Zabuza fight in this chapter.
'Thoughts'
"Technique/Demon/Bijuu" Talk
"Demon/Bijuu" Talk from inside
'Technique in head/Demon/Bijuu' Thoughts
Reviews
UnsanMusho: We can only hope.
biginferno: Some of those are pretty interesting suggestions like Ameyuri, but I'm all for it and yeah, I could include people like Queen Sara.
Harem so far (help it expand by suggesting)
Amaru, Ameyuri, Fuu, Hanabi, Hinata, Ino, Kurotsutchi, Mei, Samui, Shizuka, Shizune, Shion, Tayuya, Temari, Tenten, Yakumo/Ido
Chapter 6: Wave
"Sasuke. I'm at Point B," A raven-haired genin spoke as he was standing behind a tree.
"Sakura. I'm at Point C," A pinkette reported as she was also behind a tree.
They waited a couple of seconds before Naruto spoke last. "Naruto's at Point A."
"You're slow, Naruto," Kakashi told, a bit away from his three genin.
"I had to get a better vantage point," Naruto defended.
"Whatever… Team 7-hm?!" The three genin waited for Kakashi's orders, but they never came. "The target has moved!"
The three genin whipped their heads at leaves rustling before they saw a brown cat jump into some bushes.
"Follow it!" Kakashi ordered. They all nodded as they quickly shifted to closer trees.
Naruto was perched on a branch as he squinted his eyes and could barely see the brown cat. "I see it…" He whispered with a grin. 'Kurama, you there?'
"I'm right near it. Give me the signal, and I'll paralyze it," Kurama responded. Naruto nodded as he waited for Kakashi's orders again.
"What's your distance from the target?" Kakashi asked.
"Five meters. We're ready, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto responded as he peeked around the trunk, the others grunting in confirmation.
"Okay…" Kakashi said. He waited a few seconds before his eye widened. "Now!"
'Kurama!' Naruto thought as he jumped off of the branch.
Naruto purposefully made a lot of noise and the cat heard him. It turned around, but was immediately met with red eyes glaring at its own, daring for it to run away.
The cat stood there in paralyzing fear, unable to move. Naruto made it to the clearing and picked up the cat gently before rubbing it in a soothing manner.
"You're gonna be okay, it's not gonna hurt you," Naruto whispered to the cat as he pet its fur, making the animal relax a little. Sasuke and Sakura both made it, only to see that Naruto successfully captured the target.
"Kakashi-sensei, I got the cath," Naruto reported with a smirk as Kurama walked out of the bushes. Sasuke's guard immediately went up, seeing the clone appear once again.
"Can you verify a red ribbon on its right ear?" The cycloptic jounin asked. Sakura looked at the cat's head and could see the ribbon.
"Yep, there's a red ribbon on there," She answered.
"Right. Lost pet Tora: captured. Mission accomplished," Kakashi notified.
"Can't we get something better than catching cats, Kakashi-sensei? I don't understand why we have to do these kinds of D-Rank missions," Naruto asked.
"You genin have to get used to doing missions, so that's why they start you out with D-Ranks, to improve your experience while also knowing how missions work," Kakashi responded.
"Yeah, but how can we improve our experience by doing other people's chores?"
"Well, by gaining the trust of the civilians. If you can do simple tasks, then they'll trust you more and more. Once that happens, the Hokage can trust you to do more experienced missions."
Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kurama walked in sight of where Kakashi was.
"Pfft, as if the civilians would trust me anyways," Naruto countered as he and Kurama walked past Kakashi. "These missions aren't worth anything if I can't gain the one thing it's supposed to be about."
Kakashi watched as the whiskered blonde was walking towards the village. Sasuke and Sakura were trailing behind him. The jounin sighed as he followed his genin.
Team 7 made it to the Hokage's office, where a lady… well-rounded lady with dark brown hair in three poofs was standing in the middle. She had on pink lipstick, pink nail polish, and purple eyeshadow. She also had red earrings and a lot of rings on her fingers.
The lady was smiling brightly as she saw her Tora, who immediately scrambled out of Naruto's arms and onto his back, clinging to dear life.
"Ohhh Tooorraaa~!" The lady singsonged as she made her way to the boy, who could only lean back at her approach. "Come here to Mommy!"
The lady tried to grab Tora, but the cat kept on moving to an unreachable part of Naruto's body.
"Come on, my naughty little kitten! Come here already!" The woman demanded as she tried harder. Naruto felt like if any more of this continued, he'd get hit by her.
"Um, excuse me, ma'am," Naruto spoke up, making the lady stop.
"Yes, what is it?" She asked as she looked at the boy.
"I don't mean to be rude… but I think that you're too close with your cat," Naruto noticed as he raised his leg and unclenched the cat. He held Tora in his arms and began petting her.
"What ever do you mean?"
"I mean… you're giving her too much affection. She feels like she's trapped and the only way for her to be free is by escaping, ya know?" Naruto answered. "You should try to dial down on the affection a bit, maybe then she'll stop running away."
The lady took in his words and nodded at them. "Yes, I see. I guess I have been a bit too affectionate with Tora…"
Naruto smiled at her and held Tora out to her. "Well, it's not too late to change." The lady nodded and she took Tora from Naruto's hands. She placed the cat in her arms like Naruto did and began petting her. Tora was tense, at first, but soon accepted the petting and relaxed.
"Wow… it's actually working. Thank you… er…"
"Naruto."
"Yes, thank you, Naruto," She said as she smiled down at her cat.
"Good job on bringing Tora back to Lady Shijimi, Team 7," The Hokage congratulated as he picked up a piece of paper. "Now then, we have several available tasks… Mm… among them, babysitting the chief counselor's three year old, helping his wife to do the shopping, taking up potatoes and-"
"Listen, Gramps, I don't mean to be rude, but can we actually do a real mission?" Naruto interrupted with a cocked eyebrow. "I wanna do something exciting and challenging, ya know? To really test out my abilities!"
"Oh come on, Naruto, we have you do these missions because you don't really have any experience. Like everyone else, you start with simple missions to develop your skills and prove yourself," Iruka joined the conversation with a smile.
"I know Iruka-sensei… but can I really improve my skills by babysitting?" Naruto wondered.
"Of course. Protecting a baby and watching over them is like a gateway to actually protecting an important person," Iruka responded.
"Okay, I can understand that… but help shopping? I don't understand why we need to do that."
