Chapter 15: Return to Konoha and More Missions
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Kakashi and Shino stared at the two entities before them unsure of what to say. After all, what do you say to finding out that two people you thought you know were time travelers? Kakashi was trying to get his thoughts straight. Never once had he considered time travel to be among the things that the two of them had been hiding from the village. However, being so much older and war veterans to would explain the drastic change in the level of skill and maturity that they had been displaying since the academy graduation. If Hinata had known about this ahead of time, or at least some of it, it would explain why she hadn't been so concerned over the change in behavior. It would also explain why her skill set had been increasing far faster than he had anticipated. Closing his eye he began to ponder the outcome of every way that he could respond to these claims and what he would tell the Sandaime when he got back.
Shino on the other hand was analyzing the two of them and communing with his kikai. If they had lied or fibbed at any point in the story then they would have picked it up. He honestly had no idea what to say about the possibility that the two traveled back in order to stop, for all intents and purposes, the end of the world. The two of them, Sasuke and Naruto, he had always seen as practical (-ish in Naruto's case) and straight forward with their feelings. He had no idea why the two of them would lie about something that important. Furthermore it seemed as if Hinata had already been informed of this by one of them ahead of time. That indicated to him that they were analyzing everyone else around them for trustworthiness. While that wouldn't be a bad thing considering what they were up against it told him that there were people that couldn't be trusted in the village. Perhaps even among their graduating class. Nodding to himself he looked at the two he had come to know as friends.
"So is there anything that I can do to help?" The question took them by surprise but they quickly recovered and smiling happily at the Aburame. Naruto was thrilled that they could count on the Aburame's help for their self-imposed mission. Meanwhile Sasuke knew that it would be easier if they had more people working with them to accomplish their tasks.
"I honestly don't know what to say. Sensei was a genius when it came to fuinjutsu and jutsu creation but even he thought that creating any form of time travel was impossible. However, he also taught me that nothing is impossible so long as you continue to try. Something that you have proven to me already Naruto. If things had continued as they were without you coming back, would you have even passed your test?" Kakashi finally said. Naruto laughed a little.
"Yes and no. I would have failed the official test. However, Mizuki would have tricked me into stealing the scroll of sealing, which would have led to me finding out about Kyuubi and eventually being allowed to pass by the Sandaime. I would still have been on team seven but instead of Hinata we would have had Sakura. Hinata would have been on team eight with Kiba and Shino. Yes, you still would have had Kurenai." Naruto said apologetically. Shino groaned. He could only have imagined just how weak his future self was compared to Naruto and Sasuke if this was what they were capable of in younger, less trained bodies.
"I see. Well that is quite interesting. How far did you go with that team?" Kakashi finally asked.
"Honestly, I never made it passed genin. I was made Hokage after the Godai passed away because all of the other candidates were already dead. So in all honesty I haven't changed my rank at all." Naruto said surprising the group before him. "For that matter it was only after I became Hokage that Sasuke moved passed genin as well."
"Why would they..." Hinata started and then stopped wide-eyed. "THEY HELD YOU BACK BECAUSE OF KYUUBI? WERE THEY RETARDED?!" Her outburst startled everyone in the room and Naruto stared at the heiress open mouthed. He had never once heard her yell like that let alone insult someone. Next to him Sasuke was struggling to regain his wits as well. Shino had jumped initially but Naruto could hear his kikai buzzing angrily at the thought that he had been held back for something that he couldn't control.
"Kind of...yeah." Naruto said sheepishly. Hinata stared at the boy in shock and then face palmed.
"How could you stay loyal even after knowing that?"
"It was home and not much was known about the bijuu or the how they affected the jinchuriki and I was a baby when they sealed the Kyuubi inside of me. The only person that I knew of that had the bijuu sealed that young had mental stability issues because of a faulty seal." Naruto said almost lamely. He had been angry at the decisions but on some level he also understood why. That didn't mean he liked it or would have made the same decision but he still understood some of it.
"Sometimes you can be to naive and kindhearted for your own good." Shino said in amazement. Naruto just laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.
"So why did they hold you back Sasuke?" Kakashi asked in curiosity. Sasuke twitched slightly but he had already made up his mind to be honest about the situation.
