Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed wearily as he held his head in his hands. Fourteen years. It had been little more than fourteen years since the Kyubi had ravished his village. Since the demon had torn families and comrades away from with each other with no remorse whatsoever. Fourteen years since his successor had given his life to protect their village. Fourteen years since Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze had gone missing. Kakashi had begun a war path in search of his adoptive brother.
It had become too dangerous, and Hiruzen had held no choice but to have Inoichi repress those thoughts from his mind. He wasn't so evil, as Danzo would have been, to completely wipe the man's memories away. But the thoughts that he had been having were just too homicidal to have been allowed. He had been doing well as of late. Hiruzen himself had scoured the village in search of the Jinchuriki, or any information pertaining to him. He had found nothing on him, or the master that that specific man had died for so many years ago.
Jiraiya had continued the search for the boy long after Hiruzen himself had given up. He viewed the boy, who was legally his godson, as his own grandson. Not that there was any proof of that. The Sandaime had had to burn any certificates connecting Naruto to Minato into ash upon a vote from the war council on that fateful day. It was just too much dangerous information.
Someone cleared their throat and Hiruzen was brought back to reality as two genin squads shifted uncormfortably in front of him. "I'm sorry to interrupt your though process, Hokage-Sama, but why exactly did you call us here?" The Sandaime Hokage gave a hum as he reached into his desk's drawer, producing a tabacco pipe. The two genin squads watched as he lit the substance inside before lifting it to his lips.
"The reason I called your two squads here is simple, really. Both have been begging for a chance to prove yourselves with a C-Rank mission. Are you, Kakashi Hatake and Maito Gai, secure in you squadron's abilities?"
"I am." Kakashi responded as his single visible eye rose from the familiar orange book that he was so famously known to be seen reading.
"As am I, Lord Hokage! Their flames of youth burn brightly, especially today of all days!" Gai released an energetic laugh as his right arm thrust out, giving a thumbs up jester, before smiling brightly.
"Lord Hokage, I don't believe that they're ready." Iruka, Konoha's academy instructor, spoke from beside the Hokage holding a multitude of papers in his hands. "They were my students in the academy and-"
"-And that's just it." Kakashi interrupted harshly. The silver haired Jonin and Iruka had a fairly frendly relationship, but this was one of the few things that they often disagreed upon. "You were their academy instructor. But I am these threes sensei. I know the abilities of my genin better than you ever could."
"They're just genin, Kakashi. They can only be pushed so far!"
"I agree with my eternal rival on this matter, Iruka. These are our genin. I believe Kakashi knows Sasuke, Sakura and Sai just as much as I know Neji, Lee and Tenten, and we've been a squad longer."
"Lord Hokage, please reconsider this! They-"
"Enough, Iruka." The Sandaime spoke firmly as he raised his left hand to silence the emotional academy teacher. "Kakashi and Gai are right. They know these six better than you at this point. If they say that these six are prepared for a C-Rank mission then I am more inclined to listen to them. You're an academy instructor Iruka, not a squadron leader. You're dismissed."
"But-"
"I said that you're dismissed Iruka!" The scarred man bowed deeply before the Hokage. Then he exited the room, giving Kakashi a harsh, heated glare as he slammed the doors behind himself. "Now then. As much as I'm inclined to believe in your trust in your genin, I don't feel comfortable giving one squadron a C-Rank mission, so both teams will be accompanying each other on this specific one. Is this acceptable?" The six genin nodded with a humble response, bowing to their Kage. The elderly man allowed a small smile to overtake his features. No, the Will of Fire had not yet quite diminished.
"Very well then, your mission is as follows. Tazuna, a bridge builder for the Land of Waves is crafting a bridge to strengthen their economy. Your mission is simply to guard him back to his home and while he creates the bridge. In essence, make sure that the bridge is completed. It may not have been the mission that you were looking forwards to, but that is the one that you have recieved. Now,"
The Sandaime leaned forwards and called out through his closed wooden doors to his secretary. "Please send in Tazuna to meet his escorts!" Almost immediately the doors slammed opened as a civilian stumbled into the room, drunken. He wreaked horendously of alcohol, and held a bottle of sake in his right hand. Sasuke Uchiha's eyes widened as they landed on the drunken excuse for a man. Quickly, they bounced from the man to his sensei.
"You're kidding me, right Kakashi?"
"These are the brats that you're sending to guard me!?" The drunken man exclaimed angrily as he pointed his sake bottle at the six genin.
"Yo hey yo!" The Raikage's door splintered into thousands of pieces as Killer B emerged from the wreckage. Dust and debris littered the air as he smiled brightly at his brother, revealing his white teeth to him. "You called for the Killer B, cause there just ain't no one like me!" A allowed his features to set themselves into a deep grimace. Shooting up from his chest, he thrust his desk across his office, where it crashed into the wall nearest to his younger brother.
"Damn you! I just got that door replaced you moron! Do you realize how much you cost me in repairs alone!?" B allowed his grin to stretch farther along on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't smile at me you smug ass bastard! You're not going to like it when you're the one that's paying for all the damages you cause!"
"Yo, B didn't come here to you cry, tell me what you want while I bust out this rhyme!" A lurched forwards and grasped ahold of B's face, causing the younger man to flail his arms wildly. "Let go of me yo, I didn't mean to offend you bro!" The younger Jinchuriki escaped his brothers iron grasp and stumbled to the side of the office. As B was able to do this, and hand come forwards and latched onto the side of the Raikage's decimated doorway. Following this, the appendage pulled its owner through.
"I see B made himself known before I could arrive." The newest figure spoke, his voice deep and rather sarcastic at the present moment. A's eyes swiveled to the side as he observed the new arrival. "I'm sorry about that, A-Sama. B somehow alluded us and left us out of the village. I simply couldn't make it here in time to give you a fair warning."
"That's fine... Naruto." Indeed, it was the Kyubi Jinchuriki. He was now fourteen years old, and a genin in Kumogakure Shinobi forces. The boy had become somewhat of a second brother to A. He hadn't truly planned on becoming so emotionally attached to the boy. But, it just seemed that it was what the gods wanted. Yes, Naruto seemed to be just as much A's and B's brother as he was the Gold and Silver's. "I'm glad you could make it to my office despite that fact."
