Me: I don't own Naruto! I only own the OCs!
Chapter 10 – Rolling On
Sakura clamped her hand over her mouth as she saw bloodied body before her. It was filled with needles and motionless as its jet black haired remained dirtied by the mix of blood, cement and water. The blue shirt with a bloodstained emblem of the Uchiha clan darkened into a navy blue as the pink haired kunoichi fell to her knees while gripping the shirt of her fallen comrade. Tears immediately began trickling down her face as her emerald orbs widened with horror. She brushed away the black locks from Sasuke's face as more tears began streaming down.
"It's alright to cry you know," Tazuna placed his hand on Sakura's shoulder, glancing at the fallen body. "He fought pretty well, for an emo kid."
Sakura stifled her sobs, cleaning up her face as fast as she could. "But, there's a rule in the ninja tenet. Rule number 25: regardless of what you feel, all relationships must be kept professional. But - I can't help it... He... He... He was everything to me..."
"We are not marionettes," Tazuna sighed deeply to himself, glancing towards the bright flashing lights. "Emotions are what make us humans. Of course it's natural to cry!"
While Sakura continued to bawl her eyes out, she didn't notice that Sasuke began to wince from her weight.
"Sakura, you're so heavy," Sasuke managed to croak out, lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. "Please get off."
Hearing her beloved's voice, Sakura immediately snapped out of her tears before crashing against Sasuke and squeezing him tight. "Sasuke-kun, you're okay! You're alive! Oh my God, are you okay?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her. "Rhetorical question much?"
However, things didn't seem the same on the other side.
Zabuza immediately swung his zonbatou towards Kakashi as the silver haired Jounin sprinted away to shield Haku. The bloodied boy's body hung limply on his arm as the elder man lay him down on the ground. His eyes dulled considerably as the Jounin hovered his hands over the boy's eyes, slowly closing them. Kakashi inhaled deeply before standing up to face Zabuza, lacing his hands with crackling electricity.
"What," Zabuza sneered darkly with a maniacal glare, brandishing the unwieldy sword. "Don't tell me you actually feel sorry for that thing?"
Kakashi pulled out his kunai, waiting for the next attack until he noticed frost crawling all over Zabuza's sword. "Wow, I didn't know you could put ice attribute."
He stared at him for a moment, completely bewildered until his arm started numbing. Zabuza immediately swung his blade as Naruto managed to punch the blade to break it into pieces. Gray on the other hand went for a sweeping kick as the former Kirigakure ninja literally flipped over while Kakashi followed it up with a kick to the gut. Zabuza stumbled back as he released a few punches at Gray, sending the coffee male blonde flying towards Naruto as they crashed against one another.
"Sorry about that," Gray immediately rolled away from Naruto before placing his hands together. "Hyouton; Tsumetainusousou!" [Ice Element; Cold Burial]
Ice swarmed around Zabuza as he started noticing the ice piling by his feet. He kicked angrily, smashing the frozen stalagmites until his face met Gray's foot. Naruto on the other hand swung over a Kage Bunshin as it transformed into a double bladed shuriken. Kakashi immediately followed up with a kick to which Zabuza immediately blocked it before bludgeoning Gray's abdomen with the blunt edge of his sword. The coffee blonde male slightly winced as he traced the wound but unleashed a stormy hail of icicles raining from the sky.
Zabuza immediately began to block it until he heard a mocking applause from a distance. Their fights suddenly stopped with a dead silence as a small figure started walking through the fog.
"Not bad for a rebel ninja," the voice sneered as Kato revealed himself from the mist, holding his cane. "It's no surprise that you would lose to those who are from the villages though. But, to think you would have a hard time against two kids – that was beyond pathetic, Momochi Zabuza."
Gray narrowed his eyes darkly at the small man. "I'm getting this is Kato of the Wave Country?"
"The one everyone holds a hatred for, yes," Kakashi slowly pulled out his kunai as the man walked towards Haku's corpse.
Kato stomped on Haku's head, sniggering darkly. "At least this kid managed to break my arm!"
"How dare he," Gray prepared to lunge forward until Kakashi put his arm in front of him. "Sensei...!"
"Don't just jump in, he's not alone," Kakashi glanced to one side as swordsmen started appearing out of nowhere.
Their footsteps tapped against the solid stone as metal began clanking against one another. Soon, their dark maniacal sneers appeared from behind the mist as they brandished their swords. They swarmed in like rodents as their swords glinted the weak sunlight with a tinge of silver. The mist slowly dissipated as they closed in on the ninjas.
