A Hero's Journey

by mugiwara-no-lucy

Boruto has always wanted to know more about his father, especially his past when he was younger. Thanks to a forbidden jutsu in a scroll found in the Hokage's office, Boruto and his teammates find themselves traveling through Naruto's memories. However, not all things are meant to be seen. How will Boruto react to seeing his father's various triumphs, pains, successes and failures?

9. A New Journey! To the Land of Waves!

Hard to believe we're coming up on ten chapters of this story! It feels like it was only yesterday when I first started this story and with the right amount of time, this story will eventually reach its conclusion since I already have the last chapter of this story typed up and it's just sitting on my hard drive waiting to be published! When will we reach the ending of this story? God only knows.

Now with all that said, let the chapter begin already! ^_^

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"So that's how one big happy family was born." Mitsuki chuckled as the mist faded around the memory, leaving Team Konohamaru in the literal dark.

"It's funny. They all failed the test miserably yet came out passing it in the end." Sarada mused.

"Yeah but sure they found out the meaning of the test a bit late but at least it wasn't too late." Boruto reminded Sarada.

"You're right but I just wonder what would've happened if dad and mom didn't give Lord Seventh their food?" Sarada appeared deep in thought.

"It's a bit too late to dwell on what ifs." Mitsuki reminded the Uchiha.

As if to back up Mitsuki's point, the bluish-purplish foggy mist suddenly enveloped the three before they found themselves in the middle of a forest.

"Huh? I wonder what we're doing all the way out here." Boruto asked.

As if to answer his question, the sound of bustling footsteps rang through the forest as familiar streaks of blue, orange and red zipped past Team Konohamaru.

"And I think we're about to find out." Mitsuki mused as it was obvious Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were on a mission of sorts.

"Follow them!" Sarada ordered as the three genin followed the younger versions of Team Seven as they all lunged at a small, shadowy figure before Naruto was able to catch it and grip it tightly.

"I got him! I got him!" Naruto grinned triumphantly as the "small, shadowy figure" was revealed to be none other than a lost, stray cat with a red ribbon on its ear.

"So that's their mission, huh? Playing lost and found with a cat?" Boruto snickered, remembering their mission to subdue a panda bear on the loose.

"I think it's kind of cute." Sarada giggled as the cat was scratching on Naruto's face though neither Sasuke nor Sakura looked all that interested in helping Naruto as Sakura was having a laugh at Naruto's expense while Sasuke was preoccupied with talking to Kakashi on the radio ear piece he had on his ear.

"Can you verify ribbon, right ear?" The voice of Kakashi rang through Sasuke's ear piece.

"Affirmative. We got a positive ID." Sasuke confirmed to Kakashi.

"Right, lost pet Tora captured. Mission Accomplished." Kakashi said with satisfaction evident in his voice before Naruto decided to speak and give his two cents.

"Can't we get a better mission than this!? I hate cats!" Naruto yelled through the radio.

"….I hope Kakashi-Sensei didn't go deaf from that…" Sarada muttered, cringing at how loud Naruto yelled through his radio as she could only imagine the agony that Kakashi's poor ear drums were in.

"Can't blame him." Boruto shrugged as the team made their way back to the Ninja Academy where they returned the lost cat to the wife of the Fire Feudal Lord. Although Team Konohamaru felt as much sympathy for Tora as they could while they watched him practically getting smothered by the huge woman.

"…I feel so bad for that cat." Boruto cringed as he thought that his mother had given hard, tight hugs.

"At least we know why it ran away." Mitsuki chuckled as Naruto shared in Mitsuki's amusement.

"Haha, stupid cat! That kitty deserves to be squashed!" Naruto snickered at Tora's expense as the other members of Team Seven actually looked horrified for Tora.

"No wonder he ran away…." Sakura muttered with sympathy evident in her voice as Hiruzen looked over a slip of paper while no doubt trying to decide what the next mission for Team Seven would be.

"Now then, for Squad Seven's next mission, we have several available tasks. Among them, babysitting the chief counselor's three year old, helping his wife do the shopping, digging up potatoes and-"Hiruzen tried reading off a list of possible tasks that Team Seven could do but a certain blonde knucklehead was clearly having none of it.

"No! I want to go on a real mission! Something challenging and exciting! Not this little kid stuff!" Naruto spat with crossed arms.

"I can't really blame him." Boruto found himself agreeing with his father while Sarada rubbed her forehead in slight annoyance.

"I'd wonder how they'd do on some of the missions that we received." Sarada asked, more to herself than her teammate.

While Sasuke and Sakura's faces showed irritation, internally they were agreeing whole-heartedly with Naruto while Kakashi shot Hiruzen a sympathetic, apologetic look.

Naturally, Naruto's rudeness didn't sit well with Iruka who immediately rose to his feet in rage.

"How dare you!? You're just a brand-new Genin with no experience! Like everyone else, you start with simple missions to develop your skills and prove yourself!" Iruka scolded Naruto for his rude, loud outburst who didn't look the least remorseful for being rude. Rather this seemed to ignite Naruto's blunt, persona even more.

"Are you serious!? Babysitting's not a mission! It's just a stupid-!" Naruto tried arguing back before a punch to his skull shut him up completely as he was sent falling to the floor in a comical heap, making him clench his sore noggin in pain.

"Will you put a lid on it?" Kakashi asked, him being the one who clocked Naruto's skull.

"Can't say he didn't deserve it." Boruto said with apathy towards his father's plight evident in his voice.

"Naruto! It seems you do not understand the tasks you have been given. Listen, many different kinds of requests come into our village every day, from babysitting to assassinations." Hiruzen put his pipe down while gesturing to the different mission scrolls scattered across the table that he and Iruka were sitting at.

"These requests are carefully recorded, analyzed and then ranked A, B, C or D, depending on their difficulty. We ninja are also ranked by ability-Hokage at the top, Jonin, Chunin and Genin at the bottom. At the highest level, we select the missions and assign them to ninja who have the appropriate skills and experience. And if the mission is successful we receive a fee that supports the village and our work. Since you are untried Genin just starting down the Shinobi path, you are given D-level assignments, of course." Hiruzen explained to the Genin before his eyes widened and his face burned when he realized no one, not even Kakashi, was paying him any attention.

"So I had this tonkotsu ramen yesterday and-"Naruto was busy relaying the details of a ramen experience he had to his team.

"Silence!" Hiruzen yelled as Team Konohamaru snickered at Hiruzen's anger.

"I think they're more interested in Lord Seventh's ramen adventures than listening to Lord Third." Mitsuki laughed.

"Okay I can see Auntie Sakura being slightly interested but Uncle Sasuke and Old Man Kakashi?"Boruto grinned as Kakashi at least had the decency to look at least slightly embarrassed and remorseful for ignoring the Hokage.

"Oh, sorry." Kakashi sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he apologized to Hiruzen.

Naruto, on the other hand, had no remorse for his actions but rather faced the old Hokage with a face of utter defiance on his face.

"Ugh! You always lecture me like you're my grandfather or something! But I'm not the little brat who used to pull pranks all the time. I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission! Hmph!" Naruto turned his back to the Hokage with a childish pout on his face as he crossed his arms.

Team Konohamaru looked at Naruto with faces full of amusement and amazement.

"It's so funny seeing dad acting like that when he'll be like Old Man Third in like twenty years." Boruto snickered.

"And you're Lord Seventh in the past." Sarada snorted at Boruto's reaction.

"Hey! I have more tact than him at least!" Boruto yelled.

"Boruto is right about that." Mitsuki added in support of his friend as Sarada merely shook her head at the two.

"Birds of a feather really flock together." Sarada mused as Kakashi rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment at Naruto's embarrassment.

"I'm definitely going to hear about this later…" Kakashi groaned as he was no doubt anticipating a hard tongue lashing from Hiruzen and even Iruka at the end of this meeting.

However rather than being irate at Naruto's disrespectful attitude, Iruka and even Hiruzen chuckled good-heartedly as they seemed to be inspired by Naruto's words.

"Naruto wants us to know that he's not a brat but a former brat and he wants a mission. So be it." Hiruzen smiled as he put his pipe to his mouth getting surprised looks from the Genin in the room.

"Guess we'll be finally getting to the good stuff now." Boruto grinned, eager to see what kind of mission that Team Seven would get.

"Since you are so determined, I'm going to give you a C-ranked mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey." Hiruzen smiled as Naruto's look immediately perked up as he hastily turned around while restraining himself from literally latching onto Hiruzen and giving him a huge, grateful hug.

"Bodyguards, huh?" Sarada asked.

"I wonder who?" Boruto also asked.

"Really!? Yes! Who? Who? Are we guarding a princess!? Or some counselor!?" Naruto broadly grinned as Hiruzen's smile only widened.

"Don't be so impatient. I will bring him in now. Send in our visitor." Hiruzen ordered as the door opened behind him revealing a bespectacled middle aged man whose eyes were dazed with a light flush around his cheeks.

"What the? A bunch of little snot-nosed kids?" The man slurred as it was obvious that he was clearly intoxicated.

"Well I can see he's definitely a hard party drinker." Mitsuki joked as Boruto shared his amusement while Sarada didn't.

"It can't be beyond Ten AM here." Sarada noted, looking at the sun in the sky.

"He's probably hung over from a party he had last night." Boruto snickered as the man diverted his eye over to where Naruto was.

"And you, the little one with the idiotic look on your face. You really expect me to believe you're a ninja?" The man jeered at Naruto as he was obviously unaware that the diss was aimed at him as he laughed.

"Hey who's the little one with the idiotic look on his face?" Naruto asked Sasuke and Sakura before it was obvious who the shortest one between the three was.

Naturally Naruto had tried to pulverize the rude old man but he was restrained by Kakashi who had to hold him back by grabbing his huge white collar.

"I'll demolish you! Lemme get my hands on him, I'll destroy him!" Naruto roared as Sasuke looked down in embarrassment while Sakura rubbed her forehead in obvious frustration.

"You can't demolish the client Naruto, it doesn't work that way." Kakashi reminded his student with obvious irritation in his voice as it seemed as if he was starting to regret his earlier in decision in letting Naruto pass.

"Kinda the same with you, huh Boruto?" Sarada grinned at Naruto as he looked at the Uchiha in confusion.

"Whaddaya mean?" Boruto asked.

"Well you're the small fry out of us." Mitsuki smiled as Boruto's cheeks burned in embarrassment.

"No I'm not!" Boruto growled as Sarada smirked at Boruto.

