" So he was completely incapable of escaping genjutsu?" asked the Third. Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy had assembled in his office for a report on their genin. As always with the Hokage, he had a almost grandfatherly interest in Naruto, so they spent a inordinate amount of time discussing him.
" Yes, Hokage. He couldn't shut his chakra off completely or reverse the weakest genjutsu I could produce." Kurenai replied.
" Well, that is troubling. It seems like chakra expulsion is his only option then, but I would…still prefer we not teach it to him for now." The Hokage said mysteriously. He had met with them before the practice to request them to not teach Naruto the technique.
" Dad, cut the crap. Why? With chakra like he's got, there isn't a genjutsu user in the world that could stop him if he used the expulsion technique." Asuma said unceremoniously. Kurenai also looked displeased at having been forced to give a partial lesson. " If it's the chakra backlash your worried about, I think it would be better to hurt himself then be stuck in a genjutsu."
" But, no one has ever used that much chakra in that technique before." said the Hokage, tapping ash from his pipe. " You have seen what beginning to tap into his reserves do to his body, even with his limited regeneration. Imagine," he said dramatically. " What would happen if he, in a typical move for a boy his age, tried tapping and expulsing all his chakra at once."
Asuma fell silent as he saw his other genin burnt.
" I don't imagine Naruto would be too kind on himself if there were any repercussions. Until he learns better chakra control and to control the foxes chakra, none of you are to teach him the technique." The Hokage's tone indicated the issue was closed. " Now, we come to another situation regarding Naruto. In a four days ambassadors from the Stone village will arrive to discuss the incident on the border. I think it would be best if a certain boy were on a mission at that time. Asuma, in three days I want you to take your team south to the coast. It's nearing the season the raids start, so we will be sending several teams to reinforce the villages anyways."
" With pleasure." Asuma replied. The Hokage silently celebrated the rare occasion his son didn't talk back.
---
" Again!" shouted Asuma.
Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata readied themselves as another squad of clones charged. Kiba blocked a furious kick at his head and knocked the clone away with a swipe of a clawed hand.
" We're really getting this Beast Clone jutsu down, Akamaru!" he shouted to the transformed dog, who barked something as he delivered an uppercut to a clone. Meanwhile, Hinata was gracefully dodging around the clones improved attacks, delivering fast, lethal Jyuuken strikes. The combination of strength and skill was a beautiful thing to see.
Suddenly, she stumbled. She looked down and saw a clone had burrowed though the ground and grabbed her feet, stopping her from dodging. Two other clones grabbed her arms and held them behind her back, restraining her.
" One down!" shouted the lead clone.
" Good job, Naruto!" Asuma called. The kid was getting pretty good at coordinating his clones. Kiba took a punch to the face a second later and fell to the ground as the Naruto clones piled on. " All right, take five!"
" Finally." sighed Kiba as the clones vanished. The real Naruto, barely injured, walked over. Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru were covered with scuff marks from hours of fighting clones.
" Seriously, sensei, when can we learn the shadow clone? I don't care if it won't be as good as Naruto's. I just don't want to be so hopelessly outnumbered against him for once." Kiba whined.
" Come on. When I had you and Hinata fight you wanted to fight someone who was slower and easier to hit, which sounds like Naruto to me." Naruto pouted as Asuma mentioned him. " You can fight her again if you want."
" No, no, I'm good." Kiba said quickly, remembering the numbness when Hinata had shut the chakra in his arm off earlier. Hinata giggled at his obvious discomfort.
" Yeah, Kiba, your pretty to tough too. Hinata's might be harder to dodge, but your hits are way harder and hurt more." Naruto said, plopping down next to Hinata.
" Aw, come on. You've just been standing there while your clones get beaten." Kiba shot back.
" Kiba, I get their memories, remember?" Naruto replied.
" Oh." said Kiba, blinking. " I forgot. So, I really do hit hard?"
" Of course, Kiba. Why do you think we always say that?" said Hinata.
" Sorry to interrupt, but you four probably want to know why I'm having you guys practice extra hard today in combat drills." Asuma said, taking a seat by the tired genin.
" And why we spent the entirety of yesterday practicing patrols?" Akamaru woofed. Kiba translated quickly for the pooped puppy.
" Yep. The Hokage was pretty impressed with how you handled yourself during the Stone mission." Asuma said, bending the truth slightly to encourage his genin. Four eager smiles was his reward. " And he's decided that we are up to another big mission, though not near the Stone country."
" All right! What are we doing?" Kiba said, throwing his arms into the air.
