KeybladeMasterRiku: No I am not, and for that matter Sasuke will not be leaving the village in this fic. I have something else in mind for that.
Spoon8887: I know that I don't prefer those kinds of fics, but for all either of us know there may be a fic like that somewhere out there.
Knutnputn: I actually did do that in the first version, but this time around I wanted to do something with more variety.
iamOsiris: Looks interesting.
Shinra Izu: Like I said, I wanted a villain as obvious as possibly to play that role.
Hunter XZ: Okay maybe cliche is the wrong word, but to me it just feels stale and overdone, and I wanted to give my story more variety than that.
Nemisis420: Yeah, I have some plans for Lee later on, and the first step is to give him a considerably different personality.
The Violent Imagination: That's how I do scene changes, and the fact that it covers so much is that there are that many scene changes involved.
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About a week had passed since the graduation exams, and things were about to be kicked into high gear.
Tatsu showed up at the mission hall "Alright, what've we got today?"
"Let's see, Kakashi's team 7 already caught Tora for today." Sarutobi checked the list "Now let's see what's available. Among them is babysitting the chief counselor's 3-year old, helping his wife to do the shopping, digging up potatoes-"
"N-O!" Naruto cut him off loudly "I wanna go on a real mission! Something challenging and exciting, not this little kid stuff! Come on!"
"He's not wrong." Sasuke pointed out.
"See? He gets it!"
"How dare you!" Iruka barked "You're just a brand new genin with new experience, like everyone else you start with simple missions to develop your skills and prove yourself!"
"Are you serious? Babysitting is not a mission, it's just a stupid-"
"Put a lid on it." Tatsu cut him off by hitting him on the head.
Mizuki breathed a sigh of relief "Thank you Tatsu. With all due respect Lord Hokage, he's not wrong D-rank missions are basically us pawning our chores off on them. Besides, Naruto's just trying in his own way to express that he's not a brat anymore. He's a former brat who wants a mission to prove himself. Just a simple C-rank should be enough for now, nothing major."
"So be it." Sarutobi conceded "Since you are so determined Naruto, I'm going to give you a simple C-rank mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey. But only if Tatsu goes with you."
"Yes!" Naruto bolted up "Who? Who? Are we guarding a princess, or some councilor?"
"Don't be so impatient, I will bring him in now." he turned to his secretary "Send in our visitor."
That was when he came in; an old man with a bottle of sake "What the-? A bunch of little snot nosed kids? And you, the little one with the idiotic look on your face. You really expect me to believe you're a ninja?"
"Who's the little one with the idiotic look on his-" Naruto cut himself off when he realized who the old man was talking about "I'll demolish you! Let me get my hands on him, I'll destroy that son of a-"
"You can't demolish the client Naruto, otherwise I would've done it myself to so many guys by this point." Tatsu pointed out.
Then the old man finally stopped drinking and turned serious "I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder, and I must return to my country. I'm building a bridge there that will change our world, and I expect you to get me there safely, even if it means giving up your life."
"That's what we get paid for old man. You guys wait at the gate, I've gotta grab something from my apartment and I'll meet you there in half an hour." and he ran off.
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Half an hour later, he found Naruto cheering outside the gates "Yeah, alright!"
"What're you getting so excited about?" asked Sasuke.
"This is the first time I've ever left the village. I'm a traveler now, believe it!"
Tazuna wasn't impressed "Am I supposed to trust my life to this runt? He's a joke."
"He's with me and I'm an elite genin, and Kakashi here is a full-fledged jonin, so you have no need to worry." Kakashi assured him "And besides, he's got potential when it counts."
"I'll believe it when I see it."
'Why'd we have to get this old geezer to guard? I'm going to cut him down to size right now!' so Naruto then rounded on Tazuna "Hey old man never insult a ninja, it's a big mistake and I'm one of the greatest ninja ever! Someday I'm going to be a Hokage and you'll look up to me! My name's Naruto Uzumaki, remember it."
"Hokage are powerful and wise, you are puny and brainless. The day you'll become Hokage, I'll sprout wings and fly."
"SHUT UP! I'm willing to do anything to become Hokage, no matter what it takes! And when I do, everyone will have to admit that I'm the top ninja, including you!"
"You can become Hokage 10 times over, and to me you'll still be nobody, a loser."
"I'm going to make you pay for that right now!"
"Enough." Tatsu got in the way and stopped Naruto's fist with one hand "Old man, just because we have to get you home in one piece doesn't mean you have to be conscious so no picking fights or it's lights out until we get you home. Naruto, you're supposed to protect the client not attack him so no picking fights or you won't get this jutsu." he held up a scroll with a red symbol on it."
Naruto instantly cooled off "You're teaching me a new jutsu?"
"I'm teaching you one, I'm teaching Sasuke the other. One of these for each of you, provided you've both mastered the things I taught you."
Naruto finally shut up after that.
Sasuke looked at Tatsu with a raised eyebrow.
Tatsu just grinned.
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A few hours into the journey, Sakura spoke up "Say, Mr Tazuna?"
"What is it?" asked Tazuna.
"Your country is the Land of Waves, right?"
"Yeah. What of it?"
"There are ninja in that country too aren't there?"
"Actually no." Tatsu spoke up "The Land of Waves is ninja free. But in other countries there are hidden villages, each with their own different customs and cultures where ninja reside. To the people of this continent, the existence of shinobi villages means military strength. In other words, that's how they protect themselves and maintain the balance of power with neighboring countries. The ninja villages aren't controlled by any government, they're independent and have equal status. A small island like the Land of Waves has natural protection from the sea, making the need for a ninja village non-existent. The 5 great nations possessing shinobi villages are the Lands of Fire, Water, Earth, Lightning and Wind, each village in that land being ruled by their own Kage, Hokage, Mizukage, Tsuchikage, Raikage and Kazekage, in that order. The Land of Fire has the Hokage and the Hidden Leaf the Land of Water the Hidden Mist, the Land of Earth the Hidden Stone, the Land of Lightning the Hidden Cloud, and the Land of Wind the Hidden Sand."
"Then Lord Hokage's really important!" her inner self stated that she really didn't give a crap.
"Just be glad you haven't seen the 3rd when he's serious, he could oneshot Kakashi if he wanted to."
"He's right." Kakashi agreed "Kage class is far above jonin class, I wouldn't last a minute in a fight against him."
"Anyway, to answer your question Sakura there aren't any battles in a C-rank mission so you can just relax."
"And we're not going to run into any enemy like that." Sakura guessed.
"The odds aren't very high, so we can just use this as an opportunity to train. Which reminds me. Kakashi, hang back a second. Naruto and Sasuke, take up the front."
"Right." Naruto and Sasuke took up the front.
"Alright, Kakashi come back here a second."
Kakashi slowed down a bit to keep pace with Tatsu "So how's your training been going?"
"A learned a kickass taijutsu move the night Aizen went rogue, but I haven't mastered it yet and whenever I use it it leaves me really cut up. Now then, what's your plan for teaching them?"