"And how tall are you again?" Sarada smugly crossed her arms as Boruto lost his anger as he looked down in shame.

"…..145 cm…" Boruto answered.

"And I'm 147 cm." Sarada smugly grinned.

"And I'm 149 cm." Mitsuki smiled as Boruto glared at his teammates.

"Oh shut up! I may be shorter than you two for now but I'll get taller than you two, someday!" Boruto growled out.

"Yeah that'll be the day." Sarada snickered as Boruto turned back to the memory, obviously pissed but not looking to get into a battle of the wits with his teammates as the old man finally decided to introduce himself.

"I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder and I must return to my country. I'm building a bridge there that will change our world and I expect you to get me there safely, even if it means giving up your lives." The man known as Tazuna bluntly stated as Sakura looked slightly taken aback as Kakashi was silent while Naruto and even Sasuke looked excited at the idea of getting an actual ninja mission instead of dumb kiddy work.

"Giving up their lives? Looks like we're getting into the real meat of things." Boruto smirked, excited to see what was gonna happen.

"I'll say." Sarada agreed as the team eventually went to their homes and got their necessary equipment ready before finally rendezvousing at the village gates before Naruto was quick to jump up and down with an excited cheer.

"Yeah! Alright!" Naruto grinned as he was jumping up and down excitedly.

"What are you getting so excited about, Naruto?" Sakura asked with annoyance at how any one person could be so full of energy all the time.

"This is the first time I've ever left the village! I'm a traveler now, believe it!" Naruto eagerly ran around as he looked the equivalent of a child on a sugar rush after eating a lot of sugary candy.

"Someone's excited." Mitsuki smiled at Naruto's enthusiasm.

"Are we sure he didn't drink a crap load of coffee before leaving the village?" Boruto snorted as Sarada paled at the thought of Naruto as a kid drinking coffee.

"Hey, do not put that image in my head!" Sarada cringed at the thought of Naruto drinking coffee. It would definitely spell the end of the Leaf Village if that ever happened…..

Tazuna however didn't share Naruto's excitement as he turned to Kakashi in annoyance at Naruto's energy while Sasuke and Sakura looked relatively embarrassed with their teammate.

"Hey, am I supposed to trust my life to this runt? He's a joke!" Tazuna bluntly stated to Kakashi.

"Runt, huh? I'd love to see dad prove this jerk wrong." Boruto glared at Tazuna.

"Well from what he's seen of Lord Seventh so far, logically he would assume that Lord Seventh is just some loud mouthed brat that's more bark than bite." Mitsuki explained as Sarada crossed her arms sternly.

"I know but you shouldn't judge a book by its cover." Sarada argued as logically Tazuna's statement about Naruto being a joke didn't sit well with the young Genin before deciding not to let Tazuna get to him as he turned to him with a sharp pointing finger and a bright, confident smile.

"Hey! Never insult a ninja, it's a big mistake! And I'm one of the greatest ninja ever! Someday I'm gonna be a Hokage and you'll look up to me! My name's Naruto Uzumaki, remember it!" Naruto spat as Boruto grinned.

"You tell him." Boruto smiled though the look on Tazuna's face showed he was anything but impressed.

"Hmph, hokage? Hokage and powerful and wise. You are puny and brainless. The day you become Hokage, I'll sprout wings and fly." Tazuna scoffed as a tick mark appeared on Naruto's head.

"Ugh! Shut up! I'm willing to do anything to become Hokage, no matter what it takes! And when I do, everyone will have to admit it that I'm the top ninja, including you!" Naruto spat back at the old man as he was getting tired of this old geezer looking down on him.

"Hmph! You can become Hokage ten times over and to me you'll still be nobody, a loser." Tazuna scoffed before walking off as Naruto had to be restrained by Kakashi again from pummeling the old fart.

"Well he seems just pleasant to have around." Sarada rolled her eyes.

"Ten Ryo he'll be changing his tune on dad by the end of this arc." Boruto scoffed with good-nature.

"I'll bet you twenty." Mitsuki grinned.

"Deal." Boruto smiled as the two shook hands as Sarada stared at the two in disbelief.

"Gambling over someone's opinion on Lord Seventh? You two are insane." Sarada shook her head as once Naruto was calmed down, Team Seven began walking to their destination of Tazuna's hometown.

"Say, Mr. Tazuna?" Sakura turned to the old man.

"What is it?" Tazuna asked, thankfully putting the booze down.

"Your country is the Land of Waves, right?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. What of it?" Tazuna asked back as Sakura turned to her sensei.

"Kakashi-Sensei, there are ninja in that country too, aren't there?" Sakura questioned.

"No because it's not a ninja village that needs Shinobi protection like the Leaf and Sand village." Mitsuki said.

"Right, we knew that." Boruto nodded as Sarada also nodded her assent.

"No, there are no ninja in the Land of Waves. But in other countries there are hidden villages each with their own different customs and cultures where ninja reside. To the people of this continent, the existence of Shinobi means strength, military strength. In other words, that's how they protect themselves and maintain the balance of power with neighboring countries. The ninja villages are not controlled by any government. 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. The five ancient lands that possess Shinobi villages are the Lands of Fire, Water, Lightning, Wind and Earth. They each occupy vast territories and together they are known as the five great Shinobi nations. The Land of Fire has the Village Hidden in the Leaves, the Land of Water, the Village Hidden in the Mist; the Land of Lightning, the Village Hidden in the Clouds; the Land of Wind, the Village Hidden in the Sand; and the Land of Earth, the Village Hidden in the Stone. Only the leaders of these hidden villages are permitted the name Kage which means 'Shadow'. Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage, Tsuchikage. These are the five leaders, the five shadows that reign over thousands of ninja." Kakashi finished as Team Seven digested this information.

"In other words, the Ninja World is a big ass freaking place." Boruto snorted.

"In a nutshell as you would say." Mitsuki laughed.

"Then Lord Hokage's really important!" Sakura beamed though the infliction in her voice betrayed her as Naruto crossed his arms before Team Konohamaru saw a flash of all the times Naruto goaded Hiruzen with his Sexy Jutsu in addition to all the pranks he would pull from under his nose.

"Oh mom." Sarada sighed, feeling second hand embarrassment. To think her mom was this embarrassing when she was Sarada's age?

"You can tell she's faking it." Boruto snickered.

"Hey! You all just doubted Lord Hokage, didn't you? That's what you were thinking!" Kakashi sharply noted to his students as they, or rather Naruto and Sakura, tensed nervously while Sasuke stayed as cool as a leaf.

"Busted!" Boruto laughed as Sakura and Naruto vigorously shook their heads.

"U-uh no!" Naruto and Sakura lied to their teeth as it was obvious Kakashi didn't believe them for a second.

"Well anyways, there are no ninja battles in a C-Ranked mission so you can relax." Kakashi reassured his team as Sakura seemed convinced while Naruto was unconvinced.

"And we won't run into any foreign ninja?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"Not likely." Kakashi smiled as Sasuke and Tazuna turned to the side, obviously noting something however they said nothing as the team continued their walking to the Land of Waves.

However Team Konohamaru were quick to note a puddle on the long, winding dirt road that the team were walking upon.

"Wait a second, a puddle? What's a puddle doing in the middle of the road?" Boruto asked.

"Not to mention it can't be past Spring or at the very least beginning of Summer in this memory?" Sarada noted as Mitsuki's eyes narrowed.

"Something's coming." Mitsuki said.

And right as he did so, a mysterious person launched himself from the puddle followed by another person before they suddenly grabbed and restrained Kakashi with what appeared to be chains coming out of what appeared to be some kind of a gauntlet.

"Oh shit! Old Man Kakashi!" Boruto yelled.

"Do a body flicker or something!" Sarada yelled to the memory version of Kakashi.

"Huh!?" Sakura nearly fell back in fear.

"What!?" Naruto asked as Sasuke and Tazuna could stare in shock at how things escalated from zero to a hundred fairly quickly.

"Do it!" One of the ninja yelled as he and his brother squeezed Kakashi before his body practically broke apart, sending bits and pieces of his body parts scattering all over the place.

"Holy shit! I know he survived and all but damn…" Boruto noted, never seen anything so brutal on his own time as a ninja.

"Where is he?" Sarada asked, wondering where Kakashi could be.

However those in the memory had no idea about Kakashi's obvious survival as Sakura screamed in fear while Naruto looked lost for words for one of the few moments in his life while Sasuke and Tazuna were speechless at such a violent death. Or so they thought.

"K-Kakashi-Sensei!" Naruto yelled as Team Konohamaru noticed tears come to the young boy's eyes. However he didn't have time to be shocked for long before he felt the two sinister figures sweep up right behind him.

"And you're next!" The other of the ninja grinned as Naruto was practically frozen in place.

"Dad!" Boruto yelled before stopping himself, remembering that his dad survived. After all, how else could he be here today?

"Why doesn't he do anything?" Sarada asked not used to seeing Naruto look so…helpless and scared.

"It's because this is a step up from the mundane kiddy missions he was so used to doing. This is the first mission where his life is at risk…." Mitsuki explained, remembering his first mission with Log and Orochimaru all those years ago.

Before the rogue ninja could act upon bisecting Naruto into bits and pieces like they did Kakashi, Sasuke took the initiative and jumped above before using a Shuriken to bury one of the chains in the tree behind him followed by using a Shuriken to hold the chain in place.

"Nice one!" Sarada nearly cheered like a fangirl. Then again she was Sasuke's daughter so she had every right to.

"Thanks, Uncle Sasuke." Boruto breathed a sigh of relief as Sasuke jumped on the gauntlets of the two, holding them in place.

"I can't get loose!" One of the rogue ninja growled out in frustration at having been stopped from killing Naruto by this pint sized little squirt.

However, undeterred, they broke apart from their chains as one of the ninja charged Tazuna while the other charged Naruto.

The ninja charging Naruto had actually succeeded in hurting Naruto as he managed to cut the palm of Naruto's hand, making him fall back in pain.

"Ugh!" Naruto groaned in pain as he clutched his aching, bleeding hand.

"Oh no, dad! Where the hell is Kakashi!?" Boruto yelled.

"Yeah where is he!? I don't know what mom can do against these guys since she's not a medical ninja yet!" Sarada bit her lip as Sakura took a protective stance in front of Tazuna, intending on not letting Tazuna die.

However Sasuke took a defensive step and got between Sakura and the ninja but before the rogue ninja could get close, out came an alive Kakashi who body handled and two rogue ninja as he held them by their throats in his arms.

"Well he's finally here now." Boruto smiled.

