Naruto: Uchiha no Densetsu
Chapter 22: Hope
Naruto lay asleep on the soft grass as the bright rays of the sun shone through the canopy of trees. For most part of the night, the blonde had spent meditating to clear his mind and in pursuit to better understand his chakra. Even though, he knew what chakra was, it was still such a mysterious thing to him. Several questions had brazed through his mind like- similar to humans, did chakra have a consciousness of it's own? If one could summon souls from the pure world to the land of the living, did it mean that chakra has the ability to grant life and death, more essentially, did chakra have the ability to create life. Considering that the Rikudo Sennin had basically created consciousness for the bijuu out of nothing with his rinnegan, could he also do the same thing? There were so many questions in uncharted territories such as these and it frustrated Naruto that he couldn't find the answers to them.
He stirred a little as the bright sunrays fell directly on his eyes. He kept his eyes closed, still somewhat tired from all the fighting yesterday. He breathed a content sigh as he enjoyed the gentle breeze that was flowing in the area. It was certainly refreshing to be near the shores. Extending his senses slightly, he could feel the life force of all the living beings around him, the chirping of the birds, the squirrels sitting atop some of the trees and for a moment, Naruto truly felt delight in being alive. The essence of life was indeed a beautiful thing. He was intrigued when he felt a familiar chakra approach him and realized it was the shinobi who had disguised himself as the Kiri Hunter ninja. Interested to see what the person would do, Naruto pretended to be asleep on the ground as the person came close to him.
The shinobi knelt beside Naruto with a sort of amused as well as confused look on his face. Confused cause the person did expect someone like the Shiroi Shinigami to be leisurely napping in the middle of the forest and amused because of the nonchalant look on Naruto's face. Naruto immediately opened his eyes and spooked the person, making him jump back.
"I apologize for disturbing you…" Naruto stared at the beautiful face in front of him momentarily. The person had an androgynous look with long black hair, pale skin, dark brown eyes and a slender frame. For second Naruto considered the person before him to be even prettier than Sakura and Hinata but shook his head at the wild thoughts that were forming in his mind.
"No, it's quite alright. You don't have to apologize." Naruto replied with a small smile as he stood up. He noticed the small basket the person was carrying and asked, "Are you collecting herbs for something?"
"You have a keen eye. You're right. Someone close to me was injured recently. And I'm here to collect some medicinal herbs for treatment." Said the person in a gentle voice. Yet again, Naruto was surprised at the pure devotion he could sense from him. For a mere second, he was saddened by the fact that his team would most likely have to face him in battle.
"Are you a shinobi?" The person asked as he noticed the Konoha headband on Naruto's forehead.
"Hai. That I am. My name's Naruto Namikaze." The blonde introduced himself. "And what might your name be?"
"Haku…" replied the person as Naruto nodded. They became quiet for a few seconds, not sure what to say exactly. While Haku knew exactly who the person before him was, he didn't wish to reveal his true identity and Naruto simply played along for the fun of it. "Do you want me to help you out in picking the medicinal herbs? It would be faster if both of us looked for it…" suggested Naruto.
"That does sound good. I'm glad for your help." Haku said. The two then moved further into the forests and looked around for any viable herbs that could be used for healing. About half an hour passed as both had collected quite a good amount. Haku stole a few glances towards Naruto in astonishment. He was surprised at the kind and gentle behavior portrayed by a shinobi of his caliber.
"Do you have a dream, Naruto-san?" Haku asked genuinely. Surprised by the question, Naruto pondered over it for a few seconds.
"I wish to protect those who are close to me. I don't ever want to lose anyone close to me…" Naruto stated with a somber look.
"That is a noble dream, Naruto-san. I believe the true strength of a person emerges when they genuinely wish to protect someone they love." Haku replied as he placed a few more herbs in his basket. Once again, Naruto found himself staring at Haku, amazed at the gentle soul he possessed. Naruto became quiet as he focused on collecting herbs. After about ten minutes, once both were done, the blonde hesitated for a second, considering if he should warn Haku or not.
"Zabuza is lucky to have someone like you beside him. I truly wished we didn't have to face each other in battle." Naruto said. Haku suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at the blonde with slightly wide eyes. "I'm a sensor and I remember your chakra signature from before." Naruto clarified. Haku immediately took out a kunai from under his kimono and stood his ground.
"I do not wish to fight you, Haku. I truly do not. But, if you oppose us on the bridge, you'll certainly meet your end." Said Naruto with a saddened look.
"I will go wherever Zabuza-sama goes. If I'm destined to die in the future battle, then so be it. I'm merely a tool for him to use as he wishes. But, until the moment I draw breath in this world, I shall not abandon Zabuza-sama's side." Replied Haku passionately. Seeing the resolve in Haku's eyes, Naruto understood there was no swaying him from his decision. He shook his head slightly, saddened that a beautiful soul such as his might perish in a few days.
"Well, then… I suppose all I can do is wish you luck. But, if my friends are harmed in any way, there won't be a place in this world you can hide from me." Naruto stated with hardened eyes. Before Haku could say anything further, Naruto shunshined out of the area to Tazuna's house.
Tazuna's house
As Naruto arrived in Tazuna's house, he found Tsunami to be sitting on the table and sipping on her tea while reading the newspaper.
"Oh, Naruto-san, where had you been all night? Your friends were quite worried." Tsunami said on seeing Naruto's presence. She still found it quite unbelievable that shinobi could just appear out of anywhere. It would certainly take her some time to sink into that feeling.
"There's nothing to worry, Tsunami-san. I was just out in the woods training at night and I fell asleep over there." Naruto replied kindly. The woman smiled at the blonde's response and nodded.
"Hinata-san and Sakura-san are upstairs, getting fresh. Kakashi-san and Sasuke-san have accompanied my father to the bridge to oversee his work. Oh, before I forget, Kakashi-san asked you to meet him at the bridge when you come back." Tsunami reminded. Naruto nodded and immediately went upstairs to meet Hinata and Sakura before leaving for the bridge.
However, as soon as he opened the door to the guest room, an evident blush creeped up his face at the sight before him. Hinata was taking out spare clothes from her backpack while she was wrapped by only a towel around her. Naruto found himself mesmerized by the droplets of water dripping from her wet hair onto her bare shoulders. As his gaze lingered down, below her face, he gulped audibly at her large bust. Hinata immediately froze as she heard someone's sound and quickly turned towards the door. She suddenly found herself self-conscious and covered herself with her arms.
"NARUTO-KUN!" Hinata yelled in embarrassment.
"I swear, I didn't see anything, Hinata-chan!" Naruto also yelled in reply as he covered his eyes with his hands quickly. He swiftly turned around to not gaze at her through the gaps of his fingers. "You can change now, Hinata-chan. I… uhm didn't mean to peer." Naruto stuttered a little. The blonde was confused when instead of being smacked on his head, he heard her tender giggle.
A few minutes later, once Hinata had changed into her shinobi gear, she approached Naruto and hugged him from behind. And, Naruto couldn't stop himself from thinking about what he had seen. 'Oh my god… That was…' Naruto thought with perverse chuckle in his mind. He suddenly felt Hinata move back and turned around to look at her. "Were you thinking about something perverted, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked with a glare. Naruto took a few steps back in fear. At this moment, he understood the fear Jiraiya felt when he got caught peeking at women in the hot springs.
"Of course not, Hinata-chan… why would you think something like that?" Naruto stated with an awkward chuckle. He again stepped back a little as Hinata approached him with slow steps.
"It's alright. I know, it was an accident." Hinata suddenly said with a small wink. Naruto's eyes widened at her playfulness and now he felt quite silly frankly. Walking towards her, Naruto wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him.
"Na… Naruto-kun?" And this time, Hinata stuttered as a light blush covered her face. He inched his face closer to hers and Hinata closed her eyes in anticipation. She felt shivers run through her spine when she felt his warm breath on her skin and couldn't help but feel all tingly. Naruto softly kissed the tip of her nose and whispered into her ears, "Two can play the game, Hinata-chan…" Naruto said with a giggle. Hinata softly smacked him over his chest as her mind registered Naruto's words.
"Get a room, you guys!" groaned Sakura as she suddenly walked into the room unannounced. Hinata and Naruto promptly let go of each other and looked at the pink-haired girl in slight embarrassment.
"Well, technically speaking… we are in a room…" Naruto stated with a smirk. However, he was suddenly hit in the head with the towel Sakura was holding in her hand. "Don't try to act smart Naruto." Sakura exasperated. Naruto slumped his shoulders at the girl's reaction as a sad aura seemed to surround him that caused Sakura and Hinata laughed at his childish behavior. Even though Naruto was rumored to be the strongest shinobi in the elemental nations, he could often act as a mere child. Hinata smiled slightly at the smile that was now present on Naruto's face. This was one of the little things that she loved about him so much.
"Anyway, I think we should rendezvous with Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke at the bridge. It's almost eleven now." Naruto said, pointing towards the clock in the room.
"We know Naruto-kun. We were going to go there before you showed up." Hinata said. Once Sakura and Hinata had taken their necessary belongings, the three of them immediately left for the bridge.
At the bridge
Naruto, Hinata and Sakura arrived at the scene of Tazuna and three more people cutting pieces of wood for the bridge while Kakashi and Sasuke idly sat at the side. Naruto wasn't surprised to see Kakashi's eyes glued to the small book in his hand. The three then walked towards their team.
"So, what are we supposed to do Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. Kakashi looked up from his book and thought about it for a few seconds before looking at Sakura.
"Well, seeing as how Zabuza's threat is still imminent, you guys should most likely prepare yourself for the fight. However, I doubt if he'll show up for another three or four days." Kakashi replied. "Hmm… maybe I should take you guys to train while Naruto keeps watch over here for the day. Sasuke and I have been sitting here for quite a few hours…" Kakashi added as he glanced towards the blonde.
"Yeah, that would be better. Sitting over here whilst doing nothing is simply a waste of time." Sasuke commented as he got up from the ground. He had been pretty annoyed this whole time from doing nothing and he'd rather do something productive. Sakura and Hinata also concurred with their sensei's decision. Even though, they were able to help Kakashi a little in his fight against Zabuza, none of them were ready to fight an experienced jounin all alone.
"I'll see you later, guys!" Naruto waved to them as the other members of team seven walked away. Once the group were out of sight, Naruto turned his attention towards Tazuna and his helpers. He might as well offer the old man some help while he was here.
"Tazuna-san? Do you need some help?" Naruto asked as he walked towards him. Tazuna wiped some sweat from his face with his hand towel and turned towards the blonde.
"Unless you can provide me with more people to help, I don't see how you'll be helpful…" Tazuna replied sarcastically. The other people beside him also laughed at the comment, unaware of the smirk that had formed on Naruto's face. Making a single hand seal, Naruto formed over fifty kage bunshins of himself.
"What the hell?" yelled one of the people as he saw several replicas of Naruto now standing before him.
"Will these many be enough?" Naruto asked with a smirk. Tazuna dumbly nodded his head, not sure what to say at this point. Although, he was glad that with these many hands helping, the work on the bridge would get completed in a few days of time. All of Naruto's clones except one joined Tazuna to help out. "Scout the area around Gato's headquarters and let me know of all the details. Also, find out where exactly his office is and the place where he keeps all the important documents. If you come across anything suspicious, dispel instantly and let me know." Naruto ordered firmly. The clone heeded Naruto's words and immediately shunshined from the area. Seeing as he had nothing to do for the time being, Naruto decided to simply lay under the shade of a nearby tree.
With Kakashi and genins
Kakashi and the genins stood in a small clearing, relatively close to the bridge as well as Tazuna's house. The three genins intently looked towards their sensei as Kakashi pondered on what to train them in. While the three of them were quite proficient when it came to ninjutsu, he realized they could still improve their taijutsu to a great extent. Having trained with a taijutsu master like Maito Gai for decades, Kakashi had come to learn the importance of being proficient in that art. It was common for shinobi to focus more on ninjutsu, genjutsu, kenjutsu and even fuinjutsu while overlooking taijutsu. Only the shinobi from the Hyuga Clan considered taijutsu to be of utmost importance since their clan's specialty revolved around using their doujutsu in conjugation with hand to hand combat. He would definitely need to come up with a proper schedule if he wanted to teach the three of them anything important that could be used in the midst of battle.
"Hinata, how are you coming along in juken? Have been able to master some of the advanced techniques?" Kakashi questioned.
"I have been working on Hakke Rokujuyon Sho and another secret technique of our clan. So far, I have only been able to strike thirty-two tenketsu points continuously. Any more than that and I fall short of breath, losing the momentum in the process." Hinata replied after a moment of thought. Making a cross hand seal, Kakashi made a single shadow clone, who appeared beside him.
"I believe, I can get you started on an exercise to improve your stamina further. Follow my clone and he'll help you out." Kakashi said. Kakashi's clone and Hinata moved about two hundred meters east of their current location to get some distance.
"Now, moving on to you Sakura… since you're interested in medical ninjutsu, there isn't much I can teach you in that department. But I can teach you to improve your control over suiton chakra. I might not be as good as Naruto when it comes to Suiton, but I do have a few handy tricks. Suiton is a good affinity to have for those who wish to practice medical ninjutsu. So, I suppose, luck is on your side." Kakashi said with an eye smile. Sakura beamed at that suggestion. She had been meaning to improve her control over the water element but was running out of ideas on how to do so. She had thought about approaching Tsunade a while back but was afraid if the sannin would have the time to teach a genin such as her.
"That sounds good, Kakashi-sensei. If I'm able to improve my chakra control further, I could even attempt some mid-level medical ninjutsu. It's hard to do everything when you only have a book to help you…" Sakura replied with a small laugh. Kakashi made another clone, which accompanied Sakura towards a river, close by.
"So, Sasuke are you ready to try what we talked about this morning?" Kakashi asked, as his face turned serious. Sasuke too straightened up upon hearing his words.
"Yeah, I'm ready. I'm tired of not being able to improve my skills any further. Itachi was a lot stronger than I am at my age and Naruto is on whole another level. I hate feeling so weak compared to those two." Sasuke stated as he clenched his fists. Earlier this morning on the bridge, Kakashi had spoken to him about his strengths. Even though, he had managed to get considerably strong on his own so far, he did need someone to nudge him in the right direction. To give him that little spark of motivation. And currently, Kakashi was the perfect person to teach him. Unknown to him, the two of them shared quite similar life where both had lost a lot of people close to them at a very young age.
"Alright, I will teach you the basics, but you'll have to put in a lot of effort to master the jutsu." Kakashi warned. Sasuke nodded confidently. He was willing to do anything to acquire more power. The look in Sasuke's eyes unsettled Kakashi a little. It was certainly good to be motivated to get stronger, but depending on the reasons, a person's nature could go both ways.
"Use your sharingan and watch closely." Kakashi said. He performed six hand seals at a slow pace and then held his right hand. His hand suddenly began sparkling with electricity and it sounded like a thousand birds chirping. Sasuke had noticed all the details that went into this jutsu- the amount of chakra required, the way the chakra was molded inside the body and the execution. He was surprised how highly concentrated the electricity was around the hand and the potency of the jutsu was quite extraordinary as well.
"This is called the Chidori. There is a much powerful version called, Raikiri but that takes a large amount of chakra and even better chakra control to be able to perform. So, it's better if you start of with this. Since, you can already gather raiton chakra in the palm of your hand, all you need to work on is concentrating all the raiton chakra at a single point in your hand. From there on, spread the electricity formed to your fingertips." Kakashi explained. Upon closer inspection, Sasuke noticed that Kakashi's palm was indeed straight. His sharingan also showed him that the raiton chakra originated from the middle of Kakashi's palm, travelled upwards to his fingertips and then coated the entire palm.
"Once you are able to perform it effortlessly, you'll have mastered chakra manipulation for raiton and then move onto shape manipulation. Get started now." Kakashi said, relaxing his features slightly. Sasuke nodded and proceeded to gather raiton chakra over his palm. As his hand began sparkling with electricity, he tried focusing it all to a single point. His face began to sweat a bit as he concentrated more, but soon enough, the raiton chakra dissipated. He panted a little as that proved to be quite exhausting.
'Damn it…' thought Sasuke with a frown. Kakashi chuckled on seeing the evident frown on Sasuke's face. Even though, he had given a simple explanation about this jutsu, mastering it was a lot harder than it sounded.
As evening approached Nami no Kuni, Naruto still sat idly under the tree while Tazuna worked on building the bridge. He was quite impressed with the man's working methods and his speed. Despite being old, Tazuna still possessed the skills of an excellent craftsman. His clone which had gone to scout Gato's headquarters had dispelled a couple of hours ago, providing him with the necessary information about his layout. He decided to wait it out a few days and see if Gato makes any other move. It would be better to deal with all the obstacles that may arrive while Tazuna completed the bridge. Essentially, Naruto wanted to make Gato run out of options before ultimately finishing him off. He was brought of his thoughts when he heard a small argument break out between Tazuna and his co-workers.
"But, why do you want to quit now? With all the help we have, we can finish the bridge in under five days." Tazuna said tiredly.
"That doesn't matter to me, Tazuna. You must understand, you may have protection, but my family does not. If Gato even gets to know that I have been helping you, there's no telling what he might do to our family. Or have you forgotten what happened with Kaiza? I don't wish for such a fate to befall my family." The man said apologetically. Two more people also seemed to agree with the young man who had brought up this point.
"But, look at it from my point of view. Once the bridge is completed, we can open businesses with other land and earn money to support our family. This bridge will give us a chance to free ourselves from under Gato's rule." Tazuna pleaded. The three lowered their gaze as they knew the truth in Tazuna's words. But the fear that had settled in their hearts wasn't something that could be dwindled by mere words. One again, they apologized to Tazuna and walked away from the bridge. Too afraid to stand up to a tyrant such as Gato who had made a mockery of the town's people. Tazuna remained quiet for a while as he saw their retreating backs. He was angered and even sad that no one was willing to do anything to improve their life in their own land.
"Fine. Get lost! I don't need your help. I will complete the bridge on my own." Tazuna yelled in frustration. However, Tazuna was somewhat glad that there was at least one person beside him, who still wished to help. Naruto quietly looked at the scene before him and was saddened at the situation Tazuna was in. He was a lone man standing against the cruelty in Nami no Kuni. This had further solidified his resolve to end Gato's life once the bridge would get completed. At this point, Naruto wanted nothing more than to help the people of Nami no Kuni and bring justice to those who were wronged.
Few days later
Five days had passed by since Tazuna had begun working on the bridge. With Naruto's clones helping him, Tazuna had managed to complete about seventy percent of the construction and would be done in a couple more days. It was early in the morning and everyone was awake apart from Naruto. Since the blonde had stayed up for most of the night, training out, he was soundly asleep at the moment. Kakashi and his team were waiting downstairs for Tazuna to arrive, so they could accompany him to the bridge.
In the last five days, Hinata, Sakura and Sasuke had worked tirelessly to improve their skills by even a fraction. Kakashi had warned them that today might be the day Zabuza might decide to attack again. While Kakashi had planned to face Zabuza alone, he expected his genins to take care of Zabuza's accomplice who had disguised as the Hunter ninja earlier.
"Sensei, are you sure we don't need to wake Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. While she was quite certain that with Sasuke and Sakura's help, they'll be able to handle the fake hunter ninja, she still felt that the blonde should accompany them to the bridge. Just in case, Gato decided to hire more shinobi this time around.
"Ah, don't worry Hinata. We'll be fine. Moreover, if Gato decides to send some goons to Tazuna's house while we are there, Naruto can easily deal with them. So, you see, it's better if Naruto is here." Kakashi stated. Hinata nodded as she understood Kakashi's point. She hadn't really thought about that aspect and now found herself to be quite silly. Shortly after that, Tazuna came down with his tools all packed up and the group soon left the house towards the bridge.
As the group arrived at the bridge, the Konoha shinobi became slightly alarmed as they found a person lying dead on the bridge. Tazuna stumbled back as he gazed upon his friend's lifeless body. The only person who was willing stick with him was now dead because of his insistence. A slight mist now formed in the area, as Kakashi and his team steadied themselves.
"Sensei, Zabuza and the fake hunter ninja are standing at the end of the bridge." Hinata informed as she looked around with her byakugan.
"Everyone, you know what to do. Leave Zabuza to me and go after his accomplice." Kakashi commanded. Sasuke gripped his katana firmly, excited to have a battle. Once again, killing intent flooded the area but this time the genins handled themselves much better than the previous time. Even though the three were still a bit apprehensive but backing down was not an option for them.
"This won't end like the last time, Kakashi. You will die today at my hands." Commented Zabuza as he stepped forward with his large sword rested on his shoulders. Kakashi and the genins now saw the young person who was standing beside Zabuza, wearing the same mask as before. Zabuza noticed that the blonde shinobi was not with them and chuckled. He would make sure skewer Kakashi with his sword today.
"You're right, Zabuza. It won't be the same as before." Kakashi replied firmly. Zabuza glanced towards Haku and wordlessly, the boy ran towards the three genins. Zabuza performed a single hand seal as the mist in the area became much thicker. Kakashi and the genins also ran forward towards the pair.
Once again, Kakashi blocked Zabuza's large sword with his kunai and aimed a kick towards with his left leg. Zabuza jumped over the leg and applied more pressure to his sword, forcing Kakashi to jump back a little. Without wasting any time, Zabuza jumped towards the Konoha jounin and performed a vertical swing with his sword. Kakashi was amazed by Zabuza's physical prowess, to be able to handle that large sword so effortlessly was indeed saying something. With quick reflexes, Kakashi rolled to his side and threw several kunais towards the swordsman in a quick motion. As soon as the kunais hit Zabuza, he dissolved into water and suddenly appeared behind Kakashi with his sword inches away from the white-haired shinobi's neck. To Zabuza's surprise, Kakashi burst into smoke as his sword cleaved the one before him.
'That was close… I need to do something about this mist. It's hampering with my vision and provides an advantage to Zabuza to move around silently.' Kakashi thought analytically. For a second, he wondered how the genins were doing, and his question was soon answered by Zabuza. "Consider those kids to be done soon enough. Haku possess more natural talent me and is easily jounin level. Even I find it hard to face him when he gets serious." Zabuza stated with a laugh. Kakashi cursed on hearing that. He lifted his headband to reveal his sharingan. He would need to wrap this up quickly.
Sasuke and Hinata were having quite a hard time fighting against Zabuza's accomplice. Even with both of them attacking simultaneously, the person was nimble and agile enough to get out harms way at the last second. Sasuke swung his katana horizontally as he came within arm's length to the masked shinobi and Hinata threw several kunais coated in raiton chakra from the side. The masked shinobi deflected Sasuke's sword with his kunai while also forming one handed seals with his free hand. A water wall suddenly formed beside the masked shinobi that easily stopped the kunais thrown by Hinata. Freeing one hand from his katana, Sasuke went for a punch, seeing as the shinobi's concentration was a tad bit divided. However, Sasuke had to immediately jump back as several spikes made of water formed from the water wall and proceeded towards him. As he jumped back, he performed a few hand seals. Hinata also swiftly began forming the hand seals as she Sasuke jump back.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu" Sasuke said, releasing a large ball of fire from his mouth.
"Raiton: Kousen no jutsu" Hinata stated as she released a bright beam of electricity from her hands towards the masked shinobi. The two jutsu quickly rained down upon the shinobi who hardly had any time to react. Sasuke and Hinata regrouped as the two jutsu collided with their target. However, as the smoke cleared, their eyes widened in surprise when they saw an ice dome covering their opponent.
"Kekkei genkai?" Hinata asked in surprise. Sasuke remained silent as he observed the jutsu carefully with his sharingan.
"That was an impressive attack, you two. But, it's not enough to take me down." Stated the person flatly as he made another hand seal. "Suiton: Sensatsu Suisho" Several hundred water needles suddenly materialized behind the masked shinobi and rained down towards Hinata and Sasuke. Some of them were aimed towards Sakura and Tazuna. Sakura quickly performed several hand seals and erected a mud wall around Tazuna and herself. With quick and dancing feet, Sasuke and Hinata were able to deflect most of the water needles, but they groaned in pain when some of them passed their defenses to hit them. Once the attack had finally seemed to end, Sasuke and Hinata were panting heavily while also sprouting some major wounds. Hinata fell on one knee as she tried to catch her breath. Sasuke glanced towards her and knew she wouldn't last much longer. He wouldn't admit it openly, but that last attack by the masked shinobi had taken a lot out of them. Still, he kept himself focused, sheathed his katana back and calmed his breathing. The masked shinobi looked on intrigued at the genins as he remained in his place. It was not his wish to kill these kids, but for the sake of his master, he shall do anything.
Sasuke opened his eyes and a defiant look was now present in them. He hadn't mastered the Chidori completely, but he had gotten better in manipulating raiton chakra over the past few days. A small shroud of raiton chakra covered his body, as Sasuke gritted his teeth. He still hadn't gotten used to circulating electricity through his entire body and it certainly pained every cell. But this way he could increase his speed and reaction time exponentially. The masked shinobi was highly surprised at the level of chakra manipulation shown by Sasuke. He steadied himself as Sasuke launched towards him. Before he could even blink, Sasuke appeared beside him and jabbed him across the neck that flung him away. Not stopping there, Sasuke took out his kunai and speedily threw it towards the masked shinobi who was still midair. However, the shinobi quickly flipped to land on the ground and in a show of impressive speed, deflected all the kunais with precision. However, the very next second Sasuke appeared in front of him and before the masked shinobi could react, he was kneed in the stomach painfully. To Sasuke's surprise, the shinobi dissolved into snow and he had to immediately duck to avoid a punch aimed to the back of his head.
