It had been a slow few weeks after Team Seven managed to graduate. While they fumbled around with D-Rank missions, Hatake put the three Genin through the gauntlet. If Naruto thought that he trained hard, it was nothing compared to what The Silver One put them through. He gave chakra weight seals to each of his Genin, and had Naruto increase the pressure on his by many magnitudes. Once they had become semi accustomed to that weight, Hatake doubled down and made them wear physical weight on their arms and legs. Each time Hatake noticed one of his students beginning to move somewhat normally, he would amp the pressure from the seal up another level. It was agonizing. Every single day, the trio would trudge home from training ground seven, battered, bruised, and sometimes even bleeding. One time Naruto was so exhausted he had to crawl the rest of the way to his apartment. Normally this would cause lasting damage to the Genin's bodies. However, Hatake made liberal use of the mystic palm technique for Haruno and Uchiha. He figured Naruto would be alright, possessing the Nine Tails' chakra.
Due to the hellish training regiment, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had grownmuchphysically stronger. Additionally, Hatake taught them the tree climbing technique and the water walking technique. Most surprising of all though, The Silver One himself had begun his own training. The Genin got to watch one time as he scaled a cliff with only a single arm, a stack of boulders stuck to his back through large amounts of chakra. They then watched as he switched arms and did it again. Needless to say they returned to their own training with renewed vigor.
It was a scorchingly hot summer day. Konoha was known for its hot climate during the warmer months, but this was beyond normalcy. Team Seven staggered through the streets after a long morning of physical training. Naruto led the way, carrying both of his exhausted teammates over his shoulders. That wasn't to say he himself wasn't tired. No, the blond boy wanted to do nothing more than collapse on the street and never get up again. Somewhere deep within he found the strength to keep going, however. He trudged down the hot road, the large crowds heating the area even more. He spotted his destination, Ichiraku Ramen. His teammates were usually fairly hit or miss with the salty food, but today everyone was too exhausted to put up a fight.
With a large groan, he set Sasuke and Sakura down on either side of him, then let his head drop onto the countertop. A soft giggle floated through the air at the sorry state of Team Seven. "Nnhg…" Naruto made a noise of discomfort, trying and failing to lift his head up. "It's not funny, sis."
She responded to his whine with a snort then, full on laughter. She pointed at them. "It kinda is though!"
Three grumbles was all she received, which only made her laugh more. She turned around and cupped her hands to her lips. "Papa! Naruto and his team are here!"
Another laugh was faintly audible from the kitchen. "I'll have the usual out in seven minutes!"
Ayame turned back to the group of exhausted teens, resting her chin in a palm. "So… Up for telling me about how today went?"
The blond grunted his dissent, and Sakura had to step in to translate. "The oaf says we are too tired."
The waitress chuckled, then raised her hands in mock surrender. "Alrighty then, I won't pry. Let's get you guys eating to regain your strength. Just wait a few minutes."
She received numerous grunts of thanks, bringing a small smile to her lips. Not that the girl would ever admit it, but Naruto and his team always made her smile. They were incredibly driven, and seemed to get along pretty well. She was glad her favorite customer had found some people that he could rely on.
"Hey! Team Seven!" Naruto didn't bother with even lifting his head, opting to feign sleep. "Hellooooooo? I can see that you're awake!"
The blond finally looked up. It was Yamanaka Ino along with her teammates, Nara Shikimaru and Akimichi Choji. He heard the grumbling of The Lazy One. "Troublesome…"
"Okay, I'm awake. What do you want, Yamanaka." Naruto's tone was flat and annoyed. He was beaten physically, having run hundreds of laps and been forced to lift ungodly amounts of weight. His chakra coils were also exhausted, being forced to summon hundreds of shadow clones to practice various things. Whatever twisted ideas came into Hatake's head, to be specific.
