A/N Hey guys, welcome to another chapter and I've been getting reviews about chapter 2 where people are saying that I need professional help but let me be clear by empathizing that this story isn't meant to make you feel comfortable, and that's the point since it'll be showing sensitive issues such as rape, murder, war, and others horrors so while there will be humorous and romantic moments at times, horror is the main focus in this story but you guys are always free to quit reading if it makes you that uncomfortable since I'm not forcing you to read this and not everyone will be able to stomach this.
Also, people are asking if Kurama will be female and are requesting that the tailed beast is one, Kurama won't be and he won't become human either since a human female Kurama is so overdone at this point because while Kurama could become female due to not having a gender, there was no need for it in the anime/manga while it doesn't make sense for Kurama to become human since the giant fox is a proud being and wouldn't degrade himself by becoming human, the one species that made his long life a living hell so sorry if that disappoints you.
Anyway, enough of me rambling so enjoy.
After the bell test was over, we went and got lunch at an Akimichi barbecue restaurant before going our separate ways with me, Naruto, and Sasuke heading home before getting some sleep for tomorrow and before I knew it, two whole months had gone by with me and Kakashi training the three genins while they did D-Rank missions as Kakashi and I taught them how to work together more efficiently by having them do a few exercises.
Although Naruto and the other genin were starting to look slightly annoyed at having to do things like paint a fence, gardening, or babysitting, it was better that they did this since I had requested to do D-Rank missions after my first C-Rank one since I was affected by what I did to those bandits and their dogs so I wanted to do something easier and simple, not to mention that I had been struggling with what that monster had done to me so D-Rank missions helped me cope with my trauma.
Now, we have received a D-Rank mission where the pet cat of the Fire Daimyo's wife had run away and we were tasked to capture the animal before bringing it back, so Kakashi and I were nearby while Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke had set up in a location where the target would show up.
"Reaper Actual here, status," I said into my comms.
"Reaper 1, I'm at point B," Sasuke replied.
"Reaper 2, I'm at point C," Sakura added.
"Reaper 3, I'm at point A," Naruto said before I nodded to myself.
"Understood...hold on, the target is on the move," I informed the others as I saw the cat bolting through the forest and sensed the three genins moving after it before stopping.
"Reaper Actual here, do you have eyes on the target?" Kakashi asked quietly.
"Affirmative, we're approximately five meters and are ready to move in on your order," Naruto responded quietly.
"Copy that, move in," I ordered and waited for a short time until Kakashi and I contacted the others again.
"Can you verify ribbon, right ear?" Kakashi asked.
"Affirmative, we got a positive ID," Sasuke reported before I smiled slightly.
"Copy that, mission complete so good work everyone," I stated before Kakashi and I headed over to where the others were and found Naruto being scratched many times in the face by the cat as I grimaced at how painful that looked.
After that, we headed back to the Hokage to hand in our mission report before giving the cat over to the Fire Daimyo's wife, who proceeded to squeeze the cat a little too tight as she cooed at it and not noticing that she was practically strangling the poor thing as I cringed.
"Damn, no wonder the poor thing ran away," I told Kurama, who hummed in response as the woman paid one of the people manning the large desk and left the room while Hiruzen looked through the list of requests.
"Now then, for team 7's next mission, we have several available tasks...huh? Among them, babysitting the chief counselor's three-year-old, helping his wife to do the shopping, digging up potatoes-" Hiruzen listed and I cleared my throat to get his attention since Naruto and the other genin looked irritated.
"Forgive me for the interruption, Lord Hokage, but Kakashi and I have been talking and we think that team 7 has gained enough experience to handle a C-Rank mission," I cut in politely with Kakashi nodding in agreement.
"I agree, their teamwork has been improved significantly and we believe they're ready," Kakashi pitched in stoically, then Hiruzen stared at us with a calculating look in his eyes as he studied us with it feeling like hours are passing by until he smiled.
"Very well, since you two believe they're ready, I'll be giving you a C-Rank mission where you'll be escorting a client back to his homeland," Hiruzen told us before calling someone to let in our new client, just before the door behind us slid open and we turned to look at who was walking in.
I saw a middle-aged man walk into the room and studied him carefully, seeing that he was wearing casual clothes with glasses but it was the sake bottle he was holding and the swaying movement that told me he was drunk as shit while I wasn't impressed in the slightest as the man blinked at us wearily and scoffed before taking a swig from the bottle.
