Round Two on the Bridge
At Tazuna's house
"So let me get this straight. We are on our own?" Tazuna asked, annoyed.
"The Kamishini have enough on their plates at all times, and that was back before my stasis. They can't afford to send forces here more than likely." Oda explained.
"To be fair old man, if you actually paid people, then maybe more would come for backup." Naruto shot at the bridge builder as the younger four people in the household played cards, with Sakura in a massive deficit.
"I would if we could afford it, kid!" Tazuna replied indignantly.
"Father, we need groceries again!" Tsunami yelled from the kitchen.
"Again? Fine…" Tazuna sighed.
"One second. We're on the last game." Naruto replied as all four of the kids showed their cards one by one.
"You're going down this time, loser. You might only have the four aces. I don't see the joker this time to save your butt." Sasuke replied with a smirk.
"Inari, drop the river little guy." Naruto said, with four aces, waiting for the fifth card.
"Pair of two's again…" Sakura grumbled at her terrible luck.
"Alright, this one's for the whole pot." Inari replied as he dealt them their cards.
"Please don't put me in debt to Naruto. Please…" Sakura pleaded under her breath.
"Sorry, Sakura-chan. You're not in any position to be saying that." Naruto replied sympathetically.
With a bit of dramatic flair, Inari flipped the final card to complete the river. To Sasuke and Sakura's frustration/horror, the last one was the infamous Joker. They both groaned in frustration at that.
"Not again! That's the fifth time in a row!" Sakura snapped out in disbelief.
"Five pots of money. That's a good way to start the day before the early shift! Tsunami, I got some money for groceries! As for you Sakura-chan, we can discuss later how you can make up your shortfall." Naruto said, the biggest grin his face could create.
"Stupid blonde idiot and his devil's luck…" Sasuke groaned out before planting his forehead on the table.
"Fine. But no dates or anything of that nature!" Sakura replied sternly.
"Uh, uh, uh, Sakura-chan. If I remember correctly, when you were out at the start of the third pot, you said, and I quote, on your honor as a shinobi, you'd repay it by any means necessary." Naruto corrected her, stunning his teammates with his memory.
"Me and my big mouth…" Sakura groaned in frustration, her forehead joining Sasuke's on the table.
"Better luck next time, guys." Naruto replied, pulling the whole pot over to his side.
"Thank you for helping with groceries, Naruto-kun. You're a real gentleman." Tsunami said with a smile as Naruto gave her his entire winnings from that morning.
"The only times 'Naruto' and 'gentleman' should be used in the same sentence is if the words 'isn't a' are in the middle…" Sasuke grumbled out from his place with his forehead on the table.
"Maybe if you learned how to do an actual poker face instead of that scowl you put up, you'd do a bit better." Naruto shot back.
"Well Kakashi, good to see they're actually bonding this morning." Oda said, getting ready to accompany Tsunami by grabbing grocery bags from the pantry.
"If you'll believe me, they didn't get along nearly this well when we first started out." Kakashi replied in a tone where you could feel his proud smile.
"You've done a lot of believing with me, it's only fair I do it in kind. Still, Naruto has the right idea. Get the girls by the pocketbook." Oda said as he finished up his preparations.
"That's our Naruto for you. You never know what he'll come up with next. More often than not, it'll be the course of action less likely to get you killed no matter how crazy it seems." Kakashi replied with a bit of mirth.
"Maybe I should play cards with Old Man Third next time…" Naruto mused as he finished some light stretching before accompanying Tazuna.
"Yes, please. Clean someone else out for once…" Sakura grumbled in frustration.
"Oh and Sakura. Make sure to put some of that nice lipstick on when we get back to the village for me." Naruto said with a cheeky smirk as he left with Tazuna.
"Screw you, Naruto…!" Sasuke and Sakura called out simultaneously from their places at the table as he left.
