Author Notes- Hello fellow readers! I will hopefully start updating the stories regularly from now on.

This chapter showcases Naruto's first Anbu mission and how he is made to ease into it. His thoughts about the shinobi nations as he sees new places and meets new people. I will also be showing the events that will happen in Konoha, especially the events involving Naruto's friends and family while he will be away on missions.

In the last chapter, it was stated why Naruto consumed more chakra in using the jutsu "Shinra Tensei" whereas Nagato could use it effortlessly. I would say, in the last chapter, it was Naruto's first time using a power that was bestowed on him by the rinnegan. Nagato, during the attack on Konoha was a battle hardened and experienced shinobi who knew how much chakra to mold for the jutsus related to rinnegan. But, in Naruto's case, he's still a young boy and doesn't know anything about the rinngan. He will come to learn and understand the true powers of the rinnegan as he grows and matures. Also, Naruto won't be getting the third eye which Kaguya has. Naruto as he is, if he masters the rinnegan and the mangekyo sharingan along with his sage powers to his full extent, will be someone who will be able to face members of Otsusuki family like Kaguya, Hagoromo, Momoshiki and Kinshiki by himself. However, that's a very long way ahead.

[Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.]

Anyway, let's continue with the story

Chapter 11: First mission

The five-shinobi cell, after leaving Konohagakure no Sato, made their way at a fast pace by travelling atop the tree branches. It had been over five hours since they had left the village and most of the path they travelled up to now consisted of thick forests, thus allowing them to move forward without getting seen by anyone. While Washi was in the front, Neko and Usagi were a little behind to his left and right respectively. Karasu and Tora stayed behind the three to provide the eyes at back in case of an unforeseen situation.

Generally, the team's Taicho led the cell by being in front of the team but in Team Ro Han's current mission, Washi was given the chance to lead the team for him to get better accommodated to the protocols of travelling with an ANBU team in a practical situation. While most green ANBU were not given that opportunity right off the bat, Washi, however, was no normal shinobi. The rumors of his Kage level skills, battle prowess as well keen and sharp mind was already known among the other members of the ANBU. While those who knew Washi to some extent readily came to believe such rumors, some wished to see the young Anbu in action to believe such statements. Team Ro Han had always been considered among the best teams in the ANBU since its founding days and has had the most success rate in the mission's success. Just by getting into the team, one is considered among the topmost operatives of the village who is bound to be respected by the other ANBU and shinobi.

Their destination, Tetsu no Kuni (Land of Iron), is an icy and snow covered country which is located among the three mountains called the Three Wolves. Despite the several wars which took place between the Great Five Nations, Tetsu no Kuni has never been involved in any of them politically. In fact, the shinobi have had a rule since long ago that they would not meddle with the samurai's business. That is the unusual aspect about Tetsu no Kuni. The samurai have resided and ruled Tetsu no Kuni for ages. Despite the land not having ninjas, they have a formidable line of defense of skilled and experienced samurai who protect the land. The Land of Iron is known for its craftsmanship in making weapons, especially swords, and producing incredible users of kenjutsu. After the Third Shinobi War ended, Konoha had approached Tetsu no Kuni with a deal regarding weapons shipments every three months to their village. Ever since then, Team Ro-Han is sent to Tetsu no Kuni to meet with their leader, Mifune.

"Taicho, where did he say he would meet us?" Washi asked.

"About ten miles or so before the border of the village, Amegakure. We should be approaching the place by tomorrow." Karasu stated as he jumped from one branch to another.

"Isn't it your first time outside the village Washi?" asked Neko. Over the past couple of months, Neko and Washi had formed a sibling relationship with each other. Neko often helped Washi when he spent long hours in the library and explained him certain topics when he did not understand it. Washi found it rather embarrassing, yet a little funny, when Neko tried to scare off girls who tried to flirt with him, even though he thought he had the situation in his grasp.

"Hai, Neko." Washi replied.

"I hope you're packing something warm. It's going to be cold in Tetsu no Kuni." Neko said with concern. Washi momentarily stopped, but continued jumping over the tree branches.

"…You didn't, did you?" asked Usagi with a deadpan look behind her mask. She was probably the most serious and practical person in the team after Karasu.

"…it just slipped my mind, okay. I will make sure for next time. Anyhow, I think I will be fine." Washi replied with a somewhat sheepish look. Soon enough, everyone became quiet and focused on the road ahead until they met up with Jiraiya near the border of Amegakure.

'For some reason, I don't have a good feeling about passing beside Amegakure. None of the Nations know what the state of that village has been in since the Third Shinobi War. Also, with our current situation with Iwagakure, I don't know what might happen after we pass through the Land of Birds.' Karasu thought warily. Since the Land of Birds shared a close border with Iwagakure, it was possible for either Stone Anbu or jounin to be there for border patrol. He glanced towards Tora when he felt a hand on his shoulder for a second and understood the message when his friend nodded.

