Land of Waves
Tsunami and Inari themselves had taken Tazuna and Ben's plan with varying degrees of acceptance. Tsunami was surprisingly optimistic about the entire ordeal , Wishing her father a safe and worthwhile trip. Inari on the other hand, that kid had a degree of agnosticism that was unhealthy for anyone. Ben had tried to help the kid out, really. He had gotten a few positive results. Not enough to compare with Reiny though. Ben continued to try and achieve a breakthrough, but he had bigger fish to fry and decided that to completely break Inari out of his shell Gato had to go out of the picture.
Ben had given Tazuna a plumber's badge to alert him incase of things going south, So far he didn't hear any alarming noise. After finishing his work at the Bridge, Ben would wait by the docks. He had been doing that since past few days. Assuming the old man wasn't killed. A part of him chided himself for being so negative, But this was the world of uncertainty so anything could happen. He had cut down his hours of sleeping in fear that Gato would send someone after Tazuna's family . Towards his utmost surprise however, Gato had done no such thing. This brought two scenarios to Ben's mind. Either 1), Gato was just biding his time in order to build up a suitable force to combat him and any ninja that Tazuna would bring back; or 2), the thought of holding Tsunami and Inari hostage had never occurred to him. Ben hoped it was second but his gut told him that the first assumption was most likely in action.
Thankfully, The homing signal of Badge indicated that Tazuna was moving towards Wave in a rather steady pace. Ben decided to reach the docs without wasting any further time. A part of him was happy that Tazuna managed to bring desirable help with him. Now Ben had to bring out the combined might of his Inner Kevin and Inner Darkstar to convince those Ninjas to stay and help with Gato. That was kinda tricky. However, That wasn't anything Ben was unfamiliar with. Ben had handled such sort of matters before. Convincing the Highbreeds, Treaty between Appolaxians and Lewodan, Red and blue... Feh never mind! and solving the issues between two species of Gourmands. On his part, He managed to convince a boatman to help Tazuna in crossing the river, He didn't protest much considering he was being asked by Ben 10: Who defied Gato and beat up his cronies. Even though it seemed like he wanted to get over with it without getting in trouble, Compared to the people of wave his courage was rather admirable.
Ben looked at the clock, It was early morning and if the homing system was correct Tazuna was about to arrive. Mist was thick as soup on the lake, It was a perfect cover for an ambush to kill him or bring in Tazuna and his escorts. He recognized the rower who gave him a friendly wave, Then Tazuna's image became clear. first one was a tall and almost lanky looking man with a green vest over a bark blue shirt, dark blue pants with a pouch attached on his right leg, and bandaged feet in sandals. Half his face was covered with a mask, and he had a headband with an insignia on a metal plate-"Probably his clan, country or whatever else's symbol"- covering his left eye. His hair was…white and spiked up. While the man gave a deadly vibe, His features indicated he could be someone who sympathizes with people. Overall, Acceptable by Ben's standards. His relief didn't last any longer once the other three figures made themselves visible.
"Holy crap! This must be a Joke... The biggest one ever pulled on me! It can't be... FOR CRYING OUT LOUD THEY ARE JUST FRIGGING KIDS ! WHERE ARE THE BADASS NINJAS? "
Ben took a long breath, Reminding himself that different dimension meant different rules. They could be battle hardened Child soldiers. May be they were trained in Ninja things from a very early age and handling such jobs were no different than doing homework for them. Well, That didn't make it sound much better.
Just within moments , The boat entered inside the dock. It gave him a more detailed view of the Ninjas. The Cyclops was the only one who seemed reliable. Of course he couldn't forget the kids, He dreaded at even the simplest mention of them. In general, They were two boys and a girl. The dark haired boy had an aloof air about him, Ben could easily guess he was one of those High and Mighty types. He was wearing a dark blue shirt and the back of his dark hair struck out like some sort of tail. The other boy had blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing some sort of obnoxious orange jump suit that literally hurt Ben's eyes. The ultimatrix bearer facepalmed multiple times but wait... His surprise wasn't over yet... His eyes darted towards the last person, Female of the girl. She was a girl with pink hair and green eyes. She also happened to be wearing a red dress
"GREATS! I HAVE GOT MR LITTLE SUNSHINE AND RED RIDING HOOD PROTECTING MY BACK, THAT'S JUST FAN FUCKING TASTIC!"
Ben was literally boiling from inside but somehow managed to control himself. He walked towards the group who just landed on the ground. Team 7 and their teacher blinked at seeing the new comer walking towards them but when Tazuna waved at the said person , All of them relaxed. Ben gathered the whole Asia's politeness inside of him and spoke with a deep bow.
"Greetings Shinobi-san! I am Benjamin Tennyson. Thank you for keeping our resident Banshee safe. I am glad that his safety was in the capable hands of Konoha's esteemed shinobis! "
"Nice to see you too, Brat! " Tazuna remarked dryly, Albeit with a smile on his face.
The other four people had varying degrees of emotions on their face. The white haired Ninja raised an eyebrow and observed how the young plumber was insanely ripped, Clearly having the build of a fighter. The dark haired gave him a blank stare, Not caring even a little bit. The pink haired girl blushed a bit as she responded with a bow of her own. The blond broke into a wide grin as he yelled out in a loud voice.
"Of course! The old man was under the protection of Team 7, the greatest ninja team in the whole world! Believe it! "
Ben felt the urge to smash his head in the nearby wall multiple times. He sighed inwardly, "Please don't tell me I was like that when I first got the Omnitrix! "
Getting a hold on himself, He spoke with a fake smile that put even Michael Morningstar to shame, "How about all of us head back to Tazuna's place? Fishes make excellent meal in the hands of a good chef and Tsunami-san is the best in the entire land of waves! "
Once again Ben was greeted by the loudmouth blonde, It made his eyebrows twitch. "That would be awesome. Afterall we can't beat the crap out of that Gato guy with empty stomach! "
Ben dumbfounded, "What? "
" Gato you know... The guy who turned Land of Waves into crap! "
Ben threw a questioning glance at Tazuna, The Old man responded with a sigh as he coughed into his hand, "They... Uh... Found out a little bit sooner than I had expected! "
The Ultimatrix Bearer let out a groan, He gave out a thoughtful hum before turning out to shinobis. "Well thanks for helping out then, Soldiers with goodness in their heart... A rare but admiring combination! "
The Adult ninja turned to him, Observing him in a rather spooky way. Finally his single eye curving upward to indicate a smile.
"Hello there, I am Kakashi Hatake, Sensei of Team 7". He gestured to Naruto who gave him a high five "This is Naruto Uzumaki," the girl, who responded with a friendly wave. "Sakura Haruno," and the final boy, who just gave Ben a blank emotionless stare, "and Sasuke Uchiha. My genin squad."
"Nice to meet ya all and that but we should really get going." Ben remarked casually, He added with a friendly smile "I am coming from a very heavy late night shift at the Bridge and I could literally feel lions roaring inside my stomach! "
"That's understandable! " Kakashi gave a short nod, following by the famous eye smile.
And just like that everyone started making their way towards Tazuna's home.
...xxxxxx...xxxxxxx...xxxxxxxxx...
Ben and the others had been walking for a while now. Along the way, Ben learned a few things about his new companions, well, the kids at least, Kakashi was a consummate professional and didn't reveal/say anything aside from the occasional dry comment towards his charges. However, from what he could gather and what his instincts told him, he appeared to be a reliable individual. As he initially expected, The kids pretty much turned out to be open books, at least for the most part. He didn't know much about Sasuke but he appeared to be quite the loner. His answers were monosyllabic and cold and he didn't seem much interested in talking anyways.
Naruto, The one in orange jumpsuit, liked to talk the most. He loved ramen which was easily understandable as he mentioned it at least ten times in the last few minutes. It was pretty obvious that, Naruto had a crush on Sakura, who in turn happened to have a crush on Sasuke, who obviously didn't seem to care much for anything. From that, it was easy for Ben to see that any challenges Naruto issued forth to (who could carry everyone's supplies, who could run to Tazuna's place the fastest, etc.) were all in the name of his attempts to woo Sakura. Sakura in turn would get annoyed at Naruto's advances, and yell at him to "stop annoying Sasuke-kun!" (In other news, the girl had quite the temper). Ben had to smile at their exchanges, remembering a simpler time when his biggest worry in life was getting attention opposite sex, and not able to complete his Chemistry assignment.
