Ghost Stalker Chronicles
Paths of a Ninja
Chapter 2: Plans of Attack
Mist. An airborne state water can assume. Something akin to ground-level clouds, you might say. It usually is an element in stories and legends for mystery or horror, or both.
Right now, for the bridge builder, there was little mystery concealed by the mist, although horror was very much prevalent. He was currently sticking close to a group of children in their early teens as if his life depended on it, because it quite literally did. What had started off as a journey with some hired protection has turned into a, to him, supernatural battle over his life. And it seemed that his protectors were outmatched by the assassins his hated enemy, Gato, hired.
But then, just as he was certain that he, along with the brave children trying to protect him, would die a gruesome death at the hands of this "Demon of the Mist", someone had apparently entered the fray and challenged him to a fight. By the sounds of it, this new arrival was just as scary because he could operate within the mist just as well as their enemy. Even though their deaths were postponed by this interference, he was not going to relax. This new one might not be their friend, just because he interrupted their execution.
Then they heard that breathy noise once again. It really frightened the poor bridge builder to the bone. Then they heard Zabuza speaking in the mist, apparently giving some sort of response to the noise. It at least let Tazuna know that both of them were too busy to worry about him at the moment.
He then looked at his guardians. Tazuna wasn't more observant than the average civilian, but even he could see that they appeared encouraged by the arrival of this unknown ninja.
He whispered to them. "I sincerely hope you're smiling because this... person that just arrived is here to aid us."
Chouji chose to reply in the same manner. "Definitely. And this guy fights in a similar manner that Zabuza does."
"But can he defeat him?" Tazuna asked with a slightly rekindled hope. "Your sensei was subdued by him. If he couldn't, what makes you think this new guy can?"
"Technically speaking..." Shikamaru said. "He shouldn't be able to fight him head-on. But a battle of stealth is a different battle than that of steel and jutsu. Our reinforcement specializes in stealthy operations. If anyone of us has a chance to keep up with Zabuza in this field, he can."
"Wont they still need to fight?" Tazuna asked.
"Not if one strikes down the other before the other can retaliate." Shikamaru responded. "But that isn't important right now for us."
"How can you say that?!" Tazuna quietly exclaimed. "Our lives hang in the balance."
"Maybe, but we simply cannot be idle either, waiting for the outcome. We need to act."
"But what are we going to do, Shikamaru-kun?" Hinata asked quietly.
"Tazuna, I'm sorry but we need to confer in our own way. Trust us to get us out of this mess." Shikamaru said before continuing with hand-signs to the others. "We must attempt to free sensei, we have no other way to contribute. Fleeing wont get us anywhere. Zabuza will notice our attempt to escape and chase us down easily and cut us down while our backs are turned. Naruto wont be able to intercept in time, even if he could he would have to forgo his stealth techniques, thus revealing himself and Zabuza may capitalize upon that and take him out while vulnerable before leisurely disposing of us."
"I wouldn't have left Naruto-kun while he's fighting for us anyway." Hinata gestured with a firm look. Something that was a rare thing to see on her face.
"Ditto." Chouji agreed with a smile.
Smiling, Shikamaru continued. "Alright, what we need to do is take out that clone guarding sensei while still remaining by Tazuna's side. We need to convince him to move carefully towards sensei so we can be in a position to make our move."
"What do we do when we get there?" Chouji asked.
Considering the question for a moment, Shikamaru gestured his plan. "The clone has no choice but to remain where he is in order to keep sensei immobile. Which leaves us with more to work with. But also a risk."
"What's that?" Hinata asked, with worry.
"Once the clone notices us, he might decide that it is not worth keeping sensei alive and kills him in order to counter our attack. We need to somehow surprise him and neutralize him quickly."
"But how, we can't hide or move stealthily like Naruto or sensei can?" Chouji pointed out.
"And therein lies our main problem. In this mist, I can't go far with my shadow and bind him from long range. We need to get close before I can do that. It is essential to the plan, or the clone will just evade our attacks. Chouji, your main form of attack lies in your meat-tank form, but it will hurt, possibly even kill sensei as well when you come at them. We can't risk that. Hinata must get close as well to fight. Throwing weapons will do no good since he will hear them coming and block with his giant sword. The only solution is to move sneakily into position to strike. But that is all but impossible with our charge in tow. Man, all this signing is tiring my hands."
Smiling a bit, despite the situation, at that last comment, Hinata pointed out. "Perhaps we can get sensei to distract the clone somehow, or somehow get Naruto-kun to help."
"Either option would help. But how to do it without alerting either the clone or Zabuza?" Chouji asked.
"Good point." Shikamaru said.
"If only we didn't have to protect Tazuna, we'd be able to get to sensei." Chouij idly commented with a look of frustration.
Shikamaru frowned at that. Not at the comment, but a part of it.
'Tazuna? Maybe... just maybe. But if it works, it will be the biggest drag I will have experienced to date. Although dying young is way worse.'
"Tazuna-san." Shikamaru addressed the man in a whisper. "Would you like to help?"
"Me? If it helps us get out of this, I'd love to. But what can I do? I'm no fighter." Tazuna responded with a surprised look.
"What are you thinking, Shikamaru-kun?" Hinata asked with a surprised look of her own.
Shikamaru signed. "I haven't tried it yet, but I know I can do it. Trouble is, I can't do it for long, nor will I get a second chance at it. And I'll probably be out of commission for some time because of it."
"Try what?" Chouji asked, worried.
"To do a chain-bind, with the target in motion and someone else already bound."
"But wont the target be frozen once bound?"
"Not if the target is in mid-air."
"How do you know he will be in mid-air?" Hinata asked, perplexed.
"Because the clone, once Tazuna, our bait, is in range will tempt him to finish the mission quickly, and believing that Tazuna wont react in time, which he normally wouldn't but I will be in control of his actions through my shadow, he will leap like a predator pouncing on its prey in the hopes of a quick kill of the main target. It is then, when the clone has no way of evading my shadow, that I will go for his shadow. But since he will be in an unstoppable motion, it will drain my chakra to the point of depletion before he lands. That means you have only a brief moment to take him out before I loose my hold on him."
"But what about you? You might die from the effort!" Hinata cautioned with deep concern.
"It's a risk, but one I'm willing to take to see at least the rest of you safe." Shikamaru gestured with a finality to it.
