First off, I just have a couple things to say before I get to the individual reviews. One is that I'm not going to argue about bashing anymore. I know I'm right and that's pretty much the end of it. If people still want to complain I'm bashing when I'm not then they can go fuck off becuase I'm through arguing it. The second is that I'm done listening to people say Naruto was stupid by revealing a lot of his skills to Kakashi. Like the bashing reviewers, I've already said my piece so if you want to keep reviewing about it then fuck off. This is my story, I write it how I want and that's final.
There, now that that's off my chest I'll do the individual reviews.
Celestia GF of the Void: Ignoring the rest of your bull review, I'm going to point out something. You say I 'conveniently' ignored a review about an actual important topic. I went back and checked and have to say, you're wrong. That review was posted to the chapter after I already had the following chapter out. You can't ignore something that didn't exist at the time. The review was posted later. Plus when I answer reviews I only look at the reviews for the most recent chapter, not counting what I'm doing here adding on any important reviews to the Hiatus Notice chapter since despite my asking not to people did review to it and a couple added questions.
Now as to what that review was about claiming magic is spiritual energy and ki/chi is physical energy, yes that's true. And in the Narutoverse combining the two grants chakra while in the Negimaverse it grants Kanko. Now as this is a crossover, I can't have the exact same move(combining the energy) come up with two entirely different things. So instead I changed chakra. I was going to go over this in detail once I brought it up in the story but the basic idea is that chakra is not just spiritual and physical energy but a little something more as well. That's why you could exhuast all your magic and ki either seperately or together with Kanko and just be exhausted whereas if you exhaust all your chakra you could die.
GodShadowEX: No, it wasn't false. Neither the Rinnegan or the Sharingan can see the chakra pathways and tenketsu like the Byakugan can, hence it has the best ability in that catagory. Both of the others can see a bit of the flow of chakra, even identify if it's elemental and a few other things, but the Byakugan does that and sees the chakra network.
Also, you point out Izanagi being a bastard verion of a Rinnegan technique, that's true. The Izanagi is a one-shot genjutsu version of the Banbutsu Sozo (Creation of All Things) ninjutsu used by the Sage. NINjutsu not GENjutsu. Hence, the Sharingan is better at illusions still. And as for the Rinngean being able to do everything the Sharingan can, or its Mangekyou variant, then why didn't Pain ever use any Sharingan technique? In fact, why did he get caught in a genjutsu by Jiraiya when the Sharingan can dispel them? You don't like it but the fact is that the Rinnegan may be the strongest of the three dojutsu but that doesn't mean it's the best at everything.
bankai777: Naruto won't be using corpses for his paths. By the time he reaches that level he'll be using his own clones as the paths as he'll find the thought of using the dead to be wrong.
Akuma-Heika: No Naruto will not be calling it Gravity Well. I've thought of a different name for it. Also as for him not being older despite using the resort so much, I look at how Negi and his group could use it so much and yet they never seemed to be affected by the passage of time. Now I know the scale is different as they only used it for a couple hours every few days whereas Naruto's used it for an hour or two nearly every day for a few years but I think there has to be some kind of stasis magic on the resort so that the people inside aren't physically affected by the passage of time. Maybe I'm wrong but that's what I'm working with here since I needed a reason for Naruto to be able to use the resort a lot as a child and yet not somehow be far older than his generation.
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~ Chapter 05 = Swords and Snakes~
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"You are to reinforce Kakashi and his genin in defending the client from you arrive, hand Kakashi this scroll as well so he knows I sent you and with orders to tell the client we will be working out a payment plan for lying to us about the mission when it's all finished."
"Got it Hokage-sama." The woman replied so Sarutobi nodded as she picked up the scroll and left. She made a quick stop at her apartment to get a few supplies before heading to the main gate via the rooftops. She was only a few buildings from her goal when a hand shot out of her shadow and grabbed her leg to hold her in place. "What the hell?!" She shouted before she was pulled down into the shadow and everything went dark. When it cleared back up she found her self standing in an empty room with a blond woman in a black gothic style dress standing in front of her. She was about to get into a combat position when the woman snapped her fingers and she found herself frozen.
"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you. I just needed to reach you before you left and I wouldn't have made it in time had I actually ran out after you."
"Who are you and what do you want?!"
"My name is of no importance right now but what I want is a bit of help. Help that only you can give as you're the only back up the old monkey is sending my apprentice and his team."
"Wait, Hatake is your apprentice?" She asked as the blond scowled and shook her head.
"No, one of the genin is. In fact he's both my apprentice and my godson. He contacted me with the request for back up and I told Sarutobi." She explained before turning around and picking something up. "Now all I want you to do is carry her with you. She'll do whatever else is needed."
"Her?" The blond turned around holding up a small green doll with large eyes in a black dress and held her out to her. "A doll? Seriously?"
