Kichirou kept close to Kakashi and the bridgebuilder as they continued down the dirt path. He could sense the tension radiating off his Sensei, and wondered how deadly the situation really was. Could it be that even Kakashi was worried about what lay ahead?
Meanwhile, Sasuke began moving ahead of Naruto on the path. Naruto's eyes flashed and he quickened his pace. Kichirou shook his head. They weren't even a day into their first real mission, and already Naruto had managed to get on Sasuke's competetive side. Naruto by now was obviously agitated, and he abruptly darted forward and began peering through the trees.
"Over there!" he suddenly shouted as he threw a kunai into the forest.
Everyone except Sasuke started at the unexpected move.
Naruto remained in his crouched pose for a moment before straightening and saying, "It was only a mouse."
Kichirou sighed and shook his head. Naruto was going to drive everyone crazy at this rate.
"Mouse, yeah right! Everyone can see through your stupid act! You're so obvious it's embarrasing!" Sakura shouted.
"Naruto, those are kunai knives," Kakashi chastised, "They're dangerous."
"STOP TRYING TO SCARE ME YOU LITTLE DWARF!" Tazuna's shouts rang through the forest.
"Hey, is someone hiding over there?" Naruto ignored them as he began racing around. "No! They're over there! Hey, huh, OVER THERE!" With that he threw a kunai into the bushes behind them.
"That's it, Naruto!" Sakura shouted as she punched Naruto over the head.
"What - why'd you do that?" Naruto demanded, holding his head. "Someone really is following us, I mean it!"
"Yeah, right!" Sakura yelled back. "Quit lying and acting like a dumb kid!"
Kakashi's eyes narrowed suspiciously and he meandered over to the area where Naruto had thrown his kunai knife. Kichirou watched as Kakashi pushed aside some of the brush to reveal... a white rabbit. The poor little thing was in shock as it lay against the tree, foot twitching and eyes wide.
Sakura gasped. "Naruto! Look what you did!"
"Ah! A rabbit! Ahhh!" Naruto ran forward and scooped up the poor little animal. "Oh, I'm so sorry little rabbit! I'm sorry!" he cried as he proceeded to squeeze the life out of it.
Kichirou smiled at the sight and walked over to see the unfortunate creature, who was currently being strangled by Naruto's chokehold. Kneeling down to get a better look, he rubbed the space between the bunny's ears. It was kind of cute. The poor rabbit was absolutely terrified nonetheless, and Naruto's death grip wasn't helping any.
"All this fuss over a rodent," Tazuna complained as Sasuke looked on in distaste.
Kakashi himself appeared concerned. He searched the the tree in front of Naruto, watching intently for something.
Suddenly he whirled around. "Look out!"
Kichirou's eyes widened as a sword whistled through the air towards them. Suddenly time seemed to stand still as the sword spun closer... closer...
"MOVE!"
The shout in his head broke Kichirou from his paralysis. Diving to the ground, he grabbed Naruto around the back of the neck and pulled the genin's head down. The sword whirled by harmlessly above them and stuck itself high up in the tree.
Kichirou's heart raced at the near fatal blow. Gazing up into the trees, he caught sight of the attacking ninja for the first time. The man was very tall with dark hair, and a mask covered his face. The only weapon he apeared to carry was the enormous sword he was standing on, but it was obvious that he knew how to use it.
Naruto rose to his feet at the sight of the ninja. His fists were clenched, and determination was written across his features. Kichirou hoped he wouldn't do something idiotic.
"Well, well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, rogue ninja from the village hidden in the mist," Kakashi observed as he walked forward.
The words however appeared to have no affect on Naruto however as he charged forward - only to be stopped by Kakashi's outstretched hand.
"You're in the way. Get back." Kakashi's order was softly spoken but firm.
"But why?" Naruto demanded.
"He's not like those other ninja," Kakashi explained. "He's in a whole other league."
Kichirou looked to Kakashi in confusion, and watched as the Sensei slowly lifted a hand towards the headband covering one eye.
Then the Zabuza spoke. "Kakashi, of the sharingan eye. Did I get that right?"
A jolt like electricity shivered down Kichirou's spine. Kakashi had the sharingan? It was impossible! How could he have the Uchiha's kekai genkai?
"It's too bad, huh?" Zabuza continued, his voice raspy and calm. "But you'll have to hand over the old man."
