I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS ETC.
It had been a month since Team 11 was formed. The team had grown stronger together both physically and emotionally. The three shared a strong bond with one another. It had taken some time and effort but Naruto and Yakumo were eventually able to crack Sasuke's shell enough that he would now willingly hang out with the two. Another bond that had increased exponentially was that of Naruto and Yakumo. Ever since their time together after training, the two hung out more often, getting to know each other to the point of becoming best friends. They understood each other because of similar feelings of loneliness. Secretly over the past month, the two had developed feelings for one another but kept quiet about it. The three as a whole had the best teamwork and best record for missions completed despite being D ranked. It is after finishing the D ranked mission of finding Tora the demon cat that we find Team 11 in the Hokage's office.
(Hokage's Office)
Minato was already tired from his earlier paperwork which had now increased due to the actions of Team 11.
"Your mission was to capture Tora and return it to the Daimyo's wife. Care to explain what went wrong?" Minato asked waiting for an explanation.
"We returned the cat, I don't see what the big deal is" stated Naruto with both his teammates nodding in agreement. Itachi put his face in his hands out of embarrassment.
Minato's eye twitched violently. "The big deal is that when returned, Tora had half of his tail cut off and cauterized by a fire jutsu. The cat is also now suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to a genjutsu placed on it. I would say all in all that is a big deal" he said. "I am tempted to assign you 20 more D rank missions without pay" he said getting gloomy looks from the team.
Naruto was more annoyed than gloomy. He hated this. He wanted to fight, he needed a challenge, something he most certainly was not getting from these ridiculous D rank missions. The only thing more annoying to him than the D ranks was the fact that the Hokage and his wife had taken to trying to get him to return home. Even the Sanin had attempted to get on his good side offering training and summoning contracts, acting like the neglect that he had suffered from them didn't exist. It made him sick. Yakumo had suggested that he give Minato and Kushina a chance and Naruto had promised that he would think about it. Lately he had been thinking about reconciling with his parents. He knew it would take time but he was slowly becoming more open to the idea as long as they stopped annoying him with questions like "How are you?" and "Are you eating your vegetables". Naruto decided to push his thoughts to the side as he saw Sasuke ranting about something so he decided to tune in.
"I think it's time that we get something worth our time. We are the strongest genin team you've got and you know that so give us something that will be a challenge" Sasuke finished before earning a punch to the head from Itachi. Itachi had witnessed his brother's growth in the past month and was genuinely proud. His little brother had grown not only as a fighter but as a person as well. But even after his transformation, Sasuke still needed to be reminded of his place from time to time.
Minato contemplated Sasuke's words and looked at Itachi. "Itachi, do you believe that your team is ready for a C rank mission?" Minato asked gaining an immediate response of a nod. "Very well, I have an escort mission for a bridge builder to Wave country if that satisfies. I'm confident that you would be able to handle any mishaps Itachi" he said but became confused as Itachi shook his head.
"My apologies Lord Hokage but I will not be able to attend this mission due to clan business. Even though I will be absent, my team if more than skilled enough to take this mission on alone" Itachi stated gaining blushes from his genin.
After a few minutes of thought, he nodded slowly. He had heard very good things about Team 11 also known as the Second Coming of the Sanin, shorter name still pending. Itachi openly bragged about his team when asked about them which was very out of character for the normally quiet, well reserved jounin.
"Fine, but if there are any problems, you are to send for help immediately. Do you understand Team 11?" he asked and received nods in response. "Good. ANBU bring Tazuna in". Moments later, an obviously drunk old man entered the room stumbling a bit.
"So this is what I get for all the money I'm paying. A couple of brats still in their diapers?" he asked causing Team 11 to unconsciously leak a small amount of killer intent. Before it could go any further, Minato intervened. "Tazuna I assure you that this genin team will get you to Wave without a hitch" he said. Tazuna just grunted.
Itachi turned to his team. "I want each of you to pack for a C rank mission and meet at the gates in an hour. I have to go sober the client up.
All three genin nodded and shunshined out of the office.
(Village Gates 1 hour later)
The three genin stood together talking about the mission.
"I'm pretty nervous to be honest. Our first C rank and we don't even have Itachi sensei to help us" Yakumo said looking down.
Naruto looked at his friend and took her hand in his causing her to look up. "We've got each other. As long as we stick together we'll be fine so don't worry Yakumo" said Naruto in a gentle tone. Yakumo smiled appreciatively and tightened her grip.
Sasuke rolled his eyes at the sight. "Get a room you two" he said causing Naruto and Yakumo to blush. "Anyway, like Naruto said, we'll be fine. Especially with an Uchiha on the team" he said proudly and full of determination.
