Naruto knelt beside Kakashi in the room that he shared with him, Hayate, and the still unconscious Sasuke. It had only been a few hours since they'd arrived. Naruto had been so relieved to see his sensei was still alive, and even more relieved to see their back up was another jonin. Then the clones dispelled and he'd gotten the memories.
Naruto had known it was coming. He'd given the orders after all. Still, giving the order, and knowing he had done it were different. His hands were blood stained now, and he didn't know how to feel about it. He knew even less how to feel about what he knew the next logical step was.
Hence he was waiting for Kakashi. He needed the man's confirmation. He also felt he could use the man's advice. Kakashi had killed younger than Naruto, the man knew what it was like to live the life of a ninja better than almost anyone. He was also the only man who could confirm the next stage of the mission. Hayate did not have any true command over team seven, as he was sent to back them up, but Naruto's operational command was meant to be temporary and extend only as far as Kakashi's orders, in this case getting Tazuna to the rendezvous point and guarding him there.
"I can see that mind of yours whirling," Kakashi coughed, his voice not overly weak, but clearly a little strained.
"Permission to speak freely?" Naruto asked, his own voice weak.
"Nya, nya, Naruto," Kakashi waved him off. "We're on down time. You don't need permission for that."
"This is fucked up boss," Naruto told him, tears coming unbidden to his eyes. He did his best to blink them away, not wanting to be weak, not now. He was surprised when he felt Kakashi's hand atop his head.
"I know," Kakashi gave a smile, still laying down, but facing Naruto a little more as he reached for his head. "You did good though."
"I killed Zabuza's back up," Naruto confessed. "I had already defeated him, but I didn't know if you could beat Zabuza. I didn't know Hayate would be there. Maybe if I'd stayed with him, left a guard-"
"You did the right thing," Kakashi cut him off with a soft karate chop to the top of his head. Naruto was a little stunned, and it gave Kakashi the perfect opportunity to continue. "If you'd not been there then I don't know if Hayate could have freed me. The plan to ambush him from the water was genius."
"Th-thanks boss," Naruto said with a blush.
"Now, all we have to do is keep Tazuna safe until he completes his bridge, which should be much easier without Zabuza around," Kakashi sighed.
"Um, boss?" Naruto asked.
"Yes Naruto?" Kakashi raised his single eyebrow in question.
Naruto took a deep breath, letting his turmoil go for the moment, knowing he needed reason here to properly execute the mission, just like the second hokage had written in his many memoirs and instructional booklets.
"Zabuza may no longer be a threat, but Gato is," Naruto reasoned. Kakashi didn't say anything, and Naruto took it as an invitation to continue. "Tazuna thinks that when he completes the bridge he'll destroy Gato's power. We both know Tazuna is wrong. Even if he completes the bridge Gato will either blow it up or take control of it and more than likely kill Tazuna for going against him."
"True," Kakashi admitted easily.
"Our mission is to protect Tazuna," Naruto reiterated. "Shinobi protocol 25: safe means no hostiles remain alive. We know Gato is a hostile. We know he's brought thugs to Wave to act as muscle. As long as they're around, Tazuna isn't safe."
"I'm not going to be mission ready for at least a week, Naruto," Kakashi sighed.
"I know," Naruto nodded. "I believe that for now there are no other missing nin in the area. If there were, they would have been with Zabuza to increase the odds of mission success. If all that remains are a bunch of thugs and petty criminals, then this becomes a c-rank and I believe I can handle it."
"What are you saying Naruto?" Kakashi asked, sounding a little lost.
"I want your permission to begin clearing the island of Wave of Gato and his goons," Naruto finished.
There was silence after he finally said it. Naruto didn't dare even breathe, fearing what answer he might get. A no meant Tazuna would almost certainly die, and his whole family as well. A yes meant Naruto would end up with more blood on his hands. Kakashi was silent too and the weight of Naruto's request was heavy in the air.. It left only the sound of Sasuke's soft breathing from the other side of the room, but Naruto felt weird listening to it and quickly began to squirm under Kakashi's firm gaze.
"Have you had a chance to survey the island yet?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto shook his head. "I wanted to wait for your authorization," Naruto explained. "Otherwise it could be seen as presumptuous and borderline insubordination."
"That's your first step then," Kakashi informed him. "You need to know every inch of this island."
"Hai boss," Naruto confirmed.
"And Naruto," Kakashi sighed as he placed a hand on Naruto's arm. "Are you sure you're ready for this? If you follow through then you're going to end up killing more people. Many more."
