Lionheart: Chapter 8. I'm going to try and get this posted.
Reviewers: Let's see some questions I have to answer.
Sasuke did not get caught on purpose. He was outsmarted.
Naruto … well let's say he messed up XD
New Poll: Sakura be trained by Naruto and Sasuke or let her remain weak?
Yes
No
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Missions! Journey to Land of WavesNaruto Uzumaki, a twelve-year-old ninja in training stood behind a tree. He was on a mission currently. His teammates Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno stood nearby, watching their target.
"This is Sasuke," said Sasuke, speaking into a headset. "I'm at point B." 'Static.' "This is Sakura, I'm at point C." 'Static.' There was a long silence before a third voice spoke. "Oh, yeah, this is Naruto. I'm at point A." "Too slow, Naruto," came Kakashi's reprimanding voice. "Okay, squad seven…" Kakashi paused. "Hm?"
The reasoning was their target, a shadowy creature of some sort, had suddenly moved, jumping away. "Target has moved, follow it," commanded, Kakashi. The three Genin moved swiftly through the leaves and branches, using bushes and tree trunks to remain unseen. Finally the creature stopped.
From behind a cluster of tree, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura peeked to look at their target. "Over there," whispered Naruto. The three Genin moved into a closer position, behind bushes the opened out into a clearing. 'Static.' Kakashi's voice came through the earpiece. "What's you distance from the target?" Naruto peeked and looked. "Five meters," was his reply. "I'm ready…just give the signal." "I'm ready too," said Sasuke. "So am I," stated Sakura.
"Okay," started Kakashi, "Wait…NOW!" The three Genin leapt for the target. Naruto was the first to grab it…a brown cat with a red ribbon on the right ear. "I got him, I got him," he shouted. "Can you verify a red ribbon on the right ear," asked Kakashi.
Sakura and Sasuke looked at Naruto, who was being mercilessly scratched by the cat. "Yeah, affirmative, we've got a positive ID," said Sasuke, who couldn't help, but chuckle. "Right," concluded Kakashi, "Lost pet, Tora, captured. Mission accomplished." A loud voice came over the speaker set. "CAN'T WE GET A BETTER MISSION THAN THIS? I HATE CATS." The earpiece was at least five feet away from Kakashi's ear and he could still hear it. The noise caused the headset on Kakashi's end to break. . 'Naruto…' he thought irritably.
Mission RoomSasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi watched as a rich oversized lady hugged her cat tightly. A little too tightly that caused the cat to struggle and growl viscously. "Oh, my little darling, Tora, mommy was so worried about, yes she was. OH, darling how I've missed you," she said, rubbing the cat against her cheek. The three ninja sweat dropped.
"No wonder the cat ran away," stated Sakura. Naruto nodded, "Yeah." "Hn, so that's how they treat animals today. Brat let me out, so I can teach her a think or two," came Kyuubi's voice. Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other, shadows over their eyes. "Uh…um, Fox, don't you have anything better to do?" "No, Brat, let me out." Sasuke shook his head. "You promised not to kill anyone," spoke Sasuke irritably. "Shh, hey its our mission time. This is where I can convince the old man to let us go with Mr. Tazuna." "About time, I can finally do something besides crap all day," announced Sasuke.
The four stood in front of the Hokage, who held a thin piece of paper up. "Now…for squads seven's next mission, we have several available tasks. Let's see…among them baby-sitting the chief councilor's three year old. Helping his wife do the shopping, Digging up potatoes…" Naruto and Sasuke who both yelled, "NO NO", interrupting him! Both of them were eagerly looking forward to the C-rank assignment.
"HEY, OLD MAN." Naruto leapt in front of his team and slammed his hands on the desk the Hokage sat in back of.
"No more silly stupid missions. I want to go on a real mission. Something challenging and exciting, not this little kid's stuff." "He has a point," stated Sasuke, "We need something more challenging and dangerous than this." 'Sasuke is soo cute,' and Naruto is so annoying,' thought Sakura with a blush.
Kakashi looked worried. "Euhhh…I knew this was coming."
Meanwhile Iruka slammed his hands down and stood up facing Naruto and Sasuke. "HOW DARE YOU! You're just brand new Genin with no experience. Like everyone else you start with simple missions to develop your skills and prove yourself."
Any normal Genin would have backed down, but Naruto was anything but ordinary. He was going to have 'that' C-ranked mission one way or another. "ARE YOU SERIOUS," he yelled back. "We've already developed our skills. Ask Kakashi sensei, I mean he was the one who passed us, he's seen our stuff."
