[A/N]Here comes Chapter 8. Once again, if you're going to review, PLEASE make an account so I can properly reply to you. They're free to make, last I checked, so you don't have to pay for anything. ^_^ [A/N]
~~~SOUTHERN GATES OF KONOHAGAKURE~~~
Two figures, dressed in long, billowing, hooded cloaks, touched down on the turf outside Konoha's southern gate. They didn't even have to show their identification to the on-duty guards; the two figures had become well known in the village in the recent years. Not only that, but on a smaller scale, many of the smaller ninja villages had come to fear these two.
The taller of the two tossed his hood back, letting out a mane of spiky black hair that settled around his neck with a slight curl towards his throat. His face from his nose down to the base of his neck line was covered off in a light-blue-and-smoke-grey camouflage-patterned bandana, and a similar bandana had been used as the cloth backing for his Konoha-issue hitae-ate. Hanging off the right side of his head was the beginning of a porcelain mask, which, contrary to those worn by the village's ANBU ninja unit, bore the image of a terrifying demon, complete with a pair large horns coming from the top of the mask, directly underneath his hitae-ate. The cloak hid a broad, muscular figure, which clearly displayed the level of physical strength for which this man was known.
The shorter of the two figures had a slight swell in the upper torso, barely displaying the fact that the figure was female. The slight swell of her bust was the ONLY hint anyone had concerning her gender, as the entirety of her face was covered by a porcelain mask, similar to the man next to her, only hers was a pure white mask with the village's titular symbol emblazoned on it in an icy shade of blue.
They were Konoha's premiere assassination cell, known to the civilians as Oni and Hyo: The Demon and The Ice.
"Oi," the taller Oni said, "Want to go catch a movie after we make our report? I understand that sequel to your favorite series came out before we were sent out for our mission." Hyo looked at him and canted her head to her left side. Oni looked at her with a confused look.
"Seriously?" Oni asked, palming his face in frustration, "I understand you have trouble keeping guys away with your mask off, but I'm here. Only a real idiot would try to hit on you right now. And don't be afraid to use THAT technique if you want; I don't mind in the least." Hyo raised her head and nodded before sliding her mask off.
It didn't seem to matter how many times Oni saw his partner without her mask, because her face always managed to blow him off his feet. He'd practically raised the girl himself, having picked her up in a back alley in his home town before either had set off on the path of darkness.
The girl's face was set in a beaming smile, and was the spitting image of immaculate beauty. Her dark-chocolate brown eyes always had a deep, soulful quality to them, but always seemed to go unnoticed by the men of the various villages they visited. Her long black hair was separated into a pair of long bangs that reached down to the ends of her shoulders, while the rest flowed out behind her and reached to the middle of her back.
Soon, the girl canted her head to the left again, and the man heard a feminine voice in the back of his head that said, "Are you serious this time, Zabuza? The last time you told me you'd take me to that movie, you chickened out at the last moment because you didn't want to tarnish your image by being caught watching what you call a "chick flick"." Zabuza simply scratched the back of his head. He had no excuse for that.
"I know, Haku, I know…" he said, "But I'm serious this time! Ever since I picked you up in Kiri, you've been at my side, keeping me on track and watching over my every move." At this point, Haku rolled her eyes, expecting another one of Zabuza's attempts at a sappy speech. However, as her eyes returned to face him, she caught a glimpse of a crimson red cloth ruffling behind Zabuza's legs. Her eyes widened for two seconds before returning to normal and fixing on Zabuza's. The taller man now bent down to kneel on one leg, revealing a man with a head of spiky blonde hair and a pair of cerulean blue eyes standing behind him. Haku closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.
"Ever since that blonde brat stepped into our lives, you've continued staying by me, no matter what came our way. Therefore, reputation be damned, I'm going to do this. I owe you that at the LEAST for being there for me over the past years."
With that, Zabuza stood up, sweeping the smaller girl off her feet and resting her in the crook of his massive right arm while holding his equally massive sword along his shoulders. Haku couldn't keep herself from giggling; they looked like the hero and princess from a fantasy role-playing game that involved Warrior Pirates.
