Praise Be to Jashin
Chapter 3: S-Classed… Wut?.
WARNING: This is not beta'd; read it at your own risk… grammar freaks beware
Author's Note: Chapter 3 is here! One note of business, the upload ate my scene change lines… sorry I didn't notice. I've changed them up… hopefully the new ones will actually work. In this chapter, at about 4,000 words, Sarutobi will say stuff that he does not know in the Manga, nor does anyone else. I view his shortcomings in perception in cannon not due to his lack of skill, but rather to the fact that, as the Hokage, he has too much to worry about and not enough brainpower to think critically about every little piece of information he receives. The information he uses here was pieced together from small pieces of information that he received that seemed useless alone. He simply did not have enough time to piece what was there together in Cannon.
You know, I find it funny that I've had less hits and reviews for this than my first story published here, and yet this is twice as long already… oh well.
NOTE: I tried looking up names for all of the people, but it's really boring and detracts from my writing ability by cutting me off in the middle of a thought. If you see a mistake, please let me know so I can fix it. I know it irks the hell out of me when people do it, so please do me a favor.
New to the Fanfic… A KEY!!!!!
This is how I type stuff
"I Speakem The Better Grammar"
'I's be talking to the voices in my head…'
Emphasis
Heavy Emfasys
"I's be shouting… or a demon… not sure which."
'Despite the fact that this will never happen, I's be a thinkin' demon'
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Dawn came bright and early once again to the village of Konoha. The residents there, however, had taken to wearing earplugs and burying their heads in pillows to avoid the loud shouting that had permeated the entire village every morning for the past weeks. Unbeknownst to the havoc they were unconsciously creating, two strangely hyperactive immortals jogged through the town, doing some simple endurance training. However, they were both multitaskers to the extreme, and were not only increasing their stamina, speed, and agility by sprinting through the streets, but were also increasing their lung capacity and resistance to torture while doing so. What were they doing to obtain this extra training, one might ask? Simple, they were singing.
A single black cat with a bow tied around its neck hissed and ran away as sound drifted up the street. Unfortunately, it slowly got louder…
"Ooooohhhhh, I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves. Everybody's nerves. Everybody's nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goooes…"
A carrier pigeon fell to the ground, momentarily stunned by the horrible new form of audible torture. Sadly, Naruto and Yakuro seemed unperturbed, despite the numerous kunai and senbon sticking out of their bodies. Behind them ran a small, yet still murderous, mob of early risers, intent on beating the shit out of the two most annoying people in the village. Much to their dismay, the young men were both much faster than the mob could manage to run, but had decided to torment them by running at their exact speed as so to stay just within earshot.
This mad chase continued for quite some time; at least until well after the sun had broken through the tree-line. Yakuro glanced up at the sun, and then hesitated for a moment. He subtly motioned to Naruto and the two cultists put on a quick burst of speed, dashing ahead of their pursuers. Yakuro gave a quick look backwards, and then nodded to Naruto once more, causing him to grind to a halt. Yakuro formed a set of handseals, and then they vanished with a pop, leaving behind only a fine layer of dust on the ground.
Moments afterwards an angry mob rushed around the corner, expecting to see their pursuers, only to find nothing. Stumped as to how they got away, the mob stopped their frantic chase and quickly dispersed back to their normal activities, although some, who had initiated the chase, were forced to walk clear across town.
There was something special about those two new gennin; everyone knew as much. Sadly, however, no one had seen them do anything other than stamina training, and no one had been able to spar with them either. The trained Shinobi could all see the carefully refined posture the two possessed, marking them as veteran Shinobi, but none had ever seen them fight. No one even knew their chakral capabilities, as they had both actively avoided any competent members of the Hyuuga clan. They had no friends within the village, they confided in no one, and, besides their morning workout, were almost never seen in broad daylight. They were true ghosts, like Shinobi strive to be. Everyone knew of them, but only their teammates truly knew them.
Meanwhile, in training field 14, Sarutobi and Sasuke were hard at work, Sasuke working towards becoming a better ninja, and Sarutobi working towards… being less old. Both were engaged in a highly intensive cardiovascular training regimen, which was a fancy way of saying they were doing pushups… with rocks on their backs. At the insistence of Sarutobi, the two were having a small competition to see who could complete the most pushups in ten minutes. Needless to say, Sarutobi was winning… with almost twice as much weight on his back.
With a sudden flash of light, Naruto and Yakuro appeared on the field, a short ways from the pair. They simultaneously turned to each other and slapped their hands together in a high five.
"Yosh, Yakuro-sama!" said Naruto loudly, "That warm up was amazing! Our flames of youth burn BRIGHTLY!!!!"
"YES!" replied Yakuro, even louder, "We are truly in the SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
A scarily familiar scene appeared behind the two, much to their teammates dismay. Even more to their horror, the pair began running towards each other with scarily happy smiles on their faces, shouting like idiots:
"Yakuro-sama!"
