Chapter VII: The Beginning is the End is the Beginning

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."-Winston Churchill


This wasn't what Zabuza had expected.

Sure, it was a given that Sharingan no Kakashi wouldn't just giveaway his client, but the nuke-nin certainly hadn't expected the jonin's genin squad to be this talented as well.

They didn't seem to have much trouble dispatching the Demon Brothers; and now, even as he fought their sensei blade to blade, they did not waver from their positions around the old bridge builder.

Hell, he still hadn't managed to track down the blonde; little bastard almost got him with that bunshin daibakuha.

Kakashi was good, Zabuza could definitely attest to the fact, but considering the fact that the Konoha-nin had a client and three genin to look after, he might as well be fighting with one arm tied behind his back and three lead weights around his neck.

Zabuza smiled, it was time to chum the waters.

"Where the fuck is Naruto?" Sakura hissed, her eyes locked on the mizu-bunshin now advancing on her, Sasuke, and Tazuna.

"Around," Sasuke replied, eyeing the kunai Naruto had left imbedded in the tree a few yards away. "We have to hold our ground and stagger our counterattack."

The bunshin suddenly picked up speed, running full tilt towards the two genin.

Sasuke withdrew several shuriken, ready to send the tiny wheels of death whizzing towards their foe. His plan, however, was altered when Naruto dropped his henge and leapt off the tree, tackling the surprised bunshin to the ground and driving a real kunai into its exposed neck.

The Uchiha's shuriken suddenly went flying, twisting in an arc aimed at another mizu-bunshin that was attempting to free Gouzu and Meizu. The projectiles zipped forward, forcing the clone to jump out of the way, but not before it was able to at least retrieve Zabuza's sword.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted. "Kill that bunshin before it returns the sword to the original!"

The blonde jinchuuriki changed course mid-stride and began running at the sword-carrying bunshin, hurling a trio of tagged kunai in its path. The projectiles ignited and exploded with a seal, forcing everyone back to avoid the flames. Naruto drew the Ebony Blade as his eyes scanned the immediate vicinity for threats.

"Above you!" Sakura cried as the clone suddenly burst through the smoke, sword raised high, to pounce on her teammate.

The girl watched as Naruto hastily threw his katana up to block a strike that came down with enough force to almost send the genin to his knees. She turned to Sasuke. "Go! Help him, I'll watch Tazuna-san!"

The Uchiha paused and for a moment and Sakura thought he might argue but he seemed to think better of it before nodding and rushing off to help Naruto.

Sasuke gave himself a running start before leaping to the air, shuriken flying out in arcs of wheeling death around him.

The spinning discs looped around Naruto, eviscerating the mizu bunshin as the genin leapt away to safety. The Uchiha pulled the wires taught and they wrapped around the falling great sword allowing Sasuke to begin dragging it to himself while Naruto defended it from other bunshin.

"SASUKE-KUN – LOOK OUT!"

"Forget about us, you little shit!" Meizu shouted, watching the Konoha-nin roll away, narrowly avoiding the chunin's axe-kick. His brother landed beside him, pilfered kunai held tightly in hand. "Where the fuck did you bastards hide our gauntlets!" Gouzu demanded in a snarl.

Sasuke continued to watch them with a curious stare before pointing to the sky.

"They're mine now!" Naruto shouted, hurling a hail of kunai as he fell to the ground. The Demon Brothers were forced to leap out of the way, regrouping in a position to better keep an eye on all of their opponents. The blonde indicated a scroll hanging from his waist. "My reward for breaking that tender ass of yours, gumby!" Naruto leered tauntingly at Gouzu.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you if–"

"Fuck your story, gumby!" A second Naruto shouted, leaping from the trees poised to swing the Ebony Blade in a wide arc.

Sasuke and Naruto's eyes widened as Zabuza skewered the kage bunshin in mid-air with his enormous sword. "Fall back to the river!" The jonin ordered before turning to the two genin. "See you kiddies there!"

He leapt at Naruto and Sasuke, blade lashing out in a devastatingly wide arc that narrowly failed in bisecting the two teens at the waist. Their world had now rapidly dissolved into a terrifying blur of steel and chopped earth, each doing their best to avoid losing a limb to the man's never-ending barrage of swipes.

"Sasuke, fall back to Sakura's position!" Naruto shouted, rolling under another horizontal swing and creating another kage bunshin and hoping Zabuza would strike it and cause it to explode.

"One step ahead of y—gurk!"

Naruto watched, horrified, as the great sword found purchase in the junction between Sasuke's neck and left shoulder, cleaving almost all the way through his body.

"Too slow, Uchiha…" Zabuza drawled, his strength the only thing holding the dying boy up.

Sasuke turned to his killer with the same grin he had leveled on Naruto. He chuckled wetly as blood poured from his mouth.

"'Boom.'" he quoted.

Naruto was sent rocketing backwards until his body crashed into a tree. His world exploded into pain as he fell to the grass in a shower of bark, leaving him with nothing to do but wait for his broken hip to mend so that he could stop screaming in agony and walk properly again. "Fuckmefuckmefuckme—FUCK ME!"

