And now onto the new chapter, and as I said last time, I don't own anything and don't slam my grammar, just enjoy the story.
Adventure in the Land of Waves
"I'm in position." Sasuke said in his earpiece.
"Me too," Sakura said.
"Same here," Naruto said.
"All right, when it looks like you're able to reach the target, go for it." Kakashi said. For a moment there was silence, and then Sasuke sprang from his perch, aiming for the target. But it spotted him and leapt out of the way. Sakura made the next more, but the target dodged her too. Finally, right when the target thought it was free it heard a voice.
"Stop!" Naruto shouted, causing the target to halt in mid bound. Naruto stepped out of the shadows, the Dream Key in hand. Kneeling down, Naruto inspected his pray.
"Ribbon on the right ear that says Tora on it, that's our cat," Naruto said, picking up the cat as the spell wore off and started to stroke it. The cat purred in his arms as he started to scratch its ears.
"How is it that that pussy cat likes you so much?" Sakura asked as she walked forward.
"Animal magnetism," Naruto said simply, giving the girl a wink which caused her to go a little red in the face.
"Can we just get out of here?" Sasuke asked. Naruto rolled his eyes as he led his team out of the woods to meet back up with Kakashi.
N/KH
"Jeeze, I think I feel sorry for that cat." Naruto said watching as the poor cat was nearly crushed by its owner.
"That thing can be crushed into a pancake for all I care." Sasuke muttered.
"All right, Team 7, next mission: helping dig up sweet potatoes, babysit the daimio's kids, walk the fire lord's dogs." The Hokage explained.
"Um, with all do respect Old Man, isn't that any, I don't know, bigger missions for us?" Naruto asked. The old Fire Shadow stroked his chin while Kakashi and Iruka tried to explain the ninja ranks and missions to Naruto.
"Well, I think there might be a C-Ranked Mission that you all can handle." The Hokage said. "You can come in sir." From a back room walked in an old man with a beer gut and a bottle of saki in his hands.
"These are the ninja that are supposed to protect me?" The man grumbled looking at them. "I suppose the white haired cyclones and the blond kid could do some damage, but the dark haired kid looks like he's got some ulterior motive and Pinky just looks flat out weak." Sakura looked down at her shoes.
"With all do respect Mr." Naruto trailed off.
"I am Tazuna, Master Bridge Builder of the Land of Waves."
"Mr. Tazuna," Naruto said. "While Kakashi Sensei is the experience of our team, and I myself have a high degree of power and skill, Sasuke is very dedicated to his missions and Sakura is the overall brains of our team, her body just needs to do a little catch up." Sakura went a little red at the praise she was getting from Naruto while Tazuna just grunted.
"You're mission is to protect me with your very lives while I try to complete my master bridge back in the Land of Waves." Tazuna explained.
"We'll leave in 3 hours." Kakashi said. "We'll all meet at the West Gate." 3 hours later, Tazuna and Team 7 were assembled at the West Gate.
"All right then, let's get rolling." Kakashi said as he led the group out of Konoha and head towards the Land of Waves. Along the way, Sakura asked what the Land of Waves was like, Naruto figured it was because she was either she was curious and wanted to know, or she was looking to gain land information in case they needed to fight. As they were walking along, Naruto spotted a puddle on the road.
"Has it rained recently?" he asked out loud.
"Of course it hasn't." Sasuke muttered, annoyed by Naruto's stupid question.
"Didn't think so," Naruto muttered, glancing at Kakashi who shook his head and pointed at Sakura, Sasuke, and Tazuna. Naruto nodded in understanding and slid his hands into his pockets. After the group walked past the puddle, two hidden mist ninja with clawed hands sprang out of it. Kakashi and Naruto turned back to back, preparing to fight back but they were quickly wrapped in a chain and torn to shreds.
"Two little piggies," The mist Nin almost sang. In the trees, Kakashi and Naruto sat, preparing to observe the fight.
"Nice powers of observation." Kakashi commented. Naruto just shrugged as he watched as Sasuke pinned the chain to a tree with a shuriken and kuni and then knocked them off their chain with a mule kick.
"Nice moves." Naruto commented. Then he saw one Mist Nin charge at Sasuke and another at Sakura and Tazuna. "I'll save Sakura." Naruto said, jumping down to catch the ninja's claw with the Dream Key while Kakashi just close lined the other one. Naruto smirked at his opponent and threw him back before calling out "Freeze!" and shot a blast of ice at the nin, freezing him against a tree.
"Impressive tactics Naruto," Kakashi said, walking up to the boy who was resting his Keyblade on his shoulder. The boy just shrugged in response before turning around to Sakura.
"You ok?" He asked. Sakura nodded, still in shock from what had happened. "Now, would you like to interrogate the prisoners, or shall I, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, tapping the flat side of his Keyblade against his hand with a sinister smile on his face. "My cousin Larxine is friends with that snake lady Anko, and she's been giving me some pointers when it comes to torture." A twisted smile appeared on Naruto's face as he summons his other three Keyblades. Immediately the two ninjas started babbling about everything from who they were working for and who their target was to the fact that one of them use to wet the bed until they were 8 years old.
"So, you're working for the missing nin Zabuza from the Village Hidden in the Mist, who is working for Gato, the tyrant who has got Tazuna's country in a death hold." Kakashi summarized. "And Gato wants Tazuna dead because the bridge he's building will leave Gato's shipping company completely useless."
"Please understand that the only way I could hire ninja was for C-Rank mission, that's all we could afford." Tazuna said, practically getting down on his knees and begging. Naruto sighed and rubbed the back of his head with a smile on his face.
"I hate to see a grown man cry." Naruto muttered to himself. "Well, I don't know about these three, but I'm in. If what even half of what you and those two said is true, you're land needs freeing and this Gato guy needs to be taken down hard. And who knows," that twisted smile appeared on Naruto's face again, "maybe I'll run into this Zabuza guy, should make for one hell of a fight."
