Thanks to everyone who reviewed and waited for this chapter. To make up for time, I put three chapters in this so you have a lot to read lol :D
For anyone who's interested, th votes are as follows:
NaruSaku in the lead with...23!
ItaSaku rounding second with a great...7!
Tied for third is SakuCentric and NaruHina with...2!
And last (all with 1) is No shipping, KyuuSaku, KyuuHina, NaruOC
Yes! You can vote for Inner!Sakura X Kyuubi!Naruto (even though no one asked about it)
Enjoy!
Chapter Six
Assassin of the Mist
The waters below the small wooden boat team seven, Tazuna and another man were in shifted slightly, causing large ripples as they passed. Nothing that would tip the boat, but enough to make the weak of stomach toss their breakfast over the side…a few hours after they had eaten it.
Mist surrounded them and covered the sea, creating a cloak of invisibility around them, which they used to their advantage. They had left the engine off, for precautionary purposes.
"This fog is thick." Sasuke stated, growing bored of the silence. It was ironic that, for once, he was the one who wished the slightly awkward silence would end.
"I guess." Sakura acknowledged with a shrug before all became silent again.
Sakura had been acting colder than usual most of the time, but then would surprise everyone by showing emotion. Nothing too big though, for it would scare all of the men if she did something like, oh, I don't know; smile?
Sasuke, on the other hand, hadn't really changed from his stoic look and teasing Naruto for the fear he showed. Although, the teasing mostly stopped when Sakura punched him though a tree for calling Naruto a scared-baka-baby.
She then revealed the reason for her punch before anyone began to think that she actually cared.
In her exact words; "Only I am allowed to pick on Naruto, Sasuke-teme."
Good times.
Naruto sat at the front of the boat, looking in front of them for any signs of land. His back was turned to everyone else and his legs were crossed as he made no noise and didn't move.
He hadn't, in fact, moved from that position since they all got into the boat, with the exception of hugging Sakura when she pushed Sasuke off the boat about an hour ago for flicking Naruto's ear.
"The bridge isn't far now." The man steering the boat told them quietly as he could over the noise. "Our destination is just ahead. The Land of Waves." He added, looking up at the incomplete bridge.
The blonde at the front perked his head up, but the furthest he could see was the front of the boat, which was only a few inches in front of him. He frowned and squinted his eyes, trying to see properly, but it was in vain as the fog didn't let him see any further than that. Naruto remained patience, and soon enough he could see the bridge as they went under it.
It was mostly done, but parts of it were missing and needed finishing, but the bridge looked good so far. Sakura, frowning for a reason the boys couldn't understand, crawled next to Naruto and closed her eyes.
The blonde sent her a questioning look, but then noticed that her breathing was heavier than usual. In fact, it looked like she was trying to control her anger or something.
He reached out and took a gentle grip on her wrist, trying to make her feel better. What surprised him was that Sasuke also noticed this and placed his pale hand on her shoulder lightly.
However, the real shock came to both of the boys on team seven when Sakura opened her eyes, looked at the two without a glare or anything of the sort and didn't pull away as they thought she would.
Never the less, she calmed and the three looked back up at the bridge in a mix of different reactions. Cranes were present on the parts of the bridge that were completed, lifting metal bars and such, while signs and warning were posted across the entrance to warn people that only working personnel could go on the bridge at that moment in time.
"Whoa! It's huge!" Naruto gushed in awe as he grinned widely and became excited. Sakura rolled her eyes, knowing that his 'serious' face wouldn't last. Sasuke just scoffed.
"What? Quiet!" The man steering scolded him in hushed anger. "I told you, no noise! Why do you think we're travelling like this? Huh? Cutting off the engine and rowing? Moving through the dense fog, so they don't see us."
Naruto's hands went up to his mouth and covering it so he wouldn't say anything else as Sasuke looked at the man speaking. Sakura, however, looked at the bridge without breaking her eyes away from it, frowning at the implication of his words.
"Tazuna-san." Kakashi began. "Before we reach the pier, I want to ask you something."
"Huh? What da ya want?" Tazuna asked quietly, looking down rather than facing any of the people he travelled with.
"The men who are after you; I need to know why. If you don't tell us, then I'm afraid I'll have to end this mission as soon as we're done dropping you ashore." The silver haired man warned.
"Hmmm." Tazuna considered. Everyone, with the exception of the man rowing the boat and Sakura, looked at the bridge builder in wait of his answer to Kakashi's enquiry.
"Well?" Naruto prompted.
"I guess I have no choice but to tell you." The old man sighed.
"No duh." Sakura muttered, resting her elbow on the side of the boat and her chin in her palm. Naruto and Sasuke, who heard what she had said, sniggered slightly but still listened to the man's words.
"No…I want you to know the truth. Like you said, Kakashi-san, this is beyond the scope of the original mission. I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me." He sighed. Sakura, who felt that the last statement was directed at her –he was staring at her as he said it- paid more attention than she did before.
"Go on." Sakura nodded, giving him her full attention.
"Very well. The one who seeks my life is a very short man who casts a very long and deadly shadow." He paused.
"A deadly shadow?" Kakashi asked, half in disbelief. "Hmm…who is it?"
"You know him…at least I'm almost positive that you've heard his name spoken before." He said. "He's one of the wealthiest men in the world…the shipping magnet, Gato."
"Huh? Gato? Of Gato transport?" Kakashi questioned, his eyes…eye widening slightly. "He's a business leader…everyone knows him."
"Who, who? What, what?" Naruto asked in his usual hyper way.
"Gato. He's a famous tycoon from a well known company that's true. But below the surface…with the same ruthless methods he uses to take over businesses and nations…he sells drugs and contraband, using gangs and ninja to do his bidding. I'm sure you know about that, Haruno." He mocked the kunoichi, who looked at him sharply.
"I don't do drugs, Tazuna." Sakura stated nastily, sending him one of her infamous glares. He froze, but soon relaxed and continued his story.
"It happened one year ago, when Gato first set his sights on the Land of Waves. He came to our island and used his wealth to take total control of our transport and shipping. Anyone who tried to stand in his way simply disappeared." He sighed.
"Well, what's so bad about that? Just leave him and he'll leave you. it can't be as bad as you claim. Dattebayo." Naruto said with a shrug.
"Wrong, midget! In an island nation, a man who controls the sea controls everything! Finance, government and our very lives." He informed the blonde angrily. He then looked thoughtful and continued. "But, there is one thing even Gato fears."
"What? Having Naruto mistaken him for a dessert and for the baka to eat him alive?" Sakura guessed. Tazuna glared at her and carried on.
"Strangely enough; no." He commented sarcastically.
"Really? well, you're such a cry baby I wouldn't have been surprised. Wait, his fear is cry babies like you? maybe that's why he wants you dead." She said with a smirk.
"No!" Tazuna exploded.
"Well, what about your 'sweet little grandson'? is he an even bigger cry baby than you?" She commented, loving to tease the old man.
"Shut up!" He replied.
"Right, no one can be a bigger cry baby than you." She sighed, sitting back and deciding that she had said enough.
"You done?" He asked her. Sakura nodded. "Not that your suggestions weren't fantastic, but Gato doesn't fear any of that. He fears only the bridge." Tazuna stated in a 'scary' voice.
"Wow…it's a…bridge?" Sakura mocked in fake wonderment.
"Shut up! When it is complete, it will join us to the land and that will break his control. That is what he fears. Also, I am the bridge builder in charge of this whole thing." He finished.
"So that's it. Since you're in charge of the bridge, you're standing in this gangster's way." Sakura concluded for the sake of the blonde on her team, who was utterly confused.
"Then that means that those guys we fought in the forest…they were working for Gato." Sasuke added, looking at Sakura as she stared into the water below them.
"Uhh? Hmmm." Naruto said, acting like he got it.
"I don't understand." Kakashi admitted. "If you knew that this man was dangerous…knew that he would send ninja to eliminate you, why did you hide that from us?"
"Because…the Land of Waves…is a small nation in poverty. Even our nobles have little money." He confessed sadly. "The common people building this bridge; they can't pay for an A or B ranked mission. It's just too expensive. If you end the mission when you drop me ashore, there will be no bridge. They'll assassinate me before I even reach home."
"Here is comes." Sasuke groaned as they all waited for what they knew was coming.
"Yep…the waterworks." Sakura sighed. Sure enough, Tazuna adopted a sad face with an upset voice to match.
"But…don't feel bad about that. Of course, my sweet little grandson would be upset. He'll cry; 'Grandpa! I want my Grandpa!'." He mimicked.
"Ugh! Not this again!" Naruto and Sakura said together. "Oi! Stop that! I mean it! Stop copying me! Stop!" The two 'friends' carried on until Naruto had grabbed the pinkette's cheek and stretched it while Sakura was beginning to pull on Naruto's spiky yellow hair roughly.
