edited chapter 22
The following day while the girls were still playing around amongst themselves.
Naruto and the boys stood before the grass ninja and a rain waterfall, Kiri and Kumo ninja.
Naruto took Kumo ninja aside, wanting to know more about this guy. During his training with A, he learned of the under-the-table deal his village elders made.
It was true the wounds between their village have healed a great deal since his return.
But there will always be lingering doubt regarding other nations.
He needed to make sure that he learned this guy was hired as a ninja from a lesser nation with some help from Yukino.
It seems this guy was supposed to guard with them. But, unfortunately, that cheeky grass ninja got to him first.
Knowing his seals will keep the others out cold for a few more hours, he quickly disappeared with the Kumo ninja.
He summoned a toad sending him to the Raikage, letting him know of this development.
After 20 minutes, the toad returned in a poof of smoke with a letter on his back.
A thanked Naruto for not killing the guy and asked to get him back on his feet.
Naruto undid the seal he placed, carefully waking him up before restraining him again.
He showed him the latter the Raikage sent him. He is internally grateful he remembers to use his code name on the letter.
The Kumo ninja read the letter several times, ensuring his brain understands what his eyes are telling him.
"Thanks…"
"Kitsune will do, and here this should help." He hands him a food pill to get his strength back.
"Well, since you were supposed to meet up with me, might as well help me deal with the enemy shinobi I captured!"
"Fine by me."
With his aid, Naruto struck gold, squeezing large amounts of information out of the four ninjas.
What their objective was, obviously capturing a girl and using her as a bargaining chip.
Followed up were contacts who deal in highly illegal practices, human trafficking, drugs, rare ingredients that can kill someone if they mess up.
The list goes on, and their locations are scattered across the continent.
That also includes secret meeting spots, passwords and phrases, and time of day a deal can be made.
Naruto gave a copy to jack the Kumo ninja he freed from his seal.
He introduced him to the others only for him to apologize for getting caught off guard.
This mission will last another two days before any of them can head to their respective villages.
Naruto sent out a few clones to relieve his genin squad and the Kumo ninja.
The girls and Akamaru are chatting and playing games while the boys stay in separate rooms to rest.
Naruto in full anbu gear sat across from jack playing shogi.
Shino is by himself in the corner, no doubt thinking of new Jutsu and strategies.
When sitting between Naruto and Jack, the evidence to support this analyzes the piece's position and possible moves they can make.
And finally, Kiba, if he is not sleeping, he's pacing back and forth, bored out of his mind.
"Man, this stinks. When are we gonna see some action again!"
"I hate to rain on your parade, Kiba. But this is standard procedure when it comes to guarding and protecting a client," he said blankly before moving another shogi piece.
Kiba couldn't respond since he knew Naruto was right. So he has no choice but to suck it up.
"I win," Naruto states as Jack lets out another sigh in defeat from losing another game.
Currently, the score is five wins to Naruto and one to Jack.
"I would love to go again, but it's clear you've reached the limit of your mental energy Jack."
"Sure am, but it was fun while it lasted!"
"Agreed," he said with a yawn, "looks like I need to take a nap, shadow clones jutsu!" four more clones suddenly appear before heading out to replace their brothers.
Naruto looks to the window to see it is nighttime. He lays down on the sleeping mat and is in full gear.
A few seconds later, he is fast asleep. The three still up took one last glance at Naruto before going back to their previous task.
Unknown to them, all the girls called it a night going to bed.
One moment Yukino is falling asleep the next, she finds herself in a forest area with a few rundown buildings.
She looks around, wondering where she is before her eyes locked in Kurama resting with a man lying against his arms, sleeping as well.
Being the young, naive girl she is, failing to think of ramifications as her words.
"Oh, come on, just when I thought I had control of my jutsu, I end up back here! Hope Naruto isn't mad about me showing up unannounced," she shouts in frustration.
Her little outburst was louder than it should have been, so much Kurama stirred awake with Minato right behind him.
A few moments later, Naruto found himself in his mindscape from Yukino's outburst.
He looks at Yukino. She is clearly frustrated if her expression is to be taken at face value.
She looks his way, sporting a sheepish grin with a slight shake of her body, telling him this was an accident.
"I am so sorry, Naruto, for this happening again!" her head hung in shame for effectively barging in again.
"it's fine, Yukino. I was expecting this to happen since you're in the presence of Kurama's chakra again," he said with a reassuring grin lifting her spirits a little.
She looks to her side, waving to him, "hi Kurama!" he waved back with his paw as he let out a yawn.
When she noticed a new face, a man wore a white coat with a Konoha headband with the same blonde hair as her Naruto.