"Now hold on there Naruto." Kakashi said stepping forward. "Zabuza is a high level ninja even before he went rouge, if anyone is going to take on Zabuza, it will be me." Naruto looked at the silver haired man and thought he saw a smile through his sensei's mask.
"What about you two?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm coming." Sasuke said and didn't say anything else. Sakura however looked down at the ground and bit her lip. Naruto saw that and walked over to her and raised her face to his.
"Sakura, if you wanted to turn back, no one of us here would blame you." He said. Sakura looked around, Sasuke wasn't looking at her but Kakashi gave a nod in agreement. "I could send one of my Shadow Clones back with you to make sure you get back safe." Sakura thought before she looked up; resolve now burning in her eyes.
"I'm a ninja of Konoha, and I'm on a mission." She said as smiles began to emerge on Kakashi and Naruto's faces. "I will not turn back, not now, not ever." Tazuna was surprised by her actions. He had at first thought that this girl was the weakest of the bunch, but seeing this girl's actions, he thought about what Naruto had said when they first met: the overall brains of the team, her body just needed to catch up.
"Well, let's get going." Kakashi said leading his team and client deeper into the woods. When they reached the bank of a river, a friend of Tazuna's ferried them across the river where they saw Tazuna's yet to be completed bridge.
"Naruto," Sakura said glancing at the boy, "when we get the chance, would you help me train?" Naruto arched an eyebrow at her. "I want to be stronger but I can't think of any other way to do it. Will you help me?" Naruto smiled at her.
"Of course Sakura," He said, "I'd be happy to help you get stronger." There was a rustling in the bushes and Naruto instinctively launched the Yellow Flash at into the bushes. Nodding to Sakura she walked over only to find a snow white hare with Naruto's weapon at its throat. Naruto banished the weapon, ignoring Sasuke's glare because he possessed that kind of power. "Something's wrong." Naruto said.
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke demanded.
"Use your head idiot." Naruto snapped his guard up and ready. "It's spring time, so the hares fur would be brown, thus it was kept indoors."
"A Substitution Jutsu," Sakura said, drawing a kuni. Sasuke grumbled to himself before he drew a kuni as well; the three of the came into formation around Tazuna while Kakashi stood out front ready to fight. Slowly, a thick mist began to cover the area.
"Looks like Zabuza's here." Naruto said, unable to stop the smile from appearing on his face.
"Stay back Naruto," Kakashi ordered. "As strong as you are, Zabuza is still well beyond your skills." Naruto looked disappointed but nodded, business before pleasure and all that.
When the mist cleared, the found a tall man with a sword as big as he was wearing cameo pants and bandages.
"Well, well, Kakashi the Copy Ninja, I can honestly say it's an honor to meet the man who copied a thousand jutsus." Zabuza said. "And which one of you was the one who defeated the Demon Brothers."
"Name's Naruto Uzumaki no-brows," Naruto said, "future Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village and as far as nicknames go, just call me the Spiral Fox."
"Naruto," Kakashi said warningly.
"Yeah I know, let you fight him." Naruto sighed. "But if you get beat he's all mine."
After Zabuza disappeared back into the mist and informed everyone present of the 8 places that could kill a person and Kakashi revealed his Sharingan eye, the fight erupted. Naruto was a bit disappointed; the only action he got was slicing up a water clone. Before long though, Kakashi was trapped in a water prison.
"Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, take Tazuna and get out of here, this ended as soon as he captured me!" Kakashi shouted. Naruto glanced over his shoulder Sasuke wore his slowly become trademark smirk and Sakura was giving him a warm smile.
"Those who abandon their mission are scum, but those who abandon their teammates are lower than scum." Naruto quoted with a smile on his face. "I'm not going anywhere without you Kakashi-sensei. Just who the hell do you think I am?" Kakashi couldn't help but smile at the boy who had taken his own philosophy to heart. Zabuza however, wasn't as impressed. Without a word, he created a small army of water clones to attack the young ninja. Naruto countered by creating his own clones and sent them charging in.
"Sasuke, light 'em up!" He shouted. Sasuke immediately started going though hand seals.
"Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" She shouted and breathed out a giant ball of flames that incinerated both Zabuza's and Naruto's clones. Naruto himself charged strait at Zabuza with a smile on his face. Zabuza created more clones but that didn't slow Naruto down.
"Ethereal Blades!" Naruto shouted beams of red energy shot out from Naruto's hands. Twisting around, he lashed out with the blades and cleaved through the clones. "Arrow Guns!" He shouted again, dispersing the blades and snapping his fingers, calling forward a pair of strange looking weapons. He twisted his body around and small pointed shards flew from the weapons, impaling the clones and causing them to explode. "Enough with the cheap knock offs Zabuza, lets see what you've really got." Naruto said as this time, 6 spears appeared before him, 3 in his hands and three floating behind him. He lashed out at Zabuza. Having no choice, Zabuza jumped back, releasing Kakashi from the water prison.
"Not bad Naruto." Kakashi said, stepping forward to stand next to Naruto.
"You thought that was impressive?" Naruto said, his smile never leaving his face. "To be honest, I was just getting warmed up."
"Arrogant brat," Zabuza snarled quickly going through hand seals.
"Take a step back Kakashi." Naruto said as now a blue, crystal like shield appeared on Naruto's arm. "You had your chance and you got beat. Now it's my turn." Kakashi looked at the boy and jumped back.
"You're really going to let him fight on his own Kakashi sensei?' Sasuke asked.
"Naruto's proven he can take care of himself Sakura." Kakashi said. "And if things get too out of hand, I'll step in." Sasuke just grumbled and nodded. Zabuza finished his jutsu and the water around him took the form of a dragon that charged down and attacked Naruto. Naruto simply raised his shield and when the dragon struck it, it immediately froze. Zabuza's eyes widened as Naruto charged forward and kicked Zabuza in the gut sending him flying off the water. Naruto skidded along the ground and then slammed his foot on the ground causing a giant ax-sword to spring up from the earth and into his hand.
