I'm finally back! SO sorry about the tardiness, I was lazy...very lazy. But I made a decision: I'm not finished yet, but I'll update this story in the usual four-day delay until all the completed chapters are up and let the reviews motivate me to continue, which is what I should have done in the first place. Hopefully this won't happen again.
Now, to reply to some reviews.
Gashadokuro Amanojaku: I hadn't thought of doing that. But even then, Dracula can only use three souls, Kyuubi, Minato and Kushina. And while that's a lot of Ninjutsu knowledge, I wouldn't be able to come with a scenario like your suggestion. I do appreciate the opinion, however.
ultima-owner: Thanks for the pointers on the movies. I have added a few of them in the fanfic, but decided to not add them all. It's mostly the latter Shippuden movies that I decided to ignore.
nynrahghost: The wording was a mistake on my part. When I wrote that he was reminded of Soma, I meant that Naruto, just like Soma, was 'just a human' with Dracula's soul and the Power of Dominance. My bad. Also, to both you and Wolfone10, Dracula will recover all of his powers at once and be able to return to the castle. I say this because I feel that this isn't spoiler-territory. After all, this isn't reincarnation like in Aria of Sorrow, this is Dracula's soul entering a new body and taking control of it. Or should I say, dominating it.
Anyways, on with the story!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 2: Wave of strength
"Naruto here. Got to point A." He couldn't believe they were doing this...
"This is Sasuke. I'm at point B." Sasuke said from the communicator.
"This is Sakura. I arrived at point C."
"Okay, Team 7... The target has moved!" Kakashi said as a small figure moved through the trees before stopping within some bushes.
The three Genin were moving from tree to tree to hide their presence.
"How far is the target?" Kakashi asked.
"Five meters." Naruto answered. "I'm ready to go."
"Same here." Sasuke confirmed.
"Here as well." Sakura added.
Kakashi waited for a few seconds. "Now!"
All three jumped at the target, who jumped over Sakura.
Before it could escape, Naruto caught it and kept it at arms' length.
"Target captured!" Naruto called out.
"Are you absolutely sure?" Kakashi asked.
"There's a red ribbon on her right ear. This is indeed Tora." Naruto sighed as Tora tried to claw his face off. They were chasing a damn cat!
"All right then, Team, let's bring back to the client."
Academy Mission Briefing Room
The client Kakashi was Madam Shijimi, wife of Fire Country's Daimyo. She was giving her pet cat a bone-crushing hug.
"Ohh, My little Tora-chan!" She said, completely oblivious to her cat's pain.
"No wonder she ran away..." Sakura muttered as the woman left the room.
"Well then, Team 7's new mission will be...babysitting Yojyu-sama's boy." The Hokage said, reading a list.
Kakashi could see the annoyance in his students' eyes and decide to intervene.
"Actually, Hokage-sama, I believe my team is ready for their first C-rank." He said.
His students and Iruka, who was seated next to the Hokage, looked at him in surprise.
The Sandaime met Kakashi's gaze before he sighed. "If you're sure, then so be it. Team 7 will be escorting someone back to his country. He should be coming in right about now."
Someone entered the room. "What the hell? They're all kids! The short one doesn't even look like a ninja."
The bespectacled man had grey hair, wore a sleeveless v-neck shirt with an obi, some pants and sandals. He also had a towel around his neck and wore a pointed hat. Not to mention the man was drunk.
Naruto ignored the comment as the man took a swig of his drink before introducing himself. "I am the master bridge builder, Tazuna. Once we are in Wave Country, you will have to protect me with your life until the bridge is completed."
A few hours later, everyone had packed and met up at the village gate, ready to depart.
"Tazuna-san?" Sakura called out, getting the man's attention. "You're from Nami no Kuni, right?"
"What of it?" He asked.
"Are there ninja in that Country?" She asked.
"Not any residential ninja, no." Kakashi answered for Tazuna. "That country follows different customs. Nami no Kuni is also an island, which makes it difficult to be influenced by neighbouring countries. While there are many ninja villages, five of them stand out the most: Konoha, here in Hi no Kuni, Kumo in Kaminari no Kuni, Suna in Kaze no Kuni, Kiri in Mizu no Kuni and Iwa in Tsuchi no Kuni. Like in Konoha, the other four villages have a leader under the title of Kage: our own Hokage, Kiri's Mizukage, Suna's Kazekage, Iwa's Tsuchikage and Kumo's Raikage."
"Is that old geezer really that great?" Sakura thought.
Sasuke didn't look all that convinced whereas Naruto nodded, already used to the system that was very much like the Old World's Feudal Japan.
Kakashi eye-smiled. "Well, at least one of you believes in Hokage-sama's authority. You two should follow Naruto's example. Also, getting back to the earlier topic for a moment, we won't run into any ninja for the mission, if that's what you're worried about, Sakura."
Beneath his hat, Tazuna looked nervous.
As the group continued on their way, Naruto noticed a puddle ahead. Odd, he didn't remember any recent rain.
The moment they all walked passed the puddle, two cloaked figures rose from it. The first one threw the second over the group and both caught Kakashi in the chain within their gauntlets before ripping him in pieces.
"First one!" They cried out.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura called out in horror.
Both Shinobi appeared behind Naruto. "Second one." They said.
