AN:
Sorry for the delay for this chapter, I forgot to post it! XD here it is and the next one will be posted sooner.
Special thanks to both Monkey for the latest review, and jjcoop95 for reviewing again and sticking to the story since the beginning. Thank you all for helping me reach 25K words, and the near 2000 views for this story. I hope you enjoy: The Way of Heroes!
If anyone is curious about Tier Levels in this series, I will likely have it explained in my Profile by next week.
I am also going to have a description of the Naruto Opening with the One Piece characters added into it. By the end of May, I'd like to write the episodes that I skipped over(Konohamaru's Episode, the Bell Test etc.).
The Way of Heroes
A2 E4/6 The Forest of Chakra. I Fought the Law!
I think I over did it with my Sharingan. The Killer's Haki didn't help either... Kakashi thought, waking up. He didn't move, his entire body was enveloped with a thick quilt, barring his head, which had a cold rag on it. The Sharingan Ninja moved his single eye, sensing someone else's presence, and he looked just in time to see a tall woman in pink with long dark hair. "Waking up huh? Are you alright Mr. Hatake?"
"I'm feeling much better than I was," Kakashi grunted, trying to get up, but the woman held him down. "If you move, it'll be better. Just lie down," the woman urged, and she whispered, "Your students are worried Mr. Hatake," Kakashi's eye widened slightly, and he corrected, "Call me Kakashi, Mr. Hatake was my father..." The woman nodded, just in time to see Kakashi's genin come into the room, Luffy followed them, a chunk of meat in his teeth was visible as he grinned broadly.
So, Kakashi quickly shook off the odd feeling he got, the same feeling he had gotten for years, every time he was compared to his father. Naruto noticed, "Look, Sensei is coming around." "Kakashi-sensei, I know your Sharingan is a powerful technique and all, but if it takes this much strain out on your body maybe it's not worth it," Sakura said, obviously concerned for her mentor's wellbeing. "Well, he did take down one of the most powerful ninja assassins so we'll be safe for a while," Tazuna explained, but Luffy disagreed, licking his fingers clean of any food he could find, "Actually - (suck) - it was that - uh - - (lick) - Tracker Guy that - (suck) - really took down Zabuza. You guys - (lick) - were barely - (suck) - holding your own against the Sword Guy."
Naruto flinched, still sensitive about the Masked Man's power. The rest ignored the Rubberboy's comment, and Sakura asked, "Wait, what about that Masked Tracker Ninja?" Kakashi answered quietly, "He's from the Elite Tracker Unit of the Village Hidden in the Mist, the masks are only worn by the most elite shinobi." "What do they do besides Track?" Sakura asked, and Kakashi explained, "The ANBU Black Ops are a group of clandestine ninja that perform any task too dangerous for normal ninja. They typically handle espionage, reconnaissance, and assassinations. For a long time, I was an ANBU Captain, but that's another story for another day. A special Mist division of the ANBU Black Ops is the Tracker Unit, which is designed to track and destroy any rogue ninja. They are known as the Inferno Squad, and with good reason, they must destroy all traces of a rogue ninja's corpse, the shinobi's body contains many secrets: ninjutsu, chakra, special medicines; these are the secrets of his Village. If his enemy's find them, his people would be in great danger. For instance, if I were to die at the hands of an enemy, he would try to analyze my Sharingan. Worst case scenario would be my entire Jutsu could be stolen and used against the Leaf and its allies. It's the sacred duty of the Inferno Squad to prevent that from happening. If a ninja betrays his own Village, the trackers must hunt him down and obliterate every trace of their existence, their specialty."
"Right right, mystery ninja with duty, tasks too dangerous, exactly," Luffy summarized, distracted as he picked his teeth looking for scraps of his pink meat. The woman in pink asked, "Where did you find meat Luffy?" "I was having a staring contest with a fish, and he lost, so I ate him," Luffy said, grinning. "Where did you find the fish?" The woman asked urgently, and the Rubberboy explained, "By the water outside the docks, where else would I find a fish?" "That's the neighbor's fish farm! We'll have to pay for it now..." She grabbed Luffy's ear, dragging him out of the room.
Kakashi was thinking, so he didn't see the situation unfold. His mind was elsewhere. Sakura elbowed him, saying, "Sorry about that Mr. Tazuna, we'll pay for the fish. Right Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi nodded, "Oh yeah, right of course Naruto." "Sakura said that," Sasuke pointed out, and Kakashi shook his head, "Yeah, right sorry." Sakura blushed; Sasuke was paying attention to me! Score one for love!
The Way of Heroes
"First I'll cut the bandage and drain some of the blood," the Masked Tracker said as he leaned over Zabuza's body, pulling out a pair of green scissors from a medical kit. Blowing a braid of his long hair out of his face, he got ready with surgical precision. Suddenly, a tanned hand gripped his wrist, and large bloodshot eyes opened up from within Zabuza's hard skull. He growled angrily, "That's enough. I'll do it."
The Assassin pulled down one of his bandages from around his mouth, revealing a row of sharp teeth. "You've already come back to life," the Masked Ninja noted, and Zabuza grunted, "Gee thanks for the memo Haku." He yanked out one of the senbon, "Damn it, you're brutal..." He stared at the Masked Ninja wearily, and the boy calmly replied, "You're the one who's brutal Zabuza. If you keep pulling them out like that, you really will be dead."
