Team 7: A Retelling
By: Tellemicus Sundance
#05: Arrival amongst the Waves
Gato was not happy. Actually, that was something of an understatement. He was caught somewhere between furious, annoyed, and, strangely enough, amused. He had hired the great and terrible Kirigakure no Kijin, Momochi Zabuza and his merry band of rogue ninja to remove a certain thorn from his side that was on his way home from Konoha. It was so simple of a task that Zabuza hadn't even bothered with it himself, merely sending his weakest minions to do it for him.
But apparently that lousy thorn had been a fair deal smarter than he looked, having hired his own ninja bodyguards with his own measly amount of money. A single team of wet-behind-the-ears genin and their instructor was the old man's only protection from the blades of the experienced and seemingly deadly rogue Mist ninja he'd hired. And yet, from what his spies had informed him of, old man Tazuna was still alive after a brief fight between the Demon Brothers and that genin team.
But Gato wanted that man dead, now! Thus he was furious. Yet, the fact that the minions of the proud and strong Kijin had failed (and rather spectacularly at that) amused him at the same time. But what really annoyed him was the fact that Zabuza had demanded his payment up front upon his hiring, regardless of whether or not he completed the mission or not. The fact that his men had failed meant that the ninja would likely demand a repayment for a second attempt!
For his own part, Gato had originally hoped that the demon of a man would finish the task quickly since he was ridiculously expensive, even for someone as incredibly wealthy as himself. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Zabuza's asking price was enough to pay and feed a small army of mercenaries! And that wasn't even taking into account his three other henchmen who accompanied him. If the ninja took longer than a week to finish the task, Gato decided that he'd just execute the damn criminal after the job rather than pay him.
Gato needed Tazuna dead and the bridge either left unfinished or destroyed so that he could maintain his chokehold on Nami no Kuni. The island cluster that made up Nami was a regular diamond in the rough that Gato had had his sights on for quite some time. It was mostly uninhabited, with only a few minor towns and villages. But it had natural raw resources aplenty, enhanced further by the frequent floods that accosted the area, bringing in plenty of fresh dirt for farms and fields. Should the people have ever discovered and exploited these treasures, they'd be making money hand over fist within only a few short years. And Gato was unwilling to allow that, not unless he had the lion's share of the profit first! Eighty-five percent would suffice for his generosity in allowing the people to use his shipping company to export their merchandise.
Thus, it was for this greed that Gato now found himself standing before the man in his 'secret' hideout in the forest of the westernmost island of the Nami island cluster. The demon himself sat upon a couch in a leisure crouch, his massive slab of steel that was shaped in the vague form of a sword was propped up behind him, ever present. The demon's feminine servant was absent at the moment, but that was probably for the best, one less distraction to deal with. And the pair of brothers who'd recently returned from the failed attack were kneeling off to the side of Zabuza, like willing slaves ready to jump at the slightest command.
"I paid you good money to finish off that old man," Gato said as soon as he'd entered the only room of the ninja's structure. Too bad Gato was so into his rant that he failed to notice the distinctive bestial growl that the demon emitted. "Not to have you be beaten by a bunch of snot-nosed brats just out of primary school! If you don't kill him next time, I'll—"
He suddenly found himself staring down the long blade of the massive sword that the demon wielded. It must've weighed an incredible amount, yet the demon held it in his outstretched arm without even the slightest bit of strain on his masked face or body.
"Stop your bitching," Zabuza growled irritably. He hated associating with honor-less maggots like this piece of money-lauding slime in front of him, but they were usually the ones with the most money to spare who could afford him. He still hated him though. "My men were caught by surprise, nothing more. I'll go myself next time and kill them all."
"O-Oh really?" Gato said, almost snidely if not for the slight tremor of fear in his voice. "I hear these kids are rather good and they'll be ready for a second attack this time."
As much as he hated to admit it, if only to himself, he agreed with the man. The Demon Brothers had been in the midst of giving him their report of the fight before Gato came waltzing in. But from what little he'd heard, each of those kids were…exceptional, in their own ways. Still, there was no way he was going to let this slime think that he wasn't going to accomplished his assigned mission.
"Do you know who you're talking to?" he demanded in as snide of a tone as he was able. "I'm the Kirigakure no Kijin, Momochi Zabuza. And there's a reason I was given that name."
"I want Tazuna dead by tomorrow," Gato stated in as commanding a tone as he could manage with the Kubikiribocho in his face. "He's dead, or I won't pay you."
"I'll kill him when I'm ready to, rest assured," Zabuza answered, his tone and posture making it obvious his desire to end his conversation with the slime. "Now, leave."
As much as he took offense to being dismissed like some common dirt peasant, Gato's survival instinct kicked in and he made as graceful and proud of an exit as he could manage under the circumstances.
Once the slime and his worthless bodyguard were gone and out of hearing range, Zabuza turned back to the brothers. "You're sure that the girl used Hyouton?"
"Without a doubt," Meizu answered immediately. "We've sparred with Haku-san quite a bit, we'd recognize that type of chakra molding anywhere."
"The air got really cold just seconds before the ice out of the ground around her and the target," Gouzu elaborated. "Just like whenever Haku-san has to summon water from underground or the air when he doesn't have any immediate source nearby."
"To think there has been Yuki clan member in Konohagakure all this time," Zabuza mused aloud. "That is very interesting. I wonder what she's capable of."
"Maybe it would be best to postpone an immediate second attack, Zabuza-sama," Meizu said, flinching slightly when the man turned a cold gaze upon him. "She and the boys would stand no chance against you, but their sensei is Sharingan no Kakashi. He is a tough opponent for almost anyone."
"He caught Meizu and me by complete surprise with a simple Kawarimi," Gouzu added. "And the boys are both quite strong for their ages and lack of experience. Wouldn't it be better to wait to see just what they're like before attacking, Zabuza-sama?"
"I will decide when and how to attack and kill the old man," Zabuza snapped out, angry that his two minions would think he couldn't handle himself against the renowned Konoha-nin. "You two had your chance and failed. You no longer have a say in the matter."
Gouzu and Meizu both bowed their heads in submission to their superior's statement. It was true, after all. That had been their only chance to strike and, if not for the Konoha-nins' mercy of not outright killing them on the spot, they'd now be dead against any other opponent. Their one chance and they'd wasted it on a feeble surprise attack without properly researching any of their opponents. Thus, what right did they have to recommend any strategies for Zabuza to use now that they'd finished their report?
"The girl has the Hyouton?" a quiet voice from the corner asked, catching the brothers by surprise since they hadn't noticed the feminine-looking boy's arrival. The look on the boy's face showed an innocent curiosity and all-too-obvious interest at the idea of there being another like him close by. Turning those innocent eyes upon their leader, Haku said, "Zabuza-sama, could we not try to meet them first? Onegai?"
