Chapter Seven: First C-Rank, Part-Two
"Asuma-sensei, why do you think the Sandaime chose us for this mission," Choji asked as they raced towards their destination.
The moment they meet at the gate they quickly race to meet with Squad Seven. Shikamaru looks worried, he couldn't help it. Naruto was one of his closest friends, he doesn't know if the boy can handle something like this.
"Most likely we're probably one of the few genin teams that weren't away on a mission," Asuma grunted as they made a stop.
Ino gasp as she looks towards two bodies, they were tied to a tree. The girl could see that one of the nuke-nin had their tongue cut off and pinned to the tree. The girl looked over to see Choji turning the other way and Shikamaru deep in thought.
Asuma raised an eyebrow at the pinned appendage, "Seems like Squad Seven was able to apprehend these shinobi."
"The blood still looks fresh, they must not have gotten far," Shikamaru said, catching up to them seems a lot easier.
"Okay, let's go!"
Squad Seven has reached a shoreline to see a man there with a boat. Tazuna smiled and waved towards a tall lanky man who looked to be about 5'8 and he was holding onto a paddle as tall as him.
"Tazuna, hurry! We don't want to get caught." The man ushered the team to move faster. He wouldn't want to be caught by Gatō's thugs.
The team sat on the wooden boat. The vessel seems to be about ten feet long and three and a half feet wide. Kakashi sat towards the back, keeping watch behind them every so often.
Naruto and Sakura sat in the middle of the boat while Sasuke sat in front of them. Neither of them doesn't want to be near the boy, they don't feel safe with him. Sasuke closed his eye, he can sense the tension, but he doesn't care. The Uchiha had to show them the proper way to display power.
"That fog is so thick," Naruto murmured as he saw the ocean, if the fog wasn't all over the place it would've been so beautiful. The dark grey atmosphere brought on the daunting reality that they could be hurt and worse on this mission.
The boatman kept paddling, "Over the fog, is Nami no Kuni."
Then there was an uncomfortable silence until Sakura gasp loudly. The rest of her teammates looked in her direction to see the bridge Tazuna was building. It was massive and looked well constructed. This was surprising considering Tazuna is a sloppy drunk.
"Impressive ain' it," The bridge builder smirked, out of all of his work this was his best. What made him even more proud was the fact that this could save his people.
Sakura nodded and turned to see the boat coming close to land. The area seems to be a grassy area with a few flowers and a huge amount of trees. She was confused why aren't they going to the mainland?
"This is the farthest I can take you without being notice."
The team nodded and grabbed their supplies, it seems they would have to walk to their destination. Kakashi help Tazuna off of the boat and then turned to the boatman.
"Sir, we have another team arriving for backup, do you think you can pick them up and bring them here," Kakashi inquired, he didn't notice any other way for backup to show up on time.
The tanned man looked annoyed he then sighed, "I'll see what I can do."
Kakashi smiled and waved the man goodbye and walked towards his team. Kakashi felt nervous, he knew that their next foe would be someone of a higher rank. The Jōnin doesn't want this team to be like his last one, the pain and grief he went through, he doesn't know if he would be able to handle it.
Clapping his students turned to look in his direction, "Remember the next nin we face is going to be a B-rank and higher."
Hinata rolled her neck, cracking the muscles as she walked towards Konoha. Her team had finished their second C-rank and she wanted nothing more than to go home and rest. The Hyuga turned to her left to see Kiba holding Akamaru, her teammate was quiet. Which was unusual, the boy always feel the need to talk and boast all the time.
Her sensei Kurenai looked tired, her wrinkles more prominent showing how stressed she was. The brunette knew she failed her kids, they're hurt now because of this mission. A mission she chose knowing that their skills weren't as honed as they need to be.
The woman looks over to see how battered her squad was. She saw how small they are, they are children. Her heart clenched, they shouldn't be doing this, the emotional toll and the fact that they have to mature faster than their civilian counterparts. Kurenai closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat. The closer she gets to the village, the better chance she gets to talk to Asuma and Kakashi about this.
Sakura looked to her left to see Sasuke. The girl knows she's shouldn't have a strong dislike for him, but she couldn't help it. The last Uchiha wasn't what the villagers think he is, he's a psychopath. The pink-haired teen thought about how badly she wanted to be on a team with him. The admiration and the undying loyalty she had. She regrets it, Sasuke doesn't care for anyone but himself and revenge. Sakura admits that she would never understand what it's like to lose a clan, but that would never justify his behavior.
One thing the Haruno would never vocally admit is that she's worried about how Sasuke would attack Naruto. The blonde-haired teen tries to be nice to Sasuke, which results in him losing his temper and sometimes resorts to violence. She knows Sasuke doesn't have any remorse about hurting people for what he wants even if it's his teammates.
Sakura then notice her team stopped, she then saw Kakashi throw a kunai in a bush. A medium-sized bunny ran from the busy, its body unscathed. The bunny looks frightened.
"Sensei, that animal isn't from here," Naruto whispered, the body is starting to feel nervous.
Sasuke nodded in agreement. The bunny's fur looks too clean and maintained. Also if the bunny was an outdoor one, the fur would've been a nice light brown shade to help it blend in the summer. This bunny was a distraction.
Kakashi tensed and looked in the opposite direction of the rodent, "Everyone duck!"
The Jōnin raced towards Tazuna and pushed to the ground. The sound of something being thrown can be heard. Soon it hits the tree that is in front of the group. Naruto looks to see the was a sword with a long and wide blade with a long handle. Then a man appeared on the blade, his skin a greyish color with black hair. He has no eyebrows and bandages are covering the bottom half of his face. The air around him radiated arrogance and bloodlust.
