This chapter... took a while, to say the least. I'm sorry it took this long, but I wanted to make everything as amazing as possible, especially since I got the vibe that last chapter was quite rushed. So, 18 pages later, I have finally finished the first half of the Wave mission. Normally, as I have seen in most other stories, the Wave chapter is mostly kept to canon. Well, Purge is not most other stories! I have taken it upon myself to tie the plot and all sorts of little goodies into this normally boring and rushed arc. There will also be questions at the end of this chapter, so feel free to answer them if you want to think a little bit. More about that in the ending A/N.
A big thank you to all of the reviewers who have commented on this story o' mine; the reception so far has been wonderful, far better than I would've expected. I apologize for keeping all of you waiting. But hey, I'm going to have loads of free time for two weeks! I'm hoping to get at least two chapters up.
Please remember, if you see anything at all you think needs improving, tell me. It helps me learn what I'm doing wrong and how I can improve.
The Disclaimer: You know, if I owned Naruto, Danzo would've been that guy that dies in the first five minutes of the series.
Purge
Arc 1- Chapter 2: Shadow
"Begone, inglorious beast! The Kami has passed judgment on you, and the sentence is clear. You are forbidden from walking on this Earth ever again. I am the once to carry out the sentence, and I shall cast your body up to the highest depths of the cold sky, where you shall watch forever as this land prospers from the fires you have created. Paaji!"
---
One week later...
Team 7 once again stood in front of the Hokage's desk. They were waiting for another mission, most likely a D-rank. That was all they were doing, but it wasn't much of a surprise to most of the team. After all, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke had only been genin for a full week. There was no way they could get anything more dangerous than walking dogs or weeding gardens, right?
No one talked as Hiruzen searched through papers to find a mission befitting the three genin. He layed eyes on a mission form, another D-rank.
"Let's see... this one is a mission to remove weeds in Takino-san's garden-"
"Now wait just a moment, Jii-san!" Naruto shouted. Everyone sighed. "Why can't we have something tougher? We should be going outside the village, kicking rogue ninjas' asses! If we keep doing these lame D-ranks, we'll never improve! How am I supposed to become Hokage if I never learn new skills or gain experience?"
Hiruzen pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, Kakashi? Do you think they can handle a C-rank?"
"Well, they work together well enough... when they want to. I don't see why not," Kakashi replied, not taking his eyes off his book.
The Hokage nodded. "And what about you two?" he asked, referring to Sasuke and Sakura. The two genin nodded in approval of receiving the C-rank.
"We're ready," Sasuke said. "I want to see how much I've improved."
"If Sasuke-kun approves, then so do I," Sakura spoke. Naruto rolled his eyes. No matter what he did, he couldn't get over the sadness he felt when she said that.
"Alright then," Hiruzen replied. "Your mission will be Rank C. You will have to guard and escort a bridge builder back to his homeland, the Land of Waves. Once you are there, you will protect him from any problems you may encounter while he completes the bridge. There will be a slight threat from bandits, probably hired by the builder's competition to disrupt his work." He looked towards the door. "Tazuna-san, could you come in please?"
A man of about 60 stumbled into the room, tightly clutching a sake bottle. Tazuna had a white beard, white hair, and brown eyes. He had the look of a man who had been through bad times, someone who knew the experience of poverty and hopelessness. His eyes had that distant look to them, like the old man was looking back into the past, desperately trying to correct mistakes that had been done against his will. But that could've just been the sake working.
"Whatsh dishh?" he slurred, looking at the trio of genin, "I wanted good ninjers, and yoush give meh a couple'o bratsh?! I dema-" a hiccup, "I demand a refund!"
Naruto glared up at the man angrily, fire burning in his eyes. Brats? Not a good ninja?! "Wait just a damn minute here, you old geezer!" he started, "How dare you call me-" He was cut off as Kakashi's hand clamped over his mouth. Just for good measure, he put his other hand on Naruto's shoulder, preventing him from taking any actions he might regret in the future.
Sarutobi sighed for probably the umpteenth time that morning, he really was getting too old for the job. "Don't worry, Kakashi-san, we'll make sure he isn't drunk for the journey. I'm sure he doesn't always behave like this."
Kakashi nodded slightly before turning towards the door. "Sakura, Sasuke, let's go," he called, pushing Naruto towards the exit. The blond had initially struggled against his sensei's grasp, but eventually resorted to glaring at the man he would have to protect for the duration of the mission. He was beginning to regret asking for a C-rank.
~F.R.L~
"I still can't believe I'm being protected by a bunch of brats."
Naruto rolled his eyes. Apparently Sarutobi was sorely mistaken when he said Tazuna acted differently sober. Yeah, bullshit. The old man was still complaining about his protection. After all, it wasn't like there was going to be any trouble, right? Just a couple of damn bandits.
The team had just left the main gates, and were setting out on the journey to Wave. They were forced to walk the main roads, since Tazuna obviously wasn't a ninja. Nothing had happened during the meeting. Sasuke was being an emo bastard, Kakashi was reading his porn, Sakura was fawning over previously mentioned emo bastard, and Naruto was still glaring at the man they were supposed to protect. Tazuna paid him no attention, he was too busy thinking to himself.
"Something's up. That old man is being too quiet, like he knows something but won't say. Keep on your guard, Kit."
Naruto nodded, beginning to look around for any suspicious activity. Kyuubi was enhancing his senses, providing him with more awareness of his surroundings. Sakura had noticed the nod Naruto seemingly gave himself, and was looking at him with a cocked eyebrow. It was a look that clearly spoke the message "Your such a weirdo." She looked at him a moment longer, wondering why he was paying so much attention to the trees and sky, but shook it off and went back to dreamily staring at Sasuke.
Neither of them noticed the puddle on the ground. Kakashi did, though, and he knew there hadn't been rain for at least a week. That puddle shouldn't have been there, but apparently the genin were just to young to realize that, or they hadn't just noticed it in general. Kakashi sighed to himself, why couldn't he just have a normal mission? He turned back to his book, reading on to keep up the disguise. He didn't have to feign stupidity for long, though, as soon there was a puff of smoke and two ninja appeared where the puddle had once been. The shinobi had to be at least chuunin in rank. They both wore air masks and had long black hair. They wore gauntlets, one had it on his left arm, the other on his right. Their hitai-ites bore the sign of Kirigakure.