Konoha ANBU don't hesitate and never falter, no matter the situation that lays before them. They complete the mission given to them by their Hokage and failure is not an option.

Konoha Academy

Kakashi, along with Asuma, stood rather annoyingly in front of a bunch of kids in the training grounds of the Konoha Academy.

Asuma Sarutobi was born to Biwako and Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, about eight years before the start of the Third Shinobi War. Asuma was a tall man with brown eyes, olive skin, short black spiky hair and a beard. His clothing consisted of the standard Konoha ninja uniform with sleeves rolled up half way up, flak jacket, regular shinobi sandals and forehead protector. He also wore a red sash which had the kanji for Fire marked on it around his waist, a pair of black bangles and bandages wrapped around the sleeve of his right arm.

About a month after the Uchiha Massacre, the Hokage had increased the academy graduation age to fourteen to better prepare the graduating genin for the hardships of the shinobi life and to instill a sense of practicality in them. Along with the increase in the graduating age, several other changes were made in the academic curriculum. The students were already taught to unlock their chakra in the first year and made to learn basic chakra control exercises along with simple ninjutsu such as Bunshin no Jutsu, Kawirami no Jutsu and Henge no Jutsu. However, now the students will also be introduced to basic elemental chakra manipulation from the third year onwards and mere control of their chakra affinities until they graduate. The students will also be given the option to choose from various departments of shinobi arts where they could specialize in- Bukijutsu, Medical ninjutsu, Elemental ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Reconnaissance, Communication and even Fuinjutsu. The students would be taught the basic concepts of the subjects in their chosen departments and later could pursue the advanced jutsu once they graduate from the academy. The idea behind this is to make the students aware of the various fields they could choose from later in their shinobi career.

Hence, some of the select jounin like Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, Maito Gai and tokubetsu jounin like Gekko Hayate and Genma Shiranui were given the task to guide the academy students in certain areas from time to time.

"Alright, everyone listen to me carefully now because I'm only going to repeat it once." Kakashi stated. However, most of the students seemed to ignore the lazy jounin and continued with their talking. Asuma chuckled on seeing Kakashi's pathetic attempt on silencing the students. Kakashi's eyebrow twitched on seeing the blatant ignorance of the students.

'Why did you have to do this to me, Minato-sensei?' thought the Copy ninja, a little depressed. He had thought he would get more time to read his precious book once he quit Anbu. His Hokage thought differently, however.

"Everyone, listen now!" Asuma said authoritatively, using chakra to enhance his voice. Many of the students who were previously talking with each other immediately quieted down on hearing the loud voice. Asuma smirked on seeing the annoyed look on Kakashi's face. Having dealt with his nephew Konohamaru and his friends before, he had a little idea on how to go around with children.

"Today, we will be introducing you to advanced chakra control exercises called the Tree Walking and Water Walking exercise along with the theory behind each of those exercises. Later, we'll be checking each of your chakra affinity and then determine which chakra control is necessary to improve your control over elemental chakra." Kakashi said as he walked to a nearby tree.

"Um… sensei, how will climbing on trees help us improve chakra control? And I think we all know how to climb trees." Ino said with a somewhat smug look on her face, thinking that her sensei was joking. Sasuke had to scoff at the stupidity of the platinum-blond haired girl's statement. Sakura, standing beside the raven haired Uchiha, had to stifle in a giggle on seeing the look on Sasuke's face. Hinata merely stood beside the two with a blank look on her face.

A lot had changed since the Uchiha Massacre and Naruto's untimely disappearance from their lives about three months ago. Most of the villagers now viewed Mikoto, Sasuke, Itachi and Shisui as the last of one of the noble clans which founded the village and gave them their sympathies for the loss.

Another intriguing topic in the village was regarding the son of the Yondaime Hokage. The village surely seemed a lot quieter now. While Sasuke had guessed that Naruto had joined the Anbu Black ops due to his strange timing of showing up in his room along with Itachi, Hinata and Sakura were sad and angry at the blonde. Whenever anyone from the class asked about Naruto's whereabouts the only answer they were given was, It's classified information. Sakura had an suspicion as to why Naruto was keeping himself away from them and understood his reasoning. But it didn't mean that she had to like it. Since then, she too had decided to get stronger on her own, so she wouldn't have to rely on anyone else in uncalled situations. However, the most distraught of all was the Hyūga heiress. It wasn't Naruto's sudden absence which bothered Hinata, but the way Naruto seemingly cut himself off from everyone's life.

In the past few two months, Sasuke had tried to open himself to others by talking to those around him when spoken to, who were mainly Hinata and Sakura. He had given a lot of thought to what Naruto had told him that night and realized that he was indeed lucky to have his mother, Itachi and Shisui alive after the attack that night. His brother did always tell him that the village is important and every Konoha shinobi fights to the death to protect her. He still didn't clearly understand what a village was, but he wanted to try and understand. He wanted to protect what was close to him and kill the man who had taken from him unjustly.