"Naruto!"
"Yakuro-sama!"
"Naruto!"
As the two neared each other, Sasuke and Sarutobi's eyes widened to an impossible size. The grass around the duo withered and died. Squirrels fell out of trees. Birds flew away. Giant, man-eating centipedes ran for dear life. The sun hid behind the clouds… you get the picture.
Suddenly, just as abruptly as it had started, the genjutsu ended, and the duo, an arm's length apart, burst out laughing. Realizing that they had been fooled, the remainder of the team stalked over to the cloaked duo, who were bent over, gasping for breath. They waited patiently for a few minutes, finally giving up when neither showed signs of stopping.
"It wasn't that funny." growled Sasuke. This only caused the pair to laugh even harder.
Sarutobi, finally giving up as well, added, "If you two don't stop, I will be forced to accept only D-rank missions for the team for the next two years."
Immediately, the two immortals stopped, realizing the gravity of the threat. Both stood up, then took a few moments to regain their composure and fix their hair. Yakuro was the first to speak, asking, "What shall our training be today, o ever wise Sensei? More hide-and-seek?"
Sasuke paled at this, remembering the last time they had played this so called 'hide and seek'. Apparently the version he had played as a child was simply a very watered down ninja training exercise, as the 'game' they played was positively brutal.
To Yakuro, hide and seek was played as follows: first, you find a non-kage level ninja; then you make that ninja run away from the rest of the group as fast as possible. Giving them a 30 second head start, you proceed to find and maim them as fast as possible. Needless to say, Sasuke was always chosen to run and hide, as when anyone else in the group was chosen the game lasted multiple hours (although Sasuke suspected that Yakuro never really tried). Also needless to say, after every session of this 'training', Sasuke was battered and broken like a rag doll.
Before he had been put onto team Sarutobi, this would have bothered him greatly, and it did at the beginning. Later on, however, as he began to notice the other gennin around him and their progress, he noticed that, although he was the plaything of much higher powers, he was growing at an alarming rate. Before he left the academy, he might have been at low Chunnin level. Now, however, he was easily high Chunnin, possibly very low Jonnin. His teammates and sensei expected him to keep up with them, and although their goals for him were just a tad too high, they weren't condescending or spiteful towards him when he failed, instead being kind and helpful whenever possible. Sasuke had been humbled by this gesture, accepting the fact that although he had believed that no one could help him defeat his brother, this trio of teachers possibly could.
He was, however, most of all amazed with Naruto. He had not known him personally, but had heard his parents discussing his disappearance, and he simply could not believe that the powerhouse that was training him was actually his age. Granted, the boy had been apprenticed to an above Kage level ninja since well before the healthy age to begin training, but his level of power was ridiculous. Sasuke, before meeting Naruto, had thought that his brother was an unrivaled genius; ANBU at the academy age! Now, he knew for certain that it was possible to be stronger or smarter than his brother: the proof was right in front of him!
Sasuke shook his head slightly, realizing that he had drifted off, a much more regular occurrence nowadays. Realizing that the rest of his 'team' was looking to him for input – he was the one they would be training – he shook his head.
"I think that a change would be nice." Sasuke said quietly.
Sarutobi nodded and turned to address Yakuro, "Yakuro, what do you suggest? You are, however much I am loathe to admit it, the better sensei."
Yakuro shook his head, smiling, "No, Sarutobi, you sell yourself short; you are a great sensei, I just have over 5000 years on you." He paused, before continuing, "Now, on to the matter of training. I suggest that Naruto go spar with his clones, as he will not need to be part of this, while I show you and Sasuke some performance enhancing seals that he might find helpful."
All of the team members nodded their assent, Sarutobi and Sasuke bearing curious expressions as well. Naruto quietly headed off to another training field, presumably to do just as Yakuro had suggested. Yakuro walked to the shade of one of many nearby trees, sitting down in the grass beneath it comfortably, unrolling a scroll in front of him and taking a brush and ink out of one of his many coat pockets. As Sarutobi and Sasuke sat down, he began his lesson.
"Now, as both of you know, there are various types of seals, some of which can store chakra of a certain nature, such as those on exploding notes." Pausing, he waited for them to nod, and then continued, "That same principle can be applied to Shinobi as well, although incorporating a seal of this nature into a chakra network is many times more difficult, and is rarely ever completed successfully." Pausing again, he dipped the brush in the ink and sketched a rough drawing of an average ninja.
