A/N: I want to thank the people that continue to provide support and feedback for this fanfic. Your reviews really do help (yes, even the critical ones). In fact, thanks to the keen eyes of Dancingrage, my sea serpent dyslexia was discovered and corrected (is being corrected). Sometimes you can become too familiar with something and not see the simplest mistakes.
Let's progress to what I'm calling the ANBU Initiate Arc (until I can come up with something better).
As always, back to the story.
~Siva'a-tasi
~III~
Chapter 14: Given the Opportunity
~ Previously on No More
Slamming his palm down on the floor of his apartment, Naruto released a large amount of chakra and the world imploded. For several seconds, nausea dominated everything while he fought down the urge to vomit. Several deep breaths and his breathing steadied just as the smoke began to clear. As it faded, the still fog-blind Genin could hear what sounded like a dozen fans flicking back and forth at high speed.
The air stirred and the fog from the jutsu finally evaporated bringing the shocked boy face to face with a half dozen Umihebi of various shapes, sizes and hues. All of them were locked on to his body for the slightest move, their necks laid out low to the ground in an aggressive posture.
"You have one chance, mortal, before we rend the flesh from your bones. State your name and purpose and pray that we do not find your moral fiber lacking."
Naruto looked up from the floor and the hostile-looking sea serpents, many of whom were large enough to swallow him whole, and in to the menacing eyes of the largest creature he'd ever come across. Its scales were the color of midnight and the flukes rimming his head and back were pale white and crackling with energy.
"Oh, dip," the Uzumaki heir whispered out very much afraid to move a muscle.
~III~
~ Grand Audience Chamber of the Glittering Grotto
The suddenly terrified Genin straightened his spine and stood tall. Squaring his shoulders and thrusting his chin out, the bronze-skinned boy from Konoha took a deep, steadying breath, glanced once to the timidly-onlooking Opalessa, then locked eyes with the largest specimen of the Umihebi that he'd ever seen.
"My name is Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, and the last living Uzumaki in the Village Hidden in the Leaves." He paused for a moment and waited to see if anything was about to disembowel him before he could continue.
"My purpose here is to rejoin the Uzumaki Clan with the Umihebi as I rebuild my clan's honor." His eyes flickered to Opal and lingered just long enough to see her nod her head in encouragement.
"I am here to demand the Trial so that I can prove that the Uzumaki still thrive among its enemies. I am here, if proven worthy, to submit myself to the Trial in the hope that I may be found worthy of the Bond." His next breath was shaky coming out in a nervous hiss. Once again, he searched his peripheral vision hoping that nothing big or blurry was coming to eat his intestines. Opal had admitted once under extreme snuggling that her clan found that part of their prey a choice delicacy.
Poseidus, for all his majestic size and power, was refusing to look Magnus' way. He could feel the self-gratification oozing from his scaly hide, and he would not feed his ego further. That didn't stop the elder serpent from clearing his throat loudly not once but twice.
"Venerable Patron," he literally crooned, "they boy says he's here to take the trial. Did you catch that part? Did you?" Poseidus never wanted to smite someone more than he did right then.
"YES!" his fangs were grinding against one another, "I. Did." Each word was bit off in agonizing fashion.
"Ahem, then perhaps, Venerable Patron," the now all-too-smug Magnus continued, "perhaps we should-."
"MAGNUS!" the boss summons roared out to stop his wheedling. The only one who jumped was Naruto, the others long since used to this particular repartee. "Perhaps you should make yourself useful and bring us the Oracle of Tides." Magnus' reptilian inner eyelids blinked happily as his huge maw swung around and bellowed the command again, smaller members of the clan slithering off like salamanders to retrieve this Oracle person.
Until then, the gathering of powerful Wyrmkin, as Opal referred to her race, all settled down on their scaled bellies. Most simply curled up on the ground along the sides and rear of the chamber while a half dozen or so curled up comfortably on enormous shelves carved into the chamber walls. Naruto took the opportunity to observe his observers in their natural surroundings.
The many glowing spirals and seals in his dreamworld corresponded to real-world eggs here and there were hundreds littered about the cavern. The pools were identical with one large one near the very center of the cavern. While multi-hued in complexion, the Umihebi tended to follow one of two strains. They were either fair-scaled and bore pearl, seafoam or sky-blue hides like Opal and her mother, or they were darker earthy colors ranging from bronzed browns, deep ocean blues, forested greens, or the midnight scales of the boss and his son, Titus.
The same Titus that had been staring at the blond Genin since he announced his birth and hadn't turned away since. Naruto was beginning to feel like dinner and found it rather uncomfortable.
What re-entered the chamber causing every serpent to bow its frilled head wasn't a person but a thing. Four powerfully-built males, presumably sea serpents like Opal shifted into a more versatile form with hands, were carrying a large chest using two golden rods fitted through reinforced rings in the side of the container. It was reverent and ceremonial in nature as they walked, each wearing the same Egyptian garb that Opal wore only less ornate. The quartet placed the large object directly underneath Poseidus, the box rotating in slow measured steps until it was positioned just so.
Once the bars were removed, Opal stepped forward smiling at Naruto as she passed, and her eyes fixated on the brass-bound lid. Once her hands touched the lid, a dozen seals burst into white light and a gong intoned somewhere.
"Who seeks the path?" a booming voice echoed out.
"This child of the sea," Opal responded with her head bowed.
"Who knows the way?" the voice intoned as another gong sounded.
"He who walks the path alone," she hummed out.
"Who offers tithes to pave the way?" the voice challenged.
"We who dance to the lunar call...," this time the answer was chanted by the female serpents in the chamber. Even Opal's mother spoke.
"Until waves come no more," the entire chamber responded in time with the voice from nowhere.