The Yondaime Raikage's eyes passed over Naruto's form, taking in his appearance appreciatively. The boy had grown phenominally under the supervision of his, four, brothers. He now stood at approximately five six, a rather healthy height considering that he was still growing. Though his physique wasn't as spectacular as the majority of Kumogakure's shinobi, he was still very muscular in his own right. His muscle mass was very compact, lithe, much like a samurai warrior. His hair, still the same greyish-white platinum with the blond haze that it had been upon his arrival was rather short. It was flattened out with the bangs hanging over his black hiatate, much like one of the Raikage's shinobi, C. Upon his cheeks, he bore six deep whisker marks proudly.
He wore a sleeveless hoodie that was overly long, the bottom of it hanging down around the outside of his thighs. Over the hoodie, Naruto wore Kumogakure's typical one-strap-over-one shoulder white flak jacket. Making its way around both of his arms, and unseen to the rest of the world, over his chest and back to come up just on his jaw line was a single scar, all melded together. The color of the scar was red, and fern like in the design of it all. It was the Lichtenberg scar that had been left behind by the lightning that had struck him as a child.
Displayed on his right shoulder was the kanji for 'lightning', in black ink. Also bore proudly on the opposing left shoulder was a tattoo of the Kanji for 'platinum'. Underneath the bottom of Naruto's overlong shirt was a pair of black shinobi pants. On his arms, he wore a pair of black elbow-length arm-guards, which he had begun to become attached to after his first meeting with C. Underneath the bottom of the overlong shirt that he wore, Naruto wore a pair of black shinobi styled pants. Wrapped around the thighs of his pants were the two white X's that many Kumogakure shinobi were known to wear over their pants.
For footwear, Naruto wore a pair of Kumogakure's red and white shin guards with a pair of black shinobi sandals. Attached the hips of Naruto's outfits were a pair of Hook Swords. They were from an early era in the world, disovered buried deep in the Earth. Naruto had taken a shine to the weapons, for the sole reason that they could be used as three different weapons. The blades were a dark, gloomy grey color. The grippings of the swords were wrapped with red tape. Attached to the back of his flak jacket was Naruto's prized position. His Dao swords.
Naruto had founded them on an assassination mission, in a secret shrine. They had been weapons to an emperor in a time long before the person whom had even wielded Naruto's hook swords. The Dao swords were moderately curved and single edged. Despite this, a few inches of the leading back of the blades were sharpened as well. The blades themselves were a shining platinum in color. They extended down to a brown leather hilt that was inbetween two pieces of gold. The upper piece was round and branched out a little ways away from the sword. Attached to the bottom of the second gold pieces were red strings.
The hilts of the swords were shaped in a way that both of the dual Dao swords could be placed into one sheath. The sheath that sat on Naruto's back was a beautiful dark brown leather with multiple pieces of designed gold placed attached to it. In all, Naruto's appearance was rather unique to him.
"Speaking of which." Naruto finally spoke under the Raikage's ever watchful, prying, gaze. "What exactly did you wish to speak to us about, A-Sama?" A opened his mouth to respond to Naruto, but was interrupted by a newer arrival.
"Yes, Raikage-Sama, what did you wish to speak to us about?" Yugito Nii entered the Raikage's office through his decimated doorway. Two years older than Naruto, the blonde haired Kunoichi was the platinum blond's greatest friend. The kunoichi smiled brightly upon resting her eyes on her favored comrade. As she came to stand next to the younger Lichtenberg scarred boy, A opened his mouth to respond once again.
"Right. I've called you here today because we've recieved an A-Ranked mission. Normally, shinobi village wouldn't send a squadron of genin, let alone an incomplete squadron of genin, to complete such a high ranked mission. But Kumogakure isn't any other shinobi village." The two genin nodded slowly as Killer B allowed his eyes to roll dramatically. It wasn't that it wasn't a great speech that boosted morale and caused the genin to work harder. No that wsan't the case. But A seemed to recite the same speech every time that he sent genin on high ranked missions. It just seemed to grow stale, like old molded bread.
"We put complete faith in all of our genin. But, as you know, not many passed our most recent genin exams. For good reasons to. We're not Konoha. We don't pick our shinobi based off of who can sort flowers the best. As such, we have very few promising Genin squads this year. You are the most promising, followed closely by team Samui." Killer B grinned largely in pride.
"Of course they're the best, Killer B trained 'em to top all the rest, yo!" A drew in a long breath as he closed his eyes and massaged his temples slowly.
"Yes, well, taking that into account... Team Samui has already been dispatched on a prior mission, and you two have been rather dormant due to your teams recent lost." Naruto grimaced noticeably as Yugito's right hand came up to hold onto her left elbow. Her head turned away from her Kage as she fought to keep tears from falling from her eyes. The death of their third teammate was still very fresh for the two Jinchuriki. "I'm sorry." The Raikage spoke softly.
He was a harsh Kage, that much was true. He demanded that missions be completed to the greatest of potential. But he was not heartless. It was saddening that the boy had been killed so early in his life. But that was the world they lived in. The world of a shinobi. "Nevertheless, I've chosen you two to carry out this mission on behalf of Kumogakure. B, you're not needed for this mission. I have prior arrangements for you that I need dealt with inside of the village." Killer B instantaneously lost his smile and frowned.
"Yo, how are you going to keep the Killer B from being free!? This all sucks, and you know what, I don't give a fu-"
"Shut the hell up B!" Naruto dodged to the ground out of instinct as Yugito's right foot sialed over his head, smashing into their senseis face. It was well known that the Nibi Jinchuriki had more disdain for the Hachibi's rapping than any other person inside of Kumogakure. And she made it known more often than not with bodily harm to the older shinobi. B stumbled backwards into the wall, rubbing his face tenderly as he gave a heated glare to everyone in the room from behind his sunglasses.
"Now that that's dealt with; Yugito, Naruto." The two shinobi stiffened at the sound of authority being emitted in their Kage's voice. "Your mission is as follows. It is an A-Rank as I've already disclosed to you. It was issued to us by a rather wealthy merchant whose identity will remain disclosed to myself and select others until farther notice. He has paid for the assassination of one Gato of Gato Enterprises.