"Now, I have perfected a method of adding a secondary external chakra circulatory system to the body through the use of chakra conductive ink, linked to seals spaced out on certain points on the body. Although this system remains rigid, it cannot be interrupted, and adds a slight boost to chakra capacity, if sacrificing some control. Additionally, chakra can be stored in each of the originator seals, allowing for a quick refresh during battle, again sacrificing a minimal amount of control. The magic of this sealing structure comes into play, however, through training. Since it is an external system, although linked to the internal system, the rate at which it naturally expels chakra to keep it fresh can be altered. If done slowly, in increments, the body's chakra production will increase as well, eventually attaining phenomenal speeds. This takes time, but, eventually, one could increase their production rate until their entire chakra reservoirs can be filled in the blink of an eye, as I have done. The detriment to this is a higher rate of expulsion of chakra, leading to an increased difficulty in chakra masking. Although, this could almost be seen as a benefit, since, if I didn't stifle my chakral aura constantly, people would have heart attacks while walking by me, simply from the shock of such a rapid influx of sensory material. Additionally, the system is protected against chakra draining or disruption techniques."
He quietly finished, looking to his audience. The two younger Shinobi both stared back at him with incredulous looks. He smiled, then addressed Sarutobi, "I regret to say that you receiving these seals would be nearly impossible, as your aging body cannot handle the strain. Sasuke, however, is a different matter altogether." His look turned slightly piteous as he continued, ignoring pained glances from the older of his 'students', "However, I have found in life that there is a price for power, either in time, pain, or sanity. In this case, the price is pain… lots of pain." He paused, allowing that to soak in, then finished, "I could perform the sealing; now even if you would like, as I have the necessary materials, but I must warn you that it will be more painful than anything you have ever experienced before. I believe that it is somewhere around the magnitude of chopping off your 'dangly bits' and rubbing rock salt into the wound."
Sasuke and Sarutobi both visibly grimaced at this statement, imagining experiencing such pain. Continuing his line of thought, Sasuke began to examine the pros and cons of such a seal, carefully deciding if it was worth it. Normally, he would jump at a chance to obtain such a seal, but Yakuro had made the detriments to such a seal very clear, and he was no longer quite as certain. The benefits certainly outweighed the long term detriments, but he wasn't quite sure if he was ready to endure the pain.
Finally, after much thought on the matter, Sasuke turned to Yakuro, ready to give his answer. His eyes showing unwavering resolve, he stated, "I would like you to perform the seal, now if possible."
Yakuro nodded in return, and then took a scroll out of his cloak. Motioning for Sarutobi to come closer, he unrolled the scroll, which was covered in directions and sealing arrays. "Sarutobi, I have heard that you are an experienced calligraphist. Could you copy these seals onto Sasuke as per the directions with this pot of ink?" he said, handing the Shinobi a pot of ink. Sarutobi nodded, then began to read the scroll, preparing himself for the no doubt arduous task ahead.
Yakuro began to walk to the center of the field, addressing them over his shoulder, "It will take me about an hour to prepare the sealing array on the ground, so take your time."
Finding a flat, grassless spot on the ground, he removed a light blue inkpot from inside his cloak (yet again… so many pockets), and, using the red-tinged ink inside, began to draw a complex, swirling five pointed star pattern onto the ground. As the minutes flew by, the seal slowly expanded outwards, an intricate dance of curved lines of kanji depicting shape inside shape inside shape. As Sarutobi finished his work, he couldn't help but stare. The seal was easily ten feet in diameter, and impossibly more complex than even the Shiki Fuujin! The seal was obviously ridiculously more complicated and difficult than anything that the aging Ninja had ever encountered. To say that Sarutobi was impressed would be an understatement. This man, no matter how much he had wanted to deny it, was a genius! His mind began to drift off into possibilities of what such a valuable asset could give to the village, and a thin line of drool began to ooze out between his lips.
Hearing a voice calling him, he snapped out of his daydream to see Yakuro standing in front of him with a puzzled expression on his face. Noticing that the seal was done, Sarutobi addressed Yakuro dismissively saying, "Sorry, bad habit that comes with old age." Yakuro smiled and nodded understandingly, obviously having experienced the same behavior beforehand.
Nodding to Sasuke, Yakuro scanned the seal one more time, checking for any errors in calligraphy. Finding it to be satisfactory, he turned to inspect Sasuke, who had come to stand beside him. Finding all to be in order on the black haired Ninja, he directed Sasuke to a circle of open space in the center of the seal. Carefully stepping to avoid smudging the impeccable writing, he made his way to another, obviously added, gap in the letters, ready to begin the process.
Receiving a nod from his temporary student, he began to run through a long string of hand seals, doing approximately 5 every second for 40 seconds, totaling over 200 seals. Finishing, he slammed his palms into the ground in front of him, channeling chakra and causing the seal to light up like a Christmas tree. As the light blue glow surrounded Sasuke, his body began involuntarily spasms, and a scream of pain tore through his lips. As the moments wore on, the light did not dim, and Yakuro's grin quickly turned into a frown. Over the sound of the wailing, he shouted to Sarutobi, "Something's wrong! It shouldn't take this long!"
Just as the words escaped his mouth, a red glow began to spread across the seal, starting from Sasuke's body and expanding outwards. As the seal slowly turned red, Sasuke's screams increased in volume, and his writhing became faster and more violent. Just as the two onlookers began to fear for his life, the light died down, and Sasuke ceased moving and fell to the ground with a groan.
