Naruto: The Sealed
By: EleosLeonhart
Chapter 5: Trials, Troubles, and Mission Number Nine
Author's Notes: Please review after reading the story. Reviewing helps me know my audience. Whether it be a suggestion, compliment, or critique, please let me know what you think. This story is open to any suggestions. For example, reviewer crazyfoxdemon suggested that I rewrite the beginning part of the story so that there could be a meeting between Naruto and Konohamaru early on. I ended up deciding against it for some variety, but I still thought through the idea for a while. Thanks crazyfoxdemon for that suggestion.
Also, I edited chapter one so that it's easier to read. I think reviewer Arthain will especially appreciate it. ;-)
I would also like to apologize for taking so long to update! I really can get busy sometimes. However...I did manage to plan through a few arcs of this story on paper. So the plans are there...now for the writing!
ALERT! I am requesting a beta reader (or two)! Arthain, I thank you for helping me out with structure and grammar for a story. If you're interested let me know! If anyone else is interested, please do the same and message me!
Now...the story!
...
Yamato stood in the middle of the field. He was garbed in the traditional jounin flack jacket, black pants, and black sandals. He was looked at his three new students who were across from him. Surprisingly, Naruto had been the first to arrive at the training ground. Yamato could tell just by looking at the boy that he probably hadn't slept much, most likely due to the excitement of the though of getting one step closer to his goal.
Hanabi was the next to arrive at the scene. She came about ten minutes later. Akio was last to get to the training ground, although he was right on time. Yamato smiled at the trio.
"Good morning! Did all of you sleep well?" asked Yamato. He received a gleeful cheer from Naruto, a grimace from Akio, and nothing short of silence from Hanabi. However, Yamato could tell that although Hanabi chose not to respond, she did not enjoy getting up so early.
"Sensei! What are you going to teach us!? A powerful jutsu!?" Naruto asked eagerly. Yamato sighed. He wondered if the boy ever tired out.
"Actually, we are first going to do a little test," he answered with what the three could have sworn carried a dark undertone in his voice.
"What kind of test?" asked Akio. Yamato took out two bells from his right side jacket pocket.
"The three of you must get these bells from me before noon. Think of this as survival training," he explained.
"We've already done survival training!" objected Akio.
"Not this kind of training," responded Yamato with a smirk.
"But sensei," spoke Hanabi for the first time that morning. "There are only two bells." Yamato's smirk grew wider.
"That's right. There are two bells here, meaning…only two of you will be able to pass this exercise. If you are not able to get a bell, you will be failed and sent back to the academy!" The students gawked at their sensei.
"That's not fair!" whined Naruto. The other two students agreed, although Hanabi wasn't worried a bit.
"Well that's the life story of a shinobi," rebutted Yamato. "Also, if by some chance you can take a bell working by yourself, you will skip the rank of genin and be promoted to chuunin." Hanabi was confident in her abilities. She didn't need the other two become successful. Naruto's eyes held excitement at the prospect of getting even closer to the title of Hokage. Akio wasn't sure of what to think. He didn't feel quite ready to become a chuunin, the ninja who were often ninja team leaders and captains, although he knew that they were generally not as proficient as jounin in terms of fighting. Yamato was smiling, seeing his little plan go into effect. Encouraging them to work alone would only make this test more difficult. Kakashi was an inspiration to him while working together in the Anbu, however, he planned to make the test for his students even more difficult. "Are there any more questions?" he asked. Seeing there were none, he gave them one more piece of advice. "Come at me with the intent to kill. If you don't you will fail. Begin!" At the loud call, the students quickly separated, running to the bushes and trees. They hoped to hide from their sensei in order to find a chance to hit Yamato with a sneak attack. They just had to get one of those bells that were now tied to a small loop on the low right side of his jounin jacket. Now, they all waited for the chance to perform a sneak attack. Wait, scratch that. Almost all of them went into hiding.
"I challenge you!" exclaimed Naruto who was standing in the middle of the training ground. Yamato rolled his eyes.
"Are you serious?" he asked, not impressed by this bold action.
"You don't like ramen! ENEMY!" said Naruto, in response, narrowing his eyes at the older man. Yamato returned the glare. It was only a matter of seconds before the sparks started flying once again. The electricity being generated from their eyes was so intense that the entire grounds around them began to experience fierce tremors, acting as a mini-earthquake.
