Naruto: Blood of the Kitsune

By: Takenouchi Ryu

Author's Notes: Finally, the start of chapter five! I hope you all continue to enjoy my fic.

Chapter 5

"WWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Caleb and Kitsube woke up to the sound of Hinata and Naruto's combined scream of surprise. The kyuubi grinned devilishly at Caleb, "See? I told you it would be worth it!" At this the elder Uzumaki only shook his head and got out of bed and started getting dressed. The two ran down the hall to the young Chuunins' bedroom. Upon reaching said room Kitsube dropped to the floor, holding her sides and rolling around in laughter; Caleb himself could not help but chuckle at the sight. There was a very embarrassed Naruto wearing nothing but his boxers in one corner of the room and a beet red Hinata holding a blanket up to herself to cover up the fact that she was only in her panties and chest wrappings.

"What the hell happened last night!?" a very confused Naruto roared, looking at his uncle with suspicion.

"We figured...hahahah...that since...hahahaha!....you and Hinata had spent the past few years together you wouldn't mind sharing a room kit" the kyuubi answered while laughing.

"You damn fox! I'll get you for this!" Naruto yelled and chased after Kitsube with murder in his eyes.

For the next half hour or so the sounds of pursuit could be heard even outside the Uzumaki clan manor as Naruto attempted unsuccessfully to catch Kitsube and make her pay for her prank. It eventually ended in the four of them sitting down at the kitchen table eating breakfast and planning their day.

"Naruto, Kitsu-chan and I have to go see the Godaime today, most likely because your village council wants to know whether or not we can be controlled. Be forewarned that we might need to call you and Hinata in to help with that situation. After that I was thinking we could go get some supplies we'll need as long as we don't have a mission coming up."

"Sounds good to me Caleb, I wonder what rank they'll give you since you're at least on par with a Jonin if not stronger."

"I don't think Tsunade-sama will just give them Jonin rank Naru-kun, at least not right away. I suspect they'll be made Chuunin like us." Hinata replied.

"That is true Hinata-chan, Caleb and myself will petition the Godaime to be placed on your team as well. That way you two can continue your training and give us plenty of time to catch up. I can't wait to see the looks on the council's faces when they hear about me!" Kyuubi giggled.

After breakfast Caleb and Kitsube made their way to the Hokage Tower and reported in. The two were brought up to the waiting room and told to stay put until called for by Tsunade. Monk and kitsune waited approximately half an hour before being summoned into the room. Upon entering it they stood before the Godaime's desk as she looked over some papers.

"So you are Naruto's uncle eh?" Tsunade started.

"Yes, I am. I have come here to finish Naruto-kun's training and help him prepare for whatever may lay ahead as well as finish up the work my brother Arashi started when he first came here."

"I see. I can't help but notice that you are accompanied by a young female and the reports said you came here alone though..." Tsunade let the question hang in the air.

"Ah yes, Kitsu-chan here. Let's just say she was causing Naruto a lot of grief so I took it upon myself to correct the situation." was Caleb's cryptic reply.

"Causing Naruto grief? How so?"

"Well you see, when Arashi left he hadn't quite mastered our clan's sealing technique for sealing the souls of kitsune into members of our clan, ergo the seal he placed on Naruto wasn't perfect and was in fact deteriorating."

With that Tsunade jumped up ready to fight, "You mean to tell me you've released the Kyuubi!"

Caleb stepped protectively in front of his mate, "Not quite entirely, Kitsu-chan is still bound to me as she was with Naruto; however, the true seal allows her access to the outside world and her own body."

"That demon tried to destroy Konoha!"

"Actually, I only wanted your council dead for not having the proper manners to apologize when they desecrated my den. It's not my fault you idiots launched your entire army at me en masse and tried to kill me. What else was I supposed to do? Let you just kill me? Of course I defended myself!" Kitsube retorted in a sweet manner.

Tsunade paused for a moment and slowly relaxed ever so slightly, "What do you mean the council never apologized?"

"I was in my den, just finished mind you, when some dumb-ass wearing a Konoha head band came in muttering something about roots or some shit like that and saw me. He immediately tried to capture me and in the process made my cozy little den completely uninhabitable. So I killed him, and sent him back to you all with a note explaining perfectly clearly what had happened and that I felt I should receive an apology."

"Hmmm....that's odd. The council never got such a message. You're sure this shinobi was saying root?"

"Yes, quite clearly I might add."

That was the frosting on the proverbial cake for Tsunade; she knew just who caused the attack to take place and quickly became extremely pissed off, "Daaaaannnnnzzzzzzzzooooouuuuuu!!!!!! I'll kill you you power-hungry bastard!"

Meanwhile a few miles away the leader of ROOT looked up as the hairs on his neck tingled with ominous doom. Shrugging it off to being the paranoid idiot he was, Danzou just went back to reading his copy of the latest Icha Icha book.

