Harry Potter/Naruto Crossover
In Naruto's World:
"Hello" = speaking in Japanese
"Hello" = speaking in English
In Harry's World:
"Hello" = speaking in English
"Hello" = speaking in Japanese
'Hello' = thinking in either language
CHAPTER 5
It's a dream. Both Naruto and Harry knew that. But they can't stop. Both boys don't know how long either of them have been running through this dark, dense jungle. All they know is that if they stop, they'll die, despite it being a dream.
Then, they saw a light beyond the trees. They ran faster, hoping to reach salvation before whatever it is chasing them catch up to them.
They were almost out of the jungle when something red and furry blocked their path. Both boys weren't able to stop in time and slammed against the thing, which threw them back as soon as they made contact with it. They tried to find anything to hold, which in this case at the red fur, but the force of the thing threw them back.
They hit the ground several feet back. They groaned, staying on the ground for a while. Almost at the same time, they got to their feet. Lucky enough, whatever it is that was blocking the way was gone now. Both boys look at each other, a questioning glance in their eyes.
It was the first time they saw each other face to face. But neither of have time to say anything to the other when that same red and furry thing pushed them from behind and threw them out of the jungle. The last thing both boys saw as they flew out of the jungle are two red slitted eyes and nine red and furry tails swinging in the shadows.
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HARRY'S WORLD
Harry woke up panting. He tried to get up from the bed he was sleeping in but had to immediately fall back down due to the sudden pain all over his body. He stayed like that groaning for a few minutes before trying again. As soon as he was in a sitting position, he swayed to the side of the bed and sat there for a moment. Looking out of the window of the Tonks' guestroom, he saw that it was almost daybreak.
"Damn fox." He said, knowing perfectly well what that red and furry thing was. The fox had been intruding through both boys dream ever since he and Hermoine started discussing making their own wands. The big question is why would the fox do that? This wasn't even the first time he and Naruto dreamed of something initiated by the fox, and each time both boys wake up groaning in pain.
He was about to run his fingers through his hair in frustration when he noticed a few strands of red hair in his palm. "What the heck?"
Suddenly, the door to the room opened and Andromeda Tonks came in wearing a bathrobe and with a worried look on her face. Her husband right behind her. "Harry, we heard noises. Is everything alright?"
It took a few seconds of calming himself before he was able to answer, "Yeah. I'm fine. Just a bad dream."
"Are you sure? Because my wife says she felt a magical spike from here." Ted said.
Looking around the room, Andy finally noticed the red strands on Harry's palm and asked, "Harry, what are those?"
Looking at the strands of the fox' fur, Harry answered with the first thing that came into his mind. "Just the core for my new wand."
Andy shook her head and said, "I still say you are too young for a wand."
"Maybe. But then again you'll be there to guide us, won't you." Harry said cheekily.
Andy merely shook her head again. She had tried to convince them that they were still too young to even attempt to make their own wands but she also know if she fight them on it, then they'll still try to make it despite the dangers involve. At least if she let them make it, they would have an adult witch to guide them and teach them the responsibilities of having wands on their person.
"Fine. But there won't be any attempt to make a wand unless I am there to supervise. Are we clear?" She said sternly.
Harry merely gave her a smile and said, "Yes, ma'am."
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"So let me get this straight, you suddenly woke up one day and, BAM, you got yourself a magical core you need for your wand?" Ron asked incredulously as he, Ginny, Hermoine, and Harry were resting under the shade of a tree behind the Tonks' house after their morning training. The novelty of the Boy-Who-Lives had gradually lost its appeal after going through a week of said Boy Who Lives' grueling physical training.
Both Weasley are coming along fine in their physical training and in a few weeks, they'll be ready to be introduced to harnessing their chakra. Ron's sense of smell makes him almost on par with the Inuzuka tracking ability, while Ginny seems to possess agilities that surpasses the norm. They theorize that it has something to do with her encounter with a vampire years ago.
"What can I say. I'm awesome that way." Harry said with a grin, earning him a slap on the head by Hermoine.
"Shush, you. We still don't know if it would be compatible core for your wand. And we still got a lot of studying to do before even attempting to start making our wands. Both the wood and the core must be in tune not only with each other but with our magical core as well. All in all, I think we'll begin practical wand usage in a year."
"Or, we could find a wand maker in Knockturn Alley who wouldn't ask too many questions to make our wands for us." Ginny said diplomatically.
"No." Harry said with a sigh. He already thought of it before but he needed the experience to make his wand so that his alter ego, namely Naruto, would be able to make one himself in the other world. "Besides, if we ever broke our wands, we could just make one since we would already be making them now."
"Yeah, but it would take so long." Ron whined.
"Anything worth doing is worth the wait." Hermoine argued.
Both Weasleys sighed at that but they know she was right.
"By the way, what are we doing later?" Ginny asked Harry suddenly.
For a moment, he contemplated the question silently, until a scary grin suddenly formed on his lips, giving the other three a reason to cringe.
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"Welcome to Gringotts, Mr. Potter. How may we help you today?" The goblin said in a professionally rough tone after the blood identity ritual came out positive of Harry's identity.
Harry, sitting in front of the goblin's desk along with Hermoine said in a crisp tone, "I would like to inquire about my family's accounts and would be very grateful if any transaction from today would not be known to anyone."
