A month has passed since the bell test. Team 7 has been completing simple and safe missions. They have yet to leave the village and have only been fighting bandits. Today's mission is different. They are tracking a target throughout the forest. They use the tall trees as cover, so they wouldn't be caught. Once the target is directly under them, they jump from the tree and catch their target. Their target was a cat.
"Wait, the target was a cat," said Naruto.
"It's not just any cat, it's the cat of Madam Shijmi," said Kakashi.
"When are we going to get any real missions? We're shinobi, not cat bounty hunters," said Joshu.
"You'll get harder missions soon. The Tora Rescue Mission is now complete," said Kakashi.
Team 7 returns to the village. They return Madam Shijmi's cat to her and talk to the Third Hokage.
"Team 7, your next mission is to babysit an elder's grandson and help with the potato farming." said the third Hokage.
"Grandfather, I know we're just rookies, but I'm tired of just getting missions that five-year-olds could complete. We're powerful enough to get harder missions," said Naruto.
"Fine, if you want a harder mission, I'll give you one. This mission will be a C-Rank. Your job will be to escort a bridge-builder towards the Land of Waves." said the third Hokage.
"Who will we be escorting?" asked Naruto.
"He'll be coming in any second now." said the third Hokage.
An older man walks through the door. He is holding a half-drunk bottle of liquor. He drinks from the bottle before acknowledging Team 7.
"Hey shorty with the retarded looking face, are you really a real ninja?" asked the bridge builder.
"Who are you talking to you middle-aged drunk," said Naruto.
Naruto is about to get in the bridge builder's face until Joshu holds him back.
"We can't attack our client even though I would love to punch him in his smug face," said Joshu.
"My name's Tazuna and I expect you to bring me to my home quickly and safely," said Tazuna.
Team 7 and Tazuna leave the Hokage mansion and head toward the village gates. They proceed to exit the village and start their journey towards the Land of Waves. Two people are observing the group from the trees. One of the men pops out of a puddle on the ground. The other man appears and they both attempt to throw a chain around Kakashi but he teleports and knocks both of the men out with one punch. He then grabs them and holds them in his arms. Kakashi then looks at Tazuna.
"If the Hokage knew that, this mission would be a B-Rank at least and it probably would be expensive for someone like you. I know that you probably have a reason to lie about this mission, but this may be too much for a bunch of kids. If we find any more powerful ninja, we're turning back." said Kakashi.
A man with a bandaged mask with a giant blade is talking to an older businessman in a wooden house.
"What do you mean you failed! I hired you and your men and you'll fail to kill Tazuna! I thought you were the demon of the mist!" exclaimed the businessman.
Zabuza grabs his large blade and points it at the businessman.
"I won't fail you this time Gato because I will kill him myself." said the swordsman.
Team 7 arrives in the Land of Waves by boat. Tazuna feels guilty about lying about the severity of the mission and confronts Kakashi.
"Kakashi, I need to talk to you about the mission. Yeah, I lied about the severity of the mission because I was too poor to afford it. A man named Gato is trying to kill me to stop me from building the bridge. Gato owns a shipping company but he also sells drugs and other illegal items. If I complete this bridge, Gato will be unable to control this country." said Tazuna.
"So. you're basically a roadblock," said Sakura.
"You can say that. At least you can't turn back now," said Tazuna.
"Well, I guess we're stuck here until you finish this bridge," said Kakashi.
Team 7 hops back on the boat and heads towards Tazuna's house. They get off at a dock and start to walk. Kakashi notices someone hiding in the treetops. The swordsman throws his blade like a giant shuriken at Team 7 and they all drop down. The giant blade hits a tree and the swordsman appears on top of it.
"I'll deal with him guys," said Joshu.
"That guy is Zabuza Momochi, the demon of the mist. I'll deal with him. He's too dangerous for you guys." said Kakashi.
"I can beat him if I use this." thought Kakashi.
Kakashi grabs his headband and pulls it up and exposes his Sharingan to Team 7 for the first time.
"I would love to fight with you Kakashi, but I'm taking the old man," said Zabuza.
"You won't be taking Tazuna, you'll be fighting me," said Kakashi.
"How did he get the Sharingan? It's only supposed to appear in Uchihas. Is he an Uchiha or half-breed?" thought Sasuke.
"Enough waiting, I'm going to kill you Kakashi and take the old man," said Zabuza.
Zabuza teleports and appears on the water with his blade and casts a jutsu.
"Hidden Mist Jutsu," said Zabuza.
Zabuza disappears into the mist. Team 7 wonders where he has gone until he teleports in between them. Kakashi stabs him with a kunai to stop him from slaughtering his team. Zabuza slashes at Kakashi's legs, but he substitutes himself with a water style clone. Kakashi appears behind Zabuza.
