Fanfiction ► Product: Shinobi

[Zanarkand Lover]

Yes, I am no longer posting chapters for Encyclopedia Ninja on this site do to adult situations. So, I'm putting this one on here.

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Prologue

It was almost over. From the two hundred test subjects, only three remained. Uchiha Itachi was in the stands surrounding an arena protected by bulletproof glass. Though it was just melee weapons they were using, it always paid to be safe.

The testing process was very long and tedious. First, they had to make sure that each one was capable of basic hand-eye coordination, proper body function and chakra control, etc. All of them had passed the test, except for one. The scientists were unable to awaken him from suspended animation and he was ‘disposed’ of.

Itachi walked around until he found his seat. It was gold plated. He was the head scientist, so he deserved the spot, he concluded. He peered into through the glass into the arena.

The next test was for ambidextrousness. To all of the scientists’ surprise, only one subject failed. She was left-handed. Even though it was often an advantage in this world, she was ‘disposed’ of.

Itachi watched as the remaining three subjects approached the center of the arena. The three subjects looked at each other. It was hard to tell what their expressions were.

The next several tests were the most rigorous. They had given them each a dagger. They were placed in front of a machine gun and told to either dodge or block the shots. Only half of the original 198 got by without getting hurt. The other ninety-nine were killed, most of them by the first few shots. The process was repeated again, this time with a katana, then dual kodachis. Only one was hurt, and it was a minor scratch across his cheek. He was still ‘disposed’ of.

Although more than half of the original subjects were now dead, the experiment so far was a great success. They were strong, fast, and smart.

They were also rebellious, another success. But most importantly, they were emotionless. They did not feel. Save one. Any other would have been ‘disposed’ of, but this test subject had received top marks on all of the tests. And so, he was kept alive. Itachi heard the test curator over the loudspeaker.

“In front of you lies a melee weapon. You are to use that to kill your opponent. The match will end when one has been killed.”

After the melee test, each was given a pair of handguns and sent to a shooting range. The subjects were to shoot at the targets, aiming as best as they could at a tiny circle on the head. After that, they were handed a new set of weapons while the targets were replaced. And so the test continued, ranging from submachine guns to rifles to shotguns and eventually stopping at compact rocket launchers. Of all of the subjects, only ten passed. Though the other ninety-six did just as well, many they were unable to fire a rocket launcher properly, mistaking the powerful recoil and missing their targets, although only by a small margin.

They were still ‘disposed’ of.

Itachi thought back to how the compact rocket launchers weren’t too compact. Although it functioned well and its design was revolutionary, it was still very heavy. However, the point was that the rocket launchers could be reloaded easily, removing the reel of empty rocket casing and replacing it with another one. Also, the gun was operable by one man. That in its self was a tremendous leap in weaponry. Itachi looked down into the arena.

It would appear that the blonde-haired one was given the short end of the stick. He was given a dagger to fight with while the red-haired male received a katana and the last, a brunette female, had the two kodachis.

“Begin,” the curator said.

The next test was where the best would be separated from the others. Their names were randomly picked to form two teams of three and two teams of two. They were given a wide assortment of weapons and each team of two went against a team of three. It was a battle to the death. Some of them had frozen up when the match began, too afraid to defend themselves. A team of three and two passed and were pitted against each other. Only these three remained of the original two hundred subjects.

Still, it was considered a success. They had managed to implant the knowledge of weaponry as well as speech and social skills, something read about only in science fiction novels. Itachi leaned in, eager to see what would happen. It was expected for the blonde one to get the dagger, as he was the one who felt emotions. It was viewed as an impurity, a flaw, and he had to be ‘disposed’ of. Straining his ears, he could hear the blonde one talking.

“Kind of unfair, isn’t it?”

The other two made no motion of pity. Instead, they began to circle him, their weapons ready to strike.

