Chapter 5
AN: Alright! So I left on a cliffhanger last chapter. While one part of the reason was that I couldn't resist myself, the other part was that it fit perfectly with the distribution of the arc. The next will come in the next chapter, obviously. Enjoy!
Naruto found himself back in the office of the Hokage. He idly wondered whether he had really thought this through when Kurama had presented the idea. Almost immediately as the thought crossed his mind, he discarded it. It was plain for all to see that Danzo had intended to keep a close eye on Naruto, to gauge his threat level.
Whether he could control him or not, directly or indirectly.
Of course, Naruto wasn't stupid enough to believe that Danzo would take a direct shot at him. Danzo was called "Yami no shinobi", the shinobi of darkness, because he worked from the shadows; his modus operandi went completely against anyone's ethical guidelines. His father's journal had provided Naruto a deep insight into the workings of root. And there was one thing that stood out the most.
There was no shinobi more loyal to Konoha than Danzo.
In fact, the man was so loyal, that he was willing to cross boundaries that no one would dare toe.
Now that he stood before Tsunade, Naruto wondered what the man would do. If he called Naruto out on the murder of a Konoha shinobi, Naruto was more than ready with his answer. And if he did, then he would have to answer just when did he have any authority to command shinobi.
Tsunade leveled a stare bordering on a glare to her fellow blonde. "Let's get to the matter. Naruto, I know that you are a very powerful shinobi, and a very intelligent one as well. Otherwise, you wouldn't have earned your bingo book entry. For as long as I have known, I have seen that you never perform an action of this level of depth without thinking it through. So I would really like to hear your reasoning of what made you kill the shinobi on sight."
Danzo stepped forward, and Naruto had to commend the man. The tightening around his eyes was the only giveaway that Danzo was a little more than a bit displeased about the turn of events. "Hokage-sama, I-"
He was immediately silenced, when Tsunade levelled a nasty glare on him. "You may only speak when I allow you to. Is. That. Clear. Danzo?"
Danzo immediately bowed his head. "Apologies, Hokage-sama."
Her glare receded and she turned back to Naruto. "Let's hear your account, Jonin Uzumaki," she prompted.
Naruto nodded and out of his mouth came the story that he and Kurama had cooked up. "Hokage-sama, you are correct in saying that I don't perform any drastic action without thinking it through, and that will never change. In this case, my reasoning is somewhat like this. Do you know that I have an eidetic memory, Hokage-sama?"
Tsunade slowly shook her head. "I wasn't aware of the fact. It isn't stated in your file."
Naruto expanded upon his statement. "For those who do not know what eidetic memory is, I will explain. Having an eidetic memory means that everything that I see, hear, smell, taste or feel, I can recall all of that with near perfect clarity, down to the small detail. I can even recall every conversation I have been part of that has taken place years ago."
"What is your point?"
Naruto glanced towards Danzo, who was frowning at him now. "The point is, the shinobi that I just killed was of my age group, 15-17 years old. Isn't that correct, Danzo-san?"
By now, Naruto could almost hear the wheels turning in the war hawk's brain as he tried to see where Naruto was taking this conversation. Almost cautiously, as if he were stepping in a minefield, Danzo replied. "Yes, he was of your age."
That just gives more credibility to my story then.
Naruto pleasantly smiled. "Thank you, Danzo-san." Turning to Tsunade, he continued his justification. "As he said, he was of my age. But like I said before, I have an eidetic memory. Anything that I see, I remember and can recall perfectly."
He brought forward his right hand, almost in a questioning gesture. "And trust me Hokage-sama, every person, who is two to three years older, or equal of my age in this village, I know their name, and their face."
By now everyone could see where this was going. Hiruzen didn't show it, but he was relieved on the inside that Naruto had managed to sort this out by himself. A glint of understanding entered Tsunade's eye, but she kept quiet, gesturing Naruto to continue.
"And when I saw the face of that shinobi, the first thought that entered my head was, who the shinobi was, and why he was attacking us in broad daylight. I recalled every face I had seen, and came to a single conclusion- I've never seen this guy before in my life."
Naruto's left hand clenched behind his back as he struggled to keep a straight face, because Kurama was full on laughing in his mind.
"That led to the conclusion that this was a guy that was impersonating a Konoha shinobi, and could be a possible spy."
"If you suspected him to be a spy, then you should have brought him in for questioning instead of killing him there and then," Tsunade countered reflectively.
That was a tricky question, and needed some bullshitting. That was the standard procedure when any suspicious individual was encountered. Perhaps some deflection was required?
"To be honest, Hokage-sama, I was operating on instinct at the time. While anyone my age couldn't have been a spy for long, I was unaware as to what his full capabilities were, whether he had sure means of escaping us or not. Which is why I neutralized him before he could make any such attempt. There was a juinjutsu, a curse seal on his tongue that likely prevented him from divulging any secrets. Someone has a lot of dirty secrets to hide, Hokage-sama," he replied, his emphasis on the word clear to all.
Everyone in the room flickered their eyes towards Danzo, whose face remained inscrutable as ever. Inside however, was a different story entirely. He was cursing himself for bringing this matter up in the first place. He had made it pretty clear that Sai was his shinobi, and with Uzumaki revealing the purpose of the seal, it meant that he was subject to a lot of unwanted attention from now on. He was already aware of Hiruzen giving him the stink eye in his peripheral vision.
Naruto decided to put a little more heat onto Danzo. He shrugged, "Of course, I could have removed the seal if I hadn't killed him, and maybe you would have gotten him to talk, but no use crying over spilt milk now, right?"
Tsunade took a deep breath to gather her thoughts. From what Naruto had told her, it sounded like he had genuinely believed that Sai was a spy. But Tsunade knew it not to be true, for she had been introduced to him only a few hours ago, as Danzo's underling. But what she wasn't aware of was that Sai had a juinjutsu on his tongue to keep him from spilling out unwanted secrets.
She still remembered the discussion with the elders.
Flashback
It was like a standoff against two opposing sides. Tsunade, Hiruzen and Shizune were sitting against the two elders, with the latter standing. The atmosphere in the room was tense, and Tsunade just wanted to get out of here and get some sake. Dealing with the old codgers was never a pleasant experience.
She internally sighed. 'Oh, how I wish I could just pass on the hat to Naruto now, now that he's strong enough. But…..he isn't ready. Not yet.'