"But what the hell took him!?" Sarada growled, upset at the fact that if he had arrived any later, she and Boruto might not be here right now watching these memories.

"K-Kakashi-Sensei!" Naruto exclaimed in both shock and relief that his new teacher wasn't cold cuts.

"Hi, there." Kakashi smiled through his eyes.

"Kakashi-Sensei, he's alive!" Sakura joyfully exclaimed while Sasuke didn't share his teammates' excitement, rather he looked kind of miffed.

"Show off." Sasuke muttered with an irritated look on his face.

"I think he's jealous he couldn't save the day!" Sarada giggled.

"Probably." Mitsuki grinned as Naruto turned to see where the "body" of Kakashi was lay a bundle of wood branches.

"Naruto, sorry I didn't help you right away. I didn't mean for you to get hurt but I just didn't think you'd freeze up like that." Kakashi apologized as Naruto gave a slow nod to his sensei but he still looked a bit shaken by what happened.

"That apology wouldn't have meant much if he arrived three seconds later." Sarada replied, still a bit annoyed that Kakashi made a risky decision like that.

"Poor dad, though. He looks shaken up…" Boruto frowned as that was the exact same facial expression he had when Naruto attacked him in his one-tailed state.

"Well it couldn't be helped. With the low jutsu in his arsenal coupled with the surprise aspect of the attack, Lord Seventh was as helpless as an Academy student here." Mitsuki explained with a bit of sympathy towards Naruto's direction.

"Yeah I know but it still feels so weird…seeing dad freeze up like that." Boruto said.

"Well look at it this way, eventually Lord Seventh finds his wind of courage in these memories." Sarada smiled as Boruto smiled a grateful smile back to her.

"Right." Boruto smiled.

"Although I wonder, why would a ninja attack them on a C-Ranked mission? Unless there's more to the story?" Boruto asked turning his eye to Tazuna who looked both relieved yet like he was hiding something.

"There's definitely more to the story here." Mitsuki nodded.

"And we're gonna find out what." Sarada said with the utmost certainty as Kakashi made his way to the rest of his team.

"Good job, Sasuke. Very smooth. You too, Sakura." Kakashi congratulated his team while Sakura smiled as Sasuke merely nodded.

It was then as Naruto shook his head as he looked right at Sasuke.

"I was useless! And Sasuke was so cool like he'd done this a thousand times. Didn't he feel scared at all? He looked so calm, not a scratch on him and I was so lame. He had to come up and save me. Ugh! Why can't I keep up with them!?" Naruto asked to himself.

"Poor dad…it must suck…having your rival show up and practically steal your thunder from you while you were helpless would no doubt be a blow to anyone's pride…" Boruto softly said.

"I wonder…who's the stronger between Lord Seventh and dad now?" Sarada pensively thought.

"It would be interesting to see a battle between them now. Especially seeing them as children." Mitsuki stated.

"Hey." Sasuke looked at Naruto's direction.

"Y-yeah?" Naruto asked, startled at being taken out of his inner monologue to himself.

"You're not hurt are you, scaredy cat?" Sasuke smirked as Sarada sighed.

"Does he really have to antagonize him?" Sarada face-palmed.

"Well given their relationship right now, he probably still looks down on Lord Seventh and to see him look like a deer in headlights when he did all that boasting about being stronger than him would amuse Mister Sasuke." Mitsuki stated matter of factly.

"Yeah but to be a complete dick about it…" Boruto said though he felt kind of hypocritical in saying that.

Naturally this didn't sit well with Naruto as he clenched his fists while his jaw clenched tight in anger. To be belittled by Sasuke Uchiha of all people was nothing short of infuriating to him.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he was about to charge him before the voice of Kakashi stopped him.

"Naruto! Stand still. These ninja have poison in their claws. We need to take it out of you immediately. You have to open the wound and remove it. It's in your blood so don't move around. That spreads the poison." Kakashi reminded Naruto who looked at his wound in frustration.

"Right. He needs to get that poison out ASAP." Boruto said.

"By the way, Mr Tazuna?" Kakashi turned his head to the old man.

"Yeah, what?" Tazuna nearly fell back as Kakashi's eye to him turned stern.

"We need to talk." Kakashi's eye narrowed before the two rogue ninja who attacked Team Seven and Tazuna were restrained and tied to a nearby tree.

"They're Chunin from the Village Hidden in the Mist. Their specialty is relentless attack. They keep fighting, no matter what the sacrifice." Kakashi explained to his team about the identity of the two ninja who attacked them.

"The Village Hidden in the Mist…man that takes me back…." Boruto's eyes softened as he thought back to his friend, Kagura. How was Kagura doing these days?

"Although that reminds me of that whole drama with Shizuma…man that was a pickle…" Sarada murmured.

"Thankfully we all came out of that whole scenario stronger for it." Mitsuki smiled while the rogue ninja glared at Kakashi.

"How did you know about our ambush?" One of the ninja stared at Kakashi with blazing eyes full of hatred as Kakashi looked undeterred with their hatred.

"A puddle on a clear day when it hasn't rained in weeks?" Kakashi asked.

"Yep. That's way too fishy to ignore." Sarada nodded in agreement.

"In that case, why'd you leave it for the Genin to do the fighting?" Tazuna turned to Kakashi in confusion.

"I could've taken them out quickly but then I'd have learned nothing. I had to know who their target was and what they were after." Kakashi gave Tazuna a very stern glare as Tazuna took a step back at being confronted in this way.

"Huh? What are you getting at?" Tazuna asked as Kakashi turned to face Kakashi all the way directly.

"This. I wanted to know if they were after us, ninja attacking ninja or if they were after you, the master bridge builder. When you put in your request, you asked for standard protection from robbers and highway men. You didn't say there were ninja looking for you, hunting you down. If we knew this, it would be a B-rank mission or higher. Our task was simply to get you to your destination and protect you while you finished building your bridge. If we knew we'd be fielding attacks from enemy ninja, we would have staffed differently and charged for the cost of a B mission. Apparently you have your reasons, but lying to us is not acceptable. We are now beyond the scope of this mission." Kakashi explained to Tazuna with a seemingly blank expression though his tone was demanding an explanation from the master bridge builder who looked down in shame.

"At their level, this mission is simply too much for them." Sarada pointed out.

"Yeah, so why would he lie?" Boruto turned to Tazuna.

"We are genin and this is too advanced for our level of training. We should go back and I really think we need to treat Naruto's wound and get the poison out as soon as possible." Sakura weakly smiled at Kakashi, realizing just how much in danger her and her teammates' lives were potentially in now.

"Back in our village, we can take him to a doctor. Naruto's hand could become a problem so I guess we should go back to the village." Kakashi stated.

"That would be the wise course of action since Miss Sakura isn't a medical ninja yet and Lady Tsunade is nowhere around." Mitsuki nodded as Naruto turned to his teacher in outrage at such a request as he growled and clenched his teeth before suddenly pulling out a kunai from his weapon holder and before anyone knew anything he thrust the weapon into his infected palm.

Everyone, both in and out of the memory, stared at Naruto in shock save for Mitsuki.

"That idiot! What the hell is he doing!?" Boruto was ready to rip his hair out at his father's recklessness. Why was his dad such an idiot as a kid?

"He's getting the poison out while apparently making a statement." Mitsuki calmly explained.

"Okay but he could've stabbed his hand off! And what point is he making and how can you be so calm!?" Sarada yelled as blood started flowing from Naruto's hand as Sakura managed to find her voice.

"Naruto! What're you doing!? Stop that!" Sakura yelled, actually concerned for Naruto's well-being though he paid her no mind.

"Why am I so different!? Why am I….I worked so hard….to get here, pushing myself until it hurt, training alone for hours, anything to get stronger to reach my dream…." Naruto growled as he grit his teeth as he fully felt the pain of having his hand stabbed as Team Konohmaru saw flashes of all the times Naruto would train until he was practically blue in the face and dead on his feet.

"…I guess that makes sense…somewhat…" Boruto shook his head, still not agreeing with him stabbing his hand so carelessly.

"Is he just trying to be 'Mr. Macho Man'?" Sarada sighed, not understanding the whole "Macho" attitude that boys had and to be honest, she didn't want to know.

"I will never back down again and let someone else rescue me. I will never run away and I will not lose to Sasuke. Upon this wound, I make this pledge, believe it! Bridge Builder, I'll complete this mission and protect you with this kunai knife. Don't worry…I'll be fine." Naruto smiled despite the pain he was in. Tazuna actually looked taken aback as the look in his eyes about how he perceived Naruto started to slowly change while Sasuke still kept a cool face though something in his eyes towards Naruto started to change too.

"I don't even think Boruto would do anything that reckless." Mitsuki smiled.

"Of course not! But….that's my crazy ass dad." Boruto softly laughed as even Sakura and Kakashi looked impressed with Naruto's resolve.

"Naruto, uh, that was really cool how you took the poison out and all but if you lose any more blood you're going to die." Kakashi was quick to point out to Naruto who started to sweat nervously as blood continued to drip from his open wound as he whimpered nervously.

"Good idea to stop the bleeding now, seriously." Kakashi scooted up to Naruto smiling as that was enough for Naruto as he started flailing his arm around frantically.

"Not! Not! Not! No, no, no! I'm too young for it to all end like this!" Naruto was nearly close to pissing himself.

"Moron." Boruto muttered while Sakura and Sarada both put their hands on their hips as they shared identical looks of irritation.

"He talked all that big talk before but he can't back it up now?" Sarada rolled her eyes.

"At least he knows how to brighten the mood." Mitsuki cheerfully noted.

"Show me your hand." Kakashi calmly said as Naruto did so.

"Naruto, you've got a self-abusive personality. It's called Masochism." Sakura pointed out matter of factedly as Sarada grunted in agreement.

However as Naruto showed Kakashi his wound, Kakashi and Team Konohamaru quickly noticed how the wound was slowly closing, leaving nothing but the leftover blood.

"It vanished?" Boruto asked.

"It must be because of the Nine Tails! I know because back during the whole Shin incident, he got stabbed but the wound healed quickly." Sarada explained as she thought back to when she saw Naruto's stab wound heal quickly.

Naruto noticed Kakashi's deep look and quickly deduced something was wrong…

"H-hey….Y-you have a really serious look on your face….You're scaring me…Am I okay?" Naruto gulped hoping he didn't accidently stab an artery or blood vessel out.

"You know something? We haven't seen Naruto have any sort of contact with the Nine Tails in these memories yet. I wonder how he found that out?" Sarada raised a brow in question.

