Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Thanks for all the reviews. For those of you I was unable to reply, sorry and I will double up on that because I really enjoy the ego boost that reviews give me.
I will be updating every two weeks or more because I am back in school. Forgive me, but its the best I can do with my current schedule.
It was cool to learn about Naruto's parents real names last week and I guess Kishimoto-dono probably has a good reason for doing that.
Without further ado, here is the next installment of leaf Warriors.
Enjoy.
'Normal Thoughts/Flashback'
'KYUUBI THOUGHTS'
'summons thoughts/Inner Sakura'
"KYUUBI SPEAKS"
"Normal People Speak"
Truth.
"Indeed" Kakashi said as he turned a hard eye on Zabuza "We also have a lot to talk about...Zabuza of the bloody mist."
Zabuza nodded and started walking towards the other side of the bridge, and he could here Kakashi's footsteps right behind him. As they got to the edge of the unfinished bridge, Kakashi spoke.
"Do you have any ill intentions towards any of my students or comrades?" Kakashi asked in a lazy voice.
"No, I don't. I was merely performing my mission. However, I cannot say the same for my apprentice, Tetsu." Zabuza replied in a detached tone. Seeing Kakashi urge him to elaborate, he continued "He is impulsive and quick to draw conclusions. He had a rough childhood and was disowned by his family because of his perceived weakness. It was said that he couldn't be a shinobi because of the seriousness of his family's disease. The disease eats the individual continually and exponentially shortens the persons life span. He has been bitter about it, ever since I first picked him up from the streets of Kirigakure no sato."
Kakashi nodded in understanding. After all, even shinobi wanted to live long and fulfilled lives. "Because you are a missing-nin, I am forced to take action against you. In your current condition, you cannot defeat me and Kurenai will be able to finish of your apprentice if need be." Kakashi said, and continued after Zabuza's grimace and nod. "I don't want to do that though. If your other apprentice's actions are any indication, then you are a better man than most would give you credit for. I have a proposition for you, which I am sure the Sandaime Hokage would approve of."
Zabuza leaned forward to hear Kakashi's whispers, as the two discussed for a while longer.
Kurenai had been alert and glaring holes into Tetsu ever since the battle had ended. Sasuke resisted the shiver that involuntarily ran down his spine at the thought of facing her wrath. She had proven to him only a few minutes prior, that she could take a man's life if he so much as insulted her femininity.
Yet this Tetsu boy was not even flinching at her unwavering gaze. In fact, he was not even bothered with her in the slightest. His eyes were fixed on the shinobi that he had fought with.
'Naruto Uzumaki. You are clearly not my equal in strength, yet you fought off Meizu, Gozu, Haku, and I just to keep your friends safe. I doubt even Zabuza-sensei can pull that off. But you did. You single handedly saved a whole village from the hands of a corrupt man and his hired help.' Tetsu thought. 'But even with all that strength, you are still clueless to the world around you. Caring for your enemy even on the battlefield. I can only assume that you don't know what pain really means. You probably have a nice caring family back in Konoha. You don't know what it means to suffer like I have.'
Forcing back the unwanted thoughts that were filling his mind, Tetsu finally took notice of the other things and people surrounding him. For example, the six Konoha shinobi, and a bridge builder. Looking down at Haku who lay by his feet, he realized that the pink haired girl had finished healing his head injury.
"Arigatou kunoichi-san." Tetsu said, while looking at Sakura.
"No problem." Sakura said from the other side of the bridge, where she was standing with the other gennin. Sakura had started taking her training seriously and could easily feel the tension brewing between team 8 and this boy. She thought it prudent to stay away from him until Kakashi-sensei came back. If she was a few months younger, she probably would have throttled him for trying to look cooler than her Sasuke-kun. Inspecting Tetsu, Sakura realized that he was more rugged and than his comrade Haku. He had brown hair and green eyes and was a few years older than her. She could tell, because he had very little baby fat on him, but he couldn't be older than 16. Silently praying that Kakashi would come back soon, Sakura moved over to talk to Hinata.
Thankfully, she didn't have to wait too long, because Kakashi and Zabuza came back only a few minutes after she had finished healing.
"Alright, there is no guarantee that Gatoh's men are all dead, and if they are alive, they are no doubt going to be seeking revenge…..so I guess my team will stay here as continued backup for your team Kurenai. Zabuza has also offered his services in the bridge effort. Apparently, he met Gatoh's accountant on occasion and he feels confident that he can get money for this village from him." Seeing hesitation from both Kurenai and Tazuna, Kakashi quickly continued "Zabuza and his team do not pose a threat to us anymore. I give you my word."
Zabuza cut off Tetsu's incoming remark with a raised hand and a slight narrowing of his eyes. "We have caused enough trouble on these innocents. In the end, I became the very thing I left that village in order to destroy. There are different paths to obtaining a goal Tetsu. The easiest paths are hardly ever the right paths. You may leave if you are questioning my ability to change the mist village."
Tetsu then showed his first few emotions apart from stoicism, anger and killing intent. The first was surprise at the thought of going against Zabuza, the man that had raised him and taught him the shinobi arts. The second was disgust at having to help this pathetically weak village and equally weak leaf-nin. The third was resignation, before the silent anger and stoicism came back. Turning his back to Zabuza and the group of leaf-nin, Tetsu walked to the side of the bridge and sat down before flipping his legs over. Most were expecting him to jump, but Zabuza just turned back to the group and nodded. It seemed this was how most of their arguments were resolved.
"Ok, since that is settled, I think we should be heading back to your lodgings Tazuna-san. My students have been running for a while now and would like to rest for the day before training and watch duty tomorrow. I am sure everyone else shares my sentiments for a bit of rest." Kakashi said as his copy of Icha Icha paradise appeared in his hand.
Zabuza and Tazuna looked genuinely interested in the book Kakashi had in his hand but both decided to ignore it for now. Kurenai merely gave Kakashi a glare before ushering the gennins ahead, before they could ask questions about the book. Zabuza had Haku and Meizu slung over his shoulder while Kakashi carried Naruto and Gozu. Tetsu walked a few yards behind the whole group, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. Tazuna was extremely happy while walking back.
Haku had woken up the day after the fight on the bridge and had proceeded to make friends with all the leaf-nin. He had dragged Tetsu along, but that idea had ultimately failed once Tetsu called the younger warriors weak. The fight between Tetsu and Sasuke had been long and interesting, and was only stopped when both sides started resorting to higher level techniques. Kakashi and Zabuza had grilled both boys about insubordination for hours. Or at least, the clones that they had replaced themselves with had done the job. Both of them were never really big on long speeches anyway.
Meizu and Gozu had woken up around the same time as Haku, and were treated to the sight of two overpowered brats fighting each other. It hurt their pride that they had been defeated so easily by Naruto, and watching Sasuke and Tetsu made them realize that they could be beaten just as easily again. Needless to say, they were training almost immediately after the fight had ended. Kiba and Akamaru had joined them soon after, while saying it would be better if they worked on teamwork against another pair of teamwork oriented shinobi. The demon brothers had agreed albeit reluctantly.
