Disclaimer: I own not Naruto…
Here are the next few chapters 4, 5, & 6 all at once... Made my beta happy with my improvemtents and will put the true edited ones when I get them over these chapters.
Chapter 4 – Wave, a different story…
Two months later in a tree house in Wave. "Ah come on sensei… We all know he is going to betray us…" Naruto whined.
"Shut it kid. Gato is the only ticket in town," Gouzu explained to Naruto.
Naruto huffed and looked him straight in the eye. "And what will we do when he betrays us which all three of us stupid brats keep on telling you. Please sensei he will use us and then turn us over to the Mizukage or we will die another way. Let's just wash our hands of him or free the people." Naruto pleaded.
"What do you say if… nah… Gato will be arriving soon," Zabuza stated.
A short rotund man walked into the tree home with two samurai. "Look at the great Demon of the Mist sitting here, while I pay him to kill the bridge builder. He just left a few days ago, I am sure he is going to get some help. Also why you keep the kids, they appear useless?" Gato asked.
"They are my tools and advise me, along with making sure that the job gets done. As for paying me you have yet to give me one Bu in payment for the last three jobs, let alone killing the bridge builder. I'm getting impatient at waiting for at least some of the payment," Zabuza proclaimed.
"I want your word that you will kill him," Gato demanded.
Zabuza looked at the man. "Barring any screw ups, he is a dead man. So why are you strangling this country?" Zabuza asked.
"I can, so why the sudden interest? You're just the hired help and couldn't understand what it means to rule people," Gato retorted defensively.
Naruto perked at this, as he continued to work on pushing chakra into a glass of water. Hinata and Haku both looked at Naruto and nodded. "Look at the brats just looking stupidly at a glass of water," One of the samurai commented, as Naruto shook his head and grinned.
"A good shinobi hides his true strength until it is truly needed," Naruto whispered, as both girls just nodded agreement.
"Shut it scum, he already has a problem with concentration, unless you want me to kill you now," Zabuza threatened.
"I want that man dead, as he's building a bridge that will destroy my plans. Now get to it," Gato threatened, as he summoned his thugs to him and left the house.
"Demon brothers go get Tazuna now," Zabuza said, as he heard several thuds in the door.
"Water style: Water Needle Jutsu," Naruto proclaimed, as Zabuza saw water shaped senbon slowly fall into a puddle at the door.
He also noticed the holes dug into the door. "So you finally got that jutsu? Can you do hidden mist any better yet?" Zabuza asked.
"Yes, but I need either high humidity or a lot of water around the area. While Haku and I have continued to work hard on my chakra control, its still is pretty pathetic," Naruto admitted.
The Demon brothers left the house and headed for the trail of Tazuna. "I believe that Naruto-kun is correct, the man is going to betray us," Haku admitted.
Naruto smiled, but also cleared his throat. "Zabuza-sama…" Naruto stated, as Zabuza turned his attention to Naruto. "You have said that you hate the Mizukage for what he has done to the Water country and to the village," Zabuza nodded at Naruto proclamation. Naruto then continued, "Well, would you allow something like what Gato is doing here to happen in the Water village, if you were Mizukage?"
Zabuza pondered his options, as Naruto had proven time and time again that he wasn't an idiot just untrained. Time and time again Naruto had shown that being an unfeeling tool was not as good as a driven and focused shinobi. He also knew that Haku was beginning to develop feelings for the gaki and he wanted to make sure that it would not conflict with the ultimate goal of making him Mizukage. "No, I wouldn't, it wouldn't be beneficial to the village or the people to do what he is doing."
Naruto smirked and Zabuza knew he would be in for trouble, "Well then, you say you need financial backing to take the role of Mizukage. Why not rid the earth of the scum of Gato and take his business and then use it to benefit your rise to becoming the next Mizukage?" Naruto asked with a chuckle.
"You would have me go against an employer?" Zabuza queried, as Naruto nodded. "Why?"
Naruto sighed, "I may not be as smart as either of them…" Naruto said, as he pointed at Haku and Hinata. "But, I do know what's right, and what a Kage should do. If you take an evil client and know he will betray you, I see no problem with eliminating the client and taking what he has to benefit the rest." Naruto stated, as he went through several hand seals and a fog fell over the room. "Hidden Mist Jutsu."
"Not bad Naruto, but how many times have I told you not to practice that jutsu in the house?" Zabuza stated and rolled his eyes. "You do make a good point, though. Here, I'll make you a deal. If the demon brothers fail, we will see what type of person this Tazuna man is and then I will decide if we want to go with your idea, okay gaki?"
The mist cleared showing three happy teens, Naruto with a huge smile on his face. "So do we work on the next step in my swords training sensei?" Naruto inquired, as Zabuza nodded and lead the group out of the house. Haku and Hinata giggled, as they knew Naruto was going to be heavily bruised tonight and they could use the herbs they had gathered earlier to help in his healing. They did enjoy their time healing Naruto.