"Naruto…" The Third spoke, causing him to shift his attention to Hiruzen. "I don't think you're quite understanding the tasks you've been given. Listen, many different kinds of requests come into our village every day, from babysitting to assassinations. These requests are carefully recorded, analyzed, then ranked A, B, C, or D, depending on their difficulty. We ninja are also ranked by ability. Hokage at the top, jounin, chuunin, and genin at the bottom. At the highest level, we select the missions and assign them to ninja who have the appropriate skill and experience. And if the mission is successful, we receive a fee that supports our village, and our work." Lady Shijimi then handed some money over to a guy and he put it in a box.
"Since you are untried genin starting down the shinobi path, you are given D-Level assignments, of course," he continued.
"Yeah, I kinda got the jist of it… but Gramps, I think I'm a different case, dontcha think?" Naruto checked with a cocky smirk. Hiruzen had to think about that before smirking.
"I guess you're right… okay then, I'm going to give you a C-Ranked mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey," Hiruzen responded. Iruka was about to question it, but he then thought back to when Naruto used that strange nintaijutsu, and all the other times he'd beaten Sasuke without a sweat, also to the time when he killed Mizuki. He sat back down with a smile on his face, knowing that Naruto was ready for this C-Rank mission.
Sasuke and Sakura were surprised at this decision, but Naruto spoke first.
"So, who is it we're guarding?" The blonde asked.
"Send in our visitor," Hiruzen ordered. Team 7 looked at the door and waited. A couple seconds passed, and the door slid open to reveal a grey-haired man with glasses, dark eyes, and a small piece of whiterope wrapped around his forehead. He was wearing a sleeveless, v-neck shirt with an obi and a towel around his neck. He was also wearing dark beige pants and sandals.
"What the-a bunch of little snot-nosed kids?" He questioned and took some sips out of his bottle. Naruto cocked an eyebrow at the man.
'This is who we're supposed to be guarding…?' Naruto asked himself.
"And you, little one with the idiotic look on your face, you really expect me to believe you're a ninja?" The man asked as he pointed at Naruto.
The whiskered blonde already knew he was slightly shorter than his two teammates, so there was no need to clarify, but his quizzed expression turned into a scowl.
"Yeah, I am one, ya know. You better believe it cause we're the ones that are guarding you," Naruto riposted as he crossed his arms.
"Psh, damn brat," the man stuttered as he took a swig of his drink. "I'm 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 life."
Naruto smirked. "Of course. We'll get you there safely, believe it!"
"I'll believe it when I see it, brat," Tazuna said as he took another swig of his drink.
"If that is all, you leave immediately. I expect you to accomplish this mission without fail, understood?" Hiruzen asked the team with a stern look.
"Hai!" Kakashi responded. The team left the room with Tazuna and made their way to the gates.
Team 7, plus Tazuna, made it to the gates of Konoha and walked through them. Naruto was in the front, smiling widely as it'd been his first time outside of the village.
'I never thought I'd leave the village so soon!' Naruto thought as he looked at the trees in amazement.
"You better take in your surroundings while you can. You're on a mission, remember?" Kurama reminded with a scoff.
'Give me a break, Kurama! Let me enjoy this for a bit, alright?!' The fox only sighed at Naruto before resting his head on his arms.
Tazuna looked at the whiskered blonde enjoying the scenery. "Am I supposed to trust my life to this runt? He's a joke!" Naruto instantly whipped his head and glared at Tazuna.
"Don't worry. He's with me, and I'm a jounin, so you don't need to worry," Kakashi reassured as he closed his eye. Naruto scoffed as he turned around.
'This old geezer's getting on my nerves…' He thought.
"Calm down, Kit. Take a deep breath. You have to deal with him if you want to complete the mission," Kurama told. Naruto subtly nodded before doing what Kurama said and relaxed. After doing so, he felt like people were watching them.
'Kurama.'
"I already sensed them, I was wondering if you'd sense them as well," Kurama responded with a smirk. Naruto also smirked as he nodded and turned to look at the others.
"Well, let's go! We can't stand here forever, right?" Naruto asked as he grinned. Kakashi nodded.
"Like Naruto said, let's get moving," Kakashi restated. Naruto turned around and began walking ahead of everyone as they began their journey to Nami no Kuni.
The group began walking for around ten minutes in silence before Sakura decided to start some small talk.
"Say… Mister Tazuna," the pinkette spoke as she looked at the bridge builder.
"What is it?" Tazuna asked.
"Your country is Nami no Kuni, right?" Sakura checked.
"Yeah, what of it?"
"Kakashi-sensei, there are ninja in that country too, aren't there?" She asked as she looked at the cycloptic jounin.
"No, there are no ninja in Nami no Kuni, but, in other countries, there are hidden villages, each with their own different customs and cultures, where ninja reside," Kakashi responded. He then went on to explain the villages, what represents their strength, how a country like Nami no Kuni doesn't need a hidden village for protection, and what each Kage of the five great nations are.
While he was explaining this, Naruto kept an eye out for the people that were watching him. It couldn't have been Yugao because he wouldn't have been able to sense her so easily, nor was it Iruka-sensei, that just didn't seem logical. Naruto decided that they weren't from the village, with Kurama's input.
Sakura gasped which made Naruto look at her. "So then that means the Hokage's really important!"
"Is he really that important? I'm not buyin' it for a second!" Inner Sakura stated with crossed arms.
'The Hokage's that great, huh?' Sasuke thought, slightly doubting the Hokage's strength.
"Hey. You all just doubted Lord Hokage, didn't you?" Kakashi questioned. The three genin stopped. Sakura frantically shook her head while Sasuke just stared forward. Naruto looked back at Kakashi with a smirk.
"I know for a fact that Grandpa Hokage's strong, believe it!" Naruto said with a foxy grin.
Kakashi nodded at the boy. "Lord Hokage is really powerful… but anyway, there are no ninja battles in a C-Rank mission, so, you can relax."
"And we're not going to run into any foreign enemy ninja or anything like that," Sakura added, making Kakashi chuckle. Naruto slightly lowered his eyes as he looked at Tazuna. He could see him slightly sweat and knew something was up. Sasuke also looked at him.
"Yeah, not likely," Kakashi agreed as he closed his eye, making it look like a smile.
The group resumed their trek to get to Nami no Kuni, all in silence once again. They were walking a dirt trail and Naruto spotted a puddle on the side of it.
