Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Smiling Mask of ANBU ❯ A Hate for Traitors ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. The most important thing to you guys in the last chapter seemed to be that Naruto cut his hair. That's it. And just so you guys know, I drank five cups of coffee before I wrote this and it's only now taking affect. Since most of this already happened I'm not going to rewrite it. If you want to know what's happening in each part, go watch the episode.

“Talking”

(Thinking)

{Kyuubi}

“Kyuubi Talking”

 

The Smiling White Mask of Anbu

Chapter 1-A Hate for Traitors; Acceptance

 

Peels of laughter and shouts of rage filled the village of Konoha as Uzumaki Naruto ran from the enraged Chunins, a paint bucket dangling from one hand. Up on a rooftop, well away from the danger, two Anbu watched the chase in amusement. A third Anbu in a Neko mask walked up to them. “What did Taicho do this time?” A soft, feminine voice whispered out.

 

Beside her the Anbu with an Inu mask chuckled and pointed to the left, “Take a look.” Neko turned and winced as she caught sight of the defiled Hokage Monument. “Isn't he overdoing it a bit much?”

 

The one in the Tora mask looked down at the Chunins chasing their Taicho. “Should we help them?” Neko shook her head. “If I thought we could catch him sure. But since I know we can't, I content to sit here and watch Iruka-sensei do it.”

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Naruto sighed from where he sat tied up. If his own team couldn't catch him then how could a Chunin? A Chunin?! It beat all logic! He blinked when he heard the class groan and focused on the memory his mind had automatically captured and filed away. Henge, eh? This would be fun.

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The blonde snickered as he remembered the image of his sensei lying in a small pool of blood from his nosebleed. The male hormonal system was never to be underestimated. He blinked and turned wide, innocent eyes up to the man from where he was scrubbing away the paint he'd put on the Hokage Monument as Iruka-sensei's words slowly filtered in his brain. What was with him today? All the same he smirked when he fully registered the deal. Ramen, eh? Iruka-sensei never learned.

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Iruka stared down at his student in amazement as he gobbled down his food. He shook his head in bemusement and asked the question that had been nagging him all day. He stared at the bright blue eyes as Naruto responded in his overly loud voice that someday he was going to be Hokage and be better than all the previous ones. He wasn't expecting what happened next though.

 

Naruto, staring out at the village, whispered in a soft voice he'd never heard before, “The main job of the Hokage is to protect his village. These are good people Iruka-sensei. Sure, they've made mistakes but it makes them human. I have no right to judge their fate, that's for Enma to do. That's why; I want to protect them while I can. Because even though they've done nothing but spite me they deserve a second chance.”

 

Iruka stared at his student in silent shock, (Naruto…when did you get so wise?) Naruto looked up with a pained smile. “I want to give them that second chance, because, if they can have it, can fix themselves and pull though, then maybe, so can I.” Iruka gave a warm smile, “I'm sure you can Naruto.” The boy gave him a wide smile before he pushed himself off his chair. “I've got to go. There's something I need to do before tomorrow. See you!” He shouted, waving a hand as he ran.

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Saratobi smiled lightly as a shadow appeared in the window ledge. “Good evening, Naruto.” The blonde nodded, slipping easily into the room. “Jiji.” Saratobi's smile widened. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” Naruto moved to lean against the desk and stared at the piles of paperwork both on the floor and on the desk. “Tomorrows the Genin exams.”

 

The Sandaime blinked and looked up. “This is true. Is something wrong?” Naruto looked up, blue eyes shining unnaturally in the dim light. “I believe that there may be in potential traitor in the village. I would like permission to verify if this is truly a threat and, if need be, permission to stop it before it gets out of hand.”

 

Saratobi stared hard at the boy, a frown on his face. Naruto had a thing about traitors. “Permission granted. However, I wonder if letting you take care of it yourself is a good idea.” Naruto gave a grim smile. “I'll keep him in one piece for Ibiki-san Jiji.”

