After making their way to the land of waves, they were able to see the poverty that stricken the country.
"Man, this is terrible. What can we do to help these people?" Naruto asked
"We'll do something after the mission. You never know, the mission might be connected to the gate of the country." Kakshi said
As they walked through the country, they saw the children and adults alike on the streets with torn clothes and barren environments. Soon they were upon a house that Naruto and Trunks recognized the chakra signatures of Mina and Genma. They knock and Mina opens the door.
"About time," she said with an annoyed voice
"Hello, my name is Trunks Namikaze and this is my Co-captain Kakashi Hatake and my genin on team 7. We were sent to back up them up on this mission"
"Thank you for coming. My name is Tsunami and I'm Tazuna's daughter"
They walk in to see the other genin of team 6 seated around a bandaged up Genma. His vest was open with a new shirt that covered up his bandaged torso. The team walked in with Kakashi raising the genin of team 6's eyebrows, yet Genma knows the situation with team 7 and decides to say nothing.
"Yo" Kakashi said
"What's going on? Did you guys have a joint mission?" Mina asked
"Something like that" Naruto said
Sozu raised an eyebrow in interest.
"Long story short he's our Co-captain for team 7" Sasuke said to ward off the questions
Akino raised an eyebrow as well and folded her arms
"Why do you guys need a co-captain?"
"Don't worry about it. Your questions will be answered soon enough" Trunks said
They all sat down in the living room and Genma went on to explain their mission.
"Our mission is to protect Tazuna the bridge builder as he completes the bridge for the Land of Waves to give them trade with the Land of Fire. The business and shipping magnate Mogul Gato is after him, trying to take his life to keep his hold on the land of waves shipping industries. He hired Zabuza Momochi and Several other ninja to take his life. We fought 3 already, but Zabuza demonstrated why he's called the demon of the hidden mist and gave me one hell of a fight." Genma said
"How are you still alive? How did you win?" Naruto blurted out
Genma smirked
"I sealed off his chakra and damaged him with my flaming Senbon technique, disabling his right arm. But his silent killing technique got my slashed across my back and shoulder unfortunately. I had him on the ropes but he was taken down by a hunter ninja."
"So why did you need back up?" Kakashi asked
"The supposed hunter ninja didn't dispose of the body, but took him away from us after putting him in a temporary death state." Genma said
"So, you believe he'll be back with reinforcements?" Trunks asked
Genma nodded as did Trunks and Kakashi.
"Well, if that's the case then we might want to get the kids ready for the upcoming battles" Kakashi said
"You're all foolish." a young boy said walking in from the kitchen. They were all caught off guard by his words except for Naruto
"Says who?" Naruto said in irritation
"Gato will kill you all"
"Listen here kid, we're shinobi, you have no idea what we're capable of"
"It doesn't matter. Gato can just buy more fire power to kill you all"
"No random thugs can beat us kid. You'll see"
Inari grimaced and yelled
"YOU DON'T GET IT! YOU ALL JUST RUN AROUND CARE FREE WHILE WE OF THE LAND OF WAVES HAVE REAL PROBLEMS! YOU THINK THIS IS SOME KINDA JOKE!"
Sozu and Naruto looked down with their fist clinched but Sozu spoke up first.
"Hey brat, do you know what it's like to not have a family?" Sozu said as he looked up with a deep sneer on his visage
"We came here to protect other you and your family along with all the other families affected by Gato"
"Sozu…Naruto…" Mina said in a low voice
"If we don't try and just cry then we truly will be hopeless! If you wanna just run, go ahead, but don't stop those who stand!" Naruto said with quiet rage
"You still have a family to come home to. Some of us don't. And some of us bear a burden that most could never." He said looking at Naruto then back at Inari.
Everyone in the room including Naruto was shocked at his words
"So don't lecture us about what we can and can't do. We chose to take our destinies in our own hands you ungrateful brat! Don't you ever speak about a pain you don't know of. You have food, family and shelter kids. So shut it!" He finished as he got up and walked out of the house. Mina and Naruto ran after him.
Inari cried and ran upstairs leaving behind a shocked audience.
Naruto and Mina were running after a speedy Sozu Kohinata. He landed in a clearing as he went to go punch the fuck out of a tree and leave a deep dent. Naruto and Mina landed looking at his back.
"Hey, Sozu are you-"
"Yea, I'm good" He said in an emotionless voice
Mina walked forward slowly and put a hand on his shoulder. He was calm as she saw that he had a look of neutrality on his face.
"I'm…going to train. We need to train harder to defeat Zabuza and help fill out the team for Genma" he said as he began to pull away.
"Hey, why not wait until our sensei heals or Trunks and Kakashi sensei develop a regimen for us?" Naruto asked
Sozu turned around with a sheepish look on his face.
"Heh, that might be a good idea" he said rubbing the bridge of his nose
Mina smirks at having brought him back down to earth, while Naruto smirks at him with relief.
Sozu inwardly is glad that he has friends who care about him and remind him not to be so brash through his actions.
Naruto put a hand on his shoulder,
"Sozu…thank you" he said in earnest and turned to walk away
"No problem" Sozu said with an honest smile as he walked with them
Xxx
The next day Kakashi was out with teams 6 & 7 to train in the forest near the village Tazuna resided in. Trunks was with Tazuna and the workers at the bridge for the day, while Genma took time to rest and stay off his feet and heal up.
"Alright, we're going to assess where you all are through 1 on 1 mock battles" Kakashi said
The teens were standing in a clearing as they stood looking at one another.
"Ok, time to kick some ass!" Naruto said with gusto
Hinata smirked at his jovial mood towards the training.
"You are all to withhold using deadly ninjutsu or killing blows. This is only a spar, not a life or death battle!" Kakashi said sternly
They all nodded as he looked at them with his serious visible eye.
"Who's willing to go first?" Kakashi asked
Sozu walked up to the clearing with his sword sheathed over his right shoulder. Sasuke walked in the clearing with his hands in his pockets and a confident look on his face.
"He seems different," Mina said with a critical eye.
"Well then, both of you make the seal of confrontation"
Sozu and Sasuke lock fingers and shake then they walk back to the opposite side of the field. Kakashi chopped the air and yelled
"GO!"
