Chapter 3:New Life, New Troubles, and the First Mission
The Next Day
Kazuharu had been out of the hospital for a little over two hours. He was mostly wandering around the village not doing much. He seemed to be attracting a lot of weird stares from people. Were they curious about him? Afraid of him? He wasn't sure, so he ignored it. It wasn't important anyway. For now, he had to find a place to live and buy some supplies for his first mission. Of course, it didn't help that he was constantly finding himself lost in the village. He sighed,
"Where am I now? I thought someone was supposed to show me around…"
Unknown to him, he was being watched by a certain overconfident ninja. The ninja scoffed,
"Feh, he doesn't look so tough. Why did the Hokage take such an interest in him? Show him around the village? As if I have nothing better to do! I'll show him around. While I kick his ass through the village!" With that said to himself, the ninja decided to start by throwing several kunai at Kazu.
'Danger!' Kazu thought before dodging away from the kunai. They stuck in the ground near him and he noticed something.
"A tag?" He wondered aloud, "Wait… Explosi-" BOOM! The tag exploded before he could even finish his thought. The area was covered in smoke and dust. The ninja revealed himself.
"Heh, I knew he couldn't be that tough. If it had been me, I woulda been fi-" Thud! He was taken by surprise with a kick to the side of his head. The fight was officially on.
"Bastard. Who are you?" Kazu yelled at the ninja. The ninja got up, rubbed the side of his head, and smirked.
"Know my name and fear. I am Sasuke Uchiha, the last of the Uchiha, and the best Genin in Konoha." Kazu looked at Sasuke with a blank face. What the hell was this guy trying to prove?
"Well Sasuke, if you want a fight, I'll honor you with that. Beware though. I've never been good at HOLDING BACK!" He yelled out and charged at Sasuke with speed that Sasuke didn't think would be possible from someone like him. Sasuke managed to block the punch and smirked slightly, but was then immediately reverse-kicked in the face. He flew into a tree, stumbled to his feet, and charged at Kazu, screaming his head off.
"I am the elite! You can't compare! Die!" He tried to punch at Kazu, but it was swiftly dodged and countered with a double-palm strike to Sasuke's chest.
"Alright Sasuke! I'm going to finish this now! If you die, tell the Reaper this was my gift to him!" Kazu roared as he swiftly performed some hand signs, "Fire Release: Hell's Damnation!" Before he could complete the transition though, a hand was on his shoulder, stopping him.
"That's enough. You proved your point kid." A Jonin level ninja said to him quietly. He then walked over to Sasuke, helped him up, and spoke to him for a minute. Kazu waited there, hoping to get some answers. Eventually, Sasuke walked away and the Jonin came back to Kazu.
"Sorry about that kid. He's a bit overconfident and thought that showing you around was a waste of time. Why Lord Hokage picked him, I'll never know. Maybe he was hoping that Sasuke would see that there are people better than him…" Kazu stared at the man, confused.
"Sir, what do you mean? Of course there are people better than him! Several rules to live by. Never underestimate your opponents, no matter what they look like, and always assume that somewhere, someone is stronger than you. The latter rule should be inspiration to always improve yourself. Never stop training, never stop learning, but never lose sight of your goal." Kazu sighed, "I'm sure I don't need to tell you any of this though." He started chuckling. The Jonin was a little surprised that a kid could exhibit such admirable qualities at such a young age. He was someone to watch….
"You're right about many things kid. I'm impressed. Don't think too badly of him though, he's…" The Jonin stopped, remembered who he was talking to, and sighed, "Never mind. After seeing you, I have no idea why he acts that way. You've dealt with worse than he has already…" Kazu sighed as well, apparently everyone knew his story already.
"Sir, may I ask your name? It's a little strange not knowing you, when you obviously know a bit about me." The Jonin laughed a bit.
"My bad kid, I'm Kakashi Hatake." Kazu nodded and held out his hand.
"Nice to meet you Kakashi." They shook hands, "Now, if you have some time, do you think you could…" Kakashi interrupted him though,
"Don't worry. I'll show you around. I should probably also tell you that your first mission is going to be with Team Seven, that's my team, tomorrow. Unless you need more time to prepare?" Kazu smiled, he was getting started already. Perfect.
"Tomorrow is great, provided you show me where to get some equipment… What I'm wearing is all I have, as it were…" He sighed.