"Come on you eyebrowless freak, lets dance." Naruto challenged and ran at the man. Their giant blades clashed in a dance of chaos that caused several trees to fall and the earth developed large gashes in the earth. Eventually it led them back on the water. Zabuza tried to attack with another jutsu, but Naruto pulled out a book, and without even having to use any hand seals called out, "Giant Waterfall Jutsu!" A giant tunnel of water shot at Zabuza lifting him off his feet and slamming him into a tree.
"What the hell are you?" Zabuza moaned.
"I'm just a child of my family." Naruto said resting on a branch, absentmindedly tossing a kuni end over end in his hand. "Any last words?" If he had any, they never came as a pair of senban needles flew through the air and stabbed Zabuza in the neck. Appearing on the branch above Naruto was someone who just looked like a kid wearing a mask.
"I didn't mean to take your kill, but if I had let you finish him, then my own mission would have been a failure." Said the hunter nin, apparently a young woman by the sound of her voice. Naruto nodded before he resummoned the giant ax-sword.
"You want me to chop his head off for you?" He asked as if he was asking if she needed help with some everyday activity. The hunter ninja disappeared and reappeared at Zabuza's side.
"That will not be necessary." She said before disappearing with Zabuza's body. Naruto watched the place they had been for a second before he sighed and jumped down to stand beside his team. Kakashi nodded at him, his Sharingan covered once again. Sakura was smiling at him, proud of what he'd managed to do. Sasuke was glaring at him with a look that could kill and Naruto knew that Naruto was going to have put up with the Uchiha demanding how Naruto had those weapons. Tazuna was flat out dumbstruck at how this kid had just taken on a ninja that there should be no way in hell he should have beaten. Naruto just smiled at them all before he fell over and started snoring. Tazuna and the ninjas were stunned for a second and then Sakura and Kakashi started to laugh at the sight.
"Kid must have worn himself out during the fight." Tazuna said. Kakashi bent down and picked up the boy as Tazuna led them all to his house.
N/KH
Naruto woke up with a splitting headache.
"Note to self, work on chakra reserves before busting out half a dozen of the family weapons." He mumbled as he pushed himself up.
If only I had the chakra, you'd be able to call upon the entire weapons one after the other. Kit said. Naruto glanced over at the girl's transparent form. He sighed and got up before brushing her transparent cheek.
"I wouldn't want the power even if it was yours to give Kit." Naruto said. "I'd want to use my own power and save that power in case of an emergency." Kit just smiled at that and gave him a phantom kiss. There was a knock at the door and a young woman walked in.
"Oh, you're awake." She said. "My name is Tsunami, Tazuna's my father."
"It's nice to meet you Tsunami." Naruto said with a smile. "How long have I been out?"
"Just for a day," Tsunami said. "You're team is waiting for you down stairs." Naruto nodded and walked down. He saw them all sitting at the table, Sakura was fiditing, Sasuke was brooding, Kakashi was reading that orange book of his, and Tazuna was talking to a young boy. Tazuna looked up and smiled when he spotted Naruto.
"Welcome back to the land of the living kid." He said. Naruto rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah, using the family weapons really takes a lot out of me." Naruto said with a chuckle. A second later, he was tackled by Sakura who was hugging him around the middle.
"Don't scare me like that," Sakura said.
"Sorry, I'll try to be more careful when I'm fighting an incredibly dangers rouge ninja." Naruto said.
"What were those weapons?" Kakashi asked. "I've never seen anything like them before."
"They're just a few of the weapons my uncles and cousins use." Naruto said. "They're sort of like a family jutsu."
"So I should be able to copy them once I get my Sharingan." Sasuke muttered under his breath.
"You will try and fail Uchiha." Naruto said. The dark haired boy looked at the blond and scolded. "So Kakashi, when do we start training for the rematch?"
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.
"Zabuza's dead you idiot." Sasuke snapped.
"And they call you rookie of the year." Naruto sighed shaking his head. "Although in all fairness they didn't teach us about Hunter Nin at the academy, I just know about them because I've had a few come after me." Everyone but Kakashi arced an eyebrow at that. "Kakashi-sensei, if you would do the honors."
"Hunter Nin usually just take back the head of their targets and burn the bodies so that village secrets will stay secret, something that happens to all ninja who die in the field." Kakashi explained. "So if Naruto's right and I'm starting to think that he is, then that so called hunter Nin that took out Zabuza and carried him away was more than likely the man's partner." Everyone except Tsunami and the boy went wide-eyed and slack jawed at this new information.
"S-So Zabuza's still out there?" Sakura asked, unknowingly clinging tighter to Naruto.
"Most likely," Naruto said. "Those senban needles that got lodged into his neck are pretty good when it comes to faking death when used in the right hands. So Kakashi-sensei, when do we start training?"
"First thing in the morning," Kakashi said rising to his feet. "So I would suggest that you all get to bed."
"Works for me," Naruto said yawning.
"You've been asleep for a day how can you be tired?" Sakura demanded.
"I'm a restless sleeper." Naruto said with a shrug. With a smile Sakura took his hand and lead him to the room she was staying in.
"Well, maybe sleeping with someone by your side will help you keep still." Sakura said. Naruto's eyes widened.
"S-Sakura," Naruto stuttered.
"Relax Naruto; I'm not saying we do anything." Sakura said smiling at how nervous the boy was. "But I wouldn't mind if you would stay here tonight. I'm a little nervous and I wouldn't mind having you here beside me."
"Why me and not Sasuke?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow
"Sasuke hasn't said anything to me since we started this mission. And you've been so kind to me." She said.
"But you'd always been so focused on Sasuke." Naruto said, looking to the side.
"You're right; I was too focused on Sasuke to see the amazing guy before me." She said, looking into his eyes.
"Geeze Sakura, you trying to embarrass me to death?" Naruto asked, blushing and rubbing the back of his head. Sakura giggled and lay down on the bed, patting the spot next to her.
