Mission: escort bridge-builder to the land of waves

protect the bridge builder from any attacks from bandits on the way to the land of waves, make sure his trip is safe and protect him and the bridge until it is complete.

time: 1 week

Last time: Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata had just used a powerful combination Jutsu against Ice, they decided to set their sights on Kakashi and Zabuza's fight to see if they could help their sensei.

"FUMA SHURIKEN!" Zabuza was just in the middle of a struggle against Kakashi's water dragon, the two Jonin were switching between Taijutsu and shuriken throwing, now they were testing their chakra limits.

Zabuza could tell there was a fuma shuriken coming his way, it was of no concern.

(ice style: ice spear)

an Ice mirror appeared out of nowhere and an ice spear shot out of the water, going straight in the middle of the fuma shurikens hole and causing it to halt.

"I-I thought we took care of that guy!?" Naruto was in shock at the moment, Ice walked out of the mirror next to Zabuza.

"Wait naruto, look below where we sent our last attack!" Sasuke pointed to a frozen puddle on the ground, it was surrounded by burn marks.

"He must have used his chakra to freeze the puddle then hide there until we weren't paying attention, then he went to protect Zabuza!" Hinata added.

'that means instead of attacking us he went directly to protect Zabuza, meaning if we put him in danger we could come up with a surprise attack... or something' Naruto thought, he didn't know what would come next in his plan.

'but one thing is for certain, that water shouldn't have been Ice unless he can change water into ice!' it was then Naruto realized 'damn it! the water Jutsu I was using they made some puddles everywhere!' Naruto felt stupid that his own Jutsu was used against him.

"Sasuke, Ice can change water into ice, evaporate all the puddles!" Naruto commanded.

Sasuke nodded and went through the hand seals "(fire style: phoenix flower Jutsu)" Sasuke's fireballs evaporated the water in the area.

'I may not have my (water style: liquid bullet Jutsu) available but I do have some Fuinjutsu I designed for long-range, although they aren't many. DAMN IT I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN ALL MY TECHINQUES ARE CLOSE TO MID RANGE' Naruto realized a fatal flaw in his tactics, he was way too built for close-range that even trying to get close to someone who is on top of the water would just be suicide.

Naruto reached into his windbreaker, he pulled out the green scroll and opened it 'ok I have 4 fuinjutsu moves, 1 was the elemental katana blades, the other's are more powerful versions of kunai cyclone, that is my Uzumaki barrier, there it is!' Naruto placed his hand on one of the seals, he was surrounded in a poof.

"I have been meaning to try this one out, for a long time to come!" Naruto had two large paper airplanes in his hand both looked like they could detach, they were as big a module airplane

Sasuke, Hinata, and especially Tazuna looked at Naruto as if he had made the dumbest invention in ninja history.

"huh, guess even a 'fuinjutsu genius' has a dumb invention or two," Sasuke remarked with a mocking tone and a deadpan face.

Naruto was clearly irritated by this remark, 'Just wait and see Sasuke, this new Jutsu is gonna blow everyone's minds, I only got the hang of it recently so I haven't used it yet!' Naruto threw them at Ice.

his fingers then twitched and the planes scattered.

each plane was halved, 4 model paper airplanes flew around Ice, they had sealing paper wrapped around them.

'Wait how are they moving like they're being controlled?' Sasuke wondered as he looked at the planes 'Is Naruto controlling them!' Sasuke looked at Naruto's hands

He remembered a day in the academy where students were trying out puppets, it was hard to learn but Sasuke having a natural talent for everything got it first try, it didn't fit in with his style of close combat so he just shrugged it off, losing all interest.

Naruto on the other hand just never liked the look of the puppets, they looked creepy but he thought their range could be useful as his moveset was close range focused.

'I see, Naruto is using chakra strings to control the planes, and the movements are fast and precise' Sasuke had a smirk, Naruto was just full of surprises.

The planes were moving around Ice, they weren't on the offensive, but they were fast enough and agile enough to make Ice Panic a little.

one plane flew above Ice, without them noticing, and then small fireballs dropped down from above.

they exploded on impact with Ice, it mostly left burns on their clothes, but it wasn't any serious damage on Ice.

'I still need to work on the power, but this should buy us some time, Sasuke you're gonna need to do the real damage here, these planes are only developed enough to where they can support and stun opponents, I have some gas that lights up easily, you're gonna have to do the main damage here' Naruto whispered a small summary of his thoughts into Sasuke's ear.

Sasuke went through a small series of hand seals, and waited.

Naruto's planes were through a small series

around Ice, dropping explosive fireballs, Ice was dancing around them.

