AN: WOO! We are BACK with Blades, baby! My advanced planning has hit a bump. How am I going to incorporate the Rasengan into Naruto's arsenal? WELL I FOUND THE ANSWER! I'm not going to TELL you, but I've found it.

A little insight: Hayate is NOT canon Hayate, and is NOT related to him. I'm sorry for the confusion I apparently caused, but I totally forgot that Gekko Hayate(canon) even existed. So, without further ado, let me introduce you all to OC Jounin sensei Joharo Hayate, primary element: Doton. Secondary element: Suiton. Kenjutsu user, equipping a long, single-edge blade, mounted on the back. Okay? Okay.

Also, thank you guys, I was so surprised about all of the alerts, favorites, and reviews! I feel so loved!

Btw, I've decided against the harem for this. The bloodline I was going to give him was too mary-sue, anyways, no matter how original it would have been.

WAVE ENDS TODAY!

Disclaimer: do I really need to do this at this point? … The lawyers say yes. I do not own Naruto.

~*~HJN~*~

Chapter 7 –

Naruto spun around, blades drawn to see Hayate already fighting off the intruders. It was immediately apparent that they were not simple bandits, as they had already made a good gash in Hayate's shoulder with their strange claw-gauntlets.

Naruto ran towards them, rearing back to strike the larger one in the kidneys. The smaller one saw this, and deflected the strike, swinging his claw to impale the blonde. It was then that Naruto noticed the shredder chain that the two were connected with. Promptly deciding to make this as long-range a fight as possible, he jumped to dodge the claw and kicked off of Smalls' face, flipping back next to Ino, who was currently in a ready stance to defend Tazuna should either enemy get past Hayate. Shikamaru was raining kunai down on the strangers, each projectile embedding harmlessly in their many layers of fur.

Naruto looked at the chain, which was currently being used to fling one or the other attacker into Hayate. Sheathing his blades, he flew through a set of handsigns. "Raiton: Aku Muchi! (Lightning: Arc Whip)" Sparks traveled down his right arm, before they concentrated and a burst of almost liquid lightning poured out of his hand. Snapping the cord of plasma like a whip, he flung it at the brothers. It wrapped around Smalls, electrocuting him. But the chain between them carried the charge over to Bigs and shocked him as well. Leaving his friend to his fate, Bigs detached the chain connecting them from his own gauntlet. The jutsu dissipated before Smalls could be harmed severely, but he was smoking.

Turning to the large one, Smalls shouted, "Brother! Get the bridge builder!" Then Bigs, now revealed to be related, left the fight with Hayate, and swatted Shikamaru out of the way. Running at Tazuna, Ino reacted first. Standing her ground, she shoved a kunai deep into his pelt, finally managing to pierce his skin. A minor spatter of blood fell to the ground, as well as a small clump of faded blonde hair.

Ino looked down. Her ponytail was about six inches shorter than it had been. Ino looked back up at the brother, who was already in a close-combat fight with Naruto. "He cut my hair… THAT BASTARD CUT MY HAIR!" Ino looked over at Shikamaru, lying unconscious on the ground, and did a quick math equation. There wasn't enough people to do everything if she went and helped to kill Bigs. So she did the next best thing. "NARUTO! KILL THAT ASSHOLE! KILL HIM NOW, HE MUST BE PUNISHED!"

Naruto grinned, only too happy to comply. Sheathing his golden blade with one Tendril, and using another to fight off Bigs with his silver blade, he unsealed a scroll from his sash. Opening the scroll, he bit his pinky, which had long since become his writing finger, and with a flick of the wrist, he finished the partial seal on the inside of the scroll. Closing the paper once more, he formed a few handsigns, and slammed the scroll to the ground. "Sealing Art: Execution Barrier!" A yellow wall of light spurt up around Bigs, closing into a dome at the top. "You can't escape from that. It blocks chakra. The only way you're getting out of there is if you're dead. Fortunately, I can make that happen. You see the barrier only works one way."