Kakashi looked at them briefly, before pulling out a black book. He casually flipped to a page and put his finger down to mark his decision. "The Demon Brothers, Gozu and Meizu. B-rank missing-nin, defected from Kirigakure no Sato after a failed assassination attempt on the Mizukage." He shut the book, and stored it back in his pocket in one swift motion. "So," he continued, "why are you-"
Kakashi was cut off as the two brothers put their gauntlets together. When they pulled apart, a long chain had formed between them. As soon as they fully separated, the brothers rushed Kakashi, and wrapped him in the chain before he had a chance to react. They pulled, and the genin watched in helpless horror as their sensei was shredded before their very eyes.
Sasuke didn't react. He had witnessed death too many times, it had plagued his mind for all his childhood. What just happened only made him remember, reminded him of his brother. Reminded him of the death.
Sakura wanted to scream. She really did. Her sensei had just erupted in a shower of blood, dead and gone. The only thing preventing her from shrieking and running was the passage in the Academy textbook that covered the death of a teammate. It said that you had to be strong when it happened, and Sakura knew running was cowardly. Still, she was terrified.
Naruto had been further back than Sakura and Sasuke, who were up front, and had a very different reaction. He was frozen. His heart was pounding in his ears, and he swore he could taste his own blood. He honestly thought he was going to die, but, then again, he had thought that for all his life.
"Damn it, Kit! You gotta move!"
The Kyuubi's voice broke through in his head, and the blond forced himself to swallow his fear. He saw Sakura shaking and approached her. He stopped when he was standing right next to her, and, leaning in her ear, he whispered, "Stay back and protect Tazuna-san." Sakura shakily nodded and fell back to protect the old man, who was currently cowering behind a tree.
Naruto glanced back to make sure they were at a safe distance, before turning to Sasuke. "Sasuke, let's move!" The other boy glanced at him, nodded, and they both broke out into a sprint, rushing towards the chuunin. Naruto moved towards the one on the right, the one named Gozu. He threw some shuriken, but Gozu leaned to his right, letting the blades pass harmlessly. Trying a new approach, Naruto attempted to engage him in taijutsu. He threw a punch aimed at his stomach, but Gozu raised his leg and blocked. He then grabbed Naruto's arm with his free hand, raised him into the air, and then slammed him into the ground. Naruto coughed and wheezed, the air knocked out of him. The chuunin raised his foot, attempting to curb stomp Naruto's face, a possibly killing blow. The blond recovered, though, and rolled, dodging Gozu's attack.
Naruto got back on his feet, and glanced over at Sasuke. The raven-haired boy appeared to be on the defensive, dodging Meizu's swipe with his free right hand. Instead of continuing the attack, though, Meizu stopped, and hit a switch on his gauntlet. The chain connecting the two brothers released fell to the ground. They now had both of their gauntlets free, and could effectively engage the genin in one-on-one combat.
That was bad, and to make it worse Meizu and Gozu had jumped together, so they were back to back. That meant they could cover each other.
Sasuke was thinking. That armor they were wearing looked metallic. More like steel, to be precise, and Sasuke knew steel was flammable. That gave him an idea. He looked over to Naruto, who seemed to have come to the same realization. The raven-haired boy thought back to their Academy spar, when Naruto said he was holding back. Hopefully that meant he knew some Futon techniques. He glanced at the blond again, meeting his gaze. Naruto nodded, and Sasuke returned it with a nod of his own. They both shot off towards the chuunin again, who were still back to back, looking at the genin. Instead of running straight towards them, however, Naruto and Sasuke ran around them to their sides, each doing hand signs. Gozu and Meizu each swiped at the one closest to them, but the genin dodged. They skidded to a stop when their formation was like a sandwich: Naruto and Sasuke were on the outside, Gozu and Meizu were in between them.
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"
"Futon: Daitoppa!"
The two jutsu hit the chuunin, who brought their hands up to cover their faces. There was a grand explosion as the two techniques met, the air from the Daitoppa instantly combusting from the fireball of the Gokakyu. When the dust cleared, the Demon Brothers were no more, a small crater where they once stood.
The genin took their eyes off the crater when they heard clapping coming from a nearby tree. They gasped when Kakashi jumped down, his lone eye raised into a smile. "Well done!" he said, "Sasuke, Naruto, you two performed marvelously."
The two students receiving the praise did not answer, the only sign of recognition the continuous stares they gave their sensei. "How are you still alive!?" Naruto asked.
"I performed an escape technique when the chains wrapped around me, and I didn't interfere because I wanted to know how you three performed when faced with the death of a teammate or sensei. You passed with flying colors!" the jounin then turned to Tazuna, "You have an explanation for this, I assume?"
The older man closed his eyes and slowly rubbed his forehead, as if trying to ward off a headache. When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with a torrent of emotions; anger, sadness, grief, but the most prominent was despair. "The Land of Waves was always a prosperous country," he started, "We had plenty of food, good weather, a good economy, and a strong sense of unity among the people. That all went to hell three years ago. A cheap bastard named Gato came to Wave and wreaked havoc on our way of life. He took over the shipping industry and formed a monopoly, and then drived our economy into dust by charging obscenely high prices for everything. The hardest hit, though, was the food market. As you know, the Land of Waves is an island country, and a small one at that. We have to import all of our food because of the terrain and size. With Gato controlling the imports and exports, he could raise the prices of food as much as he wanted. There was no way to change it, because he killed most of our most well-known citizens as an example. As if to stress the point, he even hired missing-nin to carry our his little deeds."
Tazuna paused, rubbing his head with even more vigor, trying to find a way out of the storm of emotions he was currently experiencing. "Those two guys you just killed were hired by him to kill me. I'm a bridge builder! The bridge I'm building is meant to connect Wave to the mainland, so we don't have to rely on the shipping. Since Gato won't be able to control the imports and exports that cross the bridge, the price of food will drop, and the citizens won't have to get by on scraps. That's why I had to get ninja for a C-rank, when this would probably have cost an A-rank or B-rank. We don't have any money, so I couldn't afford it."
Team 7 listened to Tazuna's story all the way through, not even stopping him to ask questions. It was clear that the man was desperate to save both himself and his country, and turning back now would only cause the Land of Waves more suffering at the hands of Gato.
