One Man Army
Chapter 4: Wave 1: The first battle
AN: Longest chapter yet! This is also the one where things really start to change, so strap in! Wave is only going to be two chapters, I refuse to get bogged down here. My goal is to have this story be a reasonable length and hopefully actually reach a conclusion (though I don't know if that'll be the end of Shippuden or not yet).
So this chapter was delayed a little, as some of you probably noticed. That delay is because I read several comments about keeping Sasuke on the team, and the fact that it doesn't make sense if I'm pushing discipline/making him that big an ass. I didn't want to publish until I had fully resolved whether I was going to go through and edit it so he wasn't on the team. Ultimately I decided to keep him. The reason is a little complex. Essentially, military discipline is really only a focus for Naruto. Iruka instilled it in him as a way to increase the effectiveness of his shadow clones. Hiruzen has always been lax, and his speech to Naruto shows that he still is. Hiruzen will explain his logic in keeping Sasuke part of team 7 more in future chapters.
Now onto the chapter.
-OMA-
The last six months had been a hell worse than any torture Iruka could have come up with. D-Rank missions were the bane of Naruto's existence. Walking dogs, catching cats, painting fences, moving inventory. Anything that the villagers didn't want to do themselves the shinobi forces were happy to hire out their genin to do for less than minimum wage.
Every day was the same. Naruto arrived on time at 7 am, even when Hinata was the only one of his teammates who was there that early. The two of them trained, working on their speed and strength, and occasionally sparring, as Naruto had his clones work through the drills and formations he'd developed with Iruka and testing the exercises from the various books he'd been forced to read. Sasuke would arrive at some point, and then do nothing but brood against a tree.
When Kakashi would arrive, normally around noon, but once as early as 9 and another time as late as 2, team seven would begin their 'training'. Teamwork exercises were another hellish part of being on team seven. The better part of their day was spent doing strange and annoying tasks that involved all three of them working together. Whether it was passing a ball around blind folded or drilling standard Konoha team formations, they did little else in way of training.
Finally, after Kakashi was pleased with their practice, they'd get to do a mission. Only problem was that for some reason Naruto couldn't figure out, they only did D-rank missions. At first it made perfect sense. Naruto had read about D-ranks in 'Konoha Shinobi Regulations'. For the first three months, or hundred missions, a new genin team was only allowed to perform D-ranks. This was to keep them safe as they developed teamwork and grew accustomed to the next stage of their careers. This was a policy implemented by the third after the second war, as it was meant to protect children from being forced to grow up too quickly.
Team seven had already done close to two hundred D-ranks, one every day for the past six months, barring Monadys, which Kakashi insisted was their day off. Naruto and Hinata still got together to train on Mondays though. Despite how long it had been, Kakashi seemed more than happy to confine them to the monotony of D-ranks.
"This is White-Eyes," Hinata's voice came through the radio com in Naruto's ear. "I have eyes on the target."
"Target confirmation?" Kakashi buzzed, sounding rather amused and further ticking Naruto off.
"Subject is confirmed as target Tora," Hinata responded. "Subject has the characteristic white fur and a red ribbon around the left."
"Chibi, emo, confirm that you are in position?" Kakashi asked.
"Confirmed," Naruto huffed, still not understanding why he was designated chibi when he wasn't any smaller than his teammates.
"Hn," came Sasuke's usual grunt.
"What was that emo?" Kakashi asked, his voice just a little dangerous.
Naruto had to suppress a shiver. Neither he nor Sasuke had been the best subordinate at the beginning. Kakashi had appeared to take great pleasure in fixing that little issue. Naruto had read just about every boring manual Konoha had published, memorizing each of them with his clones, but still having to read them himself alongside them since he was the insubordinate one. Sasuke on the other hand was given more standard punishments, from cleaning out public restrooms to draining a lake with a bucket.
"Confirmed," Sasuke growled.
"Very good," Kakashi chirped. "Begin operation 'snatch and grab'."
Naruto was quick to get ready. Hinata flushed the stupid cat out of its hiding spot in the bushes, and then gave chase down the road. Naruto leapt out at the last moment, blocking the path and forcing the cat to divert down the alley. It was only a moment later that Sasuke walked out of said alley with the cat in hand, a number of new scratches decorating his arms.
"Good job team," Kakashi cheered happily from behind them. "Let's go drop off Tora with the Hokage. We might even have time for another mission today!"
