Chapter two
It was almost time for the examination of the genin-wannabes. The test was mostly about physical abilities and chakra usage. Low level techniques, or ninjutsu, like changing your appearance, switching your body with an object at high speed, to confuse an attacker, creating a few clones of yourself for diversions, things needed for basic shinobi missions.
The physical part was about stamina, punch and kick power, speed and accuracy with thrown weapons. For a normal person it seemed much, it was like military training, but for ninja these were only basic skills. Later on they were bound to better their arsenal, enlarge the list, according to their own specialization and preferences.
Naruto was still bored out of his mind, watching some kids struggling to create a simple clone or barely hitting a target a few meters away. HE could do that easily, even blindfolded if he would have someone telling him the location of the target. In maximum three strikes he's hit it. Some kids were pretty good for their age, they knew more advanced ninjutsu but still not enough to survive out on a battle field.
Absent mindedly he wondered if an Uchiha, maybe related to Itachi, could spit out a stream of fire as big as he had seen his commander creating. The resemblance was amazing, only that this guy had less rough features, and his gaze was softer, friendly. Uchiha Itachi had nerves of steel and a look that could drill holes trough stone.
The guy with the dog, Kiba, was also strong but, like him, he wanted more. Naruto liked the kid because both had the same feral edge in their voices when discussing about battle or violence. The name 'Fang' was well given to him. With a few months in a Root training routine he might be worth some credit.
Apart from these two, the rest looked pretty normal, or as normal as shinobi could look. Spikes of chakra now and then, whenever a jutsu went wrong or somebody used too much power, some badly aimed throws ending with bruises and cuts, a bone fracture when some brat tried to punch a rock with full force and that was all. His turn came up and he stepped forward, jumping from the tree branch he had sat on.
The accuracy part went without any trouble. Twelve targets in different positions and angles surrounded him. The trick was to give yourself a bit of a spin while throwing and do the throw itself with medium effort, only a slight movement of the wrist. The strength and speed part were also easy, the dummies that 'attacked' him fell easily to his hits.
The ninjutsu posed no problem for him. The replacement was done with a leaf instead of a log, a much harder choice for a diversion as it was smaller and lighter. The transformation was flawless, a perfect copy of the teacher, only that it had the same voice as Iruka, unlike most disguises. The clones were solid, five Shadow type-ones that had a physical body, reason and habits just like the original, plus their own chakra system.
A perfect score on his part, impressing the class with the unique approach to the basics. That was the entire test, he received a forehead protector, that was symbol of the Independent, and put it on with a little bit of nostalgia, although he didn't knew what it was. He felt sorry for all the good times in the Core, the guys back in Kiri, the frontline, and deep within his soul he realized that those days were over, he would never do those things again.
The Uchiha did as well as him, using some tricks of his own, and so the two got the title 'Rookies of the Year'. Sasuke, as he found out his name was, asked him if he had some spare time after school, some of the kids were going to celebrate their promotion at a restaurant nearby. Absently, Naruto agreed and so, when they were free to go, about nine kids, including the blond left together, some laughing, others excited and some pretty bored.
"So, Naruto, tell us about yourself. We don't know much since you joined us so late. You did some real cool stuff back there. Where did you study until now?"
"I've had private tutors since I was about five and I traveled a lot so I don't know the village very well. Both my parents died in the battle with the Nine Tails Fox, twelve years. Actually I was born on October 10th, the very day of the attack."
"Oh…sorry, I didn't mean to…"
"No it's ok. My father was a friend of the 3rd so I was raised by the Sarutobi clan and when I was six I left the village. I journeyed trough the southern part of the continent to Tea Country, Sea Country, Waves country, even Water Country. I know that part of the world pretty well."
"Wasn't it dangerous in Kiri? With the war going on?"
"I wasn't I Kirigakure no Sato, I went there when it surrendered but I mostly stayed in the northern ports. My travel companion was a ninja working as a messenger between Leaf army commanders, I learned a thing or two from him. Actually you might know him, Hyuuga-san."
A girl with dark-blue hair and white eyes with no irises looked up from her plate." Oh, I'm Hinata. You can call me like that, I don't like the name Hyuuga. But what about that man?"
