Chapter eight: Battle in the mists!

I just want to say that battle scenes are hard to write. I hope everything is clear enough to understand t least.

Enjoy?

Disclaimer: If I owned it, then I wouldn't need to write fanfiction.

...

Mr. Tazuna had a boat ready when they reached the edge of the fire nation's land, right at the shore of the ocean.

"Oh, cool! I get the front! Woo-hoo!" Naruto cheered, thrusting a fist in the air.

"Keep quiet, Naruto!" Sakura scolded.

"Idiot." Sasuke mumbled.

Akina stepped up next to the water's edge. "Kakashi sensei."

"Hmm…?" Was his distracted reply.

"Is this such a good idea? The water, I mean. The others were from Mist, it's likely-…"

"There's nothing to worry about, Akina." He said in an overly cheerful tone.

I'm worried… she thought as she gazed back down at her purple reflection.

After a while of preparation everyone climbed into the boat and they set sail.

Naruto was sitting up front, Sakura behind him, Akina and Sasuke were sitting behind her, then Kakashi sensei, Mr. Tazuna, and in the back was the oarsman.

As they made their way farther from the land a thick fog settled in, unnerving Akina quite a bit.

"Wow. This is some fog. I can barely see a thing." Naruto said.

"We'll be able to see the bridge in a minute. On the other side of it is Nami no kuni: the land of the waves." The oarsman announced.

They waited and watched. At first it was just a big, dark blur, but then they could see it almost clearly. The biggest bridge any of the Genin had ever seen.

"Whoa! It's huuuuge!" Naruto shouted.

"Hey! Keep it down!" The oarsman scolded. "This mist'll keep us hidden. But from this point on, we have to turn off our engines and row. We'd be in big trouble if Gato caught us."

Naruto slapped both hands over his mouth.

Yeah, that Gato guy Mr. Tazuna told us about earlier. He sounded like a real winner... Akina narrowed her eyes at the memory of the story.

"We'll be there soon!" The oarsman announced. He mentioned that it appeared as though they had been overlooked and that they would be taking an inland waterway through mangroves. Tauzuna thanked him for his help.

They rowed through one of the many waterways that ran under the town. On the other side were the mangroves, trees that looked like they just floated on the water.

"Oh… Wow!" Naruto exclaimed.

"It's amazing!" Sakura said in awe.

"Yeah! So beautiful!" Akina agreed.

Sasuke just turned his head and grunted. "It's just a bunch of trees."

The violet haired girl huffed and turned to glare at her teammate. "You're such a pain!"

Kakashi sighed behind them.

They sailed through the floating forest until they came upon a back alley dock and the oarsman let everyone off. The oarsman announced that he would be leaving them, and warned the group to be careful. Tazuna thanked him again, saying it had been a lot to ask of his friend. The oarsman merely waved and rowed away.

"Okay! Now if I can just make it home in one piece…" Tazuna started in.

"Yeah, yeah." Kakashi sighed exasperatedly.

"This is going to be a long trip." Akina sighed as well.

Naruto was playing leader. Sasuke walked up along side of him while the rest were behind. Suddenly, Naruto threw a shuriken into the bushes and shouted. After being startled everyone stared at the bushes for a moment. Nothing happened. Naruto wiggled his headband "I…uh, guess it was only a mouse."

"What mouse?" Akina muttered.

"Are you out of your mind? There was nothing there, you moron!" Sakura shouted at him.

"Please… Please don't play around with your shuriken. They can be just a teensy bit dangerous!" Kakashi scolded mildly.

"Hey! Midget! Don't go scaring us! Stop messing with our heads!" Tazuna shouted.

"Honestly, Naruto. You're going to attract attention." Akina said calmly.

"I think I might have seen someone!" Naruto said while looking back and forth.

Akina sighed, shaking her head. "I don't think he was even listening."

"This time! Over there!" Naruto shouted again as he threw another shuriken.

"I told you to quit it!" Sakura bopped Naruto on the head.

"I swear-! There was someone in there! After us!" Naruto defended, holding his abused head.

"You are such a liar." Sakura shot.