"I abandoned the village to train under the traitor Orochimaru, nearly got five genin and one chunin of the hidden leaf killed in an attempt to bring me back, betrayed Oro three years later and then killed my brother. From there I joined a terrorist organization trying to capture the bijuu in order to destroy Konoha, attacked the Raikage's brother and the kage summit, then decided to betray the organization and return to Konoha and fought against them." Sasuke said deadpanning making the occupants of the room groan. Kakashi was staring at his student open mouthed and honestly had no idea what to say.
"In Sasuke's defense he admitted he acted rashly and stupidly and was willing to accept any punishment that the village saw fit for his actions. It also didn't help that when he betrayed the village he had two different entities trying to control him." Naruto added looking at his friend in annoyance.
"You had quite the trip didn't you?" Kakashi said nervously. He had never heard of a shinobi changing their minds so much in so little time.
"Yeah well..the important thing is that the dobe let me come back and trusted me with an important task." Sasuke said quietly. "Even if I couldn't completely succ..."
"Finish that sentence Sasuke and I will send you back. You can not control the fact that the elders left you with such a disadvantage and that you were ambushed on a C-rank mission that turned into a trap." Naruto snapped his voice going from lighthearted to cold and authoritative in seconds. Sasuke jumped slightly and then smiled softly nodding at the blonde. Anytime that he had brought up Hitomi's death he had gotten snappish and reminded the Uchiha that it wasn't his fault for the way that things ended up.
"Sasuke..." Kakashi started only for Naruto to shake his head.
"Just leave it at mission gone horribly wrong and leave it at that. There are a lot of things that we will not tell anyone because they are not of importance or because it would change things to much if they were said out loud." Naruto said with a little pain in his eyes. Kakashi nodded in understanding.
"If you are still unsure we can prove it sensei. Just name a jutsu that we shouldn't know and if we can do it then we will." Sasuke said challenging the copy nin. Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the boy was staring at him in amusement.
"Chidori." He countered thinking that there was no way that the raven haired boy could have gotten access to the jutsu. Within seconds Kakashi was staring at not the Chidori but it's stronger version the Raikiri. Gaping in shock the jonin felt his mouth falling open. Looking over to Naruto to confirm that it wasn't a joke his jaw fell completely open and his eyes bulged as he saw a perfect Rasengan in the blonde's hands. Both boys were laughing at his face as they canceled their techniques.
"Okay I believe you." He squeaked in shock.
"I'm glad that you do. If you want to help us then you need to train to get as strong as you can in the next few months. We still don't know what we are going to do to stop it or if we are just going to focus on reducing casualties yet, but Orochimaru is going to launch an invasion during the next chunin exams hosted in Konoha." Naruto said seriously. The air was thick and the tension stifling as his words sunk in. He knew that finding out that your home was going to be attacked at both its most vulnerable yet most guarded moment was going to be a bit of a shock.
"Orochimaru wants my sharingan and he intends to use the exams to try and give me the heaven seal. Naruto and I still haven't decided if we should let me get the seal or if we should stop it. Before you say anything sensei, I can alter the seal to prevent it from affecting him negatively. However, it does run its own risks regardless. The seal only has a ten percent chance of survival which is why we are still discussing this. He only survived last time because he embraced the power that the seal granted him. If he fights with it to prevent Orochimaru from controlling him this time he may die. However, if he does get it then he will have a readily accessible supply of Senjutsu to use." Naruto said highlighting the risks for the jonin whose eyes widened with realization. Standing Naruto stretched.
"We should save this conversation for later and just focus on resting and training for now." Nodding the rest of the ninjas agreed and began to mentally prepare for the upcoming battle with Zabuza.
Two days later...
As the day of the promised fight arrived, the team could be seen preparing for the fight. Looking at each other as they finished preparations they nodded and headed downstairs. Tsunami was in the kitchen cooking breakfast and Inari was sitting quietly at the table watching his mother. When he had heard that the ninja had returned from their suicide mission he had been surprised. When they had announced that they had dealt with Gato he had been dumbfounded. Somehow they had taken on Gato's whole army and survived. Not only that they had brought food, supplies and money back with them. Were they right? Should he move on from the past and look forward to spending everyday enjoying what he had or no?
"We are ready to go. Kurenai you may come if you wish. There is no danger to the bridge builder now. Once we settle things with Zabuza there will no longer be any opposition to the bridge and you will be able to finish it safely. As mission protocols state we will be staying until the bridge is done so don't worry about that okay?" Kakashi said as he headed for the door. Tazuna nodded in gratitude as the nins left the building. They had done more than he had hoped for since coming to Nami and he wasn't sure if they could ever repay the shinobi.