"Hey! Don't speak to your classmates like that, Naruto!" Naruto looked harder, spying Inuzuka Kiba and his team consisting of Hyuga Hinata and Aburame Shino. The blond buried his face in his hands, and heard Uchiha mutter off to the side. "Of course dog breath is here too.."
Thankfully the Inuzuka didn't seem to hear Sasuke's murmurings. Naruto was grateful for small mercies, he was too tired for any nonsense. "Well, how's your guys' team going? Training? D-Ranks?"
Sakura mumbled into her sleeves. "Yeah, training."
The Inuzuka seemed spurred on by that, but Ino interrupted him. "Good! Team Ten has been training tons and we've gotten much stronger!"
Channeling Nine Tailed Beast chakra through his coils, Naruto felt the familiar burn of his muscles healing, the micro tears mending with frightening efficiency. He didn't like to do this typically since it hurt like hell, but Kiba and Ino wouldn't go away without a little persuasion. Letting the wispy red chakra sink back into the seal, Naruto rose out of his seat. "Inuzuka? Yamanaka?"
They looked happy to have someone actually engage in the conversation. "Yes?"
The Blue Eyes Genin leaned forward, looming over the two of them. "Shut. The fuck. Up." Their eyes widened. This was not the reaction they were expecting. "I have been squatting boulders since dawn, if you don't leave us alone I will shove my fist so far up your ass you will be able to taste it."
He sat back down, and put his head in his arms once more. Team Eight exchanged glances with Team Ten, and Sakura whispered to Sasuke. "His temper has been getting shorter, how much longer until you think he snaps?"
Uchiha grunted, but didn't offer any insight. Hyuga lightly tapped Inuzuka on his right shoulder, and murmured: "Kiba, don't you think we should leave? They don't seem like they want to talk right now…"
"Y-yeah. Okay." He turned around and started to leave. "Let's catch up some other time?"
Naruto grunted, but Sakura called out in a tired voice. "Sure thing, Kiba." It was obvious she was trying to put as much effort into sounding like she cared. She might normally, but at this moment she was way too tired to do anything other than eat.
Ayame came back from the kitchen with three bowls of steaming ramen balanced precariously in her hands. She lightly set one in front of each member of Team Seven, she closed her eyes in a smile. "Enjoy your meals!" When she opened her eyes she was greeted by three empty bowls. Even Sakura, who had been on a diet during the academy, had wolfed down her food. Ayame looked shocked. "Uh, would you guys like seconds?" She received three nods of assent. With that, she slipped back into the kitchen.
"The fuck are you smiling about, asshole?"
Sasuke, the clear target of the question, cleared his facial expression. He was trying not to laugh. "Nothing nothing."
"Uchiha?" Naruto mumbled from his place in his sleeves. The boy in question responded. "What is it, Uzumaki?"
"Are you aware that your Sharingan is awakened?"
Sakura fainted.
Team Seven stood in the Hokage Tower's main room, in front of Lord Third Himself. The Wrinkly Old man opened his mouth after taking a deep inhalation from his pipe.
"So, you request a C-Rank mission? Are you sure you can handle it?"
Naruto glared at the old man. "Yes you geezer! We've trained our asses off and I'm tired of running errands!"
"Naruto!" He was chastised by Umino. "Some respect for the Hokage, please?"
Naruto closed his eyes, then nodded. "Okay. Sorry old man, I've just been antsy."
The Wrinkly Old man responded kindly. "I understand, Naruto. I was just like you back when I was a freshly minted Genin." The wizened leader took another puff. "I think it's about time you get something a little more on par with your skills."
Umino opened his mouth to protest, but Naruto shot him the dirtiest look he could muster. The argument died before it left the teacher's throat. Lord Third beckoned Umino over to where he sat behind the thick wood desk, and was handed a fat folder. The old man opened it, and reached out for a slip of paper. He closed the folder and returned it to Umino. A wrinkled hand passed the paper sheet to Hatake, who took hold of it gently. "Here, a C-Rank mission to the Land of Waves. Umino, would you please bring in our client?"
