Immortal Phoenix

Author: The Phoenix is Immortal

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor am I making any money from this work.

Chapter 19: Assigned against Bandits, Attacked by Ninja

So tomorrow would be the day of the mission. As I expected…the day came quickly.

It was now the day of the mission.

So Team Seven met at the large gates of Konoha. Surprisingly the Kakashi human was not that late.

Naruto was obviously excited. He was running around. He was trying to jump around, but after he almost shook me off his shoulder and I got mad at him, he just settled for running around in circles.

He wanted to leave…and soon. "Let's go!"

A conversation started…but I soon lost interest. The bridge builder said little that interested me. Naruto did get angry at him though. Something about respect and being the Hokage. Whatever. It did not matter to me as much as it mattered to Naruto. He could argue that on his own.

While Naruto and the bridge builder had been arguing, all the humans had also been walking. Very soon we were a far distance away from the village.

While we had been walking, I noticed some…human at the top of a tree. Actually, there were two. They were behind us. I believed that Kakashi human probably noticed as well.

I opted not to say anything. They were most likely enemies…but they might not have been aiming for us. Also…it is a ninja's job to fight and this was the team's first out of village mission.

We kept walking along and after a long conversation about something that I had not been listening to, I saw a puddle.

A puddle? Had it rained lately? I was pretty sure that it had not rained recently. I would have known if it had. I hated rain. So it must be man-made. A trap then.

I saw that Kakashi human noticed it also.

Well, then, if it was a trap...what was the trap, or rather, who was it for? Us? Well, in order to figure it out…we would have to wait. If the trap was not intended for us…then it would not be sprung and attacking it would have been a waste.

As we passed the puddle…nothing happened. Not for us then? Then we went past it completely.

It was then that the trap was sprung. It was for us. They took down Kakashi human first. Though the human would not be taken down that easily. I saw the logs. A Body Replacement Jutsu. He would be fine. But he had not come back to help.

Then the enemy ninja, no, ninjas, were behind Naruto. Before he could do anything, Sasuke human had pinned the enemies' chains to a tree. Sasuke human then attacked them. It did not stop the enemy ninjas for long.

"Naruto! Move!" Naruto finally started reacting at my yell. When one of the enemy ninja tried to attack him, he deflected the attack with his own kunai. To follow up with his deflection, I blew a stream of fire in the enemy's direction. I was careful not to hit Naruto.

The stream of fire had been dead on. Unavoidable. The ninja had been too close to avoid it. He was certainly burned. Naruto then took advantage of the…distraction. He punched the enemy in the face. Hard. The enemy rocked backwards a bit.

The ninja had not been aiming at Naruto however. He had simply been trying to remove the obstacle. He had really been aiming behind the child. At the bridge builder.

Then Kakashi human reappeared on the scene. He instantly took the two enemy ninjas out. He was fast. Or should I say slow? He had taken some time to actually come and help.

I turned to Naruto. "Really Naruto, next time, do not freeze. It will cost you." Naruto nodded. I think he was still in a slight shock from the battle.

Then Kakashi human spoke to us. "Nice job Sasuke, and Naruto." Then, "Tazuna-san, I need to talk to you."

Oh yes, the Tazuna human had been hiding something from us. The Kakashi human had said that on a mission like this, we should not be attacked by enemy ninja. Yet we had.

"Yes, bridge builder, I believe that you have some lies to sort out." I said this to him. It would be fine to reveal myself. The human was most likely not coming back to Konoha. And I believed that I knew enough about humans. So as long as I was careful, it should be fine to talk to some of them.

He was shocked. Of course…I should be used to this by now.

Then the two enemy ninjas interrupted, even though they were tied up (they had not heard me of course). Kakashi human just explained to them how he knew that they were there. And why he left the team to fight also.

Kakashi human continued. "According to the mission ranking, we are to be protecting you from bandits and the like. Not ninjas. Now it's at least a B-rank." He said this with a completely bored look. Like the mission ranks being downplayed happened every day. Actually, who knows? It could actually.

Sakura human broke in. "We aren't ready for this! Let's quit!"

"Hmm, maybe we should…" said Kakashi human.

"No way! We already accepted the mission! We can't stop halfway!" That was from Naruto.

Then the bridge builder spoke up. He convinced Kakashi human to continue. Apparently, some Gato human was controlling their country. The bridge builder wanted to break the economic control by…of course…building a bridge. He guilt trapped Kakashi human into helping. Were these really supposed to be ninjas?

So we foraged ahead. Soon, we were on a boat with our first view of the bridge. It was impressive. Not that I would ever need it. Bridges were useless to me. But the poor humans needed it. Since they were land bound and all.

