Author's note: I'm back with the next chapter of Naruto of the Noh Masks! I apologize for the long hiatus, life this last year has been a real one. Thank you to everyone who has still liked and followed this story. I hope you enjoy the next chapter, and I should be returning to more regular posts now that my job situation has changed.

As a short recap: Naruto has begun learning the Uzumaki techniques from the scrolls in the hidden basement of the Uzumaki mask shrine, with help from Hinata, Guy, and Kakashi. He discovered his mother's name in a book of genealogy, and when he confronted the Hokage, Hiruzen decided to tell Naruto who his father was. This chapter will see the Team embark on the Wave Arc. I hope you enjoy, and as always, thank you for your support and kind reviews.

Naruto gazed out over the village from the top of the Fourth Hokage's carving in the Hokage Monument. The night air was cool and silent. The darkness was broken by the stars twinkling above and the few late lights burning in pale imitation in the village below. The moon had long since set in deference to the coming dawn. A faint breeze blew, tousling the young blond's hair affectionately, but the tranquility of the scene was a sharp juxtaposition to the swirling emotions he found himself once again battling.

Your father was Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage.

At first, Naruto had tried to deny it. How could he, the dead last knucklehead of the Academy, be the son of Yellow Flash, hero of the Third Ninja World War and widely regarded as one of the strongest shinobi to ever live? He had shaken his head in disbelief, but, for once, he could detect no hint of deceit in the Hokage's eyes. He had finally, finally, gotten the whole truth from the old man.

He didn't remember leaving the Hokage's office. He had no idea if the old man had said anything else or tried to stop him. Naruto simply turned and walked out the door. He couldn't think, he could barely breathe. He had no memory of his trek through the village, nor any idea how long he had been staring at the lights of the homes below. His mind was so engrossed in memories and emotions that he didn't notice the figure approaching him from his back until a large hand landed gently on his shoulder. Startled, he looked up to see spiky gray hair sprouting up behind a familiar orange-bound book.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?"

The lanky jonin lowered the book enough for Naruto to make out his customary eye-smile in the dim light, "Oh, just out for an afternoon stroll and got lost on the road of life."

A flash of irritation spiked through the numbness Naruto had been wrapped in since he'd left the Hokage's office, "You liar," he said, though without any heat as he turned back to his vigil. "And put that away. Even I'm not dumb enough to believe you can actually read in this light."

Kakashi sighed, conceding the point and returned the book to his pouch. Silence descended on the pair, broken by the soft murmur of the wind as it rustled the leaves awkwardly. Kakashi looked down, imagining the stone face on which they stood and the softer face that had inspired it.

"You know," he began, "Yondaime was my sensei once. A long time ago."

Naruto glanced at his teacher, but said nothing.

"Of course, this was before he became the Fourth Hokage. He was just a jonin, but he was already a brilliant ninja, one of the best seal masters the village has ever seen." Kakashi looked down at his blond-haired student, "Much of his skill with seals came from learning from Uzumaki Kushina, did you know? She taught him much of her clan style of Fuinjutsu. She wanted to preserve as much of her clan as she could, and she managed to save much more than I ever suspected."

Naruto turned to his sensei, shock plain on his face, "How did you-"

"How did I know Kushina-san taught Minato-sensei Uzumaki-style sealing?" Kakashi interrupted, "I just told you I was his student, didn't I? Learning clan techniques, especially ones as complex as sealing take a long time. Even when you have help," Kakashi gave him a pointed look, and Naruto shifted nervously. "Kushina-san would often visit the training ground where Minato-sensei taught us, and they would spar and work on their own techniques while we trained. It's hard not to watch when ninja of their caliber show off their skills."

Naruto wasn't sure what the Kakashi was doing, but decided to play along for now, since the jonin seemed to be in an oddly talkative mood.

"What were they like?" the whispered phrase carried equal parts hope and fear from the young ninja.

"Minato-sensei was always careful. He never did anything without reason. He was also very polite and respectful. He never bragged about his skills. Most of his exploits you are probably familiar with from your Academy studies," Kakashi looked to the young blond expectantly.

Naruto nodded. The lessons involving the Yondaime were some of his favorites and among the few he would actively participate in.

The one-eyed jonin continued, "Then I'll focus more on what I knew of him as a person. He was usually very quiet and serious, but he could get excitable when he was close to perfecting a new jutsu." Kakashi chuckled, "Kushina-san often called him 'an idiot genius.'"

Kakashi paused, temporarily lost in memories of his old team, his many failures. An impatient shuffle from his student brought his attention back to the present. His lone viable eye crinkled in a smile as he looked down at the blond.

"Minato-sensei was already one of the top jonin in the village when he began teaching my team, He was often called away on special missions during the War, but he always did whatever he could for us.

