A/N: First of all; С днём великой победы (Happy Victory Day). So, it's been a while since I last updated any of my stories. I sincerely apologize for the increasing irregularities, but at the moment there isn't much I can do about it as the final year of my master's is soon coming to an end, so I am increasingly busy with my academic stuff, so I may not be able to give further updates in this month and the next, though I will try to get the next chapter of Guardian of the tailed beasts but unfortunately I can't give an exact date or time frame of it coming out. Please kindly forgive me for that.
So, on with the chapter, let's see what retribution Naruto has in store for Hiruzen and Shikaku. And as the name of the chapter suggests, what C-rank they get? Now then, without further ado, let's get onto the chapter.
CHAPTER 5: PRANKS, TRAINING AND C-RANKS
*Soraku, a week before Mizuki launched his plot a year early*
Tamaki giggled as she leapt along.
It felt so liberating to leap along, be it in the forest's trees or the buildings of the abandoned city she and her grandma called home.
There had been little to do growing up here, acting as protectors to the Uchiha supply base with the side gigs of serving as a slightly less grey and more in the white alternative to the black market and breeding cat ninken, oddly enough.
Nekomata's underling and other summon cats like to swing by for various reasons. And Tamaki took advantage of it to learn all she could.
A few good trades, some favors, and the occasional more underhanded agreement had netted the young girl enough information to start training at a young age and quite the library of cat-based techniques to practice with to build a style.
Add in Denka and Hina sticking around to act as protection and being more than willing to lend their aide, and Tamaki was able to achieve a level comparable to fresh genin.
Lacked the general education but living out here, street savvy mattered far more.
Tamaki stopped and sniffed the air after sensing something wrong, and her eyes widened as a copper scent hit her nostrils.
She rushed to the source and found the scene of a skirmish.
A Ryuichi cave Snake lied dead, gutted by its opponent, a large feline of indeterminate species.
Tamaki rushed to the corpse of the cat and began inspecting. 'female, no younger than 10, broken claws and fangs, still in age to have kids, death by disembowelment…that's odd…' Tamaki mumbled: "Ryuichi cave snakes tend to be very poisonous to the point where most poison resistant species can't resist…this girl has clear snake bite marks but is suffering no signs of suffering from envenomation…" Tamaki walked to the snake and began examining the carcass, "…but this guy clearly is. What the hell kind of cat are you…And why were you so willing to fight to the death with a snake?"
Tamaki thought for a moment before a soft meow hit her ears and her face dropped as she began scrambling to find the source.
Tamaki ran and found a young kitten, the same indeterminate species as the presumed mother. Too young to be ready to open its eyes, but clearly old enough to be at least a week old.
Tamaki suppressed her horror as her mind reminded her that cats were typically born in groups.
Tamaki cradled the cat carefully, made note of the area and placed a few distinguishing features, and then ran home.
To say she was embarrassed when she almost knocked over a man wearing a black cloak with red clouds embroidered onto it, with a black ponytail just barely poking out below the straw hat was a minor understatement, but the man seemed more amused than anything.
Tamaki knew she recognized the slight red glow coming from his eyes but the tassels of the hat kept her from seeing anything distinctive.
Tamaki managed to gasp out quickly: "Baa-chan! There was a fight between a snake and this kitten's mom! I think this little one might have had siblings but the snake killed them, the mom managed to kill the snake or fatally injure it before dying."
The man stood stiff while Nekoba began attending to the foundling. "A snake? How big?"
Tamaki caught her breath and answered: "It had to be a Ryuichi Cave Snake. As big around as I'm tall."
The red glow intensified for a moment: "This has Orochimaru written all of over it. Like he's trying to cut off available resources for myself or my little brother to ensure we fall into his hands. I assume the kitten's mom died from poison?"
Tamaki shook her head, "I checked, the mom died from blood and organ loss. The snake's poison never took on her. But the snake was affected by a fast acting and highly damaging poison from the mother cat."
Both Nekoba and the man blinked and shared a glance. Nekoba spoke, "Tamaki, are you certain the venom in the snake came from the cat and not the snake or some other animal?"
Tamaki nodded: "Fairly certain. I've never seen a cat like the mother to this kitten before."
