Kakashi covered Tazuna with his body, the bullet had hit the man but from what the jonin could tell it wasn't fatal, although a piece of metal in the shoulder would be painful and need medical attention. He ducked into the house with the bridge builder and glanced out to see Sasuke and Sakura had taken cover to break line of sight.
Of course, the jonin figured Naruto would disappear. The blonde was already rushing towards the sound of the gunshot with his right hand on his holstered Nokogiribocho, it had been closer that time. Whoever it was, they were at the edges of his usual patrols.
Then kage bunshin started dispelling, this time he got impressions of fights. His enemies included Gozu, a pair of katana wielding men he didn't recognize that had needed to work together to defeat one kage bunshin and were now wounded, and someone shooting at him while retreating.
Naruto supposed charging head long at the one shooting at him may have been ill advised, one of the assassins had a grudge against him, another was probably Zabuza who would only need one clean hit to kill him, and a gunshot accompanied by a bullet impacting a tree at his head height indicated the shooter had spotted him.
Being seen by someone trying to shoot at the genin, and the blonde knowing it, was a hair raising experience. He made a cross with the first two fingers of each hand as he crouched, "Taiju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." he intoned and then he sprinted among his horde of fifty bunshin as they all made ram signs to focus their chakra.
The idea was to use the kage bunshin as cover combined with kawarimi to not get shot, Naruto was sure that probably had something to do with guns not seeing much use against shinobi. Kakashi had even mentioned kawarimi, so the blonde couldn't help but smirk as the next bullet that struck a kage bunshin hit a log instead of dispelling the chakra construct.
Finally Naruto saw the shooter, a man holding a long rifle retreating into town guarded by some men with swords, one of whom had a war scythe. The idea Zabuza could spring out and kill him at any moment occurred to the blonde, but he suppressed that as he and his horde of kage bunshin charged into the town.
The onlooking townsfolk had been given a speech about being given a demonstration of what would happen to anyone else who tried to oppose Gato when the sharpshooter assassin that the shipping magnate hired had been sent to execute the bridge builder.
Many had winced, a few looked away, but none moved to do anything against Gato's hired killers. So they were surprised to see a small army of bloodied blonde boys wielding strange weapons rush from the trees towards Tazuna's home, the gunman pulled out a pistol side arm and took shots but each boy he shot turned into a log in a cloud of smoke.
The stunned men standing guard moved to intercept the one genin army but while they managed to dispel a few one Naruto withstood a glancing blow, marking him out as the original as he swung his extending blade out to tear into the throat of the man with the war scythe.
Naruto blinked and tilted his head down in time with the arterial spray in a practiced subconscious movement, thus he avoided getting any in his eyes. Then he stepped towards the next closest armed opponent as his kage bunshin moved to surround the men, the gunman pointed his pistol and the genin jolted aside as a loud gunshot rang out.
The blonde found that it echoed less above ground, but it was far too loud to be fired so close to his ears. He lifted his left hand to the handle of his Nokogiribocho and adjusted the angle of his swing as he did, the cleaving side of the weapon came down harshly with a sickening crack into the left shoulder of the gunman.
Two swords came at Naruto's head from either side, the blonde dived, his blade folded shut as he rolled off the corpse he just made. The genin came up swinging, his Nokogiribocho snapping open again to knock aside the swinging blade of a third swordsman before the boy hopped up and towards the man to swing the cleaving side of his blade through that man's neck.
Two more swordsmen came from the woods along with Gozu, they actually had proper katanas. Naruto glanced at the other two swords, one looked like a homemade machete and the other seemed to be similar, or at least similarly homemade.
Naruto glanced at the final person that stood with them, mentally cataloguing these men as separate from the townsfolk. The short guy was shorter than him, the blonde raised an eyebrow, "Who are you?" he asked, assuming the short older man was a hostage of some kind but for some reason no one had done anything about that.
The man looked panicked behind his round shades, "Alright, Zabuza I get it, now get out here and kill the brat." the man ordered and the blonde frowned.
"Tempting," Zabuza confessed as Gozu stepped up, "but he's not in the contract. If he gets in my way when I go after Tazuna I will, but until then I think Gozu wants a rematch." the nukenin mused, his voice thrown around to distort his position.
