Chapter 3 - Land of Waves
A young boy no older than the young age of 6 sat cradling the head of a bloodied corpse with numerous cuts and wounds covering the body. Blood leaked out from deep gashes and deep cuts. The blood had yet to coagulate, and the boy was covered in head to toe in the crimson liquid. Deep gashes were all over the body, leaving the flesh and organs exposed. In some places, skin was torn off, and the features of the body were marred beyond recognition.
The boy was crying, his tears were flowing nonstop, and the tears mixed with the blood. Sitting next to the boy was a long bloodied katana, one which had seen much death and cut down the lives of many innocent people. The katana seemed to give off an evil aura, as if it had seen too much death and violence. Staining it in deep red, was blood.
The blood of the man that it just killed.
"Father…" the young boy whimpered through his tears, his pain visible in his face, his voice, and his eyes. Through the tears, the boy whispered in dark tones, one that would make any grown man quiver with fear. "You said you'd protect us. You said you'd never die. Father, you liar. Liar. Liar. Liar."
The boy continued to whimper the word liar, and his voice contained all of his pain, his anguish, his torture. His voice was so dark, so full of pain that every word seemed to darken the life around him. The aura around the boy was dark, one that made trained shinobi collapse in fear.
The boy lifted one hand and grasped the bloodied sword that had ended his father's life. For hour upon hour, the boy sat and watched as his father was beaten, humiliated, and tortured right in front of him. For what seemed to be an eternity, screams of anguish filled the air. Every person who had heard the screams of terrible torture felt their very souls disappear as well.
The boy sat there, cradling the head of his dead father, blood soaking the boy's hands permanently. And gripped within the boy's right hand was a razor sharp katana, the weapon that had ended the life of his father. The bloodied weapon was gripped so tight, that cuts were opened on the boy's palm, staining the weapon with yet more blood. But he couldn't let go of this sword, it was his curse, the object he hated the most, yet also his blessing, the object that would fulfill his call of vengeance.
The boy could only whisper one word, a word that held all of his pain, his hatred, his vengeance and his fury, all contained within the word that the boy whispered again and again.
"Liar."
Naruto was strolling along the path without a care in the world, whistling an old tune to himself as he walked slowly. The sun shone brightly, and there was not a single cloud in the blue sky.
"Maa…such a nice day…" Naruto lazily whispered to himself, and yawned loudly. As he stretched out his arms, he noticed something on his sleeve.
"Ara? Since when did I have this huge rip here?" Naruto examined an extremely long rip that that tore through the entire sleeve all the way to his shoulder.
"Now come to think of it…" Naruto examined the rest of his dirty clothes. His traveling cloak was ragged and patched, with threads sticking out everywhere. His orange jumpsuit was in an even worse condition, as there were large tears held poorly by duct tape. In fact, all of the original sewing had long since torn off.
It was evident that he had worn these clothes for a very, very long time. And without changing.
"Ah, I'd better get some new clothes at the next town." Naruto said to himself "I think there's a town around here somewhere…."
And so, Naruto went on his next journey: the search for new clothes.
But it was strange on how such a trivial thing would be the start of a legend. For it was no doubt that if Naruto hadn't noticed the poor state of his clothes, he would have most likely just continued on his lonely journey, and never would've accomplished what he originally set out to do.
And it was through this trivial matter did Naruto arrive at the country of Waves.
- - - - -
Through long hours of slow walking, Naruto ended up at a large bridge that connected the mainland across a strait towards a small island, which was known as the country of Waves.
At the entrance to the bridge was a group of officials, composed of low-level shinobi. As usual, everyone had to pay a toll to pass the bridge or had to have some sort of official form.
"Hey you." A bored-looking official said as he caught sight of Naruto. The shinobi official obviously had been doing this for a long time, and it showed in his lack of interest. He held up a hand "If you want to pass, show me some ID and pay the toll."
Naruto didn't say anything and continued walking.
"OI!" one of the shinobi yelled as Naruto just strolled on past as if there was no one there. One of the men jumped in front of Naruto and drew a kunai, a sadistic grin plastered on his face.
"This is your last warning kid. Get your ass back there and pay the toll, rat." The shinobi twirled the kunai in his hand like a baton and waved it menacingly around Naruto's face. The rest of the shinobi approached Naruto and surrounded him, all of them trying to look intimidating.
The boy didn't say anything; he lifted his hand slowly and held it to arm height. The shinobi immediately jumped into attacking positions, their kunai withdrawn. They expected for the boy to attack but the boy didn't do anything dangerous at all.
Naruto grinned widely from ear to ear and held up a thumbs-up sign "Boo!" Just as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared, his body shimmering away into a small haze.
"A bunshin!" the shinobi whirled about, searching for their elusive prey. But they searched in vain.
The real Naruto was strolling calmly on the underside of the bridge, using the old ninja trick of attaching your feet to a surface with chakra. With this, he was able to walk on walls, or in this case, upside down on a ceiling.
He quickly arrived at the end of the bridge, and leapt off the bridge, letting gravity pull him down to his normal place on the ground. After checking his surroundings carefully, Naruto was once again whistling.
"YOU…."
Naruto turned around at the sound of the growling voice. The group of shinobi had caught sight of him and was now looking dangerously furious.
"How dare you…mock us…" the apparent leader of the group growled angrily. In fact, he was so angry he struggled to get out any words.
"Hey hey, calm down a little. Take a deep breath…" Naruto calmly said.
"SHUT UP!" the shinobi charged at him and threw a punch at him. But instead of the punch coming into contact with Naruto's head, it went straight through Naruto's head.
"What the?" the shinobi managed to yell just before he experienced a huge electric shock run through his body. He fell down to the ground, unconscious, and was soon killed by a pair of well thrown shuriken. Moments later, his comrades joined him, slaughtered by a storm of shuriken.