"You ought to keep it down, moron..." Sasuke muttered, leaning down and holding Naruto's leg in place so that the bones restructured themselves properly, "…a ninja bears his burdens in honorable silence–"

"—FUCK YOU!—AAAAAH!"

There was a sickening pop that even Sakura and Tazuna heard.

"—and determined dignity," Sasuke finished, helping his blonde teammate to his feet.

"That may be, but I still hate you with every fucking ounce of my entire goddamn being, Sasuke…" Naruto seethed. "What's our next move?"

"Secure Sakura and Tazuna," the Uchiha said and at once and they both turned to head off, "then we'll rendezvous with Kakashi."

The pair warily set off to where they had left Sakura to guard Tazuna, each genin keeping their eyes out for another ambush. Sasuke palmed another handful of shuriken and Naruto kept the Ebony Blade aloft, ready to lash out at would-be attackers.

Naruto was discovering that he rather liked the high he got from the combined stress and adrenaline; the thought of fighting to keep a grip on his very life was exhilarating to him and fueling him to fight harder, move faster—

"—be better."

Sasuke just felt…

"…alive."

"Yo!" Kakashi waved when he saw his remaining two students approaching. "Did you guys make it out alright?"

"We're fine… now." Sasuke said.

"Thanks to my own healing, asshole! You're lucky we both knew I would heal," the jinchuuriki grumbled.

The Uchiha's eyes widened slightly. "I didn't know you were going to heal, per se," he shrugged, "but it was certainly a risk I was willing to take."

"Moving along now," Kakashi spoke up, forestalling what he was sure was going to be another long and animosity-filled rant from Naruto, "what's the worst of it from your end?"

"The guy with the sword managed to free the two chunin," Naruto muttered.

"Figured as much," the jonin nodded. "Did everyone also catch where they were headed next?"

"River." Sasuke grunted.

"Points to you, favorite student!" Kakashi simpered mockingly, secretly enjoying the looks of insecurity Naruto and Sakura exchanged. "Can anyone tell me why they might do this?"

"Um…" Sakura began before finding her voice, "being from Kiri, they probably have suiton affinities, right Kakashi-sensei?" The girl waited for an encouraging nod before concluding, "Then a river would give them the tactical advantage."

"Correct, Sakura-chan!" He patted her on the head in a supreme showing of condescendence and then turned to address the team as a whole. "So we'll have to be extra careful to avoid being engaged too close to the water. Expect our enemies to be capable of running and fighting on the water as well."

Naruto let out a low, appreciative whistle. "Do we have a game plan, then, Sensei?"

"You three will stay back and guard Tazuna-san. Kill the Demon Brothers if you can, but don't stray from the client!" the jonin ordered, stressing the latter half, "I'll handle Zabuza myself."

"Zabuza?" Naruto asked, "Momochi? As in Demon of the Mist?"

"Correct, Naruto."

The blonde whistled again. "Fuck me… first mission, too…" he muttered.

"As long as the three of you stick together," Kakashi returned, motioning his students to form around Tazuna and move out, "and follow my orders, we'll get out of this more-or-less in one piece." He paused and looked back at his students, grinning. "…alive at least!"

The three genin fell into step around the old bridge builder and began moving forward in formation with Kakashi at the lead. Everyone moved in silence, Tazuna's clumsy footsteps and frantic breathing the only noises heard alongside the softly rustled grass that murmured in little whispers of promised death.

As they advanced Naruto thought he could hear the sounds of moving water and his grip on the Ebony Blade tightened instinctively. A chill brushed across him and the air began to grow pregnant with moisture, almost soaking his clothes through.

Nervous sweat intermingled with great rolling beads of condensed water as Team 7 advanced slowly into a mist that was far too thick to be naturally occurring.

Kakashi halted. "Everyone go silent unless absolutely necessary. Zabuza specializes in Sairento Kiringu."

"Kage bunshin no jutsu," Naruto whispered before twelve copies poofed into existence and took off into the mist in various directions, though a few took to the trees surrounding the now mist-covered road.

Team 7 continued it's advance into the mist, each member growing progressively more soaked as the mist seemed to cling to them, almost in a caressing manner, offering empty promises of shelter.

Naruto could barely make out the form of Tazuna, who stood only three feet from him, as well as that of Sasuke bringing up the rear. Kakashi and Sakura might as well be nonexistent, the conjured mist was hiding them from view so effectively.

This had to be Zabuza's doing; lead them to the river and pick apart Team 7 one by one and collect the stragglers by the banks.

But Naruto was no slouch, Hayate-sensei had taught him well.

He was hunter, not hunted.

Never again.

Somewhere in the distance a clone popped out of existence, its last memories of a kunai bursting from the grey miasma flooding his brain, and Naruto began padding that way, leaving three clones in his place next to Tazuna.

"…so many choices…"

The mist itself seemed to call out to him, though Naruto knew he wasn't the only one who had heard the voice.

"I could slit your throat…" the Void offered and Naruto felt himself die, bisected by the jonin's giant sword in another clone's last memories.

Someone near him took a clumsy step and gave himself away; Naruto advanced closer, sword gripped tightly.

"Carve out your heart, maybe?" the Void asked and Naruto paused as birds began chirping.

They grew louder and the hairs on Naruto's neck began to rise through the marsh of sweat collecting around them.