"Kit… I'm sensing two chakra signatures from that puddle," Kurama informed. Naruto nodded and glanced at the puddle impassively, getting ready for an attack. Kakashi also glanced at it, knowing full well that there were ninja hiding in it.
The group walked forward a little bit, before the puddle moved and two heads slowly emerged from it. Soon, the rest of the bodies were seen covered in black cloaks. The one on the back instantly jumped off and was headed toward the group.
"What?" Kakashi voiced as he looked to see the flying enemy ninja headed towards them. Naruto also looked back, but couldn't do anything as two sets of chains shot out from their metal claws and wrapped around Kakashi.
The others whipped around and saw Kakashi trapped by chains.
"What?!" Sakura asked as she looked on in shock. Naruto quickly made the reverse clone sign. 'Empty Shadow Clone Technique!'
A puff of smoke appeared next to Naruto as a lifeless clone stood there, but only for a second as it regained life.
"Do it!" One of the enemy ninjas shouted and they both pulled the chains hard. Kakashi was ripped to shreds by the chains. Sakura and Tazuna looked on in horror, Sakura more affected than him. She let out a surprised yelp as she backed up and covered herself.
"Hurry and get the bridge builder!"
Sasuke was about to move, but Naruto and Kurama beat him to it. Both Naruto and Kurama made the Boar → Tiger → Rat → Dragon hand seals. 'Fire Release: Scorching Limbs!"
They both took off as their technique was active. Naruto rushed the one with the cloak and began engaging in a taijutsu match with him.
Kurama was also fighting the other one in taijutsu. The disguised fox did a low sweep that the enemy ninja hopped over, but Kurama quickly came back around and would've kicked his ribcage, but the ninja put his arms up to block it even though it burned.
Kurama planted his other arm on the ground and began furiously back kicking. The ninja was forced to continue blocking as his arms began to burn even more, but couldn't do much.
Kurama stopped kicking and quickly flipped on his feet, he turned around and jumped in the air before coming down with a claw attack. The ninja blocked the attack and began pushing back. Kurama pushed off of his arm and landed back. He quickly glanced at Naruto, who jumped back next to him.
"Let's go, Kit!" Kurama ordered.
"Right!" Naruto nodded as he put his arm out towards Kurama and he did the same. "Wind Release: Vortex Ball!"
"Fire Release: Blooming Fox Flower!"
In Naruto's palm, wind began gathering and soon formed a ball of clashing air while in Kurama's hand, a flower-shaped ball of flames formed.
The two of them put the balls together and they soon fused into one ball of rushing wind and fire. They both cocked their arms back and stepped forward.
"Fire Vortex Fox Flower Bloom Technique!" Naruto and Kurama both shouted as they threw the ball at the two enemy ninjas. They didn't have time to block as the collaboration technique hit them head on, exploding into what looked like a giant flower flaring wildly thanks to the wind element of the technique. Everyone else watched in complete shock at it.
The painfully filled screams of the enemy ninja filled the air, unable to escape it.
A few seconds passed before the fire rose in the air and dispersed, leaving two burnt up bodies on the ground. Naruto and Kurama walked up to the bodies and looked at them.
"They're not dead, right?" Naruto asked his Bijuu as he glanced at him.
Kurama closed his eyes and hummed. He opened them a second later. "No, they're still alive."
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well, I didn't expect that to happen," a voice spoke that sounded familiar. Naruto looked up and saw Kakashi standing on the other side of the laid out bodies.
"K-Kakashi-sensei?!" Sakura screamed from the back.
"The one and only," he responded as he crossed his arms.
"W-I thought you died!" She told with a shaky voice.
"Well, I simply used the Body Replacement Technique," the cycloptic jounin told as he picked up the two bodies. "Good job, Naruto, you didn't freeze up and moved to do something. Plus, that collaboration technique was pretty cool." Naruto gave him a foxy grin as the jounin walked towards Tazuna.
Tazuna sighed in relief, sweat dripping down the sides of his face. 'Seems like they protected me after all.'
"Mister Tazuna," Kakashi spoke in a serious tone. Tazuna flinched and looked at Kakashi.
"Yeah, what?" The bridge builder asked.
"We need to talk." Kakashi walked over to a tree and set the enemy ninja down against the trunk. He wrapped some wire around them to make sure they couldn't escape from it. He backed up and stood next to Tazuna, the others made a semi-circle around them as the ninja woke up.
"They're chuunin from Kirigakure. Their specialty is relentless attack. They keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice," Kakashi explained.
"H-How… did you know about our ambush…?" One of them asked.
"A puddle on a clear day, when it hasn't rained in weeks?" Kakashi responded.
Tazuna looked at the jounin. "In that case, why'd you leave it to the genin to do the fighting?"
"I could have taken them out quickly, but then I'd have learned nothing. I had to know who they're target was," Kakashi answered as he sent a look towards Tazuna. "And… what they were after."
"Hm? What are you getting at?"
Kakashi fully turned to Tazuna. "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 highwaymen. You didn't say there were ninja looking for you, hunting you down. If we knew this, it'd be a B-Rank mission or higher. Our task was simply to get you to your destination and protect you while you finished your bridge."
Tazuna looked down in shame.
"If we knew we'd be fielding a tax from enemy ninja, we would've 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 figured out as he looked at the bridge builder.
"We're genin, this is too advanced for our level of training, we should go back," Sakura voiced. Kakashi looked at the pinkette and nodded.
"Well, I guess we're going-"
"Hold on a minute, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto interrupted as he held a hand out to stop him. "I don't see why a little bit of a challenge is so bad for us."
"Naruto, you three genin are at a D-Rank level, and maybe, just maybe, a C-Rank depending if you completed this mission successfully. But now, this isn't a C-Rank mission anymore, this is a B-Rank and higher, meaning it's for chuunin and above. The difference between a C-Rank and a B-Rank is surprising once you know about it," Kakashi responded.
"Yeah, yeah, I get that, but we're already on this mission already. Let's just complete it and get some bragging rights, plus some experience, ya know?" Naruto said as he placed his hands behind his head and grinned.
"... Well? What do you guys think?" Kakashi asked as he looked at the other two genin.
"Psh, if completing this mission means I can get stronger, then I'll complete it," Sasuke answered.
"Yeah, what Sasuke said!" Sakura added, making Naruto slightly narrow his eyes.
