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Chapter 9: Afternoon of Konoha

Naruto: Original Soundtrack II, Track No. 6

Afternoon of Konoha


"Chidori Fang!"

The twin taiji blades surged with energy, arcs of lightning dancing along their razor sharp edges as their owner infused them with his chakra. Pure electricity sparked from their pointed tips before slowly dissipating as their owner cancelled the technique.

"It's didn't consume nearly as much chakra as the normal Chidori or Chidori Blade," Sasuke noticed.

"That's because the Kiba blades are imbued with lightning, so any ninjutsu you use with it requires significantly less chakra," Kakashi explained. "Also, like you just demonstrated, any lightning style ninjutsu you use will not require hand seals, as long as you are channeling lightning through the blade."

"Neat," Sasuke remarked. He turned towards the trees and directed his lightning chakra into the blades, causing them to spark once again. "Lightning Style: Lightning Ball!"

A single ball of lightning materialized between the blades, continuing to grow in size until Sasuke released it, launching it into a nearby tree. "These swords seem very powerful for anyone with a lightning affinity."

"Well, they are one of the seven legendary swords for a reason," Kakashi reasoned. He noticed Sasuke fiddling with the bottom of the hilts and asked, "You notice something?"

"Yeah," the Uchiha replied. "Why is there a locking mechanism at the bottom of each hilt? Unless…" Sasuke quickly connected the blades at the hilt and locked them in place, forming a double-bladed sword.

"Incredible," Kakashi mused. "It seems the Kiba blades are more versatile than I originally thought."

Sasuke nodded in agreement before calling, "Naruto!"

The blond was currently training with Hinata under the guidance of Asuma. The Hyuuga girl had quickly mastered the Flame Bullet with the jonin's help, and she and Naruto were now working on combining their wind and fire attacks.

"What's up, Sasuke?" Naruto yelled back from across the training field as the blond jogged up to him.

"I want to try something. Launch a Great Breakthrough at me," the Uchiha requested.

Naruto nodded and backpedaled a few steps as he flipped through the hand seals. "Alright, here it goes, Sasuke. Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Sasuke held the double-edged Kiba blades in front of him and, with the help of his lightning release, spun the combined sword at an incredible speed, dispersing the wind jutsu as it made contact with the spinning blade. Naruto and Kakashi both watched the results of the experiment with wide eyes. "That's going to be useful," Sasuke noted.

"No kidding," Asuma agreed as he and Hinata joined the group of three. "For you to gain such proficiency over the Kiba blades with less than a year of kenjutsu experience is an amazing feat, even factoring in the Sharingan. Speaking of, where's Hayate? I thought he would be here considering he's been helping out for the past couple of months."

"He's currently preparing for a mission he's been assigned to. He'll be gone for a few weeks," Kakashi answered.

Asuma nodded in affirmation. "Makes sense. Anyways, helping you guys out has inspired me to pick my own team from this year's group, so I won't be around much either after I get them."

Naruto and Hinata snickered as Sasuke shivered in fear, leading Asuma to raise an eyebrow at their reactions. "Is there something I should know about?"

"Just… heh… that every girl in our class except Hinata was a Sasuke fangirl," Naruto stated while trying to hold in his giggles.

"Even Ino?" Asuma asked skeptically.

"Especially Ino," Hinata answered, causing Naruto to burst into laughter.

Asuma groaned internally. Great. Hopefully Shikamaru will help me get her out of it when I get them. Nah, who am I kidding? That boy would rather laze around and stare at the clouds all day.

"When are our old classmates graduating anyway?" Naruto asked once he calmed down from his laughing fit.

"They should have graduated already. If my memory serves correctly, team assignments will take place next week," Kakashi informed the blond.

"Sounds like fun! Can we go watch?" Naruto requested with pleading eyes. "I mean, they were our classmates…"

"Don't make me go back there," Sasuke mumbled.

"Whatcha say? Couldn't hear you over your cowardice!" Naruto retorted.

"I'd like to see you deal with fangirls!" Sasuke shouted back. "Wait, you do have one."

"Huh?" Naruto replied in confusion, before realizing what Sasuke was trying to imply. "Hey! Hinata's not a fangirl!" the blond defended vehemently.

"Oh really?" Sasuke teased. "Remember when she ki- Ow!"

