Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
A/N: Sorry that I was late. This chapter was difficult to put down in words. Anyway, have fun!
Konoha's Demon Fox
Chapter 9: Finding a Reason to Be
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For the next three days, Naruto trained his Jidougan from dawn to dusk as much as he could. Then, from dusk to midnight, he would read his new book that Jiraiya had give him.
Yes, no matter how much Naruto tried to deny the fact, he grudgingly found that what the others did to him left him more open to suggestion. No, he wasn't as much of a pervert as Jiraiya or Kakashi, but still it was there. In public, he maintained a normal attitude of a shinobi. In private, his room held the secret of perverted giggles escaping his mouth. That did not, he reasoned, mean that he was a closet pervert like that sunglass wearing guy that he hadn't bothered to learn the name of. (And yes, I know his name is Ebisu.)
When he walked around the house, he found the Kyu, Arashi, and Jiraiya did their best to avoid him unless there was a reason not to, and when Kakashi came over, the masked man found three sets of glares on him as well as whispers of idiot techniques.
Gaara and his siblings had arrived in town and were now classified as Konoha Leaf chuunin. Temari and Kankurou had moved into an apartment, while Gaara had moved across the hall from them, claiming that he needed his own space, which was, in fact, Naruto's old apartment. The other two sibling gave in, remembering how Gaara used to be, not wanting to chance a return of the killer their brother one had been.
---
In all, the rest of the week passed by, and Naruto, Kyu, Kakashi, Itachi, and Arashi were each seated in one of ten chairs that were all facing the desk of the Hokage, who was looking out of her window as the summoning birds flew through Konoha toward their targets. Naruto sat in the farthest corner of the rest, intent on gauging reactions of the others as they came. A large box sat beside him.
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Mitarashi Anko and Yuuhi Kurenai were seated in a local restaurant as they gossiped about the males in the village who had the potential to be with them. Anko, slightly twisted, was shouting about why she had never gotten laid yet, and Kurenai, who just blushed but silently agreed, heard a ruffling of feathers and turned to see two birds sitting on their table. As they reached for the papers that they carried, frowns came onto their faces as they read the notes that were addressed to each of them.
'Report to the Hokage immediately.'
The reason they frowned was because that type of note was rare, and always meant trouble.
---
Hyuuga Hiashi took the note from the pigeon and allowed the bird to go. He walked through his estate, and into the dojo, where Neji was training, "Neji, you have been summoned to the Hokage's office right away."
Neji turned towards his uncle, and bowed, "Thank you, Hyuuga-Sama."
As Hiashi left, Neji wiped off the sweat on his face and made his way to the Hokage tower.
'Something is going on here…'
---
Gaara, now without the black rings around his eyes and only ash gray, was taking a small nap when he was forced to wake by a tapping on his window. Still grumpy, black pieces of grain went over to the window and slid it open harshly, and closed in on the bird.
However, instead of killing the animal, the sand brought the bird over to him, and Gaara noticed that there was a note tied to it's foot. Retrieving the note, the bird flew out of the window as if it was scared to death of the kid.
Reading over the note with his name on it, Gaara got up and made his way towards the Hokage Tower.
'Damn! There goes my nap.'
---
In the forest, two green suited men were hard at work, punching their respective trees. Gai turned to check on his student, when he noticed a bird land near. Crouching down, he untied the note and read over it. He nodded.
"LEE!"
The boy turned, "Yes, Gai-sensei?"
"THE HOKAGE REQUESTS TO SEE YOUR PASSIONATE FLAMES OF YOUTH IN HER OFFICE RIGHT AWAY. IT WOULD BE UNYOUTHFUL TO NOT BE THERE IN UNDER FIVE MINUTES!"
Rock Lee nodded, "Yes, Gai-sensei! I will do my best to honor my flames of youth and will be there in three minutes!"
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!"
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!"
(I'm going to end the scene right there in order to preserve my own sanity, as well as yours. Trust me, the only thing you miss is that they continue for two and a half minutes, leaving Lee to complete his task in thirty seconds.)
---
Naruto smiled as the empty seats began to fill by the people he had chosen, and he was proud of his picking. They all were radiating with confidence and power, as well as confusion but that was understandable.