"So, Tazuna. Do you trust us?" Shikamaru said after their silent conversation was finished.
"I... suppose I do." He answered uncertainly.
"Good, because we need you to help us help you. Come here." Shikamaru gestured Tazuna to come closer in order to whisper into his ear, minimizing the risk of Zabuza overhearing.
Once he was done, Tazuna was about to exclaim "Are you insane!?" when Shikamaru held his mouth shut with his hand.
"It is the only way I can see us getting out of this alive, yourself included." He assured quietly.
"You should listen to him, his strategic ability is on par with Chunin at least." Chouji said in support of his friend.
"Do I... have your word that I wont be (gulp) harmed?" Tazuna asked, fearing for his life.
"You have my word as a Nara." Shikamaru reassured.
Struggling with the notion for a few moments, Tazuna nodded his agreement.
With Naruto and Zabuza – From the start of the stealth duel
Zabuza's senses were on high-alert. He knew that this was a dangerous type of fight, even for him. But that was what made it so exhilarating and satisfying when he slays his opponent, the knowledge that one could die any second from any slip-up or moment of distraction. Zabuza, however, was also a firm believer in his own ability to do the very same to his foe. In fact, he was quite convinced that he was the more experienced and skilled of the two lethal duelists.
That said, he had yet to detect any form of presence outside of the ones before the new arrival. Whoever this kid was, because he distinctly heard it to be a voice of an adolescent male, he was good enough to evade his senses so far. And he kept an eye, so to speak, on the others to see if the kid was going to help them rather than go after him. Nothing of the sort seemed to go on, so he kept hunting. The tiniest of noise, the slightest breeze in the air that could come from someone moving or the disturbance of the grass beneath, anything to indicate a presence. There was so far nothing.
But he knew he was out there somewhere, hunting for him as he, himself, was hunting him. It was a matter of time before either would strike the first, and possibly only, blow.
Suddenly, there was a sound, it was that breathy noise that seemed to come from everywhere at once, so it wasn't possible to locate the source. With an analytical mind-set, Zabuza noted that this was a rather effective way to intimidate those of weak hearts.
'Gotta hand it to that kid. That creepy noise is a worthy rival to my kill-point speech.'
But Zabuza wasn't without his own scare-tactics you couldn't pinpoint. Projecting his own voice in a similar manner, as he taught himself to do just for his Silent Killing technique, he taunted his foe.
"Cute trick, kid. But it wont work on me. Tell me, have you considered how you'd like to die? Lack of blood? Severed head? Dismemberment? Cleaved body?"
To his amusement, he got a response from that same, breathy voice he heard just a moment ago.
"I think you have more pressing concerns than my death. Like your own."
Just then, Zabuza felt a slight breeze. He dodged and swung his blade in the direction of the source.
Nothing.
"What's the matter 'mist demon'? Can't find your stalker?" That voice spoke again.
"Oh, I'll find you. Don't doubt that for a second, kid. And when I do, you'll have no more breaths to use for that silly parlor trick you think is scary."
"If it's not scary, why is your heart pounding so hard and fast?"
"I'm exhilarated. I like battles that tests my mettle." Zabuza replied with a clear tone of excitement.
"Glad to hear I'm a challenge. But you would be wrong to mistake me for simple sport." Naruto's voice turned darker at the end.
"And you would be in error to believe you have a chance against me, brat." Zabuza growled menacingly.
Just then, Zabuza saw the grass move like someone stepped on it. He immediately swung his sword in a chopping motion. Hitting only the ground, he immediately and fast as the wind swung horizontally in the hopes of getting the invisible enemy he knew was there a moment ago.
Still nothing.
He was certain that time that the kid was there. He was starting to wonder if he was actually letting the scare tactics get to him, the one who wrote the book on the subject, figuratively speaking. Dismissing that brief thought, he instead wondered how the kid was staying out of sight.
"I have no reason to believe I don't have a chance when all you do is swing that thing around like a clumsy club wielding caveman." Naruto taunted mischievously.
Growling in irritation, Zabuza answered, "Then show yourself and I'll grace you with the finest moves in my swordsmanship repertoire."
"Are we ninjas or samurai? I'll beat you as I am meant to. Suddenly, and from out of nowhere." Naruto's voice turned darker again.
"Alright, if that's how this is gonna be, I'll show you a true ninja kill. It will be your last lesson, brat." Zabuza snarled.
"Aww, you don't have to volunteer to die like that." Naruto replied sarcastically.
Zabuza said nothing, but was fuming inside at the audacity this fledgling ninja dared show against someone of his caliber. He then realized with a small start that he had let the boy's words get to him, like some ripe Genin. Barely restraining a snarl of anger at that, he redoubled his efforts to find him.
Naruto, meanwhile, was having a bit of trouble himself.
Right from the start he knew that this battle would be difficult. His stealth capabilities was matching Zabuza's, but he knew without a doubt that he was no match for Zabuza in open combat. The only recourse was to try to outdo him in stealth.
But as he feared, Zabuza was difficult to locate in the mist. He was right at home within it, as he found out. Once found, however, he was much easier to keep up with. But Zabuza was adept as well in detecting the tiniest movement or sound, the mist being no obstacle to his efforts. Which made approaching him a dangerous prospect.
Already he had two near-misses that was due to the ex-Mist nin sensing his presence. The first from a breeze generated by his own movements. The second because Zabuza saw his footsteps in the grass.
It didn't really matter that sounds were dampened either, as air-displacement and terrain disturbance was enough to alert him. Zabuza kept himself on the move and in order to keep up with him, Naruto had to move just as fast as him, but it generated those breezes that tipped him off.
'I could try to come at him from different directions.' Naruto then thought and created a shadow-clone. But to his horror, he discovered that his invisibility was not maintained, nor was it possible to reactivate it for some reason while the clone was active. After dispelling the clone, it was possible once more. Just in time too, before Zabuza came and violently investigated the spot where the clone was.
'What's going on? Why did it cause problems? I know it didn't when I was fighting Mizuki!' He thought, perplexed. He also realized that this meant he couldn't send a clone to confer with and help his teammates, or help Asuma-sensei.
After gaining a bit of distance from Zabuza once again, he tried to conjure up a few of his Phantom Squad replicas. Thankfully they seemed to work. They weren't concealed, nor were they capable of inflicting physical harm, but they would be useful still.
