Rants: Hi! Yeah I know this chapter came way too late andI deeply apologize for the delay. It's just that I had this very nasty writer's block but at least I'm back on my track once again. On the lighter side, I would like to thank NefariousPhoenix for being so kind to beta for me. Thanks man your a real life saver. I owe you a lot!
"Don't forget. I'm your opponent." Itachi stood right between Zabuza and Naruto. Armed with his kunai, the young jounin blocked the massive Kubikiri Honsho preventing it from slicing his student in half.
Zabuza caught sight of Itachi's fiery Sharingan, the pair of red orbs that seemed to be able to peer deep within a person's soul. After seeing those eyes, the wanted missing-nin couldn't help but feel a tingle of trepidation surge through his body.
"Naruto-kun, you've disobeyed a direct order." Itachi said without glancing back at his student. His voice sounded cold and unforgiving.
Naruto's face fell. He knew perfectly well that although he did all that fighting to save his sensei from the Suirui no Jutsu, he still went against orders and unwittingly placed the lives of their clients in danger. 'The success of the mission must be placed above everything else.' This is one of the many doctrines of a shinobi that Itachi-sensei constantly reminded him of before they began any of their past missions. If things had gotten worst, he along with Chitose-neesan and Mikoshi might have all ended up being killed and the blame would have been stacked against him. However, he also couldn't bring himself to leave Itachi-sensei behind,and for that he felt absolutely no regret for his actions.
"However…" Itachi continued. "I am very pleased with you."
A wide smile spread across Naruto's face as the boy beamed with pride.
"Go and secure the clients." Itachi ordered whilst keeping his kunai locked against Zabuza's huge blade.
"Yes sir!" Naruto exclaimed, right hand raised in a salute. He then quickly raced away from the clashing jounins and went to stand guard for the clients. With Gouzu nowhere in sight and Zabuza being engaged head on by Itachi-sensei, Naruto was able to relax his defenses a bit though not so low that it would allow enemies, if there were still some lurking about, to catch him off guard.
"Naruto-kun!" Chitose called out, rounding the boy up as soon as he came within arms reach and began a quick visual examination checking the boy up for injuries that he might had taken during his earlier fight with the Mist chuunin. Apparently satisfied with Naruto's condition, the young lady then placed a small vial in the blonde's hand. "Hurry up and drink this. This antidote should counteract the poison from Gouzu's claws."
"Arigatou Chitose-neechan."
"Hey Naruto."
The blonde genin turned to see Mikoshi. The son of the Water Country's daimyo seemed very uneasy and appeared like he was having trouble weaving words. From the short time Naruto got to know the boy, he already knew him to be a strong willed person, someone who was not afraid of speaking what was on his mind so this sort of behavior kinda struck him as odd.
"You know… those words I said about you earlier…" Mikoshi turned his head away, unwilling to face Naruto. "Those were all just lies. I still think that you are an unreliable, incompetent, and a completely stupid idiot."
"Hah! Same goes here!" Naruto huffed, also flinging his head sharply in the opposite direction. "I didn't fight that chain idiot and the no-eyebrow freak to save your ass. I only did so to free Itachi-sensei. Why should I care if they skin your behind? Don't play yourself as someone super important, moron!"
Both didn't utter a single word after that but it didn't take long before Naruto's mask of fake loathing crumbled into a smile and despite not seeing the other boy's face he knew perfectly that Mikoshi was also doing the same. The mutual silence attested to the strong bond of friendship that had formed between the two.
"Naruto-kun," Chitose interrupted, catching the boys' attentions. "You better hurry up and drink that antidote or else…" Her voice suddenly sounded grim. "…you're going to die."
"WHAT! Why didn't you say so!" screamed the frightened Naruto.
Chitose chuckled in amusement as she watched the panicking ball of energy obediently drink the contents of the medicine bottle in one large gulp. 'The poison on Gouzu's claws was actually of a very potent type, one that quickly spreads across the body and causes weakness, disorientation, and death all within minutes after being injected into the victim's bloodstream.'
Naruto's face turned all purple and reflexively spat the nasty medicine off his mouth. "YUCK! This tastes awful!" He said, gagging away from the disgusting aftertaste.
