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Chapter 26 – The village of monks
"ARGH! Why can't I just get it to work! Kurenai-sensei what am I doing wrong?" Kurenai and the rest of Team 8 just sighed at Naruto's rather obnoxious sounding whine. They had only just left the village barely an hour ago and Naruto was already driving them all mad. Well, except for Hinata who had grown use to Naruto's loud volumes over the years and just giggled at his sudden outburst.
Deciding it was best to at least attempt to keep her hanyou student calm if only to keep him quite Kurenai left her place at the rear of the team and stood next to him to observe his progress.
"Well? What is it that seems to be the problem?" Kurenai asked gently, her gaze shifting to the small square shaped blue-green crystal that Hinata held near Naruto.
"I just can't seem to concentrate my chakra without setting that stupid thing off! I swear I'm using almost no chakra and it still picks it up!" Naruto's tails flicked in irritation as he pointed towards the small crystal Hinata held. Before even giving his sensei a chance to respond he held his hands together in the handsign of the Ram, focusing the chakra within him. Within seconds the chakra crystal Hinata held started to glow a brilliant blue almost blinding both him and Hinata with its intense rays of light, which then suddenly a raging red as Naruto growled in frustration as he stopped focusing.
"See! The stupid thing picks up even the smallest amount! How is this supposed to help me sensei!" Kurenai just laughed slightly as her frustrated student glared daggers at the small crystal, she knew that he would ever not make it glow, as it was made specifically for Genjutsu Masters.
It was a strong chakra crystal designed to detect even the most subtle of charka pulses and was used by her family to help learn perfect chakra control. The trainee would simply focus their chakra nearby the crystal and try to get their chakra flowing evening while getting the crystal to dim as much as possible. It was a very high level training and only the very best Genjutsu and Medical Ninjutsu specialists ever manage to fully stop the crystal from glowing.
"You are missing the point Naruto-kun. The idea is to teach you good chakra control, you have to focus your charka so that the crystal dims as much as possible. The dimmer the crystal's glow means the less your chakra can be sensed which means that not only will you have better chakra control but you will be harder to sense by enemy ninja." Kurenai explained calmly, still smiling brightly as Naruto's tails thrashed around in frustration. She could easily see that he was getting annoyed at his inability to perform the training, but she could also see that he was paying very close attention to her words.
'You remind him of Hitomi Hyuga, Kurenai-chan. It may seem quite hard to keep his attention but he does listen. Even if it pains him and reminds him of her he will grow to listen to you.'
Sarutobi's early words in her training of Team 8 echoed in her mind. At first she found Naruto wild and difficult to teach. But after only a week and a bit he, Hinata and Shino were really looking up to her, listening to her every word and drinking in her knowledge. It made her feel quite… special and proud as their teacher. A pride she knew would only grow as they did.
"Really? I don't actually have to make the stupid thing stop glowing but just dim it? Alright!" Almost immediately Naruto's sour mood instantly brightened and Kurenai sighed at her students bipolar actions.
"W-Wait Naruto-kun. You have to calm d-down to focus y-your chakra properly… You h-have a lot of y-yokai chakra because you w-were angry before…" Hinata whispered softly next to her hanyou boyfriend, her Byakugan eyes blazing brightly as she returned the sweet smile he gave her. She liked the effect she always had on him, a small gesture or kind words and he would instantly be as calm as a house cat.
'Or a house kitsune in his case.' She thought to herself with a small giggle.
"She is right Naruto-san. My Kikai are buzzing with anxiety, they find your chakra overpowering. Which is strange considering chakra is what they eat." Shino had been feeling a little uncomfortable around Naruto ever since their sensei gave him that crystal to help train with. Mainly because his insect companions always got frantic and upset when they felt his strength of Naruto's chakra and their emotions always messed with his own.
Nodding to his teammates and wrapping a tail around Hinata affectionately, causing her to go bright red at his actions, Naruto returned to focusing his chakra while the whole team continued walking to their destination. This time Naruto tried to remain calm and collected as he failed once again, the crystal almost blinding them all with its intense light.
"Don't worry N-Naruto-kun. I'm certain you w-will get better at it soon." Hinata encouraged as she shyly held the tail that had wrapped around her. She still wasn't sure how she should act with Naruto around her team. But Kurenai had said that she didn't mind their relationship as long as it didn't interfere with their training, and Shino… well Shino wasn't bothered by anything.
Kurenai smiled as she watched her two loverbird students. She knew it was dangerous to be in any sort of relationship with fellow shinobi as the enemy could use one against the other. But she felt it the best thing for those two as she could tell since she first saw them at the academy that they needed each other to grow, both as young adults and as shinobi. She also took note of the fact that Hinata wasn't causing the crystal to react by having her Byakugan eyes active.
'It's not possible is it? She couldn't have such a level of chakra control at her age! Even with the training I'm sure the Hyuga clan made her go through there is no way her control could be that good… could it?' Despite her amazement and peaking curiosity her attention was averted when Shino suddenly stood beside her, asking for mission details.
"So Kurenai-sensei, what do you know about Kuzaku Town? More specifically what do you know about this object we are suppose to retrieve from the bandits that attacked? It is always best to know as much as possible about any mission."
Kurenai nodded her head to acknowledge his question and smiled at his forethought. Out of her three students Shino was by far the most level-headed and was probably more of a leader type then Naruto or Hinata despite his silent personality.
"Kuzaku Town is not a major tourist attraction and doesn't have any militia force like the Hidden Leaf Village does. It is actually a town surrounding a large monastery. The monks living there are peaceful people and the town holds little monetary value so it is very very rare to get attacked. Which makes me wonder why they did attack and what makes this relic they stole so valuable." Shino nodded slowly at his sensei's explanation, he too thought it odd for bandits to attack a peaceful monastery. And to steal nothing but a single object means they had information about said object and were after it for a specific reason.
