Hello! I have thought that I won't be writing the two weeks between the battle with Zabuza and the bridge because of nothing happening there, team seven basically trained since they knew that Zabuza was still alive. For those who still don't know, Haku is a girl.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 8
It has been two weeks since the encounter with Zabuza, in this time team seven has been training since they already knew that Zabuza wasn't really killed. Instead, he was saved and he will come back soon, but this time with help of the fake hunter-nin that saved him the other day.
It was an early morning in the house of Tazuna's family. Team seven together with Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, Inari, Tazuna's grandson, and Tazuna himself were sitting around the table in the dining room, eating breakfast made by Tsunami. The three Ninja had already told the bridge builder about the situation with Zabuza, which after hearing it he paled and almost fainted. From Kakashi's calculations, Zabuza would be attacking either today or tomorrow, but to be sure they assumed it would be today and so they were already prepared. After they finished eating, the little group headed over to the bridge at which when they came was a thick mist covering it. Luckily for the workers, Tazuna told them to come later than usual just to be sure. When they walked on the bridge, two figures appeared in front of them, one being Zabuza and the other was the masked ninja.
"Naruto, make several clones and let them take Tazuna back home, then both you and Yugito will take the hunter-nin, while I take care of Zabuza," Kakashi ordered but before Naruto could do anything, Zabuza said.
"First of, do you really think that you can leave like that?" Suddenly eight water clones of Zabuza encircled the group. "besides, don't you want to save the Villagers?" The ex-Kiri nin asked and then suddenly was an explosion in the Village, followed by screams and shouts. Team seven's, as well as Tazuna's eyes, widened when they heard the explosion.
"Naruto, create the clones and take them to Tazuna's home, then head over to the Village and deal with the thugs. Yugito you will have to take on the Hunter-nin," The silver-haired Jonin ordered as he took out two Kunai in a reverse grip and took a fighting stance, while Yugito took out her Ninjato and prepared for the upcoming battle. Naruto nodded to his Sensei and suddenly disappeared. In an instant, all of Zabuza's clones splashed and the water fell to the ground. When Zabuza looked to where the Uchiha and the bridge builder were previously standing, the only thing that he saw was empty air.
"You know Kakashi, this brat of yours is something special. To be so proficient at Flash Step at so young age is something rare. I wonder how strong he would become if he didn't have to die today. Well, I guess we will never know," The missing-nin said and readied himself for his rematch with the copy ninja. The two experienced Shinobi stood there glaring at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. "You know Kakashi? I think that our rematch can wait a moment. Why don't we watch as our students fight?" The demon of the hidden Mist asked. Kakashi looked at him and slowly took a more comfortable stance which allowed him to be prepared if Zabuza attacked, but also he could watch Yugito's battle.
On the other side of the bridge, Yugito and the masked-nin were glaring at each other. Yugito was ready with her Ninjato, while her opponent toom out six Senbon three in each hand, between her fingers. Suddenly both of them rushed at each other, Yugito attacked first with a horizontal swing at her opponent's neck, trying to end this quickly. The hunter-nin ducked under the attack and tried a thrust with her right hand at Yugito's gut, but the blond-haired girl sidestepped to her right and launched a left roundhouse kick at the other girl's solar plexus. The fake hunter-nin blocked her attack with her right knee and suddenly threw the Senbo in her left hand at Yugito's shoulder. The blond was able to deflect all three of the weapons but in meanwhile, the black-haired girl made several one-handed hand seals.
"Hijutsu: Thousand Needles of Death!"
The hunter-nin then stomped her feet on the ground and the moisture from the bridge created a large number of Needles made of Water which were flying around the duo. Suddenly all of the Needles flew down on the two girls. Haku used Flash Step to get out of the harm's way, while Yugito pushed a large amount of Chakra into her feet which made her fly high into the sky, not even one Needle scratching her. While she was in the air, she made several hand seals and said.
"Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The great orb of fire made her way towards the hunter-nin who jumped back just in time to avoid getting burned alive. When Yugito landed on the bridge she and the hunter-nin glared at each other and prepared for another round. A moment later, the two of them rushed forward, again meeting in the middle of their way. The two girls then started a Kenjutsu fight wit Yugito using her Ninjato and Haku using the Senbon, the way she used it previously.
With Naruto
After creating five Shadow Clones and made them protect Tazuna, the original Naruto rushed towards the Village just in time to see a large number of thugs run out of the forest towards the Village, while there were already a few insides the Village. Naruto crossed his fingers and poured a large amount of Chakra a created over fifty Shadow Clones and ordered them to take care inside the Village. Then he used Flash Step just in time to appear twenty meters in front of the Village and ten meters in front of the about seventy thugs. The thugs hired by Gato were a bit surprised by the arrival but soon started to laugh.
