Naruto: Tales of Ashihara
Kakumei – Arc 3: The New Era Ninjas
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Chapter 66 – A-rank mission
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One month after Sasuke's sudden meeting with Naruto, and over 3 months after Team 1 was founded, Boruto Hyuga, Izuna Uchiha and Inoue Yamanaka meet together at the Hokage's office, where their sensei explains to them their next mission.
"Finally! An A-rank!" exclaims Boruto, hyped by the news. "So where to? And when?"
"Quite funnily, your destination for your first mission of this level is the same as my team's back in the day." explains the Hokage. "The land of Waves."
"But Hokage-sensei…" complains Izuna. "We're only genins… Even B-ranks shouldn't be allowed for us. Is it really okay to send us on such a high-level job?"
"Why not? You're the best genin team of the village. And as I already told you once, my first C-rank mission with Lord 6th turned out to be an A-rank. If we made it, you'll do just fine. You're far better than my team was back then."
"But I thought you weren't going to get involved in our mission's progress?" notes Inoue, seeing no other way for this to be okay than Naruto getting personally involved.
"And I won't. You're not going alone. You'll follow another team who's already been briefed about the task. But let me explain your job first."
The three teenagers stay attentive and listen to the details of their task.
"Capital of the land of waves, same village where I did my first mission." tells the Hokage. "Your task is to protect a VIP who, according to an anonymous employer, is an assassination target… This man is a landlord who owns many buildings and worksites on the land. A bounty, high-enough to draw the attention of many mercenaries, has been put on his head. The anonymous source paid Konoha to open an A-rank contract for this job, and you're taking care of it."
Just as he finishes this description, someone knocks at the door. A team of 3 chunin and 1 jonin walk in the office and come to stand in front of the desk, next to the 3 genins.
"Right on time." says Naruto. "Boruto, Inoue, Izuna. Here is the team that you will assist. Denki Tatari, Ao Hyaku, Mirai Sarutobi. And the team leader, Konohamaru Sarutobi."
Boruto looks closely at Konohamaru standing next to him, with a serious face. He knows how powerful of a shinobi he is, and therefore can foresee how serious this mission may be. Inoue bends over to see Mirai who stands at the other end of the line. She's happy to see her again, since it's been a while. Izuna knows none of them, and just stares at them, confused.
Konohamaru gazes at the 3 genins he'll have to look after for the next few days, and eases the atmosphere with a smile.
"It's nice to finally meet you three." he says. "I'm sure the Hokage gave you our instructions. And I'm also sure that he forgot to mention one important thing: We are specifically asked not to interact with the VIP."
"Ah? Yes, I forgot that." Naruto remarks.
All the kids nod their head, to show they understand this additional detail. Konohamaru now looks at Naruto, and stops the wholesome play.
"Hokage, I hope they're as ready and competent as you said they were." he says.
"Don't worry, they'll be just fine. Definitely better than us at their age." answers Naruto. "The mission starts this afternoon. You have the day to get your things and go. You should leave now."
Konohamaru and his team all use Shunshin to exit the building, and leave Team 1 with the Hokage. Boruto activates his Byakugan as soon as they disappear to find them and see through their jutsu. It's a quite pointless action, but is playful to him.
"So that's high-level ninjas, huh?" he says. "Too cool to pass by the door frame…"
Inoue turns around and gets ready to leave the room, but notices that both her teammates stay there, so she waits a bit as well.
"Well, if that's how superior ninjas act, then I'll do the same." says Boruto who joins his hands together and makes the Tiger hand seal.
Shunshin no Jutsu
He also uses this jutsu to disappear, but instead of a gas cloud, he involuntarily disappears in a little dark blue chakra wave.
"What was that? That's odd." notices Naruto about this peculiar detail.
"Hokage-sensei…" says Izuna, not taking note of the same detail but in need to talk. "With this mission… I may have a problem."
"Um… I'm listening." carefully says the Hokage.
Inoue turns around again, intrigued by what her teammate may be speaking about. She decides to wait here and listen. Izuna, unbothered by her presence that he finds quite comforting, goes on.
"I recently started saving as much chakra as possible in my forehead." explains the young Uchiha. "You see, I'm training with Lady 5th to master the Byakugo seal."
