"Ben-kun, Are you sure it's wise for you to go today? You trained a lot yesterday and your body might not be fully recovered." Tsunami said with obvious worry.
"I will be fine. Don't worry " The young species shifter chuckled. However if you could keep an eye on Naruto , that would be great. As usual he has pushed himself too far last night and if I am not wrong, he will probably stay asleep for a couple of hours. " He said. Tsunami still seemed a bit concerned, but nodded anyways.
Meanwhile Kakashi looked at two genins, both of them rearing to go, "Are you two ready?"
"Hn," Sasuke grunted with a smirk, feeling more than ready to prove his might to everyone, especially to Naruto and towards a certain extent, Ben. With all the training he had done since he came here, he felt stronger than ever.
"Yes sensei." Sakura said, she was still quite unsure about herself, but she hoped that with someone like Ben and Sasuke around things will turn out to be alright in the end.
"Alright everyone, let's get going." Tazuna said eager to finish the bridge as soon as possible. Sakura and Sasuke jumped down at hearing that, Fully prepared to escort the bridge builder.
Kakashi lead the group with extreme caution. almost reluctantly. There was this feeling in his gut that he couldn't get rid of. From now on, the possibility of running into Zabuza and his ANBU associate was not unlikely. Kiri's Demon could be out there watching them in this very moment, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike Tazuna.
With Ben in his side and his genins in a very better shape from before, Kakashi thought ANBU associate could be handled more likely. But there was still Zabuza to consider. As far as Kakashi know Zabuza wasn't going to make this easy for him. Especially now that Zabuza had been beaten once, He was going to strike with two times the force and He will be well prepared this time. There was also the fact that Naruto was missing, and he played a very important role the first time with his clones and his enormous chakra reserves. To make things even worse, Zabuza would most likely come with his ANBU ally to aid him. Zabuza was definitely going to engage him for a little payback, meaning that it was up to Ben , Sasuke and Sakura to protect Tazuna and deal with the ANBU at the same time. And now that he thought about it, they knew nothing about the abilities of the masked boy, other than he used senbon needles for combat. With Zabuza, at least they were aware that he was very skilled with his giant sword and used water jutsus. The ANBU was pretty much an enigma.
So were Ben and his transformations. Which did make him a bit confident, However Ben wasn't a ninja. Kakashi had taught him a few tricks like Kawarimi, Water Walking and Dispelling Genjutsus but he was still as much novice as his genins were. This could go either side.
"Ok Kakashi, calm down.' The copy cat ninja said to himself all the way to the bridge. 'This is only if Zabuza decides to strike today. If he waits until a week or so, Naruto and Sasuke will even master the Water Walking . Maybe Zabuza won't go after us today, it's only a possibility. Just stay calm and keep your eyes open.'
...xxxxxxxxx... xxxxxxxx...
When they arrived to the bridge, the sight in front of him caused Kakashi to abandon all hope. Meanwhile Ben clenched his fists in outrage, He didn't like getting caught off-guard like this.
The workers were lying in the bridge, all of them severely beaten. Work tools were scattered all over the place and the wooden boxes used for package were destroyed. Ben sighed in relief, All of them were just knocked out. Unconscious but not dead. At first Ben was confused, Why would Gatou send his man to beat up the bridge workers and not outright kill them, like he usually did before Ben arrived at this place? Also it didn't make sense why hired thugs would bother killing a couple of workers and put their bodies on display. May be Gatou was trying to reinforce his authority by staging a mass execution, but then again, all these workers were still breathing. From what Ben had seen and heard, Gatou was ruthless and didn't care about anything except his wealth.
With that in mind, there was only one suspect left.
Quickly Ben pressed the symbol on his chest, An emerald glow engulfed the entire area as Ben transformed into something other than human. When it died, A werewolf like creature stood in Ben's place.