Sending them against Zabuza, Naruto waited to see what would happen.
Zabuza was frowning in frustration and confusion. He had sensed a jutsu going active but just before his arrival, it was deactivated. But there was still nothing there. He didn't know what to make of that. Had he aborted an attempt to attack him or was it simply a simple misdirection?
He quickly used his senses to scan the area. The others were still in their previous positions, although he thought for a brief moment that they seemed closer to his clone and Asuma than before. But Zabuza had no time to further ponder that notion. For in that instant he was attacked by black-clad, masked ninjas. They tried to strike him with ninja-tos. He evaded most of them, but he was taken by surprise when one from behind managed to stab him in the left thigh.
The pain he felt was not of the kind he expected, he felt as if the muscles in and around the wound was suffering from chakra depletion rather than punctured skin and tissue. Looking down quickly while dodging, he noticed that he was actually not harmed by the strike, what he could see anyway.
As he was continuing to avoid the attackers, with greater difficulty due to the effect he was experiencing, he took note of the fact that he should have sensed the attack coming from the enemy's movement. But he didn't.
It was as he was counter-attacking that he discovered part of the explanation. He sliced through a foe, that simply shimmered a bit before resuming its attack.
'A bunshin of some sort.' He realized. 'But what sort of bunshin is not solid but can land effective blows? Not to mention stay active after an attack?'
Trying something on a hunch, he used the broad side of the blade to swing. This had a substantially more effective impact on the bunshin he targeted. It didn't shimmer and reform. It dispersed completely, not being able to maintain cohesion.
With this weakness discovered, it was a small matter of swinging at the clones in a club-like manner, a point of frustration as he actually proved the brat's insult to be correct. The only consolation was that it was effective and thwarted the brat's attempt to subdue him. It required more effort and was somewhat slower than normal due to the aerial-resistance, but it got the job done.
Naruto scowled in frustration. 'There goes that approach.' He thought.
But he happened to be at an angle where he could keep an eye on Zabuza at the same time as having the team in view, or their blurry silhouettes at any rate. He noticed that Shikamaru was apparently shadow-binding Tazuna before they approached the water clone. He knew because he could sense the jutsu being in effect. The jutsu's signature was weak due to the distance, but it was there. Naruto could definitely tell it was that jutsu from the many times they had combos involving that jutsu during practices. It took a moment, but Naruto caught on to the gist of what Shikamaru was doing. It was a risky plan, but it was possible it could work.
'I'll need to keep no-brows busy enough to distract him from what's going on.' He concluded.
With that task firmly set in his mind, Naruto let loose even more Phantoms against Zabuza.
It was working, Zabuza was preoccupied with slaying bunshins left and right, whose chakra releases when expired masked the goings on not far from them.
However, Naruto forgot to take into account that he was sending his Phantoms at Zabuza from one spot only.
Zabuza noticed that the clones all seemed to come from one direction, which, he quickly surmised, had to mean that their creator must be hiding somewhere in that same direction. Continuing his massacring of the rather ineffective nuisances, he made his way towards Naruto.
Shikamaru had led the group closer to the clone's location, carefully moving so as to not alert it to their movement. So far the clone has not taken notice, it seemed preoccupied by the sounds of battle going on not far away.
'This should be close enough.' Thought the Nara as he went behind Tazuna. "Time to start the baiting, are you ready, Tazuna-san?" He whispered.
"No, but let's do it anyway." Tazuna replied with a resigned tone.
Nodding, even though Tazuna couldn't see it, Shikamaru connected his shadow to Tazuna's and started to move towards the clone, the other two keeping pace to keep up appearances.
They moved in a way that made it appear as if they were trying to bypass the clone's position and get passed him. This was to ensure that the clone would not think too hard about them getting closer to him. Shikamaru noted that it being distracted would help as it would reason, once it noticed them, that it was distracted and they were taking advantage of it. And they were, just not in the way it would think.
Sure enough, the clone finally took notice of the group as they were "trying to escape". It briefly chastised itself for allowing them to get that far, and so close at that. But seeing as they were foolishly trying to get by it and risking their charge doing so, it would strike the blow to finish it all while they were distracted with their own attempt to sneak off. After all, Zabuza might be a bloodthirsty ninja, but he was also practical. If the cause for a mission is neutralized, ninjas generally stop fighting and retreat. With that in mind, and the target in range of his attack, it was natural for the clone to do just that.
At the peak of its ascent, Shikamaru moved himself, and subsequently Tazuna, out of harms way at the same time as stretching out his shadow to connect and bind the clone's. As expected, it drained him immensely, but it did the job, also as expected. Once the clone landed and froze, Hinata ran to it and promptly disposed of it with a Jyuuken strike to the temple, it dissolved into harmless water.
Shikamaru collapsed, his reserves nearly depleted. Chouji stayed with him and Tazuna while Hinata helped Asuma on his feet.
"Good job, you guys." Asuma praised. "Now, I need to pay that overcompensating bastard back. You guys go on ahead, me and Naruto will handle him. Don't worry about any more ninja, this was definitely the best they had and we're on top of it now, but keep your eyes peeled all the same. Hinata is in charge until we rejoin you."
"Hai, sensei!" Hinata affirmed and rejoined her squad. Tazuna had picked Shikamaru up and carried him while the other two assumed formation again and ran with him away from the battle.
Naruto was in a spot of trouble now. Zabuza had detected him by seeing the indentation of his feet on the grass and was now chasing the indentations as they were made when he ran. Opting to forgo stealth, he now released the invisibility jutsu and drew his tanto and faced his enemy.
"You have played the hide-and-seek game well, brat. But now that you're exposed, you're as good as dead!" Zabuza growled but a smirk clearly seen even through his mask.
Naruto made to deflect the incoming blade when Zabuza sensed an incoming threat and had to dodge. Where he stood a moment ago, stood now Asuma Sarutobi, unrestrained and very angry.
"I think the one who's good as dead is you, Zabuza." He said, twirling his trench-knives before snapping them into place in his hands in a combat ready stance. "Round Two you bastard!"
"Fine by me!" Zabuza snarled and charged.
"Ghost Stalker-san! Follow my lead!" He called out to Naruto while giving discreet one-handed signs saying, 'Combat Pattern Kumabachi!' before engaging Zabuza in melee combat.