"Ehem." Sasuke cleared his throat, a little angry about the attention Naruto was getting from Sakura.
The two stopped their fight and sat back again as if nothing even happened.
"Right…where was I in my fake rant? Oh yeah! My daughter will condemn the ninja of the hidden leaf village; denouncing and blaming you for abandoning her father and living her life in sorrow." He continued in false woe.
"Oh boy." Naruto groaned.
"Tell me about it." Sakura agreed.
"Hn." Sasuke added helpfully.
"Ah well. It's not your fault. Forget it." He assured. The ninja of team seven sighed in relief and Kakashi rubbed the metal of his Hatei-ate a little bit.
"Well, I guess we have no other choice." He stated, causing his team to groan in annoyance. "We'll have to keep guarding you."
"Oh! I'm very grateful." He said in mock happiness. 'I win!' The man added in his mind, flashing a peace sign.
'I am surrounded by bakas.' Sakura groaned mentally.
'This grandson…what if he's older than us? Or our age? What if he's hot?! I MUST KNOW!' Inner declared.
'…Yep…surrounded.'
[--
They had been riding on the boat for about fifteen more minuets in complete boredom. Naruto suggested that they play 'eye spy', but that stopped when he used nothing other than 'water' and 'a boat', sometimes even 'fog'. Let's just say, Sakura got very annoyed while Sasuke's eye didn't stop twitching.
"We're approaching the shore." The unnamed man (who I will call 'Bob' from this moment on) told them as they drew closer to the pier. "Tazuna, we've been very fortunate. No one has noticed us so far." Bob (I warned you, didn't I?) added to the bridge builder.
"Nice going." Tazuna congratulated him.
They passed under an arch and, when they came out the other side, the ninja were surprised to be welcomed by bright sun and blue skies. There were trees and other plants sprouting up from the water with bright green leaves and the sounds of seagulls filled the air.
"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed in joy.
"I guess this place hasn't changed much at all." Sakura noticed, looking around with a small smirk on her angelically demonic features.
The boat soon stopped and Bob told everyone to get out.
"Beauty before age, sensei!" Sakura called as she jumped ahead of Kakashi and got out first.
"Cool before perverted!" Naruto yelled.
"Thanks, dobe." Sasuke smirked, stepping out next to Sakura before Naruto got the chance to.
"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" The blonde growled.
"Skill before clumsiness." Kakashi stated happily, stepping out of the boat before Naruto too.
"I'm leaving now because I'm cool that way!" Tazuna said, flashing another peace sign before leaving Naruto in the boat with Bob.
"Well, I'm not going because this my job! God, it sucks! But hey, I'm only am easily forgotten character in this series with limited lines and a single appearance without a real name to speak of!" Bob told them. Naruto grumbled and got out last.
"Whatever." Naruto muttered, standing next to Sakura too.
"That's as far as I go." Bob said to Tazuna and the rest.
"Right." The bridge builder acknowledged. "Thank you for taking such a risk."
"Just be careful." Bob warned as he started up the motor, crouched down on one knee and left them on the pier.
"Okay, take me to my home, and I mean get me there as fast as you can while keeping me in one piece." Tazuna ordered.
"Right." Kakashi said as every turned and began to walk off the pier, towards the man's home. 'The next ninja they send will defiantly not be just a mere Chunin. They'll be Jounin. An elite ninja with deadly skills. Oh boy. I need a vacation already.'
[--
So far the ninja had made it into another forest, since Tazuna had to be awkward and decided to locate his home in the middle of a forest, and they were travelling along a forest path.
Naruto once again lead their small team, with Sasuke and Sakura walking behind him side-by-side and Kakashi and Tazuna following in a similar way.
Of course, Sasuke couldn't be happy with letting Naruto take the lead, so he sped up to prove to Sakura that he was faster than Naruto was. The latter noticed the challenge and groaned mentally.
'I'm not letting Sasuke get all the glory this time! Dattebayo!' He thought with a frown. Naruto ran ahead of Sasuke, taking the lead again and doing a mental victory dance.
He looked around carefully, looking for any signs of danger, before grabbing a kunai in his hand and looking over to a certain bush by the side of the road.
"Over there!" He yelled, throwing the kunai into the bush. Everyone looking in question as to why Naruto threw the kunai, but most expected it to be an attack by an enemy ninja or something.
"Naruto…what is it?" Sakura asked quietly.
"Hm. It was just a mouse." He stated proudly.
"Mouse? Yeah right! You're so obvious that it's embarrassing for me to call you a fri…er…forget it." Sakura sighed. Everyone did, however, notice her slip of tongue and how she almost called Naruto her 'friend'.
'Cha! Naru-chan is more than a friend!'
'Shut up you!'
'Aw man! You guys agree with me…right?' Inner asked the others in Sakura's mind.
'We sure do!' A chorus of thirteen voices agreed.
'Shut up!' She hissed to all of them.
'MEAN!'
"Naruto! Those are kunai knives! They're dangerous." Kakashi scolded as Tazuna growled.
"STOP TRYING TO SCARE ME, YOU SCRUFFY LITTLE DWARF!" Tazuna screamed at the young boy.
"Hey! Is someone hiding over there?" Naruto asked; he was ignoring Tazuna and paying attention to the bush he just threw a dangerous weapon at. "No! They're over there! Over there!" He yelled, throwing another kunai into a different bush.
"Knock it off, baka!" Sakura told him, hitting him over the head for good measure.
"Wh-Why'd you do that? Someone really is following us! I mean it!" The blonde assured his friend as he rubbed his head.
"I know, but that's not important." She muttered so no one would hear her. Kakashi walked to the bush Naruto had thrown the kunai in and saw a white rabbit in shock.
"A rabbit! Ahh!" He cried, running to the small creature. "I'm sorry, little rabbit! I'm sorry!"
"All this fuss over a rodent?" Tazuna asked grumpily. Sakura looked at the rabbit and her eyes narrowed.
'That is a snow rabbit.' Kakashi noted. 'But the colour…they only have white fur during winter. When the days are short and there is little sunlight.'
'No way! A white rabbit! They only appear in winter!' Sakura thought.
'I know! This needs to be investigated further! Cha!' Inner cried, shaking her fist.
Kakashi looked all over the clearing, Sakura doing the same, for any signs of why the rabbit would be white rather than brown this time of year. It would only mean that the rabbit was kept in captivity or something, which would imply that it wasn't the only thing out of place in this forest.
A man watched them from a near-by tree. He observed what was happening down below with the rabbit, his eyes travelling across the ninja he knew to be from Konohagakure. However, the man's gaze lingered on Kakashi and Sakura the longest, but especially Kakashi.
Both of the ninja mentioned previously looked up to where he was hiding.
'So they are all ready here.' Kakashi noticed.
'What do I do?' Sakura wondered.
'Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!' Inner cheered.
'If you say so.' Sakura agreed with a smirk, getting whoops of joy from her inner self and most of the fourteen voices.
'Hmm. No wonder the demon brothers failed in their mission.' The man in the tree thought as he reached for the sword on his back. 'They had to deal with the copy ninja of Konohagakure, Kakashi the Sharingan master, without knowledge of him. And that girl…if my memory serves me right, that symbol on each of her shoulders represents the Haruno clan. Her eyes could get me a lot of money on the black market.'
The stranger jumped from the branch with great speed, descending to the ground faster than you could blink. Kakashi noticed this before he landed and turned his body to the branch fully, shocked out of his mind.
"Look out!" He yelled to his team, Naruto looking up from hugging the small white rabbit to give his sensei and curious glance. Sakura's eyes widened and she ran to her friend and dark-haired team mate, both of whom didn't know what was going on.
A ridiculously large blade swung out of a tree and headed in Tazuna's direction, but Sakura tackled him to the ground with her right hand, taking down Sasuke with her left and Naruto with her feet, before it could strike its target down dead. It struck a tree and remained in its new location as the man from the branch landed on its hilt, his bare back facing the ninja.
On his arms were white arm warmers with black spots, going from his wrists to his armpit. His feet had the same warmers over black sandals, going to his knees and having grey and black striped trousers tucking into the tops. His chest was bare and a blue scarf strap was secured around his neck and the top of his trousers while the bottom half of his face was covered with bandages and his Hatei-ate –displaying the symbol for the village hidden in the mist- sat sideways on his head. The hair on his head, which spiked out to the side and sat around the Hatei-ate, was jet black while his narrow, naturally scowling eyes were piercing brown.
'That must be…' Kakashi thought, trailing off at the end.
'Here it is! My chance to shine, Dattebayo! I'm ready this time! I'm so not going to lose to Sasuke-teme!' Naruto said mentally with a wide smile.