Yeah, that felt quite nostalgic.
He closed his eyes, Ben was careful enough to stay transformed most of the time. Especially after having a taste of Ninjas' power himself. His current choice of transformation was his Aerophibian alter ego Jetray. There were many reasons for that, But the major one was pretty obvious. Having to fly in Aeropela's misty weather, aerophibians had evolved a very useful sophisticated sonar, far superior than that of bats or whales. That could be very useful considering you have an enemy who can use the mist against you. It was kind of fuzzy at around three-hundred meters out, but he could still feel stuff beyond that. There was a mother deer and her fawn about a hundred and twenty five meters that way grazing.
However, He blinked once he realized a human shadow with a very large tree hiding behind trees, Constantly changing his positions in high speed. Ben would have gotten a better idea if he was in water or in air, However he could pretty much tell that man had something huge and sharp hanging behind his back. Ben tried to get a better look but ended up taking a fall in a clumsy display. Quickly he was back on his feet and clasped the dust from his cloth. He had gotten a general direction and if that was anything to go by the said bastard was about to strike them sooner or later.
He heard Sakura's voice beside him, " Are you alright Tennyson-san?"
Ben turned and a gave small laugh, "Oh yeah. Just tripped over my own two feet is all. No need to worry". Sakura smiled and nodded in return.
Naruto, a few feet behind them, was seething with jealousy, "Oh come on!" he raged in his head, "It's bad enough that I gotta compete the Sasuke-teme, but now I gotta deal with this guy. Well just you wait Sakura-chan, I'll show you what I can do!"
A plan instantly formed inside the knucklehead ninja's head, as he ran ahead of the others, peering intently at the shrubbery around them. All of a sudden, he cried out, and threw a kunai to his right…nothing happened. Kakashi, who was content to stay silent as he tried to assess the danger they may face, spoke up, "Umm, Naruto-kun, I don't think anything was hiding in the bushes".
Naruto stayed still for a few seconds, before loudly proclaiming, "Maybe, but what about over here!" He threw another kunai to his left, and jumped over, moving the bushes to reveal, a white rabbit, frozen in place out of fright.
"NARUTO YOU IDIOT!" Sakura yelled , diving her fist into Naruto's head, sending him flying away in the air till he stopped a few feet near Tazuna, eyes swirling. Feeling sorry for the boy, Ben went on to check his injuries, all while keeping an eye on the unknown assailant he could sense.
Tazuna facepalmed, and Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. Kakashi however, were beginning to worry. He realized that it was much too early in the year for a rabbit to have white fur, as a snowshoe hare was supposed to have brown coats at this time of year. This indicated that the rabbit was most likely raised in captivity , and if all those assumptions were true, it was used as distraction. In order to lay down a trap.
The Copy ninja was certain that an attack was imminent. Ben's enhanced senses screamed in alarm as he realized the shadow had started moving towards them in high speeds, ready to take them out in one deadly sword. Ben was about to scream out of his lungs in order to warn everyone but Kakashi beat him to the punch.
"HIT THE DIRT! " Kakashi yelled at his party to get down. Ben was already on the move , immediately tackling Naruto and Tazuna on the ground but followed the course nonetheless. If Kakashi was a bit shocked at seeing Ben's sharp reactions, he decided not to show it as he focused on grabbing a hold of Sasuke and Sakura.
A sword, though calling it a sword might be a bit of an understatement, went twirling over their heads, resembling some sort of oversized shuriken. The blade itself was huge, easily broader than each of the pre teens and definitely taller. It slammed into the hefty wooden husk of an oak tree, the plant life just about able to withstand being sliced in two. A man slightly pale, and incredibly muscular jumped over its hilt. He was rather sinister looking with black spiky hair and dark eyes, wearing a pair of gray-blue pants with gray-camo leg and arm warmers. He had a harness on his chest, most likely for his sword if that could be considered one, bandages wound across the lower half of his face, and a headband tied off center on his forehead, with four diagonal lines on the metal plate.
Kakashi let out a sigh, he had definitely heard about this monstrosity.
"Zabuza Momochi, A-class missing-nin of Kirigakure. Former member of the Mist's Seven Swordsmen and Kirigakure no Oni," Kakashi responded nonchalantly, trying to keep his emotions in check. . The man was a terror, a literal demon incarnate judging by his oddly appropriate nickname. Kakashi merely stuffed his hands into his pockets and kept his composure, the man's physique made him look scrawny in comparison
"Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan Eye. I can see now why the Demon Brothers fail and what's this? I also see you've taken a genin team of pathetic little wanna-be ninjas Hah! Konoha that village sure went down the drain. Now hand over the old man, I have a mission to execute him," Zabuza said evilly in his gruff, yet gleeful voice. He then leveled his own glare towards the Ultimatrix bearer, there was something about this boy whuch truly baffled him. A mere civilian like that shouldn't be able to react to an attack of such caliber , at least not in thousand years. Was it just a fluke? Or he actually managed to sense that attack. However, he needed to focus on Kakashi right now. He had all the time to play it out with everyone else afterwards.
The others, save for Sasuke were confused at what a "Sharingan" was, Ben decided to voice their thoughts, "Hey, what the heck is a 'Sharingan'?" To the group's utmost surprise, it was Sasuke, who was quiet for the majority of the trip, quickly answered while throwing a glare at his sensei. Obviously not happy that he kept such big secret from him. "The Sharingan is a special doujutsu that allows the user to see through an opponents genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu. That person can then copy the technique and send it back to their opponent in seconds".
"How? How did that happen? Only the members of Uchiha clan-my clan are supposed to have the Sharingan. Is Kakashi sensei...? " Sasuke thought to himself, still in shock due to the turn of recent events.
"Come on brat, if you're going to tell them, you might as well tell them the whole bit." Zabuza said from his place above the others. "You only scratched the surface of what it can do. You see brats, the sharrigan can analyze an opponent's technique and then copy it to the smallest detail. In the Land of Mist we had a standing order to kill you on sight Kakashi, it read that you were the man that had copied over a thousand jutsu. Kakashi the Copy ninja."
"So we have a really famous ninja protecting us then?" Ben blinked in surprise, Now really eager to see a warrior from this strange dimension in action
"Sorry to disappoint you kid but that's just going to delay the inevitable " Zabuza spat at the group. " Kakashi, hand over old man and I'll let you and your genin squad go, May be that civilian too as I am feeling quite altruistic today. " He added with a mirthful laughter.
"I'm sorry but you know we can't do that," Kakashi glared at the missing ninja. "It wouldn't look very good for Konoha if we just let you have him without even putting up a fight."
Zabuza shrugged, "Don't say I didn't try diplomacy first." Grabbing onto the hilt of his huge blade, Zabuza kicked off the tree. He landed on the lake , which was disturbingly closer to them and made a hand sign. "Let's see how well you can live up to your name, Kakashi !"
Hidden Mist Jutsu
A thick mist spread across the land, blanketing the already misted area so heavily that no one could see more than a few feet in front of them.
"Defensive Formation you three!" Kakashi ordered his genin squad, causing them to surround Tazuna and Ben in a frontal triangle formation with Sasuke as the point, Naruto on the left and Sakura on the right.
"Zabuza is a master of the Silent Killing Technique, A strategy he can enact without making even the slightest bit of sound and the attacks are so much swift and sudden that even highly experienced ninjas have fallen prey to it, if you're not careful you'll be dead before you even know it. Protect the bridge builder and the civilian, leave Zabuza to me…" Kakashi turned back towards the lake and began to lift up his head band. "It looks like I'm going to need this."
"Ah! The Sharingan," Zabuza voice came from within the mist, his outlined form barely even visible. "It's an honor to be facing it so soon. But you know better Kakashi, It's not going to help you much here."
