Chapter 5: Expanding the Order

Sorry for the long wait folks. I just couldn't write at all for some reason. I just kept staring at my chapters, trying to write, and yet my body would turn over to Netflix and pop on Danny Phantom or Futurama.

But, I finally got off my lazy ass, and got to work! And here are the fruits of my labor!

I hope you all enjoy this chapter. And if not, let me know how I can improve. In a constructive manner that is.

In other news, John the Angel is looking for a beta for his upcoming NarutoxInheritance Cycle crossover. If you're interested, please give him a PM.

And now, on with the show!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Assassin's Creed. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Ubisoft respectively.

Chapter 5

Expanding the Order

Raphael sighed quietly as he read over a scroll on element manipulation while sitting on his bed. It had been two weeks since he had learned the truth about Naruto. He had taken him out to get groceries, only to be disgusted with some of the glares and cold indifferent glances the boy had gotten. When they arrived at the grocery store, Raphael had been initially expecting to find out that the clerks and such overcharged him for his food. But as it turned out, that wasn't the case. The reason Naruto stocked up on ramen was because it was very cheap to buy it in bulk. Naruto simply bought ramen so he could have a lot of food, and could put away the rest as an emergency fund or to buy new sets of clothes and other necessities.

Raphael promised Naruto from then on he would help pay for half of Naruto's grocery bill so Naruto could keep saving his money.

Since then, Naruto had been eating more healthy food, though he was still allowed to have ramen every now and then during the week. He had also taken to bringing Tomo along to their training sessions each morning. The little fox kit eagerly ran around, exploring and enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. When Naruto would do his laps, Tomo would chase after him, yipping excitedly. Afterwards the fox kit would sit under a tree, watching Naruto go through his taijutsu training. Naruto would alternate sparring with Raphael and Anko, who was still training Raphael in the ninja arts. That training was starting to draw to a close though, as Anko had been charged with covering the basics of the main ninja arts, and then Raphael would be able to work on his own form there.

Yugito had also taken to joining their training sessions, since she didn't really know anyone else in Konoha. Since she was a probationary chuunin, and formerly from another village, she hadn't been given any missions yet beyond some patrols through the village. She would probably also be sent on very basic C-ranked missions, involving bandit clearing or escorts well within the borders of Fire Country.

Raphael had pulled her aside, and quietly mentioned to her how he knew about her tenant. When she had stiffened, he quickly re-assured her that he didn't think any less of her, and in fact his respect for her had increased, since baring such power was a huge burden and responsibility.

Naruto's training had been progressing nicely so far. He was gaining a firm grasp on the basics of the taijutsu style Raphael was teaching him, and was working hard to master the basics, as well as strengthen his body to better absorb damage. He also was still learning chess, and while he was a still far away from winning a match, he was getting the hang of it.

Raphael set aside his scroll as he sat back, contemplating his future training with Naruto. Naruto so far was showing potential to be an Assassin. He was a quick learner, he was starting to become fast and agile, but what had impressed him was when he first met the boy. He had been willing to stand up to three older bullies to help someone in need, even when it was obvious he had no chance of winning. It was a quality that could make him a good Assassin, provided he could also gain the right mindset. While the Assassin's did stand against injustices, they were not noble knights or champions. Their goal was to safeguard the freedom of humanity from the shadows. To protect it against those who manipulated humanity from the shadows, and thought to take their lives and freedom from them. It was not their place to right every wrong and punish every evil-doer, as some crimes were better left to those whose job it was to handle such criminals and problems.

However, Raphael knew his time with Naruto would be limited soon. In six or seven months, Naruto would be entering the Shinobi Academy, to begin training to be a shinobi of Konoha. Raphael intended, if Naruto continued to show the promise he had seen so far, to offer Naruto the chance to become an Assassin before that point in time. If Naruto accepted, then Raphael needed to know what Naruto would be learning in the Academy, so that he could plan accordingly. It would be redundant of him to plan to teach Naruto skills that the Academy might teach Naruto anyways. Perhaps the Hokage could provide him with a general overview of what the Academy taught its students?

Getting up, he stretched his back before glancing at his Assassin robes sitting on a clothing/armor stand he had found in an antique store. He glanced at the robes, then out the window of his bedroom at the people below. He grinned as he donned his crimson robes and slid out the window, climbing up to the roof of his building. While he now was more than capable of scaling the side of the building using chakra, there was no harm in keeping his skills sharp. There could come a time where he couldn't climb with chakra, and thus would need to rely on the skills drilled into him by his mentor, Ezio.

Reaching the roof, he grinned as he ran towards the edge and leapt off, sailing through the air and landing on an adjacent roof. Feeling the familiar rush of excitement and adrenaline that came with running from rooftop to rooftop, he quickly made his way towards the Academy, occasionally using chakra to boost his jumps when he came to gaps that were too far for even him.

About ten minutes later he found himself perched on a rooftop opposite the Academy. He crouched down, studying the building.

It was a large affair, actually being more than one building. In fact, there were at least three that he could see, with each building being three stories in height. There were also a few training fields attached to the buildings, where he could see some young children busy running laps, sparring with taijutsu, and practicing with kunai and shuriken.(1)

Raphael studied the students outside the Academy first, seeing what they were being taught and such. The students working out were currently running laps around the field in formation. Some of them seemed out of breath, while others were still maintaining a steady rate of breathing.