"So…powerful!" Akio exclaimed while attempting to shield his eyes from the bright sparks. Hanabi was forced to do the same, not wanting to be blinded by their rage. Naruto and Yamato again ended in a draw, the other two students now safe from chaos once again.
"Hmph, at least you won't have trouble coming at me with killing intent!"
After a few moments of silence, Naruto charged Yamato. Forming a familiar cross-hand seal, he yelled, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Yamato's eyes widened ever so slightly as the blonde boy had just created approximately fifteen Kage Bunshin, an A-ranked forbidden technique!
"Interesting," thought Yamato as he entered into a defensive stance. As Naruto a Naruto clone reached the Yamato, the copy threw a punch with his right arm at the jounin. Yamato dodged to the left, taking hold of the clone's arm in the process. As two more clones tried to tackle him, he spun the clone he held captive by the arm around, using the momentum of the spin to hurl his prisoner at the two other foes, causing all three to poof out of existence from the force of the impact. There were now twelve Naruto's left from what Yamato could tell. The jounin dashed toward the next rank of clones as the blonde heads charged the man. He quickly disabled them with knife hand to the neck. Only two remained after his plowing of the other ten clones. One came from in front, the other from behind. Yamato jumped into the air when they came into range and did an aerial split kick. When both clones popped out of existence, his eyebrows raised. He thought that one of them had been Naruto.
"Gotchya!" exclaimed a voice from behind. Yamato threw a backhand to Naruto's face before the blonde could even reach him. While Naruto was still in the air from the blow, Yamato hit the boy with a jump sidekick, causing the jinchuuriki to fly away until his body landed just beyond some bushes.
Akio had been watching the exchange between Naruto and their new sensei. He was surprised when he saw Naruto used a sneaky attack strategy on Yamato. However, what surprised him even more was when he saw his blonde teammate flying toward him, missing him by a mere half a meter. "Naruto!" he exclaimed, running after the boy that hit the ground. As he got near Naruto, he crouched done, asking, "Are you alright?"
"Ugh..." was the response he received when Naruto sat up, a hand holding his head as if he had a headache. "I'm okay...but I'm going to beat the crap out of him!" Naruto's voice had an undertone of anger, mostly because of Yamato's disagreement over ramen.
"Forget attaching him alone. He's of the jounin rank. He's too strong to take on by ourselves. If we team up, we will stand a chance." Naruto thought about what Akio had said for a moment.
"That's true..." admitted the blonde. "Besides, we can still work our way to chuunin. We stand a better chance at passing by working together to become genin." Akio was shocked to say the least. Did Naruto just show that he had a brain somewhere inside of that thick skull of his? Granted, he helped him take on that mindset, but it was still progress nonetheless! "But what about Hanabi?" asked the jinchuuriki.
"The Hyuuga girl? She wouldn't work with us even if we asked her to. That clan has a history of being pompous, or so my dad has told me."
"I never got that impression from Hinata," thought Naruto. "So, you want to leave Hanabi to herself?" he asked.
"Well, think of it this way: There are two bells," said Akio dryly.
"Ah," murmured the blonde in response. "Then what are we waiting for!?" he almost yelled.
"Sh! We don't want to give away our location," Akio whispered in an attempt to quickly hush the boy. "We need to think of a plan. Got any ideas?" Naruto adopted an expression that could be registered as critical thinking.
Probably not.
...
All was silent, save for the quiet, deep breaths coming from her body. Hyuuga Hanabi was able to remain calm, even under the daunting task of going up against a high-level ninja. Activating the Byakugan, she quickly surveyed the forest grounds. After the little skirmish with the blonde loudmouth, Yamato had disappeared. "Where is he," she wondered to herself as she searched for the students' jounin sensei. Her bloodline was in no sense dull, but for reasons she could not grasp, she could not locate Yamato's position. Like Neji had once had, she had a small, nearly insignificant blind spot. There was only a one-degree blind spot at the back of her head that her bloodline could not reach. This was impressive for a newly instated genin. With more experience and training, the blind spot could possibly disappear, giving her 360-degree field vision. However, that is not the case.
