Hinata lunged towards Naruto, her right palm glowing with chakra as she aimed a strike towards his right shoulder. The blond shifted to the left, side stepping the strike. Hinata's palm missed him by just inches as Naruto snaked around the girl, before hitting the outstretched right hand, causing her to fall forward a bit.
Hinata moved with grace and fluidity as managed to balance her feet before twisting around, aiming an index finger towards her opponent's forehead. Naruto dodged the strike by leaning back slightly. Hinata took advantage of Naruto's position, knowing that he didn't have much balance and swept her right foot through the ground, moving it towards Naruto's feet.
The blond allowed both his hands to fall to the sides as he allowed his body to fall down the ground. Hinata's leg sweep hit Naruto, lifting up both his feet into the air as his hands hit the ground. Hinata used her Byakugan with precision as she flashed towards Naruto's right side and attempted to hit him on the chest with her open palm.
In a speed that no longer surprised Hinata, Naruto brought out his right hand, leaving his left hand to balance his body. A kunai flung out from the sleeve of this cloak, causing Hinata's strike to hit with the wind cloaked kunai.
Hinata didn't retreat: she crouched down the ground, before attempting to sweep Naruto's left hand off the ground, knowing if she did, he would fall down on his back. Her Byakugan saw Naruto's fingers glow with chakra before he propelled his body above the ground, using the left hand.
When Naruto flipped once before gracefully landing on the ground, a couple of feet away from her, Hinata straightened up and stood on both her feet, hands held up in a stance with her breathing slightly laboured.
This was just part of training that Naruto was having her do. It had been a month since she started with Team 7 and already for Hinata it was like a year. Every morning, she had a training session with Naruto; it was mostly brutal, depending on the mood.
Honestly, Hinata had never felt so alive in her years of living. She was confident, striking with everything when she could, when she hesitated, it was abuse and she knew she would have to visit the hospital to get patched up. At least Naruto didn't go as far as to break her bones.
As he said, she seemed a little too fragile that he was afraid if he broke her bones, they would never mend again.
That had made Hinata flush. While Naruto could be so brutally blunt at times when in training, he believed in her ability, and encouraged her. When she failed to do something he wanted of her, he didn't hide his disappointment. No, he would let her know that her efforts were not good enough and that she had to get up and try again. He would not stop telling her to get up until she did it right.
If anything, he was patient with her and but not so gentle even though he said she was a fragile little thing. There had been at times that Hinata thought perhaps he saw her as something that needed to be protected. That was just her. Either way, she felt alive because Naruto spent hours training her.
Today, she had been told to just attack, and he would merely be defending. There was a rule, if she hesitated to attack, he would attack her. Naruto had gone as far as to nearly slit her throat and even once poked his sword right on her chest, where her heart was located.
There had been blood because really, he hadn't been just pointing his sword at her, it was pressed against her. The one day Hinata's heart had nearly exploded inside her ribcage and her eyes nearly bulged out was when again, she had hesitated and Naruto had hit her on the neck with a senbon.
She had been shocked to wake up in the hospital.
Hesitate and she would be dead. That was the message that he had brutally slammed into her head. Every time she thought of hesitating to attack, she saw those cold unflinching eyes looking at her as a sword cut through her throat or when his senbon pierced through her neck. The memories had become her instinct.
Hinata had been doing her best not to disappoint Naruto and he had been proud of her. The day he had praised her, she had gone home feeling giddy. She hadn't cared that her father didn't ask her why she came home bruised every day.
With her breathing calm, Hinata charged at Naruto once again.
On the side lines, Kakashi popped up on a tree branch just beside Sasuke. The Jonin amused himself in the fact that Sasuke seemed jealous about the attention Naruto gave Hinata. He had heard the Uchiha complain that Naruto spent less time training with him as he does with their teammate. Naruto of course had dismissed the Uchiha's complains with nonchalance.
"Is this ever going to end?" Kakashi asked the Uchiha, with his eyes staring at his beloved book. When Sasuke glanced at the pages, the Jonin held up his book just so the Uchiha doesn't see.
"Who knows?" Sasuke responded indifferently.
"Someone is a little jealous," the Jonin teased with an eye smile.
"I'm not!"
Kakashi merely smiled and turned back to the clearing for a moment as he analysed what was going on. Hinata had really improved over the month, even though they didn't do any real missions, Naruto had yet to complain. Kakashi had expected him to complain since he had been doing high ranked missions in his days at Anbu, but the blond was content with working up every day to see his mother to work and then come here to strengthen the Hyuga.
No one was happy about this more than the Sandaime Hokage. He was sure that the old man would be rubbing it into Hiashi's face soon enough once the girl has removed all her stuttering's. At least she did not stutter in battle and because of Naruto's treatment towards her, Hinata spoke to Naruto a bit confidently than she did with other people. Perhaps it was because if she was stuttering every word, the blond would not talk to her.
Naruto was really a good teacher. Even though Sasuke did complain, Naruto still made time for the Uchiha during evenings when they have done their missions. If anything, progress was going on smoothly.
Kakashi didn't really have to do much with the team. If anything, he was just a mere spectator. Not that he was complaining anyway. He was having fun with being able to get time to read his beloved book and watch the progress of his students.
It didn't mean that he did nothing completely. There were days that he offered his thoughts with the training and he also led team exercises. He didn't have to worry much since Naruto knew the important details about fighting. The Jonin had after all passed on his knowledge to the blond. But when it came from Naruto's mouth, it was a little twisted to fit his personality.
"She has improved though," Kakashi voiced his thoughts. "She strikes and is able to take action in battle."
"Still weak," Sasuke said. "I'll admit she has done much more than I thought she could. But she is still not assertive, merely does everything she is being told to do. Naruto has been singing for her to be assertive but she still lacks considerably."
Kakashi nodded. "At least there is improvement," he said.
Sasuke grunted in response. "It is likely he will force her," the Uchiha said. "More like have her make decisions during missions. The problem with her is that if she flops, it is likely going to crush her, which is why Naruto has yet to do anything."
Kakashi appeared to think about it for a moment, "I think he would do that," he said. "Although, it is surprising that Naruto is actually considerate of someone's feelings as if he really cares."
Sasuke snorted, "Yeah," he said sarcastically. "He's probably just worried of undoing all his hard work. He has yet to really give the girl a smile even though he praises her efforts."
"You don't really think that highly of Naruto in that regard..." Kakashi said.
Sasuke shrugged. "I'm just stating the obvious," the Uchiha said with carelessness.
Kakashi shook his head. Well, he could not really say that the blond was the best when he was dealing with emotions and other people. Naruto didn't care much about people, and if Sasuke was saying it, it is because he has seen it with his own eyes. Kakashi reminded himself that the Uchiha was in fact a genius.
With the Sandaime's joy in all these, Kakashi could say he had planned for it to happen and if so, then Naruto must have known. Yet he was doing it anyway. The blond had to have his own reasons. Naruto didn't do charity.
