Chapter 9: C-Rank Mission

"Okay, you three gather around," Kakashi's voice rang out over the training grounds. Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata raced over to Kakashi as quickly as they could. "Take a seat for the moment."

Naruto held back a curse, peeved that Kakashi had to make them sit directly facing the bright sun. "What is it, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Today marks a month and a half since you three have been training under me. Since all of you have gotten a taste of D-rank missions the last two weeks, and I'm tired of Naruto and Sasuke being so moody, today we will be taking our first C-rank mission," Kakashi revealed.

Naruto grinned. "Finally," he celebrated.

"However, there are a few things that I must explain before we get our mission," Kakashi interjected.

"W-What is it, sensei?" Hinata asked through shaky tones.

Kakashi looked each of them in the eye. "C-rank missions are more often than not escort, protection, or supply missions. This means that we will certainly be leaving Konoha, but it's highly likely that we will also be leaving the Land of Fire altogether."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly and his mouth fell open. "Woah, I've never been outside of the Hidden Leaf."

"This means three things. First, we will not be home for days, possibly weeks. Second, you will need to prepare your own provisions for the journey. And third, if it's a different nation, you have to act on your best behavior. We don't know what other ninja could be around and an angry client is one who is willing to find other sources of shinobi meaning we don't get paid so we don't eat. You're trained military killers, you have to be careful and respectful to not provoke hostilities because any mistakes you make reflect back on Konoha," Kakashi explained.

"Sounds like a lot of unnecessary hassle," Sasuke scoffed.

"Yeah, I have to agree," Naruto grimaced with disappointment.

Kakashi leaned down with his hands on his hips and got right in their faces. "We can always do another D-rank mission if this is too much for either of you." Both Naruto and Sasuke gritted their teeth in silence.

"Fantastic!" Kakashi said with seemingly as little excitement as he could possibly muster. "Now, onto the last bits of info you need to know," he continued. "Just because we will be traveling and away from home is no excuse for any of you to stop training. C-rank missions are a low rank but there is still the possibility of mercenaries or bandits getting involved. I have gotten to assess each of your skill sets in the last month and a half and have a pretty good idea of how I want each of you to improve."

"Am I going to finally get to learn a bunch of new jutsu?" Naruto inquired with a hint of excitement at being able to learn more than basic taijutsu kata.

Kakashi dug into his pouch and retrieved three separate scrolls. He handed a scroll to each of his students. Each of them looked on at the scrolls with stars in their eyes, examining them with overflowing wonder as to what awaited them inside. "Go ahead and open them, don't be shy."

Sasuke went first. Unfurling the contents of the scroll with a curious glare, he held it out from him. After a moment of examination, he wasn't any less confused or even excited. "This is a list of lightning-style jutsus," his tongue not withholding the disappointment in his tone.

"Take this," Kakashi held out a chakra litmus paper between his fingers. "Everyone knows your strongest affinity is fire, but I know what someone with those eyes of yours is capable of. I have a hunch that you have a very strong affinity for lightning as well. And even if you don't, your Sharingan will help you learn the jutsus anyways. It'll just take longer."

Sasuke reached for the litmus paper and held it between his fingers. "What do you want me to do? If I channel chakra into it like normal it'll just burn up."

"That's right. Instead, I want you to flood your hand with chakra and imagine what you believe lightning chakra would feel like. When you notice that difference, then you can flood the chakra into the paper. It came easy to me when I got my second elemental affinity, it can take a while for others though. I'm pretty confident you'll get the hang of it fast as well," Kakashi encouraged the Uchiha.

Sasuke eyed the paper with a curious air. He gripped it with both hands and closed his eyes to focus. Silence roared in the air as everyone watched him closely. A moment passed and sweat drizzled down his cheek. Then the distinct crackle of lightning erupted from Sasuke's fingertips. Everyone watched it crinkle up before their eyes.

"My hunches are always correct," Kakashi boasted with an eye-smile. Sasuke's face was wrought with surprise at his ability to channel lightning chakra so easily. A stern smirk of superiority graced his lips. "When we get started, I'll do the jutsus first while you watch me with your Sharingan. It'll make the whole process go smoothly." Sasuke nodded along in compliance. "Since you possess the Sharingan, it's key that you are able to acquire a wide arsenal of techniques early on – that is the Sharingan's greatest strength."

Naruto tore his scroll open with haste, he was in dire need to know what he was going to get to learn. Sasuke just got a second element handed to him, so Naruto's had to be something awesome as well. He quickly pulled the scroll completely open and saw what was inside. His face lit up with wonder.

"You are going to get to learn the Body Flicker Jutsu, Naruto," Kakashi revealed.

Naruto sporadically scanned the scroll up and down, reviewing the instructions on how to do the jutsu in a jumbled collection of loose thoughts. "I've always wanted to learn this jutsu," he admitted.

The silver-haired man crossed his arms. "I've seen the way you like to fight in close quarters. You have a strong preference for wrestling and grappling. The Body Flicker will help you close the distance instantly and take an opponent down. Not to mention that with your Clone Jutsu, it'll be difficult even for more seasoned ninja to pin you down, and creating a swift attack is priceless in a battle," he eyed Naruto closely. "You're also great at taking punishment and difficult to subjugate, meaning that if Sasuke or Hinata are in trouble, you can always help them make a quick escape. It's preferable to lose a battle and live for the next one than lose and have no way out."

Naruto looked at Kakashi with stars in his eyes. "This will be a great jutsu to build on later. Imagine what other stuff I could accomplish with this," his toothy grin sparkled ear-to-ear.

"That's the other reason I gave you this jutsu to learn," Kakashi chimed. "You're creative and a tricky tactician. The Body Flicker isn't difficult but it will open the door to many other possibilities that only a mind like yours will be able to unlock. Even on the fly you'll be more unpredictable. So I'm expecting you to build around this jutsu some after I help you learn it," the Copy Ninja explained.

Naruto rolled the scroll back up and stuffed it away in his pouch of weapons. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."

Hinata was last to open her scroll. Naruto could see on her face that she was nervous, perhaps because both his and Sasuke's gifts were so good that she feared hers would be underwhelming, but she still maintained an expectant glare with the scroll. She delicately undid the string around the scroll and unfurled it.

"Place it on the ground," Kakashi instructed her. Hinata gently laid the scroll face up on the flat surface. It was a seal. "Now channel some chakra into it."

Hinata reluctantly laid her palm onto the surface of the seal and it was gloved in a blue aura for a moment. A white sheet of smoke danced in the air at the sudden undoing of the scroll. Kakashi swiftly swiped it away until the area was clear.

Laying on top of the scroll now was a fresh compound bow and a quiver full of arrows. Hinata curiously retrieved the bow and began to examine it.

"The string is made of the same material as ninja wire so it's chakra conductive, and so are the arrows. You'll be able to stream your lightning chakra into each arrow you shoot," Kakashi revealed. "Since the main property of lightning is that it pierces, there is little in the way in terms of armor that could stop you with this," he gestured to her new bow.

"Wow, that's awesome Hinata," Naruto chimed. "You're so lucky."

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei. B-But, the Hyūga don't use weapons. Especially not long-ranged ones," she said with a dejected glint in her eyes.

"True. However, there aren't any specific rules against it. The way I see it is that your clan already looks down on you for not excelling at the Gentle Fist so who cares if you pick up a weapon?" Kakashi pointed out.

"I guess that's true," Hinata thoughtfully agreed.

"Plus, with your Byakugan you can spot an enemy from tens of meters away. As you get better with your eyes, that distance will increase to several kilometers. With a long-range weapon you can pick people off before they even have a chance to realize where you are. That sort of strength cannot be understated on the battlefield," Kakashi retrieved the quiver of arrows and handed it to the Hyūga.

Hinata's pure white eyes welled up with wonder. "That sounds amazing," her voice wracked with the tone of a dreamer.

"It's a shame more Hyūga don't do it," Kakashi admitted. "If you really want to change the Hyūga for the better, show them what a bow would accomplish with their eyes. Your clan is too focused on its Gentle Fist, they have yet to unlock the full potential of being able to see for kilometers in every direction. You have to be the one to prove to your people that taijutsu is only the half of it. Any shinobi would kill from five hundred meters away if they could do it," the masked man explained.

Hinata's face seemed to be teeming with grand realizations. The way Kakashi explained how the bow in her hands would be unstoppable and help her to realize the full extent of her eyes made so much sense. Naruto could even spot a hint of intimidation on Sasuke's face. "I'll try my best to master the bow," Hinata vowed.

"Great," Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. "Now let's go get our first C-rank mission."

Team Seven stepped into the Hokage Office and approached his desk. Hiruzen swiftly retrieved a stack of papers that were strewn out atop the desk. "Ah, Kakashi, here for another mission, I imagine?" he inquired, sorting through the papers.

"Yes, Lord Hiruzen," Kakashi leaned down on the desk. "We were hoping for a C-rank mission to do."

Hiruzen looked at the fresh genin with an analytical eye and then looked back to Kakashi. "Moving a little quickly, don't you think, Kakashi?" he smirked lightly and began to shuffle through the documents.

"When I was their age I was already a jōnin," Kakashi crossed his arms with a relaxed gaze.

Naruto's eyes bulged from their sockets, his focus danced between Sasuke and Hinata to gauge if what Kakashi said was insane or not. Indeed, all three genin were taken aback. "That's crazy!" Naruto blurted out. "I didn't even know you could become a jōnin so early."

"Don't be fooled, you three," Hiruzen chuckled. "It is true that Kakashi rose through the ranks quickly and was a prodigy, but he would have never gotten so far so fast if we weren't in the middle of the Third Great War," he explained.

"You were just going to leave out that detail, huh?" Sasuke spat at his master with an annoyed guise.

Kakashi feigned a frown. "Please refrain from making me look bad in front of my genin, Lord Hokage," he half-joked. "I do believe that these three are more than capable of completing a C-rank mission."

Hiruzen sighed in defeat. "Fine, let me see here," his aged eyes scanned the mission requests before he halted on a particular document. "This will do." He passed the document off to Kakashi.

The silver-haired man examined the mission details for a moment. "The mission requires that we do escort and protection. Our client is a man named Tazuna. He's a carpenter that needs to go to the Land of Waves – that's a few days from here and back," he mumbled to himself.

"What does a carpenter need protection from?" Naruto asked obliviously.

"Mission details say he will need protection from potential bandits and mercenaries. Apparently he is trying to rebuild an important bridge in the Land of Waves, some sort of land route for trade with the rest of the continent," Kakashi explained.

"If you go get ready now, I'll have the ANBU alert Tazuna and you all can meet him at the village exit," Hiruzen interjected.

Kakashi turned to his students. "Do you all want to take this mission?"

Each of the genin reluctantly nodded 'yes'.

"Tell Tazuna to meet us at the gates," Kakashi rolled the mission report up and stuffed it into his back pocket.

The group rested in the center of a clearing. They had been on the move for the last three days. Nightfall was near and a campfire was built. Each of them gathered around the fire to convene.

Tazuna spoke first. "When we enter the Land of Waves, be on guard. My nation is plagued with many bandits and gangster types who won't take kindly to Konoha-nin."

Naruto watched the fire closely, the way the flames danced in his pupils was mesmerizing; the heat that blanketed him was comforting. "Why's this bridge such a big deal that you need so much protection?" he spoke up.

Tazuna crossed his arms and looked away into the burning fire. "In my land there is a man named Gatō. Gatō is filthy rich. He owns the largest commercial maritime business in the world. He owns all the ports and ships and controls all the trade in the Land of Waves."

"What does that have to do with the bridge?" Sasuke beckoned.

"When Gatō started his dealings in my country he destroyed the only bridge that crosses the Umigawa Strait which separates our island from the main continent. By doing so, he has forced the Land of Waves to rely solely on his trading company for the resources to survive. But if we can rebuild the bridge we can once again trade without needing to rely on Gatō," Tazuna explained.

"Gatō is an exceptionally powerful man," Kakashi flipped a page in his book and rested it in his lap before looking at Tazuna. "Are you sure that we will only be under risk of fighting thugs?"

Tazuna jolted up to meet Kakashi's gaze and then retreated back to glaring into the fire. "Yeah, that's pretty much all he has access to for a local militia. There aren't any shinobi in my lands."

Naruto saw the inquisitive glint in Kakashi's hidden face. The silver-haired man didn't reply, he shot up to his feet abruptly. "It's getting dark and we have to be on the move early," he made his way to his tent. "You all should get some sleep. Hinata, you'll stay up and keep watch until you get too tired, be sure to keep the fire going," he crawled into his tent and closed it behind him.

"I understand, Kakashi-sensei," Hinata jumped into a tree for a better view of her surroundings.

"Well goodnight," Tazuna climbed into his own tent, and soon, Naruto and Sasuke both followed in his footsteps.

As the group walked along the trail, Naruto heard something in the distance. "Is that rushing water?"

"Yes," Tazuna replied. "It's the Umigawa Strait. We won't be able to cross on land. I hired a ferryman to take us across. He should be up ahead."

The group trudged ahead until they reached the beaches. Ahead, they spotted a layman with his bamboo fishing rod cast into the sea.

"Wait here," Tazuna told his bodyguards. He approached the fisherman and spoke with him. The fisherman examined Naruto and his fellow ninja from behind his straw hat before speaking to Tazuna. "Come on," Tazuna exclaimed and waved the ninja along.

Naruto was the last to carefully step into the ferryman's small boat before the miniature vessel was pushed off the coast and into the sea. "Today is probably the only day we could have done this for a long time," the ferryman said. "There's a thick fog setting in over the strait so we won't be spotted easily."

"When we get close to Wave Island we will all need to be discreet to avoid getting caught. Only whisper if you need to speak at all," Tazuna clarified.

The ferryman used both arms to expertly row the boat from one coast to the other. The clear, beautiful beaches of the Land of Fire quickly disappeared behind the impenetrable wall of mist that blanketed the sea. "Our destination is just up ahead, so remember to be quiet. When we get to land, I'll show you to my home where you will all be staying for the time being," Tazuna explained through faint whispers barely audible over the waves.

Soon the ferryman's boat was carved into the sand. All the passengers stepped out onto the beach. Tazuna reached into a pocket on his backpack and pulled out some money. "Thank you," Tazuna handed the ferryman all of the money who then swiftly paddled away back into the ghastly mists.

"Alright everyone, it's just a few minutes from here to my village," Tazuna pointed up the beach to the east.

Naruto stepped forward to continue. "Hold it, Naruto," Kakashi sternly warned.

Naruto turned around. "What is it, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi's eyes were scanning the area. "Something about this place smells – ?"

Two figures dashed through the mist and slashed at Kakashi's back which he narrowly avoided. Naruto was frozen stiff, in shock that they had been ambushed so suddenly. "This is no place for Konoha rats to be poking around," one of them snarled.

"Especially not someone like Copy Ninja Kakashi!" the other growled.

Naruto's focus shifted to who was attacking them. Two men cloaked in black. They shared a pair of spiked gauntlets attached by a long, serrated chain on one of each of their hands. A black mask just like Kakashi's hid their faces from view and they donned custom head protectors: one with a single metal horn and the other with two metal horns.

Kakashi himself was apparently shocked considering how wide his only eye looked. "The Demon Brothers of the Mist, Gōzu and Meizu!"

Naruto felt something tug on his shoulder and yank him backward. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Naruto winced at the heat of Sasuke's jutsu blowing just by his face.

The brothers dashed out of the way of the flaming ball and raced toward Tazuna. Malice oozed from their bodies, their eyes were bulging with a wicked stare. "Naruto, Hinata, guard Tazuna!" Kakashi snapped.

Naruto was still petrified. He spectated from afar as Hinata rushed to Tazuna's aid alone. The brothers loomed over her, reeling back their clawed gauntlets to impale her and Tazuna. Naruto suddenly realized that Hinata was not going to be able to avoid their attacks. 'Hinata is going to die!' The realization had his heart in his stomach. He immediately fell back to reality and raced to save Hinata.

'I'm not going to make it!' he panicked. A shuriken and a kunai whistled past Naruto's head, they snatched the brothers' deadly chain in midair and pinned it against a nearby tree. Hinata shuddered in fear, shocked by the fact she was still alive. The Demon Brothers fought to free their chain with concern riddled in their expressions, but it was to no avail.

Sasuke raced ahead of Naruto, leaping up and snapping both legs right into the brothers' faces who fell onto their backs. "Back away," Sasuke ordered Tazuna as he stared down the dazed Demon Brothers.

The brothers crawled back onto their knees and scowled at their enemies. They detached the chain in their gauntlets and took to their feet. Both Sasuke and Hinata braced in anticipation. "You can't build that bridge!" one of them demanded.

"Zabuza's rebellion won't persist if it's finished!" the other one remarked as they both dashed for the bridge builder.

Naruto raced for Tazuna to aid in his defense. Sasuke and Hinata had drawn kunai. Once again Gōzu and Meizu were right on top of them with deadly strikes at the ready.

Suddenly, something changed. Their eyes dilated and rolled into the back of their heads and they stopped moving. Naruto had to sidestep their towering figures tumbling to the earth. They were completely unconscious.

Naruto's head spun over to Kakashi who was readjusting his headband over his left eye. "Genjutsu," the silver-haired man explained, which elicited an eyebrow raise from Sasuke. Kakashi retrieved a line of ninja wire and tied the Demon Brother's hands and feet together.

"You need to kill them," Tazuna warned.

"When were you going to tell us that Kiri Rebels were in Wave?" Kakashi calmly demanded to know.

Tazuna stumbled back in surprise. "Huh – ?!"

"The Demon Brothers of the Mist are well-known Kiri defectors that helped Zabuza to try to take the Fourth Mizukage's life. They have been helping Zabuza fight his civil war since. In case you weren't aware, they both were trying to kill you to stop you from building the bridge. You can't expect me to believe you weren't aware of the Kiri Rebels being on your island," Kakashi was dismantling the bridge builder with his gaze.

Tazuna gritted his teeth with indignance and sighed. "Yeah, alright, I knew that the Kiri Rebels were here," he admitted. "Zabuza himself established a pretty significant base on the east coast of the island. There are hundreds of them. Maybe thousands."

"What does Zabuza want with Wave Country?" Kakashi implored.

Tazuna's bothered expression swiftly morphed into a look of outrage. "They rely on Gatō for supplies and trade to support their rebellion in the Land of Water. With his money and resources, Zabuza can continue the fight. On the other hand, Gatō wants to expand his maritime empire into Wave and so he uses the Rebels like a private army to subjugate us and protect him. The Rebels also use this location strategically to raid and capture Kiri vessels that are trying to get to the continent."

"I see," Kakashi murmured.

"So then you understand why you need to kill these two," Tazuna asserted.

"Is there a calm and discreet location we could go to on the island?" Kakashi asked seemingly out of nowhere.

"Uh, the Kongōseki Forest I suppose. Why?" Tazuna was clearly perplexed by the relevancy of the question.

Kakashi kneeled down to meet the two unconscious ninja. "Killing them isn't an option," Kakashi claimed much to Tazuna's surprise. "We want to avoid hostilities with the Kiri Rebels. It's four of us against hundreds of them. Not to mention that the Leaf would not be eager to support us if we got involved with the Kiri Civil War. In truth, if you were honest about the details of this mission from the start, Konoha would've never taken it."

"Well then what do you suggest we do?" Tazuna nagged through bared teeth.

"Our only choice is to try and negotiate. We must have some amount of immunity since the rebels won't want to provoke the Land of Fire into aiding the Mizukage now that they'll know we're here. Worst case scenario is that you're going to have to give up on building the bridge."

"Damn you!" the bridge builder fumed. "I have to provide for my home!"

"You're not going to be able to provide for anyone if you keep trying to build that bridge," Kakashi shot back. His remark successfully shut Tazuna up.

Kakashi placed his hands on both brothers' shoulders and broke his genjutsu. Their eyes snapped open and dashed from captor to captor with increasing eye-widening worry. They both began to writhe against their restraints.

"Not so fast, you two," Kakashi interrupted their feral attempts to escape which caused them to freeze. "We are going to keep you alive and let you both go free as a show of good faith." Gōzu and Meizu glanced at each other in surprise. "In exchange for our generous hospitality, you are going to tell Zabuza that we would like to meet with him tomorrow in the Kongōseki Forest to negotiate. Do you understand?" The Demon Brothers sporadically nodded with every ounce of confidence and reassurance they could muster.

Kakashi drew a kunai which made them reel back until he started severing the binds around their hands and feet. When they were freed, they raced to their feet and gave one last perplexed look at Kakashi before disappearing into the mists of the beach.

"Well then," Tazuna cut through the silence. "I guess I can show you all to my home where you'll be staying," he offered.

"You all go on ahead. I want a minute to talk with Naruto here," Kakashi waved them all away.

"Maybe you can give him some tips on how to stop being a huge scaredy-cat," Sasuke teased with a smirk and strolled away at Tazuna's side.

Naruto frowned and his eyes shot to the ground with dejection. A strong sense of self-loathing overcame him. As much as he wanted to say that Sasuke's remark was unfair or uncalled for, he simply couldn't. Naruto knew better than anyone that in his first encounter with enemy shinobi he was paralyzed with fear. He was so terrified, in fact, that his inability to perform would have gotten Hinata and Tazuna killed if not for Sasuke. His teeth clenched together in a bothered look.

"Don't let him get to you," Kakashi spoke up. "It's okay to be scared –"

"No it's not!" Naruto snapped. "I almost got two people killed 'cause I was too scared to move! How can that be okay?! I'm a ninja, I'm supposed to be better than that!" he fumed through an agitated gaze.

"As I was saying. It's okay to be scared, but it is not okay to panic," Kakashi revealed. "You'll never fight a battle where you don't feel some sense of fear. Your life is on the line, your friends' lives are on the line most of the time too. It's natural to feel scared, to feel intimidated." Kakashi looked him directly in the eye. "What's important is that you are able to control that fear, that instinct to panic, and use them to your advantage. Harness them into the necessary resources or strength to survive or win." The silver-haired ninja's voice was calm but stern.

Naruto felt the frustration that fought within him begin to subside. His face softened. "H-How do I do that?" he wondered.

"Use this as a learning experience," Kakashi started. "You've felt that terror and panic set in, now you know what you have to mentally prepare yourself for. There are a few key takeaways from this. The first is that you always have to keep your emotions in check. Don't shut them off entirely, but you have to be able to wield them to your advantage. That will make your ability to grow strong much easier. When someone feels like he is fighting for nothing do you know what happens to him?"

"No. What?" Naruto inquired.

"He doesn't fight as hard. He'll get killed in a battle with a man who is fighting for something – be it his family, his nation, or his dreams. Otherwise, he'll take himself out to escape the dark and gritty fighting. You have to find what's worth fighting for early on in this line of work and remember it in every battle. That is what will keep you determined to fight for your life." Kakashi's wisdom was glowing through his only eye and shining down on Naruto.

"What do you fight for, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto questioned, trying to get an idea of what such a seasoned ninja might fight for.

Kakashi paused for a moment. "I'm not sure," he admitted with an eye-smile. Naruto looked at him with a confused stare. "But don't focus on me. I'm not the perfect ninja."

"Is there anything else I should know?" Naruto dug for more knowledge.

"Count yourself lucky. Most ninja in your position would've died or watched their friends die. It's up to you to prevent that next time. There won't always be someone to pick up your slack. You need to get comfortable with the idea of risking your life. That's one of the most important lessons you will need to learn," Kakashi explained. "People who refuse to learn it never make it. I'm sure you don't want to be just another body."

Kakashi's words bounced around Naruto's mind for a moment. They slowly mixed in with his understanding of what being a shinobi meant and what it required until this new lesson became homogenous with his idea of what a ninja really is. The feeling of fear and panic slid off of him and his face hardened with determination. "I won't let it happen again. I promise."

"Good," Kakashi said plainly. "Let's catch up with the rest of our guys then, shall we?" He began to trudge ahead through the sands of the beach and Naruto raced at his heels.

Zabuza rested at a desk in his modest lodgings. It was spilling over with documents, letters, reports, business dealings, and plans.

"What are you thinking?" Haku inquired from the other side of the room.

"The rebellion isn't going as smoothly as I'd like. I'm anxious to leave Mei and Aō to deal with the main fighting for right now," Zabuza's sharp teeth were snapped together with worry.