Before they could wrap him in chains, Naruto spun around and did a sweep kick, which both men jump over. At that moment, Sasuke threw a shuriken at the chain and embedded it to a tree, locking it in place. He then threw a kunai at the shuriken's ring and also embedded it to the tree, further locking the chain.
Both tried pulling on the chain. "It won't come out." One said.
They detached the chain from their gauntlets and went for separate targets. One focused on Naruto and the other went for Tazuna.
Naruto performed another sweep kick. His opponent saw it coming and jumped over. What he didn't see coming was Naruto planting both hands on the ground, push himself in the air and kick him in the abdomen with both feet.
A figure jumped out of the trees and grabbed Naruto's opponent then caught the other one by the neck, knocking him unconscious. It was Kakashi!
"Yo." He said nonchalantly.
"Kakashi-sensei's alive!" Sakura said in joy.
Sasuke was disappointed. When Sakura stepped in between Tazuna and the attacker, he stood between them to fight, but Kakashi ruined that chance.
"I'm quite satisfied with what I saw." Kakashi said. "Naruto: You and Sasuke worked well in splitting the enemy. Then you outsmarted your opponent by faking predictability. Sakura also jumped in to protect Tazuna-san. Good job to all of you."
Sakura smiled, Sasuke smirked and Naruto dusted his hands off.
"By the way, Tazuna-san..." Kakashi trailed off.
"W-What is it?" Tazuna asked nervously.
Kakashi tied the attackers to a tree. "These two are Chunin from Kiri, known for fighting despite the odds."
Moments after Kakashi tied them up, they regained consciousness. "How did you find us out?" One asked.
"It hasn't rained in days." Naruto said.
"So you noticed it? Nice to know you observe your surroundings, Naruto." Kakashi praised.
Sasuke's hands balled into fists, since he hadn't realized that fact.
"Why did you let you students fight if you knew that?" Tazuna asked.
"To know who their intended target was." Kakashi answered. "One of my students, myself or you, Tazuna-san. We were only supposed to protect you from bandits, not enemy ninja. Because of this, the mission is now B-rank."
Tazuna sighed in exasperation. "My country is poor. We couldn't afford anything above C-rank. We wouldn't even need ninja support if Gato wasn't bleeding us dry."
Kakashi blinked in surprise. "Gato, the Shipping Tycoon?"
"That's the one." Tazuna confirmed. "He's taking everything he wants from my people. Please, keep protecting me from Gato! Once the bridge is complete, we will be free from him!"
"This mission is out of our league." Sakura said.
"Doesn't matter." Naruto said. "I won't have the patience to do any more D-ranks if I don't do something worthwhile. I say we keep going." Sasuke agreed with Naruto, making Sakura reluctantly agree. The team then continued toward Nami no Kuni
Meanwhile, in a hideout amongst the trees
"What do you mean they failed!?" A short, portly man demanded. "I don't pay you to fail, I pay you to do your job!"
"Stop complaining." A tall man sitting on the couch said, pointing his zanbato at the shorty. "I'll take care of the problem with Kubikiribocho."
"S-So you say. But they'll be more careful, now."
"Doesn't matter. I, Zabuza Momochi, will slice them to pieces."
Back with Team 7
The group was on a boat that would take them to the island of Nami no Kuni.
"The mist is so thick." Sakura observed. "I can't see what's ahead."
"We should be reaching the bridge soon." The boat owner said. "If we move along the bridge, we'll be in Wave Country."
As if on cue, the bridge became visible through the mist. It was massive.
"Impressive." Naruto said.
After docking, the group were walking through a forest.
They heard noises in the bushes and immediately went on guard. Only to see a white rabbit jump out.
Kakashi's eye narrowed as he looked around. Something's wrong. Its fur is only white during winter. Right now, it should be brown. Meaning it was raised indoors."
Then he heard something headed their way and his eye widened. "Everyone, duck!"
The group did so and narrowly avoided a thrown zanbato. Said weapon then found itself embedded to a tree.
A tall figure landed on the hilt. He had pale skin and short, spiky black hair and was wearing bandages over the lower half of his face, similarly to Kakashi's facemask. He also wore his Kiri headband sideways. He was shirtless, with the exception of belts to strap the massive blade. He had baggy pants with striped patterns. He also had mimetic wrist-warmers extending to his elbows and matching leg-warmers.
"Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist." Kakashi said. "Against someone like you... I will have to give it my all." He uncovered his left eye, which had a vertical scar directly on it.
"Kakashi of the Sharingan." Zabuza said, shocking Sasuke. "You sure you won't just hand over the geezer?"
"Not a chance." Kakashi said, opening his left eye and revealing the world-wide known Kekkei Genkai, or Bloodline Limit, Sharingan. It was a red eye with three black tomoe.
"Then there is nothing more that needs to be said." Zabuza remarked.
He retrieved his blade and jumped on the water, not sinking an inch.
"Ninpo: Kirigakure no Jutsu!" As he said this, a thick mist surrounded everyone, completely hiding him. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura gathered around Tazuna to protect him.
"Everyone, stay on your guard." Kakashi ordered. "Zabuza was once a member of Kiri's Anbu. He is very skilled in the art of Silent Killing."
"Eight points." Zabuza's voice echoed though the mist. "The larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular vein, collarbone, kidney and heart. Which vital organ do you want to get struck at?"
Kakashi flared his chakra and killing intent, dissipating some of the mist.