As the gong sounded seven more times in mournful reverence, Opal opened the lid and stood aside, a brilliant light bursting from the opened box and haloing her curvy body in its golden aura. Naruto blinked and felt compelled to move, his feet carrying him one slow step at a time to the giant pearl resting on a deep blue pillow of satin inside the chest. Standing in front of it, he lifted his hands and placed them on either side of the orb and its glow pulsed changing from golden to pure white before filling the entire chamber with its glow.
Naruto's blue eyes stared into the swirling depths of the pearl, the slow spirals, the pooling and churning currents beneath its surface hypnotizing him. Tearing his gaze from the pink-tinged object, he looked up to meet Poseidus' eyes in confusion.
"What? Did you think we'd battle you to the death or require you to win a challenge against one of us?" Naruto nodded briefly in confusion as Poseidus chuckled. "If that were the case, there would never be a summoner to the Umihebi and humans would have never sought us out if all we did was eat the vanquished." Nartuo gulped noticeably.
"Oh, did I forget to mention that part?" The enormous serpent settled in to watch the rest of the show. "Well? We're waiting, human."
Naruto gulped again before glancing back over his shoulder to a very nervous Opal, her eyes willing courage into her future partner. When his head spun back around his palms landed on the pearl's surface and its light engulfed him.
Suddenly he was alone in a sea of white. Floors, sky, everything went blank and he couldn't tell where the ground ended and anything else began.
"The Oracle will test your worth. It can see into your blood, your dirty little secrets. We will know soon enough how true you are to the Uzumaki line." Naruto heard Poseidus' voice but could not see him. As he spun about looking for a door of some kind, the monotone room blurred and he found himself flying above an island surrounded by pools of swirling water. His body sailed above a small village filled with people in flowing battle robes similar to Kenshin's, tiny figures moving about gently swaying acres of grass and shrubs.
Their homes were made of white stone, their domed roofs lined with simple reddish tiles. He soared over them all headed deeper into the village towards a cluster of large homes like the mansions of the clan estates in Konoha. He saw many, many people with hair the color of his mother's, most with purplish, amber or reddish eyes. Still he flew on.
In time he sailed right through the walls of the largest dwelling, his body whisking to the upper floor settled down next to an elderly woman with flowing maroon-colored hair sitting on the edge of a very large and comfortable looking bed. A younger woman with bright red hair was kneeling at her side and the two were talking though he could not hear the words. The scene flickered again.
He was standing in a dark room with brightly glowing seals everywhere he looked. There were two tables in the very center of the room, each within a large seal array of its own. On one table, the elderly woman lay only in a thin robe open to reveal her stomach and wrappings. On the other table lay the younger girl he'd seen earlier dressed in a similar fashion. There were robed people surrounding them and the room's brightness began to increase as the scrolls in the chamber grew painfully bright to his eyes. The scene flickered again.
This time the scene changed completely. A dark-haired man with silver streaks in his long hair and plate armor the color of blood was sitting on a throne that bore the flame symbol of Konoha. He was passing the Kage's hat to a severe looking man with silver hair and three red streaks on his cheeks and chin. What caught his eye, however, was the beautiful blond girl with hazel eyes standing just to the side of the ceremony watching with pride. Again, words were spoken but they all seemed garbled to Naruto, something that frustrated him to no end. He recognized the Senju brothers, but he didn't know any of these others besides the fact that the red heads were Uzumaki. He grimaced as the scene shifted yet again.
The room was white again but, in its center, sat a man with pale blue hair and deep green eyes. Before him stood an older version of the blond girl, now a young woman, as she placed a crystal necklace around the man's neck. Naruto was fascinated as the scene progressed like it was in slow motion. He walked at his normal speed until he was looking at their profiles as the woman kissed his forehead, his hands reaching out to embrace her. The scene blurred yet again.
This time the room darkened before a bolt of lightning flashed. In that moment of piercing illumination, he saw a canopied bed and two people embracing beneath the covers. In shame, he tried to turn away only to find that he couldn't leave – there were no doors. Their muffled voices and sweaty bodies told him what was coming next and he averted his eyes to stare at the floor even as his peripheral vision noticed the woman's back arch throwing the covers from her shoulders. The two clutched in ecstasy as their bodies convulsed together and the scene shifted yet again.
It was still dark, but they were outside in a thick forest. People were rushing about mouths wide open as if they were yelling, calling for something. Not five paces from where he stood was a group of Konoha nins in battle armor clustered around a person lying on the ground. Off to one side he recognized a younger version of the old man with white hair and went to see what was going on. What he found was the same gorgeous blond covered in blood not belonging to her. She shuddered, she screamed, then she turned into the embrace of the not-so-old pervert and wept openly. Laying on the ground was the same blue-haired man, his eyes open and unseeing as the necklace glittered in the torchlight. The scene flickered again but this time faster than before.
A canopied bed in a room filled with nervous med nins. The room looked familiar, but he brushed it off. Naruto saw the blond again, her legs raised as another woman hovered near her pelvis. It was raining outside like the last time he was here but there were lights on. The woman looked tired as another nurse was helping her to sit up. She was sweating, grunting, crying. A final push and a slimy child emerged into the world. Med nins began healing the exhausted woman crying happy tears as she reached for her son. Instead of shifting again, the scene froze, and Naruto took a good long look at the amber eyes and noticed the pain hiding in their depths.
Then the scene began flickering at a steady rate like a picture show. First came the blond and her child perhaps no more than a few months after being weaned. Next came a hopeful family as they reached out to take the still small child from a weeping mother. The child growing up in a family of blonds at a house with the Namikaze name tile by the front door. A picture flashed showing the blond woman leaving the village through one of the main gates with a smaller dark-haired girl in tow. The next picture of the blond male had him entering the academy and his family cheering him proudly.
The remaining pictures began alternating between the blond male and red headed Uzumaki girl in different scenes of life in Konoha. They were flashing so quickly if was difficult to sort through them. Eventually the pictures slowed to show the now man and woman standing before the Sandaime Hokage, their hands joined as the old man looped a silken cloth of white threads over their joined grip.
