Zabuza

Thanks [Akisu] for pointing out my mistake. I appreciate it. ~Leviackermann

—————

They arrived in Wave country in a small boat. Despite now being on a serious mission Naruto was loving it. He found he really enjoyed traveling and seeing new things. He had never been outside of Fire country, never been on a boat before, never seen the ocean before; this mission was just one new experience after another. Once they had landed they began the walk towards Tazuna's home.

Kakashi gathered his team together around him before they set off. He spoke quietly so as not to alarm Tazuna. "It's extremely likely we'll be attacked again on the way to Tazuna's home. We can also expect the next attack to be much more serious than the previous one. Kiba and Hinata I want you to use your abilities to keep a careful watch out for any surprises." They both nodded. "Naruto, I want you stay right beside Tazuna the entire time, even if we are attacked. His safety is your responsibility understand?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes Kakashi ni… uhm Kakashi sensei." Damn, it's going to take me awhile to get used to that.

"Remember an attack may come at any time from any direction. Stay alert and be ready for anything." On that cheerful note they headed out. Kiba and Hinata walked up front while Kakashi was the rear guard. Naruto walked beside Tazuna.

"You know I never thanked you for speaking up for continuing to help me. I don't think your sensei would have agreed if you hadn't. I really do appreciate it."

Naruto smiled at him. "You're very welcome. I happen to believe that people with power should try and help others. What this Gato has done is despicable and needs to be stopped."

Tazuna eyed the boy carefully. "You know you seem like a very fine young man. Talking to you I can tell you have a good heart."

Naruto nodded. "Thanks."

Tazuna hesitated to continue. "Tell me though, how can someone like you kill so easily? I saw what you did with your sword. And once it was done you didn't seem to care."

Naruto sent the man a serious look. "Once he was dead I didn't care about him. I hit the target and looked for other targets."

Tazuna stared. His mouth was a bit dry and he wished he had a beer with him. "How… how can you be so idealistic one moment and so… cold blooded the next?"

Naruto gave him a grin. "Simple, I'm a ninja." Tazuna didn't ask any more questions.

Ten minutes later Kiba picked something up on the wind. He immediately put a fist up signaling a halt. Kakashi was by his side and they were talking quietly. Naruto remained by Tazuna.

"I've got two scents; they're both still faint maybe a mile or so up ahead." Kiba explained. "Whoever they are they didn't use this road to get there, not from this direction at least."

Kakashi nodded. "Hinata?"

Hinata nodded understanding. "Byakugan." With her blood line she began searching ahead of them. It took her a moment to spot them. "I've found them. There are two of them standing in a tree talking. One is an adult with bandaged over his mouth and a huge sword on his back. The other one is smaller, probably near our age and wearing a mask like a hunter nins. They're both definitely ninjas and they seem to be Mist nins."

Kakashi nodded and was very glad for his team's abilities. "Are there any other ninja in the area?"

Hinata searched for another couple minutes. "No, just those two."

"All right come with me." He led them to where Tazuna and Naruto were waiting. "There looks to be an ambush lying up ahead. Tazuna you need to be ready in case you have to run. Naruto whatever happens stay with Tazuna." Naruto nodded.

"If we know they're waiting for us why are we continuing up the road?" Tazuna asked.

Kakashi smiled. "Simple, because even if we avoid them they aren't going to simply go away. If we can sneak you past them they would still remain a threat and might attack us later when we aren't ready for it. The best option is to eliminate the threat now."

"All right, but why do I have to come with you?" Tazuna whined.

"Because I am not splitting my squad up while in enemy territory facing an unknown force." Kakashi shrugged. "If you feel safe waiting here for us while we fight that's fine. But if some thugs show up looking for you you're on your own."

"You know you're not very good at setting a man's mind at ease."

"My job is to protect you not make you feel comfortable. So do you want to come with us or wait here?"

Tazuna sighed; it was no fun having to choose the lesser evil. "I'll come with you."

XXXXXXXXXX

Zabuza was well hidden as the party came around a bend in the road. He quickly looked them over. His first impression was that the Demon brothers were highly over rated. They'd been beaten by a single ninja and three children (Haku was a special exception.)But then he took a closer look at the only real ninja. "Well I'll be," he whispered. "Kakashi of the sharingan eye." His opinion of the Demon brothers was restored. For whatever that was worth. "Haku."

"Yes Zabuza-sama?" The boy answered in a low whisper.

"This enemy is more dangerous than any you have ever faced. I want you to remain hidden do you understand?"

He bowed his masked head. "Yes sir."

Beneath the bandages Zabuza smiled. "Watch closely this should be quite an interesting fight." Pulling out his massive blade he got ready.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Everyone take cover!" Kakashi shouted as a huge blade came spinning through the air. Everyone ducked and Naruto pushed Tazuna down to the ground. When they looked up the blade was imbedded in the trunk of a tree. And standing on the blades cumbersome handle was a ninja. Kakashi recognized him immediately, as did Naruto, from the Bingo book. "Well if it isn't Momochi Zabuza, the kid who ran off and left the land of the mists."

