The Yellow Maelstrom
Summary
Shortly after failing the graduation exam, Naruto steals the forbidden scroll and finds a scroll addressed to him inside. Armed with it, he will strive to become the best as his heritage is revealed to him and he rocks the Shinobi world as a force to be reckoned with.
Thanks again to all of you who continue to review and read. Happy reading.
Remember, I don't own Naruto.
"Normal Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Kyuubi Influenced Naruto or Kyuubi"
'Kyuubi Thoughts'
+++++Flashback+++++
Jutsus being used/ reading letter, note
Mission to Wave Part 2
The group had been travelling for a few hours into the third day when they reached the seashore. Tazuna, having prearranged transportation, walked up front and went through three different whistles then stopped and reversed the order. A few minutes later, a soft pat pat could be heard as a rowboat could be seen approaching them which they boarded and were on their way.
As they travelled across the water, a large bridge was seen on their right. All of the Shinobi were surprised that the drunk they were escorting was capable of building such a massive structure. When Tazuna saw them looking at the bridge he spoke up.
"That's why Gatou wants me dead, because this bridge will bring back the hope that our people once had."
"It really is a beauty," said Sakura in awe.
"Indeed," said the owner of the rowboat "But we should be more quiet, after all, Gatou controls the seas. We wouldn't want him spotting us."
The rest of the voyage over the water was spent in silence and apart from the occasional glance that Kakashi was sending towards Naruto, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Kakashi was concerned about Naruto. Since the battle with the demon brothers, he had not spoken other than when delegating responsibility to someone. He also seemed to have the same look he did whenever he was in battle; devoid of emotion. He also spoke in that monotone voice as well. To tell the truth, Kakashi was unsure what to do. He knew exactly what caused this; his first kill, but they were in the middle of a dangerous mission and he couldn't afford Naruto to make mistakes, however unlikely that may be considering his disposition. Thinking of it he rationalized that he could not make the situation better while on the boat so he resolved to speak with him as soon as they arrived at Tazuna's home.
Naruto meanwhile, had blocked of everyone unless necessary. Not even Hikari could get through to him. It seemed like killing one of the Demon brothers had more of an effect than with most people.
A few minutes later, they arrived on the other side and disembarked after thanking the boat owner. They then settled in formation with Sasuke up front, Sakura and Naruto to the side and Kakashi in the rear with Tazuna in the middle.
The group travelled for some time until Sakura Threw a kunai into the bushes. Approaching it cautiously, she parted the bush and gasped. In front of her was a frightened rabbit with snow white fur. She was about to reach for it but stopped and turned to face Naruto.
He shook his head indicating that her hunch was right.
'What is a rabbit with that colour fur doing out during the summer. It should be brown.'
Naruto then spoke up.
"That rabbit must have been raised at home for use with a Kawarimi no jutsu. We'll need to be more alert from now."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kakashi shouted out for them to duck. As soon as they did, with Naruto and Sasuke both reaching out for the Bridge builder and Sakura dropping on her own, a large sword flew overhead and got stuck horizontally on a nearby tree. A moment later a figure appeared standing on the sword. He wore ninja boots, blue shin high pants and no shirt. He also wore bandages covering the lower half of his face similar to Kakashi as well as a slashed Kirigakure headband.
He smirked then spoke up
"No wonder the demon brothers lost, they were facing off against Sharingan no Kakashi, A rank Nin of Konoha. I've got an old man to kill so I guess I'll have to get serious for you."
Expecting a response from Kakashi, he was surprised that it was a blond haired kid that answered.
"Zabuza Momochi, A rank missing Nin of Kirigakure. Wanted for attempted assassination of the Mizukage with a bounty of 20 million ryō for his head. Kakashi-sensei, he's yours. Sasuke, Sakura, defensive formation delta."
As soon as he finished speaking, he formed a Kage Bunshin and the four of them surrounded Tazuna. Through out Naruto's speech, Zabuza was highly amused that he was so well known.
"Well Kakashi, it seems like you've got a genin team, and a good one at that. They're gonna die nonetheless," Finished Zabuza with a dangerous smirk while letting out a large amount of killing intent.
"Not if I have anything to say about it," said Kakashi who had been silent since Zabuza's arrival. He turned to the genin and saw that they were keeping up quite well against the killing intent. "I don't let my comrades die" he said while lifting his headband to show his Sharingan eye.
When he turned towards Zabuza, he took a firm stance and stood ready.
"Ah, the fabled Sharingan of the famous Uchiha clan with which you copied over 1000 techniques. Let's see how you fare against me," said a confident Zabuza.
"Indeed," said Kakashi and promptly threw a kunai towards Zabuza. Zabuza dodged it but didn't expect an explosive tag attached to it to go off at that exact moment. Luckily, he moved his sword, Kubikiri Houcho, in time to stop any injury.
"Seems like your eager to go to your death." He said, "If that's the case let's go"
Quickly running through some hand seals he called out
"Kirigakure no jutsu"
A thick mist suddenly rolled out onto the area and Zabuza seemed to disappear but his voice still sounded like he was everywhere at once.