Ben was quite surprised to see Kakashi's second eye, Which appeared to be completely bloody red apart from a number of few strange markings which Ben couldn't describe. It was some sort of swirl with three teardrops which surrounded the copy nin's black pupils. Apart from that Ben also saw a nasty looking scar that traveled across his closed eye, indicating that the said ninja had been through a lot of life and death situations.
"Eight points…" Came the disembodied voice of Zabuza, causing the three genin and Tazuna to freeze as the entire atmosphere became filled with malice and fear
Ben closed his eyes and took a long calming breath. This man was somehow capable of exuding pure killing intention, and having it affect their opponent, themselves, and others around them, up to the point of paralysing them with fear. It was something Zs'skayr , Diagon and Vilgax enhanced by Malware's techno organic corpse had made him feel, even showing him various images of him dying a very gruesome death at their hands.
What Zabuza made him feel wasn't on that level but it was enough for making him feel uncomfortable. However the Ultimatrix bearer managed to regain his bearings within no time as he had dealt with such situations many time throughout his lengthy and tiresome tenure as a superhero.
"Such intense thirst for blood!" Sasuke thought, struggling to catch a hold on himself, "Is this what a high level battle between two jounins are like? It feels like if I make one moment he will kill me. This suffocating feeling..." Sasuke thought desperately, bringing a kunai close to his throat, "I don't think I can take it anymore."
However, before he could do that, he felt a tug on his arms and he was suddenly reminded of the fact that Ben was standing right behind him. The brown haired "civilian" grabbed his shoulder tightly , making the Uchiha flinch.
"Get a hold on yourself buddy, Having a mental breakdown right now isn't going to help. Besides I am pretty sure your teacher won't let this freak get near to touch us." Ben spoke out in a confident tone. Unlike everyone else he could see what was going on behind the mist and from what it seemed, Kakashi wasn't having much trouble following Zabuza's movement. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that he had to defend all five of them at the same time while dealing with Zabuza, he could have been a lot faster than now. Even now, the leaf veteran was standing in between his squad and Zabuza, ready to counter any and every move the demon was about to make.
"I can't believe it...how a civilian like that can be so calm in this situation...this is unbelievable." Sasuke dumbfounded but he managed to regain his bearings and lowered the kunai.
"Is that so? We will see about that." Zabuza said disagreeing with Ben's statement and appeared right in the midst of him , ready to slice them off with his gigantic sword. All of a sudden the mist surrounding them began to grow thicker and thicker, practically engulfing everything in a grim shade of white.
"The liver, lungs, spine, jugular artery , collarbone, lungs , brain, kidney and heart. Which sweet and vulnerable part shall I choose?" A gruff vicious voice surrounded them from every corner, planting seeds of fears and doubt within everyone's hearts, including Ben.
While Ben was forced to push his senses to the maximum in order to keep up with Zabuza's incredibly swift and deadly movements, He could still sense Zabuza. He felt Zabuza increasing his pace as he jumped in between middle of the genin, raising his blade in order to slice off the old bridge builder. Ben clenched his fists, He could feel Kakashi appearing behind him, ready to move them out of harm's way. Ben was quite surprised as within one tenth of a second, Kakashi had successfully managed to move everyone including Tazuna and Ben out of the way. To the eyes of normal human, Kakashi didn't even move but Ben knew better. But what Ben witnessed was tremendous speed and reflexes. He had to admit though, the man had excellent situational awareness. Ben would have to remember that in the future.
Damn! The ninjas of this dimension were no jokes. He needed to be careful if he were to deal with them in the future.
However, before they could figure out what to do, Another Zabuza emerged from the bushes, and bisected Tazuna at the chest. Ben 's eyes widened in horror as the two halves of the old man sprayed blood everywhere and thudded to the ground. Something splattered against his cheek and the young hero touched it with a trembling hand. He got a surprise, though, when he looked at it.
"Water?" he murmured, wondering how water had splashed him instead of blood.
"What did you say?" Zabuza asked, having heard the young plumber's voice. "Did you say…"
"Water?" A third voice interrupted as cold steel touched Zabuza's neck. "Yes, he did."
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Sakura shouted together. Somehow, Kakashi had managed to replace Tazuna with a Water Clone using the substitution jutsu, hiding the real bridge builder safe in the brush of the forest-ringed lake. The real Tazuna scrambled out of some bushes a moment later.
A vicious laugh split the cold foggy atmosphere. Zabuza apparently found the fact that he was being held at knifepoint highly amusing. Kakashi held the kunai a little closer to the Mist-nin's neck
"What's so funny?" the Leaf jonin growled out. His Mist counterpart's laughter just redoubled, his sides shaking from it.
"You, Hatake." The other ninja gasped out. "You actually think that I'm real." With that, the man dissolved into nothing more than a splash of water.
" A Clone? " Kakashi yelled at himself, not believing that he'd fallen for such a simple trick. He hesitated for but a half-second, but it was enough.
"LOOK OUT!" Ben's yell came too late. Zabuza was already behind him, swinging his sword. Kakashi had to do something and he had to act really fast! His gloved hands flew together, making a seal for the traditional jutsu that helped him survive in such situations countless times in the past. That was bound to work.
Zabuza's sword slashed Kakashi in half, and everyone had a look of horror, just before the blood and body parts turned into a spray of water that drenched the four kids at the scene.
"Another clone?" Sakura asked, dumbfounded. So this was what it was like to be involved in a battle with a real ninja? The pinkette suddenly realized that she had no place in this clash, and that thought scared the crap out of her.
Meanwhile, Kakashi burst out of the surface of the lake with a gasp, having made a successful getaway, but instantly realized that something wasn't right here. The water was dense, as if it was a solid and not liquid.
" Not good!" Kakashi thought desperately as a shadow fell over him. He twirled around the best he could and saw Zabuza hovering over him akin to a bloodthirsty predator, his hands flying together to use a jutsu. His bandages distorted as a psychotic grin illuminated even more of his demonic visage . This time, the grin was large enough to cause an aperture in the wrappings and allowed Kakashi a glimpse of his hidden facial features, complete with razor sharp teeth filed to points. Clearly he took his moniker as the "Demon of the Mist Village " very seriously.
"Water Prison Jutsu." Kakashi's mind went blank as he was enveloped in a sphere of spiralling and ever moving water. rendering the Jonin absolutely incapacitated of doing anything. "I'm a little disappointed, after hearing so much about the great Kakashi, I honestly thought you'd put up a much better fight than… this." Zabuza expressed his distaste, turning away from the ninja as he held him in his water prison with one hand.
Kakashi pushed with all his might, but could not break free, "Don't bother," Zabuza said, "You're trapped in a bubble of water stronger than steel. I'll only release this jutsu after the others are dead, after which you'll be easy pickings". He then made a sign with his free hand, "Water Clone Jutsu"
"Dammit," Kakashi berated himself, "He's more skilled than I thought".
Ben blinked in confusion and horror as a column of water rose up to Zabuza's height and began to take on a form.
"Crap, Don't tell me! This is almost as much unfair as that bastard Maltruants Time remnants!" The ultimatrix bearer cursed under his breath as the water did indeed took the form of another Zabuza. The situation was bad enough with Kakashi trapped inside that freaky water vacuum thingy. Now he had to deal with a duplicate of the man who put the deadly ninja inside that in the first place. All while defending everyone. This wasn't going to be easy.
The clone made it to dry land, and started to speak, glaring at the rest of Team 7 and the Ultimatrix bearer.
"I am so going to enjoy this! "
Speaking of mist, the dense fog surrounding the area once again intensified and the water clone instantly vanished into its cover.
A foot lashed out of the mist, a foot so big it practically dwarfed the Genin's head. It was headed for a stunned Naruto, too fast for the blonde to even comprehend it. Ben caught it, saving the orange clad ninja a sandal print to the face. With narrowed eyes, the brunette blocked the follow-up strike, batting it away with an elbow before he brought both hands up. The four pronged symbol on his chest made itself visible and a bright emerald glow engulfed the entire mist.