Naruto looked down at his hands where they rested in his lap. "I know," he whispered. "It scares me a little, but these thugs have been terrorizing the people of Wave. They deserve death, certainly more than the hunter nin did."
"It doesn't have to be you who delivers it," Kakashi reasoned. "We can message the Hokage and request more aid."
"He won't send it," Naruto sighed. "That wouldn't be the single mission we're talking about. It would be a war. Maybe a very one sided war, but a war nonetheless. Jiji is a strong leader, and I know he's a legendary commander, but he's tired of war. He won't want to instigate one here and risk drawing the attention of one of the other great five by mobilizing troops. Not when there's little obligation or reward."
"Then why-?" Kakashi began to ask, but seemed to trail off as he either realized the answer or couldn't think of the question. Naruto figured he'd answer just in case.
"One squad won't be enough to draw the attention of the great five," Naruto assured him. "Even if it did, it would draw their attention to us as individuals, not Konoha."
"You're right," Kakashi agreed. "You still don't have to do this. Our job is to protect Tazuna until the bridge is complete. We aren't responsible for what happens afterwards."
"Konoha was made to be different," Naruto argued. "The other great five were formed out of fear and desire for conquest, but Konoha was made for peace. It goes against our very reason for being to leave someone like Tazuna out to dry when we've offered them our protection."
"Damn it," Kakashi sighed. "I knew having you read so much was going to come back to bite me. Very well Naruto, you have my permission to begin exterminating Gato's forces."
"Thank you boss," Naruto grinned, just as pleased as he was dreading what was to come.
"Now, let's go over your plan."
-OMA-
Naruto walked down the stairs the next morning after a late night of talking with Kakashi. He found a rather tired Hayate sitting at the breakfast table with Hinata, Tazuna, and Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami.
"Morning," Naruto greeted as he took a seat. He was quick to grab a bowl of rice and some fish, knowing he'd need the energy.
"How's Kakashi-senpai?" Hayate asked as he lazily picked at his own breakfast.
"Good," Naruto confirmed. "He regained consciousness last night, and we agreed on what the next stage of the mission is."
"That's wonderful!" Tsunami couldn't help but cheer. Naruto smiled at her. He had noticed how she blushed at Kakashi-sensei last night and it seemed she was still at least interested in his well-being. "So will you be accompanying my father to the bridge today?"
"No," Naruto shook his head, clearly confusing all the others at the table. "Hayate will be Tazuna-san's official guard until further notice. I have direct orders from Kakashi-sensei on how to proceed in eliminating any remaining threats."
Hayate was instantly serious, clearly seeing what was going on, but he was the only one, Hinata and Tsunami were giving him strange looks, and Tazuna was too absorbed in eating to care.
Or at least Naruto had thought he was, until Tazuna put down his chopsticks and gave Naruto a hard look. "You're going after the bastard, aren't ya?"
"Hai, and all of his forces," Naruto confirmed.
Hinata and Tsunami both gasped. Naruto gave them a reassuring grin. "Don't worry," he assured them, though with his gaze focused mostly on Tsunami, so Hinata had plausible deniability. "I'm a ninja from Konoha. Gato's thugs are just that, thugs. They don't stand a chance."
Tsunami gave Naruto a wobbly grin, before excusing herself and moving back to the kitchen. Naruto assumed there was something a little deeper there than just concern for a random stranger, but he didn't think it was his place to ask.
"Tazuna-san," Naruto called after he'd finished eating. "Do you have a moment before you leave for the day? And any chance you can provide a map of Wave as well?"
"Hmph," Tazuna grumbled, but he got up and moved over to a bookshelf. He returned a moment later with a rolled up paper Naruto assumed was the map. "I hope you know what you're doing kid."
"Follow me," Naruto said, ignoring the man's comment.
All three of them followed Naruto outside where they gawped at an entirely new building there just past the first few trees. It was simple, and unfinished, built with cut logs rather than planks, but it had four walls and a roof. The window was just a frame, with no glass panes, and the door was just a rectangular hole in the closest wall.
"Welcome to mission command," Naruto grinned.
He led them inside, where there was very little. Just a single table in the middle of an otherwise one room building.
"Please spread the map here Tazuna-san," Naruto directed the man to the table.
When the map was spread Naruto took a moment to inspect it. It was a painted map, which was a shame as Naruto had been hoping for a topographical one, but he'd make due. He took out four kunai and stabbed them into the corners of the map, holding it open on the table.
"Where did this thing come from?" Tazuna asked, looking around at the building.
"Kakashi-sensei directed me to establish a separate mission control to coordinate from," Naruto explained. "I don't have much experience with carpentry, but I know the principles fairly well."
