edited chapter 21
The genins of team eight are lost in thought on who the mysterious Anbu agent is.
They're not supposed to know since Anbu keeps their Identities a secret for the most part.
But their young, naive minds are mulling over who he could be.
All they have to do is work with his size and voice.
They could have sworn they heard it from somewhere, but who.
Kiba tried smelling his scent to help, but no go.
If they did know him in the past, his scent had changed since then.
Hinata would have used her Byakugan, but his mask blacked the jutsu somehow.
As for Shino's bugs, they suffer the same problem as the Kiba nose.
And Akamaru wasn't much better.
However, besides his size, they did get a glimpse at his blonde hair under his bandana.
Whoever he is, he's going to great lengths in their genin minds to keep his identity a secret from them.
But that will have to wait as they approach the client's place.
A quick looked at the sky revealed it was midday when they arrived.
As for their sensei, he's in the same transformation as yesterday.
The client is standing at the front door of the shop.
"Hello, sir, we're here for the request you sent to the village?" Naruto said to the man.
"Ah, you must be the new genin to protect my shop!"
"Yea, these are the genin Shino, Kiba and Akamaru, and Hinata. I'm there temporarily, sensei. You may call me Nate."
"I figure much given the Konoha headband. You're all Wearing."
"That would be correct. Mind explaining what needs to be done if you please?"
"Right this way," he held the door open for them to go inside.
He showed them around the shop, explaining every detail of the building before finishing off with the ceremonial fan.
"I hope that's all you need to know. I'll be back in a couple of days" the shop owner gave them goodbyes as he left his shop for them.
"Where does he go when he is away, Kitsune sensei" he turned back to normal when the door closed.
"A nearby gambling hall the next town over," he said casually, throwing the genin off once again.
"He gambles while we watch his shop!" Kiba practically shouts.
"Eye on the mission, we have to stop his poot nephew, whoever he ropes into this from stealing the fan!"
"Oh right, so what's the plan?"
"Hinata will be on the roof using her byakugan to spot anyone from a distance. Kiba and Akamaru, your sense of smell will be useful if someone makes rounds of the area. It wouldn't surprise me if someone scouted the shop every so often looking for an opening. And last, Shino, your bugs will be useful to cover the gaps between your squadmates. Sounds like a plan?" They nodded in response.
"And what will you be doing, sensei?"
"Me! I'll be watching from the sidelines. This is your mission, after all!" He said in a reassuring tone.
This got nods from the genin, Naruto shunshinned out of sight.
He found his spot high up. He was hanging in the shadows of a nearby building towering overhead.
The job would last two days. But, for the most part, it was quite the first day.
It was when day two came, putting the genin on edge.
There was more foot traffic around the building, with passers-by taking a glance at the shop.
Someone is knocking on the door only to get no answer.
This even put Naruto on edge from the anticipation of waiting for someone to break in.
As for the genin, per Naruto's orders, they kept themselves hidden.
Where's the fun if the son saw the ninja ahead of time abandoning his goal.
Naruto stepped in on occasion to give the genin a chance to rest and get a few Z's in.
Naruto sent clones out to stay hidden while standing sentry.
It was when the genin returned to their post when something caught Naruto's eye.
There was not one but at least three people approaching the shop in the shadows.
One stayed by Naruto's side to act as eyes for them.
If he's gonna set around while the genins do this mission, he might as well get some training in.
He needs to work on his tail beast clone jutsu, hoping his father can separate Kurama chakra.
He finds himself in the remodeled world of his subconscious with Kurama setting down. Yet, at the same time, his father has an expecting look.
"So, where do we start?"
"Just a refresher. We are trying to separate Kurama's yin and yang chakras from each other."
Minato gave them a brief lecture on how to separate them.
In his words, yang Chakra is considered light style. On the other hand, Yin chakra is regarded as dark style.
Together they represent good vs. evil, light vs. dark. The list goes on.
Through meditation, one has to look inward to themselves. Once that is done, find your chakra pool.
Then you must carefully sense the subtle differences in the chakra to separate them.
If done correctly, one can draw yin and yang chakra.
Unfortunately, most people can only draw from one of the two chakras.
Unless you have a family history of using yin or yang chakra, this is the only way to generate the two chakras.
The only clans that come to mind are the Nara clan for Yin release and the Akimichi clan for Yang release.
Kurama never thought he'd do this, but he sat in the lotus or as close as he could with his fox body.
Then he does the ram hand sign. Naruto decides to join him in this crusade wanting to see if he can do it as well.
Minato stands by to watch the two and pay attention to what is happening outside.
After more than two hours, neither made any progress at all.
