Disclaimer: Naruto is property of Masashi Kishimoto. I don't own this in anyway so please don't sue me.

(A/N: I apologize for the delay in update I have recently been hired and that has seriously cut into my writing time coupled with I had a few new story ideas that I had to write down.)

(A/N: I want to take this time to thank ProtoPhinbella for his ideas and help as my Beta reader.)

Chapter 12: The Assassin of the Mist

Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, Kakashi and Tazuna are all sitting on a boat while one of the villages from the land of waves. Naruto is sitting in a position with his back turned to his teammates and is simply sitting there. Hinata and Sasuke are playing Dojutsu spy again, Kakashi is keeping score and Tazuna is drinking. (No surprise there.) After Hinata thoroughly trumps Sasuke in Dojutsu spy Sasuke get up and walks over to Naruto and places a hand on his shoulder, when Sasuke's hand makes contact with Naruto's shoulder Sasuke feels an incredible energy flow through both him and Naruto. After a second Naruto turns around and smacks Sasuke with a small black rod and immediately the weird energy stops flowing through Sasuke.

"What the hell Naruto." Sasuke whispers angered by his blond teammates actions.

"I am sorry Sasuke but I don't think your mother would appreciate it if you turned into a wooden statue that couldn't be undone."

"Wooden statue?" Sasuke looks confused.

"Yea those who aren't used to nature chakra turn into wooden statues."

"Oh then why are you using it?"

"I am trying to harness it's power and utilize it."

"Why are you trying to use this power?"

"So I can fight the Akatsuki."

"The Akatsuki?" Sasuke asks

"Yes the Akatsuki is an organization of S-Ranked criminals that are after the jinchūriki for some damn reason."

"S-rank criminals that's bad right?"

"Yea last time I checked the bingo books your brother was an S-ranked Missing Nin." Sasuke's hand clench at the mention of his brother as he remembers the events of that faithful night.

"So you have basically a bunch of Itachis running after you."

"Yea, though they will have to capture me last."

"How can you be so sure?" Sasuke looks confused

"I hold the nine tails if they want all 9 biju they must capture me last or whatever they want to capture me and my brethren in will explode from the Kyūbi's power."

"Oh." Sasuke looks at Naruto as a thought strikes his head. "Then they won't come for you for long time."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Naruto looks around with his rinnegan.

"What do mean?"

"I am not a hundred percent sure just how many they have captured, for all I know they already have the other jinchūriki." Just then Kakashi turns to Tazuna

"Mr. Tazuna before we reach the pier I need to ask you something. The men who are after you I need to know why if you don't tell us I am afraid we will end this mission when we drop you ashore."

"I have no choice but to tell you, no I want you to know the truth. Just like you said this is beyond the scope of the mission. The man who wants my life is a short man but who casts a very long and deadly shadow."

"A deadly shadow? Who is it?" Kakashi asked slightly with a slight eyebrow raise at the weird description

"You know him or I'm sure you heard of him. He is one of the wealthiest men in the world his name is Gato, the shipping magnet." Kakashi's eye widens

"Gato, of Gato transport? He is a millionaire everyone knows him."

"Yes Gato is a wealthy business man but there's a darker side."

"A darker side?"

"With the same tactics he uses to take over businesses he conquers nations by selling drugs and hiring missing-nin to do his dirty work. Gato is a ruthless tyrant and anyone who stands against him just disappears."

"So the men who attacked us in the woods were under employ of Gato." Sasuke says looking at his teammates.

"If you cancel the mission when we get ashore they will assassinate me before I get home." Tazuna looks at team 7. "I won't blame you but my 7 year old grandson will probably cry and say, 'Granddad where's my granddad.' And my daughter will probably hate and curse all Konoha shinobi for abandoning her father to die." Naruto sweat drops looking at Tazuna.

"Is this guy for real?" Naruto asks himself.

"You're kidding me right." Madara says as he smacks his forehead.

"You're telling me." Hashirama says as he sweat drops.

"Well I guess we have no choice but to continue the mission." Kakashi says shaking his head. After a few minutes Naruto looks around his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"This mist is chakra laced, its faint but it's definitely there." Naruto thinks to himself. After 10 minutes the group of 6 arrive on the dock, and then the rower of the boat says.

"This is as far as I can take you and even this was risky you know how Gato reacts to people who get in his way."

"I understand thanks for your help." Tazuna responds. Then the rower turns his motor back on and drives off. "Alright now I expect you to get me to my home in one piece."