Not for the first time, and likely not for the last either, Zabuza cursed the brat's pleading, completely innocent gaze. How the brat was able to retain his emotional and spiritual purity after all the training and killing he'd undergone was still a mystery to the man. But that very same purity also had the unexpected ability to guilt Zabuza's buried conscience into occasionally allowing the boy to get his way whenever there was something that he really wanted, even if those times were few and far between.
Growling to himself as he realized he'd already made his decision, Zabuza barked out, "Fine. You can meet the girl on your own terms. But don't forget that she's currently our enemy and we will have to fight them."
Haku's soft smile was like the sun peeking out from behind the clouds.
'It's going to be soon,' Sasuke kept repeating to himself, nervous anticipation steadily taking grip on him. 'It's gotta be. It's going to be soon.'
It was still quite early in the morning, four days since their encounter with the Demon Brothers. The group of ninja and their client were walking along a narrow, winding trail in a dense forest. They had landed in Nami no Kuni almost two hours ago and were following Tazuna's directions has he made his way home. The old bridge builder had thankfully lived fairly close by to the bridge he was building, only a relatively brief three-kilometer trek through a dense mangrove forest.
Everyone in their little group was on high alert; Sasuke could see it in their postures. Sakura was a bit more fidgety than normal and Naruto with his usual lack of subtlety was dashing back and forth around the group searching the immediate underbrush and trees for hiding enemies. Kakashi was visibly more alert than Sasuke had ever seen him before, though it was a very difficult to tell from his body language. Only the fact that he seemed to be more actively scanning their surroundings with his one visible eye gave away his nervousness. As for himself, Sasuke found himself constantly having to consciously stop himself from fingering the weapons pouch that he had his shuriken stored.
Looking up ahead on the path, Sasuke's eyes widened in slow recognition. He could see what looked like a small lake up ahead. And, if his memory of the scrolls was accurate, that meant that they were moments away from being ambushed by Zabuza! Despite his best attempt, Sasuke's hands balled into fists and he felt a cold sweat begin to break out across his forehead under his hitai-ate.
He knew of Zabuza's skills and reputation, both from rumors from the ninja world and from his scrolls, and he was privately amazed that his elder self and team could've survived not one but two encounters with the man! And while he and the others were arguably better trained than before, did that mean they could still survive and even put up a fight against the Kirigakure no Kijin? Yet that wasn't even bringing into account that Yuki clan member that Zabuza had as a sidekick. If he truly played the role as an Oinin, that would mean that he'd have to make an attempt on Sakura's life…if she revealed her Hyouton of course. And while he had great confidence in her skills with her Kekkei Genkai, would they be enough to offset Haku's abilities?
As much as he tried to control himself, Sasuke felt something was…coming. They were growing ever closer to the lake, only a dozen or so paces away. Where was Zabuza and how was he going to attack?
"Relax, Sasuke-san," Kakashi's voice interrupted his thoughts and snapped him back to the present. Looking up at the man, Sasuke saw what little of his face visible was contorted into a smile. "I'll be fighting our next opponent when they show up. And I won't let any of you be killed."
Somehow, Sasuke felt something inside him relax at the man's reassurance. Yes, Kakashi was a great ninja and he wouldn't necessarily make promises he couldn't keep. Against Sasuke's better judgment and control, his lips quirked up into a slight smile gratitude towards the man. Returning his attention forward, he let out a sigh to release as much pent up stress as he could.
"Heh, even Sasuke's scared!" Naruto piped up, drawing Sasuke's attention immediately. But the blonde wasn't even looking at the Uchiha as he was facing Sakura with a look of pure smugness. "See, Sakura-chan! If Sasuke's scared, then the next bad guys' gonna attack be attacking us any moment now!"
"I'm not scared, Naruto," Sasuke growled quietly, though he knew that the Uzumaki wouldn't listen. It would seem he'd missed some kind of argument between the two during his moment of introspection.
It was as he was looking around again that he realized something. In his internal discussion and debates, he had failed one crucial detail. They'd already passed the lake…and Zabuza hadn't yet attacked! Where was he?
'This isn't good,' he thought frantically. 'Where is he? He was supposed to have attacked already and we should've been in the midst of our fight with him!'
For another stressful kilometer of walking, they finally came within sight of Tazuna's home. The old man let out a palpable sigh of relief at the sight of his home. And indeed, that wash of relief was mirrored by Naruto and Sakura. Kakashi just kept his gaze to the surrounding forest, never letting his guard down. And Sasuke couldn't help but feel…disappointed.
Zabuza hadn't shown up, but…why?
After depositing their traveling packs in a spare bedroom and meeting Tazuna's daughter Tsunami, Kakashi had ordered his genin to scout the area. Sakura was exploring the surrounding shore waters and beach, Sasuke carefully searching the trees and forests within the first two-hundred meters of the house, and Naruto was analyzing the house itself.
Naruto couldn't help but feel rather impressed and wistful as he looked around Tazuna's home. It was a humble, two-story dwelling perched out on a pier. The majority of the house was suspended over the water. The analytical portion of his brain, ingrained through ninja training, couldn't help but realize it was a practically type of defense against floods and the high tides. But, to a ninja, it also made the entire building all-too-easy to break into since there seemed to be no other defenses hidden in the stilts underneath. But the dwelling itself was rather nice, especially considering the state of the village they'd passed when they snuck onto the island. It would seem that Tazuna's family had once been fairly well-off and financially rich before that Gato guy showed up.
Finishing his inspection of the building, Naruto dropped down to the pier from his place on the thatched roof and turned to look out at the sea and waves that were buffeting the shore. This place was so different from Konoha and its dense forests and rolling hills. All that water out there was just mind-boggling to him, even after crossing it. The dense mists and cool ocean air were in stark contrast to Konoha's humidity and hot winds. This place was truly a world away from everything he'd ever known before…and he loved seeing it!
It gave him a deep sense of wanderlust at the thought of not returning to Konoha, continuing on the road to see what other wonders they could find and see together.
"I know that look," a familiar tenor voice said from beside him, momentarily startling Naruto. Sasuke just gave him a crooked smirk at catching his blonde friend by surprise. "You want to see what else is out there and start begging us to go and see it."
Chuckling as he rubbed the back of his head at being caught, Naruto nodded. "Yeah, this place is so different from Konoha. I love it!"
Nodding in agreement, Sasuke turned his gaze out to the see as well. After a moment, a frown appeared on his face. "I think we're in trouble, Naruto."
The tone of his voice and the expression on his face instantly told Naruto that Sasuke was being quite serious and wasn't in the mood for jokes. Thinking quickly, Naruto nodded as he drew up the same conclusion that Sasuke probably came to. "You think that Gato's next man is watching us, studying us, waiting for the right moment to attack, right?"