He refrained from addressing Naruto by his name, since Naruto had asked, with the Hokage's agreement, to use a code name when on a mission. Since Naruto had already pseudo-introduced himself as such, Asuma called him that to keep his identity and affiliation hidden.
"As you wish!" Naruto acknowledged and proceeded to summon a dozen shadow clones and sent them on an all out assault against Zabuza.
Zabuza found himself at a severe disadvantage as Asuma was keeping him on his toes and then had to contend with a small army of clones coming at him from all directions. A swift, full circle sweep of his blade took care of the first wave and had Asuma briefly stand back to avoid the cut, but Zabuza wasn't fooling himself by thinking he could keep this up. The kid might be a Genin, judging by his age, but he was highly dangerous because of his solid copies, especially since he was contending with someone who could stand toe-to-toe with him and he was still feeling the effects, though that was gradually subsiding, of that lucky strike one of those bunshins hit him with. He had to think of some form of plan or he would be defeated before long.
He rapidly formed signs and created two water clones using up the moisture from the mist he had created, clearing the air completely of the obscuring element. He ordered his clones to watch his back from the incoming enemy clones while he faced Asuma in relative peace.
Being considerably weaker than the original, the water clones were having trouble fending off the clones, although none got passed them. Naruto attempted to simply overwhelm them with numbers, but that didn't work as swimmingly as he imagined in his mind. Spamming him with clones wasn't going to cut it, and he knew that eventually, even he would run out of juice.
'Based on the fact that clones are generally weaker than their creator, I should be able to keep pace with one of his clones if I took one of them on in person. But there's two of them and I would be chopped to pieces in seconds.' Naruto considered.
'I have to take out at least one somehow. I could sneak up on one of them, take him out and then engage the other one, who will doubtlessly locate me easily after I strike his "brother" down. Maybe then I can overwhelm him with numbers and then help sensei afterward.'
His plan formed, he proceeded to action. The last of his clones were just taken out and he used the brief smoke-screen they provided through their demises to conceal his Haunting Hunt jutsu taking effect. That way they wouldn't immediately know he was going to approach them that way.
The water clones were keeping constant vigil for any approaching clones, but the waves of clones seemed to have halted. Before any of them could consider anything else outside of that fact, one fell to a stab from Naruto's ninjato. Just as Naruto expected, the other clone, having the experience of its creator in how to detect signs of his presence, easily located where he was and proceeded to chase him. However, he came at him quicker than Naruto anticipated, giving no time to create his clones to fight him with. He had to dodge and deflect the rapid strikes and sweeps the clone was assailing him with.
Their clash was a violent measuring of their kenjutsu styles. Zabuza's raw power and surprising speed for the size of the weapon he wielded versus Naruto's normal sized weapon and self-invented style which was based of his taijutsu style: "Tempered Rampage". He called it "Harmonious Flurry". It was, like Tempered Rampage, a mix of several styles combined together to form a style that has the grace, speed and technique of the more elegant users, yet also has the move-sets for strength based offenses and defenses.
Or rather, it will have, since Naruto was not yet in possession of enough body mass nor the appropriate weapons to utilize the strength part of his style. Which meant that he had not yet had the chance to incorporate that part yet into the Harmonious Flurry repertoire. He had enough speed and technique to be a capable combatant against others of roughly the same level of kenjutsu mastery, regardless of style. But he was the first to admit that he was way more ahead in his taijutsu version.
His senseis had noted that his level of unpredictability was to his advantage and probably was not going to be something that could be taught to others. They could have the moves, but not the innate instinct he seemed to possess in order to make full use of the different combinations' potential.
In the midst of their battle, Naruto ever so briefly had to agree that it sure was helping him from getting sliced into tiny bits. But unlike the battle with Mizuki, who was at best mid-Chunin level in the use of kunai and ninjato in melee combat, this confrontation was in a whole other league. Even though it was a weaker version of the real deal, the clone was forcing Naruto to use every ounce of ingenuity he had in him to counter the attacks the clone was swinging his direction, while occasionally managing to attack in return, though the clone avoided taking any hits so far.
All he managed to do so far was almost entirely focus on deflecting the strikes he couldn't dodge in a way that didn't break his weapon against the sheer weight and kinetic force the massive blade wrought in each strike. Taking that into account in a very fast paced and stressful fight was extremely taxing and Naruto found he had to merely dodge lots of times in order to get micro breathers to refocus his thoughts.
'Note to self: More kenjutsu lessons once I get back to the village.' He wryly thought to himself during one of those breathers.
Naruto began to become weary from the efforts. The clone, not able to get tired from physical exertion, kept its attacks just as strongly as when they began. It was when Naruto was sure that he would die within a few seconds since his arms began to protest strongly, that the clone suddenly showed a slightly surprised face and took a swing at someone behind him. Too sudden for Naruto to capitalize, he nevertheless pressed his attack and the clone resumed its melee with him. But it didn't take more than a moment before it apparently got hit by something and collapsed into water.
Once it did, Naruto got a clear view of... Hinata, still recovering her extended arm that was clearly posed in a Jyuuken strike, her eyes still in their activated state.
"Great timing, Hinata-chan, thanks a million!" Naruto said happily, relieved at the help.
Returning the smile, she said. "I... I wouldn't l-leave you when you're f-fighting someone s-stronger for our sake."
Naruto nodded and said reassuringly, "Well, don't worry about sensei. I'm sure he'll understand. But what about Tazuna and Shika 'n Chouji?"
"Th-they are waiting for us a bit down the road... Chouji-kun is w-watching over Tazuna-san and Shikamaru-kun." She replied.
"Okay, you should get back to them, me and Asuma can finish off this guy." Naruto said seriously.
"B-But the fight isn't over, I c-can help!" Hinata protested anxiously.
"And you have helped a lot, Hinata-chan." Naruto said with a happy grin and nod. "But you can't leave your client too exposed."
"Our? Isn't he yours as well, Naruto-kun?" Hinata said, slightly confused.
"Not exactly, but I'll explain more later. Right now, you need to help Choji protect the client. I'd wager that sensei would want you to go on to Tazuna's place. Go!" He urged as he held his weapon at the ready and ran at the fight still progressing nearby.
