A Dangerous Mission to Gain Resolve

I don't own Naruto or Bleach.


Squad 7 watched as the Daimyo's wife smothered Tora the cat and didn't feel sorry at all. Hiruzen looked at the list of available missions and said "Alright. For Squad 7's next mission, babysitting, helping with shopping, digging up potatoes…" Naruto let his Reiatsu leak out of the room and everyone but the Daimyo's wife froze. Lilynette hit Naruto with her tail and said "Stop it, you idiot." Naruto glared at her and frowned. She turned to Hiruzen and Iruka and said "In Naruto's own words, I wanna go on a real mission!" Sasuke continued to frown and thought "He does have a point." Sakura appeared to be annoyed as she thought "But he's so annoying." Kakashi sighed as he thought "I knew this was coming." Iruka shot to his feet and shouted "How dare you?! You're just a brand new Genin with no expereance!" They all heard Naruto snore as he sat on the floor and everyone fell forward.

Naruto fell back and Lilynette jumped onto his gut. Naruto shot up and coughed hard as he backhanded Lilynette. Lilynette growled at him and said "Pay attention, moron!" Naruto glared at her and Lilynette scoffed then said "Maybe I'll have to tell Anko that you're using that kind of language." Naruto turned pale and backed up against the wall as he coward. Lilynette looked at Hiruzen and said "He's right though. How are they supposed to get real expereance if they paint walls?" Hiruzen seemed to think this through as Lilynette said "He's not the lonely little kid anymore. He's a ninja now and with how far he's been progressing during my "training", he deserves a higher ranked mission" Naruto timidly rejoined his Squad but hid behind Kakashi.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head and said "I'm going to hear about this later." Hiruzen chuckled as he smoked his pipe and said "Naruto wants us to know that he's not a brat. He's a former brat." Naruto went to strangle the old man but Kakashi grabbed his collar and said "No killing the Hokage, Naruto." Hiruzen continued to smile and said "So be it." All the Genin of Squad 7 seemed to gain interest in this while Naruto stopped struggling as Hiruzen said "I'm going to give you a C-Ranked Mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey." Naruto seemed to get excited and was looking like he'd just won a year supply of ramen.

Hiruzen looked toward the door and said "Send in our visitor." They all looked at the door and saw who they were escorting. It was a middle aged man. He had grey hair and bespectacled eyes. He also had a large grey beard and dark eyes. He was wearing a sleeveless v-neck shirt with an obi, pants, and a pair of sandals. In his left hand was a bottle of sake. The old man frowned at them and asked "A bunch of little snot-nosed brats?" He took a huge swig of sake and continued to frown as he said "You, the little one with the look on your face, you really expect me to believe you're a ninja?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at what the old man said when Sasuke and Sakura stood on either side of him. Naruto looked at both of them then realized who the old man was insulting.

Kakashi grabbed Naruto's collar again and said "You can't demolish the client, Naruto." The old man took another swig and said "I'm Tazuna, a master bridge builder and I must return to my home country. I'm building a bridge there that'll change our world and I expect you to get me there safely." Naruto used Sonído to vanish in a low boom while Lilynette vanished with a small static sound and a shimmer.


Lilynette found Naruto at the Memorial Stone and phased into her Arrancar form. She walked up to him and stared at the name Lilynette requested be put on the stone.

Coyote Starrk

Lilynette frowned at the name and said "It's going to be alright." Naruto reached for his chest and Lilynette said "Starrk would want you to have his powers. You are more like him than you know." Naruto sighed and Lilynette told him "You're the strongest in the village. All the training you need from me is complete. You just need to figure out our true name." Naruto turned to her and made a strangled gasping sound. Lilynette smiled kindly as she said "You need to get ready. Bring Zangetsu with you… just in case." Naruto smiled back and nodded. He vanished with a low boom and Lilynette's happy expression suddenly turned serious.

Lilynette looked down at the stone and said "He's coming along faster than expected." A sharp pain shot through her chest and Lilynette collapsed. She gasped in pain and panted. As the pain dulled, she looked up and said "But he needs to hurry or it'll be too late." She shakily got to her feet and said "He needs to find out our true name soon." She vanished with a shimmer and the sound of static.

(Half an Hour Later)

Naruto led Squad 7, Lilynette, and Tazuna out of the village and stretched. He got a smile and Lilynette flinched. She bared her teeth and said "Watch the volume, you idiot. I can hear everything you think." Naruto chuckled a little and Tazuna asked "Am I supposed to trust my life to this runt? He's a joke!" Naruto suddenly froze and let out a huge amount of Reiatsu. Lilynette bit Naruto's arm and Naruto swung his arm about as he attempted to get her off. When Lilynette finally let go, she flew up into the air and twisted her body around. She landed several feet in front of Naruto and said "I told you not to release that much Reiatsu." Naruto reached for Zangetsu when a pinch ran through his neck. He flinched and felt that his heartbeat was a little off.