'The poison had been injected as early on when Gouzu first scraped Naruto-kun's body.' She continued, recalling how Naruto had been forcibly thrown back by the unanticipated attack when he first went to charge towards Zabuza. Three long gashes had appeared along the mid and lower sections of his body. 'If it were any other person, they would have been dead halfway into the fight. However, this boy is different. His body's unnaturally fast healing rate and resistance is definitely not normal.'
"Look at what you did, you idiot! You're supposed to put that thing down your gut, not stuff it on my face!" An extremely furious Mikoshi yelled. His face was drench with a disgusting mix of antidote and saliva after the blonde unintentionally sprayed it on him in his hurry to relieve his mouth free of the revolting liquid.
"Shut up bastard! It's your fault for getting that ugly face of yours in the way." Naruto yelled back.
"Why you little…!"
'Naruto-kun…' The young woman's lips curled into a light smile. 'What a strange yet interesting boy you are.'
Back on the battlefield, Zabuza staggered backwards after Itachi landed his fist squarely against his cheek. It didn't take long before the missing-nin recovered his bearing and immediately returned to a battle-ready stance.
A few paces away, Itachi remained standing in a completely relaxed and confident manner; both arms lying flat against his sides while his face maintained the same emotionless expression he always wore. Somehow, his pair of red eyes managed to look down at Zabuza despite the fact that he was a tad shorter than the exiled Mist shinobi.
Angered by the apparent disrespect as shown by the Uchiha's gestures, Zabuza tightened both hands' grip on the Kubikiri Honsho's long hilt and proceeded to aggressively charge towards the arrogant shinobi. "Prepare yourself, Itachi!"
Itachi remained completely impassive.
Soon enough Zabuza caught up with the Uchiha heir. He swung the massive sword down but before he could make through with his intention of cleaving the Leaf shinobi in half Itachi launched a quick, sharp kick against Zabuza's gut. The three people watching on the sidelines all marveled at sheer power of the attack that sent the nukenin flying all the way back into the river.
"Wow! So cool!" exclaimed Naruto.
Zabuza managed to recover while in midair to land with his feet sliding against the surface of the water. 'Why… Why can't I catch up with him?' The famed Demon of the Mist pondered inwardly.
"As a shinobi you should have known well enough not to judge other people simply from your preconceptions and their appearances." Itachi uttered as he walked casually towards Zabuza.
Seething, Zabuza clasped both his hands together forming the ox seal. Directly in front of him, he could see that Itachi has come to a halt, his hands forming the same initial seal like he is. Both jounins started executing a long series of hand seals while embedding huge amounts of chakra on the water underneath their feet causing the calm river's surface to wave unnaturally.
"Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" They shouted after forming the final seal at exactly the same time making two pillars of pure water shaped that of dragons shot out from the surface of the river.
"The exact same jutsu?" commented Mikoshi.
'Zabuza performed that many seals in just a few seconds and despite his speed Itachi still managed to copy to them perfectly. This must be the power of the Sharingan.' Chitose thought in awe at the clashing of water dragons taking place in the air directly above the jounins.
"They have the same power! Itachi-sensei's dragon can't beat no-eyebrows' like that!" said Naruto.
Pitted by their casters, the water dragons slithered around, bit, tackled and ultimately obliterated one another in one massive explosion of water. Chitose and the two boys planted their feet firmly against the ground when a huge wave came rushing into the riverbank threatening to sweep all of them away along with it.
Underneath the strong torrent raining overhead, Zabuza held his position, his hands still holding the tori seal while standing a few yards from him Itachi was doing the exact same thing. 'Something's weird… What's going on?' He asked himself. 'Sharingan is supposed to be an ability where the user memorizes the opponent's jutsu and copies it. But…' His mind went back to the earlier event when the two jounins were executing the series of hand seals in preparation for the Suiryuudan no Jutsu. 'The jutsu was executed at the same time.' Zabuza narrowed his eyes malevolently at the enemy. 'How did he…'
"Relying too much and blinded by the information on the bingo book. You overestimate yours and your men's capacity and underestimate the capabilities of your opponents."
Zabuza stiffened when he heard that voice coming behind. There was no mistaking it. That voice could only have been Itachi's. A split second ago, he could have sworn that the leaf jounin was still standing out in front of him. 'How did he get here so fast?'
"That is not something that a shinobi should be doing."
Zabuza hurriedly spun around swinging his sword but to his disappointment the blade had hit nothing but thin air. A split second later and he saw something dangerously close streaked in a swift upward motion pass his line of sight. The next thing he felt was warm, sticky liquid seeping from his skin which was followed by a sudden, sharp flare of pain and the strong compulsion to clutch the injury with his free hand.