"Alright team lets go but stay on guard next time they won't send some amateurs most likely they will send Zabuza after us." Kakashi says.

"Right." Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata nod.

"Hey Naruto." Hashirama says gaining Naruto's attention.

"Yea Hashirama-sensei?" Naruto responds

"Madara and I have been mulling over ideas on how to maintain your sage mode because as you know you can't gather nature chakra while moving around and as such it can be impractical in combat."

"Yea and what did you and Madara come up with?"

"Well Madara was telling me about how after our fight at the Valley of the End he attached himself to the Gedō statue to maintain his life after his body nearly gave out on him several times. Eventually we came to the conclusion that the rods from the statue could gather chakra so long as they were attached to either the statue or the natural chakra paths of the body."

"So that means if insert the rods along my chakra network I could continuously gather nature chakra even while fighting."

"Exactly but for this to work the rods would need to be place exactly on the same point as your chakra point and they would need to be placed on almost every point in your body except your face as that is where only chakra required to keep your brain running is required."

"Alright when should I do it?"

"When you get the bridge builder to safety and you will need Hinata to help you." Instantly Naruto's face turns a beat red and avoids eye contact with his teammates and Tazuna.

"A...are you sure?"

"Yea why?" Hashirama responds slyly

"Well I am pretty sure Hiashi would kill me if I did anything like that."

"Don't worry just use a wood dome to hide from those who would watch."

"By the way Naruto Hashirama and I need to talk to you when you have a minute." Madara says.

"About what?" Naruto asks.

"About what you saw a few weeks ago." Naruto shudders at the memory of what happened.

"Al…alright Madara-sensei." Hinata looks over Naruto to see his face a beat red and watches as his body shudders.

"I wonder what is wrong with Naruto-kun." Hinata thinks concerned for him. After a few more minutes Naruto looks around as he senses a high chakra level on par with Kakashi's.

"So he is already here." Naruto thinks drawing a kunai from his pouch; when Hinata, Kakashi and Sasuke notices this they were all on high alert as they know of Naruto's abilities as a sensory ninja. Naruto hides his kunai against his leg and after a few more feet Naruto chucks the kunai at a rustle in a cluster of bushes. Kakashi reaches for his head band as Naruto goes towards where he threw the kunai and his hand on the scythe he has across his back in conjuncture with his Gunbai. "False alarm it's just a rabbit sorry Hinata-chan I scared it but the rabbit is still alive." Naruto rubs his head knowing Hinata's love for rabbits. The rest of the group keep their guard up as Naruto's sensory abilities are rarely wrong. Hinata walks over and holds the rabbit as she comforts the poor thing. Just then the coat of the rabbit catches his eye. "This rabbit's coat is white which means that it was raised indoors away from the light, which means its only purpose was to be a substitution." Just then a giant butcher's knife comes flying in from the tree line to the right of them.

"Get down!" Kakashi shouts to his team and the four of them drop down while Sasuke grabs the client to protect him. The sword impales itself in the tree in front of Naruto and Hinata.

"Zabuza Momochi the demon of the bloody mist." Naruto glares at the man in front of him.

"Ah so a lonely gennin knows my name." Zabuza says bowing. "I see that my illustrious reputation precedes me." (Yes I got that from Dragon Ball Z: Fusion reborn, which I don't own either.)

Well when you slaughter your entire graduating class and then try to assassinate the... I believe it was the 4th Mizukage that tends to get your name in the bingo book of every Ninja village across the world." Naruto said with a pause recalling the Mizukage aspect pertaining to Zabuza.

"If he is our opponent then I will need to use my sharingan." Kakashi thinks lifting his headband

"Kakashi of the sharingan eye am I right?" Zabuza asks.

"Now quick Magi formation, protect the bridge-builder and stay out of this fight." Kakashi says. Kakashi then finishes lifting his headband exposing a fully matured sharingan.

"Hold on a minute everyone keeps saying sharingan, sharingan, what is the sharingan?" Tazuna asks

"Sharingan, a rare power it resides in the eyes, the user of this visual jutsu can instantly see and comprehend any Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu and reflect the attack back on the attacker. The sharingan is a special rare form of Dojutsu; however there is a lot more to the sharingan, a lot more." Sasuke says

"You got it right boy, but you only scratched the surface. The sharingan can analyze an opponent's attack and copy it to the smallest detail." Zabuza says. Then mist roles in. "As for you Jounin in the assassination unit of the hidden mist we has a special order to destroy you on sight. Your profile was in our bingo book. It called you 'the man who copied over a thousand jutsu Kakashi, The Copy Ninja." Zabuza's eyes narrow.