"But you haven't even unlocked your sharingan yet Sasuke" Yakumo said causing Sasuke to immediately develop a rain cloud over his head and start muttering statements about dishonoring the Uchiha clan. Both Naruto and Yakumo sweat dropped at the sight before going over to comfort Sasuke and try to help him regain his former confidence. This is the sight that Itachi and Tazuna arrived to. Itachi sighed and Tazuna looked at Itachi before asking "Is it too late to get a different team?" which never got a reply.
When the team realized that the client and their sensei had arrived, they immediately recovered and stood straight waiting for instructions. Itachi shook his head. "Okay team, you know the mission now go out there and make me proud" he said with a small smile.
The team smiled as well and nodded. And with that, Team 11 and Tazuna the bridge builder took off to Wave.
While Naruto and Sasuke were keeping a look out for any bandits, Yakumo was looking around and taking in the scenery of the forest outside of Konoha.
"So this is what it's like outside of Konoha. I like it" Yakumo said before turning her attention to Tazuna who seemed very nervous. "So Tazuna, what's Wave like?" Yakumo asked trying to calm him down.
It seemed to work as Tazuna thought for a moment before speaking. "Wave used to be beautiful. The people were happy and everyone took care of one another. It was perfect. That is until Gato showed up. Gato is the head of the Gato Shipping Company so he quickly commanded a lot of authority over us because we need the seas to survive. But Gato came in and started bleeding us dry. We were so scared until Kaiza the village hero stood up to Gato. Gato had him executed in front of everyone to make an example of what happened when someone defied him. After that, our village lost hope. But this bridge I build will make it so that we aren't forced to rely on Gato and bring hope to our people" he said with determination that impressed Team 11.
After Tazuna had finished, the four continued walking until they came across a puddle in the middle of the road. Naruto and Sasuke shook their heads. "We're never gonna hear the end of this from Yakumo are we?" asked Sasuke. Naruto shook his head no. One thing Yakumo hated was when people misused genjutsu. After beating the person to a pulp, she tended to go on long rants about the skill and beauty of genjutsu and how much she hated those who tried to tarnish it.
Naruto and Sasuke stopped in their tracks and walked back towards Tazuna to cover him. Whatever the threat was, they doubted that it would be too much to handle. After only a month of training under Itachi and with Naruto and Sasuke, her body was no longer frail and weak. She now had the most physically fit body of any of the girl in her genin class which really came as no surprise except maybe Narumi who had trained seriously her whole life. Yakumo was also very flexible and incorporated that into her taijutsu.
As Yakumo and Tazuna stopped to see what was wrong, Yakumo saw the puddle in the road. Her eye immediately began twitching and a vision of the Shinigami appeared behind her. Clenching her fist, she walked forward until chains from the puddle tried to wrap around her but she jumped straight up avoiding them. After the chains fell, two figures jumped out of the puddle, both wearing Hidden Mist headbands with a scratch through the symbol.
Naruto folded his arms. "The Demon Brothers Gozu and Meizu? Interesting" Naruto said before narrowing his eyes. Sasuke looked at him. "You know them?" he asked and Naruto shrugged. "On the way back to Konoha, I read the Bingo Book. These guys are C rank chuunin level opponents" said Naruto. "You think she can handle both of them?" Sasuke asked getting a blank stare in return. Looking back to the battle Sasuke muttered "You're right, stupid question". Tazuna in the meantime was internally panicking and praying that he was not about to get a few kids killed.
Currently Yakumo was simply dodging the attacks from the Demon Brothers with such fluidity and grace that it infuriated them. It infuriated them because it was a sign that this little girl was toying with them and from the look on her face, she was bored. Their opinions were correct. Yakumo was bored so she decided to end it. After dodging another strike from Gozu, she pushed off her back foot while grabbing her kunai and dashed towards him stabbing just above the heart and flipping into the air. As she came down, she brought her foot down on Meizu's shoulder knocking him down. Naruto and Sasuke seeing that the battle was over approached Meizu.
Naruto stepped forward. "Let's make this quick and simple shall we? Your brother is going to die if he doesn't get treatment and you are going to die after my friend here" he pointed to Yakumo "puts you in a genjutsu that makes you wish for death. Or you could tell us why you attacked us, we let you go and hopefully never see you again. Choose now" Naruto ordered in a dark tone. It was a no brainer for Meizu who couldn't feel his arm because of Yakumo's kick. He quickly spilled everything he knew and then was allowed to leave.
The three genin turned to Tazuna. "So it looks like Gato wants you dead. Eh oh well, let's keep moving" he said and the team started walking forward. Tazuna was shocked. He was sure that the three would abandon the mission because he had lied but here they were continuing in spite of it. "Hurry up Tazuna" shouted Naruto shaking Tazuna out of his stupor as he ran to catch up.
It had been an hour since the four had gotten off the boat to get them closer to Wave and the team was bored. Luckily they were almost there according to Tazuna.
