Rants: Just wanna you all a belated Happy New Year. This chapter wasorignally planned to be postedout sometime before New Year.Sadly, because of unforeseen circumstances it wasn't able to come out on time. Also, I'm desperately in need of a beta reader. If anyone can spare the time (and patience), please do e-mail me. I would really appreciate it.
"How do you like it, Itachi? This is my inescapable special prison. Comfortable I hope."
The mist slowly cleared revealing a smoldering piece of log several paces from Naruto, Mikoshi and Chitose 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.
"I-Itachi-sensei!" Naruto called out.
'Th-this isn't good!' was the thought that raced through Chitose after she saw the outcome of the battle. "Naruto-kun, we should run away now!"
"What are you talking about?! Itachi-sensei is still trapped in there! Are you saying that we should just abandon him?!" Naruto shouted at the girl, clearly in disbelief at what she is making him do.
"We don't have any other choice!" Chitose argued back. "Zabuza won't be able to move as long as he has Itachi-san trapped inside his Suirui no Jutsu! This is the perfect opportunity for us! Also, even if you go fight him it will all be the same! You'll just get beaten! Com'on, let's get out of here while we still can!"
"How can you arrive to a conclusion like that?! You haven't even seen me fight against that no-eyebrows and yet you talk as if you already know what's going to happen!" Naruto yelled.
"Look closely at reality! If you go fight him you'll only end up dead!" Chitose yelled even louder. The intensity of her voice overpowered Naruto forcing him shut his mouth up. "Even Itachi-san was defeated! Do you honestly think that you can win against a monster like that?!"
"But… But…" Naruto seethed angrily, clenching his fists as he watched the nukenin Zabuza lay captive of his sensei. Once again, the image of Itachi looking down at him with eyes full of a mixed feeling of sadness and frustration flashed through his mind.
'"Naruto-kun… I'm disappointed with you."'
'I still couldn't do anything…' the blond thought. His eyes closed tight, his body shaking as an intense feeling of frustration raced through him. He clenched his fists even tighter that his nails have started to bite against his skin.
"Besides, this fight was over the moment Itachi-san was caught! Don't forget about your mission! The most important thing right now is to ensure Ryuji-sama's safety! As a ninja, your mission should be placed above everything else!"
Naruto heard Chitose exclaim from the background but he gave her words no heed.
"Naruto-kun…"
Naruto abruptly opened his eyes and glanced over at Itachi. It wasn't just him. Mikoshi, Chitose, even Zabuza's attention were all caught when the young and usually silent jounin spoke.
"Idaho-san is right. You're a ninja. The success of the mission must be your top priority. Stop worrying about me. Take the clients and get out of here." Itachi stared stonily at Naruto, the expression on his face showed nothing but seriousness. "That is an order."
Naruto shut his eyes once more and started shaking his head wildly; unwilling listen to what the people around him are making him to do. Even Itachi-sensei wanted him to run away. Just then, memories of his jounin instructor flashed before him.
'"I'm going to teach you a special jutsu that will let you pass the Academy exam."
Naruto opened the classroom and found the new jounin sensei already inside. "You're late." The Itachi said turning his head towards the boy.
Itachi cast a dissatisfied look down on Naruto . "You are pathetic. You should just quit now."
"Back at the training field, did you feel afraid?"
"I know it was just a test and that Itachi-sensei is a kind person…" Naruto slurped the ramen broth noisily before continuing. "…because Itachi-sensei's eyes were different from the others'."
A small smile etched over Itachi's lips.'
"NO!!" Naruto flung his eyes wide open and broke in a mad dash towards Zabuza. "I won't run away!" The blonde had barely covered half the distance when he felt something hit him forcibly throwing him back and causing him to roll like a broken rag doll along the ground. With his body finally coming to a stop, Naruto pulled himself up to a sitting position and noticed three long gashes that ran along the mid and lower sections of his body.
"Running around… screaming… trying to act all brave and tough… Don't think highly of yourself just because you have a hite-ate."
Naruto moved his gaze up and saw the silhouette of a man slowly taking form from behind the fog.
"Ninja refers to someone who has survived numerous brushes with death. In other words, only when you're good enough to appear in the bingo book can you start calling yourself a ninja."
Finally, the veil of mist finally lifted away revealing the shadow to be a shinobi with a black cloak wrapped around his body. He had something like a gas mask covering most of his face and on his right arm was a large clawed metal gauntlet. "You're…" Naruto muttered, recognizing the person to be one who attacked them before when they were still at the Fire Country.
"You're not a ninja. You're just a brat."
"That was harsh Gouzu," said Zabuza.
