Chapter 21: Operation Liberation Begins!
(The Next Morning)
When Anko had finally managed to get a hold of Kakashi, the man lasting longer than they thought he would given his state, Anko had let the man have it. What the words were exactly the Genin didn't know but guessed it hadn't been pleasant. The amount of slapping she gave him hadn't been pleasant either. When the man was taken back to bed, despite her wanting to leave his tired ass in the woods, Anko had set up the sleeping arrangements. As this was officially Team Seven's mission they would be the ones sleeping in the house. Team Eight had their own mission coinciding with theirs and would be roughing it outside in sleeping bags and a tent. Ino would have complained as they had a comfortable house available to sleep in but her time with Anko made her know better. Anko hated when someone began to bitch and moan over something she would consider trivial.
"So, how'd everyone sleep?" a perky Anko asked the two teams. The woman had half expected moans or groans from her team considering this was only their second time sleeping outdoors. Anko was used to it, and didn't notice the discomfort anymore. Her Genin weren't but guessed the Gamer's ability took away such discomfort.
"So much for making fun," Anko slumped a bit but perked right back up.
"Was fine, but Ino snores," Naruto informed the group. The blond took a piece of toast as well as what little rice there was to munch on.
"I do not!" the kunoichi glared at her fellow blond.
"We slept in the same tent, Ino, and I know snoring when I hear it," Naruto countered.
"Arf!" Hottomaru agreed with his partner. The young ninken had been in the same tent and had not cared for the blonde's snoring either.
"I don't snore!" the girl stated more forcefully, "And you're one to talk! You speak in your sleep!"
"What?"
"You heard me! For an entire hour all I could hear was you mumbling about ramen and your ramen girls!" by now Ino was flushed red. Whether it was because of how embarrassing it had been or because she was angry no one knew.
"Wait, you two slept in the same tent?!" Kiba asked. A look of utter disbelief on his face while his kunoichi teammate was just as shocked. Though he looked indifferent, even Sasuke was mildly surprised by the revelation.
"Is that normal?" Tazuna asked the leader of Team Seven. As this was his first time actually dealing with ninja the man didn't how they worked exactly. What was odd for him could be common for someone in their line of work.
"For Genin not so much. But it's not uncommon either. It's basically to get them used to this kind of thing when they get older. Ninja sometimes have to get physically close to a target at times and this helps ease them into it," Kakashi explained to the client.
"Oh, that reminds me. You're sleeping with Pale Eyes tonight, Gaki," Anko smirked at the blond. The reactions varied from each individual. Hinata, Sakura, and Tsunami blushed, the Hyuga nearing supernova, while Kiba and Tazuna, and Naruto to a small extent, had a perverted look on their faces. The only ones who looked indifferent were Sasuke and Kakashi, though the latter was more focused on his book than anything. Even then a small smirk was hidden behind the book cover.
"So what do we do now?" Kiba asked. "We brought the old man to Nami that's mission accomplished … right?"
"Wrong," Anko and Kakashi answered simultaneously. "Your mission is to stay here and bodyguard Tazuna until the bridge is complete. I'm no expert but from what I saw it's gonna take a while. Plus Zabuza's still out there and if the info the Bingo Book has on him is accurate then I doubt you'll be seeing the last of him."
Tazuna paled considerably as he heard this. The team had barely managed to escape from the man with their lives. Had it not been for Team Seven's timely arrival then Tazuna hated to think what could have happened.
"It's a good thing we have another team then, huh?" Tazuna chuckled, "In the end this whole thing worked out better."
WHAM!
The bridge builder had no time to react as he felt the fist impact with his face and send him sprawling across the room. Before he could even right himself the man was lifted into the air by an angry kunoichi, "Let's get one thing straight, old man, you lied to Konoha and as a result you nearly got a team killed in the process. Technically speaking the contract between Nami and Konoha is null and void because of that stunt. Believe it or not we actually have the right to hull your ass back and have you imprisoned. Or did you not know that when you signed the paperwork!" she snarled at the paling man. A worried Tsunami looked ready to step in and defend her father but was stopped by Kakashi. Even while weakened the man's look was enough to stop her from interfering.
Truthfully Tazuna hadn't really gone over the contract or the fine print of it all. All the man had cared about was getting a team to Nami and help them as quickly as possible. Though he hadn't expected getting a bunch of kids the man took what he could get. The sooner they got back and the sooner the bridge was completed the better.
"You don't understand-" the elderly man began but a look from Anko told him to wisely keep his mouth shut.
"No, I understand, old man," Anko snarled and was about to continue but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"That's enough, Anko. I think he gets it," the man gave her a look. Though still angry, both at Kakashi and Tazuna, Anko unceremoniously dropped the bridge builder. Sighing at the act, but making no move to pick him up, Kakashi give Tazuna a pointed look, "Anko's right, though, Tazuna. Despite the fact we decided to continue with this mission you still lied to us and put my Genin in danger. We got lucky that none of them were killed when Zabuza showed up. Chances are it probably would have happened had Team Eight not showed up. Had I even the slightest idea that Zabuza was going to be involved there's no way I would have continued. A friend of mine once said those who those break the rules are trash, but those who betray others are worst than trash. In this case, you'd be considered worse than trash, Tazuna," Kakashi told the elderly man.
The members of Team Seven stayed silent as this was occurring. What Kakashi had said was a paraphrased version of the original. But Tazuna didn't need to know that, "Anyway, I know why you did it but don't assume this ended up for the better."
"W… What do you mean?" Tazuna asked.
"We'll start with number one. This is clearly an A-Rank mission and ninja don't work for charity. A C-Rank pay barely covers what it's gonna cost you in the end. You're gonna have to come up with what you owe use when it's over," the look she gave him left no room to argue. "Though seeing as how Gato's basically taken everything you get we're willing to work something out," she added and Tazuna was grateful.
"Next is that we have six Genin here and any one of them can be killed or taken hostage before they even realize it. That's Zabuza's speciality and the bastard can easily use it as leverage against us. The only upside is that Midori managed to poison him. Her poison is nasty as hell. He didn't get a full dose but chances of him dying are still great. But on the off chance he survives it'll take him a while to recover. At most we have six to eight days before he's back on his feet.
"Why didn't the snake finish him off? Could have saved us the trouble," Kiba grumbled before he was bonked on the head, "Ow!"