Kakashi stood in front of his team in a protective manner, "Surround Tazuna."
Naruto stood in front of Tazuna with Sasuke to the left and Sakura to his right. The Uzumaki was scared, the killer intent this man was releasing was overwhelming. He can feel his heart hammer in his chest and the way his hands are feeling clammy.
"Well, Well. If it isn't Zabuza Momochi, the nuke-nin who left Kirigakure," Kakashi taunted in a bored tone.
Zabuza narrowed his eyes at his opponent, there was something about this man that seems familiar. He saw that Kakashi reaching to lift his hitai-ate that hid his left eyes.
"Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye, I presume," Zabuza smirked, feeling giddy.
Sasuke's head looked in Kakashi's direction. The teen could feel anger bubble up in his stomach. How can an outsider carry one of the last few eyes of his clan? This felt like a slap to the face, how can he hide something this big!
Naruto and Sakura look in Sasuke's direction. They can see the anger coming off him like waves. Naruto reached for Sasuke's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. The Uchiha looks in the blonde's direction and gives him a nod.
Zabuza looked at the genin then towards Tazuna, locking eyes with the old man, "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you surrender the old man."
Tazuna felt a chill crawl down his spine. He hopes Kakashi doesn't give him away, there's something really off about the man. Tazuna could tell the man didn't have any remorse when it comes to killing and that Zabuza seems to thrive from it.
Kakashi grunts, "No can do."
Zabuza jumps down while grabbing his sword. He looked behind Kakashi to see the pipsqueaks. He'll have to get through Kakashi in order to get to them, the three genin would be easy.
Kakashi races towards Zabuza pulling a kunai as he reaches the man's side. The nuke-nin blocks the kunai with his sword, pushing his weight into making Kakashi jump back.
"When I was an assassin for the Kirigakure. I had a Bingo Book, the book had information on our enemies. There was an extensive write-up about you, including your impressive record. The man who penetrated and copied over a thousand different techniques… Kakashi the Copy Cat Shinobi."
It was silent, Kakashi internally sighed, he wanted to sit down and have a civilized conversation with Sasuke and his team. Sasuke notices that Kakashi must've had the Sharingan for a while now, that would mean the clan must've had some knowledge of it.
Zabuza raced towards Kakashi swinging his sword to bring it down on Kakashi, the grey-haired male dodged to the left bringing a kick to Zabuza's side. As the fight continued the teacher and the nuke-nin went further away from the group.
Sasuke sees something from the corner of his eyes move incredibly fast in their directions, "Naruto, Sakura!"
Gaining his two teammates' attention they see another Zabuza the exact same copy. The raven-haired boy brought out his kunai to block the incoming attack. Naruto reached into the pouch that's on his left thigh and took out a scroll.
The Jinchuriki bit his thumb hard enough to draw blood and opened the scroll, "Fuin!"
A Small blue barrier surrounded the group in a field of chakra. The second Zabuza brought his sword down to see it bounce off. He tried hitting it again and again and again.
The original Zabuza that's fighting Kakashi saw that his clone couldn't get to the brats, "Fuinjutsu."
"Okay Naruto, I'm going to teach you a few defensive fuinjutsu techniques." Kakashi smiled as he laid all of the supplies.
Naruto was excited this was the sixth lesson, and he was finally able to do something else other than storage scrolls. The young teen felt closer to his family than he ever had before, it's like a missing piece he finally found.
"For now you're going to be working on two. The first one is a barrier, which allows you to use your chakra as a shield. The second is simple on that'll be able to temporarily put your enemies to sleep. Depending on much chakra you use, these can last a long time." Kakashi explained as he started to write down the correct kanji for the first seal.
Naruto bit his lip, "Since my reserves are large for someone my age, I would be able to do this a long time?"
"Correct, but I wouldn't recommend it. This isn't like a storage seal where you only use your chakra once. You are inexperienced and that can cause you to lose a lot more than intended. So don't try to do use these for a long time unless it's an emergency."
Naruto nodded, he and Kakashi both knew that being a shinobi the unexpected happened. Naruto also knows that to ensure that he'll be able to hold the barrier or to see that he can put some to sleep, he needs to continue to do chakra control exercises.
Kakashi monitored Naruto as he practices, he had never seen anyone improve as fast as the boy, "You might be even better than your father one day."
The blonde-haired boy stopped and looked at his sensei. Naruto could feel his eyes start to water, it seems like his efforts are being seen.
"Thanks, Kaka-sensei."
"Ma, no problem kid."
Ino looked around to see the ocean, they were close to Squad Seven. She couldn't shake this feeling of dread. She tried to shake it off but the feeling is settled deep inside. Ino cleared her throat to get her sensei's attention, "Asuma-sensei, I think something happened."
The man raised a brow and ushered Ino to continue. Shikamaru and Choji also looked concerned and wonder what happened.
"I can't explain it but it's like a feeling of dread. Like they're in trouble."
Shikamaru looked towards the water and sighed. Whenever Ino got this feeling she was right something bad do happen. He can only hope that Naruto and the others would be okay.
"We're here." The man said as they stopped in a grassland area.
Squad Ten walked in the direction of the path, the further they went along the more chakra they could feel. The crushing reality hit that, this mission could kill them.
*a/n*
Hi guys, So I think I can fit in my schedule to post twice a month now. This chapter kinda feel meh :(, I might go back and edit it some more, though it's kinda hard writing this arch since it's my least favorite. I also think if I hit at least 15 chapters in this book, then I will make another fan-fiction I have been thinking of making. Also leave suggestions, I like constructive feedback :). I hope everyone is thriving and having a good time :)! See you guys later!