Almost everyone was waiting for Naruto to wake up though. Sasuke simply wanted his sparring partner back. Tetsu wanted to fight Naruto because of his personal vendetta. The demon brothers wanted to fight Naruto because of their wounded pride. Haku wanted to talk to Naruto and see what he was like outside of life and death situations. Hinata was desperate to see Naruto awake again, so she could quell her fear that something was actually wrong with him. Kurenai wanted to apologize for judging him unjustly. Tazuna, Tsunami, Inari, and the whole village were waiting to thank the boy that had brought back hope to their village. Sakura just wanted to see if her teammate was ok, and maybe if he could unseal some more medical scrolls for her to read. Kiba and Akamaru wanted to beat Naruto and prove that Kiba was indeed the alpha male of the pack. Shino just wanted to make sure his comrade was ok. Kakashi and Zabuza were not necessarily bothered because they both knew he would get up sooner or later.
Nobody really knew what was keeping him from waking up. Even Kakashi knew that mental fatigue would not keep a person unconscious for more than a day, let alone Naruto. It had already been two days and several incidents between Tetsu and the conscious members of teams 7 and 8. Everybody was drawing on their last straws and a new peacemaker was needed to quell the killing intents on both sides.
"Hehe, I have finally finished your 300 youma bunshins. Tell me the hand seals to get the scrolls you promised." Naruto said while panting. "And stop making the bunshins stronger every time I master a technique or defeat one of them."
"I SEE. I HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING TO INCREASE THE STRENGTH OF THE BUNSHIN. THEIR STRENGTH IS PROPORTIONAL TO YOURS AND THE EAGLES. THEY ARE EQUALLY STRONG, BUT DO NOT HAVE THE SAME DURABILITY THAT YOU OR YOUR FUIN BUNSHINS HAVE." Kyuubi said. "THEY HAVE THE SAME KNOWLEDGE AS YOU, PLUS SOME EXTRA FROM MY CHAKRA. THEY HAVE GREATER SPEED AND ATTACKING PROWESS BECAUSE OF MY CHAKRA AS WELL."
"Maybe so, but I don't really care about that. Before you ask, I will not be using them to fight my battles in the outside world."
"THINK ABOUT IT BRAT. IT WOULD PROBABLY HAVE POSITIVE EFFECTS ON YOU, AND ALSO GIVE ME THE JOY OF ACTUALLY KILLING AGAIN." Seeing Naruto shake his head, the Kyuubi realized the futility of this chase.
"I am no killer."
"YOU WON'T HAVE TO KILL FLESHBAG. I WILL BE DOING IT." Kyuubi said in an irritated voice. "YOU MAY EVEN LEARN TO ENJOY DEATH, IF YOU WATCH ME DO IT."
"I refuse to let any part of you out to the world. Even if I did, the memories will come back to me, because it is still my body and mind that will create the demonic bunshin." Naruto said with a small smirk towards the Kyuubi.
Anger flared in the Kyuubi's eyes "SO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME, THAT AFTER YOU MANAGED TO DISPEL EACH OF MY DEMONIC CLONES…."
"Indeed, all fighting experience gained comes back to me first before the chakra goes back to you. I am thankful for your contributions towards my training Kyuubi. Consider it a way to ensure that I am a strong enough container for you." Naruto said, while his previous smirk dropped and was replaced by a serious face. "Unfortunately, the clones you make have only some knowledge of the techniques or have incorporated it into a demonic fighting style, thereby making it difficult or impossible for me to perform. So getting the scrolls from you is necessary for me to actually learn that technique and use it to its full capacity. It's hard for me to say this, but….Arigatou Kyuubi, for the scrolls. However, I will kick your ass soon enough and get Keigan out."
"HN, GET OUT BRAT…YOUR ARE ANNOYING AND TRYING MY PATIENCE. GET THE SCROLLS FROM THE SAME PLACE AS LAST TIME. ADD A TORA SEAL AT THE END OF THE LAST SET OF SEALS I TOLD YOU ABOUT."
"Hai… Ja ne furball. Ja ne Keigan."
With that, Naruto was surrounded by a blinding blue light and he vanished.
"KUKUKU, THAT BOY IS GROWING BOLDER BY THE MINUTE. DID YOU…."
Kyuubi was forced to move back as a huge talon clawed at his eye.
"You speak too much kitsune-san." Keigan said as it flapped its wings and leapt backwards to put distance between himself and the Kyuubi. "The sooner I get out of here, the better. No more mindless babble."
With twin war cries, the two chakra entity behemoths charged at each other.
All occupants at Tazuna's house were awoken by a screaming girl. Everybody rushed to the scene with their weapons already drawn and ready to kill any and all intruders. They were greeted to a confused Hinata standing over Naruto's empty bed. Kakashi quickly walked to the front of the room and spoke.
"Does anyone know where Naruto is?" Kakashi looked around and saw the negative nods coming from everyone. "Well, I guess we should spread out and look for him then. He may have just gone out for a walk or something, but don't let your guards down because someone may be holding him prisoner. It would have to be a high level ninja if they got into this house unnoticed and out before we could detect them."
"Kakashi-san I know where Naruto-san is." Shino said in his monotone voice as he walked into the room with a bug on his finger. Seeing Kakashi motioning for him to show the way, Shino jumped out the window and started making his way into the forests. All the other shinobi followed without a word, with Haku carrying Inari on his back.
About ten minutes later, they came to a clearing that contained about a hundred Naruto's. The only problem was that they were being cut down at an accelerated pace by the real Naruto. Everyone was in too much shock at what they were witnessing to even make a move, even Kakashi and Sasuke failed to unveil and activate their Sharingan respectively.
Naruto stood in the middle of more than a hundred clones, with a completely calm look on his face. He had just finished practicing the techniques he had gotten from Kyuubi's personal time/space pocket. Now the techniques were safely sealed and kept in the pouches in his pants.
It would have been almost impossible for another human to collect because of the amount of chakra needed to maintain the Kage ho for that amount of time and the complexity of Kyuubi's space. Firstly, Naruto had gone to into his own personal space/ time with the Kage ho and started performing the seals necessary to obtain the scrolls. The scrolls had only come after he had channeled Kyuubi's chakra and he realized how strong it was when it flooded his system. 'I will definitely have train with Kyuubi's chakra soon. It would be a great asset against stronger opponents.'
Getting back to the task at hand, Naruto noticed the clone running towards him. Bringing out his right hand katana and throwing it in one fluent motion, Naruto saw the clone he aimed at jump high in the air. Ignoring the clone for a second, Naruto noticed some other clones rushing him from different sides. Grabbing tightly unto a thin chakra string that connected to his katana, Naruto pivoted on his feet and started spinning thereby destroying all the clones that were running towards him. The clones that had managed to evade by jumping into the air to were shocked to see an afterimage of half hand seals as Naruto was spinning. They were even more shocked to hear the name of the ninjutsu whispered by the real Naruto.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu."
All present were shocked as the fire formed around Naruto and created a shield of fire. It was forcefully expelled as Naruto came to an absolute halt by applying chakra to his feet and sticking to the ground.
'He actually managed to hold on to the chakra string for his sword while performing a Gōkakyū shield. Amazing…It's like every time he sleeps and wakes up, he gets better than he was before.' Kakashi thought.
The remaining clones were angered at the others demise and felt that it was necessary to start attacking with their katana as well. Many threw both katana at Naruto and started performing seals. Naruto just looked around and performed seals faster than all of them. Calling out the name of his jutsu in a whisper, which was not heard in the mass shouts of the clones.