I noticed that Naruto had opened his mouth and was preparing to say something.

Better stop him. "Naruto! Be quiet! Can you not see that silence is desired right now?"

"Oh, sorry!" Now he sounded sheepish. I sighed. Why me?

Soon we were off the boat and back onto land. We were back to walking. Or Naruto was. I was going to be on his shoulder. I did not want to fly at the moment.

We were walking when I saw a movement in the bushes. So did Naruto. He threw a shuriken…and promptly hit a rabbit. I wondered if I could eat it.

Though Sakura was yelling at Naruto for doing that…and Naruto was apologizing to the rabbit. What? Don't apologize to food! Actually, keep hugging it like that! It should die at that rate! It was a perfectly edible white rabbit. How strange…the rabbit demons (strange was it not?) of Makai were always white only in winter and brown in the other seasons.

So…why was it white? I guessed that rabbits here were different from their demon counterparts. Personally, the rabbit demons were fluffier.

Then Kakashi human yelled out, "Everybody, get down!"

So everybody instantly complied. Honestly, I was half expecting Naruto to say, "Why?" I flew up however. I did not want to be dashed against the ground from Naruto's impact.

Because I flew up, I could see the spinning long blade that would have separated the humans' bodies in half if they had not ducked.

The team went back up to their feet. As Kakashi human said something, I could see that Naruto wanted badly to attack.

I flew back to his shoulder. "Naruto, do not attack. You do not know the level of the enemy…and it seems that Kakashi human has deemed him dangerous."

He whispered back to me. "I know…but…"

Then Kakashi human told everybody to get back. And then he lifted up his headband to reveal a red eye. A red eye with three black marks in it. I heard what the enemy ninja, apparently named Zabuza, called it. The Sharingan.

Was that not the doujutsu of the Uchiha clan that had been massacred years ago? Why did Hatake Kakashi human have it? The Sharingan. I knew that it was a doujutsu…but I did not know its capabilities. Well, I would get to see what the human Kakashi could do.

Sasuke human explained the eye a little more. He would know. So did the enemy Zabuza human. To read and defeat all types of Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu? And copy them? How interesting. No, it was actually completely fascinating.

Who knew humans could do that? Such interesting creatures. What a world I had gone to.

The Zabuza human continued. But I was not listening. I was still thinking.

Then the human Zabuza disappeared and reappeared on the water. He was using chakra to support himself. Then, "Hidden Mist Jutsu."

As mist appeared, the enemy disappeared. Kakashi human explained. Apparently, our enemy was skilled in "silent killing." So…he killed silently. How…nice. Not really.

After Kakashi human finished speaking…the enemy human spoke. Something about eight places and death. I could feel the killing intent in the air.

The small humans would not be able to take it. I saw that they were shaking. Kakashi human noticed. "Don't worry, I'll protect you guys even if it kills me. I don't let my comrades die."

Well, if he meant it…I would respect him. Though if it does kill him…his protection would no longer exist, would it? The human had better not die then.

Then I sensed the humans. They were about to appear in the midst of us. Both of them. So Kakashi human would be able to handle it. There was no time to react anyway.

The two of them, both Kakashi human and the Zabuza human appeared in the middle of us. Just as I had predicted.

As Kakashi human stabbed the man…it was revealed to be a clone. Naruto yelled at Kakashi human to tell him that there was an attack from the back. As Kakashi human was sliced…it was revealed to be a clone also.

Then it was Kakashi human that appeared in the back of the enemy. "It's over." No human, it was never over until the enemy is dead or incapacitated in some way. The enemy was none of those. It would not be over.

As I thought…it was not. After a short talk…that Zabuza clone was fake also. The real one appeared behind Kakashi human. After a short physical fight…Zabuza human knocked Kakashi human into the water.

And then the Kakashi human was completely encased into a water sphere. A prison. What were we supposed to do now?

I sighed. As probably the oldest member (and the strongest) I probably would have to do something. Troublesome humans.

Author's note: Yes! Finished! Ok, so this was almost completely canon-y…but of course. Akarui does not influence Zabuza or even Kakashi yet. His biggest influence is obviously on Naruto. You will see much more of that next chapter.

Also…I also wrote another story…though I am sure it will stay a one-shot…unless people want me to continue it. You can go and read it. Though it is not nearly as light-hearted as this fic. (It's a complete one-eighty) so people who read this one…may not like the other one. So I advise that you read the summary first if you are going to read the other one. It is called The Wrath of Kyuubi.

And that's pretty much all for now. Of course, much thanks to all of my reviewers! I love the reviews….so please continue to review! And to all who read this…if you like this story…or even dislike it, let me know why. Those really help out! So please...review.