Naruto trudged along the muddy path laid before him, trying to avoid digging his foot into the deeper sections of the dense liquid, but to no avail.
"Ew!" Sakura shrieked as some mud got onto her skirt. "Why is it so muddy here?"
"Yeah, it's not like we're surrounded by rocks every single turn we take," Naruto grumbled, equally frustrated by their environment.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing."
Kakashi interrupted, stopping the inevitable argument between the two. "The main reason is because we are near Iwagakure, which is predominantly surrounded by rocks, and is widely known for its rough terrain."
Why were they going to Konoha? Because the Hokage himself and the creepy as hell Danzo guy asked them to. Naruto didn't know whether the other Genin teams were doing it as well, considering how top-secret the whole matter was. He didn't get the time to ask either, being forced to immediately pack up and leave the next day.
The next morning, he had immediately eaten Teuchi's ramen as a good luck charm, hoping that the mission would end quickly. According to Kakashi, it would take a day or two, but he couldn't really trust his eccentric sensei too deeply.
Sasuke jumped over a particularly large puddle of mud gracefully. "Didn't the Hokage say our mission was near the Iwa borders?"
"As you mentioned, 'borders' was the word he used, correct? Hmmm…how can I explain this?" Kakashi expressed to himself, hand on his chin. "Ah! I'll start from the beginning. I'm sure you know about what happened during the Third Shinobi World War."
"Iwa and Konoha were in a huge scuffle, if I remember correctly," Naruto remarked, thinking back to the lessons Iruka used to give.
"Absolutely right. In fact, quite a large scuffle. Territories of both Konoha and Iwa were conquered left and right, leaving citizens of their respective villages to suffer in the cruel aftermath of war. The same thing happened in the Second Shinobi World War, and though it wasn't as big, it set the roots for an intense rivalry between the two nations. And with that rivalry, came a number of meaningless deaths."
"That sounds horrible…" Sakura whimpered.
Kakashi grimaced under his mask. "It was. Trust me, I was a part of it. In fact, believe it or not, Konoha were losing the war for a good amount of time. But I'm sure you know who turned the tides."
Sasuke grunted in affirmation. "The Fourth."
Naruto's head swerved as he heard the name of his idol, the Fourth Hokage—Minato Namikaze.
Kakashi nodded. "He managed to single handedly change the tides of the war, gaining the title of 'Konoha's Yellow Flash'. However, that is getting quite off-topic. What you need to know is that due to the war, there were a large remainder of territories which were unclaimed by both Iwa and Konoha, in fear of retaliation from both sides."
Sakura tilted her head in confusion, slightly slowing down her pace to talk. "Huh? That doesn't make much sense, does it? Why doesn't someone just take it?"
"These places…aren't just any regular back of the country towns. They were previously battlefields that shinobi fought on and died. They are reminders that war once existed, and should never happen again. If Iwa suddenly came and proclaimed they owned lands such as these, it's practically announcing they are ready for another war. Konoha and Iwa have had multiple talks, and agreed to keep the border areas as a 'peace-keep' of sorts."
Didn't Danzo say we would 'compete' against the other Genin teams? If we compete against Iwa, who hoard an hatred on us that we never knew about, how the hell would this turn out well? Naruto asked, hyperventilating at the thought of facing the Iwa shinobi.
Not because he was scared of fighting them, but because he wasn't sure just how deep their hate was.
Kakashi seemed to have read his mind. "In any case, if any Iwa shinobi—you know who I'm referring to—wander the territory and see us, there would undoubtedly be a fight. That's why, I have a safety measure in order to prevent such a situation from occurring."
Naruto sighed in relief. "Which is?"
Kakashi held up a single hand sign. "Henge."
Smoke rolled off his body in an instant, covering the transformation entirely. The smoke slowly revealed itself to be…
What the hell?
A woman.
An incredibly old woman.
With long, grey hair rolling off his shoulders, and wrinkles covering his face, Kakashi was practically unrecognizable. His previous height decreased by a foot due to his back being scrunched up uncomfortably.
Naruto couldn't believe which words came out of the Jonin's mouth next,
"Yo."
I have to be dreaming…
"What the hell?!" Sakura yelled in surprise, almost tripping down a rock.
"I'm pretty sure you know what a henge is, why are you guys so surprised?" Kakashi asked innocently.
Even his voice is slightly different. Naruto realized with a thoughtful glance.
Naruto eyed up the old woman in front of him. "Firstly, why do you still have the mask on, and secondly, do you really need to use such a disguise?"
"Why not?"
