an:/ SLOW UPDATE, SORRY! As I was gonna say: Dear god, did someone just ask me to make this a naruhina? *flabbergasted* w-w-what! This is a narusaku! How could you! Hahaha jk jk but seriously, I'll write a Naruhina fic maybe but not this story. It's already been decided! The gears have been kicked into motion in the last chapter! It's too late! Now as for the alias. A lot of good ideas! I couldn't really pick one so I decided a compromise. You'll find out what it is! Thanks for all your input! Maybe I'll ask for more input in future chapters? Anyways. Let's a go! Wait, I already used that! Ikimasu ka?
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"Oi, Ruto-sensei. Will we ever get something other than yard work? These D-ranks are getting boring!"
"Shut up, loser." But he's right.
"Now now, children-"
"YOU'RE THE SAME AGE!"
"Tsk- Now now genin...better?"
"You just piss me off to no end"
"That's my job, Konohamaru."
Team 7 had just completed their 20th mission this afternoon. For the past three weeks, Team 7 has been training hard with their new sensei, Ruto. During this time, Team 7 had decided to make a game (to improve teamwork, they say) called, "What the hell is under that freaking mask". Not much of a name, but a hell of a fun game. Team 7 has been trying to find out what their sensei really looks like. They've asked their hokage, they've asked Hatake Kakashi, they've asked the Reno guy. However, everyone seemed to be very vague with their answers.
Oh, he's just a teammate
A very good student
An excellent shinobi, with good record, and extraordinary performance.
Aside from complimenting the damn jounin, they have said nothing to Team 7 that could reveal the identity of their sensei. Then they took matters into their own hands. Every day, after Mission and/or Training, the team would eat at a restaurant. During this time, Team 7 would formulate plans to make Ruto-sensei take off his mask. Three weeks of planning, three weeks of failure, not one glimpse of any part of the face. You couldn't even see his eyes when you look through the mask up close, so eye color recognition was out of the question. It was like a real anbu mask. The whole, incognito look too it. Sensei even had chakra suppressors! Talk about not really wanting to be known.
"Nee, sensei...why can't we get a c-rank!"
"Well, Konohamaru, you're just not ready"
"If I knew who you were, I would hunt you down until you gave us a c-rank"
"That's one of the reasons why I wear a mask."
"Damn you, Ruto-yaro!"
"Please stop, Konohamaru-kun. Ruto-sensei doesn't think we're ready, so let's be patient"
"How can you stand up for that guy, Sakura-chan? He's hindering our excellence!"
"He's Ruto-sensei! Of course we have to stand up for him!" CHA! HE'S SO MUCH COOLER THAN YOU'LL EVER BE ANYWAYS!
"Hn, Shut up, Loser."
"NOT YOU TOO, SASUKE!"
Naruto sighed before turning heels. He needed to talk to Tou-san about c-rank. He was also a bit bored out of his mind. He kind of saw why all the jounin were panicking on the day of the selections. Every freaking day, I have to watch these three bicker as they pull grass. This is not what I expected from a Jounin job. Naruto sighed again and sauntered away, followed by an inwardly squealing fangirl (at how he walked), an emo, and a hyperactive squirrel.
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"Hokage-sama, Team 7 requests another D-"
"NOPE!"
Everyone looked at Konohamaru, shocked. Not only was he scowling like a child throwing a tantrum, but he interrupted Naruto when talking to Hokage about official business. Konohamaru started again.
"I've had it with all these stupid d-ranks. Puh-lease! We're so above that! Come on, Ruto-sensei! I'm sure you think so too."
Naruto sweatdropped. Shut it kid. If you don't stop, I'm gonna get the heat for your actions, not only as a jounin but as a child!
"All we've been doing, Ruto-sensei, Is training and garden work! And if I have to catch Tora, that stupid cat, one more freaking time, I'm gonna flip a shit!"
Naruto tensed. That little shit just cursed in front of the Hokage, my dad!?
"I will not-"
"Enough Sarutobi"
Not that you could actually see Naruto's face, but the mask just made it worse. Naruto glared at Konohamaru, silently daring him to say anymore.
