Ah, yet another installment of the mis-adventures of Naruto Recca and the crew, will it be worth the wait? You have no idea how much I appreciate all those questions people have been sending in, they really help to get the neurons fired up. So without further ado, here's our latest installment!
(Waits a few seconds, nothing happens.(
Kyugan: (growls) Kakashi!
(Whipcrack, followed by girlish scream.)
Kakashi: Okay Okay I'll roll the tape!
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First encounter! The Kirigakure no Kiishin vs. Sharingan Kakashi!
"You can come out now, Sensei." Recca called out, and sure enough, an impressed looking Kakashi stepped out of the woodwork, perfectly unharmed. Needless to sayu the jounin hifd his earlier suspicion behind a pleased smile.
"Good work everyone," he congratulated, nodding towards the unconcious demon drothers, "you all did very well."
"Hey!" Naruto balked, pointing at his raven haired teammate in protest, "Sasuke-teme didn't do anything!"
The Uchiha scowled and refused to comment, but Kakashi cut in, trying to lessen the tension between the two as he saw the Uchiha's hand move towards his kunai pouch.
"Maa…he stayed near Tazuna-san," the jounin coaxed, "that counts as guarding him."
"Yeah right," Domon spat, "idiot was just standing there while WE did all the work." He rolled his shoulder irritably, "Still, whadd'ya expect from a fifth wheel?"
Sasuke was glaring holes into the giant's head by this point, positively seething with barely restrained fury. Deciding to defuse the situation before the teen pulled an Itachi, Kakashi stepped forwards, face deadly serious.
"This is no time for arguing!" he cut in, looking at his blonde charge, "Naruto, their claws are poisoned, we need to treat the wound as soon as possible."
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Naruto froze at the word 'poisoned', as Kakashi explained that opening the wound to allow the blood to flow would stop the poison, before turning to interrogate a trembling Tazuna. The blonde stared at his hand in shock, before twitching at the thought of the poison spreading through his body handicapping the mission and growled, grabbing a kunai.
SHUNK!
"Naruto!" Recca yelled as the blonde stabbed himself in the hand with his own Kunai.
"Whadd'ya think your doing Squirt?!" Domon roared running over, along with Recca to help the boy he'd come to regard as a younger brother.
Sasuke, Kakashi and Tazuna stared at the blonde in shock as he gazed at them, tears of pain leaking out the corners of his eyes.
"With this Kunai knife," Naruto grit out, "I swear that I will protect the old man." He grinned at Tazuna, his hand half clenched and covered in blood. "Reporting fit for duty, master!"
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Kakashi blinked, mentally wondering if all those blows to his charge's head were finally kicking in.
"Naruto…its true we needed a free flow of blood to clean the wound," he admitted, "but you've exceeded the limit."
Naruto winced and looked at his hand, sweating slightly as the jounin smiled at him, eye resembling an inverted U.
"I'm serious;" Kakashi insisted, "you could bleed to death like this."
"AAARRRGGHH! NO!" Naruto shrieked, flailing around like a rag doll, "I don't wanna die! Save me!"
"BAKA!" Recca yelled, slamming a fist into his outoto's head, "hold still so I can bandage the damn wound!"
Naruto complied while Domon shook his head exasperatedly.
"Damn, he's as crazy as you are Hanabishi," the giant muttered, sounding amused despite the irritation on his face, "next thing you know he'll be committing seppuku for failing to protect the frigging lush."
Tazuna snorted at the reference to his drinking but let it slide, casting an appraising look at the blonde shinobi.
'The kid's a lot more mature than he looks…'
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Recca muttered as he bandaged Naruto's hand, frowning as something unusual caught his attention.
'The wound's already stopped bleeding,' he muttered, eyes widening as he saw the skin knitting itself up at an unusual pace, 'it's almost healed!'
Not saying anything to attract attention, he covertly signed at his friend and brother when he was certain no one was watching.
(We need to talk later.)
Domon and Naruto nodded silently, the latter loudly thanking his 'Nii-san' for helping him to cover up for the momentary silence, receiving a noogie for his trouble.