(Fire Style: Pheonix flower Jutsu)

When Ice was dodging Sasuke shot fireballs, Ice lost track of Sasuke.

one fireball was a direct hit, Ice managed to dodge half, but he was getting hit, they were neat misses but the flame still landed.

Ice needed to keep track of Sasuke, as well as the planes, he got careless, he just wanted to wait for Naruto's chakra to run out.

'the kid's a chakra monster, having made all those clones, nevermind the combination Jutsu, it seems the kunoichi has run very low on chakra, it seems they're playing a different approach keeping me far away to not get up in close range combat since I have the advantage' Ice was breaking down Naruto and Sasuke's strategy.

Ice kept dodging the fireballs Naruto's planes were dropping, not only that but he was moving up.

'not on my watch you don't, (PHEONIX FLOWER JUTSU)' Sasuke shot out fireballs 'this time I can see where you're going to move before you even step!' Sasuke was starting to predict Ice's movements.

*BOOM* Sasuke landed a critical hit.

everyone was shocked, Sasuke had just predicted a step Ice had never even taken before.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke and seen a shocking sight.

"SASUKE YOUR EYE'S YOU'VE AWAKENED THE SHARINGAN!" Naruto yelled in excitement.

Sasuke had awakened a 2-tomoe Sharingan in each eye.

'I can read his movements more clearly now, it seems this intense battle was all I needed to push myself to the edge, Naruto I have surpassed you now!' Sasuke smirked and went through a long set of hand seals.

Naruto noted that his planes had lost all of their fire chakra, all they had was the gas.

'This gas can slow him down, even more, it's my only chance, if I can slow Ice down then he was no hope of dodging Sasuke's attack!' Naruto's planes were already above Ice, Ice brassed for fireballs but gas came down instead.

Ice almost lost his balance on the water 'crap, they're going for a big attack, need to prepare a defense now!' Ice slowly went through hand seals.

Sasuke was finished with his hand seals, Naruto placed the planes down on the ground and went through his own hand seals.

(COMBINATION ATTACK: GREAT FIREBALL JUTSU)

Naruto's air palm empowered Sasuke's fireball to make it even larger, as soon as it came in contact with the gas it was a huge explosion.

the dust settled and Sasuke retreated onto one knee "T-That was all I had left, the Sharingan takes a lot out of the user the first time they That was all I had"

"Doesn't help that you've had a battle before this, and you've been shooting massive amounts of fireballs" Naruto added, also tired but not as exhausted as Sasuke.

Naruto looked out onto the water, after the smoke had fully cleared, Naruto could see a dome of ice, it had massive holes in it and was cracked.

the dome melted and Ice walked out, clearly, he took damage from the attack, but he still had fight left in him it seemed.

"DAMN IT, I THOUGHT WE HAD HIM THAT TIME" Naruto yelled, he was losing his patients with this guy.

'Sasuke's down, and Hinata needs to protect Tazuna, crap it's all up to me now, I have one last fuinjutsu move, it's my last shot AND IM GONNA MAKE IT COUNT, BELIEVE IT!' Naruto hyped himself up, Ice approached Naruto, Naruto created a clone witch brought Sasuke to Hinata.

Ice and Naruto were gonna have their showdown right here right now.

Kakashi vs Zabuza

Kakashi threw a wave of shuriken towards Zabuza, to which he responded with a liquid bullet, intercepting the ninja tools.

Kakashi thought fast and whipped up a Fireball Jutsu, creating a steam cloud in the middle of the battlefield.

The two Jonin dashed towards each other like blurs and clashed sword and kunai in the middle of the steam cloud.

Zabuza went for Kakashi first as soon as they hit the ground, going for a swing through Kakashi's stomach, Kakashi saw this coming with his Sharingan and ducked under the swing, put his weight back on his hands, and in might guy style sent a kick to Zabuza's jaw.

Zabuza leaned back but got a scratch on his chin, Zabuza was about to go on the offensive, but Kakashi saw this attack coming and leaped back, gaining some distance.

'Damn, that Sharingan he always has a countermeasure, there must be a weakness somehow' Zabuza was trying to think of a way to somehow trick the Sharingan? brainstorming possible actions, he didn't want to pull anything risky or too predictable, Kakashi has probably already fought people who have tried to counter the Sharingan multiple times and won, best not take a risky plan.

"It seems as if your subordinate is having trouble, look over there" Kakashi kept his eye's on Zabuza the entire time, both Jonin never wanted to lose a hint of concentration.

"Ice is just playing around, they will be fine, no need to worry... well, in this case, YOU might need to worry, Hehehe" Zabuza chuckled as the two began to antagonize each other.

Enough mind games.

Kakashi and Zabuza became blurs once again, this time Kakashi gained the upper hand.