"Alright then, we'll continue on with the mission," Kakashi stated as he turned and began walking down the path.
Tazuna looked at Naruto and huffed in relief. "Thanks kid, I owe ya one."
Naruto looked at the bridge builder and smirked. "Don't worry about it."
It had been awhile, and Team 7 plus Tazuna were now on a boat in a foggy part of Nami no Kuni.
Naruto was sitting in the front of the small boat, meditating, while the others looked around.
"This fog is so thick, you can't see anything," Sakura whispered as she looked around.
"The bridge isn't far now," The oarsmen informed the group. "Our destination's just ahead, Nami no Kuni."
A little bit after he said that, the shape of a large bridge could be seen. Naruto opened his eyes and looked up to see the massive structure, as well as the others.
"Woah… it's huge…" Naruto noticed.
"Mister Tazuna," Kakashi started as he looked at the old man, "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."
Tazuna grunted as everyone turned to look at him. "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."
"A deadly shadow?" Kakashi asked. "Hm… who is it?"
"You know him, or 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 answered.
Kakashi's eye widened after hearing the name. "Huh? Gato? Of Gato Transport? He's a business leader, everyone knows him."
"Who's Gato?" Naruto asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Gato. He's a very powerful tycoon from a famous company, that's true, but below the surface, with the same ruthless methods he used to take over businesses and nations, he sells drugs and contraband using gangs and ninja," Tazuna responded. The bridge builder then went on to tell how Gato came to his country and completely took control of their transport and shipping. If anyone tried to stand against him, they were killed.
He then went on to explain how Gato controls everything Nami no Kuni does and has the country on lockdown, but he fears the bridge. If Tazuna can build the bridge, then they can be free of Gato's control.
"So that's it, huh? Since you're building the bridge, you're standing in Gato's way," Sakura deduced with a hand to her chin.
"So those guys we fought in the forest were working for him," Naruto added.
"I don't understand. If you knew this guy was dangerous, and knew he'd send enemy ninja after you, why did you hide that from us?" Kakashi inquiered.
"Because Nami no Kuni is a small, impoverished nation. Even our nobles have little money. The common people who are building this bridge can't pay for an A or a B-Rank mission, it's too expensive. If you end the mission and drop me ashore, there will be no bridge. They'll assassinate me before I reach home," Tazuna replied. It was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "But, don't feel bad about that, my sweet little grandson will be upset, he'll cry, 'Grandad! I want my grandad!'"
Naruto and Sakura's faces dropped after hearing the awful attempt at trying to gain pity from the squad.
"Oh, and my daughter will condemn the ninja of Konohagakure, denouncing and blaming you for abandoning her father and living her life in sorrow," He added. Naruto looked at the man oddly.
"I… don't think you needed to add that, ya know…" Naruto spoke.
"Ah well, forget it, it's not your fault."
Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto looked at each other while Sasuke closed his eyes and scoffed.
"You're right, it's not our fault if you get killed. Like Kakashi said before, we don't have to do this mission since you lied to us," Sasuke stated. Naruto looked at him with a glare.
"But we did accept this mission, so it kind of is our fault if he gets killed, dumbass," Naruto countered.
Sasuke opened his eyes and shot a glare at Naruto. "It doesn't matter anyway, they're all weak and maybe deserve to die since they couldn't stop a simple businessman."
"You don't understand anything, do you, Sasuke?" Naruto asked with a smirk. "This businessman has money and can buy other ninja that are way stronger than you and me. There's no way these people would have a chance against him. And you also forgot that these people don't have a hidden village like we do, they're like Konoha's civilians."
Sasuke slightly frowned, but turned away. "Whatever, doesn't change that they're still weak." Naruto slightly grit his teeth at that.
"Uh… anyways… we'll continue on with the mission. We should be close too," Kakashi told as he scratched the back of his head.
"Oh, I'm very grateful," Tazuna said as if already expecting that answer, then turned around to the oarsman with a smirk. 'I win.'
Time passed, but the group finally made it to the pier. They all got off, and the oarsmen turned on his motor, speeding away.
"Okay, take me home now, and I mean in one piece," Tazuna ordered as he turned to Team 7.
"Right… let's get going," Kakashi said as he walked away. 'The next ninja they send won't be chuunin, they'll be jounin, elite ninja with deadly skills. Hm…'
They were all walking on a dirt path, with Naruto in the front. He could feel the angry glare Sasuke was sending him and couldn't help but smirk, until he felt something.
Naruto quickly threw a kunai into a bush, making everyone stop in shock. He waited for a little bit to see if anything came out, and nothing did.
"Was it a mouse…?" He asked himself, unaware of Tazuna and Sakura's growing anger.
"You idiot! What do you think you're doing throwing random kunai into bushes?!" Sakura grilled the whiskered blonde.
"STOP TRYING TO SCARE ME YOU SCRUMPY LITTLE DWARF!" Tazuna shouted. Naruto turned around and glared in annoyance.
"Oh shut up! I could've sworn I felt something off!" Naruto shouted back. Kakashi whipped his head at a bush and Naruto threw another kunai at it.
"N-NARUTO! STOP THROWING KUNAI!" Sakura yelled at him as she walked over to him and punched him in the back of the head, making Sasuke smirk.
"Ow! What the hell, Sakura?! What are you doing?!"
"You idiot! You're mistaking animals for ninja, aren't you?!"
Kakashi walked over to the spot Naruto threw a kunai and moved some bushes out of the way. He saw a white rabbit that fainted against a tree trunk with a kunai above its head.
Sakura walked over to the cycloptic jounin and looked around him to see the rabbit.
"Great job, Naruto! You almost killed a rabbit!" Sakura told the blonde. Naruto looked and his eyes slightly widened.
"Oh, well that was an accident. I didn't mean to almost kill the poor thing."
Kakashi walked away and looked around the area. Something was off as he thought about why there was a snow rabbit here of all places.
'They only have white fur during the winter, when the days are short and little sunlight… This rabbit was raised indoors, away from the light and it could only be for one purpose: a Body Replacement Technique,' Kakashi speculated, sweeping over the area with his eye.
"Kit," Kurama spoke up, grabbing Naruto's attention.
'Yeah, I know… I can sense them,' Naruto replied as he looked to where Kakashi was looking.
