Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did... *Offhanded backhands lawyer through the wall* I said "IF!"
"Normal speech"
"Flashback/thoughts"
"Biju/Summon, empahsis" speech
"Biju/Summon speech" in flashback
Naruto Dojutsu Legends
Chapter Four Part One: Journey to the land of Wave!
From the Wisdom of the Great Toad elder of Mount Myobokuzon:
"The boy will eventually travel far and wide. He will attempt to either find those who accept his true self, or he will hide, of fear of losing his fellows..."
The missions continued over the next couple of days, which in turn became weeks. They ranged from weeding gardens, to, more deliveries, to other tasks.
Occasionally they would have to help out with a clan-related activity, though Kakashi immediately took into consideration anything that involved chakra or animals and planned ahead with precautions so that Naruto could participate without unintentional incident.
Kakashi would throw in days where there were trainings for correcting combat tactics and physical conditioning. He told them that they would be working with jutsu when they learned chakra techniques at a later date.
During these days, Sasuke would take things up to the max. He and Naruto began to be very competitive, with Sasuke actually nearly overtaking Naruto in some spars. Due to this, Sasuke gradually began to ever-so-slightly warm up to the fox boy, if not for his personality, (Something that went the same way for Naruto), then at least for his fighting prowess. Sasuke, being more taught and better instructed, gave him an edge to fairly compete with Naruto's speed and strength, and even came close to winning.
During these matches, Sakura would be cheering Sasuke on, but would often reject Naruto when he cheered for her in turn for her exercises. But Naruto was still the reigning king when it came to endurance. He had the most agility and speed in comparison to his teammates.
However, despite the Team associating with each other while under Kakashi's instruction, it could be said that they didn't really do much together outside of team training. It wasn't for lack of trying on Naruto's part, though.
The scenario would usually go like this: Naruto would cheerfully invite the two out for ramen, for example. However, Sasuke would only "Hnn" and go off on his own, whereas Sakura, when not shouting at Naruto for heckling her, would claim that ramen would be "hell on her figure" so she'd go off chasing after Sasuke.
When Naruto attempted to follow once, Sakura hit him on the head, screaming, "Three's a crowd!"
One day, Naruto's curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to see just what the two were up to. He reasoned that if it was just each of them going off on their own, he probably wouldn't have bothered, and respect their privacy.
But… at the same time, they were a team, or supposed to be one, and for the two of them to just run off without him? He hoped that they weren't excluding him on purpose based on something he'd done... So, this time, he skipped extending his usual invitation to ramen, and scaled a building, seemingly out of sight from his teammates as they left the location of their mission ending, Kakashi having departed to file a report on their progress.
In actuality, Naruto followed them while they walked along the street from the rooftops, listening in with his ears.
"So, Sasuke-kun, what do you wanna do?"
"Hnn"
Sakura paused. The entire time they walked, he said noting more than that, and now she wasn't sure what else she could do to get him to notice her. She perked up, as if she had an idea. "Hey, Sasuke-kun. What do you think of Naruto?"
Surprisingly, Sasuke paused in his walking for a few moments, and just stood there. This gave Sakura some hope, as she at least finally had something that she had to talk about with the last Uchiha.
Taking the Uchiha's silence as a sign to continue, Sakura went on. "I just don't know what to think about him. I mean, he doesn't seem to get along with anyone in the village, he and yet when he speaks to us, he's all talkative and even annoying. It's like… like he doesn't know how to act in public situations. Do you think that it's because he doesn't have any parents, and that he's all alone?" She speculated in a somewhat haughty manner.
"Alone..." Sasuke's entire body had language tensed up, and his teeth gritted together.
Sakura had bot noticed the change in Sasuke's demeanor. She just kept jabbering on and on about Naruto's family circumstances.
"You are annoying."
The words cut right through her like a knife. Sakura turned to face Sasuke, her mouth open in shock.
Sasuke continued in a firm voice. "You have no idea of what loneliness is, do you? You immediately presume to judge and speak lightly of Naruto for that, without taking into account what he may have been through. I may not agree with the dobe much, but one thing I will say is this; I have more in common with him than I ever will with you."
With that, he turned and walked away, not looking back once.
Sakura stood there in a stupor. Finally tears started to flow to her eyes, as the impact of Sasuke's rejection hit her. Suddenly, Sakura thought she felt a presence right behind her. Through tear- stained eyes, she glanced over her shoulder.
There was nobody there as this happened to be a lesser-used street on the way to the Uchiha District, (due to its current reputation as being a bit of a ghost town).
She started to cry for a few minutes to herself. No one was there to comfort her, and nobody was there to hold her and help her dry her tears.
"Is this… what it's like, for Naruto? Being alone…. is this what Sasuke meant?"
Naruto had seen Sasuke's dismissal of Sakura from the roof on which he stood. From the time the two had started walking Naruto couldn't help but feel jealous of Sasuke. Sakura was practically clinging to him, much like everybody did at the Academy, and even some adults had done.
He wished people paid attention to him like that.
Watching Sakura stand there crying though, he felt perplexed. On the one hand, he could follow Sasuke towards the Uchiha District. What Kakashi had said about Sasuke literally choosing to be alone was a thought nagging at him, and the Uchiha's own words just now had more-or less confirmed this. Now he wanted to see what Sasuke did outside of their team meetings, if he was in similar situations to Naruto.
On the other hand, Sakura-chan was greatly upset. He felt the urge to help her as a friend. So he'd leaped of the building, landed silently on the ground, and then walked quietly up behind Sakura, her sobbing fortunately also helping to drown out his approach. He reached a hand out, intending to get her attention with a careful tap on the shoulder, willing to do anything to cheer her up and see her smile…
…but inexplicably found himself hesitating before making contact. Innately, he was also thinking about what Sasuke had said to Sakura, and to his surprise, he actually found himself agreeing, if not on the delivery, then at least on the meaning of the message. She truly didn't understand what it was like… she lived with both her parents and had a warm, safe home.
So... should he leave her here by herself… just this one time? Just so she knew what it was like?
Naruto did not want to be spiteful or vindictive, not at all. He did not wish Sakura, or anyone else pain, especially that lonliness that he'd lived through. But…also, if he'd intervened now, he wasn't sure how receptive she'd be to him either. She might get upset at him for spying on her and Sasuke, and he really couldn't think of an excuse to explain his presence, so as a result, he might lose her trust, something that he desperately wanted to avoid. She did, after all tend to get angry when he usually asked her about things…
…Naruto slowly retracted his hand, ears and tails drooping. Within an instant, he'd turned around, ran back behind another alley and scaled the wall before Sakura had the chance to sense him and turn around.
Looking down once more from above on his pink-haired teammate, Naruto sadly decided to leave. "I'm sorry…. Sakura-chan," he whispered, before departing.
Naruto ran along the roofs afterwards, trying not to think about anything especially what he was feeling now. Was it guilt? Envy? Righteousness? He wasn't sure. Did he violate Kakashi's teaching about abandoning his teammate? He didn't know.