Kakashi sensei walked over and peeked through the bushes. Akina and Sakura fallowed. There was a little white rabbit on the ground, looking as though it had been scared half to death. Of course, that was understandable, since the shuriken Naruto threw was stuck in a tree only an inch above its head.

"Naruto! Look what you did!" Akina scolded. "You need to treat animal's kindly."

"Just a rabbit?!" Mr. Tazuna asked.

Naruto picked up the rabbit and hugged it. "It was an accident. Snap out of it, bunny! Please!"

"The poor thing. There's just no accounting for Naruto's destructive power." Akina sighed.

"Everyone take cover!" Kakashi suddenly shouted.

Sakura pushed Naruto to the ground and Sasuke pulled Mr. Tazuna out of the way while Kakashi and Akina both ducked when something big flew over their heads. It was a halberd sword which stuck into the same tree the rabbit had been under. Everyone looked up to see a man standing on the hilt of the sword. He had wrappings on his face, no shirt, and he was wearing camouflage leg and arm covers.

"Well… If it isn't Momochi Zabuza, the kid who ran off and left the land of the mists." Kakashi announced.

Akina flinched. Zabuza? The wielder of Kubikiri Hōchō? She stared at the halberd that was stuck in the tree. Including the hilt it was longer than her nodachi by nearly a half and the blade was almost two feet wide.

Naruto started to run forward but Kakashi held out his hand, stopping him. He told the genin not to interfere because this ninja was much stronger than the others had been. Kakashi reached up for his headband. "And if I have to face him, it had better be like this… This may be a little rough."

"Kakashi of the Sharingan eye, I presume?" Zabuza asked. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you surrender the old man?"

"Sharingan?!" Akina stared wide-eyed at her sensei.

"Assume the Manji battle formation! Protect Mr. Tazuna… All of you stay out of the fight. That's the kind of teamwork this situation demands." Kakashi ordered. "And now…Zabuza…" Kakashi pulled his Hitai-ate up to reveal his left eye. A red, scared, Sharingan eye. "Shall we?!"

It is Sharingan! But how?

"Ahh… To face the Sharingan so early in our acquaintance. This is an honor." Zabuza cooed.

"Hey! What the heck is a Sharingan, anyway?!" Naruto asked.

Sasuke stepped forward to explain that sharingan copy and reflect the jutsu that are used against them. "And there's more."

"Like what?" Naruto asked.

Zabuza laughed. "Exactly. There is indeed more." Zabuza explained that the Sharingan is very accurate at duplicating jutsu and that the assassin's bingo-book lists an extensive record of Kakashi's abilities. "The man who had penetrated and copied over a thousand different techniques. …Kakashi the copy ninja."

That still doesn't explain how Kakashi has a Sharingan. Only a small number of the Uchiha clan can possess it. Akina thought. Is it possible that Kakashi sensei could be…?

"Enough. Pleasant as this conversation has been…the time for talk is over. I'm on a very tight schedule to polish off the old man."

With that said the four genin took their places in front of Mr. Tazuna. Naruto was on the left, Sakura was on the right, and Akina and Sasuke were in front; all with kunai in hand.

"But…Kakashi…it looks like I'm going to have to kill you first." Zabuza then kicked off the tree, dragging his sword along with him.

He jumped right over Kakashi, the Four Genin, and the bridge builder and landed on the water that was alongside the pathway they had been walking on.

Akina turned and saw him standing on the water, holding his hands in a Jutsu sign. That Jutsu…

Water and mist swirled around him. "The finest of the ninja arts…" Zabuza said before disappearing into the mists.

"Kirigakure…Jutsu…" Akina whispered. Sasuke glanced at her.

The only thing left standing on the water was one single leaf. "He's gone!" Naruto and Sakura both shouted.

Akina began to step forward. "Kakashi-sensei…"

He held his hand out. "Stay where you are. He will come after me first… " He explained that Momochi Zabuza was a master of silent killing. "I haven't necessarily mastered every aspect of the Sharingan eye… So all of you stay on your toes."

The tension in the air was almost as thick as the fog surrounding them. "What's with all this fog?" Naruto asked in frustration.

"It's Kirigakure Jutsu. Also known as 'Hiding in mist Jutsu.'" Akina explained "It's a Jutsu used to kill without being seen. Created by the assassins of the village hidden in the mist."

