Rants: Sorry for the super late update, everyone, Decembers been a very busy month. Had to spend many overnights from the super load of schoolworks, midterm exams, plus a date. And they called it 'holidays'?! Anyway, now thatschool break's finally hereI'm going to catch up to my writting and hopeful I'llcatch up with my regular posting schedule. Please enjoy and a merry christmas to everyone. -
The alarm clock began to ring annoyingly loud. A hand reached out from underneath the huge lump covered in blanket and soon silence filled the entire room. A young boy rose up from the futon, black penguin hat over his blonde head and matching pajamas adorned his body. The boy stretched out his arms and yawned widely after which he got up, eyes half closed, and wandered out of the hotel room heading towards the bathroom located on the far end of the corridor.
Naruto sat quietly on the toilet bowl, ignoring the coldness of the porcelain while he contemplated over the things that had happened.
"One down." He could clearly remember the two enemy shinobis sent to harm Mikoshi and Chitose-neesan declared as they activated the driving mechanisms in their arms. The chain tightened its grip over Itachi-sensei until it became too much and his body ripped into pieces. The sickening sound of flesh and blood falling unto the ground rang through his mind. Back then, he couldn't make himself move after witnessing the gruesome sight.
Naruto's face fell further after his lips turned into a frown.
The assassins next appeared behind Naruto. He became dead frozen back then, unable to move from his place after he felt the enemies' presence hovering dangerously over his back. He could almost feel the grins that curled over the two shinobis faces. "Two down."
"Naruto-kun!!" The two Mist shinobis launched their chain straight towards Naruto but before it could wrap itself around the boy, Chitose-neesan appeared from out of nowhere knocking the kid out of harm's way. The spiked chain lashed out against the woman, creating a long nasty wound along Chitose-neesan's side. He, on the other hand, only suffered a small wound on the back of his left hand.
Naruto raised his left hand and gazed at it intently. There was no longer a wound on it, no pain, not even a scar.
He clearly remembered how the assassins charged dangerously towards Mikoshi. Their huge metal claws ready to rip his body apart. Mikoshi then was back pressed against the trunk of a large tree with nowhere to go. If not for Itachi-sensei appearing just in time, the boy would have been dead.
'I couldn't do anything back then…'
"Naruto-kun…" Itachi-sensei said, looking down at him with cold black eyes. "I'm disappointed with you."
Naruto saw himself raise his kunai and stab the wound on his left hand. "I swear it to the pain in my left arm…" He turned to face the crowd with his blade still stuck on his bloody hand. He then continued with determination and all seriousness, "I will protect Chitose-oneesan and that bastard Mikoshi! The mission is still on!"
Back then, Itachi-sensei nodded at him. He could have sworn he saw a small smile appear over his lips.
Naruto clenched his hand tight, nodded and smiled with new found resolution. 'I will try harder.'
The inn's pub felt quite spacious for one of a cheap establishment. Most of the tables were vacant except for four tables occupied by guests who were having their breakfasts. Hanging against the wall behind the bar was a television that was tuned in to the early morning news. Unfortunately, aside from the bartender who was obviously enamored to the pretty newscaster, pretty much no one was minding the boob tube any attention.
"On our top stories, the court of the Water Country's daimyo was once again divided over the issue of the ratification of the Alliance Treaty between the Fire and Water Countries. Several ministers opposed to the treaty filibustered yesterday in speeches that lasted about an hour and a half, each pointing out several of the treaty's provisions which they claim as being too much in favor of the Fire Country. These they say could undermine the Water Country's political, military and economic integrity…"
"Looks like things aren't going too smoothly for this country." Seated on the table along the far end of the pub, Mikoshi shook his head lightly, peeling his eyes away from the television.
"Yeah." Chitose, the woman sitting across the boy, seconded.
"Now that we've arrived at the Water Country, another attack seems most probable. Also, with the failure of the first assassination attempt, the enemy will definitely send more powerful shinobis. Starting here, we should take more caution in our actions." Itachi stated.
Mikoshi nodded in agreement.
