Aaaaaand here's chapter 2. LOLs. ^_^ Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 2:
A 15-year old Naruto was observing the large bandit camp below him, his hand toying with the stray strand of hair hanging on his forehead. His trademark spiky hairstyle was now sleek that reached the middle of his back and tied at the end to make it more manageable. He got a lot of ribbing from the Hokage that it made him look like a girl but he didn't care. It made him look cool so yeah he didn't care what the old man said.
It had been two years since he became a Genin, a year after his apprenticeship with Mitarashi Anko in the art of stealth and assassination. He didn't know why but he liked the sadistic kunoichi as she trained him, helping him gain fighting experience in order to master his Chakra Fist style. Due to his strength, he wasn't given a team but worked with other Genin teams for C-rank missions and up. Heck, he was even partnered with a few Chuunin or a Jounin for an A-rank. His strength was proven with every mission and no one could deny the fact that he was more than capable despite his age and rank.
Even if was slated to be at Jounin level by his peers, Naruto didn't get promoted. He was actually qualified for promotion but he declined the offers. He just wasn't interested. In fact, he was quite content in being a Genin since he was more along the line of a scientist than a fighter. Well, in truth, he was a powerful fighter but it was hard to let go of his studying habits, researching, and experimentation with chakra. Actually, he was spreading himself a bit thin despite his shadow clones doing the brunt of the work since he was now perfecting Nature Transformation, not restricting himself to Fuuton (Wind) which was his main affinity, but all elements. Besides, he wasn't keen on limiting himself with wind alone.
Besides, ranks were irrelevant since no in other right mind would command him without proper authorization from the Hokage. He was labeled as a Tokubetsu Genin, specializing in hand-to-hand combat, stealth, and assassination, fuuinjutsu, and unparalleled control and manipulation of chakra. He planned to add elements to his portfolio but that was still in the future if he kept to his current pace.
Deciding that it was time to finish his mission so he could return to the village and get back to his many projects, Naruto jumped high up into the air with his arms raised to his sides. He landed in the middle camp as ten strings of bluish-green chakra extended from his hands before blurring out of sight, slicing the unprepared bandits to pieces as the strings floated through their bodies, leaving none of them alive.
Five minutes later, the camp was devoid of life except for him, a blonde haired shinobi decked in an unorthodox mix of the standard ANBU uniform and a white lab coat that reached down to his ankles. The coat was also designed with a high collar that made him look cooler than usual. On his back was the kanji for Shinigami for the world to see.
Sighing at having to kill again (yes, he was used to killing but it didn't mean that he had to like it), he pulled out a pack of cigarette from his coat pocket and placed one in his mouth. He extended his thumb over to the end, channeling a bit of chakra causing a tiny flame to materialize. He dramatically waved his hand to get rid of the small fire and inhaled, sighing again as the calming smoke entered his lungs before breathing it out. He looked around and extended his senses just in case in missed a few which was unlikely.
Satisfied that that his quarry was silenced forever, he started walking out of the camp at a leisurely pace. When he was far enough, he sent a pulse of chakra that activated the exploding seals he applied to various areas around the camp while he was getting rid of the bandits. A large explosion rocked the area before a shockwave flew out in a ring. Not even bothered as the pressure and heat overtook him, Naruto continued to walk back Konoha while thinking how his clones were doing with his experiments. Behind him was a large crater that was once a large bandit camp, home to 150 bandits and thugs that terrorized the many merchants of the Elemental Nations.
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Naruto grumbled as he made his way back to his apartment. He just finished a B-rank bandit extermination mission and the old coot had the audacity to assign him a new one. He couldn't say no since this was an emergency mission, a request for reinforcement and to save a bunch of snot-nosed Genins (even if he was one) as they pushed through their mission to protect a bridge builder from a tyrant businessman.
He entered his apartment just in time to catch a bundle of red fur that was about to bite his nose. He caught the animal by the scruff of its neck and looked at its red slit-like eyes.