"Will you two put a lid on it?" Kakashi demanded in annoyance after bonking both boys on the head with his book. Hinata just shook her head, though her cheeks were dusted pink from the Uchiha's previous comments. Once the two boys recovered and began listening to him, Kakashi explained, "If Lord Hokage and Iruka allow it, you can go watch. But you can't force Sasuke to come with you."

The blond pouted for a moment before a small, mischievous grin surfaced on his face. "So I can force Hinata to come with me?"

Kakashi face-palmed. You would have to force her to not go with you.


"Old Man!"

A tired-looking Hiruzen looked up from his endless stack of paperwork as Naruto bounded through the door of his office with Hinata in tow. "Kakashi-sensei said we could watch our this year's team assignments with your and Iruka-sensei's permission. So can we, please?"

"I don't see a problem with it, as long as you don't disrupt the assignment process too much," the aged Hokage replied. He took a moment to think about the proposition and realized, "Actually, it would be a good opportunity for your former classmates to ask questions about your experiences."

"Does that mea-" Naruto broke off his question as all three of the room's occupants turned towards the door, noticing a new presence nearby.

"Old Man, I challenge you!" a young boy cried out as he ran into the room with an incorrectly held shuriken in his hand. "I'm going to defeat you and become the Fifth Hokage– AHH!"

The boy ended up tripping on his own scarf before he could even reach the halfway point to the Hokage's desk, prompting Naruto to face-palm. Another figure, clad in standard shinobi wear minus the flak jacket, appeared in the doorway of the office, scanning the room for something until he noticed the boy on the floor. The man pushed up his sunglasses as he watched his charge writhe on the ground.

"Ow… Something tripped me!" the boy cried.

"Are you okay, Honorable Grandson?" the man in the doorway asked worriedly before taking another glance around the room. "Although, there's nothing here for you to trip on, it's pretty flat."

The young boy turned away from his trainer and landed his eyes on two older kids standing across from the Hokage. He was drawn to the blond, who was looking at him with disappointment. "You must be the one who tripped me!" he cried out.

"You tripped on your own scarf!" Naruto retorted in annoyance. The blond turned his attention back to the Hokage and asked, "Does that mean we can watch if Iruka-sensei lets us?"

Hiruzen just nodded in response, leaving the young boy and his instructor confused.

"Alright!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly as he and Hinata made their way towards the exit. "See ya around, Old Man!"

Before the two could reach the doorway, the young boy scrambled off the floor and stood defiantly in front of them. "You'll pay for tripping me!"

Hinata sighed in exasperation. "Please, just let us go. We had nothing to do with you tripping."

The boy didn't reply, instead electing to cross his arms and sit himself down in front of them, his face flushed red from both anger and embarrassment.

"Who is this shrimp anyway?" Naruto asked, looking at the eight-year-old with a mix of curiosity and annoyance.

"Don't disrespect the Honorable Grandson like that!" the man in sunglasses defended heatedly.

"Honorable Grandson…" Naruto mumbled to himself. He glanced at the Hokage before turning back to the young boy. "Is he…?"

"Yes," Hiruzen answered defeatedly. "He's my grandson, Konohamaru."

Naruto nodded in acknowledgement. "Alright Konohamaru, move along. We've got places to be."

Konohamaru's eyes widened slightly in response to the blond's use of his name. However, being the stubborn boy he was, the eight-year-old refused to budge from his seated position. "No! Not until you apologize for tripping me!"

Naruto just sighed and turned to Hinata. She nodded, and they each formed a tiger seal and flickered out of the room, leaving a stunned Konohamaru behind. "W-where did they go? What did they just do?"

"That was a shunshin, Honorable Grandson," the man in sunglasses explained. "It's a D-rank jutsu used for–" The man looked around the room and noticed his charge was gone. "Wait, where did he go?"

"He's long gone, Ebisu," the aged Hokage replied tiredly. "He probably went after those two."


The duo decided to check their old classroom first for their former instructor. They found him at his desk, jotting a few bullet points down onto his notebook. The scarred chunin looked up from his notes and greeted the two happily once he recognized them. "Naruto, Hinata! It's been a while, how have you been?"

"Great, Sensei!" Naruto replied jovially. "We're getting stronger every day under Kakashi-sensei, dattebayo!"

"That's good to hear," Iruka responded, genuinely happy to learn about his former students' success. "So what brings the two of you here?"

"We wanted to ask for permission to watch the team assignments next week, if it's not too much of a bother," Hinata answered. "Lord Hokage already agreed, as long as you allow it as well. He said it would be a good opportunity for them to ask us questions about being ninja."