"Of course. We'll stop there first. Clothes, some tools, and I see you have a tanto? Well, some things to keep it in condition will help. We'll go now."
A Few Hours Later
"Well, I think you went a little overboard…" Kakashi laughed, when later Kazu collapsed under all the awkwardly positioned bags he was carrying. There were some muffled noises coming from the bags. Kakashi leaned in a bit,
"Huh? What was that?" He moved a few of the bags that were on Kazu's head,
"I said, if you help me, this won't happen!" Kakashi laughed again, but picked up a few of the bags. With that, they went to an apartment-like complex that Kazu was going to be staying at. It had apparently been arranged already, because Kakashi had the key to the door.
"Well, here we are." Kakashi said when they entered Kazu's new place. "It's nice enough, and if you need anyone to talk to, well, luck would have it that Naruto, one of my team's Genin, is right next door." Kazu got an odd look on his face,
"Somehow," He laughed slightly, "I think that was planned…" He placed some bags on the ground and started looking around the apartment. It wasn't furnished at all, except a few basic things, but that was fine. It was a nice place overall. Kakashi placed the things he was carrying down too, and said,
"Well, looks like my work is done. If you think you'll be ready for a mission tomorrow, then meet us in Lord Hokage's office tomorrow morning at about eight." Kazu nodded and began to unpack his things. Kakashi shunshined away. Kazu looked at the spot where Kakashi disappeared,
'I have got to learn that…' He thought. He quickly put his clothes in his closet, got his gear ready for the next day, and lay in his futon thinking. The night had come. He found his thoughts drifting to his home, that time, and how he would never forget. He sighed. Was it going to be like this every night? He tried to sleep. His first mission was tomorrow…
The Next Day
The next morning Kazu awoke at seven. He needed to get ready, then figure out how to get to the Hokage's office. He shook his head. How could he forget to ask how to get there? He showered, got his gear ready, pulled on his chain mail, then looked at his clothes. He had bought basically all black or dark grey clothing. He had to laugh at that, it had been an unconscious choice. He picked out the first thing he saw, threw them on, then strapped his pouches and tanto to their usual places. He also had another problem though. Where to put his headband? By default it was a headband, but not everyone wore theirs like that. He opted for tying it onto his shin. It may have seemed weird, but it seemed as good a spot as any. Plus, why not do something unique?
He still had the problem of finding the Hokage's office. He heard a noise from outside though, and a loud voice,
"I'm gonna be late! Crap!" He opened the door to see a blonde-haired ninja in orange clothing dashing out of the apartment next door. That's when he remembered, Naruto! He closed the door behind him and dashed after the hyperactive ninja. He caught up rather easily which surprised him.
'Oh well,' He thought, 'At least I'm going to get there…' It was a few minutes later that Naruto flew into the office with Kazu right behind him.
"Naruto Uzumaki reporting for duty!" He yelled loudly.
"Lord Hokage." Kazu said just loud enough to be heard as he bowed to one knee. He was a little shocked that he was the only one. He thought it was customary. It didn't bother him though.
Sakura smirked at Kazu's actions, thinking it was dopey. Sasuke seethed at seeing the Yakan Ninja again so soon. Naruto just danced around giddily at the aspect of going on a mission. Kakashi sighed slightly at his team and their antics. Sarutobi looked at each of them then spoke,
"Since this is Kazu's first mission, and I want to gauge his skill, you will receive a C-Rank mission." Team Seven perked up at this news, they had been getting lame D-Rank missions all week, "You will be escorting a bridge builder and protecting him from bandits and thugs until the bridge is complete. He will be here shortly." As soon as the words left his mouth, the door slammed open and a man stood there. He looked at each of the team and frowned,
"A brat, a loudmouth, a fan girl, and an overconfident ass… Wonderful." The Genin, minus Kazu, all got angry at these words. Kazu figured he could change the mans mind through his actions. Besides, there were worse things than being thought too young…
Naruto yelled out,
"Who do you think you're calling a loudmouth!" Sasuke smirked and said loudly,
"You, loudmouth." Sakura giggled at their back and forth. Kakashi sighed in unison with Sarutobi, and Kazu had yet to get off his knee, awaiting leave. Kakashi wondered at that, normally only the ANBU did such things. He filed that away though.