"What the...a bunch of little brats? And you, the shorty...you really expect me to believe that you're a ninja?" the man slurred as he pointed at Naruto, causing him to start scowling since he was sensitive about his height.
"You don't need to worry, you're in safe hands," I reassured and the man drank from his bottle again while not looking convinced.
"Whatever...I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder and I must return to my home country because I'm building a bridge there that will change our world and I expect you to get me there safely, even if it costs you your lives," Tazuna grumbled while I was a little irritated that we had to deal with this guy, though I was sure that things would be just fine as Kakashi looked at the three genins.
"All right, pack up the essentials and meet us at the east gate in an hour," Kakashi instructed before he and I left with Tazuna and I went home to pack up until I met back up with Kakashi and Tazuna until we headed to the gate to wait for the others.
Pretty soon, the genin met up with us and we left the village after signing ourselves out before walking down the path that led away from the village and stayed quiet for a short time until Sakura looked at Tazuna.
"Say, Mr. Tazuna?" Sakura spoke up and the man looked at her.
"What is it?" Tazuna grumbled.
"Your country is the land of waves, right?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah, what of it?" Tazuna questioned and Sakura looked at me and Kakashi.
"Senseis, there are ninjas in that country too, aren't there?" Sakura inquired curiously before Kakashi and I shook our heads.
"No, there are no ninjas in the land of waves but, in other countries, there are hidden villages with their own different customs and cultures while also having ninja...I'm sure you know this already because of the academy's history lessons but to the people of this continent, the existence of ninja villages means strength, military strength.
In other words, that's how they protect themselves and maintain the balance of power with neighboring countries while the ninja villages are not controlled by any government, so they're independent and have equal status.
Now, a small island like the land of waves has natural protection from the sea so there's no need for a ninja village while the five elemental nations that do possess ninja villages are the lands of fire, water, lightning, wind, and earth as they each occupy vast territories and are known as the five great shinobi nations with the land of fire having the village hidden in the leaves, the land of water having the village hidden in the mist, the land of lightning having the village hidden in the clouds, the land of wind having the village hidden in the sand, and the land of earth having the village hidden in the stones.
Only the leaders of these hidden villages are permitted the name Kage, which means shadow so there's Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage, Tsuchikage, those five leaders or shadows if you will are the ones that reign over thousands of ninjas," I explained calmly as the others listened carefully.
"Yeah, I learned about that in the academy so it's incredible that the Hokage is such an important man," Sakura said thoughtfully before Kakashi smiled reassuringly.
"Well, anyway, we won't be facing any ninjas on a C-Ranked mission so we'll have nothing to worry about," Kakashi assured and Sakura looked relieved.
"So, we're not going to run into any foreign enemy ninja or anything like that?" Sakura asked and I shook my head.
"Nah, the most we'll encounter with are bandits and they're easy to deal with, so it's not likely that we'll run into any enemy ninja," I stated warmly, though I noticed Tazuna looking slightly nervous and that raised my suspicions.
"Seth, I can detect his dishonesty so watch yourself because the old drunk is hiding something," Kurama warned as the others and I kept walking, then I sent a mental acknowledgment to the giant fox while I kept my eye on Tazuna.
Later on, we continued walking until I noticed a puddle on the side of the road and, while that normally would be something I wouldn't pay attention to, it hadn't rained in weeks and the killer intent I picked up told me that we were going to be ambushed so I subtly signaled to Kakashi about my concerns and he signaled back that he understood as we passed the puddle and I got ready just before two men with respirators came at us from behind and restrained Kakashi with sharp chains as the others were taken off guard.
"One little piggy," one of the men said sadistically before he and his friend pulled, ripping Kakashi apart while the others looked horrified until the two men came after me.
"Two little piggies," the second man growled eagerly while my eyes hardened and I threw a kunai and shuriken at the chain.
The shuriken struck the chain and pinned it to the ground while the kunai made sure to keep it stuck as it forced the men to release the chain from their clawed gauntlets, then one went after me while the other headed straight for Tazuna before I pulled out my sword and went into a combat stance.
The man attacked me by trying to shred me with the claws and I easily dodged before following up with non-lethal slashes that injured the man until I moved at lightning speed as he tried to recover, catching the man off guard as I got behind him and knocked him out with a swift hit to the head by the blunt edge of my sword as the man collapsed and it caught his friend's attention.
