Naruto helped Zabuza after Haku removed the senbon. Apparently Kakashi wasn't on his game, since he didn't pick up the fact that Haku wasn't a Hunter within a few seconds of the boy removing the body. Naruto had stayed behind for a bit to insure they made a clean getaway.

"So what's my job? With a former ANBU nearby I can't do nearly as much as normal," said Naruto.

"You're on guard duty. I don't trust that midget as far as I can tolerate his presence."

"Can I at least scout the genin to get a better idea of how far along they are?" whined Naruto.

"Sure. Just don't blow your cover. Remember, they are from Konoha and they can tell you don't belong if you wear the headband."

"Yeah yeah. Hey wait, that means I can wear my favorite outfit!"

"Go for it. If they get a headache from seeing that damn outfit of yours, then it's their problem," said Zabuza.

Naruto walked around in his orange yakuta which he had gotten behind Haku's back (Haku made it a point to torch Naruto's orange outfits since it gave him migraines from looking at it too long) wearing a henge to hide a few features...like his whiskers.

Now he looked like a ten year old waif with missing teeth and a few battle scars. His hair had been henged to a sedate brown and his whiskers were so thin they were nonexistent. He also had his sword on him, because he never left the base without it. Combined with the threadbare sandals and he looked like a resident of Wave. Albeit one with a rather old sword that looked like it was about to fall apart, but still!

Naruto had transformation done to an art. And Zabuza had gotten wasted far too many times trying to figure out how the hell he landed two apprentices who could pass as females, bitchy females at that, so successfully that lesbians hit on them in the brothels and bars.

Naruto passed by Kakashi and did something that would have the man panicking, since he was a good foot from him.

He stole the man's copy of Icha Icha that he had on hand. It was his little revenge for the fact he beat Zabuza.

He heard Kakashi's yell of anger from three blocks away and in a store with some samurai wannabes.

They took one look at the sword on his back and left him alone. All the samurai knew he was one of the apprentices of the Demon of the Mist.

He had already killed ten of them when Gato first hired his master just to prove that he wasn't afraid to do it.

The fact that the ten he killed had a tendency to rape young children never made it into the stories unless the people knew those he cut down personally.

Naruto bought some ink, some extra seeds (he had a hobby of gardening, and often grew the medical plants Haku used) and some new brushes. He would have to pick up sealing paper from the bounty office later. They always stocked supplies that the Hunter nin didn't feel like carrying from their kills. More than once Naruto had made a quick ryo selling the items one of his targets had on hand.

Missing nin had to get their supply of kunai somewhere, and Zabuza got his from the bounty offices...through Naruto and Haku of course.

Naruto was out of the store and passing Kakashi under a new henge (covering his distinctive orange yakuta and sword) and was past the Copy Ninja before the man figured out that it was a transformation.

None of the samurai were willing to enlighten him, seeing as they got a good laugh at the man attempting to find the book thief. Even more so when they learned it was the man's prized porn, which even samurai wannabes like them knew was nearly impossible to steal off of Kakashi. It was even a note in the BINGO book entry for him.

'You have got to be kidding me. At least now I know why they sucked so much. Thank you Hikari no Kami for taking me away from this...substandard...education!' thought Naruto.

Why did he say this you ask? Two of the three genin Kakashi had were just now starting tree walking...and they sucked at it. The pink haired one was able to get to the top, but her reserves and skills were so pathetic it was an insult to shinobi everywhere.

The duck butt was even worse. He couldn't grasp such a simple concept and he was too proud to even consider asking for help. He kept overloading his chakra and blasting off the tree. The marks were just sad.

The third one was the only redeemable shinobi of the group. He at least could water walk and he didn't have a kunai lodged up his ass. He was quiet and spent his time constructively by reading what appeared to be a technique scroll.

If the other two were the best and brightest of the Konoha Academy, then Zabuza clearly wasn't overstating the fact that most tree huggers (nickname for Konoha nin) were weak.

He could kill these brats in their sleep, and they didn't look like they were worth his time at all.

"How did it go?"

"I take back any complaints about your methods and I will never ask you to tone down your idea of training again."

"That bad?"

"They couldn't even walk up trees! The only real shinobi of the group was the pasty drone! Hell the pink one could barely walk to the top without needing to take a break!"

Zabuza winced.

"So we have a fan girl, a zombie and an avenger. How the fuck did I get beaten by them?"

"Kakashi caught you off guard with his doujutsu," Naruto deadpanned.