"…The Hidden Mist Village has assured the public yesterday that there is no truth whatsoever about the rumors of a coup d'etat among its ranks or against the Water Country's government. The Mizukage has reiterated to the press yesterday that Kirigaruke remains supportive of the Alliance Treaty which he said will tie a stronger relationship with the Fire Country and its shinobi village, the Hidden Leaf Village…"
Chitose began rummaging through her bag. "Tada!" The young woman straightened herself in her seat with a wide smile over her face. "Here it is! The most essential item when traveling!" Chitose exclaimed in a purely childish manner. She held out a folded map, indeed a necessity for all tourists, flashing it to the group. Wasting time no further, Chitose spread the map of the Water Country over the table. "We are currently here at the Takefurukuma Village." She explained, pointing at the small dot on the western coast of the large continent. "And this one is the Capital of the Water Country." She continued, moving her finger a few inches left from the first point. "Normally traveling between the two cities only takes about a day if we walk through the most direct road, here."
"However…" Itachi sounded, focusing on the road on the map Chitose just pointed out, carefully analyzing the possible scenarios. "…seeing this to be the fastest route, the enemy will mostly anticipate us taking this road and will be likely to setup an ambush here."
"I know." Mikoshi nodded. "That's why we're taking this road. We'll circle around Mount Ohjin passing by Yunohana hot spring town on the way. This route will probably take us at least three days before we reach the capital but on the bright side, the probability of encountering an ambush here is significantly lesser."
"I understand." Itachi grunted, nodding slightly in approval of the plan.
"…On the other news. The Palace's spokesperson announced that the daimyo's only son and heir, Kanamori Ryuji-sama's health had been improving greatly over the past few days. His doctors advised that the young prince should take ample rest for him to recover faster. During the past weeks rumors have floated around saying that the prince had run away from the palace, the reason they say why he had not been seen by the public lately. The palace quickly denied the allegations saying that the prince was ill and was advised not to make any public appearances due to health reasons…"
"Good morning everyone!" Naruto greeted aloud, picking the time to finally show up.
"Good morning, Naruto-kun." Chitose greeted back.
"You're late." Itachi said, casting a disapproving glance at his student.
"Um…" Naruto sounded, scratching the back of his head. His cheeks were slightly pink and from the way it looked, the blond seemed to be embarrassed with something. "You see… I had diarrhea this morning and…"
"That's not good." Chitose said worriedly. "You should take some medicine immediately."
"Hmph. What a useless moron." Mikoshi commented grumpily.
Naruto's ears perked up after hearing the comment. Eyes narrowed, he quickly faced the boy and flashed his throbbing fist at him. "You want a piece of me, bastard?!"
Mikoshi choose not to retort and mere shifted his head to meet the blonde ninja's glare. Sparks started flying out as soon as their eyes meet. The staring contest only broke up after they heard Itachi speak.
"We're leaving." Itachi ordered. The three other members of the party all turned at him. The jounin already had his backpack strapped over his shoulder and had taken a step out of the table pass Naruto.
"Itachi-sensei, can't we stay for a bit longer?" Naruto pleaded. "I haven't eaten my breakfast yet."
"We can't," came Itachi's cold reply. "Further staying at this place will just be a waste of time and might compromise our position. This could lead to another encounter with enemy shinobis, something that we're trying hard to avoid. Eat your food on the way." Itachi said much to Naruto's disappointment.
Mikoshi and Chitose, silently agreeing to Itachi's point, stood up with their things in tow. Naruto picked up the food at the center of the table that had been wrapped for take out and went after the rest of the group as they made a beeline for the door.
The weather was getting cold and the entire countryside covered with a thin mist as the autumn season finally sets in. The group marched down the forest road in silence. The whole scenery was covered with autumn foliage. The fallen leaves from the trees along the roadside littered all over the ground. Thankfully, visibility was good enough and didn't prove to be too much of a problem for traveling that morning.
Naruto, who got a few good steps lead from the rest of the pack, involuntarily glanced to the left after Mikoshi sped up his pace a bit and ended up walking side by side with him.
The older boy, wearing a large, wide-brimmed straw hat just like Chitose, turned his head sharply after he noticed the blonde's gaze and snapped grumpily, "What do you want, scaredy cat?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes murderously at the boy that was his client. 'Dammit! This brat's totally disrespecting me. I'm going show my incredible skills and teach the bastard not to underestimate me.' The blonde resolved. Immediately, Naruto dashed forward and stopped after distancing himself a few meters ahead of the group. He then vigorously turned his head sideways, scanning the area for any threat. It didn't take long before he spotted something hiding behind the bushes. "There!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing a kunai at the low-lying shrubs.
