Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Chapter 19: Drawing conclusions
The first sensation Naruto experienced when he entered the world of his parents was that someone was squeezing the life out of him. "What happened to you? Are you both alright?" two very concerned Youkos asked in an eerie double voice.
"Air." Naruto managed to get out, causing his mother to release the almost bone-crushing hug. The other Youko did the same with Hinata. One of the Youko's shimmered and disappeared, leaving only one version of his mother standing before them.
Youko blushed slightly. "Sorry kit, I got carried away. Now, can you tell us what happened? First Hinata called upon my power to heal someone and later you used my chakra."
After regaining his breath Naruto began the explanation. "We were in a bad situation. You know we were sent on that escort mission. At first everything went according to our expectations, but that changed. We encountered followers of Jashin two days ago and weren't able to evade them. I spotted them first when…"
After Naruto finished with his part of the story Hinata took over. His parents were obviously very worried about what had happened. It was disconcerting to hear how close their friend Choji had come to dying. In the real world Hinata had downplayed their big friend's injuries to avoid questions, but now she described in detail what injuries he had suffered and why she had called upon his mother's powers despite their warnings. Naruto watched his mother and father anxiously, waiting for the explosion that was sure to come.
Youko sighed after Hinata's finished explaining. "I guess it was the best course of action for you to take." She and Daiki chuckled when she saw the surprised looks on their faces. "What? Did you expect me to freak out because you ignored our warnings to not use our divine power outside of the sanctuary? And in the vicinity of Jashinists with the direct backing of their god no less?"
Naruto shared a look with Hinata before speaking. "Honestly? Yes, we did."
"What would that achieve? What's done is done. You two are the people on the spot. We can only give advice, but if the situation makes it necessary you have to call the shots on your own. Hinata, you didn't have much time to make that decision. Would you do the same thing again now that you had time to think it over?" Daiki asked.
Hinata nodded. "I would. Most importantly Choji is our friend, but he is also a very important piece of our plans. Without him we lose the Akimichi and a lot of influence. I know it was risky with the Jashinists present, but I still think it worth it."
"Considering that Jashin didn't intervene personally and we are still alive I think you made the right call. Just don't make a habit out of it. Next time we might not be so lucky." Youko said.
Naruto felt a weight lift from his heart. He hadn't looked forward to his parents scolding them or more specifically Hinata. "Well, it worked this time. Perhaps the power level was so low Jashin didn't notice anything?"
Daiki shook his head. "It might be a bit early to say that we are out of the woods, son. Sure, if Jashin had realized what power you used, what we are and what sort of connection you have to us he would have intervened immediately no matter the cost. That doesn't mean he didn't notice something, just that it didn't warrant an immediate or direct response in his perception. He might watch you very carefully or initiate a more long-term response. Or he really didn't notice anything; there's simply no way for us to tell. One thing the entire event teaches us is that users of divine power can feel each other when they use that power." He took a deep breath. "Enough of that matter. I have still some questions. Firstly, did any other cultist beside the leader display any ability of directly calling upon Jashin's power?"
Naruto thought for a moment. "I don't think so. They shouted his name and all sorts of curses and things, but nothing out of the usual happened. They did have their freaky strength and regeneration, but they didn't get any additional powers on their own. Well, there is the matter of the leader's weapon. The scythe felt strange, and after I killed the leader and snapped the shaft the blade turned into black dust. I sealed a sample away."
"The same for me. Only the leader caused supernatural things to happen." Hinata added.
"Interesting. I wish I could examine the dust myself, but I won't risk taking possession of you in the current situation. When you get back to Konoha deposit the sealing scroll in the outer regions of the sanctuary; do not bring it inside all the way. The particulars of your encounter coincide with some theories I have about this world works. Still, I would like to view your memories myself. Please clear your mind." Daiki commanded. Naruto complied and a few seconds later his father's presence entered his mind. A few minutes later he retreated, humming thoughtfully. A moment later Youko's expression grew equally thoughtful.
"And?" Naruto asked after none of them made a move to say anything.
The question startled his father. "What? Oh sorry, I was considering the new information. We will have to mull it over for a day or two before we can come up with some theories. You can relax for the time being. I would prefer for us to get that out of the way immediately and concentrate my whole attention on it. Do you need me or your mother urgently?"
"Nah, that's okay. I think we talked about everything important for now. We just postpone our family day until after you're finished. Right, Hinata?"
"That's fine with me." the girl answered.
"Good, good." Youko waved them away. "You can use the house; we won't be physically present. If you need one of us for something just call. Have fun you two and don't do anything I wouldn't do." With a last wave the forms of his parents faded to nothing, leaving Hinata and him alone in the familiar cottage.
Naruto frowned slightly. "You know, I can't think of anything mom wouldn't do when she wants to have fun."
Hinata practically molded herself to his side and began kissing his neck and cheek. "Neither can I."
It was two very enjoyable days later that his parents returned. Naruto and Hinata had just finished eating and were enjoying a sunny afternoon on the field of flowers nearest to the cottage when Youko and Daiki materialized from thin air. After the normal greetings and a bit of hugging they sat down on the grass beside them.
"Well, what have you learned?" Hinata asked curiously.
"A very great deal. Even indirectly observing how another god does various things has given us valuable information. Many things are still guesswork, but we now have a much better grasp on some principles we haven't been able to test during our possessions." Daiki answered.
Youko took over the first part of the explanations. "Firstly, the followers you encountered didn't have any power of their own. They were originally normal humans who were slowly charged with divine power, but they had no direct connection of their own to Jashin. If you would use our power to enchant another human it would be roughly the same. It was all centered on the head cultist. He was a genuine priest with a divine connection to Jashin. Only he could call upon him, directly receive power and create supernatural effects. He was the one doing the sacrifices, nullifying the big fire jutsu, awakening the power resting in the cultists and lastly raising the dead."
She paused a moment before continuing. "The jutsu nullifying isn't very interesting; he simply let the darkness swallow it. You could probably do something similar in various ways, but it would be a waste when you can accomplish the same with chakra techniques or simply getting out of the way. In contrast, the other three things are much more interesting. Each time he sacrificed a human the chakra was sent to Jashin and a tiny bit of his power was sent back. In our estimate the returned power was about a tenth of what Jashin gained from each sacrifice. That power was then distributed across all the cultists, but once there it became dormant. When the priest set it free it increased their physical abilities greatly and protected them from harm. Fortunately, each moment spent in that state and especially each injury healed consumed a part of the stored power."
Naruto looked thoughtful. "That explains how they died when we killed them often enough and they seemed to become weaker the more often they died. I guess it wasn't necessary to use that for the raid until we turned up. How was the priest able to invoke Jashin several times? We can't do that without losing ourselves in the power. And why did Jashin allow a human that much leeway instead of personally intervening?"
Daiki shrugged. "I don't know. Our situation is unique in many ways, mainly because of the seal. My best guess is that it is easier or more efficient to allow a trusted follower to wield one's power instead of doing it directly. As a god Jashin shouldn't be actually physically present in the real world but residing in his own demi-world most of the time. The available evidence suggests that it requires vastly less power for him to use a mortal priest as a conduit instead of creating an avatar to do it himself. Additionally, direct intervention is far more noticeable than letting a priest use the power indirectly. I have no precise count, but there are more than two dozen entities that qualify as gods or great demons currently in this world, but they are all either sleeping or incapaciated in different ways. Jashin might be loathe to risk them waking up. For that to work Jashin has to anoint priests in a rather time- and energy-intensive progress. On the other hand, that makes these priests extraordinarily dangerous. What does that say about eventual future encounters?"
