Just by my insistence of writing on this site should clue those reading my work of fiction that I have a lack of ownership over Naruto. Like he would want to be owned by anyone. I hope everyone likes my new title for this story and understands how far we have to go.
"At least that mess is over." Chronos stated as he exited the Hokage Tower Complex. Save for the first time that he came to the towering structure, every visit had either been a pain or complicated. Now he was stuck dealing with a damn intelligence gathering mission with Hiashi. Just thinking about it again made his red blood start to boil.
However, that was a problem for another day. Two more relevant and personal issues needed to be the center of his focus now. Knowing that seeing the supply store owner would be easier than finding Anko, Chronos made his way to the store that he took Naruto to months ago.
It only took a few twists and turns down the streets and alleyways of the village before he found himself standing at the storefront. Letting his observant eyes wander over the establishment, all appearances made the supply store blend in conveniently with the neighboring businesses. Nothing was out of place and the various new shinobi outfits adorned on the mannequins in the window sill could be easily mistaken for any other clothing store. The only sign signifying the store was for weaponry and shinobi gear hung over the door, and there weren't even words were written on it; it would have been bare if it wasn't for the picture of a metal arm flexing on it.
Grasping the handle firmly, he opened the door and strode inside, closing the entrance behind him. No sound came from the door itself and Chronos's entrance into the business would have been unannounced if the bell hanging above the door didn't ring melodically.
"I'll be right out in a minute." A female voice stated smoothly as soon as the bell quieted. Chronos paid it no mind as he wandered the aisles glancing at the various pieces of weaponry and armor displayed in the shelves and racks throughout the establishment. Very few things caught his eye as he meandered down the aisles. There were various styles of shuriken, kunai, bo, katana, bolo, and senbon.
Over on one wall, there was a massive zanpato that was hanging on the wall. The blade itself was over thirty centimeters in width and one and a third meters in length with Kanji etched down the length of the blue steel. A simple red twenty centimeter handle made up the grip ending with a simple brass knob.
"Nice piece of hardware isn't it?" the feminine voice from earlier asked from behind Chronos, making the man tense slightly but uncontrollably.
He glanced over his left shoulder to catch the form of a teenage girl that was talking to him. She was wearing a simple pink Chinese-style blouse complete with the high buttoned collar and embroidery. She wore her hair in two buns than made him think that she was related to a cartoon rodent. Simple loose fitting pants and shinobi sandals completed her ensemble.
"Not bad but a bit bulky for my taste." He responded, turning to face her.
"If it is too bulky, I'd be happy to take the katana off your hands." She replied with a greedy smile on her face.
It took a few moments for that thought to register before he nodded. "Ahhh. You must mean Kudou Tsuu here." Chronos replied while patting the clan katana still on his hip. "I don't think I will be giving it up any time soon."
The girl just sighed dejectedly. "Such a pity. That is such a beautiful sword." She perked back up after a brief moment. "What brings you in the store? Looking to add the zanpato?"
"Not quite. I wanted to see if a weapon can be made for me."
The girl's eyes lit up as if she was handed the keys to a new home. "We can definitely do that here without a problem. What are you looking for? Another katana? Kunai? We can make specialized shuriken if you need them."
He waved off those ideas, trying to temper the girl's enthusiasm. "I'm not even sure if this weapon can be made. It's called a rifle."
The girl screwed her eyes toward the ceiling. After racking her brain, nothing registered. "Never heard of it. What's a rifle?"
"A rifle is a weapon that fires small projectiles called bullets using a compressed explosion from gun powder to propel the bullet long distances to a specific target. It typically is a shoulder-held weapon with a long metal tube called a barrel. The barrel has spiral groves along its length to give the bullet a rotary motion as it travels, enabling higher accuracy and farther distance." Chronos explained in a scholarly fashion.
The girl looked wide-eyed in amazement and bewilderment before rattling off more questions. "What is gun powder? How big is a rifle? What is it shaped like? What ignites the powder?"
For about fifteen minutes, he answered all of the girl's questions and even drew a simple diagram of a rifle as well as a bullet. She was about to continue with questions before a deep male voice called from the doorway to the back room.
"Tenten, why don't you come back here and take care of the inventory, and I'll deal with the customer."
