The Wave arc starts now!

"Let's see…" Sarutobi looked over the various D-class missions while Team 7 waited not so patiently in front of him. "Ah yes. Baby-sitting for the-"

"NO WAY!" Naruto shouted, startling everyone. "I've had enough of these lame-o missions! Give us something good!"

'He's got a point,' Sasuke thought.

"What an idiot,' Sakura thought. Himaru shook his head and chuckled. The Third proceeded with his explanation of the mission system until he noticed Naruto wasn't even looking at him, instead he was talking about ramen to his team.

"Are you even paying attention?" Naruto whirled on him.

"I don't care! I want a good mission! I'm not the same little trouble-making brat everyone thinks I am! How are we going to get better if all we do are these boring chores!" Naruto whirled around again and huffed. Sarutobi half-sighed and half-chuckled.

"Do you think they're ready, Himaru?" All the genin on Team 7 looked up at their sensei. He brushed his bangs out of his eyes before speaking.

"They're more than ready, Hokage-sama. I think it'd be good for them to get some experience."

"Very well then, we do have an escort mission available. Naruto grinned widely and was about to start shouting again, but this time Himaru silenced him with a hand over his mouth.

"Like I've said before Naruto, you do need to learn to be quiet to be a ninja." Sarutobi barely managed to conceal his shock when Naruto didn't explode or pout or anything, he just nodded.

"Please, come forward, Tazuna-san." The sick smell of a drunk drifted into the room, followed by a scruffy old man.

"These little brats are supposed to be my body guards? You sure they're capable? The midget looks like an imbecile." There was a pause as Naruto looked around for who he was talking about, and then his teammates walked up to stand next to him.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Naruto charged, but Himaru caught him by his collar with one hand.

"Stop." Naruto slowly settled back down, but Himaru didn't move his hand. "Relax, Tazuna-san. If anything goes wrong, I'm a jounin. Besides, it's only a C-ranked mission." Tazuna's eye twitched, and Himaru noticed it, but said nothing.

"You'll leave tomorrow morning to take Tazuna-san back to his home country of Wave."

"Hai!" All four ninja answered before he led his team off. Almost as soon as they were out of the building, Naruto started grumbling.

"We finally get a good mission and it's to protect some dirty old man!"

"Don't complain Naruto. This mission may yet prove to be exciting. But first," Himaru turned and looked his team up and down. "We need to do something about your guys' attire. You're all walking targets. Taijuu Shunshin no Jutsu!" They reappeared in a strange building.

"Himaru-sensei? Where are we?" Sakura asked, starting to feel nervous in the dark room.

"My basement." Himaru reached into one of the many closets in the room. He tossed a folded black out fit at each of them. "I want to see you all wearing those tomorrow. Oh, and Sakura, I'm going to have to cut your hair."

"What?" Sakura clutched her hair protectively. "But why?" Himaru brushed his bangs out of his eyes.

"It's too long. I'll be a hassle on mission. Don't worry, I won't shave you, just make it shorter." Himaru reached back into the wooden closet and pulled out a pair of scissors.

"But if my hair is short-" Sakura stopped, and glanced at Sasuke, who was looking back at her. His face was set in a frown. Himaru was already behind her, and whispered something in her ear.

"Good hair isn't going to impress someone like Sasuke. Only power and skill will impress him." Sakura nodded slightly and reluctantly let go of her hair.

Tazuna raised his eyebrow. These kids sure looked different. They all wore matching outfits. Black pants with several pockets, black sandals and long sleeved black shirts with little pools of cloth around their necks that looked like they could be pulled up as masks and cover their hair. The even all wore the same black fingerless gloves with metal plates on the back. They looked like little mini-mes of theirs sensei was it not for his jounin vest and lack of a pulled down mask. The girl's hair was also much shorter. "You ninja's or a sports team?" Tazuna asked of their matching uniforms. Naruto growled at him, but both Sasuke and Sakura ignored the bridge builder.

"Enough glaring at the client, let's go," Himaru said, his voice cheery as he walked out of the village gates. Just a few steps out of Konoha, Naruto thrust both fists in the air.