"Because, Mutt, she can't stay in that form for too long and it takes a lot out of her. There's also the fact that we didn't know who else was out there so we needed her close by. We heard about the Demon Brothers and I doubt they're the only ones working for him," Anko explained and the declaration made Sakura, Tsunami and Tazuna pale while Ino and Hinata were worried. Though none of them showed it, all three male Genin were just as concerned too.
"Well, we don't have to worry about Gozu and Meizu at least," Kakashi's informed the group. Anko however was the only one who knew that it was meant to put them at ease. With the information she told the veteran ninja suspected that perhaps it wasn't the case. However, Kakashi thought it was best to lie than for them to worry for the time being. "In the meantime we're going to have to train you all so you're prepared."
"Speak for yourself, Hatake. My team's already been on six C-Rank missions dealing with chakra mutations so they have combat experience," she informed the now surprised man and stunned Team Seven.
"They've been on six C-Rank missions already?" Sasuke fumed at the knowledge. His team had only been on one, this one, and technically he knew it was now a B or A-Rank mission. It would test his skills but but Team Eight's as well. At this right he wasn't going to be anywhere near to achieving his goals.
"Bullshit!" Kiba shouted, "No way you guys have done six C-Rank missions already!" he would have believed one or two but six was too much. "What makes you guys more special?"
"Well, the fact we actually accomplished the amount of D-Rank missions needed to qualify for a C-Rank," Ino began, "Plus our first C-Rank kinda turned into a B-Rank one and Hokage-sama was impressed with how we handled it. Ever since he would give us the odd C-Rank mission that required dealing with chakra mutations."
"Chakra mutations?" Tsunami asked as she heard the name once more.
"Creatures that have been changed in some way or another," surprisingly it was Kiba who answered, "What? My clan's had a history dealing with em since the Warring States," he elaborated.
From her relationship with Kiba's mother Anko knew he spoke truthfully on the matter. "That aside, we qualified and did a good job on our first C-Rank. So we got the green light to do more. How many missions have you guys done?"
Three of the members of Team Seven looked abashed, while the other merely frowned and looked away. The other was engrossed in his book, "Well? How many?"
"…" Sakura mumbled.
"Speak up, Billboard-Brow," Ino told her rival. The pinkette glaring at the blonde before she answered, "Fifteen."
"…. Are you fucking kidding me," Anko's faced shadowed over and her Genin knew to take cover. "Fifteen missions is all you guys took in two and a half months?!" by now the woman's temper was showing and Sakura looked frightened. Kiba and Akamaru were both hiding behind a chair while Sasuke felt like doing the same thing.
"Hatake a word, now!" the woman wasn't asking and she proceeded to drag the man up the stairs and entered a room and closed the door with a resounding slam.
"… You guys are probably not gonna see him again," Naruto informed them. "Anko hates slacking," all four members of the veteran kunoichi's team shuddered lightly.
(Sometime Later)
"Okay, this seems like a good a spot as any," Anko halted the group. Surrounding them were many large trees that were needed for what she had planned. The area wasn't too far away from Tazuna's home or the bridge either on the off chance they needed to rush to his aid. As a precaution the woman had left Hinata, Ino, and Hottomaru with the man. "Alright, seeing as how Kakashi's out of commission for the time being I guess I'll be in charge of you brats," the look she gave them made the members of Team Seven worry. Kiba and Akamaru more so due to their firsthand experience with the eccentric Jounin. "And seeing as how you weren't taught all that much we've got no choice but to begin with the basics. To start, I'm gonna be having you three climb trees."
"Climb trees," Sakura deadpanned, "How the hell is climbing trees gonna help us, Sha!"
"Yes, climb trees … using only your feet," she finished and proceeded to demonstrate the act by casually walking up a large erect trunk of wood. The woman did this for less than a minute before she finally stopped near the very top. "And that's how it's done. You gotta concentrate just the right amount of chakra to the soles of your feet to make yourself stick. Too much and you're blown off, too little and you'll fall on your ass. Use these to mark your progress," the woman concluded by throwing each of them a kunai. "Hop to it! I wanna see you at least make it twenty feet before the day's over."
One by one the Genin of Team Seven grabbed a kunai and picked their respected tree. Naruto watched how Kiba, ever eager, proceeded by running towards his target. Naruto had half expected the boy to make it one step before he was pushed off but was slightly surprised that the Inuzuka managed to make it a get seven steps before he was forced down. Naruto guessed that since he came from a ninja clan he would be more knowledgeable on such things. Sasuke himself had made a decent eight steps before he was forced off his own tree.
"This is easy!" a voice from high up called out and all three males looked up to see Sakura at the outmost top branch of the tree. Kiba groaned, as he knew she'd hold this over him and Sakura merely frowned.
Anko however merely assessed the situation. Earlier she had Naruto use his Observe on the group and had not been impressed. Akamaru was at level 12, Sakura's level was a mere 14, Kiba's was 17 and Sasuke was level 20. Sasuke's level was decent in her mind but even then it had only been a recent level up. For each of them they had a particular attribute that was higher than the rest.
For Kiba it was his DEX and to a certain extent his STR as well. Which made sense given his clan's lineage. For Sasuke it was his DEX, WIS, and INT. Given the Uchiha clan's history for being placed second in the top ten strongest clans in the world and the way he pushed himself it was no surprise really.
For Sakura her most outstanding attribute was her WIS, which was more or less equal to Naruto's at the moment. If she were Sasuke's level Anko knew her WIS would be much greater than Hinata's by at least 40 points. Plus her titles and perks granted her a great boost in chakra control. Unfortunately, it was all she had going for her at the moment.
"Don't celebrate just yet, Pinky," Sakura scowled at the nickname but otherwise stayed silent. "So you think just because you got up there first means you're better than those two?" she asked.
"Uh… Ah," Sakura was not expecting the question and stumbled on her words.
"Alright, then. That tree's more or less thirty to forty feet high. I want you to run up and down that thing fifty times in both directions," she smirked.
"Uh, alright," Sakura honestly thought it would have been a lot worse really given how Ino spoke about her the other day. "This will be easy," the kunoichi thought and proceeded to do exactly what Anko told her while her teammates got back to work.