Sarutobi rushed over to where Sasuke was lying on the ground, anxiously checking his vital signs. Realizing that the Last Uchiha was fine, he stood up and turned to Yakuro, seeking answers for what could have happened. To his surprise, Yakuro was bent over, panting from obvious exertion. Noticing that Sarutobi was looking at him, he explained, "That took much more Chakra than it should have."
"How much more?" questioned Sarutobi, concerned.
"It should have taken about a Chunnin's worth of chakra, which I would have barely felt. That sealing took almost all of my chakra, which is probably more than all of the S-classed ninja in the Elemental Nations have combined."
Sarutobi widened his eyes in wonder. Not only did Yakuro have that much Chakra, but that sealing had take almost all of it! The question now wasn't what the sealing had done, but rather what it hadn't. With all of that chakra being infused, it could have practically made a physical clone of the boy! He voiced his opinion to Yakuro, who nodded in agreement and walked over to inspect the passed-out Ninja.
Seeing no obvious changes, Yakuro began the most in-depth form of physical scanning he could… the poke-groan test. As he began randomly poking the boy, listening intently to the groans he was making, Sarutobi began checking the seal for any obvious mistakes. Seeing none, he returned to where Yakuro was kneeling, waiting for his companion to finish his bodily examination.
With a grunt, Yakuro stood up, a confused expression on his face. "He seems to be acting normal. The sealing has been completed perfectly, as far as I can tell…" He trailed off, obviously in thought. His eyes widened a moment later, as if he had thought of something horrific. Rushing over to a spot on the ground, he began hurriedly reading kanji off of the ground, trying to find confirmation for a wild theory. With an amazed cry, he looked up from the ground, exclaiming, "Of course!"
Rushing back to Sasuke, he began pacing, thoughts obviously racing though his brain at lightning speed. "It appears," he thought out loud, partially to Sarutobi, "that the clause I placed in the sealing array to allow it to take on the characteristics of the chakra system it was being bound to has had side-effects. I did not count on this, so I did not add in an inhibitor clause, but Sasuke's sharingan awoke during the sealing due to the extreme pain experienced, as his brain classifies such pain as a near-death experience. The aforementioned clause caused the array to take on the superficial characteristics of the sharingan eye. The seal-system should function normally, but will have a few unintended side effects. Smaller side effects should include increased sensory ability, and the ability to use the sharingan without inducing insanity or blindness, which would be a boon by itself. The true boon lies in the fact that the sharingan has the inherent ability to absorb chakra during activation to be used as fuel. This characteristic should have been mimicked by the seal-system, allowing him to absorb naturally released chakra from his surroundings to power his sharingan eye constantly. This ability should also be able to drain chakra from objects using physical contact, although it will only be able to drain as much chakra as there is space in the system, or in Sasuke's natural system. In simpler terms, he will be a chakra leech."
"That's mighty impressive, Sensei." Naruto called from a few yards away, walking towards them. Both Shinobi turned in surprise, dropping into battle stances, but then loosening back up as they realized who had spoken.
"Naruto. When did you return?" asked Yakuro suspiciously.
"When the light show started. I knew that wasn't what was supposed to happen, so I walked back over to see what was up." Said Naruto explanatorily.
Yakuro nodded, obviously satisfied with the answer. Hearing a groan from the ground, he turned, seeing that Sasuke had finally come to.
"What happened?" he said groggily, "I feel like I got hit with a sack of bricks." Noticing all three of the Shinobi weren't answering his question, rather instead staring at him intently. "What?" he asked, confused.
"Sasuke," Yakuro asked gently, "Do you feel… different?"
"Yeah, actually. Everything seems clearer and easier to see, and I feel like I'm reacting to little things faster than before." He said, not seeing the point.
"Ummm… Sasuke," Naruto said nervously, "There's been an accident with the sealing…"
"Oh god!" said Sasuke, freaking out, "Am I deformed… did it leave scars… can I not mold chakra… will it ruin my Shinobi career?!?!?!"
"No, no, nothing like that," Yakuro said with a chuckle.
"How can you be laughing?!?!" interjected Sasuke, "I've been RUINED!!"
Yakuro simply chuckled harder, saying, "Actually, quite the opposite has happened. Your sharingan has awoken, and fused with the seal-system…"
As he explained what had happened, why it had happened, and what the side-effects were, Sasuke's eyes lit up, obviously excited. To think, he had a one of a kind Sharingan! One with no ill side effects, and one that would likely never be replicated. He would be the stuff of legends! The re-builder of the Uchiha clan, and the wielder of the Perfect Sharingan! As Yakuro concluded, his daydreaming came to an abrupt halt.
