Naruto: The Uchiha Chronicles Re-Version
Hello Everyone, welcome to the
Arc III: Land of Waves Escort Mission:
Chapter 16: Calm in the Face of a Demon, Zabuza's Folly!
-x-x-x-x-x-x- NTUC -x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Zabuza cried. Mist began swirling on the water's surface. The pearly-white haze gathered and wrapped around him like a cloak, before it began to spread around them. An eerie quiet settled in the fogs wake as the forest animals stilled.
Naruto gripped the hilt of Senbonzakura. Beside him, he could feel Sakura shaking in fear. "S-sensei, who is this Zabuza guy?" She asked. Her voice was trembling as much as she was.
Kakashi looked about the thickening mist with narrow eyes. "He was the leader of the Hidden Mist's assassination unit before he became a missing ninja, and he is a master in their silent killing technique. By the time you realize he's attacking, you're already dead," He answered seriously. His back began to become more and more obscured to them in the haze.
"The mist is thickening," Naruto observed quietly. Tazuna tried to reassure him that that was just how it was in the Land of Waves, but Naruto shook his head at the explanation. "No. This is Zabuza's jutsu. He's making it so we can't see him," He explained, and Sakura's eyes widened in fear.
With the pause, Naruto took the time to activate his sensing abilities. Unfortunately he wouldn't be able to use them to their fullest in the heat of battle. When his senses stretched outwards, he immediately felt the vast cloud of chakra that surrounded them. It would make it a lot more difficult to track the man.
The mist soon thickened to the point that they couldn't even see Kakashi five feet in front of them. A dark chuckle filled the air. Zabuza's voice echoed all around them. "Hehehe, clever boy. Not that it matters. Did you know, there are eight points in the human body which will kill someone instantly? The larynx, the lungs, the spine, the liver, the jugular, the subclavian artery, the kidneys, and of course, the heart. Which of these points should I use to kill you?"
Killing intent washed over them in potent waves and began to press down on them from all sides. Naruto tensed as he felt a large buildup of chakra, and prepared to draw his sword, only to stay his hand when he realized it was Kakashi.
The silver-haired jonin released his chakra in a pulse that cleared the mist around them.
Naruto felt a trickle of sweat on his forehead. The pressure of Kakashi's chakra, and Zabuza's killing intent, was intense.
Was this what it was like for two jonin to clash? It was enough to make even him slightly weary. 'At least I'm used to this', He thought, with a quick glance to Sakura and Sasuki. His teammates weren't so lucky. They were trembling in fear. He glanced to his left and saw the surprising sight of Sasuki with her eyes wide and filled with an unusual amount of emotion. One emotion to be exact. Terror. He felt a spike of alarm when he saw her grip her kunai as if to stab herself. 'She's not really going to do it, is she?' But her muscles tensed all the same, and before he could even register his arms movement, his hand shot out and gripped her wrist tightly.
Naruto met her shocked gaze and frowned. "Settle down. We can't afford a break down right now," He said sternly. The fear vanished from her eyes quickly, as if snapped from her shock. She snatched her arm back with an annoyed huff.
"Tch, I wasn't going to break down," She snapped. Naruto felt a rush of anger at her dismissal. While normally he wouldn't let it bother him–since he was used to her being surly–the tension of the situation had him on edge.
He opened his mouth to snap a retort, but Kakashi spoke up before he could.
"Both of you, quiet. This isn't the time for bickering. Just stay calm. There's nothing you need to worry about. Remember what I've taught you about teamwork. Protect the bridge builder, that's your mission. Handling Zabuza is my job. Also–" Kakashi glanced back at them, and his eye curled into a reassuring smile. "–know this. I won't allow any of you to die," He told them.
His words were like a bucket of cold water, that dowsed Naruto's anger and reminded him of the situation at hand. Naruto nodded in understanding, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He needed to get a hold of himself.
Just as Naruto managed to calm his heart rate, it shot back up as he felt a massive chakra signature appear behind them. A menacing voice spoke from behind him.
"Teamwork, how useless. Teamwork won't stop you from dying!"
Naruto's breath caught in his throat. He whipped about just in time to see Zabuza spinning his massive cleaver sword over his head. The blade began to descend, and Naruto only had a split second to react. On instinct he began to draw Senbonzakura, though he fully expected it to be too slow. At the very least, he expected for Zabuza's strength to overwhelm him, since he hadn't had time to reinforce his strength with the Nine-Tail's chakra.