Instead of answering the girl's question verbally, Kakashi simply put one foot on the tree and then another. Just like that, he walked up the entire length of the tree and sat atop the branch. All the students except Sasuke, Hinata, Sakura and even Shikamaru were wide eyed seeing Kakashi climb the tree without the use of his hands. Kakashi and Asuma chuckled lightly on seeing the innocent surprised faces of several students.

"I take it, you don't yet know how to do this, Ino?" Kakashi asked.

Ino felt rather embarrassed that several students were now staring at her and dumbly nodded at Kakashi's expression. Kakashi jumped from the tree and gracefully landed on the ground using chakra at the soles of his feet.

"Well, I see that some already know this exercise." Asuma said as his keen eyes looked towards Sasuke, Hinata, Sakura and Shikamaru.

"I will explain the theory and teach those who don't this exercise yet and those who already know how to perform it can move towards Kakashi. He will teach you an advanced version." Asuma said curtly. All the civilian students and Ino, Choji, Kiba, Shino followed Asuma to another section of the training ground while Hinata, Sasuke, Sakura and Shikamaru stayed behind with Kakashi.

Sasuke was rather surprised that someone as lazy as Shikamaru knew how to perform this technique and thus unknowingly stared at him with an astonished expression for a few seconds.

"What?" Shikamaru asked dumbly.

"Nothing… I'm just surprised you know how to do it." Sasuke replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Sakura bopped the Uchiha on the head the very next second for being so blatantly honest which earned her a glare from him.

"You don't have to assume he doesn't know anything Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said irritatingly. She knew Sasuke was trying his best to change his views of others, but he still needed to know when to speak what.

"My tou-san made me learn it a few months ago. It was a drag." Shikamaru said as he returned his gaze towards the slow-moving clouds in the sky.

"We are shinobi Sasuke. Shinobi don't gloat about what they know and what they don't." Hinata said flatly. Once again, Sasuke was mildly surprised at Hinata's tone. He was aware at how close she was with Naruto and wondered if her new attitude had anything to do with him since he had noticed a change in her ever since Naruto disappeared.

'They get along better than I expected… although Sakura and Hinata are a lot more different than what I had heard.' Kakashi thought observantly.

"Well, my little soon to be genin…let's begin." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

A day later, with Team Ro-Han

It had been over a day since the members of team Ro were moving towards the western border of Hi no Kuni which connected to an unnamed country where Amegakure resided. They had taken a few hours of rest and rejuvenate themselves last night. Naruto was really intrigued on seeing how most of the western part of the Fire Country was filled with dense forests with a few lakes along the way.

Naruto smiled under his mask when he felt the familiar presence of Jiraiya's chakra. Naruto stopped abruptly on top of a tree branch while keeping his eyes glued to his right and brought his right hand up to signal a stop to all the other members of Team Ro. None of the members were surprised when a tall figure suddenly became visible on top of the branch on another tree, less than a hundred meters to their right.

"Took you long enough to come. I was expecting with you all, the distance would be covered within a day." Jiraiya said jovially. It had been a couple of months since he had last seen his godson. Seeing him dressed up in Anbu gear with the Washi mask on, it made him feel proud indeed.

"Lord Jiraiya." Usagi, Neko and Tora immediately bowed their head in respect before one of the strongest shinobi in Hi no Kuni. Despite being a pervert, the Toad Sannin was deeply respected by all the shinobi for his work and loyalty to Konohagakure no Sato. The man had completed more S-Rank missions in his life than each of the past Hokage of Konoha. Jiraiya looked towards the three Anbu operatives and nodded his head curtly.

"We'll have to be careful once we reach near the Land of Birds. I have heard some disturbing news about Stone Anbu mobilizing their forces near the borders of Land of Birds, Kusagakure and Takigakure. As of now, I haven't heard news of any actions taken by Iwagakure but I have sent the news to Minato." Jiraiya said seriously. Itachi narrowed his eyes upon hearing that piece of information.

"So, Iwa's forces have already started mobilizing their shinobi slowly from the western and northwestern side of Hi no Kuni. It may not amount to anything now. But if it continues, Tsuchi no Kuni shinobi will soon reach the border of Fire Country. Also, considering the political influence and military power of Land of Birds, Takigakure and Kusagakure, these minor villages won't be able to hold their own against Iwagakure for long..." Karasu stated tactfully. Jiraiya nodded his head, impressed at the boy's strategic mind.

"It's possible that they could be planning to attack Konoha in the future. Onoki and his shinobi have never been known for their kindness or fair game anyhow and with the grudge that Onoki holds against Konoha, it's very likely." Usagi said bitterly. Images of her parents sacrificing themselves to protect her during the Third Shinobi War still flashed in her mind from time to time. Even though most people knew her to be a tough girl, beneath that rough façade was a girl who missed her family. Naruto tilted his head down a little upon sensing the waves of sadness that he could feel from everyone around him.

'Everyone has lost someone close to themselves during the last war…' thought Naruto sadly.

