Author Note
Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.
Last chapter, I showed the routine of team 10 as well as well as introducing my new character to the plot, a little bit. The female Anbu was busy checking on Naruto, before Asuma caught her and she had to leave. She'll appear throughout the chapters slowly, until it's time to fully integrate her into the plot. Now, the team received the C-ranked mission to protect a bridge builder named Tazuna to the Land of Wave. Everyone knows what happened, but no one knows what will happen in this story, with the exception of the author of course. Now, let's proceed with some answers to the reviews of last chapter.
Yellow Flash – Not once did I say that his team managed to close the gap. Chouji just managed to follow Naruto for a couple of minutes and Naruto wasn't even using his Sharingan.
Gaijinsamurai – Naruto won't be learning the Chidori. Sasuke only learned it because he had a lightning affinity, not because Kakashi felt he should have it. Regarding the type of sword, though, it's not likely that he will change it any time soon. He is already adapted to the Kodashi's weight and length, so if he was to change it to another weapon, it wouldn't be the same thing. Also, this Naruto is not a close range fighter as the cannon. He is a mid-range with knowledge of all three ninja arts.
Kazikamikaze24 – A fine idea, indeed. However, Naruto already have a weapon to use and it's his swords.
Ccebling – I'm still deciding if Naruto will have the Mangenkyou Sharingan or not. I don't want him to become so powerful right away. My choice will only occur later when he's older.
Cloves – the Eagle Anbu is not Yuugao.
Ok that's enough for now.
Here is the chapter.
Chapter 9 – Wave Arc
Beta: Kyuubi123
The mission day was finally upon Team 10 as this was the first time that they would leave Fire Country. Both Ino and Chouji had already traveled to some locations throughout the country with their parents, but none of them ever crossed any borders. Naruto had traveled only once with Kakashi in order to learn how to use his Sharingan. Asuma ushered everyone to arrive at the gates at 0800 hours. Realizing that he still had two hours, Naruto shrugged it off as he managed to parry Tori's sword strike with the help of his Sharingan. The dual was light today, considering that Naruto would need his strength and chakra for his C-ranked mission.
One hour and a half later, the two decided to stop the training as Naruto would need to meet his sensei shortly.
After hearing of the mission, Tori ended up giving some advice to Naruto.
"I know it's a C-ranked mission and normally you shouldn't expect more than bandits or thugs, Naruto. However, as you evolve in your career, you'll come to know that rarely ever does a mission go according to plan. There are a lot of variables in which you must take into consideration. Your team is heading towards a different country and you won't have the protection of any Konoha shinobi with the exception of your team. A good ninja must adapt to whatever situation lies in front of him, even if in the middle of a fight. Remember this and you'll be fine." Naruto nodded and bowed to his Kenjutsu partner, before sealing the sword and turning towards the direction of the gates. Naruto knew that Tori would vanish as soon as Naruto turned, so he didn't bother asking for anything else and just walked casually towards the gates.
Except for him and a few others who woke up earlier, the day in Konoha was only now starting, so Naruto spotted some random faces as he walked along the street.
Normally, he would take another route – through rooftops – but there were no buildings that lead to the gates, so Naruto was forced to walk there. Because of this, he could feel a few civilians who were up and about glaring at him. Ignoring them was his routine every day, so he simply shrugged it off and placed both hands inside his pockets, as the gates finally appeared on the horizon. When Naruto arrived at the gates, he realized that no one was there yet. He admitted arriving a little bit earlier than schedule, but that didn't mean that his entire team needed to arrive precisely at the time or a few minutes afterwards. Naruto, though, realized that he was complaining without necessity. After all, Kakashi wasn't going on this mission and absolutely no one in Konoha was later than him. After a few minutes of waiting, Naruto suddenly felt a bit of pain in his left arm and realized that he took things too far with Tori this morning. It would fade with time but Naruto wanted it to heal before the mission actually started.
He started rubbing the sore muscles, in order to relax them when Ino and Chouji arrived.
"Where is Asuma-sensei?" Ino was the one who asked and Naruto just shrugged.
"He isn't here yet, neither is that drunken excuse of a human being, a.k.a. our client. So I'll guess that Asuma is coming with him." Naruto's distaste for Tazuna wasn't a mystery and Ino even let out a small laugh at his comment.
True to what Naruto said, the team's sensei appeared with the bridge builder Tazuna behind him. Asuma was surprised that his team was this punctual, while Tazuna was looking at the blond kid who disrespected him in front of the Hokage yesterday. He didn't need to be a genius to know that the kid didn't like him at all. Probably it was the judging remark he made yesterday. Tazuna, though, had other problems at the moment. After a quick word from Tazuna regarding the time needed to reach Wave Country, the team left Konoha walking towards Wave Country. Of course, Ino protested seeing as they could travel far faster than this. However, she didn't take into account that Tazuna was a mere civilian and couldn't travel like ninjas could. Ino had the decency to blush in embarrassment when she and Tazuna exchanged glances. After that, the trip went uneventful for the most part.
Team 10 wasn't very talkative with the exception of a few questions here and then about Yamanaka and Akimichi Clans. Nothing secretive, but only what Ino and Chouji can and will learn in the future aside from the training with Asuma.
After talking with the team, Ino turned to Tazuna who was busy talking something with Asuma.
"Excuse me Tazuna-san, but I'm curious about something." Tazuna looked at the girl and ushered her to ask. "Isn't there a ninja village in Wave Country? Why come all the way to Konoha to get protection?" The man sighed in response to that.
"Wave country, although close to Water Country, doesn't have a ninja village like Konoha or Kirigakure. As a matter of fact, our land lacks the necessary income to maintain a ninja village. However, that will change when I manage to finish the bridge I talked about. It links Wave Country to Fire Country and through it, we can reestablish trading routes and expand our economy." The man was boosting in self-confidence upon mentioning his pet bridge. Ino nodded at the answer, before the conversation ceased for the time being. The group walked for a couple of hours until they spotted two small puddle of water. Asuma immediately sensed the presences, when something in his mind clicked. So far, his team hasn't engaged a fierce enemy before. That mission in Konoha hardly could be considered a test. The team simply passed by the puddles as if nothing happened. Suddenly, two identical shinobis appeared from within the puddles and went after the strongest enemy Asuma. Quickly wrapping the seemingly surprised shinobi, the pair called the Demon Brothers pulled their chains at the same time and ripped Asuma in half, shocking his team upon seeing the death of their sensei.