He threw the remaining needle down, "I wouldn't have to pull them out so hard if you hadn't used your Armament Power* Haku. Is that idiot Akame dead yet?" Haku answered, "He was knocked out when I brought you to him, he helped me carry you, and he's somewhere else in the forest." Zabuza looked around for the first time, "Why are we in the Forest Haku?" "I haven't gotten you back to the hide out yet, I had to stop to find and prepare food for Akame," Haku reported diligently, and Zabuza nodded, "Don't worry Haku, we won't have to serve Gato and his thugs for much longer. Maybe we should kill the Glass Freak now -"
"No. You're not back to full strength yet, and besides, then we wouldn't get paid," Haku stopped, and Zabuza grabbed at his mask, "Take off this stupid thing, phony ninja." Haku bent backwards, and shoved the Demon's hand back, taking it off and saying, "You and I both know that I am no more a phony ninja than those three genin are. And I was trained by the best."
"Shut up Haku, and take off the stupid mask," Zabuza repeated his order, and his disguised subordinate complied, removing the obscuring fake. "It was quite useful for tricking that jounin," Haku said, revealing very feminine features, and dark brown, trickster eyes. A Mist ninja headband covered his forehead, and he smiled at his master, "If I hadn't intervened Sensei, you'd be dead now. That much is certain, killed by some ninja from the Leaf."
"That wasn't just some Leaf ninja Haku. That was a squad lead by Kakashi of the Sharingan."
"If that truly was the Killer, Sharingan Kakashi, you'd have been dead hours before I would've had the chance to stop him from killing you."
"It seemed that I had underestimated how weak Kakashi Hatake would've become. As soon as I saw him, I knew that he had grown considerably weaker."
"But he still beat you, Demon Zabuza."
"I know Haku, but I fell for his cheap tricks, and I got cocky. It won't happen again."
"Good, because I have a feeling that our trickery won't work on Kakashi a second time."
"Haku, shutting down my heart temporarily is fine, but not through the pressure points in my neck. Cruel as usual, I think you enjoy it," Zabuza grunted, covering his vicious jaw back up with his bandages. From behind him, a bald man with crooked teeth asked, "What about being cruel and unusual?" Haku rolled her eyes, and she poked the thug's scarred chest, "When we want to hear you talk, we'll ask you too."
"Jeez, didn't mean to offend anybody. But - uh - you sure are cute when you're mad hot stuff..." He grinned a sleazy, yet still sadistic smile, which Haku kicked off with a high blow. Akame fell to the ground, spitting blood. Haku shouted, "Now get up and carry Zabuza!" As he slowly got back up to his feet, Akame wiped the red off his face, scratching his stitched forehead wondering, "How do you put up with that bitch Zabi?" "The next time you say anything about Haku, I swear I will kill you. And it won't be quick, I'll make sure it's slow and painful, but then again, you'd probably enjoy that."
The Way of Heroes
Kakashi held his head, and thought, If Zabuza is finished, how can I still sense his energy. Something is wrong. It's like I missed something. "Hey are you okay? Sensei?" Naruto asked, and Kakashi replied, "Yeah I'm fine but -" "Well I was wondering, what did the Tracker do to Akame's body? He wasn't from the Hidden Mist Village," the blonde asked, and Kakashi answered, "Nothing. Why would he do anything? They weren't allies of any sort, or really enemies, they likely didn't even know about the other's existence. His corpse is probably still in the forest."
"Stupid, why would Akame have a corpse? He'd have to be dead to have one of those! Hahahaha!" Luffy laughed at the jounin's apparent stupidity. He had just returned from the neighbor's to help apologize with Tazuna's housekeeper/daughter, who Luffy took to calling, 'Bridge Guy's House Lady'. The ninja's eyes widened, and Sasuke asked, "You didn't kill the Assassin Akame?"
"No, why would I do that? I made sure he couldn't complete his dream, so that should be good enough. He won't do anything now, he has no reason to. His dream was to take us down, and he couldn't so he's done."
Kakashi rolled his eye, growling, "Luffy, his dream was to get money for taking us down, he can get money from hurting other people now..." While it was clear the Sharingan Ninja's patience was wearing thin, his eye softened, saying, "Don't worry about it, what's done is done. But now we know that one of Gato's most trusted men is still alive. He'll be back after Tazuna soon." "What were you thinking about earlier Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked perceptively, and her teacher explained, "Well, Tracker Ninja are supposed to dispose of the body immediately on the spot. So there's no room for error."
"Is that really important?" Sakura asked, and Kakashi went on, "Think about it, do you remember what that Tracker did with Zabuza's body?" "We don't know what he did, I mean I guess he took it away somewhere," Sakura answered, but Kakashi continued, "But why? He should've worked on Zabuza right then and there, as quickly as possible. Think of the weapon he used for the takedown. Do you remember what they were?" "Throwing needles," Sasuke recalled, and right then something clicked in the Uchiha's mind.
"None of it adds up," Kakashi said. Tazuna came in, wondering, "What are you all yammering about, you demolished those assassins." Kakashi corrected, "Yes but I believe both are still alive. That's the long and short of it." Naruto denied, "That can't be! We saw his body, believe it!" "But Kakashi-sensei, you said his heart stopped. You checked him yourself." Sakura said, confused.
"His heart did stop, but, that was just a temporary state to simulate death. The weapons that tracker used are called senbon. They usually go pretty deep, but are rarely fatal unless they hit any vital organs, nowhere near where the Tracker hit. They're modified from tools used by medical ninja and doctors, for techniques like acupuncture. Trackers are trained to know every detail of the human body, causing the heart to stop while keeping the body alive would be simple with that kind of advanced medical training. First he carried Zabuza's body away, even though it's much heavier than he is. Second, he used senbon which have a precise affect, but are rarely fatal. From these two factors, we can determine that that Ninja wasn't trying to kill Zabuza, but he was actually trying to save him," Kakashi concluded, and Tazuna argued, "Aren't you over thinking this Kakashi?"
