Hello my fans! This is the best experience of my life! You have no idea (actually you do) of coming home and seeing your e-mail full of praise for your work. In this chap, you'll see the scope of Naruto's true power, or at least more than he is currently showing. And you can check for my other fic which I graciously gave you the title of after this. Or the other way around. I'm uploading them all at once. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters.

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"Animal Speech."

'Kyuubi Thoughts.'

Kakashi sat in the shadows of a tree and pressed the mike on his neck. "Everyone in position?" Sasuke responded "Yes, I'm at point A." Sakura sounded off "Point B, clear." Naruto put in his own two cents with "Here, and you know I could catch this thing without the cloak and dagger, right?"

Kakashi ignored the comment and said "Commence the capture." All three Genin jumped out of their respective hiding places, going for the frightening shape in the darkness. Sensing their approach, it started to run. Naruto, however, managed to grab the creature's tail. He brought it into the light revealing… a cat.

"We've captured Fluffy. The mission is complete." Naruto was clearly not excited for the mission. "NO! PLEASE, DON'T TAKE ME BACK TO HER! DON'T TAKE ME BACK TO THE NEVER-ENDING SUFFOCATION! DON'T TAKE ME BACK TO MAMA!" Even though only Naruto understood, the cat's distress was evident to everyone.

In its futile attempts to escape, the cat managed to scratch Naruto no Kitsune several times. The greatest ninja Konoha had ever seen was getting more annoyed by the second. It wasn't the cries that annoyed him, nor the cuts, which healed almost instantly. It was the fact that he had been trained non-stop for 8 years in the art of the Shinobi, learning how to kill in the space of a second and gather information right under the enemy's nose. And here he was, recovering an escaped cat, albeit a cat that belonged to the Fire Daimyo's wife. It was maddening.

He repeated his sentiments half an hour later to his adoptive father after watching the rather large pet-owner take back her cat with much weeping and bone-crushing hugging. For the barest instant, Naruto felt sorry for the cat. When she left, Naruto said "Sarutobi-kun, with all due respect, the cat's out of the bag, metaphorically speaking. Everyone knows about my training ever since I joined the team and a certain someone blabbed to everyone. So it seems downright foolish to send a team containing a member that could do SS-rank missions like they're nothing on D-rank missions.

Kakashi had a little giggle. It was only natural he should brag. He had a goddamn Kage-level Genin on his team! Besides, the village deserved to know Naruto's life story, minus what he was. Iruka, on the other hand, who was serving at the mission office for the day, stood up with a look of horror on his face."Naruto, how dare you! I know that the Hokage's your father, but he's still the Hokage."

Sarutobi, meanwhile, was laughing. So loud that the other people in the room assigning and receiving missions stared. Sakura just blushed. Naruto's proclamation just made her that much more hot for him. He, she, and Hinata had been a threesome for 2 weeks now. Though half the times Sakura and Hinata were in perfect sync, almost like they were one girl, the other half they were totally singular. It often led to fights over who had Naruto's attention. But that was just a part of the relationship. Naruto always managed to make the dates heavenly, despite the fact most people stare at three people going on one date.

Both sets of parents had given their consent, though Hinata's dad had been a tough sell. Only the fact that Naruto was technically a Namikaze as well as the adoptive son of the Sandaime had convinced him in the end. Sakura's parents just took the news and said nothing more. Sakura secretly suspected that they were using her like a probe to find out Naruto's behavior, and she knew exactly why. Naruto always gave her and Hinata a kiss on the cheek at the end of each date, and she always saw the lovely red fur and ticklish whiskers. She had come to find the feeling of fangs on her skin to be a wonderful sensation.

Sakura was snapped out of her musings by Sarutobi's laughter coming to an end. "I can't deny that. Very well Naruto, I'll give you a higher mission. But since not all of your squad has been trained from the age of 4 by Konoha's best of the best, it's only a C-rank." The aging leader held up a scroll, while Iruka looked him like he had said "Thank you," to someone calling him a two-faced dog. Naruto gave a shrug. "I can live with that." In the semi-privacy of his mind, Kyuubi added 'Better that nothing, kit.'