"So he knows about the sharingan but what about the rinnegan." Naruto thinks as he sizes Zabuza up.

"Enough talking I have to exterminate the old man, now." Then team seven enters a protective formation. "So I have to eliminate you first eh, Kakashi? So be it." Zabuza grabs his blade and rips it from the tree and leaps on to the water.

"He is over there." Naruto says pointing out there opponent.

"So he knows the water walking exercise too."

"He is building up a huge amount of chakra." Kakashi notes

"Ninja art: Hidden mist jutsu." Zabuza says then he vanishes.

"He vanished." Hinata says then Kakashi walks forward. "Sensei."

"He will come after me first."

"Just who is Zabuza Momochi anyway?" Sasuke asks

"Zabuza Momochi, ex leader of the mists assassination squad and a master of the silent killing technique."

"Silent?" Tazuna asks

"As the name suggests its happens in an instant without sound or any warning. It's so fast that you pass from this life before you even realize what has happened. The sharingan can't fully neutralize it so don't let down your guard. Well if we fail we only loose our lives."

"Then we can't let our guard down for even a second." Naruto says drawing his Scythe then the mist gets a lot thicker.

"The mist is getting thicker and thicker." Sasuke says

"The land of waves is surrounded by ocean the swirling mists are ever present." Tazuna says. Then the mist covers Kakashi.

"Sensei." Hinata says fear evident in her voice.

"Eight points." Zabuza's voice calls out. Hinata gasps

"What's that?" Hinata asks

"Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidney, heart. Now what will be my kill point?" Then Kakashi puts his hands together for the ram sign and unleashes a wave of chakra to disperse the mist.

"What intense thirst for blood. One shallow breath one tiny movement of the eye is enough to bring on instant death. If it goes on like this I will go insane. The clash of two Jounin with the intent to kill I have never felt anything so chilling. It's as if my own life is being choked off." Sasuke thinks and starts bring his kunai to a point where he will slit his own throat. "No, I can't bear it I rather take my own life." Sasuke moves the kunai closer

"Sasuke! Calm down" Kakashi's stern voice snaps him out of it. "I will protect you with my life all of you. I will not allow my comrades to die trust me."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Zabuza's voice rings out again. Then in an instant Zabuza is behind all three of them. Kakashi spins around to see Zabuza standing there in the middle of their formation. Instantly Naruto springs into action and swings his Gunbai behind him and it collides with Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō blocking it from hurting his friends.

"Nice try Zabuza Momochi but sneaking up on me won't be that easy." Naruto smiles his rinnegan flashing.

"You're pretty good with that Gunbai kid where'd you get it?"

"My sensei gave it to me." Naruto holds his hand out in front of Zabuza's chest. "Almighty push." The ripple of gravity slams into Zabuza sending him flying backwards and slams him into a tree where he bursts apart in a splash of water.

"Water clone." Sasuke says as he activates his sharingan while Hinata activates her Byakugan.

"So you all have bloodline limits but I'm curious what yours' is blondie I've never heard of a blood line that can manipulate gravity." Zabuza says as he appears behind team 7

"All you need to know is Kakashi's sharingan is child's play compared to my Dojutsu." Naruto returns his scythe and Gunbai to his back and starts weaving hand signs. "Wind style: Great breakthrough!" the gust of wind blasts back the mist and Kakashi takes advantage of Zabuza's condition to attack stabbing a kunai into Zabuza's gut.

"Nice try Zabuza but it's over." Kakashi says.

"Oh really?" Zabuza asks as water pours out of the wound, then Zabuza explodes into a burst of water, then Zabuza appears behind Kakashi and slices him in half. Zabuza smirks under his mask, when the sliced body of Kakashi turns to water and Zabuza's eyes widen in shock. "Even in the mist he was able to copy my jutsu." Kakashi appears behind Zabuza and holds a kunai to his throat.

"Your right, now it's over."

"Nice try." Zabuza dissolves into water again and reappears behind Kakashi. "Now." Then kicks him into the water, then Zabuza grabs his sword and runs after Kakashi but then stops. "Makabishi spikes. Trying to slow me down. Foolish." Then Zabuza jumps into the water.

"SENSEI!" Hinata shouts

"I can't believe sensei got kick through the air like that." Sasuke thinks.

"His physical prowess is on par with mine." Naruto says. Then Kakashi reemerges from the water

"This water isn't normal it's denser." Kakashi thinks. Then Zabuza appears behind him and sneers.

