Placed on one of the shelves among a couple books, a vase, photographs and other ornaments, there were two pictures that decorated the living room of the Senju Residence. Both of them were pictures of a group of four people, consisting on an adult and three children.
The first one was a picture of Naruto, Hinata, Haku and Kurenai. Hinata was in the middle, with Naruto at her right and Haku at her left, and Kurenai behind all of them. Everybody was smiling: Naruto had a foxy grin while he gave the camera a thumbs up. The others' smiles were more subdued, but they still radiated happiness nevertheless.
The second one was a picture of Sakura, Karin, Sasuke, and Shizune. Sasuke was in the middle, with Sakura at his left and Karin at his right, both forcefully hooking their arms around his, as well as pulling the boy to their respective side. Behind them was Shizune, with either hand on both Sakura and Karin's shoulder. The three girls were warmly smiling at the camera, while Sasuke had a sour expression, as if saying "kill me".
It was tradition for the newly formed teams to take a picture of the first day they're formed and be given as a memento for both students and sensei. Tsunade spent quite some time looking at those two pictures after waking up. The one with Naruto reminded her of her old picture of Team Sarutobi, which was in black and white due the technology of the time. The one with Shizune made her regret not taking on a Genin team. Jiraiya often mentioned that training a Genin team was an amazing experience.
Sure, she had trained Shizune, but the young woman's upbringing was everything but normal.
"Mom? Breakfast is ready!" Kaida shouted from the kitchen.
"Coming!"
As expected, everybody except Jiraiya, who had already left about an hour ago, was sitting at the table, eagerly eating breakfast before getting ready for the day. Tsunade sat her usual seat, where a couple of slices of toast with strawberry jelly were placed on a plate, and an apple close to it. Shizune was eating a bowl brown rice, while the kids were eating cereal.
"So, today is your first day as a real ninja, and as a Jonin-sensei," Tsunade commented after taking a bite from her toast, while looking at both Naruto and Shizune. "How do you feel?"
"I can't wait to get my first mission! Dad told me that he had something already prepared that befits my skills!" Naruto cheered.
Tsunade and Shizune exchanged a look. There was a glint of pity on the young medic-nin's eyes, while Tsunade's gleamed with almost sadistic joy. They didn't trade words, but they understood each other perfectly.
"I think I should tell him..."
"No way! Let him find it by himself, just like everybody else."
"Well," Naruto emptied his bowl, brought it to the sink and quickly cleaned it. "I'm going to meet with my team for my first mission!"
"Be sure to tell us how it went!" Tsunade said as he waved him goodbye.
"Boy, this sucks!" Kaida protested as she crossed her arms. "Naruto-niisan goes to do missions, while we still have to go to the Academy!"
"Trust me, Kaida-chan, if I were you, I wouldn't be jealous of Naruto in the slightest," Shizune replied as she finished her meal. She also brought her bowl to the sink. "I better get going too, I would hate to keep my team waiting. It's going to be bad enough when they find out what kind of missions they are going to do."
After waving Shizune goodbye, Hagane looked at her mother, puzzled.
"Mom, what's wrong with the missions Naruto-niisan and Shizune-neechan's team are going to do?" the white haired kid asked.
Tsunade almost chortled. "Kid, a better question would be what's not wrong with those missions."
…
After meeting with his team on Training Ground Eight, Team Kurenai walked towards the Academy, where the Mission Assignment Desk was. The three Genin were rather excited to finally start taking missions –though Naruto was the one who showed it the most– and cheerfully discussed about them what their first assignment would be. Kurenai didn't say anything, but she simply looked intently at them with a small amused smile.
Upon reaching their destination, they were greeted by Jiraiya, sitting on a desk flanked by the former Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and their former Academy teacher, Iruka Umino. Sitting on nearby desks were people none of the Genin were able to identify.
"The Assault Squad is here and ready to kick ass!" Naruto loudly announced while he and his team entered the room. "Come on dad, give us something worth of our awesomeness!"
Jiraiya chuckled. "You know, Naruto, the part I like the most about you is your enthusiasm. That will take you far," Jiraiya replied, smiling at him. For some reason, there was something about said smile that made the Jinchuriki feel uneasy. He then tossed a scroll at Kurenai. "All the details of the mission are there. I trust you will be able to complete it within the day. Come back to collect your payment once you're done."
Haku raised an eyebrow. "Within the day? It must be an extremely easy and simple mission if it can be completed in such a short amount of time."
Naruto's grin didn't falter. "Or maybe it's that dad knows that our team is so great that we will do much faster than other teams?"
"So, Kurenai-sensei," Hinata chimed in. "What is our mission about?"
…
An hour later...
Naruto, Hinata and Haku were painting the fence of a house. Neither of them looked particularly happy.