"Look out!" Kakashi warned the group as a large blade was spinning towards them. Naruto tripped Sakura and tackled Tazuna while everyone else ducked, the blade barely missing their heads.
The blade curved upwards and struck a tree trunk, embedding itself in it. Kakashi got up and looked at the blade to see a ninja standing on the hilt of it.
The ninja had short and spiky black hair with brown eyes. He had bandages over the bottom half of his face and wasn't wearing a shirt, but he had on blue striped pants, and black and white arm and leg warmers.
The ninja looked over his shoulder at the group on the ground.
"Well, well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, missing-nin from Kirigakure," Kakashi spoke as he walked up a little.
'Missing-nin or not, he's no match for me!' Sasuke thought with a smirk as he tried to run forward, but Kakashi stopped him.
"Everyone stand back. He's no match for any of you," Kakashi told his genin. "If he's our opponent, then I'll need this…"
Kakashi put a hand under his hitai-ate, ready to take it off.
"Hm… Kakashi of the Sharingan, did I get that correct?" The rogue ninja named Zabuza checked.
Sasuke lost his scowl to a surprised face as he looked at Kakashi. 'W-What…? He has a Sharingan?!'
"It's too bad, huh? But you'll have to hand over the old man," Zabuza told.
"Quick, manji formation," Kakashi ordered. "Protect the bridge builder, and stay out of this fight."
"H-Huh…?" Sakura asked, slightly confused.
"I taught you teamwork, now it's time to use it," Kakashi said as he lifted up the hitai-ate. He opened his left eye, revealing a three tomoe Sharingan. "I'm ready."
'Kakashi has a Sharingan? I wonder who gave it to him or if he stole it…' Naruto thought as he was surprised to see the eye.
"Huh, looks like I get to see the Sharingan in action." Zabuza fully turned around, "I'm honored."
"How do you have the Sharingan?!" Sasuke questioned.
"I'll tell you later, but now's not the time for that, ya know," Kakashi answered.
Suddenly, a heavy fog rolled in and covered the area.
"As for you, jounin, in the assassination unit of Kiri, 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 A Thousand Techniques, Kakashi the Copy Ninja.'"
'Huh? Is Kakashi-sensei really that famous?' Sakura asked herself as she looked at her squad leader's back.
"Alright, enough stalling, I need to exterminate the old man now," Zabuza stated, crouching and getting ready to attack. Tazuna was shocked, but the genin quickly got in front of him with Kakashi standing in front of them all. "So, I'll have to eliminate you first, eh, Kakashi? So be it."
Zabuza grabbed the hilt of his blade and quickly jumped away from the tree. Kakashi followed his movements and located him. Zabuza was standing on the surface of the lake, hand over his face while the other one was in the air. The water around him began circling his feet while the air circled around his body.
"Hiding in Mist Technique," He said as a heavy mist rolled over him, then went away. Zabuza disappeared and Kakashi looked around while walking a bit away from the group.
"Sensei…" Sakura spoke.
"He'll come after me first," Kakashi said.
"But… who is he?"
Kakashi gave a quick rundown on who Zabuza was. He used to be in the asssinatuon unit of Kirigakure, and was a master of the Silent Killing technique.
"Silent?" Naruto asked.
"As the name suggests, it happens in an instant, without sound or warning of any kind. It's so fast you pass from this life without even realizing what happened. The Sharingan can't fully neutralize it, so don't lower your guard," Kakashi explained.
Now everyone was on edge.
"Well if we fail, we only lose our lives," Kakashi added nonchalantly.
"How can you say that?" Sakura asked. They waited for a little bit but nothing happened except the mist was getting thicker.
"Damnit… this mist is getting thicker," Naruto realized as he looked around.
"Nami no Kuni is surrounded by ocean. The swirling mists are ever present," Tazuna told the blonde.
Soon, the mist got even thicker and Kakashi disappeared from sight.
"Sensei…!" Sakura called out, grabbing everyone's attention. Naruto grit his teeth as he continued surveying the area, even though he couldn't see.
In Naruto, where Kurama was, Kirai decided to drop by and was now sitting on the Kyuubi's head, watching the situation with him.
"Hey, Fox, this seems like a troublesome situation for Naruto, right?" Kirai asked as she tapped Kurama's head.
"Yes, it does," Kurama agreed. "If I were out there, I wouldn't be much help either."
"An extra person could change things, ya know," Kirai pointed out.
"For one, I'm not a person, and two, I guess so but I wouldn't be able to see through the mist," Kurama said with a sigh.
"Ya wanna see somethin' cool then?" She asked with a grin.
"You better not hurt Naruto," Kurama threatened with a growl.
"Calm down, you damn fox, I'm not gonna hurt him. I still need him too, ya know," Kirai said as she put her hands together. They began glowing a faint black.
Kurama watched as Kirai separated her hands and shot them out to her sides. "Byakugan!"
She opened her eyes and her irises were a lighter shade of red with no pupils while the veins near her eyes popped out.
Outside of Naruto, the boy felt his eyes burn suddenly and shut them for a quick second, but when he opened them, the world was now in black and white and the mist was gone.
'W-What the hell happened?!' Naruto asked himself as he looked around frantically. He could see his surroundings clearly and saw the outline of Zabuza Momochi on a branch crouching. Naruto could see his chakra network and was baffled by it.
He looked at his teammates and could see their chakra networks too, but Tazuna's chakra wasn't as lively as theirs. The whiskered blonde looked at Kakashi and could see his chakra network but he also saw a light blue glow where his Sharingan was. The cycloptic jounin was still in the same spot as before.
Naruto took a second to stop and he realized that he could see everything around him without having to move his head. Naruto's eyes were now a lighter shade of blue without any pupils and the veins near them were popping out.
Kurama was surprised to see this. "How the hell does he have the Byakugan?! Isn't that a Hyuuga clan dojutsu?!"
"Yeah, but here's the thing, fox, everything that's chakra besides life forms come from the God Tree, and since I'm an offspring of the tree, I can simply change the requirements of the Byakugan and make it so that Naruto can use it without any harm or requirements," Kirai explained with a smirk.
"That is… interesting…" Kurama commented on the explanation, slightly shocked to hear it.
"Heh, I can give you something too, fox," Kirai added.
"Like what?"
Kirai clasped her hands together again and her hands lit up a faint black before she pushed them outwards this time.
"Show!" She shouted. In front of the two popped out an exact clone of Kurama, but way different.
