Naruto's POV:
They had arrived in the Land of Waves without any major incident beyond the attack from those Mist Chunin. Old man Tazuna filled them in on the state of things in the Land of Waves and the principal threat that the bridge and the people of the Land of Waves are facing.
Kakashi sensei told them to be on guard, because the next ninja they send would likely be a Jonin. It didn't matter to Naruto how skilled they were or how many they sent, he wouldn't ever let himself back down or be too afraid to act when he needed to. He made a solemn pledge.
As they walked through the forest to Tazuna's hometown, Naruto picked up another chakra signature. This one was a lot stronger than the two Chunin, and darker. It sent a chill down Naruto's spine. It was a chakra filled with malice and the coldness of a cold blooded killer. Yet there was something deep within the signature that only revealed itself by how different it was to the rest of the chakra in feeling. Though Naruto couldn't make it out.
Naruto yelled, "We got a contact, at 8 o'clock"!
He threw a kunai at where he sensed the hostile chakra signature.
The only sound that was heard was the whoosh of the kunai and rustling of leaves. Though it was followed by yelling from Sakura and Tazuna.
Sakura came up behind him and clobbered him in the head.
Naruto asked, "Why did you do that? There really is an enemy contact".
Sakura replied, "Yeah right! Quit acting like a dumb kid trying to make stuff up to look better"!
Kakashi sensei went to where he had thrown the kunai. Then followed by the rest of them. Discovering a white rabbit.
Sakura yelled at him, "Look what you did, Naruto"!
He felt bad now, and grabbed the rabbit and tried to comfort the terrified creature.
Kakashi sensei yelled, "Look out"!
They all hit the deck, barely avoiding the giant sword flying through the air.
As they managed to get themselves up, they saw who threw the sword. A tall pale shirtless ninja with a Mist headband, weird leather straps, and camo pants.
Naruto thought to himself, "Here is my chance. I'm not going to lose to Sasuke"!
Kakashi said, "Well, well, if it isn't Zabauza Momochi. Rogue Ninja, from the Village Hidden in the Mist".
Naruto thought, "Rogue ninja? Whatever. Nothing is going to stop me".
As he ran forward to get the opening attack in, Kakashi sensei stopped him with an outstretched arm.
Kakashi sensei said, "Get back. You're only going to get in the way".
Naruto asked, "Why"?!
Kakashi sensei said, "He isn't like those other ninja. He is in a whole other league. One of the Seven Ninja swordsmen of the Mist. If he is our opponent then I will need this", as he lifted his headband revealing a weird red eye with three tomoe. Then it clicked, this was the sharingan of the Uchiha clan that the elders had mentioned could control the 9 tails.
Zabuza said, "Kakashi of the Shargian. The Copy Ninja. Did I get that right? You have quiet the reputation in the Hidden Mist's bingo book. It's too bad, but you're going to have to hand over the old man".
Kakashi said, "Quick, Maji formation! Protect the bridge builder and stay out of this fight"!
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke quickly moved into formation.
Zabuza leapt from the tree, and landed on the water. Building up a not inconsiderable amount of chakra.
Sakura was surprised that he was standing on the water, then she asked Kakashi sensei, "Just who is he sensei"?
Kakashi sensei replied, "He is an elite rogue ninja, originally from the Hidden Mist where he was one of the Seven Ninja swordsmen and captain of the Mist's special assanation unit. He is a master in the Silent Killing technique. Killing even enemy ninjas without making a single sound. This is the Hidden Mist jutsu. It gives him both concealment from visual tracking and makes it much harder for sensors to track him. So don't lower your guard".
Naruto said, "But why can't I sense him!? The Mind's eye is the greatest sensory kekkei genkai"!
Kakashi sensei replied, "This jutsu was specifically made to fight the Uzumaki clan and those who possess that kekkei genkai. It operates on the same principle as radio jamming: by flooding the airwaves with energy, messages and exact location cannot be transmitted completely, resulting in fragmented messages and location. You are probably sensing his chakra all over the place, but can't pin down his exact location".
Naruto replied, "Ah, yeah that's right".
The eerie silence filled the air and Naruto couldn't tell how long it had been before Kakashi spoke to them again. Then rapidly things changed with Zabuza appearing right behind them and Kakashi arriving in their midsts having destroyed a clone. Followed by Zabuza cutting down Kakashi only to reveal it was another water clone and Kakashi was behind Zabuza.
