Frozen Heart
Haven't been online recently, but will upload 3 chapters tonight (2/3).
Naruto is slightly grey in this story and it has elements of Killer Instinct
I don't own Naruto or Killer Instinct
Enjoy
Chapter 10
Naruto's Clone had just arrived in time to see Sasuke get trapped within Haku's Jutsu. It took note of the mist slowly extending across the bridge. It could also see Zabuza and Kakashi at a standstill, each awaiting the other to strike first.
Inside the ice dome, Sasuke was dodging the Senbon attacks of the Fake Hunter Nin. The Clone saw that one Senbon hit Sasuke, causing a major fire eruption. Haku was caught in the blaze as Sasuke's Fire Clone exploded. Naruto's Clone smirked, witnessing firsthand what Sasuke had been training on throughout this mission.
The real Sasuke ran full tilt at the mirrors from the outside, fire blazing in his hands. He hit one and watched as the ice slowly melted. At the last instant, though, the ice mirrors started repairing itself. Sasuke jumped clear as more mirrors surrounded his being, entrapping him within a larger dome, before he could escape.
Zabuza heard the explosion and was surprised to find his apprentices' opponent outside of the dome. He was further concerned, and almost lost his life due to the distraction, Kakashi taking that moment to attack. Zabuza, however, disappeared in a burst of speed.
"There is one flaw to your great and powerful eye." Zabuza intoned, smirking slightly as the mist started getting thicker. Zabuza appeared in front of Kakashi and took a swing with his massive Sword. Kakashi blocked at the last second, Kunai in each hand. He took notice of his opponents closed eyes and decided to slash at Zabuza with his free hand, just scratching him on the right side of his cheek.
'So he can attack just with sound. Interesting.' Kakashi thought as Zabuza disappeared once more.
"This fight is already over." Zabuza exclaimed, his voice projecting from all directions within the thick mist. Kakashi was in silent thought, before making a dash towards the last place he saw Tazuna and Sakura.
Zabuza appeared in front of Sakura with his sword drawn. He was about to swing, before leaves appeared in front of his face. His eyes were opened, and he was looking into the mangled body of his apprentice. In a fluid motion, Zabuza stopped his chakra flow for a quick second, dispelling the illusion. His eyes were wide, but now they were filled with anger. He swung his sword at Sakura, the cause of the Genjutsu, only for it to get blocked by Kakashi.
"Good work Kakashi." Zabuza stated, trying to force the vision out of his mind. "You succeeded in stopping my attack. But can you stop the next?" He asked, as he disappeared once more into the thick mist.
"Good work Sakura. Keep on your toes." Kakashi stated, to the pale form of his student.
Sasuke was once again trapped in the dome. He had created a Fire Clone and replaced himself with it. He had the right idea in terms of trying to destroy the ice mirrors, it just didn't pan out the way he had planned. Now his element of surprise was ruined, and he was trapped inside the mirrors, thinking of his next move. The only reason he wasn't injured or hurt was because his eyes perceived and his body quickly followed.
"I see. I was wandering why you could stick to this speed." Haku exclaimed, looking through his mask at Sasuke. "It seems I will have to kill you in order to accomplish my task." He stated once more, before recommencing his attack on his opponent.
Sasuke started noticing that the more Haku attacked, the more mist started increasing within the ice dome. This caused concern as his eyes couldn't fully penetrate the mist.
"Hmph." Sasuke exclaimed, looking intently at Haku, his vision slowly clouding as the mist increased in strength. Sasuke couldn't see anything in front of him. In that instance, Haku attacked again. Sasuke dodged and parried Haku's attack at the last second.
This was a regular occurrence, where Haku would attack, and Sasuke would dodge or parry at the very last second.
The Clone popped at this time, relaying all that had happened on the bridge. Thinking quickly, Naruto disappeared with pure speed. He wanted to reach the bridge before something bad happened.
Naruto arrived on the bridge quietly, masking his presence within the thick mist. He approached the dome, and glanced in. He could barely make out Sasuke, who was staggering slightly, trying to stay on his feet. Senbon were protruding from the various places on his body, his Sharingan still activated, two Tomoe locked in place.
Sasuke picked up the slight movements of his teammate, his Sharingan noticing the brief flicker of chakra as Naruto observed the fight. He quickly hid his smirk, trying not to give his teammate away.
Haku noticed the smirk. He could see the slight change in Sasuke's being. "I think it is time to end this." He exclaimed, readying himself for the final attack.
Haku attacked Sasuke at full speed, closing in on his opponent in a blink of an eye. With his senbon in his outstretched arm, Haku pierced the flesh of Sasuke. In that instant, a large explosion of ice rocked the dome. The ice mirrors shattered and the mist dissipated, leaving Haku a bleeding mess on the ground. Icicles were sticking out of his being, as he was left bleeding profusely.
