With the events of the previous night still weighing upon them Hinata,Kakashi,Naruto,Sasuke and Tazuna find themselves walking along the road just as the sun begins to peak over the horizon. Hinata by this point was stumbling she was exhausted and her injury while healed completely seemed to have taxed her nonetheless. As she stumbled again, she fell forward but was caught by Naruto.
"Heya Hinata...don't worry just rest a while, I'll carry you...just wrap your arms around my neck okay ?" he said as knelt down waiting for her to comply.
Hinata blushed but was too tired to argue much less let her normal shyness around the blonde keep her from accepting.
"Thankyou N-naruto-kun" she whispered as she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck before he stood up and began walking to catch up with the group who were now about 20 feet down the road.
"Yosh we're good to go" he exclaimed with a smile before raising a thumbs up at the rest of the group.
Kakashi just eye smiled while Tazuna and Sasuke wondered where the blonde got all his energy from.
Despite his outward demeanor something was still bothering the blonde.
'It just doesn't make sense...that healing that wasn't just a Kekkei Genkai was it?..'
The fox huffed. 'Maybe she lied...'
'But Hinata wouldn't lie about something like that would she ?...'
'Maybe she doesn't know...'
'Are you trying to tell me something fox?'
'I'm not saying a word...it's not my place...'
'Wait!...dammit Fox!"
"I outta kill both of you for your cowardice" growled Zabuza as he gripped his hilt of his sword while leveling a glare filled with a massive amount of killing intent towards the two Demon brothers.
Meizu seemed shaken while Gozu seemed fairly unphased, but still reserved as he spoke.
"Sir with respect despite losing those four worms, we were able to gather quite a lot about the Leaf Ninja protecting the bridge builder. Information that could prove useful in fighting them." Gozu offered.
Zabuza cast a look between the pair before standing up.
"Save it...I'll deal with this myself...Haku you're with me" he said as he headed for the door.
A soft voice could be heard from the far side of the room. "As you wish Zabuza-Sama"
Nearly two days had passed since Team 7 had been attacked at camp. Since then the group had covered a great deal of ground. At the rate they were going they would reach the Sea in less then a day. While the atmosphere had grown a bit more casual the entire group was still on high alert as the morning that greeted them was far from ideal. The visibility due to the mist only allowed for ten to fifteen feet at most. This being the case, the group had been relying greatly on Hinata's Byakugan.
Though Kakashi had not said it aloud he was growing slightly anxious, he would feel much better once they had reached the sea and more so the Land of Waves
"Oi isn't Hinata awesome Sasuke ? Her Byakugan kicks ass ! I wish I had something cool like that" exclaimed Naruto.
Hinata blushed and fiddled with her fingers slightly but kept her gaze alert.
"Naruto... it's just as well you don't have something like that...knowing you, you'd probably do nothing but brag about it" mumbled Sasuke as he wondered to himself when he would finally be able to finally use his own Sharingan.
Tazuna just shook his head, he had grown use to these arguments, but he no longer underestimated these kids, he'd seen first hand what they were capable of.
Kakashi cleared his throat. "Hinata what do you see ?" he asked as he kept a wary gaze as well as he had refrained from reading his favorite little book in days.
"Ano Sensei there's something about this Mist...my vision isn't blocked...but almost clouded...I've never e-experienced this before with my Byakugan" she said nervously as she bit her lower lip.
Kakashi remained calm but nodded, "Can you make out anything ?" he asked
"Wait...I see something" she exclaimed.
Everyone tensed immediately preparing for a sudden attack.
"It's a rabbit" she whispered as a small smile spread across her face.
Everyone sweat dropped as she spoke.
Seconds later as everyone had relaxed, the little rabbit Hinata had just seen sprang forward into everyone's line of sight.
No one else paid it much mind, but Kakashi tensed immediately seeing the snow white rabbit.
'This is the wrong season...it shouldn't be here' he thought.
All other thought was ceased as Hinata eyes widened as she cried. "Incoming"
"Get down " yelled Kakashi.
Everyone hit the dirt only split seconds before a giant full-bladed sword crashed into a tree right behind the group.
As the group quickly made their way to their feet they noticed a tall muscular man standing on the hilt of the sword. He wore Kirigakure headband and a mask covered the lower half of his face. His eyes possessed a wild look to them as he stared at the group.