As he'd somersaulted off another ledge, a hand reached out, and with surprising speed, grabbed him by the neck and slammed him up against the wall of the rooftop. Choking from the person's iron grip, Naruto looked up to see a bald-headed man with an evil sneer on his face.
"Demon, what were you going to do to that innocent girl?"
Naruto was choking via the man's grip, so naturally, he couldn't answer. The man mockingly drew a kunai and held it up to the sun, letting the light glisten off of it as he posed to drive it down into Naruto's heart.
Looking back down, he asked mockingly, "Oh? I can't hear you Kyuubi, you'll have to speak up."
Naruto glared back, and was about to dig his fingers into the man's arm that was strangling him, in an attempt to get himself free, when…
A black-and-gray blur came out from the side and hit the bald shinobi, checking him and sending him sprawling. Before he could gain his bearings, another blow hit the man square in the chest, knocking him out.
Narutos' savior was an ANBU. This anbu was male, and wore the typical uniform, but had rather long hair, and an owl mask on his face.
Seeing that the assailant was down and out, Owl quickly ran over to the coughing Naruto, extending a hand for support.
"Are you alright, Naruto Uzumaki?"
Naruto regained his breath, and took the offered hand to pull himself up. "Yeah." He looked at his attacker. "Did you have to kill him?" He wanted to prove himself, not kill everybody who hated him (He was certain that if he did that, then there wouldn't be a village left!)
"Owl" shook his head, slowly, as if in a regretful manner. "I didn't, he is merely knocked out, though he won't awaken for at least a week. I wish I did though, but death is too good for him for attacking you like that." His speech was very straightforward and polite, and his overall posture was very upright, as if he were carrying himself in a dignified fashion.
Naruto smiled, then fully took into account the ANBU's owl mask, deeming it familiar. Finally recognizing something, he bowed, "Thanks for saving me... both now and a few years back."
The ANBU seemed somewhat via a slight shift in his countenance… startled that he was remembered, but then nodded once, then walked over and applied several chakra-restraining seals to the man's limbs. Owl then hauled the man none-to-gently up over his shoulder, and then started to leave.
Before he did, he said. "If my opinion is of any significance to you, Naruto Uzumaki, you are progressing very well as a shinobi."
Naruto smiled ruefully at the praise, but was somber as he answered; "I guess, but if I were that good, then I wouldn't have gotten caught by this jackass."
"Nonsense. Even the most experienced shinobi can still get caught off-guard, so don't be discouraged."
With that the ANBU disappeared in a smoke puff with his captive, leaving Naruto contemplating on the day's events, before moving on.
The attack on Naruto, as well as the talk between Sasuke and Sakura had the effect of putting a very somber atmosphere on Team 7's missions for the next couple of days.
Naruto wasn't as cheerful, realizing that just because he was a shinobi now didn't mean that the villagers had recognized that fact, yet. Sakura was quiet for a few days, and Sasuke, well, was Sasuke.
But…despite this, as the days progressed an observer might say that the three began to get a little better, their missions being completed faster with each performance. Oh, sure, their dominant personalities did remain, (Naruto still joked, Sakura still tired to get Sasuke's attention, and Sasuke was still stoic and introverted), but miniscule changes were occurring.
For example, despite the occasional clash in ideals, there was one thing that the three could agree on; they all hated that damn CAT. Tora apparently, in sheer acts of desperation was able to chew through his chain link collar and escape repeatedly.
This had begun to happen at the rate of roughly once every two weeks. Each time Madam Shijimi would hire them to retrieve the animal, and each time had the genin desperately questioning to themselves as to just how smart the damn cat was. It would always take the most damaging, difficult routes to capture it, humiliating and injuring the three in the process.
A small consolation though, was that Naruto did start to receive better compensation for the missions, and no foreign objects appeared in his food this time. Apparently either the woman recognized that the fox boy wasn't going to "eat her baby," and actually helped find the cat in record time, (Making the three realize that the cat must have done this repeatedly in the past), or Kakashi had said something to her, so she lightened up, even thanked Naruto here and there.
Eventually, after the seventh time of "Catch the Cat," (Which had ended with Sakura nearly punting the cat like a soccer ball, Sasuke wanting to slice off its limbs, and Naruto trying desperately hard not to drive his finger claws into the cats eyes), watching the cat get its, in their eyes, deserved punishment in the form of his owner doing her best impression of a boa constrictor, the three found themselves in the Hokage's office for an evaluation of their missions.
"All right Team 7, let's see what we've got here… You three have completed thirty D-rank missions. Excellent. Kakashi also tells me that your training is steadily improving with no obvious impediments. That being said, I'll assign you your next mission…."
"Aw c'mon Old Man, can't we get a better mission?" Naruto erupted.
"NARUTO! Show some respect!" Sakura screamed.
"I agree with the dobe."
EVERYONE grew silent and stared at Sasuke.
"We've done these trivial "missions" as you put it, over and over to the extent that they've begun to overlap, Hokage-sama. Would it be possible that we could get a somewhat higher-ranked mission?"
"Sasuke-kun is sooo cooool!" Sakura thought.
Naruto pouted. "She goes all gaga when he speaks up, but when I do it…"
"Hmm," Sarutobi mused and glanced through his papers.
"Well then, how about this then? A bridge builder, Tazuna, requires an escort mission. He is to be brought to his home in Wave country safely. Nothing too hazardous, mind you. Just something to be on the lookout for in regards to bandits or environmental hazards. If anything, Kakashi will be there to handle it."
Turning to the man in question, who was leaning against the wall reading his book, "Do you feel your team is ready for this?"
Without even putting down his book Kakashi answered, "Yes, Hokage-sama. The team has improved enough, despite my earlier misgivings. The experience could be good for them."
"Well then it's settled." Sarutobi gestured to his secretary to retrieve their new client. He then cast a quick but significant look towards Naruto. Naruto considered the look for a few moments, and then realized what the Hokage had silently requested. Naruto placed his hands in a seal sign for a henge, and in a puff of smoke, changed, just as the client came in.
Tazuna was a middle aged man roughly around forty or so, and slightly inebriated, as evidenced by the red color in his cheeks and the half-drained sake bottle in his hand. The man regarded his new soon-to-be bodyguards.
"Hmm, what do we have here? A masked porn reader, (Apparently Itcha-Itcha was known and distributed worldwide), a pair of brats that look directly out of kindergarten, one of whom looks like he has a rod up his ass and the other couldn't fight her way out of a paper bag…" and when he turned to assess Naruto…
In Naruto's place wasn't a black-and-orange clad, barefoot boy, with fox eyes, ears, fangs, claws and tails. Rather, in its place was Naruto, with human ears and eyes, tailless. The henge also gave the appearance that he was clad in shinobi sandals and surprisingly, his original orange jumpsuit. His teammates looked at him curiously, while Kakashi showed virtually no reaction.
"….a stupidly grinning brat who dresses like he's got a big fat target on him reading, "Please kill me."
Turning to Sarutobi, he asked the Hokage. "This is because I tried to grope your secretary, isn't it?"
Sarutobi gave a blink-and-you'll-miss-it nod.