Hinata looked after Naruto for a moment before she decided that if Naruto asked her to do it and he was in no overwhelming danger, she should comply with his request, which coincided with her original orders to boot. Being a serious kunoichi sadly meant that duty had to come before personal desires to assist comrades sometimes. She had already given enough help to them to tip the scales to at least balanced once more, and that was enough. She knew she had to go back. And so she did.
Naruto rushed to his sensei's aid and began fighting with Zabuza, who had started to use various water jutsu with ease due to the proximity to a natural source of water, the river they were standing on.
Asuma countered with various Doton (earth style) jutsus to block or absorb the water coming at him and counter-attacking with the various fire styles he knew, including his Burning Ash Cloud jutsu. But Zabuza was too quick and either evaded or countered his jutsus with water jutsus, he also wasn't foolish enough to remain even near that cloud, so it was a sad waste of energy.
The times they clashed weapons was just as intense as before, but Zabuza found that Asuma was on his guard against surprise moves this time and wouldn't be taken down so easily again. Being a wind user, Asuma made full use of his ability to cause his giant sword damage. This was what made Zabuza resort more to jutsus in order to keep his weapon from taking too much damage.
Naruto attempted once again to swarm Zabuza with clones, but Zabuza was a master in jutsu directing and took care of most clones he produced and sent at him with sweeping water jutsus, the rest he simply cleaved before going back to facing Asuma before the trench-knife wielding man could exploit the opening.
Irritated to be considered little more than a nuisance, Naruto considered his options. Stealth was a no go, the mist wasn't present anymore and Zabuza could see the waves his feet made on the surface of the water, not to mention he would hear his steps, no matter how gently he would have tried to approach him. Then there was the fact he was moving too much for him to approach undetected from behind, due to air movements.
Clones were obviously out of the question, except as distractions, which didn't seem to affect the battle's direction much. Ranged weapons didn't do much since he could block...
It was then that Naruto had a stroke of inspiration. He had been going about this whole thing in the wrong way. He had been sending clones in to fight him in close combat, like it was the only thing he could do, like a friggin' Samurai adhering to his code of honor. He slapped himself both mentally and literally for doing something so stupid, especially since he, himself, kept going on about fighting like ninjas are supposed to.
'Well, goes to show I still have lots to learn.' He mused before making his hand seal for clones.
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu)" He called out. And like that the place was filled with numerous clones.
"You all know the plan! Get to your positions!" He ordered, they nodded and spread out all around the two Jonin duking it out on top of the water.
'Come on, sensei, get out of the way!' He thought, as if hoping his sensei could hear his thoughts.
When his sensei was showing no signs of leaving the melee he was in, he then tried to think of a way to signal him. Some way to let him know what he needed him to do without Zabuza immediately catching on.
After a moment, he thought of something slightly far fetched, but believed it was within Asuma's ability to understand.
"Go Fish!" He shouted to him before immediately giving the mental command to his battalion to begin the attack.
Asuma heard the words, but didn't immediately understand what Naruto meant. But within a second had noticed the surrounding clones, all wielding kunai and/or shuriken. Grasping his comrade's intent, he didn't need more than another second to realize the meaning of the warning. Just as the attack began, Asuma simply halted his flow of energy to his feet that was keeping him atop the water. He fell into the water below with a splash.
Zabuza had noticed the clones around him and was thoroughly impressed by the sheer number of them seeing as they were shadow clones, a supposedly costly jutsu. However, he was not paying any mind outside of that checking in his peripheral vision if they were approaching or not. When that warning shout came, he was frowning in confusion as to the meaning. When he saw Asuma sink below the surface, he instantly understood. Not even a second after that, he got his confirmation when the clones, some in mid-air, threw their throwing weapons at him. He ever so briefly considered following Asuma underwater, but knew that would invite him to be killed as Asuma would be waiting for his escape attempt, should he choose to follow him, and strike the fatal blow before he could recover from the sudden submergence.
He also knew that he had no way of blocking the weapons coming simultaneously from all directions. It was a fearsome attack tactic, perfectly executed in concert with the man he was in combat with just a second ago. The shinobi in him praised the attack with professional acknowledgment.
Quickly going through hand-signs, he called out his only hope of escape. "Suiton (Water Style): Vortex Screen!"
The water immediately surrounding Zabuza's feet rose in a swirling spiral around him and shielded him from head to toe. The weapons coming at him were all stopped and caught in the current present in the jutsu.
He was confident that he had evaded the attack when suddenly a trench knife penetrated the water spiraling around him and struck him in the torso, and went out the other side of his body and even through the water behind him. It wasn't a kill point, but he was severely weakened due to the wound all the same.
Dropping to his knees, the jutsu ended due to his lacking concentration. His eyes beheld a soaking Asuma, hand still outstretched in an unmistakable throwing pose.
"Forgot that wind jutsu can penetrate just about anything... I was careless." He grunted out, his pain evident.
"Careless? Hardly. You were outwitted and overwhelmed." Asuma said, hard eyes boring into Zabuza's.
Drawing labored breaths, Zabuza's gaze fell upon Naruto, who had dismissed his clones, seeing as his enemy was more or less incapacitated.
"You know, for a kid, you're good, and unpredictable. I'm almost prepared to call you a true ninja." Zabuza complimented with a look of reluctant respect. "Tell me, what do you call that barrage thing you did?"
Not prepared for the question, Naruto answered nonetheless. "To tell you the truth, I just made it up. I guess I'll call it the 'No Escape Shuriken'. No wait, that's not awesome enough, plus you did escape it... How does 'Iron Curtain' sound?"
Chuckling wheezily despite his state, Zabuza nodded his approval of the name. "Sure would have been curtains for me had that hit."
Naruto grinned behind his mask and nodded his thanks, but kept himself alert for any surprises.
"I don't understand though, you're not a Leaf shinobi, from what I can tell. What made you interfere with this battle?" Zabuza asked.
"Because I could." Naruto said immediately. There was no point in correcting an enemy if he was mistaken.
"Why help them and not me, then?" Zabuza pressed.
"Was I helping them? I was fighting you, no-brows. I wanted a challenge from someone who specializes in stealth. Not many of them around, you know." Naruto answered. Asuma raised an eyebrow in respect of Naruto's evasive yet plausible answer. To Zabuza it looked as if Asuma was thinking 'That's all?'.
