Chapter 20: Training and Tribulations
Hello again, I hope you all had a good Valentine's Day.
Well here we are, Naruto's meeting with Inari, I'm hoping to put a new spin on it.
Before that we'll see what Team 8 is up to in Tanzaku Town: will the bandits present a challenge or will they be pushovers? Will Hinata display an original Mu ability? Well let's find out.
On with the chapter!
On the outskirts of Tanzaku Town
After their meeting with the various victims of the bandits, Team 8 had a fairly good idea of where the bandits would strike. This led them to road through a moderately wooded area.
"Okay, this is where all the victims were attacked," Kurenai said quiestly, as she looked around for potential threats.
"So what do we do now Sensei?" Kiba asked in his normal voice.
"First, keep your voice down, if they're close by we shouldn't let them know we're here," Kurenai ordered.
"Uh oops?" Kiba responded.
"Now Hinata can you see anything with your Byakugan?" Kurenai asked.
"There seems to be a large group northwest of here. From what I can make out many of them match the descriptions given by the victims," Hinata responded.
"Excellent, now all we need is a plan," Kurenai told her students. After a few minutes she looked at them expectantly and asked, "Well?"
"We think we have a plan, but we're not sure how good it is," Hinata admitted.
That's better than my first C Rank, our plan was only two words: wing and it, Kurenai thought. She then asked, "What is it?"
"We don't really know enough about our targets, so we're just gonna wing it," Kiba said.
Never mind, Kurenai thought.
From their vantage point, Team 8 was able to get a good look the bandit camp. The bandit camp was about what one would expect: a few makeshift shelters, the grandest of which belonging to the boss; a place to stash their ill-gotten gains; and at least ten bandits. There was something special about this group though. This group took advantage of Tanzaku's reputation of being home to many fine women. This group of bandits was one of the few all female bands in all of Fire Country, and it was no trouble for any of these women to seduce and rob men.
"You know looking at this group, I don't think I would mind if they robbed me blind," Kiba said.
Tsume-san really needs to talk to this one, Kurenai thought. Addressing her team, she said, "Okay Team, whenever you're ready we'll begin, take out as many as you can but our target is the leader, a woman named Chinami Miyanagi."
I hope Naruto-kun's mission is going well, Hinata thought before her team made their move.
Back in Wave
"Sasuke is it me or is Kakashi-sensei heavier than he looks?" Naruto asked, from his position on Kakashi's right side.
"It's probably just because he's all wet," Sasuke pointed out from the other side.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Naruto agreed. Then thinking of what a soaking wet Kakashi meant he said, "Not changing Sensei. One, two, three, not it!"
"Not it!" Sakura shouted.
"Not… ah dammit!" Sasuke cursed. After giving the matter some thought Sasuke then asked, "Wait did he even bring a change of clothes?"
"Well you're gonna find out soon aren't you?" Naruto asked mockingly.
"I fucking hate you right now dobe," was Sasuke's only response.
"Well here we are," Tazuna announced as they reached his house. He was hoping to prevent the two male genin from fighting.
"Nice place Tazuna-san," Naruto said
"Thanks kid," Tazuna said as he opened the door. Once inside he said, "Tsunami, Inari, I'm back."
"Tou-san, you were gone for so long we were starting to get worried," A woman, who could only be Tsunami, said. She had long, dark hair and appeared to be in her mid to late twenties. "Hello everyone, thank you for helping my father," she said as she bowed in gratitude.
"No need to thank us, after hearing his story we couldn't just refuse," Naruto said. Well after hearing the true parts of it anyway, Naruto thought.
"Still, I know how much of a handful he can be," Tsunami replied. Turning towards the stairs she yelled, "Inari, your grandpa's back!"
A boy no older than 8 ran down the stairs and latched on to Tazuna. The boy, who was obviously Inari said, "Grandpa, you're back."
"Yes, and I have these nice ninja to thank," Tazuna said as he turned Inari's attention to Team 7.
"You're all gonna die," was all Inari said to the genin.
"We're all gonna die kid, it sucks but it's just the natural order of things," Naruto said jokingly.
"I think he meant soon dobe," Sasuke told his teammate.
"I know what he meant Sasuke, and I know it was morbid but that was my attempt at humor," Naruto responded.
"Inari, don't be rude to our guests," Tsunami scolded.
"Oh that's alright, I'm rude to them all the time," Tazuna told his daughter.
Why did we agree to help this douchebag again? Naruto asked himself.
"It's true Kaa-san, no one can stop Gatō," Inari said as if his statement were the absolute truth.
"Well we won't know until we try now will we?" Naruto asked, quickly growing irritated with Inari.
Inari just glared at Naruto and ran back upstairs.
Well that was interesting, Naruto thought. Remembering Kakashi's current condition Naruto asked, "Tsunami-san, our Sensei is exhausted after fighting a missin-nin Gatō hired is there a place where he can rest?"
"Oh, of course, follow me," Tsunami said.