The man Iruka brought back into the room was fairly tall, or at least taller than the Genin in the room. He wore a large rucksack on his back, and smelled very strongly of alcohol. "These are the brats who are supposed to defend me? I thought I asked for ninja?"
The trio scoffed, and surprisingly it was Sakura who spoke up first. "Oh trust me, old man. You're in good hands."
The pinkette wasn't wrong. The strength of the trio had grown by leaps and bounds, pushing them to their limits. Naruto honestly found himself glad for Hatake's slavedriver-esque training. He felt his team was really starting to be able to hold their own. While previously Naruto might have had to do most of the heavy lifting, now he knew he could at least put his faith in the Uchiha. While he wasn't as physically strong as Naruto, he knew far more techniques and was nearly faster than him. On top of that Sasuke's hand to hand combat was much more refined than Naruto's. The blond fought like a man possessed, but it was all instinct. Uchiha on the other hand had access to actual taijutsu training from his clan. Haruno still had a ways to go, but that was to be expected. She was from a civilian family, while Sasuke was born of Uchiha blood. Although Naruto didn't know it, there was no shortage of powerful blood in his veins either. Despite this, Naruto felt confident in saying he could defeat any person in his graduating class, barring maybe Sasuke. It depended on the day. The boy was quite the opponent now, what with the Sharingan now active.
The old man replied, a little impressed by her confidence. "Huh. I'll take your word for it. The name is Tazuna."
Sakura responded easily. "Haruno Sakura, at your service. That big blond one is Uzumaki Naruto, and the dark one is Uchiha Sasuke. That scarecrow looking man is our sensei, Hatake Kakashi."
As she introduced each of her teammates, they made some sort of sound or motion of acknowledgement. Kakashi closed his eye, Naruto grunted, and Sasuke let out a kind of huff. Lord Third spoke up. "Team Seven. Do you accept this mission?"
Naruto blurted immediately. "Yes! What the fuck kind of question is that, Geezer?"
Sakura attempted to bonk the blond's head, but was too short to reach. She settled for giving him a nice hard whack on his shoulder. She hissed at him. "Be respectful, you oaf!"
The wrinkly old man chuckled. "At ease, Sakura." He said kindly. "Naruto is just happy to be free of chores."
Sakura seemed to disagree, but didn't press the issue further. She glanced at the blond. He had a certain look in his eyes, a rare faint smile tugged at his lips. Sakura's mood did a one-eighty. Naruto was a motivated, angry boy. Purpose filled his every movement. Sakura wasn't sure what he was angry at, or what motivated him so much, but at that moment, Naruto lookedhappy.
A soft smile tugged at her own face. Unbidden, her eyes shifted to her third teammate. Even he had the tiniest smirk curling his lips. His One-Tomoe Sharingan swirling. Sasuke hadn't activated his Sharingan due to trauma or anger. It had been activated by finding his newhome. The moment Sasuke realized that these new people he'd been paired up with were more than just teammates, they were family. It hit Sasuke harder than he'd like to admit. The overworking blond oaf, the weak but somehow endearing pinkette, and even his tall silver sensei. They grew on him way too fast, and due to this Sasuke may have awakened the first and only Sharingan born fromloverather than hate. Nobody was sure what this meant, but for now they were just happy for Sasuke.
Kakashi broke the comfortable silence with a clap of his hands. "Alright! Be packed and at the village gates in fifteen minutes." Then he was gone with a swirl of leaves.
"Ugh." Naruto huffed, shaking his head like a dog. "I wish he would stop using so many leaves in his Body Flicker…"
Red eyes framed by black hair turned towards the blond, Tomoe spinning softly. "Speaking of, wasn't he supposed to teach that to us?"
