I do not own Naruto or Venom/Carnage
AN. to all my readers sorry for the immensely long wait. I have no excuse.
Thanks for waiting and I hope you enjoy the newest chapter.
As always any and all feed back is appreciated.
Chapter 14. Welcome Back.
Tired but happy Sakura walked back into Tsunami's house. Locking the door behind her she called out, "Tsunami I'm back."
"Were in the kitchen." Tsunami called back her voice coming from the direction of the dining room.
Humming a bit she walked down the hall towards the dining room opening the door she walked in. And promptly let out a scream."What's going on?" Whipping out a kunai she held it in front of her with trembling hands and a dumbstruck and fear filled expression on her face.
"Were eating lunch. Want some?" Naruto replied, he held out half a sandwich to the pink haired girl.
"That's not what I'm talking about! What are THEY doing here?" She pointed a shaking finger at Zabuza who sat across the table from Naruto and next to Kakashi. Sasuke and a dark haired girl sat side by side on the other end of the table.
"He's eating too." Kakashi answered innocently. "Thanks." He took a cup of water from Tsunami as she walked into the dining room with a tray of drinks. Inari trailed along behind his mom a happy expression on his face.
"I'll take that." Zabuza took the sandwich half from Naruto and kept on eating.
"What's going on?" Sakura screamed again at the room in general.
Looking around and seeing no one hurrying to answer Sasuke sighed and began speaking. "Gato tried to double cross these two. So Naruto and Zabuza killed him."
"Wait Gato's dead?" Sakura interjected.
"Yes. With Gato dead Zabuza has no reason to fight us." Sasuke continued in his usual monotone.
"But wait..." Sakura hesitantly lowered her kunai a bit. "Isn't Zabuza still a missing nin?"
"Relax Sakura." Kakashi put down his now mysteriously empty glass of water and looked at her. "I've decided not to collect the bounty on Zabuza's head."
"Aren't we supposed to?" Sakura asked weakly.
"Nope. The only missing nin were actually required to pursue are missing nin from Konoha. Otherwise the team leader makes a judgment call on whether or not to pursue. We do have to report any sightings however."
"So what are we going to tell Hokage-Sama?" Sakura stammered out even more off kilter than before.
"Oh I'll think of something." Kakashi replied breezily waving off Sakura's concern. "Are you sure you don't want a sandwich? You look kind of pale?" he asked Sakura as she fell into a chair, joining them at the table.
"Where's Tazuna?" She asked looking around the table.
"Grandpa's upstairs he hurt his leg." Inari chimed in as he took the seat next to her.
"Oh." Taking a look around more details began to to trickle into Sakura's mind. Namely that nearly everyone at the table was covered in bandages. Zabuza was covered in them from neck to waist and all the way down to his wrists. He's not wearing a white shirt. Now that she looked around some more she noticed bandages on Kakashi's hands and Sasuke's legs. And the dark haired girl at the table seemed to be moving stiffly.
Naruto seemed to be the only one who seemed uninjured though he had black streaks on his arms and face. Looking up at her his expression suddenly brightened. "Sakura here you go." Naruto began pulling explosive tags and spools of wire out of his pockets. "We had to take down some of the traps you set to get back to the house."
"Good initiative on the traps Sakura." Kakashi praised her. "Were you going to be monitoring them while we were gone?"
"Yeah. I just came in to tell Tsunami and Inari where they were so they wouldn't get caught in them. But I put most of them in the trees surrounding the house."
"Good job. But since we took out Gato go ahead and take them down when you get a chance."
"Are you sure? I mean Tsunami did get attacked earlier today"
"All right then. keep them up for the time being." Kakashi said after mulling it over for a second or two.
"OK. Eeek!" Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin as Tsunami set down a plate and glass next to her. "Thanks." She took a long drink out of her glass to steady her frazzled nerves. It failed miserably.
The rest of the meal thankfully took place in silence.
oOo
He was flying. Wind whispering over his skin.
Familiar stone walls rising all around him.
He landed gently on his favorite spot,
Below him the city spread out as far he could see.