"Shit!" the man swore loudly, only the distraction cost him as Naruto and Sasuke ran forward to attack him with Naruto striking the man's torso with rabbit punches and sending him up into the air with a nasty kick before Sasuke finished it off by using Naruto as a stepping stool to jump up and knocked the man into the ground with an ax-kick as it rendered the attacker unconscious from the force, just before Kakashi left the woods and I holstered my sword.
"Naruto, Sasuke, good work incapacitating the other attack and nice work Sakura, for keeping the bridge builder safe," Kakashi complimented as he and I dragged the unconscious men over to a tree before tieing them up so that we could get answers from them until I looked over at Tazuna with a hard glare.
"By the way, Tazuna..." I trailed off and he flinched at the cold look I was giving him.
"Y-Yeah, what?" Tazuna stuttered nervously.
"We need to talk," I said darkly before the bridge builder gulped at how pissed I was.
Normally, I was a calm man that kept my cool nowadays, but I was livid that Tazuna lied to us and nearly got three genins killed, two of which who are my adopted sons so being pissed at him was an understatement at the moment as the two men who attacked us started regaining consciousness.
"If you're wondering who they are, they're missing-nin known as the demon brothers from the village hidden in the mist, where their specialty is tracking and ambushing the enemy when they least expect it while they also keep fighting until they or their enemy winds up dead," Kakashi said as the men glowered up at us.
"How did you know about our ambush?" the first man asked and I sent him a deadpan look.
"A puddle on a clear day when it hasn't rained in weeks? That tactic might've worked in the land of water, but not here since it doesn't rain every day so that was your mistake and it cost you because of that," I replied stoically while Tazuna stared at me and Kakashi.
"In that case, why did one of you hid while leaving the other jonin and three genins to do the fighting?" Tazuna inquired in confusion.
"We could've taken them out quickly, but we wouldn't have figured out the real reason as to why they did attack us so we needed to discover who their real target is and what their motives were," Kakashi pointed out as he sent Tazuna a stern glare.
"Hey, what the hell are you getting at?" Tazuna retorted defensively and flinched when I scowled at him.
"Well, it would've made sense if they went after me and Kakashi since our names are in the bingo book, but one of them specifically went to try and kill you so when you think about that and how you started looking slightly nervous when I said to Sakura that we wouldn't be dealing with enemy ninja during the mission, that proves that you've been withholding information and that's not acceptable," I said coldly and Tazuna sighed.
"You're right, I shouldn't have lied and I swear that I'll explain everything once we take a boat to the land of waves," Tazuna stated reluctantly, and I went over to the demon brothers before grabbing the ninja wire that was restraining them.
"If you'll excuse me, I need to deal with this garbage so wait here," I said before I dragged the demon brothers into the forest and kept moving until we were deep enough in the forest before I dropped them.
"So, are you going to slit our throats and leave our bodies here for the bears?" the second man inquired and I stared down at them with no sympathy in my eyes.
"No, because I have a better idea in mind and I'll get more information by searching through your memories," I stated grimly until my eyes glazed over before my body shuddered and fleshy tendrils burst out to stab every part of the demon brothers until they broke apart into tiny pieces before they could scream, then the tendrils flew back into my body with the pieces and I assimilated them with memories flowing into my mind as I gained a better understanding of what was really going on.
I sighed as I left the area and headed back to the others before we continued walking and eventually got a ride on a small boat to head to the land of waves as we traveled across the water with mist surrounding us at a certain point and the driver cut off the engine before he started paddling the boat gently while we drifted to our destination, just as I kept an eye open until the ara became misty and I could barely see around us anymore.
"This fog's so thick that you can't see anything," Sakura pointed out uneasily in a quiet tone and I nodded.
"Making it a perfect opportunity for us to be ambushed so stay alert," I agreed softly as I made sure to keep my eyes and ears open during our trip to the land of waves.
"The bridge isn't far now and our destination's just up ahead, the land of waves," the driver informed us before I noticed something in the distance up ahead that looked like a structure of some kind.
I squinted my eyes and leaned forward to get a better look as we approached the structure, then we got close enough to see that the structure was a massive bridge that was still unfinished and I couldn't help but be impressed as we started passing it and Naruto let out a quiet whistle.