The goblin, whose name is Gobnick, nodded and said, "Very well, Mr. Potter. As the Potter Clan's account manager, it would be my pleasure to cater to the Potter heir's demands."
"Thank you. Now, about my accounts."
Taking out a large tome from a file cabinet beside the desk, Gobnick opened in up and said, "As of the moment, there are two vaults in the Potter name. One is the Trust Fund, which contains a yearly stipend of twenty thousand galleons to be used for living expenses and such. The other is the Potter Family vault which you can't access and I wouldn't be able to tell you the contents until you either reach the legal age of 17 or file emancipation before the said age of consent."
"Unless said minor is the sole magically inclined living member of said clan, according to Paragraph 10, Section Three-B of the Wizarding Inheritance Law of 1577, clearly stating that the sole living magically inclined member of the clan have the rights to the full inquiry of the said clan's account whatever age he or she may be."
Gobnick blinked at the girl, before a feral smile appeared on his lips. It was so rare to find any wizard, particularly this young, to know of such things. "Very well. The Potter Family had been around for centuries and have accumulated a total liquid asset of five hundred and seventy three galleons worth. Forty percent of them are on land properties and heirlooms. Twenty percent are on Investments and still accumulating quite a sum in interests. The rest are in forms of galleons and jewels inside the Potter Family Vault."
Hermoine gave Harry a look. When he gave her a nod, she turned back to Gobnick and said, "M. Potter would like to know if anyone else have made withdrawals to the account since 1981."
The goblin nodded and said, "There is. Albus Dumbledore, with permission from James Potter, have been withdrawing a yearly amount of fifty thousand galleons to another account since the said date and been transferring them to an account which is simply named Order."
"Are the emancipation process in the wizarding world any similar to the ones in the muggle word today?" Hermoine ask suddenly.
"Quite a few. Especially since Mr. Potter is quite a known celebrity. There would be a lot of families that would try to get legal claim to the Boy-Who-lived. In fact, several families already tried. But the Wizangamot, particularly Albus Dumbledore had denied them time and again."
For a moment, Harry's killing intent filled the room at the mention of Dumbledore. It disappeared a moment later and Harry asks, "Which family filed for my adoption?"
"Lupin, Zabini, Greengrass, Diggory, Weasley, and Malfoy." The goblin said, reading off the list.
"Do you have an idea what the money withdrawn is being used for and is there anyway to make sure no future withdrawals could be made without my say so while at the same time making sure the withdrawee doesn't realize he isn't getting anymore money?"
Gobnick gave both kids another feral smile and said, "As a matter of fact, there is such a way. If you allow me to do this, everytime dumbledore withdraws a certain amount from your vaults, we would be taking the same amount from the Order vault to transfer the same amount of money back to your vaults. With a steady decline of 12 percent per year, the Order vault would be emptied out in less than ten years.
Both Harry and Hermoine nodded at that before Hermoine said, "According to Gringotts Banking Law, A minor sole heir of a Wizarding Family, with a minimum liquid asset of a hundred million galleons, is allowed to use 5 percent of the overall asset in his or her discretion."
When Gobnick gave them a nod, Harry said, "I would like to make sure No one else is to withdraw from my family's vault. Four percent of the overall Potter assets are to be put in a new vault that can only be withdrawn from by four peopl, namely me, Hermoine Granger, and Ronald and Ginny Weasley."
Gobnick made a list of the Potter heir's ordrs and was soon finished.
When they came out of the bank, both in disguise, Harry couldn't help but. Like he said before, he's going to conquer the Wizarding world. Now, he have the funds to start.
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NARUTO"S WORLD
'The Boy-Who-Lived, huh?' Was the thought of one Uzumaki Naruto had been having the entire time at breakfast since he woke up. Knowing for a fact that he himself have a secondary chakra source, heck even a third (the third being Kyuubi's chakra), does it mean that he might be a part of that world as well? Are there similar people like that somewhere in the Shinobi Continent? If there are, he's sure that he'll find them someday. If there aren't, then he's more special than he thought he is, which actually made him smile a bit sadly.
Putting away thoughts of wizards and witches for the time being, he turned his attention back at his meal. It has been rare for him to have breakfast in peace ever since Ino and Sakura became his unofficial students. To savor such moments like this, he only made one clone, compared to five each morning. That one clone was quietly computing this month's budget by the corner. As soon as the clone was finished, it canceled itself, allowing the original to absorb its recent memory.
Naruto groaned upon learning this month's budget, particularly the amount of food cost. Despite both girls chirping in, their meager allowances they got from their parents weren't enough to upset the cost of the food they eat in the morning. He really couldn't blame them since he himself knows how hungry one's body would feel after exhausting most of the body's chakra the day before. And considering how hard he trains him self in some days, he perfectly understands their predicament.
Speaking of those two, he wonders how they were doing on their assigned punishment for 'borrowing' his journal during his midlife crisis a few days ago? No matter, once the clones following them poof out of existence, he'll know everything.
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NARA RESIDENCE
"Shikamaru, I'm scared." Akamichi Chouji whispered fearfully to his best friend as the two of them stare at the odd scene in front of Chouji's House.