After arrogantly stating that they've already taken care of one, they moved on to the next, namely, the genins.
Chouji and Ino managed to overcome their fear and jumped in front of the client. Naruto, meanwhile, unleashed a couple of shurikens, before going through hand seals.
Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)
The two shurikens had suddenly multiplied into twenty, forcing the demon brothers to use their chain in order to block them, before moving on with the attack. By that time, though, Naruto was already upon them, standing between the demon brothers and the genins, which were protecting Tazuna. The Demon Brothers charged once more with their chain, ready to envelope Naruto. The genin, though, managed to parry it and aim a taijutsu strike at the one from the right. His attempt was blocked, though, but Naruto managed to dodge an incoming swipe from the brother from the left, that would pierce his heart. Quickly grabbing a kunai, Naruto charged the one from the right once more, knowing that the other one was behind him. As he knew that the demon brothers were focusing on him, he managed to take their attention away from the client, Ino and Chouji. Naruto started dodging the attacks, while locking eyes with Chouji for assistance.
Chouji nodded and looked at Ino for a moment, before expanding his right arm and extending it towards the one that was closest. He was successful and used his strength to hold the brother in place, while Naruto activated his Sharingan with a smile on his face. Slicing the chain with his kunai, he started pounding the only free brother to the ground with supreme taijutsu and the ability of anticipating the enemy's movements. The enemy was sent to unconsciousness and Naruto looked at Chouji with a smirk on his face as now it would be the other one. His Sharingan showed him seconds before the demon brother used his claw to hurt Chouji's hand, which resulted in him being released. The enemy was charging at Ino who grabbed a kunai in order to protect Tazuna. Both Ino and the Demon Brother were surprised upon seeing Naruto appearing right in between them and performing hand seals.
Doton Doryuu Dangan (Earth Release: Mud Shot Technique)
The first ones the enemy was able to evade, but Naruto adapted the mud projectiles' path based on the position supplied by the Sharingan. The enemy screamed as the mud shot hit him right on the chest. He was about to get up in rage when Asuma appeared from within a wind shunshin and stomped on the fallen brother, shocking Naruto, Ino and Tazuna. The blond later wished to punch himself upon seeing the wood log sliced in two where Asuma stood a few moments ago. He then looked at the fallen Chouji, while Asuma was busy tying the Demon Brother to the tree. Naruto kneeled next to his partner.
"Chouji, what happened? Are you alright?" Naruto helped his team comrade up, before seeing the bleeding hand and remembering what the enemy had done to free himself from Chouji's strong grip.
It was Asuma who figured out what it was, after appearing behind Naruto.
"Oh man, its poison. Ino, come here. I believe you have your family kit with you to extract poisons." The female member of the team came running and looked at Chouji's hand, before grabbing some plants inside her kit to make some healing tea. One great aspect out of having a flower shop was that her family managed to learn a lot about healing poisons from plants. It didn't take more than five minutes for Ino to prepare the herbal tea. Chouji drunk everything and sighed in relief upon feeling the pain going away. Asuma was relieved as well, because poison wasn't actually his favorite subject. "Great job all of you, now Tazuna I wish to talk to you about why there are two C-ranked missing-nins from Kirigakure after you?
Tazuna began to sweat as he saw the look on Asuma's face. Seeing as he was out of alternatives, the drunken bridge builder decided to come clean about this entire mess. He realized that the fat kid got hurt due to the fact that he had lied about the mission parameters to the Hokage. The very reason for that was that he didn't know how eager Gatou was to seeing him killed. However, from the jounin's angered face, Tazuna knew that he couldn't play the naïve part. Even he wouldn't believe in this crap apology.
"I'm sorry that I lied to you all. Like I said before, Wave Country is not very rich and my case is no exception. I couldn't afford a B-ranked mission, but I needed protection so that I could finish the bridge that will link my home with Fire Country, thus opening trade routes between countries. I'm so very sorry that one of your genins got hurt, Asuma-san, but I didn't know that Gatou would resort into hiring high level missing-nins just to kill me. The fact remains that our country is the way it is because of his acts of tyranny. The man conducts a lot of the dirty activities there. Opium traffic, women slavery, you name it. With the bridge, I was hoping to end his reign for good."
Asuma kept his stoic façade throughout the explanation. He knew a thing or two about the Gatou Corporation and how the man was responsible for many illicit activities.
"I know a bit about this Gatou, Tazuna. I also know that the Sandaime Hokage would do everything to help you if you came clean with your problem. What you just did not only endangered yourself, but also my genins as this is the first time they ever faced a higher level shinobi. You were lucky that we haven't encountered jounin level ninja, or else we would be in serious trouble. The presence of the demon brothers here raises this mission to B-level, if not A-ranked, should we encounter more threats up ahead. I'm sorry Tazuna-san, but I will have to consult my genins to see if they are up for the task." Tazuna could only nod with a sad look on his face as he watched the jounin turn his back and walk towards the genins that were sitting on the ground. How was he supposed to know that he could come clean with the Sandaime and ask for a B-ranked for the price of a C-ranked?
Once far from the client, Asuma kneeled next to Ino who was busy tending to Chouji's poison wound.
By this time, the poison was fully extracted and Ino was wrapping Chouji's hand with bandages to close the wound. The man knew a thing or two about first aid kits, but the job performed by Ino far exceeded his expectations.
If he didn't know any better, the woman may have potential as a future medic-nin. Something he would write down somewhere to train the girl in. Perhaps, he could ask someone to train her in that regard when or if they returned home.
