Puppets of the Leaf

Chapter 18

by Riotv2

Naruto and Shikamaru waited outside of the Hokage's office. They had been called in early to give their report on the previous days events.

After a few minutes, in which Naruto had been growing impatiently anxious, the door opened and Kakashi exited followed by Sasuke. The Uchiha glared at Naruto as he walked by but before anyone could comment a large powerful looking man stepped outside the door and gave the two new Chunin a once-over.

"Nara...Uzumaki...inside...now." Naruto looked up at him, and a nervous feeling went up his spine as he recognized him from the first test in the Chunin exam.

Morino Ibiki led them within the office and stood slightly behind the two village Elders.

All three stood silent for a few moments as Naruto and Shikamaru shifted uncomfortably at attention before them.

Ibiki smirked and picked up a folder off of the desk. "At ease you two..."

They both relaxed their stance as the Elders each took a seat near but not behind the desk while he continued.

"...in case you don't remember, I am Morino Ibiki. I lead the ANBU Torture and Interrogation division."

He stopped and looked at the both of them closely. "You both had an interesting first day in your new rank didn't you?" Ibiki smiled broadly at them. Rather than reassure them it seemed to make them even more nervous. "Relax boys, you aren't in trouble." he gave Shikamaru a strong pat on his shoulder which nearly knocked him off his feet. Ibiki laughed and then referred to the file in his other hand.

"Yesterday you two recaptured nine of the prisoners, all of them with shinobi training by the way, captured a missing nin from Iwa, and managed to take out an agent from our new friends in Rice Country...impressive work..." he tossed the file down onto the desk behind him. "...We've already debriefed Umino Iruka and Hatake Kakashi about that last encounter, but we'd like to get your impression of the Sound Ninja."

Shikamaru tilted his head to the side slightly with eyes narrowed. "You're trying to determine what his mission was."

Ibiki nodded at the Naras assessment. "That's right. Thus far he was the only Sound Nin that was encountered yesterday, aside from those few prisoners that had been captured during the invasion. We do know, however, that this particular individual was highly placed as one of Orochimaru's Lieutenants.

He has been positively identified from an eye witness to be one of the four enemy ninja who erected the barrier that the Third Hokage and Lord Jiraya were trapped in during the invasion."

The young Nara looked thoughtful as he went over the fight again in his mind. "He didn't use any kind of barrier techniques during our encounter...so I'd assume that he only knew that particular one, which he likely needed his team for."

Naruto, who was also going over their encounter in his mind, began thinking of the other Sound Nin he had met during the exam.

When he was uncharacteristically quiet for more than a minute he drew the attention of those in the room.

"You look like you have something on your mind Uzumaki..."

"Hmm...ohh... right, I was just thinking about the team from Sound that we fought in the Exam..."

Picking up another folder from the desk, Ibiki took out three forms with pictures attached, and showed them to him.

"Yep that's them...my team fought them in the Forest of Death during the second round."

Ibiki examined their registration forms and pictures along with the few notes that had been collected on them. Overall there was nothing remarkable about them. "Details on the second part of the Exam are pretty scarce due to the nature of that exam. Do these three have something to do with the one you met yesterday?"

"No...not really...it's just...each of them had a type of technique...each one was pretty strong...but once you got past that one jutsu...they weren't all that special. It was the same with the guy from yesterday.

He could fuse with another person and hide inside them, even control them...but that was all he could do."

Shikamaru nodded in agreement.

Ibiki thought about that. "The reports we collected from the attack itself showed that for the most part none of the attacking Sound nin displayed anything but the most basic of skills in combat. Nothing of note to set any of them apart. Like they were all hastily trained."

"So the Sound Village was favoring a quantity over quality strategy, like their leadership only took the time to train those few further that they had a specific use for. Like the team entering the exam needed to look like a fully trained team of Genin, and Orochimaru's Lieutenants needed to be able to preform that barrier technique...So each of his men are only trained to fulfill a specific role." If one watched Shikamaru closely, they could see the puzzle forming in his mind as each piece began to click into place.

Homura sighed loudly and interrupted the Naras train of thought. "So what was his 'role' as you put it? What was his purpose in coming back to our village?"

"Based on what we know of his skill-set..." Ibiki continued "...he could have either been a spy, who attempted to use Iruka to sneak into the village to gather information...or a assassin after a specific target."

Naruto began to fidget after standing for so long. "But if he was supposed to try and get into the village to spy on us...why would he give himself away by trying to kill one of us?"

Ibiki thought about that and nodded in agreement. "So not a spy then, an assassin." he turned to make some notes in his first folder as the two Elders rose from their chairs.