"Wah...that was close. I thought they would raise an alarm or something and kick me out again. That's like the 5th time that's happened to me this month." Naruto said to himself, as he dropped from his hiding spot in the tree. He whistled loudly as he inspected his work.
"Well then. Let's get going. Need to buy me some new clothes." Naruto glanced back at the dead shinobi, who bled minimally as Naruto avoided throwing his shuriken at areas which would create a bloody mess.
Then once more, Naruto was on his way. That was when he felt an enormous presence. Killing intent flooded the area, and Naruto was immediately alerted. The plant life struggled to live, and leaves fell from the trees, as the overwhelming presence slowly drained away life. Naruto whirled about, searching for the source of the murderous intent. Suddenly, a deep gruff voice rang through the area.
"Ohh? What sort of jutsu was that? Quite interesting, boy."
The voice echoed through the forests around the area, and Naruto couldn't find the source. Whoever it was, he gave an enormous murderous intent, an obvious desire to do harm or kill emanated in waves. The overwhelming presence that he gave off clearly showed he was powerful, and had killed thousands of times with no regret or remorse.
Just then, Naruto saw him. He was a man with short spiky black hair, and stood tall and muscular, with lean but powerful muscle-bound limbs. His entire face was bandaged up to the bridge of his nose, leaving his small, squinting eye exposed. He wore a sleeveless dark blue shirt, with black pants, and carried an enormous zanbatou on his back, the width of the blade spanning across his entire back and the length of the blade just as long as his body. He wore a Mist forehead protector, but had a slash running horizontally through the symbol, which was how high ranking Akatsuki officials and Akatsuki members themselves wore it like.
Naruto stared at the man darkly, who stood on a branch of a nearby tree with his enormous zanbatou strapped on his back. Naruto didn't move at all, keeping his gaze on the man.
"Hey, where are you looking at?" a voice came from behind Naruto.
"Oh? Showing your back to your enemy? How brave, or rather stupid" Naruto immediately leapt forward and landed on the ground with a roll, kneeling on one knee. He took a quick glance at the tree branch to find no one was there. The man instead, was standing in the place behind where Naruto once stood.
"Hmm…finally noticed where I was. I wonder what took you so long." The deep gruff voice came back.
Impossible! When did he move behind me? Naruto thought. He readied himself in a battle position, and pulled out a long dagger from a sheath in his belt. He held it in an assassin style, the blade pointed downward.
The man made no move as Naruto readied into a stance. He just stared at the boy calmly, his arms crossed over his chest. After a moment of tension, the man let out a small chuckle "My name is Momochi Zabuza. Fourth member of Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu."
He waited, as if giving Naruto a chance to introduce himself.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said through clenched teeth, adrenaline rushing through his veins.
"Uzumaki Naruto eh? Too bad I won't remember. But it's a custom of the Seven Swordsman, to give their names to their opponents and learn their opponent's name before we kill them." Zabuza uncrossed his arm and reached behind his back to grab the hilt of the enormous zanbatou. It easily broke away from the strap and Zabuza hefted it onto his shoulder in a relaxed stance.
"Sorry, but it's too bad for you that I got hired to watch over this land. I don't have any grudge against you, but its my job. Now then…" Zabuza gave a smirk that could be seen through his bandages. His body shimmered and faded away with a blur. He reappeared right behind Naruto, who stood frozen. "Let's enjoy this shall we?"
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as the killing intent from Zabuza doubled. There was a whishing sound as the enormous zanbatou blade slashed through the air at Naruto.
With quick reflexes, Naruto leapt forward at the last moment, avoiding a beheading. Still, the blade slashed across his back, tearing the traveling cloak apart and leaving a wide gash on Naruto's back.
"Geh!" Naruto grunted as he rolled on the ground from his second jump.
"Heh, not bad. You avoided my strike. But I wonder…" Zabuza leapt into the air, raising his enormous sword above his head "if you can do that again!"
Naruto blocked with his gauntlet covered arm, and swung his dagger wielding hand at Zabuza. The dagger slashed across Zabuza's abdomen, and he screamed in pain before he dispersed into a ball of water.
"Damn!" Naruto muttered and looked around for his enemy. Zabuza was once again on his perch in the trees.
"Hmmm…destroyed my mizu bunshin did you now? Though I'm rather curious, what was that bunshin you used on the guards back there?" Zabuza said, clearly toying around with his prey.
Naruto's grin grew wider "Oh that? That was just a normal bunshin. But I added a little lightning element to the chakra. Since a bunshin is just a mass of chakra shaped into the user, I merely added nature manipulation to the chakra mass."
"Oho? I've never tried that. You're quite smart, brat." Zabuza seemed impressed before he once again drew his zanbatou. "But enough with the chitchat, I'm just going to kill you right now."
Zabuza leapt off his branch and dashed at Naruto with surprising speed. He swung his enormous sword with one hand, swinging at speeds an expert swordsman couldn't do with a normal sized blade.
"Kuso..Even with that sword, his speed is too fast for me to dodge." Naruto gritted his teeth and leapt backwards with an enormous jump to avoid the first strike and to disengage in close quarters combat.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto formed a handseal and 5 other Naruto's appeared next to him. They all charged forward at Zabuza with their arms raised.
"Heh." Zabuza chuckled and slaughtered the clones with ease, leaving 5 puffs of cloud.
Suddenly, through the clouds that the clones left behind, the sound of kunai thrown was heard and a kunai rushed through the air at Zabuza, who caught it with his open hand.
"Do you think such an obvious and weak attack would work on me?" Zabuza chuckled in his annoying little way. "You must be mocking me."
Naruto grinned wider. Zabuza stared intently, wondering why the boy was smiling before the kunai that he just caught suddenly burst into a smoke cloud. The kunai suddenly became Naruto, who swung a long dagger at Zabuza's head.
"Ugh!" Zabuza barely avoided the slash, and received a slight cut on his cheek. Zabuza recovered, and roared in anger as he slashed downward with his sword, destroying the clone.
