Lionheart: Okay, thanks for waiting for this long update. Its just between school, baseball, and my dad, I haven't had the time to come on and type. Anyway, another chapter for all you readers. Wait gotta start with some replies to your reviews.
Kamechan: Hm, I'll try to give the characters some more mature personality, especially for Sasuke, but for now, im following Canon mostly because there doesn't need to be much change here. Once we get closer to the fight with Zabuza and the Chuunin exams things will be different. For now, mostly Naruto and Sasuke are trying to show off to Kakashi. As for ANBU, you don't really have to be mature…you just have to be good. ANBU are known as elite, Naruto is known as number one hyperactive ninja. That is something that will probably never really change.
Kasek: Thanks for the concern, really appreciate it, but don't worry. I usually take long breaks in between chapters and sometimes during the chapter itself. My three chapters day was pure luck. 2:00 A.M one chapter, then fell asleep. 12:00 P.M got another chapter. Finally 9:00 got another one. It was supposed to only be two…but what the heck.
NewSon: No problem, actually I was starting to get tired over "believe it" too.
Danieli: Hrm, I see what you mean. It took awhile, looks like ill need to do some editing. Thanks for pointing it out to me.
Thanks to all other reviewers.
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Zabuza! Unexpected CircumstancesA boat carrying six people silently made its way through a very thick mist. Seated on it were our three favorite Genin, Kakashi, Tazuna, and a boatman.
"Man, this fog is so thick," stated Sakura, "I can't see a thing." "Sasuke, I smell it, land," shouted Naruto, gleefully. "Calm down brat, before you piss in yourself," stated an irritated Kyuubi. "Will you shut up, Naruto?" "Hmph, fine be like that…at least I'm ready to go." "The bridge isn't far now. Our destination isn't far now…the land of waves."
The four Shinobi looked up into the dense mist. Slowly an outline of something appeared. As they got closer, the outline slowly became more detailed and took the shape of a bridge. It was uncompleted, with cranes carrying long metal poles. "Let's hurry," said the boatman, "We're lucky so far, no one has spotted us arriving as of yet."
Meanwhile, Tazuna looked into the horizon, thinking of the secret he was keeping from his protectors. Unknown to him, Kakashi was staring at him. He had been ever since they're encounter from the Chuunin from the Village of Mist. He was waiting for him to explain the real situation, not the situation they had been told. It was clear now Tazuna would not talk, so Kakashi took it into his own hands. They would need to know, and the sooner the better.
"Mr. Tazuna." Tazuna twitched. He knew what the Jounin was going to say. "Before we reach the pier, I want to ask you something." Tazuna twitched again, something the four Shinobi didn't fail to notice. He kept his face emotionless, though sweat began to form on his forehead and neck. "Yeah, what is it," he asked, trying to act tough, though his tone didn't quite cover his act. "Those men who are after you…I need to know why. If you don't me, I'm afraid I'll have to end this mission once we are dropped ashore."
Tazuna didn't say a word. He was stuck between two difficult choices. 'Should I tell them…or not,' he thought to himself. As the boat continued on, the four Shinobi and Tazuna sat in an awkward silence. While, Tazuna avoided their eyes, the others looked at him, expectantly. After a tense moment, in which Kakashi was about to declare the mission over, Tazuna decided. "Ugh," he sighed, "It seems I have no choice but to tell you. No…wait I want you all to know, because…as you said before, this is beyond the scope of the original mission."
"Well, first you can tell us the names of those who seek your life," commanded Kakashi, in a firm voice. "You know him," said Tazuna quickly, or I'm sure you have heard his name. He one of the wealthiest people in the world, a very short man that goes by the name of…Gato. Also known as the shipping magnet." Kakashi's eyes widened.
"Gato? Of Gato Transport? But he's a business leader, why would he want your life?" Tazuna sighed. "Gato is a very powerful tycoon from a very powerful company that's true. But below the surface, he sells drugs and contraband, with the protection of ninja and hired samurai. Those who don't obey his rules are made to disappear."