"So, what is it this time?"
The two elders eyed her with disapproval at the lack of her formality, not that she cared. Those two could go die in a pit somewhere and she wouldn't even bat an eye. "It's about Uzumaki Naruto," Koharu opened the discussion.
Tsunade and Hiruzen didn't say anything, which Homura took as the cue to continue. "From now on, don't assign him missions that have the possibility of him running into the Akatsuki," he firmly stated.
Tsunade suppressed the urge to admonish the elder harshly for speaking to her like that. Who did he think he was, ordering around the Hokage like that?
"You know the reason, don't you?"
Tsunade's eyes flickered to the female elder. She was the worst of the two, always thinking as if the decisions of the elders were absolutely right. Whenever the discussion was about Naruto, these two always talked like Naruto was nothing more than a deterrent to war for the leaf. They were only concerned about the beast within, not the container, and that pissed her off.
Oh yeah, she and her sensei were well aware of what Koharu was implying. Don't send him out of the village or the Akatsuki will get him. She would have snorted if not for the manners that still somehow remained ingrained in her mind.
"You do realize that Naruto is now a shinobi capable of defeating Jiraiya at his best, right?"
The eyes of the two elders widened at that. But Koharu once again reminded Tsunade just how stubborn she was. "I refuse to believe that. Naruto might be a prodigious shinobi, but defeating Jiraiya is compl-"
"Are you accusing my student to be a liar, Koharu?" Hiruzen interrupted her with a steely glint in her eyes.
Koharu swallowed as she backtracked hastily. "N-no, Hiruzen. It is just too shocking to believe that a shinobi who has not even reached his physical prime is capable of defeating one of the Sannin."
Hiruzen receded his glare. "I thought so."
Tsunade fought the urge to smirk at the elders. Even retired, sensei hadn't lost the ability to effectively shut the elders up. She continued, "Besides, what could we possibly gain by keeping a shinobi of his caliber confined in the village?"
Koharu spoke again, her voice showing signs of frustration now. "By remaining in the village, the Akatsuki-"
"Had no problems in kidnapping the Kazekage, right from the heart of his village," Tsunade cut her off dryly. Koharu was now visibly gritting her teeth, and that was a good sign in Tsunade's eyes. "And they were successful. What makes you think they wouldn't try this again?"
This time, it was Homura who spoke. "Then from now on, make sure he works in a four man squad with more skilled shinobi, and increase the surveillance on him."
Koharu wasted no time by piggybacking on the argument. "Furthermore, decrease the amount of missions assigned to him as much as possible, and limit the scope of his activities. If possible, don't let him leave the village at all."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the old bat. "You know what my answer is."
Both the elders truly looked as if they were exhausted by explaining to her that their point of view was absolutely right. "Tsunade, Naruto is not an ordinary kid. He's a jinchuriki!"
"Don't," Tsunade spoke right after her, fury shining in her eyes, "raise your voice when speaking to me." To enforce her statement, she leveled a healthy amount of killing intent at the elders. Once they looked properly scared, she continued. "I am the Hokage and you will treat me as such. Call me by my first name again and I WILL revoke your authority as village elders!"
She stared them in the eye, increasing the amount of killing intent until it was almost suffocating. They nodded hurriedly, and she dropped the killing intent slowly. She won't allow them to push her around like they did to her sensei.
Taking a deep breath to abate her anger for the moment, she resumed speaking. "As to your suggestion, I can say with absolute certainty that currently, Naruto is THE most powerful shinobi in this village. Do you expect people weaker than him to protect him?"
Tsunade glared at the elders, getting frustrated by the second. "He will operate in a four man cell anyways. And I won't keep him confined in the village. He is one of the very few, no, the ONLY ninja in our village who can kill Akatsuki members without risking much of his life. You know the power of Hiraishin, don't you?"
The elders and her were locked in a glaring contest, until Homura sighed. "If he does get taken, what will you do?"
Tsunade didn't even hesitate for a moment before giving her answer. "Naruto won't be beaten. But if it does get to that, then I will put my life on the line as the Hokage!"
Tsunade had a triumphant glint in her eye when she saw that the elders looked defeated. She was about to declare the meeting over when Koharu spoke up once more, a cunning glint in her eyes. "But, in exchange for your conditions, you will use the shinobi that we select in order to complete their four man cell."
Tsunade had a bad feeling about what she was about to hear next. She already had had a person in mind to fill the incomplete squad, but she had to listen to the elders at least sometimes. Otherwise, they would keep hounding her until she gave in. Any and all sense of triumph left her in a sigh. "Fine."
"Come in, Danzo!"
Flashback end
Long story short, Danzo had put forward Sai, someone he claimed to have personally trained. While there was no mention that he was from root, Tsunade knew better than to fish around.
With Kakashi incapacitated, she also had to look for another leader for the team. But now wasn't the time for that.
"Naruto's account tells me that he genuinely believed that Danzo's suggested shinobi Sai, was a spy in the village. Naruto, you're free to go. But don't repeat this action in the future," Tsunade warned him.
Danzo stepped forward, his eyes showing frustration. "Hokage-sama, are you really going to let him off with a slap on the wrist? He murdered my subordinate!"
Naruto frowned, then refuted the claim calmly. "Murder is premediated. But," a sly glint came in his eye as he eyed the elder, "I wonder just why would you put a juinjutsu on your own subordinate, Danzo-san."
Then his eyes narrowed, and his voice turned suspicious. "Maybe you just didn't want him divulging the secrets that Root still exists?"
The question was more than enough to calm Danzo down. "Root was disbanded years ago due to Sandaime's orders, Uzumaki-san. He was simply someone I trained to be one of my personal guard."
All the people in the room except the elders collectively held back a snort. Only one thought went through their heads.
That is the biggest load of horse shit I've heard.
Naruto flippantly shrugged. "Whatever you say." He then turned to Tsunade. "Any further orders, Hokage-sama?"
Tsunade frowned and nodded. "Yes, you are to meet your new teammates in half an hour, in front of training ground 7. I'll pass along any further details relating to the leadership of the team. Don't be late."
Naruto nodded sharply. "Hai, Hokage-sama."
Making a half ram, he was gone in a shunshin. Tsunade finally let the wide smile she had been holding back for the entire meeting blossom on her face. "Well, this was a very upsetting turn of events," she said, not sounding upset at all.