Sozu unsheathed his sword and ran towards Sasuke who withdrew two kunai. Sozu performs an elegant sword strike at the Uchiha, who blocked with his kunai in his left hand and stabbed forward with his right hand. Sozu dodged the stab and kicked him at his legs, causing Sasuke to jump back. Sozu used the body flicker technique causing him to move at a high speed. Sasuke closed his eyes and used his ki to feel the atmosphere around him as he leaned back dodging a sword strike. He moved back in to swipe with a kunai at Sozu, who spun in a dodge kicking Sasuke in the stomach to send him tumbling across the field until he landed on his feet.
He thought of activating his sharingan but he decided not to and chose to relax into his intercepting fist stance, still with his eyes closed.
"What do you think you're doing? Are you underestimating me?" Sozu asked with a twitching eye
"Not at all. If anything I'm taking you seriously and challenging myself with a disadvantage." Sasuke replied
Sozu moved in with a diagonal sword strike that Sasuke ducked, and spun around with a kunai swipe, that caused Sozu to spin as well and block the kunai stab. The metal from each chosen blade had been sizzling and sparking against each other. Sasuke smirked as he opened his eyes and pulled back using Sozu's weight against him causing him to lose his balance and he jumped back.
"You're fast." Sasuke said
"Humph, you're no slouch yourself" Sozu replied
Sasuke threw one of his kunai at Sozu who blocked it with his sword. He went through one handed hand seals and his hand landed on a flat hand with all fingers extended. The blade of the kunai lit on fire as he smirks at the brown hair boy. Sozu gathered fire chakra around his blade going through the same hand seals.
They leapt at each other clashing with non-lethal force but just enough to be a challenge. Sozu parried Sasuke's kunai and performed a palm strike that Sasuke avoided and elbow struck him, knocking blood spittle out of his mouth. Sozu grabbed Sasuke's collar and headbutt him, causing Sasuke to drop his kunai. Sozu jumped up whirling Sasuke around with surprising strength and threw him across the field as he slid down the grass and regained his balance.
Sozu moved in to continue his attack, when he saw Sasuke's eyes closed. Then he slowly opened them as his Sharingan came into view. Sozu was a bit unnerved as he dodged Sozu's sword swipe and then he performed a roundhouse kick, then he moved into a spinning kick that the Uchiha dodged yet again frustrating Sozu even more.
Sasuke smirked as he deactivated his Sharingan at the time Sozu over extended himself with the second kick. He moved in and punched Sozu in the face, sending him flying across the field as he regained his balance.
"You know, I'm holding back a lot" Sasuke said with a smirk
Sozu grit his teeth in annoyance and went through hand seals.
"Fire style: Dragon Flame bomb!"
Sasuke went through hand signs of his own yelled
"Fire style: Grand Fireball jutsu!"
The two fireballs clashed as they ignited the field. The others watched the flames dance across the field in awe. Sasuke activates his sharingan as his fireball gets stronger. Sozu chooses not to activate his Sekigan and decides to push chakra into his feet jumping high above the clashing fireballs. As Sasuke's fireball won out, it went into the forest burning through several large trees. Sozu landed with sweat running down his brow and he stabbed his sword into the ground as he put on a front not to seem exhausted. He drew a handful of shuriken and then he threw them at Sasuke who parried all the shuriken and he leapt towards Sozu, who yanked his sword out of the ground and swiftly swung it toward Sasuke who jumped up and kneed him in the face sending him reeling in pain, but he stabbed out at said Uchiha who batted away his left hand and spun into an elbow smashing it into the side of his head dazing him.
'Dammit, he's beating me without even using the Sharingan. What the fuck!' he thought
He struggled to stand and he stammered away from his opponent. He swiped his sword recklessly at Sasuke who caught his blade with two fingers easily. He performed a kick on his opponent's leg causing him to stumble as Sozu stabbed at him with his left hand causing Sasuke to bat away his left hand as Sasuke kicked him away causing Sozu to drop his sword.
"DAMMIT" He said as he began to make his way to his feet only to look up and see Sasuke pointing a kunai at his face
"Game over" Sasuke said with a smirk
"Winner Sasuke." Kakashi said with a chipper tone.
The Uchiha retracted his Kunai and outstretched his hand to Sozu. He took his hand and was pulled to his feet and then they made the seal of confrontation to signal the end of their battle. Outward he showed that he was alright, inside however he was annoyed that he still couldn't beat Sasuke. His fists tightened as he picked up and sheathed his sword. They both went and sat down in the shade of the trees.
"Who will be up next?" Kakashi asked
Mina and Hinata walked out to the clearing and faced one another and made the seal of confrontation.
Kakashi chopped the air between them.
"Begin!"
Mina and Hinata stood across from each other as they sized each other up. Their battle was a bit underwhelming as Mina proved to be a match for Hinata in taijutsu and overwhelmed her with her swift release as she defeated the Hyuga heir. Naruto also put Akino on her back, by dismantling her gen-jutsu with the help of Kurama's interference and beating her taijutsu and ninjutsu with his own.
"Alright, Now that we've assessed your abilities we can see where you all need work. Hinata, your gentle fist with the Byakugan is good, but you seem to be a bit out of rhythm with it. I suggest you make it your own instead of just going by the book. Akino, your progress is good all around, you just happened to meet a more skilled opponent. Continue practicing and you'll be up to snuff with any opponent that comes your way in the future. Sasuke, good job on using your ki sensory to feel out your opponent's movements and switching to your Sharingan when it suited you in the battle. Naruto, you did good in your battle, but don't get too comfortable. Akino matched you in taijutsu and luckily you were able to break yourself out of her gen-jutsu before she defeated you. Sozu, you did well in fighting an opponent who was using two forms of energy. Your ken-jutsu was good, but you'll need a bit more help with your chakra control. You put too much chakra into that fire style jutsu you used and it made you winded for the remainder of the fight. Lastly, Mina, excellent taijutsu, keep working on it and don't get comfortable, but learn to control your chakra natures better so you don't expend so much chakra with your swift release. But don't forget most importantly to practice teamwork."
The students nodded at his excellent deduction of their strengths and weaknesses. He also had them find out their chakra natures so they could get a hold of what they were training for? So when the time came they could see what they needed to work on throughout the week.
"Ok, now it's getting late, why don't we get something to eat and rest for the day" Kakashi said as he began to walk back to Tazuna's home.
Xxx
The next day both the teams sat in the clearing with Kakashi near a river.
