Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Naruto or any characters in this story; it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 11: Mission to Nami no Kuni

"What are you doing here?!" An old fat lady shrieked as she pointed at Naruto and backed away from the door.

A scowl formed on the Uzumaki's, and she looked at the woman. This was the type of villagers he hated to see the most. Not the ones who would glare at him, not the ones that would ignore him, and not the ones that thought of him as a nuisance. Glares and murmurs he could deal with. The ones he hated to encounter the most were the ones that showed outright fear at the sight of his whiskered face. There weren't that common, but they made Naruto's day shit if he had to put it into words.

The eyes that widened and the involuntary shivers his presence would cause made him feel like perhaps he wasn't as normal as once his mother had claimed. It made him feel... less human.

"Hello mam. We are the ninja you hired to paint your fences." Kakashi spoke before the blonde could open his mouth. It had become routine at this point. Team seven would report to the mission office to get their mission assigned, they would go over to the place, and when they arrived Naruto would get into some sort of trouble with the civilians. Kakashi already had to pull several of them aside to remind them of the Sandaime's law regarding the Kyūbi and to not do anything that would break it. Unfortunately for Naruto this didn't prevent the civilians from showing their distaste for the blonde and Kakashi was seeing how it affected the blonde's psyche.

'Maybe it's time to get a mission that takes us out of the village... the teamwork could be better, but the longer this situation goes on, the worse it will get.'

The woman just stood there frozen as she frightenedly looked at Naruto.

"Honey? What's wrong?" the voice of an old man said, and the sound of footsteps accompanied it. Shortly after, a bald man with tan skin and a walking stick came to the door. The man took a look and the other members of team seven before his eyes landed on Naruto and his eye widened.

"Good afternoon, sir. We are the team you hired to paint your fences." Kakashi repeated.

The man didn't respond as he, just like his wife, stared at Naruto with horror.

"Sir?"

"Send some other team!"

"Sir that's not how it wor-"

"I don't care. He is not coming into our property." He said as he pointed at Naruto.

"Sir can we tal-"

"L-leave n-now!" the man said in a quivering shout, closing the door in front of team seven faces.

Kakashi sighed and turned to look towards the blonde whose eyes were glued to the floor with a scowl. "You are dismissed for today. We will meet at the same time as always."

Sakura turned to Naruto. "Baka! What did you even do to them?! I swear we can't go anywhere without getting in trouble because of you and your stupid pranks."

It had become routine at this point. Something would go wrong during a D-rank mission, Sakura would make a comment and Naruto would explode. In Kakashi's opinion, that was the biggest problem as far as teamwork came in team seven. Naruto and Sasuke would get into arguments occasionally but had an air of friendliness that the ones with Sakura lacked.

Naruto opened his mouth but closed deciding for once not to respond.

"Don't ignore me you idiot!" screamed Sakura before she threw a punch at Naruto.

Instead of simply weaving out of the way as usual, Naruto caught the punch and started twisting Sakura's arm. Kakashi let a couple of seconds pass before he stepped in, hoping that would teach the girl not to attack his teammate.

When Sakura's face of pain was evident, and Naruto was coming close to dislocating her arm the copy ninja stepped in by grabbing a hold of Naruto's arm and putting a little pressure on it.

"Let go." Kakashi said before he increased the strength of his grip. With a scoff Naruto let go of Sakura's arm and left without saying a word.

'Yeah I think time away from the village would do him good.

"Ohhh! My cute Tora! I was worried to death!" Madam Shijimi, the wife of Hi no Kuni's Daimayō, screamed as she suffocated her cat, Tora.

'I don't feel bad for you dumb cat. Serves you right.' A heavily scratched Naruto thought.

'No wonder that cat ran away.' Sakura thought.

Team seven was in the mission's office after completing another mission or, as they call them, chores. Kakashi just went on and on about how they were meant to build character and let them develop teamwork in a safe environment. He also said that it was fair since, thanks to Naruto, the Genin had a surplus of D-rank missions in past years because of all his pranks and antics. Still, that didn't change their minds on D-rank missions.

"Good job team seven. I'll be letting you decide which mission to pick next. Let's see what we have... babysitting the chief counselor's boy, helping to dig for potatoes, or walking the Inuzaka's ninken. Which will you choose, Kakashi?" said the old Kage while he had the mission report in one hand and in the other he had his pipe.

The three Genin let out a sigh at the selection of missions available. They had been only doing D-rank missions for the better part of a month now and they were all sick of it, especially the blonde.

Kakashi's eye followed the blonde before it turned back to his commander-in-chief. "Actually Hokage-Sama. I think my team is ready for a C-rank mission." The man said so casually that team seven members had to double-take to check if their Sensei had misspoken.