Naruto crossed his arms together. "Isn't it oddly suspicious for an old woman to be travelling around bordered areas by herself and three other teenagers?"
Kakashi released the henge right after, smoke erupting once again. "You're right, I just wanted to have some fun. In any case, henges aren't always so useful. If an enemy sensor is present in the battlefield, it would be incredibly easy for them to tell who is using henge. For now, we are just using the technique to hide our real looks."
"But why?" Sasuke asked curiously, voicing both Naruto and Sakura's thoughts.
Naruto seriously didn't understand the point of the henge right now. Even if they were found out, it's not like their looks would have any effect on a fight. Kakashi seemed to be taking unnecessary precautions, which was something he never did.
"It's not to be recognized by any Iwa shinobi, trust me. Considering this is a competition, the Iwa Genin may target you in the real Chuunin exams," Kakashi said, making sure not to look at any of the Genin.
I'm lying through my teeth here, but hopefully no one really noticed. The real reason is because of Naruto's hair. His blond head, which is quite rare in these parts, would certainly attract people. And Kami forbid, they make the connection between him and sensei—I can't let that happen.
Naruto looked back to the path in front of him, the shadows of buildings beginning to appear.
Kakashi cleared his throat, drawing all the attention back to him. "Like I said, all of you will need to use henges. In case we encounter any Iwa shinobi, we will have to create alternate identities."
Naruto's eyes widened. "Alternate identities?"
"Yes. Like a different name, look, and—if you want—personality. Though that's not really required for this mission."
"How do we know what to change into, sensei?" Sakura asked a second later.
"Hmmm. I'll give you some tips on what to change. Sasuke, take care of the hair—I don't know, smooth it out or something. As for Sakura, please change your hair colour to black. And Naruto…you will need the most change."
"Huh?! Why me?" Naruto rebuked, slightly offended.
Kakashi chuckled. "I didn't mean it in that way, Naruto. The truth is, you are the most likely to stand out in a crowd. In fact, you should change your entire face for now. Take out those whiskers, and you have to change your hair color to black. The eyes are also a bit noticeable."
Whiskers, eyes, hair. Okay, I guess that's doable.
Sasuke stopped walking. "Should we just do it now?"
"Well, using a henge continuously doesn't use too much chakra, but it can still drain a lot if you use it continuously. For now, just try it out, but don't let your chakra levels reach below fifty percent," Kakashi responded, with a meaningful look towards Sakura.
Fine. I'll guess I'll do it right now. Henge!
[Henge Detected.]
[Does Player want to use the Character Customization Menu?]
[Yes/No]
Naruto had no idea what he was looking at. Uhhh…sure?
[Opening…]
[Henge Menu]
Name: ?
Skin: ?
Hair: ?
Height: ?
Face: ?
Body: ?
Eyes: ?
I guess, do I just set everything with my thoughts like usual ? Let's just try it out then.
Naruto took a deep breath, trying to imagine his disguised body in his mind. Eyes…black. How should I change my face? A little bit more angular, I guess. I do have a lot of baby fat still. I'll also remove my whiskers for now. As for height, I can make myself a few inches taller, right? Skin, let's make it a bit paler. Hair needs to be a bit longer, and not as puffy. Oh yeah, make it black. My body…should remain somewhat the same. I guess that's it.
[Error! Please set a name!]
Umm…name? What's the name of the guy in that one comic I read? Ruji? Ryuji? Yeah, that's it.
[Henge has been set as "Ryuji".]
[Info: Using Henge Menu means this specific Henge is stored in the system, therefore the user can repeatedly use the sorted Henge without change.]
Smoke suddenly surrounded Naruto's body.
The Genin immediately wobbled as his newly found height was incredibly uncomfortable to walk with.
Naruto looked at himself with awe. "Woah."
Naruto couldn't see how his face looked (obviously) but he could definitely see the change in his body. His body was more streamlined in a way, but not skinny like usual. The hair that creeped down his forehead was definitely black, though.
Kakashi raised his eyebrows. "That's…an incredibly well done Henge. Most Henges which are creating a completely new body are usually poorly done, but yours almost seems almost uncannily real. Hmmm…do you know anyone who looks like that, by any chance?"
Naruto grinned smugly. "Nope. I'm just that impressive, sensei."
"Your voice as well, it's not the same at all. You could probably hold that Henge for this entire mission with the amount of chakra you have as well. Regardless, how about you two?"
Naruto looked to the side where Sakura and Sasuke stood.