Death screamed at the blonde and he dove to the ground just as the enormous blade sprang forth from the mist, poised to lop off his head.

Light blinded him as the incessant chirping drowned out his other senses–

Kakashi burst through the clone, seemingly holding a bolt of lightning in his hand, sending steaming water everywhere before hastily disappearing back into the mist.

Naruto was alone once again.

Off in the distance Sasuke grunted and water splashed.

Another kage bunshin poofed out of existence after catching the briefest glimpses of Meizu's bloodied face before the chunin crushed its head like a melon.

Naruto allowed himself a small smile as he continued his advance.

"…do you fear death…?" the Void queried. "You march freely into death's embrace…"

The blonde ducked under the great sword's initial swipe, lashing out viciously with his katana.

The mizu bunshin blocked and a clone moved into place. Naruto grit his teeth with the effort of holding the chakra construct back while keeping aware of the onrushing chunin attempting to flank him; timing would be crucial.

"DIE!" Meizu shouted, leaping from the void at Naruto, causing the blonde to utilize his kawarimi with the placed kage bunshin.

The clone and the original switched places, the former letting Zabuza's attack hack him out of existence in a poof of smoke.

Meizu landed with a confused look, eyes widening in surprise as the Zabuza clone dissolved in a splash of falling water. "—Urk!—"

"That's gotta hurt," a clone tsked, eyeing the katana sticking into the dying chunin's ribcage and holding a kunai to his neck. "I'll send your brother along shortly," it added, drawing the blade across Meizu's neck and spilling a fresh torrent of thick steaming blood.

A dragon roared in the distance and the mist was ripped away in an instant, funneling to the massive beast as it rose from the river behind Zabuza, snapping its gargantuan jaws at Kakashi.

The Konoha jonin's hands became twin blurs as they trained through a set of seals before his own dragon rose to meet the oncoming tsunami of death that was Zabuza's jutsu.

Naruto marveled at the display of raw power from the two combatants as the colliding techniques created a massive wave that surged past the river's banks.

"YOU!"

The blonde whipped his head around and saw Gouzu standing over the body of his slain brother, the surviving chunin looked quite mad with rage.

"I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!" he shouted, brandishing the two kunai he seemingly pilfered from the battlefield.

The blonde tossed his sword down and began running full-pelt towards the onrushing Kiri-nin, leaping at his unsuspecting attacker and wrapping him in a bear hug, rendering his arms useless by pinning them to the chunin's sides.

Several taught wires pulled themselves tight around Gouzu and the blonde, trapping them together at the end of Sasuke's shinobi wire that the Uchiha held in his teeth.

Gouzu saw the Uchiha's breast swell with chakra–

"I did him in like a little piggy set to market!" Gouzu's head whipped around and the blonde broke his nose with a headbutt. "Slit his throat, ear to ear!" Another headbutt.

The mist-nin turned his head groggily once more and saw fire racing down the wire from the Uchiha's mouth–

"Aaand…" he turned back around and received another headbutt that bloomed stars in his eyes. "Here's the best part!"

Fire engulfed them both and Gouzu felt his skin burn away for the briefest of agonizing seconds, the maniac blonde laughing the whole time. The bastard looked him in the eye, the last thing Gouzu would ever see in this life, and spoke its final word.

"Boom."


Sakura shook her head at Naruto's theatrics. "He never learns, does he?" the pinkette asked rhetorically as she watched the blonde's clone finish what Sasuke's jutsu started by wiping all existence of the former chunin's existence from the world.

"…I guess you get credit for that one, Sasuke," Naruto conceded as the pair landed next to Sakura, "you technically would have killed him even if the clone didn't explode."

The Uchiha nodded in acceptance–

"—but I still get credit for the assist!" the blonde tacked on with a self assuring nod.

"Hn."

"If you two are quite done!" Sakura interrupted pointedly, "perhaps we can move a little closer and see how Kakashi-sensei's doing?"

The three genin looked over to the river and saw their sensei exchange a round of blows with the nuke-nin, a metallic clang!ringing out after each clash.

"Seems to be doing okay," Naruto assessed. "What about you?" He pointed to Sakura. "Any water clones try to hassle you or Tazuna-san?"

"Just a few. One of the Demon Brothers had a go for it, but Sasuke fought him off." She reported, eyes trained on her sensei as he danced round the massive sword like some morbid interpretation of a ballet recital.

The onslaught of water clones seemed to have died down as their opponent was now diverting his full attention to Kakashi. The famed Konoha jonin of a thousand jutsu was currently living up to every inch of his legendary reputation.

He was having no trouble copying every jutsu Zabuza threw at him and throwing it right back with an equal level of proficiency.

The copy-nin's Sharingan was having no problems predicting what his body was going to do before his mind had even decided to do it.

That, and the masked ninja seemed unusually determined to live. Much more so than the average shinobi, in fact.

"Still got a chance to hand over the old man," Zabuza grunted as he lashed out with a kick that forced the Konoha jonin back. "Your brats haven't broken anything that can't be replaced… yet, Kakashi-san."

"Nice to know how you view your teammates, Zabuza-san," the copy-nin seemed to sneer, flinging a trio of kunai at the muscular nuke-nin. "Interchangeable, right?"

