Rain: Thank you all for reviewing the last chapter. I hope you guys weren't disappointed with it but now it's time to get this steam train moving so…
Mario: Here we go!
Reaper's Blood: Reincarnation
Chapter Twenty-Eight
It's been three days since Naruto and Hinata's impromptu battle/confessions and things couldn't have been better for the two teams from Konoha. Hinata was slowly breaking down the walls that were around her heart and soul, showing her two teammates and sensei some kindness which made Kiba state "I don't know what that antidote did but we should make more of it if it keeps Hinata like this."
But she still wasn't the girl she was a year ago. She showed that after a giving Kiba a painful blow to the stomach after he made that comment, sending him sprawling out on the ground but he soon returned to his seat, munching on the delicious food Tsunami had made but during this dinner, everyone could feel the tense air that was coming from Inari, Tsunami's son and Tazuna's grandson.
Inari couldn't stand how everyone, including his mom and grandpa were laughing and smiling (Excluding Hinata and Shino) when there was nothing to laugh or smile about so he decided to break up this cheery atmosphere by asking the Konoha shinobi why they were even trying to help out Wave.
Naruto had calmly replied that Konoha would help out anyone in trouble at anytime but then Inari said something along the lines that Konoha and their shinobi were spoiled and doesn't know a hard life.
No one said a word after that.
Not because Inari was right or anything but it was simply because it took all of them to hold Hinata back. She was already annoyed by Kiba's smart ass remark but she was outright pissed at what Inari had said. She ranted that Inari was blessed to have a mother and grandfather as loving and caring as them and shouted that neither she nor Naruto had that kind of support.
She then explained how her family truly worked and how brutal Naruto's childhood was and when she was finished, she said "Now stop your complaining because others have it way worse than you do!"
As Inari ran upstairs in tears, Hinata excused herself to the room Tsunami had set up for her, Kurenai and Anko and after Tazuna explained what happened to Inari and how his faith wavered, Naruto excused himself as well, stating his was tired when that was far from the truth.
When he found Inari on his balcony crying, Naruto explained to him that Hinata hadn't mean to yell at him like that but she was going through a lot. Inari could understand that because he was going through a lot as well but something confused him and it showed on his face.
When Inari finally sorted out everything raging in his mind, He looked up at Naruto and asked him "That Hinata girl said that your life was harder than hers but downstairs you were laughing and smiling…How did you go on?"
Naruto stared down at the boy and without missing a beat, he told him "Because of my precious people."
"Precious people? What are they?" Inari asked.
Naruto then explained to Inari his past and how he was treated in depth to make the child understand what he exactly went through telling him about his first mission and when he was done, Inari was looking at him with wide eyes.
"Did you really almost die protecting her?"
"That's right" Naruto replied with a smile. "I wanted to protect my precious person so I stood up to him and fought until my last breath. My precious people are the reason I go on. I fight for them, I live for them and in return, they give me the strength I need to fight all of the villains in the world and I'd do it proudly to protect them. And that's what you must do, Inari."
"M-Me?"
"That's right," Naruto placed his hand on the smaller boy's shoulder and with a serious look on his face, he said "Gato has made you and your entire village cower in fear of him but when Kaiza stood up to him to protect his precious people. Gato was the one cowering in fear of him. He may have been killed but he passed his courage down to you, Inari."
"He did?"
"He did," Naruto answered him with a smile. "As long as you have your Okaa-san and Ojii-san by your side, I assure you that nothing in this world can stop you from protecting them, not even Gato himself because that's what us heroes do, protect everyone and everything they hold dear!"
Inari looked up at Naruto with an unsure look on his face as he softly asked "Do you think I can do it? Become strong enough to protect Okaa-san and Ojii-san?"
"I know you can…." Naruto replied with a gentle smile on his face. When Inari saw the smile on the older boy's face as well as the truth and passion in his voice, Inari beamed up at him while making a promise to himself.
Not only would he always protect his family, but he would become just as strong as Naruto.
After Inari went back inside his house, Naruto looked at the sky for a few moments before saying "I know you're there, come out and face me…" Without warning, a female figure landed next to the orange wearing shinobi before saying "Despite seeing you fight Zabuza-Otou-san to a near standstill, I still underestimate you."
"I get that a lot," Naruto said with a chuckle, his eyes never leaving the sky. He knew that whoever this person was, she was not there to harm him. Kassou and Kyūbi warned him that she was there while he was speaking to Inari but they didn't sense anything other than curiosity, which made him wary but he wasn't opposed to it.
It was better than fighting to the death.
"So, what do you want?" He asked her with a glance.
Momochi Haku had been watching the blond Shinobi since his battle with her surrogate father, Momochi Zabuza and despite losing to Zabuza, she was very impressed by the show of skill and will on Naruto's behalf and despite being just as weak as Zabuza is at that time, Naruto went head-to-head with his own teammate and apparently girlfriend just a few days later while nursing his injuries.
He intrigued her.
At first, it was because of his skill but after hearing him talk to that child he called Inari, she became even more curious because of his philosophy. It was very much like her own and it made her smile to know that someone else shared her views on things.
So with a gentle tone, she replied "Ever since your battle with Zabuza-Otou-san, I've been watching you Uzumaki Naruto and the more I watch you from the shadows, the more you intrigue me."
