Disclaimer: I claim only the silly storyline, but none of the characters or events in this story…
Sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoy the chapter. This chapter also is in raw form and has not been through my beta just yet.
Chapter 25 – Into Rice Field country…
Naruto grimaced at the new assignment, as he didn't like fighting Sound shinobi, as they had hurt Keiko. The other thing that bothered him was this was more of diplomatic mission than a search and destroy mission.
Several kilometers outside of Rice Field country they felt a chakra spike and headed towards it. They came to a clearing to find a clearing covered in blood and sand. At the edge were several Suna shinobi. Naruto and his team waited for Kikiyo to give orders. Naruto noticed the stench of fresh blood and also very old blood. The Sand team consisted of one older man with a veil covering the left side of his face, a boy in a cat suit with a large bandaged bundle on his back, a blonde girl with a large fan, and a psychotic looking boy with a large sand gord, red hair and the kanji for love etched on his forehead.
Naruto also smelled something that bothered him, he couldn't quite tell what it was until Kyuubi spoke up. "Naruto-kun, you smell demonic chakra. That boy is like you a jinchuuriki. Since we see a lot of sand I would conclude that it was Shukaku, the Ichibi," she said to him.
"Looks like we have another jinchuuriki to deal with here," Naruto said quietly, so only his team could hear.
Kikiyo adjusted her sun glasses and then asked, "So which one are we dealing with?"
"Shukaku, the Ichibi, the Sand tanuuki," Hinata replied.
"Since they are from Suna we are more than likely dealing with puppet, and Wind element users," Kikiyo explained.
"So we have Keiko deal with the guy with the bundle on his back, Hinata-chan deal with the fan girl, you deal with their jounin sensei and I'll take the jinchuuriki, while Haku-kun can stay behind as backup," Naruto said.
Kikiyo smiled and nodded. "Good initial plan Naruto-kun, but we need to find out if they killed Uzu or Oto shinobi first, and then what they are doing here," Kikiyo explained.
"I can feel you out there! Come out so mother can taste your blood and sate her hunger!" The red haired boy yelled.
Naruto shrugged, and said, "Guess that was our invitation. Be careful."
The team jumped into the clearing while Haku waited behind a tree to watch the outcome.
"What happened here?" Kikiyo asked.
"They got in our way so I ended them," the boy explained.
Naruto fished a headband out of the sand, and it had an Iwa insignia on it. "Looks like they ran into an Iwa patrol," Naruto explained.
"Care to explain why you're killing a patrol in our territory?" Kikiyo asked, as her brows furrowed.
"We were on a diplomatic mission to Rice Field country and were stopped by your 'patrol' they demanded our documents and we refused to hand them over. A fight ensued and that is how you found us," the Sand jounin explained.
"Did you travel to the Sound village?" Kikiyo asked.
"That is none of your business," the jounin answered.
Kikiyo put her hand to her head and shook her head. "Wait, let's try this again. I'm Kikiyo Fenikkusu, and this is my team, Akemi Uzumaki, Takara Hyuuga, and Keiko Senju. And you are?" she asked in a polite tone.
"I am Baki, and these are Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara of the Dessert. We only wish to pass through your territory and return to Suna, thus completing our mission," Baki explained.
Gaara began to fidget and the look in his eyes became wilder. Naruto began to pull chakra from Kyuubi and his features began to change. His hair became wilder, the marks on his cheeks became darker, his canine teeth elongated and his hands became claws. "Tell the Tanuki to calm down or we will have a problem," Naruto explained.
Baki couldn't contain his shock at a mere genin being able to recognize Shukaku's influence on Gaara. He also noticed the changes in Naruto and saw the fist wisps of red chakra forming around him. "So you also have a jinchuuriki, this would be a fight we should avoid, Gaara," Baki ordered, but Gaara seemed to not be listening.
"Yes! You will prove my existence!" Gaara yelled, as sand poured from his gourd.
"Calm your genin or I will have mine do it for you!" Kikiyo ordered.