Shaking a bit himself as he stare at the oddity in front of them, he whispered back, "Don't make any sudden movements. Maybe it would go away on its own."
Said oddity was giving them a rather large ticking of veins on her forehead, and an even larger fake grin, which scared the two boys far more than the former. It wasn't everyday that their childhood friend, Yamanaka Ino, comes to their house, handing out fliers, while wearing a ridiculously short, bright-orange, waitress outfit.
"Please visit Icharaku's Ramen stand and avail their latest vegetarian flavors as well as their buy-three take-one promo. So for every three ramens of the same variety you buy, get one absolutely free of charge." Ino said in her sweetest, and for the two boys, the scariest, voice, she handed out two fliers after making a complete twirl with her outfit.
Too scared to say anything, they slowly, and extremely carefully, took the fliers as if they were exploding tags with lit fuses, hoping not to aggravate the clearly dangerous girl, their action doing the exact opposite to the said girl.
'Why the hell am I undergoing this humiliation again and not just outright killing these two morons?' She asked herself for the hundredth time that day. And everytime, her mind would remind her why seconds later. 'Oh, right. Naruto-sempai's training and breakfast privileges. I could have live without the training but breakfast privileges are too important.'
Both her and Sakura were glad that Naruto finally managed to overcome that midlife crisis he had a few days ago but he still punished them for stealing his journal and ranting out his secret to the others, particularly Sasuke and Shikamaru. But does his punishment have to be this cruel and unusual?
She and Sakura had been giving out fliers from house to house throughout the entire village since this morning while wearing these ridiculously orange, yet perversely cute dresses while making sure to act all cute and bubbly (in other words, mentally deprived). The Akamichi house was on her list while the Uchiha house is on Sakura's list. Knowing how much her best friend dislike Sasuke, she knows it must be killing Sakura to act all cute and bubbly in front of him as she try to offer him a flier.
Their sadist of a secret sensei made sure that the houses on each of their lists consist of the last people they would like to have them see in that outfit. As of the moment, Ino had already went through twelve die-hard Sasuke fans, only nine of them are girls. She still got at least a couple of more houses to visit.
Still, Naruto had promised them an entire new set of training regimen once their punishment was over. Particularly those that includes ninjutsu, and since they both knew he had never failed to keep his words, they know he'll make good on his promise.
The veins on her forehead grew when the two boys immediately ran back to the house and several locking sounds were heard behind the door. Sighing in resignation, she turned away to get to the next house on her list, praying she doesn't loose her temper before she finishes her list.
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"ACHOO!" Naruto sneezed out of the blue. Going back to what he was thinking before, "Oh, right. Food money."
Problem now is where could he get some quick cash to last him until next month, when he'll get his allowance from the Sandaime? He really doesn't like leeching of the old man more than he already does. Although he could ask old man Hokage for an increase in allowance, he wouldn't feel right about it. It's just not his style.
If he was already a genin, he could just ask the old man to give him a few D-ranked missions to get some easy cash. He went still for a moment at the thought. Why don't he just ask old man Hokage to give him a few D-ranked missions for some easy cash?
Several minutes later, we found our favorite whiskered-faced blond boy walking down the street towards the Hokage Tower. He strode leisurely through the streets of Konoha ignoring the angry glares and looks of fear from the older villagers, as well as a few admiring stares from some of his fangirls. He turned an emotionless stare at one of the angrier looking store owner, who had been gritting his teeth in anger at him a second ago. He smirked inwardly when the sudden stare scared the old man enough to drop a ceramic vase he was holding.
It was times like this that he was grateful for his Bad Boy reputation. It discourages some of the more dimwitted fools from attacking outright. Seeing no one else was going to be harassing him, he went on his way to the Hokage Tower.
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"I'm am sorry, Sahito-san. But, at the moment, we don't have that number of genins available for this mission. The best I could provide you with a single genin squad, no more." The Hokage said to the old man across from his desk.
"B-but you don't understand, Hokage-sama. Our town has several hectares of rice field to harvest in only three days, not to mention plowing the rice and packaging them for delivery to the harbor, which is a day's travel from our town. We would need at least thirty men to do all that before the storm season hits or else we won't have any income for the next six months. We usually manage to do it before but ever since the flu epidemic had hit our town, most of our own farmers are too sick to work on the fields." Said a worried Sahito, the village chief of a small farming village near the edge of the Southern boarders of Fire Country. He also knew that if he doesn't manage to sell the rice, then the village won't have the income to buy enough medicine to cure the said epidemic. He was already risking enough by spending most of the village budget to pay for a mission from Konoha ninjas.
The Sandaime sighed. He really wanted to help this man as well as the man's village but most of the genins and chunins of the village are indisposed at the moment. He was just about to deny the man when the door was suddenly kicked opened and came in Uzumaki Naruto.
"Hey, there, Hokage-jiji! I need to ask you something!" Naruto said loudly as he walk towards the desk, ignoring the other man there as well as the irritated secretary, who kept apologizing to the Hokage for letting the brat inside during a meeting.
The Hokage sighed once more before telling the secretary that it was alright. Once she left, the Sandaime turned back to the blond boy and asked, "What do you need this time, Naruto?"
Both the Hokage and Naruto grinned at the other. It was crude and informal relationship but it has always been like that for the both of them.