"Well I plan on teaching Sasuke the Chidori once he awakens the Sharingan and once I think he's ready."
"No need, I've got something for him that he won't need the Sharingan for, and the same goes for Naruto."
"What about Sakura?"
"What about the pink banshee who does nothing but fantasize about raping Sasuke?"
"...Fair enough. So what's your plan?"
"I've got one jutsu for Naruto and one jutsu for Sasuke. The first one is for Sasuke, it's a lightning jutsu specifically designed so he doesn't need his Sharingan to master it. It's called Purple Thunder. The other one is a wind jutsu meant for Naruto called Crimson Wind. it's a barrage of sharp powerful slashes of wind that change colors based on the user's chakra. If it were me, it'd be Skybound Wind or some crap like that."
"That's amazing, where'd you find these jutsu? I've never heard of anything like them."
"My brother created them before he died, wanted to surprise you and Asuma with them but I think Naruto and Sasuke deserve them. Wait." he looked at a puddle suspiciously, then gave Kakashi a subtle nod.
Kakashi returned the gesture, his voice soft "Right."
"I'll go ahead." Tatsu took up the front.
That was when two figures with Hidden Mist headbands appeared and wrapped a shuriken chain around Kakashi, apparently ripping his body to shreds "One down."
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cried.
They suddenly appeared behind him "Now it's your turn." then charged and landed a light gash on Naruto's jumpsuit.
"Not on my watch!" Tatsu launched a few shuriken, pinning their chains to a tree, and formed several hand seals "Naruto get down! Fire Style: Crimson Dragon!" he unleashed a red dragon of flames, engulfing them, but when it subsided there were scorched logs in their places "Damn, substitution."
Then they suddenly appeared and did to Tatsu what they did to Kakashi "Substitution Jutsu. Kid wasn't too bad, but he let his guard down."
"You mean like what you did? Lightning Style: Purple Thunder." he placed one hand on each of their gauntlets and unleashed blasts of purple lightning, electrocuting them and knocking them out cold "Alright Kakashi, you can come out now."
Sure enough, Kakashi emerged from the bushes "Very nicely done Tatsu, you've improved since the last time I tested you."
"Wha- How-?" Naruto stammered.
"Sorry I didn't help you right away Naruto, I didn't mean for you to get hurt. I just didn't think you'd freeze up like that." Kakashi picked up the two ninja and tied them to a tree.
Naruto wasn't satisfied in the slightest 'I was useless, and Tatsu was so cool like he'd done this a thousand times. Didn't he feel scared at all? He looked so calm, not a scratch on him, and I was so lame.'
"Hey." Sasuke spoke up "You're not hurt are you, scaredy-cat?"
Naruto let out a growl "Sasuke!"
"Naruto." Tatsu shut him up sharply "Stand still and don't move. These ninja have poison in their claws. Hold still." he knelt down and started sucking on the wound, spitting out mouthfuls of blood in the process.
"What're you doing?" asked Sakura.
"Sucking the poison out of his system." he stopped after a moment "Okay, your life isn't in danger so just hold still for a moment. By the way Tazuna."
"Yeah, what?" asked Tazuna.
"We need to talk." Kakashi came over and gestured to where the two ninja were tied to a nearby tree "They're chunin from the Hidden Mist, their specialty is relentless attack. They keep fighting, no matter what the sacrifice."
"How did you know about our ambush?" one of them questioned.
"The puddle was an obvious sign." explained Tatsu "It was on a puddle on a clear day when it hasn't rained in weeks. Kakashi could've taken you guys out quickly, but then we would've learned nothing. We had to learn what their target was and what they were after."
"What are you getting at?" asked Tazuna.
"We wanted to know if they were after us, ninja attacking ninja, or if they were attacking you, the master bridge builder. When you put in your request for this mission, you asked for standard protection from robbers and highwaymen. You never said there were ninja looking for you and hunting you down. If we knew this it would've been a B-rank mission or higher. Our task was simply to get you to your destination and protect you while you finished building your bridge. If we knew we'd be dealing with enemy ninja then would've staffed differently and charged for the cost of a B-rank. Apparently you have your reasons but lying to us about a mission isn't acceptable under any circumstances."
"He's right." Kakashi agreed "We're now beyond the scope of the mission."
"We're genin, this is too advanced for our level of training." Sakura pointed out "We should go back and I really think we need to treat Naruto's wound as soon as possible. Back in our village, we can take him to a doctor."
"Well, Naruto's hand could become a problem. I guess we should go back to the village."
Having had enough, Naruto took out a kunai and stabbed the wound, blood and small drops of liquid spilling out "Why am I so different? Why am I always-"
"Naruto!" Sakura screeched "Stop that, what're you doing?"
"I worked so hard to get here, pushing myself until it hurt, training for hours on end with Tatsu or by myself, anything to get stronger, to reach my dream. I will never back down again and let someone else rescue me, I will never run away and I will not lose to anyone. Upon this wound, I make this pledge, believe it. Bridge builder, I'll complete this mission and protect you with this kunai knife. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"Naruto." Kakashi spoke up "That was really cool how you took out the rest of the poison and all, but if you lose any more blood you're going to die."
Naruto froze, his face turning blue with sweat.
"Good idea to stop the bleeding now, seriously."
Then Naruto started freaking "No no no, I'm too young for it to all end like this!"
"Quiet." Tatsu shut him up and looked at the injured hand 'The wound is already starting to heal, is it because of the Kyuubi's chakra?'
"Hey Tatsu?" Naruto still looked freaked out "You have a really serious look on your face, you're scaring me. Am I okay?"
"Yeah, you should be fine." he wrapped the wound in bandages 'I guess the Kyuubi knows that if the host dies, he dies too.'
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The employer of the Demon Brothers, the chunin who attacked the group, was less than pleased to hear that they failed.
However, their superior decided to go personally, and vowed that Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, would be the last person they'd ever see.
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The group had taken to the seas via a small boat.
"This fog's so thick, you can't see anything." Sakura's voice was low.
"The bridge isn't far now." the guide told them "Our destination's just ahead, the Land of Waves."
Tatsu quickly put his hand over Naruto's mouth "This bridge is massive." then he turned his attention to Tazuna "So Tazuna, before we reach the pier I wanna ask you something."
Kakashi took over from here "The men who are after you, we need to know why. If you don't tell us, I'm afraid I'll have to end this mission when we drop you ashore."
Tazuna sighed "I have no choice but to tell you. No, I want you to know the truth. Like you said, this is beyond the scope of the original mission. The one who seeks my life is a very short man who casts a very long and deadly shadow."
"Who is it?"
"You know him, at least I'm sure you've heard his name before. He's one of the wealthiest men in the world. The shipping magnet, Gato."
"Wait, Gato of Gato Transport? He's a business leader, everyone's knows him." Tatsu pointed out.