"So, Gato sends ninja to eliminate people basically," asked Sakura. She seemed a little frightened. "Yes, Sakura, that is what it seems to be like." Tazuna sighed before continuing, "It was one year ago, exactly when Gato first set his sights on the land of waves. Using his wealth and power he easily took control of our transport and shipping. That's how he has so much influence over us, because you see…in an island nation like ours, if you control the sea you control finance, our government, even…" Tazuna paused for great affect. "…Our very lives…but the one thing he fears is the bridge. The bridge will connect us to the mainland and that will break his control." Tazuna's tone was fierce and bitter, as if he had suffered greatly from Gato's power. And me? I am the bridge builder…the expert. Get rid of me and you get rid of all hope."
"Hn," replied Sasuke, lazily. "I see," began Sakura thoughtfully, "So, you're the guy standing in this gangster's way…" Her comment stopped short. "Which means, those men in the forest obviously our mist ninja working for Gato," stated Naruto. Kakashi nodded to himself, "I still don't understand," said Kakashi, "If you knew Gato was sending ninja after you, why did you hide that from us? Obviously you are at a disadvantage now, seeing as we didn't send the best team to protect you." Tazuna didn't speak…but then he didn't have to." "Well, that's easy Sensei," stated Naruto, who was trying to brag about his knowledge, despite Kyuubi and Sasuke's protests. "Naruto, keep quiet," they both yelled.
"Oh? How's that, Naruto," asked Kakashi. "Well, first the Land of Waves is a small nation, right? And since Gato is controlling everything there, and all the villagers seem to be suffering from it, isn't it possible they couldn't afford to pay for an A or B-rank mission?" Kakashi appeared surprised, 'Incredible, and he deduced something like that on his own…even if his logic is a bit off.' "Well, I don't know, Naruto. Tazuna, perhaps you'd like to explain now." Kakashi's tone implied he wasn't making a request, but a command.
"Well, he's right…the Land of Waves is a small an impoverished nation. Even our nobles have little money. It would have been impossible to pay for one of the elite ninja to help us, so I didn't mention anything about ninja. Also, if you end this mission and drop me ashore, there will be no bridge. I'll have been assassinated before I even reached home."
Tazuna looked up and laughed, surprising them all. "But…don't feel bad about it. Of course my sweet little grandson will be sad," he said. "He'll probably cry, 'Granddad…I want my granddad,' said Tazuna mimicking his grandson's voice. "Oh yes, and my daughter…she won't be too mad, maybe curse the ninja of Konoha for life and blame them for abandoning me and having her live in sorrow." The four Shinobi looked at each other, irritated.
"Oh well, it's not your fault. I 'know' you guys have plenty to do." He put particular emphasis on 'know.' "Well," said Kakashi, "I guess we have no choice. We'll just have to keep guarding you." "YES," Kakashi sensei," shouted Naruto. "Brat, shut up. Stop being so annoying," complained Kyuubi. "Say one more word Naruto and I'll kill you." Naruto shrugged. "Hmph, you probably couldn't even touch me, loser," retorted Naruto.
He was interrupted as Tazuna said, "Ohh, I'm very grateful." In his head he thought, 'I win.' "We're approaching shore," interrupted the boatman, as he steered the boat inside a small tunnel underneath the bridge. A bright light shined ahead, and grew brighter as they got closer. As they passed it they found themselves in the bright sunshine, free of the mist. The familiar scene flashed before Sasuke and Naruto's eyes, as memories of their first time here flashed through their eyes.
Soon, they docked at the pier and stepped out. Naruto stretched his legs and then turned to Sasuke. "Hey, Sasuke…you remember the first time we were here?" "Of course I do, loser. Right after the time you chickened out in that fight, how can I forget?" Naruto reddened and raised a fist, ready to punch Sasuke's lights out, but Kakashi caught it. "Now, Now, Naruto. No need to get excited. I'm sure there's plenty of excitement in store for this trip." Naruto shrugged, Sakura glared at him as she inched closer to Sasuke, and Sasuke sighed. Kakashi sighed as well. 'Why do I put up with them,' he thought, sadly.
