A/N: Sorry this one was a bit more delayed. I won't bother you with the Kakashi-esque excuses of why, but better late than never right? Just a heads up, Haku won't be in this story. The way I want it to play out works better if it's just Zabuza. Anyway, here's the next chapter after Naruto's return.

A quick note, somebody had mentioned something about affinities and not having to have an affinity to use a jutsu. I'm aware of this and never actually said Naruto couldn't use a jutsu outside of his affinities. If you thought that's what I meant when Jiraiya had said he couldn't teach him much, I only meant in the way of lightning jutsu. Sorry if that caused any confusion. Now that that's taken care of, on with the story~

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 5

Naruto noticed various expressions as he walked the streets to the hokage's tower. The majority, of course, were looks of hatred and fear. However, what surprised him were the looks he was getting from a lot of the higher-ranked shinobi in the area. The younger generation didn't know any better, but the others most certainly recognized the twin blades resting at his sides. The looks of amazement he was expecting, but there was another that he barely recognized; respect. Several shinobi were actually giving approving nods or bowing slightly in recognition. Even outside of Kiri, those who wielded the legendary swords were respected. This was certainly being proven now as the village pariah was being shown respect by those who outranked him considerably.

Naruto was still getting over the shock of it as they entered the tower and immediately moved toward the hokage's office. Without so much as a knock, Naruto walked in. Hiruzen was going over the contents of a scroll with several ANBU members when Naruto walked in and he immediately smiled at his pseudo-grandson.

"Long time no see, Gramps," Naruto spoke with a small smile. The ANBU were about to reprimand him for disrespecting their hokage in such a way, but were stopped by a raised hand from their leader. Hiruzen walked around his desk and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's great to see you, Naruto. We'll have to catch up on your trip later. There's some business that needs my attention." The smile was replaced by a serious expression as Hiruzen finished speaking. The old man turned to his former student and finally noticed the 2 women of their group. He gave a smile and a nod in their direction before returning to Jiraiya.

"Your timing is perfect actually. I need you to provide backup for someone, Jiraiya. A client withheld information and an A-rank mission was misclassified as a C-rank and given to a team of genin. They have encountered several missing-nin, one of which being the demon of the mist," Hiruzen was stopped there as Naruto cut in at the mention of the name. "As in, Zabuza Momochi of the 7 swordsmen?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at the boy's excitement. "Correct. Why such interest in Kiri's swordsmen all of the sudden, Naruto?"

"You have to tell me where they are, Gramps. If you're sending backup it HAS to be me." Hiruzen once again looked at Naruto in confusion at why he was so determined to do this himself. Hiruzen looked to Jiraiya who showed no sign that he was opposed to the idea. "Tell me, why is it so important that it be you that goes, Naruto?" "I have an obligation to fight him." Hiruzen was about to question him when he finally took notice of the blades the boy possessed. He was fully aware of the responsibilities of one who carried the legendary blades, so he gave a small nod as a sigh escaped him.

"I understand. I'm not exactly comfortable with the idea, but if Jiraiya sees no cause for worry, then I trust you to handle the situation. You and Jiraiya are to leave immediately for the land of waves." The two gave a short bow before immediately leaving through the window. Hiruzen let out another sigh before turning to his other guests with a smile. "It's good to see you again, Tsunade. How have you been?"

"I'm serious, Jiraiya. No matter what, you stay out of the fight and make damn certain everyone else does as well. Those genin may not know the importance of this, but you do. If they interfere I can't guarantee they'll survive to learn from the mistake." The sun was setting as master and apprentice approached the land of waves at high speeds. "I know, Naruto. Just promise me you'll try to keep the collateral damage to a minimum; I'd really prefer not to pay for a bunch of repairs." Naruto let out a laugh as they slowed to a stop in front of a small house and knocked on the door. "I can't make any promises." Naruto gave him a sadistic smile and Jiraiya let out a sigh. One thought ran through his head as the door opened, 'well there goes my drinking money'.

Standing in the open doorway was a startled young woman. Just as she was about to speak, someone else came to the door and interrupted her train of thought. "It is good to see you again, Jiraiya-sama. I never would've expected them to send you as our reinforcements," the man said with a bow as he addressed the toad sage. Naruto took the opportunity to size the man up carefully. He looked to be in his late twenties, maybe early thirties, with a body befitting of an experienced shinobi. He had wild silver hair and a cloth mask covering the majority of his face. The fact that his headband covered his left eye left very little of his face visible. Naruto's estimate of the man having extensive experience was proven correct by the man's vest showing him to be one of the elite.

Jiraiya laughed as he shook the hand the masked jounin had outstretched. "It's good to see you, too, Kakashi. I'm actually not your backup, he is. I'm just here to make sure everybody else stays safe and out of the way." Everybody in the room was floored by that statement. Not only was the backup a kid, but they were expected to leave him to handle things alone? The room was completely silent for a few moments before Kakashi finally got over his shock.