"Are you sure you want to go back to the tree huggers?" complained Zabuza.

He knew the kid missed Konoha, and he was getting tired of dodging the Hunter nins after his ass. Hell, half the time they only went away because Naruto played a very convincing ANBU!

"But I do have something you can hang over the Copy idiot."

"What?"

"His porn. Walked right past him and nicked it before he had any clue, and then changed my henge three blocks away."

Zabuza howled. There was no other word for it. He loved it when the fox brat pulled one over others!

(Yes, he figured out the kid had the Kyuubi years ago. It just meant he could train him harder.)

Kakashi was irritable for three days straight. While he did have an extra Icha Icha on him since he expected to finish the other one within a day or two, he still couldn't believe someone stole his precious porn!

His genin noted it, but said nothing. A pity, since he could claim he was training them if they spoke about why he was so cranky.

It had been nearly a week since Zabuza was taken out by Kakashi. Haku was out getting herbs when he ran into Sasuke. Apparently the idiot had been training so hard he forgot to take a break and collapsed.

He debated on whether to wake the kid or kill him. Instead he got his plants and moved on. The kid had this aura about him that just screamed 'Revenge will be MINE!'.

She just barely missed Sakura coming to check on the avenger.

Zabuza was twitchy. Gato had been acting slightly odd the closer he came to killing the bridge builder, and he didn't like it. Naruto suspected the fool aimed to stab them in the back.

If the money wasn't so good he would have had the kid kill the little bastard where he stood. Sadly Naruto wasn't sent on an assassination run since nothing screamed betrayal.

That didn't mean the kid hadn't already broken into the base and stolen all the papers as a safety measure anyway. If Gato did betray them and one of the three got away, all of his crimes would be sent to all the major villages before the week was out. If that didn't get a kill order on the midget, nothing would.

And Naruto was a master of the payback.

He was also on the underside of the bridge waiting for Zabuza to call on him. No true shinobi reveals his trump card unless he had to. And Kakashi would recognize he was a fake faster than he liked.

Hence why he was hiding.

"Zabuza...so I was right to assume you were still alive."

"Kakashi. How good of you to join us," smirked the swordsman. In his hand was...Kakashi's porn.

The silver haired nin twitched. He recognized his scent on the book, and what it meant. He really needed to start training seriously again, if some kid could swipe his porn and get away with it.

Zabuza was definitely amused by the irritation Kakashi was displaying so openly.

Kakashi looked at the boy beside the man. While he had a similar hair color, the scent was all wrong.

"Where's your third?" he asked.

The genin behind him were already tense. Finding out that Zabuza had more than one accomplice only made it worse.

"He'll come when I call him."

Zabuza started the battle, sending some water clones to surround the kids. The pale zombie one tensed, but Kakashi sent the duck butt out first. The missing nin was decidedly unimpressed.

Duck butt went after Haku while the pale one and the pink harpy protected the bridge builder. Naruto came up from behind and knocked out the pink bint.

The drone didn't even blink. He was about to attack when Naruto held up a hand.

"Please, I only knocked her out to shut her up. I want to see how this plays out before I bother to do anything."

Sai privately agreed, but stayed on guard while Sasuke got his ass handed to him by the ice user. Before Haku could make the kid into a modern piece of art, Naruto yelled at him.

"Ice boy! Knock his ass out already!"

Haku paused, before putting the avenger into a near death state.

Suddenly the mist came undone, and Naruto saw the position his master was in. He stopped the Copy Nin's attack with one of his own.

"GALE PALM!"

The jutsu unleashed a massive gust of wind, nearly knocking over Kakashi in the process. Zabuza was weighed down by all the dogs on him.

"So that's your third partner. Where did you get the ANBU gear?" he demanded. He recognized it in a heartbeat.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch tree hugger. The kid didn't kill any of your precious ANBU to get it," said Zabuza bored.

He heard clapping, and barely turned to see Gato on the unfinished end of the bridge with a large group of mercenaries. Zabuza growled, while Haku and Naruto quickly went to their master.

"Well look what we have here? Zabuza almost beaten by a bunch of brats!" sneered Gato.

"Gato...so the brat was right. You are going to betray me. Which means I have no reason to keep you alive or bother the bridge builder."

"Zabuza-sensei, can I?" asked Naruto eagerly.

"Go nuts fox boy."

