Of Missions, Conversations, New Enemies, and the Land of Waves
-Of Missions, Conversations, New Enemies, and the Land of Waves-
Despite the chirping of birds nearby, the forest surrounding the group was completely silent, their focus solely on the mission at hand and the crackling of their headsets, which were keeping them in contact.
"Sasuke, I'm at point B."
"Sakura here, I'm at point C."
"Saa~ This is ridiculous... Amaya, I'm at point D."
...
"Naruto, I'm at point A. Believe it."
"You're slow, Naruto. Okay, Squad 7-" Kakashi's voice crackled out over the earpiece before trailing off with a slight hum of confusion. "The target has moved! Follow it!" He ordered, prompting the four to surge forward after the quickly retreating shadow.
"Over there..." Naruto mumbled lowly, staring straight at the target from his place in a tree.
"What's your distance from the target?" Kakashi asked as he pressed the earpiece farther into his ear with his hand.
"5 meters, I'm ready just give the signal." Naruto answered, shortly followed by his teammates.
"I'm ready, too." Sasuke informed as he peered out from his spot - which was also behind a tree.
"So am I." Sakura added as she followed suit after the ravenet.
"Saa~... Ditto." Amaya replied dully from her perch on a branch, her eyes lazily tailing the target's movements below.
"Okay..." Kakashi sighed, trailing off for a moment, allowing the suspense to build. "Now!"
At the Jounin's signal, the four Genin leap out from their spots, surrounding the unsuspecting target in all directions - with Naruto being the first to make contact.
"I got him! I got him!" The blond exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around the cat's body. However due to being startled, the feline began to attack whichever part of the boy it could sink its claws and teeth into, causing the boy to screech in terror and pain as he tried to keep a firm grip on the beast.
"Can you verify a ribbon? Right ear." Kakashi's voice rung out through the headset.
Sasuke turned his head slightly to look at the trio behind him, making eye contact with Amaya who gave him a thumbs up as she took the cat from the disgruntled blond.
"Affirmative. We've got a positive ID." The Uchiha answered, watching along with Sakura and a sulky Naruto as the cat instantly calmed itself in the brunette's arms.
"Right. Lost pet, Tora, captured. Mission accomplished." Kakashi sighed, ready for the day to be over already.
"Ah, finally! ~" Amaya hummed, happily cuddling the brown fur-ball.
"CAN'T WE GET A BETTER MISSION THAN THIS?! I HATE CATS!" Naruto loudly yelled into the earpiece, his volume making everyone cringe in pain.
"Oooh, my poor little, Tora! Mommy was so worried about her naughty little fuzziekins, yes!" A rather large woman, and owner of the cat, rejoiced as she squished the feline to her chest, cuddling it furiously.
"Stupid cat! That kitty deserves to be squashed!" Naruto cackled out as the group watched the cat, now known as Tora, try to escape from his master's clutches.
"No wonder he ran away..." Sakura mumbled, causing the others to nod in agreement.
"Fuzziekins..." Amaya parroted with a tilt of her head, deadpanning as she made eye contact with the distressed feline.
"Now then..." Lord Third began, gaining the teams attention. The five looked to the elder, who was seated at a table between Kenji and Iruka.
"For Squad 7's next mission, we have several available tasks. Among them, babysitting the Chief Councilors three-year-old; helping his wife do the shopping; digging up potatoes and-"
"NO!" Naruto exclaimed, crossing his arms into an x. "I WANT TO GO ON A REAL MISSION! SOMETHING CHALLENGING AND EXCITING! NOT THIS LITTLE KID STUFF! C'MON, OLD MAN!" As he said this everyone in the room glanced between the blond and the three men sitting at the table.
Amaya laughed nervously to herself at Iruka's expression, flinching a little as he stood from his seat while slamming his hands on the table.
"HOW DARE YOU?! YOU'RE JUST A BRAND NEW GENIN WITH NO EXPERIENCE! LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, YOU START WITH SIMPLE MISSIONS TO DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS AND PROVE YOURSELF!" The brunet male yelled, glaring at the blond furiously.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?! BABYSITTING IS NOT A MISSION, ITS JUST A STUPID--" Naruto began to argue back but was cut off by Kakashi who promptly bonked him on the head.