"A C-rank mission you say?" You think your team is ready?" questioned the Hokage one last time. Kakashi had actually cleared this with Hokage before, but it seemed he was giving him a chance to back out. However, he had seen enough of what the constant interactions with civilians were doing to the blonde, and Sakura's and Sasuke's patience was beginning to run thin.

"We are ready." Naruto answered even though the question wasn't meant for him.

Hiruzen's old eyes drifted towards the blonde, briefly locked eyes with him before his eyes moved to the other two team members. He noted that Sasuke seemed as determined as Naruto and that Sakura looked relieved.

"Very well. If you insist, I'll assign you a C-rank mission. You'll be bodyguards for someone." Said the old Hokage. It was fleeting but Hiruzen saw a little spark coming out of Naruto's eyes that reminded him of the blonde's earlier days. Hiruzen smiled at being reminded of how his relationship used to be with his successor's son. "I'll introduce you now."

Meanwhile the three Genin were wondering who they would guard for this mission. They all had different expectations, but they were glad that the chores would end.

"Could you please come in?"

They heard some uneven footsteps coming from behind them before the door opened. A man with tanned skin, glasses, and a large gray beard that matched his hair came in. He wore a brown, sleeveless V-neck shirt with an obi and pants that reached down to his knees. The three Genin didn't fail to notice the sway on the man's step and the bottle he was carrying in his left hand.

"What is this? It's just a bunch of squirts!" Said the man with slurred words. He then took a huge gulp of his bottle speaking again. "Is the blonde pigmy even a ninja?"

"... Let me go! I'm going to gut the old drunk's ass." Naruto screamed as Kakashi grabbed him from the back of his jacket. Kakashi preemptively held the blonde as soon as the words left the man's mouth. Naruto's height was a sore subject for him. Even though he trained and ate relatively well, he was still one of the shortest in his year. He was barely taller than Hinata and shorter than Sakura and Sasuke.

"We are supposed to protect him Naruto..." The copy ninja said as his grip on the blonde's jacket didn't falter.

Meanwhile the man took the time to down all the remaining liquid in one go. "Listen up squirts, I'm Tazuna, legendary bridge builder, and you'll be risking life and limb to guard me and take me to my destination."

No team member seemed to feel like giving a limb, much less their life, for Tazuna at the moment, but that's how it sometimes went in the Shinobi world.

"Pleased to meet you Tazuna-san. Everyone, go gather the necessary equipment for a C-rank mission. We will meet at the South gate in an hour." Instructed Kakashi.

"Hai." The three Genin responded and started to head to their homes to prepare for the mission.

Naruto was running home excited to prepare for something other than a D-rank mission; he was running so fast that he crashed into somebody when he turned the corner. "Hey! Watch where you are going!" screamed Naruto while rubbing his head.

"I'm s-sorry!" answered a weak and embarrassed voice.

Naruto looked down after recognizing the voice and saw a dusty Hinata on the ground.

"Hinata-chan! Kami, are you okay? Did I hurt you?" asked the blonde rapidly and preoccupied, grabbed her hand, and delicately helped her stand. He didn't notice that he added the honorific, but Hinata didn't miss it and started blushing profoundly.

'... Hinata-chan?'

"I'm so sorry! You are okay right?"

Her eyes met electric ones with concern written all over them, and she froze. She didn't know why she froze. She had been getting a lot better at acting more normal when she was close to Naruto but maybe it was the surprise or the honorific, but she was frozen.

"It's fine Naruto. I'll take it from here." Said a female voice that had a tone of amusement.

"Huh?" Naruto turned around and saw that the voice came from the woman he remembered being Hinata's Sensei.

"I was actually coming back from a training session with team eight. Hinata was just keeping me company while I did some errands. She is fine, just a little tired from training." Kurenai had seen the whole interaction and was now trying to suppress some giggles. He hadn't expected Hinata to have feelings for Konoha's Jinchuriki. She was still trying to get to know her. "You seemed in a rush. Do you have a mission?" she asked pleasantly.

Naruto's eyes went wide as he remembered that he had been on his way to get ready for a mission. "Yeah! I need to get ready for a C-rank mission." he said excitedly. "Please take care of Hinata." He let go of her hand and went on his way.

'A C-rank? Kakashi is certainly pushing them.' she thought surprised. That wasn't the only surprise she had experienced. Seeing the blonde show so much concern for one of her students was surprising. She didn't know much about the blonde, but with his reputation and the first impression he had made on team assignment day she was surprised by how the blonde had just acted.