The picture after that was of a large clan home behind a gate bearing the Uzumaki swirl and his eyes knew that it was their home. He tried to burn the image into his brain, but it soon faded to show the couple standing in a kitchen, the woman wearing a green dress over a white short-sleeved shirt. Both of her hands were resting on a rather large stomach.
She was pregnant!
Two more pictures flashed before the room he was in went blank again. The first was of the red-haired woman lying in a bed with a newborn lying next to her and the blond-haired man embracing them both. The child had golden hair with the eyes of the deepest blue and whisker marks on his cheeks.
The last image was of the blond child in the arms of the blond-haired man now dressed in the robes of the Yondaime Hokage. The man was standing on the head of a large toad and all three were staring down the massive form of the Kyuubi no Youko.
Naruto's hands fell from the glowing pearl as the tears started falling from his eyes. All around him, the Umihebi were bowed and weeping, their noses pointed to the cold stone floor of the cavern. Opal's arms wrapped around his chest, but he hardly felt them as Poseidus' voice rang out through the cavern.
"When the light dims to a spark, he shall come to show us the way. All hail the return of the U~ōkā. May he lead this clan as in the days of old. Long live the Umihebi. Long live the Namikaze-Uzumaki." The chant was repeated by every sea serpent in the chamber followed immediately by a chorus of whale-like roars that vibrated the walls, ceiling and floors of the great chamber.
Opal's embrace changed as her hands slipped underneath his shirt until her fingers slid between the mesh of his chain. Her chakra began to flow into his skin with a slight hissing sound making Naruto grit his teeth. Both glowed before the female summons spun him around and kissed him full on the lips. Still reeling from what he'd seen in the Oracle orb, Naruto acted on instinct and returned it, his arms embracing her slender human form and crushing her to him.
~III~
Inside the mindspace, Kyuubi's head lifted as the outer edge of the seal formed in the shape of a dragon-like creature eating its own tail changed from bronze, like the bars, to an off-white color. Looking closer, the empty holes for eyes filled in with pale green gemstones. The great beast sighed and lowered its head. It knew what that meant from its time with Kushina.
'And life was becoming so restful after such a long time.'
~III~
Ino sat at the kitchen table poking lazily at her food with a barely-used pair of chopsticks, which prompted more frustrated sighs from her mother.
"Please tell me you aren't going back to those horrible diet fads again?" Her voice took on a nagging quality but there was genuine concern underneath it all.
"What? No! Of course not." Yet still she poked away having eaten half of the peppered steak and broccoli spears on her plate. Her heart just wasn't in it for some reason.
Sumiko Yamanaka glanced briefly at her husband before moving off to clear the table.
"What's wrong, Princess?" Inoichi set down his napkin and focused on his normally upbeat daughter.
"Daddy, how do you know if you're really in love?" The Clan head frowned originally thinking the specimen in question to be the duck-haired brooder. He felt this to be dangerous ground, so he proceeded cautiously.
"Well, pumpkin, you'll know when the other person's happiness means more than your own. You'll know when the thought of them being hurt derails your entire day and you spend your time worrying over and caring for them. Plus, you will know when the desire to spend the rest of your life together with them doesn't seem so terrifying anymore."
Ino looked at him pondering his very "generalized" description of what love meant to him. "You don't really know, do you Daddy?"
Inoichi's face fault made the table shudder. Picking himself up, he smiled at his little girl.
"Love means something different for everyone, Princess. That's what it means to me when I think of your mother so, you'll need to discover what love means to you." Inside he hoped it really meant Ino with anyone other than the Uchiha. He'd been in the boy's mind and nothing good would come of associating with him.
Ino grunted as her head nodded in agreement. It seemed like a fairly decent explanation. She would need to think on her strange feelings around her blond teammate before she could say with any certainty. One thing was for certain, her brush with the Uchiha near Nami washed away any remaining fandom stink. No, Ino had finally moved beyond that hurdle and now she had two more, that she was aware of, that needed to be dealt with.
Tomorrow she'd pay a little visit to the village princess and stake her claim.
~III~
When Opal released him from the kiss, a still teary Naruto looked deep into her eyes and wondered if this was normal behavior for a summons. After all, he couldn't picture his dad kissing the large battle toad he rode into battle.
Opal motioned for him to lift his arms as she began removing his jacket, shirt and mesh. He could only watch in confusion.
As the garments piled up on the cold ground, the baying of the Umihebi Clan died off as the clan princess stepped forward to embrace him, her large globes squishing softly against his chest as a pink light enveloped her. Her body began to flow like water into his muscles almost like she was being sucked into his skin while he watched in awe. Before long, her legs disappeared into his body and he looked down upon the full-color tattoo of a pearl-tinted Umihebi coiled up into a circle right in the middle of his chest. The tattoo rotated and shifted before settling into a more comfortable position with its head near the center of the coil formed by its body.
'It is done,' her voice chimed out in his ears. Naruto's fingers began touching the tattoo, her body wriggling as his fingers traced down her inked spine, her voice giggling in his ears. His hands flew from his skin like he'd been shocked, and the friendly serpent chided him about waiting until his probationary period was over before he could claim her fully.
Naruto's head shot up to the larger version representing Opal's mother as his face blushed a terribly bright red color. Several of the clan chuckled, a great hissing collage of laughter at his expense.
Opal had much to teach him it would seem.
Titus looked up at his father and asked his silent question unbeknownst to the gathering. With a heavy sigh, the great summons nodded once, and Titus slithered from his perch to rear up next to the Uzumaki heir. When Naruto spun to face him, the first-born flashed once with chakra before touching his nose to the Uzumaki-born Genin's forearm, his much larger body compressing many times over before flowing over Naruto's skin like water. As the ink-like substance wound and snaked its way starting from the back of his hand then once around his forearm, it flowed in between the two storage seals there, it then came to rest wrapped around his bicep with the head laying on the outer edge.