Seeing that he missed, the masked shinobi jumped back to gain some distance. By now, Hinata had joined back with Sasuke as the two Konoha genins once again stood before their opponent. Hinata was surprised by how strong Sasuke had gotten over the past few weeks. His manipulation with raiton chakra was a whole lot better than her own. Yet, with her byakugan, she had easily noticed the toll it was taking on Sasuke's body.
"How long can you keep that up, Sasuke?" Hinata asked seriously. Sasuke scoffed lightly on being asked that question, but replied nonetheless. "Few more minutes." The two of them immediately rushed towards the masked shinobi. Sasuke reached him first and threw a kick to his right which the shinobi blocked his left arm. Simultaneously, Hinata appeared beside Sasuke aimed a single finger to the shinobi's chest. An ice spike suddenly rose from the ground that forced Hinata and Sasuke to back away a few feet. But, before the two genins could make another move, the masked shinobi quickly performed a few hand seals.
"Hyoton: Makyo Hyosho" The masked shinobi uttered as a dome of several floating ice mirrors formed around the two Konoha genins. Yet again, to their surprise, the shinobi entered one of the mirrors and disappeared inside of them. However, everyone on the bridge suddenly froze when they felt an unnaturally large chakra wash over them. Kakashi promptly jumped above another of Zabuza's swing and used the large sword as support to back flip, to gain some distance. 'What is this? This isn't Naruto's chakra.' Kakashi thought worriedly. Zabuza laughed as he knew exactly who this chakra belonged to. He glanced towards his team and his eyes widened worriedly to see that Sasuke and Hinata were trapped inside one of Haku's jutsu. But the fact that the masked shinobi had Hyoton kekkei genkai was highly intriguing. The Yuki Clan was rumored to be extinct during the blood line purges started by the Yondaime Mizukage.
Half an hour earlier at Tazuna's house
Few minutes after Tazuna, Kakashi and then genins had left for the bridge, two figures suddenly materialized out of thin air in front of Tazuna's house. "Let's go wake up our target for some fun…" Kisame stated with his shark-like smile.
"Patience, Kisame. We have come this far without getting detected by either the Namikaze or Kakashi Hatake. But we must remain vigilant against him." Hiruko warned as the two of them walked towards the door. They had waited until today to isolate Naruto alone. Since their only intention was to gauge Naruto's development, they decided to wait until Zabuza had attacked the bridge. They assumed while Kakashi and his team faced against Zabuza, Naruto would most definitely come after them. But it seems luck was on their side as they found the blonde to be inside the house. As Hiruko knocked on the door, a few seconds later it was opened by Tsunami. She took a step back in fear as she saw the imposing figure of Kisame and his large sword.
"We have come for Naruto Namikaze…" announced Hiruko patiently.
"Wh… who are you?" Tsunami asked fearfully. Inari, who was also in the living room appeared beside his mother as he saw the two people outside the door.
"Are you deaf, woman? Where is the Shiroi Shinigami?" Hiruko asked again. However, Tsunami suddenly felt her voice lost as the two people stepped inside the house. "Hey! Who do you think you are!?" Inari yelled, pointing towards the two people. Kisame smirked at the kid's boldness. Shifting his sword, he placed it on the ground and it was easily larger than Inari. Tsunami held her son protectively, afraid of what the two might do. Hiruko sighed at the women's unresponsive behavior and before Tsunami could even blink, she was now being held by her throat by the shorter of the two people.
"Do you wish to die before your child?" Hiruko asked calmly, as he stared into Tsunami's wide eyes. She shut her eyes close, as a few tears formed on her face. "Please, please don't hurt my child…" she pleaded. However, Hiruko's gaze shifted towards the little boy who threw a weak punch to his leg.
"Leave my mother, you idiot!" Inari stated, trying to portray his bravery. Hiruko raised an eyebrow at the boy's scared look, but he was surprised by the slight hint of defiance in the child's eyes. Kisame lifted his sword, intent on cleaving the kid in half. But, the very next second, the two Akatsuki members found themselves thrown back through the walls of the house. Inari blinked his eyes in surprise as Tsunami fell on the ground. Without any thought, she quickly engulfed Inari in a warm hug.
"That was very brave of you Inari. To stand up to them knowing you might very well die shows how courageous you are… You'll grow up to be a fine man." Naruto stated warmly as he gently patted the surprised kid on the head. "Rest easy now. I will take care of them…" As Naruto walked out of the house, Inari could only look at him in amazement. If not for Naruto, he would have probably lost his mother too.
Once Naruto was outside the house, he stared at the two shinobi who were still getting up. He was in a foul mood, when he suddenly woke up a few minutes ago on hearing Tsunami's distressed voice. He could sense his team's chakra signatures fighting on the bridge. And while Kakashi was faring well, he couldn't say same for his friends. If only, he hadn't overslept. He cursed himself for that. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance, when the two people now stood up, seemingly unhurt. Looking over their garments, Naruto realized who these two people might be. Kisame Hoashigake and Hiruko. He was certainly surprised to know that the two were part of the Akatsuki.
"So, the Akatsuki has come for me? And what? You think, you're enough to take me down?" stated Naruto as he folded his arms over his chest. He couldn't afford to waste much time here since his presence was required at the bridge. Still, he decided to entertain the two for a few minutes.
"You're a fast one Shiroi Shinigami… This ought to be fun." Chuckled Kisame as he readied himself. Meanwhile, Hiruko decided to stay put and observe the blonde's fighting style. Gripping his sword tightly, Kisame ran towards Naruto at alarmingly fast speeds. Naruto simply stayed in his place as his skeletal susanoo appeared around him. Before Kisame could even react, Naruto's Susanoo swung his scythe towards the large man. Naruto was mildly surprised when Kisame managed to block the scythe. Kisame grinned and with sheer strength started pushing the silver scythe back. However, Naruto's face remained devoid of any emotion as another scythe formed in susanoo's other arm which was then swung towards Kisame. A look of slight nervousness appeared on Kisame's face on seeing another scythe inches away from him. He immediately dissolved into water and appeared a few feet back.
"You have impressive strength and reflexes, but is that all?" Naruto asked flatly. Kisame merely laughed in response. Large amounts of chakra exploded out of him and momentarily, even Naruto was surprised at the man's chakra reserves. He had heard the tales of Kisame being referred to as the Tailless Bijuu, but never gave it much thought.
