Chapter 25: Next phase
This chapter marks the end of the training arc. We're now moving to the beginning of the Wave arc next chapter and all the shit that may come unexpected for our hero.
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"It's been said that the 3rd regiment got the best of the war. We also got the worst. In Ame, the tree huggers occupied large swaths of land and dug their heels into the muck of that waterlogged hellhole and dared Iwa to come in after them. So we did, only to be met with month after month of oderless and invisible toxins that melted flesh off the bone, Soulless eyes of Konoha ANBU that struck in the night, and other sights that haunt me to this day. Cut off and for all we knew abandoned by our superiors, our only hope was our appointed commander, Emiko Tanaka. Without her iron will, and the power she wielded being the Jinchuriki of the Gobi, none of us would have come out of that mess with our sanity, or our lives. When her death came during the destruction of Uzu years later, I hope it was quick. She earned that much."
Exerpt from journal of Ozawa Daisuke, Jonin of Iwagakure, 3rd regiment, Second Shinobi War, Ame theatre of operations.
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Hiruzen POV:
'They accepted.' He thought.
Kumo had accepted their invitation to the chunin exams. They'd be sending either one or two genin teams, along with two jonin escorts. It was good news, but it was overshadowed by even better news.
Hiruzen had finally been able to get a handle on the paperwork issues that plagued him during certain times of the year. It was so simple that he could still kick himself for not seeing it earlier.
Kage bunshin.
Naruto, being the kind and supportive person he was, mentioned it in passing, giving Hiruzen a wink.
Hiruzen had finally been able to do all the paperwork himself instead of delegating it to either career genin or retired Shinobi that played the role of administration.
Shikaku was also pleased that he didn't have to help with organizing every single A-rank and higher mission, as Hiruzen was handling it himself with his clones.
Hiruzen set the message from Kumo on his desk, thinking of the different reactions that the different clan heads felt.
Hiashi was, unsurprisingly, irate. He didn't want them to be allowed into the heart of Konoha after what they did last time.
The other clan heads had mixed feelings, most being indifferent, but still leaning a little towards the side of caution. The clan heads had been personally training their children and themselves in preparation for the invasion, and Hiruzen wasn't any different.
Even at nearly 70, he knew he was the most dangerous Shinobi in Konoha. He had started to train more to try and turn back the clock on some of the rigours of time. The last few months felt like he had an extra lease on life. The training was hard to get in the flow of, but it was beginning to pay off. His thoughts were clearer, his mind sharper, his steps more sure, and his chakra responded to his will better than it had in a long time.
The fire had been stoked.
Hiruzen wasn't the only strong Shinobi to start up self improvement. His son and the other Jonin had trained just as hard as their students, often training right alongside them.
Kakashi, if he wanted to, could be in the running for Hokage once Hiruzen stepped down. Kakashi had come a long way from the lazy and complacent A-rank Jonin he had been. Lazy when he wanted to be, he had still kicked his training into a higher gear and polished over his competence in the many jutsu he knew to the point where they were better than adequate for a situation.
He was bordering on S-rank, and would be a major asset to Konoha in the years to come.
Hiruzen thought of the different students that had bloomed under the group tutelage of the Jonin.
Gai's students improved their skills across the board, Lee and Neji making leaps of progress in their taijutsu, and his other student, Tenten, was fast becoming a capable kunoichi with her blades and kenjutsu she started learning.
Kurenai's was looking to be an excellent tracking and spying unit. The Inuzuka heir had become more tempered in his attitude, thinking before he acted to maximize his skills in taijutsu and his clan's jutsu, the Aburame heir had become truly dangerous in taijutsu and was making good progress in the use of his insects, and the civilian girl, Sakura, was looking to be able to emulate her Sensei in Genjutsu prowess one day, along with one of the fastest progressions in Iryo-ninjutsu he'd seen in years.
Asuma's team was closer to being on the same level as their fathers' had been when the threat of war motivated the clans to accelerate their children's training leading up to the Third War. The Akamichi heir was a formidable taijutsu opponent, even by his clan's standards, Shikaku's son had a truly brilliant mind for strategy, and the use of his shadow was made much easier by his above average chakra capacity and control for a Nara his age along with better physical fitness, and Inoichi's daughter showed the greatest progress of Asuma's team.
Yamanaka Inoichi made the mistake of wanting his daughter to have a more laid back childhood than what would be expected of the heiress to a clan. He realized his mistake when he discovered how much Ino's infatuation with Sasuke stunted her growth as a capable kunoichi.
On Sasuke, Kakashi informed Hiruzen that he had a talk with the young Uchiha about Rin and some of his attitude towards others. Naruto had stepped in as well, surprisingly. Naruto, to both Kakashi and Hiruzen's surprise, had told Sasuke about the Uzumaki clan. He only gave the barebones details, but still told him how he and Rin were the last ones of their clan.
He told Sasuke that he knew what he was going through with the civilians trying to throw their daughters at him and could empathize. Sasuke had completely stopped trying to get Rin's attention and instead focused on improving his skills and trying to be genuinely kinder and less cold.
