TENKAGE
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other anime and/or manga that this fic may borrow from.
Chapter 1: Mission in the Snow
Author's note: Welcome to my latest piece, this time debuting in the Naruto category. I just couldn't get going on any of my other fics right now and I had a metric ton of ideas for this one. I hope everyone enjoys this. Though some people might, I do not consider this fanfiction to be a crossover. Rather, it borrows (term used very loosely) both characters and plot ideas from anime/manga other Naruto, the two main contributors being Rurouni Kenshin and my new favorite, Samurai Deeper Kyo. I'd explain why exactly that doesn't qualify it as a crossover, but I believe Shikamaru said it best when he said, "Explaining would just be too troublesome right now." Or something like that. In any case, sit back and enjoy.
Also, this is my first time writing a story that uses the Japanese system of honorifics. I don't know if I'm a hundred percent correct in their usage, so be sure to let me know about any errors.
December 2nd:
The sun rose cheerfully over the seemingly peaceful village of Konoha. Quite naturally, the sun brought with it the sounds of people stirring from their rest and beginning their daily routines. The light shown down on a village in a land that was in the middle of winter. A light dusting of snow covered roofs and streets. Elsewhere, the mounds of white crystals draped on the branches of trees and bushes, turning the entire forest surrounding the village into a glistening white wonderland. In one of the less well-off districts of the village, the light filtered through the windows of a single apartment. The morning light illuminated a bedroom covered with a plethora of clothing and various other items strewn haphazardly across the floor and furniture.
The light also lit the only place in the room that was even remotely clean, the bed itself. There, tucked under the covers, a sleepy figure began to stir. With a low moan, the boy pulled himself out of the bed, the covers sliding back to reveal a head covered with unkempt blond hair and cheeks with unusual, whisker-like markings etched into the skin. The boy's eyes slowly opened to reveal sky blue orbs, but then closed again as the boy stretched languidly with a substantial yawn, before he finally heaved himself out of the covers. Thus, Uzumaki Naruto rose to greet the new day.
Still yawning and grumbling to himself, Naruto wandered out of the bedroom into the equally messy living room. From there, he made his way into the kitchen. The kitchen, like the rest of the apartment was a mess. But here, the mess consisted entirely of one kind of item; empty ramen cups. Filling his kettle with water, Naruto set on the stove and lit the small gas burner. Still half asleep, the boy went through the motions without even thinking. This had been his routine for practically his entire life.
With the kettle on, Naruto went back through the living room, through the bedroom and into the bathroom where he stripped out of his pajamas to take a cold shower, he didn't have hot water anyway. The icy water quickly drove the last vestiges of sleep from the boy's face and he finished quickly. Finished with the shower and drying himself with a towel, Naruto went back into the bedroom where he opened a single drawer on the mostly unused chest and pulled out a pair of clean boxer shorts, the only articles of clothing which Naruto kept even remotely organized. That done, Naruto proceeded to prowl throughout the confines of his apartment, looking for whatever bits and pieces of clothing were cleanest. The thought reminded Naruto that it was almost time for him to do his laundry again.
Finally, with pants and a shirt on, Naruto returned to the bathroom where he washed his face and brushed his teeth. Then, hygiene needs taken care of, the boy ambled into the kitchen where the water had finally come to a boil. Naruto turned to the pantry and pulled out yet another cup of instant ramen. Pulling back the lid, he poured in the boiling water and pulled the lid shut again. Setting the kettle on the counter, the boy occupied himself during the maddening three minute wait by putting a slice of bred into the toaster. The toast came out as the three minutes were almost up. Naruto slapped on some butter, pulled a carton of milk from his refrigerator, sat down at the table, pulled out a pair of chopsticks, peeled the lid of the ramen cup off and began to shovel the warm noodles down his throat at a maddening pace.
Ramen was the food of the gods as far as Naruto was concerned. And even the village's resident masters of overeating, the Akimichis were forced to take second place when it came to consuming the flavorful noodles, which was strange, seeing as Naruto never seemed to get any fatter from their consumption.
With a final satisfying slurp, the last strands of noodles vanished into Naruto's mouth, never to see the light of day again. Picking up the cup, Naruto drained the broth. He then tossed the empty cup to join its mates on practically every horizontal surface in the kitchen. Alternating bites of toast with gulps of milk, Naruto polished off the remainder of his breakfast before returning to the living room to retrieve his trademark orange pants and jacket, zipping them up tightly against the bitter cold of the outside world. Finally, he tied on his prized leaf forehead protector, stowed his wallet and took his leave.
As he left the room, Naruto broke into a trot and jogged through the streets of Konoha. Heading towards the clear area of the village, where most of the town's training grounds were located, Naruto picked his favorite spot. There, in close proximity to the three stumps where he had officially become a genin, Naruto began his initial morning exercises. After a brief round of stretching, the boy practiced kunai throwing, taijutsu techniques, tree climbing, water walking, and a number of other exercises. Then, as the sun was rising slightly higher sky, the young ninja lined up in front of a random tree, one that was free of kunai slashes that marked a climber's progress, and prepared himself for his final exercise.
Gathering chakra in one hand, Naruto concentrated fiercely on spinning and maintaining the energy until he had a whirling sphere of it. Then, with a loud shout and a short charge he slammed the sphere into the trunk of his chosen tree. At first the dense wood resisted the pressure. But as Naruto growled and applied more power, the ball began to gouge its way into the tree. He managed to penetrate a couple of inches into the trunk before his control finally unraveled and the ball of spinning chakra exploded in a spectacular fashion, sending the ninja flying head over heels away from his wooden adversary.
Getting to his feet, Naruto examined the depression in the wood and the spiral shaped mark around it. He growled in frustration. "Almost had it that time," Naruto muttered to himself.
Looking at his watch, Naruto turned around to head back into town. There, he stopped at his favorite spot in all of Konoha, the Ichiraku Ramen stand. After placing the order for his "second breakfast," the boy leaned back on his stool and let his thoughts wander.
He remembered back to when Jiraiya had told him that it was time for Naruto to learn how to do the Rasengan with only one hand. After weeks of work, retracing his steps through the three stages of the technique, but with one hand rather than both hands, or the assistance of one of his kage-bunshin, Naruto had finally reached the point where he was once again practicing the technique against unfortunate trees. It was taking Naruto much longer to do this than it had before. Of course, there were several reasons for that. Now that he was in Konoha, Naruto had to balance his training with various missions and other concerns. He wasn't able to spend all his time out of doors, practicing nonstop. The arrival of winter in leaf country further complicated matters. Naruto had learned the hard way that he could no longer practice until he knocked himself out from exhaustion. The first time he had done so, he awakened in the hospital, recovering from a case of hypothermia and with a lingering cold to reward his efforts. The stern (and loud) lecture that Tsunade had treated him to after that little fiasco had almost broken all the windows in the building.
After another five or so helpings of Ramen, Naruto paid his bill and jogged down to the bridge to meet the rest of his team. The other two members of Team 7 were already waiting. "Good morning Sakura-chan!" shouted Naruto as he reached them. Sakura winced in annoyance as she noted that as close as Naruto was; there was not need for him to yell.
Coming to a stop before he would have otherwise plowed right into the pink-haired girl, Naruto turned to regard the other member of his team, Uchiha Sasuke. The two acknowledged one another with a nod.
Sakura watched the two of them with curiosity. Despite the fact that they had been behaving this way towards one another for quite a while now, she still wasn't used to it. In a way, Sakura preferred the days when the air between the boys crackled with the barely restrained tension of the intense rivalry between the two boys. The relaxed attitude they held with one another now was still something she had not yet come to terms with. Naruto and Sasuke had seemingly reached an understanding after the events of Sasuke's near defection to Sound.
There greetings now conducted, the three members of Team 7 settled in to wait for the final member of their company. Both Naruto and Sakura set their watches.
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Exactly two hours and fifty-three minutes later, Hatake Kakashi arrived, crouched casually on the arch spanning the width of one side of the bridge.
"Good morning," he said easily, "I got held up by my faucet. The darn thing just wouldn't stop dripping. I had to call the plumber and…"
"He still has yet to break either record," remarked Naruto, checking his watch.
"Twelve minutes over his fastest and an easy thirty-seven minutes under his slowest," added Sakura.
"Add a three minute penalty for reusing an old excuse," commented Sasuke.
Kakashi chuckled sheepishly as a single large bead of sweat rolled down the back of his head. His single visible eye crinkled in a smile as he dropped down to the bridge in front of his assembled trio of genin. "Today, we have a B-Class mission to fulfill."
"Alright!" exclaimed Naruto. It had been a while since they had gotten anything more than a C-Class mission. Even through Konoha was short-handed after the concerted attack by both Sand and Sound villages, the groups of genin were almost always still given menial labor as their lot in life. Mostly, this was due to the arrival of winter when requests for more serious missions dropped off. "So what is it that we're gonna do Kakashi-sensei!" The young ninja was practically jumping up and down in barely contained excitement.
"Our mission is to escort a specific individual back to his homeland and then protect him for a fixed period of time," replied Kakashi.
Sakura spoke up. "The fact that this is a B-Class mission rather than a C-Class mission suggests we might run into enemy ninja. Isn't that right Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi nodded solemnly. "Yes, there is a good chance that this mission won't end peacefully."
"Bring 'em on!" shouted Naruto, pumping his fist into the air for dramatic effect, "I'll beat anyone who tries to keep us from finishing this mission!"
"Take a deep breath Naruto," muttered Sakura.
"We aren't actually leaving until tomorrow," said Kakashi, "So use the rest of today to get ready to leave."
"What?" yelped Naruto and Sakura.
"You mean you called us all the way out here," growled Sakura.
"And you were late on top of that," added Naruto,
"AND YOU TELL US WE AREN'T DOING ANYTHING TODAY!" they both roared.
Kakashi disappeared in a burst of smoke before either of the two enraged genin could make a move. Sasuke snorted in amusement and started to head back into town. Sakura's attention quickly turned away from being angry at Kakashi. "Wait for me Sasuke-kun!" she shouted as she trotted after him. A crestfallen Naruto watched them go. With a resigned sigh, he began to make his way back towards the training field. With a full day ahead of him and nothing to do, he decided to continue his training, especially practicing the one-handed Rasengan.
Naruto was surprised to find that somebody was already there. He could barely contain his frustration. He liked this particular field. Almost all the trees around the small clearing were scored with various spiral shaped marks from his failed attempts. The person who was now there didn't seem to notice.
Getting closer, Naruto's frustration died when he noticed who it was that had taken the field. The girl with short, dark colored hair and clear, white eyes stood facing the middle one of the three posts at the edge of the clearing. Repeatedly, she slammed her palms against the post. Hyuuga Hinata paused, sagging forward to lean against the post and gasping for breath. Sweat was rolling down her face. Other than that, only her hands were visible, everything else being covered by the thick, light gray coat she was wearing. From what Naruto could see, she had been at this for quite a while. A smile spread across his face. He never really could stay angry at the timid girl for any length of time.
Panting, Hinata stood up once again and began to gather her strength for another strike. From what, Naruto could see, she was going to give this blow her all. Taking a deep breath, Hinata let out a sharp cry as she slammed both her palms against the post. Naruto blinked and tried to figure out what it was he had just seen. For a second, the figure of the wooden stump seemed to blur, as if it were vibrating fiercely. Then in an instant, it was completely still again. Not a single crystal among the lump of snow that had come to rest on top of the post had been disturbed. He shrugged nonchalantly. Maybe it was some kind of Genjutsu. Once again gasping for air, Hinata sank onto her hands and knees in front of the post.