"Anyhow, we shouldn't waste any more time here Jiraiya-sama." Karasu said firmly.

"Taicho's right Jiraiya-sama. We can talk once we reach Tetsu no Kuni." Tora said. Without wasting any more time, Team Ro Han, along with Jiraiya, started to make their way across the western border of Hi no Kuni.

Naruto briefly thought about the Iwa shinobi, Ittan, who came to assassinate him a few years back and frowned. Why did Iwagakure still hate Konohagakure? Did they not understand that in a Shinobi War, death is inevitable? Did they not understand that Konoha had to kill Iwagakure shinobi only to protect the innocents of their own village? Would one nation's hatred against another be the instigator that would ignite the Fourth Shinobi War?

"You haven't seen war yet, Naruto… and when you do, you will wish you weren't alive to witness it. When a war begins, the reasons behind it are never sane or logical." Kurama said wisely. Naruto understood what Kurama was trying to say. It was true that he hadn't experienced the true horrors of a war, but even he could see the way things were slowly moving in the shinobi world, a fourth shinobi war will be inevitable. He was nervous, but he wasn't scared. He had already killed hundreds to protect those close to him and he would do so again. He would kill anyone who would dare to hurt his home, family and comrades.

'The love you have for the people you hold close, it scares even me at times… Naruto.' Lingered Kurama's thoughts as he shut his eyes.

Outside ten-miles radius around Amegakure no Sato

Destroyed lands, scattered kunai, shuriken, katana, shinobi headbands, years old corpses- these were the only thing in view when team Ro-Han and Jiraiya passed a few miles outside the village of Amegakure no Sato.

Naruto was horrified when his eyes scanned the land around himself. Even though he had heard countless stories of the Great Shinobi Wars from his father in his early childhood, it was still appalling for him to see so much death and destruction. He had thought he understood a little about what death meant after his encounter with those Root Anbu, but the feeling of sadness, grief and anger that was surfacing in his heart right now was several times more magnified. Naruto abruptly stopped when his eyes landed on a body with a missing head and left arm. But what caught his attention was the Konoha headband lying beside the body.

The other members of the team Ro-Han and Jiraiya too stopped on seeing Naruto's sudden halt. They noticed his sullen gaze towards the dead Konoha shinobi and their eyes softened.

Itachi stepped forward to talk to Naruto but stopped when he felt Shisui's hand on his shoulder.

"Let Jiraiya-sama talk to him. It's better if he hears it from actual family." Shisui said calmly. Itachi wanted to argue but stopped when he saw Shisui's firm gaze. Yugao and Mikasa quietly stood behind the youngest member of their team with concerned looks on their faces as Jiraiya gently placed his hand on Naruto's right shoulder.

"War is never a pretty sight, kid. In war, one is always surrounded by the red of blood and the dead bodies of your comrades lying around. It leaves a psychological scar in the minds of humans and the survivors are left in a hellish form of afterlife where the world of the living and the dead seem to converge." Jiraiya confessed. It had been a few years since he himself had stepped foot inside this country. As he looked around, memories of his team's one sided battle with Hanzo the Salamander flashed through his mind. He sighed as he never liked thinking about such fleeting moments again. He still blamed himself for not noticing the change in Orochimaru's behavior after the Second Shinobi War ended. If only he had… maybe he could have saved his friend.

"What was the point of such wars?" asked Naruto quietly. His blood red eye looked all around and recorded all the death and misery around himself as his eyes became slightly moist.

"No one can certainly say what the point of the past wars were. We shinobi know battle in our every waking breath. In the name of profit and gain for one's village and nation, shinobi have hated and killed each other for many years. We rob and are robbed, then we rob from our robbers. The shinobi system became such that, instead of people learning from the first shinobi war, more wars were waged as the hatred between the nations grew. However, I have hope or rather I believe there will come a time when people from different shinobi villages will come to truly understand and love each other." Jiraiya said with a solemn smile.

"That does really sound like a dream…" Naruto said absent mindedly. He looked around himself and found several more Konoha headband along with those from other villages lying on the ground beside dead bodies with a frown on his face while several questions were flowing through his mind.

Are children only raised to be shinobi so they can die for their village in a pointless war?

Do the villages think of their own shinobi as expendable humans?

What did the villages really gain from the past three shinobi wars except festering more hatred and conflict?

However, Naruto stiffened a bit when he felt several large chakra signatures about fifteen miles to the east of his team's location. While most of the chakra signatures were close to his godfather Jiraiya's, two of them were surprisingly close to his own.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked with concern, seeing his godson's sudden strange demeanor.

"Everything's okay. Let's get going." Naruto said flatly. However, Itachi and Mikasa narrowed their gaze upon hearing Naruto's answer. Karasu glanced towards the direction of Amegakure and wondered what made his kohai so tense.