Sasuke was afraid. He was finally realizing what a ninja out for blood really was. His hands clenched his kunai.
"Sasuke." Kakashi called out, snapping the Genin out of his thoughts. "Don't worry. I'll protect the three of you with my life. I won't let one of my comrades die."
"I don't know about that." Zabuza interrupted the moment. He was in the middle of the group.
Not missing a beat, Naruto attempted to stab Zabuza, who blocked the attack with his weapon. It didn't matter to the blond. It was more than enough.
Kakashi had immediately stabbed Zabuza in the gut with his own kunai. However, instead of blood dripping from the wound, it was water. Mizu Bunshin!
"Sensei! Behind you!" Naruto warned as he tried to attack once more.
"Not this time, brat!" Zabuza said as he tried to cleave Naruto in half, instead of simply blocking.
Kakashi pushed Naruto away and was cleaved instead, only to turn into water.
"A Mizu Bunshin? When did he...?" Zabuza wondered. "He copied it? Even in this mist?"
"Exactly." Kakashi said as he held a kunai to Zabuza's throat. "And now you've lost."
Zabuza chuckled, to Kakashi's confusion.
"Lost? You don't understand. You won't defeat me by copying me like a monkey. I won't, however, deny your skill. But..." Another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, to his shock. "Defeating me isn't this easy." The restrained Zabuza turned into water as the real one attacked with a swing of his blade, which Kakashi ducked. As Zabuza's blade embedded itself on the ground, he used the momentum to spin around and fiercely kicked Kakashi in the face, sending him flying into the water.
Kakashi rose out of the water with the Water-Walking technique. "This water feels heavy..."
"Idiot." Zabuza said from behind him as he made handsigns. "Suiton: Suiro no Jutsu."
Zabuza brought his hand forward and trapped Kakashi in a spherical prison made out of water.
"Now that you can't move, I can take my time and get rid of your team and the geezer. Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu." Some water rose and turned into a clone of Zabuza.
Mizu Zabuza chuckled. "The three of you wear headbands and think you are ninja. But a ninja is someone who has seen life and death situations multiple times. So long as you're not in my Bingo Book, you are not ninja, merely kids." He said before he disappeared in the mist.
Naruto's eyes narrowed and he immediately jumped back, barely avoiding a kick from the Kiri Nuke-Nin.
"Take Tazuna-san away and run!" Kakashi ordered. "You can't win against him!"
"That became impossible the moment you got trapped." Sasuke said as he charged towards Mizu Zabuza.
Mizu Zabuza grabbed the hilt of his own Zanbato. Sasuke started throwing a couple of shurikens. The clone blocked them all with a swing of the blade. In the middle of the swing, Sasuke had jumped in the air to attack from above. Unfortunately for him, the clone merely used his free hand to catch him by the neck and threw him away.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called out in horror.
Mizu Zabuza's attention turned to Naruto.
"You know..." Naruto started with a smirk. "This clone made me realize something invaluable for the situation."
The clone raised an eyebrow at the statement. "You sound so confident... Do you actually think you have a chance? You're not a real ninja, kid. When I was your age, my hands were already soaked in blood." He said, scaring Sasuke and Sakura.
Naruto performed a cross handsign. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." He said as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke dissipated, there were dozens of Naruto.
"Kage Bunshin..." Mizu Zabuza said, slightly impressed. "You've made an impressive amount for your age. Perhaps you're more of a ninja than I gave you credit for."
Most charged at Mizu Zabuza. One jumped in the air and pulled out a large folded shuriken from his bag. "Fuma Shuriken: Kage Fusha!" He said as he unfolded the shuriken and threw it at the real Zabuza.
"Going after the real one, huh?" Zabuza said as he caught the shuriken. His eyes widened when he saw a second Fuma Shuriken. "Another shuriken in the first one's shadow?" He then jumped over it. "Worthless."
"Is that so?" He heard behind him. His eyes widened again as he looked over his shoulder and saw the second shuriken turning into Naruto, who threw a kunai at Zabuza. The Kiri-nin had no choice but to jump away from the water prison, freeing Kakashi in the process.
Zabuza looked at Naruto, with a small dripping wound under his right eye, rage obvious in his gaze. "Die, you damn brat!" He cried out as he charged towards Naruto, spinning the Fuma Shuriken in his hand.
Only for the Shuriken to be stopped by the back of Kakashi's hand.
Naruto smirked as he swam ashore.
"Great plan, Naruto." Kakashi praised, his eyes never leaving Zabuza.
"The brat's better than I thought." Zabuza admitted. "To force me to release you like that..."
"The Water Prison won't work on me twice." Kakashi said. "What are you going to do now?"
Zabuza responded by folding the shuriken, each blade applying more force on Kakashi's hand. Kakashi then deflected the shuriken, getting it out of Zabuza's grip, before they both jumped away from each other. Both of them performed the very same handsigns.
"Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" They called out at the same time. Water rose around them and turned into water dragons. Both dragons started clashing against each other, sending waves of water across the battlefield.
"To copy and perform this many handsigns in just a few seconds..." Sasuke thought. "This is a power that not only Kakashi possesses, but him as well."
In the middle of the dragon clash, Kakashi and Zabuza were clashing blades, one with a kunai and the other with a Zanbato.