"I'd say," Tazuna huffed as he knocked on the table and found it sturdy enough to last for a little while at least.
"Now, please point out anything you can on this map," Naruto instructed. "Towns, homes, camps, infrastructure, and anything else related to Gato that you know about."
"Well this here is the main town on the island," Tazuna explained, pointing to the town on the west coast. "It's where all the trade used to come in and out of. That's the one we're closest to now. We're just here."
With that Tazuna began the long process of detailing the map. In total there were four towns, several camps of Gato's men, the daimyo's palace, and important infrastructure points that Gato had seized control of like the electrical plant.
"It's more than I expected," Naruto sighed.
He'd really thought Wave would be a single town. Or maybe that had just been wishful thinking. A single town would have been far easier to handle logistically.
"If that's all, I gotta get to work," Tazuna grumbled.
Naruto waved the man off, scowling at the map and trying to think of the best way to handle things. The truth of it was, he needed more info. He needed to be cautious in how he approached this or he'd bring more trouble down on their heads then he was prepared for.
"Kid," came Hayate's call and Naruto looked up surprised to see he was still there. "Look, I don't know about this plan of yours, but if Kakashi-senpai is for it, then I don't really have a lot of say here. Just promise me you'll be careful. Iruka would kill me if you got hurt while I was here."
"Hai," Naruto nodded, giving his sensei a smile. "Thank you Hayate-sensei."
"You're also going to need something more than a bokken if you're going to succeed," Hayate sighed. He pulled a scroll out of his pocket and handed it to Naruto, who was quick to open it and pull out what was inside. A ninjato, just like Hayate's. "That's my only spare, so take good care of it, 'kay?"
"H-hai, Hayate-sensei," Naruto held the ninjato close to his chest, irrationally scared something would happen to it. Hayate just gave him a grin and turned to leave.
"I'll see you at dinner," Hayate called over his shoulder with a casual wave.
"Wha-what about me Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, now the only one in mission command besides himself.
"Kakashi-sensei and I thought of the perfect thing, Hinata-chan," Naruto grinned. He grabbed her hand and led her outside.
"The trees are a little in the way for this, but it's better to do it here than go back to the beach," Naruto grumbled.
He put his fingers together in the ram seal and took a deep breath.
"You can do this," he assured himself, making Hinata give him a concerned glance that he didn't notice. "Taju Kage Bunshin!"
There was an enormous puff of smoke that filled the woods entirely. It took a moment to clear, but when it did it revealed five nearly perfect shadow clone formations. Naruto was down to one knee, completely drained of chakra. He took a few deep breaths before he stood up.
"Centurions, step forward!" Naruto cried, voice a touch wobbly but plenty loud.
From each of the five formations the front left most clones stepped forward. Alpha 1 was the presumed centurion, as he was meant to be the highest ranking officer of the standard clone formation. Since each of them was Alpha 1, Naruto had to come up with a new designation to distinguish them.
"We're following the zodiac!" he called out. "From left to right you are Nezumi, Ushi, Tora, Usagi, and Tatsu."
"Hai!" came five calls of affirmation.
"Nezumi," Naruto barked, and said centurion stepped forward. "You are responsible for defending the town of Shirakawa."
"Hai," Nizumi confirmed and then stepped back into line.
Naruto went down the line, assigning the first four centurions with the defense of a town. He didn't have to tell them what to do, they already knew exactly what he wanted.
"Tatsu!" The last of the five centurions stepped forward. "I need more info. Your century is to scout the island. I want confirmation on everything Tazuna told us and I want anything he might have missed.
"Hai boss," Tatsu confirmed.
When he was back in line Naruto continued. "You five are to report to me at the end of each day, whether that is over comms or in person. If there is an emergency, comms is preferred over poofing of lower ranking clones. Any questions?"
"No boss!" they cried.
"Get to work!" Naruto cried and all five centuries took off towards their new tasks.
Naruto turned to Hinata. He couldn't help but grin at her slightly awed expression. That had actually taken a lot out of him. He'd never made that many clones at once before. He'd never even considered he might need to. Part of last night's planning with Kakashi was just how the logistics of it would work and the establishment of the centurion role.
"I-I thought I was supposed to go with one of them?" Hinata voiced, sounding rather downtrodden.
"Kinda, but you're more important than the centuries," Naruto nodded, hoping to bring her spirits back up. It seemed to work as she looked up at Naruto hopefully.
