I sighed as I stood in front of the old man with my hands in my pockets. Sasuke and Hinata were growing annoyed and frankly, so was I.
See, for the past week since we passed Kakashi's test, we've been doing nothing but D-rank missions. Mainly because it was a necessity but also partly for another reason.
The fact that my name was in the Bingo Book. In other words, there was a bounty on my head. And, despite my age, I was given the rank of S. Itachi was likely the one to have put it in, if I'm being honest. He's the only one who has come and gone from the village who could've given me such a ranking.
Because of this, Kakashi and the old man were incredibly hesitant to let me leave the village. My status is a well known fact throughout the Elemental Nations, so much so that only a few brave souls have tried and failed to assassinate me. With me living within the Hyuga Compound, it wasn't exactly surprising as to why either.
But my ranking wasn't something that was unfounded, either. I could fight off against two S-Class shinobi at the same time. So I could take on people like Itachi and Hiashi at the same time and still come out on top.
Hiruzen scanned my group before sighing as he stared right into my eyes with narrowed eyes, "Naruto." He declared, getting me to look right back at the old man. "How strong are you right now?" He questioned.
I sighed and scratched the back of my head, "I'm stronger than all of your Anbu members and I'm strong enough to beat Kakashi-sensei and Hiashi-sama at the same time. I think I can reliably state that I could fight side by side with you in your prime without too much difficulty." I declared.
My team didn't look very surprised with such a statement and neither did the old man. The ledgers that were helping the old man sort out the paperwork and Iruka-sensei were.
"What sort of arrogant- How could you possibly state such arrogance in front of Lord Third!" Shouted out one of the ledgers.
Hiruzen held up a hand, "He's not wrong. I've seen his strength for myself. As of right now, he is just barely stronger than I. His statement is accurate, more or less." Hiruzen stated, causing the others to quiet down.
The old man sighed and said, "Then I believe it's time your team tackles something a bit more challenging. A C-rank mission should be fine. Knowing that Hinata and Sasuke were not only trained by Kakashi and Hiashi but also by you, I think I can rest assured." The Hokage said as he stamped a paper. "Sir Tazuna, you may enter now."
The door behind us swung open and I looked over at the man, my eyes glowing with untold power.
Tazuna, the drunk bridge builder, stumbled in. He looked at the three of us and smiled, "Although they're brats, they look strong enough."
Unlike in canon Naruto, since I was actually eating properly, I stood out amongst my two friends as the tallest one there.
I smirked, "We're the strongest ones out there. Now lead the way, we'll keep you safe."
...
Out in a dark room stood an old fat man as he sat nervously in his chair. Despite his greedy nature, he was smart enough to know of Naruto's reputation. The boy who, at the age of four, defeated a jonin and saved the Hyuga heiress. At the age of seven, he stood up against the powerful Uchiha Itachi and repelled him, saving the last two loyal Uchihas.
Before this fat old man, Gato was his name, stood five individuals of incredible power. Three of which belonged to the shady organization of the Akatsuki.
Itachi Uchiha, child prodigy and one with the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan. He stood in his Akatsuki robes with his sword at his side, his glowing red eyes revealing a pair of matured Sharingan.
Right next to him stood Kisame Hoshigaki, the Tailess Tailed Beast and one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. On his back rested Samehada, covered in wrapping of some kind.
Next to him stood the final member of the Akatsuki there, Kakuzu, his face covered in a hood and tendrils spilling out here and there.
Next to him stood Zabuza Momochi, another member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and one of the ones acting against his Kage. Over his back was his massive sword, Kubikiribocho, and his face was covered in bandages.
Finally, standing right by his side was a woman, Haku Yuki, hidden by a mask that covered her face. Her long dark hair fell to the midsection of her back.
These five stood before Gato in all of his old fat glory. It took up quite a lot of money, and courage, to summon these five before him. But it was so easy considering the bounty on Naruto's head already.
Gato took a deep breath and, finally, spoke up, "I've come to bargain..."
...
I scanned our surroundings with my eyes closed and my hands on the back of my head as we walked out of the village. We're finally out of the village! Oh, I'm so excited! I thought in my head.
I frowned as I caught something move within my vision up ahead a few miles ahead. I opened my eyes and lowered my arms. "Kakashi-sensei." I warned.
He nodded his head. Hinata activated her Byakugan and glanced back at me and nodded.
Sasuke looked between us and we shared a look.
Seems I'm sitting out on this one then. These two are around jonin level in terms of capability, so I can rest easy. I thought.
I sighed. This is kinda boring, honestly. I was looking forward to some action. "Sasuke, you dropped your pocket." I said.
He looked down and I pointed my finger at him, "Dumbass~! You fell for it, ha ha!"
Sasuke turned to me with a glare, "You little shit! I'll beat your ass after this mission!"
"You can try~! But you'll be lucky if you can reach my hair follicles!"
Sasuke spun a kick on me and dodged it, "Weave." I said, pissing off Sasuke as he threw more punches and kicks, all of which I had dodged, and each time I did, "Weave, weave, weave, weave. C'mon Sasugay! Try a little harder!"
