Hi there guys! Redyoshi14 here to say hello! I know its been too long, I'll try to finish faster next time. I probably will too, cause next time is when things get really interesting! I kinda don't like the Wave Arc too much, but, whatever. I hope I've done a good job. Please review so I can know! Even anonymous reviews help the writing process so I can deliver these chapters clearer! (And faster depending on the amount of reviews...)

Remember! Reviews are our nourishment!

Also, I don't own Naruto... If I did then Tobi wouldn't be... HIM... Do I even need to explain how much of no sense that is? For some reason Tobi seems immune to Plothole No Jutsu...

Anyway, on with the story!

Chapter 12: Our Hidden Talent

Naruto's eyes sprang open as he awoke from his sleep. Immediately he could feel his head sting from the pains of his headache, caused by the Kyuubi's nonstop ranting about saying its name without caution. No matter how many times he mumbled sorry, Kurama simply would not let up. Resorting to a last ditch attempt, Naruto threatened to blast K-pop all night long as soon as they got back to Konoha. This got the demon fox to shut up immediately, but only after several hours of screaming.

Naruto winced slightly from the pain. The Kyuubi really knew how to scream when it wanted to, and seeing as this all took place within his mind, well, it didn't really make his headache any better.

Naruto instinctively raised his right hand to rub his temple when he found that he couldn't really move it at all. Looking down at it, Naruto saw a sight that made him blush a little. He was sitting propped up against a tree, head leaning against the hard wood, which he was sure attributed to his headache. Leaning against him however, with his arm in a death hold was none other than the Hyuuga heiress, Hinata. The events of the night before were coming back to him.

Flashback No Jutsu

XxX

Naruto sighed as he rubbed Hinata's back, ensuring her that he was okay. She hadn't listened though, and instead preferred to continue going off on her own tangent.

"N-Naruto-kun… I was so worried… when you just spaced out like that, I thought they put some Genjutsu on you and broke your mind. When I woke up… and you were out of it, no matter how much everyone tried to wake you, I thought… I t-thought…" she trailed off, Naruto noticed she was on the verge of tears again. He started to rub her head, trying anything to placate the worried girl, when he felt the bandage on her head. Remembering what had happened to her while he was trapped in his mind, he winced. He started feeling a little guilty that he was being doted over when she and Yoshi received the most injuries.

And that was when he remembered his other teammate. Naruto looked down at his first teammate, who was rubbing her face in his chest, wetting his jumpsuit slightly with her tears. He was about to ask about Yoshi when Hinata, almost sensing his worry, pulled him to the side and pushed him down against a tree.

"There's no need to worry about us Naruto-kun, we're strong too!" she finished confidently. Naruto prepared to stand back up in protest when Hinata simply pushed him back down. She sat down next to him with a huff and before he knew it she had latched onto his arm. Naruto sensed his opinion on the matter slowly becoming inconsequential, so he tried to voice it before he lost all power.

Unfortunately Hinata's mind was thinking the exact same thing, and she, yet again, cut him off by putting a finger to his mouth, silencing him like a baby.

"Shh, Naruto-kun. You're going to get some rest and that's that!" she pouted, clutching his arm tighter, "and I'm not letting you go until you're fast asleep." She ended, now bringing her eyes up to stare into his. When Naruto saw the slightly red, lavender eyes, he knew all hope was lost. He looked to Kakashi for help, but found none as the one eyed Jounin was already walking away, his back turned and nose in his orange book. Naruto sighed, before sitting back and complying. He yawned, he was still a little tired from using the fox's chakra anyway."

End Flashback

XxX

And that's how the situation came to pass. Hinata had actually fallen asleep before him and her head nodded off to rest on shoulder. True to her word, however, she had not let go until he was sound asleep. Naruto smirked at her antics, before a Kage Bunshin appeared next to him. Taking a deep breath Naruto started making small chants under his breath.

'Please work, please work, please work, PLEEEEAAAASE' he whispered to himself. He focused on the Clone, before switching places with it. Turning around slowly, he looked back at Hinata and let out a breath when he noticed that she was none the wiser.

"Phew" he said, before turning to walk away. His stomach growled, and he remembered he hadn't eaten since early the day before. He remembered he had packed emergency ramen and other rations and was going to go get them when a delightful smell wafted under his nose. Looking around, Naruto noticed there was a campfire set up with breakfast already cooked. Eggs and bacon sat already cooked on a nice plate.