Tazuna watched his friend ride his boat off into the distance before turning to his bodyguards. "Okay…let's go, take me to my home. And I don't mean carry my remains…get me there in one piece." "Right," replied Kakashi. Sasuke and Naruto led the way through the trees. Sakura and Tazuna followed them, while Kakashi stayed at the back, pondering. 'Next time, they won't send Chuunin…they'll send Jounin, elite ninja, ugh... What did I do to deserve this?' Kakashi mentally sighed and his face fell at the thought of it.
"He's here," announced Naruto, and Sasuke at almost the same time. "Huh, What? Oh, him? Whatever." Kyuubi faked snores, while Sasuke and Naruto twitched. If only they could…
Naruto and Sasuke stopped, and…in surprise the others stopped as well. "What is it, Naruto…Sasuke, asked Kakashi. "Sasuke, what's going on, why did you stop," asked Sakura. Sasuke just shrugged, "I don't know, Naruto told me to." "I found something," said Naruto. Sakura and Tazuna both gulped, thinking there were ninja around.
Meanwhile, Naruto leapt inside the bushes and, after looking through them pulled out a snow hare. "Kakashi Sensei, look, I found this," said Naruto grinning. Sakura nearly smacked him, "NARUTO! Put that rabbit down now, I thought you stopped us because of ninja or something." Naruto promptly dropped the rabbit, temporarily forgetting he was supposed to be looking for Zabuza and ran. Tazuna supported her in chasing Naruto around the clearing. "Don't scare me like that, brat," he yelled. Sasuke lips formed into a half smile, but it stopped when he detected the real target, Zabuza.
Meanwhile Kakashi began pondering about the snow hare. 'That snow hare…usually during the summer time their fur changes color because of the sun. Yet, this one hasn't which means it must have been raised indoors as a decoy or something.' Kakashi, without moving, looked around himself. 'Hrm…so they're already here.'
From the shadows a pair of eyes watched the Shinobi group. 'Hrm, I see, so that's why the demon brothers failed. That's Kakashi, the copy cat ninja of Konoha. The user of the Sharingan eye. And there are three little Genin with him. Hmph, this should be easy enough…they don't look tough at all.' Zabuza tightened his grip on his sword and prepared to jump. He didn't get anywhere, as a hand tightened around his shoulder. "Don't move," whispered Sasuke's voice. Zabuza blinked. He looked back into the clearing, and saw three Genin still. 'Was there a fourth, why didn't I see him?' "Now, come down here with me," commanded Sasuke.
Before Zabuza could react, Sasuke had dragged him down below into the clearing. 'I see,' though Zabuza, who saw one of the Genin disappear, 'that one was a Bunshin. (Clone) Smart.'
However, Zabuza's surprise was nothing compared to the others. "Sasuke, you jerk, I wanted to catch Zabuza," whined Naruto. Sasuke shrugged, "Too easy." Sakura was leaping with joy, "Way to go, Sasuke." Tazuna wiped sweat from his face, "whew." Kakashi was speechless as he approached Zabuza. "Nicely done…Sa—." He paused as he detected a sudden movement to his left. "EVERYONE DOWN." While the Zabuza held by Sasuke dissolved into water, a giant broadsword flew through the air towards Tazuna. Everyone ducked, but there was no need. In a flash of orange, Naruto caught the sword and threw it right back at Zabuza, who stood behind a tree. The elite Jounin easily dodged and landed in front of them. He was growling at them.
"Damn, it was a Mizu Bunshin, (Water Clone)" complained Sasuke. "Sasuke, why didn't you let me go after him, I definitely would have caught him." "Yeah…okay, too bad you and Sakura were too busy running around," snorted Sasuke.
Naruto ignored him and turned his attention towards Zabuza who eyed them all. 'Damn it,' thought Zabuza, 'looks like he was right, these aren't ordinary Genin.'