Naruto had told Hiruzen that he and Rin had come to a decision on their clan status. They wanted to wait until one of them became Chunin so their opinions would hold more weight when the civilian council inevitably would try and fail to complain and raise a fuss.
"Save you the headache of dealing with morons." they said.
'Not like you aren't giving me a headache already, Naruto.'
Out of all the genin, Naruto was the best, no doubt about it. He'd reached the point where he should be able to keep pace with Gai's prize student using taijutsu alone when his weights were dropped, but he seemed to fight slower or not use certain strategies that were tried and tested through trial and error against the Jonin he sparred with.
Aside from Rin, Naruto would wipe the floor with any of the Genin if he cut loose and unleashed his entire arsenal of Jutsu and weapons on them. Hiruzen had only one or two realistic ideas why Naruto would try to hide how far ahead he was over everyone, even his sister.
'He wants to be seen as a leader, but still within reach, or he's still worried about too much attention.'
Each generation had at least one person they wanted to emulate. He had been his generation's, being the best of the best, Senju Tobirama only taking the most capable students and he made Hiruzen his successor.
The Sannin were the next generation, having made their names known across all the Elemental Nations in the Second War.
Minato was the next, being rookie of the year in his class and having unmatched charisma and skill in leading. And even better, he was a genuinely kind man.
Naruto was undoubtedly his father's son. He had many aspects of his mother, but he was sharp and could take point like his father. Rin received nothing but good things from having a brother that had the brilliance and the kind nature to help pull others along with him to greater heights.
'Being a leader can get lonely at times though.'
Naruto, the same boy that understood the value of being discreet in his and his sister's grades that were accessible to all Shinobi in Konoha, a percieved vulnerability to someone who was paranoid about his sister getting killed, would probably know about how envy or resentment can be bred by being head and shoulders above those your age.
'He's possibility waiting until they all reach a certain point before he reveals more.'
He noticed that Naruto was much more decisive and 'vicious' when fighting Kakashi or the other Jonin when none of the Genin were present compared to when he fought Rin or Hinata.
The Jonin could handle whatever Naruto threw at them. If Hiruzen had to guess, Naruto was more akin to Jonin level, let alone a prodigious rookie Chunin.
'He'll probably downplay his skills as usual.'
The 4 Jonin weren't simply Jonin, they were the most capable ones Konoha had in the village currently. Being bested by them, but still putting up a solid fight, wasn't something to be ashamed of.
But Naruto wasn't simply putting up a solid fight.
Kurenai couldn't match him in taijutsu for extended periods without nearly exhausting her chakra with Genjutsu casting. Gai had mentioned excitedly how he'd been blessed with the privilege of seeing another youthful Shinobi rise to great heights in taijutsu. Asuma had been regaling him on how both Rin and Naruto looked to be very skilled blade users, Naruto with his clan ability and his Kenjutsu progression.
Speaking of Kenjutsu, Hiruzen started to think some things tend to repeat, no matter how long it takes.
'Mito wasn't the most accomplished in Kenjutsu, but still had some training in it. Kushina was better, albeit using a different style.'
Hiruzen discovered, after sifting through scrolls and journals that had been in storage for decades that he'd nearly forgotten about, a scroll with some of Ashina's sword forms for different types of combat.
He gave it to Naruto, as it was technically his and Rin's birthright and he had been making good progress on his Kenjutsu. His progress jumped a notch after he studied the scroll. Naruto took to the style like a fish to water, being able to last even longer against Neko than he had weeks before.
The style revolved around the stamina inherent in the Uzumaki. It required intense focus and speed to weather a storm of attacks and to counter swiftly when an opponent was exhausted from trying to break through the defense.
He didn't realize until he had given Naruto the scroll that there was a side note on the scroll about the needed competence to be considered a master of the style.
You must be able to walk out into a storm, naked, with only your sword and come back dry.
'You're definitely Ashina's descendant, Naruto.'
The little joke Ashina put, along with some letters between him and Mito that Hiruzen found when searching for some things for Naruto and Rin to have, reminded him of long forgotten memories of when his Sensei would talk about the deceased Uzumaki.
"Ashina-sensei never fails to try and lighten the mood when something serious would be going on. He'd joke about how my brother was too busy trying to keep Mito under control."
Kushina adored her great grandfather, and he loved her the most out of his great grandchildren, even though he loved them all. Ashina had sent a letter to Hiruzen just a few days before word came of an army forming to destroy Uzu. The letter asked him one simple thing.
Please take care of my family.
Even after he was long dead, Ashina still lived on in his descendants. His clan still lived on. His sacrifice had not been in vain. His little Kushina's children were the best in their generation, her son inheriting his clan's skill with blade and seals.
Hiruzen nodded wistfully at thinking of the man, also thinking what connection he had with the mysterious Uzumaki named 'Hurin'.
The man had been quiet for some time, no new message coming. Hiruzen didn't know if it meant the man had given up, died, or was gathering more information, but he was certain of one thing.
Time was running out.
"Far greater trials and tribulations await Konoha after the serpent."
Orochimaru was one of the strongest Shinobi Konoha produced. It's the stuff of nightmares to think of threats that were definitely coming that were greater than him.
