The Legend of Naruto
Waves arc
A/N: This chapter, you'll be introduced to some pretty powerful OCs of mine, three to be exact.
"Triforce." Normal speech
'Triforce.' Normal thought
"Triforce." Biju and God speech
'Triforce.' Biju and God thought
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except for my OCs.
Chapter 2: The Demon of Kiri, Momochi Zabuza
Naruto slowly opened his eyes and looked at the space-rock that had the name of one of the three great Goddesses on it as he remembered the story that Kakashi-sensei had told them.
"The Triforce of Power went into the man and a mark of the Triforce appeared on his right hand. The Triforce of Wisdom came to a noble Princess and the same mark appeared on her hand. And finally the Triforce of Courage came to a boy that lived in a forest and he got the same mark on his hand."
Naruto then looked at his right hand, wondering why Kakashi-sensei had wanted to have a look at it, but then a glowing triangular mark appeared out of nowhere and that strange voice returned.
"Naruto-kun, hear me, there's a great ev… approa… world… ro…" This time Naruto seemed more interested in the mark rather than the voice, but just as quickly as the mark had appeared it vanished.
Konoha, team 7 meeting place
Later in the day, team 7 met up at the place where they usually met before going to the Hokage tower to receive a mission, though you'd have to wonder why the three genin always came on time even though they knew that their sensei would be several hours late.
Sakura looked over at her blond teammate, he seemed pretty deep in thought, which was pretty unusual for him, especially considering that he didn't really think all that much, and just as she was about to ask him what was up, Kakashi-sensei finally appeared.
"Sorry I'm late, but I ran into this old woman who needed some help carrying her bags." Kakashi said.
"Yeah, right. You were probably off somewhere reading that book of yours." Sakura said and Kakashi sweatdropped.
Sasuke looked surprised over at Naruto, he'd expect the blond to say something too, but Naruto just stood there as though Kakashi still hadn't arrived yet.
'Something's definitely up with him.' Sasuke thought as Naruto walked over to their sensei.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, could I talk to you alone for a few minutes?" Naruto asked.
"Sure." Kakashi said and the two walked off, now Sasuke was really curious.
"Hey, Sakura. Follow me." Sasuke said and the two of them walked in the direction that Kakashi and Naruto had walked in before they hid themselves in a bush.
"Sasuke-kun, what are…" Sakura whispered, but Sasuke hushed her before she could finish the sentence as he listened intently to the conversation between Kakashi and Naruto.
"Naruto, what is it?" Kakashi asked.
"Remember that story you told us a while back?" Naruto said.
"Yeah, what about it?" Kakashi asked, though he did have an idea of where this was going.
"Well, earlier today I saw some weird mark appear on my hand." Naruto said and Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened.
"What did it look like?" Kakashi asked.
"It looked like three triangles that were in a triangular formation. And all three triangles were glowing, though the one to the right had more intense glow than the others." Naruto said.
"Hmmm, I see." Kakashi said before thinking 'That sounds just like how the legends describes the Triforce.'
"May I have a look at your hand?" Kakashi asked.
"Sure, but I doubt that you'll see anything." Naruto said as he held out his hand so that his sensei could examine it.
'Hmmm. Interesting, I always thought that the mark would be permanent like a tattoo or something, but it seems that it only appears under special circumstances.' Kakashi thought as he let go of the hand before saying "Did anything else happen when the mark appeared?"
"Not much, only that I heard this voice in my head." Naruto said, this caught Sasuke and Sakura's attention.
"A voice in your head?" Kakashi asked and Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, it sounded like a girl, but I don't think that it's related to the mark, I'm hearing voices all the time, as long as I can remember!" Naruto said and now Sasuke's eyes widened.
'Naruto's been hearing voices his whole life too? So I'm not the only one going crazy after all.' Sasuke thought, not wanting to believe that he actually had something in common with the blond.
"Yet that voice appeared at the same time as the mark?" Kakashi asked and Naruto nodded "Have you ever looked at your hand while you heard that voice before?"
"No, never." Naruto said.
"Well, anyway. Let's get back to the others, they're probably waiting for us." Kakashi said and they walked back to where Sasuke and Sakura should be. Luckily, the raven-head and the pinkette had enough sense to hurry back there so that Kakashi wouldn't get suspicious.
Hokage tower
"No, no, no. I want something more challenging, where I can test my skills." Naruto yelled after they had been assigned to another D-rank mission.
'He's got a point.' Sasuke thought.
'Oh, he is such a pain.' Sakura thought.
'Be grateful for what you can get.' Kakashi thought while sighing.
"Don't be a fool. You're only a beginner. Everyone starts out doing grunt work. It's where you get experience, so you can work your way up to the bigger things." Iruka yelled.
"We've done tons of small stuff. Can't we get some action?" Naruto yelled and his sensei hit him on the head.
"Naruto, that's enough. Knock it off." Kakashi said.
"Apparently Naruto needs an explanation of just what these duties are…" The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen said before explaining how mission assignments work.
"Are you listening?" Hiruzen yelled when he noticed that Naruto wasn't even paying attention.
"I-I'm sorry." Kakashi said while scratching the back of his hair.
"I don't want to hear it. All jiji ever does is apologize to me and then give me a lecture. But it's not fair. There's more to me than the troublemaking screw-up jiji thinks I am!" Naruto yelled and Kakashi sighed.
'I am going to be in so much trouble for this later…' The silver-haired jonin thought.
"Very well. Since you put it that way, I will permit you to attempt a C-ranked mission. The mission will be the protection of a certain individual." Hiruzen said and Kakashi was shocked.
"All right! Who is it? Some great lord? The daimyo? A Princess?" Naruto exclaimed.
"Compose yourself. I'll perform the introductions straightaway. Please invite him in." Hiruzen said and the door opened and in came a man that was holding a sake bottle in his hand.