The brother's eyes widened in realization, but it was too late. Clouds of smoke appeared around him, and he was suddenly surrounded by 13 instances of the blonde in front of him. Four of them at the corners made the same seals before pointing their palms at him. Four voices said "Raiton: Denki Imochi." Four lightning bolts phased through the barrier, and struck him.

When he recovered, four more clones raised both arms at him. "Fuuton: Shippu Sessaku. (Wind: Cutting Gale)" Wind flew at him, cutting his clothes, skin, and slicing the bits of metal all over him.

Once more, he looked up, panting. Four more were making handsigns. Before taking in a breath, they all said "Katon: Shakunetsu no Kasho. (Fire: Scorching Burns)" Yellow fire burst from their mouths, engulfing him for a moment before the weak attack died down. Battered, and nearly dead, he watched as the real Naruto moved into the barrier and took out both of his blades. Crossing them in front of him, he placed the edges against his neck. "May Shinigami have mercy on your soul." He jerked his arms apart, severing the life-long friendship the man's head had with his body.

The barrier fell, and he looked over to find that Hayate had knocked out Smalls, and was currently tying him up to a tree. "Alright," said the Jounin, "Why were these missing ninja after you, Tazuna-san?"

~~HJN~~LAZY AUTHOR STYLE: TIMESKIP NO JUTSU; CANON INFORMATION VERSION~~HJN~~

Naruto walked on in the lead, two nuke-nin's heads sealed into a scroll in his sash. Ino was more alert now, he noticed. Shikamaru was just as disinterested as before, though.

Hayate had asked Naruto why he had learned all of those weaker jutsu he had used on the older Demon Brother. It was simple, really. "Torture. Interrogation. Humiliation. Any one of those are valid answers. Don't worry, sensei. I've got stronger ones, too."

Hayate nodded. At least the kid knew the value of a dollar. Or jutsu, in this case.

Naruto kept leading the group for a while longer, before he saw a movement in the bushes. He tensed for a moment, before a white rabbit jumped out, looking quite afraid. Understandable, seeing as Naruto had just drawn a kunai at its presence.

Naruto relaxed, and let the bunny pass. "Sorry. I tho-"

Hayate grabbed Tazuna and Shikamaru, yelling, "GET DOWN!"

Naruto, being the ninja he was, responded without thought, grabbing Ino and throwing the two of them to the ground.

A rush of wind, a THUNK, and Shikamaru peeked his head up. "That's a troublesome looking sword."

The rest of the group looked up as well, and Hayate tensed visibly. "Momoichi Zabuza. One of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."

Naruto took in the man's giant zanbatou, currently stuck halfway in a tree. 'He could snap my blades in half!' "Heh. He doesn't look so tough."

It was partially true. The man had pants and suspenders, no shirt. Cow-print leg and arm-warmers were part of the obscene attire, as well.

Zabuza spoke from beneath facial bandages. "Hand over the bride-builder. I only want him dead, you four don't interest me."

Naruto and Hayate jumped up and said in unison, "JUST TRY AND TAKE HIM, COW-LOVER!" (AN: It sounds better in Japanese culture and language, I'm sure… ^^')

Zabuza sighed. "Very well." Throwing handsigns together, he said "Kinjutsu: Kirigakureta no Jutsu. (Forbidden art: Hidden Mist Jutsu)"

Fine water particles surrounded the area, destroying any hopes of seeing the enemy, or indeed, one's comrades. Hayate shouted out an order to protect the bridge builder before Zabuza's voice could be heard from every direction. "Liver, kidneys, lungs, throat, head, spine, heart. Which one should I remove first?"

A rush of wind, and Hayate was knocking a giant head cleaver away from the group, engaging in kenjutsu with the man.

