Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or anything associated with the anime or manga. I only own this story.
Hey everyone. I want to apologize for how long it has taken to get this chapter out. I had this chapter as well as the next three written, and I lost all of them. I also had some life issues come up that destroyed any will I had to continue writing. But I took some time to collect myself, and now I'm back, and hopeful better. I understand if anyone is frustrated with me for the long time gap, but I'll do by very best to not let that happen again. This story has had so much positive feedback, I can't not write it.
I am very shocked by the new stats I have on this story. 128 reviews, 409 followers, 353 favorites, and 3 communities.
Guest: I apologize that you found my fight seen to be "Crappy" in the first chapter. I have taken some time to learn to better write fights so hopeful you see a change for the better.
Butterfly puss: Thanks for your review
Uzumaki Naho: The experiments will have many effects on him, some good, and some bad. Naruto will get stronger but at a more natural progression, not overnight.
Tobi Wants a Cookie: Is Yamato ok? And you'll have to see about Wave.
RubyDarkGreen9: I'll do my best to update more frequently.
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Michumichu79: Thanks for the review, as I said I'll try to update more frequently in the future.
: I'm sorry that some decisions I have made are so upsetting to you. Though I have to ask, do you know what fanfiction is? I never claimed that would be following canon, so in regards to your being upset about this not being a NaruHina fic, I actually love that pairing. Just in this AU story that isn't canon, I wanted to do something else. Thank you for your several reviews. :)
NightlyRowenTree: Shusui, will be in this story. I've always had plans for him, though him not being mentioned was a slight error of oversight by me. I intend to go back and fix that here soon.
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A Hero's DNA
Chapter 15: Judgement day: The Festival is Here.
The festival was in full swing as crowds of villagers celebrated in their village square. Many were enjoying the large assortment of games that were available to them. Others were simply enjoying the shopping, and food as they relaxed from months of hard work. Naruto was impressed by how this quiet town was so quickly transform into a bustling place of fun, and entertainment.
"You did good Tenma." He spoke under his breath.
"What was that Naruto?"
Looking down to his left side, Naruto smiled at Yatsuko, whom he had been charged with defending. A large smile adorned her face as her eyes scanned the festivities around them.
"Nothing Yatsuko, I was just talking to myself."
"Ok. Can we go play some games? Please?"
As he nodded to her, Yatsuko took off running towards the stands in front of them. Naruto could see the giant stuffed animal toys that she was eyeing up. After carefully looking around, Naruto ran his hand through his hair, pressing an on button, turning on his communicator.
"Naruto, how are things looking?"
"Good so far Itachi-sensei."
"That is good to hear. Sasuke, Yakumo, how are things on your end?"
"Good Itachi-sensei, I have run into no problems."
"Neither have I. Are we sure that something will happen tonight?"
"Yes Sasuke. All three of you keep your comms ok. I'd like to know what is going on at all times."
After responding to his sensei, Naruto hurried over to where Yatsuko was playing a target game. There was a young teenage girl with black hair. She wore a matching colorful uniform that the rest of the festival workers seemed to be wearing. He watched as Yatsuko threw a ball to attempt to knock over a set of cups. Unfortunately the young girl didn't have the skills to knock the cups over and a dejected look overcame her usual bright face. Naruto could tell that being unable to win had upset her and he chuckled a bit at how she was acting.
"Excuse me sir, is this your sister?"
The young woman working the game booth asked.
"No, I am just watching her for her dad. I'm a friend of the family."
"Well, would you like to help her out?"
Yatsuko started beaming at the suggestion.
"Please, Naruto?"
Naruto bean rubbing the back of his head. He looked back over to the booth attendant.
"I'd love to, but as a ninja I don't think it would be really fair for me to play this game. I mean, I'd have a pretty unfair advantage."
Yatsuko's face dropped slightly, but Naruto could tell that she understood what he was saying.
"Oh, that's no issue. I would just hate for this cute little girl to have to walk away without one of these amazing prizes."
Naruto looked at the girl in shock. In Konoha, the booth attendants were far stingier when dealing with kids. Part of him really wanted to help Yatsuko out, but he still felt like it was cheating.
"Please Naruto, for me?"
Naruto smiled down to Yatsuko and then turned back to the attendant.
"Are you sure?"
