[…] the church of Bethrezen rapidly grew in popularity in the 12th Epoch when the prophecy of doomsday was known to the masses. Several times across the centuries has the Highfather tried to erase Nevendaar, from the fallen star Inoel to mighty warrior Avyanna… But the cataclysm people faced this time was larger than any that befell the races of Nevendaar before. A star of disproportionate sizes that was seen even with naked eye was swiftly approaching. Prayers to the Highfather was met with silence and the priests and priestesses of the Holy Church of the Empire were losing their miraculous powers by the years. Gallean has long since abandoned the realm and his people; Wotan and his children haven't been seen or heard of in decades with common belief that they have gone extinct, and even the undead army of Mortis grew silent and returned to their graves. There was no doubt – the Gods have either left Nevendaar or are dying […]
[…] only those worshipping Bethrezen still heard his whispers. The whispers were the loudest in the silence of divinity and people flocked to Him like moths to flames. Even those who opposed Him accepted Him in their hearts. How could they not? People did not know what else to do. Our whole lives, the lives of all Nevendaar, has been lived through the demands of our Gods. In all the millennia of our history we obeyed like sheep to their whims, going to senseless wars and conquering peaceful nations. And now that they have turned silent the people were lost […]
[…] as the star approached even Bethrezen grew quiet and his most sensitive prophets could only convey the feeling of regret they sensed. And so the people despaired once again as they spoke in hushed unison:
Bethrezen is dying… […]"
The Cultist
Chapter 6
The End of the Bloody Wave
It's been several days now and honestly, Naruto was getting antsy. There was an incident the previous day…
[Flashback]
Naruto decided to stay indoors today and read a bit and play around with developing some rituals while incorporating modern aspects into them as he discussed with Kakashi all those days ago.
Suddenly his musings were interrupted as he heard a scream from downstairs. It was only Tsunami, Inari, and him in the house at the moment. Sasuke was training and Kakashi was overseeing him, while it was Sakura's turn for guard duty. He already had his guard duty last day so he could do whatever he wanted today. Narrowing his eyes he snapped the book and his journal shut, and hurried downstairs.
There he saw Tsunami standing in the hallway with tears in her eyes as she stared at the entrance. Naruto then looked at the doors and his face settled into an angry determination.
There, at the entrance doors, were two of Gato's thugs and one of them was holding Inari's hair in a painful grip. It was obvious the boy was in pain as tears freely fell down his cheeks. Not to mention the wailing.
"Oi, shut up already or I'll cut your tongue off!" one of them barked. Obviously, that didn't silence the boy. If anything, Inari cried even louder. But judging from the sick grin that spread across the other thug's face, Naruto guessed that was the intent.
"You won't be hurting anyone today," Naruto calmly stated.
"Oh yeah?" the other thug grunted "And who's gonna stop us? Some healer brat?"
Ah, so the rumours finally reached Gato and he sent someone to investigate.
Naruto didn't add anything else knowing there's no point. He saw there was no way to reason with them.
With an unexpected burst of speed he vanished from sight and appeared between them two. With a mid-air kick he sent the left one flying, while at the same time grabbing the wrist holding Inari's hair and applying immeasurable pressure. The grip on the boy immediately loosened and Naruto yanked the arm towards himself as he landed, and using the sudden momentum he managed to vault and throw the second thug over his body into the first one.
With practiced ease he grabbed his knife and slashed his palm open. A quick chant, and he conjured his whip that he immediately turned it into the spear variant. By this time both thugs managed to get on their feet and groggily started to recover.
"Why you-" he didn't have the chance to finish as a spear was embedded in him. The last thing he saw before the light dimmed for him was the same blonde boy staring at him with cold eyes.
Not waiting for the other one to even move, Naruto spun around and with one movement dislodged his bloody weapon and impaled the other thug with the other end. With both of them dead he allowed his spear to dissipate.
After checking that both Inari and Tsunami were alright, he took the bodies away and went to find Kakashi. But not before strictly saying not to open doors to anyone.
[Flashback End]
It honestly surprised that it took so long for any kind of action to be taken against them, or that nothing similar had happened in almost a week they've been here. He was starting to get a bad feeling about it.
Once again Naruto was sitting on the rooftop and was the first to meet the sun's first rays.
However, this morning was different than others. With the sun also came a dense mist that was creeping closer from the sea. While there was always some mist in the mornings due to it being a coastal city, this mist felt slightly off. Naruto narrowed his eyes. Last time he felt this was when they set foot on Wave for the first time.
"Zabuza," Naruto muttered to himself. He slowly stood up and got down into the house where everyone seemed to be already awake.
Judging by Sasuke's determined and Sakura's scared look he assumed Kakashi told them the same thing he thought.
"So," Naruto voiced "What are we going to do?"
"Do what?" Tazuna joyfully asked as he came down the stairs, completely ignoring the tense atmosphere. He had reasons for celebration too - the bridge was almost finished and his long-time dream achieved.
"We believe Zabuza will make an appearance today if he's not on the bridge already," Kakashi said.
"Oh," Tazuna's mood immediately deflated "But the bridge is so close to being finished! What are we supposed to do now?"
"I know," here Kakashi thought for a moment "The only way forward is to deal with Zabuza and his accomplice."
"Father must stay at home today!" Tsunami exclaimed.
Kakashi shook his head in negative "No, he must come with us. Zabuza most likely knows that we know that he will be there. Zabuza is contracted to take out Tazuna-san so having him with us will give an incentive for Zabuza to engage. That single mindedness to complete the mission would work to our advantage. It's most likely that if he doesn't see Tazuna he will simply leave and come looking for him. And we can't be in two places at once."