"Gato is a very powerful tycoon from a famous company, that's true. But below the surface, with the same ruthless methods he uses to take over businesses and nations, he sells drugs and contraband using gangs and ninja. It was one year ago when Gato first set his sights on the Land of Waves, he came to our island and used his vast wealth to take total control of our transport and shipping. Anyone who tried to stand in his way simply disappeared. In an island nation, a man who controls the sea controls everything. Finance, government, our very lives. But there's one thing he fears."
"The bridge."
"Yes. when it is complete, it will join us to the land and that will break his control. I am the bridge builder."
"So that's it, since you're in charge of the bridge you're standing in his way." Sasuke noted "So that means those guys we fought in the forest were working for Gato. But if you knew he was dangerous and would do something like this, why did you hide that from us?"
"Because the Land of Waves is a small impoverished nation, even our nobles have little money. The common people who are building this bridge, they can't pay for an A or B ranked mission. It's too expensive. If you end the mission when you drop me ashore then there will be no bridge, they'll assassinate me before I reach home. But don't feel bad about that. Of course, my sweet little grandson will be upset. Oh, and my daughter will condemn the ninja of the Hidden Leaves, denouncing and blaming you for abandoning her father and living her life in sorrow. Oh well, it's not your fault."
Kakashi voiced the reluctant opinions of the group "Well I guess we have no other choice, we'll have to keep guarding you."
"Oh, I'm very grateful. I win!'
"But you suck." Tatsu pointed out.
"We're approaching the shore." the guide pointed out "Tazuna we've been very fortunate, no one has noticed us so far."
Tazuna nodded "Nice going."
The guide slowly brought them to shore and waited until they were all off "That's as far as I go. Good luck."
"Right, thank you for taking such a risk."
"Just be careful." then he left.
"Okay, take me to my home and I mean get me there in one piece."
"Right." Kakashi led the group on their way "Tatsu."
"I know." was all he said 'The next ninja they send will most likely be jonin instead of chunin, elite ninja with deadly skills possibly rivalling even Kakashi.'
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On the way, Tatsu rushed to the front "Get behind me." he pulled out some shuriken and looked around 'Where?' he paused and heard a rustling in the bushes 'There!' he threw a kunai into the bushes, only to see a white rabbit with a kunai over its head.
"Stop it Tatsu!" Sakura aimed a fist at his head.
Tatsu ducked over it, leaving her to crash into a tree 'That's a snow rabbit. But they're only supposed to have white fur during winter when the days are short and there's little sunlight. This rabbit was raised indoors away from light, and that could only be done for one purpose. A Substitution Jutsu.' he froze "Duck!" he formed several hand seals "Wind Style: Skybound Wind!" he fired a sharp blast of wind at the tree behind him.
From the wind emerged a massive blade spinning and wedging itself in another tree, and Zabuza stood on the blade 'No wonder the Demon Brothers failed in their mission. It's the Copy Ninja of the leaf, Kakashi of the Sharingan eye.'
Kakashi was the one to step forward "Well well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist." he turned to the others "Tatsu, keep them back. He's not like those other ninja."
"I know, he's in a whole other league." Tatsu gestured for the others to stay close to Tazuna "Be careful Kakashi."
"Right. If he's our opponent, I'll need this. This could be treacherous."
Zabuza smirked "Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye. Did I get that right? It's too bad, but you'll have to hand over the old man."
"Tatsu." Kakashi looked back "Get the others in manji formation, protect the bridge builder and stay out of this fight." then he looked back to the others "I taught you teamwork, now it's time to use it." he pulled up his headband, revealing a fully-matured Sharingan "Now I'm ready."
"Well, looks like I get to see the Sharingan in action. This is an honor." then he filled the area with mist "In the assassination unit of the Hidden Mist, we had a standing order to destroy you on sight. Your profile was in our bingo book, calling you the man who copied over 1,000 jutsu. Kakashi, the copy ninja. Now enough talking, I need to exterminate the old man right now."
Kakashi remained where he was while the others took manji formation.
"So I have to eliminate you first Kakashi? So be it." he suddenly blitzed onto the water in the lake close by and formed a hand seal.
'He's building up a huge amount of chakra.'
"Ninja art: Hidden Mist Jutsu." Zabuza quickly unleashed his Hidden Mist Jutsu, covering the area in thick mist.
"He'll come after me first." Kakashi warned.
Tatsu nodded "Zabuza Momochi, the former leader of the Hidden Mist Assassination Unit. He's a master of the Silent Killing technique. As the name suggests, it happens in an instant without any sound or warning of any kind. It's so fast, you pass from this life without even realizing what happened."
"The Sharingan can't fully neutralize it, so don't lower your guard."
"Understood."
"Well if we fail we only lose our lives."
"How can you say that?" Sakura snapped.
"The mist is getting thicker." Naruto noticed.
"The Land of Waves is surrounded by ocean." explained Tazuna "The swirling mists are ever present."
Then Kakashi disappeared with the thickening mist.
"8 points." Zabuza's voice rang through the air "Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart. Now, which will be my kill point."
Kakashi quickly built up chakra to blow away the mist and noticed that Sasuke was about to lose it from the tension "Sasuke, calm down. I'll protect you with my life, all of you." he gave an eye smile "I will not allow my comrades to die, trust me."
"I wouldn't be so sure." Zabuza appeared in between all of the genin, having broken through the formation with ease "It's over." he swung his Executioner's Blade.
Kakashi stopped him single-handedly, allowing Tatsu and the other genin to get Tazuna out of the way, and stabbed Zabuza in the gut with a kunai, but only water came out of the wound instead of blood, before it dissolved into water 'A water clone.'
"Die!" the real Zabuza appeared and cleaved Kakashi in two, only for that one to dissolve into water as well 'The Water Clone jutsu, it can't be. Even in the mist, he saw through my illusion and copied it in an instant.'
The real Kakashi appeared behind him and held a kunai to his neck "Don't move. Now it's over. You're finished."
However, Zabuza let out a chuckle "Finished? You really don't get it, do you? Your technique is nothing but a crass imitation, I'll never be defeated by a mere copycat ninja like you. You are full of surprises though, you'd already copied my Water Clone Jutsu when you made your little speech. Very skillfully executed. You made your clone say those words to draw my attention while you hid in the mist waiting for me to make my move." then another Zabuza appeared behind him "Nice try, but I'm not that easy to fool." his clone dissipated, and the real one swung his Executioner's Blade.
Kakashi ducked under it, only to be kicked in the face and sent flying.
Zabuza grabbed the blade and charged, but stopped "Makibishi spikes. Trying to slow me down. Foolish." he leapt back into the water.
"He's got great physical skill too." Tatsu noted "Everyone be on guard."
Kakashi emerged from the water but noticed something off 'This isn't normal water, it's dense and heavy.'
"Fool!" Zabuza suddenly appeared behind him "Water Prison Jutsu!"
"No!" Kakashi found himself trapped in a ball of water "Escaping into the water, bad mistake."
"This prison is made of water, but it's stronger than steel. It's hard to fight when you can't move, so much for the great Kakashi. I'll finish you off later. But first, your little friends will have to be eliminated. Water Clone Jutsu."