Meanwhile in the crypts of the Strigoi
The normal degenerate serenity of the horrid hole monsters was disrupted that hazy and nebulous morning by the sound of squabbling. Around the court dias, ghouls, bats, and wolves fled in terror as burst of golden energy and shadow clashed fiercely. Soon the clash became more visible as a relatively lean Strigoi and a vampiric ghoul locked claws and dug their heels in for a test of strength. This tomfoolery was stopped by a deep, imperial growl coming from the deep shadows in the back.
"Must you boys fight this early in the morning, especially while I am performing my imperial duties." Targos growled, as a human females whimpering and moans could be heard.
"Forgive us Lord Targos, but he…" The two said in unison, pointing at the other and growling, before Targos shut them down.
"I can tolerate a certain level of rivalry, but this is beyond unreasonable." He growled again, clearly frustrated by them interrupting his "duties".
"Yes, Lord Targos." The two said fearfully.
"Go to the bridge and deal with that issue. Take one of the Zombie Dragons and get out of my sight." Targos growled, as the decaying reptilian corpse lurched from the shadows dutifully.
"But my lord, Zabuza was ordered today to…" The vampiric ghoul tried to argue, but the burning gaze of Targo's singular eye stopped him.
"You act like I care about that shinobi or his little pet. DEAL WITH THE BRIDGE!" Targos roared,and the two rivals scrambled onto their monstrous steed.
"Finally. Some proper peace." He muttered, and soon his quarters of the crypt returned to a state he found more favorable.
The Bridge- later that day
Naruto grit his teeth as he waited for the workmen to finish up with their work and clean up their mess of equipment. It was close to dinner time, and he hated waiting for it. HE spent his hard-earned money on it, so he at least should be able to enjoy it. He certainly couldn't enjoy his winnings with Sakura till they were back in the village. However, soon a panic was caused and people began running away from the construction site.
"I swear to god, if its another one of those giant murder bats, I'll…" Naruto turned, and what was in front of him was not a Terrorgheist.
Standing in front of him, his massive cleaver-shaped sword Kubikiribōchō in hand, was the Demon of the Hidden Mist Zabuza Momochi. Standing next to him was his accomplice in the mask, the fake Hunter-nin. Naruto could feel Zabuza's killing intent and his malicious smirk.
"Yo. It's been a while, brat. Or, should I say, Naruto Uzumaki…?" Zabuza drawled out devilishly.
"Apparently, I used up all my luck this morning with cards." Naruto said in a deadpan voice and look, standing shockingly firm in the face of shinobi assisted suicide.
"Well, well, well. Looks like the little Genin brat finally became a proper shinobi while I've been gone. What changed, kid?" Zabuza asked, quickly recovering as he drew and hefted his blade.
"Well, for one, nearly being eaten and having my soul ripped out by a giant undead bat." Naruto dryly answered, not in any mood even for this due to how hungry and tired he was.
"Then I guess that means you're finally worthy of dying by this blade." Zabuza told him sinisterly.
"Look Zabuza, cut the back chatter already. Either cut me with your overgrown kitchen knife or let me go and get some food. Not feeling the whole 'evil demon Missing-nin' thing today, okay?" Naruto answered simply.
Zabuza was legitimately surprised by the sass on the blonde. He wasn't at all sure how to react to it, in fact. Someone not giving a damn about him trying to murder them, much less a Genin brat being this way, was something he wasn't used to in the slightest.
"Guess you've got to change your act up, Zabuza-san." The masked shinobi said.
"Shut it, Haku. I'm working here." Zabuza replied, readying his blade to rush in and cut the blonde down.
"Wait… Haku?" Naruto asked confusedly, distracting him from the oncoming rushing death.
"You should keep your guard up, brat!" Zabuza called out, swinging his massive zanbato blade down with all of his strength, out of respect, to cut the blonde down.