"Well everyone," Kakashi said, stopping the impending fighting, "Let's meet at the gate in ten minutes. We have a mission to do." Sarutobi nodded at Kazu, obviously realizing what he was doing, who then finally got up and walked out of the room ahead of everyone else. He immediately went to the gate, having gotten all of his equipment ready earlier. He was joined almost immediately by Kakashi and the bridge builder, Tazuna.
"Hey brat, you sure you're up for this?" Tazuna growled.
"If all is as you say for this mission, then it should be no problem sir." Kazu said as respectfully as he could.
"Hmph…" Tazuna grumbled something about kids and their overconfidence.
About five minutes later, Sasuke showed up with Sakura in tow. She was chattering incoherently about how great she thought Sasuke was. He was ignoring her, but scowled at Kazu when they got close. Sakura noticed and proceeded to scowl at him too for no reason. Kazu shook his head, Kakashi ignored it by reading, and Tazuna looked slightly put out. They were waiting for Naruto, who managed to show up just in time. Izumo and Kotetsu, who were as usual on gate duty, waved to them as they passed. They were on their way now.
A few miles down the road, Naruto yelling loudly about how cool it was to leave the village, Sasuke brooding about something, Sakura staring at Sasuke's every move, Kakashi reading, and Tazuna drinking, Kazu noticed a puddle of water… This struck him as strange. There was no water anywhere else. He looked at Kakashi, who had also noticed the water, and gave a questioning look. He got a nod in reply and inconspicuously prepared himself.
Suddenly, two ninja shot out of the trees and wrapped Kakashi in a chain, who was then ripped apart.
"Kakashi-Sensei!" Sakura screamed. She started to run forward, but Kazu yelled,
"No! Sakura, you and Sasuke guard Tazuna! Naruto, get the one on the right!" Kazu pulled out his tanto and dashed at the left ninja. He swung his blade, only to have it blocked by a gauntlet, so he threw a punch into the ninjas face. The ninja backed up slightly, but quickly rushed back in at Kazu who steeled himself for the attack. He blocked a kick and grabbed the ninja's leg, throwing him away. He quickly performed some hand signs and called out,
"Ninja Secret Art: Shadow's Betrayal!" His hands glowed with a black aura around them. He dashed at the enemy ninja, dodged under an attack, and planted his hands on the ninja's shadow before jumping back. The shadow instantly took form behind the ninja and slashed through his spine with a shadowy gauntlet. The ninja cried out in pain before crumbling to the ground. Dead. The shadow disappeared, reforming in its normal place under the ninja.
Kazu sighed and looked over the rest of the field. Naruto was sitting on the ground, his hand bleeding, Sakura and Sasuke were standing next to Kakashi, who had the other ninja under his arm, and Tazuna was just fine.
"Huh…" Kazu sighed, "Sorry guys. I issued orders without knowing your skills… I take responsibility for your injury Naruto…" Kakashi looked at Kazu then sighed as well.
"No, that was my fault. I was testing you all. I didn't think Naruto would freeze up like that…" Sasuke, feeling the need to make the situation worse, called out to Naruto,
"Are you okay? Or are you going to piss yourself too?" Naruto jumped up suddenly, but stopped when Kakashi yelled,
"Save it! If you move too much the poison from their claws will spread. We need to open the wound… Kazu, I'm sure you understand what's going on. Talk to Tazuna, I'll fix Naruto up." Kazu nodded, but before anyone could start moving, Naruto stabbed his hand with a kunai.
"With this kunai I vow, I will do my best. No matter what happens, we will complete this mission!" Kakashi sighed,
"It's cool how you're doing that to release the poison and all… But too much blood loss and…" He walked up to Naruto and said in a too sweet voice, "You'll die!" Naruto instantly freaked out.
"No! No I can't die yet! Aww crap!" Kakashi looked at the wound, had a surprised look that was there and gone so fast it could have been imagination, then bandaged the wound.
"Is, is it okay sensei? Am I alright?" Kakashi smiled,
"You'll be just fine, Naruto."
While Kakashi was bandaging up Naruto's hand, Kazu was talking to Tazuna.
"Alright Tazuna. I need you to tell me what's going on. Those are ninja, not your run of the mill bandits. I don't know much about the mission ranking, but I know this is not a mission for Genin." Tazuna glared at Kazu for a moment, then his expression softened.