When the blonde was well out of earshot, Kurenai turned to Hinata, who only now seemed to return to the real world. Kurenai put a hand on her shoulder and Hinata turned towards her. "So... Naruto-kun?"

"K-Kurenai-Sensei, c-can w-we ple-please n-not have t-this c-conversation." Said Hinata while hiding her red face in her hands. Kurenai just smiled and they continued their way silently.

Team Seven and Tazuna met at the south gate, ready to get on their way.

"We are off!" Exclaimed an excited Naruto.

'He seems a little too excited to leave the village.' Thought Kakashi as he opened his favorite novel. Some may think he wasn't paying attention, but his senses were on high alert. Mainly due to Naruto because he had repeatedly tried to cut his book to shreds every time Kakashi got it out near the blonde.

"Why are you so excited to leave?" Asked Sakura a little annoyed. She then noted that Naruto also carried a backpack, which surprised her. "Why are you carrying a backpack? Didn't you think about sealing everything into a scroll?

The blonde shrugged. "I have never been out of the village before, and I did seal most of my stuff, but something is better to keep handy, you know." Naruto answered.

With that quick exchange Team Seven started walking. The journey was silent as Naruto took the scenery outside of the village. They remained quiet for a while until Sakura broke the silence.

"Tazuna-san?" Tazuna grunted to let Sakura know he heard her. "Your country is Nami no Kuni right?"

"Yeah, what of it pinky?"

Sakura scowled. "Kakashi-Sensei, are there ninjas in that country too?"

Kakashi lifted his eye from his book to answer. "No, there aren't ninja Nami no Kuni. It's not a country like the five great nations or some other countries with minor ninja villages."

A question popped into Naruto's head. "Do minor ninja villages have a kage like the major ninja villages?"

Kakashi's eye followed the voice and looked at the blonde. 'It's ironic he is asking me this.' Kakashi thought about how to phrase it.

"Theoretically there isn't anything stopping the leader of a minor village from naming themselves a Kage, but on paper, the five great nations will take that as a threat."

"A threat?"

Kakashi nodded. "The last time the leader of a minor village named themselves a Kage was during the second shinobi world war. Let's just say that that village isn't around anymore."

Naruto frowned as he searched his brain for any villages that had been destroyed but only came to mind... the land of his mother, Uzushio. 'But there isn't any information about that in the scroll Kaa-chan left me.' Naruto had studied a significant part of the history of his clan. Still, no mention of anything like was in there. 'Now that I think about it there is barely any information about my clan during the second war or its last day.'

While Naruto was in deep thought, Kakashi saw the worried expression on Sakura's face.

"Don't worry Sakura. In a C-rank mission there aren't any ninja battles. A mission like that would be classified as at least a B-rank."

"So there isn't any possibility of facing foreign ninjas?"

"Of course not." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

Every team member failed to see the uneasy expression on Tazuna's face.

The journey for the next couple of hours was uneventful until Kakashi spotted a puddle of water; he knew instantly it was a disguise. 'There is something Tazuna didn't tell us.' The copy ninja looked at the puddle intendedly. 'I could do something about but this could be a good test for them and besides, I have to confirm Tazuna is the target.'

A few moments after passing the puddle, the sound of metal alerted everyone besides Kakashi of the attack. The Genin turned in time to see a spiked chain wrapped around Kakashi and the two masked figures with each end of the chain connected to a gauntlet. The masked ninjas pulled each side of the chain and Kakashi was ripped to shreds.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" Sakura screamed.

"One down. Now we only have to take care of the babies, eh Gōzu, and the old man will be left alone." One of the men said as he let out a dark chuckle. The other man didn't respond and focused on his closest target, Naruto. He nodded towards the blonde, and the other one understood. They jumped towards an on-guard Naruto, ready to claw him in half, but he disappeared before their eyes in an incredible show of speed. A second later after they saw the blonde vanish, a perfectly thrown shuriken followed by a kunai pinned the chain to a nearby tree.

Sasuke was about to use jump in and kick both of them but before he could two blondes reappeared and each delivered a kick in the face of the attacking ninjas. The attackers then disconnect from the joined chain and one of them clawed at the closest blonde who burst into smoke. The smoke made Sasuke lose sight of him for a split second but he saw him just as he started rushing towards Sakura who was protecting Tazuna. Sasuke intercepted him just as he was about to reach Sakura and he got ready to try to redirect his clawed gauntlet but he never had to.

Kakashi appeared in the nick of time to knock the attacker out cold. Sasuke let out a small sigh before he remembered there was another attacker. Doing a quick scan, he saw the other masked figure unconsciously lying on the ground with his blonde teammate standing over him.