"So bored. When are we gonna get some action" yelled Sasuke before the team heard a buzzing sound. Immediately Team 11 and Tazuna thanks to Yakumo being there dropped to the ground before a giant sword could decapitate them and flew into a tree. Getting up Naruto turned to Sasuke. "You just had to jinx it didn't you" Naruto said and Sasuke had the decency to blush in embarrassment. Naruto shook his head and looked at the sword which now had a man crouching on it. The man wore wrappings around his lower face and had a Hidden Mist headband with a scratch down the middle like the Demon Brothers.
"Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist, A rank missing nin of Mizugakure, wanted for attempting to murder the current Mizukage . What a treat" Naruto said focusing mainly on the sword Zabuza was crouched on. If he played his cards right, he might be able to get a sword fight worth his time.
"Hand over the bridge builder and I may let you live" Zabuza said plainly but keeping his eye on the blonde who had a growing smile on his face which was a bit concerning.
Naruto started chuckling which soon turned into a very loud insane laugh. After catching his breath, Naruto turned to his teammates and simply said, "He's mine" before holding out his arm. To Zabuza and Tazuna's shock, a giant sword appeared in his hand. "Well Zabuza, its been some time since I've gotten a challenge in a duel. Hopefully, you're worth my time. Fingers crossed" he said with a smile and resting his sword on his shoulder. Zabuza jumped off his sword and pulled it free before taking his stance. The way this boy talked both confused and pissed him off. He was confused by the amount of confidence he was exerting but pissed off that this child thought he could stand up to him with a sword. "Don't say I never gave you a choice" said Zabuza before dashing at him poised to strike but his attack was cut off by Naruto's giant sword which blocked his own with ease.
Chuckling, Naruto pushed back before twisting the sword position in his hand to bring it down on Zabuza. The slash was blocked but it left Zabuza's arm tingling. The next thing he knew, Naruto was behind him facing away from him. Before he could question what he was doing, he felt a great amount of pain in his abdominal area. Looking down, he was shocked to see a wound from Naruto's sword. Turning around, he was met with the sight of Naruto smiling.
"How are you so fast with a blade like?" Zabuza asked while Naruto's smile just grew larger in size. "It's a secret" he said before disappearing and reappearing in front of him. Before Zabuza could react, Naruto punched him in the face sending him flying. While flying, Naruto disappeared again and sent him upwards with a kick that landed close to his spinal cord. Once again Zabuza flew into the air and landed roughly on the ground shortly after. Zabuza groaned but got up. "I thought you said this was a sword battle, I expected you to be using only your sword" he said. Naruto blinked a couple of times before responding. "Are you a genin? You certainly have the mindset of one if you would agree to such terms. And if we were just using swords, you would be dead by now. Use jutsu if you must. Show me your full power, it matters not. The end result will still be your death" Naruto said gaining a dangerous look in his eye. Zabuza quickly retreated to the middle of the lake behind them and Naruto slowly followed. Naruto watched, sword in hand as Zabuza shouted "Hiding in the Mist jutsu" and a wave of mist began to rise making him invisible to Naruto, or so he thought. Naruto just yawned and raised his sword and started spinning it in his hand. As it spun faster, the mist collected and dispersed while Zabuza stood there surprised at the boy's skill with his sword.
"Well, I'll admit boy that you are good but let's see you shake off this one. Water Dragon jutsu" Zabuza shouted. A dragon formed of water immediately rose from the lake and attacked Naruto. Naruto once again shook his head and raised his sword to the sky. When he swung his sword down, a chakra wave was created, and it flew through the water dragon and barely missed Zabuza. "It's time to end this. I'm sorry for what is about to happen" said a voice from behind Zabuza. When he turned around, Naruto was there to make a slash at his chest then disappear. The next slash came along his right arm, then his left shoulder, then the back of both of his thighs, and finally across his back. Zabuza was still alive but he had never felt this much pain before. Before he could have another thought, Naruto appeared in front of him with his sword drawn back behind him and with an upward slash, Zabuza was launched twenty feet in the air. Naruto forced chakra to his legs and jumped above Zabuza with his sword once again raised to the sky. Naruto then shouted words. "Hammer Slash" the boy shouted before bringing his sword down on top of his chest and pushing the two quickly to the ground with a collision so great that the area of the lake where the two landed pushed the water away leaving them on a dry surface.
Naruto looked down and recognized that Zabuza was still breathing but barely. He had perhaps two minutes to live. Naruto grabbed his body and leapt to shore before the water filled the area the two were previously in. As Naruto set the Demon of the Mist down, he had to move his head as a girl with black hair came flying out of the forest with an enraged look on her face and throwing senbon at him.