"If he was an assassin..." Shikamaru spoke up again. "... it's likely he was after someone in our group specifically." All eyes in the room looked back at him before Ibiki made discreet eye contact with the Elders.

"Thank you both for coming in. Your insights will prove useful while we try to sort this mess out."

Ibiki handed them each a payment slip to turn into the mission office. "Here, yesterdays action is being considered a B-Rank mission for all Chunin, A-Rank if you actually saw any action, so you are being paid accordingly along with the bounty for that Nuke-nin. Iwa was very happy to get him back, and sends their thanks."

Naruto looked at the payslip and had to keep from choking at the amount he had gotten. His reaction did not go unnoticed, as indicated by Ibiki's laugh.

"You both will remain on reserve duty for the time being." Koharu went on impatiently wanting to get this meeting over with. "You may take the rest of today for training or whatever else you need to do, however starting tomorrow you will report to Izumo and Kotetsu each morning for assignment."

With that, the two Chunin were summarily dismissed.

As they exited the building together, Naruto couldn't help but keep looking over his latest paycheck. It was more money than he had ever received at one time, although he had also been paid for the Wave mission as an A-rank, the addition of the bounty was welcome.

'Man...no wonder people become Hunter Nin...' he thought to himself before a yawn brought his attention to the other Chunin with him.

"Ne Shikamaru...wanna go get something to eat?"

The Nara looked at Naruto with a bored expression. "Ehh...no thanks, I think I'm going to find a quiet spot to watch some clouds, before my parents find out I have the rest of the day off. Later, Naruto"

As he began to walk off with a slight wave, Naruto called out to him again. "Hey! Why don't you go up to the top of the Kage monument? Hardly anyone ever goes up there."

Shikamaru stopped and looked back at him before turning his gaze to the aforementioned mountain. He thought about it for a second...Naruto could just imagine that he was debating if the hike to get there would be too 'troublesome' to be worth the privacy.

Evidently, Shikamaru Nara valued his privacy more than even his laziness, because after nodding in thanks to the blond, he changed directions and headed for the mountain.

After splitting up from Shikamaru, Naruto headed over the the mission office to turn in his payment slip.

There were a few people ahead of him so while he waited he tried to think of what he would do now that he had the day off.

The obvious option was to go train, however his puppets, although still in decent condition even after yesterday, still required basic maintenance, and while he could always just go and do that, the idea of doing something so messy in the Hokage mansion was unappealing.

It was as he finally got to the front of the line, that he knew what he would do.

The young lady behind the desk took his payslip from him and proceeded to process his funds.

"Excuse me," he asked her as politely as he could "you wouldn't happen to know where I could find someone who could help me find a new place to live, could you?"

The sound of a bell echoed through the quiet office Naruto had been directed to.

"Just a sec." Came the answering call from the back room, before a young man in his early twenties approached the blond.

"Let me guess..." he said noticing Naruto's headband. "Your home was damaged to the point where you can no longer live there and you need to find a new place to live?"

Naruto took in the man before him. He was dressed in casual comfortable clothing and had a friendly demeanor.

What captured his attention the most though were the scars that crisscrossed his face, some faded with time, but a few still fresh under bandages, and the fact that his right arm seemed to be missing from just above the elbow if his rolled up and pinned shirt sleeve was anything to go by.

The man held out his left hand for Naruto to shake, which he did after a barely noticeable pause to process his question.

"Yep... I guess you've been getting that a lot, huh?"

The man sighed. "You have no idea...please have a seat." he indicated a chair in front of a desk and introduced himself as Daisuke.

As he took a seat, Naruto noticed a picture sitting on the desk showing a Jounin with his Genin team, one of which was obviously Daisuke himself.

Noticing the blonds attention on the picture he smiled. "Yes I was a ninja myself at one time. Though I've had to retire, of course." he sounded a bit bitter as he indicated his amputated limb.

He waved off Narutos attempt at an apology. "Don't worry about it...I saw you at the Chunin Exam, before all hell broke loose, that is. Your match against that Suna kid was impressive."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Hehe... thanks."

"So..." he finally said "to business. What kind of place are you looking for, anything specific?

I should warn you now that real estate in this village is hard to come by right now, what with all of the damage and construction work still underway."

"Well, I guess I need a place with plenty of room, I have a lot of...'projects' that I'll be working on in the future so..."

Daisuke leaned forward. "How much room are we talking?"

The two continued to hash out Naruto's needs for his new place and the more they talked, the more Daisuke's smile grew.