"You sure know a lot about it, Akina." Naruto muttered in wonder.

She nodded. "My father told me about it."

"Smart girl. I can strike at any angle, from any direction." Came Zabuza's eerie voice. "There are eight targets…"

"Yeah, yeah. Throat, spinal column, lungs, liver, the jugular vein, the subclavian artery, kidney, and heart." Akina listed for him, feeling annoyed.

Zabuza's laugh echoed all around them. "Smart and cheeky."

The mist was so thick that they could barely see Kakashi in front of them. But Akina could feel his Chakra, and, by the way everyone else was shaking, they could feel it, too. The air was thick with blood lust. Sasuke seemed to be shaking worse of all. Akina noticed his grip tighten on his kunai. She laid her free hand over his shaking one. "Sa…"

"Sasuke."

Sasuke stopped shaking and looked up at where his Sensei stood.

"Calm down. Even if he gets me, I'll still protect you." Kakashi turned and smiled. "I will…never let my comrades die!" Everyone seemed to calm at hearing that.

"I wouldn't bet on that…" And before any of them could sense it, Zabuza was between the Genin and Mr. Tazuna. "Game over."

Kakashi ran in, knocking the others down and stabbing Zabuza in the process. No one moved for a while; just stared at Kakashi and Zabuza standing in front of them. But then another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, swinging his sword.

"Kakashi sensei! Behind you!" Naruto shouted in warning.

The Zabuza Kakashi had stabbed turned into water and splashed to the ground. The second Zabuza cut right through the Jonin, but Kakashi turned to water as well.

"Water clones!" Akina mumbled. "He really did copy the jutsu."

Kakashi suddenly appeared behind Zabuza, holding a kunai to his neck "Don't move. Game over."

"Awesome!" Naruto cheered.

Sakura was giggling like the little fangirl she was.

Zabuza started laughing. "You think it's over? You just don't get it… It will take more to defeat me than mimicking me like an ape… A lot more." Zabuza laughed again. He explained that Kakashi was able to copy him so quickly and easily, even making his clone say something he would say to distract Zabuza. "Too bad for you…" Yet another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi. "I am not that easy to fool!"

The second Zabuza turned to water.

"Zabuza was a water clone too!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Of course he was." Akana muttered, annoyed by the entire situation.

Once again Kakashi was faced with Zabuza's sword, but he quickly ducked underneath it, causing the sword to over swing and stick in the ground. Zabuza then switched hands on the hilt and spun around to land a kick directly in the center of Kakashi's chest. The white haired ninja went flying. And Zabuza fallowed to strike. But stopped when he saw dozens of throwing jack stars Kakashi had tossed on the ground between them. "Foolishness!" Zabuza yelled before disappearing again.

"He must not be good in only Ninjutsu, but Taijutsu as well to have kicked Kakashi sensei all the way over there." Akina commented. Sasuke glanced at her.

When he stood it seemed as though Kakashi was having trouble getting out of the water. Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi and started making hand signs. Before he could do anything Kakashi was trapped in a giant orb of water.

A water prison?

Zabuza was laughing "You running around free makes it too hard for me to do my job. I'll finish you later… After I've dealt with all the others…" Zabuza used his free hand to make another water clone and started laughing.

"Little ninja wannabe." The clone chuckled, going on about how unprepared the genin were. "We don't call your kind 'Ninja.' We call them…" Zabuza's clone disappeared and reappeared in front of Naruto, kicking him, and causing Naruto's headband to fall off when he flew backwards. The clone then stomped on the Hitai-ate. "…Brats." Zabuza finished his sentence.

"Everyone, listen! Take Tazuna and go! It's a fight you can't win!" Kakashi explained that Zabuza's clone couldn't go far from his body and he had to physically hold the orb to keep Kakashi trapped. "So get out of here!" Kakashi ordered.

Naruto started shaking, and even began to crawl away. But then he suddenly stopped and stared at his bandaged hand. After a moment he looked back at Zabuza's clone. At the Hitai-ate headband under his foot. He stood up wobbly, and then ran in an all-out rage at the clone.

"Stop, you fool!" Kakashi shouted.

"Idiot!" Akina reached out for the boy, but stopped herself.

