Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Sounding in the Dark ❯ Year One: Destroy all Banditos! ( Chapter 3 )

Anyway, as to those who won't remember the Air Cannon, the Sound Genin 'Zaku' used it during the Chuunin exams. He fought Shino in the elimination match and ever since then I've been in love with the thing, it's so cool! Anyway, on with the chapter! Ah, another thing, the perspective is now switching over to Naruto form now on, the last chapters were more Kabuto-centric.

 

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto; if I did Naruto would never say 'believe it' ever again.

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Chapter 3: Year One! Destroy All Banditos!

 

"Ugh...what the hell happened to me...?” Naruto groggily sat up, wherever he was, it was dark and he was unable to see. He seemed to be in a bed of some sort, because whatever he was sitting on was soft. He tried to rub his eyes but found his arms were throbbing in pain whenever he would try to move them, in fact most of his body would hurt when he would try to move. He gave up trying to figure out were he was for the time being and slumped back down into the bed. Man, my arms feel weird, like part of them is hollow... Naruto again tried to move them only to have the sharp pain return. "Damn it, that hurts!" he shouted.

 

"Hey, will you be quiet? Some of us need sleep." came a voice from the darkness. It was groggy and irritated but it was someone to talk to.

 

"Heh, sorry. Didn't think anyone else was in here with me." Naruto answered, he was still trying to pinpoint where the voice came from.

 

"Both of ya...shut the hell up." a different voice called out. The first voice ignored the second and continued talking.

 

"Well there is and we're trying to sleep. You shouldn't even be awake yet anyway, Orochimaru-sama said you'd be out for a few days." the voice said, now more awake. Naruto heard the shuffling of blankets near the other voice followed by what sounded like metal hitting someone's head followed by something falling back into a bed with a loud `thud'.

 

"That should shut your mouth for the night, you damned idiot." a female voice muttered. "And unless you want your head to meet metal I suggest you shut the hell up as well." the girl said before Naruto heard her get back into her bed. From several points around the room he heard chuckles but a growl from where the girl was sleeping silenced them as well.

 

Wow...scary. Deciding it was best to lose consciousness under his own power, the blonde boy tried to ignore the strange feeling in his arms and drift off to sleep.

 

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"Look at Sasuke-kun! He did a perfect Henge no Jutsu!" Exclaimed the pink-haired girl.

 

"Yeah, Sasuke-kun is great! He's so amazing!" Said a blonde-haired girl as she glomped onto his arm. The pink-haired narrowed her eyes and tried to pry the blond off of the annoyed Uchiha. It was the first jutsu Iruka had taught his class. As expected, the Uchiha genius performed it perfectly on the first attempt. The little blonde boy had not done as well. His Henge of the Third Hokage was deformed and would never fool even a villager, let alone a ninja. Iruka sighed as he watched the blonde walk over and stand by the black-haired genius while the two leaders of the Sasuke fan club fought it out.

 

"Wow, Sasuke. You sure are lucky." the boy said. The other boy looked over at him annoyed.

 

"Why's that, dobe?" He asked. The blonde ignored the insult as he looked at one half of the cat fight.

 

"Sakura-chan really likes you...I wish she liked me as much as you..." the boy said, sadly.

 

"Hn, I really couldn't care less about her." The blonde stared at the Uchiha wide-eyed. Sasuke saw the confusion in his face and shrugged. "What? I don't have time for anything like that. She's just like the others, so annoying." The little blonde boy started shaking in anger.

 

"Don't talk about Sakura-chan like that!" The genius smirked as he saw the other boy clinch a fist.

 

"Or what, dobe? If you like that annoying girl so much, why not say something? You two would be perfect for each other, both of you are so weak..." He didn't get a chance to say anything more as a fist flew at his face. Dodging to the side, he dropped into a defensive stance. The blonde was about to charge when a fist from behind floored him. Looking up from the ground, the blonde stared wide-eyed at the pink-haired student looming over him.

 

"Stop bothering Sasuke-kun!" She yelled, waving a fist at him.

 

"B-but Sakura-chan..." he started. She frowned at him and put her hands on her hips.