Naruto grinned and quickly went through more hand signs. He put a little extra chakra into it, even if he didn't have a lot to spare anymore, so they would last longer than normal. He spat out ten globes of rock, and ten new clones formed in formation.
"Hinata-chan meet your personal guard for the foreseeable future," Naruto grinned.
Hinata was looking rapidly between the Naruto clones, slowly growing redder and redder. Naruto might be dense, but he'd actually read the seduction book Kakashi had assigned, and he knew the effect he was having on her.
"These rock hard studs are going to escort you as you work as an attache to the recon century," Naruto couldn't help but tease. "The recon division will call back to base over the radio anytime they find somewhere that needs a more indepth look. You'll be deployed along with your guard to help scan the location with your byakugan."
"Hai, Naruto-kun," Hinata nodded her understanding. Then she got nervous again and poked her index fingers together before asking, "What do I do for now though?"
"For now?" Naruto repeated. "For now you can relax. Just make sure you're close by the command station, as that's where I'm going to set up some clones to listen out for the radio."
Once she'd nodded her agreement Naruto went to form said clones, a whole squad, which was probably overkill. It was still Naruto's habit to assign a standard squad to a task though. They went back into mission command without any input from him, leaving Naruto outside still with Hinata and the rock clones.
"What about you Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked nervously.
"I'm gonna lay down," Naruto panted, before swiftly falling back onto the forest floor. The grass and dirt wasn't the softest, but with how much chakra Naruto had just used, it might as well have been a feather mattress.
-OMA-
Nezumi and his century were quick to arrive at Shirakawa. It was the largest of the four towns, but that still hardly meant a thing in a nation as small as Wave. The entire town could have fit inside just one of the clan districts back in Konoha.
"Beta, Gamma," Nezumi called. "I want you to sweep the town. Find any of Gato's thugs and get rid of them. I don't want you killing in front of the villagers if you can help it, but we aren't here to take prisoners. Delta, Epsilon, I want you to do a survey of the town. I want to know the total number of villagers and supplies. The rest of you are going to begin a palisade around the place. Zeta, Eta, you're chopping trees. Theta, Iota, Kappa, you're assisting until noon. Then you switch to shaping and placing. Alpha, we're on guard duty. We'll be running the perimeter and making sure nothing comes in or out. For now, Shirakawa is on lock down. Any questions?"
"No boss!" Came the cry of the nine other squad commanders, each of which was leading a line of ten right alongside his own.
"Get to work!"
-OMA-
Beta 1 was quick to lead his squad to the heart of Shirakawa. Most of the perimeter buildings were homes, and from the boarded up windows and occasional kicked down doors, he knew they'd seen better days. Still, Gato's thugs were more likely to be here, at the markets and shops, rather than in random homes.
Sure enough Beta 1 was quick to spot an inn with a bar on the first floor. It was the only building that looked busy, the others looking all but deserted.
Beta 1 sent half his squad around back, double checking for a secondary escape, before taking his second in command, Beta 2, throwing on a henge to look like a stereotypical thug, and heading in. They left the other three out front, in case any tried to get away.
The second they stepped into the bar Beta 1 knew this was exactly what he'd been looking for. Scattered around the place were two dozen thugs, each of which was already deep in their cups. There was a normal, if scared, looking man behind the bar, doing his best to keep the thugs happy. There were also a dozen women hanging off of the thugs, though they looked more than happy to be there.
Beta 1 was a little surprised at the numbers. He had to be careful, seeing as one solid hit would be enough to end him. He was grateful for the henge, as it allowed for a little more discrepancy. He and Beta 2 slouched up to the bar.
"Sake," he barked.
The man didn't question it, and was quick to go about getting them a bottle of sake, not that Beta 1 had any intention of drinking it.
He turned around, placing his elbows on the bar and looked back at the room full of thugs. They were already starting to eye up Beta 1 and Beta 2, but they were all probably too drunk to actually notice that there shouldn't be two thugs they didn't recognize in town.
Beta 1 waited for them to get back to their drinking, something they seemed all too happy to do. When the bartender came back with the bottle of sake Beta 1 signaled Beta 2, who got back up, grumbling, and headed for the restroom. From there he climbed out a window and regrouped with the squad out front.
Beta 1 only had to wait a few moments before the rest of Beta squad rushed the building, ninjato drawn. With the knowledge Beta 2 brought them regarding numbers and positions, they were quick to start cutting down the thugs. Only a handful of the thugs actually managed to get their weapons out, shitty clubs and machetes, but when the second half of beta squad launched an attack from the rear, they were dealt with without issue.
