Mission to the Land of Waves - 5

Once back on land, the Leaf ninja and their client continued their trek through a dense forest, through which would be the quickest way to their destination. Anko was clearly more guarded than she had been in the Fire Country, 'Those last two were chunin. Next time it will be a jounin...'

"How does someone become a 'bridge builder' anyway?" Naruto wanted to get to know their client, "The same way a person becomes a lumberjack or street-paver?"

Anko snorted in laughter with Naruto while Tazuna bit back, "It's a necessary occupation in the Land of Waves you stupid kid! With all the water-ways around here bridges are pretty common wouldn't you say? I worked hard to become a top engineer."

Naruto got over his little joke, "Yeah, sorry old man. It's just building bridges seems pretty lame. How do you do it?"

"It takes a large amount of engineering, money and labor to get done. A combined effort produces great things." He answered, "But I won't get technical with you. That tiny brain of yours already seems stretched to capacity."

Anko snorted again and Haku and Gaara couldn't help but smirk.

"Shut the hell up!" Naruto didn't like insults to his intelligence. It was just another way people underestimated him, which often proved foolish.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto watched a nettle of ferns quiver in a manner that didn't appear to be caused by a breeze. After drawing a kunai from his holster he threw the knife with startling precision directly into the offending undergrowth.

There was a thud as the knife made contact with a solid object, followed by a small squeak of terror. His companions didn't appreciate the gesture that much either.

"What are you doing?" Gaara gave him a sideways glance of annoyance.

"Naruto-kun, you shouldn't be throwing kunai at random!" Haku scolded, "What if you hit an innocent bystander?"

"Relax, would you?" Naruto moved the foliage aside and revealed the area where his kunai had sunk deep into the bark of an ash tree, a few inches above a rabbit's head, "See? The little bunny's okay!"

Naruto lifted up the terrified animal and stroked its ears soothingly.

"Put that stinking thing down, Naruto." Anko sighed.

He looked at her with an expression of protest.

Haku observed the rabbit and commented, "That rabbit is white."

Naruto continued to calm the small creature, "So?"

"That means that it has most likely been bred in captivity," Haku went on, "To be a distraction."

"A...distraction?" Naruto put the rabbit down and it bounded away. Its white fur contrasted with the surrounding verdant undergrowth.

Anko was on edge, also noting Haku's observation, even before the sound of rushing metal through the air came to her ears, "Move!"

Haku pulled Tazuna down into the undergrowth near Naruto, and Gaara and Anko ducked out of the path of a huge sword that was sent spiraling towards them with a great force. The zanbato that they evaded collided with the top of a tree, biting deep into the wood.

They looked up and beheld another ninja standing on the blade that had imbedded itself into the tree. Quickly regaining their feet, they formed a protective ring around Tazuna, silent and anxious. The gentle sound of Gaara's sand was reassuring to Haku and Naruto.

Anko narrowed her eyes, 'Damnit! I thought we'd at least get a bit farther before another one showed up! Looks like this is it...'

Haku, for a brief moment, held his breath as he observed their assailant, 'But that's–!' There was no mistaking it. Haku recognized the shinobi to be the same man with the bandaged face he had seen long ago.

His eyes were wide in disbelief and he felt his hands close around the senbon he had tucked away in his gi, 'This man...I've seen him before! He must be another hit man from the Mist Village after Tazuna! But he's jounin...' His grip on the needles tightened considerably.

The Mist ninja glared down at them, "...Mitarashi Anko," A deep baritone pierced the air like a knife, "Special jounin of the Leaf Village; it seems you've had no trouble with the Demon Brothers..."

"I know you: Momochi Zabuza, one of the Seven Shinobi Swordsman of the Mist," Anko's knowledge was also well-rounded, "You are a missing nin and are one of those responsible for the attempted coup d'état in Mist a few years ago..."

Haku didn't like the sound of that, 'He tried to overthrow the Mizukage?'

Zabuza smirked, "Impressive, but that's enough with the pleasantries..." Naruto, Haku and Gaara tensed as the nukenin formed seals, "Hidden Mist jutsu..."

A thick haze enveloped the young Leaf shinobi and the Mist ninja disappeared from their sight. As visibility quickly diminished, Anko gritted her teeth, 'This is bad...' She turned to her genin, "Stay in formation and guard Tazuna!"

Naruto nodded grimly, "Yeah, Anko-sensei!"

"...There is no escape. With the Silent Assassination Technique I can kill an opponent with one fatal blow..." The boys of Squad 2 were unnerved even further as Zabuza's voice rang out through the Mist, seemingly from all directions.

"I can't tell where it's coming from!" Naruto turned his head frantically left and right to see if he could decipher where the enemy was truly hidden.

"Calm down!" Anko warned, not wanting them to begin to panic, "He's using the Utsusemi no Jutsu! He uses it to project his voice from all directions, so don't move!"

Haku wondered if maybe senbon would be of any practical use at a moment where he may need to counterattack, seeing both Naruto and Gaara wielding kunai as they stood in a ring around their apprehensive client. But there was no time for thinking now, only time to react.

Gaara estimated it to be about four seconds until the nukenin reappeared. Unfortunately it was where they least expected him to. Naruto felt his heart leap into his mouth as the ghost-like Mist nin had penetrated their defensive formation and had his horse-slaying sword raised, preparing to cleave Tazuna into two.

Again, wild fear gripped the genin, disabling them from countering. Anko, who was still a few yards away also couldn't respond in time.

With a bestial snarl, Zabuza brought his big blade down; his eyes fixed on the old man at the center...but instead connected with a barrier of sand that had automatically formed to shield Gaara, which coincidentally saved Tazuna's life as well.

This instance somewhat increased the red haired boy's nerve, and his hands unconsciously formed a familiar seal, "Sand Coffin!"

Sand enveloped the Mist nin that had been temporarily delayed from his failed attack, and Haku and Naruto watched in grim excitement as Gaara finished his deadly counter, "Sand Burial!"

The tomb of sand that had enveloped the nukenin and his zanbato imploded with such speed and force that it crushed him instantly, earning a gasp from Anko and Tazuna. Haku and Naruto remained silent, having witnessed it before on inanimate objects.

It didn't go as planned.

The target that Gaara was certain he'd killed splashed into nothing more than water and once again put everyone on edge.

'He substituted with a water clone!' Haku's brain was reeling, 'So where's the real one?'

The four of them turned after hearing a cry of great effort as Zabuza reappeared by Anko, who was just barely able to dodge his enormous sword.

"You leave them out of this you eyebrow-less bastard!" She spat furiously, still able to creatively insult while under a great amount of stress, "I'll finish you myself!"

Zabuza smirked beneath his mask, "We'll see."

Anko began with a diversion of shuriken and kunai, which as she had expected, were deflected with ease by the Mist nin's huge sword. While gradually edging the fight farther away from the genin and closer to a lake's edge, she attacked more fiercely, "Shadow Snakes!"

The ruthless attack momentarily caught him by surprise as he leapt back, raising his sword and watching with sharp, calculating eyes as the snakes coiled around the blade, biting futilely at the gleaming metal. The snakes were surprisingly resistant and held fast as the blade's edge cut into flesh.

There was a pause and Anko had no time to brace herself as, with an inhuman amount of strength Zabuza swung his sword, snakes and Anko attached, and hurled them. She righted herself as she soared through the hazy air and landed on bent knee on the water's surface.

"She's awesome!" Naruto crowed, impressed with her athleticism, but still appropriately fearful of the current state of things. Haku, Gaara and their client silently agreed.

Zabuza casually walked out onto the water towards Anko, seemingly unfazed by her valiant efforts. After a few milliseconds of watching a bead of sweat travel down the side of the kunoichi's face, he began to form seals and rushed at her.

Anticipating his movements, Anko drew a kunai and steadied her chakra-glued feet to the calm water's surface, preparing to counter. As he was barely three feet ahead of her, he vanished, and she staggered suddenly in spite of herself. She caught herself with an outstretched hand, pushing off the water's surface with chakra, and crushed another water clone with a roundhouse kick. She continued to spin and a large serpent darted from her coat and sunk its fangs into another clone, dispersing it.

Just as she had felt she had the upper hand in close-quarters he reappeared next to her, completing his jutsu, "Water Prison Technique!"

Her cry of surprise was cut off as she was surrounded by a swirling sphere of water, much to the horror of the genin who were still guarding Tazuna. Anko ended her struggle and gave a brash look at Naruto and his companions as they stood motionlessly, almost like she expected them to free her.

After a long, painful moment of deliberation they realized that was their best option.