" Were going to head to a coastal village in the south called Ganshou. About this time of year some of the villages on the coast get raided and teams are sent down there to protect them. Ganshou is a small village, but we are going to be the only team defending it, so we'll need to stay alert. It'll take two days to get there and we will be there for three weeks before our replacements arrive. The whole mission will last twenty five days, and will be paid as a C-Rank mission of that length."
" Sweet." said Kiba excitedly.
" What kind of raiders are they, Asuma-sensei?" inquired Hinata.
" Pirates, Hinata. We might get to fight pirates."
---
The rest of the day the genin drilled with a renewed vigor. Asuma didn't have the heart to tell them that the ports and big villages got attacked more, and that a small fishing village like Ganshou was the lowest priority for pirates. Near sunset, he sent the tired and sore genin home.
" Eat a good dinner and breakfast and go to bed early. I want you all in top shape tomorrow. Meet me at the south gate at the usual time." Asuma said as the genin walked off, waving.
" Hey, Hinata, I'm going to go get some ramen. See you tomorrow!" Naruto said, running off. Hinata waved to him.
" So, you two are dating pretty seriously?" Kiba asked. Hinata blushed.
" Y-yes, when we have time." Hinata replied, butterflies filling her stomach at the thought. She didn't think the feeling of being close to Naruto would ever get old.
" How'd he like dinner at your house?" teased Kiba. Hinata's blush spread from her cheeks to her whole face. " Sorry, I'll stop. See you, Hinata." Kiba waved as he turned down another street.
Hinata walked alone the short distance back to the Hyuuga manor. Neji was back from his practice and training in the courtyard as usual. He barely looked at her, still furious from the incident a few days previous with Kiba. Hinata hadn't mentioned it, but Hanabi had made sure most of the family knew. Neji's embarrassment was almost as great as his anger. She walked past him in silence and went to her room to clean up.
---
" Hey, did Tsume come by and pay my bill yet?" asked Naruto. Ayame looked blankly at him. " What?" he asked.
Naruto hadn't noticed, but the ramen stand had a new roof, new bowls, new stools, a new counter, and new, brighter lanterns.
" Yes, Naruto." Ayame said with a sigh.
" Oh. Well, I guess I'm paying again. I'm going to be gone for almost a month, so I'm going to try for my record again." Naruto reached for his frog wallet and pulled it out. He opened it, releasing a fly. His wallet was totally empty. He looked down and noticed he had already eaten our bowls.
" Hey Naruto!" Naruto turned and saw Iruka walking up. " I hope you didn't just pay because I'll treat you two a few bowls."
Lucky! thought Naruto.
" Hey Iruka-sensei! How have you been?" Naruto asked as his former teacher took a seat by him.
" Pretty good. Do you know a boy called Konohamaru?" Iruka asked.
" Yeah." Naruto replied, scratching the back of his head. " Kinda."
" Well, its only been a few weeks but he's already more famous as a disruption than you were." said Iruka with a smile. " Apparently, the rumor is he's emulating you."
" Heh heh. Sorry." Naruto replied nervously.
" Not your fault. And anyways, he could do worse. So, I've heard all the rumors, you want to tell me what really happened on that mission?" Iruka asked as the ramen arrived. Naruto smiled widely, ate a mouthful of ramen, and launched into the story.
---
" Every time I learn about the Fourth I get even more impressed. That was a good thing to do to your seal." Iruka said, sounding amazed.
" Yeah. I wouldn't have thought of that." Naruto replied.
" Sounds like Hinata's getting a lot better two. Are the rumors about you two true as well?" Iruka teased. Naruto's blush confirmed it for him. Iruka gave Naruto a fatherly smile. " Well, good for you. Kiba getting any better?"
" Well, Akamaru is." Naruto said with a laugh. " I don't know about the kid that hangs out with him, though." A question Naruto had wanted to ask for a while entered Naruto's mind. " Hey, sensei, I know you don't get to train much because your always teaching, but what kind of jutsu do you know?"
" Why do you want to know?" asked Iruka, disguising the eagerness in his voice. He had waited for a student to ask that every day since he became a teacher.
" Well, I never realized how many techniques there are, and I know its hard to become a chunnin, so you have to have some cool techniques." Naruto said, Iruka smiled widely.
" Well, its true I havn't trained in a long time and my skills aren't that great, but I used to be really good at trap and barrier seals. On my missions as a chunnin, before I became a teacher, I was usually the one who set up traps so we couldn't be followed or capture enemy ninja for interrogation." Iruka said boastfully. " I was never really good at hand to hand combat, but with planning, which I was good at, I could beat most opponents."
" That's really cool, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto said, imagining the techniques. " How come you never told us that in school?"
