Hello all, Back again with another chapter. I wanted to thank you all so much for the support. I love reading the reviews and watching the view count rise. I am going to try and keep the chapters around this long from now on, no longer short like the first few chapters so I hope that works for you all.
I also wanted to explain why i chose to write this story, Naruto and Sasuke are supposed to be reincarnations just like Hashirama and Madara were. But why does Sasuke have all the powers of his previous reincarnations but Naruto doesnt. I found that to be a pretty big plothole and I wanted to fix that. The Wood style was used by Ashura and Hashirama so it would stand to reason that Naruto shouldve been able to use it as well.
I dont own naruto or any characters assosiated.
After another boring D rank mission Naruto was about to explode, he had waay too much that he needed to do today, clean his new home for it to be livable. He needed to try and use his new jutsu. Thank god for clones thought Naruto, or he would never get everything done in time. First things first, he needed cleaning supplies, from all the D missions they had been doing he had a little bit saved up and without paying for his apartment that would open up a big chunk of his budget open. He didn't plan to pay for next month so he had a lot to use. After a quick shopping trip which he knew he was being overcharged for he went back to his new home. He made a few clones to deal with the cleaning, he hoped his clones couldn't hold grudges because he was working them to the bone, or really to the branches. He snickered at his own joke and he went to the training field.
On his way there he felt like he was punched in the gut. He looked around and there want anybody there, he heard a groan and looked down. There was the cause of his pain, a small kid must have run into him for some reason. He picked the kid up and dusted him off "You okay kid?" The kid looked up at the wall he had just run into and his eyes focused on the forehead protector.
"You" Pointing at Naruto "You're a ninja right, a perfect subject to test my skills on. Eat this." A slow punch came towards Naruto, 'is this it?' Naruto thought as he grabbed the kid's arm and bonked him on the head.
"Don't punch random people squirt." Still holding one of the kids arms as the kid rubbed his head in pain. He looked at the ninja who had just beat him up. "You- You just hit me." Looking dumbly at Naruto as if that wasn't even an option.
Just then another person ran around the corner "Honorable Grandson there you are, What are you doing with the honorable grandson?" The Jonin had been tasked to teach him to become a ninja like he wanted but he just kept running away. Konohamaru grinned, when people learned who he was he was always apologized to. It was going to be sweet to see the ninja who hit him beg him not to tell his grandpa. "Unhand the Honorable grandson now!"
Naruto barked out a laugh "I don't care if this kids the king of the world, don't punch people." And with that gave him another bonk on his head and let go of the kids arm. Konohamaru had never met someone this strong and it didn't seem like he cared who he was. That settled it, he was going to be his sensei no matter what. All he needed to do was ditch the guy with glasses again and he would learn to be a ninja to become Hokage.
Scene break
The scroll had contained a C rank jutsu in it and he was ready. It would hopefully replace his throwing weapons because those were super expensive right now and it said would help him learn to use Wood style in combat better. He looked over the scroll again, it looked like it was just like the clones jutsu but less work. He wouldn't have to focus as much as it was a combat jutsu and could even make hand weapons, though the scroll said that was a ways off. The Woot Style Cutting Jutsu was supposed to use wood created from his hands to make weapons. He could make a spikes and shoot them at enemies or use them in his hands like a kunai. He knew he was sorely lacking long ranged attacks and this would fill that void quite nicely he thought.
He went through the hand signs and felt a sharp pain in his hands. He looked at them and just like the clones jutsu, wood was forming from his hands. He knew he wasn't used to it but damn that hurt. He turned his hand away from the goods, mainly his face, and thrust them forward waiting for them to fly from his hands into the training dummy. He pushed and instead of flying they dropped to the ground in front of him. Creating them wasn't that hard but making them fly wasn't going to be easy. But he wasn't going to quit now, he was Naruto Senju.
Hours passed until Naruto could finally make them explode from his hands and hit a target 50 feet away. He thought it was so much easier to aim than kunai and shuriken, all he needed to do was face his hand at the enemy and bam, problem solved. The scroll mentioned that he could activate the wood once it hit someone kinda like how you triggered a paper bomb but when he tried nothing really happened. He inspected the wooden missile and saw that it indeed grew but nothing like how it was supposed to. He kept trying and nothing was happening, he really thought he was ready for it but maybe he wasn't. He fell back and sat down, annoyed that he wasn't getting anywhere.