"What? I know I don't look like much lady but if ya want I could start stabbing ya." The woman's eyes were wide as she looked at the green haired doll in shock at it speaking so the doll sighed. "Master, are you sure you need me to be carried by her? Why can't ya just port me like ya did to get her here?"
"Because the seal stops my magic from leaving the village for such spells. But simply sending power to you is within the allowances so that's what we're stuck with. And since you don't know the way to Naruto, you have to be given a guide, hence our shinobi here that will take you to him."
"Whoa whoa, back up. I never said I'd do it. First you surprise and kidnap me, then you freeze me somehow and now you want me to do you a favor? Lady, your people skills suck shit." The blond quirked an eyebrow at her backtalk before smirking as the temperature seemed to drop and she felt as if she'd die in the coldest and most humiliating way possible for another word.
"You've got spunk, I like that. But I never actually said you had a choice now did I?" She asked as she leaned in and set Chachazero on her shoulder with one hand while the other mockingly tapped her on the cheek. "Now you're going to bring my servant with you to my apprentice and his team and you're going to do so willingly. If not, then I'll let you go now only because I'd rather have Naruto back here safe and sound. But when you get back, I will show you nightmares you've never dreamed existed, horrors lost to mankind centuries ago, things that will scar you for life and make you break down and cry where you are. And then I'll put you right back together and take it from the top." She threatened and before she could respond to the blonds' threats she put a finger on her lips. "And before you say anything, yes I know exactly who you are and your history. And I'm telling you that what happened to you will be a lullaby when I'm through. Understand?" She asked as her mind seemed to flash on images of shadowy figures and blizzards with her being tortured and in pain throughout. The woman only nodded her understanding so the blond smiled as everything seemed to return to normal and she snapped her fingers again. Everything went black before she found herself sitting on the rooftop she had first been grabbed from. She shakily got to her feet trying to piece together what happened when she felt the doll poke her cheek.
"Hurry up lady, I wanna see whiskers again." She just glared down at the doll before she picked up where she left with running to the village exit to back up Kakashi and his genin.
"Your master is a fucking scary bitch, you know that?" She muttered to the doll as it simply nodded on her shoulder.
"Of course she is! That's how she got her title of Dark Evangel!"
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"Wow, that's a big bridge." Naruto gaped as the group neared the structure in the small boat they had rented to cross into the country. Tazuna smirked and nodded proudly before Naruto turned around with a smirk of his own. "So what're you compensating for old man?" He asked as Tazuna instantly dropped down with a tic mark on his forehead while Sasuke simply snorted with a stoic look at the blonds' crass humor and Hinata blushed but shook her head. Kakashi merely looked bored as he kept looking around in case anyone attacked.
"Alright, keep quiet now. Zabuza is a master of the art of silent killing. We may not hear him coming and we don't need you talking and making it even harder to hear him approach." He admonished so the blond nodded his head as did his teammates and got serious about keeping Tazuna safe.
"Thanks again for not leaving me behind." He muttered as the jonin nodded and the boat docked at a small pier. "My house is this way. Follow me." He told them as he pointed off ahead of them and started walking with the ninja taking up a basic defensive formation around him. The genin were keeping their eyes peeled with both Hinata and Naruto having their eyes activated and Kakashi straining his own senses to their limit to try and find their attacker should he be nearby.
"S-sensei, this mist... I-it's unnatural." Hinata spoke up as they continued in. Kakashi turned to her with a questioning look and Naruto added his own input.
"Yeah, it's full of chakra and it's only been getting thicker as we've gotten further along." The jonin took that into account as well before motioning for them all to stop as he noticed they were right about it getting thicker. Whereas when they landed it was a simple covering around them that blurred distant objects, now it was getting to the point that even though Sasuke was on point only a few feet ahead of him he could hardly see past the boy.
"Kirigakure no Jutsu." (Hidden Mist Technique) He muttered as it came to him. He knew the jutsu and had seen it before even. The user filled the water in the air with their chakra to create a mist to hide themselves in. If their was a nearby water source, like there was all around the small country of Nami, they could thicken the mist by drawing from the source. "Zabuza's nearby. Manji formation and stay on your guard." Kakashi ordered as the genin took position around Tazuna. Kakashi channeled chakra to his ears to hear for him to hopefully pick out the assassin when he heard something.
The sound of metal cutting through air, and by the sound of it, something large.
"Everyone down!" He shouted as he ducked, his genin dropping as well with Naruto and Sasuke pulling Tazuna down with them. And not a moment too soon as a large spinning blade flew through the air where the mans' head had just been and continued on spinning until it embedded itself within a nearby tree. The mist cleared up enough for them to then see that there was a man standing on the blades' handle and looking down on them from above.
"Well well well, if it isn't the famous Copy ninja. This is an honor." He mocked as they all stood back up and Kakashi leveled a stern glare on the man.
"Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Mist." Zabuza had spiky dark hair and wore his Kiri headband tilted to the side of his head while his face from his nose down to his shoulders was covered in bandages wrapped around him. Across his chest was a large leather strap while around his wrists were light blue arm warmers. For pants he had on blue camoflauge patterned pants that led into his shinobi sandals. "So I doubt there's any way to avoid this is there?"
"You could hand over the old man." He suggested while Kakashi simply lifted his headband and revealed his Sharingan eye. "Or not. To be honest I was kind of hoping for this outcome though. I want to see which one of us is better." The man told them before leaping off the blade, pulling it out of the tree at the same time, and landed on his feet at the base of the tree. "Ya know, you aren't listed as having genin in the Bingo Book though. They must be new." He pointed out before chuckling as the mist thickened again and hid him from view. "That's good. It's so much fun to freak out the rookies." His voice echoed out through the mist. The feeling of death began to enter the area as Zabuza slowly ramped up his killing intent, making Hinata and Sasuke shake slightly. "Did you know there are eight points in the human body where you can deal a pin-point fatal blow?" He mockingly asked before Naruto growled.
"This damn mist is too thick for me to see his chakra through." He muttered before an idea popped into his head. Working through it he slowly began to grin before he opened his palms. "Burakkuho-ru Kekkei." (Black Hole Barrier) He muttered as the mist began to gather and vanish in to his hands slowly, so that Zabuza wouldn't notice.
'This killing intent... it's so strong!' Hinata thought in fear as she had her eyes active and searching the mist franctically for the Kiri jonin but failing to see past the chakra in the air. 'He'll kill us for sure!' Her terrified mind screamed before she noticed something happening to the chakra filling the mist. It was slowly being drawn to a point on her left and as she glanced down she saw that it was being pulled into Naruto's hands and added to his reserves. 'Naruto's absorbing the chakra!' As he did she noticed it was getting easier to see and she calmed slightly since she was no longer essentially blind. 'He's doing what he can so I will too!' She thought before closing her eyes and taking a calming breath and then focusing on finding the stealth specialist.
On Naruto's otherside, Sasuke was just as scared as Hinata was. However unlike her, he had yet to awaken his Sharingan, so he couldn't see what Naruto was doing to try and help. As a result, Sasuke was trying hard not to shake in fear as his eyes darted to and fro across the landscape. 'I cannot die here! I still have to accomplish my goals!' He ranted in his head as his hands were shaking slightly while he held a kunai in his right. However his fear was starting to get the best of him as he began to raise his kunai up towards his throat. "Sasuke!" Kakashi's voice cut in as the man turned to glance back over his shoulders. "Don't worry, I'm not going to let you die." He offered, letting Sasuke's fears bleed out at the assurance.
"You sure about that Kakashi?" The genin had there eyes widen in shock and fear as Zabuza's voice came from directly behind them. They spun around to see Zabuza already swinging his sword down towards Tazuna's neck. "I win!"
"Inryoku Myaku!" (Gravity Pulse) Naruto cried on reflex as he tried to grab Tazuna. However as he hadn't aimed his jutsu the end result was a blast that went out in all directions with himself at the center. He had only managed to grab Tazuna's hand to keep a hold of him as everyone else, and the mist included, were shoved away by the attack. Hinata and Sasuke were thrown to the ground a few feet away on either side as Kakashi skidded back a couple feet himself, managing to remain standing by channeling chakra to his feet. Zabuza though was thrown back the farthest as Naruto's jutsu had been focused mostly towards his front even though he hadn't aimed it. As a result the Kiri jonin flew back until his back crashed against a tree, cracking it as he let out a grunt of pain and fell to a knee. Panting lightly from both the scare and the reflexively used jutsu, Naruto took up position in front of Tazuna as he gave Hinata and Sasuke a quick glance. "Sorry about that guys. You alright?"
"Fine." Sasuke spat out as he got back to his feet with a scowl. Hinata merely nodded as she stood as well and focused on Zabuza as Naruto had blasted most of the mist back. Kakashi leveled a glare at the back of Naruto's head for a moment before turning his attention to Zabuza, who he deemed the bigger threat.
'The demon is lucky I could tell that was reflex and that he protected Tazuna.' He muttered in his head as he readied a kunai and charged the standing swordsman. Zabuza was muttering under his breath, wondering what Naruto had just done no doubt, and only just noticed Kakashi coming up in time to raise his blade to block the stab. Kakashi twisted into a side kick that Zabuza leapt away to dodge before swinging his sword down on the silver haired jonin, who parried with his kunai as the two drew face to face in their weapon lock.
"That blond of yours has a pretty nice trick Kakashi. He's just lucky it caught me off guard." He growled as they strained against one another.