The two clients, Mikoshi and Chitose, were greatly surprised by the young ninja's actions. Itachi, on the other hand, showed no signs of sudden emotion, maintaining his relative calmness while a thick silence filled the air.
"Heh. Just a rat." The blonde said, trying to sound and act cool. His were eyes closed while his hand adjusted needlessly the blue hite-ate tied around his forehead.
"Stop showing off!! There was nothing in there, you super idiot!!" Mikoshi screamed aloud, his body shaking in fits of anger.
"Please, Naruto-kun. Don't use your weapons so recklessly. It's really dangerous and someone might get hurt," pleaded Chitose.
"Yeah!" Mikoshi seconded. "Don't scare us like that, moron!!"
"Naruto-kun! Look out!"
Chitose's cry made Naruto open his eyes and to his horror, more than a dozen shurikens were all flying straight towards him. With no time left to react, Naruto could only brace himself for what was coming. However, before the weapons could make contact Itachi suddenly appeared right in front of him, armed with a kunai, and knocked the shurikens away all within a short fraction of a second. Successive faint thuds sounded as the shurikens landed harmlessly on the ground next to the jounin's feet.
"I-Itachi-sensei…" was all Naruto could mutter after witnessing the feat that saved his life.
'The target.'
'The target.'
'The target.'
Nine figures suddenly leaped out of their hiding places, from the behind the high leaves of the tall trees and the low-lying roadside bushes, and rained down towards Mikoshi and Chitose who were left behind, virtually unprotected. The diversion had worked perfectly.
Itachi vanished from his place in front Naruto and reappeared before the clients in a burst of godlike speed, something that the attackers hadn't expected. The next thing that followed, nine bodies fell lifeless on the ground. The pungent smell wafted as the surrounding was smeared with fresh blood. Every single enemy shinobi decimated before any of them could lay their finger on the boy or the woman.
After the initial shock had lifted over, Naruto, Mikoshi and Chitose all heaved sighs of relief.
"We're saved," thanked Mikoshi.
"Are you alright, young master?" Chitose asked, moving over to Mikoshi and examining him for injuries he might have incurred from the attack.
"No. I'm fine."
"WOW! Itachi-sensei, that was so cool!" Naruto exclaimed.
Itachi, however, didn't lower his guard even after the apparent victory. A foreboding sensation made him uneasy. 'Someone is still lurking about.' The young jounin turned his head, eyes focused on a particular tree. 'There.'
"I see. So I got noticed." The hidden shinobi grabbed the long hilt of the sword hanging on his back when he saw that Itachi was looking in his direction. "Heh. This is going to be fun."
"Everyone, get down!" Itachi ordered. Everyone quickly did as told when they noticed the large blade spinning in the air flying towards them.
The giant sword passed harmlessly overhead and continued flying forward before a hand grabbed it perfectly on the hilt stopping its flight. The group finally looked up and saw a tall, muscular man standing on top of the surface of a nearby river. The caught sword now placed over his back. White cloth wrapped like a mask covered the lower part of his head leaving only the pair of narrowed, glaring eyes from his face visible.
"That's…" Chitose gasped audibly.
'Someone's here!' Naruto shifted his head slightly, glancing on Mikoshi and Chitose behind. 'This time I'll handle the situation. I'll show everyone what I'm capable of!'
"I'm impressed at how efficiently you took care of my men." The Mist shinobi stated. "It seems the humors about the famed sharingan user are true after all."
"You!" Chitose cried aloud, pointing at the dangerous shinobi. "You're the nukenin from the Hidden Mist Village, Momochi Zabuza!"
'Nukenin? What's that?' Naruto asked mentally, obviously having no idea about it whatsoever.
"It's good to see you again," Zabuza turned his gaze towards the woman. "Kamishimo Idaho."
