Chapter 15:
Arriving at Tazuna's house they were greeted warmly by Tsunami as she shooed everyone in. Or at least, Tazuna was greeted warmly, Kiba and Sasuke got a nod (Kiba was making her nervous by ogling her and Sasuke was acting like... well, Sasuke) and Sakura who, thanks to her continued fawning over Sasuke, didn't even get a nod from Tsunami. She did however warmly greet the clearly exhausted Kakashi and Naruto who, in her opinion, was the only person who seemed to actually be doing his job helping his team protect her grandfather. Though she did see that if Kakashi hadn't been totally exhausted he would be doing his job. Even now, when he was exhausted, he was still checking for signs danger. Though that could just be the result of the life he lived as a shinobi.
Once inside Tazuna was assaulted by a small missile also known as Inari.
"Inari, meet the ninja that will be staying here to protect us."
At this point Naruto just couldn't resist the chance to reinforce the illusion of his child like persona. Besides, any chance to take a shot at those three, no matter how cheap, he would gladly take.
"The pretty boy over there with hair shaped like a duck's ass is Sasuke, the pink haired sheep next to him is Sakura. The scarecrow is Kakashi and over there you got a mutt and his master." But before he could identify them Kiba yelled, "Hey! Akamaru's not a mutt!"
"Kiba, I would never call Akamaru a mutt. So, now that you know all of them, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, how do you do?" Naruto said with a bow, getting at least a little giggle out of Inari who it seemed got the insult towards Kiba.
"Okay now that introductions are over, Naruto, why don't you take Kakashi up stairs, where I've prepared two rooms for you guys, while I finish up in the kitchen and then we'll all have dinner."
Naruto just nodded and shifted Kakashi on his back for a better hold. He walked upstairs and deposited Kakashi in the room he was going to share with Sakura and left him to sleep a little more. He would return later for his talk.
Downstairs the atmosphere was still happy, the kind only a family reuniting could cause. However you could still feel the sad undertone that was also there, like there was still something missing, though the other three probably wouldn't recognize it.
Even with the sad undertone caused by the absence of Kaiza, the reunion meal was enjoyable despite the fact that there wasn't much food.
It seemed like the more useless members of his team didn't want to ask too many questions so when Tsunami was going to go and feed Kakashi, Naruto seized his chance and spoke up, "Tsunami-san, why don't I go up and feed sensei, you enjoy spending time with your family."
"Why thank you Naruto-kun, you really shouldn't but if you insist." said Tsunami not really resisting much after all, she wanted to stay with her family. Naruto took the plate out of her hands and was just about to ascend the stairs when Sasuke spoke up.
"Where you going dobe?"
"Just gonna check on, feed and talk with Kakashi-sensei, what is it to you Teme?" replied Naruto.
"Nothing, but I still can't believe Kakashi-sensei would want to talk to you in private. Why not let me go in your stead?" smirked Sasuke.
Naruto, not really wanting to deal with Sasuke yet again, decided to head off an argument and point blank told him of,
"Look Teme, I really don't care what you think. Kakashi-sensei wanted to talk to me about something, I don't really know what, and I'm pretty sure that at the moment he's in no condition to train me so why don't you just stick your attitude right next to that big stick of yours. And if you really want to feed Kakashi-sensei that much then I'm sure that you'll be allowed to do just that if you ask nicely."
With that Naruto turned and headed up stairs not really caring what the sputtering Sasuke was shouting at his retreating back. Once upstairs, he waked into the room where he left Kakashi and sealed the door shut and made the room soundproof.
Turning back towards Kakashi he answered the raised eyebrow with a cheery child like voice. "Good evening Kakashi-san, up for a little evening snack? And the seals are for sealing and soundproofing the room. I figured you wanted this talk to remain private and I'm quite sure that the three stooges were going to try and listen in otherwise."
Kakashi just nodded, whether it was as an answer to his question or to his explanation Naruto couldn't figure out. Naruto helped Kakashi reposition himself into a seated position and then gave him the plate, knowing that no matter how weak Kakashi was he would never allow anyone but himself or his future wife to feed him because it would cause them to remove his mask, which was a long standing Hatake tradition it seemed.
After Kakashi quickly finished the plate (Naruto still couldn't figure out how the heck he did that without him seeing just what was under the mask) Kakashi turned towards Naruto and just stared. It was kinda creepy really.
Naruto not really wanting to endure the creepy stare too long quickly asked," So what did you want to talk to me about Hatake-san?"
"Back to last names are we?" chuckled Kakashi," Please call me Kakashi-sensei, even though I'm not really you're sensei, for the duration of this mission I will be." Naruto just nodded, and signed for him to continue.
"Okay, I've got a few questions for you, what Why did the Hokage send you and... " at this point Kakashi was having some trouble finding the right way to word it. After all, if it weren't for Naruto his team would probably be dead right now and he didn't want to insult him by asking him why he was sent instead of Anko or Kurenai.
"You want to know why the old man send me instead of Anko or Kurenai or any other jōnin or even chūnin?" completed Naruto for him, at Kakashi's little nod Naruto continued," Well to be honest, it was quite simple, I was the only one he could send. Anko is on a mission with Ibiki, Guy has border patrol with his team, Kurenai was on a solo mission and so was Asuma, don't know much about the other jōnin and apparently all the chūnin were also out on missions other the minimum needed for the defence of the village.
My and Asuma's teams were supposed to be helping at the hospital but neither me nor Shino are capable of it, so Kurenai was able to arrange for Shino to train with a sword master to become familiar with his new sword. That left me bored out of my mind with nothing really to do, so I was about to ask the Hokage for a few easy missions that I could do on my own to pass the time when I saw your dog friend poof-out. So it was then that I got this mission." finished Naruto, it really was quite an explanation for such a simple question.
Kakashi decided not to really look to hard into why the Hokage would send the class dobe of all people to be the sole back-up. After all, the Hokage probably had a good reason to send Naruto.
"Okay, that's pretty straight forward. Now what do you know about this mission and just what is your mission?" asked Kakashi
"To protect the bridge builder is your mission and mine is to ensure the completion of your mission using any means necessary."
Again Kakashi just nodded, this once more strengthened his resolve to A) get to know the kid better and B) ask the Hokage some questions once he got back to Konoha.
"Okay, I was kinda curious as to what technique you used against Zabuza I've never really seen a exploding jutsu in which you blow yourself up where you don't have a scratch on you."
"Well to be honest I don't know any like that either." before Kakashi could interrupt Naruto continued," However having a Kage Bunshin explode really isn't all that hard. "
Kakashi once again nodded and filled the information away. Now he finally got to ask the question he had been meaning to ask for a while now however he was interrupted by Naruto.
"You have already figured out that Zabuza isn't dead right?"
Kakashi just nodded, he had found it strange that the hunter nin hadn't cut of Zabuza's head like usual and then there was also the fact that he had used senbon, now with Naruto stating the question, all his doubts were gone. But since there wasn't anything he could do about that he decided to continue on with his questions, leading to his final question.