But about less than thirty minutes later, and only being on her twenty ninth climb up, an exhausted Sakura was now drenched in sweat. The girl wasn't even halfway up the tree and every time she moved her legs she felt them burn and ache in protest. The girl only managed to make it up another seven feet before she was forced to rest on a nearby branch. Kiba and Sasuke however were still going strong as they continued to make progress little by little.
"So you get it now?" a voice behind her startled her from the unexpectedness of it all. "Your chakra control is very impressive for someone your age. You'd make a damn good medic or genjutsu mistress," Sakura blushed at the praise.
"But you suck at everything else," the comment immediately made the blush disappear. "Chakra control will only get you so far. What you did was barely half a kilometer. You're not much help to your team if you don't have any stamina, speed or any defining skill to back you up. Truthfully, you're lucky not to be dead at the moment, Sakura. As your are, you're nothing more than dead weight," Anko's chastising was harsh, but truthful. The frown she had forced a near tear stricken Sakura to look away. The look she received was almost like those she had sometimes received from her parents. It was a look of pure, unadulterated, utter disappointment.
"Catch your breath and then get back to work. Every time you fail to accomplish the task you're to start over from square one. By the end of the week I'd better see it done," was the woman's simple but sharp order. Sakura wanted to protest but could only nod. However, by then Anko was long gone and far away from the girl.
Sakura had potential with her chakra control but at the moment Anko was disgusted. The girl had no right to call herself a kunoichi. Part of it was Kakashi's fault as well but Sakura could have done her own form of training. Her conversation with the man revealed why he was late, sorta. Ninja needed to be independent and learn how to teach themselves rather than rely solely on a master. Something Kakashi was trying to teach them but none were getting it. If Sakura didn't show any decent improvement before Anko's team left the woman would have no choice but to confront the Hokage about this. The most likely scenario would be having her replaced with another ninja from the reserves. Should that happen Sakura would be temporarily stripped of her Genin rank until she shaped up. A girl like her was more of a liability than an asset for her team. At best she'd be killed or crippled. At worst others would kidnap her and use her for their own self-pleasure. It happened to others in the past, both dedicated and lacking kunoichi. It was the same thing she told her two kunoichi if they didn't shape up or take it seriously. Kunoichi had it much worst than male ninja merely because they were born with different genders.
"This is bullshit," she heard Kiba curse. The hooded Genin was covered in dirt and Anko knew he had fallen. Judging from the marks he was making progress but not as good compared to Sasuke. Anko knew young Inuzuka males weren't known for their patience or level headedness, especially when they viewed others as competition, "Hey! How the hell's this gonna help us anyway?"
"Oh, uber dumbass move Kiba," though the Inuzuka knew better than to mouth off at Anko, the boy's frustration had unfortunately gotten the best of him. And Naruto had had no doubt was he was about to pay for it.
"First off," the woman suddenly appeared before him and slammed the Inuzuka into a tree. The action forcing the air from his lungs, making his teammates look towards him, and causing Akamaru to be torn between wanting to help his partner and cower before the obviously superior ninja, "Don't think for what second you have the right to talk to me that way, Genin," she harshly hissed, making Kiba feel fear. Soon a foreign and highly unpleasant feeling was washing over him as she held him. It was as if he was currently facing the Shinigami itself and Kiba had nowhere to run or hide. The feeling soon left just as quickly and Kiba realized that it had been the same feeling he felt when they were confronted with Zabuza. Apparently he wasn't the only one affect as the Inuzuka noticed that Sasuke was shaking slightly. The fact he held his kunai a lot more tightly, his hands now white, was even more proof.
"Secondly, this exercise is to help you better control your chakra. Do that and you'll not only need to use less chakra in your techniques but you'll struggle less when drawing out your chakra for techniques as well," she explained before looking to Sasuke, "You got anything to ask?"
The Uchiha looked like he wanted to say something but merely shook his head, "Spill it, Uchiha, I don't have all day."
Not wanting to anger the woman like his idiot teammate, Sasuke complied, "How come the Dobe's not doing this?"
"Oi!" Naruto took offence to the insult. "I ain't the Dead Last anymore, Teme!" Naruto scowled.
"You'll always be a dobe in my books, Dobe," Sasuke smirked at the blond ninja.
As Naruto took a step forward, Anko interviewed, "The Dobe as you call him already mastered an even more complicated form of chakra control along with the rest of my team," Anko said, causing Sasuke's smirk to leave his face. "Besides, making fun of him is my job."
"Love you too, sensei. Love you to," Naruto merely chalked it up as another reason to prank her ass hard. The boy had been formulating one for months since the geisha one and slowly things were coming together. But the prank formulating in his head was the last thing on his mind when the woman whirled around, hunched over, and whispered something into Naruto's ear. When she righted herself the blond's face began to form into a broad grin that threatened to split his head in two. "Ok, maybe I'll bring it down a notch or two … Maybe."
The blond proceeded towards a nearby tree and decided to show his stuff, "Ninpo: Kongoriki (Ninja Art: Adamantine Strength)," he whispered and felt a surge of powerful strength course through him. When he was in position the boy then proceeded to take out his kanabo, a weapon that Sasuke scoffed at because of its barbaric nature. Naruto merely ignored him before he readied himself. The kanabo being positioned behind his head while an aura of blue covering it as a result of the Chakra Flow being used.
"Saigasho (Crushing Fang Impact)!" Naruto declared and then unleashed his technique with all his might.
What happened would forever being ingrained in the minds of Team Seven's Genin and ninken. The moment the kanabo struck home did the wood crack and buckle under the incredible pressure of the blow. Nami no Kuni's trees, while decent in size, were nothing compared to the might oaks that surrounded Konoha's. Had he tried this stunt on such trees it would not have worked on the first, second, or even third go. Even then however the act of bringing them down was slightly challenging for an experienced arborist or carpenter seeking wood for their craft.
Naruto managed to fell his with a single blow of his weapon. The large tree groaned and swayed before it finally came crashing down with a thunderous thud. The fall briefly shook the earth and sent nearby wildlife running. To a seasoned ninja like Anko the act was somewhat mildly impressive. Being able to take down trees wasn't that grand a feat in her mind. Being able to do it with pure muscle strength and in one blow while you were still only twelve was another matter all together.