Naruto frowned, "I'll stop you from killing Tazuna." he said simply, earning a chuckle from the hidden nukenin and an annoyed glare from the remaining hired killers. Then the blonde turned to the short man, "Are you Gato?" he asked bluntly.
"What of it?"
"I'm going to kill you." Naruto answered before he started to walk at the shipping magnate, Gozu charged but the former Kiri chunin was irritated that the blonde was not fully focused on him. The blonde dodged around him for a moment, but the boy seemed on edge, uncomfortable, not fully focused.
Naruto was worried Zabuza would attack at any moment, it seemed like he would not but the boy did not want to lower his guard. The blonde tried to keep the rising sun to his back so he would spot any shadows moving behind him, it was the only light source he had.
Gozu landed a glancing strike, four claw marks down Naruto's right arm as the blonde dashed past the older ninja. The genin's left hand reached into his tool pouch as his right lifted Nokogiribocho to parry the worst of the attack, his eyes locked onto Gato as he extended his weapon at Gozu on his way past the older shinobi to force some distance.
The four swordsmen, if two of them could be called that, moved to intercept, Gato paled, "Wait a-" he tried to begin to bargain as Naruto pulled out a flintlock pistol, pointed it at Gato, and squeezed the firing mechanism. The bang was strangely quieter than the more modern firearm that had been fired before, and with a dark red muzzle flash that smelled like burnt metal.
Gato fell as red blossomed from a point in the middle of his chest, Naruto had expected the man to be knocked back from the kick he felt of the bullet exiting the barrel but instead the shipping magnate simply dropped like a puppet with the strings cut.
It was one thing for a non-shinobi mercenary to have a firearm, it was another for a genin to pull one out and use it like that. Naruto had never actually shot it before, so he was just glad he hit the correct target.
"He just shot Gato!" One of the actual swordsman, a man with a beanie and eyeliner, pointed out the obvious in a panic.
"Who pays us now?" The other one with the actual sword asked, a scarred man who was shirtless. The four non-shinobi hired mercenaries eyed the town greedily.
"Well, there was no dead man's switch assuring I'd be paid for Tazuna's death, so we're out of here Gozu." Zabuza's voice ordered dryly.
Gozu looked irritated, "But I-"
"You can take him out later when Meizu has recovered and he actually has a bounty for this incident." Zabuza interrupted and the Kiri chunin disappeared with a scowl.
Naruto turned to the remaining four, "If you act like yaju to these townsfolk, I'll put you down like yaju." he said coldly, the four tensed up as they debated fighting the blonde over the small, poor village.
"Not worth it." The beanie wearing swordsman muttered before he fled, the other three breaking after him.
Naruto stiffened when he noticed the townsfolk staring at him, they'd seen him fight, seen him kill. Then it hit him that he'd killed regular, normal humans, not even really shinobi. The three corpses suddenly stood out starkly to him, he had barely even registered haze of Chi no Isshi going into him from their blood.
"That shinobi kid just killed Gato and saved Nami no Kuni!"
"Hey why didn't Shisui-san ever just shoot Gato?"
"I was as scared as any of you, don't look at me like that."
Naruto blinked owlishly as he was offered moderately clean rags and some men started moving the corpses, he wiped his face as he wondered at the reactions of the people. He wondered if they understood how it felt to kill, but maybe they were just so grateful for the savior that they only cared about making that hero feel accepted.
The blonde felt something was off about the way things were working, he killed Mizuki and became a genin, he kills Gato and some hired mercenaries and he becomes a hero. He didn't think to send a kage bunshin back to his team until he'd almost finished wiping himself down.
By mid morning a bandaged Tazuna was being looked at by a retired doctor as Kakashi pulled Naruto aside, "Why were you covered in blood and what the hell was that?" he asked sternly.
Naruto had wracked his brain for an answer to the first one, but his kage bunshin had spotted a solution, a close inspection might reveal the timing or weaponry wasn't right it was the best excuse Naruto had, "Some big boar attacked me early this morning, and that was, uh, I did the mission right?" he asked.
Kakashi frowned under his mask, "Our mission was to protect Tazuna, not assassinate a shipping magnate with more net worth than some Daimyo!" he snapped.
Naruto pouted, "Well, yeah, but he was trying to kill Tazuna, and he hurt all these people." he grumbled, then he looked longingly at the celebrating people, they didn't even mind their savior being stained with blood, "I just, he was hiding behind others, he didn't even fight, but he was such a massive problem."
