Chapter 60: Mist ANBU

Arc: Kirigakure's Civil War

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto is the work of Masashi Kishimoto, please support the original work.

"What did you do—URGH!"

The man struggled, but he couldn't move no matter how hard he tried. Naruto only smiled at his plea.

"You see, I'm not exactly kind-hearted. Unlike Zabuza, who I thought was a murder demon, I'm a true demon," Naruto chuckled, his pupils turning red with a slit in the middle.

"Don't worry. I just hate that you tried to threaten me. I'm still your ally, and I'll take all of you to a safe place. The ride may be unpleasant, however."

Naruto smiled as the family of eight Yuki clan members disappeared one by one with a puff of smoke.

"Great. I can get out of here."

Naruto ran, throwing sealing tags on the ground and trees as he did so. The sealing tags were useful for removing traces or trails, and Naruto created them just before he left the cave. He was tired of having to manually erase his trail, so the sealing tag was a boon for him.

He named it the "concealing tag."

'There are ninjas nearby.'

Using his sensitive hearing, Naruto heard somebody landing on a tree not too far from him.

SHRRR—

Not long after, Naruto came to a complete halt. He didn't have to wait long before a ninja came into view. The ninja was wearing an ANBU mask as he looked around.

"Hmm."

The ANBU stopped, crouching down to smell the grass. Seeing this, Naruto frowned.

'Did he notice something?'

Then, he focused on his sense of hearing.

'I don't think there's anybody around. Might as well strike now!'

FOOSH—

As he silently jumped down from the tree and flickered behind the ANBU, Naruto took out a kunai and slit the ANBU's throat. The ANBU didn't even see who killed him before he dropped to the ground.

'No evidence.'

Naruto thought and sealed the ANBU and his blood into a scroll. Then, he threw a concealing tag on the ground. If the ANBU did notice something odd, Naruto would've been in trouble. That's why he killed him, even if his fears were incorrect.

'It's better to be safe than sorry.'

His eyes glistening in a cold light, Naruto resumed his retreat when a kunai suddenly struck his throat.

As Zabuza carried two unconscious people on his back, he ran at a fast pace toward the rendezvous they had agreed on. The rendezvous point they agreed on was a tattered inn that they bought at a cheap price.

'I wonder how Haku's doing.'

Zabuza's mind drifted elsewhere. His steps were silent, and he never stepped on the grass. He was jumping from tree to tree at a speed that Naruto would get jealous off. Zabuza trained all his life to perfect the art of silent killing, so his technique was far above Naruto's.

Just as he was thinking, Zabuza suddenly heard faint footsteps approaching him.

'We were found out? How?'

Zabuza was confused. Hinata had the byakugan, he doubted she would be so careless as to get caught. Haku was his disciple, and he was trained in the same way as Zabuza. Naruto was a little reckless in Zabuza's eyes, but he wasn't so weak as to be discovered.

'That means the village knew we were here from the start…'

As Zabuza was thinking, three ANBU appeared and intercepted him.

"Hiding in Mist Jutsu…"

SHHHH—

"Be careful! It's Zabuza Momochi."

At the warning, the three ANBU went to cover their blind spots, keeping their eyes peeled for when Zabuza attacked.

They waited, but after a minute, no one showed up.

"He tricked us! Quick, find him!"

The ANBU yelled out and as they scattered, a body suddenly fell to the floor.

"One down."

Then, Zabuza's voice echoed throughout the mist.

"Fuck, he tricked us again—"

The ANBU couldn't speak more as a blade appeared above him, falling down like a waterfall and decapitating him in one go.

"Two are dead. Last one…"

"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!"

Hinata yelled out, spinning in a circle as she closed off the chakra systems of the three ANBU ninjas that tried to capture her.

"Ugh— It's… a… Hyuuga…!"

The ANBU muttered, only for him to black out as another palm strike hit his head, melting his brain. The other two ninjas received a similar fate.

"I was sure I covered my tracks…"

She was watching everything with her byakugan. Even the chakra-lathered mist was kept away from her. She used chakra to agitate the wind and blow the mist away from her body, allowing herself to remain undetected. With the help of her byakugan, she made sure it was the case.

'So, how was I discovered?'

Confused, Hinata debated whether or not to continue the rescue.

'Let's retreat. Who knows when the enemies will multiply?'

Hinata grimaced at the thought.

'I hope the others are all right.'

In a remote area of the archipelago, Haku stood still as he watched several ANBU going in circles in search of him. Unlike Zabuza, who didn't have any kekkei genkai, Haku could hide inside his mirrors. There, his chakra, smell, aura, basically everything would be concealed.

'Master Zabuza, something feels off. I should retreat.'

Without hesitation, Haku left behind the family of three that was hiding inside a run-down building behind him. He already created a thick barrier of ice to hide them and made sure they were fed.

It's their luck if they are able to survive this calamity.

POOF!

"A clone?"

The ANBU mumbled, watching as "Naruto" vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Yes, it's a clone. I'm from Iwagakure."

Naruto chuckled and slit the ANBU's throat.

'That's two… I'm sure I heard a third person breathing nearby…'

It was faint, and it could've been a hallucination, but Naruto trusted his senses. They were enhanced by the Kyuubi's chakra, after all.

'Should I use chakra?'

Naruto pondered.

'On one hand, I will alert the enemy. On the other, if the ANBU saw everything and escaped, we're in trouble nonetheless. What to do…'

Naruto looked around, trying to spot anything wrong with the area.

'Ah, I've got an idea.'

Smirking, Naruto crossed his fingers.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu."

POOF!

All of a sudden, a massive cloud of smoke appeared and blew all the mist away, making an area of the forest clear for the first time in forever.

"FOUND YOU!"

Three clones yelled out as one when they saw an ANBU hiding behind a bush.

The ANBU was stunned in place. How could he expect a hundred Naruto to suddenly appear?

"Three down. Let's get this over with."

Naruto said and dispelled his clones.

After receiving their memories, Naruto nearly tripped as he suddenly halted. He searched through the memories and scratched his head.

'Was I hallucinating? I swear I saw a sharingan… Kurama, what do you think?'

'I don't know. I can't sense anything.'

'I guess it was a fluke.'

Naruto shrugged and continued his travels, but he was unable to get rid of the butterflies in his stomach.

'Fuck it, let's make a clone just in case.'

POOF!

A clone poofed into existence just in time before mist covered the area once more.

"He saw me."

Hiding behind a tree, a man wearing an orange mask muttered.

"I had kamui active. I wonder if he sensed me."

With his kamui dimension interrupting the space of a certain area, it should've been impossible to sense him. But forbidden jutsus exists, and he wasn't sure if the nine tails jinchuriki could sense him through dimensions.

"Whatever. As long as he doesn't know who I am, it doesn't matter. It's time to let the Mizukage rampage."

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