Maemi had been given strict instructions not to give Naruto any further combat drugs without his knowledge, and not to use them for training exercises even if it was called survival training. The Muse thought the shinobi of Konoha were just being sticks in the mud, Naruto was only a little bit lethargic the day after and he recovered fast.
She agreed anyway, not wanting them to try sending her away from Naruto. However the next few days were so boring she felt like they were being punished anyway, the missions they were assigned were practically nothing more than basic chores. Maemi had managed to get Naruto to buy some extra clothes though, even if it was basically his same usual outfit in different colors and some small pieces of armor. The Daemon knew the boy would grow so didn't go too hard on the armor yet, a simple mesh undershirt and some forearm guards would be enough for now anyway.
On the bright side the shinobi became more used to the presence of the Muse, the ones who had to deal with Naruto regularly did at least. So mostly his team, but the Hokage and chunin within the mission office also became less suspicious of her as time went on. Maemi found it amusing, knowing that in any world that knew of her kind she'd have been sent back to whence she came and the blonde she was bound to burned at the stake.
The Daemon didn't use that as an excuse to drop her guard though, she'd expected to be able to turn Naruto into a killing machine but quickly learned that Konohagakure no Sato valued other things far more highly. The village Naruto was a part of was strange compared to what she thought shinobi were supposed to be, but she couldn't deny that cooperation could allow an army of the weak to bring down someone strong.
However the missions they were doing were absolutely awful, worse was that Maemi actually needed to fill in gaps in Naruto's knowledge when he was a native to this plane of existence and she was not. That was down right embarrassing for the blonde but she didn't mock him, he was needed, the only mortal champion they had in this world and he had potential.
On the list of things she had to explain, the way his own village ranked missions and what chakra was were on the list. Maemi was convinced someone had sabotaged Naruto's education, she didn't care how many classes he skipped those were borderline common knowledge.
The thing that had been less weird to explain, and what had prompted the chakra explanation, was that thanks to Maemi the blonde genin had far better chakra control than before. The Muse explained that Naruto had an abundance of physical energy which was now being balanced by her spiritual energy, the Daemon siphoning some of Naruto's overflowing Yang chakra and replacing it with her own Yin chakra. This had been a simplified explanation to better fit how his world understood things, but it was mostly true.
Besides that the Muse had gotten Naruto actually training, rebuilding his taijutsu from the ground up was going to be the hardest but it needed to be done. If illusions and ranged attacks failed, if all weapons were disarmed or rendered useless, a shinobi still needed to be able to fight. Naruto had also finally managed to perform the Bunshin no Jutsu, something the boy had been shocked by.
However after catching a cat that was so much of a menace Maemi wondered if it was a chaos beast in disguise, Naruto was sick of the D rank missions and fell to his knees pulling his own hair, "No way! Boring!" the blonde snapped at the Hokage who had just listed off baby sitting, courier work, and digging holes for potatoes as missions, "Give us a cool mission! Something different to do! Something that actually matters!" he demanded, and for a moment Maemi was worried the boy had overstepped his bounds with the leader of the village.
Sasuke privately agreed with the blonde but was doing his best not to let it show on his face, Sakura just thought the hyperactive blonde was being annoying, and Kakashi sighed as he thought they should just take what they could get.
It was Iruka who stood up to take offense instead of the Hokage, a fact that made Maemi sigh in relief, "Don't be a fool!" the chunin scolded loudly, "You're only a beginner! Everyone starts out doing grunt work. It's where you get experience, so as to build up to bigger things." he lectured as the Hokage next to him adjusted his ceremonial hat and sighed.
"We've done the small stuff!" Naruto shot back, "Can't you just give us something better?" he begged as he stood up.
"That's enough, Naruto, knock it off." Kakashi scolded, delivering a quick knock to the top of the boys head with his knuckles, holding back more than enough to keep it only painful.
Hiruzen took that opportunity to explain the mission system, how they were ranked, and how the the genin were given the lowest grade missions, "I know all that!" Naruto snapped, not mentioning that he only knew because Maemi had explained it to him and she wasn't going to tattle on him, "Come on I'm a real shinobi now! This D rank shit should be done by academy students." he continued to complain. Privately Hiruzen agreed with that last statement, but fitting grunt work in with the training would be far too much work load for most academy students.
Hiruzen didn't want to say they were too young even if it was true, officially speaking a ninja was legally considered an adult. Besides that though he realized the blonde was simply acting up because he was bored, and when the boy was bored he usually played pranks. The fact Naruto was asking for more interesting missions instead of going straight to practical jokes was proof the boy really was taking being a ninja seriously, and a look at Iruka told the Hokage that the chunin realized it too.
"Very well," Hiruzen decided, surprising genin cell seven with his words, "since you put it that way I will allow your team to take on a C rank mission, usually reserved for those with more experience." he informed them with a kind smile as he steeped his hands, "A protection detail." he explained.
Maemi wondered how a man with such a soft spot for kids became the leader of a shinobi village, but she already could tell not to underestimate him. The Muse didn't need to see him fight to get the sense the Hokage was strong despite his age, she had senses beyond human comprehension.
"Who is it? A Daimyo? A Hime!?" Naruto asked eagerly, revealing he really was still a kid at heart.
"Compose yourself," Hiruzen commanded, "I shall perform introductions now. Iruka-san, bring him in." he commanded and the chunin left the room, leaving squad seven wondering who would be coming back with the man.
They didn't have to wait long for a drunk old man in glasses, a rope tied up around his head like many laborers designed to hold a hat and catch sweat. He even had a half empty bottle of sake, "What's going on here?" the man asked, "They look like a bunch of wet-nosed brats." he complained before his eyes settled on Maemi and his frown of displeasure became one of confusion, "What even is she?" he added, gesturing to the Muse, "Oni?" he wondered, noticing the horns.
