It's chapter five! It's chapter five! YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT! IT'S CHAPTER FIVE!(inhails...exhails...right as rain) Sorry for the outburst, but I'm so excited for this chapter! I have so many ideas for it, it's almost mind-boggling and maddening. Anyway, forget my hysterical self I just abondoned for the moment(key word; "moment").

In response to one of my reader's review on Naruto and Sakura's dispute between eachother, I'm going to settle it effective immediatly, though not without a final important argument to give a greater depth between the Genin trio and the ever-lazy, worse-excuse-maker-in-the-world-for-being-late Kakashi. Also, this chapter is going to be longer than the other chapters I've typed together, but I guess you figured that yourselves with the scroll bar being so tiny. Heh!

Oh! And before y'all maul me for not including the ever favorite kunoichi in all of Konoha and Naruto, Hinata, fear not! 'Fore I have her in this little chapter of mine. Long live NARUHINA forever!

WARNING: This chapter had some suggestive content, though it's only in dream sequence, but still, I warned ya!

(P.S. I'm sorry for the slight changes in the chapters, but I demand nothing but my absolute best in my story chapters and complete organization.)

That's all, so on with the fic!

Disclamer; I don't own Naruto or it's characters; only the plot, the OC's and the original Jutsus.

Kyuubi Speaking
Kyuubi Thinking
Text
"Words"
Thoughts/Dreams
"Jutsus/Techniques"
"Summon's Speaking/Demonic Naruto"
(Translation)

It felt wonderful. Honey was filling inside of me and the warmth was almost intoxicating. My head was swimming as an endless and inextinguishable bliss embraced me. It took all my effort to stifle my moans and cries, my shudders, my want, my need, but it was almost too much for me. I had more than I could ever hope and yet I couldn't get enough. My skin was on fire and every breath I took was too little, too sharp, too quick to keep me conscious, but I couldn't -wouldn't- dare to pause for even an instant 'fore my fears of this heavenly experience being but a false delusion of my inner most fantasies. I couldn't. It felt too good to ever risk losing.

My skin was hot, moist, almost feverish, but I didn't feel the slightest bit of discomfort. Instead, I felt like I was just one step away from heaven. My lover was with me, above me, kissing me, holding me, touching me in places that I never knew were so sensitive and responsive to such delicate and yet yearning touches. While he continued to give me unexplainably blissful administrations across my body, I gave him my own sweet treatment in hopes of repaying him for his heavenly touch, kissing him deeply and touching him shyly. I see him above me, smiling with a foxy grin that made my heart skip a beat and thunder in my ears. My cheeks felt like they were on fire, yet it gave me a thrill to have him see me like this, allowing him to claim me and make me his and his only where he could keep me safe and warm. My body, heart, and soul. Please, claim me now!

My eyes felt so heavy, lidded with want, yet my body was surging with energy. I grasped my love's head and fisted his golden hair in my fingers, pulling his head down to mine and kissed him with lustful hunger. He was so beautiful to me, like an angel that was tossed into Hell and defied Enma himself to survive and live on, crushed the Devil beneath his power and courage just to see the light of day. I was awed when I first saw the conflicts he had endured and experienced. I knew without a second thought that I had developed feelings for him, but in my lack of hope and confidence, it seemed only to be a fleeting wish and a wistful fantasy.

But my hopes were kindled like a bonfire when I continued to watch him from afar. His struggles and efforts were enough to give me strength and keep my hopes alive. And I knew then, what I know now, is that I love him.

I wanted so desperately to ease his suffering and give him comfort, but in reality, I was the one that probably needed it the most. I felt ashamed at myself for seeing how weak I really was, but then he came to me like a gift from Kami and embraced me within his comfort. I felt so unworthy, so undeserving of his kindness, but he told me to cry all I wanted, tell him of all my troubles and he would listen with heart-felt rapture and attention.

He knew. He knew of my own suffering from my own family, but how I will probably never know. In the long run, I don't think it matters anymore. He was here. We were here. He was kissing me. He was making love to me. WITH me.

We were with each other. We had each other, and that's all that I could ever want. My vision blurred and liquid fire was going to spring forth from my body, just as my lover above was ready to release his essence into me. His stormy blue eyes gazed down into mine and he whispered in my ear:

"I love you, Hinata-chan."