For starters, Kurama's fur was a ghostly orange and the black fur was now a light grey. There were black tomoe that lined his fur, and nine black curves that were on his stomach. They looked like tails. His eyes were a lighter shade of red and had rings with nine tomoe on them. His tails were different too.
"Wait a minute… why do I have all of the Bijuu's tails…?" Kurama asked as he looked at the tails.
"Because, this is you if you had the other tailed beasts' power," Kirai responded. Kurama looked at himself with surprise. He didn't expect himself to look so… cool.
"Why are you showing me this?"
"You need to catch up to your Jinchuuriki somehow, right? It wouldn't be good for you if you were lagging behind."
"But… I can't possibly get to this level, it's impossible. I can't get the other Bijuu's power, I don't have that ability," Kurama told.
"And that's why you have me!"
"Hm?"
"I'm going to give you access to each of the different Bijuu's powers starting from Shukaku. Once you master it, one of your tails will transform into that Bijuu's until you get to the last one, which would be Gyuki. After that, all you have to do is train on using them together and you'll get the eyes that complete everything!"
"What do the eyes do?" Kurama wondered.
"You'll have to find out on your own," Kirai avoided as she tapped his head. Kurama could feel something weird going on inside of him, but it went away. "Focus on mastering Shukaku's power for now, you'll get it in no time."
Kurama nodded as Kirai disappeared as well as his different self. He took a deep breath and stood up. 'Why did it have to be Shukaku first…?'
Naruto blinked to make sure his eyesight wasn't going bizarre, but the world was still black and white for him.
'What the hell is this?!' He questioned.
"Calm down, Kit," Kurama told his Jinchuuriki.
'Kurama?! What's going on?!'
"I'll tell you after all of this is over, for now, use this power to defeat Zabuza Momochi, he's your real problem here," Kurama answered. Naruto nodded and took a deep breath.
He looked at Zabuza and made the Bird hand seal as he gathered chakra in his mouth. "Wind Release: Air Bullets!"
Naruto blew out the chakra into compressed air at Zabuza. The rogue ninja was slightly caught off guard and was forced to jump away from the attacks. He landed on a different branch and looked at where Naruto was in shock.
'How could that brat see me…? No one can see through the mist, not even the user themselves, and I didn't make a sound either,' Zabuza thought. 'I guess I need to hurry up and kill him.'
Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna all looked at Naruto as if he was crazy.
"Naruto, what are you doing?!" Sakura shouted at him.
"Are you an idiot?! Stop firing in random directions, you can't see him!" Sasuke told. Naruto didn't respond as he made the clone hand seal.
"Shadow Clone Technique!" Two clones of Naruto appeared in a puff of smoke with the same eyes as him. One of the clones quickly made the Tiger hand seal and teleported away.
Zabuza was about to move, but he heard something behind him. He used his sword and blocked a kick.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Zabuza was suddenly sent flying downwards towards the ground and crashed into it. Right as the attacker hit him, he turned into water and was gone.
Kakashi, hearing fighting going down, decided to gather chakra and disperse some of the mist to where it was more visible. He looked at his genin to see one Naruto near a hole in the ground while two others were near Tazuna and the rest of Team 7.
What caught Kakashi by surprise was seeing Naruto's eyes. They almost looked like the Byakugan.
"Well Kakashi… it seems like you've trained your genin well, especially the blonde brat," Zabuza praised. "I might actually have to take him seriously now."
Kakashi looked around and eventually spotted the rogue ninja on the lake. "Your fights with me, Zabuza, not the genin."
"I think you should let him fight me, I want to see how strong he is," Zabuza suggested as he pointed his blade at the whiskered blonde.
"There's no way that I'd let you fight him without going through me first," Kakashi declared.
"What a shame, looks like I'll have to make you," Zabuza said. Naruto quickly threw a kunai to his left and he struck something.
Zabuza was surprised that he took out his water clone.
"Don't tell me he has the Sharingan too… that would be troublesome…"
"Nah, it's not the Sharingan," Naruto told as he walked up next to Kakashi. "I don't know what this is, but it's different."
Kakashi looked at Naruto's eyes and could see the veins popping out. 'Those are the signs that someone is using the Byakugan… but how does he have it?'
"Wait a minute… you're using the Byakugan, aren't you? So you must be a Hyuuga, huh?" Zabuza guessed.
'Wait… I have the Byakugan?!' Naruto asked himself as he looked at Zabuza in shock. 'So this is what it's like having the Byakugan…? But… why do I have it…? I'm not a Hyuuga at all!'
'He has the Byakugan?! First he gets praised by a jounin missing-nin and now he has the Byakugan?!' Sasuke grilled as he grit his teeth.
Kakashi looked at Naruto in shock. 'He couldn't possibly have them transplanted into him, no one would do that… His eyes were also normal not that long ago… what's going on with him…?'
Zabuza noticed Naruto's shocked face and cocked an eyebrow at the genin. "What's with that look on your face, brat? No one tell you what the Byakugan was?"
"Snap out of it, Kit! I already told you I'll tell you after this, so focus on him and don't worry about your eyes for now!" Kurama yelled at Naruto, making him snap out of it.
'You're right, sorry Kurama,' Naruto apologized as he shook his head and narrowed his eyes.
"Enough about the Byakugan for now, you wanted to fight me, right? So let's fight!" Naruto shouted as he was about to run.
"Woah, hold on there, didn't I tell you to not get involved with this?" Kakashi asked as he held his arm out in front of Naruto.
The whiskered blonde looked at his sensei and smiled. "Sorry Kakashi-sensei, but you're gonna have to sit this one out!"
Kakashi disappeared and in his place was one of Naruto's clones. They both looked at each other as they tapped the right side of their chests. A light blue glow was barely visible underneath both Narutos' clothes, but then a small staff appeared in their hands.
The staff was black with a mixture of orange and yellow seals on it.
"A tanbo, huh? Interesting choice, but I don't think it'll be able to beat my Kubikiribocho," Zabuza told, pointing his blade at the two Narutos.
"Any weapon can be strong if you know how to use it right," The one on the right said.
"Now, let's fight, Zabuza!" The left one declared as he rushed Zabuza. The left Naruto threw his tanbo in the air while tapping his left pec and his right shoulder. Two more tanbo appeared in his hands as he struck at Zabuza.
