Chapter 25: ( We Ridin Deep pt. II..)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other anime or games I'm takin shit from.
The character Ayako is taken by permission from Jeremy: Author of "Future Legends"
And now on with the story...
"How..." "Can you... see the future?"
The Jounin narrowed his eyes. "Yeah.." he tightened his grip on the kunai he was holding.
"You're going to die."
Just then 2 senbon needles shot out and embedded into the neck of Momochi Zabuza, the demon of the hidden mist. He fell to the ground eyes wide frozen in surprise.
Kakashi immediately looked to the tree where a young boy standing on a branch had thrown the needles. His own eyes widened as he saw Zabuza fall to the ground with a dull thud.
The boy let out a soft chuckle. "You're right." "He died."
Naruto stepped out of the water his hair matted and dripping wet.
He narrowed his eyes and glared at the boy standing on the branch. His teeth beginning to grit together, he cast his hateful gaze up the boy sizing him up.
He wore plain sandals and ragged brown shorts. He had a dark green robe tied with a long black sash over a long sleeved brown sweater. He had two long black locks of hair that fell over his shoulders and a strange white mask with red designs on it.
He looked back to Zabuza. The man still lay there unmoving eyes frozen in that look of surprise.
Kakashi jumped down from the tree he was in and placed two fingers over his neck to check the unmoving man's pulse. He waited a few seconds before widening his eyes. "He really is dead.."
He then turned to glare at the strange new boy.
His still open sharingan attempted to judge the level of chakra the boy emitted but found it to be very precise and hard to measure. The boy was obviously hiding it. They wouldn't know what he could do until he actually had to use some.
The boy then bowed. "Thank you very much." "I have been searching for the opportunity to kill Zabuza for a long time."
Kakashi kept his gaze focused on the newcomer. "That mask... you're a Hidden Mist hunter-nin..." The boy in the tree straightened. "Impressive."
"You are correct."
Meanwhile, Naruto slid in front of his teammates. "Hunter nin?"
Sakura widened her eyes a bit. "You.. Don't even know about Hunter-nin?"
"We learned about it at the academy.."
She lifted her head and closed her eyes proudly reciting the information that her photographic memory had recorded.
"A hunter- nin is a ninja that tracks down and assassinates ninja's like Zabuza, who for whatever reason.. Have betrayed their native village and escaped..." "It's to prevent the secrets of the village from getting out.." she finished regurgitating with a smug nod.
"That's basic stuff.. You should study harder!"
The masked boy nodded. "Yes, It's my duty to hunt down missing nin's."
"I'm a member of the hidden mist's hunter- nin team."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. From his voice and height, he's probably not much older than Naruto and the others... yet he's a hunter- nin.. He's definitely not a normal kid..
Naruto ran up to the base of the tree the boy was standing on. He looked from Zabuza back to the boy in fury.
"What the hell!" "Who are you?"
His breathing was ragged and irregular. "You!"
Before he could continue Kakashi interrupted. "Don't worry Naruto.. He's not an enemy.."
Naruto turned to Kakashi still shaking in fury.
"I'm not asking that!" "Because..." "That Zabuza.. That Zabuza was killed!"
"A guy.. a-a guy that strong was killed by a kid not much different from me!"
"I-it makes us.."
"We look stupid!"
Kakashi got up and began to walk over to Naruto.
He screamed. "H-how can I accept that!"
Kakashi finally reached his enraged student and sighed.
"Well I understand you not wanting to believe it.."
"But this is also the truth.."
He placed his hand on Naruto's hair further matting it down.
"In this world.. There exist kids younger than you... yet stronger than me."
Sasuke let out a grunt of anger at that comment. Naruto snorted and turned his head to look at the masked boy who vanished from the tree in a soft wind.
He re-appeared next to Zabuza. "Your battle.. is now over." "I must dispose of this body, since it seems to be a body with many secrets..." "Farewell."
With that he disappeared with the dead body of Zabuza over his shoulder in a small funnel of air.
Kakashi put his headband down finally cutting off the sharingan while Naruto ran over to where the boy had stood.
Kakashi sighed. "He's not here anymore..."
Naruto began to tremble. He fell to the ground and began punching the grass. "What are we!"
The others shook their heads in a similar sentiment. Naruto continued screaming. "Dammit! dammit! dammit!"
He continued punching the ground until his fist raised to fall down on the ground again and it stopped.
It was grabbed by Kakashi. He looked down at him.
"This happens when you're a ninja.. Use that frustration for next time.."
Kakashi straightened up. "Our mission isn't over yet.. We still have to get Tazuna-san back to his house safely.."
Tazuna laughed... "Super thanks guys!" "Why don't you come over to my house and relax for a while!"
Kakashi nodded. "Ok, lets go."
They started forward when suddenly Kakashi's right eye went wide. He fell to the ground face first. The genin rushed to their fallen sensei's side and asked what was wrong.
Kakashi just lay there unconscious. The genin sighed. "We better get to Tazuna-san's house quickly so Kakashi sensei can rest.."
With that they picked up his body and set off for the house of Tazuna the bridge builder.
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The boy slowly reached into his bag of tools.
He took out a scalpel. He murmured to himself "Now, to cut through the face mask and drain some blood.."
Suddenly his hand was stopped by Zabuza's. "No need for that.. I'll do it.."
The boy nodded "Oh you've come back to life already.. Wow that was fast.."
Zabuza pulled out the needles. "Damn, kid you didn't have to aim for my neck if you were gonna put me in a fake sleep there are other acupuncture points.."
The boy smiled under his mask. "Yeah, but there aren't many muscles in the neck so it's easier to hit you there.."
Zabuza shook his head stretching his shriveled neck muscles. Letting some blood drain back into them seemed like the prudent thing to do. "Why are you still wearing that stupid mask?"
The Boy smiled then removed it. "It reminds me of the past.. Way back then.."
Zabuza snorted. "How long will the paralysis last?"