Two Days later, Tetsu no Kuni

It had been a little over two days since team Ro-Han and Jiraiya had left a battlefield where the previous two shinobi wars took place. A day later they had crossed the Land of Birds and the barren land following that with relative ease. As per Jiraiya's information, the southern borders of Tsuchi no Kuni were indeed heavily guarded by Stone Anbu but the five Konoha Anbu and the Toad Sannin were easily able to evade them. While Washi wasn't an expert in stealth compared to rest of his teammates and Jiraiya, he was able to hide his chakra completely making him invisible in the eyes of sensors. Whereas, Karasu, Tora, Usagi, Neko and Jiraiya could elude the Stone Anbu stealthily due to their years of experience.

Currently, team Ro-Han and Jiraiya were travelling across the snow-covered land of Tetsu no Kuni. The weather was extremely windy with more than eight inches of snow all around them. They had passed the Sanrō (Three Wolves) mountain a couple of hours ago and could hazily see the village a mile ahead of themselves.

"It's colder than I expected." Washi complained as he rubbed his shoulders and shivered a little. Looking around himself he huffed when he saw everyone wearing a cloak to keep themselves warm.

"I thought you would be fine in the cold weather…" Usagi commented in good humor. Neko giggled on seeing Washi's shoulder slump on hearing that comment. Tora chuckled on seeing Washi's defeated demeanor while Karasu merely sighed.

"Just bear it for a little longer. We should be outside the village in about fifteen minutes or so. The exchange of weapons and money won't take too long. Once it's done, we can leave the place as soon as possible." Jiraiya said patiently. He could already see the guards standing before the large metal gates. The gate was about thirty feet tall, made from grey cobblestone and emblazoned with the kanji for Samurai on top of it.

"Fine! Fine!" Washi replied rather impatiently.

Ten Minutes Later

Gisei and Haru were currently on watch duty outside the gates of the village along with eight more samurai who were standing atop the wall surrounding the village. Unlike the system of shinobi villages, the samurai village kept a group of their finest samurai stationed near the gate as the first line of defense. All of them wore heavy, segmented plate armor that covered the shoulder, chest, stomach and lower back, upper back, lower side and thighs. They also wore gauntlets, shin guards and helmets. The face mask they wore had built in radios which also acted as a respirator to combat poison used by shinobi.

Gisei had swept back brown hair and dark brown eyes. He had a tall and imposing figure and normally wore a black kimono when not on duty. He is a respected member of the samurais group who has survived through the past three shinobi wars. He normally smiles with his head held high and his hands behind his back. Despite his old age, Mifune, the leader of the samurai village often comes to him for advice due to Gisei's vast knowledge about the Elemental Nation.

Haru, on the other hand was a relatively young man who was born around six years before the start of the Third Shinobi War. He had black wavy hair which fell over his face to cover the left part of his forehead. He is considered among the finest upcoming kenjutsu users in Tetsu no Kuni who was taught by Gisei himself.

Gisei and Haru, being more experienced than the others stood before the gates to gauge out any anomalies and take command if need be. Even though these were somewhat peaceful times and no shinobi village normally stepped in Tetsu no Kuni without necessity, the samurai took all their assigned tasks seriously.

Both Gisei and Haru tensed slightly and moved their hands slowly to their katana kept in their scabbard when they saw the silhouette of six people approaching them. The samurai standing atop the walls too became cautious upon seeing their commander's movements. However, Gisei, the eldest among the samurai on watch, relaxed when he recognized the Toad Sannin and the Anbu masks of the four operatives from Team Ro-Han.

"Be at ease everyone. It's Jiraiya-sama and the Anbu from Konoha. They are here regarding their village's weapons shipment." Gisei said in his usual deep voice. He narrowed his eyes slightly upon seeing Jiraiya and the youngest of the Anbu, having never seen him before. In the past few years, Konoha had always sent a select group of people. So, for him to see the legendary Toad Sannin along with the Anbu was a mildly surprising.

"Hai, sensei." Replied the young voice, which belonged to Haru. Gisei sighed and shook his head upon being called that again. It had been a good few years since he had been a teacher or trained anyone in the art of kenjutsu, Haru being his last student. Shortly after the Third shinobi war, Gisei had injured his right calf which slowed down his movements considerably. Despite the injury, he was renowned among the foremost kenjutsu users in Tetsu no Kuni.

A couple more minutes passed, as the group of six people travelling from Konohagakure neared the gates of the village. Gisei asked the other samurai to stay in their positions as he and Haru stepped ahead to meet the Toad Sannin and the Anbu.

"You may stop there Jiraiya-sama, Konoha Anbu." Gisei stated professionally.

"Gisei-san. It's been quite a long time." Jiraiya said with a casual smile.

"That it has. Although, I must say, I didn't expect someone like you to be travelling with an Anbu entourage." Said the brown-haired man sarcastically. Jiraiya merely laughed at that remark with a wave of his hand.

