(Warning, I've decided to get a few One Piece and Soul Eater attacks in this fan fiction. For those who do not know any of them, I will be giving descriptions of them as the characters use them. If you have any complaint, please point it out in a review or pm.)
Chapter 4
"Kurenai sensei, what's wrong?"- Hinata asked. It worried her that the otherwise happy and chatty kunoichi had been silent for nearly an hour.
"..."- at first, the red-eyed woman did not answer. Should I tell the? It might deprive them of their confidence, but it also might save their lives...- " Zabuza is not dead."
"Just like I suspected..."- Naruko responded. She knew he was alive. How, she did not know, but her gut told her so.
"But sensei, we saw him perish with our own eyes."- Shino intervened, still no expression on his face.
"No. Those senbon struck specific points that faked Zabuza's death. I should know, since I've been taught how to do it. Also, a hunter ninja's duty is to remove the head of his or her target and take it as evidence. That boy or girl took the whole body."- the Jonin explained.
"But then, why didn't we attack that hunter ninja?"- Hinata asked, raising Naruko's eyebrow. She had never liked violence, let alone try and start it.
"Did you see the precision and speed of that shinobi? He'd kill us! The only reason why Zabuza lost to us is because he underestimated us. He did not expect us to have the Byakugan, Kikaichu or my combat and ninjutsu skills. He won't commit the same mistake again."- Naruko answered. Hinata shivered.
"So, so what do we do? Wait for them to kill us?"- the white-eyed girl asked in despair. Kurenai glared at her.
"No. We train."
An Hour Later
"Welcome to the Land of Waves, a land of poor, hard workers, misery and corruption."- Tazuna declared as they passed the border on a boat. That's when Kurenai took the rower's paddle, snapped it in two and threw it into the water, effectively stopping the boat and horrifying the bridge builder.- "What are you doing? We'll be stuck here!"
"Just long enough for us to have a little chit chat. Depending on what you say and if it's true, I'll decide if I either help you get the boat to shore and protect you until the bridge is finished or if I turn around and take my team back to the village."- she threatened.
"What are you talking about?"- Tazuna asked.
"Don't pretend to be innocent. You have payed for a C-rank mission, claiming minor thugs could appear on the trip and hurt you. We would have ignored Kirigakure's Demon Brothers, but Zabuza? That's a high rank assassin. Do you expect us to believe that he'd be so focused in slaughtering an insignificant bridge builder?"- Shino argued. Kurenai had to admit, he was made for the job.- "Well? Speak up!"
The man seemed to hesitate, and with that, the whole team turned around, pretending to leave.
"Alright, fine! Just, please don't go!"- he gave in. The ninja turned again and sat down, preparing themselves for a story.- "It all begun a while ago..."
He spent the half hour explaining to them how Gato just came, one day, and everything changed. Exaggerated taxes, unfair justice, small fishing boats disappearing with their owners while on the job, women being picked off the street to appear in brothels just hours later, children executed for stealing apples when they haven't eaten in days, and how the only one who stood up to the businessman, his son-in-law, was publicly tortured, crucified and executed.
The bridge was their only hope to achieve economical independence, and then, hopefully, independence itself. He, Tazuna, was the only one who could build it, and that was why Gato sent everything he had after him.
"You see why I lied, now? I couldn't pay more than that! Even that little amount was gotten out of pure sacrifice! Men have risked their lives and lost their decency, women have sold their bodies for hours. I am not going to disappoint them after that! Go back if you like, but I won't run away, and because of that, I'll die, and so will the hopes of my people!"- Tazuna yelled, furious and frustrated with himself and his situation. He took in deep breaths.
Everyone was quiet for some time before Naruko chuckled and stepped on the water, pulling the boat by herself.
"If you had said that sooner, we'd probably already be there, old man."
Several Hours Later
"Before we begin the training, I want you three to give me a full report of what you've noticed here so far."- Kurenai ordered. All three nodded, and Shino started.
"The atmosphere is heavy. Everyone is afraid of everything, poverty plagues the streets and there are more bugs in houses than inside me. Basically, it's not good."
"Yeah, these people won't be any help in our mission. And so won't Tazuna's family. Inari is a crybaby and Tsunami is nice but could easily be abducted and used against the bridge builder."- Naruko followed.
"I-I've noticed, with my Byakugan, that there are a number of brothels around here, all filled with thugs. I-If we become n-noticeable, we'll p-probably be outnumbered."- Hinata finished. Kurenai nodded, assimilating the information.