"Will you put a lid on it?" The Jounin asked calmly as the blond yelped in pain.
"Mah, mah, why don't we all calm down a little?"
Lord Third nods at Kenji's words and turns to the blond, humming as he finally addresses the boy's complaints. "Naruto! It seems you do not understand the tasks you have been given. Listen, many different kinds of requests come into our village everyday. From babysitting to assassinations. These requests are carefully recorded, analyzed, and ranked: A; B; C; or D depending on their level of difficulty. We ninja are also ranked by ability. Kage at the top; Jounin; Chunin; and then Genin at the bottom. At the highest level we select the missions and assign them to ninja who have the appropriate skill and experience, and if the mission is successful, we receive a fee that supports our village and our work. Since you are untried Genin just starting down the shinobi path, you are given D-rank assignments, of course... Hm?" Noticing something was off, Hiruzen opened his eyes only to discover that nobody had listened to his explanation, and that they'd rather listen to Naruto talk about what ramen he recently had and what he was going to try next. "Silence!" He grunts, forcing everyone's attention back onto himself.
"Oh... Sorry." Kakashi apologizes, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Gah! You always lecture me like you're my grandfather or something! But I'm not the little brat who used to pull pranks all the time! I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission! Hm!" Naruto complains before turning around, sitting on the floor with his back facing the elder as he sulked.
'I'm going to hear about this later...' Kakashi thought defeatedly with a sigh.
Amaya looked down to the boy sitting at her feet, rolling her eyes at his actions. 'Like sulking is gonna help anything...'
Observing the group silently for a moment, Hiruzen and Iruka begin laughing lowly to themselves as Kenji grins widely. "Naruto wants us to know he's not a brat, he's a former brat and he wants a mission... So be it." The elder concedes, surprising the four Genin at the sudden change in attitude.
"Huh?!" Naruto voices his own shock as he stands from his position on the floor.
"Since you are so determined, I'm going to give you a C-ranked mission. You will be bodyguards on a journey." The old Hokage explained, his lips pulling up into a faint smirk.
'Why does he look so amused?' Amaya thought to herself with a raised brow.
"Really? YES! Who? Who? Are we guarding a princess? Or some big-wig councilor?" Naruto asks excitedly.
"Don't be so impatient. I will bring him in now." Lord Third replies, nodding to the guards at the door. "Send in our visitor." He orders, prompting the five to turn.
The door opens, revealing an old drunkard. He was moderately tall, and his skin was tanned from constant labor in the sun, he also had gray hair with facial hair to match. "What the? A bunch of little snot nosed kids?" He slurred out as he stepped further into the room, holding a bottle of sake. He then began gulping down the bottles contents as if it would be his last, and Amaya couldn't help but cringe distastefully at the sight and smell.
Pulling the bottle away from his lips, he wipes his chin and returns his unimpressed gaze to the four Genin -specifically Naruto. "And you... The little one with the idiotic look on you're face, you really expect me to believe you're a ninja?"
"Who's the little one with the idiotic look on his-- uh... Huh?" Naruto began with a laugh before trailing off in confusion as everyone stared at him blankly.
Deciding to answer the boy's question, Sasuke took a silent step forward with Sakura and Amaya following suit, all three comparing their heights with Naruto's -with the Uchiha being the tallest while the two girls were only a few centimeters behind.
Naruto glanced between the trio, realization coming to him quickly as to whom the old man was referring to. "I'LL DEMOLISH YOU!" The blond yelled, angrily charging forward, only to be stopped as Kakashi grabbed his collar in a firm grip.
"You can't demolish a client, Naruto, it doesn't work that way." Kakashi informed in a bored tone.
"I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder and I must return to my country. I'm building a bridge there that will change our world, and I expect you to get me there safely even if it means giving up your life." The old man, now known as Tazuna, slurred before taking a few more gulps from his bottle.
***
After a few more minutes of discussion, the group was finally dismissed.
Exiting the office, they soon found themselves standing outside the building itself, with Kakashi's walk coming to a halt as he reopened the mission scroll with a hum.