"From what Genma and Trunks told me, you all have done the tree walking exercise so today you'll be doing chakra control drills. You'll be fighting while water walking and tree walking until you drop. Taijutsu only" he said
And so they did, eventually tiring themselves out from taijutsu training all day. They were able to point out one another's weaknesses and strengths and begin to work on those immediately to turn them into strengths. It was a slow burn but surely they would begin to see success throughout the week.
Later that day after the majority of everyone went in, Naruto and Hinata stayed out to do some extra training.
"Hinata, your element is lightning right?"
She shyly nodded and he smirked, pointing a thumb at himself.
"Mine are Wind and Lightning. So I think I'll be able to help you with that" Naruto said
He picked up a leaf and charged lightning chakra into it causing it to crinkle up like paper.
Hinata's eyes widened as he gave her one as well.
"Try it out" he said cheerily
She did and found a spark bounce off that almost hit her.
"Don't worry, it's perfectly normal. It took me a while to get used to channeling lightning chakra, Let's keep going " Naruto said as he continued to sit and watch her
She eventually used her Byakugan and was able to observe the flow of chakra from her hands to the leaf. She was able to see how to mold the chakra so it flowed into the leaf properly. After 4 hours of training she was able to make the leaf crinkle, but she had cuts from the lightning chakra sparking of the leaf cutting through her jacket. Even though she got pretty far she knew that she had so far to go.
"Th-thank you Naruto. I-I don't think I could've done this without you" she said
Naruto nodded
"No worries Hinata, what are friends for?" he said as he smiled
They continued training and she did well for the very first night of lightning elemental manipulation until she tired herself out. Naruto carried her back home piggyback style with a smile.
"Brat, do you care for this girl?" Kurama asked from the seal
Naruto blushed as he almost tripped on the dirt road.
"W-well she's a friend of mine and a teammate" he replied
"Well, I can sense emotions from other humans, both negative and positive. It seems that the girl holds strong feelings for you" the fox replied
"R-really?"
"You dunce, she obviously shows that she cares for you. You're just oblivious to it."
"Wh-what are you talking about?"
"Have you not noticed that she watches you when you train in the public trainingfields?" Kurama asked with a raised eyebrow
"Heh, I never really noticed hehe, but, I guess I never really thought about it. I guess I do like her as a friend, but I've never thought of anything else" Naruto said as he continued down the dirt road.
"In any case, she'll be around when those who hunt for tailed beasts come for us. You must train to become stronger, and protect those you care for if you don't wish to be miserable. Along with that, you must train those around you to be strong or you will all be weaklings. I will not have a weak host either." Kurama said with authority
Naruto gave a nervous laugh inwardly as Tazuna's house came into view. But soon, he had a renewed vigor on his face as he walked on. He would keep his precious people safe and protect his home from all enemies. Sozu saw Naruto carrying Hinata towards the house they currently resided in. Naruto looked up and smirked at him, then he walked in to lay Hinata down. Sozu looked at his hand then bawled up a fist as he cursed his loss to Sasuke.
'I…did all this training for what? Just to lose again? What the fuck?' He thought as his eyes transformed into his Sekigan
One week later,
Sasuke was meditating in a field by himself with his hands folded and his legs crossed. A bluish purple aura began to wrap around his body as he began to glow, causing his senses to stretch out across the training field. He could feel the plants, trees, sunlight and the animals around them as he relaxed and focused inward. The air began to swirl around him as he continued to focus. Soon Naruto walked out to see his friend practicing ki control.
"Heh, so you're finally starting to get it" the blonde said as he smirked
Sasuke's control was maintained as he tuned out Naruto's comment and began to levitate. But then, it happened, he felt how vast his teammates chakra was as the very essence of his lifeforce. He felt the tailed beast inside of his friend. It was crazy that he shared two souls in his body.
'How did the 4th Hokage even manage this?' Sasuke asked himself
'You'd be surprised at what sealing jutsu can do?' Kurama responded
Sasuke's control slipped and he fell on his butt.
"What the hell was that? Who was that?" he asked
Naruto smirked as he folded his arms.
"You spoke to Kurama. Or…you know him as the 9 tails" he said
"W-what the…?"
Sasuke looked at his hands then at Naruto as he stood up.
"So, my ki senses are so attuned that I can talk to a being made of chakra?" he asked
"Pretty much, he's a part of my life force and the seal my dad made bound him to my soul."
"So you're two halves of a whole now."
Naruto nodded as he gave a sad smile.
"Yea, whoever attacked our village tied me and Kurama's fates together. But it's no use crying about it. I'm just gonna protect the family I have now." Naruto said
Sasuke nodded and spoke
"Well, I'm gonna go ahead and practice ki, so I can fight with you and protect my family as well." He said as he got back to practicing his meditation and focusing on his ki.
Naruto smirked and walked on to go and train on another side of the field. He had been wanting to practice channeling Kurama's chakra and getting in sync with the new senses he got. He also wanted to combine his ki with Kurama's chakra, converting it as a more powerful aura. The blonde performed a body flicker through the forest far enough from Sasuke that he would feel him practice channeling Kurama's chakra. As he landed in the clearing he spoke to the fox through the seal.
"Hey Kurama, can you use ki?"
"I have been able to as long as you have."
"Heh, so you've been using ki for 6 years just like me eh?"
Kurama nodded as he spoke up
"Yes, this is a new form of power that even I'm foreign to. But, the possibilities with this power, if properly integrated, could make you the strongest being in existence, even stronger than the Saiyan Yamoshi and the Sage of 6 paths."
"Whoa really?" Naruto said
"Yea, now get to work brat" he said with authority
Naruto sat on the ground with his legs folded and put his hands in the ram seal. Red chakra began to leak from the seal on the stomach as he channeled it and it flooded his coils. He channeled it and his features grew more feral as the air around him began to shift causing his clothes to flutter in the wind.
Soon his body was outlined by red chakra that made him glow. His energy made him levitate just as Sasuke did. He knew that he would have to be the most powerful he could be in mind, body and spirit. He began to stretch out his senses feeling the environment and animals around him along with the sunlight around him. He and the fox were merging their chakra through his coils and focusing it to the center as he drew out ki to mix with the chakra. What he noticed was that the chakra eventually just became ki after a while from trying to mix the two energy sources. He controlled his power as it began to manifest into the foxes' avatar and receded back into him turning into a mini fox cloak.