"Regardless of the reason I believe this mission will be an easy one for us. Bandits usually have no taijutsu training and even less have basic ninjutsu knowledge, they are usually just a ragtag bunch of thieves looking for a easy quick money making raid." Kurenai was usually quite calm and collected voice cracked for a second. A rather odd show of uncontrolled emotion that caught her teams ears when she seem to spit that last part of her sentence. Leaving the rest of Team 8 to wonder what had effected their sensei to make her upset even in the slightest way.
Naruto had been eavesdropping on any conversation his teammates had with their sensei, it was probably a really bad habit but in his case it was sort of unavoidable. His sensitive ears twitched slightly at his sensei's tone, something he would have to remember for later.
"Don't ask h-her about it N-Naruto-kun. I could t-tell that whatever Kurenai-sensei was t-thinking of brought her a lot of p-pain. If s-she wants to tell u-us she will." Naruto was quite shocked at having been caught eavesdropping but was equally confused on how his girlfriend knew what their sensei was talking about. That is until he noticed her Byakugan eyes were still active, a small pale blush on her delicate face as she tried to hide her shame at eavesdropping too by fiddling with her fingers. Except in her case she was just reading their lip movements.
Hinata just blushed brighter when she heard Naruto burst out in laughter, she herself had to question whether or not she was adopting more of Naruto's habits as the years went on. But seeing his happy face as he laughed mirthfully she didn't really care as she joined in on his contagious laughter. Utterly confusing both their teammate and sensei as to what was so funny.
'Hmm… I'm starting to see what Anko was talking about when she said they were an odd pair.' Kurenai thought with a smile. Before returning to her conversation with Shino, she could tell that his clan's famed logic might come in great use in helping to formulate any plans of attack.
It was late into the afternoon before they finally arrived at there intended destination. Which was not soon enough for Team 8 who had been slowly growing irritable from both the travel and from the constant pulses of chakra Naruto kept emitting while practicing his chakra control exercise. Something he hadn't progressed on at all.
Climbing the last hill, Naruto and Hinata both smiled brightly at the sight they saw, a smile that was closely followed by Shino's and Kurenai's.
"I-It's so beautiful. Just l-like from the old s-story books." Hinata and Naruto both stared at the sight before them with little stars in their eyes, both enjoying the beauty before them.
Kurenai just laughed at her student antics before admiring the sight as well. She herself had visited Kuzaku Town twice before, both on missions of course, and each time she found herself in awe of its magnificence. Even Shino, who didn't display any outwards signs of appreciating the view, was enjoying it if the buzz of his beetle companions were any give away.
Before them was a small but rather lively village, brightly coloured with various lanterns lighting up the streets as people hurried about their business in the late afternoon. Various children ran around the streets playing happily as their parents spoke amongst themselves. The village was beautiful having the most diverse array of colours it just held a happy atmosphere. Similar to when grand festival is held, their just seemed to be an excitable feel about the place, an excitement that was making Naruto giddy in anticipation.
But it wasn't the beautiful town that held their gaze and caused them such wonder, it was the humongous temple that towered behind the village. It was massive, easily over bigger then any single building in the Leaf Village and far taller then even the Hokage's Tower. The Temple consisted of a main dome with three hugs circular spires reaching upwards from its centre and two side points. The whole temple was surrounded by a huge wall, easily over 5 meters high, with highly decorative scenes of battle and celebrations carved into them. The only reason they could see over the wall was because the village and the temple were at the bottom of the mountain, nestled in the valley. Although the temple was still far higher up then the village, having at least 200 steps from the back of the village to the front door of the temple.
"Welcome to Kuzaku Village, this will be were we will be staying until the mission is complete. Our first priority is to talk with the head monk, he will brief us further on the mission as well as provide us with accommodations. Come on you three, we shall walk from here."
Following there sensei's lead, the young genin followed in single file behind her, all of them quite eager to experience for the first time an actual mission and another village. Although Naruto wasn't too keen on the idea, he was worried. In all of Konoha there is only a very few amount of people that ever looked at him with some sort of compassion. And he feared that even here he might get the same sort of treatment, or perhaps even worse.
Hinata seemed to sense her hanyou boyfriends concern, and easily noticed the short stiff movements his body made as he walked in front of her. "Naruto-kun? Are you o-ok?" Hear words seemed to make him jump slightly, almost like he was concentrating so hard she had scared him. But in an instant he returned to normal before looking behind him lovingly, a happy smile appearing on his face as he wrapped a tail around Hinata's hand.
"Yeah I'm ok… just a little worried about what they will think of me that's all." Naruto tried to give his most convincing of foxy smiles, but he knew that Hinata could see straight through his act even without her Byakugan. He wasn't scared, but he always feared what the villagers thought of him, and the possibility that this one might treat him the same was a dark thought that always seemed to eat away at his mind.
Kurenai watched carefully Naruto's face and particularly his eyes as he spoke to Hinata, she wasn't eavesdropping as such but more making sure that her team was in the best shape, and if Naruto's mind was distracted by fear then he wouldn't be at his best.
Apart from that, a small part of her could feel his pain, even if only for a moment she could feel and almost relieve the pain of the harsh memories that always threatened to engulf his mind. She could only shudder at the sadness that surrounded him at that moment, but she also could see just how much Hinata helped Naruto stay sane. 'Those two really perfect for one another… I just hope the ninja life doesn't tear one of them away from the other or I don't ever think they will recover.'