"Fool." Zabuza starts making hand-signs "Water prison jutsu!"

"SHIT!" Kakashi yells

"This prison is made of water but its stronger than steel."

"Escaping underwater was a bad mistake."

"Now I have you where I want you, however now I must eliminate your little friends." Zabuza makes a one handed hand-sign. "Water clone Jutsu."

"Sasuke, Hinata, Naruto get the bridge builder out of here. He is put all his strength in to keeping me here the clone can't follow you that far!"

"Not an option!" Sasuke says "That option when right out the window the moment you got captured sensei!" Zabuza's clone smirks at the three gennin before him.

"You dare to call yourself Shinobi, when you've hovered between life and death so many times that it doesn't faze you, you may be called Shinobi. When you've become so deadly that your profile has been entered into my bingo book, then you may have earned the title Shinobi."

"You want to see power I will show you power." Naruto smirks then turns to his friends. "Hinata Sasuke stay out of this protect the bridge builder I want to show this no browed freak the legendary power of The Sage of the Six Paths." Naruto slams his hands together. "Wood style: Forest Destruction!" At Naruto's command a huge forest springs to life and in a matter of seconds the trees slam into Zabuza's clone destroying it instantly. The real Zabuza's eyes widen at the shear display of power Naruto had presented.

"That… that was the wood style of the first Hokage; how does this kid have that kind of power?"

"You shouldn't underestimate Naruto, Zabuza." Kakashi smirks underneath his mask. "I did that once and it nearly cost me my life."

"You may be soft Kakashi but I'm not." Zabuza makes another water clone and makes the clone maintain the water prison then grabs his Kubikiribōchō and charging at Naruto but doesn't see Naruto make the horse hand sign for his signature fire jutsu.

"Fire style: Great fire annihilation!" Naruto roars as the torrent of fire blast through the trees and at Zabuza whose eyes widen in shock as he jumps back to avoid the fire blast. The smoke from the burning trees clouds Zabuza's vision and hides Naruto from his sight.

"How is one kid this strong?" Zabuza wonders confused, however Zabuza had no time to worry about Naruto's strength as said kid come charging full speed at Zabuza Gunbai in one hand and his scythe in the other.

"You're going down Dattebane!" Naruto shouts leaping into the air swinging down with his scythe anticipating Zabuza to raise his Kubikiribōchō to block but Zabuza dodges a smirk on his face and swings his Kubikiribōchō with the intent to cut Naruto in half, but Naruto spins in the air and uses the momentum to bring his Gunbai down and deflected the sword with the end of his Gunbai and goes in swing with the scythe again.

(Naruto's mind scape.)

Madara and Hashirama watch as Naruto's battle unfolds with Zabuza.

"Kind of reminds you of our battle huh, Madara." Hashirama says turning to his friend

"Tell me about Naruto takes after both of us well." Madara responds smirking at Naruto's relentlessness.

"But Naruto didn't summon me because he was scared that big bad Hashirama would mop the floor with him." Kurama snorting in a mocking tone.

"Do not take that tone with me Kurama!" Madara growls dangerously.

"Lighten up Madara I was just joking." Kurama says lying down on his belly as his tails swish behind him as he continues to watch Naruto and Zabuza's fight.

(Back with Naruto and Zabuza.)

"You're good kid really good." Zabuza grunts

" The same could be said of you." Naruto swiftly dodges the sword slash and counters with his Gunbai wind wall blasting Zabuza backwards. Naruto takes the temporary lax in battle to form hand signs after he created a Shadow Clone. "Combination fire and wind style: Great dragons breath!" The Two Narutos roar channeling as much chakra as possible to their jutsu blasting as much fire in order destroy Zabuza entirely. The resulting blast of fire destroys water clone freeing Kakashi in the process.

"Nice work Naruto, now stand back and let me finish this but I promise you if Zabuza gets past me you and your teammates finish him off." Kakashi says.

"Yes sir." Naruto leaps back to his teammates, and then Zabuza and Kakashi leap back and forming hand signs.

"Ushi, Saru, Oo, Nae, Ee, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Tori, Nae, Tora, Inu, Tora, Mee, Ushi, Hitsuji, Mee, Ee, Hitsuji, Nae." Zabuza recites as he forms each hand sign

"Ushi, Saru, Oo, Nae, Ee, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Tori, Nae, Tora, Inu, Tora, Mee, Ushi, Hitsuji, Mee, Ee, Hitsuji, Nae." Kakashi follows along flawlessly.