Hiruzen didn't know who all the members of the Akatsuki were, but if the members consisted of individuals who even gave an Uzumaki seal master a reason to be covert about freely giving information, it didn't bode well for Konoha.
They would prepare to weather the storm as best as they could.
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"Thank you for such an amazing job, Uchiha-san," The lady that hired them to babysit said kindly, "My little angels are sleeping so well right now."
Rin watched as Sasuke turned a distressing shade of red, his fists clenched.
"It was no big deal." He said tightly, trying to keep the irritation from bleeding through.
The three young children they were supposed to watch for a couple hours in the morning were a nightmare. Hinata had to constantly chase the one that tried to escape through the window, Sasuke had to deal with the screaming three year old that wanted to pull his hair out.
And Rin got puked on by the toddler.
She stank like spoiled milk and her hair was sticking to her face after coming in contact with something that she didn't know what.
The lady gave Sasuke the signed receipt to show they did the contracted job and whispered something in his ear.
Sasuke stiffened and nodded tightly, turning and leaving.
Rin and Hinata followed and the three saw Kakashi standing in the middle of the street, reading his orange book.
"So," The lone eye of their Sensei didn't meet any of them, remaining fixed on the book, "How did you three fare?"
"I'm never having kids." Rin said simply, shivering at the thought of screaming toddlers in the night now.
Rin's desire to have a big family took a direct hit when she had to deal with a screaming infant that crapped itself while she was holding it, and then puked in her hair.
Naruto can have a bunch of red haired brats driving him insane through the night instead of her, or at least more insane than her twin already is.
Kakashi scoffed. "Be overdramatic then."
Rin felt a tic mark appear near her temple as she muttered obscenities under her breath in her's and Naruto's language.
"Rin," Hinata sighed, looking at her expectantly, "I know those are bad words. Naruto says them all the time when he's angry."
'Leave to 'Nata to guilt trip me.' Rin thought as she clicked her tongue.
"Sorry." She mumbled sheepishly. If Sasuke had brought it up, or Kakashi, she'd still carry on, but Hinata was her best friend and her opinion mattered quite a bit.
"Could you help clean my hair?" Rin asked the Hyuga girl, breathing through her mouth so she didn't smell the residual puke.
"Uhm," Hinata held up her hand, her index and middle finger looking red, "The little boy bit me and my fingers hurt."
Rin felt a growl build up at that, before she looked at Sasuke expectantly.
Sasuke had been irritable ever since she flat out rejected going to a restaurant with him, just the two of them. She'd jokingly asked him if it was like a date, which he replied, completely seriously, with "Sure".
She obviously didn't take it well and called him a jerk and an idiot, before storming off. That ended up causing an argument between the two, which Kakashi seemed to know what it was about when he made them stay away from each other for a little while.
They didn't talk for a couple days and it had been an awkward week, but they just ignored it like nothing happened after that. Rin was too prideful to admit she stepped on Sasuke emotionally, and Sasuke probably wouldn't apologize for asking in such a hamfisted way.
Naruto, after he had paced a hole through the floor and ranted about burying Sasuke alive, had said Sasuke might have done so to truthfully say to all the idiot girls that kept harassing him that he had a girlfriend.
Of course, Rin didn't know, and she almost didn't want to know. It made sense, because Sasuke and she were indeed friends, and he could trust her to not ridicule him.
Or so she thought.
"Fine." Sasuke sighed, gesturing towards a fountain near them.
"Hinata and I will just wait here." Kakashi called out to them as they walked away.
The two sat on the stone circle around the fountain, the blonde Uzumaki suddenly feeling exposed.
"Do you have a water bottle?" Sasuke asked, sitting behind her.
Rin nodded and pulled one out of her scroll, handing it to him.
Sasuke took it and popped the cap, grabbing her hair.
"Ow," Rin flinched at him pulling her hair, "Careful." She warned.
"Sorry." Sasuke said hastily, his grip loosening, "I didn't mean to."
Taking greater care, Sasuke slowly poured the water through her hair, letting the water drip on the ground.
His fingers brushed across the back of her neck and she fidgeted, fighting the urge to shake her head.
"You alright?" He asked quietly, letting go of her.
"My neck's sensitive." She muttered, spitting a bit from the water dripping down her face as she was hunched over. "Just don't drag your fingers."
Sasuke went quiet for a moment.
"Like this?" He asked, dragging his nails like Naruto constantly did.
Rin squeaked and flailed a bit to get away from him, but he held her still by her hair.
The laugh that came from Sasuke sounded genuine, and it made her want to punch him.
"Jerk." She growled, helpless in her current state of leaning forward while he helped her.
"You could've just used a clone," Sasuke pointed out, "But it sounds like you needed me to rescue you from the scary infant."
Rin cringed at the oversight, but she didn't show how much that got under her skin.
"Would you rather get barfed on?" Rin asked, feeling Sasuke's fingers continue to go through her hair.
"Getting tinnitus from a three year old sounds bad enough," Sasuke pointed out, "And Hinata didn't get off easy either."
Rin would've nodded in resigned agreement, but her male teammate was still running his hand through her hair to still clean it.