"It's over," said Kakashi.
"How could you beat me with those imitations?" asked Zabuza.
"You used clones to bait me while you stayed in the mist and waited for the time to kill Tazuna," said Kakashi.
"The thing is that I'm not that easy to beat," said Zabuza.
Zabuza holds a kunai to Kakashi's throat. Zabuza's water clone disappears and the real Zabuza slashes at Kakashi and Kakashi dodges it. Zabuza kicks Kakashi into the water. Sasuke throws spikes on the ground, but Zabuza avoids it. Zabuza teleports on the water and prepares a jutsu.
"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu," exclaimed Zabuza.
A large water sphere appears around Kakashi.
"It was pretty dumb for you to try to escape through the water. Now you're in my prison. Now I'm going to kill your friends." said Zabuza.
Zabuza sends a water clone to fight Team 7. Zabuza disappears and kicks Naruto. The kick knocks off Naruto's headband.
"Run and take Tazuna with you! He's too dangerous for you to fight!" exclaimed Kakashi.
Joshu steps in front of Zabuza.
"Joshu, what are you doing?" asked Sakura.
"Proving that I'm a shinobi," said Joshu.
"What!" exclaimed Sakura.
"You guys run. I'll hold him off," said Joshu.
"That's dumb. You'll just end up getting yourself killed," said Sasuke.
"I know, but I need to prove to him that he won't disrespect my father, my teammates, and me without being punished. I will stop him even if it means I must die. That's my ninja way." said Joshu.
"You won't fight him alone. Sasuke, Sakura, Joshu, we're Team 7 of Konohagakure. We have to save Tazuna and our sensei. We're shinobi. We don't back down especially from an eyebrow less freak like him. Let's go wild guys!" said Naruto.
"I've killed many children just like you when I was a child. Why do you believe that you guys will be any different?" said Zabuza.
"That's easy. You've never faced the combined strength of Team 7," said Joshu.
Zabuza disappears and slams Sasuke to the ground. Naruto creates a large number of shadow clones that surround Zabuza. The shadow clones jump on Zabuza, but they are blown away when Zabuza spins his blade around. Sasuke pulls out a giant demon shuriken. Sasuke jumps in the air and launches the demon shuriken at Zabuza. The demon shuriken flies past Zabuza. Another demon shuriken pops out of the first's shadow. Zabuza jumps over the demon shuriken. The demon shuriken turns into Joshu. Joshu launches a kunai at Zabuza. Zabuza tries to throw the demon shuriken at Joshu, but Kakashi blocks it with his hand.
"Good job guys. That plan was excellent," said Kakashi.
"I guess I must have released the jutsu," said Zabuza.
"No, we forced you to release it," said Joshu.
Kakashi uses the Sharingan to copy all of Zabuza's hand signs.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!" exclaimed Zabuza and Kakashi.
Two giant water dragons collide with each other. Kakashi and Zabuza clash in the middle of the ocean. Kakashi copies Zabuza's hand signs and creates a water cyclone that launches Zabuza into a tree. Two needles fly into Zabuza's neck. Zabuza seemingly falls to the ground and dies. A masked assassin appears on a branch of a tree.
"He's dead." said the masked assassin.
"You're a Hidden Mist assassin," said Kakashi.
"Yes, I've come here to collect Zabuza Momochi because he's a rogue ninja of the Hidden Mist Village. I will dispose of his body now. Thank you and farewell." said the masked assassin.
The masked assassin is sitting in the forest and is healing Zabuza. Once Zabuza wakes up, the masked assassin takes off her mask. The face is a young girl with long black hair and black eyes.
"You know that you are annoying sometimes Haku," said Zabuza.
"If it wasn't for me, you would be dead," said Haku.
"You are smart. That's why I like you," said Zabuza.
"I'm just a kid you know," said Haku.
"Next time I will defeat Kakashi and overcome his Sharingan and his little brats," said Zabuza.
"Let's get Tazuna home," said Kakashi.
Kakashi falls to the ground after overusing his Sharingan. The group arrives at Tazuna's house. They put Kakashi in an empty room and lay him down to allow him to rest. Kakashi wakes up to Naruto trying to remove his mask.
"Oh hey, Kakashi sensei. I'm glad you're awake," said Naruto.
"I told you it was a stupid idea," said Joshu.
"I had a crazy realization that Zabuza may not be dead," said Kakashi.
"What do you mean?" asked Naruto.
"The needles probably hit a nonvital area. There's no way an assassin would hit a nonvital area. That guy must have been working with Zabuza. He must have taken Zabuza's body and healed him up. They're going to come back, so I'm going to have to train you. Because you guys are growing so rapidly, this training should make you a little stronger." said Kakashi.
