"It's huge! Naruto exclaimed loudly as they (not so) quietly (anymore) drifted near a bridge under construction in our small boat.
"Quiet!" Their guide hissed. "We're travelling with the motor turned off with a reason. I'm trying to get you guys into the village without being noticed."
Naruto quickly slammed his hands over his mouth, ducking his head down in embarrassment.
A brief glance was shared between Shizuka and Sasuke out of the corners of their eyes from where they were perched next to each other on the front of the boat and the corners of Shizuka's mouth pulled up.
"Tazuna-san." Kakashi spoke behind them in a steely voice. "Before the boat reached the pier, I need to ask something of you. "You will tell us the identity of those after you and why you're a target. If you refuse to do so, I can and will call the mission off when you reach the shore."
Shizuka craned her neck to pay closer attention to the showdown.
Tazuna was silent for several moments as his eyes flickered between Kakashi, the bridge and the three genin. Eventually, he let out a deep breath and his shoulders slumped down. Most likely he realized that he didn't have much of real choice.
"The one who is after me is a small man who casts a large and above all deadly shadow. I'm sure you've heard of his name at least. He's one of the richest men around. His name is Gato, owner of Gato Transport."
The older man paused for a second, perhaps for dramatic effect. Unfortunately, Shizuka had never heard of a Gato before so the moment of drama was lost on her. Kakashi however took the cue.
"Gato?" He repeated as his eye widened.
"Yes, he is an exceedingly powerful man." Tazuna continued, a grim edge to his tone. "Underneath the front of Gato Transport, he uses gangs and shinobi to sell drugs and contraband. He first set his sights on the land of Waves a bit over a year ago. He fully controls all transport to and from the island and anyone who tries to do anything about it disappears."
Then why was he authorizing the building of a bridge?
"The one thing he fears, however, is the bridge I'm building. It will connect us to the mainland and break the control he has over us. That's why he's been sending shinobi after me."
That explained one thing. Shizuka regarded the bridge once more. It was a looming structure that seemed about three quarters finished. Wouldn't it have been easier for this Gato to destroy it as it is than to send several unsuccessful assassins after the builder if he was so scared of its completion? He certainly sounded like he'd have the means to get it done.
"So those guys back on the shore worked for Gato." Sasuke stated bluntly.
"I don't understand something though." Kakashi interjected. "If you knew all along how dangerous this was, why didn't you say so from the start?"
"The land of waves is not exactly a rich village." Tazuna admitted as he fiddled with his hands. "A B or A rank mission would have been unaffordable for us. If you end the mission when you drop me off at the pier, there will be no bridge and I will surely be dead before I arrive home..."
Shizuka pursed her lips. She understood very well why the man had done what he'd done but it still didn't sit with right with her. He was deliberately trying to guilt trip them into putting their own lives at risk, fully aware that he would likely be sending them to a very early grave. Would he have even said anything if Kakashi hadn't noticed something fishy?
She glanced over at Sasuke surreptiously. Was she ready to put not only her own but also her newfound cousin's life at risk for an unknown village? Could she really handle losing him too?
"But don't feel bad about it or anything." Tazuna droned on with all the tact of a bulldozer. "Sure, my little grandson will cry for his beloved grandpa, but surely he'll get over that. And of course my daughter will despise the shinobi of Konoha and blame you for my death, living the rest of her life in misery. But no worries, it won't be your fault!"
The man was laying it on thick and it irked Shizuka endlessly. The man was selfish in Shizuka's opinion, for putting the weight of an entire village's future on a bunch of naïve kids, because they were only twelve let's not forget.
A look at Naruto confirmed that this whole charade was having its desired effects. The blonde wore a determined scowl on his face as he regarded Tazuna with glassy eyes, sniffing quietly.
"Of course we'll continue the mission!"
"Fine." Kakashi eventually agrees because of reasons unknown.
"Oh, much obliged." A self satisfied smirk sat on Tazuna's face.
Hell would freeze over before she would let any of her teammate's die protecting this old sack of meat.
The boat driver waved in a silent goodbye after letting them off at the shore line as he turned on the motor and sped away until he was no longer visible through the thickening mist.
"All right." Tazuna spoke, gaze flitting over us one by one. "Take me home. In one piece if you please."
Shizuka glared daggers at the man as they started walking again. The fog grew thinner the further they moved away from the water and into a forest.
"There!"
She nearly jumped into the air as Naruto suddenly flung a kunai into the foliage. Her right hand immediately found the familiar hilt of a kunai as she sunk down into a defensive position on Tazuna's left side. Her eyes scanned the area where the kunai had landed, waiting for something to jump out at them.
Likewise, Sasuke had moved into a similar battle stance on the bridge builder's other side with a determined scowl. Even Kakashi had closed his book.
"Never mind, it's nothing." Naruto called out cheerily after several tense moments.
Shizuka let out a huff as the tension left her muscles and she put her kunai back in its holster.
"You're an idiot." Sasuke said helpfully.
"Ah Naruto, those are sharp you know. Please be more careful." Kakashi spoke as he observed the boy hopping over to retrieve his kunai.
A meager five minutes later Shizuka nearly received a heart attack as the blonde sent a kunai towards a thick oak tree, very nearly missing her face as it whizzed by and eventually struck true in the oak tree (which was very much not an enemy).
"Must have been the wind." He chuckled uncomfortably as he was hit by the full force of Shizuka's seething glare.
When a kunai went zooming into the bushes for the fourth time, the only effect was that four people shot severely annoyed looks at the blonde. If looks could kill, he would have been 24 feet under already no doubt
The indignant scowl on Shizuka's face dropped slightly as a small white bunny hopped out of the dense foliage. At least this time there had actually been something near the kunai's destination.
Naruto and his too big conscience quickly scooped up the fluffy creature as he hugged it tightly, rocking back and forth frantically.
"I'm so sorry mr. rabbit!" He blubbered.
From the corner of her eye she noticed her sensei tucking his book away as he stared at the bunny with a narrowed eye.
His apparent wariness put her on edge as her eyes flitted between Kakashi and the white animal.
It's just a normal bunny?
"Duck!" The man suddenly shouted before tackling their client to the ground.
Before she had even processed the command, Sasuke threw himself at her, effectively making the pair smack down onto the unforgiving floor into a tangle of limbs. Shizuka looked on with wide eyes as a gigantic blade cleaved through the air right where her head had been a fraction of a second before before embedding itself into a tree trunk with a resounding thud.
A pained groan escaped her lips as her cousin's elbow dug painfully into her back. This luckily spurred the boy back into action as he swiftly pulled himself upright before not so gently yanking her off of the ground and pushing her slightly behind him.
What a gentleman.
Finally focusing on what was actually important, namely the attempt at decapitating her and her team, she dragged her eyes up to where a man was balancing on the hilt of the absolutely ridiculously sized sword. The man wore a set of bandages around the lower half of his face and had seemingly forgotten his shirt at home, allowing them all (but probably just Shizuka) to gawk at his lean physique. The forehead protector he wore was graced with a scratched out Kirigakure symbol.
A rogue nin then.
"Well, if it isn't Momochi Zabuza." Kakashi drawled with a façade of nonchalance. "Exiled shinobi of Kirigakure."
Shizuka uncertainly moved closer to Tazuna, pulling out a kunai as she did so.
Naruto on the other hand went for the more direct approach, launching himself at the enemy with a very unshinobi-like battle cry, only to be caught by the scruff of his jacket and roughly yanked back by his sensei.
"You're in the way Naruto." Kakashi eyed Zabuza warily. "Stay back, this guy is completely different from the ones we saw before. If he's our enemy, I can't win like this."
He slowly lifted his hand towards the forehead protector that covered his eye, pulling it up to reveal a bright red eye adorned with three black comma-shaped flecks that slowly spun around the pupil.
Somehow Shizuka had assumed the man to be blind in that eye instead.
"I'm guessing you are Kakashi of the Sharingan." Zabuza stated menacingly. "I'm sorry but I'll need you to hand over the old geezer."
Her head whipped over to Sasuke so fast that it was a miracle she didn't pull a muscle. The boy flinched violently with an uncharacteristic show of emotion.
Though she hadn't ever been brave enough to ask Sasuke about it, she had spent enough time at the academy to have caught some of the gossip surrounding the fallen Uchiha clan and their crazy powerful kekkei genkai.
So how did a non-Uchiha like their sensei come to possess a Sharingan for himself?
"Everyone, into manji formation. Protect Tazuna-san and don't even think about interfering with the battle." Kakashi ordered quietly.
"I'm honored that I get to see the infamous Sharingan up close." Zabuza said and she swore she could see his lips pull up into a lazy smirk underneath the bandages.
"Sharingan? What is it?" Naruto demanded.
"Sharingan... a powerful doujutsu." Sasuke pushed out through gritted teeth, knuckles tightening around his raised kunai until they turned white. "It can see through all genjutsu, taijutsu and ninjutsu and cancel their effects. Though that's not the only ability the Sharingan possesses."
"Correct, that isn't all." Zabuza interjected. "The scary part is that the Sharingan can understand how an opponent's technique works and copy it by merely observing it. When I was in Kiri's assassination squad, your information was in my bingo book. It also noted this: 'The man who copied more than 1000 techniques, Kakashi the copycat ninja.' "
More than thousand?
Shizuka's eyes flicked back to her sensei to stare at him with a mixture of shock and awe. She had more or less suspected that Kakashi was strong, with his constant façade of nonchalance mismatched with the dangerously alert look that sometimes gleamed in his single visible eye, but clearly he had been holding out on them.
"Hence, that's why in order to complete my objective, I will have to kill you first."
Zabuza disappeared from view, and then instantly reappeared again standing on water several meters away. After performing a slew of inhumanly fast hand seals, the team was enshrouded in a thick cloud of mist.
"Eight points. Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular vein, collarbone, kidney and heart. Now, which vital organ do you want to get struck at?" Zabuza said, voice echoing around like it came from several directions at once.
With a single hand seal, Kakashi started leaking heavy chakra around the area. Shizuka flinched as it fizzled over her skin and made the hairs on her arm stand up. It felt like lightning rolled over her figure and she got the sudden distinct feeling that she was outclassed. Like prey that stands eye to eye with an apex predator.
A glance to the side showed Sasuke starting to tremble with fear. He shakily raised his kunai above his thigh. Before he could bring the sharp weapon down onto his own skin, she grabbed his wrist tightly in her own trembling hand.
Deep blue made contact with obsidian as Shizuka subtly shook her head before relinquishing her hold on her cousin's wrist.
Suddenly Zabuza appeared between the four of them, sword raised ready to strike straight through Tazuna's midriff. Just before he could go in for the kill, Kakashi jumped in front of him, stabbing a kunai into his chest. Instead of blood, a steady stream of water poured out of the wound as his body became completely liquid.
Not giving Kakashi the time to react, another Zabuza flashed behind their sensei and cleaved Kakashi clean in half, only for the jounin's body to dissolve into water as well. Had he already copied this technique this quickly?
"This is the end."