Chapter 7 revised and edited. Review or PM me on what you think about this chapter now.
Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the Naruto anime/manga all I own are my original characters and plot twists.
'Talking'
"Thinking"
'Heavily demonic voice'
'Fox talking'
"Fox thinking"
*expression*
Jutsu
Flashback
Chapter 7 – Guard Duty
Naruto trudged back to the house and had a quick breakfast. After he finished eating, Kakashi and Sakura went to guard Tazuna while he worked on the bridge, which left Sasuke and Naruto free. Sasuke went off to practice his fire style jutsu while Naruto went into the woods to train with Kyuubi.
'Kit, you can't keep using my chakra like that. You need to be able to control it and not give in to intense emotions.' Said Kyuubi seriously.
"How do I do that?" Asked Naruto.
'Transform into your first tailed form and hold it while meditating.' Replied Kyuubi.
Naruto complied and for the next eight hours Naruto stayed in his one tailed form while meditating. He then wanted to test if he had control over the form, so he deactivated it and then reactivated the first tail. Having no trouble, he then went on to try and call forth the second tail, however the strain was too much, and he passed out promptly appearing in front of the fox's cage.
'How did I get in here?' Wondered Naruto out loud.
'Why did you try and use the second tail; I told you not to?' Said the fox with slight traces of anger in his voice.
'Well I thought I could handle it. I was just testing out my capabilities.' Replied Naruto nonchalantly.
'You idiot, my chakra is intertwined with my hatred! If you can't control the hate, it will consume you and I will be released, not that I wouldn't mind getting out of here.' Shouted the fox, before becoming thoughtful at the end.
'I guess that explains how I am able to draw the tails out in the first place. I was always really angry when I drew them out, so I guess that makes sense.' Said Naruto thoughtfully.
'I guess you're not so foolish after all but remember; if you try and force the tails to emerge, it could destroy you.' Warned the fox.
'Hmm makes sense. Also, Kyuubi just a warning, if you keep insulting my intelligence, I might just show you why I am the number one most unpredictable ninja. Said Naruto with a malicious grin before he left his mindscape.
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With a quick start Naruto woke up and looked around. He saw the sun was coming up, signalling a new day had arrived.
"Crap, I slept through the entire day. Damn, I have to get back to the house fast, we were all supposed to guard the bridge builder today." Thought Naruto, before he ran off to the house.
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On the bridge
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Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura were walking to the bridge with Tazuna behind them. When they arrived, they saw all the workers either unconscious, or unable to get up or even move.
'What happened here?' Asked Tazuna fearfully. Just as he finished speaking, a dense mist rolled in.
'Sensei, it's Zabuza, isn't it? This is his Hidden Mist Jutsu.' Asked Sakura.
'Well Kakashi, I see you still have those brats with you. Pitiful that one is still trembling.' Said Zabuza.
At that moment, seven water clones of Zabuza appeared around the group.
Sasuke grinned and said, 'I'm trembling with excitement.'
'Go on Sasuke, they are all yours.' Said Kakashi.
In the space of a second, Sasuke had slashed all of the water clones and returned back to his original position. The clones promptly turned back into water.
'Seems like you have a rival, Haku.' Said Zabuza.
'So it seems.' Said the boy, who they previously thought was a hunter ninja.
Sasuke and Haku stepped forward and prepared for battle, Sasuke pulled out a kunai, while Haku pulled out a senbon needle. Both of them charged and their weapons clanged against one another. Sasuke kept trying to get past Haku's guard, but Haku was just as fast as him, making it impossible. They kept this up until Haku spoke 'We are only after the bridge builder if you back off, we won't need to fight you.' Sasuke ignored him and kept looking for an opening.
'You are at a great disadvantage, give up now.' Said Haku calmly.
'How am I at a disadvantage?' Sasuke asked with a scoff, clearly not believing Haku.
'First, we are surrounded by water, and second, I've blocked one of your hands, leaving you with only one to defend yourself.' Said Haku in his level tone.
Haku brought his free hand up and begun to make hand signs using only that hand. When he finished, he said 'Secret Jutsu: A Thousand Needles of Death.'
Haku stomped his foot on the ground and the water rose up all around them in the shape of water droplets. In the next moment, all the droplets turned into sharp water needles. The needles rushed at Sasuke in an attempt to skewer him. Sasuke managed to avoid the needles by pushing his chakra into his feet and leaping away. While in the air, he threw four shuriken, causing Haku to back flip away, Sasuke then appeared behind him and cockily said 'From this point on, you are going to be defending from my attacks.'
Sasuke charged with a kunai which Haku blocked with his forearm. Haku then tried to sweep Sasuke's legs with his arm, with a needle held firmly in his hand, but Sasuke kicked him in the face, sending him back to Zabuza.
Zabuza was in shock and Kakashi took that moment to boast.
'You made a big mistake in calling these ninja brats. That's just guaranteed to bring out Sasuke's attitude and he is one of the Leaf's best young fighters, while Sakura is one of the village's sharpest minds and finally, the village's number one most unpredictable ninja is none other than Naruto Uzumaki.' Said Kakashi
'Haku, if this keeps up, we will be the victims, not them, get on with it.' Said Zabuza in a no-nonsense tone.
'Right.' Said Haku.
As the masked ninja stood up, purplish-blue streams of light begun to come off Haku in waves. Haku walked back towards where Sasuke was.
'I'm sorry it had to come to this. Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors.' Said Haku in a slightly sad tone.