"Yay," came Naruto's sarcastic response.
He didn't get the chance to duck the book that smacked him right in the face.
"Oh goody," Kakashi cheered. "I'd been hoping to get you to read this one."
Naruto snapped to attention, having only made the mistake of complaining about a reading assignment once before. He'd been given a second book, and then a third when he'd complained about that one.
"Hai boss," Naruto barked, already forming a shadow clone, with its own copy of the book.
The four of them, five if you count the clone, headed straight for the Hokage's office, three of them with their noses in books.
When they arrived Naruto left his clone outside, and he and Kakashi both put away their respective books. Inside they found the Hokage and Iruka working with the help of a few aids to pass out mission scrolls. The hand off of Tora went smoothly, even if Naruto did cringe in sympathy with the demon cat. Its owner really needed to learn to handle a cat better, but it was not a shinobi's job to question their clients. Only the Hokage and mission leader were cleared to do such a thing.
"Very good team seven," the Hokage praised after the noble woman left. "We have a number of missions left for today. Let's see here. You can walk the Inuzuka ninken, you can weed a garden, or you can-"
"I'm sick of only doing these stupid chores," Sasuke interrupted with a growl, quickly receiving a slap up the back of the head from Kakashi. It didn't seem to deter him though as he took a step away from their sensei and fixed both him and the Hokage with a glare. "No! It is beneath me! I am a ninja of the Uchiha clan, not some errand boy."
The room was instantly filled with pressure, and all three genin froze. They turned their eyes to the Hokage, who had fixed Sasuke with a glare that looked like it could melt steel. Naruto felt a bead of sweat trickle down his neck as he struggled to breathe, he could only imagine how it felt to be Sasuke, under the full weight of such a look.
"I am the Hokage," the Hokage said, seemingly uncaring at how obvious the statement was. "You are a genin. That does, in fact, make you my errand boy. Understood genin?"
"H-hai, Hokage-sama," Sasuke managed to get out through gritted teeth.
"Good," Hiruzen smiled, the pressure instantly disappearing. He took a slow puff of his pipe, watching them all as he seemed nothing but a slightly serious grandfather again. "So what will it be?"
"Actually Hokage-sama," Kakashi cut in, just as carefree as ever. "Despite my genin's attitude, he is probably right. It's about time we see if all our hard work has been worth it. A c-rank seems like the perfect test."
Iruka raised an eyebrow from his spot beside the Hokage, having taken on the administrative position during his days off from the academy to help raise a little extra income. He was proud to see Naruto doing so well. He had wondered about their mission record and all the D-ranks, but he really wasn't supposed to speak during these things, so he stayed quiet.
The Hokage and Kakashi stared at each other for a few tense seconds before the Hokage broke the silence.
"Very well," he sighed. "I have one that should be fine for such a test."
He leaned over to Iruka and whispered in his ear. The chunin was quick to get up and move into the hall. It was only a few moments later that he returned with an old man who reeked of sake.
"Tazuna-san," the Hokage greeted him. "I have team seven here. They will be your guard detail as you return home and complete your project."
"This bunch of runts?" Tazuna grumbled. "They barely look like they're out of diapers. I thought I was paying for ninja, not a bunch of brats."
A kunai quickly flew at the old man smacking into the wall next to him. Tazuna only stared wide eyed at the Uchiha who had thrown it. "Watch your mouth you drunk," Sasuke seethed.
Sasuke was quickly rewarded with a punch to the head that sent him sprawling on the floor.
"Apologies Tazuna-san," Kakashi said with a cheery eye smile as he stood over his downed student. "I assure you, me and my students will ensure you are perfectly safe."
"Ye-yeah," Tazuna grumbled, still clearly feeling off center.
Kakashi turned to his students, and waited for Sasuke to pick himself up before addressing them. "I want the three of you to gather any supplies you might need and then meet me and Tazuna at the East Gate in thirty minutes. Pack for a prolonged mission, assume a month"
"Hai boss!" they chorused, even if Sasuke's was a grumble and Hinata's was a stutter..
-OMA-
Walking down the dirt road that led from Konoha to the east, Naruto was a little disappointed. This was his very first time out of the village. He expected to be running around to different villages and cities on an adventure. Instead he was slowly meandering down a dirt road with absolutely nothing to see and reading about proper protocol during a deep cover operation.
