Kurotsuchi was aimlessly wandering through the halls of the building. She had woken up at her usual time of 6 am and was taking a morning walk. She would usually walk outside but the weather in the Land of Iron was too harsh. As she walked, her mind couldn't help but think of the masked boy from the Konoha team.

Every time she thought back to the standoff between their two teams, she could not help but be reminded of his azure blue eyes. She could see that they were full of kindness and sincerity. She also could deny herself that he was quite attractive. He was certainly more attractive than any other boy her age that she had seen. 'I wonder what he's hiding under that mask…'

A loud clang broke her from her thoughts. She followed the sound and found herself outside of a training area. When she peeked inside, she could see the same boy having a spar against the general of the Land of Iron. 'He's so fast! I can barely see him and he's keeping up with Mifune-sama.' She was shocked, no, she was stupefied and gobsmacked. The boy was younger than her and was speeding around at high chunin levels. In addition, he was also able to keep up with one of the most incredible swordsmen in the world in a spar.

After watching them spar for about an hour, she left to go to her room to wash up from her walk. She could easily deduce that the boy was quite good at kenjutsu. The rest of the day went by quickly and her team had never crossed paths with the Konoha team.


The next day, Kurotsuchi was walking through the halls of the building again. However, this time, she had a destination in mind. She was heading for the training area she had seen the boy the previous day.

As she arrived at the area, she saw that the boy was practising his taijutsu with a lot of clones darting around the large room. 'Just how strong is this guy? He has to have a lot of chakra to make that many clones.'

She then saw a sight that will forever be etched in her memory. The boy had stopped his training and taken off his shirt. Kurotsuchi gasped a little before quickly covering her mouth with her hand and ducking behind a wall. Her face also started reddening. 'His body is quite muscular yet he is very agile. He is also very attractive.' Her face started to burn up even more as many inappropriate thoughts entered her mind.

She shook those thoughts away and had her face in her hands. 'Why am I thinking of such things? I don't even know him. I shouldn't be thinking of him like that.' However, her thoughts quickly flipped like a light switch. 'Although, it would be nice to get to know him.' She thought as a small smile crept onto her blushing face.

She was so into her thoughts that she was startled when he started talking. "I don't think it's very nice to watch people from the shadows like that, kunoichi-san." He said, clearly directing it at her.

'Oh no, I've been caught. What should I do?' She was broken from her thoughts when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned and froze when she saw that the boy was standing there beside her leaning against the wall, although clothed this time.

Naruto was confused when she froze. 'Maybe she didn't expect me to see me this close.' "Good morning, kunoichi-san. Are you alright?" He asked as he waved a hand in front of her eyes.

Kurotsuchi blinked, then she blinked again. 'Talk…talk back…' "Oh, I'm okay shinobi-san. Good morning to you too." She said with a smile.

"My name is Naruto. Please don't call me with any honorifics. What is your name?" He asked as he extended his hand for a handshake.

"My name is Kurotsuchi. Please don't call me Kurotsuchi-san, it makes me sound much older than I am." She says as she shakes Naruto's hand.

'Her hands are so soft yet, I can see the calluses and injuries on her hands and arms. She must be quite strong with all the training she does.' He thought. "So, what are you doing here, Kurotsuchi?"

"I'm just taking a walk and happened to accidentally see you train." She said, obviously lying. She did not want Naruto to know that she saw him train the previous day as well.

"Really…an accident…how do I know that you weren't just trying to spy on me for your village, huh?" He said playfully. "I mean you did see me yesterday as well. If you weren't spying on me, then you really liked what you saw," He smirked when he saw her face pale before all the blood rushed to her face and became red as a tomato.

'He knew I was here? I was suppressing my chakra.' She thought before the images of a shirtless Naruto made their way into her mind. She blushed even redder.

Naruto chuckled at her reaction. "I'm kidding, Kurotsuchi. I know you are not spying on me for your village."

"You do?" She asked as she gave Naruto a curious look.

"Remember the day we met? I saw the look on all of your team members. They all looked at us with disgust and hate. However, I saw none of those in your pretty pink eyes." He said, slyly adding a compliment in there.

'Smooth kid…real smooth' Kurama added with a smirk on his face.

'He saw all that from a few seconds? Wait, he called my eyes pretty…' she took control of herself before she went off on a tangent. "Very impressive Naruto. It's true, unlike the rest of my village I don't hold a grudge against Konoha. I believe that war is bad for everyone. Many in Iwa hate the Yellow Flash of the Leaf with a great passion. In my opinion, he just did what he needed to do during a war." She really did not hold that much hatred against Konoha. She understood that they did what they needed to do and Iwa did the same.

