Onegai! Tsunade-Hime
Chapter 11: Deai (Encounter)
"Sakura" a voice called out to her.
"Who's there?" she asked, seeing nobody amid the field of flowers. She looked around and spotted a figure in a clearing "Sasuke-kun?" she stated after approaching and getting a good look at the figure.
"Sakura" replied the figure that Sakura presumed to be Sasuke "I have to tell you something" he stated while turning to face her.
"What is it Sasuke-ku-" but Sakura never got to finish the statement as she was suddenly enveloped by "Sasuke's" arms. She looked up and was met with Sasuke's deep onyx eyes which just caused her to melt into his arms further.
"Sakura…I've never gotten the chance to tell you this but I…I love you" the dream Sasuke said huskily.
Sakura almost fainted at those words and was barely able to reply "I love you too, Sasuke-kun" She then closed her eyes and raised her head in order to kiss Sasuke.
Surprised that no kiss came, she opened her eyes and was greatly surprised to find herself strapped to a chair. Gone was the filed of flowers and was replaced by a black environment that had a red moon in the sky.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked the figure in front of her "What's happening?" she asked fearfully.
"In this space called the Tsukiyomi I control everything" the figure stated. "The horizontal" and took a step forward "the vertical" another step "But enough about that, did you think I would like someone with a big forehead like yours?" Sasuke stated with venom.
"Now prepare for the ultimate punishment" he said then all of a sudden, there seemed to be hundred of Sasuke's "The Million Dekopin" after saying which, one of the Sasukes approached Sakura and flicked her forehead, causing her to emit a small cry of pain.The flicking continued with another Sasuke coming to replace the previous one.
"Stop! Please!" Sakura cried out amid the many and continuous flicks to her forehead.
Sakura….
Sakura….
A voice she could barely hear admist the cold and cruel laughter of the Sasukes.
Sakura woke up all sweaty and came face to face with Naruto, who was giving her a worried look "Are you okay Sakura-chan? You looked like you were having a bad dream" Naruto asked with in a worried tone.
Sakura gathered her wits and looked around, seeing no incoming fingers she let out a long sigh of relief.
"Yeah, I'm okay Naruto, no need to worry" she replied and gave Naruto a genuine smile.
"Don't worry Sakura-chan! If anything tries to hurt you, just call me and I'll be there in a flash!" Naruto exclaimed while posing dramatically for effect.
"Thank you, Naruto" Sakura meekly replied with a blush on her face.
"Oi! We've been delayed long enough! We have to hurry to wave country!" the voice of a fully recovered Tazuna broke the moment between the two of them.
So it was that after a few minutes, Team 7 and their client, packed up camp and resumed their march.
"We will have to take a boat to wave country, then it's just an hour's walk from where we dock to the village proper" Tazuna said as they approached a dock of sorts, where a boat was already waiting.
"Oi Tazuna! You're late!" the boatman yelled out.
"We ran into a bit of trouble on the way here" Tazuna replied "But they took care of it" he said and gestured towards Team 7.
"Are these really ninja?" the boatman asked in an annoyed tone "They're just a bunch of smelly looking brats!"
Naruto bristled at the comment but was stopped by Tsunade who replied to the boatman "Please give my Team a chance to prove ourselves. They are very capable ninja" then continued in a slightly angrier tone "We are already doing a great service by doing this mission at a reduced price since the mission was previously C class but has now been upgraded to A class because of the involvement of enemy ninja." She then turned her back and addressed the two men again "Or would you like us to leave instead?" she asked in a challenging tone.
Tazuna suddenly hit the boatman on the head "Don't worry you idiot! They're really good! I saw them in action earlier and I swear they were holding back. Now just shut up and get us there"
The boatman complied and waited for everyone to get onboard.
"The mist is so thick" Sakura commented.
"It's usually thick this season" the boatman replied as he continued urging the board onwards. "We're almost there" he said
The group disembarked at the nearby shore "You guys better kick Gatou's ass" the boatman exclaimed.
"Count on it Ossan!" Naruto replied.
"I'll meet you at the village Tazuna" the boatman said and once again disembarked.
"Alright" Tazuna replied. He then straightened his pack and turned to address Team 7 " About an hour's walk north of here is my village, near that is the bridge" and then started walking " Gatou and his men may be lurking about so keep your guard up"
Team 7 nodded in unison and proceeded to follow Tazuna through the road.
"What?" Tazuna said irately when Tsunade placed her hand on his shoulder.
Tsunade made a "shhhh"ing gesture, indicating for Tazuna to keep quiet then raised her hand, her palm facing Naruto and the others who stopped and then quickly positioned themselves in a triangle around Tazuna.
Tsunade stood about a foot away from Tazuna, eyes closed, trying to feel out any possible charka signatures.