The trip to the bridge was silent as the group began to develop various strategies to end the fight quickly. Despite what he had found out Kakashi was still nervous about letting Sasuke and Naruto handle the swordsman and his apprentice alone. However, he also knew that he had to have faith in their abilities. They had developed time travel after all. Arriving on the bridge Kakashi noted Zabuza waiting patiently in the center. Stepping forward Kakashi called out to the other man.
"Shall we take this battle elsewhere so that the bridge is not damaged in the fight?"
"I see no reason why we can't fight here. After we win we will be destroying the bridge." Zabuza countered. Naruto snickered catching the swordsman's attention.
"Why destroy the bridge? You won't get paid for the mission now that Gato is dead. Raiding his mansion won't help you either, we already did that." The blonde informed the 'demon' in amusement before he could ask the question.
"Well then, I suppose that we truly have no reason to destroy the bridge then. However, in that case why should we even fight in the first place?"Zabuza queried.
"You want to know what we are capable. You want to finish the fight that we had before and you are curious as to why I called you out for a one-on-one fight." Naruto replied. Zabuza felt his eyes widen slightly at the way that the blonde had read him. Snorting in amusement he lifted his sword and followed the group away from the bridge. While there would be the possibility that they were leading him into a trap he doubted that they would have gone through everything that they had just to end the fight with dirty tricks. The trip was short and when they landed they were far enough away from the village so that no innocents would be caught up in the fighting but close enough to get back to the bridge builder quickly if needed.
"Zabuza, I want to fight you alone. Kakashi-sensei has already agreed that I can. He will only step in if it looks like I am about to die. Sasuke wants to fight Haku. He is interested in knowing which one of them is faster. Again Kakashi-sensei will only interfere if it looks like he is going to die." Naruto informed the ex-jonin who raised an eyebrow at the cyclops.
"I trust in my genin. If they think that they can handle this than I will not doubt their ability. I will let them try. However, I am not willing to risk their lives either. Therefore, I will step in if needed. That is part of what being a jonin is about." He informed Zabuza. After a moment Zabuza nodded in consent. He had his doubts about his ability to defeat the team but surely he could defeat the blonde right?
As they combatants stood across from each other they began to try and formalize a plan of attack. They knew that one misstep and someone would die. Sasuke and Naruto couldn't afford to let that happen. As if prompted by an invisible signal all four rushed at each other intending to finish the fight quickly. However, Zabuza soon realized that would be impossible. The blonde was far faster than he had given him credit for. He was nimbly dodging the giant sword as if it were child's play! Nearby Haku was finding herself in a similar predicament. The Uchiha was far more agile then she thought possible for his build. Further complicating matters were the fire jutsu hot enough to melt her ice that he was using. Gritting her teeth Haku jumped away from her opponent and raised her hands to weave a seal only to pull them apart to block a kick.
Sasuke had no intention of being caught in the Crystal Ice Mirrors again and was hellbent on preventing her from using it. Granted he knew several ways to escape now but that didn't mean that he wanted to go through it again. Watching carefully for an opening and resisting the urge to use his sharingan he smirked as he finally found one. Darting forward he swiftly broke through her defenses and pinned her to the ground with a kunai at her throat. Their fight was over. Shaking his head he knew what Haku was going to ask and he honestly felt a little sad that the girl had lived such a life. However, if Naruto and he had their way that would no longer be the case. She could be Haku, a person with feelings and purpose, not a weapon.
Zabuza was furious. No matter what he did he couldn't land a hit on the boy! How was he so fast? Suddenly the blonde stopped moving and looked him in the eye.
"Haku was defeated. Haku was stronger than you right? Well just so you know I am stronger than Sasuke. You have no hope of winning this fight Zabuza. Surrender." He said in a calm, even voice. Despite the fact that it had come from a genin, Zabuza sensed and air of authority in it.
"Not gonna happen brat."
"Then I have no choice. Zabuza Momochi, wielder of the Kubikiribocho, I demand that you lay down your sword and obey the oath that you took to Uzu when you received your sword." Naruto barked. The younger more naive tone was gone, replaced by the tone of a leader and experienced shinobi. Glaring at the boy he took a step forward intending to swing his sword when he felt the resistance. Kubikiribocho was refusing to fight! Zabuza stared long and hard at the boy before him.