"Naruto-kun, you don't need to worry about the people of this village, they are all quite traditionalist so they might not judge you for what you are. But even if they do I won't let anything happen to you, you are apart of this team and I cannot have anything threatening my students." Kurenai's voice was firm and commanding and sounded almost like an order, but it seemed to have a sort of softness to it. A softness that once again caused Naruto to remember his mother and he found himself staring back at his sensei, but unlike all the times before where he would reject her command he nodded slightly with a smile.
Kurenai knew that she didn't need to say anything to him as Hinata would easily keep him calm, but she felt that he needed a different type of reassurance. And judging by his actions this time it was something that he took to heart.
'He watches you Kurenai-chan, as well as everyone around him. You won't ever be able to influence him like say young Hinata Hyuga does, but he does listen. As his sensei and especially as someone who doesn't think any ill of him he looks to you for guidance just as he would his surrogate family. But he also needs your compassion.'
Kurenai just smiled back at her three students behind her before turning back and continuing to walk down the mountain side. It wouldn't be long before it was night, and she and her team needed to rest before they continued the mission.
Team 8 slowly walked through the open archways of the village entrance and immediately began to feel the excited sounds of festivity. They didn't know weather some sort of celebration was happening or if this was just regular life in the town, all that they knew was that the welcoming and fun atmosphere made them all feel more at ease. Especially Naruto, who's ears were twitching furiously both from the festive sounds and for scanning for any threats. Hinata had tried to keep him calm but it seemed that the closer they got to the town the worse and more nervous he got.
As they entered, two guards in rather heavy looking leather and plate armour stepped quickly infront of the team, there spears crossing to block the path. They looked rather standard for guards, their only interesting feature being their completely bald heads.
"Halt! One woman and a bunch of snot nosed kids at this hour of the afternoon? I'll need some form of identification before we can let you pass." The sudden appearance of the guards and there weaponry made Naruto jump nervously and growl loudly, a tail moving infront of Hinata autonomously. His claws hands moving infront of him protectively, actions that caught the guards attention and caused them to step closer to the hanyou.
"Naruto calm down. I don't have to put a leash around you do I?" Kurenai asked rhetorically with a stern voice, smiling in satisfaction when Naruto lowered his head slightly in submission. The idea of being leashed sounding rather upsetting. "Please forgive him, he gets a little 'excited' easily but he means no harm. I have the identification paper here."
Reaching into her clothe battle dress Kurenai withdrew a small envelope containing their papers. Handing them to the guard on the left he quickly read over them, his eyes opening wide as he finished and quickly handed them back. "O-Oh my deepest apologies ma'am! I-I had no idea you were the team from the Leaf Village-" The guards quickly pulled back their weapons and the left guard beckoned over one of the other guards from his post. "-This is the Leaf Village team, take them to Kiharu-sama as he is expecting them." The guard quickly nodded to his superior before bowing to Team 8, beckoning them to follow him. The other guards also bowing very low as the team past them and entered the village.
The genin of Team 8 were a little shocked at the respect they were getting, almost everyone they past would step back slightly and bow low. It was… odd to receive such a greeting from anyone, especially a village they hadn't ever been to. It seemed that everyone was stopping their festivities and clearing a path for the team through the village, all of them bowing as they past.
Shino and Naruto in particular were a little unnerved by such actions. Hinata was use to this show of respect, being the Hyuga heiress she was practically the closest thing to royalty in Konoha. Shino however was an Aburame and despite being one of the strongest clans in Konoha they were always avoided because of their beetle companions.
And Naruto… well Naruto was just use to hateful glares and curses. So to receive such respect from complete strangers was more then a little odd. Plus it was stranger still to see the looks they would all give him as he past them. They all look at him in confusion and question, almost like they weren't sure about something about him. This confusion only increase when he would move his tails or ears, causing shock and mumour through the crowds. But instead of worrying him it made him smile, he could easily hear what they were saying: no one knew about him so they didn't know what he was.
Naruto was so focused on listening to the villagers of this town, that he failed to notice a small girl probably only 3 years old, walk through the crowd on the left side and up to him. That was until his ears focused away from the villagers and heard her tiny footsteps next to him. But as he turned around one of his tails knocked her head slightly, pushing her to the ground.
Kurenai stopped instantly as she saw the young girl fall down, but before even she could think of helping the young child up she found herself smiling as Naruto immediately jumped to help.
Naruto was horrified that he knocked the little girl down, and felt terrible when he saw little tears forming on her face. Leaning down to the little girl, he gently wrapped two tails around her, lifting her into the air much to her surprise, causing her tears to stop almost instantly. Noting that she had slightly scrapped her little hands when she fell, Naruto gave each hand a little lick, causing the girl to giggle cutely at the tickling feel not even realising that her little scratches were healing.
"Hehe, I'm sorry, I didn't see you. I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Konoha's Kitsune Hanyou. What's your name?" Naruto asked excitably, intent on cheering the little girl up.
"My name's Kikyo! You fox Naruto?" Naruto smiled brightly as she reached up to his twitching fox ears. To which he just raised her higher so she could grab them, still smiling brightly at holding her. It had been so long since he had been allowed to touch someone's child. The last one was the children of the Branch family of the Hyuga clan, and children in that clan especially the Branch were a rarity.
"Yes, I'm a fox. A special fox called a Kitsune." Naruto said happily as he shuddered slightly from the little girl pulling his ears. He wasn't a full Kitsune but he knew explaining it to her would have just been confusing.