 

"I don't want to hear it, Naruto! You're lucky Sasuke-kun is so nice or he might have really hurt you! You're always picking fights with him for no reason, you're so annoying!" she huffed, skipping over to Sasuke and grabbing his arm. The Uchiha only snorted in disgust. The slightly bruised blonde girl from before started arguing with the pink-haired girl again with Sasuke in the middle. Naruto watched from the ground as they both stared to fight again over the black-haired boy...

 

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"Unnn...five more minutes..." The blonde boy rolled over in his bed. Light streamed into the room and the gleam played on his face, teasing his eyes open. After a long yawn, the boy sat up. The pain he felt last night was slightly less this morning and he found he could actually move his arms. He tensed a fist and cracked his knuckles. Feeling somewhat better, he fell back into the soft pillow remembering his dream. Sakura...

 

"Hey, time to get up." Said the same voice from last night. Naruto shifted his eyes over to where the voice came from. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes. What the hell? The young boy standing off to the side was about his age, shoulder-length black hair, and...six arms? The boy noticed the stare he was getting and smirked. He raised one of his arms and scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, yeah...I'm Kidoumaru. About the arms...I'm from the Kumo clan and we all look like this...well, we all used to look like this...” The boy grew sad for a moment and Naruto realized he hit a sore spot.

 

“Um, that's ok! I just was just surprised, that's all. I bet it's useful having all those extra hands, you can eat ramen faster! By the way, I`m Naruto.” Naruto said with a smile. The other boy perked-up a bit and smiled. “So, where am I and why do I feel like I got hit by an angry fan girl? Last thing I remember was that big guy, Ninotsugi, knocked me out...” Naruto said as he rubbed his head. He was happy to find no mark of the incident. The spider boy grinned.

 

“Yeah, Orochimaru-sama gave you a gift! Check out your hands.” he exclaimed gesturing to one of his palms. Naruto lifted his hand and did a double-take at his palm. There was a small red stone set into the middle with his skin growing around it. His other hand had an identical stone.

 

“I guess these stones have something to do with it, huh? My arm also feels weird like there is something new in there...” He felt along the length of his arm. something was added that started right below his elbow and ended behind the stone.

 

“Don't worry about it right now. Kimimaru-sensei will explain it all once we see him. Right now, I'm supposed to show you around.” Kidoumaru said as he walked over to the door. “I'll be right outside. Once you get dressed, we'll get some breakfast.” with that, he shut the door behind him leaving Naruto to his own devices.

 

“Wow, I wonder what kinda gift this is?” Naruto wondered as he got up. He was wearing a white hospital gown; a set of white robes were folded up at the foot of his bed. Aw man, I hate wearing robes... He noticed his cloak was also folded up, so he put on the robes with the cloak over it. Satisfied with his look, he walked out of the room into a long hall.

 

“Ready to eat?” asked Kidoumaru as he saw Naruto walk out of the room. A loud growling of his companion's stomach was all the answer he needed and they both set off in the direction of the cafeteria.

 

-------

 

“Eh, think you got enough food?” asked Kidoumaru. The chef on duty had almost burst into tears as his blonde friend had stacked food onto his plate. He settled on a simple bowl of rice. Naruto only smiled as he looked the place over, it really wasn't what he was expecting. The cafeteria was built on one of the massive planks that constituted the complex. It was outdoors which suited Naruto just fine, the breeze felt calming swishing through the leaves. The two settled on a table and sat down to eat, Naruto's table manors showing themselves once again.

 

“So, when am I going to start training?” The blonde said between mouthfuls.

 

“Today, hopefully. Orochimaru-sama wants to see you once I get done with the tour then you meet up with the rest of the kids for basic training. You'll also be learning how to use that new gift you have.” the spider boy answered.

 

“So, I'm in the same class as you are? How about those other kids I saw yesterday?” Naruto asked. He remembered Kidoumaru talking with another group of children the day he came with Kabuto.

 

“Yeah, same class as me. The others are all in the same class as you, too.” Kidoumaru said as he finished up his rice. He was shocked when he saw Naruto get done about the same time as he did. Where the heck does he put it all.. “Uh...ready for the rest of the tour?” The blonde nodded and got up to follow the spider boy as they made their way around the compound...