As they walked, Sakura kept glancing at Zangetsu on Naruto's back. Naruto finally had enough and Lilynette said "Zangetsu." Sakura looked at her as she said "His name. It's Zangetsu. He's his friend." Sakura got even more confused and asked "His friend?" Naruto sighed and Lilynette said "Yes. He listens to his troubles, gives him advice, and talks with him." Sasuke scoffed and said "It's just a stupid sword. It's not like its actually living." Naruto vanished with a low boom and appeared behind Sasuke with Zangetsu's blade pointed at his neck. Kakashi grabbed Naruto's wrist and said "Naruto, you can't kill Sasuke." Naruto pressed the blade a little closer to Sasuke's throat and Lilynette said "Naruto's a little sensitive when it comes to the subject of Zangetsu." Naruto got back in front of the group with Zangetsu's hilt wrap around the blade and attached to his back.

When they stopped for lunch, Naruto quietly ate some vegetables with a disgusted look on his face. Lilynette walked off and Sakura asked "Where are you going?" Lilynette kept quiet and Naruto stood up. He went after her and followed her to a secluded area surrounded by trees. She phased into her Arrancar form and collapsed on the ground. Naruto quickly ran over to her and checked on her. Lilynette pushed him away as she stood up and said "I'm fine." Naruto help her up and Lilynette pushed him away. She panted and staggered back to the group.

Naruto frowned and narrowed his eyes. Lilynette took several deep breaths and said "I told you I'm fine." Naruto folded his arms and Lilynette gritted her teeth. She wheeled around to Naruto and shouted "I told you that I'm okay!" Naruto continued to frown and Lilynette finally caught her breath as she stood normally and said "That always happens. I'm just really exhausted." Naruto raised an eyebrow then let his arms fall to his sides. Lilynette put her hands on her hips and said "One last piece of information. In order for you to learn our true name, you must know what true solitude is." Naruto continued to keep his eyebrow raised as Lilynette said "The embodiment of your power is solitude. True solitude is when our true name will be clear." She walked back in her wolf form and Naruto got even more confused.

(Several Minutes Later)

Naruto flinched as his hand stung from the poison in it that the Demon Brothers had injected in him and gritted his teeth. He glared at it and thought "Damn it. I can't believe that I didn't sense them." Kakashi looked off to the side and said "Naruto's hand could become a problem. I guess we should head back to the village." Naruto pulled a kunai from his tool pouch and stabbed his left hand. Everyone looked at him in shock as Naruto proceeded to drop the kunai then grabbed Zangetsu. The hilt wrap unraveled from the blade and Naruto faced the Demon Brothers. Naruto looked at Lilynette and she pulled a black book out of thin air. She flipped through it before stopping on a page and said "It's not much but they'll provide enough food for about a week." Naruto stepped toward the Demon Brothers and Kakashi shielded Sakura for he knew what was coming.

(The Next Day)

Naruto sat, board out of his mind, in the front of the boat that Squad 7 and Tazuna were using to get to the Land of Waves and sighed. He closed his eyes and dived into his inner world.


Naruto opened his eyes and found himself in a sewer. He sighed and said "I was hoping for mine and Zangetsu's inner world." Lilynette appeared in front of him and asked "What did you want?" Naruto folded his arms and said "I want you to really tell me what's wrong with you." Lilynette groaned and said "I told you that I was fine. What more do you want?" Naruto frowned and said "I want the truth." Lilynette turned away and said "I can't." Naruto frowned even more and asked "Why?" Lilynette looked up and said "You'll be how you were when you were younger." She vanished and Naruto continued to frown.


Naruto came back to reality just as they were walking through a forest again and opened his Pesquisa. Naruto stopped and Lilynette asked "Something up?" Everyone turned to Naruto as he threw a kunai into a bush. Sakura hit Naruto over the head and shouted "Naruto, you idiot! Don't scare us like that!" Kakashi and Lilynette went to investigate and Sakura went a few seconds later with Naruto behind her. Sakura turned around and shouted "Naruto, look what you did!" Naruto saw a little white bunny on its back and twitching with the kunai just a centimeter above its head. Naruto freaked out and ran to the bunny. He scooped it up in his arms and hugged it as he cried and silently apologized.