Naruto's eyes widened in amusement as he watched the brilliant display of strength, Coming from a civilian nonetheless. Ben jumped up and grabbed Zabuza look a like's head, Everyone's heart missed a beat as Ben pulled it apart as if he was plucking some fruits. The Clone's body immediately shattered like pieces of domino, Everything emerged back into water mixing with the mother nature, Except the bandages though. Such savage display of strength was scary though, Even Sasuke had to admit that. Sakura felt a bit breathless, Feeling unsure about how to react. Ben had completely dismantled a person just like that, Even though that was just a water clone... It was a lot to take in.
"How the hell did you do that? " The Jinchuriki curled his fists in frustration as he turned towards Ben
"Such strength , speed and ability to see through the mist...Could he be..." Kakashi thought while in captivity as he immediately recalled his team's last encounter with demon brothers
"So that's why the Bridge's construction was going on despite Gato's hold on the Wave country and why Tazuna is still alive, You were out there protecting them." Sasuke reasoned, Being the first to catch on the fact.
Zabuza chuckled. He recalled those old days, Starting to feel a bit nostalgic. A nine year old child, Forced by his parents to enroll at the Kirigakure Ninja academy while he was just a child knowing next to nothing about the harsh reality of this world. It was quite fascinating how someone like him just wandered in and slaughtered over one hundred potential candidates as future ninja. He believed that was where the moniker had come from, Demon of the Hidden Mist. It made sense in retrospect; he had shown no mercy even at the tender age of nine.
Ben took a long breath and widened his stance. It felt good to crush that water zombie but he still had to deal with the genuine article. Who did seem like a tough customer
Flashback
Kakashi stared down the two notorious missing-nins that had just made an attempt on Tazuna's life. It was glaringly obvious that they were hiding in a puddle which was a pretty half baked decision considering it was a bright and sunny day and it hadn't rained recently. After using a Body Substitution Jutsu to avoid their attack, he found it slightly odd, In comparison with their stats and bounty in the bingo book he found them rather slower. In fact he felt that he should have triggered the jutsu a few seconds later than he originally did
Kakashi had actually secretly hid inside the trees to see if he could take the two out in surprise while his team engaged with them. The more he observed them , He realized that his first assumption was right. The Infamous Demon Brothers were being a little lethargic for a Chunin. They also seemed to be relying more on their right side. Possibly because of an wound that they had endured some time ago. Sasuke was able to delay them without any sort of difficulty whatsoever on his side while Naruto stopped dead in his track and Sakura hung back with Tazuna.
Deciding to wrap up his act , Kakashi jumped into battle and managed to deal a finishing blow to both of the Demon Brothers at the same time. A nice sneak attack if he were to define himself.
Now that he had time to take a very good look at these two, It turned out that they did indeed have some severe wounds that still hadn't healed fully. There were signs of frostbite on their necks and considering how they winced whenever they moved a certain parts of their body , indicating that they had broken a few of their bones during an intense battle.
"Well well " Kakashi observed. "Isn't this interesting? It seems someone had the honor to beat the crap out of you two. Care to explain ?"
"Grrr," Meizu growled angrily. The bite of their loss just felt as bitter the second time around.
"Someone who protects the Bridge and the old man. He has this weird bloodline limit, allowing him to transform into various creatures with different abilities and he is good, scary good with them . That's why Gato's man call him The Beast " Gouzu hissed angrily.
"The Beast? " Kakashi blinked. That was indeed a very odd name. If his memory served him right, He had never heard of anyone like that and last he checked, the bingo books didn't have a weird name like that either. However He did observe that Tazuna recoiled slightly at the mention of The beast. It seemed that He knew who the beast truly was. Also he could easily tell it wasn't because he was scared of him.
The most surprising fact was that the beast was a kid and he worked as a construction worker on the Bridge, So sooner or later he was bound to run into him
Flashback End
"My.. My you do have an intent to kill, I gotta say. I finally recognized you now, You are the Beast my subordinates mentioned. Its quite a shame though, You don't have any formal Ninja Education. In hands of a Shinobi, You could have been a powerful weapon. Anyways... Your gifts may have allowed you to defeat Demon Brothers, That won't do much against me. I have dealt with fair share of bloodline users in my career. " Zabuza announced with a menacing growl
"Let's see who is the bigger monster amongst us! " Ben grinned, As he stepped forward. Ready to face the Swordsman standing in front of him.
"And he is not alone in this, Ninjas of hidden leaves are going to fight alongside him. Believe it! " Naruto took a step forward, his teeth gritted and fists shaking. His hands shifted into a familiar hand sign. Ben blinked in surprise as within a cloud of smoke hundred more Naruto look a likes appeared and rushed towards Zabuza.
Zabuza didn't even bother to react as he swung his sword wildly, Even though multiple duplicates of Naruto dogpiled on to the rogue ninja with a rather impressive co ordination , none of his swings missed the target. Despite being forced to use only one of his hand and restriction in his movement Zabuza swatted all Naruto's as if they were insects. With in a few seconds all of them had exploded back into a cloud of smoke.
"Tch, It would take thousands of you to beat me! " Zabuza scoffed
Naruto gritted his teeth as a glint in his eyes said "Challenge accepted " . He was about to jump ahead but Ben grabbed him by collar and pulled him back.
"Hey! "
"I am really impressed to see your courage and determination but that dumpling guy can kill you with his pinky. I might have a bit advantage but to be honest that's not going to take me much far" Ben spoke with a dead serious tone, "The only way to beat him is to get your teacher out. Only he can even the odds."
He could use his heavy hitters such as NRG, Ultimate Humungousaur and Waybig but he didn't know how much he could show to these people or what ninjas would do to him after learning about his abilities . Perhaps someday he might be able to find people in this world whom he could trust with his secret. However, until then he needed to remain on his toes most of the times. The best option right now seemed to be getting the "good " ninja out. He didn't know how much effective Xlr8 or Fasttrack could be, They had been beaten in his world before by people of superior reflexes and combat experience, So it was highly doubtful they could be effective against ninjas of all people. Especially when he was fighting in the middle of a thick mist. Jetray had a clear speed advantage but only if the battle was in air or underwater. Ghostfreak was his last resort and Ben didn't trust himself with anything related to Zs'skayr. Ben jumped forward while tapping onto the four pronged symbol situated on his chest.
The Ultimatrix bearer's body bathed in emerald light as he swapped his transformation. When it died Ben was replaced by something much more animalistic and horrifying. The creature had grey fur, a long flowing mane, and a bushy tail. It also had four sharp claws on each hand. One of them served as the thumb, while the others served as the fingers. It was none other than Ben's Loboan alterego Blitzwolfer
Leaning down, Ben moved on all four. After letting out a loud and menacing howl, He turned to Zabuza as his eyes glowed within the mist,
"What happened Mr Mochi? Regretting to come here without wearing your baby diapers, Aren't you? " The creature mocked in a deep sinister tone.
Zabuza's face contorted in rare show of anger . He made the sign again, and summoned forth more clones, half a dozen. The mist covering them became even thicker, Zabuza look alikes let go of any sort of Taijutsu, All of them unwrapped their huge sword and dashed towards Ben like a charging bull.
Naruto growled in anger but held himself back as he recalled the bell test. As much as he hated to admit that he couldn't take on a Jonin alone
"He is right Naruto," Sasuke had joined in, "Alone we don't stand a chance. But," he paused to make sure he had their attention, "remember what sensei has been teaching us, teamwork. We need to come up with a plan if we want to free sensei".
"Wait !" Sakura panicked "You two can't just charge in like a bunch of idiots. Zabuza is still a jonin, and we are just three genin".
Tazuna sighed, shoulders slumping over. "I guess this all happened because of me and my desire to live. But I won't let that stand in your way now. Forget about me and do what you have to do! Go and fight to save your sensei! "
The Jinchuriki chuckled at hearing this. , Tazuna really was courageous. Accepting the inevitable is a kind of courage too.
For once Naruto actually paused in thought, looking down at the ground. He soon gained a smile on his face though, and looked to Sasuke, who looked back, intrigued. Naruto then began to whisper his plan.
...xxxxxxxx... Xxxxxxxxx... Xxxxxxxxx...
