I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ITS CHARACTERS ALL RIGHTS BELONG WITH KISHIMOTO, VIZ MEDIA, AND SHONEN JUMP. PLEASE SUPPORT THE ORIGINAL RELEASE!
Welcome back to the story everyone! Sorry for the day late chapter. I had another long essay to write. Things are heating up some with the Land of Waves Arc. Just a heads up, I will not be jumping straight into the Chunin Exams arc after this Arc. That will come after a made-up arc I've started to design, which I'll need your vote for. With that being said let's get on into this chapter!
Arc: Land of Waves
Chapter 12: Journey to the Wave!
"Welcome back Team Seven. I take it you want another D Rank?" Iruka asked.
"Nah, we are here for that C Rank mission now." Naruto stated.
"C Rank? Kakashi is that so?" Iruka asked.
"Yeah, give us the first one and that'll do." Kakashi said as he waved Iruka off.
"Alright, your mission is to protect and escort the master bridge builder from the Land of Waves." Iruka said.
The bridge builder walked in and seen the so called "ninjas". "I hired actual ninjas. Not a daycare!" A man yelled. "This is ridiculous!" The bridge builder yelled.
"I'll have you know that we are the top-of-the-line Genin team featuring myself as the Last Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Genius of knowledge, and the unpredictable ninja known as only Naruto Namikaze, son of the Fourth Hokage." Sasuke stated to the old man.
"So two orphans and a know it all?" The old man asked. "Wonderful." He spoke.
"Orphans? You do realize your life is in our hands, no?" Naruto asked. "I think insulting your security detail isn't smart." Naruto explained. "But what do I know? I'm just an orphan of the strongest Ninja to grace the 5 elemental nations in the last two decades." Naruto stated.
"Now now let's all calm down." Kakashi stated. "Your name sir?" Kakashi asked the bridge builder.
"My name is Tazuna." He replied. He finished taking the last sip of his sake.
"Okay, Tazuna we will meet you at the front gate tomorrow morning. I have to instruct my team on the procedures that are to be followed at all times and then to pack their bags." Kakashi stated.
"Alright. See ya later 'best Genin team'." Tazuna said with a mock.
"Why that old man should just kick rocks!" Naruto yelled out. "Who the hell does he think he is?" Naruto asked his team.
"Tazuna. The master bridge builder of the Wave." Kakashi replied with an eye smile.
Sasuke smirked and Sakura giggled. Naruto looked fiercely at the cyclops ninja.
"Let's go guys." Kakashi motioned out the door.
Team Seven went outside back to training grounds seven. They all took a seat while Kakashi got ready to speak.
"This will be your first time out the village. There are rules and regulations to be followed." Kakashi stated as he pulled out three pieces of paper. He passed it out to his Genin and started to read the following:
"Rule 1: You are to communicate with your team at all times so we know where each person is.
Rule 2: There is absolutely no splitting up unless we are attacked by enemy ninja.
Rule 3: You are to follow your captain's order, that being me, to the letter. No ifs, buts, or whys.
Rule 4: At night, each one of us will have a shift to stay up and watch. There is absolutely no sleeping during your shift. If for some reason you do, you will be punished severely.
Rule 5: You are to protect the item, or person, of interest, this one being Tazuna, with your lives.
Do I make myself clear on this?" Kakashi asked after going over the rules.
"Yes Sensei." The trio said.
"Good, now go home and pack everything you'll need for at least one week." Kakashi told his students.
"Hai!" The three said as they went their separate ways.
Naruto walked back to his apartment planning on what he would need for his C Rank mission. I would need to pack at least 3 outfits, a medical kit, kunais and shurikens, plain seals, pencils, and- Naruto was broken out of his thoughts as he bumped into a girl his height.
"N-Naruto-kun! I'm s-s-sorry." The pale girl apologized.
Naruto looked at the girl who was looking nervous. "Hey Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed. "What's going on? How are you?" He asked.