"Also Tsunami-san we aren't sure that he has any dry clothes so…," Naruto trailed off.
"Well, I'm sure we'll find something," Tsunami said.
Ugh, I overdid it, Kakashi thought as he regained consciousness. Checking his surroundings he saw his uniform and his hitai-ate drying outside from the window. If my clothes are there then what am I wearing? Kakashi asked himself. Noticing what he was wearing Kakashi quickly regained his energy and ran downstairs. As soon as he spotted his students he asked, "What's the meaning of this?"
"Sorry Kakashi-sensei but your clothes were soaked and you didn't bring a spare set," Sakura said while trying to stifle her laughter.
"We had to go with the closest fit and all of Tazuna-san's were too big," Naruto said, just about ready to bust out laughing.
"So these two volunteered me to use whatever was the closest fit, which just so happened to be one of Tsunami-san's old maternity dresses," Sasuke said, trying his hardest not to laugh.
It was true, Hatake Kakashi, one of the most feared jonin in the world was wearing a maternity dress complete with a baby on board pattern near the stomach. He still had something covering the lower half of his face and his Sharingan eye but it just served to make him look more comical. Looking at his current attire again, and trying to save face, Kakashi in all seriousness, or at least as much as he could muster, said, "On a lesser man this would look undignified."
That did it, the rooms occupants busted out laughing at the expense of Team 7's Sensei. Even the ever sulky Inari couldn't stop himself from laughing.
After getting that out of their systems, Kakashi told his team, "As soon as I'm back in uniform we're going to start training. I would estimate that we have two weeks before Zabuza is ready to fight anyone."
The most important thing one can have as a missing-nin is a safe house. Having been a missing-nin for a few years Zabuza had quite a few; he did need to stay ahead of the Kiri hunter-nin that were pursuing him. After the encounter with Team 7, Haku had brought Zabuza here to recover. Having removed the senbon all Haku had to do was wait for Zabuza to wake up, and when he did he was less than pleased.
"Dammit Haku, you need to come up with a better way to do this," Zabuza complained to his subordinate. Even after the senbon were removed Zabuza's body always felt like it was made of lead. I should be grateful that this doesn't happen that often I suppose, the Demon of the Mist thought.
"I suppose I could give you pills that could put you in a death like state, but any shinobi who could force you to use them would probably catch on," Haku responded. By this time Haku had removed his mask. Between his voice and feminine facial structure no one would ever guess that he was male.
Smartass, Zabuza thought.
Just then the door to the room was slammed open and in walked a rather short man in a suit, flanked by two bodyguards. "So this is Demon of the Mist, you certainly aren't much to look at now," the man said.
Great just what I don't need, Zabuza thought. "What do you want Gatō?" he asked.
"What do I want? I want to know what the hell happened! I want to know why the bridge builder isn't dead! I want to know why I'm wasting money on a man who can't get things done!" the man, now identified as Gatō screeched.
I'll be glad when this job is over and I don't have to listen to this guy's voice anymore, Zabuza thought. "We hit a bit of a snag, I never expected the bridge builder to come back with a jonin," Zabuza told him.
"So what?! You're a jonin aren't you?!" Gatō screamed.
"I underestimated this one, it won't happen again," Zabuza told his employer. He hated acting like Gatō's subordinate but the pay was too good to pass up.
"Damn right you won't, not if you want to get paid!" Gatō yelled as he stormed from the room. Before he was out the door he slipped on something and fell on his back. Turning to look at Zabuza he said, "Not. One. Word," and with that, he and his guards were gone.
Turning to Haku, Zabuza asked, "Am I right to assume that you had something to do with Gatō's little slip up?"
"He was asking for it, and this way he can't prove I did it," Haku said.
"So Haku, what did you think of those brats Kakashi had with him?" Zabuza asked.
"They didn't seem particularly impressive at first," Haku stated. Continuing he said, "The kunoichi didn't seem particularly impressive, she didn't really do much and she seemed too uncomfortable on a battlefield. The older boy seemed like the type to collapse under pressure if his attempt to stab himself is any indication. He got better, but only after the jonin reassured him. The blonde one is a mystery though."
"What do you mean?" Zabuza asked, he was curious about what happened after losing consciousness.
"Well when you came after them he seemed confident that they would be alright but then there was that loud crack," Haku started.
"Yeah, I couldn't see it but there was definitely something there, took a bit of effort to break it too," Zabuza admitted.
"Well whatever was there, hearing it break seemed to terrify him. Then when you captured Kakashi, he recovered and used abilities I've never heard of," Haku continued.
"I remember he broke Kubikiribōchō. Not that it matters but where is the other half?" Zabuza asked.
"I had to leave it, so if they didn't take it with them it's probably still at the lake," Haku told his master. He then went on, "That's where it got strange, after I went to retrieve your 'corpse' he asked if I wanted the broken piece and asked about what the Mizukage would do when I returned with both you and the two halves of Kubikiribōchō."