To the two's shock, Naruto intentionally back-body dropped himself onto the hard stone, causing his blade to miss and cut deep into the stone bridge. The strike was so strong, and the stone was just tough enough, that when Zabuza tried to swing again, his blade did not move. He looked at it, and for the first time in a long time, it was legitimately stuck. Gripping it with both hands, Zabuza attempted to pull the blade out with a grunt.
"Gi-Give me a second." Zabuza replied before grunting as he tried with all of his strength to pull the blade out. Unfortunately, due to his swinging strength being much stronger than his pulling strength, he was having difficulty.
"I kept telling you to not skip leg day." Haku answered with a chuckle.
"Shut up, Haku…!" Zabuza growled out as he continued trying to pull the blade out.
"Well, well, well, children. Look what we have here. This is what happens when you rely too much on a massive blade that can easily be stuck in a stone, and only the true king of the land can pull it out again." An eerily familiar sarcastic voice said, forcing Zabuza to turn and see his one-eyed tormentor.
"Kakashi! When I get my Kubikiribōchō out, I'll cut you in half like a watermelon for that!" Zabuza roared out in anger before grunting extra loudly as he tried desperately to pull it free of the stone bridge.
"Oh, I have no doubt. Unfortunately, your pull out game isn't as strong as your swing game. Maybe you should give up being a shinobi and play sports? I hear the minor leagues are drafting soon." Kakashi teased.
"Haku, get over here! Give me a hand!" Zabuza called out in anger.
"I would, but I really don't want to make my hands all sticky. Need them clean to throw these needles, remember?" Haku said.
"Oh, real funny, Haku! Now get over here and help me!" Zabuza roared out.
"Hey, don't go ordering around a lady like that!" Sakura shot at the Demon of the Hidden Mist.
"Haku's a boy, Sakura. Come on, keep up with the times." Naruto said simply.
The rest of Team 7 looked at Naruto in shock before looking at Haku. Then back to Naruto before looking back to Haku. Then at Naruto one more time before going back to Haku.
"... Are you sure?" Sakura asked in disbelief.
"Haku. Mind taking off the mask to help a brother out?" Naruto asked.
"I fail to see the harm." Haku answered simply.
"I don't care who, but SOMEONE help me get this damn thing out!" Zabuza roared out for all to hear from a mile away in frustration, grunting loudly as he tried with all of his might to pull his sword out of the stone bridge.
It was at that moment that the sun turned crimson red for the second time during their stay in this land. A large shadow then passed overhead as a loud roar was heard. Looking up at the sky, the shinobi present all saw something truly horrifying and disturbing. A large, rotting corpse of a dragon flying through the air as it landed on the edge of the bridge with a thunderous impact.
"Don't mind if I do…!" A sinister voice chuckled out from atop the rotting beast.
"A second giant flying corpse on that side of the bridge. I swear this is getting uncanny." Naruto muttered.
"What is that thi-wait, where's Haku?" Zabuza asked, a tiny amount of concern slipping out without him noticing.
"What's the matter, Zaby? Can't keep it up? Unfortunately for you. All we need is flesh and blood, and we are back at peak." A shadowy voice echoed unnaturally across the bridge.
Everyone then turned to look at the source of the voice. From atop the great undead monster landed a very human looking man, though not entirely. His hair was long and greasy, fangs shot from his mouth, and claws like meat hooks. By it was a large mass of unnatural shadows, even in the infernal light of the changed sun. Soon, its partner strigoi appeared… holding Haku in its clawed, twisted hands.
"Let Haku go, freak! Or else…!" Zabuza growled low, a dangerous tone to his voice.
"Or else what? You'll rip apart this village like you did your own?" The ghoul chuckled out.
Forgoing freeing his blade, Zabuza started to rush in to save Haku, intending on doing this the old fashioned way. However, he stopped dead in his tracks when the vampire moved his claws dangerously to Haku's neck, almost drawing blood.
"Careful. Wouldn't want your reunion to get venomous, now would you?" The Strigoi chuckled.