"When encountering suspicion, a ninja must act quickly. Hesitation leads to disaster. Every shinobi must take this to heart. I would think the Blue Government would teach you marines more practical stuff, but what do I know," Kakashi said, and he began to sit up to look Naruto in the eyes, as the blonde seemed to be on to something. But, the Fox Ninja was only shaking with excitement, and Kakashi determined, He's actually pleased to see Zabuza's alive. He wants another shot at him.
"We'll have to prepare quickly, that Tracker may have been on Zabuza's side, but I believe he was even stronger than Zabuza. His senbon went clean through Zabuza's neck, and one even shot through the other side and hit the ground. There are a few explanations, but I doubt that that boy could produce enough strength to threw it through Zabuza, while still being as precise as he was. He's got power beyond the physical realm, special chakra power by the looks of it," Kakashi added, and Sakura asked, "But Kakashi-sensei, how can when prepare quickly when you can't even walk?"
Kakashi chuckled, "Hahaha, I can still train you." "Wait! A little last minute training won't make us strong enough to take on Zabuza, you've got years of experience and you were just a match for him. We're genin, rookie ninja with the basics down," Sakura argued, but Luffy laughed, "If you're too scared to fight, maybe you should rethink why you became a ninja! Hahaha!" Sakura sighed, freezing for a moment. Maybe Luffy's right... That idiot! Who does he think he is? He doesn't know the first thing about Sakura Haruno!
"Sakura, why was I able to stop Zabuza? Because, you all helped me. You've all grown so much," Kakashi commended, and he smiled and looked at the Fox Ninja. "Naruto, you've grown the most," Kakashi added, and said genin beamed with pride. Sakura nodded in agreement with the Sharingan Captain, He does seem stronger. More confident, but... Is he strong enough? Can we all grow enough to face that - that - Demon? Naruto shouted, "Haha! I knew it! I'm gonna be strong enough to take on Gato and his thugs! Believe it!"
From behind them, a young child screeched, "I don't believe it! Nothing's going to get better! You all are just being stupid!" All the ninja and the Rubberboy turned to face the boy, who wore a white and blue fisherman's hat and green overalls over a white shirt. His dark hair and eyes looked disheveled, and tired beyond his few years. They were tired of hope, and that was something no one should be.
Naruto screamed, "Who is this guy?" Tazuna got down onto his knees cheerily going down to match the boy's height and he asked with jubilee, "Aw Inari! Where have you been?" The old man seemed to have missed Inari's somber speech. Inari ran up and hugged the Bridge Builder bellowing, "Welcome back Grandpa!" It seemed the young boy had forgotten his sadness as well.
Tazuna grinned, "Everyone, this is Inari! My grandson. I hope you can be friends with him Luffy, even if he is smarter than you! Hahahaha," the old man bellowed good-naturedly, but the pirate had a seriousness in his eyes the ninja hadn't really seen before. The woman in pink scolded Inari, "That was very rude! These ninja helped your grandpa stay safe, and they're going to help him with his bridge. You should apologize!"
"It's okay, I'm rude to them too," Tazuna laughed, patting his grandson's head. Inari climbed off the old man's lap, and looked up at his mom explaining, "But Mom these people are gonna die! Gato and his men will come back and wipe them out! They don't stand a chance here!" Naruto jumped up, angry at the kid's words, "What did you say brat?"
"Listen up! You know what a super ninja is? Well that's me, only a lot better. I'm gonna be Hokage. This Gato or Blato or whatever his name is will be no match for me, Naruto UZUMAKI," said ninja exclaimed matter-of-factly, and he held his fist up for emphasis. "I'm a hero, and that guy doesn't stand a chance!" Naruto yelled, punching the air in excitement. Inari looked down, sighing, "There's no such thing as a hero. You're just full of stupid ideas!"
Naruto got up, and charged the boy, only being stopped by Sakura grappling him into a Full Nelson. Inari turned, adding, "If you want to stay alive, you'd better go back to where you came from." The Bridge Builder watched his grandson leave, asking, "Inari, where are you going?" Sasuke watched the boy pause and answer, "To look out at the ocean," and leave the room soundly. Luffy watched the floor boards beneath the boy's foot creak as he left.
Sitting down, Naruto still wasn't calm. "Sorry about that, Inari isn't used to people not from around here," Tazuna apologized. Luffy murmured, "No. He's just not used to people standing up to bad guys."
Naruto walked up the stairs, grumbling to himself, "Who does that brat think he is anyway? I'm gonna put him in his place right now!" Hearing a strange muffled noise, Naruto looked through a crack in a door, and saw as Inari was in a ball, hovering over something on his bed, sobbing his eyes out. The boy shook, furiously tearing up all over what looked like a picture. Naruto couldn't make it out though, but he had a good guess of what the picture was of. Inari choked, "No Daddy no! Don't do it! You can't be a hero!" His shoulders shook up and down as his breathing came in harsh gusts only to be choked out by his sobbing. The blonde watcher looked down at the ground in understanding, leaving the boy alone with his sorrow.
The Way of Heroes
The Straw Hat grinned, merrily walking down the wooden planked path of the docks with a fishing pole slung over his shoulder, a small, oddly green splotched fish-creature flopped on the dock, being hit by Luffy's sandaled feet as the young boy walked across the wood. With a shining sun overhead, Luffy hummed a cheery tune as he remembered wrestling with the Sea Calf on the edge of the docks that he had been fishing at recently. The Sea Calf was about the size of an average fish, slightly thicker, with dark green splotches over white scales, and a bovine-like snout.