"Now if only that little blonde brat weren't so much of a tight-ass when it came to the reports…" Zabuza said, stopping short when he felt a spike of murderous intent from behind. Looking down at Haku with fear in his eyes, he found she'd already slid her mask back over her face.
'TRAITOR!', he mentally screamed. He found himself astounded, not for the first time, when he heard Haku's voice in his head, saying:
"Sorry, but I'm staying on his good side for now."
Zabuza slowly turned around and felt a drop of sweat roll down his face. In front of him was his boss, the recently instated Hokage, whom he'd served, along with Haku, for the past fourteen years. The only reason Zabuza, the strongest of ALL of Konoha's Jounin, second ONLY to one Hatake Kakashi, was afraid of the blonde man before him was because Naruto had been only TOO happy to show the taller man what a star could do to a man when it exploded inside his head. That sight had haunted Zabuza's dreams for years afterward, and still snuck in from time to time just to taunt him with its resilience.
"I appreciate your intent to honor a promise to Haku-san, Zabuza-san," Naruto said, his face bent into a frustrated frown and his arms crossed over his torso while his left foot tapped restlessly against the ground, "But would you mind explaining why it is you've decided to stall for even MORE time than you've already used? YOU ARE THREE," Naruto unfolded his arms and reached his right hand up to flick Zabuza's forehead, "DAYS," He flicked the taller man again, "LATE, in case you forgot. Now, please do us ALL a favor and report to the tower to give your mission report and be debriefed for your next job."
"N-NEXT JOB?!" Zabuza shouted, gently depositing Haku on her feet on the ground while rubbing his forehead, "YOU TOLD ME WE'D HAVE THE WEEK OFF AFTER WE GOT BACK! I CAN'T HELP THAT WE RAN INTO A BIT OF A SET-BACK THREE DAYS IN A ROW!" Zabuza reached a muscled arm for Naruto's shoulder and grabbed it, turning him around for an answer.
However, the unearthly, wicked scowl that met his eyes, punctuated with a full combination of the younger man's fox chakra AND his two Sage Modes, resulting in a startlingly horrible appearance, made Zabuza take a few steps back, holding his hands out as if trying to hold back an angry dog.
"NEXT TIME YOU EXPECT TO BANK ON A WEEK OF VACATION AFTER A JOB, YOU SHOULD DO ALL YOU CAN TO MAKE YOUR REPORT ASAP, INSTEAD OF STOPPING TO MAKE PLANS AND BAD-MOUTHING YOUR BOSS," Naruto replied, his voice thick with sarcasm and carrying an entirely unimpressed tone. Zabuza took a deep breath out of relief as the blonde man turned and made to walk away.
"And besides that, next time you may want to ensure that the "LITTLE BLONDE BRAT" you happen to be bad-mouthing ISN'T within earshot," Naruto said, keeping up his pace as he made tracks for the Hokage's Tower. Zabuza stopped dead with a pricelessly astounded look on his face. His arms stuck out at his sides with his fingers curled like claws. Haku giggled a little before reaching up to slide her partner's Oni mask over his face. This only served to make her laugh more, as now he looked like an ogre that had been kicked HARD between the legs while plotting acts of extreme evil.
Haku wasted no time in turning on her heels and making her way to the tower, lacking a surprised tone in her voice when her partner caught up and she asked what kept him.
Not long after, the two stood in front of Naruto's desk, masks to their sides. Naruto gave each a hard stare.
"Alright," He said, taking a deep sigh, "Report. How did the mission go?"
Zabuza was about to step up to speak when Haku motioned toward the corners of the room and gave Naruto a worried expression. Naruto nodded and motioned for the ANBU on guard to leave the room, which they did immediately. Haku took a breath.
"Strictly speaking," she said with a voice that was as cold as ice, yet still soft on the ears, "The mission was a success. We cased out the target's lair for three days and moved to take him out on the fourth. However, that's where we ran into the trouble Zabuza mentioned earlier comes into play. The target's family heard about our arrival and tightened security. We had to wait three days for an opening, by which time we had more than enough time to break in and do the deed."
"Yeah, but you managed to conveniently FORGET to mention a certain piece of information before you sent us out, oh fearless leader," Zabuza butted in, "You forgot to mention that the guy had SEVERE heart disease and could die by the slightest motion. Haku barely laid a finger on the chump and he toppled over like a sack of garbage!" Naruto's eyes gained a look of intrigue.