"Okay, now that we know of the real situation, I ask if all of you feel like continuing with the mission. My experience tells me that we may encounter a jounin up ahead."
All three of them looked at the jounin with a surprised look before looking down in deep thought. They weren't too happy to hear that the client lied to them, but all three of them understood the reasons behind it. The man was doing this in order to save his country. Ino, Naruto and Chouji looked at each other for a while, before Ino and Chouji nodded to Naruto. There was no going back as far as the three were concerned.
"We would like to continue, Asuma-sensei. He may have lied to us, but he did it for his country" The jounin smiled at his team. He didn't have a problem with going, but the genins were his responsibility.
"Huh, those were my thoughts exactly. We'll proceed then. However, I ask that all three of you keep your eyes open from now on and listen to me at all times, understood?" All three nodded, before Asuma left to tell Tazuna of their decision. The bridge builder was happy and repeatedly thanked them for their kindness and apologized also repeatedly for lying to them about the contents of the mission. He only stopped when the entire team shut him up by saying that it was enough. So, after leaving the demon brothers for Konoha to pick up, Asuma's team left once more towards Wave Country. Asuma nominated Naruto as sub-leader of the group, so that he could protect Chouji who, despite being clean of poison, was weaker than before. Because of this, Ino and Naruto ended up flanking the Akimichi, much to his protest, saying that it wasn't necessary.
"Chouji, you would do the same thing if I was the one with the injury, wouldn't you?" Naruto said, smiling at his comrade. The Akimichi nodded with a smile as well.
Eventually, the team managed to reach the river when a small boat was waiting for them. Right now, the fog was so dense that none of them could see a thing. Everyone quickly came aboard the boat, before the man to whom Tazuna knew, stirred it towards their destination. The trip towards the other side took almost fifteen minutes as the team from Konoha got to see the enormous steel bridge that Tazuna was building. The man beamed with pride when Ino complimented the construction. Tazuna's friend wished them good luck before vanishing within the heavy mist that flooded the area. Asuma's instincts immediately went on high alert the minute he made the first step and ushered his team to focus.
"Naruto, please activate your Sharingan and tell me the minute you see any source of chakra." The blond nodded and activated his doujutsu.
Asuma had faith that Naruto's chakra wouldn't be reduced by over using the doujutsu and with Naruto's help, he could anticipate any movement from the enemy whoever he or she is. Naruto was looking all around the group for any signs of chakra residue around these parts. He never used his eyes for such a thing, but he never was in a situation where he couldn't see a thing before. Suddenly, as he looked to the right, his eyes caught it.
"Asuma-sensei, there is one to our right." Asuma nodded and screamed for everyone to get down as he went for the client and Ino, while Naruto helped the surprised Chouji.
All of them sensed a strange weapon passing above them, before it was imbedded to the tree to their left. Asuma then got up and saw the man that was standing on top of the sword. His eyes immediately widened as he recognized his enemy's identity immediately. This mission started out as a C-ranked with the prospect of facing nothing but bandits and thugs. It escalated to a B-ranked as they faced the Demon Brothers. Now, it was easily A-ranked, as right in front of him was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist Momochi Zabuza. Whatever happened to his life that warranted such bad luck, he'll never know.
"Sarutobi Asuma, I believe. No wonder the demon brothers were so easily defeated. I don't have anything against you or your pathetic genins, so give me the old man."
"Momochi Zabuza, A-ranked missing-nin from Kirigakure and former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Sorry, but Tazuna's safety is my mission. You'll have to get through me."
The two jounins looked at each other for a while. The killing intent liberated by both of them was staggering for both Ino and Chouji as they had yet to experience this level of battle. Naruto, being targeted multiple times by other ninjas, was better accustomed to it. But it didn't mean he was unaffected as he had yet to face a jounin in battle. He saw Ino shaking and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to relax his comrade. Asuma was aware of his genin's suffering as he turned his neck a bit.
"Ino and Chouji protect the client. Naruto, stay between me and them so that you can be my support and protect them at the same time. Use your sharingan to pinpoint his direction and attack but only from a secure distance. He is way out of your league for the time being. And all of you do not worry. I won't let any of you die, that's a promise." The genins nodded and were a bit relieved because of Asuma's speech. By this time, Asuma was already equipped with his favorite weapon as he locked eyes with Zabuza who had yet to move from his sword. Suddenly, he vanished from his position, before falling on the lake.
"Bold words, coming from a man who is about to get killed. Prepare yourself, Sarutobi." Zabuza focused on a single hand seal and used his favorite technique.
Ninpou Kirigakure no Jutsu (Ninja Arts: Hidden Mist Technique)
The dense fog now transformed into a heavy mist as no one could see a thing. Asuma focused chakra to his eyes in an attempt to spot Zabuza's position. When it became clear that the man was taking too much time, he widened his eyes in surprise, knowing that Zabuza wouldn't target him, but the client instead. He quickly turned and was surprised to see the enemy appearing behind Tazuna. He was more surprised to see Naruto standing in front of the enemy as they exchanged swords together. The swordsman was surprised with the blond's speed, before looking at the kid's eyes and cursing the damned doujutsu. He didn't have time to force the sword and kill the brat, as Asuma charged at him. Zabuza had to dodge Asuma's trench knives to best of his abilities. The man wasn't used to the agility represented by smaller blades.
So he vanished towards the lake once more, in hopes that he would escape Asuma's knives and return to his element.
"I should have done this from the beginning, Zabuza. Fuuton Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Technique)" Asuma shouted, before gathering as much air as possible inside his lungs, before expelling wildly. The gigantic wind force managed to dispel the heavy mist and even threw Zabuza a great distance, as the man cursed his luck. Zabuza's style consisted of using the mist and sneaking behind the enemy for a quick and silent kill. He lost his chance to kill the target, because of the damn kid with the Sharingan. Zabuza, now, was out in the open as he faced the smirking Asuma. Gone was Zabuza's mist advantage but by no means was he defeated because of it. Both Zabuza and Asuma charged against another, before their weapons clashed fiercely. The aftershock managed to create a tidal wave around them as both attempted attacks at the other. Eventually, Zabuza managed to connect a heavy kick on Asuma's chest and sent him flying long enough to make a long series of hand seals. Suddenly, from both his flanks, two small whirlpools appeared, before two torrents of water emerged towards Asuma's path.
Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Projectile Technique)
Asuma saw the two creatures approaching and performed a quick replacement technique, before appearing the lake margin. He threw a couple of shurikens at Zabuza, who managed to dodge before blocking Asuma's attack with his gigantic sword. At the same time, he made a single Mizu Bunshin behind Asuma who managed to hold him long enough for Zabuza to create a water prison and trap the shocked Asuma inside. With an arrogant laughter, Zabuza created a small army of mizu bunshins and told Asuma that he would send them against the genins and that Asuma would watch their deaths. Asuma snarled at the man but he couldn't do anything.
He was about to scream at his genins to run when he saw it.
Katon Dai Endan (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)
The gigantic fireball crossed the river with its majestic power and went straight for the clones and Asuma's dome. The clones didn't have the chakra to perform techniques, so they were caught in the blast. Asuma was protected by a dome of water, which managed to absorb the fireball's power a bit, before it couldn't handle anymore. Asuma managed to fall beneath the water in safety. Only the real Zabuza managed to stop the fireball by lifting a water wall in front of him. Looking at the distance, he snarled once more when he saw Naruto's sharingan spinning madly at him. The boy managed to predict Zabuza's entire plan and performed the technique before he had time to summon the clones. Zabuza was so frustrated that he recovered his attention two seconds too late, allowing Asuma to perform the needed hand seals for his technique.
Fuuton Fuujin no Jutsu (Wind Release: Dust Cloud Technique)
After finishing the sequence, Asuma placed the palm of his hands together and blew wind chakra through them, creating a strong burst of cutting dust. The attack hit Zabuza dead on as it not only sent him flying, but managed to cause a great load of damage to his body. His body ended up hitting a considerably thick tree, which resulted in a few ribs being cracked. Asuma, then, positioned in front of Zabuza ready to deliver the killing blow when he spotted a couple of senbons hitting Zabuza's neck. The demon's eyes immediately lost their color, before Asuma placed two fingers on his neck to feel any sign of heart beat. There wasn't one.
"I appreciate your assistance. I've been hunting Zabuza for quite some time now." Said the hunter-nin who appeared right beside his prey.
Asuma took a while to observe the situation, before nodding. Right now, his mission was to protect Tazuna. The hunter-nin vanished with the body, before Asuma went over to the other side of the river where his genins and the client were waiting. He congratulated Naruto on the job well done, before continuing with the trip towards Wave Country. Tazuna was so grateful for their protection that he ushered everyone to follow him to his house, which was nearby their current position.
===At Konoha===
The sun has already begun its descending journey as one Nara Shukaku was found walking through the forest of his property.
It was a habit he came up once and that it stuck. Where he stood, there was no one who could bother him other than the animals that lived there. Suddenly, though the man looked to his right at the shadow of a tree, before he sighed in dismay. So much for peace and quiet, he mused.
"Evening Itsuko, how can I help you?" Shukaku heard the woman emit an angry sound and smiled, before looking forward.
"How many have I asked you not to call me by my name, Shikaku-sensei?" The Eagle masked Anbu said as she appeared in front of him with her arms crossed. The Nara patriarch smiled in return as the image of his ex-student's angered face appeared in his head. No matter how many times he did it, it was always amusing to set her on edge with his habits. There was only one thing that managed to infuriate the woman more than the possibility of revealing her identity and that was hearing the word that every traditional Nara shinobi used so as to justify eventual negligence or lack of will in doing something.
"And how many times have I told you it's too troublesome to remember?" The Anbu started shaking, but managed to control herself from not shouting at the man who trained her.
"Ah…forget it. Hokage-sama asked for your presence at his office immediately." Shikaku nodded and left, knowing that his ex-student would do the same, but through the use of a shunshin.
It became another habit of his to infuriate the Anbu every once in a while. He knew that every time the Hokage needed him, he would ask her to come and call him, because only she, as well as her old teammates who became jounins just a while ago, knew where their sensei was all the time. Other Anbu operatives took so long to find Shikaku that by the time he arrived at the Hokage's office, Sandaime had given up on expecting his presence and dealt with the situation. However, if it were up to the Nara patriarch, he would have preferred if others came instead of his ex-student. This way, he wouldn't have to perform troublesome duties as much.
===At Wave Country===
After the fight with Zabuza, it didn't take too long for the team to reach Tazuna's place. Once inside, Chouji was taken by Tazuna's daughter to one of the rooms as he needed to rest. After taking her time to appreciate the help of each shinobi for protecting her father, she went back to the kitchen, leaving team 10 alone for the time being. Naruto was a little bit drained of chakra because of his continuous Sharingan usage and his support at the fight. Asuma was a jounin, but fighting an A-ranked level missing-nin like Momochi Zabuza would be tiring to anyone. Quickly addressing to his genins, Asuma explained to them that they would remain in Wave Country until the bridge is finished as per agreement with Tazuna.
"Get your rest you two. Tomorrow, we'll begin a rotation in protecting Tazuna while he gets to finish his bridge. We'll be doing some training as well. So, here's how it's going to work. Tomorrow, Naruto and Chouji will be protecting Tazuna while Ino and I will train. The next day, will be the opposite. I'll take tonight and gather a couple of exercises for all three of you to perform, now get some rest. We'll talk more tomorrow."
===With Asuma===
At night, Asuma was busy thinking of the exercises he would put his genin through. However, something was on his mind and he couldn't shake the feeling that he was forgetting something important. Thinking back at the fight with Zabuza, he remembered the senbons thrown by the Hunter-nin who appeared out of nowhere and took Zabuza's body away in order to dispose of the demon of the mist. The procedure stood out as odd in Asuma's book, because normally a hunter-nin wouldn't wait and simply destroy the body.
