Yes! I made it on Christmas. It is now almost four in the morning on Christmas Day. I really wanted to finish this before the break ends so I can get as far as a I can work on the next part of Product Shinobi. And now, in constant dislike of their new rules, reviews!
Karu Yami no Katon: Happy belated birthday! Here's your present!
To those who reviewed and asked about Naruto: Just keep reading. It will BLOW YOUR MIND!
RLnaruhina: Yay!
Lone Sakura: The time period is supposed to be fairly modern. It has the same technology as it does in the anime. However, the cell phone thingy only certain characters will have. I can't tell you much more about it, since it would spoil the story.
Zordon: Eh... I can't tell you much about Naruto, since it will ruin the BLOW YOUR MIND effects.
Bandit666: Yes, I did mean Momochi. I got the spelling wrong I guess.
Tank: Yes, I watch Bleach, and it kicks ass. And yes, Yachiru is awesome as well. But I did not have her in mind when I began writing this fic. I did not start watching Bleach until recently. Oh yeah. By rabu, you mean love right? Because if it means what it sounds like, rub, then... whoa.
Kikuchou: I do not know how the pairings will go involving Ino, Shikamaru, Temari, and Chouji. I still have to find a way to work them into the story line.
Notes: In this chapter, and in chapters to come, I will be incorporating the Internet Language, l337. However, I will dumb it down. I will only replace a, e, i, and o. A is 4, E is 3, I is 1, and O is 0. It will be used in certain circumstances.
Chapter 5: Much Ado About Confusion
"So what exactly is a Jutsu Specialist?"
Everyone had just finished eating a meal of fish on a stick and was now sitting comfortable around a fire, its light casting an orange-yellow hue on everything around it. Thankfully, it was better than last night, as there was no fighting and the tension between the people had seemingly been forgotten.
"Well," Konohamaru began, "we kind of just travel around collecting jutsus."
Silence.
"That's it?" Maeka asked.
"Yeah."
"Nothing else?"
"Well, sometimes we'll try to improve upon some of the jutsus we collect, such as making it have different attributes by using different seals. It's a bit difficult."
"Oh…" Maeka trailed off.
"That's… kind of boring," Kiba said.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he saw what he thought was Maeka nodding her head in agreement.
"Well… what about that strange staff you have?" Sakura asked.
"It's a jutsu enhancer. My gramps made it for me when I was twelve." Things got interesting again.
"Enhancer?" Neji said, "How?"
"I think the more important question word would be what. A jutsu enhancer is an object that is created to make a jutsu more powerful. Personally, I don't know the mechanics behind it or how he made it. All I know is that you just focus your mind on the circle after doing the hand seals and just let the staff do the rest of the work."
"How many jutsus do you know?"
"Um… a lot? I lost count after one hundred. I do have them on a list though."
"Is that how you knew that the fox wasn't a normal fox?" Hinata asked. She held the tiny vulpine in her left hand while she gently stroked its back with her right index finger. Its eyes were closed, a gentle grumble of content emanating from its muzzle. She had fed it a few morsels of her fish.
Konohamaru nodded. "For one, its size is the key point. From the way it looks, it had just reached the equivalent of a six-month old fox. But its size doesn't match. Also, its behavior is another give away. Foxes won't just randomly jump onto your shoulder. Although I'm not too sure what it is exactly, I have a feeling it's a animal summon."
And now the conversation was dead. Since there were no more questions, everyone began to just sit and be quiet. Uchiha Sasuke did his best to stifle a yawn. He was still tired having not slept last night. After having successfully controlled his yawn, he turned to ask Konohamaru some questions.
"Konohamaru, if you're going to be traveling with us, we need to know more about you." The teenager nodded in agreement.
"Alright, first question. Since we already know your name, we want to know about your family. Who are your brothers, sisters, etc."
"Well… I don't have a mom or dad. I just live with my gramps. He's a deacon."
"Alright. Now why do you want to join us? You do know who I am, right?"
"Yeah, you're Uchiha Sasuke, the man who killed his family and then ran. However, my gramps told me to help you, saying that you were a good person. And he's never been wrong before so I just did what he told me. I guess it all rests on your decision."
"Okay then, last question. Have you ever killed somebody before?"
"Well… there was this one time."
Eventually the fire was put out by a water jutsu from Konohamaru. Maeka and Tenten were unfortunate enough to be picked for night watch duty and were slowly making their rounds through the camp.
Konohamaru had joined the growing band of bodyguards.
'At this rate, I'll have my own miniature army,' thought Sasuke as he crawled into his sleeping bag. He felt so dirty, having not bathed at all in what felt like the longest time. Perhaps they'd be able to stop next to a river and take turns bathing.