"Please," she said, looking at Naruto. He sighed and lay down next to her. He wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. He smiled and stroked her hair as they fell asleep.
N/KH
The next morning, team 7 stood in a clearing, Kakashi standing in front of them.
"All right," Kakashi said. "We're going to work on your chakra control by climbing tree." Naruto smiled while Sasuke and Sakura looked confused.
"Um, Kakashi-sensei, how will climbing trees help us with chakra training?" Sakura asked.
"Naruto," Kakashi said.
"What Kakashi-sensei means is that we'll be climbing the trees without our hands." Naruto explained. "By channeling out chakra into our feet, it'll allow us to walk up the tree. Kakashi-sensei, care to demonstrate?" Kakashi nodded and started to walk up the tree as normally is if he was walking down the street. Sasuke watched the technique eagerly while Sakura was starring in awe.
"And that's it in a nutshell." Kakashi said while hanging upside down on a branch. "Naruto, you don't have to do this since I saw that you were able to walk on water the other day."
"Thanks Kakashi-sensei, but I need to work on building up my chakra that last battle wore me out." Naruto said. Kakashi threw down three kuni and told them to mark their progress by cutting their highest point before they fell. Naruto glanced back and forth between Sasuke and Sakura, a smile forming on his face. "Hey Sasuke, care to make a little wager?" Naruto asked. The Uchiha looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "50 ryu says that Sakura makes it to the top of the tree before you, another 50 says she does it on her first try." Sasuke scoffed as he looked Sakura up and down.
"You're on." He said, accepting the challenge.
"You want in on this Kakashi-Sensei?" Naruto asked.
"No thank you." Kakashi said, still reading his book while upside down.
"All right then, lady and Sasuke, ready your chakra." Naruto said, channeling his own chakra into his feet. "On your make," he glanced over at Sasuke's smirking face, "get set," he looked over at Sakura who was nervous, but catching Naruto's eye, smiled with confidence, "go!" at the same time, all three genine took off running at the at the trees. They each hit their tree at the same time and started climbing. To Sasuke's credit, he was climbing faster than Naruto and Sakura, but when Naruto heard a crunching sound, he couldn't help but smile.
He glanced over and saw him falling after leaving a small creator in the tree back. Too much chakra, Minato said.
Serves him right for being so arrogant, Kit muttered. Naruto smiled and glanced over at Sakura. She glanced back with a smile and then the two smiled at each other before turning and running up the tree at full speed. Naruto glanced at the pink haired girl and dropped back, a knowing smirk on his face. He stayed a fair distance away and when he saw her stab the tree with her kuni, she shot forward in a blur, grabbing Sakura around the middle, and the High Jumped above the trees before spinning into his Double Jump before using his Glide to hover in the air. Sakura looked around stunned, and then her eyes widened. The trees looked like a green sea, she could see the towns, Tazuna's incomplete bridge, and she even thought she could see the Hokage monument they were so high up.
"Wow," she gasped, looking around.
"Amazing isn't it." Naruto said. "This is how I see the world, I wanted to share it with you, let you know what you're getting yourself into." Sakura looked around, still in awe of what Naruto could do, and then a big question popped into her head.
"Naruto, how are you doing this?" She asked, clinging tighter to him.
"Magic," Naruto said with a smile. "Trust me, I've been doing this for a while now, and I promise I won't let anything happen to you."
"So, this is like second nature to you?" Sakura asked.
"Sure," Naruto said with a shrug. Next thing he knew, Sakura was kissing him, in a soft tender kiss as she clung to him.
"Just giving you a taste of what you're in for." Sakura said. Naruto smiled and cut the magic, sending the two of the hurtling down towards the forest, just before they hit the tree tops, Naruto started it again, hovering just above the tree tops before gently lowering himself and Sakura onto a branch. "Don't scare me like that!" Sakura snapped, smacking Naruto on the arm. Naruto just grinned.
"Race you to the ground." He said before taking off; the two of them landed on the ground at the same time, both smirking at each other.
"How'd you do that?" Sasuke snapped as soon as Naruto reached the ground.
"Sorry Sasuke, family secret, I'd teach you, but I can tell just by looking you don't have what it takes." Naruto said. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke charged at Naruto, ready to stab him with his kuni, only to be blocked by Sakura.
"Keep your hands off of him." She snapped, punching him in the gut. Everyone was stunned by what had just transpired: Sasuke was shocked that someone, this girl, had actually hit him, Naruto was surprised that she had defended him against Sasuke, and Kakashi was surprised that Sakura, who he had thought was Sasuke's number one fan, had actually hit him. "Come on Naruto." She said turning on her heel and walking away.
"Kakashi-sensei, I'm going to go help Sakura, maybe teach her water walking." Naruto said walking away. Kakashi nodded and returned to his book. "Oh, and Sasuke, you've got a week after we get back to the village to pay me my money for our wager." Naruto ran to catch up with Sakura, smiling at her. She returned the smile and slid her arm around his waist. Naruto led her to a lake and he smiled.
"All right, the basis of water walking is a lot like tree climbing, but it takes a more steady supply of chakra and it needs to be more spread out than tree climbing." Naruto explained and then demonstrated by stepping onto the water. "You've got low chakra reserves and high control. That's why you were able to get tree climbing so quickly. This might take a couple of tries to get the hang of water walking, but I'd bet Sasuke another 100 that you could master this by the end of the week." Sakura smiled at him and started concentration her chakra, when she felt it was right, she took a tentative step onto the water and then another, and then another, but then she felt herself starting to loose control and fall, only to fall into Naruto's arms.
"Not bad, try again." He said smiling at her. They went at if for the rest of the day until Sakura nearly passed out from chakra exhaustion. Naruto rubbed her back as she leaned against a tree panting. "I think you've had enough for today." He said, kneeling down. "Climb on, I'll carry you back."