Why take Zabuza away for that?
Also, senbons shouldn't be able to kill a person. It's only meant to paralyze the enemy.
He kept thinking a couple minutes about it as he tried to come up with some legitimate reason for the hunter-nin's actions. He frowned deeply upon realizing that he couldn't find one. It didn't make sense. If Zabuza was already dead, then why did the Hunter-nin take his body elsewhere? Suddenly, though, the jounin felt like punching himself or even asking for Tsunade of the Sannin to do it for him, for his stupidity. One, Zabuza wasn't dead at all. Senbons indeed are meant for paralyzing the opponent and the hunter ninja knew that, hence why he hit that area of the neck where it shuts down the entire body, making it look like the man was dead. That means that the hunter ninja was protecting the Demon of the Mist.
Asuma's realization ended up escalating things. He at first agreed to stay in case Tazuna was attacked by Gatou's thugs. Now, he would have to prepare himself and his team to face not only Zabuza once more, but the hunter ninja as well. Things could not be worse, Asuma reasoned. If the hunter ninja joined the company of a man such as Zabuza, then it's more likely to assume that his skills are similar if not stronger than the swordsman of the mist. Asuma was having trouble fighting Zabuza alone. Unfortunately, asking for back up wasn't an option as it could take too long for another jounin to arrive. He didn't know when Zabuza would strike next, but at least he knew that the man wouldn't be one hundred percent based on the wounds received by his wind attack.
He estimated at least a week and a half to prepare the next strongest of the team, Naruto.
===Next Day===
After a quick breakfast, the team was divided like Asuma ordered last night. Chouji and Naruto would accompany Tazuna today while Asuma and Ino would train. The news of Zabuza still being amongst the living was received with surprise and fear in Ino's case. The killing intent was surreal back then and she didn't want to relive it . It only got worse when they knew that the hunter ninja was actually aiding Zabuza instead of after his head. Asuma explained that he would take the time needed for Zabuza's recuperation and train the three of them. He already devised a couple of exercises for all three of them. With Ino, he would focus on water walking and physical exercises, in order to increase her control and her stamina. Chouji would receive strength exercises mixed with chakra, so it was required of him to learn water walking as well to further polish his Akimichi based techniques. He would spar constantly with Naruto, in order to increase his speed as well.
Last but not least, Naruto. Asuma ended up admitting in front of Chouji and Ino that he was counting on Naruto the most to stop the hunter ninja.
So, Asuma would have him perform advanced chakra control exercises and increase his speed by facing Asuma in constant spars. Chouji and Ino weren't affected by Asuma's words, because they actually thought Naruto to be better than them. After all, he was the appointed leader of the team. Asuma smiled at this and asked Naruto if he felt like including elemental manipulation in his training. The blond nodded, but assured Asuma that he already had exercises taught by Kakashi in this regard, so Asuma shouldn't need to worry about that. The truth was that Naruto already took the morning to practice his fire manipulation and while accompanying Tazuna, he would move to earth manipulation. Asuma nodded at that and took Ino towards the woods to begin her training while the male genins followed Tazuna towards the bridge.
The team would meet after Tazuna returned home in order to train together.
"Alright Ino, first order of business, is chakra control. I know that all major clans tend to attribute extra focus in chakra control exercises, so you already know tree walking." Ino nodded, so Asuma continued. "Now, the next exercise is water walking. The concept is similar, but instead of focusing chakra through your feet at all times, you'll have to adjust the amount of chakra according to the water depth. At the beginning, just focus on standing on top of the water surface. After that, you can walk albeit slowly. Any questions?" Ino nodded and went towards the nearby lake. Normally, she would take off her clothes, but that was obviously not possible. So, she decided to remain near the water margin as she attempted to step on the water and remain afloat. The water depth where she stood was almost nonexistent, so she barely sank that much on her first try. Asuma was confident, though, that the girl would master it by the end of the day. Her low chakra capacity helped her use it more effectively.
His goal was for her to increase her chakra capacity rather than only controlling it better.
===With Naruto===
Watching the workers diligently doing their jobs, Naruto and Chouji were left with little to do, so it was easy to get bored. The Akimichi opened a bag of potato chips and ate one chip after the other faster than Naruto took to activate his Sharingan. Naruto was using his hand to hold his chin as he observed the works when Chouji's bag appeared below him. Naruto looked at his comrade for a while and nodded, accepting the invitation. Chouji smiled at this and resumed to eating as if nothing had happened. He felt a surge of chakra next to him and saw Naruto seating on the ground, looking down for a minute. He was about to question what was going on, when he saw Naruto's concentrated visage. The sharingan user extended his hand and slammed the palm of his hand on the ground.
To Chouji's surprise, a small hole no wider than Naruto's hand opened in front of him. The blond, then, performed a couple of hand seals before slamming his hand once more.
Chouji saw, amazed, that the hole was covered once more as if there wasn't there in the first place. Noticing that Naruto performed the same ritual continuously and repeatedly, he assumed it had something to do with earth manipulation. Upon asking the question, Naruto nodded and explained that by constantly manipulating the element, he could perform techniques more effectively with less chakra. Naruto explained that his chakra capacity ends up hindering his progress as far as chakra control was involved, so it was mandatory that he practiced constantly. Chouji nodded and decided to perform a couple of exercises as well to train and pass the time.
He would use his partial expansion technique and constantly expand his limbs, before using them to crush the nearby stones.
Chouji also performed the tree walking exercise on a twenty meter trees near the bridge's entrance. Naruto maintained his exercise for a while, not at all acknowledging that he ended up attracting the workers' attention. While they had to resort to tools in order to dig holes, Naruto didn't. In the end, Tazuna ended up hiring the boy to assist making holes where needed, before covering them, sometimes using mud techniques in order to hold the metal structures that would sustain the bridge. Naruto didn't mind because it served as training in his book. And if Tazuna was correct and it increased the construction speed, then their mission would be over sooner than expected.
