Chapter 8 – Battle Waverley Bridge
Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do not belong to me
Previously on Secret Keeper: Team 7 arrived in the village of Wave, after injuring the Missing Nin from Kiri, Zabuza. However, their time has run out. Has Kakashi managed to train them enough to survive their second encounter?
CLANG!
Silence fell across the impromptu battle-field, as Zabuza's chuckles faded away. Kakashi's eyes widened, as his brain caught up with what had just happened.
"What the? The hell you came from, Blondie?" Zabuza demanded, bewildered.
Kakashi chuckled weakly.
"I never really introduced you, did I? Naru-chan, meet Zabuza. Zabi, meet Konoha's most unpredictable ninja," he eye-smiled.
"Yo!" Naruto chirped, raising his left hand in greeting – his right holding a kunai in reverse-grip, pressed up against Kubikiribocho's blade seemingly effortlessly. "Sorry I took so long. Ne, Sensei, leave this to me, dattebayo!"
Kakashi frowned slightly, before nodding and waving his hand in a 'go-ahead' motion. Instantly, Naruto's eyes narrowed and a sharp smirk appeared. Zabuza, on the other hand, blinked, before starting to laugh.
"Is Ickle Blondie coming out to play? This will be easy," he chortled.
Naruto's grin sharpened, if possible.
"Yes, he is, Zabi, but when I play, I win."
Zabuza growled.
"It's Zabuza, not Zabi!"
Naruto shrugged.
"If you say so, Zabi," he dismissed.
Zabuza suddenly found himself thrown back across the bridge. Gathering himself, he watched as the small, orange-clad blond calmly retrieved another kunai from his weapons pouch.
"Ready to play, Zabi?" the blond taunted, flashing a grin that looked a little more teeth than smile.
Tossing his head back, Zabuza roared with laughter.
"Oh, I think I'm beginning to like you, gaki! It's such a shame, really, having to kill you-" Zabuza found himself cut off by a cloud of kunai heading straight towards him.
Scoffing, he made a broad sweep with Kubikiribocho, causing most of the kunai to dissolve into smoke. He barely had enough time to re-centre, before the blond was on him, a kunai held in each hand, right in reverse position. Despite the obvious height difference, Naruto actually appeared to be holding his own, matching the former Kiri nin strike for strike, using a combination of speed and agility to keep up.
Appearing to gain an advantage, Zabuza swung his blade up over his head and brought it down, only for Naruto to catch it with his reversed kunai. Easily spinning the kunai round into forward position, the blond simply redirected the blade harmlessly to the side, while bringing up his second kunai and going in for Zabuza's chest, only for the larger to twist away at the last second.
Frustrated, the blond formed a familiar cross seal, creating two clones, who lost no time in charging at their opponent. Zabuza merely blinked at them, before turning them into smoke.
"Really, blondie? Is that the best you could do?" he snorted, peering through the smoke.
"Eh, makes a good distraction, doncha' think?" Naruto shrugged, jumping at him from behind.
Zabuza huffed a laugh, using his sword to toss the blond back across the bridge. Sticking a kunai in his mouth while mid-air, Naruto flipped over, using his now-free hand to catch himself on the bridge, landing in a crouch. Zabuza frowned, as the blond's eyes flashed red for a moment, only to mark it down as a trick of the light due to all the surrounding mist and smoke.
"Ok, play-time's over," Naruto growled round the kunai, rolling up his sleeves to reveal the multi-coloured designs running up and down his arms, much to the adults' surprise. Grinning, the blond lost no time in disappearing his two kunai, before standing up and raising his left hand, palm up, showing an elaborate spiral design. "Last chance, Zabi," he grinned, placing his right fist over the design.
Zabuza's eyes narrowed, before he squared his shoulders.
"Come one, then, blondie, let's dance," he declared, before running at the blond.
Said blond grinned – and just stood there.
"Naruto, baka, move!" Sakura howled at him, her knuckles white from the death-grip on her kunai.