Recently he has come into power and taken control over the Land of Waves near Hi No Kuni. He has put the entire village in poverty, and keeps an iron grip on all of his 'subjects' as he calls them. Normally Kirigakure would have stepped in, but with their recent civil wars they just don't have the time to notice such small details. Our employer has taken it upon himself to inform us that a bridge builder, Tazuna, is crafting a bridge that will free them from Gato's reign.
However, he's grown paranoid and has hired a group of Konohagakure shinobi under the premise of a C-Rank mission. Knowing Hiruzen, he wouldn't have given many questions and will have accepted it as such immediately. Therefore, you can more than likely expect to encounter one, or possibly two, squadrons of Konohagakure Genin. I know because that's how they operate.
Gato normally surrounds himself with the canon fodder. The shinobi and samurai and ronin that just couldn't make the cut. But recently he's become known to be utilizing Zabuza Momochi as a mercenary. You'll need to be careful. I believe in both of your abilities, especially yours as a swordsman, Naruto. But he is one of Kirigakure's most sought after Rogue Shinobi, right up there with Kisame Hoshigaki and the rest of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.
Upon completion of the assassination contract, you're being issued a lesser B-Rank mission to watch over and ensure Tazuna's safety as he completes the bridge. During this time, I would highly advise you to steer clear of Konoha's genin squads. They're known to be rather ignorant, and I don't need to get into another squabble with Hiruzen because his shinobi forced mine's hands.
There is no time limit on the mission. But I'd prefer it if you could complete it as quickly as possible. This is by no means your first assassination contract and it should not be treated as such. There are no limitations on the mission, use any and all of the techniques at your disposal if the time calls for it. If you run into a snag in the mission, send word back to Kumo. I'll send either Killer B, or Team Samui if they've returned, to your general vicinity. Your mission begins at approximately seven o'clock tomorrow morning. You'll have set out from the gates by that time. With that said, Yugito and Naruto you are dismissed."
The two close Jinchuriki bowed to their Kage before they exited through his destroyed doorway. A's eyes narrowed dangerously as they fell upon Killer B's form. He had leaned against the Raikage's Office wall and fallen asleep. "As for you..." The older brother lurched forwards, his hand graspins firmly onto the younger's face in an iron claw. "You're going to be reparing all of the damages you've caused!"
B released a startled scream as his older brother's digits dug deeply into his skin. "I've told you time and again that I'm not putting up with this shit anymore! You're going to fix everything because I can't afford to keep cleaning up after you you bastard! You cost me more than the slug sanin's addiction does her! And guess what!? You're going to be starting with that door right there, right now! Get to work!"
"Come on A, this really how you gonna behave!?"
Kinkaku sighed as he rolled his shoulder whilst wincing in pain. A week prior he and Kinkaku had been on a dangerous mission for the assassination of the lord of a village. It hadn't gone completely as the Nidaime Gold and Silver Brothers had planned and the golden haired brother had been pierced by a katana sword. This of course had lead to the utter decimation of the Lord's entire manor, including all under his rule. Off to the side, Ginkaku hung upside down from a metallic silver bar, preforming crunches.
Many other villages percieved that Kumogakure shinobi were simply born with the bone structure to grow to the impressive physiques that they had. That was an ignorant misconception. Shinobis such as the Gold and Silver Brothers had to work continuously to achieve their physiques. And even when they had reached that, they still had to work themselves constantly to keep that look about them. Ginkaku took that to new levels, constantly working his entire body rather if he was on or off of missions.
The front door to the Kaku clan compound slid open before their third brother revealed himself. He smiled brightly at his blood relatives as he entered the compound, closing the door behind him. "Good morning." The platinum/blond haired shinobi spoke to his siblings. The golden haired brother glanced over to the clock that hung on their living room wall. It was only eight O'clock. Naruto had been gone for a good week, training with Killer B and Yugito.
"Morning." Kinkaku returned briefly as he stood to his feet while rotating his shoulder. Ginkaku chuckled loudly from his upside down position, now holding a pair of dumbbells.
"Don't mind him, he's still hurting off of that katana sword. You'd think he'd be over it, what with the Kyubi's chakra, but he's still moaning and groaning. He needs to get over it, very soon." Kinkaku nodded dutifully as his hand dropped away from his shoulder.
"Yes, we've recieved our next mission. It's of S-Rank, so we can't divulge any of the information from it to you." Naruto nodded in understanding. The Nidaime Gold and Silver Brothers were the Raikage's right hand shinobis. Most of the high classed missions that many would die on from the perilous journeys were passed onto them. "There is no time limit on the mission either, so there's no specified time on when we will return.
We may be back in a week, a month, or a year. You never quite know with these types of missions. Anyways, we've prepared the compound for our absences, so if you'll be staying, everything is where it should be and easily accessible to you. If not, it will be sustained until one of us can return." Naruto nodded in understand as he walked past his golden haired sibling. The two elder sibling watched as he disappeared around a corner into one of the many hallways that their compound housed.
"I won't be staying." Naruto called back to them as they heard him shuffling around in the next room over, Naruto's own room. "I've recieved my own mission woth Yugito. It's an A-Rank, so there's nothing that I can really divulge to you either. Just that I'll be in the Land Of Waves. The mission begins officially at Seven O'clock tomorrow morning, but Yugito and I will have departed around six o'clock. We prefer to have a head start. I won't be able to be reached after that."
"That's fine." Ginkaku called, once again having changed his exercises. He now hung upside, still with the dumbbells, but while preforming his crunches at the same time. "We leave today. Pretty soon actually. We're just prepping ourselves for what we're to go through. Kinkaku his wounds, and me my body." Naruto reappeared around the corner, a black duffel back hanging near the right side of his waist.
"Right. Then we won't be seeing each other for a while. I'm going to train outside of the village. My secondary sensei is waiting on me. I appreciate B's training, but beyond the Biju's chakra, and a few Tai and Kenjutsu moves, there's not a lot that we go over. That's why I enjoy these times with my other sensei." Naruto moved forwards to walk to the door, though he was stopped as Kinkaku placed a hand on his left shoulder.
Ginkaku dropped to the ground, his dumbbells crashing to the floor as he landed in a crouched state. "You take care of yourself out there kid." The silver haired brother spoke as Kinkaku nodded.