The creature had jet black 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. Sharp spikes perturbed out from both of his shoulders and elbows. His toenails seemed intensely sharper and it appeared that this one was more muscular and larger than the one Ben used while facing Zabuza. It was none other than Ben's hyper evolved Loboan alter ego Ultimate Blitzwolfer
"What…what happened here?" gasped Tazuna
"Well, It seems Mr dumpling got released from the hospital! Not only that, He also brought his secretary with him " Ben chuckled. Kakashi gave a nod, Realizing what Ben meant. Zabuza and his fake ANBU partner was here.
As they were transfixed by the violence, a large fog began rolling in. It covered everything from view. Even the ends of the bridge were hidden from sight. It was all too clear now. Ben blinked as he caught an unfamiliar scent from the mist. He clenched his fists tightly, If his memory served him well, He knew where exactly that was originating from. More likely from whom it was originating in the first place. That must be Zabuza's partner, The one who almost killed Naruto and Sasuke right under his nose.
The mist began to thicken and Kakashi narrowed his eyes, "Here they come! Defensive formation!"
Kakashi and the three genin pulled out their weapons and surrounded Tazuna, as the mist became so thick they could not see more than ten feet in front of them.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shouted as fear began to take her again, but she quickly steeled herself, "This is…"
"Yeah, this is Zabuza's Hidden Mist Jutsu alright," Kakashi said, wearily eyeing the surroundings even thought he could not see very far.
"Here we go again! " Ben let out a groan. His super enhanced loboan senses allowing him to partially see through the mist, It wasn't in high definition but still more than enough for his enhance animalistic perception. Anur System was famous for their dark and dangerous forests. Despite that A loboan was considered an Apex predator there. While being transformed in this Ben could even fight blindfolded and win. He was no Wildmutt but his senses were that sharp.
"My my Kakashi, One your brats is still shaking!" The disembodied gruff voice echoed throughout the mist, Mocking the Uchiha. It was true. The last Uchiha was trembling. "How shameful." It added with a snicker
Indeed, Sasuke's hand was trembling, yet his face showed anything but cowardice. "I'm not trembling out of fear." Sasuke assured with a smirk. "I'm trembling... out of excitement."
"Big talk, but can you back that up?" Zabuza said with a mock tone as he appeared in front of them. Ben's heightened sense of perception and eyes which were completely adaptable to foggy weather like that allowed him to gauge what was going behind the curtain of mist, He felt that Zabuza was making a hand sign. Quickly a water clone emerged and charged towards Sasuke. Ben's senses were focused on Haku, She was still standing there without making any noise.
"This is a Water clone Sasuke, Coming on 9 o clock right towards you! " Ben warned, Sasuke gave a nod of acknowledgement and threw a barrage of shurikens at Zabuza look alike. With one swing of his sword, 'Zabuza' swatted the first barrage of shurikens away. Enhancing his speed and strength by using Tree walking exercise, Sasuke striked again with a devastating uppercut. Zabuza clone parried the attack by using his massive sword, The strength behind it forced the clone to stagger backwards, However not before he planted a knee on Uchiha's solar plexus, Sending him spiralling through the ground. Before he could attack further though, The monstrous werewolf appeared right in front of him. Grabbing the look a like by his shoulder, Ben tore it apart bare handed showcasing a monstrous display of strength and ferocity. Two identical halves of Water clone dropped to the bridge's surface, splashing and crashing back into its crystal blue form.
"I didn't need your help! " Sasuke huffed in annoyance as he slowly got back on his feet, Obviously irritated at Ben taking out his adversary just like that.
"Trust me, You will get a lot more chances to show off! " Ben spoke in a serious tone.
Zabuza took the chance to show himself. Though he was standing nowhere near Ben or Kakashi. Instead, He chose to appear on the opposite end of the bridge. Ben suspected he must have used Kawarimi to move back and forth.
"It appears that the beast had gotten even stronger. Kakashi had probably taught him a surface walking technique! " Zabuza grunted, Not really liking this new development. Ben was a dangerous foe even without knowing the usage of chakra. Now that he knew bits and pieces, He became even more deadly. "Silent killing probably won't work on him, I can't take him and Kakashi at the same time and hope to win! "
Haku blitzed back in view, She wore the same clothes from before. With the fake hunter nin mask covering her face. She spoke out in the same emotionless tone.