The blond ninja let off a whistle as he watched his handy work and then turned to the members of Team Seven. Every single one of them was floored. Sakura looked as if she was about to fall out of the tree by how shocked she was while Kiba's jaw was on the ground. Sasuke was visibly shaken and looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't really get himself to complete a coherent sentence, "Still think he's a dobe now, Uchiha?" Anko asked but didn't get an answer. "And FYI this is nothing compared to what others can do," the information only served to further shock the Genin of Team Seven.
"Now back to work, maggots!" she barked out and all three of them continued on with their exercise as best they could. But one thought simultaneously echoed in each of their minds, "How the hell did he do that?" It also made them wonder just how strong the other members of Team Eight were. Were they just as strong or did they know something else. Either way they had a lot of catching up to do.
With her work done, Anko left Team Seven under the watchful gaze of Midori as she and Naruto headed towards the bridge. The woman and her team had their own mission to accomplish after all. Helping Team Seven was part of it but Anko wasn't here to babysit another team. Get them on track and get their asses in gear was one thing, replacing Kakashi as a teacher was another. She had no intention of doing that, but with their current situation the woman knew she'd have no choice for the time being.
(Elsewhere)
Hidden within the many woods of Nami no Kuni, four ninja shared a large room that had been given by their employer. Scattered throughout the room were various scrolls, herbs and other personal items that belonged to the four ninja. However, some of them had seen better days.
Gozu and Meizu, better known as the Demon Brothers in the Bingo Books, had various bandages wrapped around them. To say the beating Kakashi had given was unpleasant wouldn't do it justice. Even now the act of moving still made them wince. Both Chunin level nuke nins' injuries paled in comparison to their leader's.
Zabuza, the Demon of the Bloody Mist, was resting soundly on a bed. By his side was his ward and ever-faithful companion and tool, Haku. Both Meizu and Gozu weren't the smartest of ninja; if they were then they would not have sustained their current injuries. But both ninja knew that despite otherwise claiming not to feel much for his ward, viewing the gifted ninja of the once famed Yuki Clan as merely a stepping-stone, the man did in fact care. However, life had not been kind to Zabuza and expressing anything other than negative emotions wasn't easy for the man.
The Demon didn't take betrayal too kindly either. Having it occurred to him too many times in his life, Zabuza rarely gave his trust to others or opened up to others. Seeing Haku as merely a tool that would never stab him in the back than a person with questionable loyalties was most likely the man's way of coping.
"Well, isn't this a fine mess," a voice called out and all conscious ninja scowled as a short professional looking man with dark spectacle walked into the room. By his right and left sides were two swordsmen. One was shirtless and sporting an eyepatch while the other was wearing a tuque and had markings under his eyes.
"I send you to deal with one simple old bridge builder and you have the nerve to come back here empty handed. Some Demon," the man chuckled while Meizu, Gozu and Haku scowled. Though far from fully healed Gozu and Meizu were still plenty strong enough to deal with Gato and his guards with minor difficulties. Haku they knew could end all three before they had time to even blink.
As their movements became transparently hostile, Gozu and Meizu prepared themselves to make a pre-emptive strike but a look from Haku told them to stand down. Though reluctant, as the two were itching to cut them man and his bodyguards down, they obliged to the silent command.
As Gato moved to grab at their leader, Haku's hand suddenly grasped the man's own and squeezed. The feminine ninja put enough pressure to cause pain, and mostly likely severe bruising and discomfort, but not enough to brake or crack the bones. Seeing their employer in trouble, Zori and Waraji moved to defend him but found themselves defenceless as their own swords were poised at their throats. Behind them the Demon Brothers looked ready to skewer the two Ronin with their wicked clawed gauntlets.
"Monsters," the two Ronin were caught off guard by the sheer speed of all three. Beads of sweat began to form on all of their heads as they eyed the individuals that could easily end their lives with little to no effort.
"I wouldn't get any ideas, Gato," said man's eyes landed on Zabuza's form. The man's previously closed eyes were now wide-awake and Gato gulped as he eyed the ninja. "It could end being hazardous to your health."
The man proved his point as a kunai suddenly appeared beneath Gato's throat. It took the businessman two full seconds as his mind processed what just happened. By then Gato was sweating even more and was also visibly shaking as he realized an inescapable truth.
The man before him was weak, but even then he still had enough strength to kill him before it was too late. Gato was an arrogant man and not very well versed when it came to ninja but the man was intelligent. One didn't become a billionaire of an international company and have various connections and dealing in the underworld without it.
"Now that I've got your attention; let's talk about our deal," the bedridden man's tone left no room for argument.
Gato scowled but knew how to play the game. It was the reason why his actions in Nami managed to elude the eyes and ears of the rest of the world. But things were starting to change against his favour. For now he had to play it smart. One false move and no amount of money in the world would save him. Begrudgingly the man asked, "What do you want?"
Zabuza smirked and it only served to further anger the small man, "This mission just got more complicated. We were asked to deal with only one team. Now we have two to deal with and one of them can summon a giant fucking snake," he explained and the man noticed Gato's face began to pale.
While Gato wasn't well versed in the ninja world he often heard about stories about them from his contacts in the underworld. Gato didn't know what a summon was exactly but the words giant snake rang a bell in his mind and gave the man pause. Gato had heard tales of a powerful, and twisted ninja that was infamously known for his use of serpents. In the underworld, information was power. But any further information he wished to know about the individual, no matter the amount of money, had been all for not.
This meant two possible things. The contacts didn't know enough on the individual to tell him, which was highly doubtful. Or this person was so powerful and feared that no amount of greasing ones palms would get them to talk. The exact words by one of his best had been, "I'd rather die by your hands than by his." Needless to say Gato had wisely backed off. It was obvious the man's was very powerful if he could instil such a large amount of fear into the hearts of others.
"So here's the deal; you're gonna double the amount you owe us. It's either that or we walk and talk," Zabuza smirked and Gato was torn between fear and anger. Fear for his operations reaching others, thus ruining his empire, and anger for being blackmailed.
"Fine, double it is," he agreed much to his bodyguards' shock. "But no more failures! I want this done and over with quickly. The last thing I need is word getting out," he said and proceeded to leave the room.
"Gato-sama, are you sure about this? Zabuza and the Demon Brothers failed once against a single team, with two teams," Zori began but was stopped by the man's raised hand.
