Recovery

Anko helped Team 7 carry Kakashi to Tazuna's residence. The veteran Jonin had regained consciousness, but bemoaned his fragility. He was becoming dull wallowing in the past and it was affecting his current team. How little he thought his Genin must have thought of him. If only he saw their eyes sparkles with wonder at his current feats. Even Sasuke was motivated to listen to and learn from someone who could cut other lightning jutsu in half with a literal lightning blade held in his hand!

Along the way, Anko discussed what happened between her and Ameyuri before the Kiri Hunter seemingly killed her. She asked Kakashi if he saw any signs of blood on the corpse or Hunter to which the Hatake replied he did not. Hinata asked would the Hunters of Kirigakure normally clean and carry bodies to which Anko answered no. Kakashi pointed out they destroy them on sight regardless of witnesses; actually if foreign Shinobi are present they must destroy them on sight. The body of a Shinobi held information on their home, where they have been, and what they know. Kekkai Genkai have made the organs of Shinobi extremely lucrative.

Hinata knew all too well the price her Byakugan held to those outside and even inside Konoha. She held her arms to stop any shivering and looked to see Sasuke's arm seemed to bother him. He kept trying to flex his hand to get his fingers to stop shaking. Looking at his hand with her Byakugan, she could see his hand was still suffering from paralysis. She didn't have anything on hand, but decided to scan the area for any herbs that might help.

Naruto checked his Seal Index and saw he had used more seal tags than he thought. To be fair he did have to battle a Chunin Duo and was ambushed by two Jonin. He would have to restock, but first he had to rest up to restore his chakra reserves and his mind. It was getting harder to shake off all the deaths he experienced through the memories of his Shadow Clones and the mental fatigue was getting to him. A guy can only be stabbed, electrocuted, cut in half, cut down the middle, cut into tiny pieces so many times before he just couldn't take it anymore!

Tazuna was more willing to let Team 7 in than Anko considering how the last time they met he ended up inside the gut of a huge snake. There weren't enough showers or soap in the word to get it off. Naruto vouched for her though and the old man at least trusted him. The old man then introduced his daughter, Tsunami, and his grandson, Inari. The mother of the home bowed before offering to help show them the rooms and where to put a heavily fatigued Kakashi. Tazuna went into the kitchen to get something to drink for everyone, but Inari just glared at them.

"Why don't you get lost before you get my Grandpa killed?" Inari sneered before running away.

"Your Old Man would have died on his way back here without us kid!" Naruto projected his voice so the kid could hear no matter where he ran off to.

Hinata just sighed being thankful they survived an encounter with 2 Jonin level Kiri Shinobi; Nuke or not. Considering the area, they were at a big disadvantage and still, Naruto was creative to say the least. She couldn't argue with the results; Sasuke on the other hand could and would.

"I cannot believe that stupid Sexy jutsu worked. Did it even work, I mean she was shocked for like a second." Sasuke pointed out.

"Come on, Teme! A second is all the Greatest Prankster Shinobi needs! I dug deep down and awoke my True Prankster!" Naruto boasted.

"You were weak in the legs, forget knees! If I hadn't come you would have been fried and Ameyuri Ringo would have chased down that clone of yours and fried it along with Tazuna." Anko pointed out.

"Fear is the gateway to Courage, Anko. Now let's talk shop. What are the chances Zabuza and Ameyuri are still alive?" Kakashi asked.

"80-99%, though I am sure Ameyuri will be down for at least a month." Anko assured them.

"You seem confident in that. I know Zabuza got a good beat down and I figured he'd be out for at least 2 weeks." Kakashi hypothesized.

"Yeah well the venom in my Snake Bite is a powerful anesthetic. It is designed so the body thinks it is adrenaline and freely pumps it through the system." Anko started to explain.

"I did have Naruto-Kun in mind when making it. Poisoning a Jinchūriki is damn near impossible since any threat to the host is a threat to the Bijū." Anko winked at Naruto.

"Once the venom gets to the heart it numbs the whole body and is circulated through the body for a few weeks before it is completely flushed out. The right anti venom can only help regain some motor function. The physical therapy is a month." Anko finished her explanation.