"I believe," Yakuro said seriously, "That with much time, you could become a great, S-classed Shinobi, the likes of which has never before been seen in the Uchiha clan. Just think, the man who all Shinobi fear to face! The Ninja who can drain you dry with a single touch! Taijutsu would be completely useless, as no one could ever touch you! With enough speed, you could take down entire armies, all with simple touches to the arm!" He paused, taking a breath, "Of course, this will all take extensive training, but with enough of it, you could easily become an S-ranked Shinobi like us."
As Sasuke's eyes widened, Sarutobi interjected into the monologue, obviously having remembered something. Addressing the whole group, he cleared his throat, saying, "I have procured our first mission as the Strike Team. I understand it has been slow in coming, but try to understand that I have spent the whole time being held up by the council as they try to find a loophole in the law set by the Shodaime. I believe they wish to re-exert control over 'their Uchiha'." Turning to Sasuke in particular, he said, "As of now, we all have unparalleled power as Shinobi. I didn't realize how powerful this position was until now, but now it truly shocks me. Being separate entities, we can choose our missions, our pay (within reason), our rank, if so desired, and if we stay in the village or not. In fact, we could just say we were going on an indefinite undercover mission and act exactly like missing-nin, without repercussions and while getting paid."
Yakuro smiled smugly, saying, "That's exactly what we planned. Now, not to sound hasty, but what is our mission?"
Sarutobi smiled, saying, "Actually, we have two. First, we will be following a bridge-builder and a hired gennin team to Wave country. We have reason to suspect that the shipping giant Gato Corporation has been dipping into foul play, and is siphoning money off of the economy of wave country. We are to seize its assets for the betterment of the Shinobi Academy here, as they are running low on funding. Additionally, we are to find and ally with, possibly through force, Mochmi Zabuza, who we have reason to believe is in his employment. Zabuza recently attempted to overthrow the government of Mist Country, which is currently our enemy, even if in shambles. If we give him surreptitious funding and support, we should be able to take down the country from the inside, and remake it into a strong ally." He paused, allowing them time to soak in the information and to take a breather.
Continuing, he said, "The second task which we have is a slightly more entertaining one. I will be entering you into the Chunnin Exams as a gennin team. You will use this exam as a chance to be promoted. Granted, we could always self-promote, but legitimate promotions step on less toes. Additionally, you will be entered to make Konoha look really good, which is also really important. Finally, you will be entered for another reason. Apparently, Orochimaru of the Sannin has caught wind of this group, probably through a network of spies he set up before he left. Jiraya of the Sannin, his teammate, who is currently out maintaining his and Konoha's spy networks, has caught wind of some small hints, and we have decided that, although we cannot be certain, he is interested at something during these exams. We have reason to believe that he might invade, but we are in the dark about anything else. Knowing my former student, he has come here for a subject for his experiments, either a Bakyuugan or Sharingan user. He might have also come here out of revenge, in order to kill me, his former sensei, and the man who exposed his evil to the world. Little does he know that we will be ready for him. Sadly, we cannot ready the whole village without tipping our hands, but since this team probably has the firepower of a whole village combined, we should serve as protection just fine." He finished abruptly, taking depth breaths, so much talking obviously slightly hard on his older lungs.
Having caught his breath, he shook his head, then continued, "Sorry, I rambled a bit there. Anyway… due to the nature of our assignment, it is a little impromptu, we have to leave today." He looked up at the sky, judging the time from the placement of the sun. Figuring the time, he concluded, "Team eight, consisting of Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba with Yuuhi Kurenai as their Jonnin Sensei, will be arriving in wave country later today. We need to intercept them just before they arrive to allow us to observe Zabuza in action and trail him, also giving us time to intervene if thing get out of hand. By my estimates, we should meet at the front gate in about half an hour."
He nodded at this, as his teammates face-faulted, realizing that they had almost no time to get ready. Looking amongst one another, they all acknowledged that they were done talking, and then dashed off to their respective living quarters to prepare.
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One hour later, they set off from the main gate, a simple wave from the Former Hokage being the only clearance they needed. Dashing down the path, they all silently reflected on what had happened the past few weeks: training session after training session for Sasuke, and how it had changed them, mainly Sasuke.
Wearing his usual getup of a black shirt and black pants with Shinobi sandals, Sasuke dashed through the shadows of the trees, quietly pondering his team, and wondering what their first mission would be like. Gods knows that he was anxious; this was a B-rank destruction/diplomatic/raiding mission! Trying to distract himself from the difficult task ahead, he looked at his other teammates, taking in there appearances for the mission.
The former Sandaime was wearing very normal clothing… by his standards. He was clothed in a full body robe that looked strangely like the Hokage robe, except it was black instead of white, and had an overly large red sash around the waist. Concealed to all but the trained eye, kunai holsters rested on each of his wrists, and senbon holders were strapped to his thighs. Had he not seen the Hokage practicing with it, Sasuke would have never guessed that a Katana was concealed within his robe, nor would he have guessed that the man was an expert swordsman.
