A/N: Hello and welcome back to the Guardian of the Tailed Beasts. Today we'll be starting a new arc and also bringing in an important character. Nothing much to say apart from that. Thanks to all of you for your continued support and love, we are going strong. So, without further ado, lets get on with the chapter.
CHAPTER 43: A NEW MISSION FOR THE NEW TEAMS!
"Choji stall him!" Ordered the blonde girl.
"On it! Partial Multi-Size Jutsu!" The larger boy made his hand grow larger and then punched the ground with the hand, imitating a move the legendary medic Senju Tsunade was famous for, albeit in a different way. The results though were pretty similar. The ground was crushed and the opponent had to dodge the flying debris.
And as he was doing so, a swarm of insects began buzzing him.
"We need to slow him down…" Commented the sunglasses wearing straight faced boy.
"Yeah!" Ino agreed.
Choji kept fighting and crushed the ground again. However, as he tried to dash for the opponent with his enlarged hands, the opponent threw him off with a blast of wind.
"Use your legs! Be quick!" Shino ordered as Choji's hands were thrown back. He followed his comrade's instructions and expanded his legs instead, throwing a roundhouse kick with an enlarged leg at the opponent.
The opponent dodged and moved into the ground.
"Jump!" Shino warned as soon as the opponent was gone.
And the three genin jumped upwards, just as the opponent emerged from the ground, they had closely saved themselves from being buried neck deep into the ground.
Just as the opponent had emerged though, he was blitzed by a massive swarm of bugs, some of whom managed to land on him and began sucking off his chakra. Some managed to hold on, some were blown off by the blast of 'vacuum serial waves.'
However, even the ones that had managed to land only to be violently removed were already doing their job and slowing the opponent down.
Seeing that, Shino directed more of his insects towards the opponent, while Choji forced their adversary to keep dodging and be on the defensive while also forcing him to continuously use chakra, while the kikaichu kept draining chakra off of their foe.
And when the opponent was drained sufficiently,
"Mind transfer jutsu!" Ino made the hand sign as she had the opponent locked on. Shino, with help of his remaining bugs, made an insect clone and caught her unconscious body.
"I won't be in control for long!" Ino warned from the opponent's body.
"Five seconds!" Shino responded, while Choji grabbed the guy and pinned him down.
"Alright!" Shino's insect clone dissipated and all his insects flew over to their trapped opponent and began devouring his chakra.
After a few seconds;
"Ino you may return!" Shino affirmed and the Yamanaka girl's consciousness returned to her own body.
The insects kept devouring the opponent's chakra until suddenly the opponent went 'poof!'
"Crap! A shadow clone!" Ino grumbled. "And I thought we were fighting the real deal!"
Shino straightened his sunglasses. "You are supposed to be a sensor, Ino-san!" The Aburame commented in a monotone voice.
Ino sweatdropped. "Well, yeah, and now that I…Wait, don't put this on me, shadow clones are infamous for being impossible to tell apart from the original!" Ino declared with indignation.
Shino didn't react: "the Substitution."
Ino didn't even bother responding to that.
Asuma emerged from behind a tree. "That's a job well done though." The sensei of the reconstituted Team-10 commented.
"But that was just a shadow clone!" Ino complained.
"Well, when I saw that I was being overwhelmed, I substituted with a clone. Something I learnt from Kakashi, who learnt from Naruto, by the way." The bearded jonin commented.
"A brilliant move, I must admit, the enemy when fully committed to the fight, won't be able to even detect the switch." Shino commented.
"Good observation, Shino."
"Well, in a real fight, we could have continued from here, it's not like you three were already down, but still I decided that we can call it here, your teamwork is definitely improving." Asuma remarked.
"Thanks sensei." The three collectively stated.
"Well, at this point, I would say that we are already prepared to go on missions." Stated the Sarutobi. "So today, I will be asking the Hokage to start assigning us missions."
The three nodded in affirmation.
"In that case, sensei. May I give a suggestion?" Shino asked.
"Yes, why not?"
"In the light of the failed Sasuke retrieval mission and the injuries the members of this team suffered as well as my friends' Kiba and Hinata's family members and considering the trauma it has caused our friends- I would like for us to be given another shot at tracking the renegade Uchiha down." Shino stated.
"I understand the sentiment, but considering that Sasuke has escaped to a dangerous criminal like Orochimaru, I doubt that any of us will be able to take on the challenges that would be posed to us if we try to track the boy down." Asuma stated.
