A Rusty Instrument

It's me again! I'm back and badder than ever with my hardcore imagination pumped with inspiration! Time for the next instalment- but now a word from our sponsor… Just kidding.

XXX

An eternity passed as Kakashi simply stared, dumbstruck. This was unthinkable, unfathomable! No one, not even his team, had ever passed the bell test first try! And here was some blonde enigma who he completely took for granted. The boy was standing, jingling the bells about in a bandaged hand, his eye never leaving Kakashi, a foxy-grin plastered on his face. "That was easier than expected." He stated, flippantly. "But I suppose you didn't see that coming did you?"

No words left Kakashi's mouth, he simply stared. Even Sasuke was shocked at what had just taken place- Sakura, his fan-girl #1 had just completed a strategic manoeuvre that even he had not expected! Now she emerged from the trees, smiling giddily and glancing at him in an embarrassed manner. "Did you see, Sasuke-kun?"

Glancing back at her with a cool blue gaze, Naruto threw a bell at her, which she caught. "Thanks for your help- I honestly suck with weapons. Couldn't have done it without you!" his gaze returned to Kakashi. "Impressed yet or do I need to breathe fire to get a pass?" Sasuke didn't miss the jab.

Kakashi finally found his voice. "Actually you've done more than enough to pass, Naruto. But its dilemma time I'm afraid. You have two choices." From his sleeve, he flicked a kunai and pointed it at Sasuke who blinked in mild surprise. "Sacrifice yourself to save Sasuke, or run and let him live?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. His eye had lost all warmth however, and instead of its usual blue it glowed a faint violet.

"Not going to choose, huh?" said Kakashi. "Well, how about you Sakura?" he pointed the kunai at Naruto this time. "Kill Naruto or I kill Sasuke." At this, the pinkette tensed- torn between her crush and the boy who had just been so kind to her. In a blur of movement, Naruto appeared in front of Kakashi, his hand grasped around the kunai, using the momentum from the sudden stop to send his leg flying in a kick towards his teacher's head.

Mildly shocked by the action, Kakashi held up his arm to block. Naruto still said nothing, his eye cool and calculating. After a few seconds of no movement, Naruto muttered, loudly enough for everyone to hear, "In this situation I'd simply kill the perpetrator before he can even think of such a thing. In the unlikely event I am put in such a dilemma I won't simply run as my team mate is killed. Like I said before- don't underestimate me." He stepped back, then glanced at Sasuke, before tossing the bell at him. "Guild's pay less, but I suppose they'll have to do for now…" he turned around and began to walk away, bandaged hands stuffed in his jacket pockets. Suddenly, a vice-like grip grabbed him by the shoulder.

The grey haired teacher was glaring down at him with cold fury in his single eye. "I've never, I repeat never had a mere genin speak to me with such insolence. If you are so naïve to believe that I'll let you go after that you are sorely wrong, boy! You…" All the genin suddenly tensed as the evil aura around the teacher suddenly vanished, replaced by a calm one. Kakashi was eye-smiling at Naruto. "… Pass."

"… Eh?" He had not expected that!

"Not only did you have the spine to stand up against me, a jonin, but you also abandoned your own well-being for the sake of a team mate. You were even willing to give up your own place on the team for some one else. That, to me…" he grinned under his mask. "… Is clear ninja-quality. A friend of mine once said 'Those who abandon the rules are trash. But those who abandon team mates are worse than trash.'" Kakashi glanced at Sasuke, who was staring at his sensei, dumbstruck. "Hopefully these guys will rub off on you Sasuke."

His attitude suddenly returned, the boy simply let out a, "Hmph."

"Now everyone- since you're my new genin team, I suppose we'll have to start team bonding, huh? How about we do some missions tomorrow, and if you do good we can work on formations." He looked at the three posts were the failed genin were usually tied. "Meet me here tomorrow at 7, sharp. We can do a little bonding on the way to the Hokage's office. Ja ne." he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

XXX

"Team five ain't gonna be out of hospital for a week. At least. Seriously, they began attacking each other when I said whoever could land a hit on me first would be on my team…" Hayate paused to cough. "… They failed, obviously."

"Ditto for team six- none of them could break out of the genjutsu I placed them under, it was kinda pathetic."