Marching his haul around like a proud champion, Luffy scampered down the docks to where he remembered Tazuna's house was. Showing it off beaming, the Sea Calf was apparently dead from lack of oxygen. Now the carcass glistened in the sun with green scales. It was soon that Luffy's cheers and shouts would attract attention, and to some, it would've been the worst way.
Out of a shadowy alley between two quiet shops, a man in a tattered and torn sleeveless version of a Marine Uniform walked in front of Luffy, bumping into him roughly. The man was tanned, clearly used to work, and had a 'Marine' tattoo of an anchor on his muscled right shoulder, while the entirety of his other arm was covered in white silk ribbon, in a way similar to arm wraps used by prize fighters. The man's face was an odd six-sided ordeal, with a dark mustache over his upper lip, and a huge set of knuckles on his exposed right hand. A white and blue Marine hat over his head showed that he was in fact a Warrant Officer, and on the collar of his jacket said 'Rokkaku, Hexagon, Gastone'.
He shouted, pointing his bandaged fingers at Luffy, "You! You don't have the proper papers to fish here in the Land of Waves do you?" Luffy scratched his head, "Why would I need papers for fishing if I'm a pirate?" The Officer twitched at the boy's apparent ignorance of the world, but he went on, pulling a piece of paper out of his pants pocket which he read, "Mr. Monkey D. Luffy I take it? Gato would like to personally punish you for disturbing the peace. I am the law here in Wave Country, so I will be enforcing this warrant with all of my power." He cracked his large knuckles for emphasis.
"I don't want to see Gato yet. I want to cook this fish and eat it!" Luffy stated matter-of-factly, and loudly, loud enough for several miserably poor looking villagers to nervously creep into the street watching the confrontation. One whispered, "That's that bastard Gastone, he could have used his Hexagon Fighting Style to at least try to fight against Gato's thugs." "I heard at the Blue World Marine Training Embassy in the Land of Fire, they called him Gastone of the Silky Hook, because of his techniques." Another added, but Luffy ignored this, the man's past wasn't important it was his present that he had an issue with.
Luffy set his pole to the ground, sensing that this man was beyond words, and that he was the enemy, so words would be wasted anyway. Not that Luffy minded busting a few heads, or in this case just a cowardly and corrupt Marine. The Navy abandoned this place, they don't have anyone to fight for them. They need someone to inspire them, not some pirate like me, but I'm all they've got at the moment.
Luffy got into a fighting stance, but just as the Pirate locked eyes with his target, the Marine was in the air, doing a high altitude flip through the air, and his left arm's silk ribbon became untwined of his arm, and it was shot at Luffy like a fierce smooth eel. The white cloth quickly wrapped around Luffy's arm, and he was yanked toward the Marine, who slammed his large fist into Luffy's head as he came crashing down. "That was his Silky Hook!" A bystander said, flinching as Luffy's head was smashed into the wooden docks, splintering several planks he slammed through.
Gastone grinned, walking towards his prey and twirling his ribbon again, only to be kicked by a sweep of the leg by Luffy, knocking Gastone onto his butt. The Marine wasn't done, as he quickly recovered and shot the silk around Luffy's rubber neck, and pulled the noose tout, preparing to strange the boy. Desperate, Luffy narrowly snatched his fallen fish rod, and noticed it was Sea Calf-less, and he whipped the hook around, then slashed Gastone's hard face down from just below the eye all the way to the lip, and the Navy Man held his face where it had been deeply cut.
The Marine howled in pain, rolling on the docks, and Luffy got back up to his feet. Gastone whimpered a threat, "I am a master of the Hexagon style of combat, able to take on six opponents at once, I won't lose to some snot nosed wannabe pirate like you. You aren't even a real pirate, you don't deserve to defeat the likes of Gato or even me!" Gastone shot up, slamming Luffy's chin with a one handed uppercut, then wrapping his silk around him again, then whipping him into a one armed clothesline. Luffy was on the ground, and the marine started twirling his ribbon like a vicious chain, and he twirled it in front of him, on either side, above him, and behind him, "This is the power of the Hexagon Dojo! Not even six fake pirates could defeat this technique, let alone a fraud like you! Pirates aren't the good guys, they don't beat the law, and power is the law!"
Gastone watched as Luffy shakily got up, and prepared an attack, now serious. He ran at Gastone, who suddenly became terrified, like a cornered animal, and like a cornered animal he barred his fangs. He wildly prepared to either strike at Luffy's fist that was bound to be coming, or catch it with his huge mallet-sized hand, and he yelled, only for Luffy to scream in reply, "Gum Gum – GATLING GUN!" A huge barrage of powerful and wild punches sprayed onto Gastone, who took each one. Only after a few moments did the volley stop, and Luffy sighed as he looked at Gastone's knocked out and bleeding form, "I'm no fraud. I don't care about the law, I just want to do what I want, and I hate when people take away people's ability to do what they want. You're no Marine, but I am a Pirate. You abandoned your beliefs like they were nothing. That's why you lost, you might be able to beat six fake pirates with your Hexagon Defense, but I'm no fake, I'm the real deal."
Luffy shouted to the now cheering onlookers, "I'M MONKEY D. LUFFY AND I'M GONNA BE KING OF THE PIRATES!"