'Idaho?' Naruto glanced over towards the mild-mannered woman. Chitose had dropped her perpetual care-free smile and was replaced with a clear expression of resentment over the Mist shinobi. 'That no-eyebrow freak called Chitose-neechan Idaho? This is getting really confusing.' Naruto thought, the bewildered look on his face growing worse. 'Who cares, I need to…' Naruto cast all the confusing thoughts aside and eagerly readied himself. 'On your mark…GO!' The boy broke in a dash but immediately when Itachi raised his arm sideways blocking his path.
"Stay back. You're in the way." Itachi said stonily.
"Why?!" Naruto protested.
"This guy is on a different level. Against him, you won't stand a chance." Itachi said while keeping his eyes focused at the lone enemy.
"The so called prodigy of that genius Uchiha Clan, the man hailed as Konohagakure's number one technician, Uchiha Itachi." Zabuza moved his gaze back at the sixteen-year-old Leaf jounin. "I've heard so much about you. I'm sorry to cut this short but…" He said shooting his eyes away. "…the prince is mine."
Naruto followed Zabuza's gaze which lead him straight to his grumpy client. "Mikoshi is a prince?! What kind of crap is that?!" He asked aloud in sheer disbelief. "Besides, you don't look like a prince at all." The blonde commented eyes narrowed at Mikoshi.
"S-shut up, idiot!" Mikoshi, flustered and all, roared indignantly at Naruto.
"That is correct." Zabuza said with a slight nod. "That boy is Kanamori Ryuji, the only son and heir apparent of the Water Country's daimyo Kanamori Sanno. About three weeks ago, the prince together with his aide, Kamishimo Idaho, run away from the palace. With the rift forming among the country's leaders over the Alliance Treaty and the persistent rumors of a coup d'etat, the palace immediately sought to cover up the prince's disappearance fearing that this could stir up the already charged political atmosphere. Kirigakure shinobis were then secretly dispatched to look for the prince."
"I don't understand. You're a shinobi from the Hidden Mist Village, right?" Naruto asked, eyeing the insignia etched unto the metal plate on the tilted hite-ate around the man's forehead. "Then why do you want to kill Mikoshi? Aren't you supposed to protect him? What's going on here?"
Zabuza blinked after hearing the blonde's question. However, instead of answering he just broke with hysterical laughter.
Naruto seethed angrily at the rude response and shouted, "Hey! What are you laughing at you no-eyebrow freak?!"
"Weren't you listening earlier, smartass." Mikoshi said irritably. "He's a nukenin, meaning he's already abandoned his village. He's no longer part of the Hidden Mist. He's a fugitive, a criminal, an enemy of his own village and the Water Country."
"That's right." Zabuza affirmed. "However, my mission is not to kill the prince. It was merely to capture him. He will be a great tool for our cause. Disposing someone like him would be a huge waste."
"Tool?" Naruto muttered.
"The two went into the Fire Country in disguise. They even used fake names, Takayama Mikoshi and Kurisawa Chitose , to hide their true identities. Thanks to our spy within Konoha, we were able to find out this information and immediately set out to track them down." Zabuza beadily eyed the two Leaf shinobis. "'We are simple tourists trying to get back home', I don't know if your hokage actually bought this alibi or is just playing politics. But hiding the fact from the Mist and the Water's government makes one thing certain…" The Mist shinobi continued in a purely insolent tone, "…he is a stupid old man."
"You…!!" Naruto rushed forward driven by anger towards the Mist shinobi. His fists clenched tightly, intended for the smug man's face.
"Stop it." Itachi said, calmly grabbing the collar of his jacket.
"Let go, Itachi-sensei! I won't forgive that no-eyebrows for insulting Hokage-jiichan!" Naruto rammed his right fist forcefully at his own left palm. The look on his face showed nothing but resentment and disdain. "I'll beat his sorry face to a pulp!"
Zabuza merely chuckled at the kid's outburst. "A punch to the face is it, eh? Can you really do it, boy?" He specifically meant that last sentence as a challenge. The gesture was backed by his eyes and the tone of voice which only betrayed his full seriousness.
"There seems to be no other alternative in this situation." Itachi interjected, stepping forward narrowing his eyes at Zabuza. "Naruto-kun, protect the clients. Whatever happens, do not interfere with the battle." He instructed without taking a glance back at his student. A heavy feeling suddenly floated through the air catching Zabuza's attention. When the missing-nin looked back, the Uchiha heir's eyes were no longer black but instead were colored blood red. Three dots shaped like commas marked inside each of his pupils. "Let's begin."