"We don't want to have to bury you in the Kaku clan cemetary this early." Naruto smirked as his eyes roamed over his two siblings.
"You should be more worried about yourselves. Take care of yourselves out there. I don't need the burden of having to pay for two graves big enough to fit you two inside." The Gold and Silver Brother laughed heartily at their younger brother as he exited through the compound's sliding front door. Kinkaku sighed tiredly after staring at the white sheet like material for a long time.
"Let's get ready for our mission, Ginkaku."
Tazuna sighed as he staggered for the umpteenth time before he finally fell to the ground. His chest heaved multiple times as he fought the urge to keep from vomiting all over the ground. Surounding him, seven of the eight shinobi that were to accompany him back to the Land of Waves watched this without much reaction. They had been waiting on Kakashi for an hour, and the occurence had happened more and more often as the man drank himself to sickness. A plum of smoke shifted through the air as Kakashi appeared near the small group, reading one of his newer Icha Icha Paradise books. "Hey there team."
"You're late Kakashi!" Sakura screamed angrily as she stamped her foot harshly into the ground. "Again!"
"Yosh! How are we ever going to complete this mission when you're not even going to show up to any events on time, eh, Kakashi!?"
"Hm? You say something Gai?" The bowl cut wearing man screamed loudly and ran circles around the group of shinobi, obviously mentall disturbed. "Anyways, I was on my way here, But a black cat crossed my path, so I had to go all the way around the village. And then when I was almost here, there was a little old lady who I helped cross the street. And tehn? I protected Konoha from an extraterrestrial invasion. I've been hailed as a hero." The group of shinobi stared at the silver haired liar in utter disbelief.
Tazuna, however, nodded sagely from his cross legged position upon that ground. "That... That is a great man... right there." The bridge builder stammered drunkenly as he pointed the tip of his sake bottle at Kakashi, who allowed his eye to crinckle into a u shape. "You people should respect him... more..." The man paused as he burped in mid sentence. "I'm... Let me..." Tazuna stammered as he staggered to his feet. "Let me just tell you... I'm so proud... to have you as an escort. You're a real hero Kazehana..."
"It's Kakashi." Tazuna squinted his eyes at the man harshly.
"Hm... I don't... I don't think so... Let's go!" With a flourish, Tazuna stumbled through Konoha's village gates, collapsing onto his face, where he immediately began to snore loudly.
"... You're kidding me, right Kakashi?" The silver haired jonin allowed his single visible feature to smile at his Uchiha student.
"We all work with people that we don't want to sometime in life, Sasuke."
"Yosh! Tazuna's flames are smouldering! Quick Lee, we must do thirty five hundred laps around Konoha before he awakes! If we can not do that we must carry ten thousand pound boulders upon our bacls! If we fail at that-" The green spandex wearer's voice faded off into the distance as he and his almost clone student raced around the village.
"Case in point."
Naruto placed his duffel back on the ground gently before he unzipped it. His blue eyes observed the contents inside before he removed one. A katana sword. It was sheated in a white scabbard. It had no guard, and its helt was wrapped in a white material, with three decorative diamonds on either side. The sword wasn't special by any means, not to a regular person. But it was a sentimental treasure to Naruto. It had belonged to his deceased teammate. It had been the weapon he had used to slaughter the boy's murderers."Hey Naruto, how's it going?"
Naruto stopped his observation of his precious katana and looked over his shoulder. His secondary sensei, Darui, approached at a slow and relaxed pace. Behind him, C walked with his eyes observing the surrounding enviornment. C was very much an inspiration to Naruto, the two got along very well. In fact, unnofficially, C may as well have been Naruto's third primary sensei. "I'm alive, so that's a testament that it's going pretty good."
Naruto very much enjoyed his times with Darui and C. While not on the brotherly level he seemed to be with Killer B and A, Darui and C were very close to Naruto. It was also a great change in atmosphere. Normally Naruto had to deal with either the temper flaring Raikage, a destructively rapping B, or two slave driving siblings who demanded nothing short of perfection during training. It was more of a lax enviornment when he was training with Darui and C. On top of that, he seemed to learn more from them.
Not that he was knocking his other senseis. Not at all. He learned plenty from them. But Jutsu wise, Darui and C were the ones that he normally went to. Not that that was all they taught him either, but still. It was a nice sentiment for them to know how much he needed them to keep himself balanced. "That's great." Darui returned as he rolled his neck around his shoulder, cracking his neck. "So what was it that we were going to do today?" C looked at Darui from the corners of his eyes.
"Whatever we can cram into this session. Naruto didn't simply come here to chat. He came here to learn and grow stronger." Naruto allowed his features to spread into a smirk. Darui was always so laid back, and C was so serious, they contrasted each other greatly. But Naruto learned from them equally. He had learned how to be a sensor from C. It was a great ability that Naruto had become elighted to have upon later dates in harsh situations. Darui returned C's look with a sigh. Lifting his hand to his hair, he ran his fingers through it before he sat down on the ground.
"I'm sorry if I want to be lax this session. It's not like Naruto can't handle himself completely."
"No, but what if he runs into any Konoha dogs out on one of his escapades?" Naruto frowned deeply. From C, and numerous other Kumogakure shinobi had, Naruto had also gained an extreme dislike of Konohagakure shinobis. To the point that he himself called them dogs. They held no place special in his heart, that was for sure.
"Hey guys, calm down. Look, I have a mission tomorrow, beginning officially at seven. That means that I'll be gone by six. If we're going to train, C's right, we need to get to it. But let's not take this too seriously. I just got back from training with B and I'm getting ready to head out of the village already. Being a shinobi is stressful, so it's not wrong to relax once in a while, C." The blond haired man chuckled as Darui gained a thoughtful expression.
"A happy medium?"
"I can live with that." C input as his gaze shifted from Darui, to Naruto. "So this time we'll be taking hourly shifts training with you. Breaks depend on who's teaching you."
"We'll be picking up on where we left off last time." Darui interrupted the blond haired man whom nodded in agreement.
"Same here. No point in trying to teach you anything too new when you're about to be leaving out on a mission. May as well master a few of the techniques before you get out there again."