 

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“...well, my work here is done. I've shown you just about everything.” Kidoumaru said as he and Naruto stood in front of the doors that led to Orochimaru's audience chamber. Naruto nodded. He and Kidoumaru had seen just about everything the place had to offer; the watchtower, the training dojo, the dorm room he had woken up in, even the recreational area which constituted a giant library. “Ok, Orochimaru-sama wants to see you, after the meeting you come to the dojo for class. It's starts in an hour so don't be late unless he keeps you.” With a quick nod from Naruto, Kidoumaru headed back down to the dojo to get some pre-class practice. Naruto steeled himself and knocked on the large door.

 

“Enter.” came the reply from within. Naruto gulped and pulled the door open. The room was as dark as ever but the candles were burning so he could see what he was looking at. The sannin was sitting on his throne looking over official-looking papers. He noticed Naruto and put the stack away. “Ah, Naruto. I trust your tour with Kidoumaru-kun went well?” Naruto nodded. “Good, good. I take it you must have some questions. Firstly, about your new gifts. It is a present from me for joining up, it's called the `Kuuki Taihou' or `Air Cannon'. It's a special weapon you'll have for the rest of your life. It's really a blood limit that you can now pass down to your children, I'll have your teacher teach you what it's for and such but I will tell you that it's a way to control sound waves and air pressure, it's really quite useful.” Naruto smiled, this is what he had come for; the means to become a strong ninja. “Now, I have something important to discuss with you. I have decided that you will have to change your family name to avoid anyone from Konoha finding you. I'll also have to change your look slightly, that blonde hair is a dead give away that you're Uzumaki Naruto.” The sannin rose from his seat and walked over to Naruto. Doing a complex set of hand seals, he touched the boys forehead. Naruto felt weird for a minute and watched in awe as a stray strand of blonde hair turn white. The sannin walked back to his chair and sat down, smirking in a way only he could.

 

“W-what? How did you do that?” Naruto said as he ran his hand through his now white hair.

 

“A simple jutsu ninja use for long-term spy missions.” was the sannin's reply. “Now that that is taken care of, time for your new name.” Orochimaru thought for a moment before chuckling. “You are, from now on, Torajikku Naruto. You understand, Naruto-kun?” the sannin asked. Naruto nodded, still trying to take in so many changes at once. “Good, now get to class, today you start your new life.” After Naruto had left, a familiar silver-haired medic-nin came from the shadows.

 

“Torajikku Naruto? Where did that come from, Orochimaru-sama?” Kabuto asked.

 

“Kukuku, it's the child's real name. That old fool The Third gave him the name `Uzumaki', lucky for him I knew his parents and thus his real name. Now Kabuto, go back to Konoha and continue your mission.”

 

“Hai, Orochimaru-sama.” said the medic-nin as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke leaving a laughing Snake Sannin to continue with his utterly evil paperwork.

 

------

 

“Ah! Finally found the place again...” Naruto said as he slid open the door to the dojo. He had forgotten where classes were being held until a helpful ninja pointed out the way. A lot nicer than those jerks back home... When he entered, the noticed that there weren't many children at all, only the few he had seen the day he arrived. The sound of a fight brought his attention to the front of the dojo. The white haired man from the other day, whom Kidoumaru had told him was their teacher `Kimimaru', was sparring with a large boy with a short Mohawk. Naruto spotted Kidoumaru sitting with a red-haired girl and sat down beside them.

 

“Ah, hey there Nar...uto?” the boy stared. He was staring at the now white-haired boy with a questioning look. Naruto smirked and scratched his neck.

 

“Orochimaru-sensei said that my blonde hair would stand out too much, so he changed it.” the white-haired boy explained. The fight between the two at the front was over with the large boy winded and bruised, Kimimaru didn't have a scratch. The large boy limped off to sit with another boy who had a...puppet or something latched to his back. It was freaky in Naruto's opinion. Kimimaru looked over his class and sighed.

 

“You, I suppose you're the new student? Orochimaru-sama always gives me the weak trash to deal with...” The teenager sighed. Naruto gritted his teeth and stood up, pointing at the man.