"So you got to the most important part! And I guess you're worried about how much you'll have to waste in case you get in a difficult battle, is it?" guesses Naruto.
Izuna lightly nods to say yes. Inoue widely opens her eyes, surprised by this concern. She didn't know about this until now. Naruto smiles and leans back on his chair.
"You know… Your mom fought against an Akatsuki member while saving chakra for the seal. She also fought in the 4th war while still at work for this… I'm sure you can do the same just fine. And in case you don't feel like it, your teammates are here to help you. Isn't that right Inoue?"
Naruto looks at the young girl who's standing quietly next to Izuna. She's looking at him, lost in her thoughts, like she's hypnotized.
"Inoue?" Naruto calls again, now amused by the student's lack of attention.
"Uhm, yes?" she says, woken up from her daydream, not sure of what the Hokage's question is. Without further needed details, she guesses it. "Um… I mean… Yes of course." she adds, as she sees her sensei's insistent gaze.
"Great, see?" adds Naruto, looking back at Izuna.
Izuna turns around and lightly smiles at Inoue, glad he has her support. He then nods at the Hokage again, showing he understands his point.
"Good. Get ready for your mission now!" exclaims Naruto.
Izuna turns around and leaves the office by the door. Inoue goes to follow him but is stopped by her sensei.
"Um… Inoue, can I talk to you for a second?" asks Naruto before the two genins leave the office.
Inoue turns around, a bit confused, and comes closer to the office. Izuna stops too, curious, but leaves when his sensei makes a little hand gesture to ask him to go.
"So, how's the training with Ino going?" the Hokage first asks Inoue, waiting for Izuna to have left far enough.
"It's going fine…" she answers. "I figured out, maybe Shintenshin isn't really the jutsu to use in single combat. I'm going for Shinranshin instead."
"Still difficult to focus when you're the enemy's only target…" suggests the sensei. "You know… Just like I told your teammate, having assistance and protection may be safer with your kind of action. You and Izuna could really complete each other."
"Complete each other?" she repeats, a bit aroused by this phrasing.
Naruto, now sure that Izuna is gone, leans over his desk and gets close to Inoue. With a mocking smile, he whispers.
"You're in love with him, aren't you?"
"WHA-? Uh… No!… How do you know?" exclaims Inoue, surprised and disturbed by her secret being discovered.
"Ha! I knew it." exclaims her sensei, who gets back on his chair, with a satisfied look on his face. "I'm capable of detecting and sensing all the emotions around me, you know. Not only negative intentions, but also love or excitement. So to me, just seeing you next to Izuna was enough to figure this out."
Inoue eases herself, reassured that she wasn't obvious about this to anyone else. Alone with the wisest person she knows, she decides to confide herself.
"I… think I do love him." she timidly admits. "Since we're on the same team, there's something about his behavior, his goals, who he aims to be, that is so hearty and warmhearted… When we were at the academy, I kinda despised him…"
"Nah. Not true." Naruto interrupts. "You may disliked his dumb and childish behaviors. but he intrigued you already back then. His occasionally wise choices were captivating to you."
"Stop telling the truth!" Inoue exclaims, deranged by her sensei's comprehensiveness. "Yes, I didn't despise him. But I didn't love him."
"Yeah because back then, you had a crush on Takeshi." Naruto quickly answers.
"STOP!" Inoue yells, surprised by a fact that even she forgot. "Maybe it was the case, but it was a dumb young girl crush! Nothing to be discussed! I don't care about Takeshi Minamoto at all today."
"Despite the distance, he and Izuna are really close friends, you know that?" Naruto comments.
"…" Inoue stays quiet for a moment. She just takes time to get back to the main topic and ignore her sensei's remarks. "In the academy, Izuna wasn't always noisy, but he was always getting too much attention from the other girls. Now, I got to know him more. He's completely different from who I thought he was."
Naruto just listens, and smiles. He had his suspicions about Inoue's feelings, but having them confirmed now is just funny to him. He's also certain that Izuna has reciprocal feelings for her. He didn't speak about this to him now, so he doesn't know the reason for his love. But knowing that in Inoue's case, it's beyond looks and childhood crushes is really heartwarming.
"Not really. He just changed a lot." the Hokage makes a remark again, but this time he gives a more serious observation. "Since he awakened his Sharingan, got to learn about his clan, and made his ambitions clear to himself, he calmed down. The grumpy noisy boy from 5 years ago is totally gone now. You fell in love with the real him. A shy boy who keeps his thoughts secret, and remains focused on doing the right thing."
Inoue stares agape at the Hokage and gently nods, agreeing with this perfect description of Izuna. Naruto maintains his mocking but compassionate smile, and thinks about these two's relationship. They love each other, and only have to find out to get what they wish for. He's happy for them, and is amused that Boruto could end up being the third wheel in the team.
"Don't tell him, please, sensei?" asks Inoue, embarrassed, for her secret to be kept.
"Don't worry about that!" answers Naruto. "But be careful. He doesn't like secrets, remember?"
"I don't want him to find out… Unless I tell him." she adds. "… Or even he tells me."
"That would be better, wouldn't it?" mocks Naruto, before getting serious again. "Make sure to look after him, okay?"
Inoue grins, bows to salute the Hokage and turns around to leave the office, more confident in her feelings thanks to this little discussion. She takes the Hokage's advice and runs home to get ready for her mission.
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Later this day, Team 1 met with Team Konohamaru at the entrance gate of Konoha, with all their stuff packed, ready to go, and begin a long day of traveling by foot through the land of Fire, all the way south, interrupted only by one night break.
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Next afternoon, the 3 genins, 3 chunins and the jonin leader reach the south border of the land of Fire and arrive in front of the Great Naruto Bridge, that connects their country to the land of Waves.
"Naruto Bridge?!" exclaims Boruto, annoyed to find his father's name everywhere, even across the borders of the land.
"I think it was actually named after the Hokage, Boruto." comments Konohamaru who looks further to evaluate the distance they still have to go before reaching their destination.
Inoue also tries to see the end of the road, but can't even see the other side of the bridge with her naked eyes.
"What kind of bridge is this?" she complains. "We're not even close to getting some rest…"
"Want me to carry you on my back?" friendly suggests Mirai Sarutobi to Inoue.
"No, thanks. I'm not tired, I'm just… not really thrilled by long walks like this." answers the young girl.
Boruto steps forward, next to Konohamaru, and analyzes the bridge too.
Byakugan
He uses his Dojutsu to see as far as its range allows him to and finds the other end of the bridge, preceding a vast forest and, on the right, a village that is certainly their destination.
"I see the village…" says the Hokage's son. "I'd say the bridge is about a kilometer and a half long."
"And your Byakugan can see this far?" asks Ao, one of Mirai's teammates.
"Yeah! Impressive, isn't it?" brags Boruto.
The chunin doesn't answer and just acknowledges the talent of the Hyuga's clan finest youngling. Izuna trembles a bit when Ao speaks. He is reminded of his and Denki's presence. The two students of Konohamaru remained almost completely silent during the whole trip, so the Uchiha stopped minding them.
"Well, let's go then." orders Konohamaru, who steps forward to begin crossing the bridge.
"Come on!" joyfully says Mirai, who abruptly catches Inoue's shoulders from behind. "Just one bridge to cross, and we're done!"
Inoue smiles, and nods before gladly going to follow the Sarutobi clan leader. All the other ninjas do the same, and hurry their walk pace to quickly reach the end of the bridge. While they're at it, Izuna Uchiha timidly gazes at Denki Tatari and Ao Hyaku, who are walking in unison, not saying a word, and looking straight up forward. They look like they're trying to avoid eye contact with him at all cost.
Ao is a white haired young man, already at an adult height of nearly 1.8 meters. His hair is shaved short, but is a bit longer on top of his head, like most guys his age nowadays in Konoha. He has thin face features and green slanting eyes.
Denki is also tall compared to other girls her age, taller than Mirai at least. She has mid-long brown hair with two framing strands resting on her shoulders. She has pale skin, thin blue eyes and a pure red birthmark on her neck. She looks very mature overall. She and Ao both wear the regular chunin outfit that Konoha adopted after the 4th war.
Their attitude and lack of emotions makes Izuna uncomfortable. After looking at them for a few more seconds, waiting to guess if they're really trying not to cross his eyes, or just too serious to notice him, he gives up and walks forward to get by Inoue's side.
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After a little ten minutes, Team 1 and Team Konohamaru get across the bridge and reach the end of their trip. As soon as they get in the village, they're greeted by a man who acts oddly welcoming. Black messy pointy hair, dark eyes, athletic build, wearing a carpenter outfit and a towel on his shoulders around his neck.
When the ninjas sent by Konoha get closer, the jonin captain comes to meet this man.
"Ninjas of Konoha, Haha!" happily exclaims the man. "Be welcome to this village! My name is Inari, I am but a humble carpenter, yet my welcome is in the name of all the citizens of this land. Very pleased to meet you, Mister Sarutobi."
Konohamaru just smiles and shakes the man's hand, a bit confused, since he never met him before. He also wasn't told that their coming would be announced. Behind him, Mirai, Ao, Denki, Izuna, Boruto and Inoue, are as confused as their captain, but still are thankful for this greeting. Inari gazes at them, and notices the yellow haired boy, with whisker marks on his cheeks.
"You must be Boruto! Naruto's son!" happily guesses the carpenter. "You look just like him, except less noisy, and more into dark purple than orange clothes, as I see."
"Great! Another stranger who knows my dad!" rudely says Boruto, never really happy when he's reminded of his inherited fame.
"You know Hokage-sensei?" asks Izuna, intrigued by the man's friendliness.
"Of course I do! He told me that you'll come." answers Inari. "That bridge you crossed earlier, he made its completion possible. And it was built by my grandfather."
"Really? So you must be the grandson of Tazuna the Master Bridge Builder!" guesses Mirai, who always properly informs herself about the places she'll visit.
"Exactly, Haha! It would have been so great if Naruto could have come with you… But whatever, you're probably here for a mission, and with such a team, it must be important."
"We're required to keep our mission secret, Mister Inari." says Konohamaru, "Thank you for this positive welcome."
Ao and Denki look at each other, a bit confused, and then look at Inoue, who's looking at them. The three of them silently, without a word agree on their common interrogations. Inoue goes ahead and asks for an answer.
Shindenshin no Jutsu
Using the Yamanaka's telepathy, she speaks directly into her captain's mind.
"Captain Konohamaru, do you know him?" she asks, for her and her two elders.
"I heard of his grandfather. He helped with rebuilding Konoha back in the day, …" answers the Sarutobi. "This man must have taken on his work, so he has to be an internationally renowned carpenter."
"Is he the VIP?"
"No. He may be of influence in this village, but he's not our man. The VIP is a landlord. We'll look after him once we've settled down in this village."
By pure coincidence, just as the need to look for a resting place goes through the captain's mind, Inari makes a generous suggestion.
"Hey, How about you guys come to my place for the days you'll have to spend here? I'll gladly be your host."
"What a great idea!" says Mirai, doing her best to keep a positive energy and hiding the confusion and pointless mistrust of her teammates.
Konohamaru, who was ready to decline the offer out of courtesy, hears his cousin speak faster than him, and complies. And so, the ninjas of Konoha peacefully follow Inari to his family's home where they get their selves some rest and leave their luggage before uniting in the backyard to get ready to work on the mission.
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Meanwhile, in the same village, in a traveler's cottage close to the old harbor of the village, an elderly man sits on an armchair in front of a man and a woman, with two empty sake cups and a glass of wine on the table next to him. The woman and the man who stand in the middle of the room, can barely see around in this room, lit only by a single candle that lies next to the empty cups on the table.
They swallow their saliva together, made uncomfortable by the sitting man. The standing man is a weak looking, middle aged man with short gray hair and an unpleasant face. He wears a turban over his hair and a large silver mantle that goes down his legs to his feet. The woman has long black hair, brown skin, and yellow eyes. She wears a traditional Taijutsu outfit from the land of Earth. She's also middle-aged, and seems to be in pretty athletic shape.
In front of them, an old but strong looking man, around 50 years old. He has long black thick spiky hair reaching down to his hips, light green eyes, a very manly facial morphology and body shape, yet not a single hair on his face. He wears an actual full black ninja outfit with a brown belt and a brown calf completely covering his neck.
This man is known, yet unknown, as Voodoo, one of the three most dangerous and renowned mercenaries in the world. His skills, accomplishments and reputation from the last 20 years brought him to become one of the most prized targets of the Shinobi Union's Bingo Book. He is the man who, years ago, had a duty contract with Riku Minamoto that he abandoned when Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha got involved with the latter's son.
He is sitting, calmly, in front of two other mercenaries who came to this village for the bounty on the head of the VIP that the ninjas of Konoha came to protect.
"I assume it's only following your hunger for money that brought you there." he says. "However, I was directly sent by a very important employer…"
"Just who the hell are you supposed to be?" asks the standing man in his silver cloak.
The woman stays quiet. She heard of the man who's sitting in front of her. She knows who he is, but doesn't dare to say anything.
"I usually avoid problems as much as possible. It is somehow my golden rule." answers Voodoo. "So I can't tell you who I am. But I can tell who you two are. Yubo Kumi, known as Seal Fire, from the land of Water. And Hachi, known as Rock Breeze, from Iwagakure."
The two lower ranked mercenaries look at each other, astonished by their interlocutor's knowledge, and frightened. Not only did he recognize them and name their origin nations, but he also knows their real names, which is a very private information in this underworld.
"Your presence could interfere with my mission, and bring the nation's attention upon this village." adds the S-rank criminal. "I'm already handling this job perfectly alone. Now that you're here, of what help could you be?"
Hachi and Yubo, who've actually never worked together before and were just brought there by the same bounty hunt, look at each other and quickly think of an answer. Despite not knowing anything about this man other than his rank, they know that being on his side is the safest possible thing in their situation.
"You'll be paid by your mysterious employer anyway, I suppose…" Yubo says. "This contract, for A and B-ranks like us, is pretty attractive. This woman and I could let you do the job, while we make sure no one other than us interferes with the mission."
Voodoo bends over and leaves one arm to rest on the table next to him. He doesn't say anything, and just waits to be convinced.
"It's true." says Hachi, the woman. "You get the pay of your employer. If you accept to let us work with you, you'll also get a cut of the bounty on the target's head. And we'll make sure to be the only other bounty hunters to bother you."
Still not saying anything, Voodoo raises his left hand and catches a kunai that slips out from under his sleeve. With this weapon he abruptly cuts the palm of his other hand open. Yubo and Hachi stare with weird faces as he proceeds, shocked by this unnatural behavior. The master mercenary raises his bleeding hand and lets his blood flow in the two empty cups of sake.
Once they're both full, he closes his hand and wraps it in bandages that were already strapped around his cuff. Before he's done, Yubo and Hachi can see, thanks to the light of the candle on the table, that Voodoo has plenty of other cut marks on his hand. This goes to show that this may be a usual procedure for him.
After hiding his hand, Voodoo looks at the two mercenaries in the room with him and invites them to come closer, to take the cups of blood. Unsure, but feeling forced to obey, Seal Fire and Rock Breeze timidly get to the table and grab each a cup. With his unharmed hand, Voodoo takes the wine glass and lifts it up to his lips.
"So be it. I accept your deal." he says. "You will prevent any exterior implication in the going of my mission, and will never ever mention our meeting or cooperation to anyone. You can keep your full cuts of the bounty. Consider what you were to give me the payment to guarantee your silence. However, to seal this pact, you have to drink those cups. Consider it an extra measure."
Not willing to ask anymore questions, but hesitating, the two mercenaries slowly bring the recipients of blood to their lips and, after fighting off their disgust, gulp it down. Voodoo drinks from his own red beverage, and stares at them. When they're done, Yubo and Hachi look back at him, waiting for instructions or a confirmation. He simply makes a low head gesture, asking them to leave. Both comply, pretty glad to be allowed to leave this occult setting.
"Keep your distance from the target, and from me." he adds as a detail before they leave.
Once he's alone in his cottage, the S-rank mercenary finishes his glass of wine. He thinks of his plan to assassinate the target that is just routine to him, and reminds himself of the advantage that the value of the bounty on the landlord's head gives him.
Its value wouldn't be of interest to any of the few S-rank bounty hunters, and only the greediest A-ranks would go after it. However, the price he'll be paid by his employer for the same job makes it worth it for him. He won't have to encounter any important resistance, considering he's clearly overqualified for this task, from anyone else's perspective.
By completing this job that was assigned to him personally by a person of massive influence in the mercenary underworld, a person different from the one who put the public bounty on the target's head, Voodoo assures himself a solid prize that he'll put aside for personal motives.
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End of Chapter 66 – Next chapter: Ao and Denki