"Something's weird..." Zabuza thought. "The Sharingan is renowned for copying Jutsu, true, but he executed the Jutsu at the same time as I did. Is he able to-"
"Read my mind?" Kakashi said aloud, shocking Zabuza.
Both of them jumped away and made the same handsign.
"So you can copy everything I do? That's nothing original!" Zabuza taunted.
"You can't beat me like that, you monkey!" They said at the same time, further shocking Zabuza.
Zabuza started doing multiple handsigns, with Kakashi perfectly copying him. "I'll just make sure you never open that copycat mouth of yours again!"
Zabuza then notice a figure shimmer behind Kakashi. It was his own form!
"That's..."
"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" Kakashi interrupted. A large cascade rose and rushed towards Zabuza.
"Impossible!" Zabuza said before he was overwhelmed by the very Jutsu he intended to use. "I was the one who started the Jutsu, but I was too distracted to finish it, leaving myself open to his own Jutsu."
As the Jutsu stopped doing ravages to the surroundings, Zabuza had his back against a tree. He cried out in pain as he got a kunai in both biceps and thighs. He looked up and saw Kakashi on a branch above him.
"This is the end." Kakashi said once more.
"Can you see the future?" Zabuza asked.
"Yes." Kakashi answered as he brandished a kunai. "And yours is death."
Before could do anything, however, two senbon needles found their way to Zabuza's neck, shocking everyone.
Kakashi looked around and found a masked figure.
"Death indeed." The masked boy, confirmed by his voice, said.
Kakashi landed next to Zabuza and looked for a pulse, which he found none.
"No pulse." He said before looking at the masked man, who bowed his head slightly.
"Thank you very much." He said. "I was looking for a chance to kill Zabuza, which you and your team provided."
"That mask..." Kakashi trailed off. "You're one of Kiri's hunter-nin, correct?"
Along with the mask, the man also had the standard Kirigakure pinstriped outfit, which stopped at his knees. He wore a green haori with white trimmings and a brown sash around his waist. Most of his long black hair was kept in a white bun holder, while two frontal bangs framed his face, bound by metal hair cuffs at the end.
"You are well informed." The hunter-nin commented.
"From his voice and height, he should be around Naruto's age. And yet, he's a hunter-nin. That's not an ordinary kid."
The hunter-nin landed next to Zabuza's corpse and carried an arm across his shoulders to lift him up.
"I must now dispose of the body." He said, disappearing.
Kakashi let out a sigh of relief before covering his left eye with his headband.
"We're not done here." He said. "We still have to take Tazuna-san home."
Tazuna laughed. "Sorry about all the trouble you went through. Feel free to rest at my house!"
"All right. Let's go." Kakashi said before he suddenly stopped. "No! I used the Sharingan too much!" He realized before he fell unconscious.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura called out as everyone ran toward him.
"Sasuke." Naruto called out, getting the Uchiha's attention. "Does the Sharingan use a lot of Chakra?"
"It depends on how much he used it against Zabuza, which we couldn't see." Sasuke explained. "We also have to take the other Jutsu he used in consideration, so Chakra Exhaustion is a possibility."
"I'll carry him." Tazuna offered. "Just keep your guard up."
Shortly after, they finally arrived at Tazuna's house.
"Tsunami! I'm home!" Tazuna called out as he opened the door.
"Tou-san!" A woman with long, dark blue hair hugged Tazuna. She wore a short-sleeved pink shirt with the ends of her sleeves and her collar being red. "I'm so glad you're safe!"
Tazuna hugged his daughter back. "It's all thanks to these ninja."
Tsunami looked at Team 7 and gasped when she saw Kakashi. "Is he all right?"
"He's fine." Naruto reassured. "Do you have any place he could rest?"
"Of course. Let me prepare a futon for him."
A few hours later, Kakashi was awake.
"Are you all right, Kakashi-san?" Tsunami asked.
"Yes, thank you. I assume you are a relative of Tazuna?"
"His daughter. I am Tsunami. Pleased to meet you."
"Likewise."
"I see you're awake, sensei." Naruto said as everyone entered the room.
"The Sharingan is amazing." Sakura said as she sat next to Kakashi's futon. "But it leaves such a strain that I'm not sure if it's a good thing."
"But it shouldn't be a problem now, right?" Tazuna asked. "I mean, you defeated that guy."
"Yes... Zabuza is dead. So why do I feel uneasy?"
There was a moment of silence before Naruto spoke.
"I have a question that's been bugging me. Since when are senbon needles used for killing?" He couldn't remember any mention of senbon needles being reliable weapons.
Kakashi's eye widened at the question.
"Of course. Senbon Needles rarely kill unless they hit some specific parts of the body. There is also the fact that Hunter-nins normally sever the head before burning the body. All of this points towards this nin being an ally of Zabuza, meaning he is still alive." He said, scaring Sakura and Tazuna.
"You sure you're not worrying too much?" Tazuna asked.
"No. This uneasiness will not go away until we're fully prepared."
"How are we going to prepare?" Sakura asked.
Kakashi eye-smiled. "By training, of course."
"Training? But even with your Sharingan, you had a difficult time."
"By the time we face Zabuza again, I will be back to 100%, you three will have to worry about the false hunter-nin."
"It won't make a difference." A young voice said. They all turned to see a young boy with short black hair and dark eyes. He was wearing a yellow shirt, green overalls and a white hat with two blue trims.
