an:/Well now, I haven't updated in a while, now haven't I. Well, can't blame me because my previous updates were so fast, Minato would be jealous. Have I mentioned that I just love Minato and Kushina! Their life story is probably the saddest thing I've ever seen, cried every time I watched the episodes. Their ephemeral visit with Naruto that left a huge impact on the rest of the world. God I just wish they had a longer time together, maybe after the war? Har har har. Anyways... improvisation is probably a writer's best tool. or not. Depends who you are. I have not much to say. I might start doing little polls to see what you as a reader want to see. Meh...maybe. Just so you know, Reno's nickname for Naruto is "Naru-shit" because shit can be "Unko" so i was like "Naru-nko" geddit? Except I couldn't take out the "u" or the english won't make sense. Okay then, let's get on with the story
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Naruto's eyes snapped open and he slammed his hand on his alarm clock just as it was about to ring. 7:00 am. Naruto's eyes started to close again but they snapped back open when he remembered it was his first c-rank mission today. Stupid border patrol. Well, not that he could complain. He rolled out, did his regular morning schedule, grabbed his bags and left for the kitchen.

"Tou-san, Kaa-san! I'm going to my first c-rank today!"

Naruto beamed with both hands on the strap of his bag. He looked like an excited preschooler on a field trip. But Kushina and Minato's mouth dropped when they saw the size of Naruto's bag.

"Naruto! What on earth do you have in there!"

"Ramen"

"What?"

"Ra-men"

"I know that but why?"

"I can't live without it"

"Now that I can't argue with, but really? It's only a week."

"It's fine Kushina, I got the trick. Come here, Naruto."

Naruto skipped over to his dad in curiousity. Minato pulled out a scroll, grabbed Naruto's bag and placed it on the scroll, then he sealed the bag into the scroll. Minato handed the scroll to Naruto and smiled.

"Just concentrate your chakra into the seal and it will come out of the scroll."

"Thanks, Tou-san!"

Naruto slipped the scroll into his back pouch and grabbed a quick toast while hugging his mom, then he darted off to the main gate.

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"Okay, here's the dealio, genin. It's a quick patrol around Hi no kuni's borders. We shouldn't run into that many problems, just the average bandit that gives us a little trouble. Nothing major."

"Alrighty-then! What are we waiting for Baka-Kakashi! Let's move on!"

"Quit your yapping, loser"

"What, Naru-shit?"

"I said, shut the f-"

"Boys!"

"This is going to be a long journey isn't it, Rei"

"You got it, Kakashi-sensei"

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After hours of bickering between the two boys and the sweatdropping from the rest of the team, team 7 finally reached the small town of Tenchi, the contact point.

"Finally, I thought my ears were going to fall off from listening to the loser talk!"

"Hey! You were talking too!"

"At least I don't bore people to death!"

"At least I'm not mean...to death"

"That doesn't even make any sense"

"You don't make sense!"

"Uh, yeah, I do. How else do you understand me"

"Because I'm fluent in your made up gibberish"

"Gibberish is a real language"

"It is?"

"You know, if you say Gibberish slow enough, it will sound like gullible?"

"Really? G-u-l-l-i- hey, why are you laughing?"

"I never knew you were so stupid"

"Hey-"

"ENOUGH!"

Naruto and Reno both hid behind Kakashi as Rei stalked them, cracking her knuckles.

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"We are here to relieve the other team of their duty."

"We will notify them straight away. Please stay at an inn for now"

"Okay, you three. You heard the Chuunin. Let's get a move on! To the inn!"

"Osu!"

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The next morning, Team 7 set out through the borders for patrol. Halfway through, one of the great legendary sannin, Jiraiya stopped by the contact village with urgent news from the Hokage.

"Are you sure they already left?"

"Yes, they left this morning"

"You know which direction?"

"Sir, I'm not sure-"

"Its imperative that I see them!"

"But sir, they are on patrol, there is no way to track them!"

"Which direction?"

"S-Southeast, 60 clicks away"

The sannin summoned a toad and hopped away. Shit, I have to see them now!

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"Baka Kakashi, why were you so reluctant to giving us a c-rank, WHEN ALL WE ARE DOING IS WALKING!"