The man removed his hat, and Tamaki recognized the man immediately, even if it had been quite a while. Itachi Uchiha.
Itachi's eyes bore into Tamaki. "Lead us to the skirmish site." Tamaki nodded.
Nekoba chuckled: "Hehe, seems some of your innocence still survives to this day Itachi-kun. Never could leave a little one in pain or need alone. This cute little girl may be quite thankful once she is able to be trained."
Tamaki stared: "The kitten is a girl?" Nekoba nodded. "Indeed. And you have a duty to her since you were the one who rescued her." Tamaki nodded happily
Nekoba called out: "Denka, Hina. Come here. We need to see if more snakes are in need of being dealt with."
The two ninja cats hopped up to the old cat lady and soon the group of 5 were at the skirmish site.
Nekoba looked at the mother cat: "I haven't seen a cat like this before either. It seems to be a species of tiger almost, but Tamaki's observation is correct it seems. Very good work with a new and never documented before species of feline, granddaughter."
Tamaki shyly scratched her head at the praise.
Itachi nodded as he pulled out a kunai and began drawing blood from the snake carcass: "It's easy to make simple mistakes in brand new situations where one is blazing a trail to potential new knowledge." Itachi pulled the blade out and inspected the miscolored blood, his eyes narrowed and he pulled a paper out of his cloak and wiped the fluid onto it.
Itachi stared for a moment before he spoke: "Interesting…" he said little else before he walked to the cat's corpse and looked closely.
He took out a similar paper wiped it against a broken tooth and observed for a moment before he spoke again: "Very interesting…Tamaki's observation was correct; it would seem the poison is a venom produced by this tiger."
Tamaki looked expectantly: "And what's so interesting about it?"
Itachi followed up: "The poison erodes chakra. It attacks chakra like it would organic material. I've only seen two poisons like this but both were manufactured, a drug produced by Suna and a toxin used by Kiri. But this cat species naturally produces a similar poison that acts far quicker. Natural defenses made to protect these creatures from their own venom would undoubtedly give them a great deal of resistance to lesser venin."
Tamaki was about to speak when a sharp hiss sounded and a snake lunged at Nekoba, swiping Denka and Hina away as it rushed past them to the white and purple tiger kitten.
"Damn bastard cat! Couldn't die with the rest of your litter, could you?! The damn whore you call a mother took out my father trying to protect you! I'll make sure it was in vain. DIE!" the small summon snake hissed in anger.
Tamaki didn't even have a moment to think before she blurred into motion, stopping the snake mere millimeters away from reaching its target.
The snake was so focused on killing the kitten it didn't even notice he had been pinned.
Didn't notice a pair of small hands clasp its head and neck.
Didn't notice the surprising amount of force that applied at those points.
CRACK-SNAP!
The young snake only noticed after hearing a loud crunch and its body going limp.
Tamaki panted as her heart pounded, her stomach churning as if she were about to throw up.
Her first real taste of adrenaline in a high tensity situation left her world spinning, her sense vaguely aware of the world around her before a sound caught her attention.
*meow*
Tamaki looked at the kitten she had rescued and saw that it had opened its eyes, revealing orange irises with slit pupils.
*meow*
The cat struggled in Nekoba's embrace, almost as if it was trying to get to someone else.
*meow*
Nekoba smiled: "Looks like this little one has decided who its new mother is. Tamaki?"
Tamaki looked at her hands, still shaking from adrenaline, before she took a controlled breath and carefully took the kitten from her grandmother.
The cat's noises went quiet as Tamaki gently ran her fingers over it.
Itachi smiled slightly, "I doubt you will ever be able to be rid of that little one. Better think of a good name for it."
Tamaki smiled and whispered: "Byakko."
Itachi and Nekoba both chuckled with the Old Cat Lady teasing: "A little on the nose, don't you think?"
Tamaki pouted slightly and mumbled: "I thought it was a good name for her…" and Nekoba graduated from chuckling to actual laughing.
Itachi walked up to the young girl and asked a simple question: "What were you thinking when you moved to kill that snake?"
