Rating: M
Pairing: NaruHina, and more as the story progresses.
Author's Notes: HEY THERE, EVERYONE! It's Mr. Alaska again! So sorry for another late update. I've been having trouble getting back on my writing horse. And, unfortunately, some things are coming up. The first thing is that school is starting back up. The second thing is that I'm looking for a job. So with those two factors, I'll be updating even less than I am now. I know, and I'm sorry, but these things are things we can't avoid. But, since I still have under a month of my summer vacation left, I'll try to update my stories as often as possible. I hope you all understand if you don't hear from me as often. But, anyway, here we go. The team just encountered Zabuza Momochi, and the "Hunter-Nin" Haku. What will happen next? How will the team react to Haku's interference? Please leave plenty of reviews, and check out my poll. PEACE!
Chapter 10: Welcome to Nami no Kuni
The team stared in astonishment as the masked shinobi leapt from the tree, landing on the ground next to the impaled Zabuza. Kurenai, still nervous, slowly reached for a kunai. "I'm sorry if I startled you, but this is my job," The masked boy started, using a soft, soothing voice. "My name is Haku, and I'm a Hunter-Nin. My team and I have been tracking Zabuza for some time now. And I just so happened to be in the forest, when I heard you and your team fighting someone." Feeling more at ease, Kurenai turned to her team and nodded her head, silently telling them to lower their guard.
And when the three Gennin lowered their weapons, Haku continued. "I have been waiting in the trees, watching you combat Zabuza Momochi. If I came in to interfere, I fear I would've lost yet another chance to kill him. But it seems your team of Gennin are more skilled then the average Gennin team should be." Hinata, Chouji and Naruto smiled, and nodded their heads at the kind compliment. Haku then turned to Kurenai. "I'd like to thank you for assisting in the kill of the missing ninja Zabuza Momochi. And I would really appreciate knowing your names, so I can pass it on to my superior."
The team nodded and gave the masked mist shinobi their names. Haku wrote them down, before bowing his head respectfully. "Thanks again, Kurenai-san, Naruto-san, Chouji-san, Hinata-san," he thanked, as he lifted the dead body onto his shoulder. "Zabuza Momochi was too dangerous to be kept alive. And the families damaged by him will know justice has been dealt. On behalf of my village, I thank you." And with that, Haku and Zabuza's body disappeared in a puff of smoke.
When Haku and Zabuza were gone, the team was left in awkward silence. Hinata scratched the back of her head, and chuckled. "Hehheheheee… So, how much further till we get to Nami no Kuni?"
MEANWHILE, DEEP IN THE FOREST
Somewhere, deep in the dark forest, Haku and Zabuza reappeared. The masked boy threw the larger man's body to the ground, looked around, and let out a tired sigh. "You're getting too reckless, Zabuza-sama. The first thing you taught me was NOT to let your guard down under any circumstances…" Haku knelt down, and pulled out the two senbon in his master's neck. "Wake up, Zabuza-sama."
Zabuza's eyes shot open, and he growled at Haku. "Dammit Haku, don't you know how much that fucking hurts?" he asked angrily.
"My apologies, Zabuza-sama, but it was my duty to keep them from killing you. Besides, I've learned quite a bit by watching them," Haku said in his deceivingly feminine voice.
Zabuza grinned. "Good. Now carry me back to the base. My body won't fucking move yet," he ordered, half amused, half pissed off.
BACK WITH THE OTHERS
The team, after 20 more minutes of walking, had just entered the port town of Nami no Kuni, and were appalled at what they saw. The city Tazuna lived in was filled with poor people, trash, and random thugs, brandishing katana swords on their waists. There were people huddling around fires that were burning in garbage cans. There were merchants selling little and indecent produce, at deadly high prices. Kids were running through the streets, wearing rags and barefoot. Kurenai, Hinata, Chouji, and Naruto were stunned. "This is terrible…" Kurenai whispered, in a deadly silent whisper. "You mean to tell me that this is how Gato runs this country?" The bridge builder looked at her with sorrow filled eyes, and nodded.
"Yes…" Tazuna answered, taking off his straw hat and wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "Gato rules with dictatorship, and doesn't give a rat's ass about the people of this country. His immense wealth allows him to. And no one ever had the courage to stand up to him, not since…" He stopped, not wanting to bring up that subject. "If you disobeyed the laws of this country, that monster would hold a public execution to make an example." Naruto, Hinata and Chouji looked at the old man with shock, as Kurenai merely squeezed her fists in rage.