Sakura…looked weird with black hair, to say the least. Sasuke didn't change too much, other than his hair, which wasn't as spiky as before, but rather it was like he used a comb to put it to the side. If he added some glasses Sasuke would definitely look like the nerdy kid in the library back in Konoha.
"Hehe…" Naruto giggled immediately.
"Shut the hell up!" Sasuke gritted through his teeth.
Sakura came through the smoke right after. "Yeah! Your Henge probably isn't any better, Naru—"
Naruto met her eyes with a passive glare. He definitely didn't miss how she averted her gaze right away.
They were nearing the edge of the town in front of them.
All right! Time to beat some bandits back to Konoha!
[—]
"Ugh…this is so boring…." Naruto groaned as he stared up at the ceiling.
Sasuke snorted. "Deal with it, dobe."
"How come Sakura gets her own room?" Naruto asked, appalled by the unfairness of it all.
"If you want your own room, just say so, Naruto," Kakashi said from the corner of the hotel room.
They had found a mostly empty hotel inside the town, and quickly ordered two rooms for a few days. The rooms were small, but enough to accommodate all of them.
"How long will this mission take?" The blond inquired.
"I don't know the exact amount, but definitely not more than three days."
There's no way I can deal with this for two more days.
"How about I go now and capture the bandits for myself?" Naruto asked, without a trace of overconfidence.
Kakashi lazily looked at him over his book. "Hmm? Sure, I guess. Take Sasuke or Sakura with you, though. And don't wander too far. You remember their identification marks, right?"
"Yeah, yeah. Tall, bald, and scars over his face. Big, scary guy is the leader of the bandits. I'm terrified!" Naruto retorted sarcastically. "Sasuke, let's finish this mission off."
Kakashi's eyes instantly widened as if he forgot something. "Oh! Don't forget your Henge, Naruto. And Sasuke, I suppose."
"Sure."
The blond didn't waste any time putting a hand sign up. Henge!
[Detecting Henge.]
[Opening…]
[Available Henges:
["Ryuji"]
Use Ryuji.
The old Naruto was no more, for Ryuji replaced him.
Naruto looked at Sasuke. "You aren't going to Henge?"
"Trust me, it's not worth it."
Naruto shrugged, inwardly trying not to laugh at the Uchiha's predicament.
"How about this, let's make this a competition between ourselves. Whoever finds the bandits first has to pay the other person with five trips to Ichiraku Ramen. Fair?"
"No. I don't like Ichiraku. How about if I win you pay for me at the Inuzuka Grill?" Sasuke asked, smirking.
Hell no! That's too expensive! My allowance is practically dead already without Iruka paying for me at Ichiraku's! But backing out now would go against my pride as Naruto Uzumaki. Losing is not an option.
"Alright. Let's do this!" Naruto shouted in agreement, bolting towards the east direction of the town.
The town wasn't too big, but wasn't that small either. It was pretty busy, with traders and other workers bustling here and there. With relatively large buildings and other shops, it was a simple and neat town. On the outside. According to Kakashi, it was practically a home for missing ninja, bandits, and other crooks from all villages due to its free state.
So Naruto searched.
And searched.
And searched even longer.
The sun was quickly falling down. An inkling of dread started to creep up to him. Did Sasuke already find the bandits? Are they waiting for me to come back? No! I must not give up hope now.
One more building on the east side of the town was left.
Naruto looked at the sign suspiciously, "Hashi Hashi Restaurant, huh? Let's go in then."
He pushed the door of the entrance, making his way into the somewhat busy shop. There were only some customers, around eight to ten, but the atmosphere still felt somewhat busy.
"Welcome to Hashi Hashi Restaurant!" An old man exclaimed from over the serving bar.
Naruto sat himself in the corner, analyzing all of the customers at once.
Nope. Not a single person matches that description.
"Ugh…why did I even bother. Sasuke has probably found them by now. Whatever, I'll just spend some time here, I guess," Naruto mumbled to himself, fiddling with his black hair.
But then some people entered the restaurant right after.
"Ugh, I can't find them anywhere!"
"It's fine…"
"How about we stay here for a while?"
"I guess, but there aren't any available seats, are there?"
"Just find the most empty one."
Please no, please no, please—
A short girl and a moderately tall boy sat from across Naruto.
With short, black hair, and weirdly coloured pink eyes, the girl's red uniform and brown flak jacket was bright in the dull colours of the restaurant.
The boy wore the same uniform, but in a much different manner. He had black glasses and a paler face, and bandages surrounding his right arm.
Quite an eccentric duo. What does that red uniform even mean?
The girl looked at him once before her eyes sparkled.
What the hell?
"Hey, I'm Kurotsuchi…your name?"