"Who are you?" she held a questioning look, never seeing him before.
"Yukino, this is my dad, the fourth Hokage, dad this is Yukino, the niece of our feudal lord." he introduced them to each other.
"Hello, lady Yukino!" he held out his hand to greet the young girl. She took his hand, shaking it in return.
"If you don't mind me asking, why is he here?"
Naruto recounted his tale and bargained with the Death God getting a nod from Yukino.
"Well, I better get going!" she waved them goodbye before leaving Naruto's Mindscape.
"So, mind telling me a bit about this girl Naruto?" his father asked with an amused expression. Kurama mirrored Minato's expression.
He let out a sigh knowing it was pointless to push off the inevitable, "first off, she is just a friend, an irritating friend who is my personal hell but a friend!" His two tenants didn't even bother to hide their chuckles.
"Yeah yeah, laugh it up!" he said, looking away.
Minato looks to Kurama, hoping he can satisfy his curiosity. Kurama's response is a cruel smirk.
Hardly anything happened for the next two days besides teasing remarks from Kurama and Minato.
Of course, Yukino didn't hesitate to ask to learn more about Naruto's father when a chance came along.
Once all was said and done, Naruto and his genin said their farewells to Yukino and her uncle.
But just before they headed, "jack got word from both the Raikage and Hokage you can come back to the village and rest up for a few days. After learning of your defeat, he sent a squad to make sure you get it back to Kumo safely," Naruto informed.
"Well, thank you. It long journeys to cloud from here!"
"Wait, what the noble girl who hired you to aid us?" Kiba asked.
"The Hokage sent another shinobi to handle that! They should be here shortly."
Five minutes later, a man with a green jumpsuit and three genins landed before them.
"Good to see you. Kitsune, we are here to replace that Kumo ninja beside you!"
"Understood, come in we a long journey ahead."
"Farewell, Kitsune!" Lee declares, followed up by a wave from his squamates.
Hinata is put on edge in the presence of her cousin. He sends a smile before waving her good, shocking the girl a little.
She didn't have time to dwell as Naruto made the call to get moving.
There's an awkward silence on the way back.
No one wanted to bring it up, specifically the three genins. So instead, their minds are on Gai and his team.
Naruto knew this would happen with Gai's team replacing Jack. So, with a sigh, he summoned a shadow clone to keep the lead.
He falls back to the others "spill it!" He said with authority, causing the three to flinch at his words.
Taking a deep breath, "it was Neji. For some time, there was some friction between the two branches of the family," Shino informed. A quick look at his squadmates told him he'd be the one talking.
"I'm aware of that, continue,"
"There has been some odd behavior from Neji and her father for several months now." He would have continued, but Naruto cut him off.
"So showing that arrogant Hyuga the gap in power between us did some good for him after all!"
All three did a double-take at his words, clearly wanting to know more.
"First time I met him, Gai asked me to help train his students. Neji didn't think highly of me. But, I showed him the error of his ways" Naruto struggles to say that last party fits if laughter mixes in.
The three geniuses didn't respond. Naruto replaced his clone, taking the lead.
The rest of the journey was quite beyond Naruto, changing direction slightly. However, they made it to the village gates within three hours.
Of course, they walked through the front gate, putting Jack on edge. He let out a sigh of relief when the gate guard just waved to him.
He realized he was standing next to a member of the Konoha anbu, meaning they can relax in their eye with Kitsune effectively breathing down his neck.
Not long after, the four of them plus Jack stood before the third Hokage.
"reporting for duty lord third!" Naruto said respectively with his three genuine giving their greetings.
Jack just bowed before him, thanking them for letting him rest in the village for a few days.
Hiruzen knew why Naruto referred to him as his title. It means his plan worked. The genin, as some would say, sniff out Kitsune's real name is Naruto.
Each ninja gave an oral report on both missions plus a written one later in the week.
"Well, if that's all, I better get going then," Naruto informed as he slowly inched his way towards the door.
"Where do you think you are going, Kitsune!"
"What? I filled my role as sensei for both missions!" He countered, knowing his Hokage already wasted his ace in the hole.
"It's been a week of three she'll be in the hospital for!" He said sternly, putting the audience on edge."Train them!"
"No!" And the war the genin witnessed before they left continued.
Lightning shot from their eyes, battling for dominance before Killing intent leaked in, pushing all bystanders further off the edge.
Jack, with his will inches over to nearly by jonin, "mind filling me in?"
"Hmm, this is normal between the two of them" this time, it is Yamato.
He stood by them, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.