"Alright… I'll tell you…" He sighed, "Soon. For now, can we continue? I'll explain on the way if need be. I would like to get home though." Kazu stared at him, then nodded. He knew Kakashi would agree, as long as he got an explanation. He just seemed like the type. Especially if these ninja were the worst to expect. They would know soon though…
Soon, they were on a small boat, floating into The Land of Waves. The boatman whispered,
"You'll see the bridge soon. The Wave Country is at the base of it." The bridge slowly shifted into view through the thick mist, and Naruto, being himself, yelled out,
"Whoa! Look at that!" The boatman angrily whispered at him,
"Shut up! There's a reason we're not using the motor and trying to be quiet!" Naruto closed his mouth. Kakashi looked over at Tazuna and asked,
"Alright Tazuna, are you going to tell us what's going on?" Tazuna sighed and said,
"Alright." He explained about Gatou and the shipping industry. How his bridge was the last hope for them to escape his clutches. He told them of the fact that the country was poor and could only afford a C-Rank mission. He managed to convince the ninja to at least escort him home with some expertly done guilt tripping. They arrived at some docks and they all stepped off. They were all alert for attack, except Naruto, who thought he would try to act cool. He threw some shuriken into the bushes, but claimed it to be a rat. They walked on a little more and Naruto threw another, nearly ending the life of a bunny.
Kazu looked at the rabbit suspiciously. A snow rabbit in the middle of spring? That didn't seem likely. Before he could voice his opinion though, Kakashi yelled,
"Everyone get down!" They instantly hit the deck and something large flew over their heads and into a tree. A man stood on top of the handle of a giant sword. Naruto got ready to attack, but Kakashi held him back.
"Well well, Zabuza Momochi. Missing-nin of the hidden mist." To everyone else he said, "Stay back. This guy is on a whole other level. It will be tough, unless I do this…"
He reached for his headband and began to raise it up. Zabuza spoke,
"Well well, Kakashi of the Sharingan. And I get to see it already? Lucky me." Kakashi revealed his one sharingan eye. Naruto and Kazu were confused,
"What the heck is the sharingan?" Naruto asked. Sasuke went into an explanation of the eye and how it could copy techniques that it sees. Zabuza confirmed it and revealed that Kakashi is a ninja known to have copied over a thousand jutsu.
"Enough talking!" Zabuza snarled, "Ninja Technique: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" The field around them suddenly began to cloud with mist.
"What the heck?" Naruto said loudly. They heard Zabuza's evil laughter out in the mist,
"Liver, lungs, spine, clavical vein, jugular, brain, kidneys, heart. Eight places to strike… Which will I choose?" Sasuke's body was shaking from the pure intensity of the impending battle until Kakashi called out,
"Sasuke! Calm down. I'll protect you all with my life. Don't worry." He turned and smiled at Sasuke.
"What a load of crap!" Zabuza called out as he appeared in the middle of the Genin and Tazuna. Kazu reacted first with a quick tanto strike through the throat. Kakashi looked surprised, but not as surprised as Zabuza, who turned into water.
"Sensei behind you!" Naruto yelled as another Zabuza slashed through Kakashi, who, to the surprise of everyone, also turned into water.
"He copied me? How?" Zabuza yelled as a kunai came to his throat. "Hehe, I see. So you're better than I thought." A voice from behind Kakashi, "Not good enough though." The clone in front turned into water and Kakashi barely ducked under a swing from Zabuza. They had a slight fist fight for a moment, then Kakashi flew into the water and Zabuza trapped him in a water prison jutsu.
Zabuza created another water clone that kicked Naruto out of his headband. Kakashi yelled out,
"Take Tazuna and run! You cannot win this fight as long as I'm trapped!" Naruto however, got pissed off and ran at Zabuza, he was kicked away again.
"Damn it Naruto! What were you thinking?" Sakura yelled at him. Naruto had his Leaf Headband back in hand though.
"Hey freak! Know this! One day, I, Naruto Uzumaki will be Hokage! Believe that!" Sasuke smirked, Sakura gasped, Kazu and Tazuna smiled, Kakashi looked surprised, and Zabuza looked unfazed. Kazu spoke,
"Alright Naruto. I take it we're planning on fighting then if you made that kind of declaration." Naruto smiled brightly,
"You know it! Now let's save sensei!" Kazu smiled and performed a few handsigns,
"Ninja Secret Technique: Shadow's Deception!" He quickly disappeared into the shadows the mist was creating. Zabuza gasped,
"What the hell was that? He just disappeared…" Suddenly, several kunai were lodged in the water clone and it disappeared to show Kazu standing there. Zabuza got angry. His water clone, defeated so easily? Sure it was weaker than himself, but still. Who was this guy?