He focused on his reading, doing his best to tune out Hinata's stilted conversation with Tazuna. The man was an ass and still seemed sour about being saddled with a young genin squad. Of course, no one should really be upset at having Sharingan no Kakashi assigned to a C-rank, no matter who else was there. The man had the most confirmed kills of anyone in Konoha shy of the Hokage and clan heads.
Naruto's attention was ripped away from his book when a shout from behind rang out. By the time he turned around, Kakashi was already wrapped in a serrated chain and a pair of kiri missing nin were on either side of him, holding the ends.
"One down," one of them grinned evilly as he pulled his end of the chain and Kakashi was torn to shreds.
Naruto scowled at that, doubting his own eyes. "The demon brothers," he identified the pair. "Chunin level missing nin from kiri."
"Oh, the little brat knows us," one of the twins smirked. "How flattering."
With that the two brothers were quick to run straight for the three genin and the bridge builder they were protecting.
Naruto raised his hands in a ram sign, but before he could summon any clones, Sasuke had already launched a shuriken at the chain, pinning it and forcing the two brothers to separate. Sasuke went strait for one of the brothers, leaving the other free to rush at Naruto and the others.
"Kage bunshin," Naruto called lazily.
A single squad of shadow clones poofed into existence between Naruto and the demon brother.
"Alpha! Defensive formation," Naruto ordered, his voice firm.
Quickly the clones drew the bokken from their wastes and put a foot back in unison, taking the standard defensive stance of the swirling leaf.
"Hah!" the demon brother scoffed as he leapt into the air, intending to simply pass over the clones.
The clone directly in his path however did a simple twisting jump to intercept him, meeting his clawed gauntlet with his wooden bokken. The metal claws dug deep into the wood, but didn't manage to cut through. The two clones beside the interceptor in the formation jumped into the air as well and with a pair of downward slashes sent the demon brother back to the earth, already unconscious and more than likely concussed.
Naruto looked over to find that Sasuke too had quickly dispatched the demon brother that he'd gone after.
A slow clap drew his attention to where Kakashi was walking from the nearby woods with an eye smile for them.
"Well done team," Kakashi praised.
"Kakashi-sensei, why exactly were these guys marked as chunin level? They were weak as hell," Naruto couldn't help but wonder as he dismissed his clones.
"There are many things that go into being a chunin," Kakashi explained. "Strength is only a small part of it. Strength is also something that all three of you have more than a surprising amount of. If they had taken us more seriously and laid a proper trap, things might have gone differently"
"Hn," was Sasuke's only response.
"Gotcha," Naruto nodded, thinking about how caught off guard the ambush had found him. If it had been an explosive tag he'd be dead. He figured it was probably time to ask Kakashi how he managed to read and focus on his surroundings so well. "Thanks boss."
"That being said," Kakashi continued, turning to Tazuna with a curious expression. "It is surprising to run into any ninja on a C rank, much less missing nin. Care to explain Tazuna."
"Hm," Tazuna grumbled. "He hadn't hired ninja before. I told the desk lady this was serious, but they waved off my concerns."
"Go ahead and tell me everything you told her then," Kakashi encouraged, maintaining a professional air about him.
"I hired you lot 'cause I need protection," Tazuna explained. "Wave is a small island nation. 'Bout a year back Gato came to the island."
"The shipping magnet?" Kakashi asked for confirmation.
"That's the one," Tazuna nodded. "He started buying up warehouses and shipping boats like crazy. Once he owned a majority of 'em he implemented an embargo on the island. Now he controls all movement in and out of the country."
"What about the daimyo?" Naruto couldn't help but ask, as no lord would take lightly to someone trying to usurp their control.
"No clue," Tazuna shrugged. "We haven't heard from him in months."
"Hence your bridge," Kakashi reasoned, bringing the conversation back on track.
"Yeah!" Tazuna shouted, a slightly goofy grin on his face. "It's gonna save Wave. With a bridge of our own, we can finally break Gato's embargo and restore Wave!"
"I imagine Gato doesn't want that to happen," Kakashi commented.
"Hah, you got that right," Tazuna groused. "The bastard has had his goons harrying us the entire time! It's been a right pain to even lay the foundations, and now that we're moving on to the more delicate work, I'm worried he's gonna try even harder to interfere."
"You said he hadn't sent ninja before this?" Kakashi asked.