"Do you have a few D-ranked missions that no one else wants to do?" Naruto asked.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Because I need some extra cash, fast."
"Why don't you just ask me to give you your allowance early?"
"And have you leeched off of me when I become Hokage? Not on your life, old man!" He said with a grin.
The Sandaime chuckled at that. Naruto was as prideful as his father used to be. He was just about to give out an insult of his own towards the brat when something suddenly clicked in his mind. He turned towards Sahito for a moment before turning to Naruto once more. Going into deep thought for a moment, he contemplated a few things before opening his mouth and saying, "Naruto, how would you feel about a C-ranked mission?"
Naruto almost gasped at the question. All he was hoping for was a few D-ranked missions but suddenly getting a C-ranked, which pays about twenty times a regular D-ranked mission, he asked suspiciously, "What's the catch?"
The Sandaime chuckled and said, "No catch at all, my boy. You see, Sahito-san here is prepared to pay thirty shinobi each for a D-ranked mission. Using your special talent, you could get paid its equivalent for practically the same price."
Thinking about it for a few seconds, Naruto asked eagerly, "What's the mission?"
"Hokage-sama!" Sahito protested suddenly. "I don't think one boy could do the job of thirty men, especially considering we are on a deadline."
The Hokage merely gave him a knowing smile and said, "Not to worry, Sahito-san. Naruto-kun here has a very useful specialty that allows him to do twenty jobs simultaneously. Also, he won't be going alone." When he turned back to Naruto, he said, "Naruto, the mission is harvesting several rice fields near the Southern boarder of Fire Country. You have three days to harvest the rice and a day to deliver it to a nearby harbor, where Sahito-san is going to sell it. It is imperative to finish the job within the specified time limit, or else I'll consider the mission to be a failure. You got two hours to brief the other members of a group of your and your supervisor's choosing as well as to get yourselves ready for departure. You'll be acting as team leader so I'll leave all mission details in your discretion, as long as it follows the set parameters. I'll have two chunins to supervise you on this mission and you and your team are to meet them and the client at the main gate in three hours counting down from now. Dismissed!"
"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Naruto saluted before jumping out the open window. The Sandaime smiled at the blond boy's unintentional show of respect. He knows perfectly well that a formal salute from Naruto means that the boy was serious about the mission. If only he could get that brat to show respect more often.
Pushing a button on his intercom, he said to his secretary, "Chihako-san, please bring me Umino Iruka and Inuzuka Hana immediately."
"Hai, Hokage-sama." Came the secretary's answer.
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"I can't believe it! A C-ranked mission and we're not even out of the academy yet!" Came the excited squeal from Ino as she, Sakura, and Naruto walk towards a certain shop at the market district.
"Whatever. I'm just glad I'm finally out of that stupid outfit. I mean, orange is not my color." Grumbled the irritated Sakura, now in her more comfortable black pants and red Chinese outfit.
"What got your panties in a twist, forehead girl? I mean, the dress aint really that bad. I think it was kinda cute." The other girl said.
"Shut it, Ino-pig! I don't want to talk about it."
"Why? Did someone hit on you during your punishment?" When the pink haired girl stiffened, she knows she got it on the mark. Ino gave the other girl a huge teasing grin and said, "You didn't loose your temper and clobbered the guy, did you? Because, that would mean failure to comply within mission parameters of our punishment, which also means you get to be punish, again."
Sakura gritted her teeth at Ino's grinning face, making her want to just smack her one for good measure. Giving off a sigh of defeat, she turned towards the male blond and asked sullenly, "What's my punishment this time?"
"Your punishment just arrived." Naruto said with a maniacal grin.
Soon enough, Uchiha Sasuke came walking out from the corner along with a Naruto Kage Bushin, which dispelled itself immediately.
"What happened to you?" Both Sakura and Ino asked, one in annoyance while the other in delightful concern.
"Hn." The Uchiha grumbled, ignoring the two girls. He has a couple of bruises all over his body and a nice black eye on the left side of his face. He didn't really know why he picked a fight with that chunin who almost groped Sakura, but he just lost control once she was out of site. He gave a grinning Naruto a sour look before asking, "Hey, dobe, what's this about making it worth my while if I come along?"
"C rank mission. I get the payment and you get a C rank mission on your permanent record. Also, there's a personal incentive if you play along." Naruto said with a knowing smirk.
"Oh? And what incentive would that be?" Sasuke asked, showing him that he aint interested, and almost doing a good job at it.
If possible, Naruto's grin went wider as he whispered something to the other boy's ear that turned him bright red. Whatever it is, the girls were quite intrigue.
A few minutes of silent contemplation later, where both girls can't help to notice the few glances the Uchiha was giving them, he finally said, "Fine, Uzumaki. It would be good on my permanent record, anyway."
"Glad to heart it, considering the incentive would also serve as a bit of payment for that black eye of yours." The blond said once again, gaining the attention of the others.
When Naruto turned a grin towards Sakura, the pink haired girl knew she was in trouble. When his grin went wider, she blanched in horror and said, "You wouldn't dare!"
"Oh, but I would." He said before turning back to the now bewildered Sasuke. "Now, teme, if you choose to accept this incentive, you'll gain your very own maid for the last two days of the mission."