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"Dammit." Domon growled as he sat Indian style in the middle of the boat, glaring out into the thick fog. "Can you see anything, Squirt?" the giant asked looking to the front where he could almost make out Naruto's blonde hair as the teen stood at the prow.
"Nothing but fog far as I can see." Naruto replied, sneezing irritably, "Damn I hate this!"
Recca told them to keep it down, as he was keeping an eye out for possible intruders, Sasuke doing likewise from the other side of the boat. At that moment a massive bridge, partially completed, came into view, looming over them through the mist like some skeletal monstrosity.
"Not bad eh?" Tazuna said, puffing out his chest, only to face fault as Domon claimed at having seen bigger, to which Recca nodded, chuckling at the old man's reaction.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, knowing this was quite possibly the largest bridge in the shinobi countries.
'Where could they have seen anything bigger?'
Passing through the mangroves, Naruto commented that it looked like a floating forest, which led to one of Kakashi's lectures on how it technically was. Domon noticed some houses built into the larger ones, connected by platforms, which Tazuna explained to be home to fishermen, the only people who had any contact with the outside world other than Tazuna himself.
The team docked at one such platform, getting off the boat with great satisfaction.
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"Thanks again…" Tazuna muttered, smiling at the owner of the boat, "you took such a risk, I shouldn't have asked it of you."
The Ferryman waved and went off, his boat's engine gurgling in the water. Naruto did some stretches, cramped after being in the boat for so long, before letting out a depressed sigh.
"Man," he complained, "that was my first boat ride and it completely sucked ass!"
Recca shrugged, "A shinobi's job isn't glamorous, and their deeds are rarely acknowledged," he smirked, at the blonde, "Even if we complete the mission, they probably won't remember our names or faces."
Kakashi nodded silently, approving of the teens attitude. 'Better to accept that fact than get yourself killed showing off.' He theorized, eyeing the surroundings carefully.
They were walking along a hidden path to Tazuna's village when Naruto twitched suddenly hurling a shuriken at the bushes, scaring the shit out of Tazuna and Kakashi, the latter of whom wasn't expecting an attack that soon.
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"WHADD'YA THINK YOU'RE DOING YOU DAMN MIDGET?!" Tazuna roared, as the blonde went in to investigate, returning with a fainted rabbit, "STOP TRYING TO ACT COOL DAMMIT!"
Recca glared at the bridge builder, whilst Domon restrained a raging Naruto. "Old man," the tekko wearing genin warned, "unless you want to die, shut up."
Tazuna blinked, startled at the warning. "You can't kill me!" he protested though his voice sounded uncertain, "I'm your contractor!"
"True," Recca conceded, "but your loud voice probably just alerted every enemy ninja in the area to our presence." He pointed at the rabbit dangling from Naruto's fist, "Besides, this is a snow hare, notice anything about it?"
Domon stared at it for a moment before blinking in confusion. "It's summer," he muttered, "so why's the fur white?"
Sasuke blinked, scowling at the surroundings. 'Dammit! A Kawarimi!'
"GET DOWN!" Kakashi yelled, pushing Tazuna under him, the genin leaping down just as something whirled overhead, slamming into a tree. Team seven and their contractor stared in shock at the man standing on the handle of one of the largest swords any of them had ever seen.
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"Well now…" Kakashi muttered as everyone stood up, forming a defensive ring around Tazuna, "If it isn't Momochi Zabuza of Kirigakure no Sato, the hidden mist village…"
He tilted his head, looking over his shoulder whilst keeping his visible eye on the mist-nin.
"Everyone stay back, give me room." He frowned at the enemy-nin, "This one's in a whole other league than the two we fought earlier."
Zabuza looked over his shoulder at them, mouth hidden behind bandages. "Sharingan Kakashi I presume?" he stated, sounding intrigued, "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you surrender the old man?"
Recca, Domon and Naruto blinked, confused as heck.
"Sharingan? I thought Sensei's clan name was Hatake?" Naruto asked, the others nodding.