The Way of Heroes
"Alright, training starts now," Kakashi said, eying his genin for their predictable reactions. In the gentle calm of the green forest all around them, Naruto excitedly shouted, "Right! I'm ready Sensei!" Sakura antsily looked at her feet, definitely not ready in her mind, but she never thought she was. Sasuke calmly observed Kakashi's every move. Sakura was much more subtle about her observations, but she was just as studious about making them, while Naruto didn't seem too concerned about the world around him.
Kakashi explained, "Chakra is your power. This is Chakra training. Understanding Chakra is essential to a ninja's life and missions." Yawning, Sasuke interrupted, "We know that already Kakashi." "He's right Sensei, a long time ago we learned about - uh - catchra at the Academy," Naruto added, and Kakashi sagged his head in disappointment, "Chakra Naruto, Chakra. Go ahead Sakura."
Sakura nodded and expanded on Kakashi's teachings, "Chakra is the elemental life energy a ninja uses in his jutsu. It's the source of all his power. Now this energy has two forms: Physical Energy which is in all the cells of the body all working together - you could think of this as Stamina or Endurance - and Spiritual Energy, the primary source of power which can be enhanced through training and experience. These two types of Chakra must be brought out together in order to perform jutsu. The key to performing jutsu is the balance and interplay between Physical and Spiritual Energy. While hand signs focus and release the Chakra from within the body to the outside world. Now there are 7 different types of ninjutsu which -"
"Right on all points Sakura," Kakashi interrupted, "Iruka truly did have some bright students. But today is not the day to worry about the types of ninjutsu." The blonde complained, "UGH! What's the deal with all these complicated explanations? Whaddya mean types of ninjutsu anyway?" Kakashi nodded, saying, "That's the point of the complicated explanations. Naruto you're the one who needs the explanations." "Well I don't care about learning about it; we just gotta do the jutsu!" Naruto said, and Sasuke agreed, "Naruto's right for once. We're already putting Chakra into our jutsu."
Kakashi shot down, "You may be putting Chakra into jutsu, but you've not mastered Chakra in the least bit. You've barely scratched the surface." "Whaddya mean?" Naruto asked, and Kakashi soothed, "Calm down and listen, it's just like Sakura said, you have to draw on Spiritual and Physical energies, and then combine them within yourself. But, how do you do that?" Kakashi looked around, as if searching for the answer in his confused students' faces. He didn't find it, so he answered his own question, "Each jutsu requires different types of Chakra in different proportion in precisely the right way. Up until now, each time you've just guessed at the amount of Chakra. Even if you use a large amount of chakra, if you can't get the proportions right, it's all worthless! The jutsu won't work at all, or it'll just be a joke."
The blonde remembered his failures at the Clone Jutsu, recalling the feeble duplicate's disgraceful form. "You waste so much energy that way, then you're out of Chakra and you can't fight at all. You'd just be another target on the battlefield," Kakashi said, looking right at Naruto, who nervously chuckled, "So how do you change that Sensei?" "Train so hard that Chakra Control becomes second nature. To achieve this goal you must be ready to put your life on the line," Kakashi pointed out darkly.
Sakura seemed the most anxious, she murmured, "What do we have to do Kakashi-sensei?" The jounin laughed, "Climb a tree." He pointed to a tall brown Maple, breathing in the life all around the group. All the genin were shocked, "Climb a tree?" Naruto asked, and Kakashi confirmed, "That's right. There's just one rule: no hands." Eyes going wide, Sakura asked, "Are you kidding?" Sasuke's mouth dropped, recalling a tall dark haired boy with red Sharingan eyes running up a tree, smiling and whispering, "Someday Sasuke..."
He shook off the memory, watching his mentor create a hand sign, and a line of dust formed in front of the ninja's feet, and Kakashi started crutching over to the nearest tree. He put one leg on the wood, then climbed up, crutching up the vertical log with no more skill than it took to walk along the ground. "He's climbing!" Naruto said, and Sakura gaped, "Straight up! He's only using his feet!"
Kakashi walked off onto a large branch, now going completely upside down, and he said, "Well you guys get the idea. You must focus the chakra to the soles of your feet and use it to connect you to the tree. This is one way ninja use the power of Chakra." As his gray hair fell down, the jounin looked like he wore a silver porcupine on his head as he comically gave his students a thumbs-up. "Wait a minute, that's a nice trick and all but how is it supposed to help Zabuza?" Sakura asked challengingly.
"It's the only way to fight him Sakura, that's the entire goal of this training," Kakashi explained, "First you'll learn to draw a precise amount of chakra to a specific area of the body - in this case the feet - this can be difficult for shinobi. This type of climbing requires a subtle mix of Physical and Spiritual Energy. The soles of the feet are the most difficult areas to get Chakra to. You getting the picture? This is the first step in mastering a jutsu, so if you can master this, you can use the same technique to master any jutsu. Theoretically anyway." He paused to see if they were still paying attention, and went on, "The second point is to maintain the Chakra. When a ninja is focused in battle, he can lose control of the amount of Chakra he uses, a deadly mistake. To avoid this, maintaining Chakra must become second nature, effortless. Well I can talk about this all day, but that won't increase your skills at all will it? You need to apply your knowledge now, and improve, through training."
He threw a trio of kunai at his students' feet, hitting the mark of an inch from their exposed toes. Kakashi smiled, explaining, "You must use the kunai knife to mark where you can climb, without using your hands. Then you try to get past that mark the next time, and the next. At first you'll have to run at the tree so your momentum can take you as high as possible, until you get used to it. Ready? You must reach the top of the tree, and whoever can first, gets a special prize." "I'm more than ready!" Naruto called out, grabbing the knife out of the ground aggressively. Sasuke rolled his eyes, A stupid prize? The training itself is the prize. I don't need some kindergarten bribery.