 

“Hey! I am Uzu...er...Torajikku Naruto and I will be a strong ninja with or without your help! I'll kick your ass right now you sissy!” he exclaimed. The red-haired girl sitting beside blinked before she broke out into hysterics. Kidoumaru just buried his head in his hands with a definite `I-do-not-know-this-idiot' sigh.

 

“Y-you beat Kimimaru-sensei?” the girl sputtered out between giggles. “Yeah, right. He would kill you in a second. Hell, I could kick your ass with just my feet, shrimp.” She said.

 

“Oh yeah?-! Come on then, lets see what you can do to me.” Naruto said as he faced his new opponent. The girl smirked and looked over at her teacher. Kimimaru sighed and nodded. The red head whipped out a wooden flute and bounded onto the stage.

 

“Well, tiny? Get up here so I can kick yer ass!” She yelled. The white-haired boy tossed off his cloak revealing the white robes he had on under them. He armed himself with a kunai and faced off against her. The two glared at each other before Kimimaru coughed.

 

“Ok you two, get ready...and fight!” The red head twirled her flute like a baton and rushed at the boy who countered with his weapon. Kunai against flute, the two were in a deadlock. With their free hands, they launched punches at each other. The girl caught Naruto in his jaw while he got her with a chop to the neck. The foul-mouthed girl noticed that the deadlock wasn't going to be broken by just Taijutsu(not that the brawl they were having involved any skill whatsoever) so she leapt back to put some distance in between her and the white headed boy. Quickly doing hand seals, she finished a jutsu before Naruto could get to her.

 

“Ori Genkaku no Jutsu!” the red head cried. Naruto braced himself for whatever she was throwing at him. He soon realized something was wrong when an iron cage suddenly appeared, trapping him inside.

 

“Ha, that should teach you to mess with your betters. Shame that you hit me, you almost scratched my pretty face, if that were to happen I would really have to kick yer scrawny ass.” She said, cupping her own cheek, smiling. Naruto scoffed while trying to pry the bars open.

 

“Pretty? What kinda guy calls himself pretty?” Naruto teased. Just gotta keep her busy until I find a way out of this thing. The girl colored a bit before fuming at her white-haired opponent.

 

“I'm a girl you bastard!” She yelled. Naruto snickered at the successfulness of his barb. He looked at his bars again, they seemed to fade a bit when he made her mad. One of the other kids say something that caught both combatant's attention.

 

“Oh, she lost concentration for a moment there. She better get her anger under control or she won't be able to hold the illusion.” he said.

 

“Shut up you prick!” She yelled at him. Naruto again saw the bars waver and then it hit him. Genjutsu! So, she has to keep concentration on the illusion or it will fall, huh? He then whistled at the girl, getting her attention.

 

“Hey, are you sure you're a girl? I mean, from what I can see of you in that robe, I can't tell.” Naruto taunted. The girl was grinding her teeth so hard Naruto was sure he saw one of them chip. The howling laugher from all the children present wasn't doing much for her concentration either.

 

“Y-you bastard! I'll rip out your spine through your mouth and beat you with it!” she yelled as she pulled out her flute once again and rushed the boy, the Genjutsu failing as she did so.

 

Got you! Naruto declared mentally. He stared drawing chakra to his hands to start hand seals for a jutsu he saw Kabuto use when another pull caught his attention. The hollow part in his arms was drawing small doses of chakra to it. This must be the Air Cannon! Naruto pumped a large about of chakra into the hollow and raised his hands up at the girl. She stopped confused at this action until the air around her started to push on her body. With a visible pulse, air radiated out from the stones in Naruto's arms and slammed into the girl sending her flying back into the dojo's wall. Exhausted, Naruto fell to his knees. The rest of the students looked on in awe while Kimimaru checked on the girl.

 

“So, he used the Zankuuna, not too bad for a rookie.” He said as the girl picked herself off the floor. She shook the after effects of the blast out of her head then turned to glare at the boy.

 

“You didn't tell me he had an Air Cannon, Kimimaru!” she accused.

 

“Well, you didn't bother to ask.” he retorted. The weird boy with the `puppet' on his back giggled.

 

“Ha, he kicked your ass, Tayuya.” The boy said through his chuckles.

