"You two are more than welcome to take a break," Tazuna the bridge-builder offered. "Skeptical as I was when Konoha sent ninja brats, you've been a world of help these past few days in building the bridge, and it isn't even part of your job."

"Don't worry, Mr. Tazuna, this is nothing compared to Guy-sensei's training," Tenten assured as she and Lee set down more wooden planks for the builders to use. "Helping out is better than sitting around and doing nothing."

"Exactly right, Tenten!" Lee agreed exuberantly. "While this is nothing compared to the rigorous training Guy-sensei gives us, it is still important not to slack off!" He pumped a fist in the air. "Because I can not help Neji keep watch, I will help the builders complete the bridge! If I can not help the builders-"

"Basically, we're happy to help," Tenten interrupted, before he could get going. It was pretty obvious that Tazuna didn't really get Lee, which was a pretty common occurrence among the people who hired them for missions. "It isn't as tiring for us to move heavy things because of chakra, and this way we can help speed up the process since your workers won't exhaust themselves as fast."

That seemed to impress Tazuna, a far cry from his sour, drunken attitude toward them at the start of the mission. "Well, thank you," he said. "Once this bridge is finished, I'll make sure the people around here know about all of Konoha's help." His eyes flickered to where Neji was standing on the side of the bridge, routinely checking their surroundings, and he asked, "Do you still think that Zabuza ninja is coming back? It's been a few days…"

"Guy-sensei thinks so," Lee answered before Tenten could. That made Tazuna visibly nervous, and Lee quickly added, "Do not worry, Guy-sensei is more than strong enough to handle him if he comes back!"

Tenten nodded along. "Lee's right. Even if Momochi does come back, Guy-sensei can handle him again." Guy-sensei hadn't even been made to use the gates against Momochi. If it hadn't been for the fake hunter-nin's Hyōton, he never would've gotten away. "Guy-sensei also sent a request for backup, just in case Momochi gets more help, so you really don't need to worry."

Tazuna looked visibly relieved. "Alright, well, I should get back to work." He gave them a nod of gratitude and then headed off, walking over to talk to the worker involved with operating the crane.

As soon as he was gone, Tenten and Lee went back to helping out with whatever menial tasks they could. They couldn't help out with things that required specialized skills, but they did what was available. For the most part, that was just carrying heavy materials around to wherever the workers needed them, but occasionally they would be asked to hold something still or help with a slightly more specific activity.

Like that, a couple hours passed. Tenten found all of the menial tasks to be pretty boring, if she was being honest with herself, but Lee threw himself into all of them with the same enthusiasm he did everything with. It was almost time for everyone to take a break for dinner when Neji called out, "Incoming from the north, about two kilometers!"

Tenten and Lee immediately set down what they were doing and ran over to join Neji. Moments after they reached his side, Guy-sensei just appeared next to them. "What do you see, Neji?"

"It appears to be two people riding a water dragon jutsu, but I can't make out the details yet…" Neji narrowed his eyes. "It isn't Momochi and the Hyōton user, but I think the one controlling the jutsu is wearing a Kiri forehead protector. The other looks to be," his eyes widened a little, "Konoha."

Tenten looked over in surprise. "Konoha forehead protector?"

"Hm, curious." Guy-sensei tapped his chin, looking off into the distance. "How long until- Oh, wait, I see it."

Following Guy-sensei's gaze into the distance, Tenten could just begin to make out a large shadow appearing from the distant fog. She had to squint to make it out at first, but it was obviously steadily approaching, and before long the shadow solidified into a large dragon made of water with two figures standing on top. That was when Guy-sensei leapt off the bridge and down to the water to meet them, holding up a hand to stop the rest of them from following.

As the water dragon neared Guy-sensei on the water, it began to shrink, and Tenten could start to make out the two people standing on top. The shorter one had bright, blond hair and an eye-catching orange jacket that seemed vaguely familiar, but her focus was drawn to the taller one. While he looked like a teenager only a few years older than her and her team, something told Tenten that he wasn't just a teenage shinobi. He had shoulder-length white hair, a sleeveless black shirt with bandages around his neck, and most notably, a large bandaged sword slung across his back.

The water dragon vanished into the water completely about a dozen meters ahead of Guy-sensei, leaving the two ninja standing on the calming water. Tenten couldn't hear anything they said, but the blond's exuberant wave was a pretty obvious greeting.

"I recognize the blond now," Neji said. "Naruto Uzumaki. He was a year below us in the academy."

"Uzumaki?" Tenten echoed. "That sounds familiar…" She narrowed her eyes, watching as the two ninja walked up to Guy-sensei to talk. When Naruto looked up at the top of the bridge and waved to them, it finally clicked. "Oh, right. Wasn't he like the second of his class or something? After the Uchiha kid?"

"Oh, yes, I remember him!" Excitement spread across Lee's face, his attention focused on Guy-sensei, Naruto, and the Kiri ninja. "He was the Uchiha's genius rival! I remember hearing about his taijutsu and ninjutsu skills." He clenched a fist excitedly in front of his face. "I hope I have the chance to test my techniques against him!"

"Is the other one another of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?" Now that they knew who the blond was, Tenten was even more curious about the white-haired one and the large sword on his back. "And why would a brand new Konoha genin be with a Kiri ninja?"