"I think I have just the place for you."

Daisuke led Naruto into the business district. While they walked, Daisuke told him about his time as an active Chunin and how, even though he was medically retired he still trained as much as he could and still fought against the Sound Nin during the invasion.

"Wow...you were a Chunin too huh? Did you specialize in anything?" Naruto asked while taking in the bustling street around him.

The village was still recovering from the attack, but the people around them were walking from stall to stall, buying this or that and generally going about their business.

He hadn't even really noticed that they had stopped walking.

"I was primarily a scout. I worked mostly on the Fire Country border and manned outposts, things like that...but I do miss it...being out there with my team and living off the land...well here we are."

Naruto looked at the large fence before him, which easily stood seven feet high. It wouldn't do much to deter a ninja but could provide him some privacy from the prying eyes of the civilian populace.

"This building belonged to a local shipping and distribution company..." Naruto was led through a gate into a wide yard. The building itself was a medium sized warehouse. Daisuke led Naruto into the building.

"They primarily used this to store products to sell to the vendors in the market, however following the attack on the village, the company has been sold off and it's assets either donated to the village or put up for sale as well."

The warehouse was very spacious and there were shelves and storage racks lining the outer walls. The center of the room was open and empty. Looking around Naruto thought he could probably fit his largest puppet in the space, as long as it was laying down of course.

"There are a few rooms up those stairs, they were used as offices and such by the company, but there is a small kitchen area and a bathroom as well, so you could use it as an apartment and the rest of the building could serve as a workshop for your...'projects'."

As Naruto looked around at the open space of the floor and up into the rafters at the offices, he was reminded of another, similar building, where he had first learned how to create the chakra strings for his puppets.

"This is great...I think it would be perfect." Daisuke smiled at him and nodded.

"This building was donated to the village, and put up for sale to raise funds for the restoration effort, so it is very reasonably priced as well."

Naruto turned to him and rubbed the back of his head. "How can I turn this down...I'll take it!"

After returning to Daisuke's office and filling out a few forms, Naruto made his way back to the Hokage Mansion, with the deed to his new home in hand.

Once he arrived he went to his room, greeting a few of the house keepers as he went.

Konohamaru was still attending class at the academy so he wasn't around, however after gathering his few belongings, he found Asuma sitting at a table looking over a few of his fathers papers.

"Hey Uzumaki...I haven't forgotten about that box in...oh you moving out?"

"Asuma-sensei...Yes I've found a new place for myself in the Business District...can you let Konohamaru know for me in case I don't see him later?"

Asuma nodded and promised to drop his box off to him later that afternoon.

With that Naruto created a clone to bring his things back to his new apartment and decided to pay a visit to Busho's Shop for some supplies, as it was high-time he started in on fixing up his current puppets as well as starting on a new one he had been thinking about.

The door to his favorite shop opened with the ringing of a bell and Naruto found the Father/Daughter team hard at work polishing some of the weapons on display.

They both looked up at the sound and greeted him warmly.

"Hey Tenten, Old Man...I need to order some lumber...a lot of it."

He quickly explained his plan to start building a stockpile of parts and limbs for his puppets so he could easily replace damaged and broken parts fairly quickly.

He also told them about his new warehouse and it's address, which was only a block away from the shop, so he could have his order sent there.

"Hey...would either of you know a good place I can get some new furniture? I kind of lost all my old stuff with my old place."

A glint could be seen in Old Man Busho's eye. "Sure, there's a decent shop just up the road...Tenten, why don't you show him the way and help him pick out something for his new apartment?"

The girl sent her father a glare and despite Naruto's meager protests, she led him up the street.

While they shopped, they talked about the prison break and what they had been doing for the mission.

"Lee and I were sent out with Gai-sensei to a few border outposts to collect reports and see if any of the prisoners had tried to get across the border. Sounds like you had more fun than I did. We didn't even encounter a single escapee."

They both were carrying a few grocery bags, while a few shadow clones carried some larger pieces of furniture including a bed, table and couch.

He pushed open the gate to his yard and turned to the girl who had been his shopping companion for the later part of the morning.

"You want to come in and check it out?" The question asked innocently enough brought a small blush to the girls face.

"O...ok..sure, why not..."

Together they walked across the yard and entered the building to see the walls filled with mostly empty shelves and an open empty floor with a slightly raised platform in the center, and just to the side of the main door a winding staircase which led up to the once office, now apartment.

Naruto led her up the stairs, followed by the clones carrying furniture, and into the kitchen.

"Ok..I'm impressed." she said as they placed their bags down on the counter.