 

“SHUT UP SAKON! He got lucky, that's it!” Tayuya defended. Kidoumaru helped his white-haired friend off the ground with two of his arms while the rest were crossed across his chest.

 

“Hardly luck, you just got to mad. He was caught in that Genjutsu until you let him get under your skin. Good strategy on his part.” the boy said. Naruto smiled and stuck out his tongue at the red head. She was about to launch herself at him when Kimimaru stepped between them.

 

“That's enough. We do have a class to get through today, you know. All of you take your seats and we'll start.” he then turned to Naruto who had since sat down beside Kidoumaru. “I'll teach you all about the Air Cannon when you all sit down.” The girl grumbled and took a seat opposite of the spider boy, all the while shooting glares at the white haired boy who returned them with equal vigor.

 

Guess this is as good as those two will get. “Ok, the Air Cannon is a special weapon that focuses chakra into a special organ inside the users` arm. Those two little jewels on Naruto's palms are what lets the air pressure escape into what is known as the `Zankuuna` which is the special attack of the Air Cannon. You felt a pull right? That was the organ drawing chakra from your body to convert into air pressure.” Naruto nodded. He now had a fundamental understanding of his new weapon and he couldn't be more happy if the grin on his face was any indication. He missed the murmur of `it's not so great...' coming from the red head on his far right.

 

-----

 

It was a good day. Naruto and the others had spent the rest of the class learning about history and combat practice. He found his new classmates much more interesting than he had originally thought. As it turned out, his friend Kidoumaru turned out to be a crack shot at throwing weapons. He could hit a target over twenty meters away with the flick of his wrist. The big guy who was sparring with the teacher was named Jiroubou and he had to be the strongest guy Naruto had ever met! He could easily lift fifty pounds over his head while Naruto could only hold twenty. The guy who Naruto thought had a puppet turned out to be something very weird. That `puppet' was actually the boys' twin brother and it was a special bloodline that allowed them to share the same body. Other than that, they were both really good with Taijutsu and could hit a target almost as well as Kidoumaru with a kunai. Even the foul-mouthed red head was more than Naruto thought she would be. She already knew a few Genjutsu's and could use that flute of hers like a club, wielding it with a finesse that was truly something to watch. Naruto still didn't know how she did that twirling thing. He had practiced with his Air Cannons until he could use several small Zankuuna's before he would have to rest. Kimimaru-sensei said that sound and wind jutsu's would come easier because of his experience and had started teaching him a wind jutsu. He was still a good bit behind the rest of the kids and he knew it. They could do incredible things without help and he had to rely on his Air Cannon to do anything that could even touch them, his fight with Tayuya had shown him that.

 

“Hey, Naruto. Are you awake?” Came the voice of Kidoumaru. Naruto sat quiet for a moment to make sure an angry Tayuya wouldn't crack him with her flute. When he was sure she was asleep, he answered back quietly.

 

“Yeah.” the white-haired boy whispered back.

 

“...why did you leave Konoha?” This caught Naruto off-guard. He thought for a moment before answering.

 

“Because the people there hate me. Kabuto-san said that if I came here, I could get stronger. It's my dream to be a strong ninja.” he said quietly.

 

“Is that it? Just be a strong ninja?” the spider boy asked back.

 

“Well, I guess. Never really thought past that...how about you?” Naruto asked.

 

“....my clan was destroyed. We lived in Mist Country but a rival clan feared our power and slaughtered my whole family in a clan war...” Naruto sat quietly listening to the story, “I want to see that other clan burn! I want to see my house restored, that's why I'm here. I think it's more or less the story of us all. Orochimaru-sama took us all in and offered us training. One day, we'll find somewhere to fit in...but, your story reminds me of Tayuya. She doesn't know about her clan at all. The village where she grew up kicked her out when she was little and she found her way here. I don't know much more than that, she won't say much but she's had a hard time...” Naruto sat there taking this all in.

 

“You guys...shut up and go to sleep.” came a female voice from across the room. They all sat there for a moment before Naruto decided to break the tension.

 

“Why are you in here with the guys again? Shouldn't girls be, like, with other girls?” Naruto asked, grinning.

 

“I'm fine right here shrimp, just don't try anything while I'm asleep or I'll stomp your ass.” came the gruff reply.