“Not going to talk huh?” the blond asked. He twirled the dagger in his hands before clutching it. “Well, come on. I’m waiting.”
That had taken place several days ago. Everyone who had seen the battle was astonished when the blonde killed the brunette with one swift strike to her side. He pushed the entire side of his dagger through the side of her abdomen, cutting her intestines and kidney. They were also surprised when he gently whispered sorry into her ears before she collapsed lifelessly at his feet.

Uchiha Itachi walked quickly through the containment chambers of the two remaining subjects, carrying a rather important file with him. His higher up had told him that it was time to commence with the plan. They were resting, having been put through a few more tests (neither of them would have been ‘disposed’ of if they had failed). He unlocked the doors and placed a katana outside each before quickly retreating.

The fact that he was a shinobi helped him reach his destination faster. He warily made his way to the main control room, one hand ready to pull out his silenced pistol if he needed to. Luckily, he made it with no encounters. Opening the door, he stepped inside.

There was a scientist, most likely compiling a few papers together before leaving. He turned around to face Itachi. “Ah, Itachi-san, its nice to see you.”

As ordered if such a scenario occurred, Itachi pulled out his silenced pistol and killed the scientist. Itachi then locked the door, making sure that no one could get in. He walked to the main control panel. It was a large computer built with state-of-the-art technology.

“Voice recognition required.” It was a robotically feminine voice.

“Uchiha Itachi.”

“Voice recognized.” A control screen dropped from the ceiling, one that only he could use. He quickly tapped the screen a few times, bringing up a list of menus. He looked at the one on the very bottom.

It read “Activate Seal”

Looking down at the file he had in his hand, he opened it up and stared at the picture of the blonde.

Name: Uzumaki Naruto

Age at time of Creation: 19

Hair Color: Blonde

Eye Color: Blue

Seal: Spiral located on abdomen

Abnormalities: Feels emotions

Rather basic. He turned his view to the picture of the redhead on the right.

Name: Sabaku Gaara

Age at time of Creation: 19

Hair Color: Red

Eye Color: Green

Seal: Kanji character representing ‘love’ on forehead

Abnormalities: None

He closed the folder. After this, he and his higher up would be the only people who knew of these two’s existence, as well as this experiment. Looking at the touch panel again, he pressed the activate button. If all had gone well, then the power the two would receive upon the activation would drive them into temporary insanity until the seal died down. Hopefully they would kill whoever was in their way, mostly the scientists.

The scientists weren’t a true concern. The power would reach a critical point most likely disrupting the energy source within the facility, causing it to explode and take everyone save the two of them with it. They would not remember anything that had happened. Not the testing, not the people who failed the test, and not the test curators. Preparations were done to make sure that it would happen this way. The only things they would remember is how to fight and kill.

Turning away from the panel, he strode to the door, unlocking it and using his shinobi training to escape the facility. He still held onto the file. Reaching an exit, he thrust the door open before leaping off of the top of the facility.

He would be fine. He was Uchiha Itachi, of course, a prodigy known throughout the world. Deep down inside though, he was only thinking about one thing.

His higher up was a cruel, cruel man.

He was a smart man.

But a cruel man.

 

[Zanarkand Lover]

Chapter 1: An Odd Job

All along the walls hung guns. Long guns, short guns. Loud guns, quiet guns.

He loved this room. Every wall he looked at, there was something new for him to test out whether it be a rifle or shotgun or whatever they came up with next. Nothing was ever old in this room.

Plus it was a wonderful way to relieve stress, which he had lots of.

Welcome to the Experimental Weapons Facility, where hundreds of weapons manufacturers send their prototype weapons to be tested. Also, there would be a few homemade weapons as well. From pistols to rocket launchers and all in between, he could find it here.

Of course, not very many people were granted access to here. Only jounins and up were allowed into the Experimental Weapons Facility. Genins and chuunins had separate weapon rooms and could not gain entry to the experimental facility. Genins were given pistols and submachine guns, both usually in sets of two, along with the rare assault rifle or combat shotgun, depending on how good they were. Chuunins were granted access to assault rifles (although he distinctly remembered seeing a kunoichi with a bolt action rifle), combat shotguns, and light machine guns.