Team 7 learns how to concentrate their chakra to walk on trees. For the whole day, Team 7 climbs up the tree more and more until they reach the highest branch. After a long day of training, a young girl in a dress walks past the group.
"Whoa, who's that?" asked Naruto.
"I don't know who that is, but maybe you can shoot your shot," said Sasuke.
"Ok, I'm going to do it," said Naruto.
"Hello, I'm Naruto Sarutobi," said Naruto.
"I'm Haku. Why are you talking to me?" said Haku.
"I was training then I saw a beautiful girl walk past," said Naruto.
"Why are you training? Do you have a person to protect?" asked Haku.
"Yeah, I have friends and family. I also want to become Hokage of my village," said Naruto.
"You will become strong. I know it. We should meet up again." said Haku.
"Is that a date?" asked Naruto.
"You can say that," said Haku.
Haku walks away and moves deeper into the forest. Naruto returns to his teammates.
"So how did it go?" asked Sasuke.
"Swish," said Naruto.
Sasuke high fives Naruto and they start their trek home. Haku arrives home and gives Zabuza an apple. Zabuza grabs the apple and squeezes it until it combusts in his hands.
"Haku, I believe I'm at full health. Let's kill those brats.
Team 7 escorts Tazuna to the construction site. A myriad of dead bodies lay around the construction site.
"What the hell happened here?" asked Joshu.
"Zabuza killed them," said Kakashi.
"How do you know this?" asked Joshu.
"I can sense the mist," said Kakashi.
The same mist from the ocean appears around the group. A bunch of water clones jump out of the mist. Sasuke spins and kills all of Zabuza's clones. Zabuza and Haku move out of the mist. Joshu points at Haku.
"He's mine," said Joshu.
"I guess you must have a fanboy," said Zabuza.
"I'll show you who a fanboy is," said Joshu.
Joshu rushes and clashes with Haku. They swipe at each other until Haku starts to do hand signs with one hand.
"I have a kekkei genkai. I can manipulate water and turn it into ice. Look around Joshu, there's water all around us. There's water on the ground and water on you. I've already won. Special Jutsu: Flying Water Needles." said Haku.
The water around them turns into needles. Haku aims the needles at Joshu's legs, but Joshu dodges it and attempts to stab Haku. Haku blocks it with a kunai. Joshu kicks Haku and she flies back to Zabuza. Haku gets up and prepares a jutsu.
"Special Jutsu: Demonic Ice Mirrors!" exclaimed Haku.
A circle of ice mirrors appear in the sky and drop to the ground. Haku walks into one of the mirrors. Kakashi tries to jump in and save Joshu, but Zabuza cuts him off.
"Your opponent isn't him, it's me," said Zabuza.
"Now that you're here, I can show you my real speed," said Haku.
Haku starts to speed across to each mirror. Joshu tries to block Haku's slices, but she is way too fast. Sakura jumps and throws a kunai at Haku. Haku catches the kunai with her right hand. When Haku was distracted, Sasuke and Naruto appeared behind Joshu.
"Took you long enough," said Joshu.
"You should be glad we came at all," said Sasuke.
Sasuke, Naruto, and Joshu line up together.
"Let's do this," said Naruto.
"Zabuza, let me fight them," said Haku.
"Fine," said Zabuza.
"These mirrors are made of ice. Sasuke, Fire Ball Jutsu," said Joshu.
"Got it," said Sasuke.
The boys launch fireballs at the ice mirrors. The Jutsu was ineffective. Haku throws kunai at the boys.
"My mirrors are unbreakable. Your pitiful fireball won't do a damn thing to break them."
Naruto creates clones to break the mirrors. Haku phases through a mirror and destroys all of Naruto's clones.
"I have dreams. My dream is to kill you both and please my master," said Haku.
"I guess we're going to have to squash that dream," said Joshu.
Zabuza walks up to Kakashi.
"I'm going to put an end to you," said Kakashi.
"Oh, you're going to use your Sharingan. Where's your finesse?" said Zabuza.
Zabuza rushes at Kakashi with a kunai, but Kakashi catches it with his hand. Kakashi reveals his Sharingan and prepares to fight Zabuza. Zabuza disappears into the mist. Zabuza throws a bunch of shuriken at Kakashi and he blocks it. Zabuza disappears back into the mist. Zabuza appears behind Sakura and Tazuna. Kakashi jumps in the way to block it. Zabuza slashes Kakashi's stomach.
"Why do you put so much trust into those kids? They're not powerful enough to be trusted like that," asked Zabuza.