"Whoa, that looks incredible," Naruto muttered in astonishment and Tazuna looked proud to hear that until Kakashi and I made eye-contact with him and he grimaced.
"Tazuna, you told us that you would explain everything to us once we were out on the water so, before we reach the pier, tell us why people are after you but understand that we will end the mission and leave you there if you don't tell us the truth," Kakashi warned sternly, causing Tazuna to look down with an expression of guilt before he resumed eye-contact with us.
"Very well, I'll tell you the truth to make up for lying to you and putting you all in danger, but I want to tell you everything so that you have a better understanding of why I deceived you into guarding me during my trip back to my home.
Basically, the one who's after me is a very cruel man who will stop at nothing to see me dead," Tazuna told us, then Kakashi and I shared a look before regaining our attention on the bridge builder.
"So, who is this person that wants to kill you?" I questioned seriously as Tazuna sighed tiredly.
"You know him, or I'm sure you heard his name before so he is one of the wealthiest men...the shipping magnet, Gato," Tazuna continued and that got my attention since I recognized the name and so did Kakashi, judging by his uncovered eye widening in surprise.
"Wait, Gato? As in the CEO and founder of Gato Transport? He's a businessman who's involved in most of the shipping lanes across the elemental nations so everyone knows him," Kakashi pointed out and Tazuna started looking grim.
"Gato is a very powerful tycoon from a famous company, that's true, but below the surface...with the same ruthless methods he uses to take over businesses and nations, he sells drugs and contraband by using gangs and ninja.
It was one year ago when Gato first set his sights on the land of waves, coming to our island and using his vast wealth to take total control of our transport and shipping while anyone who tried to get in his way simply...disappeared.
In an island nation, a man who controls the sea controls everything ranging from finance, government, and our very lives but there is one thing he fears and that's the bridge because once it is complete, it will join us to the mainland and that will break his control on us," Tazuna explained while I started looking thoughtful before I sighed.
"So, that's why he wants you dead because you're trying to screw his business over and Gato didn't like that...okay, I understand as to why you hired ninja to keep you safe but you still should've been honest from the start since I'm sure the leaf village would've worked something out with you because I'm guessing the reason why you lied in the first place was that you didn't have the money to pay for a B or A-Rank mission," I commented and Tazuna nodded.
"Exactly, the land of waves is a small impoverished nation where even our country's nobility doesn't have the funds to pay for a B or A-Rank mission while the common hard-working people who are building this bridge can't pay for a high-ranking mission since it's too expensive.
Listen, if you end this mission when you drop me ashore, there will be no bridge since I'll be dead before I can even begin my journey home, but don't feel bad about that since only my sweet little grandson would be upset and cry for his poor old grandfather while my daughter will hate all leaf ninja, denouncing and blaming you for abandoning her father and living her life in constant depression.
Oh well, it's not your fault so forget about it," Tazuna remarked with a gleam in his eyes while the rest of us sweatdropped.
"I have to admit, that's actually clever of him to guilt-trip all of you into continuing the mission," Kurama commented teasingly with a chuckle, making me twitch slightly before I let out a slight groan.
"Well, we're already deep in it so we might as well continue the mission," Kakashi said with a shrug and I nodded reluctantly before Tazuna smiled at us.
"Oh, I'm very grateful," Tazuna told us cheerfully while I stared at him unamusingly for making us continue the mission as we kept traveling to the land of waves.
Later on, we arrived in the land of waves and thanked the boatman before beginning our travel to Tazuna's house as we left the town we arrived in and entered the forest, walking down the path to Tazuna's house as the mist had cleared up but I was still on high alert since the next enemy we would face would be a jonin this time until I detected something to our right and pulled out a kunai to throw it into the bushes with the sound of it hitting something.
Everyone stayed still as I pulled out my sword during my approach to the bushes, moving them aside and discovering that my kunai had killed a rabbit with white fur as it was pinned against a tree with my kunai impaling it while I walked over and knelt down to pull the kunai out of the rabbit after holstering my sword before looking back at the others while holstering my kunai.
"False alarm, just a rabbit," I notified the others as I slung the dead animal over my right shoulder and met back up with the others before Tazuna and Sakura looked green at the sight of the dead rabbit, Naruto and Sasuke looked thoughtful, and Kakashi frowned while I knew what he was thinking since that animal was a snow rabbit and their fur would only turn white during winter, so the only thing that made sense was if the animal was raised indoors.