Hinata frowned at the thugs who were staring at them. "This isn't right… Other villages should have came to your aid," she mumbled, sticking her tongue out at the small group of thugs. One scowled, and was about to march toward them, when the one beside him stopped him. That one then whispered something into his ear, saying something that caused the first thug to step back into the group. "The country is ruled by a tyrant. He has worthless thugs and mercenaries terrorizing the people, and is causing them to live in poverty. Somebody should have done something by now."
Tazuna allowed a small smile to appear on his face… but he followed up by shaking his head. "It wouldn't matter. Gato would just find a different way to make the people of this land suffer. The only way this country will ever be freed is when that monster stops breathing." Naruto was about to add something, when a small tug came at the hem of his coat. The blond boy turned around, and saw a small homeless girl. Just like all of the other children of Nami no Kuni, she wore raggy clothes. There was dirt spots on her face, and her black hair was messy and untamed. The girl extended her hands and opened them, as if she was asking for something. But unlike a LARGE majority of her fellow people, this homeless girl had on a small, innocent smile.
Naruto, with a nervous smile on his face, reached into his pocket and pulled out some coins. "Umm… h-here you go…" he stuttered, dropping the silver coins into the little girl's hands. "I hope it's e-enough." Then, before he knew it, the little girl leapt forward and gave Naruto a tight hug. Then she ran off, turning down a alley.
Seeing this, Tazuna couldn't help but chuckle. "Ya see? I never saw anyone do anything like that here. People are either too poor or too cruel and ignorant to show such kindness." Naruto blushed, and shrugged his shoulders. "We need more people like you… People who would make a effort to help this land, besides me and some of my friends." As the team made their way though the dirt-poor town, they came across a couple of thugs, who were harassing an old woman.
"OK, lady. Cough up this month's pay," one growled, as he leaned forward and held himself up by the woman's house. "We've been real patient with you this entire month, and feel you have had enough time. So if you'd be so kind, please cough up the money." Kurenai and the others stopped in the middle of the street, and witnessed the two heartless men hustle the old lady.
The woman was somewhere around 70-80 years old. She was shaking like a leaf, as she held herself up with her cane. "Please… Business has been bad," she pleaded, her voice low and shaky. But the men in front of her simply rolled their eyes. "I'm sorry, but I need more time."
"Well, I'm sorry to have to tell you this…" one of the thugs sighed, as he and his friend slowly reached for their swords. "But our boss doesn't give second chances. His rule is if someone can't produce enough money, get rid of them and replace them with someone younger and better. And while you were useful to our boss for a while… I fear that your usefulness had run out. So come with us, and you won't get h…"
All of a sudden, a puff of smoke appeared behind them. Before the men could react, something sharp and cold pressed up against their throats. "Sorry gentlemen, but this has gone on long enough…" They suddenly heard a female's voice coming from behind them. And when the smoke finally cleared, Kurenai was revealed, with a kunai pressed against both of the thugs' jugular veins. "Now, either both of you boys turn, and NEVER bother this woman again, or I can take your heads off, right here, right now." Venom was dripping off of every word the kunoichi spoke. Shivers of terror went down the thugs' spines, as Kurenai pressed the blades closer to their throats. "So, which one will it be?"
At first, neither of the thugs did anything. They looked at each other nervously, their eyes bulging out and sweat dripping down their faces. And after ten seconds without getting a response, Kurenai pressed the cold sharpened steel even harder against their necks. This got one of them to comply. "OK! OK! We're as good as gone!" he cried, worried for his life. When Kurenai looked at the other one, he nodded, agreeing with his partner.
So with a heavy sigh, Kurenai took the kunai from their necks and stepped back. The two thugs coughed and massaged the part of their neck that almost got sliced. And without giving Kurenai a death threat or glaring at her, the two men ran off frantically, causing the villagers to look at the team with suspicion. They've seen shop owners and villagers running for their lives before, but NEVER had they seen Gato's men running for anything. Kurenai scoffed, put her two kunai in her pouch, and turned to speak with the old woman. But to her surprise, she wasn't there. Right before Gato's men ran off, the elderly woman retreated back into her home/store.
"She's grateful for what you've done," Tazuna reassured, placing a hand on Kurenai's shoulder. "But people here do their best not to stand out. Because anyone who's seen conversing with someone who defies Gato's laws is seen as just as guilty as those who defy him." Tazuna's statement was proven right when all of the nearby villagers retreated into their homes as well. When Kurenai saw all the villagers go into their houses, Tazuna looked down and sighed. "Come on… We should get to my house before word spreads about you guys," he said, leading the ninja team in the direction of his house.
