DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any series or movie that I might use for inspiration.
CHAPTER 5
Demon Of The Mist vs Shark Monster Of Oto
Otogakure no Sato...
"So...how can I help you today, Karin chan? I was under the impression that today was suppose to be your break from training, or was there something that I misunderstood about our schedule?" Asked Kabuto, pushing up his glasses into position with the tip of his forefinger with a trade mark smirk engraved on his facial features.
They were in one of the many lab rooms in the main base of Oto, this is where Karin had known that her sensei would be, experimenting with Jugo's cursed dna in order to improve on Orochimaru's cursed seal. They needed to finish the project before the beginning of the next year, that was their target, the Sound Four's lives depended on it. If they didn't manage to reduce the death rate and manage to improve the subject's mental control post survival of the cursed seal implant, then they might as well have signed the death warrants for their comrades, something that was not an option to both if them, but for different reasons.
Kabuto didn't want to lose the sound four because they were key figures in Orochimaru's sama's plans and were even potential hosts for his master. Whereas Karin on the other hand didn't want to lose them because they were her dear friends and she even considered them family. Naruto and Yakumo's bond had influenced the youth of Oto a great deal since they arrived, never before had any faction in Oto been so united, things had changed ever since those two arrived almost two years ago. Even Jugo Of The Scales was now a part of the official forces. Yakumo and Naruto had made short work of that. A simple, according to them, combination of Naruto kun's sealing techniques and Yakumo chan's mind barriers was apparently more then enough to lock away Jugo's alter ego even when he went full curse mode. Sure, the guy became much more sadistic and violent when he went curse mode, but without the alter ego to take over his conciousness, he still retained the ability to reason, strategize, and recognise comrades during battle. Karin supposed she shouldn't have been surprised that those two were able to help Jugo, after all, they were in similar situations to him, with Yakumo chan's Ido demon, and Naruto kun's bijuu, they could easily be considered to have once been in similar situations to Jugo, they understood him most and knew best how to help him.
Naruto and Jugo had been like brothers ever since then, commonly refered to and recognised as the Monster brothers of Oto.
Yakumo's situation was strange and intruiging to Karin's scientific mind. Apparently, the Ido demon wasn't as evil as everyone had thought it to be...okay maybe it was just as evil as everyone thought it was, but it had no ill intentions towards Yakumo whatsoever and in fact loved her so much apparently.
Everything it had done, was done in order to protect its master, well, according to its own twisted sense. It had killed Yakumo's parents because it recognised them as the source of her pain. Her parents had put so much pressure on her at such a young age to alone shoulder the burden of securing the clan's future as a shinobi clan. And then, when Kurenai gave up on her because of her physical condition, they had, instead of encouraging her and believing in her, also basically told her that they didn't believe in her anymore and that she should try and take up another career. Sure they hadn't said it like that and had meant no ill will to her, but the effect was nevertheless the same. Yakumo had been hurt and devastated and Ido had reasoned that getting rid of her source of pain would make things better, and so killed her parents.
Ido had also planned to follow up by killing Kurenai and the Hokage for hurting her Yakumo chan, but had been sealed before she could do that. Nevertheless, Yakumo now had a good understanding with Ido and even considered her as a mother figure, although the roles were reversed, with Yakumo being the one that carried the burden of teaching Ido what was okay to do and what wasn't, what was right or wrong, and who she could help her kill and couldn't kill.
"Um...you see um...I need you to help me with something really important Kabuto sensei, its for my kunoichi training." Replied Karin, trying to supress her nerves as much as possible.
"Oh...well, you know I'm always willing to help you Karin chan, you are after all my prized student. Go on, ask me anything and I will do it, if it is within my capabilities off course." Said the twelve year old medical shinobi prodigy.
'Damn you Karin what are you so scared of, sensei may be a psychotic, mad scientist, but he's been a lot kinder since he became friends with Naruto kun. Ok maybe not kind exactly, but still, he seems much less...less insane, and less cruel.' Thought Karin.
"Um...you see, I was having this talk with Naruto kun before he left for his mission and um...you see, Naruto kun said that there was something special about me...um...Kabuto sensei, could you please help me discover all the hidden secretes of my body? I know you are the only one that knows the human body well enough to do it right, please sensei!" Pleaded Karin desperately, her voice rising accidentally at the end.
Kabuto's eyes widened in shock and...what...was that fear and anxiety? He couldn't believe what the seemingly sweet and innocent little girl had just asked of him, it couldn't be really happening could it? She couldn't be asking what he thought she was asking...could she? Either then the fact that...well, the fact that she was too young for such things, heck even he was barely old enough to do such things, what more for an eight year old little girl, but more importantly, wasn't she supposed to be infatuated with Naruto kun? Everyone who knew anything in Oto knew that much, she never bothered to make it a secrete...okay well she did, but the attempt was so lame and unconvincing, only a fool wouldn't see through that!
'No way! This isn't possible! I must have missed something, I misintepreted her words somehow! Yes, this is the ninja world, nothing is ever as it seems!' Thought Kabuto, trying to convince himself despite the situation seemingly having nothing to do with the ninja world or ninja arts.