Sakura and Sasuke found themselves unconsciously reaching for their kunai, while Naruto, apparently taking exception to the insults, lunged at the man, only to be held back by Kakashi, stating that attacking the paying client was not allowed.
"I assure Mr. Tazuna that my team and I are more than prepared, despite our appearances."
Naruto, on the outside was still fuming but on the inside he was smirking. "This old man has no idea who he's dealing with. I've already got him thinking that I'm some sort of idiot."
Sasuke only shook his head at his teammate's antics, while Sakura wished that Kakashi hadn't beaten her to the punch in restraining him, but both were asking themselves: why did Naruto feel the need to henge himself?
Once Naruto calmed down, Tazuna shrugged and said, "Oh well I've lived a good life. I've got some loose ends to tie up here in Konoha and I'll be done about two days from now, will that be a good time to leave?"
"Certainly. Team we will depart at ten in the morning, two days from now, so don't be late," (Which had the effect of causing his entire team and Sarutobi to sweatdrop).
"Kakashi."
The jounin turned to face the Sandaime. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"
"You should follow your own advice." He then smiled to the three genin. "If Kakashi is late without legitimate excuse, then send word to me. I will see to it that Itcha-Itcha paradise is banned permanently from the village. The author happens to be an... old friend of mine."
The look on Kakashi's face was one of pure horror, as he contemplated the loss of his beloved books. Further terrifying him was the very evil grin on Naruto, Sakura AND Sasuke's faces. "I'll be there! I'll be there early!" He said frantically.
Smiling Sarutobi nodded, "Good. That is all, you are dismissed." Sarutobi also gave a slight, approving nod to Naruto before he left.
Once the four were outside the Hokage Tower, Sakura turned towards the henged Naruto and voiced what Sasuke had been thinking, "Naruto, why did you activate a henge?" Sasuke too leaned forward with interest to hear Naruto's reply.
Naruto paused, then blankly stated, "Not everybody needs to know what I am…"
"What do you mean, dobe?"
"Nothing...nothing at all."
Kakashi felt that he needed to interrupt, so he spoke up, "Ok guys, we will prepare for a short but fast trip, bringing mainly the essentials, survival gear, weaponry and all that." He then stroked his chin for a moment, thinking. "Actually, this is a good moment for one more lesson for the long term..." He then reached into his pocket, and produced three cards, handing them out to the three. Each card had a copy of the pictures from their shinobi IDs, as well as a specific number on the bottom.
"As you are all graduated genin, you are still in the process of learning the basics. Near each of the entrances to Konoha are several storage stations. Shinobi leaving the village can pick up generic supplies for missions there such as food or camping equipment. Now, specified accounts were automatically set up for you once you graduated, and as long as you are genin, there is no charge, as long as you have this card, so take good care of it. When you become jounin, however the amount is deducted from your pay, so enjoy the free ride while you can." He eye-smiled at the last part. "Of course, any specifics, such as equipment you are uniquely skilled with, that is up to you to bring."
"I will show you which exit we'll meet at when we leave for this mission, as well as the supply station." He turned to leave, gesturing for the three to follow.
Naruto later stood atop the Hokage mountain after he and his team had stopped by the supply station. Next to him sat an average sized backpack filled with supplies he'd need for the his trip, and he'd just gotten through rummaging through the bag to familiarize himself with the locations of the contents, (Kakashi of course, had gone through the bag first, in order to make sure that none of the station workers had 'accidentally' left out anything crucial).
Oddly, though, for the most part, Naruto only received looks of puzzlement while walking the streets, and for the life of him couldn't figure out why, being so used to glares and hate-filled whispers. Once Team 7 was done, Naruto then bid his team goodbye, before going on a short run, and found himself atop the Yondaime's head again.
He sat and folded his legs leaning back and sighing while staring up at the bright sky.
"Should I tell them or shouldn't I? If I tell them about the fox, then there's a chance they'll hate me for it. Hell, Sakura sometimes seems to have that anyway, despite when I try to help her. As for Sasuke well, he's indeterminate, but...with what he just said…"
"It's not like Lee, I mean, at least with him I clicked right away, already had a strong friendship with him. Shino was the same way when he did hang out with us." He sighed and laid back.
"My life isn't gonna get any easier. I wonder how it would have been if I... had parents. At least somebody there just to say they truly cared. I remember asking the orphanage staff about where were my parents…" He felt his tails wrap comfortingly around himself, and his eyes closed…. "But they said that I was nothing. That I had no parents who cared, and I guess I started to believe them. That if my parents loved me, then they'd be here for me…."
"NARUTO-SAN! HOW HAVE YOU BEEN MY FRIEND?"
Naruto's thoughts were interrupted as he leaped nearly twenty feet up into the air from the statue's head. Adrenaline surging, he landed and whirled around to see Lee smiling brightly at him. Naruto could have been angry at the other boy for startling him out of his thinking, but at the same time, Lee just wasn't somebody you could stay angry at for long.
"Hi Lee, how have you been?" Naruto clasped his friend's hand.
"I have been well, Naruto-san! I saw you traveling up here and pursued in order that we may share experiences of our glorious teams!"
Then, after a moment, Lee tilted his head quizzically. "Uh, Naruto-san? What has happened to you?"
"What do you mean, Lee?"
"Your ears and tails… THEY'RE GONE!"
Naruto glanced at himself, and saw that he was still apparently wearing his old orange jumpsuit. "Oh right I didn't dispel this stupid henge! THAT'S why everybody on the street was staring at me differently!" He placed his hands into a seal. "Kai!" The henge dropped, revealing Naruto in his normal half-demon form.
"Sorry about that." Naruto smiled brightly. So what's up Lee? Your training's got to be going great if you caught up with me!"
Lee got over his surprise from Naruto's henge. "Indeed it has! I have gotten much stronger and faster, and has been far too long since we have sparred! He struck a battle pose, hand extended in a bring-it-on gesture. Naruto, let us battle!"
Normally, Naruto would never refuse a challenge from the eye browed boy, but this time…
Naruto scratched his head. "I dunno Lee…" At Lee's shocked face, Naruto held up his hands. "Don't get me wrong, it's not you, it's just that I have a lot on my mind right now."
"How so, Naruto-san?" Lee calmed down, and listened intently. Naruto sat down on the statue's head, and stared down at the village.
"I was thinking… about whether or not I should tell my team about the Kyuubi…. I mean, it may come up sooner or later, and I don't want to betray my team's trust. I have a mission outside the village tomorrow, my first in fact. The henge was recommended to me so that I don't draw unnecessary attention, though to be honest I don't like it that much. But my teammates saw the henge earlier this morning, and they questioned why I even needed it. And I know that they'll continue to at least think about it if they don't say anything, because we'll be in outside territory, with no familiar faces, and have no choice but to associate with each other."
Lee seemed to think about this. Then he perked up, and answered. "Naruto-san, you are my best friend, regardless of the Kyuubi or your other features. When you told me about the fox, I could not care less, and if anything it made me respect you more. I think that you should tell them! They should react the same as I did!"
"Are you sure about that?"