" Well, I didn't want to sound like I was bragging." Iruka replied.
" Well, you should have. It makes you sound cooler."
That settled it. Tomorrow he was going to demonstrate his jutsu to his class.
---
" Sorry I'm late! We saw cat number three and we couldn't pass up a shot at catching it." Kiba said, running up to the gate. Hinata had been early, Naruto had almost been on time, and Kiba was his typical fifteen minutes late.
" Kiba, since you were last, you get to carry this." Asuma said, handing him the heavy pack.
" What is it?" Kiba asked, taking the bag. He already had a backpack full of his and Akamaru's supplies, so it was going to be difficult to carry.
" That is our pack of extra shuriken, exploding tags, and kunai. For missions like this it always pays to have extra." Asuma said, glad to be free of the bag. " From now on, when we leave on a mission, the last one here has to carry the extra supplies."
" Wait, exploding tags?" Kiba said. He, Akamaru, Naruto said, looking excited. Hinata looked confused at their interest.
" Boys like bombs." Asuma said to her. She nodded, obviously not understanding the fascination. " All right, lets go." Asuma said, walking out of the village.
---
" This walk is way better than the trip in the Stone country." Naruto said. They had been walking for several hours while Kiba struggled with the bag, grumbling quietly.
" Why, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. The forest was beautiful and it was warmer, but the rock path still was making her feet sore.
" When's the last time Kiba mentioned rocks?" Naruto said, glancing back to the overburdened genin. He had tripped again and was swearing loudly.
" Kiba, don't fall behind." Asuma called back jokingly. Kiba glared at them all while Akamaru barked at them.
" Akamaru, don't swear like that or I'll tell your mother." said Hinata. Akamaru blinked his eyes, stunned.
" How'd you know what he was saying?" Asuma asked.
" I guessed." Hinata said, smirking. Naruto and Asuma laughed and kept walking, leaving Kiba struggling behind.
" Next time, we are showing up a hour early, Akamaru." Kiba growled. The small dog nodded.
---
The next day Asuma took the extra supplies, earning Kiba's eternal gratitude. The day passed quickly and near sunset they came to a top of a hill, revealing the village below.
" There appears to be a crowd by the gate, Asuma-sensei." Hinata said, activating her Byakugan and focusing.
" Their probably waiting to greet us. The smaller villagers don't get that many visitors, and having a team of Leaf ninja show up to guard them is a big deal. Plus, the team were replacing is waiting to show us the patrol routes and tell us about the area." Asuma said, lifting himself up and trying to look impressive as they walked down the road.
As they got close, it was obvious by the look on the villagers that they were unsure about them. The group that their team was waiting and looked far more professional. They were all grown and wore the standard uniform of the Leaf Ninja. However, they all bowed as Asuma got close.
" Sarutobi Asuma, a honor to meet you." said the chunnin leading the squad with a bow. A murmur went through the villagers. Hinata remembered that Asuma was a famous ninja, and the villagers were not likely expecting someone of his caliber to be assigned to the village.
" The honor's mine." Asuma said, lighting a new cigarette.
" I was not aware we were going to be replaced by a genin team. Are your students up to it?" the chunnin asked.
" More than. I'd put these brats against anyone." Asuma said dramatically. A old, important looking woman with a traditional bun hairstyle walked forwards.
" I am Kei Masako, the village elder." she said, introducing herself. " Skilled as your students may be, we paid for a team of fully qualified ninja."
" Well, you got a bargain then. To start with, I was one of the Twelve Guardsmen. There aren't any members of that group who were less than S-Rank combatants." Asuma said, drawing himself up to his full height. Naruto had never truly appreciated how large the man was before.
" Then, you have Akamaru here." Asuma said, petting the dogs head. " His father and mother were two of the fines dogs the Inuzuka family have produced in generations. He can already fight as well as what's his name here," Asuma pointed to Kiba, who pouted. " Last mission, they took out four chunnin with a single attack." The villagers all looked impressed.
" Then, there's Hinata here." Asuma motioned to the diminutive girl. " Heir of the Hyuuga clan." The villagers all looked at her, now highly interested. The Hyuuga were living legends. " She killed one of the Eleven Masters all by herself."
" Your joking." said a villager. Asuma shook his head no. There was a dead silence. The small girl with the eye patch didn't look that dangerous, but they were obviously impressed.
" And then there's Naruto here. Thirty should be enough." Naruto nodded as Asuma patted him on the shoulder, getting the message. He formed the shadow clone jutsu and there was a cloud of smoke, revealing several rows of identical copies. The villagers all gaped in awe. Hinata felt happy for Naruto, who stood there proudly. " If you get attacked, a couple hundred of these guys will be guarding you."