"U-um...Karin chan...um...could you please tell me what exactly you and Naruto kun talked about? Perhaps I might gain a better understanding of the s-situation and be able to h-help you b-better." Said Kabuto nervously, although Karin remained oblivious to his discomfort, too caught up in her own thoughts.
"O-oh! Um...I..uh...I understand." Replied Karin with a light blush on her cheeks.
FLASHBACK NO JUTSU
"Aaaaw Naruto kuuun, when are you going to take me on date huh? I know you want to, stop denying yourself the happiness that you deserve, that we both deserve!" Purred Karin, her arm tightly wrapped around Naruto's own with her head resting on his shoulder. They were walking together in the dark corridors of Oto's underground main base, Naruto was on his way to meet up with his team for their first S rank mission, and Karin had made sure to intercept him before he got there so that she could get the alone time with Naruto kun that Yakumo had selfishly stolen from her, at least that's how her immature logic interpreted the situation.
"Never...at this rate, I will never even consider going on a date with you!" Said Naruto cruelly, stopping dead on his tracks with a deep frown on his face.
"W-what...you can't be serious! I thought that you cared about me, you said so yourself! You said I was your precious person, was that a lie? I knew it, you're just like the others! The ones that used to lie and make fun of me behind my back! What, was it some big joke...sniff...did you just say that so that you could make fun of me..sniff sniff...I...I...I hate you!" Shouted Karin in anger and anguish, tears freely flowing from her eyes as she turned and ran away, only to be stopped by a firm grip on her wrist.
Karin screamed, cursed, cried, and tried valiantly to untangle herself, god she hated him! How dare he use her like that, how dare he play with her feelings like that. She was so angry she could just...she could just...just god she wanted to do something very very bad to him.
Naruto patiently waited for her to calm down, there was no way he was going to let her be on her own in her mental and emotional condition. He needed her to hear him out and he was going to make her listen whether she wanted to or not. He wasn't giving her a choice here, he would do anything to protect his precious people, and this was just one of those things that he was willing to do, even if it hurt her so much, even if it hurt him so much. Eventually the beautiful red head calmed down enough to be able to listen to him, realising that any attempts to escape his unnaturally strong grip were futile.
"Why...why did you do this, why are you doing this to me Naruto kun, I-I thought that you loved me. Don't I mean anything to you, everything that I've done for you, all the nice times we had together, these passed two years, didn't they mean anything to you?" Whispered Karin softly, hurt and desperation audible in her voice as she clung tightly to the blonde, her face burried into his chest.
"Karin, I want nothing more then your happiness, but you have to understand, there is no point in us being together if I have such a negative effect you..."
"Negative effect, what the hell do you mean you baka, I've never been happier ever since I met you, how can you call that a negative effect!" Screamed Karin angrily at Naruto's face, staring angrily at his eyes in hope of maybe seing through his heart, and maybe even his soul.
"Karin...you haven't grown since the first day I met you, infact, you've regressed. You no longer focus on the most important things, you're too busy with fashion and making yourself pretty instead of focusing on your ninja career. Sure, your medical and scientific knowledge has grown in leaps and bounds, but you have not applied that into anything that could help you in battle. How do you plan to protect yourself, much less your comrades when danger arises? I'm not saying this to be nasty or cruel, but at your current level, you have nothing to offer in battle besides your sensing abilities and healing, but how are you going to stay alive long enough to make that usefull? Have you thought about that?" Asked Naruto with a dead serious face.
"I...I...um..." Sputtered Karin with teary eyes and a quivering lower lip.
"Karin chan..." Said Naruto, crushing the slender girl into a warm embrace.
"H-hai...sniff...Naruto kun..."
"I don't know if you have noticed, but there is something special about your chakra, your chakra is far more potent...no...that is the wrong term, I should rather say that your chakra is far more dense then anything I have ever heard of before. It is said that chakra is neither a gas nor a liquid, but something in between those two states. If we assume that to hold true for all persons, then you are without a doubt the exception, your chakra I would say is something between a liquid and a solid, I don't know, maybe that isn't an accurate description, but I'm sure you know what I'm trying to say." Explained Naruto neutrally.
"Sniff...is...is that a bad thing...is there something wrong with my chakra! Will I be able to continue being..."
"Shhhhh...don't worry, I don't think this is a defect, after all, if you haven't had any problems with chakra control thus far, then there is nothing wrong with you. I think that it might be some kind of kekei genkei. Karin, you need to get strong, I care about you and I want to protect you with everything I have, but I'm not stupid, no matter how strong I get, I can't be god, there will be some times that I won't be there to protect you immediately, in which case you would have to hold your own for a while or even win on your own. I want you to be strong because I don't think I could bare it to lose you, Karin chan, I plan to rebuild the Uzumaki clan here in Oto, and I want you, I need you you to help me do that, I need you to be strong so that you can protect our future children when I am not around to do so, and to protect yourself. Karin chan, I need you to spend some time in the lab and try to discover what you can do with your kekei genkei, and to follow up by become as strong as you can. I need you to be strong because I love you and I don't want to lose you, I love you too much to allow that!" Said Naruto affectionately, showing maturity far ahead of his years.
"Y-you really mean it...I have a kekei genkei and you really love me, you really love me Naruto kun?" Asked Karin with hope and desperation.