"I know," Gato growled in frustration. The only reason he agreed to double Zabuza's pay was because Gato knew he was at the man's mercy. If he said no the man would have either killed him or gone blabbing to others about his dealings. There were plenty of individuals more powerful than Gato who would be very interested in using the information for their benefit. Individuals Gato wished to keep his distance from.
"So what now then?" it was now Waraji's turn to ask. Much like Gato, Waraji was arrogant but even he had to begrudgingly acknowledge Zabuza's superiority. Like many from a samurai upbringing the man cared little for ninja and thought many of their swordsmen to be poor excuses; especially the Seven Swordsmen of Kiri. The man attributed this as he viewed their fighting having little to do with actual swordsmanship. Some of the so-called "swords" they possessed weren't even swords.
"For now we play smart," was all Gato said. The man couldn't afford another failure and would have to get in contact with others to see how to deal with this mess and Zabuza himself. This meant that Gato would have to look into finding someone even more powerful then the swordsman himself. Which wasn't going to be easy, or cheap.
While Gato was figuring out how to deal with this, Zabuza's group were having their own little discussion. "You should have let us deal with it, Zabuza-sama," Haku said.
"I actually thought you should have killed the fat pig," Gozu added while Meizu snorted.
"Pig, yeah right. I've seen pigs smaller than that ass. He's more like a small cow," the man retorted.
"Shut up," their leader stopped the debate from escalating any further. The last thing he needed was hearing another one of the Demon Brothers stupid ramblings over something as equally stupid. "How long before I'm up and running?"
"A week at best, Zabuza-sama. The poison was from a summon after all and it took all my medical knowledge to heal you. It was touch and go and you nearly died as a result," the ninja admitted then added a smile, "It's a good thing you didn't. Otherwise I'd be stuck telling Mei-sama."
The other three ninja shivered at the thought of having to deal with an angry Mei. It was no secret the attractive woman had a slight and flirtatious attraction with the man but even then he wasn't exempted from her wrath. Zabuza had seen it firsthand when Gozu and Meizu made the mistake of asking why she was single. The action had started out as the cheesiest pickup lines and ended with the Demon Brothers going into intensive care.
"You've got a sick sense of humour, Haku," the man deadpanned.
Haku merely continued to smile, "I learned from the best, Zabuza-sama."
"Smart ass," the man realized he might have taught his protégé a bit too much and too well.
"Not to beat around the bush but how are we gonna deal with this? Twice the pay is good and all but we're dealing with six Genin, two ninken, and two Jonin. One of em can fucking summon too," Gozu pointed out the elephant in the room. "How the hell are we gonna deal with that?"
Zabuza had to admit it was one of Gozu's more intelligent questions. The man had a point, "How the hell are we gonna deal with this?" Kidnapping was an option but at the moment neither he nor the Demon Brothers were in any shape to do it and Haku was ironically a pacifist. The ninja still fought but the fighting style was basically by paralyzing others and bringing them down with minimum harm as possible. Zabuza knew that the Jounin would most likely keep a closer watch on the Genin too.
They did have one slight advantage on their side. The opposing group knew about Zabuza, Gozu and Meizu, but not about Haku.
(Sometime Later)
While Team Seven was practicing under the watchful gaze of Midori, Anko and her team were strategizing on the next step to take. "Alright, the more we know about this place, the better," the logic of it all went without saying really. "However, Hatake's team is not really ready for this sort of thing just yet so I'm stuck babysitting em for the next little while. Midori's good but if Zabuza's got other goons working for him they won't last long."
"So what do we do?" Naruto asked.
"For the moment you guys will take turns guarding the old man. One of you will stay here while the others are out patrolling Nami for any clue where Gato's hiding out. From what I got from Tazuna the little shit's been spotted in several locations but he's never in the same place twice. We need to find out where he's hiding and where he plans to go next. Only two of you will do this until Kiba, Sasuke or Sakura finishes what I assigned for them. Afterwards, I want all three of you to start looking around," Anko said.
"Arf!"
"Sorry, poochy, but you're sticking this one out. I doubt a healthy looking mutt's gonna be able to blend in with this place," she pointed out and Hottomaru whined. Naruto found it ironic really. Hottomaru knew how to transform himself into a more powerful and adult like version of himself but couldn't transform into anything else really. Then again he probably could if he put the time and effort into it.
"Which brings up another point, you three will have to be in disguise. Other than Zabuza and his posse, Gato's hired thugs are nothing more than common mercenaries. Large in number but other than that they won't be able to distinguish a ninja using the Henge. But in that ensemble you guys will stick out like cheap hookers in a temple," the three ninja were not expecting such a crude description or being compared in such a way, "However, Nami's pretty big and with only you three I doubt this will go quickly. Which is why your Shadow Clones are gonna come in handy, Gaki."
"Huh? How's that?"
"Hello, did you forget that Shadow Clones send any information they have back to you once they pop? The whole purpose of the Shadow Clone was meant for infiltration and information gathering while the original stays safe. The only reason why it's not really used is because it takes up too much chakra and forms too many clones. It basically leaves the user too drained of chakra and too little chakra are in the clones to work properly. Some can do it but the amount are too few so the method was deemed inefficient and risky to use," Anko explained.
"Wait, so I can learn anything the Shadow Clones learn!" Naruto was wide eyed at the prospect.
"Any information they learn, you learn, yes. But it's not as simple as it sounds. One Shadow Clone popping with a bit of info being sent to you is nothing. A shit ton of them popping and sending that amount of info can be hazardous to your health. I heard stories about others doing this and how the brain couldn't handle the influx of information and the results weren't pretty. This isn't like learning stuff from scrolls or book skills where your ability come into play, gaki."
"She's right, Naruto. I heard dad talk about these kinds of cases. The brain basically had its own version of a stroke or heart attack only a lot worse. At best you'll suffer from a massive migraine, black out, temporary memory loss, go into a minor coma, or you die immediately," Ino said.
"Dying is one of the best ones? What's worst than that?" Naruto was a little unnerved.
"At worst you become a vegetable - brain dead, permanent memory loss, enter a coma you can't wake up from, or can't process new memories and relive each day over and over again without even realizing it," Ino was being dead serious at the moment.