Instead of retreated Kakashi put his hands together and barked out orders. "Quick, Monji formation! Protect the bridgebuilder. And stay out of this fight."
Kichirou pulled out a kunai knife and drew close to Tazuna. Naruto and Sasuke hesitated a moment.
"I taught you teamwork," Kakashi told them. "Now it's time to use it."
Unable to fight that logic, the rest of Team 7 took a stance around Tazuna.
Zabuza's eyes narrowed as Kakashi pulled the headband away from his eye, revealing a long scar that stretched from above his eyebrow to below his mask. His eyelid opened, revealing three tomoes.
Kichirou's heart began to race at the sight, and the memories rose unbidden. Darkness. The smell of blood. Otosan and Okasan, dead on the ground. Glowing red sharingan, swallowing him in their depths as the katana...
"SNAP OUT OF IT, YOU FOOL!"
Shaking himself out of his reverie, Kichirou closed his eyes a moment and tried to banish the image of the sharingan out of his mind. He had to focus.
"Well," Zabuza rasped, "Looks like I get to see the sharingan in action. This is an honor."
"Everyone keeps saying sharingan, sharingan! Will someone please tell me what sharingan is?" Naruto shouted.
Sasuke spoke up, his voice echoeing his barely surpressed resentment. "Sharingan. A rare power. It resides in the eyes. The user of this visual jutsu can instantly comprehend any gengutsu, taijutstu, and ninjutsu, and reflect the attack back on the attacker. Sharingan is a special rare form of dojutso. However, there's more to the sharingan than that. A lot more." He sounded almost angry now, and Kichirou couldn't blame him. This was the kekai genkai of the Uchiha clan, and the fact that Kakashi had the sharingan was considered a personal blow to Sasuke.
"You got it right, boy," Zabuza replied, "But you've only scratched the surface. The sharingan can analyze the opponent's technique, and then copy it to the smallest detail."
Mist suddenly rolled in, covering the clearing in a dense fog.
"As for you, jounin," Zabusa continued, "In the assasination, you omitted the hidden mist. We had a standing order to destroy you on sight. Your profile was in our bingo book. They called you the man who had copied over a thousand jutsus. Kakashi: the copy ninja."
"Wow, that's so cool!" Naruto burst in.
"Enough talking," Zabuza growled. "I need to exterminate the old man. Now."
All four genin instantly moved to stand in front of Tazuna.
Zabuza chuckled and looked to Kakashi. "So, I'll have to eliminate you first, eh Kakashi? So be it." He launched himself away from the tree, taking his sword with him.
"He's over there!" Naruto shouted.
"Standing on the water!" Sakura filled in with surprise.
Kichirou drew back, astounded at the blast of chakra radiating through the area. This didn't look good...
"Ninja art, hidden mist jutsu!" Zabuzu shouted as he disapeared in a swirl of fog.
"He vanished!" Naruto cried out.
"Sensei?" Sakura said in fear.
"He'll come after me first," Kakashi warned.
"But, who is he?" Sakura asked.
"Zabuza Momochi," Kakashi explained, "The ex-leader of the hidden mist assasination unit. He's a master of the silent killing technique."
"S-s-silent?" Naruto stuttered.
"As the name suggests, it happens in an instant, without sound or warning of any kind. It's so fast you pass this life without realizing what has happened. The sharingan cannot fully neutrallize it, so don't lower your guard."
Kichirou stepped back to guard Tazuna's from behind. His eyes searched the mist, straining to catch any sign of movement.
"You know, if we fail," Kakashi said as his students appeared terrified of his last statement, "We only lose our lives."
"How can you say that?" Sakura shouted.
"The mist is getting thicker and thicker!" Naruto said in a panicked voice.
"The land of waves is surrounded by ocean," Tazuna explained. "The swirling mists are ever present."
"Sensei!" Sakura cried out as Kakashi disapeared from their sight.
They were alone.
"Eight points."
Kichirou started at the sound and peered into the fog above them.
"What's that?" Sakura questioned.
"Larynyx. Spine. Lungs. Liver. Jugular. Subpladian atery. Kidneys. Heart."
Kichirou shuddered. He had a terrible feeling that he knew exactly what the rasping voice was hinting at.
A chuckle split the tension in the air. "Now...which will be my kill point?"