Looking to her right, left, and then up into the air, she felt secure in believing he was not nearby. She should have looked below. "Ah!" she grunted, her leg now taken hold of by a strong hand erupting from the ground.
"Hello!" waved Yamato, as he popped his head out from underneath the ground. "Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!" said the man as he pulled Hanabi into the ground, not allowing her time to react. Hanabi mentally cursed as she was stuck in the ground. Only her head protruded from the surface of the earth.
...
River Country
She was still shocked. "I thought Gin took care of that man," she muttered as she traveled with a male nearly her age.
"Gin said that Orochimaru was dying when his henchman took him from the fight back in Konoha, not when he was already dead," he answered.
"Shou, you know that Gin is strong. Don't you remember?" she asked.
"Of course I do, but he's not stronger than you are," he answered with a blank face. Miyu smirked.
"Perhaps, but he did save us nonetheless, and I am a captain!" she replied. "I don't see how Orochimaru could live through that man's attack."
"For all we know, it could be some puppet that's been pulling the strings to force other countries not to want to take over Oto territory." He paused for a brief moment before continuing, "By the way, if we're worrying over the Sound, why are we heading toward Suna?"
"I heard a report that could be related to the jinchuuriki of the ichibi." Shou's eyes widened. "Be careful...there is a possibility that we will end up confronting Akatsuki."
"Shouldn't we have some sort of back-up for this Miyu-sama?"
"Jun and Asuka are on their way to Suna as well. We will rendezvous ten kilometers from the village's eastern gate."
...
Oto Village Administrative Tower
A man and woman entered the Otokage's workroom. "Sir," said the man, addressing the kage, "all seems to be progressing as planned. There have been no signs of abnormal change within the specimen."
"Excellent," said the kage of the Sound. Turning, he stared the two down. The man and woman flinched as he turned, but quickly recovered. They needed to get used to seeing their leader. "Proceed as planned. If there are any changes, let me know immediately."
"Yes, sir," replied the two. After the brief report, they left the room. After their departure, the kage's mouth widened upward on one side into a smirk. His long tongue attempted to gratify his parched anticipation by a lick of the lips. "They are all so oblivious...kukuku," he chuckled with a dark undertone. He then returned to his affairs as kage.
...
Yamato looked around. "It seems Naruto and Akio have teamed up. Good...but they're still missing one person," he thought to himself as he ran up a tree not far away from Naruto and Akio. He wanted to see their ability to think through a situation. Scratch that. He wanted to see Akio's ability to strategize. Looking down, he saw them walking cautiously while speaking in whispers. Yamato frowned and hopped down the tree, opposite of the side Naruto and Akio were walking on. "Doton: Tsuchi Suiei," he muttered as he began to meld into the ground. His body now melded into the ground, he moved under the earth's surface in hopes of catching ear of their conversation. After drawing near, Yamato poked his head out of the surface of the ground, following the two boys closely.
"And that's the plan," said Akio.
"I get it!" replied Naruto. If Yamato could have face planted, he would have. Unfortunately, his head was the only part of his body sticking out of the ground, canceling the effect of the combination of stunning confusion and gravity. He mentally cursed, but decided to follow them in this manner anyway. It was a technique he created, and simply put, he enjoyed using it.
After a few minutes, Naruto spotted something in the distance. "Hey, Akio! What's that?" he asked his teammate.
"What? Where?" he replied, not seeing what Naruto was pointing at. However, when he followed the finger and squinted his eyes, he could make out a little, black egg shape in the ground nearly twenty meters away. At first, they couldn't see what it was, but when they cut the distance between them and the object, their faces went pale. "N-Noooo!" screamed Naruto. "Hanabi! Yamato-sensei killed her!"
"The only thing left is her head," said Akio as his stomach turned.
"Akio," said Naruto, trying to stifle his tears, "what should we do?" Hanabi, who was merely stuck in the ground, rolled her eyes. She now knew she was stuck with complete idiots.
"We should bury her head...it's the least we could do for her," replied Akio to Naruto in all seriousness. Naruto nodded. Hanabi turned her head in a snappy motion, catching both boys off guard.
"If either of you touch me, you're dead," she said angrily. Both boys stared at Hanabi for about five minutes straight, until...