"Well" Naruto started out with amusement in his voice. "I get that a lot but I doubt you're here to just tell me that, now are you?"
He heard the girl beside him sigh a little as she shook her head. "Zabuza-Otou-san wanted me to inform you and your friends about his attack in a few days."
"Are you kidding me?!"
Haku could've sworn she saw a few birds flying in the distance from his loud yell but she replied "No I am not." Naruto ran a hand through his blond locks and let a sigh leave his lips. This mission had completely turned into something he could never have expected in his young life.
"Why would he make you tell us this? I mean, he's giving up the element of surprise," Naruto told the masked girl who leaned against the banister.
He wants you to get stronger so you'll put up more of a challenge in your rematch with him. He even has a surprise for you if you're able to beat him."
How troublesome.
Naruto had went up against Zabuza once already and it had left him completely drained of chakra and with the added bonus of wounding him to the point of death and knowing that Zabuza wants a rematch was very unsettling but Naruto wouldn't back down from this challenge…No matter what.
"Well, what will happen if I lose this time?" He asked her after a moment of silence.
"Then he will kill you without hesitation," She answered him with a glance at his whiskered face. Everything was quiet for the next few moments as Naruto thought over his situation and after nodding his head, Naruto turned to the girl and then asked "What happens if I refuse?"
"He'll show up here and kill everyone in front of you before killing you," She answered
Naruto let out another sigh as he said "Well then, Looks like I have no choice. I'll do it…"
Despite having a feeling that he would say this, Haku was still surprised by his answer and Naruto heard that surprise when she asked "A-Are you sure? Zabuza-Otou-san isn't the same person you fought that day. He's a lot stronger now."
Naruto gave her a small smile that momentarily made her blush beneath her mask and said "I know but I'm not one to take a challenge lying down and even if I didn't want to accept it, I can't let him kill everyone, that'll look bad on my resume." Naruto then laughed a bit.
"Tell him I'll be ready when the week is over and I'll be the one walking off that bridge alive and I never go back on my word. That's my Nindo, My shinobi way."
Haku, not able to say anything more after hearing his determined words simply nodded and vanished with a plume of smoke, leaving Naruto there by himself for a few moments before he ran back into the house, yelling "We got a huge problem!"
After gathering everyone together, Naruto took a deep breath and began to tell them of what he encountered and when he was done, everyone was staring at him with horror.
"You what?!" Everyone in the room shouted out as Naruto shrunk down in his seat, clearly terrified of what was going to happen to him.
"I…accepted the challenge Zabuza gave me. I had no choice. You guys know how strong he is. He seems like the guy that would back up his threat and you know that's true." Naruto responded meekly.
Everyone couldn't help but gaze at the blond in front of them in concern.
Why did it seem like everything that could go wrong in Naruto's life, does? I mean, no other shinobi team doesn't have to worry about dealing with a former mist ANBU gunning down one of their own but somehow, Naruto is able to do that with no problems.
"This is bad guys. We only have one week to train before they attack the bridge." Kiba exclaimed with a rare look of worry on his face. From what he saw, Zabuza was a complete badass swordsman that would've been able to take them all down without a sweat and from what Naruto told him about the accomplice, She seemed pretty strong too so going against them with only a week to train seemed like a suicide mission.
"Then I guess we can't waste this time" Kurenai said as she stood up off the couch with Anko by her side. "We only have one week, Let's make this week count!"
After a week of training their asses off, It was time to get ready.
After one week of intense training, countless bloodshed and secret tears, the joint teams of Team Viper and Team 8 were ready to fight. It was decided a day before that Naruto, Anko and Kurenai would take on Zabuza while Kiba, Hinata and Shino would take on the accomplice now known as Haku.
But they had encountered a problem.
During their training the day before D-Day, Naruto had suffered a serious injury and wound up unconscious and he wasn't waking up so he was placed on Inari's bed to rest but the minute they did this, One of Tazuna's workers rushed into the bridge builder's home and managed to wheeze out "Demon…Bridge…Hurry…" before falling to the ground, unconscious.
Without any words spared between them, the group of Shinobi (Along with Tazuna) rushed out of the house and towards the bridge where they caught the forms of Zabuza and Haku but something made the group stared in shock.
Zabuza only had one arm.
Zabuza had known without looking at the group that the blond wasn't among them but he didn't fret over this. Why? He was like his mother, that's why. He would come in and save the day at the last second and fight him, only to discover how weak he was in perish along with his team.
Zabuza clenched his right arm and looked at the group before turning around, grabbing the hilt of his blade and placing his large blade along his shoulders and said "Well Haku, It seems they've arrived. Take care of the genins, I'll take care of the jōnins as well as the blond when he arrives."
Kiba, stepping forward ahead of the group shouted "One against three! This'll be easy! Almost as easy as two people against a one armed man. Ready Shino, Hinata?" Hinata and Shino stepped behind him and readied themselves for a battle. Kurenai and Anko stared at the one armed Momochi and readied themselves as well.
Unlike Kurenai's students, these two Jōnins knew that despite him losing his left arm, Zabuza would still be tough enough to kill them and after a brief stare down, the two sides charged, both hoping to win this battle as well as walking away with their lives.
Rain: Well, the big battle has finally begun. The next chapter will show you guys what Team 8 and Later what Naruto has learned and there will be three special guests in this battle as well. Until then!
Mario: See you next time!