Naruto pointed, "Remember what you said Sensei! I'm the one who's grown the most! I'm gonna go all the way!" Kakashi jabbed, "You're definitely the one who's talked the most. Now get focused and do it!" Naruto sheepishly thought, You did say that Kakashi-sensei. He made a quick hand sign, and got into a stance. First I need to draw the Chakra to the bottoms of my feet. The blonde focused, then remembered, I must've used too much Chakra during the Exams, so I gotta use less now! Yeah believe it!
Energy crackled on the ground by the genin's feet, and they all ran towards separate trees. Naruto started at a quick walking pace, and jumped onto the tree, getting up two steps from where he landed before tumbling down, hitting his head on the exposed roots. Painfully, he rubbed his head and groaned. Sasuke had followed suit, jumping the same way, albeit further up the tree than Naruto, his foot smashed into the wood, crunching it beneath his feet and pushing through it, and he was powerfully shoved back by immense force. The Uchiha however was fast enough to scratch a line into the tree with his kunai before falling backwards. Unlike Naruto, the brunette managed to land on his feet.
This is harder than I thought, Sasuke considered, If you use too much Chakra, you end up smashing the wood and flying back... But use too little and you end up looking like Naruto. He watched the Fox Ninja roll around in pain, holding his head. Kakashi remained in his upside-down position, watching his male students' progress, or lack thereof. That's about what I expected from Sasuke, and Naruto, Kakashi thought, not surprised by the failures.
However, he was a good deal surprised when he heard the kunoichi of Squad 7 say, "Hey this is fun!" All the male ninja looked, seeing Sakura Haruno's crimson clothes far above them, at the very top of her chosen tree! She was so far above them, only Kakashi was able to make out her face. "Well, looks like we've got a winner! Sakura's got the most Chakra Control. Well done Sakura," Kakashi commended, and Sakura blushed.
Naruto cheered, "Nice job Sakura! I always knew you were awesome! Believe it!" It does sort of tick me off though. Sasuke looked away, "Whatever," He whispered sullenly, much to Sakura's chagrin; I thought Sasuke would be impressed! Now he's mad at me! Why's it always like that? "Not only does Sakura understand Chakra, but she can also control and maintain it as well," Kakashi commented, "We spoke about someone becoming Hokage one day, defending the land from scourges like Great Pirate King Luffy! Seems Sakura has the best chance of that wouldn't you say? As for the great Uchiha Clan, they are only as great as their weakest member, so maybe they aren't that great after all."
Angry, Sakura yelled, "Shut up Sensei you talk too much!" Sasuke's gonna hate me now! Sakura's face burned with embarrassment, ears and cheeks scarlet. Sasuke and Naruto locked eyes, staring at each other, both clearly as steamed by the Sharingan Ninja's words as much as Sakura had been. Looks like they're motivated. Of course both Naruto and Sasuke both have far more Chakra within than Sakura, so this training could exponentially increase their power as ninja.
Naruto screeched, "Alright! First I'll match Sasuke, then I'll go all the way to the top! Believe it!" On the edge of the clearing where their training session was going on, Inari poked his head from around the tree muttering, "What a waste of time. They don't know what they're up against." He clenched his fist in frustration.
Kakashi noticed their visitor, but the genin did not. He looked at the back of the kid's head as he trudged away sadly, and the jounin scratched his hair, smirking, That kid doesn't know what a true ninja is. These genin, they have what it takes to be real, powerful shinobi if they work hard. Sakura might seem like the least imposing on paper in terms of potentiality, she could be a great ninja someday. But Inari is right, they have no idea what they're up against.
The Way of Heroes
In a darker, shady part of the wood, a large elaborate set-up with few lights showing through the several windows heard the sound of a dark grim, gravelly voice grunting, "The Demon of the Mist, whipped and crawling back home like some pathetic has-been. Couldn't even crawl, had to get carried by one of my boys."
The short Gato snorted in disgust, his cold eyes hidden by black sunglasses. Standing on either side of him, were two swordsman, each with a Katanna on their sides. One wore a black eye patch, with a stitched scar just above his eye, and a tattoo on each arm, bare-chested with a purple sash tied around dark pants like a belt. On Gato's right was a gray haired man with blue markings beneath his eyes, making him look almost reptilian; this same man had a purple stocking cap and a blue sweatshirt with brown pants. Both he and his opposite had stoic looks on their faces, while behind Gato with his arms folded, Akame grinned with manic pleasure, barring his crooked and translucent fangs. Having been given a new suit, the Gassha Gassha Fruit Eater flexed as he admired the fine black material, and straightened his black tie over the red silk shirt.
"You coward! You were forced into hiding while my boy Akame saved your worthless hide!" Gato scolded, while Zabuza was lying in bed, taking the verbal abuse without so much as flinching. Blue blankets were wrapped around the Demon, and Haku sat on a cheap stool at his bed side.
The boy stood up at the gangster's insults, and he commented without turning his back, "Drawing your swords?" Swordsmen ignoring the servant's odd comment, they started to pull their respective curved blades out. Both were ready for a fight, with Akame getting giddy as they tensed up. The swordsmen relaxed slightly as Gato stopped them, "Hang on a minute."