"What's going on here? They look like a bunch of wet-nosed brats." The man said as he drank some of the sake before continuing "Especially the midget. He's got the face of an imbecile. It's a joke right? You kids aren't really ninja, are you?"
"Who'd you mean? Which midget? Which imbeci…" Naruto said as he looked at Sasuke and Sakura before noticing that they were both taller than him and he yelled "I'll kill him!"
"Wrong. No killing the old man you've been assigned to protect." Kakashi said as he held back the blond.
"I am Tazuna, a bridge builder of ultimate renown. Until I am in my own country, where I'll be completing my next bridge, you'll all be expected to protect me… even if it costs you your lives!" The man said.
Tanigakure no sato (village hidden in the valley)
The village of Tani was hidden deep within a valley just outside of the Land of Wind. Long ago there were two villages, one consisting only of women and the other consisting only of men, but since then the two villages had joined together.
A man in a red robe that nearly covered his entire body walked down a street towards the Tanikage tower.
As he entered the tower, he passed a young boy that couldn't be more than 12 years old with green hair, green eyes and he wore a green robe as well as a green Hitai-ate with a gold forehead protector that had the symbol of the Triforce on it, the mark of Tani.
"Ah, Ventus-kun. I haven't seen you in a while." The man said.
"I've been away on an A-ranked mission with my team, Agahnim-sama!" Ventus said.
"Ah yes, that's right. You graduated from the ninja academy not too long ago." Agahnim said.
"Was there anything else?" The boy asked.
"No, not really." Agahnim said before walking further into the tower and the boy walked out. Agahnim walked up some stairs until he reached a door and he knocked on it.
"Come in." Came the voice from the Tanikage office and Agahnim walked in.
The office was more like a throne room, really. The room was wide in a rectangular shape and on the other side was a man sitting on a throne with a model of the Triforce above him.
The man had black armor, red hair, a beard (A/N: Like the one he's got in Twilight Princess.) and a gold Hitai-ate with the Tani insignia on it.
"The only reason you would have to disturb me is if you've got news about either Uchiha Sasuke-kun or Uchiha Itachi-kun." The man said in a commanding tone as Agahnim kneeled before him.
"I have news on Uchiha Sasuke-kun, great Ganondorf-sama." Agahnim said.
"Tell me." Ganondorf said.
"As you know, Sasuke-kun has recently graduated from the ninja academy in Konoha. Earlier today he was assigned to his first C-rank mission and will be out of the village for quite some time." Agahnim said.
"Hmmm, I see. This would seem to be the best time to strike, and see if that Uchiha brat possesses my Triforce of Power." Ganondorf said.
"There is a problem however." Agahnim said.
"A problem? Like what?" Ganondorf asked.
"It seems that one of his teammates is the Kyubi Jinchuriki and their sensei has been confirmed as Sharingan no Kakashi." Agahnim said.
"Sharingan no Kakashi, you say? That could pose a problem, even our strongest ANBU would have a hard time against him. But I wouldn't worry too much about the Kyubi brat, there's no way that he could have mastered his Biju's chakra yet, I bet he doesn't even know that he is a Jinchuriki." Ganondorf said.
"What should we do? Ganondorf-sama?" Agahnim asked.
"Send out Vaati-san's team 7 to keep an eye on them during their mission, but they are not to engage. Make sure that they understand that, especially Flare-kun." Ganondorf said.
"As you command Ganondorf-sama." Agahnim said before he stood up and walked out of the room to find the Wind Sorcerer, Vaati and his team.
Land of Fire
As Team 7 walked down a road in the Land of Fire, they remained oblivious to the fact that they were being watched by two chunin level ninja.
"Um, Tazuna-san…?" Sakura said, getting the old man's attention.
"What now?" Tazuna asked.
"You come from the Land of Waves, right?" Sakura asked.
"What of it?" Tazuna asked before Sakura looked at her sensei.
"Um, Kakashi-sensei, are there ninja in that country too?" Sakura asked.
"No. not in the Land of Waves. But, as a general rule, even with all the differences that exist in local customs and culture, most other lands have their own hidden village where ninja clan resides. For most of the countries on this continent, the ninja villages serve as the military force. They protect their own people and handle the on-going relations with neighboring countries! Yet, the villages do not answer to the rulers of their native countries. Instead, they are on an equal footing with the government. In the case of very small island nations where an invasion would be difficult to mount, a ninja village is regarded as unnecessary. Among the various ninja villages – in particular – those located the Lands of Fire, Water, Lightning, Wind and Earth are large and their strength is immense. Those are called the "Five Great Lands of Shinobi". They are also the only places where the shinobi leader calls himself a Kage. Those legendary leaders, Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage and Tsuchikage are known to ninja everywhere as the Gokage, the ultimate commanders of tens of thousands of shinobi throughout the world." Kakashi explained.
"Really? Hokage-sama is so amazing!" Sakura said, but her inner self had other thoughts "I don't see what's so great about the old fart who's always lecturing us."
"You obviously don't really think so." Kakashi said before he patted Sakura on the head while giving an eye-smile "There's nothing to worry about. You won't face any duels with ninja from other clans while you're handling C-rank missions."
"So I don't have to worry about encountering any foreign shinobi?" Sakura asked.
"Of course not. Ha-ha-ha." Kakashi reassured her and Tazuna looked down on the ground and gulped, something that didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke.
Unknown location
The red-haired woman and the green-haired girl were still looking down on team 7 through the pond.
"Just too bad for them that the old guy lied about their mission." The red-head said in an amused tone.
"I still think that we could have done something to save the Land of Waves from that mad-man Gato." The girl said in a sad tone.
"Heh, you know we can't do that, we're not allowed to interfere in the business of inferior beings. You know that, don't you?" The red-head said.