'OM MY GOD! HE IS SO HOT! LOOK AT THOSE MUSCELS AND THAT CHEST! SHANNARO!' Inner Sakura screamed, deep in fangirl mode.
"Well, well. If it isn't Momochi Zabuza. Rogue ninja from the village hidden in the mist." Kakashi observed nonchalantly.
'Rogue ninja? Whatever! Nothing is gonna stop me! Ready? Go!' Naruto yelled in his mind as he began charging towards Zabuza.
Kakashi –not wanting Naruto to harm himself- held his arm out to stop the young boy from going any further. Naruto was surprised by this and looked up to his sensei for an explanation.
"You're in the way." Kakashi stated bluntly. "Get back." He ordered, not taking his eye off of the rogue-nin.
"But why?" Naruto complained.
"He's not like those other ninja. This man is in a whole other league. If he's our opponent, then I'll need this." The older man told him calmly, reaching up to his Hatei-ate. "This could be traitorous."
"Kakashi, the Sharingan eye." Zabuza said, not really to anyone. "Did I get that right?"
'Wha? No way!' Sasuke thought.
"It's too bad, huh? But you'll have to hand over the old man. And the girl with you too." The rogue ninja ordered.
'Uhh, Sharingan? What's that?' Naruto asked himself. 'And…he wants SAKURA-CHAN? NOT GONNA HAPPEN!' He added.
'Kakashi-sensei…he's not an Uchiha, is he?' Sakura frowned.
'Shara-whobee-whatta?' Inner added in confusion.
"Now quick! Shield formation! Protect the bridge builder and stay out of this fight. Sakura, be careful." Kakashi ordered them.
"Huh?" Naruto asked.
"I taught you three teamwork, now use it!" He barked at his team of young ninja. Zabuza narrowed his eyes as Kakashi lifted the Hatei-ate over his eye and let it rest on his forehead.
"Sensei?" Sakura asked out loud.
His left eye was closed at the moment and had a dark scar running over the lid and onto his cheek, going upwards to his eyebrow. When Kakashi opened his eyes, it was red with a black outline and had three black tomoe surrounding where the pupil would go. Said pupil was still there, but smaller than a normal one.
"I'm ready!" The silver haired team leader stated firmly.
"Heh, there it is." Zabuza said, looking at but not into the eye.
'Ah! His eye; what is that?' Naruto asked in his head.
'Cha! Zabuza-kun has such a strong and manly voice! He's so hot and his voice is so deep and cool!' Inner cheered.
'Look at that…the Sharingan.' Sakura thought, staring speechlessly into the eye of her sensei.
'Huh? Oh yeah…that's nice too.'
"Well, looks like I get to see the Sharingan in action. This is truly an honour." Zabuza said to the red-eye man.
"Everyone keeps saying 'Sharingan, Sharingan'. Will someone please tell me what Sharingan is?" Naruto pleaded. Sakura remained silent, still looking at the eye with her mouth agape.
"Sharingan." Sasuke stated. "It's a rare power that resides in the eyes of the one using it. The user if this visual jutsu, or dojutsu, can instantly see and comprehend any ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu. They can also reflect the attack back on the attacker. The Sharingan is a special, rare form of dojutsu. However, there's more to the Sharingan than that. A lot more."
'Huh.' Naruto thought, looking at his spacing-out female team mate as he took in the words of the other.
"You got it right, boy. But you only scratched the surface." Zabuza told them.
"The…surface?" Naruto repeated in question.
"The Sharingan can also analyze an opponent's technique and then copy it to the smallest detail." Zabuza added as the area was covered in a dense fog. "As for you, Jounin. In the assassination unit of the hidden mist, we had a standing order to destroy you on sight. A Haruno too…well, I guess I'm just lucky."
Kakashi's eyes narrowed as Zabuza took the sword from the tree and moved quickly. The three Genin standing in a circle around Tazuna looked around for him as Kakashi remained still. He came up to the right of them all, standing calmly.
"He's over there!" Naruto yelled.
"He's standing on the water." Sasuke added. True enough, Zabuza was stood on the water with his left arm in the air and his right in a chakra gathering sign in front of him.
'He is building up a huge amount of chakra.' Kakashi noticed.
"Kiri Gakure no Jutsu!" Zabuza said, performing the jutsu thatenveloped the surrounding area in a dense mist, causing anyone within to lose the advantage of sight.
"He vanished." Naruto stated in wonder.
"No, he didn't." Kakashi stated.
"Of course he did!" Naruto claimed.
"He's just hidden in the mist. Don't worry about it though; he won't target you, Naruto. He'll come after me first…then Sakura." Kakashi informed the rest of his travelling companions, stepping in front of his students and in the direction Zabuza was last seen by him and the rest of them.
"I have a question…who the hell is that guy? Why is he after me?" Sakura asked in aggravation.
"Momochi Zabuza, the ex-leader of the Kirigakure secret assassination unit. Sorry, but I have no idea as to why he's after you, Sakura. He's a master of the silent killing technique all assassins prize, though." He explained.
"S-S-Silent?" Naruto questioned shakily.
"As the name suggests, it happens in an instant, without sound or a warning of any kind. It's so fast; you pass from this life without realising what happened. Even the Sharingan cannot fully neutralize it, so don't lower your guard." Kakashi warned. "Well, if we fail we only lose our lives, after all." He added with a shrug.
"Shut up! I can't think! Everyone be quiet or I'll cut out your tongues and use them as dog food!" Sakura yelled with her eyes screwed shut. All of the men near her –with the exception of Zabuza- gulped at the obvious threat. Sakura just ignored them.
'Think! Think! Think! Think! Think! Should I use it?!' She asked her inner self desperately.
'No, you should wait until you're dead! Of course you have to use it, baka!' Inner yelled back.
'I'm serious! This is bad! He could be after me for my kekkei genkai, and then I'll just be digging myself a hole. If he's not, then I could put my team in danger for my paranoia!'
'Use the force, Luke…er…Sakura.' Inner told her. Sakura nodded her head slightly and put the kunai in her hand back into her pouch.
"Sakura-chan! What are you doing?" Naruto asked in worry.
"Now is not the time to play hero, Sakura!" Kakashi scolded her.
"Get your kunai back out!" Sasuke demanded.
"Are you trying to risk my life?" Tazuna questioned in almost fear of her seemingly useless actions.
"Please…I'm practically begging you here, Naruto! Whatever you do, don't look at my eyes!" Sakura asked turning to face Naruto.
"Why not?" He asked in confusion.
"Just don't! You either, Sasuke!" She warned, placing her hands together in the correct seals. "Please, don't. Promise me."
"I'm not making any promises I might not keep, Sakura-chan." Naruto told her.
"Me either." Sasuke grunted.
"Fine then, don't. Just…try not to look. Tiger!" She yelled, performing the sign. "Dragon! Snake! Kanjoo jiyuu akaikari!"
Once her jutsu was complete, Sakura turned her head away from Naruto and Sasuke, who were both trying to look to see what was so bad about her eyes. Kakashi saw them and gasped, his eyes widening slightly. Also, Tazuna had seen them.
"Wh-What is that?!" The bridge builder asked in fear.
"My curse." Sakura muttered angrily.
"Sakura…are you sure you'll be fine?" Kakashi questioned warily.
"It's just Rage, sensei!" She snapped back. "Just like before! So can we back off me now?!" The girl yelled heatedly. Naruto gulped and was about to make a comment, when something happened.
"The mist…it's getting thicker!" He noticed with alarm.
"The Land of Waves is surrounded by ocean. Swirling mists are ever present in this country." Tazuna offered as an explanation.
"Eight points." Zabuza's voice stated from somewhere in the thickening mist. Sakura let her eyes roam around the fog, only to serve in not finding the man and her anger growing.
"Stop hiding, you big loser!" She exploded.
"Ah, the Haruno kekkei genkai. Kanjoo jiyuu. I presume that you're using anger…or is it hate or rage? I don't really know, to be honest. The Haruno kekkei genkai isn't my area of expertise, but I do know that it'll be worth a lot on the black market…or to someone powerful who needs extra forces to fight for them." Zabuza stated in amusement.
"It's my Rage, jackass! And what the hell are you on about with the whole 'eight points' crap anyway?" She yelled back.
"Heh. Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, Subclavian artery, kidneys, heart; all of them are points of instantaneous death. Now…which shall be my attack point? Better keep it far from your eyes, little Haruno, since I could sell them for a fortune.
"Y-You s-stay away f-fr-from Sakura-chan!" Naruto ordered shakily, scared but not liking the idea of anyone hurting his friend and crush.
"If-If you want her, you'll have to go though us!" Sasuke agreed. Sakura looked down in surprise.
'They…care?' She asked herself.
Kakashi, not caring for anymore threats to be dealt towards his female student, finished reading the jutsu and cancelled it. His team looked at him in shock, but Sasuke froze.