In any case, Naruto realized that he wouldn't get any training done just standing there. He made his way into the clearing. "Hey Hinata!" he called out. He wasn't nearly as loud as when he greeted Sakura. Naruto knew from experience that Hinata had a tendency to bolt if he used too loud a voice, particularly if he caught her off guard like he was doing now.
Instantly, Hinata's head snapped up and looked his way. Surprise was written all over her face. Lurching to her feet, Hinata struggled to get up, most likely to dodge behind the post she was practicing on. However, her legs failed her and she collapsed into the snow. By that time, Naruto had already come right up to her. "Are you okay Hinata?" he asked cautiously, kneeling down to get a better look at her.
Hinata got shakily to her feet. Her legs felt like they were about to give out on her again when she felt someone's hands clamp down on her shoulders and help her up. Looking over, she realized that Naruto was now supporting some of her weight. Hinata gasped and instinctively tried to pull away. However, her exhausted body couldn't complete the action and she just ended up giving off a minor twitch. Naruto didn't even notice. Carefully, he braced Hinata up against the post to the left of the one she had been practicing on. "S-sorry N-Naruto-kun," she said after a moment.
Naruto scratched the back of his head as looked at her oddly. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why she was acting so strangely. He thought about asking what she was apologizing for but thought better of it. "Are you alright?" he asked again, "You look really beat."
Hinata took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "Y-yes, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired."
Searching through his jacket pockets, Naruto produced a handkerchief. He gave it to Hinata. "You're sweating like crazy," he said, "You should wipe it off before you catch a cold." Hinata timidly took the cloth from his hands and began to gently wipe the sweat off her face. While she was doing that, Naruto looked around the clearing. He didn't see Kiba, Shino, or their instructor anywhere. Was she here by herself?"
Turning back to look at the girl, Naruto failed to notice that Hinata was now clutching onto the handkerchief he had given her like it was a precious treasure. "Um, how long have you been here Hinata?"
Hinata looked at the ground. "I came just after you left, Naruto-kun." Naruto blinked. He had spent maybe an hour at the Ramen stand, then almost three more, waiting with Sakura and Sasuke for Kakashi. Not counting the time it took to travel between the different places and come back to the field, it would mean that the girl had been there for around four hours. Had she been practicing the entire time?
Naruto examined the post that Hinata had been practicing on. He noticed two dark smudge marks shaped like handprints in the exact spot where the Hyuuga girl had been practicing her palm strikes. They appeared to be almost burned into the wood. Tentatively, Naruto reached out and brushed a finger against the wood. His touch was rewarded with a cracking sound as the wooden post started to split open at his touch and began to practically disintegrate. Naruto pulled back his finger and gulped nervously. That shy Hyuuga girl had practically turned the wood beneath the rough bark of the post into sawdust.
Gentle fist, he reflected soberly. If she had hit him with an attack like the one she had used on that post, Naruto could imagine his insides gaining a consistency like that of porridge (not one of his favorite foods).
Grinning sheepishly, Naruto turned to once again regard Hinata. "Remind me not to ever make you angry Hinata," he said.
Hinata couldn't help but giggle at the silly look on the boy's face. When he heard that giggle, Naruto stopped and actually looked the girl in the eye. His silly grin was replaced by a small smile as he looked at her. "You know," he said after a second, "You look cute when you're not acting like you're afraid of your own shadow."
The future heir of the Hyuuga clan turned a brilliant shade of red. Naruto didn't notice her reaction. Instead, he turned to look back at the forest around the clearing. He looked at the trees he had been practicing on. After a moment, he found the site of his most recent practice session. After a second, he turned to look back at Hinata. "Hey," he said, "Let me practice for a bit. After that, we'll get some lunch. How does that sound Hinata?"
Hinata blushed again and began to fidget slightly. "W-well…"
Naruto grinned even more widely. "Come on. It'll be my treat."
"W-well…" Hinata seemed to be struggling for an answer, "…a-alright N-Naruto-kun." She gave him a small smile.
"OKAY!" exclaimed Naruto, pumping his fist into the air, "We'll go as soon as I master the one-handed Rasengan! I'm gonna do it today, I can feel it!"
Hinata raised and eyebrow. Rasenagan She had heard that Naruto had learned a really powerful technique, but she had never seen it for herself.
Alright, thought Naruto, reviewing the steps for the technique in his head. First, gather chakra… The necessary energy for the attack began to gather into his palm. Second, rotate… The charka began to whirl around in multiple directions. Third, concentrate and maintain… The mass of spinning chakra contracted into a sphere in the palm of his hand. Hinata watched eyes wide and mouth agape with awe. This was like no ninjutsu she had ever seen.
"And now…" Naruto faced one of the few unmarked trees remaining in the clearing. "Here…I…GO!" Charging forward, Naruto came right at the trunk of the tree, thrusting the whirling ball of chakra in front of him. With a roar, he slammed the whirling orb of energy into the trunk of the tree. Naruto growled with exertion as he forced his attack against the wood. A loud crunching sound filled the air as the ball began to sink into the wood. Naruto grit his teeth. The chakra was beginning to escape his control. Oh no you don't! Naruto growled louder. "I…can…do this!" Naruto could feel the chakra fighting his will.
Suddenly, the Rasengan exploded. The force of the blast sent Naruto tumbling away. His body ploughed a trough through the snow. At some point, Naruto was turned over in his flight and he hit face-first. After his body came to a grinding halt, Naruto got to his hands and knees, hacking and coughing as he forced out a large mouthful of snow.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata, forgetting her own, relatively tired state, rushed to his side. "Are you alright?"
Naruto coughed a few more times. "Yeah," he said, wiping the last bits of snow off his face. Looking at his hand, he growled in frustration. I almost had it that time.
Hinata looked at the tree that Naruto had just practiced on. A massive spiral-shaped crater had been gouged into the trunk. "That was amazing, Naruto-kun."
Naruto looked forlornly at his hand. "It would be nice if I could keep control all the way through. For some reason, I keep losing control at the last minute." A sigh escaped his lips. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm ever going to be able to do this."
"I'm sure you'll be able to do it this time Naruto-kun," said Hinata as encouragingly as she could manage.
Naruto looked up at Hinata. Then, the words she had said to him before his fight with Neji came rushing back to him. "The strength to keep getting up after you fail is real strength."
Naruto looked back at his hand. "You're right Hinata." He smiled up at the girl. "Thanks a lot."
Hinata smiled and nodded again. For some reason she wasn't feeling as nervous around him anymore.
Climbing to his feet, Naruto selected another tree and began to prepare his attack. Hinata watched in fascination as chakra collected into his open palm. After a brief moment, Naruto had a solid sphere of spinning chakra in his hand. I can do it this time, thought Naruto, I can feel it.
With a yell, Naruto charged his chosen target. Slamming the Rasengan into the trunk of the unfortunate tree, he applied all his strength. The spinning orb burned its way cleanly through the trunk, punching through to the other side with explosive force, completely obliterating the side that had been in the lee of Naruto's attack and exploding in a massive shockwave that toppled several trees behind the one that Naruto had attacked. After a brief moment, the tree that Naruto struck also fell as it too succumbed to the damage it had sustained.
Naruto looked at his hand, then his handiwork, and back to his hand. For a moment, he was dumbstruck. Then, he exploded in jubilation. "I did it!" he shouted, leaping up and down in his excitement, "I've done it!" Completely losing himself in his celebration, Naruto grabbed both of Hinata's wrists and swung her around in a circle of celebration. Suddenly, realizing what he had just done, Naruto let go of Hinata's arms and rubbed the back of his head, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry," he muttered, "Got a little carried away there."
Hinata, who had been as red as a tomato when Naruto had grabbed her wrists, had to stifle a giggle at the boy's antics. Looking at the damage his technique had caused, she gasped. "That w-was amazing Naruto-kun," she said after a moment.
"Yeah," agreed Naruto, "Pretty cool isn't it." Then he remembered something. "Come on," he said, tugging her behind him, "Let's go get that lunch I promised." Hinata, once again blushing madly, could only follow him.
Leaving, neither of them noticed that they had been watched. After they had gone, their anonymous observer rose from hiding to analyze the damage left by Naruto's latest technique.
So he has fully mastered the Rasengan, thought the watcher, Interesting.
Hinata followed a short distance behind Naruto. Despite his heavy training, the young ninja didn't seem fazed in the slightest by his earlier exertions. Instead, he only seemed to get more energetic as time wore on. They walked until they came to the only worthwhile restaurant in Naruto's opinion, Ichiraku Ramen. Hinata certainly didn't mind the choice in venue. She was completely enthralled by the fact that the person she had so adored had asked her to lunch.
Lunch was a relatively quiet affair. Hinata had been embarrassed into almost complete silence when Ayame, the waitress had commented on the cute couple they made. Both Ayame and the old man running the stand were certain that a brief flash of red had crossed Naruto's cheeks, but they couldn't be sure because it disappeared the instant he was presented with his first bowl. Naruto was already slurping up the noodles with gusto. Hinata, on the other hand, was content to eat at a more sedate pace. That was well enough since by the time she finished, Naruto was already well into his third helping.
"Um, Naruto-kun…" Hinata was barely able to raise her voice above a whisper. She was overcome by his proximity and was almost certain that preoccupied as he was, the boy wouldn't notice her over his current activities (in other words, eating).
To her utter shock, Naruto's slurping came to an abrupt halt. He sucked up and swallowed the mouthful of noodles that he had before turning to regard Hinata. "What is it Hinata?"
"Um, um…" Hinata was once again fidgeting as she tried to muster the courage to ask her question. It was taking her a great deal of time and effort. Both Ayame and the shopkeeper were certain that Naruto would lose patience and start eating again. But for some reason, the young man continued to keep his attention focused on Hinata, his expression unchangingly attentive.
"…I-I was wondering if…" Hinata's cheeks were flushed a bright red now. "…Could y-you teach me…your tech-technique Naruto-kun?" Having asked her question, Hinata couldn't bear to face him anymore, looking away quickly.
"Hmm." Naruto turned to stare into his half-full ramen bowl as he pondered his answer. Hinata's question has shocked him. Though it had taken the better part of five minutes for her to get it out, he was amazed that she had asked at all. The timid girl had never asked him anything like that before.
Both the shopkeeper and the waitress alternated their looks back and forth between the two genin. The old man could almost see the gears turning in Naruto's head. Ayame was in a better position to see the bright red painted across Hinata's face.
Well, she is a Hyuuga, thought Naruto, And they are supposed to be very good at chakra control. The first phase would probably be easy for her. To his surprise, he was actually considering teaching it to her. The problem is whether or not she has the power. Second phase requires tightly controlling and focusing a lot of chakra at once in a small space. Does she have enough chakra for something like that? But once she gets past the second phase, third phase would be easy for someone like her.
Then of course there was the problem of time. Finally, Naruto arrived at his conclusion. "Hinata," he said deliberately.
"Y-y-yes?" Hinata hesitantly turned to look at her idol. She was certain that he would turn her down. He probably didn't think she was strong enough for that kind of technique. And he's probably right, thought Hinata forlornly.
"I can't teach it too you right now," said Naruto.
Hinata's face fell. I knew it. The girl was on the verge of tears.
Naruto balked at the sight of the disappointed young lady. He was pretty certain that he could feel some murderous intent coming from both Ayame and the shopkeeper. "L-listen Hinata," he said after a second, "I have to go on a mission tomorrow. I don't know how long it's going to take. It would be silly to start teaching the Rasengan to you now and then leave before you could finish." He smiled at her. "But I promise that I'll teach it to you when I get back." His smile became a wide grin.