Tamaki thought for a moment before she answered: "All I could think of was protecting Byakko and Baa-chan. I started my training to ensure my grandmother would always be safe alongside any we have to care for. I guess it was just putting that commitment to the test…"
Itachi's Sharingan drilled into Tamaki for a minute before he smiled: "I think you are well on your way to becoming a splendid ninja, Tamaki-chan. To me, a ninja is defined by their commitment to their ideals and aspirations, as well as their ability to persevere when others choose to quit or fall of their own volition. But your eyes hold the spark to never give up. They say the Sharingan can see the future, and I think it might just be right in this moment at least, because I see you achieving great things."
Tamaki shyly shuffled around, "Don't think I'll be going too far…"
Itachi smirked lightly: "Perhaps, but I have found that life has a tendency to ensure all receive a rightfully owed due for their deeds."
Tamaki rose an eyebrow at that but said nothing. Itachi spoke to Nekoba: "I presume you will not be in need of escort back?"
The old woman shook her head: "I have plenty of protection and I may be old but I am far from helpless."
Itachi smiled as he put his straw hat back on: "Good to hear. Goodbye." And Itachi began walking off as the cat family made their way home with both snake corpses and the cat corpse in tow.
-a week later-
Tamaki went motionless as she read the letter she had received.
Tamaki-san,
It has come to my attention, thanks to a shared acquaintance, that you have the desire to become a ninja and the attributes we seek to foster in our ninja.
A recent incident has opened up a seat in the academy class of your age group.
The seat is yours if you so desire.
A quick response would be appreciated.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Third Hokage
"Baa-Chan." Tamaki barely whispered.
"In shock over the letter? Can't say I'm surprised. I had a feeling Itachi was going to give that old monkey his recommendation." Nekoba stated without missing a beat.
Tamaki wanted to be shocked but instead all she could do was nod.
"Well? You wanted to be a ninja and this is your best chance. Why haven't you accepted?" Nekoba grilled, already knowing the answer.
Tamaki sighed: "I can't imagine leaving you alone. I started training to keep you safe…"
Nekoba sighed: "Tamaki, your commitment to taking care of me is admirable, but there comes a point where you must decide between self-imposed obligation and the passion you hold for what you choose to be your future. The incident a week ago merely forced the issue to now instead of much further on. Choose, and live with what you choose."
Tamaki returned to her room but her grandmother's words echoed in her head.
*meow*
Tamaki chuckled as Byakko meowed softly as she near silently crawled onto the top of Tamaki's head.
"You really stirred up trouble for me." *meow* "Don't even act like I'm blaming my problem on you. I'm kidding." *meow* "I know. I'm stalling. I know you and Baa-chan have my back no matter what I choose." *meow* "Watch it, not even a month old and already a smartass." *meow* "Ugh. Fine."
Tamaki ended her conversation with Byakko and grabbed a paper and brush.
Tamaki breathed in and wrote her response.
And with it each stroke, she was choosing her future.
*Konoha, present day*
The next day, the Nara clan woke up to pure chaos all over the compound. Someone had interchanged men's underwear with those of the women. Itching powder and red-chili powder had been fed to the clan's deer herd. Obviously, they were going crazy, kicking their caretakers and chasing them around after that.
Shikaku found out that someone had put pink dye into the water which was used to wash his clothes and he had to settle for wearing that abomination of a uniform for the day, since someone had carefully applied itching powder on the rest of his clothes, making him send them to laundry.
The absolute worst part of it all was that not a single finger print of the culprits was found. Surely, they had snuck into the compound at night but the Chunin guards on night duty had no idea who had snuck in and how.
Shikaku also found out that half of the Shogi pieces from each of his sets had been stolen and also his entire collection of Icha-Icha series, which was carefully hidden. How someone came to know that he was an avid reader of the Toad-Sage's writings made him go crazy, he also shivered at the prospect of his wife finding out this carefully hidden secret. Only Inoichi and Chouza knew about it and they would be having a good laugh about it.
Unfortunately for the Nara clan head, that was not the end. When the poor Shikaku went for a bath to get rid of the itching powder that got on him he used the soap, which he hadn't used when he took a shower, half an hour earlier. However, his soap and facewash had a mix of itching powder and a small amount of red chili powder as well. He screamed from the bathroom as his eyes hurt and his body began itching all over again.