"I guess we'll find out, the deeper we go down these memories." Boruto shrugged as Kakashi lost his serious look, not wanting to scare the young boy.

"Oh, yeah, you should be fine." Kakashi said as he cleaned the blood from Naruto's palm before quickly wrapping his hand and with that the team continued on their journey before meeting up with a boat rower who directed them towards a boat as he started to row them to their destination being the Land of Waves.

"I wonder what else we're gonna see…" Boruto muttered.

"It's definitely not going to be a cake walk, that's for sure." Mitsuki said.

"But this fog…it's so thick and you can't see anything…" Sarada frowned, remembering her fight with Buntan and how much of a pain in the butt that was.

"This fog's so thick, you can't see anything." Sakura said Sarada's exact words as the boat rower continued his rowing.

"The bridge isn't far now. Our destination's just ahead, the Land of Waves." The boat rower said as the bridge that Tazuna was building came into better view of everyone both in and out of the memory as they marveled at the sight of it.

"Looks like we're reaching the end of the journey?" Boruto smirked.

"I doubt things are going to be that easy, Boruto." Mitsuki pointed out.

"Whoa! It's huge!" Naruto exclaimed with a huge excited smile at the boat rower gave him a stern glare.

"Quiet! I told you, no noise! Why do you think we're traveling like this? Cutting of the engine and rowing, moving through the dense fog so they don't see us." The boat rower was quick to remind Naruto who clamped his mouth shut.

"Bad dad." Boruto snickered at Naruto's face as Kakashi turned a serious look upon Tazuna.

"Mr. Tazuna…before we reach the pier, I want to ask you something. The men who are after you, I need to know why. If you don't tell us, I'm afraid I'll have to end this mission when we drop you ashore." Kakashi said sternly with a look in his eyes that he was in the mood for no BS from the bridge builder.

"He couldn't really do that, could he?" Sarada asked, slightly disgusted that they would act ditch Tazuna? That was just too…cold….

"Technically this was beyond the scope of the mission they agreed to so in turn of Mister Tazuna's lying to them, they technically could and they would receive no penalties." Mitsuki pointed out as the thought didn't sit well with neither Boruto nor Sarada.

"That's still jacked up though…" Boruto crossed his arms as everyone gave Tazuna their full, undivided attention.

"I have no choice but to tell you. No, I want you to know the truth. Like you said, this is beyond the scope of the original mission. The one who seeks my life is a very short man who casts a very long and deadly shadow." Tazuna began his explanation to everyone watching both in and out of the memory.

"A deadly shadow?" Kakashi asked.

"Who is it?" Kakashi asked.

"You know him. At least I'm sure you've heard his name before. He's one of the wealthiest men in the world. The shipping magnet, Gato." Tazuna explained as a small sweat started on his face.

"Gato? Who's that?" Sarada turned to her teammates in confusion.

"I dunno but from what it looks like, he sounds like he's bad news…" Boruto noted the sweat perspiring on Tazuna's face.

"Huh? Gato? Of Gato Transport? He's a business leader, everyone knows him." Kakashi's visible eye widened in realization at the name.

"Who? Who? What? What?" Naruto asked as it was certain to everyone he knew jack all about Gato and his existence.

"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 using gangs and ninja." Tazuna added onto his explanation.

"Huh? A stereotypical gangster, huh?" Boruto snorted.

"Yeah but I wonder what he has with Mister Tazuna, here?" Tazuna put his hand to his chin in thought.

"It was one year ago when Gato first set his sight on The Land of Waves. He came to our island and used his vast wealth to take control of our transport and shipping. Anyone who tried to stand in his way simply…disappeared." Tazuna looked down at the last part of his sentence as right away, Team Konohamaru knew something or someone personal to Tazuna had suffered at the hands of Gato.

"This Gato guy sounds just awful…." Sarada wrinkled her nose.

"Yeah but since we haven't heard of him, dad and the others must have taken care of him. All I wanna know is how." Boruto said, a bit excited to see just what happened in this particular memory.

"In an island nation, a man who controls the sea controls everything. Finances, the government, our very lives but there's one thing he fears, the bridge. When it is complete, it will join us to the land and that will break his control….I…am the bridge builder." Tazuna looked up at the incomplete bridge.

"So in a nutshell, if Gato kills this Tazuna guy then the bridge will be incomplete and in turn, he'll continue his rule over the Land of the Waves." Boruto assumed.

"That's exactly right." Mitsuki nodded, fully understanding the true scope of their mission.

"But why lie about their mission? I mean with how kind Lord Third is, surely he would've helped without any problem on his end, right?" Sarada asked.

"That may be the case but remember that higher ranking missions cost more money and with this Gato guy seemingly having a hold on the Land of Waves it could be possible that they simply couldn't afford more than a C or D rank mission." Mitsuki stated in thought as Sarada was quiet as she took in his words.

"…You may…be right…Mitsuki…" Sarada blinked as Sasuke and Sakura looked deep in thought with Tazuna's words while Naruto just looked completely and utterly clueless.

"I see…since you're in charge of the bridge, you're standing in this gangster's way." Sakura put her thumb to her chin.

"That means that the guy we fought in the forest, they were working for Gato." Sasuke said as he turned to Sakura.

"I don't understand. If you knew he was dangerous, knew he'd send ninja to eliminate you, why did you hide that from us?" Kakashi asked, asking the same question Sarada had not too long ago.

"Because the Land of Waves is a small, impoverished nation…Even our nobles have little money." Tazuna looked down as the look in Kakashi's eyes had changed from one of being skeptical to being one of sympathy.

The common people who are building this bridge…they can't pay for an A or B ranked mission. It's too expensive. If you end the mission when you drop me ashore, there will be no bridge. They'll assassinate me before I reach home." Tazuna looked down in shame while confirming Mitsuki's answer to Sarada as Sasuke and Kakashi frowned at the old man in sympathy while Naruto and Sakura looked squeamish about the whole thing.

"But don't feel bad about that. Of course, my sweet little grandson will be upset and he'll cry, 'Granddad! I want my granddad!' and my daughter will condemn Leaf Ninja, denouncing and blaming you for abandoning her father and live her life in sorrow. Oh well, it's not your fault." Tazuna nonchalantly shrugged as Boruto and Sarada deadpanned.

"Okay this guy is just guilt-tripping them." Boruto deadpanned.

"Will they give in?" Sarada asked noticing as everyone looked at each other before sighing in defeat.

"Well…I guess we have no toher choice. We'll have to keep guarding you." Kakashi smiled as Sarada rolled her eyes.

"Of course they'd give in." Sarada sighed.

"It just shows how big of hearts they have!" Mitsuki chuckled as Tazuna actually looked relieved they wouldn't abandon him to die.

"Oh? I'm very grateful." Tazuna gratefully smiled before turning away and giving a piece sign to a strange wall of fourths.

"Oh that little troll!" Sarada growled out as Mitsuki and Boruto laughed before the boat finally got out of the foggy area they were in before they eventually reached land, much to the team's relief.

"Finally. All that fog was getting to be a bit too much for me." Boruto shook his head.

"Yeah…" Sarada agreed as the boat reached a port where the boat rower parked his boat.

"That's as far as I go. Good luck." The boat rower wished to the group.

"Right. Thank you for taking such a risk." Tazuna thanked the man before he left as the group continued on their journey to the Land of Waves.

As they walked through the forest, Naruto sent an irritated glare towards Sasuke's way who ignored him, same as always.

Much to everyone's amazement, Naruto suddenly ran up in front of the group before pulling out a Kunai.

"What is that boy doing?" Sarada rolled her eyes.

"Nothing good…" Boruto's eyes were firmly locked on the weapon in Naruto's hands as he hastily flung the weapon into the distance leaving everyone sans Sasuke and Mitsuki wide-eyed and shocked.

"What the hell is that idiot doing!?" Boruto and Sarada simultaneously yelled.

"Hmph, it was just a mouse." Naruto quickly got up in an attempt to save face as he was starting to get embarrassment with Boruto getting second hand embarrassment as a result.

"Oh yeah right!" Boruto rolled his eyes with a scoff.

"Mouse? Yeah right! Everyone can see through your stupid act!" Sakura spat.

"Naruto, those are Kunai Knives. They're dangerous." Kakashi tried reasoning as Tazuna growled, his patience being put through the wringer with the blond dope.

"Oh he's about to snap." Sarada noted.

"Stop trying to scare me, you scruffy little dwarf!" Tazuna yelled in utter agitation and irritation.

"….And he snapped." Boruto muttered.

"Hey! Is someone hiding over there!? No, they're over there! Over there!" Naruto yelled before flinging another Kunai in another random location.

"If he keeps up, he's gonna get someone killed." Mitsuki calmly stated.

"How can you be so chill about that!?" Sarada growled.

"Can someone put a stop before he kills somebody!?" Boruto irritatingly asked as Sakura answered Naruto's wish.

"That's it, Naruto!" Sakura yelled, clobbering Naruto's skull.

"Thank you!" Sarada thanked as a small welt appeared on Naruto's skull.

"Ugh! W-why'd you do that? Someone really is following us! I mean it!" Naruto lamely reasoned as Sakura would hear none of it.

"Yeah, right! Quit lying and acting like a dumb kid!" Sakura spat as Kakashi opened the bushes nearby, revealing a rabbit that nearly had its head cleaved off from Naruto's kunai.

"That idiot almost killed a bunny!" Sarada face-palmed.

"Smooth, dad." Boruto scoffed with an eyeroll.

"Oh no! A rabbit! I'm so sorry!" Naruto sobbed as he cuddled the poor scared bunny who looked like he wished he was impaled by Naruto's kunai.

"How embarrassing." Boruto deadpanned.

"If only we had a camera to commemorate this moment." Sarada snorted.

"…All this fuss over a rodent?" Tazuna deadpanned as Mitsuki raised an eyebrow.

"But it's something that raises an eyebrow…" Mitsuki began as his words got the attention of his teammates.

"Whaddaya mean?" Boruto asked.

"By my calculations, it's summer here yet that's a rabbit that's color is the color that it's supposed to be when it's winter time. If it's the wrong color…" Mitsuki began, hoping his teammates would get where he was going with things.

"Then it's a ploy and the enemy's close by!" Sarada exclaimed as Kakashi's eye narrowed.

"So they're already here….look out!" Kakashi commanded to his team as everyone's eyes widened at the huge Kubikiribocho blade headed their way.