"Yeah, that one has lots of tricks to use." Was the reply before they pushed apart and Kakashi rushed in again to attack, ducking under Zabuza's wide swing and trying to stab him again only for the bandaged ninja to lean to the side and avoid the kunai. Kakashi tried to kick Zabuza but the man brought his blade down and used its large flat surface to block before shoving Kakashi back and trying to cut him in half vertically. The Konoha jonin had only a second to gasp in shock before he was split in two. However before anyone could say or think anything else Zabuza had a kunai sticking through his stomach. "Luckily so do I."
"Kawarimi..." (Body Replacement) Zabuza grunted before collapsing into water.
"Tch, Mizu Bunshin. (Water Clone) Keep a look out, he's still out there!" Kakashi called to his students as Zabuza's laugh echoed around them.
"Come now Kakashi, you didn't really think it would be that easy did you?" He taunted as by this time Hinata and Sasuke had returned to their positions around Zabuza. Naruto himself narrowed his eyes before pulling out his pactio card.
"Adeat!" He called as the card glowed and vanished and the six handles of his collapsable blades appear on his sash. Grabbing two of them Naruto flicked his wrists to spring the blades out. The blond got into a positition to fight as Zabuza's voice echoed throught the air again.
"Well now, those are interesting. But tell me kid, do you really think you can match blades with one of the best swordsman in the world?"
"Why don't you stop hiding so we can find out?" Naruto shouted back, straining his Rinnegan as he tried to find where Zabuza was. The man had yet to refill the clearing with mist after Naruto had blown it away, something all the Konoha ninja were quietly thankful for, so his eyes were raking over the trees all around them. Suddenly Hinata gasped so they all turned to see where she was looking to see the mist clearing further to reveal Zabuza standing on the nearby water with his sword on his back on going through hand seals.
"Ya got spunk kid. I'm almost sorry you're gonna die. Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" (Water Release: Water Dragon Projectile Technique) He cried as a dragon of water with glowing yellow eyes rose up from behind him and charged straight for the group. Naruto again reacted on instinct and jumped in front with his arms spread wide as his Rinnegan eyes seemed to pusle for a moment.
"Burakkuho-ru Kekkei!" The dragon collided directly with with Naruto but rather than crush him it instead seemed to shrink and vanish into his chest entirely, the only evidence of it ever existing being that the boy had gotten somewhat wet from the excess water in the jutsu.
"What the hell?!" Zabuza didn't get to think on it much more as Kakashi appeared behind him attempting to strike him with his kunai again. As the silver haired jonin engaged the assassin in close combat Naruto turned back to his teammates.
"Hinata, do you have any mid-to-long range jutsu?" He asked as she shook her head. "Damn. Alright then. Sasuke, what d'ya say we take potshots at Zabuza whenever there's distance between him and sensei?" The blond offered as the Uchiha grinned at the idea. Returning the grin both boys ran towards the waters edge as Naruto put away one of his swords and morphed his hand into the mechanical lens he used for his jutsu as Sasuke ran through signs for his own jutsu. "Enerugi Taihou!" (Energy Cannon)
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique) Zabuza had only just backed away to get a bit of room to swing his sword when both he and Kakashi sensed the incoming chakra and the Konoha jonin leapt back, knowing what it meant. Zabuza however didn't and turned to see a bright blue laser flying at him that he ducked to dodge only to see the fireball following it. Not seeing any other option to dodge the ninja cut the chakra flow to his feet and dropped below the water as the burning ball crashed into the spot he had just held, the water steaming and growing unbearably hot in an instant. Resisting the urge to gasp from the sudden change and let water rush into his lungs, Zabuza swam away a small distance before resurfacing. However as he turned back to the genin he cursed and ducked underwater again as another fireball was already heading towards him, Hinata having followed him with her Byakugan and telling the boys where he was going to surface.
'Damnit! That blond has some wierd as jutsu that I've never seen before, the girl is a Hyuga with their damn All-seeing eyes, and the other brat is going to boil me alive in my own fucking element! Well hell no! I am not going to be punked by some damn brats!' The jonin raged in his head before running through hand seals underwater and focusing on where he had seen the genin. He figured the blond would likely do whatever he did before to stop the jutsu but at the same time it would likely give him the chance he needed to get back into the fight before they could start trapping him like they had been. 'Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!' (Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique)
"I think he's r-readying a jutsu." Hinata told her teammates as she watched Zabuza swim underwater to avoid the boys' jutsu.
"Well if he is then I'll just absorb it again and Sasuke can pound him with another fireball. To be honest, this is kind of easy. Fun even." Naruto admitted as he kept his eyes on the lake where his Rinnegan let him know there was a strong chakra under the water. He frowned when he saw the chakra spread to the water and begin to mold it for a technique. "Yep, jutsu. Step back you guys." The blond commented as he held up his free hand and the other two stepped back, making sure Tazuna stayed behind them as well. Suddenly a large torrent of water came spiraling up before crashing into the ground and rushing them. Seeing the size of the jutsu Naruto's eyes widened for a second before he brought up his barrier and began to absorb most of the technique. However the jutsu was wide so instead of completely taking it in like he had with the dragon he instead parted it down the middle, his teammates huddling close to single file behind him to avoid getting caught by the twin steams rushing past them that the blond didn't absorb. "Damn. Hinata, keep an eye on him! Is he still in the water?" Naruto asked as the flow began to die down. Before the girl could answer though they all heard a shout.
