A Tree or A Root?
Chapter 5: Phase One
(Arc II: A Monument To All Of My Sins)
Opening: Power by Kanye West. Album: My Beautiful, Dark, Twisted Fantasy
The trial had been swift; same as the execution. Not that anyone knew that, Konoha had an image to uphold after all. The only people present had been Minato, Ibiki, and the ANBU team responsible for bringing the kidnapper to justice.
Or so they thought.
Seals were useful like that.
Nonetheless, the Yami no Shinobi was dead and Minato couldn't be more relieved. A faux relief perhaps, but relief it was.
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Naruto thought he had done away with all of his emotional connections to Danzo—he hadn't. He was pissed at Minato for killing his father-figure; he was pissed at Danzo for dying; he was pissed at the Leaf for being the home of all this bullshit, but above all else Naruto was pissed at himself for even feeling anything. However, through all this Naruto found himself seeing things clearer than before. He found that all of this anger could be directed, and directed it was. Naruto trained harder than ever before and found incorporating the ninken into his techniques made for a dangerous combination. When his team met a week later and Kakashi gave them the chunin exam entrance papers, Naruto actually smiled. Now, he can start the first phase.
Finally, all of this building up will come to fruition.
Six days later, found Naruto aimlessly walking around the Leaf; his training done for the day. This aimless walk led Naruto into a confrontation between Suna and his female teammate.
"Calm down Temari, I just got to teach this little brat a lesson."
Kankuro cocked his fist at the honorable grandson, Konohamaru, and then was sent skidding across the street.
Even Naruto winced; Sakura punched hard, and Konohamaru, seeing his chance, took off running. Temari growls and reaches for her fan; only to be stopped by a kunai to the throat courtesy of the last loyal Uchiha.
Her eyes widen, "I didn't even see him move!"
Naruto looks over at an adjacent tree and says, "You aren't fooling anybody, One."
Sand begins to swirl around the branch of the tree before a young, rather short, man appears on the branch.
"So, it seems."
By this time, Kankuro stumbles back with a fist-sized mark on his face. Naruto nods at Sasuke and he releases Temari.
Gaara looks over at his siblings, "Kankuro, Temari stop fooling around. Father and Yashamaru-sensei will be displeased if we get kicked out of the exam."
Both nod and glare at Team Seven before disappearing in body flickers.
"Well, that was.. odd," Sakura muses as she flexes her arm.
Naruto nods and Sasuke grunts in agreement.
"What did you mean by the number, Naruto?"
Naruto smirks: "It is how true sacrifices greet one another."
Sakura raises an eyebrow and Sasuke sighs.
Their teammate was admittedly powerful, but he was melodramatic at times. Nonetheless, Sasuke looks over at both of his teammates. When he had first heard that the Hokage's failure of a son would be on his team, Sasuke was questionable, as he believed he was rightful to be. However, after both the whole wave fiasco and Naruto's planning during the bell test, he now understands there is far more between the covers of Naruto; it almost annoyed the Uchiha how much so. In the end, Sasuke likes Naruto, eccentricities and all. Sakura too was a surprise. Sasuke's Uchiha pride dictates that civilians are worth little to none beyond merchants and the like, yet Sakura was actually somewhat keeping up with himself and Naruto. Her training under the slug sannin was coming along nicely, and she even had some genjutsu under her belt. All in all, Sasuke likes his team, and truthfully believed they were ready for whatever the chunin exams could bring.
Perhaps he was right.
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"And why would I do that?"
"Because you love me?"
"No."
Kurotsuchi sighs. She loves her grandpa, but damn if he wasn't more stubborn than an Akimichi refusing to diet.
"C'mon! It will make us look weak if we don't go!"
That made Onoki pause, the Leaf had already disgraced Iwa once, and he wanted revenge; he didn't live as long he has acting on impulse however.
"No. It is too risky. Even more so if I send you."
Kurotsuchi was running out of reasons, and they both knew it.
"I concur with my student, Tsuchikage-sama."
Onoki snorts and glances at the armored jinchuriki leaning against the door to his office.
"Don't encourage her Han. You know if I send you, the christened Armored Titan, Minato will see it as an act of invasion."