"Did he get him?" Mikoshi asked needlessly.
"Take that you no-eyebrow freak! Itachi-sensei rocks!" Naruto cheered, jumping up and throwing his fist in the air in glee.
When he lowered his hand, the first thing Zabuza saw was his bloodied palm. Watching his reflection on the clear water below, a long diagonal cut extended from the center of his forehead passing by his nose bridge and down to the right corner of his lips as seen through the torn and bloodstained cloth covering the lower part of his face.
"Let me thank you, Zabuza-san. You have performed well…" Itachi, who was now standing just a couple of steps away in front of the nukenin, said. On his right hand was a lone kunai, its sharp tip dripping with fresh blood.
Zabuza glanced up, his face contorting with rage towards the Uchiha. "I'LL KILL YOU!" He roared in a battle cry as he dashed madly forward dragging his heavy sword as he went. Blinded by his emotions, the Mist jounin was now hell bent on extracting revenge from Itachi for wounding his face.
Unaffected by the enemy's outburst, Itachi waited patiently for Zabuza to come closer, his lips moving slightly up in a confident and somewhat sadistic grin.
"DIE!" Zabuza screamed, raising the Kubikiri Honsho vertically upward with both hands and raining it down at Itachi. Itachi, for his part, lunged forward slashing at the enemy with his kunai. The result: Zabuza slid along the river, his front side skimming against the surface of the water while kneeling on the point of the exchange was Itachi. He remained in his attacking pose, right arm extended sideways while the other resting over his left knee, for the entire time that Zabuza's momentum dragged his body across the water.
Finally coming to a stop, Zabuza hoisted himself back up. However, to keep himself on his feet he had to use his sword as support. The kunai that was once on Itachi's hand was now buried unto Zabuza's limp left arm. Badly beaten and bleeding profusely, a panting Zabuza gathered his remaining strength and resolve and lifted his sword with his still functional hand back at the ready.
"Unfortunately the play ends here. I'm sorry but…" Itachi slowly stood up and turned to face his opponent. "…it's time for you to die," he said, revealing another kunai. Itachi began to race forward while Zabuza prepared to defend himself to the best that he can. Suddenly, an explosion erupted from the waters near the riverbank catching everybody by surprise and fortunately for the Mist nukenin, it bought enough of Itachi's attention that it made him stop his advance.
Landing on the ground was Gouzu, alive but beyond normal recognition. Almost all of his clothes have been torn away revealing the massive burns he incurred from Naruto's Karyuu Endan no Jutsu. The sickening aroma of charred flesh wafted in his presence and the look on his face, with most of its skin sizzled away baring his facial muscles and at some parts the white of his skull, makes for one truly terrifying sight.
"I-is he a m-monster…?" Mikoshi asked, his voice trembling with fear as the rest of his body.
Quickly, Naruto took out his kunai and held it out to the defensive with both hands. "Mikoshi, Chitose-neesan, please stay behind me!" The two need not a second telling and immediately hid themselves behind the blonde genin.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS BRAT!" Gouzu screamed full of hatred and rage as he charged straight towards Naruto with his blackened metal claws out.
'Dammit! This guy's tougher than I thought!' Naruto braced himself. He held his kunai tighter as he watched the obsessed chuunin moved closer and closer.
"DIE!" Gouzu threw his right arm with its sharp claws forward.
"Take this you bastard!" Naruto lunged forward, hoping to deliver the critical blow that will finally knock the enemy out for good.
Mikoshi, Chitose, Itachi, even Zabuza all held their breaths and time seems to have slowed down as the two closed in on one another.
A faint whoosh. A pair of needles cut through the air. Those two needles embedded themselves on an unsuspecting shinobi's neck. Blood flew out. Everyone turned wide-eyed with shock as Gouzu's body felt limp on the ground.
'He's here!' Zabuza caught himself just on the nick of time and raised his huge sword to block the swarm of incoming needles. After hearing the faint sounds of the needles safely rebounding against the thick flat of the Kubikiri Honsho, Zabuza took a sudden leap backwards avoiding yet another barrage of needles which have plunged themselves into the river instead. Quickly, the missing-nin returned his sword over his back and performed a hand seal with his only working and now free hand creating a thick cloud of mist to hide his presence. When the mist finally returned to how it naturally was before the battles started, Zabuza was already nowhere to be found.
