"Normal Speech"
'Quotes'
'Thoughts'
"Biju/Summoning"
'Biju/Summon thoughts'
Letters/Reports/Other Documents
A/N: Hello, again, everyone! It is Jiro Uzumaki. This is my second attempt at writing a fanfiction. Reviews and criticism are welcome, and if I made any errors then don't hesitate to point them out, or if you have a general question contact me via PM or review.
This story was adopted from zorozangetsu688. You can read the description of the story on his profile. The first 5 chapters were written by him, but I edited them for grammar errors and added details. I do not have any OC's, yet, but might include them as very minor characters.
Thanks for reading, be sure to review, and enjoy!
I do not own Naruto. All rights of ownership are reserved by Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter 1: Branching Out
'Nothing! Not a single decent recruit to be found. Dammit! At this rate, I'll never find a proper student.' These were the thoughts of Zabuza Momochi, one of the infamous Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Zabuza was a tall and a noticeably muscular man with pale skin, short spiky black hair, brown eyes, and small eyebrows. He wore his Hidden Mist Village forehead protector sideways on his head, and bandages like a mask over the bottom half of his face. Under his mask, he had a relatively narrow jawline and shark-like teeth. He wore a sleeveless black shirt and matching pants, complete with a waist-guard, pin-striped wrist and leg-warmers, and a belt around his torso to which he attached his Kubikiribocho.
As he made his way through the streets of his home, the Village Hidden in the Mist, people avoided him as much as possible. Normally, Zabuza was seen as one of the more sane and approachable of the Seven. But right now, this man looked like he was on a warpath. He growled under his breath, just now noticing all the villagers were scared by how he was acting. He sighed, calming himself down and walked on. He had a meeting to get to anyway.
Their Mizukage had noticed that some of their members were getting on in years. Specifically, Jinpachi and Jinin. They were sent on a mission to kill a high standing Hidden Leaf ninja that had been rising through the ranks. It seemed best to kill him off before another Yellow Flash was born. They came back alive, but barely. By their report the boy was very strong. VERY strong. He even survived the encounter. The Mizukage had made an order for each of the Seven Swordsmen to find a student to train in the event of their death. Zabuza had just come from the academy looking for someone to train, but no luck.
He had arrived at a wall of deep mist, so thick that even a swing with his Kubikiribocho wouldn't disperse it. He made a single hand sign, charged up a high-level of chakra, and concentrated it into the mist. The wall of mist divided and he walked through, head held high. The wall closed as soon as he went through, snapping shut behind Zabuza.
He came to stop in a clearing in a forest near the border of the village. As soon as he walked through, a kunai whizzed past his head and hit the tree behind him. A wire attached to the kunai was retracted, making it return to the thrower. He was an extremely tall and lanky man with long, shaggy, straw-colored blond hair. He wore an Anbu mask with the Hidden Mist symbol etched in the forehead, slits for eyes and a green triangle at the mouth. His neck and collarbone were covered by bandages. He wore the same attire as Zabuza, but his sword was different. It appeared to be a giant sewing needle.
"Zabuza, how nice of you to come to one of our meetings for once," came the lanky man's sarcastic remark.
"Kushimaru, throw another kunai at me, again, and I'll tie you up with your own thread," Zabuza growled. To make his point, Zabuza took hold of his sword's handle, threateningly.
The man identified as Kushimaru reached behind him to grab his own sword, but instead put his hands up defensively.
"Relax. I just need someone to fight with, since Jinpachi is still in the hospital." Zabuza took the excuse and relaxed. But a half-second later, threw a kunai to his right.
"Do any of you guys know how to say 'Hello', or do you just get used to throwing kunai at people!" A voice rang through the shadows of the trees, stepping forward to reveal himself.
It was a young teenager with light-colored hair, almost white, and purple eyes. He had on a Hidden Mist forehead protector and bandages around his neck. He wore a black, sleeveless shirt, light-purple-colored pants and striped leg-warmers. He carried a water bottle attached to a belt around his waist. He was grinning at the two older men, showing off his shark teeth; a shared trait of the seven swordsmen, inherited by their bond with their blades. His blade was unique to say the least. It had two handles and was shaped like a flounder.
