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Since no one voted for me to skip to the Wave Arc, welcome to Team 8's first mission!
Since I couldn't honestly figure out if what missions the original Team 8 went on in Cannon, I just had to make my own missions. Since technically we don't know what missions they went on, I'm marking this as an AU change.
Responses to all of your awesome reviews will be at the bottom.
I put up a poll up on my account page. Drop by there and vote! I made the poll slightly vague to keep some semblance of mystery. It's honestly not very hard to figure it out, but it's the thought that counts. Depending on what you guys pick, the Wave Arc will turn out one of two ways, and the ripples of that arc will affect the rest of the story.
And without any more delay, here's Chapter 5: The End of Innocence
Kurenai stretched as she walked out of the shower. It had been an interesting three weeks, she mused as she dried and dressed for the day. She had originally had, despite herself, a few reservations when dealing with her team, especially Naruto. She still felt ashamed that she even entertained such thoughts.
She found that Naruto was a honest, hardworking, slightly naive boy who cared so much for his friends. Kurenai doubted there was a limit to how far Naruto would go for his friends. As she had started training her team, she had originally intended to slowly ease them into the more intense training. That thought hadn't even lasted a day. Kurenai smiled as she remembered the conversation she had with her team after she had explained why they were taking it slow...
"What?" Came Naruto's disbelieving voice. "You don't want us to train to be the best?" Kurenai blinked, That wasn't what she meant at all!
"What Naruto is trying to say," Sakura explained hastily, "Is that we have trained harder than this by ourselves. We should be pushed even harder by you, our sensei. We can't afford to be untrained when we go on missions." Sakura finished, satisfied that she had gotten her point across.
Kurenai was brought up short by Sakura's explanation. Was she really going to be hindering their growth as Shinobi? She was silent as she considered what to do. After a little while, she spoke up, her words carrying a sense of finality.
"All right. I'll train you all each day to your limit. But I will not have you exceeding your limit and hurting yourselves." She looked sternly at each of her students. Sakura and Hinata nodded, content with her reasoning. Naruto looked like he wanted to protest, but then a look of insight seemed to spread across his face. He nodded his acceptance.
Kurenai let a proud smile appear across her face as she thought about how much her team of Genins had grown in only three short weeks. Sakura had already mastered several D-rank genjutsus, and one D-rank water ninjutsu. Hinata had mastered two D-rank fire ninjutus and one D-rank lightning jutsu. She had also improved by leaps and bounds with her bloodline. Naruto had been the greatest surprise of them all. He had the rare high affinity for wind. While Kurenai had known a few D-rank and C-rank fire, water, and lightning techniques like all Jonin, she had not known any wind techniques. Fortunately for her, Asuma Sarutobi was more than happy to help teach the young blonde several D-rank techniques. Originally Asuma had planned on only teaching Naruto one technique, but Naruto had mastered it within the day. Asuma had challenged Naruto to learn four more techniques within a week. Naruto had mastered them all within six days. Now, Asuma was currently helping her teach Naruto several more wind techniques. The entire team had also mastered several basic movement techniques.
Speaking of Naruto, Kurenai once again wondered what Naruto's "secret training" he kept disappearing to was. He had assured them, Sakura and Hinata more than Kurenai, his personal training was "perfectly safe". She had originally intended on pointing out that Naruto's version of "safe" and everyone else's definition of "safe" were completely different things. But as she caught a look at Naruto's sparkling eyes and his proud smile, she could do nothing other than remind him to stay...safe. She liked to think that her words had some effect on Naruto's reckless behavior.
Kurenai frowned as she remembered that these last few weeks hadn't been all perfect. The main issue of her contention was the weekly team training between Team Seven and Team Eight. The first time had started out all right, with a simple introduction between teams. Once they had finished introductions however, it took a sharp downturn for the worse. Kakashi had suggested a simple team sparring match to assess the two team's level of team work. Not seeing the harm, she had agreed.
Team Eight had practically slaughtered Team Seven. While the individual members of Team Seven were skilled, they stood little chance against the all-but-flawless teamwork of Team Eight. The members of Team Seven had broken up as soon as the fight started. Kiba and Sasuke had rushed Naruto, who defended himself. Shino had been left all alone and was quickly picked off by the combined efforts of Sakura and Hinata. Once they had taken care of the Aburame, Kiba had quickly went down to a combination of genjusu and Naruto's close-combat prowess.
Sasuke had foolishly attempted to burn Naruto with a Great Fireball Jutsu. Naruto had dodged out of the way, and Sasuke was quickly taken down by the two angry female members of Team Eight. Kakashi had hoped the fight would be an eye-opener for his team to learn why teamwork was important. It instead had a very different effect. Shino had slowly opened up to Team Eight, especially Naruto. He seemed to enjoy the dual team training for that reason alone. Kiba had learned to curb his recklessness in fights to a certain extent, realizing that it just had made him an easier target.
Sasuke was a puzzle. On the one hand, he progressed in training faster than the other members of his team, but at the same time, he didn't do it for to learn per say. Instead, he seemed to have gained a new goal in defeating Naruto and, to a lesser extent, Team Eight. While Kakashi had seemed satisfied Sasuke's reasoning, Kurenai couldn't help but worry about how far Sasuke would go to defeat Naruto and Team 8.