Just then there was a burst of blue chakra from Kakashi and the mist around them cleared away. Risking a glance at Sasuke, Kichirou felt a stab of concern. His twin was as pale as a ghost, and his shaking hands could barely hold his kunai knife. To Kichirou's horror, Sasuke abruptly gripped his kunai in both hands and began pointing it towards himself.
"Sasuke, what are you doing?" he shouted.
"Sasuke calm down!" Kakashi's voice rang out, breaking into whatever thoughts had been racing through the Uchiha's mind. "I'll protect you with my life. All of you."
A burst of awareness lit back into Sasuke's eyes, but Kichirou's worry remained. Had Sasuke been...afraid? Kichirou had never thought it was possible. His brother had always been the strong one, the one who protected him from bullies and stood by him through any kind of difficulty. Sasuke had never been afraid before. If his brother was losing it, then who could Kichirou look to for strength? He felt lost, abandoned in the abiss of fear that appeared when a hero failed the ones who turned to him for guidance.
"I will not allow my comrads to die," Kakashi continued, drawing Kichirou back from the dark mists of hopelessness. Kakashi turned towards them and smiled under his mask. "Trust me."
Kichirou felt his courage rise at Kakashi's words, and he glanced over to see that Sasuke, too, looked calmer.
Just then a voice rasped next to him. "I wouldn't be so sure."
Kichirou gasped and whirled around to see Zabuza standing right beside him. The rogue ninja's sword whistled towards the bridgebuilder, traveling faster than Kichirou could move..
"It's over."
Before the sword could make contact with Tazuna's back, Kakashi appeared out of nowhere. He threw out a fist and knocked Zabuza away from the others before burying his kunai in the rogue ninja's stomach.
Abruptly Zabuza's body melted into a stream of water. Kichirou's eyes narrowed. A shadow clone...
"Sensei, look out!" Naruto shouted as another Zabuza appeared again behind Kakashi.
"DIE!" Zabuza shouted as he swung his sword towards the jonin. The sword sliced easily through Kakashi, but the Sensei only dissolved into another burst of liquid. He, too, had created a water clone.
Kichirou could only stare in awe at the perfect imitation of Zabuza's jutsu. So this was why Kakashi was known as the copy ninja. Was this really the extent the sharingan could be used to?
"Don't move," the real Kakashi's voice rang out as he held a dagger to Zabuza's neck. "Now it's over. You're finished," Kakashi said in triumph.
"All right!" Naruto yelled, while Sakura laughed nervously.
A dry chuckle was heard over the stillness of the forest. Kichirou swallowed hard. This didn't sound good.
"Finished?" Zabuza taunted. "You really don't get it do you? Your technique is nothing but a terrible imitation. I'll never be defeated by a mere copycat ninja like you." Zabuza laughed again. "You are full of suprises though aren't you. You'd already copied my water clone jutsu when you made your little speech."
Kichirou brow furrowed at the statement. Kakashi had used Sasuke's fear for his chance to create a shadow clone? Did that mean that he hadn't really been concerned about his brother after all?
"Very skillfully executed," Zabuza continued. "You made your clone say those words to draw my attention while you hid in the mist, waiting for me to make my move. Nice try," Kichirou drew in a sharp breath as another Zabuza suddenly appeared behind Kakashi. "But I'm not that easy to fool!"
"Hey that one's a clone too!" Naruto shouted as the Zabuza in front of Kakashi exploded in a fountain of water.
Zabuza's sword swung around, barely missing Kakashi as the jonin ducked. The force of Zabuza's swing buried his sword into the ground, but he wasn't defenseless. A well aimed high kick to the face sent Kakashi soaring through the air and into the water.
"Now!" Zabuza grabbed his sword and ran towards Kakashi, stopping a moment as he encountered a quantity of spikes buried in the ground. Undettered, he leapt backwards and into the water.
"Sensei!" Naruto yelled.
"He has great physical skill too," Sasuke noted.
Kichirou darted towards the water and drew back behind a tree. His common sense told him that taking on an enemy by himself wasn't the brightest idea, but he figured he could handle things well enough with his taijutsu. At least he might be able to give Kakashi a chance to escape.
Kakashi's head popped out of the water and Kichirou sighed in relief. It was short lived however as Zabuza appeared behind the Sensei.
"Fool," he muttered as he formed a series of hand signals. "Water prizon jutsu!"