"Naruto-kun, when you were reading out loud in your bingo book, you mentioned the fact that his associates were the demon brothers, Gozu and Meizu, and the late Kafu of the blood red mist. What did you mean by that, did you mean that Kafu's dead? And if so how?" asked Kakashi. He had first thought that Naruto had killed him but quickly dismissed that fact, after all Naruto was just a genin fresh out of the academy, there was simply no way he could have defeated Kafu. Naruto had probably seen someone else, probably Kurenai or Anko, kill Kafu and thus was just using that fact to rattle Zabuza, however those ideas were quickly crushed by Naruto's reply. 'Simple I meant what you though I meant, I know because I killed him."
Kakashi was floored, now not only physically but also mentally. Here was a genin just out of academy, the same age as his genin, and to top it all of he used to be the class dobe, telling him that he had killed a highly skilled Jounin. Kakashi just couldn't wrap his head around the idea. However he was brought out of his musing, by a chuckle of Naruto.
"Kakashi-sensei, if you and I fought, what do you think my chances are?"
"The state I'm in right now, even a academy student could beat me. But should I be 100%, you wouldn't stand a chance." said Kakashi confidently, Naruto after hearing that just walked towards the window, looked out of it and then he replied.
"And that Kakashi-sensei is why you would lose. Kafu was thinking just the same, just before I blew him up. After that all I had to do was just finish him."
Naruto turned back towards Kakashi and started walking towards the door," You see Kakashi-sensei, even monkeys fall from trees when they do not look out for termites." And with that Naruto took the seals off the door, disabling them, and walked downstairs leaving a thoughtful Kakashi behind.
And Kakashi did indeed get the hint that Naruto had given him, and Naruto had been correct. If he would have fought against Naruto, he would have underestimated him and as such would have taken it easy on him, at that point Naruto would strike and Kakashi would lose. There was more to Naruto than meets the eye, Naruto had used the greatest of all ninja skills and he was pretty sure that Hinata and maybe even Shino were much of the same, during Academy they had hidden their true skills and only used what was needed to pass, thusly deceiving the entire village. Hinata had even fooled her own clan into allowing her freedom, all because they had underestimated her and his team would probably do the same. They would likely underestimate them even worse than the others because his team would not be able to reconcile the new Naruto with the Fake Naruto he had portrayed himself as.
Naruto truly was the most unpredictable ninja of Konoha, he had used the greatest weapon a ninja could have... deception. Kakashi himself wasn't even sure just how strong Naruto really was, but he wouldn't underestimate him again, after all anyone who could use Bakuhatsu no Kage Bunshin no jutsu that easily wasn't to be trifles with.
Downstairs Naruto walked trough the still ongoing festivity out of the house before anyone could say anything, they only heard him yell," I'm going out to train." before the door smacked shut, leaving behind three gobsmacked genin and an equally gobsmacked Tazuna and Tsunami. Inari was already asleep, she had put him to bed while Naruto was talking with Kakashi. Also when coming back from putting Inari to bed, she had also taken the three stooges, as Naruto had called them, back downstairs after she caught them trying to listen in on the conversation.
Outside Naruto quickly made 200 Kage Bunshin, without smoke, 50 of them were going to continue his daily chakra control exercise, another 50 were going to train in the mastery of Kitsune-bi, the remaining 100 were going to get reacquainted with his new weapon the Kokushibyou no Gai(=black death scythe), and by reacquainting he meant all of the 100 clones were going to come at him with their replicas to try and defeat him with the one and only original.
It had only been three hours since the start of the battle royal that ensued at the start of his so called training, but the fight was over. There Naruto stood, in the center of a newly made clearing courtesy of the battle, amidst a carnage of chopped of branches, fallen trees and tree stumps, being berated by a clearly worried Kura, who at the same time was checking him over for wounds. The original fight was only meant to last two hours but at the half way mark the other 100 clones decided that the scythe training was much more fun then their own training, so they joined in. Even if this was unplanned it was quite lucky, thanks to the others joining in Naruto figured he now once again knew the basic of using the Kokushibyou.
He could probably take on Shino and his new weapon which he had named, Haibu Konchū no Hitonomi(= Insect Hive Swallow), but then again Shino hadn't really been able to really practice or fight with his new weapon. He did however learn that while he might still have his memories of the original Kokushibyou, this one was different to handle and seemed to respond differently, it seemed happier than it used to be. Naruto figured that he would have to relearn everything with his new scythe, the abilities might even have changed, even the basics were a little different though still similar. The one thing he did know would be the same would be the extra seals Naruto was going to re-engrave on it. But before he could do that he had to wait because, at the moment, the scythe seemed to be happy and he could already see that the original Makkura was changing the handle, which was made of top of the line chakra metal, into the same kind of metal as it was. Another difference between the old and the new, back then the blade hadn't really changed and was still the original just set in a different handle. But now there was the possibility, a quite high one a that, that by the end of the week even the handle would be made of Meiton infused metal.
"I'm fine Kura-chan. Do you honestly think that I would do anything to hurt myself?" asked Naruto, the look Kura gave him told him all he needed to know. Even while giving the look she continued to check Naruto's bloodied form.
"Seriously I'm fine, I never got a really deep wound that my boosted regenerative abilities wouldn't be able to fix, though I am a little tired." finished Naruto wobbling a little bit. It seemed that although the wounds were healed, the amount of blood he had lost because of said wounds hadn't been replenished completely. Kura just scowled lightly at him, having finished berating him and checking him over.
"Fine, it's not like I care if you die." said Kura, turning away from Naruto sniffing.
"Oh come on Kura-chan, you know me, I would never leave you or Hime-chan." said Naruto, all the while encircling and hugging Kura. "Look I'm sorry okay, but I'm a ninja, you're a demoness and now also a psuedo-ninja, fighting is part of our job and training helps me, us to do our job. And besides I've endured worse." he finished whispering. However that seemed to be the worst thing he could say, it seemed Naruto had once more stuck his foot in his mouth because she turned back and hugged him closer and the sniffling went into full blown crying, and she once again went back to the state he had found her in the first time he met the real her.
Naruto knew that she had always been worried about him, and later on Hinata as well but back in the old timeline she had always been sealed inside of him and couldn't do anything about it and so she was able to cope with it but she still felt guilty. But now that she finally had gotten some of her freedom back, it seemed like she once again started blaming herself. She hadn't said it but Naruto could tell that behind the berating and fussing, she was sad and mad at herself, she seemed to think that everything that happened to him was her fault. Knowing Kura had to get this out of her system Naruto just held her all the while whispering small nothings into her ear. It took Naruto and Hinata, once she got the explanation from Naruto, half an hour to get Kura to calm down. After which Naruto finally convinced Kura to return back into the seal, that way Hinata would be able to really join them. Even if it was only in their mind, the comfort would be still be much more than that Naruto by himself could give her. He quickly changed his clothes after washing himself in a stream that ran trough the forest and then went back to Tazuna's.
Once there he read the note that was left for him on the table by Tsunami:
'Kakashi-san said to tell you he was starting training tomorrow at 9 so that you could be up by then. Also, I put your futon with your two other teammates.