Naruto smiled when he heard about his father. Naruto understood her standpoint and agreed with it. Some shinobi just did what they had to do. "I agree. War has no winners. Everybody is a loser. I, too, hold no grudge against Iwa unlike some shinobi from Konoha." He said.

They stood there in a comfortable silence. Neither knew what to say to each other although they did enjoy the silence and company they had. "Hey, Kurotsuchi. Do you want a spar?" He asked. He saw a fire light up in her eyes and a smirk formed on her face. 'Looks like someone gets really pumped up for fights.'

"Sure. Taijutsu only. We would destroy the place if we used ninjutsu. No killing shots. Neither of us wants to die yet." She said as she laid some ground rules.

"Alright let's go! I've always wanted to test myself against shinobi from other villages." They entered the room and took stances opposite of each other. Naruto took out a shuriken and lightly threw it in the air. As soon as the shuriken dropped on the ground, the both of them rushed each other.


Sasuke was staring out of the window at the falling snow. He had woken up and realised that Naruto was gone. He had been sitting there for 20 minutes just thinking about something that had piqued his curiosity. 'Obito Uchiha…I've never known an Uchiha who would willingly give his sharingan. Then there's also the fact that I can't find any record of him in the clan library or data books. Just who is this guy?'

"You've been staring into space for quite awhile, Sasuke." Kakashi said from behind him. He turned around to see Kakashi standing by the door with his favourite book in his face.

"Sensei, can you tell me more about Obito Uchiha? He is a bit of an enigma. I tried to find out more about him but found no records. I've also never heard of an Uchiha who would willingly give their sharingan away." He said.

"Oh really?" Kakashi was surprised. He was expecting Sasuke to be brooding about Itachi or Naruto. 'Looks like the Uchiha removed his records after he gave me his eye. Bastards…'

"Obito was an Uchiha that was unique. He was caring, friendly and had a loud mouth. Quite unusual for an Uchiha. He always used to shout, 'I'm going to become Hokage! Nobody can stop me!' At the top of his lungs. He was my best friend. He died during the third shinobi war." Kakashi then recounted the story in which he lost an eye, Obito died to a rock and had given Kakashi his sharingan.

The story gave Sasuke a lot to think about. 'Why did the clan remove his records? Shouldn't he be some sort of village hero? He saved his team and allowed them to successfully complete an important mission that won the village the war. Why?'


'She's good. I can feel myself bruising from her hits.' Naruto thought as he blocked a punch coming for his face with his forearm. Naruto tried to return a hit with a side kick to her stomach but Kurotsuchi brought up her leg to block.

She disengaged by jumping back before swiftly attacking him again. Naruto parried her punches and kicks and tried to return his own. His strikes were also blocked or parried away by Kurotsuchi. 'She's very good at dodging. She looks like she is flawless dancing.'

'He's moving like water. Flowing well, constantly unexpected and can hit fast and hard. I've never seen a taijutsu style like this before.' Kurotsuchi thought before she was sent skidding back when she blocked a strong punch from Naruto. Naruto immediately pressed his advantage.

As Kurotsuchi ducked under a punch, she noticed that his legs were slightly wide. She grinned as she saw the opening. Naruto saw what she was about to do slightly too late. She entwined her legs with his and tried to force him down onto the ground.

Naruto reacted the best he could and used his weight to support him from falling down. He tried to use his physical strength to push her back. However, this caused the two to be unbalanced and stumble onto the ground.

Kurotsuchi fell and landed on her back while Naruto landed on top of her. Their faces were separated only by a few inches. They made eye contact and seemed to stare into each other for what seemed like a long time until they realised. Both Naruto's and Kurotsuchi's faces started burning up. Realising their position, Naruto quickly got off Kurotsuchi and sat on the ground beside her.

"Oh umm…I'm sorry. That was kinda my fault." Naruto said as he looked away trying his best to make eye contact. Kurotsuchi also sat up and looked away, not wanting him to see her blush.

"It's okay. Things like that happen from time to time during a sparring match." She said as she tried to make her blush fade away.

"So…draw?" He asked.

"What do you mean draw? I clearly won that fight before you started to try to seduce me as a last resort!" She argued, although still looking away from Naruto.

"Nah, nah, nah. I won that and who said about seducing you. Maybe you were trying to charm me! Besides, didn't you say that it happens during spars from time to time." Naruto said, not willing to back out of the argument.