"Well, what do you guys want to do?" Kakashi asked, turning to his students, "We could turn back now, since it is clear that this mission is out of our league, or we could stay and see this through to the end."
Naruto was the first, and only, to respond. "We'll go. I'll go by myself if I have to, and I'll swat that man like the fly he is!" The other genin nodded in agreement, and Kakashi gave an eye-smile.
"There you have it, Tazuna-san. We'll help you build your bridge," he said, proud of his students' courage. Tazuna smiled, muttering a thanks in return, and the group once set off to their destination. They walked for some time in comfortable silence, and watched as the sky grew dark, the sun setting behind the canopy of the green forest. The fight with the Demon Brothers had been time consuming, even though it seemed like it had lasted only a few minutes. Aware of the consequences that lack of sleep brought, Kakashi gave the order to set up camp.
Time continued to pass by, the sky revealing the bright specks of light that dotted the heavens. There were still some lingering clouds, seemingly drawn to the eery glow of the moon. The travelers shivered as they looked up at the orb, it really was weird.
The watches were set up before everyone collapsed into sleep. Kakashi obviously had the first watch, Sasuke was given the second, and Naruto the third and final. The genin and Tazuna had set in for the night, leaving Kakashi to think in peace. He couldn't help but think something was off. Probably that damn moon, he thought, gazing up at the glowing orb. For twelve years, the moon had been, in the words of the Konoha villagers, "acting crazy". This "craziness" came down to one fact only: the color. The moon was supposed to be white, pure and glowing, and it had always been like that. But, on October 10th (coincidence?), the moon had been glowing red. Not soon after, the Kyuubi no Yoko attacked the village. The next night, however, the moon had taken a decidedly blue hue. It had been happening for twelve years now, but on random nights. Normally the moon was white. Every so often, though, the moon would glow those two unnatural colors. There also hadn't been a new moon for twelve years. The moon normally shifted between phases, as everybody knew. After October 10th, though, the moon hadn't passed the "new moon" phase, where the orb's dark side was fully revealed. It shifted between crescents, passing over the phase like it had never existed. Tonight was truly strange though, and anyone who wasn't color blind could understand why.
The full moon was glowing both blue and red. The left side had taken the color of bold red, the light shining vibrantly through the clouds that covered it. The right side, however, was shining magnificent blue. Both colors intersected in the middle of the moon, rotating around each other like a whirlpool until they combined into a glowing purple. Kakashi had never seen anything like it, and honestly thought the amazing display was unnatural, unusual, and just plain scary.
"What's up with the moon?" The voice wasn't Kakashi's, and he immediately entered a defensive stance, his lone eye intently locked on the area from which the voice had spoken.
"Relax, Kakashi-san. It's me."
Kakashi did indeed relax, once he saw who the man was. "Yoshirou-san?"
Yoshirou's features were altered by the moon's peculiar glow, giving him a mystical appearance. His gaze dropped from the shining orb to look at the copy-nin. "Hey," he started, "How's the mission going?"
"I knew someone was following us, but I couldn't lock on the his chakra signature. You should know how the mission is going. I'm assuming you came without orders from the Hokage?"
Yoshirou nodded, "He had given me a small vacation anyway, and I wanted to see the gaki in action." His eyes suddenly grew hard, his face serious. "You and I both know who the Demon Brothers worked for, Kakashi-san. If he shows his damnable face, the fight is mine."
Kakashi cocked a brow. "Bad blood?"
Yoshirou only nodded in response before getting up and jumping back into the trees. It wouldn't do any good if the genin or Tazuna knew someone was tailing them. Yoshirou would only show his face if he needed to. Kakashi diverted his gaze back to the unnatural moon. This mission was getting more and more interesting.
The rest of the night was uneventful. No enemy ninja attacked, and everyone was rested well enough to continue the journey the next morning. They packed up camp and headed out once again around 7 AM, unsure of what difficulties they would encounter. The group walked for several more days. They would have gotten there in two more days traveling at normal speed, but were forced to move at a civilian's pace because of Tazuna. Eventually, though, they did reach the coast. The road moved to the coastline, so the genin were amazed when they saw the vast ocean. It was the first time they had seen the sea, and they tried to imprint the beautiful picture in their minds.
They were interrupted, though, when a large sword was flung at their faces. They successfully dodged, and the sword slammed into a tree. A couple of seconds later, a tall man appeared on the blade, a homicidal glint in his dull eyes. The lower half of his face was covered in bandages, and he appeared to be lacking eyebrows. There were two belt-like straps crossing over his bare chest, and he wore camouflaged arm bracers and pants.
Kakashi's eye narrowed. "Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist."
"Well, if it isn't the Copy-nin, Hatake Kakashi. Seems like I was hired for a reason," Zabuza replied, his eyes locking with Kakashi's. "Please, accept my invitation to this battle."
"I accept. Like I have a choice." As if to seal the deal, Kakashi lifted up his slanted hitai-ite, revealing his scarred left eye. He opened it, revealing....
"T-The Sharingan!" Sasuke gasped, clearly shocked at seeing his clan's infamous kekkei genkai.
"The Sharingan...?" Naruto had heard of it before because of the Kyuubi, but he had never seen it.
"Yes, that's the damnable Sharingan. It makes me angry just looking at it, but what's stranger is that Kakashi is a Hatake. They can't inherit the Sharingan, it's an Uchiha-only kekkei genkai. Your sensei is full of surprises, Kit." Naruto only dumbly nodded his head as he stared at Kakashi's left eye.
"So, I see you're taking this seriously," Zabuza said, unimpressed, "Very well then, so shall I." With that, the missing-nin jumped off of his sword, pulling it from the tree in the process. As soon as his feet touched the ground he lunged at Kakashi, who had already pulled out a kunai. Metal met metal, and the two shinobi locked together. Zabuza used the weight of his massive sword, though, and pushed Kakashi away from himself, before going in for a horizontal slash. Kakashi back-flipped away from the strike and threw his kunai, which Zabuza dodged effortlessly. The sword-wielder jumped back and performed several hand signs.
"Kirigakure no Jutsu!" A thick mist creeped into the area, obscuring everyone's vision. Even Kakashi's Sharingan couldn't see through the mist, and he went on the defensive as he waited for Zabuza's attack. A voice reached Kakashi's ears, but he couldn't pinpoint the location.