"I know, but there has to be something we could do." The girl said.
"Don't worry about it, they've hired ninja to do the job. By the end of the month, Gato'll be history." The red-head said.
"Maybe, but I'm still worried about Naruto-kun and the others. Look." The girl said as she waved her hand over the pond and it showed a desert landscape with four figures running through the desert.
Land of Wind
One of them had purple hair with a bang that went over his right eye, he had pale skin, wore black robes, a black cap and he had a purple Tani Hitai-ate with a gold forehead protector on his forehead.
Another one had spiky, red hair, he had red eyes, wore red robes and he had a red Tani Hitai-ate with a gold forehead protector on his forehead.
The third one was the only girl of the four, she had long blue hair that went down to her mid-back, she had blue eyes, wore blue robes and had a blue Tani Hitai-ate with a gold forehead protector around her neck.
The last of the group was obviously Ventus.
"Heh-heh. The Triforce of Power, I can't wait till we face its wielder!" The red-head exclaimed.
"We're on a reconnaissance mission, baka. In other words, we're not to engage." The girl yelled as Ventus noticed that their sensei tensed.
"Vaati-sensei, what is it?" He asked.
"Something's approaching." Vaati said in a calm tone without looking at Ventus.
Suddenly, the sand around them shot up, attempting to engulf them, but Vaati quickly grabbed the red-head while Ventus grabbed the girl and they jumped up into the air, much higher than what gravity would normally allow and they slowly landed on top of the dunes that had just tried to eat them.
"Show yourself, Ichibi!" Vaati demanded as he and Ventus put down the other two.
Four figures then came into view, one of them had a turban-like head gear with a sheet hanging from it on the left side, two red marks on his right cheek, a normal Suna chunin/jonin uniform and a Suna Hitai-ate on his forehead.
Another one had brown hair, green eyes with black rings around them and the kanji for love over his left eye. He wore a black full body suit with t-shirt-like sleeves, ¾-length legs, and an open neck. With this, he wore a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips, and a wide leather band system over the left shoulder and right side of his hips. With this leather band, he carried around a gourd that was on his back. He also had his Suna Hitai-ate wrapped around the band.
The third one wore a black, baggy, full body suit with a red and yellow circle on the front. He also had a black hood which covered his head completely, and had cat-like ears and his Suna Hitai-ate. He also had an object on his back that was wrapped in bandages.
The only girl of the four had blond hair in four ponytails, she wore purple clothes, her Suna Hitai-ate was around her neck and she had a large fan on her back.
"State your business in the Land of Wind, Tani-nins." The Suna jonin said, the villages of Suna and Tani had long been at eachother's throats, right now they were at peace, but they were still at odds with each other.
"My team is on a mission to the Land of Waves, so we figured it would be faster to cut through the Land of Wind instead of going all the way around." Vaati said.
"I see, then continue on your mission, but be warned if you go anywhere near Suna, we won't hesitate to kill you." The jonin said.
"I understand. But I must ask, why are you so close to the border between our lands with the Ichibi Jinchuriki? If I didn't know any better I could have thought that you were planning to attack our village." Vaati said.
"We were just on our way back from a B-rank mission in the Land of Earth." The jonin said.
"I see, but you still attacked us without warning, and I'm not just gonna let that slide." Vaati said as he extended his right arm and the four Suna-nins tensed as he said "Let me demonstrate what happens to those who attack us Tani-nins."
"Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, prepare yourselves." The jonin said as Temari got her fan off of her back and unfolded it, Gaara opened his gourd and sand started coming out and Kankuro got the object that he had on his back off of his back and put it down on the ground.
"Flare, protect Aqua, she's useless as long as we're in this dry desert." Vaati ordered.
"What, but I wanna fight." The red-head, now identified as Flare protested.
"Listen to Vaati-sensei Flare, someone has to defend Aqua, she's our only means of getting to Waves." Ventus said.
"Argh. A-all right." Flare muttered in defeat.
"Here they come team, get ready!" Vaati said.
Land of Fire
As team 7 walked down the road towards the Land of Waves, Kakashi spotted a puddle on the ground, a puddle? When it hasn't been raining for days?
"Sasuke-kun beware the darkness…" A voice in Sasuke's head said.
'There's that voice again.' Sasuke thought and he looked down on his right hand just in time to see the mark vanish 'So the voices and the marks are connected, but could this mean that me and Naruto…?'
Suddenly came two ninja, each having a gauntlet that connected to the other's gauntlet by a chain. The two quickly before anyone realized it wrapped the chain around Kakashi.
"One little piggy." One of them said just before the chain cut Kakashi to pieces.
"K-Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled just before the two ninja appeared behind him.
"Two little piggies…" But before they could do anything else, Sasuke jumped into the air and threw a shuriken at the chain, sticking it to a tree before he threw a kunai that went straight through the hole in the shuriken and into the tree's trunk.
'It won't come lose.' One of the two ninja thought just before Sasuke landed with one foot on each of their gauntlets.
Sasuke then grabbed the gauntlets as he kicked the two enemy shinobis in the head, but then the two of them released the chain and ran in opposite directions around Naruto, but as one of them came at the blond, the other ran towards Tazuna while Sasuke landed on the ground.
Suddenly the mark on Naruto's hand appeared and started glowing as he grabbed a kunai from his weapons pouch and blocked the poisonous claws on the enemy's gauntlet before he quickly made a hand sign.
"Oiroke no jutsu." Naruto was then replaced by a beautiful, naked woman and blood came flowing out the ninja's nose as he flew backwards and hit the ground hard as Naruto changed back.
"I knew it was a useful jutsu." Naruto said as he looked down at the knocked-out ninja.
Unknown location
"Well, I certainly didn't expect him to do that." The red-head said.
