Chapter 14
Response too Reviewershammelbroden: I'm planning that the first three C-Ranks that they go on will involve each of the three confronting some of their darkness; for example, this one the team are currently on will involve Yakumo and her connection to the Ido as well as her past. The next one will involve Naruto and the Uzumaki Clan. Finally, the third will involve Sasuke and the path of the Avenger.
A month has passed since the formation of Team Thirteen, and their training has been coming along nicely. The three know how to Walk on Water, and Kakashi had decided to teach them the Body Flicker Jutsu.
Naruto's progress with his Taijutsu style was coming along nicely, as he could press Sasuke in their spars; though Naruto has yet to beat Sasuke in a spar, the fact that Sasuke had to try at all was a testament to Naruto's progress. Naruto is still struggling with critical thinking but is slowly getting there.
Sasuke hadn't taken Naruto's progress lying down and had increased his training regiment. Sasuke's speed and reaction time had improved, which helped him when his Sharingan was active.
Yakumo has also progressed nicely; she is still developing her fighting style, which combines her Genjutsu skills with Taijutsu; her most significant weak point so far is the time it takes between trapping her opponents in a Genjutsu and then beginning to attack them. Yakumo is also progressing nicely with Medical Ninjutsu; she can now heal minor cuts and injuries but doesn't have the Chakra necessary to heal more significant wounds, at least not yet.
Their teamwork was hit-and-miss, they could work together, but their teamwork would quickly deteriorate for several reasons, most of which involved Naruto's and Sasuke's contentious relationship.
Right now, Team Thirteen are in the mission assignment room, having just completed a mission to retrieve the Fire Daiymo's wife's cat, Tora. Naruto is sporting several fresh scratches from the cat, Yakumo looks dishevelled and irritated, and Sasuke seems impassive. However, if one were to look closer, one could see the irritation in his eyes.
The wife of the Fire Daiymo, Madam Shinji, is ecstatic over her precious Tora's return and is currently squishing Tora, much to the delight of the three Genin.
"Congratulations, Team Thirteen, on yet another successful mission. Since it is still early in the afternoon, we have more missions for you, such as; babysitting a council member's grandchildren, helping the hospital restock their medical supplies-" Hiruzen says, listing off missions only to be interrupted by the loud voice of Madam Shinji yelling for Tora to come back- "Or you can recapture Tora." Hiruzen deadpans.
This was Naruto's breaking point; he was mildly content to wait until the Hokage deemed his team ready for higher-rank missions, however, after having to catch that demon cat again and the possibility of catching her again. Well, it would make anyone snap.
"NO WAY, NO WAY IN HELL, OLD MAN!" Naruto explodes.
Several of the hidden ANBU curse since there was a bet amongst ANBU over how long it would take Naruto to snap from the missions.
"Naruto, don't be so disrespectful towards Lord Hokage." Iruka scolds from the desk.
Naruto, however, pays his former academy teacher any mind and instead focuses on the Hokage.
"Come on, old man, give us a real mission, something we trained for, not these glorified chores." Naruto practically whines.
Sasuke looks at Naruto with annoyance, while Yakumo just sighs, exasperated at her friend's actions.
"Don't be absurd, Naruto. You're just a rookie; Genin D-Ranks are all you can do right now." Iruka yells at Naruto.
Naruto's response to Iruka's yelling was to dig his finger into his ear while pretending not to have heard Iruka's words. This, however, makes Iruka even angrier, so he yells at Naruto some more. Sasuke just sighs at the scene being used to this from back in the academy, while Yakumo just looks on in apprehension hoping that Naruto won't get in trouble for his outburst; Kakashi just ignores everything going on by burying his face in his book. Hiruzen, however, is looking at the scene deep in thought.
'I don't suppose there's any harm in giving them an easy C-Rank mission, and if something were to happen, Kakashi can handle it. Besides, maybe experiencing a real mission might help Naruto mature.' Hiruzen comes to a decision.
"Very well." Hiruzen's voice, while not loud, was heard clearly by everyone in the room, and it stopped Iruka's tirade in its tracks.
Naruto looks at Hiruzen with hope, Sasuke with curiosity and a bit of hope. Yakumo is surprised since she expected Naruto to get punished; even Kakashi stops reading his book to look at the Hokage in curiosity.
"I do have a C-Rank mission that has only just been given to us today. Recently traders passing through Kenshinguri Pasu have been going missing, entire caravans vanishing into thin air. I suspect this is Bandits' work; however, no signs of battle have been found in Kenshinguri Pasu. So your mission will be to investigate the area, find out how so many caravans vanished without a trace and should you discover this is the work of bandits, you are to eliminate them." Hiruzen says, carefully explaining the mission to the rookie team while also carefully gauging their reactions.
Yakumo looked hesitant; Sasuke looked confident, bordering on arrogance; Kakashi looked indifferent, while Naruto had a wide grin from excitement.
"You got it, old man; we'll have this mission done in no time." Naruto exclaims his excitement and enthusiasm, making him practically shout.
"Now, now Naruto, it's up to Kakashi whether or not your team can accept this mission." Hiruzen says, amused at Naruto's boisterousness.
Naruto turns to look at Kakashi, giving him a pleading look.
"Yeah, sure, we'll accept the mission." Kakashi says nonchalantly. Getting a cheer from Naruto and a satisfied smirk from Sasuke.
Hiruzen hands the mission scroll to Kakashi, who then escorts his team out of the room.
"Go and pack your things; we'll be leaving in an hour." Kakashi orders his team, who salute before heading to their homes to pack.
X X X
Entering her Clans compound, Yakumo headed straight for her house, ignoring the confused looks of her Clansmen, who were wondering why she was back from training so early. Upon entering her home, Yakumo is immediately confronted by her Uncle.
