A/N: I do not own the Naruto anime or manga series
It should be noted with the end of the Naruto manga and Naruto Shippuden series, switching Hinata and Sakura between teams 7 and 8 has another purpose. With Hinata descendant of Hamura Otsutsuki, Hagoromo's twin brother, Naruto being reincarnation of Asura as well as descendant, and Sasuke being reincarnation of Indra and well as descent.
Plus it's not like Sakura won't benefit being on Team 8. Sakura started off as a Genjutsu type before becoming a medical ninja and Kurenai is a Genjutsu specialist so I can actually do something with that little detail that Kishimoto never build on (even though we know Kakashi can perform Genjutsu himself). I still can have her train as a medical ninja under Tsunade but I can at least make Sakura more useful with both Genjutsu and Medical jutsu as well as her strength.
Team 7 Learns How to Walk on Trees
Kakashi woke up to find himself in a roll up bed in a spare room. Kakashi automatically guessed this was Tazuna's house.
"I think I over did it with my Sharingan," Kakashi thought.
A dark hair woman walked up. "Waking up, huh? Are you alright?"
"I been better," Kakashi replied. "It'll be a week before I can move normally." Kakashi grunted as he tried to sit up.
"It's better if you don't move, so just lie down,' she told Kakashi.
"Right," Kakshi lied back down.
Hinata Naruto Sasuke and Tazuna came into the room.
"Look! Sensei is coming around," Naruto said.
"Sorry to worry you guys," Kakashi said.
"Huh, well, you did take down the most powerful ninja assassins, so we'll be safe for a while," Tazuna said.
"Yeah, but what was up with the boy in the Mask?" Naruto asked. "I mean I get he's one of those rare gifted kids like my dad, but what is he exactly?"
"He's an elite tracking units of the Village Hidden in the Mist ANBU--one of the most elite ninjas below the Kage Rank. Those mask are often worn by ANBU."
"Okay, but what do ANBU do?" Naruto asked.
"The ANBUBlack Ops, also known as the Inferno Squad, destroy all traces of a rogue ninja corpse. The Shinobi body contains many secrets--ninjutsu, chakra, and special medicines used on his body. These are the secrets of his village. If his enemies find them, his people will be in grave danger. For instance, if I were to die at the hands of the enemy, he would try to analyze my Sharingan. In the worse case, my entire jutsu could be stolen and used against our home village. It is the sacred duty of the Shinobi trackers to prevent this. To keep the village secrets safe. If a ninja betrays his village, the trackers hunt him down, eliminate him, and obliterate. However..."
"However?" Hinata asked.
"Tracker ninja deal with the body immediately on the spot so there is no room for error. Do you remember what that tracker did with Zabuza's body?"
"How could we? He took off with the body," Naruto replied.
"Exactly, but why? He should have worked on Zabuza right there. As quickly as possible. Think of the weapons he used for the take down." Kakashi explained. "Do you remember what they were?"
"Throwing needles," Sasuke said as realization hit him. "No way."
"Exactly. None of it adds up," Kakashi said.
"What are you all yammering about? You demolished that assassin." Tazuna said.
"Here's the truth. Zabuza is still alive!"
Tazuna and Naruto both were in total shock.
...
Elsewhere the tracker ninja was about to cut the bandages off Zabuza's face but Zabuza crabbed the boy's arms.
"That's enough!" Zabuza said pulling the bandages down revealing his teeth sharpen like shark teeth. "I'll do it."
"So you've already come back to life.
Much like Kakshi, Zabuza had struggled to sit up. "D- it. You're brutal, Haku!" Zabuza removed the throwing needles from his neck.
"You're the one who's brutal, Zabuza. If you keep pulling them out like that you really would be finished." the boy known as Haku said.
"How long are you going to wear that phony mask?" Zabuza asked. "Take it off."