Hinata smiled. "Always kill the priest first."
"Exactly. That should disrupt any supernatural stuff the priest in question caused in most cases." Youko confirmed. "Full-blown priests who can invoke a god's power at will are a valuable resource. Until there is a formal church who can handle that in an organized manner each one requires personal attention to create. That means each loss hurts and you shouldn't have to fear encountering them in large numbers. Although there will be preachers and the like with somewhat less power they won't pose as much danger."
"Is that why the resurrected fell apart at the end and the survivors lost their powers? Why didn't the priest use a horde of undead in the first place?" Naruto asked.
"Most likely, yes. We are unsure how the scythe ties into all that, but without an active conduit the flow of power was cut off." his father answered. "I don't know the answer to your second question. I suspect it requires too much power for too little gain."
"Why do they need an active conduit? If we cast spells they don't depend on us to function once completed." Hinata wondered.
"Because they don't use normal magic but rely solely on Jashin's divine power. Free magic is only available around Konoha, not anywhere else. Without free magic surrounding and augmenting them those supernatural effects dissipate much more quickly and require constant support. On the flipside, without free magic to use humans are completely dependent on higher beings to grant them power. Like us Jashin seems to produce his own brand of divine magic for personal use and distribution to his followers. The living followers losing access to their strength without the priest might have been a security function." Youko explained.
"Do you have any idea what this group of cultists planned?" Naruto asked.
"I have my suspicions." Daiki waved his hand and the ground between became a detailed map of the northeastern region of the Land of Fire. The information it contained was mostly vague, but the sections Naruto and Hinata had visited personally showed more detail. The path the Jashinists would have been forced to follow and their likely trail had been marked specifically. "What do you see?"
Naruto and Hinata studied the map for a few moments in silence. Finally Hinata spoke up. "There are only small villages with a population between a hundred and four hundred people on that path; most are on the low end. If our information is correct that doesn't change for quite a while further on the way to the Land of Hot Springs. The estate of our client is probably the only really defensible structure in the vicinity. They might have intended to follow the blocked road we used to swing back towards the central Land of Fire, but I doubt it. As soon as you leave the mountains in that direction there is a whole lot of traffic and military presence."
"Almost all of these small villages are self-sufficient and trade is low. One or two merchants a month travel this route, if even that. No military presence on either side of the border in this region." Naruto added. He pointed at one of the regions the Jashinists had probably come from. "If they started here and made their way to the Lands of Hot Springs no one would notice in time to mount a credible defense. That is until they leave the mountains on the other side of the border, but the Land of Hot Springs is weak. We stopped them at around a fourth of the way."
Hinata looked thoughtful. "They wouldn't need to use any supernatural powers to defeat the individual villages. Their numbers, weapons and skill were good enough to take even the bigger villages with hardly any losses."
Youko nodded. "Correct. We believe this group was to act as a one-shot army for a hostile takeover of a small country, most likely Hot Springs, and naturally sacrifice people in the meantime. With four times the strength and speed they would be a threat even to jonin, especially if the opposition is somehow compromised through the priest's power."
"The Village hidden in the Hot Springs is more of a high-class tourist resort than a proper shinobi village if our information is correct. They are still excellent in infiltration, seduction and assassination, but their direct combat strength is low. The country only continues to exist because both the Fire and the Lightning Daimyo prefer for the Land of Hot Springs to act as a buffer between them. They have no non-shinobi army aside from hired guards and the armed retainers of the individual nobles." Hinata added.
"The villages on the way are small, but taken together the population is a not inconsiderable number. At the point you encountered the group they posed a challenge for a team of chunin-level shinobi, but if your sensei's plan had succeeded you could have defeated them easily. If they had been able to follow their route uncontested and increased their speed and strength further it would take at least two teams of combat-experienced jonin to put them down, possibly more. Jonin Hot Springs doesn't have. That doesn't account for possible reinforcements from other sources." Daiki said. "Another possibility is that they were never intended to actually conquer the country. The Land of Hot Springs has several large cities. In their empowered state the cultists could create an incredible bloodbath. It wouldn't be regular sacrifices, but I'm unsure if Jashin can draw power form such large-scale slaughter in another way. Anyway, we believe that these people were created in a rather quick-and-dirty way to collect as much sacrifices as possible in a short timeframe. In my opinion this particular brand of relative immortality clashes with the normal chakra reserves humans have and using it wears the bodies down in a few months. I don't know if Jashin has shinobi among his followers, but using that on them would be a waste of resources in the long term."
Naruto's expression wavered between smugness and gloom for a few moments. "That means that we have just accidentally derailed an important plan. That's good in a way, but on the downside it probably has brought us to Jashin's attention."
His parents shrugged before his mother spoke up. "There's nothing we can do about it now. You and we will have to deal with the consequences in time. As a god Jashin's plans are probably global, so we don't know how important this scheme was for his designs. Most other things we learned are of no immediate practical use for you; we will go over them another time. How is your shinobi training coming along?"
"There's progress, but I told you that already on our last visit. During our missions there isn't really time to train properly. One thing the last battle has shown is that we need to broaden our jutsu knowledge. The fire and earth jutsu we have are a good start but both Hinata and I have far more difficulties with the C-rank jutsu because we lack the proper training in that element. We'll speak with Anko about it at the first opportunity. Otherwise there's nothing new."
The rest of the time in the world of his parents was spent as usual, meaning they split their time between studying magic, chakra techniques and various research projects. On the night of their return to the waking world Naruto's thoughts returned to their mission. "I just hope Yakumo-chan's C-rank goes better." he mumbled half-asleep.
"Naruto-kun, what are the odds that something will go wrong there as well?" Hinata answered before her changed breathing indicated that she had fallen asleep without waiting for an answer.
"ATTACK!"
Shinji froze for a moment when three bandits sprang out of the bushes and charged at him, but a second later his training took over. Before his conscious mind really caught up with everything he had taken out a shuriken out of his pouch and launched it at the throat of the first man. When his thoughts returned they were cold, calm and crystal clear.
'One of them down. No time for another distance attack.'
A man with a scruffy black beard was almost upon him when he fished a kunai from another pouch. It was the easiest thing in the world to duck under an awkward swing of a badly nicked sword, heft the charging man over his shoulder and slice open his belly in almost the same motion.
The third man had been initially hampered in his charge by the death throes of shuriken-stuck-in-throat, but was now coming at him with a look of desperation in his eyes, a raw wooden club raised high. A twist of his body let him evade the strike and put him behind the man. Before the man had time to realize what happened Shinji drew the kunai across the man's throat. He paused a moment to evaluate the situation and determine his next actions.
The first attacker had already died while the third one was choking on his own blood and would be dead in a few seconds. The second one was kneeling on the ground and trying to stuff his spilled intestines back into his belly. He never noticed when Shinji walked up to him and pushed his kunai into the man's skull, killing him immediately. Two other attackers had been dealt with by the three regular caravan guards. There didn't seem to be any more enemies attacking the front of the merchant caravan they had been hired to protect, so he quickly jumped on a tree to the wayside to gain a better vantage point. He could see that over two dozen enemies were coming from the left flank which Ino was supposed to guard. About half as many seemed to attack from the other side, but he was certain Kurenai-sensei would win. The tail of the caravan was out of sight, but Yakumo could probably deal with anything that came up. A quick look around showed him that the front was secured. He had to help Ino; that many enemies were always a threat.