Ino was scandalized and a bit jealous as well. Sakura gasped in horror. While Sasuke was contemplating, actually thinking of the offer as he gave both grinning Naruto and a glaring Sakura several glances before a small smirk finally settled on his face.
It was enough answer for Naruto and he said, "Glad you approved."
"Don't you think that's a little harsh, Naruto?" Came a new voice.
When everyone turned, they saw Shikamaru with his trademark lazy attitude walking towards them with Chouji right behind him with a bag of chips in his hand.
"I don't know, Chouji. A lot of infiltration and undercover missions deals with those kind of scenarios. If you lose your temper in a hostile village while undercover, then best case scenario is you manage to fail the mission and escape. Worse case scenario, you get captured, tortured, and if you're a kunoichi, raped during or after interrogation." Shikamaru said in his usual lazy voice, but everyone grimaced at the probability of what he said actually happening, which to say is a lot.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Ino ask the newcomers, "What are you guys doing here anyway?"
"Iruka-sensei gave us some extracurricular activities, a field trip or something like that." Chouji said.
"I think it's troublesome but Iruka-sensei said the credit would go into our permanent shinobi records as a C rank mission, if we manage to graduate, that is. How'd you get a C rank, anyway?" Shikamaru asked the blond boy.
Naruto merely smirked and said, "I'm just awesome that way. Besides, it's only a C-rank because of the number of people required to get the job done and the job itself is set an hour travel outside of Konoha."
"What the heck are you people still doing here? Your mission starts in less than an hour and none of you are even geared up." Came the voice of Inuzuka Hana as she walks towards them with her nin-dog, as well as her little brother, Kiba and his dog Akamaru.
"Oh, you're our chunin supervisor, Hana-san?" Chouji asked politely.
"Yup. And stop with the san-suffix. It makes me sound old." Hana said cheerfully.
"I don't think there was anything wrong about that." Grumbled Kiba to himself, but not soft enough it seems when Hana suddenly gave her little brother a smack to the head.
"Shut up, you. You're doing this mission without pay as punishment. So I don't want to hear anything else from you." She said furiously and the down Kiba before turning to the male blond of the group. "You don't mind, do you? Hokage –sama said we could get up to ten people for this mission."
"Fine by me." Naruto shrugged.
"Good. I think Iruka went a bit overboard and decided to make a field trip out of this. I saw him heading for the Hyuuga complex a few minutes ago." She told the blond boy before saying, "By the way, why aren't you guys geared up yet? It's a week long mission, you know."
"Good question." Ino said, before turning to Naruto. "Why aren't we geared up yet, anyway?"
Naruto sigh and pointed a thumb towards a certain shinobi apparel store and said, "We were about to get our gears when you people showed up. Anyway, I want everyone fully geared at the west gate in thirty minutes. Anyone late gets left behind." Gathering a nod from everyone, he turned and went inside the shop along with Ino and Sakura while everyone else left to get ready.
As soon as he entered the shop, his danger sense went to overdrive. Ducking low, he managed to avoid a kunai thrown at him before jumping and sticking to the ceiling to avoid three more of the thrown projectiles, which seems to be what the assailant wanted him to do since the next second, a whirling sound was heard before several hundred small arrows pierced his body, reducing it to ribbons.
Both girls were shock at the scene, but were relieved when the dead Naruto in the ceiling poofed into an arrow riddled wooden chair, which then fell into pieces into the ground a second later.
"Must we do this everytime I come in here, Tenten-sempai?" Asked an irritated Naruto as he step out behind a large vase full of spears.
Coming out from across the room, a grinning Tenten came out with a strange weapon in her hand. It seems to be a crossbow with a metal cylinder attached to the middle bottom of it. (A/N: It's a gatling crossbow, like the one used in the live action movie Hellsing)
"Just testing the merchandise, Naruto-kun." Tenten said with a grin as she walks leisurely towards the three. "Besides, that's what you get for neglecting to help me and pops with this thing, considering it was of your design."
"Actually, it was Harry's design. But no one needs to know that. Action and Anime movies are kick-ass!" He thought before saying out loud, "Yeah, yeah. I hit a snag the last week but I'm over it now. Anyway, I came to get a few gears for a week long mission. A C rank."
"You got a C-rank mission? How?" She asked in awe and a bit of jealousy.
Uzumaki smirk and said, "Because I'm just awesome that way. Anyway, I think this qualifies for our deal."
"Fine, fine. Free gears for missions, in exchange for new weapon designs. I hope the new design are as kick-ass as the gatling crossbow. Pops is still having some trouble fitting a Raiton seal for the stun baton you cooked up." The bun haired girl said as she took her place behind the counter.
"Fine. I'll try to finish my design on a stun grenade when I get back." He said before turning towards the two other girls in the shop. "Gear up, you two. Standard gears of ten kunai, twenty shuriken, three lengths of ninja wires, five explosive tags, and basic survival gears."
The girls nodded silently and went to pick u their gears while Naruto, after making a Kage Bushin to pick up his own gears, walks towards Tenten to engage her in small talk. "By the way, did you ever found out how that accident at the workshop?"
"Not yet. And my dad wouldn't let me try to duplicate it without knowing what it is first." She pouted at the thought. Her dad could be a real pain sometimes, especially when it comes to her well-being.