To his surprise, their blades met in a shower of sparks, and he managed to shrug Zabuza's massive sword to the side with relative ease. He stared into Zabuza's eyes in confusion. For his part, the missing ninja looked just as surprised.
How had he blocked the attack? Jonin like Zabuza and Kakashi had strength that he couldn't match without using the Nine-Tail's chakra. Naruto couldn't understand it; it didn't make sense.
While he and Zabuza were shocked, Kakashi had the presence of mind to take advantage of the man's awkward position. He appeared in front of the assassin and plunged a kunai deep into the man's stomach.
Everyone stood still for a moment. For an instant, Naruto wondered if it was already over. That notion was driven from his mind when he saw the liquid trickling from Zabuza's wound. Instead of a crimson gush of blood, it was a clear stream of water that trickled from the wound.
Naruto was stunned for a moment. 'A water clone?' He only had a second to comprehend it, before he reacted on instinct and used a teleportation jutsu to move backwards. When he reappeared ten feet away a millisecond later, he was greeted by a shocking sight. A second Zabuza had appeared behind Kakashi. His giant blade was raised high above his head.
"It's over!" Zabuza roared. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. The sword descended upon Kakashi like the axe of an executioner. Naruto felt his stomach lurch. He tried to give a last second warning to Kakashi. But he was too late. The sever-sword tore through his sensei's waist like it was butter.
He had to watch as his sensei was bifurcated by the sword. But something was off.
To Naruto's eternal relief it was not blood and guts that drenched the ground as the two halves of Kakashi's body separated. It was water. Kakashi had managed to copy Zabuza's water clone Jutsu in an instant, Naruto realized. He silently applauded the jonin's skill with the Sharingan. He used it better than some Uchiha had been able to over the years.
The real Kakashi appeared behind Zabuza and held a kunai to his jugular. "No, Zabuza, now it's over."
Zabuza, the hardened shinobi that he was, didn't even flinch as the blade was pressed against his jugular. He glanced back at Kakashi. "Tch, so you copied my jutsu even while you were speaking with those brats, very impressive copy ninja," He complimented.
Kakashi tightened his grip on the kunai. "Don't move," He growled. Zabuza simply chuckled. Naruto narrowed his eyes. Zabuza's demeanor set him on edge. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about the way he spoke didn't seem quite right. He was far too cavalier for a man with a knife to his jugular, even if he was a hardened shinobi.
"Please, do you honestly think such a cheap trick would fool me?" Zabuza asked. Naruto's stomach sank, and Kakashi's eyes narrowed in suspicion. He flexed his hand, and his knife made a slight cut on 'Zabuza's' neck. A tell-tale trickle of water was released. With a vicious yank Kakashi dispersed the clone, and then tried to turn to face the real Zabuza, who had appeared behind him.
He managed to duck under the first strike, causing Zabuza's sword to sail wide and became stuck in the ground. Zabuza wasn't deterred, though. The large man used the lengthy hilt of his sword as a prop and launched a devastating kick that launched Kakashi backwards towards the water. Kakashi flew through the air and landed in the pond with a large–splash. Zabuza ripped his sword from the ground, releasing a shower of earth in its wake. He raced towards the water, with only a moments pause at the water's edge. To try and slow Zabuza down, Kakashi had thrown makibishi spikes on the ground. It didn't work.
Zabuza leapt into the air and landed on the water's surface directly behind where Kakashi had surfaced.
"Fool," He sneered. Zabuza began to race through hand seals.
Kakashi tried to get out of the water, but he was a second too late.
Zabuza clapped his hands, and called, "Water Prison Jutsu!" Water arose from the pond and formed a sphere. Kakashi was floating inside, suspended, and unable to move anything below his neck. With his jutsu complete, Zabuza placed his right palm against the orb of water so he could maintain control over the technique.
He smirked at Kakashi maliciously, and said, "Don't bother trying to escape. This water is as hard as steel, there's nothing that can break it," Zabuza turned his attention towards them, and Naruto tensed up. "Now just sit tight, Kakashi. I'll get to you later. First I think I'll make you watch while I kill these brats."
Naruto felt a bit of apprehension as Zabuza turned his gaze towards them. He was confident that one-on-one he could take Zabuza down if he were to go all out. The problem was, it wasn't one-on-one, and he couldn't go all out, at least not without revealing who he was. His Sharingan was one of the few aces he had completely hidden with which to take those hunting his tailed beast by surprise. Revealing it here was out of the question. So what could he do then? That only left the Nine-Tail's chakra, and even then, he had to worry about Zabuza taking his teammates by surprise. He could almost growl in frustration
Despite all that was going on in his head, Naruto didn't let any of it show on his face. Never show any emotion. That was one of the most important lessons his grandfather had taught him. So he stared coldly and determinedly, right into Zabuza's eyes.
Zabuza chuckled in amusement. "Oh, that look in your eyes. There's a lot of fight in you, isn't there boy?" He asked rhetorically. His chuckling ceased, and he leered at Naruto menacingly. "I can't wait to see that fight fade. You're slightly skilled, I'll give you that, but you're nowhere near my level kid," He said. Zabuza used his free hand to form a hand seal. From the water's edge, three new water clones began to emerge. After the clones were fully-formed, they stepped forward, and stood in an intimidating line on the shore.
"You think wearing a headband makes you worthy of calling yourself a ninja? That it makes you capable of fighting me?" Zabuza asked. He snorted humorlessly. "Don't make me laugh boy. When you've hovered between life and death enough times that it doesn't affect you in the least, then I might call you a ninja. If you become so strong a profile is created for you in my bingo book, then I might call you a ninja," Zabuza glared at them viciously. "But to call a bunch of jumped-up brats like you ninja, is a joke!" The mist thickened once more, and wrapped Zabuza's clones in its embrace.
As soon as Naruto saw the clones disappear, he instantly began to try and come up with a plan to deal with them. He didn't have much time to think before one of them suddenly appeared before him. The clone tried to land a devastating blow with his elbow, but Naruto dodged nimbly to the side and lashed out with his sword. Senbonzakura sliced through the clone's side and caused it to disperse into a puddle.
Naruto paused for a moment, to try and assess the situation. That turned out to be a mistake.
"Duck!"
The Nine-Tail's warning was the only thing that saved Naruto from having his head lopped off. He dropped onto his haunches just in time to avoid another clones blade. The sword cut through the air just above his head and sailed wide. With the clone's guard wide open, Naruto took advantage. He rose to his feet and bisected the clone from crotch to throat. There was no time to rest, though. His attention was quickly drawn to a sharp cry of pain from where his teammates were.
The third Zabuza clone had attacked his teammates while he fought the other two. It had Sakura pinned to the ground with its foot on her throat, and Tazuna had stumbled back in terror and fallen on his rear. Naruto briefly wondered where Sasuki was. He worried that Zabuza might have already managed kill her. But his concern was shoved to the back of his mind when he saw the clone preparing to finish Sakura off.
'Oh no you don't!' Naruto made to use a Body Flicker to dispense of the clone, but he was beaten to the punch. A person darted up to the clone from behind and leapt on its back. There was a brief struggle as the clone tried to shake its attacker off. A glimpse of blue-tinted raven hair he would recognize anywhere caused Naruto's spirits to rise. 'Sasuki! Good, she's okay.' Naruto caught a glint of metal as she plunged a kunai deep into the clone's temple.
Sasuki leapt backwards and stood panting lightly. She glared at the puddle of water that used to be Zabuza's clone. Judging from the bruise that was beginning to form on her jaw, Naruto assumed that the clone had hit her first and then moved on to Sakura.
Whatever the case was, Naruto was relieved to have the final clone defeated. He was also glad for the information provided by this last kill. It revealed a potential flaw in the Water Clone Jutsu, which was a closely guarded technique of the Mist's. Although Sasuki was indeed strong for a genin, she was no match for a jonin like Zabuza. It confirmed what he had noticed before. The clones were unusually weak and slow. Naruto was beginning to suspect that, unlike shadow clones, water clones held only a fraction of the strength and speed of the original. Though they did have the advantage of being more durable.
Zabuza's voice echoed eerily through the mist after his clone was dispatched. "So, you managed to take down three of my clones. I guess you brats are a bit more skilled than I thought. It doesn't matter really though. I can make as many more clones as I want," he taunted them. An uncomfortable feeling settled over Team 7.
Questions of how many clones there were, and where they were, plagued Naruto's mind. Finally growing sick of Zabuza's mind games, Naruto decided to do something about the mist obscuring their vision. He performed a quick series of hand seals, and then inhaled deeply.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" A fierce gust was released from Naruto's mouth. The wind swept the mist away like a fan dispelling steam. In its wake he could see just what Zabuza had been cooking up.