"I knew you were stronger than me." Haku stated, looking Naruto in the eye, his mask now broken due to the explosion. "I just didn't know how much stronger you were."
"Not really. I just had the element of surprise. You didn't see it coming." Naruto responded, taking out his Kunai and approaching his target.
Kakashi heard the explosion, and wondered what had caused it. Thinking that his team may be in trouble, he took out some scrolls and went through a few hand seals, slamming the scrolls on the ground.
An instant later, he could hear Zabuza through the mist, screaming in pain. The mist slowly dissipated as Kakashi approached the area of his opponent.
Standing as still as can be was Zabuza, various dogs hanging off of his being.
"When your eyes can't see, use your other senses. My nin dogs can smell blood from a long way away, as long as you were bleeding, my cute little sidekicks could track you down." Kakashi eye-smiled, taking note of Zabuza's obvious distress.
"End it already, I'm over waiting." Zabuza impatiently responded, a faraway look in his eye.
"A question before your demise." Kakashi asked. He was taking note of Zabuza's reactions. "Why work for a scoundrel like Gatou?" He continued, watching as Zabuza laugh in hysteria.
"A means to an end Kakashi, a means to an end." Zabuza responded coolly, ending the conversation.
"Goodbye Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Bloody Mist." Kakashi intoned as he went through a hand sign and faced his right hand to the ground. Around it was glowing blue-white chakra, which quickly took on the property of electricity. At this Zabuza started laughing.
"Copycat Kakashi, using other Nin's Jutsu to end an opponent." Zabuza drawled out, trying to get a rise from Kakashi.
"Actually, this is the only Jutsu that I created." He responded, watching as Zabuza's face slightly lost its grin. With that Kakashi charged at his opponent, ready to plunge his hand into his chest.
Naruto could hear what appeared to be a large flock of birds chirping at the same time. He took note of the mist slowly dissipating, and looked back at his raven haired teammate, checking what he thought of the noise. Sasuke was on the ground, breathing heavy as he started removing Senbon from his being.
Naruto then turned towards the sound, and noticed his Sensei standing twenty or so paces away from his quarry. He could see the chakra that Kakashi was holding in his hands and marvelled at the Jutsu he was witnessing. He finally turned back towards his opponent, only to find him gone from his previous place.
'Never get distracted out in the field', his former Sensei's words reverberated through his mind.
He heard the sound of his Sensei's Jutsu die, his gaze snapping back to the previous scene. This time, he found his Sensei's hand pushed straight through the ice user's chest.
Zabuza was free and took this moment to try and end Kakashi's life. With a mighty swing from his Sword, he hacked at his apprentice and foe alike, missing both as Kakashi jumped a few paces back, holding the still body of his victim in his arms.
"Good work Haku, now it is time to finish you off." Zabuza exclaimed, only to be distracted by the sound of clapping at the end of the bridge.
"Well done Zabuza, self-proclaimed Demon of the Mist. The Bridge Builder is all but dead." The short man exclaimed, gaining the attention of Zabuza and Kakashi.
"Gatou, what is this all about?" Zabuza asked, looking intently at the short tycoon.
Kakashi was set on guard once more. He stood up slowly, taking note of the numbers before covering his Sharingan eye. He looked back at his team, only to find Sasuke on the ground, appearing to be dead. Sakura screamed at that moment, and was about to run to his side.
Kakashi was going to say something, before she suddenly stopped and looked at Tazuna. The Bridge Builder was speaking to her, and after a second, they both took off in Sasuke's direction. The other member of team 7 made his way to stand by Kakashi, looking down slightly at the dead shinobi at his feet.
"What do we do now?" Naruto asked, wanting to know what their orders were.
"Looks like we aren't enemies anymore. I have been double crossed." Zabuza exclaimed, listening intently to both Gatou and Naruto at the same time.
Gatou had spouted that he never intended on paying Zabuza, and at his words a chorus of voices called out. These thugs had been hired by Gatou in place of Zabuza. There were roughly a hundred thugs under Gatou's payroll.
"Gatou." Kakashi called from his position, interrupting the tycoon's raving rant. Gaining his attention Kakashi continued. "I am a Nin from Konoha. We have been tasked with protecting the Bridge Builder from any threats until the completion of the bridge." Here Kakashi hoped that the tycoon got the hidden meaning, but it was lost on deaf ears.
"Who cares who you are. The Bridge Builder dies today." Gatou stated. He thought for a second, before following up from his previous comment. "How much is he paying you?" The question gained Kakashi's attention. "I'll double, no triple what they're paying you. I'll even send your village a percentage every month. We could be business partners." Gatou concluded. He knew that having Shinobi behind him was a good way to keep others out of his business.