The tattoo was a dark blue-almost-black color and, if Naruto was being honest with himself, was badass.
'Only I am tied to your chakra network. Titus, when he joins us, will be carried separately so that he may observe and teach.' Naruto nodded and reached down to begin donning his gear again, much to the dislike of a small pair of serpents watching from afar.
"Your true trial begins. We will be watching, Uzumaki-san." Naruto had time to bow before he was enveloped in smoke once more. Waving away the billowing fog, he found himself once again in the comfort of his own living-bed-dining room.
He shrugged and mumbled out a quiet, "Okay, see you around then," into the quiet of his home. The tinkling chime of Opal's laughter was his only answer.
~III~
Naruto was up early the following morning. His five o'clock routine had become just that even after the short break in Istoria.
Before beginning his morning run, Naruto created one hundred and twenty-five clones in Team Ten's personal training ground. It was time to pick up the pace of his personal training regimen again, but he needed a decent body of water, which the abandoned one in the slums never had.
"You twenty-five, try to push the leaf exercise as far as you can." The mob "Ossu'd!" boldly and rushed off.
"You twenty-five, spider sparring!" The next batch shot off to a group of trees, leaped up to a spot near the top of a tree, then began sparring with light to no contact. The goal wasn't to win the spar but to stay up on the tree for the entire duration.
And so-on it went. One group got kunai balancing. One group got water walking. The last batch of twenty-five got broken up into a group of ten (working on Academy Taijutsu), another group of ten (working on his Brawler Taijutsu style), and a group of five with each one working on a different ninjutsu from one of the five elemental cores (fire, water, air, earth, and lightning). When they were all deployed, Naruto increased his resistance seals to a total of four-and-a-half-times gravity then took off at careful jog around Konoha.
Opal chatted through their mental link while he ran.
"At least we know why your hair is golden instead of the Uzumaki crimson found in your mother." Naruto's mind went back to the images from the Oracle.
"We do?" He grunted lightly while taking to the trees to test his latest resistance setting. Absently, he remarked how much Opal's command of the human language had improved through their frequent dream discussions. She hardly digressed into the Serpent's Tongue unless she was stressed or sleepy.
"Yes, it is known that the Senju blood was the only one strong enough to match the Uzumaki in terms of genetic dominance. You had equal chances for matching your father's features as you did your mother's." He nodded as his feet struck the damp grass leaving side-by-side imprints.
"I need to find out who my father's mother was. She might be alive still if she was away from Konoha when the Kyuubi struck." Inside her cage, the great fox shifted in irritation.
"I would prefer it if you refrained from talking to yourself or at least brought the lizard with you into the mindscape so that I can hear the conversation instead of just being the focus of it." Naruto blinked and actually stopped running for a second. Hearing no rebuttal or comment from Opal (turns out she did not like nor trust the great bijuu).
Apparently the Kyuubi could not hear Opal and vice versa. He just might work on this common space thing later on. For now, he had a workout to complete.
During the resistance portion of his training, Opal shifted gears to the history between the Uzumaki and the Umihebi, this time speaking out loud from the tattoo on his chest, which immediately caught the great fox's attention.
"It is good that you train your body as your clan once did, according to Titus." Naruto nodded along as he counted out his push-ups. The female serpent seemed to pause from time to time but, as he couldn't see the tattoo beneath his tee shirt, he couldn't understand the rhyme or reason behind it.
"Especially those that had the privilege of bonding with my clan." Here Naruto paused in the "up" position as his head cocked curiously to the side.
"How so?"
"B-B-Bonding with one of our clan helps to s-s-s-s-strengthen and aw-w-w-w-waken your Uzumaki or Senju blood respectively." She sounded either oddly out of breath or extremely nervous. He would have to ask her about that later as Titus interjected before he could question her.
"You're confusing him," his much more mellow voice cutting in from his right arm. "If you're going to teach him, then do it properly."
Opal huffed as her older sibling interjected himself into the middle of her "Naruto Time." He was always so impatient.
"The Umihebi have been with the Uzumaki far longer than the Senju, however, with their re-integration into the larger clan as a branch entity through Hashirama Senju, it became unavoidable." Naruto resumed his count at three hundred, the sonorous baritone helping him to find an easy pace as it were. "You didn't believe his development of that rare trait a coincidence, did you?"
Naruto honestly had no answer for that.
"Just as there are two branches to the Uzumaki, there are two branches to the Umihebi. Echidnae Tempestatum Opiferque, also known as the Bringers of Storms, bonded with the Uzumaki. I am of that breed, a powerful master of the wind and lightning that made your mother, and all the Uzumaki, feared among the world as masters of the sea. Our chakra is key to nurturing your Uzumaki blood traits, I believe you call them a bloodline."
Naruto goggled. He still hadn't read through his mother's journal completely and, to be honest, couldn't come up with a suitable reason not to have done so. Now he was being told by the Celestial Summons linked to his mother that he could help him activate his bloodline? He was so shocked that he forgot his rep count, cursed softly, then started back up at three hundred.
"The second branch, the Echidnae Nos Applicemus Vivificantem, or the Givers of Life, blended with the Senju refining their kekkei genkai, what you know as the mokuton." Naruto hopped up from the ground and shook out his shoulders.
"Does that mean that Opal is part of that second group? She keeps referring to my mixed Senju chakra." He could feel the tattoo on his arm vibrate.
"My younger sibling," he paused trying to the appropriate descriptor, "is passionate about our history and the Pactus Serpentis." Naruto's eyes lit up as he moved on to sit-ups and crunches.
"Pactus…(grunt)… Serpentis?"
"The binding agreement between the Uzumaki and the Umihebi. It binds our clans together so long as a single Uzumaki lives."
"No wonder you guys wanted to stake your claim from the Gama." The tattoo on his arm vibrated once more and, this time around, so did the tattoo on his chest.