The man stood with their sensei trapped inside the water prison. The ponds shore was dotted with clones everywhere. 'One, two, three … he's made fifteen clones.' Naruto stared the clones down.
His mind worked furiously to come up with a way to defeat them. He now knew that they weren't as fast or strong as the original, so he had the edge in that regard. He wouldn't be able to attack them with wide range jutsu; they would just block or dodge. That meant he'd have to use a quick and precise attack, to take them down before they could react. 'There's no use for it. I'll have to use the flash step at its peak. Nine, I might need some chakra for this …'
Before the fox could reply, the aggravated voice of his sensei cut through his scheming. "What do you all think you're doing. You're no match for Zabuza!" He yelled Kakashi locked eyes with Naruto, an unusually serious edge to it. "His clones can't move far from his body. Take the bridge builder, and run!" He ordered
While he filed the bit about the clones away for later. Naruto scoffed at Kakashi's order. He narrowed his eyes at his sensei. "Please, even if I was willing to just give up and abandon you, which I'm not; it would do no good," Naruto steadfastly ignored the disbelieving exclamation from his sensei and continued. "All Zabuza has to do is finish you off, and then he can follow us and finish the job. No, our only choice is to stop him right here."
His sensei growled and looked at him in disbelief. Zabuza, on the other hand, looked at him curiously. "Oh, you make it sound like you plan on fighting back. Tell me boy, do you really think you're a match for my clones?" He asked.
Naruto smirked confidently. "Try? I'm not going to try to defeat them, I will defeat them," He replied. His words seemed to set Zabuza on edge. The clones all tensed up and looked as if they would attack. He tensed up his muscles as well. 'Nine, chakra, now.'
Although he didn't hear a response from the Nine-Tails, he felt the chakra begin to fill his body. Its power suffused his muscles, an intoxicating feeling of might, and aggression. Naruto locked eyes with his teammates. "Sakura, you take Tazuna underground again. Sasuki, watch my back. If something happens to me or Kakashi, it's up to you to get him out of here." He ordered.
He didn't give them a chance to reply. As soon as he'd given his order, he tensed his leg muscles. His eyes closed, and he took a second to gather his concentration. His eyes snapped open, and he shot off. Subtly, he unleashed a magnetic wave that forced the massive swords the clones were using to fly backwards. The clones were just barely able to maintain their grips on their weapons, but the wave fulfilled its purpose in putting them off-balance.
The feeling of using the Teleportation Jutsu in a fight was exhilarating. It was like he was the only one moving, and time had stopped for everything else. In less than half of a second, he was on the first off-balance clone, who barely had time to comprehend that he had moved. With a savage slash he cut its throat, and then moved to the next. The clone managed recover its stance to make a clumsy block, but he twirled around it, and stabbed it through the heart with his back to it. The next few seconds were a blur, flashes of metal and bursts of water filled the air as he systematically dissected five more clones. Without the speed of the original, they were helpless.
Within ten seconds, there were only five clones left, all grouped together in a circle. By now Naruto could feel the strain his jutsu was putting on his body. 'Looks like I don't have much longer before I need to stop the jutsu.' He had to end it fast. In one last burst of speed, he appeared in the midst of the clones, and decapitated them all with one last sweep of his sword.
Naruto stood in place, his breath heaving harshly as his heart thundered in his chest to try and pump the blood through his body. He could feel the intense heat of his muscles, worked to exhaustion, as well as the delightfully cool sensation of the water that had formed the clones dripping from his body.
He glared at Zabuza coldly and directed all of his intent to kill onto him as he had been shown by his grandfather. The corner of his lip twitched as he saw the wide eyed expression Zabuza was giving him.
"You seem shocked. I don't know why. While those clones may be useful, they only possess a fraction of the power of the user. Now, I think it's about time you release my sensei."
For a moment, everything was quiet. After a moment, he saw Zabuza's shoulders begin to shake. For one crazy second, Naruto thought it might be fear. But then the shaking increased. Zabuza threw his head back and began to roar in laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" He roared. "Oh, I knew there was something I liked about you, boy." Zabuza's laughter faded, and he fixed Naruto with an intense stare, a gleam of hunger in his eyes. The hunger for battle. "Yes indeed, I was wrong about you. I can tell from your eyes, the sheer intent to kill me. You know what it is to take a life, don't you boy?" He asked. The narrowing of his eyes was all Zabuza needed to know his answer. "I thought so. You're the real deal, a true manslayer. It's a shame you weren't born in the Mist, with those swords skills, and that attitude, you would've been a prime candidate to inherit one of the Seven Swords."