Bright twinkling lights spread out below him.
A voice called his name.
Her.
Laughing in delight he chased after her.
She danced away,
just out reach
Her hair waving around her face.
Hiding it behind a waterfall of red hair.
He called her name,
words lost in the wind.
He reached for her.
Thud.
"Ow." Looking around Naruto experienced a brief moment of disorientation. After a few moments some things became clear to him.
One he was on the floor.
Two it was night time.
Three he really needed to pee.
Picking himself up off the floor he headed off towards the bathroom. He'd worry about that dream later. His bare feet slapped gently against the wooden floor as he walked down the dark hallway towards the bathroom at the end of the hall. Closing the door behind him he went about the urgent need to pee.
Flicking the light switch him on he went about his business and then turned to the sink to wash his hands. Looking up he checked his reflection in the mirror over the sink.
A dark shape with huge white eyes jumped out at him from the mirror, mouth open in a silent scream.
"Aah!" Naruto gasped and jumped back only just keeping himself from crashing into the far wall, arms raised reflexively into a fighting position. Breathing heavily he spun around looking for his attacker.
But the small bathroom was totally empty.
Nothing seemed out of place. The only sound was his breathing and the blood thundering in his ears. Forcing himself to calm down he looked back towards the mirror a cold feeling settling in the pit of his stomach.
Only his wide eyed face stared back at him. "Just nerves." He mumbled to himself before clicking off the light and leaving the bathroom.
oOo
"Shino Shino! Hinata's excited voice cut across the air, eliciting a chuckle from the two gate guards.
"Looks like your friends are finally here." The taller of the two Izumo spoke up glancing down towards the silent young man that had been waiting by the gate since before dawn.
Other than a slight tensing in the muscles of his face Shino gave no sign of having noticed either Hinata or the guard. Though his eyes were fixed unflinchingly on the approaching group.
Glancing over Shino's head Kotetsu shared a glance with his partner. Years of working as the gate guards and natural ability had given the two of them a nearly unmatched ability at reading emotions and the slightest of expressions on peoples faces. Though it would have been difficult for anyone else to see, he was able to tell that the sight of his team mates had in some part lifted the huge emotional burden that Shino was carrying.
Kurenai let the anxious expression on her dace finally drop as Hinata and Kiba rushed forward to roughly embrace their friend. The two more exuberant genin crowded around Shino chattering away as they tried their best to tell him everything that had happened. Glancing at Shibi she nodded once before walking forward and gently pushing away Hinata and Kiba. Akamaru jumped around their feet happily for a moment or two until Kiba bent down and picked him up.
"Were back Shino." Kurenai murmured as she pulled Shino into her arms and rubbed his hair. He was trembling slightly but returned the hug unflinchingly. "You did very well. Your father told me just how well you did. I'm very proud of you." She rubbed his hair a bit more before letting go taking a step back letting Shibi take her place.
Shibi nodded to her in gratitude before placing his hand on Shino's shoulder. The Aburame were not known for displays of affection in public or otherwise. This was the best he could do for his son. Not for the first time he was glad of his sons friendship with the Yuhi family.
Turning Shino around he nodded once to Shino's friends and sensei. "Kurenai that matter we discussed." She nodded back to him in understanding. "Shino will be unavailable for a few days."
"What do you mean? Is Shino in trouble?" Hinata spoke quietly drawing surprised looks from the Aburame who knew her, or at least as surprised as an Aburame let on.
"No Hyuga-san there are some clan matters that will require Shino's full attention." Shibi replied to the pale eyed girl. He hid a smile as he noticed that Kurenai had preemptively held back the young Inuzuka though his expression was no less anxious than the girls. "Come Shino." Turning around he led his son and clan mates through the gates of Konoha and back to their compound.
"Kurenai." Izumo spoke up in the lull. "The Hokage requests that you see him at your earliest convenience." Though his tone was mild Izumo's face and posture radiated gravity.
"Kiba Hinata why don't the two of you go home. We've had a hard mission and Shino's going to be busy for a few days. Well be having a couple days off. Ill drop by your homes tomorrow to check up on you."