Ben was already on the move before the water clones charged towards him. He brandished his claws as he jumped forward, moving in speeds that his enemy had no clue he possessed. Landing in the middle of his enemies, swinging as hard, fast and with as much skill as he could in his current state . A couple of Water clones were unlucky enough to get hit, Zabuza and Kakashi's eyes widened as both look a likes of Zabuza completely shattered on the spot. Not even leaving a single evidence of their life behind.
Zabuza seemed shocked a mere bloodline user with no prior Ninja training could move as fast as he did or possess the amount of strength he possessed for his size. A water clone tried to slash the Ultimatrix bearer from behind, Striking with each and every ounce of strength he could muster. Unfortunately its sword shattered, Turning into nothing but a pool of water. Ben backflipped in the air and grabbed the said clone in a headlock. He grabbed its head by his another hand and pulled it apart from his body. Making it see its end.
The remaining duplicate roared in outrage and charged towards Ben. The last one tailed behind him as if to provide back up. Suddenly four muzzles of Ben's wolfish face opened, Shooting a green wave of Ultrasonic waves. The duplicate felt the force of several rhinos slamming onto his body as he flung in the air, Another one was caught in the motion too. Both look a likes kept spiralling in the air until their heads smashed onto a giant boulder. Their heads bursted out in numerous droplets of water and their bodies soon followed the course.
Ahh, this is a real shinobi at heart ! He could have been something back in the Bloody Mist! Perhaps he can join me and Haku when I–
Zabuza was so much intrigued by the battle, that he almost didn't notice the giant shuriken headed his way, almost.
In an amazing display of strength Zabuza caught it effortlessly, In between two of his fingers nonetheless He glanced over to the mainland, shooting a cocky smirk at Sasuke, who was the one to attack him"Gonna have to try harder than that brat!" The swordsman blinked in surprise as he saw Sasuke was still gazing intently.
Zabuza then noticed that a second shuriken was headed his way, "Hmm, a shadow shuriken to hit me after I caught the first. Trying to force me to move eh? Smart. But not smart enough". Indeed, Zabuza just hopped over the shuriken, glaring at Sasuke, "You can't touch me kid!" But Sasuke just smirked. Zabuza grew puzzled, but heard a puff come from behind him, and saw that the shuriken had transformed into the Jinchuriki himself, poised to throw a kunai, With an exploding tag attached to it
"A transformation!"
"Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu! " Naruto yelled while in mid air. Zabuza's eyes widened as reality itself flashed into Orange. More than a thousand Naruto look a likes appeared alongside him, All of them charging towards him like an eagle. Genin or not, Zabuza couldn't take such number lightly, not wanting to get seriously injured, He was forced to dodge the sea of orange, letting go of the water orb, as multiple explosions shook the area. Team 7 cheered at the success of their plan.
Ben narrowed down his eyes as the smoke cleared, Zabuza landed on the other side of water surface. He had a few scratches on the body but overall he remained unscathed. He leveled his glare on the creature. The swordsman wanted nothing but slicing him into oblivion, Ben had survived through much extreme ordeals. Including lasers and missiles but considering the magical ninjas he didn't want to take a risk. He prepared himself for something like Goop or Clockwork. One of them was indestructible and extremely annoying to handle while another...well who fears superspeed when you have all the time in the world. However Ben didn't have to choose as Kakashi emerged out of the lake. Even though the Jonin's face was covered Ben could easily tell he was angry and it was wise to let him deal with Zabuza.
"Thank you for providing support and strength to my Genins, I owe you this one" The Jonin remarked with a grin, "Good work Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura " He looked fondly at each of his students, "I knew you could get me out". He then turned to glare at Zabuza, "Now then, I believe we have some unfinished business".
Zabuza snarled in response, "My thoughts exactly". With speed unknown to three genin, Zabuza appeared right above Kakashi. Even Ben's eyebrows threatened to drop from the sheer speed he had, He never saw a human moving as fast as a high speed racing car. Kakashi didn't even have the time to pull out his kunai before he was bisected by Zabuza's giant butcher knife. In an instant, he became two. He didn't even have the time to let out a death rattle.
"DIE!" shouted Zabuza with murderous glee as his blade cut through the last piece of flesh in Kakashi's body. Time seemed to slow down dramatically for young plumber. His eyes widened as he saw the top half of Kakashi being flung into the air by the sheer momentum of Zabuza's strike. His hands clenched into fists as he saw the confident smirk on Zabuza's face. He could feel his left eye twitch angrily but he paid it no mind as without hesitation, he furiously tapped into his symbol.
A green flash covered Ben's body as he swapped his transformation. He now turned into dark green skinned creature. Better known as his Florana alter ego Wildvine. Wildvine had two arms with four fingers on each hand, and his hands looked like they were covered with leaves. He had spikes on his hands and elbows. His hands and feet were dark green, and his body, arms, legs, and head were lime green. He had vines on his arms, and wrinkles on his stomach, neck, and a part of his legs. He had a large yellow-green leaf connected to his neck and torso, and had dark green lips. He had one blue eye, and a lime green leaf on top of his head. He also had dark green leaves on his back. Vines shot out from each part of his body, They pierced inside the ground and even deepest parts of entire lake. They connected with each and every tree standing there, Bringing them to life. Zabuza's eyes widened as huge thorny vines shot out from the trees, Breaking the ground in process.
Sturdy roots of trees shot out from the ground, Zabuza didn't even have time to utter his own death rattle as wrapped itself around Zabuza's neck with deadly force, snapping it on impact. Ben widened his eyes, surprised as his success before Zabuza quickly melted down into a puddle of water just like Kakashi's corpse.
"Damn his Ninja magic!" thought Ben as his eyes darted around his surroundings. He tapped on his chest once again, swapping his transformation into something else. A brilliant display of emerald lights covered his body. This time a manta ray sort of creature stood in his place. His skin was red in color and he had yellow horns extending from his nose, gills underneath his arms and yellow patagia which he used to fly and glide through water. It was none other than Ben's Aerophibian alter ego Jetray. Ben flapped his wings and quickly ascended into sky, Vanishing inside the clouds and leaving a very panicked Team 7 alongside a very much scared old man.
...xxxxxxx... XxxxxxxxxX...
Having quickly switched with a nearby water clone, Zabuza eyed Team Seven and the young plumber , feeling somewhat humbled by what he saw. He would have to hand it to the bloodline user. He didn't see any hesitation in his movements. This meant deep down the boy was a cold blooded murderer .
He let out a sigh as he felt the cold steel of a kunai gracing the side of his neck. Narrowing his eyes, he looked over at Kakashi.
"How did you find me?" asked Zabuza quietly.
"Easy. All I had to do was look out for the spare water clone you had. Then I waited patiently for you to use the Body Replacement Jutsu," answered Kakashi
"Its over! " Kakashi spoke as he brought the kunai closer to the flesh of the Assassin. 'Did you just say it's over?" asked Zabuza, "You don't understand, do you?"
"You won't be able to beat me with your fade out, fade back in techniques.." continued Zabuza, his voice lowering in pitch and becoming much more intimidating, "You have no chance."
"Especially now that you are separated with from the very people who could have interfered! " remarked Zabuza with a chuckle.
"I'm horribly disappointed. I thought you would have given me a decent challenge since you're quite infamous in the bingo books," said Zabuza, prompting Kakashi to widen his eyes. "They said you were good, It seems you lost your edge after your beloved sensei, Fourth Hokage got killed" remarked Zabuza, referring to those who used to publish the information within the bingo books and the Kyuubi attack
"Sadly, being good means nothing if you fall for the same trick twice."
With that said, Zabuza quickly slammed the back of his head into Kakashi's nose before disappearing into a torrent of water, Thoroughly soaking the anterior of Kakashi's uniform. Despite being a ninja from the very tender age of Six, he was taken completely by surprise but recovered quickly enough to detect the real Zabuza behind him. It was only his vast amounts of expertise rescued him from being torn into shreds by Zabuza's huge sword.
Kakashi's eyes widened at the sheer weight of Zabuza's blade as it pierced deep into the solid ground . His eyes widened even further as Zabuza shifted his weight using the hilt of his sword to deliver a painful, bone crushing drop kick into his chest.
"Guh!" Kakashi cried as his back was slammed into a tree.