The apartment consisted of four rooms. The stairs led up into the largest room, which was at one point a conference room with one wall consisting of a glass window which overlooked the rest of the warehouse and would now be his living room and eating area. To the back of the room was a smaller office, which would serve as his new bedroom. It was in the corner of the building and had a few larger windows on the outer wall which afforded a large view of the market below.

The final two rooms extended off the living room and were a small simple kitchen, a part of the old break room, and a small bathroom. The last had no shower, but Daisuke had informed him that he would arrange for one to be installed for him.

"This is a great place." Tenten looked down on the ground floor as another clone was spreading out a burned and dismantled puppet onto a workbench. The puppet was clearly female and from her position it looked like the remains of a real human body. She of course recognized the puppet from having brought it to her fathers shop after the attack.

Turning around she saw the other clones placing the couch down before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"Thanks." Naruto replied handing her a bottle of water. "You're my first guest."

Tenten laughed lightly. "I'm honored..." she took a sip from the water as a knock came from the main door below them.

"Hey Uzumaki, you home?" Looking down they saw Asuma Sarutobi standing in the large open door with a large cardboard box in his hands. He was looking around and caught sight of the both of them walking down the stairs. He smiled tightly at them.

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt your date like that..." both teens blushed brightly at the teasing "... I just wanted to drop this stuff off for you."

Tenten spluttered and mumbled about them not being on a date. All of which went unnoticed by either of them as Naruto's attention was drawn to the box that they placed down next to the workbench.

"Thank you Asuma-sensei..." Naruto knelt down and gently opened the box. On top of the items, he found the same note that he had received from the Thirds will.

"What is all that Naruto?" Asked Tenten, glancing curiously over his shoulder into the box.

"I think this is a gift...left for me by my mother..."

He took a small chest from the box it was ornately decorated with a swirl-like pattern and a paper seal covering the lock.

Asuma pointed to the seal. "That looks like a blood-seal; try putting a drop of blood onto it."

Naruto cautiously bit his thumb and let a single drop spill onto the paper seal, which immediately ignited and burned away in a flash.

With a soft click, the lid of the chest cracked open.

Naruto carefully lifted the lid and within he saw a scroll laying atop a short ornate sword and an envelope with his name written on it. Gently taking the envelope in shaking hands, he opened it to find a short letter written in a gently flowing script.

'My dearest son,

As I am writing this to you...you just kicked me in the stomach...you're very impatient you know that!...It will not be long before you enter this world. The nurses are preparing the room to deliver you right now. Your father is pacing outside, he is worried because of the stress your birth will place on me, or more specifically on the seal containing that which I keep prisoner within me.'

Naruto's breath caught in his chest as he read that. 'My mother...she the had the fox sealed in her too?!'

'He worries that when the seal weakens, the Kyuubi may try to break free...he is worried that I won't survive the birth.

If you are reading this...then it seems that he may have been right. I am so sorry that I am not there to watch you grow, but know that I will always be there to watch over you. You may be the last of a great lineage, one which I had hoped would be reborn in the Leaf Village. One which began in Uzushiogakure. That is where I was born, the ancestral home of the Uzumaki Clan.

Our home was destroyed long ago when I was still only a little girl. I was brought to this village by the reinforcements sent by our allies in the Leaf. They could find no other survivors within the village itself, and none could tell weather or not anyone had escaped the attack. Many years later I returned to the ruins of my former home. I found an item...a treasure of our people, which I have kept safe. The sword in this chest once belonged to an ancestor of our clan, one of it's founders. He forged it, along with its twin for his personal use. Together they granted him great power. Although his other sword is lost, I leave this sword to you. You must protect it, as it will protect you and those you love. This is a burden I must place on you as the last known survivor of our clan.

The scroll, is my personal gift to you. A jutsu used by our clan, I never mastered it to the level others in our clan have, I mostly used it to keep the Kyuubi securely bound and unable to influence me.

Learn this technique to it's fullest.

Through you my son, our Clan lives on. I love you deeply and I will always be with you.

Live a happy life full of love, and laughter.

Love always,

Your Mother -Kushina Uzumaki

P.S. Keep your Father on his toes...he is deathly afraid of spiders. He always screams like a girl when I slip a few rubber ones into his bed.

Naruto couldn't help it, with emotional tears in his eyes he burst out laughing at the thought of the Fourth Hokage...the most powerful ninja ever known and the most beloved Hokage in the history of the village screaming like a little girl because of a silly prank.

Naruto lay the note and scroll aside to focus on the chests final occupant. Picking up the sword, he barely gave it a look, before a loud shriek of excitement sounded from the girl next to him.