"Heh, always good to be so famous. Kakashi the copy ninja, if it wouldn't be too much trouble could you hand over the old man?"

"Sorry I can't do that." He pulled up his hitai-ite to reveal his sharingan eye.

"Didn't think you would, just common courtesy to a fellow professional. But if you won't hand him over to me that means I'll have to kill you." Grabbing his sword he disappeared.

"Manji battle formation! Protect Tazuna! This enemy is on a whole other level than anything you've faced before." The three Genin formed a triangle around their client. Naruto had his sword out, Kiba a kunai, while Hinata preferred to wait in her fighting stance without a weapon. As they all watched a thick fog rose up all around them. "All of you keep alert. Zabuza is a master of the silent kill. Letting your guard down around him means a one way trip to the next life."

As the fog thickened an amused voice seemed to call out from all directions. "There are eight targets. Throat, spinal column, lungs, liver, the jugular vein, the subclavian artery, heart, and kidney… so many choices what vital vulnerable place shall I chose? Heh, heh."

And then without warning he landed in the middle of their formation. Before Kakashi or any of the others could act he swung his sword and neatly cut into Tazuna's neck. Only to have him disappear in a puff of smoke.

"What?!" The three Genin launched themselves at him without concern. Being so close they were able to get a hold of his arms and delay him just a moment. Instantly half a dozen kunai came out of the bushes and struck Zabuza in the chest. His form immediately became water and splashed down on the ground. Somewhere from the trees above four senbons came down and struck each of the ninjas still there. Each disappeared in a puff of smoke.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Damn it." Kakashi muttered softly. I knew it wouldn't be that easy as soon as I saw who it was. They were momentarily in a stalemate as both his team and Zabuza and his partner were hidden. But he had an ace to play. "Hinata?"

She pointed to a tree about fifty yards away. "They are both up there." She whispered.

He nodded and turned to Naruto. "Can you make me about twenty shadow clones?" Naruto quickly nodded and performed the jutsu. Team seven had some truly incredible assets; byakugan, shadow clones, sharingan, rasengan, chidori, summoning (frogs and dogs), and tracking ability. Kakashi began to realize that this squad had the potential to not be just good but truly great, maybe even legendary. But first they needed to survive this fight. He hadn't exposed his sharingan yet. He knew very well the strict limit of his own body when using it. He lifted his hitai-ite and exposed it now. Time to put an end to this fight and to the Demon of the Mist.

XXXXXXXXXX

"He is good. His team was never even exposed." Zabuza said softly.

"Zabuza-sama I do not believe I have ever heard you speak of someone with such respect before." Haku said.

"Kakashi is an enemy that deserves to be respected." And as he watched twenty clones of the same blonde ninja launched themselves out of the bushes towards their hiding spot. "Stay hidden!" Zabuza leapt away towards the nearby river thinking it would be the spot to give him the greatest advantage.

From his hiding spot Haku watched carefully. Along with the many clones of the blonde boy he saw Kakashi, the girl, and the dark haired boy emerge and close in on Zabuza as he was quickly dispatching the clones. Haku noted that their target had not appeared. Could he be in those bushes where they were hiding? Tazuna was fated to die for that was the will of Zabuza-sama, but no one else had to. If Tazuna died right now Zabuza would break off and end the battle. Zabuza was not one for unnecessary risks once the mission was accomplished. Haku decided to go ahead and take a look in those bushes. With a hand sign he teleported.

XXXXXXXXXX

There was too much vegetation between where they were and the river for either Naruto or Tazuna to get a good look at the battle. But Naruto had another way of knowing what was going on.

"Damn," Naruto muttered beneath his breath. "He really is good."

"What can you see something?" Tazuna asked worried.

"In a way. When my clones are destroyed I get their memories. And the last one of my clones just got wiped out. I managed to do him a little damage but now it's up to Kakashi and the others." Then he felt a chakra signature right above him. "Get down!" Naruto leapt onto a surprised Tazuna and pushed him to the ground. As he did so he was struck by a dozen senbons that had been aimed at the bridge builder. Most hit his back and simply bounced off his body armor. A couple hit his unprotected arms and sunk in. The pain was minor and they didn't slow his reaction time any. He reached into a pouch and quickly tossed some kunai where he thought the signature was. A ninja leapt out of the tree and landed about twenty yards away. From the size of him Naruto guessed he was a kid as well. He had on a mask that covered his whole face and held three senbons in each hand. Naruto was swiftly back on his feet with his sword out and standing in front of Tazuna in line between him and his enemy. "Stay down! I will protect you with my life!" Tazuna did exactly as he was told.

"You are quite skilled. To have blocked my attack as you did was no easy feat." A polite and serene voice spoke.

"Thanks." Naruto kept his sword ready and waited. "Are you going to come on in and fight me?"

"No." Haku fired off the six senbons in hand. Seeing where they were coming from Naruto seemed to have no difficulty in blocking them with his sword. "You really are skilled."

"Thank you, but if you want to really see what I can do with this sword why don't you come a bit closer?"

"I think not. Given the fact you wear a sword you are almost certainly a close combat specialist as is my master. I likely would be no match for you in close quarters. Fortunately I do not need to get near you to fight you."

Naruto smiled. "Neither do I." With a quick motion he drove his sword into the soft earth to free up his hands. "Shadow Clone Technique." The instant the jutsu was done he snatched his sword back up again. Fifteen clones cam into existence. At that moment Naruto suddenly realized something. NONE of his clones had a sword! When he'd performed the jutsu his sword hadn't been in his possession so of course the clones had been created with nothing more lethal than kunai on them. He'd never thought that in the heat of battle once his sword was drawn he wouldn't have time to reholster it in order to perform a jutsu. (If it had blood on it of course.) He made a mental note to talk to his mom about getting a wakizashi. In any case the clones all took out kunai and launched themselves at the enemy. Naruto's opponent never even bothered to take a step. He calmly stood there and tossed senbons at the clones. They were all destroyed before any of them could even get close.

"Well that was a waste." He muttered. He nodded grudgingly and even lifted his sword in a quick salute. "You know you're pretty damn good too."

"I thank you." Haku spoke with sincerity. "You are not my enemy and I do not seek to kill you just as Zabuza-sama does not desire to kill your teammates. But the bridge builder must die."

"Well the only way you're killing him is by killing me first."

"I see." Haku said calmly.

Naruto stood there and waited. His opponent also seemed to be feeling patient. Naruto considered how far away he was and estimated the distance to be twenty yards. I could cover that in one leap. But he's just standing there like he wants me to rush him. If I do rush him is there any way he could get to Tazuna before I reach him? Kakashi's instructions had been for him to remain at Tazuna's side and protect him no matter grimaced and decided he would do just that.

Haku eyed his opponent with disappointment hidden by the mask. It seemed the blonde ninja was not going to attack him directly and give him an opening to use his teleportation jutsu. Unfortunately his only method of long range attack was senbons and his foe seemed able to deal with those. We are in stalemate. He cannot reach me to use his sword. But neither can I get past him to the target so long as he remains where he is.

They remained as they were for about one minute. The situation was finally resolved when they heard a loud shout.

"Zabuza-sama!" Haku performed his teleportation jutsu and disappeared.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Water Style Water Dragon Missile." Kakashi and Zabuza both cried out in the same instant unleashing a pair of gigantic dragons to leap out of the river and swiftly annihilate each other.

"Damn it!" Zabuza muttered. This wasn't going well. To begin with he had a few wounds on his chest and back from those damn clones and their damn swords. After that he'd had to deal with Kakashi who seemed able to read his mind. He had two of his brats on the river bank watching him and backing him up but staying out of the fight. Kakashi was the real problem though. He seemed able to…"

"Read my mind." Kakashi said.

What?! That's impossible! Curse him he's…

"Got that sickeningly evil look in his eye… right?"

"Shut up you damn parrot!" Zabuza began forming a new jutsu. But as he did so he seemed to see and illusion of himself standing at Kakashi's side. What the…

Zabuza hesitated, Kakashi did not. "Water Style Giant Waterfall Technique."

Zabuza cried out as he was caught up in a gigantic cyclone of water and tossed about like a leaf in a storm. He was finally slammed hard into a tree and collapsed to the ground his back to the tree. Looking up he saw Kakashi land in a tree limb just above him. "You… can you see the future?"

Kakashi drew out a kunai and nodded grimly. "Yes, and what I see is your death."

"Kakashi behind you!" Hinata cried out.

Kakashi leapt away just in time to avoid some senbons. Before he, Hinata, or Kiba could do a thing Zabuza's partner landed at his side. Grabbing a hold of him the new arrival performed a hand sign and they were both gone.

"Damn it! It was so close."

"Kakashi-sensei what can we do?" Hinata asked as both she and Kiba arrived at his side.

"There's nothing we can do now about Zabuza. Let's get back to Naruto and Tazuna."

XXXXXXXXXX

They found Tazuna a bit shaken but otherwise unharmed. Naruto quickly related what had happened to him.

"You did a good job Naruto. You did exactly what I told you to." He looked to Kiba and Hinata. "You have all done a wonderful job and I am very proud of you." With that he yawned and then collapsed, being caught by Naruto before he hit the ground.

"Kakashi!" Naruto laid him on the ground. "Hinata-chan can you help?"

She quickly knelt down beside him and performed a diagnostic jutsu.

"What's wrong with him?' Kiba asked worriedly.

"His vitals are all strong." Hinata said with relief. "He seems to just be suffering from physical exhaustion."

"It's the sharingan." Naruto said with certainty. "Kakashi has told me that because he lacks an Uchiha's body he can only use his sharingan for so long before it exhausts him." Naruto frowned. "Zabuza must have pushed him too hard. He'll be fine he just needs some rest." He looked to their client. "Tazuna how far is it to your house?"

"About five miles."

Naruto nodded. "O.k. we'll get there in five minutes."

Tazuna laughed a bit. It felt good to laugh after being so terrified. "Maybe we can get there in an hour."

Without much thought he cut open his palm, wiped off the blood, and holstered his sword. "We're getting there in five minutes." Naruto used a tone that said nothing was up for debate. "No more walking we're leaping the rest of the way." Kiba and Hinata both nodded.

"Leaping? What are you talking about?" Tazuna asked.

Naruto performed his jutsu and four clones came to life. "With Kakashi out of action I'm leading team seven. And right now I think our best course of action is to get to your house and set up a base camp as fast as possible. So I'll use my clones to carry you and Kakashi as we leap through the trees."

"Through the trees?" Two of his clones took a hold of Tazuna. "Hey! I'm fine with walking." As one they all leapt into the air. "Ahhhhhhh!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi opened his eyes. He was inside somewhere on a floor underneath some blankets.

"Are you all right teacher?"

Kakashi looked up to see a fairly attractive woman in her twenties with dark hair. "I am fine." He replied weakly. "I am Kakashi by the way. And you are?"

"I am Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter. My father was feeling a bit ill when you all arrived but he's alive and in one piece. He has told me everything that has happened and I know I owe his life to you and your students." She bowed to him. "Please accept my deepest thanks."

"We are very happy to help. Can you tell me where my students are now?"

"I am right here Kakashi-sensei." A friendly face came into view. "Naruto-kun and Kiba-kun are in the next room getting something to eat. Are you hungry?"

"Yes Hinata, I am actually but first could you bring the boys in here?"

"Hai!"

In short order his three students were all kneeling around him.

"What's the situation?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto answered. "Well I have four of my clones acting as a guard outside the house. Hinata-chan has searched the area for a one mile radius and found nothing. Kiba went on a patrol with a couple of my clones to back him up. He found nothing suspicious and no other scents for three miles. So for right now I think we're secure. I'll keep some clones to watch all night."

Kakashi nodded slightly. "Good job Naruto. It will probably take me about a week to recover my strength. You're in charge until then."

"Right Kakashi ni… uhm sensei. What do you want us to do?"

"Well since you all know the tree climbing and water walking exercises there's really no special training I can give you while I'm bed ridden. Keep Tazuna safe at all costs and try to get in some training when time allows."

"Kakashi-sensei," Hinata spoke. "What about Zabuza and his partner?"

"Zabuza was hit pretty hard by my last jutsu. I'm guessing he's going to need some time to recover as well. If he does show up before I am ready the most important thing to remember is that for shinobi the one thing important above all else is teamwork. That is where your greatest strength lies."

And as one, they all nodded.

XXXXXXXXXX

Haku was sitting by Zabuza's bedside as the door opened. In walked the greasy little man with a pair of samurai who were trying to look mean. I wonder if they understand I could kill them all easily.

"You've got some nerve showing your face again after such a miserable failure! Demon of the Mist, hah! That's a joke." He signaled for his bodyguards to wait and approached Zabuza's bed. "Nothing to say for yourself?" He reached for Zabuza's face.

Instantly Haku had the man's wrist in his fist and began crushing it. "Don't defile Zabuza-sama with your touch!"

"Aaaargh!" Gato screamed out in pain. "How dare you?!" Gato's samurai began to draw their swords. But before they could even pull them out they found Haku standing between them holding their own swords a bare inch from their necks.

"You don't want to do that right now." He hissed. "I am in a very bad mood."

Gato gripped his throbbing and broken wrist. You'll pay for this you little bastard! He was furious but was intelligent enough to understand he was not in a strong position at the moment. For one of the very few times in his life Gato decided retreat was in order. "All right you can have one more chance. But if you fail again don't come back."

"I understand." Haku returned the swords to their hapless owners. "We will not fail you." His politeness only rubbed salt in Gato's wound. He and his samurai quickly departed.

Haku returned to his seat by Zabuza's side.

"That was not necessary." Zabuza spoke in a strained voice. In his hand beneath the covers was a kunai. "I could have dealt with him."

"I know Zabuza-sama. But had you done so we might have found ourselves on the run again from them."

Zabuza sighed. "True."

"Let us be patient for just a little while."

"Yes," Zabuza agreed. "But only for a little while."