To well trained shinobi like Kakashi, Zabuza and Kurenai, they heard Naruto's voice as clear as day.
"Suiton: Suijinheki."
'His jutsu will never withstand the onslaught of his clones.' Zabuza and Kakashi thought as they started gathering chakra to save the boy from his own demise.
Numerous other cries rang through the air in that instant.
"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu"
Everyone could clearly see the strain on Naruto's face as he kept up the jutsu while taking on the onslaught of several katana and water dragon jutsu. One clone eventually ran up to the wall and exploded thereby causing a lot of smoke and debris to rise and block Naruto's sight, if he survived the explosion.
Everyone assumed he survived because all the remaining clones charged him silently, because they didn't want to compromise their positions if he was preparing a counter-attack. It seemed like they had planned everything out perfectly until they got to the boundary of the smoke.
Immidiately the clones entered, they were blown out and they landed on their backs with a crunch before disappearing into puffs of smoke. The other clones were glued in their positions as they looked at Naruto. He was literally leaking chakra and exuding so much confidence that it was making his clones shiver in anticipation.
'Amazing. Its almost like the antithesis of killing intent. It's like telling his opponents that there is no shame in fighting this battle till the death. Appealing to our inner warriors. I feel like joining this battle myself, but I intend to enjoy the show.' Thought Zabuza as he had to forcefully restrain Tetsu and the Demon brothers from joining the fray. Kakashi and Kurenai had to do the same for some of their students.
With a burst of speed, Naruto had taken out four clones with taijutsu moves only Kakashi and Kurenai recognized.
'Goken. Impossible, I have never taught him that, and I don't think he has ever met Gai. What is going on here?' Kakashi thought.
The remaining clones jumped in the air hoping to escape the assault but it proved to be a big mistake as Naruto disappeared from his position on the ground faster than all the genins could track. It was at this moment that Sasuke finally activated his Sharingan, so that he could follow the movements properly.
Looking into the sky, they saw Naruto taking out his clones at speeds that most chuunins would be hard pressed to keep up with. Kakashi recognized the technique as the Kage Buyō and was surprised at Naruto's ability to pull off the technique so easily.
'I shouldn't be so surprised though. He is a shadow type after all.' Kakashi surmised with a grin 'I am still at a loss to how he is related to the Nara's though. The Sandaime did say I was not privy to that information yet though. I feel I am getting closer to the answer though.'
By the time Naruto landed, no clones were left and everyone thought it was safe to come out before someone shouted the name of a jutsu from the bushes.
"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu."
Six balls of closely compacted chakra came flying towards Naruto's back. Everyone watched as Naruto's eyes widened and he was hit by the balls of fire which eventually blew up. Sasuke just smirked before his eyes reverted back to black.
"Just like Naruto to end such a high class jutsu spar with something that simple. Tch" Sasuke said. All the other gennins apart from Sakura looked at Sasuke like he was crazy. Kiba was the first to crack.
"So you knew the dobe could use all those powerful techniques. When did he get so good?" Kiba said with an almost audible growl.
"Since I realized that my life would be much easier if I played the part of a fool and not a hard working shinobi. It makes people underestimate me and their shock is even more satisfying when they realize they were wrong." Naruto said from the branch behind Kiba.
Kiba spun on his heel and threw a kunai at the spot where he heard the voice, but his nose screamed that his enemy was behind him already. Continuing with his spin, Kiba tried to save face with the rest of the people in the clearing, by attempting to throw another kunai at Naruto. His hand was stopped mid-throw by Naruto's hand.
"This is unnecessary Kiba. You have no reason to attack me." Naruto said with a frown on his face.
Naruto's frown deepened as he saw Kiba's eyes widen in shock. Hearing a gasp from Hinata, Naruto turned a worried eye to look at her and the others. What Naruto saw when he turned to the other rookies and their sensei's made him fear that the Kyuubi had done something to alter his appearance. Even Sasuke had a shocked expression on his face which relieved and unsettled Naruto at the same time. Pushing the fear that was growing in the pit of his stomach away, Naruto basically blurred out of existence, and then appeared on the ground. He found a puddle of water created by the numerous water attacks that were thrown around. Looking into it, Naruto noticed that the blue in his eyes had spread over the whole pupil.
'Ah, side effects of some of Keigan's chakra coming through I guess. It looks pretty neat to me.' Naruto thought, before he was brought out of his musings by a pair of feet landing on the ground behind him. Turning to quell the persons fears, Naruto was ruthlessly punched in the face.
Wiping the blood from the side of his face, Naruto stood up from where he had landed. "Guh, why did you do that, teme?"
"I hate people like you the most. But you are strong, so I am willing to teach you what it means to live with that strength. Uzumaki Naruto, fight me. Here and now." Tetsu said as he got into a fighting stance.
"Tetsu-san….What are you doing?" Haku said, as a little anger slipped into his voice.
"Teaching these leaf-nin a little lesson about life. Strength comes with a price, and beating the strongest of them to prove my point is the only way to tell them that. Yes, after you….I will beat the Uchiha as well, so that there will be no doubts when I am finished." Tetsu replied while glaring at Naruto.
"Lessons huh? Tell me, what is this lesson you speak of?" Naruto spoke in a calm collected voice.
"Simple. Strength and happiness cannot go together. There is a price to the power that you possess." Tetsu said with a smirk, as he noticed Naruto's eyes droop. "There is no place for tears on the battlefield Uzumaki. Show me the confidence you were exuding before, so that I can crush it."
"Hn. If we are talking about the price of power, then…." Naruto said as he suddenly looked up with eyes full of emotion. Truth be told, he was pouring chakra into his eyes to keep himself from crying. But Tetsu's words had struck a chord and there was no going back "I pay for my power with every single breath that I take on this earth. My very existence is the price I paid for power. I paid for it, before I even knew what power meant. You have no reason to fight me….and I have no reason to fight you."
With that, Naruto turned on his heel and was about leave the clearing. He was stopped when Hinata screamed his name, and his danger senses went off. Performing a quick kawarimi was all that saved him from getting impaled on five flying bone shards. Looking back at Tetsu, Naruto noticed that he had been the one to send the shards through his fingers.
"How?" Naruto intoned in a low voice.
"My bloodline limit. My power, and my curse. The longer I use it, the shorter my life span becomes. The fact that I have brought it out means that I am not going to take no as an answer. I want to fight you, and that is more than enough reason for you to put up your measly defences. Prepare yourself Uzumaki. For I will not be holding back like last time." Tetsu said as he pulled out his vertebrae, and held it like a whip….just that this whip had serrated edges.
Naruto jumped down to the ground and got into a ready stance. The other leaf-nin were going to shout for him to get out of the way before they were stopped by Zabuza.
"Both of them have to do this. I have faith that Uzumaki will be able to change Tetsu for the better. I will personally not let either of them die or kill each other, so rest assured." Zabuza said while looking all of them in the eye.
'Naruto-kun….be safe.' Hinata thought with trepidation. She also was worried about what he meant about paying for the power he wielded.
"So at least let me know the full name of the person who intends to fight me." Naruto said with a light hearted chuckle. "After all, I have met someone with that ability before and he was clearly very strong. Unfortunately, I didn't quite get his family name."