"Hiring veteran samurai were cheaper and better too," Kato snorted in annoyance, glaring at a defeated Zabuza. "You were useless from the very beginning!"
Samurai brandished their blades with a fiendish grin as Naruto staggered back a bit. Gray began conjuring up a sword of his own until Zabuza glanced at Naruto.
"Give me the kunai."
Naruto blinked several times, staring incredulously at the half-masked ninja. "What?"
"I've already lost here," Zabuza admitted darkly, glancing at the army. "But at least, I will not go down without a fight."
Naruto shakily handed Zabuza his kunai as the older man placed it in his mouth before rushing forward. The samurai stumbled back as he began ruthlessly cutting them down, ignoring the blood that splattered on his face. Spears sailed into the air as they impaled through Zabuza, causing Naruto to pale in horror.
"Kakashi-sensei, aren't we going to help him," Naruto blinked several times, pointing at the incredulous situation. "He's going to get killed!"
Kakashi shook his head, watching the samurai and spearmen fall one after the other. "This is his fight now. He's trying to redeem his pride."
Zabuza rushed on forward while feeling the stinging pain from the weapons that impaled and slashed him. The mist slowly faded as he lost little speed before ramming the kunai straight through Kato. The little man coughed out a blob of blood before issuing his orders.
"Get rid of them!"
Kakashi bit his lower lip, watching Naruto face a whole horde of samurai. As ninjas, the samurai became very wary of them and only hired them for dire need. Not many of them lived on beneficial terms or let alone mutual terms. Some samurai came running towards them with their swords raised as Kakashi managed to create a distance between them. However, one came up behind until his arm suddenly came off much to the attacker's horror. Kakashi blinked several times until he found Gray holding the man's sword arm.
"I believe this is yours," the coffee blonde Hyuuga hybrid ninja raised an eyebrow with a mischievous smirk, freezing it completely before reducing it into shards.
The samurai staggered back as he placed pressure on his supposedly bleeding arm, running away in horror.
Kakashi blinked several times as Gray nonchalantly shrugged, slapping away the mist. "Kyouka Suigetsu... Probably one of the most ancient illusion tricks in the book." [Mirror Flower Water Moon]
The silver haired Jounin exhaled in relief, shaking his head dejectedly. "No wonder everyone's afraid of you. You're mischievous and crazy."
"Mischievousness gives way to necessity as that paves way to innovation," Gray smirked deviously, whirling around some snow and water. "It works better than killing."
Kakashi pondered for a moment, watching Gray easily outsmart his opponents. His lips curved up into a small smile, wondering whether or not Takagi taught him to make his mischievousness this vicious. Then again, Gray proved to be the more innovative one compared to his companions. Recalling the way they battled, he realized each of them embodied the several things of a ninja. If one could not master all, one could master each. He mentally slapped himself in realization; why couldn't he think of that? They had specializations and the reason why Takagi sent Gray with him is not only is he the most reliable of the five but also the one who devised the strategies. Although he did not verbally communicate with the others, his actions signalled them to bring on the attack.
"He has a broad horizon," Kakashi mused deeply to himself, watching Gray easily disable another samurai with Naruto's help. "He's played on all sorts of fields if I'm guessing right. Among all of them, he's probably the one people don't want to make an enemy out of the most."
The crowd closed in on them, forcing Kakashi, Gray and Naruto to stand back to back against one another. Their grins widened while their blades reflected Zabuza's blood coating the silver line. Gray brandished his kunai while whirling around a whip of water with his left hand. Naruto swallowed hard as Kakashi prepared to unleash a huge spark of electricity. As the crowd closed in even further, a rock landed on one of their heads. Naruto blinked for a few moments until he found another crowd behind the samurai warriors.
"Yunari," Naruto's expression beamed.
The little boy scratched his head, grinning impishly. "Sorry about that but, it's tradition that the heroes are the ones who arrive the latest!"
The samurai stared at the amount of the villages behind them, realizing how overwhelmed they were. Kakashi sighed before placing his hands together and summoning a bunch of clones along with Naruto. Gray whipped up a huge whirlpool of water before freezing it into a roaring horse chariot.
"Hyouton; Gyoukoheisha," Gray snickered darkly as the horses reared on each of their hind legs. [Ice Style; Frozen War Chariot]
"So you actually have no definite Jutsu," Kakashi raised an eyebrow at Gray who shrugged nonchalantly.