Sasuke twitched and eyed the jounin, knowing that the sharingan was HIS family's prized Kekkei Genkai, just as Kakashi lifted up his Hitai-ate to reveal a red eye with three spinning tomoes around the pupil, causing the assembled genin and civilian to gape in shock.
"Ah…" Zabuza sighed, "To face the legendary sharingan so early into the fight…this IS an honour."
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"Hold up!" Naruto yelled, crossing his arms, "What the fuck is this Sharingan thingy your all going on about?!"
"Yeah," Domon nodded, "and what's up with Sensei's eye, is it infected or something?"
Kakashi sweatdropped, stubbornly resisting the urge to facefault with every fiber of his being, before shaking his head.
"No, it isn't infected Domon," he assured the teen, "THIS is the sharingan eye."
Sasuke snorted, deciding to enlighten his teammates as to the greatness of the Uchiha Kekkei Genkai.
"Shinobi with the sharingan eye have access to a powerful ocular jutsu, or dojutsu, that enables them to penetrate any illusion or jutsu, and to reflect them back at the caster." He relayed, frowning at his enigmatic sensei, "And there's more."
Zabuza snorted, "Indeed, the Sharingan's most infamous skill, is the ability to scan and duplicate the greatest skills of the user's opponent."
The mist-nin nodded, eyeing his leaf counterpart carefully.
"When I was a member of the Kirigakure ANBU, I possessed the usual bingo book of all our enemies." He frowned at Kakashi, "There was quite a bit on you, as well as your impressive record; the man who had copied over a thousand different jutsu and techniques, Sharingan Kakashi, the copy-nin."
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The group stared at the grey haired jounin in awe upon the conclusion of Zabuza's speech, Kakashi slowly basking in his apparent greatness with a small, concealed smile.
The moment was ruined when Recca blinked, looking put on.
"Lemme get this straight," he deadpanned, "he's famous for being a plagiarist?"
Kakashi face faulted as Zabuza's eyes widened at the sheer absurdity of the comment, the other pranksters slowly snapping out of their daze.
"Hanabishi's right," Domon pointed out, "that's no way to become a true warrior."
The giant snorted, looking decidedly unimpressed, "Stealing an opponent's hard earned techniques and using it against them, I don't care what you say, that still sounds like stealing to me, and Ishijima Domon ain't no thief!"
Naruto, feeling guilty at thinking the jutsu had sounded cool, nodded vigorously. "Yeah!" he yelled, "Only cheap-ass bastards with no talent would steal someone else's techniques!"
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Sasuke twitched in barely restrained fury, fingering his kunai pouch lovingly as he glared at the babbling trio.
First these idiots manage to trump him in the written exam, and then they outshone him during the actual genin test. They stole the spotlight provided by the first bit of real action, mocked him constantly…and now they were bad mouthing his family's prized Kekkei Genkai?
'There will be a reckoning for you three.' He muttered through clenched teeth, eyeing their opponent warily, 'Hopefully today.'
He frowned at Kakashi, who was only just getting back on his feet.
'However…the Sharingan IS solely exclusive to the Uchiha clan,' the avenger muttered, 'could he be…?'
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"Enough," Zabuza cut in, "Pleasant and…amusing as this conversation has been…" The mist-nin let off an uncharacteristic chuckle, "The time for talk is over, I'm on a very tight schedule to polish off the old man."
He shifted his glare from Tazuna, to Kakashi, a dark twinkle entering his gaze.
"But I suppose I'll have to kill you first, eh, 'Plagiarist' Kakashi?"
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Kakashi winced at the mocking title, seeing the mirthless glee in the other jounin's eyes.
'My reputation is completely ruined…isn't it?' he thought, looking over the shoulder at his team, three of which were grinning like the Cheshire cat, the fourth scowling at him suspiciously.
'Oh boy,' he sweatdropped, 'I so do not need this right now.'
Zabuza and his blade disappeared suddenly; the mist jounin reappeared standing on the lake's surface, hands already forming seals.
