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Naruto: The Ninja Gunman

Chapter 4: Meanwhile…

Speech Legend:

Bold Text: Demon speaking/REALLY angry yelling/etc.

Italic text: Thinking/written messages/etc.

We see Zero in the Hokage's office, having been brought there by an ANBU. The bio-weapon asks, "What's the word, old man?" The elderly war chief clears his throat before he replies, "Well, hours ago, one of our patrol squads had captured a group of strangers armed with firearms like yours, and brought them to the T&I Department for questioning. So far, they had been uncooperative, so I figured that you could sort them out," as he then ordered an ANBU to lead Zero to the headquarters of the T & I Department. When they got to the main interrogation room, the bio-weapon narrowed his eyes and growled, for the people being interrogated are Systems Corp. soldiers.

"What the Hell are THEY doing here?!" he snarled, at which one of the interrogators, Anko Mitarashi, who was once the apprentice to Orochimaru, asks sultrily, "You know these guys, big boy?" Zero replies, "They're some of the Systems Corp. mercenaries that hunted me down, for f***'s sake! But, the question is; What could bring them here to the Elemental Countries?" Zero then turns to the nearest Systems Corp. merc, who shivered fiercely in fear, almost to the point of wetting himself. His fear was justified, as he had heard stories from his fellow mercenaries about Zero and his brutality. He himself starts, "What are you and your pathetic little friends doing here in this world? TELL ME!" as the mercenary shrieked, "Aaagh! Please, no! I'll do anything! I'll even tell you what sent us here!"

The bio-weapon pulls out his XM-435 Super Mag, loads it, and points it at the soldier, before threatening, "You better talk fast, asshole, or I'll blow your motherf***ing brains out," as he fires a warning shot at the ceiling for emphasis. Caving in, the mercenary explained that he and his unit were given an assignment to go to the other side of a dimensional portal created by an experimental device acquired from a corporate merger, for a reconnaissance mission. As they made their way through the forest and made camp, they were ambushed by the Konoha patrol squadron that found them, and were brought into the village for questioning, in addition to their weapons and equipment being confiscated.

The frightened mercenary also mentioned that his unit was given an emergency retreat device in case the going gets too tough. That gives Zero an idea; one that would give Systems Corp a reason to be angry! He shoots the other mercenaries in the heads, killing them, before beating around the luckless first mercenary. The bio-weapon then grabs the soldier by the collar, before giving a sadistic smile, and saying to him, "I'm going to let you go and crawl back to your boss, but not without a message I'd like you to give him. Tell that goddamned coward of a CEO that I'm not f***ing around, and if he sends any more lackeys here to this world, that they better watch their worthless backs!"

The merc nodded fearfully, before activating the emergency retreat device, and disappearing in a flash of light. Ibiki Morino A.K.A. the "Mind Sadist" and the head of the T&I Department, questions Zero, "Why'd you let this little punk go, just to send a message to this Systems Corp. or something or other?" Zero asks, "Trust me, Ibiki, you wouldn't want to be a military bio-weapon with regenerative abilities on the run from a deranged military megacorporation wanting to use your genes to create a more potent weapon. Plus, imagine if that lunatic, Orochimaru, made an alliance with these guys!" Anko was impressed with the gunman's logic, as she thought, "Yeah…what if that traitorous snake made an alliance with something as powerful as Systems Corp.? From what the Hokage told us and the other jonin in that secret meeting, Systems Corp. can create powerful bio-weapons and utilize high-tech military hardware. If that damned bastard joined forces with them, they could create even stronger bio-weapons!"

[With Team 8…]

We see Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru having passed a teamwork test assigned to them by their instructor, Kurenai. They are now being treated to some nice, hot noodles at Ichiraku's Ramen, by Naruto himself. It is then that the red-eyed jonin herself decided to ask the blonde jinchuuriki, "Uzumaki-san. May I ask you what that weapon you used during the test was?" Knowing what his instructor was talking about, he pulled out the weapon in question; an FN P90 PDW in its bullpup glory.

He explains, "This, Kurenai-sensei, is the P90, developed as a personal defense weapon for military use. Fires a lethal burst of lead bullets at 900 rounds per minute, which is very fast. It was created directly in response to a request for a new type of weapon that utilizes proprietary types of rounds for better range, accuracy, and armor-piercing capability. The P90 features an ergonomical, compact, and ambidextrous bullpup design, and uses a 5.7x28mm cartridge. These rounds are spot-on accurate, have good penetrating power, low recoil, releases all that kinetic energy on impact, and is faster than those heavy handgun rounds like the 9x19mm Parabellum, .45 ACP, and .40 S&W. The P90 also features a unique, 50-round magazine that mounts on top of the weapon, in addition to a port on the underside where spent casings are ejected, so that you wouldn't have them fly onto your body and burn you. The weapon is also easy to take apart and put back together, making it excellent for a quick field stripping."