Naruto watched them, keeping his senses open. "Shika, come with me. Ino, stay here and guard Tazuna-san." Receiving nods, he crept around the fighting, Shikamaru behind him, until they were at the water. "Shika, I'm leaving you fifty clones to figure out a way to defeat this guy, while I go help sensei."

The Nara grabbed Naruto's arm before he could turn. "Are you nuts? This was your idea? Have me throw together some ramshackle plan while you use your stamina, regeneration, and unending luck to fend off the Demon of the Hidden Mist?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Just think of it as our team test, only without Ino. I'll be the distraction and the bait, and you set up the trap!"

"BUT INO FIGURED OUT MOST OF THE TRAP! SHE'S THE TRAPPER, I'M JUST A TACTICIAN!"

"Shhhhh! They'll hear you!"

But it was too late. Zabuza may have been distracted by Hayate, but nobody, especially not him, the Head-Hunter Assassin, could miss their screams. Naruto drew both of his blades, fending off the giant zanbatou that had tried to separate his left half from his right. "SHIKAMARU, NOW WOULD BE NICE!"

"Ninpo: Kagemane no Jutsu!" The strange non-sound of a shadow bending could be un-heard by all as Naruto relaxed. Zabuza was frozen in place, blinking rapidly.

Hayate moved over to the three, panting slightly. "Good job, Shikamaru. Now we just-"

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Shi- I can't hold him!"

"GAH- ooh…."

"NARUTOOOO!"

~~HJN~~

"…..never wakes up?" A worried, female voice proclaimed, only half of the sentence reaching Naruto's waking ears.

"Don't be ridiculous," said a male voice, "he's shown no sign of dying or being in a coma since we got here. He'll pull through. I'm going downstairs for dinner, you should join me." Hearing no response, he heard the boy get up from his left side and open and close a door, seemingly having left.

Naruto took stock of his body, his eyes were taking much longer to open than he would have liked. He could feel a dull-ish pain in his chest and abdomen, which were seemingly bandaged. He had no shirt on, but all of his limbs seemed to be intact. Someone was holding his right hand with both of theirs, and he could feel one presence in the room, the girl he had heard earlier. Finally, his eyes started to open just a tiny bit, and he was glad they did. He feared if they had waited any longer, this vision of beauty might not have been there. But she was, with long, straight blonde hair, dark, deep blue eyes and some of the most perfect skin he had ever witnessed. The only problem was that her face was tear-stained, her eyes red and puffy.

Sleepily, he lifted his left hand to wipe away a fresh tear beginning to fall. "Sadness doesn't befit beauty…"

Ino jerked her head up, eyes wide. "You're awake.. Oh, thank Kami, you're awake!" She let go of his hand, only to grab the rest of him in a hug.

Naruto grimaced. "Ino-chan, while I really am glad you're so happy, my chest and stomach hurts, right now, and you're not helping any."

She let go and paled. "Oh, no, I didn't open the wound, did I?" Not waiting for an answer, she started pulling at the bandages, unwrapping them.

"Wound? What woun- oh. That wound." He was staring at a giant scar that had just popped back open in several places, stretching from below his naval to his right pectoral. It had just missed his nipple and bellybutton. As they looked, the open bits closed back up with a hiss, steam broiling from the scar as it continued to disappear. "And where, pray tell, did I get this?"

Ino looked up at him, surprised. "You don't remember? Zabuza broke free from Shikamaru's jutsu, and ran you through with that sword. After that, though, Hayate-sensei and him had a huge battle, blades clashing in every direction, Suiton and Doton jutsu flying everywhere. Eventually sensei knocked Zabuza into a tree with a move that rolled the earth around like something was burrowing under it, and Zabuza was killed and taken away by a Kiri Hunter-nin that had been tracking him, right before Hayate-sensei collapsed. We got you and Hayate to Tazuna's house, you've been out cold for two days, now."

Naruto sat there for a moment, running this through his head. "And… I'm not dead, right?"

Ino smiled. "No. Thank Kami, no."