"Come on, let us go and join them..." Kakashi said as he jumped down the ground. Sasuke followed his example shortly and the two walked towards the clearing.
Naruto's gaze fell into the Hyuga, scanning every inch of her body. He hadn't done anything to bruise her today, but merely had her attack him. That was enough for today; he could focus on defence tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. She was improving, that was the important thing.
"You're using the Byakugan effectively and you move with grace. Well, I guess that is being helped by your possession of the doujutsu," Naruto stated. "But overall, you have attacked well. Since you have been given training at a young age, training you makes is a little easy as I don't have to tell you the basics. What you have always lacked is a spine and courage. At least in battle you're improving."
"A-all t-thanks to you," Hinata managed to say, her hand right above her chest as she got hold of the bell that was now tied on her neck. She had even found a way to silence it as it gave away her location when she was running. It has really become her treasure.
Naruto thought of slamming his right foot into her mouth just so she could speak probably, but he decided against it. At least she was no longer fainting. That was something else and she was able to speak. Being assertive was something that she still refused to do. Naruto didn't know whether it was kindness or just a nuisance that was hindering her growth.
Either way, it was really a problem. While she was going to be a useful tool no matter what, he could not have a timid person walking beside him. He had never been timid and shy to speak his mind. Of course there is always the rule of timing.
Speaking of timing; Naruto had yet to deal this into the girl. "There are times in life you just have to be quiet and just nod to what is being said to you. When you do what is instructed of you, don't do it with resentment: do it with a smile. I don't mean that literally," the blond said to the Hyuga. "But a time will come where you will have to speak your mind and if you're not firm, no one will hear you. To get the message through, you must be firm; otherwise it will seem as if you're just giving your opinion."
Hinata nodded, though she wasn't too sure that she would actually reach that level where she would be assertive. Still, Naruto had said she could assertive without being aggressive. For her, it was a matter if standing on what she believed in and not simply folding to the side when someone says so. She had to learn to say no.
Even so, Hinata had never said no before, not even after Naruto drilled those words into her. She was still not strong enough, but she was really happy at her progress and that Naruto wasn't giving up on her. That was really something to smile about.
"Done for the day?" Kakashi asked as he walked towards the two, with Sasuke right beside the Jonin.
Naruto nodded, "Perhaps it is time we do a mission outside the village. We won't learn of our progress unless we are able to handle a serious mission. Besides, I wish to see how these two can handle danger."
Kakashi eye smiled, "I was actually thinking about the same thing," the Jonin said. "I will go to the Sandaime and request a mission. I doubt he will refuse, do make all preparations needed for a mission outside the village: that means weapons, tent and a change of clothes as we may have to camp outside the village."
"Finally," Sasuke grinned, "I get to do some serious business and once we complete this one, we are not going to do those crappy chores you call D-rank missions. Any more of those and I would have gone mad."
Naruto had not really minded: the missions gave him time to work on coordinating both Hinata's and Sasuke's movements as well as assess their teamwork. In the future, they would have to work together in order for things to work according to plan.
"Is there anything for today?"
"I'd been hoping that we'd do another D-rank mission," Kakashi said absentmindedly, his focus on his precious book. "But since we have a mission tomorrow, you should take the time to rest and prepare yourself. Once I have the details, I will inform you before the day ends."
Naruto nodded and placed his hands inside his pockets, "Get checked up to make sure you have no problem," the blond said to Hinata. "Although they don't seem to care, they do pay your medical bills, am I correct?"
Hinata nodded.
Without anything else to say, Naruto started walking away from his teammates and sensei. "Where are you going?" Sasuke asked as followed after the blond. He was looking for an all-out sparring session with the blond so that he could prepare his body for tomorrow's mission.
"I have things to do..." Naruto said calmly. "What is it?"
"I was hoping we'd do a training session together. All out, no holding back," the Uchiha said.
"Maybe later," Naruto said, not showing so much interest in actually doing the training with Sasuke.
Perhaps it was because his mind was filled with far more important things that tying to pump up Sasuke's pride or most likely crush it. He needed to find some information from the Library in the village. Since he is a former Anbu, some restricted information was available to his eyes.
"What are you up to?" Sasuke asked with narrowed eyes.
If there was something he had also learned about Naruto aside from his general lack of care about people, there was also the fact that he wasn't an indifferent person. He may put on a bored or indifferent mask, but there were thoughts going inside that head of his. He hid his thoughts pretty well. You wouldn't know he was sizing you up, when he was looking at you with that indifferent look of his.
But Sasuke knew: Naruto was a scheming person.
Naruto glanced at Sasuke over his shoulder as he responded. "Nothing much," Naruto said. "What do you know about Danzo?"
"Nothing." Sasuke was quick to say.
"Sometimes your ignorance about these things annoys me," Naruto said with his eyes now looking at the road ahead of him. "I have told you that in order to defeat your enemy, you must be able to know what makes them tick."
Without knowledge about the enemy, things would be difficult to combat. Besides that, they also needed to know who the enemies were in the Elemental Nations. If Naruto had other enemies aside from Danzo and the Akatsuki, he would work towards their elimination. But in order for that to happen, he was must have the right information to make a move.
"It's not like the information is available for all to see," Sasuke grunted in response.
"How disappointing," Naruto said disdainfully at the response the Uchiha gave him. "Not everything is made available. You will not be spoon fed everything, Uchiha. There are some things you will have to struggle in order to get. If you think everything in life is free and that you just have to demand it, and you get it, then you're a delusional spoiled little Uchiha prince."
Sasuke grit his teeth in anger. Things had gone back to this point; he really hated the mental beat down he received from the blond. If it wasn't because he was actually grateful for everything the blond has done for his family, Sasuke would've taken out his kunai and plunge it on his neck while he was looking away.
Yes, he did have those kind of thoughts every now and then. It was really difficult not to when the blond always beat him down every time they sparred. He had never won or even came close to winning. What infuriated him was that they were of the same age and yet Naruto was always not just one step ahead of him, but a couple of giant steps ahead of him.
Why should he even be angry anyway? Wasn't he already used to this kind of talk? Sasuke calmed himself and decided to speak about something else. This was how things worked with Naruto. it should not be a problem for him.
"Then, what do you want me to do?"
"Just fix your head and don't be a spoiled child... I will handle what needs to be done, and when the time is right, a move will be made," Naruto said as he created a distance with the Uchiha.
Sasuke didn't bother responding because he was certain that Naruto wasn't making a request but merely telling him what to do.
The Following Morning
"You know this isn't my first mission mother," Naruto said with a deadpanned expression on his face.
His mother was making a fuss about all these and it was really a troublesome thing. Sure he was happy that she was excited for this, but this was nothing compared to what he did in Anbu. This was just his first simple C-rank mission and his mother was acting like it was the first time he was leaving Konoha for a mission.
Kushina stopped going through the things in Naruto's bag and put on a satisfied smile. "Can't you just allow your mother to have this moment Naruto?" Kushina asked with a look on her face. "This is you first real mission for me. I never got to meet your teammates in Anbu and I didn't know what you were doing. But now I know what you're doing and I have met your teammates."