Naruto immediately picked up the plate and prepared to eat it. Before he could pick up a piece of bacon though, his hand was grabbed.

"Maa, Naruto… Ninja Training 101: Never eat food you haven't prepared yourself, hunted yourself and, if possible, raised yourself", Kakashi commented with an eye smile, appearing next to Naruto with speed that made it seem as if he came out of thin air, "Luckily for you, this food is safe, so please, help yourself" he continued, placing a chair down behind Naruto then pushing him to sit in it. He conjured another chair and placed it opposite Naruto before taking his seat there. Naruto looked at his food suspiciously, then looked at Kakashi the same way. Finding no reason not to, he bit into a piece of bacon with glee. Immediately after, although he couldn't see it, he FELT Kakashi's smile thicken into one of wickedness.

'You messed up, kit" Kyuubi muttered from the back of his mind.

"Great, now that we're relaxing and you obviously owe me one, tell me, what's happening between you and the fox, hmm?" Kakashi blurted out in what seemed to the fastest he could while keeping the words comprehensible. Naruto cursed, he knew the Jounin was up to something.

"Umm… what do you want to know about it?" Naruto asked in between bites of food.

"Nothing much, just everything that's happening between you two"

"Ne, besides everything I told you before, you probably know more about it than I do."

"Nothing else happened? Does it try to converse with you? Did it tell you anything about itself?

Naruto shook his head, "It doesn't really tell me anything. The only thing I really know about the furball is that it somehow knows and despises k-pop."

Kakashi nodded his head, eyes… er… eye closed in contemplation, "I see, I see…"

'I'd appreciate it if you guys would stop calling me IT… I have a gender, you know"

Naruto perked up, knocking them both out of their thoughts," Kyuubi said that she has a gender"

"Ah, so Kyuubi is a she?"

Kyuubi roared inside the mindscape, "I am not a girl, you idiot!"

Naruto jumped, startling the two, "Sorry Kakashi-sensei, she just yelled at me about not wanting to be a girl or something."

"Maybe she's transgendered? She did look like a male fox last I've seen her"

Naruto winced.

"Come now Naruto, it's not nice to judge others."

By now Kyuubi was releasing every bit of hatred he could, "I AM MALE YOU DUMB PIECES OF-"

"Kyuubi!" Naruto yelled, "This story is PG-13!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "What did she say this time?"

"She was in denial. She truly believes that she is a male. She got pretty defensive about it too."

"I see, maybe you should just leave her alone. Situations like these are very sensitive"

"I dunno, Kakashi-sensei, she kind of blares into my ear a lot."

"I guess this is the price of power."

Naruto nodded, having finished his breakfast sometime during the conversation. Handing the plate to Kakashi, he proceeded to stretch. Kakashi nodded and with a snap of his fingers, made the plate and chairs disappear. Naruto was going to ask how, but decided that it was irrelevant. Kakashi started to stretch as well. A few minutes later, when they were done, Kakashi decided to end their conversation.

"Naruto, any conversation with the demon fox is dangerous. We know too little about her to be sure if it won't try to escape and destroy again. I think you can handle talking to it, but try to keep it to a minimum, understand?"

Naruto nodded his head slowly. Seeing this as satisfactory, Kakashi walked over to the tents to wake up Tazuna.

"I am male, you primitive idiots" Kyuubi said calmly, "and so help me, kit, I will be the cause of your death"

Naruto smirked, "You aren't helping your case, Kyuubi-chan."

The fox responded with a resounding roar that made Naruto's previously gone headache flare to new heights. Despite that, the Jinchuuriki host decided that it was worth it. Rubbing his head, he tried to alleviate his pain when he heard a familiar poof. The memories came rushing to him from the clone, and he turned around slowly to face an irate Hinata. Her Byakugan was activated and her hands were glowing with chakra.

"Good morning… Hinata-chan…" he stammered out, a bead of sweat rolling down his face.

"Morning, Naruto-san" she said, standing up, "I see you have a headache, let me fix that." Before Naruto could answer, Hinata rushed forward and closed all his tenketsu points in an instant, leaving open only enough so he could feel. He collapsed to the ground, now completely drenched in sweat.

"Naruto-san…" she started, "you know how I don't like you using your clones on me…"

Naruto shivered. Even if he could answer he would be paralyzed by fear.