"Of course! What could you have possibly done to infuriate them to NOT respect you!"
The entire Survival exam, as well as numerous D-rank missions went through Naruto's head, especially the ones that had ended with his team either being shortchanged, or publically humiliated because of him, albeit unintentionally went through Naruto's mind in fast forward.
Naruto sweatdropped. "Uh, nothing to my recollection…" He understood Lee's point though, and decided to change the subject.
"So, how's your team?"
Lee sat down next to Naruto, crossed his arms and closed his eyes, recounting his team.
*Flashback*
Team Gai sat on a bench. Gai stood there chuckling, eyes closed, then smiled and gave a thumbs up, grinning, the sunlight glancing off his smile nearly blinding the three genin.
"Alright team, let's hear it! Tell me about all your youthful goals!"
Tenten spoke up first. "My goal is to follow in the footsteps of the sannin Tusande! I want to prove how girl shinobi can be just as good as guys!"
Lee then went. "I want to prove that I can be a good shinobi too! Even if I cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu!
Neju Hyuga then scoffed. "What a ridiculous notion. It is impossible for you to change what you are."
"That is not true! I have trained, and I will continue! That is what will pull me through!"
Neji simply ignored him, but maintained a smug grin on his face. Gai noted the way the Hyuga disregarded Lee, so he decided to diffuse the situation by beginning their instructions.
"Well then team! We will start today with some base training. Team Gai is listed to be a close combat unit, so then it's of the utmost importance that we keep ourselves in peak condition! He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out three notes, handing them to the genin. "I've taken the liberty of writing down a small generic workout for us to begin, so that I can access your strengths. I'm certain that you all can complete them with your spirits of youth!"
Tenten looked at her paper. Her eyes bugged out, and she started reading aloud becoming more and more horrified with each word; "S-s-seven hundred pushups… one thousand situps….ten laps around Konoha… fifteen suicide runs…!" The paper fell from her hands in shock, and she stared at her sensei. "T-t-t-his is the workout?"
Oblivious, Gai answered enthusiastically; "Oh no, this is just the warm up!"
Neji appeared to get a nervous tic in his eye, as if he were desperately trying to maintain his composure.
Lee, on the other hand, practically had stars in his eyes. This was some of the same workouts that he and Naruto had done! Finally, he'd be on his way!
*End Flashback*
Now it was Lee's turn to be downcast.
"Since then, I have trained with Gai-sensei for my taijutsu. He says that if I can get to a certain level, then I may be able to learn some new techniques! …But… Neji, my teammate, still keeps saying that I cannot change, that I cannot be anything more…"
Naruto was indignant. "What the hell is his problem?"
"I do not know. Gai-sensei has had us spar too, as part of our conditioning, and yet... I have never beaten Neji. Not once. I have challenged him over and over, and yet no matter how much I have tried, I still can not seem to win, and he says that it proves his point…"
"Hey don't say that! Listen, from what you told me, this guy sounds like a real jerk!" He held out his fist. "Remember the promise we made! We were the two failures, yet we passed that Exam when they said we couldn't! I know you'll beat Neji if not now, then at some point later on!"
Lee cheered up. "You are right, how could I have forgotten that! I will be the genius of hard work!" His eyes seemed to light up like they were on fire, and he was on his feet in an instant, whooping loudly. Once he was done, he turned to Naruto. "NARUTO! WE MUST HAVE THAT SPAR TO INVIGORATE OUR YOUTHFUL SPRITS, YOU FOR YOUR MISSION, AND MINE FOR MY TRAINING!"
"Oh crap," Naruto realized, as without warning, Lee roared and charged, fist raised at Naruto...
Two days later, at about a quarter to ten, Naruto, under his unique henge, met up with his team, and Tazuna at the main gate. Kakashi was surprisingly there, and ON TIME.
Naruto turned to his two teammates and actually grinned, holding out one hand, "Pay up." Sasuke and Sakura grumbled and handed over the agreed upon amount.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this, sweatdropped when he realized what had transpired. At least the mood appeared to lighten up with that wager…
"Well Team 7? Is there anything left that you feel you've forgotten? No weapons, equipment, next-of-kin notices?" He then winced inwardly at his poor choice of words, in effect to Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke only glared at him, and Naruto looked nonchalant, before all three shook their heads.
"Very well then," Kakashi said, eye-smiling to try and re-lighten the mood.
"Sasuke, Naruto, you take point. Be alert for anything suspicious. Sakura, you walk in front of Tazuna. I will walk behind Tazuna and observe the procession. Now, company march!"
The group started off, proceeding through the village gates. It was slow going though, in order to travel at a pace easy for Tazuna, which of course was far too slow for Naruto.
"Geez, I wonder if we could have gotten farther by now if we carried the old fart. Still pretty much none of the others, save for Kakashi can keep up with me, so I guess I just gotta grin and bear it. On the plus side, this is really the first time that I've been outside the village, so I might as well enjoy it." He perked up his ears and enjoyed the sounds of the vast forest, the birds chirping and the winds rustling the leaves. The smells and feel of the soil and grass was quite soothing too.
"Whoa, get hold of yourself Naruto." He shook his head a couple of times to clear it. "If I get too absorbed, then I won't be able to pay attention to any dangers. Wait, what was that? It almost sound like metal clanking… Nah! It could just be the equipment we're carrying."
*Splash*
"Huh, stepped in a puddle. Wait, something's wrong here… it looks like water, but I don't smell it, and my foot isn't wet at all…"
Quick as lightning, a chain lashed out of the forest, covered in razors and wrapped itself around Kakashi. Before the shocked Jounin could react, the chain was pulled, and Kakashi's body was sliced into pieces. After this, two missing-nin burst from the forest, each wearing bladed gauntlets and heading straight for Tazuna.
"Stay behind me sir!" Sakura held her ground in front of Tazuna, and brandished a kunai, although inwardly she was terrified. "Kakashi-sensei! They… just killed him! I…. what do I do?"
Naruto faced the approaching two, and started to growl... Those eyes, they… are the eyes of ones with intent to kill…
Images flashed through his mind, of all the mobs that had chased him, all of the people that had beaten him.
Naruto tensed up and froze at the memories, while he mentally screamed at himself to react. "C'mon, I'm a shinobi now! I can fight back! Move body MOVE!"
The nins held out a chain between them as they ran, evidently intending on slicing Naruto in half with it, when a kunai flashed out. The aim was impeccable as it landed between the one of the links of the chain, pining it to the ground.
Sasuke then leapt forward with blinding speed, and delivered a straight on kick to the missing nin on the right's stomach. He then flung another kunai that caught the left one in the arm. It wasn't enough to seriously wound them, but it did divert their attention from Tazuna and his teammates.
Sasuke mixed it up with the two shinobi, dodging and weaving until he managed to uppercut the previous brother in the head. This however, had the misfortune of leaving himself open to a back attack, which the other brother gladly took advantage of, bringing his clawed gauntlet forward in a stabbing motion towards the Uchiha's back… only to receive a massive flying punch to the side of his face that sent him sprawling. He recovered in a second, and looked up to see who'd hit him. Naruto stood there, growling.
