"Are you sure this thing is a sword, runt? It just looks like some super fancy clubbing stick!"

"It's called the Monado, you super drunk idiot! And yes, it's a sword. It's an awesome sword that only I can use!"

Not for the first time since forming their team, Sasuke sent a wary glance at the weapon on Naruto's back. It was an oddity the likes of which he had never seen before. Sure, he remembered a few days when Naruto had brought the weapon to the academy some years ago, but he had entirely forgotten about it since Naruto hadn't been seen with it for years.

'Where did he get something like that?' Sasuke wondered for what must have been the thousandth time. 'And what does he mean he's the only one that can use it? How does he even know something like that?'

Sasuke had asked Kakashi about it during their team training (which usually consisted of boring practice fights seeing as their sensei was almost as lazy as Shikamaru). The jounin told Sasuke that he didn't know much; all he knew was that someone from a far off land had given the Monado to Naruto as a gift and then disappeared. This just created more questions in Sasuke's mind.

'Why would someone from a far off land come all the way here to give such an amazing weapon to a dead last like Naruto? And how did they even know about him? He has no family from what I can tell, and there are no records of an Uzumaki clan from what I can find in the library.'

After that first day of survival training, Naruto had been able to control the Monado better. He could consistently summon dozens of shadow clones with it, though he said many times he felt like it should have been more.

"I'm tellin' you it really is a super powerful sword!"

"And I'm tellin' you it's just a big metal stick!"

Aside from the daily training exercises (if one could call them that) Team 7 had also been taking on missions from the Hokage. Unfortunately for everyone involved, these missions consisted almost exclusively of babysitting, walking dogs, and repeatedly capturing the Fire Daimyo's wife's cat.

To no one's surprise, Naruto eventually got fed up with these rather dull missions and demanded a tougher one. The Hokage responded by giving them a C-rank missions to protect Tazuna, a bridge builder from the Land of Waves. Tazuna was a brash, somewhat annoying man who constantly drank from a bottle of what they all assumed to be sake at his hip.

This was why the team was walking down the road towards the Land of Waves with the bridge builder in tow. Naruto and Tazuna had hit it off splendidly and were constantly at each others' throats over one thing or another.

Sasuke glanced again at the Monado, but turned his attention to Naruto when he noticed a strange look cross his teammate's face. Suddenly the blond jogged ahead to where Sasuke could see a water puddle on the side of the road.

"Aww man, I love splashing in these things!" he yelled as he jumped into the puddle and splashed water everywhere. "The look on peoples' faces when you get them with the water is priceless!" He continued splashing as everyone caught up. "It's too bad there hasn't been any rain lately."

Sasuke barely caught the look Naruto sent at Kakashi, but he definitely noticed Kakashi raise an eyebrow in response, before nodding his head ever so slightly.

'What was that about?' Sasuke wondered. 'Wait, if there hasn't been any rain, how is there-' A look of comprehension crossed Sasuke's face and he threw a glance at Kakashi as well, signaling that he knew about the threat as well.

"Damn it Naruto, we're on an important mission! Grow up for once, will you?!"

'Looks like Sakura's still clueless, though.'

Sasuke felt a presence behind the group, but he noticed Kakashi throw a glance at him and Naruto.

'He wants us to handle it… lazy sensei…'

A spiked chain wrapped around Kakashi and everyone turned to find two shinobi with metal masks and the chain connected to a gauntlet on their arms.

"One down."

The two shinobi pulled and the chain shredded right through Kakashi's body. In an instant, the two moved behind Naruto.

"Two down."

"Think again, assholes!"

The Monado flared to life in his hands and he swung behind him, fending off the attackers. They backed up to avoid the hit, but they failed to notice Sasuke in the air behind them ready to strike. Seeing his chance, Naruto made a horizontal slice just as Sasuke landed on their backs. Sasuke grabbed the gauntlets and held them down, allowing Naruto cut right through them.

"These brats…!"

With his hands still on the gauntlets, Sasuke propped himself up and kicked the two ninja in their faces, launching them backward. Unfortunately for Sasuke, backward happened to be the direction that Sakura and Tazuna were. Everything had happened so quickly, Sakura hadn't even thought to take out a kunai to defend herself (and their client) with.

They landed and rushed towards Sakura and the bridge builder. Sasuke was too far away to react, but Naruto focused his power and readied his attack.

"Oh no you don't! Monado Bunsh-!"

Just before they could reach Sakura, Kakashi appeared and caught both of them with a clothesline, knocking them both out cold.

"Good job, guys. Especially you, Naruto and Sasuke."

Naruto grinned happily and Sasuke smirked a bit.