Everyone turned their eyes to the direction from which the needles came from and the trail readily ended on the boy standing on top the sturdy branch of one of the riverside trees. His hair tied in a bun behind the back of his head while his long bangs swayed with the cold wind along with the rest of his greenish kimono. However, what was most intriguing with his clothing articles was the white mask with red designs that kept his face hidden. Engraved on the mask's forehead was the insignia of the Hidden Mist Village.
'What was that! He killed the chain bastard with just one shot!' Naruto stole a glanced at the dead Gouzu's body. 'He even drove that no-eyebrows away. That Zabuza was so strong and Itachi-sensei had a hard time dealing with him and yet it was like he was afraid of that guy, a kid who's no different from me.' The blonde returned his eyes back on the boy atop the tree. The air around him was calm and relaxed but deadly all the same. 'Are you saying that he did all that without soiling his clothes at all?' His teeth clenching as does his hands especially the one holding the kunai. 'He's making us look like idiots.'
"Are you alright, young master? Were you hurt?" The mysterious newcomer asked watching the group below, particularly the fifteen year old boy standing behind the blonde one in an orange jumpsuit.
Mikoshi watched the expression on Naruto's face. 'He's too easy to read.' He thought, shaking his head lightly in mild amusement. The prince then shifted his gaze back at the masked boy and asked, "And who might you be?"
"Forgive me for not identifying myself earlier." The boy bowed as he spoke. "I am Haku. I am part of Kirigakure's Hunter-nin squad patrolling the region around Mount Ohjin."
"Hunter-nin?" asked Naruto.
"Honestly, you don't know what a hunter-nin is?" Mikoshi sounded quite surprised. "Geez, are you sure you're really a ninja?"
"Hunter-nins are those who assassinate missing-nins like Zabuza who, for some reason, go against the village they were born in. They do it to conceal any secret of their village." Chitose explained for Naruto's benefit. For the rest of the time she just kept her eyes fixed on the boy who introduced himself as Haku. 'Haku… I think I've heard that name before…' "
Hey, you're a hunter-nin right? Aren't you going to run after Zabuza?" The young lady asked.
"No. Unfortunately my current mission is that of a higher importance that I must abandon pursuit of a nukenin should it come into conflict with the task at hand." Haku replied shaking his head for emphasis. "Lately, the Hidden Mist Village has received information that the daimyo's son had been spotted around the harbor village of Takefurukuma and that nukenins who were once from the Hidden Mist were after him. I was sent out to secure the prince and to escort him safely back to the daimyo's palace." Haku glanced down at the Leaf shinobis, moving his head from Naruto to Itachi and then bowed once again. "In behalf of the Water Country and the Hidden Mist Village, I would like to thank you for protecting our prince."
Naruto snorted in response.
"Your gratitude is unnecessary," said Itachi as he walked over to join with the rest of the party. "Our mission from the Leaf is to escort Kanamori-sama and Idaho-san back to the Water's capital city. Until we've accomplished that we won't be turning custody of them over to anyone and that includes you." Itachi continued, his voice matching the fierceness of his red eyes.
"Please don't misunderstand. I have no intention of taking the young master away from you. As far as I'm concern, my mission is also to bring the young master and his aide safely back to the palace. If I were to join you on your journey I will be fulfilling my mission and you will be fulfilling yours. Also, now that the nukenins know of our location joining forces will prove to be the best step towards our mutual success." Haku offered. "What do you say?"
Itachi closed his eyes, a gesture which means that he was carefully thinking over the young hunter-nin's proposal and its consequences on their mission. Not far away, Naruto turned towards his sensei hoping that the jounin would reject the offer. Unfortunately for him, luck wasn't on his side that time. "Alright, let's go together." Itachi said with a nod, his eyes now back to its normal color of black.
"A very wise choice." Haku said.
"What the hell are you saying Itachi-sensei!" Naruto yelled aloud. "Why is that guy tagging along with us! It's not like we can't protect that moron Mikoshi and Chitose-neesan on our own, right! Right!"
Itachi remained silent ignoring his blonde student's outburst.
"Are you saying that we can't finish this mission on our own! That we need help from the likes of him! Itachi-sensei–!"