"Forgive me, Jiraiya-sama, but are you insane? You want us to stay away so a child can fight an A-ranked missing-nin alone?" Kakashi turned to look at the aforementioned "child", only to find he was gone. The familiar sound of lightning crackling behind him told him where the boy was. He slowly turned his head to find the twin blades of the legendary Kiba crossed inches from his neck, ready to separate head from body. "That's exactly what we want, Cyclops. You and everybody else will stay the hell away while I fight Zabuza." Naruto lowered his blades and leaned in to whisper in the jounin's ear so that only he could hear. "And by the way, between the two of us, Jiraiya isn't the insane one." Kakashi shivered slightly at the tone in the boy's voice as he stood up.

The 3 genin watched the whole thing with disbelieving looks on their face. They hadn't even seen the boy move until he was already behind their jounin instructor with a pair of deadly-looking swords threatening to end his life. They were filled with a range of emotions such as confusion, amazement…and fear. One of them shook his head clear as he spoke up. "Get real idiot. As if you could take out someone stronger than Kakashi-sensei when there's no way you could even beat me." Jiraiya let out a sigh as the instant the last word left the boy's mouth, he doubled-over spitting up blood. Before he had a chance to figure out what happened, he was spinning through the air into a wall with his jaw in pain.

Naruto let out a yawn as he looked at the crumpled form of what he now recognized to be the last Uchiha. "I'm sorry, you were saying something? I guess I couldn't hear you over the sound of bones breaking," Naruto said casually as he looked around the room paying no attention to the others with their jaws on the floor. Naruto suddenly covered his ears when he took notice of a certain pink-haired banshee of a fangirl in the room. "SASUKE-KUN!" Jiraiya and Kakashi sincerely regretted not following the boys lead as they approached while trying to get their ears to stop ringing.

"Okay, that's enough. Sasuke, Sakura, Sai, and I will stay here to guard Tazuna and his family." The 2 conscious genin looked at him like he had just grown another head. "WHAT?! But why, Kakashi-sensei? He's the same age as us so why does he get to fight when we don't? If anybody should be allowed to fight it's Sasuke-kun, he's the strongest." Kakashi let out a sigh as he once again tried to get his hearing back.

"First of all, have you been paying attention to anything that just happened? It may be hard to believe, but he is unquestionably stronger than Sasuke. As for why he will be fighting alone, that's a bit more difficult to explain. Let's just say he has his reasons and leave it at that." Sakura looked like she was about to say something else before a look from Kakashi told her it wasn't up for debate. The other member of the team, Sai, just gave his sensei a nod without a word.

"Now that that's out of the way, you really should do something about the Uchiha kid. Naruto wasn't joking about the bones breaking thing." Taking Jiraiya's advice, team 7 bandaged Sasuke up as best they could and took him upstairs to a bed.

2 days later, Naruto is sitting at the edge of the bridge meditating as he waits for Zabuza to show up. He slowly stands up and tells Jiraiya to get everybody out of the area as a light mist fills the area. Not enough to completely impair vision, but enough to reduce visibility slightly. "I was beginning to think you weren't gonna show," Naruto said as he turned to see Zabuza approaching. Zaubaza immediately took notice of the swords at Naruto's sides and a smile came to his face.

"I'm impressed you waited alone. You may be a brat, but you seem to understand what it means to wield those blades. Let's have some fun shall we?" Naruto smiled and drew his twin blades as he watched Zabuza draw his own. "Yes, let's." And with that said, they met in a clash of blades.

Jiraiya and team 7 watched the battle between swordsmen from a distance. They couldn't help but be entranced by the raw power Zabuza used or the swift grace Naruto moved with in this deadly dance. Zabuza moved to decapitate his opponent which lead to Naruto using the sides of Kiba to glance the blow and move in for a strike of his own. Naruto brought the sword in his left hand back with lightning surging around it to strike after deflecting the much larger sword. Zabuza took a quick step back and dropped the side of his sword back to block while lashing out with his right leg trying to score a solid hit on the boy's ribs.

Naruto saw the kick coming and brought a knee up to block before following through and kicking forward causing Zabuza to stumble back a bit. Not wasting a second, Naruto crossed his swords in front of him and unleashed his attack. "Lightning release: Lightning Fang!" Bolts of lightning shot forward from the point the swords crossed and raced toward Zabuza. Zabuza rolled to the side dodging the majority of the attack while using his sword to block the rest. He then jumped back and shoved his sword into the ground as he went through several hand signs. "Water release: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Naruto followed his lead impaling both blades into the ground before going through hand signs of his own. "Water release: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Zabuza's eyes widened as another dragon intertwined with his own. What really surprised him was the fact that it was almost as large as his own. The 2 dragons collided sending water everywhere. Zabuza picked his sword back up, but Naruto just smiled with his swords still in the ground as he went through more hand seals. "Lightning release: Thunder Gate!" Lightning surged into the sky. A moment later, lightning came crashing down and decimated the area leaving deep scorch marks in the earth.