"Nah," Tazuna huffed. "Woulda mentioned if he had. Just a bunch of goons. Bandits and the like. He doesn't officially hire 'em or nothin, but we all know who sends 'em."
"Hm," Kakashi hummed. "This puts us in a bit of a difficult position."
"How so?" Tazuna asked, worry clear in his voice.
"Missing nin instantly upgrades this to a B or even A rank mission," Kakashi explained. "My genin aren't ready for something like that."
"Protocol is clear," Naruto commented, drawing everyone's attention. "As Tazuna did not purposefully mislead the mission office, but it was a failure on Konoha's part in grading the mission, we are to continue the mission while reporting the circumstance to the Hokage's office, who will determine if back up or reassignment is necessary."
"While that's true," Kakashi agreed before countering. "As your jonin sensei it is also my prerogative to keep you safe, and if I decide we need to return to the village and hand Tazuna over directly to a higher ranked team, then that's what we'll do."
"Please," Tazuna begged Kakashi, quick to drop to his knees before the jonin. "I have a daughter and a grandson. It was already a risk just coming to request the mission. If Gato gets his hands on them, then everything will have been for nothing."
Kakashi stared into Tazuna's eyes for a moment, the entire team not even daring to breathe as they waited for his decision. Naruto felt his gut squirm, really not wanting to abandon the man.
"Fine," he groaned. "We'll continue the mission. Naruto, I want you to send a squad of your clones back to the village with the demon brothers here and report directly to the Hokage. Make sure they wait for the information on what we're to do as well."
"Hai boss!" Naruto shouted, quickly delegating the already existing clone squad to return to the village with the two missing nin. They quickly tied them up using ninja wire, and after having Kakashi double check their work they took off at top speed.
"For now we'll continue on our way," Kakashi directed jovially.
The team fell back in formation around Tazuna, but the tension was higher now. Sasuke, in front, kept one hand over his kunai holster, eyes flicking everywhere. Naruto and Hinata were on either side of Tazuna, but Naruto didn't take back out his book, and he thought he saw Hinata occasionally activating her byakugan. Kakashi on the other hand was as carefree as ever.
"Naruto," Kakashi called. "Form a bunch of clones to scout around us."
"Hai boss," Naruto acknowledged before summoning his standard 100 clone formation. They didn't hesitate, each group running off in a different direction.
"Probably a little overkill, don't you think Naruto?" Kakashi chuckled.
"Sorry boss," Naruto sheepishly rubbed at the back of his head. "I'm just used to either forming a single squad or the standard formation."
"Something to work on I suppose," Kakashi hummed. "Did your remember you still have our team radios? The clones' radios should work just fine to relay anything they find."
"Oh," Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "I just have them dispel the lowest ranking clone present."
"Naruto," Kakashi sighed, amazed at the blatant waste of chakra. Nobody but you, Chibi. Nobody but you.
-OMA-
By the time they made it to the border of Fire country, Naruto's clones had already returned to Konoha and received team seven's updated orders. Team seven was to continue with the mission, with back up to arrive within the week. Naruto had not actually been told what back up they'd receive, but he didn't question his orders.
"Are we water walking there?" Naruto asked as he looked out at the ocean in front of them. He'd never actually seen the ocean, and with all the mist that floated atop the water, he wasn't sure if this counted as really seeing it or not.
"No," Kakashi denied, giving Naruto a curious look. "You can water walk?"
"No," Naruto admitted. "Iruka-sensei showed me tree climbing, but I'm only okay at it. He didn't think I was ready for water walking yet. I've gotten better since then though."
"That's advanced stuff Naruto" Kakashi gave him an eye smile and ruffled his hair, something Naruto was quick to try and get away from.
"Here comes our ride," Tazuna grumbled as he pointed out a boat slowly emerging from the mist. "Ito is gonna take us right to my bridge, and it's a short walk from there to my house."
A man paddling a small fishing boat quietly approached. They all quickly boarded the little boat, and their journey through the mist began. The man never said a word, and despite the motor Naruto could see on the back of the boat, he handed Tazuna a paddle and the two of them rowed along.
"Kakashi-sensei, wouldn't it have been better to rendezvous with the back up while still in Fire country?" Naruto asked.
"Maybe, but then again maybe not," Kakashi shrugged. He kept up his usual bored and carefree tone as he explained. "The path we took was the main path from Konoha to the coast, but a ninja team might go straight, using the trees rather than the path, in which case they might not arrive at the same beach we did. Since we didn't decide on a set rendezvous point, it's better to make it to the objective, which is a known location for both parties."