"So this must be the famed Leaf Ninja that killed my men...a bunch of children...and you must be Kakashi of the Sharingan" stated Zabuza as he crossed his arms as he left off but a fraction of killing intent.
Everyone besides Kakashi flinched and recoiled back.
Kakashi gritted his teeth recognizing the man before him.
"Zabuza Momochi...better known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist" stated Kakashi.
"Well now that we've gotten introductions out of the way how bout we cut to the chase ?" he said as he flipped backwards and removed his sword from tree before vanishing into the mist in a blur.
"Everyone protect the bridge builder...leave Zabuza to me" he said as he reached for his forehead protector. As he pulled it up everyone could see a scar over his left eye, as that eye opened a red eye could be seen with three black tomoes circling the pupil.
"The Sharingan" whispered Sasuke in disbelief.
'But how is this possible ? Kakashi is not of the Uchiha Clan...so how is it he possesses the Sharingan' he wondered as he stepped back and pulled out a Kunai at the same time as Naruto.
Hinata assumed a gentle-fist stance as she stood directly in front of the bridge builder.
Kakashi began studying the surrounding mist as it seemed to be growing thicker.
"Sensei incoming on your left side" yelled Hinata as loud as she could muster.
Kakashi turned just in time to redirect a strike from Zabuza's sword with a single kunai.
'Hmm that damn brat is going to prove annoying' he thought as he preformed a series of quick powerful strikes to which Kakashi was able to dodge with the use of his Sharingan.
As Kakashi darted forward he plunged his Kunai straight through Zabuza though the Zabuza in front of him dissipated into water.
'A water clone ? ' he thought before he whirled around to see Zabuza coming for his team and the bridge builder some 35 feet away.
Zabuza lunged forward from the side in an attempt to slip past Naruto and Sasuke and kill Hinata. However what he didn't expect was for the girl to be able to react in time to counterattack. As he swept his sword in attempt to cleave her in half she pushed Tazuna out of the way before she bent low using her natural flexibility to duck beneath his brutal strike. Naruto and Sasuke instantly turned on heel to face Zabuza, but before the Demon of the Mist could follow up with an attack on the Kunoichi a blur came out nowhere as Kakashi foot collided with Zabuza chest sending him sprawling back several feet.
"Naruto...Sasuke close up formation...keep Hinata and the bridge builder safe...their his primary targets at the moment."he yelled.
Naruto and Sasuke quickly complied moving in till they were on either side of Hinata and the Bridge builder.
"Quite a display Kakashi...but these brats don't really know what it means to be a Ninja...they are no more than children playing ninja...once I get past you...killing them will be easy" he stated as he flipped backwards about 50 feet onto the surface of the nearby lake.
Kakashi didn't bother to respond as he darted forward leaping onto the surface of the water.
The Genin and the bridge builder could only watch in wonder as Zabuza began forming a series of handsigns only to see Kakashi mirroring his every sign perfectly.
Both of the men called out the same technique in sync with one another. "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu "
Two giant Water Dragons took shape and with a earth shattering roar darted forward towards one another. The resulting impact shook the nearby forest as water sprayed all over the place.
As some of the mist cleared Kakashi and Zabuza could be seen still standing across from one another.
Over the course of the next fifteenb minutes every Jutsu Zabuza would utilize Kakashi would copy and negate without fail...the longer this went on the more and more agitated the rogue Kiri Ninja became.
"Dammit sto-" Zabuza started before he was cut off.
Copying you?" Kakashi asked his expression serious.
"Damn you and that eye" he said as his killer intent rose as he glared at Kakashi.
'What else can he see?' Zabuza wondered as he gripped his sword.
"I can see your death Zabuza" Kakashi said as the tomoes in his sharingan eye spun around the pupil momentarily.
Zabuza gripped the hilt of his sword harder as Kakashi mind games were slowly starting to work.
"Your Sharingan may see many things...but you left an opening to exploit" stated Zabuza.
Kakashi for a split second turned his attention back the shore fearing for his team's safety before he heard laughter directly behind him.