"See! Told you there was such a jutsu!" Recca crowed, to which Domon replied he never said there wasn't, whilst Naruto tried to keep them from fighting.
Ignoring the genins' outburst Zabuza eyed them eerily through the rapidly thickening fog.
"The finest of the Ninja arts…" he muttered, before the mist enveloped him, "Kirigakure no jutsu"
Abruptly, the mist and fog became so dense the Konoha shinobi could swear they could see their shadows reflected on it.
"Be on your guard everyone." Kakashi warned, "Momochi Zabuza, of the Kirigakure ANBU corps, is a famous master of the art of silent killing. Letting your guard down around him buys you a direct trip to heaven."
As team Seven gathered around Tazuna in a protective ring, a chilly voice echoed around them, causing their hackles to rise up.
"There are eight targets…" Zabuza's voice called out, eerily nerve-racking, like something out of Orochimaru's worst nightmares.
"Throat, Spinal column, lungs, liver, the jugular vein, the sub-clavian artery, kidney, heart…so many choices, what vital, vulnerable place shall I choose?"
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Sasuke shivered as the demonic chuckling echoed all around him, setting the teen's hacklles on edge.
'This…killing intent!' he gasped, suddenly finding it hard to breathe, 'If I so much as blink he'll kill me!'
He began to sweat, eyeing the fog with all the nervousness of a three-legged cat at a rabid greyhound convention.
'Can't stay still for long,' he muttered, his kunai slick with sweat, 'I'm losing it…he's a jounin, determined to make a kill…my life's in his hands.'
The avenger tightened his grip on the trembling kunai, gritting his teeth in shame as he closed his eyes.
'I hate this feeling!' he cursed, 'I want to die just to end the suspense!'
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"Sasuke. Calm down." Kakashi muttered, snapping the teen out of his thoughts, "Even if he gets me I'll still protect you."
The jounin smirked at the Uchiha, his eye it's typical inverted U, "I will never let my comrades die!"
Sasuke blinked, calmed slightly by the man's assurances, only fior Domon's snort to cut through the mist somewhere to the Uchiha's right.
"Way to pick favorites sensei," the giant muttered, "could you be any more obvious?"
"It would seem you're losing your respectability, Kakashi." Zabuza stated, appearing right in the middle of them and about to swing at Tazuna, until Kakashi rammed into his chest. Abruptly, the Zabuza before Kakashi changed into water, as another charged at the copy ninja, vivisecting him with his oversized cleaver.
This time Kakashi turned into water, the real one placing a kunai at the mist Nin's throat. Zabuza snorted, looking more amused than annoyed.
"You think mimicking me like an ape…will enable you to defeat me?" He laughed, "I'll admit you're good, copying my techniques and having the bunshin mimic your actions flawlessly, all the while using the kirigakure to watch my movements…unfortunately for you…"
Kakashi flinched as a voice spoke right in his ear.
"I am not that easy to fool!"
The copy-nin ducked to avoid the Zanbato's massive blade, only to be sent flying by a kick to the ribs from Zabuza.
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'Strong!' Recca thought, watching as the mist nin blurred out of sight, 'Is he in Domon's league?' the flame wielder wondered as Kakashi fell in the lake a good fifteen feet away.
'His physical abilities are fantastic!' Sasuke stated in awe, as Domon and Naruto were yelling for Kakashi to surface, looks of relief spreading across their faces when the jounin complied.
'Why is this water so heavy?' Kakashi muttered, just as Zabuza reappeared, taunting him for being so gullible.
'Snake, Ram, Horse, Hare, Ram, Horse, Hare.'
"Suirou no jutsu!" Zabuza called out, and Kakashi was suspended in a bubble like dome filled with water.
"You thought you could escape under water and regroup, but that was a tactical error!" Zabuza mocked, "This Suirou, water prison is inescapable."
He scowled at his captive, and annoyed glint in his eyes as he watched the jounin struggle to get out.
"Having you running around makes my mission harder," the mist-nin muttered, "I'll finish you off later…after I've dealt with the others: Mizu bunshin no jutsu!"