Beta 1 sighed as he looked at the bloodshed. They'd not bothered to kill the women, assuming they were some type of camp follower or opportunistic locals, but he'd definitely be mentioning it to Nezumi. They'd also left one of the thugs alive, after all, they needed to know where the base was for these guys and if there were any others they needed to handle.
Beta 1 left Beta 2 and Beta 3 in charge of taking the thug out back and getting that info. He set the others to dealing with the bodies. In the meantime, he went back to the bartender, dispelling his henge.
"Are you okay sir?" he asked the man.
"Please," the bartender begged, shaking like a leaf. "Just leave. I don't want any trouble."
"No trouble," Beta 1 assured the man, giving him a soft smile. "We're just working to clear the town for now."
"Those were Gato's men," the man whispered.
"I know," Beta 1 confirmed. "But you don't have to worry. I have men working to secure the rest of town and set up defenses to keep Shirakawa safe."
"Who-who are you?" the man asked in clear awe.
"My name's Naruto Uzumaki," Beta 1 told him. "I'm a ninja from Konoha. Me and my team are here to help."
-OMA-
Tatsu peered through the leaves at the island's main power plant. There were well over fifty thugs hanging about the place, though few seemed to really be taking the responsibility seriously. The problem was, he couldn't see inside the place. He needed to get an idea of their numbers so that the boss would know how best to take control.
"Send for Hinata," Tatsu sighed. He had really hoped he could get away with not summoning her to the very first place they'd scouted, but it couldn't be helped. That's what he gets for coming to one of their two primary points of interest first.
"On it boss," Alpha 10, the comms clone for the squad, acknowledged.
-OMA-
Naruto woke up several hours later as the sun shone high in the sky. He had been covered with a blanket, one of those tough outdoor use ones, and there was a bottle of water next to him that he was happy to guzzle down, along with an apple he devoured.
Looking around Naruto found Hinata and her guard gone, which hopefully meant the conquest of Wave was now well underway. He supposed he'd just have to see.
Getting up he walked into mission command, and was pleased to find a few more tables and seats around the room.
It made sense. The communications squad hadn't had much to do, as a single clone could have handled keeping an ear out for any news from the centuries, so they'd gotten to work outfitting mission command.
He could see they had assigned a single clone to sit at the map, radio on and waiting for any news. The other clones were either reading, though Naruto didn't know where they'd gotten the books, or napping.
"Hey boss," one of the reading clones called out when he looked up and saw Naruto inspecting the room.
"Hinata-chan get called out already?" Naruto checked.
"Yep," the clone nodded. "Sent out to check out the power plant. Looks like it might be a bit of a doozy to take."
"Any word from the other centuries?" he asked.
"Nezumi cleared out Shirakawa and has gotten a palisade started," the clone reported. "The others only just arrived, but it shouldn't be long before they're clear. Shirakawa only had about thirty thugs total in town and a small camp outside of it that was all but empty."
"That's good," Naruto grinned. "Guess there's not much to do yet."
"Plenty of books," the clone shrugged and showed him a stack.
"Where'd you get these?" Naruto couldn't help but ask.
"Tsunami," the clone explained. "She was kind enough to provide them when we asked."
"I'll have to thank her," Naruto said, more to himself.
"Already done," the clone assured him. "All she asked was to be able to keep some of the tables and chairs when we leave."
"Works for me," Naruto shrugged, then grabbed a book and started to read. Though he doubted reading about a princess getting kidnapped by a pirate was going to be overly helpful for his ninja career.
-OMA-
Tora looked around in disgust. Attane was not a big town. It was actually the smallest town in wave according to Tazuna. That fact brought him and his century very little comfort.
When they'd arrived, it was to find a town full of thugs. Confused, Tora had ordered that they would remain hidden and simply observe. It was a half hour later that Gamma 1 came running. When Tora saw the mass grave with his own eyes he had been filled with rage. He ordered the complete extermination of the thugs in town without batting an eye.
He wished it had been more. Watching as the members of his century brought women, girls, even children out of the homes, all clearly having been abused, he wished he had ordered each and every one of those bastards drawn and quartered.
It was too late to worry about that now. He had work to do. He would make sure Attane was the most secure of the four towns. He would make sure these people could feel safe in their homes. He would never let another one of those bastards set a foot in this place.
-OMA-
That night at dinner Naruto was rather somber. The few clones that had popped had been the result of minor accidents or simply running out of chakra. The memories they sent gave him a good idea of the situation here on Wave, and it wasn't pretty.
"Ano, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, concern clear in her voice.