This was evident when Naruto let out a massive sigh in defeat. Kurama was in the same boat letting out a sigh of frustration.
"I'm not surprised, unlike the Nara's and Akimichi's who learn this stuff very young at the hand of an older relative. Naruto, Kushina, and I were never there, so it's obviously a struggle for you," he said blankly.
"What about Kurama?" was his son's response.
"All I got was a glimpse before Naruto gave up," he added.
"Wait, how's team eight doing?"
"They're fine. No one has been able to make it past the sidewalk," Minato supplied.
"That's good to hear. Well, I'll leave you to help Kurama. I better check on genin" that was all he said before disappearing.
When he returned, he relieved his clone before using Kurama's eyes jutsu to check on the genin.
A closer look reveals they're all still going strong. For a few more hours, it stayed the same.
A look around reveals the sun just went down. If he remembers, the client will be back by tomorrow night.
Meaning he'll have to replace them so they can rest.
He creates three more shadow clones going to each genin, relieving them of duty.
They join him on the building roof, getting some much-needed rest.
A few hours later, he checks a watch he keeps on hand to see it at about 4:30 in the morning.
His genin squad has gotten about six hours of sleep.
He, without warning, woke them up, getting a slightly scared expression from the anbu sensei.
"Get up. We have about 12 more hours before the shop owner returns!" they jump to their feet, stretching and getting a bite to eat from their rations.
They go to their post as before, relieving the clones of their duty.
Naruto was even more on edge; it was the early morning hours.
It would be the perfect time to break in. Most people are either asleep or struggling to stay awake from waking up early.
He could tell the genin squad is still in the process of waking up from the memories of his clones.
That's when he detected a figure in one of the allies walking by.
He has his full attention on the person. He started turning ever so slightly toward a Window.
He radioed in, telling the three someone at the window on the south side of the shop.
They converge on him but didn't strike, wanting to ensure whoever is trying to get in the shop.
Using her byakugan, Hinata saw the person have something inside their jacket.
"I see what looks to be a glass cutter in his jacket" just as she finished those words, the sound of something metal-cutting glass could be heard.
"Nonlethal takedown!" Naruto demands.
Hinata jumped down, doing a few gentle fist strikes on the man, causing him to fall to the ground.
Naruto jumps down, holding out a picture the owner gave him before leaving.
Sure enough, it was the son, but he has the genin still on guard since who knows if he roped anyone into his scheme.
Naruto kept the man with him to not get away or try again later that day.
Fortunately, nothing came about it, and the owner showed up at 8:00 P.M with a bag of ryo over his shoulder.
"Here's your reward for a job well done. Better luck next year, James!"
He just snorted in response as he left, grumbling how he always faces off against ninja.
"So that is for this C-rank mission."
Kiba let out a shout
in victory, followed up by a bark from Akamaru.
Hinata just giggles, and Shino, well, he didn't do or says anything now that they finished their first C-rank mission. Finally,
Naruto reluctantly says, "now we have to….do the second job," he said in defeat.
This course got looks from the others but kept their mouths shut for now.
"Well, I hate to hold you up any longer."
"Thank you for doing business with Konoha for this mission, sir," Naruto stated in a respectful tone before leaving with the three genins.
They stayed camped out under the stars again, with Naruto staying in a tree, like usual.
It's a two-hour walk from the feudal lord palace, which means two hours till he has to deal with Yukino.
He doesn't hate the girl, she is nice and very friendly to him, and she was accommodating when dealing with Mizuki.
Everyone seems to enjoy her company. She is just a little too clingy for whatever reason.
It's so strange a girl of her status would be so attached to someone younger than her and is shinobi.
People of her status usually don't want anything to do with commoners like him.
He put those thoughts aside as he wanted to see Kurama's progress of separating his yin-yang chakras.
He stood by his father. Kurama is once again in the lotus position doing the ram hand sign.
"So, dad, how far has he come?"
"He just now located his chakra pool. Now he has to identify the two half before moving on!"
"Well, that's good to know. Might as well take a stab at it myself." Naruto got into the same position as Kurama.
After another two hours, Naruto just started to find his chakra pool.
But that as far as he got since he needs to get some sleep.
The following morning they continued the trek to the feudal lord's home.
This whole time the three genins were still working on who their substitute sensei is.
Shino sent his bug to him to get some insight during the night, hoping they didn't get caught.
They needed to go off more than his blonde hair. They learned he has blue eyes.
That knocked out a large number of villagers around their age.
Then they went back to his voice. It sounded familiar, but they couldn't place it.
They pondered this information for an hour when Kitsune said there halfway there with an all too familiar tone.