"And I capitalized on that opening" whispered the voice before Kakashi heard him call out. "Water Style: Water Prison Technique"
Instantly Kakashi was caught within a virtually indestructible sphere of water with a water clone standing there with his hand on the sphere to maintain it. 'Dammit' thought Kakashi before he turned his attention back to his team on the shore.
"Hinata,Naruto,Sasuke... Run take the bridge builder and get out of here " he yelled
Naruto clenched his fist as he looked between Sasuke,Hinata, and the bridge builder.
"There's no way in hell we can do that Sensei...Disobeying orders may make us trash as far as the Ninja world is concerned...but those who abandon their comrades are lower than that" he yelled.
"Dammit Naruto listen to me, Zabuza is in a completely different league then the three of you" Kakashi yelled as he slammed his hands up against the sphere.
Naruto gritted his teeth as Zabuza slowly began stalking forward as he neared the edge of the shore.
"Sensei...I'm with the idiot on this one...we might be outmatched, but better we stay and die trying then for us to get picked off running away through the mist, we can't outrun him."Sasuke stated.
"I-I'm staying w-with N-naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun no matter what happens...you all are more like my family then my own family is to me" she said softly the she trembled a moment before she steadied herself.
Kakashi gritted his teeth cursing himself for falling prey to Zabuza and his blasted trap.
"I don't care who this asshole is, we're gonna kick his ass, finish this mission, and none of us are going to die" declared Naruto as he created a series of handsigns.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu" he cried summoning thirty clones into existence.
'Shadow Clones? From a kid no less... interesting' thought Zabuza as he stopped about 30 feet from the small group.
"Alright brat let's see what you can do"said Zabuza.
"You heard him guys let's get em" cried the multitude of Narutos as they all charged towards Zabuza.
Zabuza made a quick flourish easily dispelling most of the shadow clones.
'So he can make plenty of clones...but their all weak' thought Zabuza before he kicked the final Naruto sending him skidding backwards.
As Naruto was rolling backwards and idea struck him. He opened his backpack before pulling out a large fourbladed shuriken.
"Oi Sasuke catch" he yelled as he threw the folded up shuriken to the raven haired Ninja.
Sasuke smirked as he caught it instantly realizing the blondes plan.
'Not too bad Naruto' he thought as he studied the approaching Zabuza closely.
Sasuke reared back the shuriken as he unfolded it.
"Demon Wind Shuriken: Windmill of Shadows " he yelled before he threw the large weapon towards the approaching Zabuza.
Zabuza batted it away with ease smirking however his smirk disappeared as his eyes widened as he saw a second approaching Shuriken.
'A second Shurkien...following the shadow from the first' he thought as he ducked just moments before it hit him.
"Nice try kid...you almost caught me off guard there" he commented.
Sasuke smirked. "Who said I was trying to hit you ?" he asked.
Zabuza's eyes widened to see the still airborne Shuriken flying headlong towards his clone.
Rather than releasing his hold on the water prison, however the clone leapt over the flying shuriken.
"Hmmm pretty crafty for a brat...but not good enough" he said.
"That's the second and last time you'll underestimate us believe it" yelled Naruto.
Zabuza watched in wonder as the flying shuriken poofed in midair and was replaced by another clone of Naruto. Not wasting any time the clone in midair threw a kunai right for Zabuza's clone's hand. Zabuza's clone pulled away for just a split second, but it was enough as the Water Prison jutsu was dispelled and Kakashi lunged forward and with well placed cross chop dispelled the clone.
Zabuza actually laughed. "So maybe you kids aren't so soft after all, but your still ultimately just tools of your own village...ones that I can break with ease." he yelled before he disappeared into the mist.
As the clone next to Kakashi dispelled, Kakashi immediately began darting back towards his team. He realized that he only had a limited amount of time to close the distance or Zabuza would go all out, overpower the genin and kill them and the bridge builder with ease.
"Time to die" the genin could hear from all around them as the largest amount of killing intent they had ever felt was focused on them.
Time seemed to slow down as the next few moments played out in slow motion.
Kakashi leaped in front of his team just as Zabuza emerged for the Mist. Blood splattered everywhere as Zabuza buried his sword into Kakashi's side, the attack would have cut Kakashi in two, but the Jonin had caught the flat of the blade at the last moment reducing the impact. As Zabuza tried to pull away Kakashi held strong, both heard a small voice they didn't expect cry out behind them.
"Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms" The tiny Hyuuga girl lunged forward having a perfect opening before she began a graceful dance as her fingers began to blur as she struck the Demon of the Mist with a multitude of powerful Juken strikes.
When she finished he was thrown backwards as his body convulsed in pain.
Kakashi looked wide eyed before he offered her a weak eye smile before wincing.
"A-ano S-sensei are you ok?" she asked in a concerned timid voice.
Naruto and Sasuke both traded a glance not only amazed...but surprised by their teammates skill. They had faith in her no doubt, but neither of them had been able to see the attack coming much less counterattack.
'Wow Hinata is amazing' thought Naruto.
'I wonder how powerful she would be, if she had more confidence' Sasuke mused to himself.
Kakashi groaned as he looked at Zabuza who was slowly getting to his feet.
"Heh I've been worse off..we need to finish this while he's unable to mold chakra" he stated.
However before he could say anything further the group watched in shock as several senbon whizzed through the air before hitting Zabuza in the back of the neck seemingly killing him.
A moment passed before movement could be heard as a figure landed a few feet back from the now 'dead' Zabuza.
The figure was clearly a ninja who bore an outfit consisting of a moss green, striped turtle-neck sweater and a split skirt in matching colour that reached all the way down to their knees. On the outside of that, he wore a green blue short kimono with white edges, and around their waist a green brown obi could be seen, in the same style as the sweater, with a unique fringed trail. The Ninja had long hair that was gathered in a white bun holder tied with a green blue, while two locks of their hair fell loose that would normally frame the face, However a white hunter-nin mask could be seen resting on top of his forehead protector obscured the Ninja's face. The white mask was thin, with curved eye-holes and a red wavy design in place of the mouth, the symbol for Kiragakure could be soon on the forehead.
"I must thank you, I've been tracking this criminal for quite sometime, you provided me with a perfect kill shot" stated the Ninja in a soft if not somewhat muffled voice.
Kakashi dropped to one knee as his vision began to fade.
'Dammit I used the sharingan too much...this wound on my side doesn't help much either' he thought before he winced again in pain.
'Theres...something wrong about this Hunter Ninja...but I can't put my finger on it...mind is too addled' he thought.
"Who are you exactly ?" asked Sasuke as he stared suspiciously at the Ninja before them.
"That is hardly your business...just know that I am a Hunter Nin and this was my target...I will be taking his body as verification...I'd suggest you worry less about me and more about your comrade, he looks he needs you assistance now" The Hunter Ninja replied before moving forward collecting Zabuza and his sword before vanishing moments later.
Kakashi groaned as he felt himself collapse, he soon realized the world around him was growing darker.
All he could make out was the yells from his genin, before he felt himself slip into darkness...
Naruto groaned as he and Sasuke supported a still unconscious Kakashi as they continued moving forward towards the sea.
"Oi Sensei...you weigh a ton" Naruto whined.
"Normally Naruto I would tell you to shut up...but this time I have to agree with you" grunted Sasuke.
Naruto began to chuckle as he looked over at Sasuke. "Heh you know...you've changed a lot since the academy.." he said before smiling at his friend.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Don't read so much into it your just more bearable to be around then you use to be. I also realize how useless parts of the academy were." he offered before shrugging.
"What do you mean ?" he asked confused.
Sasuke sighed. "Despite how much of a blockhead you can be at times, those grades in the academy hardly prove anything in the real world, we wouldn't have been able to fend of Zabuza much less catch him off guard if you really were a Dobe. So I'm no longer going to call you a Dobe, congrats from now on when you do something stupid...I'm just going to call you an idiot...I guess you could consider it an upgrade" mused Sasuke as he smirked at the blonde.
"Oi Teme don't make me kick your ass" he said.
Hinata just giggled as she watched the boys, to be honest while at times it worried her, she loved their brotherly quarrels at times. It made their team really feel like a family,something she rarely felt she had with the exception of Hanabi.
Tazuna who had been quiet for some time looked over at Hinata and smiled before he leaned down.
"If It wasn't obvious from their appearance that their not related I would never know" he chuckled.
Several hours had passed since their encounter with Zabuza and since then they had managed to patch up Kakashi enough to continue traveling,albeit slow to keep from opening their injured Sensei's wounds.