The blond scoffed. "He's too scatterbrained. We'll have to ask again." Despite his words being harsh, there was an undertone of fondness that he couldn't hide. The Silver One had quickly grown on him, despite a very painful introduction to the man. He might never be on time, he may be incredibly socially inept, and he may have some sort of melancholic cloud hanging over him often. Despite this, Team Seven was drawn to his other traits. He was incredibly smart, gave good advice, and always drove them to be better. He always knew where their limits were, even if they themselves did not. He wasn't perfect, and the team still argued, but Kakashi led them well.
Team Seven along with their charge, Tazuna, had been walking for nearly two hours. It was good weather, in Haruno's opinion. She voiced as such. "Nice weather, huh?"
The blond among the group replied first. "Too few clouds."
"For once, I agree with this heavy fuck."
The blond snorted. "You're just jealous because you can't lift half of what I can."
The Uchiha couldn't exactly deny that, but he refused to back down. "Have you considered that brawn isn't everything, muscles-for-brains?"
Sakura sighed. She knew this dance intimately, it was all in good fun. Most of the time.
"Have you considered lifting more, weakling?"
"No need. I proved it last time we fought."
"Stupid Sharingan."
"Where yo parents at, orphan boy?"
Sakura's eyes became saucers. "Hey hey hey! Cool it, You two!"
"You say something, Uchiha? Couldn't hear you over the sounds of your family being slaughtered by one man."
Their third teammate was escalation was NOT helpful!Sakura thought frantically. "Hey guys, we're all friends here, right?"
She was fixed by a Sharingan death stare, and Uzumaki's piercing blue eyes. She averted her eyes instantly. "N-nevermind…"
Hatake sighed. They got like this on boring missions. He raised his hands placatingly, then began walking backwards, facing his team. He leaned his impressive height over them and spoke, lone eye intensely serious. His voice was but a murmur. "Be on your guard. Don't make it too obvious."
With that, The Silver One turned away and returned to his leisurely strides. Uzumaki blue met Uchiha red. "Truce?" The blond nodded his agreement. "We can finish this later."
While Sakura would've greatly preferred they finish it never, she supposed this was as good as she would get for now. In a flash, Kakashi of the Sharingan was wrapped in a flurry of chains, and torn to pieces. The bridge builder gasped, cowering. Sakura froze, staring at the bloodied remains of their Sensei. Naruto barked orders. "Uchiha, with me! Haruno, protect the client!"
Sasuke and him sprung into battle, the blond using his impressive strength to pick up andthrowthe Uchiha towards his opposition. Kunai held in either hand, Sharingan spinning wildly, the boy soared through the air. He engaged the one on the right in a flurry of blows, and showers of sparks. The Shinobi on the left darted towards Tazuna, a murderous gleam in his eyes. It almost looked like he'd make it. That was until an invisible wave of force tore the man from crotch to head. Viscera sprayed everywhere, even spattering its way onto Sakura and Tazuna's clothing. The blood disappeared though, as with a puff of smoke it was revealed that all that was cut was a log. The man appeared back a few steps, eyeing his blond opponent warily. The stalemate didn't last long, as they engaged in fierce hand to hand combat. Glancing at his headband, Naruto recognized him as a rogue shinobi of the Hidden Mist Village. What he was doing out here was another story, however.
"Water Release: Great Gunshot!" Despite not needing seals, the former mist shinobi still needed to use a chant to utilize the technique. However, the blond noticed that the technique wasn't aimed at him. "Haruno!" He bellowed out, hoping she would apply her own defenses. Naruto Thrust out his hard, murmuring to himself. "Dismantle"
If one was past needing hand signs or chants to initially use a technique, said technique could still be bolstered with additional power or effects by adding hand seals or chants. Naruto put a little more 'Oomf' into this dismantle, as he required it to not only cut through and destroy the incoming projectile, but the man behind it too.
The result was messy. A splash of water showered the clearing asdismantletore through the water orb with a vengeance. A splash of blood followed as the slash carved its way through the rogue shinobi. The man dropped to his knees, sans his right arm. He howled in agony as crimson life force bled from the large, gaping wound. Naruto leapt forward, taking hold of the man's head in his hand, and slammed him into the earth. The screaming stopped, although Naruto knew he wasn't dead.