Soon the blonde felt his control slip as he lost the cloak and it backlashes around the area causing serious high winds and burns on the ground. He still levitated as he struggled to call back the chakra and regain control over the foxes' cloak. As he floated in the air the chakra began to leak from the seal and wrap around him again as it took the shape of a mini fox again. Soon he lost power and then he lost control again.
"Dammit! I've got a long way to go! Haa…haaa…haaaa" he said as he went to try to gather the chakra around himself again.
xxx
Trunks sat with Sasuke as they meditated in the field together levitating as they both let their senses stretch across the field. He and Trunks felt Naruto and the 9 tails chakra across the forest. Trunks, smirked as he felt the immense chakra and the pressure from it. He knew his strength wasn't much right now, but the boy would be even stronger than him, Kenji and his father when he got full control of his and the foxes chakra.
Soon, Sasuke opened his eyes as he noticed how strong his friend was. His eyes narrowed as he felt the pressure from the chakra and combination of ki. He began to compare his power to the blondes, then he realized that he couldn't play the comparison game, especially with a jinchuriki. He realized he would have to get stronger in his own right to defend his home and not compete with his friend.
"Hey, Sasuke, your ki is becoming unfocused. Calm down and regain your focus so you don't fall on your ass again"
They began to concentrate and levitate with their eyes closed. Their aura shifted around them as they gained control over themselves and the air whirled around them. The atmosphere around them intensified and they stretched their senses across the environment and then they focused inwards to channel ki in the middle of their bodies. The outward aura began to intensify as they kicked up leaves, grass and dust. Sasuke lost control as his aura slipped away and dispersed, but he caught himself before he fell on his butt. He got back up and sat with his legs folded and then he began to focus again.
Later that night, Gato's hideout in the land of waves,
"You guys gotta be kidding me. You let yourself get beat up by some random jonin and a group of kids?"
Gato walked over to grab Zabuza, when suddenly Haku grabbed his wrist and broke it.
"Waaauuuggh!" He yelled
Gato's two bodyguards moved to draw their swords when they suddenly had their own swords up to their necks held by Haku. Gato held his wrist and scoffed,
"Why you! You better get this done soon. I paid good money for you all to get rid of that bridge builder." Gato said walking away as Haku stabbed their swords into the grounds allowing the bodyguards to pick up their swords. As they walked out of the room closing the door, a man with Spiky hair, a white scarf, blue tank top, black shinobi pants and black sandals was seen leaning up against the wall.
"So, it looks like the midget is getting reckless" the man said
"Tch, I hate to say this but we might need your help" Zabuza said while he was resting in bed
"Why? I mean we're on the same side after all." the mysterious man said
"Yes, Master Zabuza, we need to get rid of these leaf ninja. Then we'll have enough money to fund the rebellion against the Mizukage" Haku said
"Tch, right, I need to get better so I can get rid of these leaf ninja." he said with his hands gripping the covers on the bed
"Soon, very soon. But, I sense that they've called out for reinforcements." the mysterious man said
Xxx
Kakashi sat on a rock with his legs folded Indian style. He put his hand on the ground and a pulse of chakra went out as he tried to search for foreign presences. He felt around for enemies but all he could find was teams 6 & 7. He stood up and leapt around the environment searching around the outskirts of the land of waves. He was looking for a trace of the enemy with a piece of cloth that he found belonging to the apparent enemy after he went back to the previous battle scene. There was no luck after he had been searching with his ninja hounds for days. After landing in the clearing near the land of waves, he grimaced.
'Damn, how could they have just vanished. They covered their tracks and scent well. I can't believe this' he thought
He waited on his ninja hounds as they landed and confirmed that the tracks only lead so far. They lead him to where the tracks ended. He rubbed the back of his head as he conferred on where they could lead to, ultimately deciding to call it quits. As he made his way back to Tazuna's house he saw Inari sitting at the docks. He walked over and sat next to the boy.
"Can I talk to you for a moment?"
Inari was silent as Kakashi sat down
"Naruto and Sozu said what they said because they lost their parents at very young ages."
Inari looked up at him in surprise
"What? What do you mean?"
"Naruto's parents were killed when he was born. Luckily he has a brother and some adoptive parents. Sozu on the other hand was very sick when he was your age and his father committed crimes to get the money for his treatment. His mother died giving birth to him the night he was born."
"I-I didn't know. I…thought they were just kidding around" Inari said
"They probably said what they said because they can relate to you the most"
"I…see…"
"Try to understand that they said those things out of understanding your point of view" he said
He got up and pat Inari's shoulder as he walked away. Inari was silent as he sat in silence looking at the river as he reflected on what Kakashi said.
'Was I wrong for what I said?' Inari asked himself
Sasuke stood in front of Trunks in the field next to Tazuna's house. Suddenly the brownish blonde disappeared and Sasuke dodged a punch from his sensei. Trunks continued to throw a flurry of punches at the raven haired genin, he jumped back and drew a handful of shuriken and threw them at his sensei. Trunks disappeared and reappeared kicking him in his side. He held his side as he threw a set of kunai at his opponent, and Trunks disappeared again. Sasuke closed his eyes to let his senses stretch out, and then he put his arm up to block an incoming punch that sent his feet skidding across the ground. He threw another volley of shuriken at Trunks again as he dodged. Then, Sasuke pulled the chakra wire and wrapped it around Trunks as he smirked at him.
"Haaaauuughhh!" He used his ki to disrupt the chakra wired.
He jumped in and kicked him in they chest, but luckily he used his ki to lessen the impact of the blow as his feet skid across the field again. Then he went through hand signs and he blew out a fire ball
"Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Trunks smirked as he channeled ki into his fist and punched the air causing it to tear through the giant fireball. They began to jump towards one another and began to fight at super speed. The battle began to intensify as they began to blur out of sight flashing around the field. Sasuke kicked at Trunks, then he spun out of the way and then he palm struck Sasuke to the side, knocking him off his feet and then he skid across the dirt, kicking up smoke and dust.
"Alright kiddo, that's enough" Trunks said
He helped Sasuke up as he pulled him up and then they began walking to Tazuna's house.
"Hey, sensei, do you think I'll be able to use ki like you and your dad?" he said
"Heh, you're well on your way that's for sure" he replied
"I plan to teach Hinata how to use ki as well. I believe that if all of you can get a handle on using ki, you'll be stronger than the legendary Sannin and any of the 5 Kage in their prime."