"Don't get high and mighty with me, copy ninja!" the bandaged shinobi growled through his wrappings. "You fought in the last war– you remember how it was!" he lashed out with his massive sword, narrowly missing Kakashi's chest. "We're just bodies for the thinkers to throw at each other in their chess-game-turned-real-life!"

There was a break in the combat, Zabuza and Kakashi suddenly finding themselves standing roughly six feet apart from each other as each jonin ran the other over with a critical eye.

"You didn't know the first thing about the Demon Brothers," Zabuza spat. "Disgrace to the name shinobi—all momentum and no direction, save to propel their own selfish desires of infamy." The former Swordsman of the Mist raised his great sword and set the hulking thing on his shoulder. "Hollow warriors crumble like poorly sculpted statues– just a matter of time, Kakashi-san."

"Your overall attitude still leaves the casual observer wanting for more, Zabuza-san," Kakashi returned, raising his kunai. "You could just let us pass, you're a nuke-nin, how loyal can you be to your current employer?"

"Not the point," Zabuza answered, shaking his head. "My contracts get fulfilled, no questions asked." The former Kiri-nin readied his stance and grinned as he felt an exit strategy present itself in the ripples of the water below him. "You could just let me kill the old fart now—it's gonna happen, regardless of what happens here today—might as well get it over with…"

"Not gonna happen, Zabuza-san…"

"…an impasse," the Kiri-nin snorted, "how cliché…" Inwardly he grinned and made a seal.

Kakashi's retort died on his tongue and his eyes widened as Naruto leapt from the river's shallow depths, bursting through its glossy surface like a summoned shadow birthed from the running water's macabre ripples.

There was a poof of smoke and several more Narutos leapt from the water and wrapped themselves around Zabuza, effectively immobilizing the swordsman.

"One too many times to the cookie jar, kid…" the missing nin grunted, struggling against his "bindings" as well as with the effort of staying afloat on the now choppy river with all the additional weight.

The real Naruto rose slowly from the river behind the jonin, Ebony Blade poised to carve out the femoral arteries left vulnerable by Zabuza's higher stance atop the river itself.

Water dripped off him in rivulets, gravity seeing the cool liquid back to its source as the blonde genin waded into position to strike a fatal blow. Naruto readied his katana–

A pair of maddened eyes found him, just at their owner chewed through his bandages and lunged forward, tearing out the throat of the clone wrapped around his chest. "Gotcha!"

The clone poofed out of existence and the jonin was gifted with enough range of motion to form one final seal. "You got too greedy, kid–"

—Naruto began frantically swimming away—

"—let the adults finish talking before interrupting next time, brat… boom!"

The resulting explosion from Zabuza's bunshin daibakuha sent Naruto rocketing from the river's waters in a wet, smoking heap that crashed on the banks in a deluge of fire, river water, and displaced earth in consequence of the chakra-fuelled explosion.

"Fuuuuuuck!" he howled, nursing his shattered shoulder—it had taken the brunt of the impact—and cursing the nuke-nin to the foulest depths of hell.

"Students—and Tazuna-san, for that matter—" Kakashi and the rest of Team 7 entered his tilted world view, the jonin gesturing sadly to Naruto's haphazard condition, "—this is a prime example of why it is essential that everyone listen to my orders!

"Had Naruto stayed out of the fight, he would not be in such considerable agony at this very moment." The jonin watched his masked student quiver in pain as his shoulder reset itself. "No," there was a loud pop and Naruto screamed once more, "he would be whole and unharmed like you two are– Tazuna-san!"

The bridge builder gave a startled yelp of surprise. "What's that…?"

"I'd like a word, if you don't mind," the jonin requested, already walking away, "you two," he called back at his students, "bring Naruto along, will you?"

In the distance, a frog leapt into the river's waters with a dull splash.

Naruto gave one last wheezing shriek of agony before finally fainting from the pain as the pieces of his shattered scapula began to reset themselves under the reconstructed ball-and-socket joint that was his freshly mended shoulder.

Sakura and Sasuke shared equal looks of resentment before reluctantly gathering their teammate and hurrying after their sensei.


"…Gah!"

Naruto sprang upright, knocking the jar of smelling salts away from his nose. The blonde glared reproachfully at his sensei before rising, ignoring Sakura's snickers. "What did I miss?" the blonde asked, rotating his still-tender shoulder gingerly.

"You've only been out for ten-or-so minutes, Naruto," Kakashi filled in helpfully, "Zabuza used the explosion to make his retreat, but I expect we'll be seeing plenty more of our new friend from Mist. We're getting ready to make the last leg of our land portion of the journey." The copy-nin pointed south. "According to Tazuna-san, there will be transportation to Wave at the mouth of the river, a few miles from here."

"Can we trust him?" Naruto asked, eyeing the old man suspiciously, "he's already lied before…"

"Oh, we had a little talk about trust," the jonin dismissed and Naruto heard the bridge builder gulp loudly, "the circle of trust has been reestablished now that Tazuna-san has witnessed what happens to the untrustworthy…"

The blonde nodded. "Good. Are we ready to move out, then?"