"No I'm not brat!" Zabuza shouted as he came down with his sword raised. Naruto pulled a second blade out quickly and raisd both in a cross guard to block the attack but thanks to both Zabuza's strength and his momentum he was forced down to his knees, barely holding the blade back as it lightly tapped the metal of his headband. "And I'm done getting played by a bunch of genin!" Naruto coughed up blood as Zabuza drove his foot into Naruto's chest and sent him back, knocking Sasuke down as well as he was caught in the blonds' path. Hinata let out a small shout of fright before turning back to Zabuza and getting into her stance when the man turned to her.
"Forget about me Zabuza?" Kakashi taunted as the Kiri jonin found himself being kicked hard in the side of the head and sent flying to the side. Before Zabuza could get back up he found both shoulders pierced by kunai and Kakashi standing over him with his hand charging itelf with electricity. "You should never have taken this mission Zabuza."
"Fuck... fuck you Kakashi. And your brats too." The man gasped out. The Konoha jonin was about to bring his hand down to pierce Zabuza straight through his head when suddenly two senbon flew out and struck him in the side of his neck. Zabuza let out a pained gasp before slumping over limply. Kakashi let go of his jutsu as he looked up to see a young masked ninja in a green battle kimono crouched in a nearby tree. The mask had the symbol for Kiri at the forehead while rising from the bottom were a few red waves.
"My apologies Konoha-san for taking the kill, but I had been tracking Zabuza for some time now and when I saw the chance I took it." The gentle sounding ninja apologized as Kakashi sighed and covered his eye again with his headband. Hinata also deactivated her Byakugan as Sasuke and Naruto stumbled back to their feet, the blond holding his gut as he quietly dismissed his swords and placed his pactio card away.
"That's fine hunter-san." Kakashi allowed before crouching down to check Zabuza's pulse and found nothing. With another sigh the jonin stood back up and started to walk back towards his genin and client. "Well, we'll let you do your job then." The man said dismissivly as the hunter dropped down and picked up Zabuza's body.
"My thanks for wearing him down Konoha-san." And with that the ninja vanished in a swirl of water, taking Zabuza and his sword with him. Kakashi however narrowed his eye at the spot that had just been vacated as something nagged at the back of his mind. Pushing it away for the moment he instead turned to his genin.
"Well then, not bad you three. You worked together wonderfully and held off Zabuza with excellent combinations." He praised before looking to Naruto. "How're the ribs?" He asked flatly as Naruto grimaced and continued to hold one arm to his stomach as if cradeling them.
"Hurting, but I don't think anythings broken." He replied before trying to take a deep breath just for him to cough as a spasm of pain racked through his body. "Gah! He hit as hard as master did that time she forgot to hold back." He complained as Kakashi grunted.
"Well think of it as karma for hitting you teammates with that jutsu of yours."
"I said I was sorry! I did it on reflex, honestly!"
"Either way, don't let it happen again."
"Yes sensei." The blond muttered as Kakashi only nodded and took the lead of their group.
"Alright then. Tazuna, if you could direct us to your home, we'll get back to bringing you there safe and sound."
"Oh, ah, right. This way." The man started, shocked that things were going back to what passed as normal with ninja bodyguards after such a battle. The man had been close to a heartattack at multiple times in the past few minutes with how close he had come to death in such rapid actions. Watching the children do what they had had been humbling as well. Since when could kids use powers beyond comprehension in life or death battles?
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"Tsunami, I'm home!" Tazuna called as he opened the door to his home. Coming out of the kitchen was a woman with long hair and a kind smile. "And these are the awesome ninja that protected me." He cheered as Kakashi and the genin entered behind him.
"Hello ma'am." Kakashi greeted with a small nod. The woman hugged her father before giving the ninja a polite bow.
"Thank you for protecting my father." As she straightened she looked over the man and his pupils, noticing Naruto holding his stomach. "Oh, are you alright?" She asked as the boy gave her slightly strained smile as he nodded his head.
"I'll be alright if I get some sleep. I heal fast." Of course this was not the right thing to say to a mother as her maternal instincts kicked in and she ushered him instantly into a chair as she went to get her first aid kit. "Really, I'll be okay!" He whined as she came back and asked him to lift his shirt. She simply stared down at him with the 'the look'. It was the stern look all mothers knew, the one that would make their children obey instantly. Now while Naruto never had a mother, 'the look' was a powerful thing. He sat defient for a few seconds before lowering his head and raising his shirt up. Tsunami gained a victorious smirk before she started checking him over. Naruto heard snickering off to the side and glanced over to see Sasuke smirking and Hinata giggling lightly behind her hand. "Traitors..."