Sasuke looked at him in shock, as he thought about his sensei's words then he looked straight ahead with a determined look in his eyes. He realized that if he were to pass the level of the Legendary Sannin and the 5 Kage he would have to train even harder. He bawled up his fists and realized he would walk in his resolve.
Xxx
It was early in the morning and Naruto was lying in the training field by himself. He had been practicing channeling Kurama's chakra all night until the morning. Progress was made but not at the level he felt he needed for the upcoming battle. As he was passed out, a young lady in a pink kimono and geta sandals appeared in the field, picking herbs. She stumbled upon Naruto and looked at his headband. She narrowed her eyes but chose to wake him instead of taking a chance to strike.
"Wake up, or you'll catch a cold."
Naruto sat up and looked at her. Suddenly he got a blush on his face.
"Thanks, I was definitely outta commission. What's your name?"
"My name is Haku Yuki and you?" she asked as she smiled
"Names Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze" he said with a foxy grin
She looked at his whiskered cheeks as they blended with his grin. Then she looked at his headband
"I see you wear a forehead protector, are you a ninja?" she asked
"Yup, I'm a leaf ninja. I'm a genin right now, but one day I'll become the Hokage" he said with a determined look on his face
"Who do you fight for?"
"Well…I fight for my family and friends. They're the most important people to me in this world." he said with a serious look on his face.
"That's good. You'll always be stronger when you have someone to fight for" Haku said
"Hey, how about I help you pick these herbs?" Naruto asked
"Why thank you Naruto" she said
Soon they moved across the field as Naruto helped Haku pick herbs and put them in the basket. After a while Haku left and bid the blonde a farewell. Naruto looked down at his hands after remembering Haku's words and thinking about those he cared about. He knew he'd have to turn up the notch on his training so he could become stronger. He also couldn't help but think about the pretty girl in the pink kimono.
'I wonder what she looks like in more fitting clothes' he wondered
"Hey brat, it's time to get back to training. No daydreaming" Kurama roughly spoke through the seal
"R-right. I…have an idea to make the training more productive," he said as put his fingers in the cross seal making 3 shadow clones.
Next, he got into a sitting position, folding his legs and then he put his hands in the ram seal. His clones did so as well and began to channel the foxes' chakra. A red glow began to wrap around the 4 figures in the field as the ground began to crack as Naruto and his clones began to levitate off the ground.
As he and his clones channeled chakra he felt another presence enter the field. He cut off concentration and looked up to see Sozu who was wearing a look of interest
"Sup Sozu?"
"It's time for breakfast. Hurry or I'll eat your portion" Sozu said as he turned around to walk back to Tazuna's house. Naruto followed him with a questioning gaze. He let his clones continue to practice while he headed back for breakfast.
Little did he know Hinata was watching the interaction and she decided to follow the woman in the pink kimono from a distance. She knew that the woman was a shinobi from the way she approached Naruto and for the fact that her footsteps made no noise. She didn't want to use her Byakugan out of fear that the chakra spike would tip off the ninja. Soon, she disappeared in a body flicker causing Hinata to narrow her eyes in suspicion. That was all she needed to know that the woman Naruto spoke to was a ninja. Whether it was an enemy or not was a different question. She headed back to Tazuna's house with a suspicion in her mind that the other female ninja was a part of the enemy forces.
Xxx
After another day passed Naruto and Sasuke were left in Tazuna's house due to the fact that they trained until dawn. Hinata decided to stay back with them in case Tazuna's house was attacked by some of Gato's thugs.
At the bridge,
Kakashi, Trunks, Genma and Team 6 were with Tazuna at the bridge. There was a thick mist at the bridge that made all the ninja narrow their eyes, while Tazuna stiffened in fear. The other workers on the bridge had been knocked out but not killed by the enemy ninja.
"Hahahahaha" they heard a sinister laugh vibrate throughout the mist
"So you've called in for reinforcements I see" Zabuza said
Zabuza stood with a masked hunter shinobi and a young man with his face covered by a scarf.
"Zabuza Momochi" Kakashi said, lifting his headband up to reveal his sharingan.
"Ohhh, Kakashi Hatake of the copy ninja. What an honor" Zabuza replied
"Mina, Sozu, Akino, get back and guard Tazuna." Genma said causing his 3 students to get into formation.
Trunks drew his Odenta blade and stood at the ready. Zabuza's eyes widened as he caught a view of it.
"So you wield the Odenta blade eh? Lets see which is stronger, one of the 5 swords under heaven or one of the 7 swords of the mist." Zabuza said
"Actually, as a fellow Saiyan, I'd like to fight that one myself" he said with mirth in his voice
"That's fine with me" the swordsman responded
Trunks' eyes widened as he narrowed his eyes at the warrior that singled him out.
"I thought there was something different about your energy signature. Alright fine, let's do this" he said
"I'll handle Zabuza, Genma you take care of the Hunter ninja" Kakashi said
"Right" Genma nodded
There was a tense silence as they all stood facing off against one another. The tension was so thick that you could cut through it. Then they all disappeared as their bodies flickered into battle.
Trunks swung his sword at the other Saiyan, but he ducked and uppercut him into the air as he jumped into the air after him. Genma and Haku clashed against one another using senbon. Suddenly Haku went through hand seals and called out
"Thousand Flying Water needles of death!" Suddenly a thousand needles formed from the mist.
Genma jumped back and substituted with a steel beam on the bridge causing the needles to stab into it.
"Tch, dammit. He's good"
Zabuza stood across from Kakashi and the 3 genin of team 6 and then he disappeared into the mist.
"Larynx, juglar, kidneys, spine, heart, lungs, subclavian artery. These are places that can cause instant death." he said through the mist
Sozu went for broke and activated his Sekigan briefly and drew his sword in time to block a sword swipe from Zabuza. Kakashi appeared behind and stabbed him, but then his body turned into water. He dodged an incoming swipe from behind as he rolled out of the way and Sozu let his katana move through the air. Zabuza blocked the attack and then he pushed his strike away and leapt back into the mist. Kakashi leapt in front of the bridge builder again while Sozu stayed behind the team and took up a defensive position.