"Naruto is that you!" Hinata said quietly but loud enough for him to hear. Her teammates backed up her words.
Naruto stopped dead in his track, his whole body becoming tensed up, putting the genin of edge.
They were confident he is Naruto, but since he's in the anbu, he's far stronger than they are.
Not including the fact he's strong enough to replace Kurenai sensei going off the Hokage's words.
His body went limp for a few seconds before turning to face them but not before he scanned the area.
He took off his anbu mask along with his face mask and bandana, revealing the familiar whisker marks.
"Guess I shouldn't surprise you three sniffed me out. You have all the components for a good tracker team," he stated with a neutral expression.
Letting them process this situation, he took off his face mask, putting it in his pouch, pulling out his regular headband.
"This mission is your last chance to see before we return to the village!"
They take one last look at his face before he puts his mask back on.
"If you tell anyone who I am and what I've been up to, your mission history will be wiped clean!" He said in a slightly authoritative tone.
The three did a nervous gulp before nodding to his terms.
"Good, now let's get moving. We have a mission to complete!" He got behind them to cover their back.
The three genins March forward to the feudal lord's palace.
Just under an hour later, they stood before the Feudal lord's home.
They walk to the front gate.
"Hold on, who are you, and why are you here, ninja of Konoha!" One guard said with authority.
"Shima, it's me, Kitsune, there with me!" Naruto says, stepping forward.
"Sorry Kitsune didn't see you there. Are they helping you?"
"I'm subbing for their sensei. The Hokage says they can help me with this mission." He said with a flat tone.
"You may enter" he opened the door allowing them to go in.
Again taking the lead, Naruto leads them to the feudal lord himself to report for duty.
They now stood before the feudal lord.
"A Kitsune, so good to see you again. I take it those three are here to help you?"
"Yes, the Hokage felt they could assist me, so what is needed of me?"
"My niece is having a party between noble girls, and I need someone to make sure no hidden enemies want to. Well, you get the point!"
"Ok, then the party starts tonight, if I'm not mistaken?"
"You are correct, so take the time to rest up after your journey here."
"Will do, sir. I assume we're staying in the same room as last time?"
"You would be correct, although I'm sure Yukino wouldn't mind sharing a room with the beautiful young lady beside you!" He said with a smile, causing pink to dust Hinata's cheeks.
"Ok then, follow me!"
"Hai Kitsune sensei," they followed right behind him.
Knowing it was pointless to hold off, the Inevitable Naruto led them to Yukino's room.
Standing before her room door, he knocks three times before stepping to the side.
A moment later, the door opened, revealing the blue-haired girl who has matured since the last time Naruto saw her.
Without thinking, "Naruto!" She said to bring him into a hug before letting him go at her slip-up.
"Relax, they already know" a look of relief washed over her before her smile grew in size.
And three genin reactions followed. First, Hinata just giggled from the few times they interacted in the past.
Shino, like always, had no visible reaction, and Kiba had a tinge of jealousy at the babe before him, partially hanging off their substitute sensei.
"I'm their stand in sensei. For the time being, the Hokage felt they would help me guard you for this party. Also, is it ok if Hinata stays with you for the time being?"
"Oh, no problem whatsoever!"
"Thank you, Yukino!" Her smile grew to put the young Anbu on edge before she let Hinata in.
"Well, better get set up in our room. We'll see you later."
"Ok," was her simple response before closing her doors.
The two genins followed Naruto to their room for a few days.
Their room was the next hall over. They quickly put the bag and stuff away before heading to the dining hall.
It was a little past noon, so they needed to recharge after a long walk.
They headed towards the dining hall with the girls right behind them.
Naruto took his anbu mask off to eat. Right beside him, much to his annoyance, is Yukino, next to her Hinata.
On the other side of him is Kiba with Akamaru on his head and finally Shino.
Of course, an even bigger shock to the three genins the feudal lord joined them at the table.
Since Naruto is here, Yukino made it very clear she wants ramen.
He wasn't gonna argue since he's always down for ramen. But, of course, I had tea for a drink.
While his genin team chatted with Yukino and wanted to know more about her, Naruto kept glancing at the window.
He noticed a crow as they entered the palace. He knew who sent it and why.
Now he has to find the time to slip away without getting noticed, and with Yukino's jutsu, that will be even harder.
Of course, the only one to notice Naruto glance at it is the feudal lord himself since he saw crows the other day.
He's never seen crows being at the palace since he became the feudal lord.
"Naruto, is there anything you need to do before the party tonight?" He decided to bail him out since it was clear he was more focused on the bird than his students.