"I will not have you behave that way in the Hokage tower. If you want to rant about how tough genin life is, I suggest you take it back to academy where pampering is okay. Now shut it."
The room went silent after Naruto's scolding. Naruto shifted a bit before turning to the Hokage.
"As I was saying, we will take another d-"
"I think loser's right..."
Naruto rigidly turned to Sasuke with a tick mark on his head. With his teeth clenched, he hissed.
"Is-this-in-sub-ord-in-a-tion, little twerps?"
The three genin flinched. Sakura, as much of a (new) fangirl as she was to sensei, she didn't want another d-rank. She knew the chuunin exams were soon, c-rank would get them the experience they need.
"R-Ruto-sensei. If we take a c-rank, it will give us the experience and finish the requirement needed to participate in the upcoming Chuunin-exams..."
Sasuke and Konohamaru flinched. They totally forgot about the chuunin exams! Minato smiled at the reasoning. And Naruto frowned because he was hoping Sakura wouldn't catch on to that, but hey-she wasn't booksmart for nothing.
"Urg. Fine. Hokage-sama, C-rank please."
"YES! I KNEW YOU WOULD PULL THROUGH!"
Naruto pulled out a kage bunshin which appeared behind Konohamaru. The bunshin grabbed Konohamaru into a headlock then dragged him to the window before chucking him out. A loud crash was heard as Konohamaru made contact with the ground. Naruto puffed his chest out, brushed his hands, then looked at the other genin.
"Any other objections or comments?"
The genin shook their heads earnestly.
"Good. Get Konohamaru out of the ground and bring him to training grounds three. Hokage-sama-"
Naruto promptly bowed to Minato, who was still smirking at the interaction of Team 7. Naruto flashed away, leaving the two other genin to fetch Konohamaru.
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"Ne- Ruto-sensei, why don't you ever take off that mask? It's not like we're in enemy territory and you aren't even on an ANBU mission!"
"I will do no such thing. Besides, I don't want you to know who I am"
"Why not!"
"Because, you lot won't be so happy as to who is teaching you."
"I KNEW OUR TEACHER WAS BAD-"
Naruto delivered a swift smack to the back of Konohamaru's head before turning back to Sakura.
"There are lots of advantages to having your identity a secret. One of them being, I can smack the third hokage's honorable grandson and the councilmen can't do anything since they don't know who I am!"
"So that's why you keep hitting me! Do you have something against the third or something?"
"No, just you."
"Asshole"
"What was that, Ko-no-ha-ma-ru-kun~"
"N-nothing, Ruto-sensei"
"Good. Now as Sakura so pleasantly brought up-"
Sakura cringed a bit.
"-the chuunin exams will be in, hm, nine months? Plenty of time to go to c-ranks and train. Speaking of training, Genin, 25 laps around the village-"
"What."
"Snap to it, twerps."
"Can't you teach us anything of use?"
"After the laps~"
Naruto said in a sing-songy voice. With that, he skipped away and jumped to the trees. The three genin started their laps. Konohamaru burned out after the first 15 (from sprinting). Sakura was already falling behind but she did say she was lacking in the physical department. It wasn't that bad though, so she was still pretty good for her age. Sasuke, however, was on a different planet. He was so damn smug about being able to run one lap ahead of Konohamaru. If Naruto was running with them, he would probably be already done. No bragging, just facts. Naruto was well known among (his fellow graduates) the chuunin and jounin for being a stamina freak, a chakra monster, and one fast motherfu-ehm dude. Not that they knew he was a Jinchuuriki, but the Uzumaki and Namikaze blood covered for him.
Naruto, sadly, pulled out a book, a peculiar orange book. Naruto read the little perverted book almost like Kakashi, every freaking day. Four years with Jiraiya...changed him. A lot. He couldn't show his mom because of the fear of losing something important to him. And if he showed his dad, though understanding, Minato would probably tell Naruto to stop the behavior in fear that Kushina would find out. Naruto's attention was snapped away from his book when he a fist flew at his face. He quickly dodged and looked at the assailant.