The boy smiled. "Usually about a week but you might be moving in even less time.."
Zabuza narrowed his eyes.. "I'm going to beat the sharingan this time.."
"Haku... we better get back to Gatou so I can rest.. I want to be in top condition as soon as possible."
The young boy nodded. They again vanished in a swirl of leaves and air.
A set of feet dropped down from a tree. The soft folds of his robe flapping in the increasing wind.
Jiraiya let a small smirk grace his features. "So that's the great sword fighter Zabuza..?"
Kisame appeared next to him. "Yeah.. That's him alright.. And he's still wearin those ridiculous arm and leg socks."
"Demon of the mist my ass.. More like a friggin cow of the mist.."
"He never changes the pattern, always with the damn cow pattern socks.."
Tsunade smirked as Naruto came up behind her.
He sighed. "This is gonna require a bit of finesse."
"We don't wanna screw with this time line too much but at the same time we don't know how the enemy is going to interfere.. If we have to, we might have to join up with Kakashi and the others as well as Zabuza since neither side has a chance against B or A class apparitions.."
Sega nodded. "Kakashi... He's the one who ignored you and obsessed over the Uchiha correct.."
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I might actually enjoy showing off a little in front of that pompous prick."
Tsunade smiled. "Sakura will be here right?"
Naruto glanced at her with a grin. "Yeah.."
Tsunade gave a angelic smile.
"Oh shit.." Jiraiya muttered. Orochimaru shook his head. "This won't be pretty.."
Sega looked at them confused.
"Tsunade hates Sakura because she was Naruto's first crush and she always rejected him... so since she hurt him the most by betraying him she hates her for it.." Jiraiya explained.
Sega nodded. "Ah, I see."
Naruto nodded. "Ok, lets get into position." "If we pull this off quick enough we should be able to recruit them before the demons can even get here and force us to reveal ourselves."
The Akatsuki with the exception of Kisame had already returned to their own dimension to work on a separate project. Each member of the present group had a certain task from guarding Tsuname and Inari to taking out Gatou and dealing with interference from the demons.
They nodded. And with that the group vanished.
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Naruto was leaning against the tree unconscious. He had worn himself out.
Literally.
He was trying to rest as a shadow fell upon him.
A young girl with long black hair slowly knelt over him and gave him some medicinal herbs saying "You'll catch a cold sleeping in a place like this.."
Naruto coughed and snapped back to reality.
"W-what happened.." The young girl smiled. "Is this the plant you want?"
Naruto sat up. "That was medicine?" "Uh thanks.."
The girl nodded.
"You sure are workin early lady.."
She smiled. "You too what are you doing out here so early?"
Naruto sat up fast "Training!"
She nodded. "Oh I see, that forehead protector... are you a ninja?"
Naruto nodded.
She grinned. "Wow, you're amazing..."
She cocked her head to the side. "Why are you training?"
Naruto's eyes lit up with determination. "I'm going to become stronger to become the best ninja in my village so everyone will acknowledge my existence and finally have some respect!"
She looked off to the side. "Do you... have someone who is important to you?" "When you have someone precious to you and you fight to protect that person then that's when you can become really strong.."
Naruto widened his eyes then relaxed. "Yeah, I understand that really well.."
She smiled. "Then.. You will become strong.."
She turned around and began walking away. "Oh and one last thing." "I'm a boy."
Naruto's jaw dropped. "What.. Are you kidding but you're cuter than Sakura-chan!"
Just then Sasuke came up walking past the retreating boy.
He looked at Naruto and shook his head. "Slacking off huh dobe... Figures."
Naruto narrowed his eyes and jumped up to get back to tree climbing practice.
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Gatou shook his head. "So even you come back defeated.."
"And you call yourself a demon... as if.." "You're pathetic.." His Samurai bodyguards advanced anxious to see if they would get to cut up the incapacitated ninja. Gatou smiled.
"I wonder if I should just get rid of you now... save me the trouble.."
He reached for Zabuzas face mask only to find his hand grabbed by Haku before he could reach it. "Don't touch Zabuza-san with your dirty hands!"
His eyes went wide in rage. "What, how dare you!"
The Samurai charged in and drew their swords. However, as they unsheathed them they found their hands gripping nothing but air as their sword had been stolen as they grabbed them and aimed at their throats.
They began to sweat. Haku narrowed his eyes. "You shouldn't do that."
"It kind of pisses me off."
He flashed their swords in a reflective blur of metal and light and stepped back. Their sword were once again in their sheathes.
They looked at one another and backed away a few feet.
Gatou stuttered a bit.
Then said "Don't fail again.. I-I'll give you one last chance but if you fail this time.. It's over." With that he and his samurai bodyguards left.
Zabuza sighed. "Haku, you didn't have to do that." "It's too early to kill Gatou.. If we start something here and it gets out they'll be on us all over again.."
The young boy nodded. "I understand Zabuza-san.."
Zabuza smirked. "Besides, I want to face the Jounin Kakashi again."
Haku nodded. Zabuza then laid his head back against the soft pillow.
He smirked drifting off in a serene slumber that belied his actual dreams.
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A dark set of clouds began circling over the skies of the village in the country of waves.
The clouds began to increase in speed. Suddenly some forms could be see coming through the eye of the swirling nimbus. They got closer and closer finally coming to a stop.
And floating to the ground.
The clouds began to fade as the large forms revealed their gruesome features.
Using a transformation technique they took the form of a group of human mercenaries. The red haired girl smiled.
"He appears to be in that direction... shall we intercept?"
The blue haired one shook his head.
"No, we'll use this time to gather information on the target.."
She nodded.
They smiled and began to walk in the direction of the nearest town.
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The next day Zabuza was ready.
He and Haku were preparing for the battle at the bridge. They moved along the forest path that led to the docks where they would get a boat. Then they'd go to the bridge, kill the workers and wait for the target to arrive. And then... Kakashi the copy ninja would meet his fate.