"I will handle him, Zabuza-sama! "
And just like that, The battle for freedom of the land of waves begun.
...xxxxxxxxxx...xxxxxxxx...
The sound of tea being poured could be heard by Naruto as he shuffled out of the bathroom. His eyes were still squinted as he just realized that the only thing that helped him wake up in the morning was a shower. Sadly, he couldn't just waste Tazuna's water for unnecessary showers.
It appeared that he overslept once again and he was left behind... Like always.
That was really frustrating. Can't they wait for him a bit? It wasn't like he intended that to happen. Naruto let out a sigh. At least he got tree walking done yesterday, Now he could start walking on water the way Ben did.
Yep, That was really cool
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice Inari walk in.
"Uhh.. Uh.. Naruto?" Inari stammered nervously, grabbing Naruto's attention.
"Hmm?" Naruto hummed in response, quirking an eyebrow. This was actually starting to get awkward
"Uh.. I just wanted to say.. Mhmhmhhm.." Inari mumbled, bowing his head down.
"I didn't really catch that," Naruto said before he placed down his kunai and leaned forward towards Inari.
"I just wanted.. I just wanted to apologize," Inari repeated several times, keeping his head bowed, "I was being really dumb when I said those things to you."
Well that was unexpected. It didn't stop Naruto from smiling though. So Ben did smacked some sense into that boy. Ah, Only if he could do that with Sakura-chan!
He reached a hand forward to ruffle Inari's hair, devoid of any negative emotions. "No problem, Inari. I'm kinda use to it."
Naruto raised an eyebrow as he saw Inari's lips curve into a frown.
"That's wrong. Oni-san told me people shouldn't be used to people saying mean things to them," Inari began, taking hold of Naruto's hand, "People should be kind to each other. No matter how sad they are. "
"Ben is right. It's the way they should, but that's not how the world works, sadly," Naruto chuckled, prompting Inari to slowly nod.
There was a moment of silence.
"How do you people do it? " Inari asked
"Do what? " Naruto dumbfounded, Not understanding what he meant to say.
"How do you find it in yourself to fight for others like a true hero? Even if you are barely a few years older than me" Inari began nervously, "I heard my mom and Kakashi talking once. You had a really hard life. A lot harder than mine."
Taking a long breath at first, Naruto responded with a smile, "People like me and Ben keep moving forward, Inari. We find something that motivates us and we hold it close to us."
"What motivates you?"
The answer was very obvious.
"A hero wants to get stronger just so he could protect his home and the people who are precious to him. "
"Home? Precious people?" Inari asked
He nodded, "Yes."
He watched as Inari's frown slowly curved upward into a smile. He didn't really know the correct words to describe the way Inari's expression changed, but he would relate it to fog lifting off a mirror.
"I wanna protect my precious people too!" Inari exclaimed , his smile growing even wider, revealing teeth. Naruto grinned as he once again began ruffling Inari's hair, "Why don't you go outside and give your mom a hug? I'll join you two once I'm finished sharpening my kunai."
"Alright!"
Naruto watched with a smile as Inari ran excitedly out of the kitchen to find her mother who was currently hanging clothes out to dry.
CRASH!
Tsunami gasped in shock as her front door was slashed open by numerous sword strikes. She turned to see what was happening and saw two men with swords standing in the hole in the wall. One, a young man with white hair, marks under his eyes, a dark purple hat on his head, and a blue hooded jacket. The other was a shirtless man with brown hair, an eyepatch, tattoos on his body, and a few scars to go with them. They were none other than Zorri and Warraji, Gatou's personal bodyguards.
"So you're Tazuna's daughter," Zorri snickered. "I gotta admit you are quite the beauty."
"Mom!" Inari cried in fear.
"Inari!" Tsunami cried as the two swordsman noticed her son. "Run! Run away from here!"
