Chapter 7
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Chapter 7


"Now that we have that over with, I'd like everyone here to reconvene at the special ANBU Training Ground 23 at exactly 2100 hours. Is that understood?" The Hokage spoke as he looked at all his soldiers.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," came a chorus of replies.

"Dismissed," Kakashi, Shikaku, and Ryu immediately Shunshined out while Ken and Hinoko walked out after a bow.

As soon as they were out of the office, Hinoko turned to Ken with a smile and stuck her hand out. "I look forward to working with you, Ken," she said professionally.

Ken also smiled, remembering when he was first placed on a Special Forces team. Ah, the memories of working on all those illegal missions. "Likewise, Hinoko," he said as he took her hand firmly and shook. "How would you like to join my brother and I for some ramen at Ichiraku's? My treat."

Hinoko's eyebrows rose at being invited to eat out. She had a slightly tomboyish and introverted personality; therefore, she had never really made any friends during her academy years. Being invited out by someone her own age was a first. "I'd… like that very much."

Ken's smile grew wider at her answer. "Cool. My brother is seated just around the corner. Let's be on our way."

Hinoko nodded and followed Ken as he led her. As they stepped around the corner, Ken's eyebrow rose at the scene. There was Naruto. Yep, nothing out of the ordinary. There was another boy with a… was that stupid looking thing a helmet? And he was also wearing a blue scarf that was at least 7 sizes too long for him. Still, this would be normal… IF Naruto wasn't holding said boy by the collar of his shirt and glaring at him.

"Do you know who I am?" the little boy seemed to be saying. "I'm the Third Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru!" he exclaimed.

"I don't give a shit if you're the Fourth Hokage's grandson! Don't accuse me of something I didn't do!" Naruto shouted back at him and tumped him on his headtop.

It was at that moment when another shinobi with a black bandana and black sunglasses came up behind the two new ANBU recruits. "Honourable Grandson! Are you safe?" he asked. His eyes roved over to the blond and narrowed. The shinobi walked over to Konohamaru and took him by the hand. "Come, Honourable Grandson. You should not be associating with… this demon," he spat out the last word in disgust.

Ken narrowed his eyes. That was the wrong thing to say, "So sad that some people can differentiate between a kunai and scroll with a kunai sealed in it," Ken shook his head. "Let's go Naruto. We're going for some ramen!" He said cheerfully as he simultaneously started planning a murder in the back of his mind.

"Hai!" Naruto shouted in glee.

Ken quickly introduced Hinoko and Naruto to each other and the trio started on the walk towards Ichiraku's. During the trip, Ken stayed oddly silent which didn't go unnoticed by Naruto. Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto decided to ask his big brother about it later. All the while, Ken was tweaking his knowledge of hiding a body to fit this world better.

I guess I can just burn the body using a Katon jutsu… but that would be very flashy. Can't use acid because that would create smoke… I'll have to cut up the body and hide the parts differently. I'll tail him for a day maybe and see his personal schedule… no, wait… I'll kill him while he's in the washroom taking a shower. But the bang from the gun… guess I'll put a silencing seal over the gun. But again, there's still the bullet hole. Wait… if I take out the bullet and only fire the gun as is, all that hydrogen gas will combust right on his face. This really is something to think about. Great, more work. No! It's all to protect Naruto, at that moment, said boy's voice broke Ken out of his stupor.

"Ne, Nii-san!" called out Naruto as he ran ahead and stopped before Ken in the middle of the road.

Ken looked to Hinoko who was at his side and raised an eyebrow as if to ask, "What the hell is he doing?" Hinoko merely shrugged, answering the unvoiced question.

"Watch this. My new, original, Sexy Jutsu!" Naruto shouted and in the middle of the crowded ass street, transformed into a completely naked (he assumed it was naked since the privates were covered by smoke) female version of Naruto. "Hey," the blonde seductively said, "I'm Naruko Uzumaki. What would you like, sweetie?" He (she?) continued as she kept walking with unparalleled grace towards Ken. Naruko raised her hand and caressed Ken's cheek, "Would like dinner, a bath, or… me?" Countless number of men that were standing frozen on the street flew into the air with huge nosebleeds because of the sexy performance they had just seen, while their wives/girlfriends glared (10% angry, 90% jealous) at the blonde.