Shinji cursed under his breath while he bounded along the length of the caravan. The damned wind produced so much noise in the trees it had been impossible to discover the ambush beforehand and the client had forbidden them from scouting ahead because he wanted to keep them close.
When he got closer to the battle he saw that his concern had been completely unfounded. The bandits were fighting among themselves; with some of them very obviously not in control of their own bodies. Two were lying death at his blond teammate's feet. One had a senbon needle stuck in his throat and bloody foam around his mouth while the other one had been dispatched by a kunai to the eye. Ino spared him a sidelong glance when he approached her before shifting her attention back to the bandits.
"Help, I can't control my body!" "NO!" "Please stop Kensuke; we have been friends for years!"
After a moment of listening to the cries of the rapidly decreasing number of bandits Shinji tuned them out. Ino had her hands in one of the seals specific to the Yamanaka techniques while the men belonging to the merchant caravan watched with open mouths as the bandits slaughtered themselves. When he saw no immediate threats that Ino didn't have well in hand Shinji relaxed somewhat and took up a defensive position by her side. Suddenly all his normal emotions came flowing back to him and he had to repress the urge to retch.
'I've killed humans.'
It wasn't as bad as he had feared, but he had no time to think about it now; combat was still on-going, after all. In an effort to keep his thoughts from the act of killing he paid more attention to Ino. She had a very disturbing gleam in her eyes and a smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth. Up close he could hear her muttering softly. "Dance my puppets, dance."
At the same time some of the bandits seemed to make pirouettes and similar moves until they plunged their weapons into the bodies of their comrades. Shinji gulped. 'Okay; that explains why Ino and Yakumo always looked at me funny when I said Yakumo was scary and I stuck close to Ino.'
Whenever a controlled bandit fell another seemed to lose control of his body, and soon there was only a single survivor left. That was until the man impaled himself on his own spear. Ino waited a few seconds before she released her technique and took a deep breath.
In that moment a blood-spattered but uninjured Kurenai appeared at their side. After glancing at the battlefield she addressed them. "Report."
Ino calmly gestured to the strip of free land before them. "I took out the main fighting force, sensei. No survivors."
"Five attackers came from the front. I killed three of them; the other two were handled by the normal guards." Shinji said, surprising himself with his steady voice.
Kurenai nodded briskly. "Good. Stay close to me; I don't know the situation at the tail of the caravan and the merchants should be able to deal with stragglers on their own if necessary."
With these word she took off with Shinji and Ino following close behind. When they cleared a bend in the road the end of the caravan became visible. It was horrifying sight and this time Shinji couldn't keep from vomiting. From the looks of the merchants close to the end of the caravan he wasn't the only one who couldn't keep the contents of his stomach down.
Seven bandits had attacked the rear of the caravan. Six of them were lying dead on the ground, their faces contorted in horrifying masks of terror even in death. Four of them had apparently clawed their own eyes out before they died. The lone survivor was sitting on the ground, swaying gently back and forth with drool dripping from his slack mouth. Yakumo was currently examining him critically.
Despite being busy with emptying the contents of his stomach into the ditch at the side of the road Shinji had no trouble hearing the following exchange.
"Yakumo, what happened here?" Kurenai asked.
"Hello sensei. These gentlemen decided to attack us and I used the opportunity to test one of my more… forceful creations. It seems their hearts couldn't keep up and the survivor is unresponsive." Yakumo answered.
Kurenai's voice sounded a bit shaken. "You killed them all with a single genjutsu?"
The answer sounded oddly cheerful. "Yes, I consider it a full success. It probably won't work against shinobi, though, or at least not to the same extent. I developed it from the basic Hell Viewing technique, but it is much stronger, doesn't break due to pain and affects multiple opponents at once. I call it Vision of the Abyss."
Ino's voice chimed in. "There isn't much of a mind left here, Yakumo. I don't think you should use that against anyone we want to keep alive and sane. Oh, and nice work on drawing out the deepest fears from the subconscious. That jutsu is a piece of art."
"Duly noted and thanks. Let's put him out of his misery."
Shinji looked up in time to see that Yakumo had cut the bandit's throat. Kurenai-sensei wore a slightly bewildered expression, but before she could address the girls the blustering caravan master arrived.
"What are you thinking? I paid you for protecting me and you simply take off. If I hadn't such a good heart I would reduce your pay." the almost skeleton-thin man threatened before he continued ranting.
Kurenai's neutral expression never wavered, but Shinji knew her good enough by now to see partially through the mask. She loathed the man, but as their employer she was unfailingly polite and required the same of the genin as long as certain boundaries weren't crossed. It didn't seem likely that they would. The caravan master was a loud and controlling man who was more of a hindrance to their jobs, but according to Kurenai-sensei's words they had to learn to work with uncooperative and simply loathsome clients all the same. From what she told them their current employer was far from the worst and it would leave a black mark on their record if they botched a mission just because the client was insufferable.
"I don't care; we are behind schedule and the weather isn't doing us any favors. Leave their bodies to the animals." the man shouted.
"As you wish, Nobu-sama. I and my team will take the front position to spring any other ambushes." Kurenai answered after receiving a rebuff to her suggestion to take care of the bodies.
Before the man could say anything further she signaled them to follow and left at high speed. Shinji didn't hesitate to follow and neither did the two girls. They split in two teams to scour the woods besides the road for any attacker they had missed, but they didn't find anyone. They met again a few dozen meters in front of the caravan. It would probably take the merchants a few more minutes to get all the carts and animals moving again. After Kurenai had made sure they were all alright they lapsed into silence.
"Who were these attackers, sensei?" Ino asked finally.
Kurenai sighed. "From the looks of it they were once peasants or perhaps citizens of one of the dismantled trade cities. There were several located in this region. In all probability they had the choice between becoming serfs, slaves or going bandit if they didn't want to starve. Obviously they chose the last option, but it didn't seem like they had much success. Their equipment was falling apart and their skills non-existent. Either they didn't see our headbands in time to abort the ambush or were too desperate to care."
Yakumo looked skeptical. "It's been years since the last trade cities have been dismantled. Shouldn't they have been caught or killed earlier?"
Their sensei shrugged. "Perhaps they originated in another region and the military patrols pushed them into this region. Who knows? There always have been bandits, either from greed or necessity. When things went bad around nine years ago their numbers multiplied, but in the last years things slowly returned to a more normal level. Bandits or low-skilled mercenaries are the main threat on most C-rank mission."
"It seems the merchants are ready to move, sensei." Shinji interjected.
The red-eyed jonin looked back at the caravan. "You're right. We will talk later about today's events. Form a perimeter; I don't want to get another surprise like this."
When they made camp that evening Shinji went a short distance into the night to find some peace. The clouds racing over the sky cast rapidly moving shadows on the moon-lit landscape. Sensei had talked with them earlier about their first kills. She had been proud that they all had taken it in stride. Still, he had things to think about.
Shinji had never truly wanted to become a shinobi, but his father had ordered it and so it happened. His mother had died years earlier and he was desperate for any sign of approval. The few times he had seen his father in the last five years Gendo had been distant. He was busy improving his position at the Fire daimyo's court and moving other people around like chess pieces, meaning he paid hardly any attention to his son. Shinji's grades and skills had been utterly average during his academy time, but that had changed when he was assigned to a team with the blond Yamanaka and the brunette Kurama. They had demanded he step up his training far beyond anything their sensei required. He had never found the courage to argue. Ever after Yakumo had used a genjutsu on him he had been deathly afraid of her, but today he had gained several additional valuable insights.
