Kumogakure Ninja
Posted: 06-03-11
Updated: 28-06-11
CH15: The Long Awaited Return
"This is your Captain, Captain Matsudo, all shinobi passengers report to the deck. We are within two miles from the harbor city of Shitai no Minato. I repeat, all shinobi passengers report to the deck. We are within two miles from the harbor city of Shitai no Minato."
Yugito looked up to the speaker and turned to her teammates who met her eye and nodded. Naruto lifted himself off of his bench, taking a last spoonful of his meal and followed his teammates. "We've arrived already, huh? About time." Placing his hands behind his head he followed his team through the narrow hallways of the Todo to the staircases. "I can't wait to feel the dirt under my feet. This ship sucks."
"Yeah," Hari concurred. "We should make the most of the time till the exams start. We've been cooped up in here for so long, we've gotten rusty." Hari turned to his best friend. "This city, Shitai no Minato, what's it like?"
Naruto shrugged, "I dunno. I didn't exactly go where I pleased when I was a kid, Hari. Kirabi and I took a different way out. We caught a few ferries to Kumo, not a huge freighter like this one."
"This city is apparently one of Hi no Kuni's (Fire Country's) most profitable and prosperous harbors. Shi-sensei told me it's one of the biggest harbors in the world and it's a major source of income for Hi no Kuni. It apparently generates roughly six percent of their annual income by itself." Yugito could always be counted on to know the finer details.
Naruto whistled. "I'm surprised they let us enter through this port in a battleship."
"Must be a show of faith," Hari chipped in. "So, you guys think we're going to have to fight anyone from our village? It sounds harsh, but I kinda hope they get taken out by other teams."
"I know what you mean," Naruto told him, reassuringly placing a hand on his shoulder. "But I'm not gonna hesitate one bit. That would shame them as much as myself."
"Uzumaki is right. If anything, whoever we face, whether they're one of ours or not, they deserve to be taken seriously. There's no such thing as pulling punches in an event like this, Hari. Remember that."
"Yes, ma'am!" Hari said with a cheeky grin, joining Naruto in a military salute. The pair had come to refer to Yugito as 'captain' or 'ma'am' purely because it annoyed her to no end.
"Indeed, Kohai (Underling)," Yugito smirked like a cat, placing her hands on her hips as they headed to the staircases.
"Kohai? Kohai?" Hari repeated in a feigned, over dramatically shock. "That's Kohai-sama!"
The team laughed it off while they climbed the stairs and walked onto the deck, joining the five other genin teams and Jonin present and stood by Darui and Shi.
"Good, everyone is here." Genryūsei stood before the contingent of Kumogakure shinobi as the Shinobigashira was the man in charge. "We are approximately one-point-six miles away from Konoha. Upon arrival, we will descend from the battleship Todo in an organized fashion, befitting of Kumo representatives." Genryūsei looked around briefly and nodded. "That's right. We are representatives of our great shinobi village. You are expected to act as such at all times."
Naruto looked around for team Minako and found them two rows in front of him. Naruto's nose twitched in disgust, spotting Ryūsa eying the team with contempt. A hand on his shoulder from Yugito made him turn back and listen to the speech, all the while unknowing of Shira's hate-ridden glare at his back.
-ooo-
Shitai no Minato truly was a beautiful city filled with tall buildings, and streets decorated by fine ornaments and fountains spread across the city and beautiful parks beyond the market districts that were packed by people from all over the world. Unfortunately for them, there was no time to go sight-seeing. Genryūsei quickly had them move on to the city outskirts a mere three hours after leaving the Todo. It was regrettable, but a part of Naruto was glad to be on the move. It felt good to walk on dirt, pass the beautiful countryside, and see the clouds during the day and the stars at night and rest under the trees, all the while enjoying fresh air. The convoy traveled quickly and efficiently, taking regular breaks and never staying longer than planned. Genryūsei was very punctual in regards to arriving at Konoha as scheduled by the council in Kumogakure.
On the way Naruto read as much as he could to make time pass by quicker. The Chūnin Exam was happening and if there was another seal out there, another piece of information he could use, he would find it. Many failed their first attempt at the Chūnin Exam, but Naruto was determined not be one of them. Ranks and prestige did not interest him but he kept in mind how proud this would make Kumogakure, and more specifically, Kirabi.
'Wherever that bastard is, I hope he's doing alright,' Naruto thought as he followed the rest of the convoy, Yugito and Hari by his side.
-ooo-
(Undisclosed Location)
Kirabi,
The camp of rogue shinobi we discussed two weeks ago are believed to be connected to that organization. Our spies have sent in reports indicating they're setting up a stronghold in Tsuchi no Kuni (Earth Country). We currently have no information as to why they have stopped mobilizing and are setting up this particular stronghold, but we've had reports of notorious arms dealers from Ame are involved in shipping artillery to the ring leaders of the encampment. These shrapnel cannons are high tech and extremely dangerous. You are to destroy these cannons and eliminate and/or detain the rogue shinobi and the contractors they brought in to build the strongholds.
I know your team is participating in the exam and I know how much you wanted to be there, but I simply do not trust the council and the incompetent fools they suggested to lead this assault. I have made sure Squad 8, my personal ANBU squad, will accompany you. Contact the leader, code name Fukurō at the west gate. He and his squad will help you in taking down the camp. Be careful, little brother, there may be worse enemies than A ranked shinobi amongst the rogues. Try not to overdo it with your tenant.