"Is it over?" The girl said as she held her hands in front of her face.
"Yeah, he's turned back into the blond idiot that you love." The red-head said as her younger sister slowly removed her hands from her face before she looked angry up at her sister as she started emitting a purple light from her body.
"Did you just call my Naruto-kun an idiot?" She yelled while pointing an accusing finger at the red-haired woman.
"Yeah, so what." The red-head said uninterested as she turned away.
"Oh, that's it. I'm gonna rip you to shreds, you teme!" The girl yelled as she stood up and rushed at her sister, but before she knew what had happened, she was lying on the floor on the other side of the room and her sister stood on her left foot while her right leg was extended.
"Did you forget who's the strongest of us?" She said with an evil smirk on her face before the green-haired girl looked away angrily with her eyes closed and arms crossed.
Land of Fire
'Here it comes. I've got to do something… I've… got to.' Sakura thought as the remaining enemy ninja came closer to her and Tazuna and she suddenly jumped in front of the old man with a kunai ready "Stand back, sir!"
But then suddenly came Sasuke up in front of her and he quickly went through hand signs.
"Katon: Goukakyo no jutsu." The Uchiha announced the name of his attack and a large fire ball was sent at the unfortunate ninja and he burned to death.
As Naruto walked over to the others the ninja that he had knocked out stood back up on his feet.
"Naruto, behind you." Sasuke yelled and Naruto turned around, but the enemy ninja was already too close for him to dodge or get a kunai to block. But then Kakashi-sensei suddenly appeared and grabbed the ninja before he could touch the blond.
'Kakashi-sensei! You're… alive!' Sakura thought as Sasuke looked towards where Kakashi was standing before he got "killed" only to see pieces of wood.
'Kawarimi…' The Uchiha thought.
"Good job, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, though I must say Naruto, that move that you did there was… unusual." Kakashi said.
"It's my own invention. I call it "Oiroke no jutsu", what'd you think?" Naruto said.
"Well, it was certainly unusual, but you shouldn't have turned your back on your opponent, even if he was out-cold." Kakashi said.
"Tazuna-san." Kakashi said as he looked towards the old man.
"Wha-what is it?" Tazuna asked.
"I need to speak with you." Kakashi said before tying the ninja to a tree "Our attackers appeared to be chunin ninja from Kirigakure. They are shinobi renowned for their willingness to fight on until their goal is achieved, even at the cost of their own lives."
"How did you know…?" The Kiri-nins asked.
"The sun is out, and it hasn't rained for several days, so there shouldn't have been any puddles on the ground." Kakashi said.
"If you knew all that, why did you even let those creeps attack you?" Tazuna asked.
"I could have killed them at any time, but I wanted to find out who their real target was." Kakashi said.
"What do you mean by that?" Tazuna asked.
"Were you really the one they were after? Or was it one of us ninja? There has been no word of any shinobi seeking to take your life. The request that was relayed to Hokage-sama was that you have an escort to protect you against any roving bands of thieves and brigands. In any case, it's clear this is more than a B-rank mission. To protect you from ordinary dangers until you complete the bridge you're currently constructing would be a simple thing. But if you expected to be a target of a ninja assault, then it is beyond question that this would have been classified – and priced – as a mission for jonin. You may have had your reasons, but it's never a good idea to conceal the facts when you are asking for help. As it is, this task falls far beyond the boundaries of the job we were assigned." Kakashi said.
"We're not good enough yet to handle something like this, can we quit?" Sakura said.
Land of wind
The three Suna-nins were lying on the sands of the desert, Kankuro and Temari were unconscious with Kankuro's puppet, the Crow lying in a heap of wood and metal next to him, and Temari's fan standing half-buried in the sand. Gaara and the jonin were just barely conscious, with Gaara's sand armor cracked all over his body.
"Wh-who are you?" The jonin asked as he looked up at Vaati.
"I am Vaati of Tanigakure no sato!" Vaati said and the jonin's eyes widened, he'd heard that name before.
"Y-you're Kazemajutsu no Vaati(Vaati, the Wind Sorcerer)?" He asked and Vaati nodded.
"We'll let you live for now, but attack us again and you're dead!" Vaati said before gesturing to his genin and the four of them ran further as though nothing had happened.
Land of Waves, Zabuza's fortress
"Failed? What do you mean, you failed? If you weren't supposed to be the best, I wouldn't have paid top ryo for your skills." A small man with sunglasses and a business suit yelled as he pointed at a man, sitting on a coach in front of him.
The man, sitting on the coach then swung the huge sword that he was holding and pointed it at the smaller man.
"Do stop your whining. There's nothing to worry about. I, with neck-cleaving knife will take the hit by myself." The man said.
"Yessir. But are you sure you really want to? The enemy has hired ninja of tremendous skill. And besides, now that the Oni-brothers have tried and failed, they'll be on guard against further attempts." The small man said.
"Remember to whom you are speaking. I am Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of Kiri!" The man, now identified as Zabuza said.
Land of Waves, ocean
"Wow, this is some fog. I can barely see a thing." Sakura said as she, along with all the others were sitting in a boat on their way over the ocean to the Land of Waves.
"We'll be able to see the bridge in a minute. On the other side of it is the Land of Waves." The man, steering the boat said and shortly after, the bridge came into view.
"Whoa! It's HUGE!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Hey! Keep it down! This mist'll keep us hidden. But from this point on, we have to turn off our engines and row. We'd be in big trouble if Gato caught us." The man said and everyone went quite as Kakashi recalled what Tazuna had said after the Oni-brothers had been defeated.
Flashback
"Sensei-san, sir…?" Tazuna said as he approached the jonin "Uh… there's something you should know about the request for help I made to your village. As you guessed, this job is more dangerous than you and your students were led to believe. There's a real scary man who wants to see me dead."