Ino and Yakumo were both terrible monsters who hid their true nature most of the time.
And so was he. A lesser monster perhaps, but a monster nonetheless. Just like all the other shinobi.
But most importantly, monsters had power.
Shinji had never realized it before, but he liked having power over other people. It had been so easy to kill these bandits. He could do everything to them he wanted. If you were powerful no one was able to discount you. Oh, he would never be on top of the heap, he wasn't a big enough monster for that by far and didn't want to be, but there was still a lot of room just beneath the summit. As a shinobi he would be more powerful than the vast majority of the Fire Daimyo's subjects. A valuable chess piece which could easily become a player in time. The lure of power was strong, but he would have to be careful and mind its dangers while accumulating more of it.
A grin spread across his features when he realized who acted just like him and had been for a long time. For the first time in his life Shinji Ikari thought he fully understood his father.
Unknown to Shinji his two female teammates were discussing him at the same time. Kurenai was safely occupied with the caravan master and would give them a bit of unsupervised time after the day's events.
"Do you think I overdid it with the mental makeover?" Ino asked pensively.
"No, I think you hit just the right spot." Yakumo assured her. "From what I could observe the change was triggered as planned by Shinji's first true life and death situation and is now propagating through his mind. We have to keep a close eye on him for the next few days, but any changes should be easily explainable by his first kill."
Ino let out a small sigh. "I'm still not completely sure I did the right thing. Mind-raping enemies is one thing, but doing it to our teammate?"
Yakumo put a supporting hand on Ino's shoulder. "It was necessary. Shinji wouldn't have survived for long without your help, and that might have killed us, too. There's no denying that he wasn't truly suited to becoming a shinobi. He was just too nice. Forcing him in another way to face reality would have ultimately broken him."
"I guess you're right. I know from his memories that his father would never have accepted him dropping out of the program and he desperately wants to please that man. This was probably the best solution for all involved." Ino leant back and observed the moon in silence.
It had not been an easy decision to secretly mind-rape Shinji, but after almost two months of training together they had come to the decision to do it. In an effort to make it look natural she had planted several packages in Shinji's mind during several sessions that were only now unfolding and rewriting parts of his brain. If anyone ever found out she would be in very deep trouble, but she doubted that anyone would. Only her father and maybe a handful of the most experienced Yamanaka elders would ever be able to discover what she had done and even they would need to perform a very careful deep scan of Shinji's mind in the next two weeks. A scan they had no reason to perform. After that everything would have settled into a stable state that would look like a natural progression from Shinji's earlier character. The main two things she had given the boy were some limited desire for power and some amount of ruthlessness; both of which were necessary survival traits for their profession. Despite what she had done he still belonged to the nicest quarter of shinobi.
'At least the technique is obscure enough to avoid suspicion. I'm not sure daddy even knows that what I have done is possible. Pity it only works well on rather weak-willed people like Shinji. If I had to overcome a strong will I would have needed weeks of sessions.'
Long months had passed since ancient Izumi Yamanaka had shoved her memories into Ino's head. It had taken a great deal of time and effort to make them really accessible and it was still an ongoing project that would take years to complete, but it had been worth it. Ino could hardly believe how many techniques and other things had been forgotten over time –accidentally as well as deliberately. She probably knew more Yamanaka techniques than any other Yamanaka alive, even if she still lacked the personal experience and training to make use of most of them. One thing she had noticed was how the Yamanaka of Izumi's time had taken measures to restrict the use of the most horrifying and powerful techniques by embedding artificial compulsions in the pupil's mind when the techniques were taught. If it was not for them Izumi could have easily prolonged her life indefinitely by simply transferring her mind into another body permanently. There existed no such restrictions in Ino's mind. She could do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted and there was nothing holding her back besides her own sense of right and wrong.
Another thing that was steadily shifting her perspective was the sheer length of Izumi's life. Izumi had seen entire generations come and go. Persons she had only known from history books like the first Hokage or Madara Uchiha had come alive in her acquired memories. The clan wars, the founding of Konoha, the three shinobi wars; it was all there. Granted, most was colored by Izumi's perspective, but Ino was learning much.
The one thing that truly scared her was how easy it was for the world to change when the right kind of pressure was applied. Most people believed the world to be a very stable place, but it was anything but. Nobody alive in the era of the clan wars would have predicted how quickly everything changed after the first shinobi village was established. Granted, things had remained stable since the establishment of the system of shinobi villages around eighty years or so despite shifts in power, but that wouldn't last. Ino doubted anyone in her clan could imagine that Konoha might one day cease to exist. The great villages seemed to be unassailable, standing proud above the minor villages. Even the minor villages were seen as unchanging, despite some of them being destroyed over time. No, her new memories had really driven the point home Naruto had made so long ago after their big investigation. The shinobi world and especially Konoha had become stagnant and complacent. Despite the Circle's efforts it was possible they wouldn't be able to save the village, but they had to try their best. If she had to mind-rape her own comrades to achieve that goal, so be it.
"I thank you and your pupils for your services, Mitarashi-san. With my nephew's escort now here your contract is fulfilled." Lady Haruka said.
Anko bowed slightly in return before they parted ways. Naruto and his teammates watched the slowly receding forms of the newly reinforced caravan in silence. They had met the thirty soldiers on the last afternoon on the road. After turning their marching column around they had taken shelter in one of the intact villages on their way.
During the week since their encounter with the Jashinists they had made their way through the mountains. They had found several destroyed villages along the way, but interestingly there were no obvious traces of sacrifice ceremonies like the one they had observed. There were dead bodies lying around, but the majority of each village's population was missing. Apparently the cultists had taken care to make it look like some large band of bandits had attacked the villages and either enslaved or driven off the villagers. After a bit of searching Naruto had found a mass grave hidden in the woods near one village, but it had been hidden competently. He hadn't bothered searching near the other destroyed villages.
Once they had reached a valley serving as a junction of five different routes the destruction had stopped. A short exploration of the different valleys confirmed his suspicions. The Jashinists had come from another rarely travelled direction and avoided making any trouble while they were in this more frequented place before departing. In fact, the destruction of many villages along the two routes had apparently stayed completely unnoticed until the shinobi made it known. Naruto doubted it would be more than a footnote for the people outside of the directly affected area. This region was a complete backwater and roving bands of bandits or warlords had done even greater damage in more important areas in the past years.
When Anko turned around to face them her expression was serious. Aside from some relatively short conversations they didn't have time to really talk about the encounter with the cultists, especially because they didn't want their clients to overhear anything. It was better to keep the more unsettling facts about the Jashinists secret for now.
"Okay kids, you can now relax somewhat. Our mission is effectively over and we will be returning to Konoha. This evening we will talk about the details of the mission and what our reports should contain." Anko said before they started their journey home.
After so many days of crawling across the landscape traveling at their usual speed was really a considerable relief in Naruto's opinion. Granted, he and Hinata had spent more than a week in the world of his parents, but because of how the memories integrated their experiences of the real world before the visit appeared still fresh. They advanced at a steady pace, only interrupting their journey for a short break at noon. Only when they made camp for the night the opportunity to really talk arose.
Their normally unflappable sensei seemed to be struggling with something before she inhaled deeply and began to speak. "First off, I want to say that I'm proud of you. Your conduct in a very difficult situation was exemplary and you did far more than anyone could reasonably expect even from exceptionally talented genin of your caliber. You managed to survive despite my failure as your commander." Anko held up a hand to forestall their protests. "I made a grave tactical blunder by splitting the team. That almost led to us being killed. At least two of us should have stayed together at all times."