The nin was back up in a second, which this time finally triggered Naruto's "fight" response. Naruto charged at the nin head-on, and shifted his weight at the last second, dodging an impaling strike from the gauntlets. He then pushed back with his rear leg, throwing himself into a crescent kick-flip combo that caught the nin upside his head. The nin stepped back in response, then glared, apparently becoming enraged with the boy.
He charged again, and Naruto responded, but when Naruto dodged, he saw the nin's other clawed hand coming right at him. The ninja and his brother had apparently wizened up that the two genin were apparently more than they seemed, so Naruto's opponent faked his dash so he could strike while Naruto was open. The gauntlet scratched Naruto along his forearm, narrowly missing his wrist, as Naruto twisted to avoid the full brunt of it. However, in the process of this his back was turned for a brief moment, and this gave the missing-nin more than enough of an opening. His other clawed hand came at Naruto, aiming straight for his spine.
Right before the claws could impale Naruto, Kakashi came from seemingly out of nowhere and jammed a kunai right through the man's wrist, then followed up with a vicious punch to the jaw, knocking the man out.
Not wasting a second, he flashed over to the other battle, and snap kicked Sasuke's opponent in the gut, and then stomped on his head, mercifully rendering the man unconscious.
"Sorry about the deception, Team 7," the Jounin admitted, gesturing at where his body stood and revealing a chopped up log. "I knew we were being traced, so I let themselves think I was dead so that I could draw them out."
"Now, if you'll excuse me for a second." He dragged the two bodies off, and tied them to a tree about fifty feet away. His team then watched as Kakashi made a seal, and pressed one hand on the forehead of the nins. After a few minutes, the two nins slowly awoke, and then after struggling uselessly against their bindings, stared up at Kakashi contemptuously. Kakashi then seemed to be talking to them.
While Kakashi interrogated the two nins, Naruto stood still, letting his adrenaline rush fade, not even thinking to try and listen to what Kakshi was saying.
Sasuke walked over. "Yo, fox-dobe." At this Naruto turned and regarded the Uchiha, while Tazuna raised a curious eyebrow at the nickname.
"Froze huh? What's the matter, were you scared?"
Naruto shot him a cold look. "Sasuke don't. Just don't. Not right now."
Sasuke actually started to rebuke him, but then he saw the look in his eyes. "What is that I'm seeing? It seems so familiar..."
Sakura was panting heavily and almost in tears. She was so scared! If those assassins had gotten past Naruto or Sasuke-kun, or if Kakashi-sensei hadn't returned when he did, she wasn't sure what she had done!
After a few moments, Kakashi came back. "Those two missing-nins are known as the "Demon brothers." They were hired by a man named Gato to kill Tazuna." Kakashi glanced at the shipbuilder, who suddenly looked nervous, refusing to meet Kakashi's stare.
"You knew this might happen didn't you? Ordinary bandits are one thing, but to have contracts out on your life will attract far greater threats. My first mind is to immediately cancel this mission and return to the village. If you speak now, and truthfully, I might reconsider…"
Tazuna was silent for a moment, and then spoke up. "The Land of Waves is a poor nation. Our economy is in shambles, and as a result we didn't have enough money to afford a b-ranked mission. I'm sorry for deceiving you and putting you at risk, but I truly had no choice."
Kakashi nodded, and then said, "Team 7 we're cancelling the mission."
"What? Why? Was Naruto's outburst, "I mean, we've come this far, and now we're just gonna leave the guy and the mission? I say we finish what we've started."
"We aren't fully prepared for any unknown threats. Besides, look at your arm, you're injured."
Naruto suddenly became fully aware of a dull yet constant pain in his arm. Raising it, he saw a rather noticeable, bleeding gash in it from the spar with the missing-nin.
"Their weapons were likely poisoned, so you need treatment imm…"
Before he could finish, Naruto took another kunai and jammed it in his arm. He let the blood drain a bit, then, reaching into his backpack, took out some bandages and wrapped in under a minute. Holding up the bandaged arm to Kakashi, "There, I've let the poison drain, and I've doctored the wound. Also Sensei, I'm sure you know that I heal very quickly, so I'll be fine."
Kakashi took this in, and then turned to the other two members. "And what do you two think? Do you want to continue or return?"
"I vote we continue. How else will we improve and get stronger, another "fetch the cat" mission?" Sasuke said the last part with venom. He then cast a look towards Naruto. "He can shrug off a poisoned weapon just like that?"
"I agree with Sasuke-kun. Maybe we'll get something else out regardless, like maybe an allied nation or something."
Kakashi considered this, then turned to Tazuna. "Consider yourself lucky, sir. My team and I will continue to protect you BUT, there better not be any more surprises, so while we continue, please explain what we're up against.
Relieved, Tazuna started. "As I said, I come from an impoverished nation. Gato, a ruthless businessman, effectively rules the land with an iron fist, using hired mercenaries or missing-nins to enforce his law. If anybody speaks out, they're silenced…. Permanently."
My crew and I are trying to finish a bridge that would raise the economy exponentially, and bring increased trade to the village… BUT since Gato controls the shipping lanes as well, this means that he would lose income so there's less money for him. You can see where I'm going for this. My country doesn't have a hidden village, so we could only afford a small amount of ninjas under the guise of lower rank mission. We weren't going to ask you to assassinate Gato, no… or at least not unless circumstances intervened, or admittedly that might have come up later once our economy had gotten back up."
"I understand if you'll want to abandon me here for lying. Just do me one small favor… Tell my poor young daughter that I love her, and not to spend the rest of her life moping, cursing all shinobi, and becoming destitute to the extent that she never remarries. Also, tell my grandson not to cry himself to sleep at night, having nightmares in which he imagines my unfortunate, painful and gruesome demise, shouting "Grandad! Why did you have to die!"
He finished saying this with a rather smug look on his face
Kakashi and his team sweatdropped as they took all this in, and then Kakashi stated guiltily, "All right guys, since we've all agreed, (And it seems that we have no choice), then we're continuing the mission." Kakashi made a few gestures, and to the team's and Tazuna's surprise, a sunglass-wearing dog with tan fur appeared in a puff. Kakashi spoke to it for a moment, and then it bolted off back for Konoha.
Sakura spoke surpisingly spoke up. "What was that?
"Oh, just a friend of mine. I've just sent back word to Konoha about the Demon Brothers tied up there, and the changes of the mission. We'll keep going in the meantime, since we don't want to make ourselves a stationary target. Now then, shall we continue?"
*Many miles later*
The traveling had gone along surprisingly very smoothly. No further attacks were occurring, so that was something of a relief to the travelers. The land around them grew moist, as a rolling mist settled in. However, it still was a bit boring. Sakura considered trying to talk to Sasuke, and maybe try to get to know him better, or maybe get a date out of him, but she reasoned that she didn't want to distract him from anything else, so she kept quiet.
Naruto walked silently, then, under his henge, his ears twitched. "What was that?" He flung a shuriken into the bushes… revealing a passed-out white furred rabbit, the weapon impeded an inch from its head.
