Rise of the Jinchūriki

By: bigo4190

Disclaimer: I do not own this, Masashi Kishimoto does. All original characters and locations are mine, with the exception of Kagegakure no Sato, its ninjas, and Koneko Sora, which belong to Araknia the Storyspinner.

Speaking: "Blah"

Thinking: 'Blah'

Jutsu: Blah

Demon Speaking: BLAH

Demon Thinking: BLAH

Empowered Humans (Demon-influenced, Curse Seal, etc.): "Blah"

Chapter 6

Several Days After the Battle with the Oni no Kyoudai – In a Small Boat

'What thick mist, I can barely see my own fingers.'

"You should be able to see the bridge soon, and Nami no Kuni is at its other end. And keep your voices down, I am going to cut the engines, and we will row from here on. This mist is a blessing, hiding us from prying eyes, we don't want Gato catching us." Said the man who was ferring Squad 7 and Tazuna across to Nami no Kuni.

Flashback

"Sensei-san, I wish to speak with you. I did in fact lie about the mission, and a super dangerous man is after my life, one you may have heard of. The wealthy shipping master, a man called…Gato."

"Gato? Of the Gato Compan? He is said to be one of the worlds few truly rich people."

"Yes, he official runs a large shipping company, but he runs a whole host of illegal activities just below the surface; and his army of hired ninjas and common thugs take over and terrorizes businesses and countries. About a year ago he set his sights on Nami no Kuni, he then used his vast wealth to buy up our shipping and trade, and any who would not sell were crushed by his thugs. We are an island nation, and the man who controls the sea controls everything. The only thing Gato fears is this bridge. With it, trade with the land can be completed without his shipping. I am the bridgebuilder…"

"So if he gets rid of you, he keeps control. He was the one who hired those ninja. But if you expected that then why…"

"…Did I lie? It's rather simple gaki. Nami no Kuni is super poor, even the daimyo has little money, so what could we common people have. We could barely afford the cost of a C-rank mission, definitely not the much more expensive B-rank. But…if you quit now, don't worry. I will surely die, but that doesn't matter. All that will happen is my super cute 10-year old grandson will cry for a few days, oh and my daughter will live a sad life hating Konoha Ninja forever. But that won't be your fault, not at all."

'Man is he trying a guilt trip.' "I guess we have no other choice, we will continue to escort you, at least until you arrive home." 'Hopefully the Hokage can send us reinforcements.'

"That is most generous of you." 'I win.'

End Flashback

"We are approaching the shore. But to be safe, I will let you off among the mangroves." After they have landed and climb out of the ship the pilot turns to Tazuna. "This is the end of my involvement. Good luck, Tazuna."

"Super Thanks." Tazuna turns back to Squad 7 as the ferryman departs, "Now get my home safely."

"Of course." Kakashi is however hiding his worries, 'The next ninja they send after us will not be a chūnin, but definitely a Jounin.'

Later that Day – In the Forest

'I can't let Sasuke get the better of me again. There a noise…wait that is more like a rat. There that isn't a rat.' Quickly Naruto pulls out a kunai and throws it into a nearby bush, where it hits the tree behind the bush with an audible thud. They part the bush and reveal…

"A rabbit, Naruto no baka, what do you think you're doing, trying to act all cool."

"Sakura, I thought you were supposed to be the smart and observant one. This is a snow hare, and here it is, late spring, and quite warm to, and it still has a white coat. So tell me what does that mean."

"It means…"

"…That it was raised in captivity to be used for Kawarimi no Jutsu. Very good Naruto, but be on your guard it appears that…Everyone down!" Kakashi suddenly is alert, and pulls Tazuna to the ground with him, just as Naruto knocks Sakura off her feet and Sasuke ducks. Just as they hit the ground a giant sword flies out of the bushes and imbeds itself in a tree, right at the level Tazuna's neck used to be. On it suddenly appears a man, dressed in blue pants, no shirt, and bandages around his lower face. "Well, Momochi Zabuza, Nuke-nin of Kirigakure no Sato, known throughout the elemental contries as the Kirigakure no Oni. And all of you stay back, he is leagues ahead of the last two. If he is to be our opponent then I will need this." Kakashi reaches up to his Hitai-ite to straigten it.