"Understood," Naruto nodded. He returned to surveying the mist, finding it a frustrating job as he could barely see beyond the confines of the boat, much less over the water.
It wasn't long before a large shadow could be seen.
"There she is," Tazuna sighed, sounding relieved. He shot the ninja a sheepish smile. "I'm glad to see she's still standing."
As they got closer, the shape of the bridge became more and more defined, until they were passing directly beneath it.
"They got more work done while I was away," Tazuna commented, sounding rather pleased about it.
Once they reached the beach they dismounted, and Ito was quick to slip his small boat back into the mist where it was safe from prying eyes.
"Friendly guy," Naruto commented.
"He's one of the few smugglers still operating," Tazuna explained. "He's actually quite good company, but you don't survive this long as a smuggler in dangerous waters without being pretty paranoid."
"Which way, Tazuna-san?" Kakashi prompted. "The sooner we get to your house the sooner we can make a plan to keep you safe."
"R-right," Tazuna nodded nervously. "It's about thirty minutes from here. You can get there right through those woods, but it's normally safer to stick to the path along the beach for a little ways. We'll find a trail towards town a few hundred meters that way."
"Lead on," Kakashi nodded. He looked over to Naruto, who nodded and quickly sent his clones off to scout ahead, choosing to keep to a single squad this time to keep a low profile.
It was about ten minutes later, with no word from any of the clones, that a bush by the path rustled. Sasuke was quick to launch a kunai into it, causing the rustling to abruptly end. He went in and returned a moment later with a shaking white rabbit.
"A bunny?" Hinata asked in confusion.
"Down!" Kakashi shouted.
Naruto didn't question the order, he tackled Tazuna, covering him with body. Even if he didn't quite completely cover the larger man, he made sure to cover his head and vitals.
An impact above got Naruto to look up, and he found a large cleaver-like sword lodged in the tree right above his head. Standing atop the blade was a shirtless ninja with a crossed out kiri hitai-ate and a mask covering his mouth and nose.
"Zabuza," Naruto whispered in horror at the borderline S rank missing nin's presence.
"Ah, the little brat's heard of me," Zabuza commented dryly.
The next moment Kakashi was standing and Zabuza had moved further away, his sword now resting on his shoulders.
Naruto blinked, having completely missed either of them moving and having only a guess at what happened.
"Naruto," Kakashi called, his voice firm. "You have operational command. I'll keep Zabuza busy, I want you to retreat with Tazuna. Get him out of here and regroup at the rendezvous point."
"Hai boss," Naruto acknowledged.
"You think I came here alone, Kakashi?" Zabuza taunted, showing that he knew of their sensei at least.
"I believe my students can handle any back up you may have brought," Kakashi assured.
Naruto was just about to grab Tazuna and go when suddenly he couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't even think. All Naruto knew was fear as the entire area was flooded with killing intent.
"Wha-" Naruto choked out.
"Don't make me laugh Kakashi," Zabuza snarked. "If the brats can't even handle this, how can you expect them to stand up to more than a stiff breeze."
"Sasuke!" Kakashi's voice rang out, strong as steel. Naruto's eyes flicked to his teammate who already had a kunai out and pressed to his own neck. "I won't allow any harm to come to my cute little genin. Now get Tazuna and get out."
Like a spell was broken Naruto could move again. He made a squad of clones before turning and taking off into the woods, lateral to the path and away from the fight. He heard the sounds of conflict behind him, but he focused on the mission instead, knowing only doubt and fear lay with thoughts of the clash of titans behind him.
He checked over his shoulder and while he was pleased to see Tazuna being carried in the midst of his clones and Hinata running alongside, he cursed at the missing Uchiha.
It only took a moment before they were confronted. Just ahead of them was a boy around their age, dressed in the garb of a Kiri hunter nin, the special black ops division of anbu who hunted down missing nin.
"I take it you're the backup Zabuza threatened us with," Naruto commented, going for off hand but sounding rather strained.
"Hand over the bridge builder and this need not end in violence," the fake hunter demanded. Their voice was firm, but much softer in tone than Naruto would have expected.
"I cannot," Naruto denied, drawing his bokken and cursing that he hadn't bought a steel sword before leaving Konoha.
"Then I'm afraid your death is unavoidable," the fake hunter sighed.