Kakashi sighed, "Just because we can kill doesn't mean we should, that's why we follow orders and complete missions, to take those decisions out of our hands." he explained.
Naruto frowned then he shook his head, "No, I can't accept that." he said simply, "I-I can't just be an unfeeling thing that kills for no reason." he stammered.
Kakashi felt a bit sympathetic at that, he assumed the boy spoke of the kitsune or was perhaps hinting at something to do with Danzo, "In this case, I can't scold you too much, Gato was a problem to the mission. But you're a bit too young for the bounty that will bring down on you." he explained.
Naruto just shrugged lazily, "I'll be fine." he assured confidently.
"Now where did you get a gun?"
Naruto stiffened, "It's mine." he insisted, "I didn't steal it." he clarified, it had been down in a place owned by no one but the monsters after all.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, he looked at the weapon. He decided to let it slide for now since it didn't seem like the kind of weapon anyone would be missing anyway, "Well I'm impressed that you actually hit someone with that antique, but it's not really a shinobi weapon is it?" he asked.
Naruto shrugged again, "Does it matter? Shinobi use anything as weapons don't we?" he asked as he stashed the pistol back in his tool pouch.
Kakashi did not have a good response for that, "Fair point, but you're an odd one." he said with a chuckle as he turned to leave the boy alone for a moment, then he noticed the scratches in the right sleeve of his students jacket, "Gozu managed to hit you?" he asked, suddenly alarmed.
Naruto couldn't deny it and was swiftly dragged towards a doctor but the boy paled and pulled out of his sensei's grip, "I feel fine, really." he insisted, "Look, my arm is already closed up, the poison probably can't even hurt me." he tried to assure just to avoid a medical professional having a close look at him.
Kakashi had no idea that the blonde didn't want the man to notice something, but he accepted and kept an eye on the boy. He was resolved to get the boy to the retired doctor if needed, but throughout the day the blonde really did seem to be fine.
By sunset cell seven were returning with a Tazuna who probably should not have been drinking, Inari was eyeing the blonde strangely as they entered and Tsunami fussed, "Otousan you shouldn't drink after an injury like that." she scolded.
Sasuke and Sakura were eyeing the blonde as well, both curious and suspicious. Both had learned throughout the day that Naruto had been the one to kill Gato, with a gun. They never saw the flintlock so without the full story they'd just assumed the blonde genin used a gun he picked up off an assassin he killed.
Sasuke was not sure what to make of Naruto, the blonde had been different ever since he went missing that day he painted the Hokage monument. His growth had been rapid, the shorter boy had outpaced the Uchiha too quickly for Sasuke to be comfortable with.
Sakura was trying to rationalize it, she figured maybe the Uzumaki really were amazing and that Naruto just never really tried all that seriously before. That explanation made sense to the kunoichi.
"You really killed Gato?" Inari's voice silenced the small dining room.
Naruto nodded as he looked at the younger boy, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he can't get back up." he assured, "He was really weak actually, he just hid behind stronger guys who were greedy for money." he added, "Yaju." he grumbled under his breath.
Inari frowned as he furrowed his brow, "But, how? Why were you strong enough to kill Gato when no one else was before!?" he snapped, upset despite the happy situation.
Naruto was taken aback, surprised by the attitude the young boy had towards his home being saved, "I don't know, I just told you he was actually weak. He couldn't intimidate me like he could all of you so all that power he pretended to have was useless y'know." the blonde answered as he scratched the back of his head, "Like I told you, he was just a ningen. Our bodies die real easy." he finished morbidly.
"So, if you could have died too, why weren't you scared?" Inari asked.
Naruto blinked, he hadn't expected that question. He had in fact been terrified of his secret being revealed, of failing, of dying without stopping Gato, of being forced to go into hiding by faking his own death to preserve his secret.
So the blonde genin wasn't sure what to say, "Uh, I guess I was." he confessed bashfully, "I just decided Gato was causing too much pain to others." he muttered.
Kakashi sighed, "That's not the kind of decision to be made lightly, I hope you don't come to regret saving this land and its people when Gato's allies put a bounty on you." he lectured.
Naruto shrugged, "Maybe it'll be higher than yours?" he joked lightly.
