Kenshin:Redo of chapter 4.
Zeke:I think this is stupid.
Kenshin:Well when you look back, it kinda doesn't make a bit of sense.
Zeke:I think you mean chapter 5 doesn't make sense. But what-the-hell-ever. Ike.
Discalimer:I do not own Naruto. bakamonos.
Chapter 4:Unknown From M.E.
The group consisting of Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, and Tazuna were along the lines of the Kirigakure border. They were currently just a few miles from entering, Naruto was reading Jump, Sakura was asking out Sasuke, said Uchiha was ignoring and saying no, Kakashi was just being amused, and Tazuna was drinking to clear his head, and suck in the people he was giving as bodyguards.
'I have some pretty girl who wants to be noticed by mister broody over there. That same kid looks to be too much of a stuck up, their sensei looks to have only one eye, and the worst of them is the short kid with the spiky blonde hairdo. Sure he carries that scythe around, but I don't think he actually uses it. It's too clean!' These were just half of the thoughts plaging the bridge builder's mind.
The team were just on their way to the village, passing a puddle, when Naruto suddenly spoke up.
"You guys think that we canmake it to kiri if we run?" He said, causing confusion to the others. The jonin shook his head, placing a hand on his, and turning to face him.
"Now now, Naruto. We wouldn't want to leave our client behind now would we?" He said, then gives him a wink, as if he knew something he did. And he must have been right, because Naruto smiled and nodded. And so the team continued, Kakashi falling behind. Then the puddle from before started to rise, and form into two figures. Each one had a metal claw on different arms and chained together, and vanished into thin air. They reappeared in between Kakashi, their chain wrapped around him. This came as a surprise to everyone, especially since the two tore their sensei to shreds of blood and greenage. This frightened all four of them.
"Who are you?" asked Sasuke, getting into a defesing stance. The two ignored him, glaring at Naruto.
"That kid has a weapon. He might be the most dangerous if we leave him alone." One of them said. The other nodded, as they both ran after Naruto. He was completely frozen in place, as something came into his mind as he lived his final moments.
'I can't move! Am I so afraid of death that I freeze like this everytime? How did I get over this...'
Flashback...
"Naruto! You can't dodge these all day if you want to beat me!" yelled Tenten, picking up kunai as she scouted around for Naruto. He was hiding behind a tree, breathing hard. "I know i can beat her. I can't lose another sparing match to her! Why am I so damn afraid!?"
"Because you speak fear everytime you fight." She said, appearing out of nowhere. He shout up immediately, falling to the ground and dropping his scythe.
"Dammit! You shouldn't sneak up on someone like that! I know it's a shinobi's job to do it but-" He stopped, after trying to think of what she said. "Wait, what did you say about me when I fight?"
She sighed, sitting down right beside him. "Naruto, whenever you fight, you are afraid of doing something:When you swing your sword, you're afraid to cut someone. When you block an attack, you're afraid of getting cut. And when you try to fight for someone, you're afraid of letting them die."
These words stuck in Naruto's mind like glue on paper and wood. He rose up, trying to find a way to change his way of fighting. "Is there a way to change that?"
"Yes." Tenten spoke softely. "Redirect your purpose of fighting: When you block an attack, you protect yourself from getting hurt. When you protect someone, you make sure they stay alive. And when you fight someone, you kill them before they kill you or your loved one. I fight to fulfill my dream of becoming a great kunoichi like Tsunade. I also want to protect people like you, and my family, What about you?"
End Flashback...
That last question rung deep in his head, as he finally came back to earth. Almost immediately, he jumped both of them, driving his scythe straight into the ground and intersecting with the chain they have. They didn't notice that, just the fact that he abandoned his weapon to run away to a short distance. As the two assassins ran for him, they tripped into eachother, smashing their faces with one another. That's when they noticed that the scythe was the thing holding them down.
"You brat!" One of them yelled, detaching the chain so they can both run after him. Naruto smiled, as Sasuke came over them, drop kicking one in the jaw. This took the other one off guard, leaving Naruto to slam his fist into his face. They both laid on the floor, about to continue, until they saw their jonin sensei unharmed and right behind them.