"Are you sure?" Sakura asked. Naruto smiled and nodded. Slowly Sakura climbed onto her teammate's back, looping her arms around his neck. Naruto stood up, tightening his grip on the girl's legs.
"Hang on tight Sakura." Naruto said before he started streaking through the forest. Sakura screamed every time they would almost hit a tree, but Naruto would step to the side to dodge the tree. In what seemed like no time, the two of them were standing in front of Tazuna's house. Sakura staggered off of Naruto's back and leaned against the wall, grateful that her stomach was empty or else she would have emptied it then and there.
"What was that?" Sakura asked.
"More magic," Naruto stated simply, "basically I'm shooting magic out of my feet, still trying to figure out how to do it in a stream instead of bursts."
"Well, don't do that again if you're going to carry me, I almost threw up." Sakura scolded, glaring at the blond. Naruto chuckled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Sorry Sakura." Naruto said before walking to the door and holding it open for her. Although she was still a little annoyed at him, it was impossible for her to stay mad at the boy when he as being such a gentleman. She walked by him doing everything she could not to look at him or smile, making the boy a bit nervous.
That night, the team learned about Inari's father, about how he had been their lands great hero and about how Gato had had him cut down in front of everyone. When the story was over, Sakura was on the verge of tears, Sasuke's normally cold eyes had a bit of fire in them, Kakashi was gritting his teeth behind his mask, and Naruto's hand was griping the table hard enough to leave small cracks in the wooden surface. Slowly Naruto stood up.
"Sakura, go with Tazuna tomorrow to keep an eye on him." Naruto said before turning towards the door.
"And what are you doing?" Sasuke demanded, glaring at Naruto.
"I'm going to be stepping up my training a bit." Naruto replied, nodding to Kakashi who nodded back in understanding. "And if you try to follow me Sasuke, I won't be responsible if you get caught in the crossfire."
N/KH
The night later, Naruto found himself in a field with 14 copies of himself, 12 of them were holding the weapons of Organization XIII, one was holding Yellow Flash and Nature's Whirlpool and was holding them in Roxas's style of fighting, and the last one was holding Nine Tails and using Xion's fighting style. He'd been going like this for almost a day strait and while he may have appeared tired and beaten up, he was not going to be going down any time soon.
"All right guys, we need to show Inari and all the people of wave that there are still heroes in this world, and if we want to do that we're going to need to be strong, so let's get to work!" His Lagan spun in his eyes as he charged into battle, the dream key in his hand.
Sakura peaked around the tree to see Naruto fighting himself with the weapons she'd seen, and several she hadn't yet. Her eyes widened as watched Naruto fight, his power seemed to shake the very earth she was standing on and every time he would defeat one of his clones, two another would be summoned by one of the remaining clones. She would flinch every time she saw him take a hit and there was a part of her that wanted to run out there and stop him.
No, this is how he trains, Said a voice in her head.
Who are you? Sakura asked, but then it dawned on her. You're that other me that Naruto was talking about, aren't you?
Think of me as the Inner You. Inner Sakura explained. And this is how Naruto gets stronger, with those shadow clones, everything thing they learn, he learns. He can learn his strengths, weaknesses basically how to become a better fighter so that he can protect the people who mean the most to him, like you. Sakura remained silent after her conversation, and just watched as Naruto continued to fight himself until the original was the only Naruto left standing. Naruto smiled as he was victorious until he fell forward…right into Sakura's arms.
"Sa…ku…ra," Naruto grunted out.
"Shhhh, rest now Naruto," Sakura said, holding him close as she leaned against a tree. "Rest and we'll train more in the morning." Feeling safe in the pink haired girl's arms, Naruto fell asleep, feeling Kit snuggle into him as well, leaving phantom kisses against his wounds as they healed.
N/KH
Haku walked into the meadow, carrying a basket so that she could gather the necessary herbs to help heal Zabuza. As she looked around, her eyes froze on a pair of lying on the grass, one of them had bright pink hair and the other…Haku's eyes widened, and the other was the boy who had defeated Zabuza. Slowly, she crept towards the pair and reached out to them. She gently shook the boy, causing him to stir.
Naruto sat up and yawned, feeling a few kinks in his back. Looking around, it took him a second to register everything: first, was currently lying against Sakura, second, he was out in the woods, and third, another quite pretty girl with ebony black hair and ivory white skin was shaking him awake.
"Am I dreaming?" He asked groggily.
"If so, then we're having the same dream, and I don't want to wake up." Sakura said, smiling at Naruto. "And who are you?" She asked, looking at the girl who had woken them.
"My name is Haku, and I came here to collect herbs so that I could heal a precious person." Haku explained.
"Would you like some help?" Sakura offered. Haku nodded and the three of them went to work.
"So, this precious person that you're collecting these herbs for, are they you're lover?" Naruto asked, causing Sakura to hit him in the head for asking such a blunt question. Haku however simply giggled.
"No, he is not my lover." She said. "I love him, but in the same way a daughter would love her father. He took me in when no one else would have anything to do with me."
"I know where you're coming from." Naruto said, smiling at Haku. "Until my family found me, no one would have anything to do with me. Hell they'd sooner attack me than anything else." Sakura looked at him stunned, she had no idea he had had it that bad before his adoption. "But it's thanks to them, taking me in and giving me the confidence I needed, and now I've got myself a pretty girlfriend," Sakura blushed at his complement, "even if she does use me as a punching bag." Sakura's blush quickly turned to rage as she attacked Naruto who took the hits with a smile on his face. Haku giggled at their antics.
"You two are lucky to have each other, someone to love and protect." She said, feeling a little sad.
"Hey, for someone with a pure heart like yours, I'm sure you'll find someone Haku." Naruto said, placing a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. Haku smiled at the blond boy and stood up with her basket.
"Thank you, I hope that our paths cross again someday." She said as she left. Naruto sighed and stood up, brushing his pants.