"Jin, Saru, Tori, Tatsu, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Hitsuji, Tora, Mee, Nae, Saru, Oo, Ee, Tatsu, Hitsuji, Nae, Ushi, Saru, Tori, Jin, Nae, Ee, TORI!" Kakashi and Zabuza finish simultaneously. "Water style: Water dragon Jutsu!" instantly two dragons made of water rise up and coil around one another canceling each other out. Then their creators run in at one another Zabuza runs in with his Kubikiribōchō and Kakashi runs with a kunai in hand and their weapons collide and Kakashi press with all his might to keep Zabuza's blade from killing him.

"Could it be?" Zabuza wonders then runs to the left and Kakashi does the same movement and when Zabuza stops so does Kakashi. Then Zabuza makes the hand sign for the hidden mist jutsu.

"He isn't just following he moves the same way at the same time." Tazuna says

"My movements it's as if it's as if he knows what I'm..."

"Going to do next." Kakashi finishes Zabuza's thought out loud for him.

"What is he reading my mind as well? He looks at me with that eye."

"It makes you furious doesn't it?"

"All you're doing is copying me like a monkey."

"You can't beat me with cheap tricks I'll crush you!" Kakashi and Zabuza say simultaneously.

"When I finish you, I will make sure you never open that monkey mouth again." Zabuza growls and forms hand signs, just then a shadow appears behind Kakashi causing Zabuza to pause in mid signs. "What is that?" The shadow starts to take form and after a few seconds Zabuza looks and sees himself. "It's me! But how? Is this his illusion jutsu?"

"Water style: giant vortex jutsu!" Kakashi says then his sharingan spins around. The gigantic blast of water fires at Zabuza.

"I was just about to create a vortex but he created one first! He copies my jutsu before I can even do them I can't keep up!" Zabuza gets blasted by the water and is slammed into a tree. Then several kunai connect with Zabuza

"You're finished."

"How? Can you see into the future?" Zabuza asks

"Yes I can. This is your last battle ever." Just then two senbon connect with Zabuza's neck. Naruto and team 7 look over to where the needles came from and they see a person with and unable to identify his/her's gender. His/her shinobi outfit consisted of the standard Kirigakure pinstriped outfit which stopped at his/her knees. Over this he/she wore a green haori with white trimmings and around his/her waist a brown sash with a fringed trail wrapped around his waist twice. He/She also wore light-brown platoon sandals with straps in the same color as his/her kimono and nail polish on his fingernails and toenails in matching blue green color. When wearing this outfit, his/her long hair was gathered in a white bun holder, while two locks of his/her hair fell loose framing his face, bound with metal hair cuffs at the ends. He/she also wore a hunter-nin mask, which was white with thin, curved eye-holes and a red wavy design in place of the mouth, as well as the Kirigakure symbol etched in the top.

"You're right it was his last battle." The hunter Nin says. Kakashi leaps over to Zabuza's corpse and places his index and middle on Zabuza's neck.

"No vital signs."

"I thank you for your assistance in taking him down I have been waiting for the opportunity to take him down." The hunter ninja bows

"By your mask I can tell you're a hunter ninja from the hidden mist village." Kakashi says.

"You're well informed."

"Just what is a hunter ninja?" Tazuna asks

"Hunter ninja are an elite group of ninja with very special skills. When a rouge ninja runs away from their village they carry all sorts of secrets with them hunter ninja are sent out to ensure those secrets stay secret by eliminating them." Naruto says look at the hunter ninja with his rinnegan. "The chakra is definitely female but well hidden, judging by her voice I would say that she is Haku which means Zabuza isn't dead." Naruto's face turns blank as he continues to contemplate this turn of events.

"I will take this body and to ensure the secrets of the hidden mist village stay secret." Haku leaps down and grabs Zabuza's body then Shunshins away.

"Well I guess we won't have to see Zabuza again." Naruto says to his teammates,

"Yea if we never meet again it will be too soon." Sasuke says.

"At any rate we need to head back to Tazuna's house from there we will work on what to do." Kakashi says, and then he pulls down his head band to cover his sharingan. Then team 7 walk off thinking of the day's events. Just ask Kakashi takes his third step he collapses on the ground. "Damn no matter how many times I use the sharingan the backlash is always incredible."

"Kakashi sensei!" Hinata shouts and runs over to him activating her Byakugan while Naruto and Sasuke wait with baited breath to see if their sensei is ok. "It's fine he is just suffering from chakra exhaustion but it's nothing I can't handle."

"Alright Tazuna-san where is your home?" Sasuke asks.

"About 3 miles from here." Tazuna answers.