They stared at each other intently before Kurotsuchi rolled her eyes and smiled. "Fine draw… Happy?" She said as she extended her hand to make the shinobi unison sign.

"We would have to fight one another again one day. Next time, with Ninjutsu." He said as he joined his hands with Kurotsuchi's and made the unison sign. He gave her an eye smile and stood up. "We should get going. It's almost time for breakfast. Ja ne!" He said as he waved at her and shunshin away.

Kurotsuchi had a smile on her face as she started walking back. 'Naruto…'


When Naruto shunshin back to his room, he noticed that the rest of his team had already gone to breakfast. He took some spare clothes and took a shower before heading to the dining hall.

As he stepped out of the shower, he sensed a presence outside of the room's door. A knock was heard. "Come in!" Naruto shouted as he went to pack his travelling bag. They were set to return to Konoha after breakfast. Naruto saw Mifune step in the room.

"Mifune-sama, what are you doing here?" He asked as he looked at him quizzically.

"Naruto, I wanted to give you a parting gift before you leave. Can please follow me?" He said as he turned around walked out of the door. Naruto was standing there confused before he realised Mifune was getting further away and quickly rushed towards before he lost him.

"Mifune-sama, where are you taking me?" He asked as they travelled to an area Naruto had never ventured to before. Mifune never answered his question and continued walking. Soon, they were standing in front of a large metal door with four samurai guards standing in front of the door.

Mifune nodded to the guards and they opened the door. The room was filled with shelves that were all filled to the brim with boxes. "Naruto, this room is the Land of Iron's Sword Vault. Once a samurai completes their kenjutsu training, they will visit this vault to receive a sword that they will use for the rest of their lives. I wanted you to receive a sword from here as I've seen your abilities as a swordsman."

"Are you sure, Mifune-sama? I'm not a samurai." He said.

"I'm very sure, Naruto. Please accept it as a gift from someone who believes in your ability." He said with a smile. "Please go find the sword most suited to you. Genko is the master of this vault and can help find the perfect sword for anybody." Mifune pointed to the man sitting behind a desk who was currently polishing a sword. Naruto noticed that the man, Genko, was very old. He had grey hair tied into a bun and a long beard. He was wearing the usual samurai armour without the helmet. His face was wrinkled but he looked very wise. Naruto deduced that he had to be at least 70.

Genko stood up and looked at Naruto up and down with a frown present on his face. "Quite an interesting boy you have here, Mifune-sama. I can sense that he has very strong and vast chakra. I can also see a lot of love and hope in his eyes but at the same time sadness and anger that are raging like a storm. Very interesting…I have never met someone such as you." He said with curiosity gleaming in his brown eyes, the frown disappearing from his face. Naruto was confused. 'He got all of that from a look up and down?'

Genko walked over to the plethora of shelves and boxes and took a few boxes. He came back with three boxes and placed them on a table nearby. "Naruto-san, these three boxes contain katanas that I feel you might be suited with. Maybe you should give them a try?" He said.

Naruto walked up and opened the first box. He took out the sword that was within it. The sheath of the sword was a dark red and the handle was black and gold. The tsuba of the sword was circular and also gold in colour. The blade was 30 inches long (76cm) and was the standard silver colour.

"The sword is very nice, but it doesn't feel right. It just doesn't click with me. I don't know why," he said as he placed the sword back.

"It's okay, Naruto-san. The sword chooses its wielder and not the other way around. Maybe this sword is just not yours to wield." Genko said as he took the sword and placed it back on a shelf.

Naruto took out another sword from the next box and saw that it was very different from the first. The sheath was a dark emerald green and the handle was grey. The tsuba of the sword was rectangular and was gold in colour. The blade was 25 inches long (63cm) and had a green tint to it. However, this sword also did not feel right to Naruto. He shook his head at Genko and Mifune and placed it back in the box.

Naruto took out the last sword and saw that the sheath was black and had blue waves going up its side. The handle was black and had white rings circling the base of the handle. The tsuba was gold and shaped like a shuriken with four points. The blade was 28 inches long (71cm) and was surprisingly a pearly white and had blue waves going along its sharp edge. 'This is the one!'

"This is it, Mifune-sama, Genko-san. This is the sword I feel comfortable with." He said as he sheathed the sword. Both older men smiled at Naruto.

"Very well, Naruto. This sword was the last sword made by the legendary blacksmith, Hiroshi Kaito. It is made from chakra metal only found in the Land of Iron. Please take care and keep the sword. I hope to see you become a fine swordsman one day. Maybe then, we could have another spar." Mifune said. Naruto bowed and thanked the both of them before Mifune led them out of the room.