"So many victims, which one should I kill first? Which location on their body should my sword penetrate? The jugular, the temple, one of the many tempting pressure points, a major artery. I could kill you all with a flick of my wrist, and yet I let you live. Why? Mercy is for the weak." The genin had heard Zabuza's voice, and they were desperately trying to keep their cool. This opponent, they realized, was several levels above them. There was a swipe at Kakashi's torso, and he dodged just in time. A few more seconds and he would met a gruesome death. He noticed, as he jumped, that he was angled to land on the water. He channeled chakra to his feet and landed on the waves, once again falling into a defensive stance. Kakashi was shocked, however, when he realized he had fallen into Zabuza's trap.
"Suiro no Jutsu." A large sphere of water enveloped Kakashi completely, sealing him from the outside world. The mist dispersed, revealing a very smug Zabuza with one arm in the sphere. Kakashi knew that this was what he wanted. Sealing him off would leave the genin and Tazuna defenseless.
"Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto! Take Tazuna and run!" Kakashi shouted, fearing for the safety of his companions. Instead of running, though, the genin grabbed Tazuna and jumped back into the bushes, obviously planning on formulating a strategy.
Zabuza gave an emotionless laugh. "So the little children are planning on taking me on. Let's see what they- OOF!"
Hidden behind the bushes, the genin were trying to come up with a plan to take down Zabuza.
"What do we do?!" Sakura hissed, "Kakashi-sensei's been trapped, and we clearly can't take on someone of that caliber!"
"Well, we have to try!" Naruto replied, "Our sensei's depending on us, and we have to protect Tazuna-san!"
Sasuke was about to say something, but was interrupted as the enemy they were discussing flew past them and impacted a tree. Team 7 looked out from their hiding place in curiosity, and gasped at what they saw. Standing a little behind Kakashi, fist outstretched, was Najime Yoshirou. He locked eyes with Zabuza, who was currently a little wobbly getting up. He spoke with utmost detest clear in his voice.
"Momochi."
Zabuza recognized the man instantly, his eyes going wide for a second, before ultimately narrowing and showing a hint of amusement. "Is that you, Najime-sensei? How's life been treating you?" he mocked.
"Shut it and prepare yourself," Yoshirou growled, falling into an offensive stance. "Today the Academy students will finally be avenged."
"Still moping over that little incident? I was only ten, Najime-sensei." He stretched out his arms, his sword at a diagonal angle. He gestured to Yoshirou, who pulled out a scroll. He unraveled it and smeared his blood across the paper. There was a puff of smoke, and a large zanbato fell into Yoshirou's waiting right palm.
"I see you chose Kubikiri Hocho. A wise choice indeed, but have you surpassed my technique, Momochi?"
Zabuza said nothing, only rushing his former sensei. He did a downward chop, but Yoshirou easily parried the blow and countered with one of his own. Zabuza dodged the horizontal swing, jumping back just in time. He threw a kunai, Yoshirou deflected it off his blade and rushed at him. They both attacked at the same time, their swords locked against each other in a desperate struggle of wills. Team 7 watched in awe as the two men flung the massive swords around as if they were made of paper, the harsh sound of metal on metal drowning out all other noise. Yoshirou pushed Zabuza back, threw a few shuriken as a distraction, and jumped onto the water. He went through multiple hand signs in a blur.
"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" The water immediately in front of Yoshirou started rippling violently. Before Zabuza could react, a large column of water had swept him off his feet, tossing him around in the current like a rag doll. He did the only thing he could and drove Kubikiri into the ground, grasping the hilt tightly. The powerful blast soon died down, leaving a thoroughly drenched Zabuza gasping for air. Yoshirou didn't give him any time to rest, running at him with his zanbato held at his side. Zabuza managed to get onto a knee and pried his sword from the ground, before going into a defensive stance, Kubikiri held out loosely in front of him. Yoshirou swung vertically, and Zabuza's arm shook as the blow struck his sword. He was losing this battle, and he knew it. He had to come up with a plan fast. He saw Yoshirou swing his zanbato horizontally, and instead of blocking as before, he rolled beneath the blade and flipped back onto the water, performing a myriad of hand signs in the process. As soon as he landed, he shouted the technique.
"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" The water around Zabuza collected into concentrated columns and rose several feet into the air, before combining into a larger, more volatile stream. The water then took the form of a dragon, and shot towards Yoshirou. He attempted to dodge, and almost succeeded, had it not been for the water dragon's homing capabilities. The dragon shot underneath Yoshirou when he jumped, and turned around to hit him while he was still in midair. Yoshirou took the full force of the attack, getting propelled across the battlefield. The dragon redirected the caught man towards the ground, and his impact formed a small crater.
"Onii-san! C'mon onii-san, get up! Show that creep who's boss!" Naruto shouted towards his fallen companion, desperately praying that he was okay. He sighed in relief, though, when Yoshirou dissolved into a pool of water.
Zabuza growled, it had been a damn water clone! That meant that all of his efforts to incapacitate his old sensei had failed. He resumed a stance, looking around for any signs of movement. When he found none, he grew impatient, and started searching for a way to draw his enemy out into the open. He managed to stifle a heartless laugh when the answer dawned on him. That blond idiot had called Najime "onii-san", which meant they had a strong bond... and that the genin could be used. He shouldered Kubikiri and looked menacingly over at Naruto, leaking out a fair amount of killer intent. Naruto visibly flinched and paled as it hit him, and Zabuza broke out into a run. Even it Yoshirou didn't intercept him and he was wrong, it still would be a good kill.
"Naruto, watch out!" a girl shrieked.
W-was that Sakura? Naruto thought, surprised.
A large amount of chakra was unleashed, and Zabuza shouted out in surprise as he was propelled back several feet. Naruto peeked open eyes he had unconsciously shut.
Thanks, Fox.
"Eh, don't mention it. Can't let you die, right?"
While his teammates looked at Naruto in slight shock, Zabuza was busy pulling himself together, his sword reattached to his back. He was planning on making a hasty retreat, this battle just wasn't going in his favor. The missing-nin was lifted against his will though, and he opened his eyes to see Yoshirou staring at him hatefully. He was then thrown through the air, only to hear his sensei's voice.