"Oh yes, I'm positive. I just want to see a smile on her gorgeous face."
"Thank you."
Naruto handed the girl money for five balls. She looked a little confused but handed them to him. Naruto grabbed one of the balls and stated to observe the positions of the ten different cup sets. Taking aim he threw the ball and Yatsuko watched as the one ball flew around the cups knocking them down, one by one.
"Yay Naruto. You did it!"
The attendant looked happy as she grabbed a large stuffed white rabbit and handed it to Yatsuko.
"Now, you take good care of her for me." She said as she winked at Yatsuko.
"I will!" Yatsuko said as she hugged the rabbit tightly and walked away.
"That was really nice of you." Naruto said to the attendant.
"This festival is for the children, right. So we all have to do our part."
"Yeah." Naruto said as he walked to catch back up to Yatsuko.
…
Yakumo sat at a small dango stand, acting the part of a civilian customer. She kept her eyes open watching the festival around her. A small feeling of sadness slipped into her mind as she watched the children having fun. Even when she was younger her life had always been one horror after another. Her family had treated her like something to be feared because of her abilities and never let her go to the Konoha festivals. And now, as a Genin, her mission came first.
As she continued to eat her dango, she noticed a man walking around the clothing boutiques looking at the somewhat expensive materials. What seemed strange was the strange shapes his fingers were making. They almost looked like hand seals, or maybe…
"Excuse me?"
Yakumo turned to see a boy who looked a few years older than her standing there. He had bright red hair, and brown eyes. In his hands were two sticks with cotton candy.
"Yes?"
"I saw you sitting over here all alone. This is a festival, shouldn't you be having some fun? I mean a girl as pretty as you shouldn't be by herself on a beautiful night like this."
Yakumo couldn't help but blush at his statement. He certainly had a strong sense of charm to him. But she knew that her mission needed to come first.
"While I appreciate the comment, I'm not alone. I have some friends who are going to be meeting up with me. I'm just waiting for them."
"Oh, well, then how about I wait with you."
"Um, I don't think that's a good idea."
"Come on, I even brought you this delicious cotton candy. I promise I won't be a bother. You can trust me."
Not wanting to be rude to a villager, Yakumo let out a deep sigh.
"Ok, but just for a few minutes."
"Hey everyone! It's Tenma, and he's giving a speech!"
A few of the villagers began to cheer, alerting Yakumo to look up to the stage in the middle of the festival area. Tenma stood in front of a podium and raised his hands to quiet the village down.
"Everyone, I would like to welcome you to our Annual Preservation Day Festival!"
…
Sasuke Uchiha was not happy. His first C-rank mission, and he had already been force to kill several people. His clients were in danger from a ninja attack. His brother in all but blood was going through something unimaginable. And here he was stuck patrolling the outer edge of the festival. He understood his brother's reasoning for the most part. He was the fastest of the three Genin, and with his Sharingan he'd have the best chance of catching something coming from the outside. But still, even he would have liked to be in the festival for at least a little time.
Then there was this sense of foreboding that he kept feeling. Something wasn't right and he knew that it was the festival. Everything was going too smoothly. He had expected something to have come up by now, but there was nothing. He felt that he may just be paranoid, but that "Paranoia" may just be what keeps him alive.
Sasuke was drawn to the sound of laughter. He looked to his right to see a pair of teenagers running out of the Festival holding hands. They seemed quite close and they made their way into an empty building on the opposite side of the street. The Uchiha rolled his eyes and continued walking around his perimeter. As he walked by an alleyway, the leaf ninja thought he noticed some movement. Looking around he decided to check it out. As he walked deeper into the alleyway, he noticed that the movement was just a couple of cats fighting over something. Taking a closer look he saw that it was a bloody hat. Startled the Uchiha backed up and noticed that he stepped into something wet. Looking down he realized it was a puddle of blood coming from a black haired teenage girl who wore a colorful uniform, much like the festival workers wore. Quickly, Sasuke pressed a button on his headset.
"Come in Itachi We have a problem!"
He heard nothing but static over the radio.
"Itachi come in...Naruto?...Yakumo?...Keep an eye on the wor…"
Sasuke felt cold steel touch his neck. A ninja appeared behind him with a kunai glinting in the darkness.
"Oh, you poor little Genin. I'd say sorry about this, but that would be a lie."