Her eyes suddenly snapped open and she shouted to the others "Duck!" as she saw a huge blade hurtling towards their position from the thick mist.
Strangely however, Tsunade did not duck like the rest of them but instead extended one arm and caught the projectile by the hilt, the force of stopping the sword made Tsunade move back a few inches, leaving small trails on the ground. After recovering, she then used the broad side of the blade to deflect three more kunai that cam hurtling out of the mist.
Quickly spinning around, she then threw the sword like a javelin, causing it to pierce cleanly through one of the nearby trees.
Team 7 and Tazuna were surprised as a camouflage cloth dropped down and revealed a figure who was impaled to the tree, a person who suddenly turned into water which spilled all over the ground.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Was heard, effectively gathering the entire party's attention. They all turned to the source of the clapping and found a man standing on one of the many branches that the tree where the sword was impaled. "Those are some pretty good moves Ojou-chan" the man said with a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Thanks" Tsunade replied with false gratitude as she watched the man drop down and balance himself on the flat side of the huge sword. "And may I know who you are?" she continued
"You haven't heard of me?" the man replied with just a hint of surprise in his voice. He then pulled out his sword and held it at his side in a relaxed manner "Then there's no need to introduce myself, as I'll be killing you anyway!" he said and then quickly darted towards Tazuna's position, sword in a ready position to slash down and cut Naruto and the others.
Clang! The sword was stopped in mid slash by Tsunade, who used her armguards to block the humungous sword.
"You've some monstrous strength there Ojou-chan" the man said while trying to press the sword forward. He stopped though when he felt a kunai near his neck. He turned around slightly and saw another Tsunade "It's best not to under estimate me" the second Tsunade replied.
The man chuckled a little and then replied "I would say the say thing to you" before suddenly turning into water and falling spilling on the ground.
"That one's a fake too?" Naruto shouted from his position near Tazuna.
"Too naïve, Jou-chan" was heard as Tsunade saw the man appear behind her and swing his sword sideways, intending to cleave her in half. Tsunade ducked under the swing and threw an upper cut in response. It did not connect as the man back flipped and then imbedded his sword in the ground. He then used the handle of the sword as a pole and swung himself to kick Tsunade in the stomach. Tsunade flew back and fell into a small lake that was there.
"Sensei!" Naruto and Sakura shouted from their positions.
The man withdrew his sword from the ground and ran towards the lake where Tsunade had fallen in. He stopped as he saw that the ground was littered with barely visible makibishi "It's no use" he said and jumped onto the surface of the water.
(A/N: Makibishi are also known as caltrops)
The man scanned the lake for any signs that Tsunade was hiding in it.
Tsunade suddenly burst from the water and proceeded to attack the man.
She threw a right hook which was hastily blocked by the man using his sword. The man slid across the surface of the water, thrown back by the force of Tsunade's blow What the hell? He thought as he saw the fast approaching Tsunade.
He quickly drew his sword and slashed diagonally at Tsunade, who simply backhanded the sword, causing it to fly off and effectively disarm the man. Tsunade then threw a straight punch which to her surprise went through it's target.
Another Mizu Bunshin! Tsunade thought and quickly tried to retract her hand but it was too late. The clone started to reform itself into a sphere which then enveloped Tsunade.
"You had me worried there for a bit Jou-chan" The man stated as he held the sphere of water containing Tsunade at an arms length. "I haven't seen someone with that kind of strength since I fought against the number one of us seven"
"Since you gave me such a good fight, I'll give you the honor of knowing my name: Class B missing nin, Momochi Zabuza" he said
Tsunade glared at Zabuza from inside her prison "Don't worry, I'll get back to you, but first." he then made a handseal Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu "..Let me finish that team of yours."
From his position, Naruto watched as the clone rose out of the water and made a beeline towards their position I have to save Tsunade-sensei! He thought while watching the fast approaching clone.
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and two other Naruto's appeared by his side. With a battlecry, all three Naruto's attacked the Zabuza clone at once. The first Naruto clone disappeared in a poof as the Zabuza clone's sword cleaved through it instantly. The other clonec got in close and threw a punch which was easily blocked and was instantly dispelled, courtesy of a well placed kick.
The real Naruto threw a kick aimed at Zabuza's midsection but said kick was effortlessly grabbed and Naruto found himself looking at Zabuza while upside down.
"I see that you can use Kage Bunshin interesting but…" he started "..not enough!" and threw Naruto back towards Tazuna.
Sasuke decided to capitalize on the temporary distraction and threw five shuriken towards the mizu bunshin. The mizu bunshin only continued forward, deftly blocking said shuriken and throwing a punch to Sasuke's gut, sending him flyin backwards.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted Even Sasuke-kun was easily defeated she thought.