"Hai." The girl stated looking up from the diagram. "Good luck." She said to Chronos before heading to the back.
Chronos looked up as well and spotted the tanned man standing in the doorway. He was tall and lean with a clean bald head and a straight scar running from his left temple to the jaw line. He was slightly dirtied with soot from a forge covering a welder's smock, blue coveralls, and gray t-shirt he wore. All and all, Chronos thought he had the look of a blacksmith save for the metallic look of his right arm. Compared to the tanned flesh on his bare left arm, the right was shiny silver in color and appeared heavier than the normal limb.
The man noticed the attention his customer gave his arm. "Not a normal arm, is it? It is a metal prosthesis that I made and grafted to my shoulder. I can move it with chakra." He stated pulsing said energy down the limb, prompting the hand to open and close.
"Sugoi," was all Chronos could say as he watched the obvious blacksmith make fists and flex his arm. He shook out of his blatant stare-down and proceeded to business. "Gomen, I didn't mean to stare. I am here to see if it was in any way possible to create the weapon I was describing to your employee."
The man chuckled at his presumption. "Tenten is my cousin, not my employee, even though she is sometimes overzealous when dealing with weapons. I heard she took a liking to your katana."
"She did at that but it is definitely nothing I want to part with. I didn't get your name?? Mine is Uzumaki Chronos." He stated extending a hand which, surprisingly, the man shook heartily.
"I'm Ryuuza Huuma. Kakashi already told me about your style of greeting." He stated before ending the handshake. "You said you were talking to her about getting a weapon made for you. Fill me in and I'll see what I can do."
For the next twenty minutes Chronos explained in as much detail as he could the inner workings and underlying principles behind a rifle. Huuma was attentive and mulled over many different options. At the end, Huuma could only shake his head in defeat.
"Gomennasai Chronos-san, but I don't think anyone in all of the elemental countries could produce such a weapon."
"Are you sure?" the Uzumaki clan head inquired stunned. "You obviously are quite talented to create that arm of yours."
Huuma merely shook his head again. "That rifle would be on a completely different skill level. This arm works only because I have the chakra control to be able to move the pulleys and levers inside the arm. It is nothing more than something a good puppeteer could do. That rifle is a different animal. I don't know anyone who could produce that gun powder or smith out the barrel you require. It would probably take years before someone could figure it out if they had the time."
"Kuso! There goes that idea." Chronos frustratingly replied, crumpling up the drawings he made. Any plans of reviving his sniper role here in Konoha went up in smoke.
"Not necessarily. Why not use a crossbow?" He asked curiously.
"Doesn't have the range I'd like, the bolts are not fast enough, it doesn't have much stopping power, and the reload time is too slow." The former sniper explained. "I used to be able to take someone out a kilometer away with one shot and then be able to shift to a second target in a matter of seconds. I can't get that with the crossbow I have."
Huuma furrowed his brow as thought about the problems he had with using the suggested weapon. Quickening the reload time would probably be unlikely and extending the range out to a kilometer would be damn near impossible. He decided however that the rest of his complaints definitely could be alleviated.
Satisfied with a course of action, he looked back into the clan leader's eyes firmly. "Bring your crossbow in tomorrow. I bet I can add some modifications to it that can at least increase the stopping power of your bolts and double the range of them."
"Really now? I guess that would be better than nothing." Chronos agreed after a moment's contemplation. Concluding his business with a polite good-bye, he turned and left the store, but not before giving one last glance to the zanpato hanging on the wall. He didn't know why he was so fascinated by the massive sword. Shrugging, he exited the store and made his way back home. If he would have stayed for a few moments longer, he might have noticed the runes on the zanpato giving off a silver glow.
Wave Country
Over history one of the best methods of gathering information would be to relax in the local taverns and bars. For Sorano Rai, it was here she could practice her craft. Her looks made it easy for someone with one or two bottles of sake in them to spill whatever secrets she wanted in exchange for the opportunity to have the seductress grace their bed later that night. With wavy flaming red hair that cascaded down to her shoulders, full red lips, stunning green eyes, long sensual legs that seemed to go on forever, and curves in decent amounts in the proper places, there was rarely a man or even a woman that didn't lust after her. Accentuated by pheromone-laden perfume, resistance to her charms was futile.
