As a starting note, this will be the last chapter written from me for the year, going on Christmas holiday tomorrow and as such will not be having access to a computer. There will be a computer but when it's going to be burning hot, who wants to stay indoors? Anyways...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

...

It had only been a momentary look to the side at the sound of bushes rustling, that was all the warning needed however as Kakashi's visible eye went wide. "Get down!" he shouted as he grabbed Sasuke and Shino while he dove to the floor. Kurenai and Naruto quickly responded with Tazuna being protected by Kurenai while Naruto tackled Hinata and Sakura safely to the ground. Kiba had smelt the attack coming and as such was able to act on his own accord, not needing anybodies help to dive to the floor. The two girls silently screamed but not due to the fear of the giant blade flying overhead, but rather because when Naruto had reached around them to take them down his hand had accidentally grasped a breast in each hand. Naruto paid little attention however as he got to his feet alongside Kurenai and Kakashi as they stared at the shinobi standing atop the vicious weapon.

"Didn't imagine all of you would have gotten out of that unscathed," said the ninja observing those in front of him. "To think that even the blonde brat reacted."

"You get what you get," said Naruto with a shrug of his shoulders as the genin slowly got back to their feet.

"Who are you?" said Sasuke looking at the enemy.

"That my student, is one of the former seven swordsman of the mist and an 'A' ranked missing nin, Zabuza Momichi," explained Kakashi.

"Hmm, as quick as rumours tell, Kakashi of the Sharingan," said Zabuza possibly smiling from behind his mask.

"Sharingan?" repeated Sasuke looking at his teacher with curiosity.

"If memory serves me right, you would be Konoha's genjutsu specialist Kurenai Yūhi," said Zabuza turning his attention towards the second Jōnin. His eyes then turned towards Naruto with an analytical look. "Then this brat could be the most dangerous of all."

"Naruto's stronger than Kakashi?" said Kiba in disbelief.

"N-Naruto-kun's that strong," said Hinata having recovered from the accidental breast grab.

"What have you heard about me?" asked Naruto.

"Nothing," said Zabuza.

"Then why are you saying he's the strongest you ass hole!" shouted Kiba in frustration.

"Because lack of knowledge in the shinobi world is potentially the biggest enemy you can find," said Zabuza simply playing it towards the genin.

"Then why would you focus him out when you know nothing about us?" asked Sakura speaking up.

"You lack the fire that burns in his eyes, they hold a power that none of you could yet dream of," said Zabuza sounding impressed. "Those eyes remind me of my own, able to all emotions to the side in order to obtain the objective."

There was silence momentarily as Tazuna quivered, a cool breeze blowing through the leaves of the trees. "Why doesn't Naruto respond?" asked Kiba quietly through gritted teeth.

"He would lose the psychological battle if he were to say otherwise," analysed Shino. "By keeping your emotions in check during pre-battle banter, you can frustrate your opponent and force an opening."

"Staying calm even against someone of that calibre," said Sakura in awe, trying to resist from shaking in fear.

"To think that a single bridge builder would need two teams to protect him, I didn't think Wave had such money," said Zabuza as he leapt to a higher branch, pulling out his weapon as he did so. "I would have liked to have fought you Kakashi, however I am not foolish enough to believe that I could single handily take on you three. Luck has spared you for the moment bridge builder, but know that your life shall end by my hand and my hand alone."

"Not if we have anything to say about it," said Kakashi before Zabuza leapt away into the bushes.

"That was anticlimactic," said Kurenai as she got out of her fighting stance.

"Be that as it may, it seems strange that he would reveal himself without any real reason," said Kakashi.

"He could be trying to split us up," said Naruto. "By knowing we are fighting someone like him it will force us to be protecting Tazuna at all times, at least one person capable of fighting Zabuza and another able to fight his assistant."

"Assistant?" questioned Kakashi.

"You picked up the scent of them didn't you Kiba," said Naruto turning towards the Inuzuka.

"I thought I could smell somebody else but they weren't close enough for me to get a good enough scent for tracking," said Kiba.

"We're not going to track them," said Kurenai.

"You mean we're just going to let them get away?" asked Sakura.