"You're serious?" he said, and, at the nods both assassins gave him, he burst out laughing for five minutes.
"Oh, that was rich. Nice one! I needed a good laugh after all that's happened recently… Now, seriously, how'd you kill the bastard?" He chuckled a little longer, but stopped when the expressions on the two before him solidified into a pair of unimpressed scowls.
"You… You're serious? You barely even touched him and he croaked?" Naruto asked again, and, once again, he received a pair of nods in reply.
"Damn… the old man must have had a heart attack before you got there," Naruto said, "Which would explain why it took so little to drop him." Zabuza thought about it for a moment and nodded his agreement.
Naruto nodded also, reached down into his desk drawer and brought up two small bags of money. He tossed both to Haku, who caught them without even moving.
"Now, as I mentioned before, I have another job for the both of you, one that actually works to allow you to see that movie you were perusing earlier," Naruto said. Zabuza nodded with a bit of a smile.
"We have recently come into possession of a certain prisoner who decided to gate-crash mine and Hina-chan's wedding reception. This prisoner not only kidnapper Hina-chan, but held her hostage in the Forest of Death, but was forced to protect herself when, after I rescued her, Hina-chan and I proved to be too strong."
"Wait," Haku said, a curious look coming over her face, "SHE? This prisoner is a woman? What level of injury did she sustain?" Zabuza rolled his eyes.
"I unleashed a couple powerful attacks on her, which resulted in charred skin on her torso, a few broken ribs, and most of the skin and hair on her head being shaved clean off," Naruto said. Haku's face twisted into a bewildered expression, while Zabuza's right eyebrow ratcheted up a few levels.
"What do you mean… SHAVED off?" he asked. Naruto cocked an eyebrow.
"As in I basically thrust the largest, most destructive version of the Rasen Shuriken, larger than I've ever made before, into her head from above, while she was encased in multiple layers of diamond-thick, solid crystal. I didn't managed to take her entirely out, but she seemed more than sufficiently weakened when she emerged," Naruto said, resting his hands on the desk.
"Now, to return to your new mission specs, you'll be on guard duty in the Konoha Maximum Security Prison. However," Naruto said, "You will NOT be performing this duty alone. You two will be one of a set of three two-man teams used for this mission, the other two being comprised of the gate guards Izumo-san and Koutetsu-san, and the ex-Akatsuki members Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. Itachi-san and Kisame-san are already on duty, and are an hour into their shift; they will be relieved by Izumo-san and Koutetsu-san, who will be relieved by the two of you. Izumo-san and Koutetsu-san have also volunteered to show you how to access the cell block where our prisoner, Guren, is staying."
"Wait, if she's THAT dangerous," Zabuza asked, "Then why are you leaving now? Shouldn't you stick around until you've gotten answers from her?" Naruto leveled a slight glare at the older man.
"That's really funny, coming as it is, from the man who expected to be given a week off after returning LATE from a mission?" Naruto asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Zabuza felt the sting of the irony in Naruto's words.
"Your mission," The blonde man said, "Will last the entirety of our honeymoon, which, coincidentally, is being extended by a week." Zabuza stared at the blonde boy in outrage; Naruto was not only taking back the week of vacation that Zabuza and Haku had been promised, but also was using it to extended his honeymoon to nearly two months.
"You won't have to worry about her trying to break free while I'm gone," Naruto said, "Hina-chan and I branded her with a chakra-sealing fuinjutsu seal array that covers the majority of her back. I've also applied a second seal to make sure that her clothes can't rub off the array in any way, so the only way this can possibly go wrong is if someone ELSE wipes off even a PORTION of the seal. Now," Naruto snapped his fingers, and, as the aforementioned Chunin entered the room through the window, Haku replaced her mask over her face, "If you'll excuse me, I have to go help Hina-chan finish packing for our trip. Izumo-san, Koutetsu-san, please show Oni and Hyo to the prison, as well as how to get down to the cell our… "Special Guest" is staying in." Zabuza almost felt his blood run cold at the sheer level of venom and hate Naruto used when saying the words "Special Guest".
