Naruto Uchiha
Hello all and how're you doing? I'm back with another chapter of this fanfic. I'm glad this seems to be a rather popular story. I hope you all enjoy what I've been doing to the Wave arc and the changes to it that will come in the future. I have plans for this arc and the ones that will come in the foreseeable future.
Now, shall we begin everyone?
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Tazuna faced the intense glare of Kakashi as the Jonin waited for his explanation. After fighting the two Chunin ranked Shinobi and watching is teak take their first kills, he was losing patience with their client rather quickly.
"I can explain," sighed Tazuna.
"Please do so," said Kakashi coldly.
"My country isn't wealthy enough to afford a B Rank," sighed Tazuna in resignation, "I couldn't afford to pay for a higher level of protection."
"So," said Kakashi, "what kind of threat would cause you to take such a risk?"
"A terrible man named Gato has taken over my home," said Tazuna.
"Gato," said Sasuke, "do you mean Gato, the leader of the Gato Shipping Company?"
"The one and only," said Tazuna grimly, "but he is far from the enterprising CEO that the public sees him as. He's a ruthless tyrant that has seized control over the ports of Nami-no-Kuni and placed an embargo that allows him to control all traffic in and out. The country is being bled dry in order to pay his fees, and if something isn't done, people will suffer. That's why he wants me dead. The super bridge that I'm building will render his shipping embargo useless, as we will have a direct link to the mainland, thus he wants me dead."
"I see," said Kakashi, "so on one hand, we could abandon this mission and head back, leaving you to face the consequences of your deceit, or we could continue on, and possibly face missing-nin that could be at A-rank levels."
"Please," said Tazuna, "my family and my people need this bridge to gain our freedom from this tyrant."
"This isn't my decision," said Kakashi grimly, "I can't force my students to go through with this task. It is their choice whether we leave or stay."
Kakashi looked at his three students with a calm gaze from his exposed eye. The three Genin glanced at each other before Naruto stepped forward.
"Despite the fact that this mission should be a B-rank at the least, we can't just leave those people as they are," said Naruto seriously.
"We were hired to protect him, so let's finish the job," said Sasuke, "that's what we do, right Hinata?"
Sasuke glanced at their lavender-eyed teammate, but to his surprise, she was staring off into space with a distracted look.
"Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto as he noticed his teammate's distraction, "Is everything alright?"
"I-it's nothing, Naruto-kun," said Hinata softly with a slight blush.
"If you say so," said Naruto, but Kakashi frowned a bit behind his mask and made a note to talk to the shy heiress later about what he suspected was bothering her.
"Well," said Kakashi, "it looks like we'll be sticking around, Tazuna-san. But do not lie to us again."
"Thank you," said Tazuna.
xXsceneXx
Meanwhile, in a dimly lit warehouse, several figures were gathered in a meeting.
"The Demon brothers failed," grumbled a short, portly man that was smoking a cigar, "you just can't get good help for your money these days. I do hope you'll be worth the price."
A tall, muscular man with a large sword strapped to his back snorted and faced the door, "Those idiots were weak. I'm on an entirely different level. Remember that, Gato."
"Just don't disappoint," said Gato as he walked out of the room with his several bodyguards.
"Haku," said the man with the sword, "let's go."
"Hai, Zabuza-sama," said a feminine figure wearing a mask as the two of them walked out.
xXsceneXx
As the group continued to walk along the forested path, Kakashi pulled Hinata aside, allowing the two of them to fall behind so he could talk to her in private.
"Hinata," said Kakashi kindly, "we need to talk."
"Did I do something wrong, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Hinata nervously.
"No," said Kakashi, "it's just that you've seemed troubled since the battle."
"I-I'm fine," said Hinata.
Kakashi shook his head, "I know you're not, because I've seen the symptoms before. Tell me, this was your first kill, right?"
"…yes," said Hinata softly, "I acted on instinct, and now that man is dead."
"Hinata," said Kakashi kindly, "wanting to kill to protect others is perfectly natural, and what you're feeling now is natural as well. If you weren't feeling regret over your first kill, then I would send you to the Yamanaka for a psyche evaluation."