Kurenai munched on her breakfast as she considered her team. It was obvious to practically everyone, minus Naruto, that both Sakura and Hinata had feelings that stretched beyond mere friendship. However, ironically enough, it seemed that Sakura herself was oblivious to the fact that she fancied the young blonde. Kurenai suspected that Sakura's obliviousness wouldn't last much longer. Tomorrow was their first C-rank mission after all. Missions like that tended to bring things into perspective. But first, today was another dual team training day! Kurenai sighed. May as well get this over with...
Team Eight showed up to Training Ground Three early, as per usual. Surprisingly, Shino was waiting for them. "Shino!" Naruto called out happily, "How's it going?'
"It is going well." Shino answered in his normal monotone, "I am ready to start another day of training with your team. " He paused for a moment and then asked Naruto hesitantly, "Could you make a few of your clones? I have an idea I wish to test out." Seeing Sakura and Hinata begin to frown, he hurriedly added, "You will not be harmed. Only your clones."
"Sure!" Naruto instantly replied, happy to help Shino. The young Aburame was quickly becoming someone Naruto would consider a friend. Naruto quickly looked back at his sensei for permission to go with Shino. Seeing her nod, the two boys made their way to the far side of the field. As they walked, Naruto inquired how Shino's team was doing.
"If we were a hive, it would have torn itself apart by now. Or starved to death." Came Shino's blunt reply.
Naruto grimaced. "That bad huh?"
"Yes. If it was allowed to have four Genins on a team, I would request to join Team Eight. Your team seems to be a productive hive." Shino replied, his monotone voice sounding slightly frustrated.
"Well, " Naruto scratched his head as he thought, "Is there any reason why we can't have one more person on our team?"
"It has always been three Genins and a Jonin instructor. " Shino's voice sounded thoughtful. "But I can't see any reason why one more person couldn't be added to a team. It's not like we are attempting to add a second queen to the hive."
"I'll ask Sakura-Chan when we get back!" Naruto promised, "She'll know if there is a reason why you can't have four Genins in a team."
Shino nodded as they both stopped on the far side of the training grounds. At Shino's gesture, Naruto created five clones. As Shino formed a Insect Clone, he explained the new technique he was trying to create.
"You are aware of the Insect Clone Technique, correct?" At Naruto's nod, he continued, his monotone voice becoming slightly animated, "Since our talk about creating our own new jutsus, I realized that I could make the Mushi Bunshin no Jutsu much more effective in combat. " He paused as he motioned for Naruto's clone to strike his Insect Clone. "I realized that if I could have the insects attack the person that stuck it, the insects could instantly begin their assault." Naruto's clone punched the Mushi Bunshin directly in the chest. Immediately after the clone's fist hit, Shino's clone seemed to collapse onto Naruto's shocked clone. Naruto's clone dispelled a moment later when the several hundred bugs that had previously made up Shino's clone bit down.
"Nice!" Naruto congratulated. "Good job! It's a awesome technique!"
Shino nodded his thanks. "And what of your new ninjutsu you are creating?"
Naruto glanced around quickly. "Well, I'm working on controlling the newest one. I only lost fifty clones last time I lost control of it."
Shino nodded. It wasn't easy creating new techniques. Especially if you wanted it to be a surprise from your team mates, one of which could see though walls.
After they finished testing Shino's new technique several more times, they spied Kakashi entering the field. They headed back towards the gathering group. As they grew nearer, Naruto heard Sakura angrily say something to either Kiba or Sasuke. A determined look crossed Naruto's face. He would find out today why Sasuke didn't like him!
As soon as Naruto and Shino entered the group, Sasuke spoke up, his voice angry and determined. "I'll fight the Uzumaki today for today's individual sparring session." Before anyone could protest, Naruto spoke up.
"I accept." Naruto's voice was filled with determination.
Shino quickly looked between the two remaining members of Team Eight. While he didn't really like having his chakra points blocked off, it was much better than simply being beaten into unconsciousness by Sakura.
"I would like to spar Hinata-San." Shino professed, his monotone voice not giving any hints to his reasoning why he wanted to fight Hinata.
"I accept Shino-San's offer."
Kiba gulped and muttered quietly, "Well shit." He knew what was going to happen. He and Sakura would fight, she would catch him off guard, and then she would beat him into the ground until he surrendered. Kiba sighed. Life wasn't fair sometimes. He really couldn't go all out against Sakura, or Hinata for that matter. He liked living, thank-you very much. Kiba was certain that if he somehow seriously hurt Hinata or Sakura, even if by accident, Naruto would kill him. And he wanted to avoid dying...
The fight order was randomly chosen. It would be Hinata verses Shino, Sakura verses Kiba, and finally Naruto verses Sasuke. Hinata and Shino moved to opposite ends of the sparring field. They waited for the signal to start.
" Hajime!"
Hinata immediately charged her opponent, her hands forming the seals for the fire jutsu called Blaze Spark. Shino, realizing the danger, sprinted across the field at a diagonal, outpacing the small fiery blasts from Hinata. Dodging another fire blast, he continued to sprint to the right. Suddenly, with a small pop, Hinata appeared in front of him with her hand already coated in Chakra! Shino had no time to react before two of his chakra points were abruptly cut off.
"I surrender." He called, still slightly confused at how Hinata had suddenly appeared in front of him. Hinata smiled apologetically and poked him twice more, reopening the closed chakra points. After she opened the second point, Shino inquired, "How did you move so fast Hinata-San?"
Hinata blushed slightly and shook her head. "I didn't move fast at all Shino-San. I simply swapped places with the kunai Naruto had dropped earlier."