"That sword contains a large amount of chakra, so it may be one of Kirigakure's legendary swords," Neji observed. "It has two handles that can seemingly be split apart and a wide and flat blade with a curved crossguard." He looked over at her, Byakugan deactivating. "Do you remember one of the swords being similar?"

Tenten squinted at the bandaged blade, going over Neji's description of the weapon in her head. A few of Kirigakure's legendary swords had two handles, but a few of those weren't actually swords. "I think… Hiramekarei?" she guessed. "I don't know who wields it right now, though."

That was when Guy-sensei turned around to look up at them and waved them down.

"Guess that means it's safe," Tenten said, and then vaulted over the side of the bridge and down to the water.

She, Neji, and Lee all landed on the water together with soft splashes, but Lee was the first to bolt over to Guy-sensei's side. Tenten and Neji walked over a little more slowly, reaching him as Guy-sensei introduced: "-team, Rock Lee, Neji Hyuga, and Tenten."

Naruto met them with a grin. "Hey! My name is Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage, believe it!" Up close, he was shorter than their team, had bright blue eyes, and three whiskers on both his cheeks. "Nice to meet ya!"

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "Future Hokage? That's a bold introduction." She glanced at Neji and saw him staring impassively at Naruto, but she was surprised when he didn't say anything dismissive.

"How youthful!" Lee exclaimed. "It is nice to meet you too, Naruto. I hope you will give me the opportunity to have a spar with you!"

That made Naruto's face light up. "Ooo, yeah!"

"So, uh, are you another member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?" Tenten asked the white-haired teen, ignoring Naruto and Lee as they continued to talk. Up close, she saw he had purple eyes and sharpened, shark-like teeth, but most of her focus was still on the sword on his back. "Is that Hiramekarei?"

For a second, his eyebrows rose, before a grin spread across his face. "I'm one of the Seven Swordsmen, yeah," he confirmed, easily grabbing his sword and holding it out in front of him, despite how heavy it looked to be. "Mangetsu Hozuki. You recognize Hiramekarei?"

Tenten nodded, unconsciously reaching a hand out to touch the sword but stopping herself. "Woah…" She'd always been interested in ninja tools, and Kirigakure's legendary swords were seven of the rarest ninja tools there were. And now, in less than a week, she'd encountered two of them! Granted, one of those times had been in an attempt to kill her and her team, but still. "Can I… hold it?"

"Sure, but I can't let you undo the bandages or use it," Mangetsu allowed, flipping the sword so the point faced down and then holding the second handle out to her. "It's a little heavy."

"Okay!" Tenten grabbed the second hilt without a moment of hesitation. She doubted she would've been able to keep hold one-handed once Mangetsu let go without all of Guy-sensei's physical training, her arm dropping slightly as she steadied her grip. The tip of the sword still dipped into the water, but she managed to keep hold without using the second hilt. "Wow, it really is heavy."

"Physical strength is the first thing to work on for most of the seven swords," Mangetsu explained. "The Fangs and Sewing Needle are both light, but the other five are all big weapons. Hiramekarei is one of the most agile to use in its split form though, which also makes it one of my favorites."

Tenten looked at him curiously. "How many of them can you use?"

Another easy grin spread across Mangetsu's face. "All of them." But the grin quickly fell to a sigh. "When we have them all, at least. Sadly, Hiramekarei's the only one currently in our possession." He reached to grab his weapon back, and Tenten knew better than to try and hold onto it. "Hopefully, I can get the Executioner's Blade back while I'm here."

Tenten was disappointed to realize she wouldn't be able to take Momochi's sword once Guy-sensei defeated him a second time, but then her brain caught on to the first thing Mangetsu said. "Wait, all of them?!" Was that even possible? "You really know how to use all of them?"

"Yep." Mangetsu slung the sword back over his back, crossing his arms and looking over her appraisingly. "There aren't many Konoha genin who know a lot about the seven swords. I take it you're a weapons specialist?"

Tenten quickly nodded. "Yeah!" Reaching into her pouch, she pulled out one of her smaller scrolls, holding it up to show Mangetsu. "I collect weapons and seal them into scrolls so I can use them all."

Mangetsu chuckled. "I did something similar with the seven swords for a little while, but the others weren't exactly happy to let me keep all of them." He rubbed the back of his neck. "'Course, I'm also the only one who stayed in the village, kept their weapon, and didn't die, so maybe I should've put up more of a fight when everyone came to get theirs back."

Just the thought of wielding all seven of Kiri's swords filled Tenten with an intense sense of envy. Before she could dwell on it for long, the words, "You're on!" rang out across the water.

Looking to the side, she was just in time to watch as Lee and Naruto ran out further onto the water, stopping a few meters apart from each other. Guy-sensei walked over to stand between them, obviously happy to proctor the spar.

"Oh, this should be good," Mangetsu commented, an intrigued look on his face at the imminent spar. "The kid in the green jumpsuit is your sensei's disciple, right? Taijutsu specialist?"

"Yes." Neji had been standing off to the side, but now he walked over to stand next to Tenten, arms crossed as he stared at Lee and Naruto. "He can't do anything else, so Guy-sensei trained him in his style of taijutsu."

"He's really skilled, though," Tenten added. Even when he had his weights on, Lee was a difficult opponent. Without them, even Neji struggled to beat him, though he hadn't lost to Lee yet. "I doubt a genin who only recently graduated is going to stand a chance against him."

