervously before he said "I'm sorry Kira. You reminded me of Kushina for a second there. Anyway, I'm sorry I did that, and because of my stupid actions Naruto got hurt."
"We need to have Naruto open his wound. Why? Because the enemy had poison on their claws." Shino stated in his normal logical tone.
Kira frowning a bit at the situation, was about to try and say something, but before she could, Naruto stabbed himself in the hand. Kira groaned as she walked towards Naruto "Naruto, I know I told you about an Uzumaki's inhuman regeneration, but that doesn't mean you should stab yourself in the hand just so you can get rid of some poison. Knowing you though, you did this so that we can continue the mission, right?" Naruto just gave a grin, towards Kira, as she sighed and started to wrap his hand up so that no one could see the fact that his skin was already starting to heal "Ne. Kakashi's, Kurenai! What village are those two missing nin from?"
Kurenai was the first to speak, as she said "Kirigakure, and they are know to fight no matter what, so this was a stupid thing to do Kakashi. Kiri-Shinobi, are know to continue fighting until death."
"How..." One of the Ni started "How did you read our movements?"
Shiro, surprisingly enough, answered by nervously saying "A-a water p-puddle, on a h-hot d-day like t-today? N-not p-possible, e-especially w-when it h-hasn't rained in days..."
"Shiro is right. I knew they were there the second that I saw the water puddle." Kakashi's stated, and when Tazuna asked why he let the genin fight them, Kakashi said "I could have killed them at any time. The reason I didn't is because I needed to see who their target was, the Shinobi here, or you. Is there something you aren't telling us Tazuna-san?"
"I need to talk to you." Tazuna stated before he looked towards Kurenai "both of you... It's about this mission. You're right, this mission is probably outside your duties, it turns out a super dangerous man is out for my life. The wealthy shipping magnate Gatō."
Kira let out a extremely loud growl at the name "That sleaze bag is after you? The guy is lower then trash. He tried to kidnap a few of the children in our group when we were in Namu no Kuni last time, before his company got really big."
"Is this the same Gatō of the Gatō shipping industry?" Kakashi asked while eyeing both Kira, and Tazuna.
"Yes... Officially he runs a large shipping company, but in the underground he sells drugs and other illegal items using shinobi and gangs to take over businesses and countries. He is a nasty man." Tazuna stated "It was about a year ago when he set his eyes on Nami no Kuni, and he quickly took over using money and violence. Gatō now has a monopoly on all buisness in Nami no Kunai, and the only thing he fears is the completion of the bridge."
"And since your working on the bridge, your in the way." Sakura concluded.
"And sine your country is in such dire restraints, you couldn't afford anything more then a C-rank, which is why you didn't tell everything involving the mission." Shiro stated, in his nervous tone, but he didn't stutter.
"Things could be worse, though we do have this person protecting us to the best of their abilities." Tazuna stated "They call her 'The red ghost' as they only see red hair, with no face, when they encounter her. Though we still need help, so if you leave now then it will only cause my death which will have my cute little grandson in constant depression, while my daughter curses Konoha Shinobi for the rest of her life, so no problem."
Everyone sweat dropped as he blatantly black-mailed them, despite the fact that they were going to agree to continue the mission in the first course after Tazuna explained everything with his home, they had arrived to take a ferry across to the Nami no Kuni. The fog around them was incredibly thick, and it was impossible to see more then fifty feet from the boat in any direction. It honestly didn't take long for them to land and when they did, Kira was the first off, as she was excited to be in a place so similar to Uzu no kuni. Even if she had never been there before, she was completely comfortable at a seaside area.
The team of six genin, two jōnin, and Tazuna slowly walked forward at this point, as they went towards the town that they were going to end up in while they waited for Tazuna to finish the bridge he was building. Of course, they didn't expect anything less then an ambush, so when Shiro, threw a Kunai into a bush, they expected a Shinobi to pop out, but when they checked, it was noticed to be only a rabbit. The fact that the rabbit was colored white, did nothing to decrease the suspiciousness of the jōnin. When they heard a woos hong sound however, Kakashi reacted first, and he yelled "GET DOWN!"
Every single person in the group hit the ground, just in time as a giant sword imbedded itself into a tree near them. Not even a second later, a person landed on the handle to the giant sword. Kakashi tensed, as did Kurenai, but Kakashi was the one to speak "Well well... If it isn't Zabuza Momochi of the hidden mist... Everybody get back, this ones on a different level, only me and Kurenai are going to be fighting this one." Kakashi slowly began to raise his Hitai-ate as he said "This ones going to be tougher unless I use this..."
"THERE YOU ARE YOU BASTARD!" A very loud, and very familiar, in the case of Kira, and Shiro, voice yelled, as a red blur burst in front of the group, with a crimson red sword in one hand, and a sapphire blue sword in the other.
Kira was the first to react as she slowly and quietly said "Mom?!"
So what did you guys think of this chapter? I hope you liked it!
for the poll, the current ranking is
Neji Hyuga: 6
Rock Lee: 1
Shiro Uzumaki: 1
Kiba Inuzuka: 1
if you don't like the results at the moment, the make sure to vote or give your own person!
As for people who question pairings like Shikamaru, I'm not going to as I'm keeping as many cannon pairings as possible, so ShikamaruXKira will be a no go due to ShikamaruXTemari. Sorry everyone who wanted that.