Author's Note: Thank you again for all the kind reviews. I'm glad you are still enjoying the story and so many of you stuck around through the long hiatus. This chapter marks the beginning of the Wave Arc, which will be where deviations from canon start to become more apparent. I hope you all enjoy it!
Naruto rushed out of the gate ahead of his team and their client. After a few paces he stopped and turned back, stretching both fists to the sky as he laughed. A light breeze danced happily in greeting, weaving around the blond's legs and swirling up his body like an excited puppy ready to play. Naruto had never been outside of the village before, and he relished the freedom he felt in the wide open word. He looked back on the massive walls of Konoha, towering over two dozen meters into the sky. His team was just passing through the gate, accompanying the old bridge builder they would be escorting back to his home. As they continued down the road, they adopted a loose diamond formation with Sasuke and Sakura flanking Tazuna, Naruto scampering ahead in excitement, and Kakashi trailing behind, nose deep in orange-bound distraction.
The warm morning passed amicably enough. Sakura had tried to engage her love interest in conversation, but the last Uchiha preferred his brooding silence. The kunoichi deflated once again at the rejection, Tazuna took pity on the girl and began regaling her on his exploits as a bridge builder and craftsman. He became so enthralled in explaining the intricacies of his trade that he didn't notice Sakura's head was already spinning trying to keep up with the unfamiliar jargon. Naruto's exuberance soon waned, and he kept a more reasonable pace at the head of the group. The road cut through the forest as it wended it way Eastward. The trees waved merrily in the breeze, undisturbed by the passage of the five travelers beneath them. Nothing could disturb the picturesque serenity of Eastern Hi no Kuni in Late Spring.
Naruto was quickly becoming bored. He didn't dare try to insert himself in the torrent of architectural alchemy Tazuna was spewing at his female companion. The forest around him remained blissfully uncaring of the boy's thirst for excitement and continued to bask in the late Spring warmth. His mind drifted to his efforts to learn the Uzumaki techniques and revive his clan when a thought came to him. He slowed his pace, allowing his teammates to slip passed, and fell into step with his one-eyed sensei.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei?" he began, unsure of how to proceed.
"Hmm?" came the reply from behind the customary orange book.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Remember how I said I would restore the Uzumaki clan?"
"Mhmm."
"How...do I do that...exactly?"
The jonin sighed, closed his book, and returned it to his pouch, "Well, Naruto, what do you know of clans and how they operate?"
The bewildered look on his student's face was all the answer he needed. Kakashi did note one of his other genin was taking an interest in the conversation, likely in an attempt to avoid Sakura's fate. Still, it would be good for Sasuke to hear this information as well.
Kakashi tapped one finger to his masked chin, thoughtfully, "Well, at their core, clans are basically a group of individuals united by a shared belief. They usually consist of one or more families that can trace their ancestry back to a common figure, though not all members of a clan need be related by blood or marriage."
"So a clan is just a big family?" Naruto asked, though he remembered the other crests he had found in the jutsu library hidden beneath the shrine. Perhaps they hadn't been separate clans after all?
"The size of a clan doesn't necessarily matter, but as they are often seen as political entities, it usually follows that having more clan members equates to having more influence over the larger community or nation," Kakashi waited for Naruto's nod of understanding. "Technically speaking, you or I are members of a clan as much as the Hyuga or Nara of Konoha. However, it is often easier for smaller groups to be recognized as clans if they have a bloodline, like the Uchiha, or especially strong techniques, as is the case with the Sarutobi."
Sasuke prickled at the perceived slight in calling the Uchiha a small clan, but given his own moniker of The Last, there was little he could do to refute. He simply grunted in annoyance, inadvertently revealing his interest in the conversation behind him. He began to drift backwards, ignoring his pink-haired teammate's silent pleas to not be abandoned.
Seeing that both of his male students were now fully committed to the topic, Kakashi decided to have a little fun, "So, do either of you have a girlfriend yet? If you need some pointers, I know this great book that has wonderful advice if you are interested."
All three of his genin blushed furiously, even Sasuke, and Naruto jumped back, flinging his hands up in disgust, "Eew, gross pervy-sensei! Keep your smutty books to yourself!"