"Na—Ryuji," Naruto stuttered, almost revealing his identity immediately.
It didn't really matter much if they knew his name, but it still felt like a mission to keep it secret.
"Hmmm…Ryuji, huh? That's quite an uncommon name in these parts, Ryuji-san," her partner mentioned calmly.
Naruto felt sweat slowly start to appear and drip down his chin. "Really? I never noticed. What's your name?"
He pushes his glasses back. "I am Ubuki Fujiyomi."
That's it? Kinda anticlimactic.
"Well, Ryuji, what are you doing here exactly?" Kurtosuchi asked, waving her short hair around her shoulder.
Well, here goes nothing.
"My family are well-renowned merchants around these areas, so I've come here for some trade by myself. As of right now, I didn't really have anything to do, so I wanted to travel around the town for a bit," Naruto said without a single break between any of his words.
Kurotsuchi nodded in understanding. "I see. So, that means, you really know about who comes and goes around here, right?"
Naruto froze. The conversation wasn't going where he wanted it too, but he couldn't stop the lie now, or else it would definitely get suspicious. "Correct."
Kurotsuchi leaned closer to whisper something into "Ryuji's" ear. "So, this is going to be oddly specific, but have you seen a tall, bald man with a whole lotta scars on his face? He's really creepy, and stands out in a crowd. He probably had five or six goons around him."
If it was even possible, Naruto froze even further. Who the hell are these guys? How do they have the same description Kakashi gave me? Unless…
Observe!
[Observing…]
[Observation successful!]
Name: Kurotsuchi
Title: "Princess of Iwa"
Occupation: Genin of Iwagakure
Level: LV17
HP: 100/100
MP: 100/100
Chakra: 300/300
STR: 13
VIT: 10
DEX: 15
INT: 6
WIS: 4
LUK: 5
Naruto's heartbeat increased rapidly as he read down the stat line of the otherwise naive girl in front of him. His luck was truly terrible. Meeting the rival Iwa team in a place like this? It was almost like Kami was trying to get him to lose, or something.
Other than the main issue, Naruto realized she was even higher than Sasuke's level, and consequently, higher than his own.
Are they really that much stronger than us? Naruto asked himself, disbelieving of what he saw.
No, the level system didn't always mean everything—he personally knew that. But then Naruto saw something else in her stats.
The title.
Princess of Iwa? Is she royalty or something?
This wasn't looking good for the Konoha Genin at all. In fact, it was terrible. It's best if I relocate back to the hotel for now, and plan an attack later. But…at the same time…I can't allow Iwa to get the bandits first.
That leaves only one option left.
I'll have to continue with the bluff!
"Ehhh..I may or may not have seen him, to be honest. Why are you interested in knowing?" Naruto asked knowingly.
Kurtosuchi looked at her teammate who shook his head repeatedly, before she shrugged and looked back at Naruto.
"Well, Ryuji, the truth is…we're both shinobi."
Naruto gasped. "No way!"
The Iwa Genin nodded smugly. "It's true. I don't have my headband right now, considering I'm wearing a disguise, but I can show you a jutsu if you want."
Ubuki glared at his teammate. "Is it really necessary to tell a civilian about all these things? Anyone could be part of the Konoha team, you know?"
Kurotsuchi glared suspiciously at Naruto. "Are you part of the Konoha team, Ryuji?"
Naruto shrugged. "What's a Konoha team, exactly?"
Kurotsuchi glanced back at Ubuki in a 'I told you so' manner. "See? Whatever, it's clear I got sidetracked. Anyways, do you recall such a man?"
Naruto shook his head. "No, never."
She sighed in a dissatisfied manner, putting her head down on the table. "Ahh. This mission is a pain. In the meanwhile, order some food, Ubuki."
Ubuki nodded. "Sure."
"Do you want anything, Ryuji?"
Naruto blinked. He didn't expect that. "No thanks, actually."
"Hmph. Your loss."
Naruto sat back in his seat, closing his eyes, enjoying the peaceful climate around him. But then the door opened once more.
Revealing a tall, bald man.
Naruto immediately came back to his feet, looking closer at the man's face. Kurotsuchi did the same beside him.
Red, hot lines spread across his face unevenly, making the man look like he was permanently scowling.
It has to be him…
"Hey, Ryuji," Kurotsuchi whispered.
Naruto didn't take his gaze of the man, who sat in a recently vacant-made corner. "Hmm?"
"I seriously recommend you get out of this shop now. Things are about to get…messy."
