If this doesn't quite come out on time it's because I'm in the woods at the time I'd usually post it.
Hidden mist hiding in the mist with the hiding in the hidden mist technique
Neji ate dinner with his family.
"A two man team?" Asked Hizashi. "So they continue to try and limit your progress?
"He is still four whole years ahead of normal graduation, darling." Said Hizashi's wife, smiling. "Who's your partner, sweetie?"
Neji breathed in. "Itachi Uchiha."
Hizashi frowned. "I...see. Do you work together well?"
"We haven't had much opportunity to test that yet. However I think we can get along. He seems...reasonable."
"Reasonable isn't the word I would use to describe setting the nine-tails on the village." Hizashi murmured, darkly.
"Itachi was five when it happened." Neji pointed out. "I doubt he had a hand in it."
"This might actually be a good thing." Pointed out his mother. "If he's being put together with Itachi, that must mean that the academy is taking him seriously."
Hizashi nodded, thinking it through. "That's a point. If you graduate to Chunin alongside or before Itachi, you will make waves amongst the ninja community. It will be hard for them to ignore you."
Neji nodded. "I appreciate the opportunity."
Hizashi smiled at his son. "Good. If you would like, I could step up your training?"
Neji shook his head. "Sorry father. I have been called into the main branch compound tonight."
That ruined his father's mood. He absently scratched at the caged bird seal on his forehead. "Oh? What does my dear brother want with you now? Perhaps to cripple you before you start?"
"Hizashi!" His wife swatted him.
Neji shook his head. "No, father." He blushed slightly. "I'm babysitting Hinata this evening."
"...Ah. I see."
Itachi ate dinner with his family.
"A two man team?" Asked Fugaku. "They couldn't find two genin to put you with?"
"There have been no other team losses since the last graduation." Itachi responded. "And Neji is the only one ready to graduate right now."
"Neji Hyuuga?" Fugaku gaped. "And you agreed to this?"
"Of course." Itachi replied. "I understand that he represents the best to come out of their family this generation. I have no reason to believe we will quarrel."
"No quarrel?" Scoffed Fugaku. "They are only our biggest rival in the village!"
Itachi kept silent. His father sighed and palmed his forehead. "There is no other?"
"Father, even if I waited until next graduation" Itachi said carefully, "I doubt anyone else would be able to keep up with me."
"Well, I think having a friendly rival would be good for Itachi." Said his mother, brusquely. "I know he has Shisui, but if he's going to be on a team with someone else then it's important to be on fighting terms with them. Or so I understand. Ninja children are ridiculous I swear..."
"Well, I suppose." Fugaku allowed. "You will, of course, not allow him to beat you,"
"Of course not." Itachi smiled. "We start our first mission in a week. Is there any jutsu you think it's important teach me before I go?"
"Well, I could-"
"Ah ah ah!" Mikoto snapped a finger up. "If you're leaving in a week then remember your other obligations, young man."
"Big-big brother's going away?" A three year old Sasuke blinked, looking up from his plastic plate.
Itachi smiled at his younger brother. "Not right now, Sasuke, don't worry."
The boy smiled.
They were a day out from wave when Kakashi got killed. The only warning they got was a gasp from Hinata before there was a blur and Kakashi had been cut in two by a massive meat-cleaver of a broadsword. It then turned out that Kakashi was actually a log, and the real Kakashi jumped out launching a kunai at the sword's wielder. Said swordsman took the kunai right in the side of the head, before disintegrating into a pool of water. Then the real swordsman (who none of the genin could even discern features of, he was that fast) came and bisected Kakashi again, only this time Kakashi popped and vanished completely. The swordsman, evidently tired of this game, jumped up to land on the branch of a nearby tree. Mouth covered by bandages, he turned to stare imperiously down at them.
"The Demon of the Mist." Said the real Kakashi (probably) appearing beside his students. "Momochi Zabuzza. Or is it Zabuzza Momochi? I can never remember..."
"Demon of the mist?" Naruto asked. "Like the demon brothers we just beat up? Is this, like, their dad?"
"No relation." Replied Zabuzza, in a gravelly voice. "Though I'll thank you for putting them away, they were giving my moniker a bad rep." He focused on their jonin, and everyone felt the killing intent. "Sharingan Kakashi. I've always wanted to meet you."
"Sharingan?" Sasuke asked, confused.
"Ordinarily I'd offer to let you surrender the civilian to me," Zabuzza continued, ignoring the bridge builder's whimpering. "But then you might agree and rob me of the chance to fight you, and I can't have that at all. I will allow your children to run away, if they want?"
"Hey kids." Kakashi said, not looking back. "You want to run away like scaredy cats?"
"Nope."
"Nuh-uh."
"No thank you, sensei."
"They're all fine, thanks." Kakashi told Zabuzza. The missing-nin chuckled. "Have it your way."
He put his hands together.
"Hiding in the mist jutsu!"
And the mist came in.