Grunting in acceptance of the seemingly candid answer, which also was a reason Zabuza could relate to, Zabuza looked back at Asuma. Zabuza asked. "So, will you capture me, or kill me? Anything outside of those options and you know I will just come back to finish the job."
"As a missing nin," Asuma said. "I'll cut off your head and claim the bounty placed upon it."
"Heh...I suppose if anyone deserves it..." He never got to finish the sentence due to a couple of senbon needles striking him in the neck. He swayed for a second before falling straight into the water. A moment later, a masked shinobi bearing the mark of the Mist appeared in front of Naruto and Asuma. Before they had a chance to speak, the Mist nin beat them to it.
"That was a most impressive fight, Konoha." He complimented with a neutral tone but accompanied the statement with a bow. "I have been waiting for a suitable opportunity to exploit a moment of weakness. I must thank you for providing that opportunity."
Asuma and Naruto exchanged glances before Asuma responded. "You are welcome, although I feel the bounty should go to us for doing all the work."
"My apologies, Konoha-san. As a Mist ANBU on location of the kill, any bounty is rescinded as I am on site to perform the clean-up and the process of claiming the kill and the subsequent bounty is unnecessary. Besides, it was my senbon that were the actual killing weapons, that makes it my kill anyway, regardless of prior efforts of others. I have also been after him for far longer than you have been aware of his missing nin status. I believe that gives me some right to claim the reward for the kill to start with as well." The ANBU said with another bow to underline the apology.
"Well," Naruto said friendlily. "how about we split the reward? Half for you, half for us?"
"That would be impractical, I'm afraid, since I do not carry any money outside of anticipated mission expenditures such as resupply and food and lodgings. We'd have to travel to the nearest bounty office which is a considerable distance away from here."
Naruto didn't notice it, but Asuma did notice the subtle signs of unease or agitation coming from the masked Mist ninja. He couldn't tell exactly which it was, but either way it was probably better to back off.
"We understand, ANBU-san. We need to get going ourselves as it is. Safe travels." Asuma said and gave an unspoken order to Naruto to follow. Naruto gave a glance at the Mist ninja before running after his sensei.
Once they were gone, the man dove after the body of Zabuza. Appearing soon after with him, he shunshined away, returning the peace and silence to the area once more.
It didn't take long for Naruto and Asuma to link up with the rest of the team, after they had retrieved any weapons on the way, including Asuma's thrown trench knife. But they didn't like what they saw, at all.
For it seemed Tazuna was attacked. Thankfully he didn't seem critically injured. Chouji had taken the worst of it, judging by the amount of senbon stuck to his body. Hinata had a couple of them on her as well, though she had removed them before she started to remove Chouji's. Tazuna was hit with senbon as well, but was protected enough to merely get some on his right arm and leg. It handicapped him a bit, but he was otherwise unharmed.
Chouji was unconscious, as was Shikamaru. Hinata was in the middle of her removal of Chouji's senbon, seeing as he was the most severely hit, when Asuma and Naruto arrived.
It was upon seeing the weapon used in the attack that Asuma cursed rather colorfully.
"That 'ANBU' was no ANBU, he's an accomplice to Zabuza." He growled. Naruto didn't need to be told why, he understood the implications all too well. Even if you couldn't see his whole face, his eyes showed his angry scowl.
"What happened?" Asuma asked as he helped Hinata pull out the senbon from Chouji's body. Naruto was seeing to Tazuna.
Hinata explained that she had just returned to their side when an unseen shinobi started to assault them with barrages of senbon. Tazuna had gotten the first wave of them when Chouji, without hesitation, blocked them with his own body. Hinata tried to locate the ninja, but had no time to engage her Byakugan before she, too, came under attack. She managed to dodge all but a few of them. The attack seemed to stop by then.
"Why weren't you with them, Hinata?" Asuma asked with a disappointed look.
Hinata was expecting this, but it didn't sting any less when Asuma leveled a stern stare at her and asked the accusing question. Before Hinata could answer, Naruto did so on her behalf.
"She came to help me out with that last water clone that was giving me serious trouble, even took it out herself. If she hadn't, I could have lost and died." He said as he was pulling out the last of Tazuna's senbon.
"That's admirable and all, but my orders were clear, weren't they? You were to accompany Chouji in protecting Tazuna and Shikamaru."
"W-well, you s-said yourself t-that we s-shouldn't have any more p-problems. I figured N-Naruto-kun needed my help more than T-Tazuna needed at the time."
Asuma chastised Hinata for not calling Naruto by his codename, making her blush in embarrassment and a little shame, and was about to reprimand further when Naruto spoke up once again. "If she hadn't helped me out, not only would I most likely be dead, but I wouldn't have been able to help you. What's more, the clone would've helped Zabuza take you out. If that happened, the rest of us would've had no chance at all. Once she helped me, she went back to protecting Tazuna. I'd say that Hinata did great."
"Maybe so, Ghost-san. But she still ignored a direct order." Asuma said, looking at Naruto with a dissatisfied look, but it also held some amount of pride.
"Then look at it this way; Kakashi Hatake's motto." Naruto simply said. Asuma raised an eyebrow before realizing what he was referring to. He then smiled and nodded before looking once again at Hinata.
"You disobeyed my orders, but I'd say it was for a good reason; to protect a comrade in danger. And in the end, you went back and protected Tazuna as ordered." Hinata smiled at that.
"However..." Asuma continued. "I must point out that it allowed the accomplice to attack before you could use your Byakugan to find him. Had you remained where you were, you would have detected him and you'd have a better chance of repelling the attack."
"Maybe," Naruto interjected. "but there's no guarantee it would have made a difference against the guy. The way I see it, the attack was aborted simply because we were about to kill his partner. At the most, it would have only delayed the hits against Tazuna."
"That is possible, but that isn't the point of my reprimand. I'm trying to impress upon you all that every action has a reaction, a consequence. Ultimately, your action, Hinata, paid off. But it was based on a hastily made decision. We were all lucky this time, but keep in mind next time to take a moment to think more upon what the best course of action would be."
"But Asuma-san," Naruto began again. "that's a luxury you don't always have. Sometimes you have to act fast."
"True, and that's the only time any results may be forgiven, if adverse." Asuma replied.