At that moment, I picked up a burst of killer intent, and the sound of something fast approaching made me and Kakashi look to see a large sword flying at us with the others noticing and widening their eyes in alarm.
"Get down!" Kakashi alerted, causing us to drop to the ground with me and Kakashi both on one knee as I let go of the dead rabbit and the sword flew over us before it embedded itself into the side of a tree near us, then a man appeared on the handle as we all stood up and I studied our newest enemy with a calculating look.
I could see that the man was in his twenties and was entirely shirtless with bandages covering his face as he wore gray pants and sandals while he also had arm and leg warmers on with a cow fur pattern on them, though it was the mist headband with a slash in it where I recognized the man and tensed up significantly as Kakashi and I stepped forward a couple of feet.
"Well, well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, missing-nin from the village hidden in the mist," Kakashi commented casually and Zabuza chuckled amusingly.
"And you two are Kakashi Hatake and Seth Mercer, the copy ninja and the secret stealer of souls so talk about my lucky day since you both have pretty hefty bounties in the bingo book, and fighting you two will be fun indeed.
Too bad, but I'm here for the bridge builder so hand him over," Zabuza replied before I looked back at the three genins.
"Team 7, stay back because that man is too dangerous to take on with your current level of training, now get into a manji formation and protect the bridge builder," I instructed seriously as I pulled out my sword and got into a combat stance, then the three genins got into a manji formation around Tazuna just as Kakashi reached for his forehead protector and pulled the left side up to reveal a scar on his face and a three tomoe Sharingan eye as Zabuza started looking more eager.
"Well, looks like I get to see the Sharingan in action so talk about one hell of an honor but, unlucky for you and the other jonin, my assassination unit and I had a standing order to kill you both on sight," Zabuza said just as the area around us started getting covered in mist and I narrowed my eyes as they became steely.
"Sorry, but we're not handing the bridge builder over to you so I guess that you'll have to be disappointed," I stated and Zabuza chuckled.
"So, I'll have to kill you both first, eh Seth? So be it," Zabuza remarked before he body-flickered away from his sword while yanking it out from the tree until he appeared in the middle of the lake nearby as he stood on the water, then he did a hand sign and started building up his chakra before he disappeared and I tensed up.
"Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, stay alert because Zabuza is known for being an expert of the silent killing technique, a lethal attack that occurs so fast that you won't even realize what happened until you're dead.
The Sharingan cannot stop it so don't lower your guard for even a second," I warned grimly just before the mist started getting thicker and I kept gazing around as I held my sword in front of me.
"Seth, I cannot pick up his chakra because of the mist being covered in it so stay alert," Kurama told me and I mentally acknowledged him before returning my attention to the environment around me.
"Eight points...larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart, now which will be my kill point?" Zabuza wondered sadistically, and I tried to locate where the source of his voice was coming from but no luck so far as I got ready to defend myself.
Suddenly, Kakashi created a burst of chakra to clear up the mist and I did the same thing as it became easier to see around us, then I heard Sasuke breathing heavily and saw him about to stab himself with his kunai while fear and panic was in his eyes.
"Sasuke, breathe and remember your training because your team needs you to stay focused!" I called out loudly, causing Sasuke to snap out of it and look at me while Kakashi looked back to smile at him.
"Don't worry, we won't allow our comrades to die and that's a promise," Kakashi reassured and Zabuza scoffed.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Zabuza stated just before he suddenly appeared in the middle of the group behind me and Kakashi, causing the others to start looking alarmed as Zabuza went to swing his sword.
Reacting quickly, Kakashi and I zipped over to stab him from the front and back before I noticed that he was bleeding water and the real Zabuza came out of nowhere to slice us into pieces as the clone broke apart into a puddle of water, then I slashed my sword before it and Zabuza's clanged together as we struggled to push each other back and Kakashi went to attack Zabuza from the right.
Zabuza jumped back to avoid getting sliced by a kunai and stood at a safe distance before Kakashi and I looked at each other to nod, then we moved like a blur before our blades collided with Zabuza's as it turned into a fierce fight with our weapons striking each other quickly until I leaped up into the air and do a spinning kick to knock Zabuza back, just as I twirled and kicked my sword at Zabuza like a bullet as he knocked it away.