"As for Kushina-san, she was one of the kindest people I had ever met. She was one of the strongest kunoichi in the village. When she was younger, though, she was a fireball. Her first day in the Academy, she declared she would be the first female hokage. If it hadn't been for the Fourth, she would have had a real shot at it."

Kakashi looked down at his blond student, already so much a blend of his parents. The changes Naruto had been through in these last few days were remarkable. The responsibilities of inheriting not one, but two great legacies were a hotter refiner's fire for the young ninja than most could have anticipated. The silver-haired jonin prayed that it wouldn't burn his student to ash as he sought to live up to them.

Naruto open his mouth for more questions, but Kakashi interrupted again, placing his hand on the boy's head, "I think that's enough story-telling for tonight, Naruto. Why don't you head home now and get some sleep. You still have to meet with Guy in a couple of hours."

Naruto's face fell, and he shuddered briefly, but nodded. As he turned away to head back to the village, he paused.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," he whispered, without turning around. Then he left, back through the trees still rustling softly in the wind.

Kakashi didn't answer as took to boy's place at the cliff edge, staring up at the stars. After a few minutes, he felt the presence he had sensed before finally depart in the opposite direction from his blond student. Satisfied that nothing further needed his attention tonight, he vanished in a puff of smoke and swirl of leaves.

The next few weeks settles themselves in to a pattern of Naruto meeting with Guy and Lee each morning to practice his clan taijutusu, followed by training and missions with his team. Once the daily chore was completed, Naruto retreated to the Uzumaki shrine to continue working on his clan techniques, aided by a small army of clones and Hinata. He kept the revelation of his father's identity to himself, however, following the advice of both the Hokage and Kakashi. At first he had balked at the secrecy, but after hearing of his father's enemies, he swore that he would get strong enough to bear the full weight of his identity as quickly as possible.

Through all his training, he soon discovered a limitation to the kage bunshin. While he did remember everything his clones experienced in their training, he gained none of the physical benefits of their exercise. He made this painful discovery one morning with his spandex-wearing taijutsu teachers.

"Leaf Whirlwind!" Lee bellowed, spinning a high kick towards Naruto's head.

The blond ninja, covered in dirt and bruises and dripping with sweat despite the early hour, was once again sparring against the smaller of the Green Beasts while the larger looked on. In that moment, Naruto saw in his mind the counter to Lee's signature move. His bunshin had practiced the Uzumaki style taijutsu for hours each day, sometimes against fellow clones doing their best to copy what he had seen of Guy and Lee's Gokken style taijutsu. He needed to dodge back from the first kick, then close quickly to counter with a hook kick while Lee continued his spin into the second half of the attack. However, no matter how much his mind screamed at his body to move, to execute the counter, he felt like he was moving through waist deep mud.

Lee's kick connected brutally, sending Naruto sprawling with an eye already swelling shut.

"Hold it, Lee!" Guy shouted. He approached his younger student and crouched down, meeting his eye. "You saw it, didn't you Naruto?"

The orange-clad ninja could only pant in reply, still prone. He nodded, but the action caused his head to spin and vision darken,

Guy nodded in return, "Then why didn't you do it?" he asked with an air of one who already knew the answer.

"I... I couldn't... move... fast enough," came the gasping reply.

Lee looked perplexed, "Forgive me, Guy-sensei, but I don't understand."

"It's simple, Lee. Naruto saw your attack, and immediately knew what he could do to counter it."

The genin's wide eyes widened further in surprise as he looked at his fellow student, "But-"

"His eyes saw your attack, and his mind knew what needed to be done, but his body was unable to keep up," Guy nodded sagely. He stood, bringing his hand to his chin. "My guess is he's been using the Shadow Clone jutsu to practice his family taijutsu. Is that right, Naruto?"

The blond nodded, fighting back another, if lesser, wave of dizziness, "Why wouldn't my body move?"

"That's the limitation of the kage bunshin, my young student. While you do gain all of the clone's knowledge and experience, you do not receive any physical benefits from their exercise."

"You mean I've been making all those clones for nothing?" Naruto groaned. "Aw man! That's totally lame!"

Guy chuckled, "Not for nothing, Naruto-kun. You still gain the experience of sparring and moving through the kata, you will just need to increase your physical training to keep up!"

"Yosh!" Lee exclaimed as he scratched into his notebook that Naruto noticed he had again pulled from apparently the aether, "Naruto, that technique is amazing! To allow you to multiply your hard work to truly youthful levels..." he lapsed into silence, an almost wistful look misting his round eyes. "Guy-sensei!" he snapped to attention, "In order to keep up with my junior student, I must work harder than I ever have before!"