Maemi registered the word and the similarities, "Huh? I'm not an Oni, but I guess we're sort of similar." she acknowledged, technically all she needed was alcohol and a more violent temper, "Call me Maemi-chan, I'm a Daemon bound in service to Naruto-sama, his Familiar to help him accomplish his dreams." she introduced, clinging swiftly to the blonde genin's left arm.
The old man blinked in surprise, "Daemon? Famir-" he began but stopped, smacking his lips and rolling his tongue with a confused expression, "Fameeri-uh. Famiriur?" he slurred, trying to get the word right, "Bah, what a strange word." he complained, slapping his face, "Whatever, I am Tazuna, a bridge builder of ultimate renown." he introduced, setting aside the strange words he didn't recognize for now, "Until I am safely back in my own country, where I will be completing my next amazing bridge, you'll all be expected to protect me..." he seemed to consider for a moment whether he should continue, "Even if it costs you your lives." he finished seriously.
Kakashi nodded, "Kakashi Hatake, jonin commander of genin cell number seven," he introduced, "consisting of Sakura Haruna, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki." he continued, gesturing to each student as he introduced them, "Think of Maemi-tan like a pet that can fight." he added and the Daemon glared at him.
With introductions out of the way, the shinobi went to get their supplies for a long term mission and meet the client at the gates of the village. Maemi used this opportunity to get Naruto to change his clothes and put on some armor, and spend some of the money he'd earned from D ranks on some new weapons.
"All right! Road trip!" Naruto exclaimed cheerfully as he approached the gate, leather forearm guards with thin metal plates build in peaking out from under the sleeves of a bright purple version of his usual jacket and a tanto strapped to his hip. He had a bag of supplies on his back and his pants were a darker shade of purple than his new jacket.
"What are you babbling about?" Sakura asked with her hands on her hips, wondering what the deal was with his new outfit, and when he had gotten a sword for that matter. Although a tanto was the smallest type of sword, it was practically a knife or a dagger.
"This'll be the first time I've ever been out of the village y'know!" Naruto revealed as he looked around with overly excited energy. Maemi was tempted to dose the boy with more methamphetamine to get him to focus, but decided not to bother for now.
"Am I really expected to place my life in the hands of this fool?" Tazuna asked Kakashi while pointing at Naruto, he'd heard ninja were professional killers so he was a bit perturbed that his hired shinobi protection detail was mostly children, and a Daemon that was smaller than the children but definitely did not have the proportions of a child.
Kakashi sighed, "There's no call for concern, I'm an elite jonin and I'll be along as well." he assured calmly as Naruto glared at the client.
Maemi was ready to defend Naruto's ability, "Naruto-sama has command over more of my kind," she spoke up, "and I'm the weakest among them." she added, unconcerned to reveal herself as weak. Comparatively she was, a Muse was a type of Imp, even a Fury was more dangerous than her in combat.
Tazuna frowned, not really buying it, "So you're a baby Daemon and he can call your mama?" the bridge builder asked.
Maemi just stared at Tazuna, "I'm older than you." she said bluntly, deciding not to mention how much older or that Daemons were not born like mortals.
Naruto was surprised by that but just grinned proudly at Tazuna, "You shouldn't mess around with ninja, especially not one as great as I am!" he bragged arrogantly, "I am the future Hokage, y'know!" he added with a confident and cheerful grin.
Tazuna had been about to take another sip of his sake when he heard that and raised an eyebrow, "Hokage? Lord of your village? Best there is?" he questioned, "I doubt it." he decided as he lifted his bottle the rest of the way.
Naruto's eye twitched as he struggled to reign in his temper, "Yeah well you're old and stupid." he grumbled, despite his devotion to a god of joy and pleasure and the fact he was legally recognized as an adult of his shinobi village he was still just a child, "I'll be Hokage and then you'll regret not respecting me right now." he decided with a huff.
"Respect you?" Tazuna asked and Maemi noticed an odd look in his eye, "I don't think so, even if you did become Hokage." he shot back, ignoring the glare he received from the blonde genin in return as they left for his homeland.
As the group journeyed and the sun moved through the sky Sakura became curious herself, "Um, Tazuna-san?" she spoke up, not wanting to annoy the man too much. Naruto was still grumbling but his team ignored that, the blonde taking point to hide his disgruntled expression.
"What now?" Tazuna asked, glancing towards the pink haired girl. He was glad she was at least polite.
"You come from Nami no Kuni, right?" Sakura questioned, keeping pace with Sasuke as they went. The Uchiha didn't seem to care about the discussions that had been happening at all.
"Yeah, what of it?" Tazuna answered before questioning why the young kunoichi was interested, wondering if the girl had heard anything about his home.
Sakura turned back to Kakashi, the jonin taking the rear of the loose formation, "Kakashi-sensei, do they have ninja in Nami no Kuni as well?" she asked and Tazuna took another swig of his sake.
"No," Kakashi answered, "not in Nami no Kuni." he clarified, "But as a general rule most countries have a hidden village where some ninja clan resides." he continued, "For most countries, shinobi villagers serve as a standing military force. Among those only the Shinobi Godaikoku have shinobi villages that are large and powerful enough that they aren't truly hidden, these five are lead by the Gokage, the five strongest ninja in the world." he explained, "Also most shinobi villages are equal to the local government rather than truly subservient to the Daimyo of the land." he finished.
Sakura wondered if their old Hokage was really that amazing but she smiled proudly to hide her true thoughts, "Wow, Hokage-sama must be amazing!" she gushed.
"You obviously don't really think that." Kakashi scolded, startling the kunoichi as well as the other two genin. Even Maemi was a bit surprised, she'd noticed the girl hadn't meant it but she made a mental note not to underestimate how observant the jonin was, "There's nothing to worry about though, you shouldn't run into foreign shinobi while performing a C rank mission." he assured, patting the pink haired girl on the head affectionately.