"Yo." Kakashi said lazily after reappearing.

"Kakashi-Sensei! You are alive!" Said an overjoyed and relieved Sakura.

Kakashi didn't acknowledge the statement and started to work on tying their attackers.

"Why didn't you jump in before your student got hurt if you were alive?" asked a genuinely curious Tazuna.

Before Kakashi could answer Sakura shouted. "Naruto! Aren't you supposed to be a sensor?! How did you let those guys sneak up on us?!"

Naruto was embarrassed by the fact that he hadn't sensed them but still responded with anger. "It's not like I can sense every-fucking-body in the world! I need to be actively kneading chakra and releasing it before I can even sense them!"

"Then why weren't you doing that!"

"This was supposed to be a C-rank mission! We only had to protect this fossil's ass from bandits! I couldn't have even sensed a bandit if I wanted because of how little chakra they have!" He said heatedly. "And if you are so smart, why didn't you figure it out like him." he finished as he pointed at Kakashi.

"Knock it off you two. We are still on a mission." Kakashi didn't raise his voice, but the tone was so commanding that Sakura and Naruto shut their mouth and gave Kakashi their undivided attention.

"I wanted to confirm something. I could have killed these guys in a second if I felt like it, but I wanted to know who the target was. I have gained several enemies throughout my career as shinobi, and it won't be strange for some foreign shinobi to try to cash in on the bounty on my head." Explained Kakashi.

"Show off." Naruto muttered under his breath. Sasuke thought the same thing and had to agree with the sentiment.

Kakashi decided to ignore the comment and continued his explanation. "But after these two thought they killed me they didn't stop their attack and I even heard this one saying he was aiming for you Tazuna-san." Then Kakashi's demeanor got a lot more severe and intimidating. "These aren't simple bandits. They are nukenin from Kirigakure. You didn't report anything about being targeted by ninjas. We were only supposed to protect you from thieves and gang members. This isn't a C-rank mission; it should have been classified as a B-rank mission or higher. You may have a good reason, but by lying you put the life of my three students in unnecessary danger."

"The mission is too much for us at the moment... I think it's better if we give up and return to the village." Sakura said in a much meeker tone than what she used before.

"We managed without a problem. I say we continue." Said Sasuke who was annoyed that Naruto had managed to take one of the ninjas out.

Kakashi closed his eye to think before he opened it again and looked at Naruto. "What do you think Naruto?"

Naruto was surprised Kakashi was consulting him on the matter. The blonde frowned and looked at his Sensei. "I don't appreciate people who hide things or lie to me..."

Kakashi now understood what the Hokage had told him about Naruto suspecting something. Sometimes Naruto would say something or look at him in a way that made Kakashi feel that he knew at least a few things, but there wasn't any way to confirm that.

"Please you have to understand! Nami no Kuni is a poor nation; even our Daimayō is poor! We couldn't afford to pay for anything more than a C-rank mission!" Tazuna begged which caused the blonde to pause.

'To see what is right without doing it speaks of the absence of courage.' Naruto remembered a phrase he often read in his father's journals.

"I say we continue." His voice was filled with a determination that helped calm the frantic Tazuna.

Kakashi let out a sigh and turned back to Sakura. "We can return if you want Sakura; it's your call."

Sakura turned to look at Naruto and then Sasuke. "W-we are a team; even if I don't want, I can't ignore my team." Replied Sakura in her best-determined voice. Kakashi just gave an eye smile.

"Very well, we will continue. Naruto, I want you to check for chakra signatures until we arrive. Can you handle that?" Naruto just snorted which Kakashi took as a yes but then he asked a question.

"What are we going to do about them?" the blonde pointed at the two tied ninjas.

'Hmm... It would be best to kill them, but I think is too soon to do it in front of them.'

"Can you do chakra suppression seals?" Kakashi answered with a question. Naruto snorted again, brought his fūinjutsu supplies out and got to work.

"Alright I'm done! They won't be able to get this off any time soon." said Naruto not long after beginning to work on the seals. He stored his supplies and got ready to put the tags on them.

"Let me have a look." Kakashi was skeptical due to how little time Naruto had taken to do the tags.

"What do you even know about fūinjutsu?" Asked an offended Naruto.

"I know enough." It was true although Kakashi didn't delve too deep into the art of sealing he had unavoidably learned about it under Minato.

'Oh right Tou-chan actually taught him.' The bitter thought went through the young blonde's mind, but he decided to comply.

Kakashi grabbed the tags and inspected them. He was surprised by how well done they were despite the little time it had taken his student to do them.

"You did a good job on them Naruto." complimented Kakashi.

