The Ultimate Weapon (Naruto Fanfic)

6-Cows Hiding in Puddles

Aoi stood at the entrance to the village stoically. Tazuna occupied the space to his left and Sasuke was under a tree off to the side. Naruto and Sakura held what passed for a conversation. When Kakashi walked up, he was surprisingly on time. Everyone stared at him, three with expressions of shock, though Sasuke's barely passed as such.

"Ready to go?" Kakashi looked over his team.

They all had their pouches containing scrolls and such, as well as shuriken holsters. Aoi also had his si on him, given back before he had left the Hokage's office. The weapons were a simple burnished bronze in color. The handles were wrapped with a deep blue. Holsters, which were really just two strips of sewn fabric, had the weapons dangling at Aoi's thighs.

They all nodded, Naruto accompanying this with a, "I'm pumped, believe it!" Walking out of the village together, they were soon brought to a halt when Naruto stopped.

"Naruto, what's with the hold-up?" Sakura asked.

Naruto looked at his long-time crush, "well, it's my first time out of the village."

After a brief conversation, they began to walk again. Aoi walked next to Tazuna, while the others were spread out in various places along the path. Aoi paid close attention when Kakashi began to explain the ninja's in various other countries, but it was something he had already learned. Once done with the explination, Kakashi called Aoi to him.

"Aoi, if there is a fight, I don't want you to fight unless I give you permission or you're protecting Tazuna. You cannot kill anyone either."

Aoi looked through his curtain of hair at Kakashi. "Can I ask, why?"

"The other three don't know of your prowess in battle yet, and for as long as possible, I would like to keep it that way. I know you have a mission from the Hokage as well, and I'll allow you to do what you need to for that as well. I don't want you to kill anyone, because it will scare two of them and bring a memory up for one. These are orders, and I expect them to be followed." Kakashi added the last part rather unneccessarily, but Aoi nodded nonetheless.

Glancing at the road ahead, Aoi noticed a puddle a good quarter mile off giving a faint chakra signiture. "What about the shinobi in the puddle?"

"Let's see who they're after first. After that, only act within your bounds." Aoi nodded at Kakashi and increased his pace so he was beside Tazuna again.

The group continued to walk as if nothing had happened. None of the other three noticed anything odd with the puddle, or if they did they didn't show it. Once Kakashi had officially passed the puddle with nothing more than a glance, shinobi arose from it, attacking with their chain. Within moments Kakashi was captured, but before the attack was finished, Kakashi had used his Kawarimi. No one noticed. Sakura and Naruto screamed out his name in utter shock.

Sasuke was already in action. The two rushed Naruto, going for a second kill, but Sasuke had thrown his shurikan and kunai, effectively pinning them to the trunk of a tree. The chain detached from their gauntlets and they split. One ran after Naruto and the other came for Tazuna. Sakura took a stance, and Aoi saw that Sasuke was running over as well. A claw shot towards Naruto, who had frozen in his tracks.

Then the faintest scent pierced Aoi's nose. It was a sharp and bitterly sweet scent that could make one sick with a strong enough wiff. It was poison. Moving quickly, Aoi managed to deflect the claw from it's intended course before it pierced through Naruto. A moment later Kakashi had returned and taken out both shinobi.

"Kakashi-sensei! You're alright!" Sakura shouted out, voicing both the obvious and the thoughts of most of the others.

"Sorry for being late. Sasuke, Sakura, and Aoi, you all did wonderful. Sorry that I didn't come back right away, Naruto, I didn't expect you to freeze up like that." Kakashi calmly said. He then busied himself with tying up the bandits.