The elders especially looked crestfallen. Before anyone could speak, Tsunade did. She wasn't going to give them a chance of outmaneuvering her this time. "This would have been a setback if I didn't have a contingency plan."
The elders looked up, confused. "Contingency?"
Tsunade nodded cheerfully. "Yes. A contingency named Uzumaki Haruto."
The elders immediately protested. "Tsu- Hokage-sama, you can't! We don't know if he could be trusted!"
Tsunade held up her palm, stalling all complaints. "What you know or don't is irrelevant. Naruto has given me his word that Haruto can be trusted, and that he will personally take responsibility if anything happens. And before you say he's not qualified," she didn't even bother to hide her glee, "Haruto has proved himself to be a highly capable chunin just last week. And I was planning to put him on the team anyway before being persuaded otherwise by the elders."
Danzo knew that he had lost his play on this. He himself had kept tabs on the other Uzumaki, and had to admit, the boy was just as good with his chains as Kushina, if not better. He had debated on whether he could somehow convince him to join the Root, but later discarded the idea. For every Uzumaki, family came first. And Haruto was too close to his cousin for Danzo to take the chance.
If he didn't know better, and he really didn't, he would have thought that this was a masterful play by Uzumaki Naruto.
"Danzo!"
He gave no indication to his thoughts as he faced his leader. Tsunade gave him a shark like smile. Not grin, but smile. "I have no further need of your shinobi and as such, won't trouble you anymore. You may leave."
Danzo gave a short nod, and exited the office. Things were spiraling out of his hand, and he needed to do some damage control.
XXXXXXX
Twenty minutes later, Naruto was standing with Sakura at the entrance of training ground 7, waiting for their new teammates. His pink haired teammate didn't bother to hide her curiosity when she saw him coming.
"Any idea who this new teammate and sensei will be?"
Naruto shrugged. "I have no idea as well."
They both stood in silence for a few moments, after which Naruto quietly spoke up, cautious and a bit hesitant. "Listen, about what happened in Tsunade's office earlier-"
Sakura cut him off with a shake of her head. "No, it's…fine. I can see where you're coming from." She sighed, memories of her genin days coming to the forefront of her mind. "I could never see past Sasuke, the reality of our world. I never really got serious until the second phase of the exam. All I wanted was, for Sasuke to see me just like I saw him." She sighed once more, looking a bit depressed. "I used to be quite the bitch, huh?"
Naruto quickly spoke up, "I never called you that."
Sakura gave a chuckle, but it was humorless. "You didn't need to, Naruto."
Naruto was impressed just how far his teammate had come. Admitting your own faults was the most difficult step to overcome and improve. It was basically taking a shot at your ego and pride, and making sure they crumble to pieces before you begin to repair them.
Sakura shook off the thoughts. "Well, I don't ever want to think back to those days if I can help it."
"I completely understand."
Once more, silence reigned for a few moments and once more, Naruto couldn't help himself. But this time, it was a deceptively innocent start to his conversation. "So, I never got the chance to talk to either of you but….." he leaned in with a sly look in his eyes, "did you have a good time with my cousin?"
The reaction was priceless. Sakura choked on air, and her face flushed deep red. As he patted her back, Naruto couldn't understand whether it was because she was choking, or whether she misinterpreted his words, or he had hit the bullseye. As she leveled out, she fiercely glared at him.
"What the hell are you talking about?! We did nothing of that sort!"
Naruto gave a cheshire grin at that. This was too good to pass up. "Whenever did I say anything about that?"
Her face heated up even more, and Naruto pushed a bit more. "My my, already imagining yourself in those situations with my cousin, Sakura? You naughty girl~"
He leaned back to avoid the smack to the back of his head. "Hey! I was kidding!"
Sakura was still blushing, and Naruto could actually see her veins on the back of her fist as she waved at him threateningly. "Would you seriously stop?! Or by your advice, I'm liable to beat you up!"
Naruto raised his hands in surrender. "Whatever you say. I was just wondering whether you and he had a good time when you were showing him around Konoha."
Naruto didn't know whether it was possible, but Sakura's blush could have rivalled Hinata's when they were genin. At once, the anger drained out of her and embarrassment took its place. "Oh."
Naruto let her stew in her embarrassment for a while. "So, did you have a good time?"
Sakura nodded, not looking at him. "Your cousin is really nice."
Naruto smiled at her acceptance. "Knowing him, he must have asked you out on a date."
Sakura's head whipped so fast, Naruto heard a crack in her neck. "H-How do you know about that?!"
Naruto gave her a dry look. "He's my cousin, Sakura."
She gaped at him for a moment before sighing defeatedly. "I guess he is."
"So you accepted?"
Sakura huffed, crossing her arms and looking the other way. "B-Baka! Who the hell asks a complete stranger out after just meeting them?"
But Naruto could see the pink on her cheek. Smirking, he looked up to the sky. It was obvious that Sakura clearly held some attraction towards his cousin. It was only a matter of time.
My cousin is not the one to give up, Sakura. Jiraiya saw to that.
Soon, Naruto felt two chakra signatures closing on their position. He grinned when he recognized one of them. The other one was distinctively unfamiliar.
Two people appeared in front of them. One was Haruto wearing a chunin vest over a standard uniform, his headband wrapped around his forehead and the other was a relatively normal looking man with a jonin vest. Naruto closely observed the latter, who was supposed to be Kakashi's replacement.
He had ordinary features- brown spiky hair, coal black diamond shaped eyes. Stretching his senses, he tried to get a feel for this man's chakra. It was high jonin level, highly refined, and extremely calm, and since he was standing in such close proximity, Naruto could even tell the natural affinities of the person.
Earth and water. And yet…..there's something more.
For as long as he had been a sensor, Naruto could feel other people's natural affinities if he concentrated hard enough. The presence of more than one affinity pointed to the presence of a bloodline limit. Not only that, but the strength of both the affinities of this man was unusually high. Usually, when a person has two affinities, one is always comparatively weaker than the other.
Except for himself and this guy. He was a special case.
And yet this guy…
Naruto decided to leave the deductions alone for now. He smiled at the man, giving no indication of his thoughts. "Nice to meet you, I'm Uzumaki Naruto. You can call me Naruto."
The man smiled as if amused. "I'm well aware, Naruto. You can call me Yamato."