"I have to go anyway!" Tazuna said to Tsunami "My workers- no one else knows of the danger! Kami forbid someone got there before me!"
"Don't worry about your father, Tsunami-san," Naruto pulled what he hoped was an encouraging smile "We already protected Tazuna-san once, we can do it again."
"Alright," she relented "But please! Be careful, father!"
They then relegated their duties for the upcoming fight – Sakura would protect Tazuna, while Sasuke and Naruto would take on Zabuza's accomplice. Kakashi himself would deal with Zabuza.
With the plan of action agreed on, they left the house and made their way towards the bridge.
The atmosphere in the city was tense and creepy. It seemed everyone felt like something is about to happen. Naruto saw that people who were awake and about were trying to cover their faces and stay in the shadows, walking quickly as if not to be outside for too long lest it drew attention to them. People in the houses were shutting close their windows. Despite it still being early, the city looked really deserted.
The closer they were getting to the bridge, the thicker the mist was getting until it was so bad that they couldn't see their outstretched hand. As they were walking, Tazuna stumbled over something. Looking down, his eyes widened when he saw it was a leg. A leg which seemed to connect to one of his bleeding, dead friends.
"Oh Kami!" Tazuna shouted as he rushed forward to check if the man was dead.
"Stop!" Kakashi whipped his hand out and grabbed Tazuna by the scruff of his shirt and yanked him back. Good thing that he did – not a moment later Zabuza's massive sword embedded itself into the bridge where Tazuna was a moment ago.
Not wasting any time, Kakashi already finished performing handseals for the Futon technique and channelled more chakra into it than was strictly necessary.
Futon: Daitoppa!
He exhaled a massive gust of wind in front and to the sides, effectively banishing the heavy mist from the area.
When his technique died down they saw Zabuza and his accomplice standing further away, side by side, staring down Team 7. Between them and the Konoha ninjas were a couple of dead bodies.
Tazuna fell down to his knees as he looked at his dead friends. He should've expected it and he definitely saw a scene like this many times before but it was nonetheless just as painful every single time.
"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura," Kakashi called without looking away from Zabuza as he lifted his headband "You know what you have to do. I will deal with Zabuza on my own."
Zabuza, having heard this, laughed "You really think your green brats will be able to deal with my student here? My student who has years of experience of battle and tutelage from one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist? You might have been lucky last time, but not again."
"I have as much faith in my students as you have in yours."
Zabuza snorted and lifted his sword "Go, Haku. Deal with the brats and kill the old man if you have the chance."
"Yes, Zabuza-sama," Haku muttered and then sped away towards team 7.
At the same time Team 7 sped towards as well to meet halfway. Kakashi sailed past the now identified Haku to engage with Zabuza, while Sasuke and Naruto met Haku midway. Sakura remained behind to guard Tazuna.
The three teens stopped a small distance away from each other. Haku brandished a couple of senbon and held them between his fingers and gently said "I do apologise we have to come to this. I despise killing but I will do this for my master."
Naruto recognised the voice and tsked "You're that… guy from some days ago. I knew I felt something odd about you, and how convenient it was that you happened to be in the area. Glad to know my hunch was correct."
"Indeed, I couldn't help but to come and investigate my potential enemies. It saddens me even more that I will have to kill a healer," Haku uttered. He then steeled his voice "At least you're a support type ninja so it shouldn't be too hard to deal with you. I will make it as painless and quick as possible."
Naruto's lips twitched in amusement. Spending all that time developing a simple healing ritual seemed to not only have the benefit of being able to help the villagers, but also to make someone underestimate him.
"Sasuke," he whispered "Don't hold back. He might look to be around same age as us but what Zabuza said is true – he's been a ninja for longer than we and has been training with an infamous ninja."
Sasuke scowled but nodded regardless. He knew the wisdom in those words and realised as much himself too, but to have the thoughts voiced that yet again there was someone his age who was stronger than him was damaging his pride.
He immediately activated his Sharingan and rushed forward to engage Haku.
Haku threw senbon with deadly precision but Sasuke managed to easily see and dodge them thanks to his Sharingan. Sasuke was reluctant to admit that all the speed and evasion training he did with Naruto had paid off.
Haku was impressed Sasuke managed to dodge every single senbon, but then those weren't meant to stop the boy. It was merely to test his speed and for him to get into his combat stance.
When Sasuke reached Haku -and Haku admitted the raven head boy's speed was nothing to scoff at- he was already ready to meet him in melee combat. Haku parried the punch by pushing the offending arm away by using the back of his wrist.
In the same movement Haku jabbed towards Sasuke's exposed torso, but the boy managed to adjust his momentum and block it with his hand. Sasuke then spun around and attempted a high kick, and then low sweep with his legs, both of which Haku leaned under and stepped over before retaliating by throwing senbon from close range. Due to Sharingan, Sasuke tracked the intended movement and pre-emptively dodged away. He then smirked and leaped backwards and flipped over an incoming Fireball that was fast approaching Haku.
Haku didn't even bat an eyelash at the unexpected Fireball having felt chakra build up from before. She merely sidestepped and then turned that into a side flip leap, all the while performing handseals of his own. "Suiton: Mizurappa!" he intoned at the end of his flip and spewed out a massive wave of water from his mouth.
Water clashed with Fire and Haku managed to match the power of the enemy jutsu and both cancelled each other out, in its place leaving the area covered in steam.
Capitalising on the steam Haku took senbon in both of his hand and rushed in. Being a student of Zabuza meant he also was taught Silent Killing technique. And while steam wasn't the same as Hidden Mist Jutsu, it would work well enough.
"Sasuke, cover." Naruto commanded.