"Ah." Shino nodded in understanding. He had wondered why Naruto hadn't picked up the kunai when he had dropped it, but he had simply dismissed it. He would not make the same mistake again.
As Hinata and Shino exited the sparring area, Sakura and a reluctant Kiba entered the field. Kiba had left his ninja-dog partner, Akamaru, on the sidelines; for he didn't know any techniques that didn't do serious damage. And doing serious damage to his sparring...partner was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. After they reached their sides of the sparring area, the match started in earnest.
" Hajime!"
Kiba charged Sakura, attempting to catch her off guard and hopefully force a submit. As he charged, he could see Sakura quickly forming hand seals. A wall of water shot into the air between Kiba and Sakura. Kiba grinned to himself and forced more chakra into his limbs. He couldn't wait to see Sakura's face when he burst though her water wall!
With a mighty grunt, Kiba hurled himself through the water wall! As soon as he landed, he readied himself to attack. But Sakura was nowhere in sight! Kiba stopped and looked around in confusion. Where had she gone? Kiba sniffed the air. Suddenly, he caught Sakura's scent. It was directly behind him! As Kiba tensed to spin around, the cold steel of a kunai was pressed against his neck. He froze.
"I...surrender." Came Kiba's voice, still terribly confused. As soon as he surrendered, he felt the kunai retract. he turned around, a quizzical look on his face. Sakura, seeing Kiba's confused look, explained how she had won.
"After I formed the water wall, your line of sight on me disappeared. At that point I simply used a genjutsu to blend in with the area so you missed me when you burst though the water. It was simple to maneuver behind you at that point."
Kiba nodded. While his pride was stung, he realized that his own tactics had been turned against him. He resolved to fight Naruto next time, since neither boy used weak tactics such as genjutsu to win. As he and Sakura left the field, his mind was whirling with ideas of how to prevent this from happening again.
Sasuke and Naruto entered the field, each with determination blazing in their eyes, although for vastly different reasons. After making sure both fighters were ready, Kakashi started the match.
" Hajime!"
Sasuke immediately activated his Sharingan and hurled several kunai simultaneously at Naruto. As Naruto moved to dodge the kunai, the Last Uchiha's hands blazed though the hand signs for the Great Fireball Technique. He shot the jutsu directly towards where Naruto was headed! Naruto barely dodged out of the oncoming fireball, using a handspring to gain extra distance.
Naruto skidded to the side and formed a few hand signs. A gust of wind shot towards Sasuke. The black haired Uchiha dove out of the way of the attack, but he lost sight of Naruto during his dodge. As he vaulted to his feet, he barely managed to bring his arm up to block Naruto's fist. As he spun to gain the advantage, Naruto's words almost made him stumble.
"Why do you not like me?" Naruto asked with a curious tone, "I can't think of really anything I did to make you hate me, other than beating you in a spar."
Sasuke leapt back a few feet to put distance between them. Naruto's question had badly shaken him. For all this time he had assumed that Naruto disliked him as much as he disliked Naruto, but that didn't seem to be the case.
For a moment, Sasuke wished he could tell Naruto how he felt sometimes. How the crushing weight of his responsibility to his clan sometimes seemed like a burden too great to bare. How he would awaken at night screaming as the scenes of the night his clan had died once again plagued him. How the village had started treating him like a prince right after his parents' death. How he had been brought up knowing that the Uchiha clan was the strongest, but that strength hadn't helped them against one of their own. But he couldn't tell Naruto these things. For he wasn't weak.
"It's the fact that you are a clan-less looser." Sasuke snarled, his voice rising as he continued. . "You don't even have a clan! You're a nobody! And yet you still win against me! An Uchiha!" Sasuke charged Naruto, determined to beat him. For if he couldn't beat a clan-less looser like the Uzumaki, how was he supposed to ever kill his brother?
As he grew near to Naruto, the blonde knocked his hand out of the way, slammed his hand into Sasuke's chest at a upwards angle, and then swept the Uchiha's legs out from under him in one smooth flow of motions.
Sasuke hit the ground hard on his backside, a pained grunt escaping him. A shadow fell over him. He looked up. Naruto stood a two feet away from him with an understanding expression.
"I don't know what it's like to have a family. I never had one. So I don't know what it's like for them to be taken away." Naruto confessed, his voice having some quality that grabbed all of Sasuke's attention. "But what I do know is this: Having friends is the best feeling in the world. They give you strength to defend them, and in return they are there for you." Naruto extended his hand. "Would you like a friend?"
Sasuke stared at the offered hand. A vast part of him desperately wanted a friend, but something held him back. Suddenly the words of his hated brother, Itachi, replayed in his mind.
"...you don't hate enough."
Sasuke stood up by slowly, ignoring Naruto's offered hand. As he started leaving the field, a confused Naruto called after him, wondering why he hadn't taken Naruto's offer of friendship.
"You don't hate enough." Came the reply from the black haired boy.
Sasuke headed off towards the empty Uchiha clan compound. Naruto's words had shaken him deeply, and he needed to be alone.
The rest of the group watched the Last Uchiha leave with a confused expressions. "What did you say to him, Naruto?" Kakashi questioned, wondering what had possibly gotten under the black-haired genin's skin.
"All I asked is if he wanted to a friend." Naruto replied, still confused by Sasuke's last words. What did "You don't hate enough" even mean?
The team training quickly broke up after Sasuke left, the other members of Team Seven citing various reasons to leave. Within a few minutes, the only ones left in Training Ground Three was Team Eight. Kurenai pondered what could have caused such a reaction in Sasuke. She felt the expectant stares of her students. She mentally shrugged. She could think on the Uchiha's strange behavior later. Right now, she had students to teach.
