Zabuza smirked as he looked at the foolish Kakashi and his junior partner standing on the bridge waiting for him. They thought that they had been victorious, but his Justicar and adopted daughter Haku had returned to him, and had helped him recover faster than they would have thought. And now they were ripe for the plucking, especially since the blonde thought he held Haku in a scroll, but she had managed to get free at the last minute.
The fight that had led to the deception and subsequent night away from Zabuza had resulted in the girl getting ten strokes with the back of her hairbrush, a quarter of the normal punishment, since it actually served to further their goals, and in fact ensured that the Judgenatrix thought that Haku had been captured and turned over to them. He could be merciful when it mattered, but still the punishment had to happen in order for Haku to learn her lesson about timing, and obeying him.
It was time to make them pay for making him worry, and for even thinking of trying to capture his Haku. So he wouldn't kill them today, oh no, he'd given Haku two scrolls especially for them. He would take Kakashi and torment him for months before finally granting him the sweet release of death. The blond would become the personal plaything of Haku, as he'd promised when she rejoined him. She had been passionate about that point, and provided that he would be an excellent partner to keep her skills honed against, and he couldn't just ignore that fact. So he had ceded the point, and loved every moment of the shining joy in her eyes.
Maybe it would assuage a little of the guilt he felt over missing her birthday the year before. They had been caught in the middle of an operation to capture them, but even still he usually got her something to celebrate the day with, it had just slipped his mind, and he hated himself for it.
Freeing his blade from its holster, he chuckled grimly as he knew the fight would be over in under fifteen minutes, after that Gato would be here to pay him. After that he could retire for a while to deal with Kakashi and let Haku have her fun with the brat.
Naruto sighed as he waited anxiously for something... ANYTHING to happen. They'd been reporting to the bridge every morning for the past week and a half, knowing that Haku would have Zabuza healed and fighting soon enough. But today was different, today he could sense the presence of a he'd felt before, and one that drew a smile he'd only worn before when playing with his eggs.
Turning around he was about to complain to Kakashi when a whistling noise filled the air, at the last second he managed to set up an array of chains that snatched the thrown blade aimed straight at his back. They redirected it's flight to leave it embedded into the ground. "Well that's not very nice... couldn't we at least once face these two with a properly declared challenge?"
"Maa Naruto... don't you know that such people seldom actually declare their challenges..." Kakashi commented while putting away his book. "And it was getting to such a wonderful part of the story..."
The appearance of Zabuza and Haku seemed like a minor note when compared to the one that had appeared immediately after them, standing on the very tip of the hilt as though she'd been there all along. The Judgenatrix looked between the groups and nodded solemnly. "This officially sanctioned match seems to have all the players at the ready... The wager is as follows: Lord Master Hatake, Kakashi, and Master Uzumaki, Naruto and all their properties, and the family and properties of Trader Tanzo, against the representative of the illegal Grand Master Gato; the Lord Master Momichi, Zabuza, the entirety of the Wave slave market, and all properties controlled by them. Commence the battle."
And with that she was gone from the field, but everyone knew that she was still watching. Zabuza smirked behind his latex bandages covering his mouth as he retrieved his blade. If a Judgenatrix was present, it just meant that when he won, he would have another week before they tried to track him again.
Focusing on the Lord Master, his smirk grew into a full grin as he thought of what he was going to do to that arrogant jerk, facing him and his personal Justicar with only that wet-behind-the-ear Master as back-up. They would pay for this foolishness. Charging forward he slashed at Kakashi, only to find his blade turned at the last second by a length of barbed chain from the blond. Those chains were becoming a major annoyance, but simply summoning chains from some scroll wasn't going to win this battle, after all, the brat would run out, and then there would be nothing more to him.
But where was Haku? She should have been keeping that brat busy while he dealt with the silver-haired trouser stain. Ah, there she was, her ice blasts were slowing down those chains, so now he could focus on the idiot Kakashi.
Slashing at the idiot again, he snarled in frustration as he missed by barely inches, while the idiot just kept talking about weird things. "So is that sword really compensating for something? Just look how big it is, you have to wonder..."
Oh that's it, he was going to suffer double for those little remarks. Soon, very soon he would be sealed up into a scroll and would be completely and utterly at Zabuza's lacking mercy. Winding back to slash at Kakashi, he flipped the blade so the blunt side would hit him, and found out two things at that moment. One was that his back foot was frozen to the ground, and two Haku was standing before him without her mask, tears in her eyes, and wearing a strange collar about her neck. "I'm sorry Master Zabuza..."