"Alright we'll be there in about 3 minutes." Naruto says.

"Three minutes kid, try about an hour." Tazuna stares at the kid.

"No I mean three minutes." Naruto brings his hands together in the cross seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu." Instantly 4 clones appear next to Naruto. "Alright you two grab Kakashi-sensei and you two grab Tazuna it isn't safe to stay out in the open like this."

"Yes sir!" the shadow clones respond and care out their instructions.

(Gato's hide out.)

Haku is next to Zabuza's bed pulling out her needles out of Zabuza's neck.

"Damn it Haku did you have to throw those needles in my neck?" Zabuza grumbles.

"Oh your awake I thought you would be out for atleast another day or two." Haku says smiling at her master.

"I can get the needles out." Zabuza reaches up and pulls out a bunch of the senbon out of his neck.

"Careful Zabuza-sama you shouldn't pull a bunch out a time or you could die of blood loss." Just then Gato walks in with his two samurai guards following him.

"You failed! Didn't you tell me that you would take care of it personally and the last thing that brat Tazuna would ever see was your sword?!" Gato yells at Zabuza walking forward and reaching for Zabuza's mask when Haku grabs his hand.

"How dare you try to threaten Zabuza-sama!" Haku glares at Gato

"KILL HER!" Gato yells at his guards. Haku glares at the guards unleashing killer intent. The guards faint under the strain.

"Try that again and I ensure you that they won't get back up." Haku glares.

"Fine you have one more chance to complete the job or the contracts over!" Gato walks out

"That wasn't necessary I could have handled it." Zabuza says lifting up his bed sheet to reveal a kunai.

"We can't kill Gato just yet the murders would just draw their attention." Haku says. "We have to show restraint for now."

"Fine, how long do you think I'll be out of commission?"

"A week but knowing you it will take half that time." Haku smiles.

(Tazuna's house)

"Kakashi's condition is stabilized I have been giving him round the clock Jyuken treatment to jump start his own reserves." Hinata says walking out of Kakashi's room wiping her brow.

"You alright Hinata-chan?" Naruto looks at her with concern.

"Yea I'll be ok I'm just exhausted."

"Come here Hinata-chan." Naruto holds his hand out Hinata takes and then Naruto starts channeling his chakra through it and into Hinata. Instantly Hinata's eyes perk up as she feels the chakra flowing through her.

"Thanks Naruto-kun." Hinata smiles

"You're welcome Hinata-chan." Just then Tsunami walks in with a water cloth and a pitcher of water. Kakashi opens his eyes and groans.

"I think I over used my sharingan." Kakashi thinks to himself

"Oh your awake how are you feeling?" Tsunami asks Kakashi

"I've been better. But it will be atleast a week before I can move normally." Kakashi gets up and groans.

"Then you shouldn't move at all. So lie down and relax."

"Alright." Kakashi lies back down. Just then team seven and Tazuna walks in and notice Kakashi is awake.

"So you're up Kakashi." Sasuke smiles.

"Your sharingan is powerful but if it puts that much strain on your body it's not worth it." Hinata says.

"Sorry." Kakashi says.

"Well he did take down one of the most powerful ninja assassin so we should be safe for a while." Tazuna says

"Right but that person with the mask. Just who was that?" Naruto asks.

"That person is from the elite tracking unit from the hidden mist village. Those masks are only worn by the most elite shinobi."

"What exactly do they do?" Hinata asks.

"The Anbu Black Ops also known as the inferno squad destroy all traces of a rouge ninja's corpse. The shinobi's body contains many secrets Ninjutsu chakra special medicines used on his body. These are the secrets of his village if his enemies find them his people would be in grave danger. For instance if I were to die at the hands of an enemy shinobi he would try and analyze my sharingan, worst case scenario my entire jutsu arsenal could be used against our people. It is the sacred duty of the shinobi trackers to prevent this to keep the village secrets safe. If a shinobi runs away from his village the trackers hunt him down kill him and eliminate all traces of his existence." Kakashi finishes. Just then Kakashi flinches as more backlash from his overused sharingan kicks in.

"Hey you ok sensei?" Sasuke asks.

"Huh yea, to finish what I was saying tracker ninja deal with the body right away to eliminate error."

"Is that really important?" Hinata asks

"Think about it do you remember what the tracker did with Zabuza's body?"

"We don't know what the tracker did. I mean the tracker took it away somewhere."

"Exactly but why he should have worked on Zabuza as quickly as possible. Think about the weapons the tracker used for the take down, do you remember what they were?"