To, Naruto, it looked like he had gotten stronger than the first time they met him. For one, his arms looked bigger and he looked a lot more menacing than ever, but Naruto figured it was nothing to be concerned about. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Kyuubi who forced him to listen.
"Well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, rogue ninja from the hidden village of mists. Hmm, if you're going to be our opponent, then I'm going to need this," said Kakashi raising his hand to his forehead protector, which covered over his right eye. "Kakashi of the Sharingan …did I get that right," asked Zabuza. 'Hn, it's too bad thought, you'll have over the old man, sorry about that,' apologized Zabuza, emotionlessly.
'Sharingan…he's really going to use it, already,' though Sasuke, who made ready to do the same thing. 'YEAH! Go Kakashi Sensei,' thought Naruto, cheerfully as his eyes turned red. Meanwhile, Sakura stared at her sensei in surprise. 'Sharingan? What's that, does he have some special power?' Kakashi suddenly pulled his headband back revealing a scar over his left eye. More importantly his eyeball was red, with three dots surrounding the pupil. Sakura gasped, 'Oh wow,' she thought.
"Quick, Manji Formation," shouted Kakashi, "protect the bridge builder, and more importantly, stay out of this fight. I taught you guys teamwork, now use it." The three Genin nodded and jumped into a semi circle formation around Tazuna. All six eyes swiveled and faced Zabuza, who laughed. "So, I get to see the Sharingan in action, what an honor." "Everyone keeps saying Sharingan…what is it," asked Sakura. "Sharingan," began Sasuke, "A rare power. It resides in the eyes. The user of this visual jutsu can instantly see and comprehend any Genjutsu, Taijutsu, even Ninjutsu and instantly reflect it back on the attacker. It's a special…rare form of Dojutsu (Visual Jutsu.) However, there's a lot more to the Sharingan than that, a lot more." Sakura gasped.
"Hmph, you got it right boy. But you only scratched the surface. The Sharingan can analyze any technique and then copy it to the smallest detail."
The Genin watched as the mist suddenly began to get thicker and thicker. "As for you Jounin," said Zabuza, "in the assassination unit of the hidden mist, we had a standing order to destroy you on sight. Your profile was in our bingo book, it called you Kakashi, the supposed ninja who copied over a thousand jutsu." He paused as Sakura gasped, 'Whoa, is sensei really that famous of a ninja?' "Anyway, enough talk…I need to eliminate the old man." The three Genin maintained the Manji Formation, while Tazuna gasped. Zabuza vanished and reappeared on the water, with the mist revolving around him.
"It's that jutsu, brats, Sasuke use Sharingan now." Sasuke's eyes slowly turned red, the exact same as Kakashi's. Meanwhile, Sakura gasped as she saw Zabuza standing on top of the water. "Over there, he's standing on the water." Kakashi walked out to face him, his eye penetrating through Zabuza's technique. 'Hmm, he's building a lot of chakra.' "Kiri Gakure No Jutsu," shouted Zabuza, suddenly. (Hiding Mist Technique) The mist began to get thick, making vision very limited. "So, Kakashi, it looks like I'll have to get rid of you first eh?"
Zabuza chuckled, as Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto used their Dojutsu to try and find him. "Stay on your guard, he'll come after me first," said Kakashi, after awhile. "Right," murmured Naruto. Sakura, Tazuna, and Sasuke all looked around them, waiting to see where their attacker would come from. "Who is, sensei," asked Sakura. "Zabuza Momochi…he was the leader of the assassination unit of the hidden mist, also the master of the silent killing technique, in which he moves so fast and so silently you are dead before you can even realize it." Sakura gasped and took a huge gulp. "Don't worry," said Kakashi, sensing Sakura's worry, "If we fail, we'll only die."
If the situation hadn't been so serious, Naruto would have laughed, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Sasuke and Tazuna frowned at the Jounin's sarcasm, while Sakura nearly fainted. "How can you say that, sensei," she said, irritably.
The mist suddenly began to get thicker, making it impossible to see five feet in front of your eyes. Kakashi went out of view, making Sakura panic, while Sasuke and Naruto tried even harder to detect their foe.
