A/N - Because ya had a bad day, you're taking one down, you sing a sad song just to turn it around...
Yeah, well don't do that, it end's in failure and self-righteous defeat. What you wanna do is write an epic theme song, or really just a track to throw in the background of something awesome and it makes it ten times better. Like Halo's theme song, or Jon Snow's track. Oh, and another one's sadness and sorrow from original Naruto... just Naruto music in general's pretty spot on but anyway that's not the point. When you're writing your epic conclusions to a battle or something, put a theme song in mmmkay, it sets the tone and the mood making that spine tingling feeling so much better.
I do not own Naruto.
Chapter 12 - More Weapons More Fun
(Land of Frost)
"Happy birthday my son. If only I had of helped you." He had been kneeling in one place, head bowed in thought with the only sound being his occasional whispers of sorrow. This might be the last time he ever got to visit his sons grave and so when the sun had set and his only source of light was the small flickering flame of a candle he didn't leave.
On his son's birthday he always spent the full day here however knowing that this would most likely be his last visit he was going to savour it, savour his depression, his anger and what could have been. It would be used as his driving force, his fuel to push his old and weary bones past their limits one last time.
His son had died long ago, back when he himself was a younger, fitter man but despite his actions he'd manage to secure a place deemed worthy of his son's burial; there never were many positives when you buried one of your own but at least it brought him some peace in his later years. Not that he deserved it.
Situated on the peak of a large hill his gravestone was small and humble, the way he would have wanted it with flowers, candles and cherry blossom leaves scattered around giving it the perfect view into the valley and surrounding mountains below.
His position for most of his life came with having to travel the world, visiting the most luxurious places and seeing bewitching lands that others could only dream of; in his old age and wisdom he'd never beheld anything quite like this. With the naked eye he could just barely pick out little lights of houses and street lamps in the village below and when he looked at the mountains he could see their snow covered peaks which gave off that far away feel.
This place was perfect and with his powers he made it even better. The cherry blossom tree stayed in bloom all year round and although situated on the tallest mountain in a region known for its harsh climate it never snowed.
This was his time to mourn, and so he did.
He didn't move a muscle until the sun started to rise and as it bathed his body he stood to full height. Tall, tanned, broad-chested and muscular would all be suitable descriptions but they didn't do him justice. A huge figure dwarfing a regular man and exuding a presence that some could only dream of. Short grey hair and a grey bearded goatee made his old age apparent at first glance but it was the large scar just above his right eye that displayed his obvious battle experience.
If you were dumb, deaf and blind you could still get a feel for the presence the man gave off.
Soft footsteps echoed in the distance so it was no surprise when he heard the voice of his dearest, "You're still here granddad? Come-on, you'll catch your death if you stay up here, let's go on home."
And that was his grandson, the one thing in life that kept him going. Turning around with a small smile in place he wrapped one hand around him and pulled him close, "Your old man's not as strong as he once was but it'd take more than some cold to put me down." His hearty laugh echoed throughout the valley, "Y'know your granddad was a strong man back in his day?"
The response was only a laugh, although he wasn't showing it, the older man knew his son was hurting.
Ren was good that way, he never complained despite his less than ideal upbringing. When he was born his father had already been buried and his mother had passed during child birth; all things considered he should have hung up his cape as an Auger then and there but he'd been selfish. The result was his only living relative barely knowing him.
It was a few moments before Ren replied, just giving a dry chuckle and looking away, "Yeah, so you keep telling me. I bet Dad would have been stronger though; everyone said he'd go on to surpass you, didn't they?"
The fact that Ren had specifically mentioned his father made the older man's eyes widen ever so slightly, Ren had never liked talking about him, "He would of surpassed me Ren, I'm sure of it." The memories were sad but the small smile remained on his face as he remembered his son fondly, "You're father was a genius in his day. Looked up to by his peers and respected by his few betters, a little like yourself. When he died it wasn't his fault. He died for what he believed in and-"
"I know granddad." Ren walked forward on his own and as he stood relishing the morning sun and breathing the cold fresh air he could only sigh, "Dad's death was a noble one but I still don't forgive him for it; he couldn't avoid it but he choose a stubborn death over his family, over mum... over me." Ren's body was physically shaking, "I know you had no other choice granddad, I don't blame you... but why? Why didn't you save him?"
The older man could only look on as his dearest broke apart, no words coming forward as he felt that familiar sting in his eyes.
Silence followed for a short time before Ren spoke up, his whisper soft and full of pain, "Why didn't you help him?" The words hurt him, they pierced his very being and threatened to rip him apart, however there effect on him was nothing to what followed.
Ren's single visible eye looked into him and what he saw was a broken boy. Pity and guilt filled his tearful eye in his emotional state; there had been traces of these emotions time and time again but Ren never let them act on him. What pushed him over the edge, what made the older man's heart want to stop beating was the small trace of hate that was solely directed on him, the next words would finish him.
