I do not own Naruto nor God of War, and neither does Glock3bb.

XXX

"Are we there yet?" Naruto moaned as he trudged along the earthen road.

"No." A chorus of voices answered him.

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we-*smack* oww."

"Thank you, Sakura."

"You're welcome, Kakashi-sensei." The group continued on while Naruto cradled his injured cranium. They had been traveling for five days now, and the monotony of it was starting to take its toll. The shinobi were forced to proceed at a much slower pace than normal in order to accommodate the sluggish speed of their client's carriage.

The carriage itself was a fairly elegant piece. It seated up to four people in the cab plus an additional two in the driver's seat. Large, ornate wheels carried the passengers along in relative ease despite the roughness of the road. A pair of beefy oxen was out front, pulling the beautifully decorated carriage along its way. All in all, it was a vehicle designed far more for luxury than swiftness.

"Do not worry, Naruto. It should not be long now." Akihiro said cheerfully from within the carriage.

"I know; I'm just ready for some action already." Naruto sighed, swinging his sword about in a slow pattern. The middle-aged merchant could help but laugh at the boy's antics.

"So much like your father. The first to a fight and the last one leave, eh?" He boomed while holding his ample stomach. Naruto stopped what he was doing and looked at the man.

"You know my Dad?"

"Of course, I've had the pleasure of hiring both your father and your mother on multiple occasions." He laughed again. "I actually tried to request either of them first for this mission, but apparently, they were reluctant to do so, having just acquired new genin teams of their own. I guess I'll have to make do with their son, the last of the Uchiha, and the great copy ninja himself." Akihiro continued to guffaw.

Naruto could only quirk an eyebrow at his team's client. Something told him that was only part of the reason his parents had turned down the job. He did not seem to be the only one thinking that, for Sasuke had sent a brief glare at the two from the other side of the carriage. Strangely though, it did not seem solely focused on Mr. Fukui. The balding gentleman wiped a tear from his eye.

"In any case, it matters little. You four will not have to lift single finger if there is any luck to be had."

"What do you mean? I thought we were supposed to help protect your property from bandits."

"I mean what I said. My own men will hopefully be able to put a stop to the attacks once and for all before another one is launched." The blond scratched his head in confusion.

"But why not just hire some shinobi to do all of that for you?" Akihiro's face turned somber at that point.

"Naruto, do you see those men?" He questioned, gesturing to the front of the carriage. There, five soldiers were walking, fanned out in a semicircle ahead of the carriage. Each of them wore simple armor and carried a long spear rested against their right shoulder. They had been accompanying the group on their travel before Team Seven had even left the village. Naruto had wondered who exactly they were but never bothered to ask because it was not that important to him.

"Every one of them is a member of my personal guard. It is their duty to protect myself, my family, and my estate with their lives. As such, the fact that this recent batch of rapscallions has managed to prove so troublesome is a blow to their entire company's honor. Hiring a team of ninja to do it for them would only prove to pour salt on that open wound. It would send a message that I am no longer confident in their abilities and find them incapable of doing the job I hired them for. In addition, it would say to those who live in the area around me that my forces are weak and that my lands may be ripe for the taking."

"Doesn't hiring us do all of that any way?" Mr. Fukui shook his head.

"Not quite. Because it will take a large portion of their numbers to put these brigands down for good, the defenses at my home will be stretched thin. Hiring your team says that I recognize my men are only human and would never ask them to do the impossible. They may not like shinobi taking care of their problems for them, but they do not mind having them around to watch their backs."

Naruto clasped his hands behind his neck and frowned as he listened to Akihiro. A lot of what he had said made sense, but all of the double meanings and hidden messages left a bad taste in his mouth. It was simply the kind of person he was. He did not like to beat around the bush and just said whatever was on mind, with little regard to what others thought.

The Uzumaki was not given much more time to think about the topic, for when the party crested a small hill, they were finally able to set eyes upon the Fukui villa and the bloody fight commencing in front of its main gate.

"Oh dear." Akihiro whispered quietly. The sound of a book snapping shut suddenly caught everyone's attention.

"Well, it looks like it's time for us to get to work." Kakashi said, placing his copy of Icha Icha back into his satchel. The five members of the merchant's guard were already forming up into a defensive stance around the carriage.

"Sasuke, Sakura, stay with Mr. Fukui and find a way to get him into the manor safely. I'm sure there is a side entrance meant for just this sort of event, correct?" The leader of the guardsmen gave Kakashi a crisp salute.

"Yes, sir. They will be safe with us."