"A talking head!" they screamed, nearly fainting from shock.
"No, you idiots! I'm stuck in the ground!" she yelled back at them. They stared at her for an additional minute until they finally cracked, rolling on the ground and bursting out in laughter.
"Help me out NOW!" she demanded. After finishing their fun, they went over to Hanabi and began to dig her out of the ground. After a few minutes of digging, she was out. She had pondered on how to kill the two boys, the Gentle Fist Style seeming like a good choice, but she let them go for getting her out of the ground.
"So, ugh, how did you get stuck in the ground?" questioned Naruto. Akio tried to hold back a laugh.
"Shut it!" she commanded angrily. "He's strong, okay!?"
"Okay, okay! Sorry," replied Naruto. "So..."
"What?" she responded quickly with venom. Naruto just sighed in response.
"Do you want to work with us to get him back?" he asked her.
"But...there are only two bells," she replied, failing to see how teamwork would work between the three of them. "And I'm pretty sure that you guys would just keep the bells for yourselves..."
"Actually...I've been thinking," replied Akio. "It doesn't make sense to try and snatch bells from a jounin, while we are just rookie genin." Hanabi already knew that, but just then, it clicked for her.
"The test is rigged..." she muttered. The eyes of both boys widened.
"What do you mean?" asked Akio. "I was just saying that since we don't stand a chance unless we work as a team."
"Exactly," she confirmed, "however, I think there's more to it than just that. It seems like that that is the purpose of this entire test; to work as a team!" All she did was draw confused glances from the boys. "Look, we were already set up against a jounin, whom I'm sure could handle ten genin with a fair amount of ease." The boys nodded in understanding, so she continued. "Furthermore, there are only two bells. If we can't get the bells because of the difference in skill, then what is the purpose of this exam?" Naruto still shrugged his shoulders, but Akio made a short gasp, now beginning to comprehend the situation. "The purpose of this is exam...is teamwork. It all makes sense, and the fact that there are only two bells ties this theory up in a solid knot."
"Not bad," said Akio. "I'm surprised a Hyuuga spoke that much in such a short amount of time!" he said with a humored undertone.
"Shut it," Hanabi growled back at the boy.
"Naruto, what do you think?" asked Akio. Naruto had his hand under his chin, seemingly deep in thought. He had been nodding his head and squinting his eyes after Hanabi's informative speech clicked with Akio.
"I definitely...don't get it," he answered, making his two teammates face-fault onto the ground.
Meanwhile, Yamato had been listening from behind a rock, his head still the only part of his body sticking out of the ground. He was proud of his students, although he wished that Naruto were a bit brighter.
"Let's make a plan," said Hanabi.
"No need...I've constructed one with Naruto," replied Akio. Hanabi squinted her eyes, failing to see how Naruto could have been a part of it.
"With that idiot?" she questioned.
"Hey! I'm not an idiot!" barked Naruto, pointing an accusing finger at the Hyuuga girl.
"Well, he more agreed with me on the plan, but it doesn't matter," he admitted. "Anyway, the plan was originally to find you and make good use of your Byakugan. We will then have Naruto use that technique he used earlier to produce solid clones. Naruto will just bombard him with his clones while you and I go in for the kill. You know what to look for, so we should try to double team him his bells while he fends off Naruto's force."
"I don't think that will work," she said in reply.
"Why not? What can we do that's better?" he asked. "I'm sure he's out there...he might even be close. We don't have the time to think up an elaborate plan. I think him underestimating out teamwork is our best offense. So far, he's only dealt with us one at a time, correct?"
"Fine, but don't get your hopes up," she responded with a pessimistic view of the situation. "Just remember to go in with the intent to kill. He is a professional after all..."
"That's right...I am a professional..." said Yamato. All three jumped into a fighting stance upon hearing his voice.
"Where is he!?" murmured Akio, his body filled with a rush of adrenaline. Hanabi performed some hand seals.
"Byakugan!" she murmured as she looked around. "Look out! He's below!"
"Too late!" exclaimed Yamato as he resurfaced from the terrain, shoving both Naruto and Akio away from his position. "It's time to take care of you kids. After all, I'm getting hungry!" he said, patting his stomach softly.
"Naruto, go!" said Akio to the blonde. Naruto nodded.