"That is a good idea," Iruka concurred. "They're more likely to listen to you about your experiences because they're familiar with you two. Feel free to hop in whenever you like, though I would prefer it if you arrived before team assignments started."

"Got it, Sensei! Cya later!" Naruto paused for a moment on his way out, adding, "Oh yeah, I'm still trying to convince Sasuke to come. No promises, but don't be surprised if he shows up!"

"Alright. Have a good day, Naruto, Hinata." Iruka waved the duo goodbye as they flickered out of the room, presumably to do more training. Moments later, he watched a young boy run across the academy hallways, his head on a swivel as he frantically searched the classrooms for something, or someone. "Where are they!" the boy cried out in frustration.

The academy instructor mentally smirked. It seems the two of you picked up a tail, though I doubt he'll find you any time soon.


1 week later

Iruka stood in front of his class, proud of what they've managed to accomplish in the past four years. "Congratulations, all of you, for graduating from the academy. Today, you'll be assigned into three man teams under the command of a jonin-sensei. But before I get started with the team assignments, are there any questions?"

"Iruka-sensei, is there any way we can get onto Sasuke-kun's team?" a blonde girl with lavender eyes asked from the back of the classroom.

Iruka face-palmed. "For crying out loud, Sasuke's already on a– wait, I don't recognize you." Iruka squinted at the girl and the two odd-looking boys flanking her. "In fact, I don't recognize any of you in that row. Who the hell are you?"

The entire class turned their attention towards the three students in the back, all of whom dropped their transformations, revealing them to be Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke. Immediately, the female half of the class began to squeal in excitement.

"I still can't believe you convinced me to come back here," Sasuke complained as he pressed his hands over his ears.

"What can I say? I'm good with words," Naruto gloated.

"Shut up," the Uchiha grumbled.

"Alright, quiet down!" Iruka shouted, quickly silencing the banshees, before turning his attention to Team 7. "I should have expected something crafty. It's Naruto, after all. And it seems you were able to convince Sasuke to come."

"Of course I convinced him, who do you think I am?" Naruto replied with his arms crossed over his chest and his head held high.

Iruka just shook his head lightly as he turned his attention back to his students and announced, "Now class, since these three are going to hang out for a bit, feel free to ask them any questions you may have about being a shinobi."

Half of the hands in the class went up, mostly from the female students. Iruka face-palmed again. "Any reasonable questions not related to being with Sasuke," the scarred chunin amended.

Most of the hands went down, prompting Iruka to pick a student who still had their hand raised. "Yes, Shikamaru?"

"It was almost too troublesome to ask, but does Sasuke actually possess the Kiba blades?" the pineapple-haired boy asked with a mild amount of interest.

Both blades poofed into existence directly into Sasuke's hands, prompting the fangirls to squeal once again. Sasuke immediately returned them to their seals, not wanting to go deaf anytime soon. Shikamaru just nodded and went back to sleep, completely oblivious to the screeching of his female classmates. Same old Shikamaru, the trio thought in unison.

"There are swords named after me?" Kiba asked in confusion.

Sakura shook her head in disappointment. "Kiba, you idiot. The Kiba blades are one of the legendary swords used by the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist! We learned this last year!"

"Hehe, I wasn't really paying attention," the Inuzuka boy admitted guiltily. "But if the blades belong to the Mist, won't they get angry because the Leaf has it?"

"Normally, you would be right, Kiba. But because the Mist is currently fighting a civil war, they haven't had much contact with most of the elemental nations for a while," Iruka explained. "Plus, Raiga willingly passed the Kiba blades to Sasuke. Even though he was a missing-nin, if the Mist tries to get the blades back by force, it would paint them in a bad light, since the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist are respected so highly in many nations."

"So it's a bunch of politics," Kiba surmised. "That's boring. I'd rather fight than do that."

"Politics are just as important as fighting, Kiba," Iruka lectured. "Without politics, the Hidden Leaf would not be where it is today. Lord Second was a very effective politician, putting our village in an advantageous position over the others. All of the other Hidden Villages adopted many systems he created and implemented, including the ninja academy."

Naruto wasn't paying much attention to Iruka's mini-lecture, as he was focused on a specific phrase the scarred chunin had said earlier. Civil war? Naruto thought. Is that why those two defected? What the hell is going on over there? His train of thought was interrupted by a question from his fellow blonde.