"R-really?" Hinata was almost overcome with relief.
Naruto rested an easy hand on her shoulder. "Yeah! You know me. I never go back on my word. That's my ninja's way."
Hinata returned his smile and nodded.
Naruto turned away, his face thoughtful again. "I could recommend a teacher but…" a cloud of anger passed over his face, "…I don't trust Ero-sennin one bit." Just the thought of Jiraiya leering at a sweet girl like Hinata made him sick.
"Ero-sennin?" Hinata was completely clueless as to who he was talking about. But she didn't think she wanted to take lessons from somebody that Naruto (creator of the world's most perverted justsu) would call perverted.
"Alright then!" shouted Naruto, pumping his fist in the air yet again, "It's decided! As soon as I get back, I'll teach you the Rasengan!" His face turned serious for a brief moment. "But while I'm gone, you need to spend as much time as you can doing chakra building exercises. It may not seem like it, but the Rasengan requires a lot of chakra."
Hinata nodded vigorously in agreement. Naruto paid for both their meals and then promptly thrust himself away from the counter. As he ran down the street, he turned to look over his shoulder as he shouted back at her. "I have to go start packing for my mission! I'll see you later Hinata!"
Hinata seemed to be in a delighted stupor. Ayame patted the young Hyuuga maiden on the shoulder. "Well aren't you lucky Hinata-san," she said, chuckling. Hinata could only nod in agreement.
In the confines of his apartment, Naruto was frantically packing the things he thought would be necessary for the next day's mission. Remembering that they were in the thick of winter, Naruto chose to pack plenty of warm clothing. He didn't want another lecture from Tsunade. Of course, he also decided to pack a fair bit of instant ramen. Not long ago, Jiraiya had taught Naruto a way to heat water using his chakra. As far as Naruto was concerned, it was one of the most useful techniques he had ever learned.
Naruto stopped abruptly as he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Whipping his head around, Naruto tried to find the source of the strange feeling. But he didn't see anything. "That's strange," muttered the boy, "I could've sworn someone was watching me."
After a moment, Naruto continued packing.
The watcher departed as soon as Naruto had detected his presence. Now that he was a safe distance away, he considered what he had seen. The boy is more alert than the last time I checked on him. His skills and abilities are improving rapidly. If we aren't careful, the Leaf nins might begin to overtake us.
Sasuke lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Though he had done everything that he had deemed necessary to prepare for the mission, he couldn't bring himself to drift off in slumber yet. There had been many nights just like this one. All of them were sleepless for the same reason.
The curse mark that Orochimaru had left on his neck itched. It wasn't a physical itch that could be rubbed or scratched. It was an itch in the back of his mind. Even with the seal that Kakashi had placed on the mark, Sasuke still felt its presence. He still felt the nagging urge to get up to seek out more power than he already had, to do whatever it took to get strong enough to kill his brother. It still urged him to go to the snake sennin for power. But Sasuke knew better. At one time, he had nearly succumbed to its urgings. He had betrayed and left his village, only to realize what he risked losing. If Orochimaru claimed his body, Sasuke would forever lose his chance to kill Itachi.
That said, he still couldn't ignore what the curse mark offered. It still tempted him with limitless power. It was an infernal nagging that caused Sasuke to lose a great deal of sleep. He had even been forced to learn a technique for forced slumber in order to get rest on particularly bad nights. Those nights came frequently, particularly when he was training.
Sasuke gritted his teeth when he thought about what ignoring the seal had cost him. It prevented him from going too far past his limits, even in training. As long as that damn thing remained on his neck, he would never be able to push himself as far and as hard as he needed to in order to catch up with Itachi. And with only his hatred to drive him forward, Sasuke had a long way to go indeed.
With a sigh and groan, Sasuke realized that it was going to be another one of those nights. Raising his hands above him, he performed the necessary seals to activate the technique. Instantly, he was sent into a deep and dreamless slumber.
Sakura was not yet asleep. As Tsunade's apprentice in the art of medical ninjutsu, there was a great deal that she still had to learn. Even this late at night, she was carefully reading the book that Tsunade had told her to study. She wished that the sennin would teach her the secret to her monstrous strength. However, Tsunade had insisted that Sakura learn the healing arts as thoroughly as she could first.
The training hadn't been easy. Besides studying, she spent a lot of time with Shizune in the hospital. Tsunade was frequently busy with her business as Hokage (that is, whenever she wasn't sleeping on the job). As a result, the hands on training was mostly relegated to Shizune, Tsunade's assistant. And despite her gentle demeanor, Shizune was a harsh taskmaster and tolerated idleness in her student. Yet, Sakura knew she couldn't complain. Shizune worked even harder that Sakura did in the hospital. For all Sakura knew, she probably slept in the hospital too. And of course, as a Jounin, Shizune also had to leave on missions on occasion.
The first time she had to do something of the sort had been Sakura's baptism of fire as it were. Shizune had left on her mission, leaving Sakura behind to fill in for her at the hospital. It had been a scary experience and Sakura had half-expected something to go wrong at any instant. But her time working had gone off without a hitch and both Shizune and Tsunade were pleased with the results.
The only regret that Sakura had about being Tsunade's apprentice was all the books and scrolls she had to get. She couldn't afford to slacken in her studies, even while on a mission. As a result, several of the books Sakura was assigned to study were packed on top of everything else. Sakura didn't mind the studying. But do the books have to be so damn heavy? She sighed. Maybe that's how Tsunade-sama got so strong. Carrying all those books in addition to everything else that I need would be one hell of a workout. Also in the pack that Sakura was carrying was a substantial supply of medicines and antidotes to use in case her teammates got wounded. There was also a pair of scrolls that contained some of the more powerful healing jutsus that Sakura had yet to learn to do herself. However, she could use the scrolls in an emergency to perform the jutsu in lieu of her own ability.
Sakura sighed and closed her current book. "I guess I'll have to take this one with me," she said before stowing it away in her backpack with the rest of her miniature traveling library.
December 3rd:
The sun did not shine as brightly next morning. The sky was covered over with thick, dark clouds. Even as Naruto made his way to the west gate where they would be departing from, snow was already beginning to fall. Sasuke and Sakura were already waiting for him, like they usually did. To Naruto's surprise, he saw that Sakura had her nose buried in a thick book. Obaachan and her studies, thought Naruto crossly.
"Hey Sakura-chan," he said, coming up to join them.
"You're speaking in a normal tone of voice," observed Sakura without so much as glancing up from the book.
Naruto refrained from a comment. Even for him, the excitement of taking a B-Class mission had worn a little thin. The thought of the cold days and nights on the road ahead soured even his mood. There was another reason that his greeting was unusually lackluster was a lot more personal. For some reason, Naruto's thoughts the previous nights had been occupied not by thoughts of Sakura, but instead by Hinata. He kept unconsciously thinking about how he was going to go about teaching her the Rasengan and what kind of obstacles that she was going to encounter, learning the technique. There was still the possibility that she lacked the chakra and stamina necessary to learn the technique. And in the dead of winter she couldn't train as thoroughly as Naruto had. There was also the matter of…Crap! I'm doing it again. Naruto caught his thoughts drifting down that road yet again.
"Is Kakashi-sensei here yet?" asked Naruto, trying to get his mind back on track.
"No sign of him," replied Sasuke.
"Any chance he'll arrive on time?"
"Doubtful."
To their surprise, Kakashi arrived early. With a smile that was visible only in his normal eye, Kakashi indicated the gate. "Well. Let's be off." The three genin and their sensei began to head out the gate.
"Naruto-kun!" Naruto spun around at the shout coming from behind him. Looking back, he saw Hinata running his way, waving frantically.
"What is it Hinata?" asked Naruto. He and the others stopped and waited for the girl to catch up.
Hinata came to a stop in front of Naruto. "I wanted to talk to you before you left," she said quietly, after catching her breath.
"Um, we need to leave," prompted Sakura, "Now."
"There isn't time," added Sasuke.
"Go on ahead," said Naruto to his teammates, "I'll catch up in a minute. This won't take long." He turned back to Hinata as the others left. "What is it?"
"W-well…I um…wanted to uh…wish you l-luck," said Hinata.
"Um, thanks," said Naruto, shifting back and forth impatiently. He didn't want the others to get too far ahead of him. But he could tell that Hinata wasn't done yet.
"I-I wanted to g-give you this," said Hinata, she took something out of her coat pocket and handed them to Naruto.
Naruto examined her gift. It was a pair of full gloves (not the fingerless kind). They looked a great deal like the gloves that he had seen many Konoha ninja wearing, right down to the metal plate stitched into the back. They were sturdily made to withstand the harsh life of a shinobi. Slipping his hand into one of them, Naruto discovered that it was lined with wool.
"I did-didn't want your hands to get cold while you were on your mission N-Naruto-kun," commented Hinata.
"Wow!" yelled Naruto, pulling the other glove on, "Thanks a lot Hinata! I really like 'em!"
Hinata blushed at the compliment. With a quaking hand, she pulled something else out of one of her other pockets. Naruto quickly recognized the second item. "Hey," he said, "Isn't that the healing ointment you make?"
Hinata nodded nervously. Naruto's face broke out into a happy grin. "That stuff you gave me back during the Chuunin exam was great! It worked really well."
Hinata didn't think that she could get any redder. Speechlessly, she held it out to Naruto. The boy didn't hesitate to take it. "Thanks a lot Hinata-chan!" he said.
Looking down the road, Naruto saw that his team was already out of sight. "Oh man!" he exclaimed, "I've got to hurry and catch up with Sakura-chan and the others!" Spinning back to Hinata he asked, "Is there anything else you wanted to say?"
Wordlessly, Hinata shook her head. Her face felt like it was on fire.
Naruto turned around and sprinted down the road. "Thanks Hinata-chan!" he shouted back over his shoulder, "I promise to teach you when I get back!" Then he was gone.
For a moment, Hinata just stood there, stunned. He called me Hinata-chan…twice. When she finally managed to collect herself, she turned and headed back into the village, making her way to where she was supposed to meet her team for their next mission.
Kurenai was already waiting for her when she got there. Shino and Kiba had yet to arrive, a fact that made Hinata sigh with relief. She had been afraid that meeting with Naruto might have made her late. She was glad that only Kurenai was there at the moment.
"Um…Kurenai-sensei," ventured Hinata as she approached the Jounin instructor.
"What is it Hinata?" asked Kurenai.
"A-after today's mission, could you uh…c-could you show me some ways to build up my chakra?" Hinata was still a little shy, even around Kurenai, whom she trusted more than her own family.
Kurenai raised and eyebrow. A request for specific training from Hinata, who was usually too busy just trying to learn the Hyuuga taijutsu techniques, was a rare thing indeed. She wondered what might be going on in the young girl's head. However, she couldn't ever turn down a request for help from Hinata, in whom she saw a great deal of herself. Kurenai nodded. "Alright. We'll start with climbing trees."
December 6th:
Tsunade's soft snores were the only indication that the Godaime Hokage was even in her office. Even though her tenure had been for less than a year, Tsunade had already become notorious…for sleeping on the job that is. Even now, the woman lay with her face resting on a pillow of paperwork, a tiny trail of drool, unbefitting the head of state that she was, trailing out of her mouth. Granted, it was rather late in the evening for someone to be working. And Tsunade would have gladly been anywhere else, particularly someplace with sake and gambling.
A soft knock sounded at the door. With a muffled grunt, snort, and various other groggy and confused sounds, the Fifth roused herself into wakefulness. "What is it?" she asked.
"Hokage-sama," said one of the ANBU who was guarding the door to her office, "Kakashi-san is here to see you."