"You know, I wasn't expecting that somebody would hire a whole ninja team for such menial task," Haku commented as he soaked his brush in white paint.
"Y-Yeah, me too. I wasn't expecting to do the big missions on the first day, but this is...too little," Hinata agreed.
Unlike her students, Kurenai wasn't painting, but merely watching them. "Come on, don't complain. I had to do this kind of missions when I was a Genin."
"So it's like a rite of passage? But my point still stands. Why does somebody would hire a ninja for doing this instead of a civilian worker?" Haku asked.
"If you want to know so badly, ask the client. People hire ninja for just about any task. Said tasks are ranked based on their danger and difficulty. You're Genin fresh out of the Academy, so naturally you're going to get the easiest, most simple and least dangerous missions, at least until you become more experienced," Kurenai explained.
"But why does the Hokage accepts these kind of missions? I believe it's a waste of our talents and our formation," Haku replied.
"Yes. Besides, we can't improve as ninja by doing these kind of tasks," Hinata added.
"These missions also have the purposes of building teamwork, building bonds with people of the village, as well as making the civilians know that we're here to serve and protect them," Kurenai then glanced at Naruto, who despite his loud protest over the nature of the mission, remained uncharacteristically silent once they got to work. Kurenai decided to push her luck. "You know Naruto, I was expecting you to complain nonstop about doing this, yet you haven't open your mouth once. While I must say that your change of attitude pleases me, the fact that it happened so sudden worries me a little."
"Eh, it's okay. This may be a waste of our skills, but it's so simple it actually gives me time to think," Naruto replied.
Kurenai sighed in relief and smiled. "That's a good thing. And what are you thinking right now, may I ask?"
"My revenge on dad for giving us this shitty mission. It's going to be the stuff of legends. Do you think that burning down the Hokage Tower would be too much?" Everybody stopped what they were doing and stared at Naruto, eyes wide in shock and mouth agape. "Okay, I get it, too much. I'll tone it down."
…
Hokage's Office, A few days later
Once again, Jiraiya and Zabuza were face to face against each other. The Hokage noticed that Zabuza was carrying a large bag that he didn't have the moment he left. Jiraiya broke the silence with a single word.
"Report."
"So far, the mission went without incident, though the information provided by the client was faulty," Zabuza stated.
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, and leaned forwards. "Please elaborate."
"You see, that Tazuna was in the sights of a very powerful man. Some shipping tycoon named Gato, or something," Zabuza began. "Who wanted him dead because the bridge threatened his business in some way, and the bastard keep sending thugs to kill us. At first I was happy that I had something to kill, but even that grew old, fast. Those guys weren't even ninja!"
"But you say there weren't incidents."
"No, of course not. There was nothing I couldn't handle. In fact, when the construction of the bridge was almost done, that ugly midget shows up with an army of more thugs in a pathetic attempt to threaten me. They're now sleeping with the fishes."
"Good to see that you completed your first mission without any trouble, then."
"Of course I did! Maybe the mission would have had more excitement if Gato hired an actual ninja instead of those thugs. I mean, the guy was loaded, and could afford it. Let me tell you something: had Gato hired me, that bridge builder would have been dead before he even set a foot on his little country."
"I'm sure of it. By the way, what is that bag you're carrying?" Jiraiya asked, since he grew tired of waiting for Zabuza to mention it himself.
"This? Oh, a little compensation I decided to take for the troubles. After I killed Gato, I went to his house and emptied his vault," Zabuza tossed the bag at Jiraiya, who opened it, and saw lots of rolls of money. "I hope this helps to accelerate my probation."
"When I said that you had a debt with Konoha, I didn't mean in the monetary sense, but yeah, this will help," Jiraiya pushed the bag aside. "Though I'm having a hard time believing that this is all Gato had."
"Because it's not. That's nothing but a fraction of all the money the short bastard had," Zabuza confirmed.
"Then where is the rest of the money?" the Sannin asked.
"I lost it on my way back," Zabuza replied matter-o-factly.
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "You lost it," he deadpanned. Zabuza simply nodded. "You certainly have some guts lying so boldly to my face."
Zabuza smirked under his mask. "I'm not lying. And if you think I am, then you should prove it before flinging unfounded accusations."
"You know Konoha has an entire clan specialized in mind-reading jutsu, right?" Jiraiya asked. "Though I think I will let it slide this time, since I have more pressing matters than caring for money that I never had to begin with," Jiraiya concluded. After all, Zabuza had brought some of Gato's money to the village, while he could have hogged all of it for himself and keep it under wraps. "You're dismissed. I'll call you in a few days for your next assignment."
"I'll be looking forward my next mission, Hokage-sama," Zabuza replied, making a slight bow. "Though I hope I get something more fitting of my talents rather than a mere escort mission."