"You let him die!" Hearing that sentence from the only one you care about would destroy any man. Ren's tears ran freely and as hateful eyes bore into him he only felt shame...
A crack of thunder made his eyes snap open.
The words echoed in his mind and his glazed over eyes slowly came into focus; his heart was beating fast and he gasped for air as cold sweat ran down his back... he was still kneeling by his sons grave, it's cherry blossom leaves having rotted and it's candle having long since died out.
Slowly but surely his wandering eyes lingered to his right and as they moved he already knew what was to come.
Even in his dreams his son had still remained dead, his only guess was that his inner conscious knew he deserved nothing better but this was different. He was still able to dream about having a grandson, whether that was another punishment the God's had bestowed on him he didn't know.
Steeling himself he looked onwards, hoping against hope that'd it somehow be different and just like he expected, it wasn't. The grave of his grandson came into view.
To come back. Even as a shadow of what they once were, even as a dream was a torture on his mind. He'd heard once that the death of a beloved was an amputation, it was like losing apart of yourself that you could never get back. If that was the case he was nothing but a tortured soul who for some reason hadn't been put out of his misery yet.
His son's death was his fault and he had cursed himself every day since, but Ren didn't deserve to die.
When it happened his world had changed, the world had become his enemy and it would remain that way. As long as the world spins and the earth was green with life Ren would be dead and that wasn't something he could just accept.
He had lived his life being a coward to higher powers. That wasn't happening anymore, it was time for revenge.
(Land of Fire - Konoha no Sato)
He raced through hand-signs with practised ease, "Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder." Holding his fists out in front of himself surges and forks of lightning jolted out ripping up the ground as they travelled towards a large boulder before subsequently boring right through it.
Early morning Konoha always was nice at this time of year and with the sun still hanging low in the sky it wasn't necessarily warm but you wouldn't feel cold either. The nights dew still clinging to the training ground grass gave it that fresh scent Naruto loved and with the constant morning birds singing and chattering it didn't feel like a Ninja village, more so a getaway, a place that felt far away from anything and everything that mattered.
All in all this was his perfect start to the day in his favourite place to be, one of Konoha's many training grounds improving and testing what he can and can't do.
Ino whistled obviously impressed but it was Sasuke that commented on Naruto's new Jutsu, "You have to have a lightning affinity with the amount of power you can put into that already. You're able to tear through rock with that." The Uchiha was spending his training time running through kata's but it was hard to concentrate when Naruto was firing off a death blast of lightning every few minutes. He couldn't complain though, usually there was upwards a hundred clones instead, all of which were every bit as annoying as the original.
Naruto shook his hands out in mild discomfort not as impressed as his teammates, "It's strong enough alright but damn is it a bitch on my hands. There so numb I can barely feel them."
Ino was quick to point out the problem, "It's because you're trying to push through too much chakra into it at once, and you need to feel it out instead of just relying on your brutish chakra reserves. This isn't normally a problem for you, you're chakra control while never great has always been pretty passable."
Just nodding his head Naruto could again only think back to when he'd used the Kyubi's chakra. Every problem he had recently seemed to link back to it in some way, he could only assume his body was still adjusting to such a large intake of the stuff at once but even then it was barely anything. When in his mindscape he could feel how large of a presence the beast was; the chakra he had used felt like a raindrop out of an ocean and this was the effect it was having on him.
Just exactly how strong was a tailed beast?
This was a major annoyance of his as it wasn't something he could talk to either Ino or Sasuke about. Both didn't even know he was the Kyuubi Jinchuriki let alone the details of his last mission. Of course they shared theirs and he told them where he went and about the attack but he made sure to leave out anything involving his 'incident' as the council had called it.
So while Ino's knowledge about chakra control would normally be right... it wasn't.
Continuing to nod his head at what his fellow blonde was saying he decided to try another Jutsu, "Well I think that's as good as I'm going to get that for now, considering I pulled that last one off so quick I'm guessing this next ones gonah take ages," His head lowered ever so slightly at that, running through hand-signs and shouting the same name over and over again got boring really quick.
Sasuke perked up at that bit of news though, "Wait what do you mean another one. I know you said you got a few Jutsu but just exactly how many did you get? Like, how did you manage to get them or did you finally succeed in sneaking into the Jonin section of the library."
Naruto just shivered at that memory, "Nope, I'm never trying that again either, not after what the librarian did last time. As for how I got my Jutsu, I persuaded Anko," The two Genin looked at him blankly, "Y'know, crazy snake lady, you always see her eating dango."
Both faces lit up in realisation, well that was the best way to describe it. Really Ino's was the one to light up, Sasuke just sorta did his grunt thing that he does every so often.
"You know if she didn't scare me I'd find her so good looking... now that I think about it I do find her pretty good looking," Seeing Ino staring daggers he moved swiftly on, "Anyway as I was saying, she's sorta like a jack of all trades when it comes to her Jutsu so she knows plenty of good ones. I got her to show me a lightning one, an earth one and a wind one." He could already do the earth one, Earth Release: Mud Style Wall, pretty handily. While it took quite a while to get down and it did use up a lot of chakra he reasoned this was because he didn't have an earth affinity, that being said he was happy with his new defensive Jutsu.