"Kakashi?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow. The mission she had sent the man and his team, including Naruto on should have lasted nearly a month. How could he be back already? They had only left three days ago. She got her answer when Kakashi came into the room. With her sharpened medical senses, Tsunade could detect faint traces of healing chakra. The Jounin had apparently been to the hospital before he had come to see her. From the number of places she detected contact and the amount of residual healing chakra she sensed, Tsunade was forced to conclude that he was very badly wounded.
"What happened?" she asked. She indicated a chair near the back of her room. Kakashi pulled it up in front of the desk and settled in with a tired sigh. She knew from experience that even after being healed, a person's body still had to rest in order to recover. Kakashi looked very tired. "What happened to Naruto and the others?"
Kakashi groaned. "The team is alright. Naruto is in the hospital, Sasuke was just released and Sakura just needs to rest after using most of her chakra." He gave Tsunade the most haunting look she had ever seen. He looked almost as if he had seen his deceased teammates spring to life, so disbelieving was his gaze. "The mission was a failure."
"What?" Tsunade gasped. Yes, a B-Class mission was dangerous. However, Naruto's team had accomplished B and even A-Class missions before, even without Kakashi's help on occasion.
"This is no longer a B-Class mission," explained Kakashi, "It is now an S-Class."
Tsunade blanched. What could have caused Kakashi to determine such a drastic change in the mission's rank? In response to her wordless question, Kakashi uttered only a single word. "Sanada."
Tsunade's throat went dry. "Are you sure?" she asked carefully.
"Most assuredly," answered Kakashi, "There was no mistaking their level of skill and their tactics. Also, I saw the Rokumon Sen."
Tsunade sank back into her chair, completely speechless. After collecting herself for a moment, Tsunade sat up. "Tell me what happened."
Kakashi nodded and launched into his tale…
December 3rd: Three days earlier…
"So where are we going to meet the person we'll be escorting?" Sakura asked as the four of them traveled through the trees, leaping among the snow laden branches at such speed that the world around them turned into a whirling kaleidoscope of white and brown. Naruto had caught up to the others only a few minutes ago.
"A couple of hours this way, there's a small town where we'll be meeting him. Once we get there, we'll be the man's escort until he reaches his home in Grass Country," answered Kakashi.
"If he thought he was in danger of being attacked by hostile ninjas, why didn't he wait for us at the village?" Sakura wanted to know, "Then he would have been under our protection from the time we took the mission. And he would be safer waiting for us in Konoha than in some town."
"It means that he expects to be attacked on the road," said Sasuke, "That an attack by enemy ninjas will only occur if and when he chooses to travel. It means that the intention of the enemy isn't concerned so much with killing him as they are keeping him from reaching his chosen destination."
"He didn't come to us in person," said Kakashi, "He sent a messenger, with the request and the initial payment."
"Initial payment?" asked Naruto, "I thought we weren't paid until the job was finished."
"Escort missions are always bought with an initial payment," replied Kakashi, "Half of the overall cost is paid up front. The other half is paid when the mission is completed."
"But why are you so certain that we're going to be attacked?" Naruto wanted to know, "Kakashi-sensei, you said there was a possibility."
"Fool," growled Sasuke, "You should treat that kind of possibility as a certainty. That way you won't be caught off guard if the enemy does attack."
"Besides," added Sakura, "The client requested this as a B-Class mission which means that both the possibility of attack and the caliber of potential opponents are going to be rather high."
"We can expect possible altercations with shinobi of up to Chuunin level," explained Kakashi, "If we faced the possibility of fighting enemy Jounin, this would be an A-Class mission."
"Uh…Okay." Naruto had the basic gist of it. "So, who is it that we're supposed to protect?"
"The man's name is Genjiro," replied Kakashi, "That's all the information that we were given."
"Is that all we need?" Sakura wanted to know, "I'd think that Hokage-sama would at least want to know his occupation and the reason he's traveling."
"Yes, but not necessarily," replied Kakashi, "The more unknowns there are in a given mission, the higher it is ranked. In essence, this mission might have been a C-Class, but the lack of information, in addition to the probable threat relegated it to B status. Our client obviously knows how the system works and chose to supply pay for the correct mission type."
"Does that mean that there is less of a chance of encountering enemy ninja and the mission ranking is simply a result of the fact that the client didn't want to share too much information about himself?" asked Sasuke.
"Actually, no," said Kakashi, "The client relayed the details about the possible threats through the messenger. However, Hokage-sama did not feel pressed to up the status of the mission. And in the end, her judgment is final."
"I guess Tsunade-obaachan knows best," grumbled Naruto.
A couple of hours and many miles later, the three genins and their instructor arrived in the small village where their client was waiting. Kakashi led them to an inn on the outskirts. Their charge was waiting for them in the lobby.
Genjiro was an unremarkable man by any stretch of the imagination. Plain looking, with short, close-cropped blond hair and dark blue eyes, he spoke softly and politely when he addressed Kakashi and each of the young ninjas in turn. "My thanks for accepting this request on such short notice," said Genjiro, "The snow is deep and I am fortunate that your village could spare the manpower necessary to assure my security."
"Your thanks aren't necessary," replied Kakashi, "We will accept any kind of mission, no matter the season. It is merely unusual for anyone to make a request like yours at this time of year."
"I give you my thanks anyway," replied Genjiro with a small bow, "I will be departing tomorrow morning. I hope to arrive at my destination within a week. I hope I didn't inconvenience you by asking you to come out today, but your services won't be needed until I leave."
"We don't mind at all," replied Kakashi. He turned to face his subordinates. "You heard the man. We aren't needed until tomorrow. I'll book a few rooms for us tonight, so you guys are free until tomorrow morning."
"But if he didn't want to leave tomorrow," asked Sakura, "Why did we come out today? What would be wrong with leaving now?"
"It's all about how you break up the traveling time," said Kakashi, "If it were late spring or summer, we would be able to leave right now without trouble. That's mostly because if we couldn't reach an inn or town by nightfall, we could camp out on the road. But in the thick of winter, we need to break up our traveling time according to our ability to reach the different civilized areas along the road in order to spend the night out in the snow." The three genin shivered at that thought. "Genjiro wants to wait until tomorrow because if we left now, we may not be able to reach the next inn or town by nightfall, at least traveling the way he does."
"I see," said Sakura nodding.
"In any case, you guys are free to do what you want until tomorrow," Kakashi said again, "But you shouldn't stay out too late. Most likely, our client is going to want an early start."
"Alright!" yelled Naruto. Already, his stomach was growling and he was entertaining thoughts of finding the nearest ramen stand.
"But first," added Kakashi, "We should book our rooms and drop off our bags."
"Right," agreed Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura simply nodded.
Kakashi booked three rooms for the night. One was for Sakura. One was for himself. And the third was for Naruto and Sasuke to share (despite Naruto's protests along with a request that he share a room with Sakura, which earned him a heavy-handed blow on the back of the head). After dropping off their bags, they went their separate ways for the rest of the day.
Sakura stayed in her room, plowing through one of the books that Tsunade had ordered her to study. Kakashi did likewise. Of course, the book he chose to "study" was of a bit more controversial nature (as Jiraiya's works tended to be).
Naruto made his way through the streets of the village, looking for anything that looked like a ramen stand. To his good fortune, he found one right away. And it wasn't too crowded at that. Naruto found himself a stool and ordered up a bowl of his favorite food.
For a while (and more than a few bowls), Naruto had the stand to himself. He was so engrossed in his eating that at first he didn't notice the man that took the stool next to him. As it turned out, Naruto finished his current bowl and ordered another at the exact same time that the man was about to make his order. Almost immediately, Naruto was aware of his presence.
The stranger carried a large box on his back. He set the box on the ground as he sat. His long black hair was partially obscured by the blue bandana he wore on the top of his head. His coat and pants as well as the scarf wrapped around his neck were dark red in color. He gave Naruto a sly smile as he let the boy order first before making his own.
"You seem to be quite the heavy eater," he remarked as the shopkeeper took their orders.
Naruto nodded eagerly. "I just love ramen," he said, eliciting a chuckle from the man.
"And what might your name be?" asked the man.
"My name's Uzumaki Naruto," replied Naruto, who was more than happy to talk about himself, "I'm a ninja from Konoha." He rarely, if ever received this kind of attention back in Konoha, which was why the young man had always been glad to accept missions that took him out of thee village. At least out here, nobody knew about his past. Nobody ever judged him to be a demon. No one ever looked at him like he was the ugliest thing the world had ever seen. No one pointedly ignored him and pretended he didn't exist.
The man simply chuckled at Naruto's enthusiasm. "Really," he said, "It's rare to see you ninjas this far out of the village this time of year."
Naruto nodded. "We just don't really get all that many requests from outside the village this time of year."
"Oh really? What kind of request did you receive?" the man inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"We just need to serve as an escort for this one guy until he gets back home," answered Naruto without hesitation, "No big deal for a first-class ninja like myself."
The stranger returned Naruto's radiant smile. Finally, their ramen was served. In between bites, gulps and refills (for Naruto), the man prodded Naruto for more information about himself. Naruto was more than happy to talk about his experiences, all the great missions he had been on, all the neat tricks he had learned and all the amazing things he had seen and done. When the man finished his bowl, he calmly sat back and continued to wait and listen as Naruto worked himself through three more helpings. He was even nice enough to pick up the tap for Naruto when they were done. "It's the least I can do for all the entertainment you've provided," he explained. The shopkeeper agreed with this and gave the man a half-off discount. Though Naruto didn't notice, his storytelling had brought in several listeners, who all ordered their own ramen. It was an unusually good day for business.
Finally, the man excused himself and lifted the box back onto his back and began to make his way down the road. "Hey!" shouted Naruto, "You never told me your name!"
The man smiled. "My name is Saizo," he said over his shoulder, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Uzumaki-san."
Naruto grinned and ran off the other direction. As he was leaving, Naruto noticed the symbol emblazoned on the back of the box. It was rather simple in appearance, just a set of six red circles with a white square in the middle of each stacked in two horizontal rows of three.
Saizo was a good ways down the road before he stepped off into the forest. His feet seemed to glide over the snow without actually touching it, leaving neither track nor trace of his passing. Letting the box slide gently off his back, he set it down with a sigh. "Is it safe Saizo-sama?" inquired a whispered voice that seemed to come from the box itself. Saizo nodded. The box seemed to shift and twist until the image resolved itself into a man, clothed in black, standing in front of him.
"So," the man asked, rubbing the back of his neck, "What do you think of Uzumaki Naruto?"
Saizo looked back at the town they had just left. "I believe that Uzumaki-san will prove to be a very interesting opponent indeed."
Sakura yawned and stretched as she looked up from her book for the first time in hours. She had always enjoyed academic work, since even before her days in the academy. Back then, she had studied the required texts diligently and enthusiastically, which put her at the head of the class academically, even if she had been behind Sasuke in the practical areas. Sakura was quite at home reading long books for hours on end.
Sakura could have studied for a while longer, but the growling in her stomach was getting too loud to ignore. She was entertaining the thought of going out to find something to eat when someone knocked at the door to her room. Figuring it was Naruto, coming to trouble her about some thing or another, Sakura tiredly walked to the door and opened it, ready to bash her obnoxious partner over the head.
However, it wasn't Naruto who stood in front of the door. It was Sasuke. Sakura quickly swallowed her surprise. "Sasuke-kun," she blurted out, "What is it?"
In wordless answer, Sasuke hefted the bag he had been carrying. Sakura saw that it was a bag of food, most likely takeout from one of the restaurants in town. "You hadn't left in a while and I thought you might be getting hungry," he said, his eyes noticeably not meeting hers.