Lilynette frowned and thought "That's a snow rabbit. But the color…" She looked around and thought "They only have a white pelt in the winter." She and Kakashi met eyes and knew the other must be thinking the same thing. Lilynette opened her Pesquisa and frowned as she turned around then looked into the trees. Kakashi followed her gaze before both turned around. Kakashi turned back to the others and shouted "Look out!" A giant grey blur flew toward them and everyone hit the dirt. The sword lodged in the tree and a man with bandages wrapped around his lower jaw landed on top of it.

Naruto and Lilynette recognized the man from their black book while Kakashi just narrowed his one eye. Naruto sat the bunny down and removed Zangetsu from his back. Naruto vanished with a low boom and appeared behind Zabuza and swung Zangetsu. Zabuza caught the blade with one hand and said "You're far too out of my league to be fighting me with swords." He kicked Naruto back to the ground and tossed Zangetsu aside. Naruto landed on his back and rolled until Lilynette stopped him.

Kakashi reached up to his headband and said "If he's our opponent, I'll need this." Zabuza looked down at Kakashi and said "Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye. Did I get that right?" Sasuke seemed intrigued at this and the man said "It's too bad. But you'll have to hand over the old man." Naruto seemed confused and thought "Sharingan? What's that?" Naruto yawned as Lilynette bit his sleeve and pulled him over in front of Tazuna. Naruto looked down at her and thought "What?" Lilynette glared up at Naruto and said "Kakashi told us to get into a defensive formation to protect the old coot." Naruto yawned and thought "Not my problem." Naruto then noticed Kakashi pulled up the left side of his headband and reveal a red eye with three tomes in a circle around the pupil.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and reached for Zangetsu only to find that it was gone. He gritted his teeth and thought "Oh yeah." He noticed Zangetsu in the tree to his right and quickly vanished with a low boom then reappeared in the same spot with Zangetsu in his hands. The mist around them thickened as Zabuza said "As for you jōnin, in the assassination unit of the Hidden Mist Village, we had a standing order to destroy you on sight." Naruto gripped Zangetsu tightly and got ready to move when Lilynette said "Don't even think about it." Zabuza crouched down and said "Enough talking. I need to exterminate the old man." Zabuza and vanished along with his sword and both appeared on the lake. Zabuza held his right hand in front of his chest and left hand over his head. The mist swirled around him as he proclaimed "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" The mist grew even thicker and Zabuza vanished.

Sakura and Sasuke joined Naruto and Lilynette around Tazuna and both took out kunai. Naruto held Zangetsu in front of him and thought "I'm not good using my Pesquisa yet. I can only keep it up for about five seconds." Lilynette scoffed and thought "Maybe that wouldn't happen if you actually practiced with it instead of sleeping." Naruto frowned and kicked Lilynette in her hind right leg. Lilynette made a note to get back at him when Zabuza suddenly appeared between them and Tazuna. Kakashi suddenly knocked them all away and stabbed Zabuza in the stomach with a kunai.

Naruto then noticed another Zabuza appear behind Kakashi and Lilynette shouted "Behind you!" The Zabuza that Kakashi stabbed turned into water while the other one swung his sword and sliced Kakashi in half. Kakashi's remains turned to water and Zabuza appeared surprise. Lilynette stared in shock and thought "Kakashi was never this strong back then." Kakashi appeared behind Zabuza and placed a kunai to his neck then said "Now it's over." Naruto swallowed and thought "Damn. That was so fast, even I couldn't follow." Zabuza laughed a little and Kakashi got suspicious.

After a moment of silence, Zabuza asked "Finished?" Naruto frowned and thought "What's he talking about? Kakashi-sensei's got him." He felt a sharp pain in his chest but managed to remain standing. Zabuza then said "Nice try…" The real one appeared behind a shocked Kakashi and said "I'm not that easy to fool." The fake Zabuza turned to water and the real one swung his sword. Kakashi ducked it and Zabuza kicked him toward the lake. Zabuza grabbed his sword and ran after Kakashi but stopped short of the spikes that Kakashi had dropped on the ground. Zabuza turned around and back flipped over the spikes as Kakashi landed in the water.

Sakura stared in horror as she thought "I can't believe Kakashi-sensei got kicked into the air like that." Kakashi managed to get his upper body out of the water and thought "This isn't normal water. It's dense." Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi with his sword on his back while he ran through several hand signs then proclaimed "Water Prison Jutsu!" Kakashi looked back in shock as Zabuza stuck his right hand out at him and a sphere of water appeared around him in a sphere.