Sasuke and Maemi both noticed Tazuna flinch at that, and the Muse assumed that Kakashi had probably noticed too despite not even looking at the man. The small Daemon also noticed an odd puddle as the walked past it and glanced to see Kakashi give it a single glance but not pay it any mind, so she assumed the man had everything under control.
As soon as the entire group was past the puddle, a pair of shinobi emerged from it. Each had shoulder length dark brown hair and dark eyes, each wore camouflage suits while one had a clawed gauntlet on his right arm and the other had a clawed gauntlet on his left arm. The one with the right arm gauntlet wore a ragged black cape and had a single horn strapped to his hitai-ate, while the other had two metal horns strapped to his and both wore a rebreather covering the bottom half of their faces.
The two rushed Kakashi, a length of shurikens forming a chain between their gauntlets that they used to wrap up the jonin. The attack alerted the others who turned to see the sensei of genin cell seven wrapped up with a surprised look on his face, "One little piggy." the man with a two horned hitai-ate intoned as the two enemy shinobi pulled, ripping the body of Kakashi to blody shreds.
Sakura screamed as Sasuke's stare became hard, but Naruto felt something as the two looked towards them and Maemi stepped up to his side. The blonde genin found the feeling familiar and remembered when Mizuki attacked him, this was what was missing from the glare Ebisu gave him but the boy still knew nothing of what the feeling was
"Two little piggies..." The same shinobi who spoke a moment ago intoned, the two enemy ninja moving towards Naruto. Sasuke leaped to the defense of his teammate, throwing a shuriken to lodge the chain the two were using against a tree with a kunai coming right after to stab through the hole in the center of the shuriken to anchor it to the tree.
Maemi had to admit the Uchiha had good shurikenjutsu, and he displayed he was decent with taijutsu as well when he landed lightly on the two gauntlets each ninja wore before grabbing them to deliver a pair of back kicks to either face of the enemy. The two disconnected their chains, rushing past the Uchiha without bothering to counterattack much to the surprise of the boy.
One came at Naruto while another rushed Tazuna, Sakura felt fear but managed to avoid freezing up. The girl pulled out a kunai and leaped between the enemy ninja and his target, "Look out!" she cried out, remembering that their duty was to protect the client.
Naruto seemed to freeze up for a moment before his left hand suddenly shot out in a fist, his forearm guard under his jacket protecting his arm a little but one of the claws still grazing his left hand as he slammed his fist into the metal rebreather the man wore. Sasuke leaped between Sakura and the other one as Naruto unsheathed his new tanto with his right hand and suddenly thrust it towards the man who narrowly dodged having his throat slit.
Before the fighting could continue Kakashi clothes-lined the two shinobi with each arm faster than most of them could follow with their eyes, coming to the rescue much to the surprise of Sakura and Naruto but to the annoyance of Sasuke and Maemi. It became apparent the man had used a combination of kawarimi to let them think he'd died and a henge on the log he'd used to assist in fooling the enemy ninja, something the Muse made note of as it was a useful tactic.
Tazuna sighed in relief, not entirely following what had happened but understanding that his life had been saved. Kakashi turned to his blonde genin student, "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, I should have stepped in before you got hurt." he apologized, "It didn't occur to me you might freeze up." he clarified. The genin blinked owlishly before looking at the cut on his left hand in surprise, not having noticed it before, "Good job, Sasuke-kun, you too Sakura-chan." the jonin added, deciding to shelve Naruto's surprise at the injury for the moment.
Sasuke turned to Naruto with a slight smirk, "Hey, you okay?" he asked with a little bit more condescension than Maemi thought was necessary.
Naruto noticed the tone and scowled at his dark haired teammate but before he could respond Kakashi spoke up, "Naruto-kun, no time for fighting. Their claws are poisoned so we need to clean that wound as soon as possible." he warned, "If we cut deeper the blood flow should wash the poison out, but for now don't move to slow the spread of poison." he ordered before turning on their client, "Tazuna-san, we need to talk." he added dangerously as he tied the two enemy ninja up and leaned them against a tree.
"W-what is it?" Tazuna stammered, clearly nervous and Maemi snapped her attention to him, swiftly deducing why the old drunk was so on edge.
"Our attackers appear to be chunin of Kirigakure no Sato." Kakashi pointed out, gesturing to the symbol on their hitai-ate, "They're renowned for fighting on until their goal is achieved, even at the cost of their lives." he explained, "They were watching us and waiting for an opportunity to strike, the sun is out and it hasn't rained for several days so there was no reason for there to be a puddle."
Tazuna frowned in confusion, "If you knew all that then why let them attack you?" he questioned fearfully.
"I could have killed them at any moment," Kakashi confessed, "but I wanted to know who they were targeting." he explained, not bothering to explain that both Naruto and Sasuke would both make juicy targets for rival ninja villages or that he likely had many enemies of his own, "Were they after us, or you? I had to be sure. However your request for protection never mentioned ninja, merely from roving thieves and brigands." he continued dangerously, giving the bridge builder a slight glare. For good reason, the man had endangered his students regardless of whether or not he'd done it intentionally and a chunin taking this mission alone may have even been killed by the tag team of chunin.
Tazuna took a nervous step back and the silver haired jonin continued, "As it stands this mission is above even B rank, you may have had your reasons but you shouldn't hide the facts when asking for help. As it is this job falls outside of the original parameters." Kakashi explained coldly.
Sakura decided to speak up, "If we're not good enough to handle this yet, shouldn't we quit?" she asked, nervous herself, "Naruto will need anesthetic before we can reopen the wound anyway, right? Shouldn't a doctor look at it?" she reasoned.