The next day Team Eight filed into the Hokage's office. The Hokage looked up with a warming smile. "What can I do for you today?" Hiruzen asked kindly.
"I would like to request a C-Rank mission for my team." Kurenai requested in a formal tone, her voice cold and professional. Hiruzen sighed. He had been afraid of this. The Hokage looked Kurenai directly in the eye.
"Do you think that they are ready?" The Hokage questioned the Jonin.
Kurenai nodded. "They are ready for a C-Rank mission." She firmly held the Hokage gaze until he nodded. He turned and began to look though a stack of mission requests.
"Ah, here we are." The Hokage said in a satisfied tone, "I found a good mission for your team. It's a simple bandit removal mission."
Kurenai blinked in shock. While she knew that her students would have to kill eventually, she hadn't expected their first mission to be a kill-mission. She sighed heavily. Kurenai paged though the mission briefing. A small village was being plagued by a small band of bandits. It was rumored that the leader of the bandits was a missing-ninja, a ninja who had left his village and was declared a traitor. Overall, it seemed like a easier mission for her team.
"We accept. "
As Team Eight left the Hokage's office, Kurenai instructed her Genins to meet her at the western gate in two hours with enough supplies to last them a week and a half. The three Genins quickly ran off, intent on gathering everything they needed within the time allotted.
Two hours later, Kurenai walked up to the western gate. As she approached, she spied her Genins sprinting in her direction. Well, Hinata and Sakura were sprinting. Kurenai suspected that Naruto had gotten sidetracked again with his sealing scrolls. Ever since she had bought a sealing scroll for Naruto, he had been attempting to alter the sealing scroll, claiming that he could make it better. While she suspected that such a feat wasn't really possible, she had learned better then to simply discount Naruto's ideas. Kurenai shrugged. Naruto would be here shortly.
As Kurenai, Sakura, and Hinata waited for Naruto, Kurenai asked the girls what they had brought for the trip. Hinata had brought a small camping tent, two weeks of rations, two changes of clothing, and various supplies for camping. She had brought along a normal set of kunai and shuriken. All in all, Hinata only carried with her three small sealing scrolls.
Sakura, by contrast, had a large spacious tent, two weeks of home-cooked meals for the group, two sets of kunai and shuriken, several changes of clothing, and large amounts of rope. When asked about the rope, Sakura had launched into a lecture about the various uses for rope. As her speech was wrapping up several minutes later, Naruto arrived.
Naruto, unlike the other members of his group, had taken to bringing everything he owned along with him, minus his furniture. It was much easier to simply use sealing scrolls and bring it all along then have it...misplaced by the time he returned to his apartment. To that end, he had brought two weeks of ramen for the group, his changes of clothing, the three pictures he had of his friends, and several dozen kunai and shuriken. All in all, Naruto had two sealing scrolls with him.
Kurenai, concerned that Naruto was carrying most of his weaponry loosely in a sealing scroll instead of in a proper sealing holster, asked Naruto what he had done with the holster the kunai came with.
"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned, confused at what Kurenai was referring to. "Kunai come with holsters?"
"You didn't get one when you bought them?" Kurenai questioned, concerned that her Genin had gotten taken advantage of by some unscrupulous merchant.
"Huh?" Naruto replied still confused for a moment. Then he understood in a flash of insight. "I've never bought kunai or shurikens. I've just found them on the ground ,taken them home, and cleaned them up. Sometimes I've even gotten the high quality ones!" He explained.
"Naruto," Kurenai said hesitantly, "Why don't you buy kunai at the store?"
"Eh," Naruto said with a dismissive wave, "They don't like to sell me things. The prices seem to change a lot when I'm in the store." "And eating at least once every day is more important anyway." He added silently. The shocked silence that followed was almost deafening. Each other member of the group was occupied with how they were reacting to the news.
Kurenai almost couldn't believe that any store owner would do such a thing to a child. But that knowledge was secondary to her observation of Naruto-San as he recounted the unfair treatment. It hadn't seemed to bother him. Kurenai's eyes narrowed. This meant that this wasn't a new occurrence. Well, when she got back, she would have a little...talk with the store owner.
Hinata felt confused. In all her life, she had never experienced a store clerk ever give anyone a hard time. Often they would even give discounts to her father. The idea that someone would deliberately raise prices in their store for someone like Naruto-Kun was almost foreign. She resolved to talk to her father when she got back.
Sakura was angry. If she had been able to think logically about the situation, she would have realized that she shouldn't have been surprised by the store's treatment of her Naruto-Kun. But she was surprised. As Sakura thought about the issue more, she wondered if all of the village, not just a few stupid ninja as she had previously thought, hated Naruto. If so...Sakura wondered what she could do about it. Because no one hurt Naruto-Kun!
Kurenai shook herself from her dark thoughts. There would be time for those later. She turned and called out to her students, breaking them from their thoughts. "It's time to go!" She urged them, "It's your first mission outside of the village! I'll explain the mission as we head towards the mission's area of operation."
With a shout of happiness from Naruto, Team Eight set off towards the mission.
After a day of travel, Team Eight stopped to camp for the evening. After the group had set up camp and gotten a fire going, they naturally gravitated towards the fire to talk. As Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata conversed amongst themselves, they noticed that Kurenai, their sensei, wasn't talking much. In fact, she was staring into the fire with a troubled look on her face.