"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura called out, immediately noticing the mans pause. Her voice prompting the others to look back as well.
Kakashi didn't answer right away, opting to instead read over the mission details for a second time. "I believe it's best we start the mission early." He finally informs after a moment of silence, rolling the parchment up before storing it inside a pouch for safe keeping. "That is, if it's alright with you, Tazuna-san?"
"Fine by me." The older male replied gruffly, sneering over to the four preteens next to him. "The sooner we get this over with, the better."
Naruto returned the elders bitter expression with one of his own, however before he could retort, Amaya pulls him into a headlock and covers his mouth with her free hand. "What time do you wanna leave then, Sensei?" She asks, curiously.
Kakashi sent the girl an appreciative look before glancing up to the sky with a soft hum. "Meet at the village gates in ten minutes." He answered, turning to walk away. "If you're not there, you'll be left behind."
"Are you excited? Nervous? This is your first mission outside the village, after all."
Amaya looks up from her pack and towards her bedroom door, her gaze instantly falling onto her mother's form as the older woman stepped further into the room. Shaking her head, the brunette turns back to the items before her, mentally doing a recount of her weapons before buttoning the pouch and re-strapping it to her thigh. "Not really. I mean, we've been out of the village plenty of times. The only exciting part is getting the chance to visit another country."
Her mother laughs softly at that and begins to help pack away what items were left on the bed. "Just promise me you'll be careful, alright? You're still going to a new place, with new people, it's nothing like going to visit your grandfather."
"I promise, besides it's just an escort mission, and I doubt Kakashi will let anything bad happen if he can help it."
"And make sure to keep Naruto in check! You know how he is when he gets excited. I want you both back home and safe when this is all over."
"Yeah, yeah."
Her mother opens her mouth to speak once more but pauses as the sound of the front door closing downstairs, followed by her father's voice. "Mitsuko?... Amaya?"
"Upstairs, dear!" Her mother calls back as she turns and makes her way out of the room, allowing Amaya time to glance around for anything left behind. Seeing nothing, she slings her pack over her shoulder and follows the older woman, turning off the light and closing the door behind her as she goes.
Once downstairs, her father meets her halfway, a somewhat relieved expression on his face. "I'm glad I caught you in time."
"What's up?" The brunette found herself asking, now following him into the foyer where her mother was waiting.
"There's a few things I wanted to discuss with you on the way to the gates. It could probably wait until you get back, but it'd probably be best to get everything out of the way and settled before then."
Amaya nods silently and turns to her mother, allowing the teary-eyed woman to pull her into a hug. "There's no need to cry, Mama. I'll be back before you know it!" She laughs, gently returning the embrace.
Her mother sniffles but doesn't stop her own laugh from spilling past her lips as she pulls away. "I can't help it! My babies are all grown up and going on missions!"
Her father lets out a chuckle of his own and opens the door. "Let's get going, then?"
"Yep!"
***
The walk to the gates was silent for the most part, and although it was a comfortable walk, Amaya still felt nervous.
"Amaya." Her father suddenly calls, making the girls head snap up in attention. They make eye contact, and once he's sure he has her full attention, he begins. "What your mother said the other day reminded me of something. I meant to bring it up sooner but couldn't find the proper time."
Amaya looks down to her sandal-clad feet in thought. "What she said the other day...?" Trailing off, she tries to remember anything of importance, only to come up with nothing.
"About you almost turning thirteen. I realized that I haven't prepared you for--"
"I'm not interested in having a boyfriend right now! And Mama has already given me the talk, if that's what you're getting at!" The brunette screeches, covering her now cherry red face with both hands. Her response causes his jaw to drop as his face also flushes a deep red.
"EH?! That's not what I wanted to talk to you about at all!" He yells out, his usual deep voice cracking as it raises a few octaves higher.
"Then what is it...?" Amaya mumbles into her hands, looking up at him wide-eyed as he clears his throat.
"Ah.. ahem, yes anyway. You're almost at the age to partake in the clans coming of age ceremony." He informs, looking ahead thoughtfully.
"Coming of age ceremony? Is it time for that already?" She asks, her face now returning to normal.