"Come on Sakura, we'd better get back before Sasuke or Kakashi-sensei come looking for us." Sakura nodded and began walking back hand in hand. "So what are we going to tell everyone when they ask what we were doing all night?" Naruto asked with a smirk. Sakura replied by smacking him upside the head.
KH/N
A couple of days later, Naruto and Sakura walked back into the house after training. Sakura had mastered water walking and both she and Naruto were proud. Everyone at smiling and happy for both Sakura, and for Sasuke who had managed to get to the top of his tree, the usually stony Uchiha was actually giving a small smile of both pride, and a little bit of joy.
"Why do you all train so hard, you're just going to be killed by Gato in the end." Inari said. Naruto just smiled at the kid.
"This guy Gato is just a weak, money grubbing punk who doesn't have any strength, that's why he gets all those body guards to do all the dirty work for him. And I say bring them on, even if it does make for a dull fight." Naruto kept smiling and it just continued to piss Inari off.
"You talk big but you have no idea what it's like to live here!" Inari yelled, two years of bottled up anger and frustration bursting out of him. "You don't know what it's like to live in fear that you won't have enough to eat! You don't know what it's like to suffer and be alone!" Naruto's eye twitch and he slammed his fist down onto the table, breaking it in two.
"I don't know anything about being alone?" Naruto roared, causing Inari to stop his screaming. "Let me tell you something you little brat, for the first few years of my life I had no one but myself! I had villagers coming after me, calling me demon, and trying to kill me on a daily basis! Only one place would actually agree to feed me! But do you know what, I never gave up, I kept on living, hoping that one day, I would find people who would accept me, and lucky enough I did. But don't you dare try to lecture me on suffering until you've had an entire village try to kill you, then you can talk to me!" The room was silent, except for Naruto's panting. Inari was starring at the boy before him who was glaring daggers of hatred and anger at him. Tsunami was looking at him as well, Sasuke was actually stunned by Naruto's speech, since he had a family, he'd had no idea the boy had had it so bad. Kakashi was looking down and away, Tazuna was stunned that such a young boy would have had to go though that, and Sakura was standing up and hugging Naruto from behind. When Naruto calmed down he turned to Tazuna.
"Sorry about the table, I'll fix it before I leave." He said simply.
"Don't worry about it." Tazuna said. "And kid, those people who raised you, they raised one hell of a man." Naruto nodded and walked out, Sakura behind him. Inari continued to sit on the flood, still stunned that someone had actually known pain worse than his.
When Naruto and Sakura reached his room, he broke down and started crying into her shoulder. All of his anger had changed into sorrow as his terrible memories had resurfaced. Sakura held him as he cried until he fell asleep. She tucked him into bed and placed a small kiss on his forehead, then lay down beside him.
KH/N
Naruto stood on a platform inside his mind, Minato, Kushina, and Kit standing around him.
"What's going on?" Naruto asked, looking around.
"Well, when you lost your temper back there son…" Minato said.
"I got a little bit stronger." Said a new voice that made Naruto shiver; he spun around to see a man wearing a red kimono, wild red hair, and red slit eyes holding a Keyblade that appeared to be a katana with a fox head at the top, clawed arms and legs near the top and bottom, and 6 other blades sticking out around the blade.
"Yo," Kit hisses, summoning Nine Tails.
"So, you're Kit's brother." Naruto said, summoning the Dream Key.
"Yep, I'm the part of the fox with all the power." Yo proclaimed with a fanged smile.
"And none of the personality." Naruto added with a smirk. "Listen, if you're here to try and take over my body, I'll take you down just like I did the last time. It doesn't mater if you've got a more human body and a Keyblade, I will never allow you to use my body to attack those of innocent hearts." Yo laughed deeply, causing Naruto to involuntarily shiver.
"You honestly think you can stop me?" Yo demanded. "You're nothing but a kit, a youngling. You couldn't beat me on your own the first time, you had to have your parents and my back stabbing sister come and save your ass." Naruto tightened his grip on the Keyblade, anger blazing in his eyes.
"Easy Naruto," Minato whispered. "Don't let him guard you into a fight on his terms, fight on your." Naruto nodded, but his eyes still blazed.
"Our power is not additions to your Naruto." Kushina stated. "They are more part of you. The Keyblades are manifestations of our memories inside your heart. The only one who could give you more power is standing right in front of you." Naruto finally relaxed before a smirk appeared on his face and his Lagan started spinning.
"You can try and intimidate me all you want Yo, but I'm not alone." Naruto said, raising the Dream Key. "So if you want to get your ass kicked again, bring it on." Yo chuckled, a wicked sneer on his face.
"No, I don't think so, not yet. But soon boy, I will have this body, and there won't be a thing your or those shadows will be able to do about it." Yo said chuckling as the scene faded away.
KH/N
The next day, Naruto was still asleep, having been woken by nightmares throughout the night, only for Sakura to help him go back to sleep. Everyone else was awake and off the bridge, letting Naruto sleep in.
"Hey, where is everybody?" Naruto asked when he woke up.
"They all went ahead to the bridge, Sakura said that you had a rough night and that you should sleep in." Tsunami said. Naruto chuckled as he got changed in a flash.
"If I didn't like that girl so much I'd probably hate her." He said. He'd just put his goggles on his forehead when he heard a scream coming from downstairs. Naruto bolted down as fast as he could just in time to see Inari charging forward at Gato's two samurai thugs. They were about to slash the young boy when they found their blades blocked by two of Naruto's Keyblades. "You did good Inari." Naruto said glancing back at the boy with a smile. "I'm sure your father would be proud." He turned back to the two thugs. "And now for you two pathetic excuses for swordsmen," He pushed them back before summoning Nature's Whirlpool. "Fire!" He shouted, blasting a ball of fire at the thug in the hoodie, hitting him dead center and knocking him back, most of his shirt burned away. His partner charged forward with his sword held above his head. "Thunder!" Naruto yelled, summoning down a bolt of lightning from out of no where, striking the man and electrocuting him. Naruto walked forward and picked up the first thugs sword.