As they walked through the halls, Mifune had another surprise for Naruto. "Naruto, I have something else for you." He said getting a confused and curious look from Naruto. "This here is a scroll of a kenjutsu style that is yet to be completed. The original creator was an Uzumaki who had trained within the ranks of samurai many years ago. He was unfortunately killed in battle one day and his style was lost. I saw it fitting that you would be the one to rediscover and complete this style." He said as he gave Naruto an old looking scroll.

"Are you sure, Mifune-sama? Do you really trust me with something like this?" He asked warily.

Mifune smiled and ruffled Naruto's hair. "Of course, I can see the determination and strength in your eyes. I believe in you…"

"Mifune-sama, can I have permission to hug you?" Mifune smiled and nodded. Naruto embraced in a light hug. "Thank you…"


At the gates of the capital city, Mifune and his guards said their farewells to their shinobi guests. The Iwa and Konoha teams stood as far apart from each other as they could. As they said their farewells to the samurai, Naruto and Kurotsuchi made eye contact. She gave Naruto a small smile while Naruto gave an eye smile. 'His/her eyes are so pretty…I hope to see her/him again, one day.' They both thought.

The Iwa team headed west while the Konoha team headed south. The trip back was uneventful. The team was back to their usual "cheerful" ways and had recovered from the initial shock of getting their first kills. Although, Kakashi did notice that Naruto had a certain joy and glow radiating from him. He seemed quite happy. However, Kakashi wrote it off as him being happy to return back home.

Sasuke was also in deep thoughts although they didn't seem the same as they usually were. In the past, he used to be very depressed and always had a sour look when he thought of Itachi. This time, he looked genuinely in deep thought and had glints of curiosity and confusion in his eyes.

Shikamaru looked as lazy as usual. However, it looked like a major burden had been lifted off his shoulders. 'Looks like he finally got rid of all the shock from his first kill. I wonder what/who got to him.'


"Home sweet home…" Naruto said as he saw the lit gates of Konoha within his sights. It was currently around 10 to 11pm so the village stood out in the cover of darkness.

Then, an idea popped up in his head. "Yo, teme. Wanna race back to the gates. It's been a while since we had a challenge. The loser will pay 50 Ryo. Kakashi-sensei and Shikamaru can shunshin there and be the referees."

Sasuke smiled at the idea. He liked challenging himself against Naruto and he always loved to see Naruto's face when he wins. Kakashi grabbed Shikamaru's shoulder and shunshin them to the gates.

The gate guards were surprised to see Kakashi and Shikamaru appear in front of the gates. Naruto and Sasuke lined up, Naruto picked up a rock from the ground and flicked it into the air. As soon as the rock touched the ground, they both started sprinting to the gate.

Two dust clouds could be seen approaching the gate. 'Is this what me and Gai look like when we compete?' Kakashi thought.

'Troublesome teammates…' Shikamaru thought. He had hoped to be excluded from his teammate's competitions but he was somehow always dragged into them. Kakashi and Shikamaru had to squint their eyes to see who had crossed the gate first.

"I won, teme!" Naruto exclaimed in between deep breaths.

"No, I won dobe!" Sasuke argued as he gasped for air.

They both turn to look at Shikamaru and Kakashi waiting for the results. "Quite a close call there you two. But…Naruto wins!"

"Let's go! Take that teme!" He exclaimed as he celebrated in Sasuke's face.

Sasuke scowled at Naruto as he gave Naruto the money. "Fuck you. Just you wait, I will win our next challenge."

"Bring it on, teme! Now let's go report to the Hokage." Naruto said as the team made their way to the Hokage tower.


"Team 7, please report." The Hokage ordered.

"Team 7 reporting back from a C-rank mission to the Land of Iron. We are happy to report that the mission was successful. The only reason we had to come back a few days late was due to a blizzard that had hit the land. We stayed at the capital for two days before making our journey back. Mifune, General of the Land of Iron, has written a reply scroll for your eyes only." Kakashi said as he gave the Hokage the reply scroll.

"Very well. Good job Team 7. It's great to see you in one piece. Your mission wages will be ready to collect by tomorrow. You are given a week break as usually given after a C-rank mission. You are all dismissed except for Kakashi." Hiruzen said in a polite yet stern tone.

The genin bowed and thanked the Hokage before leaving. Naruto and his team said farewell to each other before they all went home. Naruto took a shower, ate some instant ramen for supper and immediately crashed on his bed. Two days of travelling had drained a lot of energy. He slept like a baby that night dreaming of ramen and…Kurotsuchi???