Yotsuki Raiden
Yondaime Raikage of Kumogakure no Sato
Kirabi crumpled the letter and set it on fire fight a spark of lightning in his hand. The letter burned a shade of orange of a shade similar to the setting sun as he Kirabi looked down into the valley below. Within the valley was a camp with dozens of tents set up. Kirabi was unseen from his position by the shinobi on guard and the contractors who were working on the stronghold and moving shrapnel cannons on large carts.
"So what's the plan?" A figure appeared behind Kirabi with a rustle of leaves.
Kirabi turned to the ANBU officer beside him. "What plan?"
"Kirabi-sama, these are A-ranked shinobi we're talking about. They're vast in number and they're only underlings of that organization." The ANBU officer looked perturbed. "Don't you think we should have a plan for this assault?"
Kirabi shrugged. "These guys are chump change. They're not worth rattling my brains over." Kirabi flashed a toothily grin that looked rather devilish. "Tell you want, Birdie-san, you go ahead and gather the troops and make a plan, I'll be having fun in the meanwhile."
"But Kirabi-sama-!" Kirabi already disappeared, jumping out into the valley where the enemy forces were settled. "Fuck! Squad, we're moving out! Aid Kirabi-sama!" The ANBU officer held up a fist to signal his men and followed Kirabi, his squad on his heels as they descended what must have been sixty feet into the canyon, sliding down swiftly.
Kirabi landed with roaring laughter, shattering the earth below him as he landed between the bewildered shinobi. "You fuck ups made me miss out on a very special event. Y'all gonna pay!" Kirabi smacked the lightning bolt aimed for his face aside as thought it were a fly and reared back his arm, changing it into one of the Hachibi's limbs and lunged at his enemies, smashing and killing one with pure force as he drove him into a wall of earth erected by another rogue shinobi. By now his ANBU reinforcements had landed close by and launched attacks of their own.
"I'm so vexed I could kill anyone today and luckily for me, there are enough targets!" Kirabi changed his arm back to normal and reached for two of his seven blades and charged them up with lightning. "Who wants to go first?"
"Fuck, it's Kirabi! Retreat!" One of the rogue shinobi said as he signaled his allies to leave. Kirabi quickly burst forward, severing the man's right arm before turning to the rest of the shinobi that had started to leave. "None of you leave today. In fact, not one of you will live on after today."
The battle ensued.
-ooo-
Naruto stopped in his tracks a split second before the rest of the convoy stopped. Phasing upwards out of the grounds and appear out of the woods, several ANBU officers appeared as silent sentinels as they stepped forward to meet the convoy.
"Halt and state your business, Kumo."
"Good nose, Uzumaki," Genryūsei said as he turned to Naruto and smiled before looking in front of him to meet the ANBU and pulling out an intricately decorated scroll with the seal of the Raikage and Daimyō of Kaminari no Kuni (Lightning Country). "I am Geko Genryūsei, Shinobigashira of Kumogakure no Sato. In my charge are the six genin teams and their sensei, as well as support staff delegates. We are to be welcomed in Konohagakure no Sato for the duration of the Chūnin Exam." Geko Genryūsei spoke with the grace and composure of that of a nobleman.
"Geko Genryūsei-dono, I am ANBU captain Yamaneko. Please hand over your document for authentication." The ANBU captain stepped forward with one hand outstretched for the document. Upon retrieving the document from Genryūsei he eyed the document and turned to show it to his lieutenant who nodded a moment later. Yamaneko stepped aside and his men followed suit. "You are clear to pass, please move without delay."
"Why do you think he showed the document to his partner? Can't he see himself?" One of the genin remarked under his breath. Naruto remembered him as a graduate from his own year and member of team Kodama, Hasegawa Madao.
"That was a Hyūga," Naruto answered walking past team Kodama. "They've got a legendary Dōjutsu called the Byakūgan. It's got all kinds of special powers. Just ask your sensei."
"Thank you, Uzumaki-senpai," said Zenzou Gokudera, Hasegawa's teammate.
"Tche, stop calling him senpai, it's embarrassing," piqued the female member of team Kodama, Shimura Ayame.
Naruto turned to her with a sneer, "I actually quite like being called senpai, Shimura. Maybe you should learn to respect your superiors too."
"A wise ass as ever, huh, Uzumaki?" Ayame sneered, equally dismayed. "You always thought you were something special, didn't you?"
"That's 'cause I am special, tomboy," Naruto shot back. Ayame and himself had always been at odds since childhood.
"Can we please stop this arguing?" Gokudera interjected rather timidly. "I thought you two stopped fighting after we graduated."
"Back off, Uzumaki, who asked you anyway?" Hasegawa gritted his teeth. "Just fuck off before I cut you up to ribbons."
"With your pathetic excuse for swordsmanship, I'm surprised you haven't cut up yourself or your own team by now." Hari interjected, coming to his best friend's defense.
"Enough."
Naruto turned to the source of the voice to find Saito Kenji look at him with a stern expression. "Knock it off. You're embarrassing Kumo."
"Saito-senpai, he started it." Ayame said indignantly, fighting down a blush at the same time.
"That's not important. What's important is that you guys hold it in till the exam actually starts. Feel free to take each other out then."
While this happened, Geko Genryūsei chuckled and turned to one of his jōnin staff members. "That Saito kid sure is a born leader."
The convoy paced the landscape for another forty minutes before they arrived at the main entrance of the Hidden Leave village. It was another twenty minutes before they were all checked in and added to the list of entrees. Konoha was still much the same as it had been when he left Naruto noted. The streets were still as wide and dirt covered as he could remember and the buildings were still the same and the people- everything was almost exactly like he left it. Before his brain registered it, they had arrived at their accommodations and they had been given their keys and identification passes.