After fuming for a good fifteen minutes the Godaime finally calmed down enough to speak again, "In that case, I know its late, but on behalf of Konohagakure I apologize for what that idiot did."

"Accepted but with one condition: you tell me who this Danzou is and where I can find him. I have a bone to pick with the bastard." Kitsube replied while smiling a bit sadistically.

"Danzou is a bit of a rebel you might say," started Tsunade's response, "He has his own private group of fanatically loyal subordinates that agree with his ideas of how Konoha should be lead. He's been a thorn in the side of every Hokage since Arashi. As far as where he is I'm not sure. He keeps moving around, making it harder to keep track of just where he lives."

"Very well," Caleb interjected, "we'll accept that answer for now. Back to the business at hand though, what do you plan to do with us?"

"Well, you have come here to Konoha, finished purchasing your late brother's house, and have a nephew in our ranks. We can't just let you go freelance and let other villages know about Naruto's clan based abilities now can we? The only option I have is to make you a Konoha shinobi as well. The only problem is rank. I can't just make you Jonin even though both of you are obviously much stronger, and it wouldn't be fair to have you start off as Genin either. I can give you two options: Chuunin, or Special Jonin. The differences being that a Special Jonin doesn't always go out on missions, they spend most of their time teaching other shinobi."

"Chuunin definitely, I refuse to be stuck teaching a bunch of morons." Kitsube replied immediately.

"Me too Godaime-sama. I would much rather be on Naruto's team so I can keep an eye on him just in case these Akatsuki characters I keep hearing about decide to show up."

"Very well, I'll have Shizune do the paperwork. The four of you are to report to my office tomorrow morning to receive your first mission."

"Hai Godaime-sama, arigato."

With that Caleb and Kitsube left the office in a swirl of flame and headed off to find Naruto and Hinata. Tsunade plopped down into her seat and uncorked the nearest bottle of sake only to find it empty. "Shizune! I need more sake!" The Hokage's assistant only popped her head in to nod and then left, knowing that her master was having a very bad week.

Caleb and Kitsube walked through the streets of Konoha wearing their new headbands and Chuunin vests looking for Naruto and Hinata. They found the two soon after in an open air farmer's market. Hinata and Naruto currently perusing the stands for fresh vegetables and fruits.

"Yo Naruto, you better hurry with that; we have to go supply shopping soon."

The blond Chuunin turned around and saw his uncle standing there, "So I take it your meeting with Tsunade-baachan went well?"

"You could say that kit. We have our first mission tomorrow, so we need to get ready."

"Good luck on your first mission Kitsube-san." Hinata replied.

"You mean you hope we all have good luck tomorrow Hinata. The four of us are now one team." Caleb said.

"So everything went according to your plans then Caleb-san?" Naruto queried.

"Yes. Now then we need to get a lot of scrolls, kunai, shurikens, smoke bombs, and this list of ingredients." Caleb answered handing Naruto a list of various botanical compounds.

Naruto scanned the list and then looked up at his uncle with a quirked eyebrow. The list itself was very unusual in deed. Upon seeing his nephew's reaction Caleb simply nodded his head. After this the four of them split up the responsibilities and set off to their respective shops. Right before splitting the four agreed to meet back at the manor two hours from their present time.

Exactly two hours later Naruto, Hinata, Caleb, and Kitsube met back up at their home's front gate. Each one holding one or more large bags filled with the necessary equipment. They went in and Caleb led them into a large room he had converted into a workshop. One corner had been turned into a miniature blacksmith's shop, perfect for making weapons at home. Another section had a long, smooth worktable with ink bottles and brushes lined up neatly for making sealing scrolls. The opposite wall housed what looked like an apothecary's dream shop: mortar and pestle of the finest stone, a stove with precise temperature controls, storage racks for fresh, dried, and pureed compounds, and all the proper tools for home compounding of the pharmaceutical grade. Hinata and Naruto stood there with wide eyes and their jaws hanging down to the floor at the chamber before them.

"Pick your jaws up off the floor, we have a lot of work to do before we can get any sleep." Caleb said; he then pointed at the table with ink and brushes, "Kitsu-chan, take Hinata and get those sealing scrolls ready; standard kunai scrolls. Naruto, you're with me, I'm going to show you how to make the Uzumaki clan's special soldier pills; they're designed just for us."

Hinata and Kitsube got started on the scrolls, laying them out one at a time. Kitsube showed Hinata the exact seals needed to make them work, doing the first three with painstaking care and precision. She then helped Hinata with her first few, making sure Hinata was not making any mistakes. Afterwards, the two each worked on a scroll by themselves, slowly but surely preparing every single blank scroll they had bought earlier that day.