Sasuke just gave him the typical grunt, "You're such an idiot. Getting a wind Jutsu was a waste of time, hardly anyone in Konoha can do them let alone have an affinity to it. Sure, in six months' time it might be some use when you finally perfect it but even then it'll still be far weaker than your others. I can already tell you have an affinity to lightning just like I have one to fire. It's your main affinity and the odds are you don't have two."
Naruto just scoffed, "Well aren't you the dog's ballocks," He rubbed his eyes in frustration, "Fucking know it all Uchiha's."
Sasuke just gave a challenging smirk, "I heard that runt!" Having grown use to each other's teasing over the years something like a friendly jibe just rolled off the Uchiha.
However Ino just looked at the two rather impatiently, "You both keep talking about affinity's like its common knowledge, I don't have a clue what you mean by that and I'm pretty sure we were never taught it either."
The Yamanaka clan heir thought it was somewhat cute when both Naruto and Sasuke stopped what they were doing too looked around at her, however their expressions were not to be desired.
Seeing as how Naruto just looked towards him obviously implying that he count be bothered explaining Sasuke just released a small sign, 'Yep, that'd be the way of it,' Honestly Naruto was so lazy when it came to particular things, by the looks of it, helping their teammate out was one of them.
Sitting down cross-legged Sasuke motioned Ino over who joined him without hesitation, her readiness somewhat caught him off guard but no matter; he supposed he would have to get used to this and now that he'd thought about it he'd ever had a one on one conversation with the girl. All those years she followed him like a lost puppy he had ignored her and since the formation of their team he'd had Naruto with him at all times.
Looking hopefully over his shoulder only to find his blunt teammate cursing at a recent failure he realised he was most definitely on his own. It wouldn't be that hard to do the explaining for once, would it? "Now I know why the Academy gave me the lowest grade for teamwork and communication..."
"What was that Sasuke, you say something?"
"Nope nothing," Quick go crack on, something that Ino amusingly noted but decided not to comment on, Sasuke channelled chakra to his index finger and carved out a pentagon in the short grass, each point in the shape having a small circle beside it, "As you know there's the five elements, fire, wind, lightning, earth and water." As he said it Sasuke drew each Kanji for each element in the circles he had previously provided.
Ino already knew all this but choose to say nothing, instead watching on as the Uchiha added little pointers and arrows to his diagram.
"There." He sat back and examined his work with some pride, "Now let's see...where to start? Okay, the top three elements, fire, wind and lightning are known as offensive elements," His finger followed them around the pentagon before moving to the bottom two, "Whereas earth and water are known as defensive. This is because that's their nature, what their best at and what they naturally follow."
Ino was pretty sure she understood that but it arose another question too, "But I've seen Kakashi-sensei use strong water and earth Jutsu before when attacking us?" The memory brought a shiver, on his day he was ruthless.
Sasuke only smiled in response.
Yes, he actually did smile causing Ino to gape. Albeit it was close to being called a slight upwards curvature on his lips she would take what she could get.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing." She motioned him forwards to continue.
The smile looking a little less natural Sasuke did so, "Just because an element has a specific nature in defence or offense doesn't mean it's solely that nature, it's just what it works best at. That's why Naruto decided to get an earth one as his defensive Jutsu but wind and lightning for his offensive ones." Ino looked over at the blonde who was now sitting down but still stringing together countless curses in rage.
Sasuke saw this and had to agree, "Yeah I know right, he has more brains than he lets on."
The explanation went on for the next while, elements and their strengths and weaknesses being covered in depth, how water was good against fire, fire against wind and so on and so forth. It was all basics of elemental Jutsu but something that was never mentioned in the academy, this was predominately because elemental Jutsu wasn't needed until far later on in a Ninja's career. He and Naruto weren't the type of people to wait around and thus Ino was being dragged along with them.
"Hmm," Ino licked her lips in thought, "Yeah I've got all that and I'm pretty sure I can answer my own question now... So an elemental affinity would then be what element you're attuned too, or a better description, what element you're chakra is attuned to. It means learning Jutsu of that element comes more easily and in general it's stronger." Seeing Sasuke simply close his eyes and give his typical grunt she knew she'd got it right.
Standing up and giving the raven haired boy a teasing pat on the head Ino got a good laugh when the typical glare shot right back at her, "I'm just kidding Sasuke, you're actually a good teacher, took you a while to get used to it though."
He ran a hand through his hair fixing it, "Yeah well I can't take to everything like a duck to water. I'm still better than Naruto at it though."
Seeing her other teammate still struggling made her wonder, "Well you say Naruto's most likely got an affinity to lightning, I wonder what I have?"