"Get Tazuna out of here," Naruto commanded as he launched himself at the fake hunter. The squad of clones were quick to follow orders, taking off into the trees in a new angle.
The fake hunter threw a handful of senbon at Naruto, and he barely managed to block them with his bokken, the needles puncturing the wood and sticking there. Naruto was quickly upon the fake hunter, but they were even faster than him and they had little trouble dodging his swipes.
"Two palms!" came the unexpected cry of Hinata from behind the hunter. She appeared over the hunter's shoulder, her byakugan blazing and her fingers coated in chakra.
The hunter still managed to dodge out of the way of the strikes, and jumped to the side so that Naruto and Hinata no longer had him in a pincer maneuver.
"You are surprisingly fast," the hunter praised, though the displeasure was clear.
Naruto would have smirked, rather proud of the work he and Hinata had put in at training their speed up, but there was a problem. "You're faster than us," Naruto pointed out.
"Yes," the hunter agreed before launching more senbon.
Having divided their attack between Naruto and Hinata, it was much easier for Naruto to block the senbon this time, but Naruto heard the pained cry of Hinata beside him. His eyes flicked to her before they could stop themselves. There were several broken senbon at her feet, a sign that she had managed to destroy a few with her juken, but there were also several in her left shoulder.
Before Naruto even turned his eyes back to the hunter, he felt a foot land in his gut, and he was launched back into the trunk of a tree, coughing up what he had eaten that day.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata cried out.
Hinata lunged for the hunter, but with only one hand the hunter was easily able to dodge her strikes.
"I did not imagine I would get to fight the famous byakugan kekai genkai," the hunter commented. "I suppose it is only fair that I show you my own."
The hunter went through a short series of hand signs before the mist around them began to coalesce in the air. "Hyoton: Thousand Needles," they called in a deadly calm voice. With that the water froze, forming a ring of needles all around Hinata.
Before they could fly though, ten Narutos jumped out in a circle around her.
"Jeez," one of the clones commented. "This is gonna be a pain."
"It makes no difference," the hunter said. "You were both doomed from the beginning."
With a wave of the hunter's hand the needles began to fly at them. The Narutos did their best to block the senbon, but they were coming from so many angles that many snuck past their guard and dug into their flesh. Hinata was able to destroy the ones that came at her, using her byakugan to see 360 degrees and destroy any needle that got too close.
It was as the hunter was going through hand signs once again, presumably to form more needles, that the real Naruto made his move. He dropped down from the tree he was hidden in, bringing his bokken down directly on the hunter's head. The hunter collapsed and the needles fell with them.
Naruto looked up to check on Hinata and saw she was mostly unharmed in the midst of his clones. The clones were panting, but they seemed to hardly notice the senbon, only removing the ones that limited their mobility.
"Rock clones," Hinata commented as she saw one of them had been struck in the eye, which had luckily turned to rock and left the clone otherwise untouched.
"I figured the senbon probably didn't have the strength to really damage them," Naruto explained. "If the hunter had been using anything stronger we might have been in real trouble though."
"What-what should we do with them?" Hinata asked nervously as she approached Naruto and the downed hunter.
"Protocol dictates we should kill them and return to the mission objective, in this case, keeping guard over Tazuna," Naruto told her, his voice grave. He hadn't killed yet, and killing an opponent he'd already defeated didn't exactly feel great.
"Can't we just," Hinata started before trailing off. She had to shake her head before she tried again. "Can't we just tie him up and bring him with us. That's what we did with the ninja brothers, right?"
"We did," Naruto agreed. "But that was different. We were in friendly territory and were able to properly secure them in Konoha, we don't know how many hostiles there are in the area, and we need to be free to focus on the mission objectives."
"I-I don't know, Naruto-kun," Hinata stuttered.
"Me either," Naruto admitted.
Naruto knew as a ninja he'd have to take many lives, but one of the objectives of C-ranks was to ease a young ninja into it. Things like the execution of prisoners and assassinations were a normal part of a ninja's job description. Naruto knew that. Looking down at the defenseless boy before him though, he didn't know if he had the stomach for doing it himself yet.
Naruto looked to Hinata, and he knew then that she didn't have the resolve to see it done. Naruto felt the full weight of his temporary command in that moment. He had to do the right thing, but was it the right thing for the mission, or the right thing for Hinata?
Naruto took a deep breath and made a plan.
