[own naruto, I do not. Nor any other referenced franchises, do I]

[20 miles west of base 04: 02:00am]

It had been 3 days since naruto's escape from the coils of the snake, 3 days since his first breath of fresh air in 5 years… three days since his first friend entered the coma he had placed her in. The boy had spent hours questioning himself why he cared about her, why he spent every sleepless night tending to the gash on her forehead. And he kept coming up with the same infuriating answer, the same answer that stopped him from simply disposing of the issue… he was still too human. Even his mother had tried to express how this wasn't exactly a bad thing, but how could he trust that… she too had been tainted by humanity, from his biological birthgiver. And… he hated how he couldn't bring himself to be disgusted in his human side. After all… there wasn't anything wrong with having allies. Right?

That same question had been the cause for these sleepless nights as he looked over his friend's wound once more, sighing as he noticed it had finally started to heal… perhaps she would even wake up soon. As he turned back to the fire next to them, his eyes focused on the embers as he followed them with his gaze… "kaa-chan… are you there?". "yes son… is it still hurting?". Naruto shook his head, hugging his legs for warmth as he looked at the fire, his mind flashing back to the final experiment that orochimaru had performed on him. pumping his blood stream with the gathered DNA of any bloodline he could get his hands on had… been a good idea in truth. While he had not gained any of them for himself, his Maindo abilities were a different story all together. Through the Bi and Tri elemental bloodlines, he had come to discover and adapt his abilities to harness the atoms around him… elemental jutsu was now as simple as thinking, not requiring handsigns or even manipulating his chakra.. it just.. happened. Hence the wooden shack that his Friend was currently resting in.

His eyes flickered over to a shard of crystal he had used to help him maintain and air of 'decency' in his appearance with a frown. The one problem he did find was… those eyes. They didn't have a name and yet, he knew they were more than cosmetic.. he saw the chakra in everything. Nature chakra, his own chakra, the chakra he gave off from simply having his mother inside him… and that wasn't the worst of it…. He couldn't turn them off. The eyes acted as an extension of his sensory abilities, and those stemmed from his mind… Contrary to his answer to his mother, naruto let out a strangled scream of pain as another wave wracked his body, starting at his head… no mortal was supposed to have this much power. It would have torn him apart from the first second of his existence if it wasn't for his mother… but even her grip on his life was slipping. He didn't know what she was doing to him.. only that it 'would let him live'. And that it fucking hurt each time she did it. Another strangled scream tore its way through him as he lashed out in pain, toppling a few trees with a lash of kinetic energy…

Any attempt to continue however was halted by the sounds of voices and footsteps… the boy had no false belief that he could fight in his state; quickly kicking dirt over the fire and retreating into the false home he had made to grab Sachiko. But it was not to be, as a large metallic blade impacted the wood inches from his head… turning… his eyes locked onto that of a tall male, bandages wrapped around his neck from chin to shoulders, covering his mouth as he gazed down at the boy. "…where are you from". Naruto blinked in confusion, his psychic prowess too wild to read the male's mind as he stared at the man. "answer me brat". Once again, no answer, the male walking forward with intent to harm as naruto covered sachiko's body with his own… "ZABUZA-SAMA, STOP!". The now named zabuza growled as he stopped inches away, hand on the blade that was embedded in the wooden wall as a child ran up behind him, frowning.

Naruto on the other hand, used this chance to lash out as best he could, only to cry as another shockwave of pain from his head sent his kinetic blast flying in the opposite direction… the man, zabuza, seemed to take pity at that as he knelt down, putting his hand on naruto's head. "…he's burning up. Haku, set our stuff down. We'll camp here for the night". The blond was admittedly pissed off at that, this man and his child intruding on his camp. And he didn't get sick! His mother saw to that. Any protest was silenced by another painful spasm. This time nearly knocking the child out as zabuza sighed, dragging over the boy he came with. Haku put his hands to the blond's head and, to naruto's embarrassment, actually drew a sigh of relief from the boy as a cooling mist came from his hands. "what's your name brat".