The man's calm expression hid most of his nervousness, and Naruto could detect a hint of insecurity in his tone. But still…
Call him? Not many people in village can match Kakashi's caliber, so where did Tsunade find a guy to replace Kakashi?
The answer came to him the instant he finished the question.
ANBU.
ANBU were the black ops of Konoha. They operated in the shadows, without being seen or heard. They remained coiled like a snake and when ordered by the hokage, sprung like a snake. They were supposed to be the best.
Naruto turned to his cousin, who was grinning at him. He smiled softly. "So Tsunade chose you for team 7, huh?"
Haruto clearly couldn't resist bragging to his cousin about it. "Tsunade-sama saw fit to promote me to chunin after the test. She said that she was considering putting me on your team, but then someone had already claimed it. Now that he's gone, she put me back!"
Naruto nodded, proud of his cousin. "Good for you."
Haruto then turned to Sakura, whose cheeks had reddened once again. "Oh, Sakura! How are you today?"
But not every girl was shy as Hinata. Sakura smiled back at Haruto, once she had gotten her bearings. "I'm good, Haruto. How about you?"
The redhead looked positively delightful that Sakura wanted to talk to him. "Yeah, I'm good. Being on a team with my cousin and you is sure gonna be fun!"
Naruto eyed the jonin beside him, and saw him calmly observing the interaction. He wasn't even looking awkward, which usually what people feel when they are not part of a conversation. In fact, he looked as if he approved the fact that all the members of the team knew each other.
With Haruto looking as if he wasn't going to stop chatting with Sakura anytime soon- and Sakura should realize it's her fault as well- Naruto knew it was time to step in. "Alright you two, that's enough socializing for now."
Seeing his serious expression, Sakura adopted one as well as she stood straighter. Haruto only lessened his grin to an easygoing smile before standing at ease.
Seeing both of them paying attention, Yamato spoke up. "First off, let's get one thing clear. You may be thinking that I'm the leader of the team, but that's only partially true." Seeing Sakura and Haruto's perplexed expression, he clarified. "Usually, the uppermost rank in the team gets leadership. However, due to his jonin rank, Naruto automatically gets a say in team dynamics. To be simple, Naruto and I will be sharing the leadership position among us."
Sakura nodded sharply, while Haruto frowned a little, but nodded at last. Yamato continued, "You will take orders from both of us, depending on who is present with you. As for the mission, we assemble in front of the gate in one hour. We are heading to the Tenchi bridge. We intercept the spy, and bring him in for questioning."
The others nodded. Yamato dismissed them, letting them go in order to pack their supplies.
Naruto immediately flashed back home, leaving Haruto and Sakura. The former had eyebrows raised, wondering just what put his cousin in such a hurry. "Well," he broke the silence, "you heard the boss. See you at the gate!"
With a ram sign, he disappeared into a shunshin.
Sakura sighed as she turned and took to the roofs. "I really need to learn the shunshin no jutsu."
XXXXXXX
Naruto arrived in his home and kicked off his sandals, going straight to his study. He took the large, travel scroll leaning against the wall in the corner of his study and spread it open. Pressing his palm against one of the kanji, he pushed chakra into it.
In a small puff of smoke, a normal sized scroll came out. He tucked the scroll into a belt loop and closed up the larger one. His organizational system was rather simple- no need to gather and pack up supplies for every mission if you can just keep a scroll prepared beforehand. When the time comes, just grab the scroll and be on your way.
"God bless fuinjutsu," he murmured sagely as he placed the scroll back in its place.
Exiting his study, he locked it and went straight to the kitchen. Temari was at the stove, flipping a pancake and humming a tune. She was wearing a loose shorts and t-shirt.
Naruto smiled and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Hey."
Temari smiled as she leaned back against his chest. "Hey. Going on a mission?"
Naruto sighed. He knew he was addicted to his wife's touch, and it made it difficult to let go at times like these. "Yeah. Pretty important one."
"Oh?" Temari absently asked as she put the pancake in a plate.
"It's S-rank."
Temari froze just as she was about to pick up her plate. Then she turned around with a grim look. "Akatsuki?"
Naruto frowned a little. "Technically no, but yeah. It could be."
She put her hands around his neck and drew him into a hug. "Be careful, alright?"
Naruto returned the hug gently. "I will."
They stayed like that for a few moments. Kissing, making out and sex was great and all, but there were times when Naruto just enjoyed the gentle touch of his wife. Sometimes, just a hug was enough to express what one felt. This was one of those moments. But still….
"Can I have a kiss before I go?"
Temari giggled softly. "We're married, Naruto. You don't need permission to kiss me."
Naruto grinned as he closed the distance between them. "I'm glad for that."
Her lips tasted of sugar as he molded his with her. His right hand went to the small of her back and the other to the back of her neck, pulling her close and deepening the kiss. Temari sighed as she rubbed his cheek where his whisker marks used to be. The area was still sensitive, and a pleasure point for Naruto. As she predicted, he purred low in his throat, his grip on her tightening.
Soon, the kiss came to an end and Naruto pulled back reluctantly, because they needed to breathe sometime. Naruto stepped back, but not before pecking Temari's cheek one last time. "I love you. Bye."
With that, he flashed out. Temari stood there in the kitchen, blushing and looking slightly dazed.
"I love you, too," Temari whispered to an empty kitchen.
She then broke out into a goofy smile, picking up her plate and sitting down to eat. The pancakes tasted extra good today, she mused.
XXXXXXX
As they exited through the gate, Sakura couldn't help the feeling of nostalgia. Being in a new team, no idea what teamwork is supposed to be with her current members. As they kept walking, the silence between them gave way to awkwardness.
Naruto had a dry expression as they travelled. Just who said it was forbidden to talk?
"You know, I won't cut your tongues off if you talked," he commented to the chunin behind him and Yamato.
Haruto was immensely relieved and started speaking immediately. Being silent for a whole journey was just not his thing. He started chatting away with Sakura, who was a little overwhelmed at first, but then started to reply to Haruto's comments bit by bit.
She wasn't as social as Ino, but it wasn't that she was completely out of the loop. She smiled softly as Haruto almost seemed to get animated while talking, occasionally making wild gestures with his hands. But what surprised Sakura was that he kept his voice low, so as to not bother the jonin walking in front of them. Sakura knew that Naruto preferred the least amount of unnecessary talking possible, and got annoyed when someone just kept talking without any need.