"A "real scary" man…? Who is he?" Kakashi asked.
"You've probably heard of him. He's a billionaire in the field of marine transportation. His name is Gato!" Tazuna said.
"You mean… Gato of Gato shipping and transport? THE Gato? They say he's the richest man in the world!" Kakashi said in shock.
"That's the one. On the surface, he looks like a legitimate businessman. The truth is he's a ruthless, murderous criminal who employs gangs and teams of shinobi, and traffics drugs and contraband. He starts out taking over companies… and ends up running entire countries. He lives by every low and vicious trade known to man. It was one year ago… that he set his sights on the Land of Waves. He came under the guise of a business venture. Then the violence began, and in no time at all, he'd take over our entire marine transportation and shipping industry, and we're all under his thumb. Gato now has a stranglehold on all forms of transportation, the lifeblood of an island nation, and a stranglehold on all the wealth. The only thing he has to fear is that which has been underway for some time… the completion of that bridge!" Tazuna explained.
"I see, and as the architect of the bridge and overseer of it's construction, you Tazuna-san, are very much in his way." Sakura said.
"That means, that the ninja who attacked us were working for Gato." Sasuke said.
"But… I still don't understand… if you knew you were a target of a ruthless thug with ninja at his disposal, why didn't you tell us when you asked for our help?" Kakashi asked.
"The Land of Waves isn't a real prosperous land. Even our local lords are poor… and I have no money at all. An elite B-ranked bodyguard would be more than I could afford. But if you all turn away from me now, then I'm as good as dead." Tazuna said.
"But…" Kakashi started, but he got cut off by Tazuna.
"But oh well! It's not your concern! You won't be there to see my daughter and 10 year old grandson cry all day like their hearts are breaking! Oh, and you won't mind if my daughter vows eternal hatred of all the ninja of your village as she lives her life alone! Heck, well, it's not your fault!" He yelled.
"Well, I suppose it can't be helped. We'll continue to protect you, at least until you return to your country." Kakashi said as he eye-smiled and thought 'This is the worst mission-for-hire of all time.'
'Gotcha!' Tazuna thought.
Flashback end
"We'll be there soon." The man, steering the boat said as they approached a smaller bridge.
"Tazuna-san… so far it looks like we've been overlooked. Just to be on the safe side we'll take an inland waterway through town to a point where we can make landfall under the cover of mangroves." The man said.
"Thank you." Tazuna said before they rowed under the brigde and came out in a waterway that went through a town.
A little while later, they stopped the boat and Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Sakura and Tazuna walked out of the boat and onto land.
"This is as far as I go. Take care of yourself." The man said.
"Thanks for taking such a risk. I shouldn't have asked it." Tazuna said before following the four shinobi as he said "OK! Now, if I can just make it home in one piece."
"Yeah, yeah." Kakashi said before thinking 'There's bound to be another attack, and next time, they won't send chunin. We'll probably face jonin-level ninjas. Could this be any worse?'
But none of them knew that they were being watched. In the water, not far from where the five had gone in land, the water seemed to have formed into a face, said face then went down below the surface and vanished.
Elsewhere, not far from team 7's location was the Tani team. Vaati stood there patiently along with Ventus, while Flare was obviously tired of waiting and Aqua was kneeling down in front of the water and she was sticking her face under it. Suddenly Aqua pulled her face up, but surprisingly she didn't breathe for air at all.
"FINALLY! Now where are they, so I can beat them up myself?" Flare exclaimed before Aqua punched him into a tree.
"Baka, we're not here to attack them. We're here to see what kind of a threat they pose to Ganondorf-sama!" She yelled.
"Aqua, did you see the Konoha team?" Vaati asked.
"Yes, Vaati-sensei. They – along with their employer – have gone in land and are right now headed towards the old man's house." Aqua said.
"What should we do, sensei?" Ventus asked.
"As we were instructed, to observe." Vaati said.
Land of Waves, forest road
As the group walked down the road they remained oblivious to the ninja that was stalking them from the trees.
'From what I can see, this group is not equal in skill to the Oni-brothers. Yet, their leader is a shinobi of Konohagakure no sato, and not just any shinobi. It's Sharingan no Kakashi!' The ninja, Momochi Zabuza thought as he drew his massive sword.
"Everyone take cover!" Kakashi yelled as he heard something coming towards them and everyone got down on the ground just before a massive sword flew over their heads and embedded itself in the trunk of a tree as Zabuza landed on top of it.
'That looks like…' Kakashi thought as he looked up at the missing-nin "Well, well. If it isn't Momochi Zabuza. The kid who ran off and left Kirigakure no sato!"
Unknown location
"MOMOCHI ZABUZA?" The green-haired girl yelled in shock.
"Hmmm… well, would you look at that. Shirtless, strong, badass, handsome and oh, so sexy. What more can I ask for?" The red-head said as she examined Zabuza.
"Who's side are you on anyway?" The girl yelled.
"Oh, me? I'm on no one's side, just like you should be. I can get my hands on him whether he lives or dies either way. Shini-kun owes me one, after all." The red-head said. (A/N: I wish I were lucky enough to have Shinigami owe me one!)
Land of Waves, forest road
'And if I have to face him, it had better be…' Kakashi thought as he started to pull up his Hitai-ate before saying "…like this. This may be a little rough."
"Sharingan no Kakashi, I presume? If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you surrender the old man?" Zabuza said.
'…"Sharingan"? What the heck does that mean?' Naruto thought.
'The Sharingan?' Sasuke thought, surprised.
"Assume the manji battle formation! Protect Tazuna-san. All of you, stay out of the fight. That's the kind of teamwork this situation demands." Kakashi said as he continued to pull up his Hitai-ate until his left eye was visible and everyone could see that his left eye was red and had three black tormoe in it. Kakashi then said "Shall we?"