The sand on the ground engulfed Naruto. All the Uzu shinobi looked at Hinata who just smirked and shook her head. "Bad idea tanuuki, Kyuubi won't be pleased," she said loud enough for everyone to hear.
All the Sand shinobi paled, even Gaara wore a look of surprise for an instant. He then grinned and moved his arm up. "Sand burial," he exclaimed, as his hand closed. The sand started to become a tighter ball, but then suddenly burst open.
Standing in an area that was now glass was Naruto with two chakra tails swishing behind him. "So the tanuuki wants to play," he growled in a playful tone.
"Your shinobi attacked on of mine thus he is fare game in the rules of engagement. Are you going to fight my team or allow this fight to continue?" Kikiyo asked, as she activated her Sharingan, which remained hidden behind her sunglasses.
"We have no choice but to defend ourselves," Baki replied.
Keiko smiled, as arms suddenly wrapped around her from a puppet. "I didn't know you were so forward, Kankuro-chan," she said, as she had her hands in a hand seal.
Kankuro grimaced, as he appeared to try to do something with his puppet. "Why isn't Crow working?"
Keiko smiled and explained, "Too bad you made it out of wood, because I can control that." Crow released Keiko and began to sprout branches from each of its joints and mouth.
Kankuro then attempted to jump at Keiko only to find his feet entangle by roots that were climbing his body. "No way!" he exclaimed.
Temari had her fan out and was using it send wind attacks at Hinata only to have a wall of water appear in front of her to block the attacks. "We are not matched well for a fight. Keiko has your brother, I would assume, so just stop this foolish attack and let Naruto-kun bring Shukaku under control," she said to Temari.
Temari and Hinata began to trade jutsu, Wind versus Water, with no conclusive results.
Naruto circled Gaara who just grinned manically, as his sand tried to get a hold of Naruto, to no avail. Naruto smirked and Gaara's grin fell, as Naruto went through several hand seals.
"Grand Waterfall jutsu," Naruto exclaimed, as a wall of water came up from the ground and struck Gaara's sand shield. "Sorry, now your sand is all wet and won't move as well. Give it up Gaara, Shukaku or whatever," Naruto said happily.
Gaara moved both of his arms up to parallel with his shoulders and the sand moved too, but much more slowly. "Sand Wave!" he exclaimed, as the wall of sand moved towards Naruto.
Naruto did several hand seals and then said, as he move his hand in a swiping motion in front of him, "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" A large crescent of air cut through the sand wall revealing a surprised Gaara. "Give it up, I have more chakra and with your sand wet you present little challenge now."
Gaara looked down at the ground and said, "Kill me then. If I can't kill you to prove my existence, then I don't deserve to live."
Naruto shook his head, and said, "No, you don't need to kill to prove your existence, just remember that there will always be someone out there that can defeat you if you aren't careful. Power isn't all that there is. Cunning and using your resources to their best will win a fight quicker than just brute force. Also protecting those you hold precious will also give you that extra edge. Now everyone stand down or I'll tear the Suna team apart, starting with Gaara!"
Baki stopped as he had found that Kikiyo was quite proficient with Fire jutsu which were stronger than Wind jutsu. Not wanting to incur the wrath of the Kyuubi jinchuuriki he stepped back from Kikiyo. "It looks like your genin has this situation under control, but I will still not divulge the reason for my mission," he said stoically.
Gaara staggered for a moment, as did Naruto. Using demon chakra can be demanding and thus both became rather tired. "Now that that is over, care to explain why you took out an Uzu patrol and then attacked another one?" Naruto asked.
"I will not respond to a mere genin, even if he is a jinchuuriki," Baki replied.
"Then you can explain to me," Kikiyo said.
Baki sighed, as Temari checked over Gaara for injuries. "Fine, we had a mission to see the leader of the Sound village, that is all I will reveal, now can we leave, I guarantee that we will leave any other Uzu patrol alone," he said, as he glared at Gaara who nodded.
"You have my respect Naruto Uzumaki, you have quieted Shukaku for me and for that I'm grateful," Gaara explained.