Han nods and remembers the time he encountered the yellow flash. He had to fully use Kukou, and even then Han had barely survived; the Namikaze deserved his SS-ranking.
"Kakashi Hatake had to have reported my appearance in the wave mission, so they know I am in fact Kurotsuchi's teacher. There's a reason he invited Iwa to the Leaf, Tsuchikage-sama. His son was exceptionally skilled and the leaf has been known for their child prodigies. It is not too unreasonable to believe the yellow flash simply wishes to show off the Leaf's power."
Onoki looks down at his desk in thought. It made sense and was a regular economical move when it came to the chunin exams. All of the daimyo would be present at the exams and a flex of a village's muscles could possibly mean more jobs for the village. It both annoyed and amused the Sandaime; it seemed like he had no other choice except partaking in these exams. The question now was if his granddaughter would go as well. He sneaks a glance at her and smirks at the sheer determination in her eyes; looks like Iwa's best would appear in these exams after all.
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Minato looks out the window of the Hokage's office with his arms clasped behind his back; the sun was just peeking its head over the distant mountains. It was a breathtaking sight, and Minato loved watching it. It reminded him of younger days, days spent with Kushina and his team. He supposed it was only right he watch it again on the day of the Chunin exams. It saddened him, how things turned out; he had hoped for peace with Danzo, but it was not meant to be. He and the old war hawk's philosophies were just too different. It was a shame his son fell in the crossfire of that war, and Minato knew Naruto had attended the execution, he wasn't Hokage just for his good looks after all. His son's situation weighed on him, and despite Kushina's repeated protest he blames himself. He should have payed more attention, should have done something! There was nothing he can do now, though. He didn't have his wife and daughter's naïveté, his son was beyond their reach and if that became a problem...it is a Hokage's duty to protect their village.
For right now, his son has exhibited no signs of defection or sabotage, so long as that continues there should be no problem.
Hopefully anyways.
The sun, now fully risen, shined over the Leaf Village happily and Minato can't help but smile. Perhaps a little naïveté isn't a bad thing, after all.
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Sakura walks up to the academy with little to no hesitation; training under her master had done wonders for her confidence. She was still far from her shisho in skill, but she was easily chunin. It somewhat annoyed her in the beginning that her sensei had just dropped her off in favor for Naruto-kun, but after some thought the Haruno had realized Kakashi was not suited to truly train her like Tsunade could. In that same sense, Sasuke-kun would not learn much from him either.
By the time her musings were done, both Naruto and Sasuke were walking up to her. She raised an eyebrow:
"Change outfits, Naruto-kun?"
Indeed he had. Where once was ANBU-like clothes now lay something more... expressive almost..His torso was covered by a black coat that was neither too thin nor too thick; no pockets were visible but seals were etched inside the fabric.A red scarf covers his neck and flutters underneath his dangling hood. Khaki pants with bandages tied around the thighs cover his legs, and black shinobi sandals cover his feet. He almost looked like a civilian instead of a shinobi, except for the headband tied around his right bicep.
He smirks
"Yeah."
Those ANBU clothes were given to him by Danzo, and it felt wrong to wear them, but he didn't say that.
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Ezra Scarlet looks down at the paper in annoyance; how could any genin answer these questions? Thank Kami, she was actually of Jonin level. She glances at her teammates Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster, and her eye twitches. Natsu is asleep!
She moves to wake him up, but remembers the last time someone tried to wake her teammate up and shivers; Lucy's bed still has those scorch marks. Lucy Heartfilia... Shame she couldn't come, but the rules explicitly said only threemper team. Sighing to herself, she rests her head on the desk and muses about the competition.
"This is not going to be easy. Both of the Namikazes are here and they are both being hailed as prodigies. If the rumors are true, then the boy actually fought and beat Zabuza Momochi. Then, there are the kids from that school-turned village, Tamashi, and from the other big five."
Ezra quietly chuckles to herself and smirks.
This is going to be fun.
"Alright maggots!" roars the head instructor for the first phase of the chunin exams, Ibiki Morino. He grins as all of the chunin hopefuls look at him with varying degrees of worry, except for a select few. Among them is Naruto and Ibiki cannot help but smirk. The kid may not know it, but he has some people who have seen what the Yondaime has been doing and do not like it.