"Oh shit!" Boruto cursed as everyone ducked with Sakura saving Naruto in the knick of time from being decapitated as she hastily shoved him to the ground.

As the sword embedded himself in a nearby tree, there stood a tall man with a mask on his face similar to Kakashi's as the look in his eyes was enough to send chills up the spines of Boruto and Sarada.

"Who is he? He gives me the creeps…" Sarada shuddered as Boruto let out a fake laugh.

"Heh…I guess we're getting into the knitty gritty of this mission after all." Boruto slightly smirked, sort of curious to see just what this mysterious man had in store for Team Seven. His overall appearance let Boruto know that he was no joke.

"Well, well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, rogue ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist." Kakashi greeted Zabuza in a mock-cordial tone.

"Zabuza?" Sarada raised an eyebrow.

"He was once a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsman and it was said that he fled the Mist Village after a failed assassination on the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura." Mitsuki explained as Sarad and Boruto looked at their teammate in amazement.

"Wait, seriously?" Boruto asked.

"It was said that his alias is the 'Demon of the Mist' and that he specializes in silent killing." Mitsuki added onto his explanation as both Sarada and Boruto reacted differently to Zabuza's stats.

"Silent Killing?" Sarada slightly cringed as Boruto couldn't stop his lips from curving upwards.

"Man…I'd love to spar against him…." Boruto admitted as his bespectacled teammate look at him like he was insane for his admission. However, Boruto noted the look in his father's eyes and quickly face-palmed.

"Oh dad, don't do anything stupid…" Boruto groaned as thankfully Kakashi put a hand in front of his protégé, stopping him from advancing.

"Get back." Kakashi ordered.

"Thank you." Boruto exhaled.

"But why?" Naruto groaned at his teacher in annoyance who paid him no mind.

"He's not like those other ninja. He's in a whole other league. If he's our opponent…I'll need this…" Kakashi's hand slowly etched towards where his headband covered his eye.

"'This'? What's he talking about?" Sarada asked as Boruto was just as curious though Mitsuki was silent, already knowing what Kakashi was hiding.

"This could be treacherous." Kakashi said as Zabuza was unfazed with Kakashi's secret eye.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan, did I get that right?" Zabuza asked much to the shock of Boruto and Sarada.

"Wait, did he say Sharingan?" Boruto asked, staring at Kakashi in amazement.

"But how? Master Kakashi isn't an Uchiha so how could he have a Sharingan?" Sarada asked as Mitsuki decided to speak up.

"It was said that he received his Sharingan as a transplant from a mission back when he was a young boy from an old friend of his." Mitsuki explained as his friends turned to stare at him.

"A transplant? Wait! He does have a scar on his eye so I guess that explains it….huh….I wonder how that happened…" Boruto muttered as Mitsuki was silent, knowing his friends would find out the farther they go down these movies.

"It's too bad but you'll have to hand over the old man." Zabuza stated more than suggested as Team Seven looked just as bewildered as Team Konohamaru, none more than Sasuke.

"Now quick! Manji Formation! Protect the bridge builder and stay out of this fight! I taught you teamwork and now it's time to use it." Kakashi ordered his team before he lifted his headband up, revealing his Sharingan with three tomoe in it, much to the amazement of everyone watching.

"Whoa! It has more than Sarada's!" Boruto noted impressed as Sarada sent her teammate a glare but could alas do nothing as she knew that he was right…Maybe someday she'll awaken her three tomoe Sharingan.

"Well…looks like I get to see the Sharingan in action. This is an honor." Zabuza said in a voice that was mildly impressed at the sight of Kakashi's left eye while Kakashi's genin stared at Kakashi in amazement, with Sasuke being the most speechless.

"Everyone keeps saying 'Sharingan', 'Sharingan'. Will someone please tell me what Sharingan is?" Naruto asked before it was surprisingly Sasuke who decided to answer the blond knucklehead.

"Sharingan…a rare power that resides in the eyes. The user of this visual jutsu or dojutsu can instantly see and comprehend any Genjutsu, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and reflect the attack back on the attacker. The Sharingan is a special rare form of dojutsu. However, there's more to the Sharingan than that. A lot more…" Sasuke looked down as his teammates processed this information while Zabuza merely grinned at Sasuke's exposition.

"You got it right, boy. But you only scratched the surface. The Sharingan can analyze an opponent's technique and then copy it to the smallest detail." Zabuza added onto Sasuke's statement as a thick mist suddenly enveloped the forest around Team Seven and Tazuna.

"What's this?" Boruto asked, slightly taken aback.

"It must be because of that Zabuza's doing." Mitsuki surmised.

"As for you Jonin, in the assassination unit of the Hidden Mist, we had a standing order to destroy you on sight. Your profile was in our bingo book. It called you, 'The man who copied over one thousand jutsu. Kakashi, the copy ninja." Zabuza's eyes narrowed at Kakashi who gave him a narrowed eyed glare back in response as Boruto and Sarada looked at Kakashi in surprise.

"Wait, Old Man Kakashi really copied over a thousand different jutsu? Then again the Sharingan does let you copy jutsu from what Uncle Sasuke told me…." Boruto said.

"I wonder…just how did Master Kakashi lose his Sharingan anyways?" Sarada asked as Mitsuki was silent and decided not to say anything.

"Wow! That's so cool!" Naruto cheesed as Sakura looked just as impressed.

Sasuke meanwhile didn't share his teammates' optimism as he just looked at Kakashi warily.

"Enough talking….I need to exterminate the old man, now." Zabuza stated in a tone that let Tazuna know he had no intention of letting him leave this forest in one piece.

Tazuna took a defensive step back in fear before Team Seven entered a Manji defense formation around the old man.

"Guess we're about to see some action go down! I wish I had some popcorn." Boruto smirked as Sarada merely rolled her eyes at Boruto's comment.

"So, I'll have to eliminate you first, huh Kakashi?" Zabuza glared at Kakashi who took a protective stance in front of his team.

"He's over there!" Naruto pointed as Zabuza un-lodged his blade from the tree and jumped on the river behind him.

"Standing on the water!" Sakura also pointed out as Zabuza made a hand sign with his right hand while raising his left arm before a thick mist enveloped the area.

"Ninja Art-Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Zabuza yelled he disappeared with the Mist.

"Ugh…I'm having flashbacks…." Sarada muttered.

"Sensei!" Sakura exclaimed, her voice full of fear as Naruto and Sasuke seemed just as unnerved.

"He'll come after me first." Kakashi reassured Sakura.

"But who is he?" Sakura asked.

"Zabuza Momochi, the ex-leader of the Hidden Mist Assassination Unit. He's a master of the silent killing technique." Kakashi began his explanation.

"S-Silent?" Even Naruto asked creeped out.

"As the name suggests, it happens in an instant without sound or warning of any kind. It happens so fast, you pass from this life without realizing what has happened. The Sharingan cannot fully neutralize it, so don't lower your guard." Kakashi warned his team who looked nervous as they realized the circumstances, sans Sasuke who managed to reign in his fear the most.

"Well that's healthy motivation." Sarada sarcastically said.

"I'll say." Boruto snickered.

"Well, if we fail, we only lose our lives." Kakashi seemingly nonchalantly stated as Sakura glared at Kakashi.

"How can you say that!?" Sakura spat, not believing that Kakashi would be joking in a time like this.

"Trying to liven the mood I guess. Though the joke obviously fell flat." Mitsuki chuckled as the mist became way harder to see through.

"The mist is getting thicker and thicker…." Naruto observed, getting slightly nervous.

"The Land of Waves is surrounded by ocean. The swirling mists are ever present…." Tazuna explained though as he did so, Kakashi disappeared with mist.

"Sensei!" Sakura exclaimed in fear and concern for her sensei.

"Looks like things are really starting to heat up now…" Sarada muttered before a familiar voice got everyone's attention.

"Eight points…." The voice of Zabuza rang through the air.

"W-what's that!?" Sakura nearly dropped the kunai in her hand from surprise.

"Larnyx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart. Now…which will be my kill point?" Zabuza asked as everyone could literally hear the glee in his voice.

"…At least we see how much he knows about the human body…" Boruto nervously laughed although his attempt at a joke fell flat.

Wishing to see his opponent clearly, Kakashi summoned chakra around his body as everyone could feel the literal power emanating around Kakashi.

"…So…this is the power…of Kakashi Hatake…" Sarada's forehead started to nervously sweat.

"If he was a badass at his current age…just how much of a monster was he twenty years ago?" Boruto wondered as clearly the past incarnations of Team Seven were wondering the same thing.

However…no one seemed more unnerved at all the flowing power around them than Sasuke who broke out into a nervous sweat as his already pale skin was even paler as he looked close to having a nervous breakdown.

"D-dad? What's wrong with him?" Sarada asked in concern for her dad as she tried putting a comforting hand on his shoulder only to phase right through him.

"Yeah…I've never seen him so….scared before…" Boruto frowned just as concerned as it was then that Mitsuki decided to speak.

"It's because that just like Lord Seventh, Mister Sasuke has realized that while he may have been the strongest and the class star in the Ninja Academy, he's just a small fish in a big pond. After all, class statistics mean nothing to a ninja with a kunai at your throat." Mitsuki explained as Sarada shook her head.

"I can only wonder how the two got so strong…" Sarada said as Kakashi was quick to snap Sasuke from his inner funk.

"Sasuke! Calm down. I'll protect you with my life. All of you. I will not allow my comrades to die. Trust me." Kakashi turned to his team with a smile that was able to quell the worries of his teammates, at least somewhat as the color returned to Sasuke's face.

"Thank you, Master Kakashi." Sarada breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just like dad, Old Man Kakashi is good with his words." Boruto smiled though Zabuza's chuckles rang through the air.

"I wouldn't be so sure. It's over!" Zabuza yelled as he was wedged right in the middle of Team Seven's Manji Formation around Tazuna.

"Oh crap!" Boruto's eyes widened as Zabuza's blade was about to bisect Tazuna before Kakashi thought fast as he impaled Zabuza's chest with a kunai.

"Got him!" Boruto cheered as Mitsuki's eyes narrowed.

"Not quite." Mitsuki corrected his friend.

Zabuza grunted in pain before what would one expect to be blood flowing from the open wound from his chest was water.

"A water clone!" Boruto noted as Sarada's eyes widened in dread as the real Zabuza was right behind Kakashi with his huge blade in hand ready to decapitate Kakashi.

"Sensei! Behind you!" Naruto pointed as Zabuza swung his blade.

"Die!" Zabuza yelled as he sliced through Kakashi.

