Chapter 5: Babysitting with a Premium Rate
Naruto and Anko walked up the stairs leading to the Hokage's office at a relaxed yet quick pace. The cat masked Anbu following them from behind and ever watchful. Not that Anko and Naruto had any plans of making a run for it.
"Not that it would do me any good," Naruto's share of pranks had him often brought towards the Hokage whenever he was caught, though said pranks were mostly geared towards civilians, Genin, and Chunin. Only once in a blue moon did he ever go and target a Jonin level individual. Jonin and Anbu were more or less off limits unless he felt lucky since not only were they much harder to prank, given that the vast majority knew how to disable and avoid them, but nine times out of ten was he caught. At least this time he wasn't being dragged up the stairs, which hurt like hell and then some, like he normally was during a prank gone wrong.
"Anbu Neko present to see Hokage-sama about Mitarashi Anko and Uzumaki Naruto," the Anbu declared as they stood before the secretary.
"Proceed. Hokage-sama is expecting you," the woman informed the operative.
"Hi, Mariko-neechan," Naruto greeted the familiar secretary as the Anbu entered Hiruzen's office. Much like Ayame, Mariko was one of the few older females that Naruto had a decent relationship with. It had been rocky at first but after a certain amount of times the two had warmed up to one another.
"Naruto-kun," Mariko chuckled, "An Anbu escort. What did you do this time?"
"What makes you think I did anything?" Naruto merely got a deadpanned look from the young woman. His reputation preceded him after all.
"Call it a hunch," she smiled and Naruto became flushed.
"Honest! I didn't do squat this time!" he persisted.
"Right, sure, Naruto-kun. And Hokage-sama is a closet pervert," Anko and Mariko laughed at that.
"Uhh, well actually," Naruto began just as the door opened.
"I'll see you two now, Anko-chan, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen spoke from the doorway.
"No way in hell was that coincidental," Naruto swore the Old Man had been listening in on them before he walked into the room.
"Before we begin, I must ask if you two are alright?" to Naruto it sounded like a friendly request, Anko knew it was more or less a cleverly disguised order.
"We're fine, Hokage-sama," Anko informed her leader.
"What she said, Jiji," Naruto parroted.
"Good. Now would either of you care to explain where you were for the last couple of hours? No one from the Barrier Team or the Sensory Team could locate your whereabouts. Nor could I for that matter," here he gave them a pointed look.
"Damn it! Should've known Hokage-sama kept regular tabs on the kid," it made sense given the boy was both a surrogate grandson to the village leader and was the warden of the deadliest and most powerful of the nine tailed beasts.
"We were gone that long?" Naruto honestly hadn't bothered keeping track of time. However, Naruto almost winced at the look directed at him by his village leader.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Jiji," Naruto replied. It was the honest truth, too. What could he say without sounding like a complete nut case in the eyes of many. It also didn't help that Naruto wanted to keep this secret a secret for as long as possible.
Hiruzen remained silent for the longest time, though in reality it could've been shorter, "You're certain you have nothing more to say, Naruto?" Hiruzen inquired, his eyes as Hokage telling him there was more to the matter than let on.
Though it pained him to lie to his surrogate grandfather, Naruto merely responded with, "No."
Hiruzen did nothing but look at Naruto for a moment or two before nodding, "Very well. Seeing as neither of you are injured I'll let it slide this time. Off you go then," he told the dismissed blond. Naruto was stunned but merely nodded and left the office.
"Anko," Hiruzen spoke with a firm and even tone, which immediately held the Tokubestu Jonin's attention, "I don't know what you two did, nor where you went, and somehow I'm getting the impression I probably don't want to know right now," years in office had given Hiruzen great political insight on when and when not to press an issue. Hiruzen had every intention of knowing what happened to the two decided to take a less straightforward approach to the situation.
"Trust me, Hokage-sama, you wouldn't believe me if I told you," Anko still had no idea how it was possible or how to even properly give it justice.
Hiruzen held up his hand to stop her from saying anymore, "Like I said, I probably don't want to know. For now keep an eye on him for me. I've known that boy since he first came into this world and Naruto-kun seldom puts his trust in others. I can basically count the number he does on my hands. It's clear to me you've earned that trust and I'd hate to take it away by forcing you to tell me what transpired," had either of them been severally injured it would have been another matter entirely.
"You want me to spy on the Gaki?" Anko asked half surprised and half insulted her leader would request such a thing.
"No. Not spy. Keep him out of trouble. I'm old but I haven't lasted this long as Hokage by being unobservant. I know Naruto well enough to know that he will tell me what's going when he feels ready. Until then, I need eyes on him to make certain he doesn't put himself in danger. Or, at the very least, he's prepared to deal with whatever dangers he might be facing," he clarified.
"No offense, Hokage-sama, but that still kinda sounds like spying," the kunoichi rebuked; Hiruzen laughed.
"Yes, I guess it does in a way," he conceded. To him there was a difference between spying and looking out for another. But even then the lines blurred at times, "I do this because I worry for that boy. He's endured hardship few can relate to. Unfortunately, he's ill prepared for what lies ahead and I worry what might happen to him."
Having seen him in action along with Midori's testimony, Anko knew her leader wasn't far from the truth. It also made her wonder if Hiruzen meant Naruto getting hurt in some shape or form, or others decided to put Naruto to use through other means that were less than stellar, "So how should I go about making sure he won't get his ass in the fire?" the kunoichi asked.
Hiruzen told her two words clearly and concisely. Two words that would change her life forever: "Mentor him."
(Sometime Later with Naruto)
Naruto wandered around Konoha with little thought to where he was going at the moment and ignoring the daily looks and whispers directed his way. Idly did he realize that Anko had been given the same treatment, too. Whether or not it was due to him being with her or something she herself had done was unknown.
"What to do, what to do," Naruto murmured. Training was an option but most training fields for academy students were restricted due to an incident he had been a part of. It was one of the few times where it hadn't been his fault, at least not entirely, but most still saw it that way. Either way that was a no go at the moment.
"Not like I got any decent gear anyway," his current attire left much to be desire despite him liking the look. The upper jump suit was pretty much useless now and his pants were pretty much on their way to being in the same state. He could use his [Equipment/Gear Maintenance Skill] to restore the pants but even then it wouldn't do much. The upper armor was now labelled as [Broken]; his skill wasn't high enough to deal with that kind of status effect.
"Getting new gear it is then," Naruto said.
"You thinking of getting some gear?"
"AHHH!" Naruto yelled, causing many witnesses to look at him with wide eyes, most being replaced by frowns or scowls for disrupting their peaceful day with his sudden and unwanted outburst, "Anko? Don't do that!"