Today, her "group" needed information about an incident that was spreading around the region. A fierce battle was waged on the bridge and there were rumors about a strange energy that came from someone during the battle. That energy was the subject of her compatriots' interest. She found that the man who helped build the bridge was guarded by a group of ninja and he regularly came to a tavern named 'Gyosen'in Irie'; Fisherman's Cove.
This is what led her here sitting with a group of men as they listened to the bridge builder's tale of how a squad of shinobi from Konoha bested Momochi Zabuza and his associates as well as eliminating the shipping magnate, Gato. As typical of any story, it was heavily embellished and long-winded, but a piece of vital information emerged from it nonetheless. At one point a ninja named Uzumaki Naruto, proclaimed to be the Hero of Wave Country, wielded this crimson energy that seemed to make even the heartiest of warriors tremble in fear. Thinking that she heard enough, Rai slipped out of the tavern while the bridge builder regaled the establishment's occupants with the exploits of this 'Naruto'.
Strolling down to a nearby dock, she cautiously made her way to a nearby two-man boat. After releasing the mooring lines and starting the motor, she guided to small craft out a couple kilometers to a small shack on the Fire Country shoreline, grounding the boat onto the beach. Rai guardedly approached the door to the windowless shack and pressed her hand into an indentation above the handle, twitching her fingers in a set order. A simple click greeted her ears and she opened the door to find the outline of a man seated at a table in the center of the one-room shack.
"The tower stands against the deceivers to show us the way." The man stated firmly as he focused his head in Rai's direction.
She groaned before stating the canned response. "The way will remake the world for only the believers. Yeah yeah, I thought you'd realize by now that only I would come here."
A candle lit to reveal a bear of a man shrouded in a sickly green cape with his arms crossed and a tea set on the table next to him. He calmly grasped the cup nearest him and took a sip. "You know any of the deceivers of this tainted world could have used their wicked ways upon you. We have to be sure."
She grabbed the warm pot and poured herself a cup. One minute and a couple sips later, she got down to business. "It seems that the Ninth Traitor has been found."
The man calmly set down his cup and sat up in his chair. "Is that so? I thought that mangy beast met his demise years ago."
"Apparently not. Just like in Suna, it seems that it was captured inside of a young boy. There was talk of a battle a while ago and it seems that one of the shinobi, a kid by the name of Uzumaki Naruto, was wielding red energy." Rai reported wistfully.
The man gave a small humming sound as if contemplating the next move. "Is the report reliable and where is the shinobi from?"
She took another sip of tea before replying. "As reliable as it can be. The man was the builder of the bridge who said the boy protected him. They even named the bridge after the boy and there is talk of a statue of him and his team from Konoha."
"Konoha… I should have suspected that since it was where the beast was seen last." The man stated before taking another sip of tea.
"It won't be easy, sir, getting to this Naruto. Konoha is not an easy nut to crack." Rai warned.
After a couple moments in silence, the man stood and walked towards the door with Rai quickly following. "We won't need to. A few kilometers south of here lay the port of Rinkuu. The port magistrate there is a lazy man whom we can easily take with our numbers. Gather the flock. In a few days, we will have this Naruto coming to us."
"As you wish, Kanaye-sama. May the will of Myou guide you." Rai said as she walked past the shrouded man out into the night.
The man turned and walked back over to the table. He tipped over the candle and next to the still burning flame he dumped out a translucent green gel from a vial he pulled from his cloak. Pleased with his work, he quickly strode out of the shack and over to the abandoned boat. As soon as he maneuvered the craft back into the water, he started the motor and took off down the shore in the direction of Rinkuu. As he left the shack behind in the distance, it exploded, covering up the words he spoke on the ocean wind.
"May the touch of Akun strengthen you, Rai-san."
Konoha
'One task down…one more to go.' Chronos thought as he weaved his way along the streets and alleyways in the commercial district of Konoha. 'I just had to leave the complicated task for last. Not only do I have to find her, but I have to survive the encounter. I swear, taking gunfire in Kuwait City wasn't as stressful as asking Anko out.'
'I should just concentrate on finding her first before wearing myself out dealing with how I will approach her.' He concluded as he ambled back into the center of the village.