"Good job boys. I was afraid someone would get hurt." He said, pulling a kunai out and staring at them. Sakura and Sasuke all looked at him, then turned to the mess from before, only seeing a butchered log.
"Oh, you used the kawamari jutsu. So who are they?" She asked, tying them up to a tree. Naruto was stuck in his own world, thinking about what just happened.
'My reason to fight...Why do I fight Tenten?' He asked himself. Then pictures of a Hokage ceremony appeared in his mind, with him being granted the title. Then another picture came into his mind, one about the pink-skinned brunette who likes weapons. He blushed a bit, but knew what he wanted. 'My reason to fight is to become Hokage, and - '
"Yo, Naruto. You done staring in space?" Said Kakashi, looking at him. Naruto turned around to him, giving off a smile and a shade of red on his face. "Oh I'm just fine. So who are they?"
"Well, these two are chunin level ninja assassins who work for a powerful A-class ninja. They call him Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist." He said, turning back to the two losers before them. Unknown to them they were being watched from afar.
So, they sent the Copy Ninja of Konoha, Hatake Kakashi. I guess it's to be assumed, since that bridge builder needs someone really strong in order to protect him." said a voice. He was staring closely at Kakashi, then begins to leave. There was another set of eyes along wiith him, but they were staring at Naruto. 'That boy. His eyes have suffered the same pain as I have...Forget it. I will complete this mission. For our dream.' The other voice then joins the taller one.
"Zabuza-sama, when do we strike?" The little one asked. The demon assassin looked down at him. "We will fight them in about a week. I have something I need to aquire Haku..." And they disappeared.
Kakashi was looking into the distance, listening to their conversation. 'Hmm, if we pursue them, we would no doubt be outmatched. I best train them for the battle to come.' He looks back at his students. "But first, we should ask our client why assassins were after us. In a C-class mission as only bodyguards, there is no way ninjas would be after you. Such a case would be an A ranked easily. Care to explain?"
Tazuna sighs. "I guess I'd better come clean. Our village is very poor because a man named Gato has been pumping wave dry. He won't let the bridge be completed because it would simply ruin his shipping business. He hired some mercenaries and missing nins to aid him to stop me. All my village could afford was the payment equal to a C rank mission. I'm sorry, and would understand if you head-"
Naruto stopped him before he could finish that last sentence. "No. We're already here, so I guess we might as well go with it. Besides, I would kill myself if Ten-chan found out I quit a dangerous mission because of a simple mistake in information. Let's move on!" He continues towards the village, leaving the others to simply think about what he said.
"So, I guess he does have a point. Besides, we have already gotten ourselves in more too deep to get out of. Now it is all in disposing of these two." Kakashi said, doing a handsign for a high level jutsu.
"Katon: Karyuudan no Jutsu!" He beathed fire towards them, burning them to ashes. As the others looked at him in fear, Sakura and Tazuna, the other left to join Naruto, Sasuke. They continued towards the village hidden in the mist.
Upon entering, Tazuna led them towards his den, and they met his daughter and grandson, Tsunami and Inari. While she greeted them nicely, he just scolded them for being dumb enough to accept such a suicidal mission.
The Next Day...
The team of genin and one jonin were waiting in the thicket of the woods, about to receive their next lesson. "Alright, it's time for me to teach you all a training technique to help with chakra control. Tree climbing without hands."
They all looked at him with confused looks in their eyes. Kakashi held a seal in his hands, as chakra went into his feet, and he walked up the tree nearest him. He continued until he made it to a high branch.
"Now, try to do it just like that. Transfer chakra to the soles of your feet. If too little then youfall. Too much and you break the surface. Now ike." He said, as the others began to place chakra into their feet. Naruto went up, but only made it up one step before falling on his ass. Sasuke made four steps before the wood broke, and he cut the part he stopped at and plopped onto his feet and onto the ground. Sakura on the other hand made it up to the branch.
"Well, it seems that only one of you is good enough to pass. Too bad, for someone who is trying to kill someone, and another who wishes to become Hokage, I feel disappointed in you guys." Kakashi said, making their bood boil. Naruto and Sasuke continued, each one making a step closer than before.