"Suiton: Suikodan no Jutsu!" A large water shark shot out of the ocean behind Yoshirou's position, and flew towards Zabuza. It hit him head on and propelled him into a nearby tree. Zabuza hit it badly, knocked unconscious from the blow. Yoshirou approached him slowly, preparing to finish him off once and for all. He was beaten to the punch as several senbon flew into Zabuza's neck. A hunter-nin flashed into existence next to the seemingly dead shinobi.
"I apologize for interrupting your fight, but Momochi Zabuza is wanted by the Mizukage and Kirigakure," the ANBU said, before hefting Zabuza and disappearing. The entrance and exit was so sudden Yoshirou and Team 7 hadn't had time to react. The tension melted away, though, as they realized their enemy was gone. Yoshirou sighed, now he would have to go into a long and arduous explanation detailing how he knew Zabuza, why he called him sensei, and all that crap. Oh boy.
"Way to go, onii-san!" Naruto yelled, giving him a toothy smile and a thumbs-up.
"Well, well. That was quite interesting, to say the least," Kakashi calmly spoke, reaching into a pouch and pulling out his orange book. Sasuke and Sakura just looked at him in dumbfounded awe. So that's how a real shinobi fights, Sasuke thought. I must get him to train me! My skills will improve tenfold!
Tazuna's sweat covered head poked out from behind a tree. "I-is it over?" he asked, clearly scared by the sudden turn of events. It was hard to believe that Zabuza guy had been hired to kill him.
Yoshirou sighed again. "Well, it looks like I've officially become part of this mission. Let's get to Wave, I'll explain everything there."
The squad walked until they got to a small coastal town. They had decided upon entering that it would be best to continue into the Land of Waves, considering how close it was. They approached the town's dock, where a small paddle boat sat waiting for the travelers. It was just big enough to fit them all, but Naruto and Sasuke had to pitch in rowing the damn thing. The guy required to do the job was struggling a little with Yoshirou's additional 220 pounds. The team disembarked upon reaching Wave's dock. They gasped when they saw the conditions of the town. There was trash everywhere. People, children, were begging for food. Team 7 looked around confusedly, there was certainly a plentiful amount of food in the small stands. They were appalled, though, when they saw the prices.
"How can food be that expensive?!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing in shock at an overpriced apple.
"That's what Gato has done here," Tazuna grimly replied, "Our economy is dead, that's why you see so many beggars wandering around." He made a wide sweeping motion around the group. "The last of our money went to funding the bridge I'm building. The construction site is over there." He gestured to a large, nearly completed bridge off in the distance, about two miles away.
Kakashi nodded, "We'll do everything we can, Tazuna-san. Right now, though, I think it would be good if we rested. I have a feeling Zabuza isn't as dead as we think."
"Then please, accept my invitation to my home," the old man said, "It is the least I can do to repay you and your team."
They walked through the village, noticing how the villagers glanced towards them with something akin to fear; and possibly, if you looked deep enough, a hint of hope. They followed the dirt road for another mile out of town, before Tazuna led them off onto a far more obscure route. After another five minutes they reached a well-built colonial. It was small, but that made sense since the Land of Waves was in such bad shape. They entered through the front door, wiping off their shoes and sandals on the small rug.
"Tsunami, Inari! We have visitors!" Tazuna yelled into the kitchen. Immediately a woman's head poked out behind the kitchen's entrance, a small smile on her face. She had black hair, and eyes that told of immense pain and sadness. Naruto knew her smile was fake, just like his own.
"Oh, hi otou-san!" she said, drawing her gaze away from her father and to the five ninja behind him, "I see you brought shinobi! That's wonderful! Are you guys from Konoha?"
"Yes," Kakashi replied, "We've been hired by your father to... exterminate some pests."
Tsunami's smile instantly disappeared, and she spoke in a much quieter, gloomier voice. "So, you know about Gato?"
Kakashi nodded. "Yes. We will do everything we can to help you and your country," he spoke softly.
There was a pause of silence, before Tsunami perked up, eager to change the dismal mood that had taken hold. "Oh! Let me go introduce you to my son, Inari!" She vanished into the kitchen, her voice calling through the house, "Inari! Come and meet the guests!" The others followed her in, waiting the arrival of the child.
A small pair of feet was heard pounding down the stairs, and a boy of eight entered the kitchen. "What is it, okaa-san?" he innocently asked. His eyes were soon drawn to the five unfamiliar faces, and, more specifically, their foreheads. His eyes darkened. "Oh. Ninja," he sneered. "Come to get yourselves killed?"
Naruto growled, not exactly liking the boy's tone. "Hey, watch yourself kid!" he shouted. He would've gone further, but Yoshirou's hand on his shoulder silenced him.
"We're here to help, Inari-kun," he replied.
"There's nothing you can do!" Inari shouted, "You can't stand up to Gato. You're on a suicide mission, so if you value your lives you should just turn back. Give up and go home!"
Naruto's eyes widened. "Give up?" he whispered. "Give up?" He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, his fists clenched together so tightly blood ran down his hands. The others eyed him with curiosity.
"Stay calm, Kit, stay calm. Block him out if you have to."
Naruto opened his eyes and nodded, his eyes dim and haunted. Kakashi cocked a brow. Why did he spontaneously nod? Was he... Kakashi shivered at his thought. Even if what Naruto told him was true, he still found it disturbing that the blond could possibly communicate with the fox.
"Why don't we go out for a little training," he said, eager to break the thick tension. "I have something I want to teach you three." The genin nodded, and he lead them out through the front again and into the forest. They didn't go far, stopping at three tall trees.
"You are going to learn how to climb trees," he spoke. The genin shrugged, nothing complicated about that. "Without your hands," Kakashi continued.
Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened slightly. Surprisingly enough, Naruto stayed calm, as if he had heard of this before. "But Kakashi-sensei," Sakura spoke, "that's impossible! Gravity forbids it, and..." She stopped as she saw Kakashi calmly walk up a tree. No, seriously. He walked up a tree. The jounin stopped halfway, walking onto a branch upside down. He looked to his students down below, two of their mouths agape.
"Channel chakra to your feet," Kakashi said, "The chakra will act like glue and keep you stuck to the tree. This exercise takes a precise amount of control. Too much and you'll shoot off the tree like a rocket. Too little and you won't be able to stay stuck. You'll fall off, and that's pretty painful. I have first hand experience," he continued, chuckling. He then cut the chakra flow to his feet, and fell off the branch. He landed on his feet after performing a flip and righting himself in midair.