"I'm not sure, but yes, I think it is a kekei genkei, what else could it be, there doesn't seem to be a negative effect on your body or chakra system, you probably haven't realised this trait about your chakra because you have never tried to sense your own chakra. And um...its true, that I love you!" Said Naruto with a deep blush beneath and around his whisker marks, but still managing a bright smile that was meant to look charming and endearing but looked more like an evil smirk with his triangular shark like teeth that had permanently developed shortly after his first shark transformation in his battle with Bipolar Jugo two years ago. But to Karin, nothing could have looked more charming and loving then he did in that moment, his eyes told her more then she could ever have asked for, he truly loved her, she was his precious person.
"N-Naruto kun I...I...I love you too!" Shouted Karin, tightning her arms around the blond, she felt like she never wanted to let go ever again. If she died right now she would be the happiest woman alive. Naruto partially hated himself for hurting Karin chan, but at the same time he was happy he had said something, the way things were going would have led to her demise and he would have hated himself a thousand times more if he had allowed that to happen.
"I promise I'll get strong Naruto kun, I won't fall behind anymore. I'll catch up to you and walk alongside you like a true partner, I won't disappoint neither you or myself, Its a promise of a lifetime!" Cried Karin with happy tears.
"I know, I know you'll become strong, I believe in you, Karin chan." Said Naruto, petting his red princess on the head affectionately.
FLASH BACK NO JUTSU END
"I tried to sense my own chakra after that, I didn't think it was possible but I discovered that I can sense my chakra and any foreign chakra that enters my system. And...um...Naruto kun was telling the truth about my chakra, its so dense and strong...I...I need you to help me discover how I can use this to my advantage, please help me...Kabuto sensei!" Pleaded Karin, launchung a devastating puppy eyes technique that not even someone as cold as Kabuto could resist.
'So that's what she meant! Phew! She could have at least worded it better.' Thought Kabuto, sighing in relief.
"Hn, my my Karin chan, what an interesting development. You've got me, how can I not help you after stimulating my scienticfic curiosity like that, besides, you're my prized student, off course I'll help you." Said Kabuto.
"Really! Sugoi Kabuto sensei, when do we start huh...Kabuto sensei!" Asked Karin enthusiastically.
"Why Karin chan, what kind of question is that, we're going to start immediately off course." Said Kabuto with a mad gleem in his eyes.
In the Land of Waves...
"So, how are we going to do this, Guren sama?" Asked Jugo in a soft and subdued voice. Jugo, as the leader of the sound five had changed his outfit significantly from his former black shorts and bare feet to a white kimomo top with a purple rope belt tied around the waist and black ninja pants with white bandages wrapped around his anles and black ninja sandals. He also carried no weapons with him, something that a normal shinobi would not ever make the mistake of doing, especially on an S ranked mission, but he was no ordinary shinobi, not by any means.
"It depends on the intel Naruto manages to collect about the situation in this country and our targets. By the way, how long do you plan to make us wait Naruto...?" Asked Guren with a 'cross me and you will die' look in her eyes. She wore red lipstick, had fair skin, dark eyes and light blue hair which she kept in a spiky ponytail with long strands of hair framing her also wore a teal short kimono with a gray turtle neck and short sleeves with a jade-green rope belt around her waist, and red shorts, light purple wrist bands and navy blue sandals.
"You should try and practise some patience once in a while...Guren sama." Replied Naruto, who was balancing himself on a railing on the incomplete bridge of Wave country with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. He was dressed in almost the exact same outfit as his monster brother, the only difference being that his Kimomo was dark red with an image of a dark blue shark on his back. The shark had its maw wide open with razor sharp teeth projecting off of its jaws. The inside of the mouth looked like a dark abyss with two red, slitted eyes glowing from the darkness. Around the shark image,nine long, red,and furry tails circled around, almost creating a vaccum like effect around the image.
Guren, for some reason that only she knew lost her cool and attacked the unawares 8 year old blonde with more then impressive speed, creating a crystal spear in an instant and running it through the blonde's shoulder before anyone could react.
"Who the hell do you think it is that you're talking too, chuunin! I won't accept any disrespect from you or anyone here, as the only jounin here and as Orochimaru sama's next vessel, I hold authority over all of you! got it!" Said the twelve year old jounin furiously, a fierce and sadistic expression etched on her otherwise beautiful face.
"Krkkkk...Teme...what do you think you're doing, attacking a comrade like that on a mission? That doesn't seem like jounin like behaviour to me, I don't even get how being Orochimaru sama's next vessel is a good thing, I would never allow such a thing to happen to me." Replied Naruto angrily.
"How dare you...you traitor! Being Orochimaru sama's next body, I will become a part of Orochimaru sama himself and my powers and body will help him achieve his greatest desires and goals, it is an honour that only a few and special individuals can ever hope to have! How could you even say something like that. I'll kill you for your traitorous mouth you scum...!"
"Guren, I would suggest you remove that crystal spear from aniki's shoulder before something bad happens to you! You're lucky as it is that Yakumo isn't here to see this." Said Jugo with a soft but dangerous undertone.
"I don't take orders from you, I will kill you too if you get in my way! Now stand down, that's an order!" Said Guren menacingly.
