I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.
I OWN ALL THE OCs in this story.
This work is my own work and cannot be published by someone else without my consent.
Chapter 11
The Genin Days Pt.2:
The C-rank
The self-proclaimed super pervert of the hidden leaf looked down proudly at his brats. It has been one month since 'Team Jiraiya' officially began. During that time, they had been completing D-ranks and training on alternate days.
The Professor had eventually caught on to the fact that the entire Team Jiraiya, including the sensei himself, was using shadow clones for the D-ranks. However, he decided not to say anything. After all, the missions were being completed and the experience did get transferred to the original.
In the training part, the trio was very happy at the fact that their progress had sped up training under the toad sage.
Naruto was making good progress in his Doton manipulation. Jiraiya had helped him through the first step, which he recently completed. If things continue as such, he will have complete control over Doton by the next four to five months.
On the other hand, Minato and Kushina had started level 9 of fuinjutsu. As levels 9 and 10 contained the space-time section of fuinjutsu, Minato, along with the Uzumaki siblings, had finally started their work on the Hiraishin.
When Jiraiya heard that his students were planning to recreate the famed Hiraishin, he was flabbergasted. Mastering that jutsu was arduous, and recreating it was nearly impossible. He could have shared the Nidaime's notes with his team, but in the end, he chose not to.
By letting them attempt it on their own, it would surely boost their already strong teamwork, and if they managed to achieve the impossible and recreate the jutsu, then he would be assured that Minato was truly deserving of such power.
He briefly wondered the extent of Minato's Seikakuna Kanpeki's prowess. No doubt, Hiraishin required a very strong body. Even the Nidaime could not use it consecutively. For Minato to effectively use such a jutsu, he would need to have a very strong and developed Seikakuna Kanpeki.
Leaving that aside, Jiraiya settled his gaze on the third student. Kushina had taken a liking to barrier seals and seals regarding chakra absorption. She planned to create a seal that could absorb and redirect any ninjutsu, making her completely immune to ninjutsu in the battlefield. Naruto and Minato had offered their help, but she stubbornly refused, declaring that she could do it on her own.
—X—X—X—
"Team Jiraiya reporting. We would like to request a C-rank mission."
"Hmm. About time." said the professor as he began to go through the mission scrolls at his desk. He was pleased that the team could finally go out for C-ranks.
After all, Team Jiraiya was the next big project of Konoha after Team Hiruzen and Team Tobirama. Such projects were made by the leaf once in a couple decades, for the young leaflings who had the potential to be the next face of Konoha's military. Sure, it might seem a little inhuman to treat children as projects, but…
…when it comes to the survival and development of the village, morals sometimes take the backseat.
"Alright. We have received a request for the elimination of a bandit camp. The location and suspected details are on the scroll. Your job is to eliminate each and every one of them and recover the looted items and money. In return, you are supposed to bring back 5% of the recovered assets."
"Hai! Hokage-sama…"
While Naruto remained impassive to the information, it was not the same for his teammates. Minato and Kushina were slightly apprehensive, considering they were yet to have their first kill.
Jiraiya knew that two of his students had yet to kill and a bandit camp extermination would be the perfect opportunity to do that.
"Alright brats, pack up for a couple of days and meet me at the east gate in an hour." the pervert said as he vanished in a plume of smoke.
"Wish me luck, Goatee ji-chan!" Kushina exclaimed as the trio too disappeared in a similar plume of smoke.
—X—X—X—
An hour later, Team Jiraiya had assembled at the east gate, each member carrying numerous scrolls in their pockets.
Accompanied by Sannin no Jiraiya, the trio soon set out towards their destination, unaware of the dangers that awaited them.
—X—X—X—
The journey to the bandit camp had been mostly uneventful. They had been traveling at a steady pace throughout the day, only taking a break once.
By the end of the day, they had arrived at a village near the bandit camp. There, they were greeted by a representative, who escorted them to a hotel. They decided to get an hour of rest before they strike the camp at midnight.