"Damn you…!" Zabuza growled in frustration.
As Team 7 looked for their own options, Sakura noticed a bit of cable and rope lying around near a crane. Seeing a heavy metal mallet at her feet, she rushed into action. Thankfully Naruto bought her some time.
"You two are cowards! You need a big ass dragon to back up your weak threats! You two can't hurt us!" Naruto roared.
The other undead beast glared at the orange wearing blonde as he walked over to a large steel girder. Placing a hand on it, it glowed with a swirling golden wind as the girder began to change shape. Soon, a visibly exact copy of Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō was in its place as the creature grabbed it by the hilt, hefted it, and pointed it at Naruto threateningly.
"Say that again, chattel! I look forward to ripping out your tongue and feasting on it for your insults!" The fanged fiend replied.
"Hey look Zabuza, that's all you need to do to solve your sword problem. A couple decades of mystical training." Kakashi sarcastically said.
"Shut it, Kakashi! That sword has a special ability! One that some magic mumbo-jumbo can't easily replicate!" Zabuza snapped out in response
However, the chattering was cut short by the Strigoi suddenly getting smacked in the head with a heavy metal mallet going at shocking speed. The impact not only forced it off Haku but sent it flying and violently snapping its neck. A stunned silence hung over the bridge as everyone looked back to see who fired it. Sakura, in the meantime, had fashioned a makeshift crossbow to perform that stunning feat.
"Well, looks like he isn't all that worthy." Sakura said.
Everyone present, including the zombie dragon, all turned to look at Sakura in disbelief. Wondering how the hell she came up with that plan.
"Sakura… what the hell? That's something I'd expect from Naruto!" Sasuke called out.
"Yeah! I wanted to do that!" Naruto called out, backing Sasuke up.
"Well, someone had to do something around here other than worrying about Haku. Someone had to save him." Sakura huffed back.
"Well done, Sakura. That was a great shot." Kakashi praised his kunoichi student.
"Thank you, sensei. At least someone acknowledged my quick thinking." Sakura replied with a smile.
"You gods damn worthless chattel!" A voice called out from on the ground, making all of the humans look at the source in shock.
To their shock, it was coming from the enemy whose neck Sakura had just broken. How was he still talking with his neck broken!?
"Don't just stand there, you worthless rotting wing carpet! Kill the hostage!" It roared as it grabbed its own head.
Rearing back, the zombie dragon prepared to snap its jaws tight around Haku to break him in half like a twig. As Haku stared into the cavernous maw of katana like teeth and the dark void of its throat, that was suddenly changed to the same hazy misty view he was used to. Shaking himself off, Haku turned his head to see the titanic rotting leviathan reeling as a mass of orange construction tools, and he swore by the gods a log, assaulted the great creature.
"Alright, time to turn this thing into a fish home! Open wide, you son of a bitch!" Naruto roared, slamming a pickaxe into the creature's rotting eye as he balanced on its horned skull.
The beast of a moving carcass roared in pain as it reared its head back, nearly throwing Naruto off as he held onto the pickaxe for dear life. Trying to jam it in deeper, Naruto nodded to his clones as some of them began using steel cables to try to wrap up and tie the creature down. Looking at his two teammates and Haku, Naruto saw that they were all staring at him in disbelief.
"Alright you lazy bastards, look alive! Haku, keep this thing contained and make sure it can't properly attack us! Sakura, get that brain of yours working and direct the clones to keep this thing on its toes! Sasuke, no fucking back talk and hit this thing's underbelly as hard as you can! AND FOR FUCK SAKE JUST DO IT!" Naruto roared, a mix of demanding and panicking in his voice as the beast began to buck and roil like a raging bull.
Haku looked at the other two members of Naruto's team. "... Well, you heard the man! We need to move!" Haku told the two younger shinobi.
"How the hell are we supposed to take this thing down!?" Sakura asked in disbelief.
