An Old Face

Normal Monologue

Thoughts

Jutsu


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto


Previously—

He was tall and his face was almost completely wrapped in bandages, from the nose down. His eyes were a charcoal black, cold and dull. He radiated pure killing intent, no mercy showing in his character in the least. He was the definition of a killing machine.

And now he was coming straight for them.

An Old Face—

Sakura's heart rate sped to an erratic pace, the sound echoing in her ears like a pounding drum roll. The color drained from her face and she felt a tremor in her knees; she had only just seen this man once and already she was terrified.

Naruto gritted his teeth together so forcefully he thought he heard a tooth crack. His muscles tensed and his senses immediately went on red alert. Every little move was taken in, nothing underestimated.

The man smirked coldly at the blonde.

"Long time no see Naruto. It's been quite too long. Well, isn't this just a heart-warming reunion.", the ninja spoke, his voice hard and chilling, sending shivers down all their spines. All but Naruto, who stood firm and still as stone, his eyes unmoving.

"Can't say I'm happy to see you Zabuza.", the blonde answered in a low tone. Sakura glanced uneasily at her team mate in front of her.

"Naruto…do you…know him?", she asked, her voice shaking slightly. The blonde only clenched his jaw and tightened his hands into fists, the knuckles turning a ghostly white from exertion.

"Go by Kakashi and Sasuke, protect Tazuna.", Naruto muttered in return, completely ignoring the former question. The pink-haired girl found the strength to snort.

"And leave you here by yourself? Please.", she replied, shocked at the unwavering voice in her response. Naruto sighed.

"Listen to me. I have a better chance of lasting against him without having to worry about keeping you out of harm's way. Do me a favor and go.", the teen shot back, his cerulean eyes hard and unmoving. The girl wanted to argue more but just as she opened her mouth to speak, Zabuza moved, vanishing in a streak of black. He reappeared between the two and his sword, his speed uncanny. Tearing the weapon out of the tree, he lashed around, aiming to deliver a blow that would sever both their heads from their bodies. Naruto pushed Sakura out of the way and slid his own blade out of its sheath, the dark grey rapier gleaming in the sun-light.

He raised his arm and the shrill sound of metal hitting metal rang through-out the clearing. Naruto skidded back a few inches when the blades connected; Zabuza's sword was much bigger and denser then his was, making it out-matched by a few notches. But he sure a hell wasn't giving up.

Naruto flipped away, his gaze shooting over to where Kakashi and the others were. To his satisfaction, he saw that the girl had taken his advice, rejoining the Konaha team. She was whispering something to the jounin leader and his eyes narrowed in suspicion, his stare flickering in their direction. Naruto sighed - great. There goes his cover.

His mind was snapped back into the fight when Zabuza's blade cleaved down on his right side, burrowing itself into the ground and missing him by only a few inches. Naruto un-tucked his body and slipped into a back-hand spring, landing nimbly about a foot away from where the weapon had broken the earth's crust.

Zabuza moved again, his steely eyes narrowed. He slammed his sword back into its place behind his back and went through a string of seals.

"Suiton! Hahonryuu!", the shinobi called in a deep voice. He straightened out his palms and from them came two rapid, bone-crushing torrents of rushing water. Naruto gritted his teeth and sheathed his blade as well; thanks to Itachi's restrictions, there was no freaking way he counter it.

So he simply slipped flexibly to the ground and rolled out of the way, avoiding the water completely. Or so he thought.

The Mist shinobi changed his course and sent them back in Naruto's direction. The blonde pressed his hands firmly on the ground and just as he was about to spring off the ground and out of harm's way; the white water doubled their speed and slammed into him with great force. He was flung back and smashed into the base of a tree, the wind rushing out of his lungs in a whoosh. Zabuza began to advance and Naruto picked himself off the ground, coughing up a mouthful of water.

Sasuke made a move in the blonde's direction but Kakashi held out a restraining hand. The Uchiha glanced quizzically at him.

"He's too high class for any of you, including Naruto. I'm going to jump in as soon as I see an opening and get him out of there.", Kakashi stated, his eyes never leaving the battle.

Naruto wiped the water out of his eyes in time to see a glint of sun reflecting off the giant sword being brought down upon him. The teen rolled out of the way just as the blade connected with the bark where his back had been. It chopped through the thick base, the massive tree groaning in response. Shards of wood flew in all directions some of the larger chucks burying themselves into the ground. Naruto flowed from his roll into a run, back-pedaling away from the missing nin.

Zabuza turned on him again, smiling coldly.

"You've improved some. I wonder what he's been teaching you.", he said out loud, his teeth gleaming. Naruto cursed under his breath; he had to take care of him before he revealed anything about his master.

Zabuza formed a seal in the center of his chest and recited, "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Five water clones rose from the ground, taking on the form of Zabuza, all with the same, menacing smiles. With a wave of his hand, all ran in Naruto's direction, swords drawn. Naruto moaned; he had dealt with water clones before no problem, but with his restrictions and the mysterious way his power seemed to be seeping from his body, he wasn't quite so confident right now. But he drew his sword anyway, ready to put up a fight.

The blonde met all five weapons with a clash, small sparks flying from the collision points. Naruto's strength wavered with the force of impact, his arms shaking slightly. The clones all smirked and two broke away, aiming a blow and either side of him. Naruto's eyes flashed and with a streak of black, he jumped. The five blades smashed into each other and Naruto landed in the center where they all crossed. He flipped expertly over their heads, making a move back to the tree line. But while he was still in mid-air, a fist connected with the side of his head, sending him across the field in a flash. He collided with a large rock, the crack from the impact making all three Konaha ninja to cringe.