"I understand that very clearly, sensei. My suggestion has nothing to do with us being directly involved in tracking Sasuke down. We could have the bikochu beetle do the job for us."
"The Bikochu beetle?" The rest of the members of Team-10 asked.
Shino nodded. "A rare and special tracking insect, widely used by the Aburame clan during the Third Great Ninja war. Its property is that it never forgets the first scent it smells and always tracks down the source of said smell, no matter where the source is located. So, if we manage to locate a Bikochu just as it is emerging from its cocoon, and have it sniff something bearing Sasuke's smell, we can have it track Sasuke down and dispatch any shinobi required for the job, who just have to follow its trail. And the team should just have an Aburame to keep watch on the beetle." The sunglasses clad boy explained.
"Really!? And there is no way the Bikochu would miss!? This sounds too good!" Ino asked excited.
Shino shook his head. "The survival of the beetle must be ensured. Even if Sasuke manages to escape the first attempt at tracking down, the beetle will find him again and we will get as many shots as we want at tracking him down; again provided that the beetle honed in on his scent is kept alive." Explained Shino.
"Sounds good." Choji affirmed.
Asuma thought for a minute. "As far as I know, the Bikochu colony is currently located at a special insect habitat, far from Konoha, is it not?"
"Hai sensei." Shino affirmed. "After the war, the Aburame clan discovered that the Bikochu had been reduced to near extinct numbers. This was partly due to excessive usage and partly due to their special conditions of reproduction. The Bikochu lay eggs under special weather conditions, lay a very low number of eggs, and that too only once in three to four years." The Aburame heir explained. "The Aburame relocated the Bikochu to that special habitat to prevent them from going extinct. And in order for us to be able to acquire a Bikochu, I will need to obtain my father's permission for usage of a Bikochu once more."
"I guess if it is the Bikochu acquisition, we might be fit to do that." Asuma stated after thinking it over for a minute.
Shino nodded.
"Alright, I will talk to the Hokage." And with that Asuma vanished in a Body Flicker usage.
"So, the first mission for the reformed Team-10 is to track and grab a weird beetle…" Ino sighed. "No offence Shino…"
"None taken, Ino-san. I know that we Aburame and our practices are a bit different and hence we might be difficult to understand for the rest of you." Shino stated nonchalantly.
"No no…I was not calling you weird or anything…just that I am not used to the practices of the Aburame clan…hehe…" Ino said with a few drops of sweat on her face.
"Completely understandable, Ino-san. Every clan is different and has its own traditions and practices."
"Who's up for lunch at Yakiniku-Q?" Choji asked merrily.
"Certainly. I would use this opportunity to know the two of you better…" Shino commented monotonously.
"Ummmm…well…just a little won't be bad on my diet…" Ino said.
"Ino-san, I believe that dieting too much will be a hinderance to you on long-term missions." Shino began speaking. "Since you train a lot, you could allow yourself to indulge in eating, as long as it is not horribly unhealthy or excessive junk food."
"Huh…" Ino asked, a little bit indignant and a little bit confused.
"Don't ask me to stop eating chips!" Choji warned.
"Not you, Choji-san. Your clan's techniques require you to be…"
Ino gulped thinking that the Aburame was about to utter the forbidden word.
"…larger of body…so to speak." Shino completed, monotonously and with a straight face.
Ino sighed in relief. 'Great save there… I couldn't have handled Choji without Shikamaru to assist…last thing I wanted to do was find out if Shino could get squished like a bug.'
"At least someone understands me!" Choji cheered. Shino only nodded, his jacket making it impossible to see if his lips were curled into a smile or not. "Let's head to the restaurant already!"
And with that Team-10 was on its way…
From a short distance away. Asuma smiled before lighting a cigarette. 'Well, looks like I don't need to be worried, the replacement of Shikamaru with Shino is going seamlessly. I don't have to watch their interactions in secret anymore it seems.' The instructor of Team-10 mumbled to himself before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.
*Meanwhile in the Hokage's office*
Jiraiya was rubbing his forehead in irritation.
He just had to go through a rather tough meeting with the Hokage's two 'advisors.'
Well, Jiraiya didn't want to call those two old fossils the advisors. They were too entrenched in the old ways, too rigid to accept the way Hiruzen wanted to run the Village and the military affairs of the Land of Fire. And even now, when a newer generation had already taken over and with their era long gone, they still refused to stop clinging on to their old ways.