"An Anbu defying his Kage, it's absurd!"
"If you knew the truth, this isn't a surprise" they look to the standoff, wondering who will come out on top.
As time moved forward, the battle raged on as more killing intent is unleashed. But neither would give in to the other.
Not wanting this to go on much longer, Yamato, standing unaffected by the killing intent in the room, spoke up.
"A-rank mission pay change your mind, Kitsune!"
So they stopped the battle only for the two eyes to land in Yamato.
A crazed glint formed in Naruto's eye and nervous gulp from Hiruzen; that's a lot of Ryo to spend for Naruto compliance.
Naruto looks to the lone kage in the room, thanks to his mask. However, none could see the greedy glint in Naruto's eyes.
However, Yamato and Hiruzen could feel the smug grin on his face.
"Fine, and I better see the results, Kitsune!" Hiruzen said in defeat, like that the battle was over.
"Training ground three tomorrow at noon!" He informed his genin before he shunshinned away.
"If you don't mind me asking but is this normal?" Jack asked once more to make sure his mind isn't playing tricks on him.
"Yes!" Hiruzen and Yamato said in unison.
The three genins took their leave to fill their parents in on the mission they just did.
Hiruzen dismissed Yamato, so Jack isn't left to fend for himself in their village.
As soon as Naruto got home, he collapsed to his bed, intending to get a few hours of rest.
Three genins reached their respective homes to fill in for their parents of the two C-rank missions.
Shino and Kiba's parents gave simple congratulations on a successful mission.
As for Hinata, her father gave a simple, excellent job passing her mission before returning to his previous duties.
A few hours later, Naruto woke up after a nice long nap. Seeing it was still daylighted out, he got his off-duty gear.
He needs a big bowl of Ichiraku barbecue pork ramen after two back-to-back missions.
He stood outside the ramen shop in no time flat, almost in a zombie state as broth invaded his nose.
As soon step past the flaps hanging on the roof edge, he met with both Teuchi and Ayame at the helm.
He looks to his left to see Jack and Hiruzen sitting at the counter.
He takes his spot next to them, placing his order trying not to attract attention to himself.
The last thing he needs is a foreign ninja to learn his identity.
If the Hyuga affair taught Naruto anything, it takes one person to start a possible war.
Jack takes a glance at Naruto.
He doesn't give him any mind. He prefers to keep quiet.
The less information this Kumo ninja has on him, the better.
He kept a lazy eye on his Hokage, knowing he'll have something up his sleeve.
It's bad enough he has to be sensei. He doesn't want to dig his grave deeper than necessary.
After half an hour, the three called it a night. Naruto kept pace with them needing to fill in his Kage on Itachi.
He learned Jack is staying at an inn in the village, kage and Anbu agent shunshinned away.
They found themselves in his office "so what information did you keep from your report Naruto?"
He pulls out the piece of paper the crow gave him.
"So, what is the plan moving forward?"
"For one, you need to keep an eye out when on your missions. It won't take ninja of their caliber long to sniff out your identity,"
"Understandable, anything else?"
"Nothing else comes to mind at the moment."
"If that's all, I'll take my leave now" He waved his goodbye before shunshin out of sight.
The next day all three genins stand before the training ground, waiting on their substitute sensei.
They check the time going and essentially watch when outside the village.
They have one minute left before the clock strikes noon.
Once the minute passed, agent kitsune stood before his genin squad.
"First thing first, show me what you got so I can see what I'm working with!" He said as he led them into the training ground.
He found his place on top of the stump with an expecting posture.
The three genins traded glances before showing their arsenal of jutsu.
"I have my work cut out for me. Ok, first off, if I am to train you, you're going back to basic starting with strength training!" Naruto said a little too excitedly.
Kiba and Hinata are visibly nervous, fearing what he has in store for them. As for Shino, a stray drop of sweat goes down his forehead.
One week later
His genin has been doing Anbu level training for the last seven days, much to their dismay.
They were very reluctant at first but ultimately Conceded to his demands.
The exercises in question amounted to running, push-ups, sit-ups, and so on.
After the fourth day, they did a little sparring with Naruto and were surprised at their new speed and strength level.
"I see you three are liking the results of an Anbu-level training regiment!" Naruto informed with a touch of smugness in his voice.
Kiba couldn't respond or look him in the eyes. Hinata just sent him a small smile as her fingers taped each other. Shino gave a simple bow before continuing with the training.
Kiba and Hinata are quick to follow his lead wanting to grow stronger.
"there one more thing I need to do that could dictate your jutsu from this moment forward."
Naruto pulls three sheets of what looked ordinary paper to the three genins, well, at least two of them.