"Haha! A hero came to stop us from destroying the Village!" One of them exclaimed between laughs.
"Boy, better run away or you will just join the fate of the Village!" Another shouted with a sinister grin.
"I will not let you pass here. Either you will turn around or all of you will die," Naruto stated in a calm voice as he activated his Sharingan again. It wasn't necessary to use his Dojutsu against some thugs, but he had to make it as fast as he could and without any injury if it can be helped. As he hears the gang laugh even harder and shout something about being foolish and dying, Naruto started to slowly unsheath his Katana with his left thumb which rested the whole time against the blade. "Very well, your fate has been sealed," The black-haired boy stated.
"ENOUGH! Kill this brat and then proceed with our plans!" One of them shouted and the rest shouted in approval. Suddenly two of the group rushed at Naruto who stood there calmly. When the two were close enough, they lifted their blades above their heads, leaving an opening at their torso. With one, fluid motion, Naruto grabbed the hilt of his Katana and cut the two in half, shocking the rest, but soon the shock turned into rage and the whole group rushed at the Genin who made another group of Shadow Clones, this time only two. The three Naruto stood in a line preventing any of the Thugs to get through them. Soon the numbers of thugs started to get smaller and smaller.
After entering a horizontal slash of katana at his head, Naruto tilted his head to the right to avoid a spear that was aimed at his head. Then he blocked a horizontal slash at his left side and cut off the head of the attacker. Suddenly another thug with a Wakizashi rushed at him, trying to shove the blade into Naruto's heart. The black-haired Genin simply caught the weapon by the blade, shocking the attacker, but before he could think about it, his head was also cut down. Five minutes later every thug was killed and the clones at in the Village finished up as well. Naruto was about to go for the bridge when he hears another shout, when he turned around he saw another seventy thugs standing there, grinning evilly at the Uchiha, who simply sighed in annoyance.
'Hmm... I could either leave a group of Shadow Clones to do this or finish this with a Jutsu. Well, I think I could do this without using too much Chakra, seeing how many puddles of water are here' Naruto mused and nodded to his two clones. The three Genin started to go through a long Chain of hand seals and when they finished, the thugs were about seven meters away from them. 'Perfect. Thanks, Zabuza' he thought with a smirk as he and his clones called his Jutsu.
"Suiton: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
Suddenly three large dragons of water created themselves of the puddles and the moisture in the area. The three blue dragons glared at the shocked and afraid thugs with their yellow eyes until the rushed forward, successfully destroying the group, leaving only about ten thugs who were too shocked to do anything. Using the perfect opportunity, Naruto and his clones used Flash Step and finished the leftovers from the group. Seeing that there was no one left, he crouched and put his index and middle finger to the ground.
"Ninpou: Chakra Radar"
This technique allowed the user to created something like a map that showed almost every Chakra signature in a certain area. Naruto and Yugito learned this Jutsu when the Uchiha was going through Uchiha Clan's scroll vault and they found it. The scroll for the Jutsu was looking very old, showing that no one had tried to learn it in some time. Seeing how useful this technique would be and actually how easy it is to learn, they decided to add it to their Ninjutsu arsenal. Of course, Sensor-type Ninja's radar would be much better than a usual Ninja but it was still highly useful. After not sensing any more Chakra signatures, the black-haired boy turned towards the bridge and used once again Flash Step to get there as fast as he could.
At the bridge
Back on the bridge things weren't looking too good for the two members of team seven. While the beginning of Yugito's fight was somewhat a stalemate, it changed after the hunter-nin used a Jutsu called "Hijutus: Crystal Ice mirrors", which basically made a dome of mirrors made of Ice around the blond Genin. The black-haired girl then entered one of the mirrors and then suddenly appeared in every one. After that, she started throwing Senbon after Senbon at Yugito at a pace too fast to see it without a Dojutsu.
Kakashi hadn't too much luck either since after the hunter-nin used her Jutsu, Zabuza used the mist to start attacking Kakashi from different positions, making it difficult for the silver-haired Jonin to defend himself or counterattack as his Sharingan wasn't too much help with the mist around, blocking his view. Sure, it saved him a few times already when Zabuza decided to attack from a close distance and the one-eyed Jonin was able to see him.