"Mmhm. As you know, when a child of the Minamoto clan turns thirteen, there's a ceremony that's held during the summer. This ceremony signifies that they are now adults and are accountable for their actions, giving them the opportunity to be involved with important clan meetings and events. It's also something similar to what the Hyuuga's do to their branch members, and it's required for everyone who carries our name and bloodline abilities. You were pretty young when your brothers had theirs, so I wouldn't be surprised that you don't remember much about it."
"So, when is the ceremony going to be held?" Amaya asks, glancing ahead as the village gates come into view.
Her father sighs before answering. "Well, considering a few other events will be taking place around the same time, it'll probably be soon after you return from your mission. A few weeks before your birthday." He pauses for a moment as if gathering his thoughts. "We'll have to go to the main residence as well, so make sure you tell Kakashi in advance." He finally advises, giving a slight wave to the group huddled at the gate.
Amaya hums. "It's coming up soon then..."
"It'll be right before the Chunin exams too. So we'll be cutting it close." Her father adds with a small nod.
By this point, the two were only a few feet away from the group. Suddenly, her father freezes in his steps and turns his body to face her completely. "Amaya." He calls, keeping his gaze on the two boys of the team.
"Yeah?" She replies, craning her neck to look up at him as he quickly meets her gaze.
"I know you said your mother has already talked to you about it--"
Flustered, Amaya immediately shoots him down. "We're not talking about this!" She yelps, quickly turning to face the group, gaining their attention.
"I'm just saying I'm here to talk to, if you ever need it!" He replies, just as equally embarrassed. Clearing his throat, he chuckles, changing the subject by adding, "Be careful on your mission. I'll see you when you get home, and don't cause Kakashi too much trouble."
Forcing the blush back, Amaya smiles softly and gives him a quick hug before running off to join the group. "No promises!" She calls over her shoulder, her tone light-hearted and mischievous.
"YEAH! ALRIGHT!" Naruto exclaims excitedly as they walk out of the village gates.
"What are you getting so excited about, Naruto?" Sakura asks with a slight scowl.
"This is the first time I've ever left the village! I'm a traveler now, believe it!" The blond exclaimed causing Amaya to stare at him blankly.
"Saa~... It's not that big of a deal Naru-chi. It gets pretty old eventually." The Minamoto cut in, earning looks from her compatriots. "What?"
"You've been outside of the village before, Amaya?" Sakura asks curiously, to which the brunette nods happily.
"Mmhm, we leave the village often to visit family at the Main Residence." Amaya answered, brushing her bangs from her eyes.
"Hey, am I supposed to entrust my life to this runt? He's a joke!" Tazuna complained, pointing towards a still excited Naruto, reverting the conversation back to the blond.
"He's with me, and I'm a Jounin. So you don't need to worry." Kakashi replies calmly while gesturing to himself.
"Hey! Never insult a ninja, it's a big mistake and I'm one of the greatest ninja ever! Someday I'm gonna be Hokage and you'll look up to me! My names Naruto Uzumaki, remember it!" Naruto ranted to the elder, who only saw it as another opportunity to rile him up more.
"Hokage are powerful and wise. You are puny and brainless. The day you become Hokage, I'll sprout wings and fly."
"Shut up! I'm willing to do anything to become Hokage! No matter what it takes! And when I do, everyone will have to admit that I'm the top ninja, including you!" Naruto yelled angrily, pointing at the old man, glaring.
"Heh, you can become Hokage ten times over and to me, you'll still be nobody. A loser." Tazuna replied uncaringly.
"I'm gonna make you pay for that right now!" Naruto growled, and right as he went to attack, Kakashi grabbed his collar for the second time that day.
"I told you, you're supposed to protect the client not attack him." The Jounin sighed.
The other three Genin watched on with blank expressions as the blond struggled in their teachers hold, while Tazuna simply walked away.
"Let me go! I'll show you! That's right I'm talking to you!" Naruto yelled as he flailed around.
'Saa~... This is gonna be a long journey.' Amaya thought as she turned to follow the old man.
"Say, Tazuna-san...?" Sakura called after a few minutes of walking.
"What is it?" The man grumbled out, not once looking at the pinkette.
"Your country is the Land of Waves, right?"
