Welcome to chapter 2! Hopefully you're enjoying it so far! As always, I don't own the rights to Naruto or anything related to him.
Pairings...As things are rather slow, I have a few ideas in mind of how the story will turn out. Let me know which of these sound good?
ItachixSakura, KisamexSakura, HidanxSakura, ShikamaruxSakura. If there's any others you would like, let me know! The story is still in it's beginning stages obviously, so nothing is certain.
"Get in manji formation, protect Tazuna. Stay out of this fight, I will handle Zabuza." Kakashi's voice was unusually calm, and Sakura watched as the man tugged his headband up to reveal his eye. The sharingan. She saw Sasuke's eyes widen and confusion flash over his face.
"How?" Sasuke's comment went unheard, with Naruto looking between the two sharingan user's in confusion. All of a sudden, a thin mist started to surround them.
"Enough talking. I need to exterminate the old man." Zabuza growled, crouching down on his sword. The three genin hurried into formation, each having a kunai out in a battle stance. Sakura kept her attention on Zabuza however, frustrated that she couldn't step in and take him on herself. In a flash, Zabuza flickered out of sight, reappearing on top of the water with his sword on his back. The swordsmen had one arm in the air, both hands almost in a full fist. Sakura could sense the build up of chakra, and readied herself for the fight that was about to begin.
"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu." The mist got thicker around Zabuza, completely blocking their view of him now. Sakura glanced around in anticipation, trying to sense where he was.
"Eight spots."
Sakura's eyes widened as she knew what he was about to list off. The 8 vulnerable spots, ones that Sakura knew all too well.
"The Larynx, the spine, the lungs, the liver, the jugular, and the subclavian veins, the kidneys, the heart…Now which spot should I hit first?" Naruto and Sasuke suddenly froze as a strong killing intent washed over them. Sakura forced herself to look scared, hands shaking. The feeling was something she knew well, Danzo has put her through many tests to prepare her for her mission.
"Sasuke! Don't worry, I will protect you with my own life." Kakashi's words were calming, allowing Sasuke to relax just a bit as he gripped his kunai a bit tighter. He forced himself to focus, the orange ninja next to him doing the same. Not even a second later, the three genin felt a presence appearing directly between them and Tazuna. Kakashi was there a second later, kunai being shoved into Zabuza's abdomen as the three genin threw themselves to the side.
Sakura watched as water spilled from the wound, eyes widening in realization. It was a water clone, and the real Zabuza was right behind him. Slashing his sword through Kakashi, Zabuza's face lit up in surprise when Kakashi turned into nothing but water. 'Water clone jutsu? It can't be..' Suddenly a kunai was pressed to the hidden mist ninja's neck.
"Don't move." Zabuza smirked,
"I'm not a fool." Suddenly Kakashi sliced the neck of the man, who turned into water, reappearing right behind Kakashi. The swordsmen swung his sword quickly, forcing Kakashi to duck. Sword slamming into the ground, Zabuza placed a hand on the handle before using it to balance himself as he kicked out at Kakashi. The jounin brought his hands up to block his foot, but was too late, being kicked out into the water. It took Kakashi a moment to drag himself back up, Zabuza appearing next to him when he did. The swordsman immediately started flashing through hand signs. Within seconds, he was yelling,
"Water Prison Jutsu!" Kakashi cursed under his breath, now unable to escape. Zabuza quickly created a water clone with his free hand, with the intent to end the battle now. The mist hid him once again, and moments later Naruto was crashing to the ground from a forceful kick, headband flying to the ground.
"Naruto!" Sakura found herself shouting, though she knew she shouldn't be worried. Using the distraction to quickly make a clone, she sent the clone off into forest around them without being seen. Just in case it was needed, Sakura had to be careful.
"Run! You need to get out of here, you are no match for Zabuza!" Kakashi yelled out, voice slightly muffled from the water prison. "He will kill you all!" Sasuke shook his head slightly before he charged for Zabuza, knowing the only option they actually had was to free Kakashi. In a matter of seconds Zabuza had his hand wrapped around Sasuke's neck, squeezing tightly before flinging him to the side.
Sakura had to force herself to stay calm, she couldn't reveal herself. She couldn't let them all die either could she? Her mission was to stay in character, be useless, and keep an eye on Naruto. Who she was at the moment, meant she didn't have the ability to take on Zabuza.