"Naruto, you're with me. We'll see if we can't give those other guards a bit of a helping hand." Naruto grinned maliciously and began to limber up his limbs.

XXX

"Stand your ground, men! Don't let a single one of these bastards through." A sergeant yelled to his troops as they fought tooth and nail with the attacking group of renegades. Currently, they had the advantage, being able to put their backs to the stone wall that surrounded their master's property and fend of the enemy with their spears, but it would not last forever. They needed reinforcements fast, otherwise they would become too exhausted to defend.

"Earth Style: Earth wall jutsu." Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and a giant wall of dirt rose up, forming a barrier between the two forces. Any bandit that had been unlucky enough to be standing on top of that area was thrown high into the air. Their comrades stopped what they were doing and watched as they went plummeting back down to Earth. With their attention drawn skyward, they did not notice the orange clad boy appear at the right flank.

Naruto ran straight at the first person he saw, his xiphos at the ready. He lunged forward and buried the blade deep into the man's back. The cold steel pierced straight through his beating heart, and he slumped to the ground, dead.

The blond genin yanked his sword out of the corpse and stumbled back slightly. That had been the first time he had ever taken a life. His body froze as his mind tried to comprehend what had happened. The brigands that were nearby finally noticed him and moved to attack, but luckily for Naruto, his training kicked in instinctively.

He blocked the first strike with ease then kicked the offender hard in the shin. The man yelped in pain, allowing Naruto to move in closer and slash him diagonally across the chest. He could feel every bump as his weapon dug deep into flesh, gliding effortlessly over the man's rib cage.

Rolling to the side, Naruto dodged a rusty sword aiming for his spiky haired head. He got back onto his feet and saw another bandit trying to smash him into the ground with an overhead swing of his mace. He paid dearly for leaving his stomach completely unprotected when Naruto rapidly stabbed him multiple times in the intestines.

He tore his blade free and spun around to find another opponent. One unfortunate soul happened to be standing to close to the child, so Naruto swung his sword low with all his might. The man howled in agony as Naruto actually managed to slice all the way through his knee, cleanly severing the limb. His cries were swiftly ended by a xiphos to the trachea.

"Retreat!" A panicked call sounded out, and the bandits quickly began to scatter into the surrounding woods. Naruto was almost bowled over in the frantic stampede that followed.

"Cowards! Get back here and fight!" He yelled at their shrinking backs as they ran away as fast as they could. He was about to give chase when his brain finally registered everything that had happened in the past minutes. Naruto collapsed to his knees, his body shivering uncontrollably.

He knew that being a ninja meant he would eventually have to kill someone, and a good portion of his time at the Academy had been set aside to help prepare his class for this exact moment. In his mind, Naruto tried to dehumanize the people he had killed just like he had been taught to do, but it did little to help.

No one had ever told him how easy it would be. None of the teachers explained how simple the actual act would be. One flick of his sword and someone else's life was gone, forever.

A comforting hand was placed on Naruto's shoulder. He looked up into the knowing eye of his sensei and tried to speak, but any word died in his throat. The blond idly noticed the blood of others splattered across his sensei's clothes.

He did not know how long they remained in that position. In silence, Kakashi helped him get back onto his feet and guided him through the metal gates to the large house that lied within.

XXX

Naruto sat quietly on a bed in one of the small rooms Mr. Fukui had provided for his team during their stay. His legs were pulled up close to his chest with his arms wrapped tightly around them.

Nearby were Sasuke and Sakura, both of them sharing the shell-shocked look in his own eyes. Apparently, there had been a small contingency of bandits lying in wait for anyone that tried to get through the back entrance while the main attack was going on. None of the guards that went with them made it.

Naruto shuddered and tried to curl into an even tighter ball. He could not think about anything except for the cold, lifeless stare of the men he had killed. Never again would they light up with joy or smolder with anger. They would never again be wetted by tears of sadness. They would remain empty for the rest of time, devoid of every emotion, and it had taken him less than three minutes to make it so.

He wanted his parents. He wanted to feel the warm, comforting embrace of his mother as she whispered quietly in his ear that everything would be alright. He wanted to feel the unwavering strength that filled his body whenever he stood by his father's side. He wanted them to make things better like they always did.

"Alright, I need you three to listen up." Leaning against the wall by the door, Kakashi-sensei broke the silence that had been permeating the tiny bedroom. The copy ninja looked at each of his student to make sure they were paying attention before continuing on. "I know what you're going through. I would like to tell you that it gets easier over time, but I'd be lying. You are shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Killing is a part of what we do."