"Ah, Sharingan no Kakashi, the man who know 1,000 jutsu. I to have read the bingo book. Now step aside, the old man is mine."

"All of you, surround the bridge builder, and stay out of this fight, that is the teamwork you need for this encounter. As for you Zabuza, your fight is with me." With this Kakashi reveals his implanted Sharingan.

"Ah, I am to see the Sharingan already, I feel honored."

"Sharingan, but that is only…how can you have ONE Sharingan, and how can you have it at all, Kakashi-sensei."

"A tale for another time Naruto. Get back."

'You ask good questions…for a dobe. The Sharingan is the dojutsu kekkei genkai of the Uchiha Clan. Only a select few ever unlock its power, how can he have only one, is he…'

"Enough talking. I need to get rid of the old man…now." The three genin quickly formed up around Tazuna. "But it appears that I will have to get through you first Kakashi, so be it." Zabuza leaps from his sword handle, taking it with him, and lands upon the surface of the nearby lake. "Ninpo: Kirigakure no Jutsu." The air thickens with fog, reducing visibility, and Zabuza disappears from sight.

'He'll come after me first.' Zabuza is a master of the Muon Satsujin Jutsu, you won't know he's there until you are already dead. Be on your guard, I can't use the Sharingan to counter it perfectly."

"There are 8 points…the Larynx, Spine, Lungs, Liver, Jugular, Kidneys, Heart, and the Subclavian Artery – Which should I choose.

'I feel like I can't breathe; the smallest motion will draw his attack. The killing intent of Jounin is suffocating; if it goes on like this I will go insane. I can't take it; I would rather die than…'

"Sasuke! Calm down. I will protect you with my life, all of you; I don't let my comrades die."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Even as he says this, Zabuza appears in the middle of the genin, holding Kubikiri Houcho across his back. Even as he begins his swing, Kakashi lunges at him, scattering the genin and Tazuna. They stop, Kakashi has imbedded a kunai is Zabuza's gut which is bleeding…water.

"Sensei, behind you." Even as Naruto screams out, the Zabuza that Kakashi has grappled with bursts into water and another appears behind Kakashi swinging Kubikiri Houcho, and neatly divides Kakashi in two, and the pieces also promptly burst into water.

'Mizu Bunshin. Unbelievable, even in this mist he saw through my ruse and copied it in an instant.'

"Don't move, it's over." Kakashi appears again, no holding a kunai to Zabuza's throat.

"He, it's over. Do you really think you can beat me with your monkey like imitations. You had already copied my Mizu Bunshin when you made your little speech. By having it act as you would, you could hide in the mist and wait for me to make my move. Well…" Here the source of Zabuza's voice moves from where he is standing to the nearby trees where another Zabuza leaps down, "…I'm not that easy to fool." The Zabuza at knife point burst into water and the other Zabuza tries to slice Kakashi once again. This time Kakashi ducks, the strike continues around, and the blade is buried into the ground, but Zabuza uses the momentum to jump up and strike Kakashi with a kick, trowing him up in the air and towards the lake. Grabbing his sword, Zabuza chases after Kakashi, only to stop when he encounters, "Makabishi, trying to slow me down are you. Well that won't work. Kakashi lands in the water, and Zabuza leaps over the spikes and lands on the surface of the water.

'This water…it feels heavy.'

"Foolish Kakashi, Suirou no Jutsu. You must have thought you could escape to the water and regroup, but that was a mistake. Now you are mine, trapped in my inescapable prison." The water had risen up, surrounding Kakashi, as well as Zabuza's right hand. "Now for the gakis, Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu." Even with only one hand, Zabuza was still able to perform the technique. "You think, just because you wear a Hitai-ite, that you are a ninja, Hah. When you have been at the border of life and death so many times it ceases to faze you, then can you be called ninja. In other words, until you are in the bingo books, you don't count." With the last word, the clone disappeared, only to reappear and kick Naruto back into a tree. In the process, Naruto's Hitai-ite came loose, and the Clone traps it under it foot. "You're just gaki, playing ninja."