"While it is true that you don't take orders from me, it should also be noted that I do not take orders from you. As the leader of Orochimaru sama's elite guard, directly responsible for Orochimaru sama's protection and security, ranking positions such as your Elite Jounin status don't mean a thing to me. Besides, how stupid do you think we are...Guren?" Asked Jugo.
"W-what are you talking about?" Asked Guren, gritting her teeth in anger and still refusing to remove her spear from the blondes shoulder, who wasn't even flinching from the pain on his shoulder.
"If you had really intended to kill or critcally injure aniki, then his scales would have reacted on their own and stopped your attack. Also, Naruto could have avoided or even countered your attack as he would have sensed the change in your chakra even before you created the crystal spear, which would mean that he actually allowed you to attack him. Now I do not know what is going on between the two of you, but clearly you don't hate each other as much as you would like us all to believe, or as much as the two of you even believe. I would suggest the two of you sort out your differences after the completion of this mission. Now, since the two of you are hell bent on acting like incompetent fools, I will now take control of this assignment, does anyone have a problem with that?" Asked Jugo.
"Um...ehehehe...um...sure, no problem, its better then having grumpy Guren as the boss!" Said Naruto with a shark like smirk on his face.
"Who're you calling grumpy you prehistoric fish, and that's Guren sama to you!" Shouted Guren with an ugly snarl on her face.
"Enough!" Shouted Jugo authoratively.
"..."
"..."
"Honestly, and they used to think I was just an uncivilized animal..."
"You were." Deadpanned Guren.
"Whatever, get rid of that spear Guren, and Naruto, what information have your shadow clones gathered so far?" Asked Jugo with an air of professionalism and authority.
"Tche!" Grunted Guren, evaporating her crystal spear from existense. Naruto's wound closed up almost as soon as the spear was removed, not even leaving a scar where the wound had been. That made Guren grit her teeth in anger and envy, the truimphant smirk the blonde was directing towards her didn't make things any better for her temper either.
"Naruto, I'm waiting." Demanded the ten year old.
"Hai!" Saluted the blonde rigidly, now adopting a serious expression.
"This country, almost a year ago was taken over by the worlds richest businessman, Gato of Gato corporations. But, it appears that the purchase of the countries resources and facilities was done by illegal means. Gato is actually very much involved in the underground market and uses thugs, mercenaries, and rogue ninja to do his illegal business." Explained the blonde, pausing shortly to give his comrades a chance to digest the information.
"I see, so the Demon of The Mist has attached himself to this lowly scum in order to gain job security and finacial resources. But, for Gato to have hired a shinobi of that calibre, what could possibly have warranted the services of such a dangerous shinobi in a poor country like this?" Asked Guren out loud.
"She's right, do you know why he's here, Naruto?" Asked Jugo.
"Hai, Zabuza has been ordered to eliminate the contractor that is responsible for the building of this bridge. With Gato seizing control of all the ports and using it for his own means, the country, whose economic benefits almosty solely flow in from these ports has suffered immensely..."
"And this bridge is the only hope for the people of Wave Country, if they manage to complete the bridge, they will be joined with the main land and will no longer require the use of the sea ports. Gato will also lose his control of these people and might possibly risk exposure. Still...this bridge builder, assuming he is just a mere civilian, why would Gato have found it neccessary to hire a shinobi to do such a simple job?" Asked Jugo with a deep frown.
"Gato actually sent his thugs to the bridge builder's house to kill his grand son and kidnap his daughter. But I had already sent two of my shadow clones to check out the house, they arrived there just in time to save them. But to answer your question, Tazuna san has left the country in secrete, I was able to find out that he is on his way to Konoha, if I were to guess, then I would say that he intends to hire Konoha shinobi either for protection, to assassinate Gato, or both. Gato must have found out somehow about this and hired Zabuza and his crew as a counter measure, a very shrewd man I must admit"
"We can't afford to have Konoha get involved in this, more importantly, we can't afford to have them finding out about you...Naruto." Said Jugo.
"Its okay, he is only a civilian after all, I'll send a crystal clone after him, I should be able to catch up to him even if he had three day head start." Said Guren.
"Don't bother, I already sent a squad of shadow clones after him. He won't reach Konoha." Said Naruto.
"Good work Naruto, now what about Yakumo and Jirobo, where are they? Also, how many men does Zabuza have, and do you know their names and abilities?" Asked Jugo
"Jirobo went hunting for food, he said that he couldn't work on an empty stomach ehehe!" Replied Naruto sheepishly, causing Jugo and Guren to both roll their eyes in exasperation.
"And what of Yakumo and Zabuza's men?" Asked Guren impatiently.
"Zabuza has a group of powerful shinobi in his ranks. He has a fellow member of the Seven Swordsman Of The Mist in his squad, the wielder of the Lightning Fang Dual Swords, Kurotsuki Raiga." Said Naruto, his words shocking Jugo and Guren slightly, their eyes widening in surprise.
"Two members of the Seven Swordsman, this will be harder then I thought it could be. No wonder Orochimaru sama gave this mission an S rank. Tell us Naruto, who else does he have in his squad?" Asked Jugo.
"Hai, well, right now their squad has seperated, probably in order to scout out the country just like we did. Raiga is travelling with the demon brothers and a young kid with very strong chakra, possibly older then me but younger then the two of you. I'm not sure, but given his physical traits, I am almost certain that he is a member of Kiri's Kaguya clan..."