His words were the final stepping stone I needed and I found my vision blinded by an endless white and I was in the very heavens themselves when I screamed my last cry of exstacy.

"NARUTO-KUN!"

Hinata shot up from her bed, panting fervorently as she had recalled her very vivid dream. Her cheeks were flushed and her clothes where soaked with sweat, as well as her arousal. Her clothes were not the only things soaked either. Her futon was completely damp from perspiration.

Hinata didn't have time to dwell on the issue of embarrassment and mortification she felt when seeing the result of her...pleasant dream, because footsteps were heard approaching her door at a near frantic rate which made Hinata panic, desperate in hopes of no one seeing the mess she made of her futon. No time left. She heaved the futon as quickly as she could and stuffed it in her closet, locking it after successfully managing to close the closet door.

"Hinata-Ojou-sama!", cried a frantic maid after bursting into Hinata's room, "What's wrong?! I heard you scream for someone! Are you alright?! You're not harmed, are you?! Why are your clothes so damp? You don't have a fever, do you?!"

Hinata only blushed and vigorously shook her head while her hands clasped themselves together in front of her chest, a nervous habit of hers she has when nervous in the presence of strangers, or unfamiliar people. She couldn't tell her family's maid of her erotic dream from last night, or else she would either die of embarrassment or mortification of her family's disgusted opinion of her character they would judge her as, since she was seen as only a mockery to her clan. Further shame meant possibly punishment in regards to the clan's traditions to discourage sexual tendencies for Hyuuga children and teenagers, since the clan believed any sexual thoughts or practices distracted them from training to perfect themselves in combat and use of their clan's Taijutsu; the Jyuuken (Gentle Fist). Her only option was to lie. Which she hated to do.

"I-I'm fine", Hinata stuttered, "I-I only had a...s-scary dream...don't worry. I'm not harmed. Really."

The maid said nothing and nodded, as she had seen Hinata's shyness for herself many times before and thought nothing of it. Not even the scarlet blush that encompassed her face from her hair roots to her throat. It was then that the maid did a double-take in seeing Hinata's appearance. It was to say the least, quite suggestive: A dark blue tank-top which left little to the imagination, barely even managing to conceal her rather voluptuous cleavage or her flat belly. The pink shorts she wore also were so short, they could deemed as boxers instead were it not for the material being so rough in comparison. And they did nothing to hide Hinata's toned, smooth and shapely legs.

The maid suddenly gave a Cheshire cat grin she tried to hide behind her hand, though that certainly didn't keep Hinata from noticing, which made her blush darken even more and attempt to cover herself as modestly as possible.

"My, my, Hinata-ojou-sama; you're certainly the most lucky girl with puberty benefits, aren't you?", the maid teased. "Why, I'm surprised your not beating the boys away with a stick having such a beautiful figure." The maid sighed dejectedly. "I wish I had a figure like yours when I was younger. I'd have a plethora of men to choose from. Oh, well. Not every woman can be a goddess incarnate."

Hinata was blushing after the maid's generous comments, but nodded with a smile after imagining her Naruto-kun opening his arms to her if he saw her figure. She suddenly shook her head furiously to clear those thoughts away. Naruto wasn't so shallow as to have a girl simply for her figure. He seemed too...emotionally deep to consider such an option.

Still, a little hope and few fantasies kept her at bay for the moment and she trusted herself to stay strong to win the boy of her dreams. She just had to wait and have strength for when the time comes.

'Naruto-kun...I swear I will be your one and only girl. And neither of us will ever be alone again. I swear it.'

Currently, the escorting Team 7 and Tazuna were on trail to the Land of Waves and Sakura had the "brilliant" idea of asking the bridge builder Tazuna questions that seemed stupid to say the least. Like whether or not the Land of Waves had any shinobi or why she had never really heard much from the mysterious country. Sasuke was musing with himself by remaining silent as the graves, ignoring Sakura's voice as much as possible. Kakashi had slipped into the conversation between Tazuna and Sakura to give any small answers that had seemed to be unanswerable while Naruto looked to be daydreaming.

It was, of course, not the case of daydreaming, but his attempt to contact his resident demon, Kyuubi. His efforts seemed to have been in vain since he could neither feel any connection as before nor hear the demon's voice. Although Naruto had wanted to speak with the Kyuubi many times during the last two months, his attempts then were futile. He just couldn't seem to contact the demon for some reason. Maybe only the Kyuubi could establish the contact between Naruto and himself? It seemed plausible after all. Not having any knowledge of the beast inside of his body must of given him an inability to reach the demon. That meant he had to wait until the Kyuubi himself decided to contact the blond shinobi. The only question that plagued Naruto's mind was when?