Kakashi nodded in return. "Alright team," he paused to let everyone gather 'round, "we're going to be heading to the pier so that we can depart for Wave Country. If I've guessed right, Zabuza made his exit when he did because he was beginning to run low on chakra like I was." Another pause and the jonin scratched his chin thoughtfully. "So I don't think we'll need to worry over another attack before we reach Wave– though it was odd that they even met us this deep into Fire Country…"

"Maybe there's been an intel leak, sensei…" Sakura offered, eyes darting over towards their client.

"Oh, I don't think the web is spun that deeply, Sakura-chan," Kakashi said with a dismissive wave towards Tazuna. "It's more likely they've been tracking his movements and caught up to him just a bit too late. Regardless," he made sure to address the team as a whole, "we should all be on full alert at all times."

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei," the three genin chorused.

"Oh, how adorable you three are when you do that!" he mocked, making sure to grab Naruto in a condescending noogie, "And don't think I've forgotten about beating all of you—especially you for interfering, Naruto—extra thoroughly later!" he released his student and the blonde shot him a baleful glare. "Though, from a tactical standpoint, I am rather pleased."

He gave them a thumbs-up, like a teacher would give a student who'd managed to color "inside the lines" for the first time.

Kakashi took the lead, marching everyone down the river's banks while the genin took their positions around Tazuna.

They walked on in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts about the preceding conflict. Naruto contemplated how easy it was to dispatch the two chunin, and found himself agreeing with Zabuza's assessment of them. It did, however, beg the question if the blonde would be able to deal with a real chunin intent on killing him. Naruto smiled, he was confident Zabuza would provide more willing bags of organs to figure it out before everything was all said and done. Satisfied, he turned his thoughts inward once more, "Is there anybody in there…?"

Sasuke was watching his sensei lead them on, his Sharingan recording every minute detail of the older shinobi's gait. It was the first time he'd actually killed somebody. One to Itachi's hundreds. Sasuke "hn'd" to himself; he would need to practice much more in order to reach Itachi's levels of both efficiency and proficiency. The genin wrinkled his nose in a vain attempt to rid himself from the stench of cooked flesh. Burning the bodies to dispose of them had been most… unpleasant, Sasuke now saw the appeal in simply leaving them as rotting warnings for other would-be assailants. A sigh escaped him, perhaps Naruto was right? Just kill them all and be done with it.

Team 7's lone kunoichi ran over the battle with a critical eye, first determining that she had sufficiently protected their client as mandated by Kakashi-sensei's orders. She had dispatched a clone herself, and Sasuke had been able to help her with others. Yet the girl wondered how things would have turned out had she gone to help Naruto in fighting off the Demon Brothers. Would she have faired as well as Sasuke, or even Naruto for that matter? Looking back on it all, she definitely felt her variety in jutsu left much to be desired; she definitely didn't have any area-of-effect attacks like she knew Naruto and Sasuke did. That would all need to change, soon.

"If anyone could hear me, they'd think I was crazy…" Naruto continued to mull over his thoughts as his conclusions left him further and further frustrated, answers not coming to him in a ready fashion. "I probably am crazy, aren't I? …wait, crazy people don't think they're crazy, right?" Naruto stepped over a rock and chanced a glance at Sasuke. "He's the crazy one, with that attitude of his– living in denial." The blonde nodded reassuringly, "I know I'm crazy, so that means I'm sane with rational–"

"You killed somebody today," Tazuna suddenly spoke, "You know that, right?"

"Kill't the fuck out of 'em, Tazuna-san, like a farmer would a fat pig for dinner. I remember, I was there," the genin answered.

"A pig?" the old man repeated incredulously. "Just like that?" he snapped his fingers in time with the last word.

"Just like that!" Naruto parroted back with a snap of his own, "I've put more thought into wiping shit from my sandals, Tazuna-san. My main concern is with ensuring my ability to dispatch much more competent opponents– securing the next kill."

"The next one? Already?" the man asked, looking faint.

"Shinobi careers of note are built on mausoleums of the dead." Naruto pointed at the jonin leading them closer to the small pier at the river's mouth, "how many people have you killed, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Much more than Tazuna-san would be comfortable with knowing, Naruto," the jonin called back, not even bothering to tear his eyes away from Icha Icha Paradise.

"See?" Naruto reiterated. "It's just part of the job. The real trick is staying alive long enough to make a real dent in the history books. Like Kakashi has, like Zabuza has– that's a ninja's definition of success!"

"…fair enough…" Tazuna tacked on, not sure what else to say.

"Though, I admit," Naruto continued, "Sasuke's kill was more impressive than mine—flashier, too—but there's a subtle science found in sairento kiringu that I find often goes underappreciated these days."

"So that was the same technique that Zabuza was using." Sasuke stated, rather than asked, in the tone of voice that demands an answer less the person asked look like a liar.

"…mmmm, that depends, Sasuke," Naruto grinned behind his mask, "what can you tell me about that mist we saw?"

"Hn." The Uchiha turned from his teammate to watch Kakashi break formation to go speak with the man operating the small boat that would take them to Wave. "It was saturated with Chakra, to the point where it effectively hid the clones from my Sharingan." Sasuke paused before adding, "Seems like more chakra yields denser mist."

"Sounds perfect," Naruto answered, savoring the information and its possibilities, "don't suppose you caught the hand signs for it, did ya?"