"I already knew that." muttered the blonde as he took the tags back and placed them on the back part of their attackers' necks. The two ninjas instantly went unconscious, and they would remain that way for a long time.

Several hours later team seven found themselves in a small wooden boat as they crossed the border between Hi no Kuni and Nami no Kuni. They had met up with a friend of Tazuna that was willing to ferry them across the heavily fogged water. The blonde was still on high alert as they silently navigated the unknown waters.

"The bridge should be visible soon. We will arrive at Nami no Kuni when we touch land." The boat driver said.

The bridge was indeed visible very soon. The outline of a massive but unfinished bridge could be seen through the dense fog surrounding them. "That's a big ass bridge." The blonde said poetically, forgetting they were trying to make as little noise as possible.

"Shh. We don't want to get caught by Gatō's men." Hissed the boat driver.

The name meant nothing to the Genin of team seven, but an alarm went off in Kakashi's head and he turned towards Tazuna with a suspicious eye. "Gatō? Gatō of the Gatō company? Is that the man that's after you? He is one of the richest men in the world."

Tazuna gave a grave nod. "On the surface, he owns one of the biggest shipping companies in the world... but that's not how he got to be that rich. No, he has made the lion's share of fortune by dealing in drugs, weapons, and human trafficking. He has used his influence to take over small villages and countries where he rules with an iron fist. About a year ago, he set his eyes on Nami no Kuni. He took complete control of our maritime transportation and shipping. Nami no Kuni has almost no contact with the outside world, which means he can control our government, economy, and people. That's why I need to finish this bridge; with the bridge the tight hold that man has on our country would lessen significantly... but that's not your concern. You can pull out of the mission once we touch the ground. No doubt I would be killed in five minutes. Should I die, my lovely grandchild and dear daughter would be left alone to their dark fate and condemn this country."

Everyone, even the boat driver, sweat dropped at the attempt of emotional manipulation.

"...We will continue with the mission." Said Kakashi.

Not long after they touched ground and started walking the path towards Tazuna's house. 'When they attack next, it won't be a Chunin but an elite Jonin with Gatō's resources.' Thought Kakashi as he was on high alert.

Naruto was also on high alert, maybe too much. He wasn't only relying on detecting through his sensory mode; every minimal sound that weren't the ones made by their footsteps caused the blonde to turn his eyesight to that location. The rustling of some bushes made his senses go off and in the blink of an eye he got out a kunai and threw it.

A second later a white rabbit came hopping out of the bush, scarred for his life.

"Congratulations Uzumaki, you sensed a white rabbit." Mocked Sasuke but then realization hit Kakashi.

'A white rabbit? We aren't close to winter... that rabbit was raised indoors to be used for a kawarimi.' Kakashi deduced and barely heard a twig snap.

"Everyone, keep your guard up. That's a subst- Get down now!" screamed Kakashi.

The urgency in the typically lax Kakashi made him hit the ground without thinking about it. Just as he ducked, he felt a slight and deadly breeze pass over his head, and a second later, he heard a loud thump. His eyes followed the sound only to find the largest sword he had ever seen deeply embedded in the trunk of a nearby tree. It took him a second more to realize that a man stood ominously on the sword's proportionally large hilt. He was tall and muscular, with light grayish skin, short spiky black hair and wore tightly wrapped bandages over his mouth. The man exuded an air of dangerousness that everyone he had previously met lacked.

Kakashi's right eye took stock of the massive sword, the hitai-ate with the Kirigakure symbol scratched, and the man's appearance. He knew who this man was. With his hand in his pockets and lazy attitude, the copy ninja took a few steps towards the man, ensuring he was the center of attention and his genin where behind him.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Momochi Zabuza, one of Kirigakure's most famous nukenin." Kakashi greeted in a conversational tone. He heard the unmistakable sound of kunai being drawn and slight footsteps behind him. Without turning but with a much more severe tone, he spoke again.

"Sasuke, Naruto, don't. Give me space to work with and focus on protecting Tazuna-san. He is in a whole different league than our previous opponents." Kakashi brought his left hand to his hitai-ate and started to lift it.

"Sharingan no Kakashi I presume? Could you surrender the old man if it isn't too much trouble?" The man's voice was deep, but his tone mimicked the casualness Kakashi had just displayed. Neither Genin nor Tazuna was fooled. Kakashi and Zabuza were sizing each other up like a pair of lions about to fight.

'Sharingan?' Naruto couldn't avoid taking his eyes off Zabuza to briefly glance at his Uchiha teammate, who was looking at Kakashi intently. He didn't know much about the dōjutsu other than it was the kekkei genkai of the Uchiha clan.