===At night===
Once Tazuna returned home, the team was reunited once more for training. Ino, like Asuma expected, managed to master water walking and was now enjoying herself going up and down from trees in order to expand her chakra capacity. Meanwhile, Asuma set Chouji against Naruto in order to practice his agility further. The two bowed in respect to one another, before going at it fiercely. The only limitation was that Naruto couldn't use his sharingan. Chouji expanded his limbs and stretched it towards Naruto who effortlessly dodged and ran next to the extended limb towards his partner who was busy retracting his arms while following Naruto's approach with severe scrutiny.
Naruto arrived earlier than the arm and Chouji aimed a front kick towards Naruto's chest. The blond maneuvered himself in order to appear behind Chouji and aimed a strong punch on Chouji's face. Chouji blocked the punch and gathered a couple of shuriken, before throwing them at Naruto. The projectiles were actually aimed at a different direction since Naruto managed to land a blow on Chouji's wrist. The Akimichi didn't relent to the Uzumaki's speed and pressed forward, now going for the meat ball tank technique. Asuma acknowledged the increase in jutsu speed, before seeing Naruto doing hand seals as well. Asuma could see that whatever was coming wasn't fire oriented as the hand seal sequence was slightly different.
Doton Doryuuheki (Earth Release: Mud Wall Technique)
As the meat ball tank approached, Naruto released a great torrent of mud towards the ground and already moved from his old location. The wall would rise even if he wasn't there. Chouji's body slammed hard and was disoriented, allowing Naruto to appear behind him and merely place a kunai near his neck, ushering Chouji to yield. The Akimichi took a while because his eyes were spinning because of the crash. Asuma smirked at this and ushered everyone to go to Tazuna's house for dinner. Tomorrow would be Naruto and Chouji's turn to train while Ino went with Asuma to the bridge along with Tazuna. Asuma asked Naruto to teach water walking to Chouji, which he nodded.
===One week later===
The rotation went by for seven days and Asuma couldn't be happier for his team. Ino managed to expand her chakra capacity because of the exercises and even managed to increase her stamina a bit. Asuma sparred with her as to check her taijutsu and was surprised that it was quite flawless, even if it was the academy style. He managed to correct some flaws in her form and with that, she increased her close range capabilities. Her Yamanaka jutsus were practiced as well and Asuma had made sure to direct her targets to either him or Chouji, because getting inside Naruto's head was simply off limits. Ino, though, eased the situation saying that she could perform her jutsus on animals.
Chouji and Naruto sparred constantly together and even on water as per Naruto's request.
In his book, mastery of water walking was only possible when a ninja could fight on top of the water, without it being a hindrance.
Naruto, for his part, sparred with Asuma, this time, with the Sharingan active. The jounin's hope in Naruto had only risen as the boy managed to anticipate the great majority of Asuma's moves, only missing one because Asuma performed it behind a tree. Asuma considered his speed on par with Zabuza's and the hunter ninja must be on their level as well. The blond won't have any trouble at least as far as speed was a concern. Unfortunately, he knew little about the hunter's other capabilities such as ninjutsu, taijutsu or genjutsu. So Naruto would have to improvise in the middle of the battlefield. He had confidence, though, that Naruto will prevail. By now, Zabuza must have healed and could be on the move soon, so his team would have to be vigilant now. That meant that their training would end today. Actually, from his team, only Naruto asked to remain his training as the other two were quite exhausted from training. He was practicing fire techniques, when a sudden feeling of being watched, stopped him.
Grabbing his sword, he warned the person to review his or herself. He was surprised when a teenage girl emerged from the woods in front of him, holding a basket. Long black hair and white porcelain skin, her appearance appeared fragile, but he couldn't ascertain.
"I'm sorry to disturb you; I was just walking around these parts, gathering herbs for my master when I saw you practicing. My name is Haku, pleased to meet you."
The girl showed an affectionate smile and Naruto sighed, before putting away his sword.
"I'm Naruto, nice to meet you. Now, I must presume your master is sick if the herbs inside the basket are any indication."
Haku nodded and gave a brief, while fake, explanation about her master being poisoned while fishing at the lake.
Naruto didn't much care about it, hence why he just nodded and turned towards Tazuna's house, after saying his goodbye to the girl. Something really stuck out as odd in Naruto's opinion. He was by no means a sensor type shinobi, but if anyone was that close to him, he would be aware of her presence. Because of this, two thoughts immediately appeared in Naruto's mind. The first one was that perhaps the girl's chakra capacity was that of a civilian, so he wouldn't be able to feel it. The second and that may be counted as paranoia, was that the girl had the ability to reduce her chakra so as to make others believe she is a mere civilian, when in fact she is a powerful ninja with a superior knowledge of chakra control. Usually, he chose the more dangerous thought. This way, it wouldn't be a surprise. However, in this situation, he wasn't sure about it. He could follow the girl and use his Sharingan on her, but he didn't know what to expect.
Plus, Asuma was expecting him any minute now so he needed to return.
Haku looked at the direction that this Naruto person left and immediately lost her smile, replacing it for a cold and calculated expression. She was hoping to ask some more questions to him in hopes of extracting as much information as possible. His usage of fire techniques was no mystery since Naruto ended up using it to save his sensei from Zabuza-sama's water technique. Zabuza's plan was pretty much the same as the one Asuma was planning, even if neither knew about it. Zabuza would fight Asuma while Haku was to engage against the blond kid and the other two. Although to be honest, Haku wondered if the other two could even count as a disadvantage for her.
===Next day===
The next day, the entire team was following Tazuna towards the bridge. As per Asuma's instructions, Tazuna's daughter took her eight year old son and went to a friend's house located on the other side of Wave Country. The location was only privy to Tazuna, so she would be ok for the time being. Tazuna asked if Zabuza was likely to show up once more and Asuma explained to him his theory of the demon's wounds and how long it would normally take for the enemy to heal. He concluded that Zabuza would be up and running right about now and could very well show up any time. The bridge builder nodded as a little sweat appeared on his forehead. If it wasn't for the blond kid, Tazuna would be sliced in two. He remembered the enemy's cold eyes and he was already prepared for death back then. He didn't want to feel that ever again. It was the first time he preferred dying of old age.