"Ah. I get to see the famous sharingan. I'm honored. Since you're eager, let's cut all these chit-chatting. I need to get my hands on that boy right away." Zabuza glanced behind Itachi and noticed Mikoshi and Chitose moving closer to each other forming a tight group with Naruto standing at the front, kunai in hand and at the ready. Noting this, he returned his gaze back at the young Leaf jounin. "But, Itachi, it seems I have to defeat you first." Zabuza then raised his left arm upwards while his right formed a half seal and released a huge amount of chakra, large enough that the water was waving wildly underneath his feet. "Ninpou Kirigakure no Jutsu."
Itachi narrowed his eyes when the fog got thicker as a result of the jutsu, concealing its caster out of sight.
"He disappeared!" exclaimed Naruto.
'This is bad!' "Itachi-san, please be careful!" Chitose shouted aloud with a sense of urgency, warning the young jounin of the enemy's caliber. "Momochi Zabuza was once in Kirigakure's Assassination Squad and was known as a master of the art of silent killing! If you don't get careful, you'll get killed!"
"Silent killing?" Naruto asked.
"Silent killing, it's a killing technique that's executed in a flash and carried out in absolute silence." Chitose explained satisfying Naruto's curiosity. "It is even possible that you'll be dead before you know it."
Naruto gulped aloud after hearing this. A second later and he also lost sight of the Uchiha. Soon the mist became worst enough that visibility was reduced down to near zero.
'Tsk. This might actually get dangerous.' Itachi thought to himself.
"You are one impressive fellow, Uchiha Itachi." Everyone could hear Zabuza's voice speak from within the white blanket of fog.
Behind, Naruto, Mikoshi and Chitose felt a terrible feeling of tension. Knowing the knowledge that someone dangerous was lurking about, unseen, undetectable, and that they are most probably powerless once he decides to strike. Itachi, his sharingan unable to see through the thick mist and thus rendered virtually useless, maintained focus and tried to blindly feel the enemy's presence.
"At the early age of thirteen, you were already listed as an A-ranked shinobi in the bingo book."
"Bingo book? What's that?" Naruto asked.
"Bingo book," Chitose began, "It is a listing which includes the names of all the high-profile shinobis in the world. There, shinobis are divided based not on their actually ranks, loyalties, or the hidden village or country of affiliation but instead from their actual power and combat capabilities. In that sense, it is possible for a chuunin or even a genin to be ranked higher that a jounin provided that he is proven to be more powerful than the later."
"I see…"
"The bingo book ranks the power of a shinobi as either S, A, B-class," she continued. "There also exists lower ranks C, D and E but shinobis belonging to these classes don't appear in the bingo book"
Naruto's face suddenly beamed with excitement, something which both Chitose and Mikoshi found to be totally out of place considering the current situation. "I wanna have my name written in the bingo book too."
"I've been eagerly waiting for the chance to face you. Please don't disappoint me. It's been a while since I had some fun," bragged an unseen Zabuza.
Itachi performed a hand seal, releasing ample amounts of chakra to repel the mist. Although the mist was still too thick for him to see through, the move had somehow provided him with visibility at most around couple of feet's distance.
'What an incredibly dangerous ki.' Chitose thought shaken by the sudden feeling that rushed through her senses. 'That boy really is on a different degree.'
Sensing something fast approaching, Itachi readied his kunai and blocked a series of shurikens that got dangerously close.
"You dodged quite nicely. Something I was quite expecting from you, Itachi."
Itachi was surprised when he felt Zabuza suddenly appear behind back. He quickly ducked low dodging just in time the swing from the massive Kubikiri Hosho. Itachi countered with an upward slash from his kunai but to his disappointment, the Zabuza before him erupted as a harmless mass of water. "A bunshin…?" The Uchiha silently resumed his defensive position waiting for the next attack.
'It's true then. The sharingan endows the person who possesses it with an eye of insight and an eye of hypnosis. The eye of insight allows him to see through genjutsu, taijutsu and ninjutsu and cancel their effects but the scariest part is that it can copy a jutsu once it sees it. The eye of hypnosis allows him to cast very powerful genjutsu on the enemies manipulating the mind and making them act and think as he deems fit.' Zabuza smiled inwardly. 'Thanks a lot, Mizuki, for this valuable information. Because of your work we were able to create a counter for the sharingan.'