Tenten had taken a few steps back, feeling like an intruder while he was reading what was obviously a very emotional letter, however when her eyes fell on the sword that now rested in his hands, she immediately became as giddy as a small child when presented with an ice cream cone.

"OH MY GOD! It's beautiful!" She began to bounce excitedly.

Naruto had to agree.

It was a Jian style short sword. The blade itself measured around sixty centimeters in length, with a series of seals running down the center. The cross-guard was a copper-gold color with a smooth oval-shaped red stone in it's center. The handle of the sword was long enough to fit a two-handed grip with black wrappings, while the pommel was decorated with the head of an animal resembling a stylized lion, it's mouth closed in the same copper-gold colored metal.

While looking closer at the seals, he looked into the smooth surface of the stone to see a highly advanced series of seal arrays embedded within. The possible purposes of which nearly made him pass out at the sheer thought of their complexity.

"H...hey...N...Naruto...can I...can I see that sword?" Looking back at the girl next to him, he could see her nearly drooling over the weapon of his ancestors. With a slight chuckle at her antics he held the blade out to her.

"Sure...but, please be careful with it."

She quickly snatched it away from him and began closely examining it. He would have laughed more, but he his eye caught something else in the box near his feet and he stooped low to examine it.

He gasped as he held a helmet in his hands.

******Flashback******

"Ne Asuma-Sensei...What are you going to do with the Thirds armor?"

Asuma and Konohamaru sat staring at him. "What...his armor, why would you want to know that?"

Naruto looked sheepishly at them, then down at the floor. "I...It's just that...well... I had this idea just now and...nah... I guess not. Never mind, forget I said anything." He rubbed the back of his head. "Listen, I've got some errands to run, so I'll see you guys later!"

Naruto then turned around and left the dojo, mentally kicking himself for being an idiot. 'What was I thinking!?'

******Flashback End******

Naruto shook himself out of his surprise and turned to ask Asuma about what he was holding, only to find him already outside the building and just disappearing around the corner of the gate with a slight wave and a puff of cigarette smoke.

Looking down again he saw a small note tucked into the helmet. Picking it up, it read.

"...make him proud, Kid..."

Naruto and Tenten walked back up to her fathers shop. She was still gushing over he new sword and he had yet to get it back from her.

"I can't believe how well balanced this sword is...it's so light, but the blade seems far stronger than it should be with this type of metal..."

She held the sword up to the light of the sun to see it shine through the red stone. "...and I can't even begin to tell you what those seals are all about..." She looked over to see the look on Naruto's face. He was looking mildly amused at her expense. She blushed deeply and handed him back the sword.

"Oh...uh...sorry, Naruto...I didn't mean to hog it like that."

He gently took it back and held it lightly in his right hand while cradling the blade in his left. "It's fine...it's not like I really know how to use it anyway or anything..."

The two of them entered Busho's shop again and met her father at the counter.

"Hello you two, how went the furniture shopping...Whats that you have there Naruto?"

Naruto placed the sword down on the counter. The Old Man looked closely at it and with a nod from Naruto he picked it up to examine.

"It's a part of my inheritance from my mother...the note that came with it said that it belonged to an ancestor of the Uzumaki Clan."

He looked a bit puzzled at that. "Uzumaki...Clan?" He examined the blade with a magnifying glass.

"Well this sword is incredibly well made. Not a single nick or scratch on the edge...it's perfectly balanced...the attention to detail is absolutely exquisite...I've never seen anything like this before."

"Dad," the bun-haired girl asked from next to him. "That sword didn't come with a scabbard at all, can you make one for Naruto?"

"I don't see why not." He set about making a mold of the blade and hilt of the sword before wiping it clean and handing it back to him. "It wont be too difficult...I'll probably have that ready for you tomorrow." He gave a sidelong look at his daughter. "I'll have Tenten drop it off for you...you do know how to use that sword...don't you?"

"Uhh...no...not exactly. I suppose I'll just ask Kakashi-sensei if he can help me with it."

"Hmm...Maybe my daughter can give you a few pointers..." His eyes widened a bit when he felt a bit if killing intent coming from the girl.

"Sure...why not." She said through gritted teeth.

"That'll be great, thanks again... both of you." he said, completely oblivious to the tension in the room.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then Tenten." he called as he left the shop to head home and begin looking over the Justu Scroll his mother left him.

"...Father..." Busho gulped loudly as he stiffly turned to his daughter. "...why...are you trying to get me alone with him?"

He began to sweat when she picked up a kunai from behind the counter.