That was usually as far as a shinobi got as far as rank goes. Not even a quarter of the genins that made it through their first year as a shinobi would become chuunins. But to reach jounin level required quick thinking, aim, and a fast trigger finger. At least, that was how it was in Konoha.

To become a jounin was like becoming a celebrity. The people instantly recognized the jounin as a skilled shinobi, the top of the crop. If not known because of their faces, then they were known because of the highly destructive weaponry they were allowed to carry. By reaching the level of jounin, one was allowed to carry rocket launchers and double action revolvers (single action revolvers were outdated and only seen in movies that were blown way out of proportion with real life), usually branded with the family insignia.

Each shinobi also carried smaller items of weaponry as well. Flash tags, smoke tags, and explosive tags were the norm. Every so often, there was a shinobi that knew what he was doing with the human body and he or she would carry a medical kit. Of course, there were medical jutsus around. But on the battlefield, one had to conserve chakra. The med kits were slower, but it was an equal tradeoff in the eyes of the council.

He walked over to the wall that held revolvers. The light reflected off of them and into his eyes. He glanced around until he found what he wanted.

The new set of revolvers had just come in, he heard from the person outside. They looked very promising to the man. Reaching up, he grabbed a pair of eight-chambered revolvers.

Each one weighed quite a bit, he thought to himself. But he wanted to give them a test run. Walking across the door he entered from, he stepped through the threshold before closing the door.

He was in an elevator. Looking down the buttons, he smiled before pressing the button that read ‘Shooting Range.’ As the elevator went down, he examined the pair of guns. They were silver colored, most likely plated with it. To make a whole revolver out of silver was a waste of time and money. Opening up the chamber, he was surprised to see that it was very different from the normal ones.

They were deeper and wider than the ones he had seen before.

He smiled. He liked this gun already.

Finally, the elevator stopped. Stepping out, there was a bar code scanner on his left. Putting the bottom of the handle against it, the machine read the code before processing the information. The screen above it displayed the information about the gun.

He ignored most of them, simply glancing at the screen until he reached the caliber of the bullets used.

His eyes widened. .65 caliber. Most revolvers only went to .45.

The chinking of metal against metal reawakened his senses. He turned to a slot next to it. The machine dispensed the bullets and the last of thirty-two fell into the pile. Picking one up, he felt the weight before slowly filling both chambers of the revolvers.

Damn.

They were really heavy now.

Shaking the thought from his head, he put the other bullets into his pouches, one on each side of his waist.

Finally ready, he prepared the final thing for his test run. Setting the revolvers on the table in front of him, he pressed a button.

Two pieces of plastic with the shape of the top of a person made its way down from the ceiling. Taking out his own pair of revolvers, he fired both of them at the chest of one. Two fairly large holes appeared where they struck. Refilling the chambers that were empty, he put his revolvers away and picked up the experimental ones. Now aiming at the other one, he pulled the triggers.

The recoil was more than he expected it to be. His arms were almost thrown all the way behind his back and above his head if he hadn’t managed to keep a hold of it. He looked at the target.

Two very large holes were now occupying where the dummy’s lungs would have been. He smiled.

Now he really liked these guns.

Aiming once more, he instilled some chakra into his arms to help fight the recoil. He began to pull the triggers again and again until no more bullets remained. Flicking them to the side, the chambers flew out of place before being tilted back to empty it of casings. Reaching for the counter, he grabbed the remaining sixteen bullets, eight in each hand. He reloaded his left gun with his right hand and his right gun with his left hand. He pushed the chambers back into place. Once again he pulled the triggers, this time leaving only one bullet in each.

‘And now, the finisher.’

He crossed his arms over his chest, his wrists the point of intersection. He then pushed his the bottom of his palms together. His eyes became red as he finished off with his arms locked and crossing each other in front of him at his wrists.