Naruto took that time to get his thoughts in order. He knew that bandit camp exterminations were mostly done to give Genin experience in killing. Naruto, though, had already had his first kill, and he had no problems in killing again.
'After all, this level of killing is nothing compared to the massacre I am going to lay in the rival villages.'
Next, he moved his gaze to Minato. He could sense some underlying hesitation beneath his azure blue eyes, but he knew that if worse came to be, Minato could steel himself and complete the deed.
However, Naruto visibly frowned when he saw Kushina. He could clearly see the hesitation and fear in those eyes of hers. It was similar to the way she looked when she saw him covered in the blood of those mountain bandits all those years ago.
'This won't do. If she freezes up in the middle of the fight, she can get herself killed. And that damned Jiraiya has already gone off for some 'research'. ', the redhead thought, mentally cursing Jiraiya for his absence and irresponsibility.
"Kushina!"
"N-ni-san, what is it?" Kushina asked, failing to cover her nervousness and fear.
Naruto, seeing Kushina's fear-filled gaze, quickly moved ahead and wrapped her in a hug, rubbing circles on her back just like he used to do when they were kids.
Kushina, understanding that Naruto realized her emotions, quickly melted into the hug.
"Ni-san, I-i don't know what to do…. I really don't wanna take someone's life." Her voice wavered as she expressed her worries through barely concealed emotions.
"Kushina, I understand. The first kill is never easy. Even I had frozen up after my first kill, and it had almost cost me my life." Naruto said, reminiscing about his first kill, when he slashed the head off the Kumo ninja.
"W-wait, really?" Kushina asked as she threw a surprised glance at her fellow redhead. Naruto had rarely ever talked about his life in Uzushio and had almost never mentioned how he had got his first kill. Though Kushina knew all about the circumstances, Naruto never told her how he killed the Kumo ninja. Even Minato seemed interested as he discarded his sealing experiments and leaned in to listen.
"Yes, if it wasn't for my eyes, I wouldn't even be here today. I don't want that to happen to you Kushina. First kills can be really traumatizing. No doubt that your first kill will take a toll on you, but I want you to quickly move on. Turn your emotions off and keep your mind on the objective."
"Turn m-my emotions off? B-but won't that make me a monster?"
"No, that makes you a shinobi. I am not asking you to give up on your emotions. But when you are in the middle of your battle, and your life is on the line, then you must turn off your emotions. You can sort out the guilt after everything is over. Remember, as long as you can bring back your emotions, you are still human." the redhead answered.
Though the Uzumaki never felt guilt for killing the mountain bandits, and he probably never will, he knew that Kushina was different. She was kind, joyous, and carefree. As long as you don't bully her, she won't do anything to you. So, it was natural for her to go through fear of killing.
Thinking of that, the blonde mentally frowned at the fact that Jiraiya wasn't here at all. It was a sensei's job to help his students in such matters. If any harm were to come to Kushina due to Jiraiya's irresponsibility, Naruto would be sure to add another person to his hit list.
"Arigato, ni-san. I think I can pull through now."
"You're welcome, imouto. If it helps, then don't look into their eyes."
—X—X—X—
Jiraiya, who currently had his chakra concealed and was spying on his students, was going through a torrent of emotions.
He never actually went off to conduct research, but instead spied on his students, curious about their thoughts.
He was very glad that Naruto was able to help Kushina. After all, a good team supports each other not only physically, but also emotionally. But at the same time, he was also sad that Naruto had to experience the harsh reality of this world so early on.
'He even knew not to look into their eyes. Just what had he gone through?'
But the sage was not focused on any of these emotions, because there was one piece of key information that he had learned just now…
'Sensei was correct. Naruto was hiding something big all along. He said something about his eyes keeping him alive. Perhaps a dojutsu? No matter, sensei needs to know about this…'
Though Naruto's hiding of information on any of his power or kekkei genkai could not be considered treachery. As a ninja, he was entitled to his own secrets, as long as they didn't affect their village. Only when the ninja becomes a Jonin is he required to give a full report on his abilities.