Naruto was next on the scale of strange. He had left his long, unruly yellow hair out, but had tucked the bangs that hung over his eyes into his headband. He was wearing black pants and a black undershirt with a large black battle-coat covering it, which was covered in swirling orange designs and seals, most of which looked completely foreign to the Uchiha. Strapped to his back were two katanas, each one with gems inlayed into the hilts in various seals, most likely to keep them sharp and such. His hands sported fine plate metal gloves with the tips of the fingers uncovered to allow for channeling and sealing. On his feet were regular Shinobi sandals, with the bottoms covered in plate metal for added protection and a really nice kick. No kunai holsters were obvious on the boy anywhere, and Sasuke wondered if Naruto even used them, as he had never seen them being used before.
Yakuro was by no doubt the weirdest of the three other Shinobi. He had a black undershirt with sleeves and black spandex pants on, which covered his body completely but were slightly too form revealing, making many of the women (and some of the men) they darted past on the road have nosebleeds. On top of that, he had a strong, meticulously constructed waist-length jacket made of woven metal thread. He had a set of chain mail leg warmers, obviously to protect his legs. On top of all of this, he wore a long jacket with a high collar with swirling red and black designs covering it in a mesmerizing way, causing him to inexplicably melt into the shadows. When it flared open slightly, Sasuke could see a hint of many pockets lining the insides. Normally he was armed to the teeth, however today he was simply carrying his ridiculously long sword, most likely planning to win over Zabuza's loyalty through a comparison of skill.
The road became rougher, signifying their distance from Konoha, and Sasuke was forced to return his thoughts to the road. They were running at breakneck speed to catch up to the other gennin team, and Sasuke was having trouble keeping up. He had known that his teammates were much stronger than him from his 'training', and in his mind this just re-affirmed the fact. As the landscape sped by in a blur, Sasuke began to focus more on Naruto, marveling at the fact that his peer was so much stronger than him. To Sasuke, this was breakneck pace, but it looked as if Naruto were simply jogging!
The more Sasuke thought about the situation, the more he realized that this Yakuro man was his ticket to power. He had realized the moment he had first seen the Ninja that Yakuro was different from the rest. Not only did his trick with the Dojutsu, which he still had no explanation for, show how experienced he was, but when Sasuke looked into the man's eyes, he saw a sense of loneliness, of an eternity spent longing for companionship, and he was reminded of himself, in a more extreme version. This man had been through true tragedy, and he knew that they could learn much from each other. Ok, so maybe Yakuro couldn't learn anything from him, but at least they could have each other's companionship, right?
This threw Sasuke into a depression, as he realized that he had nothing to truly offer this man who had come with everything he needed. He had a firm belief that all people had a price, and all people needed payment of some kind. When he thought about what he could give to the afro-haired Ninja, he drew a blank. There was simply nothing he could give Yakuro, and Yakuro was obviously the strongest Shinobi to ever grace the walls of Konoha, judging from the Sandaime's reactions to his actions. There was still no doubt that Yakuro would give him what he needed, the only question was how to get it.
Meanwhile, Yakuro was also deep in thought, but obviously not about the same topic. No, Yakuro was in thought about something much more dangerous: The Akatsuki. He had been keeping tabs on them through his spy network, which was second to none, as he had sleeper agents that had been implanted in places generations ago, who simply gave information to a bird who arrived every week without knowing or questioning its purpose. No, Yakuro had known the exact aims of the Akatsuki from day one, and he was troubled by a recent occurrence. It appears, or so his network told him, that the Akatsuki were already on the move. He had received information years ago hinting to the idea that they would not act for quite a while, but he had suspicions and hinting reports that they had also caught wind of Orochimaru's plans, and were going to kill the snake and intercept Sabuku no Gaara and extract his demon during the Chunnin Exams.
This was an extremely troubling prospect; though he knew that he could easily deal with them, all at once if he wanted to, he also needed to protect Sasuke from Orochimaru's plans, which by no doubt settled on the boy, despite what Sarutobi was being led to believe. He might be able to multi-task and pull it off, but both of the boys in question were in delicate mental states, and an extreme display of power would cause them both to go insane. He would have to be careful, as it was going to be difficult.
Naruto's thoughts were a world away from his two teammates, as he debated with the Kyuubi as to which Ramen flavor was the best. He had long ago learned that he could talk to his prisoner, and had begun to do so almost immediately after, as per instructions from his teacher. At first, it had acted quite brusque and demon-like, brushing him off with growls and short, demeaning statements. He had expressed this to Yakuro, who had responded with a smile, explaining that, given enough time, the demon would realize that their conversations were an outlet for its boredom, and would begin to converse. Although it was still short, and sometimes made rude, demeaning, or snide comments, Kyuubi had warmed up, just as Yakuro had said it would, and now gave him great advice and helped him survive his boredom during times like this.