'I…I feel like I can't breathe!' He realised as he felt the aura of Kakashi and Zabuza.
"Heh." Kakashi muttered once he'd finished clearing the fog.
'One shallow breath…one tiny movement of the eye is enough to draw his attack. It's suffocating! If it goes on like this, I'll go insane! The clash of two Jounin intending to attack…I've never felt anything so chilling. It's as if my own life is being choked off! No…I can't take it…I'd rather…' Sasuke thought, holding his kunai in both hands.
"Sasuke!" Kakashi called, breaking him from his thoughts. "Calm down; I'll protect you with my life. All of you." He assured. "I will not allow my comrades to die. Trust me." The older man concluded, turning to the rest of them with a smile.
"And Sasuke." Sakura began, getting the attention of the Uchiha standing beside her. "If you see my eyes or I end up having to use them and you see what they do…please don't panic or anything. I'll have enough of a job calming Naruto down." She told him. "Oh, and sorry if I insult any of you from this point on. It's hard to keep control of my mouth and movements in this state." The girl finished, not once looking at him.
"I wouldn't be so sure about any of you escaping with your lives. So don't be too concerned about scaring them or protecting them." Zabuza mocked from his hiding spot as he placed his hands in a seal. "It's over."
Kakashi turned and saw Zabuza though his Sharingan in just enough time to dodge the swing of the large sword Zabuza carried. He then intercepted the rogue-nin as he went for Sakura, who was ready to attack. The Genin scattered, Sasuke going to where Kakashi once stood, Naruto going off to the left, Tazuna going backwards and Sakura to the right.
Fog once again covered the area, but not as thickly this time. It was thick enough to offer some cover, but thin enough to see more than just yourself. Everyone saw that Kakashi had stuck a kunai into Zabuza's stomach and that he was bleeding. However, it was not blood pouring out of the wound, but it was water.
Another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, shocking everyone.
"Sensei, behind you!" Naruto warned as the second Zabuza got ready to attack the copy-nin.
Kakashi was shocked when the ninja he had stabbed erupted into nothing but water, which fell uselessly to the ground. The second –and now only- Zabuza swung his sword at Kakashi, slicing the ninja in half. However, this Kakashi too erupted into water. Eyes wide, Zabuza looked at the spot Kakashi once stood.
'The water clone jutsu. It can't be!' Zabuza thought in shock. 'Even in the mist…he saw though my illusion and copied it in an instant!'
A kunai was placed at his neck as he watched the water from the clone fall to the ground next to his own water clone's puddle.
"Don't move." Kakashi threatened daringly as he held the kunai. "Now it's over!"
The oath of pain
Kakashi and Zabuza remained frozen, the kunai pressed to the latter's throat. Everyone watched them. Everyone, that is, except a certain pinkette, who scanned the area around them with her kekkei genkai filled eyes. They were red with the white ring inside them, just like last time, but she hadn't yet lost control.
"You're finished." Kakashi stated darkly to the man at the end of his kunai. Naruto gulped and took in the situation in joy.
"All right!" He cheered.
Sasuke looked at the captured man and smirked, but that smirk was gone when he saw that Sakura was still in the defensive position she was in before. Her eyes were still turned away from him, but something about her aura now gave him the chills.
However, his attention was forced away from his team mate when Zabuza began to chuckle.
"Huh?" Kakashi voiced.
"Finished?" Zabuza echoed, still chuckling at the words. "You really don't get it, do you? you're technique is nothing but a crass imitation. I'll never be defeated by a mere copy-cat ninja like you." He continued to chuckle, amused at Kakashi's expense. "You are full of surprises though. you'd already copied my water clone jutsu during your speech."
[--
"Calm down; I'll protect you with my life. All of you." He assured. "I will not allow my comrades to die. Trust me." The older man concluded, turning to the rest of them with a smile.
[--
"Very skilfully executed." He complemented. "You made your clone say those words to draw my attention while you hid in the mist, just waiting for me to make my move. Nice try, but I'm not that easy to fool."
All at once, yet another Zabuza was behind Kakashi with his sword poised to attack. The Zabuza Kakashi had captured broke down into nothing but water and Kakashi allowed his eyes to widen.
"Hey, that one was a clone too!" Naruto yelled unhelpfully.
"Gee, thanks for the update, baka!" Sakura yelled at him in anger. Naruto shivered from both the tone and her frozen aura.
Kakashi turned and ducked as Zabuza swung the heavy sword, so he didn't even cut a silver hair. He slammed the sword into the ground, switched hands so that he held the hilt still and threw his leg in Kakashi's direction. The kick landed its mark and Kakashi when flying a short distance from the ninja who kicked him.
"Now." Zabuza stated, taking his sword out of the ground.
He held it firmly in two hands and ran at a great speed to where Kakashi would land, getting ready to strike. A glint from the ground caught his eye and he pulled to a stop before treading on any of the weapons sticking out from the ground.
"Makibashi spikes." He noted as he looked at the small but deadly spikes sticking out of the ground. "Trying to slow me down. Hm, foolish."
"Take a closer look at my spikes next time, asshole!" Sakura roared as she threw three poison laced senbon at him. Zabuza dodged and they became lodged in a tree. Said tree instantly lost all of its leaves, which turned brown, and the trunk became black.
"An illusion?" Zabuza wondered when he looked at the tree.
"No…my poison." Sakura corrected him, grinning like a maddened, blood-thirsty monster.
"No way!" He cried, but it was true.
"Like I said, look at the spikes. I master in poisons!" She boasted. The man narrowed his eyes and looked at the spikes. They couldn't kill you normally, as that was left to the ninja who set them as the victim was slowed down, but these had been covered in poison and were dripping with the purple liquid.
"It would have killed me on contact!" He realised. "Perhaps I should take all of you rather than just your eyes, Haruno."
"Not likely!" She yelled back, her eyes glowing a brighter red.
Zabuza, decided that he would rather finish off Kakashi before going after the Haruno girl, leapt into the water behind him.
"Sensei!" Naruto cried. 'I can't believe he got kicked though the air like that!'
"That Zabuza has great physical skill too." Sasuke stated. "Sakura almost caught him with her poison, but he saw it too soon. Who knew she was that good? No, I have to protect her and Tazuna-san. This rogue-nin won't take Sakura!" The young Uchiha promised himself.
Kakashi surfaced from the water, where he had landed, and held his head and arm out of it while the rest of him stayed submerged. Something about the water didn't seem right to him.
"This isn't normal water…it's dense…heavy." He mused. Zabuza came up behind him, standing on the water, and placed his hands in fast signs for another jutsu.
"Ah, fool." Zabuza commented. "Suiro no Jutsu!"
"No!" Kakashi cried as he turned around quickly. The water around him began to mould itself into a ball, trapping Kakashi inside the ball of water mixed with chakra. Getting someone in took skill and chakra control, but still do-able. Getting out, however, was near impossible.
"Escaping underwater…bad mistake." Zabuza taunted, keeping his hand in the water ball to keep it tight around the copy-nin. "This prison may be made of nothing but water; however, with my chakra reinforcing its strength…it can be compared to steel. It's hard to fight and you can't move. So much for the great Kakashi." He mocked the trapped man. "I'll finish you off later, but first those two little boys will have to be illuminated, the bridge builder killed and that girl captured. Water clone jutsu!"
'Oh no! He's even more skilled than I thought!' Kakashi commented, his eyes widening when a clone came up from the water. 'I just hope that my team are up to the challenge…and that Sakura can keep control longer than she did before.'
"You think wearing a Hatei-ate makes you a ninja, huh?" Zabuza began. "When you've hovered between life and death so many it doesn't phase you any more, that is when you may be called a ninja. when you've become so deadly that your profile is entered in my bingo book, then you may have earned the title of 'ninja'." He told them, performing another hand seal. "Whoever calls kids like the blondie and the Uchiha boy ninja is a joke."
Once more, Zabuza called the mist to create a cover for him to move without being seen and attack before anyone even notices he's there. Of course, Naruto freaked out. Sasuke let his head shift, looking for the 'disappearing' mist-nin before he could strike. Sakura was acting as if she had taken on a whole new personality.
'Oh man, oh man, oh man! He disappeared again!' Naruto thought in desperation. 'He could take Sakura-chan and I wouldn't even notice until he had killed Tazuna, Kakashi-sensei and left!'
Just as Naruto finished his thought, a foot cleared a small path in the mist and hit him in the stomach. The boy when flying back with pain filling his body at an alarming rate. His Hatei-ate came undone and landed on the ground away from its blonde owner.
Zabuza's clone rested its foot heavily on the metal of the ninja headband and looked at the fallen Genin.
"You're just brats." He acknowledged.