…
The next days didn't change much. The missions Team Kurenai would get usually involved carrying errands for some elderly people, chase down vermin and other pests, babysit children and gardening, among many others.
As expected, Naruto's team wasn't the only team to take this kind of missions, the other three teams had to endure them as well. It was noted that Kakashi's Animal Team managed to complete a mission literally a minute after they got it: the mission was to retrieve Tora, the Fire Lord's wife's cat, who would always try to escape at the first opportunity from her owner's suffocating embraces. Using the Summoning Jutsu, Tamaki summoned Tora in front of her. Whenever the cat escaped, Tamaki would be requested to summon her again.
After finishing their daily training routine, Shizune dismissed her students and headed for her next appointment, a date with Shisui Uchiha at Yakiniku Q. After ordering some food and drinks, Shisui felt like starting up a conversation.
"So, how is your team doing, Shizune-sensei?" The Uchiha asked in a playfully mocking tone.
"As expected, when you start with the D-Rank missions. They complain that this isn't what they had been training for," the medic-nin answered.
Shisui leaned forwards. "Does Sasuke give you some trouble?"
"He usually complains about these missions being a waste of his talents, but at least he carries them out."
"I was expecting that Sasuke would react that way, but it's good that he knows his place. We all had to go through that hell once, and now it's his turn to suffer," the one-eyed Uchiha said as he ate a piece of bread.
The medic-nin shifted uncomfortably on her seat. "Actually...I never did a D-Rank mission in my life."
Shisui almost choked on his food. "You WHAT!? How!? It's because you were Tsunade's apprentice? Yeah, it has to be that! Boy, that's some big-ass favoritism right there!"
"Hey, calm down!" Shizune held her hands up in defense. "The reason for that it's that I left Konoha with Tsunade-sama shortly after I graduated the Academy. But trust me, I had to do stuff just as bad, sometimes even worse, than the D-Ranks Genin do nowadays."
"I doubt they were worse than chasing that goddamned cat around..."
Shizune leaned forwards, and narrowed her eyes at Shisui. "One day, you will go drinking with Tsunade-sama. But you won't drink, oh, no. You merely will listen her ramble for two hours, then try to convince her to leave when she had too much, then drag her to her room and get her in her bed. And then you will eat your words."
Shisui smirked. "Maybe. But for the time being, this steak is the only thing I'm going to eat," the one-eyed Uchiha said as he started to cut the steak. "By the way, Sasuke met your little siblings today. He told me something about an incident. Care to elaborate?"
"Ah, yes, our latest D-Rank mission, babysitting the Hokage's kids. You see..."
FLASHBACK
Shizune had decided to leave her Genin alone on the house with Hagane and Kaida while she ran some errands of her own. When she returned home, she was greeted by Sasuke lazily sitting on the couch, while Hagane was also sitting a couch, completely immobile.
"Hi, I'm back!" Shizune greeted upon entering the house. "I trust there wasn't any incidents while I was outside?"
"No. Everything has been fine here," the Uchiha replied.
Shizune then looked at Hagane, who was extremely still. "Hagane-kun? What are you doing?"
"I'm playing a game that Sasuke taught me!" the kid happily said, careful not to move.
"And what is that game?"
"A challenge to see how long can I stay completely silent and immobile. I've been like this for two hours! Though I'm not silent anymore. But that doesn't count because you ask me something."
Shizune exasperatedly stared at the Uchiha. "Sasuke..."
"What? He likes that game," Sasuke replied.
"By the way, where are the girls?"
"In the backyard. Kaida wanted somebody to spar with her, and Sakura and Karin volunteered."
"And why didn't you spar with Kaida-chan too? I thought you liked spars."
"I do, but against people I can learn something from, just like you, Shusui or my brother, not against some eight year old girl."
Shizune walked towards the backyard, and she heard the voices of Sakura, Karin and Kaida.
"That was very good, Kaida-chan!" a voice that sounded like Karin said.
"If you liked that, wait till you see this! Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!"
"Aw, how cute, she's emulating the First Ho-WHAT THE HELL!?" Sakura screeched as a tremor shook the house.
Shizune froze for a second, and rushed to the backyard, followed by Sasuke and Hagane. When they arrived, they saw that Karin and Sakura were suspended in the air with thick wooden vines wrapped around them. The two medic-nin apprentices looked between terrified and angry. Kaida smiled happily at them.
"Kaida-chan! What did we told you about using Wood Release in front of people who aren't family?" Shizune sternly asked, frowning at the little girl.
"But I wanted to show Sakura and Karin my power!"
"Still, you broke a rule. And you put my Genin in danger. You know you still can't control your Wood Release yet!"
"Oh come on, I did control it this time!"
