And welcome back to Konoha's Most Unpredictable Conduit. Have fun with this chapter! ^_^
-V
"So Kakashi-sensei where exactly is Wave country?" Naruto asked, standing in formation behind Tazuna with Sakura and Sasuke. He made the very bottom of the diamond, while Sasuke and Sakura made up the bottom half, Team Ten making up the top half with Shikamaru in front, Kakashi and Asuma behind them keeping guard. Kakashi glanced up from his book and gazed at his blonde haired student.
"Well Naruto, it's part of the Waterfall village, but merely an extension. Wave country itself is just a small village that has a mayor, but no kage or ninja. Civilians, correct Tazuna?" The elder bridge builder gave a brief nod before the throwing back his sake bottle and drinking from it. The group fell into silence, having been traveling for a few hours since they left the village. It was nearly four, if the sun's position in the sky was any indication. Passing by a puddle, Naruto was instantly on guard. Taking note of Shikamaru's tense demeanor that wasn't there minutes ago gave Naruto the affirmative that his brother knew it was trap as well. The blonde looked back to Kakashi and Asuma who looked calm and aloof but the small movement of their hands caused him to know they were on guard as well.
The rustling of chains grabbed everyone's attention, the genin turning around to see Asuma and Kakashi wrapped up in chains by two Mist ninja wearing masks. "Two down." The one on the left called out as they pulled, shredding the two jounin to shreds. "Now only six left. Six easy little- urk!" The one on the right started, before being cut off as Naruto appeared behind him, a kunai embedded into his throat.
"What the hell?" The left one cried out, slashing at Naruto with his gauntlet. Naruto raised a hand to block, ignoring the pain that the cut gave him before he felt his familiar power of smoke envelop his free hand before he sent the blast straight into the guys face, sending him flying. Before any of the genin could react however, Kakashi appeared and knocked the remaining ninja out. Naruto looked to the two teams to see Shikamaru and Sasuke with kunai drawn, the other three frozen in fear. He gave a mental cluck with his tongue, they would have to react faster or they would die.
"Good job Naruto. However next time, allow your teammates to help you, or you could end up dead." Kakashi said in a cheerful tone, eye-smile along with the praise before his emotions did a 360, his demeanor turning serious. He turned to Tazuna who was pale at what he had witnessed. "Now Tazuna, can you tell me why two chunin were going to attack us?" Asuma gave an identical stare before he took the remaining ninja and tied him up to a nearby tree, ready for interrogating.
"I dunno." Came the weak reply, however Kakashi's stare caused him to quickly sweat bullets and relent as the jounin was giving out a small K.I. "Okay okay! They were after me! They were probably sent by Gatou so they could stop any attempt at getting me back to complete the bridge." He looked down somberly, holding his hat within his hands, "Wave Country...we're poor you see? We couldn't afford a higher rank than C, and I'm sorry for putting you and your team through this. I really am. I understand if you wish to leave me out here on my own."
"Like hell we are, old man!" Naruto's exclaim caused everyone to look at him. "We can't just leave him and his country in poverty! It's not right. You all can go back, but I'm going on ahead." He walked forward only to be stopped by Shikamaru.
"Sorry Naruto, but I can't allow you to do that for two reasons. One, the guy with the poison gauntlet got you. Two, Kaa-san would kill me if I came home without you." Shikamaru drawled out, his eyes boring into Naruto's. His eyes widened as he reached out to stop his brother from plunging a kunai into his hand only to react too late. Naruto said nothing as he watched the poison trickle out of his hand before he pulled out the kunai with a small face of grimace. "You idiot!" Came the scolding from his brother as the lazy genius glared at Naruto only to step back in slight surprise at the returned glare.
"Do you honestly think a kunai in the hand is going to stop me?" Came the low reply as Naruto fished out bandages before he looked between Ino and Shikamaru. Shikamaru was still too surprised at how intense the glare was, so Ino stepped forward and began to wrap up his hand. She let out a gasp, staring at the steam that rose from Naruto's hand, the wound closing shut almost instantaneously. She was about to speak up but Naruto caught her eye, explaining with his own: 'You got questions? I'll answer them when we're alone.' She finished wrapping his hand up without a word and cut it with the kunai. He pocketed said kunai as he walked past the two and stood next to Tazuna, "I swear on the blood dripping from my hand, I will not go back on my word! It's now my nindo! If you all wish to go back, you can." He crossed his arms and eyed the group.
"Troublesome little brother." Shikamaru muttered as he stood next to Naruto, eyeing him before he sighed, "I suppose I'm going with the baka here." Choji soon joined him, munching on his chips.