"Senbon." Sasuke's eyes widen in shock

"Yes exactly senbon aren't meant to kill unless they hit vital points not the neck."

"But you said that Zabuza's heart had stopped." Hinata says

"I did say that but he was probably put into a death like state. Hunter ninja are supposed to know every aspect of the human body; stopping the heart without killing them would be child's play."

"What do you mean? We saw the Zabuza guy drop dead." Tazuna says.

"My point is Zabuza still alive." Tazuna's eyes go white with fear as does Tsunami's. Hinata looks at Naruto to gauge his reaction and in shock she sees that Naruto's eyes are gleaming at the prospect of fighting Zabuza again.

"Don't worry Kakashi sensei next time we will kick Zabuza's ass Dattebane! You'll see we won't have any problems." Naruto smiles.

"Well I for one don't believe you for a second." A voice came from behind them and team seven whips around to see a boy that has spiky black hair and dark-colored eyes. He wears a green jumpsuit with a yellow shirt and a simple pair of sandals. He also wore a blue and white striped hat under the brim of which he was looking at them.

"Inari where have you been?"

"Welcome back Grandpa!" Inari runs over and hugs Tazuna.

"Inari that is no way to talk to our guests it's because of them that your grandpa's here at all." Tsunami scolds

"It's ok I disrespect them plenty." Tazuna laughs.

"Why do you guys bother to try so hard?! No matter how hard you train, you're still no match for Gato's men! No matter what glorious claims you make or how hard you work, the weak will only end up getting killed!"

"Yea right." Naruto scoffs. "You'll find I'm not that easy to kill."

"What do you think this is all a game you know nothing of what it is to suffer! You've grown up in your safe little village you know nothing of pain!" Naruto freezes up and clenches his fists, immediately the temperature in the room plummets as Naruto's chakra reacts to Inari's words.

"I don't know suffering?" Naruto's tone turns cold.

"Oh boy." Sasuke thinks worried remembering when he said those four forbidden words in Naruto's presence.

"He just opened Pandora's box." Hinata thinks in horror

"Oh boy this won't end well." Kakashi starts sweating.

"I don't know pain? For 5 long years I lived on my own trying to scrounge up enough food to eat a decent meal once every 2 days and that was if I was lucky. I was beaten, bruised, poisoned, burned, crucified, stabbed and treated like the absolute lowest form of dirt!" Naruto roars. Inari looks shocked that anyone could survive everything Naruto mentioned. "I don't know about you but this guy Gato stands no chance against a real hero."

"There is no such thing as heroes." Inari walks toward the door.

"Inari where are you going?" Tsunami asks

"I'm going to look at the ocean." Inari says and closes the door behind him.

"What's with moody? I think he gives Sasuke a run for his money." Naruto says, Sasuke glares at his teammate but recognizes he is trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"I'm sorry about him but he was never the same after Kaiza died." Tazuna said.

"Who's that?" Hinata asks.

"He was my husband." Tsunami says.

"What happened?" Naruto asked confused.

"Well it all started three years ago when Kaiza arrived. He was a man who brought the word courage to our island."

"So what's Inari's relationship with Kaiza?" Sasuke asks

"Kaiza married Tsunami and became Inari's new father. One day the flood gates to our dam open during a torrential rain and Kaiza managed to swim against the current and close the flood gates and Inari was so proud to be his son." Tazuna starts crying. "But that all changed when Gato arrived, it took all of Gato's gang to take down Kaiza but when they finally caught him they tortured him then executed him publicly and that's when Inari shut himself off from the world and now he never smiles." Just then Naruto gets up and starts walking towards the door.

"Naruto where are you going?" Kakashi asks

"I'm going to go prove that heroes still exist!" Naruto says and walks out.

(Hokage's office 8 pm) (A/N: Big shout out to ProtoPhinbella for helping me with the following scenes and Drago is his OC.)

Sarutobi was sitting in his office finishing up his paper work for the evening and was wishing that he could just name somebody he successor and return to the days of reading Jiraiya's books and relaxing in his clan compound and playing with his grandson. Just then a man with a dragon Anbu mask walks in and bows.

"You summoned me Lord Third?" Drago asks

"Yes Drago, recent events have troubled me some more than others while the rest I surmise me as paranoid."

"Care to name some examples?"

"When I was up and about with my grandson he spotted rainbows in the sky, and as you are aware of the superstition rainbows that don't touch the ground and are a bit difficult to see, means great evil is coming." Drago nods since he is familiar with the superstition. "Then out of the Land of Rice Patties comes a rather unusual ninja village at least in the field of names." Hiruzen says

"Which is?" Drago asks

"The Hidden Sound Village."