"Not my fault you suck at detecting me," the kunoichi retorted. "But again, you thinking about getting some new duds?"
"Yeah," Naruto had every intention of going back into the dungeon when he had the chance. Having better gear would make things much easier though.
"You do know that as a minor you're limited on what you can get, right?"
"Minor! I'm thirteen years old!" he practically shouted.
"Aw, good for you. You've entered the awkward stage of your life," Anko patted and ruffled his head like a dog.
"Arghh. Quit it!" Naruto batted away her hands. "Why the hell can't I get what I want?"
"Never said that. I said you're limited. Until you graduate and become a fully fledge ninja, you need an adult or guardian to sign off on what you can buy. We're a village that makes ninja, but we're not stupid. Think of the bad rep we'd get if we allowed just anyone to buy a weapon. Not to mention the lawsuits," had this still been Konoha during its early years no one would have cared but laws had since been put into place for a reason.
"Great. I'm an orphan living on my own so I'm screwed," Naruto scowled.
"Not true, Gaki," from her fishnet mesh shirt top Anko produced a piece of paper, "By order of Hokage-sama, I'm now your guardian. At least until you graduate," she forwent saying she was being paid a low B-Rank mission wage a month by the man to look after him.
"… Did...Did you have to bring em– I mean. Did you have to bring it out like that," he corrected himself and hoped he'd been quick enough. However, Anko's smirk told him it was too late. Damn it.
"Aww, did I get a reaction outta you?" seeing him blush and try to hide it miserably only confirmed her suspicions, "Oh, who's a horny little bastard?" Anko teased, pressing his face into her generous chest and becoming the envy of several passers-by.
"Oh, kami, please kill me," Naruto had a deep appreciation of the female body – he had for quite some time now and wouldn't have created his Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique) – and he wouldn't have minded this had a bunch of other people not been around to witness this. Ironic considering he wasn't afraid to use his patented Sexy Technique in public.
"Maybe later. Bottom line is, Gaki, your ass is mine from now on 'till you graduate, or if you die from my methods. Whichever comes first," she shrugged.
"Oh, joy," Naruto could only imagine the horrors that awaited him. Finally getting out of her grasp, her releasing him would be a more accurate description, Naruto asked in a hushed tone, "Did you tell him?"
"About your reality binding-dimension hopping to a post apocalyptic world filled with undead that give you money and other goods if you kill em? No. But it doesn't mean he doesn't suspect something's up. Pretty sure you know that, too," Naruto nodded.
"I'll tell him. Just not now and when the time is right," he promised her; Anko merely nodded and already suspected as such from what her leader told her about Naruto, "So, guardian, where to next then?"
"Depends. How much do you have?" she asked half serious half curious.
"After your cut and what I saved up," Naruto quickly looked it up and then answered, "A little over thirty-two thousand ryo."
"Not bad," it wasn't great but the amount was enough to get Naruto some decent beginner gear, "Okay, next stop is Higurashi's Shinobi Arms."
"Higurashi's? Isn't that in the ritzy part of Konoha?" Naruto recalled.
"Good memory. And, yeah, it is. The place is high end but worth the dough. You don't want gear that crap out on ya when you're out in the field. It can mean a matter of life and death," she informed him before leaping away.
Following after her, Naruto landed in front of a building approximately five minutes later. The moment he entered did the sight of various weapons, ninja tools, and protective gear enter his vision. From katana to tantos, light to plated armor, and shuriken to custom made kunai. All in all, everything looked to be in prestigious order.
"Woah," Naruto was in awe at what he saw.
"Pretty much sums it," Anko had reacted the same way when she first came in here, "Place has been here since Konoha's founding. Like I said, it's pricy compared to the other places, but if you want top notch quality goods that won't quit on ya, this is the place to get em."
"Nice to hear you say that, Anko," Naruto turned towards the counter and spotted a tall six foot four man with an eye patch. "Who's the kid? Thought you said you'd give up dango before mentoring?"
"Did I? Don't remember saying that?"
"I believe your exact words were, and I quote, I'd rather give up dango than teach some snot nose brats who wouldn't know shit on how to use kunai or shuriken even if their lives depended on it. Remember now?" the man asked an embarrassed looking kunoichi, "To be fair, you were pretty drunk at the time. But you being you I thought you'd remember it anyways."
"I'll take your word for it. Anyway, I thought it was high time Konoha needed another me. So I'm just giving the gaki a few pointers on raising a little hell," Anko said.
"Another Anko. Should I be worried?" the man laughed and ducked under a hail of shuriken, his laughing never stopped.
"I have a feeling she's gonna be a bad influence," Naruto guessed but put that thought away as he was approach by the tall man. Now that he was closer, Naruto saw that the man was pretty darn muscular and had a variety of scars along his arms
"Tetsumaru, friends call me Tetsu. Owner of this fine establishment and retired ninja," the man introduced himself. If his appearance wasn't proof enough, Naruto didn't doubt that he was a former ninja the way he held himself.
Tetsu's arms were the size of Naruto's head, tan skin, dark brown hair and goatee with a wicked scar that went along his right eye with an eye-patch covering it up. He was pretty good looking and had a very good build and it was evident that he was all muscle and little to no fat. It made Naruto wonder why the man was no longer a ninja. He looked pretty strong in his books.
"Why aren't you a ninja anymore?" in typically Naruto manner the boy was blunt and to the point.
"Ughh," Anko mentally face palmed, "Note to self: teach him about subtlety and tact."
Tetsu merely smirked, "You don't beat around the bush do you, kid?"
|Your lack of thinking and tact has resulted in -50 Reputation with Anko!|
"Crap!" Naruto was mentally kicking himself. "Sorry."
"Bah, no harm done, kid," he said and slapped the boy on the back as a show of good faith, accidentally knocking Naruto over face into the ground in the process.
"Oww," Naruto groaned from the floor.
"Oops, scrawny little thing aren't ya?" he laughed as he helped a grumbling Naruto up. "Anyways to answer your question I'm a widower. My wife passed away several years back and I've been raising our daughter by myself. My girl's tough as nails but took to losing her mother kinda hard even if she didn't show it. Didn't want her growing up without a parent and being a shinobi is an occupational hazard so I retired from active duty and began training her when she said she wanted to become a kunoichi."
"Oh, yeah. Didn't little Ten-chan graduate this year?" Anko asked having gotten acquainted with the man's daughter through her visits.
"Yep, kunoichi of the year," he puffed out with pride, "being taught by Maito Gai of all people so it's mostly me here with a few workers now that she's a Genin."
"Gai's teaching students?" Anko was shocked and Naruto saw what he thought was a brief look of sympathy. "Oh, those poor brats. How's she holding up?"
"Well," here Tetsu dragged the word, "Let's just say she's happy one of her team-members is normal."