While most would have been flattered by the comment, Naruto simply shook his head. "You're wrong about that," He said. "I would never deign to use a blade inferior to Senbonzakura, not even one of the Seven Swords of the Mist." He replied.
"What was that?" Zabuza growled, his eyes narrowed dangerously.
Naruto didn't pay it any mind, though. Instead, he directed his attention to the Water Prison, a slight frown on his lips. Now that he had the clones out of the way, he had to force Zabuza to release the jutsu before he could create anymore. To that end, he began to focus chakra into his fingers.
"Now, I believe I told you to release my sensei. If you won't do it willingly, I'm afraid I'll have to force you." Naruto said calmly. He raised his right hand, and pointed it at Zabuza. This attack was risky. He still hadn't mastered how to do it without seals. Unfortunately he didn't have a choice right now. Blue lightning began to crackle ominously in his palm. Naruto could feel the deadening sensation of the lightning surging through his arm. He had yet to learn lightning manipulation, and it made the effects of using this jutsu intense. Still, he ignored it, and unleashed the jutsu. "Lightning Style: Pale Lightning!"
A wide beam of lightning was unleashed, with the intent to force Zabuza to release his grip on the prison; or allow nearly his entire torso to be bathed in lightning. Either one was good with Naruto.
In the wake of his jutsu, Naruto found that he couldn't move his arm at all. As a matter of fact, the entire right side of his body felt stiff. Combined with the way all the muscles in his body were aching, he figured he was pretty much spent in this fight. The only reason he was still standing was because the Nine-Tails was constantly feeding him chakra, which helped speed his recovery. It didn't matter, though. The plan had worked to perfection. As soon as Zabuza saw the scale of the jutsu coming at him, he let go of the water prison and threw himself to the side, several yards wide of the jutsu. The water that had been holding Kakashi collapsed and dropped the man into the water. It was just in time, too, as at that moment the lightning jutsu passed harmlessly over his head. The beam continued over the water, and to the other side of the shore, and obliterated several trees in its path.
Kakashi pulled himself out of the water, using his chakra to stick to the surface, and stood there panting. "Well, that certainly was effective," He said as he gave Naruto and his teammates one of his eye-smiles. "Good job team, although you did disobey my orders." His tone turned slightly harsh, but it was gone just as soon as it appeared. Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well, what's done is done." He then turned to Zabuza, who was back on his feet, and glaring at all of them. "As for you, the same trick won't work on me twice. Now let's finish this."
Zabuza scoffed, and widened his stance. "Tch, you talk too much." He said, as he brought his hands up. In a blur of motion, he began going through hand seals, which Kakashi began to mimic.
The two jonin performed a complex chain of hand seals, more than Naruto had ever seen used. As the men performed their hand seals, they chanted in sync with their motions. "Ush, Saru, U, Ne, I, Tori, Ushi …" For nearly half a minute they performed hand seals, thirty-two in all. Finally, they ended on the bird seal, and both men called the name of their technique. "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
Water began to churn on the surface of the pond. It twisted and writhed, and rose into the air to form two massive serpent-like dragons made of water, with piercing yellow eyes. The two dragons wound through the air, intertwining their bodies. Suddenly, the dragons lunged at each other, snapping and biting. The motion the large beasts caused as they battled formed a large wave of water, that washed over the battlefield, and threatened to throw Naruto and his teammates off their feet. Finally, one of the dragons managed to grab hold of the other, an action quickly reciprocated by the other dragon. The dragons tore each other apart, causing water to rain down on everyone.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. What Kakashi just did … should not have been possible. The Sharingan granted the user the ability to perceive and copy nearly any jutsu, but it couldn't let the user perform simultaneously with the person they were copying. 'Something, is off here.'
From the shore, he watched as the two jonin began to circle each other, and he immediately noticed something. Every time Zabuza moved, Kakashi mirrored him exactly. Or at least, that's the way it seemed.
"Amazing, he's not just copying him, he's moving at the exact same time in the exact same way!" Tazuna exclaimed.
To the side, Sakura nodded in agreement. "Sasuki, how is he doing that?" She asked in disbelief. From the look of it, Sasuki was just as confused.