He immediately ruled out the idea, since it would take too much time. Their current priority was to leave the Fire Kingdom. Perhaps once they passed the border they could stay somewhere and then they could take time out to clean themselves.
That was if they wouldn't be put on the run by the Rock Kingdom's shinobis. His thoughts turned grim as he imagined his small band being overwhelmed and decimated by the combined forces of the four largest kingdoms: Fire, Snow, Sand, and Lightning. He cringed as he thought of Sakura falling into a lifeless heap with blood slowly seeping out of her.
She didn't even have to be helping Sasuke. For all he knew, she was doing her job of protecting him, the prince who can't even focus during battle. She had put so much on the line for him recently, and yet he couldn't even thank her for it.
In the privacy of his tent, he swore to make sure that Sakura would return to Konoha safely. He would become strong so that she wouldn't have to worry about him.
Doing his best to ignore the feeling of being dirty, he fell into an uneasy sleep.
In another tent, Hinata was sitting up on her sleeping bag, gently petting the small fox. Where would she put the small animal for its rest? Inside her sleeping bag? On her pillow? She was about to give up on the thought when the animal jumped off her hand and landed on the sleeping bag.
Sighing, she decided just to get in and then let the small fox choose. Taking off her sandals, she stripped down into undergarments and climbed in. She never could sleep in her day clothes, and she didn't bring any pajamas with her. However, she may have to find a way to sleep in day clothes, since they were constantly traveling now. Slipping in, she lied down flat on her back and closed her eyes.
She felt a gentle pressure on her stomach. Looking up, she saw the tiny fox gently padding the sleeping bag before gently collapsing into a heap of orange red, its red eyes staring back at hers. She smiled at the site.
"So are you a boy or a girl?" she asked the fox. "Girl?"
The fox gave a growl.
"So you're a boy?"
It yipped in approval.
"I should give you a name then," She said smiling. But then she stopped and replaced it with what looked like a pout. What kind of name do you give to an animal summon the size of your fist? "How about… Kitsune-chan?" it was not a very original name, but the fox seemed to nod in approval before lowering its head to sleep.
"Alright then. Goodnight, Kitsune-chan." She gave the fox one last pat before going to sleep herself, the tiny weight over her stomach barely registering in her mind.
She later woke up when the tiny weight was no longer over her. "Kitsune-chan?" She could not find it in her tent. She looked at the zipper that closed it to find that it had been pulled up to let the fox out.
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she activated her Byakuugan. "Bya… Byakuu…" she yawned, "Byakuugan…" As chakra filled her eyes, she looked around, searching for the small fox.
She spotted it near her cousin's tent. She watched as it slowly walked away from their camping grounds. Hastily tossing on her clothes, she opened the tent and stepped out into the night air. She ran for the small fox and was amazed that it could run so fast for its size. She then noticed that Kitsune-chan had stopped running and was sitting on its haunches, as if waiting for someone. As Hinata was about to enter the glade, she noticed an approaching figure. She quickly hid behind a tree and leaned on her side so that her blind spot wouldn't cover the area. She was close enough to see, but not close enough to hear.
What Hinata saw amazed her.
The approaching figure was one handsome thing. She considered it handsome because he had a face that would come to her in her dreams, but thing because it was obviously far from human.
The figure was dressed in black jeans and a black leather jacket that was half zipped, revealing just a tiny portion of his defined chest (she blushed heavily at the sight of it). His hair was a spiky blonde and his eyes were a mesmerizing blue. On one hip he had a hip pouch. The other hip he tied what was the strangest sword she had ever seen in her life. For one, it was in the shape of a long, thin rectangle. In the middle of it was a smaller red rectangle. Its hilt was a red rectangular prism. Above it was a smaller rectangular prism with what looked like five small holes.
All this would have been slightly less confusing if the figure did not have nine two-meter tails coming from right above his hips and what looked like fox ears protruding from his head while lacking human ones. He also had strange whisker-like marks on his cheeks. But she would leave the sleuthing part for later. Right now, he was slowly approaching Kitsune.
As soon as the tiny fox caught his scent, it immediately ran towards him. The man smiled as the fox reached and began to circle around him, making what sounded like joyful yips. Leaning against a tree, the man sat down, his red-orange tails majestically dancing around him. At the very end of each tail was a tip of white. Kitsune sat down in front of him, its face throwing out mirth.
The man put his hands into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette and put it into its mouth. Then, drawing his sword (Hinata held her breath), he circulated chakra through it and it glowed a hot red. Putting the end of the cigarette to it, it lit up and he took a puff before returning the chakra to his body. He put the sword back to onto his hip. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and exhaled a plume of smoke into the air around him.
"So she gave you the name of Kitsune-chan, eh?" the man said (Hinata decided to call him a man because he looked at least somewhat human). "Did you give her the seal yet?" the figure asked. The fox's composure drooped a bit.
