Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Naruto.
Ch. 3: Calm Before the Storm
The night was quiet, Kakashi noted. There was an occasional cricket chirp or some other nocturnal creature, yet other than that it was silent. A gentle breeze would rustle the trees but the masked jonin still couldn't shake the unease that filled him. 'The calm before the storm,' he thought darkly to himself. Years working in the ANBU had given him a sort of sixth sense concerning danger. He looked to the sleeping genin in the room they'd secured for the night and wondered if he had the ability to keep them safe.
"Is something wrong, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked quietly. She sat next to the small fire they made in the hearth at the center of the room. The pink haired girl looked to have a lot on her mind even as she attempted to stave off her fatigue.
"No, just thinking about nothing in particular," he half-lied. "Is there something you wanted to talk about?"
Sakura stared at the flame pensively for a moment before letting out a sigh. "I was pretty useless back there today," she said dejectedly, resting her head on her knees. "I mean even Naruto managed to be useful. I just stood there like a scared mouse."
"Is that what this is about," he said with amusement causing the girl to pout in disdain. "You've been a genin for how long now... two, almost three months? Yet, in that short time you've already faced your first chunin ranked enemy. Do you know how long most genin take to actually get into a situation involving enemy shinobi, let alone chunin?"
"But everyone else managed to hold their own," she said dejectedly.
"Are you from a prominent shinobi clan?" Kakashi asked.
"No..."
"Do you aspire to be Hokage one day?"
"Not really..."
"Then there's no problem," he said plainly. When she looked at him curiously the masked jonin flashed her an eye smile. "Kiba, Shino, Hinata and Sasuke are all from important shinobi clans. I'm willing to bet that they've been trained in the ninja arts since they could walk. And Naruto? He dreams of being Hokage one day, so he pushes himself as hard as he can and refuses to back down from a challenge even at the cost of his own safety. But you? Right now you are at a point in your career as a kunoichi where you must decide for yourself what exactly it is you want. No matter what it is you decide on know that you are as capable to perform your duties as well as any of the others."
Sakura smiled and thanked Kakashi for the pep talk and let out a tired yawn. "Go ahead and get some sleep," Kakashi said. "I'll go ahead and wake up the next watch."
Nodding in agreement, Sakura crawled into her bed roll and fell asleep. As Kakashi prepared to wake up Shino and Sasuke, he steeled himself and made a promise that no matter what would come he'd give his all to ensure that these genin would be able to reach their potential. Even if it meant giving up his own life. 'Because that's what it means to be an instructor. Isn't that right, sensei?'
Naruto was having a pleasant dream. He was sitting in the main office of the Hokage's tower wearing his Hokage's hat while performing Hokage-like duties -such as suddenly fighting off swarms of enemy shinobi that came crashing through the windows while he simultaneously rode a large dragon. Dreams were strange, ever changing things he noted. The sky in his dream suddenly darkened. A single foreboding light shined onto him and from the heavens descended a large, golden, wriggling mass of living ramen.
"No, flying ramen monster," Naruto muttered in his sleep, fidgeting lightly. "I've ever been your faithful servant... please have mercy!"
The blonde suddenly woke up with a start. There sitting on his chest was Akamaru, Kiba's dog. His tongue was lolling and his tail was wagging happily and Naruto realized that the tentacle-like appendages of the flying ramen monster was in reality the little dog licking his face to wake him. He wiped off the dog's saliva with his shirt's sleeve.
"Guess it's my turn to take watch then," Naruto muttered tiredly. Akamaru barked in confirmation. Once the small nin-dog scampered off of him Naruto sat up and stretched out his back. After finishing his stretches the blonde threw his jacket on and left the room as quietly as he could. Once outside he was greeted by a somewhat tired looking Hinata.
"Good morning," he said jovially. Despite being woken up early the energetic Uzumaki was already wide awake. Rubbing the last remnants of sleep from her eyes, Hinata responded with a 'Good morning' of her own, albeit in a less energetic manner. After exchanging pleasantries the two began patrolling their makeshift camp. Every so often the white-eyed girl would activate her Byakugan and scan the surroundings. The activation of her kekkei genkai piqued the blonde's interest.
"What's that you're doing," he asked plainly, catching the girl off guard.
"I-I'm surveying the surroundings," she answered, suddenly finding her fingers to be quite interesting. Naruto looked to the tree-line squinting his eyes in an attempt to make out anything. He saw nothing but the darkness of night.
"How can you seen anything out there?" he asked. Hinata tensed at the sudden focus on her eyes.
"W-well, it's because of my Byakugan," she explained quietly. She turned her fidgeting to her hood-string as she attempted to distract herself from the blonde's attention. "By focusing chakra to my eyes my kekkei genkai allows me to amplify my sight. I can see in low light, at long distances, even in almost three-hundred and sixty degrees. The most sought after aspect of the Byakugan, however is its ability to see both chakra and its network."