"Let's ask Naruto. Hey, loser! How did you and Oda beat the last of these undead abominations you two fought!?" Sasuke called out to his blonde teammate.
"We force this thing into the fucking water after igniting its insides! This thing stinks worse than Sakura-chan's cooking, so it's got insides to ignite! And if either of you two fucking delay anymore, I'm whooping you two's asses in cards so badly I will literally own you two for the rest of your lives!" Naruto roared at them, this time seeing the seriousness in his eyes.
"Okay, as offended as I am by that comment about my cooking, I get the point! We light this thing up on the inside, keep its mouth shut, and let nature take its course! How do we keep it from blowing up the bridge!?" Sakura replied, hoping there was more to the plan.
"Can you two idiots shut up and just do as I'm fucking ordering!? I'm trying to make sure we don't all fucking die! FUCKING MOVE!" Naruto let out in a titanic, feral roar of rage.
Surprising everyone, Haku was the first to move, drawing senbon needles. Looking at each other and not wanting to be shown up by the masked pretty boy, Sakura and Sasuke both nodded and rushed in alongside him. Sakura began contemplating what to do to keep this thing on its toes while Haku began throwing needles at where he believed this ugly thing's joints and pressure points would be. All the while, Sasuke was using a Fire Release jutsu to launch small fireballs at this thing to support Naruto and his clones, trying to preserve chakra for the opportunity to light this beast's insides up.
Meanwhile with Kakashi and Zabuza
Zabuza rushed in on the ghoul with Kakashi in tow, each wielding kunai. As soon as they got in close, they used their knives to block heavy blows from the bastardized, sharp hunk of steel that the undead abomination was wielding. Since the two had never fought alongside each other before, they couldn't exactly sync up their attack and attack together. Instead, they chose to use their lack of coordination to their advantage with one attacking from a blind spot while the other drew its attention. This served to annoy the vampiric cannibal greatly.
"Hold still, you damn chattel, and let me gut you!" It roared out in frustration, slashing at Zabuza with all of the skill and finesse of an amateur lumberjack only for him to block it.
"Hah! Look at that, ugly! You may be able to make a copy of my sword, but even a Kirigakure academy student has more skill with a blade than you do!" Zabuza taunted, pushing the blade back and stabbing his kunai into the ghoul's knees.
"Can you try to focus? These things don't operate on our rules for stamina and other things! If you don't kill them properly, they can just heal! Like this bastard in front of me!" Kakashi said as he bore witness to the strigoi violently snapping its head back into its proper place.
"Let's see them heal when their skulls have been crushed like grapes!" Zabuza called out with a smirk under his bandage mask as he began hacking and slashing at the former cannibal's neck in between blocking its sloppy blade slashes.
"People always wonder why I'm not in a good mood all the time. Well maybe, if I didn't get tricked, backstabbed, and bamboozled into missions like this and have to deal with this kind of shit, maybe I might feel I have a hint of worth in my life. Who's office grunt do I have to pleasure under the table to get some of the missions that Guy always gets? No wonder why he's always so happy." Kakashi complained, standing back a bit on his heels.
"Oh, cheer up Hatake! This is the most fun I've had in years!" Zabuza roared with laughter at the scarecrow's complaints as he hacked and slashed at his opponent, even as it kept healing up.
"Oh yes, you're right. That makes me feel so much better, Mr. Demon sir. I'll make sure to write a word of recommendation to your Kage." Kakashi sarcastically replied as the strigoi stood its ground across from Kakashi.
"You've gotta learn to loosen up and have some fun in life, scarecrow!" Zabuza called out as he ducked under a sloppy sideways slash before kicking the vampiric cannibal in the gut.
Kakashi rolled his eyes and barely ducked under a claw swipe from the Strigoi. The beastly vampire then slipped down into its shadow, disappearing. Out of the pooling shadow on the ground, shadow clones, literal clones made of shadows, came rising out of the ground. Kakashi sighed in frustration as he readied his kunai knives.