'I guess I am really am the weakest link on this team…'

"Sakura."

"Yes?"

Kakashi looked down at the only female member of the team. For a moment it looked like he would be angry, but he smiled, though she could only tell by the way he closed his visible eye. "Great job protecting Tazuna-san."

"Oh! Of course!"

"Speaking of which…" Kakashi turned to face the two assassins that had been tied up nearby. One of them was still unconscious, but the other was listening intently. "These two are chuunin from the Village Hidden in the Mist."

"How did you know we were there?" the conscious one asked.

Kakashi laughed. "Just like Naruto said… It hasn't rained anywhere near here in a week."

The assassin clicked his tongue. "Beaten by a couple rookies…"

"But if you knew that," Tazuna started, "why did you let the kids fight?"

"Well, Naruto and Sasuke both let me know they had detected them… though Naruto was less silent about it." Kakashi blinked and looked down at his blond charge. "Come to think of it, how did you detect them, Naruto?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, the Monado showed me a vision as we were walking up to the puddle," he explained.

"A vision?"

"Yeah, the Monado shows me the future sometimes!" Everyone looked skeptical. "It did the same thing back during the survival training; I dodged your attack, remember sensei?"

Recognition dawned on what was visible of Kakashi's face. "Now that you mention it, that would explain that time." He waved it off a moment later. "More importantly, I let them attack because there was something I needed to find out about these two." He sent a lazy look at their client. "I needed to see who these ninja were after."

"How do you mean?"

"Meaning… where they after you or one of us? We didn't hear anything about shinobi being after you. We were simply told to protect you from thieves. This was supposed to be a simple protection mission until the bridge was completed, but now this is at least a B-rank mission.

"I'm sure you have your reasons, but it causes problems for the village when you lie about the details." He looked around at the three genin. "This might be a bit too much for them."

"Didn't you see us handle those chuunin?!" Naruto shouted. "We can handle this mission just fine!"

Kakashi studied the blond for a moment. "Most likely whoever is after Tazuna-san will send a jounin next time instead of just chuunin."

"Then I'll kick the jounin's ass right back to their village! As long as I have the Monado I can predict their movements and move out of the way! They can't win if they never hit me, right?"

"I wonder about that…"

"Well fine, you guys head back to Konoha then!" Naruto shouted. "I'm gonna finish the mission and take the old drunk all the way to the Land of Waves! There's no way I'm gonna run off scared now."

Kakashi palmed his face before sighing and looking at his two other students. "Are you guys okay with continuing?"

"Yeah, I wanted to keep going anyway," Sasuke answered.

"I'm fine with it if you all are," Sakura said.

"Well Tazuna-san, it looks like you're stuck with us," Kakashi said as the group continued forward.

Tazuna stood speechless for a moment before smiling. "Super thanks…"

It turned out that Tazuna was being targeted by a man named Gatou. Gatou had used ninjas and thugs to take over dozens of businesses and even countries. He was sucking the Land of Waves dry, trying to get as much money as he could from the region before leaving it to die and moving on to his next conquest.

The bridge that Tazuna was building would reignite the economy and help push Gatou out, so he had hired shinobi to take the bridge builder down. He hadn't counted on Team 7 getting in the way, though.

"Everyone get down!"

Kakashi dropped to the ground as a gigantic sword flew through the air right where their heads had been. Sasuke had pulled Tazuna out of the way and Sakura had tackled Naruto to the ground.

An instant later, a tall man was standing on the handle of the sword, now embedded in a nearby tree. Team 7 looked up at the man and could tell immediately that he was on a different level than the two they had fought before.

"Well… if it isn't the Demon of the Hidden Mist… Momochi Zabuza." Kakashi held an arm out to signal his team to stay back. "Everybody, leave this one to me. He's on a whole other level."

"Kakashi of the Sharingan…" the new enemy grunted through his own face mask. "Sorry, but the old man is mine."

"Surround and protect Tazuna-san," Kakashi ordered as he lifted up his headband to reveal his left eye. "I'll fight him."

Naruto looked at Kakashi as he got into position with Sakura and Sasuke protecting their client. Rather than a normal eye, Naruto could see a red iris with three black tomoe surrounding the pupil.

The world stopped and another vision came to Naruto. Unlike his previous visions, he didn't recognize the area that he could see now. Naruto could tell he was on the ground or floor of wherever they were and Sasuke was standing over him, facing away. He could barely see what looked like mirrors all around them, but what he noticed was the insane amount of needles covering Sasuke's body.

"Why?" Naruto heard himself yell. "Why did you save me?! I didn't ask for your help!"