 

“Ha, like any sane guy would want to try anything with a foul-mouthed tomboy like you.” Kimimaru sighed, he knew all to well what was about to happen.

 

“YOU BASTARD!” she screamed. Suddenly World War III was declared in the boarding room. Sounds of air blasts and cursing that would make a sailor blush filled the massive complex, shaking the trees down to their roots, all the while a certain white-haired kid was laughing as a red head chased him around yelling bloody death...and he couldn't be happier.

 

-----

 

And so the months dragged on. Reports from Kabuto stated that Naruto had been declared dead after an exhausting search led by Umino Iruka. It was suspected that one of the villagers had killed the demon vessel much to the collective happiness of the town. The day he was officially declared dead had been one of an undeclared holiday in Konoha. Back in the `Snakes Den', the official name of Orochimaru's lair, it was a certain white-haired ninja's birthday. While Orochimaru wasn't one for celebration, he would give everyone a special request on that day, he was a softy for birthdays. Most asked for special jutsu or something else they could never learn by themselves while others asked for a day off to mess around in the nearby towns. Naruto had something very special in mind after he walked into Orochimaru's office. The Snake Sannin himself was doing the usual official evil paperwork when he motioned for the boy to come forward.

 

“Ah, Naruto-kun. It's that time of year already?” He asked, snaking his eyes up from the sheet of paper he was holding.

 

“Hai, Orochimaru-sama! I've put a lot of thought into it, and I know exactly what I want.” Naruto smiled.

 

“And that would be...?” the sannin asked.

 

“A mission! My friends and I have been training all the time and I wanna do something with that training! Anything will do, just something to get us out of this base.” the boy exclaimed. Orochimaru thought this over, it was true; Naruto and his classmates were some of the strongest students in the base and most students did missions for the local town.

 

“Ok. I'll come up with something by the end of the week for you and your class. It won't be much, but it will let you stretch your legs outside for a bit.” He chuckled as the boy jumped up and down, ecstatic at the prospect. “And here, take this as well.” the sannin said as he tossed a letter at the boy. “Give that to the man in front of the storehouse. White may be good to practice in but you need proper clothing to go out on a mission. You can pick what you want, just make sure you get a mask, you can't have anyone recognize you from Konoha just because you don't think they are around.”

 

“Hai!” The boy bowed and the sannin waved him off. Once he was gone, the man let out a breath.

 

“Ugh, I'm glad he only wanted a mission. I thought for sure he was going to ask me to teach him some crazy jutsu.” Orochimaru laughed when he heard the boy curse loudly as the fact he could have asked for that dawned on him. “Kukuku...now, back to more paperwork...” Karma was not kind to Orochimaru as a ninja brought in twice as much paper work as he just had. As he watched the pile grow higher and higher, his eye twitched. I wonder how many sacrifices Manda would make me give him to eat all this work...

 

-------

 

After going through the entire storehouse, the white-haired Jinchuuriki made his way back to his barrack. He had settled for simple black pants, dark purple shirt, and red shirt with a purple vest for style. The most unique thing he had picked up was an old hunter-nin mask that had a fox face. The white mask with red lines for whiskers had a long nose and ears that was topped off by white hair. Naruto wondered if anyone would recognize him.

 

“Hey, shrimp.” came a voice from behind. The boy whirled around to see a smirking Tayuya staring at him. “What? No way I wouldn't know it was you. I could recognize that freak hair of yours anywhere.” Naruto sighed and took off the mask.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Just like anyone could recognize your masculine build, eh?” Naruto taunted as he dodged a flute aimed at his head. After a few curses from both sides, the two called a unspoken truce and settled down.

 

“So, what's with the mask? Not that I'm complaining, anything that hides that face of yours is fine in my book.” Tayuya said with a smirk. Naruto waved off the insult and rubbed his head where her flute had hit him in their last war.

 

“Heh, I got us a mission!” he declared triumphantly. Tayuya stood there confused.

 

“You mean, `I got myself a mission', right?” she asked with a hint of jealousy. If it was possible, his smile got even wider.

 

“Nope, Orochimaru-sama said our whole class can go on a mission by the end of the week! Think the others will like it?” he asked. She just stood there trying to figure out the white-haired boy in front of her.