The poor Nara had to go to his friend Chouza's house to take a bath. He got to the Hokage's office three hours late.
*2 hours earlier*
A scream of absolute horrified terror and misery was heard from the Hokage's office. Someone had carefully altered the arrangement of the paperwork. Hiruzen had diligently arranged the papers last night and put them in order to review them the next day but that diligent arrangement had been thrown down the gutter.
It took him two hours to rearrange the papers to how they had been the night before. The old man thanked Kami for keeping his memory sharp at this advanced age. After that he decided to take a break and seeing that he had no appointments for the next three hours and Shikaku was yet to report, he decided to read the latest Icha-Icha book he had received from his student three days ago but hadn't gotten the time to take a look at.
As soon as Hiruzen let out a satisfied breath and opened the book, he screamed again in a girlish voice. Someone carefully replaced the book without changing the cover and to his dread the book contained yaoi porn, The Professor had to resist the urge to throw up and make his office dirty. To his even bigger dread, not only that particular book but each and every Icha-Icha book from his entire collection had been replaced.
How someone found out about that secret drawer, the exact location of which as that of the secret button to open it was unknown even to the ANBU guarding him 24/7 was a matter of great curiosity.
On the Hokage rock, someone had hung an open Icha-Icha book from above, right before Hiruzen's face, eyeballs were painted on his stone eyes and it looked like he was looking down. Thick red lines were drawn from his nose giving the impression of a massive nosebleed. That day, everyone in the village to some degree understood that their honourable Hokage was a closet pervert.
Both Hiruzen and Shikaku knew very well exactly who had pranked them and why. Unfortunately, they didn't have a single shred of evidence to pin the crime. The sheer scale of the prank was huge, in one single night, the Hokage's office and the Nara clan compound were hit with huge pranks.
'Of course, Naruto knows both the Shadow-clone jutsu and tree walking, who knew that the implications of one single kid learning such trivial stuff would be this terrifying.' Both the Hokage and the Jonin Commander thought simultaneously. They also had the feeling that Naruto wasn't alone in this, his teammate had helped him out. But later, the Hyuuga guards on night duty would testify that Hinata never strolled out of the house, let alone leave the compound. What they didn't know was that a Naruto clone had substituted himself with Hinata, then transformed himself into her and slept in her place.
There was no trace of lack of sleep on the faces of the Genin either, when they reported, since by using the shadow clones, the whole set up was put in place within two hours.
As Naruto and Hinata reported, the blond burst out laughing, while began Hinata giggling as well, upon seeing Shikaku clad in a pink uniform. The two elder shinobi's eyebrows began twitching.
"Just How?" Hiruzen asked, knowing that he had no evidence to pin the pranks on the two and he wouldn't punish them even if he had.
"Trade secrets, not telling." Naruto replied. Then Hiruzen tried to do the puppy eyes jutsu, which was invented by his former teammate and current advisor Koharu.
"Okay jiji, but on one condition." Naruto replied crossing his arms across his chest.
"And what would that be?"
"You will have to join me in one of my pranks, then you will yourself understand how I do this." Naruto chirped.
Hiruzen paled. To think that the Hokage himself would be pranking the village, he couldn't even imagine it. But a part of his mind, his childish and excitable side got the better of him.
He also didn't want to be at the receiving end of the pranks anymore.
But anyone who put forth a guess to the old Hokage would have been met would denial.
"Deal." Hiruzen replied, Shikaku's eyes widened at the prospect but then even he began wanting in.
"Mind if I joined as well?" He asked his students.
"Don't tell me it was all soooo troublesome afterwards." Naruto replied with a smirk.
"It definitely will be, but something tells me, the outcome would be worth it." Shikaku replied with a smirk, he was already plotting a revenge on Inoichi and Chouza who had laughed, rolling on the floor for one hour, upon seeing his predicament.
That was a bad day for Konoha, for the master prankster of the village was joined by perhaps the biggest brain of the village, a living jutsu data book, and a girl with the most powerful Byakugan ever. The enormity of the pranks the village would face in the coming days would make all the gods wince in sympathy for those who were at the receiving end of it. But that's for another day.