"I don't know," Sasuke answered feebly. "My body just moved on its own… idiot."

Sasuke fell backwards into Naruto's arms. He was bleeding all over. "I told myself," he whispered, "I wouldn't die until I killed my brother." Sasuke's eyes closed slowly. "Don't you die too…"

Suddenly everything returned to normal and Naruto gasped heavily. 'What the hell was that?' he yelled in his mind. 'That wasn't like any of the other visions I've had. Could that… Could that be something that happens further in the future?'

"Now, let's end all the talking…"

Naruto snapped back to attention. 'Not good. I was completely out of it for a minute there.'

"I have to kill that old man."

Naruto tightened his grip on the Monado and kept his senses up, waiting for some kind of attack.

"But it seems I have to kill you first, Kakashi!"

Zabuza pushed away from the tree, pulling his sword with him. He landed on top of the nearby lake. He held his arms in a strange fashion that none of the genin recognized, but they knew it had to be for a jutsu of some kind.

"Ninpo: Kirigakure no jutsu."

Thick mist spread out from around Zabuza and covered the area. In just a few seconds, it had become difficult to even see a few feet away.

"I can't see a thing!" Naruto hissed. "Where did all this mist come from?"

"In the Hidden Mist, Zabuza was known as the foremost expert of the silent killing technique," Kakashi explained. "He was so good that most people didn't even realize they were dead until it was too late."

"Heheh! Don't talk about me like I'm dead, Kakashi!" Zabuza's voice echoed from all around them at once.

Complete silence reigned over them all for almost a minute, though it seemed to last for hours.

"Eight choices," Zabuza's voice finally called from the mist. "Liver, lungs, spine, clavicle, jugular, brain, kidneys, heart."

'What's this guy on about?'

"Eight choices for certain death… Which one should I go after?"

A chill ran over the entire group, but no one made a move. Naruto could feel someone behind him shaking with fear. 'Sakura-chan must be terrified out of her mind. Can't really blame her; I am, too.'

"Don't worry, Sasuke," Kakashi suddenly said. "I'll protect you guys even if it kills me." He turned just enough that they could see his eyes closed to show he was smiling. "I don't let my precious people die."

For a split second they could feel a sense of security from Kakashi's declaration.

"It's over."

Zabuza appeared suddenly in the middle of their formation. Before he could even make a move to swing his gigantic sword, Kakashi had appeared and shoved a kunai into the assassin's abdomen. Everyone fell away from the two jounin as blood leaked from Zabuza's- 'That's not blood!'

"Sensei, behind you!"

Zabuza appeared once more and cleaved Kakashi in two. Sakura shrieked even as Kakashi's body dissolved into water, revealing his water clone technique. A kunai appeared at his throat and Zabuza twitched slightly.

"Don't move!" Kakashi ordered. "It's over."

Zabuza just laughed. "It's over?" he echoed. "You don't get it. There's no way you can beat me if all you do is copy me like a monkey." A shadow crept over Kakashi's shoulder. "I'm not that easy!"

Kakashi slashed through the Zabuza in front of him, revealing another water clone. "That one's a fake, too!"

Zabuza swung full with his great sword, but Kakashi ducked underneath. The momentum carried the sword until it dug into the ground, but Zabuza used that momentum to turn his body around and launch a devastating kick to Kakashi's stomach which sent the Cyclops into the lake.

'What?! Why is the water so heavy?'

"Suirou no jutsu!"

"What!?"

"Water is my specialty," Zabuza explained. "I have you trapped in an inescapable prison. Now there's nothing stopping me from taking out those three pests!"

Another clone rose up from the lake and stepped onto the shore in front of the genin. It even had a copy of Zabuza's sword on its back. "Heheheh, you must think wearing those headbands makes you a real shinobi!" The clone glared at them. "A true shinobi is someone who has stared death in the face countless times and lived."

The mist began to thicken up again. "Only when you're good enough to be listed in my bingo book can you call yourself a shinobi." The mist completely obscured their view. "You are not shinobi."

'He disappeared!'

Naruto barely had time to think before he was sent skidding backwards. His headband had been knocked off and the clone stepped on it. "Brats."

"Just go!" Kakashi shouted. "Take Tazuna and run away! You have no chance of beating him, but as long as he's keeping me trapped he can't move! His water clone can't move very far from his real body so take Tazuna and go!"

Naruto gripped the Monado and stared at the imposing ninja before him.

'This is a jounin. A real ninja. How can I…'

Zabuza stared back and the image of a demon hovered over his back.

'Can I beat him?'

"Of course you can." Naruto blinked. "The Monado bends to your will." He looked down at the blade in his hand.