"Listen to me, all of you. Get the bridge builder away from here. A Mizu Bunshin can only be so far away from the real body. Just run away."

'This is a Jounin, a true ninja. At this rate, I will surely die. No – I will not fail anymore, I will not run away. They say the Hitai-ite shows you are a ninja and an adult, I will live up to that.'

'He can slip past our defensive formations, so no matter where we run to he will track us down and exterminate us all; the option to run away was removed as soon as you got caught sensei.' With this in mind Sasuke begins a charge, hurling shuriken then when the clone blocked them with his sword, leaping up for an aerial strike, however, he was caught by the clone.

"Too easy." The clone proceeded to throw Sasuke away, and he landed several feet away on the ground. Naruto from his place on the ground has come to a decision, and again charges at the clone. "Fool," it shouts, and in a great cloud of dust Naruto is sent flying back to the others.

"Naruto, we're genin, we stand no chance against a Jounin like that, even Sasuke couldn't beat him, what were you thinking." But even as Sakura talks, Naruto straightend up, clenching his Hitai-ite firmly in his hand. 'His Hitai-ite…that was what he was after?'

"Hey you, Eyebrowless Freak, put this in your Bingo Book, the Future Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato – Uzumaki Naruto." As he finishes talking, Naruto resecures his HItai-ite around his head.

'…Naruto.'

'The gaki isn't as super useless as I thought.'

"Listen up Sasuke, I have a plan, do you hear me."

"Hn, I hear you, so your finally thinking about teamwork." 'HE has a plan, for this situation, Naruto you are…'

'This is Naruto? He's so, determined, and it feels…'

"Let's get wild."

"Big words from such a little gaki. Do you really think your plan can keep you in the game?"

'This is bad.' "What are you doing, this battle was over the moment I was caught, the mission is to protect Tazuna-san, have you forgotten that?"

"Old man…?"

"Well… I was the one who started all this. I'm not going to say now that I desire so much to live that I will stop you. Go ahead, fight as much as you want."

"You never grow up do you. Still 'playing' ninja. When I was your age, I had already killed."

"The Oni…Zabuza"

"Oh, so you have heard a little about me, eh Kakashi?"

"In the not so distant past Kirigakure no Sato was also known as Chi no Kiri, because of the final obstacle for becoming one of their ninja."

"Ah, you know about the graduation exam."

"What is the big deal about a graduation exam, unless…" Naruto cuts in.

"The test was simple, a fight to the death, between students – Friends who had trained and eaten together, shared their dreams – and they were pitted against each other until one was dead." Zabuza trails off, pausing for a second, so Kakashi picks up where he knows this is leading.

"But that changed ten years ago, when an Oni appeared. A young boy, not even qualified for their academy, massacred every graduating student, a class of more than 100."

"Ah, those were wonderful times, and it felt so…good." Even as the genin flinch in shock, Zabuza charges forward, knocking Sasuke away and to the ground where he pins him and then he draws his sword, "Now DIE!"

"Kuso. Stop right there Zabuza. Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

"Ah, Kage Bunshin, and quite a large number of them too." The first ranks of the clones jump upon the clone of Zabuza, completely burying him, but he quickly throws them off. They did manage to get Sasuke out from under the Zabuza clones heel while they were at it.

'Now's the chance, with Sasuke out of the way I might be able to get rid of that clone, and even if it doesn't work, it will distract both the clone and the real one long enough for me to get plan B together.' "Alright, time for our next trick, Kaze Yogore." Now the remaining clones attacked, spewing sickle-sharp winds at the Zabuza clone.

"Hn. So you have a few tricks." The Zabuza clone is obscured by the winds, but when they settle down, he is still standing, and Naruto's clones have been destroyed. "What now, gaki."