"Erm... Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, not so much embarrassed as bored.
"Hm?"
Naruto didn't reply, only walking up the tree himself. When he got to the same branch Kakashi was on, he stopped. "I kind of learned this myself, like a month ago."
"Did Yoshirou-san teach you?"
Naruto nodded, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Very well. You don't have to do this exercise. Feel free to practice your taijutsu or ninjutsu or something while Sakura and Sasuke do this."
"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. Kakashi looked over, only to find Sakura on another tree, at the same height as Naruto.
"Uh... Sakura?"
"I did it."
Kakashi sighed. What was the point of teaching them anything if they already knew it? Wait, only Naruto said he knew it. That means... He looked over at Sakura, a feeling of pride overcoming him. Wow. That's some pretty damn impressive chakra control, to be able to get it on her first try. "Alright, you and Naruto are both excused. Sasuke, get going."
Sasuke nodded, running up the other tree. He channeled chakra to his feet, but fell back onto the ground after the first two steps. Not enough chakra, he thought. He ran up the trunk again, this time falling after five.
"Here," Kakashi said. Sasuke caught the kunai deftly, looking at it curiously. "Use that to mark your progress. Cut a slash into the bark at your highest point, then try again."
Sasuke nodded, glaring at the tree with a determined gleam in his eyes. He let out a confident yell, running up the tree. He made it up ten steps, then slashed his kunai through the bark. He landed on his feet and tried again. Thirteen steps, slash. Again. Seventeen steps.
Naruto and Sakura were sitting against a tree, looking at Sasuke's repetitive movements. It had been two hours since Sasuke had started, and he still hadn't reached the top of the tree. Kakashi had long since gone inside, telling Sasuke to report back to him when he completed the task. Naruto and Sakura had stuck around, being good teammates and watching his progress.
"Wow, he sure is trying," Sakura spoke.
"Yeah, but he's running out of gas," Naruto replied. Indeed, Sasuke was slowing down in his pace, an angry, drained look on his face. Why is this so hard?! He thought. Damn it, I gotta try harder! He yelled once more, but this time his progress was reduced to nine steps, instead of his previous high of twenty-six, which was a little more than three-fourths up the tree. Kami, I need to do this!
"Calm down, kid." It wasn't Naruto's voice, nor was it Kakashi's. Sasuke looked behind him to see Yoshirou, his arms crossed and dark green eyes staring into his own.
"Focus. Didn't the Uchiha always pride themselves on their chakra control? This is no different. Think of the Gokakyu no Jutsu. Think of forming the chakra in your mouth, how you need to willingly shape it and control it, how you keep it constant. Now, do it with your feet, except use the amount you think you need. Remember your past experiences, and how much chakra you used to get up to a certain height. Adjust accordingly, and focus."
Sasuke listened to his words attentively. When he was done speaking, the young Uchiha turned back towards the tree. He replayed Yoshirou's words in his head. Focus. Shape the chakra to your feet. Adjust the amount accordingly, and maintain it. Now, carefully... Instead of running up like he did before, Sasuke slowly put one foot on the tree, then the other. He kept his pace reasonable, focusing on maintaining his chakra dispersion and amount. Twenty seconds later, he passed his current high of twenty-six. Seven seconds after that, he made it to the top of the tree, and drove his kunai deep into the bark, then removed a large chunk of the tree with a powerful swipe. He fell down to the ground. He landed a little sloppy but quickly recovered and looked up at Yoshirou. The man nodded to him, and retreated back into the house.
Naruto looked at Yoshirou's retreating form proudly. "Leave it to onii-san," he whispered.
"Naruto, Sakura, come on," Sasuke called, already making his way back to the home. "It's getting late, and I think dinner is ready." The others nodded and got up from their positions under the tree and followed Sasuke inside.
Dinner started off relatively peaceful. Everyone, save Naruto and Inari, were participating in their own conversations. Sakura was fawning over Sasuke, Yoshirou, Kakashi, Tsunami, and Tazuna were all engaged in a four-way talk over the current economic status of Wave.
And then Inari heard Tazuna say the sentence "You're our only hope."
"Hope?!" he blurted, "What hope is there?! You ninja are just going to get yourselves killed out there. Gato will gut you alive and mount your heads on sticks! You should all just give up and go home. That's the only way you'll live."
A loud banging was heard, and everyone turned to see Naruto seething, his clenched fist on the table. A small dent had formed from where it hit the wood. "Shut up, kid! Giving up will get you killed, not save your life! If you just have a little hope-"
"WHAT DO YOU KNOW!" Inari shouted, tears springing up in his eyes, "You have no idea how it feels, how much it hurts to be alone and hopeless!"
Naruto fell silent, his eyes distant and pained. He abruptly and violently got up and made his way to the door. "Excuse me while I go hit something. Thanks for the meal, Tsunami-san. It was great." With that, he quickly left the house, running into the dark forest. Inari went to get up, but Kakashi's voice stopped him.
"Stay here, Inari-kun. You need to hear this. You all do." He looked to everyone else, excluding Yoshirou. He already knew the story.
"With all do respect, Kakashi-san, I think I should be the one to tell the tale. I was there for most of his... experiences," Yoshirou replied, sighing. Kakashi nodded.
Yoshirou rubbed his temples before starting. He lifted his eyes to make contact with Sasuke. "We might as well start this with a little comparison. Sasuke, take what happened to you, multiply it by one hundred, and relive it every day of your life. And then have all the villagers blame you for the incident. That's Naruto's childhood." Both Sasuke and Sakura gasped. Everyone had heard of the Uchiha Massacre, and the entire Academy class had thought it was the worst thing in the world. Nothing was more terrible than what Sasuke had experienced.
"For the first twelve years of his life, Naruto was beaten, taunted, and bullied for something he didn't do. Something that was out of his control, and yet the villagers still saw him as the cause. Do you know how I first found him as a newborn baby?" They shook their heads negatively. "I found him in a crib, in an apartment building, with five villagers holding a variety of makeshift weapons busting into the room. They wanted his blood, and I was forced to incapacitate them. He was a newborn baby. When I went to inquire why they hadn't kept him in the hospital, guess what they said? They didn't 'want that scum tainting the hospital'."