"I just create whatever forms up in my imagination," Gray performed a set of seals, inhaling deeply. "Rengeki: Hyouton; Tsubame Arashii." [Follow Up: Ice Style; Frozen Swallow Storm]
As the animated creatures raged forward, the samurai quickly began to flee as some even jumped off the bridge. The villagers hurled stones and pitchforks as Gray, Naruto and Kakashi reinforced the attack. The samurai fled as the villages cheered triumphantly of regaining control of the Wave Country. Sakura hauled Sasuke towards the team as Naruto gave Gray a high five. The skies slowly cleared with a bright sun shining down on them until Kakashi found a body slightly twitching. To his surprise, Zabuza climbed his way up after falling from the bridge despite having all the blades in his back. Terrified, the people put up their pitchforks once again until Kakashi stood in front of them with a momentary shake of his head. As the pitchforks lowered, Zabuza staggered towards them until he began searching around.
"Where's Haku?"
Gray began searching around until he found the boy's body lying next to the edge of the bridge. "Zabuza-san..."
"Do me a favour, get me there."
As Zabuza crashed on the ground, Kakashi reluctantly brought him over next to Haku's body. From the bright sunlight, the snow suddenly started raining down on them with the bright blue skies slowly returning back into a sad grey. Everyone slowly became silent as the villagers walked away from the fallen ninjas. Snow trickled down Haku's face as they fell to the ground as small little tear drops. Zabuza lightly traced his finger on his apprentice's face, inhaling his final breath.
"It's sad how some people get lost on their path and have no one to guide them to it," Kakashi hung his head sadly, glancing at all the splatters of blood on the floor.
Sasuke remained silent while leaning against Sakura whereas Naruto started sniffling and sobbing. Tazuna froze himself to the ground while hanging his head in remorse, wondering how people can die so young. Haku died with a ghostly smile on his face as Zabuza submitted a few moments later, viewing his apprentice's face for one last time. Gray maintained his stoic face but his eyes reflected a hint of sadness in them as he glanced at his hand, recalling the words of the ninja.
I'm glad that one of my clanmates gets to survive.
He narrowed his eyes for a moment, pondering on his mother's identity long ago. During the time they spent in the Wave Country, he had never seen any of his mother's ninja gear although pictures of her teammates and family posted itself on the wall. His father paid no attention to the clan that he had abandoned either and would simply play around with him, even teach him a few of the Hyuuga clan techniques secretly. Despite being a member only of the branch house, Gray recalled some of the scrolls being labelled only for the Main House.
"If only he too was that lucky," Gray made the sign of the cross, bowing deeply. "I truly am devilishly fortunate to have found my way home."
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The next day, Kakashi hauled up his things while watching his apprentices pack up as well. Sakura re-bandaged some of Sasuke's wounds whereas Naruto newly came out of the shower with Gray sitting by the window sill with his duffel bag dutifully sitting next to him. The silent tension tightened in the room as Sakura fixed some of the beddings and Sasuke flipped around his kunai.
"Argh, the silence hurts," Naruto wailed before yanking his face down, shaking his head in terror. "It's too quiet!"
Sakura immediately stood up, grabbing Naruto by the shoulders and shaking him violently. "Geez Naruto, did you just have to holler and make a mess of things?"
As the two start violently throwing a tantrum at one another, Sasuke silently walked to Gray before lightly dropping his hand onto the male coffee blonde's shoulder.
"You were great."
Puzzled and completely bewildered, Gray blinked several times at Sasuke before resuming his normal indifferent expression. "Like I always say, I'm just one devilishly fortunate bastard."
"Devilishly fortunate my ass," Sasuke rolled his eyes at the Hyuuga ninja sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at Gray. "What the hell are you talking about? I completely found myself full of holes and bandages why you just have a few minor scratches and whatsoever. Not only that, you could see the needles and grab whichever you want and block a whole lot."
"I have a hole in my gut accompanied with a few bruises and a permanent injury to my left knee if that makes you feel any better," Gray smirked darkly, lifting up his shirt to reveal the lower portion of his abdomen with a bandage. "Plus, my chakra's wasted. The only reason why I'm alive is because I didn't pose that big of a threat."
"That's where you're wrong."
The two turned to face Kakashi as he checked through all of his things. "Takagi trained you well. Zabuza mentioned to me that it was obvious that you weren't my student; that you were taught by someone with higher prowess. Although, he did sound a bit insulting on my part. Secondly, he went after you more than he did Naruto. You broke his sword twice, Gray. That's worth something. I know it's good to have a sense of humility but not to the point of completely disregarding your own talent. Third reason; he mentioned that you and Sasuke were both a rival to Haku. Haku is a chasing ninja; an ANBU at that. But when you measure the duration of the fight in between you three, you unleashed the highest amount of damage. Although Sasuke did a pretty good job, you fought both of them. In battle, not many people can easily make split-second decisions like that."