"This is an escort mission. You will protect a bridge-builder on his way back home to the Land of Waves." Sasuke, who was just as bored as Naruto at D-ranks, was suddenly thrilled at the prospect of beating up ninja. "Of course, you're only expected to come across some bandits or thieves." At that moment, only Sasuke's respect for Naruto held him back from a retort. But if Naruto could live with it, than so could Sasuke.

"You can come in now," Sarutobi said in a louder voice. The doors behind them opened and Team 7 came face to face (or hood) with their charge. An aging man with a sun hat, working robes, and the smell of alcohol was the sight they beheld. "These are my ninja? They're just runts! That guy in the cloak looks suspicious, the duck-butt looks like he's a wimp and the girl is a girl! I'm Tazuna, the master bridge-builder, and I demand ninja, not kids!" The sake in his blood system caused him to slur his words, but the insult was perfectly clear. Naruto had to hold back Sakura while Kakashi held back Sasuke.

"I advise you not to insult my friends. I might get mad myself." Naruto no Kitsune stared at Tazuna the bridge-builder and he just taunted the half-demon. "What are you gonna do about it? You're just a kid." In the blink of an eye, Naruto was behind Tazuna. In the time it took everyone to register that thought, a cut appeared on Tazuna's arm. "That's also what I would do to the enemy, only a thousand-fold." Tazuna chose that moment to shut up.

The next morning, everyone assembled at the gates out of Konoha. Hinata came to wish them good luck. "Don't get hurt out there." "You know I won't." Hinata gave him a little kiss on his cheek for luck. She then took off before anyone could say anything else. "Okay, let's get going." Kakashi took point while Team 7 brought up the rear with Tazuna in the middle.

It was a very sunny day, so everyone didn't bother to break the silence. Tazuna, now sober, looked just a touch worried. "What's wrong Tazuna-san?" Sakura asked. "Oh, nothing, just wondering how my family's doing." The silence returned. After a while, they came across a puddle. Naruto and Kakashi were instantly alert. To keep up the cover, Naruto said "Hey Sasuke? I have a confession about our fight. Even though I removed my weights, I still held back." Sasuke looked unsurprised. "Considering what you did to Mizuki on the spur of the moment, I'm not surprised."

By this time they had passed the puddle. Two Kiri ninja, with strange masks and a claw with a chain that connected them, jumped out of the puddle, going for Kakashi. Naruto instantly reacted. He killed the one closest to him with a simple thrust through the heart, and then used his momentum to throw the body in such a way to chain the second ninja with his own chain. This all took the space of two seconds.

Comprehension was soon to dawn on everyone else. Naruto told the worried Sakura "I'm fine, really." Sasuke and Kakashi went to check on the Oni Brothers, for that was what they were. The surviving brother was going crazy both from the death of his brother and the pain of the spiked chain, so the answers they got from their questions. "Who were they after, you?" Sasuke asked Kakashi. "No," Kakashi turned and pointed at Tazuna. "They were after him."

Tazuna's looked of guilt proved Kakashi's statement. "We were hired to guard you against the normal riff-raff. If you expected ninja to come after you, you should have hired a B-, or even an A-rank mission. You've gone behind Konoha's back. What have you to say?"

Tazuna took a moment to compose him. "My country has been monopolized by Gato for a while now. He may show a thriving shipping industry to the world at large, but he himself is a man who surrounds himself with an army of hired thugs to carry out his dirty work. My country is an island nation, so the only way to get goods is to pay his usurious prices. My bridge would connect us to the mainland, negating his power, so that's why he sent those ninja after me. My country is so poor that even a C-rank would devastate our savings. That's why I couldn't hire a B- or A-rank mission."

There was silence while Kakashi thought it over. 'This same thing happens all the time in hell; don't hold it against him.' Naruto took Kyuubi's words to heart. "We can't very well go back now can we. Far be it from Konoha to deny a country's salvation." With that remark, he started back up the path. Everyone followed, even Kakashi. Some people you just follow despite your rank. Tazuna had a look of immense relief on his face.

During the boat ride into the Land of Waves, everyone got a look at Tazuna's humongous bridge. Sakura almost broke the silence, but a hand on her shoulder from Naruto stayed her tongue. When they got off, Tazuna thanked the boatman. "Just save our country," was all he said.