"No!" Kakashi cried out as a sphere of liquid enveloped him. Kichirou's eyes widened at the jutsu. Kakashi appeared barely able to breath, nevermind move to defend himself.
Zabuza chuckled. "This prison is made of water, but it's stronger than steel. It's harder to fight when you can't move," he said sarcastically. "So much for the great Kakashi. I'll finish you off later, but first, your little friends will have to be elliminated."
Horror filled Kakashi's eyes at the words. Kichirou flattened himself against the tree and prepared for an his next move.
Zabuza laughed as a clone of himself appeared out of the lake. "You think wearing a headband makes you a ninja. When you've hovered between life and death so many times it doesn't faze you, then you may be called a ninja. When you've become so deadly your profile is entered in my bingo book, then you may have earned the title 'ninja.'" He lifted his hand in the tiger signal as mist filled the area again. "But to call upstarts like you 'ninja' is a joke!"
Abruptly Zabuza's clone disappeared. There was a shout from Naruto as it rematerialized in front of him. A swift blow flung the genin backwards, knocking off his forehead guard. There was a crunch of metal as the clone stepped on it.
"You're just brats!" Zabuza's clone growled.
Sasuke drew in a sharp breath at the display of power.
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled.
"Listen!" Kakashi yelled from his prison, "Get the bridgebuilder and run! You can't win this fight! He's using all his power to keep me in this prison so he can only fight you with his water clone! But the clone can't go far from his real body. If you get away from him, he can't follow. Now run!"
Part of Kichirou screamed at him to obey his Sensei's orders, but he knew that he couldn't leave Kakashi to the mercy of Zabuza.
"We've got to do it!" Sasuke suddenly yelled out of the blue. He charged towards Zabuza's clone, throwing shuriken as he ran.
Kichirou caught onto the plan and darted out from his position behind the tree. Taking advantage of Sasuke's distraction, he flung a handful of shuriken towards the real Zabuza.
There was a growl of frustration as Zabuza ducked backwards. Flinging his sword out, he broadsided Kichirou with the flat end. Kichirou felt the metal slam into his ribs and fling him against a tree. He hit the trunk hard, spitting out blood.
Before Kichirou could even move, Zabuza's clone grabbed Sasuke by the throat and threw him across the clearing.
"Sasuke, no!" Sakura screamed.
Kichirou rolled behind the tree trunk and watched as his twin slammed onto the ground. Zabuza didn't seem to be able to move towards Kichirou without losing his grip on the water prison, but his clone had no difficulty in continuing his attack against the other Uchiha twin. Just as Kichirou thought his brother was done for, a streak of yellow and orange moved to intercept Zabuza's clone.
"Naruto, no!" Kakashi shouted.
Kichirou took that moment to race out from behind the tree and join the others. Meanwhile, Naruto slammed into the ground near the water clone's feet. He hadn't made it past the clone's defense, but he had his forehead guard back. Slowly the blonde genin rose to his feet.
"Hey you," he addressed Zabuza's clone. "You freak with no eyebrows. Put this in your bingo book. The ninja who will become hokage of the village hidden in the leaves..." Naruto waited a moment as he retied his forehead guard. "He never backs down." Naruto pulled the forehead guard ties tight. "His name is Naruto Uzamaki."
Kicihrou was astounded at the change in Naruto's attitude. Only hours before, the Uzamaki had been frozen in terror from a chunin attack. Now he was facing a deadly assassin, with no signs of fear anywhere on his features. Kichirou wondered what had happened to change the genin's mindset in half a morning.
"All right, Sasuke, Kichirou," Naruto said, all orders now, "Listen up, can you hear me?"
"Yeah, I hear you," Sasuke said skeptically.
"I've got a plan."
"So you're finally thinking about teamwork, huh?" Sasuke's tone was snide.
Kichirou warily kept his eye on Zabuza's clone as Naruto explained his idea.
"All right, guys?" Naruto's gaze was determined. "Let's go wild!"
...
"Okay, ready?" Naruto challenged. "Let's bring this guy down!"
Zabuza's clone chuckled. "Some big words for such a little man. If you think your plan's going to keep you in the game..."
"What are you doing? I told you to run!" Kakashi's angry shout rang out. "This fight was over the moment I got caught! Now take off! Your mission is not to prove how brave you are! It's to save the bridgebuilder! Stay on mission!"