"Impossible, I am the last of my family. The rest of them were wiped out in the mist's civil war. The only reason I survived was because I had been disowned because of my own weakness." Tetsu said with barely concealed contempt at the mention of his family. "Very well though, I do not go by the name anymore, but I was once called Kaguya Tetsu. Child prodigy of the Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku."
"Shikotsumyaku huh? Then you are definitely related to the person I met. His name is Kimimaro, and from what Sakura told me after she read about his bloodline, was that the Kaguya's were exceptional warriors but were plagued with a certain illness that could be cured depending on the severity of the illness. I assume that this illness is your self proclaimed 'weakness'." Naruto said, as he removed his hand from his chin.
'He knows Kimimaro….Kimimaro is alive? Still, this Naruto boy cannot possibly know what pain is like. I can question him when I am done beating him.' Tetsu thought while preparing to charge. "You are indeed well informed, and I will extract the information I need from you later. I am currently tired of your talk. Since you don't feel like coming at me, why don't I start it off."
With a speed that only the 4 jounin level shinobi and Sasuke could follow, Tetsu had covered the distance between him and Naruto and swung his spine blade.
Naruto barely ducked under the swing and tried to create some distance between himself and Tetsu. This proved to be his undoing as Tetsu's spine blade flowed after him. Instict kicking in, Naruto brought up his katana to block the strike. Deflecting the first hit, Naruto was shocked to see a crack appear in his katana.
'Impossible….Kakashi-sensei told me that this katana was made out of some of the most durable minerals ever known. It shouldn't crack from a glancing blow.'
"I see you have noticed. My bones are so strong, that the greatest defence will crumble with ease." Tetsu said with pride. Maneuvering his spine blade in an arc and sending it back at Naruto, he noticed Naruto's eyes widen. The blonde then started backpedaling away quickly. "It is very wise of you to run, because blocking is futile."
Tetsu then noticed that the blonde was slowly making his way back to the spot he was standing. Showing mild annoyance at the blondes wisdom and tactical knowledge, Tetsu readied his forearm bone to assist his counter-attack. Looking at the position of the bone, Tetsu was happy to note that Naruto couldn't see it from there.
Just as Tetsu predicted, Naruto managed to evade his spine blade, and it was on a collision course with Tetsu's torso. Sidestepping to his right, Tetsu also managed to evade the blade and then turned to face the onrushing Naruto. With a mighty heave, Tetsu sent his forearm blade at Naruto who was also swinging his katana.
The two blades met and sparks flew, until Naruto's katana shattered. Surprise was written on the faces of everyone present except the mist-nin. Naruto just barely made it away before Tetsu's blade came through the area he previously occupied.
"Impossible, I bought that blade myself and I made sure it was top quality." Kakashi said.
"The quality of the blade does not matter when compared to the density of Tetsu's blades. Even my zanpatou would crumble if that much force was thrown against it. His clan exiled a true prodigy although they were aware of his abilities. But because of his illness and his power, he was considered too much of a liability and also a possible threat. Kakashi get ready to step in, because your student cannot win this battle and I fear Tetsu may take it too far." Zabuza said with a solemn expression while preparing himself.
"Then you are mistaken about my student. He will not lose. He does not have the capability to lose. If you think Tetsu has had a hard life, then Naruto has been through several different layers of hell. I have only begun piecing together the clues that are part of Naruto's life, but if my hunch is correct and if he is anything like him….he will not lose." Kakashi said while ignoring the confused looks everyone was sending him. Pulling his book out, Kakashi started reading again and stayed in his relaxed stance.
'He has absolute confidence in his student, even though the odds are stacked heavily in Tetsu's favor. Regardless, Tetsu could take this too far and I am starting to like that Uzumaki kids fighting prowess. He would have made a great apprentice.' Zabuza thought as he continued watching the duel.
Naruto's shock about his broken katana cost him valuable seconds he would have used to jump away. Instead, he barely managed to bring out his second katana and put up a meager defence. Needless to say, it was shattered immediately it met the forearm blade. Jumping back to put some distance between himself and Tetsu, Naruto analyzed his opponent.
'Close range fighting with him is useless and suicidal, and I am not a long range fighter. Shadow techniques are out of the question, because I risk getting injured before actually managing to subdue him. The best I should be able to do is fight from a safe mid-range distance. Alright, I need a strategy…' Naruto pondered while looking Tetsu straight in the eye.
'Those eyes….definitely the eyes of a doujutsu user. I have never heard of this one though, and all it does is increase speed. Yet, it seems to be underdeveloped. It makes him that much more important to Konoha though. Spoiled brats. Now, I am angry enough to kill this fool.' Tetsu thought as he stared into Naruto's completely blue eyes.
The stares were broken once Naruto started forming seals at an impressive rate.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu."
'Same trick again? Can't this brat be a bit more original?' Tetsu thought with a disappointed frown as he jumped out of the way of the fireball.
Looking to the spot that Naruto previously stood, he saw Naruto standing there and watching him passively, katana handles at his feet. Using his spine blade as a whip again, Tetsu managed to hit Naruto before he could dodge. He was surprised when Naruto turned into a puff of smoke. Hearing the sound of kunai cutting through the air, Tetsu swung his spine blade in an arc over his head. His satisfaction at deflecting the kunai from above was short lived as kunai bombarded him from ground level. Blocking those kunai to the best of his ability, he was surprised to see exploding tags appear on the kunai when they landed on the ground.
"Kuso, how could I have fallen for such a minor genjutsu." he said before jumping high into the air.
The explosions engulfed his jump but he soon reappeared relatively unharmed from the top boundary of the smoke. Performing a quick kawarimi, he substituted himself for a small log away from the group of bystanders. Immidiately he arrived in the logs position, he sensed several chakra build-ups from the surrounding area. He looked around to see several clones with their hands in the same chakra gathering position.
"Kuso, kuso, kuso" Tetsu swore to himself while jumping away from the centre, where the explosions were sure to be greatest. He also took out as many clones as he could while running to safety.
Boom….Boom…Boom.
Tetsu landed in the clearing again, looking severely worn and very bloody. Looking around the clearing for anymore suicide bombers, Tetsu was happy to see only one Naruto on the other side of the clearing. This one was breathing hard and looked exhausted.
"So Uzumaki, you have finally run out of stamina. Admirable if you ask me, but you have a long way to go." Tetsu said as he charged Naruto and swung his forearm blade hoping to impale Naruto. Naruto moved in a nick of time but it was not enough as the blade got stuck in his lung instead of his heart. Several gasps were heard from the end of the clearing were the others were positioned. Everyone expected Naruto to burst into smoke, but he didn't. Instead he coughed up blood. 'It wasn't a trick…It really was him. Zabuza-sensei is going to be pissed off at me if this boy dies. More favoritism, but I may have brought this upon myself.' Tetsu thought with trepidation.
Just as he was about to remove his blade from Naruto, a hand held his own. It was Naruto's hand. Looking into Naruto's eyes, Tetsu was shocked to see so much sadness and neglect in them.