"We don't know what you're talking about Naruto." Sasuke grunted while still smirking. Hinata merely kept giggling. Naruto began grumbling under his breath and crossed his arms before Tsunami poked him in the ribs. "Ow!"
"Sit still please." She admonished, getting Hinata to giggle again. Naruto just pouted at the treatment as a young boy walked in.
"Mom, I'm home." He called, unknowingly echoing his grandfather. The boy came over and was going to give a hug to his mother when he saw the ninja and how his mother was wrapping bandages around ones' stomach. Finishing with Naruto, Tsunami turned and gave the boy a hug that he returned before going back to staring at the ninja.
"Oh, Inari these are the ninja your grandfather hired to protect him while he finishes the bridge." Tsunami introduced while Hinata nodded politely, Sasuke grunte and Naruto smiled with a small wave as he pulled his shirt back down.
"They should just go home. They'll just die otherwise." He told her, sounding as if it was common knowledge and everybody knew it. This got different reactions from the others. Tsunami and Tazuna sighed as they knew what made him this way, Sasuke and Kakashi scowled, Hinata gasped at his attitude while Naruto got to his feet and looked down on the boy.
"What makes you say that kid? We've already beat a couple different assassins sent after your gramps. Why do you think we gonna die?" He asked as the boy just scowled.
"Because nobody can beat Gato and if you think you can then you deserve to die!" He shouted before heading off to his room upstairs. His family both sighed again at his attitude while Tsunami waved her hand slightly ahead of her to motion for them to follow her upstairs. She led them into a spare room that she told them was theirs for while they stayed here while apologizing that they didn't have another to give them more room. Kakashi assured her it was enough and then asked for them to be alone to go over their plans for their stay and she nodded while mentioning dinner would be ready soon. Once the door was closed the jonin turned to his genin.
"Alright then, first things first. Good job out there earlier. Zabuza is not someone to be taken lightly so holding your own as well as you three did is an accomplishment." He praised, mainly looking at Hinata and Sasuke. "Now, as for our actual plans during our time here. One rule is that Tazuna is not to be alone whenever he leaves the house for anything. It doesn't matter if it's a simple run into town for groceries or going to work on the bridge, outside of this household one of us will always be by his side." The man ordered as his genin nodded. "Next, training. As ninja, we're trained to get up early so we may as well put that spare time in the mornings to use by training you up for anything else Gato may send after Tazuna. It'll be light training so that your still able to defend Tazuna should a situation arise but it'll be demanding enough to be useful. Plus I'm pretty sure you don't know what I plan to teach you and it's a useful skill to know." The man added as he thought over his plans.
"Sensei, I've got a question." Naruto put out so the jonin narrowed his eye and nodded. "Well, it's been bugging me ever since our encounter but protecting Tazuna was more important so I didn't mention it. That hunter carried Zabuza's body away right? Well are Kiri's hunter protocals different from Konoha's? I mean, our hunters are supposed to decapitate the head and incinerate the body on site. Does Kiri do things differently?" Naruto asked and Kakashi' eye widened, realizing what that small nagging had been after the hunter left.
"Damnit!" He cursed as the three students were instantly worried at what it meant. "Kiri doesn't do things differently. Hunters are supposed to do the same thing everywhere, regardless of village loyalty. Which means that wasn't a hunter at all."
"B-but Zabuza is still d-dead. You checked h-his pulse yourself to c-confirm it."
"That's true Hinata but a skilled ninja can use pressure points to place someone in a temporary death and revive them later. Considering the hunter used senbon needles, which aren't meant for killing, it's even more likely that the hunter was actually an accomplice of Zabuza's. Which means he might be alive to come back and try again." Kakashi warned them. "Looks like I'm going to have to push you harder than I thought."
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"Alright you three," Kakashi started the next morning as the three genin were standing in front of him as they were in the woods near Tazuna's house. "The skill I'm going to teach you is a chakra control exercise that will also become a vital part of your shinobi careers later in your lives. I'm going to teach you to climb trees." The three teens gave him confused looks as he turned around and started walking towards a tree. "Without hands." He added as he started to walk up the tree without pausing. Sasuke looked interested slightly while Hinata was nervously tapping her fingers together and Naruto simply looked bored. "By channeling chakra to your feet, you can provide the 'stick' needed to walk up vertical surfaces and even walking upside down when needed. Plus since the feet are the hardest part of the body to channel chakra to, in theory using this exercise and the ones that follow it will allow you to master any jutsu." The jonin explained as he stopped, standing upside down on a branch and looking at his students.
"Sensei, I already know this." Naruto called up as Hinata and Sasuke looked at him.