Sasuke touched down next to the blond. "Finish yours, Uchiha?" He received a grunt of affirmation. Hatake followed Sasuke's lead, landing gently next to Naruto. "Good work team! Those were-"
He was cut off by a tearful Sakura. "Kakashi Sensei! You're alive!"
The man reached his hand down, settling it comfortingly on her back. "There, there. I didn't mean to scare you." He ruffled her hair with his other hand. "I just needed to get some information. I'm sorry you had to see that, Sakura."
She wiped her eyes on the rough fabric of his Jonin vest. She murmured something indecipherable into his stomach. Sometimes Kakashi needed to be reminded that despite being gifted a group of terrifying little monsters as Genin, they were still just barely teenagers. Kakashi set Sakura down gently and looked towards the unconscious missing-nin. The Silver One stalked towards him and upon reaching the man, he picked him up by the scruff of his neck. He called out to his Genin. "Sasuke, I'm going to have you come with me. It will be good practice to extract information with your sharingan. Naruto and Sakura, I'll leave the choice up to you. It may be fairly ugly."
Naruto immediately got up and walked towards his teacher, a bloodthirsty grin staining his features. Sakura shuddered. "I-I'll stick with the client…"
Upon their return, Hatake looked grim, Sasuke looked excited, and Naruto looked like he had gorged himself on an all you can eat buffet.
Hatake spoke first. "Alright Mr. Client. Let's have a chat, you and I."
Team Seven had decided to continue the mission. Despite the risks presented by Tazuna's deception, the Genin wanted more. Clearly two Chunin weren't enough, Naruto and Sasuke had bigger fish to fry. Sakura didn't want to disappoint her teammates, and also wasn't interested in leaving Wave Country to Gato's tyranny. Kakashi was confident in his team's skills, and knew that he himself could handle nearly any opponent that they could reasonably run into. The result was the four man cell plus client, walking through the forest. They had decided to forgo taking a boat as they didn't want any trace of their presence to be tracked, instead, the squad nimbly walked across the water, carrying Tazuna on Naruto's back.
"Get down!" The sharp bark of command was the team's only warning as a massive sword nearly the size of Kakashi spun through the air they occupied just moments prior. The metal slab embedded itself deeply into a tree across the pathway from them. A man landed smoothly onto the sword's broad surface. He was tall, nearly matching Kakashi's impressive height. He wore a lower facial covering, and was cloaked in strange leg and arm warmers. Spiky, dark, mid length hair was pushed out of the man's face by a Kirigakure headband. It possessed a long and thick scratch mark through the symbol, a sure sign of a missing nin.
"Stay back. This is far beyond any of your capabilities." The Silver One spoke calmly, although his voice did have an edge of seriousness.
"Including yours, Kakashi of the Sharingan." The man rasped from his place on the sword. Sasuke immediately locked his eyes on Kakashi, questioning. The Silver One steadfastly ignored him in favor of the newcomer.
"I wouldn't be so sure, Momochi Zabuza." The newly named man scoffed, then swung to the ground. With a tug, the large cleaver left the tree and was slung over a muscled shoulder.
"Just hand over the bridge builder, and none of your students have to get hurt." His voice was low, and had an unnatural growl to it.
The Silver One smiled, indicated by his eye crinkling. "I'm afraid that isn't possible. This man is our client, so his safety must be guaranteed."
"Then I will cut through you first." With all pleasantries exchanged, Momochi Zabuza vanished with a splash of water. Naruto felt a buildup of chakra, then the words: "Water Release: Hiding in the Mist Technique."
Mist rolled in. It was thick, heavy, and obstructed vision. A rumbling pressure began to exert itself on the Genin. It wasn't exactly painful, rather it was incredibly uncomfortable. It felt like it came from the inside. The pressure mounted, and then was balanced by another feeling coming from outside this time. Both sensations met, and their union bore a .