The crackling of electricity echoed off the walls like the chirps of a thousand birds. “Chidori!” Uchiha Sasuke yelled as he pointed his revolvers (which had blue lightning sparking out of it at random intervals) at the dummy and pulled the trigger. With his Sharingan activated, he was able to see to faint streaks of blue as the electrically charged bullets pierced through the air before traveling through the dummy and bouncing off of the jutsu-protected wall behind it, sucking the chakra out of the bullets.

The dummy was now just a smoldering piece of plastic, riddled by the previous bullets and melted by the electricity of the Chidori. He smiled.

Emptying the chambers, Sasuke reentered the elevator and pressed the button for Experimental Weapons Facility, or more commonly known to the jounin shinobis as ‘The Toy Closet.’ But most simply called it the ‘Closet’ for short.

Uchiha Sasuke was one of the more famous jounins of Konoha. Carrying a katana, he was mysterious and dashingly good-looking. Becoming one at the age of nineteen, he was the idol of many aspiring shinobis of the village and the apple of many a girls’ (sometimes women’s) eye. He carried around a pair of revolvers and kept a pair of pistols as back up, both branded with the Uchiha fan on the sides. He wore a jounin vest with a blue top beneath along with tailored-to-fit (Konoha covered the cost) beige cargo pants. It allowed maximum movement while still being comfortable. In his hip pouches he carried ammunition as well as a set of explosive tags and flash tags. His Konoha forehead protector was over his forehead.

He was the last of the Uchihas.

Well, one of the remaining two. The Uchiha clan was a dying one, though its bank account would have said otherwise, being filled to the brim with money. Although some in the clan were gifted with the Sharingan, many of them never reached the level of chuunin, being killed on missions. Eventually, the numbers dwindled down to just Sasuke, his parents and…

Sasuke’s father was one of the rare few that reached the level of jounin that loved revolvers. His mother was a chuunin, specializing in rifles. However, his mother and father were both killed in a mission. Although he didn’t know the true details (forensics went only so far) he wanted to believe that they died happy and in each other’s arms.

That just left Sasuke and his brother, Itachi. But in truth, that only left Sasuke, for his brother Itachi had left him long before his mother died. He still remembered what his brother had said.

“The time when you have eyes like mine will be the time when I come back,” his brother told him before Itachi flashed his fully developed Sharingan at a naïve thirteen-year old Sasuke. He could barely register the fact that Itachi’s Sharingan had three black whorls that contrasted with his red iris before he vanished into the night, never to be seen or heard from again except in rumors and urban myths. Each night before his parents were killed, all three of them prayed to the gods that someday Itachi would come back. Now it was just him that prayed for it.

Sasuke wanted to know why his brother disappeared. Everyday, he scanned the newspapers from a street vender for something that could lead to the whereabouts of Itachi. He wanted to know why Itachi had left him and his family. He didn’t hate him.

He simply wanted a reason.

But it seemed that the only way for Sasuke to get his brother’s attention is to obtain the full Sharingan. Right now, his Sharingan allowed him to read how the enemy would move and where the bullets would come from, giving him a split-second advantage. But there was still much space to improve upon.

And so, Sasuke trained. He trained harder than any shinobi was known to do, continually pushing his limits in hopes of matching his brother’s strength. He knew that he was close, for Itachi also reached jounin level. But he needed to obtain the last piece to the puzzle.

As Sasuke stepped out of the elevator, he approached a counter. On it was a clipboard. Attached to it was an opinion sheet, asking for the name of the gun, who tested it, and whether it met their standards. Taking a look at the side, he saw the logo: a target, the sign of Hyouteki Corporations. They had a good history of making reliable revolvers and pistols. In fact, Sasuke’s current pistols were made by it.

His revolvers however were handmade by his father.

The experimental revolvers were given the name of Hyouteki 587. He signed his name in the appropriate box before leaving a check in the box of approval. He regretfully placed the revolvers into a bin that was for weapons already tested. It was a pair of good guns.