"Oh, it's not what you're thinking. It's just for a separate mission which I was assigned. You need not worry about my presence." Jiraiya replied. The Toad Sannin saw the old man before him glance towards Naruto a few times and wondered what the aged samurai was thinking.

"Greetings, Jiraiya-sama." Haru said politely with a bow. Since childhood, he had heard a lot of tales about the Sannin of Konoha, although this was the first time, he had met a member of Densetsu no Sannin. Jiraiya nodded his head, acknowledging the youngster's presence.

Gisei smiled a little when he saw Karasu make his way toward him from the back of the group. He had met the young Anbu operative a couple of times on his duty as watch guard when Konoha shinobi came to collect the weapons shipment.

"Gisei-san, I suppose you are aware as to why we are here. The payment for all the weapons is here in this scroll along with a letter from our Yondaime Hokage." Karasu stated stoically as he handed out a scroll with the kanji for 'Payment' to Gisei.

"Hai. Hai, Karasu-kun. As stoic, as always. You should lighten up. You are still young. There's no need for you to sound serious all the time." Gisei said with a chuckle as he took the scroll from Karasu's hand. Tora and Washi laughed lightly upon hearing that comment but knew it was futile to make Itachi understand that fact. Karasu's eyebrow twitched when he heard his team's laugh but kept himself composed.

"Haru, hand this over to Mifune-sama and tell him the Konoha Anbu and Jiraiya-sama are here collect their weapons shipment and ask him if he could come here." Gisei said, handing the scroll to his student. Haru immediately took off inside the village towards the largest building where Mifune normally stayed in his office.

While Jiraiya was conversing with Gisei and Karasu with Tora, the blond Anbu wondered why it was that they weren't offered to come inside the village. He edged closer to Usagi and Neko and nudged the cat masked kunoichi slightly on her elbow to catch her attention.

"What is it Washi-kun?" she asked.

"Are we not allowed inside the village? I thought the exchange would take place in Mifune-sama's office." Naruto stated his question curiously. Gisei who had overheard the question walked towards the young blond Anbu.

"Washi-san, is it?" Gisei asked in a friendly manner.

"Hai." Replied Washi.

"You see, our village is a samurai village and since the beginning of this village we have a rule to not allow foreigners inside. We are a very private village and like to keep it that way. We samurai and shinobi are very different from each other. While shinobi use chakra for even day to day activities, samurai only use it in a fight. It's not that we don't allow shinobi to enter our village anytime. But, if we don't necessarily have to invite them inside, in that case, we don't." Gisei informed. He saw the blond fold his arms over his chest and was certain he had contemplative look on his face behind the eagle mask.

"But, isn't it necessary for rules to change for a village to progress? If one keeps following the same guidelines for several decades, they won't be able to keep up with time, won't they?" Washi asked interestingly. Gisei raised his eyebrows momentarily but nodded nonetheless.

"That is certainly a good point, young Washi-san. However, change is not always absolute. While it is true, change is necessary in human evolution, it is also an extremely hard task to bring forth and an even greater task to accept it. Even if we change our traditions now, there is no guarantee everyone in our village will uphold those traditions. We are not made of stone. Distortions will always appear somewhere. We samurai have followed the same traditions which was left to us by our forefathers. Because everyone has followed the same guidelines, we have never had any problem in our village. And because of that, we never felt the need to change anything." Gisei said sagely.

Washi was utterly shocked to know that their village never had any problems. That sort of thing was unheard of in any village. It made him briefly wonder whether distrust and hate in the elemental nations existed because of shinobi alone. Whether shinobi should even exist even in the first place. But he quickly discarded that thought out of his mind. Since childhood, he had always been taught everyone has an equal right in this world- be they samurai, shinobi or civilians. Neko slightly huffed and looked away as she wanted to explain it to her little brother herself. Usagi sighed as she saw Neko's reaction. Her cat masked friend had always been a little too revealing of her emotions. She gently patted her shoulders to ease her down.

"Still giving the young ones' lessons on our village are you, Gisei?" Mifune asked as he walked out of the village gates with a scroll in his hands along with Haru beside him. All the trade matters in the village were personally viewed by Mifune. Hence, he always made sure to be present when their village made any contact or some sort of trade with another one. Mifune has long gray hair, which almost reaches down to his waist. He has bandages wrapped around his head, to cover the wound he once received by Hanzo in their past battle. He has black eyes with distinct wrinkles underneath them and a gray goatee and moustache. Currently he wore a simple purple kimono like outfit with dark brown sandals. Mifune stared at the young blonde Anbu as his eyes widened briefly upon seeing the shade of blond hair which he had only seen in one shinobi before.

"Mifune-sama" respectfully said Jiraiya and the members of team Ro-Han.

"There's no need for formalities here. How do you do Jiraiya-sama?" Mifune asked.

"Haven't been too bad, if I must say." Jiraiya stated humbly.

"You have some interesting new additions to the Anbu this time." Mifune said rhetorically glancing towards Washi once more. Washi merely stood his ground without giving any indication that he knew Mifune was talking about him. Naruto could very well feel the man's curiosity towards him which again raised several questions in his mind.