Hinata was immensely grateful to Naruto for standing up for her, but she still took the reprimand to heart. For she could see her sensei's point. They were indeed lucky things turned out so well as they did. She would think more about all of it and learn what she could. If she could help it, she would not make the same mistakes again, not that helping Naruto was a mistake in her opinion.
"B-But I don't understand w-why the accomplice k-killed Zabuza." She wondered out loud.
"Hmpfh." Asuma snorted in irritation. "He's not dead. The senbon put him in a death-like state by hitting him at the throat. I'm not sure of the specifics, but suffice to say there is a spot there that can be used to put someone in that state with a very precise acupuncture method. For the enemy accomplice to so accurately hit that spot tells a lot of his skill.
I first assumed him to be dead because he was underwater for so long after being hit, longer than one is supposed to be able to hold one's breath, especially taking into consideration his exhaustion and his wound. But a death-like state would slow his body's processes down to the point it seems dead. That way he could stay underwater for longer than normal, but the wound would still be bleeding, quite profusely due to the water, which was why the man was so uneasy since we were taking valuable time from his rescue attempt. I should have seen this coming."
Taking stock of the situation before him, Asuma noticed Tazuna was staring blankly at them, sometimes glancing at Naruto.
"Are you alright, Tazuna-san?" He asked.
"I... suppose so. My arm and leg are rather numb and I can't use them properly." Tazuna replied with a wince as he demonstrated the effect of the senbon.
"Hmm, that will slow us down some." Asuma said. "But it's not like we can move very fast with Shikamaru and Chouji on our backs either. Can you at least walk?"
"Limp is more like it, but yes. It isn't too far until we reach my village anyway. About an hour at a normal pace. In our state, I'd put us close to two hours out now." Tazuna estimated.
Nodding, Asuma turned to Naruto. "I'll carry Chouji" he said to him, lifting the rotund boy onto his shoulder, "if you carry Shikamaru. Once we reach Tazuna-san's home, we'll figure out our next move."
Nodding even as he hoisted Shikamaru up on his back, with some help from Hinata, Naruto started walking, keeping pace with an already moving Tazuna. Wasting no time, Asuma picked up the rotund boy and slung him over his shoulder and started walking as well, Hinata staying between him and Naruto, keeping a constant vigil, determined to warn them well in advance, if an attack comes again before they arrive.
Tazuna occasionally glanced at the black-clad youth walking beside him. He felt a mixture of awe and unease that such a young boy could fight almost on par with that frightening Zabuza character, even if it was a different battle than what he would normally consider a battle. The unease was because the boy kept his mask on and his eyes conveyed both steely determination and confidence as well as, he thought, traces of juvenile excitement. On such a young face, or what he could see of it anyway, it looked strange to him. It was as if he saw a bonafide ninja yet also looking at a kid in a ninja costume, a far cry from the former. He didn't know why he didn't think of it before now, but he was really under the protection of child-soldiers. It didn't really hit him for some reason until now. The concept was something he found horrible. And yet, these younglings didn't seem to be in any way traumatized. He supposed that spoke well of the method of training they employed to prepare them for the job.
Thinking back to the boy he wondered what to make of him. Oh, the boy came across as friendly enough when he was conversing with the others. But he also had the distinct impression that his mission was not originally to be their back-up. As if his mission took him in the same direction as Wave. He knew enough about the lay of the land that there was next to nothing of worth for a ninja to be found beyond Wave, only the sea and the coastline for miles upon miles.
Which made him wonder what exactly his mission in Wave was. He tried to reason with himself that he wasn't assigned to do anything to hurt them. After all, what reason had their village to do that? Not to mention he's helping them out along the way. Then again, he was not in anyway knowledgeable in the ways of ninjas. He only knew that it was based around trickery and deception.
Again, he tried to reason with himself that he was simply letting his fears and the stress of the recent confrontation take his mind to places and situations he had no reason to go. When he thought about it, perhaps there was something of interest to them. He dearly hoped it was to, in some shape or form, hurt Gato. But, not allowing himself to get his hopes up too much, he surmised that once they arrived, things would be made clear, or clearer at any rate.
The trip was uneventful for the group, something they were more than grateful for, considering their recent ordeal. When they first got a good look of the village from a distance, no one conscious could miss the poor state the village was in, even at the distance they were. The buildings were in poor states of sub-par maintenance or disrepair, the streets were dirty and only a few people were crossing the streets, and those were not looking chipper if their gait was anything to go by.
No one said anything, there was nothing to say about the sight except commenting how depressing it looked. And that served no purpose other than rubbing proverbial salt in a wound.
They arrived soon after at Tazuna's home. His daughter, Tsunami, opened the door and welcomed them all warmly. She was an attractive woman in her mid twenties or thirties. She had a figure any woman would be pleased to have, not to mention any man would be pleased to have in his wife or girlfriend. Her cheerful and warm personality only augmented her beauty in the eyes of the ninja entering her home.
At first shocked and worried sick once she noticed that Tazuna and apparently two of the kids were hurt, she was reassured that they were going to be fine after some rest. The boys would require more than Tazuna, since he was only limping, and that would probably wear off after a night's rest or two.
Once Shikamaru and Chouji were put to bed, Asuma, Hinata and Naruto sat down by the dinner table to have a talk about their next move.
"Alright, Naruto. First off, how come you're in the area at all? I thought you had an assignment other than ours? Or did pops send you to be our back-up in case of emergency or something?"
"You're right." Naruto began. "I was assigned a different mission than you guys, but it wasn't to keep an eye on you or help you," he then added happily. "but it didn't say I couldn't while I was at it."
"Okay, but what is your mission?"
"To investigate the exact nature and extent of Gato's corruption and ability to hire mercenaries and missing nin."
Raising an eyebrow at that, Asuma asked. "That's a tall order for someone just becoming a Genin."
"You forget, sensei," Naruto began with a visible grin behind his mask. "that I'm trained quite well in stealth. Much more than the average Genin. This is my specialty."
"Even so..." Asuma started, unconvinced.
"Do you have so little faith in me, sensei?" Naruto asked, mock hurt.
"Well, no. I do believe you're a more than capable Genin. I mean, you are a Tokubetsu-Genin (Special Genin) for a reason after all. But what you're supposed to do means infiltrating Gato's mansion or fortress or whatever the hell he's operating from. He's bound to be surrounded by an army of mercs protecting him, perhaps even those missing nin from before, though I bet Zabuza is far from recovered enough for that right now."