"Why am I not surprised…?" The heterochromatic scarecrow asked in annoyance as he began cutting through and kicking away the "shadow clones".
As he did, the Strigoi began rising up behind him and slashed down with its claws, each one coated in shadow energy. Jumping aside, Kakashi barely avoided the sharp claws made of pure darkness before slashing at its throat, slitting it. Stepping back, the vampire gurgled angrily as its slit throat healed up before extending the shadow claws like tentacles in an attempt to slash and grab at Kakashi. The scarecrow shinobi ducked and weaved through the claws as he cut through and stabbed the shadowy doppelgangers with Lightning Release chakra coated knives to get rid of them.
Meanwhile with the army of wannabe contractors
The tidal wave of orange clad blondes continued to scurry across the zombie dragon's body like so many citrus colored cockroaches, attacking away at any spots they could reach. The clones on the ground tried to tie it down with cables to hold it in place as Haku kept attacking pressure points and joints with senbon needles to restrict its movements. Meanwhile, Sakura kept supplying Naruto and his clones with more objects to attack with as she tried to come up with a plan. All the while, Sasuke used kunai and shuriken attached to wires to stab into and tie up the rotting leviathan as best he could.
"You know, I always knew you looked better on bottom Sasuke!" Naruto yelled down at his teammate.
"Fuck you, Naruto!" Sasuke grit out with a wire in his teeth.
"At least buy me dinner first!" Naruto said, smashing another spike on its skull.
"I will end you!" Sasuke growled out as he unleashed a Fire Release jutsu along the wires, lightning the zombie dragon up and making it roar in pain.
"Alright guys, keep those boards a chucking!" Sakura yelled and directed a team of Naruto Clones.
"Yes, ma'am!" The clones called out as they kept throwing things up for the other clones to use as weapons.
Naruto and his clones continued pelting and attacking the zombie dragon, trying to get it to open its mouth and keep it open. Seeing that they weren't getting anywhere, Sakura got an idea and pulled out some exploding tags before looking at the Naruto clones.
"Okay, boys! Start wrapping senbon needles with these exploding tags! I have a plan!" Sakura called out, passing the tags out to the clones.
"I like the way you think, Sakura-chan." Haku said with a smile.
Nodding, the clones began wrapping senbon needles with the tags before handing them to Haku. Haku would then throw the needles at the pressure points and vulnerable spots on the rotting leviathan. As the senbon exploded, the dragon would roar in agony as parts of it got blown apart. Trying to shake the clones off, the dragon was starting to take more and more damage.
"It's working! Keep it up!" Sakura ordered.
Meanwhile, back with Kakashi and Zabuza
"Still having fun!?" Kakashi yelled, holding off the barrage of shadow constructs the shadowy undead slung at him.
"Are you kidding!? This is great!" Zabuza replied with feral joy, unleashing a Water Dragon Bullet at the ghoul to soak and choke it with water before slashing at the wrists of the undead former cannibal.
Catching the knockoff of his precious blade, Zabuza hefted it with a smirk. Giving it a few test swings, Zabuza noted something about it.
"The weight's a little off compared to the real deal, but this will do nicely." The Demon of the Hidden Mist noted with a vicious tone as he lifted the blade and charged in.
"You foolish wannabe demon! I will enjoy gutting you and feasting on your flesh and blood!" The ghoul roared out in fury.
"Try it, corpse breath!" Zabuza snapped back as the two charged at each other.
Using the copy of his blade, Zabuza slashed and hacked at the vampiric ghoul, beginning to slice off chunks of body parts with the force and weight behind his swings. Slashing and cutting away at his foe, Zabuza eventually had it hacked into pieces. Hefting the blade, Zabuza turned it on its flat end and lifted it like a tetsubo.