"Kurotsuki Raiga, a Kaguya kid, and the demon brothers, what a formidable team. An elite close to mid range fighter, a close range specialist and a tag team of weapons, poison, and genjutsu specialists, quite a complete team they have. They're going to be hard to take down all together, so whose going to be going after them?" Asked Guren, directing the question to no one in particular.
"Let us receive all the intel first, only then will I decide how we're going to do this. Naruto, who does Zabuza have in his half of the squad and what is Yakumo's current position?" Asked Jugo, getting fed up of asking the same question over and over because of interuptions.
"Zabuza is travelling with an afeminate looking boy, I would say that he is the same age or one year younger then you, Jugo. His chakra is strong and it feels very cold, amost like its freezing, I think he is from the Yuki clan, he must have the Hyoton Kekei Genkei. There's also someone else with them, someone also with strong chakra, but my clone haven't been able to even see him, he's been hiding inside the water and shadowing the two of them. My clone could sense his location in the water but couldn't see anything, almost as if he was...almost like he is a part of the water..."
"What, b...but how would that be possible, are you sure you haven't gone senile, maybe some fish ate a few of your brain cells during one of your deep water swimming sessions." Said Guren, stifling a giggle at the incredulous and irritated expression on the blonde's face.
"I think I might know who it is...or rather, what clan he is from..." Thought Jugo out loud.
"You do..?" Asked Naruto.
"Hai, he must be a member of the Hozuki clan, the clan that the 2nd Mizukage of Kiri hailed from. They had the ability to turn their bodies into liquids on a whim and had an especially strong affinity to water. They're a very powerful and dangerous clan of warriors, their ability to avoid damage by turning into water and replenish their energy through fusing with a body of water makes them very difficult to kill or even subdue." Explained Jugo.
"You're surprisingly very smart and knowledgeable about the ninja world, Jugo." Said Guren nonchalantly.
"I have to be, I am the leader of Orochimaru sama's personal guard, this knowledge is very valuable in order to do my job properly. In any case, if this guy is hiding inside the water, then that means he is shadowing those two as extra protection. If they should get into trouble and tackle on something more then they can handle, then he will be their secrete trump card or escape card in the battle, it is a simple but brilliant tactic. In any case, where is Yakumo?" Asked Jugo.
"She's tailing Raiga's half of the...no way, that's...that's impossible!" Said Naruto out loud, his eyes wide from shock.
"What is it, Naruto!" Asked Jugo in slight panic.
"They...they discovered her, their busy attacking her now as we speek, one of my shadow clones just got dispelled. There's only one of them helping her out now! We have to hurry!" Said Naruto hastily.
"B-but that's impossible! No one should be able to locate her when she uses her cloaking genjutsu, even someone with a doujutsu wouldn't have been able to discover her when she was hiding!" Shouted Guren hysterically.
"The two of you relax, Yakumo is very strong, she'll will be able to handle herself for a while. Naruto...is there anything you forgot to mention, maybe someone that you didn't sense or notice? Anything, anything strange at all?" Asked Jugo.
"Well...there was something funny about Raiga. He seemed to be carrying something on his back, he had a big bag I think and there was something in there...but...but I couldn't get a good reading, I tried to sense what it was but it seemed like something was blocking my sensor, I don't know how to explain, but that's what I receieved from the memories of my clones. Wait a minute, there was something else...his smell, Raiga didn't smell normal, there were two different scents coming from him...oh!" Exclaimed Naruto with wide eyes.
"What is it Naruto?" Asked Jugo.
"I...I think there's another human inside the bag, raiga is carrying a human on his back, a human that has the ability to block my chakra sonar and somehow see through Yakumo chan's genjutsu cloak!" Exclaimed Naruto in realization, causing the other two to widen their eyes in surprise. Jugo was the first to recover from his stupor and subsequently relay his orders.
"Alright, Guren, make a crystal clone and have it find Jirobo to fill him in on everything and drag him back to the battle field. You, Jirobo, and Yakumo will take care of of Raiga and his team. Rember not to kill them, but don't underestimate them either. We need to get them to join our cause!" Ordered Jugo. Guren quickly formed the hand seals and created a perfect replica of herself out of crystal. The clone, not needing to be given any orders disappeared in a crystal shunshin in order to fullfill its mission.
"Alright, I take it the two of you will handle Zabuza, Ice boy, and water boy on your own?" Asked Guren rhetorically.
"That is the plan, do not worry about us, we'll be fine, you just take care of your part of the job." Said Jugo. Naruto and Jugo both removed their kimomo's from their shoulders, allowing them to hang below over their respective rope belts. The duo, as if telepathically communicating simulataneously went straight into their tranformations, Naruto turning into a dark blue humanoid shark and Jugo's skin turning dark brown with black schlera and golden irises, three jet boosters growing on his back.
"Guren sama, make sure you don't die,I want to have a one on one talk with you when this is over, I have something to tell you." Said the shark boy before jumping over the bridge and into the water.
"Tche...show off, trying to act all cool and hardcore...you be careful too..." Said Guren with a melanchony expression.
"Well...I'm off, we'll rendezvous at the bridge builders house when the mission has been completed. Good luck!" Said Jugo, blasting himself into the sky with his chakra jet boosters.