The missing-nin blocked the hit, but was surprised when Naruto disappeared. Zabuza looked up to see the left Naruto high in the air where his first tanbo was.
The Naruto in the air kicked his tanbo down and Zabuza dodged, but it scratched his left cheek. As the tanbo hit the water, Naruto suddenly appeared on its surface and rushed Zabuza again.
The rogue ninja was forced on the defensive, either blocking or dodging Naruto's rapid strikes. He unfortunately, couldn't block all of his attacks as they were too fast for him.
Zabuza went for a random swing, making Naruto jump back. The rogue ninja put his blade on his back and quickly made the Snake hand seal.
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!" Zabuza pulled the bandage over his mouth down and began spewing water from it. As the water fell, it began rising up into a giant wave. The wave began advancing forward towards Naruto, and he looked up in the sky, getting an idea.
The whiskered blonde threw the tanbo in the air and began quickly making the Snake → Ram → Boar → Horse → Bird hand seals then clapped his hands together.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!" Naruto pushed his hands up towards the black staff, making it fly high up in the air. Before the wave crashed down, Naruto teleported to his tanbo staff in the air and could barely see Zabuza finish his technique.
Kakashi's eyes widened seeing Naruto in the air. "Is that the Flying Thunder God Technique? But how?!"
Another Naruto appeared in the air as the first one grabbed his staff. One of them placed the tanbo onto their backs before starting to make the Snake → Ram → Boar → Horse → Bird hand seals.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!" He clapped his hands before placing them on the other Naruto's back.
"Naruto Bullet: Chakra Style!" They both shouted as the wind technique forced Naruto to shoot down towards Zabuza. As Naruto was coming down at high speeds, he began barrel rolling, expelling chakra from his body as he was speeding towards Zabuza, looking like a blue bullet.
Zabuza turned around and could only widen his eyes at the blue mass of chakra coming towards him. Naruto hit the rogue ninja head on and shot him straight into the water.
After the chakra around Naruto disappeared, he did a backflip and landed on the water. His other clone appeared next to him.
'I should've sealed most of his chakra points, he shouldn't be able to use chakra for a while,' Naruto thought as he stared into the water with his clone.
Both Narutos jumped back as a shark breached through the surface, almost striking them. 'Guess I was wrong."
The ex-Kirigakure ninja swam up to the surface, and as he did, tried to catch his breath. He got out of the water and stood on its surface. Naruto saw that he didn't hit the major chakra points in his system.
'I need to be more precise with my hits,' Naruto thought.
'This brat is more dangerous than I thought…' Zabuza thought as he wrapped his bandage back around his mouth.
"You're stronger than I thought, kid, impressive," Zabuza commended. "I have to actually try now."
Naruto smirked. "It's all in the training, Zabuza."
"I wonder how your squad mates would fare against me," The missing-nin thought, shooting a glance at said squad mates.
"They wouldn't stand a chance," Naruto shot the thought down instantly. "You're way too strong for them. They might stand a chance against you if they worked together, but that's not possible with them."
Zabuza closed his eyes and looked down. "What a shame…"
"I know right? Teamwork is essential in a shinobi team but one of them doesn't understand that since he's too much of an arrogant asshat while the other follows him like a baby duck," Naruto agreed with a sigh.
Zabuza laughed at that. "Sounds to me like you're better on your own."
"I'd agree, but at the same time, I know we can be a good team if they understood the concept of teamwork. Hopefully Kakashi-sensei can drill it into them."
Zabuza hummed in agreement before readying his blade. "Alright, enough chit chat, let's continue this fight." Both Narutos nodded as they got ready.
Zabuza dashed forward before throwing his sword ahead of himself. He instantly made the Dragon → Tiger hand seals.
"Water Attacking Gorgon!" The water around him began moving with him before the head of a shark was formed next to him. "Go!"
The water shark head rushed ahead of Zabuza and moved in front of him before speeding ahead. The shark head opened its mouth and took in the blade, making it spin faster than before.
Both Narutos gathered a lot of chakra. "Beast Tearing Gale Palm!" They cocked their arm back before launching it forward, sending two blue, giant waves of wind that formed into claws.
The claws went straight through the shark, dispelling the technique, and making Kubikiribocho fly away, as it was heading towards Zabuza.
The rogue ninja put two fingers up to his face. "Hiding in Water Technique!" Zabuza fell into the water as the double wind technique flew past him.
'Damnit!' Naruto cursed. He could see Zabuza's spreaded out form in the water, but couldn't exactly pinpoint what spot would actually hurt the missing-nin. 'If you can't pinpoint it, go for the whole area!'
Both Narutos made the Serpent → Hare → Bird hand seals. "Wind Release: Hyouin!" They both placed their hands on the lake's surface and it began moving in a counterclockwise direction. It moved faster and started pulling in the mist that surrounded the area to the lake.
A spiral began forming where Zabuza originally was and it soon turned into a cyclone. The cyclone soon pulled in on itself until it shrunk to a certain size around a human figure made out of water. The pillar of water popped and it was Zabuza Momochi, tied by the small cyclone.
The missing-nin struggled to escape from the small confinement, but couldn't. He stopped struggling and sighed.
"Well, you got me, brat…" Zabuza admitted. Both Narutos walked up to Zabuza with smirks on their faces.
"Well, that was a good fight, Bandage Man, believe it!" The one on the right exclaimed with a thumbs up and a grin.
"Bandage Man…?" Zabuza asked with a chuckle. "You're weird, kid."
"So… now what?" The Naruto on the left asked as he looked between the other Naruto and the captured Zabuza.
"Now you kill me… you were planning to do that, right?" Zabuza checked with a quirked eyebrow. Both Narutos looked at each other with worrying looks. They hadn't really thought about the killing part.
"I thought we were doing this to see who's stronger, not a fight to the death, ya know!" The one on the left exclaimed.
Zabuza scoffed and looked down, shaking his head. "Kid… in the ninja world… it's either kill or be killed. You can't let a dangerous ex-ninja like me go freely simply because you don't want to kill me or else I'll just go back to killing people."
Naruto looked down and sighed. "Right…" But as he looked back up, he saw a blade coming at the back of Zabuza.
Zabuza made the Tiger seal with one hand and as the blade got lodged into his back, he substituted with one of the Narutos. The Naruto he substituted with had a shocked expression before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
The missing-nin instantly went for a kick when he saw it was a clone, but Naruto ducked under it. The whiskered blonde then dashed forward and began close-quarter combat with him. Zabuza was holding his own surprisingly well, even after Naruto blocked some of his chakra points.