When she had finished playing with his ears and the whisker like marks on his face, he gently gave her a quick hug before asking where her mother was. As she pointed out her mother in the crowd Kurenai gave a small smirk as she watched her genin walk over to hand the young girl back to her mother, happily receiving a thank you and a pat on the head from the woman.
Taking this a perfect opportunity to stir her only female student she leant down to Hinata's ear while taking note of the lovestruck expression on her face.
"Looks like you have chosen well Hinata-chan, he looks like he will make a fine father." Kurenai just laughed heartily as she watched her student turn bright red before stammering out for her to not say such things. "Alright I won't. But you have to admit that you liked to see him so good with little kids."
Hinata just chose to bury her face in her hands instead of respond. She liked her sensei a lot both because of her stature as a top kunoichi of Konoha and also because of her stern but fair training methods. But it was times like this when her sensei purposely embarrassed her that she just wanted to hide.
Although as much as she wanted to hide, she had to admit that she was really star struck for a moment there seeing how well he played with the little girl. And for another moment she was picturing a possible future where that little girl was there own, just with fox ears and a single tail, with bright lavender eyes.
Hinata had to physically restrain herself from passing out at the wonderful thought, and just continued to try and hide her embarrassment by pulling her hood over her head.
Even after returning the young girl Kikyo back to her mother several times, each time Naruto tried to walk back through the crowd to his team somehow she had escaped her mother's hold would follow Naruto back, grabbing hold of his tails when she could.
He was happy that she liked him, but judging by the looks Kurenai was giving him he could tell that his sensei would preferred if he hurried up as they had resumed walking through the village to the steps of the monastery.
'Remember Naruto, a ninja must use any available tool, opportunity, or ability to trick or distract their opponent. A distracted opponent will give you an opening to attack and deal with them, or an opportunity to escape if you need to get away. This is a good skill to have and practice in real life as it can help you out of many different situations.'
Naruto mulled over the first lesson Kurenai had taught the team when she started explaining genjutsu to them. He didn't really want to use trickery to get away from the young girl, but he really did need to catch up with his team. "I have to go now Kikyo-chan, I have to go with my team. I'll come visit later to play ok?" Before even giving the little girl a chance to nod in understanding Naruto focused a small amount of Yokai chakra, before literally phasing away from existence as his body seemed to blow away like a breeze. But in his place three small kitsune kits ran around Kikyo, causing her to giggle in delight before chasing after them. Not knowing they weren't real or that they were leading her back to her mother.
The crowd was quite amazed by his small demonstration of ability, and some of them clapped in excitement. It was only a small cheer, but to hear praise from other people, strangers, caused a warm feeling in his heart. 'It's different the way they look at me, none of them fear me or hate me… I like this village.'
Quickly using the cover of his illusion he dashed to catch up to his team who had started walking up the stairs to the monastery. Although Naruto was a little surprised when he saw Shino watching his approach, almost like he could somehow see where he was despite the illusion. It was something he would have to talk with his quiet teammate about later.
A rather exhausted guard slowly bowed and directed Team 8 to the temple. Having climbed over 200 stairs leading the group he wasn't use to such exercise and was breathing quite heavily. Something Team 8 found quite amusing considering none of them were even slightly tired. And Naruto could run laps up and down those stairs for a morning jog with his energy levels.
'Hmm… That is perhaps something I could try to see if I can settle him down during training. A few laps around Konoha with Guy and his little mini-me perhaps?' Although the thought was an interesting one considering Kurenai had been trying to tire out Naruto for training so he wasn't so hyperactive. But the horrifying idea that Naruto could be turned into another Guy mini-me was to horrible a thought and so she ditched the idea completely.
Walking ahead of her team Kurenai slowly entered the monastery, walking slow enough so that her students could awe at the amazing construction. The entrance was a huge stone archway similar to the one at the Konoha Academy but the grounds inside were much different. Inside was a massive hedge garden filled with similar flowers to the countryside ones they had seen on arriving. And what they assumed was a single building when they looked from the cliff side, was in fact two smaller temples attached to a large open hall.
Everywhere they looked there was various monuments and plaques, each of them depicting a scene or battle. Some of them were engraved with long mantras in a language that none of them knew. Most of the plaques however, were carved into the walls and ceilings of the monastery, giving a surprising amount of life to a expectantly boring and dull place.
Kurenai smiled as she saw her students captivated by the place and they each seemed interested in different aspects of it. Shino seemed to be really interested in the construction of the place as well as the various monuments and plagues of mantras. While Hinata seemed completely captivated from the beautiful garden. And Naruto… well Naruto was running through the whole place far to excited for normal behaviour.
She watched him freeze however when he came to one particular battlescene, one she was worried on how he would react.
Naruto had been running about like he usually would, examining and identifying anything he could. It was both his nature and his natural instinct to explore his surroundings, something he knew his sensei would lecture him about any minute now. As he sped around the inside building as he entered a certain battlescene carved into the walls caught his eye and he immediately stopped in shock. Standing up with wide eyes he slowly walked over to it, his heart racing as he could feel himself chock up a little, his ears no longer paying attention to his sensei's call.
The carved scene depicted a battle he had read a lot about, but seeing like it this, and seeing the destruction that was shown, caused his body to tighten in conflicting emotions. There before him was a carving of the Nine Tailed Fox destroying Konoha.
He could feel a slight rage built up as he stared at it, the Fox's nine flowing tails crushing his home, while roaring viciously as it was crushing a random ninja beneath its giant paws. As he studying it he could see that great detail was put into the faces of the villagers of the Leaf Village, faces of horror, fright and of hatred towards the attacker of their home, hatred he knew they all directed at him. Looking down at his clawed hands, flexing them slightly he placed one knew the paw of the Fox, knowing that it was the reason he was what he was, and the reason he was hated.