Naruto looked to find her watching him, and saw Tsunami too was looking his way. The others, Kakashi and Sasuke actually managing to join dinner despite their injuries, weren't paying attention. They were also joined by Tsunami's son this evening, a young kid who was all glares named Inari.
"What is it, Hinata-chan?" Naturo asked nonchalantly.
"Um, it's just, I wanted to make sure you were okay," Hinata explained.
"I'm fine Hinata-chan," Naruto assured her with a smile. It was more real than he'd expected, as her concern for him helped to clear away the dark thoughts.
"How are things in the other towns?" Tsunami spoke up, sounding conflicted. Naruto looked her way and saw that conflict was clear on her face too. He understood. She probably had friends in the other towns, and their fate was less than certain.
"Not great, but better now," Naruto said. "The towns are now clear of Gato's thugs and security is being brought up to ensure they can't launch a retaliatory attack on any of them."
"Oh, Naruto-kun," Tsunami gasped in excitement. "That's wonderful."
"How are you setting up the defenses?" Tazuna asked seriously.
"A wooden palisade made from the local trees," Naruto explained. "One gate only. Right now traffic in and out is prohibited to prevent word getting back to Gato. Tomorrow should-"
"Why even bother?" Inari interrupted, slamming his hands on the table in anger. He glared at Naruto like he had personally offended him.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, waving off Tsunami when she looked like she was going to scold Inari.
"Gato will just kill you anyways," Inari snapped. "He's too powerful. A couple ninja kids aren't going to be enough to stop him. He's just going to kill you and this country will continue to suffer. Not like you even know what that's like."
Naruto walked over and squatted down in front of Inari so that he was eye to eye with the boy. Inari blinked in confusion as he stared at Naruto. Naruto flicked Inari hard on the forehead.
"Ah!" Inari cried in pain.
"Don't say things like that," Naruto scolded the boy, his voice firm but not unkind. Inari looked at Naruto with a teary eyed glare. Naruto grabbed his head and turned him to face his grandfather. "Look at Tazuna-san. He hasn't given up hope. He's working hard to try and help this country."
Tazuna gave Inari a proud smile. Inari didn't say anything, but Naruto thought that was probably for the best. Naruto then turned Inari's head again.
"Look at you mom," he continued. "She's done her best for you. She's worked to keep your home running. To keep food on the table. To make sure that you know that you're loved."
Tsunami had tears in her eyes as she nodded to Inari, letting him know that every word Naruto had said was true. Naruto turned Inari back to look at him.
"It's okay to be mad," Naruto went on. "Things are hard right now, and that's scary. It's frustrating. Just be sure that no matter how hard it gets that you don't give up, because if you do, then men like Gato win."
Inari had tears flowing freely down his face. Naruto let go of his head, and Inari ran right to his mom, burying his head in her stomach and sobbing into her dress. Tsunami looked at Naruto, tears in her eyes but a sad smile on her face.
"Thank you," she mouthed at him.
Naruto just nodded and went back to his dinner.
-OMA-
Naruto stood in front of the same empty section of forest as yesterday, Hinata, Hayate, and Tazuna all standing behind him. Kakashi had already confirmed the plan for today. He and Sasuke were still out of commission, Kakashi with too little chakra and Sasuke with injuries too severe to be active.
"You got enough chakra for this Naruto?" Hayate asked.
"Four strike teams, each a century comprised of half shadow clones for offense and half rock clones for defense," Naruto went over the numbers again slightly nervous.
"Yes," Hayate agreed. "But don't forget, you and Hinata are going to act as a reserve in case any of the targets ends up being too much for your clones."
"The travel time should allow me to recover enough chakra," Naruto reasoned.
"Alright," Hayate shrugged.
Naruto took a deep breath and stepped forward. In theory, this would actually take less chakra than yesterday. The shadow clone was a ridiculously chakra intensive jutsu. In comparison, the rock clone took much less chakra. It was a doton jutsu though, and that meant it required more chakra manipulation to ensure you only applied doton chakra. Still, Naruto had practiced it enough. It shouldn't be a problem. Shouldn't.
"Taju kage bunshin," Naruto called with a quick ram sign. The shadow clones popped into place easy enough. With another breath Naruto began to shape his chakra, flowing through the hand signs slowly for his next jutsu. "Iwa Bunshin."
Rather than spit two hundred globs of rock, Naruto slapped his hand on the ground, using the stones embedded within to focus his chakra. It was slower, but after a moment a single hand burst through the soil. Then clones began to crawl from the earth in mass.
When the clones were in formation, Naruto stood before them once more.