The two swordsmen seemed to consider Inari for a moment before Warrajie spoke up, "Should we grab the kid too?"
"Don't you dare!" Tsunami cried getting to her knees. "If you so much as touch him then I'll bite my own tongue out! Gatoh wants me unharmed doesn't he?!"
"LET GO OF MY MOM!" Inari shouted as he charged towards both man. Zorri quickly caught him in the mid air and shoved him face first on the ground.
"Shut up, Brat! " Warraji grinned maliciously as he licked his lips while Zorri started unbuttoning Tsunami's dress.
"What are you doing to Inari?!" Tsunami cried , sniffling in fear as Waraji's partner, Zori, leered at her body.
"First, we're going to make him watch us as we rape you , I am pretty sure boss is going to let us keep you around. We are going to need some entertainment afterall! " Waraji answered with a cruel smirk, "Once we break you enough using drugs and stuff... ...We'll sell your brat off. I'm sure he'd be worth a pretty penny. I heard young boys are starting to get popular."
"Ben 10 won't spare you and your beloved Gatou-sama, HE WILL KILL YOU! " Tsunami screamed only to get slapped across the face.
Where's Naruto?!" Inari cried inwardly as the pressure on his jaw forced him to grit his teeth. Only If Ben was here, Those hooligans wouldn't even dare to lay a finger on them. But Ben told him those ninjas were heroes like him. Especially Naruto
Inari felt the hope quickly drain from him. Was everything that Ben said a lie? Did he fail to understand what those ninjas really were? Was Naruto just going to leave him and his mother to die?
Warraji squinted his eyes in amusement as he saw an orange silhouette falling from the sky. His eyes widened even further as that silhouette multiplied into hundreds of look a likes. His confused expression quickly turned to that of surprise and then horror as the silhouette revealed itself to be an army of very enraged ...Naruto, Each look a like of Naruto holding a kunai in their hands. Slamming his Katana on the ground Waraji unleashed a powerful chakra wave, Knocking several duplicate backwards. He moved through the orange army while increasing his speed using Iaido .
However, For each Naruto slain a new one took his place. It was instantaneous. Difference between their speed was almost negligible. Not even considering their massive numbers. Waraji went for a sideway slash using one of his katana while other was used for heart piercing strikes. Naruto was constantly on his toes, Forced to rely on constant usage of Kawarimi and Shadow Clone Jutsu. He was dying to get a chance to hit Waraji, However with him brushing through his clones like that, It seemed a bit harder than he initially hoped. Naruto blinked as he felt something very strange, Feeling very much aware of something. While Warraji was faster and stronger, The moment he paused to dispose of Naruto's clones, Naruto knew his location. It was more like he instantaneously got images of how, where and when his clone was hit, Right after the said clone was destroyed.
My clones... I am getting their memories , Once they get dispersed.
Using Samurai Saber Techniques Waraji unleashed a powerful wave of Chakra, Destroying a hand full of clones in the process. They poofed out in existence while leaving a huge cloud of smoke behind. Warraji coughed, staggering backwards as he was forced to inhale some of it. Before he could even blink a powerful kick on his nose smashed him backwards. Not intending to give his enemy a chance to recover, Fifty duplicates of Naruto appeared out of nowhere, Dogpiling on his enemy Naruto kicked and punched him in every possible place. A few notorious clones drop kicked the samurai in between his legs back and forth.
"URK!" Waraji croaked, as he was slammed into the ground. Blood dripped from everywhere when Naruto smashed two kunais on his shoulders and knees. Successfully incapacitating his foe. Following by a huge scream filled with pain, Waraji lost his consciousness. Zori cried as he saw Waraji going limp. Naruto didn't miss a beat as he dashed towards Zori like a bullet. With his ten look alikes following him from behind. Zori had no choice but to quickly roll off of Tsunami to dodge Naruto's attack, quickly drawing his katana in the process.
"Rupture! "
Naruto cried in pain as a powerful wave of chakra emerged from Zori's sword knocking him backwards and dispersing his clone.