XxX

Team Kakashi made their way to the Wave country shortly after waking at sunrise. The entire team was tired, their feet dragging after having been walking so soon after waking up. Luckily they weren't too far from the entrance to the village, and reached there in almost no time at all. When they got there, they came across a bridge gate and Yoshi almost ran across it before being grabbed by Naruto.

"Idiot! Can't you see there's nothing there!" he yelled at the red haired boy. Yoshi pushed his hand off before responding.

"Actually, I can't with all this damn fog... hey old man, why is there a bridge gate here and no bridge?"

Tazuna squinted at the name, having been sober for a while now, "Because I'm the Bridge Builder Tazuna; if I've been with you this entire time, then tell me, who do you expect to build the bridge?"

Yoshi scowled at the old man's sarcasm and just walked to the edge of the land and looked into the water. He started mumbling about sarcastic old men who were lucky they accepted his now A-rank mission, but he was mostly ignored.

"Ano, sir, but Yoshi is right…" Hinata started before being cut off.

"Damn right I am!" he shouted, but was again ignored.

Hinata continued, "How are we supposed to get across without the bridge? I doubt swimming is an option…"

Tazuna just looked at her, "You're a nice kid. How did you get stuck with the dumb blonde and the red haired idiot?"

Said blonde and red haired genin started walking over to the bridge builder. Like tigers ready to pounce, they stalked him, but just before they managed to Kakashi held them back.

Tazuna, who's back was turned, wasn't able to see them, but Hinata could still see Kakashi's losing battle to hold them back, so she answered quickly, "Ano, sir, they're not that st-stupid…" she said, staring at Naruto specifically, "But we really need a way across…" Tazuna had laughed at her comment, before giving her a playful slap on the back that almost made her lose balance.

"I like you kid. You're refreshing compared to these three. The Rower is coming to take us across." He said, pointing a finger into the fog surrounding what they assumed was the village. Sure enough, a rowboat fitting several people came into view. It was by now, however, when Kakashi lost his grip on the two boys as they bounded forward to their 'client'. Just before they could tear him to shreds, however, there was a flash of blue and they both fell to the ground, immobilized. Tazuna turned around just in time to see two genin paralyzed on the floor and another smiling so innocently it was sickening.

"What happened…" Tazuna tried to ask, but was cut off by Hinata.

"Ano, sir… they're just a little tired from yesterday, give them a little time to rest, is all they need" she ended with another smile, in a voice that was so sweet it was poison. Without warning she went over and picked up Naruto, showing more strength than usual, and carried him to the now arrived boat. Knowing not to ask, the rest of the men simply picked up the remaining Genin and got in as well, taking off for the far shore.

XxX

A man fell to the ground in the street. He wore tattered and old clothes that protected from virtually nothing, not that he had much to protect, as he was reduced to almost bone underneath. Everyone around him stopped to look, some gasping, some screaming. Before the blink of an eye, the man was stripped bare, his body left there. From that moment forward, he was ignored as if common occurrence. This was an average day in the cities of Wave now that Gato pulled the strings. He and his thugs owned 90 percent of the country's wealth, and still they try to have more. Most people ducked their heads in shame every morning at the sight their beautiful country was reduced to thanks to the Gato Trading Company, and their evil tyrant of a boss. Most had no love lost for their Daimyo either, as he let the bastards go about their ways.

No, the Gato Trading Company wasn't just using the country for extortion, the entire country was now a part of the drug and prostitution services it held underground, away from powerful eyes.

The adults in the village had all but lost hope, but they still tried to hold on for their little ones, telling grand stories of heroes they were sure would never come. It was their last form of happiness, really… seeing the shining faces of the children as they played the Hero of Wave…

XxX

The boat ride over was mostly uneventful, due mostly to the fact that Yoshi was still immobile due to the Gentle Fist knockout. Naruto had recovered by reopening them, of course, but without Yoshi to argue with he had no way of outletting most of his energy, being stuck on a boat and all. He managed to put up with it for a few minutes but after a while he just couldn't stay put.

"It's so boring, dattebayo!" he screamed, earning him a strike from everyone on board and sending him over and into the water. Without a second thought everyone turned back to the direction of the shore they were rowing to and continued on their way.

Kakashi sighed, "I have to go get him, don't I?" he asked. There was an unmistakable "duh" hanging in the air as Kakashi stood up and walked over the water to where they last saw Naruto. He reached in and pulled him back to the surface, then threw him back to the boat, where Tazuna caught him. Appearing back in the boat, Kakashi sat back down and continued reading his book, earning stares from those around him.