'Is the Monado… talking to me?'

He looked up at Zabuza again, but the threatening image of the demon had disappeared. He could see past the water clone to where the real Zabuza was still holding Kakashi prisoner.

'I caught Kakashi-sensei off guard with the Monado before,' Naruto told himself. 'Zabuza doesn't know I can see the future, so I have to bet on that!'

He picked himself up and brandished the Monado. "Monado," he whispered, "lend me your power." The blade came to life in his hands and the blue light pushed the mist back into the surrounding trees.

"That's a rather intriguing sword you have there, brat. What's it do?"

Naruto chuckled. "Like I'll just up and tell you, asshole!" He rushed forward, holding the Monado back for a side swipe. As he ran forward, he saw a vision of Zabuza's counterattack. At the last moment, Naruto ducked under an attack and swiped at the clone's feet. It jumped away, allowing Naruto to reclaim his headband.

'How did he dodge that attack?' more than one person thought.

"Hey, eyebrow-less freak," Naruto called as he tied his headband in place. "I'm the ninja who will be Hokage! Uzumaki Naruto!" He pointed the Monado at the real Zabuza. "Put that in your bingo book and shove it up your ass!"

He rushed forward again and prepared another attack. The clone responded by throwing his foot into Naruto's gut, but the attack never connected. Naruto moved to the side at the last second again and swung his weapon only to have it blocked by the clone's sword.

'Well, I suppose hoping it would cut through steels was just wishful thinking.'

The blade turned orange and Zabuza's eye twitched. "Monado Bunshin!"

'Monado…?'

Dozens of Naruto clones appeared around them and Zabuza quickly found himself smothered in the mob. 'These are shadow clones!' "Impressive, but not good enough!" He slashed in a wide arc, clearing out all of the clones, but the real Naruto was nowhere in sight. He could clearly see the bridge builder and the other two genin not far off.

"Where'd that brat go?"

"Right above you, no-brows!"

The water clone jumped to the side to avoid the oncoming strike, only to find Naruto right behind him. "Shi-!" The clone's sword met the Monado once more, but it had been caught off balance by Naruto's trick and had no way to defend itself against the fist that came through the back of its head.

Water fell to the ground as Naruto heaved a deep sigh of relief.

"I underestimated you, brat."

'Oh right that was just a clone…'

"How on earth did you do that, Naruto?" Sakura whispered.

"It was the power of the Monado."

"I think I'll kill you and take that sword for myself, boy," Zabuza declared.

"You're not the first person to tell me that," Naruto shot back. "And the last guy that said it got beat to a pulp, so you're not in really good company there."

Zabuza began to chuckle. It began soft yet dark, but built up quickly until he was laughing so hard he couldn't even keep his eyes on them. "Hahahaa, you guys are more interesting than I thought!" he yelled.

A dozen water clones emerged from the lake and stalked forward.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Naruto cursed. "It took all of that just to beat one clone, and now there's a bunch of 'em!"

"The Monado is yours to wield. Its power is yours to control."

The light from the Monado intensified and the symbol on the hilt changed to 斬which means "to slash."

"Ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred, it doesn't matter how many clones you make!" Naruto cried. "I'll take them all down and you with them!" The Monado's blade stretched until it reached above the treetops and he swung it down with as much power as he could.

"Monado… BUSTER!"

Zabuza barely managed to pull his hand away from the prison before the gigantic blade cut through it. The shockwave pushed him away and knocked the water clones back, dispelling them where they landed.

Water fell from the sky for a short moment as the Monado returned to normal and then the blade disappeared altogether.

Before he could think about what he had just done, Naruto fell to the ground unconscious.

He woke up in a place he didn't recognize. In fact, he couldn't really see anything around him at all. It was like he was sitting in a room with no walls but the floor just extended forever in all directions. It was an endless expanse of nothingness that surrounded him. And then he finally noticed the man standing above him.

"Hello, Naruto."

Chapter 4 End

First things first, I want to talk about the change in Naruto's attitude. Rather than being scared, he was more confident because he knew about the attack beforehand. He also gained confidence during the Zabuza clone bit because he trusted in the Monado's power. On that note as well, I took some liberty in assuming that water clones cannot communicate telepathically with the original user, and they also have much less power than the user so it wouldn't be nearly as difficult for Naruto to get a Zabuza clone off balance with a surprise, even one as rudimentary as that.

Not sure how everyone feels about me including the kanji symbols for the Monado powers, but I think it's a cool idea so I'll keep doing it for now at least.

Suirou no jutsu – Water Prison technique

Ninpo: Kirigakure no Jutsu - Ninja Art: Hidden Mist technique