"But look at the bright side," Haku pointed out. "Ever since we set up here at Wave we've destroyed and commandeered a great deal of Kiri vessels."

"That is true. It has to hurt their trade… their ability to supply their armies. At this rate, we'll have enough ships to form our own Rebel Navy," Zabuza professed.

"Plus, Mei is stronger than either of us. If anyone could hold down the fort in your stead it would be her," Haku noted.

"It's not Mei's leadership I fear. It's Gatō's," Zabuza admitted with a concerned tone.

Haku's eyebrows quirked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Yagura is a tyrant, but what really separates Gatō from that title as well?" Zabuza posed which stumped his pupil. "Gatō provides us a means of trade and resources – his money keeps our rebellion afloat, but he isn't giving us that stuff for free. We have to act like his private army in order to get his support. Now look at where that's got us. We helped this man invade and take over an entire nation. We had to divert fifteen hundred men from the Mist to the Wave in order to satisfy Gatō and keep him on our side," Zabuza realized his spiel about Gatō could be endless. "If there was any other way to fuel the rebellion, I'd take it in an instant, but I fear that I've gotten too deep into something I'm going to come to regret," the legendary swordsman finished.

Haku crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, I definitely agree that Gatō is hardly any better than Yagura," she admitted. "But he's useful for the time being," she reasoned.

"If push comes to shove, I'll take care of him," Zabuza resolutely announced.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

"Come in," Zabuza yelled.

Gatō stepped through the door flanked by Gōzu and Meizu. "I was making my way here when I saw these two racing to reach you like their lives depended on it," Gatō explained.

"Zabuza, we have urgent news to share!" Meizu blurted out.

"What is it?" Zabuza worriedly inquired.

"Tazuna the bridge builder has returned to the country. We attacked him as Gatō ordered but he was protected by a Leaf Squad under Kakashi of the Sharingan!" Gōzu revealed.

Zabuza's eyes bulged from their sockets with shock. 'Has the Leaf finally decided to intervene in the Kiri Civil War? Are they starting by liberating the Land of Waves? The rebellion will be crushed if the Leaf joins the Mizukage. Maybe I could reach out to the Cloud for assistance?' A million thoughts flashed through the swordsman's mind in an instant. "Do you know what the Leaf wants with Tazuna or the Land of Waves?" Zabuza beckoned semi-frantically.

"I'll tell you what they want," Gatō loudly interjected. "They want to give that bridge builder bastard the protection to complete the construction of the bridge across the Umigawa Strait," he confidently declared with a frustrated expression.

"Kakashi told us to tell you that he wanted to meet you tomorrow in the Kongōseki Forest for negotiations," Meizu slipped in.

"Perhaps this isn't as bad as it sounds then," Haku speculated with a hand on her chin.

"It does give us the chance to resolve this peacefully and maybe we can even establish a connection to Konoha," Zabuza mused with an eased tone.

"There will be no negotiating with those Konoha bastards!" Gatō fumed. "What you're going to do tomorrow is you're going to find that damned Kakashi and kill him. Letting the Land of Fire poke their noses around here is gonna bring my business under fire and same with your damn rebellion," Gatō furiously spat. "If you want to keep resources flowing to your precious rebel army you'll listen to your superior and get rid of them, otherwise you're going to need to find someone else to support your silly war. You shinobi do as I say when I say it." Gatō stomped off in an enraged frenzy.

Zabuza gritted his sharp teeth together in frustration. His other fellow shinobi stood in silence. "The nerve of that uptight piece of shit," Zabuza growled between his bared fangs.

The two brothers glanced at each other and then back to Zabuza. "Don't worry, we will go with you to face Kakashi tomorrow," Gōzu proposed.

"I will help you take him down as well, Master Zabuza," Haku added.

"No, that won't be necessary," the swordsman protested.

"W-What do you mean?" Haku stuttered.

"I'll talk to Kakashi myself. I do not plan to fight and kill any of the Leaf Ninja. This will go over much more smoothly for the rebellion if we can resolve this peacefully. I'll only fight them if they intend to go through with building that bridge that Gatō can't stand," Zabuza explained with his arms crossed.

"Then why not let us come with you? We could be of service in the negotiations and if things go wrong then we can be there to help," Meizu argued.