When it came to matters of the mind and illnesses of the mind such as this the young Yamanaka had been taught not to joke around. No Yamanaka joked around about something this serious. If Naruto were a Yamanaka it would be slightly different as a Yamanaka had the ability to categorize a great deal of information influx in their brain like an archive. Young Yamanaka like Ino couldn't do it nearly as well compared to the adults of the clan. Even then learning too much could still have very bad side effects. Some cases could be healed to an extent but medics needed to very skilled and quick. Hinata was getting better but she lacked the experience and wasn't anywhere close to that level. Ino also doubted Nami had anyone with that kind of skill as well.
Naruto for his part gulped, "Okay, that's definitely a lot worse."
"Normally it wouldn't be a problem if your clones were gathering information on a single subject, say you're all reading theoretical information from the same book. The mind can handle that," with his Gamer ability it was sorta redundant on skill books but with theory books it was another matter, "But in this case you're gonna be gathering a bunch of different information that'll put too much strain on that brain of yours. I doubt it'll be the case but just to be on the safe side I only want you to make a small amount of clones."
As the Shadow Clone Technique equally split up his chakra, Naruto made a rough calculation. The blond determined that twelve clones, plus himself, would result in each of them having 632.69 or so CP. While it was more than enough to deal with common thugs, it would most likely be another story if they came across another ninja. In the end, Naruto created seven clones of himself which allowed him and the doppelgängers to each have 1028.125 CP instead. They'd cover less ground as a result but they'd have a better fighting chance.
"Okay, now that that's settled, Ino I want you and Naruto to see what you can find. Don't be afraid to use some of those skills I taught ya," she smirked and Naruto was slightly interested. Though the interest was gone just as quick as Ino developed a very Anko like grin of her own, "Don't wanna know, just gonna pretend I didn't see it."
With their duties assigned, Ino and Naruto set out to do what they were assigned. When they neared a series of buildings that spanned for quite some distance and spotted various individuals walking about they went to work. For the next half hour the two familiarized themselves with overall appearance of the people. As Nami wasn't exactly prosperous at the moment clothing ranged from decent looking to ragged, worn and ripped.
Sticking out wasn't the intent, they needed to blend in with the crowd. Naruto took on the appearance of a young man in his late teens with short messy brown hair, his clothing being similar to what Tazuna wore. Naruto's clones took on various appearances ranging from children to older individuals before they set off. Ino, to his surprised, took on the guise of someone a person would normally see in a red light district. Though somewhat uncomfortable, remembering the training she had with Anko helped. Both Ino and Naruto then proceeded to go there separate ways, and agreed to meet back at the designated spot in a few hours.
However, the task of finding out information was easier said than done. Well over two hours had passed since he and Ino parted and he still had nothing to show for it. Ino was currently in the red light district so he left it to her, but Naruto had no idea where to begin finding the information he wanted, "Ah, fuck," Naruto wondered where exactly he should go from here at this point. Were it Konoha he'd have better luck, as he knew virtually almost all the ins and outs. Here not so much. At the moment he realized his wandering somehow lead him to a more secluded part of Nami. The disguised blond doubted he'd find anything here and decided to head out.
"Hey there, handsome."
"Huh?" Naruto wanted how spoke and became rigid as soon as he spotted where it came from. The voice came a young woman, easily in her twenties, a voluptuous figure and wore a dress that left little to the imagination. Compared to some of the other women he saw she looked a hell of a lot better than most. Her skin was unblemished, she wore a purple shade of lipstick and the end of her dark brown hair was in a braid.
"You're new here aren't you?" the woman sauntered over. "I've been here quite a while, seen all kinds of faces. Yours is different, you're not from around her," she said.
"Huh," Naruto honestly had no idea what to do at the moment. Give him someone to fight and he'd kick their asses a hundred ways to Sunday. Ask him to flirt or deal with something like this and one would have been luck getting a rock to float on water. "Who're you?" he asked and mentally kicked himself, "Smooth, Naruto. Smooth."
"Asagao," she introduced and somehow Naruto doubted it was her real. "So what's a good looking guy like you doing in a dump like Nami?"
"I can ask you the same thing," was his rebuttal.
"Witty, I like that in a man," she said and grazed her hand across his shoulder. The act making him shudder for whatever reason, "But if you must know I'm saving up till I can finally leave this place. Girls like me don't last too long, especially with Gato's men around. We're basically seen as entertainment for his men and himself, and that's if we're lucky. Some actually get sold off and shipped far way. On the off chance his rule here ends I doubt they'll ever be seen again," here Naruto noticed her eyes subtlety shifting at various angles. As if she was scouting the area for potential danger and ready to make a dash for it if forced to. The boy realized she was being very cautious at the moment.
"You're awfully trusting. How do you know I'm not one of Gato's men?" he asked and saw her smirk.
"Please, I can spot one of Gato's men from a mile away even if they try and downplay their Neanderthal like tendencies. You don't last as long as I do without being smart and observant. You don't have the same look they do. But it still begs the question, why are you here?" Asagao asked.
Naruto knew he had no choice but to bullshit as best he could. He was good at it, sorta, but this woman despite not being a ninja was good. He'd have to go all out, "Honestly, I can't remember exactly. All I remember is a waking up on the shore and with pieces of wood around me. Maybe I'm a fisherman? I honestly can't remember," he said. As he knew little about Nami the old "I'm suffering from amnesia" story was the best way to go at it.
"Hmm," Asagao hummed and looked at him inquisitively. "Sounds like you're one of those brave or stupid enough to try and make a run for the mainland," here she sighed. "Gato's got these waters constantly patrolled and it's near impossible to get out of here without luck and careful planning on your side. I heard a couple of days ago a boat tried to make a break for it. Apparently, Gato's men got to them before they got halfway across. No one survived apparently, guess you lucked out… sorta," she said.
"Maybe, can't exactly deny or confirm it," Naruto said and pretended to wince as if a sudden pain struck his head. Luckily he had given his Henge a fresh scar on his head so it would help lend some validity to the story. "What's there to do around here?"
"You mean besides being smart, and keeping your head down? Nothing much really," she said. "Nami used to be prosperous because we have skilled craftsmen you won't found anywhere else. Tons of different species of fish live and migrate here so we made a living off that too but Gato's got an ironclad grip on this place and he limits who's allowed to do what. Put one foot out of line and you'll be wishing for death. Gato's sucking this place dry for all it's worth till nothing's left and the people are too damn scared to fight back after what he did to Kaiza."
"Kaiza?" Naruto was now actually getting some potentially useful information.