Naruto muttered under his breath, "More like thank Kyuubi…" Turning to Ino, he posed a question. "So is sensei okay? You said he collapsed."

Ino waved aside a dismissing gesture. "Oh, he just used too much chakra with that sword of his. He'll be fine in another day. Now, though, let's see about getting you cleared for duty, huh?" She finished with a teasing smile.

Naruto chuckled. "Right. Test away, nurse!"

It took a while, but eventually Ino declared Naruto 'back to his old reckless, indestructible self.'

Naruto got dressed, leaving his swords in the room and went down with Ino to enjoy a late dinner, and to meet Tazuna's family.

~~HJN~~

"Hey wait a minute. Ino, what did you mean, sensei used too much chakra with his sword?"

The girl looked up at her blonde counterpart. "Oh, that's right, you were dying. Well, sensei did something to his sword after you passed out. It got coated in dirt, and started spreading some kind of mold or rust or something across Zabuza's sword every time they clashed. Whatever it was, it must have been heavy, cause Zabuza got really slow after that, like his sword was weighing him down for once. Anyway, apparently it takes a lot of chakra, cause he's recovering from chakra depletion right now."

Naruto let the subject drop. 'I wonder if he can teach me to do something similar with my blades…'

~~HJN~~

The rest of the day was awkward for Naruto. Not really knowing what to do on guard duty, since Hayate believed that Zabuza might not be dead, he resigned himself to watching the workers on the bridge. 'It seems like more and more have been leaving the project…' Naruto got up and walked over to Tazuna, who was currently going over plans. "Hey, is there anything I can do to help?"

Tazuna turned to the blonde and quirked an eyebrow. "Well, it's true we are short on hands right now, but I don't think one kid is going to be much help."

Naruto grinned. "How about a hundred?" Crossing his fingers in his signature jutsu, he announced "TAJUU KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

The bridge was covered in hundreds of Narutos, all waiting for orders. The real Naruto looked to Tazuna and clapped him on the shoulder. "They're all yours!"

Tazuna snapped out of his daze and let a small smile slip through. He addressed the clones, "Alright! This is how it's going to work!"

Naruto left them, letting the clones get to work while he went back to guard duty. 'Well, I feel a little more useful, now. Sensei said he'd show us a new technique tomorrow, so at least I have that to look forward to.'

~~HJN~~

Naruto cheered from atop the tree, triumphant. "HAHA! INO-CHAN! You ROCK!"

Ino blushed and smiled from her spot on the ground. "Hey, Shikamaru gave you pointers, too, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, but I didn't understand his! You made it easy for me! You should be a teacher or something!" He said, before jumping down right in front of her. "Come on, Kirei, let's go. Tsunami must have dinner done by now, and you know how much she hates lateness."

Ino blushed at the compliment and followed him down the path back to the house. Tomorrow, thanks to Naruto, the bridge would be finished.

~~HJN~~

Inari watched his savior leave for the bridge. He and his mom were safe, the two thugs were dead. That was something he never thought Naruto would do. He had killed them almost instantly, a blade through the heart for each of them. All because they were going to rape his mother. He could understand wanting them dead, but doing it himself… Before today, the thought would never have crossed Inari's mind.

"Mom, stay here. It's time our village pried itself out from under Gatou's thumb!" Not waiting for an answer, he charged out the door into town.

~~HJN~~

Naruto landed to a depressing sight. Ino was trapped in a dome made of ice rectangles, multiple senbon stuck in her body. From the looks of it, she had already emptied her water scrolls for jutsu, and there were scorch marks everywhere, as though the ice had stood up to her explosives, too.

Hayate was fending off Zabuza, whose sword must have been cleaned, as it looked pristine. Shikamaru was next to Tazuna, shadow spread out in all directions in preemptive defense.

"HAYATE-SENSEI! Is your sword Hirian?"

Hayate pushed back Zabuza for the umpteenth time for some breathing room. "YES, WHY DO YOU ASK?"