Sasuke grunted in response, hating to be commanded like that but he didn't challenge it knowing they had to focus on the battle.
Naruto, in his usual fashion, sliced his wrist and started to chant at the same time as he was manipulating blood into a specific ritual circle.
Multiple senbon launched at the pair seemingly from all the sides at the same time. Sasuke took his kunai out and with the Sharingan tracing was able to block all the needles from this side.
Naruto too was able to dodge majority of the projectiles – just because he was performing a ritual didn't mean he had to be static and immobile. Some senbon managed to graze him but those were no consequential as they merely left scratches behind that healed back almost immediately.
Demonic Oppression!
Infernal Whip!
Pillar of Scorn!
The air pulsed with Power and the bloody circle under Naruto's feet expanded, convoluted and morphed into a new form before whole area suddenly became atmospherically heavy. All the steam immediately dissipated from the pressure in the air, and Haku was forced on his knee from the sudden feeling.
In one movement, Naruto swept his right hand upwards and his trademark bloody whip formed from the blood underneath him and at the same time he whipped his left hand forward towards Haku and a sharp, massive crimson stalagmite manifested from the ritual circle near the enemy intended to strike him. Haku managed to roll away from the lethal strike, his eyes widening and then narrowing behind the mask in realisation that perhaps his judgment of the blonde's capabilities were wrong.
Naruto then formed a fist with his left hand and the pillar exploded in many shrapnel that were aimed to strike Haku.
Haku expertly dodged and weaved through the projectiles, but one managed to strike his shoulder. He grunted in pain as he stumbled. He turned the stumble into a roll to dodge the last of projectiles, but he had no time to think of a counter move as he had to block an attack from Sasuke. Haku's kunai locked with Sasuke's for a brief struggle for domination. Sasuke was shocked at the boy's strength – he didn't expect someone with that lithe of a figure to show more strength than him.
However, Haku couldn't press his strength advantage as he had to release the deadlock and pivot away to dodge a strike from the bloody whip. He had to dodge more such strikes, and then lean away from a slash from Sasuke. Haku turned the lean into a roll and in one fluid movement launched several kunai and senbon at Naruto. Then when he ended the roll he applied chakra to his feet and burst toward Sasuke with a kunai aimed at his head. Sasuke had to block the strike and they once again were locked into deadlock and Sasuke had to use both hands to keep block on.
This time however, Haku surprised Sasuke by starting one handed handseals.
Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suisho!
The water around the bridge rippled and quicker than Sasuke could react countless water needles formed and shot towards him. With his Sharingan he could see that the only spot that wasn't covered with the water needles was directly upwards.
Sasuke leaned to the side and rolled as he released the deadlock making Haku stumble forward with a kunai slashing empty air. At the end of the roll Sasuke did a chakra enhanced jump upwards. However, Sasuke's satisfaction of having evaded the attack was short lived as the water needles changed trajectory and were now fast approaching him while he was mid-air. His Sharingan eyes widened as he had no way to dodge or block this attack.
He then felt something around his midriff and from a glance saw it was Naruto's blood whip. Next thing he knew he was yanked backwards and the water needles harmlessly sailed past him. Any second later and he would have sustained a massive injury.
The whip loosened up and Sasuke flipped and safely landed near Naruto. With another glance Sasuke noticed that there was some blood stain left on his shirt, but he ignored that knowing Naruto did that intentionally.
"Hn."
"You're welcome."
Without further ado Naruto, after an extremely short chant, split his whip in two thinner whips that he held in his both hands. Immediately after he began assaulting Haku with as much force and speed as he could. This thinner version of the whip was mostly designed for stalling tactics – it would still be painful if one lashed at you, but it didn't pack the same force as the full whip and Naruto lost the ability to ignite it due to it being lower consistency.
Haku now had to utilise his full speed to dodge every strike from the whips that seemed to have a life of their own. He was really surprised that Naruto possessed such mid-range technique. But it wasn't all that bad as he still had the opportunities to launch several kunai and senbon once in a while where there was a split delay between some attacks. Sasuke blocked some of those, while Naruto managed to manipulate his whip to block the others.
Sasuke then started to perform his own set of handseals while Haku was preoccupied.
Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!
Not only did he had to dance to the tune of the whips, but now there was also multiple fireballs incoming his way. Having fed up he made a massive leap backwards, outside of whip range and subsequently dodged the tiny fireballs too. He performed two sets of handseals in rapid succession. He called out his first technique "Hyoton: Ice Field!" A sheet of ice immediately covered the ground and sped towards Sasuke and Naruto. While that technique was still travelling towards the pair, Haku already finished the second set of handseals and called out his second technique "Hyoton: Hissatsu Hyoso!"
Massive spears of ice emerged from the iced ground and sped to impale both boys.
Naruto leaped high into the air and recalled the whips to him, before in one fluid motion transforming them into many bloody senbon that he launched at Haku in one massive volley.
The only way Sasuke managed to evade all the spears was thanks to his Sharingan. He saw the spears forming in slow motion and he was thanking all the Gods, even the one Naruto was worshipping, that he never backed out from his training sessions with his blonde teammate. He had to strain his every muscle as he pivoted, rolled, and dodged out of the multitude of ice spears that were protruding from the ground aimed to maim him.
With another burst of speed Haku casually dodged all the bloody senbon and suddenly appeared in front of Naruto, who was still mid-air, with his leg raised to strike. Naruto widened his eyes and he hastily crossed his arms to block the kick.
Haku's leg connected and while Naruto managed to block the strike, it didn't stop the blonde from plummeting towards the ground.