"Yeah? What of it?" He asked, still looking ahead.
Sakura turns to Kakashi, who walked at a leisure pace in front of her. "Kakashi-sensei, there are ninja in that country too aren't there?"
"No. There are no ninja in the Land of Waves. But in other countries there are Hidden Villages, each with their own different customs and cultures where ninja reside. To the people of this continent, the existence of shinobi villages means strength. Military strength. In other words, that's how they protect themselves and maintain the balance of power with neighboring countries. The ninja villages are not controlled by any government, they're independent, and have equal status. Now, a small island like the Land of Waves, has natural protection from the sea, so there's no need for a ninja village. The five ancient lands that possess shinobi villages are the lands of Fire; Water; Lightning; Wind; and Earth. They each occupy vast territory, together they're known as the Five Great Shinobi Nations. The Land of Fire has the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The Land of Water has the Village Hidden in the Mist. The Land of Lightning, the Village Hidden in the Clouds. The Land of Wind, the Village Hidden in the Sand. And the Land of Earth, the Village Hidden in the Stones. Only the leaders of these hidden villages are permitted the name Kage, which means shadow. Hokage; Mizukage; Raikage; Kazekage; Tsuchikage. These are the leaders, the five shadows that rule over thousands of ninja." Kakashi replied informatively.
"Then Lord Hokage is really important!" Sakura said cheerfully. However, between herself, Naruto and Sasuke, they all shared the same doubts about the elder back home.
Amaya, who was zoned out the entire time Kakashi talked, was snapped out of her thoughts when he asked, "Hey! You all just doubted Lord Hokage, didn't you? That's what you were thinking!"
At his accusation, Naruto and Sakura shook their head frantically while Sasuke tensed up.
"Well, anyway... There are no ninja battles in a C ranked mission. So, you can relax." Kakashi adds comfortingly, placing a hand on top of Sakura's head.
"And were not gonna run into any foreign enemy ninja or anything like that!" The pinkette hummed happily.
"Not likely." Kakashi replied with a light laugh.
"Why do I feel like you two just jinxed it?" Amaya muttered to herself with a pout, causing the silver haired man beside her to give her a closed eyed smile.
Everyone was silent after that. Glancing around her surroundings, Amaya noticed a puddle on the road. She narrowed her eyes slightly as they walked past it. 'I don't recall it raining recently...?' She thought to herself as she looked back at the puddle curiously. Glancing over on her right to Kakashi, she was surprised to find him already looking at her.
In response to her gaze, he only brings a finger up to his masked face in a shushing motion, confusing the girl even more.
As the group gets a little farther away from the puddle, they hear footsteps come up from behind them. "What?" Kakashi asks as he turned around.
They soon realized that two enemy ninja were running towards them, both of their faces were obscured by masks and they each wore a large metal gauntlet of their arm - one had it on his right, and the other, on his left. Both gauntlets had sharp claws and were connected by a shuriken styled chain.
Before anyone knew it, Kakashi was wrapped up in the chain. The two attackers pulled with equal strength, causing the chain to constrict around the Jounin until it cut into him completely, leaving pieces behind on the ground.
Sakura gasped as Amaya, Tazuna and Sasuke went wide eyed.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled out in shock and terror.
Suddenly, the two ninja appeared behind an unsuspecting Naruto. "Now it's your turn!" one spat out while the other laughed. The two go to wrap their chain around Naruto in the same manner as Kakashi, causing the blond to freeze in fear. Amaya and Sasuke share a brief glance and nod, both jumping into action.
The young Minamoto moved quickly in front of Naruto as she made a single-handed hand sign. "Yōso no Mage!" She mumbled to herself as she got into a relaxed fighting stance. As the two got closer, she attempted a roundhouse kick, which they dodged easily. The two however, weren't expecting a sharp gust of wind to follow directly after, which sent them both stumbling backwards with groans of pain.
Seeing his opportunity, Sasuke leaped into the air, he then threw a shuriken at the exposed chain effectively pinning it to a nearby tree. Soon followed, was a kunai for extra support.