Naruto opened his eyes, his head shooting with pain from where the stone had been smashed into the back of his skull. Through blurred vision, he could make out the five clones melting to the ground, their smiles remaining. Which meant that the real Zabuza had moved…

Only a second after the boy's impact, Zabuza was beside him again, kicking him roughly in the side. Naruto skidded across the ground, rolling repeatedly. But the ninja was through with him yet.

The man flashed over and whipped out his sword. He smashed him in the side again with the butt of his sword, like he was playing golf. Naruto finally rolled to a stop right at Kakashi's feet, his body torn and bloody. The four could only stare in horror at their team mate; they still couldn't believe what had happened.

Naruto pushed himself to a sitting position, wiping the back of his hand along the right side of his jaw, smearing the line of blood that was falling from his mouth.

"This is impossible.", he muttered to himself, forcing himself into a stand. He took a step forward, back in Zabuza's direction; that's when the rest of team was knocked out of their daze.

Sakura grabbed his arm, careful to avoid the places where he had been cut and Sasuke moved in front of him, his onyx gaze hard and unmoving. Kakashi moved to his other side, his one eye watching him intently.

"Naruto, stop. You can't keep going like this; he's just too much, even for you.", he murmured. The blonde gritted his teeth; he knew he could take him. He had before, what the hell was wrong now? But Kakashi was right – he felt even weaker then he did a minute ago. Reluctantly, he relaxed, falling back towards Tazuna. The three breathed a sigh of relieve and Kakashi faced Sasuke and Sakura.

"Sasuke, guard Tazuna. He's Zabuza's target to begun with, no matter what history Naruto and him might have.", he said, his gaze flickering to Naruto for a moment. "Sakura, you'll be able to heal some of Naruto's wounds, though I don't doubt that we'll have to stop in the port and find a doctor to get him fully patched up.", he instructed. The two nodded in reply, moving to their respective jobs, Sasuke in front of Tazuna and Sakura next to Naruto.

Kakashi turned to the missing ninja, who was watching them with somewhat of an amused smirk.

"You're my opponent now.", Kakashi growled, drawing a kunai from his holster. Zabuza smirked and drew his blade as well. Sakura glanced up from her job.

"Don't let him cast that attack on you.", she reminded him quietly. Their sensei only nodded in response before dashing into the fight. Naruto shot her a quizzical look.

"Attack?", he asked. Sakura grimaced.

"I guess you were too focused on something else, you should've felt it coming. He cast an attack that would steal all of your strength and give it to his body during a fight.", she explained. Naruto's eyes widened. That explained it.

He remembered back from when he and Itachi had met them on the road. He recalled that they spent the night together in the woods, swapping information about the areas they had come from. It came to attention that Zabuza said he had been working on a jutsu that would suck all his opponent's power from their beings and give it to him. He mentally slapped himself for not thinking about that the second he felt his power draining away.

He turned his eyes away from the working girl, examining the fight. Kakashi was skilled, he had to admit it. His speed was great and his moves were fluid and effective, something Naruto still couldn't piece together to make fool-proof formations. His attacks were strong and quick, like a deadly viper making his bite and puling away before the enemy could kill him.

Maybe Konaha wasn't all horrible.

Kakashi flipped away, his coal black eyes concentrated. He jumped out into the open water, landing almost silently on the water's surface. Naruto's eyes narrowed. He had always wanted to learn that, walking on water. But Itachi had always said it was a waste of time; that it wouldn't contribute to reaching his dream at all.

He still wished he knew how.

Zabuza stopped in mid run and smiled. He crouched and in a flash he was next behind Kakashi, forming a fast string of seals.

"Suirou no Jutsu!", Zabuza said and Kakashi's eyes widened. Before he could even try to make a move, the water around him rose and collapsed, creating a sphere of water around the shinobi. Kakashi internally cursed himself for being so stupid as to walk straight out into the water; the place Zabuza was highly skilled with.

Zabuza smirked and with his remaining hand, created another water clone. The copy Zabuza rose out a bulge in the water in front of the two jounin, his wicked gleam pointed directly in the direction of the genin and the bridge builder. He stretched to his full height and began to stalk slowly towards them, his eyes cold and full of killing intent. Kakashi's gaze moved to his team, his expression one of panic.

"Run! Just because it's a water clone doesn't mean that he doesn't have Zabuza's strength! Take the bridge builder and get out of here! Leave me!", he called out. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a glance, the words flowing easily between them. They looked back at their client, expressions steady. He sighed.

"It's my fault we're in this situation and I need to repent for it. Do whatever you need to do to save your sensei.", he said, answering their silent plea.

Naruto stood up, moving next to Sasuke, though Sakura watched him with a reluctant eye. Naruto and Sasuke shot each other the same and look and smiled.

"This'll be fun.", Sasuke commented.


Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu: A water clone

Suirou no Jutsu: Water Imprisonment Jutsu

Suiton! Hahonryuu: A water-styled jutsu that shots two rushing water torrents from the users palms. Dangerous if too close when fired.

~So sorry this is…two weeks late. I sat down all that time and started writing, but it just…seemed horrible. So I waited a while, trying to get my usual mojo back. Again, sorry. But it had to be done. Otherwise Naruto would have revealed everything or he would have been way too weak. It'll be back on schedule. Promise.

Kyuubi-Kitsune

Next Chapter: It's Not Over

He knew better; he would be back. Soon.Ok, this is a question I'm asking in all three of my stories right now and I can't yet say what it'll be for, but it's important. Would a story be more interesting if the setting was either:


1. Only one world that is completely made up and unqiue

2. A split kind of thing where there's America and another word that is completely thought up of or unqiue.

This question will be open for answer until 12/12/08, and please answer if you can. Either do it in a review, message me, or answer it in the poll I have set up in my profile. As you can see, I beleive it is of major importance.

Thanks.