Naruto Uchiha: the Last Sage of the Six Paths by JH17

Chapter 12: Missing Nin Attack!

Eventually, the five of them were on a boat owned by a friend of Tazuna's. Before long, Naruto asked what everyone was thinking. "Tazuna, this isn't a C-Rank mission. Tell us why you've lied. Why are there shinobi after us?" Tazuna gulped "Ahhh, well...there's uh...some bad things happening...in Nami no Kuni..." "Quit stalling. Speak" commanded Naruto, letting his eyes spin into the Sharingan. "Or I'll take the information my self." Tazuna was visibly terrified and backed away subconsciously. "A wealthy b-businessman, Gato, has taken control. H-he's turned it into a terrible place. I-I'm trying to build a bridge in order to save my people. I d-didn't have the money to buy anything h-higher...please...help us..." Naruto turned to Kakashi "If we succeed and free Nami no Kuni, we're bound to look better for future clients, and in turn the village will have more money coming in. Besides, if this Gato has the entire nation under his thumb, Konoha could take over his businesses and earn much more money". Kakashi raised an eyebrow "You seemed to have expected something like this to be the case, Naruto". Naruto simply shrugged and looked back out over the water "I didn't expect this, no, but I did expect there to be some shady dealings going on. Those shinobi were what, chunin? It's not hard to see that clearly someone with money is out to get Tazuna. The two weren't just there for no reason." He glanced at the scroll with Gozu's corpse and then Meizu's unconscious body.

After the boat ride, the five were walking the rest of the way. Naruto pulled his headband from his neck, before wrapping it around his forehead. The others noticed, but didn't have time to ask. "Sakura, Sasuke, duck!" The two ducked as well as Kakashi and Naruto, although those two didn't need to be told to duck. Naruto had already activated his Sharingan before he even saw the blade pass over his head. With his Sharingan, he saw a figure with a large amount of chakra, rivaling Kakashi's chakra. "A Jonin level shinobi, attacking all of us? No, he seems different. He has more chakra than Kakashi. He's likely another Kiri shinobi. His chakra also seems...darker. Not quite as dark as mine or the Kyuubi's, but darker than anyone else here. He must be somewhat important, at the least" thought Naruto. The man landed, sliding away as he caught his footing. He grinned, his expression filled with malice. "Sharingan no Kakashi(Kakashi of the Sharingan)...ehehe...hand over the old man." "Not happening, Zabuza, Demon of Kirigakure." Zabuza grinned at the moniker, before sprinting forward to strike at Kakashi. The resounding noise of Zabuza's blade against a kunai could be heard across the clearing. Kakashi's eye widened, seeing a chakra-cloaked Naruto standing in front of him. Naruto stood in front of Kakashi, struggling to hold Zabuza's blade from reaching him. "Don't be so surprised, Kakashi, now move!" growled Naruto, letting Zabuza's blade slide down the side of the kunai before ducking under the blade. Zabuza hadn't expected the boy to shift his weight so suddenly and with such skill that he was caught by surprise. His eyes widened as he watched the boy as he lunged forward with his fist forward, going straight for Zabuza's stomach. Zabuza's eyes narrowed, smirking as he let Naruto close the gap before slamming his blade down in front of Naruto's hand. Cold steel struck against Naruto's hand before Zabuza leapt away, forming hand signs. "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!(Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu)" Naruto flipped back, sliding away as the dragon crashed down where he was only a moment ago. Naruto jumped back to Kakashi, holding his kunai out in front of him in reverse grip. "Kakashi, he's around the same level as you are, right?" Kakashi nodded, silently applauding Naruto's for being so observant. "Yeah, he's at the same level as I am. Be careful, Naruto."

Sasuke and Sakura watched in awe, seeing Naruto leap in front of Kakashi and nearly land a hit on the Kiri shinobi. "Sakura, protect Tazuna." Sakura nodded in response before watching Sasuke leap over and next to Kakashi. "Sasuke, he's at the same level of Kakashi, be careful and be smart." Sasuke nodded and pulled his own kunai out, ready to fight. "I'll be the lead, you two, follow me!" ordered Kakashi before he began running towards Zabuza. Leaping into the air, Kakashi weaved the same handsigns as Zabuza did only moments before. Zabuza watched as Kakashi fired off a near identical water dragon towards him. Zabuza narrowed his eyes and quickly ran through his own handsigns. "Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu!(Water Style: Water Bullet Technique!)" Zabuza shot his jutsu straight through the neck of the dragon, cleaving its head clean off and sending it crashing down into the earth. Naruto channeled more of the Kyuubi's chakra, pushing him into a two-tailed state. The hateful chakra bubbled wildly as it further strengthened him. Naruto's speed increased drastically allowing him to reach Zabuza incredibly quickly. Zabuza's eyes widened as he realized the danger he was in. Zabuza held up the blade to block Naruto's Rasengan and watched as the jutsu crashed through the blade. Zabuza had barely enough time to jump away before the Rasengan went completely through and reached him. Naruto grinned seeing as he'd almost overpowered his opponent. Naruto's Rasengan crashed into the ground as Zabuza avoided the attack. The Rasengan created a large crater where it hit, making Zabuza much more wary of the boy. He realized the boy was a jinchuriki and therefore far more dangerous than he initially believed. Naruto watched as Sasuke charged towards Zabuza from the side. Zabuza formed a few handsigns before whispering a few words and another version of himself appeared. Sasuke, unable to tell the difference between the clone and the original, charged forward at the closest one. "Chidori!" roared Sasuke as he plunged his left hand into the side of what turned out to be a clone. He was then shocked by his own jutsu as the water from the clone drenched him. The lighting chakra in his jutsu mixed with the water caused him to be electrocuted by the combination. Sasuke convulsed by the sudden amount of lightning chakra assaulting his body.

Naruto saw how helpless Sasuke was made by the combined jutsu and ran into action, shoving Sasuke out of the way as Zabuza formed another clone and ran through another set of handsigns. "Suiro no Jutsu!(Water Prison Jutsu)" Naruto was caught in the jutsu and felt the water surround and trap him inside. "I'm going to drown if I don't get out quickly. Dammit, how could I be caught with such an obvious jutsu? I'm still weak..." thought a frustrated Naruto. "Kakashi, hand over the builder or the boy dies. You know how much he's worth to the village. Hand him over and I won't kill the twerp." Naruto grit his teeth hearing the muffled words through the suffocating bubble. Naruto felt himself losing hold over his own body, losing his breath and chakra cloak. Naruto watched as Sasuke and Kakashi regrouped and attempted to formulate a plan to free him. Kakashi ran at Zabuza as he formed another water clone and sent it to deal with Sasuke. Kakashi wasn't able to stop Zabuza from forming the clone but he was able to kick him away, preventing him from creating more clones. Zabuza then threw his blade to the clone holding Naruto prison, then engaged Kakashi in taijutsu while his clone denied Sasuke from reaching Naruto. Naruto watched as the clone holding him prisoner grinned from behind the mask and heaved the blade over his head before slamming it down through the prison and down Naruto's chest.