He had asked the Kyuubi what his favorite flavor of ramen was, and the Kyuubi had responded snidely that it was human heart flavor. Naruto responded, much to the fox's surprise by stating that he had never had that flavor, but he was certain that Miso was better. Thus ensued a long debate on the merits of Human Heart Flavored Ramen, ending with Naruto stating that he was curious as to what it tasted like, and that he would save the heart of his next sacrifice to Jashin to create some.
As these thoughts concluded, the team arrived at the shoreline bordering wave country, with a rowboat, most likely containing Team 8 and their charge, slowly heading towards the land barely visible on the other side of the bay. For one moment, the team turned their attention to the bridge barely visible through the mist, all clearly impressed by the engineering genius that it must have taken to build the bridge, gaining surprising respect for the bridge builder that the gennin team was guarding.
Deciding that standing around was going to get them no closer to their objective, Sarutobi stepped onto the water, motioning for the team to follow. Luckily for them, Sarutobi had planned for occasions such as these, and had taught Sasuke the art of water walking many weeks ago. As the team followed, he managed to detect two expertly hidden chakra signatures, which he was certain only close to Kage level ninja could detect. Glancing back, he gained two surreptitious nods from Yakuro and Naruto, meaning that they had sensed it too. Glancing at Sasuke, he was surprised to notice that the Ninja was uneasy; it appeared that his sessions of run away from the S-classed ninja were paying off, as he obviously felt something.
The three Ninja advanced cautiously, all masking their presence perfectly, Sasuke included (hide-and-seek anyone?). As they neared the Islands of wave country, a sudden spike of chakra alerted them to a problem, and when they heard the shout of, "GET DOWN!" they rushed to the sound.
Arriving near the battle, they masked their presences even more tightly; concerned that close proximity could give them away. Yakuro, thinking that the Hyuuga on the team might have her Bakyuugan active, cloaked them in a concealment genjutsu designed to block the all-seeing gaze of the white eye. Secure in their concealment, the team crept forward, focused on the fight going on in front of them, which was by all accounts slightly boring.
Zabuza, thinking that he was cloaked by his mist, crept around the team, assured in his safety. Unbeknownst to him, Hinata had surreptitiously activated her eyes, and had told her teacher where the missing-nin was, allowing the genjutsu expert to cast a multi-layered web of complicated genjutsu around their tormenter. His senses effectively blocked, the Jonnin simply walked up to him, prepared to finish him off.
Unsurprisingly, to the spectators at least, senbon sunk into his neck a moment before Kurenai was to kill him, making her believe that he was dead. As the 'Hunter-nin' jumped down from the tree near them, Sarutobi chuckled. It was such a simple trick, and any more experienced Jonnin, at least one who had been interested in becoming a hunter-nin, would have seen through it. Unluckily for Team 8, Kurenai did not see through the show, instead allowing her opponent to be carted off, none the wiser to the fact that he actually was alive.
Sasuke stared at the match intently, feeling that he could learn something important from this encounter, as it appeared that Yakuro was watching it intently, and gesturing for him to do so as well. As it progressed, he couldn't help but feel that he was witnessing a routine fault that many experienced shinobi fell prey to. It appeared that Zabuza, overconfident in his ability to win, had underestimated his opponents, allowing them to incapacitate him quite easily. Additionally, it appeared that he relied too heavily on that one technique for success, and, when confronted with a counter, was left flat footed. He mentally made sure to remember to have more than one trick up his sleeves at all times, and to never underestimate his opponents.
Team Seven waited patiently as the other team led their charge to his house, then proceeded on with their mission. Apparently the 'hunter-nin' that they were tailing was quite fast and stealthy, as it had quite the lead on them, and Yakuro, who had designated himself as the tracker, was surprised by the difficulty he was having following the trail left at the same pace.
As the tree branches whipped by their faces, the forest slowly grew gloomier and more oppressive. Here and there were scattered signs of activity from non-ninja humans, which lead the team to guess that they were headed to Gato's hideout. Soon, the dense woods thinned out again, and a discernible footpath could be distinguished, allowing the team to increase their pace. At this much faster speed, they arrived at Gato's hideout quite quickly.
The hideout was nothing like any of them expected. Instead of being a grandiose mansion, or possibly a castle, it was a slipshod jumble of treehouses connected together and added on to, most likely as space was needed. The whole thing was marginally impressive in the fact that it didn't fall out of the trees it clung to, but it was otherwise quite shabby looking. From the worn footpaths leading to its entrances, it was obvious that this hideout was a hive of activity, most likely under the cover of darkness. At this point, however, it was as silent as a ghost town, save one person standing near one of the entrances, guarding the body next to it possessively.
As they dropped down into the clearing, their prey spoke up, acting slightly smug from what it perceived to be it catching its pursuers. "Ah, so Konoha has sent more shinobi to try and test us," called the feminine voice, in a light and calm, but paradoxically mocking tone, "If you were trying to be sneaky, you are all quite pitiful. I knew that you were trailing me almost as soon as we left the battle." With that, she, or so the team thought, dropped into a basic fighting stance, obviously ready to do battle with them.