As they approached the bridge, a heavy mist started to gather.
"Man, not today. Nature seems to stop us at any cost as well, huh?" Tazuna complained, being oblivious to the ninjas' faces.
"Tazuna, this mist is laced with chakra. This isn't nature. We must go. The workers might be in danger." The bridge builder looked at the jounin for a while, before running frantically towards the bridge's location. Upon arrival, he saw everyone on the ground dead, lying on top of a enormous pool of blood, made by their own. The sight was awful in Tazuna's eyes and even the genins. Asuma was already equipped with his trench knives when the voice appeared from within the mist. Once more, the amount of killing intent flooded the bridge, reminding everyone of what happened a week ago.
"It took you quite a while to come, Sarutobi. I hope you didn't mind that I killed them, I was getting bored of waiting for you."
Despite the seemingly evil comment, Asuma knew it was only meant for a show of some kind. He could see the hunter ninja next to Zabuza and turned to Naruto. The blond nodded, even if Asuma never opened his mouth. He knew what the man wanted to say anyway. Zabuza noticed it too and quickly summoned five mizu bunshins at them. Unleashing his kodashi, Naruto sliced them faster than before, earning smiles from Asuma and Zabuza. Asuma smiled because his training worked and Naruto was much faster even without the Sharingan. Zabuza smiled as well and turned to the hunter ninja.
"It seems you found your rival for speed, huh?" The hunter nodded, before seeing Zabuza unleashing his Zanbato and charging Asuma. The Konoha jounin ushered Chouji and Ino and protect the client, before Zabuza was already on him, with his Zanbato. Asuma parried the attack with his chakra infused knives and managed to send him away with a kick on Zabuza's chest. Naruto eventually remained alone with the hunter ninja as they took their time staring at one another for a while. The mask made things difficult for Naruto, because he couldn't use the Sharingan to its full effect. He could however use to trace the amounts of chakra residue left by the hunter ninja's movements. He didn't know if his eyes were necessary now, but it was a nice backup plan if the enemy was too strong for him to deal with without the Sharingan.
Positioning his sword accordingly, Naruto's body dropped into a battle formation. He held the kodashi reversibly and in front of him, so as to attack and defend at the same time.
"Let's see if you have the skills to stop me genin." The voice sounded familiar to Naruto, but he didn't have time to pounder on it as Haku vanished from her position and quickly threw senbons at Naruto.
He parried all of them with the kodashi and met Haku half way, surprising the woman with the same level of speed. In order to parry the kodashi, Haku positioned three senbons on her left hand and stopped the blade. Naruto trained too long with the Anbu Tori to realize that holding a battle of force was never the right way of kenjutsu. He released the grip of the sword a little bit and moved when Haku bended her body slightly in order to accommodate with the sudden loss of force. Naruto positioned to her side and swung his kodashi in order to end it, but Haku had more speed than that and evaded the attack, before using the senbons as claws, aiming them directly at Naruto's stomach. His sword was too far from the attack to be used, so Naruto performed some back flips, before grabbing some shurikens from his kunai holster and threw the projectiles at Haku. She was about to use the senbons and deflect them when she saw Naruto doing hand seals.
Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)
The four shurikens multiplied into twenty, forcing Haku to use the water wall technique and block them from impaling her. When the water attack was released, the woman was surprised upon seeing Naruto charging at her so suddenly. She managed to block the sword once more and started one hand seals with her free hand, shocking Naruto because he never once saw someone doing one handed seals before. A strong geyser erupted from the sea below them, before Naruto saw a whole lot of needles being formed from the column of water. He immediately moved from his position, if not the needles would be the end of him. Haku took advantage of Naruto's lack of attention and landed a fierce kick on his stomach, sent him flying. The kick was laced with chakra and it hurt quite badly. Naruto saw the same technique being used once more and realized that he was in mid-air and couldn't evade. Looking to his surroundings, he spotted a piece of debris and used it for the replacement jutsu, along with a nice present for the hunter-nin.
The needles managed to pin Naruto and the hunter-nin approached his body to ascertain his death. She was surprised when a piece of debris appeared laced with an exploding tag ready to blow.
===With Asuma===
So far the battle between jounins was setting Asuma on edge. Zabuza's method of strategy consisted of lifting the heavy fog and waiting for Asuma to use a fuuton jutsu to get rid of it, before Zabuza appeared and attempted to kill Asuma when he was busy. Despite knowing the M.O, Asuma couldn't let the mist remain, or else Zabuza would be in his field of expertise. As soon as Zabuza lifted the mist once more, instead of using a fuuton jutsu, Asuma decided to attempt something else. A jutsu of his own creation would surprise Zabuza a lot as he wouldn't be expecting a different kind of mist.
Katon Haisekishou (Fire Release: Burning Ash Accumulation Technique)
Asuma expelled ash from his mouth until it mixed with the mist. He saw Zabuza looking around wondering what was happening when Asuma smiled, before he clicked his teeth. Zabuza ended being engulfed in the explosion. He managed to escape the blast, but his body received second degree burns. Zabuza looked at the man in front of him with anger written in his face. Nothing mattered right now, just Sarutobi Asuma's death. His eyes were red with anger. He placed his sword on his back, before going through hand seals, a long series of hand seals. Asuma was already on edge. He cursed himself from not moving as soon as Zabuza started the sequence and got prepared for anything. Zabuza finished the hand seal sequence with the bird seal, before two gigantic geysers of water rose from both sides of the bridge. Asuma noticed the columns transforming into dragons.
Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Projectile Technique)
The two dragons rushed straight at Asuma, who lifted a wind barrier around him. When the first one hit the barrier, it dissolved instantly and still had enough power to land a fierce blow on Asuma's chest. The jounin saw the second one coming with its jaw opened wide, ready to land a hit that would knock him down for sure. After that, Zabuza would just take his time and slice Asuma's throat with a kunai. The jounin couldn't allow this. Going through hand seals in mid-air, Asuma decided to stop the jutsu before it ever reached his position. This jutsu would just serve to stop Zabuza's or at least slow it down so that Asuma could escape in time.