The two Chunin guards escorted abuza and Haku out of the room while Naruto rose from his desk and opened the door to the secret chambers he shared with Hinata. As soon as the office door swung closed and locked itself tight, so too did the door to the secret chamber.
Roughly a half-hour later, Naruto and Hinata were fully packed. Hinata was smiling calmly to herself, not even bothering to turn and take in the look of discomfort that had spread over Naruto's face; for the stunt he'd pulled the night before, she'd forced him to carry ALL of their luggage down the spiral staircase and load them, ALONE, onto the carriage, and then make sure they were properly secured. She had stressed the final part of his punishment as being THE most important; if even one SOCK was found missing, he would be sleeping alone for the first two weeks. Naruto had paled whiter than a ghost at the threat, but not at the more intimate implications within.
Soon Kakashi came down and got ready to saddle the horses, only to find that not one horse was present.
"Uh…" he mumbled, "Hinata-sama, why are there no horses here?"
Hinata turned to flash Kakashi a mischievous smile.
"Oh, Hatake-san, you silly man… YOU'LL BE PULLING THE CARRIAGE YOURSELF!" she said, a darker undertone in her voice. Kakashi paled at the idea.
'DAMN YOU, NARUTO! I KNOW THIS IS YOUR DOING!' Kakashi thought, cursing his rotten luck. As he reached down to pick up the wooden poles on the ground, he mentally mused that he may have been better off showing up three hours late.
Inside the carriage, having made sure that absolutely EVERYTHING was tied down in extreme degrees, Naruto sat down and rested his head against the headrest, wiping copious amounts of sweat from his brow. He gasped a bit; he was trying to reclaim the oxygen he'd expended performing his task. However, unbeknownst to him, Hinata had made sure to hide one sock in her purse. She intended to punish him for his stunt the night before in any way she could.
He was pleasantly surprised when Hinata rested against him, though he found himself fighting down a bit of annoyance at the same time. After all, after they'd finished packing, HE'D done all the work while she just strolled along with her purse. He was sweating like a shaggy dog in the full swing of summer's heat, and she had barely moved a finger to help him, so why was she sighing and acting as if she was exhausted?
His annoyance dissipated and replaced itself with contentment when he heard her ask, "Naru-kun… Could you continue your story?" Naruto smiled as he watched Kakashi lift the two large poles into the air and start pulling the cart. Naruto nodded, and, with a clearing of his throat, closed his eyes to recall the memories.
_
CHAPTER 8: RETURN OF ICE & SETTING OUT TO NAMI
OP: "SOUL DYNAMITE" - ACCESS
~ After the initial testing, it was a few weeks of D-ranks, which, having already talked to Jiji-san about it, kinda annoyed me. However, he was the Hokage at the time, so hey, what could I really do?
I can still remember the look on his face when he realized I'd signed us up for a C-rank… PRICELESS is the only word to describe it. ~
It had only been a few weeks since Kurenai tested the three genin, and had discovered a bit about her students. For instance, the way Naruto and Hinata seemed able to calm each other down from a major emotional rampage with only a HUG was perplexing in the beginning. However, it had been discovered that the two had known each other before the academy, but hadn't been able to see each other for several years. Due to both children's upbringings being virtually similar, Kurenai hypothesized that it must have been a sort of emotional link that tied them together; what they couldn't have anywhere else, they had plenty of when around each other.
Their bond was a way of healing their emotional scars, and filling voids in each other that no one else seemed able. Kurenai could already tell where it would lead the two youngsters and she smiled whenever she thought about it.
As for Shino… well, aside from his introduction at their testing, Kurenai had discovered… nothing more of interest and decided that she would only broach the subject of his family life if the boy felt like bringing it up.
"I'm telling you, there aren't any missions for you right now that exceed D-rank. Maybe in a month or so we'll have something for you," Sarutobi said, staring Naruto dead in the eyes with a challenging glare. Naruto wasn't backing down so easily.
Now the quartet stood prone in the Hokage's office, preparing to receive another mission… if Naruto weren't raising hell over it being YET ANOTHER D-RANK.