"Mifune-sama, are the weapons we had asked to prepare last time ready?" Karasu asked, wanting to get done with the task as soon as possible. It was getting a little cold for him too. Taking out five scrolls from a bag he was carrying, he handed them over to Karasu. Each scroll had the name of the weapon that was stored in it.

"Is that everything Konoha required as of now, Karasu-san?" Mifune asked calmly.

"Hai, that shall be all. Konoha thanks you again for doing business with us." Karasu said with a polite bow.

"It's no problem at all." Mifune replied. After greeting each other farewell, team Ro-Han and Jiraiya promptly turned around and made their way out of Tetsu no Kuni. The other samurai once again bowed to their leader as he walked back into village with Gisei walking beside him.

"Interesting kid, wouldn't you say, Mifune-sama?" Gisei asked as they made their way towards Mifune's office.

"Indeed. I didn't expect the rumors to be true… We shall certainly meet again, Naruto Namikaze." Mifune said in a low whisper.

A day later, Konoha Academy

"Man, this is becoming a pain…" Kiba moaned as he picked up his bag to leave the academy for the day. His whole body pained from all the physical exercises he was made to do.

Today, it was Maito Guy who had taken over the class to indulge the students in his youthful display of taijutsu. While almost everyone who met the taijutsu expert, found him to be an eccentric man, when it came to physical training and practicing taijutsu, Guy was the finest teacher in Konoha.

Choji sat on his seat and ate his potato chips after the heavy workout he was made to do. While he did train at home from time to time, he had never done something so excessive. Even Shikamaru fell asleep right after he sat down on his seat in the class. All the students were made to run twenty laps around the training grounds, followed by thirty push-ups and practicing taijutsu katas for about two hours with weights tied to their arms and legs. Several of the civilian students had fallen unconscious due to extreme fatigue and were sent home early.

Shino, the quietest kid in the class also nodded his head, showing his agreement with Kiba's said statement. Members of the Aburame clan mainly relied on their kikaichu bugs during a fight and most of their jutsu also involved said bugs, which resided inside their body. Hence, not many members of that clan focused on taijutsu as much as honing their skills in using the kikaichu bugs appropriately. However, the one who was complaining the most was the Yamanaka Clan heiress.

"Ugghhh! Why would they treat us children like this?" whined Ino as she rested her head on the table. Despite being from a clan and even starting her shinobi training earlier than most civilian students, she had never taken her training seriously. Due to the sheltered life, she had lived up till now, she never saw the need to train herself relentlessly and thus has a somewhat weak physical capability. Kiba quickly left the room with his ninken, Akamaru, to get some sleep, instead of listening Ino complain about school. Normally he would have stuck around with Ino, Shikamaru and Choji, but his body felt as if it was about to fall and crumble.

"Stop your complaining Ino. It's unbecoming of a kunoichi." Sakura stated. Though her body ached a bit, she had taken the training better than most of the students. The only students who were relatively unfazed by the strenuous exercise routine were Sasuke, Hinata and Sakura. However, that was mainly because all three of them had started physically training their bodies at a young age. While Sasuke trained with his older brother, Itachi. Hinata and Sakura often trained with Naruto.

"But, they aren't treating us like kids at all. They are training us as if we will be going to war in a few years." Ino said, rather annoyed. Sasuke and Hinata simply ignored the unnecessary complaints which Ino was sprouting and quietly left the class with their bags. Sakura, upon seeing the two leave, picked her bag too and followed them out.

"Sakura, wait!" Ino yelled.

"What is it Ino?" Sakura asked. She really didn't want to miss those two. There was a time when Naruto used to walk home with her when they were kids. But after the academy started, he suddenly stopped, which had made her feel down. Ever since that day when Naruto had saved her from those bullies, she always looked up to him and regarded him as someone special since he was the first friend she had made in her age group.

However, after Naruto seemingly disappeared, she had gotten closer to Hinata and even Sasuke. Although, Sasuke still didn't talk much, but he didn't ignore her like he used to initially either.

"Do you want to come over to my house tonight? We can play something…" Ino asked. Sakura thought over it for a second or two and nodded her head with a big smile. She often went over to Ino's house or at times Ino came over to hers' and they would either talk or play something to pass the time. It was mostly the days when Sakura didn't go out to train with Hinata and Sasuke. It was a big surprise to her and Hinata when Sasuke asked if he could train with them a couple of months back. They gladly accepted it, knowing he was trying to connect to more people and training with someone their age who was extremely skilled was beneficial for all three. Since then, the three had formed a strong friendship among each other.

Soon enough, Sakura ran out of the class and made her way out of the academy to look for Hinata and Sasuke. She abruptly stopped when she found both to be waiting under the tree near the academy gates. She giggled when she saw Sasuke lean against the tree with his customary emotionless face and Hinata standing beside him. She smiled widely and walked towards them.