"It's been a while for you and Yugito, hasn't it? Since-" Darui halted in his sentence as Naruto nodded grimly, brandishing his katana blade.
"Hai, it's been a while since he died. He was a great shinobi and a greater human being. He's missed. I don't dread over it too long. It's not wrong to grieve, but it's not right to hold onto a person after they've passed on. They can't rest in piece when you do that, and have to remain near you. Sometimes I believe that they die and stay so long as spirits they truly believe that they're alive again. Perhaps some do live again." Darui chuckled loudly as he stood back to his feet.
"You're an odd one Naruto. But I understand that sentament. I told it to you after all." Naruto smirked towards his sensei before he dropped down into a crouched stance.
"So, which one of you is taking the first hour?"
Jiraiya giggled perversly as he stalked through the village of Kumogakure. The sanin didn't have the dignity to chuckle. No, he giggled such as a lovestruck teen would do. His network had spies had recently averted his attention to a rather great coincidence occuring within Kumo. There seemed to be three Shinobi inside of Kumo that beared the tell tale whisker mark scars of the Kyubi. Two of those men were the notorious Nidaime Gold and Silver Brothers. The third was basically unaccounted for.
Now, it wasn't entirely impossible that the third was indeed part of the Kaku clan in Kumo. After all, the whisker marks seemed to be hereditary with them. But with the Gold and Silver Brothers being the last of the Kaku clan in Kumogakure, it was highly unlikely that either had bore a child in any recent years, let alone old enough to be a shinobi now. It had piqued Jiraiya's interest. That wasn't to say that the entire trip to Kumogakure was strictly for business.
No, Jiraiya was a man who more often than not preferred to partake in the more pleasurable senses. And Kumogakure was the key place for such. The Kunoichi and even civilian women were more often than not very in shape, and always beautiful. Not that the white haired Toad Sanin had ever had the opportunity to lay siege to one of them. Kumogakure held Konoha in great disdain for many specific reasons, both for business and personal reasons. Yes, Jiraiya had the desire, but the women just seemed to instantly disdain himself inside Kumogakure's gates.
"Training again I see." Naruto grabbed ahold of C's shoulder, vaulting over the blond haired shinobi, before he came down into a crouched stance. In an instant, the blond haired man had launched himself away from the platinum/blond haired genin and was staring at him intently, analyzing the situation. Naruto's blue eyes fell to the side where they took in the newest arrival.
Atsui grinned as he observed the battle raging between Naruto and C. While just a simple training session to various onlookers, it was a fight to the death for the two shinobi. Kumogakure shinobi treated every scenario, even training battles between friends, as a scenario that could very well potentially end their lives. It was why battles that transpired on missions were more readily prepared for by Kumogakure shinobi than any others. "I see you've got a hot battle raging here."
"It's actually rather dull." Darui spoke from the sidelines as he rested against a tree, nursing an obviously bruised and swollen jaw. "But they're seeming to enjoy it, so it's best just to let them keep going." C took the small distraction as an opportunity to rush towards his temporary opponent. Naruto, prepared for this maneuver, met C head on in a battle of Taijutsu. "So what are you doing out here, Atsui?" The blond haired man chuckled softly, not even enough to shake his shoulder, as he smirked.
"I stopped by the Kaku clan compound to see if I could find Naruto. Ginkaku and Kinkaku were getting prepared to leave out a mission and told me he'd be out here with you. Didn't expect to see C here, but I should have. I came to train with Naruto too. You're not the only person that he's learning from, you know?" Darui chuckled slightly as he rolled his neck around his shoulders.
"Maybe not. But your skills are dull, Atsui." The blond haired shinobi's eyebrow twitched dangerously as he closed his eyes, grimacing angrily.
"What'd you say!? My skills are hotter than yours you lazy bastard!" Darui said nothing as his blond haired comrade swirled on his heels, turning his back to the more lax shinbi, while crossing his arms. "Lazy inconsiderate bastard..." A grin spread over the darker skinned shinobi's features as he shook his he laughed heartily.
The Raikage stomped across the wooden planks in his office angrily. Jiraiya of the Sanin, Konoha's shinobi, had shown up in his village, uninvited. The man had even had the gaul not to alert the Raikage to his presence and had pranced around his village, leering at Kumogakure's female population. And then he had appeared in the Raikage Tower's waiting room, demanding an audience with A. A's fist struck out and crashed to his newest desk, splitting it in half. "The nerve of that bastard!"
"Yo bro, B is back from fixing that building, about time you put me back to sword wielding." A glared, completely enraged as B smashed through his window. Admittedly, the Raikage did it often, but it was his window. His property to damage. Not B's. "Sorry about that A, probably should've let me stay! Hey did you got a problem? Your eye's twitching like no tomorro-" A's hand wrapped tightly around B's skull as he slung him around the room like a rag doll.
"You're damn right I have a problem! Not only do I have an ignorant brother who goes around costing me money by breaking my stuff, but Jiraiya of the Sanin is outside of my office demanding an audience with me! I am not in the modd to be dealing with Konohagakure Shinobi!" B lurched his body to the side, escaping his brother's grasp as he stumbled across the floor.
"That pervert is in the building? Let me guess, you need the mighty Killer B to give him an ass wipping! Ain't no problem yo, I'll go break his nose! Let's go see this guy, So I can black his eyes-"
"Shut up B!" The Hachibi Jinchuriki dodged down underneath one of the pieces of the Raikage's desk that was sent flying his way. "I can't have you assaulting him. I don't want to have to deal with the consequences. No, I'll have to talk to him, eventually..."
"Eventually you said, what do you have him doing, eating bread?" A's eyebrow twitched angrily at the rhyme. Now B was just grasping at straws.
"No, B, I don't have him eating bread. I don't know how the hell you came up wit that stupid idea, but I'm not even going to question it! You should take things more seriously every once in a while you moron." The Raikage sighed in exasperationg as he removed his Kage hat from his skull. "No... Mabui's sacrificing herself for the team. She's out there talking to him, and he's shamelessly leering at her. She so calm and collected, but even she has her limits. I'm not sure how much longer she'll be able to put up with the lecher."