Kurenai sighed as she stared into the campfire. She was confused, angry, and saddened. As she brooded about all of the information she had gotten today, Naruto's voice broke her out of her ruminations.
"Kurenai-Sensei, are you all right?" Naruto's tone had undisguised worry laced in it.
Kurenai turned to her worried Genins. She sighed again. She wished that they didn't have to take this mission. That they wouldn't have to lose their innocence this early. That they could remain young and happy children. Alas, it would not be the case.
"Do you know what mission we have been assigned?" Kurenai began carefully, "It is a bandit removal mission. " She glanced at her Genins. They seemed to be slightly confused. She sighed and looked away from her students to the fire once again. "What a bandit retrieval mission means is that you track down the bandits that are causing trouble...and then you kill them." Her words hung over the group.
"Ok." Naruto said simply, breaking the silence after a few moments. Kurenai snapped her head to look over at him. He didn't seemed to be taking the news poorly. In fact, he didn't even seem very surprised. Kurenai wondered, and not for the first time, who really was Naruto Uzumaki? Was the real Naruto a smiling child who met each day with unlimited enthusiasm? Was the real Naruto the unpredictable ninja who fought a shinobi who was his better in every way, only for the blonde to win a decisive victory? Or was it a young man who clung to his friends and would do whatever it takes to keep them safe?
"I-I should have expected this," Sakura began hesitantly, her face pale, "After all, all ninja eventually have to kill. It's usually a genin's first or second C-Rank mission that they make their first kill." She finished, seemingly taking some comfort in her knowledge.
Hinata was frozen, Kurenai's words echoing in her head. She was going to have to kill. She was going to have to destroy someone else's life. They would die! As the words echoed louder and louder her skull, she began to feel lightheaded. Then a sudden thought stopped the echos.
"Those ninja tried to kill Naruto-Kun didn't they? What if they tried again? Would I hesitate to stop them?" Hinata shook her head at her thoughts, determination flooding her. She wouldn't be the cause of Naruto-Kun getting hurt! Ever!
Naruto looked at his sensei after glancing at his team mates. "Kurenai-Sensei, we're ready for this! This is what we trained for!" His voice conveyed such conviction that it bolstered the rest of the team. Looking at their determined faces, Kurenai's heart eased to a certain extent. She smiled proudly at her students. They were the models of the perfect students. She knew that she wasn't so mature when she was their age! As they prepared to turn in for the evening, Sakura realized something important.
"Naruto, where is your tent?" She questioned, a suspicion growing in her mind.
"Eh, I don't have one. " Naruto dismissed. Seeing the dark look on Sakura's face, he hastened to add, "But I've slept in worse conditions than this." Sakura now looked angry. Naruto's eyes widened, "What did I say?" He wondered frantically. But then Sakura stormed up to him and grabbed his arm, making him flinch slightly.
"You're sleeping in my tent! There's plenty of room for two!" Sakura hadn't made two steps towards her tent when she replayed her words in her head, her face flushing a bright red. "W-What I m-meant was we are just going to sleep! In separate sleeping bags!" She hurriedly clarified, not looking at Naruto.
"Huh?" Naruto said confused, reaching up to scratch his head, "What else would we do but sleep?"
"N-Nothing!" Sakura quickly replied, suddenly remembering to let go of Naruto's arm. Naruto got a quick glance at Sakura's face before she turned away again. Why was her face flushed? Naruto wondered. Maybe she had gotten too much heat by being close to the fire? Naruto resolved to make sure that Sakura didn't burn herself by being too close to the fire.
Hinata watched Naruto-Kun disappear into Sakura-Chan's tent. She felt conflicted. While part of her knew that all they would do is sleep, another part of her wanted to turn on her Byakugan and watch the tent all night! Still another part wished that she had brought a bigger tent herself...
Kurenai shook her head in amusement at another instance of her team's strange relationship dynamic. She then settled in for a long night of watching over her Genins.
Morning seemed to come too quickly for Hinata. It seemed that she had just now fallen to sleep. She was sure it had nothing to do with the fact that Naruto was sleeping in Sakura-Chan's tent. And she most certainly didn't watch the tent off and on for several hours with her Byakugan...Although, she admitted silently, Naruto did have the nicest expression when he slept.
Naruto stretched as he exited Sakura-Chan's tent. Sakura-Chan was still sleeping at the moment. Naruto figured that he would grab a quick bite to eat before seeking out Kurenai-Sensei. A serious expression crossed his face. He really needed to talk to Sensei before they set out for the day!
Hinata froze at the door flap of her tent. Naruto was sitting eating food in front of the fire! But more importantly, he didn't have a shirt on! Hinata slowly backed into her tent, letting the flap fall. She concentrated, her Byakugan activating. Breakfast could wait. She had something more important to watch.
Kurenai yawned. It had been a boring night. A sudden rustle of leaves to her left side had her reaching for her a kunai. When Naruto immerged a second later, she relaxed, casually returning the kunai to her holster. She turned to Naruto and stopped short seeing his serious expression. Given that this was the first time she had seen a serious expression on the blonde's face, she hopped down from the tree she had been resting in to give Naruto her full attention.
"Kurenai-Sensei, "Naruto began, "When Hinata-Chan and Sakura-Chan make their first kill, you need to help them though getting over it after the battle. " Seeing Kurenai open her mouth, Naruto guessed her question. "I can't help them with getting over their first kill." Kurenai opened and closed her mouth several times. This wasn't what she had been expecting!