With Trunks,
The mystery Saiyan followed up and Trunks slashed at him with his sword, but the man dodged and swung around and slammed a ki blast into his stomach sending him off the bridge. He followed the jonin Saiyan off the bridge to get him away from the vicinity. Trunks regained his balance mid-air and descended to the ground landing on his feet. He sheathed his sword and went through hand seals and his hands landed in a triangle symbol.
"Burning Attack!"
A large blast of energy at his fellow Saiyan as the man slapped it away landed in front of him. He looked at his familiarity as his eyes looked at the man.
"You, who are you?" Trunks asked
"My name is Tarble, the second prince of all Saiyans"
Trunks' blood ran cold as he looked at the man in recognition.
"You, what do you mean the second prince of all Saiyans?" Trunks asked
"Yes, my bastard brother Vegeta is the first born of our father. The fucker abandoned me to die!"
Trunks froze as he looked at the black haired man. His eyes narrowed and he gathered ki around his body and the dirt, dust and smoke kicked up around him as the ground cracked. High winds swirled around him and a large spiritual pressure that weighed down on his opponent.
"You seem to be up in arms about my words" Tarble said
Soon Trunks appeared in front of him and punched out at his opponent who blocked sending him back towards the bridge.
With Genma and Haku,
Senbon clashed across the field and Genma was on the back foot of the battle as he dodged a hail of water needles. He did a body flicker towards the edge of the bridge and flipped over and towards Haku as he threw out a hail of senbon at him. Genma went through hand signs
"Fire style: Dragon's breath!"
He blew out a wide torrent of fire at the Yuki ninja who raised her hands
"Ice Release: Ice Rock Dome of Magnificent Nothingness!"
She was surrounded by a large transparent igloo-like dome around her. The attack hit her and received cracks all over. After the fire breath fizzled out she went through hand seals and then she put her hands on the ground.
"Ice Style: Killing Ice Spears!"
Ice spread across the ground and 4 large spikes lunged out at him. Genma dodged several spikes and leapt out of the way and he threw a volley of Senbon at Haku. Haku drew a handful of Senbon and threw them in response, clashing the weapons. Genma landed as he drew a kunai and threw it at the ice wielder who used an ice spike to block the kunai. As the kunai hit the ground, she heard the paper tag sizzling, then she put her hands in the ram seal and the spikes morphed into a wall of chakra enforced ice and it withstood the explosion, leaving a few cracks in the ice.
"Heh, looks like I can't get up close. Well then, I guess I'll have to use one of my aces" Genma said to himself with a smirk
Genma drew a set of senbon in his right hand then he went through one handed signs ending with a flat hand with all fingers extended. The senbon lit on fire.
"Fire Style: Piercing Inferno Senbon!"
His instincts kicked in and he jumped forward as a wall of Ice formed behind him and he threw the flaming Senbon at Haku who threw a set of ice Senbon at him. His flaming Senbon tore through hers and she leaned back into the wall of ice and barely made it in time as she went back into the icy water.
Genma landed and drew more senbon and went through one handed seals again lighting them on fire. He looked around at the ice on the ground then at the wall of Ice dissolving behind him. Soon he was caught off guard as several walls of blocked ice began to surround him and rise into a dome. He grimaced then smirked as his instincts kicked in again and he turned around and threw his flaming senbon at an incoming Haku. The senbon tore through her body and she fell to the ground. Soon her body turned into ice as his smirk turned into a stoic face.
'This won't be a problem' Genma thought as he looked through the cracks in the wall of Ice at a senbon that was lodged into the ground outside of the ice dome. He smirked and performed the substitution jutsu to replace himself with the technique. He dropped to one knee and took a few breaths.
"Hopefully…that technique he's using drains a lot of chakra to create. I've got about ⅔'s of my reserves left" he said to himself and went through ideas in his head for a strategy
Xxx
Back at Tazuna's home Naruto came to and then he yawned. He stood up to grab his tooth brush and a rag when he suddenly tripped over Sasuke who was asleep in his sleeping bag.
"Ermm…Watch where you step idiot" Sasuke said as he rose out of his sleep and yawned.
"Watch where you sleep bastard!" Naruto said
Soon Naruto made his way to the bathroom to wash up. Sasuke looked around and walked towards the door and as he made his way into the hallway, he saw Hinata walking out of the room that the girls shared.
"So they left us here eh?" Sasuke asked
"Yes, I believe they went to the bridge" she said
Hinata walked towards the stairs leading down to the kitchen when she heard a scream from downstairs. Hinata broke into a run downstairs and Sasuke followed behind her. Naruto, hearing the scream while brushing his teeth, created two shadow clones and had them jump out of the window and survey the situation. His teammates found Tsunami and Inari being cornered by two of Gato's thugs. One of them wore a light blue samurai outfit and a bini, then another man with no shirt and a bottom part of his outfit.
"C'mon now, you either come with us or we kill the kid!" the shirtless one said
Suddenly before one of them could do anything, the one wearing the bini was kicked in the back of his head by Sasuke while Hinata performed a gentle fist strike in the back of the shirtless man knocking both of them unconscious. A ninja in all black leapt towards them but Naruto's two clones knocked the ninja out with 2 clones. Soon, they turned around and smirked at the clones as they disappeared.
"Humph, so the dope is more perceptive than I thought" Sasuke said
"I-I'll tie them up"
Hinata went up stairs and came back down with ninja wire wrapping up the 3 bandits hands, arms, legs and ankles. Soon, they were off towards the bridge to help their sensei' and team 6. As they ran towards the battle, Naruto and Sasuke had a grin on their faces.
Naruto walked downstairs and Inari ran up to him.
"I-I didn't run, th-this time" he said crying
Naruto ruffled his hair and smiled
"Don't worry kiddo, now you're a real hero. You stood against the odds and didn't run. Good job"
At the bridge.
Sozu was kicked away by a water clone from Zabuza. Kakashi was fighting the original off a ways away. Sozu had his Sekigan activated as he held his katana in a defensive position.
"Heh, you're pretty good with that sword brat. But you're not on my level." The clone said with an aura of superiority.
Soon enough the Zabuza clone began to gather chakra into his executioner's blade. He jumped up and swung his sword down to the ground and a crescent wave of water was sent towards Sozu.
"Water style: Crescent Razor Slash!"
As the pressurized wave of water was sent at Sozu who tumbled out of the way and replied throwing a hail of kunai at him. The clone used the executioner's blade to block the kunai. He continued towards the genin and Sozu met his executioner's blade with his father's sword and they clashed. Sozu was down on one knee as his sword struggled against the older ninja's. Sozu let the bigger sword slide off his to the left and then he rolled out of the way, then he kicked at the clone who caught his ankle and threw him across the bridge.