"What? No? You need to give it to her soon. I can't become her guardian until the seal is given to her," the man said. He took another puff of his cigarette before exhaling the smoke in a sigh.
"Well, until you give her the seal, there's not much you can do. I won't know when she's in danger and I would be of no help whatsoever." The man stood up. "If that's all, then-"
He was cut off by a whining noise. He looked down to see Kitsune with a sad expression on its face.
"You want me to stay?"
The fox nodded.
"Alright then," he sat back down again. "It's not like I have anything better to do." He took another puff on his cigarette. "So what do you want me to talk about?"
Kitsune yipped once.
"Yeah, I miss my family in Heaven. I left them after I went through the maturity zap. Then again, it's not like I had a choice, being sent to Hell and all. One day, He just decided that there must be evil for good to be in the world. So He just told Orochimaru and Jiraiya to pick a handful of us and create Hell. I happened to have been chosen and I left the day after. I remember when I left, my sister wanted to follow me, but I told her that she should enjoy her time with the family."
Kitsune tilted his head to his side.
"So you want to know about Hell? Well, to be honest with you, it's not much different than Heaven. I mean we still give allegiance to Him, so we still receive his blessings. The only difference between Heaven and Hell is that Heaven has the Sanctuary and Hell has the Pit. Everything else is about the same." He took an absentminded puff before blowing out a smoke ring. "And the Pit is separate from the rest of the community unlike the Sanctuary."
Kitsune looked at the cigarette in his hand.
"I know that it's bad for you. But when you're like me, you end up not caring too much about your health."
The small fox went flat on its stomach and laid his head on his paws.
"Yeah, I miss her. I haven't seen her in a while. I wonder how she's doing down there in Hell…" The man looked up at the night sky through the canopy of leaves. He stood up, causing the small fox to rise as well.
"Well, I guess I should get going. He told me that there's going to be a battle tomorrow, so both of you need to be prepared for it." He took one last smoke before he burnt the entire cigarette with a stroke of his sword, not even leaving ashes.
"Remember, if you need me, just call."
Then the man turned to look at the tree Hinata was hiding behind. She started to panic. Had he known that she was there the whole time?
Wearing a sly smile, he stared her in the eye before disappearing in a pillar of smoke. She had heard none of the conversation, being too far away. Her heart pounded away in her chest, pushing against the ribcage as if wanting to escape. Would the man come back to kill her for eavesdropping on the conversation? She was brought out of her thoughts by Kitsune, which jumped onto her shoulder.
"I guess we should go back, huh?" Hinata said. The small fox nodded.
As she walked back, she felt something weird on her arm. She looked over to see Kitsune slowly descending her arm. "What are you doing, Kitsune-chan?" the fox paid no attention to her as it made its way down to the back of her hand, made considerably easier when Hinata stretched forth her arm. It turned around and then began to slowly nudge the sleeve of her sweater up her arm. It pushed it back to the middle of her forearm before stopping.
"What are you- Ow!" she yelped when Kitsune had bit down on her arm. It had been no harder than a pinch, but it had surprised her. "Kitsune-chan…" she whined as it hopped back onto her shoulder. "Why did you do that?" She examined her arm and was surprised to see a tiny swirl on her right forearm. The miniature fox had trotted back onto her shoulder and taken a seat.
Hinata paid no attention to the fox. She simply stood there examining the mark.
He licked her cheek. She gave a small cry before getting the message and returning to her tent.
It had been a strange night, she thought as she stripped down once again to her undergarments. Crawling into her sleeping bag, she let the small fox once again sleep on her stomach before looking absently at the top of her tent.
The last image that went through her mind was the face of the mysterious person, his hauntingly beautiful blue eyes piercing through her soul.
Morning had just ambled over the horizon as Sasuke roused himself from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes with his hands, glad to know that there were no trails of dry tears. His time of mourning was long over. It was time to take back what was rightfully his.
But first, he had to apologize to Sakura. And he had to apologize soon.
Popping some dried meat into his mouth, he got dressed before stepping outside. Slowly, the rest of the group began to wake up. Those on night watch returned and helped out with the cleaning. They were gone within the hour.
As he walked, Sasuke continued to stare in Sakura's direction. He couldn't tell much, but she still seemed angry with him. He began to move in her direction, but stopped.
He couldn't apologize in front of these people. He barely knew them. To step out like this was out of his comfort zone. Perhaps being the prince of a kingdom was not all it was cracked up to be. Sighing, he continued his walk.
He noticed that the trees were no longer as packed together as when they first started off in the morning.
There was also an abnormal mist hanging about. Warily looking around, he trotted up to Sakura, not with the intent to apologize but to inform.