It went on for another minute and Rin didn't know why.
"What's taking so long?" She asked him.
"There's still white bits," Sasuke replied, "Unless you don't shower at all?" He added sarcastically.
Rin didn't take the bait, knowing he'd try and make another comment.
Taking a bit of a gamble, Rin broached a topic that Sasuke may not find positive.
"What did the lady say?" Rin asked politely. The twitch of Sasuke's fingers through her hair was enough to clue her in.
"She said I was great with kids," Sasuke muttered, the sound of the water bottle crinkling as he pocketed it, "And she said her eldest was a great girl, just like all the other women who try and tell me how pretty their daughters are."
The iciness in his voice was jarring to say the least. Sasuke would get that way, but Rin didn't really connect why that was the case.
'Does he just straight up distrust people because of what Naruto said?' She wondered.
"Is that why you didn't like the fangirls?" Rin straightened up, looking him in the eye.
The dark eyes of Uchiha Sasuke looked cold as they met hers, but seemed to soften with effort.
"Partially," He admitted, "I don't like that kind of attention. They see me as Uchiha Sasuke, not Sasuke."
Rin knew Sasuke wasn't the sharing type, so this small amount of trust he put in her, and the fact they were in the middle of the village, meant he valued her... friendship?
"That makes sense." Rin smiled softly, "And just so you know, you're Sasuke to me."
Maybe she could bring herself to apologize for his attempt to protect himself from the annoyance of mothers and fangirls.
Sasuke seemed to relax a bit, a small smile adorning his face.
After a second of silence, Rin realized he was still holding her hair.
"Uh, Sasuke," She said awkwardly, pointing at his hand, "Can you let go?"
Sasuke's eyes widened and he let go of her, averting his eyes as his cheeks flushed.
"Sorry." He mumbled, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
Wanting to avoid an awkward silence, Rin spoke up.
"Thank you," She eventually managed to say, "For helping me."
It seemed to do the trick as Sasuke nodded quietly.
"Let's get back to Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke cleared his throat, walking towards their Sensei and teammate, "I don't want him harassing me."
"Why, wanting round two of playing House?" Rin asked sarcastically, bumping her shoulder against him.
Sasuke staggered a bit from the impact, but shot her a look.
"Why, wanting to eat more of my mild curry?" He fired back.
Curry was the food of the damned and she'd never eat it again.
Rin maturely stuck out her tongue, not saying anything else.
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Naruto POV:
"Damnit." I hissed, fighting the urge to grab at my arm after my clone landed a cut on my shoulder.
I had been training since 6:00, focusing on applying my preferred kenjutsu form into an actual fight.
This style just seemed to click, my mind seeming to know it instinctively. I never would've thought a more conservative and defensive form would work best, given my personality, but it did.
I sensed a second clone slash at my back, which I backflipped over it and took its head clean off.
I ignored the feedback, relishing in how powerful I felt.
I never could've done that in my previous life. I flipped a good six feet in the air and was able to tell something was there without the five normal senses.
Glancing around, I adjusted my grip on the weighted sword and shouted at my clones to follow.
I shot towards the river, being next to the training ground I was using, and water walked, spinning a kunai on my fingers with chakra.
I'd gone through all the normal chakra control exercises I knew, so I focused on maintaining my composure while multitasking.
With one hand, I concentrated as I diverted attacks from my clones, the clang of steel ringing out.
The goal was to constantly defend, hoping to basically craft an unbreachable shield against attacks. Nobody alive could match me in chakra when I matured, so I needed to shore up my vulnerability to taijutsu and close range attacks.
With a shout, my clone overextended and lashed at my face with a kick, trying to knock me down.
With next to no thought, I stopped spinning the kunai and stabbed forward, popping the clone. The second one got popped when I made a half seal to shoot a water senbon at it point blank in the face.
A cheap move, but it worked.
Taking a deep breath, I shakily tossed the sword to dry land, trying to steady my shaking legs.
Judging by the sun, it was probably around 10:00, meaning Asuma was probably going to swing by to drag me to another D-rank.
Sure, they were mindless fun, but walking dogs got annoying when they either coward away from you or wanted to hump your leg.
God, the Inuzuka dogs are annoying.
Balancing my chakra and focusing it in my feet, I did a much more controlled version of exploding leaves with chakra and blasted off the water, spinning to right myself midair. I landed softly on the grass, sensing the clones training nearby.
"Water, pop!" I barked, knowing they were working on manipulating mist and forming Mizu bunshin from it.
The flashes of chakra stopped and several dozen clones popped, the rush of chakra making my tenketsu tingle.
Giving myself a minute to adjust to the influx of chakra and memories, I shouted at the other group, the ones that were training my Raiton to be a little more stable so I didn't blow an arm off by trying a Raikiri, to pop.
Closing my eyes, I sighed as I weathered the feedback, not envying people who didn't have Uzumaki blood and a Bijuu to prevent their brain from melting.
'Just so long as I don't get early onset dementia, I'll be fine.'
Not wanting to smell awful, I stripped and ran towards the river, diving in to wash myself off.
After cleaning myself, I went back to one of the storage scrolls I had and pulled out a towel, drying myself.