"Inari! Where were you?" Tazuna asked as he held out his arms.
The boy ran to Tazuna's arms. "Welcome home, Jiji."
"Inari, say hello to the ninja. They are the ones who escorted Jiji back home." Tsunami said gently.
"They'll die against Gato." Inari said bluntly. "I'll go watch the ocean." He said before leaving the room.
"I'm sorry for his attitude." Tazuna said sadly. "He wasn't always like this."
"Well, there's nothing we can do now. So we'll start your training." Kakashi said before looking at Tsunami. "Do you have any crutches?"
After being supplied with crutches, Kakashi guided his team to a nearby forest.
"All right then, right now, the best way for all of you to improve is to increase your control over your chakra."
"How are we going to do that?" Sakura asked.
"Climb a tree."
"What, you mean walking on it like you and Zabuza walked on water?" Naruto asked. He had heard of the Tree Walking exercise.
Kakashi eye-smiled. "That's exactly what I mean. You did well remembering that fact, Naruto."
Kakashi performed a ram handsign before slowly limping his way up a tree until he was upside down on a high branch.
"Just gather your chakra at the bottom of your feet and try to make it attach to the tree trunk."
"How are we going to become stronger with that?" Sakura asked.
"That's easy." Naruto said, getting everyone's attention. "If this exercise increases our control over our chakra, then we will waste less chakra on our Jutsu, which makes us last longer in a fight. Not to mention that this exercise will also increase our chakra reserves, which, again, makes us last longer in a fight."
"Correct." Kakashi confirmed before throwing a kunai in front of each of his students. "There is also the fact that the feet are the hardest place to focus chakra, so training on that will help you focus your chakra during combat. Now, use the kunai I gave you to mark how high you get. Start by running, since you're just starting the exercise."
Sasuke focused his chakra and ran up a couple of feet before the bark broke under his feet. He marked his height and jumped back on the ground.
Sakura focused and managed to run up to a branch as high as Kakashi was on. "That was easier than I thought."
"So, right now, the one with the most control is Sakura. To think she actually surpasses the Uchiha in something." Kakashi said, trying to taunt Sasuke into trying harder.
"Sensei! Don't say such things!" Sakura cried out, not understanding Kakashi's intention. "Now Sasuke-kun's going to hate me!"
"How about you, Naruto? You haven't tried yet."
The blond focused his chakra, but tested the tree climbing a different way. He placed one foot on the trunk and bounce on his other foot for a small amount of height, to see if the first one would stick. When it didn't stick, he simply landed on his second foot and focused more chakra, sticking to the tree trunk this time. When he was satisfied, he made a cross handsign.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He called out as dozens of clones appeared.
"You idiot! Why are you wasting your chakra!?" Sakura cried out.
Naruto looked at Kakashi. "When I read the scroll, it was written that the clones give their memories and remaining chakra to the original once they dispel. Then it would mean that, if all of these clones were to do the exercise, I would get their results added to my own. Am I wrong?"
Kakashi's eye widened before he eye-smiled. "You figured the Kage Bunshin's biggest secret with a simple guess. Great job, Naruto. Yes, The Kage Bunshin will also transfer the results of any chakra-related training to the original. With this many clones, you'll probably get a few months worth of training with this single session."
Naruto grinned before he turned to his clones. "All right, guys! You know what to do!" They all saluted and chose their own tree.
Sakura was awed at the Jutsu and Sasuke was jealous.
"Teach me the Jutsu." Sasuke demanded.
"Don't even try, Sasuke." Kakashi warned. "You don't have enough chakra for it, because the Jutsu splits chakra evenly between each clone. Even if you can make one, it will immediately dispel and you'll pass out. The only reason Naruto can use this Jutsu like that is because he has even more chakra than I do."
Sasuke was annoyed, but relented. He now realized that Naruto was getting ahead of him and that, with this Jutsu and training method, he would only get much stronger.
A little further away, Inari was observing the team. He was surprised at the clone technique and at how much faster the blond would get stronger. Maybe... Just maybe, Gato could be defeated.
Since then, for the next couple of days, it had been a small cycle. While Kakashi rested, one Genin protected Tazuna at the bridge and the other two trained.
Something else also happened that shocked Tazuna and Tsunami.
"Defeating Gato isn't impossible, is it?" Inari asked in the middle of dinner.
Kakashi eye-smiled at the boy. "Did watching my team train made you think that?"
Inari nodded before looking at Naruto. "If you have the ability to get over a year's worth of training in less than a week, than defeating Gato should be easy, right?"
Naruto smiled. "Of course." He was mostly cheering the kid up because Tsunami reminded him of Lisa, Alucard's mother. Both of them were women without a single bad bone within them.
Since that conversation, Inari started smiling.
That same evening, Sakura asked about a torn picture on the wall. Tazuna told the story of Kaiza, a fisherman Inari met and rapidly loved like a father and a hero to Nami no Kuni before Gato arrived and executed him.
Inari exited the house and sat down to watch the water.
"May I?" Kakashi asked behind him. Inari nodded and Kakashi sat next to him. "Hearing about Kaiza made me want to tell you something similar about Naruto." That got Inari's attention.