Naruto gleefully drew his sword, and Kakashi stared as it expanded far beyond what the sheathe was physical capable of, even with seals. It had some sort of fur on the hilt and the entire thing looked like a fang of some kind.

"Hey old man, hope you don't try to make me pay for the damages to the bridge," Naruto called out to Tazuna.

"Kill the midget and I'll consider you even!" Tazuna said back.

Naruto raised his sword and cried "WIND SCAR!"

A massive gale blasted from the sword, whipping around like a hurricane. The mercenaries and the tyrant didn't stand a chance...and neither did that end of the bridge. A good sized chunk of the bridge, which didn't have any supports, fell off along with the large group of bodies. They were dead beyond recognition and pieces would be floating to the surface for months.

Seeing the kid who unleashed such devastation wasn't even phased by the amount of destruction, what little remained of the samurai fled.

Kakashi was staring at the sword however.

"Is that...?"

"Tetsusaiga, the Fang of Earth. He's my favorite partner," said Naruto fondly. Then he noticed the dogs giving him odd looks.

"What's up with you small and furry?"

Pakkun, the small pug on Zabuza's groin, spoke what the rest were thinking.

"You do realize that even having that Fang means that canines everywhere will listen to your orders, right?"

"Nope. The only animal on our team is Haku's rabbit."

"Whatever. Just don't be surprised if the Inuzuka hounds refuse to come near you with their attacks."

"Does that also qualify for Tensaiga?"

"Yup."

"Goody! Haku and I are immune from the Inuzuka clan!" said Naruto giddy.

Naruto was giving the bridge builder's grandson a reality check for the old man, and Haku was attempting to keep Zabuza in the land of the sober. He wasn't successful.

"So tell me kid, why are you wearing a Konoha Hunter uniform when you travel with a former Mist nin?" asked Kakashi, curious.

"Bah, Ero-sannin said if I insisted on pretending to be a Hunter, then I was going to wear Konoha's symbol. Something about not losing my heritage," said Naruto. He had his mask (his facial mask, not the fox one) on and to Kakashi's amusement he knew the trick of eating and drinking without taking it off.

"Oh?"

"I'm originally from Konoha, but someone named Hikari took me away. Frankly seeing the state of your genin I can't thank her enough! At least Zabuza-sensei puts me through a real work out!"

Kakashi winced, but quite agreed with that statement. The Academy system was so watered down it wasn't even funny. The mere fact Sakura, who was a obvious fan girl, even made it into the ranks was insulting enough.

"Who's Ero-sannin?" asked Sai. He was the only one listening to the conversation.

Zabuza, who had come over, was the one to say it.

"He means the Toad Sage. Guy nearly blew a fuse when he learned the kid was my apprentice," said Zabuza, who had a good buzz going.

"Why would Jiraiya of the Sannin care if a single kid became your apprentice?" asked Sai.

Naruto grinned. He handed Haku his camera and took off his facial mask. The second Kakashi saw those familiar whisker marks, he put two and two together and fainted from shock.

His sensei's son, the container for the Nine-Tailed Fox and heir to the Uzumaki clan...was apprenticed to a Kiri nin. No wonder Jiraiya nearly had a fit.

Naruto went off to get some sake while laughing the entire time.

It was a hung over Naruto who found the pug. Apparently Kakashi wanted him to return to Konoha, with or without his consent. Pakkun felt obliged to inform the blond of that fact since he wielded the Fang of the Earth.

When asked why by the only person who hadn't drunk copious amounts of sake or booze the night before (Haku) Pakkun told them the origin of the Fangs...and why dogs and wolves would at least listen to their requests.

"The Fang of Heaven and Earth are the last remnants of the Great Inu Youkai, who is the origin of all the summons who have canine blood in them. Hell, he's the reason most of us can talk. As a result, anyone who is permitted to wield them whether in war or in peace can speak to dogs and wolves and get them to listen to their requests. Even Inuzuka hounds, who are bonded with their humans, will listen to you."

"Huh...explain why they were called Fangs... Haku, hang over remedy now!" said Zabuza, trying not to groan.

"Indeed...either get us something for this hangover or for Kami's sake kill the sun and those damn birds!"

"One, I am not your servant. Two, you both deserve it for the amount of alcohol you drank last night. And Three, I am not about to kill those birds."

"This is why I fucking hate morning people," cried Naruto.

Pakkun joined Haku in mocking laughter while he ate something that had both of them heading to the porcelain gods of hangovers. Seeing their faces only made the ice user and the pug laugh harder.