Glancing at Naruto with a slightly raised eyebrow at the quick assessment of the situation, Sasuke nodded slightly before once again looking out to sea. "As long as we don't know who our opponents are, they have us at the disadvantage. If we had some idea who they are, we could work out suitable strategies and tactics to counter them."
Picking up on what he seemed to have in mind, Naruto bluntly said, "You want to draw them out, expose them."
"Hai," the Uchiha grunted, nodding stiffly. "But I don't have any ideas for how we can do that without raising suspicions… You're supposed to be a master-class prankster, right? What would you do?"
Humming to himself, Naruto crossed his arms as he entered deep thought, considering all his past shenanigans and comparing them to the present situation. The goal that Sasuke had in mind wasn't to fight them, but get them interested enough to willingly show up themselves. Thus, they needed to do something that attracted large amounts of attention and made enough noise and chaos to do that. So many possibilities, hmm… It took only a few moments before inspiration struck him like a mallet.
"Aha!" he clapped one fist into his palm as a devilish foxy grin split his face. Turning to his best friend and brother-figure, Naruto's grin deepened as he caught Sasuke's eye. "How about a slightly altered version of 'Operation: Sakuranbo Chisou'?"
Sasuke frowned momentarily as he dredged up the memory of that 'operation'. But when he realized what the blonde was alluding to, his eyes widened in surprise before he turned a calculating gaze upon Naruto. "That…might work, but what happens when Sakura catches on? You know how she feels about being called…that."
Wincing despite himself, Naruto let out a weak chuckle as his grin waned. "Yeah, I remember. But I think, once she calms down, she'll understand. It's for the greater good, after all." Then his foxy grin returned with a vengeance. "And besides, with how super-awesome we've gotten since the last time, it'll be a hell of a lot more fun this time!"
Snorting slightly at his incorrigible friend, Sasuke shook his head in exasperation. "Whatever, it's your funeral. Just remember: you brought this on yourself, so don't blame me when she turns you into a Naruto-sicle."
Naruto's grin only deepened in response. Raising his arms, he formed his favorite cross-seal and formed over twenty Kage Bunshins who instantly dashed off in various random directions.
From his spot at the nearby entrance, Kakashi raised his eyebrow in confusion and interest. He'd only caught the tail-end of their discussion, but what he could immediately discern was that they were up to something…again. And for some reason, he was eerily reminded of that time in the bell test, when they were speaking in a 'code' that only they could understand.
He might've smiled if it weren't for the fact that he had a feeling he wasn't going to approve of whatever it was they were concocting. And without informing him on the details for that matter!
The next morning…
Yawning widely and loudly as he rubbed his sleep-crusted eyes, Naruto stumbled into the kitchen shortly after the sun had begun to brighten the skies of pre-dawn. His hair was even more unkempt than usual and it looked like he'd put his black undershirt on backwards. His loud but sudden arrival startled Tsunami for a moment from where she was tending to a rather tantalizing smelling breakfast. Inari sat at the small table, waiting patiently for his meal, and giving Naruto a baleful glare at his noise and unwanted presence. Naruto ignored the glare as he smiled at her reassuringly at the woman, sitting himself down at the table.
Now calm, Tsunami said, "Would you like anything to eat?" He looked around at their meager home, and then shook his head. She caught his look over.
"No, really," she sat in front of him, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. They shook. "You and your team… You're all doing something very kind. We didn't even pay you, yet you are here, trying to help us to fight against Gato." Inari looked up as he watched his mother, listening to his mother's tearful voice.
Naruto watched, panicking when she bowed and started to cry. He was never good with crying women. "Please! Anything you want to eat, I'll make it." When Tsunami started to sob, Naruto finally relented.
"Alright! Alright!" he said, jumping out of his chair to pat her back. "Just stop crying. You're too pretty to cry."
Tsunami smiled coyly through her tears and hiccupped slightly. The strange thing was that Naruto suddenly felt like he'd been pranked but didn't even realize how. Frowning as he pushed that strange thought aside, he tilted his head to side, appearing to think hard about what he wanted for breakfast.
"I want..." he said quietly. She wiped away her tears.
"You want...?" she echoed. He gave her a completely serious look.
"I want ramen," Naruto said in a flat tone. Tsunami choked, completely surprised. Out of all the things she'd expect a kid to want, he wanted ramen? Ramen? Naruto saw the disbelieving look on her face and rushed to explain.
"Ramen's the best! The things that I love and hate most about the world have to do with ramen. I hate the three minutes it takes for it to cook. My favorite ramen is miso ramen although chicken ramen has kinda interesting flavor. Beef ramen tastes stale most of the time, but that's 'cause the ramen people don't make it right. But in Konoha, there's this stand, you see, called Ichiraku Ramen. They make the best ramen there! I know the owners pretty well, there's an old man and his daughter, sometimes an older woman too. If you ever go there, you have to eat at the old man's place. And if you do-" his rant was cut off by Tsunami's low melodious laughter. He rubbed the back of his head, confused. Inari rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the window.
"I'll make you your ramen..." she said softly, patting his head. This actually earned her a slightly confused but soft smile from the blonde.
Despite himself, Naruto couldn't help but ask himself: was this what it felt like to have a mother figure?
Sakura looked out across the surf and waves of the beach. At a little past noon, the bright sun was at its zenith and the heat was surprisingly high, burning away the mists of morning easily. It gave the pink-haired Haruno a feeling of anticipation and contentment, like she was finally and fully awake and aware of herself. And, given the relative easy week she'd had since the start of this mission, it was drawing her into a slightly slothful mindset.
The fact that Naruto had somehow managed to convince Kakashi-sensei into giving them the afternoon off to relax was mind-boggling to her. She hadn't been there to see that conversation, but she wouldn't have put it past Naruto to have used every dirty trick in the book (and quite a few not in the book) to get his way. All she knew was that Naruto had somehow done it, appropriated a swimsuit for himself and dragged her off to the public beach near the village they'd passed on their arrival.
"Where's Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked after she'd wrenched her hand free of Naruto's grip so as to better adjust her hold on the various beach items they'd picked up along the way, including several large towels, a smaller cooler of beverages and two bentos.
"Don't know," Naruto grumbled. "Said something about scouting the village and ran off before I could change his mind." The Uzumaki pouted as he crossed his arms as best he could with his own load of necessities. "Doesn't that guy understand the concept of relaxing when you're able to? All work and no play is what makes Sasuke a bore to be around!"
"That's hypocritical of you," Sakura snipped with a slight smile on her face as she glanced at him. "Weren't you the one who was training for three weeks straight, even in the rain, when this last Academy Exam came up?"
"That was an entirely different situation, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelped, as though scandalized.