"NARUTO! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO THE POOR DEFENSELESS BUNNY!" Sakura screamed.
Naruto stepped forward, and examined the comatose creature. "That's odd, there's nobody around here but us? So why is there a human scent on that rabbit?" His ears then twitched, picking up the sound of a swooshing noise.
The last time he heard a noise like that was… when Mizuki had flung a Fuma Shuriken at him!
"EVERYBODY DOWN!" Kakahsi's scream cut through the mist. Naruto, already having reacted to the noise, ran to Sakura and Tazuna, and tackled them to the ground… just narrowly missing a large zanbato style sword swung through the air, spinning like a murderous boomerang, before lodging itself in the a tree's bark.
A second later, a lanky shinobi appeared standing on the swords sandal. He was shirtless and wore a pair of tan shinobi pants with dark brown camouflage splotches on him. He had no eyebrows, and his mouth was covered by bandages wrapping up from his neck.
"Hmm… that fat bastard sends me out for this? A group of kids and single old man? The man spoke in a dark, menacing tone. Then, as if bored, the man shrugged, "Oh well, I guess work is work." He bowed mockingly, Zabuza Momochi, at your service."
"A missing-nin of Kiri, here? You wouldn't happen to be the "Demon of the Bloody Mist" and one of the Seven Swordsman, wouldn't you?" Kakashi asked dryly. Although his tone suggested levity, Kakashi was on guard, ready to react in an instant, and he was factoring any escape routes that his team could take.
He was confident of his ability to take Zabuza, but on the off chance he couldn't, he was certain that he could at least delay him so that his team could escape. As for why he simply didn't have his team immediately run while he dealt with him… Kakashi looked at the mist surrounding them. His team rushing blindly into the mist could leave them open to any potential allies that Zabuza had stationed hidden
"I see my reputation precedes me, Copy-nin Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye."
At this Sasuke's eyes widened, and he twisted his head in an instant to stare at Kakashi. The sharingan? "Impossible. But… could he be…?"
"Enough. Much as this talk has been pleasant, I am on a schedule. Simply hand over the old man and I'll let you all go."
"That's not gonna happen!" Naruto shouted, stepping forward… only to find Kakashi in front of him, one arm extending outwards o block him.
"This man is out of your league Naruto, I've got this. Your objective in this foremost is to protect our client. Your second is to be on guard for your teammates. Finally, it is to observe, as you will find yourself in these situations in your career." Kakashi stepped forward, and reached up, raising his hitae-ate… revealing a red eye with three tomoe on the iris.
If Sasuke was startled before, he was damn near having a seizure now, as Kakashi's title was confirmed.
"So you break out the Sharingan at the first instant?" Zabuza sounded disappointed. "No drama, no; "You haven't beaten me yet, I have one magnificent technique left, etc?"
Kakashi took a battle stance, "Like you're one to talk. You could have struck us down without the whole "grand ominous entrance" you just pulled."
Zabuza shrugged again, "Maybe, maybe not. Very well, then, let's begin." Zabuza took hold of his sword, and in an instant, both disappeared from the tree on which he stood.
As the four surrounded Tazuna, the mist filtered closet into the area, obscuring their vision further to being able to see no more than roughly eight feet in front of them.
"Where is he?"
"I can't see a thing?
Naruto was sniffing. "I can't smell him. He's using the mist to further mask his scent, but I doubt that it's because he knows about me…. That leaves…" His ears twitched and swiveled … then Zabuza's voice rang out. It was ambient sound coming from all directions. Naruto glanced around, all of his senses open, but not yielding anything. 'Damn, he's smart. I can't pinpoint the sound this way!'
"All of your major vital points. Eight in all, and they're just sitting there ripe for the picking. I wonder which one shall I strike first?" He listed them tauntingly. "Then again, maybe I won't…. maybe one cut here, a slice there. Or … maybe I'll sever all your limbs tendons, leaving you to flop around like a fish out of water…"
Sakura was crying silently, her hands shakily grasping her kunai… "This is terrifying. I…I don't know where he'll come out…. I don't want to die!"
Sasuke, the king of stoic, stood there gritting his teeth, his eyes darting about wildly. "Behind me… above…. to the left, WHERE! I can't die yet!"
Naruto stood on guard. "I know this… I've been in this situation before so many times… they always think it's funny to watch you suffer, to see you in fear, not knowing if you'll live… or not…"
Kakashi's voice snapped them out of their frantic musings. "Calm down you three. I will protect you with my life, and I will never let my comrades die!"
"Powerful words, but can you back them up!" Zabuza reappeared… right in the middle of the circle next to Tazuna! He raised his massive sword, intending to cleave the decapitate the man... only for Kakashi to charge in and stab the clone in the chest. Zabuza then proceeded to… melt?
"Shit, a mizu clone!" He whirled around just in time to dodge a slash from the real Zabuza, and engaged him in melee combat. Zabuza parried, and with one hand free, he flashed though a hand sign.
"Suiton; Water bullet shot!" A blast of water shot out of the nearby lake and straight for Kakashi. The jutsu struck him right in the face and eyes, briefly blinding him.
Normally, anybody would be disoriented while they attempted to clear out their eyes. This would leave them open to potentially fatal attack, especially against a sword-wielding opponent. However, when one's ninja abilities include eye-techniques such as Kakashi, one trains themselves how to react. Rather than being suicidal by standing there and reflexively rubbing out his eyes, Kakashi leapt backwards, out of reach of Zabuza's sword, and quick as lightning, wiped off his face…
...Only to see that rather than follow through on him, Zabuza was making a beeline straight for Tazuna!
Kakashi shot forward, applying as much chakra to his legs to increase his speed. "I have to catch him!" So focused was he on his chase that he didn't see another Zabuza come from his right side, where his Sharingan wouldn't see, and kick him in the side, sending Kakashi over the riverbank into the lake. Kakashi quickly swam up to the surface… to find the water encircling him like a sphere, imprisoning him. Zabuza, the real one, stood over him, one hand on the sphere, maintaining it. He stared in horror towards his team.
Kakashi shouted, "RUN YOU FOUR! Zabuza can't maintain that clone over an extended distance." "If you're out of range you'll be safe!"
The three Genin instead stood their ground, facing off against Zabuza's clone.
"Sensei, you said that teammates don't abandon each other, so we're not leaving you!" Naruto shouted back.
Zabuza chortled, "Awww, how sweet. Three kids thinking that they can play ninja and keep up with the big dogs. Let me show you how the real world works!"
Not waiting a moment, Naruto shot forward at the charging Zabuza clone, (Leaving his teammates and Tazuna wondering if he was suicidal). Along the way, Naruto brought forth some clones; "Kage Bushin no Jutsu! Four clones charged at the Zabuza clone. Zabuza didn't even break his stride, as he dodged one clone, then slashed through another, counting them off in his head as he cut the others down. "Let's see, this should be the real one..."
Zabuza raised his sword and brought it around rapidly towards the last genin… to find Naruto had leapt over the swing! With speed that belied the size of his weapon, Zabuza continued with his momentum, increasing his swords speed and intending to swing around and try again as Naruto landed, figuring that Naruto couldn't alter his trajectory in midair and was a sitting duck.