"Those kids may not be super powerful, but they are skilled. Joshu and Sasuke are geniuses and Naruto has a lot of powerful chakra. They don't need strength, they can beat Haku with intellect alone." said Kakashi.
Joshu grabs Naruto and Sasuke and moves them out of the way of Haku's needles. Naruto and Sasuke look up to see Joshu covered in needles.
"Why would you do this?" asked Naruto.
"I'll die for my friends," said Joshu.
Joshu falls backward into Naruto's arms. Sasuke and Naruto stare at Joshu's body.
"Is this the first time one of your allies died? That's the ninja path. You're going to lose a lot more." said Haku.
"You're going to die!" exclaimed Naruto and Sasuke.
Sasuke has unlocked his Sharingan and Naruto has tapped into the Nine Tails's chakra. Haku throws kunai at Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke dodges them and Naruto deflects them with his chakra. Haku jumps in the air and tries to smash Naruto, but he dodges it. Naruto punches her so hard that her mask breaks. Naruto attempts to punch her again until Sasuke stops his punch.
"This was the girl you were talking to. Don't kill her," said Sasuke.
"Why would you do this?" asked Naruto.
"I always wanted to be a tool for Zabuza to use because he was the only one to help me when I was homeless. Back home in the Hidden Mist, people with kekkei genkai were seen as abominations. When my father found out that my mother had one, he killed her. He tried to kill me, but I killed him first. I was homeless until Zabuza picked me up and took me on his adventures." said Haku.
"I understand that pain that you've gone through. I understand the pain of feeling like an abomination, but I won't let you kill innocent people because your dad was a bastard. No matter what you say, I'll never forgive you for killing my friend." said Sasuke.
Kakashi kneels in the middle of the mist. Kakashi sends ninja dogs underground to track Zabuza's scent. Once they get his scent, they jump through the ground and bite on Zabuza's body parts.
"I can see your future," said Kakashi.
"What's my future Kakashi?" asked Zabuza.
"Your future is death. Lightning blade!" said Kakashi.
Haku senses Kakashi preparing his ultimate technique. She tries to escape, but Sasuke punches her in the face before she teleports away.
"Joshu had dreams. I will make sure you don't fulfill yours," said Sasuke.
Kakashi runs at top speeds and stabs Zabuza with his lightning blade killing him.
"I guess you beat me once again Kakashi," said Zabuza.
Zabuza's lifeless body falls to the ground once Kakashi removes his arm from his chest. Haku senses the chakra of her friend disappear and breaks down.
"Zabuza!" exclaimed Haku.
"I'll watch over her. You take Joshu's body to the Kakashi and Sakura," said Naruto.
Sasuke picks up Joshu's body and lays it on the ground behind Sakura and Tazuna. Sakura and Tazuna run to Joshu's body. Sasuke looks the other way trying not to cry.
"I always got good grades on all of the tests in the academy, but I couldn't help my friends. The first rule in the shinobi handbook is to not show emotion, but I'm crying. Why am I such a failure?" said Sakura.
"Being a shinobi must be unbearable," said Tazuna.
Sakura's tears fall on Joshu's body. Joshu's eyes slowly open.
"Hey Sakura, why are you crying?" asked Joshu.
Joshu gets up and Sakura hugs him.
"Sasuke! Joshu's alive," exclaimed Sakura.
Sasuke looks at the both of them and wipes away a tear. A large group of bandits led by Gato appears and they are holding Naruto and Haku hostage.
"It's so sad that Zabuza failed me again. But no matter, my men can handle you weak shinobi," said Gato.
"Give us our friends now!" exclaimed Joshu.
"You don't make the orders around here. Once you are all dead, I can finally control this impoverished country," said Gato.
"I guess we'll take them by force," said Kakashi.
Kakashi creates shadow clones. Sasuke turns on his Sharingan. Naruto and Sakura pick up kunais. Joshu prepares the chidori. Tazuna sits there in shock.
"It's time for scum like you to be put in your place. Team 7 let's take them down," said Kakashi.
Team 7 rushes the bandits and takes them all down and arrests Gato. Two weeks have passed since the battle on the bridge. Team 7 prepares to leave the Land of Waves with a new friend.
"How could you show mercy to her? She tried to kill you," said Sasuke.
"I know that, but she can redeem herself and Naruto hasn't gotten that date yet," said Joshu.
Sasuke walks faster and a little more annoyed. Haku is no longer a tool of Zabuza. She will redeem herself by becoming a Hidden Leaf shinobi and a new member of Team 7. Kakashi is very proud of his team's progression. He believes that they are ready to be promoted. Promoted to chunin via the Chunin Exams, but will Team 7 be able to face any new threats in the Chunin Exams?