Needless to say, Ameyuri wasn't coming for a rematch anytime soon. Even if Zabuza recovered sooner, he wouldn't attack them without his partner knowing Anko was likely their backup. Not to mention more Konoha shinobi could be arriving for all they knew. It was a time of recovery and reconnaissance for both the Konoha and Nuke Kiri parties.

"This is hands down an A+ rank requiring backup. We can forego the paperwork for now and hash it out in the village. I accept on the condition I can take Ameyuri to the T&I for a little one on one." Anko proposed and Kakashi accepted the terms.

"Anko-Chan…" Naruto shyly called out much to Anko and even Hinata's amusement.

"Oh would you relax, Naruto-Kun? I'm not gonna take 40% of your first big boy mission payout. I would like to ask for a favor or should I say a project?" Anko asked.

"As long as the project doesn't involve any T&I then I am open to it." Naruto stated.

Anko placed a hand on his shoulder and lead him out of the room, "It involves my Summoning jutsu and the sealing array. I was wondering…" Naruto perked up at a project involving such an elegant array.

"So I noticed your hand is still paralyzed." Hinata pointed out matter of factually.

"Hn… So what of it?" Sasuke asked a little surprised she would use her Byakugan for that.

"I believe there are some herbs around that can help. Please inform Naruto-Kun and Anko-Senpai I will be gathering them in the eastern woods not far from here." Hinata informed him before leaving.

Sasuke could only flatly say thanks. He would never admit it, but he liked Hinata didn't play favorites when it came to treating injuries. She had this 'Medical Mode' that turned her usual meek demeanor into a serious and demanding one. She told you what she was doing and expected you to do what was told for the betterment of your health.

"I'll leave you to rest… Kakashi-Sensei." Sasuke said before leaving.

"Never get tired of hearing that honorific." Kakashi chuckled.

Whether it be from Naruto, Hinata, and especially Sasuke the responsibility of Sensei felt more and more rewarding. To think he used to dread the notion of him having a Genin squad. Seeing them as no more than little brats who were playing Shinobi and lacked the hardships Shinobi of his time and older faced and took pride in. Perhaps the wars they fought and the dark world they found themselves in was in the cusp of basking in the light. Perhaps the current generation were the light they fought for; so they should be allowed to bask in it themselves.

In order to stoke those lights perhaps he should step up their training. They have shown great skill and promise. A month in Wave could see them grow further than they might otherwise have. Kakashi chuckled again at all the ways he wanted to help them improve, but doing so made him wince in pain. How could he help them improve when he was clearly lacking himself? He took stoke of his self. For all the jutsu he copied he could only use his signature jutsu a total of 4 times. His Sensei could spam his two signature jutsu so much he became infamous in Iwagakure and the entire Earth Country.

Kakashi wasn't even out of his prime yet! He couldn't do much in the physical department at present, but he could work on his chakra control at least. Speaking of, being surrounded by large bodies of water meant he could get his team to master the Walking on Water form of chakra control and give Hinata larger bodies of water to try to shape to expand her reserves…

Meanwhile the fake Hunter managed to get both Zabuza and Ameyuri back to their hideout. He mildly scalded the Demon of the Mist for yanking out the needles he placed there so harshly. Ameyuri would take a bit more time due to the needles used to subdue her were chakra based. She was still in her near death state and would be so for at least another hour or so. Zabuza rubbed the soreness out of his neck before looking at Ameyuri and wondering what she saw while near death.

"Haku, we really need to have a talk about these near death states and the psychotic episodes you experience while induced." Zabuza groaned.

"I happen to find it quite memorable." Haku giggled.

Meanwhile, Ameyuri found herself inside her childhood memories she underwent mental training to suppress. A 3 year old Ameyuri sat eagerly at the table while her father finished cooking the freshly caught and deboned fish. He was so tall that all she could really make out was his long black hair and beard. He smiled down at her and she always thought his left eye scar were so cool! Her mother had bright red hair and had a really big smile; a smile Ameyuri tried her best to copy.

The fish her dad made always tasted so good! It would be the last time she got to taste that delicious fish only her dad could make. She didn't know it at the time, but her mother had a Kekkai Genkai and that made them all targets. The Bloodline Purges had found it's way to their door and it came with kunai and shuriken! Her dad defended her by deflecting them with his own kunai, before telling her mother to take her and run. It all happened so fast that Ameyuri couldn't think about protesting.