"Good afternoon to you too, Kurama." Naruto greeted the now-unsealed Kyuubi. Thanks to his knowledge in seals, he was able to create a backdoor for the fox to be summoned from seal to the outside world though its powers were determined by Naruto's will. He already befriended the fox a year ago and the two enjoyed a relationship that many would find weird (they argue like a married couple, enemies one moment and friends the next). The only drawback to summoning Kyuubi out was his inability to use the bijuu's chakra if the fox wasn't in the cage. Naruto didn't care since he had no intentions of using Kurama's chakra unless the situation demands it.
"Good my ass, you ape! Why didn't you take me with you? Did you know how bored I was staying here doing nothing but watch your clones blowing themselves up?" Kurama growled out, his nine tails weaving behind him in agitation.
"It was a spur of the moment mission, Kurama, and jiji wanted it finished immediately so I didn't have time to come home and inform you, much less take you with me." replied Naruto as he placed the irate fox on his shoulder. One of Kurama's skills was shapeshifting so he could change his size from a hulking mass of destruction that towered a large village like Konoha to something the size of small fox. "How did you know I had a mission anyway? As far as I'm concerned, no one knows I accepted except for Hokage-ji-sama."
"I visited the old coot when you didn't return for the night. He told me you went out for an emergency mission." Kurama answered grumpily. Naruto already introduced Kurama to the Hokage. The old coot was shocked at first but eventually relaxed when Naruto informed him that he could control Kyuubi's power output. Kyuubi was currently at Jounin-level chakra capacity though it was more powerful compared to your average Jounin thanks to the potency of the bijuu's energy.
"Well, you're in luck. I'm going to Wave Country to bail Kakashi out. It seems that his client lied about the mission so instead of a C-rank escort mission, it is now an A-rank. You want to come?" Naruto asked calmly as he made his way to the armory to restock. Sure, he could make the necessary weapons using chakra on demand but sometimes having real ones were necessary. Chakra-made weapons tend to dissipate and not nearly as durable as the real thing but it was perfect to use if he was in a pinch and out of weapons. Thanks to his research, his father's notes, and training, he perfected and reached the pinnacle of shape manipulation that he could make any weapons he desired as a chakra construct. The Sandaime mentioned that his mother had something similar but this was in the form of chains strong enough to subdue Kyuubi at full strength thanks to her special Uzumaki bloodline.
Naruto was grumpy when he found that out. He could easily materialize the chains his mother used but it didn't have the power to subdue a bijuu (he tried that with Kurama and the fox laughed at his failure…stupid fox).
"Interesting. Do you have any idea who we're going to face?" Kurama asked eagerly. He was looking forward to a major battle or two. Sparing with Naruto tends to get boring even if it was fun. The last spar was a free-for-all between Naruto, Anko, and himself. It lasted for five hours with only him and Naruto remaining since Anko didn't have that much stamina as the two. She did make it fun by ambushing them with different attacks during the course of the spar which the two welcomed since it added a certain spice to their weekly contest.
"According to Kakashi's letter, they encountered the Demon Brothers on their way to Wave. If we go by their Bingo Book entry, we can safely say that we will be facing Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Bloody Mist. Easily an A-rank considering that he was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist." answered Naruto as he started sealing kunais, senbons, pre-made modified seal tags, camping supplies, food, and a med kit into the storage tattoo on his palm. Unlike storage scrolls, seals tattooed or grafted on human skin were more potent, long lasting, and portable.
"Good. It's been quite a while I had fun. Hopefully this…demon can give me a challenge." Kurama huffed before taking his favorite perch on top of Naruto's head, not even worried about falling off with his container's movement since he was already used to it. It also helped that Naruto subconsciously channeled chakra to his head so Kurama wouldn't fall off, a basic application of the Leaf Sticking exercise that he mastered and perfected years ago.
Naruto rolled his eyes.
"His moniker described him as a demon. He's not real demon, Kurama." He deadpanned.
"So? If he's good enough to be given the nickname then he should be something else." Kurama said with sniff.
"You're just angry that you didn't get to spar with the Hokage last week since he turned down your offer to 'stretch your legs' and 'get rid of the kinks' with a little spar." Naruto said dryly causing the fox to growl in annoyance.
"I don't know why he didn't take up my offer. It sure as hell beats doing paperwork all day. I bet that his ass is all wrinkled due to sitting down too much." Kurama whined that made Naruto chuckle before frowning.