Kichirou flipped his kunai and ignored Kakashi's orders.
Naruto, however, turned back to Tazuna. "Bridgebuilder?"
"Well...I guess this all happened because of me," Tazuna said hesitantly. "Because of my desire to live. But I won't let that stand in your way now." He looked up. "Forget about me and do what you have to do! Go ahead and fight to save your Sensei!"
Kichirou nodded, relieved at the bridgebuilder's reply. At last Tazuna seemed to be considering something other than his own personal safety.
Sasuke smiled, his gaze serious as always. "All right, you hear that?"
Naruto grinned. "Yeah, believe it. You ready?"
Zabuza chuckled. The chuckle turned into a chortle, the chortle into a full out laugh. "You really haven't heard anything, have you?"
His hand shot out. "Still playing your little game, pretending to be ninja. When I was your age, this hand had already crushed many opponents."
Kakashi started and looked up in recognition.
"Oh," Zabuza commented. "So I was in your book too, huh?"
Kakashi looked back towards them and explained how in a village known as "blood mist," before one could become ninja, they were required to kill off their classmates.
Kichirou felt sick to his stomach as images of Itachi filled his head. Was this always the way ninjas came into power? By destroying everything around them?
"But," Zabuza's clone said quietly, "It - it felt so...Good!"
Before Kichirou could even blink, Zabuza's clone appeared in front of Sasuke. Knocking the genin down with his arm, the clone rammed his elbow into Sasuke's ribs as soon as he hit the ground.
Kichirou shouted out in horror and ran forward, only to fall back in a daze as the flat of Zabuza's sword connected with his head.
"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed.
The world spun around in blurs of green and blue, and Kichirou heard Sasuke cry out in pain as Zabuza planted his foot onto the Uchiha's stomach and pressed downwards.
"You're nothing," Zabuza chuckled as he continued to lift and drop his foot. Sasuke grunted and coughed as his ribs began to give way under the pressure.
"Stop right there!" Naruto cried. "Shadow clone jutsu!" A host of Narutos filled the area and charged towards Zabuza's clone.
Sasuke managed to roll away from the clone and regain his feet during the distraction. Grabbing Kichirou's arm, he dragged him away from the chaos.
"Would you be more careful!" Sasuke hissed in Kichirou's ear.
Kichirou blinked stars out of his eyes and stumbled backwards, hoping to stay out of the way. It was soon plain to see that Naruto's attack had no affect on the Zabuza's clone, but the multi-attack had served as enough of a distraction for the four genin to put the next part of their plan into action.
"I'm not giving up," Naruto shouted triumphanty, "I've still got this!" He pulled something out of his backpack and tossed it down to Sasuke.
Sasuke gave a rebel yell as he grabbed it, letting it unfurl into a four-pronged shuriken half his own height.
"A shuriken?" Zabuza's clone said skeptically. "You couldn't touch me with that."
Sasuke said nothing as he lept into the air and sent it spinning towards Zabuza's clone. The clone didn't move. At the last minute he bowed his head and dodge the flying missile, letting it sail past his head. The clone's eyes widened in shock as the shuriken dived past him and headed for the true Zabuza...
"So, you passed my clone and aimed for my real body," Zabuza smiled. "Smart. But not smart enough!" he reached behind him and grabbed the shuriken as it passed him by. Then his eyes widened as another shuriken passed in the same pathway of the first.
Shadow Shuriken Jutsu. Kichirou admired the attack, but at the moment it was just making him dizzy. He quickly ducked his head between his kees and waited for the nausea to pass.
When he looked up again a moment later, he noted that the flying shuriken attack proved almost too much for Zabuza to handle. Zabuza's eyes widened and he leapt high into the air, allowing the shuriken to pass by him harmlessly.
Abruptly the shurikens disappeared in three poofs of smoke, revealing Naruto's shadow clones.
"Eat this!" Naruto shouted as he threw a kunai towards Zabuza's head.
Unable to block the weapon in time, Zabuza was forced to release his hold on the water prison. With a growl of rage he leapt out of the way, allowing Kakashi to free himself.
Zabuza whirled around in fury. "I'll destroy you!" he growled at Naruto as he started spinning the shurikan wildly in his hand.