"That bad?"
"She's been with them for a few months and while she can tolerate him and his little mini-me she's still not used to it," was another way of putting it. "But make no mistake, Gai's one of Konoha's elite Jonin for a reason."
Anko wouldn't dispute that claim. Eccentric as Gai was, and that was putting it very lightly, like Kakashi the man was not only one of Konoha's strongest Jonin, but Hi no Kuni's as well.
"Anyways you two obviously didn't come here to talk," Tetsu got down to business, "What can I do for you?"
"Not much for me really but the gaki here is in need of equipment," Anko told him. "He's frugal so he's got about thirty-two thousand ryo on him."
"Decent amount. Though, to be frank, that kind of money won't get you some of our better equipment or weapons other than shuriken and kunai and a few stacks of yer common variety exploding tags but we do have some decent protective gear for beginners in that price range over there. Just holler if you need help, got an order that needs some attention at the moment."
"Thanks," Naruto proceeded to browse through the selection before spotting something in a box, "Hey, nice!"
"Found some… What the hell!" Anko couldn't believe what he was holding.
In his hands was another orange jumpsuit with blue on the upper shoulders area as well as around the waist, a white swirl with a tassel on the left side, a red swirl crest on the back, a large white collar, orange pants wrapped around from the hanger.
"What do you think? Looks cool huh?" Naruto grinned at the find.
Anko's eye however merely twitched, "Gaki, step away from that monstrosity and no one gets hurt."
"What? But it's cool, orange, and cheap… and orange!" Naruto whined and held the outfit protectively.
"Mmmm, good point," Anko lied.
"Really?"
"HELL NO!" she shouted.
"What's going on here?" Tetsu asked, "I leave not ten seconds and… what the hell is that," he pointed at the outfit.
"My new outfit I found?"
"Ok, rephrase. What the hell is that doing in my store? This is a premium shop. There's no way in hell I'd have something like that here," Tetsu stated before realization dawned on him, "Tenten."
"Huh?"
"Nothing," Tetsu waved him off. His daughter was a good kunoichi and had a great deal of interest and understanding with weapons but got very obsessive and narrow minded when new ninja tools came in. However, this wasn't the same case when it came to armor and clothing. It was obvious that it slipped her mind when she signed the forms.
"Where'd you find that anyway?"
"In that box over there, why?" Naruto pointed behind him.
Marching over Tetsu briefly opened the box, closed it just as quickly, took Naruto's outfit before he had time to react, disappeared into the back of his store, before coming back out seconds later, "Well that outta keep the fires going for a while," Tetsu dusted his hands.
"… But it was orange?" Naruto didn't understand the big deal.
"It was an eyesore, had no business in my store, and with all that bright kill on sight color, you might as well wear a target sign that said come and kill me world! Ninja are to appear like normal civilians but the moment you get in a fight you're the most likely to be targeted because of how much it makes you stand out," Tetsu finished.
"He's right, Gaki. You wear that and you'll likely be targeted more so than your teammates cuz it makes you stand out. It's too vibrant to make proper sneak attacks; you'd have to resort to luck. You wanna wear orange, do so outside of combat," Anko advised him. She doubted she'd get him to stop wearing the color all together so at least she'd minimize the amount.
"Alright, enough criticism on his fashion sense, arms up," Tetsu ordered and began taking some quick measurements of Naruto. After a few minutes passed the man began picking out a few ensembles for the boy, "Here you go. Have a gander."
Basic Ninja Training Tunic – Common Quality
Item Type: Upper Body Armor
Durability 45/45
Ordinary and basic protective upper armor used by ninja in training when they practice mock fighting or physical exercises. May not look like much but is decently durable.
Buffs/Perks: +5 DEF
Set Completion (First Bonus): [1/3: Locked]
Set Completion (Second Bonus): [1/5: Locked]
Basic Ninja Training Pants – Common Quality
Item Type: Pants Body Armor
Durability 45/45
Ordinary and basic protective pants armor used by ninja in training when they practice mock fighting or physical exercises. May not look like much but is decently durable.
Buffs/Perks: +5 DEF
Set Completion (First Bonus): [1/3: Locked]
Set Completion (Second Bonus): [1/5: Locked]
Basic Ninja Training Gloves - Common Quality
Item Type: Hand Armor
Durability: 30/30
Ordinary and basic protective hand armor used by ninja in training, the material used in these gloves offers a decent amount of protection and allows for one to strike harder.
Buffs/Perks: +4 DEF
Set Completion (First Bonus): [1/3: Locked]
Set Completion (Second Bonus): [1/5: Locked]
Basic Ninja Training Boots - Common Quality
Item Type: Foot Armor
Durability: 30/30
Ordinary and basic protective foot armour used by ninja in training. May not look like much but is decently durable and allows for swift footwork.
Buffs/Perks: +4 DEF
Set Completion (First Bonus): [1/3: Locked]
Set Completion (Second Bonus): [1/5: Locked]
Basic Ninja Training Utility Belt - Common Quality
Item Type: Waist Armor
Durability: 25/25
Ordinary and basic protective waist armour used by ninja in training that is also used to hold pouches of kunai or shuriken.
Buffs/Perks: +3 DEF
Set Completion (First Bonus): [1/3: Locked]
Set Completion (Second Bonus): [1/5: Locked]
Dark Orange Undershirt - Common Quality
Item Type: Undershirt Accessory
Durability: 20/20
An ordinary shirt that is mainly used for fashion instead of defense.
Buffs/Perks: +1 DEF
Naruto had to admit that it was a heck of a lot better than what he had before and it looked pretty decent too with the orange undershirt. "Hey, gaki hurry up. You posing in the mirror or something?"
Initially frowning at the words, said look was soon replaced by a smirk as an idea popped into his head, "Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique)!"
Hearing the opening of the door Tetsu and Anko looked his way. However, instead of seeing Naruto clad in his new training ensemble, they saw a nude smoke wisped covered Mitarashi Anko, "You called," was the doppelganger's sultry response. For Tetsu the effect was instantaneous as the man was launched into a wall thanks to the sudden nosebleed.
Your actions have resulted in +500 Reputation with Higurashi Tetsumaru!
"Don't know if I should be creeped out or happy about that?" Naruto thought as looked upon the unconscious Tetsu. Either way, he'd take the positive reputation gain.
"Ahem," was Anko's response, "First off, my breasts are bigger than that. If you're gonna transform into me get it right, Gaki."
To say he was stunned by her response was an enormous understatement, "Huh?"
"Secondly, you're a couple of inches shorter than I am, work on it. Thirdly… god damn, I look good," Anko looked at 'herself'. " I knew I was good looking but to see it like this, damn!" here she gave her 'own' breasts a squeeze. "Nice and firm at least."