Good night,
Tsunami
Reading the note, Naruto just nodded and went upstairs towards the room he was going to share with Sasuke and Kiba, however once there he didn't find any futon but did notice the open window, looking outside he saw the futon lying outside all dirty and wet. Shaking his head at the petty behaviour of his two "Teammates", Naruto just went back outside to find a nice tree where he could perch under. It wasn't the same comfortable feel as a futon but it was soft grass and he could still use the pillow to rest his head on, even the temperature was warm enough to not warrant the need for a blanket. He had slept under worse conditions, a clear moonless night with sparkling stars between the leaves of the mangrove that he was sleeping under was the last thing he saw before he joined Hinata and Kura in his mind. Once inside he had to explain why he took so long, which in turn led him to having to calm Hinata, who was muttering all kinds of different ways to make those two pay, all the while having to stop Kura from doing anything stupid like killing the duck and the mutt, after all it just wouldn't do for them to be hurt on his watch.
The next morning, after completing his morning exercise, Naruto walked through the front door just as Tsunami was done setting the table. Kiba and Sasuke seeing where he was coming from just smirked. Sakura was oblivious to it all as she was once more staring at Sasuke who was ignoring her. Kakashi was also there however he still had to use crutches to move around. Tazuna was also there, already drinking. The only one missing was Inari who was still asleep. Kakashi looked up at Naruto and nodded his head in greeting. Tsunami however was different, she called out to him, "Good morning Naruto-kun."
Naruto smiled back and replied with a cheery good morning.
"Sleep well, dobe?" asked a still smirking Sasuke. Kiba stiffened slightly, he had agreed to teach the dobe a lesson and seeing as he wasn't there, screwing with his futon seemed like a good idea at the time, however, seeing the questioning look on Kakashi's face, it didn't seem like quite that good of an idea.
"Quite well teme, thanks for asking."
"Tell me Sasuke-kun, why would you ask if Naruto slept well? After all his futon was inside of your room."
"Well,… uh… uh… he wasn't in our room when I woke up this morning so I thought he might have had some trouble sleeping." Sasuke smirked thinking just how smart he was for coming up with that lie.
Naruto really not wanting breakfast to be spoiled just sent a look towards Kakashi that clearly stated drop it. Kakashi just nodded agreeing for the moment, but he was going to get to the bottom of this eventually.
After everyone was finished with breakfast Kakashi for the teens to follow, though before they were even standing still for even a second Sakura was already nagging," Kakashi-sensei, why do we have to go training? After all Sasuke-kun is already so strong and cool, he probably would even have kicked Zabuza's ass had he not run away."
Kakashi just sighed and was about to explain when Naruto cut in.
"Haruno, if you could choose of having 50% chance of helping Sasuke or having 51% chance, what would you choose?"
"51% chance of course, anything for Sasuke-kuuun." said Sakura, ending with a dreamy tone.
"Okay now if you would need to train to get that extra percent would it be worth it?"
At that Sakura started to nod quite fast, Naruto for a moment even thought it might come off. Having motivated her enough Naruto just turned back towards Kakashi as if to say, we're all yours.
"Okay, now that everybody is motivated, let's start, we are going to climb up trees."
At that Kiba just snickered walked up to a tree and started climbing," That's easy Kakashi-sensei, we can already do that." Naruto on the other hand just snickered just waiting for Kakashi to finish his sentence, if he didn't know Kakashi any better it would seem that he was pranking them," Without using your hands." Hearing this Kiba fell of the tree he was climbing using the hug method, he had even tried to do just that by letting go of the tree with his hands and trying with just his legs, however all that did was make him fall down. Causing the snicker of Naruto to grow much louder though he successfully, at least if you asked the three other genin, to cover it up by coughing.
Sakura ever being the smart one just shouted out," That's impossible Kakashi-sensei." and even though Sasuke didn't say anything he was thinking just the same. However Kakashi not really one for words, just simply walked towards the tree, put one of his feet on the trunk and with the help of his crutches he started walking straight up the tree, making the three genin go bug-eyed. Though Naruto had already completed this stage, it was still quite impressive of Kakashi to not only stick to the tree with his legs but also trough his crutches.
Sasuke being the arrogant asshole that he was thought that of course he would just be able to do it without an explanation. However all that got him was him on lying on his back after one or two steps. Naruto chuckled however nobody really noticed. So when Sasuke got back up and started glaring at Kakashi, so not wanting to upset the Prince of Konoha, Kakashi began explaining. About how they had to channel chakra out of their feet, to stick to the tree while making sure it wasn't too much, which would get blown off, or too little, which would make them slip and fall down.
The three immediately started trying and Sakura, just like last time, was able to do just walk up the tree immediately, though only getting to the first branch.
Both Kiba and Sasuke only got a few steps up before they had to abort, Sasuke by jumping back and Kiba by falling head first onto the ground, it seemed that fate had a dry sense of humour making Kiba fall exactly the same way as Naruto had the first time around.
Kakashi seeing that Sakura had already completed the exercise was about to suggest her guarding Tazuna while he stayed to supervise dumb and dumber, but he was cut off before he could say anything by Naruto, like Naruto knew just what he was going to say.
"Neh Kakashi-san why don't I go guard Tazuna, that way Sakura can keep practicing. And I know that she already got the control part down, but what does the fact that she stopped at the first branch to rest tell you?"
Kakashi just sighed, he really should have noticed that without Naruto having to point it out, it felt like he was with his sensei again and he was pointing out the obvious that he once more missed.
"Kakashi, this team isn't your old team." Finished up Naruto and immediately saw the hurt in the other man's eyes," Sakura isn't Rin, who had good control but also thanks to genetics also already had a pretty normal chakra reserve, Kiba isn't Obito and lord knows Sasuke isn't even half the genin you were. It's time to start living in the present, not the past."
And so the illusion was complete, with Naruto standing there with the sun behind him making Kakashi slightly squint his eye, Naruto now quite closely resembled his old sensei, berating him and all. It was there and then that Kakashi's life started to turn around, he wasn't going to mope around anymore, sure he would still go and talk to his friends and sensei but now he was going to go there to tell them of his new adventures instead of just reliving his old ones. Kakashi sighed, it would have all been easier if he would have just stayed in ANBU.
After calming his mind, a more revitalized Kakashi then tuned his gaze back to Naruto, "That's all fine and well but that leaves you out of training." Okay so maybe he wasn't totally awake yet, so Naruto just asked one simple question," Kakashi-sensei, what was I doing when we first met on this mission?"
Kakashi blinked, what did playing the ocarina have to do with anything, even though...
Naruto could see the rusted gears start to move once more, it might take a while but Naruto now knew that Kakashi would once more become the man he had been in the future, this time Sakura wouldn't have to die before he got his ass into gear.
Naruto could almost see the light bulb go off, and Kakashi once more looking down in shame for forgetting just what Naruto was doing. Not needing anymore explanation, Naruto just turned back around to go and pick up Tazuna. When he was leaving, Sasuke, even though he hadn't completed the training, had to get in a shot.
"What's the matter Dobe, the training too hard for you?"
Naruto didn't respond, Sasuke didn't know if he hadn't heard it or had just ignored him... it pissed him off. A quick reprimand from Kakashi to restart training or he'd have him run laps, however, pushed all thought of Naruto out of his mind. Kakashi then turned towards Sakura and explained that she had to continue till she could walk up the tree in one go. Her nagging was cut short by Kakashi reminding her of Naruto's argument, after which she happily started again though she did shoot a dreamy look at Sasuke every so often. Kakashi sighed and pulled out his Icha Icha paradise, only to find it replaced with another book about a woman called Emmanuelle, though, after a few pages, you couldn't really hear him complaining about blond haired brats anymore.
