Arrival Land of Waves

After their encounter with the Demon Brothers, it had been smooth sailing up until the time they arrived at The Land of Waves. They had been transported on boat by one of Tazuna's friend so as to avoid contact with one of Gato's shipping vessels. They did not want the man finding out that ninjas were stepping into his territory. The attack with the Demon Brothers had been uncalled for… and suffice to say it, Naruto was a bit on edge.

"Naruto," Kakashi groaned as the boy threw a kunai at a nearby bush. "You are being a little two edgy."

"Tell me about it," Sakura said as she rolled her eyes. A yelp was heard where Naruto's kunai had sailed into. The boy dashed into the bush only to see a white rabbit that was petrified, a kunai was stuck between its ears. The rest of the team and Tazuna stepped in to see the rabbit that Naruto had almost killed. While they were checking to see if the rabbit was still alive, something struck Kakashi as odd.

'That rabbit has white fur and it is not even winter yet. These particular type of rabbits change their coats according to the season, so its fur should be brown. There's no way a rabbit with white fur could be here except… it was raised indoors and its owner should be nearby.'

His senses kicked in and he realized that they were not alone. "Everyone on the floor… now!" His tone gave no room for questioning and they all obeyed. They ducked just in time to see a huge sword sail over where their heads were just a few seconds ago, and embed itself into a tree.

Kakashi stood up a second later, eyes wide as he saw their supposed assassin. He was a black man with bandages around his mouth, creating a makeshift mask of some sort. His forehead protector was tilted to face sideways and on his arms were arm guards. He wore grey striped trousers of some sort and was bare-chested with the exception of a belt that he used to hold the cleaver in place. He had his back towards them and he turned his head to look at them with cold eyes, though his eyes were directly on Kakashi.

"Hmm… Ninja? This should be fun."

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked as the ninja turned around to face them properly.

"Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, take a formation around Tazuna and don't step into this fight." The jōnin was on high alert as he let his chakra flow, taking on a killer intent that they didn't think he would possess.

The genin nodded and took their formation; Sasuke in front, and Naruto and Sakura at the sides. The ninja responded to this by letting his own killer intent flow as it clashed with Kakashi's.

"Zabuza Momochi, otherwise known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist (Kirigakure no Kijin), what brings you here?"

"Kakashi Hatake, the man who is said to have copied over a thousand jutsus and was famed as the 'Copy Ninja Kakashi' (Kopi Ninja no Kakashi) or would you prefer I call you 'Kakashi of the Sharingan' (Sharingan no Kakashi)… I'm here for the bridge builder."

"A man like you is working under scum like Gato… you sure have fallen."

The ninja, now known as Zabuza shrugged and gave Kakashi a look.

"He protects you from the hunter-nin that are after you huh?"

"It's a shame our parts had to cross," Zabuza said as he stared down at Kakashi before yanking his sword free from the tree and landing on the ground easily… he made a seal, he was summoning mist to the area.

Kakashi responded by holding the left part of his forehead protector. He was dead serious.

"So I get to fight you at your best… this will be fun. The famous sharingan wielded by the Copy Ninja himself. I guess killing you will be a testament of my abilities."

Sasuke paused. That was the second time he had heard that Sharingan reference towards Kakashi. "What does he mean, Kakashi?" he asked his teacher. The Sharingan was unique to only the Uchiha, so how did an outsider like Kakashi have it, except… Kakashi was an Uchiha. But his name is Kakashi Hatake and not Kakashi Uchiha. The boy was confused. He stepped forward to try an approach Kakashi, but the intensity of the killer intents had increased and he was on the verge of madness. He drew a kunai and was pointing it at his neck. Death would be preferable than this.

"Look at the boy… he looks like he is about to piss his pants," Zabuza said as the mist had thickened. "Eight points. Lungs, liver, larynx, jugular, vein, spine, collar bone, kidney, heart. Where would I strike? Ninja Art: Hiding in Mist Technique (Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu)"

And Zabuza was gone. 'The famous silent killing technique…' "Sasuke! Don't worry… I'll protect you with my life. I never let my comrades die." That managed to ease Sasuke to an extent. Kakashi channeled chakra and blew apart a part of the mist.

"Pointless," Zabuza said as he appeared in the midst of Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto. The missing-nin extended his hand to make a cut with his sword, but before he could make it, Kakashi raced over to him and stabbed him in the stomach.