That's when he noticed the scroll unrolling at his foot, and he knew it wasn't one of the fakes he'd given Haku. Bowing his head, he let out a dry chuckle. "That's how it goes... good job Ha..."
"...ku." the oiled man finished, as he heard the creaking of leather, and felt the binds pulling him into a spread eagle position. "They claimed her... they really... actually claimed her..."
And with that, the first tear he'd shed in years rolled down his cheeks. Not for himself, but for the little girl that he'd saved those years ago. She had too much talent to be broken like that.
That's when the first jolt of pain struck, the physical pain that he could fight against. That told him he was alive... not the emotional pain that left him dead inside.
The fight had been fast and furious, with a lot of flash and noise, it had even lasted a full five minutes. But then there was nothing save a scroll on the ground, Haku bent over it crying, Naruto trying to console her, and Kakashi watching on silently. A minute into Haku's mourning, the Judgenatrix returned to collect the scroll. "I am sorry you had to do that Ju... Slave Haku... but the fight is not yet ended... round two has arrived."
As the fog lifted itself away, to reveal the mass of masters surrounding Gato, the effects it had on the combatants was nearly instantaneous. Haku stood up, slipping her mask into place over her face, all hesitation removed from her body. Kakashi eyed up the competition with a little trepidation, as he knew that against that many, all three of their techniques would do little. Naruto... Naruto started chuckling as though he'd lost his mind, before turning to face Kakashi. "Hey, do you have something to launch things with?"
Kakashi blinked at the odd request, before pulling out a storage scroll and removing a simple leather sling from it, holding it up lamely with a shrug. Naruto's grin only widened upon seeing it, and snatched up the leather strap with a laugh of mirth. "PERFECT!"
What happened next shocked Kakashi, and he was pretty sure the two people wearing full masks were similarly shocked, as Naruto pulled out balls from one of the storage scrolls he'd packed. The balls would enter the sling and be flung out as fast as he could get them up to speed. In the middle of the air, the balls would open up and a mesh of chains would be revealed with weights on the edges forming up the bulk of the ball. Kakashi suspected that the chains were too fine to do much, but they seemed to hold down several men in a single net, opening up channels of attack. Haku seemed to take advantage of the distraction that Naruto was forming to literally freeze men into place on the bridge. "Oh..."
Kakashi smirked as he realized what the youngsters were doing, and pulled out a scroll of his own. "Didn't think I would use these guys..." Unfurling with a snap of his wrist, he unleashed the dozen dogs in his pack to help even the odds further. He waited a few minutes to see how the battle was fairing before pulling out a whip of his own and rushing into battle.
Gato... Gato was ready to piss his pants as he saw his massive group of masters and mercenaries get whittled down by those three without any mercy. Already more than a couple of them were peeling off and running away. He couldn't do that himself, as the rest of these men would turn on him in a heartbeat if they saw that. No he had to lead them through to victory, especially if they could capture that Judgenatrix. Having one of them under him would be a major coup against the guild...
That's about when the first lash of pain hit, or rather a weight from one of those damn nets struck him square on his nose, sending him staggering back with blood flowing out freely. He felt a strange numbness from one of his legs just before an icy chill alerted him to the fact he was ensnared in that bitch's ice trap. Looking around, he realized just how grossly he'd misjudged the situation. Of all hundred men he'd brought along, there was one standing under his own power. And he was that one.
The trio that had brought down his fabulous, magnificent slave ring were walking over, the traitorous slut pulling out one of those damned black scrolls. This one he could see had the seals for Konoha covering it. The shorter blond one was glaring daggers, twirling a hook covered weighted chain around at his side slowly. The Lord Master he knew as Kakashi was petting those demons he called dogs with a strange smile that had his visible eye curving upwards. "Come to gloat have you? Or to finish me off?"
"No, to say goodbye," was all the ice princess stated before snapping out the scroll and sealing away the head of the group.
Looking around, they saw the defeated and demoralized look in the eyes of the remaining masters, and one question rang through their minds, even as Naruto asked it. "What the hell do we do with all of them?"
"I believe that I have a remedy for that Master Uzumaki..." the Judgenatrix stated while collecting the scroll containing Gato. With a slight flourish she indicated the far end of the bridge, where from the woods found there emerged a half dozen Justicars pulling a cart loaded with black, seal covered scrolls. "Will this suffice?"
The three that fought the battle all looked over at the arrival of the Justicars, and thankfully none of them said anything, but apparently while Kakashi was thinking 'What? We had backup and she didn't say jack shit?' his face had given away his thoughts. For the Judgenatrix leaned against his shoulder and whispered in his ear softly.