Sakura rolled her eyes, "Even if Kakashi-sensei never killed anyone as rich and powerful as Gato personally he's still a veteran jonin, he's probably got compounded bounties from multiple enemies." she pointed out.
Tsunami decided not to think about how disturbing it was for preteens to be child soldiers that spoke like that, she would make dinner for them instead to thank them for protecting her father and saving her home from Gato.
Without an immediate threat Naruto found it easier to get away in the night after dinner, after his team was mostly asleep. Kakashi might be annoyed again but the blonde would be careful not to return covered in blood this time.
The trees creaked in the wind and the blonde stopped, one branch creaked more as if something heavier landed on it. Naruto looked up and saw the masked shinobi who had been hunting Zabuza, "Don't you have prey to catch?" the blonde genin asked.
"You made things very difficult by killing Gato."
Naruto frowned, the masked ninja seemed annoyed with him for some reason, "Well, he made things difficult by being alive." he retorted, a little more snappish than he'd intended but he was still a bit mixed up over the whole killing humans thing.
"So you just kill anyone who inconveniences you?"
Naruto frowned at the accusatory tone, "Why do you even care?" he asked with a suspicious glare at the oinin, "Gato made the people of Nami no Kuni suffer, he forced them to live in poverty, how could I just let that happen?" he asked, "I could stop it, so I did."
The masked shinobi was silent for a moment, "Did you think of the consequences though? You'll be a scapegoat for the bounty of the one who killed Gato, rich people will want you dead, more people similar to Gato." he asked.
Naruto groaned, "Who cares?" he asked, "I'll be fine, they'll come after me and we'll fight, and someone will die. Whatever happens after that happens." he explained, exasperated.
The masked shinobi tensed up, glanced around, and then looked back down at Naruto before he hopped down to be at ground level, "Fine," he said in a resigned tone, "if I be honest with you, will you be honest with me?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms, "You must think I'm pretty stupid to fall for that." he grumbled, "I don't care what secret you have, it does not match any of mine." he insisted, giving away perhaps a bit too much saying just that.
The oinin removed his mask, revealing a familiar and pretty young face.
Naruto blinked, "Haku?" he asked as his brow furrowed, "Why are you an oinin?" he asked then his eyes widened, "Oh did your teammate get burned really badly?" he asked.
Haku sighed and shook his head, "No, that plant also helps restore iron in those suffering from blood loss when ingested." he explained, "It was for Meizu."
Naruto blinked, "Wait, you-" he began, a frown crossed his features as he trailed off and became thoughtful.
"I was working for Zabuza-san the whole time." Haku revealed, "Now please, why are you so lonely? Why do you not even trust your team? You were on your way to that spot I found you in again to sleep right?" he asked rapid fire.
Naruto blinked rapidly and shook his head, "Hold on, you were working with Zabuza? Why didn't you try to kill any of us?" he asked, that part did not quite add up.
"I asked first."
"My secrets are more important."
"You just need time to think of a lie."
"Be that as it may-"
"I knew it."
"Look this is serious, wait am I fraternizing with an enemy?"
Haku rolled his eyes, "We stopped being enemies when you killed Gato, that might change in the future but for now we can talk." he answered.
Naruto sighed and sat down on a mossy rock, "Alright, fine, but first why did you not just try to kill me when we first met?" he asked.
Haku shrugged, "I considered it, but you startled me, then you caught me off guard with how kind you tried to be." he confessed, "Also, I noticed some similarities between us." he added.
"Similarities?" Naruto asked.
Haku nodded sadly, "You're lonely, you have a power you never asked for and it scares you, but you want to be acknowledged right?" he asked.
Naruto stiffened at how accurate that was, "How?" he asked thinly.
"I was born with a Kekkei Genkai," Haku answered, "cursed blood, just like you." he continued and the blood of the shorter ninja ran cold at those words, "People fear what they don't understand, I recognized you could see that, but you mentioned protecting your team and I was confused because you never seemed comfortable around them."
Naruto considered if he should tell Haku, the older boy might not believe him but they might never interact again after tonight. So the blonde hunched over as he considered how to say what he wanted to say, "I don't think I'm a ningen anymore." he said quietly, "I don't think I can fully explain it, but I-" he hesitated and licked his lips, "I don't want to be like this, I don't want to be a bakemono, but blood smells so sweet and making those men stop so they wouldn't hurt anyone felt good and-"
Haku was surprised, whatever he expected this breakdown was not it, tears began to form in Naruto's eyes at some point and Haku interrupted, "I'm sorry." he said quickly, he realized towards the end that his own accusations earlier were part of that breakdown and he felt a bit guilty, "I don't think a bakemono would worry about being one." he added, "You seem like a kind boy to me."