The accident happened a few months back. While she, her dad, and Naruto was trying to build a prototype of a crossbow, Tenten's father accidentally pulled the trigger of the loaded crossbow. The arrow would have hit her if she didn't suddenly poof into the other side of the shop. No one knows how she did it but Naruto felt it was caused by her secondary chakra source he knew she had, which he can now confidently call 'magic'.
"Well, you'll be happy to know I finally figured out what you did." Naruto said as he took out a small scroll from his item pouch and gave it to her. "It's called apparition. It's an instantaneous transportation jutsu done without seals. The pop we heard was the air displacement occupying the empty space you left behind. A friend of my contact managed to get their hands of some info on it."
Greedily taking the scroll and scanning its contents, she was a bit disappointed that all it have inside are general definitions about the technique. There wasn't much else. "What? Is this all you got about my new technique?"
"Hey, the information about it is still very much restricted to my contacts. Besides, where they came from, this technique is restricted until you're of proper age, which is seventeen." Naruto said. "Also, this technique doesn't use chakra."
"Oh? Then how did I do the technique, then?"
"It's a secondary chakra source you seem to have. I don't have a name for it yet but I noticed most people in our generation have them." 'Actually, it's called a magical core. But I don't think you'll believe me if I told you.' He thought.
"Really? What else could this secondary chakra source do? And how long have you known?" she asked eagerly.
"A lot of things. And I've only learned about it barely two weeks ago. So I don't know much about it. My contacts are on the job though so I'll know more about it in the future. Anyway, it seems we're done packing. I'll see you when I get back, sempai." He said before stepping out of the door followed by his Kage Bushin, Ino, and Sakura.
When Naruto's group arrived at the main gate with their packs ready, he saw the client as well as Iruka with Hinata, her cousin Neji, and Aburame Shino waiting for him. The others are already there as well, which consist of Hana, Kiba, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Chouji. All seems to be ready to go. "Iruka-sensei?"
The scarred chunin smiled at him and said, "Naruto, I'm glad you at least make it a habit of being on time for missions. If only you're as punctual in class. Anyway, Hokage-sama asked me to be your supervisor for this mission, so all I'll be doing is watch you unless absolutely necessary. I hope you don't' mind if I bring along some of your classmates for a field trip? Neji-san is here as body guard for Hinata-san but I still offered him a C-rank merits if he helps out."
Seeing the blond leader turn to him, Neji scoff and said, "I have no intentions of participating in this so-called field trip of yours, Uzumaki. My only concern is the safety of the Hyuuga Heiress."
"You got quite a big stick up your ass, don't you, Hyuuga-teme?" Said Uzumaki said with a half-lidded stare, which the said Hyuuga answered with a scowl.
"Yeah. Yeah. Let's get going already." Naruto said cheekily.
"Quite a character, isn't he, Iruka-san?" Hana smirk.
"Damn brat." Iruka mumbled affectionately before saying, "Anyway, Naruto, Hokage-sama asked me and Hana-san to be your supervisor for this mission, so all we'll be doing is watch you unless it's absolutely necessary for us to intervene. You have free reign on handling all aspects of the mission." He then turned towards the others in the group and said, "We were also given permission to use this mission as a graded field trip for the academy so every thing you do in the span of the mission will be graded. Please treat this as an actual mission since, in reality, it actually is. The merit will all get written on your permanent shinobi record once you all graduate so please do your best." When he received several nods from them, he then turned to Naruto and said, "Now then, Naruto, mission starts now. Good luck."
When both Iruka and Hana stepped aside, everyone's eyes turned towards Naruto, causing him to sweat a bit. He really hates it when people put him in the hot seat. All he was hoping for was a few D-rank missions to earn some grocery money. He never expected to lead a group nine people on their very first C-rank mission.
Breathing deeply, he turned to them and said and in a clear voice, "Okay, everyone, listen up. Our mission is to harvest, pack, and deliver the next rice stock of Sahito-san's village in under a week. Failure to comply within the specified time limit is unacceptable. I'll be assigning you your roles in the mission once we get to the village so I need to know all your strengths and weaknesses before we get there."
"Why bother, Dobe. It's not like you don't know any of us already." Kiba said sarcastically, still a bit sore for getting a mission without payment.
"Because, in order for your superiors to give proper orders, said leader must be fully aware of his subordinates' skills and attitudes. Misinformation could literally kill ninja, like for example, if a leader gave you a task you're not suited for, it could cause mission failure, and sometimes even deaths of said ninjas." Everyone was a bit surprised when Shikamaru actually volunteered to give out information like these, especially Ino. She's been hearing Shikamaru give off information like these more often than not ever since Naruto came out of his midlife crisis.
Naruto, Iruka, and Hana nodded in agreement.
"Anyway," Naruto said, forcing them to turn their attention to him once again. "I'll be assigning a Kage Bushin for each of you and I want you to tell them about yourselves as we travel to Sahito-san's village. I'll decide what to do next once we get there." Doing a familiar hand sign, he made nine bushins assigned to each hopeful genins, including the stuck up Hyuuga prodigy. "Now, LETS GO!"
Leading the group, he started walking towards the open road away from Konoha, followed by everybody else and their Kage Bushin escorts.
Iruka, Hana, and Sahito decided to walk beside the lone Naruto since the other are a bit busy with their clones.