"Why can't you help them though their first kill?" She questioned, remembering the Naruto had made his first kill less than a month ago.
"Because I didn't need to kill Mizuki." Naruto revealed. "I could have just knocked him out. But he threatened my precious people. " Naruto's monotone voice would have made Shino proud.
Kurenai mentally reeled. Mizuki hadn't been killed in self-defense? Naruto, of all people, had chosen to take a life? Suddenly, Iruka's words to her made sense.
It was just before she entered the classroom to meet her students for the first time. Iruka stopped her and told her something that would leave her very confused.
"Kurenai-San, you are to be Naruto-San's Jonin instructor, correct?" Seeing Kurenai's nod, he continued, "Then let me give you one piece of advice. Never threaten his precious people." He had then left to go back into the classroom, leaving a confused Jonin standing in the halls.
Kurenai looked over at Naruto. She smiled warmly. "Of course I'll be there for them!" She reassured her student. Naruto sent her a grateful smile before he headed back towards the camp. "Naruto-Kun, " Kurenai called out after a sudden terrible thought crossed her mind, "Was there anyone for you after you made your first kill?" Naruto's bitter smile as he shook his head almost broke her heart.
The team made good time, making it to the village shortly after midday four days later. They had been quickly shown to the village's leader. He had given them directions to the last place the bandit group had been seen in. Team Eight headed out.
Three hours later, Team Eight was crouched on a hill overlooking the bandit camp. Hinata's Byakugan had quickly found the bandit camp from a distance once they had moved into the correct area. After they had reached the location that the bandits had been last seen in, Hinata had activated her bloodline. After several minutes of concentrating, she located the bandit camp several miles away.
Kurenai carefully observed the camp. Since it was nearing evening, the bandits were starting to settle in for the day. Two guards were posted at each corner of the camp, facing away from its center. Most of the bandits where either by the fire in the center or clustered around the several tents that were scattered around the camp.
"All right, " Kurenai addressed her team in a low, quiet voice, "Here's the plan: Each of us will be taking out two guards. After you finish that, we will use our most powerful area of effect techniques simultaneously. Then, we will head in to finish off the survivors. The signal to use the jutsu will be the cry of a hawk." She paused, giving her students time to process the plan. "If," She continued with a firm tone, "You are in danger of being overwhelmed, spike your chakra! At that point, any team members nearby will come to assist you." She paused again. "Any questions?"
Naruto looked over at her. "Wouldn't it be better if I sent one of my clones with each person?" Kurenai shook her head.
"While that normally would be a fine idea, the leader of the camp is a missing nin. We don't know his capabilities, so we can't risk him feeling your chakra spike as you create the clones."
Naruto nodded, disappointed. He understood why he couldn't use his clones, but he still wanted be there to assist his team if they needed it. He resolved to be on the lookout for any chakra spikes. Kurenai motioned for her team to meet her at the edge of the hilltop. After they assembled, she pointed out what set of guards each of the team was going to take out. After everyone indicated that they understood their orders, the ninja melted into the shadows.
Kurenai moved silently towards her two targets. With a whispered phrase, her genjutsu took hold. She watched as the two bandits walked closer to her location, unaware that they were moving. After they passed her location, she swiftly moved up behind them. Two quick slashes of her kunai later left them swiftly bleeding out. She quickly put the guards out of their misery.
Hinata crouched near the two bandit guards she was supposed to take out. She swallowed before steeling her resolve. She closed her eyes, concentrating. A moment later she opened them, her Byakugan now activated. She peered closer at the two bandits, mentally planning out how to take them out without noise and how to minimize the pain they would feel. After a few moments, Hinata moved closer. When she got within range, she rushed the guards. Before they could mutter a surprised curse, Hinata struck with precise, pin-point accuracy. Both guards collapsed at her feet, temporarily stunned. Hinata eyed their vital pressure points. She steeled herself. And she struck.
Sakura peeked out at the guards she was ordered to kill. They seemed to have been there for several hours, and periodically shuffled from side to side. A plan was slowly coming together in her mind. She carefully made the hand signs for her most powerful genjutsu, taking care that her movements wouldn't be seen. If the bandits had looked behind them, they would have seen something terribly confusing. Two more bandits, looking exactly like themselves, stood behind them. Sakura took a deep, shuddering breath. She drew her kunai. As soon as the guards looked away from her position, she charged. Her sudden movement drew the guards attention towards her, but they didn't have time to react before she was next to them. Her kunai flashed, cutting deep into the first guard's side. As he crumpled over with a surprised curse, Sakura flung her Kunai into the second guards throat. She then frantically grabbed another kunai out of her holster as she spied the first guard about to cry out. Her panicked thrust with the kunai hit the guard in the throat, and she watched with a morbid curiosity as he gurgled wetly around the metal. Bile bubbled up in her throat as he slowly died. She purposefully avoided looking down at her blood-soaked hands, knowing that if she did, she wouldn't be able to complete the second part of the plan. And that was something she wouldn't allow. She wouldn't let down her team!
Naruto watched the two guards, not impressed with their abilities. Had they been shinobi, he might have been slightly cautious. But he had hid from entire mobs of enraged ninja before, so hiding from two non-ninja bandits was ridiculously easy. Naruto flexed his hands. He slowly pulled two kunai from the holster, one for each hand. He flipped them to a reverse grip. Then he surged towards the guards. Before they could react, he sprang onto the surprised guards. Two wet thuds sounded quietly as Naruto thrust the kunai into each of the two bandit's throats. Naruto twisted the kunais, ending the bandits' life. He carefully wiped the kunais on the bandits clothing. He then settled back and waited for the signal, staying alert for any chakra spikes.