"Hn. I can't really allow the three lazy asses to take all the lime-light, now can I?" Sasuke said with a cocky grin as he stood beside the three, his arms crossed.
"Fuck you, teme." Naruto piped up, causing Sasuke's grin to widen.
Ino let out an irritated growl before stomping over and standing next to Naruto, "I suppose I'll have to help. But I swear to Kami Naruto, if you get hurt any more on this trip, I'm kicking your ass, waiting until you heal, allow your Kaa-san to kick your ass, THEN I'll kick your ass even more! Understand?" Seeing him nod she nodded and looked at their sensei's and Sakura, "Seems I'm on board as well. Now Billboard-Brow, you comin'?"
Sakura looked on nervously between her sensei and the group, fidgeting ever so slightly. However the look that Sasuke gave her, whether it was of annoyance or of his secretly undying love and devotion to her gave her the answer Ino sought. She walked over to them and stood next to them, standing closer to Sasuke who couldn't move away due to Choji being beside him. He let out a grunt before rolling his eyes at her small squeal. Surprisingly to Ino and Sakura, Ino ignored the Uchiha and stayed next to Naruto.
Asuma exhaled on his cigarette smoke before he looked at Tazuna, "Well it seems that our genin have saved your ass. What say you, Kakashi?"
The lazy one-eyed ninja looked over to him before eye-smiling, "I say that we continue onto the mission, especially since a certain blonde is stubborn to not go back on his nindo." Naruto gave a small whoop while Ino smiled, Sakura and Sasuke giving small smiles, Shikamaru muttering 'Troublesome' with a smirk and Choji happily eating his chips. However, their opponent from the Mist decided to wake up at the opportune moment, giving a small groan. "Well, look who's awake." The ninja opened his eyes to view eight ninja who were mostly staring at him with anger, awaiting answers. Needless to say, he talked.
"So, who's Zabuza Momochi?" Naruto asked, leaning back in the boat with his hand in the water, the appendage trailing lazily through the ocean.
Kakashi and Asuma exchanged glances: The Mist ninja known as Gozu had revealed that Gatou had hired he and his brother Meizu to kill the old man and if he had failed; he hired another Mist ninja, one of the Seven Swordsman of the Hidden Mist, the 'Demon of the Hidden Mist' known as Zabuza Momochi. "He is the enemy we may come up against within the next hour." Kakashi sighed, looking at Naruto. "He's off limits to you genin, just allow me and Asuma to handle it, alright?" Seeing all of their students nod, the two jounin were allowed to relax for the time being.
"I don't get it." Shikamaru spoke after a moment.
"Get what?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The reason that Gatou is practically enslaving the village." Came the lazy reply. "Besides the obvious role in expanding his empire and all, I get that. But why target a village this small? No offense, Tazuna-san." Seeing him wave it off, Shikamaru gave a lazy grin.
"Maybe there's something special. I don't really know the reason myself." Tazuna replied, rubbing his goatee in thought. The group fell into a comfortable silence well after that.
Sakura had fallen asleep, much to Kakashi's displeasure. A ninja was only supposed to rest when the client was safely at his home. He said nothing however and merely stared at into the fog in silence, his book open as he absentmindedly read it.
Ino scooted closer to Naruto, shivering slightly from the cold and dampness from the surrounding weather. Naruto took note and gave a slight grin before he shed his jean vest and white hoodie, draping them upon Ino. She smiled with thanks, warmth filling her and the familiar scent of firewood, fire smoke and deer filled her nostrils. She giggled to herself, waving Naruto away when he looked at her in confusion. "Oh nothing Naruto." He rolled his eyes and shook her off, staring ahead.
Choji munched on his chips, "Munch munch-Hey Sasuke-munch munch-want a chip?" The Uchiha regarded him with a raised eyebrow, looking at the offered snack before his hand reached out and grabbed it, the stoic male eating it quietly.
"Thank you, Choji." He replied quietly, causing Naruto, Shikamaru, and Ino to stare at him in shock. "What?" He asked out, his eye twitching.
"We never would have thought Choji would be the one to get you to pull that stick out of your ass." Naruto replied cheekily, grinning. Sasuke merely flipped him off before the boat master let out a slight shiver of discomfort. "What is it?"
"We're approaching land, and this is where you get off. Kami bless you all, and I hope you complete that damned bridge, Tazuna." He growled out, shaking the elder bridge builder's hand, as everyone departed, Kakashi waking Sakura up with a light scolding. Needless to say, she knew now not to fall asleep unless their sensei said they were setting up camp for the night or something.