"So the name is suggesting that this village is concealed by Sound waves" Drago Says

"Yes but frankly I haven't heard of such a jutsu that could conceal a village and due to a lack of Information I don't know what to do about them."

"Well Lord third If it is your wish we the Anbu can investigate them." Drago says dutifully.

"Thank you Drago your offer is very appreciated but that isn't why I called you here."

"Then what is it may I ask." Drago says with a slight cock of the head

"If my suspicions are accurate it in some way pertains to your disappearance some time ago and one Anko."

"Mitarashi, as in Anko Mitarashi." Drago

"That's her."

"So what are your marching orders, Lord Third?" Drago asks

"For now I'm pulling you off of the out of country mission roster I'll be in need of some Anbu aiding things on the home front what with the impending arrival of the Chunin Exams here in the Leaf Village."

"The Chunin Exams huh." Drago says

"You alright Drago?" Hiruzen asks with a raised eyebrow

"Yeah Just a wave of nostalgia Lord Third anything else Lord third, while I am still here?"

"No thank you Drago, that will be all dismissed."

"Yes, Sir." Drago says hirashins away and reappears in his house and walks over to his bed taking of his mask and lays down on his bed. Just then the statue of the Shinigami that he had in his house started glowing and appears in the room. (in a similar manor to the reaper death seal used in the anime)

"You summoned me lord Shinigami." Drago gets on one knee. Just then the other statues of Kami and Yami glow in a similar manor and Kami and Yami appear and walk next to their brother.

"Yes, I have mission in need of doing and it surrounds one Orochimaru, now i recall what happened with your encounter with him and i understand that taking on this mission will reopen old wounds, and it would be better if left untouched so if you feel reluctance to take this mission on but Kami, Yami, and I need to know exactly what's happening so any information you have would be beneficial." CJ Says

"I don't even need to leave my home to know that the Dead souls returning to the world of the living is the result of a reanimation Jutsu, have any of the souls of the Living vitals descended to near death to the point of being proverbial Sacrifices?"

"Yes from my limited knowledge those vital signs have grown faint but then a dead souls vitals have soared up but then faded."

"In that case I surmise that Orochimaru is tampering with one of the Kinjutsu of the second Hokage, the impure world Resurrection variant of the Summoning Jutsu."

That agent of yours is quite intelligent i can see why you chose him as your key set of eyes and ears on earth." Kami smiles at her brother.

"Aw shucks I'm Just being Logical." Drago says in a modest tone, and then his tone turns serious again. "But all modesty aside I have an idea that can counter the Impure World Resurrection

"How so? Like my brother i don't know much about Impure World Resurrection but in order for a soul to return to the afterlife it must feel closure and be able to let go of any earthly attachments or regrets." Yami says

"Aye, it'll take advantage of my slow aging, well implying a seal I made." Drago pulls out a seal from his flak jacket and shows CJ who sees a sealing formula which to what he can see, will sends a bioelectric energy current coupled to chakra collected into a fist. "I managed to complete it, but there's a couple problems I haven't been able to solve, one I haven't properly tested it and I can't seem to get the formula to work on any target and I need it so that I'm the only one that can use it to protect against Dojutsu's Like the Sharingan, Byakugan and especially the Rinnegan; and I'm hoping for a pinch of help with the name because the names I come up with are a mouthful"

"Well i must say as a former seal master myself those are quite impressive and some of my best techniques are mouthfuls too but i have always found pressure helps." CJ says

"So Investigate Orochimaru, and if Orochimaru is responsible and showing no Respect for the dead as one would assume, Do you want me to take him out?" Drago says while making a Throat slashing gesture with his thumb.

"Unfortunately acting directly would be both inadvisable and would end up causing more harm than good. Your orders are to find out what's going on, delay it as much as possible and most importantly get out alive!"

"Very well then, and while I'm at it I guess I'll take a page from Kushina Uzumaki's book"

"What page might that be?" Kami asks

"Pranks plus demolition equals a whole mess of fun for me." Drago says as he employs an evil laugh (A/N: Youtube search Barney's Evil Laugh if you want an idea of what it sounds like but if you have another evil laugh in your mind then by all means use that one.) as he leaves the room.

"This ought to be fun he is just as much a sadist as I was back in my glory days." CJ laughs at his servants antics. (A/N: No, Drago is not a soul reaper; which by the way I have no rights to.)