"His name was Hyuuga Mizuro. He was part of the Main, the leading branch of the Hyuuga clan."
"I'm sorry, I've never heard that name before. And I know almost all Main Family members. I'm the eldest daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi, the clan leader. It's my job to get acquainted with everyone."
"Ok then, never mind. Maybe it's because he hasn't been in the village for quite a while now." 'So you don't know either. I didn't expect you to, this is most likely S-rank information. I'll find you out and then I'll have some questions for you.' He remade the promise.
"So a big part of my life was spent on the road and mid-way towns. I don't know Konoha very well, it's been a while since I last saw it."
"Do you live with the Sarutobis? Did they train you? Do you know any advanced ninjutsu? You must know, by the way you did all those tests. Who do you think you'll be teamed up with?..."
"Woa woa there. What is this, an interrogation?" his tone was a happy one. " I can't start telling you guys about everything, it'll take days." Sasuke looked down, a bit embarrassed. He had finally found a really strong guy. And if he traveled in the southern regions, he must have met Itachi. But for now he would take things easy.
Kiba, broke the silence with a question everyone had on their minds " So, what do you think? About the teams I mean." A girl with blond hair, tied in a long ponytail and blue eyes, lighter than Naruto's, stopped starring at said blond and said " They'll probably be balanced ones. You know, like strong with less strong."
"Yeah" on the other side of the table a pink haired girl –talking about weird shinobi looks-supported her statement. "Ino's right, and besides that, they'll be made out of two boys and a girl. Iruka-sensei told us that a few weeks ago, weren't you paying attention?" Kiba smirked "Nope. I was playing cards with Naruto. By the way, dude, what was that stunt you pulled last week? What's with you and Iruka-sensei?"
"Oh" the boy lazily drank the tea in his cup" Me and Iruka go way back. When I was training with the Sarutobi he would sometimes check my progress and test me from time to time." He didn't mention what kind of testing. Iruka was at the time second in command of the Assassination Squad and would later be captain when Hatake Kakashi retire. " Oh yeah, those were the times. Didn't have a care in the world. Now we're officially shinobi of the Leaf, he lifted his cup mockingly and drank from it as if it were wine.
"It's gonna be fun" Sasuke tried to re-assure him" We're going on the field, we'll see action. I can't wait to meet an enemy shinobi face to face."
"Yeah, he'd probably smash yours." Everybody laughed. For some reason the attention of the three girls shifted from the raven-haired Uchiha to the blond Uzumaki. Kiba and Chouji –a rather chubby looking kid, with whom Naruto had some time too- started playing cards. What Kiba didn't knew was that Couji had a deck of his own, hidden neatly in an inner pocket.
Next to Naruto, and on the other side, next to Sasuke, two rather quiet kids were playing chess. One was wearing a long coat and sunglasses while the other had normal clothes. He wore his newly received forehead protector on his left arm. They seemed to be highly concentrated on a game of chess, it had already progressed to mid-game as Naruto saw it. The one with sunglasses gave the other a Royal Fork, threatening both the Queen and the King with a Knight. He was forced to loose the queen to get his King to safety.
The blond paid little attention to what happened next, he was kind of sleepy, pretty unusual for him at this time of day. So when the bill came he left the money on the table and said goodbye to the rest of them. After exiting the restaurant he jumped on the nearest rooftop and then on a water tower overlooking the village. He decided to go to the woods instead of simply taking a nap, some exercise would be good now.
His plans were interrupted by a squad of ANBU on patrol. The four of them surrounded him on a lonely rooftop." You don't possess a shinobi license. Using this type of travel is illegal for non-ninja. The military police can deal with you." Naruto had forgotten his forehead protector at the Academy, and now he regretted it. Only ninja could travel on rooftops, it was specially reserved for them, in case of emergency. It was a surprise for the patrolling ANBU when he pulled out a blank mask, symbol of the Root, so they let him be.
Hokage's office, same time
"As you must have guessed, I have task for you. It's very important for the village that you succeed so you should give this your full attention. Failure will have catastrophic results. Do you accept." In front of him was an ANBU fully dressed in battle armor.