'He's even more skilled than I thought.'
Tatsu was the only one of them not petrified by fear "Guys, keep it together."
A water clone of Zabuza formed "You think wearing a headband makes you a ninja. When you've hovered between life and death so many times it doesn't faze you, then you may be called a ninja. When you've become so deadly your profile is entered in my bingo book, then you may have earned the title ninja. But to call upstarts like you ninja is a joke." he disappeared again and kicked Naruto in the face, sending him flying, causing his headband to fall off, which he promptly stepped on "You're just brats."
"Listen, get the bridge builder and run!" Kakashi barked "You can't win this fight. He's using all his power to keep me in this prison, so he can only fight you with his water clone but the clone can't go far from his real body. If you get away from him then he can't follow, now run!"
Tatsu already disagreed almost immediately 'Running isn't an option, it became unthinkable the moment you got caught. No matter how fast we run or how far we go, he'll track us down and wipe us out. He can get around a manji formation in an instant. In the end, if we're on our own. Our only chance of surviving is saving you and letting you beat him. At my current level, even I can't defeat him.'
"We've got to do it!" Sasuke charged in an fired a barrage of shuriken and kunai.
Zabuza easily batted them away with his sword and kicked him away.
"Now!" Tatsu leapt into the air, drew his sword, and brought it down.
"Not bad." Zabuza blocked the sword with his own, then kicked him away.
Naruto froze 'He got both Tatsu and Sasuke? So this is what a jonin is, a true elite ninja. I've gotta get away, if I don't then he'll seriously annihilate me.' he started to crawl away, but stopped when he felt a searing pain in his hand. Then he looked at his hand and remembered his oath from before, along with every important moment in his life since graduating 'That's right, I'm a ninja now, believe it. I swore an oath of pain. I won't run away!' he let out a scream and charged.
Kakashi froze even more than he already had "Naruto, no!"
"Naruto!" Sakura screamed "What in the world are you doing?"
Tatsu smirked "Now that's balls worthy of the Hokage name."
Naruto got sent tumbling back "Ow…"
"What're you thinking charging at him by yourself?" Sakura screamed "Even Sasuke couldn't get to him. We're only genin, we can't defeat a jonin! What'd you think you'd accomplish by that?"
"SHUT UP!" Naruto finally exploded "I am sick and tired of listening to you screeching in my face, always putting me down, and now you insult me and Tatsu for being orphans! I can't believe I ever saw anything in you! Well if you're not even gonna bother to help, just stay out of my way!" he slowly stood, gripping the headband, and turned back to Zabuza "Hey you, the freak with no eyebrows. Put this in your bingo book, the ninja that will become Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, he never backs down. His name's Naruto Uzumaki."
Tazuna saw the kid in a new light 'I thought he was all talk, but this kid's got guts.'
"Tatsu, Sasuke, you guys hear me?"
"Loud and clear. What's up?" asked Tatsu.
"I've got a plan."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow 'Now he's got a plan? He's unbelievable. So you're finally thinking about teamwork huh?"
"Alright, now guys, let's go wild! Ready? Let's bring this guy down."
Zabuza chuckled "Big words for such a little man, you think your plan's going to keep you in the game?"
"What are you doing? I told you to run!" Kakashi barked "This fight was over the moment I got caught, now take off. Your mission is not to prove how brave you are, it's to save the bridge builder. Stay on mission!"
Tatsu turned to Tazuna "Bridge builder?"
Tazuna let out a heavy sigh "Well I guess this all happened because of me-"
"You guess?"
"Because of my desire to live, but I won't let that stand in your way now. Forget about me, do what you have to do. Go ahead and fight to save your sensei."
"Alright, you guys hear that?"
Naruto smirked "Yeah, believe it. You guys ready?"
Zabuza let out a laugh "You really haven't learned anything, have you? Still playing your little game, pretending to be ninja. When I was your age, this hand had already crushed many opponents."
"I know fully well Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist." Tatsu snarled.
"Oh, so I was in your book too huh?"
"Long ago, the Hidden Mist, aka Blood Mist Village, before a student could become a ninja, there was one final test."
"Do you know about the graduation exam?"
"You mean the one where you had to slaughter your class in order to pass? Yeah not gonna lie, the 4th Mizukage was a major dick. He died about 3 years ago."
"As I was saying. Imagine young ninja like you- eating together, training together- and then comes the final exam. Only they change the rules, kill or be killed. You can't stop while your opponent still breathes. He was your friend, shared your dreams. Now, it's him or you."
"10 years ago in the Hidden Mist, the graduation exam changed. 1 year before, a dark evil had filled the school with terror. Without pause or hesitation, a young boy who wasn't even a ninja approached the class and took out over 100 other students."
"It… It felt so… Good!" Zabuza suddenly blitzed forward and elbowed Sasuke in the gut, sending him tumbling, then elbowed him again, causing him to cough up blood "You're nothing."
"Stop right there! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto summoned several clones.
"Shadow Clones, and there's quite a few of them."
"Here we go!" they all drew kunai and charged.
Zabuza blew them all away with ease.
"I'm not giving up, I've still got this!" he pulling something from his pack "Sasuke!"
"Right!" Sasuke caught it 'So that was your plan? Not bad Naruto, not bad at all.' he quickly unfolded it, revealing a large shuriken "Demon Wind Shuriken, Windmill of Shadows!"
Zabuza looked on with disdain "A shuriken? You'll never touch me with that."
"We'll see." Sasuke leapt into the air and threw it.
Zabuza, the real one, found it heading straight for him "So you passed the clone and aimed for my real body. Smart, but not smart enough." he caught it with his free hand, then noticed another one coming "A second shuriken in the shadow of the first. The Shadow Shuriken Jutsu." he leapt over the second one, dodging it "I told you, a shuriken can't touch me."
"Wanna bet?" the shuriken suddenly transformed, into Tatsu "Nice work Naruto, now let me handle this. Fire Style: Crimson Dragon!" he unleashed a red fire dragon from his mouth.
Zabuza was forced to move to avoid the attack, letting go of the water prison jutsu in the process, and attempted a counterattack "I'll destroy you!"
That is, until Kakashi stopped the attack with his bare hand, glaring furiously at Zabuza with his Sharingan eye "Not on your life."
Naruto quickly leapt over and landed on the water "Kakashi-sensei!"
"Naruto, that was an excellent plan. That was your plan, right?"
"Yep!"
"You've really grown haven't you?"
"I knew I couldn't beat him with my shadow clones, that was just to distract him. While he fought the clones, I had Tatsu turn into the Demon Wind Shuriken. He didn't know what to do, believe it!"
"Stop saying that!" Tatsu smacked him on the head "I don't give a damn if we're fighting a rogue jonin, stop saying that!"