"Hah! Imbecile…" Zabuza mocked and kicked the boy back again. This time he skidded all the way back by where the others were standing.

"What were you thinking, tackling him all by yourself! You think you're so cool, but junior ninja like us can't…" Sakura suddenly stopped shouting seeing that Naruto was holding his headband in his hand.

Akina sighed. So that's what he was after… Naruto…

Naruto stood slowly. Blood was dripping from his mouth. "Hey… You… What's life like without eyebrows, freak?"

Akina looked at Zabuza and snorted. leave it to Naruto to point out such a thing during a serious situation.

"Got a new listing for your bingo book right here! A guy who is going to be the next lord Hokage of Konohagakure village." Naruto grinned, puffed out his chest and retied his headband "Uzumaki Naruto: Konoha school ninja!"

Akina smiled. That's our Naruto!

Naruto walked over and started whispering to Sasuke, they were clearly hashing out a plan.

Zabuza laughed. "You're very sure of yourself. But do you really think you stand a chance against me?"

Again Kakashi shouted for them to just leave with Tazuna.

Naruto looked back at Mr. Tazuna "Gramps…?"

Tazuna sighed and shrugged. "Let's face facts. The truth is, I got us into this mess by lying… I've had a real long life, and it would be wrong to let you kids get yourselves killed trying to save me. So you go ahead… Give this fight everything you've got." He smiled.

Sasuke smirked "So that's it!"

"Are you ready for this?" Naruto asked.

Zabuza was laughing again. "Apparently you don't care whether you live to get any older! Playing at being a ninja like it's a child's game…" Zabuza paused "I, however… By the time I was your age… Had already died these hands in my enemies' blood…" They all stood, staring. Zabuza had such a creepy look on his face.

"The demon…Zabuza!" Kakashi told them.

"It would seem my reputation has preceded me." Zabuza replied proudly.

Kakashi explained that the test to become genin in the mist was an inhumanly difficult test.

"Bloody mist… That's a story I'd hoped I'd never have to hear again." Akina mumbled.

Zabuza glanced toward her. "So…you've heard about our little graduation exercise?"

"Graduation exercise…?" Naruto asked, seeming a little scared.

Zabuza started laughing yet again.

"Wh-what graduation exercise?!" The boy pressed. The man was still chuckling. Naruto looked angry.

Zabuza suddenly stopped laughing and sent a creepy glare at Naruto "It's a kind of Killing spree among classmates."

Naruto was shocked speechless.

"Students who'd been friends, eating from the same dish, as undergrads were divided into pairs who were forced to fight each other… To the death. Think of it. Comrades who had trained together, lived together, shared each other's every hope and dream…"

"…That's terrible…" Sakura spoke in a sad voice.

"That's the mist." Akina said. Sakura stared at her, taken aback by her calm.

Kakashi explained that ten years ago the elders were forced to reform the graduation ritual because of a human fiend.

"What kind of reform?" Sakura asked. No one answered. "What are you talking about? What did the fiend you're talking about do?" She asked again.

"Without thinking twice about it, a boy who hadn't even qualified yet as a ninja… Butchered over a hundred of that year's graduating class." Akina finally replied.

"Ah, yes. Good times… I used to have such fun." Zabuza said with a sick grin and malice in his eyes. He then looked down at the two boys in front of him. Sasuke and Naruto froze up, like they had been paralyzed by his gaze. The Zabuza clone took this chance to knock Sasuke down with his elbow. He then slammed Sasuke in the stomach with his fist, making him cough up blood.

No...

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried out.

No...

The Zabuza clone stepped on Sasuke's stomach and reached for the sword on his back. "Time to die…"

"No!" Akina shouted at the Zabuza clone.

"Akina, don't!" Sasuke reached out, earning himself a stomp on his chest.

"Let…him…go!" She demanded venomously, stepping forward.

Zabuza smirked "Foolish girl."

Akina reached up for the hilt of her own sword, clicked open the locks on her harness, and swiftly swung the long blade toward the clone's head. The clone barely had enough time to bring down his own sword, shielding himself from the girl's attack. Akina's sword resonated with a bell-like clang when it met with the other.

