Just a boring mission?
Naruto kicked another rock forward. This mission was taking forever. They had to go scope out a scene or something... He didn’t really pay much attention. So, he just went along for the ride. He kicked the rock again and unfortunately it got lost in the long, never-cut grass. He pouted with disappointment. That was what was keeping him entertained! He bumped into Sasuke.
“Watch it, loser. We’re here,” The Uchiha snarled. Naruto stuck his tongue out at the raven. Sakura grabbed his ear and hissed, “Shut up, Naruto! Look.” Naruto’s eyes trailed up to meet a rather unpleasant sight.
Ino gasped, Hinata looked away, Kiba pinched his nose, and Lee held back respectful tears. Countless bodies filled up the whole area. There were men, women, and children...Brutally slaughtered. Kakashi did not hesitate as he walked closer. He raised his headband to reveal his infamous sharingan. He checked his surroundings before investigating.
Asuma sighed, “Well, he can’t investigate all of this on his own. Come on. Genin, stay close.” He instructed. Everyone followed suit. They silently decided to split up into their own respective teams. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke hurried to catch up with Kakashi while Neji, Lee, and Tenten followed Guy. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino followed Kurenai while Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji followed Asuma.
Team Kakashi walked under a bridge where graffiti was sprayed, the stench of rotting bodies still lingered. Sakura looked at the graffiti, “Kill us now...The devil is here...Save us,” She read as she blinked back tears, “This is terrible, sensei! What happened here?” She cried. Kakashi patted the poor girl’s head, “There, there,” He weakly comforted, “We’ll figure this out.”
Sasuke watched Naruto walk off, his pride too large to show his concern. He decided it best to keep an eye on him. Soon enough, Sakura came wailing on his arm. He sighed in annoyance. Now there was this to deal with.
The blonde teammate was determined to find justice for the people killed here. He went out looking for more clues. He stumbled upon more bodies. Naruto looked at a dead child with immense sadness. He knelt down, putting his hands together for a prayer, “Rest in peace...We will do what we can to figure out what happened, ya know...I need to search your body, I’m sorry,” He whispered before reaching out. He shifted the body. It was a boy with jet black hair, a few years younger than him. His tongue was cut out and had multiple gashes all across his body.
Torture.
Naruto grit his teeth. The sick bastard that did this would pay for it. He knew it. A burn mark caught his sharp, blue eyes. He gently pushed the collar of the boy’s clothes down and-
He stood up.
This couldn’t be happening.
This couldn’t be happening.
He ran as fast as he could back to the bridge. He slowed down to not make a scene. He hurried to Kakashi, eyes darting everywhere for any signs of danger. He finally stood before his sensei, who held a questioning look in his eyes.
“What’s wrong, Naruto? Are you alright?”
Those words at least brought him out of his temporary panic. He met his sensei’s eyes, making sure there was clear urgency in his expression, “I need to talk to you. Alone.” He said. Kakashi nodded, “Okay...”
Kakashi and Naruto walked a bit of a distance away, but not enough to be far away from everyone else. Kakashi raises his eyebrow in question. Naruto looked down, “I... Know who did this. It’s a group called the Yūsha. They torture and rape people...The group brands themselves and their victims. I’ll show you. If there’s any more of them here that maybe died with the victims, they would hide in the grass,” He investigated the grass and saw a sharp blade sticking out, “There. One might be there,” Naruto pointed.
The copycat ninja carefully examined the area. He found a dead man with a sword on his body. Naruto nodded nervously, “Check for a brand on him.” He told him. Kakashi found one on his shoulder blade. Naruto spoke up again, “You see how there’s a line that goes straight through the whole thing? If he were one of their victims, he would have an X instead.” He informed him. Kakashi lowered the body before turning to his student, “How do you know this?” he asked with dread of the answer. It couldn’t be anything good. Naruto looked away. His lip quivered as he unzipped his jacket. Naruto then pushed down his shirt to expose his chest. Kakashi felt his heart drop.
There, on his student’s chest, was a brand marked by rapists and murderers. A big X was across it, just like Naruto said the victim’s had. Kakashi knelt down, placing his hands on the boy’s shoulders, “...Did they touch you?”
Naruto wouldn’t meet his eye. That was enough of an answer for him. “I’m so sorry, Naruto. When did this happen?” He asked. Kakashi knew he had to get answers. The blonde fumbled with his sleeves nervously, “Uhm...When I was around five. But...One of them lives in the village. He’s my neighbor...” He told him. Kakashi’s eyes widened, “When was your last interaction with him?” He questioned. Naruto opened his mouth, then closed it. He took a breath before answering, “A little bit over a month ago...He, uhm...Did that stuff again. Then a month ago he bumped into me, but that’s it.”