His eyes then moved to the taijutsu sparring ring. In it two boys were currently sparring. One of them had long brown hair and wore what looked like bandages tied around his forehead. He was currently decimating the other boy, who had untamed black hair and rather sizeable eyebrows. Eventually he was knocked from the ring, as the brown haired boy was declared the victor. The instructor seemed to talk to them a bit, before the two boys shook hands, though only the black haired one seemed willing to do it.

He then turned his gaze towards the third group that was practicing with what appeared to be kunai and shuriken. Some of them were standing in a row, throwing shuriken at target posts. Others were being led through different attacks and blocks with their kunai by their chuunin instructor. Raphael tilted his head as he continued to watch their movements, before turning his gaze towards the buildings. Sadly, he couldn't see much from here, other then there were numerous students in several of the classrooms he could see into through the windows. Most were busy either listening to a chuunin teach them, or were reading their text books.

Raphael studied them for a bit. There seemed to be a far greater amount inside the classrooms then there were outside at the moment. That puzzled him. They were training to be shinobi, so why were the majority of them inside listening to lectures and such? Perhaps he was missing something, and the lectures were on the use of chakra, and various ninjutsu they might encounter and/or use in their careers. Deciding to get a full picture from the Hokage, he turned his gaze towards the Hokage's Tower, before nodding. He immediately began his run towards the tower.

Sarutobi sighed quietly as he worked on some documents. The one he was on currently was a requisition for funds to expand civilian housing in the northeastern district of Konoha. Sarutobi denied it, as that would expand it into one of the Training Grounds for Shinobi.

He sighed as he sat back, rubbing his temples. Some of this paperwork was just getting ridiculous. At times it felt like the civilians were purposefully trying to push the Shinobi, to see how far they could go. He blamed the Nidaime Hokage, for creating the stupid Civilian Council in the first place.

He looked up as his secretary opened the door. "Hokage-sama? Raphael-san is here to see you," she said.

Sarutobi blinked before nodding. "Please send him in," he said, wondering what Raphael wanted, and wanted a distraction from his paperwork.

Raphael entered and nodded to Sarutobi. "Hokage-sama," he said. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I have a request I'd like to make," he said.

The Sandaime blinked before indicated one of the chairs before his desk. Raphael took that as a sign to continue, which he did after sitting down. "It's regarding me potentially recruiting members of your Shinobi Academy into the Brotherhood. Rest assured I will only approach them with your permission, and even then I may wait until after they graduate. But if I'm going to do so, I wish to learn more about what the Academy is teaching them," he said.

Sarutobi sat back, steepling his fingers in thought. "I see," he said. "And may I ask why you wish to know this?" He asked.

Raphael nodded. "Of course. My reason for wanting to know this is simple. I want to know what the Academy is teaching them, so I know what I'll need to teach them as an Assassin, and what I won't need to teach them because the Academy will have already covered it. This will help cut down on training time by not going over things they've already learned," he said.

Sarutobi thought about it for several moments, before nodding. "I suppose there is no harm in letting you see a general overview of the curriculum," he said, as he stood up and went over to one of the two bookcases in the office. Scanning it, he pulled out a book and handed it to Raphael. "This is the master copy of the curriculum guidebook given to Chuunin Instructor's at the Academy. It gives a general overview of what is being taught for each year group," he said, as went to sit back down. "Naturally there have been some prodigies in the past who have proven so skilled and advance, they skip years. But for the most part, that is what all our Academy students are learning currently."

Raphael nodded as he began to skim through the book, trying to get a general idea. He slowly frowned the more he read, before finally looking up, confused.

"Hokage-sama….there seems to be an awful lot of classes here based solely on academics and theoretical situations," he said. "Forgive me for my confusion, but I fail to see how these students are going to learn to be adequate shinobi when most of their classes are based around history, mathematics, and lectures. Shouldn't there be more practical classes, such as learning how to harness their chakra, various chakra control exercises, and such?" He asked

Sarutobi leaned forward, as he suddenly seemed to be more tired. "You would be right Raphael. And roughly five years ago, that's the way it was. The Academy was more focused on the actual physical training of the students. They were taught many of the aspects of being a shinobi in a more hands-on environment. The Academy had been that way since growing tensions between the Shinobi Villages began to rise, before leading to the First Shinobi War."

Raphael blinked. "Then what changed?" He asked.

"The Kyuubi attack is what changed things," Sarutobi said. "Konoha's standing shinobi force took heavy losses during the attack, and still more died or were forced to retire from crippling wounds in the aftermath. We had to try and maintain our strength, to not show any weakness should one of the other major villages take advantage of our weakness in the aftermath of the attack. Eventually, the Civilian Council put forth a proposition that the Academy's curriculum should be lessened; its standards lowered a bit. This would allow more students to join, train, and pass from the Academy, and thus build back up our numbers. It would be the Jounin instructors who would pick up the slack afterwards, training their genin students in what they needed to know to survive the shinobi world."

Raphael raised an eyebrow. "The Civilian Council suggested this? And does it work?" He asked.