Naruto saw Kubikiribocho spinning towards him. Once it was near him, he made the Snake → Ram → Boar → Horse → Bird hand seals.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!" Naruto grabbed the blade's handle as he spun around, the Gale Palm making him spin faster. The blonde let go of the blade and it began spinning towards Zabuza.
The ex-Kirigakure ninja ducked under his blade before putting his arm to stop it. After successfully catching it, he got back up.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction!" Naruto blew out a massive stream of intense flames at Zabuza.
The missing-nin quickly made the Tiger → Snake → Rat → Snake → Tiger hand seals. "Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
The water around him quickly rose up and formed a wall that blocked the Great Fire Destruction technique, but then a bunch of steam erupted, clouding Zabuza's vision. He instantly put the Water Formation Wall down and he was surrounded by steam.
'Shit… he has the advantage here…' Zabuza deduced as he looked around. 'But maybe-'
"Barrier: Confinement!" Zabuza was interrupted when he heard sounds around him but couldn't see what was going on.
"Wind Release: Tatsumakigan!" Zabuza got blasted backwards and crashed into a barrier as extreme and sharp winds rushed throughout the area, cutting him up in the process.
After endearing a lot of pain, the rogue ninja peeled off the barrier wall and fell on the lake's surface. With some difficulty, Zabuza got up and saw that the steam disappeared and that he was trapped in a barrier. He looked around to see five Narutos standing around the perimeter of it, each with tanbo placed in front of them.
"So, you purposely used a fire technique to make the steam to set up the barrier… and I thought you were stupid for doing that," Zabuza speculated. The Narutos smirked at this.
"Shrink!" The Narutos shouted and the barrier reduced in size to where Zabuza was barely able to move.
One Naruto appeared standing in front of him. "Thanks, Bandage Man! Now, stand still and let me practice my precision." Naruto curled three fingers in and pointed the two fingers at Zabuza's chest. He cocked his arm back before shooting it forward, breaching the barrier and striking the main chakra point. Zabuza recoiled back before going limp.
The Narutos took a few steps away before the barrier was dispelled and Zabuza fell on the water before slowly sinking in. Naruto was about to grab the missing-nin, when someone appeared in front of him and grabbed Zabuza's body first.
Naruto looked at the person and they were wearing a white mask with a wavy design over the mouth and little eye slits. There were also four lines on the forehead of the mask. The person was wearing a green haori with white trimmings and a brown sash strapped around their waist. Under the haori was a brown pinstripe outfit and had on light brown sandals. Their hair was long and black, making Naruto assume they were a woman or a girl.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked as he narrowed his eyes at the newcomer.
"I am a hunter-nin from Kirigakure," she answered as she brought out two senbon. "I must thank you. I've been searching for Zabuza for a long time to kill him, and you did most of the work for me." The person stabbed Zabuza's neck with the two senbon, making Naruto slightly flinch.
"... I wasn't planning on killing him, ya know…" Naruto muttered as he drifted his eyes away.
"Yes… you were holding back… quite the power you have," the hunter-nin added as they picked up Zabuza.
"Huh? Oh, thanks, I guess…"
"Well, I shall get going with this body now. I can't let it get into the wrong hands, it holds many secrets of our village." She made the Tiger seal. "Farewell."
A small wind formed around her before she vanished from sight, leaving Naruto alone on the lake. His Byakugan deactivated and his clones poofed out of existence. Naruto fell backward onto the water.
"Man… that was tiring…" Naruto whispered as he closed his eyes.
"Using the Byakugan used up more chakra than you thought, huh?" Kurama asked.
"Yeah… though, it was a fun fight, I have to admit that much, ya know. But… did she really have to kill him…?" Naruto replied with a smirk.
Kurama chuckled. "It was necessary, Kit. That ninja was dangerous. But don't worry, there will be many more battles in your future where you'll be fighting much stronger opponents."
"You're right… and I'm gonna train my ass off for when those future fights come, believe it!" Naruto exclaimed as he raised his fist in the air. He soon lowered it and rested it on the water. "So, Kurama… you wanna tell me why have the Byakugan?"
"Later, you could use a little break," Kurama said, making Naruto sigh.
"Fair enough."
Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna all watched in utter disbelief and shock. They all watched as Naruto single-handedly defeated Zabuza Momochi.
"W… Wow… I would've never thought that brat would beat Zabuza Momochi by himself…" Tazuna admitted, taking off his glasses and wiping his eyes before putting them back on.
"Huh… well seems like the display earlier wasn't only for show…" Kakashi added as he put his hitai-ate over his left eye.
'Is that really Naruto…?' Sakura asked herself, not believing what she watched. "Was he always that powerful?" Inner Sakura chimed in.
Sasuke was staring at Naruto with wide eyes and hanging mouth, before it turned into a deep scowl and angry growl. 'How the hell is that loser that strong?! I should've been the one to take down Zabuza, not him!'
Kakashi walked over to Naruto before crouching down next to him. Naruto peeped an eye open and looked at him.
"You wanna explain why you stabbed my hand?" Kakashi asked with narrowed eyes as he brought up his bandaged hand.
Naruto chuckled. "Sorry Kakashi-sensei, it was the only way to make you switch places with my clone. I'm trying to find a way to swap places with someone without having to use the Body Replacement Technique."
The jounin sighed before putting his hand out for Naruto. "Come on, we still have a mission to accomplish."
Naruto accepted the hand. "You're right." Kakashi pulled him up and supported the whiskered blonde over to where the others were.
"Alright, let's get you to your bridge, Tazuna," Kakashi said once him and Naruto were close enough.
"Heh heh… sorry for the trouble I caused you… you can stay at my house when we get there," the bridge builder offered with a laugh.
"Yeah, that'd be great."
Tazuna led the way to his house with Sakura following behind him. Naruto looked over his shoulder to see an angry Uchiha. The whiskered blonde stuck his tongue out, making him even more angry.
Naruto smirked and rubbed his nose before looking at his fingers. The tips of them were pitch black. His eyes widened as he rubbed them against his shirt, and when he brought them up to his face, they were still black. He shoved it in his pocket, not wanting to worry Kakashi and deciding to deal with it later.
'What is going on with me?'
Haku is a girl by the way.