"This time you were lucky. The men you killed were thieves and murderers that the world is better off without, but that won't always be the case. Mothers, sons, sisters, friends, it does not matter. There will come a time when you will be forced to kill them. It's not right or fair, but that is the kind of world we live in. You must be prepared to live with that fact for the rest of your life."

"How do we do that?" Sakura asked shakily in a voice barely above a whisper. Naruto glanced over at the female member of his team. Her head was down, looking at the hands folded neatly in her lap. Liquid was welling up in her eyes. Sasuke appeared to be doing the best out of all three of them, but it was hard for Naruto to tell. His stoic visage did not let a single hint of what he was truly feeling escape the inner workings of his mind.

Kakashi closed his one visible eye exhaled slowly through his nose.

"I can't tell you because I don't know. The answer is different for every person. Some spend their entire lives never discovering it. However, I can give one piece of advice."

"Focus on what you are feeling right now. Killing may be a duty all shinobi must be prepared to carry out, but that is all it should ever be. The fact that you three feel this way proves that you are still human, and that's okay. The death of another person should never make you feel good. The moment it does, you will be no better than the men you killed today." The Hatake stood up straight and opened the bedroom door.

"Get some rest. Tomorrow, our mission will begin in full."

XXX

"Mr. Hatake." As Kakashi quietly closed the door behind him, a low tenor voice addressed him from a short ways down the hall. He turned and saw a man clad in samurai armor approaching.

While the scaled plates themselves were a dark, forest green, the straps were light brown and the robes underneath jet black. A katana and wakizashi were strapped securely to his waist, the larger sword curiously on his right side. His hair was pulled back into a short ponytail that just barely reached the base of his neck and was a slightly darker shade of his armor. His eyes were a bright turquoise, and he could see them examining him in turn.

There was not a single wasted movement in his gait as he marched up to the Konoha shinobi, an air of authority surrounding him. This fact made it even more surprising when he bowed low and introduced himself.

"Good evening. I am Mamosuke Oshiro, captain of Master Akahiro's guard. I am about to go and make my report to him about today's attack. I believe there are a few things you will be interested in." Kakashi nodded.

"Lead the way." He said, taking a step to the side to allow Mamosuke to pass. The jounin fell in behind him as the two began their journey through the manor. In no time at all, they came to an lavish door near the front entrance. The captain knocked sharply three times then waited.

"Come in," came the weary answer. Inside, Mr. Fukui stood in front of a large window, his forehead pressed against the cool glass. The room itself was a personal study, the wall packed with books and scrolls. The Hatake noticed that many of them were various business documents that had accumulated over the years. Mamosuke strode forward and came to a halt in front of the sole pieces of furniture that inhabited the room, an cushy chair and elaborate desk littered with paper. In contrast, Kakashi stayed behind, taking up a place in one of the darker corners.

"Captain Mamosuke Oshiro, here to make my report." Akihiro shook his head slightly.

"Mamo, how many times do I have to tell you not to be so formal." Oshiro did not respond, preferring to simply remain at attention . The merchant sighed. "Proceed."

"We have recovered all of the bodies left from the battle. Preliminary reports put the number of casualties at eighteen of our own men and sixty-three for the attackers. This, of course, does not include any that may have died afterwords from the wounds they sustained. There was no major structural damage to the walls or gates."

"Good. Give the men my gratitude and inform them that the funeral service will be held three days from now." Mamosuke ignored the dismissal.

"There is more, my master. A few of the bandits were still alive when we collected them." His eyes narrowed, his voice turning grave. "One of them was Goro Kobayashi."

Akihiro's face paled at the name. He turned and stumbled to his chair, sinking down into it. His body fell forward, his elbows supporting him as his hands clenched his hair.

"Are you sure?" Oshiro nodded.

"He died an hour ago from a deep laceration across his chest, but before he did, we were able to persuade him to give us every bit of information he had." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Tenzen is supplying these bandits with both weapons and man power. His Stalkers are the ones who organized and command them."

Having listened intently to the exchange, Kakashi decided enter it himself.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I seem to be at a disadvantage. Who are Goro and Tenzen?"

"Tenzen Daikoku, politician and former aid of the Water Daimyo." Mamosuke answered. "When he retired, the Daimyo gave to him a vast amount of land as a gift for his years of faithful service. Since then, he has used his accumulated wealth and influence to garner a massive criminal empire and amass even more of this peninsula under his control."

"Now he's using that power to fund a pseudo-war in an attempt to take your land by force, most likely because Mr. Fukui refused an offer to sell it." Kakashi finished for him. The captain nodded.