"What the hell!" a back to normal Naruto wondered why his plan didn't work. The breasts touching thing had been weird as hell too.
"You're a hundred years too early to try and pull a fast one like that on me," she smirked. "If you think me seeing myself naked would get a rise out of me you're dead wrong. I sleep all natural for one. And Kunoichi and shinobi do missions that sometimes require us to use a little more physical interaction and sex appeal in order to get the job done," Naruto understood the meaning and blushed a bit.
"Better luck next time," she grinned before looking him over, "Gotta say though, not bad. Good look for you. Hell of a lot better than that jumpsuit you found. Any perks?" she asked. Recalling the set bonuses that came with them, Naruto took a quick look to see what he got.
Basic Ninja Training Set Complete (First Bonus) [5/3]
+10% Effectiveness and Power towards E-Rank and D-Rank Skills
Basic Ninja Training Set Complete (Second Bonus) [5/5]
+10% additional EXP towards E-Rank and D-Rank Skills
"Decent boost towards E and D level skills but that's pretty much it," it was an okay bonus but Naruto had expected such a thing considering it was basic level armour.
"Don't dis em. I'll admit, aside some techniques like Kawarimi and Henge, most E and D level techniques aren't of much use down the line, but they act as a basis for the more effective techniques you learn," Anko lectured him. The act almost had Naruto comparing her to Iruka were it not for her provocative attire and her unique demeanour.
"Uhh," both Anko and Naruto heard Tetsu groan as he woke up, "Damn, I just had the weirdest dream… Oh, wait."
"So, Tetsu, like what you saw?" Anko emphasized it by pressing her breasts together and not so subtly thrusting them forward, getting a rise out of him.
"Damn it! Should of known having two of you would be trouble," the man cursed and thanked his luck that Anko hadn't managed to influence Tenten the rare times he had her look after the girl. After dusting himself off and cleaning away the blood from his nostrils, Tetsumaru gave Naruto a good look over, "Not bad. Not bad at all. Better than that jumpsuit anyway."
"Thanks. How much?" Naruto asked.
"Like I said, my stuff isn't cheap. Even the basic stuff is pricy so that will be about eight thousand ryo per set. You get a discount if you buy three sets and I'll even throw in a book on intermediate shuriken and kunai techniques along with a book on intermediate academy level taijutsu," Naruto recalled how many usually tried to charge that much for just two sets despite the fact they weren't the greatest of protective gear. This gear, while much pricier, was made of material that was much stronger and durable than the ones used by civilian clothing stores.
"Thanks, but I already have a book on the intermediate shuriken and kunaijutsu," though even then it wasn't like he had been able to put the [Intermediate Shurikenjutsu and Kunaijutsu Skill] to much use recently, "Think you can throw in a book on the advanced stuff instead?"
"Only if you still buy the three sets," Tetsu liked Naruto but business was business.
"Deal!" Naruto agreed and handed over a total of twenty-two thousand ryo.
"Oh, Gaki, you've a thing or two to learn about bartering," Anko merely added that to the list of things to teach him. While seldom used, bartering was still a useful skill to have under one's belt, "You good now?"
"Umm, I was wondering if there was enough left for a decent weapon?" Naruto asked. While he liked Seishoyo and its abilities, it was more geared towards undead beings. As enemies got stronger, it would start to become a less effective weapon.
"If we're talking about something other than shuriken and kunai then no. My weapons go for sixty-thousand ryo or more," Tetsu informed a floored Naruto. Naruto realized he'd have to go into the zombie dungeon and defeat the Legion Zombie three times just to earn that much.
"Told you he was pricy," Anko reaffirmed.
"Pricy but you get what you pay for. However, before we even go there, I need to ask a few questions. Any weapon experience other than with kunai or shuriken?" more than once would newly graduates, or those who wanted a weapon, would buy something thinking it was cool when Tetsu was out and later came back to try and return their purchase because they had no idea how to use it or it felt off.
"Uh… I used a lead pipe a few times does that count?" Naruto asked and missed Anko face palming behind him.
"A lead pipe?" that was definitely a new one in his books, "Anko?"
"Gaki used one against a wooden post to strengthen himself when he could afford a real weapon," Anko covered for her new ward. She added another thing to list of things to brush up on: lying.
Tetsu thought nothing more of it and believed the kunoichi, "So experience with blunt weapons. Not much of a selection in that category given that most ninja go for bladed weapons, unless you're from Iwa. Take a look and see if anything catches your eye," Tetsu pointed at the wall.
As Naruto went through them all, he couldn't help but drool a bit at how awesome the weapons were. The kanabo and nunchuks he saw were at the moment beyond him due to his DEX and STR being too low. The Bo staff Naruto had to admit was pretty good but felt a bit off to him, Tetsu had said it was most likely the size was too long since they averaged at near six feet and gave him a smaller one.
Fairly long still but it felt more comfortable. As he tried the rest of them, Naruto had to say that he currently felt more comfortable with the hanbo and tanbo, more so with the hanbo as the feeling was similar to when he used his pipe or Seishoyo.
"Anything else?" he asked.
"Sorry, kid, but that's all the blunt weapons I have. Like I said, ninja use mostly bladed weapons. You can take a look at the bladed weapons over there if you like."
Giving it a shot, as there wasn't anything to lose, Naruto's eyes wandered over the multiple swords that ranged from small than his arm to being twice as long as his body. He had to admit while his current weapon was good, it would make more sense for him to have a proper weapon such as a tanto, wakizashi, ninjato, or some sort of bladed weapon. Then again conforming to the norm wasn't really his style. The only problem that kept coming up.
"They're too expensive," Naruto wanted to cry. All of Tetsu's weapons were all ranked as [Uncommon] and [Rare] and had incredible attack power but each one he saw were priced well over sixty thousand ryo. Hell. One kanabo he saw was priced at a whopping one hundred and ten thousand. If he busted his ass Naruto knew he could earn the amount of money needed for such weapons. However, him suddenly coming here with said required amount with his background would raise a lot of questions.
|For thinking things through, your INT has increased by 1!|
As he continued to look at the array of bladed weapons, Naruto's eyes were suddenly locked on to a very large sword red and black blade the size of a man that hung above the others like a trophy, "What's that?"
"Hmm?" casting a look at where Naruto was looking, Tetsu merely chuckled, "Good taste, but I'm proud to say that ain't for sale. That baby's mine."
"What is it?"
"That's a zanbato (Horse-Slaying Sword), and sorry kid but there's no way in hell you're gonna be able to lift Zanma (Decapitating Demon) as you are now. Took me years to get the physical strength and experience I needed to use it at its max. Hung her up there when I retired. If you want one you're gonna have to show me you have the required strength and only then will I make a special order and that isn't cheap, especially for a zanbato."