It wasn't necessarily a question that needed to be answered but Sasuke did, "It's not likely he's got a lightning affinity, he does. You can't just pull off a Jutsu like that so quickly. As for you I wouldn't have a clue because I haven't seen you try and use any elemental techniques. I know that I have two affinities, fire and lightning but I don't know any lightning Jutsu yet." Not that he hadn't tried getting a few from Kakashi but the masked Jonin gave them nothing of the sort, Kakashi's teaching had remained very much teamwork influenced and perfecting the basics since their return from their first missions.
Gossiping nature kicking in and that need to know attitude that proceeded her in reputation Ino was quick to latch onto what Sasuke said, "How'd you find that out then if you don't know any lightning Jutsu?"
As soon as she asked the question she immediately regretted it. Sasuke eyes glazed over ever so slightly for the briefest of moments as a few distant memories flooded him, with it the small content smile dropped and by the looks of it she doubted it would return today.
"It was my brother," Sasuke started before she got a chance to speak, "He... was pretty talented when it came to sensing chakra signatures."
The Uchiha left it at that. She knew all about Itachi Uchiha; she knew just who he was and what he did as did everyone. Young or old the bogyman of Konoha was known far and wide and not just in Fire country either, the elemental nations knew of his crime and as you can expect, it wasn't something that Sasuke brought up often, if at all.
A perfect example was that even Naruto rarely mentioned it, no matter how low of a blow the two managed to give to each other Itachi's name was usually never mentioned; yes there were other things and the occasional reference to what happened that night when things got out of hand but never did he mention Itachi Uchiha.
Before she got a chance to apologise Naruto broke them right out of the moment, "FUCK!" A frustration fuelled shout that she could only assume had woken up a few lazy family's that were unfortunate enough to live near a training ground.
Walking over too him Ino could only ask what was going on and when she received a very pissed off look in return she asked again, "Well, what's you're excuse this time for shouting out profanity at the top of your lungs?"
Naruto's dry look intensified as he slapped his head a few times in frustration, "My clones." Ino immediately paled, she knew all too well what those little delinquents got up to when their original wasn't there to intimidate them into order, "I left one at home before I went out this morning, he spent a chunk of my money and spent it on ramen and sake. I left another few in the forest of death to check that the spiders hadn't tried to expand their nest; I don't know why but they decided to lure giant snakes into the spider dens and now there's a small war taking place before they got eaten."
There were a few moments silence as Naruto held his temple, shifting through the memories before he let out another curse, "I left another to do my groceries; he bought thirty five thousand Ryo's worth of dog food instead." Naruto finished by just hanging his head in defeat, "Why am I such an Asshole Ino?"
Meanwhile Ino was in stiches and Sasuke managed to keep it too a small smirk. Wiping a tear from her eye Ino managed, "What happened to the first and third one? How'd they get dispelled?" From past experiences she often found this to be the funniest.
"The first drunk so much sake at once he started puking violently, gave himself internal damage. The third just dispelled himself after giving a speech directed at me on why never to trust clones with actual money."
As expected another round of laughs followed his explanation, "Screw you guys. Now what was I doing... oh yeah, wind Jutsu." Taking a few steps away Naruto retraced the steps Anko showed him all the while channelling his chakra and his recent rage, "Tiger, ox, dog, rabbit, snake..." I final deep breath as he held the seal and as he spoke the name of the words his chakra flowed forth with ease and grace, the technique however was anything but, "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
As a large gust of wind tore forward it sliced and diced everything in its path, the ground in its wake was scarred and once it reach the edge of the clearing it didn't bother stopping at the trees. Wind was known for cutting and it did for some time before coming to a stop... "Guys... I think I have a wind affinity too."
(Land of Fire - Capital City)
"Will that be all ma'am?" As per usual the waiter's in her favourite restaurant held that elegance about them she loved, they spoke proper and posh and it was these little things that made her smile.
It reminded her of the finer things in life, of her friends, her brother, of home but that was all in the past, she didn't dwindle on those things anymore.
"Excuse me ma'am, but is that everything or do you require further time before leaving?" Getting a pouch of money set onto his money tray the waiter held his high, nose pointed up and a straightened frown curving ever so slightly the waiter wagged his finger, "Fourteen thousand Yen little lady. Say, I see you come here quite often, are you sure you can afford it? You ought to be more careful of your money especially at you're age."
A lot of people in Capital City were very money orientated, the first question asked was what's your job or what district do you live in... To be quite honest, she was getting fed up with it all.
When the waiter pointed this out it wasn't out of kind thought or worry, her time here had taught her that. It was just a cheap little jibe at a paying customer. Most people would love to eat in a restaurant like this on a regular basis but couldn't afford it, she could only assume the waiter was one of these people.
That was another thing she was getting sick off. People in Capital City weren't free; they thought they were, but they weren't. As she looked around her she could see other customers surveying each other's food, looking around and mingling with one another, they weren't here to be fed or to enjoy their meal, they were here to be seen.