Kakashi body flickers behind Zabuza catching the swordsman off guard, Kakashi attempts to stab Zabuza directly in the spine, Zabuza deflects it with his sword and leaves Kakashi wide ope-

before Zabuza can even follow up Kakashi lands a kick to the face, knocking him back.

Kakashi then follows up with a flurry of slashes with his kunai, since the water had less friction Kakashi could move around Zabuza more faster, with the way Kakashi was moving it was almost like a dance.

Zabuza needed to get out of this situation, Kakashi was putting up to much pressure... 'Yeah that's it!' Zabuza waited for Kakashi to strike.

*CLANG*

Zabuza channeled his chakra into the water and made a ripple effect, knocking Kakashi's footwork off, Kakashi regained his balance and went for the killing blow.

*POOF*

"it seemed that little *slip* up was able to buy me enough time to substatute out of there" Zabuza had a sweat dropped down to his bandages.

"Your puns are terrible, I can imagine how fast your career as a comedian went down the *water* hole" Kakashi unironically made a worse pun than Zabuza.

"Can you even call that a pun? Kakashi you can do better, I'm disappointed" Zabuza brought his hand to the handle of his sword.

"the next pun I make will be over your dead body," Kakashi said, pulling his kunai out

*BOOM*

The two Jonin were startaled.

"Give up now, your associate is probably gone now, even so, this is a battle you can't win" Kakashi tightened his grip.

"It is gonna take more than that to take out Ice" Zabuza drew his sword and got into his stance.

Zabuza dashed forward, performing an overhead slash, then spinning around to perform a slice to Kakashi's body, Kakashi dodging both attacks.

Zabuza's attacks were obvious, even without the Sharingan, the only difference is, Zabuza was using the less friction the water gave them to build up momentum.

Kakashi was waiting for the right moment to strike, he would use his Sharingan to dodge the fast one's and when Zabuza ran out of stamina Kakashi would finish the fight.

Kakashi started to block some scratches, Zabuza was starting to get too close for Kakashi's comfort, Zabuza wasn't slowing down he was speeding up.

Kakashi was about to dodge one of Zabuza's swings when all of a sudden 'THE SHARINGAN CHANGED!?' Zabuza changed the attack mid-swing, Kakashi never expected anyone to trick the Sharingan, Kakashi failed to dodge completely and got a deep cut on his arm.

Zabuza kept changing up the attack mid-swing and confusing Kakashi who was getting pushed back tremendously.

"What's wrong copy Ninja? can't keep up?" Zabuza teased, he wasn't going to last long either, wielding the sword like this was draining and he was nearing his limit, he just had to injure Kakashi enough to where he could finish this.

'I have to change the battleground, he seems to have figured out how to counter the Sharingan in Taijutsu, let's try Ninjutsu!' Kakashi blocked one of Zabuza's swings, the two came to a halt.

"Tired already?" Zabuza mocked, not doing so good himself.

"No, just ready for a change in scenery" Kakashi jumped back, Zabuza followed.

both Jonin went through hand seals

"think you can copy my Jutsu better than me?" Zabuza challenged, still hard at focus on his Jutsu.

Kakashi said nothing and continued on with the hand seals, his Sharingan spun and this caught Zabuza of guard.

'Is he gonna use that Kamui thing again' Zabuza started to panic

Kakashi finished before Zabuza.

"(Water style: water vortex Jutsu)" Kakashi summoned a vortex of water which washed Zabuza off.

when the battle seemed to be over Kakashi pulled out his kunai.

"you fought well, but now is where you die Zabuza" Kakashi was about to throw the kunai straight through Zabuza's head, when he felt familiar killing intent.

"NARUTO!"

Naruto VS Ice

Naruto was preparing to fight Ice alone, the power difference between the two normally was wide, but with Ice wounded by fighting Sasuke and Hinata, Naruto had a shot if he played his cards right and stayed on the defensive.

'after dodging around Sasuke's fireballs Ice should be low on stamina, I just need to wait for the right moment and then use my signature Fuinjutsu' Naruto smiled, he had a confident look on his face like he was going to win no matter what.

Ice didn't like the look on Naruto's face and kept on guard, something didn't feel right like he was hiding something, Ice played it cautiously and kept to long-range distance.

Ice threw a couple of senbone at Naruto, he blocked most of them but some got through, they hit him in the thighs.

suddenly Naruto's legs felt weak, he was hit in the pressure points, Ice made some hand seals and went into an ice mirror.

Ice kept appearing at different sides of Naruto and threw senbone at the blonde, being unable to block or counter Naruto kept trying to dodge and getaway.

Ice was trying to use his signature Jutsu, but Naruto was moving randomly and would always escape, not only that but his stamina was depleted.