Lilynette gritted her teeth and thought "Damn. This is bad." Naruto vanished with a low boom and appeared behind Zabuza. He made for a sweeping slash to Zabuza's legs but the rogue ninja jumped to avoid it. He landed behind Naruto and kicked him in the back. Naruto shot toward the shore and landed on his face. Lilynette growled and shouted "You idiot! You're not ready to fight him yet!" Naruto's headband landed on the ground in front of him. Naruto's silica turned black and his irises turned yellow while his pupils were slitted. They returned to normal as Naruto got up and turned to glare at Zabuza, who created a Water Clone to handle them.

Naruto stood up and glared at Zabuza while his Reiatsu went out full blast. Everyone but Lilynette, Kakashi, and Zabuza fell onto their stomachs while Zabuza thought "What in the world is this pressure?" A small sphere of blue light gathered in front of Naruto's chest and Lilynette stared in shock as she thought "That's…" The light stopped growing several seconds later and shot a blue beam at Zabuza's Water Clone. It tore through it and shot straight toward the rogue Mist jōnin. Zabuza pulled his hand from the sphere and quickly dashed to the right. He then jumped toward Naruto and swung his sword down at him. Naruto lunged to his right and skidded to a holt. Zabuza turned to Naruto and said "You're fast for a Genin." He appeared in front of Naruto with his sword raised and prepared to strike. Sakura suddenly shouted "Get out of the way, Naruto!" Zabuza brought his sword down and a giant cloud of dirt covered him and Naruto. Naruto jumped out of the smoke and landed on a branch in the tree above them.

Naruto and Zabuza locked eyes as Naruto began to breathe heavy and thought "Damn. My legs won't stop shaking and my chest won't stop hurting." Zabuza swung his sword and Naruto jumped off the tree and to another to not fall to the ground with the tree. Zabuza jumped up to the tree as well and he and Naruto clashed with dust covering them.

Everyone continued to watch and Sakura said "Naruto." Lilynette continued to watch in shock as she thought "He's matching Zabuza move for move. The kind of training to take on an expert swordsman like him takes years to master. But Naruto's doing that with just a couple of days of training." Kakashi finally staggered over to them and told Lilynette "It would appear your training is paying off." Sakura turned to Kakashi and said "Kakashi-sensei, you have to hurry and help Naruto." Kakashi did nothing and asked "If I were to step in now, what would become of Naruto's pride?" Naruto and Zabuza continued to fight as Kakashi said "Even if by going to his aide, the cost of such an act would be the cost of his pride." Sakura began getting even more worried and said "That doesn't even make any sense!" Lilynette lowered her head for a moment then looked back at Naruto.

She closed her eyes and said "Listen here and remember these words." Sakura and Sasuke looked at her as she said "There are two kinds of battles. Those of us chosen to be warriors and to fight those battles must always be aware of the difference between the two." Naruto skidded back on the ground when he landed and Zabuza continued his attack as Lilynette said "There are battles that are fought to protect lives and there are battles to protect honor. Naruto knows of how Zabuza became a ninja and couldn't stand how he could kill all those kids." She opened her eyes again and said "Right now, Naruto's fighting for honor. That of the kids that died and his own honor. And above all, our honor as Leaf Village Shinobi." Naruto panted and used Zangetsu to stay upright.

Zabuza landed in front of him and said "I can't believe that a kid is actually giving me a challenge. I find it almost a shame that I have to kill you." Naruto looked up at Zabuza with a cocky smile as if to dare Zabuza to attack him. Zabuza swung his sword and it landed about an inch into Naruto's shoulder. Zabuza pulled back and blood fell to the ground from the cut he got the sword. He thrust his sword at Naruto to stab him, only for Naruto to block it with Zangetsu. Lilynette decided to make it a little harder and called out "Naruto! Remember when you said Zabuza was a fish-faced moron that is always second to Kisame?!" Zabuza seemed to push harder and went over Zangetsu to thrust into the same cut and make it deeper. Naruto managed to block Zabuza's stab again and jumped back several feet while he tried to ignore the pain in his body. He saw Zabuza get ready to attack and thought "I finally figured it out. His limit is three attacks at full power."

(Flashback)

Lilynette stood with Naruto in the middle of a forest and said "Listen up. When it comes down to the heat of a battle, remember this one thing. The stronger the attack, the more limitations there are upon the number of attacks." Naruto got confused and asked "How so?" Lilynette sighed in annoyance then said "A Phoenix Flower Jutsu can be fired multiple times while an arrow can only be fired once. In the same way, the number of consecutive attacks is always predetermined."