"Who are you really?"
"Naruto Uzumaki, heir of the Uzumaki clan and heir to Uzu no Kuni. You owe my clan, and me, your allegiance as a member of the seven. I ask you now Zabuza, will you betray the oath you made to Uzu and turn your back on the clan that crafted your blade? Or will you lay down your weapon and obey the alliance with Uzu?" He said standing firm. Zabuza closed his eyes pondering what to do. A long time ago he had indeed swore an oath to defend the Uzumaki clan and aid Uzu should they ever need it. The oath forbade him from pointing his blade against an Uzumaki unless it was a sanctioned sparring match. Furthermore, his duties to Uzu were supposed to come before his duty to Kiri. If he obeyed, he would lose the fight by default and be subject to whatever command the child gave him. If he refused to obey, he would no longer be able to wield the Kubikiribocho any longer and would be seen as a traitor to Uzu. Traitors to Uzu had very short life spans once they were found out. He could feel Haku's eyes on him, watching in fear.
Kurenai was openly gaping. To think that the boy had that much power over the strongest swordsmen in Kirigakure by birth. No wonder he had asked to fight the swordsman. He knew that even if he was no match for him physically he could also force his hand. Somehow she felt as if no genin should wield that much power over anyone.
"Very well. I yield." Zabuza finally said dropping to one knee. Relaxing Naruto smiled over at Kakashi and Sasuke. Their gamble had paid off. They would have two more allies in the coming war.
The bridge was completed not even a week later. The village had all gotten together for a festival to celebrate their independence and new freedom. Naruto and Sasuke watched the festivities from a distance still trying to plan what to do next. Especially with Shino not having a team. He would definitely not be ready without proper training. At the same time he would have more time to focus on his clan training without one. Sighing as he leaned back Naruto looked over at his friend who was staring at the lights in the village.
"I can only think of one possibility and that may cause more problems than we need. At the same time it would help to bolster our list of allies." Naruto finally said. Without saying a word Sasuke nodded in agreement. He knew what the Rokudaime was thinking and he agreed that it may cause more problems than they needed but at the same time they needed Shino to be ready for the coming war.
"Haku isn't in the village you know." Naruto finally said making the Uchiha flush and nearly fall off of the roof. Glaring at his friend, who was laughing, he turned to look at him.
"Who said I was looking for Haku?"
"No one. The thing is I know you to well. You think she's pretty." He teased. Sasuke growled at the blonde who smirked a foxy grin.
"So have you figured out what you are going to say to Hiashi yet?" Sasuke said making the blonde pale and slide off of the roof. Snickering, Sasuke laid back on the roof. He knew that would happen. Hiashi had nearly castrated him the first time because Naruto had gotten tongue tied and in his nervousness had made it sound as if he were asking for something far different.
"TEME!" The blonde yelled. As he climbed back up on the roof and laid next to his friend he groaned. He was afraid that it would be even worse this time because he had the memory of the last attempt. Silence passed between the two for some time before Sasuke spoke up.
"Do you think that they will consider your proposal?"
"Yes." He replied confidently. Sasuke said nothing as they watched the stars for the first time in a long while.
As the Konoha nin were saying their farewells on the bridge the next morning Naruto didn't look at all worried at the lack of Zabuza's presence. After the final farewell was made they turned and became the first people to cross the newly built, but unnamed, bridge. After leaving the village the group traveled in silence as they made their way back to Konoha. Kurenai was quiet as she knew that Kakashi wasn't going to bite his tongue for much longer. She also knew that the Sandaime would make an inquiry into the mission and her training once she got back as a result of the injuries sustained by Sakura and Kiba. Not to mention the backlash she would probably get from the Inuzuka clan. She was jolted from her thoughts as the two Kiri nins dropped from the trees in front of them.
"Did you give it any thought?" Naruto asked the older shinobi.
"Yeah. After discussing it over with Haku we decided that we would return to Konoha with you as Uzu shinobi." Zabuza stated making the blonde's grin grow quickly. Digging in his bag Naruto pulled two new Uzu headbands from a storage scroll and tossed them at the two. One of many things that he had salvaged from the destroyed village. Shaking his head at the blonde's uncanny ability to predict things Sasuke smirked at the two.