"So, anywhere you two want to go?" Yugito asked swirling the room keys on her index finger as she eyed Naruto.
Hari shrugged and then eyed Naruto. "How about you show us around, Naruto? You remember most of it, don't you?"
"Yeah, sure, but I'm off to meet Jiji after I drop you guys off back here." Naruto unattached his belt and dropped it and the weapons attached to it on his bed next to his backpack and pouches.
-ooo-
Team Kirabi walked down the market district, following Naruto as they walked through the crowds, occasionally catching shocked glances and whispers. 'Guess this hasn't changed either. I'm surprised they still recognise me.'Naruto looked from his left to right to meet the stares.
"What's with the staring?" Hari asked, only to be met with silence from his jinchūriki teammates. "Ahuh," Hari nodded, catching on. 'So this is what he had to deal with as a kid…?'
"Let's get something to eat. There's this awesome place I used to eat at every day. They were the one of the few people that actually liked me." Naruto smiled nostalgically with an underlining sadness his teammates picked up on instantly. "Let's go."
"You're paying!" Hari said with a boisterous laugh, attempting to raise Naruto's mood. "Race you there!"
"Wha- wait!" Naruto ran after his teammate, "You don't even know where it is, dumb ass!"
"Hey, wait!" Yugito called after them but they were already off, leaving genin to sigh exasperatedly. "Such fools," she said before she ran after them.
…
Hari ran past the crowds with Naruto hot on his heels and laughed loudly. "Where's this place?"
"Follow me!" Naruto shouted as he overtook Hari in their footrace and took to the rooftops to the audible shock of the villagers. "Come on, slowpokes!"
They ran over the rooftops for a minute before descending back into the crowds and ran into the quieter section of town where Naruto tripped over something and fell face first into the ground. "Ouch!"
"You okay?" Yugito asked as she stopped in her tracks next to Hari who was roaring with laughter. Yugito frowned, sensing a presence and turned to her right to see a child attempting and horribly failing at concealing his presence in a cardboard box. "Why did you do that?"
"Muahaha!" The cardboard box flew into the air as a nine year old child appeared laughing triumphantly. "I totally had you!"
"You little brat, who are you?" Naruto demanded standing up nursing his head. "I'm gonna teach you some manners."
"Sarutobi Konohamaru, the future Godaime Hokage!" Konohamaru continued his boisterous laughter. "What's the matter, you wouldn't think of hitting the grandson of the great Ho-OUCH!"
Naruto had shot forward, raising his fist and bumped it on Konohamaru's head sending him face first into the ground. Clapping the dust of his hands Naruto scoffed. "I don't care if you're the grandson of Bhudda, you're gonna regret that kiddo!"
"Oh snap, Konohamaru Squad retreat!" Konohamaru jumped to his feet and turned and ran down the road with Naruto on his heels.
"..." Yugito face-palmed.
Hari shrugged and turned to Yugito. "What's the Konohamaru Squad? And did he just say 'Sarutobi'?"
…
"Come here!" Naruto shouted at the brat as he chased him down the roads.
Konohamaru squealed in both terror and amusement. "I'm sorry, Nii-chan!" The boy turned into another street and ran at full speed with his eyes closed as fast as his legs could carry him before he ran into something solid.
Thud!
…
"Where did they go?" Yugito walked beside Hari. "That fool's going to get us in trouble."
Hari turned right, "There they ar- hey!" Hari's hand shot for his ninja-to instantaneously as they walked into a rather suspicious scene.
Konohamaru was being hoisted up by a teenager wearing a black, full body suit with some machine strapped to his back with white medical bands. To the boy's right stood a stunning teenage girl wearing a purple outfit and carrying a giant fan.
"Let the kid go," Naruto ordered while he glared at the teenage boy holding up Konohamaru. "I said let him go."
"Look what you're getting us into, Kankurō. Now we've got two midgets to deal with." said the beauty as she shifted her battle fan's weight.
"Shut up, Temari, this kid's gonna get it."
Naruto looked over his shoulder at Hari and Yugito who both nodded and snapped into action; Yugito reached for her blade while Hari made a hand seal and his eyes narrowed. "We've got company."
"What?" Naruto didn't take his eyes of the pair of Sunagakure shinobi. "You sure?"
"Definitely. You can come out!"
A red haired boy with teal, raccoon-like eyes and dressed in black shinobi garb appeared between the two teenagers, sand swirling around him into the giant gourd he carried on his back. "Who are you?" The boy spoke with a raspy voice.
"Uzumaki Naruto. How you doin'? Now, let go of that kid or we're gonna have to take action." Naruto eyed the team in front of him and noticed they were all wearing the Sunagakure headband.
"Kankurō, let him go. We're leaving," said the red haired boy. What was intriguing was the fact the newcomer stood at a small stature but ordered his teammates with a cold voice, not even eying them.
"Ga- Gaara..." Kankurō dropped the kid on the floor and stepped back. "Alright, let's go then."
Naruto waited for the team to leave before he turned to the boy, Konohamaru who got on his feet. "You okay?"
"Yeah, thanks," Konohamaru brushed off his shirt and stood up, apologizing as he ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Thanks for the help Nii-chan."
"It's all good, just stay out of trouble." Naruto turned to Yugito, briefly exchanging knowing looks. Putting up a smile Naruto spread out his arms and placed them on his head. "Let's go. I'm starving."
Konohamaru grabbed on to Naruto's jacket. "Wait, where are you going? Do you wanna play Ninja?"
"I am a ninja," Naruto patted Konohamaru on his head. "But sure, I'll play with you later, when I've got the time that is. I'm here for the Chūnin Exam, so I need to train hard."
"Woah, you're going to be in the exam this year?" Konohamaru said with amazement. "What village are you from? That headband has clouds on it – are you from Kumogakare, Nii-chan?"
"I sure am. The name's Naruto," Naruto smiled pleasantly; he had always been good with kids. "Uzumaki Naruto."
"What? YOU'RE Uzumaki Naruto?"
Team Kirabi looked at each other. "Huh?"
-ooo-
(Undisclosed Location)
Smoke pillars carried out into the sky under the setting sun. The area that once held beauty and a naturally favorable position for a stronghold now resembled a wasteland with the burning tents, shattered boulders and torn down trees and shattered earth. Kirabi sat down on a make-shift bench he had made from a fallen tree and looked up to the sky. "Looks like we're done here."
"Not quite, Kirabi-sama," Fukurō corrected him with a respectful bow of the head. "We have yet to interrogate the detainees in regards to their connection to Akatsuki."
Kirabi waved him off grumbling. "I'm not into that shit, yo! Y'all can do that yourselves, can't you?" Kirabi uncorked his flask and took a tug of water and exhaled contently. "You don't need me for that shit."
"With respect, Kirabi-sama, this organization is allegedly after jinchūriki such as yourself, Yugito-san and Naruto-kun. You would do well to get as much information as possible, I daresay."
"This is the second stronghold we've taken out. None of the others we caught squealed cause of those motherfucking seals they had. We're not going to get any information of these guys either. No matter many how many strongholds we take down, Akatsuki will always have taken precautions."
Fukurō sighed audibly and removed his crow mask with a soft click. "You're in a hurry to get back to your team, aren't you?"
"That's right, Motoi. I ain't see no point in hiding it."
Motoi sighed but allowed him a small chuckle. "In the twenty years I've know you, you haven't changed at all, Kirabi. I envy your simplistic views."
"Yup!" Kirabi answered jovially, tossing his flask to Motoi.
Motoi caught the flask and took and swing. "So this team of yours is something special, huh? Two jinchūriki and Seido's kid."
"Yeah," Kirabi said with a tone akin to pride. "Yugito's growing up so fast it's not even funny. Getting quite beautiful too, with all them rumours going around and what not, ya know what I'm sayin'? She reminds me of my big bro, always strict on the rules and stubborn, but she's a good kid. And she's strong too. If she ever changes her mind about pursuing the title of Raikage, the other candidates are gonna have some tough competition. The girl is as tough as they come."
"What about Seido's kid? Is he anything like his old man?" Motoi corked the flask and pitched it back to Kirabi, quite intrigued to learn about Kirabi's team, whom his fellow jōnin seemed to care very much for.
"Hari is nothing like his old man, and I don't know about you, but I think that's a good thing. The kid's got a good heart. He wields the blade better than any kid his age– just like his old man back in the old days. Except, he don't let all that get to his head. He's a humble person- kinda of reminds me of you, Motoi. Valiant but gentle, ya kna' mean?" Kirabi looked up and smiled beaming with pride. "I can see him serving right beside Naruto when those two grow up. They're inseparable."
"Like you and me were, huh?"
"Yeah, but we were much cooler than them pubescent brats."
The lifelong friends shared a good laugh at that comment, neither could really remember the last time they had a conversation like this.
"So this Naruto? He's the jinchūriki of the nine tails, right? What's he like?" Motoi asked. His subconscious couldn't remember the last time he was this interested in learning about some snot-nosed genin.
"The kid's special, that's for sure. He's just like his old man, you know? Talented, kind, and can be as gentle as a summer breeze and as terrifying as a hurricane. That kid... he's got heart and he's got this power that I just can't wrap my head around no matter how much I think about it."
"Like a kekkei genkai (bloodline limit)?"
"No, nothing like that," Kirabi shook his head. "No, this power is much more powerful than any bloodline limit out there I've seen or heard of."
Motoi frowned. "I'm not following you here."
"Hehe, I guess it's hard to explain," Kirabi chuckled good-naturedly. "In the best way I can put it... he's got this charisma that allows him to change anyone he meets, no matter where they came from, what past they have or what burdens they carry, into allies."
Motoi took a moment to process the information. From what Kirabi was saying, this team sure was something. "That's an interesting team you've got there, Kirabi. Almost makes me want to reconsider Raikage-sama's offer and train a few brats myself."
"Tche, don't get me wrong. Those kids can be a handful."
-ooo-
"Who would've believed that we'd run into the Hokage's grandson?" Hari stuffed his hands into his pockets, following his teammates. Konohamaru had left to play with his friends, but not before making Naruto to promise to play Ninja with him once he was finished with the exams.
Upon realizing who Naruto was, Konohamaru and gone on a rant explaining in great detail how excited his grandfather had become about the former Konoha citizen's arrival after seven years. Konohamaru had told Naruto everything he had wanted to know and Naruto was sad to learn the old man's health had been deteriorating increasingly over the years, but he felt elated knowing that the Hokage's health and sprits had been lifted due to news of Naruto attending the Chūnin Exam.
"Hokage-sama must really care for you to be affected this much," Yugito said after "You two were much closer than I had imagined."
"Are you kidding?" Naruto chuckled. "The old man was the only there for me when I needed to be protected. If he hadn't been there, I'd have had a lot worse than a few beatings."
