So this chapter is more explanation this time, so if you are here for action and violence, this is the wrong chapter for you. There is a little action, but I promise you that there will be more action later.
But, there is a poll I want to do. Just review your answer.
POLL:
Should Haku be a guy or a girl? And if Haku is a girl, should there be any kind of romantic tension between Naruto and her? THIS DOES NOT MEAN CONFIRMED PAIRING OR HAREM ROUTE.
Well, that's all I wanted to ask. So, without further ado,
Let's Begin Chapter 4!
The Hokage's office was filled with Jounin, giving their reports. They all just finished their tests with the new Genin.
Yuuhi Kurenai stepped forward. "Team 8 passed. They showed great teamwork, although, the Inuzaka was a little hard-headed at first." The Hokage nodded, and she stepped back into the group.
Sarutobi Asuma came up next. "Team 10 passed. Not too surprising, considering their parent's legacy."
A poof was heard next to the group. The Hokage looked over at the late arrival. "Ah, Kakashi, I was wondering when you would arrive."
A voice was heard from the back. "Failed another team, Hatake?" A few snickers could be heard.
Kakashi stood in front of the crowd and said, "Team 7, barely passed. Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto managed to work together, but they almost failed when they attempted to abandon Haruno Sakura." A few gasps were heard and then a deep silence.
The Hokage waited for him to continue, but Kakashi had this look that seemed to say that it was private. He nodded his head to confirm. Kakashi then stood at a corner of the room and waited for the rest to continue, which were all failures.
When the room was emptied, Kakashi stood back in front of the Hokage and continued. "Hokage-sama, what jutsus did Naruto take from the Forbidden Scroll?"
The Hokage raised an eyebrow at this. "The Kage Bunshin no Jutsu was what Iruka had reported. That should be it. Why?"
"Naruto performed some jutsus that were A-rank or higher, and some of them were unrecognizable to me", Kakashi said.
"Oh? Like what?", the Hokage asked.
"He used Kiri no Chakra and Bunshin no Daibakuha."
"I see. What about the jutsus you don't recognize then?"
"Well, it looked like the Nara's trademark jutsus, but they were much different and went by a different name. They even had an elemental style that Naruto kept saying. He kept saying Intou."
The Hokage's eyes suddenly widened and stood up quickly, knocking over papers and writing utensils off the desk. Kakashi thought, 'I knew it. It wasn't something good.'
The Hokage asked him, "What jutsus of that style did he use?"
Kakashi recalled all the jutsus Naruto had used against him. The Hokage, after hearing all of them sat back down and sighed in relief. "That's good."
Kakashi, confused, asked, "Hokage-sama, what are those jutsus?"
Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, also is called the Professor due to his vast knowledge of jutsus. He sat down and began to explain what he had learned and why he had sealed them in the scroll.
"Those jutsus were the product of many things. Orochimaru had wanted to copy the Nara's jutsus for himself, but he failed to replicate it without the clan's secrets. The notes were abandoned until someone had picked up the notes, finished them, and gave them to a ninja.", he began.
"Who finished them?", Kakashi asked.
Sarutobi was silent for a moment. Kakashi wondered if it was someone famous or dangerous, maybe a missing nin or another Kage?
Sarutobi then looked at Kakashi with an extremely serious face and said, "A demon."
Kakashi's eye widened in surprise. "Do you mean one of the Bijuu?"
"No, I mean actual demon. Youkai, evil spirit, it has a lot of names."
Kakashi's jaw dropped. "Why would a demon take interest in ninjutsu?"
The Hokage shook his head. "It's not ninjutsu that he was interested in it. It was Orochimaru's discovery." He asked, "Do you know how the Nara jutsus work?"
Kakashi replied, "It has to do with manipulating light and dark chakra, correct? (AN: THIS IS ACTUALLY A THING…)"
"Correct. The Nara's jutsus replicate shadows by sending chakra into their shadows and stretching the chakra to another shadow. Like the opposite of getting out of a Genjutsu, it aligns with the opponent's chakra, possessing the body. But, what Orochimaru was trying to discover was how to make actual shadow a weapon. That was what the demon was interested in", Sarutobi explained.
"So, Naruto was using his actual shadow to attack?", Kakashi asked.
"Yes, again, this is correct. But, that's not the issue. If the jutsus Naruto used in the fight against you were all he knows, then he is lucky to avoid the curse of that style."
"Curse?"