Zabuza looked at Haku and chuckled softly. His weapon was quite effective. He had yet to fail him.
And against brats like that... this battle would be over long before it started.
Especially now that he knew how to counter the sharingan. Haku was a genius. He could figure out strategies to beat jutsus he'd only seen in action once. The sharingan revolved around him making eye contact with him. If he didn't let that happen then he'd be able to effectively counter it with his mist.
He was so deep in thought that he failed to pick up on the presence of someone in front of him before Haku noticed it. The boy immediately drew 2 senbon needles.
Zabuza held his hand on the handle of his large sword. His eyes rolled and he dropped his grip on the blade at the sight of the visitor. Haku kept his needles up. He smiled.
"It appears we have visitors Zabuza-san." Zabuza noted the presence behind him but he wasn't worried. He shook his head. "Kid, you are either the most unlucky or the most stupid ninja in existence.."
Haku's smile widened behind his mask.
In front of them stood none other than the leafs no. 1 hyperactive, loudmouthed ninja Uzumaki Naruto.
Surprisingly, the blonde boy didn't let out a yell proclaiming his greatness or point his finger and declare his victory.
Instead he merely smiled and said "Haku and Zabuza, we'd like you to come with us.."
Zabuza raised an eyebrow. Something was off.
One. He knew Haku...
Two. He was way too calm and confident to be that loudmouthed brat..
Zabuza let out a laugh. "You must be joking."
"All you've done is save us the trouble of hunting you down."
Naruto rolled his eyes and nodded to the person in back of them.
Zabuza turned around and sliced bringing his sword out at a surprising speed.
"Well... this is a first... You're actually not wearing the cow socks.. You switched to blue.."
Zabuza's eyes went wide in surprise.
Haku did a double take. To begin with, the large shark like man had caught the blade with his own large object. It was still wrapped so he couldn't tell if it was a blade or not.
Then there was the reaction that Zabuza had given. Haku had spent years trying to perfect his status as a weapon worthy of Zabuza-san but he had never seen him that flustered.
Zabuza still eyes wide shook his head. "I-is this some sort of gen-jutsu or something.. This is impossible.."
"Kisame... you can't be here.."
The large shark man laughed. "Yeah, I'm supposed to be dead right.. Actually I'm in a group now called the Akatsuki."
Zabuza blinked. "The Akatsuki?"
Kisame laughed. "Yeah, it's a organization of elite missing ninja.. And right now our mission is kinda to save uh... well...reality."
Zabuza raised an eyebrow. "Explain."
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Naruto nodded. "And that's why we want you to come back with us to help fight in the war."
Zabuza began to laugh.
"Are you joking.. I have no interest in going to fight in some suicidal war for the fate of humanity.."
Naruto frowned. "Um yeah if you let this slip and we lose... this will affect you.." "This will affect the entire scope of reality.. Everything... every human in countless dimensions, we're talkin billions of lives.."
Zabuza shook his head. "I don't care. I fight for my own ideals.. That hasn't changed and won't."
"They think that I wished to overthrow the Mizukage because of some absurd financial ambition.."
"That's ridiculous... what reason could a killing machine like me want with politics."
"The reason I wanted to overthrow him was to change the way the country was operated."
"It was impossible to do politically, all electoral opposition was eradicated by secret assassins..
The majority of jobs we were given on the assassination squad were rival politicians.."
"The council is corrupt and the Mizukage is corrupt as it always has been.. That country has never been run fairly." "You'd think producing ninja like me would be enough evidence of it.."
"Ninja are tools but in hidden mist we are destitute.. Even as the captain of the assassination squad I only made a little above minimum wage."
"We are nothing but trash to that damn despot..
And no one has the guts to challenge him or his political supporters."
"They say my tragic flaw was I was too ambitious.. No that's not it at all.."
"My flaw was that I actually cared.."
"A demon shouldn't care about the conditions of the country or the fact that families starve in the streets while the disgusting political tyrants feast, or that children like Haku are hated and despised simply because of their blood."
"And what's more that village hates strength... they can't stand strong shinobi because they know that one day one of us might wake up and realize that risking our life in deadly missions or losing teammates and friends is worth more than 20 bucks!"
" But I did.. They call me a monster, and I have no problem with that.. But at the end of the day.. I say he's more of one than me... At least I would be fair."
"There would be no hand outs or double standards for political favors or bribes.. But at the end of the day... you would get what you earned through blood sweat and tears.."
"The petty civil wars that are good for nothing but self destruction and leave kids like Haku parentless and wasting their potential would stop.. I'd see to that personally."
"And shinobi of the hidden mist would finally begin to feel like they're worth something."
"That's what would happen if I were Mizukage..."
Naruto nodded in surprise. Just as he'd thought he knew Zabuza he'd gone and opened a whole new side to him.
Zabuza snorted. "But, I'm not the Mizukage... Am I."
"So I have to make due with what I have... running constantly from hunter- nin, doing jobs for scum like Gatou... but there is no alternative.."
"And forgive me if I'm somehow missing something but I don't see any reason whatsoever to go off into some suicidal battle against a horde of demons when I get nothing out of it."
"I'm not some noble hero, or savior, I am the demon of the mist.."
Kisame sighed. "Well first off, I understand what you're sayin about the political setup of the water country... it's fucked up.."
"But what you fail to understand about this little situation is that eventually they're gonna come here and when they do they're going to kill everyone on the planet including you."
"We don't know if we can beat these guys even with you...
And none of us are ready yet..
As soon as we finish recruiting we're all going into serious training."
Zabuza raised an eyebrow. "Training.."
Kisame smirked. His sharp shark teeth gleaming.
"Yeah you'll get stronger if you come with us.. A lot stronger.."
Zabuza snorted. "My ambition is to overthrow the Mizukage.. If I am killed somehow in trying then so be it.. I am not afraid of death.."
Kisame nodded. "And where do you think you're going to go when you do die?"
Zabuza widened his eyes.