"Naruto-kun!" Chitose called urgently. "What are you waiting for?! Run!"
"But can you really do that, Idaho?" Zabuza said as he watched the panicking young lady. "Of course there is something you can do about it but…" The Mist nukenin turned his sights towards the teen standing right next to her. "Are you willing to break the vow that you've made just for the sake of that boy, even if he is the son of the daimyo?"
Scenes from her past flashed before Chitose. She turned at the all important boy and everyone could see the confusion forming in her face. In the end, she could not bring herself say anything back and just contented herself to gritting her teeth and glaring reproachfully at Zabuza.
"It's okay, 'neesan."
Surprised, Chitose shifted her head sharply and saw Mikoshi taking steps forward.
"Since the time Itachi-san got caught, running away was no longer an option. Even if we were to make a run for it, Zabuza would've caught up with us sooner or later. And now, with the appearance of another nukenin, that had just become completely impossible." Mikoshi stopped next to Naruto. He glanced down at Naruto and his lips suddenly curled to a smile. The gesture that made the blonde blink twice to assure if it were true or not as this will be the first time he gets to see his grumpy client smile so openly at him. Mikoshi then stared back at Zabuza once more, his face now turning all serious. "Let's have a bet, Zabuza."
"Oh? And what would that be?" Zabuza asked, his interest obviously perked up.
"I'm betting my fate and my life into Naruto. If he loses against that man of yours…" Mikoshi raised his hand and pointed directly at Gouzu. "…then I'll give myself up."
"Ryuji-sama?! What are you doing?!" cried Chitose.
"Hmm… sounds interesting," mused Zabuza. "But what if you win?"
"If I win, then you'll just have to free that guy. That's all." The boy continued, mentioning the person trapped in the water prison.
Zabuza raised an eyebrow at the idea.
"I'm not asking you leave us alone, just free Itachi-san. You can immediately come after me as soon as he's released. Either way, things are still in your favor." Mikoshi followed with a shrug. "A good bargain don't you think?"
Zabuza turned his eyes from Mikoshi down to the orange clad boy sitting on the ground next to him. "So you're saying that you're going to put your life at the hands of this kid. Shouldn't you think this over, young master?" The Mist shinobi said in mock politeness as he diverted his attention back to the prince. "There is no way a punk like that could beat ever Gouzu. Such a bet will only end in your loss." Zabuza then let out a confident grin from underneath his mask. "But if you are so desperate…"
"Hmph! An idiot like you will never understand." Mikoshi interjected.
"What did you say?!"
"He isn't just the punk that you think he is." Mikoshi threw his narrowed eyes sideways towards Naruto. "Although he may certainly look like one…"
"Why you–?!" Naruto growled angrily at the nasty comment.
"Naruto won't lose; let me make that point clear." Mikoshi declared. "He is a person who has courage, determination and strength, a strong person with an iron will, a man who will not back down to any challenge." The prince continued, his features beaming with confidence and pride.
"Mikoshi…" Naruto muttered, glancing up to the older boy. He was still in disbelief that the boy who had been mocking him for most of the trip, someone whom he thought didn't like and perhaps hated him, had actually acknowledged him and believed in his strength.
"He is an elite ninja and I completely believe in him!"
"Hmph!" Naruto sounded, pulling himself back on his feet. He raised his head and stared at the enemies with his usual cockiness back in place. "You heard what the idiot said. Are you ready?!"
Zabuza suddenly broke into hysterical laughter causing much to everybody's confusion. "Very well… Gouzu!" Zabuza, suddenly turning all serious, called out. "Kill the brat."
"Understood." Gouzu immediately rushed forward and launched his clawed right hand, fingers joined and extended, towards Naruto. The blonde tried to dodge by the lowering his body but the sharp claws still managed to graze against his shoulder making Naruto flinch in pain. Gouzu then followed with a sharp kick sending the kid flying until his back crashed painfully against the sturdy trunk of a tree a couple of yards back.
"Damn it." Naruto cursed. He pulled himself back on his feet and performed the seals of his favorite jutsu. "Kagebunshin no Jutsu!!" A massive cloud of white smoke erupted which when cleared revealed about a hundred shadow clones.
"Oh, kagebunshin. And he created quite a few." Zabuza said, sounding quite impressed.
"Everyone, let's go!" Naruto commanded to his clones. Each one of them pulled out several pieces of shuriken and threw them straight towards the Mist chuunin.
"You sure don't learn, do you?" A long chain emerged from Gouzu's metal arm. Quickly, he made it spin very rapidly to block the black cloud of incoming shurikens. Seeing that their collective attacks have failed, the mass of Narutos all charged towards Gouzu. The Mist chuunin stopped twirling his chain and lashed it against the mob taking out at least seven clones in one strike.