"Can't be that heavy," Naruto said.
"That sword there weighs a little over two hundred and fifty kilograms … that's a little over five hundred and fifty pounds, and that's with seals on it to make it lighter," he elaborated to a bug eyed Naruto.
"Yeah, mastering a Zanbato is an arduous and time consuming task, but very rewarding if you ask me. Few to none can stand up to their blows because of the sheer force behind them. Their bulk makes them act like a club just as well as a sword, too, so they make good anti-armour weapons. Think you got what it takes to get yourself that fit?"
[QUEST ALERT!]
Basic Mastery of the Horse Slaying Sword
Main Quest: Increase STR to 110 to be able to wield a [Zanbato] class sword.
Secondary Main Quest: Increase [Bladed Weapon Mastery] to Journeyman level.
Main Quest Completion: 8500 EXP, +3 Attribute Points, +1000 Reputation [Tetsumaru]
Secondary Main Quest Completion: 6500 EXP, +500 Reputation [Tetsumaru], [?]
Accept Quest? (Yes/No)
Quest is Optional and can be taken at any time.
"He wasn't kidding when he said it would be heavy," Naruto's current STR level was fifteen and he needed over seven times that much just to wield that class of sword. But before he accepted something that would take a lot of time and effort, Naruto asked the weapon shop owner for a demonstration.
The man merely grinned a deadly looking grin before he freed Zanma from its holding place and excused himself momentarily. When he was done doing what he needed to do, Tetsu called both Anko and Naruto to the back of the store and into the woods behind it where he directed them both to a training field with various wooden dummies, tree posts, and metal beams the size of an adult.
As Tetsu began stretching and rolling his neck, he gave Naruto a few words of advise, "Been a while since I've done this but try not to blink, kid."
"Blink?" Naruto had no time to think of anything else as Tetsu grabbed his sword and vanished in the blink of an eye. Wind and dust rushed towards him and two dummies were bifurcated at the waist and then from head to groin, the ground beneath them cleaving open like a ruptured wound.
Unbelievable to his eyes, Naruto saw the metal beams slowly fall to pieces when various cuts from different angles became more and more pronounced. Each piece landed with an audible thud that shook the ground he stood on. A few piece still suspended in mid air were batted away like balls from a bat as Tetsu appeared in between them.
The pieces pierced and embedded themselves in the nearby trees as though they weren't there in the first place. Naruto knew enough about Konoha's trees to know they were easily the largest, thickest, and strongest of trees on the continent. He remembered how the Old Man said that cutting them required using especially skilled and strong individuals.
It was a testament of how physically powerful the man before was, despite his claim at being retired. So distracted by the act was he that Naruto didn't realize that Zanma was sailing towards him with the intent of releasing his head from his shoulders. By the time he did, Naruto realized that he'd be dead had Tetsu not stopped the blade less than a hair length away from his neck.
"The hell!" Naruto finally reacted, fell on his ass, and could only look between the blade and the one wielding it.
"You were distracted. Never get distracted," the man advised. "But as you can plainly see, even with me out of touch I still got the moves."
"I dunno. I think you've slowed down with your old age," Anko teased.
"I'm thirty-seven, Anko," the man deadpanned.
"Yeah. Like I said, old age," she stood by what she said.
"I'm not old!" Tetsumaru shouted childishly before recomposing himself, "As you can see, worth the time and effort," the man grinned. Needless to say, by the time they got back to the shop, Naruto accepted the quest without question. "Any questions?"
Naruto actually didn't have any at that moment but he couldn't help but ask, "Why do you call your sword Zanma?" in response Tetsu merely rummaged through some things before tossing him a little black book.
"Bingo Book? What's that?"
Tetsu merely looked at Anko with a disbelieving look mouthing, "Really?" her way, which she merely sighed.
"Definitely needs an overhaul," Anko wondered if the pay was worth the headache she was likely to be facing down the line.
"Bottom line, when a ninja does certain things they sometimes get themselves put into that book. Usually a person's name is put in there for things they did in a war against the enemy, defected, stole, have critical knowledge, or they did horrible things."
Immediately a window popped up in front of Naruto when he finished.
Bounty Hunting
There are many ways for one to earn money in the world, one of the most lucrative ways is collecting bounties. Bounties are placed on individuals for a multitude of reasons such as actions done against enemy factions, attacking others and villages, or for being a Nuke-nin. The value of bounties vary in different countries for different reasons as some may pay more for the corpse while others will pay less, some bounties will even require the individual to be brought in alive. Bounties much like missions are separated into categories: D, C, B, A, S, and above.
Note: Depending on the individual a bounty can have either negative or positive outcomes such as the gratitude of a village or the wrath of a lover, clan or family.
Note: The rank of an individual in the Bingo Books doesn't always relate to their strength as some may simply have stolen valuable information or irreplaceable items from a village.
Average D-Rank Bounties: 30,000 – 49,999
Average C-Rank Bounties: +50,000 -149,999
Average B-Rank Bounties: +150,000 -999,999
Average A-Rank Bounties: +1,000,000 – 79,999,999
Average S-Rank Bounties: +80,000,000 – 149,999,999
Above S-Rank Bounties: +149,999,999
Browsing through it, Naruto came upon Tetsu's page did his eyes bulged out, "Twenty nine million ryo with Iwa and Kumo but sixty million ryo with Kiri!" he looked at the grinning man. Naruto had suspected from the display he put on, but if what he read was true it meant the man was an A-rank ninja. In other words, Tetsu was a former Jonin. "What the hell did you do?"
Tetsu merely gave him a blank look as he pointed to the book in his hands, "…Oh, right," Naruto realized that it was a dumb thing to say. "Wanted for killing Juzo Biwa of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kiri, aka the Kekkon no Kijin (Blood-Soaked Demon). Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kiri? Who are they?"
Both senior ninja could only sigh heavily once more.
"Think of them as Kiri's best of the best and second only to their Kage in terms of strength. Don't get me wrong, Juzo Biwa was very strong but his encounter with one of our own, may he rest in peace, weakened him. Heard Kiri wanted to replace him with another potential swordsman and he set out to prove he was still fit for action. He started slaughtering civilian women, children, men and ninja in our borders without mercy. And some of them being my own family," Tetsumaru's face turned ugly as memories from the incident came flooding back. Killing Intent was briefly leaked and Naruto was glad for [Gamer's Mind] protecting him; Anko had merely frowned.