"Would you question a Judgenatrix... again Lord Master Hatake?" the woman asked, sending shivers along Kakashi's spine as flashbacks to the last time ran through his mind. A frantic shake of his head was enough to get the other two moving to go collect scrolls and help clean up.
When he heard, "I thought this mission was strictly for Kakashi and Naruto ALONE... Who went ahead? They're gonna be in trouble..." from one of the Justicars, he knew something was up, and suspected that it was coming from the Supreme Master himself this time.
The clean-up took less than an hour, and even then they had a few that were knocked out and tied to the cart. Apparently there were more detainees than there were scrolls to carry them back, for some reason Kakashi walked up to each and assured they'd be knocked out for the entire duration of the trip. The trio had been pulled aside when the other Justicars departed with a few waves and offers to join them at a bar for drinks after debriefing.
Once they were alone again, the Judgenatrix sighed heavily as she leaned against the bridge's support struts. "I believe that there is an explanation to you Masters... and... Slave Haku should be welcomed to hear it as well. As you know, the guild is active in most nations, save ones like Kiri no Kuni... where the leadership has rejected our ruler-ship for individual reasons... The reason I did not bring out the other Justicars until I did, was until that time they had no jurisdiction, and I merely had it over the two of you..."
"When we took over control of Wave, it became Konoha sovereign territories..." Kakashi suggested with a curious tone to his voice. "I see..."
"What are we going to do with all the slaves and things we just picked up?" Naruto asked curiously as he scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I'm just a level two master... I can't deal with that many... and how many of them are not even willing to be a part of the society? I wouldn't feel right forcing someone into slavery like that..."
The stiffening of Haku's shoulders, was barely noticed by the Judgenatrix, but she decided to instead answer his question. "We shall be reviewing their status, and if they wish to leave, there shall be rehabilitation time... if the two of the masters approve... the guild would like to set up a center here to facilitate the absorption of the land into our jurisdiction... until then I'm afraid you will be granted no additional slaves until such time as we can assess the status of the others..."
"Uh... yeah I guess that makes sense..." Naruto offered while scratching the back of his head, pointing towards Wave. "So... you guys are making a place there, and while we technically own this place... you're in charge?"
"That is correct Master Uzumaki..." the Judgenatrix answered with a slight nod of her masked face. "If you and Lord Master Kakashi wish... you could give over Wave to our ownership..."
"We will consider it ma'am..." Kakashi stated calmly after the group grew silent. "Is there anything further you need us for before we make our way towards Konoha?"
"I would ask that you remain here until the guild can set up the base of operations, I must go back to the Judgenatrix headquarters and begin processing Zabuza, Gato, and the others..."
"M...Ma'am... could... could you look into Zabuza's reasons for his actions and take them into account before passing judgement?" Naruto asked, hearing the sharp draw of breath from Haku, and knowing that she still loved him, despite everything he'd done. He was risking a lot by asking this, and it seemed that he was more than willing to risk that for people.
"I... shall see what I can do Master Uzumaki..." the masked woman stated with a tone that suggested pride in her voice. "Before I go... I have some matters to address with this group. Slave Haku, for now, your charges have been withdrawn. Also, I will look into the matters regarding your... prior training... You shall be hearing from us again."
Naruto patted Haku on the shoulder lightly, giving her a warm smile as she turned to look back at him. "However, I'm afraid we're going to have to take your mask and outfit..."
"Understood Judgenatrix..." Haku stated quietly, with her head lowered, her voice oddly small.
"Can that wait until I can get her something Ma'am? I don't think having her go around naked would be a good idea..." Naruto offered worriedly while rubbing the girl's shoulders gently.
"You ask much Master Uzumaki, but it is agreeable..." the woman answered calmly with a slight nod of her head. "As for you Master Uzumaki, I feel that your Level 2 Master rank might be subject to change... I will personally recommend you for advancement to Level 1 Master. And I believe Supreme Master Sarutobi shall be most pleased to hear of your progress."
Naruto's eyes nearly bugged out of his skull as he realized that in one mission he has gone from unranked, to just under gaining his Lord Master status. For the first time in nearly anyone present's memory, Naruto was speechless. Little did they realize just how rare this event would be, so they should have enjoyed it a LOT more.
"And finally... Teacher Umino sends his regards to you Master Uzumaki... and to Lord Master Hatake he suggests that not a single hair be harmed on the young Master's head..." the Judgenatrix finished with a strangely baffled tone. "I trust you understand what he meant..."
As Kakashi nodded, the others all noted that every inch of his exposed skin was pale white, and a cold sweat had broken out upon his brow.