Naruto recovered mid-air and safely flipped landed on the ground with his feet with a little skid. But this was enough time for Haku to complete another one of his techniques. As Haku gently landed on the floor, he softly uttered "Hyoton: Makyo Hyosho!"
Immediately all the ice around them morphed into dozens of mirrors that quickly surrounded Sasuke and Naruto. Haku then stepped into one of them and his reflection appeared on all of the mirrors.
"You fought bravely, and better than I expected. However, this is the end for you," Haku's voice reverberated from all the mirrors at the same time "Here, my speed is unmatched."
Ignoring him talk, Sasuke and Naruto both performed the same technique and launched a fireball at different mirrors. Sasuke's fireball did literally nothing, while Naruto's managed to melt the ice a bit. But not nearly enough to destroy it.
"Your fire is strong, but my mirrors are stronger, and special. It will take more than that," Haku stated and slowly pulled out some senbon "Prepare."
Without actually giving them the time to prepare hundreds upon hundreds if senbon launched at the pair from all directions. Naruto had good instincts and Sasuke had the Sharingan so they managed to block and evade all the ones that were aiming to their vital areas. However, it was impossible to completely evade such sheer amount of projectiles in such a small space. And thus they both now had some scratches across their bodies and holes and rips in their clothes when the first wave finished.
"I can track his movement with the Sharingan, but I need more time before I can pinpoint and strike him. Can you make one of your barriers you made in the first encounter?"
Naruto grunted "No. The barrier can only block one physical strike from any source. With so many senbons it would be useless," the then started waving his hand around "But there's no need. I will strike from the outside and will give you the boost like before. Don't waste this opportunity – it won't last as long as last time." Without waiting for a reply Naruto began to chant as his voice reverberated and cascaded against the mirrors.
"Hn."
"To strike from the outside you have to be outside. You won't leave here," Haku stated though he was a bit confused and wary of what Naruto said. His voice during battle was much more forceful and powerful than he observed when he was doing his healing.
Without further ado he launched another barrage of senbon, and then another. Just like last time both boys managed to block and dodge most, but not all. Some senbon were even sticking from their bodies.
And then, several things happened at once.
Demonic Boon of the Hare!
Demonic Boon of the Boiling Blood!
The Many Pillars of Scorn!
The blood that Naruto left on Sasuke, just like before, spread across his body before flashing crimson and disappearing inside of him. It happened much faster than last time. Sasuke immediately felt his body momentarily twitch. His blood boiled, and the world around him seemed to expand with greater detail.
At the same time Sasuke spotted the next mirror Haku was jumping to and in an incredible burst of speed that shocked Haku, the raven headed boy was already upon him.
And while that was happening, multitude of thin, crimson pillars that resembled thick spears, penetrated and destroyed several mirrors giving Naruto the opportunity to escape outside. Naruto had manipulated the tiny blood blotches left behind by his bloody senbon attack to surround the mirrors from the outside, similar to what he did in a training session with Sasuke, and then executed his attack. Naruto assumed that because Haku didn't react to that in no way, then he couldn't see what was happening outside his technique while he was in the mirrors.
Sasuke kicked Haku hard in the face and made the boy flying outside.
Haku flipped and skidded on his knees to a stop on the ground. His mask shattered and fell to the ground revealing a petite face that has started forming bruises.
Sasuke landed next to Naruto, his blood rush dissipating by the second.
"This boost was really short," he stated.
Naruto nodded "I told you it would be. I had to shorten my chant to fit all my techniques in one so the result was a shorter boost."
"You are strong opponents." Haku stated "But I won't fail my master and my missions."
With that Haku performed incredibly quick "Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suisho!" and once again launching numerous water needles at the pair. At the same time he forgo his senbon and brandished two kunai, one in each hand, before dashing forward in incredible speeds.
Sasuke and Naruto dodged the strike by jumping into the air and quickly performing a double "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" The water needles stood no chance at the combined fireball.
But then their eyes widened as Haku was nowhere in sight.
They heard a scream from behind them. Quickly spinning around their eyes widened as Haku was already upon Sakura.
The pinkette didn't expect this at all so she was ill prepared to react.
Haku aimed his kunai to strike Sakura's heart and by some miracle Sakura managed to react in time to bring up her own kunai to block it. However Haku's force was so great that there was a loud crack as Sakura's wrist snapped from the sudden pressure. The grip of the block immediately slackened, and while it was enough to stop from kunai being embedded into her heart, Haku's momentum carried the kunai forward and made a gash on Sakura's collarbone.
Haku didn't stop and used the kunai in his left arm to strike and pierce Sakura's shoulder eliciting a scream from the girl. Ignoring it, Haku uncharacteristically twisted the kunai and pulled it upward, cutting all the flesh and tendons with it, spilling blood into the air.
The ice wielder spun around and used his right kunai to stab Sakura in the stomach. Releasing the weapon and leaving the small blade embedded in Sakura, Haku kicked the girl's head and sent her flying.
When Sakura landed, she didn't get up. She didn't even move or twitch.
With his eyes set in cold determination Haku set his gaze on Tazuna who was shivering in fear. He made a step forward, but then he had to block a sudden strike from Naruto who suddenly appeared in front of him. Naruto looked at Haku with such anger and fury that Haku couldn't help but feel shiver run through him.
Haku blocked another strike, and was about to retaliate when-
"Argh!" he screamed as there was a sharp pain from his back. In his desperate attempt to complete his mission he completely forgot about the other boy. Sasuke planted a kunai in his back.
Naruto punched Haku hard making the boy spin around and face the Uchiha. Naruto kicked the back of Haku's legs making the ice user fall to his knees. He looked up into Sharingan and that was the last thing he saw before Sasuke slashed his throat.
Just to be sure, Naruto removed the kunai from Haku's back and stabbed it into his neck.