"Yes, actually, there is. I have to fill out a report of our previous mission" the anbu agent pulled out his chair to get up.
Yukino and Hinata moved to give him some room.
He quickly jumped to the top of the palace with his superior ninja speed before landing on the tree's highest branch.
As soon as he stopped, a crow landed on an adjacent branch allowing Naruto access to the note on its leg.
"Now, let's see what Itachi has to report," he skillfully decoded the message before putting the letter away.
The crow has an expecting look in its eyes, "Oh right, almost forgot," he pulls out a ration scroll unsealing two crackers.
He holds out his hand flat, allowing the bird to get a snack before flying off to his master.
"How did I get roped into this" he lets out a sigh before going back to the others.
A few hours later, noble girls start coming in. Naruto is with Yukino and Hinata.
Hinata had a slight blush at the royal attire she is wearing. It is a yellow kimono wrapped firmly around her.
Next to her is Yukino in kimono identical to Hinata, but she is the same color as her light blue hair.
And Yukino highlighted her feminine features making Hinata feel a little insecure about herself. However, she doesn't let it bother you too much since this is a mission, the boys there outside, keeping watch while Hinata keeps watching inside with the girl.
Naruto is his usual relaxed self. He has done these missions enough times that the novelty of being around beautiful girls wore off a long time ago.
He's not too worried anything terrible will happen. Yukino got her hidden jutsu.
Hinata has her byakugan, and he can detect negative emotion thanks to Kurama's chakra.
Hinata couldn't tell, but Naruto and Yukino sure did. Kiba was beside himself at all the lovely ladies here tonight.
They ranged from 10 to 15 years of age, with Yukino binging in the oldest of half a dozen girls.
At this party, Hinata's cover is a dear friend of Yukino staying the night with her.
To a certain extent, Hinata joined the same club as his sister, becoming a good friend to Yukino, much to Naruto's annoyance.
He is currently in his full anbu gear with his clones Monitoring the roof.
Shino is watching the walls with his bugs, and Kiba is watching the main hallway.
As for Akamaru, he's with Hinata and Yukino. Kiba cursed the dog for being young and cute enough to be in the same room as the girls.
Besides looking after the girls, his job was to keep them distracted not to worry if something came up.
And he was doing the job to the letter letting them pet him, hug him. He even licked their cheeks, getting giggles from the girls.
He'd do his cute bark and do trick anything to keep the mood happy.
Of course, he has to be on his best behavior, thanks to a triple threat.
Naruto threatens to neuter him. Then, Yukino threatens to keep him from staying in her and Hinata's room when the party ends.
And Hinata threatened to tell Kiba and his family where he keeps his bones stashed away.
Bottom line, if he fucked up, he was screwed. Kiba was no fool; he knows he can't win the battle.
Especially if he wants to keep the two C-rank missions on his record on top of the previous missions.
And what is Shino to all of this, his usual stoic expression fully understanding the consequences if they screw up.
Most of the night remained uneventful till the anbu agent sensed malice in the air.
He radioed to Shino and Kiba to be on guard and Hinata as well.
Fortunately for Hinata, they were doing pin the tail game.
She put on a bandana using her byakugan. A glance at Yukino told her she was aware of Sinister presence.
Naruto sent a few clones off in the direction, using every trick to stay hidden.
Naruto and his clone converge at the presence he detected.
A closer look revealed it looked like a hidden grass ninja, no doubt to use a noble girl as leverage.
He carefully waited for him to get farther and farther down the hall.
On the main room Naruto's single, his two clones descended on the perp.
A couple of hits was all it took to knock the guy out. They quickly grabbed hold of him before going back into the shadows.
Naruto places a seal on him, making sure he stay out old till the job is done.
He radioed this to the others, putting extra emphasis on Hinata to keep quiet.
They may be more trying to kidnap a girl. The last thing they want is to scare off the would-be assailants.
Capturing them is the only way to know who hired them and for what purpose beyond political leverage, assuming it more than that.
Nothing happened for a few more hours. Finally, the party came to a close at midnight.
The girl paired off going to their rooms. Hinata and Yukino planned to share a place with Akamaru staying with them.
Naruto relieves his two teammates with shadow clones, but they only get three hours to sleep.
Naruto is extra vigilant since it was just him and already has to keep an enemy ninja detained.
The possibility of more attackers did not sit well with the young Anbu agent.
that it for this chapter
also for the ninja of the five great nation ill use the Japanese names
all the other I'll use the English version just because it is easier to remember
since the Japanese version cal be a little confusing to remmeber
as always make sure to fav follow and leave aq chapter review