Kisame was speaking seriously now. "We are going into the Makai now. This is the world of the demons.. This isn't some vacation or some clan war..
They will be primal demons, some will be on our side and a lot won't it'll be a 3 way free-for-all..." "Now you've always said you were the 'demon of the mist' well here's your chance to prove it.."
"If you don't care about dying and you don't care about saving anyone else then fight to prove to yourself that you are worthy of the name you've taken."
Again Zabuza for the second time that day was shaken to the core.
The realization of what they were talking about finally hit him.
And for almost the first time in his life.. He was scared.
Kisame picked up on it right away. "So you finally get it huh Zabby.. This aint a picnic.."
Zabuza slowly shook out of his daze. "I am not afraid of death or what lies beyond it."
Kisame smirked. "Well here's your chance to prove it, and if you're lucky you might just make it back alive to tell about it.."
Zabuza looked off to the left. Then to Haku. "Alright, I'll make you a deal.."
Naruto perked up.. They were running out of time.. He knew that the demons were mobilizing.
Zabuza continued. "I Momochi Zabuza challenge you Hoshigame Kisame... if you win I will agree to go with you along with Haku... and if I win one of you dies."
"Now who's afraid to make a sacrifice.. You want me to sacrifice all my goals and ambitions for the sake of a possible victory that you're not even sure you can achieve even with my help..."
"Are you willing to risk one of you own lives to the fighting skill of Kisame?"
Naruto looked Zabuza right in the eye.
He knew that the others were busy with guarding Inari or watching for the demon opponents they would have to face. He was being asked if he would risk his life.
Naruto smirked. "Sure.. Kisame go kick his ass.."
Kisame gave his own smirk his shark teeth gleaming.
"Zabby, you must not remember what happened last time we sparred.. If it had been a fight you wouldn't have a head.."
Zabuza nodded. "That was a long time ago.. I have grown much stronger.."
Kisame smirked. "The reality was that if they hadn't interfered Zabuza would have lost to Kakashi.
This really wasn't much of a challenge.. Or so he thought.
"Ready?" Zabuza asked.
Kisame held his wrapped object out to the side.
Zabuza held his sword behind his back and formed some seals shouting "Hidden Mist no Jutsu!"
The air suddenly became thick and a heavy mist rolled in obscuring vision.
Haku looked at Naruto's form rapidly becoming more vague through the mist and nodded. Naruto merely smiled and turned to look at the fight.
He activated demon eyes. His blue eyes turned red and began to glow with red chakra. He could see almost perfectly in the mist with them.
He smirked. Gota had to be the most useful teacher he'd had. Well, aside from the Kyuubi who'd transferred his own millenniums of knowledge over to the new fusion.
Zabuza had effectively hidden himself from Haku and Kisame however, and he was now rushing at Kisame hoping to catch the Shark man off guard and underestimative.
Kisame thumped the knot on his wrappings and they fell off dropping to the ground as Zabuza came within slicing range. He raised his blade to cleave off the shark mans head but Kisame blocked one handed at the last second.
The two blades clashed to together, neither giving under the pressure or grating metal.
Kisame looked at Zabuza who had his face half covered by a wrapped face mask the upper half contorted and twisted in concentration and fury.
"Zabuza, have you forgotten what it meant to be a member of the 7 legendary swordsmen of the hidden mist.."
"You've grown a small percentage in strength and speed.. But you've sacrificed well over half your technique.. Your holding the sword wrong.. You obviously haven't made a pact with it.. your structure is off.. The strike wasn't anywhere near what could be considered smooth..."
"These are errors a novice makes.. Have you fallen that far since you left?"
Zabuza growled and ripped his sword away before disappearing into the mist.
As the fight continued he came in time and again to slice finding every time Kisame blocking or parrying with one hand each attack.
Kisame was genuinely disappointed.. Zabuza had improved in speed and strength..
He was still a little faster than Zabuza and a lot stronger but still.
What surprised him the most was Zabuza's structural flaws.. He'd never been one to go by the books. Even before he'd killed the entire graduating class before ever being a ninja..
He'd always fought his own way and style..
But he knew how to fight and through trial and error he'd discovered a technique that was good enough to place him among the 7 legendary swordsmen.
But this man he was fighting now.. This was ridiculous..
It was like fighting a student in a basic kendo school.. So many wasted movements.. So much power lost because the path he took to slice was too long.
He shook his head.. Naruto.. Is this guy really worth taking into the Makai.. If he can't even touch me..
He passed up yet another opportunity to end this. Naruto was watching the battle fervently. He saw the errors.. And even more since he'd been trained in demon tactics and weapons..
But he also saw a guy with rusted skills that when polished could be added upon and molded. He saw a technique that could be refined to far deadlier extents than what he'd ever been before.
And most importantly of all he saw the kind of determination and fury that the fighter had.
And that was what he admired. Zabuza fought for himself. He fought with the single minded fury of a monster. He fought with intensity far greater than any other opponent he'd ever known.
And that's what he needed.
At first glance it may seem that they were just taking all the strongest ninja throughout history and powering them up to fight in the Makai.
But that was merely the surface.
The truth behind the recruiting was a lot more about what was on the inside rather than the outside.
Sure they were strong but what he saw in them was one common trait that they all had..
The Sannin, Itachi, The Akatsuki he'd picked, the other targets, and now Zabuza and Haku..
It was something far stronger than desire...
It was hunger.
In the Makai battles desire would fail..
It would get them killed...
The only thing that would keep them alive and give them a chance to win was hunger.
Wanting wasn't enough.
They had to need to live...
Need to protect their friends and family..
Need to prove to themselves their worth..
And as he watched the fight between Kisame and Zabuza he smiled.
Yes, he definitely wanted Zabuza and Haku. They would be invaluable.
Haku had activated his mirrors and was positioning them so he could see through the mist.
He placed the first couple on the ground using the condensation of the air to form more.
He smirked as he saw that Zabuza was unharmed.