"What do you want, Sasuke"
"Wha- how did you see the fist? Weren't you reading?"
"I'm a jounin"
"Che- I'm not buying it. You're the same age as me, damn it. If anything, I should be a jounin at 12. Not some nobody like you."
Naruto frowned and was about to retaliate when Konohamaru interrupted the encounter.
"Ne- Ruto-Sensei, can you teach us something now?"
"Fine."
"ALRIGHT~!"
"Tree-climbing"
"WHAT! I can climb trees perfectly!"
"Let me rephrase that, tree-walking. You walk up trees with only your foot."
"And how the hell are we suppose to do that, Ruto-sensei?"
"Gather chakra at your feet, put too much and blow yourself off the bark, put too little and it won't stick. Here's a kunai to mark your progress. Until you complete it, don't bother me."
"Shouldn't you help us?"
"It's all about teamwork. That's all I'm gonna say."
The three genin looked at Naruto strangely, acquiescently taking the kunai from Naruto. Each genin took off to find a good tree to "climb".
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"Sensei! I'm done!"
"Oh, that's good, Sakura"
Naruto looked at the other two genin who were still climbing. Thanks to Sakura's smaller chakra pool, she was able to control her chakra easily. This wasn't so much the same for Konohamaru and Sasuke. Thankfully, Konohamaru had asked Sakura for help when he realized Sakura had already gotten the theory and practice down. He was almost at the top. At least he got the whole teamwork thing down. Naruto's gaze then fell on the Uchiha. He swore. The arrogance of these people. Sasuke was one thirds of the way up. Sasuke had refused any help, even when practically handed to him on a silver platter. Sakura had actually gone up to him and asked if he needed any assistance. He rudely rejected her help and said that he wouldn't want any help from a civilian. Sakura, although a bit introverted and shy, was outraged. Naruto was also furious, not that he could show it because of the mask. He would teach the kid a lesson but then he would have the whole konoha police force on his ass. Damn Uchiha.
"SASUKE!"
Sasuke looked at Naruto and away from the tree but lost grip and fell, making him lose where he was on the tree. Sasuke crashed to the ground but quickly sprang back up yelling.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT! I'M FUCKING TRAININ-"
Naruto had flashed behind Sasuke and delivered a quite blow the back of the head. Sasuke was rendered unconscious for a few seconds, allowing Naruto to grab him by the collar and throw him across the field. Police force be damned, this kid is getting a beating.
"Uchiha Sasuke. I've had enough of this shit. If you want to keep going like that on my team, there are severe consequences to be paid. This is one of them-"
Naruto flashed in front of Sasuke and shoved his fist up Sasuke's stomach. Sasuke elicited blood from his mouth and was hurled across the field and into a river. Sasuke was yanked out of the water and dropped unceremoniously on the ground. Above Sasuke, Naruto gave him a sharp look which, somehow, Sasuke could actually see Ruto-sensei's eyes. He wished he hadn't. They were icy blue, merciless, cold blooded, ones that saw war, death, horror. Their focus was on him, so sharp that he felt like needles were piercing him. It reminded him of the stories his parents once told of the Yondaime on the battlefield. Eyes that could kill. Sasuke froze on the ground.
"Next time, Uchiha, misbehave around me again, and I'll show you what a real ninja is made of. Everybody, meet at the gates tomorrow at 7:00, pack for a week, we're on our first c-rank. I'm out.."
Naruto walked off, leaving Sasuke on the ground, one the verge of hyperventilating with one thought.
This Ruto character is dangerous, almost on par with Itachi.
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"YOU DID WHAT?"
Minato was least to say shocked and a bit worried. Naruto had just scolded one of Kushina's best friend's son, in a very rough manner. Naruto just walked in nonchalantly and told him he had dealt with the "retarded" Uchiha. Mikoto and Fugaku are going to be so pissed off. Minato, though probably more powerful, was on the verge of biting his nails. Imagine how much Kushina will flip if Mikoto decides to break off their friendship thanks to Naruto's stunt.