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So, he failed. On purpose. It wasn't all that hard. His chaotic chakra made it easy to overload the rather simple Bunshin jutsu. So he put on the disappointed mask and walked over to the school swing, sliding onto it. He stared out at the children who had graduated with what could be a face that resembled a kicked puppy but inside he was laughing his head off. They were taught in the Academy that a good shinobi could see underneath the underneath but the sensei's never bothered to do it themselves. The idiots.

 

“Naruto, can I talk to you for a minute?” The blonde turned his head, resisting the urge to snarl. Mizuki, he'd thought as much. He nodded, standing and following with the grace that had told the Sandaime and his team that he was pissed and so was tightly controlling his movements. Mizuki didn't notice. Like he had said, the idiots.

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Naruto stared at the scroll in front of him. The forbidden scroll of all things. Naruto snorted as he stared at it. He probably knew most of these. All the same he snapped open the scroll and read through it. His mind automatically separated the information, merging the information with jutsu he already knew and filing the ones he didn't know away to be looked at later. It was one of the advantages of having a photographic memory.

 

He stopped and rolled it back up when he felt someone approach. Another few feet and he identified the person. (Damn it! I don't need Iruka-sensei here right now.) If Iruka was here when Mizuki showed up things could get drastically out of hand. It might even reveal some unfortunate truths. (Like my status as something more than just an academy student.) He thought grimly.

 

All the same he put on his stupid act when the Chunin arrived. “Heh heh, I found you, Iruka-sensei!” He shouted with glee, inwardly resisting the urge to gag. That sounded just a bit too sweet. He winced lightly when Iruka's fist hit his head. “Idiot! I found you!”

 

Naruto let out a nervous chuckle. “Same difference.” Why did he put himself through this? Oh yeah, being smart and interesting was what made him the emotional wreck he was. He mentally shook his head to clear out the thoughts before he turned the tables against Mizuki. If he was going to be a fucking idiot then he was going to be a trusting fucking idiot. He almost let his grin turn a bit sadistic when he saw the look on Iruka's face.

 

His head turned slightly as the sound of shuriken cutting through the air met his ears. So Mizuki was here, eh? The idiotic grin melted off his face and with it the dobe façade. He grabbed the hand that slammed into his chest and pulled Iruka out off harms way with him. He'd be damned if he let one of the two people he considered precious be hurt.

 

Naruto looked over at the Chunin and handed him the forbidden scroll as he stood. “Hold this.” He whispered in a soft but deadly voice. Iruka blinked up at his student. “Naruto?” The blonde turned and gazed coldly at Mizuki. “You know, I was going to let you off easy. But you put Iruka-sensei in danger. Bad idea.” He whispered lowly. The soft voice he was using was a carry over from his pre-Itachi days and he used it now as an Anbu. It was one of his trade marks. He learned that hearing what sounded like the voice of a child from behind the stoic Anbu mask tended to freak people out. He thought it was funny.

 

Naruto shook his head as he walked forward, as if he was disappointed. “You know, you picked the wrong person to pick as your tool. I'm not really fond of traitors. Nor am I innocent or an academy student.” He could feel the weight of the two man's gazes resting on him. Iruka was staring at him in confusion and concern while Mizuki's gaze was dark and disgusted.

 

The shock faded almost immediately as Mizuki smirked and proclaimed, “So you admit it. You know the truth. The truth that the reason this village hates you is because-” Iruka snapped to the present to shout out. “Mizuki don't!” The idiot didn't listen. “The Yondaime sealed the nine-tailed fox into you. You are the Fox!” After that Mizuki started to laugh hysterically.

 

What neither men seemed to realize was that Naruto was still standing there, calm and unfazed by what should have been the greatest secret of his life. Finally unable to take it Naruto rolled his eyes and stated in an annoyed voice, “Oh, shut up.” Mizuki's laughter died off as Naruto stared at him unwavering.