"You know, you've only been using Wood style for a few weeks. Give it some time, I'm sure you'll get it." Naruto spun around to see Yamato watching him from the tree line. Finally he would get some answers, he had looked for this guy for the last few weeks but no one knew him. "And before you ask, I cant tell you anything right now. I will, but for now I wont." Naruto was steaming, he finally had the guy and he wasn't going to tell him anything.
"Fine, why are you here then?" If he wasn't going to answer him he didn't need him there. With all those scrolls he had he was his own teacher. Yamato could see his frustration, after a long day that ended in failure, his presence would only annoy the shit out of Naruto, especially if he could sate his curiosity.
"I'm here to make sure you don't kill yourself. You're working with a dangerous, and mostly unknown style." He wasn't going to mention the tailed beast inside him, the Hokage was worried about how the wood style might react with the Kyubbi chakra. It was the Mokuton that captured the beast so it was safe to say it probably held a grudge. Besides if he could help he would, he knew a decent amount of jutsu but it was nothing compared to what was in that library. Hopefully he wasn't stupid enough to try something like a S rank this early. So here he was, making sure nothing happened to Naruto, lucky he seemed to start off small, but he had no clue what jutsu he was using so he couldn't help much.
"I'm also here to teach you something new, if you want me to of course." Turning to walk away seeing if Naruto would take the bait. Naruto hated that he wouldn't talk but 2 jutsu in 1 day wasn't something he could pass up.
Naruto got back on his feet and began his hyper excited questions "Of course, what are you gonna teach me? Is it gonna be a S rank jutsu? I can learn it, believe it."
Yamato grabbed him to stop the tirade "Calm down Naruto, what I'm going to teach you isn't flashy or strong but in a pinch it can save your life. It will start teaching you how to use your chakra to make wood even in the barest of desserts. Watch closely. WOOD STLYE: FOUR PILLARS HOUSE JUTSU." He shouted as the ground began to rumbled under Naruto's feet. He worked to steady himself as the ground began to break apart. He looked towards Yamato locked in concentration and back towards the ground splitting like an earthquake. The ground opened up as a small wooden house rose from the ground. It was decked out with a window, porch, doors, and a small birdhouse attached to it. Yamato looked at his student "This jutsu will allow you to have a roof over your head no matter where you go, notice the details? The better you are at using the Mokuton, the more you can add. Go ahead an try."
Naruto looked at Yamato eyes narrowed. That proved that he could use Mokuton as well. If he hadn't already told him he wasn't going to talk he would be hammering him with questions right now. He looked at the house, it would be a useful thing to learn. When he was younger and camped out in the woods to get away from people, a roof would've been nice, especially when it rained. Naruto turned and focused on the seals required. He went through them and slammed his hands to the ground. The ground rumbled and just like before the ground was opened up as something emerged. When Naruto picked his hands off the ground and breathed in a tired breath he looked at what was supposed to be a house. His house could barely be called that, it looked nothing like what Yamato had made. Misshapen walls and a leaky roof it was a miracle it was still standing. It was more like a shack that someone forgot about rather than a house. He looked to Yamato "Why does mine suck?"
Yamato was laughing, he didn't expect it to be this bad. He did well to make the wood but it was brittle and looked rotted.
He wiped a tear form his eyes "The more comfortable you get with the Mokuton the better it will be. As I said earlier, you have only used wood style for a few weeks, it took me years to get it looking that way." With this he would learn to better shape and manipulate wood. It would only make later and more powerful jutsu easier to do if he stuck at it. Now that he was more than proficient in growing plants from seeds, it was now time for him to begin growing something from nothing. It was harder and took a lot of chakra and I mean a lot. He himself couldn't use many jutsu like that but Naruto could. With how he attacked training and how excited he was to learn, he could rival Hashirama someday.
"Keep practicing Naruto, when you can comfortable make a decent house the Hokage has allowed me to show you some new wood jutsu."
SCENE BREAK
Sasuke couldn't believe it, these kind of missions were below him and his sensei was really getting on his nerves. Delivering packages was not in his plan for becoming stronger, he could hardly wait until he could train again after a mission. Kakashi arriving hours late half the time was just the cherry on top of it. As he and his team sat again waiting for Kakashi sensei to arrive he swore he was going to lose it.
"Do you guys think Kakashi will ever be on time." Kiba laid down on the ground with Akamaru sleeping on his stomach, he cursed his luck that he had to get stuck with a sensei who was always late and didn't teach them anything. It had almost been a month since they became ninja and he was getting real sick of D ranks. After weeks of complaining Kakashi had finally promised that they would get a C rank mission soon so now it was simply a waiting game until then.