"Pain and sadness. I know them like the back of my hand. I have been hated all my life for something I had no control over. Plagued with my own disease, that wrought fear, anger, hatred and sorrow in the hearts of others." Naruto said while panting. "Like you, I found people who accepted me for who I am, but unlike you, I don't ignore them because I lived a harder life than they did. Look at me, I am basically a pariah in Konoha. They have attempted to kill me, they have beaten me, called me names, glared at me since the day I was born. Yet, they know nothing about the real me. I refuse to give in or give up, because then I would be proving them right. I would be proving that you are telling the truth, but you are far from the truth. Kaguya Tetsu, do not be ashamed of what you are….don't let anyone tell you who you are, because if you listen to them, then you are probably better off dead.
Naruto then gave off his trademark foxy grin, right before his chakra started rising till the point it became visible. It was blood red in color and Naruto's features became more feral. The killing intent being emitted was staggering and made Tetsu start to sweat. Then all of a sudden, it stopped and another visible chakra color came into view. Yellow this time and it was very brief that some may have just passed it off as a transition from the red chakra to the normal blue that came after. Kakashi knew better.
'Hokage-sama definitely has a lot of explaining to do when we get back to the village.' Kakashi thought with a small smile on his face as he looked at Naruto.
"Remember me Tetsu. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konohagakure no sato…..and I will not lose to you, believe it." Naruto said, with his grin still plastered on his face and blue chakra dancing around him.
Tetsu was about to smirk and ask Naruto what he was going to do with a hole in his stomach before he saw a seal appear on Naruto's forehead. Confusion was evident in his eyes until a pair of arms grabbed his ankles. His eyes widened as the Naruto in front of him dispelled into a puff of smoke.
'Amazing. He had enough time in this fight to pull off a fuuin bunshin!' all members of team 7 thought
"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu."
Tetsu was pulled underground and Naruto jumped out from a spot not too far away. Naruto looked healthy with a few bruises here and there, but compared to Tetsu's injuries, he looked the better of the two.
"Tetsu-san, my friends mean everything to me. They saved me from the darkness that would have consumed me had I been alone. I made my first friend about 5 years ago and he has survived very bad experiences as well. Do not assume that because we come from Konoha, that life is simple and easy. Your hatred clouds your judgement, so you were unable to see a fake ploy for what it was. You have been through a lot and I agree that you are strong. I have no doubt that you could break out of that prison I put you in, and I know that you would probably defeat me in a one-on-one fight. Remember this, because as long as there are still innocents and friends to protect, Uzumaki Naruto will not give up and he will not lose." Naruto said as he turned and started walking away.
Tetsu sighed as his own ploy to make Naruto think he was captured had failed. Climbing out of his hole with ease, Tetsu asked a question that was on the minds of everyone else.
"Why do they hate you then? Your clan must have done something really messed up."
Naruto stopped in his tracks and for a few seconds, all was silent. Even the birds stopped chirping. Naruto then turned around and gave a sad smile.
" Firstly, gomen, I can't tell you why they hate me. Not yet at least. Secondly, I don't know about my fathers clan, but my mothers is completely loyal to Konoha. I will be back for lunch Kakashi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei." Naruto said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Suddenly feeling the effects of using his bloodline for too long, Tetsu fell onto one knee and stiffened when he heard people land behind him.
"I guess its time to go and watch over the bridge. Lets get going, Naruto will meet us at lunch." Kakashi said.
There were several nods as Zabuza picked up Tetsu and slung him over his shoulder.
"Could you please carry me with more care?" Tetsu asked in a pleading voice.
"Consider this punishment for your disobedience." Zabuza said in a happy voice.
"Ano, I think I can walk on my own now." Tetsu added.
"Did you say something?" was Zabuza's reply.
"Kuso."
'There may be hope for you yet Tetsu.' Zabuza thought as he saw Tetsu sending glares at all the people snickering at his current predicament. 'There may be hope for you yet.'
The rest of the day went very quickly for the teams. Tetsu didn't bother anyone and he gave small smiles when someone said something to him. It was an improvement that everyone welcomed with open arms. Even the demon brothers were more friendly than usual.
The whole village had appeared on the bridge to thank Naruto personally, and were not disappointed because there were several of the blonde around to thank. It seemed he was eager to get back to Konoha and wanted to get the bridge finished sooner.
Kakashi summed it up as Naruto feeling a bit insecure about losing his swords. After all, they had become like an extension of him. He used them in basically all the fights and his normal body strength had been severely lacking because of them.
'Him helping out so much on the bridge will raise his strength again, but if I get a new set of katana when we get back he will just revert back to his old ways. Hehe, I heard the new platinum edition of Icha Icha signed by Jiraiya-sama himself will be on sale in town. I could give this copy to Zabuza and get that one.' Kakashi thought while laughing maniacally in the real world.
Needless to say everyone stayed away from him for the rest of the day.
The days flew by with a lot of training and helping at the bridge. Everyone wanted in on Naruto and Sasuke's training secrets, so they all trained together and watched each other like hawks. Naruto and Sasuke still managed to escape every once in a while.
When they were not training as a group, Naruto usually trained with Hinata and gave her pointers on improving. He noticed her depression after the first day and sought to correct it. Kakashi was usually with them as he had the greatest knowledge of the Jyuuken apart from Hinata. He had even copied the movements several times, but gave up on Jyuuken after he realized that Hyuuga's had to be the most flexible people alive, and he didn't have their chakra control.
Sasuke and Sakura had stuck to sparring, medical techniques (for Sakura only) and genjutsu. Kurenai dropped by occasionally to help them out on the finer points of genjutsu. She was impressed that they both caught on so fast. She expected Sasuke to catch on easily, but she didn't think Sakura would be that good.
Kiba and Akamaru continued to train with the demon brothers and were getting better with their teamwork daily. They also had motivation from seeing Naruto and Sasuke spar. They pushed themselves to the brink of exhaustion daily just to keep up with their comrades.
Haku, Tetsu and Shino mostly stayed together. Haku and Shino would go in search of herbal plants and useful insects respectively, while Tetsu would sit down and watch them for hours before asking for a spar from one of them. If they were not up to it, he would simply go and find one of the other people to spar with. He would also read the scrolls on his bloodline and disease when nobody was available. Haku started helping out in the village and his herbs were a major factor in helping some of the sick get back on their feet. He also figured it would be great for trade once the bridge was complete.
Zabuza had been gone for a while, and hardly anyone ever knew about his whereabouts. Everyone figured he was looking for Gatou's accountant who had probably tried to flee with the money. Only Kakashi and Kurenai knew of his plans and none of them were forthcoming with answers.
Until the day before the official opening of the bridge. It was also the day before all the shinobi were scheduled to leave.
Kakashi and Kurenai had mysteriously disappeared and all the gennin were resting up for the journey they would be undertaking tomorrow. The bridge was completed and all the people building were safe in their homes.
All the shinobi present were seated in the middle of the clearing all chatting away, before Tetsu's voice cut through the chatter.
"Uzumaki" He said in an authoritative voice. "I need to know…I need to know that what you speak of is the truth. That strength and happiness go hand in hand. That I too can find peace if I search for it. Tell me how you pay for your power and remain so happy."
Everyone who had been eyeing Tetsu wearily turned their eyes to Naruto who was looking away with an almost frightened look on his face.