"No. The mist was too thick, though I suspect that Zabuza-san might not need hand signs to activate it."

Naruto nodded, tucking that tidbit of information away for later. "Thanks. As for sairento kiringu, it's more of a technique for assassination as opposed to an actual jutsu. Anyone can learn it; it mainly revolves on moving about stealthily. Though, to combine it with the kirigakure no jutsu…" he left the thought unanswered in the air and turned to Sakura. "You could always hear the Demon Brothers, but not the clones, right?"

"Yeah," the kunoichi nodded, "I couldn't keep track of you, either."

"That's what I thought. Zabuza clearly never shared that little technique with his cohorts, I wonder why?" Naruto asked as the group came to a stop at the edge of the pier, having finally caught up with Kakashi.

"Everyone all set to go? Our captain here," he gestured to a scrawny man wearing a straw hat, "has expressed his eagerness to set sail for the island—"

"—before we all fuckin' die, man! I told you—"

"—before we all fucking die, if at all possible. Are there any objections?" he asked the group as a whole, drowning out the captain's dark mutterings of dismemberment and death.

There were no objections so Kakashi offered a mock salute.

"Well alright, then! Everybody squeeze in, we're going to Wave!" he exclaimed, standing aside to allow his students and their client to begin fighting for prime seating in the rickety dingy.

The captain lit up a cigarette. "Fuckin' ninja, man… I don't need this shit…"

An exhaled lungful of smoke later and they were off.

"Your cigarette smells funny," Naruto exclaimed, feigning ignorance in a performance that was bought by no one.

"Wha-? Oh! Uh…" the captain spluttered, eyeing Kakashi queerly.

The blonde burst out laughing and reached for the joint, "I'm just fucking with you, man! Lemme see that…"

Sakura snorted and found herself once again rolling her eyes as she watched the blonde pull down his mask.

Naruto smiled as smoke rose in lifting whorls from the corners of his mouth, likening him to a slumbering dragon, and he passed the joint back to its owner.

Yes, being a ninja most certainly did have its perks.

"S.W.A.G.," he thought with a content smile, enjoying the gentle rocking of the boat, "Stuff we all get!"


"Home, sweet home…" Tazuna said as the group, after several more hours of hiking—thankfully uninterrupted by Zabuza—came upon a lone cottage set on the outskirts of a port village.

The cottage was modest with its two stories and plantation shutters. Naruto thought that the constant sea breeze must keep it rather cool in the hotter months. The grass was thick and the trees hearty, giving the location the feeling of a comforting escape one might retreat to when looking to escape the helter skelter of everyday life.

Looking down on the modest village that unfurled a half-mile or so away, Naruto was not yet sure how he felt about being trapped in this place, as opposed to just visiting.

A young woman pulled the teen from his musings by rushing from the house and flinging herself into Tazuna's arms.

"Father!" she cried, squeezing the man tighter, "I was so worried!"

"Tsunami-chan," the man mumbled into her chestnut hair, "I told you not to worry– here I am, safe and sound, thanks to our guests from Konoha."

The young woman turned a pair of large eyes wet with gratitude to Team 7, bowing low. "Thank you all so much," she said sincerely, "please make yourselves at home for as long as necessary. "

Naruto's stomach gave a loud growl, causing the blonde to scratch his head in embarrassment. "Oh, don't mind me, Miss…?"

"Tsunami," she replied, waving him off, "and it's no trouble at all. You must be starving, all of you!" She eyed all of them speculatively, "why doesn't everyone come in, and we'll have dinner. It's almost ready."

"That sounds perfect, Tsunami-san," Kakashi spoke up. "My name is Kakashi Hatake and these are my students—Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha—" he pointed out each genin as he spoke their name, "and we'll do our best not to impose."

"I'm sure it won't be an imposition at all, Kakashi-san!" the girl chirped brightly.

The jonin allowed himself a small grin; women were fun sometimes. "I'm just going to have a brief word with my students—regarding security and other mundane assignments—and then we'll be right along!"

"I'll try to have everything ready by then!" she assured, taking her father's hat and leading him inside, the door swinging shut behind them.

She immediately rounded on the beleaguered man. "Are you sure you're okay?" Tsunami asked again.

The bridge builder gave her a loving pat on the head as he made his way to the refrigerator. "I am, Tsunami-chan, I promise. These ninja… they're good at what they do. I used to think it was us that had to fear Gatou, now…"

"'Now?'" she repeated, "what now, father?"

Tazuna took a long pull from his fresh sake bottle. "Now… after watching those four, I'm not so sure we're the ones who should be afraid anymore…"

"What do you mean?" Tsunami called from the kitchen, attending the various dishes she had been preparing.

"The way they fought," he muttered, bones creaking as he sank into his favorite armchair. "They're all killers, the whole lot of them." He took another comforting swig, "Nice enough, sure, but they'd gladly slit each and everyone of our throats—with a smile, no less—if someone paid them to do it."

Tsunami frowned and added more salt to the fish she was preparing. "But they're just doing their jobs, Dad… it's nothing personal!"