Zabuza appeared shocked at first, but then a sick grin appeared in his eyes as recognition took over. "Tsukikage. I see... you must be a brat of the Mizuto clan." Zabuza's smirk widened. "I should have realized. Violet hair and eyes are a trademark of the Mist's most ruthless assassins." He chuckled.

"Shut up!" She screamed. "It's none of your damn business!" She then switched her stance and pulled the Nodachi back to make a spear strike, bypassing the clone's sword, making him jump backward away from Sasuke so as not to be cut. But the Mizuto girl didn't stop there; she ran after the clone, expertly swinging and thrusting her father's Nodachi. Almost as though they were in a dance of strikes and blocks. Zabuza's clone was at a disadvantage for the halberd he wielded was much heavier than the thin sword Akina held, and was not able to defend as quickly as she was able to strike. Having the advantages of both a sword and a long bladed spear the girl continued to advance; finally she pierced past the halberd and stabbed the clone's abdomen, but just as the water splashed to the ground another clone appeared from the side. Akina hopped away, holding her sword aloft to keep space between them. The new clone brandished Zabuza's halberd, taking stance against the girl.

The Mizuto girl breathed heavily, already reaching her limit, but she wouldn't relent. She struck again, but it was clear to everyone that her pace was slowing, her strikes becoming more sluggish.

I can't keep going like this... but I can't use THAT here...

Suddenly the clone deflected her swing and kicked the girl backwards, sending her flying. Before she was able to hit the ground Sasuke quickly jumped up and caught her against his chest. The Nodachi flew from her hands upon impact and landed a few yards away from the pair.

Zabuza chuckled to himself. "You're not half bad. A few more years of training and you just might've made a spot in the Mist Seven." He then looked serious. "Too bad I'll have to kill you here and now." The new clone advanced on the two Genin.

"Not if I have anything to say about it! Shadow clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as the clone Zabuza was suddenly surrounded by the blonde's own clones.

"So… Shadow clones, eh? And quite a lot of them…" Zabuza's clone reached for his sword.

All of Naruto's clones took out kunai. "Ready or not-!"

Sasuke went to go help, but Akina grabbed his arm and pulled him away. "Hurry, we gotta move!"

The Naruto clones jumped on the clone Zabuza while Akina helped Sasuke move out of the way, snatching her sword along the way. The Narutos were all in a dog pile, but Zabuza just swatted them away with his halberd sword. The real Naruto reached into his backpack, skidded on the ground, and tossed something to Sasuke. Sasuke jumped to catch it and rolled back to the ground; standing back up quickly Sasuke snapped open the large shuriken he then jumped up into the air.

"Shuriken are useless against me!" The clone Zabuza announced.

Sasuke threw the shuriken anyway, making it bypass the clone and head for the real Zabuza.

"At least this time you've had the sense to zero in on my true form…" the real Zabuza then caught the shuriken with his free hand. "Amateur!" But a second shuriken was already on its way toward him.

Good thinking, Naruto! Akina mentally cheered.

It looked as though the shuriken was going to hit, but Zabuza jumped over it. "Still an amateur!"

Sasuke smirked "Heh."

The shuriken that had flown past Zabuza puffed into a cloud of smoke, revealing Naruto, who had used the art of transformation. Naruto threw a kunai at Zabuza's head; the man barely dodged, but only by letting go of the water prison first, and the kunai grazed his cheek when it passed.

Zabuza turned to glare at the blond boy and went after him, swinging the shuriken he'd caught, readying to throw it, but the shuriken was stopped by Kakashi's hand. Kakashi glared at Zabuza while Naruto fell into the water safely. "…Naruto… Your scheme was brilliant… You've matured… All of you…"

Naruto had resurfaced and grinned at his sensei.

"So…you made me fly into such a rage that I unraveled the spell holding the water prison together…" Zabuza growled.

Kakashi glared "No! You didn't drop your own spell. It was broken… From without." Zabuza glared back. "Just so you know, the same spell won't work on me twice. Your move." Kakashi spoke. The two jumped away from each other, each standing on the water; both were making the same hand signs, both at the same time.

So fast! It's hard to follow.

Water started swirling around the two of them, forming into two dragons that appeared to be fighting, crashing into each other. Waves flooded the shore, crashing into the others. And then the two water dragons crashed together, making water spray everywhere like rain.