"DIE! YOU MIDGET! " The white-haired samurai mercenary quickly charged in. Naruto recovered in time to use Kawarimi to save himself from a deadly uppercut aimed to slash him apart. He was lucky to have taken Waraji by surprise, but his next opponent would prove to be a much more difficult challenge.
However, That was nowhere near to scare Naruto Uzumaki. Not even close, Believe it!
With a familiar hand sign several look alikes of Naruto emerged out of nowhere, All of them ready to take the fall for their creator. Jumping towards the samurai with kunais in their hands, They provided amazing resistance before puffing out in a cloud of smoke. Clash between kunai and samurai saber made a disturbing screeching sound, Which loudly rung throughout the area, It did disturb Naruto though, However Zori didn't seem much affected.
"Why. Won't. You. DIE!?" Zori screamed, his anger ruining his form, causing him to slam his katana down at an awkward angle. Using Kawarimi in the nick of time Naruto dodged the enraged Samurai's deadly swings. Making the entire floor to be covered with handful of Wooden logs. Despite ducking back and fourth , Making Clones for distraction, The Samurai's speed and strength was a big issue. No matter how much Naruto tried the enraged Samurai kept closing onto him. Naruto attempted to went airborne and make necessary hand signs for Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. However, A nasty chakra shockwave pinned Naruto on the ground.
While using Iaido Zori closed onto Naruto, He slammed his feet onto the blonde's wrist before he could make any hand signs. Performing a daring backflip, Naruto ducked under a deadly swipe. Which managed to draw a huge gash on his orange tattered clothes. Desperate to get away from his lethal nemesis, Naruto performed several double jumps in the air, Landing on the ground with wobbling knees. Naruto's jaw literally dropped in the floor when chakra covered Zori's blade and it started extending, Like a claw. The Uzumaki was slammed backwards as the samurai tore apart the soft ground beneath him. Naruto gulped while in mid air, His little heart drumming against his chest as Zori brought forth his Katana, Ready to unleash a deadly chakra shockwave. However before he could do so, A frying pan embedded on the Samurai's head causing him to turn around.
"Get away from Naruto!" Inari shouted before hurling a dinner plate towards Zori. Guided by his instincts Zori quickly reached around to catch the projectile. His moment of distraction gave Naruto the perfect opening.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu"
Zori turned around in horror, It was like someone had whacked the camera of reality, as the world shimmered before his eyes.
Then it turned orange.
Turning around, going up to the farthest he could see and probably even beyond that, there was a copy of Naruto's traditional orange jumpsuit moving around. His look alikes were hanging from trees like giants leaves, and several even emerged right over his shoulders. Before Zori could retaliate thousands of feet smashed onto each and every part of his body. The man was hoisted painfully into the air, With several Naruto duplicates on the top of him. Naruto hit him with so much force and ferocity that some clones dispersed due to the afterburn from dealing such heavy-duty blows. Zori didn't even have the time to breath as everything he knew became pain. Multiple kunais pierced through his hands, Knees, Shoulders and even toenails. With a final blow, Naruto smashed Zori's skull on the ground. Which made a small crater on the floor.
The Jinchuriki then turned to Tsunami and Inari, Dispelling his clones in the process. "You guys okay?" He spoke out with a voice filled with concern
"Y-Yeah.. We're okay," stammered Tsunami, doing her best to look decent despite the fact that the front of her pink shirt had flecks of blood on it.
"Sorry that you had to go through that.."
"No, no. It's okay. You dealt with them, It's more than good enough" Tsunami bowed in gratitude before standing up and walking over to Inari to hug him.
Taking note of Inari's dejected look , Naruto walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, " You did good, Inari. I saw how brave you were. You even saved me back there"
"B-But.. I couldn't do anything.." Inari responded quietly, his voice nothing short of a whisper "I wasn't strong enough."
"Inari," began Naruto, "You don't just have to be strong to protect someone. You got to be brave. Anyone can become strong but not everyone can be brave."