At the bridge, Tazuna was having some trouble finding enough workers to finish the bridge in time. It seemed like while he was away the threats had started to worsen leading to more people quitting. Now Tazuna only had his most faithful workers around, and, though they worked hard, they couldn't work hard enough to pick up the slack. So when Naruto finally arrived he could clearly hear Tazuna cursing about stupid Gato this and stupid Gato that. Naruto being the man he would become, went over to him.
"Hey old man, what's the matter?"
"Nothing you could fix kid, unless you've got 50 workers hiding inside one of those pockets."
Naruto smirked, he had thought that had been the problem, after all last time Tazuna had had the same problem of people quitting on him however since Naruto wasn't here he couldn't supply them. This time, however, he was here and he'd be damned if he would stay here longer than necessary... Hinata would kill him.
"Sorry, I don't have any workers tucked inside any of these pockets." said Naruto, Tazuna just sighed.
"Thought so, now scram kid,"
"Hey, I said I didn't have them in my pocket," forming the familiar cross sign once again, "However I never said I didn't have 50 workers. So where do you want us." shouted all the Naruto together, completely blowing away the old man who was just sputtering, he really should learn to watch his mouth around these ninja. In total he'd only need about 30 workers, that left 20 he was going to have to come up with jobs for on the spot. Tazuna sighed again, though he was quite happy with the new recruits even if they didn't really know all that much about building bridges, after all that was what he was there for, right?
He quickly started assigning jobs, the first 30 where easy, just replace the men that had left. Then the hard part started, he had another 20 jobs to create, he quickly send a few into the town to get some supplies that they were going to need thanks to this new workforce, he then got another couple to start checking the bridge structure, looking for cracks and unfinished work that he had overlooked, it didn't take long for them to show their worth since the pullies had apparently been destroyed by some bandits. When said clones asked if they should also check the underside of the bridge, Tazuna, happy that production was not halted, quickly set a few more of them to just checking the underside.
By the time he was down to the final one, he couldn't, for the life of him, come up with another job, and then the kid popped out four more, but before he could try and give them orders they went towards the edge of the bridge and started fishing. Apparently, even though they were all just clones, if Naruto didn't feed them they would dispel due to hunger.
However, that still left Tazuna to find a job for the final one but Naruto solved that problem for him, "Don't worry about me old man, I'm staying right by you, both for your protection and as workforce generator." Tazuna just nodded and went on with his business but he did notice that Naruto wasn't just walking with him, he seemed to also be solving something on a piece of paper.
What Tazuna didn't know was that Naruto had another 50 scouring the forest for any crooks or bandits and another 100 training his control of both wind and foxfire, he had already done his stage 3 chakra control exercise in the morning. Another benefit of housing the Queen of Demons seemed to be the massively reduced need for sleep. Something Hinata was quite jealous of even if she herself now also had that benefit, though not as advanced a case as Naruto.
It quickly became apparent that Tazuna really only needed 30 people because soon Naruto had 15 clones with nothing to do and the remaining 5 only had something to do because they were the ones responsible for checking the underside of the finished portions of the bridge. They had already found around ten small cracks, two inconsistencies and three rather large cracks. The small ones only needed a bit of extra cement, the inconsistencies however, those were cut out and refilled with concrete, just as the large cracks were filled with concrete. The one thing that Naruto's clones had done that Tazuna hadn't asked had been to pool some chakra into the supports and into the metal of the bridge itself thusly making them and the bridge both stronger and more durable. Though the only reason Naruto was even able to pool the chakra inside the bridge had been because of the high grade steel that Tazuna was using on the bridge as it contained a little bit of chakra conducting metal. Though not much it was still enough to let Naruto poor some chakra into it, and thus, enhance the bridge. The bridge would be able to withstand the wear and tear and stay in supreme conditions as long as it was infused every so often, annually preferably. There really wasn't all that much chakra needed for it, a three man genin team would probably be able to do it and it was also quite good for the genin as their chakra reserves would increase as well, although he was going to keep this secret until he left.
At the end of the day, Naruto was kinda bummed out that he still hadn't figured out the seal, however, he was quite certain that it involved both the mind and the body at the same time and, on the other hand, he was quite happy because the building of the bridge was back on track. Hell Tazuna said that, if he could help him every day, the bridge might even be done sooner than expected. Though Naruto originally didn't have any experience building bridges, all the clones learned through the mistakes of the dispelled so they never made the same mistake twice. Naruto had to keep popping out new clones every other minute at first, but the more experience he gained the longer it took before he had to pop another one out. At one point he had to make a dozen new clones that were injured because they saved a bunch of people when one of the ropes holding a stack of metal bars together snapped while in transit. Naruto still sometimes winced when one of those pallets of bars was transported over his head.
That evening, dinner was a quiet affair. Kakashi was still sore from his chakra exhaustion, though he was a lot better than the other day where he couldn't move at all, he was still very sore. Sakura was completely exhausted, she had even fainted a few times when she pushed herself too much, even when Kakashi had told her not to. Luckily for her, seeing as she never had a large reserve of chackra, the exhaustion wasn't all that bad. Akamaru was still there, not being old enough to really be able to effectively use chakra control. Kiba and Sasuke were apparently still training for another half hour but, just for safety, Kakashi had left Pakkun with them to make sure they didn't get hurt even though the worst of the injuries they could get usually happened during the first day. After that, even though they usually were able to walk up higher and thus could fall from higher, they had more experience falling and they had more time to correct their fall.
"So, Tazuna-san, how did the job go today?" asked Tsunami, fearing the response, as she knew just how bad the threats had become.
However when Tazuna cheerily responded" Oh it went great, and all thanks to this guy over here." said Tazuna all the while running his hands trough Naruto's hair making it even messier than usual.
"Hey! Watch it old man!"
"Who are you calling old, brat?"
And so the good natured ribbing that everyone has seen, or at least heard about, between a cheery old man and a cheeky brat started.
They had finally settled down again whe Naruto said uncle after Tazuna had gotten him in a headlock and gave him a noogie. All the while Kakashi had been silent but he was still interested in just how the boy had helped Tazuna so much.
"So tell me Tazuna just what did Naruto do all day?"
"Oh, the brat didn't do much himself, he just walked around with me and was trying to figure out some kind of puzzle he had on a piece of paper." Hearing this the others were all starting to get confused though that quickly changed when Tazuna continued," His clones however were a god send. Even though they made mistakes at first, they learned quickly. And with my workforce generator being able to resupply me whenever one dispelled, the accidents didn't matter too much. Thanks to that we're back on schedule. Heck, if he keeps up the good work, we might even finish early."
Kakashi, hearing this, was satisfied that at least he had one other reliable member on his team. Tsunami was just happy that everything went well although, she was a bit worried about those accidents, but seeing the kid sitting at her table smiling allayed a lot of her worries.