"Haku!" Zabuza screamed from afar when he saw this "NO!"
The missing nin pushed Kakashi away with the flat of his blade, and with an incredible chakra boosted speed which allowed him to move at high Jonin speeds, dashed towards Naruto and Sasuke with his blade prepped horizontally, ready to cut them all in one swing.
While it was really fast, Naruto was somewhat able to track the movement. With so little time to react he did the only thing he thought would work to protect everyone from being cleaved in one swing. He pushed Sasuke away to the sides, while at the same time used his impressive bear like strength to lift Haku who was still in kneeling position, and applied as much chakra as he could and threw the body towards Zabuza who was already upon them mid swing.
Zabuza's eyes widened and attempted to adjust the trajectory of his swing but it was too late…
Kubikiribocho cleanly cut Haku in half, separating the lower and upper body with a clean strike.
Zabuza stood there for a second, his arms extended at the end of the swing. The blade harmlessly passed above everyone's heads due to the man trying to adjust it at the last second. Haku's blood on the blade was already starting to get absorbed into the blade itself. Then Zabuza's body started to shake in uncontrollable rage as he set his gaze on Naruto. The Uzumaki has never seen such hatred before.
The man lifted his blade and swung it down as hard as he could. But Kakashi made it in time and blocked the strike with two chakra enhanced kunais set into a cross position.
Kakashi grunted in mild pain as his whole upper body protested against the beastly strength of the man and his massive sword.
Out of nowhere they could hear clapping. They turned around and saw Gato in his all midget glory stepping off a lift platform with a literal army of thugs behind him.
"Well, well, well," he chuckled in a squeaky voice which carried over throughout the whole bridge "The so called Demon of the Mist can't deal with a bunch of brats. You even lost one of your own," he laughed again "No matter, you all seem beat and exhausted which was my plan all along. I will finish you all off here, save some money from paying Zabuza which I never intended to do anyway, while also claiming the bounty on you and Kakashi. See, I did some research when Zabuza said it was Kakashi of the Sharingan who stopped them all those days ago," he then brought up his beady gaze on Tazuna "Of course, I would also dispose of this despicable bridge builder and once again make an example in this country. Maybe I am the true Demon here after all, hm?" he laughed again.
After hearing that Zabuza twisted his blade and disarmed Kakashi in one motion, before jumping backwards.
"You will pay for this," Zabuza said to Naruto and Sasuke. He kneeled down and picked up Haku's upper body, ignoring all the blood spilling from it. He then turned and hatefully looked at the boys once again "I will remember this and you WILL pay!" and with these final words he leaped over the bridge and disappeared with incredible speed.
"Tsk. Well, no matter, his time will come," Gato grunted "Now, you ready to see what this Demon of the Wave can do?" with a hand signal all the thugs brandished their weapons and started to menacingly march across the bridge towards team 7 and Tazuna.
Tazuna made a step back as a bead of swell rolled down his back. This is not how he envisioned this day to go.
Kakashi and Sasuke took out more kunais and settled into combat stances, ready to take on this army. It would be incredibly difficult. While they were not ninjas, just mere thugs, the sheer number of them was staggering. And both Kakashi and Sasuke were exhausted after their fights and sported multiple injuries. They could do it, sure, but it is going to be really tough.
Kakashi glanced at Naruto and saw the blonde staring at Sakura. The girl was laying there in the pool of her own blood. An incredible pang of guilt and sorrow hit Kakashi but he squashed those feelings. He had to focus. He could feel anger rolling from Naruto, it was almost palpable the way it was affecting the surroundings.
"… Naruto," Kakashi gently called "Please focus, we hav-"
"No," Naruto replied softly. "No." he repeated stronger, this time with steel in his voice.
"Narut-"
"No." Naruto repeated again and this time he turned around and faced the incoming horde of thugs. Kakashi swore he saw Naruto's cerulean eyes turn red with a slit in it, before just as quickly returning back to normal cerulean blue. "Let me deal with them."
"Naruto," Kakashi began. Naruto already sliced his palm open, deeper than he had done ever before. Naruto dropped the hand back to his side allowing blood freely flow on to the bridge. Kakashi steeled his voice a bit but it was still laced with concern "Naruto, this is not the right time for this. We have to deal with this rationally!" the air around them started to be palpable with anger. Kakashi felt it was laced with Power and chakra and killing intent all in one. Based on what he saw from his eyes he was fearing that maybe Kyuubi was acting up.
Even Sasuke turned his head to look nervously at the blonde.
Naruto slowly raised his hands and softly repeated "Let me deal with them." While it was said softly, there was so much Power and fury and anger behind those words that it made the Jonin gulp.
Kakashi noticed that with Naruto's hand movement all the blood on the bridge started to move. Not just Naruto's own, but also Sakura's, and Haku's. Every single red blob was trickling and moving, twisting and convolving together.
The thugs stopped their march as they saw the blood move. Even they could feel something weird in the air.
Kakashi had a bad feeling about this. And he wasn't sure if it was a bad feeling about Naruto, or a bad feeling for his enemies. The Power intensified in the air and Kakashi resisted the urge to gulp again. His Sharingan was still exposed so he saw how all the blood was being infused by Naruto's chakra.
He slowly pocketed his kunai and placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Sasuke…" he began "We have to retreat."
"What?" Sasuke exclaimed angrily "But-"
"This is no time to argue," Kakashi urged "Look at the blood with your Sharingan – see all the chakra infusion?" Sasuke was shocked to notice he could actually see faint outlines of chakra. He never did before. But then he didn't know that his Sharingan evolved into the next stage and obtained two tomoe in each eye upon seeing broken form of Sakura. Kakashi nodded "Let Naruto do his thing, I have a feeling whatever it's going to be will be big. We are just in the way at this point. We will be nearby to interfere if the situation changes. Besides, I'm sure you're getting very exhausted from having Sharingan on for so long."