"Arrggghhh!"
He yelled, skidding and bouncing across the field.
"You gotta be kidding!" The brunette said standing up
He went through hand signs
"Fire style: Dragon Flame Bomb!"
"Tch, you think this will stop me?!" Zabuza's clone yelled and swung his sword with another water crescent wave creating steam to add to the mist.
Soon he threw the sword at Sozu who, in return, jumped over the blade and went through another set of hand signs.
"Fire style: burning cross!"
Sozu swung his sword horizontally and spun back around swinging vertically and the burning cross was sent at Zabuza's clone who disappeared into the mist after avoiding. Sozu grimaced as he tracked him with his Sekigan only for the mist to thicken around the clone.
"Rgh! Dammit!"
He landed looking around and then he had to roll out of the way of a slamming sword strike. He swung on the hilt of the tall sword and kicked the brunette again causing him to roll and bounce across the ground.
"Augh!" He flew grabbing onto his chest as he lay on the ground.
"Rrgh! You bastard!"
Zabuza came in ready to stomp Sozu. Suddenly he was saved by Naruto who came in and kicked the water clone who blocked with his sword. Then Sasuke grabbed Sozu, picked him up and moved away. Hinata came in and smashed a gentle fist palm strike into the side of the head of the water clone, turning it back into a mass of water.
"Humph, glad we got rid of that" Naruto said
They all noticed Sozu's Sekigan and he deactivated it.
"We'll ask about that later. For now, Hinata can you tell us what's going on?" Sasuke said
Hinata activated her Byakugan and looked around the battlefield.
"Naruto, Sasuke. Trunks, Genma and Kakashi sensei are in battle right now against the other ninja." Hinata said
"What's the plan?" Naruto asked
Sasuke activated his Sharingan and looked towards Kakashi's direction.
"Naruto you go help Trunks sensei. Hinata, Sozu, you both go to team 6 and help Kakashi sensei when you can. I'll help Genma sensei with his enemy."
"Right!" They both said and the 3 split and went to their battles. Sozu ran with Hinata back to Tazuna, Mina and Akino.
"Hinata? Where's the rest of your team?" Mina asked
"We've come to help. This'll be over soon" the Hyuga replied as Sozu got back into position with his hair over his eyes
Soon Genma was seen jumping back in front of the genin and Tazuna as he blocked a set of senbon from hitting them. He dropped to one knee as he could be seen riddled with Senbon in non-lethal places. He rasped out breaths and spoke up,
"I…drained him of most of his reserves. I…hate to say it but… I'll need some help getting an opening on him for me to land a chakra seal tag ." Genma said
"Is he…stronger than Zabuza?" Akino asked
Genma nodded as he kept his eyes peeled. Hinata, who still had her Byakugan activated, looked around as well. Sozu had his Sekigan activated and was taking the rear of guarding Tazuna as he scanned the area. Abruptly a wall of ice rose from the ground and Haku threw a hail of senbon at Sozu, who blocked any from hitting Tazuna with his katana. He threw a volley of shuriken at Haku, who blocked all of them with a senbon catching them all and throwing them back. Hinata and Genma jumped in to assist with kunai and senbon of their own, causing Haku to jump back.
Xxx
Tarble had skid across the ground on his feet, landing on the bridge again.
"Whoa, kids got some serious firepower." he said as his arms still tingled from the punch
Trunks followed up flying towards him, but soon Tarble dropped a smoke bomb blinding Trunks who smirked as he closed his eyes. He grabbed a kick stopping it mid-attack and threw Tarble away from him out of the smoke.
"Hmmm, seems like he could sense my chakra-"
Tarble was cut off as he caught the back of a kick from another ninja as he threw a blond haired ninja wearing red and black at the other ninja known as Trunks. As he caught his student and body flickered backwards he spoke,
"Naruto, what the hell are you doing here?"
"Don't worry Trunks, I'll get rid of him"
"No way, this is my opponent, get back with the team!"
Naruto made an annoyed grimace at Trunks and they both stood side to side as Tarble approached.
"No way am I leaving this up to you! You got to fight all the big guys last time!" He said folding his are in a huff
"Seriously, this guy is on a different level than the others. The other enemies were just small fry compared to him" Trunks said
"He's right, it's not everyday you get to fight the Prince Of All Saiyans!" Tarble said
"What? That's Trunks you prick!"
"Naruto be quiet!"
"What, you're Uncle Vegeta's son right? Not this guy?"
Tarble froze then he looked closer at Trunks and smirked in recognition"
"So, my bastard brother lives eh?"
Naruto froze then looked closer at Tarble
"W-wow, he looks like a little version of Uncle Vegeta…bizarre"
"I take it you've met my brother as well hmm?" Tarble sneered
"Uncle? What are you to him?"
"Well, Trunks here is my cousin on his mom's side."
"Naruto, don't just freely tell the enemy we're related!" Trunks yelled in irritation
Naruto got into a battle stance and drew a handful of Kunai.
"Dammit, he probably won't even let you leave but we gotta get rid of him and get back to the bridge."
"Nooo, don't mind me children, keep bickering"
Naruto and Trunks narrowed their eyes and began to channel their ki/chakra. Tarble smirked at them and got a savage grin across his face as his ki channeled and made the grounds rumble. Soon the earth began to crack under all of their feet from the sheer amount of power being generated.
"Hooo, so you two have some back bone after all."
Naruto wasted no time and began to charge before Trunks stopped him.
"What gives?" Naruto said indignantly
"Follow my lead" Trunks said
Naruto nodded with annoyance. Trunks came in with his sword at the ready, Tarble got into his battle stance. Trunks slashed at him with his sword, but Tarble ducked and elbowed him in the stomach, sending him into the air. As he stood up, he had to block a punch from Naruto and then he had to block an overhead kick from the blonde in his grip. Naruto headbutt the saiyan causing him to lose his balance and let go of the blonde's fist.
"Uncle or not! You won't stop this village from being free!" Naruto yelled
Trunks came back down and did a spin kick sending Tarble flying backwards. Naruto put his hands in the cross seal and created 5 shadow clones. The clones charged at him, but he kicked away one, and jumped over two trying to tackle him and he began to float upwards. He shot an energy blast at the ground dispelling the clones and then he landed 20 feet away from the two.