It was Naruto who finally did, using his ears and nose. He leapt up and with a shout said, "KONOHA, Tornado Whirlwind." Naruto's whole body began to rotate, creating an immensely powerful gust of wind that blew away the mist. Nearby, Zabuza attempted to block himself as Naruto's body (which appeared to be a small tornado) flew at him.
Kakashi looked upwards, "No, Naruto, don't do it," he shouted. He was about to jump, when Sasuke broke out from the formation, grabbing him, "No, Sensei, you don't want to be up there." Kakashi looked up and tried to see through Naruto's move. It was an immensely powerful Taijutsu attack that involved rotating chakra throughout the body at immense speeds until your own body began to rotate. Eventually your body moved so fast it resembled a mini tornado. Kakashi was annoyed that his order to stay out of the fight had been disobeyed, but he was also impressed, "Sasuke, the two of you are definitely going to have o explain to me someday how you know all these techniques and why you two seem to be so strong." Sasuke shrugged, "Right, Sensei." It was then Kakashi noticed something, "Sasuke…your eyes. Those…are." "Yeah, you're not the only one who can do Sharingan," said Sasuke. Kakashi gulped, but he couldn't ponder over it as Naruto's attack stopped suddenly.
Meanwhile, Sakura stared in amazement at Naruto. He kept proving himself in outstanding ways, with all the cool jutsu he could do. And his eyes were so menacing looking. 'This can't be Naruto, when and where did he get all this strength. Naruto has never used Taijutsu or even powerful Ninjutsu before. Now, it's like he's an entirely new person.
Up above, Zabuza suddenly turned into water from the rapid blows from Naruto's arms, which rotated and cut through the body. Naruto cursed as he landed, "Mizu Bunshin, he did it again." "Baka," said Sasuke. "Get back in formation," said Kakashi, "Hurry!" "Too late," said Kyuubi. "Too late," murmured Zabuza who landed behind Sakura. "It's over." Before he could move however, Kakashi had landed next to him and cut through his stomach. Water poured out, meaning it was another Mizu Bunshin. "Sensei, watch out," shouted, Sasuke, who leapt up and kicked at a second Zabuza that had appeared. Kakashi turned and swiped with his kunai at the spot Zabuza who have passed through if Sasuke had not stopped him.
Zabuza caught the blow, but was surprised as the Sasuke that kicked him disappeared. "WHAT! Kage Bunshin?" Two figures appeared below him, "Konoha Senpu," yelled, Naruto and Sasuke, in unison. Kakashi grinned as Zabuza went flying, but it faded when he realized it was another Mizu Bunshin. Sasuke and Naruto realized this as well and turned towards Tazuna, who was unprotected. "Sensei, the bridge builder," yelled Sasuke. Kakashi used Shunshin no Jutsu to appear behind Zabuza just as he reached out to grab Sakura. "Don't move," said Kakashi. Zabuza froze, suddenly tense.
"Hn, so, you managed to defeat all of my water clones. Oh well, it doesn't really matter, cause it's going to be over real soon." Kakashi said nothing, but suddenly realized something was wrong. There were two Zabuza's. He groaned as the Zabuza in front of him turned to water and a broadsword slashed through his body.
Zabuza's smirked as he saw the blood come from Kakashi's body. 'Got you,' he thought. However, he was stopped as he saw the blood turn to water. "Huh? Water Clone?" His thoughts were interrupted when he felt the sharp blade of a kunai on his neck. "Now, its over," said Kakashi.
Meanwhile, Sakura and Tazuna had moved to another area, and they cheered, realizing Kakashi had won. "It's another Bunshin," grunted Naruto. "Let's go," said Sasuke. They moved in to attack, but the real Zabuza landed behind Kakashi, holding a kunai to his throat. "Stop right there, or your sensei dies," said Zabuza. Kakashi gasped, realizing he was stuck in a bad position.