"Quit fucking moving then!" Sasuke growled at me as I stuck my tongue out and wiggled my fingers around,
"Make me! You're just too slow, mwahahaha!"
Kakashi sighed at our antics with a small smile on his face as Hinata watched with a grin, ready to hop in on the fun.
I blinked and caught one of Sasuke's fists as a serious expression crossed my face. Sasuke, realizing fun time was over, looked over where I was looking, same as Hinata.
I sighed as I looked at the puddle of water on the ground. "Hinata, you mind clearing up the air a bit?" I suggested.
Hinata nodded and stepped forward. Her hands lit ablaze with blue flames as her Byakugan activated, "You done hiding?" She taunted before smashing her fist into the water as two chunin revealed themselves, leaping back.
Hinata got into her own taijutsu stance as they rushed towards her, "Just hand over the bridge builder and we'll spare your friends!"
Hinata sighed as a tick mark formed on her forehead. Her voice came out tight and constricted, one barely holding in the boiling anger inside her, "Did you just threaten my beloved's life?" She questioned.
They grinned, "Aw... You got a cru-!" One of the twin brothers had their face smashed in as their body was folded in like a damn omelette as they were slammed into the dirt. The man coughed up blood as his eyes spun, reeling from the staggering amount of pain he was feeling at that moment. He had broken his back from the sheer impact on the ground and his chest had caved in.
His brother shot forward with one of his chains only for Sasuke to sweep him off of his feet, lodge his blade into the ground, and slam his katana through his shoulder and into the dirt, pinning him there.
Kakashi sighed, "No need to act so aggressively. We still need to find out why they are targeting Tazuna." He said, glancing at the nervous man.
I sighed as I walked over to the twins, the Demon Brothers, and said, "Hinata, Sasuke."
They both slowly backed off from their opponents. I stepped forward and brought the one pinned into the ground to look into my eyes. Activating my Sharingan part of my ocular abilities, I scanned through his memories. I dropped the quivering man and said, "They're working for a guy known as 'Gato'. It seems he's hired a lot of help to prevent our dear bridge builder from finishing his work since it would allow the Land of Waves a way out of his oppression." I declared, causing the drunk to sweat nervously as he quickly told us his tale.
We didn't much care for it, but this was a mission we wanted to tackle so we continued onwards until we reached the bridge, completely undeterred. Which immediately set off alarm bells in my head. In canon, we should've been stopped by Zabuza on our way here.
But it seems my suspicions were proven true. When we arrived at the bridge, it was covered in mist and dead bodies.
Kubikiribocho flew through the air as we all dodged it. I sighed as I peered through the mist around us quite easily. "Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist." I stated as he revealed himself.
He grinned down at me. "Indeed. Seems I get to meet with you face to face, Uzumaki Naruto, the Clan Saviour and Heir to the Uchiha and Hyuga." He stated as he looked over at my other teammates. "Uchiha Sasuke, the Last Uchiha. Hyuga Hinata, the Fallen Angel. And Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan. Seems we have a team of legends amongst us." Zabuza stated before sighing. "But you know... I have some legends on my side too."
Suddenly, four other individuals crashed down in front of us as my eyes widened.
Right in front of us stood three members of the Akatsuki and Haku. Itachi, Kisame, and Kakuzu.
"Ah... shit."
I narrowed my eyes as I glanced at the others. Sasuke's eyes were wide as he looked at his older brother, Hinata shivered in fear, but held a firm taijutsu stance, and Kakashi gulped.
I sighed as I walked out in front. "Itachi, fish guy, creep, let's take this elsewhere." I said, my eyes flashing with power.
They shrugged and calmly followed me. Three S-Class shinobi... and each one is about the level of the old man or greater... But no one else could handle them as they are besides myself. I thought as I began leaping through the trees, not going too fast as the three casually followed me. This is my duty as the Strongest. As the future Hokage. It is my duty to protect Konoha and my family.
I landed into a clearing with Kisame, Itachi, and Kakuzu landing in front of me. I took a deep breath and flooded my body with chakra, enhancing it further with Blood and Bone Manipulation as lightning danced across my form, my eyes glowing immensely. "Alright, let's get started, shall we?" I declared with a grin across my face.
Despite the fact I was likely going to die, I couldn't really find it in myself to care. My blood was up and my mind was clear. That's right, I'm a damn battle junky.
A/N: Alright! Naruto's got himself in a bit of a pickle, and so do the others. With the group now having to go up against five shinobi (All of whom are S-class), things aren't looking so good. Especially for Naruto since we know his limit should be around two mid-level S-Class shinobi, and he's up against three high-level S-Class shinobi.
Anyways, tell me what you like or dislike about the story so far and what you think I could do to make it better. I wanted to break from the mold of just another Gojo fic and I didn't want my character to be broken from the beginning since it would be like every other JJK fic out there. Also, this story will probably be the most upbeat kind of story I've ever written and will focus heavily on the themes of humanity, kindness, and family.
Regardless, this story will showcase a Naruto on some absolutely broken level of power at the end of the story, but he'll have to work for it and nearly die for it. Also, the characters in Naruto are stronger than their canon counterparts and will be so due to the MC's involvement.
With that out of the way...
Ciao!