"Ok, now to your training. I was intending on teaching you all chakra control and how to synch with each others' chakra waves, allowing for better teamwork. Unfortunately, Naruko already has extraordinary chakra control, which she showed when walking on water. You two, Shino and Hinata, will practice it until you can do it at any time with no restraints, and after that, I'll teach you all how to synch."- the Jonin told them. They blinked.
"What are chakra waves, and why are they so important, Kurenai sensei?"- Shino asked. The other two nodded, as if asking the same question. Kurenai sighed.
"I should have known. You kids don't know these things these days. Well, think of your chakra core, the place where all of your chakra is generated and kept. It doesn't just sit there. Like the heart, it beats. But in a different way. Since it's a spiritual core and not a physical one, it beats like those big sound speakers in concerts. It beats in a certain rhythm, and everyone has their own. But, if two or more people focus, sense each others' cores and adapt their rhythms, they synchronize. It gives a boost to your overall chakra and lets you perform techniques you could never perform without it. Normally, people only synch between two cores, but the more cores, the better and more powerful it becomes. Of course, it also becomes harder to maintain the synch."- she explained with patience. The students seemed marveled, and she could guess the next question.- "You kids don't know about it simply because you don't need to. You can easily mold chakra with hand seals and perform jutsu, but back in the day, a nice time ago, there were times we couldn't perform hand seals for any reason and had to attack with your raw chakra. For this, knowing how to use your core waves is essential. It's very hard to learn, but very rewarding. It can be your trump card for the upcoming Chuunin Shiken, which I'm going to sign you into as soon as this mission's over."
"Wow..."
"Kurenai sensei, do I start that training while they train water walking?"- Naruko asked with a determined face. Kurenai shook her head.
"No, you'll be training something else. Come with me. Shino, Hinata, start right away on that river!"- she ordered, taking Naruko a few feet away, making sure the others couldn't hear her.- "You did notice those strange things that happened in your fight with Meizu?"
"Yes, do you know what that was? I'm still freaked out by it. I just...just blasted him away!"- she confessed with regret on her face. Kurenai smiled, knowing the kid had her heart in the right place.- "Do you know anything about it?"
"The Third Hokage made me promise not to tell you this, but since your awareness of it might save our lives, I have no choice but to tell you the general idea. You can later ask the Sandaime for details."- the woman told her with a serious expression, demanding silence.- "Now, for reasons I can not say, you have a Bloodline Limit. It is the Bakuton Bloodline Limit, which allows you to use many jutsu that involve explosions. But, even though it sounds great, it has it's bad side. It is hard to control so you don't hurt friendlies or yourself, and even harder to actually use. That is what I want you to train while I teach Shino and Hinata water-walking. Understood?"
"Yes, but Kurenai sensei, how am I supposed to practice something I know nothing about?"- Naruko asked, her face reflecting the confusion she felt.
"To be honest Naruko, I have no idea. Try concentrating your chakra in your fist and letting it out after you punch a tree or something. I'm sorry, but I can't help you with this."- and with that she left the blonde all to herself, looking down at her own feet.
Half an hour later found her striking her third tree, relentlessly letting out chakra through her fists and legs. The jinchuuriki had managed to blow two trees to splinters, but as far as she knew, it had been completely random. One had blown up after she put every single bit of her chakra into the blow, and the other one had blown up after she decided to put just a small quantity.
What the fuck kind of power is this? What good is it when I can't even use it at will?Was what was on her mind after five hours of training. She was lying on the floor, as exhausted as could be, completely oblivious to the person who had been watching her for a long time then.
Such ridiculous chakra reserves! Even Zabuza-san doesn't have that much. But what's more curious is her resilience! She's been at it for hours and only now has she taken a break. The average shinobi would be beat after an hour of that chakra releasing. Aside that, what is that power? It's obvious she hasn't controlled it yet, but if she does get it right, it could be a big threat. Exploding on impact is not child's play.
Then she remembered that she was there for a reason and turned around, leaving Naruko to herself. I'll check on her in a few hours to see if she's dead or weak enough to kill. That will make Zabuza-san's mission and dream easier to achieve.
The girl returned five hours later, just shy of nightfall, to see that the area's trees were mostly devastated, and that the blonde was once more on the ground, breathing heavily, but sleeping.
She took hold of a small, plant-harvesting knife, and closed in on the jinchuuriki. She was about to hit the stab when Naruko sat up, slowly opening her eyes. What? She only needed to sleep like that to recover from such an exhaustive training? She truly is something special. The girl quickly hid the knife as Naruko started taking notice of her surroundings.