"That's incredible!" Naruto declared. Hinata's expression seemed to turn crestfallen at the compliment.
"That's hardly true," she said sadly. "Among my clan my byakugan is considered the weakest."
"Then that's even better," he replied. When Hinata looked at him curiously he explained further. "That just means that as amazing as your eyes are now, just imagine what they'll be like when you get stronger."
'Of course Naruto would look at it like that,' she thought to herself. Hinata stopped in her tracks and smiled softly. 'He never lets anyone or anything get him down. Even in the academy he would always get up and try harder.'
When Naruto noticed Hinata had fallen behind he turned to see her looking at the moon. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked tentatively. Hinata shook her head and fell back into step with the blonde. There she decided that as long as just one person believed in her she would keep trying to improve herself, to push herself beyond her limits. The two continued their patrol around the camp occasionally talking about mundane topics.
"Oh, hey," Naruto suddenly said, pointing to the east. "It looks like the sun is starting to rise."
"I guess we should start waking the others then," Hinata added. They were about to do just that when a glint of light caught Naruto's attention. When he found the source he discovered that it was the corner of something buried in the dirt. "I wonder what it could be," he said as he dug it out."
When the object was finally retrieved the two noted that it was a wooden box with metal bindings. There was a plain metal plate on what they assumed was the front of the box. When Naruto attempted to open the object he discovered that it was locked shut.
"Well that's strange," he said as he turned the box every which way. There were audible clunks coming from inside the object. "It's locked but there's no key-hole."
Hinata then activated her byakugan and inspected the box more carefully. "Odd," she said. "I can't seem to see inside of it."
What she did see, however, was a series of faint chakra signatures engrained into the wood itself.
"Maybe Kakashi-sensei or Kurenai-sensei can figure something out," Naruto suggested as he tucked the box under his arm. Once everyone was woken up the blonde presented the mysterious object to his instructor. The cyclopean jonin inspected the wooden container, brushing aside dirt and running his fingers along any indentations for any clue to what it was. After wiping a clump of dirt from the bottom of the container Kakashi noticed a single symbol engraved into the wood: a spiral. 'But how,' he thought to himself. 'They were wiped out years ago and we're too far south for anything of theirs to be here.'
"Naruto, why don't you go ahead and help the others disable the traps," Kakashi ordered as he continued fiddling with the box. "I'm gonna keep working on getting this thing opened."
Naruto nodded and left the room leaving Kakashi alone with Tazuna, Kurenai and the box. The masked jonin lifted up his headband revealing his Sharingan eye and looked at the box more thoroughly. To his astonishment there were a multitude of subtle seals drawn using chakra. 'Blood seal linked to a locking seal, privacy seal linked with a durability seal... whatever is in this thing it must be very important,' he thought to himself.
"I take it that it's more than just a tool box," Kurenai probed. Tazuna, to his credit, stood at the entrance leaning against the wall. 'All this ninja crap is beyond me,' he thought to himself.
"Until I can get it opened and see what's inside, that's all that it is," Kakashi said covering his sharingan. "A very important tool box with its contents securely sealed, but a tool box nonetheless."
After getting up, Kakashi dusted off his pants and swung his travel pack onto his back. Together the three adults left to meet with the genin outside to resume their journey. After returning the box to Naruto, Kakashi told the blonde to keep it safe and that they would look into it when they returned to Konoha.
"Alright everyone," Kurenai started. "It's about a day's travel to Tazuna's home. If we hurry we can reach the docks before noon and arrive at our destination before nightfall. We may still be targeted so stay alert."
The genin present all acknowledged the order and returned to their formation unknown to the danger that was approaching.
In a hidden base located in the wave country Momochi Zabuza sat on a chair; Kubikiribocho, his executioner's blade, was propped next to him. Before the former Mist ninja, the Demon Brothers, Gozu and Meizu, were finishing their report of their failed assassination of Tazuna.
"And you're sure it was him?" Zabuza questioned. He eyed to two subordinates carefully gauging their reactions. His disappointment over their failure was outweighed by his interest in the information they returned with.
"Yes, Zabuza-sama," Meizu replied. "His appearance matched that of the entry in the bingo book for Hatake Kakashi."
"And there was a Hyuuga amongst them," Gozu added as he rubbed his still numb arm. "She is just a child, but I'm sure Kumo would pay a hefty price for her."
There was a pause in the room as Zabuza ran through the information. The bounty for Kakashi of the Sharingan was quite substantial from Iwa and a Hyuuga could grant them some sway with Kumo for their eventual coup d'état against Kiri. Suddenly, from out of the shadows a masked figure appeared. He wore a teal haori over a worn tanned outfit. The figure inclined his head towards Zabuza as if posing a question.
"I know how you feel about this," the older man stated. "But Gozu is right. We will need the money if we ever want to take Kiri."