As Lee burst into the room and took the last seat available, Tsunade started, "Alright, let's keep this simple. You have been chosen to become ANBU."
Kakashi stood up. Though he arrived with his sensei and the others, he had not known what the meeting was about, "With all respect, Hokage-Sama, but why was I chosen? I retired as an ANBU captain, why would I want to join again, especially as a rookie?"
Tsunade nodded, "You concern is well-placed, Kakashi. However, this is no normal ANBU squad. A certain, new bedwetting ANBU captain," Naruto glared at her, "has proposed a new chapter in ANBU. You will become the best of Konoha, as this captain has put, the nightmares of missing-nin. This idiot, probably gay ANBU captain has seen all of your strength, and has hand-picked you."
By now Naruto was seething. The hokage was goading him, and it was working. He stood, and marched to her desk, "Listen, you OLD HAG! I do not wet the bed, I am not an idiot, and I am not FUCKING GAY! So, stuff your insults up your senile ass!"
As Tsunade's eyes twitched, everyone else was looking at Naruto with wide eyes. Though Naruto and Tsunade were glaring daggers at each other, Kakashi was unfazed, "Naruto, what's going on, here?"
Anger forgotten, Naruto turned towards Kakashi and the others, "Well, essentially, you have been invited to become Konoha's best of the best. I have picked you, as an ANBU captain, since you have the potential to become greater than your peers. This division is dedicated to the elimination of missing-nin. I have faith in you all. Do you accept?"
Neji and Lee easily accepted, seeing that this was their chance at becoming stronger. Kurenai and Anko, who was already an ANBU, agreed and accepted. Itachi, Arashi, and Kyu were obviously agreeing. Gaara grinned darkly and nodded. One by one, they all accepted, until the only one left was Kakashi. Naruto walked over to him, "Kakashi, we need you. Please. The top priority is Akatsuki, which Sasuke just joined."
Kakashi looked at the kid who used to be his student. The look in his eyes showed that he was practically begging. Knowing Naruto, that meant a lot, and Kakashi had no choice but to give in, "Alright, I'll do it."
Naruto smiled and clapped his clawed hands together, "This is good. Now, you are all free for today, and tomorrow I want you all at training field seven at ten in the morning," Naruto paused, and glared at Kakashi, "All of you."
Naruto walked over to his chair and picked up his box. As he walked out of the door he stopped, "Oh, yes. Be sure to pick out your ANBU mask and get your tattoo before you leave. Have a code name for yourself ready. Choose wisely."
Before he could leave, Neji walked over, "Naruto? I was wondering, and I'm sure that many here are as well, why do you look like that?"
Naruto sighed, "All of that will be revealed tomorrow."
As Naruto left, the others went with the Hokage to the ANBU headquarters so they could pick up their gear and get tattooed. Kakashi skipped out early, since he still had all of his gear from the old days.
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Neji walked back into the Hyuuga compound with a big smirk on his face. He got more than he bargained for when he was in ANBU headquarters. He showed no fear as he walked towards his room, passing the main family quarters.
Hiashi, who saw this smirk plastered on his nephew's face, was curious and followed the boy into his room. When he walked in, he saw Neji setting an ordinary box on his bed, the boy's back turned and undressed from the waist up, though there was bandages on both his arms, instead one only his right arm.
It seemed that Neji noticed him, and spoke with his back still turned, "Yes, Hyuuga-Sama?"
Hiashi frowned. Neji's voiced sounded too happy to be Neji, "What happened with the Hokage? And turn when I speak with you, boy."
Neji's smirk went deeper as he turned around to face his uncle. His forehead protector laid on his bed, showing what was on his forehead. Or rather, wasn't.
Hiashi gasped, "What happened to your curse seal? Why is it gone?"
Neji frowned at the mention of the seal that had trapped him for most of his life, "It was quite interesting, uncle, when I went to meet with the Hokage. A friend of mine was there and he offered me and a group of others a job. I accepted the job."
Hiashi frowned, "What kind of job?"