"…for me." Naruto paused mid-rep, his rigid body locked at a forty-five-degree angle.
"Say that again, Opal?"
"…"
"Opal?" His tried to make his voice coaxing, soothing even.
"You were meant for me not some brutish toad!" Naruto blushed and noticed his chest felt extremely warm.
"I still plan to summon Gamaken and Gamatetsu at some point. They were meant to be a part of my life like they were a part of my father's." Despite lamenting not knowing his father growing up, Naruto felt a strong affinity to the toads and wasn't ready to let that part of his life fade away without trying first.
"While the Umihebi understand that Minato Namikaze's spurning of the bond was necessary for the preservation of his clan, it was a blow to the Vivificantem. Please keep that in mind as you pursue the personal summons granted to you by the Gama Clan." The dark toned Wyrmkin's thoughts shifted subtly to his sister.
Naruto smiled as it began to sink in. It would appear that a summons could be very protective of their summoner and the Umihebi were very attached it would seem. It made him warm on the inside in a very positive manner. There was something troubling the younger female though, something she just couldn't let go of.
"Are we, am I not enough?" Naruto's heart sank not having considered her feelings on the matter. He saw his birthright and had not once considered the emotion and devotion he'd seen from the opalescent sea serpent. He chided himself for not looking beyond his immediate horizon.
"Never doubt that you aren't more than enough for me, Opal-hime." This time he smiled hoping that the warmth from it would transfer along with his words. "I promise you that I will not pursue more from the Gama without your consent but that pervy guy taught my father and is apparently my godfather."
Naruto grimaced at the thought.
"He did mention before vanishing out there somewhere," his arm swept beyond the walls of Konoha, "that Gamatetsu could teach me a defensive taijutsu that would complement the Serpent's Fang style that the Umihebi possess. I'd very much like to make myself as hard to kill as possible so that you and I have many, many years together."
His chest flushed immediately with warmth and he could hear the fox retching in the back of his mind. 'Okay, gotta limit the amount of time we let the furbag listen in on us.' Without another thought, he turned back to finish his workout having fallen behind during the impromptu history lesson.
He needed to get a lot stronger than he currently was.
Despite Opal's timid squeak when Naruto hopped in the shower, the morning pushed smoothly on from there. With his training clones gone and their memories appropriated, Naruto sent another wave of five off to the library and five more off to search several private bookstores with wads of Ryu. Leaving ten in his apartment to read through Jiraiya's scrolls and his personal books on seal craft, the blond Genin trucked off to Higurashi's to speak with Tenten's dad.
When he arrived, the grizzled old man was laughing and joking with Kurenai Yuhi as her team moved about restocking their gear. Naruto, seeing an opportunity, walked up quietly behind Hinata and stood with his hands behind his back and his chest inches from her shoulder blades as she fretted over whether or not to buy a set of Stingers.
She smelled divine, the mild scent of lavender making his lips quirk upwards in the corners.
"Oi! Don't be standing so close to my Hinata, Naru-baka!" Naruto's eyes closed in annoyance almost immediately as the quiet girl "eeped!" and spun around to see her crush standing so close without her noticing. Her body instinctively backed up until her rear bumped the glass display and her hands rushed up to cover her horrible blush. Not for the first time Naruto wondered if he could get a muzzle on the loud dog-boy.
"I was going to suggest that she try out the weapon she was looking at, Kiba. Thanks for ruining my surprise greeting." His face looked anything but happy at the horn dog's interference.
"No problem, dobe." Naruto opened his eyes to see Hinata's labored breathing and a smiling Kurenai standing just to her side.
"Welcome back from your extended C-Rank, Naruto. How did you like it?" Naruto noticed that Hinata and Shino seemed interested while Kiba crossed his arms before stalking to the other side of the store still managing to keep his ear turned to eavesdrop.
"It was interesting to see another land and see how they live. I found it surprising that nukenin had worked their way so far south and west from the elemental lands." The gorgeous woman gasped in surprise.
"That's right! Your group returned the fabled Raijin back to Konoha!" Naruto could hear the dog nin grumbling across the room, something about he could have done just as well.
'Oh, that's right. I forgot about that.' A smile almost reached his face as he realized that the sword, unless claimed by another Senju, technically belonged to him.
Naruto's hand worked its way up to rub the back of his neck as he blushed at the unfamiliar praise.
"Any lessons you'd care to share with my team?" He thought for a second and his cheerful smile melted.
"Yeah, I have two to share." He held up a finger. "Teammwork and prior planning as a team is key to success." The three already clustered around him began nodding their agreement as he held up a second finger.
"Learn to keep the personal out of your professional life. It will save you a lot of pain in the end." Kurenai's face fell remembering a similar conversation she had with Anko the night of her return during the woman's bullheaded devotion to obliterating as many brain cells as she could with sake.
"Excuse me please," Naruto mumbled out as he moved closer to the counter and held up his gauntlet. Kurenai eyed his back as he left and sighed. She was going to need to work harder to get the truth of what happened from her friend tonight.
Naruto tapped the back of his gauntlet right after shaking Old Man Higurashi's bear-like paw again.
"Is that working like you hoped or are you looking for some maintenance?" Naruto grinned back.
"It's perfect. It's so perfect I want one for my right hand." The blacksmith's eyebrows shot up.
"Sure. I am going to need about a month to fabricate it. We can deduct the cost from the next batch of sales if you like." Naruto nodded his agreement and they shook on it with the same messy handshake.
"How are things going by the way?" Now the smithy had a reason to grin from ear to ear.
"Backlog is up to a year. Regular shinobi corps are jumping in line. We should have outfitted all of the ANBU by the time your second sleeve is done." It was good news indeed. While Naruto knew the high sales wouldn't last forever, he knew it was a good boost to the shop and for the Higurashi's.