Naruto led his team through the town as they continued to talk, mostly about his childhood and Konohagakure in general. Not all of it was cheerful but Naruto told them everything regardless. It felt good to talk about it; it was as if a crushing weight had been taken off his shoulders. A weight consisting of anger, fear and so many other emotions Naruto hardly had taken the time to process yet that he had carried for as long as he could remember. The team continued to walk around the outskirts of town, having stopped by Ichiraku Ramen where Naruto had been tackled by an excited Ayame briefly who couldn't stop gushing Naruto had returned. After a few bowls, they moved on to the academy where Naruto showed them around the playgrounds and academy as well as the parks. He was supposed to go to Hokage but he had decided against it, thinking it would be best to meet his surrogate grandfather once he had settled in.
"We should head back, it's getting late," Yugito said a few hours later as it had begun to turn dark in Konoha. "Let's go."
"Sure," Naruto and Hari followed her lead as they turned and headed for the hotel. It was evening by now and word had spread like wildfire amongst the villagers. Many blatantly stared and whispered when Naruto passed by, much to his and his teammates' annoyance.
"It's that Uzumaki kid."
"What's the doing here? Ya think he's come back for revenge?"
"Are my eyes deceiving me or is that hell spawn wearing a Kumo headband?"
Naruto twitched in annoyance and felt his blood starting to boil. "Not even back for a day and this shit again." Naruto took a deep breath, not wanting to show how much it bothered him and continued to lead his teammates to the hotel, not noticing their concerned expressions.
Suddenly a man stepped forward, shouting in drunken rage. "Hey you, Uzumaki! Why the fuck did ye' come back, yer demon spawn!" The inebriated man stumbled and bent over to pick up a pebble. "Get the fuck outta here!"
Naruto blinked as the pebble flew right at him, but snapped out of his daze and caught the tiny projectile in his fist. "Get out of my way, you drunken bastard or I'm forcing my way through."
"Yer? Come and take yer shot ye' demon! Ye Kumo scum!"
Naruto's eyed narrowed dangerously and he flicked the pebble once upwards and caught it again before flipping it straight at the man and sent him sprawling to the ground. "I told you to get out of my way."
The crowds of villagers began to move towards them, seeing the aggressive move as a reason to return the favor.
"Nice going Uzumaki," Yugito chided with an annoying click of her tongue. "We're moving out of here. See you at the hotel."
Hari placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Let's go." Hari disappeared with a burst of smoke leaving Naruto alone.
"What yer waiting for? Go on and run ya fuckin' curse!"
"Yeah, get outta here! Yer not wanted, yer never were!"
Naruto gritted his teeth about to lose his temper. Squashing the urge to retaliate both verbally and physically Naruto made a single hand seal, eying the growing crowd with his now blood red, slit eyes.
…
As the youths disappeared by means of Shunshin, Geko Genryūsei turned and jumped off the rooftop. The scene had looked like it was about to change to a violent one, but to his credit the young shinobi had followed his friends rather than stay and defend himself. "Disaster avoided."
-ooo-
(Kumo Accomodations)
Back at the hotel, Naruto followed his teammates inside and into their room and dropped himself on the bed and cupped his face, groaning loudly. "Fuck."
"Well, that was interesting," Hari said with an unnerved smile. "This is what you had to deal with as a kid, huh?" Hari undid the strap on his back and placed this ninja-to on his bed.
"Just forget about it," Naruto wasn't in a mood to ruin their whole evening. "We need to make a schedule."
Hari raised an eyebrow but then realized what the blond meant. "How long till the exams start?"
"Six days. Close the windows." Yugito ordered Hari and then turned to Naruto and nodded.
Naruto met her gesture and picked up his pouch and withdrew one of his scrolls, ripping off a ticket seal from the scroll with the kanji for 'silence' on it and threw it at the door where it stuck and began to burn purple fire with the kanji for 'ten' above it. Naruto's latest modification of his privacy seals would burn purple fire for ten minutes, knocking down a number with each minute passed. The trick was to add another formula to the basic privacy seals Naruto had bought to study so it would display the amount of time left before the ticket burned up. It was quite easy and convenient.
"The Chūnin Exams will commence in six days. That's five days starting tomorrow. Any suggestions as to how to schedule our training?" Yugito said down on a pillow by the kotatsu.
Naruto and Hari joined her sitting on the right and left sides of the table on their cushions. Naruto cupped his chin and took a moment to think before nodding and looking at his teammates. "We haven't had much time to train our ninjutsu at all. I suggest we make sure we get a closed off area where we can train in private."
Hari nodded slipping into his blue kimono robe. "I agree. It's been a while since any of us had time to train our skills. I also suggest we take the time to study the general area of Konoha. Can't hurt to know the landscape, can it? There might be herbs out there we could use for emergency medicine." As the team's sensor and medic, Hari had become the support figure of the team. He was no slouch and though he was mostly offensive orientated, it was his duty to ensure they were covered for most possible complications.
Yugito crossed her arms and concurred. "Naruto, you'll be responsible for making storage seals that can hold up to two weeks' worth of food, water and medical supplies." Yugito waited for her teammates to agree and moved on. "Ninjutsu and landscape evaluation need to be do on separate occasions but it's doable. Now, in regards to hand to hand combat, we may have gotten rusty after being cooped up in the ship. I suggest taijutsu in the morning, a quick break before we scout the area and then we move on to ninjutsu. After which, we'll call it a day for team training and hone our individual skills."
"Sounds good."
"Great."
"Good, now for tactics. There will be six teams from each of the Great Five Shinobi Villages, which makes thirty teams, which is ninety genin in total. In addition to these ninety teams, there will be another seven small villages involved that I know off that will send three teams in each, so that it's another twenty-one teams, or sixty-three more genin, which makes roughly hundred fifty-three genin in total. That's a hundred-fifty potential enemies."