Zabuza and Kushimaru glared at the young man. The boy was overly cocky due to the fact that he was the youngest ninja in the Hidden Mist to be one of the Seven Swordsmen and the only one to master all seven swords.
"Hello Mangetsu, how nice to see you," was the sarcastic reply of Kushimaru.
Mangetsu sighed in defeat and leaned against a tree. He had just wanted to lighten the mood.
"Are you fuck-tards just gonna stand around arguing, or are we going to get down to business." Another of their members had arrived in the clearing. A short woman with black eyes and long, red hair held together with a forehead protector. She wore a loose, pin-striped long-sleeved shirt with a dark obi around the waist, black pants which got much looser near the ends, resembling hakama, and striped leg-warmers. Like her cohorts, she had shark teeth and bandages around her neck. Instead of one sword, she had a set of 2 swords. It is a pair of swords, each with slim and straight double-edged blades. Both blades also have an upward-curved bladed prong near the tip of one side of the blade and another one near the base of the blade's other side. At their bases are smooth brown hilts with a round grey hilt.
"Ameyuri-chan, so nice to see you again. But you should really watch your language, it's so vulgar for such a pretty face." Mangetsu used every chance he could get to flirt with the only female member of their group.
"S-shut up! And I'll curse as much as I fucking want, got that!" She glared at the boy threateningly, her face beat-red from the comment.
"Would you two be quiet? Besides, we can't start without our 'leader'." Zabuza used the word loosely, having no loyalty to the man reputed to be the strongest of them all.
"Where is Kisame-sama anyway? He's usually never late." Asked a curious Mangetsu, putting a finger to his chin in question.
'Kiss-ass!' Was the simultaneous thought of Kushimaru and Ameyuri, annoyed that Mangestu never showed any of them that kind of respect.
"He is late only when he has a prior engagement." A man appeared from the tree line, landing in the center of the clearing. He was a very large man, even taller than Zabuza. He had a shark-like appearance, complete with pale-blue skin and had small, round, white eyes, and gill-like facial markings under his eyes. He had dark blue hair, spiked upward in the shape of a fin and a mist forehead protector. He grinned at the other members of the 7 swordsmen, showing off his shark teeth. He wore the same set of clothes as Zabuza and Kushimaru. Unlike his teammates, he didn't wear bandages around his neck. His sword was mostly wrapped in bandages, but it's construction is atypical in that its actual blade is comprised from a series of downward-facing scales running along the entirety of its length until its hilt, at the base of which is a small skull.
"Sorry I'm late. Now then, let's get down to business. Has anyone found a student to teach?" Kisame looked to the small group, awaiting an answer.
"Nope." "Nada." "Nothing." "Sorry." These were the unanimous replies from the four other swordsmen.
"Me neither," Kisame sighed, depressed and agitated at the news. It was most likely the same result with Jinpachi and Jinin. Zabuza decided to comment on the topic.
"These ninja are all too soft, too weak. This village has gotten lazy after the war, just like the Hidden Leaf. We were all raised in war-time, even Mangetsu. It's why we were able to become what we are."
"Good point, but it's not like we can just start another war. And I wouldn't go trashing the Hidden Leaf either. After all, it was one of their ninja that took down two of our guys." Mangetsu commented, commending the battle capabilities of the ninja that hospitalized Jinin and Jinpachi.
Just then, Zabuza's eyes widened as he got an idea. It was stupid, dangerous, and in all possibilities could probably cause another war.
"If the Leaf ninja are so powerful, maybe we should take a note from them. Or just take them." The other's eyes widened in shock at what he was implying.
"Are you nuts?! We can't just take shinobi off the streets, it could cause a war." Reasoned Ameyuri.
"Who says they have to be shinobi?" Questioned Kisame ominously as he grinned at Zabuza. "You said it yourself Zabuza. This generation has no knowledge of the hell we went through. So I say we take some children, maybe even infants, and -" he paused for Zabuza.