Sighing wistfully, the Hokage turned his gaze to Kakashi who was busy reading his porn and not paying attention. "Kakashi Hatake?"

Jumping at being addressed, the silver haired man glanced at the elderly Hokage. "Huh? Oh yeah, my guys passed." Suddenly, every eye in the room turned to Kakashi, who in all his history as a jonin sensei had never passed a single team. Noticing the sudden silence, Kakashi looked at his fellow jonin perplexed. "What? Is it really that shocking I passed them?"

Chuckling, the Sandaime met Kakashi's gaze. "So Naruto surprised you, eh? Tell me, did he give any insight into what he went through during those six years?"

"He displayed high speed and low-jonin strength, but he was too reckless in his moves, that some might say his skills have a dull-edge… He was quite adept with ninjutsu though…" Shrugging, Kakashi muttered under his breath, "He also used a Bi-element."

"A bi-element?" cut in Kurenai. "But that boy just joined the academy three days ago, not only that he was dead-last in the class, I saw the records! Even if he did have one, how could he utilise it?"

Hizuren barked out with laughter. "You have obviously not seen the man behind the mask, Yuuhi-san. Naruto in fact scored highest in the class, only being demoted to last due to his 'lack' of attendance over the past year." His attention returned to Kakashi, his face suddenly serious. "A Bi-element, you say? What kind?"

"He utilised Bubble-release." Stated Kakashi, causing some jonin to snigger at the seemingly harmless element. "He cloned himself and used a breath-attack featuring it- but it wasn't too surprising considering who his teacher was… But one thing is bothering me…" he snapped his book shut. "Utakata of the mist gained Awaton from his Biju, the Rokubi, so why in god's name does Naruto have it?"

XXX

A month, for a fresh genin, is one of the longest periods of your life, filled with not only pain, but also hardship and suffering. D-ranked missions are not only degrading, but an insult to the skills shinobi have learned. The last guild D-rank Naruto had done was years ago, and even then it involved huge piranhas. Needless to say, Utakata gave him no leeway, even on solo-missions.

When Team 7 wasn't chasing after Tora the cat, they were painting a garden fence, and when they weren't painting a garden fence, they were cutting the grass of some council-member's garden. Come to think of it, degrading seemed like an understatement.

And as for the money count… Nsaruto stared at the empty frog-shaped wallet in his hands and groaned. D-ranked missions were VERY low-paid. Considering the difference between D and C ranked missions, it was a wonder that they were considered 'missions' at all! As the team entered the Hokage's office, thjey were greeted by the Hokage, Iruka and some jonin with a large muffler over his mouth and nose. "Ah, Team 7." Said Sarutobi, with a smile. He glanced down at the cat that Sasuke was carrying, and grinned. "You found Tora I see. Well, if you want to give him to Chirumaru here, I'm sure he'll return Tora to his loving owner."

The jonin shuddered, muttering 'troublesome' under his breath, before taking the cat from Sasuke and disappearing.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's see what we have waiting in the wing's…" the Hokage began to shuffle through some papers. "Hmm… A Mr. Sora wants his house painted, and his wife wants their dogs taken out for a walk. I'm sure you could choose either…"

"No freakin' way!" yelled Naruto, finally losing his cool. He thrust out the empty frog-wallet so it was inches from the Hokage's face. "See this? This, my poor Gama-chan, has gone without able sustenance for a whole month! Its cruelty I tell you! I demand a better mission!"

"Naruto, you can't talk to the Hokage like that!" snapped Sakura, though she mentally agreed with him.

Iruka cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Uzumaki-san. But fresh genin are traditionally made to do D-ranked missions until they've settled in to ninja life. C-ranked missions are then taken up-"

"I get that…" interrupted Naruto. "But that doesn't change the fact that I'm demanding a better mission!"

Chuckling wistfully, the elderly Hokage shuffled through some more papers. "Very well. Let me see, what do we have here…? Ah!" he pulled out two pieces of paper, and then looked between them, before putting one down. "We have a courier mission to the Diamond village on the borders of fire country and water country, near Takigakaru. They want this…" he showed them a small rusted ocarina, "Given to them. All expenses were paid months ago, but they never sent anyone to pick it up." He grinned at them. "Think you're up to it?"