Whack!

"Quit disrespecting Kakashi-sensei! Quit snickering like a little girl, Naruto!"

Naruto snapped to attention and then cowered away at Rei, who was baring her fist at him.

"Well, Reno, I don't know either, when I got the mission from Minato-sensei, I was expecting some bandits. This place is usually ridden with those things. Well-"

Kakashi's response was cut short when his attention was caught on something ahead. His eyes narrowed.

"Do you sense that, Kakashi-sensei? The chakra, S-rank"

Reno and Rei's eyes went wide when they heard Naruto, who went into a stance. Kakashi felt it too, a few kilometers away, a large chakra mass was coming in close, and by the looks of it, it was hostile. A few genin couldn't possibly go against these kind's of opponents. Even Kakashi would have a hard time, and that's not including the fact that he has to take care of three little kids.

"Naruto, Reno, Rei, leave, start heading back to the base, there's no time, you have to leave, now-"

"Going somewhere?"

Team 7's head snapped back to the front where they saw a man. His white hair was slicked back and he donned a dark brown cloak. Behind him was a red scythe with three blades and a chain that was attached at the bottom. His red eyes were full of malice and his pearly white teeth bared with a tongue stuck out.

"Well what do we have here? A few little kiddies? Ah, silver hair? Hatake, Kakashi? This is a lot more fun than I thought it would be..."

Team 7 was frozen in place. The S-ranked nin was now in front of him. The three genin were stuck in horror, frozen by the amount of Ki that was radiating off of the man.

"Team 7, stay back"

Kakashi put his hand up to block the genin as his other hand reached for a Kunai.

"Depriving me of my targets, are we? I can't allow you to do that, Hatake. Let's make this fun shall we?"

The man launched forward bringing out his red scythe that barely grazed Kakashi's head, cutting off a few hair. Kakashi blocked another blow with his kunai and backflipped away. But the man had already advanced, leaving no time for the silver haired jonin to break. Kakashi deflected a few more blows before he managed to launch the man's weapon into a tree, lodging it into the bark. He lifted his headband revealing his sharingan and spoke.

"Who are you?"

The man yanked a chain that pulled the scythe back to him. He brought up the blades and licked one of them, smirking.

"Hidan"

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The two ninja's were caught in a taijutsu fight, exchanging blows that were blocked and countered. Kakashi was having trouble keeping up with the reach of the scythe. If he was right, Hidan was a rogue that the bingo book had an order to flee on sight. This wasn't good. The ex Anbu captain racked his brains for more information on the rogue, something that wasn't obvious. His thoughts were interrupted by Hidan's scream. Hidan was screaming in joy as he dragged his scythe through the ground towards Kakashi.

"Jashin wants your blood, Hatake!"

Katon- Houyoku no Kyokuu!

Hidan was scorched but didn't seem to be the least bothered, only screaming in pleasure, escaping from the smoke with 3rd degree burns and his cloak burned away. Kakashi evaded another barrage of strikes before launching another jutsu.

Raiton- Jigoku arashi no tori!

The lighting projectile pierced through Hidan's chest but Hidan kept moving; advancing towards Kakashi.

Jashin. Jashin? Where had he heard of such name. Then it struck him. The cult of Jashin. It was eradicated during the third shinobi war. These people were insane, lusted after blood, a bunch of sadistic and masochistic freaks. He vaguely remembered fighting one with Minato. Minato kept yelling something about not getting any blood out on the field. Kakashi leapt away into the trees for cover. If what his memory is telling him is true, he needed to formulate a plan to defeat Hidan. A piercing yell rung through the forest and Kakashi went wide eyed. He had forgot the genin were still there.

Reno!

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Kakashi dashed to a clearing to see Reno on the floor with a huge gash along his face. Naruto was in front of him, ninjato on guard. Hidan was smirking at the two genin. He then started to laugh like a maniac. Kakashi saw the blood everywhere. Reno was bleeding profusely everywhere, scared out of his wits. Naruto had deflected most of the attack from Reno but apparently it wasn't good enough, the cut on Reno's face was enough proof. Hidan brought up a scythe and licked some of the blood off it. He then wiped the blood on the ground with his shoe into a circle and then stepped into it. Reno instinctively shivered, shaking wide-eyed at the rogue.