Mangetsu hummed consideringly. "I wouldn't count Whiskers out. Haven't seen his taijutsu skills yet, but that kid is a monster with ninjutsu and he certainly can take a punch."

In front of them, Lee and Naruto both raised the Seal of Confrontation. Tenten wasn't going to shift her expectations, not even for another so-called genius like Neji, but that didn't mean she wasn't interested in watching the fight. Guy-sensei looked between the two genin, checking that both were ready, and then called out, "Start!" and leapt backwards.

As soon as the word was out, Naruto dashed forward with speed that surprised Tenten a little, fist colliding with Lee's crossed forearms hard enough to send him sliding meters back across the water.

Though he looked momentarily surprised by Naruto's physical strength, Lee didn't let it hinder him, ducking underneath Naruto's following punch and retaliating with an uppercut. Naruto just barely managed to lean back and avoid the blow, his eyes wide, but he missed it when Lee spun on his left foot, landing his right leg clean against Naruto's side.

Naruto was sent flying into the air from the power behind the kick. Tenten winced, more than familiar with the pain behind each of Lee's blows, but Naruto seemed to recover near instantly. His body twisted midair, feet sliding against the water when he landed, a wide grin on his face as Lee appeared in front of him. Without even a second to waste, he deflected the punch Lee threw his way using his left hand and slammed his fist into Lee's gut.

Spit flew out of Lee's mouth. Naruto followed the punch with a knee to Lee's stomach, but Lee managed to block, grabbing hold of his knee. Undeterred, Naruto slammed his forehead against Lee's hard enough that Tenten heard a CRACK across the water.

A dazed look flashed across Lee's face and he was forced to let go of Naruto's knee, stumbling back a step. Without missing a beat, Naruto punched him in the face, making him stumble back another step, and then leapt into the air with a leg raised high.

If Lee was able to dodge the devastating kick that followed, Tenten couldn't see. Naruto's leg crashed into the water hard enough to create a splash like an explosive had gone off underneath, obscuring them both from sight.

"Alright, I need another break." Kakashi hated to admit it, and it'd only been a couple hours since their last break, but a day full of walking while recovering from chakra exhaustion wasn't something he could just push through. "Let's stop here for an hour."

Sakura gave him a look of concern. "Are you sure you don't need to rest longer, Sensei? It hasn't even been a day since you got well enough for crutches…"

Kakashi smiled at her reassuringly, limping over to a tree on the side of the path. "I'll be fine, this is nothing." He rested both of his crutches against the tree and sat down, to the immediate relief of his arms and legs. "Mangetsu and Naruto should be at the Land of Waves by now, so I'd rather not waste any more than an hour at a time."

When Kakashi got Guy's request for backup, it'd been a no-brainer to let Mangetsu know considering his own poor condition and Momochi's status as a missing-nin of Kiri. Unfortunately, Mangetsu raised a very good point when he noted how suspicious it would be for another of the Seven Swordsmen to so suddenly show up, and the simple solution to that was to send someone along with him. Which, of course, Naruto had instantly volunteered for.

Kakashi was definitely going to get an earful when the Hokage learned about that. If Mangetsu were going to kidnap Naruto, he could've simply finished Kakashi off and dealt with Sasuke and Sakura without breaking a sweat, but it still didn't sound great to leave their Mokuton-wielding jinchuuriki alone with an elite jounin from another village.

As the Nara would say, what a drag.

"Well," Kakashi continued, looking up at Sasuke and Sakura. "Since it's because of me that Mangetsu and Naruto had to go on ahead, and because Mangetsu decided to help Naruto out with his training, we can use this break to do some training of our own."

A look of excitement spread across Sakura's face, and Sasuke's eyes glinted with anticipation. "Will you teach me more about Sharingan?" he asked immediately.

Kakashi scratched his mask. "Well, I still don't have enough chakra to safely use mine…" He watched disappointment flash across Sasuke's face, then added, "But I don't necessarily need to be able to use Chidori to help you with yours, if you're still interested in learning more about it."

For a second, Sasuke looked surprised, before he nodded so quickly it was almost reminiscent of Naruto.

"And Sakura…" Kakashi trailed off, grabbing his chin. "What kind of training would you like?"

Without a second of hesitation, Sakura asked, "Do you know any Doton jutsu?"

Kakashi blinked. "Doton?"

"Naruto finally thought to mention that he could sense a Doton affinity from her," Sasuke explained. "He started to teach her yesterday."

"Ah." Kakashi hadn't heard about Naruto's ability to sense chakra affinities until he'd mentioned sensing the fight between Kakuzu and Mangetsu, but it wasn't a surprise. Minato-sensei was able to do the same. "I've been meaning to test your affinity soon, now that your chakra reserves have grown some, so I guess that saves me some time." He gave Sakura an eye smile. "And yes, I do know a Doton jutsu or two. As a matter of fact… I think I recently copied one that would be a good tool for you."

Sakura's eyes widened excitedly. "Really?"

"Recently copied? From Kakuzu?" Sasuke clarified.

"Mhm," Kakashi confirmed. "His bodily enhancement jutsu. I didn't hear what it was called, but I saw him use it often enough. By flowing Doton chakra through his body, he could harden his skin against attacks and boost his destructive ability." He paused, considering. "What has Naruto taught you involving Doton so far?"