He wanted to bash this man's brains out… but he couldn't deny that yes… their help would definitely be appreciated. Looking up at them, he spoke, voice hoarse and worn ragged. "naruto..yoko…". At zabuza's nod, haku pulled away and began to unload their supplies, leaving his master to stare at the two of them. "… what happened to the girl". Naruto shook his head, going into a slight coughing fit as the, now noticeable heat, returned to him. "ok brat... look just lay down. I'll have my tool keep an eye on you. When I get back…how about you tell me what just knocked those trees down and crushed our cart". Ah.. that explains it. They were going to extort him for reimbursement. He rolled his eyes, only to wince as the movement hurt his head..again.. deciding to accept his fate, an act he'd later come to berate himself for, he laid down and closed his eyes.. the sound of zabuza's foot steps calming his paranoia.

[09:30am]

Woken up by a splash of cold water, Naruto let out a loud shout of annoyance and shock, followed by the sound of someone being thrown halfway across the camp as his attacker was sent flying. It as only when a disheveled, angered looking zabuza walked up to him that he remembered the previous night's interactions. "hello no-brows. I see you didn't see fit to slice my neck in my sleep". The missing nin, he could tell by the headband, just grunted out as he sat down next to the re-lit fire. "a decision I will rectify if you ever throw me like that again brat. What the hell was that anyway?...AND HOW DID YOU TALK WITHOUT MOVING YOUR LIPS!?". That almost drew a laugh from the blond, his age betraying him as he tapped his head and smiled. "maindo. It's my..bloodline. kinetic and pathic energies achievable through chakra". The bandaged shinobi nodded, looking the boy over before shrugging. "your friend isn't going to be waking up any time soon kid".

That, sent naruto into his usual state of coldness and anger. As zabuza saw the rust tinted chakra leave the lad, he held up his hands for a small sign of patience… he had already been thrown once and he didn't want to do that again. It hurt. "I mean that we can't treat her. That mark on her shoulder is causing some kind of permanent genjutsu… it's treatable but not by me or my tool. The kind of people who can treat her….well they don't do it for free. So I've got a deal for you". The blond new this 'deal' was going to be heavily one sided, but…hey. What else was he going to do. At least this way he probable had something TO do. But when zabuza turned to him, he sighed as he sensed the utter annoyance coming from the man. "I'll be frank. I couldn't give too shits about you or your friend. I give a shit about the fact you levelled a few trees with a swipe of your hand. I could use you, and you could use training… come with me as my tool and I'll give you the money to get your friend treated. Deal?"

…

….

…..

And with that, naruto's eyes narrowed before he called upon his knew knowledge, spurred on by the sheer rage that this man felt it a good idea to try and twist him into another tool. Even kyuubi was pissed off at this man, cheering her son on with pride as she watched the nuke-nin back up out of shock at what he was seeing. On the outside, the boy was slowly coming to his feet as small sparks of charka lit up the air around him.. pure elemental manipulation running through his mind as orbs of flame, water, lightning, earth and wind came into existence around him. "and what makes you think I can't just go out and take these jobs myself". The answer that came was…unexpected. The boy found himself dodging out of the way of a physical attack, the sword coming within inches of him as he dodged and dived out of the way of the attack, barely able to focus to get an attack off at the man. "because you are obviously running off of instinct and not training. Any shinobi who can catch you off guard can quickly put the pressure on you and stop you from using your bloodline… I can train you to the point that doesn't happen, IF.. you work for me. Deal?"

The boy was faced with an ugly, annoying truth as he stared at the blade near his neck… he had been getting by off sneak attacks, sucker punches and simply because those around him didn't want to hurt him. orochimaru didn't want to lose his favourite pet after all… was he really still weak? A powerhouse unable to use his power? His mother, who had been silent this entire time, was the one to answer these questions. "I'm afraid naruto-kun, I might have forgotten how different you and I are.. he's right. I'm used to using my powers instinctually but you…mortals aren't meant to fight that way. It's not good enough to keep up with them.. you need to have technique, actual training. Or you'll end up like me. A powerhouse who can be taken down by someone beneath you who knows what they're doing..".

With a sigh of defeat, the boy nodded, looking at zabuza with a gaze of submission before standing up, pushing the blade away. "….I want to be called by my name.. its naruto. not brat.. and you better teach me something useful soon or I'll take my friend and leave". A bluff if zabuza had ever seen one, but one he understood. With a grin, he picked up his storage scroll.. making naruto wonder how the hell he had even packed up without waking him up, and began walking. "COME ON THEN NARUTO,WE GOT PEOPLE TO KILL AND PLACES TO BE!".

It was the mad laughter that followed the man which made naruto regret his decision.