Before any of them could have a chance to rejoice, water poured out of Zabuza's body and he dissolved into a pool of water. "Water Clone Technique (Mizu Bunshin)," Zabuza said as he appeared behind Kakashi, shocking everyone. He extended his hand and divided Kakashi into two parts with the sword. He smirked but a bead of sweat ran down his face as he felt a kunai touch his throat. The one he had divided dissolving into a pool of water.

"Don't move." Kakashi's vouce was cold and it left no room for argument.

'He copied the technique even with this mist… impressive.' "Sorry our fight has to be cut short."

Kakashi was not expecting the Zabuza in front of him to dissolve into a pool of water as the real one appeared behind him. He turned around to thrust his kunai into the missing-nin, but swiped through air. A hard kick made connection with Kakashi's chest and he was sent flying into the lake.

Kakashi got up but he noticed something peculiar about the water in the lake. 'It's heavier than water should actually be.' Zabuza appeared a second later and weaved a couple of seals. "Suiro no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique)." He placed an arm near Kakashi's head as water swelled and encased the jōnin.

"Sensei!" Sakura yelled as their teacher was apparently trapped by Zabuza.

"Let's help him," Sasuke said, but was stopped by the jōnin.

"Run! As long as he has me trapped in this jutsu, he can't move."

"Is that so? In that case..." A water clone formed from the water in the lake and slowly made its way towards the team.

"What are you doing?! I gave you an order. Run!" the clone stood tall as it approached them and held out the neck cleaver. In a short time, the clone made its way over to Naruto and gave him a knee to the gut and punched the boy in the face. The action caused Naruto's forehead protector to fall, and the blond was sent into a tree.

"Naruto!"

Sasuke launched multiple shuriken at the clone but it swiped all of them away with the neck cleaver.

"You said it yourself Sensei," Naruto said as he got up. "Those who abandon the rules are trash… but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash." He immediately charged the clone, ducking under a slash and grabbing his forehead protector.

"Yeah…" Sasuke said as Naruto ran back to their side. "…And besides, we never listened to you before, so what makes you think we will now."

"You don't understand," Kakashi said. "This guy is not in your league."

"You think wearing a headband makes you a ninja? Ninjas this day have gone soft… I wish we could go back to the good old days… wars everywhere and bloodbaths. When you've faced life and death situations a countless times, then and only then can you call yourself a ninja."

"You guys don't understand… he is a cold blooded killer. The Hidden Mist used to have a final exam before a person could call himself a ninja."

Zabuza looked up… a sadistic look on his face. He was smiling, not that you could see it. "Those were the days…" he trailed off in a daze.

"And so what? We have graduation exams too."

"The Hidden Mist was different… their final exams involved a fight to the death between the students." Everyone was now wide eyed in horror. "Friends you ate with… trained with, and then the rules were changed… kill or be killed. You could not stop as long as your opponent was still breathing."

Zabuza stared at his hands, well the clone did.

"And then the exam changed when one of the students… committed something very atrocious."

"What happened?" Sakura asked as she was interested in where the story was leaning towards.

"It changed when a boy, without hesitation or mercy, singlehandedly took out over a hundred students… his name was Zabuza Momochi." It hit them… the man in front of them was a coldblooded killer.

"It felt so… GOOD!" the demon exclaimed. There was an eerie quiet for sometime before Naruto spoke up.

"The hell he killed a hundred students… he has messed with an ally of Konoha, and that I do not forgive." He took a step forward as he held a kunai. Sasuke smirked and took four shuriken in his hands.

"Naruto's right… and you said that a ninja is someone who has faced life and death situations many times. This is our life or death scenario… lets go Naruto."

Both teens shot off at the missing-nin, Sasuke unleashing his shuriken and Naruto throwing his kunai. Zabuza's clone evaded each with precision, but was caught offguard by Sasuke coming at him with intensity. He blocked Sasuke's kick with the neck cleaver, but before he could come at the raven haired teen, Naruto intercepted with a kick. Zabuza's clone evaded each of the punches and kicks that both teens sent his way, and on noticing an opening he drove a fist into Naruto's gut.

POOF!

Naruto disappeared into thin air in a cloud of smoke, and more Narutos began to come. The blond had managed to use the shadow clone as both he and Sasuke exchanged blows with the rogue ninja. Zabuza held his sword out as he began to spin very fast. The rogue drew water from the lake to surround the tip of the sword. The result was the destruction of all of Naruto's clones.