"Kage Bunshin!" muttered Naruto as fifty blonde heads littered the area. Hanabi's and Akio's eyes bulged out. They both were wondering how he could create so many solid clones. Little did they know that this was certainly not the maximum amount of clones he could create. Yamato's response was a quirked eyebrow.
"He created four times as many clones as last time...I wonder how far Naruto can go," thought Yamato as he entered into a fighting stance. "I won't let you kids become ninja. You are not worthy to become the protectors of Konoha. I think that you should all quit while you're ahead."
Naruto's eyes became stone cold.
"This is such a waste of time."
"Shut up..." said the blonde in a hush.
"I can't believe they gave me such a weak bunch."
"Shut up," said Naruto, his voice louder than before, his teammates now able to hear him, as well as Yamato. The latter smirked.
"I don't think anyone here is even Hokage material."
"Shut up!" yelled Naruto. "I will be the strongest ninja ever! I will be the Hokage! I will definitely force-feed you ramen!" Yamato sweatdropped. There was no way he'd agree to that, even if Naruto became Hokage.
Pulse...
Yamato's eyes widened as he began to look around, alarmed by a chill running down his spine. "What was that!?" Akio and Hanabi also felt it, the two frantically searching for the cause of the feeling.
Pulse...
There it was again. Yamato fixed his eyes on Naruto. "What on..." he muttered. What he set his eyes on astounded him. Visible chakra was forming around Naruto's entire body. "This chakra isn't even demonic, yet it's of this caliber? How on earth could Naruto possess this amount of chakra?" Naruto readied himself to charge, along with his clones and his teammates. However, Yamato held up his hand. "Congratulations, you guys pass!"
Bewilderment struck through their faces. Although Hanabi, and later Akio, figured that the test was on teamwork, they were still in shock of the vibe they felt from Naruto. With the news of their passing, Akio and Hanabi sighed. Naruto just stared at Yamato with a blank, confused expression.
"I can't believe this kid's potential...I should ask the Sandaime about this," thought Yamato. And indeed, he would. "I am proud to be your jounin sensei. You have all passed. As you guessed, this exam tests your teamwork and willingness to cooperate on the battlefield. Don't you dare ever abandon your teammates." He paused before continuing. "You have proven yourselves worthy. I see much talent and potential in each of you. The rest of the day and tomorrow are free. Go home and get some rest. We will meet here again at seven in the morning, the day after tomorrow." With that, Yamato left the area in a whirl of leaves.
Naruto's clones puffed out of existence. After a few minutes, Naruto commented, "Oh! I get it!" His teammates face faulted.
...
His eyes opened to a new day. The alarm clock was still ringing, waking him from his slumber. Naruto reached over to the noisy box, pressing a button to cease the irritating sound coming from it. Naruto looked at his alarm.
5:45 A.M.
Naruto got up. He needed to meet with Hatake Kakashi at 6:30 for training. The silver-haired jounin was asked to continue working with the boy by the Sandaime Hokage. However, Kakashi was planning on helping the boy along anyway. After Naruto's disappearance, Jiraiya, one of the three legendary sannin taught by the Sandaime, had told Kakashi that the boy was the son of Kakashi's sensei; the legacy of the Yondaime Hokage. Kakashi, at the very least, was shocked. He found joy in being able to teach the boy. Yamato, a man who admired Kakashi from their days in the Anbu, reported to Kakashi about the boy's potential. According to the wood user, the blonde boy seemed to possess an untapped potential that might some day rival a kage. Blood limit or not, the boy's growth would not be hindered if trained properly. This, they mutually agreed on.
"Time to get up," groaned a tired Naruto as he shuffled out of his covers onto his apartment floor. He proceeded toward the bathroom, readying himself for a shower to help along the awakening process. After he prepared everything, he hopped into the shower. It was nice and warm...that is, until a person living in the floor above him flushed the toilet. The result was icy cold water pouring down on Naruto. The boy loudly cursed non-ninja early risers.
...