Once the new pranking team of Konoha was formed, Hiruzen allowed himself to get serious.
"Alright then, we have clearly understood the message regarding the feelings of Team-6 with D-Rank missions. So, I have decided to cut you some slack. You will be assigned C-Rank missions from now on. However, in return you must agree to undertake D-Ranks when you are within the village and when your sensei sees fit to not allow a day off for rest or have you train the entirety of the day, is that understood?"
"As long as the D-Ranks don't involve chasing that damned cat, we have a deal Jiji." Naruto replied giving a thumbs up.
Shikaku and Hiruzen looked at each other. They still remembered Naruto's threat of letting Tora loose in the Hokage's office should he and/or Hinata be assigned to capture him ever again.
Sometimes that damn cat made the two men wonder if the dreaded Jyuubi, the Ten Tailed Demon legendarily fought by the Sage of Six Paths, was truly the worst monster faced by mortal men with a creature like Tora existing.
Needless to say, they fully intended to never let that threat come to fruition.
"That will not be a problem Naruto-kun." Hiruzen replied with a smile
Naruto and Hinata smiled.
"Very well then, right now I have a C-Rank prepared for your team." He said as he pulled a scroll and handed it to Shikaku along with another red-coloured scroll. The Head Jonin of course knew about the mission so he didn't bother either scroll, which could be done later on.
"Team-6 accepts the mission, by your consent, Hokage-sama." He asked for permission to leave with a slight bow.
"All the best for your mission Team-6. Dismissed." Hiruzen replied. The Head Jonin and his troublesome students then exited the Hokage's office.
As the team exited the office,
"So, what kind of mission are we having Shikaku-sensei?" Naruto asked with an excited face.
"We need to deliver this scroll to the village leader of the Takigakure, the Village Hidden in the Waterfalls. Which means we will be out of Konoha. It will take something in between a week to 10 days to carry out this mission so pack accordingly. You have one hour to get ready, make sure to get freshened up and don't take a heavy meal, which will slow you down and don't eat too little either. Meet me at the gates after exactly an hour. Dismissed!" Shikaku ordered before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.
Naruto was excited, on their first mission itself, he and his best friend were heading to another ninja village. He would be able to finally see the lands beyond the gates of Konoha after all these years.
"I am really excited for the mission Hinata-chan, what about you?"
"I-I am excited too, I-I hope w-we will succeed without any d-difficulties." Hinata replied pressing her fingers. She was also excited, not only at the prospect of going on a mission outside the village, but she was travelling abroad with Naruto!
"All right, let's pack up and meet at the Ichiraku's after half an hour, is that good with you?" Naruto asked.
"Hai, that's a good i-idea." She replied.
"See ya then." Naruto then ran off towards his apartment. Hinata also soon made her way towards the Hyuuga mansion.
Hiashi Hyuuga was going through a document related to the clan's finances in his personal study when a knock was heard on the door.
"Come in."
Hinata walked in, with her supplies ready for the mission. Hiashi looked up and raised an eyebrow.
"Are you headed out of the village on a mission daughter?"
Hinata meekly nodded.
"Y-Yes father. H-Hokage-sama gave us a C-rank m-mission to go to T-Takigakure. I-I will be out for at most ten days." Hinata replied, looking down.
"Have you packed adequately for the mission?"
"H-Hai."
"Well then, you can leave, do well daughter." Hiashi said moving his attention back to the document he was reading. Hinata exited after giving a bow and closing the door. Once she was out, Hiashi looked up at the door again.
'Stay safe my daughter.'
The upcoming couple met up at Ichiraku's after packing up, exactly half an hour after separating near the Hokage tower.
"One miso ramen for me Old Man!" Naruto ordered aloud.
"Coming right away" came the reply from Teuchi, the chef and owner. "What about you, young lady?" The ramen chef asked Hinata.
"I-I will have w-what N-Naruto-kun is having." She replied.
In minutes, hot and delicious ramen was served and the soon to become couple began enjoying their meals in comfortable silence.
"So going out on a mission?" asked Teuchi.