Unnoticed by him, the woman he sought stood on a rooftop nearby. She found out from the gate guard that the runt had returned and set off on a manhunt around the village. Ever since he made rank and received his seat on the Council she saw the man less and less. Instead of training regularly twice a day, his Council duties took up a portion of his mornings. Within a couple of weeks, the visits for training were paired down to a couple times a week. Luckily there was still the party every weekend where they could let loose, even though she rarely stayed longer than an hour. If it wasn't for that, she barely saw him and it grated at her.
She would be hard pressed to admit that she missed him, especially to his face. It wasn't in her nature to admit she felt lonely when she had been that way for years. However, in Chronos, she had a bit of a rapport with him that she'd gotten used to. They both flirted with each other comfortably, shared a hard edge with both work and play, and they both shared a bit of loss that you could see just by the look in their eyes.
If she was honest with herself, the days from the last couple weeks were boring and she wanted her running mate back, even if it was just to torment the runt. So as he wandered the streets she leaped from rooftop to rooftop shadowing him as she waited for the right moment to surprise him.
Said moment arrived as he stood peering into a local bar at the people inside as if searching for someone. 'I could go for a drink and some dango. Let's see if I can get him to pay for it.' Anko thought with a playful smirk. She quietly jumped over to the neighboring roof of the bar and silently jumped down so she would land behind Chronos.
'I don't see her in there. I could have sworn she said she usually goes out for sake and dango on Fridays.' He thought dejectedly. In the next moment a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind and the corresponding hands covered his eyes. A head rested on his right shoulder and he could feel the warm breath on his ear and the delightful smell of a woman's shampoo and a hint of a musky perfume.
"Aww. I thought we had something special, runt, especially after our first date and here I find you trolling in a bar?" A woman playfully whispered in his ear before giving it a darting flick with her tongue. The actions brought a shocking sensation to his spine that made him shiver uncontrollably.
His heartbeat quickened since he could easily tell the target of his meandering search found him first. Trying to turn the tables he pressed back into her, feeling the touch of her mesh shirt through the fabric of his outfit. He then brought a hand behind him and brushed his fingertips along her hip until he cupped her behind, squeezing it firmly through the mini-skirt she usually wore.
"Oh Gomen, but I thought it was just foreplay. If you wanted a date, you could just ask." Chronos stated quietly, deepening his voice in a sensual manner. He could feel her breath quicken before she tugged on his earlobe with her lips.
"I don't do dates, runt, but you can take me into that bar and show me a good time."
He smiled and tugged her hands down away from his eyes. "You must have read my mind. Come on, let's go before you find out I am not a runt in some ways." With that, he pulled the deadly and seductive kunoichi into the bar and started ordering sake and dango.
Iwagakure
Down to the last male and/or female villager in Iwa, there was one rule of thumb: no Leaf-nin ever sets foot in the village and leaves it alive. Losses from the previous war were too great to allow that to happen. Of course, with every rule there were always exceptions. For this one it was for two of the Sannin, Tsunade and Jiraiya. Tsunade was allowed due to her great medical prowess and it would be foolhardy to deny her entrance when it could save lives.
Jiraiya on the other hand was for a different reason. He was allowed in only under the explicit authority of the Tsuchikage, and no one outside the Iwa head ninja knew why the Toad Sannin was allowed access. Rumors circulated ranging from the female Tsuchikage being the inspiration behind his "literary" works to Jiraiya being a spy for Iwa to even him and the Tsuchikage being romantically linked.
The chocolate-eyed leader of Iwa chuckled at those ideas as the man came into her office. Like she would want a relationship with someone many years her elder or use anything of her likeness to be used in that porn he wrote. Instead, a set of pictures taken from images displayed during the last memory extraction was the reason why he was there.
"I'm glad you received my summons, Jiraiya-san. It seems that a change has happened in the seal." She stated in greeting, immediately getting to business.
The burly middle-aged shinobi dressed in a red yakuta over a mesh undershirt, green kabuki pants that stopped at mid-calf, gray bindings around the calves, and red wooded geta sandals merely nodded and sat in a chair before her desk. He knew when she spoke that there was no time for any flirty banter. Even though nothing would ever come of it, one could blame him if he did try such things with the attractive and strong leader of Iwa. With her flowing auburn hair, luscious cream colored skin that seemed soft to touch, a lithe athletic body that still had just enough curves, and long slender legs, it was rare for any man not to drool over her.