Once finished, I put on a clean set of clothes and packed everything up, pleased with my progress.
A spark of familiarity brushed against my senses and I turned behind me, feeling Asuma's chakra.
Sure enough, the man's dark hair and imposing height stood out against the treeline.
"How'd you find me?" I asked, certain that he couldn't have gotten past my seal alarms.
"You train your water release." He deadpanned, "All I had to do was follow the river and wanton destruction."
I made a show of scowling at the last part.
"Funny," I pushed my still damp hair back out of my face, "D-rank?"
Asuma nodded. "Fence painting."
"Again?" I asked resignedly.
"It builds character." He laughed, signaling me to follow him, which I did. "And Team 7 is helping Gai."
"I pity them." I mumbled, following Asuma.
Once we were out of the forest, I looked up at the much taller man and asked a simple question.
"How good is Rin doing with Wind release?"
Asuma smiled slightly, his stride not changing.
"She's getting better," He said, "At least one of you genin have a wind affinity."
I snickered at that, knowing it must have annoyed Asuma to no end that none of his students had that affinity.
We eventually reached the center of the village, the three genin of Team 10 standing out amongst the civilians.
"Hey, guys!" I called out, waving towards them, "So you guys need help with painting?"
Shikamaru sighed and leaned against a wall, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"Are you going to be as troublesome as last week?" He asked, already looking resigned.
"Don't be such a drama queen," I rolled my eyes, glancing at Ino, "He's just being dramatic, right?"
"You blew up a bird, Naruto." Ino reminded me, flicking her hair behind her shoulder.
"How would you feel if a bird dropped a wet deuce in your hair, Ino?" I grumbled, remembering how disgusting it was.
Shit smelled much worse in this life because of the stupid fox. That bird didn't even know what hit it.
"And besides, it didn't blow up. It exploded."
Ino said nothing, only rolling her eyes.
"Just don't go off on a tangent in gibberish."
"It's English, not gibberish." I shook my head, turning to look back up at Asuma. "How can you stand her every day?"
"I'm right here!" She said hotly, stomping her foot.
With any luck, I'll get out of doing more stupid fence painting and entertain myself. I can blow up stuff, with no one to tell me to lower the blast yield.
Before I could comment again, Asuma smacked the back of my head lightly.
"Stop trying to wriggle out of helping." Asuma scolded me lightly, before looking at Ino. "And don't fall for his tricks. You're a Yamanaka and know how he is."
"Quit touching my hair." I muttered irritably, adjusting it to get put of my face.
"Then cut it." Ino giggled, giving me a wink.
"How about I give you a haircut." I snarked, sprouting a thin chakra blade in my hand. "You have more to give."
Ino backed away from me, eyes wide in terror.
"Stay away." She hid behind Choji, who was basically ignoring my little tantrum to eat his preferred chip flavor. "I'll never forgive you."
I just laughed at how easy it was to scare her. The amount of time and effort she put into her hair was amusing really. She didn't like jokes about involuntary haircuts, so that's exactly what I did.
"You know I'd never do that to a friend." I lowered my hand and flicked my fingers to cut the chakra feed. "I've had fun making your day harder," I winked at Asuma, "Let's walk paint and dog fences!"
Asuma mumbled something about Kakashi and led us on a merry adventure to paint elderly people's fences.
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"All I'm saying," I explained to an irate Shikamaru, "is that the bird wasn't blown up by me. But if it was, it deserved it."
I'd been assigned to doing some D-ranks with Asuma's team, having been moved around between the different teams.
But, last week was both eye opening and annoying.
Sasuke had stopped trying to get together with Rin, at least for now. I told him about how the Uzumaki clan consisted of only me and Rin, and that neither of us wanted to deal with the shit he dealt with on a daily basis.
Sasuke seemed to realize that he was possibly being as annoying as the fangirls were when he was being an ass towards the other girls while trying to cozy up to my sister.
'Cozy' probably wasn't an accurate word, but I couldn't help myself. Something felt intrinsically wrong when I visualized Rin and Sasuke being friends.
I might have explained to Rin my thoughts on why Sasuke asked her that way, but the cynical part of me wanted to strangle Sasuke for ever thinking my sister as a quote "Cover girlfriend" against the vapid civilians.
Sasuke, as he was now, wasn't in the best emotional situation for a relationship, and likely would never be. He would end up clinging too much and would hover over the actions of anyone he was with for some time. Rin would beat him into the ground if he tried that with her. I didn't want to have to deal with his shit all day. Training was bad enough, but his demeanor, while understandable, could be bothersome.
'That and he likes my sister, despite her not seeing it.'
I knew I was overprotective of Rin on certain things, as any brother would. But she was a big girl and could take care of herself when it came to boys, especially since she could beat the hell out of any of them if they did something really stupid.
"Will you stop with the jokes?" Shikamaru asked, rolling his eyes in annoyance, "It's not funny."
"Weird," I grinned, "It's funny to me."
"I can't tell if you're genuinely insane or you just enjoy irritating us." Shikamaru shook his head, taking a drink of water.
It wasn't like Shikamaru didn't deserve me aggravating him. I had to deal with his insane mother after I got caught helping him slack off during "training".