"Yes, old man, finally Hokage jiji gave us a real ninja mission! I am really excited." Naruto exclaimed. Hinata watched her love's antics and smiled with pink cheeks, which didn't go unnoticed by Ayame. She had been observing the two ever since they started coming to the ramen stall together, which was soon after the graduation exams. She had observed Hinata stealing glances of Naruto with a look of longing. The smile of she had was more of affection than of admiration, it didn't take Ayame to figure out that what the Hyuuga girl felt for their favourite customer was beyond a simple schoolgirl crush, it was love.
'This girl has it bad for Naruto, it will be really good for him if he takes notice of her already, his one-sided crush on that pink haired girl is really annoying sometimes.'
Then the daughter of the ramen chef noticed something, she noticed Naruto stealing glances of Hinata when the latter was not looking up and his cheeks reddened while he did so. Her eyes widened and he slightly elbowed her father before pointing him towards the two. Teuchi smiled, then thinking a bit, he decided to make Naruto confront what he felt for the Hyuuga girl so that their coming together can be speeded up.
When the two finished and got ready to pay the bill, Teuchi waved them off (after all they surprisingly had only one bowl each). "It's on the house, you two are going on your first real ninja mission, consider it a treat of good luck from me." The ramen chef explained with a smile. Naruto began grinning.
"Thanks, old man Teuchi, you are the best!"
"T-Thank you very much, i-it's v-very kind o-of you, Teuchi-san." Hinata said with a bow of gratitude.
As the two besties turned around to leave,
"And Naruto, take good care of your cute little girlfriend." Teuchi loudly said with sly smile, the two teens reddened up immediately.
'Girlfriend!' both thought simultaneously. Hinata only prayed that the words of the Ramen chef came true soon. She didn't know that her prayers were about to be answered.
Naruto was actually embarrassed but for some reason he found that he actually liked the idea, he stole a glance of the Hyuuga girl whose face was doing the best impression of a tomato. 'She's cute when she is reddened up like that.' Then his thoughts wandered off to the day when he had seen Hinata without her jacket, when she was soaking wet. The blonde began actually somehow felt the urge to touch her when he saw her like that, touch her, hug her, cuddle with her and then he thought that her lips looked really nice, maybe he could touch them with his own. 'WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING, SHE IS MY FRIEND! WHAT WILL SHE THINK OF ME WHEN SHE FINDS OUT I'M THINKING ABOUT HER LIKE THIS! THINK OF SOMETHING ELSE NARUTO!' Alas he couldn't.
"W-We a-a-are n-not a…" Naruto began stuttering out an excuse when he was immediately cut off by the ramen chef.
"I am sure you kids are getting late for your mission, you two should hurry up. See ya after the mission."
The kids ran off.
'I don't know why I like the idea of Hinata being my girlfriend, I mean, yeah, she is really nice, she even saved me when even I didn't want to save myself and damn, she really looks hot under that baggy jacket…what is this feeling…am I…am I…well I have to figure this feeling out, it feels different from what I feel around Sakura-chan, around Jiji, around Old Man Teuchi and Ayame nee-san…this is different. I…won't tell her about it, until I am sure of what this feeling is…what if I end up hurting her….' The blonde shook his head, he couldn't even imagine hurting this precious girl in any way. 'No, I won't hurt her…never…'
The two soon got to their sensei who was yawning as he stood against a wall near the gate.
"Morning sensei! Let's get moving already I can't wait to start this mission!" Naruto exclaimed.
"G-good m-morning s-sensei." Hinata greeted with a bow.
"Good morning to both of you. And Naruto I am sure that you are excited for this mission but rushing in without thinking much before or during the execution backfires on you always, so be a little bit calmer." The Nara clan head cautioned. "Take a deep breath, Naruto and think that this mission is just as important as the ones you have done before, nothing more nothing less." He advised.
"But sensei this is…" Naruto was cut-off again. "Yes, this is a C-rank mission, a higher ranked one than the daily chores you carried out earlier but still, this is just a mission and a shinobi must treat all missions equally, that will help him make good judgements and not overwhelmed. Understood?"
Both teens nodded and Naruto followed their teacher's advice and clamed himself down a bit with deep breaths.