"You know, I could never understand why jiji didn't use shadow clones to finish his paperwork. It's a waste of resources." Naruto mused before making a face. "Please don't say that again. I have no intentions of being reminded of wrinkly old asses."
Kurama shuddered.
"Noted. Are you going to tell him to use shadow clones for his paperwork? He looks a bit stressed when I visited him yesterday."
"Meh, I'll tell him when we get back." said Naruto before using his top speed towards the North Gate to register his mission. He wanted to get this over and one with since one of his clones dispelled earlier to inform him of a breakthrough in one of his experiments. He couldn't wait to get back.
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Kakashi was resisting the urge to palm his face. This mission was now officially an A-rank when Momochi Zabuza appeared. They easily took care of the Demon Brothers, Sasuke and Sai easily rounded the two up with Sakura guarding the client, but Zabuza was a whole new ball game to deal with. He was now in a defensive position in front of the client with his students taking the sides and back. They could all hear Zabuza's chuckle and taunts echoing around them while the fog obscured their vision, the rogue shinobi's killing intent saturating the area. He had to counter it with his own or his students wouldn't be able to stand. He made a mental note to get back to his old strength since being a Jounin definitely made him weaker.
The one-eyed Jounin was brought out of his musings when his instinct screamed at him. He raised his chakra-enforced kunai just in time to block Kubikiriboucho, Zabuza's zanbatou. The strength behind the attack numbed his arms but he was able to shove the large blade aside before maneuvering himself under the man's guard and stabbed at the exposed stomach. Instead of blood, water poured out of the wound before Zabuza collapsed into water. He cursed.
"Mizu Bunshin." Kakashi cursed when he felt a large blade sliced at his side. He turned into a puddle of water.
Zabuza watched Kakashi turned into a puddle of water before feeling something cold pressed to his neck.
"Impressive, Kakashi." Zabuza complimented calmly, not bothered by the kunai on his throat. "Even with my Kirigakure no Jutsu active, you were still able to copy my technique and used it splendidly."
Kakashi didn't say anything, but instead, slit Zabuza's throat since he wanted the fight to end. He was quite surprised when Zabuza turned into water again and was about to go back into defensive when he felt something collide with his ribs. The strength of the kick threw him into the lake where the real Zabuza was waiting for him.
"Gotcha! Suiro no Jutsu!" shouted Zabuza as a sphere of water materialized around Kakashi, unable to move as his body was effectively trapped.
Seeing that there was no way for him to get out in time to save Tazuna and his students, Kakashi decided that it was best to retreat back to Konoha. However, before he could shout his orders, he heard a voice that made him sigh in relief.
Reinforcement has arrived.
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It took two hours at top speed to get to Wave Country. Since he didn't have any boat handy to traverse the open waters, he merely skated all the way to the island using a variation of the Water Walking exercise. Kurama was able to find Kakashi's scent that led to a mist-covered area.
"They're in there?" Naruto asked Kurama as he tried to sense anything behind the mist. He couldn't get a decent reading since the mist was so thick with chakra that it was almost impossible to see through. Heck, even someone with a Byakugan would have problems seeing through the mist. Zabuza definitely deserved his A-rank.
"Positive. This mist might have screwed your chakra sense but not mine. I can sense two individuals with Jounin-level chakra reserves, two low-Chunnin, one average, and one civilian." Kurama reported.
"Ah. The two Jounin would be Kakashi and Zabuza. The low-Chuunin should be the Last Uchiha and possibly one of Kakashi's brats, same goes with the average one, and the last would be the client." Naruto listed down. "Alright then, I guess we need to take care of the fog."
"Why don't you just blast it away with one of your Fuuton jutsus or I can even do it for you if you're feeling lazy." Kurama offered solicitously.
"It's alright. I've been meaning to test this seal array for some time now and this is the perfect chance to do so." said Naruto as he raised his hands, the index fingers outstretched and glowed with chakra. With the speed of a Seal Master, the hands and fingers moved in intricate patterns as the chakra was directed to draw a large seal. Unlike ordinary Seal Masters that uses ink and paper for their art, Naruto was above such restriction. Using his mastery of Shape Manipulation, Naruto could make seals on the fly using his chakra alone. In a span of a minute, there was a large seal floating in the air in front of him, in the middle was a kanji of 'Absorb' glowing eerily amidst the foggy background. "Here goes. Uzumaki Fuuinjutsu: Kyushu no Fuuin!"