The group formed around Tazuna once more, Asuma taking the front, Kakashi taking the rear. "So, what are we to expect from Zabuza? Besides a giant battle, I mean. Should I create clones to fan out and surround him? Search for accomplices?"
Kakashi merely waved the idea away, "No Naruto, that won't be necessary. Asuma-Sensei and myself will be able to take Zabuza on by ourselves. As for accomplices, Zabuza works alone." He eye-smiled down at his student, "Don't worry so much, gaki. We got this covered."
Naruto rolled his eyes as he couldn't shake off the uncertainty in the pit of his stomach. It was as if he sensed something was going to happen, which was most likely the case, but he had the feeling that Zabuza wouldn't be alone. He shook his head, Kakashi-Sensei was right after all, wasn't he? Suddenly he heard rustling in the bushes and reacted on instinct, throwing several kunai at said bush. "Naruto!" Sakura scolded, bonking him on top of the head, neither of them noticing Ino's look of anger at the action, "You scared us all. What are you doing, throwing kunai into bushes like that?!" She walked over, her own kunai drawn as she pushed back the bushes to reveal a snow white rabbit. "Look at this. You killed a defenseless rabbit. How do you feel know?"
"Pretty damn great, considering how I got a midnight snack." Naruto retorted as he scrolled up the rabbit, putting said scroll into his bag. "But did any of you look at it's fur? It was snow white, instead of brown. Almost as if it was put in captivity. A wild hare like that would have brown fur, as it's nearly fall right now, not winter. Why would a snow rabbit be out here?" The sound of something whistling in the air towards them caused him to scream, "Get down!" He quickly smoke dashed to Ino, as everyone else was on the ground. He quickly wrapped his arms around her in a protective hug and threw themselves to the ground, a giant sword slamming into the tree next to them. If Ino had been standing, she would have been sliced through, like a pile of meat. "You okay?" Naruto murmured, looking down at her. She nodded slightly before the two of them stood, weapons drawn. The slight groaning of the sword as weight was added to it against the tree caused all of the group to look at the hilt.
"Damn, missed one." The male called out. He had black spiky hair, a Mist headband with a scratch running through the symbol, declaring his status as a missing ninja, suspenders around chiseled shoulders that connected to camofluage pants that met sandals. Bandages covered the male's nose and mouth, as his brown eyes stared down at the group. "Ah, Kakashi Hatake and Asuma Sarutobi. Oh, and look at that, you got groups of genin. Hell, they probably haven't even made it out of their training diapers yet, have they? It'll be a shame for Konoha when I send you all back in match boxes." The tone of his voice sent shivers down the genin's spines, as they all went closer to Tazuna, trying to guard him to the best of their ability. "That's cute. Little kids trying to play ninja." He scoffed, hopping off his sword and pulling it out effortlessly of the tree, hefting it over his shoulder. "I'll make quick work of you and your brats, then I'll kill the old man."
"I'm sorry Zabuza Momochi, but we can't allow you to do that." Asuma replied as he spit his used cigarette onto the ground, pulling out his trench knives, the blades being lengthened by his chakra.
"I have to agree with my friend here, Zabuza." Kakashi stated, pulling up his headband to reveal his fully matured Sharingan.
"How?" Sasuke hissed out, his eyes wide with shock and rage. "How could you have the Sharingan Kakashi? You're not an Uchiha!"
"A story for another time, Sasuke." Kakashi said as he drew a kunai. Said eye spun wildly as fog began to fill the area, making it hard for anyone to see.
"Water Style: Hidden Mist Technique." Zabuza's voice rang out, seemingly from everywhere at once. "There are eight vital points to kill a person but those eight areas are just limitless in possibility. The liver, heart, spleen, kidney, lungs, spine, brain, or through the waist. Hm. Now how should I kill the old man?" His question was filled with malice and joy at the same time, it was making it difficult for Choji, Sasuke, Ino and Sakura to operate. Shikamaru was straining as well, but not as much as the others. Naruto seemed the least affected as he kept his eyes peeled for the ninja. Hearing rustling to his left he raised up his kunai, Zabuza forcing him down to his knees with his strength.
"Naruto!" Asuma called out, slashing at Zabuza with his trench knives, only for the missing ninja to collapse into water. "Damn it. A water clone? Guys, be on your guard and keep Tazuna surrounded!" The battle for Tazuna's life was just beginning, and the genin had no idea what to do besides protect him to the best of their ability.
Naruto summed up their situation in just one word, "Shit."
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I think this will hold you guys off for now. Read and review! Ja ne!
-V