"Oh? Then demonstrate." Kakashi ordered so the blond shrugged and with his hands in his pockets walked up another tree until he was upside down like the jonin was.
"Master taught me this when I was seven." Naruto explained with a nonchalant air about him, as if standing upside down was no big deal. "She also taught me water-walking after I could fight on a vertical surface as well as I could normally, so I know the next step too." He added.
"I see..."
"S-sensei, I've also l-learned this exercise already." Hinata timidly added. "I-I can do this t-to my clan standards but h-haven't started the n-next step yet." She told him so Kakashi sighed.
"Alright fine then. I'll stay here with Sasuke and help him with the exercise. You two can go and he can show you water walking." The white haired man explained so Hinata and Naruto nodded before the blond cut the chakra flow and flipped down to his feet. The pair left as Sasuke was growling in the back of his throat so Kakashi tossed a kunai between his feet. "Don't get so angry. One has had private training since five and the other has an entire clan to help her. I'm sure had your clan still been around you'd have also at least gotten this step down like Hinata has. But that's why I chose to stay with you instead of leaving with Hinata. I'll give you what you need to catch up in this regard and then we'll join them at the water. Now channel chakra to your feet and go up the tree, using that kunai to mark your progress every time you fall. It's best to get a running start when your first learning it." The man ordered so Sasuke picked up the kunai and flipped it in his hand into reverse grip as he narrowed his eyes at a tree before focusing his chakra and charging it.
As he did, Kakashi was thinking what else Naruto's master had taught him.
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"Okay Hinata, water walking is just like the tree walking in that you cannel chakra to your feet. Only now you have to constantly moniter the chakra flow to go with the flow of the water beneath you." Naruto explained as he walked off the pier onto the water and stopped five feet away. "Too much chakra and you'll be pushing yourself off the water, which if done right can lead to skating on the water, something Master taught me about and said was good for high speed battles on water. But too little and you'll just sink into the water, like how Zabuza dodged the fireball/laser combo me and Sasuke fired at him. You can work on the skating trick later if you want. For now, let's just focus on walking. Channel your chakra and try to reach me okay?" Naruto finished so Hinata nodded and placed her hands in the ram seal for a focus and was about to start when Naruto remembered something. "Oh, wait. You might want to take off your jacket and stuff. If you fall in you'll get soaked and I doubt you want to wear wet clothes all day right?"
Hinata thought about it and nodded as it made sense before something else occured to her and she blushed. She'd have to take off her jacket at the very least, which meant showing off her rather well grown chest. Part of the reason she wore the baggy jacket was because she wanted to hide how her body had already matured somewhat more than other girls her age, partially because unlike the Uchiha obsessed classmates she had Hinata didn't diet but ate a healthy mix of foods ensuring proper growth. Had the girls known Hinata was 'stacked' so to speak they might've mocked her for it, or asked for how she got that way. But with her shy personality, she had wanted to avoid all of that and started wearing a large coat to hide her figure. Now Naruto was asking her to take the jacket off which would let him see. The only reason she didn't faint from the idea was because it was obvious there was no perverted reasoning behind the advice, it just made sense. Another thing that occured to her was that if she fell into the water and got wet, he clothes would hug her figure even more. The boy may not have any perverted notions in his mind, but that didn't mean he wouldn't get any from seeing her. He was at that age after all.
Going over all of that in her head, Hinata sighed and began to unzip her jacket slowly, realizing that getting the technique down mattered more than hiding her figure. Besides, it wasn't like she was getting naked or even stripping her shirt off. After setting her jacket down next to her, revealing she wore a short sleeved black V-cut shirt underneath, Hinata again channeled chakra to her feet and hesitatingly took a step down onto the water. When her foot began to sink into the cool liquid she pulled back and increased the chakra flow before setting her foot back down. This time it stayed so pushing the same amount into the other foot she stepped down completely. The girl wobbled on her feet for a second and went to take another step when a breeze blew through, rippling the water and making her current chakra flow insufficient. Hinata let out a gasp as he feet slipped underwater before she lost control and fell in entirely. Breaking the surface let her know Naruto was chuckling as he walked over and grabbed her hand. With a grunt of effort he lifted her out of the water and sat her back onto the pier with her calves still dangling in the water.
"Yeah, that'll happen a lot at first." The blond told her as he still chuckled at her failure. "Just be glad this water is only a little cold. When Master had me do this, she had me trying to walk on freezing water. One slip and I was shivering and could hardly think yet she just told me to get up and try again." Hinata shivered lightly at the thought so he smiled and stepped back again. "I'm not going to be that mean though. Feel free to take your time. Once you can stand without a problem we'll go through some exercises until this becomes second nature to you okay?" Hinata nodded and stood back up before focusing her chakra again and stepping back onto the water.