"That'll be from the, uh, 'hidden mist' village huh?" Naruto quipped, nervously. He looked to his left, and Kakashi was gone. He gulped, head turning, but he could barely see his palm in front of his face.
"Naruto!" His arm was grabbed, and he jerked away on principle, before realising it was Hinata who had took hold of him. Veins bulged out from her eyes. "I can see through it." She said. "The Uchiha is with Tazuna, we need to move!"
She yanked, and Naruto followed.
"How can he find us in this?" He asked.
Kakashi's voice came out from the mist. "He's a master of blind assassinations! He can track you by sound alone!"
That, at least, Naruto had a solution for. He grinned, and slapped his hands together. "Shadow clone jutsu!" The clearing was filled with almost a dozen Naruto. They all then began screaming.
"WHO CAN TAKE A SUNRISE-"
"AUTOGLASS REPAIR AUTOGLASS REPLACE-"
"IF YOU OR YOUR LOVED ONES HAVE BEEN MISSOLD PPI-"
"That should make things harder for him." Naruto grinned at Hinata, though he immediately grimaced. "Okay, I just lost one. Lets make this snappy, huh?"
He could almost make out the blush on Hinata's cheeks as she nodded and pulled him forwards again. When they reached Tazuna, Sasuke had just thrown a kunai through the hole in Zabuzza's sword, taking him in the face, but he simply dissolved into a puddle.
"Water clones." Sasuke spat. "At least two more of them. Hinata's the only one who can fight; we need to get rid of this mist."
"Can you great fireball it?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke snorted. "And evaporate the rest of the water? Try again."
"Okay..." Naruto growled, performing another "shadow clone jutsu!" to replenish the dwindling supply. "Anyone know any wind jutsu?"
"I...might know something." Hinata spoke up. "Everyone get within a few metres of me."
They acquiesced. She let out a breath and focused, getting into a strange looking stance. Then began to move her feet as chakra was visibly expelled from all over her body. "Eight trigrams; Rotation!" She called.
A swirling blue dome of chakra surrounded her and her companions, blowing away all the mist in her nearby vicinity. Unfortunately, it also blew away everyone in her immediate vicinity.
With startled shouts, her two teammates and Tazuna were bodily picked up and flung out the dome.
Sasuke had the good sense to substitute with Tazuna mid flight, so when a water clone swung at the man it instead found itself overextended against a much smaller target. Sasuke dodged and stabbed. Naruto grabbed Tazuna (who lacked all resistance at this point) and ran back to Hinata, who was preoccupied with her own water clone.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry-" she was repeating, as she ducked under a massive sword swing. Naruto released Tazuna and flung a kunai in the clone's general direction. Said clone (not as capable of thought as a shadow variant) brought its sword up to block the knife, and wasn't prepared for Hinata reaching up to it's face. The chakra burst was powerful enough to blow the construct's head off.
"-I'm sorry I'm sorry." Hinata finished, panting. "I had to learn that technique from books I didn't know it would-"
"Hey, it's okay." Naruto reassured her. "You got rid of the mist, at least."
She had; most of the fog had been dispelled to the corners of the clearing.
"Any more water clones?" Naruto asked her.
She shook her head. "No. Just the original, over with...oh."
They all looked across to the body of water Zabuzza had been conjuring his jutsu from.
Zabuzza stood there, on the water's surface, with Kakashi held in a water prison.
"This is a little embarrassing." The jonin sighed.
"Well well, you're alive." Zabuzza remarked. "I'm impressed. Now if you just wait two seconds while I kill your sensei, I'll get right to you."
"Alright team." Naruto told his teammates. "We need to get our sensei free. I think if we try and do the thing we did against Kakashi, it might-guys?" Tazuna blinked at him. Sasuke and Hinata were already gone.
"Great fireball jutsu!" Yelled the former, aiming for Kakashi's water prison.
"Eight trigrams, thirty two palms!" Exclaimed the latter, beelining for Zabuzza. The missing-nin tch'd.
Unable to stop both attacks with one hand occupied, he was forced to prioritise Hinata, and used his free hand to perform the seals for a simple "water bullet jutsu!". The projectile caught the jumping girl, sending her flying backwards, but the fireball still collided against Kakashi's prison. Water may do well against fire, but a good portion of the front of the barrier evaporated, letting Kakashi jump free. If the high temperature steam bothered him, he didn't show it. "Well done, kiddies." He told them, lightly stepping onto the water's surface. "Let me handle this next part."
"Handle me, will you?" Zabuzza chuckled, darkly. "What makes you think that will go better than it just did?"
"Well..." said Kakashi. He reached a hand up to his headband and lifted it, revealing a red iris with three comma like dots in it. "I guess you could say that I have an eye for such things."
"Sharingan..." Sasuke whispered to himself. "What the fuck..?"
What followed was genuinely creepy. Kakashi and Zabuzza mirrored each other perfectly, going through a complex series of hand signs with identical rhythm and calling out "water dragon jutsu!" At the exact same time. But Kakashi's dragon rose from the lake first. It smashed through Zabuzza's technique and collided with him, snapping the mist ninja up in its jaws and ramming him into a tree on the shore. He sank to his knees. Kakashi was in front of him in an instant, pulling a kunai.