Hinoko stood there, frozen and speechless at the seductiveness that Naruko had just demonstrated, while Ken merely looked at the blonde with a raised eyebrow. They stood like that for a few seconds before Ken smirked. "I've gotta say Naruto, that was some amazing acting. Even the henge is flawless! Too bad this can't be used in the field." Naruko looked up at Ken and cutely pouted.

"What!?" She shouted. "Why not!?"

"Because, even if it's flawless, it's merely a henge," Ken lifted his hand and made to grope the little prankster in front of him. "If anyone tried to touch, their hands would just… pass… through?" His statement ended as a weak question as he felt a heavenly feeling on the palm of his hand. "What the fuck!? Why can I touch your boob? This is supposed to be a henge!" Shouted Ken in an extremely rare case of losing his calm.

"Uh…" Naruko said, now confused. "It is."

Ken's eyes narrowed questioningly before his eyes widened. "No… way…" He realized what was happening and slapped his head. He had been doing it too the whole time. How had he not realized this before!? Oversaturation of chakra made the technique a ninjutsu instead of a genjutsu. Damn… "Hinoko," he spoke seriously as he turned to the actual female. "You are not to speak about this to anyone but the Hokage. Understood?" Hinoko nodded, taken aback by the commanding tone in his voice. "Naruto revert back and let's get on our way to the ramen stand. I'll explain on the way there."

As they neared the ramen stand, Ken finished his lengthy explanation on the theory of Naruto's new technique, all the while laughing gleefully in the back of his mind at the number of opportunities that opened up. He wouldn't kill the shinobi who insulted Naruto in the shower. Oh, no… Ken would kill him at a much more embarrassing time.

While eating, Naruto again kept talking animatedly as Ken and Hinoko smiled and nodded at the hyperactive blond, occasionally adding some comments or laughing at a joke he made. As he ate, Ken noticed the glares of the villagers again. But… something felt off. Usually, 60% of them were directed towards Naruto and the rest towards Ken. Right now, though, it seemed like they were being directed towards all three of them. Well, well, well, looks like our little Hinoko-chan has dirty little secrets of her own.

"Naruto, why don't you go home first. I'll walk Hinoko-chan home and then I have something important for Jiji," Ken said to Naruto as he paid for their meal. He immediately raised a hand seeing as how Naruto was about to protest. "I promise I'll be back before you go to sleep, and I'll tell you the secret today for sure. Please, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded, "Fine…" he said while pouting.

"Oh c'mon, don't be like that… I'll teach you something new tomorrow," and that was all the incentive that Naruto needed for his mood to do a total 180.

"Deal!" he shouted as he bounced away right after giving Ken a quick hug. "I'll see at home, Nii-san!" he said over his shoulder.

Ken sighed, muttering something about hyperactive blonds, and turned to Hinoko after he watched Naruto turn the corner. "Shall we be on our way, Hinoko-chan?"

"S-Sure…" Hinoko stuttered, still shy at Ken's use of the 'chan' honorific at the end of her name.

The newly-minted ANBU duo walked in comfortable silence until Ken finally spoke. "So why do the villagers hate you?"

Hinoko almost tripped on her own feet but quickly balanced herself. "W-What?" she asked looking at Ken with wide fearful eyes.

And that just about confirms it! Ken thought as he saw her reaction. "I saw the glares. They're usually only directed towards Naruto or me… but today they were split evenly between the three of us." Seeing as how they were standing in the middle of the street, Ken motioned with his hand for her to follow him. Hinoko didn't speak a word until they finally arrived at what was an empty playground. He walked over and plopped down on a swing. Ken waved towards the one beside him. "Come, sit."

Hinoko just stared wordlessly. "We're shinobi, Ken. ANBU now. The most elite. The most dangerous," Hinoko deadpanned.