"Time for the last question!"
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Naruto looks up at the Forest of Death and nods to himself. Here is where it happens, the first phase.
He glances at his sister and smirks.
Time to stake his claim.
Anko Mitarashi, the second instructor, shouts, "Begin!"
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Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all jump through the trees silently; they had decided the smartest thing to do was sit near the main tower and pick off the most likely tired teams.
Naruto suddenly shouts: "Watch it!"
Both Sasuke and Sakura stop and hop back, narrowly dodging a barrage of kunai. Summoning his bow, Naruto glances around before signaling to Sasuke and Sakura to cover him. After they both confirm, Naruto sheaths his bow and jumps over to where the kunais plunged into the wood of the tree branch. The Namikaze touches a seal on his coat and one of his Ninken appear: Blitz. The dog, a white-brown Jack Russell Terrier, sniffs the kunai and barks, signaling Naruto he has the scent. With a nod, Team 7 plus dog head off. No one attacks them and gets away with it; plans be damned.
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Ezra wasn't mad, she was smoldering. She had told Natsu, on several occasions, that they should tread cautiously and the first thing that little hothead did was run off yelling he was "fired up." Gray had followed in annoyance, but she could tell he was itching as well for a good fight. Honestly, she was too, however these trees were giving off a bad aura and she'll be damned before allowing her brother figures to die due to her inability to hold in her bloodthirst. It only took a couple of minutes before Gray returned with Natsu, however he looked anxious. Before Erza could ask what's wrong, an arrow landed in between them. Ezra's eyes widen as the exploding tag attached to the arrowhead goes off, sending the acclaimed Titania flying. Correcting herself in mid-air, Titania lands in a squat on a branch; a second later and both her teammates join her. On the ground where the explosion occurred, Team 7 appear. The two teams stare each other down before Erza finally speaks,
"If you give us your scroll, there is no need for bloodshed."
The uchiha scoffs in response and draws a kunai, and Natsu growls in response. Naruto silently runs through the different ways to go about doing this smart, and then says: "Sasuke, take the pink haired one, Sakura go for the dark haired one."
Erza raises an eyebrow at the divide and conquer strategy, but signals her brothers to do the same. If the little pampered Namikaze wants a one-on-one, then who is she to deny him?
Once the two sets of two took off, Erza leaps to the bottom floor and looks at her opponent. Titania notes the civilian-like clothes, but quickly dismisses the thought. Ninja stronger than her have died to underestimation, and she was not about to make that mistake. That bad aura from before rears it's head once again, but Erza shrugs it off. The only thing that matters right now is the ninja standing in front of her.
Speaking of that ninja, he is looking at her with something akin to curiosity. She wondered if it was because of her instant summoning, but no genin could realize that.
Too bad, Naruto was no genin.
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An instant summoning. No smoke, no hand sign, there wasn't even a scroll or seal in sight. Interesting. He wonders if perhaps she has something like his ring, but as of right now it really does not matter. He needs to take her down, and quick; the fights will most likely gain attention and the last thing they need are vultures. Plus, he needed to find his sister and her team. Taking one last glance at Erza, Naruto notes her appearance. She has long scarlet hair and brown eyes, and is wearing armor that covers her torso with a blue skirt and black boots; even with her armor a voluptuous body can still be seen. That thought actually made Naruto stop for a second, where did that come from?
A cackling voice responds: "Ah, the magic of puberty."
Hey, Kurama?
"Yeah?"
Shut the hell up.
"Have you ever even had the talk?"
No, shut up.
"Ok. So, when a man and a woman really love each other-"
Erza raises an eyebrow as her would be opponent closes his eyes and stands still. Not sure if it's a trap or not, Erza stands at the ready; good thing too, because Naruto disappears and a rain of arrows soon follows. Rolling out of the way, Erza quickly scans around for her fellow redhead. Then an arrow pierces her chest plate, just barely not skewering her; Titania growls and quickly realizes her disadvantage. Her entire body lights up, and Naruto, from his perch on a nearby branch, watches with a keen eye as she seemingly immediately changes clothes.