"Quite right, Lee!" came the booming reply. "We should all double, no triple, our physical training until our bodies burn in the glorious fires of the springtime of our youth!"

The shouts of youth heard from the two Green Beasts in the training ground that day were matched only by the cries of anguish from the Orange Menace.

Fortunately for the young blond, his training with Hinata was far less physically demanding. The chakra control exercises came easily to the Hyuga heiress, and she was quickly able to master the basic movements depicted in the training scroll. The chakra dance, as they had begun to call it, accentuated her natural grace and agility so well, Naruto found himself more than once caught up in watching her rather than performing the exercises himself. Despite the boy's initial clumsiness, Hinata's gentle correction and support, so different from Guy's boisterous enthusiasm and Kakashi's aloof observance, helped Naruto make great strides in his chakra control. This improvement quickly translated into progress in his other jutsu, as well, though he still hadn't manifested the Adamantine Chains in either from.

Hinata had noticed something seemed to be weighing heavily on Naruto's mind, but she was too timid to broach the subject herself. She saw the young blond throw himself ever harder into his training, straining desperately for every inch of progress, and she renewed her own resolve to become stronger so she could be by his side when he needed her. To that end, she began studying Naruto's clones more closely as they practiced the kata of his family jutsu, an idea forming in her mind like the first hint of dawn on the horizon.

Naruto's training with his teammates still largely consisted of battle formation drills and team building exercises, but now included focused practice with Kichijōten's masks. His proficiency with the lizard mask, which he had come to learn was a chameleon, improved so dramatically he was like a ghost on the training field, especially when combined with his prolific use of shadow clones. Fortunately for the village at large, Naruto's pranks had been curbed by his ascension to the ninja ranks, though there were still a few unexplained 'incidents' that occurred from time to time. The orange genin's new skills did make his team the preferred recipient of the much maligned mission to recover a certain elusive cat, A mission on which, to the annoyance of Team 7, they currently found themselves.

The wind whistled faintly as it brushed through the trees surrounding Konohagakure. The serene quiet of the morning was broken by a mechanical crackle, "Sasuke here, I'm at position B," the raven haired genin's voice sounded over the radio.

"Sakura here, I'm at position A," the pinkette chimed in.

A long moment passed, until, "This is Naruto, I'm at position C."

Kakashi's lazy voice came next on the comm, "You're late, Naruto."

"Yeah, yeah, I got lost on the road of whatever, let's just get this stupid mission over with."

Branches rustled sharply, breaking the stillness once again, before a dark shape leapt from the trees and darted into the underbrush, closely followed by another, clad in orange and wearing the visage of a hawk.

"The target is on the move!" Sasuke reported.

"I'm in pursuit!"

"Naruto, push it north, I'll intercept at the next clearing!" Sakura instructed.

The masked genin put on a burst of speed, coming up on the fleeing figure's left flank. Faster than thought, the shadow dodged right, hoping to lose its pursuer in the thick forest. Naruto's eyes, sharpened by his ancestor's mask, never lost sight of his quarry, and he bolted after it. He reached out, hoping to end the mission himself. Fingers touched fur.

The target yowled, dashing through a gap in a blackberry bush. Naruto felt a slight tug on his chakra from the mask, and slammed his palm into the ground. A short burst of chakra from his hand sent him flipping over the bush, narrowly avoiding the sharp thorns.

"This thing is awesome!" he crowed, reveling in the increased speed and agility he received from his mask.

"Focus Naruto!" his silver-haired sensei admonished, "You're drifting too far east."

The blond snatched a pebble from the ground and, without breaking stride, threw ahead, to the right of his target. The shadow zigged left, and burst into a clearing, coming face to face with a pair of green eyes.

The figure, revealed to be a cat with a ribbon tied to its ear, skidded to a halt just as Sakura finished her last hand sign.

To the cat, the girl seemed to vanish in a swirl of flower petals, and it felt an irresistible pull to sleep. The feline's head nodded, then it collapsed into the grass.

Naruto jumped into the clearing in time to see his female teammate scoop up the slumbering cat. She touched a finger to her throat, activating her comm.

"Sakura here, the target has been secured."

"Can you confirm the target's identity?" Kakashi responded from his position at the edge of the forest.

Sasuke appeared next, stepping through the trees and up to the rest of his team, "Yes, the target is wearing the described ribbon on it's right ear."

"Congratulations Team 7, the mission to retrieve Tora the cat is complete. Mission: Success. Well done."

A short time later, the genin were once again in the mission hall, Sasuke's monotone report being almost drowned out by the exultation of their client, Madam Shinji, as she clutched the protesting Tora ever tighter to her bosom.