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Another Zabuza formed from the water and leered at the genin, slouched over slightly like a limp corpse.
"Heh-heh, little shinobi wannabes, running around with the gall to wear Hitai-ate." It muttered, "True ninja are those who have crossed the barrier between life and death continuously."
Team seven flinched and braced themselves as the bunshin lifted an arm in a one handed seal.
"Where I come from," it muttered, "we don't call the likes of you 'Ninja'…we call them…"
The bunshin disappeared and Naruto was sent flying courtesy of a kick to the forehead, the bunshin placing it's foot over the blonde's fallen Hitai-ate.
"Brats." Zabuza finished, smirking behind his wrappings as Domon and Recca called out to their teammate.
"Everyone, listen! Take Tazuna and go!" Kakashi called out from the prison, "You can't win this fight, and he can't leave this spot if he wishes to hold me!"
The jounin tried to make the genin see reason, pointing at Zabuza from within his prison.
"His Mizu-bunshin will lose its integrity the further it gets from him!" he called out, "So scram!"
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Recca was about to tell the Jounin to shove it when Naruto charged the bunshin, kunai in hand and pulling off a decent Braveheart impression sans the kilt and makeup.
"Naruto!" the enjutsu-shi yelled, "What're you doing BAKA?!"
"You trying to get yourself killed?!" Domon roared, dashing forward after his blonde teammate. The bunshin kicked out and connected solidly with Naruto's stomach, but not before the blonde had achieved his goal, retrieving his headband.
Domon caught the blonde in mid-flight and eased him to the ground, blinking in shock as the teen climbed to his feet and stumbled forwards.
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"Hey…" Naruto mumbled, coughing out a little blood from the blow, "what's life like without eyebrows...freak?"
Zabuza twitched at the slur and watched as the genin took a few steps forward.
"Gotta new name for that bingo book of yours right here!" the blonde boasted, "The guy who's gonna be the next Hokage of Konohagakure…"
Taking a deep breath as he pulled on his Hitai-ate, the blonde smirked, pointing at himself with his thumb.
"Hanabishi Naruto, Shinobi of Konoha!"
Recca and Domon grinned and stepped up behind their teammate.
"Don't forget us!" Recca called out, "Heir to the Hokage ninja clan and adoptive brother of this idiot, Hanabishi Recca!"
"The strongest man in Konohagakure no sato," Domon bragged while flexing a muscle, "Ishijima Domon-sama!"
The two grinned, standing just a few steps in front of their teammate.
"You wanna threaten the future lord Hokage? You gotta go through us." Recca dared, grinning sadistically as Domon cracked his knuckles.
"As Mikagami would put it," the Giant growled, scowling at the missing nin, "Let's dance, you brow-less macaque."
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Zabuza twitched in annoyance at the reference to his eyebrows, wondering what these kids were made off; one allowing himself be hit just for a headband, and the others showing virtually no fear despite being outclassed.
"You seem very sure of yourselves." He muttered, "But you're delusional if you actually think you stand a chance against me."
"Tough talk, "Recca snorted, eyeing the jounin condescendingly, "coming from a guy that's so afraid of copycat-sensei that he trapped him in a jutsu that renders himself vulnerable to attack."
Zabuza twitched, then began to chuckle, almost sinisterly.
"Apparently you brats don't plan to live very long." He noted, lifting his free arm up slowly, "Playing about, pretending to be real ninjas. I however…"
The jounin held his hand up to his face, almost claw-like in it's appearance.
"By the time I'd reached your age," Zabuza muttered, "I'd already dyed these hands in the blood of my opponents."
The genin and Tazuna flinched at this, whilst Kakashi growled in his prison, eyeing his jailor distastefully.
"The demon…Zabuza!"
Zabuza tilted his head, almost intrigued at the jounin's knowledge.
"It would appear that my reputation has preceded me…"
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"Long ago..." Kakashi stated, eyeing his captor carefully, "In Kirigakure, which even today is known as the 'village of the bloody mist', the final test for any potential shinobi was the most inhumanely difficult imaginable."