"Any way, I tracked that bastard down and fought him several days later and chopped off his head; he took my eye out in the process though. Didn't care in the slightest. That psychopath was too dangerous and insane to be left alive so it was worth the loss. That's how Zanma earned her name and I was called Zanmato no Tetsumaru (Tetsu of the Decapitating Demon Blade). I got a very nice nest egg from him too, " Tetsu finished with a grin. The man nearly fainted when he collected the bounty on the man's head. His wife, however, did faint.
"So that's why you're in the Bingo Books?"
"Well… partly," here the man was slightly embarrassed.
"Huh?"
"After finishing off Juzo, Tetsu here got it into his head to take the Kubikiribōchō (Decapitating Carving Knife), Juzo's weapon, back with him to Konoha," Anko jumped in.
"So? What's so important about this guy's sword?"
The comment once more got Anko to hang her head, "Seriously what the hell do they teach these brats nowadays?" she tempted to go back to the Hokage Tower after this. Not knowing who the Seven Swordsmen of Kiri were was a warning sign in her mind. Konoha's Genin would most likely be made a laughing stock if they didn't know this sort of thing, "Then again the gaki's not the sharpest tool in the pouch. Could have just skipped through that lesson."
"The Seven Swordsmen date back to when Kiri was founded, gaki. Like Tetsu said, they are Kiri's most elite, their strongest fighters, and their swords are wanted for their unique properties and abilities. To them the death of a Seven Swordsman is not as important as the whereabouts and safety of one of their swords. If one of them dies they can be replaced. The swords, on the other hand, can't because whoever made them aren't alive anymore. And with the materials used being unknown no one has any way of replicating them. In the Kubikiribōchō's case, the sword is the almost the same size as Zanma but not only is the metal one third of the weight but it's as strong as the densest of metals. Add that it regenerates itself by using the iron in the blood of those it cuts and you've got yourself a badass weapon," Anko had to admit it was her kind of weapon. Too bad it was too cumbersome for her to use and didn't support her fighting style.
"That's why I wanted it, kid. Think about it! You have a family sword, an heirloom that's been in your family for generations, and it gets damaged beyond normal means of repair. The Kubikiribōchō's ability allows it to go from a useless blade to fully restored in a matter of minutes and all it needs is blood. My wife was a genius when it came to weapons," here Anko snorted and muttered OCD weapon fanatic, "and her hands, she could probably have figured out a way to replicate its ability and find a way that didn't require the use of blood."
Here the man sighed, "Unfortunately, I lost the god damn thing in a skirmish a couple days later against Kiri's Hijō Konbi (Heartless Pair), Jinpachi Munashi and Kushimaru Kuriare. Both of which were members of Seven Swordsmen and bloodthirsty bastards. In their minds, if anyone other than a Swordsmen or the Kage touched the Seven Swordsmen blades, they should be killed. Alone I had a better chance of winning against one of them but against both of them I'd have better luck trying to get a rock to float in water. Adding to the fact I was leading a rescued Genin team back to the border with me meant I had no choice but to bolt. Luckily they were more interested in the sword so I threw it in a deep ravine with a strong current. They chased after it instead of us. Important as the sword, I wasn't about t risk the life of another. It wasn't worth it. But me trying to steal one of their fabled swords had me blacklisted with Kiri ever since. They take that kind of thing very seriously."
"Gotta say I don't care much about history but that was actually pretty good compared to Iruka-sensei's bedtime stories," Naruto had lost count to how many times he and a few others fell asleep to the man's history lessons. Shikamaru himself fell immediately asleep then moment the lesson began, usually Iruka needed to go on for a few minutes before it happened.
"Yeah. Umino's a good ninja but even my daughter admitted that he's a little to bland at times," the man smirked. "Sorry we couldn't find ya a weapon that suited you. However," rummaging through some things out back the man returned with a sheet of paper, "Here, to make it up to you."
"Wow, paper! Thanks," what the hell was he supposed to do with paper. Write Tetsu a thank you note?
"That's chakra paper, gaki. You put your chakra into it to see what your elemental affinity is," Anko informed him. "This way when you start to learn jutsu you'll know what to focus on."
"Can't I just learn as many elemental ninjutsu as I want?"
"First off, lose that mindset. Secondly, no can do. You could try but it takes years for people to learn and master just a single element, and that's with them having an affinity or some kind of natural talent for it. Even for prodigies it usually takes two or three non-consecutive years. Thirdly, people are usually born with a primary affinity, and sometimes if you're lucky a secondary one. Those primary and secondary affinities allow them to learn techniques for those elements much faster but their opposing natures will take longer. In other words, if you have an affinity for fire then learning Suiton Ninjutsu will go much more slowly, unless you have a bloodline limit or affinity related to it. It won't be impossible but you won't have as easy a time learning those kinds of techniques otherwise. By the way you do know what the elemental affinities are, right?"
"Duh. Fire, Water, uh… Earth, Wind, and … and… oh! Lighting!" Naruto recalled the lesson. It was one of the few boring ones he actually paid attention to.
"Good. When you push chakra into it the following will potentially happen. Fire will ignite it. Wind will split it in two. Lightning will crinkle it. Earth will turn it to dust. And Water will make it wet. Give it a shot," Anko said.
Focusing as well as he could, Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated on flowing his chakra into the paper. It wasn't a second later when the boy heard the paper ripping in two before the two halves ignited.
|Congratulations! You have discovered your elemental affinities!|
Wind Affinity (Primary) A rarity among the other affinities to those who live outside of Kaze no Kuni, techniques with this affinity are performed by making chakra as sharp and thin as possible. Wind Release is mainly short to mid-ranged offensive techniques that combine brute force and keen precision to cutting, concussive, and slashing damage. True masters of Futon are capable of performing feats that leave many in fear such as creating hurricane force winds to tear apart the opposition.
· Increases the power, speed and effectiveness of wind based skills by 20%
· Decreases chakra used for wind based skills skills by 20%
· Increases experience gain when learning and using wind based skills by 20%
Fire Affinity (Secondary) A fairly common affinity that is usually affiliated with the Tiger hand seal. Techniques with this affinity are mostly offensive and are mid to long-ranged techniques that cause combustive and explosive damage. Though weak against Suiton, experts of Katon ninjutsu are capable of evaporating water as well as melt rock, armor, and enhanced metal with little effort, while masters of the art are capable of leaving only ash behind and capable of making most water based techniques useless.
· Increases the power, speed, and effectiveness of fire based skills by 10%
· Decrease chakra used for fire based skills by 10%
· Increases experience gain when learning and using fire based skills by 10%
"Whoa! Don't see that every day," Tetsu remarked.
"So a primary wind affinity and a secondary fire one," Anko explained and had to admit this was a pretty uncommon phenomenon.
"Sweet! I have wind and fire!"