Naruto was charging at Zabuza a moment later as well, and Sakura gritted her teeth in frustration. None of them were a match for the man, but Sakura could only stand there and do nothing. She couldn't reveal herself. As soon as Naruto was within distance, he was barreling back to them. Blood dripped down his chin, as he shakily pulled himself to his feet. Tying his headband on once more, he grinned.
"Hey! Put this in your bingo book…I am the man who will one day become the Leaf Village's Hokage. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I never back down!"
It only took a moment for Naruto and Sasuke to come up with a plan, with Sakura deciding to stay back and see how they would handle it. She was curious to whether or not the two genin could actually take down someone like Zabuza.
"You remember what to do?" Sasuke questioned Naruto with a smirk, turning towards the sphere his sensei was trapped in.
"Of course I do! It was my plan anyways." Naruto laughed before turning away from Sasuke and facing Zabuza. Making a few hand-signs, he smirked as several Naruto's popped into existence. They all charged at Zabuza, each one being pushed back. As the real Naruto slid backwards, he pulled a windmill shuriken out of his backpack, tossing it to Sasuke.
"Now!" With a nod, Sasuke hurled it at Zabuza, smirking as it sailed through the air. Zabuza laughed as he easily caught it before he realized a second one was coming his way. Making a quick decision, he tugged his arm away and ended the water jutsu as he jumped away.
"Damn you!" He cursed, bringing the shuriken he now held down onto Kakashi in a last second effort to end the fight there. The jounin easily blocked it with his hand, not even wincing as blood dripped down from the wound.
"Just think, two genin managed to beat you just now, how does that feel Zabuza?" Kakashi spoke calmly, face oddly serious as his eyes followed Zabuza's every movement.
"We are ending this now." The swordsmen growled before they both jumped away from each other, hands both following the same patterns.
"Water Style! Water Dragon Jutsu!" They both yelled out at the same time, two water dragons spiraling up between them to compete. Water sprang onto land, easily knocking Tazuna over as they tried to keep their eyes on the fight before them. Underneath it all, Zabuza had his sword pressed against one of Kakashi's kunai. As Kakashi finally shoved the sword back, a senbon came flying out of the trees, landing easily in the side of Zabuza's neck. The ninja's eyes widened in surprise before falling shut as his body fell limp in the water. Kakashi jumped back in surprise, eyes darting up to the masked ninja standing in the trees.
"What?" Sakura whispered, realizing she hadn't been paying enough attention to her surroundings. 'Where did he come from? Is Zabuza dead?'
"I am sorry about that." The masked ninja suddenly appeared, Zabuza's body thrown over his small shoulder. "I have been watching him for days now. I wasn't sure when to intervene. Thank you." The hunter ninja nodded slightly to Kakashi before he flickered away.
"Wait! Kakashi-sensei? Who was that?" Naruto pulled himself out of the water, wringing his clothes out as he huffed slightly. The jounin sighed softly as he carefully made his way over to his team.
"A hunter ninja. Nothing to be concerned about Naruto.." He trailed off before slumping to the ground, falling unconscious.
"Kakashi-sensei!"
Several days later Kakashi found himself waking up in a small room of an unknown house. Peering slightly from under the blankets, he saw Sakura sitting next to him.
"Kakashi-sensei." She spoke softly, "You're awake…It's been a few days." When Kakashi tried to sit up, Sakura immediantly pushed him back down.
"Sakura-chan, I'm fine." He chuckled weakly, not at all surprised to find that he still had effects from charka exhaustion. Using the sharingan wore him out quickly, as he didn't receive the ability naturally.
"Doctors orders. I have to go check on Naruto and Sasuke now, Tazuna's daughter will be in soon to check on you again." Sakura stood up, forcing a smile onto her face. It wasn't hard to make it seem real, and Sakura knew Kakashi wouldn't see through it. Waving goodbye, she shuffled out of the room before dropping her smile for a moment. Danzo-sama had sent a root agent to her the other night, allowing her to communicate with Danzo. She had received new instructions for the mission, ones that went against what her team mission was.
Sakura needed to infiltrate Gato's hideout, and eliminate him. She then needed to pay Zabuza and his apprentice off to work for Danzo-sama instead, although she had no idea what the use of them would be. Sakura had no doubt in her abilities, she was only terrified to get caught. She couldn't fail.