"Did you know…" He started "…that there are eight choices?"
Each of the genin was trying to pinpoint the location of the voice using their ears and was failing.
"Liver, lungs, spine, clavical vein, neck vein, brain, kidneys, heart, so many to choose from." He finished with an insane sounding chuckle.
"I think I'll choose neck," said a voice from behind Sakura.
As soon as the voice finished speaking, a splash was head, indicating that the Mizu Bunshin had been dealt with by Sakura with a kunai across the stomach.
"Impressive Kakashi, it seems like your brats can stand up to my Mizu Bunshins which have 1 tenth of my full strength." Said Zabuza "But it won't matter, cause their all going to die"
As soon as he said this, his gigantic sword came swinging towards the genin intent on decapitating them in one swing. His advance was stopped midway by Kakashi with a chakra enforced kunai.
"You'll have to get through me first, Zabuza," said Kakashi as he looked up at Zabuza, Sharingan eye blazing.
Zabuza leapt away as Kakashi attempted to nick him with the kunai. He missed but continued on with his attack while pushing Zabuza away from the rest of the party.
The two rushed forward towards each other and engaged in a fierce fast paced battle with Kunai against sword. Loud clinks were the only indication of the battle and the genin were hard pressed to make out anything within the mist. Sasuke had already tried activating his Sharingan but it proved useless. Sakura was faring no better. Naruto had tried stretching his sense of smell towards them but could not make out anything. He did however make and interesting discovery; there was another spectator to the battle. Turning around, he looked in the direction of the presence and sent a pointed look as if saying 'I know you're there'. As to whether or not they were friend or foe, he was unsure, but he stayed alert nonetheless.
While the younger members of team seven were trying to get a good look at the battle, the two ninjas continued to go at each other. Zabuza, finally having enough, jumped back to stand on the nearby water. Kakashi quickly followed him.
Seeing Kakashi charging, he ran through a series of seals the said
"Suiton: Mizu Kamikiri" while slamming his foot on top of the water surface. A Wall of water shot up and travelled towards Kakashi and an incredible speed.
Kakashi thought quickly and thought up the perfect counter.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu" he said then exhaled a steady ball of fire towards the incoming wall of water.
When the two techniques collided, a large amount of steam enveloped the area. As the two fighters waited for the steam to clear off, Zabuza wondered whether or not his attack had harmed Kakashi. A few moments later he saw a figure standing about 20 meters away unharmed. 'He's better than I thought' Thought Zabuza 'Lets take it up a notch.'
Going through another set of complex hand seals, Zabuza finished his technique and called out "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu" Looking towards Kakashi, he was surprised to see his hands were on the bird seal that and that he said the exact same technique as Zabuza; only a fraction of a second later.
Some way away from the battle, a robed figure dropped lightly on a branch and continued to focus on the battle more intently while casting a curious glance toward one of the genin; specifically the blond haired one.
The two water dragons fought each other for dominance with neither gaining the upper hand. Zabuza and Kakashi met once again with a clash right next to the water dragons as they battled with kunai and sword exchanging blow for blow before jumping away. After the water dragons lunged at each other countless times, they finally took one last charge at each other which resulted in both of them being destroyed.
Zabuza was stumped. 'Is this the ability of the Sharingan? To think that from such a distance he was able to copy my techniques'. The two then ran around a circular motion before suddenly stopping and raising one hand and placing the other in a half ram seal literally mirroring each other. Zabuza's eyes widened. 'My movement' thought Zabuza while stretching out his upraised hand 'is being perfectly predicted by him. Is he reading my mind?'
"You won't catch me off guard this time" said Zabuza as he did one hand seal. Looking up at Kakashi, he was surprised to notice that their hands were in the exact same seal.
'What? How can this be!' he thought exasperated. 'This guy…'
"Has such unpleasant eyes, right?" said Kakashi
Zabuza's eyes widened. 'Can he…'
"Hear my thoughts?" finished Kakashi
"What you're doing is nothing original!" said Kakashi and Zabuza at the same time with their hands still on the first seal. "You can't beat me you monkey bastard!" They both said together once again surprising Zabuza.
Continuing the seals, Zabuza glared at Kakashi and said
"I'll make it so you never open that copycat mouth of yours again!" When he completed the final seal, he looked at Kakashi and was stunned when he saw his own shadow behind Kakashi
"That's… Me?" he asked, unsure of what to make of the situation.
'This can't be' thought Zabuza 'This must be some kind of Genjutsu'
So caught up was he that he only came to when Kakashi called out the name of the jutsu
"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" said Kakashi
"N- Nani?" said Zabuza ask the water picked up speed and headed towards him.
Too shocked and unprepared to do anything, he took the attack head on and ended up knocked against a tree bare holding on to consciousness. When the water subsided a little, Zabuza suddenly felt a pain in his leg and hands. Looking up he saw Kakashi above him with his Sharingan still exposed.
"This is the end," said Kakashi in a serious tone.
"Why, can you see the future?" asked Zabuza, afraid for his life.
"Yes, and I foresee your death," said Kakashi while raising his kunai
The instant he completed his statement, two needles buried themselves into Zabuza's neck killing him immediately.