Naruto sighed and slumped deeper into himself, "I can heal from mortal wounds and the actual reason I was able to track Zabuza was the smell of blood on his sword." he said dryly, "I heal faster when I get other blood in my wounds." he added.
Haku opened his mouth to answer, closed it for a moment, then opened it again, "Okay I have to admit that is a bit more horrifying than my Kekkei Genkai." he confessed.
Naruto decided not to correct the older boy about the nature of his abilities, "What do you do anyway?" he asked.
"Hyoton."
Naruto stared blankly at the pretty boy, "You can make ice?" he asked, "You thought that was cursed?" he added with a raised eyebrow.
Haku flushed, "Okay, I admit it sounds less terrifying than vampirism, magic eyes, and controlling your bones but still." he defended himself, then he frowned sadly, "Chigiri no Sato began the process of killing anyone with a Kekkei Genkai a while ago." he explained.
"Ah," Naruto verbalized, "that is pretty cursed." he agreed, then his eyes widened, "That's why Zabuza tried to kill the Mizukage, that's why you guys are-" he began then he groaned, "Could you tell Meizu I'm sorry I carved him up like that?" he asked.
Haku blinked, then he giggled, "I shouldn't, they'll be mad if they found out why I really stayed behind." he confessed.
"Oh, well in that case please don't tell Zabuza about the blood thing." Naruto requested as he relaxed a bit.
"Promise to keep my very existence as Zabuza-san's accomplice a secret?" Haku asked with a smile.
Naruto returned it with a grin, "Sure, Kakashi-sensei will be mad but I'll just say I was with that pretty boy I thought was a girl again." he agreed, "It's not even a lie." he added with a smirk.
Haku smirked, "Your team might start to think things about you." he pointed out.
Naruto shrugged, "Better they think I like girly boys than they know what we were talking about." he answered and the other boy could only nod in response, "Thank you, by the way." he added, "I really needed to hear the things you said." he confessed.
Haku smiled and put his mask back on, "Well, I was glad to help, Naruto-san." he said formally, although there was now a familiarity to his tone and the blonde felt a bit less lonely, "I'll try to encourage Gozu and Meizu to leave you alone," he added a bit more softly, "I'm sure Zabuza-san will be fine taking some missions away from Hi no Kuni for a while."
Naruto nodded gratefully, "I hope we get to see each other again though." he added quietly before the older boy disappeared, he barely caught the nod before Haku disappeared with shunshin.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow down at the disheveled Naruto lying on the forest floor, "What is it this time?" he asked dryly.
"A white rabbit crossed my path when I got up to enjoy the stars." Naruto lied smoothly.
"White rabbits aren't bad luck," Kakashi retorted, "in fact their feet are said to bring good luck." he added.
Naruto frowned, "That's weird, I don't want feet in my vague analogy." he said blandly.
"What?" Kakashi asked, "Wait actually what were you doing this time?" he asked.
"I was seeing that guy that looks like a girl again," Naruto answered honestly, "not sure why I thought of a white rabbit." he lied, he was pretty sure he had an idea of who he had actually detected that day before Zabuza first attacked.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "You went out secretly to see another boy under the stars because you think he looks pretty." he repeated the situation he'd been given and it still sounded weird.
"I swear, prettier than Sakura-chan." Naruto swore honestly.
"Alright, you know what, never mind." Kakashi decided with a sigh, "The threat is gone for the most part so I'll let it slide, but you need to stop sneaking off during missions like this." he warned.
Naruto shrugged, "Okay." he promised, knowing well enough that he would be unable to keep it.
Thankfully the jonin seemed to accept the inability to sleep around others part and Naruto was indeed given his own room, "Of course," Tsunami said, "it's nice you didn't want to impose, but you really should have said something earlier." she scolded lightly, "Hero or not we'd rather give you a bed than let you sleep outside like that."
Naruto wasn't sure how to take it, but he accepted the room at least. He just wasn't sure if he should set up another tombstone in Nami no Kuni, and he definitely couldn't go teleporting his sleeping body from the room.