"Yeah, that might be so, Tsunami-chan, but it's a terrible job– the kind that has to get done for the world to keep spinning along properly, despite the fact that no one likes to do it, much less admit it gets done," the bridge builder assented, "but it doesn't change the fact that I've gone and hired the people crazy enough to jump at the opportunity, rather than some of the ones who would murder with more reluctance."

"My ears are burning!" a voice called from the doorway and Tazuna watched the blonde shinobi enter his house alone.

"Naruto-kun!" his daughter exclaimed. "Where's the rest of your team, is everything alright?"

"Fine, fine," he waved off, having a seat at their dining table, "they just went ahead to scout out the village– disguised, of course."

"And we got stuck with you, huh?" Tazuna grunted, rising up and moving to sit with Naruto at the table.

"Sure did!" the blonde chirped, snatching the bottle from Tazuna and lowering his mask to take a swig. "Nice house, by the way. Plenty of room to stretch out, you don't get that with an apartment."

"You don't," Tazuna grumbled, snatching back his sake bottle. "Ease up on the drinking—and no smoking that funny shit around Inari-kun—while you're here." He leveled Naruto with his sternest glare. "I'd hate it if he picked up on your bad habits– he's a handful enough already."

"MOM!"

On cue, a shadow clone came down holding a struggling boy by his suspenders while the small child flailed about desperately.

The clone dropped the boy at his mother's feet and turned to Naruto, saluting smartly. "Sweep of the house complete, boss. " The chakra construct eyed the small kid oddly, "Found him hiding in a closet upstairs. The rest of us are gonna take up positions in the trees and sweep the property as a whole."

"Sounds good," Naruto nodded, a fresh set of memories flooding his brain as one of the clones with Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke dispelled. "Keep me updated."

"Ten-four, big guy!" The clone rogered, dispelling itself so the others were updated.

"Inari-kun, what were you doing upstairs?" Tsunami asked, satisfied that her son had been returned to her unharmed.

"Nothing, just minding my own business!" he spat out defiantly, raising an accusing finger at Naruto. "He interrupted me!"

"Clone says you leapt out at it from the upstairs linen closet…" Naruto retorted as he lazily examined a kunai.

"No I didn't, you liar!" Inari shouted, flushing red with embarrassment.

"Inari-kun." Tsunami hissed, using that age-old tone that mothers had to stop their sons cold. "Go back upstairs and wash up for dinner!"

"But I wanna talk to grampa–"

"Now!"

The boy shivered, threw Naruto one last glare of loathing, and scampered back upstairs and out of sight.

"So what's for dinner, Tsunami-san?" Naruto asked, embarrassed because of his stomach's now insistent grumbling.

"Fish, mostly, we usually eat what's in season. I hope you're hungry!" the woman said with a knowing smile.

"Famished."

"Excellent!" she smiled, giving Naruto a sly wink, before peering out a window. "And I think your sensei and teammates have returned, too!"

Naruto glanced up and indeed did spy the tall form of his sensei making its way back towards the modest cottage. "Damn shame, we were having such a nice time, too…"

"Oh, I'm sure they're not bad at all," the woman admonished jokingly. "I think maybe you just like being the center of attention, Naruto-kun!"

"Me?" the genin asked in mock innocence. "But I'm so shy; Sasuke's the attention-whore, not me!"

"Somehow I doubt that," Tsunami challenged, stirring a wok-full of sautéing vegetables. "Sasuke-kun doesn't strike me as the type to starve for attention, he isn't exactly the… loquacious type either, is he?"

"I find dignified silence preferable over spouting a never-ending stream of nonsense that serves no purpose save the irritation of all those unfortunate enough to find themselves subject to it." The Uchiha answered, slinking into the room and taking a seat next to Naruto. "You'll understand after you've had more… exposure to Naruto, here, Tsunami-san."

"Up yours and a bag of dicks, Sasuke," the jinchuuriki returned cheerfully. "You have all the personality and emotions of a pet rock– and not the fancy kind, either."

"That's lovely table-side conversation," Sakura deadpanned as she strode in with Kakashi, both sitting down at the table with Naruto, Sasuke, and Tazuna. "Exactly what a girl wants to hear before sitting down to a meal."

"You let me worry about what it is, exactly, that you want, Sakura-chan," Naruto dismissed, eyeing the various dishes their hostess was now setting out upon the table. "We both know you benefit from a 'hands-on' experience anyway!" he added, in spite of himself, wiggling his fingers lasciviously at the kunoichi.

The pinkette brushed brightly and Tsunami smiled, enjoying their banter. Foul-mouthed as it was, it made for a nice change from the woebegone and macabre thoughts that usually filled their lives in recent memory. "Inari-kun! Come and eat!" she called up the stairs, turning back around to make her way over to the table, taking the seat opposite her father. "I hope you all enjoy everything!"

"It smells delicious, Tsunami-san," Kakashi praised, his visible eye straying from a steaming platter of fish briefly to watch Inari fill the last vacant seat at the table, "Thank you, it's certainly more than we deserve!"

"It was no trouble at all!" the young woman blushed, beginning to serve herself as the others did so, "how was your inspection of the village, Kakashi-san?"

"Most illuminating, Tsunami-san," the jonin answered. "Did you happen to know, for example, that this village lacks a police force? It seems as if Gatou has managed to bring the entire department under his control and fill it with his own men!"