"Haruno-dono, Th-"
"Sakura-sensei."
Ignoring her, he continued. "This mist, doesn't it seem unnatural?"
"What are you talking about, Sasuke-kun? It feels perfectly fine," she said coolly.
"This mist is really thick. We can't see too much. And don't tell me that its natural, because a fog like this can't be this thick this late in the morning. Something is going on here," he seethed.
"It is perfectly fine," Sakura said with no emotion. Giving up, Sasuke went to each member of the group, asking the same questions about the strange mist.
Only Hinata, Neji, and Kiba agreed with him. Both Kitsune and Akamaru made sounds of agreement, but they didn't count as people. As soon as he turned around to catch back up with Sakura, the tiny fox let out a long howl. It was high-pitched because of its petite size, but it was a howl no doubt. Afterwards it sat on his haunches upon Hinata's shoulder and paid no more attention.
A few more feet, and there were no more trees around them. "We're at the river border," Konohamaru said. Slowly, the mist supernaturally peeled away in front of them.
To reveal a force of one hundred shinobis on the other side of the river.
"Didn't I tell you, Sakura-sensei?" Sasuke hissed.
"Shut up and draw your sword, Uchiha-sama." As he drew his Chidori, the rest of his group prepared themselves for battle.
"Uchiha Sasuke," a low voice said, "and Haruno Sakura. A nice pair of names." Slowly, the crowd of shinobis parted to reveal a tall and lanky man. He carried a gigantic blade with an indent in it with one hand. His face was half hidden behind a mask of medical tape. "Too bad we'll kill you here, though."
"Who are you?" Sasuke yelled.
"I am Momochi Zabuza."
Sasuke could hear Sakura's hands grip her sword tighter. "You know this man?" Sasuke asked.
"He's one of Konoha's top squad commanders. All the soldiers under his control are ruthless in battle. I should have known better. You were right. The mist… he made it. He always attacks under a mist," Sakura said, cringing.
Zabuza spoke once more. "Before we begin though, Haruno, I have a message for you from King Uchiha." Sasuke gripped his sword tighter as well. "Your entire family has been arrested."
"W-What?" She blurted.
"For your treason against the King, he has arrested your entire family, children included," Zabuza mildly said. "He says he'll release them if you come back."
Sasuke turned to Sakura, "You don't have to involve your family in this. I'll understand if you want to-"
"I'll stay with you" Sakura said to him. "When I," her voice faltered a bit before resuming its original strength, "When I became a shinobi, I swore that I would put you before my life. If… If that means that my family is to remain in custody, then so be it. They will understand." She then turned to Zabuza.
"I will not return to Konoha. Not under that tyrant's rule," she said strongly. "I… I will do what I must to protect the true King," she calmly said. "They will understand."
"So be it." Zabuza turned to his men. "Leave Uchiha and Haruno to me. The rest… I don't care what you do with them. Slow advance." Zabuza turned to leave, going back through the crowd of shinobis. The mist closed up once again, revealing almost nothing to the group. Slowly, his forces advanced.
Sasuke could tell that his team was scared. Not seeing but knowing that many soldiers were advancing on them, it was a tactic. Instill fear into their hearts and make them run. Sasuke gritted his teeth and got into a ready stance.
"…"
"So you want me to take his sword back to Hell?"
"…"
"Would they still let me back in?"
"…"
"Yeah, I guess I could do that."
"…"
"Quick question. Do you want me to kill him myself, or let them try their luck?"
"…"
"Okay then. Anything else?"
"…"
"And you want me to travel with them?"
"…"
"Fine. I'll talk to you later then," he hung up on his cell phone and sighed before continuing through the forest.
The lone figure was slowly approaching the river border. Dressed in black, he held his strange rectangular sword was in his right hand. His nine billowing tails and fox ears glimmered with the mist's water. He had a cigarette in his mouth. Removing it, the being destroyed it by burning to nothingness with his sword before taking a whiff of the air.
'Smells like Zabuza,' he thought. 'Well, time to get to work.'
Slowly, the tails shrunk until they were no more, leaving only a patch of skin above his hips. His fox ears went into his golden mass of hair and he gained normal human ears on the sides of his head. Making sure that everything looked fine, he approached the clearing where the fight would be.
He saw two groups with his enhanced vision. One was almost ten times the size of the other. Smiling, he approached the smaller one. He made his presence known by humming a cheerful tune.
The group looked at him.
He looked back and recognized a few of them as the descendents of his old friends. "Good morning," he said. Looking at the large group of oncoming shinobis currently crossing the river, he turned to the one that looked like the leader, with his black hair and sword. "Some battle going on?"
"Who are you?" the leader said.
"I believe it is proper to introduce yourself before asking for one's name?"