"But sensei, you couldn't have known what would happen. No one could have foreseen that." Choji objected.
Anko shook her head. "I couldn't be expected to know the cultists' specific powers, that much is true. But what would have happened had there been disguised shinobi among them? Yes, Hinata spied on them and found no indications for that. Nor did I when I observed them. That still doesn't excuse me neglecting the possibility." She sighed. "It if hadn't been for Naruto's special condition we would have died. It should never have come to this; I've been neglectful of my duties. Therefore I want you to think very hard if you want to keep me as your sensei. If you don't want to I will arrange for another jonin to take over."
Naruto couldn't believe his ears and neither could his two teammates judging from their looks of disbelief. Hinata was the first to regain her voice. "Don't say something like this, sensei. Maybe you m-made a mistake; so what? We're all alive and well."
Choji nodded to reinforce the point. "Hinata is right. None of us objected to the plan. It's as much our fault as it is yours."
"You're the best sensei we could wish for. There's no way we would want to swap you for someone else." Naruto added. That was completely true. They had hit the jackpot with Anko and Naruto would be damned if they lost her for such a stupid reason. He wasn't completely sure, but he thought he saw Anko's eyes growing a bit moist upon hearing their reassurance.
"Thank you; that means everything to me." Anko said before she took a deep breath. "Still, my mistake is pretty obvious. I'm not on good terms with the Hokage. He could use that as a pretense to dismiss me from the position of sensei purely as a cheap shot at my mentor. That means we will have to tweak our report somewhat. Let's hear your suggestions."
"Are Jashinists usually like this?" Hinata asked.
"Fanatical? Yes. Immortal and super powered? No. I have heard of one case were the leaders of a cult showed some extraordinary abilities that made them hard to kill, but nothing like this. It is possible that there have been some incidents I don't know about, but it can't be a widespread problem. Heck, even now I don't understand what really happened. These guys were definitely no shinobi or any kind of chakra users I'm familiar with."
"Then we should report it mostly as it happened with some changes." Choji announced. "We omit our initial dispersal and downplay the enemies' strength somewhat. Just that they were a serious danger for a normal genin team. A team of chunin should have been able to dispatch them with little difficulty."
Hinata signaled her agreement. "That isn't far from the t-truth. We are roughly chunin in taijutsu skill. Had we known about the enemies' abilities beforehand things w-would have gone much easier. If the fire jutsu at the beginning would have worked as p-planned there wouldn't have been any problems. The only real individual danger was the c-cultist leader. Had any of us been in range to support you while you kept him b-busy the fight would have been over, Anko-sensei."
"Good. How do you want to handle your use of the Kyuubi's power, Naruto? We already talked about it directly after the battle, but what do you want the official story to be?" Anko asked.
Naruto thought for a moment, weighting the pros and cons of making it known that he could use the tailed beast's power. "I think you should report that I successfully drew on its power in a pitched battle when I had reason to believe my teammates were in mortal danger, but that I managed to stay in control. After that you were forced to explain it to me. The entire mess has been kept secret too long and there might be occasions in the future when I have to use its power in a fashion that wouldn't be believable without me knowing about it."
Anko accepted his decision with a nod. They continued hashing out their report long into the night. The story had to be just right; it still wasn't time for them to reveal their true skills. Anko had reported rapid advancement on their part, but the reports still hadn't caught up with their real strength. The process was stretched out because they steadily got better now that the academy no longer took up a big chunk of their time. The other members of the circle were in a similar situation, but they couldn't count on their sensei keeping things under wraps and their advancement was slowed until they got their non-circle teammates up to speed.
Mizuki was a bit worried. While he and Anko had regularly spent time together he had never seen her in her current state. She had walked into their favorite bar thirty minutes ago when he was relaxing from the day's work, waved him over to a private corner and after a greeting begun to drink heavily; one shot of strong alcohol after another. By now she had slowed down somewhat and started talking. It wasn't an uncommon sight for a shinobi returning from a mission to get sloshed; the stress involved in their job was at times crushing. Where if not in the safety of the village could a shinobi let his guard down safely? Still, that someone like Anko felt comfortable enough around him to do so instead of remaining at the main bar was a sign of a level of trust that wasn't easy to reach. He had become close friends with Anko over the last few months and really enjoyed spending time with her. Several times he had thought about taking their relationship to a new level, but until now he hadn't acted on that desire.
From what he gathered from her talk his master's team had returned shortly after noon and spent most of the remaining day in the Hokage's office. The reason for that became clearer the more Anko talked. Her last mission sounded more like a horror story than a C-rank. More than once Mizuki glanced around to make sure they remained undisturbed. Some of that information was sure to become classified.
"I almost got them killed and they still want me as their sensei." a drunken Anko announced before hiccupping. "They are the best genin team in the world. I even gave up torturing people for them and acted all professional all the time."
"They are the best." Mizuki confirmed.
Anko continued speaking as if he hadn't said anything, her slurred voice filled with pride. "Cute little Naruto-chan acting so mature at all times; Hinata-chan always dismissed by her clan and keeping her skills and feelings to herself; Choji-chan ever striving to become like his father." For a moment she stared into her cup in silence. "I love them, I truly love them. They are the best thing that could have happened to me. And I almost botched it." Now she sounded almost in tears.
Mizuki was feeling increasingly uncomfortable. The vicinity of a drunken kunoichi of Anko's skill with rapidly changing moods wasn't an especially safe place to be, but he considered her a friend. It wouldn't be right to simply leave. "I'm sure you did all you could."
"My best wasn't good enough. I killed them and they simply stood up again and again. When I finally thought I was winning that bastard priest brought them back again. Without the damned fox we would be all dead." Her voice was now angry. "These wonderful kids were almost killed because I wasn't careful enough. The best of their generation simply snuffed out by some mad cultists. At least the old monkey had to officially acknowledge Naruto's status as you-know-what. He can now tell others about it, but the law stays in effect."
"That's at least something." Mizuki answered. He would have to talk with Naruto-sama at the earliest opportunity. If what Anko said was true his master had come dangerously close to dying. He would have to check if he had any new instructions for him.
"Bartender! Keep the drinks coming!" the purple-haired jonin shouted, startling him from his thoughts. By now she had obviously some trouble staying upright and her speech was becoming even more slurred.
"Don't you think you've had enough drinks today?" Mizuki asked carefully.
"Don't tell me what I can and can't do!" Anko hissed angrily. Mizuki blinked. With a rapid series of thuds something impacted to both sides of his head. He could feel cold metal touching his face and a slight burning sensation on his right cheek. When he opened his eyes Anko had gone back to drinking. He carefully leaned forward before turning around. About a dozen senbon formed an outline of his head on the wooden wall. When he touched his face his finger came back red with a few drops of blood.
Suddenly he heard Anko's voice directly by his ear. "Oops. Sorry Mizuki-kun. Here, let me make it better."
Before he could react in any way Anko draped herself around him. 'How did she move so fast and silently without me noticing?' Then she began licking his cheek. It was an oddly erotic sensation, especially with Anko's ample breasts rubbing against his side. Her mesh top and flesh-colored undershirt did almost nothing to block the heat emanating from her. Mizuki let out an undignified squeak when he felt a hand groping his crotch.
"Your blood tastes delicious. Want to have some fun?" Anko purred.
