5

Chapter 220:

With everything he knows about the future, Naruto explains to both of

them, "I don't have a death wish, but you guys should be prepared. My

dream to be the absolute greatest Hokage means I have to fight the

strongest guys out there. I can't avoid them, but I can promise you,

whatever is out there, whoever I face, I'll always try to come back."

"You speak as if I won't be fighting right beside you," Haku asserts.

"Or like I'm going to let the Head of our clan die from his wounds,"

Karin adds. "I may not be much of a fighter but I'll heal any injury you

take."

Heart-hammering happy not to say more, a jovial Naruto instead asks

Karin, "I thought you were going to be the Head?"

"May I start calling him Naruto-sama now," Haku merrily interjects.

"I don't see why not," Karin tells Haku with a shrug.

"Hey, wait," Naruto calls out feeling the conversation run away from

him. "Why me? I don't know the first thing about running a clan."

"And you think running a village is going to be easier than running a

clan," Karin asks. "Being Hokage isn't just fighting the toughest threats,

you know. Like, eighty percent of the time, it's all sorts of meetings and

a ton of paperwork and that's exactly what the head of the clan does."

Though Naruto looks nauseous at the thought of paperwork and

meetings, Haku adds, "if you truly wish to become Hokage, this would

be a fantastic opportunity to gain valuable experience."

"Besides, you're from the main branch of the Uzumaki bloodline," Karin

points out. "It only makes sense that it's you… Naruto-sama."

"Well, if there's any chance of me accepting, then we're definitely not

doing the whole -sama thing. No one's ever called me -san before. To

go straight to -sama… that's too weird."

"Fine. Let's table this until after your coronation, Cousin-dono," Karin

smirks. Before Naruto can dispute that honorific, Karin continues, "so

Zabuza-san is in Konoha. Isn't that bad for you, Haku-kun? I know they

told you to report meeting anyone from your past."

"They did," Haku confirms with no sense of fear for the repercussions.

It's fairly evident Haku won't reveal Zabuza's presence in Konoha to

the authorities. "He wouldn't be a master of silent killing if he wasn't

also an infiltration specialist."

"If he already has Kubikiribōchō," Naruto starts. "Why doesn't he just

take it? I wasn't going to use it anyway."

"That's not Zabuza-sama's way," Haku explains. "Despite his vices, he

has a strict code of honor. He must defeat you to properly reclaim

Kubikiribōchō, and he won't let it go until he's done so."

Grumbling uneasily, Naruto hoarsely asks, "so when does he want to

fight?"

"He'd like to meet tonight to discuss just that," Haku answers.

"Fine," Naruto states, thinking, 'as long as it's talking and nothing else.'

Turning from a happier Haku to Karin, Naruto asks, "do you want to

come, Karin-chan?"

"Sure," she answers with a shrug. Pressing her glasses back, she

comments, "anything to do with you is basically clan business."

"Right back at ya," Naruto asserts.

Karin smirks as she then attests, "also, if this is round two, I should be

there in case you need some healing."

Despite imagining being cleaved in two by a heinously evil and

laughing Zabuza, Naruto shakes his head of the sickening thoughts

and tells Karin, "I've been meaning to tell you, I don't like the idea of

anyone taking advantage of you for your chakra. Only heal the people

you want to, and if anyone gives you crap about it, you send them

straight to me."

Trying and failing to hold in her joyful grin, Karin avows, "of course…

Cousin-sama."

Naruto rolls his eyes when the memory of his clone's arousing

conversation with Kurenai perforated his memory banks. He whole-

heartedly thanked kami he was sitting with a table blocking Karin and

Haku's view of his towering steel erection. With the pressure of his

balls directing his very next action, Naruto crosses his fingers and

calls, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," perplexing the other two.

The blond then hastens to tell the clone, "head to the library, check to

see if they have that new scroll we've been waiting for, then head over

to sensei's house to study." Due to Karin's presence, Naruto didn't

voice the rest, but he didn't have to. His clone knows to alert him the

moment Nai-chan returns home from her team's celebration so he can

race right over.

"You got it, Boss-dono," the clones calls before he rushes out of the

room, making Naruto groan at the honorific now being used by his

clones.

Watching the clone leave, a very concerned Haku asks Naruto, "you

won't contact the authorities, will you?"

"Of course not," Naruto answers his friend. He knows Zabuza isn't here

to hurt anyone but him, and also comments, "I know what he means to

you." When Karin asks what he's studying, Naruto answers, "our clan's

specialty; Fūinjutsu."

Fighting through her sudden timidness, a huffing Karin asks, "w-would

you be open to t-teaching me?"

"Of course," Naruto confirms, allaying her fears. "Everyone in our clan

gets to learn whatever they want."

"Don't forget to add her to the Fūin security," Haku starts, however,

when the beautiful boy continues, "we'll meet Zabuza-sama near

midnight and it'll be best if she can enter Iruka's home on her own,"

Naruto panics. With swollen testicles and thoughts of an achingly

aroused Nai-chan in his mind, she's the only person he wants to meet

that late in the night.

With a hopeful tone, a pink-cheeked Naruto bids to know, "any chance

we can meet tomorrow?" Thinking about how backed up he is and

where he wants to unload it all, he adds, "like, in the afternoon? I

mean, it's the weekend. Who fights on the weekends, right?"

"I think the sooner the better," Haku serenely answers. "He wasn't a fan

of Dānyī-san's attempts to steal Kubikiribōchō and has decided to stay

there in the meantime. I believe he'll stay there until it's dangerous to

do so or this matter is concluded."

"Wait, Tenten-chan's dad," a curious Naruto calls as he recalls the

man. "What about Tenten-chan?"

"He wanted me to let you know he'll kill them both if you do not show,"

Haku calmly explains.

Slamming shocked hands on the table as he stands, an act he can

only do because the imminent threat to fellow Konoha ninja is an

effective boner killer, Naruto loudly asks, "and you're just telling me

now?"

Haku shakes his delicate head, reassuringly waving his palm as he

confidently declares, "it's okay, Naruto-sama. I can assure you he will

only kill them if they try to kill him first."

Rolling his eyes by Haku's extreme and incomparable logic, Naruto

tells him, "forget about waiting until tonight. We need to go now."

"Shouldn't you rest first," Haku tells him. "It's barely been half a day

since your fight with Uchiha-kun."

"I can't relax knowing Tenten-chan is being held hostage," Naruto

returns as he rushes to his room to change into his usual orange

jumpsuit and gather his combat gear. Exiting his room, Karin and Haku

are waiting for him.

Moving in front of him, Karin extends her left arm in front of his face,

"go ahead. My chakra will revitalize you."

Naruto shakes his head as he gently takes her hand and lowers it to

her side. "Thanks, Karin-chan, but I'm not going to hurt you so I can

feel better. Besides, I'm good to go."

As Naruto adds Karin's chakra to the security, the vibrant redhead half-

jokingly points out, "didn't think I'd be meeting a notorious Kiri missing-

nin today."

Chapter 221:

INO

At the dinner table, picking at her light meal, Ino couldn't stop thinking

about the preliminaries. Everything about her during that monumental

moment was… pitiful. Naruto nearly died and she was so pathetic she

couldn't hug him as she wanted. She hadn't even wished him luck

before his match because she was so confused by Sasuke's part in it.

And the most she could manage was bumping his shoulder and acting

cold toward him.