A sudden pulling sensation in his conscious snapped his mind away from his concentration. His vision was dimming and shaping, contracting into something else of a different scenery and image. When his vision had cleared, he panicked as he found himself not on the ground, but in the tree tops, sprinting through the foliage like a hurricane.

The wind rushed past his face like a zephyr, almost tearing at his skin with the speed he was achieving. Naruto felt like he was the one moving, but he had no control, no capability to move on his own accord. He was trapped within dream now: All he could do was watch what awaited him at the end of this vision, whatever it may have been.

He was reaching even faster speeds now, the wind not even effecting him or even touching him. He was nearing his destination. Whatever it was, it was coming closer and closer, his strides now almost impossibly graceful leaps. A feeling of both dread and phantom rage coursed through his veins like rushing rivers. A crimson mist-like energy covered his vision as he drew closer, but completely disregarded it as his sights settled on the scene in front of him.

A temple...perhaps a castle...was before him. It was easily Fifty feet high and over Two hundred in length, made by the most exquisite polished wood Naruto had ever seen. A long house which had over one hundred rooms at minimum. The tiled roofs and arching corner ends told more than enough that the traditional mega structure was built for a king or royalty. Rice paper doors framed by wood were sectioned away from one another in perfect symmetry, spaced apart with professional measure. The building had Three levels, One floor per level, perhaps Forty or more rooms within each floor. Only the Third floor had windows. And only One window was lit by a lantern. An ominous shadow was seen moving across the walls of the room, screams followed by the shadow's movement with the flicker of the lantern's light. Naruto immediately felt a piercing pain of dread fill inside of him as he unwillingly drew closer to the window, leaping off his branch perch and landed on the tiled roof outside the window. What he saw inside horrified him to shock.

An unknown man, skin paler than the moon with long, oily black hair was violating a woman on the titami mat floor, stabbing her belly with a double-edged strait sword as he continued to thrust himself into her. The woman had red hair and her red kimono was ripped completely, the few pieces of cloth on her were soaked with blood that spurted from her shoulders, belly, legs, and her violated womanhood. Her screams of pain were muffled by a gag around her mouth.

Rage flared inside of Naruto and his phantom self watching all this happening before his eyes. With a feral, beastly roar, he lunged at the unknown man, aiming to rip the sodomite into pieces and burning his remains to ashes. A wailing scream pierced his ear drums and he roared once again for vengeance.

"KYAAAAHHH!"

Naruto heard the scream, but he was no longer in a dreamscape. He was back to his conscious self. And hatred brimmed inside his veins after recalling what he had witnessed. Natural bloodlust followed.

"Uuraaaggghhh!", Naruto roared, his hands shooting behind him and unconsciously grasping two metal-covered appendages, his fingers piercing into the metal with remarkable strength.

The two Kiri (Mist) Shinobi had intended to kill off the members of Team 7 one by one, starting with the grey haired man and had ripped him to pieces with minimal effort after the group had passed a stray puddle of water. The said puddle had been the hiding spot for the gauntlet users to wait for their prey. Now it seems they were at the disadvantage with their choice weapons reduced to useless pieces of bent metal. And the blonde's grip on the gauntlets was tightening, while the nins themselves were unable to move with their arms grasped in an unyielding grip.

Naruto didn't bother to spare a moment for either of the two shinobi. His killing intent was enough to paralyze the duo in their tracks, and he intended to kill them without mercy! Naruto only gave one of the shinobi a passing glance before he twisted the grasped appendage with deft and proficiently cruel speed, taking great satisfaction in hearing the bones snapping multiple times in rapid succession, the force behind the maneuver sending the shinobi spiraling and flying like a rag doll into a near-by tree where his neck and spine crushed upon impact, as well as the tree splintering under the force of the impact. The last passing thought that went through the shinobi's mind was the dread he felt after he had seen the blond Genin's crimson, blood-red eyes before his vision turned black and his heart had stopped pulsing.