"What are you going to do with that?" Inari asked.
"I'm not doing anything with it." Naruto said, handing the weapon to Inari. "See if there's anything you can do with this blade Inari. I think you'll be great with it. Now I've got to get to the bridge, if these guys are here, than Zabuza's got to be back too." He shot away from the place in a blur.
N/KH
Kakashi was ticked. Zabuza had figured out a way to beat the Sharingan. And as much as that ticked him off, it also impressed him. Sakura was protecting Tazuna and Sasuke was fighting Zabuza's young partner, Haku. When Sakura had heard that name, Kakashi thought she'd seen a glimmer of recognition on her face. All of a sudden, he felt a huge burst of chakra, and Naruto appeared out of no where.
"All right, who went and started the party without me?" He asked with a smile, his goggles down and ready for action.
"Jeeze Naruto, we need stealth, not for you to paint a target on yourself." Kakashi muttered, but was unable to keep himself from smiling.
"Naruto, Sasuke's in that ice dome over there fighting Haku." Sakura called.
"Haku?" Naruto asked before shooting into the dome. "Haku, is it really you in here." The image of the masked hunter ninja appeared in all of the mirrors.
"Hello Naruto." Haku said softly.
"So, Zabuza was your precious person, the one who took you in and you see as your own father." Naruto said, looking around at the mirrors with his Lagan, trying to find Haku's exact location. He found her and looked directly at her. "But what about me and Sakura, I thought we had formed a connection."
"Naruto…" Sasuke said, keeping his guard up. He'd managed to awaken his Sharingan during the fight and as far as he was concerned, it was the only thing keeping him alive until Naruto showed up.
"Trust me Sasuke, I know this girl." Naruto said. "Listen to me Haku, a person with a heart as pure as yours should not be doing this, I understand your loyalty to Zabuza, children are suppose to be loyal to their parents and everything. And I can probably talk to the Hokage, see if he can let you two into the village, he's like a grandfather to me." The offer hung in the air for a minute until Haku stepped out of the mirror and faced Naruto.
"Could you really do that?" She asked. Naruto just smiled and jabbed his thumb into his chest.
"Of course I can, just who the hell do you think I am?" Naruto demanded. Haku removed her mask, revealing her smiling face to Naruto.
"Thank you." She said, pulling him into a hug.
"No problem." Naruto said, returning the hug. "Haku, this is my teammate, Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke nodded to the girl who bowed back.
"I'm sorry for attacking you, but you know how orders go." Haku said. Sasuke nodded stiffly, still tense. Suddenly Haku's eyes widened.
"Your sensei is about to kill Zabuza!" She shouted. She turned to go, only to find that Naruto had already disappeared. He was standing between Kakashi and Zabuza with Nature's Whirlpool in his hand.
"Reflect!" He yelled, creating a dome that Kakashi crashed into before being knocked back. "Sorry about that Kakashi-sensei, but I can't really let you kill Zabuza, he's two important to a friend of mine."
"What friend of yours could I be so important to?" Zabuza asked.
"Haku," Naruto replied in a half whisper. The girl in question suddenly appeared, scattering the dogs that where currently holding Zabuza down. Naruto took this time to check on his sensei.
"Interesting defense Naruto," Kakashi said. "I couldn't see how to do it with my Sharingan, another family skill?" Naruto nodded; a little taken aback that Kakashi wasn't mad at him.
"Kakashi-sensei, how come you're not pissed off at me?" Naruto asked.
"Those who abandon their mission are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." Kakashi said with his eye smile.
"I thought it was teammates." Naruto said.
"Hey, it's my quote, I can say it anyway I want." Kakashi said. Naruto chuckled and helped his sensei to his feet. The two of them turned to stand before Zabuza who was being supported by Haku.
"Haku tells me that you may be able to let his into your village boy." Zabuza said. Kakashi glanced at Naruto who nodded to the bandaged missing Nin.
"I figure you're probably getting pretty tired of running." Naruto said. "There will probably be some kind of punishment for you when you get there, but knowing the Old Man, it won't be anything too severe, just some kind of house arrest or something." Zabuza nodded, and Naruto could see his eyes smiling.
"I've been running for so many years, and Haku has been running with me, I can barely remember what it was like." Zabuza muttered, more to himself than to Naruto. "I'm guessing you want me to cut off my contract to kill the old bridge builder."
"Yeah, I mean once you did it, Gato would probably have killed you anyway." Naruto said.
"What an observant little boy." A voice called out through the vanishing mist. Gato stood at the front of a large group of men, mercenaries by the look of them. "He's right you know Zabuza, when you would have come for your pay after the job, all you would have gotten was the edge of a sword."
"You know, I've met some really messed up freaks in my rather short life, but you, you short, greedy freak, you're the most messed up bastard I've met." Naruto said.
You can since it can't you Naruto, Kit said, the darkness inside him.
Not just him, but that whole crowd behind him. Minato added.
I know they're all only a few steps away from becoming Heartless. Naruto said. And to be honest, I wouldn't mind if they all gave into their darkness right now, it would give me full reign to slice and dice them.
Easy son, you don't want to give into that darkness either. Kushina whispered.
Right mom, Naruto said, calming down. He looked at Gato with a smirk on his face. "You know you won't be able to beat us, even with those mercenaries. That is why you'll always be nothing but a weak little punk." Gato glared at him, gripping his cane tightly with his one good hand.
"You know, at first I was going to give you all a chance to leave, but now," Gato said before he dropped to his knees, coughing up darkness.
"What's happening to him?" Tazuna asked as the others walked forward.
"The darkness inside his heart is taking over." Naruto said, summoning his four Keyblades. "Trust me when I tell you guys you're not up for this."
"Like Hell," Zabuza said, leaning away from Haku and holding his sword. "That little bastard tried to screw me over, I want payback."