The first things she noticed were the pair of nicely developed breasts that could easily be seen pushing the pink, sleeveless kimono with pale red edges and decorated with small plum-colored swirls that went to her ankles. Around her waist was a simple white obi tied in a bow, and she wore a pair of light brown sandals with dark straps. She also wore a dark choker around her neck.
Her long, dark hair was loose and went down to her breasts in a very specific fashion, and her eyes were dark-brown. Her pale face and slender body would be the ones Naruko forever regard as the most beautiful she had ever seen, and she almost immediately fell in love.
"Have I died and gone to Heaven? Because you are the most beautiful person I've ever seen if I haven't."- Naruko commented, making the girl giggle with embarrassment.- "No, I'm not dead. I can't die before I get my dream to come true. Speaking of that..."
She rose to her feet with a kip up and quickly neared a tree, ready to punch it with her blood-covered fists and to let out more chakra. The girl quickly approached her, curious.
"What are you trying to do, exactly? Harden your fists?"- she asked. Naruko smirked.
"I'm trying to release a power I've got inside of me. I can only do it this way, apparently, but so far I haven't succeeded in getting it down. I won't back down, though."
"But isn't that a bit too much? I mean, this whole clearing seems like it's been done today. Shouldn't you take a break?"
"I don't need any more breaks. My survival may depend on this training. What are you doing here, anyway? This isn't an area that civilians go to normally."- Naruko asked back, still going at it against the tree.
"I came to pick a few herbs for a friend who is hurt. Would you like to help me?"
"Sure, it's not like this tree is going away soon anyway."- she replied, giving it one final punch, blowing it apart, apparently shocking the girl.- "I take that back."
They spent the next twenty minutes simply picking up different plants, and the girl told Naruko everything there was to know about each of them. To the girl's surprise, Naruko did not seem bored for one minute, and actually kept asking questions about it. It came to a point where she had collected everything she had needed for Zabuza, and was ready to leave. But she just had to ask a question.
*Insert "Naruto Unreleased Ost: Will of Fire" Here*
"A bit ago, you mentioned your dream, what you're working towards. What is your dream? What could possibly make you work hard enough to shred your knuckle skin to bloody pieces?"- she asked. Naruko took a deep breath and gave her the most honest of faces.
"Well, at first I just wanted to become a Hokage, but I've seen that that alone just won't cut it. I wanted peace for Konoha, my village. I wanted people to be fair to anyone, regardless of what they were. But then I came here and saw that everyone needs help, not just us. That's what I'm working towards. I want to be stronger than everyone else, so I can go around the countries, protecting and saving anyone in danger or need of help. I know that by myself, I can't make a difference, but maybe, just maybe, if I can turn people's hearts to do good where I pass, then my dream can become a reality..."- hearing that, the girl didn't look very convinced. Just another fool with another foolish dream who would end up dead.
"That is ambitious, do you think you can live up to it?"
"Of course I can, I'm Uzumaki Naruko!"- and that's when it happened. In that small sentence, she wanted to follow her with all of her heart and dedication. It was more than can be said for what she felt for Zabuza. For reasons unknown to her, she bowed forth and kissed Naruko on the lips, not giving her a chance to react.
"Pleasure to meet you, I am Haku. Yuki Haku."- she rose and walked away before coming to a stop.- "Also, do you need any help perfecting your technique or whatever?"
"Not unless you know anything about Bloodline Limits."- Naruko answered, still baffled by the kiss. Haku giggled.
"I know a thing or two. Think like this, your Bloodline Limit is not a tool you can use or a weapon. It's a part of you...See you around..."
And that is when she left, offering Naruko no more contact at all before disappearing into the woods.
Only ten minutes later did Naruko react.
"SCORE! I KISSED A GIRL! AND I KNOW HOW TO PERFECT MY BAKUTON!DOUBLE SCORE!"
…...
Six days later found her standing by the bridge. Shino, Hinata and Kurenai were there too. Their training was complete, and all felt more powerful. After three days of the normal training, the red-eyed woman decided they were ready for the Chakra Core training. They now knew how to synch, Shino could sense souls, from people or animals around him for a mile with his Chakra Core and their status (alive, dead, injured), Hinata was able to see all of them in detail, for the Chakra Core improved her Byakugan and also gave her the ability to heal others by injecting chakra into them. Or so it had been, when she tested it on a very exhausted Naruko.