Abruptly here was a clang and a burst of blood. Kichirou's jaw went slack as he saw Kakashi catch the spinning blade on his armored glove. Behind him, Naruto landed in the water with a splash.
"Kakashi sensei!" Sakura cried out in relief.
Zabuza's eyes widened, and for a moment he looked genuinely worried.
"Naruto," Kakashi adressed the blond ninja, "That was an excellent plan. You've really grown, haven't you?"
Naruto stammered a moment, then started laughing and chattering about his idea.
"Don't brag, you just lucked out," Sasuke grinned halfway after Naruto had finally finished.
"The whole thing was just a fluke!" the bridge builder shouted in mock anger.
"I don't understand it," Sakura whispered. "They act like they hate each other most of the time, but they're a perfect team!"
Kichirou bit his lip, memories of Itachi and Sasuke filling his head. Years ago, they seemed to have been the 'perfect team' as well. It wasn't fair. Kichirou was Sasuke's twin. Why did he always feel like the third wheel?
"I got distracted and lost my grip on the water prison," Zabuza confessed bitterly as he and Kakashi continued to battle for the upper hand.
"Don't flatter yourself," Kakashi replied. "You weren't distracted, you were forced to let go."
Zabuza growled in hatred and he pushed harder on the shuriken.
"Your technique worked on me once," Kakashi grunted, his voice strained from holding back Zabuza's weapon. "But it won't work again."
"Huh!" Zabuza scoffed.
"So," Kakashi continued, "What's it going to be?"
Sasuke turned to Sakura. "Sakura, you know what to do."
Instantly he and Sakura took a stance in front of the bridgebuilder. Kichirou snapped out of his melancholy thoughts and moved behind them.
Zabuza stared at Kakashi a moment longer. "Huh."
Suddenly he folded the shuriken and started pressing down on it with all his strength. Kakashi grunted and strained as it pressed harder on his wrist. Finally he flung his arm out, causing the shurikan to spin away. Both jonin leapt away from each other at the same time.
Zabuza skidded on the water and began making some sort of hand sequence.
"The sharingan," Sasuke breathed as he watched Kakashi.
Zabuza began chanting the hand symbols as he made them, and without warning Kakashi began following them word for word. Kichirou's eyes narrowed as he realized what was going on. Kakashi wasn't just copying Zabuza's techniques, he was mimicking them before they even were completed!
Unanimously the jonin called out, "Water style, water dragon jutsu!"
Twin dragons swirled up from the lake. The twisted around one another, biting and clawing in their attempts to gain the upper hand. A wave of water washed up on land, threatening to wash the team of genin away.
Kichirou shivered as the icy waves swept over him, then glanced upwards as he caught the sound of a footstep. Studying the tree branches, he noticed a slight figure standing on one of them.
Zabuza and Kakashi suddenly broke away again, landing a few feet apart from each other. They started circling, heading in one way, then the other. The jonin stopped abruptly as they formed the same hand signal simutaniously.
"He's not just following," Tazuna remarked he observed the situation. "He moves the same way at the same time!"
"How's he doing that? How, Sasuke?" Sakura questioned.
Sasuke didn't answer, but he appeared excited by the fight.
"Going to do next?" Kakashi said unexpectadly. "It makes you furious, doesn't it?"
Suddenly they both said, "You can't beat me with cheap tricks! I'll crush you."
Zabuza groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, obviously most irritated.
"He's reading Zabuza's mind," Kichirou said softly.
"Huh?" Sakura gave him a questioning look.
"When I get through with you, you'll never open that monkey-mouth again!" Zabuza shouted.
A shadowy figure suddenly appeared behind Kakashi, forming a clone of Zabuza. Kichirou was about to cry a warning, but he realized that Zabuza looked as surprised as he was.
"Water style, water vortex jutsu!"
As Kichirou watched, a wall of water formed a ring around Kakashi. It dived into the air spun around Zabuza, enveloping him in an enormous whirlpool.
Once again the group was doused in water. Naruto was finally washed ashore, where he clung to a tree branch. Meanwhile, the figure standing in the tree above them watched a moment longer before disappearing.
As the waters abated, Zabuza was flung gasping against a tree. Suddenly he jerked back as a kunai caught him in each arm and leg.
Kichirou looked up and saw Kakashi standing in the tree above the rogue ninja.
"You're finished," the jonin stated.