"Tche...not you too, show off!" Shouted Guren irritably.
"Guess I better go, as much as I hate to admit it, Naruto kun would kill me if something bad happened to Yakumo..." Thought Guren, using an affectionate suffix with the blonde's name now that no one was there to hear her.
0000000000000
"Haku, haven't you noticed something strange in the water? That shark, its been following us for quite a while now hasn't it?" Asked Zabuza in a deep and gruff voice, a tall and noticeably muscular man with pale skin, short spiky black hair, brown eyes, and small eyebrows. He is wearing bandages like a mask over the bottom half of his face and his forehead protector is worn sideways on his head with a sleeveless black shirt and matching pants, complete with a waist-guard, and Kirigakure's striped wrist and leg-warmers. Across his torso is a a large belt to which a giant cleaver is attached on his back.
"Hai, definately not a normal shark, a summon maybe?" Asked Haku with a calm, serious, and adrogynous voice, an affeminate 8 year old boy with pale skin, brown eyes and long black hair tied in a lose ponytail with two long bangs framing his face complete with a kiri forehead protector tied across his forehead. The boy wore a black Kimomo top tied with a dark blue belt across the waist , dark black calve length pants and black ninja sandals.
"I don't know for sure Haku, but..." Trailed off Zabuza with a troubled expression.
"What is the matter...Zabuza sama?" Asked Haku with a worried undertone.
"Haku, if this is who I think it is, then there is a possibility that we might not survive this battle, even if all three of us fight together. The only person I know that uses shark summons is the strongest of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Hoshigaki Kisame..." Said Zabuza, leaving Haku to put two and two together for himself.
"Every shinobi has a weakness, no matter who they are. All we have to do is to remove the samehada from his possession, and then from then on, it will be our advantage, we have my ice techniques and the water monster on our side to counter against his suiton. In any case, even if we don't manage to defeat him, we would only have to hold him off until the others arrive, the advantage is ours here." Said Haku, not showing any visible signs of fear.
"Hn, I guess you're right, do it now, Suigetsu!" Shouted Zabuza.
"Water Release: Demon Fish!" Shouted a juvenile sounding voice surprisingly from under the water, though it should have been impossible to speak clearly under such conditions. In that instant, a giant wave of water grew out of the ocean a few metres away from their position, surrounding the shark figure and pulling it out of the ocean, the water took the form of a monster fish, trapping the humanoid shark inside its body.
"Gotcha! No one has ever been able to escape this...eh...what the hell are you!" Asked the eight year old boy now identified as Suigetsu, staring at the strange creature in slight shock.
"I could ask you the same thing...nevertheless I've been waiting for you to reveal yourself, thanks for taking the bate!" Replied the shark boy with a toothy grin, showing off his razor sharp triangular teeth, staring at the watery figure at the centre of the body of water.
'So he really is a relative of the 2nd Mizukage, a member of the great Hozuki clan. And that sword floating on the water on his left...isn't that one of the seven swords of the Seven Ninja Swordsman of Kiri...yes, it is...I see...I thought he looked familiar, I've seen someone like him in the bingo books before." Thought Naruto, taking a careful look at the giant sword, it was just as huge as the Zabuza's Kubikiribocho but looked significantly different. The blade is long and unusually wide but has the distinction of being completely hollow in the middle, essentially consisting of nothing more than the edges of what would otherwise be a normal cleaver with a circular but pointed front edge. Its handle is purple and its guard is as wide as its blade, with three small holes on either end.
"N-nani...? You knew I was here all this time...?" Asked Suigetsu.
"Off course I did, I'm a top class shinobi, and a very good sensor type, especially under the water, there's no way I wouldn't have known you were there...you know, you look very familiar, are you perhaps related to Hozuki Mangetsu?" Asked the shark boy.
'This isn't normal water, its very dense and makes it hard to move and impossible for a someone who doesn't specialize in under water combat, it feels just like the inside of a water prison. Judging by the concentration of chakra particularly around the body water, it is obvious that just like the water prison, the surface of this jutsu is many times harder then steel and is thus impossible to break through with sheer force alone. What an amazing jutsu, to think that he could make a super large and mobile version of the water prison technique that can even be used to do battle against large opponents, I can see how useful this jutsu could be against a boss level summon like Orochimaru sama's Manda and Three Headed Snake. But...essentially, this jutsu is comprised of an advanced level of water manipulation, and that requires great amounts of chakra, this jutsu is just food for me..." Thought Naruto with a sinister smirk on his shark features.
"Y-you know about my brother...?" Sputtered Suigetsu with a look of shock and what looked like a barely hidden but pained expression.
"Off course he does, any shinobi who is anyone would know about him, he was one of the strongest and most talented members of our organization, you have big boots to fill...Suigetsu..." Said Zabuza gruffly, walking onto the water in a casual and yet at the same time fully alert manner with Haku walking silently along side him.
"You speak of him as if he is past tense, don't tell me he has perished, someone so strong, who could have killed him?" Asked the blonde.
"He died to protect us, to protect me...because I was too weak!" Replied Suigetsu with a somber tone, gritting his teeth in frustration, sadness, and self loathing.