"Humph, guess, I should get serious. We don't want to cause excess destruction when we don't have to Naruto" Trunks said as his aura burst around him
Naruto nodded and pulled on his aura as a blue bust around the both of them. Soon Kurama spoke through the seal,
"You may want to consider my power for this if you want to end this quickly. That saiyans power is not something to take lightly"
Soon Naruto's aura turned red and Trunks' blue aura turned silverish white. Their powers made the winds flicker and dust and debris began to swirl across the area. Tarble smirked at this and his blue aura began to shine as he powered up.
"So you want to see if you can end me quickly you say? Give it your best shot!" He yelled as he unleashed a powerful force pushing them both back causing their feet to skid across the terrain.
The Namikaze cousins body flickered away and then before he could say anything else two fists punched Tarble so hard that the impact burst open the back of his shirt sending him reeling.
"Urgk!"
Trunks kicked him in the face and Naruto's body flickered towards him and smashed his fist into the man's stomach. They both jumped up and channeled ki into their hands and shot a giant ki blast into the ground, but Tarble backflipped out of the crater and then he shot a giant energy blast at them, which caused them to separate and dodge. He disappeared from their sight and then he reappeared behind them and kicked them into the ground, causing dust, smoke and debris to kick up.
"You've got a long way to go, brats!" Tarble said menacingly
Naruto and Trunks got a shiver down their spines and they realized how strong their opponent was.
"This could be trouble!" Trunks said
Xxx
Kakashi had just been slashed down the chest by Zabuza and the swordsman was gloating about it.
"What's the matter Kakashi, am I too much for you?"
Kakashi smirked and pulled a scroll from his vest pocket.
"No you don't" a voice whispered behind him
*CLANK"
Kakashi dodged a sword slash and to his surprise it made a clanging sound. He turned around to see Sasuke with two kunai.
"Hooo, another sharingan user eh?"
"ERRRRGGH! KAKASHI DO IT!"
Zabuza's eyes widened and he jumped back into the mist and Kakashi went through the hand seals and placed his hand on the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
8 large puffs of smoke appeared in the field and as the smoke cleared there were 8 dogs. The dogs looked at Kakashi then he nodded and they dispersed. Shortly, there was a scream from inside the mist.
"AUURRRGGHHH!" Zabuza yelled and Sasuke and Kakashi ran towards him
His arms and legs were caught by the dogs.
"Sasuke, watch carefully. I was planning on teaching you and Naruto this technique."
Kakashi went through hand signs and it ended on the monkey hand sign. The copy ninja began to gather lightning in his right hand.
"This is the lightning blade!"
Suddenly there was a clapping in the distance near the end of the unfinished bridge. His jutsu dissipated just as soon as it appeared.
"Well done leaf ninja. I wasn't gonna pay these fools anyway hahahahaha!" a nasty old voice called out.
Soon Gato and a gang of thugs appeared.
"I believe it's time to delete you from my services Zabuza!"
Soon Haku was sent flying down the corridor only to land on her feet. She dodged a gentle fist strike from Hinata and a hail of senbon from Genma. Soon all 3 turned to look at Gato.
"Oh, where's the smart mouthed one? Probably de-"
Soon a large *BOOM* sound that was heard as Naruto was sent flying into the water. Shortly after Tarble and Trunks were fighting at lightning speed, and Tarble tried to send a multitude at Trunks, then said Namikaze axe kicked him downwards. He flipped into position and blocked a kick from Trunks only to kick him away. Naruto climbed out of the water and began to walk back to battle only to see the stand off on the bridge. Tarble dodged another sword slash from Trunks and he kicked him towards the stand off.
"Urgh, dammit!" As he got up he stopped to look around and see them all either looking at Gato or at himself.
Tarble walked up next to them as well with a serious look on his face.
"Hey old man, this better be good! I was getting in a good fight!"
A vein busted on Gato's head and he yelled
"I'm getting rid of you alllll! KILL THEM! THIS COUNTRY WILL BE MINE!"
"Really Gato?" Tarble said rolling his eyes
Naruto grimaced and got into a fighting stance. Tarble put a hand in front of him.
The bandits he hired yelled as they charged at them.
"What the hell are you-"
"We're done here, I need a good fight and you're not my enemy right now. Maybe later…brat"
Tarble said as he walked forward.
Zabuza, Tarble and Haku began to walk forward
"Kakashi. Our battle is over, we want nothing to do with harming the people of this country. Leave Gato to us."
Then they charged at the gaggle of bandits and began to smash through the bandits like a bulldozer. The screams of the bandits filled the air as they watched the 3 ninja kill the bandits.
"W-wait, we can talk about this! I'll give you whatever you want!" Gato yelled and Zabuza approached him
"WAAAAUUUU-!" Gato yelled as Zabuza cut his head off, killing him.
"Well that's one way to end it," Naruto said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Tell me about it. That idiot should've just let go of this country. He'd have kept his life afterall" Trunks said, annoyed at the whole situation.
"Either way, mission accomplished" Kakashi said putting his sharingan away
Everyone was relieved that the battle was over. Everyone except Sozu who had his fists bawled as he deactivated his Sekigan.
'I revealed my Kekkei genkai and still FUCKING lost to these FUCKING pricks!'
One week later
Teams 6 & 7 were standing at the end of the bridge.
"Looks like this is the end of our stay here" Kakashi said
Genma shook hands with Tazuna
Inari hugged Naruto
"You're a real hero now man. I didn't mean to be so hard on you kiddo" Naruto said to Inari
"Thanks bro, I'm gonna miss you" Inari said almost crying
"Remember kiddo, hero's don't cry" Naruto said as he turned around to cry himself
"You're both idiots" Sasuke said sighing
"I want to thank you all for saving this country" Tazuna said
"It was nothing" Genma said
"Oh no buddy. It was a pain in the ass. But the hero always shows up right on time" Naruto said with gusto
Trunks punched him in the head
"What he meant, was thank you for having us Mr. Tazuna. But we must be going now"
"My pleasure, you're welcome back anytime" Tazuna said
As both teams left the bridge builders spoke.
"What are we naming this bridge?" a random builder asked
"How about the great Konoha bridge?" Tazuna asked
They all cheered in agreement to the name of the bridge.