"Using those 5 clones to distract me, then forming one and using a henge to disguise it as a kunai…you're better than I thought, brat." Zabuza grunted, breathing heavily. That last strike was much too close for comfort. "Looks like I underestimated you. I won't do it again."
Naruto didn't reply, choosing to keep his gaze and focus on his opponent. I need to guess his next move Naruto thought, holding shuriken in his left hand in preparation for throwing while keeping a kunai in his right hand for defense and close quarters.
"Kirigakure no Jutsu" Zabuza formed several handseals, and muttered a jutsu. Zabuza molded his chakra and suddenly, a heavy fog covered the area. The mist was extremely thick and heavy, preventing anyone from seeing more than a few feet in front of them. Naruto tried to find his opponent, but couldn't see anything in the thick fog.
"Damnit, what do I do now?" Naruto said to himself, maneuvering around the fog, trying to find his way out.
"Give up kid, this jutsu is Kirigakure's prize technique. With this, I could sneak up and be right behind you and you would never know. This mist is my specialty, as one of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu." Zabuza's voice echoed throughout the mist. The voice came from many directions, to prevent one from discovering the user's location by his or her voice.
"Shut up! You talk too much! I'll make you eat those words once I beat you up." Naruto yelled and started dashing through the mist, in search of his opponent.
Zabuza merely laughed, and his dark laugh echoed through the clearing. "Beat me? You're a hundred years too early to even think of that. Stop running around you fool, you'll never find me in this mist. With this, I can…"
Naruto suddenly found the edge of the enormous zanbatou at his throat, ready to behead him. Naruto's eyes widened in shock as the voice of Zabuza whispered behind him.
"Kill you before you even realize that you're dead."
Naruto reacted by elbowing Zabuza in the stomach, who disappeared in a burst of water. "Mizu Bunshin!" Naruto cried out, and tried to focus his eyes to adjust to the heavy fog. "I won't be able to do anything with this mist."
There was a whistling sound in the mist. Naruto heard it, and on instinct, he ducked. Just in time, as Zabuza's huge zanbato flew past his head. It embedded into a tree outside of Naruto's sight. Before Naruto could react, Zabuza was behind him, swinging a razor sharp kunai.
With just his instincts, Naruto blocked the kunai. Before he could counterattack however, Zabuza leapt away, dodging through the thick mist.
"Good good, your reactions are good. Most shinobi would be dead by now." Zabuza laughed and then said "Muon Satsujin no Jutsu. With my hearing, I can determine your location by the sounds you make, from every movement to your very heartbeat. And with my stealth as a member of the former Hidden Village of Mist's ANBU and the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu, I am almost invincible in this mist. Now then, which 8 kill points should I hit you in? The larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, or the heart?"
There was no sound as Zabuza was behind Naruto, his zanbato against Naruto's neck. "Die."
Zabuza sliced downward, and Naruto's neck severed, his head rolling onto the floor.
"Che, that was over fast." Zabuza hefted his zanbato over his shoulder, relaxing his stance. Zabuza was just about to release the jutsu, when 3 shurikens raced at him, forcing him to dodge.
"That was…" Zabuza whirled about and saw the supposed corpse of Naruto, which suddenly exploded in a cloud of smoke. "Kage Bunshin?"
"I got you!" Naruto charged forward, his fists raised behind his head. He swung a punch at Zabuza, who deftly dodged the punch. Naruto switched arms and followed with another punch, but Zabuza caught it with ease, and he gripped Naruto's hand tight.
"Hmph."
Naruto kicked his legs off the ground and flipped over Zabuza, his gauntlet covered fist reared back. The punch connected to the back of Zabuza's head, and he was sent flying forward several feet. Naruto smirked as he saw that it was the real Zabuza, not just a clone.
"Heh…you got me…it's been a while since someone was able to land a hit on me." Zabuza slowly stood up, rubbing the spot where he got punched "that hurt brat. Looks like I underestimated you."
"Kirigakure no Jutsu."
The mist rose once more, as Zabuza's technique was recreated. Naruto chuckled lightly "From what you told me before, you detect me by sounds? So how would you know which one is me, if there is more than one?"
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
At least ten clones were created, all of them spread out and making as much noise as possible. It was impossible to detect the real Naruto, as he was hidden in the group of clones.
Zabuza started laughing as he saw this, his dark voice sounding over the forest "Clever. You amuse me, boy. But you have yet to see my true potential in this mist. You see, no one can match my stealth and speed in this environment."
There was a blur, and within an instant 3 clones disappeared, slashed apart. The rest of the clones all yelled in shock and kept looking around. But it was useless; Zabuza's movements couldn't be seen. In one instant, Zabuza would gash apart a clone, and the next instant before the rest of the clones even knew what happened, Zabuza would slash apart the next.
Within a few moments, all of the clones had been dispersed and exploded in clouds of smoke. The real Naruto, was standing alone, his eyes closed in deep meditation. From the information that each of the clones sent back to me as they died, he only strikes at vital points to ensure a quick and silent kill. As he said before and from what I learned from the clones is that he only strikes at 8 instant kill points.
The 8 points that he always aims for are the larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, and the heart. From the size of his zanbato, the speed of his movements, and the location of the vital points, the chances of him landing a fatal blow on me from my front is low, so the only guaranteed place for him to land a fatal hit is from…
Zabuza saw the opening as Naruto stood calmly his eyes closed. Grinning, Zabuza leapt forward, a bloodthirsty grin on his face.
Behind!
Naruto detected movement, and turned around quickly, a long sharp dagger in his hand, one that he pulled out in secret.
"Damn!" Zabuza saw the dagger, but couldn't get avoid it. He had no choice but to continue forward, and slashed downwards with his zanbato
"RAAAAAAHHH!" Naruto roared and swung the dagger with all his might, at the same time as Zabuza's zanbato swung at him.
There was the sound of flesh being cut deep, and the sound of blood on metal, dripping towards the ground.