Seconds right before the sword made contact, Naruto against all odds, swung his arms overhead and backwards, the momentum causing him to backflip! This had the effect of moving all his limbs, including his henged tails out of the swords path by inches. Naruto landed, then leaped forward with his fist reared back for a punch. Zabuza, off-balance from the force of his swing's revolution took the punch in the side of his face.
"Nice moves kid, but your luck has run out."
He recovered quickly, reversed his stance and drove the handle of his sword right into Naruto's forehead. The force of the blow sent Naruto flying backwards... and disrupted his henge, revealing his fox features to the former Kiri ninja.
NOW Zabuza was shocked, immediately stopping in his assault. "It can't be...what the hell is this?" Images flashed through his head, those of a massive three tailed turtle, a young man with a spiky helmet covering his head, armored forearms and claws, a large segmented carapace on his back, and most noticeable of all, three long tails trailing behind him. Another young man also appeared, this one having a blue kimono, and six white tails. His skin looked rubbery and appeared to be secreting some kind of slime.
"How is this possible? There's more than just those two, Yagura...and Utaka?"
His moment of shock left him open just in time for Naruto to recover. He closed the distance in an instant and shoved his clawed hand right through the chest of the mizu bushin, dispelling it into water. He then turned towards Sasuke,
"Yo teme, up for a little game of catch?"
At Sasuke looked confused for a moment, then caught on when Naruto gestured with a tilt of his head at Zabuza. Naruto flung a fuma shuriken at Sasuke, who unfolded it and hurled the massive spinning blade right at Zabuza. Zabuza, shaken out of his internal turmoil, dodged the blow, only for the shuriken to transform into another clone of Naruto! The clone flung a kunai at Zabuza forcing him to dodge and pull his hand from the prison, releasing Kakashi.
Kakashi was on Zabuza in a heartbeat. The two combatants exchanged blows faster than the eye could see. To the three genin, the amazing part was that the two were standing on water. Finally, Kakashi and Zabuza faced off and started flashing trough hand signs.
Naruto was the only one who could hear the conversation with his sharp ears. More or less Kakashi had Zabuza on the ropes and was literally copying his moves. The fight ended with Zabuza being bashed into a tree via a Water Dragon Missile. Kakashi raised one hand, preparing to finish him off, when suddenly several needles came out of nowhere, piercing Zabuza's neck, the man gasped, then gurgled, coughing up blood, and then slumped over, dead.
Silently, a masked hunter-nin landed before the group, and held his hands out, empty of weapons.
"Greetings," The nin bowed politely. "I am a hunter-nin from Kiri. I thank you for defeating Zabuza for me, as I have been trailing him for a very long time. Gesturing at the corpse; "I'm sure you know how long his list is, so if you don't mind…"
Kakashi nodded, "Not at all. We too are on a mission. You will receive no interference from us should you continue on your duties."
With another polite bow, the masked boy stepped forward to pick up the body.
"Hold it." Naruto stepped forward to address the nin, who recoiled slightly under Naruto's feral gaze, but his mask did an excellent job of hiding his facial expression. He also seemed to tense up a bit, possibly over Naruto's physical appearance.
"Why didn't you intervene earlier, when we had the same goal of defeating Zabuza? For that matter, you took him out too easily, where we were struggling just to stay alive." Naruto wished he could pick up a scent or something from the boy, but the mist had yet to clear so his nose was virtually useless.
The hunter took his time to respond. "Zabuza was usually one step ahead of me the entire time. As to his, shall we say "incapacitation," I was merely lucky. I caught him off guard, nothing more, and once again you have my thanks."
"Naruto, don't be rude. It may occur quite frequently that there is somebody stronger than you in your life. Besides, I'm proud of you three. You demonstrated impressive teamwork in this encounter."
To the hunter-nin: "Sorry about that."
"No offense taken." The hunter walked over to Zabuza's body, slung it over his shoulder, and then disappeared into the mist.
Tazuna the bridge builder, had seen many things in his life, but to him some of the most amazing was the shinobi. Although he'd never personally consider being one himself, (being a bridge builder was tough enough thank you), he admitted that he was fascinated by their abilities. Some were able to control the weather, some could breathe fire, and at the rate things were going, he could have sworn that it would only be a matter of time before he saw one fly.
But this, this particular phenomenon was something entirely unexpected.
He saw the assassin, what was his name… oh yeah, Zabuza, strike Naruto, and the boy had changed into somebody else. What stood before him was a boy wearing a completely different uniform, who looked like a cross between the "previous" Naruto… and a fox. Well, a fox with nine large tails.
Naruto turned warily to regard the bridge builder, appearing nervous, or ashamed for a while. After a moment of nothing but the man's staring, Naruto then said sarcastically, "Well? Ain't you gonna thank us? Its impolite to stare you know."
Tazuna just stood there, mouth agape. It probably didn't help that Naruto's response revealed his razor sharp fangs. He wanted to ask just "What are you?" He knew it was rude both to stare and more so if he'd asked, especially to somebody who had literally just saved his life, and yet he could not help but wonder…
Getting no response, Naruto hmphed and pressing his hands together, resumed his henge. Gone were the fox ears, tails, the black and orange uniform, and now only the "normal" child appeared.
Kakashi felt that he should run interference, and to the bridge builder, "We'd appreciate it if you kept this little incident to yourself. It's not something that Naruto usually talks about or reveals."
Tazuna finally found his voice, "But… what? How?"
Kakashi sighed, then stared at the back of the walking-away henged-boy. "It's honestly a long story. But that can wait. Right now-" Before he finished his statement, the lanky Jounin collapsed face-first into the dirt.
"Sensei, what happened?" Sakura dashed over, and attempted to check her Jounin's pulse.
"I'm fine Sakura. It's just an unfortunate… side effect from my Sharingan. I ah, become somewhat incapacitated…Listen, right now with me out of commission we're now more vulnerable than ever, and we need to move quickly. Tazuna, is your house close?"
The builder nodded.
"Good. Sasuke, you take the lead, be extra vigilant. Tazuna, stay behind him and guide Sasuke to our destination. Sakura, guard Tazuna's back. Naruto, I hate to ask, but I kinda need you to, ah… carry me to Tazuna's."
Naruto seemed to grumble at this, but complied, walking over to the Jounin's body, and slinging one arm over his shoulder, (Causing more than one person there to note that Naruto didn't seem to exert much effort in doing so).
The difference in height caused Kakashi's lower half to drag along the ground, but he would have to tolerate this. With everyone gathered together, they moved off hurriedly.
The group arrived at Tazuna's house within one and a half hours. As they had entered Wave Country, they saw the truth to Tazuna's words. The buildings around them were in desperate need of repair. The people walking around were quiet, with an empty dead look to their eyes. Some homeless people looked in the traveler's direction with hopeful eyes, considering approaching to beg, but reconsidered when they saw the nature of the travelers.