"I'm telling you, there aren't any missions for you right now that exceed D-rank. Maybe in a month or so we'll have something for you," Sarutobi said, staring Naruto dead in the eyes with a challenging glare. Naruto wasn't backing down so easily.
"Well, I think differently. I know that roster of yours has got at least four missions above D-rank… I CAN SEE IT HANGING ON THE WALL FROM HERE!" Naruto shouted, pointing directly at a spot above the Hokage's head. The elder man jumped to his feet to pull the roster down, only to quickly realize that no such roster was there; the wall was blank. He turned around just in time to see Naruto walking back to his team with a black marker in hand. Looking at his mission roster, the elder man face-palmed when he realized that the young boy had forcefully signed his team up for a C-rank escort mission to Nami no Kuni, a small port town just outside of Kirigakure no Sato, one of the most feared Ninja villages ever known.
~ I could tell Sensei had it in for me after that stunt… especially after we got back from Nami… If I thought she was a slave-driver while we were there, I was dead wrong! Jiji-san was right peeved, though. ~
"NARUTO, HOW DARE YOU?!" The elder man shouted.
"You can't hide behind fear forever, Jiji. There would have come a day when you'd be forced to give us a mission over D-rank in difficulty… why not just get it done now?" the boy said innocently. The elder man simply shook his head.
"Naruto, you don't understand. I'm not refusing to give you anything over a D-rank mission because I'm afraid… I'm doing it for personal reasons; reasons that would best be discussed in private," The elder man said, looking up at Naruto. Kurenai looked at her student with a combination of fear and amazement.
'This kid's either got a serious death wish… or he's just plain CRAZY,' she thought to herself.
~ Jiji-san said they were private reasons… but I already had a feeling they still tied in with my mom's Afterlife Kill List. ~
Sarutobi, seeing no way to get out of this mess, simply looked Naruto and his team in the eyes, and then shouted, "BRING IN THE CLIENT!"
Into the room strode a middle-aged man with a small, grey goatee. On his head was a wide-brimmed straw hat with a tall cone on the top, and by simple observation, Naruto could tell this man did hard, physical labor for a living. If his tight-fitting clothes and obvious muscle tone had anything to say, this man was in the construction business. However, the appearance of a bottle in one hand, a red flush on his face, and the ever-strengthening stench of alcohol in the air told Naruto that this man had also been indulging in the bottle recently.
~ As soon as that old man showed up, I was sure there would be trouble. He reeked of drink, and no one who's been that heavy into the stuff is able to think properly. ~
"This is Tazuna-san. Tazuna-san, this is Team 10, consisting of-" Sarutobi started. He soon found himself holding back a massive twitch in his left eye when the man burst out laughing.
"YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!" Tazuna said, "YOU EXPECT ME TO GO ALONG WITH A BLONDE, TWO BLIND KIDS AND A BLACK-HAIRED BIMBO?! WHERE'S YOUR HEAD AT, OLD MAN?" Kurenai was fuming, but noticed anger far greater than her own … and it was coming in spades off of Naruto.
"I DARE YOU TO REPEAT THAT… YOU LIQUOR-BLISTERED OLD BASTARD!" the boy shouted. The reactions of those around the room varied vastly: Sarutobi's jaw slammed through the floor, Kurenai's eyes exploded from her head, Hinata took a step back with a shocked look on her face… and Shino's left eyebrow ratcheted up a few notches.
'Wasting no time in bringing out observant verbal insults… all in defense of everyone present? This guy…' Shino thought. Meanwhile, his drunken buzz suddenly vanishing along with his flushed face, Tazuna staggered back a fair distance as a wave of killing intent almost knocked him off his feet. He'd felt that only once before, when a certain corrupt tycoon had sent a particular ninja to try and "convince" him to stop building his bridge. Stunned beyond belief, Tazuna's grip on the bottle weakened. He didn't even flinch when the bottle fell from his grip and struck him on the foot before rolling across the floor.
~ I couldn't stand it; he asks for help and then insults us when he sees us? What the hell was I supposed to do? ~
"JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, ASKING FOR A NINJA SQUAD AND THEN SUBSEQUENTLY SHOWING UP DRUNK OUT OF YOUR SKULL, ONLY TO BEGIN INSULTING THOSE YOU'VE BEEN GIVEN? DO YOU EVEN WANT HELP OR NOT?" Naruto shouted. Tazuna backed up again, barely keeping his balance as another wave of killing intent, far more concentrated than the first, tore through him. And was it his imagination… or was the room suddenly getting COLDER in the SUMMERTIME?!