Sarutobi was quiet, before pulling open a drawer and pulling out a file. As he opened it, he answered. "Before the Kyuubi attack, Konoha's Academy averaged maybe fourteen graduates a year, not counting prodigies who were apprenticed to others or skipped ahead. Of those graduates, at least one would probably die before entering their first Chuunin Exams. Out of fourteen, it was estimated that in between one to four of them would not live to retire during peace times. In war times, that number jumped to between three and eight. Now though, the Academy has graduated close to a hundred students in five years, using the new system. Of those students, seven of them died in their very first combat missions against bandits or enemy ninja. Another twenty were killed in later missions or Chuunin Exams. Six more have been forced to retire due to crippling injuries that prevent them from ever being successful shinobi. And a final group of five quit being shinobi due to traumatic experiences and memories. So out of one hundred shinobi, thirty eight either have died, were forced to retire, or quit the service," he said. "That's translating to roughly seven or eight shinobi dying each year, during peace times. I do not wish to even contemplate our losses if another Shinobi war broke out."

Raphael just stared at the file. "So it's obvious this new system is not working at all. You may be gaining more shinobi, but you're losing far more of them. If that is the case, why haven't you returned to the old Academy teaching methods?"

Sarutobi sighed quietly. "I suppose I could give you any number of excuses. But the sad truth is I have not been able to focus as much on internal problems. These past five years, I've been focused on keeping the image of Konoha's strength up. The shinobi world is in a constant state of 'cold war'. Even though no one is officially at war with each other, we treat each other as enemies. Alliances shift, spies infiltrate other villages, seeking information and weakness. Villages often flex their muscles by massing shinobi near the borders, before retreating, to see how another village will respond. I have been keeping the other villages from sensing our weakness and striking at us. It is a careful balancing act, one that requires that the situation within Konoha be stable. And I do believe that the Civilian Council would not quietly give up this bit of control they have gained. As much as I am frustrated to admit it, the civilians of this village have grown powerful and important. It has been the money they earned that has sustained us while we rebuild our manpower."

Raphael studied the Hokage. "Do you think they seek to gain control in the village?"

Sarutobi sighed. "It is a possibility. Almost the majority of students in the Academy now are civilian born students. It is possible they wish to gain greater control through this, by flooding our ranks with shinobi who possibly will have a stronger loyalty to their civilian families then to the Village itself."

Raphael shook his head. "If that is the case Hokage-sama, then this doesn't seem like something you can put off. I do not mean to overstep my bounds here, but you cannot simply ignore this obvious problem. If I understand the way this village works, your Academy is the source of this village's military strength. If it is weak, the military is weak. If this cycle continues, Konoha will find itself swarmed with enemies and destroyed. Not to mention that the subpar training is resulting in the deaths of these genin. If you don't fix this situation, more will die."

Sarutobi stood up, anger etched on his face. "Do you not think I know this?! Do you not think every death weighs upon me!? I do not want to send these young people to die anymore then I want to send them to fight!"

Raphael sighed quietly as he stood up. "Then prove it," he said quietly. "Good day, Hokage-sama," he said, as he turned and left.

Sarutobi stood there, staring at the empty space Raphael had occupied, before slowly sitting down. He stared at the file before him, listing the causalities Konoha's teams had suffered over the past few years. He barely heard the door open, as his secretary quietly entered with a scroll.

"Hokage-sama, this report came in from the mission's office," she said. "Team 13 returned from their mission….and they report two of the genin were killed in action."

Sarutobi quietly took the report from her, not seeming to react in any way as he unrolled it. Yet as he read the report, his hands trembled a bit. Suddenly, he rolled the scroll back up and stood. "Inform all members of the Councils that there will be a meeting tomorrow afternoon. Then send out word that I want all the Academy instructors to report to my office immediately."

His secretary nodded and left, as Sarutobi clutched the report in his hands. He was not about to let anymore sacrifices be in vain. Not anymore. (2)

Fire Country/River Country border

Anko sighed as she followed two other chuunin and a jounin. They had been assigned a border patrol after Konoha had received reports about rogue ninjas operating in that area. Their mission was to try and corroborate those reports with actual evidence of missing nins in the area.

Anko hated missions like this. Not for what they were. She actually somewhat enjoyed hunting down missing nins, the thrill of entering combat. She was happy with the knowledge that she was potentially putting down criminals who could become huge, serious threats one day.

No, what she hated was being stuck out in the wild with other shinobi. And the reason for that was simple. It was because those other ninjas usually treated her like scum. Forcing her to do all the work in setting up camp, calling her derogatory words like 'Snake Whore' and 'traitor'. All because of the fact that she had been apprenticed to Orochimaru, perhaps the biggest and most infamous traitor to Konoha since Madara Uchiha.

Usually when in the village, Anko could keep away from people mocking her and hating her. She could get to a training ground and vent her anger, or slip into a bar and drink enough to numb the sting of their words. It seemed like no matter how hard she tried to prove her loyalty to Konoha, her past connection to the Snake Sannin would blot out efforts.

But out on a mission was a different story. Here she couldn't escape from the glares and hateful words. And what was worse was the fact that her comrades didn't seem to care too much on whether she survived or not.