Kinkaku and Ginkaku sailed from treebranch to treebranch, their normal attires for missions worn proudly as they observed their surroundings. They had departed from Kumogakure less than five minutes prior and were now setting course for their mission's destination. As they sailed over a very specific, charred, clearing, their eyes quickly examined the scenario playing out below them. Atsui, C, and Darui faced off against Naruto. Various wounds had been infliced upon all four shinobi which included, but were not limited to, kunai and sword incisions as well as burn marks.
Naruto jumped high into the air, overshooting an incoming fireball, before his foot descended down upon C, slamming into his jaw. The blond haired shinobi stumbled sideways, crashing into Darui, who grabbed ahold of him to steady the man. Naruto jumped into the air, his right foot snagging Darui's temple, sending him to the ground on top of his blond haired comrade. The platinum/blond shinobi smirked pridefully as he bounded away from the two fallen Kumo Shinobi, facing off against Atsui once again.
His eyes seemed to meet his sibling's as they passed overhead. Instinctively, the genin ranked shinobi unsheathed both of his Dual Dao Swords, raising them in the air as one as an acknowledgment of their departure. The Gold and Silver Brothers nodded in response to the Hakkinkaku of their clan. Then, as they reenterred the overhanging leavery, Naruto split his Dao Swords down the middle and rushed forwards to meet another fireball head on.
Jiraiya's eyes moved away from the Kumogakure Kunoichi, Mabui, whom stood angrily glaring at the Toad Hermit. The door to the Raikage's office opened slowly and A stomped out, his nostrils flared, before he was slowly follwed by the Hachibi Jinchuriki. The younger man rubbed his face tenderly as he stumbled through the Raikage's waiting room to the door just beyond Jiraiya himself. "You better have a damn good reason for intruding in my village without my prior knowledge of it, Jiraiya."
The white haired Toad Sanin nodded dutifully as he gestured to the Kage's office. The darker man's eyes rolled in annoyance as he marched back into the room, followed closely by Jiraiya. The Sanin's eyes took in the devastated form of the Raikage's office with an impassive face. It was well known that A was a hothead. It was also well known to Jiraiya, through his Spy Network of course, that the man and his brother often got into squabbles inside of the Raikage's office. "What do you, Jiraiya. Hurry up and tell me before I lose my temper."
"It seems you've already done that." Jiraiya returned as A sat down in his chair surrounded by his desk's rubble. The more muscular man's eye narrowed angrily in response as Jiraiya raised his hands in a peaceful gesture. "I'm sorry. I guess this isn't the time to jest, is it? Right down to business then. It's come to my attention that you have three shinobi in Kumogakure with whikser scars on their faces."
A grimaced distatefully as he leaned back in his chair. He could have guessed that that was what Jiraiya had made himself known about. He had always known that Konoha would come snooping for his adopted brother and shinobi eventually. His grimace quickly turned into a smile taut across his features. "Why yes, I do. They all belong to the Kaku clan." Jiraiya nodded.
"Yes, the Kaku clan. It's members had been reduced to the Nidaime Gold and Silver Brothers if I remember correctly. Ginkaku and Kinkaku. Where exactly did the third one come from again?"
"The other shinobi is the Gold and Silver Brothers third brother."
"That doesn't tell me anything, A. Don't play games with me. Fourteen years ago, Konoha's Kyubi Jinchuriki, Naruto, was kidnapped, and fourteen years later a shinobi with his whisker marks shows up in a clan who shouldn't be able to produce such at the time being. Where did the shinobi come from?" A frowned as he stood to his feet staring heatedly at the white haired Sanin.
"I'm not going to lie to you, Jiraiya. The Shinobi is Naruto. He is the Kyubi's Jinchuriki." Jiraiya's own eyes narrowed dangerously as he stepped towards the Raikage.
"We sent word to you that our Jinchuriki had been taken away. You never responded. I guess that should have tipped me off, huh? I demand his immediate return to Konoha!" The Raikage's eyes flared angrily as he too stepped forwards, now directly in Jiraiya face.
"You demand!? You don't demand anything in my village! That boy is a shinobi of Kumogakure No Sato! He is a highly respected member of our community! He is my brother and my student. He is also the brother and student of Killer B, Ginkaku and Kinkaku. He is the student of C, Atsui and Darui. He is a member of Kumo's Kaku clan. You have no jurisdiction here, and Konoha has no domain over him. You can't touch him, and if you do, we declare war."
"Do you really want to do that!?" Jiraiya snarled in A's face. "That boy is the heir and legacy to Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki!"
"I'm well aware." A returned as he shoved the Toad Sanin away from his personal space. "Not only was that information relayed to me, we used blood samples extracted from battle fields to prove such. But you can't prove it. I know Konoha. You would have destroyed all documentation to protect him. Only Kumogakure has that information readily available, and that's not something we're willing to give out to the general public. He is also the the descendant of one of the Gold and Silver Brothers.
And has a direct relationship to another clan inside of this village. Simply put, his family is in the village. All of his other true relatives are dead. He belongs here, with us." Jiraiya shook his head angrily as his fist slammed into the Raikage's wall, crumbling it.
"No. He's my godson and he belongs in Konoha where I can keep a watchful eye on him! Where his true brother Kakashi can watch over him!" The Raikage smirked darkly as shadows overcast his eyes.
"Maybe you two should have been watching him when he needed you most. But you weren't."
"I can talk to him, convince him. If he asks for discharge and to be transfered, there's not much you can do about it."
"Good luck with that!" A's voice boomed loudly as he gripped his abdomen, laughing. "Naruto hates Konoha! With all of his being! He believes you all to be dogs. Go, go and find him! He'll tell you just the same and turn you away. You hold no place in his heart. Konoha holds no place in his heart. Only Kumo, and those allied to it. Konoha is not allied to us, and even if it were, like I said, you're nothing but dogs to him. Now get out of my office! I'm beginning to become sick looking at your face!"
Jiraiya's nostrils flared angrily as he glared at the Raikage. "This isn't over." The white haired Sanin growled through his gritted teeth, before exiting through the Raikage's double doors, slamming it closed behind him. A smile pulled taut over the muscular man's features as he began to laugh loudly. If Jiraiya truly believed that he could change Naruto's heart, then he was a greater fool than A took him for.