Kakashi was just about to ask about that piece of paper when Kiba and Sasuke walked in and promptly collapsed onto their chairs, all the while still glaring at each other. The thump of them sitting down was enough to wake up Sakura, who had apparently fallen asleep during the conversation.
"Huh... who, where, what happened?" she asked, clearly still dazed. Kakashi just sighed once again, oh how he wished he had not quit ANBU. He knew, however, that if he hadn't take this team the council would have made some other excuse to make him take Sasuke. At the time he was happy about the opportunity, oh how he now wished he had woken up to the real Sasuke sooner.
It was just after Tsunami had called for Tazuna to help her carry everything out when Inari entered the room. He immediately froze when he saw the happy faces around him. All of a sudden he started screaming about how stupid hero's are and that they should just give up. It didn't take long before he seemed to be out of things to say and so he sprinted back upstairs.
The screaming had alerted Tazuna and Tsunami that something was up, so they quickly came in only to see Inari leaving. Tsunami and Tazuna was about to go after him when Naruto stopped them.
"Wait, I'll go the brat's also my responsibility. I've already heard the story around town and figured out some stuff on my own. Why don't you two stay here and explain? Otherwise Kiba and Sasuke might do something stupid later on and if Sasuke does something stupid, Sakura will surely follow him."
However it was only when Kakashi also added, "Just let Naruto handle him, he probably knows more about hurting than anybody in this room."
Sasuke, hearing this, just huffed. What did the dobe know about hurting? He was sure that Kakashi was just saying that to calm them down. Yeah, that's probably the reason. Now then, Naruto was talking about a story, what was he talking about? Somewhere deep inside of Sasuke mind a small child-like voice could barely be heard, so quiet that if you didn't know it was there you probably wouldn't even notice it, "Is it story time?" Sasuke just ignored it.
He was brought out of his thought when Tazuna started the story, it was about a man named Kaiza, a man that was both the hero of wave and the man Inari used to call dad. He wasn't his real father but he might as well have been. Tsunami didn't know who his biological father was. He was conceived on the night of a festival she had gone to while travelling. She had gotten quite drunk and met a man she quite enjoyed talking to and they had gone to bed together. She awoke to an empty bed and, due to her bout of drinking, could not remember much of the previous night, including the man's name.
Back with Naruto...
Naruto calmly walked up the stairs and entered Inari's room where said boy was crying. He hadn't heard Naruto come in so when Naruto plopped down next to him, he jumped a little and quickly wiped his tears away. After a moment Inari relaxed slightly and began staring at the ocean once more. At first they didn't talk, the two of them just sat there, staring at the ocean. After 5 minutes Naruto started talking.
"You know kid, you're quite lucky..." Inari was about to interupt him but was stopped by Naruto holding up his hands in a plactating gesture, "Hold on, I don't mean that it's lucky that Kaiza is dead. I mean you're lucky that you at least still have Tsunami and Tazuna. You see, the pink haired banshee and the mutt probably don't even know half of what you're going through, but the teme on the other hand does. But he didn't just lose his dad, he lost his entire family a couple of years ago, so he unlike you has no one left, but he still moves on. At the moment, and until he sees it himself, he's starting to go down the wrong path, the path of revenge, and if he doesn't stop soon he will lose himself. At the end of the journey he might have his revenge, however he won't have anything left after that."
"I never met my parents, but I still live my life knowing that I will make them proud one day. I found out that my parents died the day I was born. My mom was too weak after childbirth so when the Kyuubi attacked she didn't make it. My dad, was the one who finally took down the Kyuubi, unfortunately that cost him his life. You see my dad knew that he couldn't defeat it in battle so he decided to seal the Kyuubi in a newborn child which was the only thing in the world that would be able to survive having such a high ranking demon placed in it, however, placing the seal itself would also cost him his life. My dad, being who he was, could not bring himself to ask anyone to do something he was not willing to do himself. So he decided to seal the Kyuubi inside his own newborn son. I do not blame him for placing the seal on me, I too would not be able to ask something like that of anyone else, however the Hokage, in his infinite wisdom, told that little fact to the council without telling them just who my dad was. Those idiots then leaked that fact to the villagers and the narrow mindedness of the villagers kept them from seeing me, instead they saw me as the monster that attacked their village. I've been stabbed, burned and had my bones broken more times than I can count but still I cannot convince myself that it is right to live for revenge. Though I do take some petty revenge now and then in the form of pranks, my grand scheme will, in the end, also be my revenge for them. You see, all my life they've been calling me a monster, a demon but what I'm shooting for will force them to respect me. I'm not doing that just for that but it is a nice side effect. I'm gonna be Hokage to protect all my precious people, which will include the village if they change their attitude. That's why I live my life each and every day to the fullest and strive to be the best, not for revenge, not for ambition, but so I can protect my precious people with my own two hands. I know that that would be what my parents would have wanted me to do so I live, love and protect my precious people and, one day, I will prove those villagers wrong and prove my father right. I'll even show you, I'm gonna be a hero, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but someday I'm gonna prove you wrong. Now what are you going to do?"
"You still have your mom, your grandfather hell, you might even still have your biological father running out there somewhere, so be glad for what you have, and don't worry too much about what you don't have. Are you going to protect your precious people or are you going to keep moping around and become fixated on revenge?"
"I'm not saying you should forget about it all but I do know that Kaiza would never want you to give up on your life. He would want you to live your life and never give up so that his sacrifice means something and if somewhere along the road you get your revenge, then so be it, but let it be a marker on your road, not the end of it. Oh, and please keep this talk between us, I don't want those people downstairs knowing about me, they might be fellow ninja, but that doesn't mean they're my comrades."
After finally finishing his speech, Inari looked up at him through tear filled eyes, Naruto comforted him a little, made him promise to keep both the talk between just the two of them and left Inari to set new goals for himself because no matter how much he wanted to help, Naruto knew that Inari had to make these decision on his own. He had said his part, now the ball was in Inari's court.
Leaving the room behind, Naruto once more headed outside while yelling that he was going to go training. Inside the house they all were silent the story had just been finished when Naruto had walked trough. Tsunami, the ever concerned mother, went upstairs to check if Inari was okay. Tazuna just drank more and Sakura, Sasuke and Kiba were still in slight shock from the story they had been told. Kakashi was once more reading his books on Emmanuelle, so while all but Kakashi registered just where Naruto was going, Kakashi knew that Naruto was able to take care of himself.
Back with Naruto...
Naruto was once again in the clearing he had made the day before to train, however, his head wasn't really focused on it. When he started on his foxfire training, he nearly immediately lost control, making for a nice explosion, one he would have admired if it weren't for the fact that he was in said explosion. Surprisingly enough not one bit of forest live got hurt, just Naruto and some annoying flies. Naruto wasn't hurt too bad, but he was still hurt, so deciding that it just wouldn't work tonight and, since he was kinda tired, he went to into his mind to sleep,
Once inside it took him another few hours to get to sleep. You see, Kura and Hinata had seen his distraction and so they kept him awake for a long time to explain to them just why he was so distracted that he would nearly blow himself up. And so he began the talk about his parents again, about his childhood that he had now lived twice and then finally about his hopes and dreams and just how big of a role both of them played in it. After that emotional conversation, the three of them cuddled, after all, how couldn't they when the man they loved had just explained to them just how important he thought they were. After a bit of cuddling, Naruto finally fell asleep in his mind with two kunoichi wrapped around him. His last thought before he succumbed to sleep was, How did I ever get this lucky?