Both shinobi were injured, Naruto with Zabuza's enormous sword digging into Naruto's shoulder bone, all the way past his chest towards his stomach, cutting off nearly all of Naruto's left side. Naruto's dagger was imbedded in Zabuza's abdomen, blood leaking over his hand. Both shinobi gasped and struggled for air, as they tried to keep conscious.
"Heh, figuring out where I'd strike from and using that to your advantage." Zabuza managed to gasp out, his voice slightly wheezing "You're good brat. I was careless."
"I was just lucky." Naruto wheezed back, and slowly pulled the dagger out. Zabuza lifted his weapon out of Naruto's wound and both stepped back, breathing hard. Naruto collapsed, barely keeping up with one knee on the ground. "Gah!" Naruto gasped and blood shot from his mouth
"Not lucky enough. Your wound is much deeper than mine, and it's most likely you won't go on much longer with that cut, though I didn't hit any vitals. In a few moments, you'll go into shock from blood loss and then eventually you'll die." Zabuza managed to stand upright. "You did well, but that's your limit. Since you're going to die anyway, I don't need to keep watch. So try not to cry out and die a shinobi's death with pride. You managed to land a hit on me and predicted my movements in the mist. It's been a while since I had fun like that."
Zabuza dispersed his jutsu, the mist slowly lifted and faded. He walked away, dragging his zanbato through the ground. His wound wasn't as serious, so he would be fine as soon as he got the chance to bandage it up. He didn't bother to look back at the dying Naruto; the fight was already over.
Unable to keep up, Naruto collapsed to the ground, his eyes slowly gazing over and his mind fading. The wound was much too deep, cutting through bone, flesh, and blood, which were now spewing out. His entire left side threatened to fall off his body.
Damn… Is this it? Naruto's last thoughts came slow, and in a whisper like tone.
Baka, what are you doing, lying on the ground like that fool. A high pitched insane tone rang out through Naruto's mind, obviously annoyed.
You…
Losing to someone like that, are you really the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi? Heh, weakling. Don't die on me now, that'll be troublesome for both of us. The voice in Naruto's mind continued. As it talked, red chakra surrounded Naruto's body, and his wounds closed up. Organs regenerated, blood seemingly flowed back into his body, bone was reattached and muscles and torn tendons were reconnected. Skin was bound together, stitched together with invisible thread.
Calling on the Kyuubi's power just for something like this. You're pitiful, you fool. If you can't beat him, then let me take control. If you get killed, I'll fucking torture your soul in hell. The voice in Naruto's mind whispered darkly. Naruto slowly came back to consciousness, as his body was completely healed over. The red chakra disappeared completely. Stop it, get out of my mind!
Heh,fool. I'm always watching you. Don't forget… the voice slowly faded away, as Naruto was brought back from the brink of death.
That I'm you.
With that, the voice faded completely, and Naruto was able to stand upright once more. Zabuza had long since disappeared, wandering off to some place. Naruto flexed and stretch his arm, which looked like nothing had happened at all, except for the torn bloody clothes.
"Oh that reminds me! I got to get some clothes!" Naruto exclaimed and started walking away, when just moments ago he had been fighting for his life, and he had just been on the ground dying. His cheery attitude did nothing to his inner thoughts however.
That Zabuza, he's good. Why on earth would someone as strong as him, be here at the country of Waves? What's so special here?
Zabuza, his wound fully treated and dressed, strolled through the hallways of a building, a masked hunter-nin at his side.
"Zabuza-sama, are you sure your wound is alright?" the nin said in a girlish voice in a worried tone, full of concern.
"Shut up. Of course I'm okay. More importantly, why the hell does he call a meeting now?" Zabuza grunted in annoyance at a passing secretary, who blanched in fear.
"I believe that someone of great importance is coming, to pick up the money that Gato's been hiding." The nin whispered. The two and their group of nins was a mercenary group that acted outside of Akatsuki's system, but was ruled by them nonetheless. Gato was an administrative official of Akatsuki in charge of Wave Country, and was a member of Akatsuki's Shugaki.
The Shugaki, or Writing in Red, was a group of 49 ninjas, from High Chuunin to High Jounin Level, who had administrative powers and responsibilities, and was named after their feared letters written in red ink as dark as blood, which they sent to the mayor of villages before they would annihilate the village completely exactly one hour after the letter was opened. The Shinobi Nations were separated in 49 areas, in which each Shugaki would be in charge of receiving and taking taxes from the people. Each member was considered an elite shinobi, and was responsible for Akatsuki's tax collecting. They each had their own task force, and each of them was unnecessarily cruel, as Akatsuki specifically appointed shinobi who were known to be extremely cruel and unforgiving. They were also the first defense for Akatsuki, often suppressing on any attempted revolutions. The Shugaki was directly controlled by a member of Akatsuki, and only took orders from Akatsuki themselves. Gato was the only Shugaki who had no shinobi training, and was only appointed due to his knack for obtaining an enormous amount of money in a short time. But he was equally if not more cruel than any member of Shugaki.
"Oy, Zabuza, you're late!" Gato yelled. He was dressed in a dark business suit, and held a long cane in his hand. Behind him were 10 bodyguards, with blank expressions on their faces.
"Yo, Zabuza-teichou." A masked figure lazily called out. Sitted in various postures was a group of 20 shinobi that made up Zabuza's mercenary group, which he created and lead. Gato had hired them to do his various missions on Wave Country.
"Sorry for being late" Zabuza spat with contempt, his hate of Gato evident "but I had to deal with some trash that your so-called guards let past."
Gato flinched, but quickly recovered "Shut up. Let's start the meeting. As most of you know, we have a monopoly on all trade here in Wave Country. By controlling all trade in this island, we have amassed a great fortune. As you also know, this island acts as a sort of bank, and we have stored a vast amount of Akatsuki's wealth on this island, hidden deep in a vault. Tomorrow, a member of Akatsuki will personally come, and retrieve the wealth of both our hoarded money, and their own treasures."
