Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I wish I did, because if I had Naruto would have grabbed Zabuza's sword like he did in this story!

Note: Apparently you can't say self-insertion in the summary, so I'm saying it here. My story was deleted for reasons I'm still unclear about, but here's the repost!

Momochi… Naruto!

Chapter 1

I blinked.

It's not every day that one wakes up to be standing in a forest clearing near the ocean, staring at a massive sword that had been driven into a fresh grave. I look to my left. An Asian boy, taller than me, with a blue shirt and a headband stands near. On my right, a girl with pink hair and a tall, gray-haired man. I look down. I'm wearing an odd sort of sandals and an orange jumpsuit, and the slight pressure on my forehead tells me that I am wearing a headband too.

I am Naruto.

I realize that his memories are there, in the back of my head. So is a rather evil presence. That is easily explained. I can feel the surprise of the evil presence, the Kyuubi. I would need to speak with it later.

No longer in my stupor, I hear Kakashi say, "Ninja are tools. That is the life we lead, and the way we die."

Sakura. "That's… so sad."

They turn and walk away. I'm still standing there, shocked at the new circumstances. "Naruto. It's time to go."

I step forward, and, with both hands, grab Zabuza's sword. I pull it out of his grave, smoothing the hole left behind with my foot. I notice that the sword has the name "Kubikiri Houcho" engraved onto it. I can feel the stares of my new teammates. Wordlessly, I sling it across my shoulder and begin walking towards them.

Kakashi. "What are you doing Naruto?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Yes, well, why then?"

Pause. I'm not totally sure myself. "Because, I don't think Zabuza would want his sword to die here, with him. Besides, I can better honor his memory by using this in his name."

He stares at me, but says nothing and continues walking. He pauses. "I'm not carrying it for you if it gets too heavy."

I grin. "It won't."

Sakura is glaring at me, but she apparently won't make an issue of it if Kakashi won't. Sasuke merely looks curiously, and follows Kakashi.

With a smile, I follow too.

Break

We left Kuri no Kuni and headed home. Before leaving, Tazuna's friend, who did leather work, made a harness for my new sword, since a sheath wouldn't do.

Now we were walking home to Konoha. I strolled up to Kakashi. "Neh, Kakashi-sensei, will you teach me the Kirigakure no jutsu? Please?"

He looks at me and falls victim to the Puppy Dog Eyes jutsu (I learned this from Naruto's memories). He smiles. "Sure thing, Naruto. I'll explain the technique while we're walking. Sakura, you take the point. Sasuke, scout our flank."

With them away, he begins explaining. "The seal looks like this." He mimics Zabuza's odd stance, with one right-handed half-ram seal held at the forehead, with the other half-ram at chest-level. "Release your chakra into a nearby water source, and saturate the water. Then, spread it through the air. In this stance, the released chakra is automatically molded into the correct shape for mist production, though improvements can be made," he adds, noticing my expression at his stance.

I stare at him for a moment, and say, "That's not very hard at all."

"No, it's not, that's why it's a B-rank technique. Its only flaw is the self-blinding effect of the mist."

I reach into my pack, and pull out a bottle of water. Unscrewing the cap, I place the bottle on the ground and assume the double-ram stance. Using Naruto's memories to guide me in releasing chakra, I follow Kakashi's instructions, and moments later the water in the bottle disappears, forming a light mist around my body. 'Even this little amount of water is enough to make this mist? Even this light mist is enough to be useful, to a point.'

He stared at me, seemingly unnerved, and then I remembered his opinion of Naruto as an idiot. Now, using this technique, I could feel Naruto's chakra reserve. Judging by how slowly the Kirigakure jutsu was draining it, it was massive.

"Very good, Naruto. I didn't expect you to get it so quickly."

"Well, I obviously need to practice with a larger water source to prove that I got it quickly, but it's really not a difficult technique. Making it work for you is the hard part, right?"

He nodded in agreement.

Then, Sakura and Sasuke returned. By this time I had dropped my stance, but I had not released the technique. With a supreme effort of will, I gathered the vapor and deposited it back into the bottle. Both of them stared at me, impressed, as I returned the bottle to my pack.

Really, a little effort made it easy.

Break

We'd been back in Konoha for two days. I was exhausted, and Kakashi had given us the week off anyway. I spent the first day meditating and planning my new training regimen. Also

Flashback

I peered into 'my' mind, or more precisely I brought the presence there to the foreground. I was now in the mindscape. It resembled an old dungeon, and I assumed that this must be the seal.

What are you? You are not Yondaime's whelp.

I was staring up at the massive demon behind bars. It growled at me, and I found myself wondering how I could understand its growls.

'No, I'm not. I woke up here, in his mind, and apparently he's not here. However, he left his memories behind.'

Hmm. You are far more intelligent than he was, yes?

'I'd like to think so.'

Good. I hate intellectual weaklings.

'I'm not fond of them either. Perhaps we'll get along?'

No promises.

Then, its presence sank back, and I was alone again.

Author's Notes: Thank you for reviews! I've reposted almost this whole story when I noticed several errors I made. I love to hear your comments.