That's surprisingly considerate.
She listened as Haruto spoke in detail about the ingredients used by the Ichiraku's in their ramen, believing that he would one day discover their secret. Sakura stifled her giggles with her hand.
He's adorable when he geeks out.
Her thoughts came to a stop as she took a mental step back. I find him adorable?...cute?...handsome?
Taking a few moments to deliberate, she ultimately conceded. He's not that bad looking. And he is nice to be around also.
While Sakura was lost in her thoughts, Yamato was carefully observing his new team. When Tsunade asked him to be the leader of team 7 in place of Kakashi, Yamato admitted that it floored him. He had a high amount of respect for Kakashi-senpai, who was a legend during his ANBU days. He was a damn good leader of their ANBU team, and when he retired, Yamato was given his position.
He knew much about leading teams, having led one of the most successful teams in ANBU for years. One crucial element about working in a team was, that everyone should be comfortable enough with everyone for the team to function successfully. Right now, he could see that this formation of a team actually had potential to be the best. The relationship between Naruto and Sakura, the original members of team 7 seemed to be well maintained, so there was no problem there. Sakura also seemed to be pretty comfortable with Naruto's cousin, given how she's been talking to him for a while now. It was also pretty obvious that the redhead had a crush on the pinkette, and while being in a relationship with your own team member was frowned upon, because it could disrupt the entire team's performance, there should be no problem if they kept it off field.
From what he knew about the Uzumaki clan, they valued family the most. Naruto and Haruto were cousins, enough said.
Yes….this team will work out just fine.
But while the relations between team members played an important role, their ability to work with each other did as well. Naruto and Sakura had worked together in the past, and know how to go about it. Naruto and Haruto may have worked together, but Yamato couldn't be sure. Haruto was good, no, he was better than good. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made chunin on the first try.
But did the redhead know how to work with Sakura?
Yamato frowned. This team was a completely new team, and this was their first mission. They hadn't even worked out on how to work with each other.
Maybe, I can get them to do a practice run. We do have five days, after all.
They walked for a while more before Yamato suggested they rest. "You guys must be tired, so why don't we stop for a while? I know a nearby place that has hot springs."
Haruto lighted up at the prospect of relaxing in an onsen. "I'm game!"
Sakura also nodded excitedly. "Sounds great!"
Naruto smiled as he shrugged. "I don't have a problem."
Twenty minutes later, the three males were relaxing in the onsen with content expressions on their face.
Haruto sighed as he slipped deeper. "Man, being in an onsen never gets old."
Yamato smiled happily and nodded his agreement. "This is actually is good way to bond with each other."
Naruto, who was washing his hair underwater, came up at that moment. "That was your goal for this onsen then, Yamato?"
Yamato chuckled as he rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Not to doubt your bonds with your teammates, Naruto, but this is a very fresh team. I just wanted to be sure."
"It's alright, I can see your angle," Naruto waved away the man's nervousness as he got up to get out. Haruto groaned as he covered his eyes.
"Man, give us a warning before you flash us with your junk, man!" he exclaimed, a little more than annoyed with his cousin's shamelessness.
Naruto chuckled as he wrapped himself up with the towel and got out. "I'll keep that in mind." He then glanced towards the women side of the springs. "I wonder if she's done too. I need to talk to her about something," he muttered.
Haruto's eyes, which were closed in bliss, snapped open as if a great secret revealed itself to him. That's right…Sakura is on the other side, isn't she?
A leer worthy of Jiraiya appeared on his face. A heavy blush, which would have been light under normal circumstances, appeared on his face. Slowly, he began to move towards the women side of the springs.
Naruto sighed as he noticed his cousin start moving towards the bamboo wall separating the men's and women's bath. It wasn't that Haruto was a pervert, not at all. His cousin respected women and their boundaries. But one did not spend an extended amount of time with the biggest pervert in the nations and not pick up some perverseness. If it was any other girl, Haruto wouldn't have even entertained the thought. Naruto didn't fault his cousin. He faulted his godfather.
Damn you Jiraiya.
He called down to his fellow jonin. "Oi, Yamato!"
Yamato turned, a bit surprised. "What is it, Naruto?"
Naruto nodded towards his cousin. "Better stop him before he gets too far. I'm going to the changing room."
Yamato looked towards where Haruto was going. He closed his eyes and called out. "Haruto-kun, let me tell you an interesting story."
That managed to stop the redhead from progressing further. He turned back with a curious expression. "What?"
Yamato pulled up his scary face that he used to scare his team and began. "When Jiraiya-sama was a genin, he almost died once, but not in the field."
He was pleased to see that the boy looked properly scared. Continuing in a tone as if telling a horror story, he resumed. "That was because he did what you're attempting to do now…."
Haruto took a visible gulp. He didn't like where this story was going.
"It is said that Tsunade-sama beat him to within an inch of his life with her strength, by breaking every bone in his body….."
Yamato suppressed a laugh when he saw the chunin began shaking. Dropping his face, he got out and wrapped a towel. "I wonder what Sakura will do," he wondered before walking away.
Haruto turned back to the wall that separated him from Sakura. Suddenly, it seemed a lot more ominous than before. There were two options before him now: Take a risk and hopefully see some goods, or get caught and get his bones broken.
Yeah, rrrrrright.
He was smart.
XXXXXXX
The next morning, Naruto was surprised to find out that Yamato was already awake.
Then again, he was ANBU, he reasoned with himself.
He got ready and for the next hour, he discussed with Yamato the plan for the mission. At seven am, he looked towards Haruto, who was asleep with a bit of drool escaping his mouth. He woke his cousin up with a shake. "Haruto, wake up. It's time to go."
The redhead slowly opened his eye, scrunching heavily. He was in deep sleep dammit!
But if he asked for five more minutes, Naruto would dump water onto him. There was no snooze button for his blonde cousin. "Alright, I'm up," he mumbled, sitting up.
Naruto nodded before getting dressed. Yamato, who was already sitting ready, asked him to go and see if Sakura was ready or not.
Naruto nodded and walked out of the room towards Sakura's. He knocked on her door thrice. "Sakura, you up?"
"One second!"
Naruto nodded. "Get ready, we're moving out in an hour."
An hour later, they were back on the road. Their journey was slightly different from yesterday though. Haruto was explaining to Sakura how his chains work.