Without waiting for an answer Anko kissed him, taking his breath away. Despite the alcohol-laden breath and her drunken state she was a fabulous kisser. It took him a few seconds to regain his bearings; enough time for Anko to settle firmly in his lap. Immediately afterwards her hands began to wander over his body. Normally he would have taken the opportunity when a beautiful woman wanted to have sex with him, but Anko was drunk and a friend. The first fact alone would have sufficed for him to decline, but together they literally screamed 'Hell, NO!'. She had obviously lost all control of her actions. He didn't want her to do anything in a drunken haze that she might regret later. Or make him regret, for that matter.
Luckily the problem solved itself without requiring further actions on his part as Anko's movements slowed down until she was sitting still, her head nestled against his shoulder and her arms draped around him. Mizuki breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently the alcohol had finally completed its work; Anko had drunk too much too quickly.
'Crisis averted. Now I have to get her somewhere where she can sleep it off.'
The only problem was that he didn't know where she lived. In the past months they had mostly met in bars or on the training fields. Not once had either of them visited the other's home. Mizuki pondered the problem for a moment before deciding on a course of action. His small house wasn't far from here. It seemed the best option to take her there. If any additional problems cropped up during the night or on the morning he would be right there to help. His plan set he carefully stood up while stabilizing Anko with his arms. Fortunately she was holding tightly to him, but not so tightly that he couldn't move her.
The bartender sent him a questioning glance when he shifted Anko to his back, but as they were regulars here and had been seen together he didn't seem overly concerned. "Too much to drink after a mission gone wrong. I have her sleep it off at my place. Put the drinks on my tab." Mizuki offered in way of explanation. After receiving a nod in response he made his way out of the bar. Some of the patrons eyed them curiously for a few moments before they returned to their own business. It wasn't that uncommon for shinobi returning from a mission to get carried away, especially in the company of people they trusted.
As soon as he left the building the cool night air hit him in the face, helping him to clear his head. Anko's closeness and earlier ministrations had caused his pants to feel rather tight. Shifting the weight on his back once again he sighed before making his way home. Sometimes it was hard to do the right thing.
Anko groaned when she awoke. Her head hurt and the sunlight streaming through the window didn't do her any favors. Consciously shoving the pain to the side she took stock of her situation.
'Okay, I'm in an unknown bed and have a hangover. Somehow that sounds familiar.'
The last time that had happened several years ago she had woken up in Naruto's apartment, but she had given up on drinking binges after that. Oh, she still drank alcohol, but never enough to become truly inebriated. Well, obviously that had changed last evening. At least she was fully clothed and armed, unlike the situation last time. Additionally the headache wasn't that bad. Tentatively standing up she discovered that she felt relatively fine not considering the hangover and didn't have any trouble moving around. A quick survey of the room yielded a photograph depicting a young Mizuki as part of a genin team. That answered whose house she was in and she relaxed.
She groaned again when she remembered the last evening. After reporting to the Hokage in person (she had to speak with the old man, the events of her last mission made that necessary) a lengthy debriefing had followed. Her concerns about the cultists were noted even if there was nothing that could be done about them. The Hokage wasn't exactly delighted that she had told Naruto and the other two genin about the Kyuubi, but he had acknowledged the necessity. It was the following part that had set her on edge and sorely tested her self-control. Instead of coming clear about everything the Hokage had spun a cock-and-bull story about how the Yondaime wished for Naruto to be seen as a hero, how the villagers disregarded that wish and how he had done everything in his power to protect Naruto in the aftermath. No mention had been made of how it had been the Sandaime who had made Naruto's status known in the first place, that the Yondaime was his father, that the previous jinchuuriki was his mother and several other rather inconvenient facts that called his image as benevolent grandfather into question. The old man never seemed to realize that anyone who wasn't an idiot could poke holes into that story with frightening ease. It was a disgrace how he treated the person whose normal life had been sacrificed to protect the village. Honestly, the nerve of the Hokage! Naturally Naruto had played his role to perfection and never let the Sandaime suspect what he was truly feeling or that he knew who his father was. Heck, Anko would have been deceived too if she hadn't known better.
After dismissing her genin she had only wanted to get one or two drinks before turning in. That decision had been disregarded when she met Mizuki in the bar. She liked the man and he was one of the few people who she could freely talk with about issues concerning Naruto. He had her trust, and that had caused her to let her normally tightly controlled emotions out. The sudden lack of exercised conscious control combined with the alcohol had led to rather extreme behavior on her part. The last thing she remembered before passing out was straddling Mizuki's lap. Well, it seemed she had some explaining to do.
When she looked out of the window she recognized the street as one of the cheaper residential areas of Konoha. The sun had just cleared the horizon, making it early morning. Considering that she had two days for rest and recovery before she was scheduled to meet with her team again there wasn't any sort of rush. Leaving the room she found herself in a small corridor with two doors and a stairway. Behind the first door she discovered a study filled with books and teaching-related materials while the second door led to a bathroom.
She really wanted to freshen up, but first she had to find her host. Descending the stairway she arrived in a corridor with four doors. One was obviously the front door of the house, one was a combined storage room for supplies of both the household and shinobi variety, the third one led into a small kitchen while the last door opened to a living room. It was here that she found her host, sleeping peacefully on a couch. As soon as she stepped inside the room Mizuki's eyes snapped opened and he sat up, but relaxed immediately when he saw her.
"Good morning. Good senses, not many people would have heard me." she greeted him.
"Good morning to you too. I have to thank the brats at the academy for that, they keep me on my toes. I see you're up early. How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Moderate headache and some other hangover symptoms, but otherwise I'm fine. Thanks for your help. I would like to talk about last evening."
Mizuki held up his hand. "Can that wait until after breakfast? I would rather discuss this over a cup of tea."
Anko shrugged. "If you want to. May I use your bathroom?"
"Sure, make yourself at home."
The hot water helped enormously with her hangover. While she had dropped off her backpack at her home when they returned from the mission she still had a sealing scroll with a set of fresh clothing with her. It always paid to be prepared, after all. A black sleeveless shirt and some standard black pants were all she needed aside from some fresh undergarments. Anko decided not to bother with the mesh shirt or her vest today. When she was finished she returned to the living room.
Mizuki handed her a cup of steaming tea as soon as she was seated. "Hangover cure, Naruto gave me the recipe." he explained before disappearing towards the bathroom. Anko used the time to think about what she should say. It had been years since she lost control like that.
'I let my guard down before I had cooled down enough. Probably because I feel at ease when I'm with Mizuki.'
They had hit it off well from the start. After their initial meeting due to her investigating her team's… irregularities they had met again three days later. Mizuki was the adult closest to Naruto who she could ask for advice about her blond charge, but after their third meeting she had dropped the pretense. She just plain liked the white-haired chunin's company. They had even trained together a few times and continued meeting with increasing frequency. At the current time he was one of the four people in Konoha she trusted completely aside from her genin, who were in a category of their own. The others were her mentor Homura Mitokado, Ibiki Morino from the Torture & Interrogation department who she almost considered as an older brother and lastly Kurenai Yuhi. She had been friends with her fellow jonin-sensei for years, with occasional additional benefits. Their last intimate episode was already some time in the past; they had both been busy with their teams and neither had yet given up looking for the right man. There were other friends and acquaintances, but none of them were as close. Oh, she had a string of boy toys over the years, but it had always been solely about the sex with them. Her few attempts at genuine relationships had all failed for one reason or another.