The large seal glowed before a small vacuum appeared in front of the seal. At first nothing happened but the fog was slowly moving into the tiny tornado before gaining speed. The fog started to thin as the moisture and chakra keeping it active was being absorbed into the glowing seal construct.
Naruto smirked as the fog cleared to reveal Kakashi trapped in a water prison with Zabuza's arm stuck to it, possibly keeping the jutsu active. The Genins were surrounding Tazuna with a dozen Zabuzas blocking any form of escape. He did a Ram seal before whispering. "Fuuin: Kai." causing the seal construct to dissipate as its task was finished. He quickly assessed the situation, his mind already coming up with a dozen scenarios and counters. Deciding that the client comes first, Naruto ran towards the surrounded Team 7 as one of his hands whipped out to the side, five blue chakra strings materialized, dancing around as if alive.
The Zabuza clones saw the incoming threat and immediately responded. Six of them tried to intercept but Naruto jumped into the air while he made a slashing gesture. The dancing chakra strings stopped their seemingly unorthodox movement before flinging themselves towards the six Zabuza clones at impossible speeds, wrapping them tightly. Naruto landed as he grabbed the strings together in a fist before tapping it with a finger. The tied up Zabuza clones were sliced in half as the string constricted around them. All that was left was a large puddle of water on the ground.
Smirking, Naruto disappeared in a blur leaving a static sound in the air as he appeared behind the remaining Zabuza clones, all of them were cut in half and dispelled. Seeing that the client was protected, totally ignoring the looks of awe and disbelief on their faces, he walked towards the edge of the lake, putting himself in front of Zabuza for the final showdown.
Zabuza gulped when he saw who the reinforcement was, he recognized the person who easily dispatched his clones. Of all the people to come to Kakashi's aid, why does it have to be him of all people? And is that a fox with nine tails on his shoulder?
"Shiro Shinigami." Zabuza whispered with a hint of fear in his voice before glaring at his captive. "You didn't tell me that he was your backup!"
Kakashi was surprised as well. He was expecting another Genin team or a Jounin to back him up but he didn't except him of all people to take up the slack.
"How am I supposed to know that Hokage-sama sent him?" Kakashi answered helplessly though he was inwardly happy for getting Naruto.
Naruto started at Zabuza in amusement.
"Momochi Zabuza, A-rank rogue shinobi of Kirigakure no Sato, fancy meeting you here." the blonde said cheerfully. "Would you mind terribly if you release Kakashi-san from your water prison?"
Zabuza scoffed.
"Make me, brat." he said with a grin visible through the bandages on his face.
"If you insist." Naruto said with a nod before turning to Kurama who was watching the man with a keen eye, like a predator eyeing a piece of meat." Do you want to do the honors, Kurama?"
Kurama didn't say anything but jumped off Naruto's shoulder before dashing forward at top speed, increasing his size for the battle. Zabuza wasn't prepared when something large collided with his body with such force that he knew that his muscles was going to have bruises in the morning. He was thrown back and let go of the water prison, releasing Kakashi in the process. He was able to right himself to land on the water. He was about to counter when he saw something in front of him that made him sweat. A human-size Kyuubi was staring at him with such malevolence that it made his stomach clench and his instinct screaming at him to run away. Since the latter was not an option, pride and all that, he pulled off Kubikiriboucho from his back and attacked the bijuu in desperation.
Naruto watched Kurama play around with Zabuza before noticing Kakashi appear beside him.
"Yo, Kakashi-san." he greeted the one-eyed Jounin.
"Glad to see you here, Naruto. Did Hokage-sama send you?" Kakashi asked the lone Tokubetsu Genin of Konoha.
"What do you think?" Naruto said dryly before fishing out a scroll from his coat and handing it to him.
Kakashi read the mission parameters indicated on the scroll before realizing something. He gazed out into the lake to see Kyuubi practically making a toy out of the rogue shinobi.
"Uh Naruto, why is Kyuubi outside the seal?" Kakashi asked calmly though he was inwardly screaming at the boy for releasing the fox though he should have realized that the bijuu wasn't attacking indiscriminately.