"That's whole lot of enemies," Hari frowned. The odds weren't very desirable at all. "Are alliances forbidden?"
"No," Yugito answered. "However, they're frowned upon. Though most teams from the same villages will make pacts with each other to improve their own odds of surviving and passing the exam."
"I don't want to make pacts." Naruto leaned back completely, lying on the comfortable rug under the kotatsu. "I refuse to be in any alliance with the other teams."
Yugito turned her teammate and opened her mouth to rebuke him but stopped in her tracks after she saw the serious look in the blonde's eyes as he stared at the ceiling. "Why?"
Hari eyed Yugito and nodded, glancing at his teammate. "I don't like it either Naruto, but-"
"I came here to see my limits." It was a simple and short sentence but it explained everything the blond meant. "I came here to see how far I've come ever since that day. I don't care about getting a bump in rank or pay. This is much more important than that." Naruto's eyes shined with a sense of maturity and determination. "Please try to understand that."
"Understood," Yugito conceded. "No alliances."
Hari joined Yugito and nodded. "No alliances." he repeated.
Naruto got up and unzipped his jacket as he walked off to his room. "I'm calling it a night. See you guys tomorrow." Naruto tossed his scroll of tickets to Yugito in case they wanted to continue discussing schedules and tactics.
…
The following day, team Kirabi woke up early and convened in their room and ate quickly. After a rather rushed breakfast, they left the hotel and made for one of the training grounds they had passed the previous day. Upon arriving at the training ground they found a genin team of Konohagakure going at it in vicious hand to hand spars.
Deciding to move further into the training grounds, the team continued into the forests and stopped at a clearing where they took of their bags and began their exercises before training.
Naruto and Hari decided to spar to 'properly wake up' and took of their jackets and took stances a few feet away from each other. Whilst her knucklehead teammates sparred Yugito continued to go through stretching exercises in the meanwhile.
-ooo-
Naruto and Hari went at it for nearly twenty minutes and were sweating by the time Yugito had finished her stretches and sat down by the three to observe them fight.
Naruto took off his jacket threw it aside, left in his muscle shirt with sweat rolling down the side of his head and back. "Let's finish this."
Hari threw off his own Hunter Nin like robe and nodded. "Don't you worry, I intend on finishing this quickly."
As Hari shot forward, Naruto held up his forearm catching Hari's punch and stepped back to get his sparring partner off balance. Hari caught on and went along but rolled over his shoulder and jumped back to his feet in another fighting stance. The teens grinned at each other before charging in again. Naruto raised his leg for a kick, but Hari used it as a lift up and somersaulted behind the jinchūriki landing in a crouch and swiped Naruto's feet of the ground. Naruto support himself on his arms with ease and attacked Hari with his feet in an impressive display of strength and agility.
Naruto pressed on viciously and landed a few glancing blows before hitting Hari once in the face, sending him sprawling to the floor for a second before the brown haired genin was on him engaging him in old fashioned boxing. Naruto easily danced around the punches and landed in a few hard hits in Hari's abdomen, chest and kidneys. When Hari went for a counter attack, he leaned back so low he was on knee level to avoid another kick. Naruto supported himself onto his arms and launched himself like a torpedo, planting both feet in Hari's chest sending him flying over ten feet and landing in a sprawl.
"You've gotten rusty, Hari!" Naruto commented, continuing his little dance he had learned from Kirabi. It improved his sense balance and kept him on his guard during their spars.
"Fuck you," Hari swiped the blood of his lip. "I'm not the one who studied taijutsu under Kirabi for six years!" Hari rushed Naruto, tackling him and taking him to the ground. He took full mount and decked his opponent once and went for another hit but Naruto took grabbed his wrist and elbow and pushed them into an awkward angle that was uncomfortable and painful enough to allow him to take control of the fight.
Naruto decked Hari three times across the face, but Hari moved a split second before impact of the fourth punch and stole the momentum and shoved Naruto of him and ran up to him and drop kicked him backwards in a painful fall of his own.
"Ouch," Naruto set back up and rubbed his chest. "You're gonna have a taste of your own medicine." Naruto charged at Hari, fully intent on returning the favor but both were stopped by a kunai thrown between them by Yugito. The pair turned to Yugito with confused looks but spotted Yugito's frown.
"Hold on, we're being watched," Yugito announced coolly, turning around and reaching into her kunai holster. "You can come out now!" Yugito threw four kunai into the bushes, causing the leaves to rush and a team of genin with the Konohagakure emblem on their headbands.
"Spying already? And caught so soon, that's kinda embarrassing." Naruto waved to his side with a comical expression.
The newcomers that landed in a crouch were an unusual group. The female of the team turned to her teammate and smashed her fist in his skull and chided him. "Chōji! You gave away our position with your crunching!" She was an attractive blond genin with blue eyes and a long ponytail clad in a combination of tight purple mesh, white bandages and fishnet mesh. The beauty had her headband stuck to her slim midriff.
"Sorry, Ino!" The obese genin held his head, dropping his chips. To her right was an obese looking male with mid-length, brown and spiky hair dressed in a black trousers and a green shirt with a beige jacket on top of it with the kanji for 'Akimichi' on it. The last member was a skinny boy with a pine-apple like haircut, a green shirt with a white jacket and black trousers. Like his robust companion he had his head band on his right arm.
"Yo." the skinny genin introduced himself with a lazy expression.
"Shikamaru! Chōji!" Naruto's expression lit up, recognizing his childhood friends.