As they realized that they couldn't move freely with their chain pinned, Sasuke landed into a crouch on top of their gauntlets. He moved quickly, balancing himself on his hands, he grabbed each gauntlet while kicking the two attackers in the face. As the two moved back from the blow, they released the chain manually -allowing them free movement.
As the two free themselves, one moves to attack Naruto once again while the other targets Sakura and Tazuna. Sakura, seeing what was about to happen, moved in front of the elder to block the oncoming blow. Soon enough Sasuke is back in the fray, as he jumps in to protect Sakura. As this is all happening, Amaya stands in front of Naruto once again. The attacker jabs out the arm with the gauntlet in hopes of impaling the girl with its claws. She narrowly dodges, receiving a wound on her cheek. Naruto isn't as lucky as his hand is nicked when he goes to block the blow.
Suddenly, before anything else can happen, the two attackers are grabbed. Looking up, the group in surprised to find Kakashi holding the two in a headlock.
"Hi." The Jounin greets simply as he glances at his students and client.
"But he was-- What?!" Naruto stammers as he looks over to where his teacher's "body pieces" laid, only to find a pile of scattered logs.
"Naruto, sorry I didn't help you right away... I didn't mean for you to get hurt, I just didn't think you'd freeze up like that." Kakashi apologizes sincerely before looking over to the rest. "Good job Sasuke, Amaya. Very smooth. You too Sakura." He compliments with a closed eye smile, causing the three to smirk/smile in response.
As realization of what just happened hit, Naruto stared at his best friend and Sasuke in surprise.
"Hey." Sasuke calls, earning Naruto's attention.
"Yeah?" Naruto asks warily.
"You're not hurt, are you? Scaredy cat." The Uchiha taunted with a smirk.
"SASUKE!" Naruto yells angrily, moving towards the ravenet threateningly.
"Saa~... Seriously you guys. Now of all times?" Amaya asked tiredly as she walked over to the two boys.
"Naruto! Stand still, these ninja have poison in their claws. We need to take it out of you quickly. You have to open the wound and remove it. It's in your blood so don't move around, that spreads the poison." Kakashi informed, causing the blond to freak out. "By the way, Mr Tazuna?" He started, looking over to the addressed man.
"Yeah? What?" Tazuna asked gruffly, trying to mask his nervousness from the shinobi.
"We need to talk." Kakashi finished as he stared at the man sternly.
***
"They're Chunin, from the Village Hidden in the Mist. They're specialty is relentless attack, they keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice." Kakashi informed as he observed the two ninja tied to a tree.
"How did you know about our ambush?" One of the Mist Ninja's asked as he stared Kakashi in the eye.
"A puddle, on a clear day? When it hasn't rained in weeks? It was so obvious a Genin could've noticed." Kakashi started with a scoff before adding, "Which in fact one did, didn't you Amaya?" As he said this all eyes turned to the brunette, the sudden attention sending her face a light pink.
"Ahaha... I just thought it was odd. I wasn't expecting a full-on ambush though." Amaya replies with a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of her neck.
"In that case, why'd you leave it for the Genin to do the fighting?" Tazuna asked as he stared at the Jounin.
"I could've taken them out quickly. But then I would've learned nothing. I had to know who their target was, and what they were after." Kakashi answered as he returned the elders stare, his eye glinting in suspicion.
"Hmm? What are you getting at?" The bridge builder asked defensively.
"This. I wanted to know if they were after us, ninja attacking ninja. Or if they were after you, the master bridge builder. When you put in your request, you asked for standard protection from robbers and highwaymen. You didn't say there were ninja looking for you, hunting you down. If we knew this, it would be a B rank mission or higher. Our task was simply to get you to your destination and protect you while you finished building your bridge. If we knew we were fielding attacks from enemy ninja we would've staffed differently and charged for the cost of a B mission. Apparently, you have your reasons, but lying to us is not acceptable. We are now beyond the scope of this mission." Kakashi replied stoically as Tazuna avoided eye contact.
"We're Genin, this is too advanced for our level of training. We should go back, and I really think we need to treat Naruto's wound and check Amaya's cheek and get the poison out as quickly as possible! Back in our village we can take them to a doctor." Sakura said, butting into the conversation while staring at the addressed teammates worriedly.
"Hmm." Kakashi hummed to himself as he stared at the two students.