But considering that he had killed multiple Jonins in his past, his eyes must be something powerful…
And the leaf will always monitor the powerful…
—X—X—X—
An hour later Team Jiraiya found themselves on the outer borders of the bandit camp, scouting and preparing an appropriate strategy for attack.
"Minato, I want you to sense the number and concentration of bandits, and also check for any ninjas among the crowd."
Nodding, Minato closed his eyes and put his palms on the ground, as if trying to get in sync with the earth herself. After a minute, he opened his eyes,
"Sensei, there are around a hundred bandits in the camp, a few of them are on the boundaries, probably as guards, and most of them are concentrated at the central point. As for ninjas, I can sense a few of them, but I cannot pinpoint exactly how much…"
"Indeed, there are a few ninjas in the camp, and a couple of them might even be Jonins. However, I don't believe that our talented trio from Konoha would need their big and strong sensei to hold their hands throughout the mission…" remarked Jiraiya with a playful grin on his face. Despite the potential difficulty posed by the Jonins, he had faith in the strength and abilities of his team, who were already at least Chunin-level fighters.
The three of them immediately assumed a determined look, indicating to Jiraiya that they could handle it on their own.
—X—X—X—
The blonde boy was hiding among the trees, waiting for a signal from either of his teammates. He couldn't deny the feeling of anticipation and excitement coursing through his veins as he prepared to take down the men guarding the bandit camp.
Soon, his girlfriend gave him the signal, notifying him that Naruto's special exploding tags were placed and ready. Apparently, Naruto was so good in fuinjutsu, that he was able to create tags with a precise range and firepower, depending on the chakra infused into them. The trio would never forget their one month of community service after Naruto blew up their entire training grounds.
Breaking out of his thoughts, Minato took a deep long breath, hoping to calm his nerves. Taking Naruto's advice, he let go of all the sympathy and emotion within him…
'I am a shinobi. My only job is to complete this mission…'
He then expanded his sensory ability and latched his chakra onto the fifteen Naruto special exploding tags.
Making the hebi seal with his hands, Minato pushed the smallest amount of chakra he could into the tags…
And that was all it took…
Several small explosions, like stars on a clear night sky, flashed in the boy's eyes, as he took the lives of someone for the first time…
There was no sound, but somehow the silence that followed was deafening…
'I just took a life…. my first kill…'
Before he could sink further into his guilt, he noticed that Naruto was already sprinting into the camp, followed by Kushina.
He appeared beside them in a shunshin.
—X—X—X—
Naruto wasted no time in running into the camp as soon as the guards were blown away. It wouldn't take long for the absence of guards to be discovered, so they couldn't risk it.
Soon, Minato and Kushina appeared beside him, ready to execute their plan.
Giving a subtle nod to each other, the trio separated, intent on taking down all the bandits.
However, Naruto couldn't help but worry for his sister and his best friend. So, he discretely made a couple of kage bunshins, just to ensure they are safe.
The scarlet haired boy was internally very giddy at the prospect of facing more Jonins. He decided that the bandits were worthless in his eyes and he wouldn't disgrace himself by using chakra against them…
His katana was enough…
—X—X—X—
Slash…
Duck…
Parry…
Stab…
One more down.
Twenty-seven men killed.
The redhead didn't feel any guilt. Nor did he feel any sympathy. In his eyes, he was the hunter, and the bandits were not even worthy to be his prey…
No, they were more like insects.
Sensing a dagger approaching him from behind, he vanished in thin air.
The bandit stumbled forward, wondering where had the boy gone?…
The boy was behind him…
The last thing his pathetic existence saw was a katana piercing his neck, revealing its entire length in front of him.
Behind the now dead man, stood the redhead, looking at him with cold eyes full of disgust.
Twenty-eight…
'Where are the ninjas here? Surely, they would have noticed their camp under attack…'
It was then he sensed it…
Two chakra signatures, both Jonin by the feel of it, approaching him at fast speeds.
The redhead, now completely enamored by bloodlust, had a sick, twisted idea.
Taking the pool of blood on his feet into consideration, Naruto had a single thought running through his head.