"Shinobi are mindless tools born into this world to serve those who have the power or resources necessary to lead. To become real shinobi we must kill our emotions, be it happiness, anger, and even hatred. Shinobi are efficient killing tools that live to fulfill their missions…even at the cost of their lives. Camaraderie is therefore less important than the mission." Everyone turned to see Zabuza walking towards them with narrowed eyes. Haku, Tetsu and the Demon brothers seemed to cringe at the sight. 'It seems like these leaf-nin are changing their perceptions on life. About time, because I didn't really want such mindless loyalty…It was just easier at the time. The only thing that should guide a shinobi should be his own heart. Now, who exactly is going to fall into my trap?' Zabuza thought.
"That is the most stupid thing I have ever heard in my life." Naruto's voice cut clean through the tension.
"Well you better sit down and shut up brat because you have not lived half as long as I have." Zabuza said with a small grin. 'Brat has more guts than I gave him credit for, if he decided to draw the attention back to himself and take my bait.'
"If that is what it means to be a shinobi, then I will make my own way. A wise man once said, 'those who fail to complete a mission are trash….but those who leave their comrades behind are worse than trash'. My comrades are important to me, I will do all I can for them. Even if it costs me the mission." Naruto said with conviction.
Zabuza's smirk grew wider and caused Naruto to pale at the implications.
"Ok then, big shot shinobi. You are faced with a decision. Your teammates lives are at stake because they don't know a fact about your life. If your friends cannot accept you despite your uniqueness, then maybe they don't deserve to be your friends. After all, I am sure the type of comradeship you are talking about should be reciprocal." Zabuza said in reply.
Two other presences made themselves known at this point. Kurenai and Kakashi appeared in puffs of smoke. Taking one glance at Naruto's crestfallen face made Kurenai's heart melt. She had once disliked this boy, but had come to realize that he was just as human as everyone else. He had survived great trials and had come out better for it. She decided that it would be wrong to force him to take this step when he was risking the only friends he had ever had.
"Maybe you are going a little overboard Zabuza-san. Pressurizing the boy will do him very little good." Kurenai said in a motherly tone.
Zabuza shrugged and was about to walk away when Naruto spoke.
"No. If what he says is true, then they all deserve to hear it. We will all be on missions together sometime and their ignorance about my condition could cost us the mission or a teammates life. Hinata-chan, gomen that I didn't tell you earlier. It was wrong of me to decide whether you were strong enough or not. I think I am starting to understand a bit more about friendship." Naruto said with a sheepish smile in Hinata's direction.
"N-no pro-problem Naruto-kun" Hinata said with a blush. A few of the others snickered at the interaction.
"Sakura-chan, you are my teammate and deserved to know as well, but I didn't think we were good enough friends yet and I judged your reaction on that. Gomen."
"To tell you the truth Naruto, I am glad you waited a while. This sounds pretty big and I am not sure I would have been ready to understand you then. Your judgments were probably sound as they always are." Sakura replied.
"Arigatou" Naruto said as he smiled slightly. Then in the blink of an eye, his face went serious. "Most of you will put everything together from the beginning, but for everybody else's sake, I will explain it all."
"It all started the day I was born…"
It was finally the day to leave and the leaf and mist shinobi were packed and ready to go. Looking back at all the villagers who had come to bid their farewells to the people who had helped their village. Even Zabuza was given hearty goodbyes after he gave the village three quarters of Gatou's savings. Naruto was showered with the most gifts because he had been most instrumental in the whole time here. He had stopped Zabuza's accomplices single handedly, and had helped everyone in the village at some point in time with his shadow clones or by himself. The children all saw him as a role model and had already started idolizing him. Most already had identical leaf style clothing, and carried twin wooden katana on their backs.
At the forefront of the villagers was Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari.
"You all are welcome here anytime." Tazuna said to the group of shinobi in front of him. "All of you."
"I will hold you to that old man." Zabuza said with a smirk "We might need to hide from Kiri hunter-nin every now and then and this village will be the perfect place for us."
"Hai Zabuza-san. We are all indebted to you." Tsunami replied as her father paled out the sound of hostile shinobi.
"We may be sending a group of shinobi teachers for the kids in this village if the Hokage permits. They seem to have taken to us quite a bit and if some of them have what it takes, it will save you all a lot of money next time. If you are ever in need of help again though. Don't hesitate to tell the Hokage. Tell him about your situation and he will be compassionate and send you a team of shinobi fit for the mission parameters." Kakashi said while looking at all the kids who had dressed up as shinobi.
Tazuna looked a little ashamed but nodded his head all the same.
"Ano Naruto-niisan" Inari said with a downcast face. Everyone immediately went quiet when they heard his voice. "You will come back to visit, right?"
"Hai Inari. I will definitely come back to visit. Its ok to cry when you are happy Inari." Naruto said while looking at Inari carefully.
"Bu-but why aren't you crying?" Inari asked as a few tears rolled down his eyes.
"Hahaha. I am not crying for lots of reasons Inari. The wisest reason is probably because Sasuke, Kiba and Tetsu will never let me live it down. Plus, I have to grow and become strong, so that I can look after my otouto's….like you Inari." Everyone gave a small smile at his sincerity and Hinata had an extremely dreamy look in her eyes.
"Alright, lets get going." Kakashi said as he turned around and started walking away. A second later, all the other members of the group turned and started walking away while waving back to the people of the wave. Soon they were out of sight and the people of the wave came to a sudden realization.
"Oi Tazuna-san, what are we going to name this bridge."
"Lets call it 'The Great Naruto Bridge'." Inari shouted to his grandfather.
"Hai, that is a good name Inari. We shall call it 'Bridge of Heroes: The Great Naruto Bridge.' Tazuna said.
The announcement was met with shouts of approval.
The group had finally stopped running after several hours. They were currently at the border between wave country and fire country. Kakashi, Kurenai and Zabuza were just walking back to the clearing after they had gone off for little meeting.
"Well, I guess this is where we part ways." Kakashi said as he looked at the way all the others were interacting. Most people nodded and stood up while gathering their things. Turning back to Zabuza, Kakashi gave a small salute. "I hope you are successful in your endeavors. Your reasons are indeed just and the mist certainly needs more people like you. Unfortunately, the leaf will have to keep out of this one for now. We are after all at peace with the mist."
Zabuza gave a silent nod before saluting Kakashi as well.
The teams had all gathered and standing behind their respective commanders.
"Leaf-nin…" Tetsu said with an expressionless face. Most of them cringed, while some didn't even falter in the slightest. "You are strong, so I acknowledge all of you….as my comrades, and friends. Grow stronger, so that we may fight side by side as equals one day."
Everyone was shocked into silence by Tetsu's words. Kiba was the first to break out of it, and he was sporting a huge grin. Tetsu's words had given a little boost to his confidence.
"You bet we will get stronger and no one is going to be able to stop us. We also consider you all comrades and friends as well." Kiba said as everyone else nodded.
"Well then, it has been very touching…but we need to get back to the village as soon as possible. Ja ne." Kakashi said as he turned and started running in the opposite direction. Everyone followed and started towards their various destinations as numerous goodbye's rang through the air.
After separating from the mist shinobi, the leaf-nin made it to Konoha in about 3 hours. The gennins were immediately dismissed and told to report to their meeting areas tomorrow without fail. Team 8 immediately parted ways and started going to their respective homes.