Sasuke let out a breath as his red eyes grew big. The sound of a blade tearing through flesh echoed throughout the dark alleyway.
…
Itachi sat with Tenma, Erika, and Yoshi in their private booth near the stage. He kept his eyes on his charge, as well as the other two heads of Tenma's company. The night so far had been uneventful and calm. But that was what bothered him the most. He knew that a storm was brewing, and hoped that his three students could handle it. Al of his instincts had told him that staying on this mission was not a smart, or logical decision, but with Genin like Naruto under his tutelage, he couldn't morally leave Tenma to his fate.
"Excuse me, Tenma. I have a question for you."
"Yes Itachi, what is it?"
"I've been wondering, who was it that wanted to buy out your business?"
"Oh, well you have probably heard of him. His name is Gato."
"The Gato, as in the shipping tycoon?"
"Yes, he has a strong foothold in the Land of Waves, some would even say that it was his own personal empire. Lately he has wanted to branch out, and my own company is second to his, though we operate mostly on land, not on the sea. If he bought us out, have control over a large portion of the trade between the 5 great nations."
"I assume he offered you all a sizable sum of money."
"Oh yes, none of us would have ever needed to work ever again. Or at least for a great many years."
"Why did you decide not to sell?"
"In truth, I never really wanted to. Hioshi convinced us that it would be for the best interest of the company, but I have heard some rumors that make me not believe that. Also, I really am proud of what I've built and would like to keep it in my family. My daughter will be the next head of my company when I retire."
Itachi sat and thought about what he had just learned. HE too had heard some rumors about the shipping Magnate.
"What have you heard that made you reconsider?"
"Horrible tales about what he has put the Land of Waves through. There people are starving, and he is a tyrant, bleeding them all dry. I refuse to do business with such a man."
"Tenma those rumors are unsubstantiated."
All eyes turned onto the newcomer, Hioshi, as he walked into the private booth. Tenma had to fight himself not to retaliate against his brother, but there was no proof of Hioshi's intentions yet. Tenma hoped that the Leaf ninja were mistaken about his older brother.
"Hioshi, it is about time that you showed up." Yoshi remarked as he drank sake from a small cup.
"My apologies friends, I have had quite a bit of thinking to do. And while I strongly disagree with your decision, I will uphold them. That is what brothers do, right Tenma? Look out for each other? DO what is best for both parties?"
"Yes, you are correct Hioshi. And selling the company is not what is best."
"But Tenma, the money…"
"I don't care about the money Hioshi." Tenma said holding his forehead with one hand and his head tilted down.
"That I can clearly see, I mean look at how much of our company's funds you spent on this festival."
"Hioshi, please, let us not fight tonight. Enjoy the celebration." Erika cut in and placed a hand on the clearly upset man.
"You are right Erika. I have been a bold fool to all of you. How about a gift, to remedy the way I've behaved?"
Everyone looked to Hioshi as he brought out an old bottle of wine.
"This was one of my most prized possessions. Aged to perfection, I have been waiting for the right time to enjoy this beauty, and I believe that time is now. I mean this is a festival right?"
Grabbing five glasses, Hioshi opened the bottle and filled each glass before passing them out. Itachi, and Tenma looked to the wine with distrust. He may have poisoned the contents beforehand. Hioshi took hold of his glass and raised it into the air.
"To the future."
The rest of the group followed suit. Hioshi looked at his brother as he drank the wine and set his glass down. Erika and Yoshi followed Hioshi's example. Waiting a few moments, Itachi and Tenma drank their wine. While the wine tasted slightly bitter, Itachi could tell that it was safe to drink, in moderation. This wine would get your rather drunk, but there was no poison.
"Oh Tenma, look at the time!" Erika all but shouted.
"Yes, you need to make your speech." Yoshi agreed.
Tenma bowed to his friends before making his way upon the stage. He looked out onto the civilians who were clearly enjoying his most special day and he smiled. This was what he longed for, making his people happy. He raised his hands into the air to calm the crowd down, but everyone began to cheer. Finally settling down, the crowd allowed him to speak.
"Everyone, I would like to welcome you to our Annual Preservation Day Festival!" Once again the crowd cheered. "As many of you know there have been rumors circulating that I was to sell the company. I want you all to know that this is false. I will not be selling."