Kakashi moved like lightning as he attacked Zabuza with me taking out two kunai and twirling them into reverse grips and I joined the fight while Zabuza summoned another water clone to keep himself from getting overwhelmed as the clone went after me and I parried its attacks quickly before slicing it twice and kicking it apart before I summoned a shadow clone and we charged at Zabuza from both sides while he was distracted with Kakashi, making him kick the silver-haired jonin back until he swung his sword and it made me jump up while my clone was dispelled from the sudden hit.
At that moment, Kakashi appeared from behind Zabuza with a kunai against his neck and it made the missing-nin pause before scoffing at how he was ambushed from behind while I kept him busy.
"Don't move, now you're finished," Kakashi declared coldly with steely eyes as I holstered my two kunai and went to get my sword, which was stuck in a tree just as Zabuza chuckled amusingly.
"Finished? You and Seth really don't get it, do you? You both are good and have given me a good fight, but I'll never be killed by you two...though I have to admit that you both nearly got me a few times so you should be flattered since no one is able to do that.
Very impressive, but not good enough," Zabuza said just before another one appeared behind Kakashi as the one in front of the leaf shinobi collapsed into a puddle of water and my eyes widened as Zabuza went to swing his sword.
Kakashi ducked to prevent getting decapitated as Zabuza struck the ground, then he used the momentum to spin around and kick Kakashi into the lake as Zabuza went after him and I moved to intercept the missing-nin before a water clone came out of nowhere to attack me, the distraction preventing me from stopping Zabuza in time as Kakashi surfaced before Zabuza moved behind Kakashi and imprisoned him in a ball of water while I dealt with the water clone and glared at Zabuza.
'Dammit, he took us off guard so he's more skilled than I thought,' I thought as Zabuza conjured up a few water clones and I looked back at the others.
"Listen carefully, fall back and get the bridge builder to a secure location while I try to save Kakashi!" I ordered urgently as I got into a combat stance and Zabuza laughed.
"Kids wearing headbands and acting like ninjas, but you know what? A real ninja is someone who has survived numerous deadly situations so, basically, only you can call yourselves ninja once you're good enough to be listed in my bingo book like Seth Mercer over there," Zabuza stated gleefully as a clone did a hand sign and the area became covered in mist again, then Naruto was suddenly kicked into the air by a clone with his forehead protector flying off while I was forced to defend myself against the other three that ganged up on me.
"Everyone, fall back and get the bridge builder out of here because he's focused on keeping me trapped in here and his clones can't go far from him, now run!" Kakashi shouted as I struggled to take down the three clones until tentacles came out of my back and speared the clones to dispel them before I met up with the others and glanced at Zabuza with a calculating frown.
'Shit, I can't get close to the real Zabuza because of his clones and I can't use Kurama's chakra or elemental jutsu since that will only put Kakashi in danger, so the only option left is to fall back and get Tazuna to a secure location before coming up with a sound strategy to free Kakashi,' I thought logically as I got ready to fall back with Team 7, then I was taken entirely off guard when Naruto and Sasuke suddenly charged at the clone with focused expressions.
"What the hell are you two doing?!" I shouted incredulously as Sasuke threw shurikens at the clone and it swung its sword to knock them away while Sasuke jumped up and dove down to stab the clone as Naruto went to attack the clone's side.
The clone reacted by grabbing Sasuke by the neck and throwing him away before kicking Naruto back to us, then they got up and I noticed that Naruto had his forehead protector as he tied it back onto his head and I was relieved that they didn't get killed.
"What were you two thinking?! I told you that Zabuza's too dangerous to take on with your current level of training, now the only option we have left is to fall back and get the bridge builder to safety before focusing on freeing Kakashi!" I scolded harshly and was shocked when Naruto shook his head.
"Sorry sensei, but we're going to have to refuse that order because, while breaking the rules makes you garbage, abandoning your friends makes you even worse than garbage so we're not going anywhere until we save Kakashi-sensei," Naruto stated with determination in his voice, stunning the hell out of me while I couldn't help but be proud of him as Kurama chuckled.
"The kid's got brass ones, that's for damn sure," Kurama commented as Naruto spoke to Sasuke about a plan he came up that would save Kakashi before Zabuza started laughing amusingly.
"Big words for such a little man, so do you really think your plan will help you survive this?" Zabuza wondered and Tazuna started looking guilty as he sighed and gazed at us.