Her mother grabbed her and they sped off in a burst of speed just in time to avoid their home exploding in a burst of fiery debris! They spent the better part of the day just running until they reached the edge of the island their home was on. Ameyuri could only hold onto her mother in sheer terror at the sight of several Hunter-Nin standing on the water in wait for them.

Ameyuri got to see the purple of her mothers eyes before her mother told her something that years of alcohol and mental abuse have silenced all she can remember was hearing, "My little Ringo." Before her mother produced some kind of light chains that shined and warped her away from the island and her mother. When the little Ringo came to, she found herself in the lowest caste of Kirigakure; her once bright red hair now stained auburn…

"Uuuuuuhhhh… I'd kill you both for some fish right now." Ameyuri came to with a groan.

"Great she's alive. So, Haku how long before we can go kill that Bridge Builder and his Pile of Leaves?" Zabuza asked.

"So simple-minded." Haku sighed.

"Why can't I feel my anything? Even my teeth are numb!" Ameyuri panicked a bit.

"It would be just like you to paralyze her so I can't kill you! I knew you were a sadist, Haku." Zabuza actually laughed.

"If the both of you would just shut up I would explain. Zabuza-sama to be frank, Kakashi-san kicked your ass. Your injuries are rather extensive, but for funnies, he broke a couple ribs easy, as well as an arm and a leg. The arm and leg that aren't broken are definitely badly bruised. Lucky for you I am here." Haku ran a hand over Zabuza with green Chakra blazing.

"Ringo-Senpai, your injuries are actually minor. It is the poison I am going to have to extract and study. It really depends on how nasty the person we are dealing with is. I need to figure out the duration of the poison to how long an antidote would take ratio." Haku explained before taking out a scalpel and was about to begin collecting a sample, when he was interrupted by Gato and some of his thugs bursting into the room.

"Bitch, what the fuck happened? WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED? I paid great money for these Badass Nukes and ya'll get OOF'd by a One Eye Joe and his meddling kids?!" Gato berated them.

"Gato, Shinobi think they still Shadow Warriors n shit. I bet a lot of it is just fuckin smoke." Thug#1 scoffed much to the amusement of his friends.

Haku just sighed in annoyance. He used hidden jutsu to freeze the floor beneath them and cause all but Gato to fall to the ground. With a one hand seal the ice rose up and threatened to stab each of the thugs to death. Haku made it known one time that he would need to treat his wounded comrades and that their next attack would be their last as they would succeed in killing the Bridge Builder.

"Yeah that's what I like to hear. I want you there to go all Okami and make sure the job is done. I can't have these people getting all hopeful and shit. Nor can I have Nukes who don't make shit vanish in as gory a way as possible." Gato remarked before fumble walking out with his goons.

"I could have handled that worm, Haku. I'm not the paralyzed one." Zabuza pointed out with a kunai in hand.

"I'd tell you to bite me, but I want to feel it so rain check." Ameyuri nested.

"OH and Haku." Ameyuri called out.

"Yes Ringo-Senpai?" Haku answered.

"Don't ever put me in another near death state; just kill me." Ameyuri ordered.

"Uh… I'll keep that mind." Haku said.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Anko walked the streets of the Land of Waves. They were mostly barren except for a few stray kids running around trying to have fun anyway they could. Some just kicked rocks around, while others chose to chase small animals. The shops were full of produce and wares, but empty of customers or staff manning them except the lone shopkeeps.

"I don't know if we're going to find what you're looking for here, Naruto-Kun. A lot of this stuff looks pretty old and worn." Anko pointed out.

"It'll have to do for now, besides it wouldn't be the first time I worked with such materials. I lost a lot of sealing supplies in our last few battles. They have to have some kind of water resistant oil or something to keep their wooden homes and materials from damaging." Naruto stated.

Sure he used the waterproof oils from Konoha, but he saw firsthand it wasn't nearly as waterproof as it claimed. Seeing the state of the Land of Waves made accepting the mission feel more valid. It was here his Shinobi Way could truly be tested and proven to be correct. He needed to prepare, but a sudden pulse in his gut stopped him in his tracks. It was like a hot flash crept from his gut and was then snuffed out and calmed.