He turned to leave the Closet. As he opened the door, he stepped out into the lit hallways of Konoha Academy. Walking to the nearest exit, he pushed open the door.

And then he saw her.

Then again, how could he not? She had natural bubble gum pink hair, a definite eye catcher. She had emerald green eyes and a body that most women would die for. The only flaw was that she had an abnormally large forehead, but that was something so miniscule that Sasuke did not bother to pay attention to.

Too bad she was off limits.

It’s not that she had a boyfriend or anything like that. For all he knew, she never had one, which was rather hard to believe. Most shinobis married at a very young age, some as young as sixteen. Hell, his parents had Itachi when they were only eighteen. According to the village’s method of measuring age, Sasuke was a bit old. She wasn’t off limits because she was already involved with someone else.

She was off limits because she practically closed herself from the world. The only things she did that involved society a bit were buy groceries and supplies and train as a shinobi.

Her name was Haruno Sakura. She was eighteen and had no family; her grandparents died before she was born and her parents were accused of plotting to betray Konoha when she was six. They were executed almost immediately, leaving Sakura to grow up alone in the world.

As she went through the academy, she slowly realized that the bedtime stories that her parents told her weren’t true. That was the second time she felt betrayed. She pushed away anyone that ventured near her by being silent and mean. It was said that Sakura hadn’t smiled for twelve years. She focused only on her fighting ability and was now a respected chuunin with potential as a jounin.

She was a dagger specialist, one of the few in Konoha. Although many picked swords over the dagger because of the obvious range advantage, daggers were dangerous in their own right. They were faster to attack with and weighed much less than swords, allowing the wielders to usually move faster than sword users.

Besides using a dagger, she slung a rifle on her back and carried a pistol on a hip holster, both guns produced by Hyouteki. She had fairly good aim, even when she was moving quickly. She also carried around the standard explosive tags as well as flash tags. She wore a chuunin vest with a form-revealing red t-shirt as well as tight black jeans, the only things standing between her and bullets and blades. She wore the standard shinobi sandals and black fingerless gloves. That was all she could wear (besides undergarments), since anything else would have weighed too much. Other than those, she wore a Konoha forehead protector where it belonged.

The villagers and shinobis referred to her as ‘The Pride and Shame of Konoha’. Pride because she was so talented but shame because she was antisocial, most likely meaning that she would never have a family to add to the population.

Deep down inside him, Sasuke felt stupid about somehow gaining a crush on Haruno Sakura. She wouldn’t return his love. She wouldn’t accept it. She’d probably break his heart in two before feeding it to a meat grinder. Then she would probably leave it for the dogs to eat.

No matter how hard he tried to push her away from him though, her pink hair always came back to him and he would pity her.

Perhaps it was because of a memory he had before her parent’s execution.

Flashback

A six-year old girl was absent-mindedly swinging on a swing. It was late. She didn’t know where parents were, but that was okay. It meant that she could stay on the swing longer. Seven-year old Sasuke observed from behind an adjacent building, watching her pink hair swing back and forth.

Sasuke’s parents and brother were out on a mission. Normally, that would mean he had more time to play on the swings. But today was different.

She was sitting on his swing.

Gritting his teeth, he ignored the matter and walked up to the swing next to her. He would still have a good time, whether it was on his swing or not. He began to kick his legs back and forth, eventually gaining a high altitude. The pink haired girl looked up at him.

“How do you go so high?” she asked.

“You push your legs back and forth. Everyone knows that,” Sasuke remarked.

“But I don’t go as high as other kids…” she trailed off.

“Just push harder.”

“But I push really hard! I still can’t get as high as you!” the little girl was almost on the verge of tears. Her swing slowly began to descend, going lower and lower before coming to a full stop.

That was when she felt a pair of hands on her back. She turned around to see the raven-haired boy.