Mirrors of ice appeared around Sasuke and Haku. The mirrors then glowed and Haku walked right into one, disappearing within it and then reappeared as an image on the mirror which was then projected to all the other mirrors. Kakashi ran and tried to get in there to help Sasuke, but Zabuza stood in his way.
'Your fight is with me, Kakashi. The boy doesn't stand a chance against Haku.' Said Zabuza cheerfully.
'Before you delude yourself with false hope let me tell you a little secret. Haku is even stronger than me. In other words, your boy is doomed.' Finished Zabuza sadistically.
-line break-
Haku spoke to Sasuke from within a mirror 'Now I'll show you what speed really is.' The mirrors glowed and needles begun flying at Sasuke from all directions. He was slashed and his kunai was knocked away by the needles and sent flying out of the mirror dome.
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Both Sakura and Kakashi called out 'Sasuke.'
'Try and help him Kakashi, and I'll kill those other two in a heartbeat.' Said Zabuza.
Sakura picked up the kunai and ran towards the mirror dome.
'Sasuke, catch!' She shouted, as she flung the kunai towards Sasuke.
However before it could reach Sasuke, Haku appeared out of one of the mirrors and grabbed it. Suddenly out of nowhere, a shuriken flew through the air and hit Haku's mask, leaving a deep gash. Everyone looked at the direction it came from and saw...
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At the house
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'Inari, can you give me a hand?' Asked Tsunami in the kitchen.
'I'll be there in a minute mom.' Replied Inari, who was upstairs in his room.
All of a sudden, the front door was slashed and crumbled into pieces by two bandits who had just appeared. Tsunami screamed as they hit her, sending her to the floor. Inari heard the scream and ran down the stairs, arriving on the scene. Sticking his head cautiously around the hall, he looked to see what was wrong.
'Mum.' Cried Inari.
'Inari, go away from here now!' Shouted Tsunami.
'Don't move.' Said the bandit. 'Should we take him hostage as well?' Asked the bandit to his partner.
The first bandit was of tall stature and wore an eye-patch over his right eye, while his left eye was white with a black pupil. He had brown hair which he parted in three parts, finishing in an elaborate topknot. He had an intricate tattoo that seemingly stretched across his entire left side, as well as a stitched scar on the left side of his forehead, and the left side of his mouth. He was wearing what seemed to be a loose-fitting kimono, albeit not in the traditional manner, as the top half of the outfit fell around his waist, leaving his upper body exposed. He also wore bandages wrapped around his waist, simple sandals, and carried a fairly long sword.
'No, Gato said only one hostage.' Replied the other bandit.
This one was a light-skinned man with bluish-white hair and also had black eyes. He also had lined markings tattooed under his eyes. He wore a dark purple hat on this head, the top of which extended far beyond the top of his head. He also wore a blue jacket with multiple pockets and had a katana with a blue handle tied to his waist.
'All right, that means I can cut him up!' Said the first bandit excitedly, as he moved his hand to his sword.
'No! Don't hurt him, he is just a boy. If all you want is a hostage, I'll do anything you say, but if you hurt him, I'll bite my tongue and kill myself.' Shouted Tsunami.
'Well, looks like your mum came through for you, huh kid?' Commented the second bandit.
'It's a shame, I was really in the mood to cut something.' Said the other bandit.
'Relax, and anyway, you've already drawn blood today.' Replied his partner.
The three walked out and Inari started crying.
'I couldn't do anything, I'm so weak.' He thought as he kept crying.
Then he remembered what Naruto said, "You're nothing but a coward!" followed by what Kakashi told him "I think he just got tired of crying and decided to do something."
Inari's thoughts then shifted to Kaiza, his grandpa, and his mum, all of which showed courage in difficult situations.
"Can I be strong like them too?" Thought Inari.
Having a change of heart, Inari decided he wouldn't cry anymore and charged outside.
'Let go of my mum!' He shouted, as he charged the bandits, arms flailing to his sides.
'Now can we cut him?' Asked first bandit in an eager tone.
'Sure.' Replied the other bandit.
'No! Don't touch him, if you do I'll…' Started Tsunami, but she didn't manage to finish what she was going to say, as she was chopped in the neck with the bandit callously saying, 'Take a nap.'
They sliced at Inari and his form was split into three bloody pieces, but then when they looked back, they saw a log sliced into three parts instead of a sliced up body.
'A substitution.' Said one of the bandits.
Naruto had arrived and stopped the bandits from slicing Inari and rescued Tsunami who blushed slightly.
'Good job Inari, thanks to your distraction, I was able to save your mum, although the hero always shows up at the last minute anyway.' Said Naruto.
'Naruto?' Asked Inari wide eyed.
'Get him.' Said the bandits as they charged at Naruto, swords drawn. Naruto simply threw two shuriken which they easily deflected with their swords. They then bragged 'You're going to have to do better than that.'
'I did.' Said Naruto with a smile, as the two shuriken popped into shadow clones, which then proceeded to kick both bandits in the face, knocking them both out cold.
'Inari, you were very brave.' Praised Naruto.
Inari started crying 'Damn it, I p-promised myself I wouldn't cry anymore.' Sniffled Inari.
Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder and said, 'It's alright to cry if you're happy.'
Naruto stood and told Inari 'I'm going to check out the bridge, in the meantime, take care of your mum.' Said Naruto, as he ran away.
'You got it Naruto.' Said Inari, while giving him a thumbs-up.
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On the bridge
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Naruto arrived in time to see Haku catch a kunai and saw he was fighting Sasuke. Naruto quickly threw a shuriken which struck his mask. Everyone looked in his direction and Naruto, arms crossed over his chest had only one thing to say.
'Naruto Uzumaki is here!' He shouted.