"Kuso" Narutto said and slowly righted himself I can't lose here. If I do I won't be able to become Hokage! He directed his gaze at Sasuke "Sasuke!" he shouted. "Lend me your ear for a minute"
"Alirght" Sasuke said after listening to Naruto's plan.
"Here we go" Naruto said and then formed a handseal "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" a big poof later more than 20 Naruto clones appeared in the area.
The mass of Naruto's charged forward, kunais drawn and as one, threw the kunai towards the Mizu bunshin. The Mizu bunshin blocked the kunai with its' sword and then looked up to see the many Naruto clones bearing down on him, kunai drawn.
As one, the Naruto clones thrust their kunai downward. The Naruto clones seemed to stay piled on the Mizu bunshin but after a few moments, the clones were knocked back and disappeared in puffs of smoke.
It was at this point that Sasuke withdrew something from his pack. He unfolded it, revealing said object to be a Fuuma shuriken. He threw the shuriken just when the Naruto clones were knocked away.
The Mizu bunshin deflected the Fuuma shuriken but was destroyed when another Fuuma shuriken appeared out of nowhere and sliced cleanly through it.
Zabuza watched in surprise as the second Fuuma shuriken headed for his position. He ducked, avoiding the Fuuma shuriken, it was to his complete surprise though when said Fuuma shuriken poofed, revealing Naruto.
Naruto threw five kunai at Zabuza Kuso! Zabuza thought as he was forced to release his prison effectively freeing Tsunade. But it didn't stop there as one of the kunai that flew by turned out to be another Naruto clone.
The clone withdrew its' own Fuuma shuriken and used it slash at Zabuza, who was forced to block, leaving him open to a bone breaking punch to the chest. Zabuza swore he almost heard his ribs creak from the punch as he flew back.
He righted himself and stood on the surface of the water Kuso! That hurt like hell he thought. Drawing his sword, he prepared to face what looked to be one pissed off Tsunade who was barreling down on him.
Zabuza was on the defensive, blocking a kick aimed for his head using the broad side of his blade, he responded by throwing a back hand.
Tsunade back flipped away from the attack, scooping up some water along the way and throwing it at Zabuza.
Zabuza thought that it was merely an attempt to blind him and darted forward, intent on slicing Tsunade in half. But to his surprise the small droplets which were only supposed to make light splashes on his body, made hard impacts, causing him to stop in his tracks. "Ninpo: Mizu Dama (Water Bullets)" Tsunade said with a smirk before dodging what would have been a decapitating slice from Zabuza's sword.
Zabuza pressed the attack, slashing downwards with his sword which Tsunade blocked with her armguard and then following up with a kick aimed at Tsunade's side.
Tsunade was unable to block the kick and was knocked back a few feet. Quickly recovering, she saw that Zabuza had just finished making the hand seal for tori. "Suiton: Seiryuudan no Jutsu!" and the water near him formed into a dragon which quickly rose and flew at Tsunade.
Gotta time this right! Tsunade thought as she saw the incoming water dragon. She then jumped up, corkscrewing and then extended an arm, the blue glow of charka visible on her hand. She severed the head of the water dragon, effectively canceling the jutsu and shocking all the onlookers, Zabuza included.
Zabuza overcame the shock and once again started making handseals. Tsunade ran towards him, intent on stopping the jutsu.
Finishing, Zabuza shouted out "Suiton: Daibakufuu no Jutsu" the water surrounding Zabuza formed into a huge ball and was launched at Tsunade.
Tsunade faced the incoming ball of water, a look of determination of her face. This is going to hurt later she thought and charged at the incoming projectile. "Konoha ryuu:…" she started "..Getsu Geri!" she then made a spinning kick which sent out what looked to be a crescent of pure charka.
The crescent sliced through the jutsu and continued towards Zabuza who received the full brunt of the attack and sent flying into a tree.
Tsunade looked up from her kneeling position just in time to see three needles impale into the side of Zabuza's head.
"Who?" she started but never got to finish as a person in a mask appeared and approached Zabuza's body. "Thank you for the help" the person started "We have been after him for a few years, Kirigakure extends its' thanks" and with that, the figure disappeared.
"Sensei!" was said by Naruto after arriving at Tsunade's side. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice full of concern.
"I'm fine Naruto" Tsunade managed to say in between ragged breathes.
"You handled yourself pretty well…I'm proud of you" she managed to get out before collapsing on the water and slowly sinking.
"Sensei!" was shouted by all three members of Team 7 as they saw Tsunade collapse.
Tsuzuku
READ & REVIEW PLEASE!
I hope nobody minds that I make up a few Jutsus for Tsunade, seeing as we have not seen her do a lot of jutsus yet.
I'm playing around with the idea of giving Naruto a weapon, any suggestions?
BTW comments and suggestions are welcome.
And I know this may be a little late but many thanks to those who have reviewed so far.