Sasuke grunted. Indeed, he noticed that his chakra was already rapidly depleting. He reluctantly nodded and turned off his Sharingan as he followed Kakashi and leaped back. A quick glance at Tazuna showed that the man was a bit shaken, but otherwise alright. They also saw a massive crowd of civilians quickly marching towards the bridge, with Inari at the helm. Kakashi's eyes widened – somehow they all rallied together and even found household items to wield as weapon. Perhaps the country got its spirit back after all.
He quickly raised his arm and ordered for them to stop "Don't." The crowd did as commanded.
"Why did you stop?" Gato shouted from behind his thug horde "What are you dumb fucks waiting for?!"
Meanwhile, Naruto was completely oblivious to all of it. Now his arms were completely extended forward and the blood started to take shape around the first half of thugs. And he began to chant.
One of the things he had learned was that through constant use of Infernal Arts in a specific area would gradually saturate the area and turn it into a place of Power. Such places boosted the control and efficiency of rituals. One such place was his flat in Konoha. Another such place was the cave where he first performed his Blessing ritual. And now Wave City was becoming one such place too. Not completely, but the beginning stages of saturation had already began.
For any non-practitioner, entering such places would send a shiver down their spine, make them feel uneasy, wary. Or quite the opposite – would make them experience the positive side of emotions, depending on what their standing was with the practitioner of the Arts. While Wave wasn't quite a place of Power yet, there was no doubt that Naruto's constant use of battle and healing rituals and subsequent reverence of the common people had begun the process of marking the place as His at an accelerated pace.
For Naruto – it meant easier to perform his rituals and boosted power while performing them. But also a sense of protectiveness. Because everyone wanted to protect what was theirs.
As Naruto completed the first sentence of his chant, a powerful pulse of Power escaped from the blonde and spread in all directions. Everyone's hairs stood up.
And then Naruto continued. A powerful syllable after a powerful consonant, his voice quiet but strong, banging the air with a metaphorical sledge hammer. The bloody ritual circle finally took it's form – a massive circle around the first group of thugs, quickly followed by a five pointed star inside of it. Small circles immediately formed on the points with triangles forming between these small circles.
Naruto's voice increased and in swift movement he twisted and crossed his hands. As on cue, the ritual flashed red and numerous sharp, crimson pikes shot out from all the triangles aiming inwards. The thugs had no chance and the majority of the first group were impaled.
Only brief scream of pain and terror was heard before they were silenced.
"W-What are you waiting for?" Gato stuttered "Charge!"
Naruto didn't relent in his chanting. If anything, it had sped up. He swung his arms wide, twisted his wrists, and then swung his arms downwards to the ground.
All the blood that the pikes spilled was quickly absorbed by the ritual circle and it ignited in infernal flames.
The thugs began to charge.
Naruto clapped his hands together and then twisted them around each other as he brought them upwards. At the peak of the movement he once again had his arms crossed and above his head, his fingers slightly bent. The flames dissipated and turned into a red energy mist that looked like floating red dust particles. Two red triangles formed around Naruto's wrists, one on each hand.
He then calmly looked at Gato, ignoring the incoming hostiles, and stopped chanting for a moment to say "You think you are the Demon of the Waves? Let me show you a real demon."
And he resumed chanting with force while channelling some chakra into his technique. The Power pulsed and rolled off Naruto's voice; the ground cracked leaving deep gaps and gashes all around the bridge. Naruto uncrossed his arms and extended them sideways. Red, patchy earth formed under his feet and spread in all directions filling in the gaps and cracks with red, crimson stone.
The thugs were hit with such killing intent that they froze on the spot in fear.
Naruto threw his arms forward and the red triangles around his wrists pulsed red. And so did the ritual circle in front of him. Naruto twisted his hand in a circular motion and the red mist quickly formed into two massive triangles of red chakra that floated in the air before once again being ignited with infernal flames. Something snapped inside those triangles. A deep cut formed in each triangle and from them, in almost a lazy manner, two humongous arms emerged. They towered above the bridge in their mighty, furry, red glory with claws as tall and wide as an adult human.
Naruto lazily swished his left hand which still had a red triangle around it, and the left demonic arm mirrored the same movement with almost the same manner. Except that it didn't. It mimicked the movement with violent precision.
It cut several thugs with its claws while breaking the bones of others as it swept them off the bridge. Naruto waved his right arm, and the massive palm came down upon the enemies and squashed them.
At this point all the enemies realised they stood no chance. They had no way of fighting those beastly hands and the pressure from the blonde's killing intent was too much. Some of them soiled their pants as they stared in horror, while others who were a bit braver tried to turn around and run away.
But none of them did – the demonic hands were rampaging through Gato's forces and killing everyone they touched until finally there was only Gato left. Some managed to escape alive by being lucky or by jumping into the water and swimming away. Regardless of that Gato's force and manpower was no more.
Naruto took a step forward and Gato took a step back. Another step forward, another one back.
The hands almost lazily floated in front Naruto, two abominations being manifested in this world through triangle windows.
"P-p-pleas- agh," Gato stuttered and then cried in pain as one of the demonic arms lifted him up.
"Begging now, are you?" Naruto snarled "Same way the people of the Wave begged? No Gato," Naruto shook and lifted his right arm "Be crushed the same way you crushed these people." And he snapped his fist close and the demonic arm repeated the motion.
All that was left of Gato was blood sipping through the gaps of the demonic fingers.