Tazuna, broken from his rhythm describing the intricacies of trusses, outriggers, and stringers, turned back to see what all the commotion was about, "Eh? What's that?" He blinked owlishly behind his spectacles. "You kids are too young to be worried about that kind of stuff. You still just children after all." He cut himself off and turned back to stare at the rode beneath him, seemingly unable to look at the ninja he had hired.
Kakashi made a mental note of the bridge builder's behavior, but addressed his blond student, "Pervy-sensei? I seem to recall a certain genin defeating a certain academy instructor with an especially 'tasteful' justu. What was it called? Something about a sexy jutsu? Seems to me that he would have needed to get inspiration from somewhere."
Naruto blushed again, suddenly finding the underbrush to his left extremely interesting, "That's deferent," he mumbled. "I wasn't doing it for that, I just knew it would be a great attack to catch people off guard. It was just research."
Somewhere in the Land of Fire, near a popular hot spring, a white haired man paused briefly in his frantic note-taking. He suddenly felt overwhelming pride in a godson he had yet to formally meet, "Maybe its time to visit the little brat," he murmured. His distraction didn't last long, and he soon returned to his notebook, peeking through the branches of the bush he had hidden behind, a perverse giggle escaping his lips.
Back on the road to Nami, Kakashi chuckled at his student's embarrassment, as Sakura growled menacingly at the Last Uzumaki, "Anyway, to get back to the point," he looked between Sasuke and Naruto, "restoring a clan is no easy task. It cannot be done overnight. It will be your life's work, which you will pass on to your children and grandchildren. It is literally the work of generations."
Silence fell upon the group as the genin returned to their positions and the jonin returned to his book. Sakura shot furtive glaces toward her Uchiha teammate, who kept his gaze fixed straight ahead. She hadn't really thought much about what his goals would mean for her own aspirations, but as she considered it, she realized that it didn't matter. Her goal remained unchanged: get to know Sasuke and be the support he would need. However, she now had a better idea of what that kind of assistance would mean. Though she blushed at the thought, she could feel her perspective beginning to shift, and she began to study the figurative path before her with a bit more scrutiny, even as she returned her attention to the physical path she now walked, sidestepping a puddle in the road.
Sasuke's thoughts took a darker turn as he again recalled that fateful night. Restoring my clan will be my life's work? The work of generations? He considered his sensei's words. But he doesn't understand. I have to kill him first. I don't have any other choice. My life will begin when his ends.
Naruto also dwelled on his sensei's words. It seemed it would be harder than he thought to restore his clan, and it may not happen in his lifetime. The wind swirled around his feet, kicking up a small dust-devil before scampering off into the trees. The sight of the whirlwind reminded the young ninja of another passage in Ashina's book.
Persistence and diligence have long been the hallmarks of the Uzumaki clan, and will be essential on the journey to Fuinjutsu mastery. Indeed, your personal determination is vital to mastering any goal you may set, and just so with the ninja arts. Our ancestors chose our Whirlpool crest to be a constant reminder of this. No matter how wide the whirlpool reaches, it swirls around tighter and tighter, each cycle bringing the water closer to its destination. The Singularity of Perfection.
The Singularity of Perfection. Naruto clenched his fist, resolve burning in his eyes. Even if it did take generations, he would do everything in his power-
Naruto was pulled roughly from his thoughts by a surprised grunt from behind him. A cruel voice growled out.
"That's one."
He turned in time to see his masked sensei wrapped tightly by a wickedly sharp, bladed chain. His lone eye widened in fear. Naruto opened his mouth to shout.
The chain pulled taut, ripping through the jonin with ease.
Sakura screamed, her face a frozen mask of horror.
Her terror drew the attention of the chain's bearers. Two dark figures, each masked with respirators and wearing clawed metal gauntlets to which the chain attached. One cloaked, with straight hair and a hitai-ate with a single horn protruding up from the middle, wore his gauntlet on the right hand. The other in a dirty beige haori and a dual horned hitai-ate holding back spiky brown hair. The latter one, with his gauntlet on his left hand, glared at her with hard eyes.
"That's two."
The pair rushed forward. Naruto cursed. He fumbled with his pack. The buckle caught in his haste. Gauntlets raised, the dripping chain glinted in the sun. Abandoning his pack, Naruto leaped forward. But Sasuke was faster.
A shuriken cut through the air, catching the chain before thunking into a tree. The kunai right behind stabbed through the center hole of the throwing star, locking it in place. Sasuke leaped onto the chain, wary of the blades, and sprang upward. Twisting his body, the Uchiha prodigy kicked out. Striking each assailant on the side of the head, he knocked them to the ground.