"Welcome to the circus. Don't ask who the ring master is, no one knows." Groaning Zabuza and Haku tied their headbands on and the now larger group continued towards the hidden leaf. The trip was quick and silent and before they knew it they had arrived at the gate. Waving at Izumo and Kotetsu, Naruto laughed at their baffled expressions towards Zabuza and Haku. After checking in they headed for the Hokage's office. Once they were shown in and the door closed behind them, Naruto snickered at the Sandaime's expression.
"What in hell happened?!" He demanded staring at the two nin before him.
"We went on a C-rank and then an A-rank, Kurenai fucked up, we cleaned up and Naruto seems to be entertaining the idea of reviving Uzu." Kakashi summed up the whole month in one sentence. Zabuza turned to look at the team in shock as the Sandaime whined. Somehow, in the span of not even one month team seven had done two C-rank missions, two A-rank missions and considering who Gato had apparently hired to kill him and Haku an S-rank mission! Hiruzen groaned at the group and glared at Kakashi, who merely laughed.
"The bandit elimination went off without a hitch. It was swift and the genin performed remarkably considering it was their first assignment." Zabuza nearly choked on air. "Afterwards our A-rank mission to Uzu was also a success in regards to getting there. Unfortunately there wasn't much that we could salvage from the ruins outside of a few Uzu headbands and clan census records. Everything else was destroyed. Upon our return to Konoha we received your directives to head to Nami and assist team eight with a mission that got out of hand. Upon arriving we discovered Haruno Sakura and Inuzuka Kiba were severely wounded and incapacitated. Akamaru, Kiba's ninken, was injured but not to the same severity as his partner. Aburame Shino had mild injuries which were treated on the spot thanks to Hinata's iryo training. Jonin Yuhi Kurenai was engaged in combat with Momochi Zabuza a nuke-nin from Kirigakure." Kakashi stated and then paused to take a breath.
"After forcing Zabuza into retreat we sent the injured back to Konoha where I assumed that they received proper treatment at the hospital. After which I made the decision to continue with the mission and we escorted Tazuna back to his home. Over the course of approximately two weeks I continuously trained the genin and we made a successful raid on Gato mansion. However, we were met with quite some resistance in the form of Maro the Mantis, Goro the Unyielding, Ryusuke the Dragon Tamer and Hiyari the Mistress of Torture. Thankfully we were able to defeat our enemies without suffering any severe damage. We then made our way to Gato himself. There we secured supplies for the village and took control of Gato's legit business ventures. Afterwards we waited until Zabuza was healthy enough to fight and met him in combat once more. As he swore an oath to Uzu upon receiving the Kubikiribocho Naruto demanded that obey it. He did and Naruto made him a shinobi of Uzu. So here we are." Kakashi finished. Stepping forward Naruto laughed.
"Here is the remainder of the fee for an A-rank mission and the fines for the misleading mission request bringing Nami back to good standing with the Hidden Leaf. This is a trade alliance request between Nami and Konoha and this is from Tazuna himself. I don't know what is in it but he asked me to give it to you." Hiruzen was staring at the genin wide eyed.
"RYUSUKE THE DRAGON TAMER?! HIYARI THE MISTRESS OF TORTURE?! HOW THE HELL ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!" He yelled in shock making the shinobi before him flinch. After a second team seven and Shino shrugged as if to say "damned if we know". Falling back in his seat Hiruzen massaged his temples.
"Oh by the way, where do we turn in bounties?" Naruto said with a knowing smirk. They had managed to salvage the bodies of their opponents and decided to turn them in for the bounty. That was on top of the weapons and summoning contracts that they had taken.
"Kakashi can show you later." He groaned in exasperation. After nodding Naruto looked at the Sandaime.
"I need permission to leave the Hidden Leaf for a period no less than two weeks to travel for clan related business. Furthermore, as I do have decided to place Zabuza and Haku on loan to the village as per the Uzu-Konoha treaty and I have decided to ask Zabuza to take over Shino's training as Kurenai is obviously not capable. I feel that the arrangement of Haku and Shino on the same team will be more than enough to keep his training going until a third member can be found."
"Where do you need to go?"
"To check on the well being of a clan member in another country is all you need to know. I will also need a letter delivered to the Kusakage in regards to a second member of the Uzumaki clan." The Sandaime stared the boy in the eyes as if trying to decided whether or not to allow it. He was growing increasingly concerned over his sudden rise in strength and changing behavior but so far there was nothing that could be done. Taking a deep breath he prepared to give his answer.
: To Be Continued: