An Unpleasant Day
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto...
A few notes: There will be some attempted forced violation, but no actual rape will occur with one exception, but that will be much later and...well you'll see eventually if you keep reading. The main setup for Hiashi's persona will come around after the Wave mission. There will be some interaction with other teams, but not too much. Sorry to disappoint but Anko will not be in the harem. Don't worry though, she will find someone for herself later. This isn't going to be a massive harem fic, and most of the girls will be brought in before the time skip. As for updating...I'll be aiming for once or twice a week. Also, on Naruto's strength, I plan for an excuse for that (Not Kyūbi), but that won't come in until after the time skip. Will he get help? Yes, but again not for awhile. Anyhow I don't want to give away too much, so enjoy chapter three.
As Naruto walked down the hall to his little retreat he once again found himself recalling the afternoons events. Aside from the event with Kiba outside of Ichiraku's, the day went great. Hinata was slightly surprised that Naruto had taken her to an actual restaurant, and though they were a little under dressed for the place it didn't really matter. After all this was a ninja village so while it was rare to see people dress as ninja in such a restaurant, it wasn't unheard of. Thankfully it had been a newer place that had little to no knowledge of his reputation. They got a seat in a booth that was out of sight of most of the floor, and Naruto took the seat that was the least visible. It wasn't that he was embarrassed to be seen on a date, quite the opposite, but he didn't want to subject Hinata to the discrimination that he was so used to getting.
The meal was perfect and they ate in silence. Hinata showed her well practiced manners while she ate with grace and perfection. Naruto showed that he was capable of at least above average table etiquette, slightly surprising Hinata as thoughts of him eating with her and her family became more of a possibility. Well, at least a little more then just a dream anyhow. After dinner, which he paid for after letting her know that he had already taken on some missions so he had a little money to spend, they went through a walk through the darkening streets of Konoha. He was sure to keep an eye out for unfavorable reactions as they went so he could avoid confrontations if possible. His actions proved unnecessary though as he only saw some glares but no hostile actions. At least for now. Most likely they would wait until he didn't have a member of such a prestigious clan with him. That was fine though. He was an official ninja now, and there were more laws that came into the light once he officially graduated. Specifically ones that kept villagers from attacking shinobi. Which meant he could retaliate and, while it wouldn't allow him to kill them, he was allowed to detain them and turn them in. Sure it wouldn't mean much right away, but eventually they would come to realize that there were now consequences. He wasn't stupid enough to expect more then a night in custody at most, but anything was better then the nod of approval they got from the civilian council as they did in the past.
Opening the door to his own personal vault he saw his clones still hard at work. He was pleased to notice that the ones he gave reading material to, now were looking through more scrolls then what he had given them. One close by was just finishing a scroll on one handed seals. Before it got up to grab another scroll Naruto had it dispel. The effect was not immediate as he had believed it would be, but the knowledge did come. Not only that but it seemed it spread to the other clones as well when he noticed some of the clones practicing jutsu were incorporating the one handed seals in their training as the knowledge came. Smiling at the progress he began dispelling clones as they finished up their current projects, getting a slight headache when he dispelled multiple clones at once. After soaking up their knowledge he practiced a few of the jutsu himself using both one and two handed seals. He soon found that two handed seals gave a little more power to any jutsu that he chose, but could easily see where one handed seals could be useful should one of his hands be injured or occupied, say by his sword. Oddly enough the scroll that had listed the one handed seals was the only one he'd found and it had still been in the packaging. He wasn't sure why someone would toss out something so useful, but he wasn't about to complain.
He did a few more tests to see just how many of his theories on clone usage worked. Knowledge was an obvious gain as he was steadily gaining the experiences of his clones. He learned that earlier as they were dispelling after completing their missions. A few kunai tosses didn't really produce much, but that wasn't all his clones had practiced throwing, so setting the kunai aside he pulled out one of his less proficient weapons, a hand ax. It wasn't really a ninja weapon especially this one which had a previous life as a wood chopping hatchet. He made a new handle for it though and it was at least passable for its former job. Now though he was using it for throwing practice. Drawing his arm back he threw the ax at one of his targets hitting it a bit low and to the right. Not enough to be considered accurate, but after a few more throws he found he was consistent. Definitely more so then he had be on previous attempts as the gouges in the floor and wall could attest to. Next he did a quick lap around the ceiling to check his control. Again like the kunai practice there wasn't much to see, but he would keep it up regardless as it couldn't hurt and may show its results over time. After all it isn't like his chakra control was horrid, and there is only so far you can improve before it is no longer in leaps and bounds.
His last remaining test was reaction. He already had a fast reaction time as it was. This was born from many years of trying to avoid being beaten and stabbed. It was a required trait to have as many times it was drunks that assaulted him. With their inebriated senses their aim was often very poor. As such he would have to maneuver himself to make their weapons hit non vital areas. However it never hurt to make even one's best skills even better, so he made a clone and had it start throwing some rubber balls at him which he tried his best to avoid. He had never really had anyone to practice this with, and had he suddenly started dodging things the villagers threw at him before he had extra backing it would have made things worse for him over time. Now though he would use this dodging practice as a starting point and judge over the next few weeks on whether or not his reflexes are getting better. After a half hour of dodging the balls thrown at random speeds in inconsistent patterns, he had a general idea of his abilities there. While far from superhuman they were at least good enough that he could make several clones and have them practice with more dangerous objects. Dismissing the clone he set out some new materials for when he set up his clones tomorrow before heading to his apartment for a full night of rest.
Yes, only rest. Another trait that he'd acquired over the years. After numerous break ins at his apartment he was able to go into a sleep like state while keeping his senses alert. This allowed him to hear when something was happening near him and take appropriate action. If a gas bomb was thrown through his window he could hold his breath and turn on the fan in his room to disperse the gas before it could do any harm. If someone broke in his door he could hide or leave before they got to his bedroom. Sure they would tear apart his place and set up traps, but that just gave him more supplies to work with normally. In most cases he would just sell the trap parts and use the money he got for them to replace anything that had been destroyed beyond repair. Since he didn't keep much in his apartment he never really had to replace much, though it would still cost him quite a lot. Taking up a meditative position in the center of his bed, he slowly drifted off into semi consciousness as he waited for a new day to come.
• • •
Across the village in a compound far too large for one person sat a lone boy in a dead house on a vacant street. Uchiha Sasuke was fuming at what the dead last did to him this morning in the classroom. Not only had he taken his rightful attention away and ignored him, the boy also had the nerve to think he could outwit and defeat an Uchiha. Torture would be to kind for someone with such gull. No he would be sure that something much much worse was brought upon the insignificant worm that humiliated him today. No one humiliates an Uchiha and gets away with it, no one.
Finishing his meal he went out to his training area and threw himself at the posts once again. It was the only thing he had to do anyway around here, but this night he seemed to have a renewed vigor. He wasn't going to chance having a weak moment ever again. No, the dobe would not catch him off guard when next they met, he would make sure of that. The only desire he had was to awaken his sharingan. Having that would ensure his victory over the blond.
Now all he had to do was pass some stupid test tomorrow. He hoped it would be a skills test so he wouldn't need to worry about his teammates. Hell why did he even have a team anyway. The dobe didn't have one yet he, an Uchiha, was given a team and a sensei. At least he could agree with his sensei though. The famed Hatake Kakashi, the copy ninja, a man said to know over a thousand jutsu. Yes, this man could help him go far. Dreaming of throwing high rank jutsu at his helpless brother was more then satisfying. Sure, it was all in his head, but it made him feel a little better at the time watching his imaginary battle with his brother while his brother begged for mercy and he gave the man none. It was these dream that allowed him to fall asleep with an evil smile on his face.
• • •
In another section of Konoha another boy was seething. Inuzuka Kiba sat at his family's diner table with bloodlust in his eyes. Not only did the dead last have the nerve to hurt him in front of the whole class, but he also took a girl that should only belong to the alpha male, something he had proven over the years at the academy that Naruto was definitely not. Then as if that wasn't enough the blond attacked him right when he was about to make his claim on Hinata. Right in front of a crowd of villagers he had been humiliated yet again yet couldn't do a thing to retaliate as the air left his lungs.
His mood was clearly evident in his face and anyone could have read him like a book as he stabbed his food with malice. "What's wrong mutt? Someone step on your tail, or catch you chasing it maybe?" Hana couldn't help but poke fun at her little brother. It was one of her favorite past times when she had nothing else to do. "Maybe we should get you a new chew toy to take your frustrations out on."
Tsume for her part was trying not to laugh as Hana poked the wasps' nest that was her brother. She knew he had a hot head and like Hana couldn't resist the urge to rouse him every now and then. This time though it seemed to have been something extraordinarily bad as he actually growled and glared at his sister. Something an underdog shouldn't ever be doing to his superiors.
"Careful mutt. Those eyes are going to get you hurt one day." Hana narrowed her own eyes at him. Daring him to back talk her so she could remind him that he wasn't anywhere near being top dog.
Not wanting her dining room to be torn to shreds...again, Tsume stepped in. "Both of you settle down. Now! Kiba, what got you so pissed. Your answer better be good because I won't tolerate insolence nor ignorance in this house."
He couldn't hold it in anymore and turned his glare to his mother and shouted a bit louder then he should have. "It was that damn Uzumaki bastard! He took my mate from me and humiliated me in front of the class, then did it again in a public street. I swear I will make him pay for his actions. I won't allow someone to steal a mate from me and get away with it!"
Taking an Inuzuka's mate was something serious, but his words didn't sit right with either of them. They both knew Kiba was rash, easily provoked and usually was the first to throw a punch. Tsume was the first to reply. "Tell me Kiba, who was your mate?" It was a simple question to answer, but she suddenly saw her son stiffen and knew that he'd acted before he thought today.
"Hyūga Hinata. She is...was one of my classmates. I want her and I will have her." He started off a bit reserved but finished with renewed fury when he recalled how close he had been to accomplishing his goal this afternoon. It had been so easy to corner her in front of that ramen stand. It was like she was inviting him to take her.
"Hyūga Hinata? As in the heiress of the Hyūga clan? Are you insane or just stupid?! How could you even consider that she could be your mate? The heir of a clan is going to be wed to someone of their choosing not some fresh out of the academy mutt. I have seen this Hinata around town and I can tell that she is not one to make the first move. I could smell the fear and anxiety rolling off her whenever she saw someone looking at her. Tell me, little brother, just how many of your advances has she accepted, willingly?"
Busted... "I was still getting her to warm up to me, but she was so close today I could feel it. I tried to kiss her but that damn Uzumaki got in the way and even had the nerve to call her his date!"
"Did she allow you to try to kiss her or did she try to push you away?" Tsume narrowed her eyes again at her son.
"...She was allowing me to...after a few minutes."
"You stupid MUTT! She isn't that strong and you know it. She was probably letting you close because she was losing her strength. I swear to Kami if you ever try that with any woman while I am near I will neuter you myself!" Hana was furious. Her brother, her own flesh and blood, tried to force himself on someone. She felt ashamed to know him.
Tsume though was far to angry with her son. She spoke in a voice that was dangerously even and thick with malice as she closed her eyes refusing to even look at her son. "Kiba, you have shamed our clan by your actions this day. First, you tell us that someone stole your mate when she had no desire to be with you in the first place. Then you tell us that you tried to force yourself on her. Not only that but you apparently got into a fight with the Uzumaki boy not once but twice, and lost both times. You've taken our name and rubbed it into the dirt. Go to your den and I don't want to see your face until I decide a fitting punishment."
Kiba shivered as he heard the dangerous undertone of his mother's voice. He couldn't see what he did wrong. Sure he could see how he may have gone a little overboard when he pushed Hinata, but why be angry at the fights. He was a ninja after all and ninja's are supposed to fight. Especially when the one they were fighting deserved to be slammed into the ground. He knew all of this instinctively, but he wasn't about to go against his mother when she was like this. Slowly, making sure not to make any aggressive movements, he stood and walked out of the room. This made the third time that day that he'd been humiliated because of Naruto. First in the class, then in the street, now in his own home. He would have to pay. It was just a matter of how.
• • •
Sitting in her room, Hyūga Hinata was still in a daze. Her day had been amazing. Sure she didn't get put on a team with her Naruto-kun, but what did that matter anymore? He asked her out this morning and defended her twice before they even started their date. Sure she had to deal with Kiba's advances while she was waiting, but seeing how furious Naruto was when he found out what Kiba was attempting was worth it. After that he had taken her to a real restaurant. She thought they were just going to eat at Ichiraku's since Naruto seemed addicted to the place.
She didn't mind that he'd chosen a booth near the back. She would have been far too nervous had the whole restaurant been able to see them. It made for a more romantic setting anyway and she was more then content with that. The meal itself was fine. Nothing too impressive, but it also wasn't the highest quality restaurant. Not that she expected a five star meal on their first real date. There was of course a limit to just how far her dreams could come true. That was fine by her though, having Naruto acknowledge her was more then enough. She was just happy that she managed to not make a complete fool of herself tonight or worse, faint.
Thinking back to the boy she couldn't help but smile. It was well past time that he show his true abilities. Yes, she had an idea of how good he was. You don't stalk someone without finding out about one or two of their secrets. Even for as much as he had unintentionally shown her she was still surprised at a few of his tricks. For one, she hadn't known he could use a sword, nor did she know he could camouflage so well. She knew he was fast, but the speed he showed in class was something she hadn't witnessed. Then there was the clone. She knew it wasn't a normal clone and her suspicions were proven correct nearly instantaneously when she activated her byakugan. The clone had a chakra system running through it, something a regular bunshin did not have. Then there was how long it had taken the clone to disperse, not to mention that it actually took the kunai. An attack on a normal bunshin would have the kunai pass right through.
As the day went on she had been more and more confused and elated with Naruto's actions. He had finally dropped the mask of idiocy and now everyone was in for the shock of their lives. Just the fact that the Hokage felt he was capable enough to be a solo team with no sensei spoke volumes of his abilities. It was just a shame that no one else seemed to realize that fact. It didn't matter anymore though. She had finally gotten what she wanted and she was going to make sure she kept it. Slipping into her bed she turned in a bit earlier then normal. Tomorrow was another genin test and she would need to be ready for it. They hadn't been told they had to take another test after graduation, but she was determined not to fail. After all, how could she look weak now that her life seemed to finally be changing. It was time for her to show that she was indeed a Hyūga.
• • •
The next morning newly accepted ninja were waking up earlier then normal all around the village. Today was their genin acceptance tests. All of them had been given the same instructions of not eating breakfast and a rather early meeting at their respective training ground. All save one. Naruto had been given the low down on the tests as Hinata and he talked over diner the night before. Going over it in his head, plus his conversation with the Hokage the day before, it was easy for him to come to the solution for the test even though he didn't know the specifics. More then likely it would be a test on teamwork, but since it's a ninja test it wouldn't be as cut and dry as that. No, it would have something to at contention, something to force them to not want to work together.
Then there was the rule to not eat before the test. That in an of itself was suspicious. When he told Hinata this she reluctantly agreed. Then when he told her that if she planned on not eating breakfast anyway then she should make up for it by eating more tonight. She had blushed rather cutely as he shoveled some of his own food onto her plate. Then sat there as she ate all she could. He was sure she wouldn't die from hunger, or be distracted too much when it came time for her test. He would feel bad after all if she didn't pass. He already felt bad enough that he didn't have to take a test like that and instead dove right into missions. Just like he was going to do today.
It was still dark out when he woke up, allowing him to sneak to his hideaway unnoticed. After setting up his army of clones and instructing them on what to do for the day, he made his way to Ichiraku's for a quick breakfast. He didn't have to worry about the time. This being a ninja village it was well known among the places that sold breakfast that there were customers to be had early in the day and late at night. Most restaurant owners had it easy as they simply hired people who worked in shifts. Others like the Ichirakus had it a little tougher as they only had two employees. They managed though by having Teuchi get up early and work the breakfast crowd while Ayame stayed up late and handled the late night crowd. After a quick bowl of miso ramen, Naruto was off to the mission hall.
The sun was just cresting the horizon as he sat on a bench outside the doors waiting for the on duty shinobi to come and open up. His goal today was not only to do more missions then his first day, but to do the most laborious of them himself. He had just taken his seals up a notch and would need to get used to them. This was best done through hard work, though just walking around when he would adjust them was work in itself. It only took a few minutes for the on duty shinobi to show surprising both of them. Naruto was surprised that it was none other then his academy sensei, Iruka. Iruka on the other hand, being still half asleep, was just surprised to see anyone at the mission hall this early. Most people waited until the afternoon to pick up missions unless told otherwise, but for anyone to show up before the doors were actually open was a bit overzealous even for the most ambitious of ninja.
"Hey Iruka-sensei!"
"Na-Naruto? What are you doing here so early?"
"Huh? Doesn't the mission hall open this early?"
"Well, yeah, but why not wait until later like everyone else?"
"If I wait till everyone else gets their missions there might not be any left for me. Besides people who procrastinate tend to make it a habit and bad habits like that are not a good thing to have for a shinobi."
Iruka was torn. Here his own student was worried about a lack of D-rank missions, which there was a never ending pile of. There was a whole closet in the mission room just for them and another for C-ranks. Then looking down on bad habits, well he couldn't berate the boy on his orange jumpsuit anymore, but he could think of a few ninja that should take up his perspective. Particularly a certain masked jonin. Blinking at the boy he just nodded his head and unlocked the door, letting them both in. "So what kind of mission do you want to do today? Since you are the first here you pretty much get the pick of the bunch. You could just take a really quick one and then have the rest of the day to yourself. I'm sure there are plenty of them."
Naruto looked at his former sensei in confusion. "Ne sensei, I'm doing missions today. I need tough ones too. Definitely something physically demanding. Anything else is fine too, but I need at least one that will give me a good physical workout."
"At least one?"
"Yeah, as in I am going to be doing more then one mission today."
Here was the usually lazy boy, and former dead last of the academy being an overachiever. Sure the Sandaime had told Iruka that the Naruto he knew was nothing more then an act, but to see it personally was still a bit of a shock. His eagerness to work almost overshadowed his performance in the classroom yesterday. "Well, if that's what you want. How many are you planning on doing today exactly?" He wasn't too sure about giving one person multiple missions, but it wasn't unheard of so he'd just go with it. D-ranks were easy enough to do two or three if given a full day.
"Well I guess I'll take a dozen or so for this morning. I'll come back to turn them in and get more after lunch then unless I finish them sooner. It only took me a few hours to do eleven yesterday, so a dozen in five hours should be more then enough time."
Iruka had just opened the door to the mission hall as Naruto said this. As his hand went limp the door swung open to bang against the wall. "Ne, Iruka-sensei? You alright?" In a daze the chunin made his way through the hall, collecting scrolls and setting them up before sitting down behind the table and staring at the boy. "Iruka-sensei?"
"Huh, oh um...well...go through the D-ranks until you find what you want and just let me see them before you go." His brain was trying to work in overdrive while at the same time resisting the urge to stall completely. A few missions a day was normally the max for any ninja's patience, especially for D-ranks. Now here was Naruto, out of all the people Iruka knew this boy had the least patience of them all. The hyper active blonde could hardly sit still enough in class to listen to a full sentence, yet here he was saying he was dwarfing the usually number of missions a ninja did during the day. "Say Naruto, I'm not going to tell you that you can't do so many missions, but I would like to know why you want to."
Naruto glanced up from the pile of scrolls before turning his attention back. "Iruka-sensei, I currently am given an allowance by Hokage-jiji to live on, as well as a donated apartment. I'm sure you know about my past and you obviously know what's inside me so just imagine what happens when angry drunk villagers are given the whereabouts of the main target of their hate. If nothing else I want to make enough to live in a place of my choosing. Because the apartment is donated I am not allowed to do any custom modifications to it, but if I get my own place I can protect it properly. It's not that I care about my possessions being torn up or crushed, but even though they are the cheaper of my possessions it still gets rather old having to replace them so often. Its hard enough for me to save money without having to buy new furniture all of the time, no matter how cheap." Naruto took a moment to look over a mission before adding it to the growing stack. "I want to save as quickly as possible to get out of that dump and into a place where I don't have to worry about break-ins every night. The more missions I do, and the faster I do them, the sooner I will get some peace for myself."
Iruka lowered his head a bit at the revelation. It wasn't that long ago that he had been one of the people to abuse Naruto. Though he never physically touched the boy, he couldn't say he was the nicest person to him either. He had been part of crowds that had chased him from stores and had helped in one or two break ins. He wasn't sure if Naruto knew about those but it didn't matter because he himself knew he had done it. After Naruto started the academy though Iruka got a good look at the boy's never give up attitude and couldn't help but admire him. Container or not he resolved to be a bit nicer to the boy. After that it had all been quite the ride as the years passed and he soon found himself to actually be warming up the Naruto and vice-versa. Though he would still be targeted for some pranks, they were never nearly as bad as other teachers got.
Sighing to himself he was jerked out of his thoughts as Naruto laid out a bunch of scrolls on the desk in front him. Looking from the scrolls to Naruto he resigned himself to his duties. Going over each scroll he was surprised at the variety. There were, as he said there would be, a couple physically demanding missions. Removing rocks from a field and cutting firewood among them. Then there were just day to day tasks. Weeding gardens, walking dogs, catching Tora...the only thing they really had in common was that they were all mid to high paying D-ranks. Some of them could hold off a day or two so if he couldn't do them all it wasn't going to be too bad as long as he got the important ones out of the way. After he finished writing them down in the log along with who they were being done by he looked back up at Naruto. "Well I have everything I need, good luck and don't worry too much if you don't finish them right away. The important ones are catching Tora and walking the dogs. The rest can wait a day if needs be." To his surprise Naruto just scoffed at him as he picked up the pile of scrolls and headed out the door.
Outside Naruto, like yesterday, created a small army of clones. As he handed out assignments they left to get their respective jobs done. When all but one assignment was left he called over the remaining clones. This would be his second mission that he himself would be on, and oh what an exciting mission he saved for himself. "Clearing a field of rocks, oh joy... Well lets get it done." He headed off to the farm which was just outside the North wall of the village. Arriving in only a few minutes he saw the farmer already waiting with a variety of tools. "Hello sir. My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I am here for the mission of clearing out the rocks." Naruto took a glance at the field and immediately realized just how physical of a task he'd chosen for himself. He no longer wondered why this was one of the higher paying D-ranks. Most likely the only thing that kept it from being a low C-rank was its close proximity to the village.
The farmer was a bit surprised to see a group of identical people walk up to him, but shrugged it off. Ninja had many tricks so he just chalked it up as one he hadn't seen yet. "Heya sonnies. I just moved in here recently, and while I can farm well enough, clearing out a neglected field is a bit beyond my abilities. Got you picks, shovels and a couple wheelbarrows for the job. You can just pile em at the edges of the field. If you're feeling really ambitious you can start the makings of a wall too. Couldn't hurt none for me that's for sure."
"Sounds like just what I was after. Don't worry old man, by lunch you won't recognize the place." Crossing his fingers he created more clones, much to the old farmer's surprise, and took to the fields with tools in hand. He wasn't so cocky to think that he'd be able to finish in his time frame without the extra hands. He put all his effort into the job though and was soon clearing out barrows full of rocks in no time while the bunshin carted them away to form a low wall around the slightly overgrown edge of the field. When he noticed the field was being slowly reclaimed by the wilderness he assigned a few more clones to reestablish the boarders before the wall would have a chance to make it more difficult.
For his part the old farmer stayed more or less out of the way. Only making himself known when he wanted a space in the wall or to compliment the speed that the young ninjas worked at. Seeing him compliment various clones was good for a laugh since the farmer had no way of knowing which one was the original, and judging by how he talked to each he probably didn't know that any of them weren't real. Work was progressing quickly as the small army moved from one end of the field to the other. It wasn't until they were nearing the far end of the field that the day started to get interesting.
*CLANG*
Both the farmer and Naruto looked at the clone with the pickaxe, who in turn was staring at the ground a bit startled. "Uh...boss I think I found something." Both of them walked over to the clone who was now joined by a few others with shovels clearing away the dirt. As more and more earth was moved out of the way a trap door was brought into view. The farmer was a bit confused as to why someone would put a door in the middle of a field and just assumed that it was a tornado shelter or an old well. Naruto on the other hand knew exactly what it was by the symbols on the door, as well as what they might find in it. The door was of the same design as the one in his own secret shelter and if that was indeed the case then what was inside would not be pleasant. "Sir I suggest for your sake you let me go in first. You may not even want to go in at all."
The farmer stood by confused as the boy told one of the others to go alert the Hokage of what they found. Had it been a few years ago he wouldn't have taken that measure, but he was a ninja now and it was his duty to bring any information of any possible threats to the attention of the proper authorities. Meanwhile he began the process of breaking the lock on the door. He was lucky in the one he found initially that it had seemed to be abandoned in haste with the door left unlocked. He had kept the lock out of fascination and tinkered with it when he found a book on lock picking. If this lock was anything like the others then he would be able to pick it as well, but it would take a few minutes.
After hearing the telltale click of the pins settling in place he had the farmer step back as he also kept a distance. Anyone who was willing to hide such a place definitely had secrets to keep. If this was anything like his place had been they would be rather dark secrets at that. Signaling the clone near the door who in turn flung the door open and was promptly dispelled as a jet of flame enveloped it. The farmer fell on his ass completely caught off guard by the trap while Naruto stood by, gazing at the now open door. Signaling a few more clones to enter the hole he waited. The only sign that anything was going on inside were the small jerking motions that played on his eyebrows every so often. Whoever hid this here didn't want it to be found.
After another half hour of waiting Naruto was given the OK as the last clone dispelled itself after opening the last door inside. Just as he was walking towards the hole he felt a presence as the Hokage himself fell into step beside him holding an arm out causing Naruto to stop. As four ANBU settled in around them Sarutobi gave his warning. "Naruto don't get too close, you can never tell what may be in one of these holes. I know who put this here and he was nothing if not cautious."
"Don't worry jiji. I already explored it with my clones. They disarmed or triggered the traps already. There wasn't any poison gas so while you may have to be careful to not step on some senbon stuck in the path it is pretty much clear." Sarutobi nodded at the boy while lowering his arm to allow him to continue on. Before he did though Naruto turned back towards the farmer. "Old man you should stay here. I'll leave a few more clones to finish the field, but under here is ninja business. I wouldn't want you to get hurt by accident."
"Don't worry about me boy, you had me convinced after opening the door. You just make sure that I'm not going to suddenly be ready for a cannibal's feast when I go to plow my fields."
Giving a nod at the farmer and making a few more clones to replace those that were lost he took point as the Hokage followed him into the darkness while the ANBU, at a signal from their leader took up positions around the entrance to keep guard. Much like his place in town it started as a long tunnel. Unlike his though this one had offshoots and more then a single door. It would seem that whoever made his had a lot more time to form one outside the village without anyone knowing then hiding one under the village itself. Going door to door gave them both a better understanding at what this place was for, and it wasn't the most pleasant of discoveries. As they delved deeper the contents got more and more disturbing. Glass jars with body parts floating in liquid were lined up on shelves, metal caskets held preserved bodies, areas that looked like operating rooms were covered in blood as were rooms with chains and racks some with decaying bodies still on them.
To the Hokage this was one of the more disturbing of his old student's laboratories. They had discovered many over the years since he left Konoha, but none nearly as large as this one. And the experiments they saw, things like this should only be seen in wartime if they should be seen at all. It was then that he remembered the boy that was leading him around. "Naruto, if you don't feel comfortable with this I understand and you may go back outside. This isn't something you would normally have to deal with at your age."
"Jiji-san. You already know about my trips into training ground 44. What I haven't told you is that I stumbled upon a lair like this in the village when I was younger as well. It isn't as large as this one, but it still held some of the items we have seen here. Bodies, jars, blood...I won't lie it is disturbing, but it's nothing I haven't seen before. At the time I didn't know that I should have reported what I found so I just cleaned it out and set up my own storage in there. It is well hidden and at the moment only I can enter it. I took everything I found that I didn't see a use for and took it far into the woods outside the village and buried it. I know what you're going to ask. No I didn't keep any of the experimental items. Just weapons and scrolls. I locked away any scrolls dealing with the experiments that I found and you can have it when we get back from here. You can also enter my place, but I ask that you not take it away from me. It is the only place that me and my possessions are truly safe around the village."
Sarutobi was only slightly shocked. He knew Naruto had a hidden place for himself, but to learn that it was one of his student's lairs and that he had cleaned it out and sealed it up himself was a bit of a shock. Now the boy walked next to him not showing a hint of emotion at what they had seen so far save for his face losing some color. It pained him to know that the boy he'd sworn to protect was subjected to such discrimination for something he couldn't control. His biggest regret was that due to his duties as Hokage he didn't have time to enforce his own laws regarding the boy. So while he got reports on how the boy was treated, and tried time and time again to get people who made the reports to give names of offenders those were easily worked around by people then sending the reports anonymously. Then there wasn't a single thing he could do. Again he was brought out of his musings as Naruto addressed him.
"Jiji-san, if you need to attend to your duties, I will stay and catalog what's here and report back to you when I'm done."
Normally he would classify this as an A or S-rank mission and put trusted shinobi on it, but Naruto had already seen enough of it, not to mention finding it, opening it and combing it for traps which saved them a lot of time. Weighing his resources and the boy's skills, or rather what he knew of the boy's skills, he found himself at a crossroads. On one hand he could allow Naruto to oversee the investigation of the lair. On the other he didn't want to subject the boy to more then he needed to experience. Yet he had already experienced his own hideaway and most of this one and showed more resolve then most of his best ninja would have after seeing such things. He sighed while turning to Naruto. "If you believe you can handle this investigation I will let you do so. Just be sure to catalog everything you find no matter how insignificant it may seem. I will keep two of the ANBU posted outside while you work and I will see if Anko or Ibiki are available to go over the bodies. If they are too busy I will send over a few of the medical staff." Leading the way back out he gave Naruto and apologetic pat on the shoulder while signaling for two ANBU to stay. With a last look at the boy and a nod of his head Sarutobi left him to his orders.