"Make their lives hell. We start from scratch, pick up some brats that no one will miss. The village will just think it was a kidnapping." Although they couldn't see it, Zabuza was grinning just as wide as Zabuza as they silently agreed on the plan.
"But isn't this going against tradition? The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist have always been FROM the Mist." Questioned Mangetsu, concerned with this plan.
"It doesn't matter where there from. As long as they're trained in the ways of the Mist, who cares." Replied Kushimaru, implying that he agreed with the idea.
"That's three, how about you two. We only need four votes, then it's decided." Kisame looked to Mangetsu and Ameyuri, awaiting their answer. Even if they both said no, he just needed an answer from Jinin or Jinpachi to make it final.
"I'm in" "What?!" Ameyuri gave an affirmative nod, while Mangetsu just looked at her dumbstruck. He would have never thought that the short swordswomen would go along with something like this.
Mangetsu hanged his head in defeat and gave a weak thumbs up. "What the hell, let's do this. But what about Jinpachi and Jinin? They're both still in recovery." He asked worried.
"I can probably pick up a kid for Jinpachi. I've known the guy longer than you guys have." Kushimaru volunteered, followed by Zabuza.
"Jinin and I worked on a few missions together. I think I know him well enough. I'll pick up his slack."
"Even so, someone should tell the old geezers. Who wants to volunteer? Not it!" Kisame yelled.
"Not it!" Followed Zabuza, Ameyuri, and Kushimaru.
"Not-dammit!" Just a second too late. Too bad for Mangetsu, who still wasn't used to the selection process the swordsmen used.
"Good luck, you're gonna need it." Kushimaru patted his shoulder and headed home to pack. The rest soon followed, leaving the aggravated Mangetsu behind in their dust.
"Aw man!"
They left at dusk, not wanting to be seen by their fellow ninja. The seven-sorry, five swordsmen were jumping from branch to branch, heading for the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The village that had achieved the most advantages from the last Great Ninja War. Their plan was simple; get in, steal a kid for each of them, and get out without being noticed.
Mangetsu's conversation had not gone well. The two elder members were pissed off for being left out of the meeting, but still acquiesced with the plan. Jinpachi wanted a child that liked fireworks, a good sign of a potential user of the Shibuki. Jinin wanted a strong boy, someone who could wield the full-offensive power of Kabutowari. Ameyuri was a bit pissed at that, remembering how sexist Jinin was, still stuck in the old ways.
They arrived at the village gates, hiding in the shadows of the trees just beyond. Kisame gave the signal and they each used the signature jutsu of the Seven Swordsmen, the Hidden Mist Jutsu.
"Hey, where did all this mist come from?" Asked one guard. He and the other guard, like usual, were stationed at gate duty. Again.
"Don't know...yawn...don't care." answered the other guard, taking a deep yawn before deciding for a quick nap.
"Oh well, I guess it's nothing." He turned his attention away from the mist and picked up on where he left off on his Make-Out Paradise book.
The five made their way through the gates, navigating through the mist, effortlessly. They made their way to the tallest building to get a better look at the village. They decided to split up and look for the closest orphanage.
Zabuza headed west, jumping from roof to roof. He searched left and right for an orphanage, until he heard a sound. It was barking, lots of barking and howls. He headed to the direction of the noise. If he could cloud that area with his mist, it would block out those mutts' senses and they wouldn't have anything to bark at. He arrived at the top of a large, wide-spread compound and activating his jutsu.
The barking soon died down and he sighed in relief. But he heard another sound, a child crying out in the night. He jumped down to a nearby window and crouched to reduce visibility. He saw a room fit for an infant. A crib in the center, where the baby was crying from.
The child cried for a while longer till the mother came into the room. A woman with wild brown hair and red marks on her cheeks kneeled down to the crib and picked the child from the crib. She calmed the child with a soothing song, begging for him to calm down and go to sleep. After he finally went to sleep in her arms, she sighed in relief. She put the child back in the crib and walked quietly out of the room as to not wake him again.