When everyone looked at Kakashi he shrugged and looked away. 'Naruto, why did you have to drag me into this?' Seeing no support, Naruto continued his protests, "And besides, how can you even call baby-sitting a mission. It's just a stupid…ahh." Kakashi punched Naruto in the head, knocking him to the floor. "Naruto…will you put a lid on it." "Baka," said both Kyuubi and Sasuke. 'What a pain,' thought Sakura.
"Naruto it seems you do not understand the tasks you have been given," said the Hokage. Naruto looked up, his eyes narrowing. They were getting closer. "Listen, Naruto. Many different kinds of requests come into our village every day. From baby-sitting to assassinations. These requests are carefully analyzed and then ranked…A,B,C, or D, depending on their difficulty. We ninja are also ranked by our abilities, there's Hokage, Jounin, Chuunin, and the lowest being Genin."
"We rank missions based on their difficulty and give them to ninja who have the appropriate skill. For Jounin…A-rank missions. For Chuunin…A, B, and C-Ranked Missions. And then for you, Genin, C and D-Ranked Missions. Of course the newer Genin get the D-ranked missions. After each successful mission the village receives a fee, that helps…"
At this point, the Hokage realized Naruto wasn't paying attention and was instead talking about ramen with his teammates. "Well," said Naruto, while the Kakashi and the others listened to him, "Today I had Miso Ramen and tomorrow…" "SILENCE," shouted the Hokage, losing his temper. "Oh, sorry," said Kakashi scratching his head.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura snickere
d. If they're sensei was bored, they definitely had the privilege. When they stopped Naruto turned his attention to the Hokage. "Gah, he always lecture me like you're my grand-father, but I'm not the little brat that used to pull pranks anymore. I'm a ninja now, and I want a ninja mission." Sasuke grinned. 'Well said, baka,' he thought. Kakashi sighed. 'I'm going to hear about this later,' he thought.
Iruka and the Hokage stared at Naruto, surprised, before chuckling. "Naruto wants us to know he's not a brat…he's a former brat, and he wants a mission. Hehehe, so be it." The three Genin looked up in surprise. "My, brat, my how you have a way with words," said Kyuubi, laughing. Sasuke chuckled right along with him.
"Since you are so determined, I'm going to give you a C-ranked mission." Naruto and Sasuke gave each other the thumbs up. "OH YEA," shouted Naruto, "So, what are we going to do?" "It's a bodyguard mission," said the Hokage vaguely, "and you'll journey with him." "Really? YES," shouted Naruto. "We did, we're going to the land of waves again." "This time, Zabuza is going to be in for a big surprise," said Sasuke. "Well, good job getting the mission brats. That means more training…ahahaha." Sasuke and Naruto sweat dropped. Trust Kyuubi to ruin the moment.
"So, old man, who are we guarding," asked Naruto, in high spirits. "Hn, don't be so impatient. I will bring him in now." The Hokage stood up, "Send in our visitor." Team seven turned towards the doorway, waiting to see whom it was.
The door slowly opened and an old man with a liquor bottle stepped through. 'It's him,' thought Naruto and Sasuke. "What the," he began quite drunk, "a bunch of little shot-nosed kids?" He took a swig, while Naruto surveyed him. "Heh."
The old man leaned against the doorway and pointed towards the Genin. "And you, the little one with the idiotic look on your face. You really expect me to believe you're a ninja." "Hah, old man, I don't really care what you believe. But…" A dark look came on Naruto's face and he nearly tackled the man over. Luckily Kakashi, held him back. "DON'T CALL ME LITTLE, YOU OLD MAN, I'LL DEMOLISH YOU. LET ME AT HIM SENSEI." He struggled to get free, while Kyuubi, Sasuke, and Sakura all sighed. 'What a pain in the ass,' they all thought.
"You can't hurt the client, Naruto," reprimanded Kakashi. "It doesn't work that way," he said calmly over Naruto's childishness. "Hey, baka, stop acting like a spoiled brat. I didn't bring save you from death to have you act like this," interrupted Kyuubi. Naruto, stopped, and grew red. He apologized and restrained himself, though he couldn't help glare at the old man, who suddenly began talking about his mission.
"I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder. I must return to my country where I'm having a bridge built. This bridge will change our whole country and I expect you to get me there safely even if it means giving your life."
The four ninja nodded. "We accept this mission," announced Kakashi. "Good, you will leave right away," said the Hokage. "Good luck."
Outside the Village"It's been such a long time since we left the village, Sasuke." "Yeah, I remember when we were ANBU, we left the village almost every day, sometimes twice depending on how fast we completed missions."