Kakashi considered that, "Hm, this is complicated." he admit, "By all rights we should leave you to your fate so we can ensure Naruto-kun receives medical assistance." he agreed and Tazuna swallowed a lump in his throat.
Naruto on the other hand frowned and rammed his tanto into the back of his own hand with a wince, surprising everyone there as he twisted the blade to let the blood flow more freely out of his wound, "I don't need it!" the boy suddenly snapped, "I'm fit for duty, ready to protect that old bastard!" he insisted. Maemi smirked, even she hadn't expected that kind of resolve from the boy.
Tazuna was surprised the blonde who had argued with him and that he'd refused to respect would go that far to continue the mission, and while Kakashi was proud there was a new issue, "Well, Naruto-kun, I mentioned we needed a flow of blood to let out the poison." he acknowledged, "However, you exceeded the amount needed." he continued as Naruto frowned in confusion, wondering what the jonin was getting at, "You might actually die of blood loss, for real." the man explained, getting to the point, although the cheerful tone of voice he had didn't quite match his words.
"Oh shit!" Naruto exclaimed, not having considered that, "No way! Not happening! I won't die like this!" he insisted but the fear in his voice was obvious and Maemi couldn't help but sigh.
"Show me your hand." Kakashi said, taking the injured left hand of the boy to start bandaging it.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Naruto? Are you a masochist or something?" Sakura asked, hiding how freaked out and worried she was with anger, "Do you get off on pain?" she continued as she tried to figure out why anyone would do something like that without anesthetic.
"What's wrong with masochism?" Maemi asked as Kakashi inspected the wound with surprise, the jonin noting that the injury was almost healed already as the pink haired genin took a nervous step away from the Muse.
"It's all right, isn't it?" Naruto asked nervously, noticing how serious Kakashi became suddenly while checking the injury.
The silver haired jonin nodded, bandaging what was left of the injury to hide the healing factor the young blonde had from the others, "It seems like you'll be fine." he assured.
Tazuna watched this happen with a serious expression, "Hatake-san," he began politely to get the attention of the ninja, "I have something I need to say." he continued, clearly still nervous, "It's about the mission request I made to your village, as you guessed this job is more dangerous than I originally lead your village to believe." he confessed, "There's a real scary man who wants me dead."
"Real scary man?" Kakashi questioned, that was a vague description if he ever heard one and it didn't narrow it down at all. When Tazuna just looked down instead of clarifying the jonin continued, "Who is it?"
"You've probably heard of him." Tazuna continued with a sigh, "A billionaire in the field of marine transportation, Gato." he revealed.
That did startle Kakashi, "You don't mean Gato of Gato Shipping and Transport?" he questioned, "The Gato they say is the richest man in the world!?" he clarified with some alarm. For a shipping magnate to be richer than most Daimyo was unprecedented until Gato, so it stood to reason the man was well known.
"That's the one." Tazuna confirmed sadly, "On the surface he acts like a legitimate businessman, but the truth is that he's a ruthless murderer and criminal who uses gangs of thugs and hired shinobi to enforce his will. He even deals in drugs and contraband." the bridge builder continued, explaining how the man had amassed so much wealth, "A year ago he set his sights on my home, Nami no Kuni, at first it seemed like a simple business venture. Then the violence began and now we're all stuck under his thumb as he controls all the shipping going in and out of our country. He has a complete stranglehold on our nations wealth, so the only thing he has to fear is the completion of my bridge."
Maemi frowned, deciding not to mention the obvious flaw in the idea of a bridge stopping the man since from the fact a pair of chunin had apparently been hired to kill Tazuna implied this Gato took the threat of the bridge seriously for some reason. Which indicated to the Muse that there would be something to stop Gato simply setting up a toll on the bridge, although she couldn't figure out what.
Sakura frowned, "So, Tazuna-san, as the architect of the bridge you are in his way." she summarized, understanding what the man was getting at.
"Which means these two were working for Gato." Sasuke pointed out with a glance at the two Kirinin, who said nothing and seemed resigned to their fates.
"So why not tell us this when you requested help from our village?" Kakashi asked the bridge builder, ignoring the two enemy ninja for now.
"Nami no Kuni is not that prosperous." Tazuna answered sadly, "Even our local Daimyo is poor, and I myself have no money left, a B rank bodyguard would be outside of the budget of my entire home." he revealed, implying his lie had been pure desperation, "If you all turn away from me now, I'm as good as dead." he finished sadly.
Kakashi frowned under his mask, "But-" he began.
Tazuna interrupted loudly, "But oh well! That's not your concern! You won't be there to see my daughter or grandson crying like their hearts are breaking!" he declared, laying on the guilt trip thick. Maemi stared blankly at the bridge builder, she saw exactly what she was doing but didn't really care, "Oh! You also won't mind if my daughter vows eternal hatred of the shinobi of your village as she lives her life alone!" he continued. Even Naruto could tell what the man was doing, so of course the other three Konoha ninja could tell.
"Oh well, it can't be helped." Kakashi said with a sigh, "We'll continue to protect you until you get home at least." he conceded, aware he was being played but also recognizing there was truth to the words even if their intention was obvious. Tazuna considered this a great success.
The two Kirigakure chunin were left behind tied up to be found by a Konoha patrol, much to their surprise. They'd heard Konoha shinobi were soft hearted but the jonin leaving them alive and conscious was as good as letting them go even if he'd tied them up well enough, they were chunin after all and the two easily escaped once they were alone.
However, the two agreed that they wouldn't be able to do much about Kakashi Hatake, the man was a level above them. Despite the reputation their village had they weren't fools so the two returned to warn their boss of who had been hired to protect Tazuna, they weren't giving up on the mission merely passing on the work load to someone strong enough to finish it.