"The last thing I want is for the Leaf Ninja to feel threatened or intimidated. Plus, the Copy Ninja is far stronger than all the rebels here besides maybe me and the brat," he motioned at himself and Haku. "If it comes to a fight, I don't want people unnecessarily dying," Zabuza stated.

"So you don't even want me to be there?" Haku beckoned.

"I still want you to come, but I want you to watch from the sidelines. I don't want the Leaf to know you're there. If we both die then the forces on the island will quickly fall apart," Zabuza revealed much to Haku's apparent concern.

"Are you sure about this, Zabuza-sensei?" Haku questioned one last time. "What if Konoha doesn't back off and Gatō finds out about you not doing as he said?"

"I'd rather be an enemy of Gatō's than of Konoha's," Zabuza honestly admitted. "It's more important that we at least maintain neutrality with Konoha than it is that we retain Gatō's support. That's why it's so crucial that I try to de-escalate with Kakashi before trying to battle with them." Haku gazed at Zabuza with a sense of wonder. "Do you trust me, brat?"

Haku perked up. "Yes, Master Zabuza, of course I do."

"Then you'll follow my lead to the exact instruction and if we play our cards right then we can all come out of this perfectly fine tomorrow," Zabuza asserted.

"I understand, Zabuza-sensei." Haku bowed to him with respect and swiftly exited the room with the Demon Brothers.

Zabuza leaned back into his seat at his desk. 'I have to do whatever it takes to mitigate the risk of the rebellion tomorrow,' Zabuza reaffirmed in his mind. 'No matter what it costs.'

END

Author's Note

I hope this chapter finds everyone in good health.

So we're finally in the Land of Waves. As I'm sure all of you can tell, I got a whole lot of changes happening in this arc that is going to lead to more down the road. But yea, Zabuza is the leader of the Kiri Rebellion. Tell me what you guys think of him so far. Because of the position I've put him in, it would be unfitting to keep all his villainous traits so his personality is overall wildly different.

Also, we got a whole lot of Kakashi this chapter. Hope you guys like him so far. We also got to see a glimpse of where I plan to take Team 7's abilities. I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts, predictions, or even other ideas about that kinda stuff as well.

I had been thinking about it a lot, and I've decided that from this chapter on, I will begin writing some responses to some of the reviews I get at the end of each chapter as a convenient way to sorta interact with you guys. So ask questions if you're curious and maybe you'll get some answers from me in the following chapter.

I'll start off by replying to the 2 reviews I got for chapter 8.

Review Replies

Ashurahhhhh – It's understandable if you didn't like it. I used this fight as a means to set a principle that from here on genin were going to be much more capable. They are meant to be trained killers. As such, each genin will have more and higher level jutsu. I hope that explains it more and doesn't make you think that Naruto or Sasuke are insanely OP.

bhall0458 – I definitely can see where you're coming from, but I think it's important that you try and see the whole context. First of all, it's important to understand that this is an AU, so canon doesn't really always apply. With that being laid out, Majestic Destroyer Flame is only a B-rank jutsu. The only reason Madara's was so overwhelmingly powerful is because he's Madara. Another thing that's important to make note of is that, yea, it isn't required to win, but you are encouraged to win. Just because Sasuke used this jutsu doesn't mean he intended to kill Naruto. I tried to sorta convey this idea without saying it out loud because I trust that the reader can infer from the text, but Sasuke uses Majestic Destroyer Flame more so as an ultimatum to Naruto here. Naruto can't dodge the attack so his two options are forfeit or reply with something else. Naruto decides to gamble for a draw and he loses. It's not much more serious than that. Another thing to understand is that, while I also haven't outright said that literally everyone knows Naruto and Kurama are connected, I've done basically everything but, so even Sasuke knows that any injuries Naruto could sustain here aren't permanent. I hope this cleared some stuff up and helped you to sorta see why this at least makes sense in my mind.

Ok well. I did not mean to get long winded with that last reply. It's about time to close this chapter up.

Thanks to everyone who helped me put this chapter together. I hope everyone thoroughly enjoys it. The next chapter drops on December 23rd, 12-1 pm EST as usual.

Favorite, follow, and review as you like.

Godspeed,

Salt.