There were collective gasps of shock from all around the room. Many of them lost their composure, even the silent bodyguards.
"An Akatsuki is coming? HERE?" a man yelled. Similar things were shouted out, all of them full of panic and fear. Even Zabuza was visibly shaken. The group murmured and whispered as Gato went on to explain things. Only one in the room had seen an Akatsuki member with his own eyes, and that man was Zabuza.
"Zabuza-sama…" the masked hunter-nin whispered and turned to look at Zabuza, full of fear. Zabuza nodded.
"Yeah Haku. Don't worry. Akatsuki isn't as bad as the rumors, well at least some of them aren't. Just don't get on their bad side." Zabuza said "Because if you do, you'll never live to see the next day."
Zabuza's former comrade… Haku thought.
I won't forgive you. I'll most likely fail and die, but if I see you once more, I'll kill you. Zabuza thought darkly, as his killing intent increased
Kisame….
The Town of Waves was in ruins, its city slowly crumbling. People sat on the street blank gazes, their hopes and dreams long gone and spirits hopelessly lost in the whirlwind of confusion that was their lives.
The city was in a poor state, buildings crumbling and falling apart. The markets was completely empty of fresh food, was only the most rotten of vegetables were left. The water was brown and muddy, but no one cared. Sickly people were everywhere, lying on the ground, their bodies decaying and falling apart. There were no doctors to treat them; they had long since fled the island.
Naruto strolled through the broken streets of the town, unrepaired and full of potholes. People glanced at him for a moment, before returning their gaze back to the ground, their souls completely blank and empty.
"Hmmm…won't find a clothes store here…" Naruto muttered, as he examined the broken down town. A group of children trudged slowly along; their faces down, and walked up to Naruto.
"Please sir, do you have any food at all?" a young boy of around 8 said. He had dark hair and wore a hat that covered down to his eyes. He dressed casually in the normal wear of a civilian, an old dirtied robe.
"Uhhmm… sorry, but I don't travel with any luggage or food." Naruto muttered his face deep full of regret.
"Oh…sorry…" the boy brushed past Naruto, and started running away. Naruto looked back at the boy and sighed before continuing his way. As Naruto placed his hands into his pocket, he noticed one thing.
"MY WALLET! GAH! THAT BRAT!" Naruto roared and immediately halted and turned 180 degrees. After catching all the stares of the people, Naruto roared "ARGH! THAT STUPID LITTLE GOOD FOR NOTHING SHORT MIDGET!"
There was a dust cloud kicked up as Naruto charged forward, cursing and screaming all the way.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, a smirking boy tossed a small frog wallet up into the air and caught it again. He opened the wallet to see…
"Gah! That foreigner is poorer than me! What the hell?" the boy threw the wallet away, sighing and sitting down. The wallet never came into contact with the ground however, as Naruto had suddenly caught the wallet.
"Y-you brat…how dare you steal my wallet…I'll get you!" Naruto huffed. The boy merely laughed, shaking off the weird sight of Naruto breathing deeply.
"Hmph, you're just stupid for not being careful." The boy said offhandedly "Plus, I don't need to steal from a poor person such as you. Get out of here foreigner, if you know what's right." The boy stood up to leave, but was stopped by Naruto, who reached out and grabbed his shoulder.
"Hey now, if you think I'm going to let you leave…"
"Get your hand off me!"
The boy roughly threw Naruto's hand off, and his expression and demeanor quickly changed to one of pure anger and hatred. Naruto was quite surprised as he saw the expression of pure hate on the boy's face.
"What's your problem kid?" Naruto yelled out in frustration. The boy merely glared daggers and reached into the long grass…
"Get out of here foreigner. We don't need someone to complicate things here worst." The boy suddenly pulled out a katana, unsheathed. It was razor sharp, emitted an ominous aura, and was slightly rusty.
"Hey, what is a brat like you carrying such a weapon?" Naruto asked curiously, his eyes narrowed.
"Shut up!" the boy charged forward, holding his katana to the side with both hands. As he reached Naruto, he swung forward, cutting horizontally.
"Heh, not bad." Naruto said as he deftly dodged the many slashes that the boy sent at him. "What's your name?"
"What the hell is it to you? Just get out of here already!" the boy sent another vertical slash, which was blocked by Naruto's gauntlet. Suddenly, his speed changed drastically, and the boy continued to chop vertically again and again. The immense speed and power behind the blows was amazing, especially for someone of his age.
"Sorry, but I don't feel like leaving just yet!" Naruto roared and suddenly pushed his gauntlet covered arm forward at the same time as another slash came, and sent the sword flying through the air.
Just as Naruto thought he had won, the sword suddenly came flying back at him through the air, and Naruto was forced to jump backwards to avoid the blade.
"Then I'll make you leave!" The boy was holding a long metal chain, which was attached to the end of the katana, and he was swinging it haphazardly over his head, and guided the chain to make the sword fly at Naruto.
"Ah! You're really getting on my nerves, boy! Gah! I won't hold back anymore!" Naruto yelled, frustrated and quite annoyed. Naruto started charging forward with amazing speed, a kunai held in his hand.
"Heh." The kid flung the sword once more with surprising skill and speed. The katana flew and sliced through the air straight at Naruto. "It's over!"
Just then Naruto did something the boy did not expect. He formed a handseal and without calling the jutsu name, a shadow clone appeared in front, and took the blow of the sword. The impact caused the sword to go off balance, and prevented the boy from retracting the blade through the chain. Naruto took this chance and immediately ended up bringing the kunai right to the boy's neck.
"Do you surrender?" Naruto said dangerously, as he brought the kunai even closer. The boy merely grinned
"I'll never surrender. So if you want me to give up, just kill me now."
"Kill you? Nah, I don't intend to kill anyone at the moment. Plus, I would hate to get chased out of town again. If you don't surrender, then I'll just leave." Naruto stepped back, and turned around. He walked away, placing the kunai in his pouch. The boy suddenly grew red with anger.