His rage only grew as he heard a deep growl in the back of his mind, followed by a deep mocking laughter almost like the Fox found it amusing that he was effected by such a depiction of the battle. 'If that's you you stupid fox then shut up! You are the reason for everything I suffer! It's all your fault I am this!' Partly blinded by his hatred and rage at the Fox, he lashed out in anger, aiming to claw the depiction of the Fox's head right off the stone wall. But his hand never collided, and he was shocked to feel a gentle hand holding his wrist.
Turning suddenly in fright, having not even heard his approach Naruto was confused to find an aged man smiling at him. Although Naruto knew smiles quite well, and could tell that this old man was somehow sad for him, almost like he could feel his pain. But what confused Naruto the most was that the man had so easily stopped him from striking that stone carving, something that most ninja didn't have the strength to stop let alone completely halt with a gentle grasp.
"I sense so much rage in you young man, so much buried hate and anguish for something out of your control and that was not your fault." Naruto lowered his hand in response and the aged man released his wrist, before he started to study him.
Naruto never liked people looking at him oddly, but this man's interest seemed different. Naruto attempted to speak and explain but almost instantly as he did the man quickly placed a hand on Naruto's head, a calming sensation passing through him almost like his anger at the Fox was suddenly put to ease.
"You must remain calm young man. Or young hanyou would be more appropriate yes?" Seeing Naruto's eyes widen in shock the man smiled slightly, his aged face wrinkling as he did.
"You mustn't worry, I know what you are and how it happened. You were a victim of circumstance and it turned out to be your biggest curse, and yet your biggest gift." The man pointed slowly to each physical aspect of Naruto that was influenced by him being a Kitsune Hanyou, going from the claws, to the tails and ears, then to his heart.
"You have been cursed with a hatred, yet gifted with strength, mobility, agility, hearing, ability-" on the last he slowly pointed to the rest of Team 8 who were being spoken to by a few monks of the temple, in particularly he was pointing to Hinata.
"-and gifted with love. You needn't fear or hate what's inside you, but learn to accept it and live with it. I sense you have great pride in what you are, but I also sense a great deal of buried and hidden resentment. I suggest you deal with it before it eventually consumes you, or worse, the one you love."
Naruto was completely taken off guard by this strange old bald man's words. But they rang so true it almost hurt. But there was also something about what he said that made a great deal of sense, he may have been cursed to be hated… but at the same time he had been given so much. 'And maybe… if it wasn't for the Fox I wouldn't have ever met Hinata-chan…' Naruto's usual smile returned and he bowed low to the aged man, something he rarely ever did to anyone.
"Your welcome young man, now come, I believe you and your team have a mission to discuss with me yes?" Naruto hadn't known how quickly this man had so easily read him, but with that sentence Naruto understood who he was, he was the head monk of the monastery and their employer.
"Yes sir." Naruto said, completely out of character of him when adding respect, especially when he bowed again before he quickly dashed off to his team. The man had so easily read him and he accepted him even before knowing him, something that gained him a lot of respect from the hanyou.
About 20 mins later Team 8 were seated before a great statue of the moon, apparently a tribute to Tsukuyomi the Moon God, as the old monk now identified as Kiharu the Head Monk spoke at length about the mission with them. Shino, Hinata and Kurenai were focused on his explanations but Naruto was for something different distracted. Although it was from the scent he could smell that was keeping his attention… it was strong and musky, aged and sweaty and for some reason it just seemed to smell of hatred and rage. If hatred and rage could actually be given a smell that is.
Almost like Kiharu had sensed Naruto's distraction he called to the boy he knew was there and keeping the hanyou's attention. "Daisuke-kun, please do not hide. Come out and greet our guests." Kiharu's voice had lost its soft and peaceful monk sound, and gained more of a stern fatherly tone. One used to reprimand a child who is misbehaving.
Naruto and Team 8 followed the direction Kiharu had called, and a few moments later a rather gaunt small boy proably around the age of 10-12. He was dressed in the same white robes that all the other monks wore but for some strange reason he didn't have a shaved head, instead having a bowl cut of brown hair just low enough to cover the top of his eyes.
He walked towards the group rather slowly, his gaze focused on the floor and so they couldn't see his eyes. But they could feel his rage, particularly Kurenai who could tell that the boy was dealing with some sort of loss and still hadn't dealt with it.
When he was within a few meters of Kiharu he bowed slightly before sitting next to his superior, his gaze still looking at the ground, his hands shaking slightly from his evident rage. Kiharu seemed unfazed by the boy's current turmoil but it was unnerving to Team 8.
"There we are. Now as I was saying the relic was stolen by the bandits and taken in the northeast direction. They have a camp not even half a days travel from here but they have never posed a threat to us so therefore we have ignored them. Up until now that is, as the relic they stole has great value both monetary and spiritually as it belonged to the first Lord of the Land of Fire and was given to us to safeguard. Daisuke-kun here and his mother were the two selected guardians of it.-" Team 8 noted that Daisuke instantly jerked a little at hearing him and his mother mentioned, something that seemed to make him more and more angry.
"She was quite the fighter Lady Kia, she was strong, agile and cunning. And she was more at one with herself then any other monk of her generation. She was a perfect guardian, but sadly during the raid when the bandits came to steal the relic, Lady Kia fought them and stopped many of them from taking anything else of value, but when she was fighting to defend the relic she was forced to defend one of the other monks of the temple and was killed." Kiharu's voice changed once more, adopting a more solemn tone to it, like he truly felt for Lady Kia's death.