Gato walked over to Zabuza's side, beginning to reach over to Zabuza's face. "Alright, let's hear what you have to say about this fiasco. And don't play possum I know you can talk." Stopping abruptly just inches from the Demon's face, the hand shook with pain as a strong arm gripped its wrist. With a crunch, Gato's angry face melted into tears of pain. "Keep your filthy hands off of him," Haku warned, tossing the hand away after he heard a resounding snap.
Both swordsmen flew into action, unsheathing their swords in unison. However, in one instant Haku turned around, and the next, both swords were jammed back into their hilts and held there by Haku's hands, and the boy said nothing, merely taking in the shock of the swordsmen. The man in the hat's eyes rolled back into his head, and he passed out from shock, Impossible... While the one to Haku's left had his mouth dropped wide open, remembering something painful. He gingerly touched the long stitches across his left arm with his right hand, tracing the long path with his fingers. Only one man could move that fast. Took down me and Qi in one swoop. This kid could have killed us...
Haku's eyes burned with anger as Akame laughed, enjoying the show. "Don't push me, I'm in a really foul mood," the false tracker said, and the standing swordsman helped the other to his feet. Akame applauded, "Good job! You should've killed Yu and Qi though..." All of a sudden, the Mist Ninja appeared in front of Akame, who grinned maliciously. Haku pressed himself against the man's suited chest, a kunai knife to his neck, "When you die, it will be so painful you'll wish it had all ended here and now," Haku promised, and Akame laughed, "I'll hold you to that! HAHAHA!"
Defeated, Gato yelled, "One more chance! If you fail this time, I'm cuttin' you off! There will be no one left to cover for you!" He motioned for his boys to follow him, and Haku let him brush by, holding his now broken wrist angrily, "Let's go."
As they shut the door, Zabuza spoke, "Haku, that wasn't necessary." Haku agreed, but added, "Perhaps, but it's too early to take him out, and besides, his murder would attract that scum Mizukage's Tracker Ninja. We can't take on the entire squad, maybe two of them like last time, but not all eight that are left. We need restraint right now."
"Follow your own advice, you broke his wrist."
"He didn't respect you Zabuza-sensei. He has no idea what you're capable of, what the treatment you deserve. He has no honor. Do you know what he plans to do to the people of the Land of Waves?"
"No Haku, as ninja we shouldn't care. I don't want to know, I don't care to know, and I wouldn't care if he wanted to burn the whole place down. Not my problem."
"As ninja of the Mist, it's our duty to care."
"We're not ninja Haku. We're outlaws. Terrorists."
Haku walked out of the room, bowing to his master. He paused before he shut the door, You are a ninja master. The noblest of them all. We're not terrorists, we're freedom fighters. You are a hero.
The Way of Heroes
Watching her teammates' struggles, Sakura saw Naruto pound the ground and scream, "I'm a ninja, I can do this!" And he got back up, ready to try again. His most recent mark was just below Sasuke's second most recent mark, and the Uchiha was on the ground panting on his knees. Now on the ground next to her squaddies, Sakura panted as well, How can they keep going like that? They're true ninja. Shinobi that never give up, and keep trying even when they fail.
Sakura had succeeded now a dozen times, climbing many different trees to the top, and she was now thoroughly exhausted. She looked, seeing that each had only climbed about a tenth of their tree's whole height. They're both so driven, so determined. Sasuke moves like a machine, but he just can't get it. Maybe I should help him - Starting to get to her feet, Sakura was surprised that when she got up, she saw Naruto's sheepish whiskered face looking at her, nearly touching her.
He whispered, "Hey, you're good at this... How about some advice. I need some help Sakura." She was shocked, but she listened as Naruto explained how he was going about the practice, and Sasuke watched both of them. Sakura wondered, Naruto really has grown up. The old Naruto would've thrown a tantrum and just given up. They really are great ninja. I want to be just like them...
The Way of Heroes
6 Years Ago
It was a warm bright day in a huge open field, the sweet smell of flowers filled a very young Sakura's nostrils, and she smiled brilliantly as the world was good. She looked around, beaming at her best friend Ino, who was sitting cross-legged beside her. Both were around 6, with Ino being the slightly taller and thinner of the two. Sakura adjusted her pink bow and Ino whispered something to her, causing both girls to giggle. A large graying man in a white apron and chef's hat was in front of them, talking to the huge crowd of children all the same age as the pair.
He stood on a stage, a podium with a green and blue Microphone Snail in front of him. Saying something the girls didn't catch, he sat down, and a tall, lanky tanned Iruka replaced him on the stage. He announced, "Everyone please give an applause to Mr. Ichiraku for coming to this year's Career Fair." Everyone clapped, the most excited being a young Naruto, who excitedly whistled and applauded his favorite cook. Naruto sat in the front row, with Sasuke a few people from him, though the brunette looked notedly less enthused by the display. Sakura and Ino both sat two rows behind the former friends, and they both perked up when they heard what Iruka said next, "Now, here to discuss another career path for you children is the Honorable Third Hokage."
Everyone cheered and shouted as the great but elderly shinobi walked briskly up to the podium, and Iruka left the stage, going off to the left of it to stand by his gray haired friend Mizuki. The Old Man cleared his throat, "This is a great time for you children, and a very important one. After this seminar, every single one of you will be choosing a job in order to live the rest of your schooling in order to become the perfect candidate for whatever career you choose today. I am here to discuss a very important position in the Hidden Leaf Village, the Path of the Shinobi."
All the children perked up, and Sakura remembered the text book of the same name that Iruka-sensei had talked about during yesterday's class. The Hokage continued, "The path that ninja walk is a hard one, one that few succeed in. It is hard, but the rewards can be great. Hard work, top grades, and top shape are the requirements for ninja, and only the best candidates that excel in high pressure situations will make the cut. We are the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and we only have the greatest ninja among our ranks." Seeming to start talking again, the Hokage paused, as if sensing a danger that no one else could.