Nodding slightly as her smiled broadened slightly, she turned to look at the rolling sea again. "I wish I could be as carefree as you, Naruto-kun," her melancholic tone caught the blonde's attention instantly. "To not stress over things as much as everyone else does. To not care what's going on around you to the point of being rendered indecisive. Only reacting to what's immediately important to you and us. I wish I could do that."
"Don't say that, Sakura-chan," Naruto's voice was surprisingly serious, drawing the girl's gaze to his blue eyes. There was a familiar light of determination and depth hidden in those azure irises that only showed up when he was being truly serious. No matter how many times she'd seen that expression, it had always captivated her to look into those eyes when they were revealed to the world. "I worry about those things too. But you just need to find a way of channeling yourself, always be proactive, and then you never have to worry about what-ifs!"
Despite herself, Sakura snorted at that statement. "You? Proactive? I think the only times I've ever seen you proactive is when you're trying to get away from Kakashi-sensei's torture."
"Don't even talk about that!" Naruto cried out, all previous seriousness vanishing in an instant. "This is our free time! I don't wanna stain it with talk of that—that—oni's torture!"
Laughing lightly, Sakura's attention shifted back to the beach. They had just arrived and it was time for her to find a good sunning spot. Stashing their supplies to the side, Naruto took off his white undershirt and raced headlong in the crashing surf with a jubilant cry. A happy cry that was quickly followed by…
"GAH! IT'S COLD!"
It was something that drew a rather pleased chuckle from the Hyouton user. Naruto really didn't understand water that well.
It had been a long, long time since she'd indulged herself in some light tanning. Ino-san had, on many occasions, taken it upon herself to tear Sakura away from her private training back in the Academy and force her to relax like a normal pre-teen should. It wasn't healthy for a girl to obsess over training constantly and every girl needs a little time to kick back and play, in Ino's words at least.
Watching his target get herself situated and begin to relax on the beach towel, Naruto's foxy grin turned truly wicked. The Operation was about to commence. All that was needed now was a large bucket, five minutes, and the Operation's ritual opening line.
Spotting one of the clones he'd made earlier, his foxy grin widened as he saw what it was holding. The clone was skating along the surface of the wave, carrying a large bucket over its head. Reaching him, it skidded to a halt and carefully handed the bucket to him, mindful of the contents and the swelling seawater. Once relieved of its burden, the clone vanished in a poof of smoke. Naruto just hoped that old man the clone had borrowed the bucket from wouldn't notice it missing before he returned it to him later.
Looking back at Sakura, his grin, if possible, grew larger as he saw she hadn't noticed the clone's momentary presence. She was already lounging on the towel in her one-piece swimsuit, and her posture was that of total relaxation.
"Ahhh, roasting in the sun," Naruto drawled out the ritual lines with a sneer. "What a catastrophe it would be if it all suddenly came to an end."
Riding the next large swell, Naruto leapt up as high into the air as he could. Reaching the peak of his jump, he heaved and threw the contents of the bucket towards the lounging kunoichi. Water, so cold that it was only a few degrees over freezing, splashed down mercilessly upon Sakura, causing the girl to reflexively shriek. It wouldn't have been an exaggeration to say that she jumped a mile from surprise at having her peace so ruthlessly disrupted.
Laughing uproariously in his best condescending tone, the one he knew that Sakura loathed with all her being, Naruto didn't stop to watch her reaction as he turned and sprinted away. He didn't need to watch it because he could already feel her bloodlust and killer intent washing over him.
"NARUTO!" a bestial voice snarled after him. "YOU'RE DEAD MEAT!"
Naruto just laughed louder. Everything was going according to plan.
Dressed in a simple kimono, the long, dark haired youth walked down the street. At first glance, it would've seemed that the child was nothing special and was not up to anything beyond trying to find some items left of his shopping list in the sparse pickings of the market. It was all an act. An act that he'd long since mastered enough to fool even some fairly high-class ninja, thanks to his master's careful and ruthless instruction.
Due to the soft, smooth features on the teen's face and stature, it was very easy to confuse him for a girl. It was partially an engineered deception, devised by his master several years ago to help him be able to blend in and sneak about in the populace while he was fishing for information that his master normally would've been hard-pressed to acquire himself. It was a deception that was greatly aided by the fact that he seemed to have inherited a majority of his mother's blood, in more ways than just his Kekkei Genkai apparently.
Drawing on his training, Haku walked leisurely down the street. Though his purpose wasn't actually shopping, rather it was for information. His real purpose was to see if Tazuna's return had yet sparked any new and interesting rumors. Rumors that would likely contain more than a few things about the Konoha ninja he brought back. In a small, isolated community, rumors traveled remarkably fast since there was little else to entertain the people. But, as it presently was, all he'd heard so far was that the villagers were only quietly whispering to one another the old bridge builder's surprising return with a group of kids. The villagers still had next to no idea the true identities of those 'kids' as being trained and deadly ninjas.
Sighing quietly to himself in disappointment, Haku picked out a trio of carrots among the sparse selection and headed over to the cashier. 'I should've known it was still too early for any worthwhile rumors to have started,' he silently berated himself. 'Guess I should return to Zabuza-sama. He's not going to appreciate waiting for dinner again.'
Playing the role of the sweet, young child that he actually was deep inside, Haku paid for him meager purchases and headed outside. But no sooner had he stepped out into the sunlight than did his ninja senses detect something. A potent bloodlust hung in the air like dry ice, so cold that it could burn. It sent a reflexive shiver of fear down even Haku's back as he hurriedly glanced around to locate the source while his free hand slipped towards his hidden senbon needles.
As he was stepping to the side to find the source and cover if needed, he instantly noticed that he wasn't the only one affected by the bloodlust. The few villagers who were walking through the market were letting out small cries of terror as they instinctively reacted to the fear-inducing aura that had settled over the area. Some of the men were letting out girlish squeals as they turned and fled like terrified dogs. Others fainted on the spot from outright fear. But a very select few managed to stand their ground and were looking around as Haku, trying to find…whatever was scaring them.
That was when a surprisingly loud and raucous laughter filled the air. Based on the pitch, Haku quickly guessed that it was a young, pre-teen boy. Though the volume was somewhat surprising, even for a ninja.
"Get back here and take your beating like a man!" a feminine voice roared from somewhere nearby.
"Come and get me first, my sweet cherry sundae!" the laughing voice yelled in reply. The girl screamed out in immeasurable fury at that, which caused the boy to laugh loudly in response.
Spinning in the direction that the voices were coming from, Haku watched the most peculiar sight he'd seen in a while. A young blonde boy wearing nothing but orange swimming trunks and carrying a simple bucket in one hand bounced off the roof of a store and landed on the other end of the market. He made an instant dash towards an alleyway as soon as his feet touched the ground. The reason became obvious why when not a split second later a large wave of seawater smashed down on the street where the blonde had been. As the wave splashed violently outwards, a flash of pink hair and simple white one-piece swimsuit landed at the impact site.