"Hinata," Naruto called, breaking the girl from her own thoughts, which probably weren't all that different from his own. Hinata looked like a startled deer as she looked to him with wide lavender eyes. "I'll leave a clone squad here with the hunter. That way we can focus on Tazuna. The clones will meet up with Kakashi and he can decide what's to be done with him."
"H-hai," she nodded her agreement.
Naruto made a quick squad of clones who all took positions around the downed hunter. Naruto made sure they were all set before moving out, Hinata right on his heels.
-OMA-
Alpha 1 waited patiently for the boss and Hinata to move away from the clearing. Hinata's byakugan had a range just shy of a half-mile. They'd been working to increase that range, having brought it up from only about 200 m at graduation. Knowing the boss they'd be beyond the range of her byakugan in about thirty seconds. Alpha 1 waited a full two minutes before he drew his kunai.
"I'm sorry," he told the fake hunter, his voice thick at the thought of what he was about to do. "There's a chance that Kakashi loses and Zabuza comes looking for you. If that happens then you'd be a threat to the mission."
He knew the hunter couldn't hear him, but he felt that he had to explain himself all the same. It was the same reason the boss had chosen shadow clones instead of rock clones. He didn't feel right running away from this choice. The rock clone wouldn't transfer the memories, and the boss felt it cheapened the life of the fake hunter for him to not even remember killing him.
"I never even learned your name," Alpha 1 commented, right before he slit the fake hunter's throat.
Alpha 1 gently set the fake hunter nin down. He left the mask on, already knowing that this would haunt the boss, he didn't want to make it worse by giving the ghost of the hunter nin a face. Looking around at the other clones in the clearing, he gave the signal and they were quick to make their way back through the woods and to the beach where Kakashi and Zabuza had started fighting.
The fight had left the path and moved out onto the water, where Zabuza would have had a massive advantage given his known water affinity. It explained why Kakashi was in a water prison jutsu. It didn't quite explain why there were three Zabuza surrounding Sasuke on the shore, taunting him as they toyed with the clearly outmatched Uchiha.
"What's the matter boy," Zabuza laughed. "You even woke up those pretty eyes of yours. Didn't you say that you would destroy me with them? Seems to me you can't even keep up."
Sure enough, when Sasuke whipped around, trying to dodge a blow from the Zabuza behind him, Alpha 1 could see his eyes were the characteristic blood red of the sharingan. It didn't matter though, Zabuza's swipe was still fast enough to leave a line of red across Sasuke's torso.
Alpha 1 wasn't sure what to do. He could try and free Kakashi, as the man was their best bet against Zabuza, but given the speed displayed by Zabuza and the ease with which he was fighting Sasuke, he knew he'd be dispelled before they could force Zabuza to do anything. Maybe if they knew a wind jutsu to increase the speed of their shuriken, but then they couldn't throw a shuriken for shit anyway.
"Damn it," Alpha 1 cursed, utterly lost in what to do.
"Call it boss," Alpha 2 encouraged from right behind him.
"We wait," Alpha 1 commanded. There were a handful of grumbles and at least one sigh of relief, but Alpha 1 continued before anyone could comment further. "The Zabuza holding the water prison is still on high alert thanks to his fight with Sasuke. We wait for something to draw his focus, then we converge silently on the one holding the prison. Aim for the kill. I'll aim for the arm holding Kakashi, with any luck it'll get him to react on instinct and retract the arm."
"Good plan boss," a new voice spoke up, one that was decidedly not Naruto's.
All the clones looked to find Hayate crouched there in the bushes amongst the clones.
"Ha-Hayate-sensei?" Alpha 1 asked, his disbelief clear in his voice. After a second he scowled and brought up a ram seal. "Kai!"
"Not a genjutsu," Hayate assured after Naruto let his chakra settle once more. He was looking out at the fight, which caused Alpha 1 to panic for a moment before confirming that Zabuza didn't seem to have noticed the flare of chakra. "I'll provide you that distraction you were looking for. I want you to stick to the plan."
"Hai boss," Alpha 1 nodded.
"You made the plan, you're the boss here kid," Hayate chuckled as he drew his sword, a standard issue Anbu ninjato.
Hayate nodded to Alpha 1 before leaping out and into the fray. In a move that Alpha 1 could barely track he'd sliced all three Zabuza surrounding Sasuke, revealing them to be water clones, and then lunged at the real one. Zabuza held his own massive sword in one hand as he blocked Hayate's strike.