"She will be missed dearly, but I don't believe in letting her sacrifice left in vain. With your teams help Kurenai-san, I believe that we could easily retrieve the relic and return it safely back here. We need most of the monks here to defend encase of another attack, but I can send some along with you if you need their assistance."
Daisuke however obviously didn't share Kiharu's solemn feelings, and as soon as he had finished talking he exploded. "HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT! MY MOTHER WAS MORE THEN JUST A WORTHLESS GUARDIAN THAT CAN BE REPLACED! SHE DEFENDED THIS PLACE WITH HER LIFE AND ALL YOU CARE OF IS WHETHER OR NOT WE GET THAT STUPID PIECE OF JUNK BACK! WAS MY MOTHER THAT WORTHLESS TO YOU? THAT A SIMPLE ORNAMENT IS MORE IMPORTANT THEN HER LIFE!" Before anyone could react Daisuke stormed off in a rage, running from the main temple and out of sight before Kiharu could say anything in response. "I HATE YOU KIHARU AND EVERYONE HERE! I WISH YOU ALL WERE DEAD! AND THAT MOTHER WAS STILL ALIVE!" The raging voice of Daisuke could be heard echoing loudly throughout the entire monastery. The mixture of rage and deep hurt could be felt within each and every one of his words. But it was more what he had said that really hit home for Naruto and Hinata.
As they could easily empathise with his pain. As they too, had lost their mother. Plus, they could see the rage and lust for revenge written deep within his bloodshot eyes as he had shouted. They weren't sure what the boy was capable of, but he certainly looked like he wasn't too stable. And from his words, they both found themselves holding their chests tightly, the sad memories of their own mother filtering into their minds. Bringing up old pains they found themselves unconsciously moving closer to each other for comfort.
"Please excuse my pupil, he is not dealing well with his mother's death and just assumes that we don't care about what happen to Lady Kia… But believe me when I say, that to some of use, Lady Kia was like a daughter." Kiharu bowed his head slightly and Team 8 could have sworn they saw a single tear fall from his eyes, he himself obviously being the reference to the some who thought of her as a daughter.
"But please excuse my lack of hospitality, let me show you to your accommodations for the remainder of your mission. Dinner has already been prepared for your arrival." In an instant all sign of sad emotion left the aged monk and he stood slowly before slowly walking to the entrance of the monastery. Beckoning Team 8 to follow him.
"AH! That hit the spot! That was delicious! Although too bad it wasn't ramen, I could really go for some ramen." Naruto proclaimed loudly as the team entered their shared quarters in the town's inn, before quickly running and jumping on one of the beds spreading out and loudly claiming it as his.
"How could you possibly want more food Naruto-san? You ate more then all of us combined. How is it possible for you to eat so much?" Naruto jumped up and sat on his bed in a single flip motion looking at Shino with a big sheepish grin.
"Hehe I don't know, I guess I'm just always hungry for some reason. Aren't I Hinata-chan? I just never stop eating huh?" Naruto asked in his usual upbeat tone, bounding over to her as he noticed she was unpacking her bag.
Hinata just giggled slightly as she felt Naruto's tail hug her close as he started helping her unpack and she went bright red from embarrassment as he suddenly gave her an affectionate lick on the cheek, making it hard for her to answer his question.
"Y-Y-Yes that's r-right. N-Naruto-kun e-eat so much t-that the cooks b-back at home use h-him to try out there l-latest recipes. And y-you should s-see him when he goes t-to Ichiraku Ramen. His record i-is 29 bowls of ramen." It was hard to tell whether Hinata was embarrassed by those facts or proud of her hanyou boyfriend because her face was still bright red. Although that number of bowls made a visible sign of disturbance with Shino. His body shifting slightly in disbelief.
"Hmm… that sort of consumption isn't healthy for you Naruto-kun. From now on I want you to limit yourself to 2 Ramen bowls every two days. If you have any more then that I will not help you develop your jutsu for a whole month." Naruto's head spun round to look at his sensei so fast that everyone thought he may have snapped his neck, a look of complete horror replacing his usual happy face as he desperately tried to stammer out an excuse.
"Bu.. Wha.. Wh.. Whe.. BUT WHY?" He screamed it horror, falling to his knees he started begging as he crawled his way to Kurenai, slowly transforming into a little kit with very big eyes. Kurenai just shook her head with a smirk, amused by his attempts before lifting the little kit up and tossing him on his bed. Large fake tears falling from his eyes, obviously another illusion he had conjured up to attempt to help him.
"The reason I set you that restriction is because you need to start eating normal and more healthy food. You must eat better if you wish to develop better as you grow. You don't what to stay as short as you are now forever do you?" Kurenai knew for a fact that he wasn't short, having outgrown most his own age but a fair amount. But she knew that it would be something to hit his nerves, and shut up his annoying fake tears.
It had the desired effect as almost instantly Naruto stopped his little mini tantrum and slowly transformed back to his normal self, albeit a lot more in a sulking mood.
Shino too found it amusing on how his sensei messed with his hyperactive teammate, for some reason he seemed to like Naruto's rather 'odd' habits. Although he also found his childish and unprofessional nature rather irritating at times, but he knew that he could count on his strength.
A soft knock at the door distracted Team 8 from their laughing at Naruto, and in an instant Naruto's sour mood vanish, being replaced by a rather happy waving of his tails and his eyes brightened up.
Kurenai answered to door as her team continued to unpack and before her stood a young woman with long black hair in a nice white kimono standing at the door. Before Kurenai could even greet her the woman bowed low as she addressed her.