"Hey Hinata, what's it like being on a team with those two?" Ino asked with an innocent expression on her face.

The bluenette knew Ino was trying to glean information about Sasuke from her, so she picked her words appropriately. "They're the best teammates I could have asked for. Naruto-kun is always a gentleman around me and always encourages me to do my best. I wouldn't be where I am without him."

Naruto and Sasuke both smirked at the platinum-blonde girl, telling her they knew exactly what she was trying to accomplish. Said blonde just pouted at the trio, causing the boys to snicker internally.

Iruka smiled at the interaction, noticing how close the three members of Team 7 were. They knew what the others were thinking without any form of communication. He turned his attention to the last person with a hand raised. "Yes, Sakura?"

"Have any of your goals changed since becoming a ninja?" the pinkette asked, surprising her fellow classmates with her question. The members of Team 7 were not nearly as shocked, having seen her recent change in behavior first hand.

The first to answer her question was Naruto, who responded, "For the longest time, my reason for becoming Hokage was to be strong enough to protect my friends. I'm not sure how much of it was revealed to the public, but our mission to the Katabami Gold Mines changed my perspective on the world. It opened my eyes to how gruesome and hate-filled the shinobi lifestyle is." The blond closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts before continuing, "I still want to be Hokage, but I want to become Hokage so I can bring peace to this world. I don't know how I'm going to do that yet, or if it's even possible at all, but I'm not going to stop trying until I give it everything I have."

The entire class was stunned into silence by the blond's short speech, surprised by how ambitious his goal seemed to be. Sasuke, taking advantage of the silence, added, "My brother slaughtered my entire clan in one night. To this day, I still don't know why he did it, but I do know that others will continue to feel the same pain I have felt unless the way our world works changes. Like Naruto, my goal of restoring my clan has not changed, but my reasoning for it has. He has my full support, no matter what we may face in the future."

Hinata nodded in agreement with the two boys. "I've seen far too much hatred in just my own family, let alone the rest of the world, so Naruto-kun's goals align with my own. I know that it's a very ambitious goal, but I've already promised Naruto-kun that I'll be there with him every step of the way, and I have no doubt he can pull it off, because if he ever falters, Sasuke and I will be right there to pick him back up."

The female half of the class 'awwed' at Hinata's statement, causing her to flush red. However, Naruto didn't notice, as he was preoccupied by his teammates' unwavering belief in him. Their sincere words nearly brought him to tears, but he managed to reign them in, not wanting to be seen crying in front of his former class.

Iruka smiled at his former students, proud of the young ninja they've become. He noticed that Sakura was deep in thought, but filed it away for later. "Thank you for the great question, Sakura, and thank you three for your responses. I want you all to think about their words, as when you become a ninja, you'll be expected to act like one. You will be responsible for making decisions that can affect the lives' of others, and each decision you make can have cascading consequences." After receiving nods from his students, Iruka moved on to the main attraction. "Now, onto team assignments. Team 1… Team 7 is still in rotation. Team 8: Shino Aburame, Sakura Haruno, and Kiba Inuzuka. Team 9 is also still in rotation. Team 10: Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, and Ino Yamanaka. Your jonin-sensei will arrive to pick you up shortly."

Moments after Iruka finished speaking, the classroom door opened, revealing Asuma Sarutobi and a female jonin, who sported curly black hair and striking red eyes.

"Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke! Good to see you again," Asuma greeted.

"You too, Asuma-sensei!" Naruto and Hinata chorused while Sasuke nodded at the bearded man.

"You guys know him?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"Asuma-sensei has been helping me and Hinata with our elemental affinities for a while," Naruto answered.

"Those three inspired me to get my own team," Asuma added. "Speaking of my team, Team 10, you're with me. I'll see you later, Kurenai."

"Of course, Asuma," Kurenai replied as the bearded man walked down the hall with his team in tow. She turned her attention towards the three genin in the back and remarked, "You must be the Team 7 I've been hearing so much about." In response to their nods, she introduced herself. "My name is Kurenai Yuhi. It's nice to be able to finally put faces to names. Thank you for sending Sakura my way. I'll have to speak with you three later on, as I have my own team to pick up." She scanned the classroom for a moment before calling, "Team 8!"

Sakura, Kiba, and Shino stood up and followed the red-eyed jonin out of the room. Naruto whispered to his teammates, "I think it's time we got to our own training. We've been here too long."

"I was just about to say that," Sasuke replied. The three flickered out of the classroom, leaving a group of confused genin in their wake.