"He's my summon, Kakashi-san. Ask Hokage-jiji since he already knows. Oh look, he's almost done with Zabuza." said Naruto, saying the last part a bit too cheerfully.
And he was right too. Kyuubi just unleashed a miniature Imari at Zabuza who erected a water wall to stop it. However, the swordsman underestimated the power of the small ball since it easily exploded on his make-shift defense, obliterating it easily while the shock and heat wave damaged the man. A singed and wounded Zabuza flew out of the smoke to hit a three on the shore of the lake with a loud crack, sliding down with a thud, unconscious. Kurama calmly walked out of the smoke as he shrinked back to his chibi form before jumping on top of Naruto's head, a disgruntled look on his face.
"Not happy with the battle, I take it?" Naruto asked the fox while eyeing the smoking form of an unconscious Zabuza. He walked towards the man while channeling his chakra to his hands causing a tanto-sized blade to materialize.
"Demon my ass. The snake woman can give me a better challenge than he did." Kurama declared, glaring at Zabuza as if blaming the unconscious man for being weak.
"I don't think Anko would survive an Imari, Kurama, even if it is a watered down version of it since you only used enough chakra for an A-rank jutsu." Naruto told the bijuu.
"Bah. I'll rather spar with you when we get back to Konoha."
"Sure. I need an exercise anyway with all those boring missions, though after I'm done with my experiments."
"You and your experiments."
Naruto ignored the jab and was about to behead the Kiri rogue shinobi when a masked teen appeared beside Zabuza's downed form before whisking him away in a swirl of ice.
"Now that's something you don't see every day." said Naruto as he looked owlishly at the empty patch of grass where Zabuza was lying before someone took him away. He reached with his senses to feel a chakra residue that reminded him of ice. "It would seem that the Demon Brothers were not the only lackeys Zabuza had in his employ."
"Hyoton. It's a bloodline from the Yuki Clan in Kiri."
"A survivor then since the Yondaime Mizukage wiped out almost all of the bloodline clans in Water Country." said Naruto as he dispelled the chakra blade before walking back to Kakashi who was already with his team. He was unaware of their conversation.
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"Who is he, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura in disbelief.
"His name is Uzumaki Naruto. He is two years your senior and was the Rookie of the Year in his class." answered Kakashi. He was inwardly relieved that his students weren't injured thanks to Naruto's timely intervention. Shaken, yes. Injured, no.
"Rookie of the Year?" asked Sasuke, finally taking his eyes off the blonde who was making his way to a downed Zabuza. He was itching to fight the rogue shinobi to test his skills but he was beaten to the punch. He was a bit miffed at the missed opportunity.
"Yes. According to the Hokage, Naruto beat two of the highest rankers ever produced by the Academy."
"Who?" Sai asked in his usual monotone.
"Uchiha Itachi and the Yondaime Hokage." Kakashi answered, his eye-smile in full blast.
"Impossible." Sakura exclaimed, disbelief now very obvious in her voice.
"Hn."
"I guess he isn't dickless like you, Uchiha."
"Shut up, Sai!" screamed the pink-haired Genin.
"Make me, boobless."
Kakashi sighed as his team bickered.
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It didn't take long for the group to arrive in the safety of Tazuna's house. They were greeted by Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, and ushered to the dining room for a small snack. Kakashi introduced Team 7 before turning to Naruto who was happily sipping his tea with Kyuubi napping on top of his head.
"Why don't you introduce yourself, Naruto."
Naruto nodded in agreement as he placed his cup back on the table.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, 15 years old, and a Tokubetsu Genin of Konoha. Nice to meet you all."
"Are you really a Genin?" asked Sakura, giving Naruto a keen eye. "What is a Tokubetsu Genin anyway?"
"I am a Genin since I graduated the Academy two years ago. A Tokubetsu Genin is a rank given to a shinobi of Genin rank with special abilities. That is all I can say, sorry."
"Bullshit." Kakashi said out while feigning a cough, earning him a glare from the blonde.
"Why aren't you with a team, Uzumaki-san?" asked Sai in polite monotone.