"I have good memories with this mask. And it was quite useful for tricking that ninjas. " Haku removed the mask revealing a fair skin face with brown eyes and a Mist village headband over his forehead. "If I haven't intervene you'd be dead now. That much is certain."
"Putting me in a temporary death state is fine, but not through the pressure points in my neck." Zabuza recovered his mouth. "Cruel as usual. I think you enjoyed it."
"It was the only sure way," Haku said blushing. "And I wouldn't want to mark up your flawless body. You would complain about that even more. The neck is more vulnerable. There is no layer of muscle so I could go straight for the pressure points."
Zabuza struggled to move some more.
"There is no point trying to move. You'll be numb for a week. Although, if you're as stubborn as usual, you probably be moving in half the time."
"You're so innocent. And yet clever at the same time. Rare combination. That's why I keep you around."
Haku chuckled. "I'm still a kid. What else did you expect?" Haku stood back up. "The Mist is cleared. Next time will you be alright?"
"Next time I'll see through his Sharingan," Zabuza responded.
...
"But we saw his body, believe it. You even checked his heart!" Naruto responded.
"Yes, and his heart did stop. But, that was just a temporary death state to stimulate death. The weapons the tracker used are called senbon. They can pierce deeply but rarely kill unless they hit a vital organ. Not in the neck. They're modified from needles used for medical treatments, like acupuncture. ANBU are trained to know every detail of the human body. Causing the heart to stop temporary while keeping the body alive is an easy matter for them. First, he carried Zabuza's body away, even though it's much heavier than he is. Second, he used senbon, which have a precise effect but are rarely fatal. From these two factors, we can conclude the tracker wasn't trying to destroy Zabuza. He was trying to save him."
"Come on, you're over thinking this, aren't you?" Tazuna asked.
"Encountering suspicion, the ninja prepares quickly. Hesitation leads to disaster. Every shinobi knows this saying. "
Naruto couldn't help but chuckle and grin.
"He's actually pleased to hear Zabuza is alive. Now Naruto got another shot at him." Kakashi thought, "He's definitely your son, Kushina."
"How do we prepare quickly?" Hinata asked.
"I can train you, that's how," Kakashi said. "I was only able to stop Zabuza because you all helped me. With a bit more training, you can can help me even more when the time arises."
"Good, because I want to show Zabuza and this tracker what I made of," Naruto said. "I may not be as gifted as my dad was at my age, but I can still show them a thing or two, believe it."
"I don't believe it!" a voice ringed out. A boy several years younger than Naruto in overalls and a beige shirt with a cap over his dark hair was at the entrance of the room.
"Who are you?" Naruto responded.
"Inari! Where have you been?" Tazuna asked.
"Welcome back grandpa!" the kid known as Inari ran to Tazuna's arms.
"That must be the grandson Tazuna was talking about on the boat," Hinata said.
"Inari, that was very rude." the woman said. "These ninja helped your grandpa and brought him here safely."
"It's okay, Tsunami. I am rude to them too." Tazuna replied.
Inari looked at each of team 7. "Mom, don't you see? These people are going to die! Gato and his men will find them and wipe them out." Inari said.
"What did you say?" Naruto responded. "Listen up! My dad was fourth Hokage! That means he was a Hero and greatest ninja of Village Hidden in the Leaves, and one day I'll be an even better Hokage than him! This Gato don't stand a chance against me!"
"There is no such thing as a hero! You're just full of stupid ideas!" Inari said.
"What did you say?" Naruto responded.
:"If you want to stay alive, you should go back where you came from." Inari said before leaving.
"Inari, wait, where are you going?" Tazuna asked.
"To look out at the ocean. I want to be alone!" Inari responded before leaving.
"Sorry about that. I'm sure your father was a great man to have been made Hokage," Tazuna told Naruto.
...
Naruto headed up the stairs to the upper floors. "Who does that kid think he is? I'll put him in his place!"