"See, the simplest explanation is that my chains are an extension of myself, I think of them as having extra limbs. Only they feel more than that. It's like having hands and fingers at the same time," Haruto said, nodding to himself as if that made absolute sense.
Sakura had the driest deadpan Naruto had ever seen on her. "Hands do have fingers," she stated derisively.
Haruto backtracked, shaking a finger at her. "Not in the way you are thinking of."
By now, even Yamato was glancing back oddly. Naruto didn't bother turning; he just smirked. He knew exactly what Haruto was trying to say.
Haruto continued with his explanation, looking completely serious. "I can manifest a large number of chains, but the fact is, the human brain has long since adapted to coordinate only four limbs. So even if I manifest, say, 20 chains, I can only move them in one direction, towards one target. Get it?"
Sakura gave an expression of realization. "Oh, so that's what you were trying to say."
Haruto looked mildly offended, but continued. "For the longest time, I couldn't control my chains separately. It's like trying to write with both hands at the same time."
Sakura looked at him annoyed. "Couldn't you have said that at the beginning?"
Haruto looked confused. "But it was exactly what I said!"
Sakura took a deep breath and counted to ten. It wasn't Haruto's fault, she told herself. Everyone understands a concept in their own way. Haruto's just happened to be a bit unconventional.
But it's rather sweet how hard he is trying to explain it to me, she thought with a small smile.
Lost in her thoughts, she almost missed the next part of his explanation. "So Jiraiya-sama had me practice writing one thing, my first name, with multiple chains at the same time on the ground. When I got that, he made me do the same thing, only this time, I had to write my surname with another set of chains at the same time."
Sakura winced a little. "That sounds tedious."
Haruto shrugged. "It was at first, but I got better."
Soon, night fell and Naruto suggested to Yamato that they set up camp. The other jonin nodded and together, they found a small clearing. Only when Yamato demonstrated his perception of the phrase "setting up camp", was when Kurama went berserk.
"Mokuton: Shichuka no jutsu!" (Wood style: Four pillar house)
Just in front of them, a giant house made of wood sprung up.
Naruto kept quiet, busy pacifying an enraged Kurama. Sakura on the other hand, chuckled dryly. "You call this camping?"
Yamato himself chuckled. "It's not as grand as it looks. Trust me."
Without another word, Haruto and Sakura walked inside, leaving Naruto and Yamato alone. The brown haired jonin looked to the blonde. "Naruto?"
Naruto smirked while crossing his arms. "Mokuton, huh? Never took you for a Senju."
"Despite what it looks like, I'm not a Senju. I wasn't born one," Yamato denied calmly with a shake of his head. "And I was briefed, albeit very little, about your control of the Kyuubi. I was assured that I wouldn't have to worry about you going on a rampage."
To Yamato's surprise, Naruto chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not insulted. Only a little surprised that Tsunade has a contingency plan for me," he said deferentially.
With that, he walked inside. Yamato wiped off the sweat on his cheek before doing the same. He had almost forgotten that he was dealing with a major political figure, and to offend those was almost tantamount to suicide.
Once inside, Naruto found that Yamato was indeed right. There was nothing grand on the inside. But the fact that it was an indoor setup was more than comfortable. He removed his sandals walked to the pair of chunin and sat down beside Sakura, all the while calming Kurama down.
THE NERVE OF THE WOMAN TO DO THIS?!
Calm down, Kurama. I'm sure she knows that I can control your power. He's probably here for a just-in-case scenario.
Hmph! Just seeing wood grow like that makes me wanna tear the guy apart!
You hated Hashirama that much?
Damn tree-hugger handed us out to the other villages like candy. OF COURSE I HATE HIM!
Naruto just let the fox be until he cooled down on his own. As Yamato settled down, Naruto clapped to get everyone's attention. "Alright guys, time to discuss the mission."
His hands rested on his knees as his tone become authoritative. "Today morning, me and Yamato came up with a plan on how the meeting will go."
He turned to Sakura. "Sakura, I want you to give Yamato some key information on Sasori. His appearance, behavior, voice. In this team, we two are the only ones to have seen him, but you have fought him, so you might have some additional info that I don't."
"Yamato-taicho is planning to go as Sasori?" Sakura asked curiously.
Yamato nodded. "The spy will be expecting Sasori. He might see through the disguise, but we'll cover any base that we can. My appearance as Sasori should put me close enough to him so that I can capture him in case he escapes."
"If he is a spy in Orochimaru's ranks, he will no doubt be extremely careful," Haruto pointed out.
"There is a high chance of probability that this is a trap," Naruto added in. "Which is why Yamato will go first. The rest of his will hide as best we can, and wait for his signal."
"That said, just as a reminder…..this mission is of reconnaissance. Our objective is to just capture. If a fight ensues, we must keep the target safe. If he is killed however…..a valuable source of information will be lost," Yamato said, looking in everyone's eyes to emphasize the importance of why their target should be kept alive.
Naruto overlapped his fingers. "Because there is so much that can go wrong in this mission, I have come up with an addition to this plan."
Yamato blinked. He didn't know about this.
Naruto looked at Yamato. "Before we go to the bridge to meet the spy, I'll create a barrier a few miles away from the site. It will be a barrier that will put our spy to sleep seconds after he arrives in it. The second he tries to run away, I'll jump in and flash him away."
Yamato pondered over this idea. He was the one supposed to be meeting the spy, and there would be some distance between him and the team. Naruto would have to move very fast if the spy made to escape. But, this idea was actually better than Yamato attempting the capture himself. All Naruto needed to pull this off was to touch the spy, and he would be theirs.
It was a brilliant strategy.
Yamato nodded his consent. "That's a very good idea, Naruto. So the strategy is like this: I restrain the target, and Naruto moves in and flashes him away. If a battle in inevitable, then we'll fight in pairs. The pairs will be Naruto and Haruto, Sakura and I."
Naruto coughed into his fist. "Actually, it would be better if you were paired with me, Yamato. If Sakura were to be paired with you, she'll be fighting close range while you'll be fighting mid-range. And while your mokuton is good and all, something a bit more versatile would be better. Or else Sakura would just be running around, chasing her enemy."
Yamato quirked an eyebrow. "A bit more versatile?"
Naruto nodded. "Haruto's chains are well capable of following the target and capturing them. They are considerably faster as well. Binding the opponent with his chains will give Sakura an easier time to knock them out or kill them. You and me on the other hand, are capable of fighting bait and lure. You and me are comparatively faster than them as well."