Naruto and Sasuke growled, but they made no further advances. "You guys are good," said Zabuza, "But you're nothing when it comes to me. You two…" he said pointing at Naruto and Sasuke, "I see now that I was wrong. You two are obviously not at a Genin level; you are definitely at the level of at least Chuunin. And to have mastered the Sharingan and whatever Dojutsu that is," he said pointing at Naruto's eyes. I know now that I was definitely wrong to call you all brats; I apologize greatly, but just because you can do that, does not mean you can beat me. And you…Kakashi. You can do nothing but a crass imitation of my techniques. However, I will give you credit. You managed to copy my clone technique before you even told those brats there to protect the bridge builder. Very skillfully executed, but it's not good enough." Kakashi gulped.
Zabuza threw the kunai towards Naruto and Sasuke, but they leapt out of the way. Next, he quickly swung his huge sword, but his pause to throw the kunai gave Kakashi a chance to duck. Using the sword to brace himself, Zabuza stopped his momentum and kicked out, sending Kakashi into the water. He quickly created two Mizu Bunshins to distract the Genin, while he rushed after Kakashi, who had just resurfaced.
Meanwhile, Sakura hid away in horror, as she watched Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi fight for their lives. Her whole body had frozen up, and she felt as if she were worthless to the team.
Naruto and Sasuke faced off against two Zabuza clones. Sasuke decided it would be better if one protected the bridge builder, while the other faced the clones.
"Naruto, protect, Tazuna. I'll handle these clones. We'll have to let Kakashi face Zabuza by himself." Naruto nodded, "I just don't get it. Zabuza shouldn't have been able to predict us this much. When I used my techniques, he was always using a Mizu Bunshin, almost as if he expected us to be powerful or something." "You're just being paranoid," said Sasuke. "We're just making careless mistakes, that's all. We know Zabuza is a skilled assassin, capable of many things. And…also this time we interfered, we should have just stayed put, and let Kakashi do the fighting."
"Yeah, but Zabuza shouldn't have been able to match us this evenly. That one attack I did should have finished him." Sasuke groaned for a second. He knew Naruto was right, he also knew that Zabuza was being a little too cautious than was expected, but he couldn't really believe that Zabuza could have expected them (The Genin) to fight back.
"No, brats, I've just figured something out," announced Kyuubi. "What is it?" "When we came back into the past, for some reason Haku's spirit came back from the dead as well. He remembered his encounter with you guys and, he must have warned Zabuza of your arrival. That's why he is on guard so much. And after you two put on those displays of knowledge and strength, he definitely knows you two are strong now. He also knows your limits; your training hasn't brought you to ANBU level yet."
"So, how come Zabuza didn't retain his memories?" "No clue," answered Kyuubi.
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged an incredulous look. They both gulped. They may have to take off their weights after all. "Oh yea," interrupted Kyuubi. "I didn't tell you this before, because I thought you would have noticed by now, but…" Sasuke and Naruto sweat dropped. "Since you haven't noticed, Zabuza hasn't shown his true self yet. All of the things attacking you are clones."
Sasuke and Naruto's eyes widened. "No way," said Naruto. "Then that means," said Sasuke, looking behind the three water clones. Sasuke looked behind the two Mizu Bunshins, who still had yet to attack, and saw Kakashi trapped inside the water prison jutsu. The original Mizu Bunshin joined the other two, while another clone took the place of the first clone, in holding the jutsu. Kakashi looked on fearfully, while the three clones advanced. The real Zabuza had yet to show his face.
"NO, SENSEI," shouted Sakura. Naruto quickly got in front to protect her, with three kunai drawn. Sasuke put his hands together to perform a jutsu. He hoped his technique would work.
From the water, where Kakashi was trapped, a face peered out at them, unnoticed. It grinned evilly.
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Lionheart: Ooh a cliff hanger...sort of I hope it didn't sound too lame to you guys. Anyway the next part we'll see Kakashi and Sasuke use Sharingan and Naruto is going to…huh? Wait I think I said too much.
Next time: The Two Sharingan: Naruto's Plan