Naruto and Sasuke had been waiting for that exact moment and both jumped out at the real Zabuza.
"Toryaa!" They both yelled out as they punched him in the face and chest simultaneously. Kakashi was released.
"Damn brats!" Zabuza yelled in fury. "I'll rip your throats out!" Kakashi stopped him though. Zabuza growled and started doing hand signs, Kakashi copying them in the exact same instant. They both called out,
"Water Style: Water Dragon Blast Jutsu!"
"What the hell? How is this possible?" Zabuza yelled out. He and Kakashi had a slight back and forth with Kakashi messing with Zabuza's mind. Kazu smirked at this. He knew there had to be more to it. Sasuke hadn't mentioned anything about mind reading. They both did hand signs at the same time again, but Zabuza got distracted. Kakashi called out,
"Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!" Zabuza gasped and yelled,
"Damn it! This is impossible!" He swept away into a tree, "Can you see the future?" Kakashi smirked,
"Yes, you're dead!" He was about to lunge at Kakashi when two Senbon found their mark in Zabuza's throat.
"You're right. He is." A ninja wearing a mask said from atop a nearby tree.
"What the hell?" Naruto yelled. "All our work and he's killed by a kid who is probably our age! Why are we so weak?" Kakashi sighed.
"Naruto, that's the truth of it. In this world there are many different people. People younger but stronger. Look at Kazu, he is a year younger than you, but if you haven't noticed, he is stronger. There are even kids younger than him with power to match or go beyond mine." Naruto paled at his words. Sasuke frowned deeper than ever. Sakura looked afraid. Kazu didn't know how to feel, and it showed.
"I'll help you all get stronger though. No need to worry." Kakashi finished. The ninja from the tree said,
"I am a hunter-nin, I will be taking him now. Thank you for the help." He picked up Zabuza's body and disappeared. Kakashi sighed, then promptly fell over.
"I think I used the Sharingan too much…" He said quietly. Kazu looked at him, and started laughing. He couldn't explain why. It just struck him as funny.
When he stopped laughing, he picked up Kakashi and they walked to the village Tazuna lived in and into his house. Kakashi was put into a futon to rest. They met Tazuna's daughter Tsunami. They waited around and heard an explanation of what a hunter-nin does to a missing-nin. Kazu was fascinated by the idea. Kakashi got a weird look on his face though, like he was missing something. They all noticed and Naruto asked,
"What's up sensei? Something wrong?" Kakashi thought for a moment and revealed his suspicions. "Normally when a hunter-nin disposes of a body it is done on the spot. Zabuza was taken away." The others looked a little confused, so Kazu clarified,
"He means, that wasn't a real hunter-nin. Zabuza may still be alive…" Kakashi nodded solemnly. The others paled and gasped at the prospect.
"But, you said he was dead! Those Senbon in his neck!" Naruto nearly shouted. Then he understood slightly, "Wait, Senbon? Those aren't normally used for combat are they?" Kakashi shook his head.
"Very astute Naruto. I'm surprised. No, they are usually used in acupuncture and such things. They have a low mortality rate unless they hit a vital organ or fill you up like a porcupine. It's likely that that kid was trained in the body structure like ANBU and hunter-nin usually are, but he used it to save Zabuza from us…" Kazu was thinking about it. It all made sense, even though it sucked.
Kakashi explained they would need to train until he recovered. They also met Inari, Tazuna's grandson. He turned out to be kind of a downer and Naruto got into an argument with him. Inari soon left. Kakashi lay back down and said to the group,
"Alright everyone, get some rest tonight because tomorrow we're going to train. It should be at least a few days, if not a week before Zabuza is back up again. We have until then to train." Naruto went upstairs, probably to give Inari a piece of his mind. Sasuke leaned against a wall. Sakura did basically the same, trying to stay near Sasuke. Kazu walked outside and sat on the docks. He looked out over the water and at the sky.
'Well,' He thought to himself, 'This isn't what I expected, but it's nice.' He fell asleep out on the docks that night. It was warm enough, so he didn't get cold. Tomorrow, the training began…