"Take this, channel your chakra into it!" He said, leaving no room for Arguing.
They did as instructed. Kiba's paper revealed he has earth chakra, Shino he also has earth chakra.
And last but not least is Hinata, the chakra type is lightning, the same as Naruto.
"The slips of paper revealed your chakra Nature. Kiba and Shino, your chakra types are earth. Hinata, you have lightning the same as me." He holds up the fourth price of paper only for it to crinkle.
"How does this affect jutsu?" Kiba asked.
Naruto holds out his hand only for electricity to start arcing from it before it starts to take form.
The three genins were mesmerized as the electricity took the form of shuriken.
Naruto grabs hold before throwing it towards a Boulder, only for it to slice clean through.
Naruto struggled to stifle his chuckle, seeing the three genin eyes nearly pop out of their heads.
"By knowing your chakra nature, you can focus your effort on specific types of jutsu and create your own!"
The three genins all wore looks of conviction. A small smile graced Naruto's face, and thanks to his mask, they couldn't see it.
"Learning and developing jutsu based on your chakra nature will have to wait for another time. I just wanted to get this out of the way now!" They all nodded in understanding.
They went back to the strength training wanting to increase their speed and reflexes.
Naruto took this time to practice his yin-yang release further, as his father called it.
Sitting on the post as always, he goes into the lotus position, digging to the deepest part of his mind, body, and soul.
Speaking of the yin-yang release, Kurama more or less learned to separate the two chakras.
Now he has to wait for Naruto to catch up and hopefully perfect the tail beast clone jutsu.
Technically, Naruto doesn't have to separate his yin and yang chakra. Still, it would help him have better control over the two chakras.
For three more days, he trained his genin while working on separating his chakras.
He is by no means an expert at separating the two chakras, but now he has a better understanding of them.
He hopes this will aid him in his task of perfecting his new jutsu.
Once the first week came to a close, the three genins were sore in places they didn't know could be.
As for Naruto, he made progress on the yin-yang release.
Unfortunately, it was only one of his yang chakras. But, the more he thought about it, it wouldn't be too bad.
Yang chakra does excel in healing. For example, during his spars with Yamato, it turns his wood ninjutsu into trees.
He gave them a break giving all-expense-paid trips to the hot spring in the village.
They need to loosen up their bodies after going through his training regiment.
The following day they stood in the same training ground as before.
Still in full anbu gear, Naruto sat on a wooden post, his three genins standing before him.
"So what do we do now, Kitsune sensei?" the usually quiet Shino asked.
Naruto summons a small army of shadow clones.
"Training you to use your chakra natures will take too much time since I'm training you for another week. So you three will be sparing with my shadow clones!"
Three clones stood before each genin, leading them to their own respective area to train.
While his genin trained, Naruto's thoughts were on upcoming chunin exams.
"As happy as I am to see killer bee and A possibly, I'm a little scared something might break out when they show up."
"I'm sure everything will be ok son, after all, part of going to Kumo, not only to help master Kurama's power. But to help mend the wound between the two nations," Kurama snorted at his remark.
"Yes, but it's mainly the Hyuga clan I'm worried about, and the Warhawk Danzo might try to start something."
"Kumo doesn't know you're an Anbu agent too!" Kurama added.
"Well, no use worrying about it now" he looks to his students to see each managed to dispel one clone.
After another hour, Naruto called his genin, telling them to rest up since his last day as their substitute sensei is tomorrow.
The following day all three stood before their substitute sensei. Unknown to the genin, they had an audience.
It comprises Hiruzen the Third Hokage, Kurenai, a select few jonin, and the three anbu who make up his squad.
"This is my last day as your substitute sensei. That being said, we have a small audience. It will be a simple spar to show them how you're coming!" Naruto declares the three genins flinch from his words
Naruto pulls out his kunai when the words he gave the genin finally sunk in.
Each went into the respective battle stances, waiting for Naruto to make the first move.
The battle only lasted for 15 minutes. It didn't take a genius to figure out Naruto was holding back.
After all, he wants their audience to see the fruits of his labor.
They gave it their all but predictably was futile with Naruto and two clones holding each genin down.
"That's enough for one day, Kurenai!" She landed before the pint-sized Anbu agent. "I leave these three in your capable hands," he informed.
he and his two clones freed their respective genin
"Thank you, Kitsune," she said with a bow.
"Don't mention it!" Then, less than a second later, he sunshine away.
As soon as he got home like countless times before collapsing on his bed, intending to capitalize on these precious moments of having nothing to do.
ok the last of the re-edited chapters for the time being
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