He rubbed Akamaru's head as he slept and breathed in deep. He couldn't smell his sensei so that meant probably another hour of waiting. His teammates were honestly the worst part so far, one was a antisocial asshole who barely spoke. The other was a bitch who could barely tell a kunai from her own forehead but she had a mean right hook. Thank god he had Akamaru or he would go insane from being with the three stooges.
Kakashi thought about his team finally making his way over to them only an hour late this time. Two heavy hitters and one support wasn't a bad team make up but they still struggled to actually function as a team. Sakura was struggling to bloom as a ninja and so far was behind her teammates in skill as she didn't have any jutsu to fall back on. The fact that she didn't seem to train on her own was also an issue but a close call was all she really needed to set her straight. Sasuke and Kiba's jutsu didn't match very well and they hit each other as much as they hit him. But today they would be providing support on a C rank, he hoped that this would be the catalyst for his team to click together as the D ranks only seemed to make them worse.
His team right now was probably the worst of the genin teams this year, that fact shocked him. Kuranai had already created a team out of her genin and their personalities matched well. 3 shy and somewhat outcasts were able to click together and she had bragged that they had already created their own combo jutsu. Asuma managed to get a C rank mission already and was bragging about it, that was his mission for his team. They were to provide support for Asuma as the mission rank had been upgraded to B rank. He would have to work hard to make sure his team survived this but it would be a good chance to compare their growth to another teams. That just might make them get a fire under their asses. It helped that his team were somewhat rivals to team 10, maybe he show them chakra control when they got there if he had time. It was always fun to see genin fall from the treetops like acorns.
Kakashi waved as he walked towards his team, hopefully they aren't too mad at me today, but at least I have something to cheer them up.
A few hours ago with team 10
Asuma looked at his team who were jumping with joy, he finally was happy with their progress and was ready to let them try a C rank mission as a treat. After calming Naruto down he brought his team before the Hokage for the debriefing.
Hiruzen was happy he finally had an excuse to get rid of the drunk who never stopped complaining. It should be an easy mission for the team to start off with C ranks. He felt like the old man was holding back information from him but he shrugged it off. Asuma would be able to take care of whatever came up, if not he would send a backup team if he had to for support. Not many teams were available today but he was confident they could handle it. "Good morning team 10, you have been cleared to accept C rank missions by your sensei." Naruto let out a holler and yelled out believe it like usual. "Your mission is to escort a builder to the Land Of Waves and protect him while he finishes his project. Once that is done collect your payment and return. Bring him in please." He commanded, the faster Tazuna was gone the better.
Tazuna took one look at the so called ninja before him and barked out a laugh "Are you serious? This is the team of professional ninja that are going to protect me? They're just little kids, they probably couldn't protect their own lunch money." He started to laugh so hard he bent over, but when he tried to stand back up he couldn't, he struggled but couldn't control his own body. He was forced to straighten his back and saw that his shadow was longer and came to a stop at one of the kids he was laughing at. The pony tailed brat bent down and he was forced to comply, just what in the hell was going on.
It was like looking in a mirror as he was forced to copy every action the little brat did. "What are you doing to me?" He was scared, he couldn't control his actions anymore, the kid didn't answer he just took out a blade and put it out straight on front of him. He was about to ask what the hell he was doing until he took a step forward. He took step after step closer to impaling himself on the kids knife. "Alright stop stop I get it." Once he said that he fell to the floor much like a puppet getting his strings cut.
"We might be kids but we are ninja, we can take care of anything g that comes up, however troublesome it is." Shikamaru was annoyed. He had just had to use a chunk of his chakra to shut the old drunk up, hopefully for the whole trip if he was lucky. Asuma was impressed, Shikamaru rarely showed anything like that before. It might've only been to shut the old fart up but it was a start at least.
"What Shikamaru means to say is that even as kids they are trained to kill. Don't underestimate them as enemies might, it will be their mistake. All right team, grab anything else you might need for a 3 week mission and meet at the front gate in 1 hour. Dismissed." The 3 genin left the building, before Naruto and Ino could jump away to head home Shikamaru stopped them.
"Grab all the paper bombs you have, both of you. I have an idea on how to use them if we need them." They thought it was an odd request but agreed nevertheless. He was the smartest on the team, they couldn't even beat Asuma at Shoji let alone Shikamaru, plus his plan helped them pass Asuma's first test so when he made a plan it was usually good.