'It would be a shame for all this blood to go to waste…'
Channeling Suiton chakra to the max, Naruto manipulated all the blood around him, to such an extent that the twenty-eight men had their bodies withered, like they aged a century in a second.
A hundred and fifty liters of blood. One crazy Uzumaki. Two unfortunate jonins. A new ninjutsu style…
Chiton
—X—X—X—
Naruto stood over the corpses of the slain Jonin. Their forehead protectors were absent, indicating they were wandering shinobi.
They had quite a difficult battle. Naruto managed to catch them off guard with his new Chiton (blood style) ninjutsu. As it turns out, blood was harder to control than water, but it was more effective and did greater damage.
After fighting continuously for a few minutes, Naruto killed one of them with a blood spear. While the other was gone in a much more interesting way.
Naruto had forcefully injected large amounts of blood into the bloodstream of the second Jonin, using precisely manifested blood needles.
It was a commonly known fact about human blood. It rejects foreign substances…
quite violently…
Naruto watched on in amusement and fascination as the Jonin writhed in agony, as his blood tried rejecting the injected blood, while the injected blood did the same against his own.
He wondered about the limits of his newly discovered power…
Just how far could he take it?
—X—X—X—
The shadow clone popped.
Naruto frowned worriedly as he was hit with a stream of memories belonging to his clone, noticing the situation.
Minato and Kushina were in danger.
The couple came across another pair of Jonins during their killing spree. Nevertheless, with their great teamwork, they were able to defeat the Jonins and gain the upper hand. In the end, Kushina managed to catch them off guard with her chains while Minato overused his Seikakuna Kanpeki to put an end to them.
Needless to say, they both were pretty banged up after the fight.
However, the problem arose when Minato turned off his sensing abilities due to chakra exhaustion, leading to an ambush by a third Jonin, who by his chakra, was the strongest one on the camp.
After quickly sneaking up on Minato, the Jonin knocked him unconscious. Naruto's clone realized that Kushina wouldn't be able to hold off the Jonin for much longer. Additionally, Naruto had created the clone with a minimal amount of chakra, solely for the purpose of keeping an eye on them. Since he had gone off to fight Jonin, it was best for him to conserve most of his chakra for himself.
So, the only thing the clone could do was dispel, with its last memories being Kushina about to be impaled by wind sword, with the redhead being in no condition to dodge or deflect.
—X—X—X—
'NO!'
'I won't let her get killed!'
Naruto was channeling all the chakra he had left at the moment. His use of Chiton without former training had led him to near exhaustion. And now, he would dearly pay for it…
The redhead almost had tears in his eyes, as his mind flashed back to the night of the invasion, of how he was the only one left. Since then, he had been in a steady descent towards his darkness. He was sure he would have gone crazy by now, if not for one thing…
Kushina.
She was the light in his life. While he was the darkness, living in hatred and revenge, she chose to live in joy and happiness.
Even though she shared the same pain with him, she overcame it, while he could not.
In his eyes, that made her much stronger than him.
She was his light…
and he would be damned if he lost her.
All of his thoughts culminated in a single moment as he focused all of the chakra in his body and drew his katana.
He activated his Rinnegan, preparing for one last Amenotejikara.
With a mighty scream, he pushed his body far beyond its limits…
And vanished…
—X—X—X—
He reappeared near Kushina.
By that point, he was completely exhausted. The last Amenotejikara had completely emptied his reserves.
But for Kushina, he would fight till his death, chakra or not.
He was hardly able to keep his eyes open.
With only his katana in his hand and the Rinnegan morphed in his eyes, Naruto blindly thrust his katana towards the largest chakra signature.
The katana was stopped…
by a couple of fingers…
That brought him back to his senses.
He forcefully opened his eyes, only to see the slain jonin and Jiraiya standing in front of him, halting his katana with his fingers.
That was enough reassurance for Naruto as he finally gave in and collapsed.
Just before he lost his consciousness, he realized something…
'He saw it…. he saw my Rinnegan…'