"See if you can heal from this, you pale ass bastard!" He roared out as he slammed the side of the blade down onto the undead cannibal's head, smashing it like a pumpkin.
Rolling his eyes at Zabuza's antics, Kakashi began hacking and slashing through shadow constructs with Lightning Release coated knives of death as he kept rushing in towards the Strigoi. Moving at high speed, he got in close and dodged slashes from the shadowy claws of the vampire. Using his Lightning Release coated kunai, he sliced off the hands of the beastly vampire. Slicing further, he cut off its arms before slashing its legs out from under it. Roaring in pain, the creature tried to regrow its limbs.
"YOU PATHETIC CHATTEL! I'LL ENJOY FEASTING ON YOU SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY!" The Strigoi roared out as Kakashi walked up to it.
Raising his kunai, Kakashi lopped off its head before plunging both Lightning Release coated kunai into its head, destroying it completely. "I don't think so…" Kakashi replied coolly as the vampire's headless body slowly began to die.
"I see you're done on your end. Let's go help the brats." Zabuza told the scarecrow shinobi, hefting the duplicate of his beloved sword.
"Yes. I'd hate to have to explain to Lord Third how they all died…" Kakashi muttered.
With their battle completed, the two elite ninja headed off to assist their subordinates. They had won, but the battle wasn't finished. There was still that undead dragon to deal with, after all.
Meanwhile with our army of orange beavers
"Are you sure this is working!?" Sakura yelled.
"Now comes the fun part! Make it open its mouth! Sasuke, you're up!" Naruto yelled, grappling it with some heavy chains and a team of clone's.
"Why me!?" Sasuke yelled.
"Because you're the best to make it blow!" Naruto yelled back.
"I fucking hate you right now!" Sasuke growled as he threw an explosive tag to get the beast's attention.
With a volcanic rage it arched its timber thick neck back. Dark and malicious gasses and filth built up in its cavernous rotting gullet. Then with a great blast of air, it sent a stream of filth, pestilence and sewer like sludge at him. Standing his ground with the same stoic defiance he had in every part of his life, he performed rapid hand seals. Firing out of his mouth was the largest gout of flame he had ever produced, pouring every last bit of chakra he could into it. The two great streams met and clashed.
While the dragon's horrid tidal wave of an attack was gaining ground, it wasn't Sasuke's intention to win the clash. Like an oil rig with one too many smokers, the flame raced up the rancid river. Soon it reached the great maw, and by the time the horrid zombie closed its jaws it was too late. The rotting slits in its neck lit up and shot out gaseous flame as the fire followed the oxygen down to its gullet.
"Alright! Time to make this birdy fly! Get moving, you giant horror! Up!" Naruto roared and every remaining clone joined him in yanking the great chains clinging to its ancient neck.
Instinct kicked in for the undead creature as it spread its massive leather and soot clad wings. With a burst of air like a hurricane's west gale, it shot up high into the sky. The sudden introduction of more air, and especially oxygen, fanned the cauldron of fire in its gut. Swiftly infernos roared out of every slit, hole and gap in the beasts rotting remaining flesh, and turning it into a gigantic flare in the night sky.
"I really did not think this through…" Naruto muttered in horror as the dragon took one more mighty flap, before descending out of the sky.
"Naruto-kun! Bail out!" Haku yelled.
"The hell is he doing!?" Kakashi's voice rang out as he and the demon missing nin arrived.
"Naruto's on the dragon!" Sakura yelled, pointing up.
"Is the kid insane? He'll be burnt to a crisp with how that thing's going!" Zabuza said in stunned shock.
"I just hope that orange clad fool knows what he's doing…" Sasuke muttered.