It had been this higher price of living that drove her. To be able to enjoy the fine tastes of only the best food, to mingle and create bonds with only the wealthiest and most important people. It was something she grew up with, something she loosed and now that she was getting just a taste of it back it did nothing for her.
'What do I want to do with my life?'
Akiko dismissed those thoughts and as they left her natural sparky smile lingered onto her face. Looking at the expecting waiter she just giggled but there was nothing funny, "I'm sure I'll be fine waiter." With a goodbye and the typical smile falling off her face as she left... the façade continued.
She continued to introduce herself to anyone interesting around her, she continued to mingle, and she continued to live the life she so badly wanted.
"So why do I fell so unhappy?" The question was asked as she closed the door to her empty apartment and as she searched for an answer the reality hit her. Having just turned fifteen years old she wasn't in contact with any family and she wasn't even sure if she could call her friends true ones. What sort of life was she really living if she didn't have anyone she could actually trust and simply enjoy being with.
It all stemmed back to the same question, "Naruto where the hell are you?"
(Land of Fire - Konoha no Sato)
"It's coming up, it's coming up, it's coming up, it's coming up, it's coming up, it's coming up...its deh! You've got to press it on yo-"
"If you're going to sing the song at least get the lyrics right."
The unexpected voice made his eyes snap open and prominently fall off the bed he was lying on, "Damn it, the songs about the beat anyway." As Naruto shakily stood up he was pretty surprised to see an man in an Anbu mask staring right back at him, not gonah lie, it was a little creepy, "So, you have a reason for sneaking into my home or do you guys just get your fix pissing me off?"
The Anbu nodded making him do a double take, "Hokage-same wanted you to meet him at the tower. When you didn-"
"Yeah, yeah I get it. When I didn't turn up he expected I was asleep." While talking the boy at question turned off his music before heading over to the sink to brush his teeth, "Can't a guy get some sleep around here?"
The Anbu sweat-dropped at the boy's familiarity with the phrase, he could only assume he'd had this conversation before, "Uzumaki-san, it's the middle of the afternoon."
Naruto continued to brush his teeth and after making some sort of audible communication that he was indeed planning to go to the tower the Anbu was able to take his leave. Getting changed and leaving his house Naruto was again subjected to the usual looks of distain and scorn from the villagers, he made a mental note to remember each face, 'I'm getting you, that guy too... Oh! That bitch is screwed as soon as I get some free time!' He hadn't lost his love for pranks over the years, not at all and seeing how he had a full village of viable test subjects he always had some way to vent any further frustration... y'know, when slicing through hordes of spiders wasn't doing its trick.
Coming to the tower he ignored the door deciding the window was the quicker approach, "Yo Sun Wukong, you wanted to see me?"
Upon his rather unorthodox entry he landed in front of the Kage before being immediately encircled by four Anbu. Having four tanto's pressing against his neck Naruto looked at the older man in a fashion that clearly asked for a little help.
In turn the Kage just sighed in defeat and waved his hand in dismissal, the blonde had only gotten worse over the years and he could only assume entry via the window was going to become a new thing, however there was something a little more pressing, "What do you mean Sun Wukong?"
He never got a response, Naruto stood arms crossed, one rubbing his neck in discomfort at his rather rough treatment, "Yet again, fucking Anbu."
Some of the Anbu retreating into their corners didn't look a bit happy at being tested by the blonde however Naruto noticed one was ever so slightly flipping him off yet hoping not to be seen by the Kage. That in itself was a stupid decision, "Dog, for the last time don't let him wind you up." Dog was a newer recruit having taken over Kakashi's old mask, he was also quite susceptible to Naruto's provoking.
Having seen the action also Naruto wasted no time, "Yeah that's right dog, listen to your master, go on, that's a good boy." A very high pitched voice was used at the Anbu slowly backed into the corner.
"Naruto you've really got to stop winding up my Anbu, by the looks of things I don't think they're too fond of you," Sure enough, every single Anbu member had their eyes locked onto Naruto, he could tell they were sending ice cold glares at the blonde but much to their frustration he failed to notice.
Naruto's response was a yawn, "I'm sure they'll get over it." The Kage gave him a very unimpressed look causing Naruto to shrug, "Well if you so badly want to do something about it give dog a bone or something." The sentence hadn't left his mouth a second before Naruto flopped onto the chair and his persona flipped, jovial face falling he got business-like, "So what is it you wanted me for?"
His eye twitched ever so slightly at the sentence and action but as the blonde had finally decided that games were over he pressed on, "I've another mission for you, not just the D-ranked ones either. Another B-rank, tracking and subdue mission with Team Seven and a high chance of conflict which is why your friend Keshi from your last mission will be coming too."
Naruto gave him the biggest grin, "You're kidding right? He's kidding me right dog?" He looked directly into the corner where dog was hidden and meant to be unseen. Dog cursed, Hiruzen cursed, Naruto had yet to get over the revelation, "And you're seriously pulling my wire right now aren't you? And Keshi's coming too, this is gonah be so cool... wait, where are they all."