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke looked at Naruto's sword. "What kind of sword is that?"
"Oh, nice to meet you. My name is Naruto." Naruto bowed a tiny bit before turning around to survey the enemy once more. He blatantly ignored his last question.
"No surname?"
"So will there be a battle?" Naruto said, ignoring Sasuke once again. Naruto was very aware that the entire group was looking at him now (one of them was most shocked to see him. The fox was simply elated to see him once again, but he didn't really count…).
"Yes."
"I see. Got a plan?"
"Well…" Sasuke began, "Since there is this mist hanging around, I was thinking of having Kiba go with Maeka-"
"Hey!" Maeka cried out. Sasuke ignored her.
"Because Akamaru could help pinpoint enemies and Maeka could take them out. Neji and Tenten would be a nice team, since the Byakuugan would see all around and they could pick off enemies also." A pair of grumbles emanated from said persons. "And I guess Hinata and Konohamaru would come with Sakura-"
"Haruno-dono."
"and I," Sasuke was most shocked at Naruto's straightforwardness. Naruto turned to face him.
"I have a better idea," he said. "How about you guys take… oh…" he turned around and quickly surveyed the shinobis that were now on dry ground. "the front row. You two," he pointed at Sasuke and Sakura, "head towards Zabuza, and I'll take care of the rest. Sound good?"
"How will you take on that many of them?" Neji said, insulted that he was to be paired with that… fiend of a woman.
"Oh I'll be fine." And without further ado, Naruto marched towards the enemy, humming his little tune.
He could see that they were smirking at him. Three of them suddenly ran at him with weapons drawn.
As they approached, he simply walked by their still figures, a surprised and horrified look on each of their faces. They began to cough up blood and fall to the ground, dead. Severe lacerations to the chest, each and every one of them. The red liquid pooled beneath their bodies.
Naruto turned around to Sasuke. "Come on," he said, "this battle won't fight itself." He turned around again and marched towards the enemy, who were now running at him. Moving his arm faster than they could see, he began to cut them down, one by one. He hummed his little tune a little louder.
He killed another five men before he felt a pressure deep within him. Turning around, he walked back to where the group was. He lunged his sword back and stabbed another man before pulling his blade out.
He continued his humming.
HinataDodging left and right, she had a very small window of opportunity to strike back. Maybe a point here and there, but that was all. No kill spots could be hit before she had to dodge again.
She and Neji were probably doing better than the rest of the group though, she thought. At least she had almost three-sixty degree vision. She could see what was coming.
Suddenly, a pair of hands reached out from the ground. Her heart jumped as she fell out of balance (Kitsune was as calm as ever. What was it with this animal summon?). One shinobi lunged out at her, a sword in hand. 'I'm going to die… aren't I?' she thought. 'Sorry, tou-san…' she instinctively closed her eyes, waiting for the blade to fall. Not that her Byakuugan was obstructed by it.
A slash was heard as Naruto appeared in front of her, cutting through the sword and killing the shinobi. She could just barely see his body in motion as he cut enemies left and right. His style looked refined and fluid, as if he had practiced for hundreds of years. Slowly, the enemies retreated from the pair and focused their attention to a different group. He turned around and smiled at her.
"Good morning," he said. He cut the hands from her ankles and caught her before she fell. He then stabbed the ground (there was a muffled yell) and pulled the sword out. Naruto let go of Hinata as she regained her bearings once again. She almost immediately fell but regained her balance. "What, not going to reply?"
"Y-You… I saw y-you in the forest last n-night…"
"What do you mean? I was sleeping last night."
"N-No! You w-were talking with K-Kitsune-chan!" Hinata yelled.
"Okay look. We're in the middle of a battle here. I say we go and help out your friends. Not all of them are blessed with your kind of vision." He began to walk away, humming his tune once again.
He turned around. "Well, come on!" Getting the message, she quickly ran after him and they walked into the mist.
MeanwhileThe sound of bones cracking through the mist meant that she was hitting her targets.
"There's another over there," Neji pointed out. Preparing yet another ball, Tenten smacked it towards the direction. A crack and another scream.
They were fairing the best through the battle. No one had been able to get close to them yet. Tenten took a breath of cold air.
Damn
Making all those balls of chakra had begun to take a toll on her. Sweat began to drip down her forehead as she prepared another.
"Behind you," he stoically said. Quickly spinning, she hit another ball at the oncoming shinobi, from which another resounding crack was heard.
"At least tell me if I'm killing them," she said, panting.
"You killed that one."
"And the rest?"
"Them too."
Tenten sighed. Was this all Neji would say? If so, he would be a boring rival. She took a deep breath.
"Tired?" he asked.
"I think I'm okay," 'Can't show weakness…' she told herself.