"Good, now I want to you show the things you have packed. You first Hinata." Shikaku ordered. The Hyuuga nodded and then laid down all the items she had packed.
"Hmm, 30 kunai, 50 shuriken, 20 pieces of explosive tags, camping equipment, some healing cream…I guess and some ration bars. Good enough, you really took care of all the necessary things." The Nara said with a thumbs-up. Hinata reddened a bit with the praise, she wasn't accustomed to it. Even Naruto patted her shoulders.
"Now you Naruto." The blonde obeyed.
"So, what do we have here, 40 kunai, 50 shuriken, also 20 pieces of explosive tags, some camping equipment and….30 cups of instant ramen?"
"Yeah sensei, what are we supposed to eat otherwise?" Naruto asked as if it was the most obvious question in the world, Shikaku and Hinata both sweat dropped.
"Umm…although I understand your point but I can't allow you to carry this unnecessary load. Ninja can arrange their own food from the nature and you two will be learning it. So, you have 15 minutes to go back to your place, put these ramen cups back and come back. And if I find even one ramen cup within your luggage, I will have it thrown away. Is that clear?" Shikaku sternly asked.
Naruto glared at his teacher, as if threatening him with a prank if he didn't take back his order. Shikaku didn't budge, well he couldn't stunt his student's growth and also let him continue having an unhealthy diet even if he is hit with another prank.
Upon seeing that he was going nowhere with the glaring, Naruto finally obeyed.
20 minutes later, Team 6 was on its way.
Naruto enjoyed the view, the trees, those sounds of birds everything was serene.
"Have you ever gone out of Konoha, Hinata-chan?" the blonde asked his best friend, who was also enjoying the view.
"Y-Yes, t-twice, when my mother was alive." She said, recalling the memories of those happy days.
"W-We went to c-collect herbs, f-flowers and e-even to a h-hot spring." She recalled.
"Wow, that's amazing! As for me…Well, this is my first time outside Konoha." Naruto said. Hinata felt glad that she got to accompany him on his first trip outside Konoha.
"So, sensei, what is this Hidden Waterfalls village like? What kind of ninja do they have?" the blonde asked curiously.
"Takigakure is a minor shinobi village, they have ninjas but their number is not as big as Konoha or even Suna which has the least number of Shinobi among the five great nations." Shikaku explained. Naruto tried recalling what the 'Five Great Nations' were and was able to recall bits from Iruka's lecture on the topic.
"Five great nations…ummm…aren't they Iwa, Kumo, Kiri, Suna and Konoha. Iruka sensei said they each have a Kage like the Hokage and they are strong villages."
"Correct. Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, Sunagakure and Konohagakure. These are the Five Great Ninja villages and the nations they are located in, the Land of Earth, the Land of Lightning, the Land of Water, the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire are called the Five Great Nations. Each Great Ninja village is led by a Kage. Iwa by the Tsuchikage, Kumo by the Raikage, Kiri by the Mizukage, Suna by the Kazekage and of course Konoha by the Hokage, which you want to become one day." Shikaku explained and Naruto enthusiastically nodded.
"The Five Great Ninja villages are called 'Great' because they have the power to back up their claim. Iwa has the largest number of Shinobi of any ninja village. Their shinobi specialize in Earth style ninjutsu, but they also have several other specialized teams, the most notable of Iwa's shinobi teams are the explosion corps and steam corps.
Kumo, although has less Shinobi than Iwa, their shinobi are stronger on average. They specialize in lightning style ninjutsu. They also produce excellent swordsmen. Currently they are the strongest shinobi village. At least in regards to the average of quality of ninja they produce among the quantity they hold.
Suna has the least number of shinobi among the great nations but their shinobi are notably skilled, especially in the wind style. They also have a puppet-user corps, which has several skilled ninja puppet masters. Ninja from Suna specialize in combat in harsh regions due to training in the unstable biome of the Wind Desert.
As for Kiri, they have ninja specializing in water style ninjutsu. Their most notable ninja group is the Seven Ninja swordsmen, who wield different kinds of special swords. Kiri also makes the best assassins out of any ninja village. Kiri ninja are trained to operate in aquatic environments and tend to be better at fighting optimally while submerged.