"I can't believe those two genin actually hit us." One of them, the one with two horns on his hitai-ate grumbled as they traveled, "I saw the fan on the back of the dark haired brats shirt, so he's Uchiha right? What about the blonde?" he asked.
The other frowned, "I didn't see any clan markings beyond the Konoha symbol on his hitai-ate and the Uzushio spiral a lot of them wear in memorial of Uzushiogakure no Sato." he revealed, "That weird looking little girl stuck close to him though." he added, "I'm surprised he almost got you, Meizu-nii."
Meizu scowled under his rebreather enough that it was obvious in his eyes, "I thought for sure he froze up from our killing intent, the only warning I had before he threw that punch was his own killing intent." he explained, "You ever felt killing intent from a novice genin before, Gozu-nii?" he asked.
Gozu considered the question for a moment, "No, never." he answered.
Team seven continued to escort Tazuna without another attack, the bridge builder calling in a favor from a fisherman to ferry them across the water. The first issue was when they saw the bridge under construction on their way in, "Woah it's huge!" Naruto praised loudly, startling the other occupants of the boat.
"Keep it down!" The man ferrying them scolded, keeping his own voice quiet despite his urgency, "This mist will keep us hidden, but from here I need to turn off the engine and row. We're in deep trouble if Gato catches us now." he explained, doing exactly as he suggested.
Naruto covered his mouth with his hands, thoroughly chastised. Maemi couldn't blame him, if the boy wasn't as impulsive as he was then he wouldn't have been chosen by Slaanesh.
"Looks like we've been overlooked," The fisherman turned ferryman whispered as the approached the land, "Tazuna-san, I'll take us through the inland waterways and drop you off by the mangroves just to be safe." he explained.
"Thank you." Tazuna said, quietly but gratefully.
Soon enough the man was dropping them off on a small pier under cover of mangrove trees, "This is as far as I take you, good luck." he said as his passengers got out of his small boat.
Tazuna nodded, "Thanks for taking such a risk, I shouldn't have asked." he acknowledged, the man didn't disagree or respond as he left in a hurry, "Okay, now I just need to make it home in one piece." the bridge builder said as he moved to follow his shinobi escort.
"Yeah yeah..." Kakashi said lazily, he was actually pretty worried since now that the chunin tag team had failed someone of jonin level was likely to show up. Fighting someone of that caliber while protecting his students and the client would be difficult, as far as the Hatake was concerned this couldn't get much worse.
"Pst!" Maemi whispered, getting the attention of her blonde master as they got to dry land, "I'm not supposed to give you this without your knowledge, but since this mission just got serious you may want to take this." she kept her voice quiet as she handed him a pill, the same drug she'd given him for the bell test. To her knowledge the shinobi of this world were indeed aware of the uses of methamphetamine, but Konohagakure no Sato found such drugs too extreme for combat use.
Naruto had no such issues, having skipped all classes involving warning him of the dangers of combat drugs he popped the white pill into his mouth. At first nothing happened but it was quite fast acting and swiftly the boy found the sharp clarity and focus he'd felt during the bell test return, his head darted around as his attention shifted between different things.
Suddenly the blonde genin startled his team by tossing a shuriken into the bushes, "I thought I saw movement." he muttered when nothing came of it, "Was it a mouse?" he wondered.
"Naruto you idiot!" Sakura scolded, "Don't scare us like that!" she reprimanded, frowning when the boy ignored her with a hazy look in his eye as he approached the bush and pulled aside the foliage to reveal a white rabbit had been scared half to death, "Look what you did!" the pink haired girl added, continuing to scold the blonde and growing angrier when he just stared at the rabbit in confusion.
Naruto could have sworn he'd seen black, but he wasn't certain now, he thought he'd seen white as well and he supposed the rabbit did have black eyes. Kakashi and Maemi both recognized what was suspicious though, it wasn't the right season for a wild rabbit to have a winter coat. The white coat of fur implied the rabbit had been kept indoors and away from sunlight, meaning it wasn't wild but a pet.
"Everyone take cover!" Kakashi warned suddenly as a massive blade came spinning out of the foliage at them, Sakura tackling Tazuna to the ground as Sasuke and Naruto dived to the sides to avoid it. The jonin himself crouched low to avoid it while Maemi simply ducked her head a little, the Muse short enough to spend the least effort avoiding the attack.
The massive sword, a completely oversized two handed cleaver in appearance, had its flight halted by slamming deep into a tree. Kakashi recognized the sword and the man who landed on it, "Well well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, the kid who up and left Kirigakure no Sato." he introduced, the man had a bandaged up face and was shirtless with camouflage arm warmers.
Zabuza was a tall and muscular man, wearing baggy striped pants and his hitai-ate sideways, the only thing covering his torso a belt clearly meant to be some kind of holster for his massive weapon. He had short spiky black hair and small eyebrows, the bandages on his face acting as a mask for the lower half of his face. Naruto was impressed and interested, his sense of danger dulled as he stepped forward with a dreamy expression on his face.
Kakashi put a hand out to stop the blonde, "Don't interfere." he ordered bluntly, "Give me some space, this one is a different level than our previous opponents." he warned as he reached up for his hitai-ate to uncover his left eye, "This might get a little rough." he finished, understating the true threat the man presented.
Zabuza had been staring over his shoulder at them since he landed with his back to them, "Sharingan no Kakashi, I presume." he said and Kakashi paused to hear the man out, startling Sasuke with the title and confusing the others, "Could you surrender the old man?" he asked, surprisingly polite for an alleged nukenin.
"Assume Manji battle formation, protect Tazuna-san." Kakashi ordered his genin, "All of you stay out of this, that's the kind of teamwork this fight requires." he explained as he finished lifting his hitai-ate to reveal a scar across his left eye, the iris red and three tomoe surrounding the pupil, "Now then, Zabuza-san, shall we!?" he questioned dangerously.