Zabuza was trying to remember why those symbols on the mother's cheeks reminded him of something. Then it struck him. The Inuzuka, one of the oldest clans in the Leaf Village. He didn't know much about them other than the fact that they were proficient in using ninja dogs and were loyal to the end. Zabuza treasured loyalty above all else. Maybe an Inuzuka could fill his spot?
He slipped through the window, being as quiet as possible as to not wake the child, again. He snuck up to the side of the crib to get a good look at him. It was a baby boy with spiky brown hair like the mother and had the same red-fang tattoos on his cheeks. He, also, saw a white puppy, with brown ears, sleeping next to the child. He took a small handful of a sleeping powder they had brought to knock out their targets. The powder caused the boy and the puppy to open their eyes for a few seconds, sniffing the strange smell, and then quickly falling asleep.
Zabuza picked up the child and puppy carefully, and exited through the window victorious in his mission.
Mangetsu headed out towards the forest, taking an opportunity to procrastinate a little and check out the village. He heard a clopping sound and turned to the noise, kunai in hand. He relaxed when he saw it was just a dear...dear?
He never knew the Hidden Leaf had this kind of wildlife. He approached the animal slowly, so it wouldn't run away. The animal tensed, but relaxed after Mangetsu put his kunai away. He put his hands on the animal, petting its snout staring at the creature in curiosity.
A snap echoed through the small forest, alerting the deer and making it run off. Mangetsu did the same, afraid he might have let his guard down. He saw a man with a scarred face and black hair tied into a spiked pony tail, like a pineapple. The man looked around a bit, then sighed, tiredly, and started heading back the way he came.
Mangetsu decided to follow him, to see if he could find some houses out in the woods. He followed the man to a medium sized complex with a few stables containing some more deer, already asleep. This was probably a ranch to raise deer and such.
Once the man was inside, Mangetsu looked for the closest window to see inside. He found a room with a crib, obviously a child's room by the looks of it. He started hearing sound from the next room over. The man he followed was fighting with someone, a woman. It sounded like an old married couple bickering over something stupid.
Mangetsu thought that it would be easier to simply grab the child in front of him while the parents were distracted. He was conflicted with taking a child away from his parent, but his laziness beat out his morality. Being in the Mist, it gets easier to make emotional decisions like that.
The young swordsmen quickly and quietly stepped into dark room. He grabbed the child quickly and ran out before the parents stopped fighting. He quickly remembered that he forgot to use the sleeping powder. Cursing in his mind, he grabbed the bag of powder and looked down to the child he grabbed. He was still sound asleep, not a care in the world. Mangetsu grinned at the small child. 'Guess I don't have to use the powder after all, but then again...' He used the powder anyway, just to be safe, and headed back to where they scoped out the village.
'Orphanage, orphanage. Where's the god damn orphanage?!' Kushimaru searched frantically through the village, getting agitated because of his fruitless search. He stopped to catch his breath and take a look at his surroundings. It was a basic neighborhood with standard housing and shops. He heard the faint sound of an infant crying. He paced thinking on where to go, trying to block the sound out of his head. After a few minutes, the crying just got louder and louder, until he couldn't take it anymore.
He jumped to the source of the sound, which was the house across from the roof he was on. He found the crying child in the upstairs room, a pink frilly room with overstuffed toys and wooden playthings. He picked the lock on the window and entered swiftly. We wasn't really worried about anyone hearing him. He approached the crib and made shushing sounds at the pink haired baby, only making it cry louder. 'God dammit! Come on Kushimaru, think! Think you idiot!' He nearly ripped his hair out thinking of a way to calm her down. He remembered when he was a kid, he saw women at the park that would calm down crying children by holding them and making calming noises or singing.
The thin swordsmen shrugged and figured it was the best thing he could come up with. He lifted the small child from the crib and held it closely. The infant stopped crying at him for a few seconds and just stared at him curiously. Kushimaru was a bit relieved she wasn't freaked out by his mask. It scared most people. She reached a hand up to his shaggy hair and grabbed a handful. Kushimaru stumbled when she pulled on it and she started giggling. He pulled his hair from her grip, only upsetting her and making her cry, again. He sighed and went over to a chair near the crib. He sat down and started singing the only song that came to mind. It was the song his caretaker sang to him and the others at the orphanage.