"Suiton: Daibaku Suishouha" Kisame said, expelling large amounts of water from his mouth. Soon enough, a tidal wave about twenty feet high was now falling down on Naruto. As the blonde made a single hand seal that was also followed by his Susanoo.
"Katon: Gouka Mekkyaku" a large stream of fire was exhaled from the Susanoo's mouth, covering a wide range that countered Kisame's suiton jutsu. Kisame swiftly took advantage of the thick mist that had formed and silently moved behind the blonde. Bringing his sword down on the blonde, Kisame was surprised when the one before him burst into smoke. He quickly turned around to block the blonde's leg that was aimed at his head and swiftly swung his sword to cleave the blonde. Naruto jumped over the sword and immediately formed a rasengan in his left hand. Thrusting his arm towards Kisame, the Akatsuki member blocked the rasengan with the samehada. Naruto was pleasantly surprised, when the sword absorbed his jutsu. The blonde jumped back promptly, before the sword could extract any extra chakra from him.
"Ninjutsu is useless against me, so long as I have my sword…" Kisame stated confidently. Naruto chose to ignore the swordsman and glanced towards Hiruko who was keenly observing the fight.
"I see… you're not here to capture or kill me." Naruto stated surprising the two Akatsuki member a little. Naruto was sure, Kisame wasn't fighting to his full extent. The land around them would have definitely gotten altered had the two been fighting seriously. "This bores me…I don't have the time to waste against you guys right now." Naruto said with a sigh. Before Kisame could even react, Naruto raised his arm towards him and pulled the large man towards himself. Kisame tried moving his body with all his strength but was unable to do so.
"Enton: Honoikazuchi" Naruto said as he covered his other arm with the flames of Amaterasu and shaped it into sword. As soon as Kisame was in close vicinity of him, he aimed the sword towards the man's abdomen. Kisame grotesquely cried out in pain as he felt the Amaterasu flames pierce him. He weakly fell onto the ground with a thump. Naruto intently watched as Kisame's sword immediately wrapped around his wound and even absorbed his Amaterasu flames and proceeded to heal the swordsmen. However, the sword did seem to writhe in immense pain upon coming in contact with the Amaterasu flames. A few minutes later, Kisame once again stood up, albeit with a scowl on his face. A soon as Kisame moved a muscle, Naruto flung his arm and pushed Kisame away with a wave of gravity towards the trees.
"Now, give me a reason as to why I shouldn't kill you both right now?" Naruto asked with a cold look in his eyes. Kisame coughed up some blood as he stood up again. He placed the samehada on the ground and leaned on the hilt for some support. He was beginning to understand why the Namikaze was known as the Shinigami. It was certainly an apt name.
"Go ahead, kill us. It matters not…" Hiruko stated, surprising Naruto for a second. Naruto raised an eyebrow at Hiruko's statement.
"You're an odd one, Hiruko. I have only heard stories about your crazy experiments while you were in Konoha." Naruto stated. However, momentarily glancing towards Kisame, the blonde was greatly surprised by the man's tenacity and strength. Not many people could get up after taking so many hits from him. 'That sword of his is indeed a problem. It appears to be able to absorb chakra and can also heal him if the need be… and I have no knowledge of Hiruko's skills as a shinobi although the bingo book lists him as S-Rank missing ninja.' Naruto thought.
"Kisame, let's leave. I have got what we need. There's no further reason to stay here any longer." Hiruko stated turning his back towards the blonde. He could now clearly understand the warning their leader had given them. The two of them would certainly lose their life if they were to face Naruto Namikaze alone. The Shiroi Shinigami's skills were leagues above their own and Hiruko believed only their leader would have a chance at capturing the blonde. Soon enough, Kisame and Hiruko immediately disappeared from the area while Naruto still stood in his place. A few minutes later, Tsunami and Inari stepped out of the house on seeing that things had quiet outside.
"Tsunami-san, there's no further need to worry. I'm going to leave a clone over here that will protect the two of you if there's any danger. I will be heading out to the bridge." Naruto said, turning towards her. Meanwhile, Inari stared at the blonde in awe. He couldn't believe that Naruto was in fact this powerful. It also made him want to stand up and fight for his own home.
"Thank you, Naruto-san. I can't show how glad I am that you were here in the house, this morning." Tsunami replied with tears in eyes. She was truly grateful to Naruto for keeping his son out of harms way. More importantly, Inari didn't have to see yet another of his parent get killed in front of his eyes. Naruto made a single clone and ordered him to stay in the house to protect the two civilians. Before he left, he looked towards the little kid with a small smile on his face.
"You're a courageous little man, Inari. It maybe painful to have hope, but it doesn't matter how difficult the situation gets, always believe that you can turn it around. You showed that courage and belief today, when you stood up to those two to protect your mother. I'm proud of you." Naruto said, surprising Inari greatly. The little boy widened his eyes on hearing those words. Ever since his father had died, no one had ever said such words to him and it truly made him feel delighted.
"Thank you, Naruto nii-chan!" Inari yelled and surprised Naruto with a hug. The blonde patted the kid on his head again. Tsunami couldn't believe the wide smile that was present on her child's face and yet again she felt her gratitude towards the blonde rise. Few seconds later, Naruto let go of the boy and immediately ran towards the direction of the bridge.
On the bridge
While Kakashi and Zabuza were locked in a relative stalemate in taijutsu, Sasuke and Hinata were still trapped inside the dome of ice mirrors that was created by Haku. To their horror, the masked shinobi's speed had probably increased two folds upon merging with the ice mirrors. While Sasuke could still somewhat track the shinobi's movements with his sharingan, Hinata could barely keep up with his speed.
"This is the end of the line for the two of you. I shall finish you both here." Stated the masked shinobi as a hail of senbons made of ice rained down on them from all the mirrors surrounding them. With the help of sharingan and his swift movements, Sasuke began deflecting the ice senbon needles with his katana while Hinata raised both her arms and muttered the name of her clan's most prized defensive jutsu.