"Former local hero of Nami," she began before a startled look entered her eyes as though she suddenly heard something, "Sorry, handsome, gotta go. Hope to see you again."
Naruto cursed, as he didn't get what he needed but knew she had a good reason for bolting. The woman had very good hearing, Naruto only knew about them the moment his Detection Skill came into play when they entered his range. "Hey, you!" an uncouth call was heard.
"Me?" Naruto asked, playing the ignorant fool, to nearest of the three men.
"No one else is here, retard," one of them laughed before approaching him, "Who was that you were talking to?"
"Who?"
"Don't play dumb, kid. Word has it there's a beautiful and totally fuckable hotty that's been spotted around here from time to time. So unless you were talking to yourself, I'm wagering you were speaking with her," he grinned and Naruto forced himself not to gag. The man's breath reeked of poor dental hygiene and strong alcohol.
"Seriously, I don't know what you're talking about. I was just taking a walk," apparently it was the wrong thing to say to these men as their faces contorted into angry snarls. Whether or not it was the alcohol that was influencing their judgment or merely because they were quick to anger mattered little now.
"So it's gonna be like that eh," the men went for their weapons and that was all Naruto needed to see before he made his move. The fight, if one could call it that, was over before they had time to draw their weapons. Naruto had proceeded by grabbing the two furthest men and slammed their heads into the middle one. The amount of force in the move had their eyes popping out comically before sweet unconsciousness took a hold of them. The fact that they were only level nine with low attributes, basically low academy level strong, also helped in making it one sided. But it also left him with a current dilemma.
"What the hell should I do with these guys?" bringing them back to Anko was an option but it meant having to carry them there. His Fuinjutsu was good but he couldn't seal live people into them yet. Plus Anko was looking after Team Seven at the moment. Creating some shadow clones and then disguising themselves fellow thugs and were another option but there'd be a chance of encountering others and being found out. Blowing his cover as a result, which defeated the whole purpose, "Hey, wait a minute. Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone Technique)," creating another clone of himself Naruto then grinned, "If any one of you are near the red light district, get Ino and tell here to come here!" he finished and proceeded to dispel the clone once it served its purpose. Naruto hoped the trick worked before he began to bind and gag the unconscious thugs. Luckily there was a ton of nearby discarded junk and garbage that could be used to hide the bodies on the off chance someone walked by.
Fifteen minutes later Naruto felt a rush of information flow through his head and realised one of his clones had managed to find and inform Ino, "Wish he found out more useful information though," apparently the clone was having as much luck as he was at the moment. Hopefully it wasn't a recurring theme.
Naruto waited an additional fifteen minutes, passing the time by knocking out the three stooges once they began rousing from their beauty sleep, before Ino finally showed up, "Took your sweet time," Naruto said.
"Can't exactly run and draw attention to myself," the Yamanka didn't mention that many had asked to see her along the way and she needed to shake em off somehow. "So where are these clowns?"
The disguised ninja moved his head behind him and Ino immediately understood. Once free from the garbage, Ino got to work on their minds and tried to locate anything useful. The process took her five to nine minutes per thug before she was done. By the end the girl looked like she wanted to end their lives. "Anything?"
All he got was a disappointed shake and Naruto cursed, "Nothing, too low in the payroll. The only useful thing I found out was that Gato apparently informs certain thugs of his plans but these assholes don't know who they are. The only two who possibly know are his personal bodyguards but from what I saw they rarely leave his side."
"Shit," all this time and they basically had nothing to show for it. "Did you find anything useful?"
"Nadda, the girls I'm with spend some nights with some of Gato's men but they don't know much. Managed to persuade some thugs when they asked for me but it was useless shit."
Upon seeing Naruto's worried look Ino chuckled, "Don't worry, they didn't touch me. They only think they did," she smirked and Naruto had to admit that what a Yamanaka could do to another's mind was frightening. Against weak minded individual it wasn't all that difficult for Ino. Especially with the training she received from Anko and her father. Against others of greater mental fortitude it would have taken someone as skilled and experienced as Inoichi to accomplish such a task.
"So what do we do with these guys?" Ino's was going to suggest having them killed for all the sick things she saw in their heads but refrained from it. If any of Gato's men started disappearing it would arose suspicion. "I'll alter their memories. Make it so they think they got plastered and knocked each other by accident. Keep an eye out. This will take a while and I'm vulnerable while doing this," as Ino got to work Naruto didn't fail to notice the bite in her voice as she said this.
Whatever it was she saw must have been really bad if Ino wanted them dead. Naruto never forgot his first kill accidental as it was, his Gamer's Mind helped him, but even then Naruto had come to terms with it.
So far neither Ino or Hinata had killed a human being. Hinata had passed her clan's test that was similar to the first half of the Rite, and Chakra mutations were one thing, but killing another human being was another story. Naruto didn't know if his Gamer's Mind ability extended towards them when teamed up but hoped they were prepared when it happened. Anko had been preparing them when it did happen but even then there was no guarantee how one would handle it. While Ino was wishing for their deaths now, she could be singing a different tune all together after the deed was done.
Sometime later after Ino was finished with her task, both got back to work to try and find anything else that would prove useful could. It was well into the afternoon before both ninja and kunoichi decided to call it a day. As he ordered the clones to dispel, Naruto felt a great flood of information.
"You're suppose to cancel them one at a time, Naruto," Ino chided and shook her head upon seeing his dumb grin. As he processed the new information, Naruto was even more disappointed. While only the first day, much of what they found proved to be a dead end. Oh, knowing things such as the how Nami was suffering from a short food supply among other things proved enlightening. Much of the other information in some way or another could be traced back to Gato as the main cause, but it served little in finding out where he was.
"Hey, Ino, you go on ahead. I'll catch up," Naruto informed his teammate. Ino wasn't even able to ask where he was going before he used the Shunshin to go who knows where.
"Just be careful you idiot," while he wasn't the same Dead Last Naruto from the academy, he was still Naruto. He was smarter but old habits died hard. Ino just hoped he didn't do anything to get himself in trouble.
It was nearing sun down when Ino finally arrived back at the home of Tazuna. Knocking in a series of sequences, to notify it was indeed her, the door opened and the blonde cocked an eye at the sight before her. Kiba as spread out on the couch, looking dead to the world, Sasuke himself was fairing better but Ino could tell he was exhausted. Sakura, and here Ino had to stop herself from laughing, was doing an impression of a mummy or one of the zombies from the dungeons. Hinata was back from her guard duty and the girl had a green glow surrounding her hands as she reduced the fatigue in Akamaru.