As the incapacitated Kakashi, carried by Naruto, approached the front gate, there was a check-in station. Naruto pulled out his shinobi ID, to which Kakashi almost spoke up to, until he noticed that the ID showed Naruto under his henge.
Kakashi, asked, "Naruto, when did you…?"
"Before we left the village, sensei."
*Flashback*
Naruto stood before the Sandaime in his office. About one hour after his Team separated, and he and Lee had their spar, (He was nursing a healing black eye from Lee's initial punch catching him off-guard), to begin their preparation for tomorrow's trip.
"Naruto, before you leave on your mission, I want you to take one more picture for another ID. This one will be under a henge. My reasoning is so to avoid any uncomfortable questions pertaining to outside locations or groups."
Naruto nodded, and performed the juts, appearing as his current-day henge, without his fox features. After the moment for the photographer to fiddle with his equipment, he took the picture.
*End Flashback*
Kakashi was impressed. "Well done, Naruto."
Arriving at Tazuna's house, the two saw the truth to his words. Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami was indeed a beautiful young lady. She saw her father and dashing up embraced him joyously. Tazuna immediately introduced the Team that protected him, and informed them that Kakashi needed medical attention. She ran back into the house to prepare a place for Kakashi, while Tazuna helped carry him into the house, where they laid him on a mattress, and covered him with a blanket.
Tsunami brought a glass of medicinal tea to give to Kakashi, but he had lapsed into un-consciousness, and when he'd awaken, nobody knew.
Sakura then decided to try an answer a question that had been nagging at her for weeks. "What's under his mask?" She used the tea as an excuse to try and reach for Kakashi's face, (Unknown to her, even Sasuke had turned to watch, anticipating). Suddenly Naruto's hand shot forward, and stopped her. Sakura turned and was about to berate him when she saw Naruto's piercing glare, and was glad to see he was in henge, because she was certain she's be terrified if his eyes were in their slit, normal form.
He spoke, but it wasn't in the jovial goofy tone that Naruto used when speaking with her. He was dead serious. "Don't Sakura. Every shinobi has his or her secrets, and it's up to them to decide when to reveal them, if they reveal them." When he said this, his eyes shifted to Tazuna, meeting his gaze, and then shifted to Tsunami.
Tazuna got the message, and gave a slight nod to Naruto. Sakura stopped her hand, feeling ashamed of herself, and backed off. "Sorry, Kakashi-sensei, and then to Naruto, "Thank you, Naruto."
Just then a door opened, and then a young boy walked in. "Inari! How are you doing! These people are Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto, shinobi from the leaf village. They're the heroes that saved your grandfather."
"Heroes? There's no such thing as heroes." The boy approached. "There's only idiots who can't do anything." The boy turned and sulked down a corridor, slamming a door behind him.
"What the hell's his problem?" Naruto asked.
Tsunami sighed. "My son has had it a bit rough lately. With Gato's oppression, each day becomes tougher to provide. Added to that, was that Inari never truly got over…" Her gaze glanced to a picture on a mantle. It showed Inari smiling with a young man. "Shaking her head… it's not important right now. How will your sensei be?"
Naruto spoke up. "While I was dragging him here, he told me he might fall unconscious. He said he'll wake up eventually, and just for us to guard the house until he wakes up. He finished with a shrug."
"Fine." Sasuke responded." "I did a once-over of the house when we got here." "There aren't too many places for enemy-nin to hide if, one of us takes watch on the roof or something, and one of us can simply escort Tazuna if he has to go out."
Sakura nodded her agreement; "So cool, Sasuke-kun taking the lead so calmly!"
Naruto simply nodded, to his teammates inward astonishment. "If that's all right with you teme, you mind if I take the first watch?"
"And why is that dobe? Trying to show off?"
"No, just wanna show you how it's done…"
"Really, I wasn't the one who froze against the demon brothers."
"Oh? You seemed to forget who actually landed a hit on Zabuza."
Sakura, had enough. This day had been hectic already, she didn't need the added headache. "Will you two cut it out? Flip a coin or something!"
Later that afternoon, Kakashi woke up, nearly scaring the crap out of everybody in the house, as with a resounding, "DAMMIT" he screamed, nearly deafening Naruto, who was sitting nearby (He lost the coin toss).
Sasuke and Sakura came in after hearing the noise.
"Sensei what's wrong?"
"I was a fool… I should have noticed something was up…."
"What?"
Kakashi sat up. Zabuza's still alive.
"What? How can that be?"
"Sakura, please recite what a hunter nin does."
The pink haired girl closed her eyes as she recited her studies. "Let's see, a hunter nin is sent out by their home villagers in order to capture any rogue nin, and bring them back dead or alive. If alive, the nin is usually subjected to interrogation and execution. If dead, then the head is…cut off…oh no."
"Exactly. That so-called Hunter nin didn't decapitate Zabuza's body, nor did he burn the body to prevent anybody from pirating potential kekkai-genkai or other abilities, meaning that he was still alive."
"Sensei, that still seems unlikely." Sasuke gestured at Naruto. "Wouldn't fox-dobe's hearing or smell have picked up on Zabuza's heartbeat, or at least placed the scents of the two ninja's together?"
"I couldn't hear a heartbeat teme. Plus when you see somebody collapse after being stabbed in the neck with some senbon , your first thought aren't exactly, "He's alive," for you to even think to check for something like that. Lastly, that mist jutsu that Zabuza used kept messing up with my sense of smell. I really couldn't smell anything but water."
"Besides Naruto, even if you could detect a similar scent, it would only have corroborated the hunter's story."
At Naruto's confused look, Kakashi continued, "The hunter stated that he'd been tracking Zabuza for some time, so if that logically included close combat encounters, then it would have meant that naturally some of Zabuza's scent would have rubbed off on him. Now then, the hunter's tools were senbon, correct?"
The three genin nodded. "Senbon, when applied to certain pressure points, can actually induce a death-like state in a person if they are used correctly, usually for medicinal purposes. Zabuza is thus alive."
"What will we do then Sensei? We can't face him again right now!"
"Relax Sakura. I give Zabuza about a week to a week and a half before he recovers." Inwardly, "Plus there was something odd about Zabuza. He reacted far too oddly when Naruto fought him and he saw Naruto's true appearance."
"I'll be back 100% by that point, and you three will have been trained up as well. We'll be ready. The three of you will rotate guard tonight, but don't stress yourselves unless there's danger. Foremost, rest up today because your first training session begins tomorrow."
"What will we be learning?"
Kakashi eye-smiled, "Climbing trees."
*End of Part 1*
Author's notes
Wave arc has begun, and the plot moves on!
Character Interactions
Sakura's gotten shot down. I do hope that it wasn't too OOC for Naruto to not cheer her up, given his reasoning.
Who is the Owl-masked ANBU, and why is he so interested in helping Naruto?
Abilities
"Suiton; Water bullet shot!" A relatively harmless jutsu, but deadly if used at the right moment. A small blast of water strikes the opponent. One must have extraordinary aim to hit one's target correctly.
Comments, reviews please, whatnot are fuel!
Later all!
*Holds up emerald*
CHAOS CONTROL!
*Vanishes*