"Well, it's good and bad," Anko burst his bubble, "Good because you have two affinities that compliment each other and because they let you cover all ranges. However, both are pretty much offensive oriented with little to no defensive techniques. So you're screwed on that part unless you come up with your own, which won't be easy."
Tetsu decided to chime in as well, "Plus, unlike fire, which is common in Hi no Kuni, wind is considered rare unless you're from Kaze no Kuni and there aren't that many masters or practitioners in Konoha. One of the few I know off-hand would be the Sandaime's son, Sarutobi Asuma. Asked me to make him a pair of Chakra Blade Trench Knives to compliment his Futon techniques. Problem is-"
"Yeah," Anko nodded and knew where he was going.
"Uh, hello? I don't know what the problem is!" Nauto shouted to their embarrassment.
"Oh, right. Asuma's kinda laidback and doesn't do anything unless he really needs to. So unless he's your teacher or unless you hire him to teach you you're sol. There are only two other Futon masters in Konoha. One is Shimura Danzo, but trust me when I say you don't want him as a teacher," Anko's face turned into a snarl.
"And the other?" Naruto asked, slightly frightened by her expression and made a note not the meet the man.
"Mugurama Kensei," Tetsu cut in, "He was Asuma's Futon instructor. He and Danzo are easily the best Futon users in Konoha and our only Futon masters. Unfortunately, he passed away sometime after the Kyubi Incident from a crippling injury that only got worse. He had no kids but I think I heard someone say that anything he had was willed to Asuma So like Anko said, you're out of luck," Tetsu apologized.
"So my options are either a guy who sounds like he doesn't give a crap or someone I really don't wanna deal with?" Naruto summed it up. It wasn't like he could bring a dead man back to life.
"Pretty much," Anko nodded.
"You guys really love getting my hopes up, don't you?" Naruto deadpanned.
"Sorry," the two half-heartedly apologized.
Thanking him once more, Naruto left the store with Anko as Tetsu went back to finish his project.
"Alright, since that's done, come with me," Anko took a hold of him and soon after a few more flickers did they find themselves near a training field.
"Why are we here?" Naruto asked Anko.
"Well, in my time, the purpose of a training ground was for training," was her answer. "Like I said before, your ass is mine till you graduate. And kid, you need a serious tune-up. If I or Midori weren't in there with you you'd be dead."
"Way to sugar coat it," Naruto muttered and idly wondered if he should bother telling her about the fact he couldn't die in an Instant Dungeon.
"I was sugar coating it, gaki. If I wasn't I would have called you dumber than a ten pound bag of stupid," Anko stared at him impassively before sighing, "Look, normally I wouldn't give two shits about training some snot nose brat. Hell, I could be training myself and doing other things than this."
Naruto didn't care for the insult, she'd pay for that one, but he was confused by what followed, "Then why are you?"
Anko merely looked at him, "Honestly, maybe its cause you remind me of me. You're an orphan like me full of piss and vinegar and eager to prove yourself to a world that doesn't really care what happens to use. Also, part me of me feels responsible for you from the small amount of time I've spent with you after what just transpired. You said you're dream is to become Hokage, right?"
Naruto nodded vigorously, "Yeah! I'm gonna…"
"Ahbabbhubup!" she stopped, "Don't wanna hear it, gaki. It's a good goal and if you get it good for you. But realistically you're a very long way from getting the hat. I wouldn't be able to tell you how to go about it since becoming Hokage was never on my to do list. But one thing I do know is that what all the Hokage candidates had in common was this: leadership, power, willingness to give their lives for the village, and having the backing of the village. Things you're missing."
Naruto merely frowned as Anko listed the things he needed. It wasn't his fault many in the village didn't like him… Well, maybe doing pranks on others didn't help.
"At the moment you're gonna need to focus more on refinement than your offense," Anko suggested. "However, before we do that we're gonna play a little game I like to call, Snake and Mouse," she grinned.
"Uhhh, don't you mean Cat and Mouse?" Naruto asked.
"Not with my version," she said as Midori yawned and her sharp fangs glistened in the sun's rays. "Hey, Midori. Up for a little round of Snake and Mouse?"
Naruto paled considerably. He had seen what Midori could do first hand and wasn't all that interested in being her chew toy, or lunch for that matter, or becoming flatter than a pancake.
"Can't murder now, sleeping," Midori yawned and slithered off somewhere else where she could peacefully go back to sleep.
"Murder," Naruto paled even further. "What the hell kinda game is this!?'
"Hey! Get back here! Don't go back to sleep! Hey, wake up you lazy worm!" but it was no use, Anko knew that Midori would have camouflaged and hidden herself very well so trying to find her would be a waste of time.
Anko blushed and hung her head in embarrassment. "This is not how I envisioned this moment."
Naruto meanwhile looked like he was ready to bust a gut and failing hard to hold it in, "If you so much as utter one syllable, gaki, I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN AND GUT YOU LIKE A FISH!" she roared at him.
It did the trick.
"As always, works like a charm," she loved it when her plans came together.
"Alright, now seeing as how that lazy reptile is getting her beauty sleepy," she glared at the woods where the hidden serpent slept, "I guess I'll have you show me how fit you are and see what needs improving."
[QUEST ALERT!]
Remedial Training (Daily Quest)
Main Quest: Train for more than one hour.
Side Quest: Train for more than two hours.
Side Quest 2: Train for more than three hours.
Main Quest Completion: +650 EXP, +150 Reputation [Anko]
Side Quest 1 Completion: +200 EXP, +50 Reputation [Anko],
Side Quest 2 Completion: +250 EXP, +75 Reputation [Anko], +1 Attribute Point
Failure: 100 EXP, -50 Reputation [Anko]
Note: Quest can be retaken after twenty-four hours.
(Quest is Mandatory)
"To start, drop and give me as many push ups till I tell you to stop," she ordered. Naruto thought it didn't sound like much and immediately set out to do as commanded.
"Stop. All wrong," halfway into his first ten push-ups did Anko make her displeasure known. Naruto was confused as to what exactly was wrong about it, "First off, you need to go all the down, not just part way. Second, your arms and body aren't positioned correctly. The way you're doing it will still give you a workout but it won't be as intense."
"But I've always done it this way?"
"Still makes it wrong regardless. Hasn't anyone bothered correcting you?" by his look she got her answer. "Never mind. Let me show you how it's done."
Setting him in the correct stance, which felt very different and awkward than what he was usually used to, Naruto began his push-ups. By the time Naruto had been ordered to stop, his arms were very much sorer than how they'd normally be.
After the push-ups were done, Anko ordered Naruto to perform some sit-ups. His form in this exercise was better so Anko didn't bother correcting him. After a while, Anko ordered him to stop before she handed him a nearby stone and had him recommence his exercise.