"So… how's everyone doing?" Ino asked Team Seven.
"…. ahhzzughehh," Sakura mumbled incoherently, the mere act appeared to take quite some effort it seemed.
"Translation, please," Ino looked to Kiba and Sasuke.
"I'm spitbaling here…" Kiba began before trying to catch his breath, "but I think she asked … how are you still sane? She's f- freaking nuts," he said and Sasuke couldn't help but agree with him.
"You get used to it… sorta," she mumbled the last part.
"Ah, quit your bitchin, Mutt. Pale Eyes and Blondie, still have a while to go stamina wise," Anko informed the exhausted Inuzuka.
"What about the do- Naruto," Sasuke caught himself as the woman gave the Uchiha a look.
"Oh, the Gaki's an stamina beast on super 'roids. He's gonna make women real happy when he gets older," she smirked as Tazuna sputtered on his sake.
"Typical Anko-sensei," Ino had seen the comment coming a mile away. "Hey, where's Hotto?" she asked upon noticing the lack of two ninken.
"One of the Gaki's clones came here a while ago to grab him and head out. Told the little shit he shouldn't be out there by himself with who knows who's in Gato's pockets, so I sent Midori to keep an eye out," Anko muttered and the she spoke made Team Seven's Genin flinch.
"That's Naruto-kun for you," Hinata commented and the girl received some incredulous looks from the Genin and her teacher. "D…Did I say something wrong?"
"Just that we weren't expecting that to come from you," Ino stated as a matter of fact. The Yamanaka heiress knew that Hinata was slowly but surely coming out of her shell. She was still timid but it wasn't as bad as when they first began.
"Hmph," Ino heard before she spotted a young boy heading up the stairs.
As it was the first time she saw the boy, Ino asked, "Who's that?" to Tazuna.
"That's Inari, my grandson," Ino noticed Tazuna had a tired look in his eye. "Sorry about him he's been like ever since … ever since Gato came to Nami," being trained by Anko the blonde kunoichi knew she was being given a half lie. However, what it was about also turned the mood sombre judging by the looks in Tazuna and Tsunami's faces. Ino wisely decided not to push.
"Dinner will be ready soon everyone," Tsunami announced the woman now sporting a mask of cheerfulness. "However, we're a bit short so we'll have to-"
Knock!
Knock, knock!
Knock, knock, knock, knock!
Knock!
"That's the Gaki," Anko stated the obvious as the knocking sequence was heard.
"Hard to believe he'd remember it," Kiba grumbled but winced as his body ached once more. The young heir knew that the old Naruto wouldn't have remembered it and knew that it would have been an imposter.
"I'll get it," being the gracious hostess, Tsunami made her way to the door, Ino having sat down beside Hinata. However, the woman was left stunned and let loose a very loud, "AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" in the process.
The action made Tazuna stumbled out of his chair and onto the ground, his sake bottle rolling out of his hand and spilling its contents on the floor. Kiba and Sasuke took a battle stance, though it was shaky at best given their current weariness. Sakura too armed herself but the lack of feeling her legs prevented the girl from getting up properly and she needed to have on arm firmly placed on the sofa to keep her balance.
"What?! What the hell is it?" Kiba asked and prepared himself as best he could.
The answer to his question however merely walked in through the door. A large hairy beast the size of a horse entered the house and in its maw was dead boar of medium size. The site of the beast unnerved the Genin of Team Seven, while Tsunami and Tazuna looked frightful.
"Hmm?" Kakashi wondered what all the noise was about and as saw the reason for it as he came down the stair, "Oh, hello, Hotto," he greeted the large ninken.
"Hotto!?" the Genin of Team Seven were floored by the revelation.
"Oh, come one! Even his ninken's stronger than mine? What the fuck!" Kiba whined pathetically, an act that was mimicked by his own ninken. Ninja dogs that were given outside the clan tended to be much weaker as they could not learn their techniques anymore. Some they'd know instinctively but even then they weren't that strong. Apparently, being with the former Dead Last made Hottomaru an exception to the rule.
"Seriously, this fucking blows," while he could maybe come to terms with Naruto being stronger than him it was a matter of clan pride when a clanless ninken became stronger than his own. Kiba knew he and Akamaru had some serious catching up to do.
"BAARKK!" the enlarged ninken greeted, placed the boar down and then turned back into his miniature self, "Arf, arf!" the small ninken panted and nudged the pig towards Tsunami.
"Sorry about that," Naruto sheepish grinned, "My hands were full and Hotto sorta knocked me aside. Bad dog!" Naruto chastised his partner.
"Arf! Grrrr," the tiger stripped ninken growled.
"Don't you flare your nostrils at me you little shit," Naruto glared back before he entered. Over his left shoulder was a deer and in his right hands were a pair of hares. Looking at the group he announced, "Got dinner?"
Needless to say the group had plenty of food for the night thanks to his little escapade. And as they ate and filled their hungry stomachs, the group slowly forgot about their troubles and enjoyed each other's companies. While they still had a while to go before they accomplished their mission for now they were content and happy.
However, in the coming days, many would be in for rude awakenings. Ultimately, it be a deciding factor in their lives. Would they continue on as ninja? Or would they be forced to quit?
Here you go guys. Not much action in this chapter it was more so to go in depth about other things. Stories need development in other departments too you know. Also yes Naruto found out about the information transfer thing and no that does not mean he'll be learning the training method yet. All Anko knows is that it allows memories and knowledge to be transferred, she doesn't know about the whole training bit. If I introduced that too early it would make for a lousy story and lead to a trap where I may need to start over. Not gonna happen. Also to clarify, Gamer`s Mind help with Genjutsu and Psychological Trauma, that has nothing to do with learning too much in one go simultaneously to the point the brain can`t handle it. If it were very bad news it would be different, but in this case it`s just too much information for Naruto`s mind to comprehend. Learning via skill books, or scrolls is the exception.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this. The next chapter will have a lot more action and start to pick up. The Wave ARC will probably have three or four more chapters before it's over depending on the length. And they will be good chapters.
Other than that give me tons of reviews, 80-90, like you guys did last time and i'll update by next Friday or sooner.