Suddenly, a twig snapped in the woods to the left of the seminar, and a masked man jumped from the forest all the way onto the stage, and in a flash, his clawed hands were stopped just before they could touch the weathered skin of the old man. Blood dripped from a spot in his gut, but he couldn't scream, as bright blue electricity shot out of the wound. A man's hand came out, a large mound of static flowing over his hand like a glove, and the students gasped, not seeing this man until just before the kill had been done. Sasuke's mouth was gaped open, and all the other students were stunned into silence. The electrical man punched the would be assassin in the chest, hitting him right in the heart.
After the kill had been done, the electricity stopped flowing, and his hand returned to normal, just as the body hit the ground. Everyone looked at the hero, a man in ANBU armor, gray, with spiky gray hair and a white and red cat mask obscuring his face. Across his neck was a long red scarf, which flapped in the breeze. A different masked shinobi appeared out of nowhere, and both the ANBU vanished, along with the body. The Hokage stared at the blood that stained the furnished panels of the wood floorboards, a hint of sadness in his ancient eyes.
The children were in shock at the sight, more of the masked ninja's power than the blood however. Quite a few of them had heard vivid tales of older siblings and friends that had become ninja and been forced into combat situations. The Third went on, "That my children, is why the Village needs only the best for ninja. Ninja who will uphold the Way, and have a great burning Will of Fire. We NEED children who can become something more, that can be heroes, heroes that go home to normal lives unnamed, mysterious anonymous heroes who may never receive credit for their actions. You may not become ninja, but everyone is a hero to the Village in their own way. The path of a ninja is long and treacherous, and with that in mind, who wants to be a ninja? Who wants to protect the Land of Fire and it's Allies from terrorists like the man who tried to kill me just now?"
Most of the horde raised their young hands, excited. Sakura saw Sasuke's hand among them, and found her own hand raising as she felt the Hokage's words flow through her. Sasuke's family died a few monthes ago, they were killed by terrorists. He's been really distant since then. She turned, looking at Ino, who was dreamily staring at Sasuke and had raised her own hand.
The Hokage nodded, seeing all the children excited to be heroes didn't seem to surprise him. This is to be expected. They have no idea what they want right now, in a few years they may change their minds. But some of these children have real potential. He pointed to one of the kids with a raised hand, "Why do you want to become a ninja?" As he listened carefully to the shy boy's answer, Sakura could care less. The question was more important to her.
'Why do you want to become a ninja?' Sakura wondered to herself, repeating the question in her head. She remembered her parents struggling to make ends meet. Unlike most of her friends, she was from a 'civilian family' or a family without ninja. These were the laborers, the lower class. The blood of the Village itself. The sheep. Sakura's father had sometimes come home tired and bleeding from his hard factory labor, remembering when he was a boy, when one of the 'wolves' as he called them had mugged him during the Third Shinobi War. The wolf had said that he was a soldier of the Land of Fire, that his unit needed cash and Sakura's father received a heavy scar on his left arm after being attacked by a Earth Style Jutsu.
I'll become a ninja, to make my family not have to work so hard! To make sure all the people get equal treatment! I'm going to be a great ninja! Sakura promised herself, and she smiled when the Hokage said the next thing, "All people are heroes in their own way. Considering this, what is a hero to you?" Iruka passed out papers to the people on the edge of each row, and they eventually reached Sakura and Ino. They both wrote quickly, and Sakura said out loud, "A hero is…"
The Way of Heroes
Inari sniffed sadly, coughing onto the piece of photograph in front of his legs. He choked, and wailed quietly. The boy punched his snot soaked thighs, angry at himself and the world. "They aren't heroes! You weren't a real hero either Daddy! There are no heroes!" Barging into the room from the closed door, the skinny red clothed Luffy bounded into the room. He wondered, "Why are you crying?" "Shut up!" Inari screamed, wiping his eyes and nose. Luffy responded to Inari's earlier declaration, "Ya know, I'm no hero, but I do know about them. They're everywhere and everyone has one, did your hero die or something?" Inari yelled, "You don't know anything!" "I knew he did," Luffy laughed, but went on, "It's okay, my brother, he died too. He was a hero." Inari asked, "Why? Why do you think you can stop Gato and his men?"
"Because he's a bad guy, Naruto and them, they're the good guys."
"What do you mean they are? Aren't you a good guy?"
"NO! I'm no hero! I want to keep all the meat! HAHAHAHAHA!" Luffy clarified, but now Inari was even more confused, sighing. Luffy started to leave, but before he shut the door he added, "Heroes win because they believe in themselves. They always win because they're as strong as their love for what they are fighting for." Then the Rubber-Pirate left.
The Way of Heroes
Kakashi watched as his students quietly coordinated amongst themselves. The jounin noticed, From now on, Naruto is going to keep getting stronger and stronger. Sasuke too, he's just going to push himself even harder when he sees Naruto doing the same. Sakura will catch up too, she knows that she has to, the other two are gifted ninja, and she must see that by now. Luffy on the other hand, as of right now he could probably go toe-to-toe with ME physically, but he isn't smart enough. Of course, that means I need to start training too, to get some of my old strength back.
AN:
*So there's Sakura's backstory... I hope you enjoy, I wanted to give her a more solid reason to become a ninja, and give her a better character in general.
Thanks for the view, see ya next week, and please remember to read, review, and get your game on!