"This time?" Sakura and Karin said in unison, shocked.
Shizune's scowl deepened. As guilt started to creep its way through her insides, Kaida's smile disappeared, and lowered her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Shizune-neechan, I won't do it again. But please don't tell mom!"
"I demand this mission to be re-classified into an A-Rank!" an angry Sakura shouted.
"Seconded!" Karin added.
END FLASHBACK
"Now that Sasuke knows that there's a Wood Release user in the town, he's begging me to let him fight her," Shizune said while giggling a little. "But there's no way that's going to happen. At least not until she grows up."
"I wouldn't be so sure. Sasuke can be pretty stubborn," Shisui commented, leaning back.
"Oh, and by the way, don't tell anybody about Kaida's powers, okay? If word of her abilities get out-"
"The Hyuga Affair would be a joke compared what other villages would do in order to kidnap her," Shisui finished her sentence. "You don't have to worry about that, my lips are sealed."
"Good that I can count on you."
"That's a given. By the way, what about her brother, Hagane? Does he have that power too?"
"No. But Hagane has an uncanny affinity for natural energy, and he somehow can temporarily increase the power and chakra of those close to him."
Shisui let out a whistle. "That may not be Wood Release, but it's impressive nonetheless. The genes of Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama are sure something if they can produce those little monsters."
Shizune punched him in the arm. "Don't call my little siblings monsters!"
Shisui merely laughed. "Oh come on, Shizune-chan, I mean monsters in a good way. By the way, between them, and Naruto having the Kyubi...you're the only one in that house that's actually normal. No offense."
Shizune shoot him an apathetic look. "Shisui, after you spend a week living in that house, you'll realize that somebody has to be normal."
…
To celebrate the completion of their tenth D-Rank mission, Kurenai decided to treat her team to dinner at Shushuya, one of her favorite restaurants. Naruto suggested going to Icharaku's but the red-eyed Jonin shot down the idea, since Naruto dragged them to that place quite often, and she wanted to go somewhere different.
Despite her best intentions, it doesn't seem that her Genin were much in the mood for celebrating anything. Probably because they thought that doing ten D-Rank missions wasn't something that deserved a celebration.
"So, Kurenai-sensei...how long until we get to do real missions?" Naruto asked, tapping his fingers on the table.
"These are real missions, Naruto," Kurenai pointedly replied. "All missions are important, since they generate income for the village. Don't assume that these missions are below you."
"But they are!" Naruto protested, throwing his hands in the air. "These missions could be done by my little siblings, who are freaking eight and they still go to the Academy! These missions are no different from the chores I do at home!"
"I must agree with Naruto-kun, Kurenai-sensei," Haku interceded, showing far more restrain in his frustration than his blond friend. "Zabuza-sama said that while we're doing these menial tasks, Genin in Kirigakure are committing assassinations."
"Genin in Kirigakure are also hired to hunt down people with Bloodline Limits like you," Kurenai harshly replied. Haku scowled. She knew that that was a cheap shot, but she believed it was a necessary one.
"Yeah, why can't we assassinate somebody?" Naruto pleaded.
"No."
"Come on!"
"No."
"Only a little!"
"No!"
"How can you assassinate somebody 'just a little'?" Hinata asked to no one in particular.
"Come on! We're the Assault Squad, not the Fence-Painter Squad or the Dog-Walker Squad!"
Kurenai sighed, as she massaged her temples. She had been trying her best to try to soothe the growing frustration within her team, but she knew that this could only get worse with time if she didn't do something.
"Okay, let's do this. For tomorrow, I will ask for a C-Rank mission, okay?" the raven haired kunoichi asked. A huge smile appeared on Naruto's face.
"Really!?"
"Yes. At first I wasn't sure, but maybe you're ready to take a slightly more difficult missions. But this doesn't mean that you won't get to do more D-Rank missions once we finish this one," Kurenai sternly added.
"It's okay. Doing D-Rank missions won't be so bad with some C-Ranks in between," Haku mentioned.
"I will have to judge your performance first before I request more C-Ranks. But then again, I'm sure that you won't disappoint."
…
The next morning Team Kurenai was once again at the mission assignment desk. Jiraiya had already prepared several missions for them to choose.
"Ah, glad to see you came here back for more," Jiraiya said with an unnerving grin. Naruto would swear he was enjoying his suffering. "I have a few more D-Ranks with your name on it!"
Naruto shot his adoptive father a murderous glare, but Kurenai stepped in before the blonde could do or say something stupid.
"Actually, I believe my team is ready to do a C-Rank mission, Hokage-sama."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "You think so? It's not even been a month since they graduated."
"I believe their skills are enough to handle any C-Rank mission, Hokage-sama."