"To your left," Neji said. But as she prepared to make a ball, she found one being thrown at her. She caught it and then stared at Neji.
"What the hell is this?"
"You're getting low on chakra." He looked towards the ball he made. "The balls you use are simply compressed chakra on the inside with a hard chakra shell on the outside, correct?"
Tenten remained silent.
"It's not hard to figure it out. I'm not a genius for nothing."
Rushing to her side, he struck the shinobi from the left at his heart, killing him upon contact.
"Keep focused. We're in the middle of a battle here. Another one that way." Neji pointed at another enemy within the mist. She knocked the ball towards the enemy. "And you killed him too."
Making another ball of chakra, Neji tossed it to her. "I'll make the balls from here on. You just focus on hitting them in the right direction."
Tenten smirked. At least Neji wasn't downright mean.
Elsewhere"Damn it!" Maeka said as she punched an oncoming enemy square in the face, the gauntlets proving more than hurtful.
"There's too many of them!" Konohamaru said as he used his staff to knock another away.
"I know that!" Kiba yelled back, swiping at an enemy's chest with his claws while he was distracted by Akamaru. "Can you shoot some of them, Maeka?"
"I can't, asshole!"
"Why not?" he would have added bitch, but with the knowledge of what happened last night still fresh in his mind, he refrained from doing so. Besides, if she did attack him, they would leave themselves open.
"No time to draw an arrow! Plus I can't see them!"
Kiba growled. "Konohamaru! Can you use a fire jutsu to get rid of this mist?" he barked.
"I'll try! Get close to the ground because it's going to be big!" the fifteen-year old answered. He did several hand seals. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Withdrawing chakra from his staff and adding it to his own in his lungs, he put the circle next to his mouth, aimed at the sky, and exhaled.
A gigantic fireball lit up the field like a beacon. The air around became superheated, causing much of the mist to evaporate. The battlefield became much clearer. As proof, a soft twang was heard as an arrow lodged itself in the throat of an enemy. He fell to the ground, dead.
"Much better!" Maeka yelled. However, she was forced to move to the side and punch another as they closed in on their position once again.
'Damn… we need Maeka to pick off more enemies from a distance.' He looked at Akamaru who was at his heels, ready to strike. 'Sorry, but I'll make it up to you.' "Akamaru! Catch!" Kiba tossed a food pill at his dog, watching him eat it. "Ueru! (1)" Kiba yelled. Nodding, Akamaru began to grow in size until it was taller than his master.
"Maeka! Get over here!" he yelled. Punching away another enemy, she ran over to him.
"What, asshole?"
"Get on Akamaru."
"What?" she said. A bark proclaimed Akamaru's protest.
"Look, we need you to be able to pick off enemies from a distance. But since they get close to you, you need to find away to get far from them. So I'll have Akamaru carry you around," Kiba said. Turning to his dog, he replied, "Sorry, Akamaru, I'll make it up to you. I want you to listen to her, okay?"
The dog whined, but got down on its belly, signifying for Maeka to get on. Maeka looked at Kiba. "If I get killed by your dog, I'm going to come back as a ghost and kill you."
She then proceeded to do her best to get on. She her grip slipped from Akamaru's fur and she almost fell.
She tried again, but had no luck getting on top of the giant dog. She muttered several expletives.
She tried again, except she felt Kiba's hands on her butt pushing her onto the dog. She blushed before yelling at him. "Kiba! What makes you think you can touch my ass?" she screamed.
"Look, I don't care right now, okay?" he yelled back, a barely visible blush on his cheeks. "What matters right now is that you can hit your targets. You can yell at me later. Besides," he said, "you needed the boost."
She grimaced at him before looking away. Straddling the dog's back, she notched an arrow onto her bow. "I am SO going to kick your ass later," she seethed.
Kiba shrugged. "Whatever. Keep her safe, Akamaru. Go!" Akamaru stood up and began to run with Maeka barely holding on, screaming profanities along the way.
He ran back to Konohamaru, who was being assisted by Hinata and Naruto.
He was very suspicious of Naruto. He just randomly appeared out of nowhere and offered his help. Kiba watched as the strange person swung his sword around, stopping any force in its tracks. Naruto's attacks were quick and deadly, his arm barely making a blur.
If Kiba blinked, he would miss the attack entirely.
Kiba went up to Naruto before yelling out his name. "Oi, Naruto! That's your name, right?"
Naruto turned to him. "Yeah. That's my name."
"Who exactly are you and why are you here?"
"I'm just a swordsman who has nothing better to do," Naruto nonchalantly replied before punching another enemy into unconsciousness. He looked at Kiba. "Leave this guy alive. We'll need him."
Kiba didn't buy his excuse. Naruto probably also knew.