"What?" he asked, to which Hinata just pointed to a not breathing Naruto. Kakashi just grunted.

"I'm not doing it, he's your boyfriend isn't he?" he asked, turning back to read more Icha Icha. Suddenly, a kunai impaled said erotic novel, but left the Jounin relatively uncaring.

At least… for the first three seconds…

"M-m-m-m-m-my…." He started, before his eye rolled to the back of his head. He slumped over where he sat, his body lifeless.

"Great, Hino, you killed him," Yoshi said, recovering slightly from his paralysis. Hinata paled at his comment, and started looking back and forth between her two, now dead, teammates. She started hyperventilating, and for the first time in a while, she fainted.

Tazuna looked distressed, "Yup, with you guys I feel real safe. Two are dead and two are incapacitated and we haven't even had contact with the enemy yet."

"If it makes you feel better, you still have me… a little…" Yoshi said, trying to wave his arms, "And I'm pretty sure the Rower can hold his own in a fight." The Rower sighed, they would be dead in minutes.

"Fine" Yoshi said after a while, "I'll see what I can do… hmm… starting with Hino…" he said, rubbing his chin now that his arms were back to normal. His face turned green for what he was about to say.

"Oh look… Naruto is naked!" he managed to squeeze out, almost retching upon finishing. Sure enough though, the blue haired girl was broken out of her spell with a deep blush on her face.

"W-what? Uhm, ano… I didn't mean to barge in!" Hinata squeaked, her practiced speech in place. This earned her a stare from the two on board the boat that hadn't said it. The Rower was indifferent, but Tazuna looked at her with disapproving eyes.

"And here I thought you were pure" he said, shaking his head. Hinata looked down, blush still evident. After a minute, Tazuna just laughed, patting her on the back in process.

"Now, now for Kaka-sensei" Yoshi continued, "Ahem, Oi Anko-chan! Put back on your clothes!"

Immediately Kakashi sprang up, his face thick in sweat but his eyes darting around lecherously, somehow, "W-what? Ano… I didn't mean to barge in!" He said, his practiced speech in place. The rest of the boat looked at him in disapproval, the Rower just sighing.

"This entire team is full of perverts…"

Yoshi ignored him, "… Now for the blonde idiot…" he started before being cut off.

"No… let me try this one" Tazuna said, slightly disgusted but also excited, "Look, idiot, Hinata lost all her clothes!" The entire team laughed as Naruto's face flushed but he didn't awake. Hinata blushed as well but managed to stay awake.

"No, no, you stupid old man, Naruto needs something that entices him more than that." Yoshi said, now sitting up, regaining control up to his knees, "You couldn't have possibly known."

Tazuna frowned at being called old, "Well what could it be, you rude brat."

Kakashi, Hinata and Yoshi looked at each other before looking back at Naruto at once they screamed a single word, causing the blonde Jinchuuriki to shoot up, coughing out the water in his lungs and looking around frantically, "WHERE?" he shouted, causing him to be punched back into the water. This time Kakashi saved him immediately though.

"What was that for?!" he asked, getting knocked on the head again. A bump started to form.

"Naruto, there's a reason we're rowing into the country instead of using the motor. If they hired those two ninja to hunt us, they probably have more, and we don't need the attention, seeing as only one of us can fight on water right now." Kakashi said sagely, using a jutsu to repair his Icha Icha book.

Yoshi started stretching his feet in the cramped boat, 'accidently' kicking Tazuna in the back, "your shouting was giving away our position in this forsaken mist… freaking blondes…" he mumbled, though Naruto still heard him. He made a rude gesture at him, silently vowing to finish this later.

"Fine, I'll hold off on talking for a while, but only on one condition." He said, causing eyebrows to rise, "I want Kakashi sensei to teach me how to walk on water!"

Kakashi nodded, "Yeah, I suppose I could when we get back" he said, back to reading his book. Hinata just sighed, happy she was woken up first, and Yoshi was just glaring at Hinata finally regaining control of his body.

"I hate you, Hino" he mumbled.

"Likewise, Yoshi-san" she answered, "and its Hinata."

Tazuna, meanwhile, stared at Naruto, disbelief in his eyes. The Rower would have done the same if he didn't have to watch where he was going.

"Seriously kid? You came back from the dead, for ramen?" Tazuna asked, causing Naruto to jump up and look around frantically again, rocking the boat. He was knocked out of it within milliseconds. Everyone looked at Kakashi.