Haku could feel the bloodlust radiating off the girl like ripples in a pond. But he could also sense the strong chakra that the girl was channeling and exerting into the water that had preceded her arrival. The girl spun around, looking for where the blonde had disappeared to with a pair of green eyes that seemed every bit as sharp and dangerous as Zabuza-sama's Kubikiribocho. If not for the expression of pure rage on her face, Haku could've easily said that she was very pretty, maybe even one of the prettiest girls he'd ever seen.
"Where'd he go?" she demanded in a surprisingly dark, sinister voice.
"Over here, my little cherry popsicle!" the boy's voice called from the alleyway.
'He's got a death wish,' Haku couldn't help but think for the split second it took for the girl to summon the water off and out of the ground a send it rocketing into the alley without the faintest hesitation.
"Don't call me that!" the girl screamed as she rushed for the alley, recalling the water back to her and having it float behind her, ready at a moment's notice. Haku's trained ninja eyes were what allowed him to spot the faintest movement above the girl. Just as she'd reached the alley, a splash of cold water dropped down onto her, further drenching her already soaked form.
The girl shrieked at the sudden attack and reflexively launched her own water supply up to attack the blonde on the roof. Yet, right before Haku's eyes, the blonde vanished in a poof of smoke, signaling he was in fact a Kage Bunshin. But the girl didn't notice this as she was busy molding the water into the vague shape of a staircase, which quickly solidified and froze to ice, allowing her to easily scale the ice sculpture and rush for the roof. It was a show of skill and technique that had Haku's eyebrows rising in surprise. As far as he could see, she hadn't used any handseals when she attacked with the wave or when she'd created the stairs. All she seemed to do was wave her hands and arms in the vague direction that she wanted the water to travel or react as she desired. How could she do that?
Jumping onto the roof, Sakura let out a shout of anger when she realized she'd attacked a clone. Thanks to Haku's position, he watched as another blonde crept up the side of the building and peeked over, clearly calculating something. Then, just as the girl turned around to search for where he might've gone, the blonde bounced up slightly and slammed his hands down onto the roof. The strike dislodged a pair of boards that the girl was standing on. Like a simple lever, they sent her flying through the air with a slightly panicked shout of surprise.
Haku didn't know if it was some kind of spectacular coincidence or a previously engineered plan on the blonde's part. Regardless, the girl ended up landing in a water trough for horses further down the street, fairly close to where Haku himself was watching from. The girl shrieked upon surfacing from the jostling water and bolted straight the side of the nearest building with a panicked speed that actually impressed the teenaged ninja. Resting on a pole that was holding a store's sign, the girl panted in a clearly visible effort to calm her frantic beating heart rate.
"Does your hair look better dry—" the boy's voice called out, ominously close by to the girl but nowhere in sight. Upon hearing his voice, the girl immediately jumped to her feet and was desperately searching for where the boy was hiding. Dropping the Kakuremino camouflage cloak, the blonde revealed himself to be hanging from a windowsill not even three feet from the girl with another bucket of cold water in his free hand. The girl barely had time to gasp in fright before she was drenched yet again. "—or wet?"
Laughing out in that uproarious voice of his once again, the blonde kicked off the building and shot across the street before the girl could come to her senses. When she did, she let out a yell of feral rage before launching herself after him, a wave of water rising up to follow her.
As the pair of them vanished from sight, Haku became all-too-aware of the fact that he, like the rest of the street, had been staring after them like complete idiots, too dumbfounded to have moved. Shaking his head to clear it of unnecessary thoughts, he turned and hurried after them as quickly as he could while still trying to appear as normal as possible. This was an excellent opportunity to scope out what exactly these children were capable of and he wasn't going to miss it.
Following the continuing sounds of battle and crashes of water, Haku eventually found them duking it out at the pier. For whatever reason, it seemed that the girl had lost a touch of her sanity as she was screaming bloody murder at the blonde. The blonde was standing upon the pier, watching as the girl was thrown out over the sea in a large spray of water.
After a moment of remaining submerged, the girl jumped out and landed smoothly upon the surface. Raising her hands, she flew through a short series of handseals, too far away and too quickly for Haku to clearly decipher. But she was beginning to laugh in a hysteric manner that most people would compare to a psychotic killer, it was sending chills down the spines of Haku and the gathered audience of Nami civilians who'd also come to watch the fight.
"You wanna have a water fight, Naruto?" the girl was yelling in a rather demented voice as she finished her final handseal. Haku could quite literally feel the chakra in the air as she channeled a surprisingly high amount of it into the water below her. "Here! My Tsunami no Jutsu! You'll be drenched for sure!"
Behind the girl came a massive wave that quickly grew steadily larger as it drew closer to shore, its target, and the innocent village in its path.
"No!" Haku couldn't but utter in horror. "That's too much!" A jutsu of that scale could—no, it would!—destroy the entire village in one fell swoop! What was that girl thinking?
"I wouldn't say that!" the blonde—Naruto?—called back to the girl in a surprisingly calm, almost playful voice.
Though he had his back to Haku, the former Kiri-nin saw him begin flashing through his own handseals before jabbing his hands forward. As he did so, a colossal amount of chakra was expelled into the air, quickly forming into a powerful tornado that raced towards his pink-haired companion and her approaching tidal wave. The two forces of nature met in the middle and clashed violently. The tornado was able to split the tsunami down the center and disrupted its forward momentum. But at the same time, the tsunami's wave drowned the tornado in a massive spray of water. The result was a large explosion of water and wind, dispersing the tsunami to the sides slightly as a brief shower of cold seawater rained down on the surrounding area, sparing the village from destruction.
From his position under a strip of tarp, Haku was spared being rained upon. Not that he'd have noticed as he kept his eyes trained upon the two ninja in front of him. Neither of them moved as the sea between them convulsed and eventually settled down. They were staring at one another with almost intimidating intensity. Finally, after a moment, the blonde called out, "Uncle?"
"Uncle," the girl agreed, apparently having calmed down substantially after the jutsu clash. She calmly walked back to shore and her waiting companion. Once she was safely back on the docks, she turned and said, "Naruto, was this something like what happened with…'Sakuranbo Chisou'?"
'What did that mean?' Haku wondered as he watched the blonde flinch visibly at the girl's accusing voice.
When he didn't offer an immediate reply, the girl glared sharply at him before she continued, "You are going to be in so much trouble once we get home. I suggest you start sleeping with one eye open." Naruto just let out a loud but clearly nervous chuckle in response as he scratched the back of his head.