Even Kakashi was disturbed by this news. He had known Naruto was beaten, but as a baby? That had been withheld from him, and for good reasons. If he had been the one to see the villagers, they would have been dead, not unconscious.
"I had to keep a constant eye on the boy. There was, at the very least, one attack per week. When he turned five, he was given his own apartment, much to the chagrin of the complex owner. All of Naruto's neighbors moved out, wanting nothing to do with the boy. The day after Naruto received the home, he returned, after running for his life from a mob, to find it completely trashed. The furniture was slashed, the fridge empty of any and all edibles, and his clothing still burning in his bedroom. When Naruto showed the complex owner the disaster area, the man promptly punched him across the face and yelled, 'What the hell did you do to the room?! I should kick you out!' Then Naruto was forced to repair it on his own. I paid for the costs, it was the least I could do to help him out. That is how Naruto's life had been for twelve years. Beatings, vandalizing of the apartment, running for his life, rinse, wash, and repeat. I can name all of his true friends on one hand. Myself, Teuchi and Ayame of the Ichiraku's ramen stand, the Hokage, and Iruka. I am honored for him to call me 'onii-san'. It means he trusts me, something I can't believe the boy still knows how to do."
There was silence as the listeners fought back tears, truly heartbroken at Naruto's childhood. Sakura was by far taking it the worst. H-how? He's had such a horrible life... and... and... and I've only made it worse! I've always been beating him, and punching him... when he was only trying to ask me out on a date! I've been acting no better than any of those damn villagers, always calling him names and things. The least I can do is act like I'm a friend!
Kakashi sighed, clearly distraught over his sensei's son's life. He knew he should have been there for the boy, but missions had constantly gotten in the way of watching over him. "So what's the bad blood between you and Zabuza?" he asked, obviously trying to change the subject.
"You know the rumors, how Zabuza killed all one hundred Kiri Academy students when he was ten?" Kakashi nodded. "Well, I was the Academy teacher at the time. I taught kenjutsu, more specifically the art of the zanbato. I watched as that monster murdered all of my students, all of them! What was I supposed to do? The law forbade me from striking down a fellow villager!" Yoshirou sighed, trying to calm his nerves. Anger would get him nowhere. "Afterwords, I left Kirigakure and traveled the nations. I ended up in Konoha, and you know the rest."
He had obviously left out several key details, like what exactly he was doing while he was "traveling".
"And what about Akio. What's his story?" Kakashi asked.
"We met on the road. He left Amegakure for unknown reasons. He didn't want to talk about it. And you know how Ame feels about defectors."
"They kill them. For genin, they send genin or chuunin, depending on the skill. For chuunin, they send jounin, and for jounin they send ANBU. For ANBU, well... they send even more ANBU, like two four man squads."
Yoshirou nodded, "Akio was classified as an ANBU before his defection."
"But how did he get away? Certainly he couldn't have taken them all on."
There was a pause before Yoshirou spoke again, looking Kakashi straight in the eye. "Akio's scythe has not always been crimson."
Naruto returned later that night, worn out to the point of exhaustion. He had met a weird girl, who turned out to be a boy, and they had talked for most of the night about friendship and what it meant to protect someone you cared about. Naruto collapsed on the couch before Sakura could talk to him. The pinkette had stayed up waiting for his return, it was the least she could do, she figured, after all of the beatings she had unkindly bestowed upon him. She never got to say how sorry she was.
–
Naruto woke up to the sound of screaming in the kitchen, soon followed by a deep laughter; the laughter of a sadist after they had sufficiently wounded someone. What made it worse was the voice of the scream, Naruto realized it sounded like Tsunami's. He bolted out of bed, still in his clothes, and ran into the kitchen to find two burly men by the door, one holding Tsunami by the throat, and Inari standing fearfully some distance away. The woman was still struggling, which meant she was still alive. That was a good sign. Naruto reached into his weapon pouch- it was a good thing he kept it on when he got back- and pulled out two kunai. He rushed the men, going for the one holding Tsunami first. He threw the kunai into his arm, and the brute howled as he dropped Tsunami to the floor. Naruto stabbed the other kunai into the man's heart, and he fell, dead before he hit the floor. Prying the kunai from his chest, he glared at the other man, who had taken a step back when he saw his comrade's death. Naruto flicked the kunai into his eye, killing him instantly. He turned towards Tsunami.
"Are you alright, Tsunami-san?" She nodded wearily, but her eyes widened slightly as she remembered a critical piece of information.
"Those were Gato's men! Your team said they were going ahead to the bridge with otou-san, which means that Gato has probably already attacked."
Naruto had came to the same conclusion and pulled his two kunai from the men before running out the door, not bothering to shout a goodbye to the mother and child.
–
Dodge, ineffective attack, dodge again. That was the whole of Sasuke's fight. He was currently in battle with the same hunter-nin, apparently named Haku, who had "killed" Zabuza several days before. Turns out the two were partners, and the hunter-nin was skilled enough to hit his partner with senbon, in the neck, without killing him. He also appeared to have a kekkei genkai that gave him the ability to use Hyoton techniques. Sasuke was currently using yet another Gokakyu no Jutsu to try and melt the ice mirrors that surrounded him. Just like before, though, the mirrors were unharmed by the flames.
"You cannot win with your Katon techniques, boy," Haku spoke in his androgynous voice, which only served to further agitate Sasuke. Why the hell can't I hurt him? He thought. It didn't really matter, though, as Haku's image spread to all of the mirrors surrounding the Uchiha. Three senbon appeared in the hunter-nin's right hand. All of the images threw the needles, and, surprisingly enough, they were all real. Sixy-three senbon imbedded themselves in Sasuke, and the boy let out an ear piercing, pain filled howl as he slumped to the ground in agony.
Across the bridge, Kakashi heard his young pupil's scream. He didn't have enough time to react, though, as Zabuza once again struck at him with his sword.
"Hang on, Kakashi-san!" Yoshirou shouted, swinging at Zabuza with his own zanbato. Zabuza parried the downward blow and kicked Yoshirou in the chest, sending him sprawling over the bridge. He immediately recovered and ran back at the missing-nin.