Now was not the time for that, if appearances from the pictures gave him any idea. From the fading of one of the seals, the change in the position of the outer ring of runes, and one of those runes being missing too soon, something drastic had happened. If the seal was weakening, then all it could spell was trouble.
"When did this happen?" The Toad Sage asked in a business-like tone.
"Two and a half weeks ago, Jiraiya-san." She replied, glancing at the pictures worriedly.
"By the look of this one," he replied pointing to the red energy prominent in one of the pictures, "it was a dose of the Kyuubi's chakra that did the trick."
"Have you been in Konoha recently? Has anyone been teaching him how to use that energy?" She asked pointedly.
"I haven't been there in a while but I doubt that neither my student's order nor the work of Sarutobi-sama was countermanded." Jiraiya remarked quickly. "I also doubt the seal was broken or I would have been ordered back there by now. We all would have known if that happened."
The Tsuchikage nodded before looking out the open window of her office that faced the tower's general direction. "We were fortunate that the kitsune seal has not vanished completely. We will need to be more vigilant in watching the boy."
As if on cue, a red falcon with a small scroll attached to its underbelly perched on the windowsill. "Ohayo, Akiri-sama. Message from Himuri-chan."
"Arigato, Suri-san. How is she doing?" She inquired while carefully removing the scroll.
"Rather well since I saw her two days ago." Suri stated while looking around the room. He noticed the gray haired Sannin in the office and kept his eyes on him. "It's been a while, Jiraiya-san. How is Gamabunta doing?"
The Toad Sage smiled at the bird. "He is just fine. I haven't seen him in a while since he started training Gamakichi."
A smile graced the falcon's face, or as much as a beak could manage. "The joys of parenthood. It seems only yesterday that my youngest, Tanis, took his first flight from the nest."
A small frown crossed the Tsuchikage's visage. "Suri-san, inform Himuri-chan that she is to maintain protective surveillance of Naruto and wait for Jiraiya's arrival before doing anything more." She informed the falcon before giving him a small pouch. "Safe journey."
As soon as the falcon took back to the skies, the Sannin turned to Akiri. "My arrival?? What happened?"
"A team from Konoha has been sent to retrieve you to specifically help with Naruto. After they find you, the team is supposed to take a look at the tower." She reached over to her desk drawer and pulled out an envelope. "Here is a copy of all the pictures I've shown you. Give that to the team you meet. It should help keep from having any unwanted infiltrations. Other than I and perhaps a few others, any intrusion by your forces would be… unwelcome. Best not to start a war no one wants."
"Beautiful and smart. A nice catch for any warm-blooded man. Why, then, haven't you married one yet?" Jiraiya asked teasingly before taking the envelope and disappearing in a puff of smoke and leaving a fuming Akiri in his wake.
Hokage Tower
It had been a week since the last mission and Naruto was feeling good about himself. Yes, there was still some anxiety over what could happen, but between time training with the team and relaxing with Hinata his worries had faded. Today was supposed to be the day Team Seven would head back out for another mission. With everything that happened before, most people would be looking for something easy. Most people hadn't met Naruto.
"Come on Ojiisan; please tell me we have a good mission and not another 'Find Tora' clunker!" Naruto pleaded.
Kakashi sighed while flipping to another page in his book. "Now Naruto, the last mission was a C-rank mission that turned into an A-ranked one. I think it would be best for us to have something milder this time."
"Yeah Naruto, listen to Kakashi-sensei. It also wouldn't hurt you to be a little bit more respectful." Sakura admonished the blonde.
"Whatever." Naruto muttered before turning back to the Hokage. "So what are we getting??"
The Sandaime was pleased that the boy seemed to be back in decent spirits. It was not often that you find out that your next birthday could be your last or that one wrong step could mean the demise of everything you knew. He may have moped around a little, but now he appeared to be like the Naruto he knew and cared for.
'You never stay down for long, Naruto. I wonder if the rumor of you dating the Hyuuga heiress has anything to do with it.' He contemplated before turning to the business at hand.
"Patience, Naruto. I do have a mission for your team today and it is a C-ranked one." The Hokage mentioned. When C-ranked was mentioned, Naruto's eyes lit up. He also noticed Kakashi about to protest, so he headed that off before the argument could begin by holding up a hand. "Before you say something Kakashi, your team will not be going alone. This mission is for two teams to complete. It isn't too terribly complicated and I doubt from the mission parameters that any missing-nin are involved."