Realizing that the spectacle was over, Haku turned and disappeared among the crowd of villagers who were still arriving and clearly debating going up to give those kids a piece of their mind. Thinking over what he'd seen, Haku felt his level of interest in this genin team rise even more than it already had been. The girl had a surprisingly high amount of chakra for a kunoichi her age and could somehow use her Kekkei Genkai so precisely that she almost didn't seem to need handseals for the lesser jutsu. The blonde kid could use Kage Bunshin, seemed to have a good grasp of traps, a high amount of chakra, and good at using the environment to his advantage. What surprised Haku was that he hadn't even noticed the blonde using the Kakuremino until he revealed himself. The girl could seem to use Suiton just as effortlessly as she could Hyouton, and the boy was obviously beginning training in Fuuton. If this was just a sample of what they could do, what could they do if they worked together in a fight? And what could their third teammate, who hadn't shown himself yet, do as well?
So preoccupied with trying to remember and decipher what he'd seen of the duo during their brief skirmish, Haku didn't even notice the dark haired boy with a red and white uchiwa symbol on the back of shirt that was watching him carefully from the shadows across the street. Despite himself, Sasuke couldn't stop the small smirk that crossed his face. The dobe's plan had actually worked, and much better than its original version had, thankfully.
"How could you do something so childish and reckless?" Kakashi demanded, showing an unusual amount of emotion on his masked face. "You're ninja now! You don't run off and do stupid little escapades like that! You almost destroyed the village!"
Idly, Sasuke wondered just how much of the Jounin's lecture was for show and what wasn't. When the team had returned only a short twenty minutes ago, Kakashi had immediately appeared before them as though summoned by magic and began reaming into them, most especially Sakura and her lack of self-control. Sasuke was mostly being spared by virtue of not participating in the fight. Though Kakashi made it quite clear he was also disappointed in the young Uchiha since he had done nothing to stop the fight either.
"I suppose the fact that because of that fight I know who our next enemy is doesn't matter, right, Kakashi?" Sasuke finally asked after the man had finally gotten the majority of his lecture out. Naruto let out a small grin of satisfaction at a job well done and Sakura's gaze snapped over to him with a slightly wide-eyed look of surprise.
The gray-haired Jounin paused before he answered. Taking a deep, visible breath to release his tension and frustration, Kakashi turned and looked pointedly at the boy. "Oh? Who is it?"
"I don't know his name, but I do remember his face," Sasuke lied smoothly. "Do you have a bingo book on you?"
Nodding as his free hand dug into his waist pouch, Kakashi withdrew his book and handed it over without a comment. Carefully paging through the book, Sasuke searched for Zabuza's profile. The book was clearly ranked in terms of the ninja's individual levels of skill and prowess, the weaker ones were towards the front and grew steadily stronger onwards.
Just as he was reaching the end of the A-rank nuke-nin list, he came to a stop and looked at the picture of a man he'd only read about in his scrolls. So that was Zabuza? "Him."
"Chikusho," Kakashi quietly cursed to himself as he took the book back and gazed forlornly at the Kirigakure no Kijin's image. "This is going to be a tough fight, especially if he's got teammates."
"Who is it, sensei?" Sakura asked, trying to catch a glimpse of the ninja that Sasuke had identified.
Turning to book around to show the genin, Kakashi said, "Momochi Zabuza, also known as the Kirigakure no Kijin. He's a very dangerous ninja who went rogue after trying to assassinate the Yondaime Mizukage." Kakashi turned a very serious gaze on his young team. "This man is in an entirely different league than any of you, but if I don't win, it'll be down to you three to protect Tazuna-san."
"Did someone just say my name?" the aforementioned bridge builder asked as he entered into the guest room that the ninja were using for their stay.
"Tazuna-san, good timing," Kakashi said cheerfully, his deathly serious demeanor vanishing instantly as he idly returned his bingo book to his cargo pouch. "I was just about to inform my team on their new training and how this'll affect you."
At the word 'training,' Sasuke and Sakura reflexively flinched in terror and Naruto made to bolt out the window. A failed escape as Kakashi easily caught the short blonde by the back of his orange jacket, letting him flail helplessly, trying to reach the window and freedom.
"Really?" the old man said, sounding quite intrigued after having seen the instinctive responses of the children to the man's statement. Leaning against the doorframe, he said, "Please, do tell. I'm quite interested."
Kakashi smiled almost benevolently as he lightly tossed Naruto back to his teammates.
Three days later…
"Man…that was…pretty easy," Naruto commented lightly, the barest amount of panting in his breath, from where he was sitting at the base of his tree. Before him, the tree had several kunai slash marks that became progressively further apart the higher up the tree they went.
"Probably because we already know how to water-walk," Sakura called from where she lounging on a branch of her tree high in the air, completely worn out but smiling proudly at her self-imposed training task and accomplishment.
Sakura had made it to the top of her tree in one try, which was why there wasn't a single scratch mark on hers. Despite that, she had been training with the boys for three days straight to help increase her stamina, as well as to keep the boys company. But what really put the smile on her face was the fact that she could almost manage to keep with them each time before collapsing from exhaustion. If that wasn't a mark of her increasing stamina, what was?
Sasuke just hummed loudly in agreement from where he continued his run up his tree. It had only taken him a day to grasp the concept of tree climbing and he'd kept training to better increase his chakra and help refine his control. Plus he was also trying to learn to pace himself, so that he wouldn't wear himself out too quickly in the coming battle. Endurance was every bit as important as strength after all.
This was what the genin had been doing since their little 'operation'. Kakashi, after showing them the basics of the technique, had taken over guarding Tazuna as the man and his few workers returned to building the bridge. The genin had been delegated to a different type of chakra control than what they were familiar with. Kakashi had said that they were train until they could reach the tops of the trees, and then keep training until they exhausted their chakra and stamina. A chore that they'd quite happily thrown themselves into, finally getting a sense of 'normality' back into their lives since the start of the mission.
"I'm hungry," Naruto commented suddenly as he rubbed his stomach. "Let's take a break! I want ramen!"
"No thanks," Sasuke and Sakura said instantly in reply. Sakura smiled slightly before she continued, rubbing her own quietly growling stomach, "but lunch does good."
Dropping to the last couple meters back to the ground, Sasuke looked up and nodded at his teammates. "Anything but ration bars."
"HAI!" Naruto and Sakura chirped simultaneously.
"Race you to the house!" Naruto taunted, turning and already taking off.
"That's no fair, Naruto-kun!" Sakura hollered after him, looking to Sasuke for support, only to find him missing. Groaning loudly at her overly competitive friends, she turned and took off after the boys at a more sedate pace.
Closing the door and carefully locking the door, Tsunami turned and began walking down the pier towards the village. Dressed in a modest short sleeved navy blue shirt, a dark knee-length skirt, and with her pulled back into a loose ponytail, Tsunami carried a simple basket in her hands with a small wallet in a hidden pocket at her waistline.