Naruto was still there, hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall. With his mask off on his head, Naruto wore a very indifferent expression. As if he didn't just beat the heir to one of the strongest clans of Konoha. His thoughts were brought to a sudden halt when his office door busted open. Uchiha Mikoto dragged her son by the ear and marched to the front of the Hokage desk and bowed her head, bringing Sasuke's head to a bow forcefully.
"I am so sorry for what my foolish son has done to yours, Minato. He was being absolutely stupid."
"Mikoto, please. We're friends, I'm sorry that my son was so brash about it."
Mikoto let out a deep breath.
"Oh thank kami. For a second I thought you'd blow the roof to how my idiotic son has been around the other children and yours. I think that lesson Naruto gave him has brought his little complex to a stop, Isn't that right, Sasuke-kun"
"y-yeah"
"What?"
"Y-Yes, Mother!"
Mikoto turned back to Minato and started talking. It was funny how Sasuke wasn't really listening to what his mother had just said, practically the identity of his sensei. Zoned out, Sasuke looked at the side of the office, only to meet the gaze of Namikaze Naruto, the Prodigy of Konoha, son of the Yondaime. He saw how Naruto was staring at him coldly. A mask rested on top of his head- Wait, a mask? Holy shit. Son of a gun, Naruto was Ruto-sensei! Sasuke stuttered, eyes wide as he stared at Naruto. Naruto's face distorted into a mischievous grin. That's right sucker, I'm the hokage's son and your freaking teacher, Naruto thought. Naruto straightened up and walked over to Mikoto and Sasuke.
"Hello Mikoto-san. Sasuke-kun, how's the tree exercise going?"
Naruto smiled, giving Mikoto a friendly wave as he waited for Sasuke's response. Sasuke started stuttering again.
"F-fine, S-sensei-"
"That's good. I hope next time, we can work as a team to train, what do you think?"
"E-excellent i-idea, s-sensei."
"Good!"
Minato and Mikoto understood what Naruto was doing so Minato quickly changed the subject.
"Ah, Mikoto. Kushina will be cooking her famous hotpot tonight. I was wondering if your family would like to join us."
"Why- that sounds like an excellent idea, Minato. We will be there at 6"
Naruto and Sasuke launched a scowl at their parents. Were they trying to make things more awkward? Can't they read the mood here?
"Sasuke, let's go"
Mikoto walked out, dragging Sasuke by the hand. Sasuke shot a dirty look to Naruto which was returned with equal ferocity. This was not unseen by both parents and so Minato and Mikoto both whacked their sons on the head, which both gave out a yelp before turning to their parents apologetically.
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To sum up the entire dinner in one word, gauche. It was so awkward. Naruto sat at his seat uncomfortably as Sasuke practically burned holes into him with his eyes. Sasuke still couldn't believe that the 4th hokage's son was teaching him. In a sense, he was starting to regret all the doubting comments he shot at Naruto before. Naruto ate his dinner quietly, flicking his eyes up to meet Sasuke's stare every once in awhile. Naruto finished and walked to the living room. A few moments later, Sasuke walking into the same room and sat parallel to Naruto.
"So..."
"..."
"You're Namikaze Naruto, Ruto-sensei."
"Took a genius for that didn't it"
Sasuke glared at Naruto but Naruto spoke up,
"I just have to ask you to remain silent about this to the other. At least until I personally reveal myself to the others. Can you do that for me, Sasuke?"
"Y-yeah, I guess"
"Cool. Remember our first C-rank tomorrow. Don't be late."
"Yeah, yeah."
Sasuke waved it off and leaned back into his chair.
"C-rank, huh"
"Hm, Sasuke?"
"Nothing, really. Just thinking to myself. Are we really ready for this c-rank?"
"Don't sweat over it. Most of it's just patrol, scouting, retrieval of trivial scrolls. There's only a slim chance of actual danger"
Naruto almost laughed at his own statement. His team had gotten that slim chance, the damn slim chance that took his friend's dream. He'd damn well kill himself before he let his new team go through the same thing. Naruto couldn't help but chuckle out loud, catching the attention of Sasuke.