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Three hours later Naruto was being dragged in on Haku and Hinata's shoulders, as they placed him on his bed and proceeded to disrobe him. "As usual, Naruto-kun pushed himself almost too far," Hinata admitted.
"He pushes himself because of you Hinata-chan," Haku admitted, with a dejected look on her face.
Hinata turned Haku's face towards her with a finger on her chin. "No Haku-chan, he does it for both of us. He also likes you too. He does not understand the meaning of love, well true love and we have both found a place in his heart. For what it is worth he loves both of us and I wouldn't mind if we were both married to him. I could look to you as an older sister. He wouldn't want to hurt either of us and thus he is troubled at who he should choose, as he doesn't understand that he could have both of us as wives. Unless you want to break his heart, and have a fight with me over him?" Hinata admitted to her now good friend.
Haku nodded. "Until he is of age we will agree to teach him about love and then we marry him when he is old enough, I would prefer to share the boy that I have come to love, as much as you have. Now let's fix him up, I know he heals very quickly, but Zabuza-sama didn't go easy on him today," Haku commented, as she pulled a jar of healing balm from the shelf. Both girls applied the balm to Naruto's injured body. "Does he have a Kekkei Genkai? I mean his healing ability is quite remarkable."
Hinata thought about it, but wasn't sure if the healing was due to the Kyuubi or a bloodline that Naruto had, or maybe even both. "I'm not sure, as he has not allowed me to disclose the information about his parents to you and Zabuza-sama as of yet," Hinata replied.
Naruto groaned, as he continued to sleep. The girls pulled a blanket over him to make sure he didn't catch cold and headed out for their own training. While Naruto had gone from tree climbing to water walking in only a month his chakra control was still very poor. The girls showed perfect chakra control and were able do both with more proficiency than before and with Naruto and Zabuza pushing, their chakra capacity to nearly double what it was before, as Hinata could do a single shadow clone and have it do a single attack or defensive jutsu without worry of chakra exhaustion. Haku could maintain her ice mirror jutsu for nearly an hour while training with Naruto. Zabuza found that Naruto pushed him also, and was able to improve his own fighting abilities and chakra capacity. The Demon brothers had kept mostly to themselves after they had insulted Naruto when they first met.
(Flashback)…
Naruto walked between Hinata and Haku, as they approached the new house they were going to live in. Zabuza told them that the Demon brothers would be joining them there while they worked for Gato, as body guards or special assignments that he wanted them to do. Naruto noticed a couple of chakra signatures to his left and drew his kunai as Haku giggled at Naruto.
Two men burst from the brush as Naruto pulled out a second kunai ready for battle. "Zabuza, why did you get a couple more brats? I mean Haku is bad enough, do we have to work with two more ninja wanabes?"
Naruto stood his ground in a defensive posture as Hinata took up a similar posture. "What did you say you jerk?" Naruto demanded, with a growl. Both leapt a Naruto who just sidestepped them and put a kunai to each of their throats. "I may be a punk, but at least I'm trying to improve my abilities and I didn't underestimate my opponents. What do you have to say now?"
Gouzu sighed and lowered his hands in defeat. "I'll admit you are not bad, for a genin level shinobi that is, but we didn't see anything from the other boy. He looks really weak."
Miezu suddenly disappeared only to have his claw blocked by Hinata's kunai. Naruto was now holding a log with his kunai and Miezu had attacked Hinata from behind. "His reactions are acceptable, but he still needs strength training Zabuza," Miezu commented.
Having been bested or tied with a genin had angered the brothers, only caused them to stay away from the three children. This suited them fine, as they wanted to train away from the brothers. The brothers again and only a day later had gotten on Naruto's bad side, when they had shown him a girl they had kidnapped from Water country and were going to use her for both pleasure and ransom. Naruto's eyes turned red with slits for pupils and he proceeded to beat the brothers into the ground only to be stopped by Zabuza who freed the girl and sent her on her way. The brothers took two weeks to heal and would not go near Naruto. Since Hinata and Haku always kept close to him, they avoided them too. They decided had to stay away from all of them.
Zabuza had assumed it was an animalistic bloodline, so he didn't ask any questions. Why should he, he had three pupils with bloodlines and might, after he married them, get mixtures of Naruto's and the girl's bloodlines in his grandkids.
(End flashback)…
Two weeks later a messenger bird told the group that the brothers had been defeated and thus another visit from the annoying employer Gato. "You have failed me Zabuza. Your Demon brothers were defeated and now the bridge builder is on his way here," Gato complained.
Naruto, Hinata and Haku edged behind Gato's samurai guards and took defensive positions. Zabuza swung his sword and nearly hit Gato's throat. "I promised you that I would get him, but you also promised me that you would pay me. I have seen no payment and lost two mediocre tools. I will go see what it is with the people that guard the bridge builder and if I deem it easy enough I will kill him for you. Now get out!" Zabuza exclaimed.
Gato wiped the sweat from his brow. "You better not fail me or, I'll bring in someone here who can do the job," Gato threatened, as he left with his guards. Just after he closed the door he turned to his guards. "Remind me to call the Mizukage after he leaves to kill the bridge builder, so that we can get rid of him and not have to pay him," Gato stated, as he and his men laughed while they left the area.
Naruto had his ear to the window and scowled. "Zabuza-sama, he is going to betray us, even if we succeed and he's going to contact the Mizukage and turn us in. We all know what will happen, he will send hunters and we will have to run. I was hoping to get back to Konoha and prove we're good enough to be genin," Naruto stated with a dejected look.
Zabuza laughed. "Let's go meet this bridge builder and see if it is enough for us to remove Gato from the picture," Zabuza stated, as the group nodded and left the house.
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A day later the four were watching a group of five walking through the forest. Naruto pointed at each and began to speak. "Let's see, teme…. I mean Sasuke Uchiha, the one with the permanent scowl and duck butt hair. I still don't like him. The pink haired one is Sakura Haruno, I can't believe I actually liked her, that was before Hinata-chan and Haku-chan showed me what it meant to actually be accepted," Naruto commented, as both girls blushed. "The third genin, I have no clue, as he wasn't in our class, I would either guess an older genin or higher ranked ninja who is playing nurse maid to the Uchiha brat." Haku and Hinata both giggled at Naruto's derogatory explanation. "The silver haired guy, I have no clue, sorry sensei."
Zabuza handed Naruto a book and opened it to a particular page. "Girls disappear and Naruto you read this out loud to get their attention. You can also tease your former classmates if you like," Zabuza stated with a bit of mirth in his voice.
Naruto cleared his throat loud enough for the five to turn towards him. "Kakashi Hatake, also known as the copy-cat ninja, or Sharingan Kakashi. Known for being former ANBU with Konohagature no Sato, and I'm guessing you would happen to be their current sensei. Sasuke Uchiha of the Uchiha clan, the only person in his clan to survive a massacre of his clan by his brother Itachi, he is also known for his distaste of girls and emotional instability. Oh, and I forgot his superior attitude. Sakura Haruno, best in class in book knowledge, but her practical skills were basically nil. Last member of your team is a mystery. Finally you sir, must be the man the Gato-teme fears so much," Naruto proclaimed loudly.
The group looked up at Naruto who sat on the branch reading the book that Zabuza had handed him in plain view. It took a minute for it to register with Sakura that this might be Naruto, he wore black shinobi pants along with an orange white and black, tiger stripped shirt, with a sword slung over his back. He also wore extra weapons pouches on each leg, and two wooden handles sticking out each side of his lower back.
"Naruto!!" Sakura yelled. "What are you doing here you baka and why are you insulting Sasuke-kun?"
Naruto laughed at the question. "I'll tell you why Sakura. I'm on vacation and he has no sense of humor. He believes he is the best, but I know a secret," Naruto teased. Naruto jumped down and walked towards the group, with his hands held wide, and then looked at Tazuna, as he said, "But first, I have a question for you Tazuna-san."
Tazuna nodded. "What is your question kid?"
"What would you do if you were free of Gato?" Naruto asked.
"I would bring prosperity back to Wave and hopefully bring back happiness into my grandson's life. Gato and his thugs killed my son-in-law because he stood up to Gato," Tazuna explained.
"See, told you Sensei, Gato is an evil jerk!" Naruto yelled over his shoulder. Naruto continued to close the distance with his arms still held out wide. He continued to speak, "If we get rid of Gato and give the village half the spoils, will you tell no one we were here?"
"You want to get rid of Gato? If you do that, we would do anything you want, well within reason that is," Tazuna stated happily.
"Naruto…" Kakashi asked, as he moved in front of Tazuna. "Who is your sensei and why are you here? I know who you are, but not why you're here."
Naruto sat down on the ground and produced a foxy grin and a set of cards. He then said, "Well you see Hatake-san. Zabuza Momichi is my sensei. We currently have an equal number of shinobi that you have, but we also were sent here by Gato to kill Tazuna here. I told sensei that Tazuna would make a better ruler than Gato, because he wouldn't use the same thuggish tactics Gato enjoys."
"You mean the 'Demon of the Mist' is your sensei?" Kakashi asked in surprise, as he took a defensive stance. "Why would you allow yourself to be his student, he's a monster."
Naruto's eyes narrowed, as his voice turned cold and asked, "Like the village thinks I am?"
A surprised look crossed Kakashi's face. "Naruto we can't have that type of discussion here. Where is your 'sensei'?" Kakashi asked in a very nice tone, but also put enough seriousness in it to let Naruto know he was watching him.
"He will only come out if you attack me or you agree to a cease-fire, if only temporary," Naruto stated with a serious tone.
Sasuke walked in front of Kakashi and turned his back on Naruto. "You're not going to take him seriously, are you? He was the dead last in class, while I was rookie of the year," Sasuke proclaimed, as Sakura clasped her hands and had hearts in her eyes.
"You're also dickless," The third member of the team stated without emotion.
"I like him," Naruto commented happily, as everyone jumped at seeing Naruto standing just behind Sasuke. "Also teme, never turn your back on a possible enemy. That is the last advice I will give you, at least for the moment," Naruto stated with a smile.
"You dobe!" Sasuke turned and threw a punch at Naruto who just twisted and avoided the punch. Sasuke got angrier and continued to throw wild punches. "Stand still dobe and let me hit you!"
Naruto continued to dodge. "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble for striking a civilian, being a shinobi it is a crime, unless I present a danger," Naruto pointed out, in a near sarcastic voice. "Me being here and having stated peaceful intentions is more than enough to get you in big trouble. I also know the Hokage and he's still in trouble with me," Naruto proclaimed, as he continued his dodging.
"Sasuke stop it, he is playing with you. He is also right, he has made no aggressive moves, as of yet and I don't want Zabuza to kill you for attacking him, or worse for Naruto to kill you in self defense," Kakashi warned.
"Good advice, as we gave you all the cards and you keep screwing it up. Tazuna-san you might live if you call off your dogs before I have to kill them," Zabuza stated as he walked out from the woods.
Tazuna nodded and looked at Sasuke. He then said, "Please Sasuke-san, stop attacking that kid. They are offering to help me."
Sasuke stopped more from fatigue than from wanting to stop. "What are you doing here dobe?"
Naruto grinned. "Like I said, I'm offering to help Tazuna-san with his problems, as we know that Gato is going to betray us. Now back to Kakashi-san's question. Zabuza-sama gave us a choice either join him or die. I kind of like living and it couldn't be worse than how I was treated in the village. I even got some training out of the deal," Naruto explained happily.
"So she is here too?" Kakashi asked, as Naruto nodded to behind the group.
The group turned to see a girl with medium-short hair wearing male clothes, white eyes and a boy in a Mist hunter mask standing next to her. "Yes Hatake-san, we are both here," Hinata exclaimed from her perch high on a tree.
"A Hyuuga, Hinata?" Sakura stated, as she looked closely at her. "So the loser-couple are here."
"I would watch your tongue Haruno-ikeike (bitch), as we're not shinobi, but have been trained by one, a jounin, no less. From your stance you find me to be no threat, but I can assure you that you really are no threat to us," Hinata stated coldly, as anger at how she had treated Naruto came to the surface.
"What? Do you think you can hurt me? I am a kunoichi…" Sakura stated as Hinata cut her off.
"You are a fan girl for the darling cheater of the village, Sasuke-teme," Hinata said coldly.
"What are you talking about? You both failed the genin exams," Sakura stated proudly.
"We failed only because we were setup. Teme there was also setup, but he was setup to succeed," Naruto stated from behind them, with a deck of cards playing with Zabuza. "Full house."
"Damn it gaki, how do you always win? I know you don't cheat." Zabuza proclaimed, as Naruto shrugged.
"What do you mean setup, I passed my tests," Sasuke asked.
"Yes, and how do you explain your test being filled out for you. How about the nice new weapons you got for the exams and the magnets in the target dummies. How about cheating during our taijutsu match, sure you were better, but you went before the signal was actually given? I'm not complaining, as I got a lot better training than you apparently have gotten," Naruto stated smugly.
"You have a sword you'll cut yourself, dobe," Sasuke said, as he pointed to the sword on his back and the two wooden swords at his side.
Naruto stood and drew the practice swords and tossed one to Sasuke. "Here catch." Kakashi watched, but kept his stance.
"What is this dobe?" Sasuke asked.
"A wooden practice sword, you idiot, so I don't kill the village's precious Uchiha. Now if you know your stuff let's go, and I promise won't hit me," Naruto proclaimed.
Sasuke grinned. "Right… now I can wipe that smug smile off your face," he replied arrogantly.
Naruto frowned. "That was supposed to be my line, teme," Naruto whined. "Oh, by the way you're holding it wrong. Now looked what I've done, giving him more advice," he said in a dejected tone, as Hinata and Haku giggled at Naruto.
Sasuke ran at Naruto. Naruto did a quick swing down on to Sasuke's sword, as Sasuke had pointed the wooden sword straight at Naruto, only to lose his grip on the sword, when Naruto side stepped Sasuke attack and slammed his sword directly down on Sasuke's. Naruto then picked up Sasuke's sword and waited for Sasuke to turn. "Told you… Here try again," he said, as he tossed the wooden sword back to Sasuke.
Sasuke growled as he caught the sword and gripped it with two hands. "I hate you," he growled at Naruto.
Naruto grinned. "I love you too, but I don't swing that way. I'm not so sure about you, though," Naruto stated, as he blocked several blows from Sasuke, he then ducked a blow and Sasuke got out of position. Naruto smirked and stuck his sword between Sasuke's legs only to have Sasuke trip and land on his face. "See I told you that you wouldn't hit me once. You can keep that sword if you like, but don't hurt yourself, teme," he said in a teasing tone.
"So Tazuna-san, do you accept our offer?" Hinata asked politely. "Naruto-kun has been quite adamant about how it is to do the right thing."
"Joining a missing nin, isn't the right thing," Kakashi stated.
"Making a missing nin turn over a new leaf, pun intended, is," Naruto stated with a laugh. "Now Kakashi-san, are you going to relax or are we going to have to fight? Be warned Hinata-chan and I have taken a life before and understand the pain involved with it. From what I can see your students have not done so. Also know that both of us have a special spot in our hearts for two of your students."
Kakashi's single evident eyebrow rose, and he asked, "How so?"
Naruto pointed to Sasuke. "Pretty boy here has been the bane of my existence. He was showered with gifts by the village while I, the pariah, by nothing had ever done. Sakura there had raised the ire of Hinata-chan because she wanted my attention, but Sakura would only beat me away again and again, for nothing I was ever responsible for."
"I never did such a thing!" Sakura protested.
"How many times did Naruto-kun ask you out?" Hinata asked coldly.
"How should I know?" Sakura answered in her defense.
"There were eighty-four occasions that I witnessed, you either hit him or smacked him on eighty-one of those. The other three you berated and belittled him for not being as good as Sasuke-'kun'," she said, as the 'kun' rolled off of Hinata's lips like poison.
"That's because Sasuke-kun is the best and a whole lot better than that loser," Sakura protested, as she pointed at Naruto.
"So you don't deny assaulting your fellow student for simply asking you out on a date? Has Sasuke ever accepted your advances? If not, did he ever hit you for asking?" Haku queried in a flat tone.
Sakura blushed, and then her brows furrowed. "That isn't the point. Sasuke-kun is the best," she retorted.
"Hey pinky… If he is the best then how come my student beat him by only playing with him?" Zabuza asked.
Tazuna shook his head, as this appeared to be degrading into a school yard fight between the class bully and the class defender, just he could not figure out who was who. "Look all I want is to bring back prosperity to this land and hope back to the people," Tazuna answered with a sigh.
"Four aces," Naruto declared, as he showed his hand to Zabuza. "So, if I can convince my Sensei to leave you alone and take out Gato and his thugs, will you will use your half of the money to help this country?" Naruto asked with a smile.
Tazuna's jaw fell, as he asked, "You would share his fortune with Wave?" Naruto nodded. "Why?"
Naruto smiled at Tazuna and then scowled at the Konoha shinobi. "Because it is the right thing to do, also while I don't mind annoying the teme, I don't want to burn the bridge to Konoha at this time," Naruto stated, as Kakashi was visibly shocked. "Also Kakashi-san could you send for Kurenai-sensei we have some business to discuss with her."
"What would that be Naruto?" Kakashi asked, not sure what to do, as he was not sure if Naruto and Hinata had been turned traitor.
"While we are civilians, well trained ones at that, we are still civilians. The Hokage has annoyed me and I only trust a few people in Konoha right now, Kurenai-sensei is one of them," Naruto explained.
Kakashi nodded, as he presented his hand to move the group towards its destination. "Shall we go and discuss this on the trip to Tazuna's house?" he asked.
Naruto shook his head. "Nope, we have some work to do first. We will meet you in a few days, if not sooner. We will present a gift to you Tazuna-san, and if we find you have misused this gift, we will kill you," Naruto stated, as he collected the cards and jumped quickly away, he then vanished before their eyes.
"How did he beat me?" Sasuke asked no one in particular.
"You rushed into a fight you didn't need to engage in, for starters. Just because you're an Uchiha doesn't mean there aren't people who are stronger than you. You are still a genin, by the way," Kakashi stated.
"But Kakashi-sensei, how did Naruto become so strong in only a few months? He was dead last in the academy and failed the exams," Sakura queried.
"Either he hid his abilities, or he was held back by someone. Also there are those who excel when pushed hard and are willing to learn. I hate to admit it, but hard work can sometimes overcome natural talent if those with natural talent become complacent," Kakashi answered, so that everyone could hear.
Sasuke gritted his teeth at the comment. "So are you saying I've been complacent?" Sasuke growled through his teeth.
Kakashi shrugged. "Not necessarily, Naruto my just have found a teacher in Zabuza that he needed to excel. I'm only worried at what he has taught him," he said in a worried tone.
"Why is that Kakashi sensei?" Sakura asked.
"Because, Naruto is a special individual in our village, he has a larger chakra capacity than all my students combined," Kakashi stated bluntly.
"Is his ego larger than dickless, here?" Sai asked.
Sakura threw a punch at Sai. "Shut up Sai! Sasuke-kun is the best!"
"Apparently not, he was beaten by in both yours and his words and I quote 'the dead last of our class'," Sai commented without emotion, as he continued to evade Sakura's punches. "Also are you sure you're a girl, you're too aggressive and have no chest," Sai's comment caused Sakura to rage even worse, and all Kakashi could do is sigh.
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The team quietly approached Gato's stronghold. Senbon appeared in Haku's hand, as the guards fell quickly at the front gate. "I have disabled all the guards Zabuza-sama."
Zabuza appeared above one of the downed guards and pulled his kunai across the man's throat. "You are still too compassionate, Haku. Naruto take care of the other two while I kill this one," Zabuza ordered, as Naruto dispatched the other two thugs. They dumped their bodies into the dry moat.
The group quietly moved through the building and killed off all the thugs as they passed them. The building was becoming quieter and quieter as they passed through the building. They came upon the mess hall and made quick work of the twenty thugs in the room using the hidden mist jutsu along with silent killing techniques. Haku made her first kills in this room, Hinata stayed with her to comfort her while Naruto and Zabuza moved into Gato's office area. Four guards were stationed outside Gato's office.
Naruto appeared in front of the guards with a smile. "What do you want kid?" One of the guards asked, as they all pulled their swords out.
Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed as if embarrassed. "Well… you see. Zabuza-sama sent me to report to Gato on the mission. So, can I meet with him?" he asked.
The guards all laughed. "Give me the message and I will pass it along to Gato-sama," the guard replied.
Naruto shook his head. "Nope, can't do that, Zabuza-sama said that I had to deliver it to Gato-teme personally and to kill anyone who didn't let me see him. Also you're out numbered," Naruto stated with a smile as he crossed his hands and whispered 'Shadow clone jutsu'.
"What do you mean? There are four of us and only one of you." The man suddenly saw ten puffs of smoke and now there were eleven exact copies of the brat in front of them. "Clone jutsu will not help you here kid."
Naruto grinned wide. "They would if they were water or shadow clones and guess what? They are shadow clones. All of them have my skills and could kill you. So do I get to see Gato, or not?" Naruto asked happily.
One of the guards stepped forward. "I know some things about ninjutsu and there is no way you could know the 'Shadow Clones' jutsu, it is from Konoha and that jutsu is also a secret jutsu specifically from that village," the man explained.
Two of the clones appeared next to the guard and tapped him on the shoulders. "Real enough?" One of the clones asked.
Naruto shrugged. "Hey I make them and they don't always obey. I would advise you let me through now or I will just go over your dead bodies. I have killed before, so what will it be?" Naruto asked kindly, as the guards parted and let him through the door.
Gato was at his desk with an angry look on his face. "What the hell are you guys letting the brat in here for?" he asked.
"He says he has a message from Zabuza," One of the two guards that accompanied Naruto said in reply.
"Okay kid what is your message?" Gato asked with a smirk on his face.
Naruto returned the smirk, as he disappeared and reappeared between the guards with their own swords drawn at their throats. "I hate this part," Naruto commented, as he pushed the swords into the men's chests, both fell dead. "The message was that you were to give over your fortune and then we would let you live. The whole thing, as we know you should be able to rebuild it again," Naruto cocked his head and smiled. "So what do you say?"
Gato smiled, but was sweating. He then said, "You know kid you have balls. You come in here and threaten me. You want my fortune? You couldn't do anything with it. Guards!" Gato yelled at the top of his lungs.
Zabuza opened the door and peeked in. "You call for someone, Gato?" Zabuza quipped, as Gato's jaw dropped. "You see your men are all dead, even the two idiots with mallets. So gaki, what was his answer?"
Naruto shook his head. "His only answer so far was to call for the guards. I know I got his four that were here and between you and the other two I'm sure that they are all dead. So Gato-teme, what will it be? Sign over your fortune or I could just say, forge your signature, and do it the easy way," Naruto said happily.
Gato pulled out some forms and signed them. "Here take it all, just let me live," he pleaded.
"The money in the vault too?" Naruto asked, as he pointed to the big picture on the wall of Gato. Naruto put his hand on his chin, as if to analyze the picture. "I'm not sure they got your good side… wait to tell the truth you don't have a good side."
Gato grumbled at the jab, as pulled the picture to the side and opened the safe. He then asked, "Anything else you want?"
Naruto was sitting at the desk going over the paperwork. "Hm… Gato shipping is here by signed over to Tazuna of Wave to become 'Wave shipping'. Gato's three million in saving is hereby signed over also to Tazuna of Wave, and all properties in wave are also herby signed over to Tazuna of Wave. Interesting… oh my… my… you didn't… tell me you didn't?" Naruto asked in a mocking tone.
"What are you talking about?" Gato asked not sure what document that the boy was reading.
"Sensei, he called the Mizukage in the day we left." Naruto stated, as he turned the paper towards Gato for him to see and wagged his finger.
"Too bad, I was going to let you live," Zabuza said, as he appeared behind Gato and deftly removed his head from his body with his sword. "So we get it all, or did I kill him too quickly?"
"He may have another million or so hidden elsewhere, but it would take weeks to find it, so not really. Let's get these documents back to Tazuna and get ready to leave, I figure the hunter-nin will be here in about three days." Naruto stated, as he moved to the vault. He quickly sealed the contents. The four left the building after setting off some explosives but made sure that it didn't destroy Gato's body.
Four hours later Kakashi became very alert as he moved defensively to the door only for there to be a knock at it. "Who is it?"
"Demons and friends bearing gifts" a happy voice came from behind the door.
Kakashi began to open the door only to hear Sakura complain, "You aren't going to just open the door are you, Sensei?"
Kakashi looked annoyed at the girl and opened the door to see Naruto with a huge smile, Hinata and Haku attached to each arm, with Zabuza standing behind them. "So are you going to invite us in or do we stay outside?" Zabuza quipped.
Sasuke scowled. "Leave the loser outside, with his band of misfits. I didn't know you swung both ways dobe," Sasuke stated, as he noticed both people attached to Naruto's arms.
Naruto smiled. "At least I swing, you are afraid of what you could get if you tried," Naruto teased, as Sakura blushed at Naruto's implied comment.
"Like I have time to be chasing girls, but you seem to also chase boys," Sasuke retorted.
"At least he has a dick, and apparently he has attracted some people who seem to like it," Sai stated.
Naruto looked at him quizzically. "I'm not sure if I should be offended or proud. You are one strange kid. Now Kakashi-san, can we come in and finish our business with Tazuna-san?" Naruto asked, as Kakashi moved out of the way and allowed the four entry into the home.
Sakura stood, pulled out a kunai and ran at Naruto, only to be intercepted by Hinata who placed her kunai on Sakura's throat. "Kakashi-san your student is impulsive and was going to attack my Naruto-kun. She will either cease her attack or she will cease existing."
Sakura looked at the anger in Hinata's eyes and began to sweat. She put the kunai away and backed away. "At least my Sasuke-kun isn't gay, like your Naruto-baka."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Who said I'm sexually active? I would also not go so far as to proclaim Sasuke-chan isn't gay. When has he ever accepted a date from any of the multitude of girls that followed him? Hinata-chan has asked me out on many dates and I have accepted. Haku has yet to ask thus I can say that I have not had the pleasure of a date with Haku, and if going out with Haku makes you believe I am gay, then so be it," Naruto stated with full confidence and a shrug. "Now Tazuna-san, I have some documents here for you to read and sign." Naruto yelled.
Tazuna entered the dining room and sat at the table, as Naruto put a stack of papers in front of Tazuna. Tazuna's eyes went wide as he began to read. "You're not serious are you?"
Naruto nodded. "You're now the title holder to 'Gato Shipping', now 'Wave shipping'. You also are the holder of all of the business accounts related to said company. We currently have about five-hundred-thousand ryo, but would like you to hold the one point five million in the business for us as shares in the company. Does that meet with your satisfaction?" Naruto stated. "Jeez that was a mouthful."
"I bet you didn't even understand what you said baka," Sakura ridiculed Naruto.
Naruto ignored Sakura much to her annoyance. "We need to wrap this up quickly, as Gato turned the hunter-nins on us from the Mist village," Naruto admitted, as he turned to Kakashi. "So did you get a hold of Kurenai-sensei, Kakashi-san?"
Kakashi nodded, as he looked on, and Tazuna signed the documents. "Yes Naruto, she will meet you on the way to Konoha if you wish to head in that direction. I hear that your building was cleaned at village expense by several genin teams. Your other problem was also taken care of, for the most part."
Naruto smiled at Hinata who jumped up and down at the news. "A clean house would be nice," she proclaimed.
"So who holds the paperwork Naruto?" Tazuna asked.
Naruto smiled, "that is the great thing, you do. Oh and if the Water shinobi ask you don't know Zabuza-sensei and Gato will no longer be a problem for you."
Kakashi gasped, and asked "You didn't kill him did you?"
Naruto shook his head. "No I didn't…" Kakashi sighed in relief. "Sensei had the honors," Naruto stated happily, as Sasuke glared at him and Sakura gasped.
Naruto smiled and moved to Haku and Hinata. "Well Naruto Uzumaki's work is done here. We will try to come visit some time Tazuna-san. See ya, Cyclops, teme, pinky and ghost," Naruto stated as the group left the house.
Sai looked at Kakashi. "Why did he refer to me as ghost?" he asked.
Sakura sighed and went into explanation mode, "Just take a look at your pasty white skin and you can understand where his simple mind came up with such a lame reference." Sai smiled at the response.
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Several days along the road Naruto was on watch, as he noticed a woman walking towards them, she was clad in what appeared to be loose bandages, a headband with blue color and dark black hair. "Looks like Kurenai-sensei's here. Zabuza-sensei, you need to be on your best behavior or this will not end well as she's a genjutsu specialist," he ordered. Naruto then raised his head and sniffed the air, and said, "She's here."
Haku and Zabuza looked around but saw nothing. "So, is she a capable shinobi?" Zabuza asked.
Kurenai began to appear in front of the group on the other side of the fire beginning with her head and slowly the rest of her body appeared. "I should hope so, Naruto-kun and Hinata-chan both seemed to sense my approach," Kurenai complimented, as she nodded to the children. "I am Kurenai Yuuhi, jounin and genjutsu specialist to Konoha. Who are you and why are you with my students?"
Zabuza growled, as Haku chuckle. "Kurenai-san, we are Zabuza and Haku Momochi. We have been working with Naruto-kun and Hinata-chan for the last couple months and have freed wave from the clutches of Gato. We are thinking of joining Konoha as shinobi," Haku stated, as she stood and bowed.
Kurenai smiled and nodded to Haku, but then eyed Zabuza. "You are not talking 'Demon of the Mist'?" she asked in an annoyed voice.
Zabuza laughed at the question, he then responded, "Not really, I promised the gaki I would be on my best behavior, as he told me you do not suffer perverts and arrogant men lightly, well I'm both. So, I thought it would be better to let them do the talking and leave me to watch. Good enough for you, Ms. Yuuhi?" Zabuza admitted.
Kurenai nodded. "I suffer perverts to a point, as I know everyone is one to some extent or we would not have children. You understand that if you come with us to Konoha you will have to surrender your weapon and might even face jail time or worse, you could even be sent back to Mist?" Kurenai asked in all honesty.
Zabuza nodded. "I'll do what it takes to make sure my daughter is taken care of. She possesses a Kekkei Genkai for Ice and at this point in time is betrothed to Naruto here, along with Hinata-chan," Zabuza stated, he then raised a hand to forestall disagreement. "And he had no choice in the matter. She likes him a lot and gets along well with Hinata-chan, so it will not interfere with their lives. He will just have to work twice as hard to keep them both happy," Zabuza commented with a chuckle.
Kurenai raised an eyebrow and looked at Naruto. "You know I will be keeping an eye on you to make sure you treat them right, do you not, Naruto-kun?" she asked, as Naruto wore a dejected look, but nodded. "Now I think you might be able to be a genin team with me, and possibly Zabuza as the jounin sensei."
Zabuza sighed. "That is nice and all, but we need to get going. I'm sure the hunters will more than likely be following us by now. We really need to get going," Zabuza proclaimed, as the group cleared camp and headed towards Konoha. Kurenai noticed several things Naruto seemed happy, Hinata seemed more confident and Haku seemed to want to be near both of them.
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A/N: Thanks for waiting, and thanks for the comments, yes even the ones who seemed to be derogatory. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Now to respond to some of your comments:
Lord Martiya: While I like your theory, Sakura wasn't much of a buffer. The only one I would have questioned on loyalty was Sasuke, Naruto was tried and true loyal to Konoha even for the wrongs set upon him. Also Sarutobi might have thought that giving Minato's son as a student to Kakashi might help him heal, my kind words towards the copy nin.
Deathmvp: Yes I more than likely will have them work on that, but in a later chapter.
Lady Laran: The council was able to gather power because of Sarutobi's age and his being away from the job of Hokage for awhile. And they, over the years have garnered power slowly, with placing laws and forcing political agreements so that the village would continue to prosper, but like politicians they would push in small changes that would give them power and hurt those they thought a threat. Thus the weakening of the Hokage, while he is the leader of the village he has some political worries. As with Hiashi being the head of the Hyuuga clan, one man can hold several, but not many in line by force. While Sarutobi controls the military, the others can control the purse strings, thus they have some power. Also remember Konoha has a reputation of being the good guy, if he started to throw edicts out, he would lose that reputation.
GraityTheWizard: It might happen, but not just yet. We still have a long ways to go, before an ice age hits Konoha. I also have some other twists for the story.