Zabuza looked at his captive, "Ah…so you've heard of our little graduation exercise."
"What the hell are you talking about no-brows?" Recca muttered with a frown, eyeing the glaring conversing jounin with annoyance. Zabuza began to chuckle again, actually lowering his head as he did so, but when he looked up his eyes held a demonic glint.
"It was a killing spree," he elaborated gleefully, "among classmates."
Naruto's eyes shot open, as did Sasuke and Domon's, Recca looked deathly pale, and Tazuna was turning green.
"Students that had grown up together," Kakashi continued, his tone serious as a heart attack, "been friends, eaten together, were divided into pairs and fought to the death."
He looked over at his own students, "Think of it, students that had trained together, lived together, and shared each others hopes and dreams…"
Domon flinched, shaking his head and shivering at the thought.
"Man…sounds like that 'Battle Royal' manga." He whispered to Recca, who nodded, the two of them having rented the films as well, just before leaving for the Urabatosatsujin.
Kakashi frowned, not getting the reference, before shrugging it out of his thoughts and continuing where he left off.
"Ten years ago, the Elders of Kirigakure were forced to enact a sweeping reform of their barbaric graduation ritual, because of the appearance, during the previous year, of a human fiend who made the reform essential…"
Sasuke looked up, looking interested at this bit of information.
"What kind of reform?" he asked. Zabuza lowered his head, eyes closed, creeping the Uchiha out. "What are you talking about, what happened?" the avenger repeated, looking to his captured sensei for answers.
Kakashi closed his eyes, looking incredibly solemn.
"Without a moments hesitation," he muttered, "without the slightest hint of a qualm, a boy that hadn't even qualified as a ninja yet…" his eyes shot open to glare at his captor, "butchered over a hundred members of that years graduating class."
Zabuza lifted his head, a look of sadistic glee on his face as he smiled.
"Ah yes. Good times…I used to have such fun."
He grinned at the genin through his wrappings, causing them to flinch in horror.
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Naruto, shocked to his core shivered. 'This guy butchered that year's graduates?' he wondered, unconsciously taking a step back, 'And he hadn't even qualified as a ninja himself?'
To the group's shock, Domon started laughing weakly, snapping them out of their daze.
"Oi…Hanabishi," he called out, a weak grin on his face, "is it just me, or does this guy remind you of anyone?"
Recca nodded, scowling slightly at their opponent. "Yeah…HIM."
Zabuza frowned, annoyed at their reaction, or lack thereof. "What're you two talking about?" he growled, causing Domon to snort, shivering at the memory of Kagero's story.
"When Recca was a baby," the giant muttered, "his older brother tried to kill him."
The collective shinobi flinched, particularly Sasuke who eyed the enjutsu-shi out the corner of his eye.
"And get this," Domon added, "the bastard was only FIVE at the time."
As everyone stared at the giant in shock he shook his head, eyeing the mist nin with a glare.
"After hearing a tale like that," Domon muttered, "you really think the tale of some schoolboy murdering his classmates'll scare us?"
Naruto eyed Recca, who was looking…serious; DEAD serious, like a heart attack.
"Zabuza…this is your only warning." The enjutsu-shi called out, clenching his fist, which began to get hazy. "Surrender or die, your choice."
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Before the Nin could reply, Domon charged his bunshin. The replica swung it's sword down in an attempt to cleave the genin in two, only for the giant to punch right though it, causing the jutsu to break.
Naruto hurled a Shuriken at Sasuke; the Uchiha surprised at being included in the plan but smirked, before hurling the Fuuma shuriken at the missing Nin, who jumped over it, dodging the second attack from the rear by forcibly releasing the water prison. Glaring at Naruto, Zabuza spun the shuriken he'd caught and prepared to hurl it, before a massive metal beak rammed into his gut.
Domon grinned as he commanded the madogu to return, spinning it around on the chain with his right hand, the left holding the rest of the chain.