Zabuza turned to face them properly, "Ah, to face the legendary Sharingan so soon in our encounter. Now this is an honor." he mused idly.
Naruto was curious about the eye but even with his drug enhanced focus he was easily distracted, "Woah! You could grind meat on those abs!" he exclaimed suddenly, the increased respiration caused by the drug in his system giving the wrong impression.
Zabuza raised an eyebrow at the blonde, he hadn't intended for his shirtless form to be distracting to his enemy and the fact a young boy was the one to alert him to this possibility was a bit distasteful. Sakura sighed, remembering how Naruto had called Sasuke pretty as well.
Kakashi was exasperated by the blonde, but impressed with how easily the boy had completed swiped aside the oppressive atmosphere so easily, "Not now." he scolded, shooing the blonde who pouted and got into formation with his team.
Sasuke was more focused on the Sharingan, to his knowledge it was unique to the Uchiha clan so Kakashi having it was throwing the dark haired genin through a loop.
"Well as pleasant as it is to be complimented on my physique," Zabuza spoke up, "the time for talk has passed. I'm on a schedule and I need to kill that old man." he explained, gesturing to Tazuna with his head to keep his hands ready, "But I guess I'll have to kill you first, Kakashi." he finished and with those words he leaped towards the water, pulling his sword free and holstering it before he landed on the surface.
"Is he walking on water?" Sakura asked, stunned by that more than the speed. Kakashi took a defensive stance, recognizing the build up of chakra as Zabuza used Kirigakure no Jutsu to spread a thick mist across the battlefield, "He's gone!" the pink haired kunoichi exclaimed in shock.
"Zabuza Momochi is a master of silently killing his opponents." Kakashi explained, "Letting your guard down around him is a quick way to die. I haven't necessarily mastered all the abilities of the Sharingan, so all of you stay on your toes." he warned.
Sakura and Sasuke felt their hearts beating fast, while Naruto felt oddly calm despite his even more erratic heart beat, "There are eight targets." Zabuza's voice seemed to come from all around them, startling Sakura especially, "Throat, spine, lungs, liver, jugular vein, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart." the voice droned and Maemi appreciated the theatrics of it, the Muse finding the fear of her own allies delicious and struggling to hide her excited grin as she stayed behind Naruto, "So many choices, which vulnerable target should I choose?" Zabuza questioned, his voice thrown into the chakra thickened mist obscuring his position.
Tazuna and the genin all felt the intense fear, but only Sasuke recognized it for the blood lust of their opponent, the killing intent in the air. Naruto still didn't know what it actually was but he recalled Mizuki and the two chunin, with the drug in his system he found himself panting and trembling with excitement, sweat beading on his face as his lips spread into a manic grin. Sasuke on the other hand could barely stand it, feeling like he'd rather die than wait at the mercy of the jonin, trembling as well as the intense killing intent gave him traumatic flashbacks.
"Sasuke-kun," Kakashi's voice snapped the Uchiha genin out of it, "calm down. Even if he gets me, I'll still protect you." he promised and Sasuke blushed a bit, embarrassed for his moment of weakness to be noticed, "I will never let my teammates die." the jonin finished with resolve.
"I wouldn't bet on that..." Zabuza said coldly before he appeared in the center of the Manji formation the genin were using, startling even Maemi with his speed and stealth. Kakashi was there in a burst of speed, thrusting his kunai into the stomach of the muscular man.
Instead of blood, water dripped from the wound, "Sensei behind you!" Naruto warned as Zabuza appeared behind the Konoha jonin to slice the man in half, Sakura screamed as the blade went right through Kakashi but Zabuza's eyes widened at the splash of water. The Kiri nukenin was surprised that even in the mist Kakashi had been able to copy his Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu like that.
"Don't move." Kakashi ordered as he put the blade of a kunai held in reverse grip in his right hand up to the neck of his opponent, "Game over." he declared, confident in his victory.
Zabuza chuckled, "It'll take a lot more than copying me to defeat me, a lot more." he bragged despite his current position, "Not bad though, you copied my Mizu Bunshin in that short time, and had it say something you would say yourself to keep my attention on it while you hid in the mist." he praised his opponent honestly.
"Too bad I'm not so easily fooled." Another Zabuza said as the one held at the point of Kakashi's kunai became a simple splash of water, revealing that had been a bunshin as well. This Zabuza swung his massive blade at Kakashi who narrowly dodged, only for the nukenin to direct the missed slash into the ground and use the momentum to twist his body into a kick that caught Kakashi in the torso to send the silver haired jonin out into the water.
Zabuza made to give chase and noticed that even while being kicked the Hatake had managed to scatter caltrops, but simply leaped over them as the genin stared in shock at how far Kakashi had been launched with a single kick. The Konoha jonin surfaced with a gasp, noticing too late that the water was heavier than it should be as his opponent landed behind him and finished a set of hand seals.
"Suiro no Jutsu." Zabuza intoned as the water formed an orb that held Kakashi trapped, "Now with you trapped, I can deal with the others." he declared as he formed another Mizu Bunshin with a one handed hand seal on his left hand, his right hand busy with holding the jutsu trapping Kakashi, "Hm, little wannabe ninja. Trying so hard to play the part you even wear hitai-ate." the muscular nukenin rambled as his mizu bunshin stood up from the water and stepped onto the shore, "A true ninja is one who has crossed between the lands of the living and the dead though. Clothes don't make the shinobi, you need skills worthy of being called a ninja. We don't call your kind ninja," he lectured the genin, "we call them brats!" he finished and in a burst of speed his bunshin delivered a swift kick to Naruto, knocking the blonde flying back and dislodging his hitai-ate to stomp it into the ground.
