Naruto was the son of the Fourth Hokage.
Naruto was the Last Uzumaki, a once proud clan of a Hidden Village that had become so powerful and was on the verge of something to make them even more powerful - that three other villages sent the bulk of their forces to eradicate them. And had suffered a staggering loss doing that.
Naruto was the jinchiruki, or the living jail cell, of the Kitsune No Kyubi. The Ninetailed Demon Fox that had nearly destroyed the village by itself. Formerly contained within Mito Uzumaki according to Jiraiya - though someone had apparently been the jinchuriki afterwards as the timelines didn't match up. They weren't saying who.
Naruto had been hated, loathed, shunned, tormented, driven from shops, and generally abused through his young life. He had been forced out of the orphanage and living mostly alone since he was four years old. Completely alone since six years.
Jiraiya had spoken of a prophet of the toads, and that Naruto might be more special than even the heritage and Kyubi would indicate. He wasn't sure of that though, but in light of some recent information that had come to him - he was proceeding with the idea that Naruto Uzumaki was going to be the target of some great darkness that sought to sweep the world or something.
Apparently the toad prophet's mind was prone to wander, it was just that it wandered through past and present and future and even potential futures without a lot of control being involved. Which sounded like it would be a pain.
Just THAT concept would have been enough to spend hours thinking about. Combined with the other revelations heaped together and discussed in that meeting - it had left her feeling a bit numb and confused. Several things she'd thought she'd known had turned out to be completely wrong.
Naruto apparently took after his mother in that she had a little problem with learning things unless he was actually DOING something. Kinesthetic was the term, or so she thought. She'd have to look it up later.
If she'd known all this earlier, before Sasuke had - Sakura didn't want to complete that thought.
Sakura stopped, blinking at something she hadn't expected to see.
Fuu had no clue.
She generally lived and worked outside her own village. She HAD been in Waterfall regularly, but there was a general feeling of unwelcome there.
Here she was getting the same vibe, but it was because she was a foreign ninja wearing her Waterfall symbol on her right upper arm. It was the same, but different.
The difference was welcome.
The jonin who had accompanied her looked on her with cold eyes, but in his case it was tolerable. He looked at EVERYONE with those eyes. His tongue was harsh with everyone. Banteki was not a people person.
He'd told her to familiarize herself with the area and to "make nice" - something that Banteki himself would be even worse at than she was.
And why the blazes was she supposed to run around with toast in her mouth until she met someone?
WHAM!
Oh great. I was supposed to 'make nice' with the locals and now I've body-slammed one. And the toast is on the ground. Bleh.
"HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING... Huh. Hey waitaminute. You're from that Waterfall village ain't ya?"
Fuu dusted herself off and checked out the boy she'd run into. "Yeah. Sort of."
"Well, if you're here for the Chunin Exams, you missed it by a month or so," said the boy in orange clothing.
"Not sure why I'm here," admitted Fuu. "Some kind of long term mission."
"Oh? And they didn't give you the mission details?" asked Naruto, thinking that was a bit odd.
"My jonin has all the details, didn't tell me. That part isn't unusual," said Fuu, shrugging. "Uhm. Sorry about running into you."
"No team?" asked the boy.
"Just me and Banteki-sensei," said Fuu. "You'll know him when you see him. Wears fur and leather, big guy, looks like someone who has a grudge against the world?"
The boy looked thoughtful. "Dunno anyone like that. Well, if you're mainly just looking around and new around here - there's a place you GOTTA go!"
"Someplace to eat? I've been running around with toast in my mouth - no idea why I was supposed to do that, and I'm kinda hungry," said Fuu.
"Perfect," said the boy with an infectious grin. "Ichiraku's it is!"
There were ninja who looked nondescript. There were ninja who looked perfectly harmless or blended in with their environment.
There were ninja, like Maito Gai, who did not.
Banteki the Shredder had that single point similar to Maito Gai, however the way he got to that point was decidedly different. Bladed claw weapons at the hands, thick plates of armor with fur padding. Spikes decorating various points of his armor. About a head taller than the average adult around him, thickly muscled, and looking completely pissed.
Like Fuu, Banteki was completely at a loss for his current situation. Banteki was on a peaceful mission to Konohagakure regarding paperwork involving an engagement.
To be fair, Takigakure was planning on sending someone who was a LOT better at diplomacy than Banteki. Just as soon as someone, basically ANYONE, got back from their current mission. At which point they'd reassign Banteki to something he could actually handle.
Unfortunately, all they'd had at the time was Banteki. Banteki the Butcher. Banteki the Shredder. Banteki Bloodbath. So they'd given him detailed instructions on what NOT to do.
An arm snapped out, grabbed a civilian by the collar, and brought him up to just below Banteki's eye level. As nicely as he could, Banteki asked for directions to the Hokage Tower.
"You! Hokage Tower. Where?"
"Please don't kill me."
Growling slightly, Banteki released the civilian. What the hell was with this place?
"Banteki the Butcher. State your business here in Konohagakure."
Banteki smiled as he turned to the just-arrived ANBU. "Business. Hokage Tower. Message and delivery."
The lead ANBU cocked her head. "Just as wordy as your bingo book indicates. May I see the message?"
Banteki grunted and produced a slightly stained scroll.
The ANBU took it, decided to ignore the bloodstained edge, and quickly read the contents. "I see. I believe the Hokage was actually expecting something like this. Just not involving you."
"Everyone. Missions," confirmed Banteki.
"I see," said the ANBU, handing the message back. "Will handing the message directly to the Hokage's secretary be sufficient?"
"Office?" asked Banteki, brow furrowing as he considered that. "Yeah."
"Good," said the ANBU. "This way."
"See? Told ya," said the blonde boy, who'd introduced himself as Naruto Uzumaki during the feast.
"Yeah," agreed Fuu. Her stomach felt warm and rather more full than she was used to.
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(Posted Sat, 07 Feb 2015 16:27)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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