"And I'm still 12 and I'll be damned if I can't act my age," Ken replied as if he had already been anticipating what Hinoko had said. "Now come sit with me. I have a feeling it's going to be a long story." Hinoko shrugged and plopped down just like Ken had on another swing. "Don't feel rushed. Take your time." Ken remembered something and quickly made a shadow clone to go talk to the Hokage, earning a questioning look from Hinoko but nothing else.

After a few long minutes, Hinoko finally spoke. "My mother died the day I was born. My father raised me until I was eight years old. We lived in a small modest home. I'd say we were the very definition of a middle-class family. Even though I didn't have a mum, my dad never let me feel the absence of one. To me, he was… is the best dad in the world. But then one day when he was on a mission and… well… something happened. No one knows what exactly happened, but it wasn't his fault. He was… he was…"

Seeing Hinoko start to hyperventilate, Ken calmly stood up from his spot. He walked over to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Breathe, Hinoko-chan." Hinoko looked up, somewhat startled at the redhead in front of her. Her breath hitched at the smile that was on his face. So comforting and understanding, yet so full of authority and confidence. She nodded and also got up from the swing. Ken led them to a bench off to the side and let her continue.

"He was a fresh Jonin on a mission with three other experienced Elite Jonins. Apparently, it was a clandestine op, so all the information was destroyed but, on their way back, they had found a small secluded hut. According to my dad, the story goes that when they checked inside the hut, they saw a bunch of women. All completely naked, underfed, and scared. It was obvious that they were victims of human trafficking and… well… my dad and the others, being Konoha ninja, decided to help. After that, he said that everything was a blur but when he stumbled in through the village gates, days after the expected arrival time, he was under a heavy dosage of drugs. It took a week to get him back to health. After that, the interrogation started. When Konoha sent more shinobi to investigate said hut, they found the other three Elite Jonin brutally murdered and all the women raped, sadistically tortured, and killed in cold blood. The blame fell on my father because they found memories of him murdering the shinobi in his head and he was executed. Ever since then…" she trailed off.

"The villagers have always only seen your dad. Not you," Ken finished for her. She bit her lip and nodded. He honestly found it very impressive that she had not shed a single tear for the duration of the story. He turned to her and looked her in the eye. "But, I see you for who you are." He said with conviction in his voice. "You are going to be my comrade, my teammate, and I trust you with my life, Hinoko-chan. And now that we're teammates, we have to stick up for each other. Anytime you have any problems, I'll be here to help you. And when I'm here, Naruto is also here. You can count on both of us!"

Hinoko just kept staring at Ken with disbelieving eyes. She had told Ken about her life because if he had any qualms about being on the same team as her, he'd get it solved and over with. She had expected him to look at her with disgust and hatred. She was used to it, after all. But what she did not expect was for him to extend a supporting hand for her. Hinoko had never expected that someone would see her for her and not her father. She kept staring, looking for the slightest twitch in his face that would indicate a lie. When none came, she let her emotions roll free. Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. "Thank you," she spoke in a voice that even Ken had to strain his ears for. "Thank you. Thank you so much, Ken," she said, this time a bit louder and smiled brightly at him.

Ken smiled back and put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "That's what friends are for right?" Ken said with a charming smile.

BA-DUMP went her heart as she felt her face growing hot. "H-Hai!" Hinoko said with a blush that'd make Hinata proud.

Ken grinned inwardly at his plan flawlessly succeeding. Unresolved issues between teammates would only bring difficulties during missions. Not only that but if he seduced her enough, she'd be more susceptible to his manipulation which would be very useful in the future.

Ken and Hinoko spent the rest of the evening talking to each other and just hanging out in general before making their way towards the meeting point. They got there fifteen minutes early, but it seemed like everyone was already there… even Kakashi!

"I'm glad we're all here. Let's get this over with as quickly as possible," the Hokage said as soon as Ken and Hinoko reached them. "I have called you here mainly for Hinoko and Ken to display their abilities to each other since they will be on the same team. We will start with Hinoko." Hiruzen quickly explained to Hinoko to show the people around them 100% of her abilities using a training post.

She walked over and stood at a distance of fifty meters and pointed at the training post. Seconds later, a yellow light glowed at her fingertips and a chakra needle shot out, effectively putting a clean hole through it. "My chakra needles can be controlled in the air also. Not only that, but their size and what they do can also be changed. For example, if I want to make them paralyze or kill someone."