The Kage sweat-dropped at how quickly the blonde changed, disbelief, excitement and then confusion, "The reason is because I want to talk to you before you leave. Your teammates have already been told and you'll be meeting them at the main gate but first I think we need to cover a few things."
Naruto knew were this was going, "We've talked about this enough. As far as I'm concerned it's not a problem, I'll keep the Kyuubi under control and make sure that nothing happens."
The Hokage just nodded his head, "I know but Naruto, I'm just looking out for you. Sasuke, Ino and the younger generation don't know and I don't know how they would react either."
Naruto just tapped his chin in thought, "I'm pretty sure Sasuke would be alright, he's pretty open minded about stuff like that which is another reason why I think he's definitely gay," The Hokage looked at him in disbelief, "What? I didn't say there's anything wrong with that, hell, it's 2016. It's gay not to be gay. As for Ino I honestly think she'd be sorta freaked out at the start but she'd come around.
Hiruzen lowered his pipe and frowned, "You're not seriously considering telling them are you."
Naruto dropped his grin adopting a serious look, "No I'm not. I'd cause more hassle than it's worth but I do plan on letting everyone know eventually. I'm a Jinchuriki and that means I'm going to have to learn to fight like one at some point, I'm thinking the forest of death would be a good place to cut loose?"
After hearing that the older man rubbed his temple in frustration, he could feel another headache coming, "So you're the one causing havoc in there? I've had about fifty different complaints of strange noises coming out of that place and I even sent team Guy in there to investigate."
Naruto had the gall to look somewhat sorry, "To be honest I thought you would have been angrier. Anko says I'm not meant to be in there."
This is exactly what he'd been talking about, "So she warned you but you went in anyway. See this is why I'm not angry, after all these years I know that it'll do no good, there's no point in wasting my time." He felt like banging his head off the desk, he had to do at least an extra two hours of paperwork thanks to someone's sudden fascination with the forest and of course it had to be Naruto.
Naruto thought it best he take his leave when the Kage started to visibly shake, he clapped his hands in finality before giving a weak salute, "Well if that's all I think I'll get going Sun Wokong. Take it easy while I'm away."
Having already slinked his way over to the window sill Sarutobi's curiosity got the better of him, "You called me that when you arrived and I just thought it was another one of those weird things you tend to do. Now you've called me it again. What does that even mean?"
Naruto wasn't offended by the elder's unusual bluntness. He was weird, "What, Sun Wokong?" Naruto just waved his hand, "Oh, it's just the name of a mythological figure in folklore. It's an eastern thing and it suits you pretty well, he's known for being very fast, strong and wise. Some sources say he's one of the best fighters that's ever lived and he just happened to be known as the monkey king. You summon monkeys so it reminded me of you."
Did Naruto just complement him? He didn't, did he? The clogs in his brain went through their motions and after a few moments his eyes ever so slightly narrowed, "You're either in an unnaturally good mood or you want something. Which one is it?"
Naruto's azure eyes twinkled ever so slightly and a smirk came forward, "Well with the dream I had last night of course I'm happy, Kami puberty's a beautiful thing." Hiruzen heard the blonde's mutter but thought it best not to comment. "And now that you mention it I was in Higurashi's chatting up Tenten the other day and I saw they have their basic swords on a half-price sale... sooooo... I was thinking..." He looked the Kage in the eye as he made prompting motions with his hands.
"You want me to buy you a sword?"
Naruto smiled.
Making his way to the gate with a small spring to his step Naruto adjusted the new sword strapped to his back. Yeah, he could seal it in his arm bracers but for whatever reason he liked it sitting just where it was, positioned diagonally across his back. Maybe it was just a personal thing but he didn't like the thought of needing it and having to unseal it out of his bracer within a moment's notice. That required brain power and when it came to fighting he liked to rely on reflex, knowing at all times that it sat on his back just felt a tad better...
And it looked way cooler.
Only the best swords have names... his did not have a name. When he said basic swords they were indeed basic, Tenten herself had said they were on such a large sale simply so they could get rid of them but he'd take what he could get and he was happy with it. He had to admit it did look pretty cool though.
The blade was mostly the usual steel colour however it was trimmed with a metallic black metal along its sides to make it sharper. With a small, black hand-guard and a black gripped handle it was a very simple sword but it looked good. The one thing that set it apart from the others and the reason he picked it was due to the finned finish of the blade; known as a raptor styled finish Tenten said it was used in order to have a sharper blade, he chose it because yet again, it looked cool.
To be honest he didn't know much about swords, he didn't know how to use them and he'd never received much training aside from the little the academy taught when running through weapon tutorials. What he did know is that chopping through spiders would be a hell of a lot easier with a bigger blade.
Arriving at the gate only a few minutes later he wasn't surprised to see his fellow Genin not so patiently waiting, "What have I told you two about showing up early, if Kakashi is any way involved in the mission don't do it."