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT; I TAKE IT ALL BACK, JUST PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! I'M SORRY I INSULTED YOU, PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" Tazuna shouted in fear, finally collapsing to his knees. Naruto calmed down quickly; almost as quickly as his anger had flared, it receded. Everyone present watched as his eyes slowly curved up into a smile.
"GOOD! And don't EVER let me hear you insult my team, or my friends, again!" Naruto said confidently. Tazuna stared at the blonde boy, confused out of his mind.
"I believe Naruto-kun here was deeply hurt and offended by your drunken outburst and lashed out to teach you a lesson, Tazuna-san," Shino said in his drawling monotone, "It would be wise not to attempt that again. If not for your own sake, then for the sakes of the people you'd be leaving behind at home in Nami. I haven't known Naruto-kun long, but I do know this: insult or threaten him, and he'll laugh in your face. Insult or threaten anyone he cares for, and he'll make it his mission to make your life miserable." Tazuna nodded.
Sarutobi managed to gather his wits about him long enough to say, "If we're all in agreement, Tazuna-san will be escorted to the gate by a small group of ANBU while his escort team prepares for departure. Meet at the South gate of Konohagakure in two hours. That is all." With that, three ANBU appeared from the shadows and escorted Tazuna out of the room while Naruto and his team shot off to prepare. Sarutobi silently shook his head and reached under the desk for a small bottle of sake.
~ It didn't take me long to get back to my apartment and pack what I'd need for the trip. I was probably one of the first to show up. ~
An hour later, the five were standing at the Southern Gate of the village, packs ready and filled with equipment. Kurenai nodded and they set off. Naruto had had a feeling earlier that something was slightly off about this whole thing, but for the time being, he let it slide. The five set off on their journey, three bearing beaming smiles. While Naruto and Hinata walked along and chatted happily, Shino simply walked along and conversing with his bugs. Kurenai brought up the rear with Tazuna; instead of striking up conversation, she chose to keep silent and analyze every detail for possible traps. For entirely obvious reasons, however, Kurenai could feel discomfort creeping higher and higher up her spine as the older man's gaze remained fixed on her backside.
'DEAR KAMI ABOVE….' Kurenai thought with an exasperated sigh, 'why'd Naruto have to get us stuck with a perverted old man? WHY did he have to speak out of place?'
~ I almost jumped the old man several times during that trip. Who'd he think he was, eyeing up Sensei like that, anyway? ~
However, a few hours down the road, the sensation shifted drastically from one of deep discomfort to one of dread and foreboding. Her suspicions were confirmed moments later when, mid-conversation, Hinata stopped and turned to Kurenai. Kurenai saw a look of urgency in the girl's eyes, and at no more than a single glance, stooped down to Hinata's eye level.
"Sensei, we're about to walk into a genjutsu!" Hinata whispered, sounding scared, "It hasn't rained around the village for weeks, and I just saw a single puddle on the ground a few feet ahead of us!" Kurenai nodded and was about to stand and address the issue when a powerful explosion rocked the ground. The explosion, strangely enough, was coupled with a pair of masculine screams of terror. When Kurenai stood, she saw Naruto holding two kunai in hand, each holding a knotted wad of explosive tags around the hole in the handle.
~ I think I had acted more on impulse than anything at that point. I knew something was wrong, so I simply moved to fix the situation. I still don't understand why Sensei got so mad. ~
"NARUTO?! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO?" Kurenai demanded. Naruto looked at her with a confused expression on his face.
"What? The puddle was bothering Hinata, so I dealt with it. The fact alone that…" Naruto stopped as a pair of heavy metal gauntlets fell to the ground in front of him. He reached down to pick them up, then into his bag for a sealing scroll. As he deftly moved his free hand in each gauntlet to clear them of the severed hands within, he found his query and, opening the scroll, simply dropped the two gauntlets into it, and then sealed it again.