Sasuke made a motion to answer the call, but Yakuro held him back with an arm. A quick glance was all that was needed, and Sasuke backed down as Yakuro stepped forward. In an answer to the shinobi, he dropped into a strange stance, his bent legs too close together and his hands slightly behind his body, then called, "For your information, we were making no effort to hide ourselves."
Frowning at the subtle jab, the unknown shinobi rushed in, zigzagging lightly to avoid any incoming punches. Yakuro however, to the astonishment of everyone, simply stood there as the other shinobi neared, not shifting his stance at all. As the nin came in with a simple punch to his sternum, his team held a baited breath, expecting him to react at the last second. He did not react at all, and the punch hit him full force. As the fist connected, however, he loosened his knees, then used the momentum of the punch to execute a handspring, kicking the surprised nin under the jaw, sending her flying.
She shifted her momentum in midair, landing lightly on the balls of her feet, then charged back in with a burst of speed. As she began a volley of punches, Yakuro clasped his hands behind his back, weaving and ducking madly to avoid being hit. Seeing that he appeared to be in a rhythm, the hunter-nin jammed her knee towards his stomach at a sharp angle, leaving him no room to dodge, expecting to catch him off guard.
To her surprise, Yakuro responded by folding his body around her knee and grabbing her upper thigh. With a slight grunt, he bent backwards, flinging the shinobi over his shoulder. She flipped over, landing on the ground lightly, then whirled around to see… an empty clearing.
Closing her eyes, she stretched out her senses, searching for her opponent. Feeling no disturbances in the air other than small animals, and finding no chakra signature, she began checking for signs of a genjutsu. Darting her eyes around the clearing, she looked for any sign of something out of place. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a bright flash of color. Focusing on it, she was surprised to see a simple orange flower. She stared intently at the flower, willing herself to notice the discrepancy, then disrupted her chakra flow, sighing in relief as the genjutsu melted around her. Looking down, she noticed strange markings in ink on the ground around her. With a start, she realized that the genjutsu was a simple diversion in order to complete the technique.
Yakuro smiled, realizing that his trap was successful. As the mysterious ninja tried to jump away, he activated the seal. Glowing brightly, the markings halted her upward motion, stopping her with one foot off the ground. The clearing was silent for a moment, everyone holding their breath to see if it was over. Yakuro stood with his arms crossed, as if taunting the mysterious Shinobi to try and break the seal. With a slight tremor, ice burst from the ground, rupturing the seal and freeing the Shinobi from her prison, allowing her to drop her foot down onto the bed of ice below her.
Running through a string of handseals, she jumped towards Yakuro, a dome of ice mirrors rising out of the ground around them. Yakuro looked around, frowning at his prison.
"A Hyouton user," he said, marveling at his luck, "It's been a long time since I've seen one. What luck!"
Frowning in turn at his words, the 'hunter-nin' faded into the mirror behind her, her face appearing on all of them. A moment of stillness passed, both Shinobi staring at each other impassively. In the blink of an eye, both Shinobi disappeared into flurries of motion. All through the dome, small ice senbon flew, trying to disable the ninja trapped within. Yakuro, however, was considerably faster than the nin, even with the speed boost the technique gave. He reached out into the air, grabbing a handful of senbon out of the air and slipping one between each finger. His hands became a blur of motion, and the soft and rapid clink of senbon meeting echoed throughout the forest.
After an approximately thirty second barrage, the nin stopped the attack, its image in the mirrors panting from exertion. In the middle of the circle, Yakuro stood calmly and steadily, looking as if he hadn't even been fighting. Shifting his weight back slightly, Yakuro's swept his eyes over the dome of ice, assessing the mysterious technique. With a smile, he jumped at one of the mirrors, punching it with his left fist. To his opponent's chagrin, wide cracks appeared throughout the mirror, which had been formed to easily withstand 5 tons of force.
Suddenly more wary of her target, the Shinobi once again began throwing senbon, slightly faster this time. Yakuro quirked an eyebrow, then once again began dodging the projectiles, avoiding all of them with ease. As the barrage continued, the number of senbon gradually decreased, the nin obviously running out of energy. As quickly as it started, the onslaught ended, leaving the nin in the mirrors panting. Yakuro, however, was still standing in the center of the dome, not even slightly out of breath.
"That's a great technique you have there." He said with a smile. "It obviously would allow you to defeat someone considerably stronger than you, as long as the gap in skill was not too great. Sadly, however, you have one major flaw that you seem to have forgotten."
Proclaiming this, he strode up to the nearest mirror and plunged his hand in, his smile growing infinitely wider. "You didn't count on fighting another ice master."
And with that, the dome shattered, small shards of ice raining down on the battlefield. The air slowly cleared, revealing Yakuro standing over the panting Shinobi, smiling as calmly as ever, the battle obviously over.