Again the crowd erupted into applause and cheers. Most of these people relied on his company for work, and their livelihood.
"Every year the people of this village, all of you my dear friends, work tirelessly. You work to keep your families fed. You work to show your strength. You work to show your pride. And some months are much harder than others. Many of you, I have the utter privilege to call you my employees. Others I am lucky enough to get to work alongside for trade. This village, this community, is like a family to me. You took me in when my brother and I came here with nothing. You helped us grow our company from nothing to a leader in Trade, and I will be forever grateful. Take this night and enjoy it. There isn't a lot that I can do for all of you, but putting this Festival on every year, that my friends, in an honor that I will gladly do. An honor that my company will continue to do, because in truth this isn't my company. This business is all of ours. So, my family, my friends. Have fun, and enjoy your lives. And most of all, thank you all so much!"
Itachi couldn't help but smile at the crowd's reaction. Tenma's speech was met with resounding applause and he could clearly see the adoration these people felt for this man. Any hesitation he felt from continuing this mission was forgot. But the celebration couldn't last. Itachi caught a smirk growing on Hioshi's face out of the corner of his eyes. An explosion shoot the courtyard, coming from the last known location of one of his students.
"Yatsuko!"
…
Naruto and Yatsuko walked calmly through the crowd of exited civilians. Yatsuko was extatic to have her large plush rabbit and held on to it closely. As Naruto looked around more, he noticed Yakumo talking with some random guy. He could tell that something he said had made her blush, and he rolled his eyes. He reached for his headset and pushed the talk button.
"Really Yakumo, get your head on right."
He was met with silence and static. He pressed the button again to talk.
"Itachi Sensei?"
Still there was no response.
"Sasuke, where are you, come in."
When no one returned Naruto started to get scared. Something was obviously wrong. The crowed around him began to cheer.
"Yay daddy!"
Yatsuko jumped up and down as she saw he father get up to speak.
"Everyone, I would like to welcome you to our Annual Preservation Day Festival!"
Once again the crowd cheered. And everyone began to listen to Tenma's speech, but the slight sizzling could still be heard. Naruto quickly scanned the area again, and he felt a darkening presence in the air. Closing his eyes and breathing, he followed this new sense and turned his head. Reopening hi eyes he was met with the smiling face of the game attendant who allowed him to play for Yatsuko. She waved with a dark smirk as she puffed into smoke revealing that she was under a Transformation Jutsu. She now had short Brown hair with green streaks in it. Upon her forehead was a sand headband with a slash through it. She brought up her hand in a familiar seal, and Naruto's eyes grew wide.
As Tenma's speech ended Yatsuko cheered for her father. She was so proud of what he did for their people. She noticed a slight burning smell and looked down at her rabbit. Some of its white fur had burned away revealing what looked like a white strip of paper with black writing on it.
"Naruto?" She spoke as she grew afraid. The tag began to burn, and the blonde ninja grabbed for Yatsuko's hand.
BOOM!
An explosion blasted through the courtyard catching several dozen innocent bystanders in its path. Fire engulfed the space and the Sand ninja smiled as she jumped into action.
…
Yakumo was thrown backwards by the explosions shockwave. When she went to stand up she felt a piercing pain in her leg. As she cried out in pain, she looked to see the boy who was talking to her had driven a kunai into her left leg.
"Sorry gorgeous, but I can't have you messing up our plans."
As he raised his other hand, which held another kunai, he noticed that Yakumo began to vanish from the ground, melting away into the air. He stabbed the kunai down, and it just hit dirt. Mayhem was all around as people screamed and pushed their way passed each other, trying to get to safety. The ninja looked around, bit Yakumo was nowhere in sight.
"Wait, Shit! It's just Genju…ugh"
As he spoke he felt pain and blood pooled in his mouth. A kunai had been thrust through his neck from behind, and as his vision cleared of the Genjutsu, he saw that he was still holding the kunai in the air. He had never moved from his spot. But she had.
"Next time, don't screw with a Leaf shinobi."
The ninja collapsed to the ground, the lights leaving his eyes. Yakumo had pulled the kunai from her leg and tried to stand. It wasn't easy but she managed, albeit shakily. Walking towards the source of the explosion she found Itachi holding a Leaf Village Headband that had been burned in the explosion.
"Naruto?" She asked with tears threatening her eyes.