"I– father… did you know about this?" the girl asked incredulously.

"I didn't," Tazuna answered with a shake of his head "Kaiza told me awhile back he suspected something along those lines… I never realized it'd be this bad."

"Furthermore, it would appear that Gatou is skimming the best supplies for himself and his men as soon as goods come off ships at the harbor." Kakashi continued, somehow managing to eat without removing his mask, much to Naruto's jealousy.

"Will it be safe for my father to keep working on the bridge?" the woman asked worriedly.

"It will, but I'm going to ask that he take an additional two days off so my team and I can finish setting up our defenses and investigating the village." Kakashi stated, turning towards Tazuna.

"That won't be a problem, the men'll appreciate the extra time off." The bridge builder nodded in agreement.

"What's the damn point!" Inari burst out, slamming down his chopsticks. "What makes you think Gatou won't kill you, too!"

The elite jonin leveled the young boy with a haunting stare. "What makes you think we won't kill Gatou first?"

The man's stare frightened Inari but somehow robbed him of the conviction to contradict the masked man's bold statement. Unsure of himself, Inari chose to retreat up the stairs into his room.

"Oh my… excuse me, won't you?" Tsunami excused herself before bustling up the stairs after her son.

"Kid's kind of a Debbie-downer, no?" Sakura asked of Tazuna.

"He's had a rough life. Gatou had his father publically executed," Tazuna shook his head wearily, "it was awful."

"It's alright, Tazuna-san." Kakashi said, rising from the table. "Students! Follow me, please. We'll be outside if you need anything, Tazuna-san."

Tazuna returned to his thoughts and sake as Team 7 marched out the front door of his house.

"So what's the plan," Naruto asked eagerly once the door had swung shut behind them all.

"Tonight, the three of you are going to enter the village and take out the seven targets I had your clones begin tailing, Naruto," Kakashi began. "I'm going to stay here and watch our client, once you three return, I'll make my way to the docks…"

Naruto nodded in understanding. "How bad is the village itself?"

"Not so good," the jonin admitted with a sigh, "Gatou's presence is much more set than I had anticipated– and I'm sure Zabuza's failure to kill us will only encourage him to start sending more men."

"But, sensei…" Sakura spoke up, "should we attack him further, if the result will only be increased resistance?"

"Normally I'd agree, Sakura-chan, but Gatou's going to send more men regardless of what we do tonight." The jonin withdrew a kunai and made a shadow clone. "So, we might as well strike first, and leave him a nice pile of bodies as a welcoming gift. At the very least it'll demoralize his men somewhat."

Naruto was openly grinning by this point, his face stretching the fabric of his mask in a perverse imitation of a shadow.

"What about Zabuza? Is it likely Gatou will employ more shinobi?" Sasuke asked, Sharingan glinting in the setting sun.

"It's hard to say. He's been using nuke-nin so far—probably to save money—and you can't exactly mix nuke-nin with actual contracted shinobi." Kakashi reasoned. "Finding additional nuke-nin willing to work with someone like Zabuza would prove even more difficult. We'll assume civilians will make up the majority of our opponents."

"Details for tomorrow-us to worry about!" Naruto ushered, eager to get the operation underway; he had hours of meditating to look forward too once they were done. "Let's get this party started already!"

"Fine, fine… everyone disguise yourself, give me your hitai-ates," the jonin collected the forehead protectors and watched his students henge their visible features. "Good. Now, your first target is the police chief we saw at the station…"


"Dead!" the tiny man roared, like a mosquito pestering a gorilla, "What do you mean they're dead!"

"That they've died, Gatou." Zabuza grunted testily. "The old man managed to contract some pretty decent Konoha shinobi and they managed to capture and eventually kill the Demon Brothers."

"And they beat you, too?" Gatou demanded, nearly frothing at the mouth in rage. "I thought you were the goddamned 'Demon of the Mist!' Not some worthless lug of–"

The man's tirade died in his throat as he suddenly found the ex mist-nin holding him about the throat, threatening to throttle him. "I'd watch my fucking mouth, if I was you… and I'd stay put if I were you two," Zabuza called to the two ronin lapdogs Gatou kept near him.

Both men paused, hands inches away from their katana, as an ice-cold sensation filled the room. Their hands returned harmlessly to their sides as a long senbon pressed into each of their necks.

"It would be wise of you to heed Zabuza-sama's advice…" the masked shinobi whispered softly.

"Now," the jonin began again, "would you like to hear my plan, Gatou? Guerilla warfare is the only way you're gonna win this…"

"W-what do you have in mind…?" Gatou stammered as Zabuza finally set him down.

The bandaged ninja smiled. "Well, you're gonna need a lot more men to patrol the village, for starters."

"O-of course!" the man squeaked. "What else?"

Zabuza began walking out of the well-furnished office. "Money." He said simply, pausing at the door. "My friends don't work for cheap, Gatou-san."


A/N: Here ya go, folks. Enjoy. Thanks again to Eipok Kruden for being the best sounding board an author could hope for. To everyone else, this was the first chapter that will diverge us from canon, so here we go. Also, a million points to whoever catches the daedric reference in this chapter, it'll clue you into the bigger picture that is about to unfold. And, as always, leave a review please. Till next time,

-Andrew