"Kaiten" Immediately Hinata started expelling chakra from the tenketsu in her palms and began spinning. A dome of rotating chakra formed around her as it quickly deflected any projectiles that came in close vicinity to her. After about five minutes, as the masked shinobi's attack seemed to have stopped, both the Konoha genins fell on their knees as they had tired themselves out. Sasuke's raiton chakra armor had already disappeared from around him. However, he still picked himself up with sheer willpower and performed a few hand seals.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu" Sasuke said as he molded his remaining chakra and exhaled a large ball of intensely hot flames towards the ice mirrors, hoping to break it. To his surprise, as his katon jutsu hit the ice mirrors, there wasn't even a scratch on it. The masked torso appeared out of one of the mirrors from behind Sasuke and quickly tossed several more senbons towards him. Seeing that Sasuke was yet to notice the incoming danger, Hinata quickly paced herself and placed herself behind Sasuke as the senbon needles pierced her all over her body. The very next second, Sasuke dreadfully turned around as he heard a thumping sound behind him. His eyes widened in horror when he saw Hinata on the ground with her eyes closed. He slowly lowered himself to the ground and his heart momentarily skipped a beat when he couldn't feel any pulse from her. Sakura, who was standing beside Tazuna cursed herself for not being able to do anything. While her team was put their life on the line against the enemy, she couldn't help but feel pathetically useless. She had a worried look on her face as she stared towards the dome of ice mirrors. She had no way of knowing what was going on inside.
"Why… why? Why would you do such a thing for me?" Sasuke whispered under his breath as he stared at her lifeless form. He felt a slight irritation in his eyes but ignored it as he couldn't take his gaze off Hinata.
"Is this your first time witnessing someone close to you die?" questioned the masked shinobi, quite somberly. Sasuke paid no attention to the shinobi and simply stared at Hinata's face. Yet again, he cursed himself for his own lack of power. Yet, again he had to watch someone close to him die. Even Kakashi and Zabuza came to a halt when the fight between Haku and the two genins went quiet. Kakashi worriedly stared towards the dome of ice mirrors and could only guess as to what had happened.
"I told you, they would die Kakashi…" Zabuza stated firmly. Seeing Kakashi's distracted look, he gripped his sword and was about to move towards the Konoha jounin, when he halted in his steps. An ominous chakra had spread over the entire area as everyone on the bridge felt their heart race. Zabuza had never felt such fear in his life. He looked around frantically for the source as his eyes finally landed on a figure walking towards them.
Sakura, Tazuna, Kakashi and Zabuza quietly watched as Naruto walked towards the dome of ice mirrors. Zabuza glanced towards the blonde with a terrified look on his face. 'So, even those two were not able to hold him down.' Thought the former Kiri swordsmen with horror. Naruto didn't spare them any glance and simply kept on walking until he stood right outside the ice dome. He raised his arm and the next second, the entire dome cracked and fell apart. And finally, everyone could see the still form of Hinata lying on the ground. Sakura gasped on seeing Hinata being pierced by more than a dozen senbon needles and Kakashi lowered his gaze sadly.
"Naruto…" Sasuke said softly as the blonde approached them. Naruto knelt beside the two and placed his palm on her forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.
"She's been placed in a death-like state. Don't worry." Naruto stated, surprisingly calmly. But, inwardly, he was anything but calm. He was seething with anger and hatred. He glanced towards Haku, who too was rooted in his place. He took a step back in fear the moment he saw Naruto's gaze fall on him. The amount of killing intent radiating from the blonde made everyone on the bridge suffocate.
"I told you, Haku… If anything happens to the people I care about. There won't be a place in this world that would save you from me." Naruto whispered dangerously.
"I… I'm afraid, I wasn't left with any option. It was not my wish to fight them." Haku stated apologetically. As Naruto raised his arm towards Haku, he felt himself getting propelled towards the blonde. The next thing he knew, Naruto was gripping his face tightly by his hands. Naruto was surprised when he felt something from Zabuza, he didn't think the man was capable of. Worry. Sadness. The same way a father worried about his child.
And Naruto momentarily loosened his grip on Haku's face. He wanted to kill this person who was responsible for putting Hinata in such a state. He truly wanted to. But, for some reason, he could not bring himself to do it. Surprising the others, Naruto threw Haku towards Zabuza, who fell right beside him and did not even bother looking in their direction. Sakura had immediately rushed towards Hinata and began removing all the needles from her body. Once she had done that, she sighed in relief when she confirmed that Hinata was indeed alive.
"Haku!" Zabuza called out as he knelt beside him. Haku had an overwhelmingly perplexed look on his face when he still found himself to be alive. He had accepted the fact that he was going to die. He weakly stared at his master on feeling his comforting touch and was astonished on seeing the concerned look on Zabuza's face. Even Kakashi was surprised by Naruto's actions but when he saw the look of concern on Zabuza's face, he realized the reason behind Naruto's actions. There are some walls that can't be broken through with power alone. But, if there is a power that can break through these walls, it's the power of feelings. And Kakashi was sure, Naruto could sense the deep pit of concern that Zabuza felt on seeing Haku about to get killed. The way Zabuza gently held Haku, showed Kakashi that there was still some hope left in the former Kiri swordsmen.
"Let us stop fighting. There will only be more death and suffering if we continue to fight." Naruto said quietly. Naruto and Zabuza looked towards each other for a few seconds and against everyone's expectations, Zabuza gave a grateful nod to the blonde shinobi. Kakashi lowered his kunai and relaxed himself as the fighting was seemingly over. Though, he was surprised by Naruto's actions, he was quite proud of the blonde. It's fairly easy for one lose to their temper and blindly hate, but to show forgiveness to those who have hurt you, signifies growth.
"What a pathetic shinobi you are, Zabuza!" a voice suddenly echoed throughout the entire bridge. Everyone turned towards the source and found Gato to be standing in front of hundreds of thugs and lowly ninjas. Zabuza gritted his teeth on seeing that man's face. He stood up, intent on killing the bastard here but before he could make a move, Naruto once again looked towards him that made him stand down.
"You and that imbecile had enough time to finish off these Konoha shinobi before the Shiroi Shinigami showed up. Yet, you couldn't even do that. It doesn't matter. I have over two hundred men behind me. They will finish what you couldn't!" boasted Gato. He believed the Namikaze to be taken care by the Akatsuki members, but even they proved to be no match. But in his delusional mind, he was believed the Naruto to be extremely worn out from his fight and trusted he would be able to defeat the Konoha shinobi with overwhelming numbers.
"You saved me the time to hunt you down, Gato…" Naruto stated out loud. Before Gato could even speak, Naruto suddenly appeared in front of him with his hand sticking inside his chest. Without further thought, Naruto pulled out Gato's heart. With a mortified look still etched on his face, Gato's body fell on the ground with a resounding thump. The people who were standing behind Gato, took a step back in fear at that scene.