"Don't fucking kid me! I don't want your mercy!" the boy suddenly reached out and grabbed his sword, and was once more charging at Naruto. "Get out of this town!"
Naruto sighed and reared his fist back and charged forward as well. Before either of them could attack the other, a thunderous voice roared through the clearing.
"INARI!"
An old man, dressed in a worker's uniform and wore a mining helmet stood at the edge of the clearing on which the boy, apparently named Inari, had been fighting with Naruto. The man seemed quite strange. He had an old weathered face and calloused hands of a hard worker. There was a bottle of sake hanging from his shoulder.
"Inari! Didn't I tell you not to start fighting with people? How dare you disobey me!" the man yelled. Inari gave an arrogant "hmph!" and turned away.
"You're not in charge of me, old man. Tell that stranger to get out of this town if he knows what's best." Inari grabbed his sword's sheath, which had been lying in the grass, and sheathed his sword with practiced ease. Inari then walked away without a word.
"I'm sorry about my grandson, Inari. He hasn't been the same since a few years back." The old man sighed and looked over Naruto. "You must be a stranger here. I'm Tazuna, the mayor of Wave Country. Come, you must be tired. My home is just a little ways from here."
Tazuna beckoned for him to follow, and Naruto silently followed him, only pausing to look back toward the fading silhouette of Inari, who was walking alone with his sheath strapped on his back.
That kid…something isn't right about him…
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Tazuna's home was a small but comfortable house located quite a distance away from the village. It was small, only occupied by Tazuna, his daughter Tsunami, and his grandson Inari, who had disappeared since Naruto's fight with him.
Tsunami was a kind and gentle woman, quite the opposite of both her father and her son. Right now, she was serving both Tazuna and Naruto tea.
"Sorry about Inari. He likes to pick fights with outsiders. Usually scares and travelers right out of town. And it's quite rare to have a traveler here these days, with Akatsuki's rules and all. Oh, by the way, I forgot to ask your name." Tazuna casually made small talk, while calmly sipping some tea.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto politely replied. And then his demeanor changed to a confident and boastful manner. "I'm the guy who's gonna beat all of Akatsuki up!"
Tazuna stared at him for a moment before bursting out into laughter.
"Uhhh…why doesn't anyone take me seriously when I say that…" Naruto said depressed.
"Well, you're quite good at fighting if I have to say. Managed to stick up against Inari one on one. That's quite rare you know? He's as good with that sword as most shinobi are. In fact, it wouldn't be an understatement to say that Inari is our villages strongest, not counting any of the shinobi of course."
"Umm…If I may ask, About Inari-kun…" Naruto's voice trailed off, as he struggled to put his question into words.
"Oh that. Well, it's a long story, and I'm in no place to tell you. But you must know that 2 years ago, Inari wasn't like that. He was a normal boy, and quite cheerful too. But that all changed once Gato came…" Tazuna's gaze darkened and the overall atmosphere became quite depressing.
"Gato?" Naruto asked curiously, his expression confused.
"Ah. He's the Shugaki that's in charge of this island. He came here about two years ago and everything changed since then. He took everything and takes all the money and profit we make. Even now, we have to pay a tax just to be able to live. And…he even…took the hero of this land from us…" Tazuna fell silent, and he shifted his eyes towards the ground.
Naruto sensed that this was a touchy subject, and chose not to pursue it any further. The two sat in silence for a while, sipping tea and pondering over their own thoughts. Finally, the silence was broken by Tsunami.
"Say, Naruto-kun, do you wish to stay the night here? There are no inns in town, since Gato took control of all of them. You can stay here as long as you wish." Tsunami politely offered, and bowed ever so slightly.
Naruto smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Ah, thank you very much. I usually sleep outdoors so this is quite a change. Well, thanks for your hospitality."
"It's no problem at all." Tsunami offered a polite smile and bowed. She took her leave "Well then, dinner is almost ready. Please take your time."
Naruto and Tazuna chatted for a while, their subjects often about Wave Country. Apparently, the bridge that Naruto had crossed earlier was constructed by Tazuna, who was a bridge builder by profession. It had no name, and remained nameless after Gato came to the Wave. Also, Gato controlled all methods of entry, from the bridge, to the ports and ships. In fact, Gato held a monopoly over the entire country and its export/import industry, which was its main economy.
When dinner was ready, the two were called in to the dining room in which a simple but quite delicious looking meal was set up.
"Sorry about this Naruto-kun, but recently, food has been sparse." Tsunami apologized.
"Ah! It's nothing! Well, it's much better than what I eat anyways. Well then, Itadakimasu!" Naruto picked up his chopsticks and prepared to eat…
"Oi! Is dinner ready?" a voice rang out. A figure walked into the dining room, walking with arms behind his head. The figure turned out to be Inari, who was still wearing his sword strapped on his back. There was a slight pause as Inari and Naruto saw each other.
"……"
"….."
"AH! IT'S YOU! WHY ARE YOU HERE?" Both Naruto and Inari yelled in unison, their fingers pointing at each other.
"Why am I here? I live here! This is my house! What the hell are you doing here stranger?" Inari said his face red and full of anger. Naruto opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Come to think of it, why was he here?
"Umm..."
"Get out of here now!"
"Inari! Naruto-kun here is a guest! Be polite! And don't bring that sword in the dining room!" Tsunami harshly reprimanded. Inari merely hmphed in annoyance.
"Screw this. I'm not hungry. I'll never eat with that outsider." Inari abruptly turned around and left the house in a rush.
"Inari…." Tsunami muttered her expression worred.
"Naruto-kun, I think it's fair that I should tell you why Inari has been like this…" Tazuna said after a long time. He closed his eyes and sighed, leaving his food untouched. "It all began when Inari met his stepfather…"
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He was a hero. The hero of the country. Everyone loved him, everyone respected him, and everyone wanted to be like him.