Shikamaru's expression instantly shifted from a lazy and cocky mixture to an expression that illustrated how caught off guard he was. The genius quickly regained his composure. "So the rumors are true. You're back."
"It's been a while, Naruto." Chōji said with a smile, apologetically rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry for spying on you."
Yugito turned to Naruto and raised an eyebrow. "You know these people?"
"I used to, yeah." Naruto turned to Hari and held up a hand. "We'll have to continue this later, Hari." Naruto looked back at Shikamaru. "So you're spying on us, huh?"
"Not so much spying as confirming rumors," Shikamaru corrected him, stuffing his hands into his pockets like he always did. "I didn't believe them when I heard them at first but I figured a look couldn't hurt."
"We're sorry for spying," Chōji repeated and picked up his bag of crisps.
Naruto believed them. Shikamaru and Chōji were his friends when they were kids and Chōji had always gotten them into trouble (Naruto more than them) simply because he couldn't lie, or wasn't very good at it. "Man, and here I had planned to make a totally awesome, super dramatic appearance at the first part of the exam!" Naruto dropped onto the grass and spread his arms. "Guess that plan just went out of the window... it would've been totally awesome."
"You're really Naruto?" Ino raised an eyebrow, appreciative of her fellow blonde's appearance. The years had been good to the once obnoxious brat from academy. "You sure changed a lot."
"You too. The years sure have been good to you," Naruto winked at her shamelessly and sat up in the grass. "This is my team-"
"Seido Hari, it's a pleasure to meet you." Hari said politely standing next to Yugito. Hari nudged her with his elbow.
"Nii Yugito." Yugito had no intention of being polite to another team that in her books just spied on them. "It's a pleasure." she added when Hari nudged her again.
"Oh, this is Yamanaka Ino." Naruto turned to Hari and whispered rather audibly. "She's hot but she's totally bossy so I wouldn't try it."
"Hey!" Ino shouted, indignant at both the comment on her character and Naruto's blatant referral to her as being 'hot'.
Naruto ignored her and looked at Chōji. "This is Akimichi Chōji. He looks huge and scary, but the guy's harmless. Just don't call him," Naruto covered his mouth from Chōji and mouthed 'fat'. "And you'll be fine.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Chōji said with a nod. "Again, I'm sorry for spying on you."
"Could you stop apologizing already? They don't care, Chōji." Shikamaru sighed exasperatedly, annoyed with his friend.
"And that would be Nara Shikamaru. He may look like a cocky dick, but he's very smart." Naruto's expression turned playfully sour, "You shouldn't bother with this bunch."
"What was that, Uzumaki? Huh?" Ino said with bulging eyes and her fist aimed at the blond.
"You know the whole domineering woman thing? It's kinda hot- ack!"
Yugito withdrew her fist from the blonde's skull. "Apologies for our moronic teammate's rudeness. He's very stupid most of the time."
"Tell me about it." Shikamaru looked up to the clouds and groaned. "He used to get us into trouble all the time when we were kids."
Naruto picked and pulled grass from the ground and looked at Shikamaru. "Do me a favor and don't tell anyone about me being back or participating in the Chūnin Exam. I don't want to make a big deal out of it."
Shikamaru looked at Naruto frowning. The playful and nostalgic atmosphere had moved on to a serious one. "Under one condition."
"Sure. What is it?" Naruto asked Shikamaru, matching his serious expression. Whenever Shikamaru had a serious expression, it always meant something was up. "What's your condition?"
"I want to know why you defected from Konoha and turned traitor?"
"Hey!" Hari suddenly burst out stepping forward with an infuriated look in his eyes as he stood in front of his teammate with an outstretched arm. "You have no right to call him a traitor."
"Calm down, you're embarrassing us." Naruto tugged Hari by this trousers and sighed. Looking up to Shikamaru, Naruto looked him in the eye and answered grunted. "I can't tell you why, but I can tell you that even pursuing this information is against the law in Konoha."
Shikamaru surprising cracked a smile and nodded. "Sure. You confirmed most of my suspicious, so I'll leave it at that. I'll keep my mouth shut but if I were you, I'd move in a little deeper into the forest if you want to avoid being detected."
"Thanks for the advice." Naruto stood up signaling his team to follow his lead. "See you around Shikamaru, Chōji. Oh, and Ino."
"What do you mean, 'oh and Ino', huh?" Ino said, a vein popping up on the side of her head. "You're one of the ones I'm gonna be after during the Chūnin Exam!"
"Oh, I'm flattered but you're a little too wild for me to handle." Naruto winked at her. Naruto picked up his bag and turned around to follow.
Shikamaru watched Naruto walk away with his team raised an eyebrow when Naruto stopped momentarily.
"How's Sasuke?" The blonde's tone was soft enough for his teammates not hear him.
"Sasuke..." Shikamaru stared at Naruto's back unsure how to answer. The genius closed his eyes in thought and then opened them. "He's gotten strong, Sasuke. Extremely strong. He was the genin of the year."
"That's not what I meant, but that's good to hear."
"Huh, what do you mean-" Shikamaru stopped mid-sentence as Naruto turned to look at him over his shoulder with a feral look and his blue orbs shifting into slits.
Naruto followed his teammates further into the forest leaving Shikamaru to swallow thickly. "That guy..."
"There something wrong, Shika?" Ino asked worried, placing a hand on her teammate's shoulder.
"That guy is strong." Shikamaru felt a shiver going down his spine. "We should stay away from those guys during the exam." It was just as his father had said.
"Shikamaru..."