Zabuza hadn't been the only one surprised by Naruto's use of water jutsu. Jiraiya had no idea his apprentice knew anything other than what he taught him. 'That was way too powerful for any without an affinity to water to make. When the hell did Naruto develop another affinity?' Jiraiya thought to himself. The others were completely speechless as well. Most were completely amazed by the display, but Sasuke was seething. 'How the hell is he so much stronger than I am?!' When Naruto used the thunder gate, Sakura looked confused. "What was the point of that attack? All it did was send lightning into the sky." Jiraiya just pointed back towards the bridge in time for her to see the ensuing destruction. The others were awestruck, while Jiraiya was on the verge of tears. 'Dammit! I tell him to keep the collateral damage to a minimum and he tears up half the damn bridge!'

Zabuza was breathing heavily as he dodged the last of the lightning raining down on him. "What the hell is with this kid? He's better with those damn things than Ringo was! Oh shi-" Zabuza moved just in time to avoid being split in half as Naruto came down from the sky with enough force to shatter the ground upon impact. Not ceasing in his movements, Naruto pushed off the ground with his hands aiming a kick towards Zabuza's face only to have it blocked by the side of his sword. Zabuza grabbed the outstretched leg and slammed the boy into the ground. His smile disappeared when the body disappeared in a puff of smoke. "A shadow clone?" "Correct," a voice came from behind him. He turned his head to find himself in the same position as when Kakashi met Naruto. He let out a sigh as he stabbed his sword into the ground and put his hands up. He turned around slowly and started laughing.

"I can't believe I lost to a kid. Still, that was the most fun I've had in ages. What's your name kid?" Naruto smiled as he lowered his blades and held out a hand. "Naruto Uzumaki." Zabuza shook the offered hand. "Well then, Naruto. We'll have to do this again sometime." Naruto opened his mouth to agree when several arrows suddenly struck the man in the chest. Naruto's eyes widened as he turned to see a large group of bandits standing there with a short, fat man wearing sunglasses. Zabuza collapsed onto his knees and glared at them as his strength left him.

"You're pathetic, Zabuza. Getting beat by some little brat? Some "demon of the mist". Though I guess I should thank the brat. Now it won't matter that I wasn't going to pay you haha," the short man said. Naruto turned to give a glance to Jiraiya before turning back to the group of people in front of him.

Jiraiya was just getting ready to jump in and help when Naruto looked at him. Jiraiya shuddered slightly as he saw a familiar pair of red eyes staring at him with slit pupils accompanied by a sadistic smile that promised the bearer was going to take great pleasure in what was to come. We're getting out of here, now!" Kakashi looked at him confused until he caught a glimpse of Naruto's eyes. Jiraiya could see he was afraid the fox took control and gave him a reassuring look as he ordered the genin to get a move on. Jiraiya was so focused on getting the others away, that he didn't realize Kakashi wasn't behind him.

Kakashi watched the others leave debating on whether to follow or help the boy. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a bloodcurdling scream from behind him. A look of horror crossed his face when he turned around.

Naruto started laughing as he slowly walked toward the large group of bandits. "How many?" he asked. The looks of confusion told him he needed to elaborate. "How many of you are there for me to kill?" They all started laughing as the man wearing sunglasses stepped forward. "You're joking right? You really think you can kill 100 men by yourself?" Naruto's smile widened and he licked his lips. "That depends, are you counting yourself in that 100?" They all started laughing again.

"You mentioned Zabuza's nickname, so that means you want to see a demon, right? I'll show you a demon!" The laughter came to an abrupt halt when Naruto dropped his transformation. His 3 tails thrashed around excitedly behind him as he slowly approached. Some of the less experienced fighters were completely frozen by the KI pouring off of him in waves while others just stood there terrified. One man decided he could handle things alone as he drew his sword and charged. Naruto didn't give him the chance to regret it.

Naruto smiled as he waited for his first victim to get close. When he did, his screams came out as nothing but a gargling noise as his blood flowed over Naruto's hand that was embedded into his throat. And with that, everybody charged at once. "Oh I'm so glad none of you tried to run," Naruto said with a huge smile as he rushed forward. Screams filled the air as Naruto tore through the mass of bandits. He avoided fatal blows intentionally trying to prolong his fun. The scent of blood was thick in the air as Naruto ripped a man's leg off and proceeded to beat him with it as he laughed hysterically. Growing bored of that, he ripped the man's spine out and proceeded to lash out at the nearest victim. It severed his arm as well as tearing a large chunk of his upper torso out with it.