"Still playing Ninja?" In a clever combination of perfectly timed retraction and extension of the chain together with some graceful arm movements, Gouzu made the chain appear to have a life and a mind of its own. Slithering through the battlefield like a deadly metal snake, the chain ripped through the mass of Naruto clones decimating each one that it so unfortunately touch out of existence.
"A real ninja is someone whose hands are already soaked in blood. A person who has gone through the experience of killing another…" Soon all the clones had been dispelled and all that remained was the real Naruto. Gouzu retracted the full length of the chain back into his gauntlet and dashed forward to engage the blonde head on. The strength of the blow he released knocked Naruto down into the ground. Three new slash wounds appeared across his chest. "You're no ninja."
"Naruto-kun!" Chitose cried worriedly.
Gouzu planted his foot straight into Naruto's stomach and started applying pressure on it making the boy cringe in pain. "Just trash."
"Naruto!" called Mikoshi.
"Don't you see, young master, that this is all your fault." Zabuza said aloud. "All of these things are happening because of you."
Mikoshi was speechless. All that he could do was clench his fists at being so powerless to help Naruto. Meanwhile, a few paces behind, Chitose and had flung her head sideways, her eyes closed. She couldn't bear to watch the boy suffer in the hands of Zabuza's man.
"If you have just stayed put inside your castle. If you have stayed like the pampered spoiled brat you are then none of this would have happened. The Alliance Treaty, the relationship with the Fire and Konoha would not have been jeopardized. None of us would have gone after your tail. Most importantly, both you and your aide's lives and the lives of these Leaf shinobis wouldn't have been placed in grave danger."
"I have my reasons…" Mikoshi lowered his head as he spoke.
"Figures. All you nobles think about are yourselves." Zabuza shifted his head and stared down at the blonde. "Foolishly putting your fate in the hands of this scrap, you shouldn't have goaded him into fighting. Now that boy is going to die and your conscience will bear the guilt of it."
Gouzu landed another sharp kick on Naruto's midsection making the blonde expel blood off his mouth.
"Naruto!" Mikoshi cried again. 'I have to do something! If not, if not then Naruto will die!'
'It's so painful…' Naruto desperately hang on to consciousness as the unpleasant sensation consumed his entire being. Suddenly, against the all suffering and hopelessness, Naruto once again saw himself several days back and how he raised his kunai that time and stabbed the wound on his left hand. '"I swear it to the pain in my left arm…"'
"Zabuza…"
"Hmm?" The missing-nin glanced down to his captive and found Itachi, as odd as it may seem, to have remained fully calm and collected, completely unfazed by the pained screams and the torturous beating inflicted upon his pupil.
"Do not underestimate him. Naruto-kun isn't one to die so easily."
'Pain…?' Naruto asked himself. Suddenly he recalled the vows he had made, when he made them, where he made them and how he made them. 'I'm not going to need saving ever again… I'm not going to be afraid and try to run away… If I give up, my dreams and everything that I lived for will be gone… '
"Itachi, has your Sharingan become too fogged that you fail to see what was happening before you? Let me tell you this much. Gouzu is the other half of the famed Demon Brothers of the Mist, the elite pair of ninjas who have done several high profile assassinations and were ranked B in the bingo book. If he's up to it, Gouzu could slit that kid's neck off in seconds and even if Gouzu were to show mercy and choose not to kill him, the poison in his claws has already invaded the brat's body and will soon take effect. Either way, the outcome is still the same…" Zabuza continued his voice laced with venom. "…that boy is going to die, I'll guarantee you that."
Itachi met Zabuza's eyes with a hard stare. "He is Uzumaki Naruto, Yondaime Hokage-sama's legacy. He won't die."
The two jounins exchanged glares with each other, something that lasted only for a few seconds but almost felt like an eternity. It was only when they heard the prince called out that they both pulled their heads away and turned at the important kid.
"Alright Zabuza, you win!"
"Ryuji-sama!" pleaded Chitose.
'There's no other choice. I have to do this.' The boy thought desperately. "I'm giving myself up! Now stop all these senseless fighting and let Naruto and the others go!"
"I am terribly sorry young master, but I don't think I can comply with that request."
"What do you mean?"
Zabuza turned towards his subordinate and nodded.
Catching Zabuza's instruction, Gouzu lifted his foot up. "Die!!" He screamed aloud, raining his foot with lethal force down towards Naruto.
"NO!!!" cried Mikoshi.
A moment's silence wafted through the air. Everyone was speechless, surprised when they saw that the Mist chuunin's foot had been caught by Naruto.