After Naruto's rude awakening, he headed over to the training grounds. After getting to training ground nineteen, Kakashi told Naruto to go through his routine warm-ups: stretching, one hundred push-ups, one-hundred sit-ups, and a twenty minute run. Nothing ridiculous, unlike the warm-ups of two ninja whose heads resembled bowls, but again, these were just the warm-ups intended to get Naruto ready for training. After returning from the jog, Naruto stood in front of Kakashi. "Now that you have finished with your warm-ups, it's time to resume your training," said Kakashi, staring at the boy. Naruto gave a small cry of joy in response. "Naruto," continued the jounin, "Yamato said you didn't fight like how I taught you...why is that?"
"I was angry," replied the blonde, looking for the right words to say.
"Angry?" Kakashi reiterated, "About what?"
"He..." Naruto paused, but continued onward with conviction. "He doesn't like ramen!" he exclaimed. A drop of sweat rolled down the side of Kakashi's head.
"That's it?" Naruto thought it over for a moment.
"Mhm." Another drop of sweat on the other side of Kakashi's head. A small silence ensued. Why did his sensei's song have to be such a buffoon?
'They say the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree," the jounin thought to himself, "...sounds about right." Regaining his composure, Kakashi looked up at the blue sky. "I gave you a little break on account of being added to a genin team. And now, it's crunch time."
"Crunch time?" asked the boy, not missing the fact that the phrase sounded unbelievably...cool. Well, that's what he thought anyway.
"It's time to teach you a new technique," answered the former Anbu captain. Naruto's eyes became bright with enthusiasm. A loud yelp of joy followed soon after.
...
Hokage Tower
A certain pineapple-hair-shaped ninja was at the door to the Hokage's office. He was a young man and, judging by his flack jacket, was of jounin ranking. He was accompanied by another young man with long, shaggy hair and a slightly protruding, though muscular, stomach. The first knocked on the door to the kage's office. "Come in," said the Sandaime from behind closed doors. The two men entered the room. "Shikamaru, Chouji," greeted the Hokage as he looked up from his desk, "what can I do for you? Shikamaru closed the door.
"Hokage-sama," started Shikamaru, "something needs to be addressed." Sarutobi raised an eyebrow.
"What is this matter about?" the older man asked, half-expecting what this little meeting would be about.
"Uzumaki Naruto," answered Shikamaru. Bingo. Sarutobi was right on the mark. It seems old age did not change his wisdom as a leader.
"What about him, Shikamaru?" questioned the Hokage.
"Is it just me, or is there a newly made genin who looks like a clone of Naruto?" Sarutobi took a moment to think about what he could say. Should he let Shikamaru and Chouji know the truth? On the one hand, he could make a story up. However, he was nearly certain Shikamaru would catch his bluff. On the other hand, he could tell the boys the truth. The only problem with that was that the truth, in this case, was of a classified nature. Sarutobi knew Naruto wouldn't like about his identity. No, quite the opposite...he would most likely scream about his dream to become the Hokage. Shikamaru, Chouji, and the rest of Konoha would discover his identity sooner or later anyway. Perhaps by telling them the truth now, he could enlist their help in keeping the matter secret for as long as possible.
"Sit down," said the Hokage, gesturing toward two of the three chairs in front of his desk. The young men complied, sitting down in the comfortable chairs. "What I'm about to tell you is classified information..." Sarutobi paused. The way he was just going to tell them the truth didn't make it any of this seem classified. He continued, "However, due to the fact that this matter will be difficult to keep secret, I will tell you. That boy you spotted...he is Naruto." The eyes of Shikamaru and Chouji widened.
"Hokage-sama," Chouji spoke up, "I don't understand. Naruto should be our age!" Shikamaru observed the Hokage for an hesitant gestures. It appeared that the old man was telling the truth, but then again, looks could be deceiving.
"It's true, Chouji," replied Sarutobi. "Naruto was actually found by my grandson and team Ebisu. They were heading back from border patrol, but were bombarded by some Oto nin. Konohamaru was cornered, being faced up against someone stronger than himself. But something strange happened. My grandson described that a tree he was back up against began to illuminate. He told me how he watched as a blonde boy around his age came out of the tree, as if he had been fused together with it." Shikamaru and Chouji were staring at the old man in disbelief. "The boy defeated the injured Oto ninja by using a technique associated with Uzumaki Naruto: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Two pairs of eyebrows went up. Both young men were wondering how a forbidden technique was associated with Naruto. "Later on, both my grandson and the blonde boy were recovered by an Anbu unit. Soon after, the blonde kid was brought to Morino Ibiki for interrogation." Both Shikamaru and Chouji shuddered at the name. "After going through interrogation, the boy was brought to me. I examined the boy both psychologically and medically. His blood matches the old samples. That boy is Naruto." The two young jounin absorbed what they had heard. Too much was left unexplained. Shikamaru raised his voice once again.