"Um, he showed me Dust Storm, Mud Wall, and Hiding Like a Mole, but I only managed to learn Dust Storm and got started on Mud Wall," Sakura admitted, rubbing the back of her head and glancing away. "I ran out of chakra before I could get any further."

Kakashi nodded. "Alright, show me what you can do." He looked around, pointing at a semicircular boulder about as tall as the kids stuck into the ground a ways off the path. "Hit that with Dust Storm, then show me your progress with Mud Wall."

Sakura looked a little flustered at being put on the spot to show off her jutsu, but nodded. "Yes, Sensei."

While she walked over to stand a few meters in front of the boulder, Kakashi looked at Sasuke. "How much of your chakra would you say Chidori used?"

"About a third." Sasuke raised his left arm, staring at his hand. "I think I could get it down to less, though. I haven't used it since, but I've gone through the hand seals and molded the chakra, and I think I may have compensated for inexperience with it by using more chakra than necessary."

Kakashi's eyebrows rose. A third? At Sasuke's age, before Obito's Sharingan when he could only attempt it in training, that was about as much of Kakashi's chakra as Chidori used. The first time he used it, intentionally and not as an attempt to create an elemental Rasengan, he'd nearly given himself chakra exhaustion. He doubted that Sasuke's first attempt had been as inefficient as his, but even then…

It really was easy to forget how much of a chakra monster Sasuke was with Naruto around.

Turning back to Sakura, he was just in time to see her carefully perform the hand seals for the Dust Storm Jutsu before slapping her hands down. "Doton: Dust Storm!"

In front of her hands, the ground erupted into a concussive cloud of dirt that rose as high as her head and shot towards the boulder, crashing into it with a bang. Sakura dusted off her hands in a way Kakashi somehow knew she accidentally picked up from Naruto, her attention glued to the cloud of dust that hovered around the boulder. As it cleared, a relatively deep, jagged crater was revealed on the front of the boulder, along with thin cracks spread across the rock.

Being critical, the size of the Dust Storm and the amount of chakra were both on the far lower end that Kakashi had seen, but that was to be expected for a genin who'd only just learned it. Her chakra control, though… Even without uncovering his other eye, Kakashi could see how efficient the jutsu was. An average Dust Storm of that size wouldn't have made a crater half as deep.

That was good. She wouldn't have the same frightening strength or near-invulnerability as Kakuzu, at least not for some time, but she would be able to make effective use of his jutsu.

"Good job!" Kakashi called out. "Do a Mud Wall, then come back over!"

Sakura seemed underwhelmed by the size of her own Dust Storm, and Kakashi didn't need to guess why, but the praise at least brought a smile to her face.

Then, she started on another hand seal sequence. She started with the Tiger seal, but Kakashi raised an eyebrow when she skipped to the Boar seal, then the Dog seal, then finished with the Snake seal and pressed her hands against the ground. "Doton: Mud Wall!"

A wall of earth rose before her, about one meter wide and a meter and a half tall, properly shaped but thin and unstable. Along the top, dirt soon began to crumble, rounding out the edges.

Kakashi let out an amused sigh and turned to Sasuke. "Let me guess: Naruto learned Mud Wall from a scroll in the Uchiha Archives?" At Sasuke's slightly confused nod, he turned back to Sakura and called out, "Alright, come on back!"

As she walked over, Sakura looked visibly disappointed by her Mud Wall, glancing back at it repeatedly along the way.

"Sakura, those are only four of the seals for the Mud Wall Jutsu," Kakashi said when she made it back, not even trying to hide his amusement. "The full sequence has three more."

A confused look spread across Sakura's face. "Wait, what?"

"Tiger, Hare, Boar, Dog, Ram, Ox, Snake," Kakashi recited, demonstrating the order as he went. "Naruto got his version from the Uchiha Archives, who probably copied it from someone experienced with Doton." He shrugged. "You can learn it this way from the start, but it's easier to get used to the full version first. Naruto probably just brute forced it by using a lot of chakra."

"Ohhh." Sakura didn't even look particularly surprised by that, though she did seem irritated. "Naruto…" she muttered. Shaking her head, she looked at Sasuke. "What was it like when he first learned it?"

Sasuke tilted his head to the side slightly in thought. "I've only seen him use it a few times," he admitted after a few seconds. "In most of our spars, he uses Mokuton walls he can create with one seal. At one point, he tried that with Doton and the dirt just fell apart, so he asked for Doton and Suiton wall jutsu he could use in case Mokuton wasn't an option."

"Ah." Yeah, that made sense. Mokuton was a very unique chakra nature in many different ways, and some were easier to overlook next to the ability to suppress bijuu. As long as a Mokuton user's chakra flowed through it, a tree was infinitely malleable like manipulating water, and that same chakra could make it harder than stone. Creating a wall of wood was as easy as growing a board out of the ground, unlike the steps needed to solidify a mud wall.

Tenzo used walls that were a bit more complex, but even those only used three seals that Kakashi had seen. According to near-legend, the Shodai could create wood constructs powerful enough to defend against the bijuu in moments, and Naruto said his wood dragon only took five. Mokuton's only real limit seemed to be chakra, and Naruto had far more of it than Tenzo, even without the Kyuubi.

"Sakura, for now, try using Mud Wall with all seven seals," Kakashi suggested. "As for Dust Storm, your chakra is still a little on the low end, but your precise control makes up for it. Once you've managed to create a stable Mud Wall, test it out by destroying it with Dust Storm, then repeat. You should get a little more used to the feeling of Doton before I teach you Kakuzu's jutsu."

Sakura nodded determinedly. "Yes, Sensei."

"Sasuke…" Kakashi glanced around and pointed at a tree on the other side of the path. "Use Chidori against that tree." If Naruto were here, Kakashi would have him create targets, but they'd have to make do. "And don't let yourself get crushed by it if it falls," he added. "Sakura doesn't need to take two injured ninja to Wave alone."

"I've been sparring with Naruto for years," Sasuke said drily, though he couldn't hide his obvious excitement at being allowed to use Chidori. "If I can't get out of the way in time, I'll just destroy the tree."

That said, Sasuke walked up to the path to stand in line with the tree Kakashi pointed out, eyes bleeding red. They were cutting back through the edge of the Land of Fire on their way to Wave, and it was just another oak, only with a somewhat thin trunk and slightly high branches. Sakura waited to watch Sasuke before getting started on her training, which Kakashi wouldn't blame her for.

When Sasuke went through the hand seals for Chidori, he didn't slow down just because he wasn't in a stressful situation. His hands flashed through Monkey, Dragon, Rat, Bird, Ox, Snake, Dog, Tiger, and finally Monkey faster than any genin had a right to, the chirping of a thousand birds coming to life as lightning shrouded his left hand.

Steadying his left arm with his right, Sasuke shot forward, hand plunging into and through the trunk of the tree with a crack that tore through the forest.

Where Chidori collided with the tree, wood blasted apart explosively, obliterating the entirety of the trunk around his arm. As it began to fall forward, the lightning covering Sasuke's left arm flickered out, and he used the remains of the tree stump to kick off the ground and flip out of its way. With a crash, it landed across the path through the forest, cutting off the way for future travelers.

Sasuke landed next to the fallen tree's trunk, immediately staring down at his left hand and flexing his fingers. Kakashi wasn't close enough to see, but he assumed Sasuke was staring at freshly peeled or charred skin along his arm.

"Wow," Sakura said softly, her eyes widened. "I didn't see him use it in the fight, but… wow."

Kakashi hummed his agreement. "It's a powerful jutsu." And not an easy one to learn, either. Even considering the Sharingan's ability to copy and Sasuke's experience with Raiton, it should've taken him hours to reach where he was on his second attempt. "You should get started on your practice," Kakashi added, waving Sasuke back over.

"Oh, right. Yes, Sensei." With one more look at the fallen tree, Sakura made her way back over to the misshapen mud wall and boulder.

"How much of your chakra would you say you used that time?" Kakashi asked once Sasuke was close enough.

"Less," Sasuke answered. "Closer to a fourth." He crossed his arms, and now Kakashi could see the peeled skin along his left hand. "If I try it again, I think I can improve more."

Kakashi eyed the tree laying across the path. "As long as you're sure you won't give yourself chakra exhaustion and add time to our journey, you can try it again," he allowed, to Sasuke's obvious excitement. "But only after you move that tree out of the way so it doesn't get in anyone's way."

Sasuke's excitement fell. He looked apprehensively at the tree, then asked, "Can I just destroy it?"

"If you think that'll make it easier to move, sure." Kakashi shrugged, pulling out Icha Icha and opening it to his most recent page. "As long as you think you can do it without causing more damage to the environment. Naruto isn't here to clean up after us, after all."

A frown pulled on Sasuke's face, but he grunted acknowledgement and made his way over to the fallen tree.

Naruto's leg hit the water hard enough that he felt like he'd kicked solid stone, missing Lee by a hair. Unable to halt his momentum, he crashed through the surface of the cold water before he could stick to the top, his world suddenly quieting as his head plunged under.

Unphased by the cold, he brought his hands together in the Dog seal.

It wasn't something he'd ever tried before, because Sasuke knew better than to fight him over water, but he immediately felt the water harden beneath him and prevent him from sinking any further. With a wild burst of Suiton chakra, he used the Dog seal to launch himself out of the water on a geyser and into the air, the force carrying him over two dozen meters up. Spotting Lee trying to create distance from the splash, Naruto switched to the Ram seal and called out, "Suiton: Hail!"

While Naruto landed back on the surface of the water where he'd started, all of the water still in the air halted its descent, forming into countless hand-sized water balls. Lee only had time for his eyes to widen before they all went shooting for him.

"Lee, take them off!" Guy called out. "I'll allow it!"

Lee looked over at his sensei in surprise, but he had to deal with the Hail before he could respond to whatever that meant. Unlike Sasuke's Lightning Ball, which he usually made a relatively limited amount of but aimed perfectly, Naruto's Hail fired towards Lee indiscriminately. Dodging left, right, or up wasn't an option: altogether, the mass of water balls formed into a veritable wall.

His only option was to dodge under.

Just before he could be hit, Lee dipped into the water and did exactly that, allowing the jutsu to fly over him and crash back into the water. Naruto let his control over the water fall, stretched his senses out through it, and shot towards where he could detect Lee swimming underneath.

Then something about Lee changed, an earth-like chakra dropping off his body and sinking below. For a second, he went still and Naruto prepared to launch a jutsu into the water to draw him out, but then he moved, breaking the surface with a splash as large as Naruto's before landing back on the surface with a grin.

"I will admit, Naruto Uzumaki, I underestimated your taijutsu skills!" Standing meters in front of Naruto, Lee started to bounce on his feet over the water, like he was loosening up his body. There was a bruise on his face where Naruto's earlier punch landed, but he didn't even seem to notice it. "You surprised me with your speed and power! Without removing my weights, I could hardly even defend myself."

Naruto cocked his head to the side. "Weights?"

"Now, I will defeat you with my full speed!" Lee declared, raising his right hand in front of him and folding his left behind his back like he had at the start of the fight. "Come at me again!"

Never once to back down from a challenge, even when it was an obvious lure, Naruto dashed forward with a fist cocked back and a grin on his face. "You asked for-!"

Lee blurred.

It was only because of all of Naruto's experience fighting someone like Sasuke that he could react when Lee appeared to the left of his head, his leg moments from striking. "Leaf Whirlwind!" Lee exclaimed.

Naruto managed to raise his arm in time to block, but he was unprepared for just how much faster and stronger Lee's unweighted kick would be. The power of the kick blew right through his unprepared defense, spiking pain through his arm and slamming it against his own head, sending lights dancing in his vision. Before it could clear, Lee went low and spun into him with a second kick, this one at Naruto's side.

Unable to defend himself, the leg slammed into him and he went flying across the water, body skipping like a rock. It tore a hiss of pain from his mouth, but he didn't have any time to dwell on it, sure Lee would be on him again in an instant. Hands forming the tiger seal before he could even make it back to his feet, he yelled, "Water Clone Jutsu!" and poured chakra into it.

All around, dozens of clones formed out of the water, well over a hundred and more than Naruto had ever created at once before. Not even a second later, Lee reappeared in front of him, proving his assumption correct. Just before Lee could land a punch, Naruto finished the hand seals for the Substitution Jutsu, replacing himself with a clone in the middle of the pack.

The unfortunate clone he replaced himself was instantly reduced to liquid.

Rather than immediately running away or attacking the dozens of clones that surrounded him, Lee stopped and remained in the center of the crowd. "Wow, it is no wonder they refer to you as a ninjutsu genius!" He looked around at all of the Narutos, his gaze unknowingly passing over the original without a second thought. "So many clones!"

"We're just getting started!" one of the clones shouted. "Attack!"

Naruto grinned, an expression mirrored on all of the clones surrounding him, and chaos broke out across the water as they all started to move at once. Five dozen of the clones nearest to Lee charged directly for him, Naruto and another almost two dozen stayed where they were with their many hands in the Tiger seal, while the rest of the clones leapt back and created distance between themselves and Lee.

The dozens that charged for Lee were no match for him. With only a tenth of Naruto's power, each and every clone was destroyed before they could even blink, but Naruto was more than aware of that specific weakness.

As Lee destroyed another clone, Naruto switched his hands to the Ram seal, choosing to form more Hail rather than shuriken. All around him, the group of clones he'd stuck with did the same, forming another projectile for Lee to destroy each and every time he popped a clone. As fast and strong as he was, Lee still struggled against the mass of Hail and clones. Still, he tore his way steadily through the crowd, and Naruto wasn't reforming any of the clones.

When the last of the clones popped, Lee looked around with racing eyes, obviously anticipating more. Seeing there weren't any, his attention shifted to the mid-range circle of clones, but by then the remaining clones finished their hand seals.

"Doton: Earth Bullet!"

All at once, the dozens of clones who'd stayed in the back unleashed streams of earth into the air, creating shadows that fell over the water. The Earth Bullets only lasted a short while, the clones running out of chakra and falling back into water only seconds in, but it was enough. Together, the dozens of Earth Bullets collected into thousands of kilograms worth of dirt with a stone core in the air above Lee, casting a shadow that fell over him.

As Naruto dispelled all the remaining clones, Lee's attention immediately shifted to him, and Naruto met it with a grin, his hands clasped in the Snake seal. "Doton: Rock Hammer!" As it shot down, he unclasped his hands and clapped. "Doton: Dirt Eruption!"

He'd admitted to Sakura that Doton was his worst element of his three natures, but that didn't mean he couldn't get creative with it. When he clapped his hands, the dirt surrounding the stone core exploded outwards, filling the air with dust and throwing off Lee's attempt at destroying it. The stone core still didn't hit Lee, but it crashed into the water with a loud PLOP and a massive splash that mixed in the water with the dirt in the air.

Unable to avoid the newly created mud, Lee was covered in it, the force of the eruption and splash together enough to knock him back and unbalance him.

"Suiton: Rushing Wave!" Hands in the Tiger seal, Naruto rode a wave of water to reach Lee before he could recover, jumping off at the last second to land a blow against Lee at top speed. "Uzumaki Punch!"

Lee just managed to cross his muddy arms in front of him and block Naruto's blow like he had the very first punch, but it was a lot stronger than the first. A wince of pain flashed across Lee's face and he was sent careening back, skidding against the water.

Even after all of that, Lee blurred again before Naruto could press him, and Naruto's eyes went wide. A second later, the world went white again as a right hook landed against his jaw, shattering his concentration and sending him splashing into the water, spitting out a tooth.

By sheer force of will, he stopped himself from gasping, but his lungs burned. Again, Naruto held his hands in the Tiger seal, simultaneously sensing for Lee's location and shooting himself out of the water on another geyser. With a gasp of fresh air, he switched to the Dragon seal for a moment before he clasped his hands in the Snake seal, feeling his chakra in the mud he'd created with Suiton and Doton. "Deiton: Mudlock!"

Lee's eyes went wide. A moment later, the mud covering his body began to harden, but it instantly cracked when Lee tried to move.

Undeterred, Naruto's hands ran through the Ram, Horse, Tiger, and Snake seals before clapping his hands together. "Deiton: Devouring Mud!" The mud filled with Naruto's chakra, still floating on top of the water around them, rose up in a muddy wave on both sides of Lee, reinforcing and hardening the mud already covering him. Naruto flashed through the Dragon, Tiger, and Hare seals next, calling out, "Suiton: Wild Water Wave!"

'Deiton' was something Naruto stumbled across while sparring with Sasuke, but it wasn't the kekkei genkai that supposedly existed. If he mixed in dirt with water, he could continue to control the water like he normally would, or he could harden the dirt with Doton and use it as a sort of trap. Once it was hardened, he could only really turn it back to mud with more water, so it wasn't like he was actually controlling the mud itself.

He just called it Deiton because he felt like it.

With Wild Water Wave, he unleashed a wide stream of Suiton chakra from his mouth, softening the dirt back to mud and blowing Lee backwards. Lee recovered enough to land on his feet against the water, skidding back, determinedly meeting Naruto's eyes for just a second before he blurred again.

This time, Naruto caught a flash of movement, and he ducked before he could take another blow to his still-sore jaw. Lee followed it with a kick from above, but Naruto used the Tiger seal to explode another geyser beneath him, blasting him out of the way and shooting Lee into the air.

"You're really good!" Naruto shouted up at Lee, his hands racing through more hand seals. "Suiton: Water Bullet!"

"As are you, but I will finish this spar now!" Lee twisted his body midair to avoid the compressed stream of water, somehow kicking off of it and blurring back to the surface of the water. Not even a second later, he reappeared in front of Naruto, right leg raised high. "Leaf Drop!"

Naruto crossed his arms just in time, grunting at the force of the kick and skidding back across the water. Lee didn't give him a chance to recover, blurring forward again, and this time he couldn't avoid the uppercut to his jaw.

For a second, the world blinked out, and when he came to a second later he was flying through the air.

"Shadow of the Dancing Leaf!" Lee's voice came from directly behind him, somehow matching Naruto's flight perfectly. Around his arms, his bandages started to unravel, reaching for Naruto as they reached the apex of their flight. "As impressive as your ninjutsu skills are, this is the end!"

Naruto didn't have any idea what Lee would do with the bandages once they wrapped around him fully, but he wasn't about to wait and find out. As soon as consciousness returned to him, his hands formed the Ox seal, and followed it with Hare, Bird, Dog, Snake, and Horse seals as fast as he could manage, fighting the pull of the bandages on his arms by the time he finished with Tiger. He still hadn't successfully pulled off the jutsu, but that didn't stop him from packing it full of as much chakra as he'd used up to that point in the fight.

"Suiton: Water Dragon Missile!" he yelled, just as the bandages finished constructing around his arms, hands locked together against his chest in the Tiger seal.

When he felt his chakra channel into the water below, he had to dedicate the entirety of his concentration to holding the jutsu, even as Lee flipped them upside down and began to spin. Recalling the sensation of riding on Mangetsu's water dragon across the water from the northern shore of the Land of Fire all the way to Wave, the hours of nonstop demonstration, he willed the dragon to form from the water, open its mouth, and rise from the water to swallow them both whole.

Again, his head was plunged into water, but this time he had control.

As they entered the mouth of the dragon, the bandages constricting Naruto were forced to release him, torn away by the torrent of water alongside Lee. Free, Naruto reaffirmed his hold on the Tiger seal, controlling the flow of the water that made up the dragon to push him after Lee.

The water dragon that he'd created was at least as large as his wooden dragon, if not even larger. He could see Lee attempting to break free of the dragon's body to make it back to air, but when he got near the edge, Naruto forced the dragon to take a sharp turn that yanked him back in. While Lee fought the current, Naruto shot toward him and finally pulled his hand from the Tiger seal to land a blow to Lee's jaw.

With that, his control over the jutsu broke, and the entire dragon fell apart around them.

From the force of Naruto's punch, Lee's head snapped to the side and he went flying, his body limp as it arced downwards and skipped across the surface of the water, coming to a stop with a large splash. Naruto shook off his hand and fell down to the water, his knuckles aching and breath ragged in the way it only got when he'd been sparring with Sasuke, raising his hands in the Tiger seal in preparation for another attack that didn't come.

Where Lee's body had come to a stop, he lay floating on his back, arms splayed out and breathing just as ragged as Naruto's. Naruto didn't move, watching him warily and prepared for Lee to blur again at any moment, until Lee raised one hand up. "You… win," he conceded between breaths, arm flopping back against the water with a splash.

Naruto's hands dropped down to his sides, a grin breaking out across his face. After a second, he pumped a fist in the air, yelled, "Woohoo!" and then immediately fell back onto the water, letting go of his chakra completely.

When the door to his room opened, Zabuza looked up from the Executioner's Blade, curling his lip under his bandages at the sight of Gato barging in without care once again, those two weak excuses for guards by his side. Even if the rich fool owned the place, he should know better than to be so irritating towards shinobi. Zabuza didn't need to be fully recovered to cut his head off.

It was only because of Gato's money that Zabuza raised a hand to stop Haku from doing exactly that. "Gato," Zabuza acknowledged.

Gato's face twitched, but the wary look at Haku was evidence he hadn't forgotten their last interaction. "Zabuza. You look better." He and his two guards didn't go much further than the door, his arms crossed like that would make the weak man any more intimidating. "That damned bridge is almost finished. You better be ready to deal with that builder soon."

Haku gave Gato an icy glare that made him visibly nervous. "Don't speak to Lord Zabuza that way," he warned lowly.

Probably unconsciously, Gato rubbed his right arm where Haku grabbed it days before, but he didn't retreat from the room a second time. If anything, he seemed to gain confidence, glancing back out the door like to make sure he could escape at any second.

"You should watch your mouth when you speak to me," Gato said, but his voice shook in a way that made Zabuza snort. That only served to rile Gato up more. "Don't make the mistake of thinking I need you!" he snapped. "You ninja are just tools to be hired for the truly powerful. You aren't even the strongest of the so-called Ninja Seven Swordsmen for hire!"

Zabuza narrowed his eyes warningly. "What was that?"

A slightly more confident look spread across Gato's face. "That's right. I know there are more like you." His eyes drifted to Executioner's Blade, mid-cleaning in Zabuza's lap. "From the Mist village. Fancy swords. I found one of them who seemed thrilled to take a job you failed and kill that idiotic looking ninja in the green jumpsuit."

Another of the Seven Swordsmen? Zabuza watched Gato's face for any sign of falsehood, but he appeared to be telling the truth.

Who, then?

It'd been a while since Zabuza last heard about any of them. As far as he was aware, at least two of the legendary swords were lost when their previous wielders died, three including the Executioner's Blade had defected, and the only of the swordsmen supposedly still affiliated with Kirigakure was Hozuki. Even that, he didn't know for sure. The kid never struck him as especially dedicated to the village, just the swords.

"If you want to get any money, you should hurry and recover by the time they get here," Gato continued, emboldened by Zabuza's lack of response. "Maybe I'll be charitable and still pay you a cut if you at least play a role in the builder's death." His voice dripped with reckless condescension. "If you can't do even that, maybe I'll just hire the other ninja to kill you for wasting my time and money."

Like the coward he was, Gato left the room as soon as the words were out of his mouth, the door slamming behind him like that would stop a ninja's retaliation. Haku made to prove him wrong, but Zabuza just said, "Don't."

With a reluctant look, Haku lowered his hand, dropping the one-handed seal before he could form the jutsu. "He threatened you."

"He was right that ninja are only tools." Returning his attention to the Executioner's Blade, he went back to polishing it. The sword repaired itself every time it tasted blood, but no one who neglected their sword could call themself a swordsman. "He's just a fool for thinking he's any less of one."

Any solidarity Zabuza once had with any other of the Seven Swordsmen had been abandoned with the village, but Gato's threat still didn't concern him. If nothing else, he figured he could persuade whichever swordsman showed up that they would be better paid if they just let him kill Gato instead, if necessary.

A/N:

Always planned on involving Wave somehow, just didn't want to make it a repeat of the same story bc I know that gets old for a lot of people.

Tbh, the reason I didn't bother to show Guy vs Zabuza was because it'd probably be really one-sided in Guy's favor without any real stakes. Zabuza is strong, but I don't think Guy would even need rhe gates, and the rest of his team isn't exactly defenseless like Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were on their first mission (Byakugan even counters Hiding In The Mist lol). Guy only even really called for backup bc he was being responsible & he knew Kakashi was also on a missoon semi-nearby.

I had a lot of fun with the Naruto vs. Lee spar. It sorta serves as my way of showing Naruto and Sasuke's relative standing being in the same range as Lee and Neji, though they're definitely flashier by nature, and I just thought it'd be fun. Naruto didn't use Mokuton, but Lee didn't use the Gates, so the fight could have continued to an uncertain conclusion, but they're both holding back a surprise for the future.

Deiton is actually a kekkei genkai which I think is really funny and I am including it in lore but Naruto doesn't have it (he'll have to make do with just having the most legendary nature transformation known to the series lmao). I have my own theories and explanations for how it works, and why Naruto (and Hashirama) doesn't have actual Deiton even though it's the same components as Mokuton, but that'll come later.

What Naruto does is kinda just his equivalent of what Sasuke does with lightning and fire, but water and earth making mud is just pretty obviously easier than combining two things as dangerous as fire and lightning lol. There are even multiple Doton jutsu that use mud, and Naruto's is a bit more complicated than those, but in essence it's similar. Calling it Deiton/Mud Release is just smth I feel like Naruto would do

Thank you for all the reviews!

Btw– On my end at least, all the chapters past 11 are really glitchy, and only appear about half the time I open the fanfic. Idk if there's anything I can do on my end to fix it, but if there is just lmk. If not, I might start cross-posting this to AO3 for people who just can't really access it on here