Itachi looked over with a grim expression on his face. Closing his eyes he shook his head before his angry glared burned on the direction of the private box Hioshi sat in.
"Well, well, well. Looks like that's two Leaf ninja down, one and a half to go."
Three more missing ninja leapt into the fray, surrounding Itachi.
"Two?" Yakumo asked, afraid of the answer.
"The blonde and the scared little Uchiha.
Both Yakumo and Itachi's eyes widened and the Uchiha's eyes tuned red, a pinwheel showing in his anger.
…
"Yatsuko!" Tenma shouted in fear as he watched the explosion. His daughter was out there and he felt a fear he'd never experienced before. He turned to the Leaf ninja in his presence and Itachi nodded before he vanished into a flock of ravens.
The sickening sound of flesh being torn snapped Tenma out of his trance as he looked to where his friends had sat. Hioshi stood behind both of them with a sword in his hand. Both Yoshi, and Erika had blood soaking through their clothes from holes in their chests.
"Hioshi, I can't believe that you would do this."
"Really brother, is it such a surprise to you. You ruined everything for me!"
"Why, because you aren't rich? Is money the only thing that you care about? My daughter..."
"Is hopefully as dead as you are going to be next!" Tenma's eyes grew wide. "These two fools should never have betrayed me. I would have let them live. You on the other hand, you couldn't just have died on the road, could you."
"So it really was you, this whole time."
"Yes. I earned my rewards form this company of ours. I put in my time, my sweat, my blood. And for what? You just spending our hard earned living on some stupid festival!"
"It's just money Hioshi, there are far more important things!"
"No, brother, not to me. We scrapped by. Alone, and on the streets. Our parents left us with nothing, and we had each other. Together, WE built this company from nothing, and for what? Money. That's what we were after. Or have you already forgotten what things happened to us all those years?"
"I'll never forget, but these people, this town? They deserve everything I can give them for what they have done for us."
"And because of that way of thinking, I'm going to kill you right here Tenma. But first, you are going to watch everything here burn. All those people you care so much about. Even those ninja you hired. You get to watch them all burn."
…
In the Land of Waves,
Hinata Hyuga sat alone with a brush and paper writing. Everything went wrong. From the moment they saw the puddle in the middle of the road. Their first C-ranked mission was doomed for failure. On the road two Hidden Mist Missing Ninja had ambushed them and seemingly killed Kakashi. Kiba and Akamaru, using their animal like Jutsu, took down one of the two shinobi quite easily. Hinata and Shino protected Tazuna to the best of their ability, and she had successfully used her Gentle Fist Taijutsu to paralyze the second ninja.
Kakashi revealed himself and the squad learned that the bridge Tazuna was building was the only hope that the Land of Waves had to get out from beneath the thumb of Gato, a tyrant of a man, who used his seemingly legit shipping company to promote drug trade and sex trafficking. Finding out that Ninja would be coming after them, Kakashi had wanted to turn back, for Tazuna had known all along what might be in his way. But Hinata, realizing what her respected friend Naruto would have said, pushed her team to help the poor country. The rest of the group agreed and they continued on with the mission.
Once they arrived in the Land of Waves they made their way towards Tazuna's village. On the road they came under attack from Zabuza Momochi, the Demon on the Hidden Mist. Kakashi and Zabuza fought, and after being captured, Kakashi wanted his team to run. Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru tried to free their sensei while Shino stayed back to protect their charge. They successfully freed Kakashi, but Kiba had been injured quite severely in the process after being cut by Zabuza's Executioner Blade. Once freed, Kakashi used his Sharingan eye to quickly defeat the missing ninja, but Zabuza was rescued by an associate of his wearing a Hunter Ninja's mask.
Kakashi, after having used up far too much of his Chakra, passed out. They had been at Tazuna's house for a few hours before the Copy-Ninja woke up. Realizing the amount of trouble they were in, Kakashi asked Hinata to send a message to the Leaf, requesting aid.
As she wrote her letter, she only hoped that help would make it in time.
…
Thank you all for continuing to follow this story even after my extended intermission from writing. I'll do my best to keep these chapters coming. I also plan to go back and fix some of my previous chapters writing the foreseeable future, though my new chapters are more important to me first. Until next time. Please review.
I will reveal the results of the Sasuke Poll next chapter!