Naruto drew his blades and looked at them, muttering, "No reason…"

Naruto looked at the ice dome, Ino was being pelted by more and more senbon. 'She could use the most help. Let's see, from what Iruka-sensei taught us, Raiton is strong against Suiton, weak against Fuuton, Katon is strong against Fuuton, weak against Suiton. So this will either cancel the ice, or give me a deep-tissue insta-freeze. Assuming it works at all.'

Running at the dome, he charged his chakra, pushing it into his blades. Blue energy swirled around them, and time seemed to slow down. He could feel excitement, and happiness, but not from him. From his swords, he could sense that they were excited about what he was doing. His right hand vibrated with energy, his left pulsed with warmth. Fire spread along the golden blade, curling and flickering with heat. Lightning arced across the silver blade, dancing and chirping with life. Reaching the first ice mirror, he forced as much Wind chakra as he could into sharpening the two short swords, and thrust them into the ice.

There was a resounding CRACK! And everyone stopped. Cracks spider-webbed out from the points of impact, snapping and breaking the ice. The mirror shattered, taking the others with it. Haku was forced out of her own jutsu, landing on the ground and breaking her mask.

Naruto let his arms fall, breath heaving. 'I did it. That was amazing…' He could feel his blades were exhausted, as well, which would have made no sense, had they not been Hirian weapons.

Haku got up, battered and broken from her jutsu ending to abruptly. She could feel herself fading, and saw Naruto in his tired state. Pulling a kunai forgotten on the ground, she sprang at him.

Naruto looked up, hearing his name called. "NARUTOO!"

Ino materialized in front of him, and a spray of blood could be seen. Ino slumped to the ground, kunai knife buried in her chest. Haku fell to the ground then, the last of her chakra beginning to leave her.

Over to the side, Zabuza and Hayate were being greeted by Gatou and his army of lowlifes. "Well, Zabuza, looks like you failed. Oh well. I was never going to pay you anyway, and I guess it's only slightly less convenient to deal with the situation myself. Boys, get them. Whoever brings me the bridge builder's head gets a pay raise, Zabuza's head will set you for life!"

Naruto held Ino in his arms, tears falling down his face. "Ino-chan.. Ino-chan! Get up, Ino-chan, this is no time to joke!"

Ino smiled up at him weakly. "Naruto-kun… I.. love… yo..u..." And her eyes closed to the world.

"Ino-chan! Ino-chan, I love you too! INO-CHANNNNNNN!" The last word stretched into a scream to the heavens, as red chakra gathered and swirled around him in a giant double helix. The chakra coated him in a thick, bubbly cloak, fox ears and a tail sprouting from the red energy. Hayate was extremely worried, if this progressed too far, there wasn't much he thought he could do about it. Naruto's whisker marks got more pronounced, his hair became feral. His canines elongated, and his pupils became slits, irises turning into a blood red hue. His fingernails grew longer and sharper, and he let out a very un-human roar. Chakra curved out from his forearms and grabbed his two blades, bringing them up like extensions of his body. Like the sun currently rising on the horizon, he stood to full height, turning his attention to the mob of thugs standing there in fear. Charging, he ran on all fours, blades held aloft by the chakra menacingly, ready to impale.

The thugs turned tail and ran, back into town the way they had come. Only to be faced with another army, equipped with pitchforks, rusty swords, kitchen knives, axes and crossbows. The entire village had gathered here at the bridge, and Inari was leading them. "CHAAARGE!"

The poor souls had nowhere to go. The thugs could either die by the villagers, or die by Naruto, and neither sounded very pleasant. Eventually, they were eradicated by both, Naruto would swing his claws and the swords would lash out in an arc, cutting down three or four at a time, while the villagers won by simple numbers. Zabuza had joined the fray, as well, headed right for Gatou. He sustained the most wounds out of any party, besides the thugs, of course. By the time he reached the short, scared little man, he had no arms left, and was holding his obscenely large sword in his mouth, which he then used to separate the man's head from his shoulders.