"It's not their skills I'm worried about. Maybe they should polish their teamwork a bit more before venturing out of the village?"
"Their teamwork is mostly excellent, Hokage-sama. My three students get along rather well, and have no trouble acting as a single unit when the situation requires it."
"I see." Jiraiya started to dig through a pile of scrolls. "If your evaluation of their abilities is as you say, then this shouldn't be much of a problem." Jiraiya then tossed a scroll at Kurenai. While she read it, he continued talking. "We've recently received a request to protect a village in the Land of the Rice Fields that has been repeatedly attacked by bandits. Besides protecting the village, your job will also be catch those bandits and turn them in to the local authorities."
"Alright! Finally something worth my skills!" Naruto pumped a fist in the air.
"Now, don't get overconfident. Bandits might not be much of a threat to ninja, but they can still present some danger if we're careless," Kurenai chided Naruto. "Okay, go and pack what you think will be necessary for the mission. We will meet at the village's northern gates in an hour."
"Yes, Kurenai-sensei!" the three Genin said in unison before the whole team left.
Jiraiya leaned back on his chair, and let out a defeated sigh. Something that was obviously not missed by his main councilor and assistant.
"Something wrong, Jiraiya?" Sarutobi was one of the few people who wouldn't address Jiraiya as a Hokage. Not out of lack of respect, but familiarity and the fact that he would always see the Toad Sage as his student.
"I knew that this day would come, but...I wasn't expecting it to be so soon," the Sannin replied.
Sarutobi chuckled. "Ah, yes. I remembered the first time Asuma had his first mission outside the village. I know that you're worried, and it would be unnatural if you weren't."
"It's not just that. I wouldn't be that worried if Naruto was a normal child. But Naruto has a huge bullseye painted on his back. If Tsunade-hime's words are to be believed, somebody encouraged a clan to rebel against us just to create an opportunity to kidnap Naruto. And now...he will be outside the village's protection, with only his sensei and teammates to watch his back."
"You can't protect that kid forever, Jiraiya. If I remember correctly, it was you who told me that we should have faith in the next generation. Now I tell you that you should have faith in that Naruto will come back home safe and sound."
"I can't think in anything to refute that. And I hate it more than anything," Jiraiya said, gritting his teeth a little. "Man, Tsunade-hime is going to kill me when she finds out."
"Don't underestimate Tsunade like that. I'm sure that she knew that this was going to happen sooner or later the moment Naruto became a ninja."
"Still, that woman can be quite emotional at times," Jiraiya let out another exhausted sigh. "Boy, you have no idea how thankful I am for the fact that we will host the next Chunin Exam."
…
Konoha Hospital
Tsunade was in her office doing some paperwork, when somebody knocked the door. She was a bit surprised, given that she had no appointments until at least an hour.
"Come in!"
Much to her surprise, Naruto entered the office.
"Naruto! What are you doing here?" the Slug Princess asked. "Not that I don't like seeing you, but...you're not sick, aren't you?"
Which would have been a reason to worry more than usual, since Naruto never got sick.
"What? Oh no, not that!" Naruto replied, chuckling. "Dad finally gave my team a worthy mission. We will be going to the Land of the Rice Fields to protect some villagers from bandits. Kurenai-sensei said that we will be around a week or so outside. So I came here to tell you goodbye. Though a 'see you later' would fit better since I'm not going to be out for so long, hehe."
Tsunade paled upon hearing Naruto's words. How did Jiraiya give Naruto a C-Rank mission so soon? She thought that he would wait at least a month before doing that. He probably gave up upon Naruto's insistence. The boy had been begging him day and night to stop giving him D-Rank missions.
But then again, Jiraiya wouldn't have complied if Naruto's Jonin-sensei wouldn't think he was ready for the task. She had to remind herself not to be so overprotective.
"Really? That sounds great," Tsunade said, making an effort to smile. "But be careful when you're out there, okay? Remember that there are people who are still after you."
"Don't worry mom, I'll be fine! Besides, I can't die yet, not before I'm the Hokage!"
Tsunade smiled, this time genuinely. She got up from her chair, and hugged her adoptive son. "I know you will. I'm sure you'll make me and your dad proud."
Breaking the hug, Naruto just smiled at her, and left.
…
Fortunately, the Land of the Rice Fields was close to the Land of Fire and Konohagakure, and since they didn't have to escort any civilians, they could go at a much faster pace. Kurenai had predicted that they would arrive at the town in question around four or five in the afternoon.
However, shortly before they crossed the border between the Land of Fire and their destination, the Genjutsu Mistress decided to make a stop for lunch and bring her students to visit a place of utmost historical and cultural importance.
"Welcome to the Valley of the End," she said, as she motioned at two huge statues, looking at each other while making a hand seal, separated by a waterfall.