Naruto decided to walk Hinata home. It was one of the most disheartening moments of Hinata's life. She couldn't stand walking next to the boy she admired so much when so many people were glaring at him and even spitting on the floor he was about to step on. Some even went as far as trying to drag her away from him. What made it harder for her to take, was that she knew the reason now and couldn't do anything to make his life better. She was also sad because she had just watched from the shadows when he had suffered so much.
Naruto had seen her distress and acted accordingly by giving a few words of advice that he seemed to carry around him at all times. At the end of it all, he managed to use his own problems to motivate her. Now she had more reasons to grow stronger and become the leader of the Hyuuga clan.
Her motivation was crushed when she saw Neji at the front of the compound waiting for her to enter. Naruto seemed to get a bad vibe from Neji's glare at Hinata and immediately glared back. Neji merely smirked and opened the door for Hinata before closing it rudely on Naruto's face. Neji had officially joined Naruto's list of 'people to beat the crap out of'.
The rest of the day had gone smoothly as Naruto got back to the Nara compound and realized how fast gossip got around. The Nara mothers were making sure he was in good health immediately he stepped into the compound. After a quick meal, he found Shikamaru at his usual cloud watching site with Chouji and Ino.
Joining them, while ignoring Ino's bickering, Naruto finally succumbed to his weariness in the presence of familiar faces.
The next weeks had gone routinely for Naruto, excluding getting paid for three A-rank missions. It usually started with him getting up in the morning to train with Sasuke before the Nara's woke up. He finally realized how much his hand to hand combat skills had gone to waste after he had concentrated on ninjutsu and kenjutsu for so long. Sasuke usually came out on top in those spars and Naruto started doubling his efforts in physical training.
After the spar with Sasuke, he would head back to the Nara compound and play shougi with Shikamaru and sometimes have strictly shadow technique spars. It seemed that Shikamaru was more proficient with shadow jutsu , and a better strategist than Naruto was. It was only Naruto's ability to perform the shadow walk, that made him even remotely as proficient as Shikamaru. Again, he sought to change that by practicing the other techniques more often.
After his tussles with Shikamaru, he would be at least an hour late for his teams meetings. He would collect all his gear and head down to the usual meeting spot. This was usually a rest period for him because of the scenery around the bridge that he team usually met at. It didn't mean he wasn't practicing. He would run through hand seals of different techniques, so that he would get more proficient. He also did this while standing on the water to improve his control. After all, if he had chakra going to his feet to sustain him above water, and he was consciously trying to stop chakra from going into the technique he was practicing, his abysmal chakra control would improve yet.
Naruto also had clones around the village performing various tasks like training, getting him breakfast and keeping Konohamaru corps busy.
Sasuke and Sakura were never to far behind Naruto and would join him on the river in his exercises. Kakashi would make his appearance soon after and they would do their missions before heading back for team training. Things had gone on like this for quite sometime, but today was different.
Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had all played their parts, but Kakashi had gone against the law that was their routine. He was more than 5 hours late.
Naruto and Sasuke could see the blood start to drain from Sakura's face from the exhaustion she was undoubtedly starting to feel. In an instant, Sasuke was behind her and carrying her back unto the bridge. Despite her blush, she tried to protest.
"I can go on a bit longer Sasuke-kun." she said in a tired voice.
"You will be of no use to the team if you are completely exhausted Sakura. I admire your determination, but we all need a break. Even Naruto, the chakra powerhouse is taking a break." Sasuke said as Sakura looked back and saw Naruto walking behind them with his hands behind his head and face looking up to the sky.
An audible growl then erupted from Naruto's throat. "I hope he has a good reason to be late because this is bordering on insane."
Sakura and Sasuke nodded in confirmation. Sasuke put Sakura down on the bridge and Naruto could have sworn he saw both of them a little reluctant to part ways. He passed it off as his mind playing games with him. He didn't have time to dwell on it as he sensed a rapidly approaching presence.
They all drew kunai as they felt a presence on the bridge with them. Spinning lightly, the threw the kunai together. They immediately took up fighting stances after they heard their kunai deflected.
Standing in front of them, was a tall grass-nin. Sasuke immediately activated his Sharingan. Sakura who was standing behind the two boys performed a few hand seals and disappeared without a trace. Naruto just stood in place, eyes narrowed in confusion. The intruder ignored that detail for the more pressing one's like Sakura's current location.
'They mobilize quickly. Impressive. As I thought, two of them have abilites that make them unique, and the last one is just dragging them down. The girl is my main problem right now though.' the intruder thought.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Sasuke asked in a menacing tone.
"Feisty aren't you. Well, who I am is unimportant because you will all die here today. What I want is the downfall of the leaf village. I have been going around infiltrating this pathetic village and killing all the people I see. You all just happened to be next." The intruder said before he sidestepped to the left and a kunai gash appeared on the bridge floor.
Wanting to put the girl out of commission and make his mission easier, the grass-nin attempted to kick her in the head but was stopped by Sasuke's forearm. Noticing the counterattack that Sasuke was pulling, the shinobi jumped back and put some distance himself and the other two. A strange noise assaulted all their ears in that single second. Naruto had sat down on the floor of the bridge. Everyone took a second to stare at him and Sakura was so shocked she dropped the genjutsu.
"Do you want to stop playing and tell us what this is about or do we have to treat you as a real traitor and beat you?' Naruto asked with an expressionless face.
"Naruto, what are you talking about?" Sasuke asked.
"Its Iruka-sensei. I know his scent anywhere." Naruto said in a calm voice.
Clapping was heard from the other side of the bridge and three kunai made their way in that direction. Again, metal blocked metal and the gennin relaxed when they realized that it was Kakashi-sensei. A poof of smoke behind them made them turn and face Iruka.
"Well, I guess they pass Iruka. Now can I reclaim all rights to make decisions for these children without your interference?" Kakashi asked in a sarcastic tone.
"Hai, Kakashi-san." Iruka said dejectedly.
"Ano, what are you talking about?" All three gennin asked at the same time.
Kakashi turned towards them and eye smiled. "I just nominated you guys for the upcoming chuunin exams. Sign these forms" Kakashi said as he held out 3 forms.
No sooner had he spoken, that two of the letters were in his other hand. Looking down at them, he realized that they were already signed.
"Eager, aren't you?" Kakashi said as a sweat drop formed at the back of his head.
Sakura calmly walked up to her sensei and collected the last available form and signed it before handing it back.
"So, I guess you all are excited about this. Come to room 301 at 9a.m. in a weeks time. We will not be doing any missions or training during that time. I do expect you all to practice a bit in my absence, but don't go overboard and get yourselves injured before the due day. Ja ne" Kakashi said before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
Naruto smiled as he looked at Sasuke.
"Got it." Sasuke said as his two tomoe sharingan swirled.
Sakura pointedly ignored the two boys and their obsession with cool ninjutsu.
'Worst part is that I had to get stuck with a teacher who has so many ninjutsu, that he could make Naruto and Sasuke-kun his minions. Whatever.' Sakura thought as she faced the academy teacher who was looking at the group with a sorrowful expression on his face. "Ano Iruka-sensei, What's wrong?"
Iruka seemed startled by her voice, but hid it before the boys started paying attention.
"I…I am not sure. I guess I still see you guys as my precious students, and my mind is telling me to protect you all from the dangers of the world. Mostly by stopping you from taking this chuunin exam. I mean no disrespect to your worth as capable shinobi, but I don't think you are ready. I know this test proved it, but there will be far worse people in that examination, and they will not hold back. It's not too late, and there will always be next year Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura." Iruka said with a hopeful smile.