The dragon's flaming remains dove hard out of the sky, creating two flaming trails behind it like a comet. The sheer momentum it built up sent it shockingly far, as it continued to increase its distance from the bridge. Finally the trail ended, and for a moment there was silence. However, it was not the end. An almighty column of water rose off in the distance, followed by the thunderclap and shockwave of the explosion. The air stun from both its force and the tang of burnt sewage. The bridge rattled, groaned and shook as it was forced to take the blast head on. Then as soon as it started, it ended, and left an eerie calm.
"Well I think it's dead. But so is Naruto…" Sasuke said, stunned.
"Are you sure?" Haku a concerned tone.
"Kid, it's an important lesson all shinobi must learn. You live by the great explosion, you die by the great explosion. It's a sad, but real truth." Zabuza said, a hint of respect for the memory of the orange brat in his voice.
"If that was your attempt at creating a moment, then I give it a two out of ten stars." Kakashi said.
"Don't try me, cyclops…" Zabuza started, but was cut off by Haku.
"Do you hear that?" Haku said, and everyone got quiet.
It was faint, but it held a certain tone of terror, like someone screaming. It got louder and louder, til they saw a dot in the distance. As both the dot and noise got louder they finally realized what was coming towards them. Bracing himself, Haku put out his arms, as an orange blur slammed into him, and made him skid to the other side of the bridge. When the needle specialist finally stopped, there was a soot blackened, badly scorched, but alive Naruto.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Naruto-kun. I hope the journey wasn't too rough for you?" Haku asked nicely.
"Why are you so damn nice, and make me feel so damn confused." Naruto let out in a confused, and deeply in pain tone.
"Oh don't worry, that's everyone." Haku answered with a giggle.
"How the hell did you know you would survive that!?" Sakura and Sasuke yelled in unison.
"I didn't." Naruto answered, too tired and hurt to put up much of a verbal fight.
"We're just glad you're alive. You surprised us all for sure." Kakashi said, a smile visible under his mask.
"Yeah, that means I get a chance to kill you later. Don't worry, I'll be more respectful next time." Zabuza said, before turning his attention to his blade.
Gripping firmly, he lifted up with his knees with all the force he could muster. With a regret filled sigh, Kakashi walked over and gripped the blade with him. With the two working together, it was finally freed from the thick stone. Zabuza turned to look at Kakashi in visible surprise.
"Thank you…" Zabuza said, not entirely sure if he should be saying that.
"You're welcome. You two might want to come with us. Its clear we have some… interesting things to get off our chests." Kakashi answered, equally unsure of what to say in this moment.
"Agreed. Come on Haku." Zabuza said in agreement, before walking off after hefting his sword on his shoulder.
"Of course. Come along Naruto-dono, Sakura-dono, Sasuke-kun." Haku said, before shifting Naruto over his shoulder.
"Why the hell do they get the dono treatment and not me?" Sasuke growled.
"Maybe cause unlike you I nearly fucking died today." Naruto said with a cough.
"I can make it stick if you're so desperate." Sasuke shot back.
"Enough back chatter you two. Naruto-dono needs his rest." Haku said firmly, give a look at Sasuke, forcing him to shut up.
"Why are you giving me so many confusing feelings!?" Naruto groaned.
The six shinobi made their way off the bridge and headed towards Tazuna's house. This mission had taken another strange twist for them all, and both parties wondered just what fate would deliver them next.
I have noticed that suddenly things have kinda picked up after Ricky put up a advertisement on his story Shy Fox Chronicles. I didn't want him to do it, but he wanted to share the love I guess. Regardless this chapter was a blast to write, minus me running myself to bits near the end there, but oh well. Speaking of my cowriter, here he is now.
Uzumaki Ricky- Aloha, true shinobi fanatics! We're back again with another chapter! Honestly, this one was so fun to write and I'm glad we got it done! Enjoy the fruits of our labors!
Well the fruits suspiciously look undead, toothy, and smelling very bad. Next time however we take a break from our rotting corpse party mascots and get some more human antagonization next chapter. Tune in next time, whenever we have the time for that back here, in "Unexpected allies and new plans".