Now, when Naruto entered the bridge using the Flash Step, with his Sharingan still activated, the first thing he saw was the dome of the mirrors. When the dark-haired boy looked inside the dome, his blood turned cold. Inside was his childhood friend, not a normal friend, his best friend. A person with who he spent hours training, talking, playing or simply spending time with was on her knees, her whole body covered by a large amount of Senbon. Blood was falling from the various cuts and holes made by the barrages of Senbon. Then he saw it. Two more Senbo flying directly at Yugito's heart. Too fast for her to dodge or move, too fast for him to either replace places with her or simply block it, too fast for him to defend her.
He rushed towards her, watching with his Sharingan as the two Needles neared the only person he fully opened his heart for since his Clan was murdered. The seconds turned in hours as he couldn't do anything to save her. he was useless. Again too weak to defend someone he cared with his whole heart about. Again he could only watch as the ones he cared about were going to die. When the Senbon were centimeters away from Yugito's heart, everything went black and white. the time stopped. The Uchiha watched as everything froze and seeing how he could use it to save her, he tried to move but found out that he also froze in place. Suddenly, he could hear a voice all around him.
"Do you want to save her, boy?" Asked a male voice. naruto didn't know who or where the voice came from, but at this moment he could care less. If he was getting a chance to save Yugito he would do everything.
"Yes!" Naruto shouted in despair as he tried to move again, but still couldn't move.
"What would you do to save her?" The voice asked again.
"Everything!" The dark-haired genin shouted without any hesitation.
"Even replace yourself with her and die instead of her?" The voice asked yet again.
"Of course!" Was Naruto's answer this time, again he didn't hesitate to answer. There was a short silence in which the Uchiha tried to move his hand to make the hand seals to replace himself but he could do nothing.
"Very well, Uchiha Naruto. You have passed my exam. I will let you wield my power to protect the ones you care about. To use my power just call my name, which is..."
On the bridge, Kakashi's Sharingan saw the same thing that his students did and he was about to replace himself with her, but the next words stopped him.
Inside the dome, Yugito was on her knees panting. She was about to get up but found no strength to do so. In a corner of her eyes, she saw a flicker of light. She knew what it was and she knew what it meant.
'So, after all, I won't be able to help you achieve your dreams, Naruto-kun? I won't be able to tell you about my feelings. After all, I was too weak' Were the thoughts that were running through the blond-haired girl head. Then suddenly all of her memories with Naruto flashed before her eyes. A single tear fell from the corner of her eyes down her cheek. 'Goodbye, Naruto-kun' She closed her eyes and prepared for the short pain, but instead, she heard the same words that Kakashi, Zabuza, and the hunter-nin heard.
"Scatter, Senbonzakura!" Everyone on the bridge heard Naruto shouted these words and in an instant, something that looked like petals of the Sakura tree appeared in front of Yugito's heart, blocking the pair of Senbon. Using the momentary shock of his opponent, Naruto created a sealless Shadow Clone which replaced himself with Yugito. The blond girl was about to fell to her knees as she was replaced in a standing position, but suddenly two strong arms caught her. When she lifted her head, she saw the onyx black eyes of her best friend before she smiled.
"Naruto-kun," she said with a weak smile and fell into the unconscious. Naruto created another Shadow Clone, which took Yugito to Tazuna's house since it was the safest place for the moment. When Naruto took the handle of his Katana and when he unsheathed it, to his surprise, his the blade part was missing until the Sakura pentels came back and connected with the Habaki of his Katana and formed the blade again.
'So that must be what he meant by my powers. Whoever said it. I will have to find out about this later' He said to himself and suddenly all of his shocks disappeared and instead was a cold indifference on his face. His cold, black eyes staring right into the Hunter-nin's holes on her mask for eyes. The black-haired girl had to stop using her Jutsu since her Chakra was almost not-existant. She looked at him and prepared for a battle, but before the two could fight, there were groans of pains coming from the side at which was Zabuza and Kakashi. the next thing they heard was something like a bird chirping. A moment later the mist started to lift and the two of them witnessed the image of Zabuza being pinned down by a pack of dogs and Kakashi standing in front of him with his right hand surrounded by something that looked like a blade of lighting.
"Zabuza. This is the end!" Kakashi roared and started to run towards the missing-nin. At this moment Naruto heard the voice of someone that wasn't here previously. The newcomer was laughing maniacally and when the dark-haired boy moved his eyes to the unfinished side of the bridge, his eyes narrowed when he saw Gato, but before he could attack the man his eyes shifted back to Kakashi and to his shock, the hunter-nin was running towards Zabuza to be used as a human shield. Naruto could see that she was about very low on Chakra and she was moving with many difficulties. Suddenly it all clicked.
'This little piece of shit!' he thought and used his fastest Flash Step to appear next to Kakashi and grab his wrist with both of his hands, shocking, but also stopping the Jonin. Kakashi looked at Naruto with wide eyes.