Sarutobi stood up and looked outside before continuing. "The demon had given the notes to a 30 year old Genin. He had failed the Chuunin exam again and again. But, due to his limits, he could not pass. The demon offered him power, and he accepted." Sarutobi looked at Kakashi again. "What he didn't tell him was the curse of using those jutsus to the fullest. In order to use your own shadow, your most corrupt side of your personality detaches from you, becoming sentient and can even take over. It usually has the original's welfare in mind, but welfare in that sense is achieving everything they want. The ninja went crazy during the Chuunin exams, and we had to take him out."
Kakashi was just taken aback. He thought Bijuus were the worst of it, but demons now? "So, what about Naruto?"
The Hokage smiled. "To do most of the most powerful yet corrupt jutsus, you must do one of the jutsus called Intou: Kagegan. The most basic of jutsus can be used by anybody with any impurity in them. But, the rest can only be donw by that ritual, which makes your corrupt self sentient. So, if Naruto only knows the jutsus you described, then he must have not done the ritual."
"What if he did, Hokage-sama? What jutsus would he have unlocked?", Kakashi asked.
"If he did do the ritual", Sarutobi said, "then a few of his Intou jutsus will be corrupt, as I said. It will borderline torture and may even disgust you, Kakashi. It digusted me when I watched the first man do it."
Kakashi almost stepped back in shock. 'Something disgusted the Professor, former teammate of Orochimaru?' Kakashi stood at salute and said, "Understood, Hokage-sama. I will keep an eye out on Naruto to make sure he did nothing of the sort." He then poofed away, leaving Sarutobi to his thoughts.
Sarutobi sighed. 'Naruto, I really hope you didn't do that ritual.'
'Kit, I think you shouldn't have done that ritual.', the Kyuubi said.
"Yeah, I know. It sucks.", Naruto retorted, lying on the bed. He and Sakura kissed. A part of him was actually ecstatic. He wanted to jump up and down.
But, he couldn't. The entire reason Sakura likes him now is because of that voice and jutsu. Sakura doesn't truly like him. Her affection just found a new target. It wasn't natural at all.
'Hehe, what's wrong? Yeah, she didn't like you at first, but she likes you now. Extremely too. It seems she had a huge fucking crush on that other kid.', the voice said. Naruto held his head.
'That voice again?"
"Yeah, he's more annoying than the guys who knock on my door.", Naruto said. The villagers had stopped trying to knock down his door when Naruto learned how to set traps, but they still slam on the door, screaming insults.
'Oooh, good idea. Let's murder those bastards, and rape the bitches.'
"Is rape all you think about?"
'Course not. I think about murder and deception just as much. Rape is just more pleasurable on the physical level.'
Naruto shook his head, hoping that the voice will just shut up. All he's heard since the first time the voice appeared is just corrupt stuff over and over. He sighed and covered his eyes, hoping to forget what had happened today.
But, when everything went dark, the memories of the kiss flooded back. The heart-pounding moment, the anxiety, and the feel of her lips.
"Fuck me.", Naruto whispered. "Fuck everything."
'I don't get why you're so down about it. You have a girl head-over-heels in love with you. You know what that means, right?'
"Let me guess, rape?", Naruto sarcastically replied.
'Wow, someone has to teach you what that word means. No! You have someone you can take advantage of.'
"I don't want to take advantage of a teammate. That gray-haired dog would kick my ass if I did."
'Aaaaand, someone you can trust.' When Naruto heard that, his heart throbbed a bit. He trained himself to disappear through the Academy and the new jutsus, but a bit of him still craved attention. If Sakura really did love him, then…
"No!", Naruto shouted. "I can't do that to her."
'It's too late. She's going to do that to you. She's going to trust you, love you, want you near her. Just as you want.' The voice went silent, and after a few minutes, Naruto realized that it was done for a little bit.
He laid there. Even if the voice wasn't there, the thoughts it put into his head swam in his head. After all, what the voice said was true. He wanted attention, and now, he could have attention from someone he knew couldn't be trying to trick him because she was being tricked herself. He could finally have someone with him, to support him.
But… what if she found out? It's one thing to be betrayed by strangers. It's another to be betrayed by someone he trusted. He knew that and avoided trusting people for that reason.
Speaking of trust, Naruto remembered Sasuke's offer. Being friends without trust, could that even work? He never disliked Sasuke because he never tried to be friends or enemies with him. So, the offer seemed appealing, but could he be friends with someone without trusting them eventually? And, the same went for Sasuke. Could humans have that kind of relationship?
He sighed. He had no one to really talk to. This was the problem of not trusting anybody. Unless it was purely academic, he couldn't rely on anybody.