Naruto panted as he held a cold, prespiring bottle of water to his lips. C, Atsui and Darui all sat around the platinum/blond haired shinobi, all drinking their own respective beverages. "You've improved a lot since you left with B-Sama, Naruto." C spoke breaking the silence. Darui nodded in response as he took his place near a tree, leaning his head back against it.
"You pulled off some pretty hot combos." Atsui added as a smile graced his features. He liked training with Naruto. Their personalities, for the most part, contrasted each other. That hadn't stopped them from becoming close friends and comrades however. Darui closed his eyes upon the scene, thinking to himself. Naruto was close to many shinobi within Kumogakure. Many of the more well known shinobi.
And the relationships were either a brother sibling relationship, or close friends relationship. Darui knew that Naruto hadn't been born inside Kumogakure's gates. Many didn't, but he did. And it didn't matter. Naruto just seemed to belong in Kumogakure. He fit in perfectly with all of their shinobi. And it wasn't just the shinobi population that he was popular with. It was also the civilian population. They had been skeptical of him, and at that time Yugito, with them being Jinchuriki.
But with Killer B and the Gold and Silver Brothers claim to fame, so to speak, the civilian populace had given them a chance. And Naruto had become a highly respected figure in the Kumogakure community. One of the highest, as a matter of fact. It was strange, considering he was only of genin rank. But he had earned every ounce of respect that was garnered towards him from Kumo.
The dark skinned shinobi allowed a smile to overtake his features as Naruto unlatched his Hook swords from his waist, watching Atsui intently. "So let's pick up on what we were training on before you left." Atsui spoke to Naruto as the platinum/blond haired shinobi tossed one of the weapons to his comrade.
Hiruzen sighed tiredly as he rubbed his temples. Maito Gai had reported to him sometime ago that their client, Tazune, had passed out from alcohol consumption. As such, there departure for the mission to officially begin had been put off into the following day. The Sandaime didn't quite understand it. Fourteen years ago Konoha had been on top of the world and had recieved only cream of the crop missions. But now? Konohagakure No Sato were lucky to recieve the canon fodder.
And Kumogakure No Sato recieved the cream of the crop. They produced shinobi at a rate even slower than Konoha's, but the quality of them far surpassed Konoha's own. Their current economy seemed unmatched by any of the other four elemental nations. The Hokage knew that if events continued at the current place, Kumo would eventually take Konoha's place as the strongest elemental village. His eyes fell on the paperwork sitting before him and he released a dreary breath from his lung, bringing his tabacco pipe to his mouth.
He had one major chance to bring attention back to Konoha. The Chunin Exams. If he could get his Genin to outshine the other villages, especially Kumo's, then clients would come flocking to Konoha with mission requests. But that was easier said than done. Besides the numerous off villages that attended, it was never a sure fire thing that all villages would attend. Off the top of the Sandaime's head, he was sure that Kirigakure would be absent, what with their recent Civil War having just come to an end.
And then there was the mysterious inclusion of the 'Village Hidden In The Sound'. Sarutobi didn't quite know what it was, but something made him weary about the newest entry. It had reared its head just before the announcement that the exams would be held in Konoha. And The Sandaime had no idea on any of the village's statistics. It was new, so it definately wasn't recieving any missions at this point. So if it was a legitimate attempt to start a new nation, they would come and attack with everything that they had to draw in clients.
The Sandaime's eyes lifted from the papers to stare at the three deceased Kage's that had shared his title. His gaze lingered over the intense blue eyes of Minato Namikaze. He closed his eyes briefly as he stamped his tabacco pipe out. He didn't think of Minato's son much anymore. In fact he was mostly a fleeting thought now. A distant memory at most. He'd probably never meet the young boy, considering if he was still alive. "What would you have done in my position, Minato?" The picture was unresponsive, but the answer was relatively clear. Everything. Minato Namikaze would have done everything, because that was the type of man he had been.
Jiraiya stomped through the village, grumbling angrily to himself. He truly needed to leave the village of Kumo before he cause an international crisis. But he didn't quite plan on it. No, that wasn't the type of man that Jiraiya of the Sanin was. He was the type of man that would hunt his Godson down until the day he died. And then when he found him, he would talk to him and convince him of his right to belong in Konoha, not Kumo.
The white haired man halted immediately in his tracks as the boy he had been thinking of had appeared around the corner of a dango shop. His figure, for the most part, was rather intimidating. So it wouldn't be a surprise to Jiraiya if he was highly respected as A had suggested. He winced slightly as his eyes danced over the Lichtenberg scars that rippled across his skin, and underneath his two tattoos.
Jiraiya would have mistaken him for someone else because of his hair alone, if not for the whisker marks that he bore proudly upon his cheeks. It was neither of the Nidaime Gold and Silver Brothers, that much was for certain. Jiraiya had met them both, and their stature towered over the platinum/blond that stood before him. Jiraiya raised his hand slightly and made to call his name. His voice died in his throat.
A smile stretched over Naruto's features as three men rounded the corner behind him, followed quickly by a girl with her blonde hair styled in a ponytail. The three men talked to Naruto obviously complimenting him as the blond chuckled, his shoulders shaking visibly. His right hand rose and scratched the back of his head as he exchanged a few more pleasantries with the men. Then he shook hands with all of them and they departed, waving at him from over their shoulders. The blonde next to him smiled gently.
Naruto glanced to her, returning the gesture, then peeled back the flaps of the dango shop's entrance. The girl nodded in response, saying something that the Toad Sanin didn't quite catch, before she disappeared into the restraunt. She was quickly followed by Naruto who laughed as someone called his name excitedly from inside the dango shop. Jiraiya grimaced as he stepped backwards in the direction opposite the shop. It wouldn't do any good to disturb him now.
At Six O'clock the next morning, Naruto and Yugito stood side by side at the village gates, dressed in their normal attires. Naruto chewed anxiously on a senbon needle, a habit he had picked up from his teammate after the later's death. Yugito looked over at him and smiled gently, as she was known to do. "Are you ready, Naruto?" The platinum/blond haired genin nodded slowly as he removed the senbon needle from his mouth.
Behind them, B stood proudly on the otherside of the gates, beaming at his two pupils. "You two come back in one piece, not like swiss cheese!" Yugito snarled in anger as she glared at her sensei over her shoulder.