Naruto didn't give his former kill a second thought when he turned his sights on the last shinobi in his grasp. This one wore a black cloak that covered the greater portion of his body and had a strange mask covering his mouth and a hetai-ate with horns welded onto it. His hair was an oily black, just like the sodomite that he had just seen violating that woman. Renewed rage surged through his limbs and delivered a bone-crushing kick into the side of the nin's jaw before the nin could even manage a counter.

Like his partner, he too collided painfully hard into a tree just next to his dead comrade. Naruto summoned a Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) immediately as the nin slid down the tree trunk and had the Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) transform into a fuma shuriken less than an instant after being summoned, grasping his new weapon and launched it with wind-cutting speed toward his prey. The shuriken struck home, embedding itself through the nin's uncovered arm and pinned the shinobi to the tree. The Kiri Nin couldn't even give a grunt in acknowledgement to his new injury as he had been rendered unconscious upon earlier impact. Naruto's eyes sharpened impossibly precise and bounded for the pinned shinobi, pulling back his fist with full intent on crushing the nin's head upon striking him. He gave a feral roar and released his strike!

His fist had missed its mark by an inch's breadth, shattering the trunk of the tree as two powerful arms strained in restraining the blond from executing the finishing blow, wrapping from under his arms to around his neck. The person possessing the straining limbs was non other than Kakashi, having managed to stop his student from killing the last enemy after he had regrouped from using his Kawamari (Replacement) to escape the Kiri Nin duo's ambush strike. He was currently having difficulty in keeping his blond soldier still, his strength was astounding for a Genin! It was taking nearly all his strength to hold him off from finishing his kill.

"Naruto! Calm down. It's over; they're dealt with!...Grr... Damn it! Snap out of it, Uzumaki!" Naruto had ignored all his sensei's pleas and continued to struggle, eyeing the Kiri Nin with hateful, killing intent.

Sasuke had joined in attempting to restrain his teammate, after he snapped himself out of shock from the merciless display of cruelty his teammate had shown, seeing as Kakashi was having great trouble in handling his hold. Sakura had declined in assisting restraining her blond team member, seeing as he looked ready to kill anyone within an arm's reach, she preferred not to take unnecessary risks. Sasuke and Kakashi had accepted her excuse as a reasonable point and tried to get Naruto calm enough so to not have unneeded deaths or injuries. Naruto's struggles began to strengthen.

Sasuke had decided to take the initiative, releasing his hold on the blonde's arm, turning his front, and staring strait into Naruto's crimson, black-slitted eyes and back-handed him, hoping the shock from the strike would snap him out of his rage-induced state.

Naruto blinked, once, twice, shock registering on his face from the smack he recieved, then his eyes changed back to their deep blue and his struggles began to cease. Kakashi had felt the young shinobi slack his posture and reluctantly released his hold to allow Naruto to move. Kakashi gave Sasuke a thankful look and stepped away from the blond.

Immediately after he was released, Naruto felt his stomach knot and convulge from the disgusting recollection of his earlier vision, rushing past Kakashi and Sakura to the road edge and fell to the ground on his hands and knees, vomiting violently and emptying his stomach of all it's contents, filling his mouth with a bile taste. Kakashi and Sasuke rushed to his side to see what the problem was, but Naruto held up a hand to halt their advance, which they did reluctantly.

"It-it's all right", Naruto gasped, "Just a little...too much adrenaline went through me too quickly...kinda had convulsion sickness...don't worry, I'll live. Thanks for the concern, by the way. And...thank you for snapping me out my enraged state, Sasuke. I appreciate it."

Sasuke only gave a small nod, still too shocked from witnessing the blond's monstrous show of aggression and strength. It almost seemed inhuman to him. Even more shocking was his teammate's beastly appearance: Crimson red eyes, elongated canine fangs with teeth bared, his whisker marks deepening 'til they had almost bled...He decided to drop the issue for the time being and strolled back to his post next to Tazuna when Naruto's voice suddenly called out:

"Who is after you and would want to kill you, Tazuna-san?"

Sakura and Tazuna stiffened completely after registering Naruto's questioning words, they being exactly what Kakashi had intended to ask the bridge builder but was beaten to the punch before he could voice his statement, and Sasuke eyed his teammate with a somewhat knowing look, his thoughts perhaps mirroring the blonde's. Naruto had arisen from the ground and eyed the old man with a suspicious gaze, silently commanding him to tell him the truth.