'Oh well, whatever happens, I'll deal with it. Hopefully, the missions don't allow for too much team bonding.'
'That cat needs to die.', the three Genin of Team7 thought together. They had just completed a mission to capture a cat, one known to escape ninja frequently.
Naruto looked at both of his team members. In a way, they were bonding… negatively. Naruto gave a little smile. 'This type of bonding, I'm fine with.'
Iruka gave a nod and smiled. "Good job, Team 7. Tora Capture Mission complete. Now, for your next missions-"
Naruto raised his hand. Iruka, noticing this, said, "Yes, Naruto?"
"Iruka-sensei, I think I speak for my entire team, but these missions are stupid. None of these test ninja skills or provide a challenge", Naruto said, leaving out the fact that Tora was probably a good match for them. "I request a higher-level mission for my team."
"Look Naruto," Iruka said, "These missions are for your benefit. You guys aren't ready for higher-level missions yet. Understand?"
"But-" The Hokage cut off Naruto.
"Actually, Iruka, I'd like to send Team 7 on a C-rank mission".
"But, Hokage-sama", Iruka started, but stopped when Sarutobi raised his hand. He looked at Kakashi who understood immediately.
'He wants me to confirm that Naruto didn't do that ritual. Got it, Hokage-sama.', Kakashi thought.
"Come in, Tazuna-san!", Sarutobi yelled at the door. A drunk barged into the room.
He took one look at the team and started, with a slur, to say, "What is this?! I asked for a professional ninja team as bodyguards. Why are there kids here?! Can duck-ass, pinkie, and bright orange target protect me from a cat, much less other people?"
Sasuke seethed at the insults, and Sakura began yelling insults back until she noticed Naruto's reaction. He wasn't angry like them. He looked almost ashamed.
'Fuck you, old man. The shop owners won't sell me anything else. Either they hate me, or the villagers force the shops to close on me.', Naruto thought. He did hate the orange wear, but, and this was the sad part, it was better than anything else he had.
"Hey, old geezer! Naruto looks good in orange clothing!", Sakura shouted. Everyone besides Tazuna and Naruto looked at Sakura in disbelief. 'Is she defending Naruto?', everyone thought.
She continued. "He could beat any bandits' and your ass, even if he wears something that makes him really noticeable. You know why he wears orange? Because he's confident. He doesn't need to camouflage clothing to complete your request!"
Everyone who was surprised by Sakura's reaction had their jaws on the floor by the end of the rant. Tazuna was surprised by the outbreak as well, but it was more of how strongly she defended her teammate.
He cleared his throat and looked at Sarutobi. "They'll be fine then."
Team 7 and Tazuna began walking out of the village. Their mission was to escort Tazuna back to the Wave Village and to protect him as he builds a bridge. But, that wasn't the focus at the moment for Team 7.
Kakashi's and Sasuke's attention were on Sakura. Her behavior wasn't any different. It's just who she was so passionate for now. From what they remember, Sakura was all over Sasuke during the bell test. There wasn't much time to bond during their missions due to the physical labor and boredom, but this was too drastic of a change. Even now, Sakura was looking at Naruto the same way she looked at Sasuke, like he was a piece of chocolate.
Naruto felt uncomfortable. This was way too much attention. He wanted to shirk away and hide behind someone to avoid Sakura's gaze. But, truthfully, it felt good. For someone to care about and want him, it was a much needed change. And, thinking about Sakura, he remembered the insult to his clothing. She said he was confident, and that's why he wore orange clothing, and he kind of was, but he felt sheepish to hear it. Even now, the memory makes him blush a little.
'Kit, about your clothing, why don't you buy some in the Wave Village? You brought the money from the geezer, right?', the Kyuubi asked.
'That might be a good idea, though, what should I buy?', Naruto asked.
The Kyuubi didn't answer this time. 'Why not ask Sakura to help? A girl, especially someone who can make those ninja shorts and shoes look good, probably knows what looks good, right?', the voice suggested. It sounded good to Naruto and was able to comment on the fact that the voice didn't suggest something bad until it said, 'Plus, you could suggest some clothing options as well, if you know what I mean. Hehehehe.' Naruto rolled his eyes. The voice was annoying, but it was getting a bit one-track. Sex, rape, murder, and repeat. That's all it talks about.
'Kit?', the Kyuubi asked.
'The voice suggested something good for once. Be right back.', Naruto said. He walked over to Sakura, getting the attention of those paying attention to the pink-haired girl.
"Hey, Sakura?", Naruto whispered. Sakura's eyes lit up, since her new crush was talking to her.