"As I was saying, the fact alone that these two losers were hiding in that puddle makes for a slight boost in our pockets when we return home, right?" Naruto asked, shocking Kurenai stiff.
"What? You expect me to believe that I didn't need to kill them to be able to get the bounty for them?" Naruto asked. Kurenai stared dumbly at Naruto; Hinata ran over and hugged the blonde boy tightly.
~ I wasn't prepared for Shino's reaction at all. Who'd have thought the monotonous drone could muster up that much anger? ~
Despite all this, Shino was by far the most disturbed of the group. Actually, agitated was a better word; the normally stoic boy suddenly rushed up and punched Naruto in the face with a shout of, "MORON! DO YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH OF MY HIVE YOU'VE DESTROYED?! I'M DOWN TO A QUARTER OF MY ORIGINAL NUMBERS BECAUSE OF YOU!" Naruto simply gave him another confused look.
"I had my bugs scattered around to scout for me. They'd already picked up the disturbance when Hinata-san noticed and informed sensei. I'd flooded that puddle with my bugs… and that explosion KILLED THEM ALL!" Shino said, shouting the last few words. Naruto nodded and bowed low.
"Sorry, Shino-san, I didn't want to endanger us on a personal level by allowing them free to do as they pleased, so I had to take action. I'll pay you back by taking you to dinner when we get back; anything you like. Is that alright?" Naruto said, sounding sincere.
'Naruto just KILLED two enemy ninja without ANYONE noticing him move. NEITHER OF THOSE TWO felt him move, neither of them moved to counter-attack until it was far too late… What other surprises is this kid hiding?' Kurenai thought, caught completely off-guard by how almost completely nonchalant Naruto was acting with this. However, after having watched him seal the gauntlets away, her train of thought returned.
~ I think Sensei was trying to take command of the situation by that time; too bad she still had to wait for us to make a decision. ~
"This does, however, bring up a sound question," Kurenai said, "If this was a simple escort mission with no more than simple bandits attacking you, I'd see how it'd classify as a simple C-rank. However, I saw those gauntlets, and I know who they belonged to. Why were there missing-nin from Kirigakure here, and WHY ARE THEY AFTER YOU? WHAT ARE YOU NOT TELLING US?" Tazuna jumped a bit, and then lowered his gaze to the ground.
~ I'd felt something was off from the moment we left, but had put it off. When Tazuna-san explained, it all made sense. ~
"I… I didn't have enough to afford an A-rank mission, so I… I had to lie about the difficulty. The thing is, I have an economic tycoon after me who wants to hold a monopoly on the economy of Nami. I'm trying to complete a bridge that would open a slew of trade options to our little island nation, but this madman named Gato keeps trying to stop me by sending his thugs to terrorize me. It's put my family in a downward spiral, and the people of the village are dying of poverty…. PLEASE, COME BACK AND HELP ME BEAT HIM! MY PEOPLE NEED THIS BRIDGE TO GET BACK ON THEIR FEET!" Tazuna said, shouting the last bit of his speech. Naruto nodded and pulled Hinata and Shino aside to discuss their next course of action.
After informing Kurenai as a team that they wanted to complete the mission, the three walked over and stood by their sensei. Naruto, however, seemed to sense something.
~ At that point, something was SERIOUSLY wrong. I'd had the feeling since we stopped, but it only got worse as the minutes ticked by. I knew I had to take action. ~
"EVERYONE, DOWN!" he shouted, pulling Hinata and Shino down while Kurenai grabbed Tazuna by the collar and dragged him down. They were JUST in time to avoid being beheaded by a large, sharp object that flew overhead and embedded itself in a tree. As soon as they heard the sound of wood stopping steel, they looked up to see a tall, muscular man standing on the handle of the weapon, wearing a tight muscle shirt and dark pants, while the bottom of his face was obscured by a mass of bandages. A Kirigakure hitae-ate sat around his forehead, but it had a strike through the village symbol.
~ The second I saw him, I knew we were in DEEP trouble. ~
Kurenai, the first to look up, said, "ZABUZA MOMOCHI?! RUN EVERYONE, AND DON'T LOOK BACK!"