"What's so funny, Naruto-sensei"
"Just thinking about my first c-rank..."
Sasuke gulped when Naruto's face turned into something dark.
"...but that's for another day."
"Goddammit, Sensei! You're always an enigma! Can't you just tell us about yourself?"
"What's the fun in that?"
Naruto playfully jabbed at Sasuke and they continued their bickering until Fugaku and Mikoto came by to get Sasuke to leave.
"See ya tomorrow, Sasuke!"
"See ya, Sensei!"
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Naruto stifled a yawn as he continued to read his book at the gate. He was 15 minutes early, but he was sensei so it was only natural. Naruto had now worn his "full battle uniform", the uniform he wore for all the battles and fights he did during his training trip. He wore his usual Jounin attire this time but he added a red votive bib covering his neck. He had his ninjato strapped to his back that had a red ribbon tied around the hilt. Naruto's usual anbu fox mask, instead of black, was now blood red.
The three genin finally arrived the gate, slightly surprised at their sensei's upgraded getup. They exchanged greetings and then stood at entrance, not moving. They started waiting for about 2 minutes but Konohamaru easily lost patience.
"What the hell are we waiting for, Ruto-sensei?"
Sasuke smirked, now knowing his sensei's real identity. Naruto sighed and responded.
"Our client. We gotta wait for our client."
"OH? Are we protecting somebody? A princess? Daimyo? Kage? Somebody famous?"
"No...we're protecting-"
"-me"
Team 7 turned to see the owner of the voice. It was an old man with a beard and a straw hat. He looked severely hungover, and held a bottle of sake in his right hand. His bag was filled with maps and scrolls. Konohamaru was annoyed.
"Who the hell are you, old man?"
"I'm Tazuna, The Bridge Builder. Who the hell are you, pipsqueak?"
"Pipsqueak? Who the hell are you calling pipsqueak? I'm a full fledged genin! See this hitai ate? I'm a ninja! Ni-n-ja! I'm Sarutobi Konohamaru! I'm gonna be Hokage someday! Better remember my name!"
"che-I ordered some real ninjas, not some wannabe Hokage. Does the Hokage have any respect?"
This time, Naruto cut in.
"Sir, you asked for a c-rank mission, we've got people the qualify for the request you applied for. If you don't feel like this is adequate, apply for a higher rank and pay more, if not, stay silent. I'm a jounin so stay rest assured, you are fine."
"Che-fine, though aren't you a bit short to be a jounin?"
"Aren't you a bit old to be building bridges?"
"Age doesn't matter"
"Then I guess it doesn't matter for me either. Let's move out, Team 7"
Tazuna was left a bit speechless before grumbling to himself, following the four ninjas.
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The team was briefed on the mission they were doing. Accompany and protect Bridge Builder, Tazuna, on his way back to the land of the Waves, stay and help build the bridge, come back. It was really simple actually. And traveling was going to be great because it was a sunny day today, clear skies with just the right temperature. Naruto remembered on his first mission, the clouds were dark and it was going to rain.
"Urg, when I said c-rank, I was expecting a bit more action!"
Naruto looked towards Konohamaru, who was groaning and complaining.
Naruto's eyes caught attention of something and looked to see his genins. They were all completely unaware of their surroundings. Sasuke-emo was brooding, Sakura lecturing Konohamaru, Konohamaru complaining, Tazuna...being a civilian. Naruto sighed but kept on alert. Clearly he was on his own in terms of awareness.
"Ne- Ruto-sensei, Aren't-"
Sakura's voice was interrupted by the sound of chains rubbing together. All of a sudden, Naruto was wrapped around with chains. With a yank, he was dismembered and decapitated in front of the genin and Tazuna.
"SENSEI!"