Itachi instinctively jumped sideways avoiding another slash from Zabuza's sword. Seeing that he'd missed, Zabuza quickly rushed forward to deliver another slash at the young Uchiha. As soon as Itachi's foot hit the ground, he propelled himself forward to meet Zabuza. An exchange of strikes followed and the Zabuza that Itachi struck once again turned into water. Suddenly, a kunai flew out of the mist. Itachi quickly moved to the left and the kunai passed by him harmlessly. However, in its wake, a few strands from his long black hair floated slowly down until it touched ground.
Another Zabuza reappeared before Itachi, this one he noticed had its eyes closed, and launched his sword down at him. Itachi took a sudden backslide that the massive blade missed him. The Leaf jounin wasn't able to throw in a counter since Zabuza had retreated back into the mist right after he attacked. A second later and a long cut appeared against the fabric of his black shirt. 'This guy is good,' thought Itachi maintaining his calm. He then lowered himself back into a defensive stance.
'First, I conceal in this heavy fog and render his eye of insight useless. Then, I close my eyes and kill the possibility that he will use the eye of hypnosis in close combat.' Zabuza, in a sudden burst of speed, raced away from his position and launched a head on attack against the Leaf shinobi. Itachi, sensing the attack, took a quick step back to dodge the huge blade. However, his movements were too slow that the Kubiri Honsho still managed to cleave his body in half. 'This is the end.' Zabuza said confidently, slowly opening his eyes. 'What?!' His eyes suddenly grew wide when to his surprise, the struck down body of Itachi turned into water. 'Mizubunshin no Justu? Since when did he…?'
"As I suspected, you are the real one."
Zabuza need not turn around for he perfectly knew that Itachi was already behind him.
"This is the end." Itachi said thrusting his kunai forward aiming to impale Zabuza at the back of the head. However, before he could do with his lethal intention, a chain suddenly shot from his blind side and wrapped itself around him constricting his movements. "What the–?" He exclaimed in surprise.
Zabuza smirked smugly from underneath his mask. With the end of his sword still stuck on the ground, Zabuza quickly spun around and landed a sharp kick against Itachi's face sending the young jounin flying in the air. "Now…!" Zabuza grabbed the hilt of his sword with both hands and dragged the Kubikiri Honsho as he raced forward aiming to deliver the finishing blow.
'…' Itachi, still tied-up whilst flying in mid-air, moved his hand to sever the chain with his kunai loosening its hold on his body. He then twisted his body so that he'd land with his feet up completely free from any constrictions. With the momentum from that kick still causing him to slide against the surface of the water, Itachi quickly performed a set of hand seals before launching a massive fire ball attack at the shadowy silhouette of the pursuing ninja. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Justu!!"
'That was fast!' Zabuza, surprised at the sudden fire elemental attack, didn't have enough time to move away and was completely engulfed by the flames.
"Did I get him?" Itachi whispered to himself as he watched the faint flickering of light from the fire burning a few yards behind the mist blocking his eyes.
"No."
That reply came to Itachi as something totally unexpected. Zabuza had suddenly appeared right behind him, already performing a set of hand seals.
"Suirui no Jutsu!" Zabuza announced as the water underneath Itachi quickly rose up becoming a spherical water containment that trapped the young jounin helplessly inside. "I finally caught you, Uchiha Itachi."
Itachi, with his current predicament, could only move his head and shoot a defiant glare at his captor.
"You entertained me to an extent though. But let me tell you one thing I learned from this battle..." Zabuza said glancing sidewards.
The mist slowly cleared back to how it naturally was earlier before the battle started.
"Has he done it?" Mikoshi asked himself. He, Naruto and Chitose had been silently rooting for Itachi to come out victorious however what they saw when the veil of mist had lifted was not something of their expectations.
On the ground several yards from them lies a smoldering piece of log still smoking from the sides while further up into the river stood Zabuza, his right arm extended sideways stuck in a spherical mass of water, together with a trapped Itachi.
"The Uchiha Clan is overrated."