Kakashi wanted to kill that son of a bitch that touched his student. He kept his emotions in check knowing Naruto catches on to that. He stood back up, “It’s not a good idea for you to stay here. We should get back to the village.” he decided. He looked back at his student, realizing there was something he wanted to say. “What’s wrong, Naruto?” He uttered softly. “There’s...one more thing. I don’t want anyone to know.” He added. Kakashi frowned beneath his mask, “Naruto, this is important. Can Lady Tsunade at least know?” He begged.
He waited patiently for his student to respond. He knew this had to be a lot for him right now. Naruto eventually nodded, “...Yeah, okay. That’s it.” He accepted. Kakashi gave a smile, “Alright, thank you. I promise you we will deal with this later on a more sensitive level, but we need to get you out of here.”
Naruto nodded. They began to walk off. Sakura and Sasuke eyed them with obvious questions. Kakashi just motioned for them to follow. Kakashi approached Asuma, “We need to leave.” He said. Asuma raised an eyebrow, “Are we in immediate danger?” He asked. Kakashi shrugged in his lazy demeanor, “Not that I know of, but it could become very possible. I cannot explain now. Grab everyone and let’s head out. No questions.”
So, that’s what they did. Asuma rounded up everyone and explained that they had to go back. They gathered up their belongings before setting towards Konoha. The sensei’s (and some of the smart Genin) noticed how quick of a pace Kakashi held. Only they could tell, but he was in a hurry and panic to get back home. But why?
Shikamaru caught eyes with Asuma, “What is this about? I thought we were supposed to stay there longer.” He asked. Asuma shrugged as he blew smoke out of his mouth from a cigarette, “No clue. This was Kakashi’s call, not mine. Decided it was best to not pry.” He answered. Shikamaru grunted. As lazy as he was, he still got curious. Asuma gave a small chuckle as he patted his student’s head, “Ah, don’t worry about it, Shikamaru.”
There were similar questions on every team. Sasuke nudged Naruto, “Dobe, what’s going on?” He demanded. The blonde paused before giving an angry look, “Like I would know, teme!” He argued. They bickered for a good five minutes before Sakura came to hit Naruto over the head.
“Owww! Sakura-Chan!” Naruto whined. She huffed confidently. Hinata watched nervously, unsure of what to do. She looked at the paper in her hand and decided it was better safe than sorry. She approached her sensei, Kurenai, and lightly tapped her arm. The woman looked at her kindly, “Yes, Hinata?”
The girl shakily handed her the paper, careful not to drop it as they walked. Kurenai grabbed it with question. She read it as her eyes went wide. “I-I found it at the place we just left...That’s k-kind of worrisome, isn’t it?” Hinata told her. Kurenai nodded, “You’re right. Good eye, Hinata. It might be nothing, but I’m going to talk to Kakashi about this. Don’t tell anyone anything about this right now. It could cause unnecessary panic.” she instructed. When the girl nodded, she hurried to catch up with Kakashi.
“Kakashi.” She said. Her comrade glanced at her to show he was listening. She sighed before handing him the paper, “Hinata found it at the previous site. I figured you should know. It could be nothing, but...”
The man looked the note which read,
‘Shi,
Find the Naruto boy. If he is not brought to me soon, you will be punished. I will make that demon suffer. It is fine if he is injured, but I want him alive.
-Kuro’
His eyes widened, “...Thank you, Kurenai. Make sure no one else knows about this,” he told her. She nodded, “I already told Hinata not to tell anyone. I didn’t want to cause a panic. However ...We should stay on guard. Is there anything else you wish of me to do?” she offered. Kakashi shook his head, “No, just watch the Genin. Consider this mission to have turned to an S-Rank.” He spoke.
She pursed her bright red lips. This wasn’t good. She went back to her team, her priorities known that she would die for these Genin. Asuma raised an eyebrow at her. He fell back to ask her what’s wrong, but she cut him off.
“Stay on guard.”
Hm. It seemed that was all there was to talk about. He knew that could mean many things, but he had to prepare for the worst. He had to act as if they could be ambushed at any time. He went to his team. While their personalities were loud, they were also levelheaded. He could trust them to handle this.
“Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji. I don’t know what exactly is going on, but something could be happening. Stay on guard, stay together, stay calm.” He advised them. They got into a formation without a word. He smiled with pride; he taught them well.
They kept walking for another hour. Everything seemed to be too quiet, everyone was anxious. Kakashi led the front, becoming too worried to slow down. He kept his kids right behind him, Naruto specifically. He had Sakura in the middle since she wasn’t as skilled in taijutsu as the others. At the end he had Sasuke who could handle himself well as long as he remained calm.
Next was Asuma with his Genin. They were in a triangle formation, perfect for defense against an ambush and sustainable for travel. Kurenai was behind them with her team, also in a formation. Guy’s team held the back, all of them suitable fighters.
They were prepared, they were ready. Even the calmest of the bunch was becoming paranoid. It was clear even to the Genin that they had to stay alert. But nothing could ready them for what was to come.
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