"Shut up B!" The dark skinned man chuckled as he grinned, waving at the two. Yugito's gaze fell away from one highly respected Jinchuriki to the next. The senbon needle was being rotated in Naruto's right hand constantly. His blue eyes stared ahead of them, seemingly in a daze. She knew better. Naruto was an excellent sensor shinobi and he was marking the best path through the forest towards their destination. Then he seemed to snap back into reality, his eyes steeling as he dropped down into a crouch.
"Let's move." The two shinobi shot forwards into the overhanging treebranches at breakneck speeds.
Tenten sighed boredly as she hung upside down from a tree branch. Below her, Lee was claiming both Neji Hyuga and Sasuke Uchiha to be his eternal rivals, Gai crying streams of tears in 'pride'. Sakura stomped to and fro, angrily, and Sai just stood smiling creepily at everyone. Their client, Tazuna, stumbled to and fro, already drunken once again. They had agreed to depart at seven o'clock. It was now nine, and Kakashi was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, a plume of smoke floated through the air and he was suddenly standing near Tenten's upside down head.
"Good morning." The Jonin spoke as his single visible feature indicated that he was smiling. Sakura growled angrily and lurched forwards, graspin ahold of the silver haired man's green vest.
"And where the hell have you been!?"
"Hey!" Tazune called as he fell on his butt, burping. "That's... that's no way to talk to... to um... Oh, to the guy who saved your village from... from the aliens!" The silver haired Jonin's mask indicated that his smile was widening as he took Sakura's wrist, removing her hand from his clothing.
"Thank you Tazuna-San. And if you must know, I set my alarm clock for five, but the aliens I beat yesterday sent for reinforcements and they set it for eight to sabotage me. So I had to track them down and beat them again so they got the message not to be in my village anymore. And I was on my way here after being crowned their all time ultimate king out of repect when, wouldn't you know it, I came across a cat and a kite both stuck in a tree with two children trying to retrieve them.
"Naturally I could get the cat and the kite at the exact same time so I retrieved the cat and then the kite. And so I carried on my way until I sprained my ankle walking. And when I looked up, I saw the promotional poster for Jiraiya-Sama's newest book. Well that was fate decreeing that I needed that book so I had to wait fifteen minutes in line. And here it is now." Kakashi produced his newest treasure from his back kunai pouch as those around him stared at him in pure astonishment.
"Yosh! My eternal rival is so hip and youthful! Lee, don't let your rivals upstage you like this! Drop and give me twenty five thousand push ups!" Tazuna nodded sagely from his place on the ground, in a deja vu of the day prior.
"You people... need to give this man more... more respect... He is... He is amazing! Bravo! Bravo Kakashi-Sama!" Tazuna jumped to his feet before he staggered over to the silver haired man, shaking his hand emphatically. The he rushed through the village gates. "Now what are we waiting for!? Let's... Let's go-" The drunken man tripped over his own feet, skidding across the ground. Tears welled in his eyes as he forced himself into a sitting position. Sasuke glanced to his sensei as he opened his mouth to speak.
Kakashi glared harshly as his nostrils flared underneath his mask. "No Sasuke, I'm not fucking kidding you!"
"Yosh! So Hip! Lee-" One of Tenten's various large two handed weapons crashed into Gai's skull, sending him to the ground as she stalked past. The rest of the group marched forwards, leaving Tazuna and Gai to rush after them all with immediate haste.
Zabuza Momochi slowly raised his head, his eyes blazing. He didn't quite know what was coming, but whatever it was it was big. The rogue Kirigakure Shinobi could feel it in his bones. He was going to finally have that battle he had been looking for. A true test for his strength. His hand gripped the hilt of his Kubikiribocho tightly. Tight enough to turn his knuckles a pale white. "This isn't just the calm before the storm..." Zabuza spoke to himself, his apprentice's eyes glancing to him questioningly. The younger knew better than to question his master, however, and returned to their own agenda.
"No... This is the calm before the Maelstrom."
And that's it for this chapter. I'm pretty sure I'm rather happy with how it came out. So here's some things about Naruto. He's gonna know a lot of Ken and Taijutsu. His affinities are gonna, for sure, be Lightning and Fire. Just because that's what I want. If you want a picture of the Dao sword, just look up Zuko's from Avatar The Last Airbender. They should be pretty close I think. As for the hook swords, any would do really.
As for Naruto's appearance, here's what it looks like in an easier description. His hair is similar in style to C's, from the manga, not the anime. His shirt is basically Omoi's, just without sleeves. The handguards are C's basically. I like the way they looked. For his pants you can basically look at any Kumo's pants, but Omoi's is the one I was thinking of. And you can look at any Kumo shinobi with their flak jacket and shin guards.
Now for a few explanations. Naruto's tattoos. See, Naruto is the Hakkinkaku, or 'Platinum Horn', of the Kaku clan. So in correlation with his brothers who have the kanjis for gold and silver on their shoulders, I placed platinum on Naruto's. The reason I chose his left is because I was thinking that Kin was the biggest of the three and had his on the right. Gin was the second biggest and had his alternated on the right.
So as process of elimination, it would alternate back to Naruto for his tattoo. I did the same thing for the lightning tattoo. It started on the Raikage's right shoulder, alternated to Darui's left, and so I alternated it back to Naruto's right. You could look up some Lichtenberg scars, I know they have some on google, but I wouldn't suggest it. Some of the pictures are purely gnarly. But if you do look, there is a picture of a guy's arm with the scar and that was the specific design I was thinking of.
Also, on a different matter, I have no pairing set up for this story. None whatsoever. I didn't really come into this with a gameplan, just the idea of making Naruto a Kumo shinobi. That's kinda how I do all of my fanfictions. And it shows a lot of times because I don't plan anything out, I just move the story along as I type. I dunno, that's just how I do it. Anyways, I hope you people have liked my positive portrayal of Minato and Kushina. You people swear up and down I hate them so much I figured I'd disprove that statement.
Anyways, that's pretty much it guys. If you have any ideas for the story, PM me. I'm still not sure if I'm posting yet or writing a few more chapters so there may be another chapter to coincide with the first two, I don't quite know yet...