Even if Naruto wasn't a genius like Shikamaru or Sasuke, he had enough intelligence to understand mission affairs and proceedings. None of Team 7's members had ever, for the course of the two months being formed, stepped outside of the village gates, mush less trekked as far as to the Land of Waves, where the Nin duo had come from. Only Tazuna had. And it was rather simple now that the two harmless nins had attacked, add the fact that only Tazuna amongst them had come from Wave Country, like the Kiri Nins, told more than enough that he was the target of this attempted ambush. The only reason Naruto saw why the Nin duo had attacked the members from Team 7 first was to ensure they were uninterrupted.

"Talk old man. I won't wait forever. Now!"

Tazuna looked from side to side, desperate to avoid revealing the truth of his deception and avoiding trouble with offending possibly highly skilled shinobi that would probably harm him for lying, but Naruto's gaze left no room for option or negotiation, so he resigned to the inevitable and told the eager-listening Team 7.

"Alright, I'll tell you everything you need to know. It all started about two or three years ago..."

Suffice to say, the traveling group had become increasingly cautious along their journey to Wave country after hearing of a major business man by the name of Gatou had gained complete control of the country's trade industry and has kept the land in a state of poverty. Because of this, Tazuna had been given a project of building a bridge in his village to allow trade to go by land and not by water transport where Gatou has full control over.

In response to the possible threat of his business declining, Gatou had hired Nukenin (Renegade Shinobi) to kill off the bridge builder, as told from the Kiri Nin after he had regained consciousness, who was one of the Demon Brothers; Chunin-ranked assassins for hire...or rather, ex-Demon Brothers, with one of them now dead. After he had disclosed the information regarding his hire, he was left tied to a tree for the Kiri Ryounin (Hunter Shinobi) to handle.

Kakashi had told his team and Tazuna that the mission was far above C-rank, border-lining a B or A-rank assignment with the danger of attacking shinobi, Tazuna would have to pay the fee for the mission difficulty and dangers, add to the fact an even stronger shinobi could attack at any given time meant no one could afford to be distracted of occupied with anything else but awareness. Tazuna had agreed to pay the fee once the bridge was finished and he and the rest of his village could circulate trade once again.

Far more alert and ready for attack, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto covered Tazuna from the front with Kakashi in the back incase of another ambush, forming a "diamond-shape" defense around the bridge builder. They had been walking for about a half hour after they had been carried across the river to Tazuna's village by boat where they had also seen a glimpse of Tazuna's near-completed massive bridge thanks to a boat's man by the name of Kaji, who was a friend to Tazuna. They had been sitting in Kaji's boat for the better part of an hour with the engine off to prevent being noticed as they skimmed through the tunnel drain that lead into a lake expanse with mangrove trees. Another few minutes went by as they passed various half-hazardly built houses situated onto peirs above the water, and docked onto a peir where they gave small nods in gratitude and walked off of the boat onto dry land as Kaji sped away.

No one spoke, feeling far too tense for idle chit-chat or conversation. Especially after seeing how aggressive and blood thirsty Naruto could become when in the face of enemies. The said blond-haired Genin was very distraught as well, his mind feeling as if it were forever plagued and infected like a virus from the vision he had witnessed, seeing a woman raped and tortured so savagely by that sodomite it made his stomach tighten with disgust. The word "rape" alone left a horrible taste in his mouth. He'd give anything at that moment to make him forget what he had seen, but it was a fleeting hope that he knew that would never be granted.

A sudden rustle from some near-by bushes alerted the group and Sasuke had released a volley of shuriken instantly, aiming to kill what -or whom- ever had occupied that bush. Silence greeted the young Uchiha's attack and everyone began to feel pensive and anxious, wondering if or when they would be attacked. "What do think that was, Sasuke?", Naruto asked behind the prodigy.

"...Nothing."

Kakashi was beginning to become nervous himself, surveying his student's worry and tension which was almost palpable. If things continued like this, the young Genins won't even manage to sleep and recuperate-

Another rustle of leaves, followed by the whistle of a flying weapon alerted Kakashi before it did his students. He swiveled his head to look toward an on-coming, large sword, easily capable of severing all those in it's path in half. He acted quickly.

"GET DOWN, EVERYONE!"

Everyone followed Kakashi's advice, pulling themselves to the ground just as the massive sword passed overhead by mere centimeters. The weapon halted in it's air-borne flight when embedding itself deep into a tree trunk.