'Man! What's up with his eye?' Naruto thought.
"Ah. To face the legendary Sharingan so early in our acquaintance. This is an honor." Zabuza said.
"You keep calling it a Sharingan. What the heck is it?" Naruto yelled.
"Shinobi who have the Sharingan have mastered a form of ocular Ninjutsu called a Dojutsu. It enables them to penetrate and see the reality behind any illusion or spell, and to reflect the power of the magics they penetrate back on those who cast them! A Sharingan is one of several types used by the masters. And there's more." Sasuke explained.
"Like what?" Naruto exclaimed.
"Heh-heh, exactly. There is indeed more. Most formidable of all is the acuity with which the Sharingan can discern and then duplicate its opponent's greatest skill. When I was an assassin for Kirigakure, I possessed the usual Bingo-book. It had quite the extensive write-up on you. Including a mention of your impressive record. The man who had penetrated and copied over a thousand jutsus. Kakashi the copy-ninja." Zabuza said.
'But he's… Kakashi-sensei is just… he and old man Hokage are only… are they that amazing?' Sakura thought.
'…But… does it mean… supposed to be unique to the Uchiha clan. Could he be…?' Sasuke thought.
"Enough. Pleasant as this conversation has been, the time for talk is over. I'm on a very tight schedule to polish off the old man." Zabuza said and the three genin formed the manji formation in front of Tazuna, kunai at the ready "But… Kakashi, it looks like I'm going to have to kill you first."
Zabuza then jumped off the sword, taking it with him and landing on a nearby lake. He stood on the water, holding one hand in front of him and the other was pointing up and both hands have formed half the tora sign.
"Over there!" Naruto yelled upon spotting the missing-nin.
"Is he… walking on water?" Sakura asked.
'Clever, he's built up a pretty fair concentration of chakra.' Kakashi thought.
"The finest of the ninja arts… the Kirigakure no jutsu." Zabuza said as a thick mist covered the place.
"He's gone!" Sakura yelled.
"He will come after me first, Momochi Zabuza of the Kirigakure assassin corps is a famous master of Sairento kiringu. Letting your guard down around him buys you a direct trip to heaven. I haven't necessarily mastered every aspect of the Sharingan. So all of you stay on your toes!" Kakashi said as the mist got much thicker.
"What's with all this fog?" Naruto yelled.
"There are eight targets." Came Zabuza's voice.
"What? Wha-what was that?" Sakura asked.
"Throat, spinal column, lungs, liver, the jugular vein, the subclavian artery, kidney, heart. So many choices. What vital, vulnerable place shall I choose? Heh-heh." Zabuza said as Kakashi noticed something and quickly made a hand sign.
In the trees
"Oh, great. I can't see anything through this mist." Flare said as he tried to see the battle through the thick fog.
"Stop complaining, will you?" Aqua said as she tried to sense what was going on through the moisture in the air.
"Hey, hey, Vaati-sensei, Ventus. Can you tell me what the heck's going on down there?" Flare asked.
"Nothing right now, they're only standing there, though I do suspect that we will see some action soon." Ventus said.
"What do you mean "we"? The only one's who'll "see" anything are you, Aqua-chan and Vaati-sensei!" Flare said.
"Shut up will you? I'm trying to concentrate here, you baka." Aqua said, trying not to yell.
"You can shut up." Flare said, but then Aqua just looked towards him and an arrow of water formed from the moisture in the air and pointed at Flare's head "…okay, I shut up." And the arrow turned back into moisture.
With team 7
'This terrible bloodthirst. If I draw his attention by even blinking, he'll kill me. I can feel it. I can't stay like this for long. I'm going to lose it. A master ninja, determined to make a kill. Knowing my life is in his hands. I hate it! You start wanting to die, just to end the suspense…' Sasuke thought.
"Sasuke." Kakashi said, getting the Uchiha's attention "Calm down. Even if he gets me, I'll still protect you. I will never let my comrades die!" The jonin said while eye-smiling with both eyes.
"I wouldn't bet on that…" Came Zabuza's voice, from inside the formation "Game over."
Zabuza then started swinging his massive sword, but Kakashi came up in front of him and stuck his kunai into Zabuza's stomach as Tazuna and the genin got away from the missing-nin. However, it wasn't blood that came out of Zabuza's wound, it was water. And a second Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, ready to strike.
"Sensei! Behind you!" Naruto yelled as he pointed at the second Zabuza. The first Zabuza then turned into water and the other one swung his sword at Kakashi, cutting the jonin in to, but said jonin burst into water.
'A Mizu Bunshin? He was able to copy me in this mist?' Zabuza thought in surprise.
"Don't move…" He heard a voice from behind him say as he felt a kunai at his throat and Kakashi said "Game over."
"Heh, think it's over? You just don't get it. It will take more to defeat me than mimicking me like an ape… a lot more. Heh-heh, but you are good. In that short time, you duplicated my Mizu Bunshin no jutsu." Zabuza said as he recalled what Kakashi had said to his team earlier.
"I will never let my comrades die!"
"And by making your Bunshin say something you'd say yourself, you ensured all my intention would be focused on it while you yourself used the Kirigakure no jutsu, watching my every move! Too bad for you…" Zabuza said before Kakashi suddenly heard the ex-Kiri-nins voice from behind him "I am not that easy to fool!" And the Zabuza in front of Kakashi turned into water.
"Zabuza was a Mizu Bunshin, too!" Naruto yelled as Zabuza prepared to swing his massive sword, but Kakashi ducked under it and the huge sword went into the ground and Zabuza quickly let go of the end of the hilt, before grabbing it with his left hand as he turned around and kicked Kakashi away.