Then he also saw that Kisame was unharmed as well. They must be even in ability..
Zabuza was infuriated. He'd had no idea that he'd rusted this much.
Fighting and killing weaklings had caused him to lose a good deal of his fighting edge.
He still knew the mechanics of swordsmanship. But he had lost the natural reflexes and developed form that he'd so painstakingly worked for.
Kisame could end this anytime he wanted.
Zabuza shook his head. Time to change tactics.
He stopped and hid himself in the mist and began to run through a set of seals.
Kisame saw the condensation beginning to flow to a specific point.
He smirked. So, he's making a jutsu with the condensed water in the air.. And telling me exactly where to find him at the same time..
Kisame moved into the mist letting his shark fin be the only visible thing sticking out of it.
Zabuza finished forming the water dragon just as the rapidly advancing fin reached him and Kisame shot up to deliver a wide slice.
To his surprise Zabuza didn't block but let himself be hit.
The Zabuza he'd hit turned to water. Kisame cursed.
Zabuza smirked appearing right behind him slicing down.
Kisame quickly used chakra to form a barrier of hardened water around him.
All the water jutsu's being used were depleting the mist so it was now becoming more visible to the other 2.
Naruto smirked and de-activated his demon eyes. His normal sight was good enough to see them now.
Zabuza's blade crashed into the water and bounced off it.
He used the force and momentum of the counter to launch into the air and deliver a second water dragon at him. Kisame smirked. And swung his sword at the gigantic water dragon.
To Zabuza's surprise the jutsu exploded from the sheer power of the swing but instead of going all over the place the sword seemed to absorb it. Kisame smirked.
"Tell me Zabbuza.. Are you starting to feel drained.. A little too drained?"
He began to laugh. Zabuza panted lifting his sword in a vertical defensive position. Kisame shook his head smiling. His sharp teeth gleamed in the sunlight.
"When I said you hadn't formed a pack with you sword this is what I meant.. Among the 7 swordsmen you were the only one who had not made the pact and personalized your blade."
"Mine is called Samehada.. And it's got a very unique effect.."
"It absorbs chakra.. Usually it would have drained you just by being uncovered but I've held it back and only drained a little each time you made contact with it."
Zabuza's eyes went wide in disbelief.
Kisame smirked. "This has been a fun trip down memory lane.. But I need to wrap this up before our visitors get here."
Zabuza shook his head. Haku looked on mortified.
Zabuza was helpless. He was almost on the verge of collapsing.
Samehada had drained nearly all of his chakra.
Kisame nodded and formed an elaborate stance with his sword placed horizontally behind his neck.
He nodded and called out his attack.
Zabuza raised his blade in a feeble defensive position.
He wouldn't give up.. Not until he was unable to move.. Even as a deal.. He knew they wanted him alive.. He still wouldn't give Kisame the satisfaction of knowing he was able to break him.
"Ryujokin Style:" He vanished in a ring of dust.
"I'npon!"
"So!"
"Ka!"
For each call was a different slash. And each slash was at undetectable speeds.
Even Naruto had trouble following the full motion of his attacks.
The blonde kitsune smiled. I didn't know Kisame could move that fast... impressive these 7 swordsmen must have been incredibly formidable..
In the instant that it took to preform the 3 slashes the air had only caught the first slash so he reappeared behind Zabuza sword stretched out veins bulging in his legs and arms from having pushed for that much speed.
Zabuza was hit with the reverse non bladed side of the scaled weapon but he'd been directly hit.
He dropped his sword eyes wide and Kisame stood up behind him smirking.
"We'll wake you up when we get to the Makai."
His words didn't really connect with the man as Zabuza fell face first unconscious to the ground. He had hit him in strategic points to black him out but not kill him.
Haku was at his mentors side at an instant. "Zabuza-san!"
Naruto nodded to the young boy. "He's fine but he made the deal. He's coming to help us.. You don't have to come if you don't want to but we could definitely use you."
Haku shook his head. "If Zabuza-san is going then I will go."
Naruto shrugged. He'd figured as much.
Kisame finished re-wrapping Samehada.
Narutoyawned. "Ok watch them. Now that we have them we can wrap this up, I'll go get the others."
Kisame nodded.
With that Naruto rose slowly into the air and shot off in a blast of power.
Haku stared in awe and disbelief.. H-he can fly!"
Kisame laughed.. Turning to the amazed boy he shook his head.
"Kid if you think that's something... You wouldn't believe what I've seen that kid do.."
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Orochimaru had a very simple task. Go into the estate and take out Gatou, withdraw all his finances then distribute them to the people of the wave.
Naruto had explained how he'd done this with Haita.
Orohimaru understood his mission quite clearly.
The problem was... that the Gatou compound was so damn big...
He sighed and made his way around another corner.
There were 2 Samurai guards as sentries. Orochimaru lazily took out a kunai and dispatched them before they ever realized they were being attacked.
Then he jumped up an new floor. He grit his teeth. This was repetitive.
He was going in circles.
He finally came across a door he hadn't seen before. He kicked it in alerting the 3 Guards on the inside.
They rushed at him. The Snake genin smirked and formed a set of seals activating a gen-jutsu.
The Guards were horrified to see snakes begin crawling all over.
They ran out the door as Orochimaru stood to the side watching them. He sighed then dispelled his illusion.
Then he noticed a door fancier than the rest.
He smirked. Slipping in quietly he could hear a loud voice yelling on a radio. He crept up behind a small man walking around pushing his guards out of his way.
He waited until he was sure that this was Gatou before activating the eyes of henge.
Carefully following him panning his head his eyes took in every detail and fiber of the targets genetic code. After the time was up he reverted back to his normal eyes.
The guards were muttering about unreliable ninjas.
Orochimaru jumped up and kicked him in the head dropping him silently.
Before the other could turn around he had a kunai in the back of his neck severing his spinal column.