"You know what, Inari? I am a hero who have powers, Just because I have powers doesn't make me a hero"
Inari blinked as he recalled what Ben told him yesterday. Finally, He realized what he wanted to tell him.
"R-Really..?"
"Really," Naruto replied with a smile.
"Thanks, Naruto.." Inari grinned, returning Naruto's smile with his one of his own.
Naruto ruffled his hair before something off into the distance caught his eye. A heavy mist seemed to have rolled in around the bridge. Naruto frowned as he knew exactly what that mist entailed.
"I gotta go, Inari," Naruto spoke out in a serious tone before looking over at Tsunami, "I think my team and Ben are in danger."
"Go ahead, Naruto. We can handle ourselves here," said Tsunami, bowing her head in thanks.
"I'll be back soon."
"Stay safe, Naruto," Tsunami responded with an uncharacteristic cheerful smile. "And good luck."
"Go kick their butts, Future Hokage! " Inari spoke out with a wide grin spread over his face
Naruto gave him a confident grin before giving both her and Inari a thumbs up.
"I surely will, Believe it! ."
...xxxxxxxx... xxxxxxxxxx... xxxxxxxx...
Haku threw a scroll over the ground and made a few hand signs, Ben flinched as the masked female went through hand signs using one of her hands. Ben glanced at Kakashi, The war veteran's eyes flashing his shock and surprise. Which meant whatever was happening, It wasn't a common phenomenon. A dangerous blue energy started leaking out from the boy, Swirling around him like a tornado.
"This spells trouble! " Sasuke muttered, If this energy was what he thought, Then it spelled trouble. Ben noticed the sudden drop in the temperature . It didn't affect him too much. However, Sasuke and Sakura could see their own breaths. Out of the condensed frosty energy, Two separate entities started to form. Quickly they revealed themselves to be mirror images of Zabuza and Haku. However, Unlike the one Ben destroyed before, These one seemed to be more deadlier than before. Ben was tempted to change into something more effective in this situation, But the Ultimatrix bearer knew he was dealing with unknown enemies with unknown abilities. He must keep his trump cards hidden until the very moment he might need it.
"So , What's with the light show, Sidekick? Is this your gig? Ice " Ben responded with a confident smile, His voice was firm and his eyes didn't show any sort of fear or nervousness.
"These are special water clones. Possessing over thirty five percent of the Original's abilities! " Kakashi spoke out with a hint of warning in his voice, " I believe the fake hunter nin wants to fight you one on one and don't want anyone else to interfere! "
"This is the least I can do for the Hero of the Wave! " Haku responded with a bow, Causing Ben's eyebrows to twitch in irritation. He always had issues while dealing with strong, silent and emotionless types. He liked when his enemies became annoyed with him, Not the other way around.
"HERE COMES UZUMAKI NARUTO, BELIEVE IT!"
Using a couple of smoke bombs as a distraction, Naruto made his flashy entrance to the scene by performing several cart wheels on the railings of the bridge. Causing everyone to sweat drop. Still, The team 7 was more than happy to see Naruto finally arriving on the battlefield. This actually made things a little bit less one sided now. With an overly heroic pose Naruto took his fighting stance.
"Alright, listen up everyone! Uzumaki Naruto is ready to kick some misty butt! Come on, let's get started!" Naruto proclaimed with a foxy grin.
"Ben, The masked nin is yours. Naruto , protect Tazuna from the Zabuza water clone. Sakura and Sasuke, engage with the water clone. You will be able to match the clones' speed using tree walking exercise but stay on your guard. These are not your normal water clones! " Kakashi barked his orders.
Naruto was taken back by the copy nin's sudden authority display, but quickly nodded. "H-Hai!"
Clone-Haku made a hand sign and an even thicker mist began rolling over. This time it was being as thick as the black clouds. It was as if their enemies had disappeared in the shroud of darkness and mist. All three genins gulped in fear, while Ben just cursed under his breath.
"Damn! I am starting to hate this universe."