"Oh, what's this?" Zabuza laughed. "You didn't tell me you had back up too Kakashi!"
"I request you release Kakashi and desist," Hayate said, his voice steady. "This need not escalate any further."
Alpha 1 didn't wait for Zabuza's response. He and the other clones all moved further down the beach before sneaking out of the woods and slowly moving into the water. They didn't know water walking, but it didn't matter for this. They all moved out until they were waist deep and then submerged.
Alpha 1 was a shadow clone, but he still needed to breathe. Luckily the boss had developed quite the lung capacity thanks to his training in the river. All ten clones moved slowly through the water, remaining close to the ocean floor until they were directly underneath where Zabuza was standing. He was still holding off Hayate and maintaining the prison, so the plan was a go.
Alpha 1 looked to the clones around him to confirm they were all in position, before counting down with his fingers. All ten clones moved in perfect sync, launching up out of the water and surrounding Zabuza. They each lunged, aiming for the closest vital point with a kunai.
Alpha 1 was the only one to aim for the radial artery, trying to get him to release the water prison jutsu. He watched as Zabuza's eyes went wide, flicking to each of the Naruto clones in turn, even turning his head to see those behind him.
Before any of the kunai could touch him, Zabuza leapt up and away, releasing Kakashi from the prison.
All the clones slammed back down into the water, swimming to keep from resubmerging. Alpha 1 could admit he felt rather ridiculous as the others all walked around atop the waves. He at least had the benefit of the other clones also treading water, but it was little help when he saw nine of his own face bobbing alongside him.
"Well, what do you know," Zabuza remarked with a smirk. "Blondie's back. Having a little trouble there brat?"
"What are you doing here Naruto," Kakashi's voice was rock hard as he leapt back to stand next to Hayate.
"Not Naruto," Alpha 1 explained. "My designation is Alpha 1. Sent to assist if needed and relay the boss' situation."
"Understood," Kakashi nodded. "Check on Sasuke for me, will you?"
Alpha 1 looked back to see Sasuke unconscious on the beach. He had probably fallen due to blood loss or maybe it was just exhaustion. "On it boss," Alpha 1 confirmed. "Alpha squad move out!"
All ten clones began to swim through the water, leaving the jonin to handle Zabuza, knowing it was a fight far beyond his weight class. He arrived on the beach relatively quickly and moved to kneel beside Sasuke as his squad took up defensive positions around them.
Alpha 1 untied the bandages from around Sasuke's thigh. He couldn't use his own, they'd poof when he did. Quickly using a kunai to cut Sasuke's shirt off of him he saw the wound wasn't quite as bad as he feared. He wrapped the bandages around Sasuke's chest, ensuring the pressure would hold the wound closed. Then he moved on to the other, more minor injuries Sasuke had sustained.
He finished just in time to see a giant wave crash into Zabuza, knocking him back onshore and into a tree.
"Can you see the future," Zabuza grunted.
"Yes," Kakashi confirmed gravely. "And your future is death."
With that Kakashi threw a kunai at the downed Zabuza, piercing him through the skull and killing him instantly.
"Well, that went well," Kakashi commented as he and Hayate walked back to the beach. The second they were on dry land, Kakashi collapsed, barely giving Hayate time to catch him.
The other jonin sighed, moving Kakashi's hitai-ate back to cover his sharingan before picking him up and giving him a piggyback ride. He walked over to Alpha 1, and gave him a small smile.
"So what happened?" Hayate asked.
Alpha 1 snapped to attention and relayed exactly what happened, including his and the boss' decision to end the fake hunter nin's life.
"The boss and Hinata were supposed to head for the bridge builder's house where they would prepare the defense and await further orders," Alpha 1 finished.
"Alright," Hayate nodded. "I was going to send you on ahead, but I want you to wait for me. I need your help getting these two to the house and I'd rather be there for the kid when he gets your memories."
"Hai boss," Alpha 1 barked.
"I'm going to go collect Zabuza's body and sword," Hayate told them. "Did you recognize the fake hunter nin?"
"Ah," Alpha 1 said awkwardly. "Um, I didn't actually take off the mask."
"Alright," Hayate gave Alpha 1 an understanding smile. "I'll go check. They might have a bounty of their own. You guys wait here, we'll move out once I return."
"Hai," Alpha 1 confirmed.