"Huh?" Naruto asked curiously, noticing everyone's gaze.
"Those wounds could become a problem. I guess we should go back to the village." The Jounin said finally, his gaze moving from Naruto to Amaya when she steps forward.
"Ah, Sensei... I'm fine, more than fine actually, see?" The brunette reassures, gesturing to the cut on her cheek that was in the midst of healing, the sight alone causes their eyes to widen in surprise.
"How's it healing so fast?" Sakura asked as she walked closer to examine the cut.
"Ahaha.. funny thing actually." Amaya begins, brushing her hair from her eyes. "You see, the Yōso no Mage is a pretty constant thing. The hand sign just helps knead the right chakra nature that you plan to use. If I remember correctly, those from the Minamoto clan have expansive amounts of chakra. It practically seeps from our pores, you can't tell it but there is a small thin layer of chakra coating my body right now. And apparently, the chakra seeping from our pores can also heal small abrasions and or help fight off dangerous toxins trying to enter the body."
"So, you're okay?" The pinkette asks again, not fully believing what she just heard.
Amaya grins brightly. "Yup! Fit as a fiddle!" She replies, giving an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
Realizing that he would be the only reason for making the group return to the village, Naruto pulls out a kunai and stabs the opening of the wound on his hand causing everyone to stare at him dumbfounded.
"Why am I so different?! Why am I always-- ARGH!" He growls out, grimacing in pain.
"N-Naruto..." Amaya stammers, eyes wide as she steps closer to the blond idiot.
"Naruto! Stop that! What are you doing?!" Sakura exclaimed.
"I worked so hard to get here! Pushing myself till it hurt! Training alone for hours! Anything to get stronger, to reach my dream! I will never back down again and let someone else rescue me! I will never run away, and I will not lose to Sasuke! Upon this wound, I make this pledge! Believe it!" With that, naruto turns and stares Tazuna dead in the eye. "Bridge builder, I'll complete this mission and protect you with this kunai knife! Don't worry I'll be fine!" With that last reassurance, Naruto removed the kunai from his hand, letting the blood pour from the wound.
"Natuto, uh... That was really cool how you took the poison out and all. But if you lose anymore blood, you're going to die." Kakashi deadpanned as he stared at the blond dully.
An awkward silence forms around the group at Kakashi's words.
"Good idea to stop the bleeding now. Seriously. ~" Kakashi added once more, this time in a sing-song voice as he walked slowly towards the boy.
"No! No! No! I'm too young for it to end like this! No! No! No!" Naruto blabbered out, flailing around as he panicked.
"Show me your hand." Kakashi ordered dryly, holding out a hand as he pulled out a roll of gauze from his pouch.
"Naruto! You've got a self abusive personality! It's call masochism!" Sakura grumbled in annoyance, earning an amused snort from Amaya.
Kakashi had started wrapping up Naruto's hand, when he stopped and stared with a serious look on his face.
"Uh, um..." The blond stammered out, prompting Kakashi to look up at him. "Hm?"
"You have a really serious look on your face. You're scaring me, am I okay?" Naruto asked weakly, breaking out into a cold sweat as his face lost color.
Kakashi returned his gaze back to the wound and started wrapping the bandage again. "Uh, yeah you should be just fine."
-Meanwhile-
"You failed?! YOU FAILED?! What is this amateur night?! I put out big money for you! I thought you were supposed to be hot shot assassins?!" A short, bespectacled man in a suit wearing growled as he stared down at the ninja in front of him.
"Stop whining." A voice said harshly as its owner pointed a sword at the small man's neck. Its sharp tip barely grazing his flesh as he continued, "This time, I'll go personally, and this sword will be the last thing he ever sees."
"You sure about that? Apparently Tazuna has a high-level ninja guarding him. And since your first attempt failed, they'll be expecting you back. They'll be waiting. Watching. It'll take someone with very advanced skills." The short man from before replied tensely, his gaze trailing along the blade and to its owners' dark eyes.
"Who do you think you're dealing with? I am Zabuza Momochi, Demon of The Hidden Mist." The voice from before replied cockily, his voice dropping down a few tones as he thought about his next kill.