"You were right, he did die," said a masked figure standing on a branch some distance away.
Kakashi jumped down and checked Zabuza's pulse and confirmed the kill before turning to the figure.
"I was wondering," said Kakashi, "when you were going to come out Hunter-san"
"I've been chasing after Zabuza for quite some time now, and you provided me with the perfect opportunity to kill him. I thank you for your assistance." Said the hunter-nin
All the while the hunter-nin was speaking; Kakashi was walking over to his Genin squad who had come to join him."
"No problem, Hunter-san. It is your duty after all," said Kakashi.
"Hai," replied the Hunter-nin. "Now if you will excuse me, this body has many secrets and as such I must dispose of it."
Kakashi nodded and the hunter-nin Shunshin-ed next to Zabuza then Shunshin-ed away.
"Well guys," said Kakashi while eye smiling after placing his forehead Protector in the proper position, "I think we should head to Tazuna's home now."
"Hai sensei," they all replied then setting out towards Tazuna's house.
Two hours later, they arrived at Tazuna's house. They would have made it sooner, but had to go slower to accommodate Kakashi who was low on chakra. When they arrived, it was nearing dawn so they settled in quickly and had something to eat which was prepared by Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami. The rest of the evening passed quickly and in a few hours, it was time for bed. Naruto and Sasuke roomed together, Sakura on her own as well as Kakashi.
Sasuke was a bit unnerved as he lay down on his bed trying to sleep. Earlier, before they had gone to bed, Sakura had said she felt as though something was wrong with the way the hunter-nin had acted. First of all was the hunter-nin's weapon of choice; sendon needles. These were hardly ever used in battle to kill someone. Also was the fact that the hunter-nin didn't destroy the body on the spot. Standard protocol, regardless of country, required that the head be cut off as proof of the kill and the body destroyed onsite.
Neither of these happened. The Hunter-nin had left with the body intact. They could only come up with one conclusion; the hunter-nin was Zabuza's accomplice and had placed him in a near death state. He was irritated that Zabuza got away so easily but in the end thought that it couldn't be helped. They would just have to be more prepared next time, which would probably be in a week if their calculations were correct.
Naruto got up from his bed feeling restless. Since the encounter with the Demon brothers, he had been unable to get a decent night's sleep. Making his way over to the door, he glanced at his sleeping teammate before stepping outside into the corridor then making his way outside through a window.
When he got outside, he just wandered through the forest near the house for a short time before laying flat down with his face towards the sky. He just stayed and stared at the sky.
He still felt terrible from killing one f the Demon brothers. No matter how much he told his self it was necessary, he still felt terrible. 'It this what it means to be a Shinobi? Killing with no remorse? Isn't that what the code says, that Shinobi are mere tools to be used by their village and clients? But why does it feel so wrong? Should I be killing my emotions so I don't feel the guilt?'
At that moment, he felt a presence enter the clearing. When he sat up, he saw his sensei walking towards him at a leisurely pace. Finally making it to him, Kakashi spoke up.
"How are you feeling Naruto?"
"I'm great sensei," replied Naruto with a slight forced grin on his face.
"Naruto, I mean how are you? Since taking Gouzu's life you've been different. What's up Naruto?"
Naruto just sighed and turned his face away from his sensei with a downcast expression.
"I guess nothing gets past you sensei," said Naruto, sighing again.
They sat in silence for sometime before Naruto spoke
"Is it always like this? Will I always have to deal with this kind of guilt after every kill?" he asked in a silent voice that was uncharacteristic of him.
Kakashi looked at him for some time before answering the question
"No Naruto, it won't always be like this"
At that statement, Naruto visibly relaxed. Kakashi sighed dreading the next statement he would make but knew that Naruto needed to know this.
"It gets worse."
Naruto's eyes widened at that.
"It should never be easy to take a life Naruto. The day it becomes easy for you to take a life, is the day you stop being human. Life is precious Naruto and we should cherish it while we can. Sometimes, we may be asked to do things that go against what we believe in. What do you believe in Naruto, why do you fight so hard? They only way to cope with what you're feeling right now, is to find the reason you fight, the reason for your existence." Said Kakashi as he turned around ready to head back to the house.
This was something that Naruto needed to work out on his own. True, he knew the answer to what he asked Naruto, but if he found the answer on his own, his drive and will to succeed would be even stronger.
"Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto as he was about to exit the clearing. He turned back to face the genin and saw him smile in his direction
"Arigatou, for everything," he said before going back to staring at the sky.
Kakashi smiled beneath his mask "No problem Naruto" he said barely above a whisper.
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Jutsu Translations
Kawarimi no jutsu – Replacement Technique
Kirigakure no jutsu – Hidden Mist Technique
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone Technique
Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu – Water Clone Technique
Suiton: Mizu Kamikiri – Water Style: Rising Water Cutter
Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu – Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique
Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu – Water Style: Grand Waterfall Technique
Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu – Water Style: Water Dragon Projectile Technique
Shunshin no Jutsu – Body Flicker Technique
That's all for now guys. See you next week.
R & R