"Get in the Manji formation and protect Tazuna-san. I don't want you guys to involve yourself with this fight; this is the type of teamwork this situation calls for." He ordered as he lifted his hitai-ate and revealed an eye with a scarlet iris and three tomoe.

"You know I can't do that Zabuza... should we just get done with it?" asked Kakashi as he closed his right eye, and the world began to be dyed red like his left eye.

"To see that eye so soon, the eye that made you famous across the elemental nations and earned you the moniker of copy ninja no Kakashi, the man that has copied over one thousand jutsu. What an honor. But I agree with you. I have things I need to attend to after I kill that old man."

After hearing the words, the three genin went into formation and made a protective circle around Tazuna.

Zabuza let out a snort after seeing the genin jump into formation. With a quick movement, he brought his sword out of the tree's bark. He evaporated from view only to appear a few meters away, standing in a nearby river as he held a half-ram sign.

"Suiton: Kirigakure no jutsu (Water Style: Hiding in the mist)."

A mist thicker than they had ever experienced appeared and started surrounding them, blocking their field of view.

"Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura asked with fear evident in her voice.

"He will try to kill me first but don't lower your guard. He used to be ANBU in Kirigakure, famous for being an expert on the silent killing technique."

Kakashi felt the mist get even thicker. 'I can't remember the last time I fought someone of his caliber... I hope the rust doesn't get to me.' Thought Kakashi as he prepared himself for an upcoming attack.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura saw the mist swallow Kakashi as their hearts thumped in their chests. Thanks to the thick mist, they could only see each other and a little more now.

"Eight spots..."

Zabuza's baritone voice sounded without direction in the thick mist, and the hairs in the genin bodies stood up.

"Larynx, column, lungs, liver, jugular and subclavian arteries, kidneys, the heart... I wonder which spot I should choose to kill you." A dark chuckle could be heard thought out the mist as each genin felt that Zabuza was directing his words right at them.

The three Genin brought their kunai at the level of their chest as they got ready when suddenly, a new feeling, unfamiliar to Naruto and Sakura but not to Sasuke, made their way into their bodies. The air seemed to escape from their lungs and their bodies trembled fearfully as pressure seemed to try to crush them. The Genin were now experiencing the feeling of a Jonin's killing intent.

'It's like that night.' Sasuke thought as the oxygen in his lungs seemed to vanish, and his breath became ragged as his sight blurred.

Kakashi felt the Zabuza's bloodlust and heard the sound of rasped breath, connecting two and two together. "Calm down guys, I'm here. I'll protect y'all until my last breath. I won't let any of you die." Kakashi's voice had a reassuring tone that helped Sasuke and his teammates calm down.

Naruto heard Kakashi's words and took a deep breath. 'Calm down and concentrate Uzumaki. Knead and release chakra. Come on, you can sense him.' Naruto closed his eyes and focused on the process when he felt something behind him that wasn't there half a second ago. Naruto turned on his heel and swung his kunai without pausing to think. He felt it connect with something, and an instant later he locked eyes with broad dark brown orbs which immediately dissolved into water.

"Hmm... not bad brat. You reacted even before Kakashi could notice. No regular genin could do that. You must be a sensor. Well, it's better if I get you out of the way now." Naruto heard Zabuza's voice behind him, and he froze.

'Move for fuck's sake!' Naruto mentally screamed at his body but received no response.

Naruto closed his eyes and was ready to never open them again when a force sent him flying. The blonde hit the ground and opened his eyes in shock. He instantly looked over his body and sighed, realizing he was still whole. The blonde then looked up to where he had just been and found Kakashi standing behind Zabuza with a kunai pointed at his throat.

'It's over.' Naruto thought as relief washed over him. There was no way for Zabuza to escape that situation in Naruto's mind. Suddenly, the nukenin dissolved again into water, only to reappear behind Kakashi.

"Behind you!" The blonde screamed. Kakashi moved just as the blade grazed his left shoulder, managing to cut that part of the Hatake's sleeve before it embedded itself in the ground. Although he avoided injury by a mere centimeter, Kakashi was off balance thanks to his last-second dodge and Zabuza used that moment to balance himself on the hilt of his sword and propel himself forward to kick Kakashi. The copy ninja was sent flying into the nearby river and crashed into the water with a big splash.

'This water... is extremely heavy.' He thought before his eyes widened.

"You are done!" Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi and started weaving hand signs. "Suiton: Suirō no jutsu (Water Style: Water prison)."

Instantly the water started to gain form before encapsulating Kakashi in a sphere. "I'll deal with you later Kakashi." Zabuza made a one-handed ram seal. From the water another Zabuza emerged and walked ominously to land where the rest of team seven were.