His name was Kaiza, and he was an outsider. He came to Wave in order to find good honest work and start a new life. And that's what he did. He gained the respect of the people, and he became the town's pride, and honor.
He eventually ended up marrying the village beauty, Tsunami, and became a loyal and supporting husband, willing to do anything for his family. He became the stepdad of Inari, Tsunami's son, who had been withdrawn and lonely for most of his life.
The two were inseparable. They were like real dad and son, always with each other. Wherever Kaiza worked, Inari was certain to be found nearby. The two shared laughs and life became wonderful and seemingly would last forever.
Until that one day.
Wave Country had finally been seen as an actual country by Akatsuki, once their import and export business thrived. Akatsuki sent a Shugaki to "overlook" Wave and manage it.
That was how Gato came to power. Within his first day of arrival, everything changed. With his force of shinobi, everything became his. All the buildings, the people, their hope and dreams had all vanished and became Gato's greedy desire.
Then, the country's hero acted up. He swore to protect the wave, and that's what he did. He created an uprising, a revolution to overthrow Gato. But they were hopelessly stamped down on and completely thwarted.
In the end, nothing had been accomplished, and Kaiza, the hero of the country, the pride of the people, and the town's star had been caught. He was nailed on a cross in public and was tortured for hour after hour after hour. The most painful, the most excruciating and the cruelest tortures were performed. Hour after hour, screams of pain and agony were heard.
His fingernails, torn off. Each finger, individually ripped out violently. His skin flayed to rags. His toes stabbed and his foot sawed off. His hair ripped violently from his head, his teeth pulled out one by one with a wrench. Indescribable torture, for hour after hour. Finally, it was ended with a katana, his once honorable and fulfilled life ended with a scrap of metal, heated and melted, forged and sharpened.
All in front of his people, and his son, who cried and cried. His final word was to his son.
"Inari, don't forget…I'll always…be here…to protect you…" and with that, he died, his breath finally leaving his body and his heart finally giving up and stopping its beating.
And with a sigh, the hero of the country died, and along with him were the country's dreams and hopes. Their lives had become empty, and their lives goalless. And Inari had lost all hope. With the sword that ended his father's life, he trained every day after that until his body would give up. He pushed his endurance and body to the limit, all for no purpose or reason.
The hero of the country had died, and along with it were the very souls of the people.
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Tazuna finished his tale and let out a deep breath that he had been holding in. Naruto, kept his gaze down, avoiding eye contact and letting the bangs on his forehead cover his brilliant blue eyes.
"I see…" Naruto stood up to make his leave, keeping his expression mutual. "Well, thanks for the meal. I feel like going out for some fresh air."
"Ah wait! Naruto-kun!" Tsunami called after him, but he had already left. Tazuna sighed and shook his head, already knowing what Naruto was going to do.
"Haaa… Naruto-kun, Inari won't budge no matter how much you try…"
Outside, Naruto jumped up to the roof, where he detected the presence of a familiar person. That said person was gazing at the night sky. The moon shone brightly and there was an uncountable bright spots of lights from the stars.
"What do you want?" Inari questioned roughly, keeping his face on the stars. Naruto took a seat next to him. Inari ignored him.
"Ahh….a nice day to stargaze…"
"Shut up. If you're here to lecture me, then don't even bother. I'm not going to change." Inari bluntly said.
"Well, let's say that you're pretty good with that sword for someone of your age. How long have you been training?" Naruto questioned.
"2 years. Every day from dawn to dusk." Inari quickly said. He leaned back on his arms, keeping his gaze intently at the sky.
"I see… well, now that I have your attention, I'll just say this. I heard from your grandpa that you're somewhat of a bully in town. Beatin up on people eh? I'm not going to lecture you on how you live your life. "
Inari looked at Naruto questioningly.
"It's your life. I'm not in a position to question it. There no single correct philosophy for life, and there's no correct pathway to live your life. It's different for us all." Naruto breathed in deeply "I just thought you might need some company."
"Che, like I would want to be around you." Inari stood to leave but Naruto spoke once more.
"Your way of life is going to be hard. And it's not just you that gets hurt. Your family, Tsunami-san and Tazuna-san, they're also getting hurt. Do you want them to be hurt?"
Inari paused, and thought his answer through carefully before truthfully answering "No, I don't. But it's their choice to get involved; I'm not forcing them to. It's already too late to change." Inari then jumped off the roof, and headed to some place in the dark.
"It's never too late to change, Inari." Naruto returned his gaze at the sky.
It was the next morning after Naruto had arrived in Wave Country and was greeted hostilely twice. Naruto was already convinced that the entire town was bound to be hostile against him.
He was out in town, just walking along the road. Everywhere, people gave him weird stares and glances, as they saw his strange appearance, made worse by the ripped up clothes he wore.
"Maa…I'll never find a new set of clothes here…" Naruto looked around at the stores, which had very little to sell. Suddenly, the sounds of yells and screams were heard. Curses and loud screams came from an alleyway, and Naruto was set on investigating.
What he saw was quite surprising. Inari, holding his sword in a reversed grip, fighting a gang of people, ranging from small children to young adults, with the flat backside of the katana.
"I'll get you, Inari!" several members of the crowd leapt forward at Inari. Inari, calmly, swung his blade, making sure to use the back side of the katana. He swiftly dodged punches and kicks, and countered quickly with his sword. He jumped over low kicks, flipped over the shoulders of people, and ducked under their attacks, striking at every opening he could get.
With amazing speed and swiftness, Inari had beaten up the entire crowd of people.
"Wow, that was amazing!" there was a sound of clapping and Inari turned to see Naruto clapping and smiling. "You're real good! What was that about?"
Inari grunted and said "Those bastards just didn't like me. People in this town don't like me, and every time I come here, they always want to pick a fight with me. It's annoying, really." Inari started to walk out of the alley, and Naruto slowly followed him.