"Yes sensei." Hinata bowed politely before giving the Izumo and Kotetsu a polite goodbye.
"Bye Kurenai-sensei." Kiba waved once before jogging a bit to catch up with Hinata.
Waving at her two genin Kurenai let them get out of sight before shunshing away towards the Hokage's tower, disappearing in a swirl of rose petals.
"Oi Izumo." Kotetsu leaned back against the gates glancing over at his friend. "What was that about?"
"I don't know." Izumo's face twisted into a frown as he recalled how serious the old man had looked when he had mentioned that he wanted to see Kurenai the second she got in.
oOo
"NO YOU IDIOT! The beams go over there!" Tazuna bellowed at the horde of Naruto's that were carrying building supplies onto the bridge. Sakura's innocent suggestion that morning about him using Naruto and his solid shadow clones to help with the bridge building had seemed like such a good idea. Now... Not so much. He thought ruefully. No one had really taken into account just how Active Naruto was. The measure twice cut once philosophy didn't really mesh with the boy. Still it was better than no help at all.
Then again. He sighed as he watched a whole gaggle of clones break down into a wild melee punctuated with occasional puffs of smoke.
"Come here you's" He shouted at the fighting pile of Naruto's bringing the fight to an abrupt end as they all froze and turned in his direction. "Are you guys done fighting?" He asked a bit grumpily.
"Yes." One of them replied as he threw a final punch knocking another into a cloud of smoke.
"Fine. Follow me we got to shift some of these stone blocks. Levering himself up off his chair he waved the group closer. He led the gaggle of Naruto's over to a pile of stone blocks piled haphazardly on one side of the bridge. The pile was a full arms length higher than Tazuna's head and already seemed on the verge of collapsing.
"All right listen up. We got re-stack these before they fall and brain someone. That includes the lot of you so be careful." He paused to scratch his chin before waving the group forward.
"Hai." The clones chorused and approached the pile. Tazuna watched them critically for a few moments before satisfying himself that all was well. Pulling his clipboard out from under his arm he turned around and went back to supervising the rest of the bunch.
The rest of the clones and presumably the real Naruto continued to work. Tazuna had just begun teaching some of them how to square off the edges on some of the timbers when the thunderous boom of stone crashing on stone and screams brought him to an abrupt halt. "What the Hell! Is everyone okay?" He shouted as he limped back towards the site of the commotion.
"Yeah." one of the Naruto's coughed out as he looked around. He seemed to be the leader of this particular bunch. "I don't think the original's here." He continued after taking one last look around. "Wait are you the original?" He asked one of the Naruto's standing slightly ahead of the others.
"No I thought you were." Naruto replied. "Guess hes not here."
"Check and Make SURE!" Tazuna roared pointing at the pile of stone blocks and the slowly settling cloud of dust. Mumbling assent's the mass of clones pushed forward and began to dig through the rubble.
"Tazuna! Tazuna!" Naruto's shout cut across the air, pitched high with fear and surprise.
"Boy?" Tazuna squinted at the latest Naruto to join the group. "Are you the real one?"
"Yeah What happened? I just got crushed by some rocks! I mean I saw it happen!" Naruto blurted out as he joined Tazuna.
"What do you mean boy?" Tazuna asked placing his hands on Naruto's shoulders to steady him.
"You were telling us to be careful with the stones, and then there was a rumble and that was the last thing I saw. But I was working over there when it happened." Naruto pointed off in a different direction opposite from the pile of stone."
"Wait so you saw the accident?" Tazuna asked his brows furrowed as he puzzled over what Naruto had said.
"I think so. I mean I saw something..." Naruto scratched his head, his initial bout of frenzied energy seemed to be wearing off now.
"Naruto this Jutsu your using is there anything special about it?"
"Umm Kakashi said that there were some uses for it that he would teach me later once I was a bit more experienced." Naruto replied slowly as he dredged up the memories from the depths of his mind.
"Hmm." Rubbing his chin thoughtfully Tazuna waved over one of the clones. He bent down and whispered something in its ear. He clapped a hand over the clones mouth and turned to Naruto. "So what did I say to him?" He asked the real Naruto.