The jounin raised a hand, signaling them all to stop. He pointed to a small clearing nearby. "We'll set up camp here," he said. "You two start setting up the tents," he said commanded, before almost glaring in Anko's direction. "And you. Get the firewood," he said.

Anko almost glared back. Any other ninja would have been sent with a partner to collect firewood, to watch each other's back, especially with potential enemies nearby. Her though? Not the case. Anko just headed off to follow orders, knowing the jounin would bring her up on charges of insubordination if she didn't.

Anko moved through the forest softly, picking up branches and other sticks for the fire as did. She didn't stray too far from the camp, just in case something happened.

As she reached down to pick up a branch, she tensed slightly, sensing a presence nearby. Standing up with the branch, she pretended to scan for more wood, using that time to scan for the presence. She finally found him crouching on a tree branch above and to the left of her. She slowly moved to grab another stick, before suddenly dropping them, grabbing a shuriken, and throwing it.

The figure easily dodged and landed on the ground, smirking. "Not bad, little kunoichi," the figure said, leering at her. Anko just faced the man, gripping a kunai. The figure before her was a tall lanky man wearing the uniform of a Iwa shinobi, but with a slashed Iwa headband. He smirked as he pulled out his own kunai. "Why don't you surrender? I'll make sure you have a good time before I kill you," he said.

Anko just growled. "Why don't you surrender? I'll make sure you can kiss your dick goodbye before I kill you," she growled.

The man shook his head. "Wrong choice, bitch," he said, before a weight smashed into Anko from behind, driving her to the ground.

Anko was slammed into the ground as whatever hit her wrapped a hand around her mouth, muffling her yells. A male voice spoke from behind. "You shouldn't have come out here alone, tree hugger."

The Iwa missing nin smirked. "Let's get out of here before the others come looking for her," he said, only to stop and blink, as if surprised by something. Then he dropped to his knees, followed by him falling face forward, a kunai buried in the back of his head. The figure holding Anko jerked, before falling away as well, as Anko whirled, seeing a missing Kumo nin laying on the ground with a shuriken in his neck.

"Looks like the plan worked," spoke the Leaf jounin, as he stepped out of the trees with the two chuunin. Anko blinked, before growling.

"You knew these two assholes were here?!" She screamed at him. The jounin gave her a blank look as the chuunin retrieved their weapons and the heads of the missing nins.

"I sensed them following us about ten minutes before I ordered the stop. I figured they would come out to attack one of us alone, so I sent you out as bait to lure them into the open. And it worked," he said.

Anko growled in anger. "You didn't think to maybe warn me or something?! They could have killed me!"

The jounin didn't even seem fazed. "I deemed it an acceptable risk, with acceptable potential losses," he said, as he turned back to camp.

Anko just stood there, staring at where the jounin at been, as a few tears threatened to fall, before she wiped them away. No. she wasn't going to cry again. They weren't going to break her. Ever. She angrily gathered up the wood she had collected and stormed back to camp, wanting nothing more than to get this mission over with.

Konoha, the Next Day

Raphael sighed quietly as he was making his way through the blacksmiths of Konoha. He was currently gauging the craftsmanship and abilities of the local blacksmiths, to see if any of them could possibly forge the weapons, armor, and equipment for future Assassin's. So far, his search had been in vain. While several of them probably could forge weapons like swords and crossbows, or light and flexible, but durable armor, none of them seemed to have the expertise that would be required to make the components for not only the hidden blade bracers, but also some of the weapon attachments for them, such as poison blade or poison dart launcher. It would seem that Raphael might have to look outside the village for someone to make these components.

As he rounded a corner, he blinked as he nearly ran into someone. He managed to move out of the way just in time, catching them as they stumbled a bit from almost running into him. "Whoa there, easy," he said, only to grin. "Yugito-san," he said.

Yugito smiled as she saw it was him she had almost run into. "Thanks for the save there," she said, adjusting the bags of groceries she was carrying. "What are you up to?"

Raphael shrugged. "Just wandering, mostly. I was actually seeing if any of the blacksmiths could possibly provide some components I might need for some things of mine. But most of them don't seem to have the capabilities. I think I might need to find someone outside of Konoha," he said.

Yugito smiled. "Well I'm sure you'll get what you'll need in time," she said. "You mind helping me? I think I took a little more than I could handle," she said, as one of the bags almost fell over.

Raphael nodded as he took it off her hands. When she had adjusted the other bags, she started to lead him back to the apartment she had rented to live in.

As they walked, they talked about things like training, and such, before Yugito spoke up. "So Raphael…Anko talked about how you were planning on recruiting others to become Assassins," she said.

Raphael nodded quietly. "I am. Why do you bring it up?"

Yugito shrugged. "I'm just curious as to who you're thinking about recruiting," she said.

Raphael looked down a bit. "It is not a simple choice," he said. "Being an Assassin isn't just simply being good at killing people stealthily. It means being committed to the goals and ideals of the Brotherhood. And living a life that can be very difficult sometimes."

Yugito blinked at that. "I see. And have you found anyone you think can accept that?"

Raphael grinned a bit. "Why are you so interested? Thinking of joining?"