"Never!" then he turned back to Kakashi "Anyway, I used one of the clones to transform into the Demon Wind Shuriken. When I threw it to Sasuke, it looked like a real shuriken. Sasuke could tell it was me in a second, he spun around so no one could see and pulled out his own shuriken. Now there were two shuriken, one was real and one was me. I hid in the shadow of the real shuriken, and my target was the real Zabuza. Of course I knew that I couldn't fight Zabuza myself, that wasn't in the game plan. I just wanted to get in there and break up his water prison. I didn't know his clone would be wrecked too. That was a bonus."
Zabuza grunted "I got distracted and lost my grip on the water prison."
"Don't flatter yourself." Kakashi growled "You weren't distracted, you were forced to let go. Your technique worked on me once, but it won't work again. So what's it gonna be?"
Zabuza folded up the shuriken and began putting more pressure down.
Kakashi quickly batted it away and broke away, his Sharingan active. He, along with Zabuza began forming several hand seals, the water rupturing around them "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu." two water dragons appeared and clashed with each other ferociously, eventually cancelling each other out.
Zabuza charged in with his Executioner's Blade.
Kakashi blocked it with a kunai.
'Something isn't right. The Sharingan can comprehend and replicate the enemy's technique. However, both jutsu occurred simultaneously. Could it be?' he broke away and formed a hand seal, only to find that Kakashi was copying his moves exactly as he did it 'Movements, it's as if he knows what I'm-'
"-going to do next?"
'What? Is he reading my mind as well? He looks at me with that eye.'
"It makes you furious doesn't it?"
Zabuza formed a hand seal "All you're doing is copying me like a monkey. You can't beat me with cheap tricks. I'll crush you."
"You can't beat me with cheap tricks. I'll crush you." he said this the exact same time Zabuza did.
"When I finish with you, you'll never open that monkey mouth again." then he noticed something behind Kakashi 'What is that?' it turned into a copy of Zabuza himself 'It's me, but how? Is it his illusion jutsu?'
This time, Kakashi acted first "Water style: Giant Vortex Jutsu." the tomoe in his eye began spinning.
"Impossible!" Zabuza was engulfed in a gigantic water vortex 'I was just about to create a vortex, but he created one first. He copies my jutsu before I can even do it. I can't keep up!' he let out a yell and got swept away, eventually being slammed into a tree as the massive waves finally died down, only to be pinned to a tree by several kunai.
Kakashi was perched on the branch above him "You're finished."
"How? Can you see into the future?"
"Yes, this is your last battle ever." he was about to finish it, only to stop when Zabuza was hit with two senbon to the neck, sending him crashing to the ground.
That was when a figure with a Mist Anbu mask made himself known "You were right, it was his last battle."
Tatsu bolted over and checked on Zabuza "Yeah, he's dead alright. No vital signs."
The figure bowed to Tatsu and Kakashi "Thank you. I've been tracking Zabuza for a long time, waiting for this chance to finally take him down."
"By your mask, I see you're a tracker ninja for the Hidden Mist."
"Impressive. You're well-informed."
"When a rogue ninja breaks away from their village they carry all kinds of secrets with them, and trackers are specifically trained to hunt down these ninja and eliminate them."
"That's correct. I'm a member of the elite tracking unit of the Hidden Mist. It was my duty to stop Zabuza."
'From his size and voice, he must be the same age as me, and he's an elite assassin? He's no ordinary kid that's for sure, but what is he?'
That was when Naruto pointed at the figure and started barking "What is this? Who do you think you are?"
"Calm down Naruto, he's not our enemy."
"That's not the point! Did you see what he did, just like that? Zabuza was huge and powerful like some kind of monster, and this kid who's no bigger than me brought down Zabuza with one move like it was nothing. I mean, what does that make us? We're just fumbling around, we don't know anything. How can I accept that?"
"By training and getting stronger so guys like that don't show you up and I don't have to listen to you whining like a little bitch, or Sakura over there. Besides, whether you accept it or not, the fact of the matter is that it happened. In this world, there are kids who are younger than us and probably stronger than Kakashi. In other words, get over your damn self."
The figure then went over and picked up Zabuza's body "Your struggle is over for now, I must deal with the remains. There are many secrets in this body, they must not be allowed to get into the wrong hands. Please excuse me. Farewell." and with that, he vanished.
Tatsu sighed as he heard Naruto growl "He's gone, get over it."
Naruto ignored him and started punching the ground "What are we doing here? We're nothing! I can't believe it!"
Tatsu finally grabbed his fist "As shinobi, the things we encounter are never easy. Save your anger for training, so you're ready for the next enemy. We haven't completed our mission yet, we still have to get the bridge builder. To his bridge."
Tazuna chuckled "Sorry I caused all this trouble for ya, but you can rest at my house when we get to the village."
"Alright, let's get a move on. Hey Kakashi, how long are you gonna stay conscious after using your Sharingan like that?"
"About this long." then Kakashi promptly collapsed.
"He'll be fine, just chakra exhaustion." Tatsu promptly created 3 Shadow Clones and all 4 grabbed Kakashi "Come on, let's go."
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Later, they arrived at Tazuna's house and let Kakashi sleep.
"Will he be alright?" asked Tazuna's daughter Tsunami.
"From what I can tell, it'll be a week before he can move normally." Tatsu told her "It'd be best just to let him recover until then."
"Well he did take down a powerful ninja assassin." Tazuna pointed out "So we should be safe for awhile."
"Right, but that boy with the mask, what about him?" Sakura wondered.
"He's from the elite tracking unit of the Hidden Mist." explained Tatsu "Those masks are only worn by the most elite shinobi."
"What exactly do they do?"
"They destroy all traces of a rogue ninja's corpse. The body of a shinobi contains many secrets, if his enemies find them then the people of his village will be in grave danger. For instance, if Kakashi were to die at the hands of an enemy then he would try to analyze his Sharingan. In the worse case, his entire jutsu collection could be stolen and used against the Leaf. It's the sacred duty of shinobi trackers to prevent this in order to keep the secrets of the village safe. If a ninja betrays his village, the trackers hunt him down, eliminate him, and destroy any trace of his remains. That's their specialty." then he tensed.
"What's wrong?" asked Naruto.
"Sorry, I'm just a little tense. If Zabuza is finished then why do I feel this way? Something's not right. Anyway, to finish what I was saying, tracker ninja are supposed to deal with the body immediately on the spot so there's no room for error."
"Is that really important?" asked Sakura.
"Think about it, do you remember what the tracker did with Zabuza's body?"
"We don't know what he did, I mean I guess he took it away somewhere."
"Exactly, but he should've worked on Zabuza right then and there as quickly as possible. You guys notice the weapons he used for the takedown?"
"Throwing needles." as soon as he said this, Sasuke realized what Tatsu was getting at "Hold on, you don't mean-"
"Exactly."
"What're you all yammering about?" asked Tazuna "Your sensei demolished that assassin."
"I'm gonna be blunt here. Zabuza's still alive."
"But we saw his body!" Naruto suppressed the urge to say believe it "You checked it yourself Tatsu, you said his heart stopped."