"Good. I'll check back in middle of next month. Hopefully Tenten will be back by then." Hinata's head snapped up from the counter as she heard the alarm bells going off in her mind. "See ya around, Higurashi-san." Naruto walked out the door to enjoy the rest of his lazy Saturday afternoon.
Too bad all good things must end soon enough.
~III~
A ragged Team Kakashi and Team Gai staggered to a stop outside the eastern gates to Konoha sometime near midnight, the two Jounin looking marginally better than their Genin as the teens fell to their knees in exhaustion. They were promptly whisked away to the Hokage before others could take note of their condition.
Moments later, a very grim and determined pair of Jounin senseis strode into the office of their strongest shinobi with unpleasant news to break.
~III~
Naruto looked up from the scrolls he was reading and discussing with his clones as another round of banging attacked his front door. It was late and he wasn't expecting company. Drawing a kunai from his leg holster as his ten copies did likewise, he opened the door cautiously peering from behind it into the stoic mask of a crane-faced ANBU.
"The Hokage commands that you follow the directions in this scroll to the letter." Naruto glanced down to the rolled scroll bound by black rings then back up to the mask of the shinobi with the extended arm. "I don't have all day, Genin. Take it and get moving. You have one hour."
Slipping the kunai back into its holster, he accepted the scroll and the ANBU vanished in a swirl of leaves. Naruto closed the door and locked it, his clones rising up and closing all of the curtains and activating the privacy seals he'd finally figured out and added to his home.
"Genin Uzumaki,
"Consider this your one opportunity. Bring this scroll as proof to the below location. As of now, consider everything you do to be under the direct scrutiny of myself and the soldiers under my care.
"Additionally, and until this trial ends, you will cease all verbal communication speaking only in the academic hand signs you learned at the academy. Failure to do so will result in termination of your 'opportunity.'
"Tell no one where you are going.
"Tell no one why you are going.
"Bring no gear of your own and report within the hour of receiving this document.
"Above all, make sure you are not seen before entering the location given to you.
"My eyes, and the eyes of your Hokage, are upon you."
~ Commander General Dragon, Director of the Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai
Naruto memorized the location as well as the special directions he needed to gain access before handing the scroll to the nearest clone. Spinning from the door, he gathered up his TAC gear and stored it into the large-capacity storage seal he'd added to his left inner bicep, including his prized gauntlet.
No way he was taking another Mizuki chance. He might not use it but he'd have it with him in case he ever got captured.
Despite being late at night (the scroll did say it would be his only chance), he donned his jacket, dispelled his clones (remembering to grab the scroll), locked up his apartment then shot off across town headed for the Market District. Taking to the shadier parts of town and the darker back alleys, he made it to a garment shop near the Konoha theater settling down on the roof near a large heating condenser.
Reaching out with his still new sensing ability, Naruto spent the next twenty minutes looking for signs of chakra bigger than rats and smiled when he found a pair about a hundred meters back in his trail across Konoha. They were good at hiding their stores of energy but not good enough to fool a true sensor.
Kyuubi scoffed from his cage but Naruto brushed it off.
Making sure that no one else was following him, he hopped down into the adjacent alleyway and knocked on the door in a one-pause-one-pause-two knock combination. A metal panel about eye level slid open to reveal an ANBU mask before slamming shut. He heard a soft click and the door slid sideways into the larger wall allowing him entry into a platform at the top of a short stairway. The same crane that delivered his scroll motioned down the stairs then strode off in that direction after the door locked with another clicking sound.
The hallway at the bottom of the stairs branched off into many other passages, each one meandering in a seemingly indefinable pattern. Without a map Naruto didn't think he'd be able to find his way along as they all seemed endless. It was as he was about to ask the tall figure how much longer that it finally clicked.
Raising one hand in the half ram, he silently pushed out a blast of chakra and the entire maze of tunnels vanished to reveal a short hallway at the bottom of the entry stairs and another door. Without a word, the Kurēn ANBU pointed to the door then vanished in a swirl of wind. Naruto padded forward and pushed it open.
Inside he found a white-walled room with rows and rows of garment pegs, weapon holders and other shelves attached to the wall holding ANBU gear of all types. He even saw several thigh-bandoleers with a dozen or so Stingers filling the slots.
There were two benches in the large room. One held a set of basic ANBU composite armor and body mesh with either a short-sleeved shirt of a long-sleeved one per personal preference. The second bench held a plain white cloak that appeared to be reversible, and an ANBU mask with no animal or human features beyond holes for the eyes. In the upper right side of the mask was a five-digit number that read two-nine-six-six-six.
"You have twenty minutes to dress out and kit up. Plan for an S-ranked assassination mission. You will get only one shot at this." His eyes flicked over to a Neko-faced ANBU who folded her arms and leaned against the back wall. Apparently, she was going to stay?
Naruto ran his left thumb along his jawline, back to front, signaling [Hai!] and shrugged as he doffed his clothing down to his boxers not caring if she watched him or not. Although he didn't know it, the attentive Yugao did take note of the new tattoo additions on his arm and chest as well as the seals along his body. She never knew he was into dragons but that seemed a bit extreme. She would need to report those along with her general evaluation of his personal conditioning, of which she approved greatly. In the meantime, she chose to examine his muscular build for any other new discoveries...
'How long can you stay with me, Opal?" His mind reached out to the Echidnae feeling her tattoo heat up again. He was getting worried for her as that much warmth couldn't have been good for the cold-blooded creature.
'So long as I do not fight and dwell in this chakra matrix on your chest, I can stay for a month, then I must return home to replenish. A summons cannot stray from home for too long without consequences.' He nodded silently to himself. It would be nice to have her company.
With military precision, he donned the long-sleeved mesh shirt choosing to hide his ornamentation. Black ANBU trousers and ankle wraps followed as well as the ANBU edition sandals. He was strong and could handle boots but wanted to err on the side of stealth. Steel toed boots brought their own headaches when you wanted to remain undetected.