"I'm do-do-doing well." Hinata said while tapping her fingers together. "Wh-what a-are you up too?" she timidly asked.
"Oh that's right! I'm supposed to be getting my stuff ready for my first C Rank mission!" Naruto exclaimed.
C Rank mission? Already? We have only been Genin for two months. The girl thought. She looked back at Naruto who as talking still.
"-yeah so, we could go at like 6pm if that's okay with you." Naruto stated.
We? Go? 6pm? Is he asking me out on a date? She thought. "Wait...wh-What?" Hinata asked him.
"I said I thought maybe we could go to Ichir-" Naruto was cut off by someone yelling.
"Hey Hinata! Let's go! Kurenai-Sensei got us a mission to do!" Kiba yelled with Akamaru barking next to him.
"Oh, well I'll see you later Hinata." Naruto said as he waved and ran off.
Damn it! Hinata thought to herself. She walked up to Kiba. "Hey, Kiba?" She spoke.
"What is it Hinata?" The dog owner asked.
"Next time you see me with Naruto, please just go away." Hinata said as kindly as possible.
Kiba sat there with a dumbfounded look on his face while Akamaru barked at him.
Naruto finally arrived at his apartment and got a book bag and storage scrolls. Naruto packed the essentials he thought of earlier and got to his desk to start studying the seal Sasuke gave him.
This seal is oddly complicated. I wonder if I would need the Sharingan to even make a seal like this open. Maybe The Kyubi knows something. How would I even communicate with it though. Naruto thought to himself.
Naruto concentrated on his own seal on his belly and tried to contact the Kyubi.
"What is it that you want brat?" The mighty fox asked.
"You're pretty old, would you know how to unlock Sasuke's seal from the Uchiha compound?" Naruto asked the beast.
"Even if I did know, why would I want to help a member of the clan who fated me to this prison?" The Kyubi roared out.
"I thought my father sealed you in me?" Naruto asked.
"There's plenty you don't know. Now leave my sight!" The angry fox roared again.
"Jeez, you would think he would like to have company around after being by himself for 12 years." Naruto commented under his breath as he left his mindscape. Naruto started to study his teammate's clan's seal. Why is it now of all times I can communicate with the Nine Tails? It has been sealed inside me all my life and I haven't seen him once until this week. I guess it's back to the drawing board with this stupid eight trigrams seal. Naruto thought to himself.
With Sarutobi
Hiruzen Sarutobi was looking through his window to watch over the village. He was currently waiting for one of his top Jonin, Kakashi Hatake. He had heard of rumors happening in the Land of Waves but nothing concrete. He wished to talk to Kakashi before letting him bring the last Uchiha and Minato's son to a potential early death.
"So, you've arrived." Hiruzen spoke, still looking out of the window.
"Yes sir, you wanted to talk?" The copy ninja asked.
Hiruzen turned around to speak to the Jonin. "Yes, since Jiraiya has been stopping by more often with intel, he heard of a rumor in the Land of Waves. It may be a dangerous mission Kakashi, if that is the case. You are to retreat immediately. Naruto Namikaze and Sasuke Uchiha are going to become one of the stronger pillars of Konoha in the near future. Am I understood?" The Third asked.
"Yessir, I understand completely. If worse comes to light, my team and I will leave immediately." Kakashi answered.
"Hey Sensei!" Jiraiya bursted in.
Both Kakashi and the Hokage looked over at the Sannin.
"How is everything Lord Jiraiya?" Kakashi asked the man.
"It's going well. I'm writing the next Icha Icha novel now." Jiraiya stated.
"REALLY?" Kakashi uncharacteristically asked.
"That is truly wonderful Jiraiya. Did you recover any new information?" Hiruzen asked.
"Yeah, I did. Not on the Land of Waves though. My contact only lives nearby. However, I discovered a hidden Uzumaki Temple near the ocean. I was wondering if you'd allow me and Naruto to go check it out." Jiraiya informed The Hokage.