"It did, but that was just a temporary death-like state. That tracker used senbon, they can pierce deeply but rarely kill unless they hit a vital organ, not in the neck. They're modified from needles used for medical treatments like acupuncture. Trackers are trained to know every detail of the human body, causing the heart to stop for awhile and keeping the body alive is a cakewalk for them. First, he carried Zabuza's body away even though it's much heavier than he is. Second, he used senbon which have a precise effect but are rarely fatal. From these two factors, we can conclude that the tracker wasn't trying to destroy Zabuza, but actually save him."
"Come on, you're overthinking this aren't you?" Tazuna commented.
"In any case of suspicion, the ninja prepares quickly. Hesitation almost always leads to disaster and usually death. Every shinobi should know this. Naruto, wipe off that grin."
Naruto did "Sorry, it's just that I'm glad I get another shot at him."
"...You got into my stash of sugar again, didn't you?"
"Tatsu, you said prepare quickly." Sakura noted "But how can we do that when Kakashi-sensei isn't even conscious?"
"In the case of a jonin of chunin being unable to perform leadership duties, the next highest ranking will take charge. Since you guys are regular genin and I'm an elite genin, I'll be taking charge until Kakashi recovers. I might not be a jonin, but I can train you just as effectively as Kakashi would."
"Hold on, a little last-minute training won't make us strong enough to fight Zabuza. Kakashi-sensei could barely defeat him even with your Sharingan. We have to be reasonable about this."
"Use your head Bubblegum textbook, why was Kakashi able to stop Zabuza? Because we helped him. You've all grown… two of you have grown. Naruto here has grown the most in the last 3 months, and Sasuke's growth isn't too shabby either."
Naruto grinned "So you noticed Tatsu."
"So did you and Sasuke master the things I taught you?"
"Yeah, I got it down in a week flat!"
"Good, then I can teach you two the good stuff. And Naruto, this is the one and only time I will ever let you say it."
"Now things are gonna get better, believe it!"
"I don't believe it, and nothing's gonna be good!" a new voice cut in.
Tatsu looked back to see a boy in the doorway "And you are?"
Tazuna grinned "Inari, where have you been?"
"Welcome back grandpa!" Inari ran over and hugged him, completely blowing off Tatsu and the others.
"Inari, that was very rude." Tsunami scolded "These ninja helped your grandpa and brought him here safely."
"It's okay it's okay, I'm rude to them too." Tazuna pointed out "And they're okay with it."
"No we're not." was the general chorus.
Inari just turned to Tsunami "Mom, don't you see? These people are gonna die. Gato and his men will come back and find them and wipe them out."
"What did you say brat?" Naruto finally had enough "Listen up, you know what a super ninja is? Well that's me, only a lot better. This Gato or Blato or whatever he's called is no match for a real hero like me."
"There's no such thing as a hero, you're just full of stupid ideas."
Tatsu put a hand over Naruto's mouth and grabbed him by the waist "If you're gonna wrap up your whole emo rant you better do it before I lose my grip on him."
"If you wanna stay alive, you should go back where you came from."
"Inari wait, where are you going?" asked Tazuna.
"To look out at the ocean, I wanna be alone." and he walked off.
"Sorry about that."
Tatsu quickly held up a scroll in Naruto's face "Naruto calm down, just let the kid be and let's get to training."
Naruto agreed, albeit very reluctantly.
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Tatsu later led Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura out into the nearby forest "Alright guys, training starts now. I'll be real with you guys for a second. Sakura, you're way behind these two. You've barely scratched the surface of your chakra, so you're gonna train so hard that controlling your chakra becomes second nature. For this to work, you've gotta be ready to put your life on the line."
"What do I have to do?" asked Sakura.
"It's actually really simple, you have to climb a tree."
"...Climb a tree?"
"Yeah that's right, but there's just one rule. No hands." he formed a hand sign and began generating chakra, then began slowly walking up the side of the tree, stopping as he walked along the bottom of a large branch "Alright, I think you get the idea. Focus the chakra toward the soles of your feet and use it to connect to the tree."
"Wait a minute, that's a nice trick how does it help usu fight Zabuza?"
"Sakura, this is the only way to fight him. That's the entire goal of your training here."
"Wait, what do you mean my training? Why am I the only one who has to do this?"
"Because Naruto, Sasuke and I already know how."
"Well you must've learned it from Sasuke you-"
"Sakura, shut up." Sasuke let out an exasperated groan and picked her up by the front of her shirt, then levelled her an annoyed glare "Sakura, I'm only saying this once. Mind your own damn business. Tatsu has spent every day of the last 4 years training under the most elite ninja our village has to offer, and the reason I'm at the level I am is because I've been training with him. So shut up, train for once in your life, and do something already."
Tatsu sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose "Thank you Sasuke." then he threw a kunai knife at Sakura's feet "Use that to mark the highest point you can reach on the tree using only chakra control." then he leapt down "Now then Naruto, Sasuke, come with me and I'll teach you two the good stuff. But first, Shadow Clone Jutsu." he created 3 clones "Alright guys, one of them for each of you while I go keep an eye on Tazuna down at the bridge." and he took off.
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Firstly, Naruto and Shadow Clone 1.
Tatsu held out a red scroll to Naruto "Alright, here's the deal. I've been observing you and your chakra control for awhile now, and I've discovered your chakra element."
Naruto blinked "My element?"
"That's right stupid, the element of your chakra, like how Kakashi could use that water jutsu against Zabuza or how I can use my wind, lightning and fire jutsu. This is a wind style jutsu created by my brother before he died, it's basically a powerful barrage of wind slashes that changes color based on the user's chakra. Considering that chakra within you, this version of the technique will be called Crimson Wind."
"Awesome…"
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Now for Sasuke and Shadow Clone 2.
Tatsu held out a purple scroll to Sasuke "Alright, here's the deal. My brother created this along with Naruto's jutsu before he died. He already mastered Kakashi's own lightning jutsu but could only use it when he activated his eyes, though this was really taxing in terms of chakra. So to compensate for that, he created a version that focused less on the change in nature and more on the change in form, so his eyes wouldn't be necessary."
"Wait, your brother had an ability in his eyes?" asked Sasuke, astonished.
"Everyone in my clan has them, I just haven't unlocked them yet. Apparently they're awakened by the user when they're at their physical weakness yet their iron will is unwavering and my brother awakened his when our parents died during the Kyuubi attack."
"What's this ability called?"
"It's called the Tenseigan. And once you master them to their fullest extent, which hasn't been done since the age of the Hashirama Senju, the first Hokage, and Madara Uchiha. Now back to the jutsu." he channeled some lightning chakra into his hand, the lightning died down and took on the form of what looked like a crescent moon, and he fired it, slashing through several trees before it subsided "When you loosen up on the nature and focus on the form, you can create a sharp powerful slash of lightning and that change in form changes the color, hence why my brother dubbed it Purple Thunder."
"Wow."
"Yeah, you've really grown. Naruto has too, he's catching the hang of the Crimson Wind Jutsu right now. From now on, he's gonna keep getting stronger and stronger."