"Seems you have things under control, gaki." Hana said, teasing the blond kid.
"I'm glad you're treating this mission seriously, Naruto. It would provide good experience for you and the others in the future." Iruka said, hiding a smirk, which Naruto, being a prankster at heart, noticed immediately.
"What's the deal, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked bluntly, but softly so the others behind them won't hear.
"Whatever do you mean, Naruto-kun?" Iruka asked in mock innocence.
He called him Naruto-kun. Naruto knows that Iruka only uses those suffixes when he's being a tad manipulative. "Now I know you're up to something. I just don't know what it is yet."
"What makes you say that, gaki?" Hana asked in confusion.
"Because he's a prankster at heart. And because he's the one that thought me the most important lesson on being a shinobi." He said, giving his teacher a conspiring grin.
"Really? And that would be?" The Inuzuka girl asked again, genuinely curious.
"It's no fun if I tell you right away. But I'll give you a clue." Naruto said, sharing another conspiring grin with his grinning sensei before turning back to Hana. "Do you think it's a mere coincidence that out of thirty students in our class, Iruka only managed to convince nine of us to go in this mission?"
Hana gave both student and teacher a glance before going into deep thought. After a few minutes of thinking, she came up empty and asked, "I don't see it."
"Then let me give you another clue, Hana-san." Iruka said, giving Hana a warm smile. "Why is it that the REAL genin exam have a failure rate of sixty six percent?"
Naruto suddenly stopped at the sudden influx of information entering his mind after a sudden dispersion of one of his clones. He turned around and smirk at the the now lone Shikamaru, who merely gave him a bored look.
"Well now, seems like Shikamaru figured everything out." Naruto said before continuing his walk, organizing the information he got from his clone.
"You seem a bit more forthcoming with your analysis since last week. Why the change?" The Naruto clone asked Shikamaru as they walk with the others not far away.
"It would be too troublesome in the future if I didn't step up once in a while. Besides, with this group, I don't think there's anything needed to be hidden much." The Nara said in a bored tone.
"What do you mean?"
"Simple, really. Iruka-sensei suspects that all of us are the top of the crop. We have the highest percentage from the entire class to be promoted to genin, even after the test given by the Jounin instructors after the academy exam. He's already giving us extra chances with this C-rank mission. A C rank under our belt even before we graduate holds a great deal when promotion comes by. He's already trying to ensure our careers with this little field trip."
"So, you think Iruka-sensei manipulated everyone into coming along?"
"Not everyone. You, Ino, and Sakura are a given. Sasuke came because you made him. Kiba told me it was Iruka-sensei who suggested his punishment to Inuzuka Tsume. He talked to my mom instead to make sure I go, also making sure Chouji's mom was nearby so he'd come along too. I don't know how he got Shino to go but I saw him walking out of the Hyuuga District with both Hinata and Neji in toe so I'm sure he talked to her father so she could come. Must have been quite a convincing story considering it's Hyuuga Hiashi we're talking about."
Putting aside those memories for later analysis, Naruto turned to Iruka and said with a large dose of respect, "You manipulative bastard."
"Glad you approved, brat." Iruka smiled back.
Half an hour later, several pops were heard. Most of the group didn't even falter at their strides knowing it was merely the Kage Bushins dispelling themselves since their tasks are done, until only the original was left, which was talking with Hinata.
Iruka chuckled at seeing Hana's surprised face, knowing that she thought she was talking to the original Naruto from the start.
-----A few minutes earlier-----
"Hanabi-chan sends her regards." Hinata said, a knowing smile on her lips.
Naruto raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically, "I'm sure she did, along with quite a few curses and the occasional death threats."
"True. But in her defense, she was only trying to protect her older sister from, in her words, low-born unmannered hentai ruffians, who should not be allowed to flirt with her innocent older sister." The Hyuuga heiress was stifling a laugh, remembering the first time they met.
-----Flasback (A year ago)-----
Hinata Hyuuga, eldest heiress of the Hyuuga Clan, was doing her favorite pastime, namely stalking her first crush, Inuzuka Kiba. If people ask what she saw in the boy, she would say it's his personality. She's shy, quiet, demure, and was required to be act as a shining example of Hyuuga pride being a Hyuuga heiress. He's brass, loud, rough, and doesn't care what people say about him despite being an Inuzuka heir. Her clan expects her to act in ways that must uphold Hyuuga standards. His mother and older sister usually egg him on when he gets wild playing around. She feels like a prisoner in her own home sometimes. He runs around wild with the Inuzuka dogs. She tries not to stand out too much, afraid to fail. He laughs off his failures and gets up immediately. Her clan gives her criticism. His clan gives him support. He has everything she wants in a family.
She's hiding behind a tree several feet away from the clearing in Training Ground 8. He's hard at training again. He used to be one of the best taijutsu fighters in class, second only to Uchiha Sasuke. But a week ago, his spot was suddenly taken when he was defeated soundly by Uzumaki Naruto. The next day, he went and challenge Uzumaki again, only to be defeated more soundly than before. The next day after that, Uzumaki denied him a match saying if he aint even going to take up his challenge if Kiba does not even try to improve himself for a time. So now, Kiba is hard in training for his upcoming match the day after tomorrow.