Gatou continued on his rant as he went to get some brandy to pour in a champaign glass. "That damn Zabuza.. I knew we shouldn't have relied on that piece of trash to get the job done!"
Orochimaru walked up behind him calmly.
Gatou stopped and turned around sharply "What are do... w-who are you!"
"Guards! Guards get in here now!"
Orochimaru shook his head. "They won't be coming.. They didn't want to let me in here so I had to give them a little something to get to sleep.."
Gatou began to shake in fear.
"W-what do you want..
I'll give you a hundred.."
Orochimaru took a step forward as Gatou backed up.
"A thousand!"
He continued forward. Gatou's back hit his couch and he fell onto it.
"A million! Just don't kill me.."
Orochimaru stopped. "You seem to have no reservations about killing others but yet you fear death yourself.. Why is that?"
Gatou shook his head. "Listen, the people here.. They're suckers.. Someone like you.. As strong as you.. I could use.. I'd make you a king here the people here are so stupid they'll believe anything.. You can tax them 100x the rate and they never know the difference."
"If you work for me you can have riches beyond you wild-"
"enough!" Orochimaru was now irritated. First he'd tried to bribe him. And even now at the hour of his death he was trying to use the innocent villagers as sacrifices to save his own skin.
This man was despicable. He had no honor, no pride.. He was disgusting.
"Orochimaru looked at him with cold yellow eyes."
"I'm going to do the world a favor.. Goodbye."
Gatou desperate and terrified lunged at him.
Orochimaru did not lift a finger. Gatou came in close to strike him but suddenly halted.
His eyes opened wide as the impact shattered his glasses.
His open mouth began to drip blood he dropped hanging limply on the protrusion form Orochimaru's mouth.
The snake genin lifted his right foot and kicked the dying man off of him.
He stood looking down at him the sword of Kusanagi still protruding from his mouth. It slowly receded back in.
"He looked down at him. "That version of the sword has a very unique poison."
"It spreads throughout your whole body slowly paralyzing you."
"Then it mixes with your blood circulating through every vein."
Gatou looked up in fury and un- disguised fear.
Orochimaru shook his head. "The poisoned blood begins to collect at one point." "A small pouch around your heart.. And the heat and motion from it's beating will be what sets it off."
"It will begin to flow much more quickly, your veins won't be able to handle it."
"It will begin to come out through your pores, your eyes, your nose, your mouth, your fingers.. And other exits."
Gatou began shaking in fear as he realized the impact of what was happening.
Orochimaru looked down at him with cold yellow eyes. "And then, you will die."
Gatou tried to call out but he couldn't he began to feel the poisoned blood spreading. "N-no.."
Orochimaru walked over to his desk and took out his briefcase he heard a scream and a large thud as the man fell to the ground squirming.
He ignored it. Finding the card and bank I.D. info he was looking for Orochimaru went over to the dying Gatou.
He looked at the pitiful man in excruciating pain.
He sighed. He didn't deserve a quick death but... Orochimaru formed a few seal and a quick fire jutsu later there was no evidence of him ever being there.
He was gone long before the door opened to reveal a guard coming to say he heard a noise in here.
The guard found no one in the room.
He sighed and figured he must have been hearing things.
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"Get away from my mom!" Inari was standing his ground.
This time he wouldn't run away. He wasn't a sissy like what Naruto had said.
He would defend his mom form these guys.
He charged at them. The Samurai looked at him. "Stupid kid.."
The silver haired one shook his head. "Do it."
The scarred one with the eyepatch smirked.
Tsuname shook her head. "No! Do that I'll bite.."
She was cut off from a blow to the neck. "Shut up and go to sleep."
Inari continued charging as she dropped to the ground unconscious.
The samurai stood ready and used their thumbs to flip their blades a few inches out.
Inari continued charging.
They then pulled their swords out and sliced 2 clean strikes. They landed on the other side and re-sheathed their blades.
They turned around in surprise.
"What! Kawarimi no Jutsu!"
A log lay sliced where the child should have been.
The other turned around "T-the woman!"
Then they both turned to see the arrival.
"Sorry I'm late but the hero usually shows up at the last second."
"Inari good job, because you distracted them I was able to save your mom and stop them all at the same time.."
Inari looked confused. "B-but how did you know that the Samurai were coming here?"
"Oh.. There was a cut up boar in the forest and a lot of trees with cut marks and stuff leading back here so I figured I'd come check to see."
The Samurai shook their heads laughing. "Well well, if it isn't one of the loser ninja Tazuna hired."
"Lets do it" They charged forward.
Naruto reached in and threw a set of shuriken at them which they deflected with their blades.
"Heh, like that will work!"
Naruto smiled at them "Baka."
Before they knew what hit them 2 other Naruto's came up behind them and hit them in the back of the head.
They were both knocked out cold.
Inari stared in amazement. "A..amazing."
"Naruto you were just like a ninja!"
Naruto shook his head. "Baka.. I was a ninja from the beginning."
They began laughing together as the unconscious forms of Inari's mother as well as the Samurai lay scattered around on the dock.
The laughter of the 2 continued escalating getting louder and louder.
"What's so funny?"
Naruto instantly stopped and turned to face the new threat.
He eyed him down. He didn't look very dangerous. He looked kind of scrawny. He wore glasses and had a light mop of brown hair. His arms weren't very muscular and the clothes he wore were loose fitting.
"Oiy, who are you!" The man smiled. "I didn't expect to find you here..."
"And.. At your current level.. I wont even need to transform to kill you."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Oiy, there's no way I'm going to lose to a scrawny little guy like you!"
The man laughed.
"You should know never to underestimate your opponent because of his appearance."
"A pity you will not live to use this lesson."
Naruto shook his head. "Bring it on!"
The man smiled. "As you wish."
He was gone. Naruto blinked looking side to side to try to find him.
Suddenly a fist embedded itself into his face sending him flying across the dock and into the water skidding along it for a good 7 feet before finally sinking.
A set of Kunai shot out and launched at the opponent.