"We failed to kill the Mizukage, and he sacrificed himself to give us a chance to escape that damn Mizukage! I...I'll kill him, I...I hate that place, they call us monsters and hunt us down like animals simply because we were born different! And that damn Mizukage is responsible for all of this, my family...my brother's death...sniff...I'll kill him! I'll kill him if it is the last thing I ever do!" Shouted Suigetsu in anger, his tears unseen because of the water but felt by all others present.
"I understand..."
"Shut up! You don't understand shit, how could you understand! Have you lost your only brother huh! Do you know what it is like to be called a monster and hunted down like animal..! Huh!" Shouted Suigetsu in anger.
"Suigetsu! Shut up you fool! What have I told you about emotions, a true shinobi never shows his emotions, especially to enemy shinobi, emotions are a weakness and should be discarded! Your brother has earned my respect and admiration, and he passed on his will to you, don't taint his name with your foolishness!" Said Zabuza in reprimand, cutting off Suigetsu mid sentence.
"H-hai...Zabuza sensei! Gomen..." Said Suigetsu in a subdued voice.
"You're wrong you know...I know what it feels like to be called a monster, I know how it feels to be hated by everyone and hunted down like an animal. And I know what it is like to have a loved one die for my sake. I know exactly how you feel. You see...I am the jinchuuriki of Kyubi no Kitsune..." Said the blonde...Zabuza, Suigetsu, and Haku's eyes all widened in shock and surprise.
"Y...you mean like the Mizukage...but if that is the case, then why do you look like a shark?" Asked Haku neutrally.
"I'm glad that it turned out to be someone like me, fighting Hoshigaki Kisame would have been troublesome, he is someone that can fight on par with the Mizukage after all." Thought Haku.
"It was said that the Yondaime Hokage killed the Kyubi, while people had their doubts, nobody was really brave enough to question that lie, the Yondaime Hokage was the Boogie man of the ninja world and everyone, even Kage's feared his power, the only man ever to have a flee on site order placed on his bingo book entry by all the five great nations. Jinchuuriki are hated just as much as bloodline limit clans are hated in Kiri if not even more so, this boy may very well understand your pain better then anyone else...Haku, Suigetsu..." Said Zabuza.
"Well, yes, my father, the Yondaime Hokage sacrificed his life to seal away the Kyubi inside of me, and as for my shark appearance, well, that is a story for another day." Said the blonde, for the figurative millionth time shocking his adversaries, although Zabuza was very quick to get a hold of his emotions.
"You talk too much, for someone who was so easily captured, but that matters not, if you really are the jinchuuriki of the Kyubi, and the son of the Yondaime Hokage, then you could be of great use to me. The Mizukage is the jinchuuriki of the Sanbi, having a jinchuuriki as a weapon will almost guarantee the success of our next coupe, what say you? Join us and become my student and tool, or die right here and right now!" Said Zabuza ominously, pointing his Kubikiribocho in front of him at Naruto.
"Well, I have a better idea, why don't you join me, you see, I escaped Konoha two years ago and joined a new village, Otogakure no Sato, our leader, Orochimaru sama has sent me on this mission to recruite you and your subordinates into our ranks. We're interested in any talented shinobi that doesn't have a home, Orochimaru sama promises to give you a home, power, training, and security , you only have to swear your complete loyalty to Otogakure. Think about this carefully, are you planning to spend the rest of your lives running away from hunter nin squads, how long do you think you can keep that up? Just think, no one will ever hate you or hunt you down for simply being different, you can finally belong." Said the blonde, hoping that the Demon Of the Mist would accept his offer without trouble.
"Orochimaru of the Legendar Three Ninja huh...I see now, that shark like appearance, you're the product of an experiment aren't you? This power that you promise us, if this is what it is, then no thanks, I'm not becoming some snake psycho's play toy!" Said Zabuza.
"Sigh...I guess I should have known that you would react like this. Just so you know, I volunteered for this experiment, I wasn't forced, but tell you what, how about a deal, if the three of you can defeat me, then I will become your willing and loyal tool, but if the three of you lose, then you will join Oto and swear your loyalty and service to us, how about it?" Asked Naruto.
"Fine, we have deal!" Said Zabuza.
"What do you mean a deal, he's already lost, I've got him trapped in my...my chakra...what happened to my chakra...!" Asked Suigetsu out loud.
"I'm eating it, I've been slowly devouring your chakra since you captured me in this prison of yours, I should be free right about...NOW!" Shouted the blonde.
SPLASH!
Suigetsu's body of water lost its shape and completely dissolved, the waves of water crashing into the surface of the lake. Zabuza and Haku quickly jumped away, flipping backwards in order not to get taken under the water and in an effort to stay aware of their surroundings.
"You're not getting away!" Shouted Naruto, shooting out of the water at incredible speeds towards Zabuza with his jaw wide open in a biting motion.
Zabuza was almost cought off guard, his speed and experience the only reason he was able to intercept the attack with his cleaver.
"Don't underestimate me br...grrrrraaah!" Grunted Zabuza, his eyes wide in shock as he and his cleaver were pushed back so rapidly that they were even levitated for a relatively short while, with the blonde's razor sharp teeth firmly locked around the sword.