"Call me Naruto or Naruto-san if you want to be formal." he told the pale Genin who had a fake smile plastered on his face. "I never had a team though I worked with many shinobi teams in the past two years. I graduated with 15 others in the Academy so there's an odd one out. Instead of being assigned a team, Hokage-sama decided that I should be put in an apprenticeship."
"Apprenticeship? That is very rare. What did you choose?" asked Sakura, recognizing the term since she read all about it in book during her Academy days.
"I chose Stealth and Assassination, Haruno-san."
"Please call me Sakura."
"Sakura-san it is then." Naruto said with a nod of respect to the girl. He heard from the grapevine that Kakashi passed a team consisting of an emo Uchiha, a fangirl Haruno, and a creepy looking Genin (Sai). It would seem that the story was blown all out of proportions since Sakura wasn't behaving in her usual fan-girly self. The two were spot on though and made a mental note to avoid Sai, not liking the speculative look on the teen's face.
"Why did you pick Stealth and Assassination?" asked Sasuke causing the rest of Team 7 to look at him in disbelief. "What?"
"You said something other than your usual 'hn'" said Kakashi in amazement.
"I thought you were an Aburame, dickless." said Sai earning a punch from Sakura.
"Stop calling Sasuke-kun dickless!" Sakura screamed.
"Have you seen his dick?" Sai asked bluntly causing Tsunami and Tazuna to cough while Sakura blushed like a tomato. Sasuke had an indignant look on his face while Naruto chuckled in amusement.
"N-No." Sakura managed to stutter out.
"Then until proven otherwise, he is dickless." Sai said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Alright. Let's stop discussing Sasuke-san's reproductive organ. It's creepy." Naruto said with a shudder. He made a mental note to really avoid Sai in the future. "To answer your question, Sasuke-san, I chose Stealth and Assassination since that is my weak point."
"What is your skill set?" asked Sakura, blushing when Naruto looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, since we are going to be working together, I think it is only right that we know what you're capable of."
"Hm…tell you what. I'll tell you my skill set if you tell me yours first. Deal?" Naruto bargained. He wasn't really worried about telling them a water-down version of his abilities. Besides, the last time he checked, he was already in the Bingo Book.
Sasuke decided to answer first since this was an opportunity to learn something about their mysterious reinforcement.
"My skill set includes taijutsu and ninjutsu, the latter in Katon jutsus since it is my main affinity." said the last Uchiha, annoyed by the looks he was getting. "Alright. Let me make this clear right now. The reason why I always say 'hn' or any monosyllabic response is to get rid of fan girls. If I say anything remotely acknowledging their existence then I would not have survived in the Academy with them ganging up on me all the time."
Naruto nodded in understanding.
"Fangirls, the bane of any Rookie of the Year." the blonde said sagely getting a surprised look from Sasuke.
"You suffered from them too?" the Uchiha said with some sympathy.
Naruto shuddered.
"I was the Rookie of the Year in my class so I got quite a lot of them. It wasn't a pleasant experience." Naruto said this in a daze, as if remembering some horrific event that happened to him in the past. He shook his head to get rid of the thoughts of fangirls cornering him in a dead end alley. "Anyway, what is your skill set, Sakura-san?"
Sakura blushed but answered anyway.
"I can do the three Academy jutsus, Academy taijutsu, and my forte is chakra control according to Iruka-sensei." Sakura answered proudly, not noticing the look of horror on the blonde's face.
"Wait a minute. Those are basics. How long have you been a Genin?" he asked immediately, dreading the answer.
"Three months." Sakura asked with some confusion.
Naruto glared at Kakashi who was scratching the back of his head as if embarrassed about something.
"What have you been teaching them, Kakashi-san!?" he asked the Cyclops with some heat in his voice.
"Teamwork." Kakashi answered cheerfully before regretting it. He felt himself bound by one of Naruto's chakra threads. He knew how dangerous those things were so he didn't move an inch. He inwardly sighed in relief when he saw the thread was blue instead of green. Green threads means those were made from Fuuton chakra, commonly used by Naruto to slice his opponents to chunks of meat.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't cut you in half right now, Kakashi." Naruto said in anger.
"Uh, I outrank you?" Kakashi said lamely, inwardly wincing at the stupid answer. He sighed in relief when Sakura saved him.