After a while, the mist cleared and Naruto heard something. "I don't like the sun. Why did master Zabuza have to let me out here?" These complaints put Naruto on alert. He checked the bush from whence the voice came to find a snow rabbit. That and the message from earlier meant that the spinning sword headed their way didn't surprise him. "Everyone duck!" The urgency in Naruto's voice caused everyone to do so immediately. None too soon. They one and all heard the whistle of the sword as it passed.

The 6-foot long cleaver embedded itself in a tree. In a second, there was a man standing on it. A man with bandages covering his mouth, leg and arm warmers, and a bare chest. "Well, well, it seems one of you brats isn't as dumb as you look." Kakashi and Naruto said in perfect unison "Zabuza Momochi, I presume."

Said criminal laughed. "I'm honored that the famous Copy-nin Kakashi Hatake would know my name. I'm eager to see that Sharingan eye of yours." Sasuke looked bewildered. 'The Sharingan is a kekkai genkai that only is found in the Uchiha clan. How could Kakashi-sensei have it?' "I would love to bring down the man who killed his entire academy class at the age of 12, but I believe that I should let Naruto have the honor."

Zabuza looked down on the cloaked boy. "I could take him down in a second flat. I'm Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist." Naruto responded in kind. "And I'm Naruto no Kitsune, the Ultimate Protector of Konohagakure." Zabuza chuckled. "We'll see if you deserved to be called that after your dead." Zabuza and his sword disappeared and reappeared before them, with his hands in his favorite seal. "Hidden Mist Jutsu!" They were covered in a thick mist in seconds. Naruto countered by releasing enough chakra to blow it all completely away.

Zabuza looked shocked. "How could you do that?" Naruto gave an evil grin, which was felt by everyone in the vicinity. "You haven't seen anything yet." Naruto threw his arms to his sides. Tan weights flew out and destroyed all the trees in their path. His legs got the same treatment. "Now, let's begin." Naruto rushed forward, his hand on a direct path for Zabuza's neck. Only pure reflex brought the sword up in time. 'Shit. This kid is fast. And strong.' The last was thought when Zabuza's arm quivered from trying to arrest Naruto's momentum.

Zabuza quickly recovered and pushed Naruto back with his blade. He followed up by stabbing his opponent through the chest. For a split second, Sakura's heart stopped. Then Naruto's body dissolved into water. "A water clone?" Zabuza turned around just in time to see Naruto with his hand's going through rapid-fire seals. He was doing them so fast Zabuza could only get the barest gist of a… claw? This all lasted half a second. Then Naruto cried out "Water Style: Tsunami Jutsu!"

Zabuza couldn't believe his eyes as a giant wall of water appeared. He couldn't believe it when it hit him dead on, carrying him tumbling hundreds of feet back. He was only saved when he hit a sturdy tree that didn't capsize like the hundreds before it. Eventually, the water drained away, leaving Zabuza half unconscious leaning on the tree. Naruto was standing in front of him. "Who… what are you?" Naruto prepared his hand for the killing blow as his teammates and Tazuna rushed toward them. "I'm your doom." Before the blow was dealt, Naruto dodged the senbon that were rushing toward his target. They hit the neck, and Zabuza finally closed his eyes.

Naruto looked up at a tree to see a hunter-nin from Kirigakure. He looked to be about his age, though only Naruto's nose was able to tell it was a boy. "Thank you. If you hadn't come in, that would have been difficult." Sasuke looked up at the ambiguity. "Who are you?" Naruto, as always, answered the question before the hunter-nin could. "He's a hunter-nin from Kirigakure. They hunt down missing-nin so that the secrets of their village are not found out by others."

The boy nodded, his face covered by a mask, and jumped down to pick Zabuza up. "You have my gratitude." The boy than took off. Naruto disappeared as well. Before anyone could question what happened, Zabuza and his "killer" fell on the ground with Naruto standing over them. "You're not a hunter-nin. You work for Zabuza." Naruto wasn't asking, he was stating it as if it were pure fact, which it was. "Yes, my name is Haku. Zabuza is my master. I would give my life for him." So saying, Haku removed his mask so everyone could see the look of conviction on his face.