"Oh h-hello, I-I'm so sorry if I am interrupting anything Ninja-sama. My name is Kishio Unami and my daughter Kikyo wishes to know if she can see your student Naruto-san. I understand perfectly if you can't allow this but she really wanted to see him." Kurenai bowed back politely to the woman before smiling slyly. Although Naruto was a perfect student in regards to willingness to learn he was incredibly hard to keep calm and entertained during less… 'interesting' tasks such as planning out tomorrows strategies. And as such found this to be the perfect opportunity.
"I will allow him to spend time with your daughter Unami-san, wait right here and I'll send him to you. You can have him for 2 hours after that I will need him back." Kurenai smiled again as the woman bowed low once more, before she closed the door to explain to Naruto.
"Naruto-kun, that little girl you were playing with earlier today wishes to see you. Here mother is at the door waiting for you, you can go spend time with her but I want you back in 2 hours got it?"
Naruto was perhaps a little too excited for just spending a little time with a 3 year old, but he obviously liked the little girl. Although it was far too easy to predict Naruto's following question of 'If Hinata-chan can come too.'.
"No Naruto-kun I need her here. You go be with that little girl and I shall be here later to talk with you. If you do a good job of looking after her and also make it back on time I might give you a secret hint to that helping with your chakra control exercise with that crystal. And… I'll maybe even show you a genjutsu of mine for you to try and copy with your illusions." Kurenai knew she had him hook, line and sinker at just the chakra control tip, but she needed to make sure his mind was occupied with excitement so he didn't question why she was allowing him to slack off for the night.
In an instant Naruto lept up, running over to Hinata giving her a quick kiss on the lips, which caused her to go bright red from embarrassment at being kissed infront of her sensei and teammate, before he sped through the door of their room, almost knocking over poor Kishio in his hurry.
Laughing heartily at his sheer levels of energy and enthusiasm, as well as her own ability at manipulating/controlling him, she turned to the remainder of her students. "Right you two, we need to come up with a decent plan and a number of strategies for dealing with tomorrows mission. They may only be bandits but we must still be wary of traps and ambushes."
Hinata looked up at her sensei, evidently a little weirded out that she would exclude her Naruto in such an important team exercise. Something Kurenai obviously picked up from the girls expression.
"You don't need to worry Hinata-chan, Naruto wouldn't have the patience to plan out the strategies we need as he is more of a hands on person. Besides, I sent him out also because I know he would be continually searching for any danger, with his sense of hearing and smell if anything is to happen tonight he will be the first to sense it and as such is the perfect scout tonight."
Hinata had to admit that here sensei's reasonings were sound, although for some reason she just couldn't shake the strange feeling that something wasn't right. Although she couldn't tell if it was something to do with her Naruto-kun, or it was something else. Shaking her head to rid herself of the feelings she sad down next to Shino as they listened intently to what Kurenai explained to them.
Back at Konoha, inside the main meeting hall of the Hyuga's Main Family. Hiashi silently sipped his tea as he sat at the head of a long mahogany table, trying his best to ignore the constant ramblings of the Hyuga Elders that joined him at the table.
It wasn't often that a meeting of this nature was called, and so far Hiashi saw no need for it as they only seemed to discuss simple matters like the number of Hyuga children joining the academy, the number of missions given to them over the last month. Trivial things that Hiashi knew he wasn't needed for as they dealt with all of the logistics while he was the one to decide upon the more important matters that actually influenced the clan.
Although looking over at Hiroshino Hiashi knew the old coot held something up his sleeve. Something he knew that he wasn't going to like but still needed to know and as such was the only reason he hadn't bothered to just adjourn the meeting. Hiroshino had been a rather sneaky member of the Elder Council in the clan for many years now and Hiashi prayed for the day when he would just hurry up and die from old age. It seemed he just object to everything Hiashi said and would always raise an argument over the simplest of matters. But above all it's his 'traditional' way of thinking about the Branch family that really ticked Hiashi off.
"Hiashi-sama, I believe that you have a particularly important topic to discuss with us yes?" Hiroshino called out from the other end of the table, a sickly sweet and innocent grin forming on his face.
Placing his tea down slowly, Hiashi just looked up in his 'superior and super stoic' face and declined Hiroshino's claim, stating that there was nothing to his knowledge that he needed to discuss.
"I'm more talking about your daughter's suitor Hiashi-sama, she is coming of age soon and must be married to an appropriate suitor that would make a good clan leader. I'm sure you yourself have thought heavily on this and have come up with a good solution that is most beneficial for the clan yes? If you are lacking candidates I'm sure my grandson would make a find suitor." Hiashi's face suddenly darkened as he glared daggers at Hiroshino, it wasn't often he should emotion to other Hyuga, especially the Elders. But this was just a little too far, although probably the best time to mess with the old badger.
"Why yes she is reaching the age where she must be wed, but I already have a suitor I have been studying and I believe he will make a perfect husband for my daughter." Hiroshino seemed to have been predicting that as an answer and immediately counted with something he knew would stir the other elders.
"I hope you don't mean that demon brat Hiashi? You would not consider bringing that tainted blood into the Hyuga clan would?" Hiashi narrowed his eyes further at that semi-rhetorical question, he just knew that Hiroshino would start this up.
"What would make you say that Hiroshino-sama, you know I only think of what's best for the clan." Hiashi countered as carefree and emotionless as he could, sipping his tea again to display a disinterest in the topic.
"I have heard the rumours Hiashi, the rumours that your daughter is getting a little too 'friendly' with the demon child. You shouldn't even be letting her near it let alone that 'close' to it. You are getting weak Hiashi, perhaps it is time that you step down and let a stronger more suitable leader take your place." The other elders eyes widened in surprise that the literal stab at the Hyuga clans leader, their superior, and most of them had to wonder about his words as they were borderline treason.