Naruto turned around and with a quiet chant and some intricate movements willed his conjured arms to snap back into the triangles. With a loud pop, the triangles snapped shut and the flames that were sustaining them dispersed into the air.
But the blonde wasn't done yet.
He turned around and spread his arms, closed his eyes and concentrated. He let his chakra loose and infused all the blood in the area and there was a lot of it.
His brow furrowing in concentration he began a quiet, soft chant. Not the staccatos of Power, but rather more flowing and soothing lullaby.
Slowly he moved his hands in different motions and the blood obeyed and formed into a massive, filled circle. From away it looked like Naruto was standing in a pool of red liquid.
Naruto slowly brought his hands upwards, and the circle and all the life liquid in it ignited in soft red flames. Then he brought his hands down and touched the ground below him. Together with the movement the flames seemed to get absorbed by the ground before the last wisp disappeared. No blood was left behind.
However, what was left behind was part of a bridge which was now permanently marked with crimson-red bricks, cracks, and gashes that were embedded in the bridge in almost symmetrical way. An unobservant passer-by would think these were there by decorative design.
Naruto released a long breath and let all the tension escape from his body. He immediately collapsed down on his knees in exhaustion. That was almost a new feeling for him but then again, he wasn't overly surprised – the amount of chakra and anger he was channelling into the ritual was staggering.
Catching his breath for a moment he finally stood up and made his way towards his team. He saw Kakashi kneeling besides Sakura and bandaging her up.
"Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi spared him a glance for a moment but otherwise didn't say anything for a couple of moments. When he was done with Sakura he finally replied in a relieved tone "She is alive. No vitals were damaged, she just passed out from pain and shock. She lost a lot of blood but she will live," he then picked up Sakura and stood up "That being said we have to hurry back to Konoha, we can't stay here for any longer if we want Sakura to fully recover. She needs professional care, especially the shoulder."
"We are leaving right now then?"
Kakashi nodded "Yes. With… Gato and his forces dead, and Zabuza no longer having an employer or a reason to stay, the people here should be safe to finish with the bridge." He then turned towards Tazuna who was staring wide eyed at Naruto "I apologise, Tazuna-san, but we can't possibly remain here longer until you finish the bridge. We are already acting outside the original parameters of the mission and with the major threats to you now disposed there shouldn't be any further danger of you continuing your work. It's my priority now to save my student."
"I-I-" Tazuna shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind from what he witnessed "Of course. I understand. Nami no Kuni will always be in your team's and Konoha's debt."
Kakashi nodded "You will most likely receive a message from the Hokage-sama to negotiate a compensation for this mission considering you originally lied about it." he then turned towards the two boys of his team "Naruto, Sasuke. Come." and with that he started walking towards the end of the bridge in a quick pace.
Sasuke gave Naruto a weird look and hurried after Kakashi.
Naruto remained behind for a few moments and looked at the massive crowd that had gathered. There was some fear and disgust in their gazes, but thankfully Naruto didn't spot any resentment or rejection aimed at him specifically. Their feeling was probably mostly aimed at the amount of corpses that now littered the bridge, and probably at seeing so many deaths in such a violent fashion in general.
He smiled and waved his hand at the crowd and shouted "You are now free of Gato's reign! I suggest you plunder his headquarters and use anything you find to bring Nami back on it's feet!"
He received some cheers and some hand waves back, and he could see many men in the crowd nodding their heads in agreement to his suggestion. Satisfied that he had done for these people what he could, he turned around and caught up with Kakashi and Sasuke.
"That was a valid suggestion, Naruto," Kakashi complimented without glancing at him.
"Thank, Kakashi-sensei." At this point they had arrived to where bridge construction had ended. They could see the land but there was still some water between them and their destination. "How is Sasuke going to get to the other side? Swim?"
"So my guess that you knew water walking proved to be correct," Kakashi chuckled as he glanced at scowling Sasuke. "Why, you will give Sasuke a piggy ride, of course!"
"What?!" Sasuke almost shouted. His opinion on this was clear for everyone.
Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation "I was afraid you'd say that…" sighing, he turned his back to Sasuke and bent a little "Alright then. Come, Sasuke."
"I will do no such thing."
Naruto shrugged and straightened up "That's fine by me. You can either swim or wait for the bridge to be finished."
With that Naruto started making his way towards the edge of the bridge. Kakashi, too, shrugged with one shoulder and started moving forward while being mindful of Sakura in his arms.
"..."
"..."
Sasuke grunted in pure displeasure.
"Hn..."
Kakashi and Naruto stopped and looked at Sasuke. The blonde was first to speak "What was that?"
Sasuke snarled "Just shut up and let's get this over with already."
Naruto's lips twitched in amusement. He supposed that's the most he will get and this wasn't really a situation where he could goad Sasuke more.
Sasuke got on Naruto's back in silence, and then both Kakashi and Naruto leapt off the bridge and on to the surface of water and proceeded to dash towards the land.
Naruto was now openly grinning in amusement as he felt pure loathing radiate from Sasuke for being stuck in this position. Naruto was glad for this momentarily distraction so he wouldn't focus on worrying about Sakura.
Sasuke, on the other hand, tried to completely ignore this whole situation. He was too focused on how much weaker he felt yet again. When he mastered the tree walking technique he felt like he was finally one step closer to Naruto's level, yet the blonde's performance against Gato's horde made him feel so inferior. He didn't want to admit it, but that scared him. He momentarily thought it should be him with that kind of power. The absolutely power that was radiating from Naruto was staggering. Waves upon waves of intoxicating energy that made his legs shake and left his mind reeling. But he squashed those thoughts - he kept telling himself that Naruto, and the hunter nin they fought who looked same age as him, were just by-products of circumstances, nothing more.