"You son of a bitch. How could you?" the girl shouted with tears running down her face. "Haku" said the weak voice of Zabuza as loudly as he could. Haku immediately stopped her attack and rushed over to Zabuza's side. "Master, I'm sorry. This is my fault, I failed you" she said leaking tears. Zabuza looked at her and shook his head slightly. "No Haku I failed you. I made you feel like you were just a tool to me when really you were so much more. Listen because I don't have long. I want you to go with this boy and his team. You'll be safe as long as you stay with them. I love you daughter" he finished and like that, the Demon of the Mist was no more. "I love you too father" Haku silently said still holding on to Zabuza's dead body.
Naruto observed the scene with mixed feelings. On one hand he wasn't sure that he should take this Haku with him as she could pose a problem but on the other hand looking at them had reminded him of his last moments with Sera. He sighed. She didn't seem like a threat to him so he supposed that he could abide by Zabuza's last wishes from one swordsman to another. Naruto walked forward. "We can give him a water burial here and then you may join us if you wish" Naruto said to the still devastated Haku. She simply nodded in response.
Naruto walked back to where his teammates and Tazuna were. Sasuke and Yakumo came up to him. "Are you alright Naruto?" asked Yakumo with concern which made Naruto give a small smile. "Yes Yakumo I'm alright. Also we are going to be having a new member tag along" Naruto said getting confused looks from his team. "What happened over there and also how did you jump that high?" asked Sasuke. Naruto looked at the trees. "Zabuza's final moments were what happened over there. As for the jump, it's a secret" he said with a smile of amusement. Sasuke was irritated at the fact that Naruto wouldn't tell him how to perform something that looked so cool but just shrugged.
After the water burial and everyone getting to know each other even though Haku was still hurting immensely, the group of Naruto, Yakumo, Sasuke, Haku, and Tazuna took off. Only twenty minutes of walking and the group had finally arrived at the village. It was a pitiful sight. The mood was gloomy, the people looked hopeless, there were people on the streets begging for food.
Tazuna shook his head. "This is the result of Gato" he simply said before walking to a house sitting on a pier. The group followed Tazuna and entered the house with him. "Tsunami, Inari, I'm home" Tazuna shouted and seconds later a black haired woman came running and hugged Tazuna. "I thought you had died dad" she said with a few tears leaking. Tazuna hugged back. "I would have if not for these remarkable ninja" he said. Naruto and Haku stood indifferent, Yakumo was rubbing her arm and blushing from embarrassment, and Sasuke was standing tall and proud. Naruto and Yakumo both didn't want to break Sasuke down like they had at the village gates by reminding him that he hadn't really done anything along the way here.
Tsunami looked at the ninja and walked up to them. "Thank you for protecting my father. He and my son are all I have left and the entirety of Wave country is relying on him" Tsunami said. Naruto gave a small smile. "Eh it's no problem and we're happy to help. Is there anywhere we can rest we're pretty worn out" he asked which got questioning looks from Sasuke and Yakumo since they had never seen him tired. Tsunami pointed upstairs and told the group that there were two rooms that they could use. After thanking her for the hospitality, the group made their way upstairs. Once they arrived upstairs, Naruto turned to Haku who had been silent. "I know that you probably hate me for taking away your father, but if you do anything to threaten the lives of my team, I will kill you" he said coldly while his team said nothing. Haku nodded, "My father told me to go with you. I will attempt to help you and your team as much as possible" she said. Naruto's mood then did a complete 180 as he gave a large smile and said "Welcome to the team Haku". Naruto then looked at Sasuke and Yakumo telling them without words to follow him into his and Sasuke's room. When they entered, Naruto almost fell face first on the ground if not for Sasuke catching him.
"Naruto what's going on with you" asked Sasuke while Yakumo was by Naruto's side holding his hand. After being lowered to the ground, he looked up at his teammates. "Nothing's wrong, I'm just really exhausted. That Hammer Slash attack you saw me use takes up a lot of energy, I'm just lucky I didn't tear anything" Naruto said. Sasuke looked confused again. "What do you mean tear anything?" he asked. Naruto sighed. "All of my stronger attacks that I use are kind of like double edge swords. They are powerful, but the stronger they are, the larger the possibility of a serious injury. It can go from simple exhaustion to death. Not unlike jutsu" he said getting understanding looks from his team. "Well, we need to be up early tomorrow, so Yakumo you go get some sleep" he said. Yakumo stared at him worriedly for a minute before nodding and leaving. Sasuke and Naruto quickly went to bed as well. All of Team 11 fell asleep wondering what challenges would come next.
I got a lot of views the day I released the last chapter which was yesterday so I just want to thank you all for that and hope you are enjoying the story. Also PLEASE REVIEW! I really appreciate your input and it helps me decide which direction to take the story in. Also, Naruto may seem more emotional and less stuck up as he has in past chapters simply because he finally has friends now.