Naruto looked at the muscled man and the goons behind him. A shinobi against regular bandits? It probably won't be too hard for the Genin to defeat them, especially considering how high leveled she was. While Naruto hadn't looked at Ubuki's level directly, he could tell he wasn't a weakling either.
Kurotsuchi put her fists together. "Let's go, Ubuki."
Ubuki took off his glasses and merely nodded.
Naruto had no idea what to do. Could he just but in now, and defeat the bandits for himself? No, that wouldn't be possible. It was a two versus one situation, and he most likely wouldn't be able to overcome the both of them at the same time.
Naruto shook his head in frustration. "Damn it!"
[—]
Kurotsuchi didn't waste any time. She wasn't a politician like her grandfather to take things slow or easily, she just did what she wanted to as fast as possible.
Even killing.
Well, not exactly killing. The mission entailed that she captured the bandits alive, meaning she couldn't really fight for real. This put her and Ubuki at a major disadvantage as the bandits wouldn't care about leaving her alive.
She threw a kunai at the main target, who was distracted by the menu in front of him. Of course, she aimed it slightly to the right so that it wouldn't actually hit the man.
That should be enough to scare him a little.
But the satisfying sound of kunai embedding itself into wood never came.
The target caught the kunai in his hand.
At that point, Kurotsuchi should have known the man wasn't a regular bandit. But, of course, she didn't. Her overconfidence didn't let that happen.
Instead, she charged forward.
"Someone wants to fight?" The man's deep voice rang throughout the small restaurant.
At this point, all of the people in the restaurant had left in panic.
She pointed at her teammate. "Ubuki, take care of the rest of the gang, I'll manage this guy by myself."
"Of course."
Sensei would have told me to wait for him to come by now, but it's too late to stop here.
Taijutsu started first. Expecting an easy fight, Kurotsuchi confidently made the first strike. She swept her legs underneath the scarred man, who sidestepped right after in response.
She could barely see the hook which followed. Too fast!
The Genin leaped backward, feeling the force of the punch through the air it pushed against her face. At this point, the fight was outside the restaurant.
Her eyes narrowed. "Lava Release: Bullet Rain Jutsu!"
Balls of fiery, glowing balls of lava summoned themselves from Kurotsuchi's mouth and were sent towards the enemy with great speed.
The deep voice spoke out once more. "Water Release: Water Wall Jutsu!"
A wall of water blew through the ground below, forming a near indestructible structure of water, which blocked the upcoming attacks entirely.
Heh. So he is a shinobi. Doesn't matter—
Kurotsuchi gasped as a kick landed on her stomach, the sheer power of it sending her towards the building opposite to the restaurant with high velocity.
This guy…I might have to start getting serious…
"Ugh, finally. Saving that owner from the bandits was seriously annoying…"
Kurotsuchi's eyes widened at the familiar voice. "Ryuji?"
[—]
The second Naruto helped the owner to safety, he bolted out of the building, ignoring the ongoing fight Ubuki had with the rest of the crooks. It was obvious at a single glance that the tall one was the strongest, anyways.
Naruto scanned his surroundings, before his eyes locked on to the man before him. "Ugh, finally. Saving that owner from the bandits was seriously annoying…"
"Ryuji?"
Naruto ignored Kurotsuchi's voice.
The game plan, in a way, was simple. He needed to quickly defeat the man before him, before getting a shadow clone to carry him back to the hotel. Then disrupt Ubuki's fight entirely, and create even more shadow clones to carry those bandits back as well, and if necessary, defeat Ubuki as well.
To defeat the target in front of him, he had a plan. But to do that, he needed to stay hidden from Kurotsuchi.
Good thing Kakashi taught him the perfect jutsu to do so.
Naruto took in a deep breath, before going through a multi dud of hand signs. "Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique!"
The water droplets in the air around the street began to thicken and thicken, condensing into a blanket of mist which covered the road entirely. Naruto pumped his chakra continuously into the jutsu, which served to thicken the mist even further.
"What the hell?" The target yelled in frustration.
Naruto could understand. Even as the user of the jutsu, he couldn't see a single thing either.
But he also knew someone who could.
Summon Shadow Zabuza.
Dark matter twirled around itself, the tentacles forming thick but not quite tangible. They seemed to be moving randomly, but Naruto knew that wasn't the truth. The infamous Zabuza Momochi was alive once again.
"Mist?"
Naruto didn't need to waste any more time. "Zabuza…I know you don't want to serve me, but we seriously need to defeat this guy."
Shadow Zabuza growled, his sword forming as a mass of shadows. "Whatever, there's finally some action, brat. Who do I need to kill?"