"Aren't you two going home?" Sakura asked jovially.

"We were waiting for you Sakura-chan." Hinata replied with a little smile.

"Hn." Sasuke grumbled as he turned around and began to walk out of the academy. Sakura laughed at his usual response as she and Hinata too followed him.

'I wish you were here too… Naruto-kun.' Thought Sakura as she walked beside her two good friends.

A day later, Team Ro-Han

It had been almost two days since Team Ro-Han had left Tetsu no Kuni. Just before crossing the borders of Tetsu no Kuni, Jiraiya had parted ways with them to gather more information regarding Iwagakure's plan involving Konoha and about their movements in Tori no Kuni (Land of Birds), Kusagakure and Takigakure.

Currently, Team Ro-Han was travelling through the forests of Tori no Kuni with the same formation when they were travelling from Konoha to Tetsu no Kuni. With Washi at the front, he served as the team's sensor. Even though it was bright out in the open, the thick forests prevented much of the sunlight to fall on the ground and made the path they were travelling comparatively dark.

As Washi jumped from one tree to another, he was deeply in thought about the several chakra signatures he had sensed a few days ago in Amegakure. For some reason, it had been troubling him for the past few days. It seemed unnatural to him for a dozen of strong chakra signatures in comparison to his sensei, father and his to be gathered in a single place. Another thing troubling Naruto was the lack of information regarding Amegakure. From what he had read in the books and from what he had seen himself, the country in which Amegakure resided, was the battle ground for the Second and Third Shinobi War. Most of the habitants of the country were either killed or severely injured in the crossfire between different nations. And, no one knew what had transpired with Hanzo the Salamander after the Third Shinobi War. Some believe him to a paranoid person who's in hiding inside his own country, but still to be in control of Amegakure.

As he got out of his thoughts, his eyes widened a bit when he sensed ten chakra signatures surrounding their team from both sides. Making hand gestures with his left hand to relay the information to his team, he immediately informed them about the predicament they were in.

Karasu, Tora, Usagi and Neko, who were behind the eagle masked Anbu, looked around themselves and confirmed what they had been told. However, rather than stopping, they kept moving forward. They were not here to engage with the enemy. If the enemy wasn't going to attack, they would simply return to their own village, without having to face any unnecessary situation.

However, as Naruto was about to step on the next branch, he heard several kunai coming towards his team from several different directions. Promptly, every member of team Ro-Han jumped away from their positions and landed on the ground safely. The kunai that were thrown earlier clashed against each other and exploding tags attached to them exploded causing a larger explosion than they had anticipated. Several trees were blasted away or were caught on fire due to the explosion.

'That was no ordinary explosion tag.' Karasu thought.

"Be on your guard everyone. Based on Jiraiya-sama's information, it is likely that these shinobi are from Iwagakure, who were here on patrol." Karasu stated firmly. A few seconds later, a group of twenty shinobi surrounded them atop trees. Each wearing the Iwagakure head protector and light brown flak jacket.

"The Explosion Corps of Iwagakure." Usagi commented bitterly. Washi remembered reading about the Explosion Corps, who were also regarded as the demolition team of the Rock Country. They were a branch of Stone Anbu in Iwagakure who were used to end a battle quickly due to their destructive nature.

"Oh? You know about us then?" commented one of the Iwa shinobi with a smirk.

Naruto momentarily closed his eyes and gauged the chakra levels of each one of the Iwa shinobi in a span of less than two seconds.

"Taichou, most of them jounin levels. But, the one standing in the middle has close to Kage level chakra reserves." Washi reported to Karasu.

"Quite a skilled sensor you have there, Konoha Anbu. Let's see how long your pathetic Leaf group lasts against the Explosion Corps of Iwagakure." Commented the Iwa shinobi in the middle with a wicked smirk as all the Iwa shinobis standing atop trees jumped down upon the awaiting team Ro-Han.

Karasu quickly glanced towards Tora, Usagi, Neko and Washi and nodded his head.

So, that's a wrap for this chapter! I will really try posting (I promise) the next chapter by 14 July, 2017.

My apologies for the relatively short length of the chapter, compared to this story's other ones. Next ones will be the usual 8700-9000 words.

As I had said earlier, the chapters involving Naruto's life in Anbu will be a lot, and I would like to go into details about his experiences in the Anbu. So, the story progress may seem to be a bit slow. But, I will try to make it as interesting as I can. So, the next chapter shows Naruto's first fight as a registered shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato, that too against the explosion Corps of Iwagakure. Deidera was the leader of Explosion Corps before he joined the Akatsuki and the shinobi who took the role of leader is on par with Deidera. Next chapter, I will also portray how exactly Hinata's feelings towards Naruto have developed for the better or worse and how much stronger she has become.

I am really glad, people are coming to like the story and it makes me happy to read all your reviews on this story. Thanks a lot guys! Do follow, favorite and review the story again if you come to like how it's progressing!

Until next time!