Even Sasuke couldn't keep the grin from his face at the prospect of a better mission than the D-rank's. "Awesome!" stated Naruto, with a flippant grin. He was sure he'd been to the Diamond village before, but couldn't place when…

At that moment, a second team entered the room, lead by a raven haired jonin with crimson red eyes and violet eye-shadow. Following her were three genin, previous classmates of team 7, Shino Aburame, the stoic genius, Kiba Inuzuka, the brash powerhouse and Hinata Hyuuga, the frosty princess. Kiba sneered when he saw Team 7. "Alright, losers? How are you guys fairing, been dropped into the academy yet?"

"Shut up, runt." Retorted Sasuke in a neutral tone which angered the Inuzuka even more. Kakashi meanwhile had collected the metal instrument and held it up towards the window light, eyeing it carefully. Nodding as though confirming something, he turned and motioned for Team 7 to follow him.

As they walked out, Naruto was suddenly blocked by the navy-haired Hyuuga, who cast a critical eye over him. "You are Naruto Uzumaki, correct?" After he nodded, she simply returned to the ranks of her team, a slight grin on her face, not sweet, but almost self-satisfied, so out-of-place on her features that the blonde could not place it. Shrugging, he followed his team, not staying to hear that Team 8, after a complaint about D-ranks from Kiba, received a mission to Wave country with an alcoholic bridge builder.

XXX

"Do any of you guys play instruments?" asked Kakashi, nonchalantly as the guards at Konoha's gate's checked their passport's before allowing them to leave the village. Ever since the cloud incident six years ago, gate security had been doubled. At the unanimous shake of heads from Team 7, he held up the ocarina. "This is a rather uncommon instrument called an ocarina, from the woodwind family, known to produce a 'haunting' melody. To be fair, I've only seen a few in my time, but do you know what's special about this one?"

Sakura raised her hand instantly, the nostalgia of being in-the-know like in the academy returning to her. "It's a ninja-weapon sensei. You can tell because of the worn seals around the rim and the fact it's worn from use!"

Sending her an eye-smile, Kakashi nodded. "Very good. But I was looking for something a bit more simplistic. Naruto?"

The blond shrugged, then stated, quite simply, "It's old."

Laughing, Kakashi nodded. "Yes. Most instrument's…" he collected the paper from the sentries and led them out the village at a leisurely pace. "…Require replacing after a few years. And this one has been kept for a long time, as you can see, which means it must have some value. Like Sakura says, it must be a weapon because of the seals and the obvious ware. Also, due to the type of seals, we can tell its origin must come from a foreign country, must likely the dust village from the symbol on top of it."

"The technological state of the elemental countries…" mumbled Naruto, under his breath. The faint image of a platinum haired man with a metal hulk sticking out his back remained in his mind, haunting his memories like an ethereal shadow.

"So, just by looking at this instrument, I've gained a brief overview of its past and present. Can anyone tell me what I'd call that?"

Sasuke instantly answered, "Underneath the underneath. Right?"

Grinning under his mask, Kakashi nodded. "That's right. Just like the bell test, there is a hidden meaning under a simple thing. For example, this rusted ocarina; a weapon from a foreign land. More than a third of missions that chunin and jonin take are recon missions- gathering info. Usually, rich merchants or lords get ninja for recon then hire samurai for the muscle- cheaper labour you see?" From his leg-pouch he pulled a wrap of gauze, which he wrapped around the small instrument before slipping it into the pouch. "Right, I'd say we can pick up the pace now. Team 7… Let's go!"

XXX

A mist descended over the group of genin, who were by this point scared out of their wits. "Guard the client!" barked Kurenai, causing all of Team 8 to bounce into position in front of Tazuna who was shaking in fear. The mist was steadily getting thicker, and a thick laughter was drifting through the air. With hindsight, Kurenai realised continuing the mission was an idiotic thing to do, all because Kiba had yelled something about 'putting Sasuke in his place' and because she wanted to gloat to Kakashi that her Team had completed a high ranked mission. She was a rookie jonin, no one could blame her! But this…

"Aw… I think you scared them, Buza-sempai!" a jovial voice called. Kurenai's eyes widened. It was them again. A tall man, aged no less than 19, holding a fishing rod over one shoulder, a bucket hat dropped lazily on his head, allowing only a few strands of dirty blonde hair to escape from the hat. Beside him was a slightly shorter man with shaggy rose coloured hair. Unlike his partner, who was dressed like it was summer despite the heat, this man wore a long black cloak, and had a slight look of distaste on his face. Strapped around his shoulders was a sitar, the huge plectrum, shaped like a skull, grasped in his hand. Both men had huge scrolls with brass casings strapped to their backs'.