"Really? Maybe you should be less mean. People would like you much better." Naruto said, his ever-present grin shining brightly. Inari stayed quiet and Naruto followed him silently.
Eventually, the unlikely pair ended up outside of the town, in a nearby forest. That was when Inari finally burst out in anger.
"ARGH! Why the hell are you following me? Just leave me alone and get out of here!" Inari yelled.
"Me? Following you?" Naruto laughed in a fake cheery manner. "Oh no no no, we just have the same destination."
"AND HOW DO YOU KNOW MY DESTINATION?" Inari yelled. Inari began yelling angrily, while Naruto cheerfully answered with his toothy grin.
"Jeez, you annoy me. Why don't you just get out of Wave already?" Inari huffed, tired of yelling at Naruto.
"I dunno, guess I don't feel like walking right now." Naruto placed his arms behind his head and started whistling. Inari glared at him and was prepared to pull his sword out, until he heard several voices in the vicinity.
"Gato!" Inari whispered, and placed his hand on the grip of his sword. Naruto stopped his whistling and lay down on his stomach.
"So that's Gato?" Naruto looked at the man, who was being followed by a group of shinobi and bodyguards. Gato was a round man and was quite overweight. He had curly brown hair and wore a pair of black sunglasses over his smug face. He wore a dark pinstriped business suit with a purple tie, and carried a cane with him. He looked like the traditional image of a business man, or a mob leader. He carried an air of arrogance around him, as if he just screamed to say "I'm better than all of you!"
"Yeah. That's him." Inari grimaced, his face barely restraining the emotions underneath. His hand shook with anger, and his face grew red. "But why is he out here?"
"Huh?"
"Gato never usually comes out. He likes to stay inside his headquarters all day, which is why I haven't found a chance to kill him." Inari said nonchalantly. Naruto stared at Inari in shock.
"Kill him? Isn't he a Shugaki? You want to go against Akatsuki?"
"I don't fucking care who he is. That bastard is going to pay for everything. I'll tear him apart just like he did to father." Inari began to grip his sword hard, almost to the point where his knuckles crack. "I'll get him!"
Without warning, Inari leapt forward from the cover of the bushes that he had been spying in. Naruto could only stare in surprise, his mouth agape. He chose not to join Inari, but instead observe whatever he was doing.
"Gato…" Inari whispered dangerously, as he stood in front of the group, his sword securely placed in his belt.
"Hmph. Who the hell are you brat? Get out of our way." Gato said.
"So, you finally decided to crawl out of your hole and come out into the open huh?" Inari said.
"Crawl out of my hole? No, I just don't want your dirty old town make my shoes dusty." Gato mocked "My shoes cost more than how much money is in your town right now."
"2 years ago. Do you remember me, Gato?" Inari asked darkly. "Do you remember what I told you on that day?"
"That day? I'm sorry; I don't listen to the words of useless trash like you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll need to get going."
"Don't remember?" Inari looked up. He was smiling in an insane and dangerous way, and he looked murderous and crazy.
"I said, get out of my way, brat. Don't make me repeat myself." Gatou raised his hand, and his men all pulled out weapons.
"Do you remember when you executed the hero of the town, the one that you spat on and mocked? Do you remember when you killed my father? Or do you also remember the little boy that took his corpse? Or perhaps this might stir your memory; the words I told you myself."
He slowly pulled out his katana from its sheath, and the sound of metal scraping against other metal was heard. The katana, fully withdrawn, exhibited a red aura, full of the desire to kill, and the thirst for blood. The boy himself had suddenly changed into a demon, his eyes dark as the night, and his sword as red as blood.
"I swear, on the blood of my father, to kill you." Inari's raised his sword above his head, and laughed in an insane manner. The shinobi around Gato, flinched at the sight of a boy with crazed eyes, biting down on his own lip so hard that blood leaked out. The sight of the bloodthirsty sword, the crazed boy was chilling to the bone.
"LET'S BOTH GO TO HELL, GATO!" Inari charged forward, and soon the battle was on.
TBC
A/N Wow, I wrote a bit too much. Originally, I hoped to get the whole Wave arc in one chapter, but it looks like I'll have to use two…. I think the pacing of my story is a bit slow…
Oh, and in case you didn't know, this is an AU (aren't all fics AU?) so characters are bound to be OOC. Especially Inari here. He kinda looks and sounds like a badass right? Well, I think he's much better as some guy who wants revenge than some sniffling weakling.
Oh, that voice in Naruto's head was NOT the Kyuubi, but something else…to be explained in later chapters.
Next chapter, Zabuza and Naruto faces off, and Inari tries to get his revenge. And the first appearance of an Akatsuki!
If you have any questions, feel free to review/PM me. Oh and please please review? If you like the story of course. If not, then you can flame me all you want. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading.
Glossary of Terms and Jutsu Names
Shinobi – Ninja
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone Technique- Creates an actual replica of the user
Bunshin no Jutsu – Clone technique – creates a clone/illusion of the user.
Kirigakure no Jutsu – Hidden Mist Technique – Creates a mist in which the fog reduces all visibility.
Muon Satsujin no Jutsu – Silent Kill Technique – Zabuza's ability to kill a opponent without them noticing his presence.
Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu – The Seven Swordsman of the Mist – an elite group of swordsmen created in the Mist Village.
Oh, and by the way, I choose not to take the generic battle route of using hundreds of crazy, insanely powerful, and much messed up jutsus. For one thing, each jutsu thinkable has been made in some fanfiction or the other. Though there will be some cool jutsus, I'll be sure to properly explain it, rather than have some super ability that's not conceivable, even in the Naruto world…. I'll attempt to do combat scenes in a more realistic-Naruto style, with mostly strategies as the key element, rather than powerful jutsu. That is how the canon Naruto story handles most battles anyway…
Oh and those 8 kill point thing was a quote from Zabuza in the canon Naruto. Just thought it would be cool.