"And what exactly are the requirements of this mission, Hokage-sama?" The man's voice was low, like an assassins. The third Hokage, Saruto Hisuke smirked and then let out a large puff of smoke, from the pipe in his mouth.
"Take off your mask. You shall resume your former identity and be taken out of the ANBU corps. You no longer have the rank of High Captain, instead you will be named Elite Jounin along with a selected few others. Actually, you will all have similar tasks. Here, this file says everything." His smirk grew as the man read the paper in his hands.
"So it's time." The elder nodded and looked out the window. "I did not expect this honor, Hokage-sama. There are others better than me in this field. Why do you need an expert killer?"
"Oh, it's the best choice. Only the reading of those files speaks volumes about what your job will and which direction you shall follow. The village, through me, decided that this was best."
"What about the third element? I see nothing special there. Actually 'I could name better ones."
"I'm sure you can, so do my former team-mates, Koharu and Homura. But I am Hokage and this is my decision. Every assassin needs fog and cover. Are all the details clear? If so you are dismissed." The man disappeared out the window and blurred away trough the high buildings of the village, making followers lose his trail in alleys and low areas. The Hokage allowed himself another smirk, or more likely a smile. A happy one.
Country of Rain, capital-city, a few hours later
Multiple shadows appeared in the once empty cave, see-trough images of their original possessors. It was had to distinguish any specific trait in their appearance, only their eyes shone brightly, in their true form. Apart from that, all had high collar robes.
"So we are finally gathered. Welcome, comrades, to the future!" one of them, standing in the middle, spoke with a cold voice, a mechanical one."
"I'm impressed. You really did get all of us. All the SS-rank shinobi this continent has. Deidara, the terrorist from Stone village, Zetsu, the cannibal, Hidan, leader of the Jashin Cult, Kakuzu, the 'soul-eater'. Sasori, the master puppeteer of the Sand Village. Even an Uchiha, Itachi of Konoha. I truly am impressed."
"You know us pretty well, Hoshigaki Kisame. You used to be a Hunter-nin in Kirigakure no Sat before the war so I imagine you know the Bingo Books by hearth. You failed ,though, to mention the last two members. Me and my partner." Kisame laughed with a crazy note in his voice.
"Oh, I know you too. I know you very well actually, from you deeds in the northern lands, especially in Lightning country. But information is not cheap. What amazes we, tough is the recruitment of Itachi-san. I thought you are a devoted man of the Leaf, you led the final assault upon my former village" He showed no signs of regret or anger for this, if possible, his tone took on a new level of craziness.
"My reasons, as all of yours, are my own. I am a part of the organization now."
"We have important things to discus and time works against us I'm afraid. All of you have distinct abilities of the highest caliber. Our purpose requires them greatly, we need small elite teams that can travel unnoticed trough any country and fulfill their tasks while avoiding detection from the ninja villages. The teams will be of two members each. Only Zetsu will work alone. His Kekkei Genkai is useful for espionage but no one can keep the same pace with him."
"So what are our tasks? You've been pretty mysterious about that until now."
"You all know of the Bijuu Lords, the tailed demons" everyone nodded, shocked by the topic. "In the past, each village has tried to harness their powers in order to grow their own. That is what brought a level of stability among the warring nations, none wanted to see it's lands destroyed by the enemy's demon even if they had their own to counter. Until about one hundred and fifty years ago, demons or demon-hosts had fought rarely but each time the battle ended with great consequences. The villages mutually agreed to keep them at bay. The last demon to be subdued was the Nine-Tail Fox, and right now Konohagakure no Sato hides it."
"Thank you for this political history lesson but these are well known facts among the elites of the shinobi profession. I want to know a purpose for all this trouble."
"Our goal, from this second onwards is to capture every one of those demons. When the villages loose them, they'll blame each other and begin wars under this pretext. In the war that shall come, we will have the upper hand, we will act as mercenaries for the nations that pay the most. The Five Great Nations may survive but the small ones will go bankrupt. In the end even the strongest will hold no chance and we shall dominate them all."
End of chapter two.
Just review it so we can all be happy.
Alex R out.