"Actually, Team Seven is going to escort a bridge builder to Land of Waves." Kakashi intervened.
"Oh okay, just be careful then. I'll go check it out and bring back whatever information I find." Jiraiya stated as he leaped through the window.
"Thanks for stopping by Kakashi. Get some rest and remember what I've said." The Hokage ordered.
Kakashi bowed and did as he was told.
Unknown Base
"It's not too cold in here. The means he should be relatively close." A man said. He walked in the corridors and met up with his partner.
"You never stated how strong the Nine Tails Jinchuriki was, Itachi." A big blue man spoke. The man had a smile on his face while he carried his wrapped-up sword.
"Naruto Namikaze is getting stronger by the day. His Jonin sensei was my captain in Konoha's Anbu. He is the copy ninja Kakashi Hatake. Approaching the target will be difficult as Naruto has surround himself with either Hatake, Jiraiya of the Sannin, or a sneaky man named Danzo Shimura." Itachi stated.
"Namikaze huh? That was the Fourth Hokage's name, right?" Kisame asked his partner.
"Yes, yes, it is. I believe he will become either the Fifth or Sixth Hokage at the rate he is going too. When it is time for us to go after the Nine Tails, we will need to use our brains and avoid a drawn-out fight with any of those three men." Itachi warned.
"Damn, just when I think I'll find entertainment," Kisame spoke. Kisame's next sentence was interrupted by another voice.
"Kissame Hoshigaki, Itachi Uchiha. What mighty company I have today." A man spoke out.
"Orochimaru." Itachi muttered.
Kisame turned to see the Snake Sannin. "Heh, I guess I was wrong. The entertainment has just arrived!" Kisame stated. Kisame charged in with his sword.
Konoha The Next Day
"So, we are all good to go then?" Kakashi asked his three students.
The trio nodded at their teacher and looked at the client.
"Yea, I'm ready as well. If we keep a good pace we should make it before the day is over." Tazuna said.
"Alright then, you heard the man let's go." Kakashi ordered.
The five people walked out the gates in a formation that had Sasuke and Naruto in the back, Sakura and Tazuna in the middle, and Kakashi at the front.
Naruto kept thinking over the three seals he was studying. Between my seal, Sasuke's seal, and Danzo's transmission seal, I'm being overwhelmed. I guess my seal isn't too important right now. Sasuke's will require time, but I should be able to do Danzo's now. Naruto thought as he pulled out the scroll with the knowledge on the Transmission seal.
Sasuke looked over and seen his blonde teammate reading a scroll. What's this idiot doing? We could be attacked any moment. Sasuke had thought. He leaned in next to Naruto.
"Yea?" Naruto asked.
"You should stay alert, you don't know what will come up and you will need to be on your A game." Sasuke whispered. He didn't want to get stuck doing D Ranks again. If my team does good, they'll have to send us on more C Rank missions. He thought to himself.
"I guess you're right. I'll have to save it for later I guess." Naruto stated.
Tazuna noticed Sakura looking ahead of her intensely. So, she's a serious ninja huh. He thought. He looked back towards Sasuke and Naruto who just got done talking. They should be powerful enough if Gato sends anyone. Hopefully. The Bridge Builder thinks.
Meanwhile Sakura Haruno was scared out her mind. This is crazy. I...I don't think I'm cut out for this. Leaving the confines of the Leaf Village is scary. This could be the day I die. She thought to herself. She remembered what Sasuke had said before, "I want to restore my clan." But... but I have to do this! Sasuke-kun needs me to do this! He will want a strong Kunoichi to bear his children. She continued to think.
Kakashi Hatake had his book in his pocket and kept walking in the formation. He knew the severity of tangling outside Konohagakure's walls. After all it's how his two teammates died, on the field. I promise Rin, Obito, and you too Sensei, I will protect my students no matter the costs. He thought to himself. He wasn't sure if Sakura was ready to be outside the Leaf's confinement, however he knew Sasuke and Naruto both were ready.