“Let me push you then,” He started off gentle, slowing adding more force as she went higher and higher. Stepping to the side so he wouldn’t be hit by the swing, he watched as she went back and forth, pushing her legs to and fro. She smiled and laughed.

They never exchanged names, as Sasuke’s parents appeared before walking him away. But as Sasuke looked back, he could still see the young girl smiling and laughing on the swing, going higher than she had ever gone before.

End Flashback

That was the last time he saw her smile. Every other time after, she was frowning or had a hard look on her face. He doubted that she knew who the boy that pushed her was. Heaving a sigh, he continued walking.

That’s when she saw him. Sakura confronted him.

His heart pounded. It was most likely that she would say the bare minimum to get a point across. But he had to prepare himself, just incase she said something else.

“Ready to train?” she asked in her usual cold voice, almost devoid of emotion.

Nothing out of the ordinary, “Yeah,” Sasuke replied.

“Let’s go then.”

Sakura had a rather… unique method of training. She would challenge someone to a spar. If she won, she would train for the week and then challenge someone else. If she lost, she would train and then challenge the same person again.

So far, it was zero to seven, Sasuke’s favor. He couldn’t tell whether it was a good thing or a bad one.

He followed quietly behind her, her tight black pants greatly distracting him. Her hips rocked back and forth, mesmerizing him. He stopped and took a deep breath before looking at the back of her head and following her once more. Eventually, they reached a wall. Adding chakra to their legs, they both jumped over and landed safely inside the grounds. A wall surrounded the training grounds. It was used to contain bullets that were fired from guns. The pair walked to the center before Sakura turned to face him.

“Any guidelines for today, Sakura-san?” Sasuke asked before drawing and preparing his pistols.

“Just one,” she said before taking out her dagger, “no killing.”

That was obvious in Sasuke’s jurisdiction, as he wanted both of them to see a happier future.

“Go.”

Sasuke immediately took aim with his pistols and fired at Sakura, who had ducked as soon as they were pointed at her. She immediately closed in on Sasuke and pulled out her own pistol before firing at him. Sidestepping, he put the pistol in his right hand away and pulled out his sword before blocking her dagger.

Pushing her away from him, he positioned himself in front of a wall. He watched as she put away her weapons and drew out her rifle. Putting his other pistol away, he placed his sword in a defensive position and began to emit chakra towards the front of his body as well as circulate it in his limbs.

The technique was the most basic. First the person would emanate chakra from their body. Then, they would circulate chakra throughout their limbs, allowing increased speed. The theory was that the chakra field would react to bullets and send feedback to the person about their trajectory. Then, the user could determine whether or not the bullet would hit them. If it would, then the chakra in their limbs would allow faster movement of the arms and body to either block or evade.

Sakura let her rifle fire, sending a barrage of bullets. As Sasuke felt them pierce his chakra radar, he began to block and dodge. He closed his eyes so that he wouldn’t become dizzy at his own movements.

All of a sudden, the bullets stopped. Looking around and finding no one, he looked up to see Sakura ready to plunge her dagger into him. He carefully tumbled out of the way while sheathing his sword and taking out his pistols again and fired. He watched as Sakura dodged the bullets, becoming a pink, red, and black blur.

Hearing clicks, he pressed pulled the hammers at the end of his pistols back with his thumbs. The empty clips fell to the ground with a clatter. As Sakura noticed that Sasuke was no longer shooting, she pulled out her dagger and began to rush at him again, faster than before. He tumbled sideways and pulled out two pistol clips and loaded them into his pistols.

He quickly took aim at Sakura and fired both pistols. He suddenly realized that she was too close to him and would not be able to block or dodge the bullet. His heart began to beat against his chest. He watched as a cloud of blood exploded from her right shoulder and arm. She let out a pained yelp and clutched her shoulder, leaning on the wall with on her left. Wanting to end the match, he pulled out his sword and quickly moved up to her, placing the sword at her neck and pushing her against the wall.

“I win,” Sasuke said, relieved.