The blonde female jinchuuriki shrugged. "I don't know….being a shinobi is all fine and such, but….well you, Anko, and Naruto are the only ones I really know. And maybe….from the way you describe it, being an Assassin sounds like doing something really important and meaningful. Something I'd like to do with my life," she said, looking down as she spoke the last part softly.

Raphael tilted his head a bit. "Yugito? Is something wrong?" He asked.

Yugito shook her head. "It's nothing," she said. She looked up as they arrived at her apartment. "Thanks for your help, but I got it from here," she said, taking her bag form him.

Raphael nodded. "It's no problem. See you for training tomorrow?" He asked. Yugito just smiled and nodded, as she headed into her apartment.

Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched as the various members of the Council gathered together in the Conference Room. As they sat down, he quietly lit his pipe, puffing on it a few times, before blowing some smoke out. He finally spoke to them all. "I've called this meeting to address an ongoing problem within Konoha. A problem that originally was believed to be a solution, but is now becoming a disaster," he said, as he as slowly scanned the room. "Five years ago, a proposal was made to increase Konoha's manpower by lowering the standards of Konoha's Shinobi Academy. This allowed more students to pass, and become shinobi of Konoha. At the time, it seemed like an excellent solution. However, I have come to the realization that such an action was folly."

There was murmuring amongst the Council Members, before Sarutobi's voice silenced them. "In the past five years, Konoha has suffered forty five percent losses in our shinobi ranks. Thirty eight percent of those losses occur amongst our genin and rookie chuunin. The remaining seven percent are amongst our ANBU and jounin sent on higher level missions. I have come to the conclusion that the substandard teachings of Konoha's Academy can no longer continue. As such, the original curriculum will be restored at the beginning of the next Academy year."

Almost immediately, one of the Civilian Council Members spoke up. "Hokage-sama, you cannot just do that! Any decision must be voted upon! We let it slide when you sent that Assassin to Kumo, and granted amnesty to that jinchuuriki, but this is not something you can simply decide for yourself! The Nidaime Hokage-."

"The Nidaime Hokage was a fool for allowing Civilians to have as much say as they do in Konoha!" Sarutobi snapped, silencing the Civilian Council member and causing many to stare at Sarutobi in shock. He had always spoken so warmly of his sensei in the past. "My sensei was a fool allowing Civilians to have a say in Shinobi matters. None of you know what Shinobi life is like. You are not the ones who have to risk your lives in order to bring money into this village and protect it from its enemies!"

As the Council member sat down, cowed by the angry Sandaime, the elderly Hokage continued. "This village, despite our attempts at diplomacy and peaceful solutions, is still a Shinobi village. A military village. As the leader of the military forces, I have absolute command over the shinobi of this village, and the utilities attached to the shinobi, such as the Academy!"

Another Civilian Council member spoke up. "Hokage-sama, be reasonable. The funds required for such an endeavor are-."

"I've already allocated funds towards reworking the Academy from several projects around the city that are currently unnecessary, such as the expansion of civilian housing complex's into areas meant for the training of this village's shinobi," Sarutobi said. "The money funding those expansions was originally meant for the Academy, before your proposal was put into action. It only seems fitting that the money goes back to where it should have stayed."

At this, the Civilian Council became quite, though one could tell from their body language that they weren't happy. Ever since the Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had taken control of the village, he had allowed the civilians of the village to have more of a voice in Konoha. He felt that they should be allowed to have a say in how the village was run, since they lived in it too. It also helped that at the time, the civilians were willing to back him on most of his decisions. Decisions that seemed intent on keeping the Uchiha clan at an arms distance from the rest of the village.

Since then, the civilians had slowly been seeking to expand their power. In their minds, it was only fair that they should have equal say in everything that happened in Konoha. There were a lot more civilians in Konoha then there were shinobi. It was their businesses that had funded the village through the periods of war and reconstruction. And in their minds, it was their children making the greatest sacrifice for Konoha, not the spoiled brats of Konoha's shinobi clans.

It had taken them years to get this far, slowly building their influence, expanding their power. Sadly, their efforts had been set back by the Yondaime Hokage. He had seen the danger, and had moved to stop them. It had only been his death at the hands of the Kyuubi that had prevented him from destroying their plans altogether.

Their greatest achievement had been lowering the standards of Konoha's Academy, allowing them to gain greater influence there. The more civilian born shinobi who graduated from the Academy, the better. They believed that they could influence those shinobi, playing on their love and loyalty to their families to influence shinobi affairs.

Now, that plan lay in ruins as well, as Sarutobi began to outline his plan for restructuring the Academy. "Due to the fact that we are nearing the end of the Academy year, the current graduating class will take a crash course of classes during the break months between Academy years. The year below them will do the same as well. The new Academy year is when everyone will start learning from the original curriculum. I've already talked to the Academy instructors about this, and I've also talked to several jounin, who will conduct the summer classes. Everything has been taken care of."

Tsume Inuzuka spoke up at this point. "Hokage-sama, may I ask what has triggered this sudden change?" She asked.