Naruto fixed Asuma with an unwavering gaze. "First off, I'm an expert in stealth, like I said, so they wont notice me since they wont have any means of detecting me on their own. Secondly, even if I get into a combat scenario, those thugs are not going to be that much of a problem even in numbers. You know me" He ended with a wink.
"N-Naruto-kun can d-do it." Hinata said with a smile.
"Thanks, Hinata-chan." Naruto nodded to her with a visible smile.
Ruefully shaking his head, Asuma was nevertheless smiling. "Alright, you have your orders and I'm in no position to countermand them, no matter my reservations. Just be careful, and if you get a shot at Gato himself, perhaps taking him out of the equation would finish things up earlier for all of us and free Wave."
"Me, Yokai-sensei and Jiji aren't too sure about that." Naruto disagreed.
"Oh?"
"Just assassinating Gato will not end things here. We believe that if he were to die just like that, his goons will simply form together and ravage the village for all its worth, and most likely worse..." Naruto said, growling at the end. "And then," he continued. "someone else will simply take his place. What we need is a way to not only rid this place of Gato, but also of the foundation of crime he's established here. Meaning, we need to get to the bottom of how he got to power. For example; his backers, if any. And at the same time find a way to neutralize his mercs, one way or another."
Thinking for a moment, Asuma said. "Dealing with the mercs might be done in one fell swoop if we get them into one position and then take them out with a well placed trap."
"W-what about the p-pirates?" Hinata added.
"Damn, good point Hinata." Naruto groaned.
"Don't the pirates need to dock in Wave for resupplies occasionally? We could sabotage their ships then." Asuma pointed out.
"Yeah, but if we're to deal with both the pirates and the mercs, we need to do both at the same time. Doing one first will doubtlessly alert the other party of trouble and that will make things that much harder to accomplish."
"We could help you with that, me and Hinata could deal with sabotaging the ships." Asuma offered.
"M-m-me?" Hinata stammered in surprise.
"You're ideal for the task, Hinata. Your Byakugan can tell how many pirates and guards are in the area and where they are exactly. You can tell me where they are over the radio as I go and leave the rest to me." Asuma said.
Nodding in agreement to the suggestion, Naruto said. "That leaves only the part of setting the trap for the mercs. I'm thinking maybe we can use what I said before, provoking them into grouping up for a raid and then take them out in one go."
"You're thinking a bomb?" Asuma said.
"It would be ideal, but I don't have enough explosives for that. Combined with any you're carrying we could soften them up before finishing the rest ourselves."
"You're assuming they're numerous enough for that necessity." Asuma said.
"'Always assume the worst, but hope for the best.' That's what my sensei says and I agree with him." Naruto said.
"So you're going to off Gato as the way to provoke them?"
"If I can. There's no guarantee he's even home when I visit." Naruto said.
"If not...?"
"Then I'll improvise." Naruto said mischievously.
Chuckling, Asuma commented. "I knew you'd say that."
"So what will Chouji and Shika do once they're up and about again?" Naruto asked.
"They'll be guarding Tazuna and his family along with us. When me and Hinata are at the docks, they'll have to keep Tazuna here and guard them until we come back, only then can Tazuna resume his building in relative safety.
Suddenly, Naruto turned his head slightly to one side, as if looking at a person besides them, that wasn't there. Knowing the tell-tale sign of someone in communication with someone else, he asked. "Are you in contact with someone?"
"Yeah, with Konoha."
"Konoha!" Asuma exclaimed, slamming his palms on the table, startling Naruto and Tsunami who was in the kitchen not far from the table, though she wasn't near enough to catch the hushed discussion they were having.
"Yeah." Naruto affirmed.
"How? We don't have radios that can reach that far away." Asuma demanded.
"I have a seal drawn on a piece of paper. It was placed on my head and works as a long-range transmitter. However, the perk with this thing is that I merely have to think what I want said and HQ will hear it as if I said it out loud. In return, whatever they say to me is heard in my head without anyone else, no matter how close, being the wiser."
"Woah. That should be standard issue."
"Maybe it will someday, but for now it is a special seal unique and reserved for my sensei's clan, of which I'm an adopted member. And don't bother to copy it or anything. It wont be visible to you until it is removed by the one who place it there."
"Then how come HQ can use it? Who's over there?"
"The overall commander is my sensei. But the mission was issued by Jiji himself so he's the supreme commander. But he only gets involved if things require his direct attention. Then he comes to HQ and issues orders based on what information I got and, if necessary, what I see and hear."
"They can see and hear what you see and hear?"
"Yeah, we have a transformer seal at HQ that interprets and translates information I send naturally from my eyes and ears to the brain. The paper with the seal on my head transmits that information as well. Once HQ receives this information, it is then processed instantly and transferred by that transformer seal I mentioned onto a computer screen. However, it isn't active now, only when I give the mental signal to transmit."
His mind reeling at this revelation, Asuma leaned back into his chair. "You got some cool toys, Naruto." Asuma said.
"Don't I know it." Naruto said with the widest grin yet.
Hinata, utterly impressed by all she had just heard, could only sit there in silent awe of just how skilled and equipped her love was. This was completely unexpected, even considering how their group in Konoha had had some insight into what Naruto's special section was about.
"So what are you talking about?" Asuma asked after a brief moment.
"They're saying that Jiji will send some back-up in case things go south. They feel there are too many things left to chance. They also say that my primary mission must still be information gathering and the dismantling of the criminal presence in Wave is an objective of opportunity."
Nodding in understanding, Asuma said. "Then I suggest you gather your information first and then we'll reconvene and finalize our next and hopefully final move."
"I should get started right now then." Naruto said as he got up.
"W-wait, Naruto-k-kun." Hinata pleaded. "Shouldn't you s-stay and r-rest first?" She was hoping to spend some more time with him, and she thought that to be a perfectly valid reason to keep him here a little longer.
"Might be a good idea, Naruto. It was a pretty intense fight before." Asuma said in approval. "Besides, I hear dinner is ready before long anyway. Let's eat first and then you can get on your way."
"Yeah, now that you mention it, I could use some chow before heading off." Naruto said agreeably. Hinata smiled prettily, happy that Naruto would stay with them a bit longer.