The 5 people kept walking on their route.
A puddle? Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto thought to themselves.
It hasn't rained in like a week. Naruto thought to himself.
That's when the "puddle" transformed into two shinobi. They launched after Kakashi Hatake with their chain and killed him.
"Ha! One down!" One of the two men stated.
"KAKASHI SENSEI!" The trío yelled.
The two shinobi ran to attack the remainder of Team Seven.
Sasuke and Naruto both stood their ground and countered the two shinobi.
Alright now! Naruto thought as he dodged a punch and placed a weight seal on the black caped ninja.
Sasuke kicked the one in tab before he reached for Sakura.
"What the hell is this thing?!" The black caped ninja shouted.
"That would be a weight seal. That's around 57 kilos. Good luck moving that arm!" Naruto said.
The other boy was getting back up and body flickered towards Tazuna. As he went for the killing blow he was intercepted by Kakashi's forearm knocking him out cold.
"Kakashi-Sensei!?" Sakura shouted in disbelief. "I thought you had died!" She yelled with some tears leaving her eyes.
"I would never allow myself to leave you three in danger. I just had to play some cards to see if the shinobi were after us or not." Kakashi stated.
"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked his teacher.
"He wanted to know if these guys were after us or Tazuna." Naruto answered.
"Correct. It would be weird for Mist Ninjas to attack Konoha ninja since they're in a civil war. So, I had to see what they wanted and sure enough it was Tazuna." Kakashi explained. "Now the question is why these two Chunin level ninja were after Tazuna, when the mission was about potential thieves and bandits." Kakashi stated while glaring at Tazuna.
"What are we going to do with them?" Naruto asked.
"Get some answers." Kakashi replied. The copy ninja approached the two downed shinobi and tied the unconscious one up. "These two are known as The Demon Brothers, Gozu and Meizu. They are classified as missing ninjas of Kirigakure. They're classified as such because they abandoned their village." Kakashi informed his students.
Kakashi looked at both men. "Gozu, why are you both after Tazuna?" Kakashi asked the caped ninja.
"We were hired. There's nothing else to say. The demon will deal with you Hatake!" Gozu said defiantly.
"Okay, that's fine. We will leave them here and I'll set a flare for Anbu to retrieve you." Kakashi stated.
The team watched their Sensei just walk away and wondered why he would do that.
"Tazuna, explain to me why they were after you or my team pulls the mission back to the Leaf." Kakashi threatened.
"I'm sorry!" The man cried out. "My country is incredibly poor, but all we could afford is a C Rank mission. You see, a man named Gato took over our country last year with his wealth and cut down on how we made our money." Tazuna explained.
"Gato? You mean the Gato from Gato Shipping Company?" Kakashi asked.
Gato shipping company? I'm sure I read about their business last year or close to that timeframe about their construction of three more massive ships. Naruto thought to himself.
"Yes, that Gato. He controls all the money in our small nation. I needed to hire Ninja to help guard us while we built a bridge so we can make money for ourselves and not be dependent on Gato." Tazuna stated.
"Well, the fact of the matter is you lied. Had you told the Hokage he could've managed something around so that you would be able to do this. Now you have my Genin squad out here risking their lives on something that's now considered a B or low A rank mission. I'm afraid we will have to pull from the mission." Kakashi stated.
"No, please! I'm begging you!" Tazuna cried out.
"I don't know Kakashi sensei. If it's unsafe, we should pull from the mission." Sakura stated.
"Yeah, but if the Wave fails in their mission of building their bridge, and everyone finds out they hired us, Konoha's stock with the smaller nations will go down. Which will hurt our economy." Naruto explained to everyone.
"I agree with Naruto, this mission just means I'll get to test myself further and get stronger." Sasuke said.