"This. Here, Sasuke." Naruto reaches into his pack and tosses a fuma shuriken to Sasuke.

Even as he touches it, Sasuke feels something different. 'So this is your plan. Not bad, Naruto.' "Fuma Shuriken: Fuma no Kage"

"A shuriken, you'll never touch me with that." Sasuke leaps up and throws the shuriken, which sails around the colne, directly for the real Zabuza. "So you are aiming for the real body. Bravo, but it will take more than that to stop me." Zabuza easily catches the large shuriken with his free hand. However, "A second shuriken in the shadow of the first."

'Kage Shuriken no Jutsu. Impressive.'

Zabuza merely leaps up, allowing the shuriken to pass harmlessly under him, while he still maintains Kakashi's prison. "I told you a shuirken can't touch me."

'Hn. Perfect.'

With a sudden burst of smoke, the second shuriken turns into Naruto, who pulls out a kunai and throws it at Zabuza. "Eat this." The kunai continues on its path, and Zabuza barely manages to dodge, taking a cut underneath his eye, and freeing Kakashi.

"Damn gaki." Zabuza begins to lunge for Naruto with the collapsed fuma shuriken, but before he has moved more than a step, the blade is blocked by Kakashi with the metal plate on the back of his gloves.

"Naruto, that was impressive. You used your clones as a diversion while the real body was transformed into a fuma shuriken, which you had Sasuke throw, hidden behind his own fuma shuriken."

"I'll admit, I got distracted and had to release the jutsu…"

"No," Kakashi cut in, "you were forced to drop that technique because of a well executed plan. And let me tell you, I don't fall for the same jutsu twice." As Zabuza presses down with the shuriken, Kakashi pushes back, until the suriken is sent flying off into the mist. The two then leap back and begin forming Fūin, the strange thing being that their seals are identical and formed at the exact same moment. Finally they both end on the Tori Fūin together calling out, "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu."

'So many Fūin, and he copied them all instantly. This is the power of the Sharingan.'

'So this is what high level NinJutsu look like, I never imagined.'

'I so need to learn something like that.'

Even under the drizzling remains of their failed attack, the two clash again, Zabuza's giant sword held at bay by Kakashi with a single kunai. 'Something is wrong. The Sharingan can comprehend and copy any eniemies technique, but both of our attacks occurred simultaneously. Could it be…' They break off, and maneuver around each other. AS Zabuza readies himself into his usual stance, one hand extended above his head, the other at face level in a half-Hitsuji, Kakashi perfectly copies him. 'My movements. It's as though he knows what I'm…'

"…Going to do next?"

'What! Is he reading my mind as well. He looks at me…'

"…With that infuriating eye."

"All you are doing is copying me like," Here Kakashi joins in speaking perfectly in time with Zabuza, "an insignificant monkey. You can't beat me with cheap tricks." The two begin a new set of Fūin, both perfectly together, but Zabuza sees an apparition behind Kakashi, a version of himself, also performing the hand signs and he pauses. 'What is this? Some sort of GenJutsu.'

Kakashi however does not stop, and completes the last Fūin, "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu."

'Impossible. I'm the one forming the technique, but I can't keep up with him.' The sudden blast of water created by Kakashi carries Zabuza deep into the woods, eventually striking him against a sturdy old tree that does not collapse under the onslaught. Quickly Kakashi throws four kunai to pin Zabuza to the tree. "How? Can you see the future?"

"Your future is death." However, before Kakashi can do more than draw a kunai, a pair of senbon flies out and strike Zabuza in the neck.

"Hehe. You were right. He is dead." The speaker has appeared on another nearby tree branch, the source of the senbon – An Oinin from Kirigakure.

Kakashi leaps down to examine the body. "No vital signs, he is dead."

"Thank you, I have been searching for Zabuza for some time, you presented me with an opportunity to complete my mission."

'Judging from his height and voice, that ninja is not much older than my ninja, but is already an elite assassin. That is no normal child.'