The boy decided to spend any time in the dream practicing chakra control or reading, rarely towards the end of the week he began to do both. The mission became routine, no new threats appeared and cell seven were local heroes.
Naruto liked being a local hero, it felt good, it was an excellent distraction and it reminded him he'd used the old blood to do something good. Then he heard the nickname for him, "Tosatsusha-kun." was not a nice or heroic title, it sounded more like the nickname for a serial killer and the honorific they gave him only juxtaposed it.
The blonde genin knew it was supposed to be flattering, and the people said it fondly. He supposed it was was meant to be a bit ironic to have such a harsh title applied to him given his appearance, but it was also an acknowledgement of how swiftly and easily he slaughtered three men despite their attempts to defend themselves.
Finally Tazuna's work force had nearly finished the bridge, despite not liking the reminders of his ability to kill Naruto did still enjoy the positive attention and would miss the people. Plus he did have to acknowledge that being an assassin was in his job description, which was a professional killer at the end of the day so the people were just trying to say he was good at his job.
"Thank you all for coming to protect me while I finished this super bridge," Tazuna said gratefully, "You all came here even knowing I flubbed the mission parameters, you did the right thing, and you killed Gato for us." he finished, the last part clearly directed at Naruto.
"You're all welcome back any time." Tsunami promised cheerfully, Naruto wondered if that offer would stand if he teleported into her house.
"He has to come back." Inari insisted, teary eyed.
Naruto smiled, "I'm sure I'll be able to make time to come visit." he promised, already decided that Nami no Kuni was going to be the first place he'd think to hide if he died publicly.
"You better," Tazuna said with a falsely stern tone and an amused smirk, "I've already decided to name the bridge after the hero who killed Gato once and for all." he explained.
Sakura gawked as it was revealed the bridge would be named after the blonde, she was swiftly forced to come to terms with the fact that she now lived in a world where Naruto was actually reliable and capable, and from strong blood like Sasuke.
The Uchiha just looked bored, but he let their blonde teammate have his moment.
Hiruzen Sarutobi kept his face impassive as he smoked his pipe and listened to the mission report, "Why did you let Meizu go?" he asked.
"I determined his value was not worth the risk, that he would either be picked up by allies and be too wounded to be a problem or picked up by oinin." Kakashi answered calmly.
Hiruzen nodded, it was an understandable decision given that the jonin needed to protect three genin and the client, "Naruto-kun, why did you insist on completing the mission?" he asked.
Naruto frowned, "It was the right thing to do." he answered with a shrug, it was the only excuse he had.
The Sandaime Hokage sighed out a cloud of smoke, "You've a good heart," he began and the blonde resisted the urge to joke about it pumping evil blood, "but what if Tazuna had been even more deceptive? It was truly not worth risking your lives." he lectured.
Naruto managed not to make a sound at the joke of a concept that was risking his life, "Sorry, I just didn't want to take the chance I guess." he muttered.
"As if you considered the chance." Sasuke jibed, earning a glare from the blonde.
Kakashi shook his head, "It was my fault for agreeing with Naruto-kun's assessment at the end of the day, but we did end up surviving and completing the mission with minimal injuries and acceptable casualties." he finished.
"Gato was acceptable casualties then?" Hiruzen asked sharply.
"Yes." Naruto answered, "I can't have been wrong about that, those people needed him gone and there was no other way." he insisted.
Hiruzen deflated at how certain the blonde boy was, "I merely worry about the consequences for you, Naruto-kun," he assured, "you're definitely going to get a bounty." he warned.
Naruto sighed, "Yeah I know," he groused, "I get it, enemy ninja are going to be less likely to go easy on me for being a kid because my head is going to be worth some money, some greedy bastards will try to kill me dishonorably just to get that money." he listed, "I know, I'll be fine." he insisted, he wondered if there would be a situation where someone collected the bounty and then he got back up at home in Konoha, would that person have to give back the money?
Hiruzen sighed deeply, "Your confidence is as alarming as what has happened." he muttered, "Here, your pay slips for the mission, take a few days off before you return for another." he ordered as he held out the four slips of paper.
The first thing Naruto spent his new money on was ramen, but given how much he got for a C rank, split between four shinobi, he could understand why Tazuna could not afford anything higher. The man had even promised to send further payments to make up for the false mission statement, with interest.