"Unlike you, who still have a mother and grandfather, Naruto was an orphan since the day he was born. In fact, most people hate Naruto because he was born on the same day the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, thinking he was a bad omen." It wasn't a complete lie, but he couldn't tell the whole truth. "But, surprisingly enough, Naruto did not cry once. Or perhaps I should say, he never cared about what people thought of him. To him, they were random bystanders who judged whatever and whoever was remotely connected to something they hated or feared. Their opinions didn't mean a thing to him. He only cared about the opinion of a select few, like myself or the Hokage. Family and friends are what matters the most in this world, but you already knew that, didn't you?" He eye-smiled.
Inari did. He only wanted his family to live in peace.
After the week ended, Team 7 and Kakashi, fully recovered, headed to the bridge with Tazuna. Naruto left a few clones at the house, saying there should be some security for Tsunami and Inari.
When they arrived at the bridge, everyone was on the ground, in pain.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Tazuna demanded in panic.
At that moment, a mist appeared.
The team gathered around Tazuna and each pulled a kunai.
Sasuke's heart was pounding in excitement. He had felt worthless in the last battle against Zabuza. But this time, he would show his strength.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kakashi." Zabuza's voice echoed through the mist. "Though, you probably should have come alone. That brat over there is shaking again." Six Mizu Zabuza suddenly appeared around the group.
Sasuke smirked, to the clones' confusion.
"I'm not shaking in fear, but in excitement." He said.
"Go for it, Sasuke." Kakashi said.
Sasuke charged and got rid of all of the clones by himself.
"He can defeat Mizu Bunshins now, huh?" Zabuza observed. "You may have found a rival, Haku..."
"So it would seem." The false hunter-nin said. "Even if a Mizu Bunshin is only a tenth of the original's power."
"Well, we made the first move." Zabuza said. "Go for it."
Haku charged at Sasuke with great speed and threw senbon needles, but they were blocked by Sasuke's kunai. They then clashed with their respective weapons.
"Oh... To be able to catch Haku's speed. He really has improved." Zabuza commented.
"I don't want to kill you." Haku told Sasuke. "But you will not back down, will you?"
"What are you, stupid?" Sasuke taunted.
"As I thought... But you won't be able to keep up with me for my next move." Haku warned. "And I'm already two steps ahead of you."
"Two steps?"
"First is the water around us. I am in my natural element. The second one is that you have one of your arms busy. You can only take or block my attacks. I, on the other hand..." Haku trailed off as he performed single-handed handsigns with his free hand, to Team 7's shock.
"Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suisho!" He called out as he stomped a foot on the bridge, bringing all the water left by the Mizu Bunshin in the air and turning into ice needles, all aimed at Sasuke.
Haku jumped back to avoid the needles, while Sasuke focused chakra on his feet to jump high in the air.
Sasuke started throwing shurikens at Haku, who constantly jumped back to dodge them, before Sasuke appeared behind Haku.
"You're too slow." Sasuke said. "Now, you can only take or block my attacks." He said, using the fake hunter-nin's previous statement against him.
He attacked Haku with a kunai, but Haku grappled the arm to stop it. Sasuke didn't stop there. He threw the kunai at his opponent's face, but Haku ducked to dodge. Sasuke used that opportunity to kick him in the face, sending him flying towards Zabuza.
"He surpassed Haku in speed?" Zabuza said, shocked.
"Now try to make fun of my team because they're children." Kakashi said with pride. "Sasuke was the rookie of the year, Sakura is highly intellectual, and Naruto is the most cool-headed and collected of the three and is able to come up with plans on the spot, as I am sure you remember."
Zabuza scowled as he remembered that damn Fuma Shuriken. He then chuckled.
"Haku. You do know you'll be defeated if you keep up this pace?" Zabuza asked.
Haku got up. "Yes." He said as his aura changed. The air was noticeably colder. He was serious now.
Haku performed a handsign. "Hyoton: Makyo Hyosho!" He said calmly as multiple mirrors made of ice formed around Sasuke, their formation resembling a dome.
Haku then disappeared in one of the mirrors before appearing, as a reflection, in every mirror.
"He's a goner now that Haku is using that technique." Zabuza claimed.
"Shall we get started?" Haku asked. "This is my true speed."
Immediately, Sasuke was attacked by senbon needles from every direction. He was wailing in pain as his weapons were now out of his reach.
Kakashi and Naruto started running towards the dome, but Zabuza stood in Kakashi's way while letting Naruto pass.
"Even if he progressed as much as the other one, it will mean nothing against Haku's full power." He said. "But if you intervene, Kakashi, I'll kill the girl and the geezer."
Sakura grabbed a kunai and tried to throw it at Sasuke to defend himself, but Haku, appearing from a mirror, caught it before it entered the dome. At the same time, he grabbed Naruto's collar and threw him inside the dome.
Sasuke cursed at that. The mirrors were obviously vital for the Jutsu. If Naruto hadn't been thrown in the dome, they would have had a solid plan. But their opponent knew that weakness and acted on it. He could try one thing, though.
He performed multiple handsigns. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" He breathed out a large fireball to try and melt the ice, but the mirrors were barely affected.
"These flames are not strong enough for that." Haku said before resuming his Jutsu, attacking both Naruto and Sasuke.
"To show you how hopeless it is to defeat me, I shall explain my Jutsu to you. The mirrors are a Travelling Jutsu. Their reflections work with me and only me. With my speed and the reflections combined, you are standing still until I'm no longer attacking."
Kakashi cursed. He had to save his students, but couldn't leave Tazuna unprotected from Zabuza. There was only one thing he could do.
