A/N: Before we kick off the chapter, I would like to thank a few reviewers that brought up valid/entertaining points.
To "hitsugayatoshiro1220": Thank you for the very honest and critical review. It pointed out errors that I have been trying to "beat" out of my system, and your suggestions to help fix those errors are a lifesaver. I'll also be more careful with chunky paragraphs, and try to supply details as much as I did in Chapter 1.
To "Guest": reviewed on 5/14/13: Thanks, I figured that Naruto would still be underestimated (hell, he's only 7!) so Naruto being Naruto took advantage of the situation. Sneaky-sneaky is a good way to describe Naruto, but I wouldn't be all that surprised. Minato did save Kushina from 3 Kumo ninja when he was only a genin (I think)...
-Namikaze Compound – 6:50 AM-
Minato stood out on the porch, soaking in the view. It was a beautiful start to a beautiful day. The sun had shown itself over the east side of the village at exactly 5:43, casting orange and pink light across the village. The birds made their presence known; the sounds of chirping and leaves rustling were carried by a light breeze that wove its way up in between buildings and up to the porch, just enough to make his bangs sway. In the distance, the shopkeepers were abuzz, organizing and preparing for the early-birds to storm their way into the market district. 'I think I'm beginning to understand your dream, sensei. A world entirely at peace. I could get used to-'
"DAMMIT I WOKE UP LATE AGAIN!", A voice thundered from Naruto's room. A navy blur made its way towards Minato, gaining on him awfully quickly.
'Aaaaaaaaand then again, there's Naruto.'
"OUTTATHEWAYTOUSANGOTTAPEETHANKYOU!" Naruto yelled, leaving a trail of blue flames in his wake. After finishing his business in the bathroom, Naruto dashed for the door, catching the two biscuits his father had tossed at him with practiced ease and made his way out the door.
-Nara Compound – 7:05 AM-
Shikamaru Nara was never a morning person, but today felt different. 'Of course, dumbass, this is your first day as a Genin of the Leaf!' Shikamaru paused mid-walk to let out an enormous yawn, and then continued on his way. Yep, definitely not a morning person.
-Training Ground #89 –Main Entrance 7:13 AM-
Shikamaru slowly walked his way towards the clearing where he, Naruto, and Asuma were supposed to meet. Upon arrival, he noticed two things. One, there was a building that had somehow been erected overnight. Two, it had a couple of panels attached to the side of the building, with different switches. That left no other option. Today was their introduction to infiltration and information gathering.
"Hey, am I late?" A voice called out. Sure enough, Naruto was approaching the training grounds at an alarming rate.
"No," Shikamaru simply stated. "Asuma-sensei isn't here yet."
Naruto slowed down and panted out "When is he supposed to be here, 7:15?"
"Yes, I was supposed to get here at 7:15, and here I am" Asuma answers, walking out from the trees. "I can assume that you have already figured out the purpose of this particular building, so we'll get straight to the point. You two are to find a way to enter this building, and grab a fake document from one of the rooms. There are traps, so be careful."
Naruto and Shikamaru looked at each other, and then back at Asuma. They were ready. Taking notice of their determined look, Asuma gave them the go-ahead.
Shikamaru immediately turned to Naruto. Seeing the look Shikamaru was giving him, Naruto offered up his plan. He was a prankster, after all. "I'll just go in and get it."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "What about me?"
Naruto shook his head."I know how you are really good with strategies, but infiltration is usually a one-man job. If we had a map of the building with actual patrol and guard schedules, I would let you form the plan. But here, we have no map, so I will have my shadow clones go in and take care of the traps. Then, you and I can go in and just look for the document."
Shikamaru lightened slightly at Naruto's proposition. He was right. He was an excellent strategist, but they didn't have anything to work with.
After a short time, the clones were done dismantling the traps that they found. After dispersing themselves, Naruto gave the "move in" signal, and they each entered different windows that the clones had left open. Shikamaru entered a window on the first floor, and started searching for the document. Not long after, Shikamaru called Naruto down to the first floor; he had found the document and had Naruto check the room for security seals, and for seals on the document itself. Finding none, Naruto and Shikamaru casually walked out the front door.
The sight that greeted them, however, was what they had never expected. Asuma was waiting outside the door, scroll in hand, looking somewhat grim.
"You can toss that aside, you two have a mission. This is directly from the Hokage."
Naruto dropped the document and took the scroll from Asuma, and broke the seal.
Epsilon Unit,
You two are to recover any information from an old Konoha war base of bandits and missing-nin that are believed to be aligned with Orochimaru. Your mission starts as soon as possible. The seal below contains a map with the location of the base, and the blueprints of the base. You have two weeks to gather as much information as possible. I wish you the best of luck on your mission.
Namikaze Minato
Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure
Shikamaru's eyes widen in alarm after reading through the mission scroll. Naruto, who had read the scroll first, made a shadow clone, and gave the clone its orders.
"Go and help Shikamaru pack for two weeks, possibly longer if the mission fails. When you are done collecting everything, seal it into this scroll (tosses the clone a scroll). After you are done, give the scroll to Shikamaru and disperse yourself. Got it?"
"Got it."
Naruto then turned to Shikamaru. "Meet me at the gate in twenty minutes, or sooner if possible. I'm going to go pack as well."
Shikamaru nodded in confirmation and took off running towards the Nara Compound, clone tagging along. Naruto turned around and took off in a rapid blur towards the Namikaze Compound.
-Front Gate, 15 minutes later-
Naruto and Shikamaru took one last look at the two large gates that guarded the entrance to the village that they called home. Deciding that they now had something much more important to do, Shikamaru looked at the map, and then took off running at a steady pace, with Naruto tagging along right at his side.
….Aaaand that's a wrap! Stick around folks!
MPL