"I would watch your tongue if I was you Hiroshino, you may be the eldest of our clan but I am the Head! You will respect my position and authority over this clan! Everything I do is in the whole clans best interests! This meeting is over, you will all go home as there is nothing further we need to discuss." Hiashi bellowed in a surprising moment of anger, before storming out of the meeting room.
"Then lets hope you have chosen someone suitable Hiashi-sama, you know full well what will happen to your daughter if you haven't!" Hiroshino smiled wickedly as did the other elders as they watched Hiashi continue to storm from the room. While the other elders didn't agree with their Hiroshino words they all knew what needed to be done. The first part of the plan had been implemented years ago, the remaining few parts were only just beginning. The Hyuga Clan would once again shine and return back to its former glory, and they would do anything to achieve that goal.
Even if to achieve that goal meant that their leader would have to be 'removed' like his wife was.
Outside the room three Branch family members had been listening intently to the meeting that had happened inside. Ever since young Naruto had stood up for them when he first met them they had been helping him wherever they could. Whether that be turning a blind eye to his 'out of hours' visits or handing him the guard timetables or just listening for information. They knew that this piece of information would be vital and as soon as they heard Hiashi approaching they quickly left. Intent on telling Hizashi everything they had heard.
Hinata thrust her hand forward once more as she tried again to attempt to recreate the technique. It was late at night, probably nearing almost midnight, but she couldn't sleep. She didn't know why but something was bothering her, something that she just couldn't shake. So instead of just worrying about it and not getting any sleep she decided the best to do was to try and practise that chakra control theories she read from the Forbidden Scrolls to help clear her mind.
The techniques that were described in the scrolls were only theory and there was very little way of proving that they would actually be useful for anything. But she just had a feeling that she could find something to do with them, whether they turn useful or not would be yet to be seen.
Turning to another tree near her in the forest clearing she was training at she returned to her family's fighting stance, her Byakugan blazing brightly as she focused her chakra to the centre of her hands in massive amounts of concentrations of chakra in just a very very small circle on her palm.
'The chakra must be molded and sculpted into the most smallest of spaces, influencing the control and concentration of the chakra would make it difficult to keep under these conditions. But manipulating chakra in such a manner and to such levels of concentration would be bound to improve all point-accuracy and point-control levels of chakra control.'
Hinata felt deep within her, reaching for her highest concentration of chakra and easily pulled it up, willing it to her control and quickly shifting it to her hands. She could see the brightness of her chakra reflect strongly from her hands, her Byakugan providing the perfect training tool to manipulate it to the very centre of her hands. When she had found the perfect centre she started to amass massive amounts of chakra to the same location, condensing it to levels that were described within the scroll. It made her hands heat up tremendously from the high levels of energy but it was a pleasant warmth.
'The next idea of this exercise originates from a medics ability to form what is known as 'Chakra Scapels' which are blades of highly concentrated and extended chakra from the tips of their hands. But what if this chakra concerntration was pushed further? And instead of extended but expelled as the thinnest of lines? Would it be possible to cut things just like the Chakra Scapel but on a slightly ranged distance? And if so, how much chakra would be required for such a technique, and more importantly how would anyone let alone expert level medical ninja ever hope to achieve such a level of chakra control?'
Following the instructions again Hinata focused the chakra in her hands into an even tighter circle, barely visible to even her Byakugan at the levels she condensed it. But as she concentrated and tried to expel the chakra as tiny lines above her hands she found her control slipping. Quickly stricking out with a swift arching palm strike along the trees surface, Hinata could easily see the chakra dissipate as soon as it was released from her palms. Ouch again failing her technique.
"What are you doing Hinata? You shouldn't be out this late as you will need to be well rested for the mission tomorrow." Hinata jumped almost out of her skin at the sudden voice of her sensei mere centimetres behind her. How she had not seen her approach with her Byakugan's 360 degree vision she would never know. Perhaps she had just been concentrating on her exercise so intently she just didn't see anything else.
Turning around quickly Hinata desperately attempted to stammer our her reasons, while at the same time trying to hide her embarrassment. "I-I-I'm sorry Kurenai-sensei, I-I-I was j-just practising a t-t-technique I had seen a l-l-little while ago but I-I can't s-seem to get it r-right." In her embarrassment she fell backwards and landed into a patch of grass.
Kurenai just laughed at her young student's shyness. She would eventually need to break her out of it but it was still a cute thing to see.
"Don't worry Hinata I'm not angry. It's a chakra control exercise yes? Perhaps you could explain it too me and I could help. Besides, I'm sure Naruto-kun would be all over you with excitement if you show him you can do a new technique." Kurenai just laughed again as Hinata lit up like a lightbulb from such a simple statement before sitting down on the grass next to her to listen intently.
She had been watching her train for almost an hour and the technique she seemed to be practising was quite interested to her, perhaps even something that may be useful to her.
Somewhere in the mountains behind Kuzaku Town
Three cloaked figures dashed through the thick underbrush of the forest each of them covered head to toe in pitch black cloth, completely descuising them and blocking every part of them from view except for their eyes. Eyes that reflected the darkest parts of their souls and emotions, reflecting all the dark sins they had committed and the utter madness boiling within their minds at the thought of the murder and assassinations they were committing tonight.
Stopping silently behind a tree each, they gave a quick glance to one another, each of the silently smiling equally evil grins as they reached for their weapons. They had been payed to 'slaughter' as their benefactor had put it, so a slaughter was what they would give.
On a silent nod they leapt out to complete their mission, the only sound heard throughout the night sky was the sound of pain filled cries as the targets were literally torn to shreds.