Or rather….what he thought was Kakashi as it was revealed to be nothing but a water clone of his own.

"It can't be!" Zabuza's eyes widened in dread as he realized what was happening.

"He must've copied him before he made the Mist!" Sarada pointed out in realization.

"Man…just how broken is the Sharingan, for real?" Boruto muttered as he wondered just what was stronger; his Jougan eye or the Sharingan?

As Zabuza realized what was happening, the real Kakashi appeared right behind Zabuza with a kunai close to his throat.

"Don't move." Kakashi warned Zabuza in voice that gave Boruto and Sarada goosebumps.

"Man…Master Kakashi really was powerful in his prime…" Sarada gulped while Boruto grunted in agreement.

"Now, it's over. You're finished." Kakashi's eye narrowed as Naruto and Sakura couldn't stop the relieved smiles from forming on their faces.

"All right!" Naruto was all but ready to cheer while Sakura let out a happy giggle though Sasuke looked unconvinced that this was all over. It all seemed too…easy?

The laughter emanating behind Zabuza's bandages confirmed Sasuke's suspicions as well as Mitsuki's.

This sudden occurrence baffled Kakashi who raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Finished? You really don't get it, do you? Your technique is nothing but a crass imitation. I'll never be defeated by a mere copycat ninja like you." Zabuza stated as Kakashi's eyes narrowed at Zabuza's statement.

"You are full of surprises, though. You'd already copied my Water Clone Jutsu when you made your little speech. Very skillfully executed. You made your clone say those words to draw my attention while you hid in the mist, waiting for me to make my move. Nice try…." Zabuza gave Kakashi a deadly glare before the real Zabuza appared right behind him, as the Zabuza who had a kunai to the throat was nothing but a clone.

"But I'm not that easy to fool!" Zabuza yelled as the clone evaporated into water.

"Hey! That one's a clone too!" Naruto yelled.

"Oh crap, now what?" Boruto asked as Kakashi was able to narrowly save himself from being decapitated at the last second by lunging under the blade though this seemed to be a ploy as Zabuza embedded his blade in the ground below before kicking Kakashi away.

Before Zabuza could follow after him, he noticed spikes on the ground.

"Makubishi Spikes? Trying to slow me down." Zabuza touched back onto the river that Kakashi landed in.

"Sensei!" Naruto yelled in horror as Sakura looked just as horrified.

"He has great physical skill too." Sasuke noted as Kakashi was quick to pick himself out of the water although he noticed something different about the liquid.

"Hmph, fool. Water Prison Jutsu!" Zabuza yelled before Kakashi found himself restrained in a circular prison made of pure, concentrated water.

"Old Man Kakashi!" Boruto's eyes widened in horror.

"It's bad because if he doesn't get out soon, he could suffocate!" Sarada noted in concern.

"Hmph, this prison is made of water but it's stronger than steel. It's hard to fight when you can't move. So much for the great Kakashi." Zabuza scoffed before turning his eye to the remnants of Team Seven and more importantly, Tazuna.

"But first…your little friends will have to be eliminated. Water Clone Jutsu!" Zabuza said as a clone arose from the water of the river below as Naruto and Team Seven's eyes widened in horror as they realized just who they were dealing with.

"Crap…from bad to worse…" Boruto clicked his tongue.

"You think wearing a headband makes you a ninja? When you've hoovered between life and death so many times that it doesn't faze you, then you may be called a ninja. When you've become so deadly that your profile is entered in my bingo book, then you may have earned the title, 'Ninja'. But to call upstarts like you ninja is a joke." Zabuza said before his clone suddenly appeared right in front of Naruto and kicked him away with so much force that his headband flew off, landing right in front of the Zabuza clone who stomped on it with cruel indifference.

"Dad!" Boruto yelled.

"He's so fast!" Sarada winced.

"You're just brats." The Zabuza clone scoffed at the pitiful state Naruto was left in as Naruto was coughing and gasping for air.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled in concern as Sasuke gasped just as concerned and horrified.

As he realized just how dire the mission was getting, Kakashi's eyes widened in horror.

"Listen! Get the bridge builder and run! You can't win this fight! He's using all his power to keep me in this prison so he can only fight you with his water clone but his clone can't go far from his real body. If you can get away from him, he can't follow now run!" Kakashi ordered his team as they looked conflicted on what to do.

"Even if they do run away, he would track Team Seven down and kill them so it'd be better for them just to stay and fight." Mitsuki was quick to point out.

"Yeah…not to mention if they left what would stop Zabuza from killing Master Kakashi?" Sarada added.

"We've got to do it and try!" Sasuke stated as he appeared to have the same thoughts as Mitsuki as he charged Zabuza in a valiant effort to try to free Kakashi as he threw several ninja projectiles at the Zabuza clone who blocked them with little to no effort on his end as Sasuke tried an aerial strike with a kunai.

"Hmph, too easy." The Zabuza clone scoffed as Sasuke had left himself wide open as he grabbed Sasuke's throat tightly before throwing him to the side like he was nothing significant.

"Dad!" Sarada yelled.

"Sasuke, no!" Sakura's hands covered her mouth in horror.

"He got Sasuke!" Naruto barely gasped out before he noticed the Zabuza clone standing right over him as he looked over twenty feet tall.

"Oh no! Someone, anyone, help him!" Boruto spat, wishing for someone to come to Naruto's aid as Naruto looked ready to try to run before he winced as the pain of Naruto's self-inflicted wound as his look changed from one of fear…to one of sadness as Team Konohamaru saw several flashes from Naruto's past.

"I whole-heartedly believe you can become Hokage one day, Naruto." Hiruzen smiled as the two shared a meal over fish at their first meeting.

"No one will ever acknowledge some freak like you!" One villager yelled as he whacked Naruto out of his store.

"I told you to stay away from him!" A mother hastily drug her child from Naruto as they played together at the park.

"Yeah, right! Some loser like you being Hokage, don't make me laugh!" Kiba yelled as he laughed at Naruto's failed transformation into the Third Hokage.

"Hmph, it serves him right. Just imagine if someone like him ever became a ninja." One woman glared at Naruto followed his third failure to graduate from the Ninja Academy.

"That's why no one will accept you in our village! Even your beloved sensei hates your guts!" Mizuki jeered at Naruto.

"That's because you're wrong. He's not a Monster Fox of the Leaf but he's Naruto Uzumaki!" Iruka declared with the utmost certainty in his voice.

"Congratulations! You graduate!" Iruka smiled as Naruto's eyes widened as he realized he had finally become a ninja.

"You pass. You're the first team to have ever passed my test." Kakashi smiled with pride at Team Seven.

"Upon this wound, I promise to never run away again!" Naruto grinned despite the pain and blood of his hand wound.

Returning to real time, all the fear from Naruto's eyes had evaporated completely as his eyes were full of determination and courage.

"I will never run away again!" Naruto yelled as he tried charging the Zabuza clone, much to the bewilderment of everyone.

"It's great he found his courage but what can he do!?" Sarada was ready to rip her hair out as Boruto glared at her.

"Don't count out dad, yet. After all…he's unpredictable." Boruto smiled.

"Huh!? Naruto, no!" Kakashi looked just as frustrated as Sarada while Sakura looked also ready to rip out her hair in frustration.

"Naruto! What in the world are you doing!?" Sakura yelled, thinking Naruto had clearly lost his mind as while Sasuke was surprised at Naruto's actions, he looked deep in thought about something.

"Hmph, fool." Zabuza snickered as he rewarded Naruto's efforts with a swift kick to the face, sending blood spraying from Naruto's mouth as he was knocked back in a beaten heap.

"What are you thinking, charging at him by yourself!? Even Sasuke couldn't get to him! We're only Genin! We can't defeat a Jonin! What'd you think you'd accomplish by doing something like that!?" Sakura was ready to tell off Naruto though he weakly gripped the Hidden Leaf headband that had been lost earlier as he slowly arose to his feet as everyone in the memory watched with varying levels of curiosity and interest.

"Hmph…hey you…the freak with no eyebrow…" Naruto smiled despite the blood trailing his lips as Team Konohamaru chuckled at the description he gave Zabuza.

"Well he's not wrong." Mitsuki smiled as that seemed to irritate Zabuza as a vein appeared on the head of the real Zabuza.

"Put this in your bingo book…the ninja that will become Hokae of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He never backs down…his name is Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto declared as he wrapped his headband around his head with a glint in his voice.

Although unlike the mischievous glints in his eyes, this glint in his eyes was different…it was just like the current, wise look he had in his eyes today.

"Damn right, you tell him!" Boruto cheered as he pumped his fists.

"He's becoming more and more like the Lord Seventh we know." Mitsuki smiled as Sarada blushed, remembering her crush on Lord Seventh as this Naruto was very reminiscent of the Naruto she admired since childhood.

"Hey, Sasuke. Can you hear me?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah I hear you." Sasuke answered.

"I've got a plan." Naruto stated as Sasuke actually seemed interested in the former class clown's plan.

"Hmph, so you're finally thinking about teamwork, huh?" Sasuke asked as Team Konohamaru noticed Sakura's eyes widened as a blush adorned her cheeks.

"Huh? It looks like Miss Sakura is finally changing her tune on how she may perceive Lord Seventh. And even Mister Tazuna is seeming to respect and see Lord Seventh in a new light as well." Mitsuki mused as Team Konohamaru noticed Tazuna's look of respect in his eyes that was no doubt directed towards Naruto.

"About time." Boruto nodded his head as Naruto wiped the blood on his chin.

"Now, let's go wild." Naruto grinned, ready to save Kakashi and bring this bastard down.

Though all of the good guys looked impressed with Naruto's resolve, Zabuza found his words nothing short of amusing.

"Big words for such a little man. You think your plan's going to keep you in the game?" Zabuza mused as Kakashi's eyes widened as he still saw no way out of this current situation as long as his team were there.

"What're you doing!? I told you to run! This fight was over the moment I got caught. Now take off! Your mission is not to prove how brave you are. It's to save the bridge builder!" Kakashi was quick to remind his team at the task at hand though they looked unconvinced with Kakashi's argument.

"Bridge builder?" Naruto frowned in Tazuna's direction who looked down in thought before he looked back up with his answer in mind.

"Well I…I guess this all happened because of me. Because of my desire to live but I won't let that stand in your way now. Forget about me and do what you have to do. Go ahead and fight to save your sensei!" Tazuna said as everyone seemed satisfied at that.

"And there you have it." Boruto smirked as Kakashi looked like he was about to have a brain aneurysm. Why did his team have to be so darn hard-headed?