'I never said this before, but those two have more potential than Sakura. While she does have the best control at first try, that is because she has the lowest amount of them all. That made it alot easier for her.' Thought Kakashi, getting up to leave them to enjoy their training. 'Sasuke, your chakra may be well at most fearful, easily able to train with but still in the process of maturing. Naruto, while you may need a supreme load of training in order to control your chakra, that is only because you have so much of it. Your chakra is more than Sasuke and Sakura's own amount combined. Infact, you have more chakra in your system than myself and Sasuke's combined.'
A Week Later...
Zabuza and Haku were inside a dungeon, with a lot of steel weapons and stuff. A man with them was still making a sword for him. He had just cooled it down, and pulled it out from the water. After attaching a broken chain to the end, it was finished. It was a black nodachi. The entire blade was black, as well as the guard and hilt. It was a manji set as the guard, which was kanji for full, and red lines along the hilt. Zabuza took it, tossing aside the large silver one he had on his back.
"So, what do you think? Gato said you would pay me a lot of money for something like this." Said the man, brushing his arms together, hoping for something. What he got was a stab in the face, too quick to be seen or blocked. After removing the blade he pushes him off, wiping the blood off it.
"This sword, it's amazing! It's fast! And it looks to be able to stand up to the harshess jutsus! Let's see it work against those 'bodyguards'. Heheheheh." Zabuza then flashes away, heading towards the bridge. Haku sighed, following along. 'That boy...why does he remind me of me?'
Where Naruto Is...
Naruto just woke up, about to look for his friends and such. He goes to get himself dressed, and heads downstairs. After passing Tsunami, he gets something quick to eat, then rushes to the bridge, forgetting about the eyes that were making their way to the house he left.
The Bridge...
When Naruto made it to the bridge, he finds his team already in combat. He could barely see through ythe mist, but with his chakra enhanced eyes, he could spot out Kakashi engaged with a duel with some guy with a bandaged face and a black sword. He also sees Sakura protecting Tazuna. Sasuke on the other hand was face to face with some kid, who looks no older than him. He was wearing an ANBU mask, and had long locks of black hair as well.
"Hmm. I am pretty sure Kakashi can handle himself. I doubt they could get to Sakura while still fighting, so I think Sasuke would need the most help." He said quietly to himself.
"Makyo Hyosho!" Said the kid in the mask, forming large mirrors of ice around him and Sasuke. He entered one of them, and threw needles at Sasuke. Since he couldn't dodge, he was covered with them. Haku then threw some more, forcing him to his knees. The kid was about to finish him off, exiting the mirrors and grabbing a kunai from the ground, when a couple of shuriken flew towards him. He took them, then fell to the ground. Smoke appeared around Sasuke, as he was grabbed and thrown out of the fray towards Tazuna. As the smoke cleared, it is revealed as Naruto comes out, wielding his deathscythe.
"Hello. You must be one of the ones who was watching us at the outaskirts of Kirigakure. Normally I would ask you to leave before things got ugly, but in this case I'll make an exception, and beat you down and then I'll ask you to leave!" He said. Haku went back into the mirror, appearing in all of them.
"I see that look in your eyes, and you seem to be holding back pain, torment, and suffering. It is said that those who know suffering have spiritual maturity. I look in your eyes and see more maturity than my own. I would ask you to leave, try to find another purpose in life, but I can't per Zabuza-sama's orders. I'm sorry." Haku said, throwing needles at the speed of sound. Naruto couldn't block before they stabbed into his legs.
Konohagakure...
Tenten was busy sharpening her weapons. She was watching her two teammates fight eachother again, when she got a horrible sharp pain in her heart. She grabbed it, as images of Naruto came into her mind. 'Why do I think of him now? Is he in some sort of trouble?'
The other two look at her. "Hey Tenten. Why do you look so depressed? You never look like that while you play with your toys." said the white eyed long haired one. The green-cladded bowl-cut haired one stared at her.
"Ten-chan, your flames of youth seem a bit unstable at the most. Is something pertaining your youthful mind?!" He yelled, forcing an evil look in her eyes towards the green one.
"I need to go somewhere. I'll be right back." She said, running off to go to the gates of Konoha. There is placed a single kunai knife, and noone around. 'That baka, he better not die. I'll miss him too damn much...'
End Chapter