Kakashi panned to the now immobile weapon and narrowed his visable eye when seeing the sword owner standing on the weapon handle.

It was a tall, muscular man with bandages wrapped around the lower half of his head and face, a hetai-ate strapped to the top-left of his head at an awkward angle. The man's hair was a dark black, spiky much like Naruto's, and had thin, red eyes with no eye-brows. He wore only long pants with horizontal stripes and tight, camouflage-colored arm and leg warmers, his shirt being absent and showing off his hard trained and rippling muscle with a thick, single-looping sheath harness that went around his neck, a square buckle holding the loop with the main strap. It didn't take Kakashi long to recognize who it was.

Momochi Zabuza, Kirigakure no Oni -the Demon of Hidden Mist-. A Jounin ranked Nukenin of Kirigakure no Sato.

This isn't good, Kakashi thought, If he's as good as I've heard, then I'm in for one hell of a fight. I just hope Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke are able to defend Tazuna while I handle this guy.

"Everyone, take positions around Tazuna and defend him until I'm through with this guy!" He paused, taking his hetai-ate and lifting it up, revealing a vertical scar that ran over his eyebrow down to his cheek. Even more shocking that was revieled was the eye itself: A bright red iris, within which floated three black symbols shaped like commas. "This is my fight!"

The sight had the young Genins mesmerized with awe and confusion. Sasuke knew more than enough, being from the Uchiha clan, that no one he knew had ever given something as valuable as a Sharingan (Mirror-Wheele Eye) unless it was long before his time, but thought better to ignore it for the time being until they were all out of danger. Naruto and Sakura had similar thoughts.

Zabuza, too, had heard much about Kakashi, the "Copy Nin" he is called for having copied over a thousand Jutsus with his unnatural eye. To Zabuza, this was like a one-chance opportunity to fight a Jounin of such renown, it was impossible to resist.

"To face the Sharingan so early in our fight...'tis an honor", said Zabuza, his voice raspy and vicious like a rumble, "I guess I'll have to kill you and your brats before I handle the old man." Tazuna audibly gulped catching this, "But know one thing, Kakashi...", he paused, gripping his sword handle and crouching in prep to jump, "It will do you no good!"

He leapt, vanishing into a blur with his no-dachi (Cleaving Sword) and landed on the water surface of a small lake near-by, his weapon strapped to his back, one hand in a "silence" gesture whilst the other pointed to the heavens. Water rippled and danced around his tense form, energy slowly gathering to do his bidding.

Kakashi eyed Zabuza warily, looking for any weakness to exploit. He found none. A mist began to form from the lake and plunged the area into a field of an intensely thick fog, limiting the image of his form and he disappeared, leaving only a single message:

"Welcome to my art; Ninpo:Kirigakure no Jutsu (Ninja art: Art of the Hidden Mist)!"

Moments passed like hours, leaving Team 7 and Tazuna shaking in fear. Before long, Kakashi sensed a chakra signature and formed the "Goat" seal, his Sharingan eye commas spinning like a wheel. Killing intent was felt by everyone, especially Sasuke, as he was very familiar with what killing intent felt like from the incident of his clan's genocide, thoughts of hopelessness dancing through his mind. Beside him, Naruto had grown impatient, growling feraly which alerted his teammates.

I've had enough of this!, he mentally growled, If this guy's going to kill us, he should just do it and not stall! What is he waiting for, anywa-

His eyes widened instantly, realizing too late Zabuza's intentions when he sensed the said Nin landing in the center of their defense, poised and ready for the killing blow. Tazuna was now completely vulnerable and open for attack!

No time for a warning call!, Naruto thought frantically, I'll have to pull them all away before Zabuza cuts them all in half! Please be fast enough! He crossed his forefingers instantly, voicing his prized Jutsu:

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Three Bunshins were summoned within the blink of an eye, grasping the collars of his teammates and Tazuna before any were able to sense Zabuza's position and hurled them to a safer distance, the Bunshins taking the blow and severing in half at the waist from Zabuza's massive blade, exploding into smoke and dust.

Naruto hadn't been so lucky. Zabuza's weapon had struck him clear across his chest, cutting upward and severing his collar bone through his tough cloths and armor easily. The force behind the blow sent him flying backward and impacted with a tree, knocking the breath from his lungs. By then, Sakura, Sasuke and Tazuna had regained their balance from their short flight and Kakashi had stabbed Zabuza in the sturnum, the latter's body dispersing into water and Kakashi getting cut in half from another Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone). He too had been a Mizu Bunshin and the actual Jounins had leapt away to take their battle elsewhere. When the rookies had looked back to their teammate, Sasuke and Sakura rushed to aid Naruto, but Naruto stopped them.