"It looks like most of the enemies had been thinned out," Naruto said as he scanned the area.
"Yeah, thanks for taking care of most of them," Kiba roughly replied.
"Can I leave the rest to you guys? I want to check up on Sasuke and Sakura."
"Go ahead." Kiba just wanted the weird guy out of here.
"Great! Just keep yourselves alive, okay?" and Naruto walked off, humming his tune once again.
Kiba gritted his teeth. He couldn't help but feel mocked.
ConcurrentlyAs Zabuza had ordered them to, each shinobi they passed by did not attack them. It was almost eerie how they could simply walk through the force and part them, heading towards the leader himself.
They had been walking for quite a while now. The sounds of blades cutting flesh had died down. Neither of them knew of what had become of their small brigade of comrade in arms. The only thing they could do was keep moving through the dense mist.
"I see that you are brave enough to face me by yourselves," a voice said as the mist slowly cleared, revealing Zabuza. "However, bravery is synonymous with stupidity."
Sakura held her sword at her side, ready to kill with a moment's notice. "Why are you after us?"
"Because we were ordered to. The king wants little Sasuke-kun's sword here. We are to get it by any means possible," the man said smiling.
"You're not getting it. The sword chose me. It will not allow Itachi to wield it," Sasuke replied, gripping his sword.
"Unless you're dead of course. It will have to obey Uchiha-sama if you're dead."
Sasuke and Sakura drew their weapons. It was obvious that Zabuza had no intention of letting Sasuke leave. The lanky man drew his gigantic sword only to stop midway before donning a smirk.
"Uzum4k1. H0w n1c3 t0 s33 y0u," Zabuza said mockingly.
"Y0u st3pp3d 0ut 0f l1n3, Z4buz4," Naruto answered, stepping into the clearing and facing him. Sasuke's eyes widened.
"1'm 0nly d01ng my j0b 4s 0r0ch1m4ru's servant."
"0r0ch1m4ru? H4! Y0u'r3 f1lth in h1s 3y3s. Y0u'v3 ch4ll3ng3d H1m by j01n1ng 4 hum4n t4sk f0rc3 4nd g1v1ng th3m 4n unf41r 4dv4nt3ge."
"What are they saying?" Sakura asked. Sasuke simply remained silent.
"S0 y0u'r3 h3r3 t0 t4k3 m3 b4ck?" Zabuza joked.
"N0. 1'm n0t h3r3 t0 t4k3 y0u b4ck." Naruto said. He looked towards Sasuke before returning his gaze to Zabuza. "4nd 1'm n0t h3r3 t0 k1ll y0u 31th3r unl3ss 1 h4v3 t0."
"S0 wh0 d03s H3 w4nt t0 k1ll m3 w1th, th3n?"
"Th0s3 tw0," Naruto responded before walking away. "1 w0n't 1nt3rf3r3 unl3ss 1 h4ve t0."
"Tch. C0cky 4s 3v3r," Zabuza muttered to himself.
During the whole dialogue between Naruto and Zabuza, Sasuke was disturbed. He was disturbed by how they spoke a language that had no known name. But he was greatly disturbed by the fact that he knew what they said.
Sakura, however, had other intentions. In a pink flash, she had moved up to Zabuza and slashed at him. In a speed that seemed unreal for a sword that large, Zabuza had parried the sword attack away.
"Haruno-san," Zabuza smiled, "you're so slow." Pushing her sword away, he swung at her. She blocked the slash but was forced back several meters.
"For someone as fabled as you, you're so weak!" the man yelled. Using only one arm, he stabbed and slashed at Sakura with speed that Sasuke deemed as unnatural. He entered a ready stance, but Sakura yelled at him to stop.
"Zabuza is dangerous! Let me handle him!" she gritted her teeth did her best to find an opening. Angrily, Sasuke let his sword rest at his side.
Sakura knew that she was fighting a losing battle. Zabuza was stronger and faster than her. She could take a hit and then defeat him in one blow. However, the length of the blade made it difficult to reach Zabuza fast enough. Along with his incredible speed, she would probably be hit again before she could reach him. Also, any time she tried to get close, Zabuza would get away as quick as she got near him. Reaching into her pouch on her side, she pulled out a kunai and threw it.
Zabuza dodged it before it reached the middle of its travel, confirming her theory on Zabuza's speed. But it was enough for an opening. Rushing in, she delivered a slash to him, drawing blood. However, he showed no pain, as if the strike was no more than a pinprick.
"It's nice to see that you can at least block my strikes and make me bleed," Zabuza said as he slowly walked nearer. "But playtime ends here." Grasping the hilt with his other hand, he swung his sword in a horizontal arch. Putting all her might into blocking it, she blocked his giant sword at its tip.