"What are you doing, Naruto?" he shouted, but Naruto pointed on the unfinished side of the bridge. A moment later the realization hit Kakashi and he canceled his Jutsu and turned to Zabuza, but before he could say something, Gato started.
"The demon of the Hidden mist my ass! You two have failed twice so I think that I don't need you. As you can see I have hired all of this Gentleman to do the work you failed twice for only half the price I would pay both you and your whore," Gato shouted and the army of thugs which were about three hundred started to laugh. "Alright! Shut up!" He ordered and there was a silence.
"Gato! We had an agreement!" Zabuza roared, furious that he won't get paid after all he had done for this mission.
"As I can see you have failed, that means our agreement came to an end!" Gato stated with a cocky smirk, which only infuriated the missing-nin even more.
"Well, Zabuza looks like we are not enemy anymore," Kakashi said with an eye-smile as he covered his Sharingan.
"Hmph, it seems so," Zabuza confirmed and the copy-ninja released the dogs. "Alright, I will take the..." before he could say anything more he fell don't to his knees.
"Haha! So pathetic! Everyone listen! Anyone who will bring me this bitch with the mask will get a free night with her!" The businessman shouted making all of the thugs grin and check the girl out. At this moment something snapped in Naruto. Alright, she might have been an enemy a moment ago and she tried to kill Yugito, but even so, he wouldn't let just rape them someone if he could stop it.
"Kakashi-Sensei, you are low on Chakra, you should stand back. Zabuza-san, you are very injured you should stand back as well. The hunter-nin looks were tired after using her Jutsu as well. All of you, juts stand back, I will take care of them," Naruto stated as he sheathed his Katana.
"Who do you think you are Brat?" Zabuza shouted, angry that some punny Genin would tell him what to do. Naruto sighed and looked at Zabuza over his shoulder.
"The one that will save you from rushing in with a Kunai in your mouth and dying after that," Naruto said and started to make a chain of hand seals, not even waiting for the thugs to attack. He had enough of them for one day.
"Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
He exhaled the orb towards the thugs who were still checking the hunter-nin out and with that were not prepared to get burned. When they saw that they comrades died, they shouted and rushed towards the groups. Without stopping, Naruto started to go through another set of hand seals.
"Raiton: Thunder Bullet Jutsu!"
The Uchiha pushed more than normal Chakra into the Jutsu, making it bigger and with that, he caught more of the thugs in it. As some of the thugs were being electrified to death, he started going through another set of signs.
"Katon: Dargon Fire Jutsu!"
As a dragon flew out of his mouth, Gato looked horrified how a child was able to take so many of his man without moving from a place. He started to slowly walk away to the rope he had left which led to his boat. Naruto was able to catch the glimpse of Gato and smirked.
"Gato! You are not going anywhere!" The Uchiha shouted and pointed his right, index-finger at the businessman. 'Please, let it work' He thought and started to collect Raiton Chakra in his finger. A moment later his smirk got wielder as he said his next Jutsu.
"Raiton: Pale Lighting!"
As the lighting started to fly through the crowd of thugs, Gato looked at it with obvious fear in his eyes. Not a second later, his heart got pierced by the pale-blue colored lighting which made a hole of the size of a fist in his chest. Without any other word, he fell to the ground, dead.
"Alright, let see if I will be able to use it again," Naruto said to himself as he unsheathed his Katana and placed it parallel to his torso, making it look like the blade was splitting his face into two halves. "Scatter, Senbonzakura!" Once again the blade dissolved into what seemed to look like Sakura petals. With a move of his left wrist forward, the pink pentels flew forward, cutting through the thugs like a hot knife through butter. The two Jonin looked at Naruto with wide eyes, filled with awe, respect, pride, and Zabuza even somewhat with fear, imagining himself and Haku being on the place of the thugs. Four minutes later and some moves of the wrist, there was none of the thugs alive. "Alright, that's it I guess," Naruto said as he sheathed his Katana.
"So, Zabuza, what are you going to do now? You both look like you could use some medical attention, besides we have still a free room back at Tazuna's house. I am sure he won't be you two staying with us," Kakashi said with an eye-smile. Zabuza thought about it for a moment and then looked over to the now sleeping Haku.
"Fine, we will come along," The missing-nin said. With this the four of them, well three of them walked one was carried, went towards Tazuna's house. Kakashi was going to tell Tazuna exactly what happened on the bridge so he won't have to worry about either Zabuza or Gato anymore.
Well that is all for this Chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. In the next Chapter I will explain why Naruto's Katana has suddenly some OP powers, but you have to wait to know why!
Ja Ne!