"Our job entitles us to protect the client, chasing after men with the strength to challenge you on equal footing is not the best way to do so," said Kakashi. "If there was an accomplice then that means that there are potential traps set up for us to charge through."

"So it was a baited plan," said Naruto as they figured everything out. "If we'd followed him we'd have been doing what they wanted."

"So it seems," said Kurenai.

"S-so what now?" asked Hinata as she felt colour return to her face.

"Continue the mission," said Kakashi as he began to walk, his face still showing signs of cautiousness. Naruto shrugged as he threw his backpack over his shoulder, trailing a bit behind Kurenai as the genin closed the gap, Tazuna in the middle no longer feeling safe on the outside.

"Naruto," said Sasuke causing the blonde teen to turn towards him, slowing down momentarily so that he was walking alongside. "I have a favour to ask of you."

"Ask away," said Naruto, his tone showing no emotion of what had just happened.

"I want you to train me," he said causing Naruto to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "I need to become stronger and like that missing nin said, you're an unknown factor. I've seen you fight but know that you've only shown a fraction of your power. Since you're roughly my age, you should know what I could be capable of if given proper training."

"I have no quarrels with training you, however your favour should have been, 'I want you to train us,'" said Naruto turning his gaze forward. "I can see in you that you do care about your team but you don't play the role of the protector. I know what your final goal is, and I can tell you that Itachi's strength is far greater than my own." Sasuke flinched hearing the name of his brother as Naruto continued unfazed. "Kakashi told me that when you introduced yourself to your team, you explained that your goal in life is to kill a certain someone. Strength through hatred is born by darkness. You'd be a lot stronger mentally if you'd said that your goal was to protect those around you so that nothing tragic happened in your life again. Strength through friendship is born by light. Light or darkness Sasuke? Pick a side."

Sasuke paused momentarily as the group passed by the frozen Uchiha before he shook his head and trailed at the back of the pack, his mind going over all of the information he had just been given. He knew that deep down his brother had to die by his hand but now he slowly began to realise that while he desired to be the one to unleash the final move that he didn't have to go about it alone.

...

"This place looks worse than the last time I came here," said Naruto as the group came close to the town. Of the few people that they had seen, lifeless was one way to explain to others the manners of the walking dead.

"It's not much kid but its home," said Tazuna. "So long as Gato doesn't get me the town will grow, of that I am sure."

"I look forward to that day," said Naruto. "Anyways, I need to go check out the markets so you guys go set up base camp and I'll find you later."

"See you later," said Kakashi with a brief wave before Naruto turned and walked in a different direction.

"Shouldn't one of us go with him and make sure nothing happens?" asked Sakura.

"We've just arrived in town, and this is the reason why he came," said Kakashi. "If he so chooses to do so, he could leave tomorrow and one team will have to escort him back."

"But we just got here!" said Kiba wondering if having hiked for so long only to repeat the thing a day later would be worth the 'C' rate pay.

"We follow the client's orders," said Kakashi. "We cannot tell him what to do, that is for him to decide."

...

Naruto walked through the streets, his eyes like a hawk as he picked up every small detail. His eyes flickered over to a nearby alleyway where he saw a young girl huddled up to her brother, a thin blanket covering the two for warmth. To Naruto's sadness, this was not the only place where this was happening, with many people shivering on the side of the street or gathered around a single fire. Naruto growled in annoyance before he placed his pack on the ground and rummaged around inside. Having seen what he had remaining in stock, he sighed before summoning two dozen clones, scaring many of the civilians who had just watched replicas of the boy appear out of thin air.

"You know what to do," he said before the clones saluted, leaping off as quickly as they had appeared. "It's times like these I seriously wish that I had the Shodaime's mokuton ability," he said as he pulled out a scroll, unleashing the items sealed within.

...

"Naruto's been gone for hours," said Sakura to Hinata, the two girls having shared the one room. They were scheduled to have the last shift supervising at the end of the night and as such had gone to bed early.

"D-do you think he's okay?" asked Hinata, not having been able to catch any sleep.

"Sensei said not to worry but I can't help it," said Sakura having seen the state of the people on the walk to Tazuna's house. Despite the fact that they wore headbands indicating that they were official shinobi, some of the civilians had looked like they would risk getting killed in an attempt to steal food off the ninjas.