They were now trying to cover as much ground as possible it would only be a few short hours now till they reached the sea.
As they continued walking, Hinata bit her lip as she played the events of the last few days back through her mind. Despite what she told herself, she couldn't help, but feel as if we she was missing something. Earlier when she had stopped Zabuza...for some reason...he seemed to slow down as if time had almost stood still. She unlike Neji had yet to perfect hitting Tenketsu with perfect precision...and yet she had done so earlier with ease and then there had been those strange dreams. She could remember that they were vivid while she was asleep, but when she awoke she couldn't remember anything.
"Oi earth to Hinata-chan" called Naruto pulling Hinata from her thoughts.
"H-hai N-naruto-kun ?" she asked as she shook her head.
"I was asking if you could make some more of your Hina Ramen tonight when we stop ?" he asked his eyes sparkling as he looked back at her.
"H-hina R-ramen ?" she asked as she blushed a deep red tint.
"Hai thought it had a cool sound to it." he exclaimed grinning at her.
Hinata blushed again but managed a nod.
"H-hai once we get settled in and change Kakashi-Sensei bandages, I'll make us some" she said softly as she looked away from her crush.
"Woohoo ! I love Hina Ramen" he exclaimed.
Hinata sweat dropped. 'If I could just get him to say that to me now rather just about my ramen' she thought before sighing softly to herself.
A couple hours later as the sun was setting the team found themselves aboard a small ship heading towards the Land of Waves. According to Tazuna they would arrive early the next morning. With Kakashi still unconscious he was placed within one of the cabins of the small boat before she made her voyage out of the harbor and out into open sea.
Naruto knelt over Kakashi with a worried look. "Oi do you think Kakashi-Sensei is going to be ok?" he asked.
"Ano I think he's just exhausted...at least I hope so" Hinata said quietly as she fidgeted in place.
"Using the Sharingan is very taxing...Sensei should be alright." Sasuke stated. 'What I want to know is why Kakashi has a Sharingan in the first place.' he wondered as he folded his hands together and stared at his unconscious mentor who had become quite the enigma.
"Sharingan? Is that what that weird eye was?" Naruto questioned.
Hinata shook her head. 'Oh Naruto' she thought.
Sasuke sighed. "Yes Naruto it was...it's much like the Hyuuga's Byakugan. Both of which are Kekkei Genkai."he said.
"And what is a Kekkei Genkai?" Naruto asked as he began to scratch his head in confusion.
"You really should have paid attention in class sooner...it's a gift that is unique to certain clans and their bloodlines, like the Uchiha and Hyuuga." Sasuke explained.
"Jeez I wish I was from an awesome clan." he said pouting slightly.
"It's not always as great as you might think" Sasuke said quietly to which Hinata offered a small nod of her head.
"In any case we can talk tomorrow none of us are at one hundred percent, we're all tired. We need all our strength in case we haven't seen the last of those rogue ninjas" Sasuke said as he stood up.
"I'll see you both in the morning" he said as made his way out of the cabin leaving Naruto and Hinata alone with their unconscious Sensei.
Aboard the small ship that was sailing towards the Wave nothing could be heard except the occasional crashing of water against the side of the boat.
It was now late and everyone aboard the vessel had now found sleep, save for one person who'd found sleeping as of late difficult.
Hinata's dreams recently had been dark. Images of death and brutality, but what disturbed her more was the fact that she'd begun to suspect the person she saw committing these atrocities was herself.
She had been gripping the railing tightly for a few minutes now allowing silent tears to streak down her face. After a few more minutes she finally released her grip on the railing only to stare horrified, noticing the section she had been clenching was now crushed.
'What kind of monster am I ? Is this what my clan sees when they stare at me' she wondered before she shivered at the cool night air.
What she didn't expect was to feel a hand touch her shoulder, she spun around almost prepared to attack and froze as she saw her crush. She wiped her face quickly before she tried to mask her emotions from him.
"A-ano is something wrong N-naruto?" she said before offering a fake smile though it didn't reach her eyes and she still refused to look into his gaze.
Naruto reached out with his hand raising her chin so that she was forced to look him in the eye.
"Hinata-chan...please don't try to hide what you're feeling...I can tell you've been crying. I know your smile is fake...because your real one always makes me feel warm" he admitted as he stared deep into her lavender eyes .