"Yes, Naruto-kun?", Sakura replied. Naruto cringed at the affection in her voice and the new honorific.
"Well, I kind of want a change in outfits, but I don't know about clothing very much. Do you think you can help?", he asked.
Sakura nodded furiously. "Of course, Naruto-kun. When we get back to Konoha, we could talk about the different styles you want. We have to find the right colors, right brands. Oh! I know this one shop that-"
Naruto cut her off. "Actually, Sakura, do you think we can limit our shopping to the Wave Village?"
"Hmm, why, Naruto-kun?", she asked.
'Lie. I can make up a good sob story to make her want to do anything to make you feel better.' Naruto internally sighed.
"I… just want to shop somewhere else. A foreign shop is just more appealing.", Naruto replied.
"Oh, okay! I get it. Sometimes, the shops in Konoha can be a bit bland.", Sakura said, cheerfully. Naruto was struggling to avoid falling into her pace, but she was just too… her.
Suddenly, Kakashi was torn apart by chains, linked by gauntlets of two men appeared behind them.
"One down", one of them said. Sakura screamed at the death of her sensei, and Tazuna almost dropped his booze. Almost.
Naruto berated himself as he summoned ten clones. They were on a mission to protect Tazuna from bandits, and he got himself distracted. That went against everything he learned from being beaten by the villagers.
'Wait, bandits? They have scratched out headbands. They're not bandits.', Naruto thought, as the clones rushed the ninjas. He looked at his remaining teammates. Sakura was rooted to the ground in fear, while Sasuke was struggling to move for the same reason.
'Tsk, this is why you don't rely on other people. Completely useless.', Naruto thought. The new men began to shred the clones with their claws and chains. The remaining clones attempted to tackle the men, but they were taken out easily, but the smoke from the clones obscured their vision. When the smoke disappeared, Naruto was gone.
"Heh, did that brat run? Leaving his teammates to die so he could survive. Nice teammate you have.", one of the men said. Sakura and Sasuke looked back at where Naruto was and realized that he wasn't there.
"… Naruto-kun? Naruto-kun!", Sakura shouted.
The men laughed. The other man said, "Your boyfriend obviously left you here so that your deaths would benefit you. How hard is that to understand?" He then looked at Sakura and looked at the other man. "Brother, after we kill the bridge-maker and that brat, you think Zabuzza will allow us to take that girl with us?"
The man, unknowing to everyone since he's wearing a mask, grinned. "Good idea. We haven't had any fun ever since that fat pig hired us. We deserve a reward."
The two brothers began to walk towards Sakura. Tazuna, scared, hid behind the two Genin. Sasuke, noticing that he was in danger, charged the men, but he had no chance against the two. They easily knocked him to the side, knocking him out. They laughed, looking at Sakura.
Sakura was conflicted. Fear, disgust, hope that Naruto will come to help, and desperation that Naruto actually left filled her heart. She couldn't move at all.
One of the men suddenly stopped. The other man noticed this when the chain stopped him from moving. He looked back.
Naruto was standing behind them with his hands in a hand seal. His shadow was connected to the man's shadow. He then started some more hand seals. The man detached the chain from his gauntlet and began to charge Naruto, but he was too late. He finished and said, "Intou: Tsukisasu no Kageken! (Shadow Style: Impalement of Shadow Blades)"
The shadow suddenly grew blades and shot up. The man screamed for a moment until the blades pierced his lungs, and, eventually, his neck. He twitched for a moment before dying. Naruto released his jutsu, and the body dropped to the ground.
The man looked back, seeing his dead brother. "Meizu!" He looked back, filled with rage, but as he tried to charge, he stopped moving. Naruto's shadow had, again, reached out to his shadow. The man's anger changed quickly to fear. "W-wait. Let's make a deal. Your sensei is dead, and the other male teammate is knocked out. My brother and I have some money.", he tried to negotiate. But, Naruto began to do the next hand signs. The man grew more frantic and continued. "And, you don't need to kill me. I hear the Wave Village is full of food, money, and women. They don't have a ninja academy, so we two could overtake them, and Gato would be fine with that. We could have a lot of fun." Naruto continued his hand signs, calm. Then, the man said, "We could start with your teammate. You couldn't do that with your sensei and other ninja around, right? Right?!"
Naruto finished his hand signs and looked at the man. "You know, you remind me of someone."
"W-who?", the man asked, nervously.
"Someone who refuses to leave me alone and pisses me off.", Naruto said. The man's eyes widened, realizing that he was going to die, and tried to scream for help, but Naruto cut him off. "Intou: Tsukisasu no Kageken!" The man died the same way as his brother.