"I can't believe this. A kid, not that different from us come in here and finishes off Zabuza just like that. I mean, I know we weakened him, but that, that…"

"You have to understand Naruto that in this world there are ninja, younger than you, but far stronger than me."

"Your battle is over now. This body still contains many secrets that can be used against Kiri, it must not fall into the wrong hands." The Oinin has transported down to the body and hoisted it onto one shoulder. "I will dispose of this body shortly." With a one-handed Fūin the Oinin disappears with Zabuza's body.

'Wait I thought that Oinin…' Kakashi turns, pulling down his Hitai-ite, seeming ready to say something when he suddenly collapses. "Kakashi-sensei." The genin and Tazuna all gather around him. "What's wrong with him he was fine, he doesn't even have a wound."

"It's probably Chakra Exhaustion. He worked to hard in the battle and has used up his energy. Since he's still breathing, I think he'll be fine, but this is bad. If we are attacked again, he won't be any use for some time, I don't know how long." Sakura, always the one to have paid attention can correctly diagnose what is wrong.

"Well then lets hurry along, you all can rest at my house, it's not that far, and it's super comfortable."

'I hope those reinforcements Kakashi-sensei get here soon, this mission just keeps getting harder.'

Translations:

Oni no Kyoudai – Demon Brothers, a pair of Missing Nin from Mist

Nami no Kuni – The Land of Waves

Sensei – Teacher

-san – Common ending, denotes passing respect

Gaki – Brat

Daimyo – Fuedal Lord

Konoha – Tree Leaf, in reference to the Hidden Leaf Village

Hokage – Fire Shadow, the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village

Chūnin – Journeyman Ninja, the second rank of ninjas

Jounin – Elite Ninja, the third rank of ninjas

Kunai – Ninja Throwing Knife

Naruto no baka – Means: "Naruto you Idiot"

Kawarimi no Jutsu – Replacement Technique

Nuke-nin – Missing Ninja, a rogue outlaw

Kirigakure no Sato – The Village Hidden in Mist, the water nation ninja village

Kirigakure no Oni – The Demon of the Hidden Mist

Hitai-ite – Ninja Headband

Sharingan – Copy Wheel Eye, the eye technique blood line of the Uchiha clan.

Jutsu – Technique

Dobe – Dead-last

Dojutsu – Eye Technique

Kekkei Genkai – Bloodline Limit, a special ability only appearing in people of a certain clan.

Genin – Rookie Ninja

Ninpo: Kirigakure no Jutsu – Ninja Skill: Hidden Mist Technique

Muon Satsujin Jutsu – Silent Homicide Technique

Kubikiri Houcho – Neck-Cleaving Knife, the name of Zabuza's sword

Mizu Bunshin – Water Clone

Makabishi – Small Spikes used t impede movement

Suirou no Jutsu – Water Prison Technique

Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu – Water Clone Technique

Shuriken – Throwing stars

Konohagakure no Sato – Village Hidden by Tree Leaves

Chi no Kiri – Bloody Mist

Kuso – Damn it

Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Mass Shadow Clone Technique

Kaze Yogore – Wind Smear

Fuma Shuriken – Windmill Throwing Star, a four bladed collapsible weapon

Fuma Shuriken: Fuma no Kage – Windmill Shuriken: Windmill of Shadows

Fūin – Seal, either drawn, or formed for Ninja Techniques

Tori Fūin – Bird Seal, the common symbol at the end of Water techniques

Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu – Water Release: Water Dragon Blast Technique

NinJutsu – Ninja Technique, powerful techniques for offensive or defensive purposes using chakra.

Hitsuji – Ram, one of the 12 ninja handsigns

GenJutsu – Illusion Technique, techniques that use chakra to create realistic illusions that ensnare unwary victims

Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu – Water Release: Grand Waterfall Technique

Senbon – Accupuncture Needles

Oinin – Hunter Ninja, ninja from the assassination squad of a village, tasked with hunting missing ninja