They were getting long on vegetables, so she decided to head to the market. With her father and Kakashi-sensei at the bridge and the kids somewhere out in the forest doing…whatever it was they were doing, and Inari presently in school, that just left her to tend to the house. That wasn't something she wasn't unaccustomed to. But after having so many more people living under her roof nowadays, being alone in the house gave her strange sense of loneliness; especially given the seemingly-limitless energy that the genin brought into the house.
The memory of the three kids brought a smile to her face. She had taken them in and now it felt as though they had become her new children. They each so different, and they were so fun and funny to be around. Naruto-kun was just couldn't stop settle himself down, and he most certainly wasn't scared to share his opinion. She had already heard a surprising amount of stories from him about his time in Konohagakure and the more memorable pranks he'd pulled. Sasuke-kun, though quiet, was quite stern but supportive and rather competitive with Naruto-kun. And Sakura-chan was the voice of reason between them.
Though she had initially been a little hesitant about them living with them, it was nice that they didn't crowd her. What was more, each of the genin seemed to have understood just how little was available and they'd taken it upon themselves to hunt or fish for their own dinner. As such, Tsunami now had more fresh fish in her freezer than they'd had in a very long time because of Gato's taxes and rationing system.
A loud commotion in the trees drew Tsunami from her thoughts. Turning, she watched as a pair of blurs darted out of the foliage and landed in a tumble just a few short paces away. From what she could see of them, it looked like Naruto-kun had tackled Sasuke-kun in midair and Sasuke somehow managed to grasp ahold of the blonde's arm and jacket, pinning him to the ground just as completely as Naruto's weight was holding the Uchiha down.
"I win!" Naruto cheered, despite the heavy strain of pain and panting that was obvious in his face and voice.
"As if, dobe," Sasuke barked back, a smirk pulling at his lips. "I'm the one in control here. I win!"
"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun?" Tsunami spoke up, smiling slightly as she watched both boys freeze and look at her with deer-in-the-headlights looks. "What are you doing?"
Faster than she could blink, both boys disentangled themselves and leapt a safe distance apart from each other while simultaneously answering, "Nothing."
"They're being bakas again, Tsunami-san," Sakura answered as she exited the forest and slid smoothly to a halt. "Nothing new…Are you going into the village?"
Shaking herself slightly, Tsunami turned and smiled at the sweet girl, "Yes, we're getting a little on food and I needed to do some shopping."
"We'll come with you," Sakura volunteered before turning a piercing glare at the boys. "Right?"
"Ah—Hai!" Naruto chirped, visibly shivering at the glare Sakura was giving him.
"Whatever," Sasuke muttered as he walked over to Tsunami and gently pried the basket from her grip. This action earned him a soft smile from Tsunami. Strangely enough, she noticed that a slight blush had lit up Sasuke's cheeks before he turned away. Thankfully for the boy, neither of his teammates seemed to have noticed this as they were currently getting into a conversation about their training and chakra.
The little group made for rather peculiar sight that was vastly different than what had become common in poor, little Nami no Kuni. The young genins' bright colored clothing were easily spotted in the drab, threadbare, and torn clothing that many of the locals wore. Plus there was the simple that, unlike the locals, each of the kids escorting Tsunami had a rather 'energetic' exuberance and a bounce to their steps, things that had been long absent from the people of Nami.
Tsunami was very aware that they were attracting a lot of discreet glances from the people as they walked pleasantly down the city streets. But she kept her attention on Naruto-kun as he was once again regaling her with a story about one of his pranks. This one seemed to be about how he'd vandalized the Hokage Mountain for the second time and the following wild chase he'd put various angry ninja through. Despite herself, Tsunami found herself chuckling more often than not at the likely-exaggerated tale he was spinning.
"Please, Naruto," Sakura drawled out in an unimpressed voice. "The only reason they didn't catch you sooner was because they were still tired and waking up for the day. That's nothing to be so proud of."
"Oh yeah?" Naruto retorted immediately. "Why do you think they didn't catch me in the act? It wasn't because they were too tired, it was because they couldn't see me!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at the smaller boy.
"Oh, come on, Sasuke!" there was definitely a note of disappointment in the blonde's voice as he said that. "What color does the Mountain look like in the early morning sun?"
Sasuke and Sakura both paused in mid-step as they pondered the question. Almost simultaneously, they flinched and turned calculating eyes on Naruto's bright orange attire. It was something that neither Naruto nor Tsunami missed. Naruto just seemed to puff his chest up in pride at his obvious brilliance while Tsunami just looked confused between them.
"I don't believe it," Sakura muttered in a rather disbelieving tone. Sasuke just snorted as he started shaking his head, a slight sneer pulling at his lips.
"Ano, what color, Naruto-kun?" Tsunami asked.
"Orange!" the boy declared proudly. "That's why they couldn't see me until it was too late to stop me! Am I a genius or what?"
"Bakayaro," Sasuke and Sakura muttered. Naruto's feigned expression of excruciating pain to that statement earned a slight giggle from Tsunami as they turned a street corner and found themselves in the marketplace.
As she was walking over to one of the stands with Sasuke-kun by her side with her basket, Naruto let out a loud chuckle as he glanced around. "Hey! I remember this place! Do you, Sakura-chan?"
"Urusai!" Sakura snapped, walking over to one of the other stands and looking over its pitiful offerings with a sad gaze.
It was only a few minutes later that the first signs of trouble started appearing. It started small, like usual. First a group of tough and scary looking thugs walked into the market. Just by the sight of the overly-muscular men, the cocky sneers on their faces, the way they held themselves, and the weapons at their sides, it was all-too-obvious that these men were mercenaries on Gato's payroll. Their 'official' purpose was to maintain order and keep the peace in town. But everyone knew that they were really only there to scare the people and strengthen Gato's control. The next thing that made it quite clear that there was trouble coming was the fact that the ten mercenaries were drunk. If the sake bottles in their grips, the potent smell of alcohol emanating from them, the slightly slurred speech, and the slight sway and clumsy steps they were taking were any hint to their levels of intoxication.
The people of Nami knew that nothing good came from the mercenaries when they were drunk like this. If it wasn't a public humiliation, it was a beating or a maul that always ended with the innocent bystander lying in a puddle of their own blood. The last thing that anyone wanted was to somehow attract attention from the mercenaries when they were like this. Tsunami, probably more than anyone, tried to hide away out of sight when she caught sight of them blustering their way down the street.
Confused but alert to the potential danger, all of the genin seemed to step back and vanish into the crowd. Tsunami wasn't sure how they could do that, but the majority of her attention was fixed upon the swaggering men as they marched down the market street. Their voices were loud and overly cocky.
Just as they were passing the spot that she had hidden behind, Tsunami let out a small sigh of relief. They hadn't seen her. She could get back to her shopping in peace now. Retaking her place by the stand, she reached for the rice that she'd been in the process of purchasing.