Naruto smirked as he turned around. "Alright, LET'S GO." His companions looked at him, ignored him, and walked ahead. "Hey," interrupted Tazuna. "Am I supposed to trust my life to this runt," he pointed at Naruto, who was jumping up and down. "He's a joke."
Naruto's face darkened as Kakashi laughed, "Don't worry, Naruto is strong in his own way. And besides, I'm a Jounin, so there's nothing you need to worry about. So, shall we get going?" "Hold on," stopped Naruto, surprising the others. He jumped in front of Tazuna. "Okay you have to understand this, NEVER make fun of a ninja. And especially not me, one of the greatest ninja of all. Why, someday I'm going to be Hokage, and then you'll look up to me."
Kakashi and Sasuke shared a glance. Both winced at what they were hearing. "Hokage huh," asked Tazuna. "Hokage are big and strong, you are puny and weak. The day you become Hokage, the day I sprout wings and fly." "Why you, you just wait till become Hokage. Then everyone, including you will have to respect me." Tazuna shrugged, "Really, I don't care if you become Hokage ten times over. To me, you'll still be a runt…a loser." Naruto grimaced. "WHAT'S THAT," he yelled, while Kakashi held him back. "Naruto I told you," he said exasperated with his student, "You're supposed to protect the client, not attack him."
"FINE, then I'll just have to prove to you in battle just how strong I am. Kakashi sensei, let's hurry up and go. I need to show, old man over here just how strong I am."
Everyone sighed. "Shut up loser," stated Sasuke, walking by. "Naruto, you are such an idiot," followed up Sakura. "Don't brag, Naruto, it's not what Shinobi do," said Kakashi. "Hokage," said Tazuna drunk, "Yeah right runt." "Hey, don't whine brat, you bought this upon yourself." 'Some support,' thought Naruto, sadly. Kyuubi and Sasuke shared a low laugh, infuriating Naruto. He would show them…he would show them all. "And I'll start with those Chuunin," whispered Naruto to himself, as he ran to catch up with the others. He could already detect them nearby using his Fox Eye. 'Come out to play,' he thought cheerfully. "Hey, baka, try not to give us away. We're supposed to pretend we don't know they're coming," interrupted Sasuke.
Naruto ignored him as he followed behind the others.
During the long walk towards the land of waves, the group pretty much traveled in silence. In the back, Naruto was as quiet as ever, feeling insulted enough already. He decided to would be best if he just kept quiet. The others found this greatly relaxing, especially Kakashi. 'Finally, Naruto has shut up,' he thought. Just when he was about to pull out his book, Sakura asked an interesting question.
"Umm, Mr. Tazuna." "Eh, what is it?" replied the old man. "You come from the land of waves right?" "Yeah, what of it?" Sakura turned her attention to Kakashi, "Kakashi sensei, the land of waves have Shinobi too, right?" "Actually no," replied Kakashi.
Sakura appeared surprised, so Kakashi explained, unraveling a scroll as he spoke. The scroll had the map of the continent on it. "No, there are no ninja in the land of waves, but…in other countries there are hidden villages. Each other them have their own customs and cultures, where ninja reside. First you have to understand that, to the people of this continent, the existence of Shinobi villages means power…military power. In other words, that's how they protect themselves and maintain the balance of power with neighboring countries. The ninja villages are not controlled by any government, there independent and have equal status."
Kakashi paused, pointing out the island of waves. "Now, a small island like the land of waves has natural protection from the sea, so there's no need for a ninja village." Kakashi then pointed to the main continent. "The five ancient lands that possess Shinobi villages are the lands of fire, water, lightning, wind, and earth. They each occupy vast territories. Together, they are known as the five great Shinobi nations. The land of fire has the village hidden in the leaves. The land of water has the village hidden in the mists. The land of lightning has the village hidden in the clouds. The land of wind has the hidden village of sand. And the land of earth has the village in the stone. Only the leaders of these hidden villages are permitted the name Kage, which means shadow."
Kakashi pointed to a sidebar that showed a picture of the five Kages. "Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage, Tsuchikage. These are the leaders, the five shadows the reign over thousands of ninja."
"HUH? Then, lord Hokage is really important," gasped Sakura. "Hm, is that old man really a big deal? I'm not buying it." "He's not that great," said Naruto to Kyuubi and Sasuke, "I mean I got him with my Harem technique. I mean sure he was great and everything but…" "Umm, Naruto first you said he wasn't great, then you said he was. Make up your mind." Naruto began thinking when Kakashi interrupted.