 

“Uh, yeah. If they don't, I'll kick their asses!” she declared, happy that that she was finally going to get out of the village.

 

“Hell yeah! You go tell them, I've gotta go put away my new clothes.” Naruto said as he ran off. She stood there for a few moments before heading off herself. Hn, interesting guy...

 

----

 

True to his word, Orochimaru gave the class a mission that would be the equivalent of C-Class mission if it was from a hidden village. They set out for the town with Kimimaru in the lead. Most were wearing a better set of white robes except for Naruto who was wearing his dark ensemble, complete with fox mask. There mission was to eliminate a group of bandits that had taken up residence outside the town of Kosame. After the initial reconnaissance, the group stopped about a mile from the bandits hideout to make a plan.

 

“They're just a bunch of bandits! Let's just run in there and kill them.” said Tayuya. She and Naruto had been advocating this approach from the beginning while Kidoumaru and Sakon had been for a drawn-out plan to lure some out of the camp and deal with them individually; Jiroubou elected not to take sides.

 

“Tayuya's right, we can take them no problem. Between her Genjutsu and my Air Cannon, we could clear the mission ourselves.” the fox-masked boy boasted.

 

“Damn straight. Those pricks can't even set up a decent trap, they won't be too much trouble.” the red head said, caught up in her companions confidence.

 

“No way! The report says their leader is a Chuunin missing-nin. We can't underestimate them just because we think we're better. Something could always go wrong.” Kidoumaru countered. Sakon nodded in agreement. It was about to become a shouting match until Kimimaru decided to step in.

 

“Look, if you think you can take them all by yourselves, then go do it. The rest of us will stay here.” he said in a calm voice. Kidoumaru was about to speak up when he caught a glare from the older teenager.

 

“Tch, fine!” Tayuya said as she headed off. Naruto looked between the direction she had gone and the group once, then took off after her.

 

“Why did you let them do that? They could really get hurt!” Kidoumaru shouted. Kimimaru shook his head.

 

“It's their problem if they over-estimate themselves. Weaklings are useless to Orochimaru-sama. I don't think they'll have a problem though. If they do, we'll step in.” Kimimaru stated as he leapt off, slowly following Tayuya and Naruto. He had orders from Orochimaru to not let the boy come to harm, but he wasn't about to coddle the kid. The remaining three looked at each other and collectively sighed before they took off as well.

 

-------

 

“Dumb bastards, they think they're so clever, ha. I could beat anyone of them in a fight!” the redhead exclaimed to no one in particular. She felt a chakra source following her and looked back. Leaping from tree to tree behind her was the fox-masked boy. “At least one of them has some balls.” Only a few hundred meters from the bandit camp, the two stopped to review their attack.

 

“Ok, it doesn't look like they are expecting anything.” Naruto said as he looked over the camps defenses. A few swordsmen were milling around the tents, not many looking fit for combat. “I say we each take a side of the camp and meet in the middle taking out everyone we come across. We'll take their boss together.”

 

“Ugh, why do I have to work with you again? Sounds good though, I'll take the left side. You start your run when I let off a smoke bomb, got it?” the girl asked.

 

“Yeah, sure. I'm off then.” the white-hired boy said as he started his run on the camp. The girl sighed and headed off to the opposite side. Unknown to them both, several sets of eyes and ears had eavesdropped on their conversation.

 

“Not a bad plan, she isn't as dense as I thought.” said Sakon as he leaned back against a tree.

 

“I don't know, maybe we should have helped them? Like Kidoumaru said, they might run into something...” the large boy said in a worried voice.

 

“Don't worry about it, I've got them covered whether they like it or not.” the spider boy said as he started to form a weapon out of spider silk. The stoic Kimimaru only grunted.

 

-------

 

“Damn it, that girl is slow as Choji used to be.” a aggravated Naruto said to himself. He suddenly shot his eyes over to a plum of smoke coming from the opposite side of the camp. “It's about damn time.” he said as he rushed into the camp to begin his attack...