Naruto grinned broadly, and said, "Glad I could help. Now stop the killing for fun, you'll find you have fewer problems if you find someone precious to protect."
"That is correct Gaara-san," Haku said, as he jumped down from the tree.
"So you had another with you?" Baki asked, and Kikiyo nodded. "No wonder you didn't worry about going all out. We will stop our aggression, but we won't divulge any information other than what has been said."
"Suna will pay reparations for the dead Uzu shinobi and we will call it a day. Haku, you will accompany them to the border," Kikiyo ordered.
"Very well, I'll see you later, Akemi-kun, Takara-chan and Keiko-chan," Haku said with a longing look on his face, as he escorted the Suna team to the southwest and Kikiyo's team continued to the west.
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Naruto watched, as a slender man, with long black hair and a very pale complexion left a very angry village. 'Who is that and what power he emanates,' he thought to himself.
"Get a good look guys, as that is Konoha's number one missing shinobi, Orochimaru of the Sannin," Kikiyo explained. She then continued, "He is not someone that we can currently take down or even match. We will wait until he has left the area before we approach the village. Tsunade-sama told me to approach this village specifically because they have some medical jutsu that would be good to add to the village, even if they don't share them."
"So who are they?" Hinata asked.
"They are the Fuuma clan. They are specialists in integrating medical jutsu with chakra strings. They also have some transformation kinjutsu that should not fall into the hands of Orochimaru. The other clan we're supposed to talk to is the Tsuchi clan, they are not that special, but would be a good addition to the village," Kikiyo explained.
Twenty minutes later Naruto halted right in front of the village gates and smirked. "You can come out girl, I mean you no harm and your trap smells heavily of your scent," he exclaimed.
An orange haired girl about Naruto's age came out from behind a barrel ten meters away. Naruto smiled, as he pulled out a kunai and threw it at the ground, only to have the area erupt with several bear traps and other capture devises. The girl looked on in awe, as Naruto proceeded to disarm or disable all the traps in the area. She couldn't stop watching in morbid fascination, as this blonde boy took out all the traps she had put in place for the last month. "How did you do that?" she asked.
Naruto smiled and touched his nose. "I can smell your scent on the traps, almost as nice as my fiancé's scent," he said, as the girl blushed profusely, but Hinata watched from a tree keeping a keen eye on the girl. He then continued, "The name's Akemi Uzumaki and my team would like to talk to your clan, if we could."
The girl again blushed and nodded, as she waved for him to follow. "My name is Sasame Fuuma, I'm glad to meet you, but am disappointed that you're engaged," she said in a pouty voice.
Hinata smirked, as she and the team jumped down and followed Sasame into a meeting area. The team was quickly surrounded by about a hundred people. "Sasame, who are these people you have brought before us?" a young man asked the girl.
"Arashi-kun, they are from Uzu and want to talk. That boy was able to disarm all my traps and didn't attack me while he did it," she explained.
Arashi moved his hand to his chin, as if thinking, and said, "I see… So, what does Uzu want with the Fuuma clan?"
"We wish to recruit your clan and add them to our village. Also Tsunade-sama of the Sannin requests that you also join our village," Kikiyo explained, as she approached Arashi. She then bent down on her knee and presented a scroll. She then continued, "Takashi Uzumaki, Tsunade Senju and Jiraiya all wish that you join our village, while we will not force you to join, we do offer some good benefits."
"Such as?" Arashi inquired with a smirk.
"You will be allowed access to the village's jutsu along with medical jutsu which Tsunade-sama has given to the village for our benefit," Kikiyo explained.
"So you're offer is for us to join your village, but you don't have any down sides?" Arashi asked.
"The terms are in that scroll and I'm not privy to contents. We will withdraw and give you a chance to discuss the terms," Kikiyo said. She then said, "We will be camped just outside your village awaiting your decision."
With that statement the Uzu team left the village with Sasame in tow. "I'll keep an eye on the strangers Arashi-kun!" she proclaimed.