Sarutobi became silent, smoking his pipe for a few moments, before answering. "I was having a discussion with someone, about this situation. When that discussion ended, I was handed a scroll regarding a mission report from Team 13. They had returned from a mission to escort a trade convoy to the Land of Rivers. During the mission, they were ambushed by a group of ronin samurai and bandits, led by a chuunin missing nin from Kusa. During the conflict, the two male members of Team 13 were killed. Genin Takagi Hiromoto was slain defending his kunoichi teammate, who had been injured by the bandit she had been fighting. Genin Oroku Yoshi was overwhelmed by bandits, before his jounin sensei could reach him."

Several of the people in the room lowered their heads, as Sarutobi continued. "Team 13 came into action at the end of the previous Academy year. Takagi Hiromoto was the Rookie of the year of his class. They have been active for eight months, but it is in only the past two that they have begun taking low C-ranked missions. This was their third one, and the second in which they experienced combat. In the first one, their kunoichi teammate, genin Shigeru Naga, was wounded badly by an arrow fired by a bandit, and had to be removed from active duty for two weeks. Both her teammates also suffered wounds, but they were easily treatable."

"In comparison, most Konoha genin teams first entering combat under the old style of training were more than capable of defending themselves against bandits. They were trained and trained until their movements in combat became instinctive. It is this training that saved lives and which I wish to return to the Academy. I am tired of watching parents bury their children. I can no longer sit idly by and see these bright young lives be extinguished."

With almost the entirety of the Council humbled and quieted, Sarutobi put out his pipe. "From this day forth, the matters of shinobi will be handled by shinobi. The Civilian Council will be informed of anything that concerns them. But no longer will I allow military actions be dictated by those who have not once had to fight to defend their lives, or the lives of their friends and comrades. Is that understood?" He asked.

As almost everyone quietly nodded, Sarutobi stood up. "Dismissed," he said, before leaving the room, leaving the stunned Council behind. No one seemed to notice the momentary glint of approval that appeared in Danzou's one good eye, before they all slowly left the room.

Training Ground 4, Three Days later

Raphael yawned a bit as he headed towards the training ground for his daily training with Naruto, and to practice his own abilities. Today he was considering showing Naruto how to disarm opponents wielding weapons, something that would probably be very handy if anyone came after him with a kunai or sword. As he approached though, he was surprised and happy to see Anko was back from her mission. He eagerly moved forward, only to slow down when he noticed her posture. He slowly approached her, and gently touched her shoulder.

Anko had been in a somewhat depressed state ever since her return the previous night. Her jounin commander had filed a mission report claiming she had been little to no help in defeating the rogue ninjas they had been sent after, and had claimed the bounty on their heads, along with the other two chuunin. They had gotten nice big bonus checks, while all she got was the payment for the mission. But what was worse was the smug look of contempt on the jounin's face the whole time.

Anko looked up suddenly when she felt a hand on her shoulder, her right hand about to launch a kunai at the one touching her. But she stopped when she saw Raphael's concerned face. "Oh, Raphael! I didn't hear you," she said, trying to put on a smile. "You ready for another dose of hell?" she asked with a grin.

Raphael blinked, seeing her obviously fake grin. "Anko, what's wrong?" He asked quietly.

Anko blinked. "What's wrong? What's wrong is you're not getting ready to train!" She said.

Raphael just sighed as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Anko, I saw the way you were standing there. I know something's wrong, so you don't have to hide it from me," he said.

Anko bit her lip, looking away. "I-It's nothing," she said. "We should get ready for the gaki to arrive, okay?"

Raphael didn't release her. "You know you can talk to me about anything. I'm here if you need me," he said softly.

Anko trembled a bit, looking down, before she quietly began to relate to him everything that had happened on the mission.

When she finished, Raphael growled a bit in anger. "Ese hijo de puta," he growled out in his native Spanish, before continuing in one long rant. Anko just stared at him as he ranted in what she assumed was his native language. She tilted her head, catching a few words like 'maldito seo','tonto' and ' joder'.When Anko blinked at him, he shook his head. "It's nothing," he said. "Why didn't you tell the Hokage what happened?"

Anko sighed. "Because it wouldn't matter. Do you think getting one jounin in trouble will change their minds about me?"

Raphael blinked. "Why do they dislike you?" He asked. "I've heard them call you things like 'traitor's apprentice' and such. Why do they call you that?"

Anko looked at him, before looking down. She was silent for several moments, before finally speaking. "I guess it's only fair," she said softly. "You've shared your life history with me. I should share mine with you." She took a deep breath before speaking. "When I graduated from the Academy, I attracted the eye of the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru. He took me on as his apprentice, something that I was ecstatic about. He was one of the three legendary Sannin, the strongest ninja in the village below the Hokage. To be his apprentice was a great honor."

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Unfortunately, Orochimaru was not everything I thought he was. It was later found out that he had been conducting horrible and inhumane experiments, on shinobi and citizens of Konoha. When he was found out, he escaped, bringing me along on a 'special mission'. The last thing I remember was us heading out northeast, and then the next thing I know is being rescued from some lab by an ANBU patrol almost a year later. I was brought back here and interrogated on everything Orochimaru was planning, what he had done. And I knew nothing. He hadn't shared any of his plans, and I couldn't remember anything. Or rather…I didn't want to remember. Inoichi Yamanaka say's that whatever happened was traumatic enough to cause my brain to suppress it."