Where armor once sat, now sits only cloth. Her once-bare legs are now covered with red and orange pants and her blade changed from an average sword to a pitch black katana. Naruto takes aim with his bow and points towards her now bare stomach; the arrow follows it's designated path perfectly, but only hits bark. Titania suddenly appears next to Naruto and brings her katana down swiftly; cutting the ex-Root in half.
Or what she thought was the ex-Root anyways, instead she cut a log in half.
Naruto absently notes the fact that the log was sent aflame as well.
Her speed somehow had quadrupled, borderlining high Jonin speed. Was it the clothes? But, how?
Giving him no time, Erza reappears and presses her new found speed's advantage. Naruto hops back, summons another arrow, and lets it fly. Erza front flips over it; not noticing that when the arrow landed seals spread from the tip to the bark of a nearby branch. Naruto grins at her tunnel vision before he's forced to dodge her again. This game of whack-a-Root went on for awhile, before they ended up going in a complete circle; ending up back to that seal-infested branch. Naruto jumps over it and, looking back at the pursuing Erza, launches another arrow. Erza responds in the same manner as before and front flips over it–landing on a certain branch. The seals glow before transforming the top of the branch into liquid cement. Naruto growls however, as the only thing stuck in that cement was a log. His sixth sense kicks in, but a little too late; the slash across his back evidence of this. Surprisingly enough, his coat did not tear, so he suffered no injury.
Erza looks at her katana and notices a crack going down the length.
"That coat…" She muses.
Her musing was a mistake as an arrow tears into her unarmored shoulder.
Biting back a curse, Erza rips the arrow out. However, it was for not as seals run across her shoulder and her entire body.
In her last seconds of consciousness, she muses just what kind of genin was so good at fuinjutsu.
Naruto lands in front of his previous opponent and shakes his head as his partner's voice echos throughout his mind,
"You didn't kill her…"
Naruto looks down at his shaking hand in curiosity,
"I-I couldn't."
Kurama gives no response, leaving Naruto to stare at Titania. Suddenly, a familiar chakra flares nearby him. Naruto grins maniacally before body flickering over to a nearby branch; overlooking an area where three Konoha genin recently helped save a young kusa genin from being eaten by a bear. Naruto silently summons up a clone and the two of them take aim. Once again, his hand begins to shake. He seethes,
"What the fuck! I killed people regularly for Danzo!"
"Exactly."
"What!?"
"Tch, I can't explain everything to you Kit! Besides, your sister is starting to leave."
Growling at his tenant's secrecy, Naruto summons up a smoke bomb from his ring and throws it.
The entire area gets covered in smoke, and Naruto swiftly uses this to knock out everyone.
"That's odd."
Naruto tears off the back of his sister's shirt and begins to write a seal on her back.
"What?"
"My counterpart should've warned her…"
Naruto finishes the writing, and using the ram seal, locks the seal; leaving no trace.
"Perhaps they don't communicate?"
Kurama grunts in acceptance, but thinks, "No… Even if I despised my container, I would still look out for them; lest I die as well. But, why didn't…"
Naruto, oblivious to his tenant's musings, quickly leaves, moving towards Sasuke and Sakura. It seems his teammates took care of their opponents as well.
Ending: Alright (Feat. Big Sean) by Logic. Album: Under Pressure
And...done.
I am sooooooo very sorry, but my muse decided to up and leave without telling me squat, plus school has my number. Fuckin' AP courses man! Anyways, I thank everyone who reviewed and reviews this one. Oh, yeah, before I forget! What the fuck! This story has 300+ follows, and 250+ favorites! You don't know how happy this makes me, I always thought I sucked at writing (I write a shit ton of cliches), but it seems you all like it, so thanks! Also, on a completely unrelated note, why are so many authors not updating? I don't follow a lot of stories, but the ones I do all pretty much stopped! It suuucks! *sigh* it makes me sad. Nonetheless, please tell me what you think, and what I can improve. (Except if you're gonna be a dick and say that my story is cannon dick riding. I, in fact, love Kishimoto's original Naruto storyline, so you can back arrow your ass back to the story finder if you don't like it.) Next time, on a Tree or a Root:
Chapter Six: Enter the human weapons, Tamashi!