Sasuke perked up at that statement. "Two teams??"
"That's correct, and the team joining you should be here shortly."
No one needed to wait too long, as less than five minutes passed before a raven haired, red-eyed Jounin and her team walked into the room. As soon as Hinata spotted Naruto, she blushed slightly and gave soft smile, which Naruto mirrored.
"Nice to see you, Kakashi. I was just on my way to ask my team for a C-rank mission. You might need to keep up before your team falls too far behind." Kurenai teased.
Kakashi noted she made a slight gesture to his Icha Icha book and paled slightly in remembrance of the terms the bet dictated back when their teams graduated. "I don't think my team needs to worry about falling behind yours, especially led by someone needing dating advice in the near future." He responded with an eye smile that reeked of the playful jab he sent her way.
"Coming from a guy with his head in a porn novel, I'll take that for what its worth." She remarked simply while crossing her arms across her plentiful chest.
The six Genins stood to the side watching the verbal tennis match. No one really knew what was going on, but the first to mention it was Naruto.
"Hinata-chan, got any clue what is going on?" he whispered.
"No, Naruto-kun. What do you think, Kiba?" she quietly asked.
"I am not sure but it looks like they might not like each other." The Inuzuka replied.
Sasuke merely scoffed in a hushed tone. "It looks more like a rivalry to me. I just wish they would hurry up and get on with the mission." The other five nodded and they weren't alone in that sentiment.
The Hokage coughed, gaining the attention of the two assembled teams. "If we could get on with this, I'll explain what this mission is for both of your teams."
"A joint mission, Hokage-sama??" Kurenai asked in a shocked tone.
"Precisely." He stated before tossing the mission packet and scroll to the two Jounin, which caught them in a pair of swift movements. "We have received a communiqué from the magistrate of Rinkuu, one Namamoto Yashin. The shipping caravans sending supplies from the deliveries coming into the port have been under attack for the last few days. It is believed to be a group of bandits and thieves that used to be under the employ of Gato."
Simply uttering that man's name brought an uncontrolled flinch from the Genin of Team Seven, which did not go unnoticed by the two Jounin or the Hokage.
"Are we sure it is just bandits?" Kurenai asked, vaguely aware of the mission Team Seven returned from only a week ago.
"The report from the magistrate states that the group of bandits has around thirty to forty in its number. He also mentioned that with Rinkuu's close relationship with Wave Country, it would be proper for Team Seven to go just in case your mere presence could scare off the bandits. Either way, with the happenings around the last mission, I decided it would be best to send a second team along." The Hokage explained before locking eyes with the two Jounin. "Do you two accept this mission?"
"Hai, Hokage-sama." Both Jounin stated quickly.
"Very well," he replied. "Yashin-san is expecting you in four days at his office. Good luck and dismissed."
Off in one of the training areas nearby, two men stood underneath the shade of a large oak tree. One man leaned slightly on his cane while the other stood rock solid and glanced around from behind a mask, ensuring that his master was safe and the area secure. Satisfied, the masked man pulled out a small hand mirror and waived it slightly, catching the light that drifted between the leaves.
It took only a couple moments before a third person walked forward from a tree a few meters away, careful to stay in its shadow. The man with the cane at least was able to spot the other's glasses as he reseated them on his nose.
"The secondary plan is going as scheduled. My benefactor will be here for the finals of the exams and we will strike. Are things in order here?" The bespectacled man solicited.
"Everything is going to schedule except for one. Jiraiya and Tsunade have been summoned to deal with an issue using the container." Danzo informed his cohort. "If they stay past October, they will pose an issue."
The man he addressed walked forward a step and reseated his glasses again. This time his face was completely visible and recognizable as Kabuto. "Then for both our sakes, I suggest that you ensure that they do not interfere."
After those words, both parties melded back into the shadows leaving no trace of their presence behind.
(A/N): I appreciate all those who have read and reviewed so far on this story. Please review this chapter and let me know what you are thinking. I have placed a new poll on my profile page. Help me choose which story I write next. I might write my next idea as a collaboration with another author, so let me know if you are interested.