"Let the ceremony begin, my friends"

Hidan looked up to the sky in ecstasy as his skin turned black with white markings resembling a skeleton. He started laughing again and lazily brought his attention back at the blond haired genin who was glaring at him.

"Preparations complete."

Naruto screamed, charging at Hidan with his ninjato posed to strike. Kakashi screamed.

"NO, NARUTO!"

The yell made Naruto lose his focus but it didn't stop the strike in time. Hidan, with no effort shown to dodge the incoming blade, smiled viciously. The ninjato sliced one of Hidan's arms open. Naruto grinned but was cut short when he heard Reno scream in agony. His head whipped around to see Reno sporting the same wound as Hidan. Hidan cackled and moaned. Naruto's breath was cut short, he couldn't breathe. He had made the connection. Reno's arm was split open, the blood running down the limp arm, pouring onto the floor. It was his fault. Hidan kicked Naruto back who stumbled in front of Reno. Naruto's vision blurred as he focused his sight on the wound he had inflicted on Reno. It was for Hidan, not Reno. This wasn't suppose to happen. Reno was clutching over the wound, trying to hold in the pain. Naruto almost passed out as Reno let out another agonized scream. Hidan had taken the spike and stabbed himself in the leg.

"Yes, YES! JASHIN LOVES THIS! THE PAIN! IT FEELS GOOD~!"

Reno clutched his leg and tears were involuntarily leaking out of his eyes. Naruto was left on his knees, frozen in fear. He had never felt this before. This feeling of helplessness. He couldn't protect his friend. There was nothing he could do to stop it. Kakashi tried getting close but had to keep distance from the spike that was swung around. Reno curled himself into a ball, clutching his two wounds, wide-eyed, not blinking. He couldn't control his body. Was this a c-rank? Rei couldn't move. She wanted to sprint after Naruto and Reno, heal their wounds, and run away. But her legs wouldn't respond, they were bolted into the ground. Rei brought her hands to her mouth and wracked a sob before collapsing. Kakashi continually engaged in a taijutsu battle, trying to disarm the rogue but was unsuccessful. Reno had lost feeling in his leg as Hidan continually stabbed his leg with the spike.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen! For the final act! The final blow!"

Hidan posed his spike at his heart. Kakashi's breath did a sharp intake, Naruto started heaving as he saw the the spike, blurred. Reno had been left of the ground in a bloody heap.

Kagemane no jutsu!

A chuunin was posed behind Hidan, crouched with his hands up. Next to him was Jiraiya, face formed in a cold frown.

"WHO DARES INTERRUPT THE CEREMONY FOR THE GOD, JASHIN!"

The chuunin stood up and walked backward, taking Hidan out of his circle.

Kage nui no jutsu!

The shadows latched on to Hidan, preventing him from entering his circle again. With a quick swipe, Jiraiya appeared next to Hidan and cleanly cut Hidan's head off with a kunai. The head rolled away. Jiraiya quickly sealed the head into a scroll and then sealed the body that was still moving around. Jiraiya looked at Naruto was was still in the same place as he was before. Jiraiya stepped forward and put his hands on Naruto's shoulders. Naruto remained unfazed and kept muttering. Its my fault, Its my fault. Reno's arm, his arm-

Naruto passed out not before he saw a few chuunin arrived to the scene.

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He had been hospitalized for a week. There had been no signs of improvement. They said it was a coma, the yamanaka said there was mental scarring and that he would have to go through mental rehabilitation after the coma was done. Kakashi was nowhere to be found. Rei was bedridden, in the middle of a mental breakdown. Naruto was no different. He locked himself in his room. Minato was in shock when he read the mission report and Kushina broke down crying.

It was his fault. He couldn't protect Reno. He wasn't good enough. If he can't protect Reno, how can he protect the village. How could he become Hokage if he couldn't even beat one rogue. Naruto was angry at himself. It was his fault that Reno's arm was cut open. If he had deflected the strike properly, Reno wouldn't have been cut. Here he thought that if he got a c-rank, he could show off to the world that he was a prodigy. No, the only thing he managed to show off was that he was a fool. He was scared like a baby and couldn't fight. All he did was inflict harm on his teammates. Naruto was so angry.