Yamato was starting to think that Naruto should have been made the leader of this team. His ability to take into account his teammates' abilities and strategize accordingly was commendable. Not only that, but his skills as a seal master were very handy in a mission. He was starting to see why Yondaime favored the Hiraishin so heavily. Its battle applications were astounding.
But Sakura pointed out an important flaw in their planning. "That is good and all, but we've never fought together before. Knowing about one's skills is one thing, but working with them is completely different."
Yamato nodded with with approval. "Well spotted Sakura. To counter that, we'll perform a simulation tomorrow, let each other get a feel of our abilities. It's a bit out of the norm for the normal forces, but new ANBU teams often do this to enhance their teamwork capabilities."
Naruto sighed as Yamato ordered everyone to sleep. He put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. He missed his wife clinging to him.
Jiraiya would be serious proud and angry with your drifting thoughts, Kurama snickered in his mind.
Naruto mentally grumbled. Shut up, man.
XXXXXXX
"Excellent capture Haruto, Naruto." Yamato said as he rubbed his wrists. Those chains were really hard and tight.
Naruto fist bumped the redhead as Sakura smiled behind them. Her abilities were not really suited for capture as much as they were for breaking the bodies of enemies.
Haruto pointed out to his cousin. "You know, that shadow clone decoy was a pretty swell idea. You and Sakura were pretty good at keeping him from moving too much."
Naruto smiled and patted his clothes to remove any dust. "Yeah, but I won't be with you next time. You can get a bit more creative with those chains of yours, you know."
Haruto rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't want to accidentally maim you instead of the enemy."
Naruto chuckled. "See that you don't. I might be fast enough to dodge your chains, but Sakura isn't."
Sakura nervously chuckled at how flippantly hinted the consequences should Haruto miss. "You wouldn't do that….right?"
Haruto immediately shook his head. "Oh no Sakura! I promise not to maim you!"
Naruto inwardly chuckled at his cousin's behavior.
"Alright, prepare to move out. We will reach our destination tomorrow before noon. If we miss the time, this mission will be a complete failure," Yamato ordered everyone.
They set out and by night, they repeated the routine of the previous night. As soon as dawn came, they hit the road fast and arrived at their destination with time to spare.
Tenchi bridge.
For a few minutes they just spent time staring at the bridge, thoughts of what they were about to encounter entering their minds. It was like someone had flipped a switch. One second, they were cheerfully talking to each other while hopping on trees, the other they all shut up as if they had entered a completely different atmosphere.
"Well," Naruto broke the silence, "we better decide our positions."
He turned around to face the two chunin. "Alright, this is what's going to happen. First, we find good spots to hide. And by that, I mean hide good. Suppress your chakra as low as you can. Second, Sakura, you give Yamato the information he needs to masquerade as Sasori. Third, we wait. Is that clear?"
"Hai!"
Naruto turned around to face Yamato. "We have two more hours to go. I'll go and set up the barrier. Shouldn't take more than five minutes. You hold my spot for the time."
Yamato nodded and with that, Naruto went back to the way they came from. After being sure that they were quite a few miles away, Naruto stopped. "This should be far enough."
He took out his sealing supplies and set to work. He created four tags, each with a different kanji symbol on them. He spread in a square position, each tag almost five feet away from the other. He took out one of his special kunai and threw it down, burying it in the grass. Inspecting the positions one more time, he nodded to himself. He took a few steps back and faced the formation. This was a delicate piece of fuinjutsu that was created by his late clan, and required him to be extremely precise.
Dog-bear-ox-horse-snake-ram!
Uzumaki fuinjutsu: Shujin no Shoheki! (Uzumaki sealing style: Prisoner's barrier)
A light blue, transparent pyramid came into existence, reaching up to Naruto's chest. Naruto breathed out in relief upon seeing his success. This barrier was a true masterpiece of the Uzumaki clan. This barrier was designed such that it will influence the hypothalamus's control center that controls sleep. Not only that, but as long as the person remains inside the barrier, the barrier will power itself by the person's chakra.
After being activated, the initially amount of chakra will uphold the barrier until the prisoner is inside.
Once their spy is in this barrier, the barrier will immediately start sucking out the chakra. Properly panicking, he would attempt to escape, but the catch was that if a jutsu were to be used, the rate of suction of chakra will increase drastically, weakening their spy. It will keep sucking chakra until the person is asleep. After that, the barrier will only suck out chakra at intervals.
It's almost like saying that the barrier has a life of it's own.
As of now, the preparations are over. All left to do is to wait for the spy.
Naruto turned back and was about to flash to Haruto's mark when he stopped. He turned back to the barrier and stared at it thoughtfully. A barrier in the middle of the forest was a strange sight indeed. A sly grin stretched at his lips as he took out his sealing supplies again. He was suddenly feeling inspired.
Oh, I can't wait to see everyone's faces when they see what I've done.
After finishing up, he packed up and flashed to Haruto's mark. The redhead jumped slightly, calming down once he saw who it was. "I'm never getting used to that," he grumbled.
Naruto patted his shoulder sympathetically and just walked out of the hiding spot, towards Sakura and Yamato, who were finishing up with the disguise. He worked out the signal with Yamato, marked him and once they were done, Sakura went back to her hiding spot it was just a matter of waiting for the man.
It didn't take him much time.
The guy was prompt, arriving at the other end of the bridge five minutes before noon. He was covered in a grey robe with hood, from head to toe, to hide his features from being seen. Naruto kept his senses active, looking out for anyone who might have followed the guy. Putting his finger on the ground, he pushed further, and came up with a result that made him frown.
Now that I see, this chakra signature feels awfully familiar. And our spy has a shadow.
Also, there was a certain "blur" on his radar, close to the other side of the bridge, but far enough to remain out of sight. Naruto pursed his lips in thought. A "blur" was a phenomenon when someone was using a high level camouflage. Jiraiya had explained it to him; whenever Naruto attempted to sense Jiraiya under the invisibility jutsu, he came up with a "blur". Not good enough to identify, but enough to spot.
However, if Naruto knew the feel of the chakra of the "blur", he could venture a guess.
It came to him in a flash.
He cursed mentally. Damn….I knew this was a trap. The spy is none other than Kabuto!