The basic edition body armor wasn't custom fitted like the pieces he purchased from Higurashi's and in Istoria but they were more advanced than what the Academy issued. Strapping on the shin guards, forearm bracers and chest piece, Naruto slipped on the mask and its attached balaclava. The hood completely hid his blond hair making him nearly unidentifiable.
Suddenly the ban on talking made sense.
He released his resistance seals then the metal backed fingerless gloves came on. He then took the time to start gearing up grateful for Fuu's drilling obsessiveness in his earlier training. He grabbed a Stinger bandoleer and strapped it to his left thigh. A normal holster for kunai and shuriken went on the right one. He grabbed two storage scrolls from the small garbage can acting as a holding bin and rapidly stored up the second bundle of Stingers; two hundred shuriken; fifty kunai; four spools of ninja wire; two full stacks of explosive notes (fifty notes a stack); one bundle of senbon; a maintenance equipment kit for his gear; a calligraphy set with ink jars, two refills, a mortar and pestle, and twenty blank scrolls; a full camping kit; a med kit filled with gauze, tape, splints, antiseptics, and blood and soldier pills (ten each); and one month of tasteless rations to go with two full canteens.
The scrolls he tucked away into the tactical vest he put on over his chest armor. Donning the cloak last pulling the hood up over his head, he strapped the tanto across his back, and finally turned to face Neko and signed [Ready].
"You sure you're done? Once we leave here there's no coming back."
[Ready], he repeated.
She pushed from the wall, and opened the door leading him down another short hallway and into a set of double doors opening up into a vast room. It gave the impression of behind taller than he suspected with high ceilings he could not "feel" in the darkened amphitheater.
"Stand in the middle circle." Knowing she couldn't read his hand signs without light, he moved silently forward to stand in a beam of light, the light falling from the ceiling above somewhere, his feet coming to a stop as another faceless initiate with the numbers "two-nine-zero-one-three" came to a stop in the circle to his left. Naruto nodded once before turning to look at the table in front of him at which sat the Hokage, Danzo, Homura, Koharu, Iruka, and Ibiki. Standing behind the Hokage was an ANBU he'd never seen before, their face mask startlingly familiar to the blond boy trying to place the familiar feeling he was getting from Konoha's most feared ANBU Commander.
Dragon stood there in the flesh (their attire gave no indication as to any gender), so he took note of any obvious differences. The mask was black with white lines to indicate scales and, if he didn't know any better, he would have sworn it looked like Titus, who was squirming uncomfortably on his forearm for lack of a better description. The formless cloak had a fat golden band along the bottom and atop that band was a crimson one just as thick. Naruto had seen different combinations on the cloaks of other ANBU (Neko had a skinny red band with a fat red band above it) but he never recognized any significance to it before.
It represented rank and this ANBU was the top of the pyramid in the ANBU world.
They stood there sizing each other up before a third member, initiate number two-nine-eight-seven-seven joined the party in the light circle to his right. Naruto almost failed the "thou shalt not speak" test when he recognized her chakra and it took a supreme effort not to blurt out and ask Ino why she was there. Naruto instead nodded once to her and snapped his head back to the table and its distinguished panel. At least she nodded back.
He noticed Dragon's head tilt ever so slightly to the right before it was gone and the Hokage started speaking.
"You three are called here because of expressed interest in this elite branch of shinobi service. Through varies means, your skills have been found worthy of the opportunity to vie for inclusion into this selective group of our very best. You will treat this as the high-level secret mission that it is knowing that not only your potential career path is on the line," the old man paused to take in their individual presences, "but that your very lives depend on the outcome." Once the seriousness of the event sunk in, he motioned for Iruka to continue.
"Earlier this evening, Teams Seven and Nine returned from a C-Class escort mission to protect the bridge builder Tazuna." An image appeared in the air behind the table. Naruto ignored the projector beams coming from behind him instead taking note of the shuffling feet to his left. "The mission has been categorized as a complete failure." The image flickered to show Tazuna's body mounted up on a cross in the town square of a small village. The amount of blood running down his body indicated death was at least relatively fast.
"Reports indicate that the teams encountered a high-level Kiri nukenin who used a 'bait and switch' tactic to gain the upper hand and secure the target ensuring his death. Once Gato of Gato Corporation gained the advantageous position, the situation devolved into the current state of affairs." The Chunin looked up and motioned for someone to join them.
"Here to share pertinent mission details, we have the Jounin sensei of Team Seven to explain." Iruka took his seat as Kakashi Hatake stepped up next to the table.
Flashback no Jutsu – Team Tazuna
Lee returned rather quickly with Tenten's abandoned scroll and a note. The note simply stated:
"The kunoichi is now in my custody. If you want her back, bring the bridge builder to the bridge tomorrow morning at 9:00. No games, no tricks, no shinobi business or I keep her, use her, then hand her over to Gato's men for their sport. If you're lucky, there'll be enough to take home and bury."
~ Demon of the Mist
Combined Team Tazuna sat flabbergasted. Their mission had barely started and already things had taken a turn towards the really crappy. As to be expected, Tazuna's family did not take well to the development, especially with Tazuna arguing that it was their duty to put their lives on the line for him.
The next morning, Team Tazuna found themselves in a standoff atop his very creation meant to save his town.
"Copy Nin Kakashi, I'm honored to see you again." The smirking nukenin wearing cow-themed camouflage had his head wrapped below the bridge of his nose in bandages but you could tell he was enjoying his moment in the spotlight. He had his zanbatu held up against Tenten's neck and the younger mask-wearing shinobi standing on her other side had a number of senbon pressed up against the skin of her neck from behind.
"Wish I could say the same, Zabuza Momochi." All of the Genin in Team Tazuna tensed.