Ino just gave him a small scowl at the fact he was right whereas Sasuke's eyes locked right on to Naruto's new piece of equipment, "I didn't think you had the money to buy one of those things. Don't tell me you stole it?"
"Your mother." Was Naruto's eloquent reply.
Well used to it Sasuke's only reaction was a slight twitch of the eye, "I'm serious, I didn't think you knew how to use a sword?"
Naruto just shrugged his shoulders, "I don't." Seeing Sasuke's deadpan face he echoed the same thing he told Tenten, "It can't be that hard, stick-em with the pointy end right?"
At this point Sasuke wasn't even surprised, "So long as you don't swing it near me you do what you want." Itachi was the only person he'd ever seen more skilled than Naruto with a kunai so he wasn't going to say anything only to have to eat his words later. Odds were the blonde already had clones pacing through kata's in a nearby training ground. Naruto had explained how his clones worked and while it'd do nothing for him physically the muscle memory would be a blessing.
Seeing Keshi standing over by the gates checkpoint Naruto was surprised when he saw Izumo and Kotetsu manning it per usual, "No way, you two aren't back at this already are you?"
Temporarily confused when they heard his shout their eyes lit up when they saw him, "Naruto? No way you're going on another mission with Keshi, aren't you the lucky little Genin. What is it this time, assassination, recusing a princess, traveling to a foreign land to track down a wanted target?" Kotetsu's clear lack of pride in his work was clearly displayed for all to see, the Chunin didn't appreciate being the gate keeper but Naruto was a Genin, he couldn't be going on another exciting mission could he?
"Yeah I'm doing the latter." Naruto just gave him that small smirk Kotetsu knew so well after the matter-o-fact reply.
Even Izumo who took great pride in his gate duty was a 'little' jealous, "Dammit Naruto you get all the good missions. In the capital you got a fight, you befriended a Daimyo and you hooked up with a chick. Why didn't I get those missions at that age? Why don't I get them missions now?"
"What do you mean get those missions, I've only been on one proper miss-"
Naruto didn't even get to defend himself when Ino bolted over at what Izumo said, "Naruto hooked up with a girl in the Capital?" Just as Naruto was about to defend himself Ino shot him a glare that stopped him dead in his tracks.
Seeing Naruto reduced to silence meant a few things to the people that managed to witness this rare phenomenon. It told Sasuke and Ino that it was true, not that the former cared. It told Keshi that the blonde did actually have a weakness and that was Ino Yamanaka. Finally it told Kotetsu and Izumo that they had stumbled onto a blackmailing goldmine and they had plenty of revenge to get when it came to proverbial torture.
With Ino in full gossip mode the Chunin pair were quick to spill the beans, "Yep, he hooked up with a girl named Akiko. She was a real gem too, a few years older than him and a really nice personality and everything. You should have seen it, they cosied up to each other real fast, he bought her dinner and everything."
The entire time Naruto remained silent not denying anything however he did notice that Ino's frown grew deeper with each word. This was bad. Without saying anything his pleading eyes looked over to his ever silent squad leader Keshi. The man was a machine, straight through and through with not a bad bone in his body, he'd hoist him out of this mess.
Keshi gave the smallest of smirks, "I saw her give him a hickey in one of the parks they always met up at. She was on top of him and everything."
Sasuke's large grin was real but the Uchiha did it so little, if ever, it looked unnatural. Keshi was much the same whilst Izumo and Kotetsu were reduced to full blown laughter. Ino just looked at him with the expression that clearly said he'd be having a talk with the Yamanaka heiress sometime soon and it wouldn't be the good kind either.
If ever there was a time he'd wanted to be able to control his demon it was now. He'd rip them to shreds.
The laughter and ridicule continued for some time, each accusation getting worse than the last and Naruto was about to snap, he had some of the darkest and morally wrong proverbial ammo stored for a time like this but thankfully he was saved.
"Hmm, it appears I've missed something have I?" Kakashi's late arrival was enough to knock the group out of their fit of giggles and Naruto was glad. Despite the nodding of heads to his question the masked Jonin didn't seem at all interested, "Well if you're all ready to go I think its best we do. I'll explain the details later when we're on the move."
Kakashi's serious demeanour was enough to settle the groups mood, the Jonin never really took too much serious so seeing him focused and raring to go caused a few raised eyebrows.
Taking this as a great opportunity to retreat Naruto quickly shuffled away from the older Ninja and back to the safety of his sensei much to the others amusement. Ino followed after him wanting the gossip and not looking a bit happy leaving Sasuke just standing there awkwardly before he too got prepared to leave.
Settling down it was Izumo who first questioned this, "Say what is it that you're going to do that's got Kakashi so serious like that? I can't remember the last time I saw him even remotely focused when leaving the village and considering we're here a lot..." The sentence finished itself.
Keshi just shook his head before rolling his eyes, "You know I can't tell you that." When the two Chunin looked towards the trio of Genin the older man stopped them before their thoughts could fully form, "And don't look at the brats for answers either; they haven't been told yet but they'll be finding out as soon as we get outa here."