"And what about his age? He looks the same as when we were classmates."
"I believe Naruto was sealed inside of the tree my grandson spoke up. We investigated the site, as well as the large tree. There were large traces of chakra on the tree. One of our ninja who specializes in seals also looked over the tree. He confirmed by suspicions. A powerful sealing is the only explanation we have. Now, the real question is: What kind of person has the ability to seal to that degree." The Sandaime had a small flashback of golden eyes. He remembered his fight with Orochimaru. 'Maybe him...'
"What's going on...?" Chouji asked, the question rhetorical in nature. Shikamaru shook his head, unable to think of an answer for once. The small silence was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" questioned the Hokage.
"Yamato," replied the jounin from behind the kage's office double-doors.
"Come in." Yamato entered the room, noticing that Shikamaru and Chouji were also in the room.
"Am I interrupting something?" asked the newly appointed genin sensei.
"No, actually...the matter involves you."
"Me, sir?"
"Well, it actually involves one of your students. I think you know which one." Shikamaru's and Chouji's ears perked up at hearing that Naruto's sensei was now in the room with them.
"Naruto?" asked Yamato.
"Correct." Yamato's eyes focused on the ground for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed in thought.
"Hokage-sama...I have also come to speak with you about a matter concerning my student."
"What is it?" asked the Hokage. Yamato hesitated, looking at the other two men in the room. He didn't seem to want them in the room at this time.
"It's okay Yamato. You may speak freely about all Naruto's recent activities." Yamato understood that the "recent" part of what the Hokage said was to make sure that Yamato didn't say anything about Naruto being a jinchuuriki. However, he doubted that that would stay in the dark for long.
"Sir, yesterday I gave my genin team the bell test. As you already know, they passed. However..."
"However?" repeated the Sandaime, noticing that Yamato's voice sounded hesitant.
"Something strange happened during the end of the test; something I didn't mention in the report." The Sandaime quirked an eyebrow. "Naruto...I'm not sure what happened to him over these last five years, but I've never seen anyone with such a high caliber of chakra at his age."
"Well, he has been training with Kakashi," said Sarutobi in response.
"For a month," said Yamato, failing to believe that anyone could accomplish so much in such a short amount of time. "But what I saw was ridiculous. Visible chakra was appearing all around Naruto's body. It was enough to send a chill down my spine. And it was all Naruto's chakra." Sandaime caught the meaning behind the words of that last phrase. Yamato had meant that none of the chakra he had seen was borrowed from the Kyuubi.
"Wait," Shikamaru spoke up, "what did you mean by saying the chakra belonged to 'Naruto?' Isn't that obvious?" The Sandaime sighed. This was going to be a long day.
...
Noon. Team Yamato now gathered at the Hokage Tower. Naruto was the last to show up of the team, mostly due to the fact that he was pretty exhausted from his early morning training. However, it was worth it. He had learned a new jutsu. There was some trouble in the learning process due to his overwhelmingly large supply of chakra, but he was able to get the basics down by the time he had to leave for his team meet. The team now stood before the Sandaime Hokage, ready to receive their first mission. The old man smiled at the four in front of him. He considered each of them his precious people, for Konoha was his precious people.
"It's good to see each of you," said the Sandaime cheerfully, "and I'm so proud of you for passing all the requirements to become genin. You are now ready to perform missions!"
"Woohoo!" exclaimed a certain blonde, suddenly feeling rejuvenated by a rush of adrenaline as he daydreamed about beating enemy ninja up and being named the Godaime Hokage. "Bwahahahah!"
"What's he laughing about?" asked Hanabi to Yamato. A drop of sweat rolled down the side of Yamato's head.
"I'm not sure I want to know," replied the sensei. Akio chuckled at the scene.
"Ahem," interrupted the kage of the leaf, "so let's see...what mission should I give to your team?" he asked rhetorically.