Meanwhile Caleb was instructing Naruto in the art of compounding. He started by showing Naruto exactly which ingredients were needed and how much would be used per batch by weight. Once that was completed the two started grinding the herbs with the mortar and pestles and then poured the contents into a pot on the built in stove, setting a precise temperature of 433 degrees. The concoction boiled for fifteen minutes and then was immediately removed from heat before being poured slowly into a pre-set mold that would shape the pills as they cooled. Each batch yielded a dozen soldier pills that would help the body naturally rebuild the shinobi's chakra reserves. This being far superior to the average soldier pills used by other Konoha ninja that only artificially boosted their chakra for a limited time.

Once these initial steps were completed the two groups reconverged at a central table in the middle of the room. Kitsube laid out one of the scrolls on the table and then Caleb carefully piled up a stack of fifty kunai. Once that was done Caleb focused some chakra into the scroll and the seals went to work, the scroll effectively absorbing the kunai and glowing faintly once finished. Kitsube worked quickly, carefully rolling the scroll around a wooden rod and taping it shut with a piece of red tape. This went on until there were about sixty such scrolls each for kunai and shuriken.

Caleb and Kitsube then went back to the apothecary's table and set up several first aid kits which were summarily put into their own sealing scrolls, these ones differentiated by the sky blue tape used to keep them closed. After this was finished the four of them worked together to put the scrolls in four sets of bandoleers that would go around the the chest. The four then went into the living room area and laid all their gear out for the next day.

Naruto had a bandoleer holding nothing but kunai scrolls as well as his normal kunai pouch along with a pouch holding several soldier pills. Caleb had a similar set-up as Naruto where as Kitsube's bandoleer consisted almost entirely of first aid scrolls with a few shuriken scrolls added for good measure. Hinata's gear consisted of a belt that held a few kunai scrolls and soldier pills in addition to her normal kunai pouch. After this was finished the four gathered around the dining room table for tea and to discuss strategy.

"My first question is who do you think will be made squad captain?" Hinata mused between sips of green tea.

"There's no telling really. Kitsu-chan and myself have only just come to Konoha while you and Naruto are veteran shinobi." Caleb answered.

"Yes, but you two are obviously stronger and have more experience than either of us." came Naruto's counter.

"Ah kit, but you forget, with Konoha those who have been members of the village longest get the most trust, so it'll most likely be yourself or Hinata." Kitsube replied.

"True enough Kitsube-san. At least from the gear we have we can pretty much figure out our roles on the mission. You will be our main medical specialist. Caleb-san and myself will be the primary combatants with you Hina-chan providing support and back-up."

"Hai Naru-kun, with my Byakugan I'll be best suited giving you a heads up when our enemies try to surprise us."

"Naruto you and I are best suited for the front lines with our bloodlines. The enemy won't be able to cope with our combined power. Kitsu-chan will be with us as well even though her primary position will be as healer. Her immense chakra reserves as a kitsune will enable her to quickly heal any injuries the opposition somehow manages to inflict on us."

The group stayed up late into the night planning and preparing themselves for the next day. They finally trudged off to bed to catch a few hours sleep in the wee hours of the morning. Dawn came all to early for the four of them, but t hey forced themselves to get up and get ready. They had a quick and simple breakfast before donning their gear and making their way to the Hokage tower to receive their mission assignment.

The early morning sun was warm and energizing, with not a cloud in the sky as they walked through the emptiness of the early morning streets. Few people were up and about at this time of day, lending the four some peace and quiet as they mentally prepared themselves for their mission. Knowing their combined power each expected to be given at least a B level mission if not an A. Soon enough they reached the tower and went inside.

"Ah, you're here on time." Tsunade started, "The mission I have for you will prove adequate for evaluating your skills individually and as a team I hope."

"What's our mission Tsunade-baachan?"

"There have been reports of a band of thieves led by a missing nin from Suna. By all accounts they are ruthless maniacs who take great pleasure in torturing their victims to death before making off with anything valuable that they can find. Needless to say we must stop them at all costs. They are terrorizing the villages around us with no end in sight. Your mission is to eliminate this threat once and for all. Naruto, you will be the team leader of this assignment."

"Rest assured Hokage-sama we will stop these miscreants." Kitsube answered.

"Very well, you have your orders. Ninja....Scramble!"

With that the four disappeared in a swirl of leaves or fire, reappearing at the main gate. They double-checked their gear before nodding to one another and leaving Konoha. Naruto, Hinata, Caleb, and Kitsube headed off in an easterly direction, towards the last known sighting of the bandits. Their first order of business would be to gather what information they could and then develop a battle plan to deal with the threat. After that a simple return trip to Konoha to make their report. Each was sure the mission would be simple enough, or so they hoped.

Author's Notes: Well everybody that concludes the latest chapter of my fanfic! Next time the mission commences and we'll see just what is in store for Naruto and company. As always please read and review. If you wish to make any comments to me directly email me at and make sure you include the name of my story in the subject line so I don't mistake your email for more spam. Ja ne!