Kotetsu just slumped his shoulders in defeat, "So it's actually pretty serious then."
Keshi nodded, "I'm getting too old for this, y'know I think I'm going to ask for lower ranked missions after this, do a few C-Ranks, and maybe take on another Genin team for a few years before calling it quits." Getting strange looks from the younger pair he elaborated, "Let me tell you that I'd far rather take a redo of our mission in the Capital than what we're going to do now."
"Alright everybody." Before the conversation could continue any further Kakashi directed their attention to him, "Get ready to go, Genin take one last look through your equipment and make sure you have everything, you're going to need it. I'll be taking the front, Genin in the middle and Keshi on the rear."
Naruto had heard that when Kakashi got serious he was a top class Jonin, arguably one of the villages strongest but he didn't believe it. Despite the man's tough training and sometimes nearly heartless methods he still didn't think he had what it took to be that good.
The man standing in front of him now however disproved that; there was no trace of Kakashi's usual slouch or his half lidded eye, instead he was alert and ready to make a move on a moment's notice.
Strictly business he didn't even bother acknowledging anything else, no doubt deeming it as unimportant he gave them give little time before taking off, slowing his pace only slightly so the rest could catch up, "We're going to be travelling fast, I want to make it out of Fire country by the end of tomorrow and through Hot springs by the day after that. We'll be travelling through the night and resting up for a day there before moving onto Frost country after that."
If there were any complaints nobody voiced them which was what Kakashi was expecting. Sure enough when he looked behind him he wasn't at all surprised when he saw three confident smirks on his Genin, "I'll let you all know just exactly what we're getting into when we're resting up, Sasuke, I don't want anything reckless were a team and we fight like one. Ino, no complaining, you get an order, you follow it and Naruto... I swear to Kami if you have any clones training dispel them right now. You'll need all the chakra you have."
He received two firm nods when Naruto just let lose a small smile, "It's alright, I only need one clone this time."
While the others looked at him strangely Naruto's smile slowly turned to a rather large grin. Izumo and Kotetsu didn't really think they'd throw him in on the deep end like that and get away with it. One clone with free reign to be its asshole-self was already on its way.
Description of Naruto's New Techniques!
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough:
This is a technique that creates a gust of wind whose scale and usage varies depending on the user. If used by a superior Shinobi, it has enough destructive power to knock down a large tree. The wind from the squall can blow away all things in the user's line of sight. The technique can also be used in the form of a devastation stream of wind expelled from the user's mouth. There is also a variation of the technique which involves a smaller blast of wind which gets ignited with flame.
Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder:
A basic lightning release technique that allows the user to create a wave of electricity from their hands. The user can vary its power from a small surge to shock an opponent to a powerful stream of lightning capable of ripping through solid rock. It is also an ideal Jutsu to use in conjunction with a water technique. All this being said, the Electromagnetic Murder is an extremely versatile technique being perfect for trapping, paralysing or, if intended, killing a target however it is quite a short range Jutsu.
Earth Style: Mud Style Wall:
The user creates a solid wall of earth as a form of defence. Chakra is either converted to earth within the body and then spat out to form the wall or the user can manipulate pre-existing earth to form the wall. The earth then instantly rises up and takes form. The barrier itself is also coated with chakra, making its strength incomparable to that of a normal mud wall. Because of the earth's special characteristics, the wall is highly resistant against, for instance, fire and water. Also, for a Kage-class Shinobi it is possible to create a vast volume of earth.
Link to Naruto's new sword:
Okay, so links apparently don't work on this website so just type into Goggle: One-handed raptor longsword. It's the first image to appear.
Originally I had another sword in mind but it's nearly too cool, this will do him for now until he gets a better one. For anybody wondering, the type of sword he wields is a one handed longsword, and in this case, also known as a raptor styled due to the curved finish on one side.
A/N - Okay, another chapter out now the start of the next Arc. Expect fighting next chapter and for shit too start hitting the fan. As I've explained in previous AN's the last couple chaps were more about sorting some things out and getting my characters set up to how I want them to be. I've a lot of things to get sorted and interactions to be had now because after this Arc things will start to get moving pretty quick. I don't know how many chapters this Arc is going to take but I don't imagine it being too long, well see how it plays itself out.
Naruto has a sword now. You don't know how happy that makes me because writing fight scenes is gonah be way better. Then he's got a few Jutsu in his arsenal now too. Again, this makes me happy for the reasons stated above :)
My opening may seem a little strange but I'm sure you can figure out where I'm going with it. Psst, he's the bad guy.
My Akiko paragraph was just an update to show I haven't forgot about her, don't expect these to happen often.
The rest pretty much explains itself, setting this next Arc up and getting my characters sorted.
I think I'll leave it at that, a word of warning though, don't expect this Arc to be all sunshine and roses like the last one. That's all I'm saying.