"Any last words?" Asked the copy ninja, lazily.
Zabuzza coughed. "Sure. Tell the-"
"Too slow." Kakashi brought his kunai up.
That was when two needles hit Zabuzza in the neck. He stiffened, and collapsed.
"Was that...you?" Naruto asked, tentatively.
Another ninja dropped down from the treeline. The genin took a step back.
"Thank you for your assistance, ninja of Konoha." It said, in an effeminate voice. The clothing it wore was unobtrusive, except for its white face mask that obscured all its features. Two braids of hair fell over it's shoulders. "I was sent by hidden mist to retrieve the body of the traitor Zabuzza, I trust you understand."
"We understand." Responded Kakashi, evenly.
"We do?" Checked a confused Naruto.
"Clan secrets." Hinata explained. "If a Hyuuga betrayed leaf, hunter-nin would be dispatched to make sure the secrets of the Byakugan weren't spread to other nations." She scowled. "Of course, if a Hyuuga escaped who was too powerful to be captured, we wouldn't bother."
The hunter-nin had shouldered the ex-Zabuzza. "I will ensure your village is sent an appropriate sum for your assistance. Farewell." It said, before jumping up into the trees.
Hinata, who had been staring at the body the whole time, let out a gasp. "Sensei! Stop them!" She was too late; the masked ninja had vanished into the trees.
"What's wrong?" Asked Kakashi.
"I can see his chakra!" Hinata exclaimed. "I thought it was just residue, but, he's still alive sensei!"
...
A bird chirped in the distance.
This time, it was Kakashi who swore.
Wave was not a happy looking place, and it was not a happy group that entered the village. Tazuna led the four ninja through dirty streets and alleys, past dilapidated houses and downturned faces. All four of the visitors (not to mention their guide) were soaked from the mist and water techniques. The kids were all bruised from being flung around by Hinata's rotation technique, and Kakashi seemed exhausted, barely able to continue walking. Tazuna looked very much like he'd suffered worse hardships before.
Eventually they came across a certain house that Tazuna walked up to, and he knocked twice on the the door. It opened very slowly, and a face peeked through. "Grandpa!" The child rushed out and collided with Tazuna, crushing him in a hug. "Hey there, Inami." The old man chuckled. "Where's your mother, huh?"
"She's inside." Inami replied, letting go, before noticing team seven. "Grandpa? Who are these people?"
"They are here to help us, Inami." Tazuna's face turned grim. "Now lets go inside. We and your mother have a lot to talk about."
Dinner was a relatively simple affair. Despite Tazuna declaring it a 'feast in their honour' for saving his life multiple times, the fare was minuscule, and Naruto barely had enough common decency not to complain about it. Tazuna had said they'd been hit hard by Gatou's blockade, but he hadn't realised it was this hard.
"So you fought...demons?" Asked Inari's mother, not very familiar with ninja.
"Ninja calling themselves demons." Kakashi replied, somehow eating without removing his mask. "Less horns, more swords."
"Well, I think it all sounds very impressive." The woman said. "You think you'll be able to do it then? Keep Tazuna safe until the bridge is complete?"
"Believe it!" Naruto answered, grinning. "Team seven is the greatest genin team to come out of Konoha in years! Nothing Gatou can send is gonna stop us!"
"You're wrong." Came a mumble.
It was Inari. "Nobody can beat Gatou. People have tried. They were all killed."
"Kid." Sasuke started, but Inari burst out "You're all crazy! People go out thinking they're heroes and they all get killed! You're going to die too!"
"Inari!" Chastened his mother, but he'd already jumped down from the table and ran off into the house. The woman sighed. "Sorry about him. He lost his father to Gatou's men, and he hasn't taken it well." She looked up to Tazuna. "Are you really sure they can do this? I mean no offence but, we couldn't really afford Konoha's best."
"The little girl and the teacher are both from massively famous ninja clans." Tazuna explained. "I'm confident."
"Uh, Kakashi's not from a famous clan." Sasuke interceded. "I am."
"Really?" Said Tazuna. "Because it seems to me like he has the Sharingan and you don't."
"I..." Sasuke paused. Opened his mouth. Closed it. Turned to Kakashi. "Are you going to correct him on this?"
"Correct him on what?" Kakashi replied, perfectly innocently. "I think it's time you stopped pretending to be famous, Sasuke. The clever builder clearly hasn't fallen for it.
Sasuke's jaw hit the floor.
He didn't speak for the rest of the meal.
For those of you who haven't caught on yet, Sasuke swears in every chapter. No exceptions. Zabuzza fight! Yay! Hinata shows off some more of her capabilities; I plan for her to develop most of the clan jutsu we've seen before the end of the sasuke retrieval arc (what am I going to do with that? For me to know and you to find out.) Then we'll see whether we go into shippuden or not. For now, we have a training montage to get through, and a trap to get better acquainted with!