"HEY!" Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke looked back at him. "You all just doubted Lord Hokage didn't you? Sakura trembled… "Um, no, I wasn't," she said, as she swiftly shook her head. Kakashi touched her shoulder, "Well, it's alright, no need to be frightened. We shouldn't encounter any foreign Shinobi on a C-Ranked mission. There should be no ninja battles, unless we're extremely unlucky. But the chances of that are small, and plus I'm here so you can relax." Sakura smiled, "So, we'll be safe right?" Kakashi nodded, "Of course, nothing to worry about." Tazuna narrowed his eyes.
The group continued in silence as they crossed a shallow stream over a log. Naruto led the way, with Sasuke, while the other followed behind.
"Hn, it's sad how that old geezer had to die," said Naruto. "Well, brat, that's why I brought you to the past, maybe you can change that." Naruto nodded, "I will definitely do my best to protect everyone." "First smart thing you said all day," pointed out Sasuke. "Baka, the puddle, we're getting close," announced Sasuke.
Naruto's eyes shifted to the left as he stepped past the puddle. He saw right through the jutsu, and saw the two Chuunin. Sasuke didn't bother activating his Sharingan, he could detect their chakra energies. He felt the stronger was on the right. "Naruto, you want both of them?" Naruto shrugged. 'Whatever,' he thought.
Sakura passed the puddle, quite oblivious, but the puddle caught Kakashi's attention. He pretended not to notice and followed after Naruto. 'I wonder if those two caught it,' he wondered. Sasuke suddenly stopped. "Oh sorry sensei, forgot something, I'll be right back." "Wait, Sasuke," protested Kakashi, but it was too late. He had vanished back into the trees, and Kakashi couldn't leave the group unprotected 'Oh no, that's not good, I hope Naruto can hold his own.'
When the three Konoha ninja, plus Tazuna were 10 yards ahead, a face emerged from the water. Soon a body followed and after that, another head and body. Two mist ninja were concealed in the puddle. One ninja suddenly leapt and unleashed his metal chain whip.
The other moved right beside Kakashi and used his chain whip as well. Kakashi turned detecting the movement. "What." Immediately the two whips curled around him. He could feel their sharp edges tearing into his skin. The others had noticed by now. While, Sasuke watched hidden in the trees, Sakura panicked and Naruto pulled out three kunai. He was too late to save a Kakashi, who got torn to shreds. "NO, KAKASHI SENSEI," cried Sakura. Before, the Chuunin got any further however their chain whips were caught by kunai and stuck to the tree. Naruto stood in front of Sakura. "Don't worry Sakura, old man, these guys are mine."
"Damn, I can't move," said the first. He ejected his whip along with the second and they both turned to face Naruto. "Ha, that little kid thinks he going to stop us." "Come brother," said the first. Before they could move however, "KONOHA REPPU." Naruto had used Shunshin no Jutsu and then the Konoha Reppu. Both Chuunin were swept of their feet. Naruto leapt further back. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." A dozen Naruto's appeared surrounding the two surprised mist ninjas. One on the ninja jumped away just as Naruto attacked.
"Let me show you a cool technique," the Naruto's said simultaneously. "MACH PUNCH TIMES 100," they yelled. They all disappeared and suddenly the Chuunin caught in the middle was hit by blinding flashes of light that were in reality dozen of punches. The punches drove deep inside him, puncturing his ribs and lungs. He was out for the count. 'Wow, Naruto is really strong,' thought Sakura. She tried to find ways to help, but she suddenly got fearful and decided it was best to stay out of it.
The other, fearing for his life used Mizu Bunshin and tried to run. Naruto shook his head. 'Fool.' His summoned more Kage Bunshins to counter the Mizu Bunshins and then transformed his kunai into a sword. He used Shunshin again and appeared in front of the frightened Chuunin. "No, wait please, don't hurt me, I was ordered to kill the man that was it, please." Naruto didn't smile. "Too bad, you shouldn't have followed those orders should you?"
"Mikazuki no Mai," shouted Naruto. He went into the complicated movements of the crescent moon dance technique and created two Kage bunshin. The mist ninja was so startled he couldn't move. His eyes tried to watch all three swords but they all moved swiftly and unpredictably. "Attack left shoulder," shouted Naruto, "the target is the right shoulder." He swung his sword but it was stopped.
Kakashi gasped. That technique was also in the forbidden sealed scroll. 'That's a very powerful A-rank jutsu. He must have learned it along with Kage Bunshin. Better stop him, before he hurts somebody.'
"Wha?" "It's alright, Naruto, no need to kill him now." Naruto looked up. "KAKASHI SENSEI," shouted Sakura, running over to hug him. "Hi, sorry to worry you Sakura, I just wanted to see who those Chuunin were after that's all. Based on his words, it sounds like he was after the bridge builder." The three ninja turned towards the bridge builder. Their mouths hung open. Apparently, the other Chuunin hadn't been totally helpless and had attacked the bridge builder. Luckily, Sasuke was back and had ended whatever plans the Chuunin had. He proceeded to knock him out.