Naruto's grin widened further, before he simply stepped to the side, dodging Zabuza's strike. Pivoting on his leg, the blond increased his spin as his right fist moved up in an arc pattern, clenching a sword handle. By the time he had finished turning, a red-handled katana had appeared, and, following the blond's body movement, slashed towards the Rogue nin's side.
Zabuza's eyes widened, before he jumped back, katana missing him by an inch.
"Y-Yo-You-," he stammered, gaze locked on the new sword.
Naruto smirked.
"You like?" he asked, blue eyes shining with amusement, before reaching his left arm up behind his right shoulder, and drawing a second, blue, blade, causing Zabuza to take a step back.
Seeing he wasn't going to get an answer, Naruto shrugged, before adjusting his grip on the two katanas to mirror the kunai.
"Time to end this," he proclaimed, eyes turning cold, and shifting his weight back onto his right leg. "Uzumaki Senpu!" he called out, spinning onto his left leg.
Zabuza paled, before hurriedly raising his sword in a desperate attempt ti stop the blond whirlwind.
For a while, the only sound heard on the bridge that morning was the clang of metal on metal, as Zabuza barely managed to block the blond's onslaught, but eventually, he succeeded in jumping far enough back out of range.
"Enough! I Yield! Just who are you?" he yelled between breathes. "Or, even, what are you?"
Coming out of his spin, Naruto cocked his head, watching.
"Huh? I thought Kaka-sensei already explained?" he hummed, tapping his chin in thought, before shrugging. "Oh, well, no harm in explaining again, I guess? The name's Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!"
"Uzu-Uzumaki?!" Zabuza exclaimed, paling further – if possible? "You don't look anything like an Uzumaki!" he added, slightly hysterical.
"Kushina-chan?" Tazuna breathed, before groaning. "How'd I miss that? They've practically got the same hot-headed personality? And, are those...Kushina's KATANAS?" he cried out in shock.
"Hold on, what does he mean, look like an Uzumaki?" Sakura frowned.
Tazuna sighed.
"Typically, Uzumaki's have red hair, fiery tempers, and darker eye colours – I don't remember any Uzumaki with light blue eyes. They also tend to be taller," he shrugged.
"Ha! Now, this is sad! The great, big, Missing Nin from Kiri, defeated by a kid!" a voice called out across the bridge, halting further discussion.
"Gato!" Zabuza exclaimed. "The hell you doing here?"
The short man snorted.
"What, you really thought I was going to pay you? You ninjas are so expensive, it's much cheaper to hire a gang, and then let them take you out!" he laughed.
By now, the mist and smoke had mostly cleared, revealing the large gang surrounding the mob boss. Said mob boss grinned.
"Take 'em, boys!" he ordered, grin widening in anticipation.
Seeing the gang shifting restlessly and drawing weapons, Naruto stepped forwards, katanas no longer in sight. Kakashi raised a hand, making to pull his blond charge back, only to freeze at the look of cold focus setting in the blond's face, his left eye seeming to pale, with what looked like a small triangle forming at the top – Kakashi couldn't be sure if it was just the lighting?
"Ne, Sensei, leave this to me, dattebayo." Naruto said, taking a strange, three-pointed kunai from his weapons pouch.
Kakashi took one look at the strange kunai, before his face hardened in resignation, and he nodded.
"Sasuke, Sakura," he barked, gaining the rest of Team 7's attention. "I'm enacting Code Zero. I trust you know what that means?" he asked sharply, causing the two genin to nod. "Tazuna, Zabi, and Hunter-san, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't mention this to anyone?" he asked.
Zabuza's eyes narrowed.
"I'm going to guess that 'Code Zero' relates in some way to Village Secrets?" he asked.
Kakashi simply nodded, watching Naruto as he appeared to just be standing there, playing with his strange kunai, but was in fact actually gathering his chakra.
"This is your first, and last, warning," the blond called out. "Turn back, now."
The gang of thugs paused long enough to look the twelve-year-old over, before bursting into laughter and beginning to advance. Naruto sighed, before straightening and throwing the kunai, running through a series of hand seals.
"Shuriken Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" he called, causing the kunai to duplicate and spread out across the bridge's expanse.