"What happened?" Zabuza asked.
"I referred to the Mizukage as a man and then he said he was unaware that Terumi Mei was a man's name. I don't know how but I think they knew I was a fake," Haku told Zabuza.
Mei? Now I really can't go back to Kiri, Zabuza thought.
"Zabuza-sama?" Haku asked, concerned for his master's well-being.
"The Demon Brothers wouldn't have said anything; I can say that with absolute certainty. So I can't think of how they knew, but now I'm curious about that blonde kid, I know I've never seen him before but he looks familiar," Zabuza mused.
"Maybe you ran into his parents once," Haku suggested.
"Parents," Zabuza repeated. The Demon of the Mist gave Haku's theory serious thought, A blonde kid from Konoha. Oh shit, if his father is that man then it might be best to get rid of him now. Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself, if he was that man's son Iwa would be calling for his head wouldn't they? Ah maybe not, not as long as Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki is Tsuchikage. Coming to a conclusion, Zabuza said, "It doesn't matter, he's still a genin so he shouldn't be that much trouble. Kakashi should be the main concern."
"Whatever you say Zabuza-sama," Haku answered simply.
About a day had passed before Kakashi's clothes were dry enough for him to wear, but as soon as they were he got out of Tsunami's maternity dress as fast as he could. Note to self number 497: Do not pass out around these kids, Kakashi thought.
"Alright follow me, training time," Kakashi told his students. On the way to their destination Kakashi couldn't help but ask, "What happened to piece of Kubikiribōchō you cut off Naruto?"
"I decided to keep it as a trophy and sealed it in a scroll for now, because no one is gonna believe any of this happened otherwise," Naruto told his sensei.
"I hope they do, I'm the one who has to file the report," Kakashi responded, back to the less than serious jonin his students were familiar with.
"Sensei, what kind of training are we going to be doing?" Sakura asked.
"You kids saw what happened to me after the fight with Zabuza, chakra exhaustion is no joke. So we're going to take steps to prevent that from happening to the three of you," Kakashi said.
"I wasn't aware that there was a way to prevent anyone from running out of chakra Sensei," Naruto remarked.
Smartass, Kakashi thought. He said, "While that would be nice you are correct that such a technique does not exist, so we are going to be working on chakra control."
"Like that technique that Iruka-sensei showed us with the leaf in the Academy?" Sasuke asked.
"This is a step up from that, you're going to be climbing trees," Kakashi explained.
"That sounds better suited for increasing stamina Sensei," Sakura said.
"What I have in mind is good for that too, but the exercise I have in mind is a little different from what you seem to have in mind," Kakashi told her.
"How so?" Sasuke asked.
"For this exercise, you won't be using your hands," Kakashi explained.
"Oh yeah, Anko-nee and Hinata-chan told me about that, it wasn't as easy as they made it look," Naruto said.
"You already know how to do it?" Sasuke asked, slightly envious.
"Sort of, I could probably stand to practice a bit more, but Anko-nee said I should be ready for water walking soon," Naruto told the Uchiha.
"Well then Naruto why don't you show us how it's done?" Kakashi asked as he pointed to three rather tall trees in the middle of a clearing.
"Well alright," Naruto said as he focused chakra into his feet and walked halfway up the tree before he lost his grip and fell. Luckily for him, he landed on one of his Mu Barriers which carried him gently back to the ground. "I think I can focus better because even if I fall I can catch myself with a barrier so I have almost no fear of falling."
"Well as Naruto just demonstrated, you focus chakra into your feet which allows you to stick to the tree. First timers are encouraged to get a running start," Kakashi said.
"Or do what Anko-nee told me and lay on your back with your feet up against the tree until you think you have the right amount," Naruto chimed in.
"Thank you Naruto for ruining what could have been excellent pay back for putting me in that maternity dress," Kakashi said.
"You'll have to try harder than that Sensei, we aren't the naïve bunch of genin you think we are," Naruto told Kakashi.
Only because you seem to be looking out for us, Sasuke and Sakura thought. As much as they hated to admit it, Naruto almost always found a way to keep them from getting caught off guard or from embarrassing themselves.
"Anyway, get out a kunai so you can mark your progress, upon completion of this exercise you will take turns guarding Tazuna-san while he works on the bridge or whatever else he needs to do," Kakashi said, apparently disappointed that he wouldn't get to watch any of his genin fall on their asses.
"Hai, Kakashi-sensei!" Team 7 shouted before starting the exercise.
Another chapter done.
Translation: Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki = Ōnoki of Both Scales
I think this one turned out pretty well, I just hope my attempts at humor didn't go over too poorly. I thought what I did to Kakashi was funny.
I want all of you to remember that Zabuza is afraid to go back to Kiri as long as Mei is Mizukage, it will be important later. So will the name of the bandit leader but not until much later, bonus points for anyone who figures out where I got the name, I plan to make this version of her just like the original. I'll tell you who she is supposed to be based off of next chapter.
Until next time, read and review.