'I will never regret what I do…'
Gouzu saw the boy looking defiantly back at him. That gesture made his nerves throb in anger prompting the chuunin to raise his foot yet again. This time however, when he dropped it, his foot smashed nothing but the solid ground. Gouzu immediately went to scan the area for Naruto's whereabouts but when he raised his head he was greeted with a hard fist right into the face. 'Too fast…' Gouzu tumbled across the field after receiving the full force of Naruto's punch.
'I will never look back…'
"Naruto-kun!" both Chitose and Mikoshi were thoroughly delighted to see that the blonde kid was alright.
"That's right… I became a ninja." Naruto whispered to himself, his heart ablaze with new found determination.
'That brat!' Gouzu seethed silently, pulling himself off the ground as soon as all his momentum had been spent.
"I'll save Itachi-sensei and fulfill my mission." Naruto muttered silently. He then raised his arm, pointed it straight at Gouzu and Zabuza and called aloud, "Hey, the idiots over there. Put this in your bingo book." The blonde took in a lungful of breath. "The man who will one day become Hokage…" Naruto adjusted his hite-ate back into place and launched a defiant glare at the Mist shinobis.
'I will never take back my words…'
"…the one who doesn't go back on his words…"
'That is my nindo!'
"I am Uzumaki Naruto! Remember it!"
"Naruto-kun…" Chitose sounded. The tone of her voice and the light blush on her face showed her growing regard for the boy.
"Go get 'em, Naruto!" Mikoshi cheered aloud.
'Now Naruto-kun, cast your doubts and fears aside and realize for yourself how much you have truly grown.' Itachi nodded in approval, silently rooting for his student from inside his water prison.
"Kagebushin no Jutsu!!" Naruto exclaimed, executing the technique for the second time around. This time he only created four shadow clones, a far lesser amount compared to those he created earlier.
"Hah, that won't help you." Gouzu huffed, sounding thoroughly confident. "It doesn't matter how many bodies you create. That still won't be enough to defeat me."
A sly grin appeared over the real Naruto's lips. "Try me."
Before Gouzu could even blink, Naruto and his clones disappeared before his eyes. The next thing he knew, both his feet were lifted several inches off the ground after receiving a sharp upward kick against the jaw from Naruto who suddenly appeared right in front of him. A second Naruto then jumped from behind the first one and landed a powerful punch to the face of the airborne Gouzu sending him crashing to the ground several yards back.
'How did he…' While sliding, Gouzu planted his arm unto the ground and hoisted himself up, landing firmly on his feet after performing some quick midair pirouette. Two more Narutos suddenly appeared on both sides of him and threw a kick each aiming for his face. Gouzu immediately raised both his arms and blocked the attack. However, to his surprise the fifth Naruto appeared in a burst of speed before him. The boy, crouching down low, then threw fist forcefully down his gut causing the chuunin to momentarily lose breath. The two Narutos hanging above spun clockwise and counterclockwise respectively and followed by placing their heels against Gouzu's masked face sending him tumbling along the ground once more.
Slightly dizzied by the combo, Gouzu gingerly pulled himself back up and noticed that the five Narutos have surrounded him. There sounded a loud crack before the broken gas mask fell right off his face revealing for the first time the Mist chuunin's full features. A small stream of blood was found on the side of his mouth.
'…become so strong…' Gouzu felt a punch on the abdomen which was quickly followed by another blow on his back. The five Narutos appeared to him as orange blurs, streaking so fast that he could barely follow them with his eyes let alone defend himself from the attacks. '…so suddenly…' Another fist crashed straight down his right cheek while a kick landed on his left side. Finally, the real Naruto finished up with a powerful kick throwing the missing-nin high up into the air leaving him to crash down with his back colliding painfully against the hard ground.
"Hmph! How's that?" The five Naruto bodies asked all at the same time as they watched the other half of the infamous Demon Brothers of the Mist pull his badly beaten body back on its feet.
"YOU BRAT!!! Now you've really done it!" A raging Gouzu screamed. Executing a hand seal, a mass of water slowly rose up from the small puddle a few steps to his left. Seconds later and it became a full replica of the chuunin. "I'm going to kill you."
Unfazed, Naruto along with every single one of his shadow clones cracked their knuckles and said simultaneously, "Bring it on!" He said those words in a fully confident manner that it sent to fuel the proud nukenin's already burning rage.