"Very well Sasame-chan, you can return when you know where they are camped," Arashi replied with a smile.
The team found a nice site for a camp and set up there. "Sasame-chan you can tell Arashi-san that we will wait here for his answer," Kikiyo said.
Sasame nodded, smiled warmly at Naruto, with a blush and replied, "I will tell him, Kikiyo-san. Goodbye Akemi-kun." She then headed back to the village.
Naruto began to chuckle, as Hinata and Kyuubi both began to berate him for the girl acting that way towards him. "Enough girls! I'm only interested in Takara-chan, so stop berating me. She seems nice and if I can help bring the clan to Uzu, then all the better. I have told her that we're engaged, so if she has a crush on me, I can't do anything about it. I'm sure we can find a nice guy in Uzu or Arashi-san himself to be the object of her affections," he exclaimed, as he more wanted to be happy with Hinata rather than have her mad at him for something he didn't do.
"Sorry, Akemi-kun. I guess I'm just a little jealous of a new girl trying to get your attention," Hinata said.
Naruto embraced Hinata and kissed her gently on the lips. "It's okay, hime. I'm not mad, just a little annoyed that the two girls who know me best don't trust me with another girl, other than Keiko-chan. I just figured I had earned more of your trust after all we've been through," he said sadly.
Hinata clutched him harder and kissed him. They continued to kiss as Kikiyo and Keiko setup camp. Dinner was a quiet affair, with only small talk and discussion on getting to the next clan and hoping to convince them to join Uzu.
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Haku and the Suna team met up with Ichiro's team near the border with Waterfall. Haku had made sure that Gaara had recovered and had discussed with him about what Akemi had told Gaara about being strong. Gaara had taken the discussion to hear and wanted to be friends with Haku and Akemi. Haku had agreed that Akemi would like that too along with himself. Temari found the effeminate Uzu shinobi to be a kind soul and found him somewhat attractive. She had made a couple simple passes at the boy only to have Kankuro blow the whole thing out of proportions.
Ichiro's team had sustained injuries and of course Naruto's cousin was in the middle of it all. Haku administered a healing jutsu that day to help speed the team back to its patrol route. The Sand team bid Haku farewell and said it would see if the Kazekage would like to have relations with Uzu.
"Great! We run into a deep attack squad and I'm the only one to get hurt!" Daichi exclaimed.
"If you would have kept your guard up like I told you, you wouldn't be injured," Ichiro explained.
"It's all because of those damn 'Melody Arms' they have. It put me off balance and I only got a scratch," Daichi said in his defense.
"A twenty centimeter gash from a kunai isn't a scratch. Now sit still so I can mend the wound," Haku ordered. He then continued with a question, "Do all you Uzumaki have such hard heads?"
"If that Sound guy would have hit him in the head he would be okay, right?" Emi asked.
"How come all the Uzu Hyuuga have a sense of humor unlike the Konoha ones?" Ari asked with a chuckle.
Emi blushed at the question, but answered, "We forgot to shove a stick up our asses."
Everyone began to laugh at Emi's joke. Suddenly a shout rang out from the direction of the border.
"Daichi, you guard camp, Haku, you're his replacement right now. Everyone spread out and find the location of that scream," Ichiro ordered, as everyone in the camp except for Daichi jumped into the trees.
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"No, I didn't do anything wrong. Why are you doing this to me?" a girl with lime green hair and wearing white was on her knees begging a group of Taki shinobi for an answer.
"Because you exist! We're tired of taking up the slack for your screw ups!" the first male explained.
Ichiro and Haku noticed the blood flowing down the front of the girl's tank top. Ichiro put up a hand with three fingers and then pointed to himself. Haku nodded, as did Ari and Emi. Ichiro jumped down in front of the girl. "Hi guys!" he exclaimed with a big smile.
The three Taki shinobi stepped back, but still had their kunai drawn. "Leave us Uzu trash!" a second Taki shinobi ordered.
"Mind your manners child!" Ichiro shot back. He then continued, "You're in Uzu territory and you will cease and desist your actions now.