It had surprised her how quickly Mizuki had advanced in her trust. If she was truthful with herself she had to admit it was mainly because of his relationship with her students. He seemed to be a kindred soul who was in a similar situation as she had been years ago. Despite his skills his advancement was denied because of unsubstantiated doubts about his loyalty and he had to waste his time at the academy. From what she had seen of his skills he doubtlessly qualified at least for special jonin and judging from the results of him teaching Naruto's study group he would have been much better employed as an elite tutor or jutsu creator. Leaving him stuck teaching children the basics was just a waste of his potential. She had considered taking their relationship further but hesitated each time. Such things could end messily and she didn't want to lose the man's friendship. Well, depending on how the approaching conversation went that might change, one way or another.
When Mizuki returned freshly showered the made idle chat over breakfast. They sat with cups of tea in their hands when her host brought the topic of the last evening up. "What do you remember?"
"I think I remember most things, but it gets fuzzy after a while. How bad did I act?" she asked.
Mizuki shrugged. "I've seen worse from stressed out shinobi returning from a mission gone bad. You threw some senbon at me, but I treat worse cuts at the academy every day when the kids fumble around with sharp weapons. The only other exceptional thing was that you came on to me. A kiss, some groping and then you passed out while sitting in my lap."
"Yes, I remember that. I also remember you didn't reciprocate or took advantage. Why didn't you? Most people would have." she asked before she could stop herself.
The white-haired chunin hesitated. "I can't say I wasn't tempted, but it wouldn't have been right. You are a very desirable woman, but you were not in control. You lost consciousness almost immediately, so my resolve wasn't tested that much. As I don't know where your home is I brought you to my house. "
"You are a sweet man."
Mizuki seemed to flinch almost imperceptibly upon hearing her words. There probably was a story there, but that was for another time. What she now planned could fire backfire spectacularly, but fortune favored the brave, didn't it? Anko leaned towards, giving Mizuki a prime view of her cleavage, moving slightly so that her breasts seemed to bounce. The slightly glazed look of Mizuki's eyes indicated that he found the view very interesting. "If I were to offer you either a few nights of fun now and then, no strings attached, or a chance at a more long-term relationship, what would you take?"
"If I can't have both I would go for the latter." he answered immediately. Then he realized what he had said and shut up.
His expression was so funny that Anko couldn't keep from laughing. When she had laughed enough she wiped some tears away. "At least you're truthful. I like that in a man. Seriously, I like you as a friend and possibly more."
The man shook himself out of his stupor. "I can say the same, but… I'm not sure I'm ready." he said and looked to the side. Following his gaze she saw a small painting depicting Mizuki with a good-looking black-haired woman. She had overlooked the thing before.
"Who is that?" she asked softly.
Mizuki sighed. "That was my lover Tsubaki. She was mortally wounded on a mission almost two years ago. They brought her back, but she died. It hit me very hard. I think I'm ready to move on, but sometimes I'm not sure."
Anko nodded. "I understand. We both have some baggage. There are some things you need to know about me." She tapped the seal on her neck. "My behavior last evening was partly because of this damned thing my erstwhile teacher saddled me with, the Cursed Seal of Heaven. Normally it's inert, but when I'm in emotional turmoil and I relax my control it causes rapid mood swings and magnifies the strength of my emotions. I was rather upset yesterday after leaving the Hokage's office and was still dealing with the emotional fallout from the mission. Normally I would have slowly cooled down before drinking, but, well, as you know that didn't happen. No one knows what the thing is really for, only that it won't be benign. I had a seal master look into it, but he found no way to remove it safely. Even without that seal I have my faults. I like torturing people a bit too much, have a short temper and I am rather bloodthirsty. A chance to kill my teacher might cause me to act irrationally. Oh, and I'm rather addicted to dango."
"Really? I heard some rumors about your earlier conduct, but I never got that impression from you." Mizuki said, frowning.
"That's because I've learned to control myself. At times I acted rather juvenile, but a few years ago I decided to turn my life around. Still, if you want it to work between us you will have to deal with that side of me." Anko responded.
Mizuki seemed to think about that for a minute. "I think I can deal with it. Now it's my turn. The most important thing is that no matter what I will always stand by Naruto. I don't see it becoming a problem, but you should know."
That was curious. "How can a young boy produce such loyalty?
Mizuki got a faraway look. "Naruto prevented me from making a terrible, foolish mistake. It will probably make you think less of me, but I seriously considered joining Orochimaru at a time. My skills were much weaker than they are now and there just didn't seem to be a future for me in this village. I was willing to throw everything away for a vague promise of wealth and power."
Anko was silent for a moment while she processed that. It wasn't anything she would have suspected, but that was why they were talking about it. Normal people might consider such talk before dating rather strange, but almost all adult shinobi had at least some psychological scars or issues. The clan shinobi were generally better off because the clan acted as a support network, but it was different for the non-clan shinobi. It was pretty much an inofficial standard procedure to talk about potential problems in a rather blunt manner before starting dating. Sex was just sex, and it usually carried only few if any emotional significance most of the time. Genuine relationships were different. Considering the countless ways shinobi could kill each other and how much collateral damage they could cause it was vitally important to learn if there existed any insurmountable issues before entering an emotionally invested relationship. It could get very, very ugly otherwise.
"Go on." she said neutrally. In the past the revelation that Mizuki had considered aiding her traitorous teacher might have sparked a violent outburst, but he had said that he didn't go through with it. It wouldn't have been fair to hold it against him anyway, Orochimaru could be extremely persuasive.
Mizuki shrugged. "There isn't much to say. Hinata and Naruto discovered what I was doing and prevented me making contact in the first place. Then they threatened me into helping them with their extracurricular activities which later led to the study group."
She looked at him disbelievingly. "They blackmailed you?"
"At first they did, and it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Later on I realized how stupid I was to even consider joining Orochimaru." he said.
Anko nodded slowly. "I think I can deal with that. Anything else?"
A shadow seemed to fall on Mizuki's face and his voice became full of hate. "If I ever encounter the traitor Aoi Rokusho I will kill him in the slowest and most gruesome way possible. He is the man responsible for Tsubaki's death." Mizuki's expression returned to his normal pleasant state. "I'm not aware of any other bad habits. Some thirst for power, respect and glory, but I have it under control."
"All of that is understandable and not a problem for me. I say we give it a try but take it slowly just to be on the safe side. I don't want to ruin our friendship if this doesn't work out." she announced.
"Gladly. How about we find a nice restaurant tomorrow evening? I would say today, but I still have some tests of the academy students to correct." Mizuki proposed.
She favored him with a smile. "That's fine with me."
Hinata frowned slightly when she tried different clothes from her wardrobe. Many of them were becoming rather tight in the chest area. While she was rather happy about the state of her developing assets they did cause her the occasional problem.
"He is just so irritating and makes me look bad." Hanabi whined, interrupting her thoughts.
With a sigh Hinata turned around to face her little sister who had spent the last twenty minutes complaining about one of her classmates. From all accounts Konohamaru Sarutobi was an irresponsible troublemaker who reminded her of what Naruto might have become without the influence of his parents.
"If he gets so much on your nerves why d-did you agree to your sensei's offer in the first place?" Hinata asked earnestly.
"It seemed so easy at the time. Mizuki-sensei said it was a reward for my superior skills and I should see it as a valuable learning experience. I just can't get him to take the academy seriously. He's always goofing off and doing some stupid pranks." the girl grumbled.
Hinata shrugged. "Then cut your l-losses and concede that you can't rein him in."