"I'm sorry, all of this is my fault because I wanted my home country to be free, but I won't let that stand in the way of you all rescuing the other jonin so don't worry about me and do what you have to do, now go and save him," Tazuna told us and I nodded before I looked at the others.
"Listen up, if we're going to do this, we need to do it smart because brute force won't work so we need to outsmart him. Naruto, you said that you have a plan to get Kakashi out of there?" I asked and Naruto looked at me.
"Yeah, I do," Naruto replied.
"Good, now I'll distract the water clone while you and Sasuke work together to get Kakashi free and Sakura, keep Tazuna safe since there's a good chance the clone will get past me and head straight to you and the bridge builder, understood?" I instructed and Sakura nodded.
"Got it," Sakura told me before I moved my sword forward into a combat stance and got ready while Zabuza laughed.
"You kids really haven't learned anything, have you? Still playing your little game by pretending to be ninjas...when I was your age, my hands were already stained with blood," Zabuza said and it caused the others to freeze up in horror while Kakashi and I tensed up.
"Zabuza the demon," Kakashi muttered and Zabuza perked up.
"Ah, so I was in your book too, huh?" Zabuza questioned while I looked at the others.
"A while back, in the village hidden in the mist...also known as blood mist village, an academy student had to do one final test before he or she could graduate," I started to explain while Zabuza looked at me in interest.
"Oh, so you and Kakashi know about the graduation exam?" Zabuza asked until I nodded grimly and the others stared at me with confusion.
"W-What graduation exam?" Naruto inquired uneasily before I sighed tiredly as Zabuza chuckled.
"I've heard horror stories about the exam, all of them true and what happens during the exam is not the one in the leaf village that you three know...no, all those kids who trained and ate together while becoming friends are forced to butcher each other in order to pass the exam.
But, ten years ago in the village hidden in the mist, they had to change the exam because one year before that happened, one child without any ninja training approached the class and slaughtered a hundred students on his own," I explained darkly while the others were horrified to hear that as Zabuza sighed blissfully.
"It felt so...good!" Zabuza growled sadistically while the others trembled with terrified looks on their faces.
Suddenly, Zabuza's clone moved so fast that I wasn't able to react in time before it elbowed Sasuke to the ground and stomped his chest, causing the young Uchiha to spat up blood while Naruto conjured up 30 shadow clones before he and the clones charged until they dogpiled Zabuza while I hurried over to check on Sasuke.
Naruto and his clones were thrown off by Zabuza with a swing of his sword as the blond reached into his pack and threw a fuma shuriken at Sasuke, who caught it and that's when I realized what Naruto's plan was while Sasuke seemed to have also figured it out before I charged at the clone and we started clashing our blades together, then Sasuke opened the large shuriken and threw it at the real Zabuza who looked surprised for a moment but he smirked under his bandages and caught the shuriken.
As I quickly overwhelmed the clone and sliced it into a puddle, another fuma shuriken came at Zabuza and it took him off guard before he jumped up to avoid it and I started smiling as the shuriken transformed back into Naruto, who threw a kunai at Zabuza's back while the missing-nin's eyes widened in shock before he was forced to move to the left and pull his hand out of the ball of water, freeing Kakashi and Zabuza looked livid as we went to attack Naruto with the shuriken in his hand.
"I'll gut you, you little shit!" Zabuza snarled viciously as he moved forward with Naruto looking alarmed, then I moved like a blur while Kakashi jumped out of the water before we blocked the shuriken with my sword and a kunai respectively before glaring at Zabuza coldly as he widened his eyes at us.
"Naruto, that was a good strategy so head back to the others while Seth and I finish this," Kakashi told the blond, who nodded and swam back to shore before Zabuza huffed irritably.
"Heh, I just got distracted and lost my grip on the water prison," Zabuza said and I scoffed.
"Don't flatter yourself asshole, you were forced to let go and now it's time to end this," I stated before we all jumped away from each other, then Zabuza proceeded to flip through several hand signs with me and Kakashi doing the same before we channeled our chakra.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" all three of us cried out as three dragons formed from the lake and rose up before mine and Kakashi's collided with Zabuza's, causing tidal waves to break out in the lake as the water dragons burst torrents of water that splashed down to soak all three of us.