Asuma heard one of the ninja they were replacing whisper something.
" Well then, I welcome you to the village." said Elder Kei, looking more contented.
---
" All right, you four get some sleep. You'll be up bright and early tomorrow on patrol." Asuma said after they had been shown to their lodging, a modest building in town. The other ninja had removed their belongings already. " I'm going to get the area's information."
" Night, sensei." Naruto said, walking to his room tiredly.
" Good night." Hinata said as well.
" But we just got here!" whined Kiba before complying.
Asuma smiled. He really liked these kids. He walked into the map room where the patrol routes and the records were.
" All right, I want to know what was said about Naruto and I want to know now." he said, sitting in the seat at the head of the meeting table. The ninja looked at each other, seeming unsure.
" One of my men expressed his opinion that the demon child is more of a threat to the village than the raiders." said the chunnin, covering for his subordinates. He and the others quailed under the gaze that Asuma gave them.
" Did you mention the demon to any villagers?" Asuma asked in a growling voice. The ninja shook their heads for no. " Good. You listen well. If I ever hear you talking about my student like that again, I will kill you all. That is, if Hinata doesn't first. I'm damn tempted to have her shut your chakra flow off permanently. You get out of this village now." The ninja complied, leaving the room hastily. Asuma tried to focus and regain his calm. He had to figure out the patrols from the maps, now, so it was going to be a long night.
---
" Morning Hinata-chan!" Naruto said, emerging from his room.
" Good morning, Naruto-kun!" Hinata replied eagerly. She had spread out a collection of medical jutsu scrolls on the table, coving every square inch.
" Where's sensei?" Naruto said, taking a seat and looking at a scroll. It was way to complex for him, so he put if down quickly.
" I saw him earlier. He said he was going to run the patrol routes to get a feel for them." Hinata began to clear her scrolls off of the table. There was only one in the house, so she couldn't claim it for her own.
" I'm going to go see what the village is like. Wanna come?" offered Naruto. Hinata nodded quickly, stuffed her scrolls into her pack which she stowed in her room, and walked out the door with Naruto.
In his room, Kiba let out a loud snore.
---
Ganshou was a small village, with less than two hundred people in it, so it didn't take long to see the whole place. There were only single story townhouses and several docks, were boats of fishermen were already returning.
" Hey! Ninja boy!" said a small boy, running up with his friends. " How do you make those copies of yourself?"
" Their called shadow clones." Naruto said, taking a boastful stance. " You have to spend years learning to focus your chakra to do use a technique like that. And there's nobody as good at making clones as I am."
" Your lying." said the boy.
" Naruto-kun is not. Making more than a couple clones is difficult for even high ranked ninja." Hinata said, silencing the boy.
" How'd you lose your eye?" asked on of the kids.
" I got hit hard enough that my eye was damaged and had to be removed." Hinata said coldly, omitting the details of the hit.
" What's with your other eye?" asked a small girl. " Are you blind?"
" N-no. My eyes are called Byakugan. When I activate my eyes I can see in every direction and through things." Hinata said earnestly. The boys all looked to each other mischievously.
" So you can spy on people really easy?" one said. Hinata got the boys point and blushed heavily. " If that's all you can do, why are you so special? I bet I could beat you in a fight."
" Ha!" laughed Naruto. " Hinata could beat all of you in like a second!"
" Sticking up for your girlfriend? How romantic!" teased one of the small girls. Naruto and Hinata immediately blushed beet red. The kids all ran off, leaving them alone.
" Uh…want to get some breakfast?" Naruto suggested. Hinata nodded, and they set out on a quest for a ramen stand, though Hinata doubted there was one.
---
Kiba and Akamaru slumped out of their room and plopped down at the table. Asuma arrived seconds later, looking very tired.
" Kiba, you seen the other two?" he asked, taking a seat and pulling out the map of patrol routes. Kiba nodded no. " Well, your in charge then."
" What, really?" said Kiba, sleepiness gone.
" Yep. I went and ran all the patrol routes last night. I'm going to take the night shift while were here. it's the most dangerous time, so I want to run it. The village watchmen will also be up then. You, Hinata, and Naruto have the morning, day, and evening shifts. How do you want to divide it up, Kiba? I want two people here at all times, one on patrol, and one resting."
" Lets take the morning shift." Akamaru yipped.
" Uh…" Kiba began, thinking it over. He wished he had planning skills like Naruto. " I guess me and Akamaru will take the mornings. We usually get up to chase the mailmen anyways."