"Oye, Oye! It's only one person. We can surely defeat him with numbers!" yelled one of the people. Several other people cheered to that and stepped forward bravely. Even Zabuza wondered if the man was plain dumb or had a death wish as he kept his eyes intently on the blond. A hollow chuckle escaped Naruto's lips as he saw the bravado these people were displaying. 'Such insolence…' Naruto thought. These people were the lowest of the scums this world had to offer. Suddenly, an arrow soared through the sky and landed in between Naruto and the group of thugs. Turning around the Konoha shinobi and even Zabuza and Haku were surprised to see the townspeople lead by a small kid who had a bow and arrow in his hand. All the people standing behind Inari had make shift weapons from their home to help them fight.
"Don't take another step into our town!" yelled Inari on top of his voice. And momentarily, Naruto's anger was replaced by a sense of awe. To see a mere child lead so many people, it was truly inspiring.
"Inari…" Tazuna whispered with tears in his eyes. The look his grandson had on his face, it was simply beautiful. It was the same look Kaiza had when he had rallied the people together against Gato, a few years back. It was like seeing a ghost from the past. By now, Sakura had healed all the minor cuts and wounds on Hinata and performed minor medical ninjutsu too, to stabilize her. She was sure, given a few hours of rest, Hinata would be in perfect health. Naruto turned back towards the group of thugs and released jolts of electricity from his body that travelled towards them. In a matter of few seconds, all two hundred of the people that Gato had gathered, now lay dead on ground after being electrocuted.
"There's no need for the people of this town to dirty their hands. We shinobi exist so the innocents can rest easy." Naruto stated out loud. Despite the mass death they just witnessed, all the people cheered loudly in joy as they were finally free of Gato's rule. They could finally get their lives back on track and live peacefully yet again. As Zabuza and Haku got up to leave the area, the two were suddenly stopped by Kakashi.
"Why don't you decide to go back to Kirigakure? I'm sure the Godaime Mizukage will welcome you back along with the last surviving member of the Yuki Clan…" Kakashi suggested as he glanced towards Haku.
"It's not as easy as it sounds, Kakashi. I tried to assassinate the previous Kage…" Zabuza confessed. Another reason was because of Haku. Having raised the kid from a very young age, Zabuza had unknowingly formed a special bond with him. Even though, he never showed it openly to anyone or even Haku, the former Kiri swordsmen would risk his life for the boy. Without any further words, Zabuza and Haku soon disappeared from the bridge, ready to leave Nami no Kuni behind. Kakashi sighed as this whole ordeal finally came to an end and walked towards his genins. Considering what Zabuza said about Haku's skills and kekkei genkai, he was proud of the way Sasuke and Hinata had fought against the kid. Even in the past few days, the two had managed to increase their skills exponentially.
Turning around tiredly, Naruto walked towards Hinata and once again knelt beside her. He gently grazed his hand through her hair as he tried to calm himself. Sakura hesitantly placed her hand atop Naruto's and looked him straight in the eyes. "It's okay… Naruto. She's okay. There's no need to worry. You don't have to blame yourself. We all are shinobi and know the risks that surrounds our lives." Naruto's eyes widened for a second as Sakura knew exactly what his mind was thinking. He slowly nodded and picked her up gently. He glanced towards Kakashi and Sasuke and gave them a knowing look. He then immediately shunshined to Tazuna's house, to get Hinata some much needed rest.
Three Days later
After the battle on the bridge had ended, Kakashi and Naruto had helped Tazuna in finishing up his work quickly. The two Konoha jounin had disposed of all the dead bodies by burning it up and had also cleared up all the debris that had fallen on the bridge during the fight. To everyone's relief, Hinata had woken up a few hours later after she fell unconscious. And after a hefty meal and some rest, she was in pretty good health. During the entire time Hinata was resting in the guest room, Naruto hadn't left her side even once and wanted his face to be the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes. Sasuke too had calmed down relatively but the fear he had felt on thinking that his teammate had died was still somewhere buried deep inside of him. He had decided to spend more of his time training once they reached Konoha. Naruto, Kakashi and team seven were now standing on the bridge, ready to depart to Konoha.
"Will you visit us again, Naruto nii-chan?" Inari asked with a wide smile. Everyone chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm. It was pleasant to finally see the kid act his own age.
"Yes, why not. When I get some time, I'll be sure to drop by." Naruto replied jovially as he ruffled the kid's hair warmly. Tsunami stepped forward and handed a bento box to Hinata.
"It's for the road. I assume all of you will be hungry and you were quite badly hurt. So, you should eat something on the way. It's not good to travel on empty stomach." Tsunami said in a motherly tone. Sakura felt a tad bit sad about leaving this place. Hinata blushed a little at the affection and accepted the box gratefully. She had become well acquainted with Tsunami and even Inari over the past few days. And she couldn't deny that living near the ocean wasn't amazing. But she knew the mission had to end at some point and such kept controlled her emotions. Once again, Tazuna thanked Kakashi and Naruto for their help in not only freeing Nami no Kuni but also giving hope to their people. Soon enough, the Konoha shinobi turned around and started their journey back to Konohagakure no Sato as Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari stared at their retreating shadows.
"What shall we name the bridge, tou-san?" Tsunami asked. This bridge represented the hopes and the struggles of all the people of Nami no Kuni.
"The Great Naruto Bridge!" Inari stated proudly, bringing smiles to Tazuna and Tsunami's faces.
Author Notes: So, their wave mission has finally come to an end. Sasuke, Sakura and Hinata have both come across some things that they need to improve on, to grow as a shinobi individually. With this mission, the three have also experienced the injustice that people go through and how sometimes, the people are so afraid that they merely succumb to accepting a tyrant. Compared to Sasuke and Hinata, Sakura is not that confident in taijutsu or ninjutsu. Up till now, she has focused more on a support role. But, this mission has made her realize that, she couldn't rely on others all the time and that she needs to better herself individually to be a better help to her teammates. Naruto too has grown over the past years since his retirement from ANBU, as it was evident from his decision to let Zabuza and Haku go. Had it been a few years back, his decision might have been entirely different.
Up till now, the Akatsuki had no knowledge about Naruto's skills as a shinobi. While, it's true that Kisame did not really fight Naruto with his full strength, but same was the case with Naruto. To be more precise, he wasn't interested in the two of them. Even while he was fighting Kisame, his mind was more or less focused on his team's chakra signatures on the bridge. Although, the next time Naruto encounters Akatsuki, things will certainly get bloody.
Since a lot of people have told me about this, I will not be pairing Sasuke with Sakura. His pairing will be decided a little later in the story or once he meets more kunoichi from other lands. And do feel free to PM if you think Sasuke should be paired with some specific girl. I will surely think of a way to make that happen in the story. Also, the next chapter will feature the start of the chunin exams arc. Team 8, 9 and 10 will begin to get more involved in the story from here on.
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Until next time!