"How did you know?" Kakashi was subtly making sure the pair wouldn't escape, and an explanation would distract them from his preparations. "One reason was the senbon. They pierced a part of the neck where, hit properly, someone would enter a state of half-death, perfectly mistakable for the real thing. Another reason was the fact that a hunter-nin exhumes a corpse right then and there, and Haku here took off. Finally, Haku has a kekkai genkai and we all know how much Kiri despises those."

Haku looked up in surprise. "How did you know of my kekkai genkai?" Naruto allowed himself a smug smile. "My nose is several times stronger than a normal one by itself. By focusing chakra to it, I can know everything about someone merely by their scent: their gender, bathing habits… and blood type. Since 'kekkai genkai' literally means 'bloodline limit', I knew your blood's unique scent was the result of this."

Haku nodded, and then frowned. "Wait a minute. How did you catch me? The human eye cannot track my movements." This wasn't a boast, but a statement. "My other senses are just as powerful as my nose, so I was able to see you. Besides, when my weights are off, not even the Sharingan can track my movements. Quite frankly I'm surprised Zabuza could react so fast. Now, we'll discuss matters when Zabuza awakes, and I'd prefer that to be in Tazuna's house." So saying, Naruto went through some hand seals. He was done in a tenth of a second. "Ninja Art: Mass Teleportation Jutsu."

Suddenly, everyone felt like pins and needles were covering every inch of their skin. At the same time there appeared to be a heat haze so dense that you couldn't see your hand clearly when it was an inch from your face. Just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. They found themselves right outside Tazuna's front door. "Kid, I'll never insult you again." Tazuna opened the door.

Zabuza slowly regained consciousness. Recalling what happened, he sat up in a flash. His body started to complain fiercely. "Slow down Zabuza-kun. You don't want to hurt yourself." Zabuza turned to see Haku in an unfamiliar doorway. "Haku, where are we? This isn't the hideout!" "No, it's the bridge-builder's house. Naruto-kun brought us here." Zabuza suddenly looked wary. "What's with the kun?"

Haku gave his innocent laugh. "Considering he spared your life even after he caught me while I fled, I feel the kun is well deserved. Despite his power, he has a good heart." Haku left while Zabuza tried to process this information. He soon reappeared, along with Kakashi's team, the bridge-builder, and his family. "So, Naruto was if? Are you here to offer me a last request?"

Naruto, who was standing very near, shook his head. "No, no, no. Nothing of the kind. I'm offering you amnesty." Zabuza and Haku were silent as the grave. Finally, Zabuza asked "What?" "I'm offering you the position of Jonin of Konohagakure. All your past wrongs would be pardoned."

"How can you guarantee this? And how do I know you won't just throw me in prison?" Naruto chuckled. "Well, since I'm the adoptive son of the current Hokage as well as holding most of the council's respect, I think I can guarantee it. Think about it. No more running. No more fearing for your life. Just you, serving as a ninja in a different village."

Zabuza chewed it over for a while, while the rest of the company remained silent. Seeing his doubt, Naruto added "If you won't do it for yourself, do it for Haku-kun. He thinks of himself as your tool, but do you really want this life for him? He would be given the same treatment as you."

This last part seemed to really strike a chord in Zabuza. Truth be told, he did care for Haku. "Fine, I'm in. But I should warn you, I might bring some unwanted attention to Konoha." Naruto shrugged, as if the matter was of no concern. "As soon as Tazuna finishes the bridge, we're off."

That night, Kyuubi took their body out into the woods. When he was sure they were not followed, he spoke. 'Kit, I've been thinking. If you hadn't made that clone, you would have died. I think it's time you earned some of your inheritance.' 'My inheritance?' 'As you know, I'm head of the Kitsune clan. Which, given our merge, makes you the head too. Therefore, you have access to all my treasures. Among them is a--''—Sword?' 'Yes. Now, do the demon summoning jutsu. Just add the demon seal to the beginning.'

Naruto complied with Kyuubi's wishes. He let blood come through the claw on his thumb, did the seal known only to demon kind, and then did the normal summoning jutsu. The instant he formed the last seal, a burst of flame shot up near his hand. When if cleared, a pitch black scabbard with a sword in it was floating near his hand. Naruto grabbed it reverently and pulled out the very long sword. The blade itself was blood-red down the center, with deep violet surrounding it like a shell. The hilt was silver and carved with demonic symbols, with a large ruby in the pommel. Though it should have weighed 5 or 6 pounds, it was light as a feather.