When everything was over, there was a silence that seemed intrusive after the chaos that just occurred. The first one to break that silence was Sakura. She was relieved, but she collapsed, crying. Naruto just stood there. He wasn't sure what to do. He's never had to comfort anybody.
Kakashi came out of the tree and landed next to Naruto. "What a gentleman. You just stand there as a girl cries in front of you."
"Number one", Naruto said, "fuck off. Number two, what does that make you?"
Kakashi smiled. "Your sensei. I have to teach you how to deal with these things."
Sakura had finally noticed that her sensei was next to Naruto. "Kakashi-sensei? You're alive?"
He nodded and walked over to Sasuke. After making sure he was alright, he looked at the man, hiding behind Sakura. "Tazuna-san, mind telling me why the Demon Brothers were after you?"
"Demon Brothers?", Naruto asked.
"They are Chunin-level missing ninja, way above what a C-Rank mission should be dealing with." He turned back to Tazuna. "Not only that, but they mentioned Zabuzza, a jounin-level missing nin. This is an A-Rank mission difficulty. So, do you mind explaining, Tazuna-san?"
(CANON BREAK: EXPLANATION OF HOW GATO TOOK OVER AND FORCED THE WAVE VILLAGE TO POVERTY, MAKING BRIDGE NECESSARY.)
During the explanation, Sasuke had woken up. He was slightly bruised, but that was it. Tazuna fell on his knees and bowed down. "Please! Help my village! Help the Wave. You just have to protect me and my men for a little while. Once the bridge is finished, Gato can't legally oppress us anymore."
Kakashi said, "Well, it's up to my students. If they want to continue, then we'll continue the mission. If not, we're heading back to Konoha." He turned to his students. "So? What do you guys want to do?"
Naruto spoke up first. "I'm going."
Sasuke smirked. "It sounds interesting. Plus, it's unsightly for an Uchiha to abandon a mission. I'm going as well."
Sakura nodded. "If Naruto-kun is going, I'm going as well."
'Naruto-kun again? Not Sasuke?', the two male ninjas besides Naruto thought.
"Alright, Tazuna-san. You heard my students. We'll protect you as originally planned.", Kakashi told him.
Tazuna, with tears in his eyes, said, "Thank you."
They talked about the Wave Village as they walked. It was in quite bad shape, and as Tazuna described the stretches of poverty, Sakura and Sasuke were disturbed that people were living so horribly. No food, barely working shelters, and constant abuse. The only thing they had plenty of was water, but soon, they might not have that if Gato takes over. And as they talked, a mist came down, making it hard to see a little.
But, Kakashi and Naruto noticed it immediately. Since Kakashi is trained to sense chakra, this was natural. Naruto, however, noticed the feeling of it. It felt like his Kiri no Chakra; it was heavier than it should be, even though it was barely noticeable.
Sasuke suddenly threw a kunai into the bush. A white rabbit jumped out, scared.
"Aww", Sakura said. She approached the rabbit and picked it up. Turning to Sasuke, she yelled, "Sasuke! How could you scare such a cute animal?!"
Kakashi and Sasuke raised an eyebrow to this. Did she just yell at Sasuke? And, Sasuke, not Sasuke-kun?
'A white rabbit? It's way past winter, so it should have lost its white coat. It must have been raised inside to use for Kawarimi no Jutsu", Kakashi thought. Letting his awareness grow, he noticed a whirling object behind them at the last second.
"Everyone, DUCK!", he shouted. He grabbed Tazuna and pushed him down. Sasuke immediately hit the ground, while Naruto had to drag Sakura, who was a bit slow with the rabbit, with him. The giant blade passed over their heads harmlessly and lodged itself into a tree. A man landed on the hilt of the blade.
Everyone got up to see the newcomer. The first thing they noticed was the headband of the man, another crossed-out headband like the Demon Brothers. The second thing they noticed was Naruto was gone again.
Kakashi noticed Naruto's Kiri no Chakra being used. 'Good reflexes to immediately prepare yourself. Hopefully, he won't be sniffed out.'
"Hatake Kakashi, the man who copied over a 1000 jutsus", the man said. Sasuke's and Sakura's eyes widened at the title.
'This lazy sensei knows that many jutsus?', Sasuke thought. He might have gotten a better deal than he thought with this team.
Kakashi looked at the man and pulled out a kunai. "I'm honored that you know my name.
Zabuzza, the Demon of the Mist."
AND, THAT'S THE END!
Remember to review and put in your answer for the poll. Thanks for reading!