Naruto walked down the hallway and heard crying coming from one of the rooms. "Huh? He's crying?" Naruto looked into one of the rooms.
Inari was at a window sill looking down at something crying. "No, daddy, no!"
That hit Naruto hard as he remembering missing his dad and even mom. Naruto can be an idiot at times, but even he can release Inari was just putting up a tough guy attitude earlier after seeing Inari like this.
...
Later, Kakashi used crutches to help him move and take Naruto Hinata and Sasuke to the nearby woods.
"Alright! Training starts now! First we will begin with a review of chakra. Ninja's source of power. Understanding chakra is essential."
"We know that."
"Yeah, even I know that. We were taught about Chakra when we started the academy," Naruto said.
"Maybe so, but a quick review never hurts," Kakashi said. "I'm sure your academy teacher taught you that as well."
"Iruka-sensei did say that," Hinata agreed.
"As I was saying. Chakra is the elemental life energy a ninja uses in jutsu. It's the source of all his power. It comes in two forms: physical which exist in all the cells in the entire body, all working together, and spiritual energy, the primal source of power which is intensified through training and experience. These two types of chakra must be brought out and combine in order to perform jutsu. This is done through using handsigns which helps focus and unleash the chakra."
"What's the big deal of all of this anyways?" Naruto asked. "The whole point is to learn a new jutsu isn't it?"
"Naruto is right, for once. We're already using chakra energy in our jutsu," Sasuke said.
"But there are ways to improve chakra control so we can use less chakra so we can fight longer and even improve our jutsus," Hinata said.
"Very good, Hinata, I'm not surprise you realize the point of this review as one of the members of the Hyuuga Clan," Kakashi said. "As you stand, you have only scratch the surface in using chakra. Up to now you have guessed at the proportions needed to perform a jutsu, but to truly master chakra, you need to fully realize the amount of chakra needed to perform a jutsu. Even if you produce a lot of chakra unless you balance and control it, the jutsu won't work at all or it just be a joke. You waste so much energy that way. Then you're out of chakra and you can't fight at all. You become just a target."
"So how do we change that?" Naruto asked.
"Trained so hard that controlling your chakra becomes second nature. To achieve this goal you must be ready to put your life on the line. You can start by climbing a tree."
"Climb a tree?" Sasuke and Naruto responded.
"That's right, but there is just one rule. No hands." Kakashi said. "Watch!"
Kakashi made a hand sign and limped over to the closest tree. Putting one foot on the tree, Kkashi started walking, or rather limping, up the tree as if he was still on the ground. Kakashi stopped at a branch high up enough where they could see him. "Well you get the idea. Focus the chakra to the soles of your feet and use it to connect to the tree. This is one way to apply the power of chakra. Focusing chakra to a precise point can be difficult even for advance chakra. This requires a subtle mix of physical and spiritual energy and the bottom of your feet is the most difficult points to focus chakra. If you can master this, you can master any jutsu, and as Hinata pointed out earlier, even improve the ones you already know. The second point is to maintain your chakra levels. When a ninja is in battle, it is even harder to maintain his chakra levels. This can be a deadly mistake. Maintaining chakra control must become second nature. I can keep talking about this all day, but it won't improve your skills, will it? You need to apply the power of your chakra through training.
"
Kakashi took out three kunai knives and threw them down at the ground next to Sasuke Naruto and Hinata.
"Use the kunai knife to mark the highest point you can climb without using your hands. Then try to get past that mark the next time and the next. At first you need to run at the tree so you can build momentum to take you as high as possible until you can get use to it. Ready?"
Naruto took the kunai knife. "I'm more than ready. This is going to be no sweat all the way. Believe it!"
"Then do it!" Kakashi said.
Naruto Sasuke and Hinata made the handsign needed to focus their chakra. Then they took position at their selected trees and ran at them.
Naruto only made a couple of steps before falling and hitting the ground.
Sasuke made it far but then the bark broke under his foot and Sasuke marked his place before falling and landing on the ground on his feet.