"Naruto!" Sakura called in worry.
"Heh. Even you, Haruno. You can't control your limit form more than a few minuets." He observed. "I'll hand it to you that the Harunos I knew couldn't last this long at your age or even up until they were eighteen at least, but I really expected the prodigy of the clan to be better than them. After all, you're the one who-"
"SHUT UP!" She screamed.
"So your team doesn't know? Heh, that's quite a secret you're keeping from them." He mock-scolded.
"Listen!" Kakashi called, interrupting them. "Grab the bridge builder and run! You can't win against him!"
"NO WAY!" Sakura yelled.
"Sakura! Calm down! Don't lose control! Just run!" He told her.
'Run away?' Sasuke thought. He spared a glance at Sakura, who looked both angry and slightly scared. 'Not an option! This guy made Kakashi-sensei look weak, he kicked the dobe and threatened Sakura. No matter how far we run, he'll track us down. The mere fact he said that he'd take Sakura away is bad enough. This guy can easily get around our defences and if we're alone he'll easily defeat us. Our only change of survival is you.' Sasuke calculated.
"So, I'll take the kunoichi before you can run. Simple as that." Zabuza stated.
'No one threatens to take Sakura away! He's toast!' The Uchiha cried in his mind.
Sasuke ran at the water clone with a short battle cry, not willing to let anyone take Sakura away. She was the first girl he met who didn't bug the hell out of him and he could even go as far as saying he considered her to be his friend. She was going to stay.
The clone looked at Sasuke as he ran at an admirable speed for a Genin, but still nothing compared to what the mist-nin could do. He reached for the sword on his back, but Sasuke noticed the movement and took out five shuriken from his pouch. He threw them one-by-one towards the ninja, who growled and hit them from the air with his sword.
Not letting this affect him, Sasuke leapt up in the air and prepared to land with a kunai in his hand. Zabuza looked up at the fighting Genin and noticed the many flaws in his attack that a normal Genin or Chunin wouldn't have seen.
"Too easy." He muttered as he reached out his hand and took Sasuke by the throat as soon as the younger boy got within range. Sasuke was forced to drop the kunai and began to struggle against the vice-like grip the opposing ninja had on him.
He didn't need to struggle for long as Zabuza pulled back his arm and launched Sasuke across the air. The latter skidded along the ground before stopping and groaning in pain.
"Uchiha!" Sakura called before turning away and holding her head tightly in pain.
"He got Sasuke!" Naruto yelled in shock. He turned back to the blank-faced criminal and shock in fear. 'So this is what a Jounin is. A true elite ninja. I-I-I gotta g-get away! If I don't…seriously, he'll annihilate me for sure!' Naruto began to crawl away when a searing pain shot though his injured hand.
[--
"Why am I so different?" Naruto asked himself. "Why am I always…argh!"
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, running to him. "Stop that right now!"
"I worked so hard to get here. Pushing myself until it hurt. Training alone for hours…anything to get stronger. Just to reach my dream." He said as he remembered all of the extra training he did at home. "I will never back down again and let someone else rescue me. I will never run away, and I will not lose to Sasuke." With these words, Sasuke looked at him with mild awe. "Upon this wound, I make this pledge. Dattebayo. Bridge builder, I'll complete this mission and protect you with my life. A real ninja never gives up and neither will I. don't worry about me, I'll be fine! Now let's go!"
[--
"Hey." Sasuke called calmly.
"Yeah?" Naruto asked, ready to become defensive. Sasuke looked at him was a mocking smirk.
"You're not hurt, are ya?" He questioned tauntingly. "Scaredy cat."
[--
Still looking at his hand, Naruto frowned sadly. 'I will not lose to Sasuke and I will prove myself to be worthy of the title ninja!' The blonde sat up and looked at his Hatei-ate, still getting crushed under the foot of Zabuza's water clone.
[--
"No, I…wanna try on your ninja headband…your Hatei-ate…come on, just let me borrow it, please?" Naruto asked sweetly, flashing his sensei a fox-like grin.
"Oh, this?" Iruka asked, holding his Hatei-ate. "No way. You can only wear the leaf symbol Hatei-ate when you finally graduate from the academy and become a ninja. This is a symbol that you've come of age and ability to wear it, you'll get one tomorrow…if you pass the test." Iruka promised.
[--
"Naruto, come here a moment. I've got something I want to give you." He called. Naruto nodded.
"I'll be right back, Sakura-chan." Naruto said before dashing over to the wounded Jounin.
[--
"Nice one, Uzumaki." Sakura said with a smirk and her arms crossed.
"Congratulations, you graduate." Iruka said to him happily. Naruto just looked at the older man in shock. "And to celebrate, I have another surprise for you. We're all going out for ramen tonight. Sakura, you can come too if you want, as a thank you for helping me and Naruto."
[--
"Sakura! Kill Naruto or Sasuke will die!" He threatened harshly. Sakura's eyes flicked over his face, then Sasuke's and finally Naruto's before she glared at her sensei.
"I'm not killing Naruto. Example or not…never ever ask me to do something like that again." She threatened, her glare becoming colder than ice.
"That's what will happen, though." Kakashi said, not taking her threat lightly. He took the kunai away from Sasuke, who sighed in relief.
"You surprised me!" Naruto said in shock, feeling more relaxed now that he knew Kakashi didn't mean it. Thinking about what Sakura said, Naruto decided to question her about it later.
"After someone is taken hostage, you'll have to deal with a dangerous situation or someone could get hurt and someone will most likely die in those cases. In every mission, you put your life on the line." He concluded, getting off of Sasuke and walking back slightly. The boy just glared at the ground.
[--
"We're a three man squad." Sasuke said, aiding Naruto in his excuse of why they did what they did. Sakura, seeing that the two were awful at this, took over for them.
"As a three man squad, we wouldn't have functioned properly as a team if Naruto was hungry. He would have been slower and it could have gotten us into a dangerous situation!" Sakura defended.
"Yeah! Believe it!" Naruto added, not being able to help himself.
"Is that so?" Kakashi asked, getting closer to them.
"Hai!" The three answered confidently.
"Then you pass!" The sensei finished cheerfully.
[--
"Gah! You always lecture me like you're my Grandfather or something, but I'm not the little brat who used to pull pranks all the time!" Naruto assured rebelliously. "I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission!" He finished, turning again and pouting wit his back to the Hokage.
[--
"And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage. Then the whole entire village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody. Somebody important." Naruto concluded, pumping his fist in the air out of serious determination.
[--
"That's right. I'm a ninja. Dattebayo." Naruto stated, getting up of the ground and holding himself on his feet. "I swore an oath of pain. I won't runaway!" He finished, charging at Zabuza as fast as he could.
"Huh? Naruto, no!" Kakashi yelled as loudly as he was able to thought the prison.
"Naruto! Don't, please!" Sakura begged.
"Hm." Zabuza grunted in amusement as the blonde got closer. "He is such a fool."
Naruto kept running, singing his battle cry loud and proud. He didn't even manage to land a single hit or even pull out a weapon before he was thrown back. The boy grunted as he hit the ground hard. Sakura's red eyes widened and she ran over to her fallen friend.
"Oi! You okay?" She asked him, resting her hand on his shoulder and forgetting her eyes for a moment. As he rose shakily from the ground, Sakura caught a glint of metal. In his hand was his Hatei-ate.
"I got it." He stated happily.
"You did that…for a Hatei-ate?" She questioned in shock.
"This…it's my right as a ninja to have it!" Naruto cried. He stood up and faced Zabuza. "Hey you…the freaky looking guy with no eyebrows. Put this in your bingo book; 'the ninja that will become the Hokage, ruler of all of Konohagakure…he never backs down'." He said darkly, attaching his Hatei-ate around his forehead once again. "His name is Uzumaki Naruto, Dattebayo!"
'Ahh, I thought that this runt was all talk. He has got guts.' Tazuna mused.
"Naruto…" Sakura whispered. Naruto looked down at her and noticed her eyes before letting his own widen.
"S-Sakura-chan…your eyes…they…" He said. Sasuke looked at her face, which was not visible to him, and clenched his teeth when he saw the bright red and white circles.
"I…I never meant for you to see them." She stated sadly.
"Its okay, Sakura-chan!" Naruto assured her. The blonde cried out and held his side in pain. He would have fallen, but Sasuke ran over and caught him before he could further injure himself.
"You okay, baka?" Sasuke asked him.
"Yeah…I just need five minuets." Naruto assured.
"No…no…not him too…he can't get hurt…not him too…" She repeated over and over again. Zabuza noticed this and chuckled.
"I was hoping for this to happen." He said, letting everyone hear him.