Thankfully, the song calmed her down enough that she went back to sleep. Kushimaru sighed in relief and went to put the child back. He stopped mid-way, an odd feeling coming over him. He looked to the pink-haired child, sleeping peacefully. He wanted to take this child for his student. He felt it in his gut. No! What was he thinking? This child was too soft, too weak. But she was unwanted, like him. All those screams in a big house and no one to answer. He sighed in defeat and spread the sleeping powder over the child.
He was going to get an earful from Jinpachi, that's for sure. The thin swordsmen headed out, the child in tow.
'God, why did I agree to this? If I had just said no, I could be home in bed.' Ameyuri thought glumly. She was jumping through the rooftops, looking all over the area for the stupid orphanage. She noticed someone else on the move, maybe it was one of her partners.
She headed for where she saw the person, but quickly realized it wasn't one of her team. It was a Hidden Cloud ninja. She couldn't make him out in the darkness, but his flak jacket definitely gave it away. He was carrying something in a large bag, which was moving and twitching. Something was trying to fight its way through the material.
Just then she got an idea. If this guy was found dead, they'd assume that the Hidden Cloud was responsible for the children they were taking. It was perfect.
She was easily faster than him, so she quickly circled around the Cloud ninja and faced him with a crooked, fanged smile. The man was startled by her sudden appearance, drawing a kunai in defense.
"What's a Mist ninja doing here?" He quickly knew who she was just by her clothes.
"I could ask you the same," she drew out her swords, Kiba which soon came to life with lightning. The swords terrified the man as he quickly realized who she was.
"W-wait, please. I have nothing against you. Why are you attacking me?" He dropped the sack and backed up from the short woman, putting his hands up defensively.
Ameyuri just grinned at how weak the man was acting. "Sorry, you just happen to be at the wrong place at the right time." she charged him, disappearing in a surge of electricity.
The man looked left and right to try and find her and block her blow. But it was too late. He saw her land behind him, the static from her swords fading. His torso erupted in blood a second later, collapsing dead on the spot.
She was walking away when she heard a sound coming from a bag the Cloud ninja dropped. She went towards it to investigate and opened the sack to see what he had stolen. It was a baby, with black hair and pristine white eyes. It was crying loudly, tears coming down its face. Ameyuri didn't want to be caught because of the child, so she quickly picked it up and attempted to calm it down.
"Shh, Shh. It's alright. No mean Cloud ninja is gonna hurt you." She held the small child closely, rocking it to sleep. She was heading back to where the Cloud ninja came from, planning to return the baby, but stopped when she quickly realized something. If she was seen, she'd get the blame instead of the Cloud ninja like she had planned. She sighed and looked down to the sleeping infant in her arms. She smiled gently at the child, and made her decision.
She used some of the sleeping powder supplied to her and quickly ran away when she heard a search party approaching her. Before she was out of sight, she made a water clone of the baby. It would last until the morning and no one would be the wiser.
Ameyuri left the clone near the sack and ran out of there as fast as her legs could take her. Her prize clutched tightly to her chest.
Kisame was the first one to actually find the orphanage. He arrived on the roof quietly, chuckling to himself in self-satisfaction. He made his way inside, opening the lock with ease. He walked through the creaking building, sticking to the shadows to avoid the caretaker. He soon found a door to the left and creaked it open to peek inside. The room held several small beds, which were occupied by the young orphans. Kisame looked over the bunch, but decided it would be better to take someone younger and train them from scratch.
He moved on through the building, checking room to room for potential. He finally found the room that housed the infant orphans, those abandoned at the very beginning of their lives. He also saw that two of his cohorts had managed to locate the area before him, deflating his ego a bit.
"Finally decided to join us, 'leader'?" asked Kushimaru sarcastically. Kisame growled at the masked man, but stopped when he noticed the bundle in his hands. The same with Zabuza, both had already chosen their disciples.
"I see you two have been busy. I guess it's my turn now." He walked around the room looking at each of the infants, scanning for anything that would give him interest. Unfortunately, he saw nothing. Kisame sighed in exasperation and sat down in a nearby rocking-chair.