"So, which teams do you think passed?" Sasuke asked as the three wrapped up their training for the day.

"If Sakura's change in attitude is anything to go by, Team 8 for sure," Hinata answered. "Shino has always been near the top of the class, and Kiba is no slouch, despite his low class ranking."

"I bet Team 10 passes too. No doubt Shikamaru has some way to convince Ino to work with him and Choji," Naruto surmised. "It's just a matter of whether he's willing to get off his ass or not."

Sasuke was about to respond when the trio heard a faint rustling coming from the nearby bushes. "You can come out now. There's no hiding from us," the Uchiha asserted.

The emerging figure revealed herself to be Sakura, who looked to be in pretty bad shape. "What are you doing here?" Sasuke questioned.

"I'm sorry! We took our test nearby, and after we finished, I got curious about what you guys do for training," the pinkette answered apologetically.

"It's no big deal," Naruto replied assuringly. "Since Kakashi-sensei is doing his own training today, we weren't really doing much besides physical training."

"How did your test go?" Hinata asked curiously.

"It went well!" Sakura replied with a bright smile on her face. "Having two teammates with tracking abilities made the test much easier." The pinkette's upbeat attitude mellowed out as she remembered her own performance. "I'm definitely improving, but I still lack physical strength."

"Feel free to join us for our morning workout," Naruto offered. "As long as it doesn't conflict with your team's schedule, if you show up here at six in the morning, we can help you through our routine."

"It's going to be tough for you at first," Sasuke added. "You will have to mentally push through it until you get used to it."

"I understand," Sakura replied with determination in her eyes. "I'm on a team now. I can't afford to fall behind and let my teammates down." The pinkette's confidence wavered slightly as she made eye contact with her crush. "So… I'll see you tomorrow morning?"

"Sure thing," Sasuke replied, causing Sakura to blush slightly while turning to leave.

"Bye guys!" she shouted as she jogged away from the group.

Once the pinkette was out of hearing range, Naruto teased, "She still likes you, dattebayo."

Sasuke deadpanned at the blond. "You're one to talk."


"Kakashi-sensei! Why can't we get another C-rank? It's been a while since our last one!" Naruto complained as Team 7 headed to the academy.

Kakashi replied, "I decided to hold off on asking for another C-rank mission until Sasuke gained adequate control over the Kiba blades. When we faced Kisame, I realized it wasn't a good idea to have him out on missions with an incomplete technique as important as that. Also, you had the Summoning Jutsu to work on. I know you didn't master that until recently."

"That… actually makes a lot of sense," Naruto mumbled as the team made their way into the academy building. When they arrived in the mission room, they spotted the Hokage giving Team 10 their first mission. "Asuma-sensei! Old Man!" Naruto exclaimed.

Asuma snickered at his father as he and his team exited the room. Hiruzen just shook his head lightly before greeting the group. "Hello, Naruto, and the rest of Team 7. I assume your training has been fruitful?"

The three genin nodded enthusiastically, prompting the aged Hokage to chuckle as he picked up a scroll of available missions. "What can I get you today, Kakashi?"

"A simple C-rank to get back into the swing of things," the Copy Ninja answered. Hopefully, it doesn't turn out like last time.

"Let's see… Here we go, a bodyguard mission to the Land of Waves." the Hokage turned to an aid next to him and ordered, "Send in our visitor."

The four members of Team 7 turned their attention to the door, where an older man wearing a pointed hat and a towel around his neck entered the room. "What's this, a bunch of brats?" The gray-haired man took a swig from his sake before taking another look at the genin. "Yep, still brats."

A tick mark formed on Naruto's forehead as he clenched his fists. "What do you mean, still brats?"

The gray-haired man ignored him and began to introduce himself. "I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder, and I must return to my country. I'm building a bridge there that will change our world, and I expect you to get me there safely, even if it means giving up your life."

That's… the definition of an escort mission… the three genin thought in unison.


"Why should I put my life in the hands of a bunch of brats?" Tazuna complained as the group of five made their way to the Land of Waves.

"I'm a jonin, so you have nothing to worry about," Kakashi assured. "Though, I am curious if you've ever heard of Team 7."

"I've heard villagers in the Leaf talk about them," Tazuna replied. "Something about defeating one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, if I remember correctly."

"That's right, those three did defeat one of them." The Copy Ninja hid a smirk behind his mask as he pointed at his students, watching closely for the bridge builder's reaction.