Naruko herself had gotten a couple of traits from it. After mastering the basics of her Bakuton element and creating two attacks, she delved into the Chakra Core training. But it takes time, and she only managed to get two attacks out of it too.
It had been an intense training, and they were pretty beat, but it had been in time. Shino's Chakra Core Awakening had also given him a certain gift for clairvoyance, and he had predicted Zabuza would come that day.
His suspicions were proven right as they reached the bridge and detected a thick, unnatural mist.
"Naruko, senbon directed at your forehead in about two seconds."- the Aburame boy warned with a mutter. She nodded, and with effect, held her palm up. Bakuton: Exploding Palm. A small explosion took place on her hand, and the three senbon that had arrived were quickly sent back, scattering all around.- "I sense a pile of souls. Probably the workers. They're all alive, but injured. I sense two alive and well. Hinata."
"Yes."- she activated her Byakugan.- "It's Zabuza and his friend. They're both a few feet away from us, ready to attack. Kurenai sensei, what should we do?"
"Shino, go ahead."- she ordered. The boy nodded and small clouds of insects came out from under his jacket, and, mysteriously enough, after two minutes, the mist dissipated.
They could now see a pile of unconscious bodies, the hunter-nin with her or his normal outfit, and Zabuza who was now wearing a dark, sleeveless shirt aside his normal outfit. He looked shocked.
"How did you kids clear out the mist?"- he asked, disbelief in his eyes. Shino smirked, even though it was not normally in him to do so.
"These Kikaichu eat chakra. Your mist is composed of chakra. Do the math."- he answered. Zabuza's faced turned into a frown.
"You kids turn out to be quite a pain in the ass as usual. But never fucking mind! I don't need the mist to kill you! Especially now that I've got my Weapon here."- was his reply. Hinata rose an eyebrow.
"You already wielded KubiKiriBocho in our last fight. I do not think it will make any difference."- she commented. Zabuza grinned.
"I'm talking about her!"- he pointed at the hunter-nin who held senbon between her knuckles.- "Get ready to die, kids."
"Kurenai sensei, as planned, I'll handle the hunter-nin. I need to have a chit chat with her anyway. Are you sure you guys will be alright handling Zabuza?"- Naruko announced. Kurenai didn't respond vocally, just giving the blonde a small nod. Zabuza frowned.
"Taking me so lightly, huh? Kill her, and come back when you're done."- he ordered, pointing at the ninja who almost immediately disappeared with his or her blinding speed. Naruko was ready, though. A flashback hit her precisely as the shinobi tried to kick her head.
Flashback
"Kurenai sensei, why is no one else aware of Chakra Cores and abilities? Why are you and us the only ones?"- Naruko asked as they begun their training, which consisted of deep meditation. The Jonin sighed.
"That's actually a very good question, albeit one that brings me sad memories. Think of Chakra Cores as gates that control your chakra production, like the Eight Gates. They're there for a reason. But you can access your Chakra Core in order to gain new abilities. There's a risk, however."- at this part, all of her students gave her all the attention they could muster. A risk? They hadn't been warned of that.- "Accessing your Chakra Core can allow you to perform great, fantastic feats, and everyone wanted to activate theirs' as soon as possible. But the first time you access your Chakra Core, it automatically tries to synch with the ones around it, for it needs to be kind of "assisted" in its first time. If it doesn't have at least two other Cores that are also being activated for their first time, it won't work and the user will die. No exceptions to this day. Even if it has two other Cores, it might fail. The three cores have to be able to mix together with nothing holding them back. That's why it hasn't been used anymore. It's actually forbidden in most parts of the Elemental Countries, and pretty much forgotten. But don't worry. You guys compensate for each others' flaws and accept each other as comrades. I am sure it'll work."
"Changing this conversation to a more optimistic view, what will happen if we manage to mix them?"- Shino intervened.
"Unbelievable powers that you'll have to train to be able to even control them..."
Flashback End
She dodged the kick with such grace that resembled Hinata's. She, Shino and Hinata were currently in the second synch of their lives. They had engaged it before the fight started in order to have the upper hand. Zabuza wasn't aware of that, and according to their last fight, the element of surprise was valuable. So, following a wise man's words, why change something that works?
While dodging, she managed to grip the opponent's leg and swing wildly, throwing her away from Zabuza and the others, before quickly running to her. Mirrors of Ice formed around them as she came closer.
"Before we start this, I want to ask you a couple of questions, ok?"- Naruko asked. The hunter-nin seemed surprised.