"Shut up," came Itachi's harsh response. His words have not only silenced Naruto, it also surprised the three other people around them. "You are in no position to question my decision."
"But–!"
"Naruto-kun, you are a ninja. I expect you to act professionally." Itachi said cutting Naruto off before he could argue any further.
Naruto stared down on his feet in silence. Shortly his lips moved. "Are you okay with that…?" He asked, his voice as soft as a whisper
Itachi said nothing in response and merely cast a moment's glance over his student. His face was calm and betrayed nothing. Casting things aside as if the exchange had never happened, the Uchiha returned his attention to the young hunter-nin before them.
From the looks on their faces, Mikoshi and Chitose didn't seem to like the way Itachi handled things with his student. Also, as much as they wanted to give comforting words to blonde kid they fought hard the urge to do so and chose not to say anything for they well perfectly know that this was something personal between him and his sensei that they, as mere clients, have no right to intrude. All the two could share were looks of sympathy at the sight of the dejected boy's features.
"The next village is just a few kilometers away from here. We could stay there and rest for the remainder of the day then we'll get back on the road the first thing tomorrow." Haku suggested, breaking the uncomfortable silence that befell the group.
"Well, what are we waiting for? I'm hungry," complained the daimyo's son in hopes of steering the conversation away from dangerous territory.
"But before we leave, let me finish my task first." In a sudden gust of wind, Haku vanished from atop the branch and reappeared kneeling next to the dead Gouzu's body. He took out one of his needles and pinched his right thumb making it bleed. Next, he took out a tag, smudged some of his blood on it and threw the piece of paper over the corpse.
"What are you doing?" Mikoshi asked out of curiosity.
"I am going to dispose of this corpse. It is a body filled with secrets. Please turn your head away, young master. You may not like what you are going to see." Haku instructed but Mikoshi paid him no heed. Telling him off only made the hard headed kid want to see it more.
A small bulge formed at the center of the tag and smoke started coming out from it. Soon enough, several high pitched cries of birds began to flood the surroundings.
"Are those… ravens?" Naruto asked innocently. Seconds later and he got his question answered when a huge flock of black birds descended from the sky and began pecking and tearing through the dead body amongst themselves. Mikoshi quickly turned towards the opposite direction, revolting with disgust at the method used for the corpse's disposal. The sight all made him loss his earlier craving for food.
"W-wha… what the hell was that tag? How come the ravens suddenly flew here after the tag started smoking?" Naruto asked his eyes wide in a mix of awe, shock and disgust. He could see some of the birds moving away from the main congregation with bits and pieces of internal organs dangling in their beaks that was devoured just as quickly. The sickening sound of tearing flesh and droplets of blood flying through air added flavor to the gruesome display.
"That was a summoning tag," said Chitose.
"Summoning tag?"
"Yes." Haku answered this time. "Basically it is a variant of the inscription for the Kuchiyose no Jutsu that is activated through the offering of a user's blood. It summons the ravens and orders them to devour the corpse where the tag is placed. That summon is not contract-based though so anyone can use it."
As time passed by more and more ravens landed on the spot hoping to have their own share of the feast. It didn't take long though before the birds started to fly away leaving nothing not even bones on the ground. The only things that were left were the fresh blood and black feathers that marked the place where the dead body once laid.
"It's done," announced Haku.
"We've wasted too much time already. Let's go." Itachi was first to venture forward.
Mikoshi followed second trailed closely by Haku and finally Chitose and the party was soon back on its tracks all except for Naruto who had remained on his place, eyes down on the ground and seething silently to himself, his right hand still clenching the kunai very tight. His hands together with the rest of his body were trembling as he struggled with himself. 'I can't accept this!'
Noticing that the blonde kid wasn't with them Chitose turned around and found him still rooted on his place. "Naruto-kun what are you doing there! Let's go!" She called out.
Hearing Chitose-neesan's seemed to have snapped Naruto off his trance. Heaving out a large breath, the blonde finally relaxed himself. He placed the kunai safely back on the holster on his right and went after the rest of his companions and was soon walking side by side with the pretty long haired woman.
"Naruto-kun, are you okay?" Chitose asked worriedly.
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" Naruto said, flashing the wide, carefree, childish and somewhat idiotic grin he always wore.
"Are you sure?"
"Un!" Naruto sounded, energetically nodding his head up and down.
"Okay." Chitose said, returning the smile.