"Kanjoo jiyuu irobunretsu!" Sakura yelled as she let a single tear escape her right eye, visible for all to see. The white circles in her blood red orbs disappeared and her black pupil came back. Her eyes were, however, still red.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, wanting to help her but he couldn't. Sasuke looked in shock as her body split in two from her left shoulder. Each half slowly became two people, one with red coloured eyes and one with grey eyes. Apart from the eye colour, it was the same Sakura appearance-wise. Same big red jacket, same black trousers, etc.
"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked his team mate…both of them.
"WELL, THAT'S A STUPID QUESTION!" The one with red eyes screamed, hitting the one with grey eyes on the back. Another body split from the front of the grey eyed one and became another full Sakura, but this one had orange eyes.
"Naruto! Sasuke! Kakashi-sensei! Zabuza! Hi! How are you guys!" The orange eyed one gushed in glee. She smiled brightly and skipped around the other two.
"STOP THAT, HAPPY-CHAN!" The red-eyed one said to the orange-eyed one.
"But it's such a lovely day!" She replied.
"Shut up or I'll hit you from here to China!" Red-eyes threatened.
"Don't. We wouldn't want her to sprout someone like Love." The grey eyed one warned without a trace of emotion in her voice.
"What's going on?" Naruto asked in complete confusion.
"Her kekkei genkai has almost gone into its final stage." Zabuza stated.
"Kekkei…genkai?" Sasuke murmured as he watched the red-eyed one hit the orange eyed one over the head and another body come out of the orange-eyed Sakura's stomach. This one had chocolate brown eyes and just rolled them when orange-eyes grinned at her.
"I believe we should stop this argument and attack Zabuza." The brown eyed one stated.
"FINALLY! SOME FIGHTING! I WAS GETTING PISSED OFF!" The red-eyed one yelled.
"You are always pissed off." The grey eyed one stated blankly.
"Hehe! Let's kick some butt!" The orange eyed one giggled.
The four of them looked towards the Zabuza water clone and charged full force at him. Brown-eyes looked all over the area as if calculating something as red-eyes screamed a battle cry and ran towards Zabuza with orange-eyes following behind. Grey-eyes kept a completely blank face before disappearing and showing up again behind the clone.
She delivered a swift kick to Zabuza's neck, only to be parried with his sword and thrown back into a tree. Another Sakura jumped out of her chest, this one with onyx eyes, and helped her up before they both charged again.
Orange and red weren't having much luck either, as both tried to hit either side of Zabuza with a kunai, but he hit them both with his arms and sent them flying into trees in opposite directions. Red-eyes split and another Sakura came out with crimson eyes as orange split and created purple.
Now that there were seven Sakura's, Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi and Tazuna were swung into even further confusion.
"Oi! Teme!" Naruto called over the battle between Zabuza's clone and red-Sakura, orange-Sakura, grey-Sakura, onyx-Sakura, purple-Sakura, brown-Sakura and crimson-Sakura.
"What, dobe?" He asked back.
"I got a plan." Naruto stated with a grin.
"Oh? Do tell." Sasuke replied, smirking.
"Okay, here's what we do…"
[--
"On your left, Rage-chan!" Orange-eyed Sakura called out as she dodged a fist.
"Thanks, Happy-chan! This guy's pissing me off!" Red replied, ducking the swinging sword.
Naruto and Sasuke stood side-by-side as they both went over the plan of attack in their minds. The blonde still had that grin on his face as Sasuke never lost the smirk. Both watched their team mate's seven selves battle it out and both knew that she would kill them for interfering later.
"Okay. Ready? Let's bring this guy down." Naruto stated. "Sakura-chan!"
Seven girls looked at each other and then the blonde.
"Er…all of the Sakura's!" Sasuke clarified.
They nodded and paid attention.
"You can back up now and relax! We'll take it from here, Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan and Sakura-chan!" Naruto assured. They narrowed their eyes, but nodded and jumped back behind the two young boys with Tazuna. "Get ready, because this guy's going down with an earthquake!"
"Heh, big words for a midget like you." Tazuna's clone mocked, straightening up from the attack by all of the Sakuras.
"What are you doing? I told you to run! Your mission is to protect the bridge builder! Sakura might be able to handle him in her state, but not for long! Get going!" Kakashi yelled at his team.
"Hmm. Bridge builder?" Naruto asked, looking around at Tazuna. The older man began to talk.
"This is my fault…I was too selfish…but I...I don't know-"
"Oh for the love of- get on with it!" Red-eyed Sakura yelled at him.
"…G-Go ahead and save Kakashi." He told them in a scared voice.
"Alright, you hear that?" Sasuke asked, looking at Kakashi.
"Yeah, Dattebayo! You ready, teme?"
"You kids really haven't learned anything, have you?" Zabuza questioned in amusement. "Still playing your little game. Pretending to be ninja and what not. Only the Haruno girl could pass as ninja and just look at her!"
Seven girls with pink hair, but all with different coloured eyes, were on their knees panting in pain. The brown eyed one groaned from the strain of her pain and exploded into brown butterflies. Next was the orange-eyed one, who screamed before bursting into orange-winged butterflies. Next came the red butterflies, then onyx, purple, crimson and finally grey. A mix of winded creatures fluttered together before landing in the shape of a body.
They merged together and became one Sakura with her eyes closed. She was unconscious, but safe as far as anyone could see. As the last butterfly landed on her hand and was absorbed into her skin, she gasped and opened her eyes. The colour was dazzling emerald.
"Sakura-chan! Are you okay?" Naruto asked in worry.
"I'm fine…save Kakashi-sensei." She panted, furrowing her brow from the effort it took and the pain it caused to say that short sentence. Naruto nodded and turned to Sasuke, who looked from Sakura to Naruto and nodded as well.
"Hmph. When I was you're age, I had already wiped out every person, both students and teachers, in my academy and crushed those who stood in my way, it felt so…good!" Zabuza yelled, running at Sasuke. He kneed the Uchiha boy in the stomach, sending him to the ground, before planting his elbow in the same spot. Blood sprouted out of the dark-haired boy's mouth as he cried in pain.
Zabuza then pressed his foot on Sasuke's chest and reached for the hilt of his sword. Kakashi got angry at the treatment his pupils were getting. The young Uchiha cried once more in pain as Zabuza continuously applied more and more pressure to his heavily bruised chest.
"Heh, you're nothing." Zabuza chuckled darkly.
"Stop right there!" Naruto ordered, placing his hands ready for his most effective jutsu. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" He called. Around fifty clones appeared, surrounding the mist-nin.
"Oooh…Kage Bunshins." He muttered in fake shock. "And there's quite a few of them too." The man added. All of the clones took a kunai in their hand and grinned.
"Here we go!" They yelled in union. Sasuke looked up, still heavy-bodied from the pain, and saw all of the Naruto clones jump into the air to attack Zabuza in almost the same way Naruto had down to him on the day they graduated the academy.
All of the clones landed on Zabuza, forming a shell over him, and the closest ones swung kunai in his direction. Zabuza's eyes widened as he threw off all of the clones in one go.
"His skills are too advanced." Tazuna noted as he stood with Sakura, who still lay on the ground. "He's too powerful for them to handle!"
The clones popped away, leaving only the original, Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna free to attack. Tazuna wasn't a ninja, so he was off the attacker list.
"I'm not giving up! I still have this! Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, throwing Sasuke something out of his bag. The Uchiha caught it and smirked.
'So that was his plan.' He thought, putting the weapon to use. 'Not bad, Naruto.'
"I…I have to…help Naruto…and Sasuke." Sakura muttered, putting her hands on the ground under her and shakily pushing herself up and onto her feet. She fell a few times, but eventually stood on her feet, if not a little wobbly.
"Are you crazy?! You can barely stand!" Tazuna cried at her.
"From what I…heard of Naruto's plan…I don't need…to stand much…at all, really." She said with a smirk. Naruto grinned and nodded, turning to Sasuke. Both boys nodded again and Sakura walked to Naruto, performing a had sign behind her back.
Sasuke swung around and faced Zabuza as Naruto lay on the ground with a grin on his face and Sakura sat next to the blonde as she looked at the Uchiha though hazy emerald eyes. The single bladed weapon spun and split into four blades with a ring in the middle to hold it with, looking like a giant shuriken.
"Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!" He called.
"A shuriken? You'll never touch me with that." Zabuza chuckled.
Sasuke, not letting the words dampen his attitude, ran and leapt up in the air, twisting his body before throwing the shuriken with speed, accuracy and power. Zabuza's clone just stood where he was originally, not moving an inch. However, his eyes widened when the weapon sped passed him and travelled in the direction of the real ninja.
"So…you passed the clone and aimed for my real body. Smart." Zabuza noticed without blinking an eye at the approaching weapon. "But not smart enough!" He concluded, catching the shuriken in his hand. He did, however, miss the second shuriken. "A second shuriken in the shadow of the first! His jutsu!"