After that, Naruto began disemboweling everybody close enough for him to sink his claws into. The short man in sunglasses was frozen in terror as he watched his men being slaughtered. The truly terrifying part of it though, was the look of pure joy on the boy's blood-drenched face. Naruto was in pure bliss. The sound of screams combined with the heavy scent of blood in the air and the rich taste of it in his mouth as he tore a man's throat out with his fangs was borderline orgasmic. Once Naruto finished completely removing the organs of the man beneath him, the man in sunglasses was the only one left.

"So I guess you'll make it 101," Naruto said darkly as he came up to the small man. The man started panting as liquid began pooling at his feet. Naruto's nose twitched as he snarled and picked the man up by the throat. "You bastard, how dare you taint the scent of blood in the air with your filth! For that, I'm going to make you watch your death over and over until you beg me to kill you." And that's exactly what he did. As he stared into Naruto's hate-filled eyes, he saw images of his death over and over as he screamed for it to stop. The seconds drew into minutes as the man was forced to watch himself die in so many different ways. "MAKE IT STOP! KILL ME! TORTURE ME! ANYTHING, JUST MAKE IT STOP!" The man screamed as he cried and begged for his life to end. Naruto laughed as he raised his hand and shoved into the man's chest. The man coughed up a large amount of blood as Naruto brought up his other hand to join the first and ripped the man's rib cage open.

He was forced to watch as Naruto sank his claws into his lungs and tore them to shreds. He could feel his life slipping away as his heart slowed down. Before it could stop beating, Naruto grabbed it and flooded it with lightning chakra. The man was unable to scream, but apparently his brain wasn't dead just yet from the evident pain showing on his face. Naruto continued to pump lightning chakra into the heart until it couldn't take it anymore and exploded violently. Naruto licked his claws clean and let out a sigh of contentment as he reapplied his transformation and walked over to where Zabuza was laying.

Surprisingly, Zabuza was still alive. Just barely, but he was alive. "You look like shit," Naruto said with a sad smile. Zabuza winced as he laughed softly. "Listen kid, I want you to do me a favor. I want you to take Kubikiribocho, and I want you to kill that shark bastard Kisame with it." Naruto smiled as he nodded his head. "I promise, Zabuza. No matter what, Kubikiribocho will taste Kisame's blood." Zabuza smiled as his eyes drifted closed and his breathing stopped.

Nobody said anything as Naruto walked into the house covered from head to toe in blood with Kubikiribocho strapped to his back. He just walked by with his usual blank expression on his face as he went to take a shower. Shortly after the sound of running water could be heard, a pale Kakashi stumbled into the room.

"Sensei! You look terrible, what happened out there?" Sakura ran to him as soon as he came in. The others were curious, but the look on his face said they really didn't want to know and he had no intention of telling them. Jiraiya gave him a knowing look as he was reminded of the things he had seen the boy do. "I don't wanna talk about it, Sakura…ever," Kakashi replied in a tired voice as he dropped onto the couch face-down. The genin all looked at eachother and shrugged then headed upstairs to go to bed.

"What the hell was that, Jiraiya-sama?" Satisfied that everyone was out of hearing range, Jiraiya and Kakashi talked about what Kakashi had seen. Jiraiya let out a sigh before speaking.

"I figured as much. Listen, Kakashi, you can't talk to anybody besides the old man about this. He's aware of things to a certain extent already, but I'd avoid going into too much detail if you do decide to talk to him about this. As far as Naruto's mental condition…to be honest he's been completely unstable since the incident on his 8th birthday. However, as unstable as he is, he would never harm someone he sees as an ally. Though, sadly, that list is extremely short right now. As far as I know, he'll only drop his guard around Shizune, Tsunade, the old man and me." Kakashi raised an eyebrow at that last part. "You found Tsunade-sama?"

Jiraiya explained some of their travels together from when they found Tsunade. Kakashi couldn't help but laugh at some things, but what really interested him was what he was told about Naruto and Shizune. "Do you think they have some kind of thing going on?" Jiraiya rubbed his chin as he thought for a moment. "Well, I'm pretty sure the kid has feelings for her, but I really don't know what she thinks."

"What do you think would happen if we got them together? Think that would help Naruto out? A grin slowly spread across Jiraiya's face as he giggled perversely. "Maybe I could even get some material for my next book," he said as he began coming up with plans to get them together. Kakashi started giggling along with him as they plotted their first move.

That's it for now, what did you guys think? I will be deciding who the girl for the next series is sometime in the next few days so if you haven't voted yet, please do. The result will be posted in the A/N of the next chapter. Thanks for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it.