"I don't know I couldn't hear you."
"Maybe it was a fluke." Tazuna muttered. The real Naruto shrugged while the rest of the clones continued to mill about.
Behind them one group of several of the clones were muttering quietly to each other. "Come on try it." One of them stage whispered to another.
"Fine." The designated clone sighed once in frustration. Bending down he picked up a stone the size of his two balled fists and walked over to Tazuna's little group.
Tazuna Naruto and the clone watched curiously as he walked over to them. Bringing up the stone he suddenly brought it down sharply on the clone's head dispelling it in a puff of smoke.
"Whoa!" Tazuna jumped back in surprise wincing as he landed heavily on his injured leg. "What are you doing?"
"Testing our Hippopotamus." The clone replied proudly.
"What?" Naruto replied back smartly.
"Our Hippopotamus, we think maybe it has to do something with when we dispel."
Naruto scratched his nose. "I don't think I made myself clear the first time so I'll say it again." He paused for emphasis. "What?"
"Naruto how many stones were in that pile?" Tazuna asked quietly.
"You said 60 right?" Naruto answered a bit absentmindedly as he stared back at his clone. "Wait when did you tell me that?"
"I didn't I told that clone that just got popped." Tazuna replied a slow grin stretching across his face. "Naruto stay here." He pointed down with one hand. "You guys come over here for a sec."
The clones came over and gathered around Tazuna. Picking one at random Tazuna bent down and wrote something down on his clipboard angling it so the real Naruto couldn't see. "Read this."
The clone bent down and read the words. "Ok I got it now what?" The clone asked curiously.
Smiling Tazuna took a step back. "Pop him." He gestured towards the now confused Shadow Clone.
Shrugging the rest of the clones advanced and buried the hapless clone under an avalanche of fists and bodies. A pop and a puff of smoke and the clone was gone.
"Hey Tazuna why did you write 1234 on your clipboard?" Naruto asked from his position a few feet away. A slow look of comprehension slowly dawned across his face. "That's it. They can remember numbers!"
Tazuna face palmed. "No Naruto I think that when they pop anything they've learned gets passed to you." He paused, "I think I just figured out a way to make rebuilding this bridge go even faster." An evil grin spread across Tazuna's face.
"Faster? How." Naruto asked curiously, and more than a little nervously.
"Well first were going to have to run some experiments." The clones all began to look at each other nervously.
oOo
Kakashi's one eyed gaze stared balefully into Zabuza's brown eyes. The tension in the air was palpable as the two veteran ninja sized each other up. Both men knew that the next few seconds would decide the matter once and for all.
Kakashi's gaze narrowed and focused until the only thing he could see was his opponent. Beads of sweat slid slowly and unnoticed down the side of his face. Across from him Zabuza shifted his balance in tiny almost imperceptible motions as he shifted to stay in sync with Kakashi.
"Make your move copy ninja." Zabuza grated out his eyes never leaving Kakashi.
Kakashi took a breath, held it for a moment and slowly let it out.
And struck!
"Got any twos?"
Letting a savage grin cross his face Zabuza let out a harsh bark of laughter. "Go fish."
Kakashi's visible eye twisted into a frown as he reached over and pulled a card from to the top of the deck between them. Tucking the card into the fan held in one hand he leaned back onto the bed.
"So Zabuza have you thought about what your going to do now. I don't plan to turn you into Konoha but your still a missing nin."
"I spent some time talking to the old man this morning before he left with the kid. It seems the village here needs someone to form the backbone of a militia or city guard. Without Gato and until trade picks up enough for them to hire guards or mercs this land is ripe for conquest. I should know. Got any 4's?" Kakashi silently handed over a card. Matching the card to the one in his hand he tossed the pair onto the table. "Shouldn't be too hard to find some volunteers willing to learn to fight under me." Zabuza let a predatory grin twist his lips upward.
"Looking to start your own private army?" Kakashi interjected shrewdly, shuffling the cards in his hands.
