31 Chapter 26: A Blade in the Waves 1/2

Hullo everyone!

So this chapter is one I've been looking forward to. It's going to tie some things up, but it'll open the door for more. You'll see what I mean. *nods*

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Chapter 26

A Blade in the Waves

As dawn arose over the land of Nami, a still figure was seen lying against a tree, apparently asleep. After Inari's words the previous evening, he had left in a rage. After storming around for a bit, he had found the nearest clearing, and immediately began venting his anger through training, and on some unfortunate shadow clones. Even when he had eventually tired himself out, he was still too angry to return, so he had simply settled down in the clearing for the night, after setting a few countermeasures in place to ward off any potential enemies or threats of course.

Said countermeasures didn't seem to stop the figure though that was approaching Naruto's sleeping form. Said figure stopped while standing over Naruto, staring down at him. They slowly reached down, only to stop as the tip of a hidden blade nearly touched their throat. "I wouldn't come any closer if I were you," Naruto said, eyes still closed.

Haku, understanding the danger she was in, slowly pulled back. "I'm not here to fight you," she said, her mask hiding the look of nervousness on her face at how quickly Naruto had reacted to her presence.

"Forgive me if I don't believe you," he said, eyes now open, as he slowly stood, his body tense and ready to fight. He studied the figure before him, before speaking again. "Why are you here exactly?" He asked, watching her for any movements.

Haku just held her hands up slowly, to show she wasn't going to reach for a weapon or start a jutsu. "I'm here at the behest of Zabuza-sama. He wishes to discuss a cease-fire, and perhaps even a temporary alliance," she said.

Naruto blinked in surprise, before narrowing his eyes. "Why would he do that? And why should I believe a word you're saying?" He asked her, still tense and ready to act if need be.

"Zabuza-sama is willing to come to a location of your sensei's choosing, and is willing to do so unarmed. There he will discuss things with them, if they are willing," Haku said. "We have information on Gato's plans that we're willing to offer in exchange for this truce."

"Uh-huh…why would Zabuza be willing to betray his client? Granted, he was willing to betray his village, but-" Naruto said, only to be cut off by Haku, who spoke in a more angry tone.

"Do not speak of Zabuza-sama like that! The village betrayed him!" She said, only to bite her lip and take a few calming breaths. "We have learned recently that Gato intends to betray us as well to avoid having to pay for our services. Zabuza wishes to take the best course of action in order to survive. Please, at least tell your sensei this," she said in a calmer tone.

Naruto watched her, before making a shadow clone who rushed off back to Tazuna's house. "We'll have an answer soon enough," he said simply, still watching her.

Haku nodded, before glancing around the clearing quietly. Her eyes narrowed a bit at the slashes and stab points decorating some of the trees around them. "I take it you were training?" She asked.

Naruto just remained standing there, in a position to quickly dodge or make a grab for his weapons. "What if I was?" He said simply, not really in the mood to speak with an enemy shinobi who could be part of a trap.

Haku looked at him, before slowly removing her mask and stowing it at her side, seeing him tense and almost grab for one of the weapons at his back. "Please, I do not come here as an enemy," she said quietly.

Naruto had to admit, she was quite a looker. Soft brown eyes, pale skin, soft features. 'But she can't beat out Hinata-chan,' he thought, only to mentally start. What made him think of that? Okay yeah, Hinata was cute, really cute, but he hadn't really thought about her in that way before.

His musings were cut short though when Anko practically teleported in front of him from the tree tops, landing next to him. She rose up, studying the kunoichi in front of her and Naruto. "So…you're Zabuza's helper?" She asked.

"Yes. As I told your student, I'm here with an offer from Zabuza for a truce," Haku said.

Anko crossed her arms, shifting her weight back onto one leg. "Uh-huh…So Zabuza Momochi wants a truce?" She asked. "Why exactly? I want a straight answer."

Haku let out a slightly frustrated sigh. "We have learned that Gato intends to betray us. We could simply leave, but Zabuza-sama stated that it would look bad to future prospective clients. Instead, he proposes we work alongside you to take down Gato. We survive Gato's trap, you protect your client, and hopefully we can all leave this island alive," Haku said simply.