Neji let out a cold laugh, "Come now, you should know, since you are the clan head. Today, I joined the ranks of ANBU. Imagine my surprise when I was told that the ANBU cannot afford such a weakness as the caged bird seal. Turns out, branch members of the Hyuuga get their cursed seals taken off when they become ANBU. You should know about this law, since Sandaime announced it to the council whenever he made it. You were a part of that council then, were you not?"
By the time that Neji was done talking, Hiashi was fuming with rage. Turning, he marched out of the room, nearly hitting Hinata, who had been listening from the other side of the door.
Hinata walked into the room whenever her father had turned the corner. Neji looked at her, "What?"
Hinata started pushing her fingers together. Stuttering and looking at her feet, she spoke in a quiet voice, "C-congratulations on g-getting you s-seal r-r-removed, Neji-nisan."
Neji's frown softened considerably, "Thank you, Hinata-Sama. I do hope you become clan head one day and save the others."
Hinata nodded weakly, "I-I hope s-so, too."
Neji smirked, "Now that I think of it, that Inuzuka kid that's on your team passed me on my way here. He asked me how you were doing."
If Hinata hadn't blushed and stumbled out of the room and ran for her own, she would have heard Neji let out a small chuckle.
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Meanwhile, Lee was smiling and running around Konoha as fast as he could. Gai, who was trying to start a challenge with Kakashi, saw his student pass and ran to catch up.
"WHAT HAS MADE MY STUDENT RUN WITH HIS FLAMES OF YOUTH?"
Lee looked over to his sensei, "My hard work has paid off finally Gai-sensei! I joined ANBU today, showing the village that ninja can become great without genjutsu and ninjutsu! Thank you, Gai-sensei!"
Although Gai was concerned whether Lee could handle ANBU or not, he beamed, "THE FLAMES OF YOUTH SHINE BRIGHTLY TODAY, LEE!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"LEE!"
(And you know the rest…)
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Gaara walked into his sibling's apartment and sat on the middle of the couch. To his left, sat Temari, who was polishing her fan. To his right, sat Kankurou, who was adding another poison to his puppets.
Gaara broke the silence, "I was made ANBU today."
"Cool," replied Temari.
"Hmm," said Kankurou.
"Yeah," said Gaara, then he got up and left to his apartment.
(A/N: Sweatdrop)
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The Next Morning
10:00 A.M.
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Naruto stood in front of the entire ANBU squad that were under his and his father's command at training field seven. Everyone was on time, Kakashi only being a few minutes late. He smiled, "Okay, first off, I'm sure most of you are wondering about why I look like this, and how it happened. An ANBU captain needs the trust of his squad, so I will tell you. Know that this is a S class secret, so be sure to tell no one what you are about to hear." A few heads perked up at this, and Naruto continued, "It all started with Yondaime fighting with Kyuubi…"
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2 Hrs. Later
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Most of the group stood shocked. Neji, being fast, spoke, as he looked at Kyu, "So he is…"Naruto nodded, and Neji pointed at Arashi, "And he…" Naruto smirked and nodded, and Neji dropped his hand, "And you're…"
Naruto laughed, "Afraid so."
Lee looked at him with wide eyes, "Naruto, you are…the COOLEST!"
Naruto sweatdropped, "Thanks, I guess. Now, I want you all to put on your masks." They did so, as well as himself, "Okay, from left to right, I want each of you to introduce yourself, tell the others your chosen code name, and what qualifies you for this job. Now start."
The person in the dragon mask stood forward, "I am Uchiha Itachi, codename Scavenger. The reasons why I am qualified for this job is because I have ANBU level chakra, the Sharingan, the Mangekyou, I am a tactician , and I have a great deal of Katon jutsu."
Naruto nodded, writing everything down on a pad, and motioned for the next. The person in the bird mask stepped forward, "I am Uzumaki Arashi, codename Yellow Flash. I am qualified because I have Kage level chakra, a large amount of techniques, Rasengan level eight, high experience, and the frog summon."
Writing it down, Naruto pointed at the next. The person in the Raccoon mask stepped forward, "Gaara of the desert, codename Tanuki. My skills are: Demon level chakra, control of the 'Iron Sand', demon rights yet to be active, Automatic Defense of sand."