Blinking, Sakura slowly took the bag. Quickly, she glanced at the clock in her room. It was nearly seven in the evening. They had arrived not long before noon. Sakura looked back at Sasuke, chuckling sheepishly. She hadn't meant to lose track of time like that. "Thank you," she said softly.
Sasuke turned, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like, "You're welcome," as he left.
Sakura went back into her room and shut the door. As she took out the food that Sasuke had brought, she thought back to the old days and her unrequited affection for the young man. Of course, such thoughts almost immediately led to memories of Naruto's obvious crush on her. Naruto had always been so blatant in his attempts to get her attention. That crush had also been the initial cause of the conflict between him and Sasuke. That conflict had eventually ceased to be about Sakura even from Naruto's standpoint as it erupted into full-blown rivalry.
Initially, that rivalry had been a good thing and had driven both Naruto and Sasuke to try their hardest in everything they did, each trying to outdo the other. And for Naruto, it always remained that way. But for some reason, Sasuke began to take it very differently. Sakura also knew where the blame for that particular shift in attitude rested.
Everything had changed when Orochimaru had gotten involved. Even now, Sakura shuddered at the thought of the terrible snake ninja. Even now, his mark was still burned into Sasuke's neck. At one point, it had all but destroyed their friendship. It was just another one of the crimes that the evil Sannin would eventually answer for.
The Sannin… Sakura's thoughts took another twist as they turned to those three mighty ninjas. There was Orochimaru, Tsunade, and also Jiraiya, whom Naruto less than fondly referred to as Ero-sennin. Sakura realized that both she and Naruto had been tutored by one of the Sannin; Sakura by Tsunade and Naruto by Jiraiya. Heck, even Sasuke had been sort of an apprentice to Orochimaru, in a terrifying way.
Those thoughts brought on memories of the most frightening time in Sakura's life, the night she thought she had lost Sasuke forever. That night, and the days that followed had been the most nerve-wracking time of Sakura's life. Her eyes closed as she relived the fateful day that the retrieval team had returned…
Kankuro and Temari of the Sand, along with Shikamaru had been the first to arrive. They carried with them the unconscious forms of Chouji, Neji and Kiba, who had all suffered horrible wounds in the fight with the Sound-nins that had taken Sasuke. Hell, even Shikamaru and the two Sand-nins weren't looking all that well either. But there was no sign yet of Lee, who had gone despite the fact he was still recovering, Gaara, Naruto or Sasuke.
Sakura waited at the gate for many hours, hoping with all her might that Naruto would make it back with the one she loved. Finally, she spotted them on the horizon. There was Gaara, resting on the bed of sand behind the silent Sand-nin was Lee. Traveling beside Gaara was the person she had hoped to see the most. There Naruto was. The one who was with him took Sakura's breath away. Sasuke unconscious and draped across Naruto's back. Both of them were wounded and covered with blood. From the look of things, Naruto could barely stand.
"Naruto!" she yelled out as she ran to meet them. Naruto lifted his head and grinned tiredly at Sakura.
"Sakura-chan," his voice was hoarse, "I told you I'd bring him back."
Within moments, Tsunade was there with several other medics and even some ANBU. Sasuke and Lee were quickly transferred to stretchers, but somehow, Naruto remained unattended in all the chaos. Sakura was quickly able to figure out why, though. She wasn't able to hear everything that Tsunade was saying, but she did manage to catch the words "seal" and "critical condition."
As Tsunade and the other medics carried Lee and Sasuke off, Sakura hesitated. She wanted very badly to be with Sasuke, but there was Naruto, leaning against the wall, seemingly forgotten. But Naruto seemed to read her mind and gave Sakura his best grin. "Go on," he said, "Sasuke needs you." Sakura took him at his word. Though to this day, she still felt a twinge of guilt leaving Naruto all alone against the wall like that.
Neither Naruto nor Sasuke told Sakura what had transpired between them during that event. Lee, Shikamaru and the others had told her about their own battles with the Sound-nins. Lee had actually informed Sakura that at one point he had seen Sasuke heading off to meet Orochimaru alone and of his own will. But whatever had happened between Naruto and Sasuke stayed between them. However, she was certain that they had fought, fiercely.
After what had happened, Tsunade decided that they needed absolutely sure that Orochimaru's curse mark didn't get out of control. This time, Jiraiya was the one who put the seal on the boy. It was an especially powerful seal that had been derived from fuuinjutsu used to seal away the Kyuubi. Still not satisfied with, Tsunade decided to use her own seal on top of Jiraiya's.
Sakura began to eat the food. Since Sasuke had been brought back, there hadn't been any incidents where his seal had broken out of control. However, both Jiraiya and Tsunade had explained that the possibility remained as long as the curse mark itself remained in place. Sasuke would have to be careful until a means to remove the firmly imbedded mark could be found.
Sakura herself had been to the library of Konoha to look up books and scrolls about seals and curses, both for Tsunade and herself to research. They had yet to find anything regarding the particularly potent seal that Orochimaru used. The ANBU retrievers had tried to analyze the bodies of the four Sound-nins that had abducted Sasuke. However, it was apparent that the curse mark sealed itself after death, making an in depth analysis all but impossible.
Sakura sighed and finished dinner. It wasn't something she could do anything about currently. She decided to try and put off worrying about it until they got back to Konoha. Their current duties protecting the man who had hired them came first. This was especially important to Sakura, who would be responsible for the man's health if he got wounded. Now that dinner was finished, Sakura disposed of the remains and got ready for bed. She had the feeling that tomorrow was going to be eventful.
"What is the plan for tomorrow, Saizo-sama?" inquired the black-clothed shinobi as the two of them settled into the tree branches to wait for the approach of dawn.
Saizo removed several vials from a pouch at his side. Gone were the plain clothes of a medicine peddler that he had been wearing a few hours ago. Replacing it was a dark-blue body suit with red gloves and boots. The dark read scarf he had worn earlier was now pulled up over his mouth and nose, masking everything but the intense blue eyes that carefully scrutinized the contents of each vial.
"We will attack them on the road," explained Saizo, without glancing away from the vials, "I will catch them in the mist and attack. You are to wait until I have lured away Hatake and perhaps the other two. Then I want you to attack from the rear."
"A very simplistic plan, Saizo-sama," observed the other ninja.
"Which is precisely why I doubt that it will work." Finally, Saizo located the vial he had been searching for. Once again reaching into the pouch at his side, Saizo pulled out a thin, folded leather container. Opening it revealed the line of glass needles carefully threaded through loops of leather, holding them fast.
"A feint?" the other wanted to know.
Saizo nodded as he withdrew one of the needles and examined it in the same way he had the vials earlier. "Very much so."
December 4th:
Genjiro opted to leave early in the morning. Being early December, the morning was decidedly cold; however, it would get warmer as the day wore on. Genjiro thought it would be better that way, rather than leaving later and having the day get colder as it progressed towards the evening.
As the traveler and his four-ninja escort left the in, they walked face first into the early morning fog. "It sure is dense today," Sakura observed, "Even more so than usual."
Kakashi nodded. Carefully, he whispered to his three subordinates, "Fog cuts off visibility and makes it easier to mount a surprise attack, be on your guard." He didn't want Genjiro to worry too much.
Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura nodded in unison. Even in the academy, their training in winter survival and fighting had been…superficial at best. Attacks and battles were highly unlikely to take place in the winter, when it was so difficult to move about, so there was less thought given to such things.
As the five of them progressed down the road, the fog continued to thicken, pressing in around them. Eventually, it became so thick that it was difficult to see the road ahead. Visibility wasn't more than a few feet on any side.
"It's odd," Sakura remarked, "The day's getting warmer, so the fog should be lifting. But instead it's getting thicker."
The idle statement brought Kakashi to an abrupt halt. Damn! Quickly he looked around. "We've been tricked!"
That immediately put the others on their toes. "Tricked!" Sasuke demanded, "How?"
"This isn't any ordinary fog," replied Kakashi, "It's ninjutsu."
"How do you know that?" asked Sakura, who was reaching for a kunai all the same.
"It was your remark that got me," answered Kakashi, "The mist should be lifting now that the air is getting warmer. But it's getting thicker instead. Only ninjutsu could produce this kind of effect. It's Kirigakure-no-jutsu."
"You mean that technique that Zabuza used?" asked Naruto, looking around frantically.
"Exactly," replied Kakashi, "Only…whoever did this is beyond even Zabuza's level. He used the early morning mists as cover then used the jutsu to gradually increase their density until our vision was completely cut off."
"Great," growled Naruto, as he and his fellow teammates shifted into a guard formation around Genjiro, "What now?" Kakashi took point at the front while Sakura guarded the rear. Naruto situated himself on Genjiro's left while Sasuke took the right flank.
"We wait for our opponents to make their move," Kakashi said, "Running off now would only expose us to greater danger."
All five of them settled in to wait as the mists continued to grow thicker and thicker. Now, Naruto was having difficulty seeing his own companions as the fog washed over them. And yet the mist continued to increase in density. Soon, Naruto couldn't see his hand in front of his face, the fog was so dense. Then he felt it.
The air, though it had been getting warmer earlier, was now starting to get colder. It was a damp kind of cold that seemed to saturate him and cover him slowly. Naruto felt the tips of his fingers starting to get numb, his cheeks too. His ears were starting to get colder as well. He couldn't even feel the tip of his nose anymore. "What's going on?" he asked, trying his best to keep his teeth from chattering.
"Whoever is using this technique is a true master," Kakashi observed, "This is an advanced form of Kirigakure-no-jutsu that I haven't seen in a very long time. The cold slowly begins to shut down your other four senses even as the mist obstructs your vision. As you get colder, the numbness dulls your senses of touch, hearing, smell and taste. This will make it near impossible to do anything to defend ourselves."
"Damn," growled Sasuke, from where he was situated on the opposite side of Genjiro from Naruto, "We need to do something to dispel this mist."
Even as he said it, the three genins felt chakra flare up from Kakashi, stirring the air and pushing back the mist, creating a clear area around the group. However, beyond the clearing Kakashi created, the mist formed into a seemingly impenetrable wall. Naruto growled and reached into one of his pockets. Pulling out the gloves Hinata had given him, Naruto pulled them on his hands as he held his kunai in his mouth. Now that his fingers were a little warmer, he took up the kunai and held it on guard.
A jingling noise sounded from within the mist. Sakura, who was guarding the rear of the formation, yelped in surprise as a chain, tipped with a steel ball, came hurtling out of the mist right at her. Sakura brought up her kunai to block the attack, but the force of the heavy strike knocked the weapon from her grip. She was briefly aware of the undulation traveling down the length of the chain before it wrapped itself around the wrist of the hand that had formerly held her kunai. The unknown person at the other end of the chain gave it a sharp tug before Sakura had a chance to brace herself. The young kunoichi stumbled forward, nearly sprawling face-first into the ground. Even as she was trying to regain her balance, Sakura spotted the man lunging out of the fog.
To her surprise, the attacking ninja brushed past her without so much as a thought as he raised the hand scythe on the other end of the chain, ready to bring it plunging down into Genjiro, who was only now beginning to feel the vulnerability at his back and turning around.
But Naruto was already there. Spinning around, he caught the scythe where the blade met the shaft with the handle of his kunai. For a moment, the two ninjas stalled as they were caught in a stalemate. The black-garbed intruder was the first to disengage. Leaping back a pace, he flicked the hand that held the length of chain attached to the scythe, which unwound the end that was still twined around Sakura's wrist. A second snap sent the ball tipped end of the chain hurtling at Naruto. Instead of using his kunai to parry, Naruto held up his left hand, deflecting the strike with the metal plate sewn into the back of his glove. Before his enemy could do anything else, Naruto grabbed the end of the chain and threw a loop of it over his wrist before pulling it taught. Now he had the enemy at the other end of the weapon trapped, unless the attacking ninja wanted to drop his weapon.