Anko just looked at her, before nodding. "Alright. Tell him to meet us here at this clearing this afternoon at two. He's to come unarmed," she said simply. "He can accept it or leave it."

Haku hesitated, before nodding. "Very well," she said, before disappearing in a shunshin.

Naruto let out a sigh, only to get bonked on the head by Anko. "OW! What the heck sensei?!" He demanded.

"That was for staying out here all night long. We've been worried sick!" She said, even as Hinata dropped down next to them, folding up her bow and stowing it in its back harness. The indigo haired girl had a mixture of a disapproving face and a pout, making Naruto again think 'cute' in his mind before squashing that thought as he rubbed his head.

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry. Just…needed to get away from that brat," he said quietly, before getting serious. "What do you think Gato is planning?"

"Probably nothing good, if his track record is anything to go by," Anko said, looking off into the trees. "But if he's willing to turn on Zabuza, he either is incredibly dumb, or thinks he has an ace up his sleeve. Guess we'll find out, won't we?" She said, as the trio started to head back to Tazuna's house.

As they approached, they saw Sakura and Sasuke actually sparring together. Sasuke obviously was a lot stronger than Sakura, and yet the pink haired girl was not backing down, continuing to get up and fight. Naruto had a half smile as he watched. "Well, at least she's got one person at that team to help her," he said. He knew how protective of Sakura Ino was, and how the blonde had often ranted about how no one on team 7 seemed to even bother helping Sakura train.

"She's probably not happy it's Sasuke though. She doesn't like him that much," Hinata said, knowing Ino's dislike of Sasuke stemmed from their Academy days, when Sasuke, sore after losing to Naruto, Hinata, and Ino in a training exercise, had purposefully bumped into Ino and knocked her over. Ino hadn't been seriously hurt, but she had grown to dislike Sasuke after that, even when other girls fawned over him.

Anko meanwhile sighed slightly in annoyance as Kakashi approached. "What was that all about?" He said, almost demanding the information from her on why she left.

Anko narrowed her eyes, wishing to deny him the information but spoke anyway. "Zabuza's minion met with Naruto here, asking to meet with one of us. They stated that Zabuza wishes to call a truce. Apparently Gato plans to betray him, so he wants to work with us to defeat Gato, in exchange for him being allowed to leave afterwards."

Kakashi just crossed his arm, his one eye looking at her lazily. "And what do you intend to do?"

"I intend for you, me, and Raphael to talk to him," she said. When she saw his eyebrow rise up, she elaborated. "If his offer is genuine, it's the best chance we have of completing your mission to protect Tazuna, and our mission of assassinating Gato. If it's not, we can take him out."

"And how do you know Zabuza isn't setting a trap?" Kakashi said. "The three of us arrive, and get killed, paving the way for Zabuza to massacre our genin and the client."

Anko smirked. "Which is why Naruto and Hinata will be there, hidden, ready to provide us support. The two of them are pretty good with their bow and crossbow, and they've been training for years in mastering stealth."

Kakashi looked at the two genin, before speaking. "Are you certain they can handle it? Sasuke is-" he started, only to be stopped by Anko.

"Naruto and Hinata are skilled at not only stealth, but ranged combat, especially Hinata. She can nail a target at a hundred yards before you can blink. And Naruto is fairly handy with his crossbow. They'll be all we need, especially since we don't want to put our genin into close quarters combat with Zabuza," she said. "Not to mention Hinata's Byakugan will be a lot more useful than Sasuke."

Kakashi's one visible eye narrowed just a fraction, before he shrugged. "Makes sense I suppose. I'll leave him here in charge then," he said, turning towards where Sasuke and Sakura were training.

Anko just sighed softly. "He really doesn't like having his authority questioned. Arrogant prick," she muttered, before looking to her two students. "You two make sure you're ready when the time comes. We'll need you in good hiding spots."

"Yes sensei!" they chimed together as they headed inside with her to talk to Raphael.

Konoha, Hokage's Office

Sarutobi sighed as he read a message from Kumo. The Chuunin Exams were approaching, and they would be held in Konoha this year around. This would not be anything extra special, if it weren't for the fact that Kumo wanted to send a couple teams to take part in the exams. Since the Hyuuga Incident several years earlier, Kumo had not sent a single genin team to the Chuunin Exams when they were held in Konoha. Due in large part to their probable fear that the Hyuuga would retaliate against them.

But now, they were sending teams to this one. After so long, what had changed their minds? Was it Yugito? Perhaps they thought now was a chance to strike at her. Or maybe make another attempt at the Hyuuga. Or perhaps they simply wished to put this whole business behind them.

No matter what, Sarutobi knew he couldn't let his guard down. Signaling his ANBU guards, he wrote out a message as one of them appeared. He handed that shinobi the message he just wrote. "Take this to ANBU headquarters, and deliver it to the ANBU commander," he said simply.

The elite shinobi nodded and vanished, leaving Sarutobi to quietly begin thinking over everything that could be done to secure the village, while still leaving it open and inviting to clients and the coming competitors. He quietly wished Raphael was present, to try and get his perspective on things, but dismissed the thought, knowing he could ask the Assassin when he returned. For now, he would proceed ahead, and hope that everything went according to plan.

Nami no Kuni

Anko, Kakashi, and Raphael all stood in the clearing, waiting for Zabuza to appear. The three of them were trying to look calm, but each had their hands near weapons, as they scanned the woods. Back a bit from them, they knew Naruto and Hinata waited, ready to aid them with long range fire if need be.

The three of them tensed slightly as they saw Zabuza arrive, minus his sword, and now wearing a sleeveless dark blue top with matching pants. He approached them, stopping about twenty feet away with his arms crossed. He looked at them, before scanning the woods around them. "So…here we are," he said finally.

"What information do you have Zabuza?" Kakashi demanded, only for Zabuza to shake his head.

"Not going to work that way, monkey," Zabuza said, a mocking tone when he said monkey. Kakashi clenched a fist as Zabuza continued. "You agree that you let me and Haku go after all this is done, and then I tell you what I know. That simple," he said. "Do we have a deal?"

Kakashi looked at Anko and Raphael, who both simply nodded. Kakashi took a deep breath, before answering. "Very well. You and your ally will be allowed to leave this island once Gato is dealt with."

"Uh-huh. I need something more binding then that," Zabuza said. "What's to stop you from betraying me after all is said and done?"

Kakashi was about to answer, when Raphael stepped forward. "I give you my word as a fellow swordsman. I swear upon my blade, and my honor that you and your companion will be allowed to leave, if you so choose," He stated simply.

Zabuza looked at him closely, studying him. "…as a fellow swordsman, I accept your oath," he said finally. At the confused look of Kakashi and Anko, Zabuza smirked. "Typical Konoha shinobi, unable to understand the intricacies of being a true swordsman," he said in a mocking tone.

Raphael held up a hand, forestalling his companions from doing anything rash. "Please do not let his words ruffle you," he said, causing Anko to marginally calm down. Zabuza meanwhile started to speak.

"Gato intends to use a trap to split your force in half. He intends to take a number of villagers prisoner, and execute them via public hanging two days from now. His intent is to demand that Tazuna surrender himself, in exchange for the prisoner's lives. He's betting though that instead of allowing Tazuna to turn himself over, you'll convince him to continue working on the bridge, while you split your force in two and rescue the prisoners. His intent is to have Haku and I attack Tazuna at the bridge and slay him, with his mercenary forces providing us with additional support. That was the plan he told us. However, I had Haku eavesdrop on him, and she learned that he intends to betray us as well. His thugs will hold back until we are all weakened, then move in and wipe us all out," The Kiri missing nin stated.

Anko glanced at Kakashi and Raphael, worry etched on her face. "Gotta admit, the bastard is clever," she said softly. The thugs weren't a problem. Seasoned jounin could handle an army of thugs, provided said jounin were relatively fresh. A tired and exhausted jounin was a different matter altogether. The real problem though was the hostage and public executions. If those weren't stopped, it would turn the populace of Nami against Tazuna, especially with the current defeated mindset the citizens were in. They could very well turn and support Gato if Tazuna didn't turn himself in, or if the Konoha shinobi didn't try to rescue them. And the Konoha shinobi couldn't fight off the entire population of Nami.

Raphael however was looking thoughtful. "…do you know where the execution will be held? And how many of Gato's men will be there?" He asked.

Zabuza nodded. "Yeah. He plans to hold it in the middle of the town, opposite the old town hall. I'd say there won't be more than ten or fifteen men in total guarding it. He will however have fifty or sixty men with him at the bridge."

The Assassin nodded thoughtfully, a plan already starting to form in his head. Kakashi looked at him, not liking that he didn't feel in charge, but deciding to swallow his pride if it meant survival. "I take it you have a plan forming?"

"I have the beginning of a plan, yes…Zabuza, return to your hideout. On the day of the ambush, come to the bridge, but use your mist to hide us all from Gato's view. We'll make it seem like we're fighting, and when the time comes, we'll turn the trap on him. I'll need to speak to some allies of ours, make sure they're in position," Raphael said. "And…we'll need to handle the executions as well. And I think I know who can handle it."

Zabuza just smirked behind his mask. "Heh, well here's hoping you know what the hell you're doing," he said. "Cuz if you don't…I promise I'll make your life miserable in hell when we're all dead. Haku!" He shouted, with his companion landing next to him, his sword strapped to her back. She undid the straps as he took the handle, easily lifting it and securing it to his own back. "Haku, I want you to stay in the area, to act as the go between in case they need to relay any information to me. Be discreet," he said, loud enough for them to hear. As Haku nodded, Zabuza turned to leave, only to stop. "Oh, and tell your little brats that they're not bad at hiding, but they've still got a ways to go before they're hidden from me," he said, before disappearing in a water shunshin. Haku meanwhile merely bowed her masked head to the Konoha shinobi and Assassin, before disappearing into the trees.

The two jounin and one Assassin just looked at each other, before Anko signaled Naruto and Hinata. The pair soon joined them, stowing their weapons, as Raphael turned to them. "Good work you two. Alright, I need to get in contact with Mukei and his crew, see if we can't get them into position for the ambush," he said.

"What about the prisoners, and the hanging?" Kakashi asked. "We'll need to stop that from happening without dividing ourselves too much. You said you had someone who could handle that?"

"I do, yes," Raphael said. "But first we should return to Tazuna's house and gather the rest of our genin. Afterwards, I'll go contact Mukei."

About a half hour later, the two teams of genin sat on the dock next to Tazuna's house, with Anko and Kakashi standing behind them. Raphael was in front of them, having finalized his plan, and was now ready to brief them on it.

"We've learned that Gato intends to try and divide our forces, before moving in to wipe out Tazuna and any of us who are protecting him," Raphael explained. "He intends to do this by taking a number of citizens of the town prisoner, and will threaten to hang them if Tazuna does not turn himself in. However, Gato is also banking on the fact that we will convince Tazuna not to turn himself in, and will instead divide our forces to rescue the prisoners as well as protect him at the bridge. He intends to attack us at the bridge with the majority of his thugs, as well as Zabuza and his companion," Raphael said.

Sakura quietly raised a hand. "Why don't you simply sneak into his home and kill him then. That's why you're here, isn't it?" Sakura asked.

Raphael nodded at her question. "Under normal circumstances I would, except for one problem: what about his thugs? If we remove Gato, the thugs will no longer be under his control, and they'll simply rampage through the town. Countless innocents will suffer or die. However, if we can ensure his thugs are away from the town, we can take both him and his men out in a single battle. Especially due to some allies who have joined us, and will be aiding us at the bridge."

"Well what about Zabuza? It's not like he'll just let us wipe out Gato," Kiba said.

"Actually…he's helping us," Anko said, making most of the genin turn to her in shock. "Zabuza learned that Gato intends to betray him and kill him on the bridge, after having Zabuza tire us out. He's the one who approached us with this information, and we're intending to work together to defeat him."

"What about the execution then. How will we handle that?" Sasuke asked.

Raphael smirked. "This is where Gato has underestimated us. He doesn't know what we have at our disposal. We'll only need one person to handle the execution…and that one person is Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened when he heard his name. "Me?" he asked in surprise.

"No way! I'm much better than that loser! Send me!" Kiba said, only to wilt a bit at the glare sent to him by Hinata.

"I defeated you in a matter of seconds, dog boy, and Naruto is stronger than me. What does that say?" She said, making Kiba growl a bit angrily.

Raphael just sighed, shaking his head. "Naruto has a jutsu that is perfect for dealing with multiple attackers, especially when combined with his training. Isn't that right Naruto?" Raphael asked, making Naruto's eyes widened in understanding. The blonde haired Assassin nodded.

"Yeah, I get it," he said. "Do we know how many thugs will be at the execution area, and where it is?"

Anko spoke up at this point. "There will be between ten to twenty thugs, and it's going to be held in the town square, opposite the old town hall."

Kakashi decided to speak up at this moment. "Maybe we should give him some back up. One of us could-" he started, only to be stopped by Anko.

"Kakashi, you know full well you, me, and Raphael will need to be on that bridge to handle Gato's thugs as well as Zabuza if he's playing us. That leaves only the genin, and out of them all, who can we honestly spare? Kiba is too brash for something that requires timing and subtlety, and Sasuke, Hinata, and Ino are too valuable to send with him. We need them on the bridge. Sakura is the only one we could maybe spare, and even then I'm sure you'd rather have her on the bridge against the sixty thugs we'll be facing. Trust me, Naruto can handle this," she said.

Kakashi bit back a retort, before shrugging. "Very well then, however, there's something your plan hasn't covered," Kakashi said. "What if the people rise up against Tazuna after Gato takes some of them prisoner and demands Tazuna's surrender? We can't fight them, can we?"

Raphael slowly shook his head. "No we can't…but we can at least talk to them, and try to get them to see reason," he said. "Are there any other questions?" He asked.

As they all shook their heads, or remained silent, he gave a satisfied nod. "Alright then, I suggest you all get to training or watching Tazuna. Naruto, be sure to set aside some time to scout out the town center," he said.

Naruto nodded, before they were all dismissed. Each headed off, determined to be ready for what was to come.

Forests of Nami, the next day

Naruto and Hinata were busy practicing in a clearing, each practicing with their respective ranged weapons on a portable target Naruto kept sealed in a storage scroll. It had actually turned into a contest, with each of them seeing how many times they could hit the bullseye in a row.

Hinata grunted as she loosed another arrow, and grinned as she hit the target again in the center. "That's six for me," she said, retrieving her arrow while Naruto just smirked.

"Six is not bad," he said, as he readied his crossbow. "But c'mon, six in a row is a warm up for me," he said, preparing to fire, until he felt something tickling his ear. He unfortunately jerked in surprise, causing the shot to go off and hit outside the inner area of the target. He whirled towards Hinata who stood there innocently, trying to hide the leaf she had tickled him with. "You cheated!" He said.

"I did not!" She said in mock surprise. "I would never cheat!"

Naruto growled as he lunged at her to try and get the leaf, and she giggled, hopping up into a tree. Naruto stood on the ground, glaring up at her in mock anger as she kept grinning down at him.

The pair however was interrupted by Haku entering the clearing. Hinata hopped down as the pair of them warily watched the slightly older girl, who had kept her mask on the entire time. She merely indicated the target they had been shooting at. "Do you mind if I join you? Zabuza-sama would surely wish for me to get some training in while I'm here," she said quietly.

Naruto looked at Hinata who gave a wary shrug. "Uh…sure," Naruto said.

Haku nodded at them before pulling out a group of senbon needles and began to throw them with practiced ease at the target. Naruto winced as he saw the tight grouping Haku had, the needles all sticking out next to each other in the center of the target. The two of them awkwardly stood there, not sure what to do, as they watched Haku continued to throw senbon at the target, and retrieve them. She eventually stopped, not looking at them.

"I am sorry for the intrusion. Obviously I am causing a tense situation. I shall leave," she said, going to retrieve her senbon.

"No ummm…you don't have to," Naruto said, trying to be polite. "It's just…we're not sure what to do really, you know?"

"Indeed? I am sorry to cause such confusion," Haku said, as she retrieved her senbon.

Hinata, deciding to try and break the ice a little, asked Haku a question. "So ummm…what made you want to work with Zabuza-san?" she asked.

Haku was quiet for several moments, before answering, her back to Hinata. "Zabuza-sama saved me. I owe him my life, to serve him however he requires me to serve," she said simply. "He is my precious person…and I will fight and die for him."