Ino ran home to tell her parents that she was finally going on a C rank mission and that it could take a few weeks to finish. Her father made sure she was packed for such a mission sneaking in a few more rations in her pack as her mother tried to squeeze her to death. She never liked camping so she made sure to grab her pillow as she escaped her mothers grasp. He backpack was stuffed to the brim and heavy as hell but thankfully they would be at walking pace. She started to make her way to the front gate to meet with her sensei.
Naruto rushed home and entered the compounds weapons room. He didn't see the need for kunai anymore but grabbed a pack just in case. He really wanted to bring one of the swords there but he would more likely cut himself before hitting an enemy. Once his weapon pouch was set he grabbed a scroll he was planning to learn that afternoon. If he had time he might be able to try it especially if he was going away for a few weeks. He pumped some chakra into his plants to make sure they wouldn't die while he was away and headed out the door. This was his chance to prove what he was made of. It was more than likely that he would be in combat during the mission and he was determined to start out strong. He also made his way towards the gate to start the escort.
Shikamaru headed back home at a leisurely pace, it was going to be a long day, no need to waste energy now while he had time. He lazily packed his bag with as little as he could until his mom checked it before he left. After a quick scolding he was forced to repack, rubbing his ear all the while. From his mother he received a kiss goodbye and a warning to do his best, his father just gave him a good luck like usual. He smirked as he left as his mother began yelling at his dad for his lackluster goodbye. A few weeks without hearing loss sounded really good, even if he was working the whole time. Hopefully it would be a relaxing mission but lady luck never blessed him so he readied himself as he made it to the gate.
Scene break
Team 10 made their way down the road in a diamond formation. Naruto was in the front, Ino and Skikamaru in the side while Asuma watched them in the back. Tazuna was settled in the middle where he was the most protected. It was a clear day as they walked as birds chirped and the wind blew. Ino concentrated as she focused on trying to sense any chakra in the woods besides them. She was the most sensitive to chakra signatures out of all of them. She could easily pick out Naruto from wherever he was hiding and was practicing trying to find hiding signatures. She was concentrating trying to sense something while her teammates were bored. So far she hadn't felt anything. Asuma sensei had told her that it would be that easy because Naruto had a lot of chakra but this was hard. She supposed that it was a good thing that she didn't sense anybody because that meant that the VIP was safe but she felt dumb.
Naruto was dead bored, he wasn't allowed to talk as Ino needed to learn how to sense people and she made it clear that he was to quote 'SHUT THE HELL UP NAURTO'. So far all they had done was walk, they couldn't even pick up the pace because the bridge building wasn't able to keep up. If he was stronger he would just carry the old man at this point because this sucked. They made their way into a valley until Asuma broke the silence "Ino, do you feel that?" Ino, having her concentration broken by Asuma shut her eyes and focused. She could barely sense it but on both their sides it felt like someone was doing something. "I feel 2 people on either side but I don't know what they are doing or where they are."
The team got their weapons out and got into a ready stance. Each genin had thoughts racing through their heads. This was their first real combat situation and sweat dripped down from their faces. Ino was shaking, she was scared, she knew she wasn't a very good fighter and was scared about what was going to happen. Shikamaru was in much the same place as her, he was running through all the possibilities and couldn't focus.
Water began trickling down the sides of the hills from the woods on their sides and rushed over their feet. This wasn't normal water but man made as it felt heavier. It wasn't very much but enough to cover their ankles as they shook. Naruto was also nervous but in a different way. The thought of a fight didn't scare him but the thought that ninja like Asuma attacking him scared him. He was the fighter of the group but couldn't make hand sighs for clones his hands were shaking so bad. More water was rushing down the hills as the water rushed at their feet heading towards lower ground down the road.
Asuma had already made a clone and was watching from the trees, he would jump in if things went bad but this was a make or break moment for a ninja. This was a pivotal moment in a ninja career, it was the moment they decided whether or not they were cut out for this. He couldn't make this decision for them, to be a ninja was to face death every day and not cower under it. They had a mission to do and if they cowered in the face of death now, they would forever cower under the pressure. Too many of his friends died from their teammates running away and abandoning them under this kind of pressure. He prayed that they would snap out of it and become the ninja he knew they could be.
2 laughs sounded through the forest as more water rushed downhill. It sounded as if a waterfall was on top of them. The genin looked besides them as 2 ninja both wearing helmets and gauntlets with sharp claws tore into their sensei. They seemed to skate on the water as their sensei fell, dead into the water. The ninja seemed to skate on the top of the water moving faster than a normal person could run. The 2 ninja separated with a long spiked chain connecting them. "Now for the kiddies." They rushed towards the genin as something clicked in their minds.