Gray nodded stiffly, shrugging nonchalantly. "It's no big deal really. Like I've reiterated so many times in the past, I'm just devilishly lucky."
Kakashi shook his head disdainfully at the coffee blonde, surveying the room for any leftovers. "The more you belittle yourself, the more you lose your power. It's sad to see all that talent go to waste."
Gray hung his head quietly as they went out to bid goodbye to Tazuna. The progress pertaining to the construction of the bridge flowed smoothly as sun beamed down on them. Looking back at the bridge, the coffee blonde male ninja cast his emerald gaze towards the mansion at the edge of the town. Despite the tears threatening to spill out of his eyes, Gray immediately shook them away before walking towards the team.
"You've done a lot for this country," Tazuna bowed graciously to the five of them. "The money has been sent to Konohagakure. It should be there as soon as you get back."
Naruto grinned while ruffling Yunari's hair. "You be good now alright?"
As the team bid their goodbyes and walked towards Konohagakure, Tazuna cast a satisfied smile towards their vanishing figures and the long bridge.
"From this day on, this bridge shall be known as the Great Naruto Bridge."
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Getting back became relatively uneventful but explaining what happened and how things went to Takagi nearly had Mimi flying off to go castrate Sasuke while Izumi struggled to hold the Uchiha kunoichi back from harming her beloved Sasuke-sama. Mimi started swirling flames in her mouth out of frustration before unleashing a huge fireball at the stone figure of Sasuke that Taichi conveniently created. Izumi whipped around her rose whip as aconites started flying along with her kunai. Manyama easily deflected them all with a whirling scroll, surrounding her with a huge array of weapons.
"Did anyone else see the house," Takagi folded his arms, looking sternly into the younger boy's eyes.
"They all saw the house and sir, this is the last time I ever want to work with Sasuke," Gray averted his eyes away from the stern expression of his instructor. "He's talented but his attitude sucks."
Takagi sighed dejectedly, ruffling Gray's hair. "You'll meet a lot of people like that when you're older, Gray. I'm sure it wasn't that bad."
As the two began talking, an eagle suddenly started hovering around them. Takagi blinked several times, looking at his watch for a moment. He shook his head in denial until the eagle continued to make its round around him. The team continued to ignore the crying eagle as it circled around them with preying eyes. With an annoyed sigh, Takagi whistled for the whole team to gather round.
"Alright, I'll be going to the Hokage's office for awhile," Takagi scratched the back of his head sheepishly, glancing at the others. "Gray, you may want to put a leash on Mimi in case she runs off to kill Sasuke. Manyama, continue your training and help sedate Mimi will you? Taichi, Izumi, I don't want any cat fights between you two."
"When has that never happened," Gray chuckled deviously, using one hand to create a frozen trail to lock onto a Mimi trying to escape.
"Hey!"
Takagi raised an eyebrow with a light chuckle, folding his arms in approval. "I see you picked up something new while you were away."
"Well, it's basic stuff – I happened to bump into someone who was originally from my mother's clan," Gray shrugged nonchalantly, smirking devilishly. "Then again, I think Sasuke needs more than just a beating from Mimi. He needs corrective brain surgery."
Taichi chortled before pulling out a stone fist from behind his back. "That can be arranged."
"Always thinking with your fists," Gray shook his head disdainfully, shrugging nonchalantly. "Oh well, that's what usually happens."
Taichi snorted in annoyance, folding his arms. "Well, at least I don't just freeze people into popsicles, snow man."
"Well, I shouldn't be surprised you think that way – you have pebbles for brains," Gray smirked while folding his arms, raking his fingers through his coffee blonde hair.
Taichi grabbed Gray's shirt, glaring daggers. "Hey, at least my brain's not made out of snow that it melts out of my ears!"
Takagi sighed inwardly to himself before pinching the two boys' ear lobes, dragging them near each other. "Both of you – Gray, I know you're fond of being mischievous but you have a task at hand. Taichi, don't try to cause any property damage that I may need to pay up for, alright?"
Taichi and Gray nodded affirmatively as Takagi vanished from their line of sight. The team remained in complete silence as Izumi sighed before falling unto the ground, resting on her bottom. Manyama inhaled the fresh air before lying down on the grass as well. Mimi managed to cool her rage towards Sasuke as she lay down next to Manyama. Gray leaned against the tree for shade as Taichi splattered himself on the ground.