'Kit, say hello to Blood Fire. It will never break. The red part focuses chakra, so it's denser, while the violet part amplifies it. Basically, pour some juice into this and it comes out twice as strong.' Naruto experimentally poured some chakra into the blade, and flames that inverted the sword's colors (deep violet tinged with of blood-red) covered it instantly. Naruto found that he could control the flames like regular chakra.

Naruto put it back in its scabbard and let it go. It disappeared as it had appeared: in a burst of flame. The next day, Zabuza shared some info around the breakfast that Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, had prepared. "If I don't return within the week, Gato's probably going to just storm this place with everything he's got. They'll just be thugs, since I was his only ninja, but even that might be a challenge. He's got a village worth."

A sob broke out of Tazuna's grandson, Inari. "Why do you go up against Gato? He'll just kill you! You might think you're heroes, but you're not! There's no such thing!" Crying now, he left the room. There was silence, while Naruto heard Inari crying "Daddy, why did you have to die?" After a moment, Kakashi got up. "Sasuke, Sakura, I'm going to give you some training. Naruto, you train on your own."

After they had left, Naruto asked Zabuza "Can you train me in kinjutsu?" Zabuza looked surprised, but said he would. The healing herbs Haku and Naruto had found had almost doubled his recovery rate, meaning that Zabuza was only slightly breathing hard after carrying his sword to a secluded spot.

Zabuza showed much interest in Blood Fire when Naruto summoned it. "This was done by a master," was all he said though. Naruto was looking forward to the training, as the sword was the only weapon that Asuma didn't teach him to use. "Now, I want you to do 1000 slashes up, 1000 slashes down, 1000 slashes to the right, and 1000 slashes to the left. Then we'll have a light spar." If Naruto hadn't gone through equally sadistic training with Gai, he would have blown his top.

For the next hour, Naruto fulfilled the exercises Zabuza had him do. If it wasn't for the light weight of the weapon, it would have taken twice as long. When he was done, He faced Zabuza. With Naruto's weights on, his speed, though still impressive, was a fraction of what it had been earlier, so they were pretty well matched. Near the end, Naruto channeled chakra through Blood Fire, and spun Zabuza's sword out of his hand while the flames encircled him.

Zabuza clapped. "Well done. Even before the flames. You must have had extensive training with other weapons to be such a natural." Naruto laughed at this. They had a quick drink and went back to the house, the sky now dark since their fight took so long.

Sakura looked peachy, while Sasuke looked bruised and irritable. "He had you climb trees without hands?" Sakura gave a nod with a grin on her face, while Sasuke still sulked.

The rest of the week passed in a similar fashion. The night before Zabuza's week was up, Naruto spoke to Inari. Over the week, Naruto had found out the story of Inari's father from hearing him cry as well as asking around the village. "You know, heroes are real. We will beat Gato. You think we'll die, but we won't. And you know something. I don't think you're dad would appreciate you just crying over his death instead of fighting back and helping your grandfather."

Inari looked at him for a long moment, his eyes watery. "I know that, but it's a bit hard to do when you're going against someone who's invincible." "So try harder." The solution was so simple that Inari almost laughed at it. He ate his dinner and went to bed, thinking on how his dad always said to 'protect what you love with both your arms.'

The next day, Tazuna, Zabuza, Haku, and Team 7 were greeted at the bridge by Gato's smug face in front of an army of thugs. Since Naruto had left a clone at Tazuna's in case a scout force came, all their worry was for themselves. "Well, well, Zabuza. I see you have betrayed me." Zabuza called out to the dwarf "You were going to betray me anyway, so I decided to beat you to the punch. Plus, they make a convincing offer."

Gato laughed, seeming to think he was invulnerable. "In case that happened, I had a back-up plan. I found another one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Found him just wandering around with some weird cloak with his buddy. Both of them agreed to come." He directed their attention to a pair standing near the railing. A pair with black cloaks with red clouds. A pair that consisted of Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha. "Hello, Sasuke." Itachi said with a grin on his face.

Bet you didn't see that coming! I know I planned to reveal this along with 'Naruto of the High Seas' but it' been so long since I updated that I wanted to release this ASAP. Review and return.