And, Shikamaru thought it would be funny to try and joke about Ino's not so discreet admiring of me as I was going through the motions of the Kenjutsu katas from a scroll of mine and Rin's great great grandfather, Uzumaki Ashina.
The form seemed to fit me better than any of the ones Neko, or Kakashi to some level, tried to teach me. The Fuinjutsu scrolls that came from Uzumaki Mito's old collection, which part of them were Ashina's, were the most understandable to both me and Rin.
Ino bumped my shoulder.
"Just stop with all the jokes about that, we're eating." She grumbled, though her eyes shown with amusement.
I'd finished a training session with them following the completion of the D-rank and we had stopped at Yakiniku Q's to eat and relax.
"Come on," I nudged her shoulder in response, making her almost fall from her seat, "Admit it, sniping things with water senbon is fun."
Ino finally managed to use the jutsu after I helped her on and off, and we basically had a contest of hitting a bell from 30 yards away while we waited for the paint to dry.
I looked around the restaurant as I ate my helping of meat.
'It won't be quiet for long.' I thought sadly.
I'd succeeded in keeping my strength at a convincing level to the other genin and many of the people that don't know me. I didn't need word getting out that there was a red haired boy with the name Uzumaki that had immense skill in Fuinjutsu coupled with Ninjutsu and taijutsu that could put me on a similar level as what previous prodigies were.
Call me paranoid, but I understood how messed up the world was. Screw standing out for now.
Kakashi had everyone he cared about killed, Dad got killed and seen as a monster to Iwa, Itachi was forced to take everything away from himself, and Orochimaru-. I paused.
Orochimaru disgusted me. He had truly betrayed his home, unlike Itachi. He betrayed and broke the heart of a man I saw as a grandfather, and killed him, and I found out that the man who drove a kunai through my chest had been in Orochimaru's employ. Hiruzen hadn't shared the details on how the man was found or how the information was extracted, and I didn't need to ask to understand.
Orochimaru had an interest in me. Mizuki had tried to recruit me. Orochimaru specified for me to be targeted, not Rin, when he sent the man to drive me insane from the Genjutsu and attack a hospital. Hiruzen had been uncomfortable, even when he tried to hide it, when I'd ask questions about Orochimaru, and Anko had been violent, even by her own standards, when I said certain things or did certain things during the first several months of her training us.
Until I had said that I found the villagers, even the vicious ones, worthy of saving, Hiruzen had spoken to me with a different tone at times, almost like worry, than Rin when either of us showed an interest in either Fuinjutsu or higher level knowledge. It wasn't until I was more openly vicious in my comments or expressions when certain villagers would be bastards that he had started looking at me differently sometimes. I'd vandalised more than one business that would refuse service. But it wasn't to the point where I'd destroy a business, just enough to piss them off, a can of paint here, pouring catnip all over the store, things like that.
But back to my thoughts on Orochimaru. He'd been interested in Itachi for his eyes, Sasuke as well. I was an actual Uzumaki. I had a bloodline ability that was rare for an Uzumaki to have. And finally, I'm a Jinchuriki.
If Pein could handle being the host of an implanted pair of Rinnegan for years, could mine or Rin's body handle Orochimaru possessing it for a long time?
I don't know if the bastard would risk screw up if he tried his body jump on us, being Jinchuriki and all. But it was something that kept itching at the back of my mind since Hiruzen told who was behind the attack on me.
'What was his reason? It didn't happen in canon.'
"-ruto. Naruto," I heard Choji's voice.
I blinked and looked to Choji.
"Yeah?" I asked, "Sorry, I was thinking of something."
Choji just shrugged and continued with what he was wanting to say to me.
"You gonna show me how to make pizza?"
Choji had seen Rin and I eat pizza and had been interested in trying it, but I was a jealous god, and was unwilling to share my creation, at least not without adequate compensation.
"Is that all our friendship is, Choji?" I asked, pretending to wipe a tear away, "You want to know the secrets of my brilliance?"
Asuma, Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji shared a collective eye roll at what I said. Every genin team was aware of how I'd make a joke before giving an actual answer.
Grinning while still looking him in the eye, I shrugged and pulled a sheet of paper out of one of my storage seals.
"How many storage seals do you have?" Ino asked, surprised that I had a seal dedicated to holding only paper.
"Dozens," I shrugged, taking out a pencil as well, "Anything I need is in my seals."
I then wrote down the steps to make pizza, setting it next to Choji's plate which was nearly cleared of food already.
After hearing "Thanks" from Choji, I went back to eating the rest of my food.
Ino looked between me and Choji.
"How can you even eat that much?" She asked, looking at the plate full of meat I had, "Choji, I understand. But you have more food than Shikamaru and me."
"Rin's worse." I shrugged, "She'd probably eat as much food as all of us."
As an Uzumaki, I had alot more energy than practically anyone else. All that energy needs to come from somewhere, tons of food is where most of it gets replaced. With Rin having Kurama's Yang half, she made me look like Shikamaru at times when she ate plenty of food, more than even me. I still shuddered at the memory of her having coffee for the first time.