After everything, Zabuza used his last breath to apologize to a dead Haku, Ino was found savable, and Naruto had reverted to normal, helping with the cleanup. Well, his clones were. He, personally was looking after Ino, while she rested at Tazuna's house.

Naruto had just replaced her head cloth when she began to stir. "Ino-chan? Ino-chan are you there?"

"Mmm, Naruto-kun…" She moaned in her sleep. Opening her eyes, she saw the grinning blonde knucklehead that had been occupying her unconscious mind.

Naruto chuckled, and said, "Having a good dream, Ino-chan?"

Her eye widened, and her face flushed. "Na-Naruto! I-"

He laughed for a moment before bending down and planting a kiss on her lips.

Ino felt her entire body heat up, and practically melt into his lips. She closed her eyes and brought her arms up to encircle him, pressing them closer together. They could feel the passion in each other, the closeness they had both been feeling grow stronger over the last month came out and poured into the kiss.

When they broke apart for air, Ino looked up at her new man. "Wow. That was…"

"I think you got it the first time: wow." Naruto said, grinning like an idiot.

They laughed, but were forced from going any farther by a knock at the door. Shikamaru stepped in with Tsunami, and said, "The bridge is finished. We're cleared to leave if Ino is up to it."

Ino nodded, and sat up. "I feel a little stiff in the chest, but otherwise I'm good."

Naruto apparently didn't want to take any chances, though, as he picked up Ino bridal style and let Shikamaru's lazy bum take care of her belongings. Not that Ino minded, of course.

Once outside the house, Naruto stopped in his tracks, forcing the others to stop as well. "I just figured it out! I had never been to one before, so I couldn't put my finger on it, but there it is!" Naruto bent his head down and stuck his nose in Ino's hair. "You smell like the ocean, Ino-hime!"

Ino blushed heavily, but brought her head up for a kiss at the endearment. It surprised no one. Well, except one.

"You two are together? SINCE WHEN?" A very surprised Hayate exclaimed, his senbon dropping from his mouth.

Tazuna took the man's shoulder and led him towards the bridge. "Come on, I'll split a drink with you on the carriage ride across."

Ino broke off and looked over at the completed bridge. "Oh yeah, how did the fight end?"

Shikamaru gave a rare grin. "Naruto went berserk and killed everyone."

"Not EVERYONE, Shika! I killed like 5."

The Nara scoffed. "More like 105. You should have seen him, Ino, after you apparently died, he drew on what we assume to be the Kyuubi's chakra, grew a tail, and laid waste to half of Gatou's forces, who showed up around the same time you passed out. The whole thing was troublesome, not knowing if he would turn on us next, but he seemed to be in control, more or less."

Naruto frowned. "It was more. I don't know, it felt like there was even more power waiting for me to tap into, but I consciously decided on just enough to denote one tail."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Whatever. The troublesome point is that he was swinging those blades around with pure chakra, gutting some people with his claws as they cut down others. He seemed pretty upset about the thought of you dying."

Naruto blushed slightly at the look Ino was giving him, and even more at the chaste kiss he received on the cheek. "Well, I'm glad I didn't die, cause now I have a handsome, strong, caring boyfriend to protect me," she said, snuggling further into his chest.

Naruto's face split into his signature foxy grin, and he resumed his march to the bridge, where a set of carriages stood by to take them across to the mainland. By the end of the day, they would be back in Konoha, a mission payment, and a well-deserved rest waiting for them.

~*~HJN~*~

AN: YO! Finally got this out. Look at that, I just did almost all of the Wave arc in one, short chapter. HOW GREAT AM I? Or does that show that I suck…. I'll go with the first one!

Let me know of any questions, OH and when Naruto called Ino Kirei, he was literally saying, "Come on Beautiful, let's go." Kirei means Beautiful as a name.

Ja ne~