"Maybe. But I figure if I become the boss of the army here, anyone who wants me is going to have carve their way through them first."
"Got any 9's." Grinning as he took the card Kakashi tossed a pair onto the table. "So that's your plan? Pretty smart, as long as you protect them you can be assured of your own continued protection."
"Got it in one." Wincing at his injuries Zabuza settled himself a bit more comfortably.
"As long as you do that, I don't see any reason to let anyone know who you really are."
"So what's keeping me from silencing you right here and now then?" Zabuza shifted himself casually towards his sword.
"Your smart enough to know I have at least 2 contingency plans. Got any Aces?"
"Ha! No. Go fish." Zabuza's face took on a more serious cast. "And Haku? What about her?"
"That's a good question. Since she's not a missing nin she can stay wherever she wants." Drawing a card with a sigh he shuffled it into his hand. "But if she goes to Konoha I can guarantee that the full might of Konoha will rally to her protection. A bloodline user is a precious asset."
"Like the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi no Yoko?" Zabuza asked bluntly. The tension in the room rose sharply.
"Yes." Kakashi acknowledged the remark slowly, his pulse starting to speed up as he prepared himself in case this led to a showdown. "What gave it away?"
"Do you really have to ask?" Seeing Kakashi making no move to respond he continued. "Its no secret that Kyubi no Yoko attacked Konoha over a decade ago and was stopped by the Yellow flash. You should have heard the rumors going around after that." Zabuza let a chuckle out. "Why do you think no one tried to take advantage and attack Konoha right after that attack? Even if you lost every ninja in your village a Jinchuriki could turn the tables on any attacking force."
"Is that so? But you still haven't any answered my question."
"The incident on the bridge. I've fought a lot of ninja and blood line users over the years. What I felt on that bridge was something beyond my experience. Nothing Human possesses chakra like that."
"I guess it was pretty obvious after that whole mess."
"Got that right. And then there's you. Konoha's copy ninja, the triple S ranked Sharingan user Kakashi Hatake. And your genin team, the last Uchiha, a clanless girl, and a boy with chakra that overshadows even our own. Naruto Yuhi, I only know of one other ninja with that surname. And she's a genjutsu specialist. What else could that boy be?"
"Guess you have a point. What do you think of Naruto?"
"Kids got a vicious streak, that's good it'll keep him alive when nothing else will. But he seems pretty well adjusted. Most of the stories I've heard about Jinchuriki's make them seem pretty disturbed."
"No Naruto's a good kid. He comes from a good home. Got any 8's?" Kakashi smiled under his mask.
"Go fish."
"So does that answer your real question about whether Konoha will treat a bloodline user well?"
"Yeah, If Haku decides to go to Konoha I won't stop her." Tossing a card onto the table the two ninja continued their game in relative silence.
oOo
"Ah Kurenai your back." The third Hokage smiled at the woman he considered his adopted daughter as she stepped through the door of his office.
"Yes we completed our mission. And I have even more good news." Kurenai smiled warmly at Sarutobi. She went on brief Sarutobi in detail of the aftermath of the mission. Including Takigakure's desire to become a full allied state of the Land of Fire and Konohagakure. As she finished her brief she handed the Hero Water over to Sarutobi.
Sarutobi took the bottle of water carefully balancing it in his hands. "Marvelous I never thought I'd see Takigakure do something like this. You must have made a real impression on them. Well done." From her seat across from him Kurenai nodded graciously.
Standing Sarutobi walked over to the wall and ran his hands over a seemingly blank wall. Seals glowed into life as his hands tapped the wall in a specific pattern. A safe appeared. Opening it he carefully placed the bottle of hero water inside. Closing it he resealed the safe and walked back to his desk sitting down.
"Sarutobi why exactly did you request my immediate presence. Is something wrong? Did something happen to Naruto?" Her pulse began to race
"No No Naruto's fine." Sarutobi moved quickly to calm her down. "No this is actually regarding something else." His face took an unhappy cast before settling into his professional mask and he became the Hokage again. "Kurenai when was the last time you spoke to councilwoman Ayeka?"
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.
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