Sakura disappeared in a poof, leaving only a log with two bullets lodged in it. Grimacing, he attached a flash tag, activated it, and kicked it away. Quickly, he spun around to see a pistol pointed between his eyes. She fired her pistol before watching Sasuke disappear in a cloud of smoke.

What was left behind was the first log. With Sasuke’s timing as impeccable as ever, the flash tag detonated only fractions of a second after he switched places with the log. Before Sakura could react the light blinded her. She let out surprised yell before seeing only white. Calmly, Sasuke walked next to her and laid his blade gently on her shoulder, the sharp side pointing at her neck.

“Now I win.”

Sakura let out an annoyed huff. Retracting his sword, Sasuke sheathed it before offering a hand to her. Ignoring it, she stood up and put her knife away. She reloaded her weapons before walking to the wall and leaping over it.

She was mad.

Then again, she was always mad. It’s just that she was madder than before.

Today, she had lost once again to Uchiha Sasuke. But today, she had lost faster than all the other times. Normally, the matches would last longer, maybe around five minutes. After using up their ammunition, they would resort to melee combat, where Sakura really shined.

The clock didn’t even reach a minute when she lost. He didn’t even have to use his Sharingan.

Sasuke gave a sigh. She’d work it out of her system soon enough. Reloading his pistols, he put them away in his chest holsters. Making sure that his revolvers were secure in his hip holsters, he leapt over the wall.

“Uchiha-sama,” Sasuke turned around to see a messenger, “Hokage-sama would like to see you in her office now. She says that she needs you for a crucial mission.” The messenger disappeared soon after. Knowing that the legendary Tsunade was not a person he wanted to cross, he disappeared in a tuft of smoke.

Tsunade was a legendary figure in Konoha’s history. One of the three trained by the Sandaime, her physical strength was beyond normal. At one point during a mission, it was common belief that she wielded two rocket launchers with ease, one in each hand. Most shinobis had trouble carrying half the weight of the new lighter versions. Tsunade’s medical prowess was amazing as well and she also had the ability to summon slugs. Most shinobi will never live to see an animal summon in their lifetime. Despite her shiny blonde hair and abnormally large breasts as well as other youthful facial features, she was actually getting close to the age of fifty. Most shinobis only reached the age of twenty-five.

Reappearing in the Hokage’s office, Sasuke quietly stood, waiting for her instructions. Looking around, he saw Sakura once again, along with the kunoichi with the bolt-action rifle and Hyuuga Neji, twenty-year old prodigy of the Hyuuga Clan and jounin.

The Hyuugas were the most esteemed shinobi clan in Konoha. With the ability to see almost three hundred sixty degrees, through objects, and Tenketsu points, they were a force to be feared. Because they can see Tenketsu points, they have developed a unique style of hand-to-hand combat. Using chakra, they can open and close these points, causing great harm with just a single tap. Their only weapon of choice is their clan-produced pistol. They do not use melee weapons because they have their own specialized taijutsu that is not only used for offense but also defense as well. By simply expelling chakra through their fingers with enough force, they can stop bullets, although their aim must be concise. Facing even just one puts the attacker at great risk.

“I have called you four here for a mission,” Tsunade said. She was sitting in a swivel chair and had her back was to them. Sasuke returned his attention to her. “I have received a mission request from Kasa Korporations that one of their facilities in the Sand Territory has been destroyed by unknown forces. They want us to send a team of four to gather information on what could have destroyed it. They suggest that we be careful though, as the place may be swarming with bandits.” Tsunade turned around in her chair to face them.

“To be honest, I feel very suspicious about this. Usually, a facility takes extreme safety measures to keep a facility from suddenly becoming destroyed. Therefore, it is highly likely that someone entered and sabotaged it.”

“If you’ve already come up with a reason, why are you still sending us?” Neji asked.

“Kasa is offering a lot of money for the success of this mission. Therefore, I want this job done and I want I done right. So I’m sending you four. You’re some of the best for your rank.”