"We're disposing of a missing nin, so back off!" the third Taki shinobi explained.
The girl continued to cry, but yelled out, "That's a lie, I have never betrayed Taki or left without orders! You guys failed the mission and are now blaming me because of… it."
Ichiro noticed the look in her eyes, and it was the same, as he had seen in Naruto when he had nearly given up when he had rescued him and Hinata. "So you carry one?" Ichiro whispered to the girl. She flinched and nodded. He smiled warmly and turned to the Taki shinobi. "Killing a jinchuuriki inside of our borders would be an act of war and I'm sure you want to go to war with Iwa and Uzu at the same time," he explained, as the girl collapsed and cried.
"It's only one Uzu shinobi, we can take him," the second exclaimed.
"No, he isn't alone and he is an Uzumaki. There is no chance the both of you could take him. I might have a chance, but it would be close," the first explained.
The three minutes were up and the team jumped down to surround the girl. "Captain, we're here to back you up," Haku said confidently.
"Great a Hyuuga, and two nameless ones. I say we kill Fuu and be done with her, we can then retreat into Taki territory and meet up with one of our patrols and fight these if they pursue," the second said.
Haku shook his head, as he slid a senbon down into his hand. "Your orders captain?" Haku asked.
"Protect… Fuu, was it?" he asked the girl who just looked up at him in awe and nodded. "Alright protect Fuu and then yourselves. So, Taki captain, are we going to fight or are you going to retreat to your side of the border? Oh and by the way Fuu will be staying with us," Ichiro said forcefully.
"She is our jinchuuriki and we can do with her what we like. She was to be traded to Akatsuki in a few days to help our village to be rid of her. Mark my words Fuu, your name is going into the bingo books, as a missing nin. Let's go guys, we can't fight this team, as I can sense that they are either chuunin level or nearly that. By the way Gin, that is Ichiro Uzumaki, son to Takashi Uzumaki, lord of the Uzu village. He could have easily taken the two of you without breaking a sweat. If I were to sacrifice you two I might have stood a chance of beating him, but with a team we wouldn't stand a chance," the Taki captain explained, as he jumped back towards the border. The other two were quick to follow.
Haku immediately laid the girl on her back and examined her wounds. Her healing was fast, but she was losing a lot of blood to the wounds. Haku placed a blood pill in her mouth and said, "Eat this it will help to replenish your lost blood. Now, I'm sorry if I have to breach your modesty, but I feel I have to, to save your life that is." He waited for her to nod before pulling out a kunai and cutting her tank top down the middle, to reveal a torn mesh shirt, with a large piece of metal sticking out of her chest.
Emi came over and grabbed the girls hand and smiled. "Don't worry, he's a good medic and knows what he's doing. I trust him with my life," she said in a reassuring tone. Fuu nodded, as she watched Haku break the links in her mesh shirt. Ari and Ichiro both took flanking positions around them only looking out. "They have crossed the border and are leaving my sight range," Emi explained, as Fuu noticed the pale eyes and bulging veins near her eyes.
Haku finished opening the shirt and looked at Fuu in the eyes. "I'm sorry but to save you I must reveal your chest, do I have your permission?" he asked in a serious tone.
Fuu nodded, as she watched him tear the mesh shirt open and reveal her right breast. She then noticed a small sliver of metal near the breast that was only slightly protruding. She looked at Haku who wore a serious look on his face. He did several hand signs and then moved over the metal. "What are you doing?" she asked in a raspy voice.
"I'm determining if I can pull this metal out of you for transport to Uzu, so we can get you proper medical treatment," Haku explained. He shook his head and then pulled out a small bottle. "Emi, I need you to use this solution on your free hand and the wound. When I tell you to, pull out the metal, but do it slowly or she will bleed to death," he explained.
Emi let go of Fuu's hand and washed her hands with the contents of the bottle. She then pulled out some gauze and poured the fluid onto the wound. Fuu hissed in pain, as she smelled the alcohol in the solution. Emi then used the gauze to get a hold of the metal and nod to Haku. "I'm ready Haku-kun," she said.