"Forget me for now!", he yelled to them, "Protect Tazuna and watch for Zabuza! I'm going to help Kakashi handle the sucker!" And in a flash, he leapt to join the battle of the Jounins, ignoring the searing pain in his upper right chest, and unaware of his wound already healed.

After landing on the water surface, Kakashi was now engaged in a furious battle of Jutsus with the Nukenin, sprinting in circles and zig-zag formations. Zabuza launched a water dragon and Kakashi copied the Jutsu perfectly, making his attack clash with his opponent's, both water dragons bursting into an explosion of their element. This had continued for untold minutes. While Zabuza would unleash one Suiton (Water Element) Jutsu, Kakashi would mirror it with his Sharingan and cancel out the initial attack, but they were only temporary accomplishments as he continued. His chakra reserves were diminishing rapidly with using his unnatural eye and executing the various Jutsus Zabuza continued to use. Things were beginning to wane in his favor.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Art of the Shuriken Shadow Clone)!"

Surprised by the new voice's interruption, Zabuza had no time to dwell on it as a single shuriken came speeding toward him, multiplying by the numbers and formed a wall of shurikens. Dozens were now coming and there were no gaps or spaces between the flying weapons to evade them. He had to defend. Zabuza gripped his sword handle and placed his massive blade vertical to himself to shield his body from the volley of throwing weapons. They bounced off harmlessly, and he chuckling in amusement to the brat's useless parlor trick-

A sudden pain erupted in his exposed ribs, cracks heard and felt like claps of thunder in his ears. Looking down, he saw the orange-clothed brat with his fist buried into his side, the Genin's face contorted into a grimacing sneer. Rage flared inside of Zabuza, shame in allowing a mere Genin to injure him in the heat of battle. Releasing his blade handle, he back-handed Naruto across the face too quickly for the Genin to defend, sending the young shinobi flying into the lake, as Naruto once again unable to avoid the blow.

Zabuza had no time to gloat about his partial victory before Kakashi had came in and began attacking him, slashing at him with a kunai in both hands. Zabuza leapt away to make some distance and executed over a dozen hand seals, ending with the "Bird" seal. Water circulated and danced around his form in dome-like manner, forming into a dragon and launching strait toward Kakashi., who had managed to copy Zabuza's Jutsu and launched it to cancle out the attack. Both water dragons clashed and broke apart upon impact, Zabuza already executing new hand seals, and Kakashi mirroring his movements once more. Zabuza began to become frustrated and stalls slightly.

That was all that Kakashi needed, finishing the Jutsu before Zabuza could recover his ground.

"Suiton: Daibakuha (Water Element: Waterfall explosion)!"

Water rippled around Kakashi's body, forming into a perfect sphere and was launched with explosive force into a tornado of water directly for Zabuza. The Nukenin had no time to evade and was swept into the inescapable tide's force, slamming into a tree. Kakashi hadn't even given his opponent a chance to twitch before he launched several kunai into Zabuza's arms and legs, leaving them unusable and him crippled for the moment. Kakashi landed on a branch perch, looking down at Zabuza's form coldly. Zabuza looked up to Kakashi, fear marking his once vicious features.

"How...? Can you see the future?", Zabuza asked fearfully. Kakashi only answered in a cold voice.

"I foresee...your death!"

Before either could blink, two long needles flew from a stray tree-top and pierced through Zabuza's neck, shock registering on his face before he fell to the ground like a splintering giant oak.

"Heh!...Your prediction came true." Kakashi panned his sights to the source of the voice. He saw a strange clothed shinobi.

The shinobi had black hair, tied in a bun fashion with stray strands fluttering in the breeze. The Nin wore a white, ghoulish mask with narrow eye slits and curving red designs under the eye slits, a black top robe over a brown, long-sleeve shirt with matching shorts reaching to the knees and a long brown sash around the waist. A Ryounin (Huner Shinobi). The shinobi's stance was calm, relaxed, but it held an edge of preparation should the moment come. This was a shinobi with extensive experience. Based on the cloths and slender frame, it was difficult to determine the shinobi's gender. The unknown shinobi disappeared in a swirl of leaves and appeared next to Zabuza's body, after Kakashi had done a initial check for a pulse, to which he found none.