"Naruto!" Sakura called out in concern as the blonde hit the ground, landing on his back. Maemi knew the boy would be fine thanks to the combat drugs but was worried since Zabuza really was out of their league, the man might even be a threat to some of the more dangerous Daemons the boy would be able to summon by now.
"Everyone!" Kakashi called out, "Listen to me! Take Tazuna and run! If he wants to keep me trapped he can't move himself, and the bunshin can't get far!" he informed quickly, "This isn't a fight you can win!" he warned.
Naruto stared up at the sky for a moment, barely registering the words of his sensei as he panted. Despite the split lip he'd received from the kick he still felt amazing thanks to the combat drugs, he was aware of every sensation but the pain barely registered and his sense of danger was muted. The blonde genin got to his knees first, his mouth spreading into an involuntary grin as he brought his right hand up to wipe the blood from his lip.
Zabuza was surprised at the expression of the boy, he'd heard about the blonde from Gozu and Meizu and was a bit curious. The boy didn't seem impressive but the fact he was smiling in a situation like this was noteworthy, if nothing else.
Naruto suddenly giggled, alarming his teammates as he stood up fully, "Ah man, this is amazing!" he declared, "Everything about this sets my teeth on edge! That massive sword is so cool! Your body is amazingly strong!" he praised their opponent shamelessly, "I want a big sword too!" he decided, running through hand seals.
"Naruto-sama! No, don't!" Maemi tried to warn, recognizing he was about to use Kuchiyose no Jutsu, but if he did that while thinking of a sword then that's what his chakra would call. Her warning was either too late or ignored and the blonde slapped his bloody right hand to the ground.
Everyone present except for Maemi and Naruto stared at what had been called with some confusion, it was a sword alright but not of a design any of them recognized. It was not as big as Zabuza's blade but was easily longer than the blonde genin was tall, a leather bound handle with a metal cross hand guard and an odd shine to the double edged blade even in the mist. The pommel was shaped like a crescent and a symbol that few recognized on the blade, Kakashi recognizing it as the symbol the Hokage had desribed to him, the symbol that replaced the spiral on the Fuin containing the Kyubi no Yoko within Naruto.
Zabuza watched with interest, "No wait!" Maemi called out as rushed to her master, which made Zabuza and Kakashi both wonder what kind of danger the sword held. Both jonin level ninja had the sense that there was something weird going on. Sakura and Sasuke were just confused.
Naruto ignored his Muse and grabbed the handle with both hands, lifting the sword up with surprising ease considering the comparitive size, "Alright! Let's g-aRGH!" he halted, his battle cry interrupted by a scream of pain as what looked like electricity went from the sword into the boy, his hair standing on end.
"What the hell is that..." Zabuza wondered out loud, confused by the display. Kakashi didn't answer, he wouldn't answer even if he did know but he was worried about his blonde student and cast a look at Maemi. It was obvious the small Daemon recognized the danger of the weapon and had tried to warn the drug addled genin, but had been too late to stop the boy.
"Hey!" Naruto suddenly shouted at the sword, "Slaanesh-kaasama said I was her champion! That means you have to-OW!" he tried to command the weapon, tightening his grip on the handle with both hands and in response the weapon zapped him again. Maemi was surprised the blonde boy wasn't dead, the drugs she gave him definitely didn't grant him the life force required.
"Maemi, what is that?" Sasuke asked, having recognized as well that the Muse knew exactly what was going on.
Maemi frowned since Zabuza would overhear, but decided to answer anyway, "It's a special weapon," she decided on, struggling to think of a way to put this in terms the ninja would understand, "Katana no Daemon." it wasn't entirely accurate, but it would do, to be entirely accurate would be to reveal the true nature of Daemons to the ninja and she couldn't afford that right now, "A powerful Daemon is inside that sword thanks to Hiden Fuinjutsu." she wasn't technically lying, "They're hard to wield, but have abilities no normal weapon can have." she finished.
Now Zabuza was definitely interested, he'd never heard of Konohagakure having access to such a thing and the word Daemon was foreign to him. He glanced at Kakashi and could tell this was news to the jonin as well, which meant it was something unique to the blonde genin somehow. Zabuza recognized the use of Kuchiyose no Jutsu and assumed the boy must have made a contract with this strange Daemon clan, but that begged the question of how he'd never heard of them before today.
"I said-!" Naruto panted and was shocked again, "Obey me damn it!" he shouted, "I am Naruto Uzumaki! Future Hokage! I will be perfect and you're not going to mess it up you shitty sword!" he argued with the weapon, "I don't care about your damn pride mine is bigger!" he continued, the others realizing there was an actual argument happening but they couldn't hear it, "You want to be free!? Fine! I don't care but you're helping me beat that big muscular guy so I can enshrine his body first! Slaanesh-kaasama told me to enshrine anything I find beautiful so you better not get in my way!"
Zabuza blinked as he registered the words said by the blonde, wondering what was wrong with the brain of the young genin. However the electricity had stopped flowing into Naruto and the panting young champion of Slaanesh grinned, lifting the sword fully, "Done taming your weapon then?" Zabuza asked as his bunshin started approaching the blonde.
"Yeah." Naruto answered, "Now give that back!" he shouted, charging the mizu bunshin and swinging his new weapon. Zabuza's bunshin swung its own blade, ready to parry the attack and decapitate the boy in one swift movement.
Then the blade of the Daemon weapon shifted as if it was fluid, whipping through the air in a manner that shouldn't be possible for a weapon made of steel and cutting down the bunshin. Zabuza was surprised as Naruto grabbed his hitai-ate from the ground with his left hand before leaping out across the water at him, swinging the weapon which did the same whipping motion again and extended out to reach towards the nukenin.