"I-I...h-had this h-horrible n-nightmare and it s-seemed so r-real" she sobbed before she leaned forward and buried her head into his chest, before wrapping her arms around him tightly.
Naruto curled his arms around her, before rubbing her back slowly with his hands.
"I know how you feel Hinata...I have trouble sleeping some nights too, but hey I'll tell you what tonight you won't have to worry about those bad dreams again...I'll be right here" he assured her as he smiled.
Hinata pulled back blushing slightly and on impulse leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.
"I-I trust you N-naruto-kun...I d-don't know what I w-would do w-without you sometimes"
Naruto blushed deeply, but felt his heart racing as he touched his cheek.
"I could say the same thing...believe it" he said softly as he gazed at her a moment.
She smiled shyly before shivering again.
"Here Hinata...can't have you getting sick" he said as he took off his jacket.
Hinata laughed her voice sounding like a bell as she looked at her crush.
"I-I can't remember ever being sick.." she admitted with a small smile.
"Strange...same here" he responded with a grin as he wrapped his jacket around her shoulders.
"Maybe we can't get sick...but you're definitely cold...and I promised I'd be here for you tonight" he said softly.
She again blushed ."A-ano how are you g-going to do t-that ?" she asked in a stutter.
"Easy come sit here with me" he said as he went and took a seat leaning against the central mast.
She blushed heavily, but complied as she took a seat beside him. She squeaked in surprise when he grabbed her and placed her in his lap before wrapping his arms around her.
Hinata barely won her battle with her nerves as she relaxed and leaned her head against his chest.
"N-naruto-kun...do y-you want to hear something f-funny?" she asked softly as the waves crashed against the boat.
"What's that Hinata-chan?"he asked after a moment.
"T-tonight s-started off being one of the worst moments in my life and ended with one of the best m-moments of my life"she said softly before yawning against his chest.
Naruto blushed again himself as took a moment to compose himself.
"I think I know what you mean...tell me though was it worth the bad moment...for this moment?" he asked softly.
"Believe it" she exclaimed without a stutter before she began giggling.
Naruto closed his eyes as hugged her tight.
He remained in that position until he was certain she'd fallen asleep, his eyes locked upon the warped railing she'd be standing next to.
Slowly a frown settled upon his face.
'Fox...Hinata is like me isn't she?'
The fox was silent a few moments, before responding. 'In what regard Kit?'
Naruto took a deep breath. 'The healing. What she did against Zabuza. Her strength. The fact she's never been sick either. Maybe even the way her family treats her, but beyond all that...I just have this feeling in my gut.'
The Kyuubi regarded his host a moment. 'If it will keep you from bothering me further...yes she is. I'm know you mortals still talk about the day that my mate and I brought ruin to your village.'
'Well at least the official story. Most people believe that the Fourth appeared and after a long fought battle alongside Jiraiya of the Sannin and the Third managed to kill both of you at the cost of his own life. Clearly not all of that is true.'
The Fox huffed. "We cannot be killed when we're free. Such lies were created to give your village and the ignorant world some comfort that they are safe. No the Fourth managed to seal me into you and with the remainder of his energy and his own soul, he sealed my mate into a pregnant woman who would give birth a few months later."
'And that child was Hinata?...but why? why us of all people.' he asked as he found himself in his mindscape starring down the towering fox demon.
The Kyuubi grunted as it opened one eye to stare at his host. 'Let me be clear Kit. I don't like you. I don't like being here even more. I only help you, because this existence is only slightly preferable to death. As for why...it's likely that you and the pale eyed one possessed a special type of chakra which made you ideal hosts. She is likely not fully aware of what she is '
Naruto didn't lash out or scream, but rather he allowed a small smile. "You care about your mate right?...you have my word that I will keep Hinata safe and in return your mate."
The Kyuubi grew very still as he stared at the blonde not quite understanding his concern.
Finally he grunted an acknowledgement. "I'll hold you to that Kit. Now go."
Naruto found himself out of his mindscape. He shifted his gaze down at the girl in his arms, before allowing a weak smile.
Somehow they'd find a way to prove they were more then what others perceived.