"Wow! That's actually so impressive," Ken said honestly. "It's a long-ranged attack that can be controlled and the only limitation you have is the amount of chakra and the number of fingers you possess. Hell, if you improve the speed, you might even be able to compare it to my pistol!"

"Your… what?" Hinoko asked, to which the Hokage cleared his throat.

"I am also impressed by your strength Hinoko-san. And your assessment was spot on, Ken-kun. Now we shall see how you have been doing with the Uzu 19," Hiruzen said and Hinoko moved out of the field and Ken took his spot. "Hinoko-san."

"Hai, Hokage-sama?"

"Watch very carefully. A few months ago, Ken-kun developed a new type of weapon by himself and he aspires to make it standard issue within our forces. This will be your first S-rank secret."

Hinoko's eyes widened. Developing a new type of attack was understandable. After all, she had also done that, but developing a whole new weapon? At this age? That was totally unheard of. She looked intently to where Ken was standing and saw Kakashi get ready for an attack.

Kakashi reached into his pouch and let five shurikens fly towards Ken. In less than two seconds, five loud bangs rang out and broken pieces of the shuriken fell to the ground.

"W-wait! What happened?" Hinoko asked as all she saw the shuriken fly at a speed only Jonin could throw at, and then sparks – which meant that they obviously collided with something.

"That, Hinoko-san, was the power of the pistol. Granted, it really depends on the ability and marksmanship of the person wielding it, but in the hands of someone like Ken-kun or Kakashi, it would be a force to be reckoned with," Hiruzen explained and gestured for the two shinobi to stop. As they joined them, Hiruzen began, "Kakashi, you've been taking the gun out to assassination missions. What is your evaluation?"

"Hokage-sama, I'd have to say… it's amazing!" Kakashi looked at Ken and saw a happy, relieved smile on his face. He smiled back and continued, "Honestly, I love it! It complements my Sharingan perfectly. I can aim much quicker and the targets never even see the projectile coming at them. Though the shower of blood afterward is a bit of a hassle to deal with, the speed at which it finishes the job more than makes up for it." The Hokage nodded with a small smile and turned to the ANBU Commander next.

"And what is your evaluation Ryu?"

"Hokage-sama, as I don't have the Sharingan, the marksmanship took me some time to get down, but it was easy enough. The only setback I see is the loud noise it produces. This weapon cannot be used in covert missions," Ryu finished.

"Actually, I was planning on putting silencing seals on them too. That will definitely solve the problem.," Ken spoke up.

"Interesting," Hiruzen said as he rubbed his chin. "And when might you be able to finish that by?"

"Maybe uuuuhh like two weeks?" Ken said with a contemplative expression.

Shikaku, who had been calmly observing everything till now finally spoke up. "Two weeks? You're really that proficient in Fuuinjutsu?"

"Nah, I use clones. Hehe, good thing they don't have any clone abuse law or anything."

"Well," Hiruzen began. "That is good to hear. Now if we're all done-," he was abruptly cut off by Ken.

"Actually, Jiji. I have a couple more jutsus I was hoping to show you. May I?" He asked politely.

"Of course, go ahead," the Hokage answered.

Ken nodded his thanks and again, walked into the middle of the clearing. "Kakashi-san, can you please come here also? I'd like to try this on you," he said to Kakashi. The copy ninja merely raised his one visible eyebrow but complied nonetheless. "Alright, if it gets too much for you, please raise your right hand."

"… okay?" Kakashi half asked. After all, how much damage can a fresh academy student do to an Elite Jonin?

Ken smiled as he dropped to one knee and put both hands in a Ram sign. He scrunched his brow and the others could see sweat slowly start to roll down the side of his face showing just how much he was concentrating. Kakashi lifted his Hitai-ate to reveal his Sharingan in order to see what Ken was doing. As he watched, Ken spread his chakra throughout the clearing, enveloping both him and Kakashi. A second later, Kakashi dropped to his knees and started wheezing. The Elite Jonin gasped for air, but instead, he just lost what was in his lungs. Immediately Kakashi put his right hand up, telling Ken to stop. Ken let go of the oxygen that he had pulled towards him and Kakashi finally gasped, taking in gulps of the life-saving gas.