A small group of people…enforcing their ideas and values upon a populace that largely disagreed and had values that differed from the small group's own set greatly…
'Sounds like the system set up to prevent abuse of authority and tyranny has become the very thing it was meant to stop…guess that old saying was right: You either die the hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Sensei forgot to consider who should watch the watchmen…and now we're all paying for it.' Jiraiya thought bitterly.
If anyone was benefiting particularly from this, it was the bane of Hiruzen's entire duration as Hokage and the mastermind of all of Konoha's dirty works during this whole period save for the brief stint Minato had as Hokage.
And at the moment, Jiraiya was finding it difficult to simply remove these two remnants of the past from power. Without the council's approval, which consisted of them only, he couldn't amend the laws to take total authority.
The council was created with good intentions. To create a check to the Hokage's absolute power and make sure that the kage didn't descend into tyranny.
Fair enough, the Third and Fourth Mizukage and countless smaller shinobi village leaders was proof of how terrible these things could devolve…but when the council itself was abusing its power and doing everything to keep the Hokage from taking effective decisions; it was becoming very evident that the decision to create the council-both the advisory one and the civilian one, even though done with good intentions, was a really bad idea.
And in order to remove the council and alter the power structure of the village, there was only one way. The clan heads of the founding clans had to suggest this. And those were the Senju, the Uchiha, and the Uzumaki; who had been honorarily granted the status by the Senju for helping in various negotiation processes after peace between the Uchiha and Senju was reached.
Now, the Senju clan head was on his side. But the Uchiha and the Uzumaki were the problem. The Uchiha were now reduced to just two (officially, not counting the one Itachi spared…and the one that Jiraiya suspected that Nadeshiko Village managed to produce somehow but couldn't prove; it fit their MO when it came to a clan that they wanted the power of but didn't want the mindset of. He wouldn't be surprised if the Nadeshiko contained Chinoike, Hyuga, Senju, and Terumi descendants who were bred solely for the acquisition of those clans' bloodlines), and both of the remaining members to the Uchiha's Main Family were now missing-nin. As for the Uzumaki… Naruto was of course there and would most likely scramble on board with the idea, but Jiraiya didn't know if it was yet the right time to declare him the legitimate heir to the Uzumaki clan as well as the heir of Minato Namikaze.
The toad sannin sighed. These old fools were getting on his nerves. And their latest 'suggestion'? Well, to add a ninja to Team-7, that they had recommended and were guaranteeing on the training and preparedness of a boy called Sai. It took one glance at the boy for Jiraiya to realize that the pale boy with that creepy fake smile was a ROOT. But on such matters, when the two advisors are in agreement, the Hokage had to listen. It was not one of those matters in which the final decision lay in the Hokage's hands.
'I really have to change the power structure of this village. And for that we need Naruto, Itachi, and Tsunade-hime to be on the council and make the relevant suggestion. But that would mean jeopardizing Itachi's mission and making Naruto's parentage public, for which it is not yet the right time.'
"Something bothering you, oh great and mighty and handsome Hokage- san?" Jiraiya was brought out of his musings by the female voice filled so thickly with sarcasm that left hardly any room in the air for anything else for several minutes until the room had a chance to air out.
"Oh. Hi Tsunade-Hime…yeah…nothing too serious…"
"But something seems to be going on, if that expression of yours is anything to go by…" The Senju princess concluded.
Jiraiya nodded. "Well, you probably know that in this village, the kage's power is not absolute."
Tsunade nodded.
"I have to listen to the nonsense of those two fossils almost everyday and they leave no stone unturned to make my path thorny and throw stupid suggestions my way…"
Tsunade sighed. "Looks like sensei really screwed up with that one…despite the good intentions."
Jiraiya chuckled at the irony of it. "He created the council as a check to the Hokage's power, and now it turns out the Hokage has to be the check to the incessant nonsense coming out of the council. Damned old man…"
"So, what is the latest nonsense they forced you to indulge in?"
"Well, adding an obvious ROOT to Team-7. Probably to keep watch on their precious jinchuuriki and make sure that he never grows out of their control. Among countless other reasons besides just trying to assert control over me in a way that rubs it in." The toad sage almost hissed.
Tsuade's eyes widened. "Are those two idiots in bed with that cripple! And that bastard is still pulling the strings despite the house arrest!?"
