Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the Naruto characters used in this fic. They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own any original characters that I choose to include, as well as any of my own original plot ideas.
Chapter 5: Flight
A/N: I just can't stop writing! XD I'm enjoying this story so much! And I hope that my readers are enjoying it just as much! It's moving along a little quicker than I'd expected, but it shouldn't end any time soon. After all, there is still much more work that needs to go into the plot. Please continue reading! ;D
"Who do you think you're talking to, boy?" Zabuza snapped, pointing his blade at Naruto. "You're as deluded and naive as you were three years ago. It'd be wise of you to move, boy. I'm not here to kill you just yet. Now, stand aside!"
Naruto's blue eyes narrowed, and a grin crossed his features. "Hah! You expect me to stand aside just like that? Don't make me laugh! I've sworn to protect the Mizukage, even if it costs me my life... and I never go back on my word! You got that?"
The Demon sighed, quickly formulating a plan to kill Yagura without destroying Naruto. "Like I said in the Land of Waves, your kind aren't called 'ninja' here. Your appearance may have changed, but on the inside, you're still the same pathetic brat from before. All this time has passed, and it seems you haven't grown up at all. Maybe that's why your precious comrade decided to leave your pathetic village behind for Orochimaru."
Naruto felt his body twitch. He knew Sasuke better than anyone else did; better than anyone else ever could. The two of them were alike, after all. Growing up alone, with no parents or real friends to speak of. The only real difference between them, was that Sasuke had known the love of a family before the tragedy that befell the Uchiha clan. Naruto, on the other hand, had only known resentment and ridicule... until Iruka had come along. But even now, in the heat of battle, Naruto refused to believe that Sasuke had left the village for something as meaningless as power. And nobody was about to tell him otherwise.
"Shut your mouth!" Naruto cried, summoning shadow clones as he rushed at Zabuza. "You don't know anything about me! And you don't know anything about Sasuke, either! I'm gonna bring him back to Konoha even if it kills me!"
As Naruto and his shadow clones drew nearer, Zabuza swung his sword, eliminating the clones and badly wounding Naruto. The blond shinobi stumbled backwards, clutching his wound as he hit the wall with a cry. He couldn't... wouldn't let himself be killed here. Once again, Naruto summoned his shadow clones, taking a moment to summon chakra to his feet in advance. Drawing a kunai knife and several shuriken, Naruto lunged forward, flinging the shuriken one by one at Zabuza. The Demon easily evaded the attack, failing to notice the wire that Naruto had quickly tied to them.
Naruto's shadow clones charged, successfully distracting Zabuza as Naruto flung his kunai knife at his opponent. The kunai knife hit its mark, spilling blood as Naruto, now accompanied by Sakura, pulled on the wire, trapping Zabuza within the well-designed web. Sakura lunged forward, focusing chakra into her hand as she ran. Drawing her fist back, Sakura let loose a loud cry, connecting the chakra-infused blow to Zabuza, who flew straight through the mansion's wall and down into the streets of the Hidden Mist.
"Nice move, Sakura," Naruto said, giving her a thumbs-up. "Without your help, that wouldn't have gone so smoothly!"
Sakura smiled. "Thanks. But I wouldn't have been able to pull it off without your wire trick. Now, let's go get him!"
The two shinobi leaped out of the hole in the wall, leaving Kakashi to protect Yagura, and Sai to fend off Kaoru.
"We really should stop this all this fighting," Sai said calmly. "It's really not going to get us anywhere."
Kaoru scowled. "Shut up!"
There was a loud clang as Sai's sword connected with Kaoru's. The young Mist ninja scowled at the Root member, as she fired a barrage of ribs at him. Sai quickly dodged several of the blows after being struck in the shoulder. Kaoru weaved a flurry of hand signs, summoning several water clones. The clones advanced on the Konoha ninja, trapping him in a corner. With a slight smirk, Sai quickly grabbed a brush pen and a scroll, and began drawing out a large number of lions.
As the young Konoha shinobi removed the pen from the scroll, the beasts leaped off the page, roaring to life. The water clones quickly began to go after the drawn beasts, only to be repelled by their magnificent power.
"Damn," Kaoru muttered, taking a few steps towards the window.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Kakashi said from behind her, Lightning Blade ablaze. "I'd surrender if I were you. You wouldn't want to end up like Zabuza's last apprentice, Haku, would you?"
Kaoru simply laughed. "Take your best shot, fool! A jutsu like that will never be able to kill me! I have Kaguya blood in my veins, remember?"
"So be it!"
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"Do you see him, Naruto?" Sakura said, trying to find their target in the dense mist.
The blond sighed. "No. I can't see anything," he said, shaking his head. He couldn't even see his own hand in front of his face, let alone see Zabuza. "But he's out here somewhere. I just know it."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Well, of course he's out here, Naruto. I knocked him straight through the wall!"
Stupid kids, the Demon mused bitterly. They don't stand a chance out here in the open. And it seems they've forgotten how I made a name for myself on the field of battle.
As the Konoha ninjas continued their search for the assassin, the mist around them seemed to grow thicker and colder with every step they took. Even the light wind, that swept through the silent village streets, wasn't enough to lift the fog that so easily obscured their vision. A scream suddenly echoed through the streets; a scream that Naruto immediately recognized as Sakura's. He ran through the streets in the direction the scream had come from, hoping that he wasn't too late.