Her sword broke from the force and Zabuza's blade made a deep gash in her right shoulder. It tore pieces of her shirt off, revealing a bit of her upper chest. She cried and stumbled back before falling onto her back. Holding onto her wound, she tried to stand up, but Zabuza's shadow stopped her in her tracks.
"Goodbye, Haruno." Sakura closed her eyes as she expected to die on his blade.
A gust of wind and a clash of metal before her caused her to open her eyes. Sasuke stood in front of her, blocking Zabuza's blade and keeping it mere inches away from her neck.
"Sakura, go to Konohamaru and see if he knows any healing jutsus," he coldly said.
"Haruno-dono, please," she cringed.
"I don't care. Just go. That is an order." Sakura bowed her head before standing up and running to where they last knew where Konohamaru was. However, halfway through, she turned around to see Sasuke fight.
("Tch. Wh4t 4 J31g4n," Naruto said. Walking up to Sakura, he said, "You're lucky I know some healing jutsus." Doing several hand seals, his hands glowed green before he began to patch up her shoulder.)
"So, the Uchiha Sasuke wishes to cross blades with me?" Zabuza joked. "That makes my job all the more enjoyable."
"We'll see if it's enjoyable or not," Sasuke remarked.
Right now, Sasuke was angry. He broke a promise that he made not even twenty-four hours ago. By watching from the sidelines, he couldn't even help her.
He pushed chakra into the Chidori, causing it to crackle and scream like a thousand birds. Adrenaline rushed through his veins as he leapt back and drew himself in a ready position. He was ready to defend.
His instincts, however, told him to attack. Closing his eyes, he turned his sword over, the sharp blade now on the outside.
He opened his eyes and rushed in. He raised the Chidori above his head before bringing it down. Zabuza brought his blade up to block, but was shaking as he felt the force of the blade.
Sasuke didn't know what made this battle so difficult for Sakura. His opponent moved as fast as he did. In fact, it felt as if he was moving faster than Zabuza. Sasuke withdrew his sword and backed away. If he truly was faster than Zabuza…
Sasuke raised his sword so that it was eyelevel with him. He rushed in and stabbed for Zabuza's heart.
Blood spilled on the floor as Sasuke's Chidori pierced through Zabuza's body. His body went limp. But he smiled before doing so. "1 gu3ss… wh4t H3 w4nts… H3 g3ts…" and Zabuza breathed his last.
Pulling his sword out of the body, Sasuke cleaned it and walked away. The mist slowly lifted.
"Nice job there," Naruto appeared next to him, holding onto a person.
"What do you want from us?" Sasuke was still angry. "How's Sakura?" Sasuke couldn't help but get a feeling that Naruto had helped her in some way.
"She's fine." Naruto waved the question away. "As for your other question, I just want something to do. I've been traveling around and whatnot, so I guess I just go with the flow of stuff, you know?"
"Whatever."
"Anyway, I've got to take care of a few things." Naruto lifted the person up and tapped him awake. The man opened his eyes before looking at Naruto in pure terror.
"Don't kill me! Please!"
"Don't worry, we won't." Naruto turned to Sasuke. "What do you want to tell your brother?"
"What?"
"Don't you know the drill? You leave the last guy alive and have him carry your message of doom to his master, like 'I'm going to beat the shit out of you' and the likes."
"Oh. Um… okay. Here's one." Sasuke turned to the man. "Tell my brother that I'm going to kill him."
"No! You've got to sound better than that!"
"Ah… Tell my brother that I'm going to kick his ass?"
"Say it like you mean it!"
Caught up in the moment, Sasuke yelled, "Tell my brother that I'm going to beat the living daylights out of him so hard, that he'll feel it when he's dead!" He was ticked off enough already. He did not need Naruto pestering him to taunt his brother.
"There we go!" Naruto yelled. He then turned to the man he was holding. "Now go tell your master that." And he pushed him away, watching the man run away from the field of battle. He turned to see that Sasuke had already left him.
"Excellent. Now, just one more thing." Walking over to Zabuza, he watched as the body slowly disappeared into a mist before evaporating in the sunlight. Grasping the large sword, he lifted it with ease and slung it over his shoulder. Taking his sword, he bit his thumb and spread some blood on the blade.
Muttering several words, he slashed at the air and watched as the blood hung and opened up, revealing a fiery center.
Stepping in, Naruto vanished from the field. The portal disappeared from sight.
(1) Ueru - rough translation of 'grow.' Heh. Kind of reminds me of Power Rangers...
PLEASE READ IF YOU FELT THAT NARUTO WAS OOC: The reason whyI made Naruto act like he did was because I wanted to make any situation in this chapterwhere he interacts with the other characters awkward. I will further explain why when I get around to going more in depth about Naruto's charcter.