"But Sasuke-san and Naruto-kun both aren't affected," said Hinata sadly, "they're so much stronger than I am."
"The reason for that isn't because they're immune," said Kakashi, "but rather that they've seen into the darkness due to their pasts. They've already seen death, and have gone through the same regret you feel now."
"Have you ever felt it?" asked Hinata.
"Every time I visit the memorial stone," said Kakashi, "and it won't go away, but you'll become stronger and will grow from it."
"Thank you for the talk," said Hinata.
"I am your sensei after all," said Kakashi as the two of them rejoined the group.
They continued to walk for a while, when suddenly, Naruto whirled and hurled a Kunai into the bushes. Going to check, he saw he had accidentally killed a rabbit with a snow-white coat.
"Oops?" said Naruto sheepishly.
'A rabbit wouldn't have a white pelt this time of year,' thought Kakashi, 'that means…Kawarimi!'
"EVERYBODY DOWN!" yelled Kakashi as he pulled Tazuna to the ground.
Team 7 dove to the ground just in time to avoid a massive Zanbatō that flew spinning over their heads, only stopping when its blade embedded into the trunk of a tree.
"Heh," laughed a voice, causing the group to look up and see a muscular man wearing a sleeveless black outfit with grey arm and leg warmers and bandages over his mouth, "you brats took down the Demon Brothers? Kiri's standards must have really dropped."
"Zabuza Momochi," said Kakashi as he got to his feet, "the Demon of the Mist."
"Kakashi of the Sharingan," Zabuza responded, "I never thought I'd get the chance to go against you."
"All of you stay back and guard Tazuna," said Kakashi to his students, "Zabuza's too strong for you to defeat."
Kakashi stepped forward and moved his headband to reveal his Sharingan eye as Zabuza hopped off his blade and wrenched it free from the tree.
"I'm honored to face that eye of yours," said Zabuza, "but it won't help you win here. Kirigakure no Jutsu!"
A thick mist formed around the group, obscuring Zabuza from their vision. Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata quickly got into formation around their client, drawing their respective weapons, but suddenly they could hear Zabuza's voice echoing around them.
"Liver, Lungs, Spine, Jugular, Larynx, Brain, Kidneys, Heart," his voice echoed ominously, "eight targets to cause death. Which one should I pick?"
The three genin shivered at the amount of Killing Intent leaking into the clearing, but Kakashi simply smiled reassuringly at them.
"Don't worry," he said, "I won't let anything happen to you three."
"Wishful thinking," said Zabuza as he appeared behind Kakashi and bisected him with a swing of his massive sword.
The three Genin watched in horror as Zabuza loomed over them while their sensei's body fell to the ground, but suddenly, Kakashi's corpse turned into water and the Jonin reappeared, stabbing a kunai into Zabuza's neck. His victory was short lived though, as the Zabuza he stabbed was revealed to be a water clone as well.
"Impressive," said Zabuza as the mist thinned a bit, "to think you copied my Jutsu back then. Too bad it won't save you!"
Zabuza shot at Kakashi swinging his massive blade, causing the Sharingan user to duck down to avoid being decapitated. As he dropped to the ground, Kakashi swept his leg out, aiming to knock Zabuza's legs out from under him. The Demon of the Mist jumped over his opponent's leg sweep, and performed a midair kick to Kakashi's head that sent the Copy-nin sprawling back.
"Not quite good enough," said Zabuza as he raised his sword above his head.
Before Zabuza could deliver the killing blow however, Kakashi lashed out and slammed a kick into his gut, stunning him long enough to get out of range and retreat to a small lake in the clearing they were in. Kakashi tried to stand on the water with his chakra, but was surprised when he instead fell through up to his neck.
"This water is heavy," he said surprised.
"Foolish," said Zabuza, as he appeared next to him with a Shunshin, "now you're mine! Suirō no Jutsu!"
A water sphere formed around Kakashi, trapping him on the lake with Zabuza maintaining the technique with one arm.
"Now," said the Demon of the Mist as he created a Mizu Bunshin, "to finish the brats."
To be continued…