While the Ryounin inspected the seemingly lifeless body, Naruto had been lying in wait within the waters, waiting for the moment when his help would be needed. He had remained in the water even as the Ryounin had made his/her appearance. Naruto had been impressed with the skill the unknown shinobi had displayed using those needles in killing the Nukenin, but something wasn't right. Why use needles to kill your target if a kunai could cut through major arteries and muscle much more efficiently? Either this one was completely confident in using his/her skills or...

When Naruto had seen the Ryounin heft Zabuza's body by the arm, he knew something wasn't right. This unknown shinobi didn't have the physical frame strength to handle carrying a body that heavy unless for a short distance. Shinobi only required to take heads and hands to verify their kills. That left only one conclusion, coupled with the mystery of the needles in Zabuza's neck: Zabuza was still alive and the Nin was going to take him elsewhere to recover. Naruto jumped out of the water frantically, sprinting with maddening excess toward his sensei in effort to stop the Ryounin in time. He wasn't fast enough.

"KAKASHI", he screamed to his sensei, "STOP THAT HUNTER! QUICKLY! HE'S TAKING ZABUZA AWAY TO HAVE HIM RECOVER!"

It was a futile effort. The Ryounin had already disappeared into a swirl of leaves, taking with him/her Zabuza's form and leaving not a trace.

Naruto had stopped abruptly and panted, exhausted from his injuries and sprinting. He gave a single glance to his sensei and his vision began to turn black as he fell to the ground with a dull 'thud'. Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna had came running and rushed to him and the now unconscious Kakashi, deprived of chakra to keep him standing. The last passing thought that went through his mind was the hope he wouldn't see that dreaded scene of that woman being raped before he succumbed to sleep.

The Ryounin had finally managed to heft Zabuza's body into a clearing within the forest a great distance away from the battle field for the nin to operate. It seemed he/she didn't have to, because the Nukenin had regained consciousness and growled with a groggy exhale, pulling himself up and cracking his neck to ease some of the aches. The Ryounin had stopped sorting through his/her equipment and knelt next to Zabuza's side like an obedient servant, awaiting it's next order.

"Are you alright, Zabuza-sama?", came the soft, feminine reply from the Ryounin. Zabuza groaned and gripped one of the needles in his neck and pulled it out almost savagely, the Ryounin's hand darting to his/her master's hand that grasped the needle in an effort to halt his actions.

"Please Zabuza-sama! Any which way you pull them and you could truly kill yourself. The fact that your concious after I put you in that near-death state in only hours is a testament to your strength in recovery, but don't make such reckless actions. You're not invincible."

Zabuza only gave a chuckle in reply to his servant's warning. He threw the needle away carelessly and gave his servant a curt look of displeasure, seeing that ghoulish white mask that almost never left the face of its wearer.

"Remove that mask already, Haku. You know how I detest looking at it. And besides, no one can see your face out here."

Slowly, Haku did as asked and pulled the mask away, revealing a feminine face with snow white skin, full lips, long lashes and dark almond eyes. Beautiful would be the only word that could describe the shinobi's facial features. Haku gave small smile to her master seeing Zabuza raise an eye brow to seeing her appearance. It still baffled him seeing someone that looked so innocent be in actuality so deadly and merciless.

His thoughts veered to recalling the events of his battle with Kakashi and the orange-clothed brat who's name he didn't know. Gingerly he touched his throbbing ribs and winced with a grimace. They were definitely broken and would take time healing, even with his servant, Haku, tending to his wounds. Even worse is that once his servant puts him in a death-like state, it takes over a week or more to fully recover his full strength.

"Let's head back to home base, Haku!", Zabuza ordered. Haku gave a quick nod and hefted her master over her shoulder and disappeared once again in a tornado of swirling leaves, leaving nothing to trace or track as the fog lifted from the area.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

I'm sorry for all the chapter changes I've been doing, but I can't help being a perfectionist when I can. Hopefully I'll learn to do better as my story progresses. And thank you all for reviewing my story. It makes me happy that my efforts are appreciated by the masses that fell in love with fanfiction as much as I have. Read and Review y'all, and I'll update soon with a suprise chapter that you have been holding your breaths for.