~ Poor Sensei; if only she hadn't tried to act the hero… not that she got hurt or anything, but still, it didn't help anyone. ~
Just as everyone scrambled to their feet, Naruto felt a shift in the air around them and realized the tall man had performed a rapid movement jutsu that now put him right between the members of the group with a clear shot at Hinata, blade in hand and raised over his head.
"SORRY, LITTLE GIRL; BLAME KAMI FOR BEING IGNORANT ENOUGH TO GET YOU SENT TO YOUR EARLY DEATH," Zabuza said, swinging his blade downward.
~ My mind ground to a halt on a single thought: "SAVE HINATA-CHAN". I couldn't think of anything else at the time if I tried, and I didn't. But it was weird when everything around me started slowing down with me. ~
As Hinata's scream of fear tore the air around them, things seemed to slow down for Naruto. He didn't understand why, but he could suddenly see in slow motion. Not only that, but he saw a path of dots in a zigzagging path along the blade of Zabuza's blade, with one blinking point just at the center of the blade where it would connect with Hinata's head.
~ I didn't understand it that much at the time, but I just felt I should go with the flow, so to speak. ~
Without a second's hesitation, Naruto jumped into the blade's path and held up two fingers on his left hand. To his astonishment, a small, brilliant sparkle of light shot from the sky and landed in between his index and middle fingers, silently expanding into a circular guard while a second sparkle shot from the sky and landed between the same fingers of his other hand, which he held by his side.
As soon as the two sparkles landed in place, time resumed, and Zabuza soon found his blade stopped by the small boy… with only TWO FINGERS!
~ That was too much… I didn't realize I had THAT much power! A technique that couldn't pass as anything more than a C-rank jutsu stopped that massive blade cold! ~
"Zabuza-san… was it?" Naruto asked, "You may want to stop underestimating others just because you believe you can't be beaten. What, did you think a woman, an old man, and three kids were no match for you?" he waited for Zabuza to answer, and, lowering his gaze to the ground, continued when he got no response.
"As it is, this particular genin just came into possession of a few powerful moves…" Naruto raised his gaze to display a twisted smile, which, coupled with the sudden appearance of his Hoshigan, served to totally unnerve Zabuza, "That will ensure you DON'T win this battle."
~ For as cool as I was acting, I didn't know if what I was about to do next would even work. ~
With that, Naruto's right hand shot up at an angle, sending the small sparkle between his fingers rocketing on a crash course with the sharp edge of the sword. To both his and Zabuza's surprise, the small sparkle chopped straight through the blade, rebounding back on an opposite angle several times until it hit the top and … VANISHED. As for the sword, the blade soon split into a series of ten pieces, all of which fell from the hilt and hit the ground.
~ Once again, shock was the only thing I could feel. I'd destroyed his weapon with one move! But I had to keep my cool. ~
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Zabuza shouted, jumping back a few steps as Naruto stepped forward with that creepy smile still showing as he solemnly intoned:
"You just stepped up against something you can't beat, Zabuza-san… And you probably won't leave here alive." ~
Naruto smiled as he stopped his story; during his reminiscence, Kakashi had managed to get them all the way to their destination… NAMI NO KUNI.
"It's been forever! I can see they've definitely improved!" Naruto said as Kakashi rested the poles in front of the doorway of a large, fancy hotel.
"Alright," Kakashi said between gasps for air, "You two… enjoy yourselves… Don't take any …. unnecessary risks… and come back in one piece, alright?" Kakashi turned to leave and promptly passed out. Naruto chuckled.
"So much for the GREAT Hatake Kakashi… he's losing his edge, huh?" he asked as he started untying the bags. Hinata giggled a bit.
"Did he ever really HAVE an edge?" she asked, drawing another chuckle from Naruto, who quickly pulled out a sealing scroll and sealed the bags, including Hinata's purse, inside.
The two linked arms as they stepped into the hotel to get registered.
~ THE END… FOR NOW… ~
Hope you liked it! ^_^
Just to let everyone know, I most likely will NOT be able to update next week, as there are plans in motion with my family that involves home improvement. Time will be short to work on chapters, so I'll do the best I can. I can't make any guarantees, but I'm certainly NOT letting this one go. ^_^ I simply ask that you maintain patience. ^_^