He smiled and caught them easily throwing them back several times faster.
Naruto meanwhile had gotten behind him climbing back onto the dock he made some shadow clones and told Inari to get back this guy was dangerous.
The clones rushed at him but before they could get within range a powerful wind blew through turning them to smoke.
Naruto stepped back what was that?" The man smiled. "Chakra. Nothing more."
Naruto shook his head. He refused to believe this guy was that strong.. he had to beat him.
The man smirked and again vanished. He jumped up and raised his fist for the kill when suddenly a energy blast appeared in his face. He smacked it away jumping back to assess the new danger level.
Naruto blinked in surprise. One minute this guy had been about to kill him the next he was jumping back after this weird ball of light was knocked away.
His eyes went even wider when he saw the next thing. Inari's as well. There in front of them stood an almost exact replica of him.
The boy did look a little older but he had the same spiky blonde hair, the same cerulean blue eyes, and the same whisker mars on his cheeks. "Oiy, what's going on... who the hell are you!"
The boy looked back at Naruto and smirked. "Take care of Inari and his mom I got this guy.."
(WARNING! It's about to get pretty confusing lol just read carefully..)
Naruto was confused to say the least but he did what he was told and got Tsuname and Inari off the dock.
Meanwhile the Naruto copy stood smirking. The brown haired man was no longer calm or cocky. He was furious.
"Kyuubi.. Think you can fight us without your brother.."
Naruto lowered his icy gaze on him. "I'll try."
Inari and the younger Naruto stared at the new Naruto that had shown up.
He was wearing a loose black t shirt and bright orange shorts. He didn't have sandals but some sort of weird orange and black close toed shoes.. Upon further inspection his leaf forehead protector was scratched.
Naruto smirked. "Ready?"
The brown haired man began to convulse.
"Transforming huh.. Fine.."
Naruto clenched his fists and spread his feet.
Holding his tight fists so that his elbows were pulling down he began to power up.
"Huaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" His voice began to rise in intensity as the ground began to shake.
The wood on the dock began to splinter under the sheer force being emitted.
Near Inari Naruto stood in awe as he watched this other him generating wave after wave of inconceivable power.
"Naruto's screaming began to rise even higher and with each tone raise the shaking of the ground increased.
Soon his scream was a deafening omnipotent roar drowning out all other sound.
The wood on the dock gave way from the two creatures combined power.
The first had almost finished transforming. A red aura began to swirl around Naruto and then began to blaze around him like a flame. (Goku's Kaio- ken more or less)
His brows were furrowed in fury and concentration.
Naruto's screams continued to ring out over the village.
But that wasn't the only thing.
There was another incredible aspect that was being felt across the entirety of wave country.
His power.
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Kakashi stopped. He had prepped himself for a battle with Zabuza again.
Instead everything had gone as planned. Tazuna was overseeing the final pieces of construction to the bridge.
They were just sitting there watching him work when out of nowhere a force the likes of which he'd never felt rocked his senses.
Sasuke and Sakura also sensed it.
They turned their head in the direction of the apparent source.
But Kakashi was a Jounin. He could sense what the other 2 could not.
They were sensing what their max ability to sense would let them.
But he was getting it.. All..
He'd felt the awesome power of the kyuubi before.
That had been terrifying. But this.. This was similar to the kyuubi but it made 12 years ago look like a joke.
The Kyuubi's power was monstrous. "This... was indescribable."
Tazuna-san.. Something is horribly wrong."
The man nodded. "This earthquake is super sudden I wonder what happened?"
Kakashi shook his head. "I'm not so sure this is an earthquake.."
Tazuna nodded. "Go check it out we're almost finished here."
Kakashi nodded. "Thanks."
With that he and the other 2 genin were off to find the source of the power he was feeling.
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The dock had not been able to support the sheer magnitude of power that was being generated.
It had broken into pieces and the debris of it were rising with the flow of the aura along with other small pieces of concrete from the shattered supports.
Naruto continued his unnatural scream raising his power higher and higher.
The demon was now completely formed and trying to find an opening to attack but Naruto was almost finished. He let off a final resounding yell as the blazing aura swirled around him then it softly died off.
He lowered his blood red eyes at the Demon standing before him.
He was an ogre like creature with horns protruding from the sides of his head. He had slit red eyes and large fangs.
Near Inari the younger Naruto shook his head in disbelief."That's what I was fighting..."
The demon let out a howl and charged at the boy with the blazing red aura.
He brought his claw down to swipe at him. Naruto simply moved his neck to the side to dodge it.
The demon shifted its weight and roared in rage moving his arm around for another slash.
Naruto moved his head around it as well. Then a set of extremely fast thrusts followed. Naruto dodged them all with relative ease.
Finally he'd had enough and he punched the demon in the gut using lion force and went through its stomach.
Naruto looked annoyed to his side. "You think I can't tell this was a clone?"
The demon appeared next to him and delivered a punch which Naruto caught and then threw him into the air.
Naruto then launched into the air and rose up to meet the thrown demon and punched him.
The demon used his own energy to fly and came back with a sweep.
Naruto dropped to a crouching position catching the sweep with a elbow then he rolled his hands into a grapple and spun around several times finally releasing the demon and sending him crashing into the water below.
He then launched a series of energy blasts into the water causing to to blast upward.
Inari shook his head.. "N-Naruto ninja , he.. He's flying.."
Naruto standing next to him only nodded in disbelief.
The older Naruto was still hovering above the water in the air.
He scanned the surface of the now calming water waiting for the opponent to come out.
His eyes suddenly seemed to catch some invisible motion. he elbowed backwards into the air and caught the surprised demon square in the face.
The demons face contorted in a twisted grin and his body began to glow.
Naruto widened his eyes. He fired up his aura and shot off as the clone he'd hit exploded.
Suddenly a claw stretched out to grab his throat. A poof of smoke later revealed the demon had destroyed his other clone.