Anko gave him a questioning look and he just waved it off. He knew the hot flashes were most likely Kyūbi related, but beyond giving her a known sign, there was little either could do about it. It was annoying, but it was a part of being its Jinchūriki it would seem.

Despite the almost extortionate prices, Anko paid for the sealing supplies of blank scroll paper, Nami's Sea-Proof Oil, and fresh ink. With their supplies begrudgingly bought, they made their way to a secluded area in a dense woods. Due to fatigue Naruto couldn't use his Chakra, but Anko's project didn't involve using any. All he had to do was copy down the sealing arrays for the Summoning jutsu. It was a project he was more than thrilled to help in!

It seemed the Mission to the Land of Waves was a boon of growth for Naruro. He would have time for his clones to work with and learn Carpentry from Tazuna and finally get to at least see the Summoning jutsu firsthand! Anko had never used it even if Naruto knew she could via their memory transfer. Seeing it through the eyes of someone who doesn't pay attention to the details of seals is still a far cry away from seeing with your own. He could finally break the seals on some of his relatives by summoning them outside of it and tethering them to a clone or something; the possibilities were there for the taking!

"Stop drooling, Naru-Kun! We got work to do. Now you know how you can have armbands that have storage seals on them allowing you to draw from them not only faster than pulling them out manually from a pouch, but you can hold more. I want to do that but with Summoning. No hand seals, just blood smear and out comes a personalized summon!" Anko cheered.

"Yes, I understand the idea, so let's see that Summoning Array already." Naruto said with the tools of his craft already out and ready.

Anko was impressed with the swiftness in which he could take out his seal scroll, unravel it, and weight it down with his ink vials and brush kit. Going through the hand seals, Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram, Anko used the Summoning jutsu to summon a common snake. Naruto couldn't make out anything from such a short time frame. Figuring it wouldn't be that easy, the Snake Mistress decided to throw away any caution and go with her own personal summoning: Ni!

The summoning seal array was painted onto the ground with enough chakra to raise smoke from it! Naruto easily could see the sealing arrays complex gears turning and wasted no time in jotting it down before it completed its task and vanished. From the brief rift in space-time a giant purple snake with red rings running down her body and a single horn-like protrusion in the middle of her head.

"You've got some nerve summoning me, Anko-Pi! (AN: Pi= cutesy honorific used for pets.) " Ni hissed annoyed.

"A pets main job is to entertain their betters! How dare you summon that lower class grass dweller to a fight over me, Ni the Benihime!" Ni hissed with her tail slamming down threateningly.

" Come now, Ni-Hime. Give your Anko-Chan more credit than that. The battle in question was rather close to a large body of saltwater. Not to mention a lot of water release ninjutsu were used and tossed all that salt water all over." Anko aimed to calm the cocky serpent.

"Your point being?" Ni hissed.

"Correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't you, a Fire Release High Snake Summon, be at a bit of a disadvantage?" Anko reasoned.

"I didn't get a Dragon Horn without being at disadvantages. It has been too long since the many battles of the war and the hunt. I grow bored, Anko- Pi... " Ni hissed, before returning to its domain in a column of smoke.

Anko just sighed before seeing Naruto still at work. Much to her surprise, Naruto got a good look at both the summoning seal array and the sealing array Ni used to return home. The snake mistress was excited at the rather fast process.

"Don't wipe out the nipple clamps yet, Anko-Chan. This is a solid start, but all I can do is copy down the outer shell of the sealing arrays. I am missing the core, the connection all seals need to get the gears turning... Or rather turn this basic seal into the advanced space – time one. " Naruto explained.

"Perhaps if I did the summoning jutsu myself…" Naruto pondered aloud.

"Do that and you could accidentally summon yourself to some random Summoning Domain or it might just outright fail. Orochi-Teme once told me how Jaraiya did it after watching the Third perform it to summon Enma." Anko warned.

"Alright, FINE. I'll still need to convert the hand seals into sealing arrays in order to stimulate the effect of shaping the chakra inside the seal. I'll also need to work out chakra storage and limiter seals in order to…" Naruto began to rant all the while working out all the complexities. Anko just let him work and wondered where Hinata had gone off to…

Meanwhile, Hinata was in a more dense patch of woods on the island nation. The moon was in full effect and gave certain spots its glowing light through the thick leaves. Using her Byakugan, the Hyūga Heiress made finding and then cultivating the necessary herbs look as simple as breathing. She swiftly gathered the herbs by the roots before someone came into her range of vision. The person seemed to notice her, actually looking in her direction despite being a few kilometers away! They didn't become guarded and upon further inspection no weapons were seen; only a basket for herbs.