AT TAZUNA'S HOUSE
It was another hour of walking after the run in with the thugs, and the team finally arrived at Tazuna's house. It was a simple two story house, right on the water. They entered, and were immediately greeted by a woman with long dark blue hair, wearing a pink shirt, and a blue skirt. "Dad! You're home!" she cried happily, as she caught her father in a crushing hug. "I'm so glad you made it back safe and sound. Did anything happen on the way?" Tazuna looked at his daughter, Tsunami, and smiled.
"Besides a few… unsuspected instances… everything went just fine." The woman looked at her father with a stern look, and put her hands on her hips.
"What does that mean?"
The woman turned to Kurenai. "We ran into a few things that slowed us down, but we dealt with them in a quick and efficient way," Kurenai answered, bowing respectively to the older woman. Hinata smiled devilishly, and jumped in.
"YEAH!" She cried loudly, causing Tsunami to jump back in surprise. "We took on two wimpy-ass ninjas and some famous missing-nin named Zabuza Momochi… AND WON!" Naruto blushed at Hinata's tomboyish attitude. But then, all of a sudden, Hinata hooked an arm around Naruto's head and gave him a friendly noogie. "Isn't that right, Naruto-kun?" Kurenai and Tsunami smiled at seeing Naruto turn red as a lobster. She'd only known these people for about three minutes, and already she could tell that Hinata liked Naruto.
"It doesn't matter how strong you are. Gato will find a way to get to my grandpa, and nothing is gonna stop him." Everybody turned to see a young boy, standing on the stairway. He wore a plain white shirt, green overalls, a white hat with two blue stripes on it, and had short black hair. And he had an emotionless expression on his face.
"Inari, behave yourself!" Tazuna demanded, with the boy's expression not changing a bit. "These ninja just saved me from being killed by highly trained ninjas on two different occasions! So show them some respect." But the boy simply turned around and went to his room, leaving the team confessed.
"Who was that?" Hinata asked, releasing Naruto from her hold. Tsunami looked sadly at the young kunoichi, and sighed.
"Please excuse Inari. He's been through a lot because of Gato," she began, with a sad look in her eyes. "A couple of years ago… he lost someone very close to him because of Gato. You see, a few years ago, Inari was playing near the lake, when some other kids came along and pushed him off a dock and into the water. He couldn't swim, and he needed help. Then he came and saved him… A man named Kaiza." The team took a seat in some nearby chairs, and listened to the interesting story.
"He jumped in and saved him. And as time passed, Inari began to see him as a father figure. Inari loved him very much, and he cared for him as an actual father. Kaiza was considered a true hero here. He helped save lives and all that good stuff. He made everybody feel happy and gave them confidence." Tsunami took a second and smiled at the remembrance of Kaiza. But her smile disappeared in a flash.
"But then, Gato came. He was determined to rule Nami no Kuni, and used his power to force the people to obey his laws. But Kaiza was the one person that wouldn't obey or surrender. So, Gato had his thugs go get him and take him to the courtyard. And then… they held a public execution, showing what would happen to those who would think about going against his orders. Inari was in the crowd, and saw the death of his father. He hasn't been the same since. He started acting out, and then gave up hope on ever being free from Gato."
Silence…
To Be Continued…
OK… OK… I know you all probably hate me for making this chapter extra, extra short. But I have some valid reasons. One, I'm starting school again soon, so it might be some time before I'm able to update again. Two, I'm going through a rough spot with this part of the story, so I thought I might as well leave it here for now. But don't worry, the next one will stand up to your standards. Three, I'm kinda getting swamped with requests for more and more updates for my Naruto stories… so I'm gonna take a break from them, and work on my less popular stories. Four, I need some inspiration. Lately, I've been going through some depression spells, and need some time to get my Naruto spirit back… does anyone have any suggestions? Anyway, sorry for the long wait, only to get a short ass chapter. I hope you all can forgive me. Please check out my other stories:
Annoying Friend or Annoying Foe (Deadpool/Teen Titans crossover)
Deadliest Warrior (Self Explanatory)
Evil is Only Skin Deep (Naruto)
Meeting Your Demons (Naruto)
Out of the Smoky Ruins (Deadpool/Naruto crossover)
Resurrection of an Angel (Teen Titans)
Son of a Mercenary (Deadpool/Naruto crossover)
Son of a Mercenary Part 2 (Deadpool/Naruto crossover)
The Two Demons of Konoha (Naruto)
To Release a Caged Bird (Naruto)
To Save a Life (Naruto)
Toad, the X-Man (X-Men Evolution)
Valentines Day Miracle (X-Men Evolution)
Please enjoy those other stories while you all wait for this story to be updated. Leave plenty of reviews. PEACE!