"Sakura? Sakura!"
As the young shinobi ran, he tripped, landing face-first in something wet and warm. Sitting up, Naruto wiped the wetness off his face, trying to rid himself of the sickening smell that had infiltrated his nose. As he cleaned himself off, he soon came to realize that the moisture he had landed in was blood. More than likely, Sakura's blood to be exact.
"What the hell have you done to Sakura?" he cried into the darkness. "Where is she?"
The sound of approaching footsteps sounded behind him, and Naruto spun around, hoping to find Sakura and the monster who had attacked her. Deciding to follow the sound of the footsteps, Naruto proceeded forward, creating shadow clones for backup. As he walked further and further into the mist, the footsteps stopped, and he heard someone collapse. He rushed forward and came across Sakura, who had been brutally attacked. Picking her up off the ground, Naruto deduced that she had several broken bones, and that she had been knocked unconscious.
"Sakura..." he growled, anger and frustration flooding through him as he held his comrade close. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry I couldn't protect you..."
Zabuza, who had skillfully hidden himself within the mist, could almost see poor Naruto fussing over his wounded comrade. It seemed that the easiest way to make the boy lose all judgement and common sense in the face of adversity, was to harm those he held close to him. And for a shinobi of the Demon's caliber, succeeding in such things was second-nature. Several water clones, created out of the airborne liquid within the thick mist in order to conserve chakra, took form around Naruto and his fallen teammate, prepared to strike at the given moment.
I'd hoped to postpone our battle until my attack on your precious Konoha, Zabuza grinned as his clones moved in for the kill. But nothing ever follows the plan to perfection. This is the end, fox-boy.
As the clones closed in on Naruto and Sakura, the blond shinobi's body began glowing a bloody red as his chakra began covering his body. His eyes, filled with rage, were now able to see through the mist around him as the clones approached. Sakura still in his arms, Naruto began to spin, disrupting the jutsu that held the clones together. Once the clones had dissipated, Naruto let loose an ear-splitting roar and charged towards the mansion, intent on getting Sakura medical attention instead of capturing his prey.
We're not finished, Naruto thought, running through the mansion hallways as the fox's chakra began to subside. There's no way I'm gonna let you forget what you said on the bridge! The next time we meet... I'll kill you!
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Kakashi lunged forward, his Lightning Blade catching Kaoru's left leg as she hurriedly jumped to avoid being slaughtered by the attack. Blood fell to the floor from her wound, and Sai attempted to intercept the young assassin. Now desperate to escape, Kaoru flung kunai knives and bones at the now unconscious Yagura, distracting Kakashi and Sai as she leaped out the broken window, vanishing into the thickening mist. As Kaoru landed upon the ground, she felt a powerful wave of pain in her leg. Even without looking, Kaoru knew that Kakashi's attack had done significant damage to her leg. Damage that would take several days to repair and heal.
Reaching into her pack, Kaoru withdrew a bandanna that would serve as a tourniquet for the wound until she could stop to use proper medical tools or ninjutsu. Despite the pain that came and went, Kaoru urged herself to move forward to meet up with the rest of her group at the forest's edge.
Keep going, she told herself as she felt her body's movements slowing down. Keep going! There's no time to sit around and recooperate from an attack, no matter how severe the damage! There's a schedule to keep, dammit! I... I can't be the only one... to be left behind... Not this time...! I won't... be left...
Only seconds after Kaoru felt her body hit the ground, she felt herself being picked up. Air began rushing through her hair as her eyes slowly began to open. In a daze, she managed to make out several upside-down trees that were flying along behind her, signaling to her brain that she was, somehow, moving. Although she couldn't, at the moment, comprehend how her body was in motion, she found it relaxing. It felt as though she were being carried through the forest without a care in the world.
As Kaoru began drifting off again, she felt the pain in her leg act up again, suddenly jolting her awake. She cringed, reaching for the now bloodied bandanna that hung from the wound. Grasping one corner of the cloth in her hand, Kaoru gave it a firm tug that sent another wave of pain up her leg. Kaoru turned her head, moving her leg slightly so she could get a better look at the damage that had been done. Her leg, it seemed, had been badly mangled by the Konoha jonin's violent attack. A large portion of muscle had fallen away, which explained Kaoru's difficulty moving during her escape. Something would have to be done to repair the damage soon.
"You're awake," she heard Zabuza say from above.
Kaoru nodded, suddenly realizing that the Demon was carrying her under his arm. "What happened? How'd we get out of there?"
"You passed out," came the reply.
"And Yagura...?"
Kaoru could almost see the pleasure in Zabuza's eyes as he spoke. "You did your job. Yagura's dead."
The young shinobi grinned. She should have expected as much from a man like Zabuza. Clearly, he wasn't a man who minced words, which further explained his less-than-detailed response to her questions. Another wave of pain caused Kaoru to shake, and, slowly, she felt herself fading as the whisper of the trees flooded her ears.
Huzzah! Chapter 5 is completed! I'm proud of how this turned out, but I feel like the Mizukage's death is kind of early in the story. Oh, well. I'll probably be taking a little more time in future chapters to flesh out some more characters and such. Thanks for reading! Please review!