Nodding, Naruto pointed to the next. The person in the red fox mask stepped forward, "I am Kyu, codename Kitsune. My skills are: ANBU level chakra, experience, large number of jutsu, perfect chakra control, medical skills on par with Tsunade."
Naruto's eyes went wide, he didn't know Kyu had medical jutsu. Shaking himself from his stupor, he pointed to the next person. The person in the lion mask straitened, "I am Hyuuga Neji, codename Tori (bird). My skills include the Byakuugan, the Jyuken taijutsu style, and my bloodline allows me to become a good tracker."
Naruto nodded, wrote it down, then motioned for the next, a person in a bear mask, "YOSH! I am Rock Lee, codename Beast. I am a taijutsu specialist and have high stamina, strength, and speed."
Naruto motioned to the next person. The person with the rabbit mask stepped up, "I am Yuuhi Kurenai, codename Hoshi(star). I a genjutsu specialist, I have Jounin level chakra, perfect control, and I have taken medic-nin training."
Knowing what to do, the person in the wolf mask spoke, "I am Hatake Kakashi, codename White Wolf. I have the Sharingan, experience on the field, the dog summon, and I am a ninjutsu specialist."
The person in the snake mask jumped up, "My name is Mitarashi Anko, codename Mamba. I am a poison expert, I have a wide range of snake Jutsu, and I now am the sole holder of the snake summon."
Naruto stepped forward last. His mask was custom made. Where the other's masks could barely tell what animal they were, Naruto's blue fox mask had all of the characteristics made in great detail. On the forehead of the mask, the kanji for ghost was engraved, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, codename Yuurei(ghost). I am sealing specialist, though my nin, gen, and tai jutsu are high all around. I have the ability to regenerate at alarming rate, I can make the Rasengan level three. I have demon level chakra, an Automatic Defense of wind, and I have the frog summon. And lastly, I have what some are starting to call the most powerful bloodline limit in Konoha, but I doubt that."
Neji perked up at that, "What is it?"
Naruto sighed, "It is called the Jidougan, and I made it a few days ago."
"What does it do?"
Naruto went on to explain how the Jidougan was just like the Sharingan, and it's added function of doing jutsu without hand seals, even demonstrating a few of them, as well as showing them what it looked like.
After Naruto got done, he turned to the group, "Okay, here is how it is going to work. The group will be split into two teams. Arashi, the other ANBU captain, will lead the first team. That team consists of Kakashi, Gaara, Kyu, and Neji. My team is Anko, Kurenai, Lee, and Itachi."
The other's nodded and they separated to their own teams. Naruto continued, "Though we will sometimes train and do missions together as a group, there will be times when only one team, or any other amount will do. Your captain will tell you how you will be trained. Your codenames are only to be used around other people, or on missions. Training, we will use regular names."
Everyone nodded, and Arashi began to take his team to their own training spot, but Naruto stopped them, "Before you go, I have a couple things to say to you all. First, you should be extremely proud of yourselves. This ANBU squad will become legends, for its' members are great and will do great things together. Second, no one of us are better, for you are a whole. Teamwork is extremely important here."
Naruto turned and stood in front of the Memorial that he had seen during his gennin test. Without turning to look at the group, he spoke, "Last, I want you all to hear this and think upon my words. Kakashi, will you tell us all what you told me about this stone?"
Kakashi looked at Naruto weirdly, but answered anyway, "It is a stone that has the names of the heroes of Konoha engraved into it."
Naruto nodded, "When I first heard that, I immediately told my teammates that I wanted my name on this rock. So I could be a hero and show everyone what I was made of. But Kakashi then told me something else that made me stop. He told me that the kind of hero that are engraved on this stone are the kind that have died for their village. I regretted saying that I wanted to be on here."
Naruto turned around to face the group, who were looking at him intently. In a stronger voice, Naruto continued, "Now I stand here, wiser, in front of you all. I have came to a conclusion recently. I WANT to be on that stone one day!"
The others began whispering to each other about Naruto finally losing it, but Kakashi stepped forward, "Naruto, why would you want to die on a mission, killed on the battlefield? That's insane!"