The valley was rather unremarkable by itself. If you removed the statues, there was nothing but a barren gray land crossed by a small river. Though trees and other forms of plant life could be seen on its surroundings. For some reason, there was something about the valley that made impossible for plants to grow on it.
"I'm sure that you remember this place from the history lessons at the Academy, but I thought it would be nice if you saw it with your own eyes, given that it's on our way to our destination."
Many people referred to the valley as "the place where Hashirama and Madara had their final duel", but that would be false. A more accurate description would be "a byproduct of Hashirama and Madara's final duel". The fact that two people could shape the land in such way was a concept a lot of people, especially non-ninjas, had a hard time grasping.
"Weird. It's like...like I have already been here before," Naruto commented, as his eyes were fixed on the two statues.
"How is that, Naruto?"
Naruto was about to open his mouth, but something stopped him. A feeling. Coming from his gut. A mix of anger, frustration and grief. But for some reason, he felt like those feeling weren't exactly his, but somebody else's.
Somebody he shared his body with.
"I believe it was...him who was here."
Kurenai opened her eyes wide in shock, knowing full well what, or whom, Naruto was talking about. The possibility of aborting the mission crossed the Jonin's mind.
"And how do you know that, Naruto? Does he...talk to you?" the Jonin asked, biting her lip, as a tinge of worry crossed her body.
"No. It's like I could feel how he feels. As if our feeling sych...synz..."
"Synchronize," Hinata mentioned.
"Synchronize, yeah, that, thank you."
"Does this happen often?" Kurenai asked again.
"Actually, no. This is the first time I feel something like this. I believe that this place causes him distress, for some reason," Naruto explained.
Kurenai pondered his words. Not wanting to make anymore unnecessary risks, she urged everybody to finish their meals, and continue their trip. The last thing she wanted was to make something to influence the Kyubi.
"By the way Naruto, if you feel something unusual and think it may be due to your tenant, tell me, okay?"
"Yeah, don't worry, sensei."
…
Not an hour after leaving the Valley of the End, Kurenai's Assault Team arrived at their destination, Sawa Town. It was a farmer community surrounded by rice fields, just like the majority of towns of the country –hence its name–. Most of the villagers wore short sleeved linen shirts and short pants –ideal to work on rice fields– and coolie hats –used as protection against the sun and rain while working–. They guessed that the town probably had less than five hundred inhabitants.
The more they studied the villagers, the more they realized about something odd: most of them were either children, or people older than forty. There were no teenagers or people in their twenties/thirties.
Naturally, the presence of ninjas didn't went unnoticed among the farmers. Some were happy to see that the ninja they had requested had finally arrived, but others murmured about the young age of three fourths of the group, and wondered how they were going to protect them. While most villagers didn't dare to approach the foreigners, there was somebody who did: a short man in his early thirties, with short black hair and a soul patch, who wore the same clothes as the rest of his peers.
"Welcome to Sawa Town, foreign ninjas," the man greeted as he removed his hat and made a bow. "Are you the Konoha Ninjas that we requested to protect our home?"
"Indeed we are. My name is Kurenai Yuhi. These are my students, Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuga and Haku Yuki," the Jonin motioned to her Genin as she introduced them.
"Good to see that you're finally here. My name is Ryo Yuhara, mayor of Sawa Town. Please come to my house, and we will discuss the matter at hand there."
…
Kurenai and her three Genin were sat around a table on the kitchen in Ryo's house. A pregnant woman they presumed was Ryo's wife, served them some tea.
"Thank you, Emi," the man said to his wife, who nodded in return.
"I'll be in the garden if you need me," the woman replied before leaving.
"Ryo-san, you said that your village has been attacked multiple times, and that's the reason for us to be here. Before another attack happens, we're going to need as much information as possible," the Jonin said before taking a sip from her tea.
"Sure, ask what you want, and I'll try to be of as much help as possible," the mayor replied.
"For starters, their numbers. How many of them there are?"
"It varies from time to time, usually between fifteen and thirty. All armed with all kinds of weapons, such as swords, axes, spears..." Ryo decided to elaborate before Kurenai asked him again.
"Do any of them show aptitude for ninjutsu?" Kurenai asked once again.
"I believe not. I mean, they don't look like ninjas. Ninja usually wear some sort of badge that identifies their village of origin, just like your headbands," Ryo pointed at Kurenai's forehead protector.
"Not necessarily. There are still quite a few independent clans out there not affiliated to any village. These clans are the last remnants of the Warring States Period. Most people nowadays hire ninjas hailing from villages, leaving these clans with nothing but the poorest customers. I wouldn't be surprised if out desperation, one of these clans turned into pillagers just to survive."
"Still, they didn't look nor act like ninjas to me, nor use that fancy magic ninjas are famous for."