Naruto thought the interest was a bit much of a punishment, the people really had been desperate and he had seen it. They were starving, downtrodden, stealing from each other just to survive. The fact that he'd helped save them from that by killing Gato and helping to keep Tazuna alive made Naruto feel much better about himself.
Unfortunately the young blonde was quickly reminded of how little that mattered to the civilians of Konoha, he tried to ignore it but the looks he and his weapon received were a bit disheartening. The people in Nami no Kuni, a small nation, had regarded Naruto as a hero for killing their local 'bakemono' but to the adult civilians of Konoha he was a reminder of the worst devastation the village had ever suffered.
The blonde wasn't even sure if the kitsune was still a factor, the idea of the Kyuubi having escaped his corpse when he'd first died terrified him and he had no way of knowing if he still contained the Chakra no Bakemono. He was pretty sure he would have run into it in the dungeon by now if that were the case, so he just had to work under the assumption he was still containing the Kyuubi no Yoko until proven otherwise.
Thankfully ramen was an excellent distraction to Naruto, worries about his well being, his inability to sleep, whether or not he even still needed to actually eat, all those were secondary when he was in the middle of enjoying ramen.
"Twelve bowls!? That's a new record for you." Ayame commented, dumbfounded as she counted the stack of bowls, "Where do you even fit all that?" she wondered.
"Never underestimate the metabolism of a growing boy." Teuchi commented seriously, which only made the blonde wonder how much he would grow with the old blood in him.
"I was hungry." Naruto lied with a shrug as he paid for his meal, he had actually just zoned out while eating.
The next thing Naruto spent money on was more clothes, more mesh undershirts and another spare jacket that was similar to the other spare he bought. Then he just browsed ninja tools, he picked up a spool of steel wire and some more shuriken.
Naruto examined a kusarigama curiously, it would certainly make him feel more like a shinobi to use that than his Nokogiribocho. But he doubted the small sickle on the end of a chain would do much against the things beneath Konoha, so he looked over other weapons.
Swords and axes seemed good but also a bit expensive, and some weapons were still too big for the young genin. He got a whetstone and some other tools instead in case anyone asked how he was maintaining the strange weapon he used, he couldn't very well say it did it automatically in his sleep using blood and he definitely couldn't say he repaired it in his dreams which affected reality.
Tenten caught him as he was figuring out the purpose of a hand held drill bit, "Getting new tools, or building something else?" she asked curiously.
"Uh, just new tools for now." Naruto answered nervously, they weren't actually replacements like she probably thought.
"So, not working on a new weapon yet?" Tenten asked with a raised eyebrow.
Naruto frowned, "I've been busy I guess, my team got our first C rank." he answered as he decided to get the drill bit just so he seemed to know what he was doing, it seemed to have multiple sizes in one pack at least.
Tenten jolted back with wide eyes, "Didn't you only graduate a couple of weeks ago?" she asked.
Naruto shrugged, "Something like that, we just got back after we left a week ago." he answered.
Tenten took a step back and reappraised the younger genin, then she hummed, "Wow, I didn't think you could even get C ranks that early, your sensei must think highly of your team." she mused.
"Oh I was bored of D ranks and insisted actually." Naruto confessed without thinking.
Tenten frowned, "Why not use the time doing D ranks to make a new weapon?" she asked.
Naruto stiffened as he realized his mistake, "Uh, I guess I just really wanted to stretch my legs." he said, which was mostly honest, "I was just being impatient y'know." he confessed.
Tenten scoffed, "Understatement." she muttered as she picked out a bunch of shuriken and kunai, "Well let me know if another idea for a weapon comes to you, I want to see your thought processes for how stuff like that came to be." she explained with a gesture to the Nokogiribocho.
Naruto was glad Tenten was more focused on his odd weapon than him, unfortunately she actually knew what she was talking about. Thankfully she seemed to buy his story about making the weapon, although she did seem to want to figure out how he had done it.
The blonde boy sighed to himself before paying for the things he wanted and needed, then he returned home.
Linguistic Note: Tonsatsusha translates to Slaughterer, it is made up of the words for 'slaughter' 'killing' and 'person'. I was deciding between this and Hitokiri, but I decided Tonsatsusha fits better given Naruto's weapon and brutal methods, while Hitokiri implies a higher body count with slightly cleaner kills.