"T-they– you're Team 7?" he stuttered out. The three genin grinned from ear to ear as they listened to the gray-haired man's apologetic stuttering from behind them.

The group approached a puddle of water in the middle of the road, setting off alarm bells in all of the shinobi's heads. That's not suspicious at all. It hasn't rained in a while, what are they thinking? Naruto thought to himself. He noticed Hinata activating her Byakugan and waited for her hand signals. 2 chunin from the Hidden Mist.

Naruto turned to Kakashi, who nodded at Hinata and signaled in return. Find out if they're after us, or our client.

Moments later, the two chunin burst out of the water and quickly wrapped Kakashi in between their connected chain, shredding him to pieces. The two grinned evilly behind their masks and immediately looked at Tazuna, giving the three genin the answer they were looking for.

Team 7 immediately sprung into action, with Sasuke leading the charge. The Uchiha unsealed the Kiba blades and leaped directly in between the two enemy shinobi. "Chidori Fang!" Using the electrified blades, he sliced cleanly through the chain, separating the two chunin from each other.

Naruto sent a flying roundhouse kick directly into the face of the horned foe while Hinata launched a chakra-enhanced palm into the other's chest. The two chunin stumbled backwards into what they assumed was a tree until they slowly looked up and realized they were face to face with the person they thought they had killed moments ago.

"Great work, you three," Kakashi remarked cheerfully. "I'll take it from here."


The two missing nin were now tied to a tree as Team 7 and Tazuna watched over them. "These two are chunin from the Hidden Mist. Their specialty is relentless attack. They keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice," Kakashi informed.

"How did you know about our ambush?" one of the brothers asked.

The three genin looked at the chunin like he was stupid. "You're hiding in a puddle on a sunny day with no clouds in sight, and it hasn't rained in forever," Sasuke replied flatly.

"How'd they get promoted to chunin?" Naruto whispered loudly to Hinata.

"I heard that!" Gozu exclaimed, but he was promptly ignored as Hinata began whispering back to her friend.

Tazuna looked at Kakashi with confusion on his face. "If you knew about the attack, why did you fake your own death? Couldn't you have just… you know…"

"Of course, but I wouldn't have gained any information had I done that," Kakashi explained. "I had to know what, or specifically, who they were after."

Beads of sweat began to roll down the bridge builder's face as he defensively asked, "What are you getting at?"

"I needed to know if they were after us ninja, or after you," the Copy Ninja replied calmly. "You requested a C-rank mission, which falls under the assumption that there will be no opposing ninja involved. However, with the appearance of those two, this is clearly a B-rank mission, if not higher."

"I'm sorry about the deceit," Tazuna replied guiltily. "It wasn't my intention to trick you, but we don't have enough money to afford a higher ranked mission."

Kakashi just sighed. "You're lucky we were the ones assigned to protect you. My team can handle this mission, but we will want to be properly compensated after it's over."

The three genin nodded along confidently, easing Tazuna's fears. "Thank you. If I am able to finish the bridge, I promise you will be fairly compensated."

After receiving the answer they were looking for, Team 7 and Tazuna continued on their way to the Land of Waves, unaware of the larger threat looming in the shadows.

A/N: I'm sure most of you can guess what that mystery arc that demands the presence of this arc is by now. I've hinted at it pretty heavily, so if any of you missed it, you should be able to figure it on the first reread.

A bit shorter of a chapter, but like Ch6, it's a pivot chapter in between missions. Next one is probably going to be decently long.

I was looking through the abilities of the Kiba blades on the Narutopedia and holy shit, this weapon is broken. "Manipulate the blades from afar," yeah that sounds fair and balanced. Here's another quote: "The user can transform and manipulate lightning freely, able to use their Lightning Release techniques without hand seals. They also boost the user's attack power to the highest limit, which allows them to perform high-level Lightning Release techniques, and likewise requires only the smallest amount of chakra." At least they fit Sasuke perfectly, since he's always running out of chakra.

"They can also be connected at the hilts to form a larger double-bladed sword, increasing its versatility as a weapon." This one isn't overpowered, and I've never heard of it before, but it sounds so fucking cool, so I let Sasuke discover it.

Oh yeah, Chidori Fang is basically the same as Chidori Blade, just on the Kiba blades. I called it Fang since Kiba is Fang in Japanese... heh.

Edited 07/30/2024. Mostly rewording awkward sentences and phrasing. Minor grammatical changes.