Kurenai waited, adding an extra five minutes to how long she figured it would take until her students killed the guards. She had initially worried that her students would become paralyzed after their first kill, but then she had realized something. She trusted her students. Trusted them to get the job done. After the five minutes elapsed, she raised her hands, and gave the cry of a hawk. As the last notes of the bird cry faded into the air, her hands flashed though the hand signs for her most powerful fire jutsu. A large fireball, about four feet wide, rocketed towards the center of the camp. A second after it exploded in the center, a large wave of water rushed though the camp. The bandits barely had time to react before several blades of wind ripped though the camp. Kurenai heard the crackle of a lightning jutsu off in the distance. She smiled. Her team was going to be all right! The Jonin drew another kunai and headed into the camp, intent on finding the leader of the bandits.
Naruto charged into the bandit camp, intent on finding Sakura-Chan, Hinata-Chan, and Kurenai-Sensei. He hadn't made it more than twenty steps before a slight flash of red and orange speeding in his direction forced him to dive out of the way. As he rolled back to his feet, he spotted the bandit leader charging in his direction. The leader flashed though several hand signs and brought his hand up to his mouth. Suddenly a half-dozen fire bullets rocketed towards Naruto!
Naruto hurled himself up into the air, his hands automatically coming up in a cross sign. Seconds later, a giant white smoke cloud engulfed Naruto. When it dissipated, the missing nin's mouth dropped openS. One-hundred copies of the blonde ninja fell towards him! Desperate, he fired a veritable volley of fire bullets at the falling crowd. The sky was soon filled with white smoke and explosions of fire. As he fired the final bullet towards the last falling clone, a flash of movement in the corner his eye had him dodging back by instinct; it was the only thing that saved his life. Naruto's hand swept passed the leader's face by a scant inch, the blonde's hand glowing ominously.
The leader skidded to a halt five feet from Naruto, his hands already on the last seal for his jutsu. A wall of fire bullets screamed out the missing ninja's mouth! The missing ninja could only watch in stunned disbelief as the Genin charged the wall of fire. Naruto blurred. Instinct once again saved the leader as he instinctively blocked Naruto's fist as the blonde dodged the final fire bullet.
The leader suddenly grinned. He grabbed the shocked Genin's arm and wrenched it upwards, jerking the arm out of Naruto's socket as the blonde was thrown into the air! As Naruto flew over the missing nin's head, Naruto snarled and his hand once again glowed ominously. He slammed the glowing hand on top the leaders head! Naruto was blasted back by the sudden explosion that followed the instant his hand made contact with the leader's head.
Naruto landed in a crouch, not taking his eyes of the missing ninja. When he had first conceived of his new technique, had never imagined it would be that...messy. Naruto watched the ninja's lower half slump to the ground, the blonde's technique having blasted the leader's head and upper torso apart.
Naruto grunted to himself in pain as he snapped his dislocated arm back into place. Then, he created another army of clones. Most of the clones charged off to take out the bandits, but several of them started looting any of the bodies they could find, the leader included. Naruto's sensitive ears caught the sound of combat farther inside the camp. He headed off in that direction.
It had only taken fifteen minutes for four ninja to turn a camp of over fifty bandits into a graveyard. Kurenai watched each of her student's closely, looking for the signs of post combat stress. She was relieved when she could only find traces of it in her students. Although, she admitted to herself, a large lack of combat stress might have been because two of her newly-blooded students were very distracted by her third student.
Naruto had given them all a shock when he had shown up covered in blood. After reassuring a frantic Sakura and Hinata several times, he had simply pulled off his shirt to show he wasn't hurt. They had both promptly stopped talking, a obvious flush appearing on their faces.
Naruto grunted unhappily to himself. His shirt was probably ruined! Now what was he supposed to wear until he washed himself off? He didn't own enough clothes that he could afford to dirty and possibly ruin two shirts. He sighed, resigning himself to walking around shirtless until he could find a place to wash off. He then perked up, remembering all of the weapons that he clones had gathered. He made a mental note to inventory them later.
As Team Eight entered Konoha five days later, it was obvious that they had changed. While they were in part the same team as the one that had left the leaf village ten days prior, they were also different. For they had made their first kills, marking them as true ninja. Every ninja's hands are stained with blood. During the trip, team had grown much closer as the events of the mission had set in on the way back. It was obvious to everyone that Team Eight had been into the preverbal fire, and had been forged into a cohesive unit. The members of Team Eight looked forward to the future together, secure in the knowledge that each member of their team was there for them.
To my reviewers:
SilentSambo88: I want with a more realistic version of Sarutobi taken to a logical end. He is the perfect example of a wartime leader in a peaceful era. Or at least at least semi-peaceful. He views Naruto as a failure in a way, seeing that Naruto's grades are quite poor. And as such, he felt that elevating someone who seems, on paper anyway, a much better example of a model shinobi to the world and their village's clients, was a better option. I thought carefully about Sasuke's attitude and realized that if you think about it, the Uchiha clan would have instilled a lot of clan loyalty into a young Sasuke. Taking to a logical conclusion, given what we know of the Uchiha before the massacre, it isn't a stretch have Sasuke feel superior to the average ninja. You'll catch a glimpse of what's going on in Sasuke's head this chapter.