"Ah, perfect relaxation – provided by Mother Nature herself," Taichi inhaled deeply as the trees continued to sway, covering the sun with his hand. "So, who do you want to challenge today?"
Gray shrugged nonchalantly, playing with a few droplets of water in his hand before sprinkling some of the plants. "I don't know – it feels like a do-nothing day today..."
"Which reminds me," Mimi rolled over, kicking her legs back and forth. "How was your mission?"
Gray snickered deviously. "I wished there was something that allowed distant communication. I had half the mind to pay you for kicking Sasuke's ass but, Sakura's there so..."
"I don't give a damn," Mimi bared her teeth darkly at the thought of the pink haired kunoichi. "She's a bitch and I don't like her."
"You don't like anybody, Mimi," Izumi scoffed while tousling her long crimson tresses. "You're probably the most cynical one here."
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Takagi arrived in the Hokage's Office with a dejected sigh as he opened the door lightly. In front of him, four other Jounin sat near the Hokage – one of them being Kakashi. Standing next to the Hokage, Iruka warily watched the Jounin take their places near the old man. The Sandaime quietly tilted his hat over, checking if all were accounted for.
"I'm guessing you all know the reason as to why you're here," the old man passed a glance to all of them as they nodded stiffly. "Although it is quite early, I think it's time we give kids an exposure to reality. So, elect your eligible candidates. Gai, would you like to start?"
Gai nodded in approval, performing the single handed tiger seal. "From Team Gai, I elect Rock Lee, Hyuuga Neji and Ten-ten."
Three names appeared on the scroll behind the Hokage as the old man gestured to the man with a cigar. "Asuma, I believe it's your turn."
"From Team Asuma, I elect Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji," Asuma watched the name of his apprentices appear on the scroll. "Kurenai, you're next."
Kurenai stood up as she performed the seal. "From team Kurenai, I nominate Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino."
Hokage nodded in affirmation as the names appeared on the board. "Takagi, would you like to elect anyone?"
Takagi, inhaling deeply, put up the seals while he cast his eyes towards the scroll. "From Team Takagi, I nominate Yamato Taichi, Hyuuga Gray, Uchiha Mimi, Yamanaka Izumi and Uzami Manyama."
Suddenly, a silence overcame them as they all stared at Takagi who had a determined look on his face. Nobody had opposed to the idea by then until they heard a loud slam from the table.
"I object, Hyuuga Gray is nothing more than a reject of Konohagakure and it is only through the reluctance of the Hyuuga clan that he was accepted," one of the elders slammed his fists onto the table with a dark sneer. "Secondly, Yamato Taichi has shown nothing but abysmal performance! He has brought nothing but shame! So, why should we allow them both?"
Takagi sighed deeply, recalling the last issue the council worked up regarding the two of them. The last time this happened, Gray scared them with his marionette-like stare along with Taichi's mondo destruction tantrum. Mimi nearly got rejected for simply being from the Uchiha clan until she performed a completely controlled Katon: Goukkakyou no Jutsu. With a determined expression, Takagi calmly stepped forward.
"I can easily vouch for the three of them but if you wish to truly test their power then," he gestured towards the door. "Be my guest, I know exactly where they're training."
The Hokage sighed deeply, watching Takagi challenge the elders of Konohagakure. "Takagi, it's not their power we're questioning – it's their maturity as people."
Takagi remained completely silent until Kakashi stood up in front of him.
"I worked alongside him when we took that C-class mission," Kakashi started carefully, watching the elders' eye movement. "Gray showed something that most ninjas wouldn't have: a cunning mind. While most prefer taking down their opponents in the fastest most painless way possible, Gray does it the same way except he sheds no blood on his hands. Not only that, he can command a team very well without gaining any fatalities. During the Sun Country mission, he proved that when he fought alongside Yamato Taichi, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke is not the type to listen to him and yet, they managed to work things out. Naruto and Taichi are probably the hardest control considering their pasts but he managed to rein them in. Doesn't that gain a mark of maturity? Although people refuse to admit this, Yamato Taichi is not as stupid as he shows himself to be. The boy is very perceptive and that works well with a no-signal strategy. Doesn't that make them both eligible?"
The whole council remained silent as Takagi glanced at Kakashi who smirked at him.
This is my payment for letting me borrow Gray for a while. I have to admit; I was most impressed.
Takagi smiled in relief before mouthing a small "thank you".
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This is chapter 10! Please review!