Naruto looked at the farmer who had walked back over after seeing the two emerge and the Hokage leave. "So what's the damage boy? My new property isn't going to blow up or sink into the ground anytime soon is it?"
"No sir, but we will need some time here before we can allow you to enter the area. If you even want to use it after seeing what we will be taking out of it." Letting the statement hang he created another small army of clones and sent them off to get the supplies he needed. When he told one group to get body bags from the morgue the farmer paled and decided he would make himself scarce for the remainder of the operation. Naruto gave a small, dark chuckle at that which confused the two ANBU guards.
"What's up boy. For the job you have ahead of you, I would start questioning my sanity if I started laughing before I did it."
"I'm just trying to figure out which is more amusing. The fact that I've done this before and didn't consider it important, or that most of the village would have liked to see me pried out of one of those coffins inside." With that grim announcement he descended back into the dark tunnel, not bothering to look at the horrified reactions of the two guards.
It took the better part of two hours, but he had finished cataloging the contents of the lair. There were the rooms that he and Sarutobi had seen already, but that was only the tip of the treasures inside. Deeper in he found living quarters that were pretty bare, a small kitchen, and a library. The biggest stockpile though was the large room of weapons at the far end of the complex. It was easily twice as large as any other room in the tunnel system and held racks of all the weapons he could identify as well as many he couldn't. Everything along with their counts were carefully cataloged on scrolls labeled with numbers. Those numbers in represented areas on another scroll which included a map of the lair. With corresponding numbers showing which scroll matched to which room.
As he put the finishing touches on the map scroll and sealed the numbered catalogs in it, two thuds were heard at the entrance of the lair. He made his way back to see Konoha's two top interrogators looking around at the various doors they could see, looking as though they were trying to decide where to start. As the sound of his feet hitting the floor reached their ears two head snapped to his direction.
"Stop, who are you and what business do you have down here?" Was Anko's reply as she took a battle stance when she noticed he didn't stop.
"Oh for crying out loud. Didn't anyone tell you'd I'd be down here already?" He watched their eyes grow wide as he stepped into the light that spilled through the doorway.
"What business does a genin have down here. This area is off limits to anyone other then the interrogation squad, medical teams, ANBU and the Hokage himself. Leave now or we will be forced to take you into custody." Ibiki was an imposing figure to most people in the village alone, but with Anko beside him the intimidation factor rose exponentially. Apparently the 'most' that they intimidated did not include the boy before them as he stood there waiting for his turn to talk.
"If you are done screwing around we have work to do. This is my mission just as much as it is yours. And if I might add, it took you long enough to get here. I mean come on, two hours? I had enough time to map this place out, catalog the contents and seal my findings plus certain items of importance in my scroll here before you two even showed up. What kind of special squad reacts so slow? Now come on we'll start in the room I like to call the 'play pen'." The way he emphasized the last two words, combined with the smile on his face was enough to send a shiver through both of the jonins' spines.
"Listen kid that's real funny and all, but we have a job to do here and we don't need you getting in..."
Naruto scowled at them before snarling. "No, you listen. I have been through this place room by room recording everything I found. I've been down here for over two hours with the stench of decaying bodies in the air. This isn't the most pleasant morning I've had in my life, and even though it's far from the worst that doesn't make me want to spend the rest of the day down here. Now follow me and do your preliminary investigation so I can go home, take a shower and eat some lunch cause damn if I haven't worked up an appetite." Naruto glared at them before stomping away into the darkness forcing them to follow if they wanted to say anything more.
"Just who the hell is that kid?" Anko looked at Ibiki for a little help, but was only met with a pale face as the man stood looking at where the boy had been.
Ibiki had just realized who the kid was and was both shocked and deeply disturbed with the way the blonde acted. "Just what the hell did we do to him." The statement earned a curious glance from Anko, but Ibiki shook it off as he started after the boy. "He is the one Hokage-sama assigned to this. I have no doubt. What worries me is that something that made Hokage-sama pale doesn't seem to be affecting the boy at all. Whatever we find in here, it would seem that it is something he is accustomed to. We will give him the mission scroll and get what we will need from him then send him on his way. Even a person so used to death would take a reprieve from it when possible." Anko simply nodded before following.
They caught up to Naruto as they found him leaning nonchalantly in an open doorway as he welcomed them with a dead voice. "Welcome to the 'play pen'. This is where the fun begins it would seem." He motioned for them to follow him into the room, and once they did they almost lost the contents of their stomachs. Seeing them grow pale quickly Naruto couldn't help a little jab. "What? You think this is bad? Wait till you see the storage room or the lab." He chuckled a little as he lead the way to the middle of the room as he droned on. "From what I could tell upon initial inspection, this is where the fresh test subject were brought to try out formulas and techniques. To your left you will see the hanging gardens. A beautiful arrangement of mold covered bodies that are slowly decomposing. The odd part is that they won't break down into their basic elements but rather form up the structure of the mold itself. From the trough on the floor I would suspect that as the mold grows it breaks off and is collected to be used in other experiments or as ingredients. Good luck trying to classify the stuff. That isn't my field."