"You okay there Squirt?" He asked, grinning as Naruto flipped him off. Kakashi climbed to his feet and congratulated them for working as a team, before turning to face Zabuza, who was livid with rage.
The two jounin leapt apart and began making seals while standing on water.
'Ox, Monkey, Hare, Rat, Boar, Bird, Ox, Horse, Bird, Rat, Tiger, Dog, Tiger, Snake, Ox, Ram, Snake, Boar, Ram, Rat, Ninth, Monkey, Bird, Dragon, Bird, Ox, Horse, Ram, Tiger, Snake, Rat, Monkey, Hare, Boar, Dragon, Ram, Rat, Ox, Monkey, Bird, Ninth, Rat, Ram, Bird.'
"Suiton: Suiryuudan no jutsu!" the two cried out in chorus, the two jutsus canceling each other out.
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Recca whistled, visibly impressed with the feat of skill the two jounin had just displayed.
'For a copycat technique…that ain't too shabby…' he admitted, before shivering, a scary thought passing through his head. "Hope Mikagami never learns that one…" he muttered, causing Domon to nod his head nervously.
'He's deadly enough with that icicle viper as it is!' the giant whimpered, remembering just how deadly their swordsman friend could be.
The two jounin circled each other, Kakashi mirroring Zabuza's movements flawlessly, before apparently imitating his thoughts as well. It was one of his patented moves, a little subliminal messaging, a little scripted monologue, and all he had to do was finish the poor bastard's sentences to drive him up the wall.
It was a technique that had yet to fail him, save in battles against multiple opponents, and was having the desired effect on the short-fused mist jounin.
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"You mimic me like a parrot!" Zabuza yelled, slamming through another set of seals, "I'll shut your beak for good!"
However, just before finishing the final seal, the jounin froze in shock, as he saw the ghostly image of himself standing behind Kakashi, stalling him in mid-jutsu long enough for Kakashi to replicate it, sending the startled mist nin hurtling backwards, a victim of his own water jutsu.
"Suiton: Daibakufu no jutsu!"
The maelstrom tore through the forest like an Akimichi in a gingerbread house, sending trees and debris hurling in all directions, and buffeting the poor demon of the mist against whatever got in it's way, before finally wearing off.
Zabuza coughed out the water in his lungs as he stared up at the jounin in the tree, eyes wide with fear.
"Can…can you see the future…?" he wondered, only for Kakashi to scowl at him, Sharingan spinning mockingly.
"Your future is death."
Abruptly, two senbon needles shot through the air, piercing Zabuza's neck, causing the missing Nin to lurch forwards lifelessly to land on the floor with a wet thud.
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Kakashi, team seven and Tazuna, who'd been hiding behind a tree like the great man he was, stared in shock at the assassin's lifeless body, before looking at the tree the Senbon had come from.
A figure wearing a white mask with a swirl on it stood there, gazing down at them, belt- sash swaying in the wind, chuckling softly.
"It would appear… that your prediction came true." A muffled voice said cheerfully, as the shocked audience watched on.
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Ah, the amazing Haku has arrived, will our young ninja of indistinguishable gender be caught out early? or will the amsked prodigy live on to force others to question their sexuality? There's only one way to tell!
Haku: Ano...I AM male you know...
Kyugan: That may be so for your cannon self, but I'm afraid that the reviewers have sick, twisted minds.
Haku: I'm not following.
Kyugan: Oh you will, look behind you.
Haku: Oh please, I'm a shinobi, we INVENTED that technique.
(A pair of pale arms wraps around the teen from behind, causing him to flush as they pull him into a rather ...squishy hug.)
Haku: Wha-what?! (looks behind and blinks)
FemHaku: Want to see if I'm this pale all over?
Kyugan: (supresses nose bleed.) That's so wrong but at the same time I can't look away...
Kakashi: Mhmm...(yelps as a whip cracks) Aw c'mon! can't I watch!
Kyugan: No ethically confusing pormn for you, USELESS, now go file the reviews like a good mortal meat-bag.
Kakashi: (whimper) yes sir...
R&R!!!!