Kushimaru and Zabuza took this opportunity to look for disciples for Jinpachi and Jinin. Zabuza went first, he held a finger to each child and tested their strength. Even if it was only slightly stronger than the other children, it proved a great potential for superior strength. He finally found a child that had a much stronger grip than any of the others, but he was a bit odd. The infant had black hair and ridiculously large eyebrows. Jinin just said he needed someone strong, so he probably wouldn't care about the kid's appearance...probably. He sprayed the sleeping powder on the infant and picked him up, trying to steady both him and Zabuza's own choice and companion in his arms.
Kushimaru was up next. He put a silencing seal on the wall, knowing that what he would do next would cause a lot of noise. He threw a small explosive tag into the air, and channeled barely a fraction of chakra into it. Instead of the large 'BOOM' that the tags were known for, it created sparks in the air. It scared the hell out of the children, who all started screaming bloody murder, except their own. They were still knocked out from the sleeping powder. Kushimaru looked left and right for any kids that weren't scared of the small fireworks display, but no hope. That is until he heard a small giggle. He followed the noise to an infant, laughing at the sparks and trying to reach for them. She had light brown hair and kept repeating "boom", probably a bit older than the others in the room. He used the sleeping powder and he picked her up. Then, like Zabuza, tried to balance the two babies in his arms.
The two nodded to each other in confirmation that they were both done. They turned to where Kisame was sitting, but found him missing. There was a door near the back that had been left open, probably where he had went. They went to the back door to see where their fellow swordsman was and opened the door all the way.
What they saw was Kisame in the middle of an empty room, save an old and broken crib. Oh! And the ten dead Anbu on the ground. They approached the man to ask what happened, when they noticed that he was holding something. It was a blond child with strange whisker-like marks on his cheeks. Kisame held the child close, grinning like a shark.
"Why do you think they left this child all alone, away from the others? And why would he need to be guarded by Anbu?" Kisame asked the questions ominously, looking to Zabuza and Kushimaru who just stared at the man uneasily. It was a bit odd though, why was this child separated from the others and why the Anbu here were. This child must have been either extremely dangerous, or very important to the village. Either way it was obvious that Kisame had made his choice. And it scared the two other swordsmen.
"Well...what are you two waiting for? Let's find the others and leave." He turned to leave and Zabuza and Kushimaru followed, hesitantly.
"What about Ameyuri and Mangetsu? We can't be sure that they already found children." Asked Zabuza
"So nice to know that you care Zabuza-san, but we're fine. Thanks for asking." Mangetsu appeared beside them along with Ameyuri, both carrying bundles most likely the children.
"Good, then we can leave." said Kushimaru impatiently, increasing his speed to get out of the village as fast as he could. The others followed suit, ready to leave and not push their luck.
The swordsmen had arrived at their home village by morning, ready to take a rest. Unfortunately, as soon as they crossed the gate they were surrounded by Mist Anbu.
None of the swordsmen moved. They could easily take out the Anbu, but the chance that the children they were carrying could get hurt was too great.
"What do you want?" Asked Kisame, a bit ticked off.
The Anbu were all barely standing. They knew that these people were, potentially the strongest in the village. It would only take about four of them to take out their Kage. The leader approached them on shaky legs, stating their purpose.
"Ahem. Kisame, you and the other swordsmen are to come with us. The Mizukage wishes to speak with you."
'Fuck!' Was the thought of the five swordsmen. Jinin or Jinpachi must have told him about their plan. Reluctantly, they followed the Anbu to the tall tower in the center of the village; the Mizukage's place of business.
They arrived at the medium sized office, face to face with the Kage of their village. Sitting across from them was what appeared to be a young boy with straw-colored hair, pink pupil less eyes, and a stitch-like scar running down his left eye down to his cheek. Although the Kage looked like a child, he was in fact as old as Zabuza. He was sitting at the large desk, hands folded and staring at the group blankly. He gave a signal for the Anbu to leave, and they followed suit.