"The Stalkers are the top men of his organization. Not much is known about them other than they keep mostly to themselves. They carry out Daikoku's will behind the scenes, rarely ever getting involved personally."

"So, who is Goro?"

"He was member of Tenzen's syndicate in the area, important enough to know a few facts but low enough to not be considered valuable. It was he who first brought us Daikoku's offer to purchase this land."

The room fell silent as the men became caught up in their own musings. Minutes passed like seconds until Oshiro eventually broke the hush.

"Mr. Hatake, would you and your team," Kakashi held up his hand to stop the man before he could finish.

"I know what you're going to ask, but I'm afraid that's slightly above my team's pay grade at the moment. I could do it myself, but it would take time and preparation. Plus, that would leave no one to look after my student's in the meantime. Your best bet would be to hire another team from Konoha specifically tailored for such a mission."

"That is not an option. My master's funds are already stretched thin; he cannot afford to pay the price your village would require for infiltration and assassination." Those final three words were enough to rouse Mr. Fukui from his daze. His eyes bounced erratically between the two warriors as they continued their conversation.

"Now see here." Mr. Fukui finally managed to stammer out, standing up from his seat. "What's all this talk about infiltration and," He halted for a moment to try and swallow the lump in his throat. "Assassination. I suggest we all just settle down and take a deep breath. I'm sure that Mr. Hatake and his team will be more than enough to handle this band of ruffians, and Daikoku will eventually give up."

"It will not be that easy." Oshiro started.

"Yes, it will! There's no need to be so rash. Just give it a little time." The merchant continued to babble on incessantly, becoming more distraught by the moment.

"Akihiro!" Mamosuke snapped loudly, and the man fell quiet in an instant. "Whether you like it or not, we are at war. This problem will not simply 'go away' as you put it. Daikoku sent his best men to oversee this operation, which means he will not accept any failures. He will not stop until we are dead and he is in control of this land."

"This is not an opponent we can outlast. He has far more money and resources than we could ever compete with. Instead, our only hope is to cut off the head of this snake before it can strike a fatal blow. The Stalkers must die." Oshiro turned around and headed for the door. "If that is all, my master, I have a longstanding favor I must now go call upon." Mr. Fukui could only stare in surprise as the captain of his guard disappeared from sight. He sat down slowly into his chair and then buried himself into his work. Kakashi understood this to mean the meeting was over, leaving the man to burn the night oil away while he took up his post for the night.

XXX

Two figures stood alone on a tree branch overlooking the Fukui estate. A light, midnight fog covered the landscape as the moon and stars shined down upon the earth. Without a sound, they leaped out of the canopy over the stone barrier that laid before them. They landed near the edge of an orchard and swiftly raced towards the large manor in the distance. The two had barely exited the orderly thicket when a trio of kunai embedded themselves in their path.

Naruto stared intently at the pair he had intercepted. It had been four quiet days since his team arrived at Mr. Fukui's house; he should have known it would not last.

"Out of the way, brat." The much larger of the two growled at him. The blond smirked.

"Not gonna happen." He replied, drawing his short sword. Images of the men he killed previously flashed through the genin's mind before he shoved them away. He had a mission to do, and he could not get distracted. Besides, he could not help but feel himself becoming giddy at the prospect of a good fight, though he was a bit wary of the enormous sword strapped to the taller one's back.

"Naruto!" A voice called out. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw Sakura running towards him with Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke in tow. The blond and pinkette had split up right after they noticed the intruders. He supposed stall for time while she went and found the nearest form of backup who thankfully appeared to have been close by.

"Stand down, Naruto." Kakashi ordered when the three reached him. The Uzumaki did not move a muscle.

"Are you sure, Sensei?" He questioned.

"Don't worry, their on our side." His teacher told him. A loud snort rang out from the two Naruto had stopped.

"Heh, Sharingan Kakashi. To think that I would be called in to handle something one of Konoha's elite jounin was to weak-stomached to do himself."

"You should feel proud." Kakashi said, addressing the one that had spoken. "News of your failed coup attempt was heard about even in the Village Hidden in the Leaves." Sakura looked back and forth between, confused.

"Umm, Sensei, do you know this guy?" He nodded.

"Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist."

XXX

Alright, that's a wrap. I truly am sorry this took so long to get out. Between school, sickness, and the fact that my laptop was out of commission for the better part of January, I didn't have a lot of free time to work on it. But, oh well, that's the way life goes sometimes. To make up for it, I have also uploaded revised versions of chapters 2,3,4 and 5.

Woo! Go me!

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I look forward to seeing you next time.

Glock3bb out!