He didn't get even a second to recover as he was forced to duck underneath a violent slash from Zabuza's blade that would have definitely ended him. The blade managed to drill itself deeply into the wood, giving Kakashi the perfect strategy to counter Zabuza's onslaught.
A swift elbow into Zabuza's liver forced the much larger man to stagger backwards , Providing Kakashi the room to quickly weave out from underneath him. Twisting his body around Zabuza so that he was now behind the swordsman, he spurred himself away by jumping off Zabuza's back, Not wanting to be anywhere near his much physically superior opponent. For the first time in his life Kakashi regretted not sparring with Gai as much as he should have over the years.
"Tch," grunted Zabuza before pulling out his zanbato from the tree.
"This isn't good," thought Kakashi as he glanced at Zabuza, "At least there is no water close by for Zabuza to use his water release.."
"I must end this quickly.."
Kakashi's narrowed down his eyes at Zabuza with a clear intent to kill, He brandished his kunai and shot forward in high speeds . Gathering chakra around his feet he pushed himself off the ground , All set to bury his kunai into the side of Zabuza's neck.
"Too easy!" shouted Zabuza as he impaled his massive blade through Kakashi's stomach. With a revolting feeble sound, Kakashi slowly slid down the blade, his weight forcing him to endure even more pain. Zabuza smirked at his victory before widening his eyes as Kakashi grabbed his neck. He looked up into Kakashi's eyes, taking note of his almost casual smile before he felt his muscles clench and tighten up uncontrollably as electricity was sent through his body.
"Gughghgrghh!" Zabuza cried in pain as Kakashi's body dispersed into a human sized bolt of electricity , forcing him onto his knees.
Kakashi didn't miss his chance to strike the incapacitated Swordsman, dashing out from his hiding spot and charging a significant amount of lightning chakra into his right hand. He charged towards Zabuza, his hand poised to deliver the finishing blow.
"Chidori! " Kakashi hustled forward like a bullet, Ready to pierce Zabuza's heart and he could have easily done so only if...
Kakashi's strike could have gone deeper. Zabuza grabbed his wrist as chakra swirled around his body. The copy nin realized something went wrong. While his attack did injure Zabuza, It didn't injure him enough. Zabuza must have been pushing himself beyond his limits ever since he defected from Kiri, His reflexes and chakra enhanced durability made him capable enough withstand his attack just by sheer strength and durability. Blood dripped from Zabuza's wounds as he smashed his head onto Kakashi's. The copy nin stumbled backwards, His eyes becoming watery due to taking a heavy blow on his nose. Finally Zabuza gave him a powerful uppercut which sent him flying through the air.
Due to tremendous shinobi training, he was able to quickly land back on his feet. He tried to take a taijutsu stance but fell on his knees. Realizing he was hit by chakra exhaustion. Zabuza let out a chuckle, Not even a little bit affected by the wound on his chest. Kakashi cursed as he realized where he went wrong, Zabuza was living in a war but he wasn't. The Copy nin hadn't fought against someone of his caliber and intent to kill, Gai was truly a beast but their spars were just Spars. A method to maintain their shape and not lose their sharp instincts. Zabuza on the other hand was a fugitive of high caliber, He had to fend off enemies from all sides. It was Zabuza's drive for survival which allowed him to beat Kakashi today. Kakashi closed his eyes as Zabuza walked towards him with the massive blade in his hand.
"I hope you forgive me in afterlife. Rin... Obito... Minato Sensei! "
He took a long breath , Preparing to face his death proudly. However before Zabuza could attack him, Several emerald beams fired from the sky sending him spiralling backwards. The Swordsman cried in pain as if he had been stung by a horde of bees. Zabuza tried to stand up but he couldn't, He quickly deduced that his nervous system had been attacked. Jetray descended on the ground with the speed rivalling of Ballistic Missile, Without wasting a single moment he smashed his glowing fist into Zabuza's neck. Utilizing Grandmaster Kundo's famed technique . The impact of the fist made Zabuza's skull smashing on the ground, Digging a hole underneath.
Quickly Ben tapped on to symbol, An emerald flashed engulfed his body as he transformed into something else. It was red skinned muscular humamoid creature with an extra pair of arms. It had spikes on his arms and head. Not only that, It also had two front toes on each foot. It was approximately twelve feet tall and It was dressed up in a white T-shirt with a black line going down it, black pants, and fingerless gloves. That was none other than Ben's Tetramend Alter ego Four Arms.
"I am so going to enjoy this, George of the Jungle! " Ben grinned smugly as he continued thrashing the nuke nin. One of his blows nearly crushed his windpipe. It was by some miracle that Zabuza didn't die just then. Ben's eyebrows twitched lazily before he grit his teeth in anger. Ben didn't know if this man deserved to live or die but he needed to kill him before Zabuza could do the same to him. There were no second chance scenarios here, Ben needed to do the inevitable. Ben could see him choking and the blood staining the bandages covering his mouth as he gripped him tighter.
"Release Zabuza-sama at once or the lives of your comrade's are forfeit!"
Ben growled low in his throat and turned, only to freeze at the sight he saw. A masked ninja – obviously affiliated with the bastard in his grip if his ridiculous term of endearment was anything to go by – stood calmly in-between Naruto and Sasuke with his arms spread in either direction, senbon pointed directly at the throat of both Naruto and Sasuke. Ben let out a groan, This guy must have been a hell lot fast. He carried Naruto and Sasuke all the way here within no time while Ben was busy in giving Zabuza a beatdown. The situation could have been worse. The masked shinobi could have easily killed Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura and Tazuna too, Before he appeared here. It was a quick decision, Ben slammed all four of his hands as hard as he could into Zabuza's temple and tossed him roughly towards land. So he could get enough time to swap into something which could deal with the crazy speed of said villain, However the masked-nin took his opportunity and fled with him before anyone could even blink, disappearing in a shower of water and what looked like ice.
Ben didn't know if he was hallucinating or the adrenaline surging through his veins was playing tricks on his ears, but he could have sworn he'd heard someone whisper, 'Thank you.'
"At least he didn't try to kill us! " Kakashi sighed with a lazy yawn. Back into his sitting position.
"What the hack just happened?" Sasuke demanded the moment they were all close enough, wincing as the energy seemed to be leaving him.
"It's ridiculous! " Naruto huffed in annoyance, wiping a pearl of crimson blood from his throat. "That masked ninja just appeared out of thin air ready to take out our throats. And he was around my age too"
"You should have paid more attention to your surroundings, Dobe! " Sasuke frowned
"Don't put this on me! " Naruto screamed
Kakashi let out a sigh, He took out a soldier pill from his pocket and gulped it as fast as he could. He still needed to rest and he was no longer in condition to fight a ninja for a couple of weeks. But the pill allowed him to regain his top notch condition for the time being. It was temporary at best but fortunately Zabuza had to do a lot more than a few soldier pills to get in shape
"Zabuza was a Jounin around your age, So was I. Fourth Hokage was stronger than what I am now even when he was 14." Kakashi explained as he walked towards trio, Ruffing Naruto's head with a smile " I'd think this is an opportunity for you to learn that, at times, things won't turn out the way you want or hope. And instead of whining and moaning about it, you can take it in stride, and move on with your life."
"Besides being a hero doesn't mean isn't just beating baddies everyday. It's about you, Your relationship with the people around you. It means looking them in the eyes with conviction and telling that you did everything you could have done to help. Strength and skills can be achieved through efforts but not a passionate heart who strives to protect everyone! " Ben spoke out with a genuine smile, " Besides I don't think you wanna be known as the guy who quit in the middle of rescuing a country which is your first most important mission right now just because he got cold feet at the last moment ". Naruto looked up at Ben before he gained a soft smile due to the kind words.
That smile grew into a full-blown grin as he stood up however, "By the way, you were awesome! How did you do all that, and what was that transformation jutsu you pulled out back there?" Ben gulped at that, (foolishly) hoping that his little spectacle would be forgotten in light of recent events. He then felt a hand clap his shoulder, and saw Kakashi's "happy" face.
"Oh yes, you have quite a bit of explaining to do young man. Of course, that can wait until we get to Tazuna's place" Kakashi waved for everyone to follow, Ben mentally prepared himself as they walked towards Tazuna's home. As much he knew Tsunami and Kakashi knew Sakura, A lot of screaming were going to follow.