"Heh, you ready Sasuke?" Naruto smirked as Zabuza merely chuckled as his small chuckles turned into humorous laughter.

"Okay, what's so funny?" Sarada asked, slightly weirded out.

"We're gonna see in a little bit." Mitsuki shrugged.

"You really haven't learned anything, have you? Still playing your little game, pretending to be ninja. When I was your age, this hand had already crushed many opponents." Zabuza looked to his hands as Team Seven actually cringed at Zabuza's admission. Even Sasuke couldn't imagine killing so….adamantly.

"Zabuza…the demon…." Kakashi muttered.

"Demon? I guess from what we've seen of him so far, we can't be surprised…" Boruto muttered as Zabuza actually smirked at Kakashi's words.

"Oh, so I was in your book too, huh?" Zabuza asked as Kakashi turned to his team who looked utterly lost.

"Long ago in the Village Hidden in the Mist, also known as Blood Mist Village, before a student could become a ninja, there was one final test…." Kakashi began his explanation.

"Do you know about the graduation exam?" Zabuza turned to Kakashi's direction.

"What graduation exam? What's the big deal anyway? We had graduation tests too." Naruto said to Zabuza's whose laughs were starting to unnerve even Boruto and Sarada along with Team Seven.

"Did you have to kill the other students to pass?" Zabuza simply asked as Naruto lost the color in his face.

"Wait what!?" Sarada asked.

"Wait, I remember Kagura telling me and the other guys that. That was a part of the graduation requirement back in the day." Boruto noted in remembrance.

"And it was during a time where the Hidden Mist Village was called Blood Mist Village ruled by the tyrant Yagura." Mitsuki added as Sarada could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"Imagine young ninja like you, eating together, training together and here comes the final exam. Only they changed the rules-kill or be killed. You can't stop while your opponent still breathes. He was your friend, shared your dreams now it's him….or you…." Zabuza explained as everyone except for Kakashi and Mitsuki looked sick to their stomachs at what they were hearing.

"That's so cruel…" Sakura whimpered as she took one step back.

"Understatement of the century, mom…" Sarada frowned, realizing just how out of place her mother was here.

"Ten years ago in the Village Hidden in the Mist, the graduation exam changed. One year before, a dark evil had filled the school with terror…." Kakashi said as Sakura looked puzzled.

"What's he saying? What kind of evil? What caused the terror?" Sakura asked.

"And that evil was Zabuza." Mitsuki stated simply.

"Without pause or hesitation a young boy who was not even a ninja approached the class and took down over a hundred other students." Kakashi finished his story, letting the information sink into those who were listening within earshot.

"…God…talk about psycho….makes me glad I wasn't born in the Hidden Mist back then…." Boruto cringed.

"Yeah no kidding. Just how are they gonna bring this psycho down?" Sarada asked, curious as to how this mission ended.

Zabuza was silent as he was clearly in Memory Lane about the good old days. At least for him, anyways.

"It…it felt so…good!" Zabuza exclaimed as his smile was clearly seen through his bandages, making Naruto and Sasuke tense before Sasuke found himself back-smacked away from Naruto before the Zabuza clone brought his elbow down on Sasuke's abdomen, making the young Uchiha spit out a mouthful of blood.

"No!" Sarada yelled.

"Uncle Sasuke, you gotta get outta there!" Boruto yelled as the Zabuza clone rubbed his foot across Sasuke's chest who grunted in pain.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled, wanting to run to Sasuke's aid but found herself unable to do so as she would be killed with utter ease and there needed to be at least one person around Zabuza.

"Hehe, you're nothing." The clone's hand went to his blade, intent on cleaving Sasuke in two.

"Stop right there!" Naruto yelled before summoning a good number of Shadow Clones as they surrounded Zabuza from all angles as he looked at Naruto in intrigue.

"Shadow Clones…and there's quite a few of them…" Zabuza unwittingly took his foot off of Sasuke as his attention was shifted from Sasuke towards Naruto who took out a Kunai with all his clones.

"Here we go!" Naruto and his clones yelled as they all dogpiled on Zabuza, intent on turning him into a pincushion although he was surprisingly able to get the edge as he repelled all of Naruto's clones away much to the shock of everyone watching.

"Man he's strong! He pushed back all that weight!" Boruto exclaimed both in awe and fear.

"He isn't called the 'Demon of the Mist' for nothing." Mitsuki said as Sakura went pale in fear as this was seemingly turning into a no win scenario.

"His skills are too advanced…he's too powerful…there's no way to defeat him!" Tazuna yelled as the clones started to slowly poof away though Naruto and Sasuke didn't look too deterred from this.

"I'm not giving up, I've still got this!" Naruto pulled out a Shuriken as Mitsuki's eyes widened slightly.

"Sasuke!" Naruto threw the projectile to Sasuke who caught it as his eyes also widened before he got into a battle stance as he readied the weapon as it slowly opened.

"Demon Wind Shuriken! Windmill of Shadows!" Sasuke declared as the Zabuza clone looked unfazed with the weapon.

"A Shuriken? You'll never touch me with that." Zabuza's clone scoffed as Sasuke merely grunted before jumping into the air and sending it, surprisingly not in the direction of the Zabuza clone.

"I get it! He's going for the real Zabuza since in order to dodge the weapon he'd have to release Old Man Kakashi!" Boruto noted though Sarada frowned.

"He can merely jump over it or catch it with his other arm." Sarada pointed out as Zabuza looked unintimidated with the incoming projectile.

"So you passed the clone and aimed for my real body. Smart. But not smart enough." Zabuza shook his head as he caught the weapon only to notice a second Shuriken coming.

"Wait there's a second one?" Sarada asked as even Zabuza looked surprised by this.

"A second Shuriken in the shadow of the first? The Shadow Shuriken Jutsu." Zabuza noted.

"I see so the first one was just a diversion and the second Shuriken is what dad and Uncle Sasuke really intended since dad must be in the second Shuriken!" Boruto noted as he remembered what happened when the clones all started to slowly disperse and vanish as he remembered Naruto grabbing hold of a clone and a different weapon.

"Ingenious!" Sarada noted with a smile as Zabuza hastily jumped over the weapon.

"I told you, a Shuriken can't hurt me!" Zabuza yelled before the "Shuriken" suddenly poofed revealing none other than the real Naruto in place of it.

"Heh, told you he was unpredictable!" Boruto was quick to nearly cheering as Zabuza's eyes widened in dread.

"What!?" Zabuza exclaimed, clearly not expecting this sudden change in events.

"Eat this!" Naruto yelled, flinging an open kunai at Zabuza who thankfully had the common sense to dodge the weapon as he unwillingly released Kakashi from his Water Prison though the sudden speed of the kunai led to the area under Zabuza's eye getting slashed, much to the shock of the memory spectators as he readied the Shuriken that was close by.

"I'll destroy you!" Zabuza roared as he was intent on slicing Naruto in two whose eyes widened in horror.

Thankfully he was saved from such a fate as Kakashi's was quick to stop Zabuza from launching the Shuriken by holding him back with his mere knuckles, thankfully letting Naruto fall into the water safely.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" Sakura gasped, happy that her sensei was okay.

"Thanks Old Man Kakashi." Boruto smiled as Kakashi turned towards Naruto as he was nothing short of impressed with his student's plan.

"Naruto that was an excellent plan. You've really grown haven't you?" Kakashi asked his student with a look of the utmost respect on his face while Naruto couldn't stop the beaming smile from adorning his features.

"I knew I couldn't beat him with my Shadow Clones and that was just to distract him. While he fought the clones, I turned into the Demon Wind Shuriken. Heh, he didn't know what to do, believe it! I used one of the clones to transform into the Shuriken. When I threw it to Sasuke, it looked like a real Shuriken. Sasuke could tell it was me in a second and he spun around so no one could see and pulled out his own Shuriken. Now there were two Shuriken. One was real and one was me. I hid in the shadow of the real Shuriken and my target was the real Zabuza. Of course I knew I couldn't fight Zabuza myself, that wasn't in the game plan. I just wanted to get in there and break up his water prison although I didn't know his clone would be wrecked too, ha! That was a bonus, believe it!" Naruto grinned with pride as everyone looked impressed at how such a seemingly thick-headed moron could come up with such an intelligent plan.

"Guess he's not the loser of the Academy anymore." Boruto grinned.

"Although he still has a long way to go before he becomes the Lord Hokage that we all know and love today." Mitsuki was quick to remind his teammate though he was smiling. They all were.

"Don't brag, you just lucked out." Sasuke smirked as Tazuna was nothing short of pissed as he realized his life wasn't ended just because of a mere gamble.

"The whole thing was just a fluke!?" Tazuna didn't know whether to be relieved that he was still in the world of the living or be pissed that it was such the case because of pure dumb luck.

Though this didn't seem to dishearten Zabuza as he merely chuckled.

"I got distracted and lost my grip of the water prison." Zabuza rolled his eyes, thinking that Naruto was stupid to believe the fight was shifting away from Zabuza's favor all because he got lucky. Though Kakashi would hear none of this.

"Don't flatter yourself. You weren't distracted. You were forced to let go." Kakashi spat venomously as Zabuza's eyes narrowed at the Leaf ninja.

"Your technique worked on me once, it won't work on me again. So what's it going to be?" Kakashi asked as the air grew thick with tension as everyone readied themselves as they could only assume what would happen next.

"Sakura, you know what to do." Sasuke turned his eye to Sakura as she nodded before the two defensively got in front of Tazuna, remembering their mission at hand.

Zabuza's eye suddenly clenched while Kakashi's eye widened as he tried digging deeper into Kakashi's stab wound with his Shuriken before Kakashi was thankfully able to deflect the huge weapon by sending it spiraling into the sky; far, far away.

Zabuza then jumped away as he readied several hand signs but as he did so, Kakashi's Sharingan eye seemingly locked onto Zabuza's hand gestures.

"The Sharingan!" Sasuke observed.

"So we finally get to see the 'Copy Ninja' in action." Sarada smiled before both men touched down on the water below.

It was then when both men started to simply mirror the other movements while they chanted several different Japanese signs which was finished with the following, "Water Style! Water Dragon Jutsu!"

And as Kakashi and Zabuza said that, dragons made of pure, unadulterated water arose from the water below before they started the wrestle and dominate the other as everyone was swept off and knocked off their feet from the current, especially Naruto who was lucky enough not to drown in the huge flow of water he was swept under.

"Man that's freaking cool!" Boruto grinned with sparkly eyes.