The next morning...
Zabuza was really starting to get annoyed, not only was he beaten by a kid, he now had to stay still for an entire week and, to top it all off, Gato just had to come and make fun of him.
"Come on, come on, just a little bit closer you little freak. No I will kill you after you pay me because there's no way can it be normal for you to be so small in both mind and body." Zabuza thought.
"what do even pay you for Zabuza? I mean, not only did you not kill the bridge builder but you got beaten by a jōnin and a bunch of brats. I really don't believe it!"
While the tiny man kept on ranting and ranting Zabuza was getting annoyed, "Oh yes, I'm definitely going to kill him."
"Shut up and don't worry, I'll get them next time, the kid just caught me by surprise. It won't happen again." And that was the truth, the kid had even gotten in his bingo book for fuck sake! The kid had actually hurt him too, the fact that he didn't get the gaki's name was yet another thing that was annoying. He e couldn't help but wonder why those other genin didn't seem to respect him at all. With the skills that he displayed he should have been top of his class, hell, he should have graduated early on skill alone! And then there were his eyes, they weren't the eyes of a kid, they were the eyes of a trained killer, at least when he was serious, which led to yet another thing about the kid he didn't understand, how could he be so cold, so serious and analytic at one moment and be so childish the next. Maybe he did that just to throw people off, but no one was that good at switching masks, right? He decided that, when they faced off again, Haku would deal with the kid while he dealt with Kakashi.
"You better! Or you won't get a cent of my money!" screamed the little creep, he was even about to reach for him, but unfortunately, or fortunately depending on the time that you asked Zabuza, Haku interrupted the man by swiftly and without emotion snapping his wrist.
"Don't even think about touching Zabuza-sama with those filthy hands, or it will be the last thing they touch." said Haku in a menacing tone before giving him an extra kick on his way out.
"Fine. Let's go! We're done here." ordered Gato, trying to seem in control, to his goons, all the while still sending glares towards both Haku and Zabuza.
When the little creep was finally gone, Zabuza turned towards Haku as far as he could without straining his still injured body and said," That was unnecessary, Haku, I could've easily taken care of him even in my condition." slightly moving his hand below the covers to show the kunai in his hand.
"I know Zabuza-sama, but it would probably set your recovery back and you know you would've regretted it later, after all the man is paying you quite a lot. Now I've got to get some more herbs. Don't move!" ordered Haku. The kid really seems to be more a girl than boy, I mean, at least wear a decent colour, but no he had to go for pink.
Haku had indeed picked out a pink kimono, he didn't know why but he seemed to like this colour. He decided to leave his ninja gear, after all if he really needed anything there usually plenty of water around for him to make weapons out.
In the clearing with Naruto, the sun was just about to climb above the treetops and hit Naruto when he was awakened by a tingle, meaning someone had entered the clearing. The person didn't really have any bad intention towards him, so the seals allowed him entry, though he might not have had bad intention when the person entered the clearing, but if he saw him and decided otherwise the seals wouldn't be able to do anything. So Naruto decided to play possum. In the meantime, Haku was plucking some herbs when he noticed Naruto just lying there, smiling happily, seemingly without a care in the world. Haku moved towards him, wanting to take a closer look at just who was lying in a clearing at this time of the day.
When he had gotten close enough, Haku froze. It was that kid that had caught Zabuza-sama by surprise. He didn't really know what to do, oh why did he have to leave his weapons at the hideout and why the bloody hell wasn't there water around, for fuck sake nearly every few feet you could find a river and now here was a clearing of several feet, without even one drop of water in it. He looked the kid over again, the kid also didn't seem to have any weapons on him except a normal kunai and shuriken pouch and then the one kunai that he seemed to have forgotten to pack away underneath the shoulder. Haku knew that there was no way he could deal with the kid now. While he was contemplating just what he was about to do, Naruto had enough of playing possum so he spoke up.
" If you're trying to find a way to kill me, I would first go for the nuts, it would at least incapacitate me for a few moments followed up with a blow to the head making me dizzy. If you're trying to figure out how to wake me well, I'm awake now. The name's Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. What's yours?"
Haku, being startled by Naruto, took a few steps back and before he had even gotten his bearings again he had answered, "Haku... just Haku."
"Well nice to meet you, just Haku, what are you doing here so early in the morning?" said Naruto chuckling slightly with his small joke.
"I could be asking you the same question Naruto-kun." said Haku, trying to flirt with Naruto, hoping that the kid hadn't figured out that he was a guy.
"Yeah you could, but normally, since I asked first, you should answer first but, seeing as it's not really a big secret, I'll tell you." However his actions didn't really correspond with his words as Naruto leaned forward to whisper. "I was going to train, but I kinda fell asleep before I got started, hehehe." whispered Naruto before bursting out laughing. Haku couldn't help but chuckle himself, for some reason he knew that he could trust the kid, he didn't know why but that's the way he felt.
"Now your turn." half commanded Naruto after he was finished laughing, snapping Haku out of his thoughts about the boy in front of him.
"I'm picking herbs you see," said Haku bending down to grab the nearest herb he could find and started collecting herbs again," a friend of mine is sick and I'm getting him herbs to make him feel better again."
Naruto just grinned, he had always like Haku, and if he hadn't been a guy he might have even gone for him, the fact that he thought Haku looked cute even when he knew he was a guy was kinda concerning, at least it would have back then. Now he was with Hinata and Kura and very happy. He felt more like Haku would make a good brother or sister.
"Where do these thoughts about Haku having to be female come from? I'm pretty sure that he is a he. Unless…"
Naruto quickly stopped that train of thought when he saw Haku go for the nearest herb which happened to be one that Naruto knew a bit about, yellow star thistle.
"Umm, I wouldn't use that plant if I were you unless friend means, I don't like him and want him dead kind of friend." called out Naruto.
"Oh dear. Thanks, you seem to know quite a lot about herbs, what do you do?"
Naruto, knowing that Haku was fishing for information and the fact that he was going to try to help Haku, with both the seal and surviving this crap, decided to be honest and, he'd even throw in some extra info.
"I'm a ninja and, well, my girlfriend is kinda into herbs. I don't really have much knowledge in the subject. Sure I can keep you alive, but that's about the reach of my medical knowledge. My girlfriend has, however, drummed nearly all the properties of nearly every herb she knows into my head, so I can help you out. What does your friend need?" asked Naruto, hoping that Haku at least trusted him enough to help.
"He just needs rest, and I've got most of my herbs already, but any kind of vasodilator that you find could help. His blood pressure is too high from all the stress at the moment."
"Hmm, I think I saw some hawthorn over there, let's go." said Naruto walking towards the other edge, "Yeah, here's some."
Haku, both glad that she at least knew a little extra and always the optimistic one, asked another question." So are you strong?"