Cuervo Blanco: I am sorry you feel that the team combination was forced. To be honest, it was to a slight extent. But by the same token, it was not. In all honesty, the Hokage couldn't put Naruto on the same team as Sasuke; given that Naruto's skills were obviously not the worst in the class. At that point, I had to make a decision: Does Naruto go with Team 7 anyway, regardless of the fact that it makes it a super specialized team? Or does he get put onto a team that grants the village two teams that can perform multiple roles? Given Sarutobi's character, I felt that the second option was the more realistic one. And honestly, I originally intended for this to be a Naru/Saku story. But as the story progressed, it slowly turned into a Naruto/Sakura/Hinata story. I hope you continue reading despite that threesomes aren't your cup of tea.
Nigthmare Shadow: I feel that a slow change of personality is more realistic approach. It keeps the characters grounded and lets the readers hopefully identify with them. And here's your new chapter!
Guest: Well, you'll see the rivalry continue to heat up as both Sakura and Hinata come to terms with their feelings towards Naruto. While there isn't much rivalry in this chapter, it will cause them to come to terms with their feelings towards Naruto. And this chapter is the start of the Legend of Team 8, and soon it will become obvious to everyone just how powerful the team is. And as far as Zabuza and Haku go, it really depends on the poll. I'm not going to spoil the result, but I can say that one of the two options may allow for them to survive. I try to respond to each review, since you awesome guys take the time to review and give me feedback about the story. It's only fair that I return the favor.
Guest: Early on in the drafts for this story, I realized that every event that any of the characters experience should have an effect on them. And major events should be shown, given that they will often produce large amounts of character growth. Thus I wanted to show how far Naruto is willing to go to save his friends. And Naruto's dream shows that Naruto is very effected by his experiences, but he just tries to not show it.
Suzululu4: Exactly. While the Sharingan requires the user to at least understand how the eye works, the memory transference would basically let Naruto treat everything as a speed bump fairly quickly. And since I tend to take most things to their logical conclusion, there would be no reason for him to not abuse the shadow clones.
Suzululu4: Part of Sakura's character, at least early on, was characterized by her violent tendencies. And I could easily imagine her reacting violently towards someone who badmouthed Naruto, given the cannon explanation that she has a hard time making friends. And as far as Naruto goes, I feel that if he was treated as badly as he was in this story, he would have learned that violence tends to solve problems. I then took this to its logical conclusion, and we have Naruto's awesome tendency to punish anyone who harms his friends.
Suzululu4: I thought about Shino's abilities, and realized (although I may have completely misunderstood how his abilities work), that his bugs are more or less a part of him; as much as an arm or a leg is for someone else. So it would seem logical that Shino would use his bugs to fight, and by the time the instructors would have realized what was going on, the fight would have been over. Sarutobi is a classic example of a person ignoring evidence that doesn't fit their world view. He tells himself that he believes in all ninja, but he really only helps those who seem to be powerful in their own right. He ignores that some of the greatest ninja were not the best until someone took them under their wing. I'm sure that he doesn't do it consciously, but he had already written Naruto off as a failure. So imagine his surprise when Naruto was not a failure...he scrambled to somehow fit Naruto back into his nice world view. And you are correct, Kurenai isn't a jack of all trades. But perhaps it's better that way. For now she has to seek help from other Jonin, and they in turn will interact with Team 8. You'll see a bit of this multi-Jonin training this chapter. And as far as her teaching her students, it will also force her to learn new tactics and training so she can then pass it on to her students. And that's perhaps Team 8's greatest strength and weakness. Because they only have each other, they will grow closer and train harder to protect each other.
Animaman: Sakura's parents know, to a vague extent, about the Kyubi. Given that they never progressed beyond Genin, I could easily see them just ignoring the whispers about "the demon child". They didn't interact much with your average villager, nor did they seem to interact much with shinobi. So while they knew about the Kyubi, it was mostly just a phrase or a word to them, right up until Sakura brought Naruto home. At that point, they realized that all of the rumors about Naruto were wrong. Or that's what they believe. And you hit the nail about Hiruzen. He is stuck in denial about Naruto, wanting, or perhaps needing, to believe that the village he sacrificed so much for is still a good place. But he can't stay in denial much longer. Especially once Team 8 starts taking on more missions. And I truly wonder what will happen when he can no deny what is happening...
DASvicks63: I'm glad you are enjoying it!
THE 7TH DEMON OF RAZGRIZ: I'm trying to establish the paring of Naruto/Sakura/Hinata to be as solid as possible. For in the end, who can we trust but those closest to us? And you're not the only one who had a lot of issues with the cannon ending of Naruto. But hopefully the ending to this story will be a bit closer to what we imagined. And as far as burning villages, make sure you torch the tallest ones first. Makes spreading the flames easer.
midnightscar17: While Ino is a great character, would take a massive departure from cannon for her to help Naruto early on. And given that this story spawned from one simple meeting, I couldn't see her beating out Hinata when it comes to Naruto. Kurenai will step up to the challenge to train her team, but she, at this present time, still has to make the final step. However, by the end of this chapter, she will have realized that she can't continue hampering their training. And as far as Team 7 joining Team 8 goes, we'll just have to see...
Lord Anubis Judge of the dead: That's what I'm trying to go for. I asked myself the question, "What if Sakura met Naruto early on in their life?" And the fic just took off from there.
tymofey: Well, I must confess that it's working out fairly well for Naruto so far...
So what did you guys think? Can you guess what attack Naruto used against the bandit leader? Drop a review and let me know!