"How?" Zabuza finally asked. "C-can you...s-see into the future?"
"Yes," Kakashi said. "This is you last battle. Ever."
Before he could throw a final kunai however, two small blades launched out and hit Zabuza in the neck. He grunted and fell to the ground.
Everyone gasped as the rogue ninja fell. Kichirou swung around and saw the mysterious figure standing in a tree some small ways away.
The figure laughed.
"You were right. It was his last battle."
The others just looked at the figure in the tree. He was wearing an ANBU mask, but the symbol wasn't from the leaf village. A long scratch marred the mask's red and white finish.
Kakashi dashed towards Zabuza who was lying on the ground, eyes open wide in rigor mortis. Carefully he felt for a pulse, then shook his head.
"No vital signs."
The figure on the tree gave a bow. "Thank you. I've been tracking Zabuza for a long time. Waiting, for this chance to finally take him down."
"By you mask, I see you're a tracker ninja from the village hidden in the mist." Kakashi said in suspicion.
The figure looked up. "Impressive. You're well informed."
"Agh! A tracker!" Naruto shouted as he ran in front of the bridgebuilder.
"Naruto, you don't even know what that is," Sakura chided. "You missed the lesson on it as usual..." She proceeded to give a very long and detailed explanation on what tracker ninjas were.
"That's correct," the masked figure responded. "I'm a member of the elite tracking unit of the village hidden in the mist. It was my duty to stop Zabuza."
Something in his statement fell flat - like it's wasn't entirely false, but not exactly the truth.
Naruto ran to the base of the tree, looking from Zabuza's body, to Kakashi, to the tracker, and back to Zabuza again. He looked like he wanted to attack the tracker but wasn't sure.
"What is this? Who do you think you are?" Naruto demanded. He was panting heavily. "Did you hear me?" he yelled when the tracker did not answer.
"Easy, Naruto," Kakashi stood up. "He's not our enemy."
Kichirou felt unsure of the fact, but he had no reason to doubt Kakashi's word.
"That's not the point, did you see what he did, just like that?" Naruto continued to yell. "Zabuza was huge, and powerful like some kind of monster, and this kid, who's no bigger than me, he brought down Zabuza with one move, like it was nothing! I mean, what does that make us? We're just fumbling around. We don't even know anything. How can I accept that?"
"Well," Kakashi said blandly as he walked up to the furious genin, "Even if you don't accept it, still," he leaned down. "It did happen, Naruto."
Naruto looked like he'd been struck down. He grunted as Kakashi put out a heavy hand to ruffle the genin's hair.
"In this world," Kakashi continued, "There are kids who are younger than you...and yet...stronger than me."
Sasuke hissed in frustration as Kakashi looked towards him. Kichirou avoided the jonin's gaze when Kakashi turned to him.
Meanwhile, the tracker disapeared in a swirl of wind and reappeared next to Zabuza. He carefully lifted the rogue ninja to his shoulders.
"Your struggle is over for now," he said. "I must deal with the remains. There are many secrets in this body, and they must not be allowed to get in the wrong hands. Please excuse me," the tracker said asshe lifted a hand to his mask. "Farewell."
Kichirou watched as the tracker vanished in a swirl of mist, taking Zabuza's body with him.
"Huh? He disappeared!" Naruto cried out.
Kakashi sighed and replaced the forehead guard over his left eye. "He's gone, Naruto," he said gently as Naruto ran to the tree and started looking around wildly.
"Agh! What are we doing here?" Naruto shouted as he fell to his knees and began punching the ground. "I'm nothing! I can't believe it!"
"Naruto," Sakura said softly.
Sasuke was looking on with slight disgust, but Kichirou felt a burst of pity for Naruto. It had finally been the Uzamaki's chance to make a name for himself, and he had failed.
Kakashi finally walked forward and caught hold of Naruto's wrist. "As ninja," he said, "the things we encounter are never easy. Save your anger...for the next enemy." Kakashi turned to the others. "We haven't completed our mission yet. We still have to get the bridge builder to his bridge."
Tazuna laughed. "Sorry I caused all this trouble for ya," he said light heartedly. "But, ah, you can rest at my house when we get to the village."
"All right," Kakashi replied. "Let's get a move on." But as he walked forward he suddenly stopped. Kakashi seemed to freeze in midstep, then he fell forward to the ground.
"Kakashi Sensei!"