Sakura held tight to Mr. Tazuna so he wouldn't wash away in the waves, or maybe it was so she herself didn't wash away. While, surprisingly, Sasuke had pulled Akina against his chest to keep her safe as well. Naruto was left to bob around in the swirling water like a buoy. Kakashi and Zabuza were deadlocked in battle, blocking each other's attacks, making hand signs like before. It looked as though they were arguing, but they were too far away for anyone to hear and suddenly a big blast of water hit Zabuza, sending him into the trunk of a tree. Waves flooded the shore again, threatening to sweep the others away. Kakashi crouched in the tree over Zabuza, seeming to have a conversation when suddenly two needles shot through the mist ninja's neck, sending him to the ground.

"What..." Akina's eye widened.

A masked boy stood in another tree just a ways away. He laughed dryly. "Your prediction came true."

Naruto crawled out of the water. Akina pushed away from Sasuke and rushed over to help him up. "You okay, Naruto?"

He only nodded, not taking his eyes off the new arrival. Kakashi jumped down to check if Zabuza was still alive. He put two fingers to his neck and nodded, indicating that Zabuza was, in fact, dead.

"Thank you for your help." The boy in the mask spoke. "…I hope you don't mind my interfering. But I wanted the satisfaction of putting Zabuza out of his misery myself."

Kakashi looked up at him. "The mask is familiar… Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you a Shinobi hunter from the village hidden in the mist?"

The mist…? Another one? Akina looked closer at the boy and saw that Kakashi was right, on the forehead of the mask was the symbol of the mist village.

"Well, aren't you the smart one?!" The boy chuckled.

Naruto ran over near the others, Akina followed at a slower pace, not once taking her eyes off this newcomer.

"Shinobi hunter?" Sakura suddenly asked.

"I am, indeed, a member of the elite tracking unit from the village hidden in the mist. It is our responsibility, and our art, to hunt down and deal with the rogues and the outlaws…" The boy answered dutifully.

"Basically, a fetch dog." Akina corrected.

"Call it what you will." He said somewhat heatedly.

Naruto was looking back and forth between the boy and Zabuza's lifeless body. "What's going on here? Who are you?!" Naruto shouted while pointing at the masked stranger.

Kakashi started to walk toward the blond. "Relax, Naruto, he's not an enemy."

"That has yet to be seen." Akina muttered.

"That's not what I asked!" Naruto went on about how Zabuza had been taken out by someone his age even though the genin hadn't been able to.

"Oh. Well, you have my sympathy. I can see where a thing like that would be hard to accept. …But it's a fact you'll have to live with." Kakashi patted Naruto on the head "This probably won't be the last time we run into a kid who's both younger than you…and stronger than me."

Naruto looked less than happy.

"Technically Kakashi sensei was the one who took Zabuza down. This guy just took advantage of the moment." Akina pointed out. "He was probably standing in wait for the right distraction."

The Hunter gave an angry huff and left the tree branch to kneel by Zabuza "…Your battle is over, for now, and the remains must be disposed of, lest they give up secrets to our foes." The boy picked up Zabuza's body and made a hand sign. "Well then, I must be off."

And with that said, he disappeared in a swirl of smoke and leaves.

"He's gone!" Naruto shouted.

I'm not so sure about that… Akina thought, glaring at the spot where the hunter had once been.

Kakashi sighed and pulled his headband back down over his eye. "Now! We still have to escort Mr. Tazuna the rest of the way home. Let's put our best feet forward!"

Mr. Tazuna started laughing. "You poor kids, you must be so humiliated! But never mind. You can lick your wounds at my house."

Oh yeah. Rub it in, old man…! Akina growled as she clipped her sword to her back.

Just then, Kakashi fell to the ground.

"What?! Huh…?! What's happening?!" Naruto spoke franticly.

"Kakashi sensei!" Sakura practically screamed.

Akina quickly walked over and knelt down by her sensei, checking him over. "He's nearly exhausted his Chakra. I don't think he'll be walking for a while." She glanced up at Sasuke. "Looks like we'll have to carry him."

Sasuke nodded. "Fine. We should get out of here as soon as possible."