"I know you all know the plan," Naruto explained. Part of him felt silly talking to himself, but at the same time, it was rather therapeutic. "Today we take back the island of Wave. There is only a single camp left where Gato's men have made themselves at home. We believe they hold hostages within. Hebi you will lead your century to clear out that camp. Take no prisoners."
"Hai!" the centurion shouted.
"Uma, Hitsuji, you are in charge of the power plant and the reservoir," Naruto continued. "There's no sign of prisoners so I want you to go in fast and hard. Don't leave those idiots any time to cause damage that might cripple Wave."
"Hai," they shouted.
"Saru," Naruto turned to the last of his centurions. "You have the Daimyo's palace. Gato has been using the place as his own personal mansion. We don't know if the Daimyo is still alive or not, but if he is, then your top priority is his safe retrieval. Your other primary objective is the elimination of Gato."
"Hai," Saru nodded. He didn't shout, but Naruto understood. It was the most serious of the four missions.
"Get to it!" Naruto shouted.
The centuries were quick to depart, leaving the four alone in the woods once again.
"Kid, if you can really do this, then you're going to be the biggest hero this country has even known," Tazuna said in awe.
"Hm," Naruto hummed in acknowledgement.
He didn't feel like a hero. He had just sent four hundred clones of himself to exterminate men like they were rats. True, they were thugs harassing the people of Wave, he knew that well now, but were they all bad? Did they all deserve to die? Naruto didn't know.
"Come on Tazuna-san," Hayate spoke up. "That bridge isn't going to build itself."
"Hah!" Tazuna laughed, quickly starting to walk off. "Maybe after the kid gets done he can help build it. A thousand workers and we could be done in a week!"
-OMA-
Hebi wondered if this should feel more impactful. He was in the midst of directing a hundred clones as they fought nearly a thousand thugs.
They already knew where the hostages were being kept, women and children kidnapped to ensure the people of Wave didn't try and rise up against Gato. The first thing Hebi had done was send Beta squad to eliminate the guards and secure the prisoner tent. Once that was done, he had sent the rest in to begin the slaughter.
The rock clones went in first. Their swords were just as shard as those of the shadow clones, as the severed limbs and heads lying around the camp could attest. Having them on the front lines meant that the occasional lucky blow didn't diminish Hebi's forces. The shadow clones coming behind them were primarily ranged support. If they knew more ninjutsu then they could probably do more, but even just throwing kunai and shuriken they were doing plenty of damage. Their aim was still pretty bad, but six months of work meant they were at least decent now. At least decent when throwing into a crowd of enemies.
The result was that they were quickly clearing out the camp, and casualties were currently zero.
-OMA-
Gamma 10 was just that, Gamma 10. The last ranked member of a mid ranked squad. He was never supposed to be Uma. He was supposed to be in charge of comms, relaying the status of his squad so the radios remained as clear as possible. He was a Naruto clone just like all the rest, but there was something wrong with being Gamma 10 and being the leader of the century.
The battle for the power plant had been going well. Then a whole bunch of samurai came sprinting out the door. Taken off guard, the front line of the offense had quickly been disposed of.
Gamma 1 had ordered a retreat the moment he became the Uma. It hadn't saved him or the rest of Gamma squad, but from what Gamma 10 could tell, it had saved the rest of the century.
"Squad leaders," Gamma 10 called over the radio. "We got sloppy. Return to formation. Samurai are good fighters, but they're too straight forward. "Iota squad, while the rest of us march from the front, I want you to circle around. Attack from stealth and destroy these fools."
"Hai boss," came the replies.
Uma nodded and jumped down, the formation of clones quickly forming behind him. They had work to do.
-OMA-
Saru walked through the halls of the daimyo's palace, and he couldn't help but think about the old man. He wondered if that was his curse, and would be the curse of all Saru to come after him.
The hokage was a great man. He and Naruto were practically family. It was no wonder Saru was nervous that Sarutobi would be disappointed in him then. Stepping over the bloody corpse of another of Gato's goons, he really wouldn't blame him. Naruto would probably need a therapist after all this.
"Status," Saru ordered as he approached Theta squad where they stood outside a doorway.
"No change," Theta 1 answered him.
Saru nodded as he approached the door. Gato was on the other side, having barricaded the door, and claiming he had the daimyo with a blade to his throat.
"Alright Gato," Saru called through. "You asked to speak to the man in charge. Here I am."
"Do you think I'm an idiot!" Came the enraged cry. "You're the same guy I was talking to before."