"Yakumo, why are you back so early?" Unkai asks sternly.
"My team has been given a C-Rank mission Uncle." Yakumo answers, not bothering to stop as she approaches her room.
Unkai pauses with a look of surprise on his face.
'Yakumo has a C-Rank mission already, but her team was only formed a month ago.' Unkai thinks in surprise as concern begins to enter his mind.
"Why has your team been given a C-Rank mission so soon?" Unkai asks curiously.
Yakumo hesitates, wondering whether she should lie or tell the truth; ultimately, she chooses the truth since her Uncle is a seasoned Ninja and can easily detect a lie.
"Naruto blew up in the Hokage's office, and the Hokage decided to give us a C-Rank to placate him." Yakumo says since that's what she got from the meeting with the Hokage.
Unkai stares at Yakumo for a moment before face-palming.
'Of course, that would be the reason.' Unkai thinks unsurprised.
Since it can't be helped, I don't need to remind you to be careful with your power and not let the Ido consume you. The seal Lord Jiraiya placed upon you is strong but not infallible. Should you lose control of emotions or use too much of your power at once, the seal will break, and the Ido will be free. Unkai says with his most severe tone.
"I understand, uncle, I understand." Yakumo truly understands what her uncle is saying as unwanted memories flood her mind.
X X X
At Konoha's gate, the three Genin of Team Thirteen are impatiently waiting for their late sensei.
"I don't fucking believe it; he's late for our first real mission outside Konoha." Naruto loudly fumes, much to Yakumo's and Sasuke's exasperation.
"Is it shocking that he's late? When has Kakashi-Sensei ever been on time?" Yakumo rhetorically asks, trying to appease the fuming blonde.
"But Yakumo, it's our first real mission; Sensei should at least be on time." Naruto retorts.
While Yakumo attempts the frustrated Naruto, an equally frustrated, though hiding it better, Sasuke is internally cussing out his Sensei.
'If Kakashi-Sensei isn't here soon, I will hunt him down and drag him to the gate myself.' Sasuke internally declares, really excited to start his first real mission.
A poof of smoke signals Kakashi's arrival via Body Flicker.
"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto yells at Kakashi.
"Sorry about that, but I encountered an extremely rare and elusive ninja cat on my way here. It had a peculiar ability to teleport and play mind games with me. We engaged in a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek, and I couldn't resist the challenge. It took me quite some time to outwit the cunning feline and finally make my way here." Kakashi says giving an outlandish excuse and internally enjoying the twitch of his students eyebrows.
"Anyway, before we leave, I must check over some things. Yakumo, I don't need to ask you this since you live with your clan. Naruto, Sasuke, have you both got someone to check over your places while we're away?" Kakashi asks his male students.
Both Naruto and Sasuke blink before turning to face each other, neither having thought of asking someone to check over their place while they're gone.
Kakashi nods, saying, "Go and find someone quick and try not to be late."
Naruto and Sasuke leave in a hurry, each internally grumbling about Kakashi's audacity in telling them not to be late. Yakumo turns a curious eye towards Kakashi.
"Standard procedure regarding Ninjas who live alone. We always ask someone we trust to check over our place while we're away. This doesn't apply to you because you live with your Clan but for Naruto and Sasuke..." Kakashi trails off.
Naruto and Sasuke return a few minutes later, surprising both Kakashi and Yakumo, who expected them to take longer.
"We ran into Iruka-Sensei, and he agreed to check over our places," Sasuke explains, seeing Kakashi's questioning look.
Kakashi nods, satisfied as Iruka was a very trust worth person, especially for a Ninja, so much so that several Ninjas had Iruka as their first person to check over their places while away.
"Okay, team let us move out; I'll explain how we will accomplish this mission on the way." Kakashi says, leaping into a nearby tree, his three Genin following shortly after.
As the four Ninjas make their way to Kenshinguri Pasu, Kakashi explains how they will accomplish their mission.
"This mission is, first and foremost, an investigation mission; while the Hokage suspects bandits are the cause, we have no real proof, so we first need to search for any signs of battle. Dents in the ground caused by arrows, wrecked vehicles, or even dried specks of blood. If no signs of battle can be found, then we will need to search for other ways that the caravans could have gone missing." Kakashi explains.
"Kakashi Sensei, what can you tell us about Kenshinguri Pasu?" Yakumo asks.
"It's a mountain pass that only caravans carrying light goods would take on account of the steep hill one needs to climb. It also has several sharp turns that require one to travel slowly unless they wish to fall to their deaths. At the end of the pass, there is another steep hill that requires careful movement less; they lose control and crash. There's also a system of caves underneath the mountains, but to my knowledge, they've never been explored." Kakashi answers.
"Why would anyone take such a route?" Naruto asks, perplexed that anyone would willingly take such a dangerous route.
"Time, any money Naruto, time and money. While Kenshinguri Pasu is dangerous to traverse, it also cuts travel time by two-thirds. Traders can get their goods to their destination faster than a longer route. This cuts down travelling time and saves money as taking the longer route means more hotel stops." Kakashi answers Naruto.
"So, is it possible that these traders could have fallen off the mountain?" Yakumo asks, hoping this was the case as she didn't want to experience combat early in her career.
"...Yes, it is possible." Kakashi answers hiding the doubt he feels from his voice.
Kenshinguri Pasu suddenly comes into view on the horizon.
"We'll likely arrive there by sundown, so we'll probably have to start our investigation tomorrow. So be prepared to camp when we arrive." Kakashi declares as the team continues toward Kenshinguri Pasu and the dangers located within.
(Chapter Ends)