...xxxxxxxxxx... Xxxxxxxxx...
Finally they made it to Countryside of Land of the Waves, Where Tazuna's home was located. It took a bit more than Ben was expecting but well, He was so much used to Teleportation or just going alien all the time. He didn't let his frustration show though, He was a grown adult for crying out loud. Naruto constantly kept pestering him about his abilities while other ninjas pretty much ruled it out as some sort of bloodline limit.
As soon as they entered inside the house, They were greeted by Tazuna's the very much enthusiastic , Tsunami, and she'd had dinner dished out for them in what seemed like no time at all, as well as some homemade sake for Kakashi and Tazuna – none for the Genins and Ben, because they were still children in her eyes. In a magical display of skills, She had managed to cook, clean, catch up on their journey so far and take a look at the injuries suffered while pointing out this and that, allowing them to clean up before the food was served still warm and delicious.
As they settled down, Kakashi was the first one to address the elephant in the room. "Now ...Ben! What do you have to say for yourself? "
Everyone turned to Ben, Who let out a yawn as he stretched his hands. He wasn't prepared to share his secret with the ninjas, Even those who seemed good.
Man! They were called Ninjas for a reason.
"So, What do you want to know? "
Kakashi replied casually "Your village and clan would be nice. And where did you get these…abilities of yours?"
"I believe I got my ability to call upon the powers of certain creatures when I was ten years old. My parents were pretty much normal civilian and we lived in a quiet boring town. My grandfather was a wise man and he helped me towards his best ability. My cousin could do a lot of the thing you guys can do and for a certain time she tried to teach me but I couldn't learn much except of conjuring a shield, resistance to mind control and illusions and my instructor who was named Rook taught me how to imbue your muscles with your life force, something which you saw doing while fighting against Zabuza." Ben spoke with an inward sigh. There was no way in hell he was going to tell these guys the complete truth.
"Contego"
As soon as Ben uttered those words a bluish force field made of mana appeared in front of them, Everyone leveled incredulous glare at Ben as he tried to stab it using a kitchen knife, Showing how durable that was.
"You guys use life force right? Something like combination of physical and mental energy"
"It's called Chakra in elemental nations, Ben-san! " Sakura corrected the Young plumber.
"Who cares what that is called! All it matters is you could do things using by it" Ben responded with a yawn. Kakashi facepalmed, This was the guy who saved him!
"Yep, Way to go Ben! " Naruto chuckled, Finally he met someone who didn't give much importance to Catra nonsense. They were definitely going to get along.
Kakashi chose to accept the answer and move on, "And how did you end up here?"
Ben hesitated for a while before he replied vaguely, " A while back...my town was attacked by some mysterious people and as it turned out they were after me and my cousin Gwen ! " Everyone leaned forward at hearing this, "I don't know how or when it started, But my enemies despised me and Gwen. They wanted nothing but ending our existence" Everyone started to frown at hearing that, Naruto felt that this was going to hit a little close to home, Ben closed his eyes. Remembering those who faced death in the time wars. Rook Blonko, Maxwell Tennyson, Lucy Mann, Cooper Daniels and a lots of other Plumbers, "My friends and family fought back with all our might and we did fought long and hard. But we didn't win. My Grandfather sacrificed his life and one of my best friends got slaughtered, Just so I could survive! "
Ben clenched his fists in outrage, Tazuna and Kakashi were started to wear heavy frowns on their faces. Naruto looked like he had been banned from eating Ramen forever. Sasuke was deep in thought starting to think of their similar, if slightly different, situations.
"I hid at first, Watching those people slaughtering back and forth. One day I lost patience and tried to take them down with me. I guess that didn't work out as I had hoped and I somehow ended up in the middle of a sea. When I arrived here, I saw things were pretty messed up here too. I may not have succeeded in making difference back home but I won't fail again. This time, I will beat the Big bad and save the people. No matter what happens, I will see this through my very end. " Ben concluded with fire in his eyes"
Tsunami and Sakura had started full on crying at this point, Inari had tears streaming from his eyes. Sasuke was deep in thoughts, Awkwardly patting Sakura's head who leaned in for support. Naruto had a gloomy expression on his face, Sad enough to not to be jealous of Sasuke right now. Tazuna patted little Inari on the head while Kakashi gazed at the ceiling, Thinking about Horrors of Ninja world.
"Well, I believe you saved my life back there. So I can teach you a couple of tricks to even the odds. Zabuza will attack again, Alongside his assistant. Having you with us can level the playing field" Kakashi cleared his own throat, Breaking the pregnant silence, "For the time being you will be training with my Genins! "
"What sort of training? " Ben raised an eyebrow, "I gotta warn you though, I am not that good with this life force manipulating stuff. I am only good with basic and intermediate control! "
"You can't be worse than Dobe! " Sasuke huffed causing Naruto's eyebrows to twitch in irritation. Naruto grumbled at the rude remark, However he had stars in his eyes at the thought training for such fight.
"It's simple! " Kakashi gave a light chuckle, Reminding Ben of Plumber Rook Blonko when he taught him Stone Cutter, "You are going to climb trees! "
...xxxxxxxxxx... Xxxxxxxxxxxx...
The Jounin led three genins and the young plumber outside of the cottage, They continued walking until they reached an area surrounded by huge trees.
"How is tree climbing training?" Naruto asked, voicing the thoughts of everyone there.
"Oh!" Kakashi sounded as if he'd remembered just why it was training, but none of the teens in the group believed that for a second. "You seem to be thinking that you'll be allowed to use your hands for this training! Sorry, I guess I forgot to mention that little fact. No hands allowed."
"Uh…No hands?" Naruto asked with a squint face. "Then how the hell are we supposed to climb the tree?" The other two nodded with his assessment.
"You use chakra. Shinobi generally regard the feet as the hardest place to channel chakra, even more so since the feet are usually covered by sandals. Thus it is that much harder because you have to force chakra through the rubber. Of course, it varies from person to person, but I guarantee that all three of you will fall at least once." With that, the masked jounin faced the tree behind him and proceeded to walk straight at it. When he got to it, Kakashi just kept walking, straight up the ancient giant, never once breaking stride, and finally reached the lowest branch, some ninety feet over their heads. The three teens gaped at the ease at which their leader had done it, while Ben had seen Rook doing similar things while training him.
During the battle he saw Kakashi and Zabuza were running on water. They probably did it by using their mana to cause friction with the liquid surface and manipulate it in order to stand on the lake. However , from what he experienced during Rook's training sessions, using mana frequently proved to be quite tiresome. Which was the reason he had a hard time properly practising this part.
26 Months Ago, Plumber's training grounds, Amazon rainforest
Ben shuddered at hearing the sound of violent rushing water growing louder as he walked further, following his rather feline looking combat instructor, Magister Rook Blonko. Also known as one of the universe's finest and fiercest martial artists. Not even Vilgax dared to challenge him in a direct combat.
"Ah, This place seems most suffice." Rook smiled at him as they stopped near the edge of a river which eventually submerged into a huge waterfall. The water in front of appearing completely white due to quick turbulent flow , violent splashes of that managed to dip and churn huge rocks over the course of a time.
Ben dumbfounded, blinking in confusion, "Uh...Rook! What are you going to make me do today?"
Rook turned to his current pupil, "Simple, Today I am going to train you in the art of chi manipulation."
"Chi?" Ben raised an eyebrow, "You mean Mana? like my cousin does."
"In a way both of them are similar and yet extremely different. Both words mana and chi points towards the life energy which is present in all living beings residing in this universe, perhaps except ectonurites as their sense of life and death are much different compared to us. A Chi adept such as myself uses life energy in order to become one with the universe. It allows me to go beyond the limits of mortality, allowing me to perform a number of feats that a person of my species otherwise won't be able to. " Rook explained with a slight smile, adding as a matter of fact " A Mage or in short someone like your cousin can perform spells, A spell is a specific action which — when performed correctly — channels your life force in way that allows the individual to achieve a specific result based on the composition of the casting. Spells allow individuals to alter reality on certain levels, such as affecting the physical properties of objects and people, giving the caster access to supernatural powers and changing the very mechanics of reality itself. However it requires intense concentration, vast knowledge in number of ancient languages and sometimes, expertise in the usage of talismans , potions and other ingredients. Magic is a selective as not everyone can access it but chi is indiscriminate. Anyone with the right mind can learn it as long as that individual is willing to make real efforts."