In response Hanabi looked away while mumbling something unintelligible about not giving up and set her jaw in a rather stubborn manner. Hinata had to hide her smile at the cute display. It had been an unexpected move on Mizuki's part to pair Hanabi with the Hokage's grandson, but she couldn't argue with the results. The boy had the ability to get under her sister's skin like no other, but Hanabi's pride wouldn't let her give up. It certainly served to fuel her temper and stubbornness, both traits that were very useful in countering the usual Hyuuga conditioning and made her life much livelier. Still, a little sisterly advice might be called for.
She sat down besides her sister and put her arm around the girl's shoulders. "Look, if he d-doesn't listen to you, you have to enforce your will in another manner. If he skips class drag him back physically. Sabotage his p-pranks. Force him at fingerpoint to do his homework. Juuken him if he goofs off, but don't really h-hurt him. Just enough to show him who's the b-boss."
Hanabi looked thoughtful for a moment before she grinned in a rather disturbing manner. "Thanks for the advice; I will do that. You're the best, big sister."
Hinata shook her head when Hanabi ran out of the room and returned to sorting through her wardrobe. Considering how easily things got damaged during missions or training she would have to go shopping soon. It was a pity that Ino and Yakumo were still away on their first C-rank mission. Even Asuka's team had left, but she didn't know her that well in any case. Only Team 7 was still in Konoha and from what she had seen with her byakugan doing some inane teamwork exercises.
An hour later Hinata arrived at their usual training ground with Choji and Naruto already waiting for her. After greeting them she approached the nearby river and took control of several liters of waters. Her water manipulation had proven rather useful and she wanted to use every opportunity to train. Choji and Naruto began a light spar while she occupied herself with rapidly shifting the position and form of her watery construct. Five minutes before the agreed upon time their sensei came into view when she jumped down from a tree. Her male teammates stopped their spar and she shifted the water into a ball hovering above her right shoulder.
After a moment of examining them Anko plopped down on the grass and indicated for them to sit down. When they had all settled down she began speaking. "I see you're early as usual and already training. Good work, but don't overdo it. Now that we have dealt with the nastiness of the last mission it's time to take stock. In the past months I taught you the ropes of shinobi life. You have gotten some much needed practical experience and we brought your taijutsu up to chunin level. The question is how you want to proceed further. Konoha will host the next chunin exams. What are your thoughts about that?"
"It's too early for us to participate." Naruto said immediately. "We are still learning what a genin's duties are."
"I agree. Besides, we w-would have to reveal too much of our skills." Hinata added.
Choji spoke up last. "We probably could make a good showing, but there are always deaths and crippling injuries. Too much to lose for too little gain at this time. It's better for us to increase our skills further and simply blow through another exam in the future."
Anko nodded. "I agree with your reasoning, but I wanted you to know that you have that option. On to the next matter. In what direction do you want to develop your skills aside from what we've done until now? I have some ideas, but I want to hear your opinion."
"We have too few jutsu." Choji said. "The ones we know are a good base, but we need more flexibility. I'm almost finished with mastering my fire affinity and would like to incorporate it into my fighting style. My priority would be defensive jutsu that allow me to better take hits. Otherwise I would like lessons about creating and maintaining spy networks and information handling."
Their sensei looked thoughtful. "I have a strong fire affinity like you Choji, but I use it solely to make my ninjutsu more efficient. Aside from my primary element I have mastered earth and lightning and I'm working on wind. Most of my jutsu are fire or relate to infiltration and assassination, but I do know some for my two secondary elements. What about you, Naruto?"
"I've already mastered my wind and lightning affinities. Currently I'm thinking about commissioning a weapon made from chakra metal, but it is very expensive. Even with the loot and increased pay from the last mission I don't have enoguh considering my other expenses. One more C-rank should give me enough money, though. I ruined most of my weapon load when I tried to use chakra flow during our last mission, so I need further lessons in that. Depending on what jutsu you are willing to teach me I want to start on creating my own combat jutsu, sensei." Naruto answered.
"Okay, that's reasonable. Hinata?"
"If y-you can keep it secret I would appreciate tutoring by a m-medic-nin. I'm as g-good as I'm going to get without the help of a professional." Hinata gestured to the ball of water. "As you c-can see I'm working on pure water manipulation. With N-Naruto's help I want to try and create my own jutsu if you haven't any you can t-teach me. Lastly, I want to k-know more about infiltration in u-urban environments."
Once again Anko nodded. "Finding a medic-nin who will train you anonymously might prove difficult, but I'll see what I can do. Some things I might be able to teach you myself, but my medical knowledge is mostly first aid and application for torture. I can't help you with the water jutsu, sorry, but infiltration training is no problem. This is what I've come up on my own…"
They continued planning their training for the next hour before their sensei gave them some practical demonstration of enhancing her dagger with chakra before she let them all try their hand at it. It was quite educational, but only Naruto managed anything close to what it should have been.
"I mainly use pure chakra to generally reinforce the dagger, never found a teacher who taught me how to do it with elemental chakra. Asuma would be the best man out of the current jonin-sensei, but I don't know if he would be willing to teach someone not belonging to his team." Anko explained. She glanced at the position of the sun. "If you don't have any questions I say we return to Konoha to eat something. After that you can accompany me to the library when I search for genin-level jutsu that might interest you. I have the clearance for that, but I don't know how useful these things will be. Any objections? Good, let's go. Today's Naruto's turn for choosing the restaurant."
"Ramen at Ichiraku's!" he shouted immediately to the chuckles of the rest of the team.
A bandaged man was sitting behind a desk in a nondescript room somewhere deep below Konoha. He didn't react in any way when a young man walked into the room and deposited a stack of reports on his desk. His expression never wavered during his reading, but suddenly he stopped and his one visible eye widened slightly.
"Interesting."
The man stood up and retrieved several files from a cabinet. After doing so he looked at the ceiling, deep in thought.
'So the boy can function as a weapon and is able to maintain control of his beast. This is unexpected, but not unwelcome. The team's skills are far above normal. It seems I underestimated my old colleague.'
Originally he had thought Homura's insistence of getting his protégé Anko Mitarashi the position of jonin-sensei was just a normal political move among countless others. In light of these new reports it seemed it was anything but. Mitarashi and the academy instructor who had given them the opening to prevent the jinchuuriki of being assigned to Kakashi obviously had a close relationship, a fact he hadn't been aware of before. It was a very interesting puzzle piece. Each individual fact was innocent, but taken together the picture was clear. Homura had enacted a brilliant long-term plan to gain control of the jinchuuriki and train him as best as possible right under all their noses while including the heirs of several great clans. Mitarashi had obviously been groomed as his right hand and handpicked to teach the jinchuuriki. The political power his fellow elder might gain that way was worrying, but it would serve the village if he succeeded in turning the boy into a strong asset. Everything that served to strengthen Konoha was a welcome development.
"Maintain your outlook for relevant facts concerning that matter. Do not spy on any of the genin or their jonin." he said to a seemingly empty room before returning to perusing reports.
He would have liked to get more first-hand information, but he wouldn't risk the discovery of one of his operatives. No, watching everything from afar and following the various paper trails would have to be enough for the moment. He would only intervene if the situation called for it, but some parts of his long-term plan might have to be amended.
Author's notes: It lives! Sorry for the long delay, but recently I have less and less time to write. Things will probably continue at a rather slow pace for the foreseeable future.
Story progress: We will reach Wave either in the next chapter or the one after that. Then things will move towards the chunin exams with one other mission beforehand.