Surprisingly, it was Sakura who stepped forward.
"Arigatou sensei, but we have earned the right to take these exams. If there is a stronger opponent in the exam, then we will fight and train until we can be stronger than him or her. We cannot grow from the sidelines and I refuse to be held back, or hold my teammates back. We all have big goals and we are going to need all the experience we can get." Sakura said with conviction.
Iruka looked like he might object, but the confidence radiating from the three young shinobi made him withdraw.
"Then I ask that you be safe, and maybe I can treat you all to ramen when this is over." There were two disappointed frowns and one enthusiastic shout from the team. "Well then, make me proud. Ja ne"
A puff of smoke later and he had disappeared.
Team 7 was walking down the street of a relatively deserted street, hoping to find a restaurant the could eat at before going to train. The two non-ramen loving people on the team had expressly forbidden ramen before training and that was the cause of the last members solemn mood.
'Someday, they will see the light and reasons why ramen is the greatest….. Huh? Who owns this presence I am sensing? I see…. Sasuke and Sakura noticed it as well. There are also several useful distractions and diversions on the way. This could work in our favor, and we could get some information on a possible chuunin candidate.'
All of a sudden, Naruto stopped and his teammates looked at him quizzically.
"You can come out now Konohamaru. Rocks don't have eye holes, they are not perfectly square, they don't move around constantly, and they don't whisper." Naruto said as Sasuke and Sakura rolled their eyes. They caught onto the discreet hand gestures he was making and understood his makeshift plan for this situation.
"Ah leader. Your skills have not dulled a bit." A voice said as the rock exploded. There were several coughs and angered insults passed around before the smoke cleared. Then Konohamaru corps while most people ignored them.
"Naruto-nissan, come play ninja with us." the three children said in unison.
"Gomen, I can't play with you right now. I have to go train with my team." Naruto said as he was about to walk away. 'They are definitely not going to let me go without a fight. Gah….the person who was watching us just left. Sasuke may have to follow.'
"Moegi, do it" Konohamaru said.
Naruto who was curious turned around with the rest of his team, only to see Moegi doing the best puppy dog eye imitation ever. Naruto's head dropped and he sighed.
"Alright, only for a few minutes." Naruto said.
"YAY." the three children shouted as they started hopping around the gennin.
"I am not playing ninja." Sasuke said in an emotionless tone. "I will see you guys at the usual training field he said as he jumped unto the nearest building and started running.
Everyone else looked to Sakura, and she shrugged indicating that she would stay and watch.
The three children then looked at Naruto for a sign that said they could start.
"Go whenever you are ready." he said.
Konohamaru corps all sped in the same direction, hoping to use their already growing teamwork against Naruto. They were stopped when Konohamaru bumped into someone.
Naruto and Sakura who knew the possible danger that could be lurking around ran into the open where they could see properly. Konohamaru had just run straight into a relatively tall guy who wore a pajama like suit and face paint. Naruto and Sakura also took note of the headbands and other details.
'Sand-nin of only gennin rank probably. They are strong, but pale in comparison to the power I sesnsed from the person earlier. Good, Sasuke is still here and can back us up if need be.' Naruto thought.
"Brat. Why don't you watch where you are going?" The man with the face paint said as he picked Konohamaru up by his shirt and scarf.
"Gomen, I didn't mean to run into you." Konohamaru said as he stared into the shinobi's scary face. Udon and Moegi scrambled back to Sakura's side.
"Not as sorry as your going to be." the man responded.
"Put him down Kankuro. We don't want to start any trouble." the girl behind the newly introduced Kankuro said.
"No Temari. I am only going show this kid what it means to respect his betters and not run into them. Besides, I hate short brats." Kankuro said while grinning widely and raising his fist.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Naruto said as he eyed Kankuro and Temari. The two in question looked at him while stopping all movement.
"Why is that punk. Are you going to come and save him?" Kankuro mocked.
Naruto shook his head in the negative. "That would be unnecessary. It is just bad politics to hit a child from a different shinobi village in these times of peace. But." Naruto said while Temari and Kankuro leaned closer to here him "I can assure you, that if we were to use force, it wouldn't end well for you."
Now, Temari and Kankuro were amused.
"How could a short weakling like you and your equally weak comrade defeat us if we have a hostage?"
"Who said anything about defeating you?" Naruto said with a smile on his face. The next words he spoke shocked everyone excluding Sakura. "And who said you had a hostage?"
It was a normal statement, but the normal Naruto had not said it. In fact, he had just smiled with an amused expression on his face. Behind the amused Naruto, stood a relatively unharmed Konohamaru.
Kankuro and hurriedly dropped whoever was in his grip and backpedaled. When he had put enough distance, he looked up to see another grinning Naruto.
"Kuso, I can't be out witted by some short brat." Kankuro said as he reached behind him and started removing the wrapped bundle.
"As I said, that is unnecessary." Naruto said. "Or else, my comrade on that tree above you will be forced to take action."
Kankuro stopped in his tracks as he slowly looked up and saw Sasuke sitting down on a branch with a smirk on his face. The smirk died down in a second as he flipped onto the branch and faced the branch next to him, were a red headed boy had appeared.
'Impossible, I didn't even sense him until he was basically next to me.' Sasuke thought as he looked down and saw Naruto's equally shocked face. 'Naruto didn't notice as well, so that means that this guy is very good. He is at least Kakashi-sensei level sneaky and he is still a gennin. We will have to be careful these exams.'
"G-Garra." Kankuro said as he started shaking in fear.
'What's with him? Aren't they from the same village?' Were the questions of the three gennin.
"Kankuro. If you ever disgrace me again, I will kill you." Garra said in the calm and collected voice.
All the people present were shocked by the declaration and were equally shocked when the boy re-appeared on the ground with sand as his cover.
"I-It wasn't my fault Garra. These brats ran …." Kankuro began before he felt Garra's killing intent rise.
"I do not care. Just stay out of trouble and I may just spare your life." Garra said as he turned to Naruto and Sasuke who had just landed on the ground. "I am interested in you two. What are your names?"
"It's polite to give your name before you ask for someone else's name." Naruto said.
"Sabaku no Garra" Garra said without hesitation.
"Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura of Konoha's team 7." Sasuke said in an uncaring voice.
"I do not care about the girl." Garra said as he started walking away.
Sakura looked murderous that he would put her off like that, but Naruto beat her to the punch.
"You ask about one of us, then you ask about all of us. We are a team, and we are also interested in your teammates." Naruto said.
Garra stopped and turned his head toward the other team. "They are useless, but I don't care…..I live only for myself." he said. He continued walking down the road with Kankuro hot on his heels.
Temari turned and spoke. "Sabaku no Temari and Sabaku no Kankuro are our names. Nice to meet you." she said before chasing after her brothers.
After several moments of silence, Sasuke looked at Naruto and Sakura as they ushered the frightened children away.
"With a team as strong as that, with individuals as strong as that, this chuunin exam is bound to be fun." Sasuke said with a small smile. "I can't wait."
Naruto and Sakura nodded in the affirmative.
This chuunin exam was definitely going to be fun.
Fin.
I hope you all liked it.
Ja ne.
the 6th fire shadow.