The gang of thugs started laughing harder, having stopped advancing at the called jutsu.
"Looks like you missed, kid!" one of them chuckled. "Not much of a ninja, are ya?"
Emboldened by the blond's bad aim, they broke into a run, Gato calling out encouragements from behind. Sasuke and Sakura frowned, questions brimming up, as they watched. Their blond teammate didn't seem upset that none of the kunai had hit, so therefore, it must be part of a plan? Sasuke's frown increased, his brain trying to tell him something, he just couldn't recall what, it was beginning to get frustrating. Beside him, Sakura was having similar trouble, muttering quietly under her breath, something about one of the history books from the Academy?
By now, the first of the thugs had reached the kunai'ed area, and were watching the blond closely. Grimly, Naruto reached into his weapons pouch and withdrew a couple of ordinary kunai, holding them in his preferred position, while shifting his weight onto his left leg, moving his right back, increasing his stance.
Seeing this, the leaders of the charge flinched, and started increasing their speed, wanting to remove the threat quickly.
"Ne, want to know a secret?" Naruto called out suddenly, before giving a toothy grin. "I never miss." As he proclaimed this, his knees bent slightly, before small bursts of … lightning? started appearing in the air around him, causing Sakura to gasp, her eyes widening in shock. Taking a deep breath, Naruto tightened his grip on the kunai handles, allowing his chakra to continue filling the air while the last of the gang entered the designated 'kill zone'.
Once the last of the thugs had entered the zone, Naruto closed his eyes with a sigh, before taking a step forwards, and disappearing in a flash of lightning, causing cries of shock to fill the air. Kakashi sighed, watching closely as his young charge re-appeared in the midst of the gang.
With a sharp twist and a kick, Naruto once again disappeared, leaving a group of falling thugs behind. Confused, the rest of the thugs broke up, some continuing forwards, while others tried to go back or to the sides. Naruto once again appeared, this time at the back, leaving more fallen behind.
In no time at all, Naruto was the only one left standing in the kill zone, surrounded by blood-soaked wood peppered with the strange kunai, and the bodies of the dead thugs. Due to the speed he had been moving at, no blood had managed to fall on him.
"W-Wh-What just happened?!" Zabuza stammered, staring at the blond, who was currently facing away from them, his focus locked on the now-terrified mob boss, who was seemingly frozen on the spot.
"Hiraishin no jutsu," Sakura breathed, staring at her teammate. "But how? There's literally only two shinobi who could use it – the Nidaime Hokage who created the justu, and Yondaime? How could he learn it?" she asked, her eyes filled with confusion, and a little bit of hunger for knowledge.
Kakashi sighed.
"There's actually three others in Konoha I know who can use Hirashin. And, no. I'm not going to tell you who. It's an extremely complex jutsu, requiring the use of advanced fuinjutsu, and a ton of chakra. Pretty much the only reason Naruto can use it is down to his Uzumaki heritage, as they have large amounts of chakra naturally. In fact, I'd be surprised if either of you had enough chakra to use Hirashin by the time you make jounin. And, while we're on this subject, I don't want either of you attempting to make shadow clones til you're at least chunin, and preferably with, if not me, a jounin present, chakra exhaustion can kill." Kakashi said firmly, gaining nods from his two genin.
"Ba-Bakemono!" Gato appeared to have finally found his voice, pointing at the blond.
Said blond merely tilted his head, before snorting.
"You must be talking about yourself, ne?" he asked innocently.
"N-n-no, I," Gato stammered, eyes darting around nervously. "Do you not see that?!" he cried hysterically, gesturing the other assembled ninjas to the blond.
"See what?" Kakashi asked mildly.
"That! His eyes..." Gato trailed off.
Naruto blinked.
"There's nothing wrong with my eyes, although there could be something wrong with your's, ne, Sensei?" he asked, turning towards Kakashi.
Turning shakily, Gato made to escape while the blond wasn't looking, only to find the way blocked by the villagers.
"Ah, now, let's not be hasty?" he gulped, raising his hands placatingly.