From the mist, a grey-skinned man wearing only hakama pants and bandages around his face and torso appeared, the huge kubikiri zanbatou held with one arm. Like a silent spectre, he appeared behind Tazuna, and was about to decapitate the man if Kurenai had not noticed and held the huge blade off with a kunai. Cackling in mirth, Zabuza easily shunted her back, breaking the kunai with ease and sending the rookie jonin to the ground. "Nice try, bitch. But a little metal toy can't stand against a demon."

"Ooh… Scary, sempai." Came the voice of the tall, lightly dressed fisherman. A wide grin was present on his face, sadism laced within his features. "And here I thought you were a pacifist. My mistake." As his gaze turned to the three genin his eyes widened and he licked his lips unconsciously. "Fresh meat, eh? I just love guppies the most…" he swung the fishing rod down, then began to laugh. "Sorry kids, but you ain't gonna see the end of this day."

Wincing, Kurenai quickly cast her strongest genjutsu. "Mugen: Rinjianiki!" (Illusion: Temporary Fate) As soon as the words left her lips, she ran towards the genin and her client, and motioned for them to follow her quickly. The technique was so simple, yet brilliant in escape. It froze the opponents awareness for a minute- at most, and allowed the user to escape with ample time. "Take us to your village. Now." Snapped Kurenai. She picked up the bridge builder and held him on her back, before telling the three genin to follow her without any questions. Even she couldn't handle that. It was impossible. Three A-ranked missing nin, one of them being Zabuza, Demon of the Mist, another being the infamous assassin, Guujin the fisherman. The other ninja she had no idea about, but the way he hung back made her feel like he was a support character or a healer… Or something far worse?

She didn't know what to think. After Shino had thrown a kunai at the snow rabbit, everything had gone pear-shaped- Zabuza's appearance, the sadistic fisherman and that sitar wielding rosette. A messenger pidgeon to Konoha was urgently needed. As soon as she reached wave country, that would be the first thing to do…

But unknown to Kurenai a fourth figure emerged from the trees and stared solemnly after the retreating team. He couldn't bring himself to kill them. The poor old man, the frightened children… He just couldn't. "Zabuza-sama will be angry with me…" murmured the boy and he stared at his grey-skinned master, who was slowly returning to reality.

XXX

From the fog, a single figure emerged. His face shrouded in shadows, his eyes, cold and soulless, with a rippled iris, surveyed the gully-built village. It was a pity, but it probably wouldn't exist to see the next day. Keeping a slow pace, he strode forwards, and let several thoughts come to mind. Axel, long since abandoning the organisation, had been replaced by Itachi Uchiha, the infamous clan-killer and genjutsu prodigy, a far more favourable candidate to wear the red-clouds than the hot-headed Axel.

As for Ooi, who was still being held in the base, Hidan had become a far better replacement. Unlike the depressing and simultaneously annoying Ooi, Hidan was simply annoying full stop, and as an added bonus, was a literal immortal, thanks to the blessings of one of his pagan arts. Of course, Ooi still served his uses. 'Tobi' had been very interested in probing the chakra-technology which was harboured inside the albino's body.

At this point, he had reached the gates, tall and huge, fashioned from a well made bronze. Placing one had on the cold metal, he muttered two words, which rang into the night. "Shinra Tensei."

In one instant, a third of the village of diamond was sent to oblivion.

XXX

Alright, I'm done! I was a bit worried about this chapter but I believe it turned out ok, but not brilliant. Anyway, as you can see I've decided to thicken the plot and confuse a whole lot of people by adding in two new characters… With scroll's! Don't worry, things will get a lot more confusing from here on out, you can count on it!

Belgium was brilliant. The atmosphere was thick and the things I saw… Breathtaking. When we visited one of the war grave's it was actually a misty day… Creepy, no? Anyway, looking for inspiration, so any ideas just review and/or PM me. I NEED IDEAS!

Finally, a poll is currently up on my profile about a pseudo-style to accompany the summons (Scorpions) that Naruto has. Please vote!