"Ugh!" Naruto grunted as he was sent into a tree. Same was for Sasuke.

"Still think you can take me on?"

Naruto pulled himself to his feet as he took out a shuriken and tossed it at Sasuke. The young Uchiha caught the shuriken and fully opened it. It was a demon shuriken – much larger than normal shuriken. He began to spin it and tossed it at the clone with a ferocity that he had never used. The shuriken made its way to the clone who tried to bat it away with the neck cleaver. The shuriken traded places with Naruto and Zabuza cut through him, the boy going off in a cloud of smoke, surprising Zabuza yet again. A powerful kick connected with Zabuza's jaw, courtesy of Sasuke… the clone exploding into droplets of water. Now for Zabuza… they needed to free Kakashi if not the rogue would just make more clones of water.

Sasuke tossed the shuriken and it was heading for the rogue. He was trapped… or so they thought. Zabuza jumped above the shuriken, smirking as he did so, only to turn around and be faced with an army of Naruto clones, each with a shuriken in hand.

"All Direction Shuriken!" they yelled as they each tossed the metal stars at Zabuza.

"Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu."

Each shuriken was immediately ignited by Sasuke's great fireball and they all made their way towards Zabuza. The rogue was forced to release Kakashi and try to save himself with both hands. A kick collided with his gut as Kakashi sent him out of harm's way before going after him. They both clashed atop the water, causing it to ripple at their strength.

They pulled back and Zabuza started to weave some seals… Kakashi following and copying each seal perfectly and utilizing the jutsu even before Zabuza.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu (Water style: Water dragon bullet technique)"

A huge dragon made entirely out of water slammed into Zabuza and knocked the rogue into one of the few trees that were not uprooted by the technique. As he tried to get up, he felt a metal object lightly graze his neck.

"Game over." Zabuza sighed as it seemed that Kakashi was about to go for the kill, only for two objects to pierce his neck and kill him.

Kakashi leapt back from the tree as Zabuza's body fell to the ground. He checked the pulse of the rogue ninja as he was unmoving on the ground. 'He is dead.' He looked up to meet the perpetrator's gaze.

"A Hunter-nin," he muttered as Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura amd Tazuna approached him.

"Kakashi-sensei… who is that?"

"A Hunter-nin." He turned his head back at the masked person.

"Thank you… I have been searching for the opportunity to kill Zabuza for a long time."

'That voice… he doesn't sound any much older than Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura… and yet he is a hunter-nin.' "You are a hunter-nin, right?" he bnodded.

"The hell is this," Sasuke said after observing them for some time. Sasuke grit his teeth. "How the hell did this kid kill Zabuza? He isn't much older than me. It-" Kakashi cut him off.

"It's hard to believe but you must bear with the fact that in this world… there exist kids like you but are stronger than me." He turned his gaze back to the Hunter-nin. Something was suspicious.

The Hunter-nin disappeared in a swirl of leaves before appearing beside Zabuza's body. "I must take my leave and dispose of this body. A ninja's body is full of many secrets." And they were gone… just like that.

"Well…" Kakashi started, returning to his usual self. "That takes care of that… lets continue." He covered the sharingan back and turned to them. "Tazuna lead the w-"

"Sensei!" all three yelled as the jōnin fell to the ground, unmoving.

"Welcome home dad," a young lady said after they had arrived at Tazuna's home and successfully laid Kakashi's unmoving form on a bed. 'Must have overused the sharingan again… damn drawbacks.'

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura called out. "Who was that guy?"

"A Hunter-nin… kind of like the ANBU that we have in Konoha. Their job is to basically hunt down and kill the rogue ninjas of a village. A ninjas body is full of secrets and hence, they need to be disposed of without a trace so that the secrets held within their bodies will not be used against the village… that is the life of a ninja, gone without a trace."

"That is a cool occupation to have, but how do they dispose of the bodies so effectively."

"Hunter-nin are thoroughly trained in the knowledge of the human anatomy and are effectively taught various assassination skills. With their extensive knowledge of the field, not a single trace is left after your death. The only thing that is sometimes brought is the head of the victim, as the victim… is usually disposed on the spot. Damn it! I knew something was up. Zabuza's alive."

Gasps filled the entire atmosphere as Kakashi said this… a serious look on his face as he looked up at his team. They were in for an extensive training session tomorrow, but for now he would have to rest.

"Yo!" Kakashi said as he woke up. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura where by his side and from the looks on their face, they were definitely worried.

He sighed as he sat up. "If you are worried about Zabuza, don't be… because we are going to train."

"Won't Zabuza be coming after us immediately? How will a little training help?"

"Well… he was placed in a death-like state, and no matter how little the time frame… he won't be able to use his body at a hundred percent, and he will most likely be trying to get his body back to full strength before he faces us, so until then… training."

Everyone glanced to the side as the door opened.

"Inari… youre back!" he hugged Tsunami and then Tazuna.

"Who's the kid?" Sakura asked.

"He's Tsunami's son and my grandson," Tazuna said as he ruffled the boy's hair.

"Who are they grandpa?"

"They're ninja that have come to help us build the bridge."

"That's right kid. And now we are going to train so that we can put an end to Gato and his scum," Naruto said excitedly.

The boy just turned away from him and towards his grandfather. "Grandpa… they're going to die."

"The hell did the brat say?" Sasuke asked.

"No one can defeat Gato," he said as he turned and walked away.

"Heroes can take care of Gato anytime, anywhere," Naruto said as he held a fist to his heart.

"In this world," Inari began as he stopped and looked at Naruto. "Heroes are made up losers. They don't exist and they never live up to their promise. They are lies and are just people that think they can do what they can't." He turned and walked away, leaving a very tense atmosphere in his wake.

The room was silent for a long period, until Sasuke decided to break the silence. "How old is that kid?"

Kakashi led his team to a clearing in the forest that was surrounded by trees. Due to the fact that he had not fully recovered from his overuse of the Sharingan, he was using crutches to support himself.

"Alright… we have a lot to cover in these weeks and to start it all, we will be taking an affinity test."

"What is an affinity test?"

"An affinity test is a test that determines the elemental nature that a person is capable of using. Now a person is capable of using elements that are not in their affinity but they would much chakra and won't pack as much power as a technique bearing the user's affinity."

"There are two classification techniques; shape transformation and nature transformation. Shape transformation implies manipulating the shape of your chakra, as in the case of Naruto's shadow clones. They are beings made with chakra and can still use chakra. It is a change in the form and the movement of the chakra, determining the range, and the size, and the purpose of the technique."

"Nature transformation, the more advanced of the two and definitely the harder of the two when it comes to mastering. It involves changing the nature of chakra altogether; altering its properties to fit the user's needs. It is completely bringing chakra under the complete control of the user. For example…" Kakashi stretched forth his hands until the faintest shroud of lightning covered it, and then he dissipated it.

"That is so cool," Naruto said as he marveled at the possibility of him using such jutsu. "With jutsu like that, nothing can stop me."

"Easy Naruto," the silver-haired jonin began. "Having a lot of jutsu doesn't make you all that. A person with a thousand jutsu can still be taken out by a person with only the one jutsu… remember that." He took his hands into his bad and took out four pieces of paper that were smaller than standard.

He gave one to each of them. "What's this?" Naruto asked.

"These are chakra litmus paper. They are a special tuype of paper that responds to the chakra that is poured into them." He held his inbetween his index and middle fingers. After a second, the paper wrinkled.

"As I have shown, if the paper wrinkles, your affinity is lightning. If the paper crumbles by turning to dirt, your affinity is earth. If the paper becomes damp, your affinity is water. If it catches fire and gets burnt, your affinity is fire. If it splits into two, your affinity is wind. Any combination of these and you have dual affinities, which are almost as rare as kekkei genkai shinobi, another thing we will be talking about later. Now let's see those affinities."

Sasuke held the paper and poured his chakra into it. It took about two seconds for the effect to take place as the paper wrinkled and then caught ablaze. Kakashi smirked at the boy.

"Sasuke, as expected of every member of the Uchiha, you have an affinity for fire. What is surprising is that your primary affinity is lightning." The Uchiha smirked as he looked at his hands.

"Alright my turn, my turn," Sakura said, ever eager to prove herself as smart and strong.

She held the paper and after pouring her chakra for five seconds, it crumbled into dust.

"Earth style," Kakashi said. "Nice."

"Now it is time for us to see the elemental affinity of the future hokage," Naruto said as he held the paper and poured chakra into it. The paper split in two and the blond smirked.

"Now that you all have known your affinities…" Kakashi said, trailing off as he bent down to sketch on the ground. "… It is time to know the relationship that exists between the elements."

They looked down to see the elements wind, lightning, erath, water andb fire. "No element is perfect, they all have weaknesses and their strengths. For example… this wheel of the elements that I drew on the ground. Wind is strong against lightning but is weak against fire…" both boys stared at each othehr.

"Lightning is strong against earth but weak against wind. Earth is strong against water and weak against lightning. Water is strong against fire but weak to earth. Firre is strong against wind but weak to water."

All three of them nodded, taking in the facts as their sensei got up.

"Before we dive into you guys mastering your elements, we must first begin with chakra control. You guys have already been taught this in the academy so it saves me the trouble of explaining. The same way that we use spiritual and physical energy to perform techniques, objects also regulate their own special physical energy. It is a hassle for us to regulate our energies to be in tune with the surrounding, and thus why it is an important chakra control exercise… the art of tree climbing."

"Who doesn't know how to climb trees?" Naruto said nonchalantly.

"I agree," Kakashi said. "But can you climb it without your hands?"

The trio gasped but Naruto broke the silence. "Impossible. Are you trying to lie to us?"

"If I were lying, how come I am able to do this?"

The jōnin walked up to a tree at a steady pace, but when he approached the tree, he did not stop, instead he continued on, walking on the tree and standing upside down on one of the tree branches. "You know the look on your face is priceless." They shook their head as thehy tried to comprehend how in the hell he did that.

"Like I said," Kakashi began. "The key is gathering chakra under the feet and regulating it to be in tune with the energy of the tree. Too little and you don't get to walk to the tree; too much and the tree gives way. Here..." He tossed three kunai at their feet. "Use these kunai to mark your progress."

The trio picked up the kunai and began to channel chakra to their feet. "Alright!" Naruto yelled as he ran at the tree. "Here I co-" he had barely taken a step when he tripped and fell. He rubbed his head as he turned to look at Sasuke who had gotten to about the halfway mark. He grit his teeth but laughed as the tree gave way beneath his friends foot. The Uchiha slashed with his kunai as he flipped in midair to regain his bearings.

"Guess I win," Sakura said. She was seating on one of the tree branches with her kunai in hand.

'Guess Sakura has the best control... It could also be attributed to her low chakra reserves compared to Sasuke and much less, Naruto.

The entire day was spent perfecting the tree climbing exercise, something that both Naruto and Sasuke finally got the hang on, but not without some pointers from Sakura. They were ready for the next exercise.

"Walking on water?!"

"Yes."

"Teach us some super jutsu already."

Kakashi looked tired. That had been the fifth "super jutsu" remark from Naruto and he needed to change the blond's view on that.

"What makes you a great ninja is not the number of jutsu in your arsenal."

Naruto stopped his tantrum and looked up at his teacher.

"What will make you a skilled ninja is dedication, skill and control. Power to use a weakness and turn it into an asset. The heart to follow what you want and achieve your desires. Love for the village will give you strength when you least expect. These are a few of the basics and as it is now, there is no need for excessive jutsu that will end up wasting chakra. Focus on your control."

Naruto nodded. Kakashi had a point. That Zabuza guy had also used few but very potent jutsu and he had strength and skill to match.

"For the next training, you are going to apply the knowledge you gained in tree climbing and utilise it here. Unlike the trees, when walking on water, water that is flowing to be exact, you have to control and regulate your chakra to match that of the water. Like so..."

He stepped unto a lake that was located in the clearing and walked on it.

He looked back at them and noticed their eager expression to get on with the training.

"We're back," Kakashi said as they stepped into the house. He was followed by Sakura and lastly Sasuke who was supporting a worn out Naruto.

"You're just in time… dinner is ready," Tsunami said.

After dinner, they turned in for the night and awoke the next day for another training regime. It was the sixth day of their training today and they were currently having breakfast with Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari.

They began to eat their food, taking time to savour the taste, except that wasn't the case for Naruto and Sasuke. The dinner had turned to more like a contest for both of them. Kakashi smirked. Their tree walking had improved and after he was sure that they could work on water, he stirred it up with his chakra to make it difficult to balance on and regulate their chakra. They were still going to do the same chakra training tomorrow and after that... Let's just say that it is a surprise.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by the puking noises made by both Sasuke and Naruto.

"Why is there a torn picture on the wall?" Sakura asked. As she said this, Inari slammed the table and walked off.

"Inari," Tsunami called after her son.

"Did I say something wrong?" Sakura asked, a bit perplexed by the action the boy displayed.

"No," Tazuna said with a sigh. "It's just that picture is a touchy subject for Inari. That picture used to have the face of the Hero of this village."

"That man was Inari's father, but they were not related by blood. Nevertheless, they acted like a real father and son would. Inari used to smile a lot then..."

Naruto scoffed. "I find that hard to believe."

"... But Inari changed ever since his father, Kaiza, was publicly killed by Gato. He was the only one who ever stood up to Gato and his thug, and that resulted in his death. Ever since then, things had been worse in the Wave Country."

"That incident traumatized Inari and he believed that if not even his father could challenge Gato, then no one could. His father was a strong man and even at death's door, he greeted it with a smile. That incident caused Inari to hate anyone who views themself as a hero."

"Even though he was not from this country, Kaiza saw it as his own. Not for his self, but because it was valuable to Inari. He swore to protect Inari and the land with his two arms. I guess seeing his father die like that really broke him and he views it as Kaiza breaking his promise to protect him... Gato has been the worst thing that could ever happen to us and he needs to be stopped... I need to finish the bridge."

By the time Tazuna was done, Tsunami was crying. Even Team 7 was feeling bad for the Wave Country.

Naruto got up and made his way for the door.

"Naruto," Kakashi said as he looked at the boy. "I hope you are not going to train immediately. You expended a lot of chakra and you have not regained all... You need to rest."

"I can't. I have to prove to Inari that heroes do exist, and for that I need to be strong enough to take on Gato's scum." He turned around, a wide grin on his face as he closed his eyes, giving off a cheeky smile. "After all, I am going to be Hokage." He turned and left the house.

Sasuke found Naruto standing in the clearing they had been using for the past days. "You won't believe what I just saw Sasuke," the blond said. Sasuke raised his eyebrows, intent on hearing what his teammate had to say. "I saw this guy that looked like a girl but he wasn't, he was a dude and he looked way hotter than most girls."

"So that was the guy I met earlier… his presence felt somehow familiar."

"Huh?" Naruto asked as Sasuke was deep in thought.

"… Forget it… we have training to do in preparation for Zabuza, so let's get to it."

'My body is about back to normal,' Kakashi thought. He was doing a one finger variation of the one handed push-ups exercise, and not only that. Both Tazuna and Sakura were seated atop his back.

"Kakashi-sensei, what kind of training are we doing today?"

"Well… since all three of you have gotten quite good with the tree climbing and the walking on water exercises, we can start on the nature transformation training."

"Yes… about time."

"Yo," Kakashi said as he walked into the clearing, followed by Sakura.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said. The blond was lying on the floor next to Sasuke.

"Today we will be working on nature transformation. It is an advanced form of chakra control that entails completely changing the nature and property of one's chakra. It is best to start with an element that you have a natural control over in order to subsequently immerse yourself in the idea of nature transformation. Even then it is hard thing to master, but mastery over it will be an invaluable asset to a ninja."

They were all focused on the one-eyed ninja and they were waiting for him to continue.

"Well… there exists other elements, but these are the rudimentary ones." His hand made its way to his back as he took out three leaves. He handed the leaves over to each of them.

"This is the basic chakra control exercise used by Konoha. You are to hold each leaf in between your palm and focus your chakra… like so." He took a leaf from his pocket and held it between his palm and closed it, focusing his chakra on the leaf. When he was done, he showed it to them. The leaf looked like it had withered.

"Why did the leaf die?" Naruto asked.

"The application of my lightning chakra was the result of this. As with the litmus paper, it wrinkled and with the leaf, it withered. It took me years to master this technique to be able to do it so easily… if you have a water based affinity, the effect should be the leaf and only the leaf being completely doused in water. If you have a lightning based affinity, then the leaf should wither. If you have an earth based affinity, the leaf should turn to dust and crumble. If you have a fire based affinity, the leaf should burn to ash. If you have a wind based affinity, the leaf should be split from top to bottom, smoothly."

"That seems easy enough," Sasuke said, but before he could continue, Kakashi stopped him.

"The exercise is easy? There is a reason that the forehead leaf concentration is taught in the academy… and if I am right… that exercise was not easy for any of you. You'll need the knowledge on that class to help you here. Sasuke you will be working on two elements, lightning and fire. Your time starts now."

"This is frustrating," Sasuke muttered. An hour had passed and frankly, there was no progress in the leaf exercise.

"And you said this was easy," Kakashi said with a smile.

"Isn't there a shortcut?" Naruto asked.

"There is no shortcut," Kakashi said to the blond.

"No way! There's always a shortcut and I will figure it out."

"Naruto," a deep and huff voice said.

'Kyubi, long time no see.'

The blond was in front of the Kyubi's infamous holding cell. The nine tails looked at him, a devilish grin on his face.

"It as if you get stupid as the times go by."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I have been alive for a long time and I have lived through many circumstances and yet I have never seen any one as stupid as you. Don't you remember what the scroll of sealing said?"

Naruto appeared deep in thought then he shook his head.

"I should have known. The clones produced from the shadow clone technique pass their experience over to the original once they are dispelled, including everything they learnt."

It took Naruto a full five minutes to process all that the Nine tails had said.

"I get it now. Thanks Kyubi."

The Nine tails smirked as Naruto left. Over the years, he had grown a bit fund of the blond and his skirmishes. His grin grew wide.

'Normally I don't like humans but this one seems promising. If he fails to gain my trust I'll just kill him, but in the mean time, I am going to enjoy this. "A blue eyed boy will reunite you all". Those were your last words RikidoSennin (Sage of Six Paths).' The Nine Tails closed his eyes once again as he tried to rest.

Back in reality, Naruto made a hand seal as he summoned twenty clones.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at that. 'Has he figured out the advantage of the shadow clones already?'

Naruto grinned as he sent each of his clones to get a leaf and explained the exercise to them. Each clone held a leaf in between their hands and began to focus their chakra.

Kakashi took the opportunity to get down to training of his own. He was running laps around the clearing.

After another hour, Kakashi went to check on them. Sakura held up her leaf and showed Kakashi. There was no difference and such was the same for both Sasuke and Naruto.

A very perculiar occurrence had happened as Naruto released all his clones. The blond clutched his head and cried out. He heard a deep laugh echo in his mind.

"Naruto are you okay?"

"Yeah… what happened?"

"There's a reason why the shadow clone technique is a forbidden one. The chakra drainage of the technique is great especially if you use it for training. While you gain each of the experience of the clones, you also gain their exhaustion and pain, all the chakra they expended will be expended by you in one go, so the backlash is kind of high."

Naruto nodded as he took in Kakashi's words. He was still going to use the method of training.

It was evening and Kakashi was the one carrying a tired Naruto. They had trained non-stop till the evening and had made progress in the training. Tsunami had prepared dinner once again and they were all at the table. Tazuna was a bit disheartened because he was now the only one left to do the work on the bridge.

"Tazuna-san, we will start protecting you full time as you work on the bridge. So far so good there have been no attacks, but I would not put it past Zabuza to almost be back at full strength, and a bunch of clones won't be enough to take him on."

"Thank you… very much. Despite the fact I lied-"

Kakashi just waved him off. "It's no hassle. Shinobi don't always move for money and all that luxury."

"Thank you. The bridge work is also going smoothly and is almost complete."

"Remember to take it easy Dad."

Naruto collapsed on the table and tried to sleep, but the blond was a bit put off by the look that Inari was giving him. It went on for some seconds before Naruto spoke up.

"What?"

"Why are you guys training so hard when you know you are gonna get killed. You stand no chance against Gato's men. You come here and you act as if you know a thing about any of us, coming to give us false hope and get the rest of the country in trouble. Haven't we been through enough? Do you know what I have been through? Do you even know what it means to lose a parent? You don't know a thing about me."

Sasuke sneered at the "lose a parent" part of Inari's speech. Naruto just looked up with darkness in his eyes at the boy crying before him.

"Are you done?" Inari stopped his sniffling as he stared at Naruto.

"Crying as if you are the only one with a sad past. You lost your father so you try to become the star of a soap opera. The difference between you and Kaiza is that Kaiza had the guts to fight for what he loved, while you just sit here crying like a sissy."

"Naruto that's enough. That was a low blow," Sakura scolded.

The blond just got up and walked away. "He needed a reality check."

Inari too left the house and went outside.

"It took all my self restraint to not blast that kid with flames."

There was an unusual silence afterwards.

Inari was sitting outside his house, crying when Kakashi came to meet him.

"Can I seat here?" Inari did not respond.

"I hope you know that Naruto did not mean any harm in what he said." No response.

"… He means well, but sometimes he enters mouth first and does not think about what he is saying. If anyone understands or knows you, it's Naruto. And that is because like you, he grew up without a father. Naruto never knew his parents and never had a friend until now. The entire village looked and treated him like the plague. Do you know how that feels?"

There was no response but Kakashi could make out the slightest shaking of head from the kid.

"And then there is Sasuke who lost his entire clan in a single night. To make it worse, his elder brother was the killer. Imagine that feeling and according to him, his brother forced him to see the experience for himself."

"We understand you, but none of us to the likes of Naruto. He cares for you deeply and that's why he wants to help you. Despite not having anything, he strives to make everyone acknowledge him."

"Take care of Naruto," Kakashi said as he, Sasuke and Sakura left the house with Tazuna. Tsunami smiled as she waved at them.

"Where is everyone?" Naruto asked as he woke up some time later.

"Oh… Naruto you are awake. Kakashi-sensei said you should take the day off after expending a lot of… chakra."

Naruto blinked once… twice… and then it hit him. "They left without me!" He yelled. He hurriedly got into his clothes and dashed out of the house.

Tsunami turned to Inari. "He sure has a lot of energy for someone that is not supposed to be up today." Inari just nodded.

Naruto was hopping from tree to tree as he made his way to the bridge. He didn't fail to notice the slash marks along the trees however.

"What happened here?!" Tazuna half shouted. On arriving at the bridge, he saw the few workers he had left, lying on the floor in their own pool of blood.

A cough caught everyone's attention as they ran to the aid of whoever that was.

"A monster… happened," the voice said and coughed once more before dying.

Kakashi's head jerked to the right. "He is here."

A mist began to roll in on the bridge. "Everyone protect Tazuna," he said as he took a kunai from his holster.

"We meet again…" Zabuza said as the mist continued to thicken. About seven Zabuza appeared and they surrounded Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke and Tazuna.

"… but unlike last time, the outcome will be different… oh look, the black one is shaking again. So pitiful."

Zabuza was not wrong. Sasuke was indeed shaking, but not the way he expected. "I'm trembling from excitement," he said as he reached for two kunai. In less than five seconds each Zabuza burst into water as Sasuke destroyed all of them.

"Impressive," the same masked boy from before said. "He really is something Zabuza-sama. I would love to fight him if you would allow."

"Well… that changes things," Kakashi said. "Sakura." He made a couple of hand signals and the girl nodded before slipping into a stance, her kunai in her right hand and her eyes closed.

"Haku, show them what you are made of."

"As you wish Zabuza-sama." The now named Haku shot off at Kakashi, but was intercepted by Sasuke. Kunai and senbon clashing in a show of power.

"Now you can't weave seals."

"Neither can you."

"That so?" Haku held his left hand and made a couple of seals. "A thousand needles of death."

The water beneath them as a result of the clones scattered and began to form sharp needles. All of the needles were sent at Sasuke but the Uchiha channeled chakra to his feet and jumped away.

Haku dove back to avoid been caught in his own attack, but Sasuke was on him immediately. They clashed once more and Haku had a hard time parrying Sasuke's blows.

"Ugh…" Haku growled as he was launched back by a kick from Sasuke. He flipped and righted himself, but Sasuke was having none of that. Haku tossed a couple of senbon to delay Sasuke and that gave him enough time to use his jutsu. He held his hands together, his middle fingers touching each other and the index fingers touching each other while passing through the passage made by the middle fingers.

"Ice Release: Demonic Ice Mirrors."

The water beneath Sasuke turned to ice and formed floating mirrors that surrounded the Uchiha.

Naruto made it just in time to save Inari from being chopped to pieces by some sword wielding wannabes.

"Attacking a child and a lady… you guys are pretty low. Then again you are bandits."

"You really are a fool. Thinking you can challenge us. You'll-" two kicks resounded the air as both bandits were knocked out by a single kick from two of Naruto's clones.

Kakashi sighed. He had told Sakura to protect Tazuna from any stray attacks that may come his way. He knew the girl was having trouble heeding to instructions, but at the moment it was paramount. He was occupied with fighting Zabuza who didn't give him a chance to go and aid Sasuke who was facing Haku. Haku… that boy was very mysterious. He used a strange ice jutsu that didn't even seem damaged when hit by Sasuke's fire jutsu. Once more, he had stepped into the mirror… just like that. Sasuke was doing badly and he knew that. Multiple senbon made their way at the young Uchiha, many of them drawing blood. Kakashi grit his teeth. If only Naruto where here.

A shuriken tore through the air and nailed Haku's partially exposed form. The force at which it came was enough to send him flying out of his ice mirror. At that moment when everyone was wondering who had done it, there was a large explosion.