He uncovered his left eye.
Zabuza chuckled. "The Sharingan again? How unoriginal." He pulled out a kunai and aimed to stab it straight in Kakashi's Sharingan. Only for Kakashi to block the blade with his free hand, injuring himself in the process.
"You call it unoriginal, yet you aim for it first. Are you afraid of it?" Kakashi asked.
Zabuza chuckled again. "You're not supposed to show your trump card more than once to your enemy."
"Be grateful. You're the only enemy to see it more than once. And I guarantee there will not be third time."
Zabuza smirked beneath his bandages. "Even if you defeat me, Haku is more powerful than I am when he is using that Jutsu." He said, to Kakashi's shock.
"Then I will have to hurry up." Kakashi said, opening his Sharingan eye.
"Good luck with that." Zabuza smirked. "Haku observed our battle with his brilliant mind. He already found counters for your Sharingan. Just like with the Water Prison for you, the Sharingan won't work on me twice. Ninpo: Kirigakure no Jutsu." The Mist thickened and Zabuza disappeared. They couldn't even see the dome anymore.
Back with Sasuke and Naruto
As the situation kept getting worse, Sasuke was beginning to be able to follow Haku's speed. He started breathing fireballs in Haku's way, forcing him to dodge before resuming his assault.
Back with Kakashi and Zabuza
"Why did he make the mist so thick? He even shouldn't be able to see through it." Kakashi thought before he blocked a couple of shuriken aimed at him.
"You blocked them all. As expected from Kakashi of the Sharingan." He heard behind him. He turned around and saw Zabuza, who had his eyes closed.
"You overestimate your Sharingan." Zabuza said. "What good will it do if you're blind to your surroundings?"
"If you keep your eyes closed, you're blind as well." Kakashi countered.
"I am a master of the Silent Killing. My sense of hearing is all I need to find my target." Zabuza said as he disappeared once more.
Kakashi cursed. "I haven't had to fight in such a bad situation in a long time." He calmed down and focused. "Think Kakashi, where will Zabuza strike next?" His eyes opened wide in realization. "Oh no!"
Zabuza was behind Tazuna and Sakura. He swung his Zanbato at the bridge builder.
Only for Kakashi to take the blow, leaving a bloody gash on his torso.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried out in horror.
"You were too slow to guard yourself, Kakashi." Zabuza said. "But don't keel over quite yet, I still have to pay you back for last time." He chuckled as he disappeared in the mist.
Kakashi immediately gave chase.
Back with Sasuke and Naruto
Both Genin were practically pincushions under Haku's assault. However, Sasuke was finally fully able to follow Haku's movements.
He had grabbed a senbon needle from the floor and blocked the others.
"How are you able to do that, all of a sudden?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke looked at Naruto with a smirk. His irises were red. His right eye had two tomoe while his left one eye had a single one.
He had finally awakened the Sharingan.
"So you have a Kekkei Genkai as well." Haku said. "Then I'll have to defeat you before you can completely predict my movements."
Of course, Haku knew that attacking Sasuke directly was foolish now.
He charged straight for Naruto.
Sasuke ran as fast as he could to get between Haku and Naruto. Once he did, he could only take the blow for Naruto and push Haku away.
Sasuke's blood was dripping down to the floor as he fell down.
"Sasuke!" Naruto called out as he caught Sasuke's falling body.
"Is this really it?" Sasuke wondered. "I promised myself...I wouldn't die until I killed my brother... N-Naruto... After what I did...you better not...die." He said before he close his eyes.
There was a moment of silence before Haku got up and spoke.
"Is this the first time you see someone precious die?" He asked as he returned to the mirrors. "This is the path of a Shinobi."
Naruto chuckled, to Haku's confusion. Naruto got up and turned to Haku, who recoiled at the blond's gaze.
It was more bloodthirsty than Zabuza's when he talked about the Yondaime Mizukage.
"Someone precious?" Naruto asked with a smirk. "You misunderstand. With this mist hiding us from the rest of the group and with Sasuke out of the picture, I no longer need to hold back." He said as red chakra swirled around him. His wounds healed and he was no longer covered in senbon needles. His irises were blood red with slit pupils. His teeth turned into fangs and his nails lengthened into small claws. His hair became wilder and his whiskers thickened.
"This thirst for blood... What is he? How was he hiding this within himself?"
Naruto charged at Haku and punched the mirror he was in, smashing it in pieces. Haku tried to attack from above through one of the shards, but Naruto twisted his body and caught Haku's arm. Naruto reared his free arm and punched Haku square in the face, sending him flying out of the dome, which entirely broke after that last attack.
Haku could barely get up. That single punch alone proved he was outmatched. "I am sorry, Zabuza-sama, I cannot defeat him." He lamented as his mask broke to pieces.
Naruto charged at Haku and kneed him in the guts and punched him into the ground. He continued his assault until his hands were drenched in blood. There was no need to go further. His opponent was dead.
A crystal-like orb shot out of Haku, to Naruto's shock, and disappeared within Naruto.
"A soul? But how did..." Naruto wondered. His eyes widened in realization and he smirked. "Of course, I always could dominate human souls, but most of them were worthless. This world, however, is very promising." He chuckled.
With Kakashi and Zabuza
"This chakra... Is the seal broken? ...No. If it was, the chakra would be much stronger than this." Kakashi thought as he pulled out a scroll "I can't afford to waste time, now."