"This is so cool! I've never been outside of the village before!"

"Idiot," Tazuna mumbled under his breath, but Naruto still heard him.

"What did you say!" Himaru had to hold Naruto by his mask this time until he settled down. "Just wait! One day you and everyone else will respect me! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm going to be the next Hokage!"

"Heh. Respect you? Not even if you became Hokage." Naruto shook his fist at the old man, barely containing his rage. Eventually, Himaru got everyone walking again, and after awhile, Sakura tugged nervously on his arm.

"Um, Himaru-sensei?"

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Does Wave have a shinobi village too?" Himaru shook his head.

"No. A country as small and as protected by the sea doesn't need much of a military force. Don't worry Sakura, we won't be facing any ninja on this mission." Himaru patted Sakura on the head, but Tazuna gulped, another thing only Himaru noticed. Their trip continued until they passed a puddle in the middle of the dry land. Himaru actually sighed as the two shinobi came out of the puddle and attempted to wrap their chains around him. He easily caught both their chains and Himaru swung them into each other, hard. They detached from their chain weapons and one of them went after the genin while the other tried to hold of Himaru.

Naruto was frozen in fear as the enemy ninja closed in on him and extended his metal gauntlet. Just as the claw touched the metal back of Naruto's glove, Sasuke came charging in and kicked the ninja, right into the arms of Himaru, who now had both of the missing nin in a head lock. Sasuke looked right into Naruto's eyes as Himaru tied up the two shinobi. "Are you okay, you big chicken?" Naruto snapped out of his stupor and glowered at the Uchiha genius, who wasn't even looking at him anymore. Himaru came up to the still shocked Tazuna.

"Why are their shinobi after you?"

"Wh-what are you-" Himaru's midnight eyes cut him off.

"Every time the difficulty of this mission is mentioned, you look nervous. You knew this was going to happen. Tell us the full story." Tazuna sighed and explained about the bridge and Gatoh, then he tried to guilt them into continuing the mission, and Himaru laughed.

"I fully intend on completing this mission anyway, Tazuna-san, so long as my team is fine with it.

"Himaru-sensei! We're not ready for-"

"I say we continue," Sasuke interrupted Sakura, and she promptly shut up. Himaru shifted his gaze to Naruto.

"Well?" Naruto nodded vigorously, set on not letting Sasuke show him up again. Himaru smiled broadly at his team. "Then what are we waiting for? Wave awaits!" He began walking again, his team right behind him. Tazuna sighed in relief as he got back in the between them.

Sakura was currently scolding Naruto for hitting a bunny with one of his shuriken. Himaru, meanwhile, was looking at the snow-white bunny, and waiting. "Duck!" he shouted, pulling everyone down with him right before a giant sword flew over them and buried itself in a tree.

"Hand over the old man." A large man stood on tope of the sword, with bandages over his mouth and a Mist hitai-ate on his forehead but hanging off to the side. Himaru stepped in front of his team.

"This one's mine. Protect Tazuna!" The genin got in formation around the bridge builder while Zabuza looked apathetically at the jounin in front of him.

"Get out of my way. I've never even heard of you. Do you think you can beat the Demon of the Mist?"

"Momochi Zabuza. You shall die." Zabuza actually felt the air chill as Himaru spoke. Something was off about his one.

"Very well." Zabuza and his sword disappeared from the tree, and then reappeared over the lake. "Kirigakure no Jutsu!" The area became enshrouded in mist so thick you could hardly see your hand in front of your face. Suddenly, Zabuza's voice came from all around them, listing all their vital spots that he could target. The genin and Tazuna were shaking, and Sasuke starting moving his kunai, the killing intent was too much…

"Sasuke!" Himaru's voice snapped Sasuke out of it. "Don't worry, I won't let any of you die." Himaru turned his head and smiled reassuringly at them.