With her hand now free, Sakura dove for her dropped kunai. Sasuke, now seeing that their assailant was being restrained by Naruto, threw a trio of shuriken at the man, spreading the three out so that they would cover all the man's possible escape routes. The assassin had other plans though. There was still slack in the chain between the left hand, where he gripped it and the right, where he held the scythe. A flick of his right wrist sent the lose section of the chain whipping through the air, knocking away all three shuriken.
The ninja charged straight at Naruto, scythe raised to strike. Naruto brought up his kunai and intercepted the blow, though the young man realized that it had been nowhere near as strong as the one he had blocked earlier. He realized what was happening as his opponent leapt into the air over Naruto's head, flipping and spinning twice, the now slack chain forming circles around him. The man landed behind Naruto, nearly splitting Genjiro's skull with the descending strike of his scythe. Their client was saved when Kakashi dragged him out of the way at the last minute.
Naruto spun in place, trying to catch his enemy ate his back. However, he quickly became aware of dark bands falling across his eyes. Naruto realized that the enemy ninja had spun in midair to create loops of chain which would then settle over his opponent's head. Naruto wouldn't have time to suffocate, as the heavy chain would most likely break his neck as it tightened around his throat. Letting go of his end, Naruto ducked under the loops of chain and threw himself back to escape the trap. Sakura, seeing an opening, threw her recovered kunai at the black-clothed ninja, angling her shot so that she didn't risk hitting Kakashi on the other side of her target. The man dodged left, towards the only opening.
Sasuke wasn't about to let him go. Hands whirling through the signs, Sasuke prepared his attack. "Katon: Housenka-no-jutsu!" Bringing a hand up to his mouth, Sasuke spit several small fireballs at the attacker. The enemy defended by spinning the now free end of the chain in rapid circles through the air in front of him. The force of the spin extinguished the flames even as the chain knocked away the shuriken concealed within them.
With a growl of frustration, Sasuke performed another set of seals. "Katon: Goukakyuu-no-jutsu!" A huge ball of flame erupted from his mouth, washing over the man. When the flames receded, they revealed the scorched log that had been left in the attacker's place. Sasuke glared at the substitute, feeling as though it were mocking him. "Damn!" he muttered.
"Where'd he go?" Naruto asked, looking around for their enemy. The jingling noise the chain made sounded again out in the fog. It was accompanied by a soft whistling noise. Sakura spotted something moving through the mists. It was the scythe end of the kusari-gama. The enemy ninja had thrown it out so that it stretched the chain to its limit. Now the scythe was swinging in an extended arc towards the legs of an oblivious Genjiro, threatening to sever his feet at the ankles.
Not bothering to waste her breath warning her extremely clueless teammate, Sakura leapt into the scythe's arc, interposing herself between it and Genjiro. As she did so, the kunoichi reached into her weapon's pouch and retrieved a second kunai. The first kunai she drove into the ground so that the ring on the pommel end caught the tip of the scythe. The second, she stabbed into one of the chain's links and the ground beneath it, firmly anchoring the chain. Trying to catch their opponent off guard, Sakura retrieved a double handful of six shuriken. Quickly she launched them into the mist, using the still taut chain to guide her aim.
The kusari-gama's chain immediately went slack. Sakura realized that the enemy had most likely dropped the weapon to avoid her counter. Acting quickly, Sakura pulled the chain towards her until she now had the entire weapon in her possession.
"Good work, Sakura," complimented Kakashi, "All of you are doing very well." Now that Genjiro was out of immediate danger, Kakashi turned all his attention to using his chakra to keep the mists at bay.
"Damn," commented Naruto, "After all that we couldn't get him to lift the fog."
"That's because the one that attacked us just now is most likely not the one using the jutsu that is obstructing us," commented Kakashi.
"What!" cried Naruto, "You mean that there's more than one enemy Kakashi-sensei?"
"Of course, fool," said Sasuke, before Kakashi could answer.
I don't like this at all, thought Kakashi, That ninja didn't have any emblems or markings that I could identify. I don't recognize him from any of the listings in the bingo-book either. Who could he be?
Kakashi was distracted from his thoughts by the sound of incoming shuriken. A barrage came soaring in from either side, threatening to cut the group to pieces between them. Kakashi threw himself against Genjiro, knocking him to the ground as Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura likewise ducked for cover.
None of them had a chance to recover before a new figure came darting out of the mist with fantastic speed. Without hesitation, he charged Kakashi. Before the Copy-Ninja could find the leverage to counterattack, he was dealt a horrific kick to the chin that sent him flying from the clearing and into the mist that surrounded them. The blurring figure wasted no time in following him.
Without Kakashi to hold them back, the mists once again came rushing in to engulf the group. As the four remaining members, including Genjiro got to their feet; Naruto brought up his own chakra and expelled it to once again push back the fog. There was no sign of Kakashi or the ninja that attacked him. At that point, Sakura saw that the discarded kusari-gama was no longer where she had left it. It was gone. She mentally cursed herself for not keeping track of it while they were dodging the shuriken. The enemy ninja had most likely taken it back while they were distracted.
Abruptly, the silence of the air was interrupted by the sound of metal clashing against metal. Naruto and the others realized that Kakashi was most likely out in the mists doing battle with the other opponent. But as the fog had not yet lifted, none of them dared to move, lest they walk into a trap. The sounds of fighting continued for some time. Naruto was beginning to lose his nerve.
"Damn-it!" he shouted. Naruto brought out as much chakra as he could muster, completely forcing the mists away.
"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed in a scalding tone, "Don't waste your chakra like that!"
"Naruto's right," said Sasuke, pulling out a kunai as the mists parted, "We can't afford to hold anything in reserve now."
Naruto's chakra completely shredded the fog, revealing Kakashi and his opponent. The newcomer parried Kakashi's kunai with his short sword. The two of them were currently locked in a stalemate. They disengaged and charged one-another, meeting in a combination of kunai, sword and taijutsu attacks that were breathtakingly fast. For a moment, the two dueling men were an indistinct blur. However, the stranger landed a punch on Kakashi's face that sent the masked ninja flying away.
Finally, the man seemed to realize that his jutsu had been broken. Spinning away from Kakashi, he turned to face Naruto and the others. Naruto couldn't see the man's face, but he did recognize the dark red scarf, which had been pulled up to cover the man's mouth and nose, as well as the blue bandana over the top of his head. "Saizo?"
The man's hardened expression did not change and he gave no answer as he came charging at them. Naruto cursed loudly before performing his favorite technique. "Kage-bunshin-no-jutsu!" The shadow clones burst into existence, forming a living barrier between Naruto and the oncoming ninja.
The man didn't hesitate as he faced down the wall of Narutos. Instead, he brought his sword around in a reverse handed grip and charged directly into their midst. Spinning about with fantastic speed, the ninja and his sword seemed to be everywhere at once, striking down every double that came into range.
It was all Naruto could do to contain his amazement. He hadn't seen someone fight this well since his bout with Kimimaro, the strange ninja from sound with the bizarre blood-limit that allowed him to use his bones as weapons. This ninja moved with the same unnatural grace and precision, dodging incoming attacks flawlessly while landing every blow of his own.
Naruto's attention was once again diverted as a jingling sound came from behind the group. He cursed again, realizing that while his attention had been on the man whom he was now sure was Saizo from yesterday, he had forgotten about Saizo's companion, the ninja with the kusari-gama.
Naruto used his technique to create a few more clones to fill in for the ones that Saizo had destroyed, if only to keep the man busy for a few more seconds. There was no way that Saizo would be able to pick out the real Naruto from the crowd of clones. And the fact that they were all solid flesh and blood meant that all of them could attack.
When he turned around, Naruto immediately grasped the scope of the problem. The jingling sounds of chains were not being made by the other ninja's kusari-gama, but by the ten different chains that seemed to have burst from within the man's clothing. The ninja's fingers were intwined in an intricate sign, signifying that he was using some form of ninjutsu. The chains whirled about his body, forming a perfect sphere that would serve to protect him from attack and also do serious damage if anyone got to close to the chains themselves. Now the man and his chains were coming at Genjiro like a cannonball.
Sasuke interposed himself between the ninja and his target. Whipping his hands through the necessary signs, Sasuke threw out another blast of fire at the chain ninja. In response, the man's chains seemed to weave themselves into a solid barrier in front of the man. Sasuke came in behind his fire attack. However, the chains once again went into motion.
Sasuke screamed in pain as the rapidly spinning chains thrashed his body. The force of their blows ripped through skin and crushed bones. Without even pausing, the enemy ninja passed him by, continuing on without hesitation as the chains batted Sasuke out of his way.
With a yell, Naruto threw himself at the enemy ninja. Chakra gathered into the palm of his hand, spinning as Naruto prepared his best attack. The enemy ninja's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in recognition. The chains once again formed a barrier in front of the man. However, unlike Sasuke's fireball, Naruto's Rasengan was not so easily deflected. The spinning orb of chakra blasted through the chains. Naruto continued on without losing any momentum. He thrust his hand forward at the oncoming ninja, who was doing nothing to avoid the attack. To Naruto's surprise, the enemy's face did not reflect the dismay he should have felt at seeing his defense being broken so easily.
Naruto didn't understand until spikes of ice erupted up from the snow beneath him, impaling his body in several places. A scream of pain escaped Naruto's mouth as the sharp points went through him. The icy spears brought the young ninja to a halt, holding his body suspended on their shafts.
As his blood ran down the ice that had impaled him, Naruto managed to glance back to see Saizo, his right hand pressed to the ground. He continued to hold the sword with his left hand in a defensive posture, but as far as Naruto could see, there was nothing to defend against. All of his shadow clones were gone, destroyed by the same spikes that had brought an end to Naruto's attack.
Saizo stood and turned his attention to Genjiro. Sakura planted herself between the man and his intended target. However, the other enemy, discarding his now broken chains, approached from her right, his kusari-gama up and ready to attack.
Naruto, Sasuke, thought Sakura, Now what do I do? I'm not strong enough to fight these two by myself.
Sakura gulped and let her eyes fall closed. I need to calm down, she told herself, I can't do any good if I'm just going to panic. I need to make my decision.
Then the answer came to her. Sakura whirled to her right, drawing a kunai and lunging at the chain ninja. Saizo, seeing the opening Sakura had left, drew a group of shuriken from wherever he kept them hidden and threw them at Genjiro. Genjiro stared at the throwing stars as they came at him. There was no way he would be able to avoid them.
A second set of throwing stars came in on a course that was perpendicular to the ones that Saizo had thrown. They intercepted his shuriken perfectly, knocking them to the ground. Saizo spun around to face Kakashi as the masked ninja came charging in, his kunai poised to strike. Saizo counterattacked with his sword. Kakashi did nothing to avoid the attack, and instead impaled himself on Saizo's blade. The assassin's confusion was cut short as the shadow clone burst into smoke and the real Kakashi came in behind him, his kunai going for Saizo's throat.
Saizo gripped Kakashi's wrist with his right hand and fell back. As Saizo's back hit the ground, he kicked up into Kakashi's stomach, sending the Copy-Ninja into the air. Saizo immediately got to his feet and jumped upwards after Kakashi. However, this Kakashi also burst into smoke. It was another shadow clone.