"One jounin down, three little kiddies to go"
A rogue appeared out of nowhere and attacked the genin. He wore a dark brown cloak with a scratched out kirigakure hitai ate. He held a scythe attached to a chain with a spike at the end. The man ran towards the genin, scythe posed to strike. Sakura was caught off guard and was scared. This guy was too fast for her. His speed. If he could take down Ruto-sensei in a second, what makes them think they can beat this guy? On the other hand, Sasuke got right to it, launching several kunai and shuriken at the rogue. Konohamaru jumped in front of Tazuna. Sakura snapped out of her frozen state but could barely move her shaking legs. Sasuke grabbed the chain of the rogue and yanked forcefully, cocking his fist back and ramming it into the rogue's face with a sickening crunch. The rogue backed away and took a stance. Sasuke was cut up a bit but he still stood in front of the others, followed by Konohamaru. Suddenly, Naruto flashed in front of the rogue and jammed his kunai into the rogue's chest cavity. The rogue stuttered.
"N-No. No way, I never had a chance, the S-Shinobi no I-"
Naruto had silenced the man before he could finish by taking one last strike to the throat. The body dropped to the floor and Naruto quickly sealed him into a scroll. He then turned to Tazuna.
"Is there any particular reason why a B-ranked Nukenin after you? More specifically, a B-ranked Nukenin named The Chain Reaper? This is around a high B-rank to low A-rank mission"
Barely focused on what Naruto said, Sakura finally let her legs collapse.
"Sensei, you're alive!"
Naruto turned to Sakura, then to the other two.
"Good job, we'll work on the freezing up later. Right now, though, I need answers. Tazuna."
"Alright, alright. It ain't really what it seems. Ya see, Wave country is really poor right now, and we haven't got any money. I couldn't afford the price of an A-rank or B-rank. There's this guy, Gato, he's been terrorizing the people of Wave. We needed to build a bridge to help boost our economy and support ourselves. Gato has been trying to stop the construction of the bridge. I thought that if I got help from Konohagakure no Sato, they wouldn't try to kill me. But you sent genin instead of chuunin to do the job..."
"Hm, this does have some problems. Genin aren't really ready for an A-rank-"
"Yes, we are!"
Naruto turned to Konohamaru and narrowed his eyes.
"I don't know..."
This time Sasuke interrupted.
"If Konoha backs out of a simple mission like this, it would hurt our reputation for future clientele. If they find out that a bunch of genin finished an A-rank, it could bring in some more wealthier clients. Besides, we aren't really a bunch of average genin, are we? And we have a prodigy with us, I think the odds are with us."
Konohamaru glared at Sasuke.
"If you're talking about yourself being the prodigy, you can forget it!"
"Shut up, loser!"
Konohamaru frowned. Naruto couldn't help but chuckle. Sasuke was correct in a sense. Besides, this thug called Gato probably had a bunch of Bandits and a few Mercenary Nins but that's about it. He could handle any B-ranked shinobi any day.
"Alright. Genin? Do you wish to complete this mission?"
"YES SENSEI!"
"Hn"
"Uh-okay, Ruto-sensei."
"Alrighty then. Tazuna, when the bridge is completed and the economy gets going, Konoha expects full pay for an A-ranked mission."
"Fine."
"Okay, let's move out!"
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The rest of the travel through the forest's had been clean. The group rode a boat to cross over the sea. Along the way, they saw the great bridge that Tazuna was working on. Tazuna gave them a brief history on the Land of Waves, even a brief summary of the now-gone Land of Whirlpools, giving Naruto a soft chuckle. As they finally made it to land, the fog around them got heavier. Sakura put her hand above her eyes and looked around.
"Wow, it's really the Land of Waves, you can barely see"
"A-actually, it isn't suppose to be this foggy..."
"Team 7, this fog is laced with chakra, stay sharp, we're in an enemy jutsu!"
But it was too late. Something came flying towards them. Naruto yelled.
"Duck!"
Naruto dragged Tazuna to the floor as the other genin dropped to the floor. The flying object stuck to a tree, revealing itself as a huge Kubikiribocho. In a flash, someone landed on the lodged blade.
"It seems that there are Konoha dogs with my victim. Let's make this fun, shall we?"
Naruto glared at the man. He had read the man's name in the bingo book.
"Zabuza, no Kijin. A-rank Nukenin."