"Hey there, onna," a voice drawled behind her, alcohol washing over her and causing her to flinch at the disgusting smell and the fact that she realized she'd moved too soon. "You're looking mighty fine. What's say you ditch the basket and spend some quality time with a real man?"
"I'm afraid I can't," Tsunami said politely, giving a slight frown to the man as she turned to face him fully. He was an especially large fellow with arm muscles that were as thick as her thighs and had a grotesque tattoo of a red flame and katana on his left shoulder. "I have some things to do that are quite important."
"It wasn't a suggestion, onna," the man growled, turning an angry glare upon her at the fact that she'd dare deny him. Arm snapping forward, he grabbed her wrist and started to turn to drag her away.
Tsunami reacted as anyone would to such unwanted contact and tried to wrench herself free of the man's strong grasp. Feeling her struggle, the inebriated man reacted as his baser instincts demanded; he released her wrist only to deliver a savage slap to her cheek. The strike was very strong and sent her tumbling to the ground with a fast forming red mark on her right cheek.
The attack also caused a few villagers who'd been watching to gasp slightly and move forward slightly in a desire to help the kind woman to her feet. But the ten mercenaries immediately shifted and glared heated at the people, hands resting their weapons. The tattooed man who'd hit Tsunami, hearing the gasps, turned and eyed the villagers distastefully.
"What?" he demanded loudly. "Does anybody got a problem with that?"
Unnoticed by any of the men, Team 7 appeared next to Tsunami. Sasuke quietly helped her to feet as Naruto picked up her discarded basket and the spilled contents.
"I said 'does anybody got a problem with that'?" the merc demanded even more loudly when it seemed that none of the villagers had taken the hint and backed down.
"Yeah, I got a problem," Sasuke answered, stepping forward in front of Tsunami to shield her from anymore attacks. As such, he didn't see Tsunami's face change from one of hurt to one of shock and fear. What was Sasuke-kun doing? He may be a ninja but those were grown and armed men trained to kill!
Turning to the young voice behind him, the men's faces twisted into cocky sneers at the side of three children standing guard in front of Tsunami. Even the death glares on each of their faces only added to the comedy of the sight to them. Barely containing his laughter, the ringleader of the men said, "Let me guess: you're too short to get into the brothels yet?" All the men broke out into loud, raucous laughter at that comment, none of Team 7 were amused.
"What's so funny about that?" Naruto asked his teammates briefly before returning his attention to the men in front of them. Though they didn't comment, neither Sasuke nor Sakura got the humor in that statement either. In fact, it was just plain vulgar.
"Why don't you spineless bastards just leave while you still can?" Sasuke said, his glare deepening slightly. These men were getting annoying.
But his demand only seemed to incense the men. There was a clear air of intimidation and killing desire coming off the men as their slightly drunk brains registered what Sasuke had said. More than a few of them began grabbing the hilts of their swords. "What did you say, gaki?"
"I said: leave while you can," Sasuke repeated fearlessly.
"Bastards," Sakura added in, knowing full well what was coming.
Chuckling sinisterly, the men closed the distance between them as they fully unsheathed their swords, "Looks like we're going to have to teach you some manners."
Reaching forward past the katana blade, Sasuke grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it sharply to the side, forcing him to reflexively release the sword with a cry of pain. Faithfully springing forward to their companion's distress, two more of the thugs tried to attack Sasuke, but they'd forgotten about Naruto and Sakura, who quickly and easily sent them tumbling back into their group with well-placed kicks.
Smirking at his captive as he tried to pry Sasuke's grip from his wrist, Sasuke couldn't help but make one last comment. "Isn't sad how some kids just won't learn, will they?" Releasing the man, Sasuke snapped forward with an uppercut to the man's chin, knocking him backwards and stumbling.
Quickly climbing to their feet, the pissed off thugs all glared as they watched Team 7 idly take a few cautious paces away from one another, giving each other plenty of room to fight in. As the ringleader finally recovered, he shouted out, "GET THEM!"
The fight was over in less than thirty seconds, with Team 7 casually stepping over their opponents as they moved back to where Tsunami had been watching the whole encounter with a wide-eyed horror-struck expression on her face. And she wasn't the only one, the entire market had come to a halt and bore witness the fight. Despite themselves, the oppressed villagers found themselves beginning to feel a very strange spark of hope forming inside them as they watched the young children (who they now suspected were the ninja that Tazuna had brought back) leave with a dazed Tsunami.
If they, mere children, could stand up and fight back, why couldn't they?
(Author's Note) I'd like to give my thanks to Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, BandGeekNinja, FictionReader98, and Fiori75 for helping me iron out the details to this monster of a chapter. But you wanna know something interesting? For as long as this chapter is, it still isn't where I wanted it to be. But then I looked down at the length and decided that I was beginning to push it slightly. I hope you all liked what I've given you at least.
Trivia Time!
What old movies did I draw inspiration from for this chapter? I'll give you a hint: there are two distinct scenes and both of them are from movies I'd seen growing up as a child.
Operation: Sakuranbo Chisou—Operation: Cherry Treat/This operation was originally an 'espionage' mission for Naruto and Sasuke back in the Academy. Naruto bullied Sasuke into helping him steal the answers to an important test that they would be taking in a few days. Naruto had started an escalating water fight that eventually engulfed the whole Academy as the Chuunin instructors futilely tried to stop it. Meanwhile, it was Sasuke's job to infiltrate the Chuunin instructor's office and copy the answers for Naruto. However, when Naruto provoked Sakura by calling her his 'cherry treat', her anger had caused the water lines and pumps in the building to explode and completely flood the entire Academy. Though the Academy had to be temporarily closed down for repairs and investigations, the overall operation was a failure since Sasuke was unable to retrieve the answers before the building was flooded. Naruto still failed that test horribly, but was officially deemed innocent of the 'accident' that flooded the Academy since no one could prove how he did it.
Suiton: Nami no Jutsu—Water Style: Wave/A very low-level and low-powered jutsu that gives the user the ability to direct and control a portion of water to do their bidding. Once activated, as long as the user maintains their level of conscious control and a steady stream of chakra into the water and jutsu, they have absolute control over what that water can do. And the better the person is at precise chakra control, the more versatile and potent the jutsu is in response. Sakura's half-Suiton Kekkei Genkai also gives her a considerable boost in being able to utilize this jutsu to its fullest effect. D-Class Ninjutsu (Haruno Sakura)
Suiton: Tsunami no Jutsu—Water Style: Tidal Wave/A simple attack that relies on the sheer volume of a large body of water, like a lake or the sea. It summons and directs a tidal wave towards a target of the user's choosing. It is a very broad area effect that can cause considerable damage to conventional buildings and structures, yet it is also a rather weak and unfocused attack. It is a jutsu best used to create a lot of confusion and to disrupt a battlefield. C-Class Ninjutsu (Haruno Sakura)