That's unlike her, but she'll admit she's never been tested in such a

way. Before Naruto, having only one love made her priorities and

responses easier. Additionally, publicly chasing after Sasuke during

their academy days almost seemed like a right of passage for every

young kunoichi. It was easy to proclaim to all her love when everyone

could easily understand why.

'Liking Naruto publicly takes a lot more courage than I realized,' she

mentally sighs. 'And I failed.'

She didn't think she'd be so pathetic she couldn't hug the person she

liked just because he wasn't popular. It was one of the now many

moments in her life where she didn't feel like herself. She shouldn't

care who's watching and what they might then say, but it's also true

that Naruto is a very personal spot in her heart, in her life. When he

walked up those stairs she wanted to hug him right away, but instead,

she grew nervous and scared by the feeling.

That pissed her off.

'I need to be me,' her mind yells and when her parents bring her out of

her deep thoughts by asking, "when are you meeting your team-"

Eying them both, she interrupts them by admitting, "the boy who gave

me the Fire Slipper Orchid was Uzumaki Naruto."

The shock on their faces is acute as they both set their eating hand

down. Taken aback not only by their daughter's sudden admission but

also by the one boy they hadn't expected, it takes them several silent

seconds to process the information. Their daughter's eyes are serious

but her eyebrows are drawn together, nervous, and her lips are

pressed thin pulled to the corner of one side showing a hint of a

dimple.

Her father clears his throat, then decides to eat rather than speak as

her mother slowly voices, "I can't say I was expecting that…"

Ino feels more in line with her center—direct and fearless—and delves

to further admit, "and I want him to be my boyfriend."

"Boyfri-" Inoichi manages before his throat forcibly ejects the

nourishment half-way into his throat. "KOFF! CRUGHGH! Uuhhh…

Uhhhh…"

"…Breath, sweetie," her mother reminds her father as she pats his

hand. Turning to Ino, her mother comments, "you've certainly given us

a lot to think about."

Just then, the entrance bell sounds, to which Inoichi gasps, "oh, thank

Kami." Still clearing his bung-up throat, he hoarsely asserts, "I'll get it."

After her father rushes out of the room, her mother remarks, "you're

going to send your father into an early grave if you don't ease him into

information like this."

"Sorry," Ino says, though she can't help but feel a little better about

speaking her truth. "I wasn't thinking, plus, I wanted you both to know."

"Well, I'm happy you finally told us," her mother responds. "What

changed your mind?"

"You did," Ino admits. "I feel lucky to have parents like you and tou-

san."

Mother reaches for her daughter's hand and gives her a grateful

squeeze when they hear Inoichi call, "Ino, it's for you."

Unexpectedly following her father is Sakura, and Ino asks her parents,

"may I be excused?"

"Actually," Sakura starts, turning to the head of the Yamanaka clan. "If I

may, I have a favor to ask of you, Inoichi-san."

TENTEN

The very edge of Kubikiribōchō bit across the length of Dānyī's less

than muscular chest, drawing blood and feeding the legendary sword.

For as much as his daughter as his pride, the tied down retired shinobi

does not allow more than a groan out of his throat upon the slow and

long laceration of his skin and flabby muscle. The bleeding wound

wasn't deep enough to kill or maim, but an agitated Tenten pulls at her

binding at the horrible sight, trying desperately to free herself to help

her groaning father.

"Alright," Tenten yells, looking from her restrained father to the Kiri

madman. "Alright, ask me whatever you want! Just leave him alone!"

Though Zabuza stops slicing millimeter by millimeter into the seated

and restrained older man's pectoral flesh, he doesn't remove the blade

either. Zabuza simply holds the large heavy blade cutting into her

father's flesh with a single extended arm as if it weighed no more than

paper. Her sweating father's breathing is shallow so as to not inflate his

chest. The large blade doesn't allow a single trickle of blood to leak

down his torso as it fed on him.

"Tell me about the blond ninja you were trying to steal Kubikiribōchō

from," Zabuza demanded from a distressed and tied up Tenten.

"I don't steal," Dānyī hollers at the Kiri assassin through shallow

breaths. "It's not stealing when you and that demon brat are the filth

beneath the heel of society!"

Trying to keep her father from aggravating the situation, Tenten hisses,

"Otou-san," pulling on her restraints as she leans forward.

Turning his curious attention from Dānyī to Tenten, Zabuza quizzically

repeats, "demon brat?"

"It's- It's what a lot of the villagers call Naruto-kun," Tenten quickly

answers the assassin's small curious brows.

Wide-mouthed and head back, Zabuza laughs greatly from his thin gut,

and to Tenten, there was nothing joyful about the cruel mocking sound.

The Kiri-nin eventually rubs his eyes as he comments, "of course he'd

be a demon."

Unsure if she was being brave or foolish, a very nervous Tenten fights

the vibrant paralyzing mucilage coursing through her motor functions to

ask, "how- how d-did he get Kubikiribōchō?"

"Ten," her angry and wounded father calls, impressing her he could be

so angry under such killing intensity. No one in that room is under any

delusion; Zabuza can kill them both before their brains can even grasp

the end of their life has been reached. Along with her wounded father,

Tenten doesn't have her team, the skills, or the diplomacy to survive

this tall pale man, and under such a state, the most her training and

strength can conjure is avoiding weeping tears of doom. Even

speaking to this known killer is taking great effort for a kunoichi who's

never been so near to death.

Chapter 222:

Dryly, Zabuza asks, "you want to know how he claimed Kubikiribōchō?"

His small eyes glare into her stressed brown eyes, and though feeling

like her insides are ready to spontaneously combust, she can only

manage not looking away. Watching him lean back in his chair,

uninterested, Tenten knows instinctively she's nothing to him and feels

further dismissed when he shrugs and says, "it'd be a waste to tell

you? You're the furthest thing from a ninja there is."

Taking a deep breath, she adds a courageous amount of heat behind

her words, replying, "I- I am not!"

"Ooohh," Zabuza mildly smirks, humored, as her father calls, "Ten-

Ugh!" Her father's words are cut off when Zabuza digs Kubikiribōchō

just a little deeper, cutting a good inch into the elder man's loosened

muscle.

"Otou-" Tenten tries when Zabuza interrupts her again.

"I've killed your type more times than I can count," Zabuza retorts with

disgust. "You delusional-type talk because it's all you're capable of and

because you're an obedient little sheep that follows."

Though his sweating and wincing head lulls some, Tenten's father calls

out, "as if there's something wrong with following the laws and

regulations of the land! That's how proper civilization runs you

degenerate bastard- UGGHH!"

"Rather chatty for a thief with a big ass sword cutting across your

chest," Zabuza amusingly comments, delighting in the pain he's

causing the ryo grubbing thief. "Kubikiribōchō appreciates the grub

though." Turning back to a highly worried and moist-eyed Tenten,

Zabuza continues, "fuck society. One of the best lessons I ever learned

was that people are nothing but sheep." Removing Kubikiribōchō from

Dānyī hemorrhaging chest, the long wound finally bleeds red trails

down his round torso as Zabuza moves closer to Tenten.

Dānyī yells, "stay away from my daughter-" and is cut off with a cry of

pain when Zabuza slices a fresh gash against the tied man's stomach.

The thin trails dribbling from the pulsing red wound at his chest reach

Kubikiribōchō edging into her father's stomach, feeding the starving

blade yet again.

"Say one more word and you're not going to like what I do next,"

Zabuza warns the helpless father. Returning his small devilish eyes on

Tenten, he tells her, "my father was the monk of the only temple in our

village. I was five years old at the time, a young demon even then, and

one day, before he spoke to the gathering of followers, he pulled me

aside and told me, 'son, this is wherefore the function of a Ninsō shall

at each moment always be superior to that of a lowly shinobi.'"

Zabuza took a moment to let out a heated, anger-restrained exhale,

tickling his vocal cords to produce a low growl and send a frightfully

cold paralysis down Tenten's spine. Cornered and captured mentally as

much as physically, Tenten can't even stop listening if she wanted to as

he demoralizes and deconstructs something previously safe within her.

"In an effort to teach me the strength of his position, he gave me a horn

big as I was that I was to blow in every seven minutes during his

sermon. He was a weak and petty man, so I didn't care, but I did it

anyway. The first time I sounded that horn, he stopped preaching,

dropped to one knee for two silent seconds, then got back up and

continued yapping. Everyone there naturally thought it was odd;

looking around like idiots. I thought he'd lost it, myself, but the second

time I sounded that fucking horn, two followers dropped to their knee

along with him; for two seconds before standing back up again. The

third time, a dozen worshipers took a knee with him before standing.

The fourth time, they all took a fucking knee. Not out of obligation. He

didn't order them or even make mention that he was going to act that

way. They simply followed blindly, and to this day, with all the murders

and slayings I've committed, that's still the most disgusting thing I've

ever seen in my life!"

Gripping Dānyī's entire face with a painfully tight grasp, the angry

assassin glares directly in the choking arms dealer's eyes and

practically yells, "it's when I learned that none of you mattered more

than nourishment for the strong. Your sheep-daughter was born to

warm my bed and you were meant to feed my sword, you thieving

cow."

Turning back to back to Tenten, he grips her by the throat, gripping her

thin anatomy shocking hard as he stares into her shaking eyes and

states, "I see the same quit in your eyes, girl."

"N-no," a hollow and tearful Tenten manages.

"Ten," her father weakly voices. "He's g-goading you. There's nothing

wrong… with b-bein a fol-lower. We all follow!"

"She's a quitter," Zabuza accuses her.

"I'm… not," Tenten tries to yell through gritted teeth.

"If you don't die now," he starts shaking her thin but strong neck. "You

will, peacefully, in your own bed from old age. And no one but your

pathetic, fatherless offspring will know your name," Zabuza assures her

with all the certainty of his decades as an elite ninja.

Trembling, Tenten couldn't respond. To be so easily forgotten, to be

passed by unnoticed, to amount to nothing, it was her worst fear. And

without knowing her, Momochi Zabuza easily grasped upon the very

thing she feared most about herself. It's why her father's capitalistic

nature or her mother's abandonment is never worth mentioning. The

only thing that mattered to her was becoming someone important to

the people of her village. It was a beautiful dream that filled her with

warmth when she was alone.

Zabuza then adds the final thorn in her heart.

"Sheep like you will never amount to anything," cutting her deeper than

his sword ever could when a distant fist knocking against wood sounds

throughout the room. The grip at her throat tightens but it didn't matter

to Tenten; she already felt lifeless. As the man's senses traveled well

beyond her home and business, Tenten wanted to find a hole, crawl in

it and die. Instead, Zabuza cut her binding with his short fingernails,

and with her father as a hostage, he orders her to open the shop's

door.

Chapter 223:

Spiritless, Ten drags her feet down the stairs to the door, and the closer

she moved to the freedom beyond the doorway, the more she hoped

and prayed for the person knocking to be the answer to this madman.

With her father held to his sword's edge should she disobey, she does

as instructed and unlocks the door to allow Ōyashiro Izumo to enter the

store.

He was a tall skinny man with long beige hair, a trim cut goatee, hazel

eyes, and milk-white skin. He wore a baggy brown tunic over a teal

long-sleeve shirt and pale green pants. Tenten doesn't recall meeting

the man, but she's heard of him often enough from her father and

immediately looks for and finds the pink bangle around his right wrist, a

trade-mark accessory of the Ōyashiro family.

"Upstairs," Zabuza orders from the back of the store though it sounds

as if he's right next to them.

On their way, Tenten whispers to the tall and stern man in a tunic, "get

help. He'll kill us."

"My dear," Ōyashiro sweetly calls from beside her as they walk to the

back of the store. "I remember your mother when she was younger and

you are even more radiant than she. Time and death certainly have a

wonderful feature of showing us what truly matters, do they not?

Though I would not like you to think less of me, I must be who I am and

explain that despite knowing your father and your mother for some

time, my business comes first, followed by my safety, and if at all

possible, I'll certainly help those in need, for a small fee, of course."

In the seconds it takes Tenten and Ōyashiro to travel from the front

door to the apartment upstairs, Tenten hopelessly acknowledges that

this man is cut from the same clothe as her bleeding father, faithful

servants of the almighty ryo. With Zabuza at the far end of the room,

casually leaning against the dining table, Tenten moves beside her tied

up and now gagged father.

Observing the sweating, bleeding, and pale Dānyī, Ōyashiro callously

begins, "I'd wondered why my old colleague failed to meet me at the

scheduled time." Turning to the tall assassin with the executioner

blade, the veteran dealer continues, "when Terumī-dono introduced

you as a traveling monk of her acquaintance, I believed her—you were

quite convincing, after all—however, I'd have to be blind not to

recognize Momochi Zabuza, the previous owner of Kubikiribōchō."

"You should leave, Ōyashiro," Zabuza orders, confident the merchant

isn't going to draw attention, considering the ninjas he's smuggled into

the village.

"I certainly intend to do so," Ōyashiro kindly states. "As soon as my

business in Konoha has concluded."

"Then get out while you can," Zabuza warns the old merchant.

"Because if you think your business has anything to do with

Kubikiribōchō, then you've wasted a trip."

With a short bow, the merchant calmly speaks, "with all due respect,

Momochi-dono, I don't believe it is."

Kicking the chair Dānyī is tied up to with his long leg, the Demon of

Hidden Mist tells him, "don't blame me because you trusted this filth

enough to sell you smoke."

"Then I ask, why are you here," Ōyashiro almost ponders to himself

rather than ask Zabuza. "The executioner blade is already in your

possession. Why not flee? Whatever more could be keeping you here,

I wonder."

"…I don't see how that's any business of yours," Zabuza cautiously

comments.

"But I believe it is," Ōyashiro continues. "As you know, I have two

legitimate buyers for the legendary Kubikiribōchō, one hailing from your

very country, the other from parts I will not disclose. How slighted do

you believe this other party would feel toward you, Terumī-dono, and

your country, for not only wasting their time and resources, but

additionally taking away their opportunity to at least bid on such a

magnificent weapon?"

"I can't tell you how excited that makes me," Zabuza happily

expresses. "To think they might come after me… mnn! There's nothing

better in this world than feeding Kubikiribōchō still-warm blood from

hacked and butchered bodies."

"I understand, Momochi-dono," Ōyashiro apathetically articulates, not

bothered by the man's clear blood-lust. "Then, if I may ask, who does

Kubikiribōchō currently belong to?"

Ōyashiro waits a moment for an answer but Zabuza only grows irate

and silent. Without concern for his safety, Ōyashiro continues, "you

said it wasn't Dānyī-san's to sell, and I know my old friend wouldn't

have lied to me if he didn't think he could, at the very least, attain the

weapon before I arrived, which tells me it couldn't have been in your

possession. I've been a tradesman since I was a little boy, Momochi-

dono, and currently, my instincts are telling me this amazing sword isn't

yours to do as you wish either. So I ask again, who does own

Kubikiribōchō? So that I may speak to him."

Barely coping with Zabuza's growing tension, Tenten wanted to yell to

Ōyashiro to get help, but she's also amazed that such a slight and

weak old man would be unshrinking in the face of such a monster.

Tenten attributes such gall to his many years navigating perilous

negotiations with villains from every corner of this world.

"If I may ask my old colleague," Ōyashiro says as he takes a step to

Tenten's father, however, Zabuza effortlessly levels the heavy-sounding

Kubikiribōchō right against Ōyashiro's neck, stopping him from

speaking with the gagged man.

"It'll be mine soon enough," Zabuza admits.

"I see," Ōyashiro smoothly admits. "That's wonderful, Momochi-dono.

May I assume it will occur through a challenge of some sort?" Zabuza's

stern silence is answer enough for Ōyashiro, and the merchant

continues, "I see. Might I know the date and time of the match so that I

may bear witness? You have my word I only wish to observe the

outcome."

"There's only one way it'll end," Zabuza confidently claims.

"Kubikiribōchō will be mine once again."

"And if it isn't, would you give me your word you will not interfere in the

sale-"

Ōyashiro is halted when Zabuza presses his giant sword against his

pale skin, mastering the weapon to irritate the skin red rather than cut

into it. Amused, Zabuza heralds, "you have a pair on you, Ōyashiro.

Perhaps I should feed Kubikiribōchō your blood. My blade is starving

for more."

The moment drags on in painful and tense silence until there is a

patterned combination of knocks on the door downstairs.

"It's your lucky day," Zabuza remarks to the tradesman, removing the

blade and settling it on his back. "Be a good sheep and get the door."

Despite being called sheep, Ōyashiro bows before he exits the

apartment.

When this nightmare will end doesn't concern Tenten nearly as much

as how it ends. Bandits, thieves, protection detail, fighting other genin,

lawn work, runaway cats, other mundane tasks have all been her ninja

experience up to that point, but she's never come across an enemy

shinobi of this strength. This was an assassin who wouldn't spare a

second thought about killing them for attempting to take his sword, and

still, her mind wonders how such a weapon could've possibly ended in

Naruto's possession.

Chapter 224:

The blond was such a mystery to her she was beginning to hear his

voice say odd things like, "who are you?" Her frazzled mind's mental

slip corrects itself when she realizes that came from downstairs.

"Where's Tenten-chan," she hears yelled, so grateful to recognize the

loud voice, she's near to tears.

Tenten had been amazed by Ōyashiro's bravery despite Zabuza's clear

strength, but she was absolutely dumbfounded when the blond oddity

rushes upstairs, takes one look at her and yells at the Kiri assassin,

"what the hell Zabuza-jiji!" Naruto rushes to her despite the constant

threat Kubikiribōchō poses in the hands of a former Anbu and suddenly

her vision is filled with the worried, blue-eyed countenance of one

Uzumaki Naruto.

The blues of his eyes search her over for any wounds as he asks, "ne,

are you okay, Tenten-chan?" He then spots her heaving, pale,

sweating, bleeding father and calls out, "ah, uh, Haku could you make

sure he's okay?"

"As you wish, Naruto-sama," Haku immediately responds.

"When did that brat upgrade to -sama," a lazy Zabuza asks and Haku

plainly tells him as he walks to Dānyī, "he's the head of his clan now.

It's unofficial, though, not for long."

But Naruto only cares to yell at the assassin, "what gives? Why didn't

you just come to me? You didn't have to involve them."

"Ah-ah, shut it," Zabuza yowls with mild irritation. "I didn't touch Buns

and that trash had it coming. Trying to steal Kubikiribōchō is a crime

punishable by death."

"Says who," Naruto asks loudly as he helps Tenten up.

For some reason, Tenten couldn't let go of his orange sleeve and she

didn't understand why. She wasn't hurt, nor does death seem as likely

anymore. Holding his sleeve like a lost little girl was humiliating, and

yet, she simply can't make her tight hand let go.

"Might I hazard a guess and say you're the owner of Kubikiribōchō,"

Ōyashiro asks Naruto from behind him.

"Who cares about that," Naruto tells the merchant. "Come on Haku,

let's get him to the hospital."

"He'll be fine," Zabuza calls, effortlessly bringing Kubikiribōchō to

Naruto's neck, and to Tenten's immense surprise, Naruto just shoves

the blade away, as if it was nothing more than an annoying twig.

Smirking, Zabuza reminds the blond, "we still need to settle our

showdown, brat."

"It's Naruto," her fellow genin calls back, gently patting Tenten's hand. It

was an unexpected comfort she was immediately grateful for, and to

her relief, it helped. She felt control in her hand once again, yet, she

chose to hold on for just a little longer. "You'd think you'd remember the

name of the ninja that beat you."

"Tch, it was luck," Zabuza declares defiantly.

"Lucky you survived, jiji," Naruto tells the Kiri-nin as Haku and a red-

haired girl treat her weakened father. "I know how you old dudes tend

to be brittle in your old age."

Quickly setting his shoulders for a fight, Zabuza growls, "you fucking-

I'm not even thirty yet!"

"Now that I think about it," Haku comments aloud as he looks at

Zabuza. "You've never once told me your age."

"Do eyebrows recede," Naruto asks Haku.

With eerily calm confidence, Zabuza growls, "I'm going to kill you,"

raising his killer intent to the point Tenten feels like she can't inhale a

decent breath of fresh air. She grips his sleeve tighter, yet, to her

amazement, Naruto doesn't buckle.

Naruto simply glares defiantly as he asks, "why are you here? I thought

you'd still be recuperating."

"Obviously, I'm here to kill you so Kubikiribōchō will once again be

mine."

"Hmph!" Naruto calmly rebuffs. " You're not going to kill me so you

might as well forget about that right now."

Staring daggers at the daring blond, Zabuza growls, "I can't wait to see

the look in your eyes when it finally sinks in tonight'll be the last night

you breath."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto bemoans, cleaning his ears much to Zabuza's

growing annoyance. "Let's just get this over with."

"It feels like you're not taking me seriously here," Zabuza notes. "Not

that I care, but from one demon to another, only the last one breathing

keeps Kubikiribōchō."

"I don't want Kubikiribōchō," Naruto responds. "That sword doesn't fit

with my fighting style."

Stepping closer to the blond, Haku suggests, "Naruto-sama, this would

be a good opportunity to try diplomacy. You're going to have to learn to

settle things with other strong and angry men without resorting to

violence."

"There's only one way this is getting settled," Zabuza tells Haku.

As Naruto tilts his head in deep thought, Haku responds to Zabuza, "it

doesn't hurt to try."

"How's this for diplomacy," Zabuza irately tells them. "When I win, not

only will I take Kubikiribōchō, but I'm killing the thief and taking his

daughter. Of course, Haku will be my weapon again."

Tenten freezes at the plausible turn of her fate. Haku remains serene

as ever, unbothered by the possibility of murderous change while a

confused Karin asks Haku, "uh, are you okay with that?"

"Of course," Haku serenly answers. "As a tool, I love both these men

more than life itself. If one dies whether by the other's hand or not, I will

mourn him while following the other."

"You're a special cookie, aren't ya," Karin mumbles, though Haku only

smiles merrily.