Zabuza pulled back from his Suiro no Jutsu, letting Kakashi go free as he narrowly dodged the metal weapon with the tip stil managed to cut open his cheek below his right eye. Sakura and Sasuke stared in shock while Maemi simply stared, the Muse was impressed Naruto had gotten the weapon under control without dying but he was hurt and his chakra was likely drained so she quickly rushed to the water.
The blonde genin hit the water with a splash, coming up spluttering and struggling to drag the large blade back to shore. Zabuza scowled under his bandages and charged the boy with a glare, swinging his weapon to take the boy out as he recognized that even in the hands of a novice that weapon was a genuine threat.
Kakashi leaped between them to block the blade of the nukenin with a crossed pair of kunai, the drenched jonin glaring into the eyes of Zabuza who flinched from the intensity, "Excellent work, Naruto-kun." Kakashi praised as the panting blonde was helped onto land by his Muse, noticing the strange sword the blonde had called glowing for a moment before shattering and dispelling in a cloud of smoke. The dispelling in a cloud of smoke part was normal, but Kakashi had to wonder why the weapon had shattered before doing so.
Zabuza and Kakashi leaped away from each other, weaving hand seals swiftly, "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" they both declared, the water beneath them rising up to take the shape of long serpentine dragons and clashing between them. The genin were stunned by the display of ninjutsu, Sasuke especially noting how impressive it was for Kakashi to have copied so many hand seals so quickly without mistake.
Zabuza frowned, noticing something was off about Kakashi now. He realized quickly by feinting to the side and seeing his opponent do the same almost at the same time that he wasn't just copying, the Konoha jonin was, "-seeing right through all my moves." Kakashi said, finishing the thought of his opponent and startling the muscular man.
The nukenin of Kirigakure scowled, "You're a pale imitation!" he snapped.
"I'm the genuine article, a mere copycat doesn't stand a chance!"
Zabuza's eyes widened as Kakashi spoke at the same time as him, that shouldn't have been possible. His bandages should be covering his lips so predicting his lip movements couldn't explain it, and even then reading someones lips before they said it would be just as absurd as, "-seeing into the future." Kakashi finished the thought Zabuza was having and the nukenin flinched.
"You're just a god damn parrot!" Zabuza snapped angrily, weaving hand seals and noticing with some trepidation that Kakashi was weaving the same ones. Then the nukenin saw it, like a mirage he saw himself standing next to Kakashi and faltered for just a moment.
"Suiton:" Kakashi began, startling the nukenin by finishing his hand seals first, "Daibakufu no Jutsu!" the Konoha nin declared and the water beneath him became a raging torrent and slammed into the stunned Zabuza, slamming the man onto the shore and into a tree, "That's that." the silver haired man decided with finality as he landed on a branch of the very tree Zabuza had been slammed up against.
"You..." Zabuza spoke warily, "Can you see the future?" he questioned, alarmed. Maemi frowned, considering the Sharingan with some concern of her own.
"Yeah," Kakashi answered, "I forsee your death!" he declared before a pair of senbon flew through the air and landed in Zabuza's neck, the nukenin going limp with a suddenness that alarmed Tazuna and the genin, except Naruto who was still as high as a kite and merely admired how smooth that last attack had been.
Kakashi's surprise gave away that was not his attack and he turned to the direction of the one who finished the fight as they giggled, "Your prediction came true." a shinobi in a mask praised Kakashi as Zabuza fell to the ground lifelessly, the mask indicative of the Kirigakure Oinin.
Kakashi leaped down to check on Zabuza for confirmation, "No pulse, not breathing, he's dead." the jonin confirmed
The new arrival bowed, dressed in a battle kimono of the standard pinstripe design of Kirigakure with a simple green haori over the tope, long black hair up in a bun with a white bun holder, "Thank you for your assistance, I hope you don't mind my interference." the stranger said, not much taller than Sasuke and judging from the voice still at least a young teenager, "I desired the satisfaction of putting Zabuza out of his misery myself."
Maemi frowned, sensing a lie but unable to figure out what the lie was since Kakashi had confirmed Zabuza was indeed dead.
"The mask is familiar, you're an Oinin from Kirigakure then?" Kakashi questioned, staring at the stranger.
The shinobi didn't answer for a moment, "Well aren't you the smart one." they praised and Maemi shivered as the Muse realized it was a deflection, an implication Kakashi had guessed right without actually confirming it.
"Wait a minute." Naruto spoke up, still oddly breathless from the drug in his system, "That Zabuza, I need to-" he began, standing up.
"Enshrine him?" The stranger asked dangerously, revealing they had been watching for a bit, "While I can't disagree with your taste," they continued, "Zabuza Momochi is a nukenin of Kirigakure no Sato. His body does not belong to you Konohagakure shinobi."
Kakashi nodded, "Let it go Naruto-kun," he insisted, "this one isn't our enemy, Oinin are tasked with recovering people like Zabuza because of the secrets his body may hold. We don't need a diplomatic incident with Kirigakure no Sato." he lectured and the blonde boy pouted.
The Oinin leaped down to Zabuza and lifted the limp body over one shoulder despite being much smaller than the body, "Your fight is over for now, I must take and dispose of this body." they said calmly before disappearing with a burst of speed. Maemi had noticed the lie but was relieved, their fight being over for now wasn't the lie, disposing of the body was the lie.
Before the Muse could bring up her observations Kakashi collapsed, "Huh, what happened!?" Sakura asked in concern.
"I can't move." Kakashi answered, looking a bit contrite, "I must have used the Sharingan too much." he revealed.
"My home isn't too far," Tazuna spoke up, "you guys can lick your wounds there." he offered, leading the group of shinobi and one Daemon to his home. The bridge builder was a bit shell shocked, but also impressed by the power of shinobi and grateful that they'd protected him from that terrifying man with the massive sword.