"Do they always get this cozy on missions?" Tazuna asked as he stared at the couple who were still snuggled up against the Mast. Hinata still wearing Naruto's jacket had her head leaned against Naruto's chest, while the blonde himself still held her tightly like a giant teddy bear.
Sasuke shrugged seemingly uninterested. "This is news to me, just hope they don't let this interrupt our training." he mused as he stuck his hands in his pockets.
"Are we almost to the Land of Waves?" the raven haired ninja asked as he peered over at the bridge builder.
Tazuna nodded. "Yes I'd say we'll be there within another half hour" he replied.
"Alright well can you wake up those two ? I"m going to go get my Sensei" Sasuke said as he stuck his hands into his pockets and strode towards the Cabin.
Half a day later the group found themselves sitting in Tazuna's living room. They had seen first hand the toll Gato's operations had taken on the Land of Waves. The poverty was widespread as was the corruption displayed by the numerous hired thugs that preyed upon the citizens.
"Are you absolutely sure Sensei? He looked pretty dead to me" Naruto said as he looked at his Sensei doubtfully.
"Hai I know that the three of you probably don't know much about Hunter Nin, but everything about that Hunter Ninja felt off. For one why would a hunter ninja sent to kill a target use senbon as a weapon of choice ? I mean certainly they can be useful, but of all the tools in a ninja's arsenal they don't offer much lethality" he stated.
"So what does that mean?" Naruto asked.
"It probably means that that hunter Nin was a fake and was actually a comrade of Zabuza's." Sasuke surmised to which Kakashi offered a nod.
"Yes I'm guessing that when the tables began to turn and looked as if we were going to win his hidden comrade sprang into action." Kakashi added.
"Hey maybe that was just a strange hunter ninja, that is different then most " Naruto suggested still not convinced that a man could have survived what looked like a lethal strike.
"A-ano I don't think so N-naruto-kun...Now that I recall I remember reading once that hunter ninja sever their target's heads and burn them immediately on the spot" she said fidgeting and feeling slightly bad she didn't like disagreeing with Naruto.
Kakashi nodded. "She's right the choice of weapons is strange enough, but hunter ninja don't deviate from how they handle their targets. We can certainly assume that we haven't seen the last of Zabuza." he said before frowning.
Naruto crossed his arms before his gaze became serious. "Then what do we do?" he asked.
"We protect Tazuna and do as much training as we can to prepare for his return. Starting tomorrow all three of you will do a group exercise and after tomorrow's training I will begin training each of you separately the following days, as the rest of you will be in charge of protecting Tazuna while he's busy working on the bridge. " he stated.
Each of the genin nodded and turned their attention to the front door as footsteps could be heard outside.
As the door to the house opened all of the ninja tensed immediately as an attractive woman in her early thirties and a small boy no more the seven or eight years old stepped inside the house.
"Woah no need to worry this is my daughter Tsunami and my grandson Inari" Tazuna explained as he offered a smile.
"A pleasure to meet you all...you must be the Leaf Ninja my Father hired." she said with a smile before she bowed her head politely.
"Yup that's us we're gonna kick anyone's butt that tries to mess with us" Naruto said with a wide grin.
Sasuke and Kakashi shook their heads while Hinata giggled.
Tsunami laughed after a moment before responding. "Well I feel better already" she said offering the leaf Ninja a smile.
The boy said nothing for a moment as he crossed his arms and frowned.
"Grandpa these are the fools that you hired ? They should just leave before they end up dead like anyone else who's tried to stop Gato." he said bluntly.
Naruto eyebrow twitched as he could feel the fire being fanned in his belly.
Tazuna bowed his head sadly as Tsunami spoke.
"Inari please don't do this...these nice people are here to help your grandfather and the village." she pleaded.
Inari's brow furrowed before he shook his head. "No their just more people that will make promises they can't keep." he said his voice reflecting a deep seated sadness.
Sasuke frowned and Hinata looked on worriedly as Naruto stood up. "I don't know what your problem is kid, but I don't lie and I never back down. I made a promise to help your grandpa build this bridge and I'm not going to stop until I see it through. I'm not going to die until I become Hokage so I refuse to die anytime soon." he stated with a great amount of conviction as he glared at the kid.