 

------

 

“Fantomu Tsuchi no Jutsu!” Tayuya cried. Several bandits began clawing at the air around them as the effects of the Genjutsu set in. She ended their lives instantly with the flick of two kunai knives. She began her assault and caught the bandits completely off guard, most just waking up from a night of drinking. Smiling to herself, she dispatched two more with her battle flute, crushing their windpipes with the instrument. She kicked a burning log from a campfire into a group of tents and continued on, fire erupting behind her.

 

-----

 

“Man, there are a lot of trash in this camp, more than I though...” the masked boy said as he floored another samurai wannabe. Several more tried to surround him but stepped back when he started doing hand seals. “Futon: Daitoppa!” Wind whipped up around the boy and washed over the surrounding swordsmen before they could react. It pulsed and knocked them all over under its force. They were easily dispatched by kunai once they were off their feet. Naruto looked around and saw several men gathering around a large tent near the center of the camp, some of them moving to intercept something coming from the left. “Ha, can't let her have all the fun, now can I?” the masked boy said as he rushed off towards the group, charging up chakra as he ran.

 

-----

“Damn bi--!” cried a swordsman before he found his insult cut off by a kunai in his throat. The fiery redhead was making good time as she cut through the ranks of fodder wielding her flute and kunai. She was sporting several injuries and her ankle was acting up but she was in more-or-less good shape. She was headed for what she assumed was the leaders tent when she caught sight of a dozen or so samurai bearing down on her. Ok, these pricks are really asking for it. She thought as she started forming hand seals.

 

“Zankuuna!” The group of swordsmen were tossed several feet away and crashed harshly on the ground. The masked boy was standing with hands outstretched as he searched for a new target. She could feel the chakra gathering for another attack, this one aimed at the leaders tent.

 

No you don't! He's mine! Tayuya grabbed a explosive tag and fixed it to her kunai. She aimed it at the tent and tossed it before the boy could steal her kill.

 

“Damn it!” he cried and ran for cover, flying though the air as the tent exploded behind him sending him sailing into a nearby tent.

 

“Ha! Got the bastard. How's that, Naruto?” Tayuya asked as she surveyed her work. Total destruction is what came to her mind as she saw the smoldering crater that had been the command tent. “I guess I'll get the biggest reward for this one, I'm sure you did good in your own way though.” she said as she walked over to the downed boy.

 

“Shut up, Tay--GET DOWN!” the girl didn't have time to react as Naruto dove at her. As the two fell, the sweep of a spear was felt passing over them. Above them, a man with a Hidden Stone hitai-ate glared down at them.

 

“Kawarimi no jutsu, it works like a dream.” the man said as he raised his spear, intending to impale them both. Just as he was bringing it down, a white arrow shot through his chest, making it explode in a shower of red.

 

“W-w-what?” Naruto stuttered, still holding onto the redhead.

 

“Kidoumaru...” Tayuya said.

 

“You called? You have no idea how lucky you two are that I just happened along.” came a voice from behind the two. They both looked up from the ground to see a panting Kidoumaru holding a bow made out of his chakra spider thread. “Next time, maybe you'll listen to me?” he added, smiling.

 

“Oh well, looks like he gets the bounty, eh?” the masked boy said from his position.

 

“My, my. Aren't you two...comfy...” snickered Sakon as he appeared behind a blushing Kidoumaru. “There is a time and place for that sort of thing, you know.” The two looked at how they here. Tayuya was still holding onto Naruto's waist and he had his arm draped over her shoulder. They both seemed to realize this at the same time and scurried along the ground faster than either other boy could see.

 

“You bastard pervert! What the hell was that?-!” the redheaded, and red faced, girl exclaimed.

 

“What! I saved your life, you should be thankful you hateful witch!” Sakon and Kidoumaru both slapped their foreheads at the shouting match going on. They both decided that helping pick off the remaining bandits was better than listening to the two and took off, not that any amount of distance could drown out the cursing match that was ensuing...

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Wow, this is, I think, the best chapter I have ever wrote, defiantly the best action scene. I don't know how long the next chapter will take to write, I have both college projects and the new chapter of `Bushido no Jutsu' to write, but this is the start of a story arc. Each new chapter is going to cover another year for Naruto and future Sound Village so expect at least four more chapters based around missions. Anyway, please review and tell me how I'm doing! See you next chapter.