"Why won't you give up!" Zabuza roared, performing a horizontal slash. Kubikiri was locked with Yoshirou's zanbato as the man blocked the blow, giving Kakashi enough time to run in and stab Zabuza in the shoulder with a kunai. Zabuza hissed, turning around and nailing him in the gut with his free, unhindered elbow. He then ripped the kunai from his shoulder, using it to slash Yoshirou's gut. His grip loosened in response to the pain, allowing Zabuza to push him away and cut his calf with Kubikiri. Yoshirou fell onto his knee.
"This is the end," Zabuza growled, holding his sword high above him.
"No you don't!" Kakashi yelled, narrowly blocking Kubikiri's vertical chop with a kunai. One second late, and Yoshirou would've been dead. Feeling a burst of adrenalin, Kakashi pushed Zabuza away and quickly threw several shuriken. Zabuza used the momentum of his movement to push off the ground and enter a backspin, the shuriken flying past him harmlessly. Kakashi, however, was already performing hand signs. Three, to be precise: Ox, Rabbit, Monkey.
"Raikiri!"
The next thing Zabuza knew, Kakashi was rushing at him with a highly concentrated mass of blue Raiton chakra. As soon as he landed, Zabuza jumped to the right, but the jutsu still hit his left arm. Zabuza growled in pain as he lost all feeling in the appendage, and it fell limply to his side. The pain was replaced by faint amusement, though, as the missing-nin remembered just why he was there.
"Sorry, Kakashi, but I still have a mission to complete. We'll finish this later, hm?" And just like that, Zabuza disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kakashi stood there for a second before realization hit him like a brick wall. He's going after Tazuna!
–
Sakura was scared. First she had heard Sasuke scream in pain, and she had wanted nothing more to be by his side. She had her job to do, though, and so she remained standing in front of Tazuna, kunai in hand. A few minutes later, she had heard a sound that reminded her of thousands of chirping birds. That had to have been Kakashi doing some sort of weird jutsu, which meant she was safe from Zabuza... right? Plus, Yoshirou was there, so that meant it was two versus one. Unless Zabuza was really that deadly, there was no way he could take on two jounin!
Oh, how wrong she was.
She heard a poof in front of her, and watched in slow motion as Kubikiri Hocho swung at her in a horizontal angle, accompanied by a heartless laugh and a gravely voice saying, "Too bad, little girl." She saw her life flash before her eyes: her birthdays, how the girls teased her about her forehead, her graduation from the Academy not two weeks ago. She knew it was going to end in a couple seconds.
The blow never came.
She opened her eyes to the sight of orange. Naruto stood before her, and the kunai he had used to block the massive sword was now in his arm, propelled into him by the sheer force of the impact. He turned to face her, cerulean eyes full of worry and fear.
"S-Sakura-chan?"
"Naruto?" she asked in reply, "It took you long enough to get here, you baka!"
He smiled weakly and nodded, "You a-alright?"
"Yeah." A pause. "Hey, Naruto? Kick his ass."
He nodded, a spark of determination flashing to life in his eyes. He turned around to stare up at Zabuza's menacing form. I'm pretty sure that meant she believes in me, right?
"Get ready."
A powerful gust of red chakra erupted, initially propelling Sakura, Tazuna, and even Zabuza several feet away from the blond. A glow covered Naruto, the wind becoming so violent that it forcibly unzipped his orange jacket and threw his hitai-ite off his forehead. He started shaking from the chakra that flooded his body; there was so much it even left his body and floated around him, before condensing onto his shoulders and running down his arms.
"Remember, you need to form and channel the chakra yourself. Picture it in your mind, and make it reality."
Naruto nodded, mentally picturing two razor sharp short-swords. The chakra responded, running off his hands and stopping a foot and a half past his fingers. They narrowed, taking the form of swords, but still attached to the chakra on his arms so that there were no handles. The wind picked up even more, cracks started to form beneath his feet. The cracks soon became a small crater, the excess chakra that didn't cover his arms hovered around him like wisps, before moving next to him. The chakra darkened to the point where it was black, and condensed. The mass then grew until it reached the height of Naruto's shoulders. It was at this time that a voice entered his head, a voice he had heard a week and a half ago.
"You shall become the epitomy of power."
The mass of black chakra next to Naruto took a shape. The shape of a fox with nine tails. Red eyes shone through its newly formed head, glaring at the now frightened Zabuza in detest.
"You have attempted to harm the pink fairy and my other. For that..." The eyes narrowed, Zabuza nervously readied Kubikiri.
"... There can be no mercy."
–
A subordinate entered the dimly lit room, eager to report the news to his leader. He kneeled before the desk. "He has unlocked the first technique, Leader-sama."
A smile formed on Takehiko's face. "Splendid." The subordinate stood, bowed, and left the room. Not thirty seconds passed, though, before the door creaked open once more. A man in a cloak entered the room, his face shrouded by a hood. Takehiko merely looked at him.
"So, I assume you have accepted my offer?"
The man nodded.
"Excellent."
"Shall I report the information to them?" the new member asked. Takehiko frowned for a split second, before resuming a neutral expression.
"No, I think it would be best if we withheld this from them for the time being."
The man nodded once again, turning to leave the room. Mangekyo shown through the darkness, the figure silently left.
----
Oh snap! What's this, a cliffhanger?! Yes, yes, I know. You want to strangle me, right?
Anyway, as those of you who answered the first set of questions noticed, I was a little cryptic in my responses. I did this because I wanted to keep the plot flexible. I wanted to keep the plot easily alterable. It would be very hard to write if the plot was set in stone. I like it if I have the freedom to maneuver around and explore new ideas, so I had to keep stuff vague and leave you guys thinking about the responses I gave. Besides, if I had gone and told you so very bluntly why everything happened and for what purpose, it would take away all the fun!
From now on Question 1 will be devoted to starting quote-related questions. The starting quotes will begin each chapter from now on, a touch I found personally enjoyable. Question 4 will probably be the harder of the chapter-related questions. The hints will be in parenthesis.
1: Who was talking in the quote, and who was he talking to? (No real hints for this one, it should be easy enough to get as it is, I think.)
2: Why does Yoshirou clearly want revenge on Zabuza? (Once again, fairly easy. I think I described it in the chapter.)
3: Who was the man Takehiko was talking to? (It could be one of two people.)
4: What was the name of the technique Naruto starts at the end of the chapter? (You're going to need to search the entire page for this one, not just the actual chapter text. It's a combination of things.)
Well, there they are. Answer if you want to, nothing's required!