I'm sorry, but he can't be a ninja anymore. His shinobi days...are over.

Tsunade gave the news to Team 7 in the hospital. She said that because of the muscles in the leg were so torn up, even with treatment, the leg would never heal the same. He wouldn't be able to walk properly for the rest of his life. His arm was no different. The tendons in the arm were messily severed thanks to the cut Naruto had delivered to Hidan. Now Reno was no longer in any physical shape to move properly. For the rest of his fucking life. It was his fault that now, Reno couldn't be hokage. Reno wouldn't be able compete with Naruto for the position of Hokage. He had taken a dream from someone that was friends with him.

Naruto went to the training fields where team 7 would normally be if the situation was normal, that is. He looked at the tree stump where Reno had tied him up as a joke. When Reno could actually catch Naruto and tie him up. His memories were cut short when he heard a voice behind him.

"It wasn't your fault"

"..."

"That was Hidan's motive, you didn't know. You wouldn't be able to know until it's too late. That was the point of the jutsu."

"...I've failed"

"..."

"I've failed to protect him. I failed to be strong enough to protect my friends. I failed to-"

"No. You were a genin, there wasn't much you could do.-"

"I was suppose to be the next prodigy. But I'm really just a failure, genin or not."

"Prodigies aren't always prodigies from the very start. You mold them, you raise them. You nourish them with all you've got so they can call themselves prodigies. You're only 8. Most 8 year olds don't think like this."

"Well, I'm not your average 8 year old"

"I know. Which is why I'm gonna train you"

Naruto whipped his head around and was met with the Sannin. Jiraiya stood there, staring intently.

"I'll make you strong, I'll make you live up to your name of Konoha's prodigy. So you can protect your friends. How 'bout it?"

"I-"

"No, buts. Your hokage already approved. We're going on a trip. 4 years, whadda say?"

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"Hey...Reno"

"..."

"I read in a medical book that most coma patients can hear what's going outside. Are you listening, Reno?"

"..."

"I know, you probably hate me. I've failed to help you. Now you can't be a ninja anymore. I've taken your dream away."

"..."

"Hate me or not. I'm going to get stronger. I'll get the power, not just for me, but for the both of us. I'll get the dream for the both of us. Watch me, okay, Reno? Be awake, when I complete your dream..."

"..."

"I'm leaving on a trip for 4 years to get stronger. You'll probably wake up before then. I just want you to know, you were my first friend and I'm just so sorry, I've failed you..."

"..."

"...I guess this is goodbye..."

Naruto turned and left out of the window back to his home. He left before he could see a sole tear fall from Reno's eyes.

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"Yo, gaki! You ready?"

"Sure, old man"

"Who are you callin' old man? I'm the Great, the Gallant, the Legendard Sannin, Jiraiya-sama!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, let's get a move on."

"Fine, gaki."

"My dad gave me some scrolls for the trip."

"Good, good. We have a lot to cover. Onwards, pupil!"

I'll see ya 'round, Kaa-san, Tou-san, Kakashi, Rei...Reno.

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an:/you can start bawling your eyes now. Just kidding, it wasn't suppose to be sad. And you are probably like, "WHEN THE HELL IS NARUSAKU COMIN' IN?" well I'm all like, "patience, young grasshopper" so narusaku lovers, show some patience, the lovin will come. Now time for TIMESKIP! I'll see y'all in a while !
jutsu translation ( i kinda forgot the literal, so ima give you what i remember i typed in...)
Katon- Houyoku no Kyokuu! -Fire style, breathing phoenix wings (lol i love my creativity)
Raiton- Jigoku arashi no tori! -Lighting style, hellstorm bird (i really should've picked hawk but im to lazy)
Kagemane no jutsu!- shadow imitation technique (if you don't know this, i question your knowledge in naruto)
Kage nui no jutsu! - shadow sewing technique (this too, man. This was literally used in the hidan fight in anime)

mata ashita -ttebayo!