'And now…' Zabuza thought as he ran after Kakashi, but he stopped when he noticed that the ground was covered with… 'Caltrops…!'
Kakashi then landed in the lake as Zabuza shunshined away, probably to get to the lake before Kakashi could re-surface.
'Uh, did Kakashi-sensei get kicked all that way?' Sakura thought.
'His physical techniques are fantastic!' Sasuke thought.
'This water, why is it so heavy…?' Kakashi thought as he tried getting out of the water, but Zabuza appeared behind him before finishing a hand sign sequence.
"Hah, gullible fool. Suiton: Suiro no jutsu." Zabuza said and suddenly a prison of water came from Zabuza's palm and went around Kakashi.
"That prison is inescapable. You're trapped. You running around free makes it too hard for me to do my job. I'll finish you later, after I've dealt with all the others." Zabuza said before forming half the tora sign with his left hand.
"Mizu Bunshin no jutsu." Zabuza said and suddenly, a second Zabuza rose up from the water.
"Little ninja wannabe. Trying so hard to fit in, you even wear a Hitai-ate. But a true ninja is one who has crossed and recrossed the barrier between the lands of the living and the dead. Clothes don't make a shinobi. You need skills good enough to rate a listing in my Bingo-book of enemies before you deserve to be called ninja. We don't call your kind "ninja" we call them…" The Mizu Bunshin said before vanishing.
'He vanished again!' Naruto thought just before Zabuza appeared in front of him and kicked him so hard that he was sent flying backwards and his Hitai-ate fell off before Zabuza stepped on it as it landed on the ground.
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled.
"…brats." The real Zabuza finished his Bunshin's previous sentence.
"Everyone, listen. Take Tazuna-san and go! It's a fight you can't win. If he wants to hold me in this Suiro, he can't leave this place. If his Mizu Bunshin gets more than a certain distance away from his real body, he loses control of it. So get out of here!" Kakashi yelled.
'…He's a jonin. A real jonin… I have to get away. I can't just stay here. There's no doubt of it. I'll die if I don't. he'll kill me.' Naruto thought as he tried to get back on his feet, but then he noticed the mark that once again had become visible on his right hand, but this time it glowed far more intense than ever before.
In the trees
"W-what is that light?" Flare asked as he saw the light through the thick mist.
'There's no mistake about it, that's…' Vaati thought before saying "That's the mark of the Triforce of Courage, the mark of the hero. And it's coming from the Kyubi brat!"
With team 7
Everyone looked shocked at the light that came from Naruto's hand, and they were so focused on it that no one noticed that the marks on Sasuke's and Sakura's hands had also come to life.
"Naruto-kun, hear me, there's a great evil approaching and the world needs a hero…" Naruto heard that voice again and suddenly came a light down from the sky as the mist suddenly faded, and a tanto suddenly landed next to Naruto and said blond along with everyone else looked at it, but one was more surprised at seeing it than the others.
'That blade, it's Hakko chakura to!' Kakashi thought as he recalled something that had happened a long time ago when the Third Great Ninja War was still going on.
Flashback
'Where am I?" Kakashi thought as he awakened under the night sky on a rock next to where his jonin sensei, Namikaze Minato was sitting.
"Hm… you're awake…" Minato said upon noticing that his student's eyes where open.
"Sensei! but how?" Kakashi asked as he sat up and Minato held up a three-pronged kunai.
"The jutsu formula in this kunai sets a mark, allowing me to quickly hop around with my Hirashin no jutsu." The blond jonin said.
"And the… enemy?" Kakashi asked.
"I dealt with all of them…" Minato said.
"What about Rin? Where is she?" Kakashi asked and Minato pointed towards the young brunette who was looking up at the night sky.
"I'm sorry I couldn't make it in time, Kakashi… Rin told me everything…" Minato said before Kakashi noticed the two halves of Hakko chakura to, his father's blade and he held up the two pieces.
"Guess I won't be using this anymore." Kakashi said and Minato was about to say something when a light suddenly came from the sky and a girl suddenly landed in front of them.
She had shoulder-length green hair, green eyes and she was wearing a green dress.
"W-who… who are you?" Kakashi asked.
"I am Farore, Goddess of Courage!" The girl said.
"Goddess, then can you tell me if Obito is all right?" The three looked towards Rin, who had come over to them after she saw the light.
"Sorry, but I'm not allowed to tell you anything." Farore said before taking the tanto from Kakashi's hands.
"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked.
"The hero will soon come again, and when he does, I will give him this tanto and he will face a man, known as a demon and win!" Farore said before vanishing.
Flashback end
"Naruto, grab that tanto and fight!" Kakashi yelled, after all he wasn't going to go against the wishes of a Goddess, a Goddess that had also predicted that he would win.
Everyone was shocked at what Kakashi had just said, how did the sudden appearance of a tanto make much difference. Well, either way, Naruto grabbed the blade and stood up on his feet, ready to face the demon as the mark on his right hand continued to glow.
"Ha, how is a simple blade like that, going to make any difference." Zabuza said.
"Oh, shut up you. Kakashi-sensei believes in me, so I'm not backing down!" Naruto said as he got into a fighting stance.
"Naruto, get out of there, you won't stand a chance against him!" Sakura yelled.
Naruto didn't listen to her however and just charged at Zabuza, but the demon blocked Naruto's swing with his Kubikiribocho, but then something unexpected happened, a small green gem on the hilt of the tanto started glowing and Zabuza's sword wasn't only pushed back, but it was sent flying through the trees – unknown to them – towards the Tani team.
In the trees
The sword came flying straight at Aqua, but instead of killing her, it just went straight through her, as though she was made out of water.
With team 7
Naruto cut through the Mizu Bunshin and it turned to water before he picked up his Hitai-ate and tied it around his forehead.