Saizo felt a presence behind him and brought his sword up over his shoulder, intercepting the kunai of what he hoped was the real Kakashi. Using the leverage the block had afforded him, Saizo pushed away from Kakashi and spun around while flipping over upside down. His feet came into contact with an overhanging tree branch and he used chakra to hold himself in place.
On the tree across from him, Kakashi did likewise. The two ninjas faced one another. This fight is much more difficult than I thought it would be, thought Kakashi, And with Naruto and Sasuke in the condition they are in, I can't afford to hold back anymore. I can't let Sakura waste too much chakra fighting either. I guess I have no choice. Gripping his forehead protector with his left hand, Kakashi, pulled it up (or rather down, seeing as he was upside down at the time) to reveal the Sharingan implanted in his left eye. "It's time I got serious," he intoned casually.
What Saizo did next was completely unexpected. Turning his back to Kakashi, Saizo sheathed his sword and dropped to the ground. The turn afforded Kakashi a view of the six circles that were emblazoned on the back of Saizo's shirt. As soon as the enemy ninja touched the ground, he was off, beating a hasty retreat away from Kakashi and his mirror-wheel-eye. Down on the ground, the black garbed ninja, who had been in the midst of a furious exchange with Sakura, did likewise.
The six-mon crest, thought Kakashi, This is worse than I could have imagined.
Sakura was momentarily stunned by the enemy's sudden retreat. However, her sharp mind quickly resolved itself, reminding her of what she needed to be doing. "Are you alright, Genjiro-san?" she asked quickly.
Their client nodded in response. "However, I think your comrades are in dire need of your help," he added quickly.
Sakura immediately remembered. "Sasuke-kun! Naruto!" Sakura quickly looked back and forth between her two friends, wondering who she should treat first. Calm down, she though, Remember your training. Judge who is in the most immediate danger. Get them well enough to travel. They can be given proper treatment once you get to a secure location. Looking her friends over, the decision became obvious. Naruto, still hanging, suspended on the ice spikes that had sprouted out of the ground beneath him, was the one in the most danger. The spears of ice looked as though they might have penetrated his organs. And worse, the contact with ice meant that his internal tissues risked getting frostbite, which would cause severe and permanent damage. Naruto needed treatment immediately.
"Kakashi-sensei!" she shouted up to her instructor, who was still staring after their long-departed foes, "I need your help!" Sakura rushed to Naruto's side. In an instant, Kakashi was beside her.
"What do you need me to do?" he asked, calmly…too calmly in fact.
"Keep Naruto steady, we need to get him off these spikes. But too much trauma could complicate his wounds." As Kakashi, supported Naruto, Sakura carefully broke each of the cold shards holding him suspended. Finally, they were able to lay Naruto out on the ground. Sakura carefully removed the fragments of ice imbedded in him. That done, she performed several seals and her hands began to glow with a soft green light. Touching the closing hands to his wounds, Sakura carefully closed Naruto's punctures one by one. Once that was done, she turned her attention to Sasuke.
Sasuke's condition was much less severe than Naruto's. He had a few lacerations and several broken bones, but they were easier to treat. Straightening his limbs, Sakura used her medical techniques to set his bones and begin their mending.
After she finished, Sakura stood and wiped sweat from her brow. "They should be well enough to move now," she said, "We need to get them back to the inn at the very least so that they can recuperate. Then, once I've evaluated their condition, we may have to send them back to the village." Turning to their client, she said, "I'm sorry, Genjiro-san, but this setback might cost us two or three days at the least."
"That is alright," replied Genjiro.
As far as Kakashi was concerned, this situation was anything but alright. However, he chose to hold his tongue for the time being. Gently, he lifted Naruto's body in his arms. Sakura pulled Sasuke's limp form onto her back. Together, the three remaining members of the party began to backtrack towards the town they had come from.
"For someone Kotaro-san regarded as so formidable, Uzumaki Naruto's performance was considerably substandard," commented the black-clothed ninja.
"Is that so?" observed Saizo, "From what I could see, he fared quite well in the initial stages of the confrontation. He nearly had you a couple of times. He even broke through your Dancing-Chains-no-Jutsu. And then, if I hadn't attacked him from behind, his Rasengan would have flayed you alive, Gihyo-kun."
"I had thought that being the Kyuubi's vessel would make him more dangerous," commented Gihyo.
"It only makes him so when he is given the opportunity to call on the fox's power," explained Saizo, "And unfortunately, we cannot afford to dally just because we would like to see the Kyuubi's power for ourselves. This is an official mission for us. It is our duty to carry it out with the utmost efficiency and expediency."
"As you wish, Saizo-sama," replied Gihyo.
"In any case," Saizo added, "The first phase is done. In the next phase, we will strike the final blow."
It was early in the evening when the three of them, plus Naruto and Sasuke, got back to the town they had left from. They immediately got rooms at the same inn they had departed from just that morning. Once they were settled, Sakura immediately set about tending to Naruto and Sasuke, while Kakashi and Genjiro looked on.
Despite having stopped the bleeding when she had first treated him, the extent of Naruto's injuries was greater than that. Sakura poured her chakra in him, making sure that every possible site of frostbite and infection was cleansed and that damage to his organs was repaired as well. After tending to Naruto, Sakura turned to look after Sasuke. The most she had done was close the cuts he had and set his bones straight. Now, Sakura did her best to deal with ruptured blood vessels and loose fragments of bone that might have been imbedded in other portions of his body. Finally, Sakura sat back from Sasuke, all but completely spent. "They should be alright until morning," she gasped.
"You have done exceptionally well, Sakura," said Kakashi, "Hokage-sama would be proud of your work today."
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," replied Sakura.
"In any case, we should send a messenger to Konoha with a request for reinforcements," said Kakashi.
"B-but..." stammered Sakura, "…We won't know until morning if we'll need help. Depending on how much they've healed, we may be able to wait until Naruto and Sasuke-kun recover and we can be on our way again. It might not take too long."
"That's not the problem," replied Kakashi, "This mission is beyond you three. It is beyond even me." He looked at Sakura, soberly. "We can't afford to take any chances. Not when the Sanada are involved.
Sakura's face went deathly white. "S-s-s-Sanada…" she finally managed to utter.
Kakashi nodded. Of course Sakura would know about the Sanada, he thought wryly, She was at the top of her class, academically.
"Th-that would mean that this is an S-Rank mission," said Sakura with a hefty gulp.
Kakashi nodded again. Genjiro looked between the two. "I don't understand," he said, "Who are the Sanada."
Kakashi sighed as he settled himself into one of the chairs in the room. Sakura set herself on the edge of the bed Sasuke was lying in. Genjiro also took a seat.
Kakashi cleared his throat and began his explanation. "The Sanada clan is an elite clan of ninjas. Unlike the clans in Konoha, the Uchiha and Hyuuga for example, the Sanada clan is not defined by any blood-limit or genetic trait. Instead, it is akin to the great feudal clans which govern many of the provinces and nations throughout the land. However, unlike these clans, the Sanada do not lay claim to any particular territory or province. In fact, their operation closely resembles that of a hidden village, with there being only one major exception."
"And what is that?" Sakura asked.
"The Sanada clan stronghold, their equivalent to our hidden village, truly is hidden.
"No one outside of the clan knows the exact structure and organization of the clan itself. However, it is known that not all of the ninjas that serve the clan, in fact almost all of them, are not related to the Sanada family. They are more like samurai vassals than anything else. In all other matters, they behave almost exactly as Konoha or any of the other hidden villages would. They take missions for clients in exchange for fees, in much the same way that our village functions.
"The Sanada clan is smaller than even the smallest hidden village. Their total number of active Shinobi is likely not more than a couple hundred at best."
"That is low," agreed Sakura.
Kakashi nodded and continued. "However, all of our encounters with Sanada ninjas suggest that their quality and skill far exceeds anything Konoha, or anyone else for that matter, ha been able to produce. The result of this being that any mission where Konoha ninjas find themselves in opposition to Sanada ninjas is automatically classified as an S-Rank mission."
"I know that Sanada ninjas are supposed to be good," commented Sakura, "They're practically the bogeymen of the ninja world. And we were given a short lesson about them in the academy, but barely anything comprehensive. But why is it that any mission involving ninjas from the clan automatically qualifies as an S-Rank."
"In the mission archives back in Konoha," said Kakashi, "There is a section specifically dedicated to missions where Konoha-nins have acted against Sanada. Many of these missions were performed by full ANBU squads facing perhaps one or two Sanada at most. However, all of these missions are failed."
"You mean…" Sakura whispered.
"That is correct," answered Kakashi, "Not a single mission against Sanada ninjas has ever been successful. And not just in Konoha. It isn't advertised, but other ninja villages around the country have had the same experiences with the Sanada clan."
"You specifically allude to Konoha ninjas fighting against Sanada ninjas, Kakashi-san," observed Genjiro, "Does that mean there have been occasions where your village has worked with Sanada ninjas."
"Not many," replied Kakashi, "And usually not due to any request on our part. However, our experiences demonstrate that the Sanada are apparently a 'let bygones be bygones' sort of group. They are apparently not opposed to working with ninjas from other nations, even if they might have fought against those same nins on previous occasions."
"How can they do that?" demanded Sakura.
"In a world where being a ninja is a business," said Kakashi, "The Sanada are consummate professionals. As far as they are concerned, holding grudges over previous altercations hinders more than it helps. And since they seem to always come out on top in any conflict, they rarely have any reason to hold a grudge."
"I don't quite understand," complained Genjiro, "Even if the Sanada are exceptionally skilled, are so formidable that no one has ever been able to defeat them?"
"While the Sanada ninjas are indeed exceptionally skilled, their strength lies in more than their combat prowess," Kakashi explained. "Missions where we find ourselves opposed to them almost always fails. That is mostly because their methods differ very much from ours.
"You noticed in today's attack, their very first move was to go straight for Genjiro. If the shinobi had come from anywhere but the Sanada clan, they would have tried to kill us, your bodyguards before going after you personally. However, from the very first moments of the attack, they continuously tried to strike you. Even when one of their number came after me personally, it was only so that he could draw my attention so that his comrade could again strike at you unhindered. If Sakura and the others hadn't been there, Genjiro-san, they might have succeeded.
"The point I am trying to make is that the Sanada always keep their eyes focused on the objective. They will use any means when trying to accomplish what it is that they have set out to do. There is no telling what they might try next."
"But why is that?" Sakura wanted to know, "Why do they act so differently."
"Well," mused Kakashi, "Besides the fact that it works for them, no one really knows for sure why they do so. However, the predominant theory is that it's in the clan's history."
"History?" Sakura's eyebrows went up.
"The Sanada are older than any other ninja clan in the world. The primary line of the ruling family, the ones who actually bear the name, Sanada, stretches far back into the mists of history. It goes all the way back to a time before ninjas became the predominant military force in the world, back when wars were still fought with vast armies of hundreds of thousands. Back then, ninjas were spies, assassins, and saboteurs. They are much the same today, however, back then, ninjas weren't thought of so highly. In fact, being a ninja was considered dishonorable work. They were considered unworthy because they used what many considered underhanded means to do their work.
"Back then, the Sanada clan specialized in using ninjas to undermine the armies of their enemies. The work of a single Sanada ninja could change the course of a battle even if the Sanada clan's army was hopelessly outnumbered. As a result, the Sanada valued their ninja more than most other clans.
"And so even today, the Sanada ninjas still carry that modus operandi of getting the job done, no matter what means it requires. They also don't like to do anything that's really showy and obvious. As far as they're concerned, the less of them that's seen, the better. In a way, the Sanada are kind of the snobs of the ninja world. They think they're better because all of their skills are more 'refined.'"