"How strong?"
"Who's to say? After all, he possesses more chakra than you do. In fact, he possesses more chakra than either me or Kakashi."
"Hey." a new voice cut in.
Tatsu turned to see Inari standing nearby "Yeah?"
"Mom wanted me to tell you your sensei's awake."
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As work on the bridge progressed, Tatsu, the real one that was looking after Tazuna, took note of the poverty and fear that had been instilled in the people of the Land of Waves.
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At dinner, the rivalry with Naruto and Sasuke was in full swing.
Tatsu sighed "You know guys, it was funny at first but now it's just weird."
After dinner, Sakura noticed something "Excuse me, this picture is torn. Is there some reason for that? Inari, you kept glancing at t all through dinner. It looks like there was someone else in the picture, but they got torn out. I mean, that's kind of strange isn't it?"
"It's my husband." Tsunami spoke up after a moment.
Tazuna let a sad sigh "They used to call him a hero in this land."
Tsunami noticed Inari walking out of the room "Father you can't talk about him like that in front of Inari, you know that." and she went after him.
"Something happened, didn't it?" Tatsu guessed.
"He wasn't his real father, he came into our family later." Tazuna told them "And he brought so much happiness. He and Inari were very close. In those days, Inari used to laugh all the time. But then… all that ended. He never laughs or smiles anymore, ever since the day everything changed. The word courage was stolen from this island. We were left feeling powerless, hopeless, and Inari suffered the most, ever since that day, ever since it happened."
"What happened?"
"First you need to know about the man, his father. The man who taught us the word courage, who was a hero in this land. He came here about 3 years ago. Inari was being picked on by some kids and pushed into the ocean, he couldn't swim at the time, but that man saved him. The man who taught us courage. His name was Kaiza, a simple fisherman who'd come here from another land to follow his dreams. After that, Inari and Kaiza were inseparable. The boy had never known his real father, so you can imagine what it meant to have Kaiza in his life. He looked up to him and followed in his footsteps, like a real father and son. Kaiza spent more and more time with us, until he just naturally became a member of our family. And then when this town needed him, he became something more. From that time on, Kaiza was considered a hero in this land. He taught us all the meaning of courage, and Inari was so proud to be his son. But it wasn't long after that Gato showed up and took over. He terrorized the whole village. Only Kaiza stood up to him. Gato couldn't have a local hero getting in his way. It took his whole gang to stop one man. Gato had him publicly executed after that, as an example so no one would dare stand in his way again. Since then Inari has changed, so did Tsunami and all our people. We lost our will."
Naruto thought back to what Inari had said about heroes "Guys, come one." he suddenly face-planted into the ground.
"Take a breather for today, you've used up too much chakra." Tatsu told him "Sasuke, the same should probably go for you too. If you guys push any harder, it might kill you."
"I'm gonna prove it."
"Prove what?" asked Sakura.
"I'll prove that- that it's true. That in this world, there are real heroes."
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Morning came, and Haku had gone out to get some herbs to speed up Zabuza's recovery, when he noticed Naruto passed out on the ground nearby. Instantly recognizing him from before, he went over Naruto, but instead of hurting him he shook him awake "You'll catch a cold if you sleep here, wake up."
Naruto sat up and let out a groan "Who the heck are you? Oh, I mean, hi there. Where did you come from? You know, what're you doing out here and all that?"
"I'm gathering herbs, they're for treating illnesses in human wounds."
"You start work early huh sis?"
"I like it early, it's calm, but I didn't think I'd find anyone sleeping out here in the woods."
"I'm training."
"So are you a ninja? I noticed that headband you're wearing, or are you just making a fashion statement."
"You noticed that? Alright. Only super cool ninja can wear these."
"Oh really, I see. That's very impressive. But does that mean you're training for something dangerous?"
"I'm just developing my skills so I can get stronger."
"You seem very strong now, isn't that enough?"
"Nope, I need to get stronger and stronger. I've gotta keep practicing."
"How so? Why is it important?"
"So I can become the best ninja in my village, and everyone will know who I am and they'll all respect me. There's also a certain person, a kid that I have to prove something to."
"So are you doing it for this certain person, or are you doing all this training for yourself?"
"Huh?"
Haku chuckled.
"What're you laughing about? What's so funny?"
"Is there someone who's precious to you?"
"Someone who- What're you saying sis, what do you mean precious?"
Haku flashed back to the first time she met Zabuza "You see, when a person has something precious to protect that they want to protect, then they become genuinely strong."
Naruto thought back to how he protect Tatsu, Mizuki and Iruka from Aizen "Yeah I hear you, I know exactly what you're saying."
Haku stood and picked up the basket of herbs "You will get strong, very strong. Goodbye, we'll meet again sometime. Oh, by the way, I'm a boy."
'Huh?! No way, everything I know is a lie!'
That was when Tatsu showed up with Sasuke in tow and looked back at Haku's retreating form, then shared a look, before Tatsu led Sasuke over to Naruto "Alright guys, how far are you on master the jutsus I taught you?"
'We're both up to 4 uses each, almost to 5." Sasuke told him.
"Good, I want you both up to 5 uses before Zabuza gets back. Got it?"
"Right."
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Tatsu came in carrying Naruto while a Shadow Clone carried Sasuke "Sorry we're late."
"What've you been up to?" asked Tazuna "You guys look like something the cat dragged in."
"Just getting some more training in." he turned to Kakashi "They're both up to 5 uses now."
Kakashi nodded in approval "Good, now we move on. Starting tomorrow, you'll all be bodyguards for Tazuna."
"Fair enough, it's about time we get to do something interesting."
"In a few more days, the bridge will be finished." Tazuna told them "I have you to thank for that."
"You've all done great, but you've still got to be careful." Tsunami warned.
"I've been meaning to ask you this, but I haven't had the chance until now. Why did you stay and protect me, even after you found out I lied to bring you here?"
Tatsu shrugged "Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage, but under the wing of a strong leader cowardice cannot survive."
"Huh?"
"That's a quote by our village's founder and first leader, Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, the strongest and wisest of them all."
"But why?" Inari finally spoke up.
Naruto blinked "What was that?"
"All this stupid training is just a waste of time. Gato's got a whole army, they'll beat you down and they'll destroy you. These cool things you all say, they don't mean anything. No matter what you do, the strong always win and the weak always lose."
"Just speak for yourself, it won't be like that for me. You got that?"
"Why don't you be quiet? Looking at you makes me sick. You don't know anything about this country, you're just butting in. Always laughing and playing around. You don't know what it's like to suffer and be treated like dirt."
Naruto finally had enough and decided to put him in his place "Listen to yourself whining and complaining like some sorry little victim. You can whimper all day for all I care, you're nothing but a coward."
"Naruto, you went too far." Sakura scolded.
Naruto snorted and walked off.
Sasuke looked at Inari, then at Tatsu and Kakashi.
He would take care of this one.