"There's no way to talk you out of if is there?" Naruto asked a small smile on his face. "Cure," He pointed Nature's Whirlpool at Zabuza who was bathed in green, leaf shaped light. He wounds healed up instantly and he rotated how once useless arm.
"Not bad kid." He said, and then turned to Gato who had already transformed into a giant black monster who was slowly infecting the mercenaries, giving them the black skin and yellow eyes of the heartless. Naruto and Zabuza tensed when it pointed at them.
"Kakashi-sensei, take everyone and get out of here, leave these guys to us." Naruto said. Kakashi nodded and took off with the others. "Hey Zabuza, how much of that sword is a part of you?"
"I forged this sword myself; put a few of my own drops of my own blood in it." Zabuza said. "As far as I'm concerned, this sword is a part of my body." Naruto smiled.
"Then it should work just fine against these guys." Naruto said. "I want you to fight those mercenary heartless, they're weaker than Gato."
"You saying I'm weak?" Zabuza demanded.
"No, I'm saying I have more experience fighting these things." Naruto replied. Zabuza nodded, that made since. At the same instant, the two of them charged forward. Zabuza stepped in front of Naruto and began cutting a path through the mercenary-heartless. Black blood flew throughout the area until they reached Gato.
"Kid!" Zabuza shouted.
"I'm on it!" Naruto yelled back. Jumping off of Zabuza's back and flew at Gato, summoning Yellow Flash. "Keyblade Style, Teleporting Sonic Blade!" Naruto disappeared and reappeared, shooting through Gato's head. The beast roared as Naruto dropped down onto its shoulder.
Back on the ground, Zabuza was slashing away at the mercenary heartless. It had been a long time since he'd had a chance to cut loose like this. He figured since these guys weren't human anymore, it was all right.
"Water Style, Water Dragon Jutsu!" Zabuza called out, unleashing the jutsu laughing. "I haven't had this much fun since I had that giant brawl with the other Seven Swordsman."
Naruto meanwhile was running up Gato's arm, his four Keyblades out and around him. The thing that the business tyrant had turned into a Darkside, one of the giant heartless, but also one of the weakest kinds. Charging up the creature's head, he lashed out with the 4 Keyblades.
"Four Fire!" He shouted, launching a fireball from the tip of each of his Keyblades. "Four Blizzards!" He repeated the attack with his ice spells. The beast roared after having the temperature of its head change from one to the other so rapidly. It lashed out and slammed his fist into Naruto. He crashed down onto the bridge, his Keyblades acting as a shield before he was knocked back.
"Having a hard time?" Zabuza said, running to stand by the boy, slashing at another mercenary heartless.
"More than I should be." Naruto said. "Usually I should be able to just mow right through something like this, but he's stronger than I would have expected."
"I'm still surprised that such a big monster came out of Gato." Zabuza said, dodging an attack from Gato.
"The size of a Heartless depends on how much darkness is in the person's heart." Naruto explained. "The more darkness there is the bigger the heartless." Naruto and Zabuza dodged another attack.
"Jeeze, how in the hell do you fight something like this?" Zabuza asked.
"The head's a pretty good weak point on one of these, but trick is getting up there." Naruto said.
"So we just need to nail it in the head?" Zabuza asked. "Hey do you know any lightning jutsus?"
"I got something like them." Naruto said. Zabuza smirked and started going through hand seals.
"Water Style, Great Water Fall Jutsu!" He shouted, shooting a giant torrent of water at the Darkside. Naruto caught on and raised his Keyblades.
"Four Thunder!" Naruto shouted, calling down a storm of thunderbolts that stuck the giant heartless. It screeched out in pain before dropping do its knees. "You're mine." Naruto said, combining his Keyblades into Ninja Heart and rammed it into Darkside's head. "Trinity Limit!" He twisted the weapon and bathed the area in light. When the light faded, Naruto was looking up at a heart floating away. "No matter how much darkness there is, there is always a little light that shines." He said, turning away from the floating heart.
"Come on kid; let's get back to the others." Zabuza said, placing his sword on his back.
"Yeah," Naruto said. The two fell into step with one another and took off through the trees.
When they reached Tazuna's house their eyes widened. Kakashi was clutching a wounded arm, Sasuke was unconscious, Sakura was leaning against a wall, and Haku was just plane gone.
"What happened?" Naruto asked.
"We were ambushed, we don't know by who are why, but they came, knocked out Sasuke and took Haku." Kakashi explained. "I don't know where they came from or even really what they were, but apparently all they were after was Haku."
"Haku," Naruto whispered.
"Sorry kid, but it looks like I won't be going back with you." Zabuza said. "I can't be tied down to a single village until I find her."
"I understand, but at least stick around until you're ready." Naruto said before he passed out. Kakashi and Zabuza starred at the boy before smiling.
"Guess I will stick around for a bit." Zabuza said.
N/KH
About a week later Tazuna managed to complete his bridge.
"Looks like we're all finished with this mission." Kakashi said. He and the others were all healed and ready to head home.
"So, you're really planning on looking for Haku on your own?" Naruto asked Zabuza who was going off on his own.
"Yeah, she's family, and my responsibility." Zabuza said. "I've got to find her and make sure she's all right."
"All right," Naruto said, fishing something out of his pocket, "but take this, just in case you need help." He handed Zabuza a card with three spikes along the top of it. Zabuza held the card and then looked back at Naruto.
"Thanks kid." He turned around and walked away. "Let's hope our paths cross again some day." Naruto smiled as he watched him retreat.
"Yeah, let's hope so." Naruto said as he walked back to his team. He reached them and nodded to Kakashi and taking Sakura's hand in his. "Let's go home."
N/KH
Haku woke up and looked around.
"Good morning my dear," said her mistress, Ursula the sea witch.
"Good morning mistress." Haku replied, flipping her tail and floating up in the water.
And I think I'll end it there. Leave you all hanging with that kind of cliff hanger, just because I'm that evil. The next story will the Land of Waterfall story so that I can show off some more of Naruto's weapons before the Chunin exam.
Read and review.