Espada

Outside of Konoha

Hinata looked at Neji who looked constipated. Today Team 9 will be working together with Team 7 and she has heard enough horror stories about Maito Gai's enthusiasm to be wary of meeting the man. She looked at Rock Lee and Higurashi Tenten who smiled at her awkwardly while Gai insisted on competitive training with a reluctant Kakashi.

Sasuke studied the Rookie of the Year before him. Neji looked capable and he wondered how his Interceptor Fist measured against the Juuken. Itachi said it was a stalemate whenever a Sharingan user met a Byakugan user. His team was a miracle.

Tenten eyed the mysterious Hokage's son. She stared at his blade and asked, "Can I see it?" He looked at her and she gestured at his back, "Your sword, can I see it? The craftsmanship is unlike anything I have ever seen,"

Naruto blushed from the telltale of the skin under his eyes. He shook his head and Tenten pouted, "Why not? It's so beautiful and so big!" She pointed, "And the Hiraishin kunai attached to the butt cap is so cute!"

Naruto drifted behind Hinata and hid his burning face with his hood. Tenten might not know this but complimenting the Zanpakutou is complimenting the owner. The Zanpakutou is an extension of his soul after all.

Kakashi, who knew everything, was dying from not laughing.

Hinata glared at Tenten, "Tenten-san, please stop. You are making Naruto-kun uncomfortable," She said all this while smiling sweetly though the veins of her Byakugan swelled from repressed anger. For some reason watching Naruto becoming flustered by another girl irked her.

Sasuke sighed on the side, "Tenten-san, please stop,"

Tenten blushed, "So-sorry. I'm just enthusiastic about good weapons. I have never seen anything like his sword. It's so...hypnotic,"

Naruto sighed and draw his Zanpakutou. The two teams looked at the blade and gasped. Tenten was tempted to take the sword and hide away with it forever. Neji stared at the unique wave patterns that swirled down the body of the katana, just like whirlpools. Rock Lee doesn't get it but he agreed that it's the most 'youthful' sword he had ever seen in his life. Sasuke wondered where Naruto find such an artwork. Hinata admired the whorls on the sword and whispered, "It's like an octopus's tentacle,"

Naruto nodded, "Akkorokamui's an octopus,"

"Akkorokamui?"

"His name,"

Tenten hummed, "That's a weird name to name a sword. Don't 'kamui' usually refer to a deity of sorts? Won't you get cursed using that kind of name?"

Naruto stared at her, "I didn't name him,"

Before he could confuse them more, Kakashi declared a competitive treasure hunt around Konoha. The two Jounin then disappeared to prepare for their treasure hunt. When they returned, they told the two teams to start on opposite ends of the village and those who found the most items and clues will win. They quickly left for their designated beginning position.

It started simple enough but slowly became more and more complicated. Hinata was relied on the most to explain things to either Naruto or Sasuke to make sense of the few riddles left for them. Some of them were challenging, like stealing a dango from Anko of all people. They let Naruto do the stealing and hightailed it out of her range though they can hear her cursing all the way over. Naruto felt like his days were numbered and already planned to apologize with sticks of homemade dango to placate her with.

They draw the line at stealing Ichiraku Ramen's secret family recipes but left a mark that they have been there so that Teuchi would know to better hide his family's treasured recipes.