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Naruto crept through the
trees, claws extended, as he sniffed the air. The trick wasn't to
decipher the scents all at once. Merely separate them into their
individual smells and work from there. The musty tree bark. It had
rained. The wet fur of animals. He attempted to use his heightened
hearing, but his target was a much more highly trained shinobi, and
could mask themselves far too easily. It didn't help that he was
blindfolded.
There! He heard it. The
sound of feet stepping down on wet grass, before he registered a claw
swiping his face. Naruto lashed out with a roar, but hit nothing but
air. The flesh healed easily, but it still stung for the few moments
before then. “Damn it, Hana!” he shouted. A female laugh met his
ear, and he took off in that direction. Slamming into a tree in the
process. With a snarl, he slashed at the trunk. Unlike his previous
exercises in the last few weeks, he cleaved through the entire tree
in two strikes.
Naruto took a deep breath,
reaching deep inside to try and tap into that rage he felt burning
now, every moment of everyday since returning to the village.
Instinctively, he dropped to all fours, his claws returning to their
sheathed position within his forearms. Crouching low, he picked out
the scent of his training partner in the grass beneath his feet.
Taking off in the direction of that scent, he knew he had to hurry.
He was being timed.
Hearing a creak of a branch,
and knowing his time was running out, Naruto let loose a howl as in
one mighty slash he cleaved through the nearest tree. Kicking the
sliced tree down, he nabbed the circular pieces hurling one in the
direction the sound came from, like a massive, blunt shuriken. Hana
leapt, brushing several leaves along the way...leaves that Naruto
heard. Taking the other piece, he threw it to where he was sure she
would land, and his lips curled into a smirk as he heard the Inuzuka
let out a pained grunt, as though the wind had been knocked from her
lungs. He had likely hit her in the gut. He watched as the girl
tumbled from the tree she was in.
Hana was actually surprised,
and a little impressed. Naruto was improving by leaps and bounds.
Sure, he continued to hesitate when it came to releasing his primal
nature, but his time with the two Inuzuka women had allowed him to
grow a bit more comfortable. When that chunk of wood slammed into
her, it sent the air from her body, disorienting her enough to put
her off balance and causing her to fall from the branch, falling on
her back to the hard ground below.
Groaning, she tried to sit
up, but was forced back to the ground, a foot pressing into her body
to hold her. She opened her eyes as she heard the metallic 'snikt'
sound she had come to know as Naruto's claws. She felt the tips of
his claws tickle her neck and knew the training session was over.
Sure enough, her mother appeared, a ringing alarm in her hand, and
unlike her daughter, her canine companion stood loyal at her side.
She was smiling brightly, pleased with her apprentice's progress.
“Very impressive,” Tsume
announced, as Naruto helped Hana off the ground. “I think it might
be time to get you started on actual missions.”
“Finally,” Naruto
replied, leaning against a tree. “Please tell me we don't have to
go after that damn Tora the Cat? Sounds too annoying, and besides,
why take the mission from Kiba's team?” Tsume snorted at the
thought and Hana giggled slightly. She had chased after that demon
cat enough times to know exactly what her little brother was going
through, and was amused by his tales of Tora outmaneuvering them.
“Given
your...condition...” Tsume began, clearing her throat when Naruto
growled. “I've convinced the Hokage to allow you to take on C-rank
missions through and including B-rank missions, and provided there
are at least two jonin, you may come along on A-rank missions,
pending the Hokage's approval.” Naruto actually widened his eyes at
that one.
“How did you get the old
man to agree to that?” he asked, thinking that the Hokage would
never let a genin on such advanced missions, no matter how strong or
invulnerable they were. Tsune coughed a bit, rocking from her toes to
her heels, and refused to make eye contact. Looking for all intents
and purposes like a kid who did something naughty and got caught.
“Well, I knew he would
never willingly agree,” she
said, smiling, rather ironically, like a cat who swallowed a canary.
“So, I kind of let it...slip in the last council meeting about your
progress.” Hana, realizing what that meant, covered her mouth in
amusement.
“Mom,
you didn't...” she said. Tsume just nodded.
“The
downside is that your enemies on the council now know you could be a
threat. The upside is that your supporters on the council know you
could be a threat to the enemies of Konoha. And it's the supporters
who put pressure on the Hokage.” Naruto snorted at this
declaration.
“I
have supporters on the council?” he asked, incredulously, almost
amused at the very idea. Tsume nodded.
“Most
of the shinobi council, and possibly the elders, but they're so old
and irate it's hard to tell at all,” she responded. Naruto actually
seemed surprised by this. A bird cried out, causing the three to look
at the flying animal. “Damn. We'll have to cut this session short.
The Old man wants to see me.” Reaching into a pouch on her hip,
Tsume tossed some money over to student. “Head on over to the Ramen
stand. I'll meet you over there when I'm finished. Won't take long.”
She didn't have to tell Naruto twice. He practically took off on all
fours. Hana shook her head.
“I'd
better be going too. Duty calls, and I have to make sure the Triplets
are prepped for the mission.” Tsume nodded in understanding. The
two shared a look for a moment before they and Kuromaru vanished in a
swirl of leaves.
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Have the day off for Saturday. I expect to have the full thing out by tomorrow (Sunday) at the latest.