"Wow," whispered Sakura, "That explains a lot."
"This sounds rather bad," commented Genjiro.
"Don't worry," replied Kakashi, "These aren't normal circumstances. There's no way you could have known that whoever was after you would hire Sanada. Though this is an S-Class mission, you'll probably only have to pay for an A-Class."
"That's not what I meant," retorted Genjiro, "How can I even begin to be reassured by that? Just minutes ago, you confessed that when it comes to fighting the Sanada clan, your village has never won once. How can I depend on you after what you just said?"
"Well for one thing," replied Kakashi, "The fact that this is an S-Class mission means that you'll get the protection of a full squad of ANBU, rather than a few genin and myself. And also, you don't really have a choice, unless you'd rather try going with no protection at all. Obviously you can't hire Sanada ninjas yourself, seeing as they've just taken a contract on your head."
Genjiro slumped back into his chair dejectedly. "I'm doomed," he muttered to no one in particular.
"In any case," commented Kakashi, "We're safe for the time being. The enemy won't attack until we set out again. The Sanada are sticklers for avoiding collateral damage. They won't try anything like they did on the road in the middle of town. They also don't like letting anyone but their chosen victim see them in action."
"If that's the case," said Genjiro, "Then I might as well get dinner." With a groan, he stood up and left the room.
Kakashi sat back with a sigh. This is really bad, he thought. Looking over, he saw that Sakura's head was slowly beginning to droop. "You should go get some sleep," he said, "You've used up almost all of your chakra. I'll let you know if you're needed for anything."
Genjiro wandered through the streets, his shoulders slumped. He couldn't believe his luck. The people who wanted him dead had hired somebody who was supposedly unstoppable. His own bodyguards had even admitted that they weren't up to the job. I can't close the deal if I'm dead, he thought sadly, Maybe I should hire some strong missing nins.
So caught up in his reverie, Genjiro didn't notice a familiar looking man, wearing a blue bandana and carrying a medicine box come striding down the street towards him. As Genjiro and the medicine peddler passed one another, Genjiro felt a slight prick in his arm. Frowning, he looked down. However, he didn't see any evidence of damage. Deciding that the miniscule pain had just been a figment of his imagination, Genjiro turned into a restaurant he had just found.
Kakashi was calmly leafing through the latest book in his favorite series. Sakura had gone to bed, per his recommendations, a few hours ago. Genjiro hadn't yet come back. He was probably out drowning his sorrows in the nearest bar. Not that I blame the man, thought Kakashi sadly, I don't know if we can really protect him.
Suddenly, there was a frantic pounding at the door. Jumping to his feet, Kakashi put his book away and drew a kunai faster than the eye could see. He was at the door in an instant, whipping it open and holding the knife ready. The door opened to reveal Genjiro. The man was gasping for breath between tremors of what was obviously pure agony. His skin would have been pure white, if it hadn't been covered with tiny pinpoints of red. It took Kakashi a few seconds to realize that the red spots were blood and that the man was bleeding through his skin.
The last of his strength obviously spent, Genjiro slumped to the floor, twitching madly. Kakashi leapt over his prone form and rushed to the door of Sakura's room. He gave the door one loud rap just to be polite before pulling it open. Sakura, dressed in her nightclothes looked at him sleepily from the bed. She blinked a couple of times.
"KAKASHI-SENSEI YOU PERVERT!" she screamed, lurching up from her bed.
Kakashi caught Sakura's upraised fist in his hand, stopping her attack completely. "No time for indignation," he said, "Genjiro-san needs help now!"
Kakashi's remark immediately brought Sakura back to her senses and she rushed out of the room, not bothering to get dressed. There Genjiro was, lying on the floor, mostly unconscious but still twitching. Blood continued to leak out of the pores of his skin.
"Oh my god!" Sakura gasped upon seeing him. Carefully, so as not to touch any of his blood, Sakura turned Genjiro onto his back. She examined him quickly but closely.
"He's been poisoned," she said after a moment. Her hands whirled through a few signs before she brought her palms to hover over the man's chest. They glowed a faint blue for a moment as Sakura tried to determine what poison the man had. If she tried a detoxifying technique without first knowing what poison was in Genjiro's body, she wouldn't be able to calibrate the chakra molding correctly and flush the toxins from his system.
"Bring me a bowl or cup of some kind!" she shouted at Kakashi as she worked. When Kakashi came back with one of the small cups that were kept in the bathroom, Sakura had taken one of Genjiro's hands in her own and was gently cradling it in her lap. Once she took the cup from Kakashi, Sakura put the cup under the tip of Genjiro's middle finger. After she made sure that the hand was settled, Sakura ran through another series of seals. Then, with her hands glowing a soft green, she cupped Genjiro's hand in both of her own and closed her eyes.
Minutes passed. Several minutes became an hour. Sakura was beginning to sweat. Her skin was starting to grow pale. Kakashi continued to watch as the girl concentrated all of her chakra on the hand that she held. Finally, Kakashi saw a tiny drop of clear liquid condensing on the very tip of Genjiro's finger. After a brief while, the drop fell from the finger into the cup.
Sakura's eyes slowly opened. "That's…all of the…" she could barely continue speaking, "…poison…I could…find." With a final gasp, Sakura's body went limp. Kakashi caught the cup before it fell from her lap, threatening to spill the tiny but lethal droplet of liquid contained therein.
She sent her chakra through his circulatory system to track down every molecule of the poison, thought Kakashi wonderingly, She really has come a long way in such a short time.
Then Kakashi realized that something was very wrong. Genjiro wasn't breathing, his heart wasn't beating. When did it stop? Kakashi wondered. Setting the cup where it wouldn't get knocked over. Closer examination told him everything he needed to know. We were too late. He's already dead.
Kakashi turned to look at Sakura forlornly. She would be crushed, he realized. If she had only had more chakra left after treating the boys, he mused. Then it struck him. That was their idea all along! Kakashi couldn't believe it. That fierce and desperate fight on the road had been nothing more than an elaborately conducted feint. Both the ninja Naruto had called Saizo and the other man had disappeared only after they had severely injured both Sasuke and Naruto. They had done so to force Sakura to use up most of her chakra treating the boys. The resulting fatigue from the expenditure and the lack of chakra itself had slowed down her detoxification too much.
No wonder the Sanada never lose, he marveled, Not even Nara Shikamaru could conceive a plan this brilliant.
December 6th:
"It took another day before the boys were well enough that we could move them any further," explained Kakashi, "And even when they were, they were still unconscious, so we had to carry them which slowed us down even further, not to mention that Sakura was still worn out from using so much chakra, which meant we had to slow down even more. After dropping the guys off at the hospital, I made sure that Sakura went home before coming to report to you, Hokage-sama."
Tsunade rubbed her temples, groaning. "I can't believe this," she moaned, "Yet another mission lost to the Sanada."
"Their plan was brilliant," interjected Kakashi, "First they attacked us and made sure they caused enough severe injuries to force Sakura to use up most of her chakra tending to their wounds, insuring that she was too spent to help Genjiro-san when they poisoned him."
Tsunade sighed and nodded. "You had better talk to your apprentice," Kakashi said, "She was crushed that she couldn't save him."
Tsunade nodded. "It seems odd though," she said, "Naruto should have recovered already. Even when he was badly injured, it only takes him a night's rest to get over it usually."
"Now that you mention it," muttered Kakashi, "It is strange. The presence of the Kyuubi inside of Naruto accelerates his metabolism, which means he should have fully healed up by now." Is something going on with the seal? he wondered.
"Come to think of it," added Tsunade, "It took unusually long for him to get over that hypothermia and cold combo he had a few weeks back."
The two of them shared a concerned glance. "That really is odd," they both said at once.
Hinata perched on the edge of the chair by Naruto's bed. She tentatively cupped one of his hands between both of hers as she stared at him with her pearly white eyes. Naruto's breathing was soft and even. Hinata felt her cheeks heat up as she looked at him. He looked so peaceful, so tranquil. In a way, seeing him like this made Hinata see him as even more handsome. But nonetheless, Naruto-kun…Please wake up soon.
Author's Notes: If you have managed to stay with me this far, you are to be applauded. This is the longest first chapter I've ever written. In any case, I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. I intend to use the section at the end here to keep you up to date with the list of "borrowed" characters and the correlation between the roles in the works they originally came from and the roles they play in this story.
I guess I should start by explaining why I don't think of this story as a crossover per se. If you don't want to know or don't care, skip this part. My definition of crossover is any work of fiction which actively combines not just characters, but the full plotlines of the constituent stories in such a way that the canons of the respective storylines are made to coexist with one another. In many cases, the plot convention used is the classic dimension crossover where the plot lines and settings of the respective stories used in the crossover are set as different universes that are made to interact with one another via some dimension spanning warp of some form or another. You've probably seen these stories by the handful on I could use other examples, but that would take up too much space, so I'll get on with this.
The Sanada clan: Oh, I'm going to have so much fun with these characters. The reason the clan as a whole is featured here is because as a faction it plays almost as important a role in the fiction as the characters that hail from it. My version (sort of) of the clan is drawn from Samurai Deeper Kyo; where the Sanada are introduced via Sanada Yukimura and his family and servants. Of course, the Sanada is an actual clan from Japan's feudal era. However, by putting the clan into the context of Naruto's world, I get a lot more leeway in tweaking both the clan's role in the world and the way others perceive it. This way I don't have to worry about historical accuracy.
Saizo: The first of my truly "borrowed" characters. For those of you not in the know, Saizo's full name is Kirigakure (sound familiar?) Saizo. Saizo is a member of the Sanada Ju-Yushi, the ten ninjas who served under Sanada Yukimura during his fight against the Tokugawa. His design and personality come from Samurai Deeper Kyo. We don't get a full experience of Saizo's character and abilities in this chapter and we won't be seeing him again for a while. Saizo's primary role in this chapter is to introduce the readers to the Sanada clan.
Genjiro: Okay, so this guy isn't really borrowed. He isn't even all that important. His sole role is to be the guy who introduces Naruto & co. to the Sanada clan via their confrontation with Saizo and Gihyo. Why am I even bothering to talk about him? The character might be borrowed, but the name certainly isn't. If you check in volume 3 of the Samurai Deeper Kyo manga, Genjiro is the assumed name that Yukimura is using when he first comes face to face with Kyo. Just a fun little fact.
Gihyo: Another character whose name is borrowed. In the story, Gihyo is just serving as Saizo's lackey (of sorts) in the mission to kill Genjiro. The name Gihyo also comes from SDK. It's the name of the spearman who serves under Oda Nobunaga as one of the Juunishinsho (sp?). In any case, I don't have any future plans for the guy. He's kind of there just because I needed a filler character so that I don't have to introduce the more central characters in the storyline so soon. As for the name of his technique, I'll find the Japanese equivalent some time or other.
By the way, if anyone knows a useful English/Japanese web translator that doesn't use only Japanese characters (in other words, it spells out Japanese words) I would greatly appreciate it if you let me know where I can find one. It's long past due.
On another note, I'll resolve the question of pairing (seeing as that seems to be the thing everyone looks for first thing). Most of you have already guessed that this is a NaruHina fic and you are right. Those of you who guessed SasuSaku are also correct. As for any other pairings, they aren't yet set in stone. I just want to get that into the air so that readers don't get too fixated on the subject. Romance has never been the primary element in my stories (mostly because my personal experience in the subject area is too shaky for me to write a totally believable romance). Just thought I'd let you know. And I'll leave off with that today. Keep your eyes peeled for the second chapter in this epic saga some time in the near (or distant) future. So long.