Naruto flew up and kicked him onto the water.
He skidded to a stop and used chakra to keep himself above it.
Naruto smirked and floated down doing the same.
They both blurred and reappeared on the water their wrists locked in a power struggle.
"Ahhhhhhh!" Naruto's aura exploded around him as he fought for supremacy finally pushing the demon back and launching into a offensive.
The two began trading blows at mind-blowing speeds. Each one punching and dodging kicking and blocking in unmatched rhythm.
Naruto finally got in a good shot and followed it up with several punches then while it was stunned he rose up and launched a jutsu.
He slammed his palm into the demons stomach and then flew backwards.
The creature roared in laughter. "What was that, a bug bite!"
Naruto smirked and said "Unstable Rasengan, it'll blow up inside of you now."
The demon widened his eyes just before the swirling ball of chakra exploded from the inside out.
His scream were cut off as his insides were blown all over the water.
Naruto launched and energy wave that disintegrated all the floating peices.
He then smirked and landed giving his younger counterpart a thumbs up."
The younger Naruto shook his head "Who.. The.. Heck.. Are you!"
The older Naruto smiled. "I'm you from the future.. Well kinda the past... um.. It's complicated..."
Naruto perked up. "Really! So you know about the future.. So when am I gonna get all that power am I gonna marry Sakura-chan, what about the bastard Sasuke, am I Hokage yet!"
His older counterpart sighed. "All you need to know is that you have a very special gift... don't anyone ever let you tell you that it's a curse. Because it's not."
He pointed right to Naruto's stomach.
The younger blonde suddenly became quiet and surprised.
Inari had no idea what he was talking about.
"And."
The older one continued. "You will become far stronger than you can possibly imagine but in order for that to happen you will have to face rejection from the ones you hold most precious."
The younger blonde's eyes began to water. Just the thought of his precious people turning on him was unbearable.
The older one looked at his watch and sighed. "Okay, times up.. Listen, do me a favor and play dumb with Kakashi ok?"
The younger one nodded. "Oh and one more thing... when you finally meet the old hag... don't get too close to her.. It'll hurt less in the end."
Naruto had no idea what he meant by that but he definitely had a new outlook. So no matter how hard he tried he would never be accepted. Then... perhaps it was time for a new focus. A new reason to be strong.
The older one began to rise into the air smiling. "Good luck, later!"
With that he blasted off into the sky. No sooner had he disappeared and Naruto had picked up Tsunami to take her back to the house when Kakashi and the others arrived.
"Oiy Kakashi-sensei! What's the big idea leavin me behind!"
Kakashi sighed. "Not now Naruto... we're looking for the source of that Chakra."
Naruto looked at them in confusion "What chakra?"
Kakashi shook his head. Was his student so clueless and unadvanced that he couldn't even sense chakra that enormous.
Kakashi shook his head.The trail had vanished. He couldn't even since the basic outline anymore.
Kakashi made a mental note to talk with the Hokage about it. The level of power was indescribable but, perhaps it was best to let it go. After all, if they did find out what it was... he wasn't so sure they were ready to face it.
He sighed. "Never mind Naruto, we should get Tazuna's daughter back inside the house to recover."
The genin nodded and complied. That night, as everyone else lay asleep in bed Naruto stared up into the sky.
He gazed at the softly lit moon and smiled. I'm gonna grow up to be pretty cool... and thank you.. I won't make the mistake of getting too close to them now.. I hope that makes whatever I'll have to face easier to deal with..
Naruto sighed and closed his window and lay down to go to sleep.
He knew he would not soon forget the courage and confidence of the older him.
Even though he'd caught but a glimpse. A few minutes of a fight... he was glad for the opportunity.
His last thoughts before sleep took him were ones of glee.
If only Kakashi -sensei and the others knew just who that really was makin all that power.. That would've been interesting to see...
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"Why didn't you show off for Kakashi?"
Naruto sighed. "To make a long story short..
I would've ended up killing him and probably Sasuke too."
"I'm not ready to face those two again yet." "Besides, we needed to re-group to take out the demons.."
Sega nodded, "They are running out of time to interfere."
"Soon they will all be called back to prepare. During this time we should be able to train relatively unhindered."
Orochimaru sighed in relief. "Whew, that's a load off.."
Naruto nodded ok we ready?"
Zabuza grumbled grabbing his sword. "I don't go back on the few times I give my word."
"Lets just get started training."
Kisame nodded. "Yeah, believe me he needs it.. Every second of training he can get."
Zabuza growled muttering about lucky sharks and cheating energy eating weapons.
Okay Naruto said. "Lets move out"
He began forming seals. Sega joined in suite.
The 2 finished their seals and ripped a tear causing the light to envelop them and in a bright soundless flash they were gone.
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note: Ok I did get a few interesting reviews after I started on this chapter so: "No the Yondaime is never portrayed to be Naruto's father.
However, he's also not portrayed as not Naruto's father. The subject just isn't touched on. In my fic he is not.
I was just establishing that so people would understand some of the less than fatherly interaction with Naruto such as big brother type stuff they do.
also, Sir Graq: there is only 1 Kisame. Kisame's friend was Zabuza (obviously) And the shark man will always be referring to Kisame.
Ok, this chapter was fun to write. Took awhile but it's done. Almost 20 pages again.
A few things. For most of the characters in this I make the character personality laid back easy going or goofy. The fact is that Zabuza simply is not any of those things. Thus I kept him more or less a bad guy. He's bad with a strict complicated honor code.
Haku may be a little OOC but I think I can keep Zabuza pretty well in Character.
The next chapter will be the start of a new arc. The Energy Saga.
And Jiraiya's FMA power is no more than 1 chapter (maybe less) away. And the other genin will all have very special paths as well. Orochimaru in particular will have a very different path than the villainous sound Otokage of Naruto's original time.
That's all the spoiler yall get for next time. Until then... stay tuned.
And all my N$$$az said: Y-e-a-h!
Pace.