“Do we have a choice?” Sasuke asked.

“No. This is an A-plus rank mission. It’s crucial and we can also gain some information about the Sand. Rumor has it that they’re plotting against us. Don’t worry. All four of you will be receiving higher pay than the normal A-rank mission.” Tsunade turned around in her chair again, indicating that she was done talking. “You leave in twenty-four hours. Prepare your gear and meet at the east gate. You are dismissed.”

The four of them left the room. Neji looked at them. “I’ll meet you at the east gate then. Haruno, Uchiha,” Neji simply looked at the kunoichi with the bolt-rifle, “you, good day.” Neji then headed for the nearest exit. After he left, the remaining three went to the ammunitions room.

As they entered, Sasuke immediately headed to the handguns section. Taking a look at both of his pouches, he found that he had only five clips left for each gun. Grabbing to clips from the wall, he put them in before examining the clips in his pistols. They both could hold one more bullet, so he grabbed to singles and put them in before placing the cartridges back into his pistols.

Next, he headed to the revolvers. He already had enough extras. Looking into the chambers, he grabbed one for each revolver and put them in before closing the chambers and heading to the notes distributor.

He used up a flash note in the spar with Sakura earlier. Pressing a button, he received another and put it into his pouch. Turning around, he saw the nameless kunoichi once again. She wore a brown trench coat that matched her hair, which was collected into two buns. She wore a pink Chinese shirt and black pants (it seemed that a lot of kunoichis wore black pants). Her eyes were a soft brown.

“Excuse me but are you Uchiha Sasuke?” she asked.

“Yeah. Your name?”

“Oh, that’s a bit rude of me. My name is Tenten.” She quickly looked away. “Do you… Do you meet Neji often?”

“Every now and then…” Sasuke did not like where this was going.

“…Do you think he likes me?”

Sasuke face faulted. He did not need love life problems. He had a big enough one of his own. At least Neji wasn’t that much of a living ice cube, although he did address Tenten as ‘you’. “Sorry Tenten-san, but I he doesn’t confide these things to me.”

“Oh…” she began to leave. “I’ll meet you at the east gate then.”

“Wait,” he called out to her. She turned around.

“What rank are you? You’re not wearing a vest.”

“I’m a chuunin.” And then she walked away.

Sasuke sighed. If this mission was so important, why were they only sending two jounins and two chuunins? It would make much more sense if they sent three jounins and one chuunin, or all jounins for the matter. He began to walk home to prepare his supplies.
East Gate, One Day Later

An hour later, Sasuke was at the east gate, waiting for his teammates. He liked to come early to survey he village and its wildlife. It gave him a reason to come home.

His thoughts flashed pink.

Well, more like one reason.

Neji appeared next to him. “Uchiha.”

Sasuke returned the greeting. “Hyuuga.”

Looking down the road into Konoha, they spotted Tenten calmly walking to them, acting as if they weren’t there. She gently waved her hand at them before joining them at their side.

Now it was just Sakura.

Looking at his surroundings, he searched for her telltale flash of pink hair. Eventually, he caught site of her coldly walking, as if she cared for no one but herself. She walked up to the group.

“Before we start this mission, I want to say something,” Sakura said. “I don’t trust any of you three. If you act suspicious, I will not hesitate to kill you.” She then proceeded to walk out of Konoha via the east gate. Sasuke gave a sigh. She always said that right before a group mission.

Leaving his village behind, he and the two others began to follow after her.

 

[KH Birth By Keep]

Cool!
Great storyline, You put in the best Naruto characters.
10/10

 

[Zanarkand Lover]

Thanks alot! The next chapter should be up tomorrow.

EDIT: Tell people about this! lol

 

[Sephy-kun]

pretty good.........I'd say........about a 8/10

 

[Zanarkand Lover]

Thanks alot! Be sure to keep reading!

 

[Hybrid~Fusion]

Naruto with guns, huh? Let's see how this turns out...