"House arrest…" Jiraiya shook his head in disgust and disapproval. "That's just a slap on the wrist for that old crook considering all that he has done, attempted assassination of the Hokage included. I can't prove it but I'm almost certain that Danzo was in on the Konoha Crush invasion, which means he knew about two hostile armies planning on invading and helped to create security gaps to allow it through."
"But no loose ends, right?" Tsunade stated rubbing her own forehead.
"Yup. Trust Danzo to make sure of that. And with the powers of the advisors, they can literally twist my arms to make sure that this ROOT is added on Team-7. It doesn't help that there aren't any other eligible genin who can be added. I had decided for Naruto to be the third member, despite the promotion until another genin is found, but oh well, looks like Danzo and his two friends really played us with that one."
"It's the sad truth…and it will make matters worse when the chunin exams roll in. This ROOT… Sai… will be a complete wild card for team 7 when the chunin exams roll in. And we have to hope for the quickest possible promotion for Hinata and Kiba as well."
Jiraiya nodded. "Have you already started training the girl?"
Tsunade nodded. "Just the day before yesterday, had my first lesson with her. Had her revive that dead fish…the girl did excellent. She will make a great medic and that Byakugan of hers, kami knows how great that will be for complicated surgeries."
"Agreed."
"I am also training the two other girls, Ino and Sakura. Thought that they can really use the extra lessons. Good heads on their shoulders once you dig past the…ugh, a teacher shouldn't bad mouth her students unless they are truly awful students…and those two aren't."
Jiraiya ignored the second part of that sentence, chalked it up to Tsunade most likely having already indulged in alcohol to the point of tipsiness. The red cheeks seemed to suggest it. "Good idea, that way each team will have a medic."
"Yeah…effectively what I was pushing for just after the second war and Nawaki's…"
"I know…congratulations Hime…you finally did it, every team-at least among the most recent genin generation- now has a medic."
"Thanks, wouldn't have been possible without you taking the hat. Had I been forced to take the chair; I wouldn't have had the time to effectively train all three of them."
"You're welcome…I guess…"
"So, what are you thinking about salvaging the situation with Team-7…."
"Will have to tell Hinata to keep a keen eye on Sai. Kakashi as well. If the sensei and the most mature student are aware, then the trouble this ROOT can cause could be minimised."
Tsunade nodded. "I would add that you should keep Naruto involved with the team. He's the chunin. How about some sort of deputy to Kakashi?"
"Hmm…didn't think of that. Brilliant Hime! If the gaki has a commanding position, Sai wouldn't be able to do much, he could have discarded the seniority in rank but now he can't." Jiraiya stated clapping his hands. "As for the rank, the thought just occurred to me. Team captain!"
"Team captain?"
"Yes! The Jonin sensei is the instructor and the leader. And a chunin is the team captain. Subservient to the jonin sensei but when the jonin is absent, the captain is the team leader, basically cheesing up the deputy leader post you suggested. Thanks, Hime."
"Why, you're welcome." Tsunade stated with a smirk.
Jiraiya got to filling out the paperwork and putting together the relevant orders.
*Some distance away, training ground seven*
Naruto blinked and drilled his eyes suspiciously at the newcomer.
A pale boy dressed in what looked more like an outfit a girl would pick than any man…and aspects to the outfit made it look like a uniform, which meant that someone was creepy enough to dress numerous boys in that.
Hinata was also feeling uneasy, since the smile the boy had on his lips was so obviously fake. She didn't like the feel of it.
Kiba was also unnerved.
*Inside the mindscape*
"Dickless! The first thing he calls Naru-chan is that shit!" Kushina fumed with clenched fists and numerous popped veins on her forehead.
"Calm down, Kushina-chan. This boy is obviously ROOT and he is trying to rile up, probably in order to get information that Naruto won't otherwise give him." Minato explained with a placating expression. "You too Naruto, don't give in to his provocations, you are not just a newbie genin now. You have to remain calm and in control."
'Alright dad!'
*In the real world*
"Why did you choose this dickless idiot for a boyfriend?" Sai asked turning to Hinata, still keeping that fake smile on his face.
The lavender eyed girl's eyebrows flickered.
A few minutes ago, the pale boy had sneaked up to them and had unleashed some creatures made up of ink. It had taken a while, but some basic water jutsus had done the job, upon finally figuring out that it was just plain ink. He had then introduced himself as the newest member of Team-7.