Hinata turned off her Byakugan and decided to leave the person to their gathering. The Land of Waves wasn't Kiri, but you never knew how people might feel about Bloodlines outside your home village. Haku sighed in relief when the feeling of being watched seemed to vanish. Having a good sense of where it came from and where the Hunter needed to go for the herbs the chances of an encounter seemed low; so long as the Konoha shinobi kept the distance. It was a tense herb gathering for them both, but knowing that they needed to do so for the sake of another made them gather nonetheless.

Once Hinata had enough herbs, she activated her Byakugan and saw Haku stop gathering and look over at her. The Hyūga Heiress took a longer way back to town and kept her gaze on, who she could only suspect was the Hunter, until said person left her range of sight. Once safely out of sight, Hinata made her way back to Tazuna's with her Byakugan active to make sure she wasn't followed, or lose any would-be followers.

Once inside, Hinata went straight to her room in order to grind up the herbs into the appropriate medicine needed for soothing and restoring function to Sasuke's paralysis. Said Uchiha was getting impatient at just waiting around. He would have left had it not been for his fear of having Hinata come looking for him after she has gone herb gathering; Naruto learned that the hard way. He tried to pass the time by tossing a kunai around and then did some chakra control practice by balancing multiple kunai while performing the Tiger hand seal.

"Naru-Baka! I TOLD you not to try the summoning jutsu without a contract!" Anko yelled crashing into Tazuna's in a fury!

"All I did was send a letter! I didn't even do any hand seals! I just used sealing arrays written on the letter itself! I have to start somewhere if I want to get an idea!" Naruto defended.

"You better hope that stupid letter doesn't go to Ryūchi Cave! The snakes of that Summoning Domain are vicious and would sooner reverse summon you to eat you than teach you the ways of summoning!" Anko pointed out.

"As if I am naturally aligned with snakes." Naruto waved off.

"What is this about Summoning Domains and Summoning Animals?" Sasuke asked not liking being left out.

"Ask Anko-Chan. She's the Snake Charmer, able to make her own Summoning Contract from a group that rebelled against their current Boss Summon, Manda." Naruto pointed out much to the shock of Sasuke and mild annoyance of Anko.

"Oh stop. It's your best memory and you know it." Naruto waved off to which Anko smiled and shrugged.

"To be honest, I had thought of sharing my contract with others; if for no other reason than to stick it to Orochi-Teme. Once you become a Chunin, come talk to me Uchiha-Chan." Anko hissed.

Hinata soon came down and greeted Naruto and Anko formally before focusing on applying the ointment to Sasuke's hand before applying some chakra needles to certain spots to stimulate them. She explained how the numbness should fade by the time he got up in the morning to train and Sasuke grinned and thanked his teammate for the assistance. Naruto poked fun at Sasuke's meekness and the two began their back and forth. Kakashi helped Tsunami cook for dinner and could only eye smile at his team. Tazuna himself just laughed and enjoyed his booze in the company of Anko. All seemed hopeful and yet Inari looked at it all with disdain and contempt. How could they be so carefree and cheerful when Gato was out there plotting their deaths?...

? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ? ﾟﾌﾬ?

Going to end the chapter here. It's been a rather eventful 2020 for the world to say the least. I want to take this break to thank anyone who takes the time to read these. They are a great form of therapy for me and help me get ideas out and get my head back into writing for my own narratives and works of fiction. For anyone who read or reads True Shinobi, my first Fanfiction on here I want to commend you. I was younger and didn't really have my own style yet. It's hard for me to go back and read that heavy Fanfiction. I like to think writing this is more challenging because I set my own rules up to follow the OG Naruto narrative as closely as possible and onlu add things I feel could have happened, should have happened, and just a bit of Hindsight. Anyway to wrap this up, thank you all. Please keep reading and reviewing and I promise to keep writing this because like you I am a fan of Naruto and Fanfiction.