And still… here he was being carried on Naruto's back because he didn't know how to walk on water. Naruto yet again one upped him.
He wanted this power. He needed it. Sasuke resolutely decided that he'd do anything to match and surpass Naruto.
"Hey Sasuke," Naruto cheekily said "I can practically feel you brooding."
Sasuke blinked and saw they have reached the other shore already. He rudely pushed Naruto and jumped off his shoulders.
"Hn."
Naruto laughed "You're welcome."
And with that they once again rushed full speed in total silence. Well, Kakashi lowered his speed to match that of the two boys while also trying not to disturb Sakura's injuries. He was quietly impressed that Sasuke was managing to keep up with Naruto.
Thankfully it didn't take them that long to reach the massive main gates of Konoha.
"Oh, it's Kakashi's team!" Kotetsu called. He then saw the unconscious Sakura in his arms "Oh."
"No time to talk," Kakashi quickly retorted. He then turned towards Naruto and Sasuke "Go to the Hokage's tower for debriefing. I will take Sakura to the hospital and join you afterwards."
Both teens nodded and made their way towards the tower in a leisury pace. Now that they were back they could take a bit of rest from all the running. After all, there was no need to rush anymore.
Naruto felt that the silence between them was a bit on the uncomfortable side. He could see that his other teammate wanted to say something, and the way he was looking forward almost unblinkingly was just screaming stubbornness. Naruto decided not to comment on that.
Soon they reached the tower, and after brief words exchanged with the secretary, they were now standing in the main office with the old Hokage sitting behind the desk with his pipe already lit and between his lips.
He puffed out a cloud of smoke and settled the pipe back on the ashtray. He smiled as he regarded the two teens.
"So how was your first mission outside the village?"
Naruto glanced at Sasuke, and Sasuke still stood there in silence with his arms crossed. Naruto sighed, seems Sasuke was leaving talking to him. Perhaps because he knew he had a good relationship with him? Nevertheless, Naruto didn't complain.
"It was eventful to say the least. Much more than I had anticipating, both in good and bad sense."
"Oh? Well, share the good. We can discuss the bad when Kakashi arrives."
"I got to see outside Konoha! It was super interesting to see the world outside, and to visit another country. Even if it was very poor, I got to talk with loads of people and learn about their culture and hear their stories. It also gave me opportunities to train in a different aspect of my Art," Naruto almost gushed "I also furthered in my Infernal Arts training - I did a sacrifice and summoned a demon! Well, partially. Not to mention I had the opportunity to fight some enemy ninja and I saw where I stand in comparison."
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at that "Partially summoned a demon? I-"
He was interrupted by Kakashi's sudden arrival. When the swirl of leaves settled down, the silver haired Jonin greeted them in his trademark lazy manner "Yo."
"Kakashi," Hiruzen nodded to the man and briefly glanced at Naruto "Perhaps we can continue that conversation some other time." receiving a nod in return he turned back to Kakashi "Report."
And so Kakashi recounted their whole mission while Hiruzen silently listened with the pipe back in his mouth.
Hiruzen already knew the basic parts of what happened early on due to him leaving a note with Meizu for the ANBU to collect. After T&I was done interrogating the Kiri missing nin they knew what Team 7 faced, however other than that Hiruzen was in the dark. And what he was hearing from Kakashi was quite grim.
He was glad that Team 7, relatively speaking, returned back safe and sound. He will await a report from the hospital regarding Sakura's condition but if Kakashi's preliminary assessment is to be believed then thankfully no life threatening or permanent injuries have been made.
Kakashi finished and the room descended into a silence. Hiruzen let out a puff of smoke as he looked at Naruto - it was highly impressive that Naruto possessed such devastating technique though he did wonder how it would do against ninjas. He'd definitely need to have a chat with the teen like they used to in the past.
His heavy gaze fell back on Kakashi and he finally spoke after settling his pipe down "Why did you not retreat back after encountering Zabuza? I understand your decision after beating the Demon Brothers, but after meeting the Demon of the Mists..?"
"Because at first I believed that the fake hunter nin really killed Zabuza. Afterwards, after my realisation that he was still alive, it was already too late. We were involved in the mission and it would've been wrong to leave all those people unprotected with the bridge so close to being finished."
"While I understand such sentimentalities and in one way approve of it, the other, bigger part of me can't just ignore the grave miscalculation here. It's one thing to decide to remain with an experienced team of Chuunin or higher, but with fresh Genin under your command it was unacceptable. I did allow you to act on your own judgement but this was an overshot," he then sighed and ribbed his temples "Despite Sakura's injuries, all of you returned back with the mission being a success," he then sent a wave of KI and glared at Kakashi "Had any of the Genins died this would have been a completely different conversation!"
"H-Hai, Hokage-sama."
He kept the pressure on for a couple more seconds just to really drive his point home before relenting. He addressed the two boys "That being said it's remarkable you all did as well as you did. For the success of the mission you will be awarded an A-rank pay and a relevant entry in your records. You are free to rest for a week after which you will resume your duties," he then turned to Kakashi again "I will expect a full written report no later than by tomorrow. I will also arrange a message to be delivered to Tazuna-san for repayments. Now you are all dismissed."
"Actually, Hokage-sama," Naruto spoke up in a serious tone.
Hokage gave his full attention to the blonde. It's very rare when he addressed him by the title and usually it was for something serious.
"Yes, Naruto-kun?"
"I would like to officially request for Sakura Haruno to be removed from Team 7 and a replacement to be found."
A/N: monkaS
Thanks for all the Reads and Reviews!