"Don't bet on it!" Zabuza appeared in the middle of the genin and Tazuna, his sword beginning it's swing. The 'Zabuza' collapsed into a puddle of water as Himaru smashed his fist through it. Zabuza appeared behind Himaru this time, his massive sword at Himaru's head. Zabuza smirked triumphantly underneath the bandages, but then Himaru started chuckling.

"Are you truly so foolish?" Zabuza's head separated from his body, but both parts turned back into water. A second Himaru was behind were the Mizu Bunshin had been. Himaru dispelled the Kage Bunshin with a flick of his hand. "Enough hiding in the mist." Himaru whirled through a blur of hand seals. "Fuuton: Fuuton no Jutsu (Air Release: Air Release Technique)!" A great burst of wind blew the mist away, revealing Zabuza still standing on the lake. Zabuza scowled underneath his wrappings. Himaru disappeared, and reappeared behind Zabuza on the lake surface. The pair commenced into taijutsu, Himaru giving Zabuza no time or space to draw his sword. Without his sword, Zabuza was losing, taking blow after blow, but unable to land a hit of his own.

'Who is this guy?' Zabuza willingly took a punch to the gut so he could draw his sword, and slashed Himaru. He blocked with the metal on his gloves, but he was still slammed under the water. Zabuza acted quickly and caught Himaru in his water prison. Himaru banged on the inside.

"Run!" he shouted at the genin. Sasuke's mouth was crooked in a frown.

"We'll never be able to get away in time, Himaru-sensei." All the genin looked at Tazuna who sighed and smiled sadly at them.

"Feel free to fight. I've lived a long life and all of this is my fault anyway." Sasuke nodded at him and the trio got into fighting stances. Zabuza laughed.

"Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!" A copy of Zabuza formed right in front of their eyes, giant sword and all. The copy moved fast striking Sasuke and Naruto both down with the same strike, but knocking Naruto's hitai-ate off as well. From back on the water, Zabuza sent killing intent at the genin. "How dare you pathetic children play at being ninja! When I was your age, these hands were already soaked in the blood of my enemies!" Naruto started crawling backwards, scared, but he felt the glove on his hand. He looked from his new clothes to his hitai-ate on the ground. The hitai-ate the clone was currently stomping on. He gritted his teeth. These clothes, that hitai-ate, they were the symbols of what he was. A ninja! Naruto stood up and faced the clone, and then he started rushing through seals.

"Bakuyaku Tsuba no Jutsu!" The clone struck at the pathetic little ball of chakra, and then it exploded, taking the clone with it. After a moment of shocked silence, Sasuke leapt out of the smoke, a large shuriken in his hand. With a grunt, he threw it at the Zabuza on the lake with all his might. Zabuza smirked as he caught it, but then the second shuriken showed itself. Even after he dodged it, taunting them at the same time, Sasuke still smirked. Zabuza's eyes widened when he heard the pop of a Henge fading.

"Impossible!" Naruto was behind him in mid-air, and threw a kunai at him. It only cut his cheek, but the missing nin still charged Naruto's prone, floating form. He stopped in mid swing when he heard clapping coming from several yards away. His head turned to the side, and watched Himaru who was a top a tree. Zabuza's eyes shot back to where his prison had been, just in time to see the fist collide with his face. Zabuza went skidding across the water, and the Himaru that punched him poofed out of existence, and was immediately replaced by the real Himaru. Zabuza dragged himself back to his feet.

"But how?" he hissed under his breath. "Was I fighting a clone the whole time?"

"Yes," Himaru replied, startling the missing nin. "My team needed a little nudge in the right direction. That was brilliant plan, Naruto." Naruto's insult died in his throat and was replaced by a grin.

"It was easy! All I had to do was-"

"Don't explain your plan to the enemy," Himaru said, sweat dropping. "You can tell me later." Himaru turned back to Zabuza. "Shall we continue?"

Cliffhanger! The next chapter you get to see what Himaru is really made of! And the training intensifies! Poor, poor genin… Please read and review! PLEASE! I NEED THEM! Constructive criticism is welcome and flamers will be flamed (literally), zapped, frozen in fruit juice and then used as a Popsicle by my dragons.