"W-we should go," said Hinata in a hushed voice to which Sakura nodded. Silently, they got changed back into their clothing and opened the window, cringing slightly as it squeaked open. As quietly as they could, they made their way outside and into the street, not noticing the watchful eye of Kakashi watching them, the Jōnin slightly smiling from behind his mask.

As the two female ninja leapt across the rooftops, they were able to hear the sound of laughter from nearby, something which struck as quite a contrast from the desolate area they were moving across. As they got close enough, they looked on from the rooftops as the citizens of Wave were all lined up, a bowl in their hands as they conversed with one another. There were groups of people standing by eating as if they hadn't in days, which Sakura and Hinata assumed was a possibility. Their eyes focused on where the line ended to find Naruto standing in the middle of a poorly crafted stall, serving ramen at a rapid pace as a number of clones worked away at making the meal to satisfy customer needs, a good number of them scaling a large number of fish which sat in a bucket.

Naruto wiped the sweat off of his brow with his sleeve as he handed the bowl back to the little girl whom he had seen earlier, the once empty object now filled to the brim with food with caused the girl to beam at him happily. This in turn caused a smile to grace Naruto's lips as he went to reach for the next bowl to find that somebody standing next to him had already taken it. "Need an extra set of hands?" asked Sakura as she passed the bowl back to a clone for them to fill it with quality goods.

"What about two?" asked Hinata from his other side as she did the same, a smile gracing her lips as the next customer came forward.

"If Kakashi yells at me for you two being asleep when you're meant to be keeping watch you two are so dead," he said with a chuckle as he continued his work. Two hours passed before the town had had its fill, a number of people opting to sleep in the middle of the street, not wanting to leave the setting they were in. Naruto smiled as the last of his clones finished sealing all of his equipment away, his food stock practically down to half a day's worth of food but he didn't mind. Turning around, he found Hinata and Sakura sleeping side by side, exhaustion and fatigue having overcome them. Discarding all but one clone as Naruto put his scrolls back into his pack, he and the replica picked up Sakura and Hinata gently as they walked through the streets.

"Thank you," came a soft voice from nearby causing Naruto to turn and find the small girl from before looking at him with sleepy eyes.

"I tried," said Naruto as he knelt down and ruffled her hair whilst making sure Hinata remained in his grasp.

"You're the greatest," she said stifling a yawn before her eyelids closed and her head rested upon the chest of her brother.

"Sweet dreams," said Naruto as he and his clone made their way to Tazuna's house via the rooftops, not having any real knowledge of which way he needed to go through the streets. When he landed on the rooftop however he turned his head to see a shadow leaping away. He was tempted to give chase but chose against it, knowing that if they had wanted to do something they would have already done it.

It didn't take him long to find the right spot with Kakashi standing on the rooftop. He silently indicated to the window underneath him to which Naruto nodded in understanding. "I remember the days when you wouldn't give your food away to anyone," said Kakashi as the clone slipped indoors.

"Time changes a lot of things," said Naruto looking up at the Jōnin who smiled down at him. "Wake me up in time for the girl's shift, I'll cover for them since they helped me tonight."

"Will do," said Kakashi as Naruto crawled through the window.

"And if you turn this into porn I'm going to beat the crap out of you," warned Naruto as he slipped out of sight. Kakashi chuckled at the comment before pulling out the notepad from his pocket, looking at all of the notes he had put down. He shrugged as he continued to jot down more references if only for a chance to fight Naruto in a one on one contest.

...

Hope you enjoyed.

Eragorn: I have stated this before, but if you missed it, I used to pump out chapters when I first started on a daily basis but looking back I realise that was one of my fundamental mistakes. If I try to rush this story I'll only end up ruining it. So don't rush me on the chapters, they'll come when they come. Also you say you could give me advice on how to make the story better, however is that better in a general view or just what you believe could make it better? Think about it.

Argentorum: Who says he needs to stop at cards? Why not exploding dice, miniature roulette wheels for shuriken? The possibilities are endless!

Rickjames196: Ah so you've jumped across from Merrier and found this. Hope you enjoy.

Anyways you'll hear from me after the new year has started. Peace out!