"Wait. Why are you angry at Kakashi-sensei, Naruto-san?" Sakura asked immediately, afraid what Naruto would do to her sensei.
Naruto took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He glared at Kakashi one more time as he released the chakra thread before addressing Sakura.
"Sakura-san, the skill set you mentioned is what is expected of an Academy student upon reaching Genin. Considering that you have been under Kakashi for three months now, you should be trained with additional skills to help you in your shinobi career. In most cases, a Jounin should be teaching their Genins a chakra control exercise called Tree Climbing while teaching you advance taijutsu techniques and some ninjutsus on the side. Sasuke-san's skill set is expected of a stereotypical Genin for taijutsu and ninjutsu. I'm sure that Sai has his own unique skill set considering he is carrying a tanto around, correct?" he got a nod from Sai. "You on the other hand is what Jounins call a blank slate. You already know the basics but you were not taught anything else. That would a problem in the field."
Sakura looked at Naruto in disbelief before glaring at her sensei. Naruto saw it, however, decided to interrupt.
"No matter. Considering what I just found out. We will start training tomorrow. I will teach you some things to prepare yourself properly when Zabuza returns."
"Zabuza is alive?" Tazuna exclaimed in surprise and fear.
"Someone saved him before I could finish him off. No worries though."
"You're overstepping your bounds, Naruto." Kakashi said with authority.
"I think you need to read the scroll from Hokage-sama a bit carefully, Kakashi-san." Naruto said smugly.
Kakashi reached into his pouch and pulled out the scroll. He opened it again and read it slowly. His eyes widened upon reaching the postscript at the last part of the message. "If Kakashi shows negligence, you have full authority as if you are speaking in my stead for this mission – Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen."
Naruto noticed the defeated look on the Jounins face, smirking at the man for underestimating him.
"Um, Naruto-san, what will you be teaching us?" Sakura asked with some hesitation.
"Hm…I'm not really sure so let me ask you a question according to your skill set." He got a nod from the three Genins. "What was the last chakra control exercise you trained with?"
"Leaf Sticking exercise." The three answered in unison causing Naruto to slump his shoulders in defeat while inwardly cursing Kakashi and his lazy attitude.
"I guess that answers that question. I will be teaching you Tree Climbing tomorrow. What is your taijutsu style?"
"Uchiha Interceptor." Sasuke answered with pride.
"Beginner level of Konoha Shadow Dance." Sai drawled.
"Academy Taijutsu." Sakura answered in sadness.
Naruto nodded, pleased with their answer. Other than Sakura, the rest has their own special combat style to work on.
"Sasuke-san, Sai-san, we will have a spar tomorrow to determine the extent of your taijutsu. Sakura, I will be giving you pointers to come up with your own taijutsu style." said Naruto, nodding to a relieved Sakura. "What jutsus do you know?"
"Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu, Katon: Housenka no Jutus, Katon: Ryuka no Jutus, plus the three Academy jutsus." Sasuke answered, getting a happy nod from Naruto. Despite being a Genin, Sasuke knew that Naruto was way stronger than him so he respected the blonde.
"I specialize in Ink-based jutsus. The extent of the techniques I mastered so far includes an Ink clones and a jutsu to materialize my drawings." answered Sai, earning a curious look from Naruto. "I don't know if it is a bloodline or not." He added getting a nod from the Tokubetsu Genin.
"Just the three Academy jutsus." Sakura answered dejectedly.
"No worries, Sakura-san. I'll be training you for a week as Zabuza heals up." Naruto assured the girl.
"Why a week?" Kakashi asked, miffed at how Naruto easily stole his students though he didn't mind since this would give him plenty of time to enjoy his new Icha Icha.
"Before Zabuza was rescued, he was suffering from broken bones, bruises, and third degree burns. It would take two weeks to heal with chakra in his body. If he has a medic-nin then I'll give him a week, give or take two days."
"Hm, understood." Kakashi nodded, agreeing with the Tokubetsu Genin's assessment. "If you're going to train my Genins then I'll be guarding Tazuna."
"Perfect." Naruto said with a grin as he rubbed his hands together. "We are going to have so much fun!"
Team 7 didn't know why but they felt a shiver run down their spines upon hearing Naruto's declaration of their training tomorrow.
End of Chapter 2.
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