Naruto smiled softly, the others seeing it since he had his mask off, "Is it, Kakashi? I can think of no better way for a honorable shinobi to die, than to die for their village and their precious people that live in it. I want you all to think of what you would fight and die for, and never forget it, because you can only fight at your best if you have something to protect. That is all, Arashi, you are free to take your team away now."
Even though they were dismissed, each one of them came up to him and bowed to him, each saying that they were proud to be working with him. When all that was done, all that was left in training field seven was Naruto, and his team.
Even though the silence was great, Naruto decided to disrupt it, "Okay, guys and girls. I don't know how Arashi is planning to train his team, but you guys better get ready. Today is your first day. I will tell you what each of you need to do, and you will have one month to complete it. This is individual training, so we will meet here every Saturday, and I will test your progress, understood?"
"YES, SIR!"
Naruto smiled, "Now that's music to my ears! Okay, Anko, from what you told me, I have come up with this. You will find at least ten new poisons and have them perfected. Also, learn five new jutsu that do not consist of snakes. You need variety. You can go now."
Anko nodded and ran off, and Naruto turned to Itachi, "You, I want to be at the library at all times, except when closed. Learn as many jutsu as you can. Also, you have became dependant on your Sharingan, so you are not allowed to activate it at all for the next month. That is all, you are dismissed."
Itachi frowned at the thought of not using the Sharingan, but he knew that Naruto was right, and he left towards the library. Naruto then turned towards Kurenai, "Now, you are above average in genjutsu and they can be fatal sometimes if the rumors are correct. However, your medic skills are only average, and your physical strength is poor. I have seen this from your files. For this reason, I have already talked to the Hokage. You are to train under her as she trains another student, Haruno Sakura. Be glad, I was only able to get her to do this because she lost a bet against me. You meet her today at five."
Kurenai nodded, and left to get ready for her lessons. Now it was only him and Lee. Naruto sighed, "Lee, I'm going to be strait with you. I have looked at your file and have found out why you can't use chakra, and right now, I'm trying to create a sealing technique that will take care of that problem, but it will take some time." Lee was about to speak, but Naruto continued, "However, for right now, I want you to find a weapon that suits you and master it. I know how hard you work, so you should be able to master it quick. Try getting Gai to teach you some more advance taijutsu. There is one more thing I want you to do. It will be hard to do missions with how loud you can be sometimes. Try to tone it down a little and be more relaxed, okay?"
Lee nodded and left, and Naruto gathered his things and headed back towards the Uzumaki training grounds, intent on doing some training of his own.
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End chapter. Review!
The Naruto Rants. Which is basically where I point out certain things that irk me about some fan fiction, and they speak about fan fiction in general and will not be aimed at any specific fiction. If you're the type to get offended easily, then don't read past this point.
The Second Rant: The Mary Sue/self-insert character
Okay. Many of you are laughing, knowing where this rant is going. The dreaded characters that some authors have made for their fan fiction. Do not mix this up with original characters (OC), though. There is a difference. One is hard to picture, but can be really cool to the fiction. That is the OC. I've read a few fics and the OC is totally cool and fits in well. The other is highly annoying and make you feel that you're reading the script to a soap opera.
Mary Sue is the character that is made to be the hero, or the pariah. These over-dramatized characters are in the fiction for the glory, and can make a good plot fall to pieces. They usually have no originality to themselves, and are corny.
Now, we move on over to the self insert. Like a Mary Sue, these character are just plain annoying. The plots usually start of as 'I was watching T.V. one day whenever I was sucked into the television and onto my favorite T.V. show' or 'One day, in my pathetic life which is boring and where I have a pocket protector, I was minding my own business and everything went black. When I woke up, I was a Leaf Ninja in my favorite manga, Naruto' Then it gets even worse, if you can imagine that. Suddenly, with no training whatsoever, they team up with their favorite characters and become kickass ninja who know all of everyone's jutsu, and snag the hottest chick or dude that's in the show. Do I even need to go on to explain as to why this is pathetic?
Point is: If you're going to add a new character to a fiction, then make sure it's not someone who has the personality that relates to "Days of our Lives", nor is the character a guy or girl that has your name and are attempting to add adventure or romance to such a boring existence that some of you believe you have.