"Got a new listing for your bingo-book right here! A guy who is gonna be the next Hokage of Konohagakure no sato. Uzumaki Naruto! Konoha-school ninja!" Naruto said.
'At our first meeting, I thought the little fellow was an inconsequential brat.' Tazuna thought.
'Wow, did Naruto just…?' Sakura thought as a blush forced its way on her cheeks.
'How could he…? But he's a dobe, the dead last!' Sasuke thought.
"So there is some power in you after all." Zabuza said before he suddenly sensed something and he jumped out of the way – freeing Kakashi – just in time before Naruto suddenly came up from the water with the tanto.
'When he defeated my Mizu Bunshin, he must've used the water as cover while he formed a Bunshin of his own and sent it to attack me, so that I would lose my concentration and Kakashi would get free.' Zabuza thought.
"Katon: Goukakyo no jutsu." Suddenly a fire ball came at Zabuza, but he evaded it, however then Naruto struck the ball with his sword and sent it straight at him. This time he didn't have time to dodge it and he used his sword to block it instead. Suddenly Naruto came through the fire ball and hit Zabuza's sword so hard that the demon was sent flying into a tree.
"Hmmm… that was a good plan Naruto." Sasuke said as he walked up to his blond teammate.
Flashback
'How could he…? But he's a dobe, the dead last!' Sasuke thought before he noticed something and he looked towards the bushes to see Naruto's head poking out and he walked towards him.
Flashback end
"If you think you've won, then you are mistaken." Zabuza said as he tried to stand up, but just then came two senbons come flying and they went straight through Zabuza's neck.
Everyone looked up towards where the senbon had come from to see a kid, wearing a hunter mask. Kakashi then shunshined over to Zabuza's body to check if he was still alive.
'WAY dead…' The jonin thought before he looked up at the kid that had taken down the demon.
"Thank you for your help. I hope you don't mind my interfering, but I wanted the satisfaction… of putting Zabuza out of his misery myself!" The kid said.
"The mask is familiar… correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you a shinobi hunter from Kirigakure?" Kakashi said.
"Well, aren't you the smart one? I am, indeed a member of the elite tracking unit from Kirigakure no sato. It is our responsibility – and our art – to hunt down and deal with the rouges and outlaws." The kid said.
'Judging by his size and the timbre of his voice, he couldn't be much older than Naruto or my other students, yet he's already a full-fledged shinobi hunter! He's not your average kid, that's for sure!' Kakashi thought before pulling his Hitai-ate down. The hunter-nin then shunshined down to Zabuza's body and hoisted it over his shoulders.
"Your battle is over, for now and the remains must be disposed of, lest they give up secrets to our foes. Well then, I must be off." The kid said before shunshining away.
"I wonder where this came from anyway." Naruto said as he looked down on the Hakko chakura to that he still held in his hand.
"Now. We still have to escort Tazuna-san the rest of the way to his home. Let's put our best feet forward!" Kakashi said.
"Ha ha hah! You poor kids. You must feel so humiliated! But never mind. You can lick your wounds at my house." Tazuna said before they walked towards his house.
As soon as team 7 and Tazuna were out of view, Vaati and his team jumped down from the trees and landed where the battle had just taken place.
"The Triforce of Courage, the mark of the hero, this changes everything." Vaati said as he took something out of his pocket.
"What's that sensei?" Aqua asked.
"Something that will make things a lot more interesting." Vaati said as he knelt down and buried what appeared to be a seed into the soft soil.
Chapter preview
Kakashi "This won't be any ordinary tree climbing. You're not allowed to use your hands."
Naruto "What the…? What's the deal with all these weird plants?"
Vaati "Let's see if our brave little hero can handle this one."
Nayru 'Strange, it's summer, so how come it's so cold?'
Kakashi "Looks like I was right. Our mysterious masked friend… is playing on Zabuza's team."
Inner Sakura "Next time on The Legend of Naruto: Training! Cha!"
Sasuke "I'm shaking with eagerness for a rematch."
Character status
Naruto: Level: 4
Techniques: Henge, Kawarimi, Oiroke, Harem, Kage Bunshin.
Weapons: Hakko chakura to, kunai, shuriken.
Triforce: Courage.
Sasuke: Level: 4
Techniques: Bunshin, Henge, Kawarimi, Katon: Goukakyo.
Weapons: kunai, shuriken.
Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan. (Not unlocked yet)
Triforce: Power.
Sakura: Level: 1
Techniques: Bunshin, Henge, Kawarimi.
Weapons: kunai, shuriken.
Triforce: Wisdom
Kakashi: Level: 45
Techniques: Raikiri, Magen: Narakumi, Doton: Shinju zanshu, Doton: Doryuheki, Doton: Moguragakure, Fuja hoin, Katon: Goukakyo, Genjutsu: Sharingan, Raiton: Kage Bunshin, Taju Kage Bunshin, Sennen Goroshi, Kage Bunshin, Kuchiyose, Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga, Kirigakure, Mizu Bunshin.
Weapons: kunai, shuriken.
Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan.
Zabuza: Level: 45
Techniques: Kirigakure, Mizu Bunshin, Sairento Kiringu, Suiro, Suiton: Daibakufu, Suiton: Suiryudan.
Weapons: Kubikiribocho.
Ventus: Level: 25
Techniques: unknown
Weapons: unknown
Flare: Level: 15
Techniques: unknown
Weapons: unknown
Aqua: Level: 14
Techniques: unknown
Weapons: unknown
Vaati: Level: 65
Techniques: unknown
Weapons: unknown
Kekkei Genkai: unknown
A/N That's that chapter, hope you enjoyed the way Naruto beat one of the Oni-brothers, always wondered what'd happen if he did that during a battle, lol. Also it'll be a while before my next update unfortunately, but next week it'll be Sonic and the Jinchuriki.