"Brother," the cloaked one said, standing and yanking on the chain, "I can't get loose."
"Leave it!" Brother commanded.
A hidden click, and the chain fell from the gauntlets. Now freed, the pair started forward. Sasuke intercepted Cloak, blocking his swiping claw with a kunai. Brother slipped around, and headed back toward the remaining genin. Sakura jumped in front of Tazuna, holding her own kunai up defensively in trembling hands. Brother ran, low to the ground, lifting his claw to strike.
A streak of orange and blond came from the side. Naruto launched a heavy kick at his opponent, but it was blocked by Brother's raised forearm. Still, the Uzumaki succeeded in drawing attention away from his teammate. He settled into his taijutsu stance, and faced the two-horned ninja.
"You better run while you can, little brat," Brother taunted, flexing his claw menacingly.
"Not a chance," Naruto spat back. "You're gonna pay for what you did to my sensei!"
Brother laughed cruelly, and lashed out with his claw.
Naruto ducked the swipe, and blocked the follow-up knee strike with his palm, skidding backward from the force.
"Boss!" three kage bunshin shouted in unison as they jumped beside the blond, one clone catching Naruto as he slid.
The three new Narutos pulled out their kunai, and the original accepted one from the clone that caught him. They circled the enemy ninja, waiting for an opening.
Brother scoffed, "You think clones are enough to beat me? Four times trash is still trash!"
Naruto and his clones charged, lashing out with punches and kicks. Brother dodged and blocked, striking back with his gauntlet. The blonds seemed to dance around him, each covering for the others. Kunai clashed against claw again and again. The stalemate continued until the horned assassin growled in frustration.
"Enough of this!"
With a burst of speed, he kicked behind him, catching one clone in the stomach. He rammed his gauntlet into the belly of the second, and snatched the retaliatory kick of the third in his open hand. He swung the clone violently into a tree, and three puffs of smoke briefly obscured him. He smirked at the remaining blond.
"What now, brat?"
Naruto, unfazed by the ferocious counterattack, smirked back.
"How about this?" and he spun the kunai in his hand before ramming it at his face.
Brother shouted in surprise, but before the knife impacted, it exploded in a cloud of smoke, obscuring the orange clad genin. But only for an instant. Naruto dashed forward, and Brother noted a flash of something white on the boy's face.
Naruto snarled behind his bear mask, swiping forward with his own clawed hand at the stunned ninja. Brother raised his arms to block, confident he could stop the attack. Naruto's hand struck his opponent's crossed arms with the force of a rockslide. In the brief moment of impact, the Uzumaki heard a snap, before the enemy ninja was launched away.
Into the waiting arms of a silver haired jonin.
"Kakashi-sensei! You're alive!" Sakura shouted.
It took a moment for Naruto to recover from the shock of seeing his sensei alive and whole, but a wide grin soon split his face.
"Sorry it took so long," Kakashi drawled, "I just got so caught up in watching the fight, I forgot what we were doing for a moment."
Naruto noticed Kakashi held Cloak over his shoulder, while he caught Brother around the neck with his free hand. He looked behind his teacher and saw Sasuke, clothes scuffed slightly from the fight, but apparently unharmed. He looked further back down the road, and saw a pile of cut sticks where Kakashi had been caught in the chain.
"A substitution jutsu," he heard Sakura explain. "Oh, I'm so glad you're ok! And Sasuke-kun! You were amazing fighting that ninja all on your own!"
"Hey, Sakura-chan, what about me?" Naruto interrupted her gushing.
"You had your clones, Naruto, that doesn't count."
Naruto hung his head in despair at her dismissal.
Kakashi stepped forward, "All three of you did well," he began. "Sasuke, you were the quickest to react, and you disabled your opponent's combination attack expertly. Sakura," he turned to the kunoichi, "after your initial freeze up, you recovered nicely and protected the client. Well done." He looked last to the blond, "And Naruto. You were a little slow getting your mask out, but you did manage to hold your own until you could get your clones to back you up. Nice trick with the kunai, by the way," he chuckled, "it certainly caught your enemy off guard."
Naruto preened under his sensei's praise. He saw Sakura smile demurely and scuff the ground with her toe. Sasuke merely grunted in reply, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly upward.