"He's not copying him." Naruto said. Now Kakashi was playing a game of cat and mouse with Zabuza, messing with his mind as he did everything he did, right down to speaking.
"What do you mean he's not copying him?" Sasuki asked.
"I mean he's not using the mirror eye; he's using the illusion eye." He explained. Sasuki's eyes widened.
"You mean?"
Naruto nodded. "Exactly. Kakashi has Zabuza in a genjutsu. He's making him think that his actions are his own, when really Kakashi telling him what to do. That makes it look like Kakashi is copying him, when in reality, he's controlling him."
As they spoke, both jonin had begun another chain of hands seals. This time, though, something was Kakashi was moving just a bit faster than Zabuza. As a result, he finished his jutsu before Zabuza could complete his own. Kakashi ended on the bird seal, and cried. "Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!"
Once again, water began to rise, but this time it formed a large vortex of water in front of Kakashi. The vortex grew and suddenly surged forth in a deluge of water, the pressure so immense it easily swept Zabuza away with the force of a waterfall.
In the wake of the vortex, water was pushed up over the sides of the pond and slammed into them. Naruto could feel the water trying to sweep him away. He decided not to stick to the ground with chakra, seven though that was his first instinct. That could possibly get him injured if anything were to be swept along in the current. Instead, he allowed the water to sweep him away, and used his chakra to lift him to the surface. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Sasuki and Sakura doing the same, with Sakura keeping Tazuna above the water.
With their stability secured, Naruto focused his attention towards the fight as their momentum began to slow to a halt.
The water jutsu was tearing up the landscape, digging a trench in the ground. Kakashi had let it sweep him forward, and was riding the waves momentum similar to them. Zabuza, on the other hand, was nowhere in sight. Never one to let his guard down, Naruto kept his eyes out for the man.
For a second, he thought he felt a new chakra signature nearby, but it was so small, and disappeared so fast, that he dismissed it as maybe being an animal, and continued to search for Zabuza.
A few seconds later he caught a glimpse silver inside the water. Zabuza was being tumbled about in the current, unable to stop his movement. His movement was stopped for him, though, when the vortex slammed him bodily into the trunk of a rather sturdy looking tree. The water kept him pinned against the tree as it rushed by. Eventually the force of the water died down and it began to recede. With the water no longer holding him up Zabuza slumped to the ground. He struggled to rise to his feet, without much luck.
Just before the last of the wave's momentum died, Kakashi leapt into the air. While Zabuza tried to get to his feet, Kakashi pulled out four kunai, and let them fly. They were right on target. The kunai pierced Zabuza's limbs, and pinned him to the tree.
With Zabuza subdued, Kakashi summersaulted through the air and alighted upon one of the limbs of the tree Zabuza was pinned to.
"H-how? Can you see the future?" Zabuza asked, a painful wheeze in his voice. From the sound of, Naruto thought it was likely he had cracked a rib. Not surprising considering how hard he had it the tree.
From his perch, Kakashi looked at Zabuza with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. He drew a kunai from his thigh holster, and held it in a reverse grip.
"Yes. And this is your last battle." Kakashi answered, a touch of menace in his voice.
Naruto was so focused on Zabuza and Kakashi, that he almost missed the flash of silver at the edge of his vision. As soon as he saw it, his body tensed, and he focused on the two senbon needles hurtling through the air. To his surprise, they weren't headed for Kakashi, or any of them, but rather, towards Zabuza.
With a small–shlick–the needles pierced his neck and released a gout of blood. Zabuza's body fell forward onto the ground, dead.
Nobody seemed to know how to react to Zabuza's demise. It was so sudden, and so shocking, that Naruto couldn't quite comprehend it. Though he quickly snapped out of it. His head whipped towards the source of the senbon. Standing on a tree branch off to the side, was a person wearing the mask of a Hidden Mist tracker ninja, a white mask with slit eyes, and the symbol of the Hidden Mist carved into the forehead. This particular mask had red wave-like markings on the lower part of the face.
It was impossible to tell whether they were male or female, but whoever they were, they were short, shorter than him even. Their black hair was bound in a white bun holder, except for two long bangs that framed their face, and they wore the traditional pin-striped uniform of the Mist, with a green haori over it.
"You were right; it was his last battle." They said. From the voice, Naruto guessed it was a boy, though it was hard to tell. The voice was so quiet and restrained, it really could be a girl. One thing was for certain, he wasn't much older than Naruto.