"Your an idiot you don't know how it feels to be surrounded by despair and loneliness...you don't know anything " he cried before he turned and ran up the stairs a few moments later a slamming sound could be heard as the door was shut behind him.
A moment of silence passed as Naruto strode to the front door. "I'm going out" he said simply before he opened the door and slammed it shut behind him.
"W-wait N-naruto" Hinata began to call out before Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder.
"Let him go... he needs some space...I've seen that look before." he said quietly.
She nodded numbly in response.
"I'm so sorry for that...Inari has never been the same since Kaiza died." Tsunami said sadly.
Kakashi who had been quiet spoke up. "Would this have anything to do with Gato's occupation ? Just how long has Gato been here?" Kakashi asked.
"Your right it does...Kaiza was Inari's adoptive father my husband. It was a few years ago when Gato began trying to seize the Land of Waves , when Kaiza fought back he and anyone else who resisted Gato were killed as a public display of his power. Everyone is now too afraid to directly take up arms against him, but if the bridge is complete his power will be lost." she said softly.
"How so ?"Sasuke asked.
"Gato relies on the fact that the Wave has little to no contact with the outside world. Because of this he can control all of the trade in the area at the expense of everyone who lives here. If I can complete the Bridge his influence will be broken and he knows and fears that outcome" Tazuna said.
"Ano you're very brave Tazuna-san" Hinata said offering a weak smile.
"Me brave ? heh I'm just old I figure I don't have too many years left as it is. Least I can do is give this Village a chance for the future, before I croak" he chuckled.
Naruto walked through the desolate village with his fists clenched. He needed to get away from the house for a while and cool off before returning.
'That kid thinks he had it bad growing up...I would have given anything to had a mother...a grandfather. He doesn't have a clue what loneliness is' he thought as he turned down an alleyway only to hear a man's voice.
"Hey Bitch I'm just getting Gato's payment one way or another...now relax and who knows you might even enjoy it" stated a voice further down the alleyway before it was accompanied with a muffled cry.
Naruto's canines elongated as his claws began to extend as well.
As he came into view of the scene he found a big burly man with a sleeveless navy jacket and pants pushing a young woman up against the wall. He had a wicked grin on his face as he was snaking his fingers of one hand up her skirt while holding her by the throat with his other hand.
Naruto let out a primal growl as a red chakra began to swirl around him.
"LET HER GO" he spat.
The man stopped as he turned to look at the feral Naruto stalking towards him.
"What the hell is wrong with you kid ? What are you?" he asked fear registering in his eyes as he reached for a knife strapped to his belt before pressing it against the girls neck.
"S-stay back...or I'll gut this bitch" he said.
"I gave you a chance..." Naruto growled before he disappeared from sight before he reappeared and grabbed the man's wrist that was holding the knife and crushed it with ease.
The man almost immediately released the girl as he began screaming as he reached for his shattered wrist with his other hand before backing away slowly from Naruto.
The girl registering fear as well bolted out of the alley way immediately.
"Stay back you monster!" the man cried.
"Monster? You think I'm a monster? It's men like you that are the real monsters." he roared as he picked the man up by his neck before he began to dig his claws into his throat.
Naruto struggled for a moment before he released the man dropping him to the ground.
"Run now and consider this your last warning...tell your friends if they don't stop preying on this village I won't be so merciful the next time." he said.
The man jumped to his feet before quickly scrambling out of the alleyway.
"You should have just killed him" The fox said.
"And if had I would have been nothing, but a monster" Naruto said as he closed his eyes a took a deep breath as all signs of the Kyuubi's influence receded.
"Do what you will then. But you're going to learn the hard way that sometimes you have to do what's necessary whether you like it or not."
"If I didn't know any better it sounds like you actually care about me." Naruto replied mentally as he turned and began quickly cutting down the adjacent alleyways.
"Think what you will it doesn't really matter to me." the Kyuubi rumbled.
Naruto just rolled his eyes as shoved his hands into his jacket and made his way back towards Tazuna's house.
*Author Note*
And there we go! More updates then I planned this week, might have a few more this week. Will just depend on time.
Just wanted to mention that while I know Naruto is still seemingly a blockhead...I want to take a route I really love seeing in other fanfics. The idea of Naruto having a mask of sorts and generally being more intelligent then he likes to let on. In any case thanks as always for reading and I'll see you all next time =)