 

Finally Naruto raised a closed hand and said in a patient slightly condescending tone one would use when talking to a child who couldn't understand the simplest of problems. “One, the Yondaime, Yondaime, sealed Kyuubi into me. He was one, no, the best seal master Konoha has ever had. He knew what he was doing, Kyuubi isn't coming out. Two, Kyuu' been stuck in my head for, oh, twelve years. People tend to grow on you after a period of time and Kyuu's very protective of me. Thus he shares in my dislike of traitors. Three, since Kyuu' shares in my dislike of traitors if I really was him you'd be in pieces right now. When you think about its pretty obvious that I'm not the Kyuubi.”

 

The two men stared at him in shock. Naruto blinked large, expensive blue eyes at the both of them. “What?” Iruka stared at him in surprise and if the situation weren't so serious and he not so shocked he probably would have laughed. Only Naruto could go from being deadly serious to innocently confused in a second. But he did manage to stutter out, “Y-you know about the Kyuubi.” Naruto looked at him and waved a dismissive hand, “Known since I was six.”

 

Mizuki growled, “I'll kill you, you damn fox!” He shouted, throwing the giant shuriken attached to his back. “Naruto, move!” But the blonde didn't move, just continued to stand there. Iruka looked like he was going to jump in when Naruto ducked down so the shuriken could pass harmlessly over his head. Naruto didn't let it get that far. He reached up as it passed and grabbed it in the middle, letting the force spin him around like a top as he pushed up. By the time he'd stopped spinning he was facing Mizuki and the weapon was held in his right hand off to the side.

 

When Naruto spoke it was in a soft but clear tone. “Mizuki, Chunin sensei of Konohagakura no Sato in the land of Hi no Kuni, you are being charged with treason against the shinobi village of Konohagakura no Sato, attempted murder of Umino Iruka, Chunin sensei of Konohagakura no Sato in the land of Hi no Kuni, and the attempted murder of Kazama Uzumaki Naruto, Anbu Captain of Konohagakura no Sato in the land of Hi no Kuni. How do you plead?” Mizuki growled and lunged at him. “Go to hell!”

 

Cold blue eyes narrowed, “Bad idea.” Naruto whispered. He grabbed the hand holding the kunai as it came down at him and pulled, using the man's momentum against him. Mizuki landed rather painfully and was twisted so he was facing the sky. Before he could move again he found a kunai pressed against his throat. “I'll say it again. Mizuki you have been charged with treason and two counts of attempted murder. How do you plead?”

 

Mizuki spit at him. Naruto frowned in disgust and spun the kunai in his hand before slamming the hoop at the end into the side of his neck, knocking the silver-haired man unconscious. He stood, letting the kunai drop and bury in the ground by Mizuki's head, and wiped the spit from his face. “Detain him and inform Ibiki that he has a new test subject.”

 

Three Anbu slid from the trees and landed in front of the blonde. “Hai Taicho.” They chorused and picked up the body before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Naruto sighed and turned, locking eyes with Iruka as he did. Time seemed to freeze for a moment as they stared at each other. Finally Naruto let out a growl. “Damn it! You weren't supposed to see that. You weren't even supposed to be here! Damn this is going to cause way too much paperwork.”

 

Iruka stared at the boy in front of him in surprise before taking a deep breath and shifting into a sitting position. “So I take it your not an academy student.” Naruto stops and turns towards him, his blue eyes seeming tired and dead. “No.” Iruka nodded and stood up, walking forward. “Close your eyes.” He whispered softly.

 

Naruto stared at him for a minute before relenting and closing his eyes. He could hear the faint rustle of clothe and felt the goggles he wore being pulled off so something-smoother, lighter- can replace it. He doesn't even have to open his eyes to know what it is. “Okay.” He heard Iruka say.

 

His eyes fluttered open to stare at Iruka, who's suddenly missing his headband. He doesn't have to guess to know where it is. A soft, real smile crosses his face as he stares at the third person who's ever bothered to get close to him, the second to do so of his own free will. He takes the steps needed until he can wrap his arms around the older man. “Thank you.”

 

He steps back after a minute to smile sadly. “It's called a report. It's something I should get to work on.” Iruka nods and smiles himself, before gently escorting the boy to the Hokage's tower. Something tells him its going to be a long night.