Raphael slowly reached out and touched her shoulder, causing her to look up and smile weakly at him. That smile faded when she slowly touched her left shoulder near her neck. "When I was brought up to date on what exactly my bastard of a sensei did to me…I was also informed of a small 'gift' he left me with," she said, slowly moving her hand so he could see. He blinked, as he saw what looked like three tomoes in a circle formation, surrounded by what looked like a binding seal of some sort.

"What is it?" he asked her softly. She looked down.

"The brand that everyone claims is proof of my attachment to my sensei. Hokage-sama called it the Curse Seal. Apparently, after going through the bastard's notes, he found entries about it. It's suppose to give the bearer incredible power, but at the cost of practically enslaving them to his will. It was sealed away so it couldn't influence me, but the people and shinobi of the village, still eager for a scapegoat to blame the loss of loved ones on, say it's proof that I am a spy and a traitor, just waiting to join my former master. This mark means I am forever tainted by him," she said quietly, looking down.

Raphael saw the despair and anger in Anko's body posture, and in her face. Quietly, he tilted her face so that she was looking at him, and smiled quietly. "That's only if you believe what they tell you as true," he said quietly. "I however, believe you to be a loyal ninja of this village, an ally I'd want watching my back in a fight, and an excellent friend to have at my side."

Anko's eyes widened, as she blushed lightly at what he said, before looking away. "Flatterer," she muttered, trying to hide the pink hue at her cheeks.

Raphael just smiled as he stood up. "I do believe we're supposed to be training? If you feel up to it," he said, offering her his hand.

Anko took it, before getting a sly grin and suddenly Raphael found himself pinned face down to the ground, with her holding his arm behind his back. "I thought I taught you better than this," she said with her usual cocky grin.

Raphael just grinned back, suddenly poofing into a log as Anko felt someone poke the back of her head. "You did in fact," Raphael said, as Anko pouted. The two laughed as they kept mock sparring, waiting for Naruto.

Training Ground 8, six months later

Raphael took a deep breath as he looked at the three people before him. He had called Anko, Naruto, and Yugito here to this training ground because he had finally decided it was time to offer each of them the chance of becoming Assassin's.

The rate of Naruto's training had been phenomenal. Once you had his attention, and you helped him to understand what it was exactly he was learning or training in, Naruto threw everything he had into his training. The boy was ready to overcome any challenge thrown his way, and refused to give up in the face of adversity. He was becoming very proficient in the taijutsu Raphael taught him, which Anko had dubbed 'Asashin no Ken', or 'Assassin Fist'. He still had quite a bit to learn before he could match Raphael, but he was no longer the brawler Raphael had watched take on three bullies. He was also becoming skilled in chess. While he still was working on his long term strategic thinking, he had proven to be very skilled at strategizing in the here and now. Often he could come up with strategies quickly in reaction to Raphael's movements.

Anko had also continued to teach Naruto as well about chakra. She had taught him how to draw upon it, and had started him on a very basic control exercise. She had him try to keep a leaf attached to his forehead without blowing it off. It had taken Naruto two weeks and three days to finally stop shooting the leaf across the training field, and another three days after that to get it to stick to his forehead for over five minutes. After that, Anko had taught him how to expand his reserves through both physical training and meditation.

Yugito had also begun training in the new taijutsu style, incorporating it with her agility and flexibility, as well as the two katars that were her primary weapons. She had also started to learn free running and parkour like Anko was from Raphael. As for her shinobi career, she had been promoted to full chuunin, and had gone on several C ranked missions already.

Anko had started to hang out a lot more with Raphael after their little talk a few months ago. She had come to greatly enjoy her time with Raphael, as she didn't feel burdened in any way with him. He knew the truth about her past, something that had turned many away from her. And he didn't care. He had accepted her, despite knowing her past. That was something so few others had done. Literally, she could count the number of people who had done the same as Raphael on one hand.

Now, they were gathered before him. Naruto was excited because in one month he'd be going to the Shinobi Academy, where not only would he get to learn to be a shinobi, but he'd get to hang out with kids his own age. He was eager to try and make some friends, if he could.

Raphael smiled, as he started to speak. "Thank you for coming to see me. I'm going to cut to the chase, and let you all know that I asked you to be here for a very important reason."

This got their attention, as he continued. "As the three of you know, when I'm not training with you all, I've been on one or two assassinations outside the village. During those missions, I began to set up a rudimentary network of spies and informants, who can relay information back to me on people who are potential targets in the future. It's nothing big right now, as most of my missions have been within the Land of Fire. But still, it's made me realize that it's time for me to expand. I cannot handle everything anymore. I need to recruit others into the Brotherhood," he said. "And that's why I have called you three here now."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You want to make us Assassins?" He asked, looking both excited and surprised.