"Ninjutsu," Kurenai sharply corrected. "Magic is what street performers do."
"Oh, right, sorry."
"My I ask something?" It was Haku who spoke this time. Both Ryo and Kurenai nodded. "I saw that most people in this town are either children or middle aged. Where are the people of Kurenai-sensei's age?"
Ryo's mood became somber, his eyes reflected a deep sadness. "You see, most of the time those bandits come here looking for food or money. But sometimes, when they feel we don't have enough to satisfy their greed, they usually take some of our peers with them. Usually those older than eighteen but younger than thirty five."
"Do you know what they do with them?" Kurenai asked.
"I don't know, nor want to think about it," Ryo shuddered in disgust. "At first we thought they did it to increase their numbers, but we never see again the people they take with them."
"Haven't you tried to defend yourselves?" Naruto asked.
Ryo smiled sadly at the blond. "Kid, this is a farming town. None of us know to fight, nor have the disposition to. Our attackers are well armed and organized, and while we outnumber them, nobody wants to die fighting them."
"What about the Lord of these lands?" Hinata chimed in. "Shouldn't he make sure that such attacks doesn't happen?"
"Maybe he should, but for some reason he doesn't. These lands had always been peaceful. We always had our share of criminals like everybody else, but our Lord's soldiers and guards usually dealt with them. But during the past years, the bandit attacks have multiplied drastically, not only in our town, but in other towns as well. Many people traveled to the capital to ask our Lord for help, but they never returned. We think that they didn't even make it to the capital before falling prey to some ambush."
"This is unacceptable," Kurenai was trying her best to hold her anger. "Is a ruler's duty to keep his people safe. Once we deal with this problem, we will travel to the capital and ask what's going on."
Ryo's face lit up. "You'll do that? Because that would be wonderful! Though that wasn't included in the mission..."
"That's what differentiates ninjas from mere mercenaries. We may charge for our services, but we do work to make the world a little better."
"I'm glad my brother in law suggested the idea of hiring some ninjas from the Land of Fire, given that there is no ninja village in our country," the mayor said, smiling. "By the way, and I don't mean to disrespect any of you, but while you seem like a strong fighter, your students can't be older than thirteen. Are you sure they will be able to fight?"
"A reasonable doubt, but yes. Don't let their age fool you, these three may be children, but they have been trained and are ninjas in their own right. Once the bandits attack, you will see their abilities in action."
"Speaking of which, do you know when the bandits attack?" Haku asked. "Or do they attack at random?"
"No, I realized that they attack sometime around the first week of each month," Ryo answered.
There was a moment of silence while Ryo's words sunk in, and realized which day it was.
"Which means that they will attack sometime this week," Kurenai stated.
"Yes. That's why it's a good thing that you arrived here before the attack could happen," Ryo said.
"Fortunately, given the kind of threat we're dealing with, we won't need any time to make preparations such as traps. Now we better get some rest. Do you know any inn, or a place where we can stay while we're here?"
"Yes, Baiko's Inn. It's our best inn...by virtue of being our only one," the mayor chuckled.
…
Baiko, the owner of the inn, was graceful enough to not charge anything to them for staying there, given that they were there to save the town –though he did charge them for the food, claiming that his generosity couldn't get in the way of feeding his family– . The fact that they were his first customers in quite some time helped.
The inn was rather small. It was a two story building, the lower floor being something of a mix between a tavern and a dining room, and the upper floor being the bedrooms. Naruto shared a bedroom with Haku, while Hinata shared a bedroom with Kurenai.
The next morning, Team Kurenai was finishing their breakfast in the lower room, when the mayor, extremely agitated, burst in.
"Kurenai-san! They're here!" Ryo shouted while barging in. The four ninjas immediately tensed up.
"Alright. Keep calm, and try to get people out of the way, we'll be there in a couple minutes," Kurenai calmly instructed. She then turned at her students. "These guys may not be ninjas, but still be careful, this will be your first real fight. Check you have your equipment with you before going. I believe you can handle this, but I will intervene if things get ugly, understood?"
"Yes, Kurenai-sensei!" the three of them said in unison.
…
"Yes, I think this one is perfect, we will take her!"
"No! Not my daughter you monsters!"
"Shut up, you old hag! Or else tonight you'll be sleeping two meters underground!"
The four ninjas rushed towards the group of bandits. Their description matched Ryo's. Some of them were forcefully dragging people from their homes, ignoring the pleas of the distressed families. Others were looting stores, taking either goods or money.
The fact that they weren't even bothering to hide their faces and the way they acted, they clearly believed that they owned that town. However, soon they would find out how wrong they were.
"Hey, you assholes!" Naruto yelled once he was near enough to be heard. "Stop what you're doing, or else!"