"You know your stuff, kid. Too bad that smart brain of yours will be spilt all over the ground once I'm done with you."
"I'm afraid, Zabuza-san, that I can't let you do that."
Though Naruto was really strong, he wouldn't be able to protect 4 other people while he's fighting. The fog started to clear up a bit revealing Zabuza's appearance. The man had wrappings around his face and neck and a belt across his chest to hold his sword. His hitai ate on the side of his head with a scratch down the kiri symbol. The man chuckled.
"Well, well, well. I might actually have fun this fight. Isn't that right, Shinobi no Inari. The boy with a fox mask and red votive bib. You're really as young as they say. Heard you were also adept with kenjutsu. Flee on sight orders from the rebels of Kiri. My, my. Let's have fun shall we, Inari?"
"I guess there isn't really a choice..."
Naruto drew his ninjato out. The end of the red ribbon on the hilt had a golden bell that jingled.
"tsk, a bell gives away position, shouldn't a high class nin like you know that, Inari-boy?"
Naruto ducked as the executioner's blade swung at him. Zabuza disappeared and the fog got more dense.
"R-Ruto-sensei, I can't see, I'm scared!"
"Sakura-"
"Oh, little genin's are scared. Scared of killing? Scared of death? That's good. Though, Konoha is getting really soft on their children. When I was your age, my hands were already soaked in blood. No matter, you should embrace this fear, for it will be the last thing you feel. Now where should I strike? Which arteries? Maybe I should just cut off all your heads in one swing..."
Zabuza appeared among the genin and Tazuna. But before Zabuza could strike, Naruto blocked the huge cleaver with his ninjato.
"I won't let you put a single finger on my students."
"Heh, we'll see about that."
"Team 7, Formation D, protect the Builder, move away from here!"
As the genin took the builder away to the sidelines, Naruto and Zabuza jumped back from each other. Naruto shot chakra through his blade and charged. The two Nins engaged in a kenjutsu fight, sparks flying everywhere as the clang of the two swords rang through the clearing. The fight was so fast that Sasuke could barely see what was going on.
Though both were equal in kenjutsu mastery, the weight of Zabuza's blade and the muscle power behind it was far greater than the 12 year old's small ninjato. Naruto was getting pushed back slowly but surely. Zabuza swung his blade horizontally and Naruto ducked under. Anticipating this, Zabuza kneed Naruto in the face. Naruto dodged at the last second, allowing the knee to crush his mask right before he dodged.
Naruto huffed as the shards of his mask started to fall. Naruto shoved off the remaining pieces and looked up, revealing his 12 year old face, sharp blue eyes, and whisker marks.
"Ho ho. Who would've guessed. The Shinobi no Inari is the son of the Yellow Flash! This just keeps getting better!"
Naruto dodged another volley of strikes and jumped away, landing on water.
"Wrong move."
Suiro no Jutsu
Naruto was engulfed in a dome of water. Shit, I'm stuck.
"I guess the foxes aren't as smart as they seem. Water is my domain, it was a mistake to step on it."
Mizu bunshin no Jutsu
Naruto's eyes widened as another Zabuza started to form. With a feral grin behind the facial wrappings, the clone charged at the genin.
"It's over, Inari-boy"
Zabuza swung his blade at the genin.
Hiraishin no Jutsu
In a flash, Naruto appeared and blocked the swing with his blade. Zabuza went wide eyed and looked back at his prison. The Naruto inside the prison suddenly dissipated, leaving bubbles in its place.
"You're not the only one who can make solid clones, Zabuza-san"
Tajuu Kage bunshin no Jutsu
15 Narutos popped into existence and charged at the two Zabuzas. The original Zabuza slipped away from the prison, releasing the jutsu, as his clone was taken out. He swung his blade just in time to take out 10 of Naruto's clones. The remaining five encircled him.
Fuuton- Daitoppa
Katon- Goukakyuu no Jutsu
The Naruto's combined the jutsu's and trapped Zabuza in a ball of fire. When the fire went out, Naruto noticed Zabuza had made an escape. A few meters away, Zabuza rested behind a tree, sporting a few 2nd and 3rd degree burns. Damn, that Inari-kid has some powerful jutsus.