Raphael chuckled softly. "Yes and no Naruto. I want to make you Assassin recruits. You'd be learning how to be Assassins. But you'd be free to leave at any time, if you felt that the life of an Assassin isn't the type of life you'd want to live. And before you say anything," he said, interrupting the shout of excitement Naruto was about to yell out, "I want you to understand something. Being an Assassin is not simply learning how to fight with a bunch of fancy weapons. It means you'll be living a life that is dedicated to the Assassins. You'll be learning our beliefs and principles. You'll be living a life dedicated to our cause. A life filled with contradictions, hatred, and with death. As an Assassin, you'll need to be ready to kill people, to fight for your lives, and perhaps die during a mission or battle. If you cannot accept all of that, I understand," he said.

The three of them looked at each other, before Naruto spoke up. "Won't I be living that type of life as a shinobi?" He asked, looking at Anko. "Isn't everything he just said the way life is for you? Or for Yugito nee-chan?"

Anko and Yugito both nodded. "In many ways Naruto, yes it is. Shinobi fight, kill, and die for their villages. They are dedicated to protecting their home, and keeping it strong. If what Raphael says is true, then being an Assassin will be like being a shinobi," Anko said.

Naruto nodded. "Then I want to be an Assassin. You told me about how the Assassins were dedicated to protecting people from those who wanted to enslave them or start wars and stuff, right Raphael-san? Well I want to do that. I want to help people like you helped me," he said.

Yugito grinned, rubbing Naruto's head. "I also want to join up," she said. "Shinobi end up bleeding and dying for their village, just so that the village can get a bigger paycheck. As an Assassin, my actions and sacrifice can have some meaning. After what I've seen and been through, I want to make sure the life I live is one that has meaning."

Raphael nodded quietly. He still had never found out why exactly Yugito had betrayed Kumo. It was a very touchy subject with her still, so he had left it alone.

Anko was the final one to speak up. "When my sensei betrayed me…this village all but turned its back on me. Almost everyone wouldn't care if I died. In fact, some would probably be happy to do me in themselves," she said softly. "In the seven months I've spent training with each of you, talking with you, I've felt closer and more bonded then I have with anyone else in this village, save for my friend Kurenai. I'm not going to lose that now," she said. "I'll join your Brotherhood, Raphael," she said.

Raphael smiled. "Then welcome, my new recruits, to the Brotherhood of Assassin's."

And scene…I HATE MYSELF! *sad crying face*

Ugghh, I hate myself for taking so long on writing this chapter. And I hate myself for constantly second guessing on whether this chapter is any good or not! Because honestly, I feel that some parts are, and some parts aren't.

But, here it finally is. Anko, Yugito, and Naruto have become the first recruits of the Assassin's Brotherhood. I hope you all like it. *nods*

Translations

Ese hijo de puta = That son of a bitch.

Maldito seo= Cursed be

Tonto= insulting version of stupid

Joder= Fuck

Special thanks go to Bill Alain and Uzumaki Ricky for the translations.

1. I just recently found this out, while I was typing up this chapter. Apparently, the academy is part of the same group of buildings that includes the Hokage's Main Office. That's right folks. This whole time, the Hokage's Tower and the Academy have been part of the same group of buildings. If any of you knew about this beforehand, I'd love to hear you say so, because this is surprise to me. I always thought the academy was in another part of the village. Now if you're wondering why I didn't do that here in this fanfic, the reason is simple: it makes no sense to me. Why on earth would you have a bunch of wild brats learning how to be shinobi in the same complex of buildings that you put your administrative offices and Council meeting rooms in? Where diplomats and foreign leaders will often come to negotiate alliances or truces, and sign trade agreements? It's BEGGING for trouble.

2. Now before the reviews start pouring in and you all start yelling at me let me explain. First off, everything I did there involving the Konoha's curriculum, as well as the casualties, is completely made up. I did it though because I honestly do feel like Konoha's Academy is subpar. The majority of scenes we were shown involving the Academy had them sitting in classrooms listening to lectures. That is not how you train people to go out and fight and kill people. You train them through practice and experience. You drill them in staged combat till they're able to fight on instinct alone. You teach them the abilities they'll need to survive. You do not lecture to them about how throwing a kunai at 32 degrees will allow you to kill an enemy shinobi who is twenty five meters away. That is the point I was trying to prove.

And yes, I did, to a degree, take away Sarutobi's backbone and have an OC give it back to him. It's a cliché plot point, it's not exactly a good one, and I'm sorry for that. But I would point out that the situation I described is a very real possibility in the Naruto world. The situation of the Elemental Nations is exactly like the situation of our world now and days. The Leaders of our countries have to play a careful balancing game in which they keep their countries from looking weak, but also do not antagonize other countries. Because if one of them slips up, another world war could end up obliterating the entire Earth. It's the same for the Shinobi Villages. One political misstep and the entire Shinobi World enters yet another war.

With Sarutobi stuck in a situation like this, where he has to keep up Konoha's appearance of strength, he cannot have time to deal with all the problems inside the village as well. If he does not handle the external problems, the internal ones won't matter because there won't be a village left to worry about. That is why Sarutobi, at first, didn't handle the Academy problem. But now that Raphael has forced him to face that problem, he's realized that it has to be handled now, or the very problems he is trying to stop will come to pass.

Even more special thanks goes to my beta's, Bill Alain and Kyuubi123, as well as my friend SneakyDevil, for helping me with some thoughts and ideas involving Anko and Yugito joining the Brotherhood.

Now please read and review. *nods*