Bouncing off the walls was an understatement.
"How though?" Ino asked, genuinely baffled, "How can anyone eat that much?"
"Bloodline." I said simply, "Same reason we heal fast."
Asuma had gotten slightly tense when Ino asked, but relaxed instantly when I gave my normal response.
"But how does she and you not... you know," Ino asked awkwardly.
"Get fat?" I didn't mince my words.
Ino blinked at my bluntness.
"Yeah."
The table got noticeably quieter, Shikamaru and Asuma's eyes turned to Choji.
Choji looked a little on guard at the word I used.
Sighing, I clarified.
"Your clan relies on the extra calories for your clan's Jutsu, doesn't matter if the idiots call you fat. They can't speak very well when you kick their asses, even when you're supposedly 'Fat'." I finished.
I turned back to Ino.
"Rin and I need to eat more because we burn it off either from training or from our bodies healing any damage done at a faster rate." I said, looking at her.
I then went back to eating my food, wanting to eat now. Not talk. The meat was damn good, better than I had in a long time. I felt entitled to it, especially since the second D-rank we did involved clearing out some leaves and other yardwork outside of a cat shelter. The entire time, I had to listen to the damn screeching of all the cats from my presence. They seemed to hate being around me, even more so than Rin.
Kiba said Rin 'smelled' more like a fox than I do, probably from my seal being tighter. Why the hell do they hate me more than her?
The only reason I could think of why they were worse around me was because I might have had a more 'dangerous' feel to me. Who needs Kurama's aura of impending doom when I myself am pretty scary myself?
'Who am I kidding, I don't know.'
After a few minutes of me enjoying my delicious meal, Asuma broke the silence.
"We'll be doing a C-rank tomorrow," He started, glancing towards me, "Team 7 will be going on their own as well. The Hokage said you'll be with one of us."
I looked up and nodded, unsurprised by what he said.
The genin teams were ready for some more strenuous missions than simple D-ranks. Gai's team had already done a few C-ranks, Kurenai's had started them already, while Team 7 and Asuma's had been a little late to it, not sure why they were though.
"Once we're done here," I gestured towards the food, "What then?"
"We'll head to the Hokage's office and we'll see who you're going with." Asuma replied.
I nodded, my thoughts drifting a bit.
I think Wave happens soon, if things haven't changed from what they would be. I'm not banking on it being identical.
All it takes is one discordant note to send a beautiful symphony into total chaos.
"I'm looking at you, Melkor." I muttered to myself sardonically in English.
Nobody but Ino heard me, who shrugged and went back to finishing her food, being more aware of some of the strange things I'd say.
/////////////////////
Sasuke POV:
Team 7 was making its way to the Hokage's office to give in the report of their D-rank mission. Which was odd, given that the Hokage didn't handout or receive most reports for D-ranks. It was usually assistants or others, not the leader of the village. But Sasuke didn't care about that now. He cared more about what had been on his thoughts for some time.
It was a painful, but enlightening couple weeks for Sasuke. He'd been made aware of the fact that Rin and Naruto came from a clan that was wiped out by those who feared them. They were the last two left.
Naruto had explained that they weren't pursuing being a recognized clan yet for a couple reasons, the main one being a reason he understood completely.
'I don't need girls hounding me.'
Sasuke understood that anger. The distrust and second guessing on whether a girl liked you for who you were or if it was only a ploy to get influence.
Rin's dismissal of his attempts at trying to spend time with her. Attempts to open up to her. It all made sense.
'They're distrustful like I am.'
Kakashi had stepped in, thankfully privately, instead of in front of the team. Kakashi had explained that it would do no good to irritate Rin or Naruto with trying to get closer to her at this point in time. But one of the biggest things that had Sasuke questioning his motivations was when Kakashi gave him a piece of paper with his signature and a drop of blood on it, telling him to ask for a certain book in the Jonin section of the library that was normally restricted from genin.
Sasuke had gone to the library, gave the slip of paper, the blood containing a small amount of his Sensei's chakra in it, to the person in front of the Jonin section. The chakra was tested, passed, and Sasuke was handed the book to read at a table in full view.
The book had multiple psyche reports of Shinobi that had lost loved ones in the field. It wasn't lost on him that the group that had the highest rate of attempted self-sacrifice was Uchiha.
He would have thought it meant his clansmen were honourable and steadfast in their duty, except for the second half of the section.
The book was possibly something the Yamanaka Jonin had to read, as it was very detailed on psychological issues of those who underwent severe trauma that was unlikely to fade with time.
There was a section totally dedicated to the trauma inducing aspect of the Sharingan and its perfect recall of images.
One of the concerns raised by one of the main writers of the reports was about the family relations that deteriorated after the traumatized Shinobi came home from the different wars.
Overbearing levels of hovering justified as 'protective', demanding a monopoly on time with the family members, lashing out at those that the loved ones spent time with.
It reminded Sasuke how he'd been acting around Rin.
If the underlying issues with the Shinobi's mind wasn't treated, family relationships would be permanently hampered by the behavior, causing the main emotional safety net for a vulnerable person to be destroyed. Recovery was all but impossible without an anchor.