Naruto replied with a big smile on his face, he knew after what Haku was fishing here even if he didn't know it himself. "Yeah, I'm strong. I have to be, after all, I've promised myself to protect my precious people any way that I can. Why do you ask?" Naruto didn't want to answer too many questions and making Haku think that he was suspicious would insure that he would be leaving quickly.
"Oh just wondering. I've got to go now. Thanks again for the help with the herbs."
"No problem, say you asked me but I never asked you, are you strong?"
Haku really wanting to get back to Zabuza just quickly answered," Yeah, I too have precious people I want to protect."
Naruto just nodded and decided that he had been playing enough, so when Haku was about to leave the clearing he called out again," Okay, bye Hunter-san, I'm almost done figuring out that seal of yours. Tell Zabuza I said Hi as well."
Haku froze, the kid had know all along yet he hadn't done anything, why, and what was that about a seal, after all the only thing on his neck was his birthmark, right. Not having any answers and not really wanting to be in the company of Naruto any longer, even if the kid hadn't attacked him yet, Haku quickly leapt onto the trees and quickly made his way back to their hideout, all the while not noticing Kura following him. She wasn't going to do anything but, if Naruto did come up with a plan to save both of them, it might be nice to know just where those two resided.
After Naruto's meeting with Haku, he went back to the house and acted like he had just been training. He entered the house to find it quiet. Sasuke and Kiba were still eating when Naruto entered. Kakashi was once more reading his book about Emanuelle. He had already asked a for the second volume in advance because, seeing as it wasn't that well know, he didn't get as many dirty looks from girls. Tsunami was setting setting a plate for him and Sakura was still fawning all over the Emo King.
"Good morning, where are Tazuna and Inari at?"
Tsunami, hearing the concern in Naruto's voice, answered soothingly, "They're both at the graveyard talking to Kaiza." She then went over to Naruto, hugged him and whispered, "Thank you for whatever you said to him last night. He isn't over the loss just yet, but at least now it seems like he's on the right path." Naruto just nodded his head once before he suddenly came to a realisation, what if they were attacked while in the graveyard? No one was there to protect them! He was just about to head out when he heard Kura trough the link.
"Don't worry, I'm here keeping an eye on them. The grave isn't too far from where Haku and Zabuza are residing but Zabuza is still immobilised and Haku is tending to him.
Naruto, hearing that the two of them were protected, relaxed again and sat down to eat breakfast. It was fifteen minutes after Kakashi, Kiba and Sasuke had left to resume their training when Inari and Tazuna returned home. Sakura was going to help Tsunami with shopping today because, after the frequent fainting the past two days, Kakashi had decided that she better rest up a little.
Inari, seeing Naruto at the table, smiled just a little, the first true smile that had graced his face since Kaiza had died. Tazuna just nodded to the kid, he really couldn't imagine what would have happened had the kid not been here. In just two days he had turned Inari around, saved his sensei from Zabuza and had helped get the building of the bridge back on schedule. And he got the feeling that the kid was still hiding stuff that he had done for them all. All in all, the kid had been a gift from Kami.
After gearing up, Tazuna and Naruto once more started towards the bridge for another day of building. Getting there Naruto produced the necessary 30 clones and once more started on trying to solve the seal. It felt like the seal was mocking Him, like he should know just what it did, it seemed so familiar but also wrong for some reason and Naruto knew that this seal had something to do with that nagging feeling in the back of his head that he was forgetting something about Haku and just what he was.
Meanwhile, back with Tsunami and Sakura, Inari had decided that he was going to stay at home, someone has to defend the fort right. And that was what he had said when they had left to buy extra groceries. The two ladies, happy to see Inari is at least a better mood, decided to let him have his fun and just waved to him when they left, smiling all the while.
That smile quickly disappeared when they entered the village, the mood inside was best described as dead, without any vitality or hope, and such a mood quickly weighed you down as well.
Sakura couldn't believe what she was seeing, how could these people live like that? She had never really seen this side of life before. Her being the daughter of a council woman meant that she had always had a comfortable life, and she couldn't really wrap her head around anyone living like that. And what had Kakashi said last night? That Naruto knew more about pain then anyone else? Did he mean that Naruto had lived like this or did he just mean the pain of losing someone? Sakura was confused, and she didn't like being confused, after all Naruto was the dobe right? The kid who always had a smile on his face? There was no way he could've known any pain right? She was going to ask earlier but Kakashi hadn't wanted to explain and she had been quickly distracted by Tazuna telling his story.
Now however seeing the village in this state she began to question herself, her treatment of Naruto and just why she was doing it. She was brought out of her pondering by a small hand grasping her dress. Looking down she saw a kid no older than 6 asking her for food. She never had much on her, seeing as she had to diet to look slim for Sasuke, but she did have one piece of candy in her pouch, the one sweet she allowed herself to eat each week. Looking back at the kid, she decided that she would gladly give it up so she took it out and gave it to the kid whose face lit up for getting such a treat before quickly scampering off.
After that, nothing noticeable happened, she had thought that she might have seen Naruto enter a farming store but that seemed ludicrous after all he was back at the bridge guarding Tazuna. But what had the old man been talking about the other day, when he said that Naruto's clones were a big help, a clone couldn't do anything physical right? She didn't like not knowing something, especially if it meant having to think about the dobe, she'd rather spend her time thinking about Sasuke. After thinking of Sasuke, Sakura wasn't really paying attention anymore, she was once again back in fan girl mode and all the questions she should be asking herself were quickly forgotten. The rest of the shopping trip continued with Sakura following Tsunami in a daze, still thinking about Sasuke and how cool he was.
The next day Sakura once more rejoined Team Farm for training. Naruto guarded Tazuna while working the seal while his clones were helping with the bridge building, fortifying it with chakra, scanning the forest for Gato's hideout and one other project. He had moved his training to the evenings so that he had more time and so that he wouldn't be too tired should something happen at the bridge.
And so it went on for another two days, nothing happened. On the eve of the fifth day however Naruto was asked by Inari if Naruto would teach him how to use a weapon so that he would be able to defend his mom should something happen and Naruto being the person he was happy obliged. He didn't teach Inari anything to serious at first, like how to use a knife, a kunai and such without cutting oneself, which Inari quickly got, sure it was just the basic of the basics, but still, Naruto was sure that with a little practice, Inari should be capable enough to at least protect himself from thugs till back-up got there. Naruto, however, knew that Inari would never be ready before the week was over. And slowly but surely a startling thought started to permeate the mind of Naruto. Inari just might be Zabuza's.
They have the same dark hair that spiky all by itself, he's a natural with a knife. And even if Inari does have eyebrows where Zabuza doesn't, even the colour of the hair of those eyebrows is the same as Zabuza's. Add the fact that quite a lot of Kiri ninja came through here when business was booming it might just work. And he knew just the right kind of test.
"Now how do I get some blood of Inari without him noticing, after all, I don't want to get his hopes up if Zabuza decides to be a bastard."
So Naruto finally had a plan that had at least some decent chance of succeeding, all he needed was some of Zabuza's blood to confirm. He already had enough of Inari's blood from the few cuts that Inari had gotten during training. Hopefully, Zabuza really was Inari's father and taking care of a child of his own would stop, or at least slow, Zabuza's plans to assassinate the Mizukage. If not, he could still use the fact that he knows that Gato was going to double cross him as a back-up excuse.