Naruto was quiet throughout the exchange, staring sternly into

Zabuza's eyes. After another moment of silence, Naruto tells the tall

Kiri-nin, "that won't work, but, it doesn't matter because I'm going to

win. And you're not going to die because I'm not going to kill Haku's

special person. So, when I win, I'm lending you Kubikiribōchō and you

have to stop doing bad stuff like kidnapping people and hurting them

for no reason."

"Counter-proposal," Zabuza insists. "I kill you and everything else falls

into place like I expect, but if for some ungodly reason you manage to

pull off another little miracle, I'll… borrow Kubikiribōchō and I'll give you

the option of keeping Haku or the Bun Head."

Shocked by a ludicrous counter-proposal, Naruto yells, "what?"

Zabuza threatens, "we both know if I say the word, Haku will come

right back to me."

"You can't do that," Naruto asserts, glaring at the much taller assassin.

However, Zabuza gravely reasons, "if you can't choose Haku over

everyone, then you don't deserve him."

"But that's wrong!"

As he sets Kubikiribōchō comfortably on his back before Zabuza raises

a hand seal to his chest as he asserts, "then prove it, Naruto." Chakra

created mist swirls around the tall Kiri-nin, shrouding the man, his

scratchy voice rings out, "Haku knows where to go. If you don't show,

I'll kill the thief and his daughter," before the Demon of Hidden Mist

disappears.

Chapter 225: Always

INO

After her father happily agreed to help her pink-haired former friend,

former rival, and current undetermined relation, Sakura follows Ino into

the blond heiress's bedroom before closing the door behind her. Ino

doesn't find it strange at all for Sakura to once again be in her room, let

alone ask her clan for assistance. Their bond was strong that way.

With concern, Ino asks, "do you really think you're in danger?"

"Kakashi-sensei is just being cautious," Sakura answers as she stands

in the middle of the clean and fragrant room with her luggage over her

shoulder. To bring her luggage with her to ask, Sakura must've

assumed they would say yes, making Ino smirk at the audacity.

"I'll make sure tou-san knows to beef up the night patrols," Ino

comments as she moves to her walk-in closet. "Our cousins always

ask for extra hours anyway."

"Thanks," Sakura mentions, looking around awkwardly before slowly

asking, "um, I'm not staying in here, am I?"

"Of course you are," Ino states loudly from within her closet, visibly

looking through a long line of cool colored outfits.

Sakura's shoulders slump and her heavy bag slips off as she asks,

"why? Your home has, like, five empty bedrooms."

"Why not," Ino casually asks as she walks out with a neatly hung royal

purple mini skirt, a white long sleeve crop top, a purple scarf, and black

thigh-high leggings. "We're not having sex again, if that's what you're

worried about."

"No, I'm not worried about that," Sakura huffs with pink cheeks,

wondering how Ino can be so casual when bringing up sex. "I thought

you liked your personal space. I mean, I could be here for weeks or

even a month."

"I don't care," Ino tells the pinkette with a shrug as she begins

changing. Sakura promptly turns around as Ino asks, "do you want the

bed?"

"I-In another room? Yes," she asserts before queerly stating, "and you

should care. I didn't think I should come here after everything that's

happened between us, but you're offering me your bed like it's just

another sleepover. How do you not care?"

"I'm not forgetting everything we've been through," Ino mentions as she

zips up her mini skirt, checking over her skirt and bra form in the full-

length mirror. "I wouldn't dare forget, as if I did nothing wrong."

Turning to the womanly figure of the Yamanaka clan's most prized

flower, Sakura wants to know, "then how can you be so calm about

this?"

"We may not be best friends, or friends, exactly, but we're no longer

rivals," Ino begins, taking a moment to don on her long sleeve crop top

before continuing. "We have history, a lot in common, most notably

boys, and hell, we were even beaten by Hyūgas."

Recalling those chillingly veined white eyes seeking her our to destroy,

Sakura shivers as she mouths, "ugh, don't even mention their name."

Gripping her tummy, she adds, "my stomach still shudders at the

thought."

On her bed and slowly slipping on her black thigh high leggings, Ino

chuckles as she claims, "I actually feel lucky matching up against Neji-

kun. I was so weak, he didn't even use his Byakugan on me."

Nodding in clear understanding, Sakura asks a content Ino, "so, are

you being nice or casual about this because you feel you owe me?"

"No," Ino asserts, standing in front of the mirror again to make sure the

threading of her legging is straight and isn't pulling unduly anywhere.

"Well, then I don't understand," Sakura heaves, roughly setting down

her large backpack. "You raped me, then blackmailed me,

repeatedly…" Sakura pauses as her mind quickly evaluates the cause

and effect of everything that's happened to her in the past couple of

months, mostly how it relates to Naruto and Sasuke; her positive

opinion of Naruto rising in equal proportion to her hard realization of

Sasuke.

'He'd kill me or my parents as easily as he nearly did Naruto,' her mind

repeats for the thousandth time as a mostly dressed Ino takes Sakura's

bag and drags the heavy pack beside the desk.

Moving to sit on the bed, an objective Sakura comments, "look, I hate

being this aware of this reality, but I can't say I don't prefer the brutal

truth, no matter how colorless, tasteless, loveless… bleak…

challenging… grotesque-"

"Alright, I get it," Ino calls out with a smirk as she drags the desk's chair

in front of Sakura and takes a seat, crossing her toned legs.

"It would be so much easier if you were evil about it all… but the truth

matters," Sakura huffs, recalling her role in it all. "You did something

horrible to me, but I was doing something horrible to myself. I hated

you for what you did, but… if I wasn't so…"

"I get it," Ino speaks. In her perfect posture, Ino enjoys the serenity

clarity tends to offer. She's grown confident because she has the

answers Kurenai-sensei helped her to learn and it shows. Content in

herself and her environment, Ino light-heartedly affirms, "neither one of

us was in the right mindset. Kind of like being in a pit we, not only,

couldn't get out of but didn't even know we were in. Thoughts and

emotion dictate our actions and if we only ever thought of Sasuke-kun

in a world where any mission could be our last, our actions would fall in

line. Everyone told us we were acting boy-crazy, but we couldn't listen

because we hadn't woken up enough to listen. I mean, how often did

your short term goals matter compared to your long term when it

involved the last Uchiha?"

Recalling her Optimal Plan, Sakura can easily tell Ino, "every spare

second I had was dedicated to Sasuke."

Nodding, Ino adds, "we should've been training instead of worrying

about our hair and nails. In my case, nothing else mattered, and from

that standpoint, the decisions I made for myself weren't healthy ones.

All that said, I'm aware that despite the reason, despite my own lunacy

for Sasuke, I know what I did to you and I know what that makes me.

We were best friends but I raped you. I want to see you succeed but I

blackmailed you. Rivals to roommates, yet, evil nevertheless."

Chapter 226:

"No," Sakura quickly interjects, staring at the most confident girl she's

ever met with confusion. "Maybe if you look at individual actions,

people can do evil. Forcibly taking another person's life is inherently

evil, but if that person is a terrible criminal, we can all live with it." Her

thoughts strayed to Sasuke as she quietly adds, "I'm only now realizing

that the world isn't so black and white, just a lot of variations of gray."

"That's what I mean," Ino points out. "A lot of my dark gray is directed

toward you-"

"Uh, don't forget braking Naruto's heart," Sakura quickly points out.

"Oh, don't even," Ino expresses. "At some point in a month, year, or

decade, he was going to seriously ask you out, and the only course of

action you were going to take was to seriously break his heart. Don't

blame me just because I sped up the natural course of events. And

don't pretend you didn't enjoy yourself. I can't remember the last time I

ever saw you so dazed and euphoric. You weren't even like that when

we had sex-"

"SHHHH," an incredibly embarrassed and tomato-red Sakura shushes

with angry green eyes.

Looking at Sakura dumbfounded before gesturing to the warm and

empty room, "we're alone, you loon."

Feeling exhausted, Sakura falls back in the bed, bemoaning, "ugh,

Kami, I shouldn't have come here."

"It's not surprising that you did," Ino informs her standing up and

moving the chair back to her desk. "You probably feel what's taken me

a while to figure out."

Propping half her body on her elbows, a confused and curious Sakura

asks Ino, "what? That I must be out of my mind for coming here or that

my life is so messed up right now that you were the best option?"

"Neither," Ino answers, voicing further as she takes a kunai, and as

many kunoichi do, straps it to her thigh underneath her mini skirt, "like I

said, I was thinking deeply about why go so far for and against you?"

Ino then walks over to Sakura and extends her hand, which Sakura

hesitantly takes before lifting the pinkette to her feet.

They're close enough to feel each other's exhale and Ino continues,

"out of all the other kunoichi in our class, after everything I did, why

you? Thinking, thinking, thinking, I finally figured it's more than just love

when we were little girls and more than just rivalry when we grew up. I

was so relieved when I figured out that there's a unique bond between

us that I don't feel with anyone else. You challenge me, infuriate me,

inspire me, all while loving you just as much as I can hate you."

Beside Ino's bed in the purple and personal room, the blond beauty

takes Sakura's other hand and holds it comfortably firm as she

continues. "The only word I could think of that fully encapsulates all of

that, is sisters. Obviously, we're not blood-related and much more

tenderhearted sisters exist, but, you're the sister I chose before I even

knew I had, and I'm the sister you chose, and I know, no matter what,

I'm always going to love you, even when I hate you. I'm always going

to be there to call you a brat when you need it or a genius when you're

being absolutely brilliant. I'll always cheer for you, protect you, console

you and everything in between for as long as we live because I love

you, Forehead."

Ino takes a tearful Sakura into a firm, warm, and comforting hug before

whispering, "I have to go meet my team, but I'm sorry I used my jutsu

on you. I'm sorry I did those horrible things to you, and I'll never do it

again." Ino takes an emotional Sakura's docile head gently by her jaw

and presses her cushion pink lips against the girl's forehead. Ino then

clears the single tear streaming down her cheek before leaving the

pinkette in her sanctuary.

KURENAI

The walk to their home was silent but comfortable. Kurenai is relishing

in her team's excitement earlier that evening and though Kiba and

Shino asked many questions about Naruto, Kurenai used the moment

as a training lesson to make certain her students know never to make

assumptions based off of third party information. Kurenai was proud of

Shino when he noted Hinata's apt comprehension of the Naruto their

class only thought they knew. Even after drinks with Asuma, Kurenai's

night with her team was a validating celebration for every member of

Team 8.

As they enter their home. Kurenai's senses pick up on a figure in her

bedroom, however, her keen senses didn't detect anything malicious or

suspicious. Add to that the only person with Fūin access to her home,

other than herself and Hinata, is Naruto. Knowing she's only moments

away from finally connecting with him made her warm between her

legs. Daydreaming about how hard he'll take her and pound his rock

hard meat into her made her aroused mind work out a detailed plan on

how they'll sneak out after Hinata falls asleep.

"Kurenai-sensei," Hinata starts, drawing the stunning woman's

attention. Taking a deep breath to prepare herself, Hinata, with stern

lilac eyes, informs her sensei, "I've only returned to grab a few things."

Nervousness doesn't show on the girl's beautiful face, however,

Kurenai was wondering if her pupil sensed the man in her bed as well

as deduced that the only person it could be was Naruto. Hinata seems

too assertive for that to be the case, and casually asks, "what do you

mean?"

Hinata answers, "I've decided to return home to undergo special

training until the month is out. Father has agreed to train me and I feel

that I need it."

"Oh," Kurenai sounds, managing not to let her disappointment show.

With the addition of Hinata's decision, that makes the set now. Toward

the end of their night out, the Aburame and the Inuzuka clan heads

show up to thank her for her diligent tutelage but also to take this

opportunity to train their children in clan techniques to better prepare

them for the final test. If she considers that her genin may face each

other in the finals, it makes sense that they are trained separately,

however, Kurenai hadn't expected Hinata would also ask to return to

her home for clan training.

As any dutiful sensei, Kurenai responds, "well, I'm certain this will be

beneficial to your future."

"I know it will," Hinata clearly states with more confidence than she's

seen in the girl. The conviction didn't last long, however, as the indigo-

haired princess lightly blushes before affirming, "but I still need your

training as well. I made certain father knew I couldn't have made it to

the final test without you. So, I was h-hoping… W-we… c-c-could…" A

steadily blushing Hinata takes a deep breath before finishing, "there

was one t-tr-training m-me-method… I… Y-you… C-c-confi ence tr-t-t-t-

train- ing."

Chapter 227:

"Hinata," Kurenai clearly voices with authority, drawing more attention

from the overly blushing beauty. "Breath. Remember, you're always

safe to speak your mind with me and are encouraged to express

yourself without judgment. No matter what others might think or say,

you always have the right to speak your mind, especially in our home."

Nodding, the red-faced girl gathers her courage to speak, "I wou-would

like t-to continue our c-confidence tr-training."

"Confidence training," Kurenai wonders aloud, trying to recall such a

training when the blushing cheeks make it click into place. "Ah, you

mean Genjutsu training." When Hinata nods, Kurenai asks for clarity, "I

thought you were getting along well with Naruto-kun. He even used

some of the techniques you taught him." Much to Kurenai's

amusement, Hinata blushes red hot at that.

"W-we do," Hinata stutters, restraining her innocent smile. "But, I-

Iwanted… Hug-hugging is…"

At the girl's crippling physiological reaction to the thought of physically

embracing Naruto, Kurenai became frightened Hinata might actually

pass out. Though her precious student's love for the blond that Kurenai

is physically intimate with should feel odd, Kurenai can't say no to such

a courageous face. It's a mild unease, at best, so easily sidelined that

Kurenai, instead, focuses on the warming pride she feels to know

Naruto gives this beautiful girl so much strength.

She happily tells her student, "of course. Practicing physical contact,

like hugging is a great way to become more comfortable, not only with

that person but with yourself. And the more comfortable you are with

yourself, the more confident you can be in anything you do."

Hinata nods in complete agreement, determination once again

returning to the girl's eyes as Kurenai conveys, "just give me some time

to properly prepare, then we can start right away."

"Thank you sensei," Hinata calls out as she hugs her, and with a happy

heart, Kurenai hugs her back just as hard.

Thinking about her blond lover, Kurenai becomes both excited and

scared as she answers her student, "you're always welcome, Hinata-

chan."

NARUTO

"Sorry, Haku…" Naruto starts, staring at the now-vacant space the

Demon of Hidden Mist disappeared from. "But Zabuza-jiji is such a

dick!"

In the apartment above Ten Out of Ten, as Karin notes with certainty,

"he's not far; probably watching us from… forty-five meters away,"

Haku just smiles with acceptance of his special person before asking,

"would you like to leave now?"

"We have to take Tenten's dad to the hospital first," Naruto says turning

to the bleeding weapon's merchant.

"We can't," Tenten tells him. "Zabuza stuck one of out exploding notes

on his back—the type only Zabuza's chakra can disarm—and told us if

we stepped out of the shop, he'd die."

"That monster is going to kill me anyway," Dānyī voices from the floor.

"I believe it, old friend," Ōyashiro consoles with a slow nod of his head.

"You're no friend of mine," Dānyī retorts. "You, who'd sell your own

mother for an exotic animal."

"You always throw that in my face," Ōyashiro huffs with outstretched

palms that highlight his long skinny fingers. "I bought her back," the

dealer whines.

"Karin-chan is correct," Haku tells Naruto. "Zabuza-sama will be

watching us. As it's your decision, what would you like to do?"

"If I may," Ōyashiro directs at Naruto gaining everyone's attention. "I'd

be very eager to witness your match and promise to stay well out of the

way."

Looking oddly at the man, Naruto consents with a nod before turning to

his cousin. "Karin-chan, you stay here with Tenten-chan and her dad-"

"I want to come too," Tenten quickly states, regretting how

unnecessarily meek her tone was.

Cautiously, Naruto asks the bun-haired girl, "don't you want to stay with

your dad?"

"I do…" Tenten expresses, looking from her angry father to Naruto.

However, the questions she has about this blond are burning inside

her. She needs to know why Zabuza treats him differently and

proclaims, "but I need to see this."

"I'll make certain she remains safe," Haku offers.

"Fine," Naruto agrees. "Let's go."

Walking down to the store's steps to the weapon's inventory, Naruto

notices the very weapon he's been saving his ryo for. Though he still

can't afford the pair, he turns to the frazzled brunette and asks her,

"hey, Tenten-chan, you mind if I buy one of them? I promise to give you

the ryo for it tomorrow. Ah, and I'll eventually buy the other one."

"Here you are," Ōyashiro states dropping a roll of Ryo on the counter

before taking and handing Naruto both of the lightweight, black,

knuckle blades. The young blond knew he loved the weapons the

moment Asuma let him use his. They were so ideal, he hardly felt

them, but like an extension of his body, he simply knew they were

there.

"I can front you the money, no interest," Ōyashiro continues, adding, "if

you would but grant me an audience after your match."

"You don't have to," Naruto responds, finding the man a bit weird. "I

can pay… for one."

"Consider it a bet, if you will, on future events," Ōyashiro replies. "Ryo

is of little concern when one has more than half the country, however,

where people place their value has always been a great source of

enjoyment. I'd be very interested in witnessing this second miracle

Momochi-dono spoke of."

Naruto hands him one of the chakra blades back, informing the arms

merchant, "I don't mind talking after, but I can only afford one right now,

so I'll give you the money for it later."

"Very well, Uzumaki-dono," Ōyashiro says with a smile and a slight

bow before denoting, "I'll hold on to this one, in the meantime."

"Gimme," Tenten demands, extending her hand to Naruto, who is

confused. Answering his confusion, she explains, "if you're going to

use a weapon, I can get you something better than that. That's a

chakra blade. It's not fully sharpened, and on top of that, you need to

be able to manipulate the nature of your chakra to use it properly."

"I know," he confirms. Having continued his Futon chakra control even

after he learned the Rasenshuriken, and practiced with Asuma's chakra

blades, Naruto effortlessly creates a long blue blade out of his wind-

natured chakra, very much to her dumbfounded surprise.

Wide-eyed shock clear on her face, Tenten can't help but immediately

ask, "are you ANBU or something?"

Chapter 228:

FOREST OF DEATH

After his smirk, the group exit Ten Out of Ten and together with

Ōyashiro's blond bodyguard, who the merchant vouched for, they sprint

the tops of buildings and scale walls for forty minutes before hopping

over the tall fence of the Forest of Death.

Naruto glumly mouths, "of course he'd want to fight here. How's he

even know about 44?"

"I told him you were taking a test in the forest of death," Haku

mentions. "He seemed to like the sound of the training ground. He has

a surprising flair for the dramatic."

"I'll wait here," Ōyashiro states as his pretty and quiet bodyguard sets

the man down. She has sharp blue eyes that Naruto can't help but

appreciate; very observant, which he notes must be a good trait to

have for a bodyguard. Also, his brain likes the fact that his father, Ino-

chan, and himself all have blue eyes and blond hair.

Sensing a palpable danger heighten deep in the thick forest vegetation,

many in the group can even feel animals moving away from the

monstrous predator as Naruto tells Tenten, "I think everyone should

wait here too."

As if to answer that proper precaution, the forest begins filling with a

thick mist, slowly swallowing every moss infested tree, bush, and

stone. Without preamble, and to Tenten's surprise, Naruto simply

rushes into the thicket of mist. His eyesight becomes a varying degree

of gray and white and little else.

Naruto puts his fingers together and calls, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." A

duplicate of himself pops into existence before calling, "henge," and the

clone transforms into a Fuma Shuriken. Gripped firmly by Naruto, he

hops on the nearest tree fog-covered and sprints to the very top.

Fortunately, Kubikiribōchō is large and heavy, and though Zabuza can

use it silently, it's that very silence Haku had explained gives it away.

So when Naruto's trained ears suddenly detect a slight dip in the

ambient noise of the Forest of Death, he knew Kubikiribōchō—in the

hands of the silent killer—was cutting through the molecules in the

forest air before it's edge finds tree bark where Naruto's neck was

previously.

The blond couldn't even detect Zabuza strike or disappear, hindering

Naruto's ability to counter, and though Naruto dodged Zabuza's first

strike, the genin can tell the veteran shinobi was only testing him; not

that counter-attacking mattered. Continuing his mad sprint up the fog-

shrouded tree, Naruto knows he can't fight in this fog and Kakashi-

sensei always tells him the terrain in a battle often determines victory

or defeat, which Kurenai later translated plainly to, 'make the battle-

field more comfortable for you to fight in.'

Naruto narrowly evades Zabuza's attack four more times before the

blond reaches the top of the giant tree. The visibility wasn't clear of fog

even at that height—it was everywhere—but Naruto didn't need it to be

clear there. With the charged Chakra coursing his muscles, the blond

shinobi leaps hard off the last stable branch, reaching a couple dozen

feet into the air before he throws his Fuma Shuriken even higher into

the night sky. Falling back, he nearly missed his landing due to

extremely low visibility.

Naruto brings his chakra blade before him and it amazes him how

odorless, inaudible, invisible, imperceptible Zabuza is in a fragrant and

noisy forest even when he clearly speaks as if beside Naruto's ear, "I

don't know what that was supposed to accomplish but it won't work.

The one clone turning into twelve clones and landing in the thickest

part of my mist won't do anything."

"Hmph," Naruto defiantly sounds, maintain all his heightened senses to

detect the invisible man. "I don't want to hear that from the guy who lost

to me once already."

"You know what the worst part for you is about that day," Zabuza

menacingly asks. "It's your one trick that won't ever work on me again."

"It's got nothing to do with that," Naruto voices into the great swirling

white and gray mist as he begins feeling the wind pick up

"What are they-" Zabuza starts to voice when he realizes there's now a

rapidly growing cyclone swallowing the Kiri-nin's chakra created mist.

Naruto smiles as the wind becomes more violent, slowly clearing his

sight of the fog as he tells the veteran ninja, "you're going to lose

because it takes more strength to protect than it does to destroy."

Sprinting toward the center of the cyclone, Naruto begins to receive

bits of memories of his clones being sliced up and lands in the fog-

scattered field just as his last clone is forcibly dispelled. Using twelve

powered up first-stage Rasengans near enough to each other in a

circle to create a huge cyclone is something he's always wanted to do,

though he isn't sure why the vortex of wind didn't continue when,

almost immediately, he realizes Zabuza dispelled twelve clones with

stage one Rasengans in the tens of seconds it took him to reach the

clearing.

The fog may have cleared, however, it's still dark with little moonlight

reaching the small grassy field. In the dark fogless field, lugging his

massive blade on his shoulder, Zabuza turns to Naruto as he lands in a

small clearing between many tall trees. Their eyes adjust to the

darkness while his feet feel cold covered by the moist mist settling just

a few inches above the grass.

With a more balanced playing field, the pair of shinobi stare at each

other, knowing no words or pleas were going to prevent the battle of

conviction that lays ahead. Zabuza is a renowned assassin extremely

capable of killing Naruto, however, the young genin knows the veteran

is wrong. And more than anything, Naruto doesn't want Haku to bury

either one of them, despite how possible it may seem with a shinobi

like the Demon of Hidden Mist.

In an instant, they both rush at each other, clashing their weapons in

the middle of the field to very bright sparks, illuminating their focused

faces and the nearby vegetation. Large, strong, and brutal, Zabuza

battles Naruto with all the rage of a demon, effectively using the

momentum of the bright clash to follow with another wide swipe. The

large man and his imposing weapon are louder in Naruto's ears, nearly

deafening as he expects and parries Zabuza's following strike with his

chakra covered knuckle blade.

Chapter 229:

Suspiciously accustomed to Zabuza'a style, Naruto isn't surprised

when the veteran buries the tip of his blade into the dirt after missing

his head and uses the motion to lead into a short combination of

punches and kicks. He then tapers his body's rotation by recovering his

large blade and attacking all over again. It's as if ninja and weapon

take turns rotating attacks, like two tops spinning in turns. As he had

against Haku, Naruto has an easier time with the slender man's fists

and kicks, however, the size and weight of the weapon bats Naruto

back, violently shaking his guard painfully down to his entire body's

marrow.

Undeterred, Naruto evades or blocks each fatal strike, however, even

when Naruto blocks the long sharp sword, meeting it head-on still clips

Naruto in the shoulder, thigh, or other unguarded muscle groups,

drawing a mist of blood out of his tense and chakra-filled body. Yet, in

defiance of the stinging pain, Naruto's resolve holds firm. In his combat

state, he's aware of these movements, and despite feeling Zabuza's

overwhelming experience and battle savagery, Naruto's confidence in

himself keeps him on his feet and his conviction for the future he's

trying to forge ahead strengthen his fists.

'They need to see what else is possible,' Naruto's mind yells as he

counters Zabuza's sword with his chakra covered blade, vibrating his

bones to his clenching teeth. Naruto knows there's another way, and it

boils his blood that so many shinobi, including the vicious one he's

battling, can't see it.

When the elite ninja isn't actively trying to concuss Naruto's brain with

bludgeoning shots, the blond expects the slicing swipes to any one of

eight choices; liver, lungs, spine, subclavian vein, jugular vein, kidneys,

heart, brain. Even when Naruto evades, the strike is so near to his skin

it deafens his ears and cold-burns his skin. With the weight and

momentum for hard unstoppable hits, it forced Naruto to jump with the

strike, getting sent back dozens of feet to avoid standing his ground

against the worst of it.

Their fist-pistoning attacks are so fast they create a whistling noise

from forcibly displacing the molecules in the air, however, Naruto

doesn't have the same reach, leading him to stay low and direct his

strikes toward Zabuza's legs. Yet even then, dodging left to be kicked

by the right sent a stunned and bleeding Naruto flying while Zabuza

makes four rapid hand seals before calling out, "Suiton: Suidan no

Jutsu."

After a deep inhale, Zabuza exhales a laser beam of a large quantity of

water at Naruto. Narrowly dodging the first beam of water rips at his

right sleeve. Upon the follow up water-based attack, Naruto focuses

spinning chakra to the very center of his left hand and thrusts the

strong rotating energy forward. It wasn't the Rasengan, but the first and

second stages of the powerful technique meets the water lance head-

on, and though a grunting Naruto felt the impact nearly shatter the

bones in his hand, pushing him back in the process, the whirlwind of

futon chakra spins and spreads the water lance like a spinning drill

breaking through the tough earth.

Zabuza didn't let up, however, adding more and more fury to the high-

pressure laserjet of water that a yelling Naruto matches. The water is

cut and redirected like rays of sunlight hitting a ball of mirrors, only in

this case, the stream of water cuts through branches, gouges tree

trunks, shrubbery, and skins the surface of stones.

The left sleeve of his orange two-piece jumpsuit is shredded off by the

time Zabuza finally relents, and only then does Naruto realize there

was so much water created by Zabuza's fierce attack, the level

reaches his thighs.

Elevating himself to the surface of the water with his chakra, Naruto

takes a knee on the waving pond created as he inhales in deep

breaths while Zabuza looks on. The tall ninja with his blade on his back

seems angry in his thoughtfulness before he mouths, "Haku…"

Shaking his head of any further words, Zabuza quickly begins another

series of hand seals and he's already on his thirteenth seal when

Naruto realizes what his next attack will be. Rather than stopping the

elite Kiri-nin forty feet away, the blond instead claps his hands together

and through an extended cry, gathers all the chakra within him, going

so far as to even ask, 'Kurama, hold your chakra back for a little bit.'

'Don't wanna,' Kurama returns from within his seal. It takes a lot of

Naruto's chakra to perfectly maintain his energy's balance along with

Kurama's. His chakra coils grow larger as a result and Naruto rarely, if

ever, has full access to all his chakra. Much of it mingles with Kurama's

in order to maintain their equilibrium, giving the Demon fox a

connection to the outside world. So, Naruto understands when the

Demon Fox says, 'I feel nearly nothing when that happens.'

Focusing as much of his spirit energy to his core before Zabuza

finishes his forty-four seal technique, Naruto tells his partner, 'it won't

be for long.'

'…Are you going to ask about multiple mates-'

'Yeah! Yeah! Fine,' Naruto mentally yells as Zabuza calls, "Suiton:

Suiryūdan no Jutsu."

From the expansive waving pond they were standing on, as well as,

the invisible thinness of the air, small globules of water all rush together

to form a twenty-foot serpent of water with the head of a dragon. Like

being in a storm, the heavily displaced water the crouched Naruto is

standing on waves toward the kinetic energy expelling out of the

monster. Tree trunks rumble, tree branches shake and most of the

water is either blown away or sucked into the chakra serpent.

Ignoring the sting of needle-like water striking him on powerful gusts of

wind, a drenched Naruto focuses on his staggering rise of strength

feeding his aching muscles until it bursts from the tenketsus of his

physical form, not unlike Kurama's chakra shroud. All his aches

disappear and the response of his physical strength feels as if he can

lift a mountain. As his skin tingles with electric goosebumps, he

quantifies the strength currently rushing through in him at one tail of

Kurama's chakra, so despite Zabuza's giant aquatic monster

screeching before it attacks, Naruto yells, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"