(End Flashback)

Naruto stared at Zabuza and thought "When he first swings that sword, he has to give about 33%. He can repeat the process two more times before he tires and must rest for about 10 seconds." Naruto dashed forward and Zabuza thrust forward. Naruto stepped to the right and thought "One." Zabuza thrust his sword against and Naruto went to the left this time. "Two." Zabuza swung his sword and Naruto parried it. "Three." He jumped in the air as Zabuza brought his sword back then realized that Naruto caught him. Naruto brought Zangetsu down and Zabuza turned the left side of his body outward. Zabuza brought his sword down and cut Naruto's left arm clean off as he said "I told you that you're far too out of my league to be playing with swords." Naruto fell to the ground and Zabuza stepped back.

Zabuza rested his sword on his shoulder and said "I'll admit that you actually caught me by surprise and you're on par with several members of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. But you're not in my league yet." Kakashi made to go help when Lilynette stopped him. She shook her head and said "I can hear his thoughts and he's gaining resolve." Naruto panted as he pushed himself to his feet while leaning on Zangetsu and looked at the ground.

(Flashback)

Naruto got to his feet as he faced Lilynette and shouted "You really tried to kill me just now!" Lilynette walked next to the large crevice that Naruto had made days ago as she said "I'm going to keep pushing you and pushing you to teach you to use that technique anytime and anywhere." Naruto looked at her like she was an idiot and said "Come on. That was just a total fluke." Lilynette rested her sword on her shoulder and said "I'm going to teach you to use that technique when you want." Lilynette slowly walked toward him and said "Your strength is at that of about sexta. But the power you possess is that of Primera. In order to gain that power, you need to be able to use that technique at will." Naruto sighed and said "Easier said than done. That took everything out of me. I can't remember anything about that." Lilynette then said "Then let's play tag until you remember." Naruto went wide eyed and began running.

(Two Minutes Later)

Naruto panted and coughed as she said "Damn it. If she keeps this up, she's actually going to kill me." Lilynette suddenly appeared in front of him and swung her sword upward. Naruto dove to the right to dodge dodged again and Lilynette swung her sword down again and covered the area in a dust cloud. The dust soon settled to reveal Lilynette was standing in the middle of a crater. She jumped out of the crater said "I'm so disappointed in you. Sadly, your sword exhibits only fear." Naruto stared at her in shock as she said "When you counter, it's because you're afraid of being killed. When you attack, you fear killing. And when you try to protect someone, you fear you could let them die." Lilynette raised her sword over her head and said "The only thing your sword reeks of is senseless fear." The ground began to crack and the pieces rose into the air while her sword began glowing bright green.

Naruto's shock slowly diminished as he realized Lilynette was right. He gripped Zangetsu tightly then narrowed his eyes. His silica turned extremely light blue and were glowing. Lilynette noticed this as well as the sudden explosion of Naruto's Reiatsu. The ground cracked around Naruto as he raised his sword and the pieces floated up into the air. Lilynette could feel the even more explosive power coming off of Naruto and smirked as Naruto's sword began glowing blue. They both swung their swords and an extremely bright light engulfed their beings.

(End Flashback)

Naruto panted and opened his determined eyes. Zabuza seemed to notice the difference in Naruto's attitude as the young Genin rested Zangetsu on his shoulder. Naruto's eyes glowed bright blue and he released a huge amount of Reiatsu. Lilynette smiled and said "Looks like he finally got the idea." Naruto's entire being glowed blue for less than a second before it turned into a strong gust of wind. Zabuza gritted his teeth under his bandages and thought "He's different. A second ago, he was feeble and now… it's like he's not afraid to die." Naruto jumped high into the air with Zangetsu raised and Zabuza swung his sword.

Naruto spun to the left just before the sword could touch him as he thought "When you counter, don't let him cut you." He landed and Zabuza's right and blocked his sword as he thought "When you protect someone, don't let them die." He knocked Zabuza's arm in the air and raised Zangetsu, causing it to glow blue as he thought "When you attack…" The blood coming down from Naruto's stump of an arm shot out and reformed his arm as Naruto thought "…kill!" Zabuza attempted to block but his sword was broken in two and a giant gash appeared in his chest as he was thrown by a beam of light into a tree.

Naruto appeared in front of the quaking Zabuza and thought "Time to end this." Two senbon suddenly pierced Zabuza's neck and he fell to the side. Naruto suddenly felt tired and looked in the tree the senbon had come from to see a boy in a white mask with the symbol of the Hidden Mist Village on it. He then fell back and passed out.


Next Chapter should be out in a few hours. Keep reading to know when.