"Oh my precious Tora! Thank goodness you came back to me! You naughty kitty, always running away from mama!"

Naruto watched the detestable feline as it was being slowly crushed by its owner, phantom pains from many scratches inflicted by the beast flaring. A wicked grin split his face, "Squeeze 'em, Lady, squeeze 'em like a-AH!"

The blond's mutterings were cut short as his pink-haired teammate rapped her knuckles on the top of his head, "Quiet, Naruto! The Hokage is speaking."

The Professor coughed once, then resumed, "As I was saying, there are several available missions for Team 7's next assignment. Among those are babysitting the Market District Councilor's 3 year old son, helping his wife with her grocery shopping, helping the Yamanada Farm harvest potatoes, and-"

"No, no, no!" Naruto interrupted, bringing his arms up into an x in front of him. He seemed about to continue his rant, but the sudden motion caused the hawk mask to sway from its position tied to his belt. It bumped gently into his thigh, and Naruto's eyes widened slightly. Memories of his training at the Uzumaki shrine flashed through his mind, and he could almost hear his aunt's voice, as if from the pages of her journal that nestled still in his pouch.

The young genin took a breath, straightened, then began again, more calmly, "Hokage-jiji, we need a more difficult mission to really test the skills we're learning as ninjas. These 'missions' are just chores."

Iruka had half risen from his chair to the Hokage's left, ready to berate his former student for his outburst, but paused at the sudden change in the blond. A glance at the other occupants of the room showed they, too, were stunned.

"Naruto, you are still a new genin," he began, coughing slightly as he swallowed his initial reaction. "You, like everyone else, need to go on these simpler missions to hone your skills. You aren't ready for higher ranked missions yet."

"You're wrong, Iruka-sensei," blue eyes glanced his way, nearly glaring, "I am ready. I'm not just a kid pulling pranks anymore. I'm a ninja now, and I need a real ninja mission."

Hiruzen chuckled, internally marveling at the change in the boy. It seems Naruto's family is already having an influence on him, even from the afterlife, he thought. Aloud, he said, "So Naruto wants to show that he isn't a brat anymore? Very well. You may be a former brat, but I will give you a chance with a C-rank mission."

The young Uzumaki's mouth opened slightly in surprise before widening into a smile. "Yatta!" he cheered, leaping into the air.

Behind him, his teammates groaned. Kakashi rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Sakura's fist trembled as her mouth twitched between a grimace and a grin. Sasuke grunted, turning away from the blond's foolish antics, but a satisfied smirk curved the corners of his mouth.

The Hokage laughed outright, happy to see the boy hadn't changed too much. "Team 7 will be bodyguards for our visitor from Nami no Kuni, the Land of Waves," he gestured to the chunin standing by the side door. "Please, send our guest in."

Naruto turned eagerly to the door, excited to see who he would be protecting on his first real mission. His face fell when instead of a princess or feudal lord, an old grey haired man in rough homespun clothes stumbled through the door. Despite the early hour, it was clear the man was already drunk, an open bottle of sake clutched in one gnarled hand. His V-neck shirt was rumpled and stained, as was the towel he wore draped around his neck. He took a long pull from his bottle, leaning against the door frame for support. He belched, then wiped his mouth with the back of his arm, as he squinted dark, bespectacled eyes into the mission hall.

"What's this?" he hiccoughed, "I paid for ninjas, not some scrawny kids." He peered at Team 7 blearily. His eye settled on Naruto for a moment, hesitating as if niggled by a distant memory. He shoved the uncomfortable feeling down with a snort, "The little one with the idiotic look on his face couldn't possibly be a shinobi."

Naruto snickered, turning instinctively towards his Uchiha teammate, the obvious target of the man's mockery. His mood changed swiftly to murderous when he realized Sasuke was a good 5 cm taller than him.

"Stupid old man!" he growled, "I'll destroy you!"

Kakashi dropped his hand to Naturo's shoulder, holding him back, "You can't destroy the client, Naruto." He turned to the man, "I assure you sir, my team is more than capable of handling anything we may encounter on the road."

The man snorted again, "Listen up, brats," he began, ignoring Kakashi's statement. "I'm Tazuna the Master Bridge Builder. I'm building a bridge in the Land of Waves that will change our world, so you better get me home safely." He took another pull from his bottle, "Even if it means giving up your lives." He didn't quite meet Team 7's eyes, but considering his inebriation, they were happy that he was still upright. Mostly.

Kakashi turned to his students, "Okay, team. Pack some supplies and meet at the East Gate in one hour."

As the ninja dispersed, Tazuna grabbed the pointed hat hanging on his back and donned it, pulling it low over his eyes. He shuffled back through the door, leaning heavily on the wall, sandals scraping along the wooden floor.