"Hey sensei, you're supposed to protect the bridge builder remember? You're worse than Naruto." Kakashi laughed, while Naruto turned red. "He got you there brat…oh yeah by the way, your Mikazuki no Mai is too slow." "Sure pick on me too, Fox," complained Naruto. Sasuke laughed. Meanwhile Kakashi grabbed both Chuunin, 'Sorry about that. Good job, Sasuke, Naruto. Well done.' Kakashi tied both Chuunin to a tree, plucking the ropes to make sure it was tight. He sent a bird to tell the ANBU. Both Chuunin stared at him with fear. "How did you know we were there?"
Kakashi smirked, "The same way my apprentices did. We used our heads." "What do you mean," snarled the first one. "To put it simply, there hasn't been any rain for days. What would a puddle be doing in the middle of the road like that? I saw it right away and did a replacement jutsu accordingly." The Chuunin remained silent, but both glared at him. "If that was the case, why did you leave it to the Genin to do the fighting?" Tazuna asked the question, but the answer interested Sakura and the Chuunin as well.
"I could have easily taken them out, but then I would have learned nothing." "What do you mean, sensei," asked Sakura. "Well…I needed to know whether their target was us…ninja attacking ninja, or if they're target was you, Mr. Tazuna, the expert bridge builder. Based on what we just witnessed I think we all know whom the target was. So, now, while we're on the same page, let's talk about you, Mr. Tazuna."
"Me? What do you mean?" "I mean, these are Chuunin ninja from the hidden village of mists. They are known for their relentless and ruthless attacks, even when they are outmatched. Now, when you put in your request for a mission, you asked for standard protection. That is…from highway robbers, thieves, and general troublemakers. You mentioned nothing about being hunted by ninja. Because of this, your request was ranked a C-rank. If we had known ninja were involved, we would most certainly have ranked this a B or an A-ranked mission. Our job was to simply escort you to your country and protect you while you finished your bridge. Again, if we had known that you were hunted by ninja, we would have staffed differently and charged for a B-rank. You seem to have your reasons, but we no longer in the scope of this mission."
"Yeah, we're Genin," agreed Sakura. "This is too advanced for our level of training, we should really go back and then you can have better protection." Kakashi stared at Sasuke and Naruto. They tried to look casual, but he knew they were merely acting cool. He decided to call their bluff. "Well, I guess we should go back to the village then, right Sasuke…Naruto." The two Genin paused before answering. They both said the same thing. "NO WAY!" Tazuna, Kakashi, and Sakura looked at them, surprised.
"But, Naruto, Sasuke," protested Sakura. "This is too much for us to handle. We really should go back." "No, we accepted this mission…hell we even asked for it," stated Naruto. "I won't back down now, I will see this mission through to the end, and I will protect everyone, even if I have to give up my life. Because…that's my Shinobi way."
Kakashi nodded. He was proud to see Naruto showing guts at a time like this. He was even more impressed with Sasuke's agreement and loyalty. 'Those two sure are close friends,' he thought.
Meanwhile, Tazuna stared in wonder at Naruto, who flashed him thumbs up. 'I was wrong about this kid. He was right, that kid is strong.'
Deep in a ForestZabuza Momochi…one of the seven legendary Shinobi swordsmen from the mist. He was now sitting calmly on his couch listening to his employer ramble on about the failure of his two Chuunin.
"I put out big money for you!" Zabuza employer was short adult who went by the name Gato. Although he was short he was a billionaire and one of the dirtiest men around. It was no wonder that he managed to get a man like Zabuza to work for him. "I thought you were supposed to be hot-shot assassins."
Zabuza shrugged. "Stop whining." Gato looked up, a little bit spooked. He was terrified when Zabuza's large sword came swinging down in front of him. "This time…I'll go myself. This sword will be the last thing those ninja see." Gato straightened up despite the massive sword lying in front of him. It was a wonder Zabuza could even lift the thing, let alone hold it still. "Are you sure? Word is, Tazuna has a three very powerful ninja guarding him. It will take someone with tremendous skill to beat them."
Zabuza laughed coldly. "Gato…Gato…just who do you think you're dealing with? I am Zabuza Momochi…the demon of the mist." Gato gulped and trembled. "Right, just do your job, and you'll be paid," he said, immediately rushing out.
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Lionheart: well hope u enjoyed this chapter. Have fun reading.