"Well, we're at an impasse. While I agree with Naruto's statement, we are still at risk." Kakashi said.
"Sakura, think of this man's family. They have been suffering for a year. We just handled two chunin. We should be fine." Sasuke stated. He really wanted to test his skill against more enemy ninja. He had too.
"Yeah, Tazuna, what kind of deal can you work out right now with us?" Naruto asked.
Everyone was shocked that Naruto inquired such information.
"If you four help me, I'll make sure the Wave signs a contract with Konoha for Trade Commerce for Protection." Tazuna stated.
"Okay, that should mean something Kakashi Sensei. Old man Hiruzen said we could never have too many allies and friends." Naruto said.
"Well, it's up to Sakura now." Hatake said while scratching the back of his head. Naruto, you'll make a great Hokage one day.
"I guess we should continue. It's only right to do this." Sakura stated. She still has her reservations. However, if Naruto and Sasuke both wanted to do this, then she will too.
Interesting. I'll have to let Zabuza-sama know about this. A thought from a masked individual.
Well, that's all for this chapter guys. As you can see, Kurama has now started to communicate with Naruto. Perhaps a backstory is in order to understand why I have that happening, so the next chapter: Side Character Stories III: The Boy and The Fox! Thanks for tuning in and remember to drop a vote for your favorite Kunoichi in the review section. Also remember to follow and favorite the story and myself as you will want to stay in the loop when I start making other stories. The voting progress as of now is:
Naruto X Haku (female)-8
Naruto X Hinata-11
Naruto X Ino-16
Naruto X Kurotsuchi-7
Naruto X Sakura-9
Naruto X Tayuya-8
Naruto X Temari-10
Naruto X Tenten-7
Here is an update on the voting poll. Every month the last two Kunoichis with the lowest amounts of votes will be eliminated. As of this story that would be Tenten and Kurotsuchi, which is honestly surprising since these are ships you see like that so I figured y'all would've liked that, oh well. Anyways, I got a basic idea how the next arc will go, however I need to figure out where to put it. I was thinking of three different areas. The ideas would be:
Land of Waterfalls- This introduces the Waterfall village and Konoha would experience some issues with Iwa. This would be the introduction for Fu as the Jinchuriki for the Waterfall village.
Land of Grass- would essentially introduce Kakuzu earlier than in Shippuden, and still Iwa would be having their issues with Konoha. P.S. I know Kakuzu is from Taki, he's claiming a bounty here, dawned in his Akatsuki robes.
Land of Iron- this would be Konoha retrieving some weapons from the Samurai, and I would have Iwa ambush them for the weapons. I would place Kakashi with Jiraiya to spy on the newly created Sound Village here. Perhaps a certain Jashinist would be picking up a special sycthe here.
As you can tell the main plot is Konoha Vs Iwa. I would send Team Seven (Kakashi) as back up for Team Ten (Asuma), there they would face off against Iwa's troops. This is essential to the plot to get Iwa to join the Chunin Exams 100% and align themselves with a certain Snake summoner as I've hinted at. This also would be great for Naruto X Ino and Naruto X Kurotsuchi. Naruto X Sakura could have hints in this arc as well. But either way the Arc will relatively go off the same way regardless of the were. The question is where you would like it to be, this is basically who you want to see. So, remember to vote for this as well and the way to vote is PM me or leave a review.
Posting Schedule for the foreseeable future until further notice
4/30 Chapter 13: Side Character Stories III
5/7 Chapter 14: The Demon of Kiri!
5/21 Chapter 15: Preparing for the Rematch!
5/28 Chapter 16: Haku's Purpose!
6/4 Chapter 17: Sharingan Awaken!
6/11 Chapter 18: Unleash the Demon Fox!
This will be the days these chapter release unless posted otherwise later on down the line. I'm considering joining my nation's Military this summer. If I do, I'll drop an update on what will happen with the story, it'll still go on until it's finished no matter what. We've come to far now. Well, see you in May.