Naruto closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings. Over there.
Douton- Asu Sekijun no jutsu
Before Zabuza could move several spikes rose from the ground, piercing Zabuza's leg.
Suiton-Nanatsu no Suiko no jutsu
Zabuza looked up to see seven foxes formed by water staring at him a few meters away.
Raiton- Kaminari Suzume
The foxes were struck by lightning and now were sparking blue electricity. They charged at Zabuza but right before they jumped, a few senbon were launched at Zabuza and struck the base of his neck. Naruto immediately stopped his jutsu and let the foxes melt, leaving a puddle of water still merged with lightning. Naruto looked up to the trees to see the newcomer.
"Thank you, I've been looking for this Nuke-nin for a while. You've made my job easier."
The person was a hunter nin from Kiri. A boy that sounded no older than him. The boy jumped down, grabbed the body of Zabuza. Naruto's eyes narrowed.
"Because of your fight, I was able to take down Momochi Zabuza. Kiri has many thanks to Konoha. My regards."
The hunter nin disappeared and the fog began to clear away. Naruto stood there for a second, staring at where Zabuza was, deep in thought. But Naruto quickly looked away and back at his genin. He walked over to Team 7.
"Is everyone okay?"
"Sensei..."
He looked at everyone who was just gawking at him. Konohamaru started.
"Sensei, your mask. You're..."
Sakura almost squealed as she finished Konohamaru's sentence.
"...Namikaze, Naruto!"
Naruto scratched the back of his head. Thanks to his hair almost as long as Minato's, the four thought they were practically looking at the Yondaime.
"It's best if we get Tazuna-san to safety, I know you must have lots of questions, but mission first."
"O-osu"
Sasuke was only shocked because of the level of fight. So this was what it was to be Jounin. The fight was eye opening for Sasuke as he learned that Naruto was really a prodigy.
The rest of the travels back to Tazuna's town was silent. Naruto didn't bring a spare mask so now Konohamaru, Sakura, and Tazuna were openly staring at the young jounin.
"Why weren't you gonna tell us who you were, Naruto-yaro"
"Just because you know who I am now, doesn't mean I won't hit you."
With that, Naruto flashed in front of Konohamaru and flicked the boy on the head, causing Konohamaru to shuffle back a few steps.
"OW~! The council will hear about this!"
Naruto then pulled Konohamaru into a head lock.
"They won't know if you don't tell them. You wouldn't rat me out, would you, Ko-no-ha-ma-ru-kun~?"
Naruto's sickly sweet voice brought shivers down Konohamaru's back.
"I w-won't, N-naruto sensei"
"Good...Now let's get to the fisherman's town! We've got a lot of building to do!"
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an:/ I've been taking a lot of test lately and I've been working on this chapter for the past two days, so the chapters have been a bit slow. Well it did give more time for the reader input question. Speaking of alias, a lot of you wanted something to do with Foxes and some decided to call him the second god of shinobi or little professor. AND I was like GENIUS! Finding a perfect name to tie back to Sarutobi! So I was like Shinobi no Inari (fox god of shinobi?)? HAHA! YES! History lesson! Inari is the god of fertility and foxes (along with other stuff) point is...Inari is the god of Foxes, geddit? You are all probably like "All that hard work reviewing n' shit and Aerotyl still comes up with this lame ass name, geez" Whatever, it's decided. Lol, It's too late? Next time: Is this mission really over? As for the jutsu, a majority is either used in the series itself or I've already used it. SO LOOK IT UP! I'm kinda too lazy right now. Just got my SAT scores back, part of the junior year lol, I've got work to do so I'll be studying really hard, not much time for writing I guess. Okay anyways. See ya next chapter! AH WAIT!
READER INPUT!
Should Zabuza and his little apprentice live?
a) Only Zabuza lives
b) Only Haku lives
c) They both live
d) They both die
The most votes obviously will happen. Leave your vote in the Reviews or PM me!
mata ashita!