Putting the revelation aside, for it was too late to warn Yamato, he focused on the "blur". The feeling was distorted, which was to be expected. And whoever it was, was perfectly calm, so there was no turmoil in his chakra. Nothing that could give a hint to Naruto.
Which Naruto was thankful for since it gave him a clue as to who it could be. Obviously, anyone who can disguise themselves in a "blur" to a sensor as skilled as him, was highly dangerous. Someone from the sound village who was skilled enough to dupe sensory types. That only meant one thing: it could be anyone.
Most probably, it is someone who Orochimaru sent to follow the guy to see where he was going. It could be a natural ability, knowing how much that bastard loves to experiment with various abilities…...or it could be a really skilled ninja.
Naruto stopped sensing and suppressed his chakra as much as he could. For all he knew, the person could be a sensor. He watched in silence as Yamato made contact, and Kabuto shifted so his face was visible to their side. He could only imagine Sakura's surprise on the other side of the road. He used his keen sense of hearing to hear the conversation.
"Were you followed?" Yamato asked in the rough, dark voice of the puppeteer.
"No, it's safe," Kabuto firmly replied.
"How are you?"
"Somewhat distorted after being released from that jutsu. Even now, occasionally, it's a bit overwhelming," Kabuto answered.
On the side lines, Sakura whispered to herself nervously. "Kabuto was the Akatsuki spy all along?"
Haruto was equally apprehensive. "Uh, I don't know who this guy is, but judging from your reaction, he's someone you knew before?"
Sakura grimly nodded. "I did. And now I'm starting to think that Naruto might be right. This is a trap."
A hand on her shoulder made her look into Haruto's eyes. He was very serious. "Trap or not, we cannot back out now. We have to see this through to the end."
Sakura nodded and turned back to the bridge.
Yamato knew that he couldn't afford to waste time. "I have questions."
"I'm rather short on time, so please be quick about it. I've risked my life from Orochimaru to get here without letting him know," Kabuto reasoned.
"Tell me the location of your hideout and Uchiha Sasuke." Yamato decided.
Naruto fought the urge to slap his forehead. Freaking son of a…can he be any more obvious?
Kabuto was silent for a few moments, thinking over his answer. "Right now, we're in a hideout on a small island on a lake to the north. We will move in three days. Uchiha Sasuke is there as well."
Kabuto looked around nervously. "Sasori-sama, about the task you ordered me to do…"
Crap, I don't know what he's talking about…...Yamato sweated in his disguise.
"Even after his reincarnation, Orochimaru uses a jutsu to apply a protector to the cellular specimens from his discarded body, and therefore I was unable to analyze the cellular data," Kabuto explained, supposedly about the task Sasori had him do.
"I see." He really did not.
"He's taking things carefully. Almost too carefully," Haruto whispered to Sakura.
"Being over-cautious is better in this case, isn't it?"
Haruto shook his head minutely, eyes never moving from the two figures on the bridge. "If he ends up being too careful, he risks arousing suspicion. That might complicate things," he explained, tips from when he was traveling with Jiraiya coming to mind.
Back on the bridge, Kabuto started fidgeting. "So please give me the object we talked about, as I can't stay any longer. I'll be killed if Orochimaru finds out," he muttered nervously.
"Very well," Yamato agreed, silently reaching for a kunai.
But before he could move, he and Kabuto both froze with expressions of shock as Orochimaru appeared behind the silver haired nin, a vaguely amused look on his face. A snake wrapped around Kabuto, as Orochimaru chuckled.
"Very interesting conversation. Mind if I join in?"
Naruto vehemently cursed inside his head. I knew it was almost too good to be true! Bastard was listening in on the conversation!
Kabuto acted quickly, the cloak flying in the air as he escaped and backed off with Yamato.
"I almost didn't make it in time…but thanks to you taking out that kunai, Sasori-sama, I was."
Something struck out as odd to Naruto. Hang on…...only three years ago, this guy was as loyal as a dog to Orochimaru. Why would he switch sides? Something isn't adding up here. There's no way a guy like Orochimaru would be fooled for so long by a spy. What the hell is going on?!
On the bridge, Yamato breathed a sigh relief. Thanks to that amazing coincidence, he misunderstood my action. He doesn't seem to have seen through the disguise yet.
Yamato gulped as his eyes narrowed in thought. Now that Orochimaru's here though….what should I do?
"That outfit…it reminds me of the old days, Sasori," Orochimaru stated in a slightly nostalgic tone.
"You followed him here?" Yamato asked, trying to buy some time.
The Sannin smirked cruelly. "Don't be so rude. I just wanted to thank you for sending me the boy. I was able to make such good use of him. Whenever I developed new techniques, I have to test it out on a hundred live subjects…but thanks to this boy's medical ninjutsu, I was able to use the same test subject again and again." Orochimaru smirked, his eyes never shifting from Yamato's disguised form. "I had been running a bit low, you see."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. In his position, Yamato won't be able to give me the signal. I would have to act on my own. If I have to act, I have to wait for an opening!
Yamato on the other hand, was contemplating his move. Damn, there's no way I can stand against Orochimaru on my own. Even with Kabuto, my fighting style will give me away. And as I am, I can't signal Naruto to move in. I hope he spots an opening and moves in, otherwise I'll be forced to give myself away.
Naruto saw Kabuto activate a chakra scalpel, and raise his hand high. Alright, let's go!
Yamato, who was observing Kabuto closely, almost didn't react in time when Kabuto swung towards him.
Only for a hand to grip his wrist, an inch away from Sasori.
Even Kabuto couldn't hide his expression of sheer shock when he found out who the owner of the hand was. Naruto wasted no time in slapping a palm on the medic's chest and teleporting him away into the barrier.
Naruto just couldn't resist a smirk upon seeing Orochimaru's stupefied reaction to his spy being whisked away like that. The guy blinked dumbly at him, as if he couldn't even comprehend what just happened.
Naruto allowed his smirk to grow into a vicious grin. "Mission…..accomplished."
AN: I'm ending it here for this chapter. As you can all see, this is a major diversion from the canon. Naruto is a seal master and an expert of hiraishin. I would have been an idiot if I let things happen the way of canon.
But now that this has happened, I will have to rethink the path of this story. Kabuto's capture negates the major events in the war arc, which is why I'll need to adjust my storyline a bit. But the war is far away, we'll cross the bridge when we come to it. Kamikaze out!