He opened the scroll, took some blood from his wound, applied it to the scroll, made some handsigns and slammed the scroll on the floor. "Ninpo Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu!"
Beneath Zabuza's feet, dogs summoned by the scroll attacked Zabuza and restrained him by holding onto him with their jaws.
"If I can't follow you with my eyes or ears, I'll simply use my nose. I stopped your attacks and made your weapons reek of my blood to allow them to track you. The entire time you thought I was trapped, you were the one who fell for it." Kakashi said, making Zabuza scowl. "Tell me, Zabuza, do you think I survived this long only because of the Sharingan? Then allow me to show you a Jutsu of my own creation, not a copy."
He performed a few handsigns before lightning chakra gathered in his palm and around him. "Raikiri!"
Zabuza's eyes were wide in shock. "The chakra is visible in his hand."
Kakashi charged and rammed his lightning-covered hand into Zabuza's torso, piercing his heart.
The summoned dogs disappeared now that their task was completed.
"Sakura, Tazuna-san!" Kakashi called out. "Let's hurry to Naruto and Sasuke!"
They all ran towards where they thought the dome was, except they only saw...
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called out in horror as she ran to the Uchiha.
Kakashi was horrified, but also looked around for Naruto. In the slowly dissipating mist, he saw two figures: one was down and the other was standing over the other one. As he approached the two figures, he saw that Naruto was the one standing up.
"Hey, Naruto." Kakashi called out, but didn't receive an answer. He frowned, but saw the problem when he approached Naruto.
Naruto had a horrified look on his face as he looked at his hands, which were drenched in blood. Kakashi patted Naruto's shoulder, snapping the blond out of his thoughts.
"K-Kakashi-sensei..." Naruto said, his voice trembling. "He killed Sasuke...I just lost control."
Kakashi nodded. It certainly explained the Kyuubi's chakra earlier. Because of the fox, he did his first, and easily the hardest, kill.
"Do you hate the feeling of killing someone?" Kakashi asked.
"Of course I do!" Naruto scowled as he lied. "This feeling is disgusting."
"Then always remember it, for as long as you hate this feeling, you are a human, not a demon like the people of Konoha think you are. Let's go join Sakura and Tazuna."
Naruto nodded as he followed Kakashi. He saw Sakura crying over Sasuke's body.
"S-Sakura... You're heavy." Sasuke panted as he regained consciousness.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried in joy as she helped him get up.
"So Haku only put him in a near-death, or did he miss the killing shot?" Kakashi wondered.
"Aww, isn't this cute." A voice at the end of the bridge said with sarcasm.
Everybody got on guard and turned to see a small man with a small army of mercenaries behind him.
"Gato!" Tazuna said.
"I really should really thank you for killing Zabuza, as I had no intentions of paying him in the first place. Though I wish you had kept the other one alive. I would have loved to make him pay for breaking my hand." Gato said as he looked at his left hand, which was in bandages.
Before Gato could say anything else, an arrow landed right in front of him. Everyone turned to where the arrow came from and saw Inari holding a crossbow, the people of Nami behind him, holding various makeshift weapons such as pitchforks, and Naruto's clones beside him. The clones dispelled to give the original their chakra and memories. After they had stopped two mercenaries from taking Tsunami hostage, they followed Inari to gather the people to stand against Gato.
"Anyone who tries to pillage and steal from the island will face the force of the island!" Someone from the crowd said as the rest cheered in agreement.
Tazuna was crying in joy. "Inari... Everyone..."
The mercenaries were intimidated by the larger number.
"Scared now that you're outnumbered, huh? All right then, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Dozens of Naruto appeared, further scaring the mercenaries.
"Not a bad idea. I should have enough chakra to help." Kakashi said as he made dozens of Kage Bunshin.
The mercenaries were now running away, leaving Gato, who was much slower, behind.
"Oh no, you don't!" Naruto said as his clones chased and restrained the short man. "The people of Nami want to have a word with you."
The people of Nami all let out a Victory Cry.
When the bridge was finally completed a few weeks later, Team 7 had to leave.
"We've completed the bridge thanks to you, but we're going to miss you." Tazuna said.
"Be well." Tsunami said.
"Thank you for everything." Kakashi said as Team 7 turned around and left.
Tazuna smiled as he looked at Naruto. "That boy changed Inari's heart, and Inari changed the heart of the villagers. That boy created a bridge, called courage, which led to hope. Speaking of bridges, we have to name this one." Tazuna turned to the people. "What do you all think of the Great Naruto Bridge?" Everyone cheered in agreement.
While most of Team 7 were glad the mission was over, Naruto wondered what kind of new abilities he'd gain through the Power of Dominance.
And there you guys go! About the Power of Dominance taking Haku's soul, I feel like Dracula would be able to take in human souls. I mean, he can take zombie souls. He just didn't take any human souls because most humans weren't worth his attention. That's my take on it.
Also, an important thing i need to talk about. A plot bunny showed in my head since the beginning of my hiatus. How would you guys feel about a Rosario Vampire fic with Tsukune having the powers of Emerl from Sonic Battle? I hear the Manga is more action-oriented, so that will be the main focus, but I probably could fit some of the Anime's more romance-oriented moments in it. It all depends on your interest, really.
I've rambled enough, until next time!