"Our assignment is the protection of the Bridge Builder." Kakashi responded after a moment's thought.
"Surely we could come to some type of arrangement?" Gatou stated once more, an evil glint in his eyes. Kakashi ignored the statement and turned his gaze to his student.
"It seems we will be fighting once more." Kakashi exclaimed to Naruto. At that moment, Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna arrived to stand beside Kakashi and Naruto.
"How strong do you think they are?" Sasuke asked, looking with his Sharingan at the numbers they were up against.
"Not that strong. Samurai wannabees, nothing we can't handle." Naruto intoned.
"Leave the runt to me." Zabuza exclaimed, eyeing the dead form of his apprentice. Kakashi nodded his consent, as Zabuza prepared to make a final assault on Gatou's men.
"Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto. You are to provide assistance to Zabuza. You are to take out as many of the men as you can, leaving even one escape could mean destruction for this fishing village." Kakashi stated, gaining the attention of his three charges.
Sakura was slightly afraid of what Kakashi had just said. She didn't think that she would have to take a life today.
Sasuke had a smirk on his face. 'Time to test my limits.' He thought, ready to make a run for the gangsters.
Naruto's face lost all expression. It was like ice, no emotions playing out whatsoever from his face.
"Hai Sensei." They chorused, waiting for Zabuza to make the first attack.
"Hmph. That's how Konoha does it." Zabuza stated quietly. It was loud enough for the Genin to hear, and Sakura and Sasuke couldn't fathom what Zabuza meant with that statement. They were going to ask, when Zabuza took off in a mad dash.
The three Genin followed, making sure they kept up with the Demon of the Bloody Mist. Sakura was in support and ran slower than the rest of her team.
The carnage was over in less than two minutes. Zabuza took out most of the bandits, whilst Naruto and Sasuke each killed their fair share. Sakura had taken the lives of fifteen people. She had placed them into a Genjutsu, before slitting their throats. They were dead before they even knew it.
Sasuke had a Kunai in one hand, whilst the other threw shuriken at their opponents. Many tried to dodge and parry the attacks, but they misread the situation and couldn't predict the speed and accuracy of the thrown shuriken.
Naruto had created two ice swords and went about the slaughter without a second thought. It was as if he was on auto-pilot. He had gotten cut and sliced a few times, but each time his body regenerated at a phenomenal speed.
Kakashi was impressed with his teams' performance. His objective complete, he turned towards Tazuna. The Bridge Builder was deathly pale and silent as he took in the carnage. Kakashi turned his gaze further back, taking note of the various villagers that were looking on in utter shock.
'Power of a shinobi too much for them.' Kakashi thought offhandedly. He assumed they had come to rescue their town from these thugs, not realising that this is what could have happened to them if they weren't around.
Kakashi looked back at the scene of his Genin team and Zabuza. Gatou was the only person left. He was surrounded by blood and the body parts of his allies.
Sakura was off to one side, flushing her breakfast from her body. She was slightly hysterical. Naruto was holding her hair back, ensuring no muck got on it. Sasuke was silently standing guard, noting that his team was in a vulnerable state. 'Teamwork sure does go a long way.'
Zabuza walked towards Gatou, his Sword now strapped to his back. "So a baby demon am I." He asked as he wrapped his hands around Gatou's neck. Squeezing and twisting, Zabuza snapped the neck of the tyrant Gatou, before making his way towards his apprentice.
'My tool. How foolish, more like a son than a tool.' He thought, before picking up the corpse of his apprentice. A tear slowly made its' way from his eye, drying on the cloth around his mouth.
With no further words, Zabuza disappeared. His apprentices' body needed taking care of. Knowledge could easily be ascertained from the remains of a dead Nin.
Kakashi walked over to his team. "Congratulations on making your first kill." He intoned, something akin to sorrow filling his voice. "You are now fully fledged Shinobi." He continued. "This is the life of a Shinobi. To live for your Village, protect your Village, die for your Village. Completion of your mission is a priority, but not the top priority." He concluded looking into the eyes of his team. He stood in silence for a second more before adding something, as an afterthought. "Why did I turn down the deal from Gatou?" He asked his team.
Sakura had stood in the middle of Sasuke and Naruto. Her face was filled with tears, that could be released at any second. She sniffed before providing an answer. "Because we took a mission from Tazuna. If we turned our back on him for an increase in money, we would lose our status as Shinobi. Word would get out not to trust us?" Here Sakura looked up, into the knowing eye of Kakashi. He eye-smiled, before patting her head.
"You are a clever Kunoichi aren't you." Kakashi exclaimed, before turning away and walking toward Tazuna.