"I'm not getting him again. You're seem to be feeling better, Yoshi, you go get him" Kakashi drawled, flipping a page. The red haired boy sighed, preparing to go save his teammate.

XxX

The team had arrived on land, saying bye to the Rower as he rowed away. They had been walking for a short while, making small talk, Tazuna telling the story of the condition of the Country of Wave. Not long after he finished his story, however, a giant sword shot out at them, Hinata grabbing Tazuna as they all ducked. The sword impaled itself into a tree, and on its hilt stood a man in a black shirt and cow hide pants. Kakashi's eye widened when he saw the sword and its wielder. He called his students back as he stepped forward, revealing his Sharingan under his forehead protector. Yoshi looked on in awe.

"So that's the Sharingan…" Yoshi said, moving forward while starting handsigns.

"And he's… his name is Momochi Zabuza, a legendary Swordsman of the Hidden Mist. Hiashi pounded his name into me until I remembered; never thought I'd meet him though" Naruto picked up, releasing his seals one by one.

Hinata stayed quiet, but activated her Byakugan. She was scared stiff before when she fought the two brother ninja. She was still surprised after all, but now, she was ready. She would show her full strength.

Tazuna looked distressed for the second time that day, "Y-you can't possibly mean to fight him! We have to run, now! You guys fainted on the way here!"

None of the ninjas seemed to notice his words as they continued their techniques. Yoshi's finished first.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Armor Jutsu!" he whispered. Instantly his entire body seemed to tense, as his muscles bulged to bigger sizes. His hair stood on end as his body started flooding with Lightning chakra. Occasional rouge sparks would fly off his body every so often, indicating the sheer amount he was holding in. Naruto looked at him, the last of his seals finishing off shortly after. His body flexed, and he looked a lot lighter. Hinata did nothing, but her Byakugan was now fully active.

"I said stay ba-" Kakashi started, but before he could finish two blurs sped past him at equal speeds, one seeming to be emitting electricity.

Naruto and Yoshi charged the Mist ninja at the same time, both wanting to get a surprise hit in. The initially surprised Zabuza flinched at the speed coming from the two Genin, but held his ground, simply blocking the two hits with his forearms, a kick and an open palmed thrust from Yoshi and Naruto respectively. His eyes widened as he felt both arms tingle and he stood on one leg and used the other to sweep kick the two out of the air and away from him. He looked at his two arms, now hanging uselessly at his sides, one immobilized by the electricity and the other… was it bound by a seal?

The two ninja landed back behind Kakashi, recovering quickly from the attack. They readied themselves into different taijutsu stances as they prepared to charge again, but were stopped by an expectant Kakashi.

"No, I got it this time" he said, his hands flashing through hand seals faster than either of them could track. Zabuza, however, saw this as well, and sent as much chakra to his legs as possible to jump out of the way right before a giant fireball struck his tree, and blade, engulfing the former in a white hot flame.

'Shit, I can't fight the Copy Ninja Kakashi as I am now' Zabuza thought, running at a slower speed than normal. His leg made contact with the electricity on the red haired boy and was now limping slightly, 'Its time to cut my losses, my only target was the old man anyway.' He said, rushing over to the unaware bridge builder. He appeared behind Tazuna and prepared to snap his neck.

"You're within my divination" was the last words he heard before Hinata, who had stayed back, started closing his tenketsu points, paralyzing him slowly. He tried to raise his leg and kick her away as well, but he looked down to notice the seal had been inching along his body until it covered most of his left side, restraining movement. He cursed as Hinata finished her technique.

"Eight Trigrams: Sixty Four Palms!" Hinata finished, striking away at the last of the Mist ninja's tenketsu points with a practiced speed. Zabuza simply fell down, somehow resisting being paralyzed. He fell back, however, once the seal had fully enveloped his body, leaving him immobile.

Kakashi stopped his jutsu on the last sign, he didn't expect that. Neither did Tazuna, apparently as he sat there looking on in shock.

"W-What was that?" he asked, stuttering slightly. When no one answered, he thought they were ignoring him, so he asked again. After a few minutes, when the young ninja had released their jutsu, or in Naruto's case, returned the seals, Hinata decided to answer for them.

"Gomen, sir, we aren't used to going all out. We'll try our best from here on."

Well? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Do you have inconsistencies that I looked over? Please tell me in your review! I do in fact read them all.