Ice had to find another way to end this fast

Naruto wasn't able to use his last Fuinjutsu move, 'if I were to make shadow clones they wouldn't be fast enough to react to Ice's movements, it would be a waste of chakra' Naruto's Fuinjutsu had one main weakness, it required tons and tons of Chakra, it was a surprise Hinata was still standing it drained that much Chakra, Sasuke was unable to fight because of it.

He still had lots of work to do, but now wasn't the time for focusing on Fuinjutsu, He had to defeat Ice!

Ice was dominating Naruto from a range, Naruto's speed was diminishing and his movements were getting sloppy, Ice had hit him in the legs to reduce his dexterity.

Naruto was becoming a pin cushion, unable to think his way out he decided to try to land hits on Ice with the little kunai he had left.

Naruto started throwing kunai after kunai, shuriken after shuriken, all attempting to land, but all failing.

Naruto was stumbling, suddenly an Ice mirror appeared in front of him, and he was kicked in the face.

The kick sent him back and Ice followed up by landing blow after blow on the blonde, ending with a kick to the jaw sending him up in the air only to fall down in the water.

Naruto was too tired to swim, he wasn't able to defeat Ice, and he left his teammates vulnerable, they were going to DIE, all because he was too WEAK.

Naruto's rage was boiling, Hinata, Sasuke, Tazuna, and maybe even Kakashi sensei were all going to die... because he was too WEAK.

this felt so familiar, drowning, being too weak to survive.

Naruto's hands instinctively moved towards his mouth, gasping for air.

It felt even more familiar

He kicked and struggled but the weight of his body was holding him down.

It felt more familiar... then he faded into his subconscious.

"NARUTO!" "NARUTO!" Hinata yelled for her comrade, he never came up above the water, no signs of the blonde, the water was calm only a few bubbles rising to the top.

Hinata cried, but stood up, she came face to face with Ice, she had little chakra left and was injured, all she had left was Taijutsu.

She rushed at Ice with anger and went into a sprawl of Taijutsu, she managed to deal a couple of blows to Ice while they had their guard down, she never aimed at chakra points since her byuakugan was inactive.

Hinata's speed was decreasing, now that Ice had recovered from the surprise he grabbed Hinatas arm with a tight grip.

Hinata struggled but her body was too low on energy to fight, but she was the last one standing she needed to fight and save Naruto.

Ice kicked her in the gut making her cough up saliva, Hinata dropped to her knees, she stared at Ice with hate in her eyes.

'I need to finish this fast and save Zabuza' Ice went through hand seals and jumped away from Hinata.

'Since she hasn't used any Jutsu and appears to be exhausted she shouldn't be able to use that (Rotation) it's over' Ice wasn't happy about killing, but he had to or else Zabuza could die 'I have been held here long enough, I am sorry for what I am about to do'

Ice senbone surrounded Hinata, the blue-haired Ninja watched as her end neared there was only one thing she could think of her last thoughts 'N-Naruto, please save me...'

In an instant, a red flash appeared and a red hurricane surrounded Hinata, all the ice senbone were crushed and turned into sparkles in the air.

Naruto was shrouded in a red Chakra, his eyes staring at Ice, he yelled at Ice "I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH HURTING HINATA!" Naruto thrust his palm forward "DIE! (WIND STYLE: GALE PALM)" A massive blast of wind released from Naruto's palm and knocked Ice away into the water.

Kakashi and Zabuza

Zabuza could tell that Haku couldn't keep up with one of the Ninja's strength 'I have to get me and Haku out of here, or else we could both die, we have no chance if Kakashi and one of those Genin tag team us considering our position' Zabuza pulled a fast one on Kakashi

Kakashi seeing Zabuza finishing hand seals jumped back for safety,l he needed to get Naruto under control as soon as possible, then a thick fog clouded the area.

Kakashi used the body flicker to appear next to Tazuna "listen I need you to hide, I will have clones guard you, Naruto could be out of control" Kakashi created some clones and Tazuna rushed into the forest, one of the Kakashi clones carrying an unconscious Sasuke.

Naruto was looking around the fog, trying to spot a glimpse of Zabuza or Ice, the mist eventually cleared and there was nothing.

Naruto was mad, but he eventually snapped back once he thought of Hinata and Sasuke.

He turned around to see a frightened Hinata, shivering.

"H-Hinat-" Hinata grabbed onto Naruto and hugged him with all her might "thank you Naruto, you saved me again" tears coming down her eyes.

"C'mon, let's get Tazuna to his house, Naruto, you and I are going to have a talk, I believe its time I told you something, once we drop off the bridge builder of course" Kakashi eye-smiled, as they headed to Tazuna's house.