This is harder than I thought. The balance has to be perfect. If the chakra is too strong, it smashes the tree and pushes you off. If it's not strong enough you just tumble back down like Naruto."
"That's about as expected from Sasuke and Naruto." Kakashi said.
"Um, Kakashi-sensei," Kakashi heard Hinata hollered. He Naruto and Sasuke turned to see that Hinata had reached a branch that was higher than his.
"Well, it seems even as freshly graduated Genin, Hyugas has the most advanced chakra control as well as understanding of it. Well done Hinata." Kakashi said.
Hinata blushed at the compliment.
"Great job, Hinata!" Naruto said causing Hinata to turn even redder. "It does tick me off though
"Hmm, I wonder if Hinata has ever received a compliment like that before," Kakashi noted. "Just what kind of training did she go through by her clan?"
"Whatever," Sasuke huffed.
Knowing how to use this to motivate Naruto and Sasuke, Kakashi continued. "Maybe perhaps the Hyuuga Clan is better than being a son of a Hokage or the great Uchiha Clan."
That really ticked Naruto and Sasuke off as they set themselves to try again.
"Good, they're motivated. Those two have more chakra within than most genin their age. If they are able to master this training they can become valuable assets." Kakashi thought.
Inari was watching from a distance. "They are wasting their time. They don't know what they are up against."
...
At a secret hideout Zabuza was resting on a bed with Haku looking after him. Then the door slammed open as a very short man and two samurai goons came in.
"Some Jonin. The unbeatable ninja just got beat. Limping back home like some pathetic has been. Demon of the Hidden Mist. More like coward of the Hidden Mist. " the man laughed.
Haku stood up and the goons crabbed their katanas.
"Drawing swords?" Haku asked.
"Hang on a minute," the man said walking toward the bed. "Alright, let's hear what you have to say about this fiasco. And don't play possum. I know you can talk." the man reached out and the sumurais moved in to attack but Haku quickly got behind them ready to strike to their surprise.
"Don't push me. I'm in a very foul mood!" Haku said pushing the katanas to the ground.
"Last chance. If you failed this time, I'll cut you off. And there be no one left to cover for you." the man said before he and his goons left.
Haku took his seat once more.
"Haku, that wasn't necessary." Zabuza said as he had a kunai in hand under the blankets.
"Perhaps. But it's too early to take out Gato. He's still our best cover. Think about it. The murders will draw their attention. Then they be after us again. We need restraint."
"Right," Zabuza said with a groan.
...
Meanwhile Naruto was still not making progress on the tree climbing, which was the opposite of Sasuke who was getting higher slowly.
"Oh, Naruto," Hinata thought as she was taking a break from her training.
Naruto walked up to Hinata. "Hey Hinata, you're good with chakra control, right? Can you give me some advice? Please?'
Naruto is asking me for advice, Hinata thought.
"Please! I really need it!" Naruto begged.
"He's catching on," Kakashi thought. "He may not have Minato-sensei's talents, but he has Kushina's determination. With it he can still get stronger and stronger. How strong? After all, if Naruto has inherit any of Kushina's abilities, he should have far more chakra than even Sasuke and even me, even without the Nine-tail Fox."
A/N: in case any of you wandering why I would think Hinata would master the tree climbing training so quickly as Sakura did in the original, it's quite simple, the Hyuuga Clan's gentle fist fighting style. I would think it takes precise chakra control to block off chakra points without doing severe damage unless the user wants to cause severe damage, even without the 32 Palm, 64 palm or 128 palm technique. That's why not even Kakashi wasn't surprise. But Sasuke and Naruto still had yet to master it and I doubt Hinata wouldn't take part in the exorcise just because of her clan's training.
Oh and that debt Naruto owes Sasuke for the advice on using elemental Justus will be paid soon. Sasuke will make sure to remind Naruto of it. I told you it will come up.