"In a way I am," Saru agreed, keeping his voice calm. "A technique results in us all sounding the same. Rest assured, I have command here. Any demands you have, I am authorized to handle. Now, I need to know what you want, so that I can ensure no harm comes to any of us, not me, you, or the daimyo."
"Fine!" Gato barked. "I want-"
Whatever Gato was going to say was cut off by the sound of glass breaking. There was more noise, some sort of struggle, and then all was quiet. Saru and Theta squad all stood waiting outside.
Finally the door opened, and Alpha 2 was standing there grinning at him.
"Hey boss," he chirped.
"Everything go as planned?" Saru asked the clone.
"Yep," Alpha 2 nodded, stepping aside so Saru could move into the room.
The room was a mess. Furniture was overturned, and blood was everywhere. There were only two bodies, that of a pair of ronin, rogue samurai. Saru noticed that one of them still had their actual blade. He'd have to inspect it and see if it was any good. The rest of Alpha squad was in here as well, having gone up the side of the building to ambush Gato through the window. Speaking of Gato, he was now the one held with a blade to his throat, a clone and a man in a fancy but dirty robe standing before him.
"Are you in charge?" the man in the robe asked as he turned to Saru.
"Hai, daimyo-sama," Naruto answered with a bow.
"You have my thanks," he said, standing imperiously before the bowing clone. "What of the rest of the island?"
"Being secured as we speak," Saru explained.
"Good," the daimyo sighed. "Rise."
Saru stood up, and saw the daimyo was looking much more relaxed now.
"You are from Konoha, correct?" he asked Saru.
"Yes sir," Saru nodded. "We were employed by the bridge builder, Tazuna."
"I'm afraid I've not heard of him," the daimyo said with a shake of his head as he walked over to his desk. One of the clones picked up the turned over seat, and was quick to provide it for the daimyo. "Still, both he, and you, have my thanks. It is not yet time to relax however. There is much work to be done. I do however understand the way ninja work. I have several missions that I wish to contract you for while I work to get this country back up and running. Can I count on you?"
"Hai," Saru agreed easily. "You will need to speak to Kakashi-sensei regarding the specifics, but he thought this might be a possibility, and gave me authority for at least that much."
"Very good," the daimyo agreed. "First, I would like you to take Gato down to the cells in the basement. My family is currently residing in those cells. You are to free them and imprison Gato in their place."
"You can't do this!" Gato screamed, finally seeming to draw up some dregs of courage.
"Oh you will find that I can," the daimyo told the man with a rather sickly sweet smile on his face. "You see, I know that you have moved a great deal of wealth of this country. I plan to see it, and a good deal more, returned. Until then, you'll be staying in the cells."
Gato began blubbering in outrage.
"Please take him away ninja-san," the daimyo commanded.
"Right away boss," Saru nodded, rather pleased with this turn of events, even if it technically meant he failed to kill Gato.
-OMA-
Naruto sat at mission command along with the communication squad and Hinata, feeling utterly stunned. He knew that the plan he and Kakashi had come up with was a good one, but the fact that he had just freed the island of Wave from the draconian rule of Gato in two days, with a force a little under a thousand clones, was hard to accept. He had barely had to do anything himself.
"Ano," Hinata hummed. "Should-should you report to Kakashi-sensei, Naruto-kun?"
"No need," Kakashi said, leaning against the doorway. "I've been just outside, listening just in case you needed help here."
"I knew it'd be easy, I just don't understand how it could all work out so fast" Naruto voiced his thoughts.
"Once you start dispelling the clones it'll feel more real," Kakashi told him. "Remember, we've got to be careful about that, or we could end up putting you in a coma."
"I remember," Naruto nodded, rubbing his face as he was thinking about it. "I wanted to spread the strike forces out, but it looks like they might be getting employed by the daimyo now. I thought we could check on each of the towns and dispel them while we're there."
"A good plan," Kakashi nodded. "We can have Hayate and Hinata do that."
"Why just the two of them?" Naruto asked.
"Sasuke is still on bed rest," Kakashi explained. "That slash on his chest means he'll need a real medic before he can return to field work. I can't go because I need to meet with the daimyo, and I want you with me."
"But Saru would be able to direct the clones," Naruto said, confused what use he'd be.
Kakashi walked towards him and put a hand on his shoulder, giving him his classic eye smile. "I won't lie to you Naruto. You're in for a rough week as you gain the memories of all these clones. A day in a warzone isn't pretty, even if you are on the winning side. Some of these memories will be haunting. They will have an impact on you, and that's okay. I want you to stick close to me so that you always have someone you can come talk to about this. Understand?"
"Hai sensei," Naruto nodded.