The action cleared the mist a bit and Naruto's sensory ability was able to start picking things up cleary again. Naruto yelled out, "Kakashi sensei, it's another clone"!
This was followed by Zabuza appearing behind Kakashi and attacking him with a sword and kick combo. He missed Kakashi sensei with the sword but connected with the kick. Sending Kakashi sensei flying into the water. Where he dived after Kakashi and caught him in a water prison jutsu.
Zabuza gloated a bit and summoned another clone.
Sasuke leapt into action attempting to fight the water clone with a barrage of shuriken, kunai, and taijutsu strikes; but was sent flying by the clone.
Naruto felt his heart race, and a tiny voice told him that he needs to run away, but using his dominant hand which had been injured to prop him up sent pain shooting up his arm. Naruto then remembered his vow and looked to the clone who stood on his headband.
This made him remember everything that he experienced up to this point. Everything that he had experienced on the road to becoming a ninja.
Naruto charged the clone and was sent flying by the clone, but not before Naruto grabbed his headband back.
Naruto stood up putting on his headband and said, "Hey you, the freak with no eyebrows. Put this in your bingo book! The ninja who will become Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, he never backs down, and his name is Naruto Uzumaki"!
Zabuza's chakra changed and it was angered.
Naruto called to Sasuke, "Hey listen up Sasuke, I got a plan".
Sasuke replied, "So you're finally thinking about teamwork then".
Naruto smiled and said, "Alright guys, let's go wild"!
Kakashi sensei yelled, "No! This fight was over the moment I got caught! Your mission is to protect the bridge builder"!
Sasuke replied, "That became impossible the moment you got caught. If you leave he will just pick us off at his leisure. It's fight now or die later".
Kakashi then explained to them who exactly Zabuza was. It sent chills down their spines, especially with Zabuza's own claim of how good it was. He then launched an attack and pinned Sasuke to the ground.
Naruto summoned forth 50 shadow clones. Then each drew a kunai and charged Zabuza. As planned he was able to repel them, but in the chaos, he got off Sasuke and didn't pay Naruto as much attention. So Naruto transformed himself into a clone and had another clone toss him to Sasuke who realized it was him as soon as he caught the fuma shuriken. Spinning to him the fact he grabbed his own.
Sasuke opened the fuma shuriken and said, "Fuma Shuriken: Windmill of Shadows".
Leaping into the air and throwing the Fuma shuriken. As expected the first was defeated, but the second hidden by the shadow shuriken jutsu was the real attack. Zabuza jumped to avoid it, but Naruto undid the transformation and threw a set of kunai at Zabuza who was forced to abandon the Water Prison to evade.
Hitting the water, Naruto couldn't help but feel proud of his clever trick and couldn't waste the opportunity to brag. From there on Kakashi sensei took control of the battle.
A masked ninja threw a pair of senbon into Zabuza's neck after Kakashi sensei pinned Zabuza to a tree with a water jutsu and a barrage of kunai.
Kakashi sensei explained what the masked ninja was, but Naruto felt something odd about the chakra of the hunter ninja and while Zabuza didn't feel alive, it didn't feel like he thought a dead person should feel. Maybe like when an animal is slaughtered, the chakra like the animal's body heat stays in the body for a time. Whatever the fact is, Naruto felt unsatisfied by the conclusion and that this wouldn't be the last strange thing he would face on this mission.
Author's Note: I know Naruto has a different set of skills, from his canon self given that this Naruto was raised by the Uzumaki clan. I just can't really justify a massive jump in skill/power right now for him. I don't want to give him the Crescent Moon dance jutsu just yet, as Naruto doesn't know how to channel his chakra to individual body parts or into weapons yet. He will use wind breathing eventually, but he hasn't gotten to that level yet. His chakra nature is still wind, but without knowing how to channel his chakra to his limbs and sword, he can only perform much weaker versions of Wind Breathing sword forms that will lack the primary strengths of the Wind Breathing techniques in this fic. I will have it that his biggest hindrance right now is psychological and his current lack of knowledge in specific channeling of chakra. Once he gets over those barriers his skill set will greatly expand.