With a grim look, Kakashi landed in a crouch next to Zabuza's body, and placed his fingers at the man's neck. Naruto really didn't have to ask to know what Kakashi would say, but he did anyways.
"Well?" He asked.
Kakashi shook his head. "No pulse. He's dead." The silver-haired man turned his gaze to the tracker ninja.
"Thank you, I've been hunting him for quite a while. Your battle gave me just the opportunity to kill him." The ninja said with a bow of his head.
"Judging from that mask, I'm betting you're a tracker ninja from the Hidden Mist." Kakashi replied.
The tracker ninja nodded. "I am. You're well informed."
Kakashi stood up, and let out a sigh. "Well, I guess there's nothing for it. Our job here is done. We'll let you go about your business." He said, as he began walking towards where Naruto and Sasuki stood. In the meantime, Sakura who had reemerged with Tazuna and seemed utterly confused with what was going on.
"Huh, just like that? It's over?" She asked in disbelief.
Naruto watched grimly as the boy disappeared in a gust of wind, and reappeared next to Zabuza's body. He heard Sakura's question, and nodded. "What else is there? Our enemy is dead. There's no point in remaining here." He said.
The ninja, who now had Zabuza slung over his shoulder, gave them all one last bow of the head. "Once again, I thank you for the assistance. Now if you'll excuse me, I must get to work disposing of the body."
A small gust of wind was the only sign of his departure. One second he was there, and the next he was gone.
"Well, we better get going. Mr. Tazuna, please lead the way." Kakashi ordered.
Naruto continued to look to where the tracker ninja had disappeared as Kakashi passed him. Something felt … off, about it. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. 'Nine, did you sense anything from that guy?'
"No, I didn't. It's surprising actually. Either that guy has no emotions, or even more unlikely, he didn't bear even the slightest of ill feelings, even to Zabuza." The fox replied.
'Hmm, that is strange.' Naruto hummed in thought. His suspicions ground to a halt, as he suddenly heard a thump behind him.
Naruto spun around, and saw Kakashi lying face down in the dirt. He looked to his teammates in confusion. "What happened?"
For their part, Sakura and Sasuki looked just as confused as he felt. "I don't know," Said Sasuki. She frowned. "One second he was walking, and the next he just collapsed." She told him.
His eyes narrowed. Naruto shuffled over to Kakashi, and despite the pain it caused, knelt beside Kakashi. He used his functioning left arm to check Kakashi's pulse. To his relief, it was strong. 'Hmm, I wonder.' The next thing he did was use his sensing to check his reserves. "Hmm, it looks like he's just passed out. His chakra reserves seem pretty low." Naruto said. "It's probably chakra exhaustion from using that eye."
Naruto looked up, and met his teammates eyes. "Come on, I'll carry him. Sakura can check him over when we get to Tazuna's, but we shouldn't stay out in the open." He ordered.
"Oi, who made you leader?" Sasuki asked, though she got into formation to protect Tazuna. Naruto ignored her though. He knew it was just her being moody.
With his one good arm, Naruto slung Kakashi's arm around his neck. 'This isn't going to be pleasant.' Naruto channeled a bit more of Kurama's chakra, so he could withstand the pain and be able to carry Kakashi. With a large heave, he lifted Kakashi onto his shoulders, and stood up. He couldn't help but let loose a grunt of pain.
"Hey, are you alright?" Sakura asked. There was a look of concern on her face, and her eyes were locked onto his right arm hanging loose at his side. "What happened to your arm?"
"It's nothing," Naruto assured her. "Simply a side-effect of using so much lightning chakra. A day's rest and I'll be fine." He told her.
Sakura nodded her head uncertainly. Clearly, she still had reservations.
"Are you sure you can handle him?" Tazuna asked.
Naruto nodded. "Yes, now lead the way." He replied resolutely.
The journey to Tazuna's house was, thankfully, uneventful. Along the way, Naruto couldn't help but wonder what else this mission would bring. It had already been plenty eventful for what was supposed to be a routine C-rank mission.
-x-x-x-x-x-x- NTUC -x-x-x-x-x-x-
Alright, I'm almost done with these edits. I made some light changes to this one, mostly the battle. I don't anticipate too many changes next chapter, although it's possible I'll add a fight scene to showcase Sasuki's abilities vs Haku. We'll see, depends on if I think there's time.
So, til next time,
RinneTaicho, Signing off!