After that, Kakashi and I charged to attack Zabuza before his blade collided with ours and we struggled for dominance while Zabuza glared at us, then we jumped back from each other and ran in a circle with me and Kakashi following Zabuza's movements perfectly until he went to do a hand sign with Kakashi and I replicating it while my blue eyes had become the mangekyo Sharingan as the missing-nin's eyes widened in shock.
"Going to do next?" Kakashi questioned and it took Zabuza completely off guard as we copied his movements.
"It pisses you off, doesn't it?" I asked, saying what he was thinking and shocking the missing-nin even further.
"Huh, all you bastards are doing is copying me like fucking monkeys so you can't beat me with such cheap tricks because I'll kill you," Zabuza growled irritably, only Kakashi and I said the same exact thing, and Zabuza's eyes bugged out with veins throbbing to display how enraged he was.
"Once I'm done with you both, you'll never open those damn monkey mouths again!" Zabuza snarled lividly as he started doing more hand signs with me and Kakashi doing the same thing before he started looking stunned as he gazed right behind us and that's when Kakashi and I made our move.
"Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!" Kakashi and I shouted together before a blast of water shot out of the lake and collided into Zabuza, sending the man flying into a tree and I threw kunai at his limbs to immobilize him as Zabuza yelled in pain until Kakashi and I body-flickered over to him, Kakashi appearing on a branch above Zabuza while I appeared in front of the missing-nin as he looked up at me with fear in his eyes.
"C-Can you both...see into...the future?" Zabuza wheezed out as I got my sword ready.
"Yes, and your future is death," I stated coldly before I raised my sword above me to decapitate him.
Before I could kill him, two senbon needles came out of nowhere and struck Zabuza in the neck, finishing the job for me and taking everyone off guard as I quickly looked to see where that came from and saw a mist ninja with an Anbu mask while he was standing on a nearby tree branch, but what surprised me was how he was the same age as Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke while Zabuza's body collapsed to the ground.
'Shit, where the hell did he come from?! Dammit, I couldn't even sense him so this kid is well trained in hiding his chakra,' I thought while Kakashi hopped down from the branch he was crouched on and checked Zabuza's pulse until he shook his head at the rest of us.
"He's dead," Kakashi informed us but I still stared up at the Anbu operative who bowed at us.
"Thank you, I've been tracking Zabuza Momochi for a long time and waited for a chance to finally take him down," the Anbu operative greeted and Kakashi looked up at him while I holstered my sword.
"Judging by your mask, you must be a hunter-nin from the village hidden in the mist," I said stoically while I changed my eyes back to normal and the hunter-nin nodded.
"That's correct," the hunter-nin confirmed while Naruto was struggling to say something.
"I don't believe it...he just took down Zabuza like he was nothing," Naruto muttered in shock and Kakashi looked at him while he stood up.
"Naruto, in this world, there are kids younger than you who are stronger than Seth and I so always remember that," Kakashi stated as the hunter-nin body-flickered down to Zabuza's body and lifted it up.
"I will deal with the remains, so farewell," the hunter-nin told us before he body-flickered away with the body, then I narrowed my eyes suspiciously since something wasn't right about that as Kakashi lowered the left side of his forehead protector to cover his Sharingan and he sighed while I turned to look at the others.
"Listen up, the mission still isn't over yet so let's move out," I ordered while Tazuna chuckled sheepishly.
"Hey, sorry for the trouble I've caused but you can rest at my house once we get there," Tazuna offered and Kakashi nodded.
"That would be appreciated, so thank you," Kakashi replied before we started to leave, then Kakashi suddenly collapsed and it caused everyone to gasp in horror while I hurried over to him and checked to see if he was alright until I sighed in relief.
"He's fine, just passed out from chakra exhaustion so I'm going to have to carry him the rest of the way," I told the others to reassure them as I lifted Kakashi up against my back and we continued moving towards Tazuna's house.
A/N Hey guys, you could see that the fight with Zabuza was more action-packed than what was seen originally and things have gone different with Naruto and Sasuke teaming up this time so I'm going to have fun changing things during the wave arc but what I'm trying to figure out is what should happen during the week-long training event so let me know if you have any ideas that you want to share with me.
As for the fight on the bridge, I'm wondering if I should have Seth team up with Naruto and Sasuke during the fight against Haku since two jonin splitting up would cover more ground, and Naruto and Sasuke would have an advantage against Haku since they would have a jonin with them.
Well, let me know what you think about this chapter and stay tuned.