"Hey, look at that," one of the bandits, a large, broad shouldered bald man, looked at Naruto. "A small kid with a very big mouth."
"Maybe we should teach you what happens to cheeky kids who don't respect their elders," a slim, brown haired man said, as he rubbed the blade of his sword.
"And who the hell do you think you are?" another bandit, this time of the few women, asked.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of Konoha, and these are my teammates Hinata and Haku! And if you don't leave these people alone, we're going to kick your asses!"
There was a moment of silence as the band of thugs processed Naruto's words. The silence was broken by a giggle, which turned into laughter, which was followed by an uproar laughter from the entire group of pillagers. Naruto gritted his teeth in anger.
"Naruto," Kurenai called him. Naruto turned at her. She smirked. "Are you going to let them laugh at you?"
Naruto smirked back. "You can bet I'm not!" he turned to the bandits again and made a hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A dozen Narutos appeared from clouds of smoke, and the bandits suddenly stopped laughing.
"CHARGE!"
The orange-clad army charged forward and engaged the whole band of bandits. Their shock was so big that some of them didn't even react to the attack.
"Defend yourselves, you idiots!"
"That brat is a ninja!"
"Hinata-san, I think we shouldn't let Naruto have all the fun for himself, right?" Haku asked, smiling at the Hyuga.
"R-Right! Let's go help him!" Hinata answered as she activated her Byakugan.
After the bandits recovered from the shock, they started fighting back and managed to destroy about half of Naruto's clones. However, they were so focused on fighting Naruto that they didn't notice Hinata landing near them. The Hyuga made several hand seals, and her hands were crackling with electricity.
"Lightning Release: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Thunder strikes! Two strikes!" Hinata's lightning-infused palm strikes immediately disabled a thug. "Four Strikes! Eight Strikes!" Other three thugs fell before her. "Sixteen Strikes! Thirty-Two Strikes!" Five more bandits were out of commission.
Haku decided it was his turn to act as well. His hands flew through hand seals. "Ice Release: Breath of Winter!" The Ice Ninja breathed deeply and released a huge cone of ice that covered in frost all who were touched by it.
Two of the bandits leaped into the air and tossed multiple kunai at the Konoha Genin. However, Naruto had already saw them, and his hands were forming several hand seals.
"Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"
Naruto trusted both his hands forward, forming a cone-shaped gale. This time he managed to make it bigger than the one he used against Kurenai. The wind vortex not only stopped the kunai mid air, but also hit the thugs who had thrown them.
"ENOUGH!"
The three Genin turned around to see where the yell came from. At the top of one of the houses, there was one of the bandits –probably the only one still uninjured– with an arm around a little girl, and a kunai on her neck.
"Surrender now, of this girl dies!" the bandit yelled, as he pressed the kunai against the girl's neck.
Naruto laughed at him. "I don't see any girl there, just a bag of flour."
"What?" and much to the bandits shock, where the girl should be, there was a bag of flour. He scanned the people in the ground, and saw the girl on Hinata's arms. Before he could even react, Haku appeared from behind, and knocked him out cold.
The few bandits who were still on their feet wisely decided that those three kids were too much for them, and run for their lives, while Naruto, Hinata and Haku watched the scene proudly. Once they were out of sight, the villagers of Sawa Town loudly cheered.
"Boy, that felt good! Now I'm even angrier at dad for not giving me a mission like this earlier!" Naruto said, with a wide grin.
"Maybe it wasn't an assassination, but this beats pulling out weeds or picking up litter any time," Haku added.
"Plus we helped somebody in need. Now these villagers won't be afraid of being attacked and robbed anymore," Hinata said as well.
…
An hour later
After helping clean the mess the bandits have made before being kicked out of the town, Kurenai, gathered her team.
"Now I'm going to go to the capital and request an audience with the Lord of these lands. You've showed that mere bandits are no threat to you, so you three should be able to protect this town while I'm absent. I guess I should be back in less than three days," Kurenai explained.
"Don't worry sensei, this town will be safe as long as we're here! Right guys?" Naruto asked. Haku and Hinata nodded.
…
A couple hours later, at the bandits secret hideout
The few bandits that managed to return were kneeling in front of some unseen figure.
"You usually don't have much trouble gathering supplies and test subjects. What happened this time? Did the villagers get fed up and decided to fight you?" the man asked, chuckling.
"Worse than that. They hired ninjas to protect the town. They were just children, but...we weren't able to land a hit on either of them," one of the bandits fearfully explained.
"I see. If that's the case, I'll have to send somebody else more qualified than you. And since you failed to gather fresh test subjects for Orochimaru-sama's experiments...I guess that you'll have to take their place."
The bandits paled. They tried to run away, but before they could get on their feet, their world turned into darkness...