"What… What the hell was that?" he croaked out to Ken as the Hokage and the ANBU Commander appeared in a Shunshin beside him.

"Are you okay, Kakashi?" Hiruzen asked, putting a comforting hand on Kakashi's shoulder

"Y-Yeah. Just need a sec to catch my breath… no pun intended," Ken who heard that chuckled from afar.

"Nice one, Kakashi-san. So? What'd you think?" Ken asked as he also appeared in a Shunshin in front of the Sharingan user.

"What was that, Ken-kun? What did you do?" Hiruzen asked. His inner professor slowly rose from its slumber, thirsting for more knowledge.

"How about you tell me what it looked like, and then I'll tell you how right or wrong you are. I'll also tell you how exactly I did that," Ken said to the Hokage as he figured that would be the best way to gauge how quickly his enemies would figure out his moves on the real battlefield.

"… Very well," Hiruzen nodded as Kakashi go to his feet. "It looked like your chakra invaded Kakashi's body and did damage to it."

"I think you pulled all the air out of my lungs," Kakashi added his thoughts.

"I believe you pulled away all the air from around Kakashi," Shikaku said as he also appeared.

"Hmm… Out of all you, Shikaku-san is the closest but still not completely correct," Ken said as he rubbed his jaw. "Remember how I explained that oxygen thing to you all when I showed you that fireball thing?" Everyone nodded as Hiruzen's eyes showed mild amusement at how Ken childishly explained it. Little did he know, Ken did that on purpose as to not come off as too smart. "Well," Ken began again, "I spread my chakra through the air – just like Kirigakure no Jutsu – and pulled all the oxygen towards me and the edge of the boundary acted as a barrier to keep more oxygen from outside from flowing in. I'm guessing if a Hyuuga tried to see the technique, all they would see is a haze. Anyway, when I did that, Kakashi-san couldn't breathe anymore." The way that Ken explained all that with a smile made all the adults question Ken's sanity. "If it was an enemy, I could've just pulled all the air and make a vacuum – though, that takes A LOT of concentration. The general belief is that chakra by itself cannot fill a vacuum but I realized a few months ago that that is wrong. Chakra can fill a vacuum but to do that, you'd need to oversaturate the place with it. Only people with large reserves – like myself, Naruto, Jiji, or Jiraiya-sama – can do it. Of course, since we don't want to kill Kakashi-san, I merely pulled the oxygen. Though… I need more practice because doing this takes too long, and any half-decent chakra sensor would easily recognize my chakra around them way before I even start doing anything. And secondly, this could easily be used as a… um…" Ken scratched his head as he tried to find a way to explain. "As a… sort of a… mass-knockout technique, y'know?"

"Why am I even surprised anymore?" Hiruzen murmured under his breath just loud enough for the other Jonin to hear. He was about to praise Ken but quickly bit his tongue. "I see. Thank you for sharing that with us, Ken-kun."

Ken grinned brightly. "No problem, Jiji!"

"Very well then. That will be all. Ken, Hinoko, you will report to my office at 0900 hours tomorrow and will be picked up by your team captain. Dismissed," The Hokage said and he Shunshined away. As did Kakashi, Shikaku, and Ryu merely seconds afterward.

Ken and Hinoko stood there for a moment, organizing everything that just happened. Finally, Ken broke the silence. "Hinoko-chan, did it look like they were all in a bit of rush?"

"Yes, in fact, that's exactly what I was thinking. Still… to develop a whole new weapon. You're a genius, aren't you?" Hinoko asked with a smirk on her face.

Ken chuckled. "Not at all, Hinoko-chan. I just love having fun. That's all! Well actually that, and I'm lazy as hell," he answered, making Hinoko laugh at the nonchalant way he dismissed a weapon of mass destruction.

Ken walked Hinoko back to her apartment and waved goodbye as he made his way towards the ROOT headquarters. Let's see how far they got, thought Ken as he contemplated how to tell Naruto his secret.

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