But it wouldn't do to rush anything, so Naruto just continued his lesson with Inari normally. After finishing everything up, they ate dinner where Inari wasn't so glum anymore but Kiba, Sasuke and Sakura were, once again, not up to more than grunting, being tired and eating. Naruto just ignored them, they were still pretty much at the bottom of the list of people he cared about, heck, Sasuke still seemed to be competing for a spot on his want to kill list.
After dinner was over, Naruto headed outside saying that he was off to go train again but, instead of heading for his regular clearing, Naruto headed towards the spot where Kura had said Zabuza's hideout was.
Arriving at the hut, Naruto silently slipped in, all the while pumping chakra to his ears, eyes and nose, hoping to catch anything that was out of the ordinary, like say, Gato or one of his men also being around or anything else that could throw a wrench into his already quite unstable plan.
Not noticing anybody else in the camp, Naruto quietly made his way to Zabuza's room, parted the curtains, knocked, entered and called out, "You know, I'm pretty sure I know a joke about a sick dude and his male nurse but..." all the while grinning, however he was cut of when Haku threw some senbon at him which he thankfully dodged. Not even thinking about letting his grin fade and not one to just stop midsentence continued, "but I think that would be inappropriate, AND HAKU, WOULD YOU STOP TRHOWING THOSE DAMN NEEDLES AT ME, I JUST WANT TO TALK!" shouted Naruto after having dodged at least fifty of those senbon.
"Haku that's enough, if he wanted to kill me he would have already done it or at the very least he wouldn't have entered while talking." said Zabuza calmly, Haku was about to reply however he was quickly stopped by a glare from Zabuza. Haku stopped but not before throwing another senbon at Naruto, after which he shot an impish grin at Zabuza, who just calmly raised the skin above his eye.
"Okay kid, you got my attention. Not only did you completely surprise me at the bridge, you also got into my hideout, and into my room without either me or Haku noticing. And that was before you showed me that you could dodge all those needles and I'm pretty sure you got some kind of plan up your sleeve. So kid, what do you want to talk about."
Wow, thought Naruto, that went easier than I thought. I really thought I would've had to hurt Haku before I could get him to listen. Oh well, luckyyyy!
"Awwww, you're just like Kakashi, all work and no play. You do know what that makes you right?" called out Naruto accidently slipping back into his childish mode, however a raised... whatever you call the piece of skin above ones eye where eyebrows normally are, made Naruto get serious." Fine, well to be honest, I didn't really have a plan yet." said Naruto while rubbing his head." But I do want to discuss with you a plan that might benefit both of us. But before that I would need to get your blood and maybe, though it could wait till after the first explanation, to take another look at that seal that Haku has on his neck."
Zabuza was quiet for a little while," Three questions before you even think about moving anywhere near us or I'll let Haku resume his game of make a pincushion out of… Heck, I don't even know your full name. But that isn't one of my questions. Now answer me, just who the fuck are you? Why do you need my blood ? And what seal?"
"Well, in reverse order, the seal on the back of Haku's neck there," said Naruto pointing towards what Haku had said was his birthmark, "a paternity test, and the name's Uzumaki Naruto. At least that's it for now."
Zabuza didn't really get the last part, he had heard the name but his mind was still stuck on the second answer.
"Explain!" said Zabuza quite menacing and commanding.
"Look, I could try to explain now and then it might not even be necessary or you could just give me some of your blood, I'll quickly run the test and then I'll explain. I don't even have to be near you, you could get Haku to just give you a small cut, anywhere is fine and then give me the kunai. No danger at all." explained Naruto once more completely serious with defiant look on his face.
Zabuza sighed, he had seen that face and he figured that he better give the kid what he wanted. He had seen the same look on Haku and, even when he had just been a tool, Zabuza nearly couldn't persuade Haku. So he knew that he would have no chance whatsoever of changing Naruto's mind.
"Fine, let's get this over with and then I want the full explanation including that plan of yours, you got that kid?" Naruto just nodded and then prompted Haku to procure the blood.
After getting the blood, he unruffled a blank scroll and quickly drew the needed seal for the test, he the dropped one drop of blood from Zabuza underneath the kanji for father and dropped a drop of blood from the newly unsealed practice kunai Inari had trained with earlier that day under the kanji for child.
From the moment the drop of Inari's blood fell on the seal, the seal started glowing, shifting and warping. After five long minutes of uncomfortable silence, the seal finally stopped glowing and moving. Naruto delicately picked it up, not knowing just how fragile the seal would be, it was the first time he had actually used that seal. He had made the seal during his spare time after scanning a text of Hinata's on different styles of paternity tests and their pros and cons in which nearly all of them only had a few pros and quite a lot of cons with one common con, most needed a pint of blood each. So Naruto had then made a seal that for the duration of the tests duplicated the blood needed and then ran said tests on them automatically.
Looking over the information the seal had given him, Naruto turned towards Zabuza who was still immobile on the bed, and was now starting to get antsy.
"Well Zabuza, I think congratulations are in order, it's with a 98% certainty that I can tell you that you are a father."
The following minutes silence reigned supreme, Haku was shocked that Zabuza was a dad and then started worrying about how Zabuza wouldn't need him anymore and Zabuza was just shocked stupid, he was a father, a dad. Shock quickly turned to worry when he saw the expression on Haku change and directly knew what was bothering the kid.
"Don't worry Haku, I still consider you my son. It doesn't matter that you come from the Yuki line and I'm not your biological father, you're still my son."
Hearing Zabuza say Yuki line and son, the missing piece of the puzzle clicked and all became clear. Where he had once seen the seal before, why he always had thought of Haku as a girl instead of a boy, why Haku's behaviour was so feminine… but that wasn't really all that important, he now had to convince Zabuza and Haku to go along with his crazy ass plan, though to have an extra alternative for Haku was always nice.
And so Naruto began his explanation, about how he had come to the conclusion that Zabuza might be Inari's dad, about how he had heard that Gato was going to betray the two of them, at which both Zabuza and Naruto, though Zabuza only using words, had to stop Haku from going killing Gato right then. Then the plan that Naruto had cooked up was explained along with the options both of them now had. All in all it was quite a relieved Naruto that went to sleep that night, he would be able to save both Zabuza and Haku, if everything went as planned, and he had finally figured out just what the seal was made for. Naruto was one happy camper.
A/N: Okay folks that's it for this week, next up, the battle, what does Naruto have planned and will it go off without a hitch?
I would like to say I'm sorry that I didn't get it up sooner but well as you can see it is quite long and I've recently had some troubles in my personal life but don't worry, I'm okay once more.
Review more people, even if it's only to say good job.
B/N: Please review or the mobsters the plot bunnies hired are gonna inject my knees with battery acid and beat me with aluminum wiffle ball bats covered in lemon juice.
To address a few of the reviews, yes I did get my inspiration from Naruto One Man Team but I never did copy, some other stuff comes from other writers. Though for this section One Man Team was my main inspiration.
If anyone is wondering what the scythe would look like I kinda like to think it would be something like this: .
Shino's weapon is called a swallow blade/swallow, it is a double bladed weapon, one blade on each end if you still hadn't figured that out, hence the name.