"To your right are the pin art tables. My guess is that whoever worked here like to test people's pain tolerance. You'll notice the various senbon, pins, spikes and other toys spread around. I believe it would be safe to assume that their host went for length of time over quantity of wounds on the majority. Finally, ahead of you is the merry go round. A round, spinnable, sectioned, cage-like structure that held test subjects that weren't dead or dying yet. I'm guessing that was for both ease of selection as well as mental torture from watching as those around you got picked out and wondering when it would be your turn. I kind of pity them yet envy them. While they didn't have a choice on whether or not to die, they also didn't have to endure the pains of this and many other rooms."
Both jonin looked around both amused his method of describing the scene and horrified that it came with such ease out of a child. "Tell me gaki, how can you talk so easily about this." Anko glared at him with hard eyes. Sure, she could have cracked jokes about this all day, but there was something in his eyes that told her he didn't enjoy it as much as he let on.
"That is for me to know. Now lets move on we have more rooms to cover." He lead them to the storage room which housed all the metal caskets that held preserved corpses. Then they went to the lab where he again poked fun by calling it 'the freak show'. It was a complete house of horrors as they went from room to room seeing just how deep the previous occupants madness went as well as just how dark their guides humor was. It seemed that no one was spared from the man's cruelty as they came upon once healthy adults as well as elderly, teens, children, animals and even unborn fetus. It was sickening and the one taking it the worst was Anko. After all, she had at one point been the man's apprentice. Thankfully for her he had never shown her his darker side until the end, but by then it was already far too late.
Naruto brought out a small scroll as he stepped out of the last room on his tour. He handed the scroll to Ibiki who look at him in confusion. "That should be everything the scroll I gave you shows a map of the place so you won't get lost. It's all labeled so it should be easy to make your way around." Ibiki unfurled the scroll and nodded his head before handing a scroll to Naruto who simply stood there waiting for the explanation that was sure to come.
"That is your mission scroll which is already signed by the Hokage. Congratulations on your first S-rank mission. Understand though that you are not to let any information of what you've seen here slip to anyone outside of us and the Hokage. That is part of the trust in accepting this mission and receiving the pay for it. You have been a great help Naruto-san." Ibiki bowed with Anko glancing at him before following his lead.
Naruto scoffed at them. "I don't need people bowing to me whenever I finish a mission like this. Save it for when it has real meaning. Just to give you a heads up though. You will find items missing throughout the lair. I have them sealed in the scroll that I'll be handing to Jiji-san personally so don't think too much of it. Of the rooms on the map that I didn't show you are the living and cooking areas, the library and the armory. The later two have all of their contents sealed up and with me in the same scroll as I'm sure Jiji-san will want them examined and possibly put into our own stores. Also in a little while some clones will be here with crates and body bags for your use. If you need anything else brought don't hesitate to ask them to run errands Just make sure to ask before they dispel as they don't always have the patience to sit around."
Nodding Ibiki wanted one last word. "One more question before you leave Naruto-san. How are you not affected by what you've seen here."
Naruto's eyes clouded slightly before refocusing on the two in front of him. He took in the calculating glare of the man and the eager, nearly hopping, actions of the woman. He settled his eyes on the man again before speaking. "Everything in the world is relative. We judge how cold it is by the coldest we can remember feeling, the same goes for heat. We judge pain by the worst pain we've felt, the same goes for pleasure. We judge every feeling we have based on the worst or best of that feeling we've ever encountered. I am unaffected by the sights here because I have seen worse. I can make jokes about he obvious pain these people went through because I have felt worse, I can relate to the smiles of contentment that got frozen on their faces upon death because I have wished for the same release, but was never granted it. Do not envy me because I can deal with what is here. Do not pity me either because I don't care for it. Just prey that you never have to go through the same, and live." With that he turned on his heal leaving two speechless bodies staring blankly at his back.
He had to squint as the light hit his face. He had been in the darkened tunnel so long that his eyes would need time to adjust. Glancing around he saw a few of his clones returning already with the body bags, and stood to the side to let them pass. He nodded to the two ANBU as he walked past them and looked at the newly cleared field around him. All of his clones had dispersed long ago letting him know of their success. Since he had no more work to do here he headed towards the farmers house to get his mission scroll signed and be on his way. Walking up to the front door he knocked and waited as footsteps from inside came closer. As soon as the farmer opened the door Naruto saw him gag. He would definitely need a shower before he went anywhere.
"Dang boy I don't even want to know what you got into down there. Just let me know what you need and I'll send you on your way. No offense meant but you smell more ripe then a month old pile of manure on a hot summer day."
Naruto couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face as he scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Sorry sir but sometimes we get a little dirty. If I can just get you to sign this scroll I'll be on my way." He pulled out the mission scroll and handed it to the farmer who in turn signed it quickly and handed it back as he gave a quick farewell and close the door. "Now to get home for a shower. Then off to Hokage-jiji to hand in this mission before I give Iruka-sensei a nice surprise." Naruto took off for the village gate, pointing a passing medical team on their way to the farm towards their destination, confusing them greatly that a genin would know where they were headed.
A/N: One more quick side note. Naruto isn't all powerful, though it may seem like he is for awhile. It's more because he is a lot stronger then those he's against and keeps pushing himself. After all a Kage has to be powerful enough to protect his village...right?