This went on for quite some time before Anko felt she had a decent grasp on the situation, "Gotta say, Gaki, not bad," Anko was being honest, as most Genin would be sweating like crazy or on the ground panting.
"The amount of stamina he's got for his age is nuts," Anko wondered if that was all Naruto or if the Kyubi had a role in it, or both. Either way, whomever he took to bed would be damn happy.
"Alright, now let's start on your taijustu next."
Both Naruto and Anko would unfortunately learn that almost all of his forms were wrong. Anko swore to give the academy instructors a good old torture session when she had the chance. It would take Naruto quite some to get use to the new movements now since they all felt foreign to him.
Anko had merely stated that since his body was so used to doing it in a certain way it had developed muscle memory for that specific movement, making it easier to perform. Now that he was doing it differently his body was adjusting to the new forms. Luckily his stamina would help make the process easier.
"Give me ten more front kicks on that log, gaki, and put some muscle into it!" Anko barked as she did her own set of exercises while maintaining a watchful eye on him.
"Sadistic son of a … " Naruto grunted out before kicking the log.
"I heard that! Another twenty!"
Naruto merely grunted some more but did as he was told. Once he was done, Naruto had to take off his shirt that was heavily soaked in his sweat after only three hours of working out.
Beforehand he was able to do between four and five hours; sometimes if he really pushed himself, he could go for six. It made Naruto realize just how bad he had been doing it and had a while to go at correcting his movements, "Oh, well. At least I increased my STR by three and my taijutsu by one," the latter of which had been increase to the academy's intermediate level.
Naruto realized that much like having proper kunai and shuriken to throw, using the proper technique when working out increased his stats much more quickly.
"All right, gaki, you're done physical exercises for the day," Anko announced; Naruto ignored the pop up for quest completion, "Not bad. You still got a while to go but … Ughhh…. Oh, kami, Gaki, you reek! I can smell you from over here," the woman pinched her nose.
"Look who's talking, Anko-san," Midori now awoke from her nap said.
"Well, if it isn't sleeping beauty herself. Where were you when I wanted to torture my new ward?" the way she said it so casually made Naruto shiver and think this wasn't the first time this occurred.
"Getting some much needed rest," Midori yawned some more, "But in all seriousness, Anko-san, you need a shower," Midori's tongue forked out of her mouth, "though not as badly as him."
Sniffing himself Naruto didn't think he smelt that bad, "Hey, I-"
"She's got a point," Anko emphasized her point by pointing towards her pinched nose. "Well, no matter. Now let's move on to your ninjutsu… Oh, right. Never mind we'll skip that portion," the kunoichi remembering how his repertoire was non-existent.
"Hey! I'll have you know I recently learned the Hidama no Jutsu," Naruto informed her.
"Ooh, a D-Rank technique used for starting campfires. When I was an academy student the requirements were the academy three and demonstrating that we could properly use three C-rank techniques, with at least one of them being lethal," Anko retorted.
"You mean you guys got to learn awesome ninjutsu! What the hell!" the fairness of it all sucked in his mind.
"What the hell indeed, gaki," Anko sighed, "Okay, so other than that do you at least know the Ki Nobori no Shugyō (Tree Climbing Practice)?"
"What's that?"
"I'm gonna kill em," was Anko's mental note, "It's a chakra control exercise. You learn it after completing the leaf balancing one."
"We do? But we just started learning that," Naruto informed her.
Anko merely sighed and wanted to bash in some skulls once more, "They're just now learning it?" in the end Anko guessed it was better than nothing. Truthfully it was it was almost nothing in her books, "Ok, how far are you at it?" she hoped it was far.
"Five leaves," Naruto said and Anko nodded.
"Five leaves. Okay, that's a decent amount," she was being honest as most by now would still be level three at best, considering Naruto's condition of being the Kyubi's jinchuriki and his way above average chakra levels for even a Jonin it was a decent feat.
"Ok, so we can skip on learning the tree climbing exercise till you get up to ten leaves," here Anko adopted a thinking pose on what she could do next. "Hmm, ah! I got it! Snake and Mouse! And if you try to duck out on me again, I'll shish kabob you before you have time to turn into your former self, Midori," Anko glared at the unrepentant looking serpent.
"So feel like you're up for it, gaki?"
[QUEST ALERT!]
Snake and Mouse [Beginner Level]
Main Quest: Avoid being captured by Midori for three minutes.
Side Quest: Avoid being captured by Midori for four and half minutes.
Side Quest: Avoid being captured by Midori for six and half minutes.
Main Quest Completion: +750 EXP, +150 Reputation [Anko] and [Midori]
Side Quest 1 Completion: +350 EXP, +75 Reputation [Anko] and [Midori]
Side Quest 2 Completion: +425 EXP, +100 Reputation [Anko] and [Midori]
Failure: 250 EXP, - 50 Reputation [Anko] and [Midori]
Note: If you fail the quest you can retake it after twenty-four hours.
Accept? (YES/NO)
Naruto wholeheartedly pressed on the yes, "Bring it," was his reply.
"You got balls, gaki," Anko liked the kid's moxie. "Now because you wouldn't last a second against, Midori – myself either for that matter – I want to be fair. So here are the rules."
"Telling me the rules is being fair?" since when was that a thing? "How the hell does that work?"
"Simple, I never tell the rules when I play this game," Anko's sadistic grin appeared.
"Oh, that's fair then," Naruto nearly squeaked.
"Rule one, you're gonna have a thirty second head start, use it well… ok that's not really a rule and more of a generous offering than anything. Rule two, Midori's gonna come at you with the intent to kill and ya don't wanna get bitten so you gotta do the same, gaki. And rule three… READY, SET, GO!" she suddenly shouted.
"No fair! That's cheating!" Naruto ran into the woods as fast as his exhausted body could.
"We're ninja, gaki! Cheating's what we do and life's not fair! Get used to it!" Anko shouted back, "Try not to hurt him too much, Midori."
"No promises, Anko-chan," Midori's grin was similar to her summoner. By the end of it, Naruto would hate this game.
This one came out much more quickly that anticipated. Now the changes to this chapter are that Hiruzen doesn't know. He will, but not for a while, because Naruto has few things to call his own and even though he truest Hiruzen there are still some things Naruto likes to keep to himself. Plus, telling something of this magnitude is likely to affect a lot of things. Now, as for the Abyss Auction House, you'll have to wait and see. I have plans in motion. One of the main reasons why chapters took so long is because I've been world building my stories, still am, amongst other things. However, much of what I have is done so I will be able to post them a little more quickly. My work is highway and weather related for the MTO, but fortunately the weather for the next two months will be very agreeable since Spring came early. Yah!
Anyway, enjoy and review people! Thank you.