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Nightfall came, and Inari was sitting out on the pier.
"You got a sec?"
Inari looked back and saw Sasuke sit down beside him "Oh, hey."
"Naruto can be harsh sometimes, but he doesn't hate you. Your grandpa told us what happened to your father. You probably don't know this, but Naruto grew up without a father too, or any parents for that matter, and he didn't have a single friend in our village. Tatsu's parents died when he was a baby, leaving him and his older brother alone, and his brother died about 5 years ago, at the hands of the same man who slaughtered my clan. Kakashi's had it rough too. His father was a respected ninja in our village, but he chose to save his friends over finishing a mission and everyone turned on him for it. He couldn't take it anymore and took his own life, and Kakashi's been on his own since then."
"What about Sakura?"
"What about her? She's been sheltered more than humanly possible. Still, Naruto had it a lot worse than any of us., but I've never seen him cry or sulk and absolutely never have I ever seen him give up. He's always eager to jump in. He wants to be respected, that's his dream and he'll put his life on the line for that in a heartbeat. My best guess is that he just got tired of crying and decided to do something about it. We're all young and still learning, but Naruto of all people knows what it means to be strong like your father did, and like Tatsu's brother. I think he knows better than any of us what you're going through. What Naruto told you earlier, as cruel as it sounded it's probably something he's told himself a thousand times."
Inari said nothing, but he had a thoughtful look in his eyes.
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"Alright then, I'll leave Naruto and Tatsu in your hands." Kakashi told Tsunami "Naruto's pushed his body to the limit, overdoing it as usual, so he may not be able to move today at all, and Tatsu's finally let the stress and tension building up in him wear him out so he probably won't move today either."
"What about you?" asked Tsunami "You're still recovering yourself."
"Why, do I look wobbly? I'll be okay." and they set off.
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At the same time, Haku and Zabuza were nearing the bridge to do their job.
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Naruto bolted awake "Why didn't somebody wake me up? Where are they? Where'd they all go?"
"They wanted us to rest."
Naruto looked to see Tatsu already geared up "I knew it, they ditched us!" he got dressed as fast as he could "Come on already!"
"Don't push your luck." Tatsu strapped his katana to his back "Alright, let's move."
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"Hold on, what the heck is this?!" Tazuna froze at the sight he saw on the bridge; the workers all lying unconscious and injured "What happened? Someone was here, someone got to them."
Kakashi froze when he saw the mist 'This mist. Sasuke, Sakura, get ready. I knew he was still alive, he just couldn't wait for round 2."
"Kakashi-sensei, it's Zabuza isn't it?" Sakura guessed "This is his Hidden Mist Jutsu."
"Sorry I kept you waiting, Kakashi." Zabuza's voice rang through the air "I see you've still got those brats with you. That one's still trembling, pitiful." then multiple Zabuza's surrounded them.
Sasuke smirked "You've got the wrong idea Zabuza, I'm trembling with excitement." he formed several hand seals "Lightning Style: Purple Thunder!" he unleashed a blast of purple lightning that circled around and destroyed every clone in mere seconds 'I can see it.'
"So you could see they were water clones, huh?" the real Zabuza showed up "And with that blast of lightning you took them all out at once. The brat's improving. Looks like you've got a rival Haku."
"So it seems." Haku agreed.
"Well well, so I had it right." Kakashi noted "It was all an act, with a cute little mask."
Sasuke smirked "Complete fake, I guess all that about being a tracker ninja protecting his village was a complete load. You guys look pretty close to me, I'd say you've been pulling scams like that for awhile. You've got a lot of nerve facing us again after pulling that."
"And hiding behind that mask, who does he think he's fooling?"
"First of all, speak for yourself. Second, I'm taking him out. Who does he think he's fooling, hiding behind that mask like some sort of clown?"
"Sasuke, you're so cool." Sakura squealed.
"You're hopeless."
"He's impressive." Haku noted "Even though they were just 1/10 of the strength of the original Water Clone Jutsu, he did destroy them all."
"That move still gave us the first advantage, now use it." Zabuza ordered.
"Right." Haku suddenly blitzed towards him like a tornado.
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At the same time, two of Gato's thugs had shown up to kidnap Tsunami, but Inari, mustering what courage he could, charged at them in an attempt to stop them.
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Sasuke was barely able to block Haku's senbon with his own kunai 'Damn, he's fast.'
'So he can keep up with Haku's speed, huh?' Zabuza noted.
"Sakura, cover Tazuna and stay close to me." Kakashi ordered "Let Sasuke handle this."
"We want the bridge builder not you, if you back down I won't have to kill you." Haku offered.
Sasuke smirked "Save it."
"You're making a mistake, you won't be able to keep up with my speed. I've gained 2 key advantages."
"And they would be?"
"First, we're surrounded by water. Second, I've blocked one of your hands and therefore you only have one free hand to defend yourself." he began forming hand signs.
'What? Using one hand? Hand signs with only one hand? That's a thing?'
"Secret Jutsu, 1,000 Needles of Death." Haku stomped his foot in the water, which began levitating around them and forming hundreds of water needles.
'Remember your training, focus. Summon my chakra at once.'
The needles closed in.
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The thugs only slashed a log with their swords a "A Substitution Jutsu!"
"The woman, she's gone."
"Sorry we're a little late."
They looked to see Tatsu and Naruto laying Tsunami down close by.
"You know, heroes usually showed up." Naruto gave a foxy grin "Inari, you did great. When you charged, they forgot about your mom for a minute. That gave me a chance to use a cool jutsu to get her away from them."
"Wait, how'd you know these samurai guys were coming here?" asked Inari.
"We found a wounded boar in the forest." explained Tatsu "It and the trees all had a bunch of slash marks and followed them back here."
"That was really smart."
"Blah blah." the thugs grumbled "It's just a few of those puny ninja brats Tazuna hired. Let's get him." they charged.
Naruto stood "Wind Style: Crimson Wind." he fired a sharp blast of red wind, hitting each of them square in the chest, leaving them unconscious on the ground bleeding heavily "And that's now it's done, believe it."
Tatsu smacked him on the head and tied the thugs up "Alright, let's go."
A/N:
Purple Thunder is basically the same as Purple Lightning, a jutsu that was created by Kakashi after the 4th Great Ninja War to in order to compensate for no longer being able to use his Lightning Blade due to the loss of his Sharingan. Seeing what it did to Nue in the Boruto series, I think Sasuke could make some use out of it, at least for a little while.
I figured there's Purple Thunder and Naruto has the Kyuubi's chakra, so I made up the colorful wind attack that changes the name based on the wielder's chakra. I call it Color Wind, but in Naruto's case it'll be Crimson Wind due to him using the crimson colored chakra of the Kyuubi.
It's never said exactly when Yagura died, so I just said about 3 years before Part I took place, in order to make the Itachi Shinden arc canon, since Yagura fought Juzo and Itachi after the massacre.
I, like many others, despise that catchphrase "Believe it", so I'm making it a running joke that Tatsu hates it as well.