"Now then," Kakashi carried his burden to a tree at the side of the road and began tying them to the trunk, "these two are known as the Demon Brothers, Gozu and Meizu" he pulled the ropes tight around the unconscious pair. "They are chunin-ranked missing nin from the Village Hidden in the Mist that sell their services as mercenaries." He turned back to the group, fixing a hard glare on Team 7's client, "The question is: why would assassins from Kiri be after a bridge builder from Wave?"
Tazuna looked nervously to the side, "I don't know what you mean, ninjas fight each other all the time, right?"
"They came for you, Tazuna," Kakashi began to growl. The three younger ninjas remembered this dark aura from the day of their genin test, and were glad they weren't the subjects of it this time. "They told Naruto to get out of the way, meaning, we weren't the target."
The old man swallowed hard, reaching up with shaking hands to wipe the sweat from his brow. His eyes shifted rapidly between the trees, the road, the genin, anywhere except the senior ninja in front of him. Finally, he sighed and his shoulder's slumped in defeat.
"Alright, I'll tell you everything."
Tazuna explained that the Land of Waves was a small country, and relatively poor. Even their Daimyo didn't have much money. But their island was close to several major trade routes, which drew the eye of Gatō, the shipping magnate of Gatō Company. He came in with honeyed words and promises to bring Wave prosperity with a new shipping center he would build. In reality, he wanted the island as a new staging ground to run his illegal smuggling and trafficking empire. The Daimyo disappeared, and Gatō took over. He used hired mercenaries to cow the people of Wave into submission, brutally retaliating against any who dared oppose him. He extorted the country of resources, and people began disappearing. Their families hoped to find the bodies washed up on the shore, because the alternative was far worse.
"That's why I have to build this bridge," Tazuna concluded, "to free my country from Gatō's grasp. He has control of our ports and our boats, but this bridge will connect us to the main land and break Gatō's monopoly."
The four ninja listened intently to the sad tale of Wave. Naruto's fists were shaking, and he heard quiet sniffles from Sakura beside him. Kakashi sighed, but his gaze was resolute.
"It's not that we aren't sympathetic to your situation," he began, "but I have a responsibility to my team. They did well against the first attempt, but Gatō is sure to send a higher level opponent next time. My team is not ready to face a jonin."
Tazuna nodded, "Of course, you have to look out for your students. I'll just go on from here, alone." He bowed his head, "No doubt you are right, the next ninja Gatō sends after me will be much too powerful, even for you, Hatake-san. I will of course be dead before I can reach my home, and my daughter will hate Leaf ninja forever." The old man sniffed, dramatically, "My young grandson, who is only eight years old, will never know what happened to me. He will sit on the pier and cry 'Grandpa, grandpa!' but I will have to wait for him in the Pure Land. Fortunately, with Gatō's control over Wave uncontested, I will not have to wait long. But please, take your student's back to safety."
Kakashi winced, Jeez, this guy, he thought.
Naruto looked to his teacher, "Kakshi-sensei, we can't go back now. We have a duty as ninja to fulfill our mission. We can't run away the moment things get difficult. Besides," he glanced back at Tazuna, who still had his head bowed, "the Land of Waves needs our help. Isn't this what the Will of Fire is all about?"
Kakashi returned Naruto's determined gaze, then looked to his other students. Sasuke, grim-faced as always, nonetheless shared the blond's resolve. Only Sakura appeared nervous, though he could see her steel herself at Naruto's words. He sighed, and his eye crinkled up in a smile.
"Alight Naruto, we'll continure the mission. But-" he continued, cutting off Naruto's cheer, "from here on out this mission will be extremely dangerous. You will all need to follow my orders exactly. Is that clear?"
Sasuke and Sakura nodded in agreement, while Naruto straightened into a sharp salute. Kakashi ignored the victorious smirk on Tazuna's face as he and the trio of genin, plus one smug bridge builder, continued down the road. Naruto again took point, but this time he donned his chameleon mask, the smooth lacquer glinting in the sun. Sasuke and Sakura returned to their positions at Tazuna's flanks. The old man looked intently at the orange clad ninja in front of him, his gaze lingering on the strange mask. He squinted his eyes in concentration as he tried to chase down a niggling thought more than half faded into foggy memory. Kakashi returned to his slouching gait at the rear of the group, but his beloved orange book remained securely in his pouch.