"Yagura, nice to see you, again, buddy. Don't see ya much since your 'promotion'." Zabuza and the now named Yagura were old friends back in the academy, but their friendship fell when Yagura was appointed to the position of Mizukage.
"This is not a social visit! Do you know how many laws you violated when you pulled this stunt? I wouldn't be surprised if the Hidden Leaf called for your heads tomorrow. And I'm not so sure I wouldn't disagree with the idea." He glared at the group with malice that surprised Zabuza. His friend had never acted so viscous to him or anyone.
"We had good reason Mizukage-sama!" Kisame interjected, bowing on one knee. Normally he would be the last to show respect to someone, but in times like these you needed to kiss ass.
"And what, pray tell, was that reason, Kisame?" The small Kage crossed his arms, looking at the man skeptically.
"You asked us several weeks ago to look for students, apprentices to train to replace us in the future. Me and my fellow swordsmen have searched high and low, but have found no potential that is worthy enough to fill the title of a Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. It seemed logical that since it was a Hidden Leaf ninja that hurt our own, we use that power to take them down a few notches." He grinned at the short Kage viscously.
Yagura put a finger to his chin thinking it over. It has been noticed that the shinobi from the Hidden Leaf have a great history of prodigies. The Fourth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, and the young man that injured two of his swordsmen, Itachi Uchiha. All were children from that village and had risen through the ranks at an accelerated rate when they were young. Plus, it would deal a moral blow to the Hidden Leaf, seeing how he would use the Leaf's own against it.
"Very well. I will agree with this plan for now. I want each of you to hand over the children you took to the hospital for proper inspection and care. You are dismissed." He turned his rotating chair away from the five, done with the conversation.
The five swordsmen nodded and bowed in thanks. Medical ninja came into the room to take the children like the Mizukage had asked of them. The five handed over the seven infants and one puppy; Kushimaru, Ameyuri, and Kisame a bit more reluctant than the others.
They all left through the large door, each about to head to their own home. Unfortunately, someone was standing in their way. It was a beautiful woman with ankle-length, auburn hair styled into a herring bone pattern at the back, a top-knot tied with a dark blue band, and with four bangs at the front. Two bangs are short, with one covering her right eye, and two are long, crossing each other on her bust, just below her chin. She wore a long-sleeved, dark blue dress that fell just below the knees. It seemed to be closed at the front with a zipper, and kept open on the front-right side from the waist down. The dress only covered up to the upper part of her arms and the underside of her breasts. Underneath, she wore a mesh armor that covered slightly more of her upper body than her dress. She also wore a skirt in the same color as her dress and, underneath those, mesh leggings reaching down over her knees. Around her waist, she wore a belt with a pouch attached to the back on the left along with high-heeled sandals, and shin-guards reaching up over her knees. She was tapping her foot impatiently looking directly at Zabuza.
"Um, M-mei. What are you doing here?" Zabuza asked nervously. The others chuckled at his misfortune. It was well known that Zabuza and Mei were a couple, and the other swordsmen constantly gave him strife for how whipped he was.
"Yagura called me. He told me about your little 'mission'." She hissed, not pleased with the fact that Zabuza had left to do something so stupid and reckless, without notifying her at least. Steam started coming out of her mouth, alerting the swordsmen that her bloodline was acting up. They quickly left the two lovers to their quarrel, Kushimaru adding insult to injury by giving him a pat on the shoulder and a quick 'good luck'. Seven Swordsmen or not, you never want to face a pissed-off kunoichi.
As Zabuza backed up to the door where he left Yagura's office, trying to calm down his girlfriend before she accidentally killed him. He turned to the side to see Yagura smirk at him amused. 'That little punk. I'll make him pay for this...that is if I live through this' he thought glumly, thinking of how he would get out of this.
"Zabuza!"
"Ah!" He let out a girlish squeak and ran as fast as his feet could carry him. Revenge be damned, he just wanted to live to see tomorrow.
A/N: Well, that's the first chapter. I hope you all like the where the story is going.
Seeing as how this is the first chapter, it is like the prologue. The next chapter will be the reaction of the Leaf and the naming of the children. Thanks for reading, see you next chapter! And don't forget to review!