" Kiba, its almost nine." said Asuma.
" Well, we slept in today!" Kiba replied defensively. " Hinata stays up late studying medical jutsu, so she'll need to sleep in I guess. She can take the day shift which leaves the evenings open for her. Naruto can have the evenings. Uh, since that's a good time to attack because everyones tired and going to sleep, he can use his clones to patrol really well." Kiba adlibbed heavily.
" You just made that all up, but its actually a decent plan." Kiba smiled at his teachers praise. " Well, I'll tell Naruto and Hinata. You two go run the route and come tell Hinata."
Kiba and Akamaru raced out the door eagerly. Asuma looked back down at the map. It wasen't a long route and took them in a good circle of the area, and during their shift they could run it a few times. Each of them had six hours on patrol each day, which gave them plenty of time off to rest.
This is a great mission. Asuma thought, stretching in the warm sun.
---
" Their looking at us so weirdly." Naruto whispered, taking a bite of sushi. There was only one restaurant in town, so they had to settle on that. There was mostly fish on the menu, and to Naruto's horror, no ramen. They had paid the cook, who had been as friendly to Naruto as the old man and girl at the ramen stand. It had, sufficed to say, unnerved them.
Hinata looked around at the villagers they could see. They looked either friendly or curious.
" What's wrong, Naruto-kun? They seem normal to me." she asked.
" Oh. Normal." Naruto said, blinking. " Wait. Normal. They don't know about the fox."
Hinata gasped. She hadn't even though about that.
" No one here hates me." Naruto said, sounding amazed. " I can go to any shop I want. I can buy a replacement for my old jacket!" His excited voice drew the attention of several villagers. Then, his face fell. " I only brought a little money for food, though. I wonder if I could do something for money here."
" Naruto-kun, I have my allowance. I-I could buy you something." offered Hinata. A wide smile came over Naruto's face.
" Thanks, Hinata, but you don't have to. Its your money, so I'd rather you spend it on yourself." He wouldn't mind a present, but other than Iruka he didn't like people paying for things for him. Hinata blushed and smiled.
Shortly after they returned to the house the village had given them and Asuma told them about their patrol times before going to bed. Kiba had six in the morning until noon, Hinata had noon to six, Naruto had six to midnight, and Asuma had midnight until six in the morning. He also told them to make sure to use their skills to aid them in their patrols. Despite Naruto's protests, Asuma said that when he was asleep Kiba was in charge.
" Hey!" Kiba said, walking in. " I'm done. Your turn, Hinata. Watch for the mud puddle by the fallen tree." Hinata nodded to him and headed out. " Hey, Naruto, anyplace good to eat here?"
" There's only one place, and all they have is fish." Naruto said, sounding disappointed.
" Really? I love fish! See ya!" Kiba waved and ran off, not asking for directions.
Left alone, Naruto wandered around the town for a moment. It was strange how everyone seemed so nice to him. A shopkeeper offered him a free apple, a couple kids invited him to play, and not once was he told to leave. The stores didn't have a lot, but it was still really fun to be able to look around. Finally he came to the town tailor.
" Welcome!" greeted the shopkeeper who offered his hand. " You the clone ninja, right?"
" Uzamaki Naruto." he said, shaking the mans hand. " I kinda need a new jacket. Do you have any I could look at?"
" I probably don't have the selection your used to in Kohona, but I have a couple." the shopkeeper replied, showing Naruto to a rack of coats. " I can resize them to you if you want."
Naruto looked though the coats. There weren't any orange ones, but there were a few near his size.
" I actually don't have enough money now, but I wanted to look to see if there were any I liked." he said embarrassed.
" Oh, that's not a problem. A lot of people just browse here." the shopkeeper replied, not looking upset. " Feel free to look as long as you want."
Naruto looked though all the coats and clothes. The tailor didn't seem to mind him even though he wasn't going to but anything,
" Just a question, but why aren't you trying anything on?" the tailor asked after a while. " See if its your size?"
" I can do that?" Naruto asked. The tailor looked shocked.
" Well, sure. Don't they let you do that in Kohona?" he asked as Naruto tried on a jacket near his size.
" Most of the shopkeepers won't let me in the stores." Naruto said without thinking.
" Really? Why?" asked the shopkeeper. Naruto cursed himself. Why'd I say that?
" I, uh, I used to be a big prankster and they are afraid I'd do something." Naruto said unconvincingly. The tailor eyed him, then decided to let it end there.
Naruto left shortly after that. He'd been enjoying looking around. Why'd he have to go and ruin it? The tailor probably would not want him to come by. He walked back towards their house, annoyed with himself.