"A second shuriken?" Tazuna questioned in amazement at the talent and ability of these so-called Genin. Everyone watched as the shuriken sped on, right on target. Zabuza had no free hands to catch it, so everyone assumed it would hit. However, he jumped up and it went under him.
"I told you' a shuriken can't touch me!" He boasted. Sasuke didn't seemed phased as he smirked.
The second shuriken was covered in smoke and it became two bodies carrying kunai. A ball of red, pink and black spun next to a ball of yellow, orange and blue. The balls spread their limps and became the two last members of team seven as the clones on the grass disappeared. Naruto grinned at Sakura, who smirked in return. Using the last of her strength, Sakura mimicked Naruto as they both simultaneously launched the weapon in their hands at Zabuza, whose eyes widened in shock.
Kakashi: The Sharingan Warrior
"Huh?" Zabuza asked in shock as the two kunai drew closer. Kakashi could only mimic his words as he had never known his students to be so good at fighting, let alone teamwork!
There was no way to dodge or catch the two kunai heading towards him and, upon closer inspection, the one the Haruno girl threw was dripping in poison. Zabuza's eyes widened and he pulled his hand out of the water prison to dodge the kunai, thus letting the jutsu release Kakashi from its hold on him.
Sakura's kunai, the one aiming right for his arm, missed and flew into the gathering fog. Naruto's, on the other hand, sliced Zabuza's cheek. Now enraged, the mist-nin turned to the flying ninja and growled. Sasuke and Tazuna looked on in shock as he held tightly on the shuriken he had caught previously and launched it at Naruto.
"I'll destroy you!" He yelled, throwing the shuriken.
Kakashi, now free, was too late to stop him, but he did manage to kick the swordsman back a few inches. Sasuke, Tazuna, Kakashi and Naruto all watched in shock as the giant shuriken came closer to Naruto's chest…right in his heart. Closing his eyes and waiting for the pain, Sakura looked at her blonde team mate as Naruto gritted his teeth.
"Ugh!" Naruto heard as he landed in the water with something heavier than a shuriken on top of him. He opened his eyes and saw that, somehow, Sakura had twisted herself in flight and made the shuriken catch her and not him. It was now digging dangerously far into her right hip.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called in worry.
"I didn't have…much energy left…anyway. You can…still help." She panted, rolling off of her blonde team mate so she was lying on her stomach next to him. To stop her from sinking any more than she already was, Naruto wrapped his arm under her armpits and placed her arm over his shoulders. He pulled out the shuriken too and threw it into the water.
Kakashi, standing on the water with Zabuza doing the same, looked on darkly as blood began pouring from Sakura's wound at an alarming rate, mixing with the clear water she was in. He turned back to Zabuza with both of his eyes open, his wet silver hair sticking to his face and a death promise not so well hidden in his glare. Whether the promise he had told to Sasuke earlier was a diversionary tactic or not, he had meant it.
Zabuza's eyes widened in shock at seeing the Sharingan like this, for earlier it had only seemed a ninja tool. Now it looked more like a promise of death and it was directed at him.
"Naruto. That was an excellent plan. You've really grown…all of you, am I right?" Kakashi mused.
"Ahahaha! I knew I couldn't beat him with my shadow clones, so I used them as a distraction while I turned myself into a fuuma shuriken. I had one of my clones pull me, as the shuriken, out of the bag and throw it to Sasuke. He knew instantly that the shuriken was Sakura-chan and I fused together, so he spun around to pull out his own shuriken! When he threw them, Sakura-chan and I hid in the shadow of the real shuriken and aimed for Zabuza's body, not the clone! It worked!" Naruto cheered.
'It had to be a fluke! These kids act like they completely hate each others guts, but they're the perfect team! This is impossible!' Tazuna thought in awe as he went over the previous fight in his mind.
"Don't brag about it too much, dobe. We just lucked out." Sasuke shrugged with a smirk. Naruto grinned widely in return, but was made to look at Sakura when she got slightly heavier.
"Naruto…I can't…" Sakura let her eyes slide closed and her head lowered in the water. To stop her from drowning, Naruto lifted her higher. She was no longer trying to hold herself out of the water…she was unconscious and losing blood fast.
"Sensei! Sakura-chan won't last much longer!" Naruto cried out in worry and panic. Sasuke looked over to him and, sure enough, Sakura had her eyes closed and her breathing was shallow.
"Sakura! Wake up!" He yelled as loudly as he could to her, but the girl didn't stir from her forced slumber.
"You need to get Sakura to safety! Get her to Sasuke and use some of the bandages from his pack to stop the bleeding! Do it now, Naruto!" Kakashi ordered. Naruto nodded.
"Not gonna happen." Zabuza said, not letting Naruto passed. "All that happened was that I got distracted and lost control over the water prison, nothing more. I'll still flatten the lot of you."
"Don't flatter yourself." Kakashi told him. "You weren't distracted, you were forced to let go."
"Huh." Zabuza grunted.
Now, this is the time when Naruto and Sasuke would have gloated about their awesome victory, but both were still too concerned about their dying team mate in the water. Naruto kicked his legs and moved to swim passed the fighting Jounin, but Zabuza kicked him back. The blonde lost his grip on Sakura as they went flying in opposite direction and Sakura began to sink.
"Dobe! Get Sakura out of the water!" Sasuke cried in panic.
"I…I can't see her!" Naruto yelled back, tears coming to his eyes. Sakura, the first kid his own age to accept him, was slowly drowning and it was his fault for not holding onto her tightly enough.
"Heh. I'll trap you again and then get the girl." Zabuza mused.
"Your technique worked on me once, but I can assure you that it will not work again." Kakashi promised. "Naruto! Look for Sakura, quickly!"
"Hai!" Naruto called. He began to swim over to where Sakura landed and he took a deep breath. Holding the air in his lungs, Naruto ducked his head under water to look for Sakura. He caught a flash of pink, but it was gone soon enough.
"Dobe!" He heard Sasuke call as a splash was made in the water. Naruto looked over to where the noise came and saw Sasuke swimming towards him.
"Over here, teme!" Naruto called back, surfacing for air. "We need to find her."
Both of the boys nodded and split up, taking breaths before diving fully under the water to find their team mate. No luck was given to them so far, but they carried on for the sake of their pink haired friend.
"Sasuke! Naruto!" Kakashi called. The boys broke the surface, took deep breaths and looked at their sensei.
"What?" They asked in union.
"Go back to Tazuna-san and protect him. Sakura is strong. She'll be fine, but Tazuna-san can't protect himself." Kakashi told them.
"Wha-?" Naruto cried in defiance.
"She's unconscious! She'll drown!" Sasuke yelled back.
"Go, now!" Kakashi ordered. They both glared at him, but jumped from the water and ran to the bridge builder.
Kakashi and Tazuna leapt away from each other and the latter preformed hand seals. Kakashi, seeing what he was doing with the Sharingan, let his eyes widen.
"Sharingan!" Sasuke noticed, seeing that Kakashi was using the eyes to their proper use now.
The ninja from the mist preformed twenty animal seals for his jutsu, only to have Kakashi copy them exactly and at the same pace. They began to repeat the seals at the same time, making it sound like a chant or something similar. With the last sign, two pillars of water rose from beneath them and began to sway.
"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" They said at the same time as the pillars changed shape into that of a dragon. The dragons clashed, creating waves and water to fall. Naruto and Sasuke looked on, now even more worried about Sakura under that chaos.
'So many hand signs and he mirrored them all perfectly.' Sasuke noticed as the water began to rain over him and the other two on land. 'Sakura is still under that water…is she…NO! She has to be okay. She just has to! I don't want you to be hurt Sakura! Come on!'
'Come on, Sakura-chan! Jump out of the water and surprise everyone with a really loud noise…or sneak out and show yourself later…just be okay, please be okay!' Naruto begged in his mind, hoping that somehow someone would hear him.
[--
"Sakura-chan!"
Naruto..?
"Sakura!"
Sasuke…
"Please be okay!"
Am I dead?
"Come on!"
Shut up, teme…wait…where are you two?
"Jump out of the water!"
I'm in water?
"Do something!"
Can I hear your thoughts?
"Live!"
"Here I come…"
[--
The dragons crashed against each other again and were about to go in for another attack, when both exploded. Kakashi and Zabuza, who were fighting with a sword against a kunai at the moment, looked in shock at the jutsu creature that weren't supposed to go until ordered to.
'Something isn't right.' Zabuza noted as he dodged the shurikens Kakashi had thrown during his split second of dropped guard.
They were both thrown back as a giant column of water rose from the lake without a second warning. It went so high that they couldn't see the top, but they could see what was inside.