A couple hours later, after Hinata fell in multiple times more, Naruto was sitting on the pier as the girl was taking shaky steps in a circle on the water, not wanting to get too far out so that if she fell in it wouldn't take her so long to reach the pier again and pull herself out to restart. To help her learn to divert her attention to the real world without falling in, Naruto was also holding a conversation with her. "...And Master was screaming at me for hours afterwards. She also had me go through some rather... harsh training as punishment."
"Th-that doesn't s-sound v-very nice Na-Naruto." Hinata stuttered out, her stuttering worse than normal both from trying to focus on staying atop the water and from being cold due to being soaked. The blond just shook his head with a grin.
"It was just a harmless prank. Besides, Zero-chan got a laugh out of seeing Master with green hair for a week." He admitted as Hinata stopped and looked up to him to say something before her eyes widened and Naruto sensed something was off. Without warning he leapt off the pier onto the water, spinning around as he did, while the shock made Hinata lose focus and fall into the water. He was lucky he moved because a large butcher knife was now stabbed into the wood where he just sat.
"Aw... I missed again. Hiya whiskers!" Chachazero cheered as she pulled the knife out of the wood and stared out to him with her usual full grin. Naruto was busy staring at the doll in shock both from her sudden attack and in wonder at how she was there in the first place as Hinata pulled herself back to the surface of the water.
"Zero-chan, how the hell are you here?"
"Holy shit dolly, I didn't think you'd actually do it." The genin's attention was drawn to a woman with purple hair pulled into a spiky ponytail behind her head and pupiless amber eyes. Her attire though gathered more attention, mainly because of how little it was. She wore a tan trench coat open with a mesh shirt underneath without a bra, the coat being the only thing hiding her nipples from showing on her well developed chest. In addition to that was an orange mini skirt and Anbu styled leg guards. The woman had a grin on her face as she was twirling a kunai around her finger by the ring on the end and staring down at the doll and kids.
"I told you I'd try to stab him Hebi-chan!"
"Yeah, but I thought you were just talking shit."
"When Zero-chan says she wants to stab someone she damn well means it! She's psycho that way!" Naruto shouted at the woman as the doll merely nodded sagely in agreement with his assessment. "Who the hell are you anyways?" The woman stopped twirling the kunai as she flicked it at the blond making him lean out of the way as it flew by before jabbing a thumb at herself.
"I'm Anko Mitarashi kid, special jonin and second in command at Konoha I & T." She introduced as Naruto helpped Hinata out of the water and onto the pier as Chachazero was now sitting with her tiny legs dangling over the edge and bouncing her head back and forth as if listening to some music only she could hear. Strangely, the knife she had moments before was missing without any trace it had ever existed save for the hole in the pier where she missed Naruto.
"I & T?" The blond asked with a small tilt of his head as he recalled what Evangeline had taught him about the group in Konoha's forces. "Interrogation and Torture? What's someone from that group doing out here in Nami? With Zero-chan at that?" Naruto added as he glanced down at the doll, who just gave him a cheeky wave and kept bouncing her head.
"I'm your back-up kid. And that freaky chick of a godmother of yours caught me before I left and asked me to bring dolly here down to you for some reason." She explained as Naruto slumped down as he sat on the pier between Hinata and Chachazero.
"Aw... Master doesn't even trust me on my first real mission? She sent you down to protect me?" Naruto moaned as he glanced down at the doll. The little knife lover however shook her head, though she still had on her normal grin.
"Nah, Master trusts you. But yer up against Zabuza Momochi. Good as you are, she wasn't sure yer ready for somebody like him."
"But we already drove Zabuza off. Maybe even killed him, we're still not sure yet." Naruto pointed out as Anko stepped up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder to make him look up at her, seeing she had a serious face on at the mention of fighting the A-rank missing ninja.
"What?! Kid, where's Kakashi? I need to let him know I'm here and catch up on everything."
"H-he's helpping Sasuke-san l-learn tree walking o-over that way." Hinata told her as she pointed off towards the woods they had come from earlier.
"Alright, thanks girly. The two of you might want to get ready and come back. I'm pretty sure he'll have new orders for you after we talk." Anko told them so they nodded and she vanished in a Shunshin (Body Flicker) to head off and speak with the silver haired jonin. Naruto then sighed but stood up, grabbing Eva's doll and setting her up on her favored place of the top of his head as he did.
"Well grab your jacket Hinata. We'll go back to the house so you can dry off and we can wait for Sensei and Sasuke. Plus Tazuna should be getting ready for work by now. Maybe there'll be some breakfast too." Hinata nodded her agreement and picked up her jacket as she stood but she didn't put it on yet as she was still wet, instead holding it over an arm as the two started to walk back to their clients home.
"So you already fought Zabuza whiskers? That's cool! Come on, give me the play-by-play! And what about his sword? Was it really big and sharp like the pictures?" The doll asked so Naruto grinned and began to recount how the four of them had fought off the Demon of the Mist.