"I'll deal with the annoying sensor first." The water bunshin exclaimed as he approached Naruto.

'Shit! Think quick!' On instinct, Naruto made a cross-handed seal, and several kage bunshin appeared to block Zabuza's path.

"Oh Kage bunshin? And there are quite a few of them. You got yourself a talented brat Kakashi... but a brat is still a brat. He isn't a real ninja yet and we both know it. A real ninja is someone who has lost count of how many times death has come close to grabbing him yet still lives. You wear that Hitai-ate as if you had done it, but it couldn't be farther from the truth. Such a shame; maybe one day you could have been worthy of being in my personal bingo book."

A scowl formed on the blonde's face. 'Who is he to think I'm just dead meat?!' The blonde thought before he shouted. "Listen up No-Brows! Fuck you! Write this name in your piece of shit bingo book while you still can! Uzumaki Naruto!"

All the Narutos, except the real one, rushed at the Zabuza clone. At the same time, the original Naruto used that brief time to do the first thing that went through his mind, and he ran toward Sasuke.

"Look, we both know that he will eventually hunt us down if we don't free Kakashi." The blonde passed the Fūma shuriken he had on hand to the Uchiha. "Your aim is better than mine. Just throw that shit at the real one." The blonde said rapidly.

Sasuke caught the Fūma shuriken out of reflection and was about to speak, but he suddenly stopped. He glanced briefly at the object in his hand and nodded.

A massive cloud of smoke was obstructing the real Zabuza and the imprisoned Kakashi from seeing what was happening. However, that didn't deter Kakashi from shouting at his team as the sound of Naruto's clone fighting the Zabuza's clone rang.

"What are you doing?! This battle was over the second I was captured! Just run!"

A few seconds passed, and the sounds of battle weren't audible anymore. Kakashi's heart was nearly coming out of his chest as he waited for the cloud of smoke to disappear.

When the cloud disappeared, both ex-ANBU were surprised that there were no signs of the mizu bunshin or the kage bunshin. Tazuna and Sakura stood behind Sasuke as the last Uchiha brandished the weapon he had been handed. Sasuke saw the surprised face of Zabuza from afar and used that moment to throw the weapon he had been given.

Zabuza quickly recovered from his surprise. "A shuriken won't work on me no matter the size." He said as the massive shuriken flew towards him. Extending his free arm, he flawlessly and harmlessly caught the shuriken from the center.

'This shuriken... another one?!' before he could continue thinking he saw another massive shuriken headed his way. The second shuriken had been hiding behind the first one. Zabuza managed to jump to avoid the second Fūma shuriken and smirked behind the bandages. Suddenly he heard a pop and turned his neck, only to see Naruto throwing a kunai at him.

Zabuza managed to avoid being impaled by the kunai. Still, he had to dislodge his arm from Kakashi's prison, which caused the jutsu to be released.

"You are a dead brat walking!" Screamed Zabuza as his anger soared while Naruto was still airborne, and he started spinning the first Fūma shuriken to throw it at the blonde.

Kakashi was about to stop the Fūma shuriken to save the blonde, but before he could, the shuriken in Zabuza's hand puffed into smoke, and another blonde appeared and kicked Zabuza in the chest. Zabuza was surprised again, and he received the full force of the kick and was sent recoiling back.

Both blondes landed harmlessly on the water's surface as they channeled chakra to the tenketsu in their feet, which allowed him to stand on it just like Zabuza and Kakashi had been.

Naruto's ability to walk on water didn't go unnoticed by Kakashi but decided to address that issue later. "That was brilliant Naruto." Kakashi praised, and the blonde smirked. The copy ninja walked up to one of the blondes, put his hand on his hair, and ruffled it.

That Naruto, who was the real one, just swatted away Kakashi's hand. "Whatever, just don't fuck up again." The blonde said but continued to smirk.

"I'm going to gut you like a fish!" Zabuza's voice was full of anger towards the blonde.

Kakashi stepped in front of Naruto. "Naruto you did a great job. Now let me handle him. Just go back next to your teammates." Both Narutos nodded before one dispersed himself, and the other one went back to stand guard next to his teammates."

"No you won't." Kakashi answered Zabuza's earlier statement, and Zabuza made the mistake of looking Kakashi in the eyes as he prepared to continue fighting. He didn't know it yet, but he had fallen victim to a sharingan genjutsu.

Naruto returned to his team in time to see Kakashi and Zabuza go through the same hand signs simultaneously.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no jutsu (Water Style: Water dragon)."

The water around Kakashi and Zabuza started gaining form until it looked like two dragons. Both water dragons attacked each other causing water to splash around everywhere.