-ooo-
Six days. Hundred forty-four hours. One day away from a full week. They passed by in flash for Naruto. Naruto trained vigorously and continuously. The forest was more familiar to him than the hotel room where he slept. Naruto's strong sense of smell had allowed him to find a perfect place in the forest to train. The terrain had enough open ground to spar and duel and the river stream allowed him to use his Suiton and Katon jutsu. The time spent on the Todo had proven cumbersome and the days of training were like convalescence to him. His body was back in top form and his mentality was psyched for success.
"This is the place," Naruto announced standing before the academy building with Hari and Yugito by his sides. "Let's go."
Naruto led his team through the playground and into the playgrounds where many shinobi and civilians had begun to flock together in anticipation of the Chūnin Exam.
"That's that Uzumaki kid. I thought he died! Why did that Demon bastard have to return?"
"A former Konohagakure citizen allying with those greed ridden fools from Kumo. What a disgrace!"
Naruto closed out the comments continued his pace past the crowds of shinobi and villagers. The exam was about to start. There was no room for failure. He was here to represent his beloved Kumogakure and to make those who believed him proud. "That's right, Jiji (grandpa), this is for you too." Naruto looked down on to the pair of goggles in his hand as his mind leaped back five days ago when he met with the Hokage after six long years.
Flashback…
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Come in."
Naruto opened the door and walked into the officer of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha. The office was exactly like Naruto could remember as a kid, aside from a few new ornaments spread across the spacious, oval shaped office.
"Naruto-kun."
Naruto looked to kind face of the elderly Hokage of Konoha. "Jiji!" Naruto couldn't hide the elation and excitement in his voice.
Hiruzen got out of his seat and walked over to Naruto and embraced him. "My it's been such a long time." Hiruzen took a step back and gave Naruto a look over. "You sure have grown, Naruto-kun. It pains me to think about what I missed out." Hiruzen stepped aside and motioned to a seat. "Come, come! Have a seat, Naruto-kun. There's a lot to talk about."
Naruto nodded and took a seat opposite his surrogate grandfather. They sat in silence for a few moments, simply looking at each other and remembering the old days when Naruto would visit the Hokage as and rescue him from his paperwork. Naruto smiled remembering the days when the Hokage would take him to the park and tell him all kinds of stories about heroes from the past.
"I can't believe you are really here," Hiruzen spoke eventually, eying Naruto with great intent, taking in all of his features. The boy he knew had grown so much since he had last seen him. It was a painful thought to think on how much he had missed out on. Hiruzen leaned back into his comfortable office chair.
"I can't believe I'm actually here either." Naruto said honestly. "I didn't plan to come back here. I didn't think I could come back here if I ever wanted to."
"Naruto," Hiruzen said frowningly with grandfatherly concern, "You'll always be welcome here. No matter what anyone says, Konohagakure is your home. You know that, don't you?"
"Kumogakure is my home now, Jiji. I'm happy there. I've made a lot of friends, and even though we don't always get along I found family there. People who accept me and love me for who I am." Naruto paused and smiled fondly. "Like you, Jiji. I have met people that opened their hearts to me and took me in when I was all alone, when I needed to be protected the most." Naruto's mind jumped to images of Hari, Yugito, the Raikage and all the other people he had met ever since he had met Kirabi, the man he saw as surrogate big brother or even a father at some times.
Hiruzen looked downcast. "I see. You have truly come to love Kumogakure, haven't you?" Hiruzen pressed on. "And here I had hoped to convince you to stay with us. Return to the home of your parents."
"I'm sorry, Jiji, but there's no way I'll ever abandon Kumogakure," Naruto said firmly. His expression softened however. "I'm glad I've had the chance to meet with you again, Jiji. You're still one of my loved ones, nothing will ever change that. But," Naruto's tone was firm again. "I will not return to Konohagakure."
Silence took place. Grandfather and grandson shared looks but the words they wished to speak did not come out. For a minute or two they looked each other in the eye, conversing without words. Hiruzen was taken aback by the light in Naruto's eyes. The sheer determination and willpower that shone brightly through his blue orbs that held wisdom beyond the young man's years.
"You have grown into a strong young man, haven't you? I see it. I can feel it. You've matured. You have become a good person. And though it pains me you won't come back," Hiruzen said with a pain in his eyes and voice however Hiruzen nodded, tears forming at the corners of eyes. "What else could a grandfather ask for?"
"Jiji!" Naruto cried, tears rolling down his eyes as he bowed down to his grandfather. "Thank you for understanding! This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do."
"Do not apologize, Naruto-kun. It is I that should apologize for burdening you with this selfish request. I just had to try." Hiruzen walked over quickly and embraced his grandson once again, allowing the boy to cry. "You will always be my grandson, Uzumaki Naruto. Whether hero, villain, good or bad. You will always have a grandfather in me, no matter what the circumstances. Do this old man a favor and never forget how much I love you."
"I won't forget, Jiji, it's a promise of a life time!" Naruto withdrew himself from Hiruzen's embrace, his eyes still shining with the same determination and willpower despite his tears. "I will make your proud, Jiji. I'll make you so proud you'll be able to say, 'that's my grandson', even if I'm from Kumogakure!"
… End Flashback
Naruto gripped the goggles tightly. Hiruzen had returned his prized goggles from when he was a child. Naruto pulled the goggles over his head and hung them of his neck.
"Let's go."
Author's Notes
There you go, chapter fifteen. The gears have finally started to move. In the next chapter, the Chūnin Exam arc officially commences! Drop me a line or two if you feel like it, support and criticism can do wonder for one's writing.
I'm just sayin'…