"He seems to be actually improving." Came a sudden voice beside her. She almost eep loudly but manage to stifle it with both her hands covering her mouth.
She turned to her left and saw Uzumaki Naruto standing beside her looking at the clearly exhausted Kiba.
"Um, a-ano . . ." her reflex kicked in and she blushed furiously at getting caught spying on the boy, her fingers in a familiar rhythm of wringing.
Uzumaki gave her a smirk and said, "Who would have thought the Hyuuga heiress would have a thing for muttboy?"
For a moment, Hinata's anger flare and he gave the blond boy a patented Hyuuga glare with matching Byakugan eyes. But instead of the usual reaction, Naruto gave her a smile of approval and said, "So you do have some fire in you. Kiba's a lucky guy."
Her glare was immediately replaced by a blush a few shades darker than before.
Naruto merely smirk again before turning towards the training dog boy once more before saying, "I guess I see what you like in him. He's stubborn but dedicated. He tries hard to improve himself. He'll either be quite good someday or crippled young. Either way, he's got my respect."
"W-why?" She asked with a stutter.
"Because I was the same not too long ago." He said with a genuine smile.
-----End Flashback-----
Since then, both she and Naruto had been friends. They don't hang out much but they always managed to get along splendidly when they do.
Naruto merely smirk and said, "I'm sure she added quite more colorful words than that."
"True." Hinata said with a knowing smile that Naruto didn't notice. She have an inkling on why Hanabi is so angry every time anyone even mention the name of the blond boy. But since its too early for any confirmation, she'll save the teasing when Hanabi is a bit older to identify the feelings herself.
"Well, that's no excuse for being such a brat. Besides, she's the one that started that prank war with me, the Master Prankster. She's lucky all I do for now is sabotage her pranks to backfire on her." Naruto said arrogantly in good nature.
It took them half an hour later to arrive at the farming town. By then, everyone is hyped up to start the mission. Two shinobi and several aspiring shinobi saw that the epidemic had affected quite a number of villagers. They could see from the open windows that most families have their members sick in bed. It was really too bad since the epidemic is quite easy to cure. The vaccine just costs quite a sum of money, and can only be brought from Grass Country.
After spending the night at Sahito's home and a small breakfast, all three of them went straight to the rice fields.
"Damn. When you say you guys have one of the biggest rice fields in Fire Country, you weren't kidding." Kiba said as he looks over the vast expanse of the fields. There are rice field as far as the eye can see.
"Thank you. Our ancestors have been taking care of these lands for three centuries. We export our rice to everyone, even during wars, so most nations see our village as neutral. The Fire Lord grants us protection so we're pretty safe from robbers and raiders. But we can't ask financial support from him unless we want the other countries to see us as taking sides. It would be bad for us if that happens."
"I see. So where are you planning to export this month's rice?" Iruka asked.
"Most of them would be sent to Tea Country. While some would be sent to Wave Country. The Storm season would be arriving as soon as two weeks or earlier so we need to have all the rice on the harbor by next week so there would be enough time for the medicine order to arrive from Grass Country. Are you sure these kids could get the job done in time?" Sahito asked, very skeptical about the whole thing.
At this, Iruka smiled and said, "Don't worry. I believe Naruto and the others could do it." Then he turned at the grinning Naruto and said, "You know what to do."
Naruto saluted and turned to the others before saying, "Okay, everyone, our mission starts now. Kiba, and Chouji are in charge of transporting the rice to the plow house. Shino, Sasuke, Neji, and Sakura are in charge of plowing them. Ino, Hinata, and Shikamaru are in charge of sacking and packing them. I'll handle the fields."
After everyone nodded their heads in affirmative, some reluctantly, Naruto smirked and put his hands in a familiar ram seal and shouted "TAJUU KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!"
There was an enormous cloud of smoke that appeared suddenly. When it disappeared, there were at least thirty clones of the orange clad boy all around them.
"Alright!" Naruto shouted to his clones, which all looked at him with rapt attention. "Everyone knows their jobs. Now, GET TO WORK!"
"HAI, OYABUN!" Shouted all the clones in a deafening roar before doing their assigned job. The rest of the genin hopefuls went to their assigned station. The real Naruto joined his clones on the field and was soon lost in the sea of orange.
Iruka gave a still gaping Sahito a light smirk before saying, "We should go back to the village and tell them that you'll be making the deadline, if not sooner, as well as prepare a large meal for Naruto and the others. They would need it to restore their chakra."
Sahito could only nod in agreement since he doesn't trust himself not to squeak at the sight.
By the end of the day, almost a quarter of the entire field had been harvested and the plowed rice packed in straw sacks. Just like Iruka said, the genin hopefuls were famished, particularly Naruto and Chouji. Sahito, and quite a lot of villagers, can't help at the thought of the money they paid the Hokage to be quite worth it. At this rate, they'll be able to make the deadline by the middle of the week.
On his sleepin bag, Naruto can't help but smile. He knows it was a slow sart to his conquest of the Shinoi world but its a start nonetheless.
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Author's Note: Hi there. I'm sorry for taking so long but I'm back and would start regular updaes by next year. There aint much action in this but I promise the next one would be much better.
Next Time: Time skip to Harry's entrance to Hogwarts. Wand waving shinobis.