And Hinata had already decided that while Sasuke's ego and air of superiority was annoying as hell, this guy was in a league of his own. He was already looking down on them, was making comments which even Sasuke wouldn't have dreamed of.
And now he was questioning her being with Naruto.
"Sai-san. I understand that we are supposed to be a team and have to work together. But for us to work effectively, you should make sure not to comment upon the private life of any of your teammates, unless they unambiguously allow you to. You can't just go around infringing upon someone's privacy and sentiments and then expect them to accommodate you. The respect you are obviously expecting from us has to be mutual. And in my case, that includes never ever commenting anything bad about Naruto-kun! If you do this again and then find yourself not being assisted when teamwork is required, you would be responsible for that yourself." Hinata warned in a cold tone. She was already irritated beyond her wits. But this was the first time and she had a feeling that it was not going to be easy having this annoying fellow removed from the team immediately.
"Mutual respect?" Sai questioned, still smiling. "All a ninja has to consider is how to fulfil a mission. A good shinobi must discard all other emotions. You two being in a relationship is wrong for a shinobi as well."
"And who are you to decide what's right and wrong for us? Where is it written in Konoha's shinobi code of conduct that two of its ninja can't be lovers?" Hinata retorted immediately. "And if you can't show me the relevant law, then you better keep your thoughts to yourself." She warned again.
"Yeah! And nowhere it is stated teammates are explicitly prohibited from hitting each other, especially during a spar." Naruto warned.
"You are a chunin dickless. You are not officially a part of the team, so I am not your teammate." Sai retorted, still smiling.
Before Naruto could retort though. A small toad came up to Kakashi, handed him a letter and the vanished in smoke.
The cyclops opened the letter and then smirked underneath his mask. "Well, Sai-kun. It seems that your assessment of Naruto no longer being part of team-7 was wrong. As a chunin he has been assigned as the captain aka the deputy leader of team-7 by the Hokage. So… he is a teammate." The copy ninja stated with his visible eye curled downwards in an eye-smile.
The pale painter didn't show any emotions.
"Well, this 'dickless' is gonna give you orders and you have to follow." Naruto challenged with a little smirk. "First order of business, no longer any comment on anyone's personal relationship until allowed otherwise."
"Understood." Sai replied, still smiling.
"Second, stop that creepy smile."
"Can't do Taicho. I have read that you must smile if you want to socialize."
"Read?" Naruto, Hinata, Kiba and Kakashi all questioned and blinked.
'Not surprising, he is a ROOT after all.' The white-haired ninja thought to himself.
"Yes, I am reading about how to better socialize with people. Things I have read include smiling and speaking what's on my mind without sugar coating."
Naruto, Hinata and Kiba all blinked in confusion. 'What the hell is this guy?' They thought collectively.
"From a dangerous organization." Minato cautioned from the mindscape. "I will explain later in the evening. Make sure to tell Hinata-chan about it too."
'Got it, Dad.' "Fine, Sai, you can keep that stupid smile until you are able to do anything better." Naruto stated waving his hand disapprovingly.
"Let's dismiss the team meeting for today, doesn't look like we can do much practice with the start we have gotten to." Kakashi commented. "Does the captain agree?"
"Sure sensei!" Naruto said with a grin.
And with that the team was dispersed. Our favourite lovebirds made way towards a park, holding hands to spend some time before walking back home. Kami knew they already were exhausted with the first day of meeting Sai.
It was going to be tough dealing with him every fucking day.
EN: Sai's here. Yay! Sai's a personal favorite of mine. Unfortunately, Naruto has become the target of his brutal lack of a filter…so, not so yay. I finished these edits mere moments before needing to leave for work, so no song playing other than the drowning theme from Sonic the Hedgehog playing inside my head…and is repeated today as I type out these notes. 'either die the hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.' I love that line from the second Christopher Nolan Batman movie- The Dark Knight(not sure if it was coined earlier and Dark Knight lifted it or what)- though I personally disagree with it in some instances and respects, and in some cases it inverts 'You either die the villain, or live long enough to see yourself become the hero.' I think that's enough philosophical pondering. I need to get going. Catch ya later. RaNK?
A/N: Nothing much to add here. GBA has said everything that needed to be said, so I'll just take this opportunity to thank all of you again for your continued love and support. See ya all in the next chapter.
Cheers and peace.
RaNK001 and GBAboy313 out.