"Unreal! To think he's so proficient with his mirroring of hand signs! Then again…this is Master Kakashi…." Sarada could hardly believe how much of a beast Kakashi was in his younger days.

"And there they are!" Mitsuki pointed as both men struggled their blades against each other as Zabuza clashed his blade against Kakashi's kunai. Something that would have looked asinine to someone watching as it would be silly pitting something as tiny as a kunai against a huge blade like Zabuza's but Kakashi was not a force meant to be taken lightly.

As both men struggled their blades against each other, they suddenly broke apart as Zabuza decided to test out something.

As fast as he ran was as fast as Kakashi ran. When Zabuza raised his arm for his Hidden Mist Jutsu, so did Kakashi.

"Okay, that's kinda weird…" Boruto's eye kind of twinged as this was slowly turning into a game of Monkey See, Monkey Do.

"Well that's a part of what the Sharingan is. It turns a previously deadly battle you have with an enemy to a game of 'Simon Says'." Sarada snickered at Boruto's reaction.

"I guess…but it's still kinda creepy…" Boruto shook his head.

"He's not just following….he moves the same way at the same time…" Tazuna said, taken aback as Sakura turned to Sasuke.

"How's he doing that, Sasuke?" Sakura asked the Uchiha expert of her team who said nothing as he kept his gaze on the battle ahead.

"Hmph, thinking of what you're going to do next?" Kakashi asked as Zabuza's eyes widened.

"Wait, it can read minds too? Well….then again given how Uncle Sasuke used the Sharingan to erase everyone's memories of himself and me, I guess I shouldn't really be surprised." Boruto crossed his arms.

"It makes you furious, doesn't it?" Kakashi asked, mirroring the hand seals that Zabuza made as the rogue ninja looked close to losing his sanity.

"All you're doing is copying me like a monkey!" Zabuza spat as he readied another sign before speaking, "You can't beat me with cheap tricks! I'll crush you!"

Although much to his chagrin, Kakashi mirrored his exact saying, word for word.

"Ugh! When I crush you, you'll never open that monkey mouth again!" Zabuza growled as he was more than ready to take Kakashi out but before he could say a word.

"Water Style, Water Vortex Jutsu!" Kakashi yelled before Zabuza was swept away by a huge mass of water.

"How'd he do that? It's like he knew he was gonna see into the future!" Boruto yelled, grateful that he and his teammates wouldn't get wet by the huge amounts of water sweeping through the memory as wet clothes was never a fun situation.

"It's a part of the Eye of Insight that the Sharingan has. When gained with enough power, the user can have the ability to see ahead as to what their opponent will do and thus give them the advantage of using their ability against them." Mitsuki explained.

"Wow….I hope the day comes when I awaken my three tomoe Sharingan!" Sarada exclaimed, excited for the day that she would gain such an ability.

Zabuza was knocked into a nearby tree before he suddenly found himself pinned to the tree with several kunai imbedding themselves in his arms.

"H-How? Can…you see into the future?" Zabuza barely gasped out.

"Yes…this is your last battle ever." Kakashi raised a kunai.

"Guess this match is over and decided." Mitsuki said.

"That's it? And here I thought dad'd be the one to take him out." Boruto shrugged a bit in disappointment.

However as soon as Boruto said those words, two sendon needles flew through the air and embed themselves in into Zabuza's neck, sending blood flying as everyone both in and out of the memory gasped in shock as that was the last thing they expected.

"What the hell just happened!?" Boruto asked, searching around as to the cause.

"Up there!" Sarada pointed up to a nearby tree to see someone with long hair and a mask similar to those that Hunter-Nin wore stood upon a tree as they chuckled at the now pitiful state of Zabuza Momochi.

"You were right. It was his last battle." The masked nin chuckled as both Team Seven and Konohamaru alike stared at the mysterious newcomer with varying levels of intrigue.

"Who is that?" Boruto asked.

"A tracker ninja! I recognize the mask!" Sarada pointed out.

"He must've came to eliminate Mister Zabuza." Mitsuki said as Naruto was finally able to pull himself out of the river before he looked at the masked-ninja in surprise.

Kakashi then vanished over to where Zabuza was before putting to fingers on his neck to scan for a pulse…only to come with none…

"…No vital signs…." Kakashi noted before turning to the masked-ninja who decided to speak once again.

"Thank you, I've been tracking Zabuza for a long time, waiting for this chance to finally take him down." Haku bowed as he thanked all of Team Seven for the hard fought effort in defeating Zabuza.

"By your mask I see that you're a tracker ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist." Kakashi deduced as the boy raised his head back up.

"Impressive. You're well informed." The ninja stated as it was that time when Naruto slid right in front of Tazuna and the rest of Team Seven.

"A tracker!" Naruto said, although Team Konohamaru were quick to notice that the tone in his voice said he had no idea of what a tracker ninja actually was.

"Naruto, you don't even know what that is. You missed the lesson on it, as usual. Tracker ninja have a special role. Try coming to class sometime. When a rogue ninja breaks away from his village, he carries all kinds of secrets with him, the secrets of his people. Trackers are especially trained to hunt down these ninja and eliminate them. That way, the secrets of their people remain safe." Sakura explained to Naruto.

Boruto and Mitsuki said nothing as they looked towards Sasuke's direction.

"That's correct. I'm a member of the elite tracking unit of the Village Hidden in the Mist. It was my duty to stop Zabuza." The tracker ninja stated before Naruto grit his teeth before running straight at the boy as he grit his teeth as he could barely contain his rage as he looked between the boy and the dead body of Zabuza.

"What is this? Who do you think you are!?" Naruto pointed at the boy as he glared at him with barely contained rage as Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna were taken aback with Naruto's sudden rage. Just what got into the boy?

"I don't understand, what's Lord Seventh's deal?" Sarada asked, confused as to why Naruto would be angry with the person who essentially saved his life.

"Is it not obvious?" Mitsuki asked, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What do you mean?" Sarada asked.

"Easy, Naruto. He's not our enemy." Kakashi quickly reminded his protégé as he turned to him with a defiant glare.

"That's not the point! Did you see what he did, just like that? Zabuza was huge and powerful, like some kind of monster and this kid who's no bigger than me, he brought down Zabuza with one move like it was nothing! I mean…what does that make us? We're just fumbling around, we don't know anything! How can I accept that!?" Naruto asked as Sakura and Sasuke looked down while Kakashi merely strolled up to Naruto.

"Well, even if you don't accept it, it still did happen Naruto…" Kakashi stated before putting a hand on Naruto's head.

"In this world, there are kids who are younger than you and yet…stronger than me…" Kakashi said as he turned an eye towards Sasuke's direction who grit his teeth while Naruto merely grumbled with a small blush on his face before turning his head away both in embarrassment and irritation.

"Ain't that the truth…" Boruto muttered, just wondering who would win in a fight between his current self and this version of his father.

"No kidding." Sarada agreed with Mitsuki nodding.

It was then that the tracker ninja touched down and picked up Zabuza's body before putting it on his shoulder.

"Your struggle is over for now. I must deal with the remains. There are many secrets in this body. They must not be allowed to get into the wrong hands. Please excuse me. Farewell." The masked ninja bid Team Seven adieu before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

"Hey, he disappeared!" Naruto said before running in the boy's leftover direction as Kakashi put his headband over his Sharingan.

"He's gone, Naruto. Let it go." Kakashi said as Naruto growled before falling to his knees helplessly before gritting his teeth and suddenly starting punching the ground in frustration at his inability to defeat Zabuza.

"What're we doing!? We're nothing! I can't believe it!" Naruto growled as Sarada's eyes widened while Boruto watched his father sorrowfully as he understood why Naruto was doing what he was doing.

"Now I get it….it must've really hurt to go through all that training…only to have someone else finish the job for him…" Sarada frowned sorrowfully.

"It would be enough to send anyone over the edge…" Boruto sighed, remembering how he felt when he was about to lose the Chunin Exams during that whole scenario with the flag.

Thankfully, Kakashi was able to get Naruto to stop by grabbing one of his arms before he would beat his hands to the point where they would bleed.

"As ninja, the things we encounter are never easy. Save your anger for the next enemy…" Kakashi said as Naruto, albeit reluctantly, stopped his anger tantrum.

"We haven't completed our mission yet. We still have to get the bridge builder to his bridge." Kakashi said as Tazuna suddenly laughed in the most cheerful manner the team has ever heard from his yet.

"Sorry, I caused all this trouble for ya! But you can rest at my house when we get to the village!" Tazuna suggested in a more jovial tone.

"Uh…talk about a small tune change!" Boruto blinked.

"Small?" Sarada blinked, surprised at the evolution of Tazuna from a grumpy old fart to a cheerful, jovial man? This must be a dream…

"Alright, let's get a move on!" Kakashi instructed as everyone started to follow after him again only for him to stumble around before collapsing suddenly right in front of everyone, much to everyone's shock.

"What happened!?" Sakura asked.

"K-Kakashi-Sensei!" Naruto yelled, running straight to Kakashi's side.

"Wait, what the hell just happened?" Boruto asked as Mitsuki's eyes narrowed.

"It must be a side effect of the Sharingan…" Mitsuki surmised as his team was quick to try to help him onto his feet but to no avail before Team Seven realized they needed to carry Kakashi the rest of the way to Tazuna's village.

And as such, with enough time, Team Seven finally reached Tazuna's homeland in the Land of the Waves….

---

And now we begin the first real arc of Naruto and one of my most favorite arcs to boot!

Now you all might notice how I didn't have the bluish-purplish foggy mist end the chapter like I did for the last eight chapters and the reason is because the events of the Land of Waves arc are all part of one big long memory and I feel if I wrote the whole Land of Waves arc in just this one chapter, that'd be kind of cheap of me since the arc deserves more, TBH.

Speaking of, on my profile page I've made a small section dedicated to this story as well as where the current arc of the story is for any new and old-comers that way they can have a direction of just where the story currently is!

Also I should also apologize for being later in the day to update this chapter than I normally do since if you all notice, I try to update this story in the early Afternoons yet I uploaded this at night time and the reason is simple:

Since next week is my Spring Break I have midterms this week and I have to direct my attention towards those BUT at least I didn't stall this chapter so hopefully you all can give me that much, at least? ^_^

In either case, Chapter 10 and the continuation of the Land of Waves arc will be coming Wednesday April 1st as a nice way to start off the lovely month of April so look forward to it then and kindly let me know your thoughts as always since feedback makes me smile! ^_^

Onwards, to ten chapters with this story!