Raw, unadulterated fear struck the trio. It weighed down on them, triggering fight or flight a million times over, keeping them frozen in place. Haruno was particularly affected, Naruto could tell. She was shaking, tears threatening to leave her eyes. The girl was the least experienced among the four, so it was to be expected. Still, Naruto felt he had to do something. Trying to shake off his own fear, he let his chakra go. For the first time in his life, he stopped trying to contain it in his coils, stopped trying to cork it in his gut. Naruto Uzumaki let his naturally malevolent chakra expand, then billow out around him. It formed a sort of smoky aura around his team and client, bathing them in its energy and snapping his fellow Genin out of their fear induced stupor.
"Good thinking, Naruto. I was about to step in." The blond vaguely heard Hatake praise him, but that was nearly the last thing on his mind. He felt drunk, this freedom was invigorating. It felt like whatever limits he had before were miles behind him. Who cared if his chakra scared others, this was amazing! This was how it was supposed to be. He glanced at his teammates, who were both looking at him nervously. He looked away quickly. It hurt more than he'd like to admit, to see those expressions on his team's faces. He forced himself to pull his chakra back into himself, grunting softly as he did so. It was uncomfortable, like taking on extra weight, but he got through it.
Zabuza appeared out of the mists, interrupting Team Seven. Kakashi parried the monstrous cleaver with a flick of his wrist and a kunai in his grip. The Silver One was immensely strong, and needed to be dealt with immediately. Hatake counterattacked, hitting nothing but air. The missing nin was gone. Tensions rose. The mist still obscured vision but as it had thickened, it now partially obscured sound too. Haruno stepped closer to Sasuke and Naruto, who as one moved to better protect the bridge builder.
The Uchiha's glowing red eyes attempted to pierce the white fogs to no avail. The mist was partially laced with chakra, which made the very air near blinding to the dojutsu user.
As Hatake continued to engage Momochi, it became clear to him that something was off. The nin was avoiding a direct hand-to-hand bout. Whether that was due to Zabuza believing there to be a discrepancy between their physical prowess or due to some greater plan, Kakashi wasn't sure.
The Silver One lifted his hand to his face, and pulled up his forehead protector. A lone red eye was revealed. ThreeTomoespun lazily, as he searched for his foe in the mist. He was on a clock now. The Sharingan drained chakra incredibly quickly, seeing as he was not an innate user of the technique. He twitched to the side as the now familiar Executioner's Blade tore through the air. Hatake glanced at his assaulter, but was unable to glean any information from the man before he vanished into the mist once again.
He appeared again. Hatake dodged, then counter attacked viciously, lodging his kunai into Zabuza's left eye with a squelch. The now wounded man vanished with a splash of water. Hatake's mind Clone.
From his brief bouts with Zabuza, it was clear to Kakashi that he held the advantage physically. He was strong enough to fend off any move made by Momochi, and fast enough to react and counter attack. However, Kakashi's clock was still ticking. If it wasn't for the mist he wouldn't need the Sharingan active, but at present there wasn't much he could do about it. He swayed back mid thought as the cleaver nearly cut him in twain. This time, his opponent did not fade back into the mist. He stood and fought. Kakashi and Zabuza were a blur, and the Genin spectators were hard pressed to keep up with their battle. Sasuke was especially ! I'm struggling to watch even with my Sharingan..
A grunt echoed throughout the clearing, as Zabuza landed a strong kick to Kakashi's midsection. The Silver One managed to bring his hands up to help soften the impact of the blow, but he was still sent flying towards the water. Landing with a splash, Kakashi was struck by just how tired he was feeling. The Sharingan was taking more out of him than top of that, this water is heavier than it should be…
With a burst of movement, Zabuza Momochi sealed Kakashi into a spherical prison of … Oops.
"Get out of here! Take the client and run!" Kakashi hoped they would see reason. There was no way any of them stood a chance against Zabuza, no matter how strong they were for a group of Genin.
Sasuke spoke up. "Like hell we'd leave you behind, Hatake!"
Sakura nodded from her place next to the dark haired boy. "Don't be ridiculous. We couldn't abandon a teammate. Not after what you told us, Sensei."
"This is all very touching, but can we get back to killing each other?" The gravelly voice of Zabuza interrupted Team Seven's conversation. The Genin glanced at each other, then shrugged. "Alright, let's go! Haruno, you stay with the client. Uchiha, I'll need your help."
Across from them, Zabuza made a one-handed seal. A water clone materialized beside him. "Uzumaki. Can you keep the clone busy?"
The dark haired boy received a nod in return. The blond shot into action, launching multiple low-powered Dismantles at the clone in question. It dodged them easily, then went on the offensive. A flurry of martial arts ensued, Naruto doing all he could to stay alive. It was like fighting Hatake but if the man wanted him dead. Naruto passed under a large sweep of the Executioner's Blade, and thrust his foot up towards the clone's chin. It was caught on an elbow, then grabbed by a hand. Naruto grunted as he was violently thrown towards the water. He landed on top of it smoothly, then tossed a few shurikens at the real Zabuza. Turning away, he channeled his dark chakra to his legs until it burned. The Uzumaki disappeared. Zabuza's clone barely turned around in time to block a Dismantle with his blade. The clone exploded into a shower of water, not having possessed enough chakra to withstand the attack.
Sasuke took this as his chance, and substituted with the shuriken that Uzumaki had thrown. This would potentially put his teacher in danger but he had no other options that would threaten Zabuza to any meaningful degree. He wove a few hand seals, and intoned solemnly. "Fire Style: Great Flamethrower."
Baleful flames raced towards Zabuza and Kakashi. The former yanked his hand out of the prison, and made a few seals. "Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
The flames crashed into the semicircle of raised water, and exploded into a billowing cloud of steam. The hiss was deafening, and Hatake took the opportunity to dash towards Zabuza's unprotected back. He thrust a kunai forward. It was predictably blocked, but Kakashi wasn't done. His momentum shifted as he threw his body up and over Zabuza. Midair, he channeled lightning chakra into the kunai. Zabuza seized as hundreds of volts coursed through his body. It was agony, and his muscles refused to cooperate as he keeled over.
Kakashi strode across the water's surface, intending to finish off the .
A long needle struck the missing nin in the neck. A ninja with a ceramic mask appeared in a crouch next to Zabuza. He was short, young looking. Long hair was gathered in a white bun holder, while two locks of hair fell loose framing the ninja's face, bound with metal hair cuffs at the ends. Kakashi looked Nin.
Sakura spoke up first. "You're a Missing Ninja Hunter, right?"
The ninja in question nodded, then spoke. The voice was androgynous, but undoubtedly young sounding. "Yes. I am a Hunter Nin from Kirigakure. I have been pursuing Momochi Zabuza for some time now. Thank you for taking him down."
Kakashi narrowed his 's wrong…
"Now, I must dispose of the body." With that, the nameless nin grabbed hold of Zabuza, sword and all. They bowed towards Team Seven, then disappeared.
"Good job guys! You all performed excellently, in fact-" Whatever Kakashi was saying was interrupted by the dirt. Sasuke looked mildly concerned. "He just fell over. He seemed fine before, what's wrong with him?"
Sakura sprung into action, hand glowing faintly. She passed over Kakashi quickly, sighing. "It's just chakra exhaustion. He needs rest."
"My Sharingan is very draining." Hatake was slurring his words, and made a pathetic attempt to stand.
Haruno lightly bopped him on the head. "Hush. Get some rest, Sensei."
Rest…
Naruto picked him up, and gently laid Kakashi over his shoulder.
That sounds…
They began walking towards the Village of Wave, guided by Tazuna.
Nice.