Tazuna was deathly afraid. The ninja that was supposed to protect him crumpled to the floor in a bloody heap as the 2 assassins ran towards him. Now he would never save his village but death never came. Instead, the three kids that he mocked ran into action as he cowered on his butt in the water.
As the ninja came towards them Naruto, Ino and Shikamaru all jumped into action. The switch was flicked, they wouldn't die without a fight as they put their training to use. Naruto and Ino threw a paper bomb wrapped kunai at the two ninja rushing them as Shikamaru got ready. The bombs exploded in a rain of water that showered them all. The dust cleared to reveal no one as they must have switched out to avoid the attack. Naruto turned his head looking for some sign of the 2 assassins as Ino concentrated hoping to sense them before they attacked. Ino's eyes widened and shouted "SHIKAMARU BELOW US!"
"TOO LATE" The figures shouted as they emerged or rather exploded from the water in front of Tazuna looking to wrap him in the chain and tear him to pieces. They almost made it to him before they were both stopped in their tracks, unable to slash the target right in front of them. "What the hell?" They looked down and both their shadows were black as night. Shikamaru sighed in relief kneeling down in the water hand in a sign "Shadow possession complete."
Asuma jumped from his perch proud that his team passed the final test of a ninja, staring death and refusing to blink. "Good job Shikamaru. Naruto, Ino, wrap them up and contain them." Naruto looked at Shikamaru who was still holding them with his jutsu and felt bad. He didn't do anything. Ino had been able to detect where they were and Shikamaru had been able to catch them but what did he do? Throw a singe paper bomb. If it weren't for his team Tazuna would have died and he couldn't stop it.
He was supposed to be better than that, he had the Mokuton dammit, so why didn't he do more. Was he that far behind the others that he was weighing them down. He looked down at his feet feeling useless until a hand fell on his shoulder. He looked back and Asuma was standing behind him. "You reacted Naruto, that's more than enough for now. This wont be the last fight this mission so prepare yourself for that."
The two brothers had never failed before, and these kids hadn't even broken a sweat. "How did you get us both?" He still couldn't believe they both got caught. Ino wrapped them in ninja wire.
"You two were dumb enough to connect yourself with that chain. All I needed to do was hit the chain you were using to connect both of your shadows." Asuma wrapped him on the back of his head, cant let them get too cocky.
"Tazuna, I think its time for you to explain yourself. Its either that or we leave you to fend for yourself, you didn't pay for us to fight ninja." His team had done well this time but the Demon brothers were high chunin level at best, no telling what else they might have to face.
Tazuna knew he was in the wrong, in other ninja villages lying on a mission like that would see him killed. "I cant pay for a higher ranked mission above C. My country has been gutted by Gato, we can barely feed ourselves. He has taken control over all imports to the country and is charging absurd prices. Our only hope is for me to complete the bridge. With the bridge up we no longer will have to be bound by his reign." He prayed that they would still help him, this was his last resort.
Asuma sighed, he didn't like leaving people in pain like that whole country was but he had a duty to protect his genin first over a C rank mission. He would struggle to protect the client and his team if higher ranked ninja got involved and with how rich Gato sounded, it was only a matter of time until that happened. "Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, its your choice, do you want to continue the mission? Keep in mind its going to be a lot more dangerous."
Naruto spoke before his teammates could "You better believe we are, we can't just leave now that we know what they are going through. Don't worry Mr bridge builder, we will protect you until you finish your bridge." Shikamaru facepalmed and Ino crossed her arms. That was pretty much their answer as well but Naruto as usual just blurted it out.
He knocked the ninja out with a chop to their necks "Naruto make a few clones." Naruto formed 3 clones and they all waited for orders from Asuma. "One of you report back to the Hokage, this mission just got upgraded in rank to at least a B. These two are in the bingo book, the Demon Brothers. Request reinforcements." The clone he looked at jumped away running for the leaf village. "You two, watch them until someone comes to collect them, kill them if needed but try to leave one for Ibiki." It seemed that bandits weren't the only thing that was a problem. Now they had registered ninja coming for them, and if these two were the first round, he worried about who would come later.
"Well then, lets get moving."
There we have it, the start of the land of waves. How will Naruto face down Haku and Zabuza, what plan does Shikamaru have? PLease tune in next chapter for the full story.