"If you wanted to meet my teammates in Anbu, you could have said so," Naruto said. "While Anbu identities remain a secret, those guys were the kind of careless people who wouldn't have minded coming to see you," the blond explained lightly.
Kushina tilted her head to the side. Naruto had already said that he had been with lively people in his squad, but she could never be sure. Yet if Naruto was saying that they would have no problem in meeting with her, it made her happy.
"I'd be happy to see them one day," Kushina said with a smile. "Are you still in contact with them?"
Naruto nodded. Well, he did need to know what was happening around in Anbu and those people would be willing to share things with him. He was a former Anbu after all. Besides that, Naruto could genially say they were not as the same monkeys he looked at with perfectly hidden contempt.
"Yes," Naruto said.
"Well, invite them over one day," Kushina said before sealing Naruto's bag in a scroll, which she handed to the blond. He placed the scroll on the ground and did a couple of hand seals before touching it. The scrolled disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Seeing that her son was done, Kushina walked over to him, "Give me your hands," she said.
Naruto held out both his hands and the woman folded the sleeves of his cloak and examined the tattoos on both hands before nodding in satisfaction. "Nothing wrong here," she said. "You use these things excessively though," she said.
"Sometimes I use the ones on my sleeves," Naruto said. "But using them is much more effective than just making fireworks. I prefer effective over flashy," the blond said.
Kushina could not disagree with his choice. It wasn't like using the seals did a number on him anyway. She smiled and placed both her hands on Naruto's shoulders before leaning in: she kissed him on his right cheek.
"Be good to your teammates and protect them, okay?"
"Yes mother," Naruto said with a small nod.
"Now run along, you don't want to keep everyone waiting," Kushina said, pushing her son away.
Naruto merely shook his head: his mother was treating him like a little boy again. He was happy that she was happy. But he didn't need her to pamper him like a child as Mikoto did to Sasuke. He wasn't going to tell her to stop though. She was his mother and she was free to do anything.
Without saying anything more, Naruto left his house and went on towards the Hokage tower, where he was sure his teammates would be waiting for him. Kakashi would probably be running a bit late, visiting the grave site once again.
"Where is your bag?" Sasuke asked, seeing the blond looking as if he was going for a diplomatic mission for a few hours rather than a mission that would see them sleep inside tents at night.
"I'm Uzumaki, I don't carry bags, I carry sealing scrolls," Naruto merely said.
"S-seals?" Hinata asked. While not much was really known about the Uzumaki by the general population, Hinata was from a clan and had been once a clan heiress before she was stripped of the right by her father. Even so, she did know that the Uzumaki had been a clan before and not just any clan but a prestigious clan that had strong ties with the Senju clan.
They were known to be seal masters. Well, at least that what she knew anyway. She didn't really understand the whole Fuinjutsu thing as shinobi these days never really considered it in their training. Then again, it was a complex thing that required imagination and incredible skill.
Naruto nodded, "Yes seals," the blond said.
Kakashi appeared before the three as if he had watching from afar, waiting for them to gather. "Come on, guys," he said walking towards the building before them.
The Sandaime Hokage smiled as Team 7 walked into his office; his eyes lingered around Naruto in particular before turning to face the Hyuga in the team. He smiled at the girl. Hiashi was going to be shocked when he does learn that his daughter has really improved. She was considered a failure but they didn't know that Naruto was making her a winner.
Leaving his thoughts, the Sandaime leaned back to his chair and spoke. "Ah, Team 7," he said as if he didn't have his eyes on them every day. "I'm sure Kakashi has already briefed you about the mission. This is your client, Tazuna."
Tazuna glanced over his shoulder and spoke, "I wasn't hoping for brats to be accompanying me," he said. "They can even do it?"
The Sandaime Hokage merely smiled. "They are very capable genins and they have Kakashi with them - who is one of our best Jonins..." his eyes twinkled slightly as he added. "Well, unless there is something you're not telling me. This is as C-rank mission and what you paid for, this is what you get. If you want stronger muscles you request a higher ranked mission. You're likely to come across bandits, they are enough for that... do you think they will come across something much stronger?"
Tazuna held up his hands defensively. "Of course not," he said quickly as he stood up. "Come on, let us go..." he said to Team 7.
"Hinata-chan, Sasuke-kun," the Sandaime said to the two genins. "You can wait outside with Tazuna. I want to with speak with Kakashi and Naruto."
He was the Hokage and the two as told.
"Nothing really gets past you..." Naruto said to the old man. He had seen how the old man's eyes twinkled when he spoke to the client. It was as if he knew the client was hiding something from him.
Sarutobi just smiled. "Well, if I allow things to get past me, I wouldn't survive as a Hokage, now would I?" The old man said. His eyes caught the cover of the book Kakashi had on his right hand. "Is that the new book?" He asked in a serious tone.
"Yes," Kakashi said just as serious as the Sandaime Hokage was.
"Curse that Jiraiya," The Sandaime said. "I told him send me a copy each time he releases a new book. You're going to a mission and it will need your focus, why don't you leave me with that book, Kakashi?"
"No," Kakashi gave a firm and simple response, while holding his book possessively.
"Why did you have us remain?" Naruto asked the Sandaime, wanting to get over things so that he could leave and return as quickly as they could. It would not favour him if they end up taking more time.
The Sandaime cleared his throat as his focus returned to the matter at hand. "I want you to be cautious in this mission. The Wave has been struggling lately; it is likely you will face a difficult task. You will be free to choose how you go with things if this proves to be true. In any case, I am allowing this because I want an alliance with the Wave country."
Both Kakashi and Naruto nodded before the Sandaime released them.
Two Hours later
As the team headed towards the Wave country, Hinata was walking in front of Tazuna with Kakashi covering the rear; Naruto and Sasuke covering the right and left side respectively. The Journey had been a silent one, with Kakashi lost in his precious book and Naruto not looking toward any talk. Hinata couldn't bring any subject and Sasuke was just Sasuke.
Hinata had a feeling that Naruto didn't like their client. It was just a feeling. The blond had remained indifferent since the journey started. Perhaps it was due to the fact that the client had been drinking and had been a little rude to them.
She could not say she really knew what Naruto liked in other people because she really didn't know much about him. Outside of training and doing chores masked in the name of D-rank missions, she didn't spend time with him. Even so, Hinata was certain that Naruto didn't like the client.
"Are there more countries like the Wave?" the silence was broken when Naruto asked. Obviously talking to their sensei.
"Yes," Kakashi said without taking his eyes off his book.
That was rather dangerous. In a world such this and a country could hope to exist peacefully without a shinobi village? In Naruto's opinion, it was nothing but utter madness. Well, it was because of such countries and lands that shinobi earned their money. Certainly if all nations had shinobi, it would be difficult living a shinobi. Payment was only received when one did missions and shinobi villages earned most of their income by accepting mission requests.
Hinata's eyes narrowed a bit as they came across a puddle of water. She glanced over her shoulder, turning to her sensei, but he merely motioned for her to keep walking. Hinata did as instructed and looked at both her teammates: Sasuke had a small smirk on his face and Naruto well, just looked indifferent. With his look, you could never really say that he had actually noticed the puddle.
But Hinata knew better.
Suddenly two shinobi burst out of the puddle after the group passed it. "One down," was heard as Kakashi's body burst into blood.
Simply on the instincts that Naruto had beat into her, Hinata activated her Byakugan and flashed in front of the client, with a stance, ready for action. If it wasn't because her Byakugan could see chakra, she may not have seen Kakashi standing atop of a tree branch, observing them, Hinata was sure that would have been trembling in fear thinking her sensei had died.
Naruto and Sasuke didn't have her thoughts though. Before she had even moved to protect the client, the two had already disappeared. The former had moved faster than Sasuke but both got to work.
Being faster than Sasuke, Naruto took the lead; he darted towards the incoming enemies, his eyes watching them calculatedly. With the two coming towards him side by side, Naruto suddenly jumped into the air, and flipped, taking an upside down position. The two twisted around to face him and as soon as they did so, Naruto flung two kunais from his hands. One hit the one of his left on the left shoulder and the other hit the other on his right shoulder.
Both cursed as the kunais cut deep into their flesh, but were unable to do anything as Sasuke threw two Kunais towards them, each with an invisible thread. The kunais didn't hit the two, but were directed to twist, wrapping the thread around the two, binding them together.
As gravity remembered its job, Naruto outstretched both his hands, infused chakra into his muscles and grabbed the two heads before brutally smashing them together as Sasuke held firm on the binds.
Naruto flipped backwards before gracefully landing on the ground.
"Good work you two," Kakashi said as he appeared before Sasuke and Naruto. He turned to face Hinata: the Hyuga was now on her butt, looking relieved that the danger had passed. The Jonin gave her an eye smile. "You too Hinata: the speed in which you moved to protect the client was impressive. You really have improved."
Hinata flushed at the complement, "T-thank you K-kakashi-sensei," she managed to say.
Was it really hard for her to just say the damn words straight up? Hinata cursed herself. At least Naruto didn't seem interested in her, but was focused on the two enemies he had caught with Sasuke. It just really made her feel otherwise when someone praised her efforts, especially when she knew that she had really done well and they were not just saying it.
Hell, even the damn Uchiha wearing a disappointed look had even said she was improving far better than he had expected. He had even said he hadn't expected her to improve at all.
"I thought she would faint," Sasuke said to Naruto, looking at Hinata. "Still nervous and shaky, but at least not a burden. We know we can do the fighting while she guards the client in case of surprises," the Uchiha added.
Naruto merely nodded.
"Your teamwork still impresses me," Kakashi said to Naruto and Sasuke. "You ran ahead with Sasuke behind. You were like a mask to hide your teammate and used your speed to great effect in order to get their attention while Sasuke trapped them."
It wasn't something Naruto would smile about. These were a couple of idiots and he said it. "Teamwork aside, we were dealing with foolish arrogance. Just because people get into the bingo book doesn't make them strong. They are stupid, they shouldn't have attacked with you in the group and who would have fell for that cheap trick? If it wasn't because they need to be interrogated, I would hav-"
"No need to fill everyone's mind with anything graphic Naruto," Kakashi quickly said, cutting the blond off before he could finish. "I will do the interrogation..."
Naruto merely shrugged and walked away. He didn't want to see because Kakashi was just going to ask them questions. They would probably give them, thinking they would be freed, but it was unlikely. They were missing-nin and there was a bounty in their heads. It was not much, but a bounty nonetheless.
"This is might be a bit troublesome," Kakashi said as he walked up to his students - who were around their nervous looking client. "They were sent by Zabuza, an A-rank missing-nin."
"What about them?"
"I have sent a message to Konoha for them to be picked up," Kakashi said turning his attention towards Tazuna. Under the serious gaze of the Jonin, the client shifted uncomfortably and looked as if he was about to hit the ground. "They were not here for us, but you. You said this mission was just C-class mission, meaning we are likely to come across bandits... tell us what you are hiding."
Naruto glanced over the client: the Sandaime Hokage had been right after all. The damn client had been withholding information from them. If it was another day, Naruto would have considered things, but he was slightly in a good mood. But this was not right. This man could have led them to a dangerous pit that would have threatened their lives.
He had basically gambled on their lives.
"W-well, y-you see," Tazuna started nervously before regaining some of his composure. "The Wave has been really poor because this evil man has taken over our country. We have no money to pay for higher ranked mission. C-rank is what we could afford..."
As Tazuna explained, Naruto reaffirmed his earlier thoughts: not having shinobi for protection in this world was just suicide. A country could not survive without shinobi backing it up. When it didn't have protection, evil monkeys took advantage of the country and enriched themselves.
"There is something that I don't like about you," Naruto started. "I understand that you're trying to save your country - that is indeed a noble deed. But your actions here could have resulted in our deaths. Imagine if the Sandaime had sent a weaker team and Zabuza had chosen to attack himself. They would have likely been killed. Do you understand the consequence of your actions?"
As Tazuna nodded, Kakashi had to agree with the blond. it had been a risk and the only thing that worked out in this situation was that they were strong. This team was perhaps the strongest genin team in Konoha, even despite the fact that they have only been genin for a short time.
"I understand if you're willing to abandon me. This isn't the agreed upon terms of the mission..." Tazuna said.
Hinata looked between Naruto and Kakashi. She understood that the man had lied, but they would not simply abandon him to his death would they? It would be cruel, very cruel and she wasn't sure that she would be able to live knowing that she had left someone to die. It wasn't like he was being stingy. He just didn't have the money to pay for a higher ranked mission.
"That would not be Konoha's way of doing business," Kakashi said. "Besides, the Sandaime Hokage had known there was something you were hiding. I doubt anyone in this team would want to return to Konoha..." each for different reasons of course. With Hinata it would be out of her kindness, Sasuke because of the challenge... Naruto well... Kakashi couldn't say for sure.
"Of course not. This is our first mission outside the village, I am not going to allow anything to stand in the way of that," Sasuke said firmly. He didn't care much about the client and his reasons; he was just looking toward a good battle that would challenge him.
"Hinata, what do you think?" Kakashi asked, giving the girl a platform to speak. He already knew what she was going to say, but allowing her to speak her mind would ease up things for her. She could grow used to speaking in opinions within the group and if she did it regularly, she would end up growing in confidence.
And Kurenai said he could not handle her...
Hinata hesitated, swallowed a lump down her throat before speaking, not to anyone in particular. "I-I think w-we should c-continue..." that wasn't all that she wanted to say, but she stopped there. At least she had said something, with all eyes staring down at her. That was good progress right?
Kakashi gave the girl an eye smile before turning to face Naruto. "Naruto?"
"Considering what the Sandaime said, it hardly matters what I think," the blond said. "But if you're looking for my opinion, let us proceed."
Tazuna let loose of a long breath of relief as the team had come into agreement about taking him to the Wave. He was happy that these people were going to continue protecting him. Some people may have laughed at him and some may have helped him gather the money, but the decision to go to Konoha had been right.
If these people protect him as he builds the bridge, he could finish it with the help of the citizens of the Wave and they could restore their dying nation. Tazuna thanked the gods.
"Diamond formation," Kakashi said to his team as they continued on with the mission.
30 minutes later
"Get down!"
It was Kakashi's cry, but he realized that he really shouldn't have screamed for his students because they had moved quickly to duck under the incoming blade. Kakashi grabbed their client, forcing him into the ground. The large swinging blade sped just above the group and went on to imbed on a tree.
Zabuza flashed on the hilt of the large sword and grinned towards Team 7.
"I was wondering why those two failed," the former Kiri nin said calmly. "Well, that doesn't really matter anyway, I just want the old man. I have no business with you. He is my target and I just want to get him and will be out of your way."
Tazuna trembled slightly. Would they give him to save their own lives? Mission failure wasn't something that was a sin, it happened every now and then. They were shinobi and from what Tazuna knew, they were not the most morally responsible people.
"No can do," Kakashi said a bit lazily.
"I see," Zabuza said before disappearing away from the tree along with his sword. Team 7 followed the man towards a stream of water. The man was floating above the water with his large sword comfortably sitting on his shoulders. "Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi or as they famously call you, Sharingan no Kakashi, the man who is said to have copied over 1000 jutsus..."
Sasuke looked slightly surprised at what he had just heard. Their sensei had copied over 1000 jutsus and was known by missing nins... was the man really something else? What was that about the Sharingan?
He had never really given the man much thought because of his tardy attitude. The man never seemed to have a serious moment in his life and was always looked bored. But to think he was someone famous. Sasuke was surprised.
"Momoichi Zabuza, A-rank missing-nin and a former member of the legendary Seven Swordsman of the Mist," Kakashi said calmly, preparing for battle. "I cannot let you touch the client... if you want to take him, you will have to go through me first."
Zabuza laughed, "Fine," he said. "But bringing children into battle... they are just brats and cannot protect anyone. Not even real shinobi."
Kakashi didn't bother correcting the man. "Protect the client and I will handle Zabuza," Kakashi instructed his team.
A thick mist began to cover the area. That followed then was an immense and suffocating killing intent that washed over the area. Hinata felt fear grip her heart, she saw her death. Her breathing became laboured with her legs and feet frozen. The atmosphere was oppressive, just suffocating.
If this continued, Hinata felt like she was going to piss or lose her consciousness. She didn't dismiss the possibilities of both happening simultaneously.
Hinata wasn't the only one who was frozen in fear, Sasuke was also trembling. So this what it felt like facing powerful shinobi... He had never felt such an oppressive feeling before. Sasuke was afraid; he didn't want to be here. This wasn't a place for him.
"How pathetic," Naruto stated disdainfully, his eyes narrowed towards Sasuke. "I understand Hinata, but you, Uchiha? For someone who sometimes acts all mighty and proud, seeing you shake like this isn't even amusing, it is sad."
Kakashi should have expected the killing intent to affect the two. He hadn't thought that Naruto would be someone who could cower to something as a Killing Intent. "Don't worry, Sasuke, Hinata. This will be over soon."
And suddenly, the oppressive washed away and Hinata was able to breathe calmly. She looked down on her pants to see if she was wet. She may have let slip without even noticing it. It was very much possible and she had felt slightly numb. The Hyuga breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her pants were not wet.
Sasuke couldn't believe that he had been left like that. He shook his head and put on a hard look on his face before responding to Naruto. "I wasn't trembling out of fear, but excitement."
Naruto said nothing - that wasn't really worth responding to. He turned towards Hinata, flicking his index finger and hit her on the forehead.
Hinata winced slightly, holding her forehead and looked up to Naruto.
"Activate your Byakugan and check the parameter..."
"Oh, they seem to have recovered from that rather quickly," Zabuza said, sounding amused. "But you're right about one thing, Kakashi, this will not take long."
Zabuza moved on to clash with Kakashi. The battle didn't last long as Zabuza utilized the disappearing mist to his advantage and then managed to trap Kakashi in a water prison - the Jonin hadn't even used his doujutsu in the fight.
"That was a lot easier than first thought," Zabuza said to Kakashi. "Now the, watch as I slaughter your brats..." the man held a single hand seal and produced five Mizu Bushins. "These should be enough to handle a couple of brats..."
Naruto stared at Kakashi with an expressionless look on his face. "With you trapped, I can decide to take the client away and leave you here..." the blond said.
"That wouldn't be a bad choice," Kakashi said. "But you wouldn't, would you?"
"Do you think I'd let you leave?" Zabuza interrupted the talk between Kakashi and Naruto with a smile on his face. He still kept his hand on the water prison. "You can't defeat my clones and they'd catch you before you can even take three steps away from here."
Naruto didn't look impressed. "For someone who is infamously called a demon, you're a bit arrogant, and your rank is only A-rank. You only won the fight because Kakashi wasn't even going all out," the blond stated. "You chose to attack us here because you're a Suiton user. The existing water makes it easy for you to use your silent killing mist jutsu and some suiton jutsu... I presume. The fact that you have your hand on that," the blond pointed at the prison holding Kakashi, "... is because if you take your hand of it, the jutsu will probably deactivate, thus freeing Kakashi."
Naruto turned to Sasuke and nodded. The Uchiha grinned and went through hand seals, "Katon: Great Fire ball no Jutsu." The Uchiha released a large fire ball jutsu, sending it towards the clones.
"Wind Style: Wind Breakthrough," Naruto released gusts of winds, which slammed into the fireball released by Sasuke. The jutsus collided, creating a fierce force of flames, moving in great speeds with gusts of winds blowing beside it. The jutsus exploded when they collided into the clones. Explosion was mixed with intense flames and gusts of winds, before steam came out as the clones were destroyed.
Zabuza looked surprised that the brats could use Ninjutsu of this level. He soon wiped off the look on his face and grinned. "Well, maybe you're real shinobi, but what are you going to do? Those were just mere clones. I can create more of those and you'll probably run out of chakra."
"So will you be," Naruto pointed out.
Sasuke hurled a large shuriken towards Zabuza after jumping from behind Naruto. The shuriken twirled through the air as it sped towards the target. Although slightly surprised by the quick attack, Zabuza still managed to dodge the shuriken by jumping up slightly while maintaining his hold on his water prison jutsu.
The moment shuriken went past Zabuza, it burst into a puff of smoke, causing Zabuza to twist his head to look behind him. Naruto had appeared in a puff of smoke and was doing the same hand seals he had done before. Zabuza's senses went off when Sasuke closed the distance between them as well, building up chakra.
"Futon-"
"Katon-"
"Shit," Zabuza cursed as he allowed his grip on his water prison to slip. He was forced to jump away from the two. But he was soon disappointed when the two didn't release any jutsu and what made matters worse was that he had been forced to free Kakashi as well.
Naruto walked on the water, walking towards Zabuza. He then suddenly disappeared in a blur and flashed in front of Zabuza. The man reacted quickly by swinging his sword towards the blond. The sword cut through Naruto on the waist, but the blond suddenly burst into a murder of craws. The craws cawed loudly.
Zabuza widened his eyes when he found himself staring at two Sharingans.
Hinata suddenly appeared in a puff of smoke right behind Zabuza with her Byakugan activated. She quickly hit the man on both his shoulders, shutting off some chakra points. She basically rendered his arms useless.
Zabuza responded by flashing a backwards kick towards the Hyuga's gut. The foot crashed into Hinata and sent her flying, but she was saved when Naruto's clone flashed behind her and grabbed her gracefully.
Kakashi held out his right hand, birds started chirping as lightning engulfed his right hand. As Kakashi was speeding towards the missing-nin, a senbon whizzed through the air, heading towards Zabuza. It hit him on the neck, causing him to fall down the ground.
The Jonin halted as a masked nin flashed beside the missing-nin, but the moment he did so, Naruto flashed behind the nin, a kunai pressed against the his back. Haku was at least shocked that the blond had moved so fast to get behind him... it was as if he had been expecting him.
"I am a Hunter-nin from Kirigakure," Haku said calmly. "I have been looking for him for quite some time. As you might know, he is a rogue ninja from Kiri and it is our job to hunt people like him and dispose of them."
"You were watching us," Naruto said. "You waited until this moment to make a move... that is curious. But in any case, I don't care if you're a hunter nin or not. That man attacked us. I consider it a crime that must be punished by death."
"I will usher him to the doors of death..." Haku offered.
"It is alright Naruto," Kakashi said. "Let him to do as he pleases. We have our mission that we must do. We have to move towards the Wave..."
Naruto didn't want to, but he ended up putting away his kunai away and walked away. The moment he turned his back on the nin, Haku knelt down and picked up Zabuza before disappearing.
Kakashi blinked as he had his mind work out a few things. "You said he had been watching the fight and chose to enter the battle when we were about to kill Zabuza..." the Jonin appeared to think deeply. "Maybe we shouldn't have allowed him to go. Hunter-nins erase their targets right on the spot. Could he have been an ally?"
"Hinata," Naruto called. "Open your field of vision. We can still catch him."
Kakashi waved his hands a bit dismissively. "There is really no need for that. If he comes back, I will take things seriously. Besides, we have a client to protect. If we focus on chasing them, we break away our formation..." the man paused for a moment. "You had Hinata activate her Byakugan before I started fighting Zabuza so that you can get a clear view of our surrounding..." he stated.
Naruto merely nodded.
"How did Hinata get behind Zabuza so fast?"
"I charged head on purpose to attract his fullest attention. I managed to transform into a craw and replaced myself with Hinata: she already knew what she had to do..." Naruto explained lightly.
Kakashi smiled. Given Naruto's strategic mind, the three of them may have ended up doing some damage to Zabuza. Hinata had disabled his hands that gave them a huge advantage over the man. The collaboration jutsu had been used as a smoke screen to hide the plans being made and Naruto's transformation into a Shuriken.
This team was truly blessed. Naruto was able to think, and both his teammates followed his orders without complains. He had not thought that Hinata would actually attack Zabuza... but she had. Naruto may not have given her choice in the matter. He may have told her that he was going to do the replacement jutsu whether she liked it or not. If she did not attack, she would have been in danger.
"Your teamwork never ceases to amaze me. You did well against an A-rank shinobi," the Jonin said happily. "Maybe I should also start taking my responsibilities seriously..." Kakashi said in deep thought.
Hinata winced as she walked towards the others... that kick had really hurt her. Naruto had told her it would come and she had to use her Byakugan to defend or even strike the chakra points on his leg, but her nerves had gotten the better of her and she had failed to do anything.
At least it hadn't been a complete failure. They still managed to overcome their challenge.
The Team rested for a few minutes before they headed towards the Wave country. It didn't too long before they reached the country and went through a boat while hiding from more enemies. Once they made it through to the Wave, Tazuna led them towards his house.
The Following Day
Sasuke had been really surprised when Kakashi took them into the woods and said they were going to train and he would be leading their training. Since they became a team, Kakashi never really took interest in showing them anything more than teamwork exercises. He would admit that they did help with the missions, but much of their cooperation and coordination was thanks to Naruto.
The blond was usually the one who handled training. Either way, as they sensei, Kakashi ought to have been doing something better. In any case, he wasn't complaining that much because he was not lacking in terms of training.
"What did Zabuza mean when he called you Sharingan no Kakashi?" Sasuke asked something that had been bothering him.
"Hmm?" Kakashi glanced towards the Uchiha over his book before turning his eyes towards the book once more. "I have a Sharingan." The Jonin said a bit carelessly.
"What?!"
"I am not an Uchiha," Kakashi said firmly, changing his tone from the careless one. "The Sharingan I have was a gift from a friend of mine who died during the Third Shinobi World War. I had lost my left eye and half of his body had been crushed. Since he was dying, he had me take it since I had lost my eye."
"That is a first," Sasuke said, his tone slightly indifferent. "I never expected a non Uchiha to wield my clan's doujutsu. Does my mother know about this?"
Kakashi nodded. "Everyone in the Uchiha knew. Your father approved of my use of the doujutsu even though some members of your clan just wanted for the eye to be gauged out of my eye socket," the Jonin stated his last words in a careless manner, which was just wrong.
"I have never seen you use it before..."
"He isn't Uchiha, so the eye consumes a lot of chakra and for a non Uchiha, he cannot deactivate it, hence it is always hidden..." Naruto responded calmly. That was something that Sasuke ought to know. But the Uchiha was an ignorant idiot.
Kakashi stopped walking and faced his team - they had reached their destination. "Hinata, as you're a Hyuga, I assume that your chakra control is excellent."
Hinata nodded.
"Excellent," Kakashi said. "Sasuke, can you do tree walking?"
Sasuke nodded, "Naruto taught me," he said.
Kakashi sent Naruto a look before speaking once again. "Your elements..." he trailed off when Naruto spoke.
"Sasuke its Fire and Lightning.... Hinata it is water," the blond said. "You should teach Sasuke a Katon jutsu and Hinata a defensive water jutsu. Lightning on Sasuke needs a lot of work. I would take on Hinata's training in this, but I don't know any water jutsus. Given her excellent chakra control, it would be good she learns medical Ninjutsu. We don't have that in the team... as a man who has copied over 1000 jutsus: that should be okay for you, no?"
Kakashi glared at Naruto. "I hate you... you're taking my job..." the Jonin said. "Go away and guard Tazuna. This is your punishment and don't think of coming here..." he paused for a moment. "And do bring us lunch, okay?"
Naruto said nothing - he merely turned around and walked away with his hands inside his pockets.
Kakashi created a clone which led Hinata towards a stream of water while he remained behind to deal with Sasuke. "What have you really been focusing with Naruto?"
"Speed, taijutsu, reflexes, the mind..." Sasuke paused. "...his favourite, meditation and standing still on a tall log while he is throwing senbons at me. They don't all miss, some hit me."
Both Sasuke and Kakashi winced in thought.
"Meditation helps you remain calm. Naruto is able to think and analyse things because he always calm. Have you seen him lose his composure? For you that is a weakness. When you lose your composure, you're likely to just charge towards the opponent..." Kakashi said. "I think he has been doing a good job..."
"I didn't say he wasn't," Sasuke said. "Which jutsu are you going to teach me?"
Later that Day
Naruto was sitting around the dinner table with Tazuna, Tsunami and her son all around. He felt uncomfortable with the setting. It was strange eating with a lot of people without his mother. He had never actually had a home cooked meal without his mother present. Many people were just the Uchihas during those good days.
The day before he had refused eating with everyone and had eaten what he had sealed up in a scroll, but there was nothing left now.
It didn't take long for his teammates and sensei to walk back into the house, both Sasuke and Hinata battered and worn out after a stressful day in the training ground. Naruto was content with the fact that Kakashi had bothered doing something useful. As a sensei, the man had been rather useless. Perhaps he had believed they were not ready for the strong things with Shinobi.
Naruto mentally slapped himself for having such a thought. It was just ridiculous. He was a former Anbu and Sasuke had survived the Uchiha incident. Hinata on the other hand was lacking and was really abused at home. Training to become stronger was the only way she could be accepted in her home.
"I was starting to think that you'd miss dinner," Tsunami said with a smile. The woman then stood up and went on to get more plates to serve the three. Her movements were a little hurried but she handled the delicate plates in her hands with care before pushing them towards the last three members of Team 7.
Naruto stayed silent as he watched everyone take in food into their plates - he had already prepared something and he was eating, but not hurried, just slowly as if he was savouring the food. That was not the case though.
"How did it go at the bridge?" Kakashi asked Naruto. The blond hadn't bothered returning to the training place, he had stayed at the bridge protecting Tazuna while he trained Hinata and Sasuke. Tsunami had been the one to bring them food.
"Fine," Naruto said calmly. "Your end?"
Sasuke didn't allow Kakashi to respond, he jumped into the opportunity to gloat over his success at mastering a new jutsu. "Kakashi-sensei taught me a new fire jutsu... I managed to learn it after hours of practise. Since I was using too much chakra, he had me do water walking, but that was the hard part. I wasn't able to master it." The Uchiha sounded disappointed with the failure.
Naruto glanced at the Uchiha - who was sitting three chairs away. He didn't say anything, but merely gave a nod to acknowledge that he had heard him and what he had achieved was acceptable.
"Hinata's chakra control is really something else. I hadn't really looked into it, but it is impressive. She was able to learn a water wall jutsu and water walking in just one day. We were not able to do more because of her low chakra reserves, but tomorrow is another day."
While Sasuke looked sour over the fact that Hinata had completed over everything she had been tasked to do, the Hyuga looked flustered. Her sensei was basically praising her efforts and when it came from someone like him or Naruto, it made her melt because she knew they would never praise her unless she had done something good.
Naruto looked over the Hyuga before returning to his food. A few moments passed before he finally responded. "When we return to Konoha, you must find someone to help her with Medical jutsu. That is another art that requires exceptional chakra control. If she is able to use it with her Byakugan, it will be effective and will make her an all-round fighter. Sasuke needs someone to help him with his lightning. I am sure you can help in that regard since it is also your element."
Kakashi gave Naruto a look before shrugging. "That is just too much work," the Jonin said carelessly. "The days are still young..." He paused for a moment before speaking once again. "I will guard Tazuna in the morning till noon while you work with Hinata. Sasuke will be busy with water walking."
Naruto merely nodded.
"Why do you even bother?" Inari asked, speaking for the first time. "You're all just going to die. No one can defeat Gato. Those who oppose him are killed. You will also be killed. Just forget about everything and return to Konoha."
Naruto ignored the kid and focused on his food.
"We are shinobi and as far as I have been able to gather, Gato uses bandits. We can handle them. You can rest easy, we will defeat him." Kakashi said calmly.
"You don't get it do you?" Inari asked quietly. "Gato is too powerful. Everyone says they will fight him win but in the end, they die."
"Inari," Tsunami said in a calm and soothing tone. "Please calm down and eat your dinner."
"I'm not hungry anymore and I am just trying to help them. Shouldn't you also say something as well after what we experienced?!" The boy ended up shouting at his mother.
Naruto's eyes fell on the boy, just cold. When Inari caught those icy blue eyes, he flinched. "What an annoying little child. Ungrateful... your mother is trying to help and you yell at her? Shut up and eat your dinner or I will grab that plate and shove it down your throat before making you apologize for your lack of respect."
Inari quickly got up and rushed away.
Naruto merely shrugged. At least he could eat in silence without an annoying little voice yapping nonsense.
Sasuke shivered thinking about the day Naruto hit him with a frying pan straight on his forehead and then threatened to break his fingers, all because he had been rude to his mother. The blond was rather somehow when it came to mothers. Well, only when it was convenient for him. Sasuke was sure that the blond didn't really care about Tsunami, but rather he found Inari to be an annoyance.
"You could have gone a little smoothly, you know," Kakashi said with a sigh.
"Tell what happened," Naruto said to Tazuna. "After hearing the story, Hinata, go find the boy deal with it. It should also help you with your own emotional stuff," the blond said as he got up. "Thank you for the food," and he walked away.
"He isn't a very nice person, is he?" Tazuna asked, looking at the retreating blond.
"Depends," Kakashi said with shrug. "Can you please explain to us what is going on?"
Two Days Later
Naruto was sitting at the edge of the bridge, eyes looking at the water flashing below. The rest of his teammates and sensei were helping out Tazuna build his bridge. Naruto did have a number of clones helping out. In fact, he made much more men power than Tazuna could afford.
The reason for helping was simple. He wanted to go back to Konoha. This mission was becoming a bore. It would have been okay if he was busy running away or chasing after something, but waking up every day to guard someone was really becoming a problem, especially with his poor mother waiting for him back in Konoha.
The blond looked up into the sky.
He didn't get to wonder in thought as a mist began to gather at the bridge. The blond didn't get up, but merely dispelled all his clones so that he could ready himself. It was certain that Zabuza had returned for another battle. Naruto hoped Kakashi would fight with all he has around. It would be annoying if the man chooses that he needs to be saved, again.
As the mist grew thicker, Naruto turned away from the water, and faced the bridge. It was good that Hinata was already guarding the enemy with her Byakugan activated. He had taught her too well. Over relying on her doujutsu would not be a good thing, but this case demanded that she use it while he relied on his senses to do the trick for him.
The blond didn't say anything when Sasuke walked up to him. He just remained silent and watched as things unfolded.
"I have come for another round, Kakashi," Zabuza's voice echoed through the mist.
Kakashi lifted up his headband and activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. He had to take things seriously now. If he screwed up, Naruto would certainly be unwilling to help him out until he was hurt. Kakashi could see the blond shrugging indifferently when asked why, 'it is your fault for not using everything you had.' Naruto could say something like that.
"It won't be like last time, Zabuza," Kakashi said in a firm tone. "I will end this quickly.
Naruto and Sasuke just watched on as Kakashi engaged Zabuza. The battle waged on for a few moments before both were surrounded by ice mirrors. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he looked around the chilling prison that had been made for him and Sasuke.
Haku flashed in one of the mirrors with several senbons in his right hand. "I suppose if I ask you to stand down and allow Zabuza-sama to complete his mission, you will not do so..."
"You suppose?" Sasuke muttered sarcastically.
"If you're going to get in Zabuza-sama's way, I have no choice but to eliminate you," Haku stated calmly before throwing multiple senbons towards the two as he flashed towards another mirror.
The senbons came in fast and quickly and from several mirrors. Sasuke and Naruto ended up getting hit by the senbons, but managed to avoid getting hit in vital places.
Seeing Haku flash to another mirror, Naruto sped towards the mirror in incredible speed and drove a punch towards the ice user. The ice user flashed away to another mirror as Naruto's punch crashed into the mirror but failed to even leave a dent behind.
Naruto didn't look surprised.
He was forced to flash away beside Sasuke once more when Haku threw senbons towards him while he was still close to the mirror.
"Sasuke," Naruto started, his eyes staring at his fist. "Activate your Sharingan to follow his movements and release a katon jutsu."
Sasuke smirked as he activated his doujutsu. He knew that a faster opponent could make the Sharingans ability to predict movements useless. Naruto had proved time and time again that unless his body was fast as the Sharingan, he would be hit by the things he had 'seen.'
Watching Haku flash to another mirror, ready to launch another wave of senbons towards them, Sasuke sped through hand seals before inhaling air inside his lungs. "Fire Style: Great Fireball no Jutsu!" Sasuke released a large ball of flames that charged towards Haku. The ice user managed to flash towards another mirror but the fire based jutsu was unable to melt the mirror even after crashing into the mirror.
Sasuke didn't have time to curse at the ineffectiveness of his jutsu. He twisted around, foreseeing senbons charging towards Naruto. He quickly pushed the blond to the side, and the senbons blew past between them.
'I made it in time,' Sasuke said, relieved. He glared back at Haku. There was not even a scratch. What was made out of those mirrors anyway?
Haku had been surprised to see the Sharingan, but it mattered not. As long as they were inside this mirror, they would not escape. No one had managed to do that before. "No matter what you try, you cannot break the mirrors..." he said to the two before flashing towards another mirror.
"Behind!" Sasuke shouted as another wave of senbons reared towards them. Naruto reacted quickly and blew wind from his mouth, deflecting all the senbons.
He held out his right hand. A malicious chakra that unnerved even Haku surged through the mirrors as Naruto formed a ball of chakra, but diluted by another form of chakra. Naruto had simply created a Rasengan using some of the Kyuubi's power. It would make it effective against the mirrors. He pushed chakra into his leg muscles and right hand for more power.
"Sasuke..."
"Hai hai," Sasuke said responded calmly, knowing what Naruto wanted him to do even though the blond hadn't said a thing. The moment Naruto made that jutsu; Sasuke had known that Naruto would need his doujutsu to make a move.
Sasuke traced Haku and stared at him for a moment, before taking out a kunai. He lunged towards the mirror in which Haku stood. The moment he reached it, Haku flashed away. Sasuke saw this with his Sharingan and threw the kunai where the ice user was going to stop.
When Haku stopped into another mirror, Naruto flashed in front of him, with his eyes flickering red a bit as the blond crashed his jutsu into the mirror. Much to shock of Haku, the mirror shattered when the Rasengan crashed into it.
Haku still managed to get away from the jutsu, but when he landed on the ground, a distance away, Naruto was right in front of him, right foot raised high. The kick slammed into his mask, cracking it as he was sent backwards.
Haku recovered as Sasuke joined Naruto. There were sounds of chirping birds once more. Haku could remember the day he had heard that sound, and he was sure Zabuza would have been killed. He looked towards his master and saw the man bleeding heavily through his left shoulder as if he had been stabbed. He looked tired as well and was held back a hound of dogs.
With Kakashi making his move, Haku made his decision.
Kakashi was surprised when Haku jumped between him and Zabuza. He could not stop his jutsu from plunging into the ice user's chest. Zabuza grinned, having gotten the chance to attack. But the grin vanished a second later when he sensed something.
Naruto had seen Haku moving and decided to attack Zabuza instead when he realized that Haku was going to protect the man. The blond flashed behind the missing-nin above the ground, twisting around with his sword held firmly, wind blazing through it for sharpening. The immobile Zabuza didn't have a chance to do anything when Naruto's blade cleanly cut through his neck, separating the head from the shoulders.
Kakashi just watched as Zabuza's head hit the floor.
Naruto landed down and walked over to Haku who was still alive. He didn't care for the man he had killed. "Why did you protect him?" it was a question of curiosity more than anything.
"B-because he was m-my m-master and I, j-just his t-tool. In the end I-I f-failed..."
"I see," Naruto looked away.
He would not fail to protect what he loved. He would not end up like this. He could not die in front of his mother and only for her to die a second later. It was just unacceptable. Uzumaki Naruto would win this battle and he would never say something like that.
Failure was not acceptable. He could not afford it.
"Ah, it seems that the demon as fallen," Gato said carelessly with a smirk as he walked over the bridge with a large number of mercenaries just behind him. "Well, he was worthless anyway... couldn't kill a couple of shinobi..."
"Umm, Naruto," Kakashi said. "I may have overused my Sharingan," the Jonin said and a second later, he fell down. Naruto just glanced over his shoulder and looked back at the monkeys before him.
Worthless humans polluting this beautiful world with crime and all sorts of evil intensions. Disgusting humans. He needed to rid of such scumbags from this world. His mother could never be free to leave the Konoha and just enjoy seeing the world with people like them around.
The blond strengthened his grip on the hilt of his sword as he took a step forward.
"Ah ah," Gato said wagging his index finger. Tsunami was brought forward, tied up. "We have the daughter of Tazuna if you make a move, she dies. Give me Tazuna and I will give you the worthless woman."
A mother held as a hostage. Worthless humans.
"Hinata," Naruto said. "Take Tazuna and get away from the bridge. Sasuke, if you don't want to be painted red by blood, take Kakashi-sensei and follow Hinata."
That was the only warning they got before Naruto disappeared