CHAPTER RATING: T
…
Episode 6: Emissary, Part II: Non-Combat Application
The team of four walked down a winding dirt road into the shaded forests of Konoha. Ahead of them, they saw a group of villagers cutting down trees, clearing the forest. As they began to pass by, an elderly man walked up to them.
"E-Excuse me!" he called out to Kakashi. "You're Shinobi from Konoha, aren't you?"
"Yes, we are. What seems to be the problem?" Kakashi replied.
"We need help clearing this area for a new roadside inn that we're planning to build; we would really appreciate it if you could help us."
Kakashi looked over at the three.
They smiled and nodded.
"Alright, we'll do our best."
All four shinobi grabbed axes and saws, they began to hack and cut their way through the massive trunks of the lumbering trees that inhabited the forest. Ten minutes into the activity, Naruto voiced his complaints.
"This is too slow, there has to be another way to do this." He dropped his axe and began to think.
"Naruto, just get back to work." Kakashi pleaded.
"I've got it!" Naruto exclaimed. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Two shadow clones appeared in front of him. He held out his right hand as they began to shuffle their hands around his palm. A low screeching sound began to emanate from his palm, he raised it up and it took the form of a giant, white shuriken, spinning in place at a great speed.
"Fūton: Rasenshuriken" (Wind Release: Spiraling Shuriken). He swung his arm forward and let the disc of energy loose. It swirled with incredible velocity, and ripped through the trunks of multiple trees as if they were wet pieces of paper, they fell to the ground with a loud impact, creating a giant dust cloud. He turned and smiled at his comrades.
"That's kind of over doing it, but it is the fastest way to do it…" Kakashi looked over at Hinata and Sakura and nodded. "Why not?"
He formed seals with his hands and drew his arm down.
"Raikiri!" Lightning began to form around his hand; electric chirping began to emitt from his fist as he held it down. He crouched and quickly took off, running his electrified hand across the width of multiple trees, the wood cracked and crumbled behind him as the trees fell.
Sakura and Hinata looked at each other, shrugged and moved to chop down trees themselves.
Sakura began by focuses chakra into her limbs, her feet and hands soon resembled blue blades that could cut with extreme precision. She lifted her right leg and sent a kick across the trunk of a tree, letting her momentum carry through; she sliced through another trunk with her other leg. The cuts were so precise, that the trees didn't even fall; they just sat on top of their disconnected trunks.
Hinata took in a deep breath, pulled her arms to her sides and began to focus her chakra into her hands.
"Jūho Sōshiken!" two fearsome lion heads began to form around her enclosed fists, they glowed with a strong sapphire hue. Hinata began to move as if in a dance, the lions in her hands leaving streams of chakra in their wake as they moved with her. She glided across the ground with circular motions, constantly moving her feet and sending blows into the trees that immediately ran through the entire trunk.
Naruto paused and glanced over at her; blankly, he stared as she moved, following the string of chakra that emitted from the lion heads that surrounded her fists. Hinata made one final movement, she extended her arms to her sides and opened her palms, the lion heads shot away from her hands and bit through the any object that stood in their way.
They fully detached themselves from her hands and dissipated into thin air. She turned to Naruto and smiled. His mouth hung wide open at the sight he had just witnessed. The spectacle was emphasized with a great crash that resulted from the trees being cut down, and the dust that shot up from the dirt.
Hinata emerged from the dust cloud to stares of awe.
"Hinata! That was amazing!" Naruto screamed out as he ran to hug her. "I had no idea how powerful you were!" Hinata returned his embrace by wrapping her arms around him.
"T-Thank you, Naruto-kun."
"How did you do that?" Kakashi asked.
"I combined my Jūho Sōshiken, with Hakke Kūshō to launch the chakra from my hands." Hinata answered
"That's…that's impressive." Kakashi praised her.
"I've never seen that before, Hinata. When did you learn how to do that?" Sakura asked.
"I learned when Neji-niisan was training me."
The villagers who were drowning in the sweat from their labors were in awe. They dropped their tools, jaws on the ground, eyes popping out.
"Well, well. That was very impressive. YOU SEE!" he shouted to his laborers. "If you were all shinobi, this job would be a lot easier!" he laughed heartily. "Great, now we just have to trim and move all of these trees!"
"I'm on it!" Naruto shouted. "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" hundreds of shadow clones appeared behind him.
"Everyone! We're going to trim and move these trees, ready?!"
Every clone cheered.
Hours later, there sat a giant triangular pile of massive tree trunks next to a giant mass of trimmed branches and leaves.
And next to that, was an extremely exhausted shinobi in a black and orange tracksuit.
"Thank you very much." The old man said to Kakashi. "Something for your troubles." He handed Kakashi four burlap pouches. "payment for helping us today, regular pay, plus bonuses."
"Thank you. It was our pleasure to help you out." Kakashi replied.
"There's a small hot spring inn down this way. It's quite far, but it's a good place to relax and heal your wounded." He pointed at Naruto's dazed body laying on the ground. "Enjoy your journey."
"Best of luck." Kakashi said while walking back towards Naruto.
Sakura and Hinata took Naruto by his arms and carried him on their shoulders. He stepped slowly with their movements as they dragged him along.