Katon Dai Endan (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)
The two techniques met each other and the fireball was quickly extinguished by Zabuza's dragon. The white smoke produced allowed Asuma to escape and hide at the same time.
===With Naruto===
Haku managed to escape from the blast, but as soon as she evaded the explosion, she landed exactly where Naruto was expecting her to, allowing him to make hand seals.
Katon Dai Endan (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)
Haku turned to the sudden ball of fire, but couldn't evade in time. Naruto became prepared for anything, realizing that if he dropped his guard prematurely, he would be dead. So far, the hunter showed much more skill than him, he realized. If that single piece of debris wasn't there, he would have to resort to his eyes and that would show that he wasn't strong enough without the Sharingan to stop this foe. He saw the water wall technique being used once more, before the hunter ninja materialized from within the fire, walking towards him. The enemy's clothes were seriously burned as well as the mask, but Naruto wasn't sure if his or her body was affected by it. Water natured attacks tend to overcome fire jutsus more easily. With a smile, Naruto realized that perhaps it would be more prudent to use other type of jutsus. Water's main weakness was earth.
"You're very skilled for a genin. However, it's time to end this as Zabuza-sama needs me. Hyoton Makyou Hyoushou (Ice Release: Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors Technique)"
Naruto looked around as mirrors started forming around him, trapping him inside. Haku, then, literally entered in one of the mirrors, before his image appeared in all of them. Naruto sensing the danger of the technique grabbed his second sword for the first time in a battle. He has been practicing in secret how to use two swords and he had the feeling that he needed to use them. Looking around, he cursed upon not knowing which one was the original opponent. Therefore, he realized that the hunter-nin could attack from all positions and he wouldn't be aware. He doubted if his swords would be enough to defend himself against whatever came.
"There is nothing you can do now, since you're trapped in here. I don't wish to kill you, but if you prevent me from aiding Zabuza-sama, then I must." For some reason, Naruto found this amusing.
"Perhaps you'd be the first opponent who doesn't want to kill me. Forgive me if I remain skeptical. Your technique may appear threatening, but I have something that will aid me better than you think." Now it was not the time to test yourself, Naruto wondered. If he didn't use it, chances were that this foe might actually kill him. Haku saw that Naruto's eyes were different now. Instead of the usual black eyes, now it was red with three tomes. "I wonder how long can you hold this technique of yours until you exhaust your chakra supply, hunter-nin." Naruto got into position with his swords, as Haku initiated her attacks, throwing a rain of senbons from all directions. Her eyes, though, couldn't be deceiving her. The genin in front of her was using his swords to deflect all of her senbons, doing so at a speed that even outmatched her own. Haku didn't relent however and bombarded Naruto once more. Much to her ire, however, the conclusion was the same. The blond genin managed to block each and every one of the senbons.
"What's the meaning of this? You weren't this fast a minute ago." While throwing senbons, she questioned him.
"Perhaps, you know very little about the Sharingan, then. With it, I can see the movements coming at a far slower pace."
Naruto deflected the last one, before placing both swords on the ground. Going through hand seals, he chose a jutsu that would be able to eliminate all mirrors at the same time.
Doton Doryuusou (Earth Release: Earth Rising Spears Technique)
Slamming both hands on the ground, he manipulated enough earth chakra to extend the earth spears longer than normally would be. He directed each spear to one of the mirrors and since earth chakra beats water, the mirrors were defenseless against the onslaught. One by one, the mirrors cracked due to the pressure of the spears and one of them managed to pierce the mirror that Haku was in. In result, the spear ended piercing the hunter's stomach. Haku was an ice user, having both water and wind affinities. Therefore, her body was weak against both earth and fire techniques. Naruto was perhaps the worst opponent she could ever face.
As soon as the mirrors shattered, Ino and Chouji saw the hunter down and Naruto standing. Both of them managed to breathe more easily, only now acknowledging that they were holding their breath in anticipation. Naruto went to help Asuma, but he didn't need to worry as he could see that Zabuza had his right arm broken and his other arm bleeding severely. His threat has ended. Asuma noticed that Naruto was next to him and asked what became of the hunter-nin. He turned and saw the hunter-nin on the ground, not moving.
"You had to use your eyes, didn't you?" An embarrassed blush appeared on Naruto's face, but he merely nodded.
"I can't believe that someone actually beat Haku. You're someone else, kid." Zabuza was almost closing his eyes, because of the amount of pain caused by Asuma's wind techniques.
"Well…well. To believe that the great demon of the mist was beaten by mere kids, oh how the mighty have fallen. As a matter of fact, these goons ended up aiding me as I never intended to pay you Zabuza."
The voice of his contractor infuriated the demon as he turned to see the midget flanked by his samurai goons.
"Gatou…" Zabuza snarled so fiercely, before turning to his ex-enemies.
"Asuma, you managed to beat me, and I'm no longer your opponent. I only ask one thing of you." Asuma nodded, waiting for the question. "Please give me a kunai. I've always wanted that midget's head."
The jounin smiled and threw a kunai up in the air towards Zabuza, who simply nodded and grabbed it with his mouth.
A bloodbath followed next as Zabuza used a mere kunai to kill all of the goons, before decapitating Gatou's head. His face was one of shock, even in death.
Author Note
And it's the end of the wave arc.
A little less interaction between Naruto and Haku, but it was indeed my intention. She won't make that much of a difference in his life as it did in canon. Also, I wasn't interested in making a scene with Inari, so he won't exist.
Overall, I have decided to finish it all in one chapter as I'm thinking of another C-ranked mission arc before the beginning of the chunnin exams.
I have also released new information of my OC character and I intend to release more in the upcoming chapters. It's still going to take a while before she appears fully.
Tell me what you think.
See ya.