"That makes sense. My cousin has been trying to teach me how to do some minor magic spells but they happen to be quite draining. I can't risk using them in battles." Ben responded with a nod.
"I believe the main reason behind it is your life force reserves, You need to practice more and perform a number of spiritual exercises in order to increase your mana capacity. However , with what I am planning to teach you, you should be able to use both Chi and mana based techniques as if they were as natural as breathing to you." Rook concluded with a smirk, which sent shivers running through Ben's spines. He clearly remembered what happened to him last time when he saw his instructor's happy face.
Flashback (A couple of weeks ago)
Ben gritted his teeth together as he performed a single handstand against the wall while balancing an egg between his teeth , a stack of books on each of his feet and a jug filled with hot milk on his free hand. He sweated bullets as blood in his body rushed to the wrong direction. It had been nearly an hour since he had been in this position, trying his best to not to collapse on the floor right there and then. To say that he was under a lot of stress would be an understatement, a few moments ago he barely managed to change hands for the twentieth time in the row and moved the stack of books from one foot to another. A couple of them fell in the process, but his teacher immediately walked towards him and put them in the same position they were.
It was a basic but really effective exercise for getting the grasp over your mana, improve your structural integrity and increase your aptitude with manipulating mana. Ben really thanked Gwen for constantly pestering him about learning some sort of life force manipulation otherwise he would have passed out right here and then. Focusing mana on the top of his head allowed him to create a gravity shift at his core and rotate it at his will, not only negating the adverse effects of his current situation but also allowing his blood to be pumped regularly and evenly distributed in the various parts of his body like it normally should have.
But that didn't mean it was easy to maintain this effect. He felt like he was a marathon runner on the verge of making world record, focusing and conjuring Mana on the top of his head, it was not only excruciatingly hard but also ridiculously exhausting.
"Fifteen more minutes..." Rook remarked with a lazy yawn
"YOU SAID THAT AN HOUR AGO!" Ben screamed in outrage.
Flashback end
"You will be swimming from here..." Rook spoke out in a nonchalant tone, pointing towards the at violent, swirling vortex and the awfully high hill from where the stream actually originated, "from there."
"You gotta be kidding me." Ben shook his head in disbelief.
"No, I am not. Chi flows inside your body through small pressure points which are roughly around the same size as the tip of a small needle. Most mages can only release chi through their hands and sometimes their head, in order to perform spells. However a chi adept must learn how to access those unused energy points, in order to increase his physical strength, sense of perception, reflexes and overall speed. This also happens to be one of the three principles of the fighting style of my race, Stone Cutter: Fist of Seventh Heaven. " Rook explained as matter of fact.
"But, it's hard to scale through that unless I fly over them and you are not a huge fan of me using aliens during the training session." As usual Ben was pretty vocal about his objection.
"You need to fight against the current of this waterfall by emitting just adequate amount of Chi from various points of your body. Too much, you will be blasted off and too little you won't be able to cause enough friction on the surface of water to stop your descent in the river. The main issue you will be facing here is how to force out your chi through your clothes and shoes. Of course, the amount may differ from person to person . In short, it's about finding the balance between two opposing forces only then you will be able to climb through the upward stream and reach the hill up there. Besides there are also a lot of side benefits. Swimming against the current, especially with the huge vortex in this corner will help with increasing your body's resilience to physical damage. Your overall muscular endurance will be increased. " Rook responded in a casual tone, as if this wasn't such a big deal.
"It's not like I mind working my ass of but this is quite risky." Ben sighed, appearing unsure for a moment. He didn't want to get sucked inside the torrent and lose his life by getting his head smashed against a bunch of jagged rocks.
"Ben, I know this probably seems harsher compared to other traditional forms of training you are used to but promise me when I say, This is the only way you can match against the likes of Khyber and Servantis. You have the Ultimatrix and you are quite proficient at using it but there might be a situation when you may require other forms of combat in order to defeat your enemies. Or where your teammates are not with you to make up for your weaknesses. And trust me everyone does have a weakness in some form. No one is completely unbeatable. It's also highly likely that the number of your enemies are just going to pile up as the time passes by, you must advance as fast as you can. There is no other option." Rook claimed in a serious tone.
After thinking for a while, Ben's eyes hardened. Remembering how helpless he felt when Albedo took away his omnitrix , how he couldn't do a single thing when charmcaster sacrificed their souls to some ancient demon, in order to revive her father. He hated feeling weak, especially after spending most of his lives trying to make others believe that he was awesome. He never wanted to find himself in such situations once again.
"Fine. I will do it. " Ben sighed in defeat, "But I need to use Blitzwolfer first" He added in a slight mortified tone, staring at the turbulent water.
This is going to be a long day.
Flashback end
Recalling his previous lessons, Ben took a long breath. Within no time the energy started gathering around his feet. They started to glow with cerulean aura as Ben walked towards nearby pond. Water was known to have natural surface tension and would resists the efforts of anything trying to break through. Of course, that only went so far and anything heavier than an insect couldn't really take advantage of it. Surprisingly as soon as Ben put his foot on the water, It became stuck like a gum. Ben took another step forward . It felt… squishy, like standing on thick jello.
Naruto grabbed one of the kunai and turned to a tree, a determined look on his face, "Just watch!" he yelled, "I'll master this in no time, believe it!" With a cry, Naruto rushed his tree. He planted a foot on its trunk, and lifted the other foot, running up a few steps, but fell on his head with a loud thud.
Sasuke rolled his eyes at the blonde's display, and then ran to his own tree. He climbed higher than Naruto, but he soon shot backwards off of the tree, splintering the wood. He managed to right himself before he fell to the ground though. Kakashi chuckled at the boy's attempts, "Well," he commented dryly, "you two certainly know what you're doing". His students gave him dirty looks, He glanced at Ben who seemed to have drifted on his own. He blinked in realization as he saw Ben jogging on the surface of a pond, Albeit in a very slow pace.
"Whoa! That is amazing " Sakura yelled from the highest spot on the tree, "Can we do that? "
Naruto gazed up in awe at Sakura, and began to praise her. She ignored him however, in favor of looking to Sasuke. All three of them however quickly turned to Ben, Who was zigzagging back and forth, Each step was a little more certain, More sturdier
The first step, before Water Walking, is Tree Walking," Kakashi explained, Deep inside his gears were in full motion "Okay, so Ben and Sakura have some incredible chakra control, how else would she get the exercise down on her first try and the other one who just have basic knowledge of raw chakra can do Water Walking. Naruto didn't even stick to the tree, so he needs to learn how to mold his chakra better. Sasuke managed to climb a few feet, but sent himself flying, so he can mold the chakra, he just can't control the amount needed"
"I am like a mermaid now, La la la" Ben pumped his fists in the air, He backflipped on the surface of the pond, Hoping to find a clear landing following by a high jump.
"KYAAH! "
Unfortunately pond didn't agree with him as the Ultimatrix bearer got pulled inside. Splashing a huge amount of water everywhere around. A green flash engulfed the darkness as something other than Ben stepped out from water. It was a huge muscular tiger like humanoid, It had orange fur, white muzzles, hands, stomachs, chests, and feet. Black stripes were on his head, back and shoulders. It had four-fingered hands and three-toed feet. That was none other than Ben's Appoplexian alter ego Rath
"LEMME TELL YA SOMETHING PONDY, RATH IS NO LONGER AFRAID OF WATER. YOU GOTTA PAY FOR DROWNING RATH LIKE THAT! "
And towards everyone's amusement, Ben started smashing his glowing fists on the water surface. Trying to beat up the "pond"
"Is he the same guy who saved you, Sensei? " Sasuke facepalmed
"Well, All's well that ends well! " Kakashi sighed.
...xxxxx...xxxxxx...xxxxxxx...