"Ah-ah-aaaaaaah! Everyone should just relax, and we'll wrap things up here real quick like." Once no one darted off across the bridge, Zabuza beckoned with his free hand.
"Send the bridge builder over. I need to get paid so I can be on my way." After a few tense moments, Kakashi gave a heavy sigh before shoving the nervous and blubbering Tazuna forward. He made it half way before exploding into a cloud of smoke.
Their first plan, to use a henged clone, didn't get very far as senbon littered the doppelganger before it could cross the semi-complete structure.
"I thought you were a man of honor, Sharingan no Kakashi. It seems I'll be leaving then." Kakashi tried to stall for time to come up with something viable.
"Surely there can be something we can agree to. It doesn't have to be this way." The Nukenin laughed.
"What way? You mean the way involving me beating you in a match of wits, Kakashi?" His laughter the second time around was anything but friendly. "You had your chance. I guess we'll have to cross blades next time old boy." Gai tensed preparing to charge and Zabuza pointed a finger his way making him freeze on the spot.
"You really must want her to die now." Kakashi realized that the situation was deteriorating.
"You know we can't give him up!" Zabuza shrugged uncaringly.
"Not my problem. See ya 'round, old boy." They started to back away when Tazuna's voice rang out.
"I'll go!" Everyone turned to face the tired looking old man. "It's not fair that her young life should end for mine."
He began walking forward. With a defeated look into Kakashi's sole eye, the old man smiled then soberly walked to his death. He paused when a senbon struck his shoulder, but it was a minor wound. Hissing through his teeth, he stopped halfway and waited until the masked Kiri nin walked forward with the bun-haired girl for the exchange. He smiled at the teary-eyed kunoichi before shooing her along like the loving grandfather he could be. She wasn't much older than his grandson, for that matter.
He never made it to the far end of the bridge. As Gai and Kakashi prepared to dash off to retrieve him, a kunai flew across the divide and struck him in the throat. Tazuna fell to his knees then gurgled and choked to death on the bridge he vowed to give his life in order to build.
The masked nin dashed off to reappear next to his master having completed his task. Zabuza's smile never waned.
"Our business is done, Kakashi. No hard feelings?" Kakashi's hands tightened on the kunais that magically appeared in his grip.
"No, no hard feelings at all." The cyclops raised his head band revealing his red orb with three twirling tomoes. "You're going to die today so I'm feeling pretty forgiving." Suddenly both sides were alert and preparing to charge when the oddest thing happened.
Everyone heard the sound of clapping, a steady rhythmic beat divided by a quiet moment of space as short, stubby hands worked their way apart before slapping fleshy palms together again and again and again.
"Gato?" Zabuza could only spare a quick glance but the arrival of this midget of a fat man sporting the expensive suit and a crown of orange hair extending in random directions was a surprise. So was his contingent of authentic samurai mercenaries, a Jounin equivalent leader and four initiates. Zabuza grimaced in distaste.
"Well done, Zabuza. Well done indeed. You got the job done and saved me the need to pay you to boot." Zabuza's frown was pretty clear at that point.
"You dirty bastard!" he spat out from underneath his wrappings. The fat man merely cackled with glee.
"Come now, surely you expected this? Do you know how expensive you nukenin shinobi are?" he happily chirped out as he motioned to the smirking ronin who were easing out their blades with practiced thumbs.
"These guys work for much more reasonable rates."
Flashback no Jutsu – Team Tazuna – Kai!
"From there, things devolved into a free-for-all. We tried to exfiltrate while Gato's fledgling samurai engaged both shinobi forces. During the scuffle, we saw Zabuza and the ronin lead severely wound each other. Gai and I were able to kill two of the lesser ronin and remove our team from the situation before serious injury could occur. Unfortunately, we've no idea what the status of remaining combatants are."
"Thank you, Jounin Kakashi," Iruka piped in. Everyone turned to the trio in the hot spots. "Is there anything you wish to know before we release Mr. Hatake?" The hand signs started flying from two of the hopefuls.
29666: [Anticipated number of bandits in Gato's employ?]
29877: [Status of non-hostile morale in country?]
29666: [Loyalty of hostile forces?]
29877: [Availability of adaptive infrastructure?]
29666: [Status of friendlies?]
Everyone else turned to look at the still silent member of the trio to see if he had more to ask but only taciturn silence met their glances. Kakashi took the break in hand signs to answer verbally.
"In order, we estimated just over a thousand thugs and bandits in his employ, none of which possess significant combat power other than maximum density. Morale in Nami is broken and the people are unlikely to rise up unless an organization supports them against their oppressors. Hostiles appear to be loyal so long as money, booze, and female entertainment remain available to them. There isn't much for you to scavenge from the land as anything helpful has been either consumed or appropriated. As Gato's men aren't much for fishing, there is some relief available there. Finally, assume no friendlies remain; Tazuna's family was our only support base and you can guess where those ties lie now."
The two active initiates bowed to the Jounin before turning their eyes back to the table.
"Your handler for this mission will be Agent Hebi-002." Naruto's teeth clenched as Anko stepped forward. He was expecting to have to work with her at some point, but this was… unfortunate.
"She will provide you with the particular mission details from here on out." The old man stood and was joined by the entire panel.
"Good luck, soldiers." All of them body flickered away leaving Hebi and Dragon. The snake ANBU stepped forward looking none too pleased.
"I'll keep this easy. You work for me, roaches. Your world stops with me. Disobey my orders or give me shit, and I'll kill you myself and worry later about whether or not to bury you or leave your carcasses for wild animals." Her ANBU masked panned all three faces.
"Our mission is to assassinate this Gato person. We will infiltrate Nami proper. We will remain unseen. We will achieve the mission and leave without a trace. Questions?"
The talkative ones immediately began signing for things like Rules of Engagement, limits of acceptable collateral damage, and Rights of Conquest. Hebi ignored them all.
"None? Good. We have a five-day window to get this done. Let's get moving. "
~III~