Kiri and Suna both are known for using poisons, but Kiri favors utilizing poisons from the myriad of venomous aquatic species that lurk in the Land of Water while Suna favors the production of drugs and poisonous mixtures, with venomous desert animals being utilized on occasion."
"So, what is Konoha special for sensei?" Naruto quizzically asked.
"Nothing."
Before Naruto could raise further questions, Shikaku continued his explanation.
"The shinobi of Konoha specialize in Fire Style ninjutsu. We don't have any special shinobi corps but almost all the most powerful shinobi of their era were from Konoha. The Shodai, Nidaime, Sandaime, Yondaime, the Legendary Sannin, the White Fang Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Madara, all were from Konoha."
"I-Isn't your team with I-Inoichi-sama and Chouza-sama f-famous too? Sensei?" Hinata asked.
"So, you've heard about the Ino-Shika-Cho formation huh? Yeah, we were quite good at our job and perhaps still are. Our clans have been allies since generations and in every generation of shinobi, there is always a team consisting of the members of our clan, since our specialties work well together." Shikaku explained. "Coming back to the topic of ninja villages, apart from the Five Great ones, there are several minor shinobi villages such as Kusagakure, Amegakure, Hoshigakure and Takigakure, to where we are heading now. The shinobi of Taki mostly specialize in water style but there are some who are good with earth style as well. The village also has a giant tree which is about a thousand years old. From this tree, a special water, called the 'Hero's water' is produced every hundred years. If someone drinks it, their strength increases many-fold." Shikaku explained further.
"Wow, that's really interesting. I am sure, they won't just let us drink that hero's water, would they?" Naruto asked again.
"Troublesome, of course not, it is considered a treasure by them and also drinking too much of it has several harmful side effects so you better stay away from it." Shikaku responded, earning nods from his genin.
"Also, there is something else you should know about Taki, Naruto. But before getting to that point, you should know that the Kyuubi, sealed in you is not the only Biju. There are eight others, each characterized by its number of tails, from the Ichibi all the way to the Kyuubi. Currently, most of the Biju are held by jinchuuriki, like you in the Great Ninja Villages. However, Taki is the only village apart from the Five Great Ninja villages to possess a Biju, they have the Seven Tailed Rhinoceros Beetle, the Nanabi."
Naruto's eyes widened at the revelation.
"T-There a-are m-more Biju and t-there are p-people…yes, people like me." Naruto mumbled. Hinata placed her hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
"The reason I am telling this to you Naruto is that, it is very much possible that while in Taki, we might come across the Nanabi jinchuuriki and at that time, it is very much possible that the Kyuubi will react to the Nanabi's presence, I don't know what kind of reaction it will be, but I suspect that it won't be friendly. The Kyuubi might try to overcome your will with his own. So, you must stay strong and have full faith in your capabilities and you must not let go of your willpower." The head Jonin of Konoha advised.
While talking, the group reached a riverbank by sunset.
"Let's make camp here. From tomorrow, while we move, we will have practice as well." Shikaku explained and cautioned.
Meanwhile, in the outskirts of Takigakure, at a lonely house, a girl with mint-green hair, clad in a white top that went down halfway till her midriff and a low-rise skirt was getting used to four wings that were sticking out from just above her waist and was trying to fly using them. The girl suddenly sneezed and fell flat on the ground from her far from perfected method of flight.
"Why does Fu have a feeling that she might finally make some friends soon?" The girl mumbled to herself in confusion.
A/N: And done...I hope you all enjoyed it. Yeah, I am bringing Tamaki to Konoha and adding her into Naruto's now former class. Wonder how the 'Capture Tora' missions will go with Tamaki involved once she graduates...hehe. And yeah, we are seeing Fu soon as Team-6 heads to Takigakure. What has this mission got in store for them? When will NaruHina come together? (I'll just answer that, soon...since as I have admitted in Guardian, I am not exactly a fan of slowburn and can't really write it well, so I will get bring them together here as well soon enough.) We'll find the answers in the upcoming chapters. So, stay tuned. Thank you all for the continued love and support and for bearing with me, despite my regularities. And sorry again for being so irregular.
See ya all in the next chapter then. Cheers and peace.