Kiba remarks, "Now that sounds useful. A weapon like that would surely make fighting off enemy ninjas a little easier, eh Akamaru?" as his canine partner lets out a bark in agreement. Hinata says, "Oh, dear. But, there may be some people who see it as cowardly to use firearms, maybe some like Might Guy, Neji-niisan's jonin instructor, or my father," at which Naruto reassures, "Don't worry, Hinata, anything that uses a handgun-caliber round is meant to be used at close range. Rifles and machine guns have much longer reach," as he gives her a side-hug, at which she blushed beet-red.

[Timeskip: Several D-Rank missions later…]

Within the next several days, the team had been doing plenty of D-Rank missions, which mostly consisted of household chores that villagers needed help with; getting rid of the weeds, walking the dogs, painting a fence or a wall, but worst of all, having to catch Tora, the pet cat of the Fire Daimyo's wife that constantly runs off. It wasn't all bad, though. Whenever they get some free time from missions and training in their team meetings, they would go to the Namikaze estate and use the new in-door shooting range Zero had set up there. One day, Team 8 was called into the Hokage's office for a new mission. Team 7, lead by Kakashi Hatake, had taken a C-Ranked mission to escort a bridge builder, Tazuna from Wave Country. However, the client withheld information, before revealing that the shipping magnate and tyrannical crime boss Gato has hired rogue ninjas from Kirigakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Mist, to try and kill Tazuna, to prevent him from building a bridge that could take away his business. The Hidden Mist defectors in question are the Demon Brothers, Gozu and Meizu, and Zabuza Momochi A.K.A. the Demon of the Hidden Mist and one of the infamous Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. It had also turned out that Zabuza has a mysterious accomplice posing as a Hidden Mist Hunter Ninja. As a result, mission to Wave Country was bumped up to A-Rank. Thankfully, Kakashi has the decency to request back-up, having sent one of his ninja dog summons to deliver the request to the Hokage.

Kurenai narrowed her eyes, "Kakashi. What is that pervert thinking, taking a team of fresh-from-the-academy genin on a dangerous mission like that?! They could've died! Damn him and that pride of his!" It is then that Zero came into the office, with the Hades Rifle in hand. Sarutobi greets, "Good, you're here. Your son's team is getting its first serious mission," as he explained the details. At the mention of the silver-haired copycat ninja, Zero growled, "That idiot. He thinks that because he's got that Uchiha brat on his team, that he can play favorites with him. At least, that's what I heard from some of the other jonin instructors. He should consider himself lucky that he called for back-up, or else I'd kick his sorry ass like I did in the Forest of Death." At this, Kurenai asks incredulously, "Wait. You fought Kakashi in there?"

Zero turned to the Hokage with a look that prompts the old legend to apply a soundproofing jutsu on the room, as the bio-weapon then explained, "Six years ago, I came to the Forest of Death, and found Naruto hiding from an angry mob there. Kakashi, back when he was an ANBU, showed up and tried to kill us. Before he could do so, I shot the bastard in the elbows and knees to prevent him from fleeing from the Hokage and a few other ANBU ninjas out to stop him." He then turns to the Hokage, and says, "I request to accompany Team 8 on the mission, just in case Team 7 is in need of any straightening out," as he pulls out his XM-435, loads a clip of ammo into it, and cocks the weapon for emphasis. The Hokage gave a smile that reads "request approved", as the old veteran thought, "*sigh* I don't know exactly what gave Kakashi the idea that he'd owe Obito Uchiha for giving him that Sharingan eye, by playing favorites with that unstable Sasuke. With Zero on this mission, he had better watch his back, or else he would be facing severe consequences, and not even the Civilian Council and the Elders could save him from what I intend to do to him..."

[Meanwhile in Wave Country…]

We see Kakashi training his students, while focusing mostly on Sasuke. He suddenly felt a sneeze coming on, and pulled out a handkerchief and sneezed into it. He thinks, "Someone must be talking about me," as he continued where he left off.

[Back in Konoha…]

We see the team packing up, and preparing for the mission to Wave Country, to assist Team 7 (and straightening out Kakashi) in protecting the bridge builder, Tazuna, until his bridge is completed and Gato is dealt with. As Zero packs up his weapons, ammunition, food, and clothes, he suddenly notices a cut on his cheek while hearing a seductive giggle that could only belong to one person he knows from the T&I Department; Anko Mitarashi, former apprentice to Orochimaru. She licks the blood off of the kunai she used to Zero's cheek, as she flirts, "You know, for a genetically-created super-soldier made in a laboratory, your blood sure tastes good." At her forwardness, Zero smirks, "You're not so bad yourself. It's stupid that these pathetic villagers see you as a traitor, and all because you were the apprentice of that slithering snake, Orochimaru of the Sannin. You're nothing like him, Miss Anko Mitarashi, and never will be. If I meet the perverts that would have the gall to try and do something of a perverse nature to you, I'd use an Acid Lobber to melt their pathetic privates off!"

Anko smiles, "I like the way you think," before wildly kissing him passionately. After a few seconds, she separates from his lips, before leaving. Zero blushed somewhat, before regaining his composure and continuing to pack up for the mission to come. He thought, "Anko Mitarashi...You're one Hell of a woman! I bet that with the right weapons, those worthless civilians would think twice about messing around with you! Maybe I'll ask her out after the mission..."

Chapter End

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