Zabuza looked at his subordinates and laid a mental plan in his head. Before he could give his commands a short, balding man with a pencil mustache barged into the room followed closely by his two body-guards.
"What the hell!" the short man yelled. He was red-faced with anger as he approached the seated shinobi. "I pay you to do one simple job: kill the bridge builder. So why is it that my boys tell me you failed?"
Zabuza leveled the angry little man with a glare that immediately shut him up. He stood up from his seat and towered over the man with his full height. His imposing stance left no room for negotiation.
"It's a minor setback," Zabuza stated. He grimaced at his employer with disdain. If it weren't for the obscene amount of money Gato was paying them he and his group would have left long ago. "You're precious bridge builder will meet his end, make no mistake, but don't believe for a second that you hold sway over us just because we're under your employment."
Gato glared up at Zabuza with impotent fury. He clenched his fists and grit his teeth before muttering out an agitated compliance. "Just get it done," he muttered as he left. The bandaged missing-nin glared at the door.
"Meizu, you're to accompany me," he ordered. Meizu bowed his head in respect to his leader's wishes. "Gozu, you're to stay behind. You're useless to me with your arm injured as it is. Haku I want you to tend to his injuries and proceed to meet up with us. If things go awry with our next attack you're to extract us."
"Understood, Zabuza-sama," Haku responded from behind his mask. Zabuza retrieved Kubikiribocho from its spot against the seat and singlehandedly swung the massive blade over his shoulder and into its sheath on his back. Together with Meizu, the two former Kiri shinobi made their way to intercept team 7 and 8.
"I'm gonna die," Kiba groaned as the boat rocked against the waves of the sea. Akamaru whimpered at his masters side worried about his sea-sickness. Naruto was laughing at the sick boy's dismay with Hinata and Sakura fighting back giggles of their own.
"Oh, quit overreacting," Kurenai scolded. "You act like you've never been on a boat before."
"But I haven't," came Kiba's pitiful reply as he emptied the contents of his stomach one last time before they reached the shore. Once on land the Inuzuka heir fell to his hands and knees and kissed the solid soil beneath him. "Sweet dirty land," he said as he regained his composure.
"It shouldn't be long now," Kakashi said, taking point once again. He looked over his shoulder to check on everyone and noticed that Naruto looked somewhat irritable. "Something wrong, Naruto?"
"I don't know," he said plainly, his arms crossed behind his head. "Something just feels… off?"
"Maybe it's an enemy," Kiba said enthusiastically. He and the blonde exchanged grins of excitement.
"As cool as that would be, I doubt it," Naruto replied. "Because even if it was he'd never get the drop on ME!" he yelled as he threw a kunai into an unassuming bush. When he revealed the would-be assailant he felt slightly embarrassed by the fact that it was actually a rabbit.
"Nice going nimrod," Sasuke complimented sarcastically. Just as he was about to continue his insult Kakashi yelled for everyone to get down just in time to, literally, save everyone's necks. A massive sword flew through the air, narrowly missing its target, and embedded itself into a tree. A tall figure then appeared on the handle of the massive broadsword.
"I'll be taking the bridge builder's head now," Zabuza demanded. He turned and met the teams with a menacing glare. "And yours as well, Kakashi of the Sharingan. If you would be so kind."
"Momochi Zabuza," Kakashi stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Formerly of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist. I'm afraid I'll have to object to both of those requests."
"You say that as if you have any choice," Meizu said form behind the two teams, now equipped with two metal gauntlets. He giggled wickedly from behind his breather. "And the white-eyed girlie, too. I'm sure Kumo would be grateful to finally get their hands on a Hyuuga."
Said girl took a step back, her eyes full of fear at the mention of the Cloud village. Hinata was on the verge of panicking when Kurenai stepped between her and the lone demon brother. "You'll have to get through me first," she declared angrily.
"We'll handle these two," Kakashi ordered, lifting his headband to reveal his sharingan. The crimson eye shocked Sasuke.
"Stay close to Tazuna," Kurenai added taking a kunai into each hand and taking a defensive stance. "Whatever happens make sure to keep him safe."
The six genin each took a position around the bridge builder. Even Hinata, terrified as she was, took up a fighting stance in preparation for what was to be their first exposure to a life or death battle between elite ninja.
"Then let us begin," Zabuza declared with a wicked grin.
A/N: And there we have it. Chapter three, the set-up for round one of the big first fight. I was hoping to get to the Kakashi/Zabuza fight this chapter but I got a little carried away with some exposition. I want to keep my chapters somewhere between the 2500 and 3500 word marks, lets me get them out faster. I've been mulling over the results of the Wave mission and I'm not sure whether to keep Zabuza alive or not. I really enjoy his character and would like to explore it, but he's not really relevant to my overall plot. Next chapter should be the climax of the journey to Wave, and the story arc should finish up sometime around chapter 7ish, 8 or 9 at the latest. Anyway, until next time. Later people.