To Zabuza, and everyone elses except Naruto's equal shock, they were able to reach the shore still in mid air before landing harshly on the sandy ground. Zabuza channelled as much chakra as he could into his legs and feet in order to slow down and halt his movements, digging a relatively long trench into the ground before eventually stopping dead on his tracks.
"Demonic Ice Crystal Mirror!" Whispered Haku from behind Naruto, flying out of an ice mirror that had manifested behind the blonde at super fast speeds with an ice senbon prepaired in order to put the blond in a false death state. But Naruto, having sensed the chakra surge before the mirror was formed was too fast to react. Lashing out with his tail, Naruto was able to intercept Haku, smashing him right through his own ice mirror with inhuman power.
"Aaargh!" Cried out Haku, his body crashing and bouncing on the ground helplessly, he was in so much pain that he couldn't even manage the strength to prepair himself for the fall.
'Impossible! How was he able to react to Haku's teleportation speed at all, much less with his attention firmly fixed on me, just what is he?' Thought Zabuza.
Naruto, with quick reflexes and strength quickly ripped the head cleaver out of Zabuza's hands while his guard was temporalily down, twirled around, and with inhuman jaw strength sent it hurling towards Haku's direction, who had been molding hand seals for a jutsu, having finally recovered his breathe.
"Ice Release: Protective Ice Dome!" Said Haku calmly. Haku was forced to cancel the offensive jutsu and settle for a defensive one, creating a big dome of ice around himself for protection. The sword bounced off of the ice dome and flew upwards only to be caught by a giant hand made out of water.
'That's...Suigetsu, but I drained nearly all of his...I see...he is able to replenish his physical energy by merging himself with the water, I'll have to find a way to take care of..." Naruto was cut off mid thought by a presense behind him on his blind spot.
"Giving the enemy your back like that, what a rookie mistake!" Said Zabuza ominously with a weird shaped kunai poised to penetrate the blonde's shoulder ligaments to put him out of commision, only to be stopped dead on his tracks by a dark blue tail wrapped around his torso, forcing his arms to the sides of his body.
"I'm sorry, but what were you saying?" Asked Naruto sarcastically.
"Water Style: Water Gun Barrage Technique!" Shouted Suigetsu, launching high pressured, hypersonic water droplets from the index finger tip of his left hand aimed towards the Naruto's torso.
Naruto, wipped his tail out violently, throwing Zabuza away with incredible force. The Demon of the mist crashed into a large tree violently, only to turn into water. Naruto absorbed the chakra from the water pellets in an instant, what remained became harmless water particles that only served to wet him a bit.
'He substituted himself with a water clone to escape harm and retreated into the surrounding forest. Damn it, I didn't want to give them time to think up a strategy. Thought Naruto, also noting that Haku was missing from his previous position, but not just that, Naruto also noticed a thick fog creeping over the battle area.
'So, they're planning to use their stealth techniques to take me out, not only that, but all three of them are saturating the atmosphere with their chakra by sharing control of the the Hidden Mist no jutsu, this is so that they can counter my chakra sensing abilities and to blind side me. Hn, a good tactic, but unfortunately for them, I've also trained with this jutsu for years now, this was one of the first techniques that Kaa chan left for me. When using the silent killing technique, a practitioner relies mostly on sound alone to do battle, do they really think that they can defeat a shinobi from the Hidden Sound Village using this jutsu.' Thought Naruto, his body reverting back to its usual form, his tail and the shark fin on his back sunk back into his spine and his body turned the normal colour again. Blonde hair became visible again and his gills merged together and formed back into normal skin again.
"Sword Ninja Art: Cutting Waterfall!" Said Suigetsu, projecting his voice all around so as not to reveal his position, launching a rushing surge of water from his cleaver, the torrent of water was so huge that Naruto thought it could even cover a couple of town blocks, visible even through the mist.
"Kuso! How the hell does he still have so much...wait a second...this jutsu has no chakra...what kind of jutsu is this!" Thought Naruto out loud in shock.
"That is the power of my sword, the Blue Wave Gun! My sword creates water and through a natural process that even I don't fully undersdand, this word condenses the water into different pressurized and concentrated forms of my choosing, let's see you survive this one!" Came the voice of Suigetsu, who had moved from the location from which he fired the attack
"Kuso!" Shouted Naruto in frustration, realising that there was no way to dodge such a wide area attack...
End Chapter
Alright that's the end of the chapter.
"Demon Of the Mist vs Shark Monster Of Oto Part 2" will be the next chapter
After that there will be a time skip and Naruto will meet Gaara for the first time (secrete sound/sand alliance etc etc), anyway we will be getting closer to the chuunin exams, that's all I'll reveal for now. Expect a lot of surprises though.
Anyway I am currently very busy, I just barely managed to squeeze in the time to type this chapter, the next one will come out after two weeks because I will really be preoccupied with real life issues for that long.
I hope yaw enjoyed it and I promise to fix up the grammatical mistakes of this and the previous chapter when I get a chance, and thanks for the reviews, I've read all of them but haven't had the chance to reply, I will though when I get the chance.
Those of you that watch/read bleach might have guessed it already, Suigetsu's sword is a bigger variation of Harribel's Tiburon and the sword's abilities are the same, I think it is quite fitting for him don't you guys think. Anyway Naruto will show us some new techniques in the next chapter, stay tuned.
Peace.