The pattern of the green chakra changed, as Haku put his hands on the sides of the wound. "Slowly pull the metal out… slowly… very good, keep it up," he said, as Emi slowly pulled the metal from Fuu's chest. Fuu for her part gritted her teeth, as the pain became almost unbearable. "You can scream now, Fuu-san, it will help in removing it now," he explained.
Fuu took a deep breath and felt the metal slip out of her chest, as she let out a blood curdling scream. Haku continued to heal her until she passed out. He then with the help of Emi lifted her to sitting position and removed her top and shirt. Haku then proceeded to put a bandage on her chest and then wrap her chest in gauze. He then removed his kimono to reveal a shinobi outfit. He placed the kimono on Fuu and wrapped her up.
"We're done, you can look now," Haku said, as Emi steadied him, as he appeared ready to pass out.
"Good job Haku-kun, Emi-chan. Ari, please carefully lift our guest and take her to camp," Ichiro ordered.
Ari nodded and gently picked up Fuu bridal style and walked back to camp. Emi helped Haku, while Ichiro followed behind the team at a distance.
Daichi had the camp all setup when Ari arrived with Fuu. Ari and Daichi made Fuu as comfortable, as possible in the camp by putting her in Ari's sleeping bag. "So what is her story?" Daichi asked.
"Apparently she's a jinchuuriki from Taki," Ari explained.
"No kidding… cool. Looking at her, she's kind of cute," Daichi said.
"Glad you feel that way, because she's yours and Haku's responsibility," Ichiro said, as he came out of the trees. He then continued, "We need to get Haku rested and then head back to Uzu to get Fuu-chan here medical treatment."
Daichi smiled and ran out of camp quickly. Emi and Ari looked at each other in confusion, but Ichiro just smiled. About twenty minutes later Daichi returned with a handmade litter from branches and vines. "We can transport her whenever you're ready Haku-kun," Daichi exclaimed with a huge grin on his face.
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Arashi and Sasame entered the Uzu camp near dusk with smiles on their faces. Naruto and Hinata waved at Sasame, who waved back and blushed. Naruto and Hinata looked at each other with a raised eyebrow, and then turned to their guests.
"Welcome Arashi-san. I'm assuming that your clan has come to a decision," Kikiyo asked.
Arashi nodded, and then said, "Here are our terms. Sasame will become a genin in your village, our clan jutsu will remain our clan jutsu, and you will protect us from Orochimaru."
Kikiyo smiled, and replied, "I know we have at least one genin that could use a team member."
"She will also be taken to the chuunin exams in Konoha to see if she is able to become a chuunin," Arashi said, as Sasame beamed.
"So the other terms were acceptable?" Kikiyo inquired.
Arashi nodded and said, "We find the arrangements most acceptable. We have about fifty shinobi quality clan members and about another eighty clan members."
"Great, how long will it take for you to get ready?" Kikiyo asked.
"About a week, but do not be late, as that is the time limit Orochimaru put on our clan before he will wipe it out or take our most promising members. We will be ready in five days. Be here then. Oh, and by the way, the Tsuchi clan is corrupt and will only inform Orochimaru that you are recruiting," Arashi informed the Uzu shinobi.
"So Orochimaru is the leader of the Sound village?" Kikiyo asked, as Arashi nodded.
The group continued to talk into the night. Sasame got three new friends and now would be part of village. If only her other dream would become a reality she would be a happy girl, but she didn't know if Arashi had eyes for her.
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A/N: Well another chapter down and closer to the chuunin exams. Yes, Fuu is the seven-tailed jinchuuriki. No, there will be no Naruto/Fuu or Naruto/Sasame, this is a NaruHina story. I hoped you liked the story so far. If you think there is going to be some other pairing you're right, but you can figure it out later.
To answer questions before hand, yes, Naruto's team is going to the chuunin exams, as is Ichrio's team. There will be at least two other teams from Uzu going, you get to figure out who they are… if you can… muhahahahaha…
LeafRanger: We shall see…