"Why don't you trash talk while we battle, just like all of the others I've killed?"- was her answer. Normally, the blonde's eyes would have widened, but she wasn't surprised anymore.
"I'm not god-like, but I am powerful right now. I could kill you without intending to and that is not something I want to do. At least not yet. I wanted to ask you how you can serve someone that treats you like a disposable tool. As if you were nothing more than a kunai!"
"You'd never understand! The only things you need to know right now is that I am your enemy and that I will attack to kill! What is your dream?"
"To unite all Countries in Peace. What's yours?"
"To serve Zabuza-san and help him achieve his dream. Now, let's see who'll fight harder for their dream!"
They clashed. Senbon rained down from all sides, but Naruko just outstretched her arms and gave off small explosions, knocking them all back.
"Believe me, you're not going to beat me when it comes to chakra reserves. I can do this all week. Can you?"- Naruko taunted the enemy, who surprisingly, without anger, simply darted down and engaged her on a full-blast taijutsu match.
Spinning heel kick, duck, low roundhouse, jump and front kick, block, spin and spinning heel kick again.
Apparently, the hunter-nin was also a kick martial arts enthusiast, but she had something Naruko didn't. If you thought it was agility, speed, strength or anything, nope. You're wrong. It was a knife on each shoe end, also on each shoe. So not only her kicks were threatening on a level where they could knock her out, but now they could slice her, stab her or a number of other things if she wasn't careful. Dear fucking God, I really need a weapon.
She didn't want to admit it, but the blonde was losing ground. The hunter-nin was driving her back with each kick and she didn't even have a chance to counter-attack anymore. Every time she tried, she'd just get cut.
Eventually, it came to a point where she was pushed against one of the mirrors. You'd think the shinobi would simply finish her off with a strong strike, but decided to take the safe path and threw a bunch of senbon as a distraction, which Naruko deflected in time to anticipate the bladed axe kick directed at her head.
She dodged to the side, seeing the ninja get her blade stuck in the ice. Weird, why won't she just jump into the mirror like she usually does? But then something inside her mind told her to just take the damn chance.
The blonde turned around, ran up the wall about two steps, turned again, rolled in the air and gave the enemy an axe kick of her own, though this one was aimed at the chest. As soon as she hit the opponent, she felt something squishy before hitting the hard part of the chest. Ok, those were definitely boobs. God I love boobs. But with boobs or not, I've got to end this now.
The kick's impact was enough to unstuck the blade from the mirror and make the kunoichi stagger back a few feet. Naruko focused and hit the girl with one of the two blows she managed to work out of her Chakra Core training.
"SOUL MENACE!"- she struck the girl's belly with her palm, driving her chakra into it and making it spread all around the enemy's body. It wasn't strong enough to deliver internal damage as it would if she trained more, but it was enough to paralyze her for a bit.
With that done, and the girl perfectly placed for it, Naruko readied herself for the finishing move. One of the only two Bakuton attacks she had worked out of her self-training.
She stood with her left leg in front and quickly jumped back, supporting all of her weight on the right one, before launching herself into a side kick that hit the girl straight in the torso with the impact of a car. But that wasn't all. Naruko focused.
"Bakuton: Jiraikyaku! (Explosion Release: Landmine Kick)"- a medium explosion went off between her foot and the woman's body, sending the enemy flying, crashing into a mirror and flying a bit more before tumbling across the ground, receiving a great deal of injury with every crash, before ending up right in front of a very damaged Zabuza, who also had his mouth open in "awe".
The girl's mask was broken in two, but remained in place for a while. The place where the Jiraikyaku had hit her had the clothes ripped apart, and the skin was steaming. She didn't move at all, and the majority of her limbs were bleeding. The match was over.
"Haku...?"- was all Zabuza could mutter. Naruko's eyes widened as the mask fell to the floor, revealing the girl that had kissed her in the forest.
"Haku?"
(Chapter 4 Everyone! I hope it didn't disappoint you too much. I'm sorry it took so long, but I've been facing technical difficulties as of late and therefore couldn't publish it sooner. If you have any complaints or suggestions, please give them to me by Pm or Review since I cherish every word you type for me. As always, Follow/Favorite and Review, it makes me write faster. Believe me, this chapter would have taken another week without a few loyal readers that reviewed my work. Also, the poll is over, and the result is "Why not both?" with 6 votes, "Gari's" with 5 votes and "Deidara's" with 1 vote. Thank you all for voting and see you next time!)