A few feet off of the bottom was one Sakura with her eyes closed, then another above her in the same position, then another and so on until there were fourteen of them. Everyone gasped in shock as they all opened their eyes. On the bottom was deep blue eyes, then grey, then peach, then brown, then orange, onyx, yellow, pale green, crimson, red, pink and finally grape purple. All of them placed their hands in a seal none of the men below had seen before.
"Kanjoo jiyuu…nama futago!" They chanted over and over again until they had said it once for each of them. The Sakura's began glowing the same colour as their eyes and the water fell back down, leaving them to hover in the air.
They all exploded into muliticoloured butterflies, just as before, but this time they formed two girls with pink hair. One had her hair cropped around her shoulders and was wearing a black, formal kimono with a white circle on the back and the other had long, flowing hair let down around her ankles, and she was wearing a white formal kimono with a black circle on the back.
The two Sakuras landed on the water, standing on it in the same was Kakashi and Zabuza were, and smiled serenely at all of the people looking at them. Sakura with cropped hair had onyx eyes with white pupils and a black spot in the pupil while the one with long hair had white eyes with a black pupil and a white spot in the middle of the pupil.
"Haruno Isseki Nichoo." They spoke in union, placing their hands in the seal for dragon. A flock of ravens and doves filled the skies and began swirling around Kakashi and Zabuza, cawing and screeching.
"Sakura! It's me, Kakashi! Your sensei!" Kakashi called when he noticed that she was going to attack him too.
Both girls looked at Kakashi and smiled again. At the one in black sent the crows towards Zabuza, the one in white sent Kakashi the doves. He was surrounded by white birds, which then lifted him over to where Naruto, Sasuke and Tazuna were standing.
"What's going on, sensei?" Naruto asked in slight fear as both girls glared at Zabuza and the birds pierced his skin with their beaks and talons.
"I…don't know, Naruto." Kakashi answered, shaking his head slightly.
The birds dispersed and the twins glided across the water towards Zabuza, never once did their bare feet touch the wet surface. The man looked at them, panting from exhaustion and bleeding from the wounds they had previously left behind. They held out their right hands and Zabuza was pushed back into a tree y an invisible force.
"Our counter-parts…the emotions couldn't finish you off." The one in the white kimono stated, sounding like a choir of angles, as she placed her right hand in the sign for the rabbit.
"So now we had to come and take care of it instead." The one in black finished, sounding more like a demon from the pits of hell, as he placed her hand in the sign for the Ox.
"This is your last battle!" They cried together.
Masses of red, white, black, brown, blue, purple and all sorts of other coloured chakra spin around the two, who seemed unaffected by it. Voices chanted words, but not a single letter was heard clearly enough to distinguish what was being said.
The chakra subsided and the girls frowned at Zabuza just as two senbon needles lodged themselves in his neck. He fell to the ground, unmoving and not breathing. They prepared to destroy the new attacker. There was a person stood in the tree. A mask covered their face and their clothing was loose, making it hard to tell whether this was a man or a women. However, team seven and Tazuna just assumed it was a man from the aura he was letting off.
"Hm, you were right. This was his last battle." The voice of this person seemed feminine; despite the fact everyone previously thought that this Androgyny was male, he/she could be either.
Kakashi frowned and jumped towards Zabuza as the twins backed off slightly to give him room. He placed two fingers on Zabuza's neck, feeling for a pulse, and found none. Kakashi sighed and moved his hand over Zabuza's mouth to feel for signs of breathing and them put his hand on the rogue-nin's back, where the heart would be, but found no beat.
"No vital signs." He stated with a sigh. The person who threw the senbon bowed slightly to Kakashi and then gave a lower bow to the twins.
"Thank you." The person said. "I've been tracking Zabuza for a long time; waiting for this chance. To finally take him down."
"By your mask, I can see that you're a tracker ninja from the village hidden in the mist." Kakashi observed. The ninja straightened up and looked at the sensei of team seven.
"Impressive. You're well informed." The tracker stated, their voice cracking like a boy going though puberty.
"A tracker!" Naruto cried, getting into a defensive position.
"You don't even know what that is, Naruto-kun." The twins stated simultaneously, the one in white wearing a smile as the one in black frowned.
"You missed the lesson on it, as usual." Sasuke grunted. "Tracker-nins have a special role. Try coming to class sometime."
"Right, Sasuke-kun. You're very smart." The one in white complimented.
"When a rogue ninja breaks from his village…" The one in black began.
"…They take all kinds of secrets with them." Long-haired Sakura stated.
"Trackers are speciality trained to…"
"…Hunt down these ninja and eliminate them."
"Right, Sasuke-kun?" The girls asked in union. Sasuke turned a tiny shade of pink from the name and nodded.
"You are correct. I am a member of the elite tracking unit of the village hidden in the mist. It was my duty to stop Zabuza. Well, I didn't expect any less from a child of the Haruno family." The ninja congratulated.
'From his size and voice…he must be the same age as Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto. Yet, he's already an elite assassin. He is definitely no ordinary kid, but what is he? Well, I guess I can't really say that after witnessing what Sakura just did.' Kakashi thought, figuring out the gender of the young man.
Naruto ran forwards and growled, looking from the dead Zabuza to the hunter and back again a few times. He kept growling, going over the events in his mind. The boy then looked to the two Sakuras, who were smiling as if death was absolute fine and dandy. His fuse blew and he turned back to the hunter.
"What is this?! Who do you think you are?!" He asked in rage. "Did you hear me?!"
"Easy, Naruto. He's not our enemy." Kakashi told the boy, trying to calm him down a little.
"Huh? That's not the point! Did you see what he did? Just like that, he can go around killing people! It took us all this time to even make Zabuza bleed and he took him down in one move! What does that make us? Are we just little kids?" Naruto cried.
"Calm down." The twins said to him.
"Don't tell me what to do! You are just the same as he is, only I think you kill for fun and not for a job, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled at her. The twins froze in shock.
"Of course we don't kill for fun!" They yelled back.
"You could land loads of hits on Zabuza easily, Sakura-chan! This guy took him down in only one move! I could barely do anything at all! How can I accept that?!" Naruto asked her. The twins sighed and leant back-to-back before both got consumed by silver light and only the normal Sakura stood in their place, her wound from the shuriken still bleeding.
"Even if you never accept it, it still happened, Naruto." Sakura told him with a shrug. She then hissed in pain and held her bleeding side.
"Naruto…in this world there are kids who are younger than you, and yet they are also stronger than me." Kakashi told him, sparing a discrete glance at Sakura, who missed it. Sasuke also looked to Sakura, only to see her swaying slightly.
The man in the tree used a wind current and disappeared, only to reappear next to the fallen body of Zabuza.
"Your struggle is over…for now. I hope that we shall meet again soon, Haruno-san. I must now dispose of the body." The young boy said, gathering Zabuza onto his shoulders. "Farewell." He bid, leaving in a small tornado.
"He disappeared!" Naruto gasped. Kakashi sighed and pulled his Hatei-ate back down over his Sharingan eye. Naruto ran over to where the boy once was and looked around.
"He's gone, Naruto. Let it go." Kakashi told him. Naruto punched the ground repeatedly.
"I can't believe that I was practically useless again! Sakura-chan almost drowned and it was my entire fault! Zabuza almost took her and I wouldn't have been able to stop him! What am I? Just a big failure?!" He asked himself, still pounding the earth below him.
"None of that was your fault, Naruto." Sakura promised him softly. The silver haired sensei of the squad walked over to the orange-clad boy and grabbed his wrist before he could punch the ground again.
"As ninja, the things we encounter are never easy. Save your anger for the next enemy we face." Kakashi told him. He left go of his student and Naruto slumped a little, panting from the energy used up in battle.
"I know." Naruto assured him.
"We haven't completed our mission yet. We still have to get the bridge builder to his bridge." Kakashi told them.
"Hn." Sasuke grunted.
"Heheh! Sorry I caused all this trouble for ya! But, you can rest at my house when we get there." Tazuna laughed.
"All right. Let's get a move on!" Kakashi ordered. He took three steps passed Naruto and froze. His eyes widened a he fell to the ground.
"Sensei! What happened?" Naruto asked in a panic as everyone gathered around the fallen ninja.
"He just…overexerted…himself. He used…too much…chakra." Sakura panted out.
"What about you, girly? You look half dead!" Tazuna commented, seeing her pale skin and weary eyes.
"She's still losing blood!" Sasuke realised.
"I'm…fine…" She coughed out blood and began to fall, but Sasuke caught her before she hit the ground.
"I'll carry Sakura while Naruto, you have to carry Kakashi-sensei. Tazuna-san, hurry up! We need to get them to your house!" Sasuke ordered, taking command. Naruto would have complained about the order of things, but he was too busy worrying about Sakura to make a fuss.
This chapter had been edited for errors. Thanks to akatsuki's hikari for pointing them out :D