"Oh! Oh! Give us a top secret mission with lots of action!" Naruto nearly screamed. Yamato smirked, his lips curling menacingly. The jounin knew what was coming. All new genin were always victimized by the missions they were given. He chuckled evilly.
"Here we are! You are to pull weeds at Onowaku-san's farm. He owns a plantation on the Northwestern end of the village."
"Pull..." muttered Naruto.
"...weeds," finished Hanabi. Sarutobi's smile widened.
Screams followed shortly after which most of the village heard.
...
Two weeks passed, and so far, team Yamato had been given eight D-ranked missions. Weed pulling, cat chasing, picking up litter, running errands for local shops; a nightmare for the young genin team. They had just finished their eight D-ranked mission about an hour ago and were turning in their report. The mission detailed that they baby-sit a group of youngsters at an orphanage. Ironically, it was the same orphanage that Naruto had grown up in when he was a small child. Chills ran down his neck as the memories of his experiences resurfaced. He didn't like the orphanage...not one bit.
The team had also received some training fro Yamato during this time, that is, when they were not performing missions of manual labor. So far, Yamato had gone over the tree-walking exercise, as well as how to set effective traps, most of which involving ninja wire, pitfalls, and bladed objects, such as kunai and shuriken. Hanabi had exceptional chakra control and quickly got the hang of it, whereas Akio had a bit of difficulty with the exercise. He eventually got it down just before their seventh mission was given to them. It was record timing, but it was a decent for a new genin. When Hanabi and Akio saw that Naruto could already climbed trees, they were fairly surprised. Hanabi was angered by the fact that he could do anything better than her, even though she was able to figure the process about much quicker than Naruto had.
"Reporting, Hokage-sama," said Yamato as he handed over the mission report.
"How did it go?" asked the Sandaime.
"It was a success. The kids at the orphanage enjoyed having our team over," replied the team's sensei.
"That's good to hear," said the old man with a warm smile. However, the genin of team Yamato weren't smiling. Not one bit.
"Listen old man," yelled Naruto, "I'm tired of these boring missions! Give us something exciting to do! This is obviously a waste of time for a great ninja such as myself!"
"I kind of agree," said Akio sheepishly. Hanabi couldn't help but nod to show her support for the objection.
"That's enough!" scolded Yamato.
"That's quite alright, Yamato," Sarutobi told the man, a lighthearted chuckle following his words. "Maybe it is about time that you stopped performing D-ranked missions..." Naruto's eyes brightened, as did his teammates'. "Tell you what, I will allow your team to do a C-rank mission." Yamato sighed as Sarutobi continued, "Your team's objective will be to protect the artist Orikodo from gangs of bandits and thieves. He will be traveling to Otafuku Gai to put his work on display. However, due to the popularity of his merchandise, bandits have attempted to take his work from him. He has reported that he has lost three one major and two minor works of art as a result. If you engage the enemy, you are to protect Orikodo. Your mission does not end until he arrives safely and is able to put his work on display."
"Any questions?" Naruto had stars in his eyes at the thought of fighting with bandits. The Sandaime chuckled once more. "I guess not. You will leave tomorrow at 9:00 in the morning. You will be meeting Orikodo-san at the front gates. Otafuku Gai is less than fifteen kilometers away from Konoha, so if everything goes well, you should be able to return before the day is over. That is all." The team smirked on account of the mission they were given.
"Hai, Hokage-sama," responded Yamato as he and his team left the room.
...
Naruto closed his eyes. Tomorrow would be a long day so he needed his rest. If only he weren't so excited. "Tomorrow...a real mission!"
...
Author's Notes
Naruto has learned a new technique (and yes, I didn't show it...on purpose! Muahahah), team Yamato is getting ready to set out on their first C-ranked mission, and troublesome events are developing beyond Konoha's borders!
Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu – Double Suicide Decapitation Technique
Doton: Tsuchi Suiei – Earth Style: Earth/Ground Swimming (mine)
Otafuku Gai – Homely Woman Town (the town Naruto and Jiraiya first stopped in on their way to find Tsunade)
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! The same goes for giving suggestions. Please review and let me know your thoughts!
Thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned in for the next chapter of Naruto: The Sealed!