"Demon Brothers of the Mist's Master Technique: Renteitou Senjutsu!" Gouzu and his clone announced before dashing straight towards the orange clad blonde. Naruto, on the other hand, ordered his clones to engage the incoming pair. Gouzu and his water clone launched their armored arm forward taking out a Naruto clone apiece. The chuunin then shot his chain off his armored arm and lashed it towards one Naruto clone. The shadow clone easily evaded the incoming chain by moving quickly moving to his left.
"Hah! You missed!" gloated one of Naruto's clones.
The two Gouzus suddenly broke in a grin and to the clone's surprise another chain emerged from underneath the shadow of the first one and struck the clone right on the chest instantly turning him into a small puff of smoke.
'The Kage Kusari no Jutsu,' thought Zabuza.
The real Gouzu then maneuvered his chain back and made it struck the other charging Naruto clone from behind. His water clone disengaged the chain off his gauntlet and quickly moved to the right to catch the streaking metal cable. The chain landed perfectly into the other Gouzu's arm linking the two of them together. Both then rushed towards the last remaining Naruto, moving in perfect synch, very fluid much like that of a well choreographed dance. 'I'll finish him off now!' In a speedy maneuver, the two Gouzu's wrapped their chain around Naruto, locking the boy in an inescapable bind of death. "DIE!!!" They both screamed, activating the driving mechanisms in their arms ripping Naruto's body into pieces.
Mikoshi and Chitose were horrorstricken at the sight that flashed through their eyes.
"That's the end of him." Zabuza announced.
Itachi's lips suddenly curled in a grin.
"What the–?!" Both Zabuza and Gouzu exclaimed aloud. The next thing that happened came as a complete surprise. The mangled pieces of Naruto's body erupted into white smoke.
'Kagebunshin?!' Gouzu thought, still in shock. He failed to notice the shuriken that came out of nowhere and dragged his long chain towards a nearby tree. A kunai then followed, planting itself right into the shuriken's center hole nailing the chain tightly in place. Gouzu and his clone tried to advance forward but found themselves unable to do so. 'It won't come out!'
Next, Mist chuunin and his water clone saw several shurikens flying directly towards them. Quickly, they released the chain and used their now free metal arms to block the incoming shurikens. As the shurikens harmlessly bounced off the duo's armored arms, two Narutos emerged unnoticed from behind and launched sharp kicks on the back of their heads. The water clone was immediately dispersed while the real Gouzu was propelled several yards forward until he crashed face first into the ground.
Gouzu, though heavily shaken, still managed to push himself back up and turned towards the pair of Narutos standing paces away. One of the orange clad bodies had started performing a series of hand seals while the other remained at the ready.
'Th-that brat…!' He found it difficult to believe that a boy like that was really this strong. The mere thought that the boy, a rookie at that, could probably be stronger than he is went to fire up the chuunin's fury even more. "I'LL KILL YOU!!!" Gouzu screamed, charging forward attacking out of blind rage.
"Serpent, ram, horse, serpent, dragon…"
Gouzu has decided that he was going to attack the one performing the seals. It didn't take long before he reached where the brats were. However, just as he went to stab his claws down the real Naruto, the boy's clone came in blocking his path and caught the massive metal arm with his two hands.
"…rat, ox, tiger! Ninpou, Katon: Karyuu Endan no Jutsu!!" The real Naruto took in a deep breath and released a powerful stream of white flames. His shadow clone burst into smoke the moment the flames grazed its back while Gouzu, who was now left wide open to receive the full blast, was dragged away by the force of the escaping fire. For Gouzu, it felt like being helplessly carried along by a massive water current. The only difference was that this was fire and it was burning him alive as he went. His pained screams were masked by the sound of the roaring flames.
Out at the river, Zabuza's eyes grew wide in shock. It seems that Naruto had managed to witty place Gouzu and him along in a straight line and with him unable to move out of place, the onrushing flames will certainly take him too if he don't abandon the water prison. 'There's no choice then!' Zabuza pulled his right arm off the spherical mass of water and ducked out of the fire's way. Quickly, the nukenin rushed forward towards his primary target – the prince of the Water Country. Suddenly, Naruto appeared before Zabuza in a burst of speed that the Mist shinobi could have sworn to have almost rivaled that of Itachi's.
"Take this!" The blonde screamed ramming his fist against Mist shinobi's face.
Zabuza was knocked a few steps back after receiving the full blunt of the blow. "You damn kid!" Quickly recovering, Zabuza screamed in anger and went to grab his massive sword. He swung the huge blade down raining it upon Naruto's head with the intention of cleaving the boy in half. Just then, his blade was suddenly stopped by Itachi, the kunai currently grinding against the Kubikiri Honsho was being supported by both the young jounin's arms.
"Don't forget. I'm your opponent," said Itachi while narrowing those pair of blood red Sharingan eyes.