Sasuke searched for his motivations for wanting to be closer to Rin than just simple teammates or friends. The couple days he dedicated to it frightened him.
He'd been seeing her as a goal, not as a person. With her, he'd be able to prove to himself that he wouldn't become like Itachi. Love is good. To love is to be good, isn't it?
But the things that motivated the returning Shinobi was also love. But their love, or what they called love, drove away what they sought to protect.
'I like her, but I don't 'love' her. I'm not in love with her, I'm in love with the idea of having someone to love, and Rin is the strongest girl.'
It hurt him to admit that he had been clinging to that idea. He felt it was a sign of weakness. He hated feeling weak. But he was able to see through his attempt at rejecting that it was a problem by remembering what Rin said about Naruto.
Naruto was almost killed when he was six. The two had their family and clan taken from them.
'Just like me.'
Sasuke had the fear of turning out like Itachi stoked months ago when the bell test occurred. Had Naruto not done it, he probably wouldn't have been thinking that was a possibility. But because Naruto did it, he couldn't help but keeping thinking it.
Even when he'd repeat over and over to himself that he wouldn't kill them, that he'd rather die, he was still disgusted with himself for hesitating. He'd look in the mirror and focus on the parts of his face that were different from Itachi, trying to burn them into his mind.
But he saw now how he'd been acting towards Rin, how what wasn't even as deep as love was driving a wedge between them. If he had to choose, he'd rather have a guaranteed friend over the chance of destroying any friendship by trying to go for more.
'I'll need to apologize to her, even if I'll hate every second of it.'
Sasuke decided he'd apologize to her after they went to the Hokage to give their report on their completed D-rank.
They arrived at the Hokage's office, only to be met by Team 10 and Naruto.
"Hey, Naruto," Kakashi waved slightly, "Have a fun mission?" He eye smiled.
Naruto just glared at them when all of them grinned slightly.
They came across Asuma when his team and Naruto were doing their D-rank not far away. Even when they were a distance away, they could hear the cats screeching and Naruto's swearing.
"I don't like cats anymore." He muttered.
Sasuke raised a brow.
"You liked cats?" He asked, not realizing Naruto would hold any affection for them.
"I did," He started, "Until they started to hiss at me whenever I was around them." he frowned.
The Hokage cleared his throat to get their attention.
"As encouraging as it is that you are all on amicable terms, you are here for a report, yes?" The Hokage said, a slight smile on his face.
Asuma and Kakashi nodded and stepped towards the Hokage.
"D-rank went off without an issue," Asuma started first, "Aside from the cat's." he grinned, looking at Naruto.
Naruto muttered something about 'Kurenai' and 'Smoking', causing Asuma to shoot a slight glare at him.
The Hokage nodded and looked towards Kakashi.
"Same," He shrugged, "Except we didn't have cats."
"Please stop with the cat comments." Naruto groaned, "I get it. It's funny that cats hate me. Har har har."
The other Genin were snickering at the two Jonin joking at Naruto's expense, especially since he did that to them all the time.
The Hokage interrupted the little detour to speak.
"Kakashi, Asuma. I have two C-ranks for you to choose from. Both are near one another. One is near Nami no kuni and the other is a mission to it. One is an courier mission, the other is an escort mission."
Sasuke noticed Naruto tense at the last part, not knowing why.
'Why would he react that way?'The Hokage turned to Kakashi.
"Which would you prefer?" He asked.
Asuma glanced towards Kakashi, knowing his team would have the other mission and was curious on what mission Kakashi wanted.
"Hmmn," Kakashi hummed, thinking about it, "I think I'll pick-"
//////////////////////////////
End Chapter:
First, I'm very sorry for the cliffhanger. I'm undecided on which Team will go to Wave, this chapter would have probably been out earlier,( By the standard I've been keeping up lately), This chapter is shorter than the last few, but next chapter will longer.
Sasuke, with the help of Kakashi and Naruto, is starting to see how he is potentially driving away friends with some of the things he's said and done. Even with the beatdown talk Naruto gave him, that alone won't fix the trauma and mindset that happens when you see your family dead at the hands of the brother you look up to and love. (In canon, anytime Sasuke started to show a chance of being better or nicer, something seemed to happen that threw a wrench in it. The curse seal, Itachi screwing with his mind after Kakashi was fucked up by him, Naruto, the dead last, making improvement at a fast pace. And that doesn't include the years around Orochimaru and the discovery of why Itachi did what he did. Trauma stacked on trauma will break even the best of people.)
Still undecided on Ino, Hinata, or both. Both have different personalities that help the MC in different ways. Ino challenges him more openly on things, using wit and sarcasm similar to what he does. While Hinata would probably be better at helping him to calm his more aggressive tendencies with a calm response, along with him having known her for longer than Ino. Both are equally acceptable for me to write as a pairing. The two together is something that seems interesting, but I'm not certain I could pull it off perfectly, even if I was 100% hell-bent on going that route. I'm very tempted to do some kind of vote on it to see which one is favored.
Anyway, can't think of anything else to put. Next chapter will be the mission to Wave and we'll see if canon has already left the building. Have a wonderful day.
Raging.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone