I do not own Naruto or Venom/Carnage
it dreamed now
gray walls and red hair
Chapter 8. Demon in the Mist.
"Your as good as they say Sharingan no Kakashi?" A sinister voice chuckled seeming to come from everywhere at once.
"Triangle formation protect Tazuna!" Kakashi barked. Instantly team 7 jumped into position around Tazuna.
Sharingan? Thought Sasuke as he pulled out his weapons.
With a gentle stirring of wind fog began to roll in from the sea. Soon fog covered everything in a knee high blanket of white mist and cut visibility down to a hundred feet or so.
A lone figure appeared out of the mist walking steadily towards the blade buried in the ground. Everyone watched warily as he approached the blade. As he got closer (it was definitely a male figure) something seemed off.
"Oh my god." Sakura whimpered as the scale of both man and blade became clear. The blade was... was simply gigantic. It had to be over seven feet long and that was with some of it buried in the sand. The man was similarly enormous, tall and well muscled. He was wearing dark pants and his chest was bare. Bandages covered his face and some kind of black and white cloth sleeve ran from both his wrists to his biceps. And a hiate was knotted around his forehead the metal plate centered over his left ear.
"Its an honor Kakashi of the Sharingan" As he spoke he reached out and easily tugged the blade out of the ground, settling it over one shoulder.
"Zabuza no Momochi the Demon hidden in the Mist." Kakashi replied evenly.
"Got it in one. Now. How about you hand over that old man."
"Sorry I can't do that." Kakashi replied a trace of a smile in his tone.
"Gee that's too bad." Taking the blade of his shoulder Zabuza took up a ready stance. "Guess we have to do this the hard way then."
"Guess so."
"Show me that Sharingan eye I've heard so much about."
"Well since you asked so nicely." Reaching up Kakashi took hold of and pushed his hiate up, uncovering his left eye. Revealing a red iris and three tomoe's, the legendary dojutsu the Sharingan.
How? How does Sensei have the Sharingan. Sasuke stared in shock.
"Sensei?" Sakura asked.
"Stay back all of you this isn't an enemy you can beat." Kakashi said as he walked slowly towards Zabuza.
"About time Kakashi. So lets get started! Hidden mist Jutsu: Wind Wolves!" Zabuza shouted as he threw his arms wide. With an eerie howling shapes began to appear in the mist around Zabuza's feet. A moment later a pack of ethereal wolves were racing towards team 7. As they advanced they pulled the fog with them spreading it over the beach.
Throwing a kunai at the skull of each wolf, Kakashi's eyes widened as the hail of steel passed through the wolves without even slowing down. A second later the wolves were on him. He threw his arms up and braced himself.
Howling the pack of wolves rushed past Kakashi and raced onwards blanketing the entire beach in a thick fog blotting out everything in sight.
"Sasuke what's going on I can't see anything." Sakura shouted as the wolves raced past them, blanketing the world in white.
"Get back to back" Sasuke shouted as he jumped backwards until his back was touching Tazuna's. "Naruto can you see anything."
"No!"
"And now you die" Zabuza's disembodied voice echoed through the wind.
I can't see anything. Not even with the Sharingan. There! Moving on instinct he managed to deflect an incoming sword strike. Pushing the huge blade aside he slashed forward with his hand. Fingers stiff he shoved them forward and through Zabuza's throat only to have him dissolve into water. A Clone. As the clone dispersed he found the knowledge of the water clone jutsu settling into his mind. Oh no hes going after Tazuna first. This was just a distraction.
Turning as fast as he could he yelled out. "Fire Wall NOW!"
"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled as he began to move his hands into the appropriate seals.
"On it Shadow Clone Jutsu." with a Puff of smoke several clones appeared around the group. Spreading out they formed a circle. "Wind Style: Wind Wall Jutsu." the clones cried out.
The wind wall jutsu created nothing more than a rush of wind infused with chakra. On its own it was useful for clearing an area of tripwires or pressure sensitive traps but not much else.
When combined with a fire jutsu it was something else entirely. As the wall of wind rushed out it pushed away the mist. Sasuke and Sakura ignited it.
"Fire Style: Fireball jutsu." Sasuke shouted.
"Fire Style: Fire bullet jutsu." Sakura yelled out.
As the chakra infused wind ignited it flared up into a massive wall of fire that steamrolled away from the group sucking in the mist and exploding it into harmless steam.
"Nice try but its not enough" Zabuza called as he easily back-flipped over the flames. As he cleared the flames the steam hanging in the air began to coalesce into solid shapes.
Seven clones of Kakashi hiked up in the air and shot towards Zabuza. As they dashed through the air Zabuza swung the huge blade in an enormous arc slashing 4 of the clones in half dispersing them into streams of water.
As the last three clones closed in, Zabuza reversed his grip on the blade and drew his other hand down the blade. Glowing seals activated and suddenly a replica of his sword appeared in his free hand, made entirely of crystal clear water. Swinging both blades he chopped through the last three clones.
"You missed one." Kakashi's voice said in his ear, locking his arms around Zabuza's shoulders. "Initial Lotus!" Turning over in mid air the two plummeted down towards the ground. The two hit the ground with a splash?
"What just happened?" Sakura asked a dumbfounded expression on her face.
"They both used a substitution jutsu." Sasuke said his eyes darting back and forth.
With a thunderous boom a massive wave washed up on the shore. "What was that." Naruto shouted.
"Over there!" Sasuke shouted back. Standing on the surface of the sea two figures could be seen.
"Not bad Kakashi you managed to copy and use my own jutsu against me. But shouldn't you be watching out for your team." Zabuza smirked as he gestured in the direction of team 7.
On the shore shapes were coming out of the water. "You can stop my clones but can they? Hidden Mist Jutsu." With a laugh he vanished again, lost in the blanket of fog that advanced steadily towards Kakashi.
Back on the shore things were heating up. As the clones of Zabuza came out of the surf they were met by Naruto and Sasuke.
Dodging between two swords Naruto batted one away and simultaneously drove his fist into one of the clones blasting it away in a spray of water.
Sasuke was dealing with his own problems, he had his hands full dodging 4 of the clones. Damn it I can't even get a blow in where's Naruto? Taking a step back he ducked under another blade. I can't even get close to these things. His eyes flickered from one clone to the next as he tried desperately to track their movements. A close observer would have noticed periodic flashes of red coming from the young Uchiha's eyes.
Breaking through the wall of clones Naruto stepped into the surf and created 3 clones of his own. Together they bashed in the water clones as they formed out of the water.
Only the barest of clues and his years of experience kept Kakashi's head on his shoulders. Ducking slightly he felt a rush of wind pass over his hair. Kicking out he caught Zabuza solidly in the stomach sending him flying away. He landed with a splash somewhere in that impenetrable fog.
Taking a risk he dashed out of the mist. Clearing it in a few moments.
Turning around he spotted Zabuza standing at the very edge of the mist watching him. Placing his sword on his back Zabuza shook his hands once.
Both men grinned under their masks. "Looks like were evenly matched Kakashi." The two began to move their hands into different seals. "How about we end this."
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu" both men cried out at the same time.
With a enormous roar two waterspouts tore out of the water behind each of the two veteran ninja each foaming mass of water topped by a snarling dragon's head. Spiraling into the sky they twisted and headed for a collision course with each other.
At the last moment Kakashi's dragon veered right and slammed into the water between the two, throwing up a huge wall of water. In the next moment Zabuza's dragon lost cohesion and fell into the water, the mist clearing as well. On the shore all of the clones vanished into puddles of water, surprisingly so did Zabuza.
"Sharingan!" with a loud cry Sasuke's bloodline finally activated just after the clones vanished. Looking around he spotted Naruto's shadow clones, he felt a moments disorientation as the shadow clone jutsu imprinted itself onto his mind. Shaking his head he looked out towards the sea spotting Kakashi. A moment later he spotted Zabuza pulling himself out of the water, finally standing wearily on the surface of the sea.
"Damn I guess I lost." Zabuza coughed out some water as he faced Kakashi. "Your even better than they said. I thought I had hidden myself perfectly. I guess I have to pull out all the stops." Placing both hands on the hilt of his sword he took a deep breath.
Unnoticed to anyone else the red pearl hanging from the hilt began to Shake. Hair thin red and black tendrils began to extrude from the slick surface and creep outwards. Moving swiftly they stabbed into Zabuza's hand and burrowed deep inside.
As the tendrils burrowed deeper into Zabuza his appearance began to change. "Don't worry Kakashi I'm only after the old man I won't kill your team. I'll let them live so they can tell of your death." The pitch of his voice deepening becoming more resonant as he spoke.
"What is that" Kakashi whispered. Opening his mouth he used his tongue to maneuver a soldiers pill into his mouth, he had a feeling he would need it. Years ago Kurenai had taken all his masks away from him and sealed soldiers pills into the fabric. She had been horrified that he hadn't done it himself especially once she knew of the Sharingan's steep chakra requirements. Now and not for the first time he was grateful for her foresight.
Zabuza's eyes had become blank white pools and all of his muscles stood out in stark relief, veins bulging out of his skin like demented worms. His skin reddening visibly as his muscles continued to expand.
What? Confused Kakashi took a precious second to rub his eye. Zabuza's chakra network was starting to become unclear? It was hard to describe. Almost as if there was some kind of interference.
Caught up in his musings he almost missed they tiny flare up that signaled Zabuza's movement. How? Hes going to charge no, dodge? jump?I can't tell. Feeling more than a little uneasy he jumped backwards to avoid a blow that actually split the ocean for a moment before the waves rushed back in.
Moving quickly he slapped the metal plates on each of his gloves. With a small flash of light two tonfas made of a deep blue steel appeared before him. Grabbing them quickly he rushed forward over the water to intercept Zabuza,
Swinging both weapons he brought them up in an overhand sweep to try and deflect Zabuza's blade and get a blow in.
The three weapons came together with a piercing screech, sparks flying in the air. What the? Without even slowing Zabuza's sword smashed aside the tonfa's and kept on going uninterrupted. Only the awful strength behind the blow saved Kakashi. He had actually been knocked completely away by the blow, narrowly avoiding being cut in half.
"So strong!" He grunted in surprise."FINE! The gates of Life! First gate Open!" Regaining his strength and bearings he advanced again.
His next parry went about as well as the first but he managed to recover much faster. But despite his best efforts he was completely overpowered. Not since he was a child had he been so physically overpowered. Not even opening the first gate of life had helped. Every blow threatened to break bones and shatter the tonfas. When I get back to Konoha I have to thank Hiashi. A weaker weapon would have shattered by now.
Crossing the tonfas in front of him he blocked another blow. The shock numbed his hands and almost made him lose his grip. Shockingly he felt himself being lifted into the air, the force of the blow actually launching him skyward. Still in mid air he parried another blow. With no leverage he felt the bones in his left wrist shatter and he was blasted away to land back on the beach throwing up sand as he landed.
"Kakashi are your all right?" He felt a pair of hands lift him up. Glancing back he looked into Naruto's concerned face.
"Naruto grab everyone and get out of here!"
"What?"
"Run!" Spotting movement he felt a chill of fear "No Sasuke come back!" He began to move but lurched to a halt as a wave of weakness suddenly hit him. Looking down he saw that one of his tonfas had been chopped clean through. And blood was flowing from a shallow gash on his chest.
"I'll get him!" Naruto shouted and ran after Sasuke.
"I got you know!" Sasuke shouted. with his Sharingan active he felt unstoppable. I can see it! Everything. It was a rush beyond words.
He never saw it coming when Zabuza flickered out of his sight and slammed a knee into his side knocking him senseless.
Stepping over Sasuke's prone body Zabuza advanced towards Kakashi. A dozen black and blue blurs came rushing in to intercept him. Moving casually using blade and fist he knocked them all aside. With only one exception they all vanished into clouds of smoke. The lone exception fell to the ground in a heap bleeding from a scalp wound.
On the ground before him Kakashi tried to get up, but instead coughed up some blood.
Watching her team get torn apart before her very eyes Sakura felt her world coming apart. "Sasuke!" In an instant she had made her decision.
Running towards Zabuza she began a series of seals.
~One week ago~
"Wait Sakura. This jutsu never ever use it unless I tell you to." Kakashi interrupted her a she began to move her hands in the seal sequence Kakashi had just shown her.
"Kakashi-Sensei how come?"
"Because right now you don't have enough chakra to use it. If you try it will suck out all your chakra and could severely injure you."
"So why did you teach it to me?"
"Because when you can use it you will see just how far you've come" Kakashi had replied with his one eyed smile."
~End flashback~
Pushing back the fear she felt she finished the last seal. "FIRE STYLE! FIRE SCREAM JUTSU!"
Seeing the pink haired girl approaching and hearing her words. Zabuza casually threw up an arm and sent a wall of water in her direction.
Skidding to a halt Sakura opened her mouth...
and Screamed.
Many things could be said about Sakura Haruno. Most of them rude. But quiet wasn't one of them.
With an unearthly wail rings of fire began shooting out of her mouth. Carving chunks out of the beach they slammed straight into the wall of water.
Fire scream. A fire jutsu that used sound to move and shape fire. More than just a fire jutsu the rings of fire hit with massive concussive force. The only drawback was that the strength of the jutsu depended largely on the strength of the users voice.
Sakura had that in spades.
With a blast of steam and a rush of wind the rings of fire slammed straight through the wall of water and kept going. Straight at Zabuza.
Blank eyes opened wide. Slamming his enormous blade into the ground Zabuza crouched behind it riding out the blast wave.
As her chakra drained out of her Sakura's eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed.
"LIGHTNING PALM!"
Turning as fast as he could Zabuza turned just in time to catch a lightning wreathed hand to his chest. As the massive bolt of electricity arched through his body he stepped backwards. His whole body shook uncontrollably as his sword fell from his now senseless fingers. As the sword fell Zabuza's body returned to its normal state. Stray sparks jumped from his skin at random intervals and still he stood. Kakashi had to hand it to him Zabuza was one of the toughest ninja he'd ever fought.
Watching the big man stumble backwards Kakashi readied a kunai. It was time to end this. Eyes narrowing in despair and fury he turned for a final glance at his team. A spike in chakra and a whistling noise made him turn back to Zabuza.
Two senbons had just appeared in Zabuza's neck. "This one is fine" A quiet voice came from off the side.
Whipping his head around Kakashi spotted a figure crouching next to Sasuke. His momentary spike of fear receding a bit as he recognized the uniform of a Kirigakure hunter nin. He was dressed in nondescript clothing save for the stylized mask that all of kiri's hunter nin wore. The hunter nin kneeled next to Sasuke and checked the raven haired boy for injuries.
"I felt the chakra spike I'm sorry for not arriving sooner" the hunter nin responded neutrally. "This one is just unconscious." Judging from his voice and size Kakashi judged him to be no older than Sasuke or Naruto.
"Ugh what just happened." With a shake of his head Naruto winced, feeling something rapidly cooling across his head. Groaning he pressed a hand to his head. It came away wet with blood.. "Kakashi did you stop him?" Naruto asked as he took in Zabuza's still form.
"ah no I didn't" Kakashi muttered as he sighed in relief. Fearing the worst he turned to see if Sakura was okay.
"Kakashi Sakura's fine!" Tazuna shouted happily. The old man was holding the girl gently. Save for being whiter than he'd ever seen her, Sakura appeared to be just fine thought her breathing was a little shallow.
"Thank you." in a flutter of leaves the hunter nin had reappeared next to Zabuza. "I have been looking for a chance to kill Zabuza." Bending down he ran a hand over Zabuza's neck.
"Kakashi who's that?" Naruto asked as he pulled himself to his feet.
"One of Kiri's hunter nin. He killed Zabuza after I paralyzed him."
"What Zabuza's dead!" Naruto shouted in surprise, running over he placed his hand on Zabuza's neck brushing the hunter nin's fingers as he did so. Unnoticed by anyone the hunter nin shifted his hand a little closer to Naruto's. "He's dead" Naruto choked out in surprise as he checked for a pulse. "But he was, I mean how?" he asked in confusion.
Placing a hand on Naruto's head Kakashi spoke gently. "This is real Naruto. Even the strongest among us can be caught by surprise."
"But look at him he was so- and this guy. he's just like us isn't he?" he waved a hand in the hunter nin's direction.
"Naruto!" Sighing a bit he turned to look Naruto in the eye. "In this world there are kids younger than you." He paused for a long moment. "and stronger than me."
"I I understand sensei." Naruto looked at the ground.
"I must dispose of this body." Kneeling down the hunter nin picked up Zabuza's prone form.
"Wait!" Naruto spoke quickly. "you saved us. Thank you." Straightening up he pointed at the hunter nin. "I'll pay you back one day. Believe it."
Cocking his head quizzically the hunter nin stared at Naruto. "Your name? What is it?"
"Naruto Yuhi."
Nodding once the hunter nin disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
"Hey come back who the hell are you." Naruto shouted at the now empty space.
"Calm down Naruto. Help me set up camp were not going anywhere else today." Kakashi said as he took in the beach and the setting sun.
oOo
The campfire crackled merrily as Tazuna tossed a few more sticks into the flames. Off to one side three still forms slept under one large blanket. Sakura slept between Naruto and Sasuke a contented smile on her face. Stirring slightly she rolled over and grabbed hold of Naruto's shirt in her sleeping hands.
"Got a camera." Tazuna smirked as he took in the scene.
"No wish I did though." Kakashi winced as he readjusted his sling.
"Huh what Kakashi-Sensei?" rubbing her eyes sleepily Sakura had sat up.
"Here Sakura drink this." He handed her a canteen in which he had dissolved a soldiers pill.
"Ok." Yawning cutely Sakura took a long swallow afterwards rubbing her eyes sleepily.
Seeing the girl starting to nod off again he hurriedly grabbed the canteen and gently guided the girl back to her pillow. He fussed with the blanket covering her for a moment before sitting back down again. His actions causing a indulgent smile to appear on Tazuna's office.
"They look so peaceful right now." Tazuna mused as he gazed at the trio.
Sitting next to the three Kakashi ran one hand gently over the tips of Naruto's hair. "Yeah they do. It's easy to forget they're ninja, when they look like this."
"That's seems like a heavy burden for ones so young. What makes them decide to be ninja?"
Kakashi stared at the fire for a long moment before answering. "Some are born to it. Some choose it. And then..."
"And then?" Tazuna prompted.
"Some have it forced on them." Kakashi finished sadly. Shaking himself a bit he turned back to Tazuna. "you should get some sleep. Well be at your home tomorrow."
There didn't really seem to be anything else to say so Tazuna kept his mouth shut. Leaning back he stared at the stars. Whispering a prayer he was asleep in moments.
As soon as Tazuna had nodded off Kakashi placed his uninjured hand on the ground. Muttering a few words he summoned his Ninken. With a puff of smoke the eight dogs appeared.
"Yo."
"Yo." Pakkun raised a paw in greeting followed by the rest, who added their own greetings.
"You two." He pointed to the two largest dogs. "Keep them warm. The rest of you form a perimeter." yawning he took another drink from the canteen he had just given Sakura. "Wake me if you need me."
oOo
"I can't believe it we have to move furniture!" Ino moaned as she stepped out of the Hokage's office followed by her team and sensei.
"Troublesome." Shikimaru moaned as he followed behind the blonde, Choji wisely kept his mouth shut.
"Oh hey Shino, Kurenai. Are you guys here for missions too?" Looking around in surprise she spotted Kurenai's team sitting in the Hokage's reception area. She waved at Hinata who waved back, and gave Shino a nod. She unconsciously ran her fingers through her hair.
"How are you dear." Kurenai smiled warmly at the blonde. "Yes we are. Asuma how have you been?"
"Uh Fine." Asuma replied a bit nervously.
As the two jounin's stepped aside to talk the two teams took the chance to talk as well.
"So what are you guys doing?" Kiba asked.
"Oh some people left town suddenly and now the landlords wants some ninja to clear out all the furniture." Ino Moaned.
"That's your mission?" Kiba gave a short bark of laughter.
"Kiba these missions are important too." Hinata reproached him.
"What come on?" Glancing over at the shy girl Kiba was a bit surprised to see the intensity in her gaze. Backing down he nodded once to Hinata.
Shikimaru arched an eyebrow at Hinata's strange... no improved behavior. Ino smiled at her. Whoa. I guess being around Kurenai did her some good.
"So what about you guys?" Choji asked as he ate some more chips.
"We came to get a mission too. So anybody seen team 7 around, I haven't seen them around lately." Kiba asked looking around the group.
"Actually they left on a C rank mission. A few days ago." Ino said tapping her finger on her lips as she tried to remember what Naruto had told Sakura in the shop the other day. "I think. Umm maybe. Sorry I can't remember anything else."
"What!" the response came from 5 throats startling Ino and the two jounin's.
"Sensei! Is it true?" Kiba asked loudly as he walked over to his sensei. The other 5 teens following close behind.
"Is what true Kiba?" Kurenai asked curiously as she took in the expressions on the teens faces.
"Is Naruto on a C rank mission?"
"Why yes he is."
"How come they get to go on a C Rank mission?" Kiba demanded.
"Kiba!" her tone brought the young Inuzuka up short. Softening her tone she continued. "Missions are decided at the Jounin-Sensei's discretion. That being said the reason both I and Asuma" She gave Asuma a significant look, who nodded in agreement "haven't accepted any C rank mission requests is because we wanted to get to know all of you better before we left the village." She held up a hand to stop their protests. "Its not a question of trust, but it does take some time for teamwork to become instinctual instead of premeditated."
"Kurenai-Sensei what about Kakashi-Sensei?" Hinata asked startling the group yet again.
"Kakashi prefers on the job training." Kurenai added with a smile. "And he is one of Konoha's top jounin I wouldn't doubt his methods."
Ino and Shino both nodded at that. He had helped them both a time or two revealing an almost frightening knowledge of jutsus.
"Well we need to get going. Kurenai it was a pleasure." Sucking in a deep breath Asuma took a chance. "So dinner.." he asked.
"Sure. bring your team, well celebrate when Naruto gets back." She turned to Asuma's three genin. "You three make sure your parent's come. Id love to see all of them."
Choji's eyes brightened Teuchi usually did the cooking for Kurenai's parties. Ino smiled at Shino and mouthed. Coming? Shino nodded back gravely.
"Troublesome" Shikimaru muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Kurenai asked just a bit too sweetly.
"ah Nothing!" Shikimaru added nervously.
"Good I'll contact your families when team 7 returns.
"Well were going now" Asuma finished a slightly crestfallen look on his face. Turning around he led his team out the door.
oOo
"Ah Kurenai are you here for a mission? we have a quite a few, some firebreaks need tending, Tora escaped again." Sarutobi began as he shuffled through various mission requests.
"Can I see the list Sir, I'm hoping for something that takes out of Konoha, I'd like to do some survival training." Kurenai said as she leaned over and began to page through the mission requests as well.
"Umm Sensei" Hinata began timidly.
"Yes Hinata?" Kurenai asked curiously.
" I I I..." The pale eyed began to stutter.
"What is it dear?" Kurenai asked soothingly.
"I want A C RANK MISSION!" Hinata shouted before covering her mouth in surprise.
"What?" Sarutobi's pipe actually fell out of his mouth, Kurenai's eyes blazed with pride.
Shino was surprised but hid it well though, behind his collar an excited smile was beginning to form. Taking a step forward he stood next to Hinata adding his support as well.
Kiba bared his teeth in a feral smile. And moved to stand beside Hinata as well.
Turning back to Sarutobi Kurenai gave him a single sharp nod. "Well be taking a C rank mission" She stated proudly.
"Ah okay" Swallowing his surprise he turned a proud smile towards Hinata. "I will grant your request." He reached into another stack of papers and pulled out a single folder.
In his most formal tone he began "Team 8 I am giving you a C rank mission. You will be escorting a village leader home. To Takigakure the village hidden in the falls."
oOo
AN: Thanks to my Beta's Whitedragon17 and Psudocode Samurai, without whose help and inspiration this story would never have gotten off the ground. Both are amazing authors and I highly recommend all of their fics. And thanks to all my reviewers.
AAN: If you think I made a mistake or have a suggestion or an idea, Please PM me or leave it in a review.