'So that's why they call him the copy ninja.' Naruto thought as he saw Kakashi once again mimic Zabuza's movement. In Minato's journal, Naruto had read about how highly his father thought of Kakashi's skills and talent. Still, when he first met him Naruto had to say that he was a little underwhelmed. Sure Kakashi had kicked his ass in the bell test, but Naruto attributed that to the fact that Kakashi was a Jonin and he had just graduated from the academy, but seeing him fighting now Naruto was impressed.

Kakashi used suiton jutsu. This time he anticipated Zabuza, a giant vortex of water formed that swallowed the nukenin and rag-dolled him until he crashed into a tree. Team Seven and Tazuna saw Kakashi throw four kunai that embedded themselves in Zabuza's arms and legs. They saw that Kakashi was about to kill the nukenin, but before he could deliver the killing blow, two zenbon came out of nowhere and hit Zabuza in the neck, which caused him to go limp and fall unmoving to the ground.

Kakashi followed the trajectory of the senbon, and he spotted a masked ninja with Kirigakure's symbol carved into the mask. Kakashi carefully approached Zabuza and checked for a pulse and found none.

'To hit a killing shot from that far away with senbon... what aim.' Kakashi then studied the newcomer for a second longer.

"I thank you. I've been waiting for an opportunity to kill Zabuza." The masked figure gave Kakashi a polite bow.

'He sounds young. Probably around the age I was when I joined ANBU.' Thought Kakashi before he responded. "You are an oinin from Kiri." It was more of a statement than a question, but the masked ninja nodded regardless.

The oinin shunshined next to Zabuza and picked his body up. "Your battle is over for now. I must get rid of the body."

Kakashi gave him a tired nod as he lowered his hitai-ate to cover his left eye. The ninja disappeared from view, and it seemed Kakashi was about to say something, but he suddenly collapsed.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" Sakura screamed as she approached the man. Team Seven did a quick checkup on Kakashi and found no external injuries. They were confused about what happened until Naruto tried sensing Kakashi's signature. He found that it was barely perceptible but not how it usually was.

'It feels... dim?' the blonde thought. "I think he is fine. He just used too much chakra." Naruto concluded, unimpressed.

'Copy ninja this, copy ninja that. How are you going to pass out after a fight like that?' The blonde thought and then made two clones and henge one into a stretcher. He roughly dragged Kakashi into the stretcher before lifting him.

"Let's go. We still have to take this old geezer to his house." Naruto said, and they resumed the journey.

Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, was more than a little surprised when she opened the door. Not only was her father safe and sound, but he was accompanied by two identical whiskered blondes carrying a uniformed silver-haired man in a stretcher, a pink-haired girl, and a raven-haired boy with a blank expression.

After greeting everyone and getting their names, she directed the blondes to a room where he could lay down Kakashi. The two blondes entered the room, and the stretcher disappeared into smoke, causing Kakashi to fall to the ground with a thud.

"Naruto! Be careful with Kakashi-Sensei!" Sakura scolded but the blondes just shrugged before one of them disappeared.

"I'll look over him and call you when he stops lazying around. You can go outside and set a permitter or rest." Naruto said.

"And who put you in charge?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow, not liking being ordered around by the blonde.

Naruto just shrugged again. "Look Uchiha, if you want to play babysitter and stay here be my guest."

Sasuke answered by scowling before he left the room to unpack, and Sakura exited a few seconds later.

Naruto's eyes turned to Kakashi, and his eyes landed on his left shoulder. He didn't know how he had missed it before, there was a mark but now where his clan insignia should be a mark stood. A mark that he knew and had always spiked his interest. It was the signature tattoo that ANBU agents had...

Author's notes:

Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter! I have a few messages that I think y'all will like. First, This story has more than 400 followers! Thank you to everyone who has favorited and followed the story. Second, I have been posting almost every Friday, and that's probably going to be the schedule from now on. Third, I have been thinking of getting artwork done for the fic, but I don't know where to even ask, so if someone could suggest someone I would be deeply grateful. Fourth, Some people have left suggestions in the comments, and sadly until know I haven't been able to say yes, but please don't let that discourage you. If you have an idea you are more than welcome to share and that way you can feel that you're helping me write the story!

Now that the messages are done I want to give a written round of applause to MN306 for being the beta. Also, there were a good amount of reviews for the last chapter so I want to thank The Cynical story teller, Thelow, STAG98, St0rmRid3r, Shinobi scribes of the kage, coyote11085, ghr501, bored1345, throttle83, IAA, and sixthdragneel for the reviews and comments! I always respond to your reviews via PM! Have a great day everybody!