9 Demon of the Hidden Mist meets a hidden fist

"You win kid! I like your guts" Tazuna laughed in a self-mocking manner.

To Sasuke and Sakura, this was the first time, they faced enemies, so powerful.

Sasuke bent down as he slammed his fists at the floor regretting not being able to take any actions.

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Elsewhere , in an enclosed hall a short man wearing tuxedo, in black glasses and a walking stick screamed

"Did you say you failed?….I paid a lot of money to hire you guys, because you once said you were hot-shot ninjas!"

On the opposite side a tall bare-chested man was seated with a long blade on one hand started speaking

"Stop you darned grumbling" he moved the long blade towards the neck of the man who spoke previously and said "Next time, I'll kill him with this"

Naturally the man with the blade was Zabuza, while the man opposite to him was Gato

"Is it really all right? It seems to me that the enemy has hired good ninjas. On top of that, a tightened guard on account of demon brother's failure means that it won't be (easy)..."Gato was interrupted

"Just Who do you think I am? You are talking to Momochi Zabuza who was also called the Demon of the Hidden Mist"

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The group board a small boat that was waiting for Tazuna

"Let's go" Tazuna commanded at the boatman. The boatman then took his oar and started to row the boat.

While the others were busy checking the surroundings, Naruto kept staring at Tazuna, and so did Kakashi.

"Old man you said you like my guts right?" Naruto asked as he looked at Tazuna in the eyes.

"Yes….." Tazuna said as he stared back

"Then why did you request for a C-Rank mission?" Naruto's question surprised Kakashi as he had the same thing running on his mind.

"Don't worry old man, we will protect you" Naruto reassured Tazuna.

Tazuna finally cracked as he said "The land of waves is a very small country , whose people have very meagre money, even our feudal lord is a poor man"

"A small country like the land of waves could never afford a B-Rank mission even if we pitched in all the money we have. But don't worry, I won't blame you ninjas after all. If I die probably my grandson will cry a lot whereas my daughter would probably have a grudge against ninjas from Konoha ...."

("Inari huh, I wonder how he is doing…") Naruto mused.

"Tazuna, you see C-Rank missions deal with basic thieves or armed robbers , whereas B-Rank above deal with ninjas." Kakashi explained to Tazuna patiently.

"Can you please tell us the name of the man after you?" Kakashi inquired.

"Have ya heard of a shipping magnate by the name of Gato?"

"You mean Gato of the Gato company?… He's one of the world's richest man" Kakashi tried to confirm with a sense of disbelief.

"On the surface, he is a chief executive of a shipping company, but underneath he is into drug trafficking and deals in contraband using gangs and ninjas while ruthlessly taking over nations and enterprises."

"About a year ago, he set his sight on the land of waves. He used wealth and violence to enter this country and took complete control of the islands maritime, transportation and shipping. In an island nation like ours, having control over these factors means having control over everything, but there is one thing that Gato fears….."

The group looked attentively at this moment

"The Bridge"

"Thus you stand in his way…" Naruto added.

"Yes" Tazuna said as he looked down in guilt.

("The previous ones were mostly chuunins, so they are most definitely going to send an elite jonin this time around…..") Kakashi thought to himself as he felt a headache coming in.

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A few moments later

The group finally reached a land region, and started walking again.

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As everyone was walking, Naruto takes out a kunai, and sends it flying in a certain direction.

"Naruto stop scaring us" Sakura screams.

"I definitely sensed someone there, but not anymore now…." Naruto said as he goes to the bush.

Behind a bush, was a now rabbit, lying on the ground motionlessly.

"A substitution" Naruto's expression darkened, as he turned around to see a long blade flying towards them

"Duck" Naruto shouted as he jumped up and kicked the blade away from the group.

In a particular tree behind the group, Zabuza stood surprised as he saw Naruto kick his blade away.

"This brat and Kakashi of the Sharingan. I didn't expect for there to be 2 troublesome opponents in this group" Zabuza mused as he disappeared, instantly arriving next to his blade.

At this moment, Sasuke stepped up, as he paid great attention to the man who had just made an appearance.

"Hey, it cannot be Momochi Zabuza, the rogue ninja from the hidden mist now can it?" Kakashi greeted him with a smile, as he indicated Sasuke to stay where he was.

"Kakashi of the sharingan and…."

"Oh, How rude of me, they are my students" Kakashi pointed to Naruto and co.

("That yellow haired kid is his student? He seems to be very powerful") Zabuza mused as he turned around with the blade in his hand, while Kakashi lifted his head protector, revealing his sharingan.

"Oh, it is quite an honour to see the legendary sharingan up-close. To think that one not of Uchiha blood like you has it, yet to have been able to gain the title, 'The man who copied over a thousand jutsus' .... 'copy ninja Kakashi' " Zabuza praised, Kakashi's achievements.

Sakura, appeared to be totally impressed, while Sasuke wondered how Kakashi got the Sharingan in the first place.

"Let's end the talk, I need to kill that old man immediately" Zabuza's voice changed to an unpleasant tone.

"But it looks like, I have to kill you first, Kakashi." Zabuza said as he grabbed his long blade and jumped onto a small pond nearby.

Zabuza raised one of his hands while the other was held as a seal as he discharged chakra which roiled up the water vapours nearby, instantly forming a thick cover of mist.

<ninja art - hidden mist jutsu>

"sensei, he seems to have disappeared, where is he?" Sakura asked.

"Momochi Zabuza a former ANBU black ops member of the hidden mist, One of the seven hidden mist swordsman and a master of the 'silent killing technique'"

"His technique is such that by the time you realise it, it is possible that you may find yourself in afterlife."

"All of you, don't worry as he will come for me first, but don't lower your guards"

Meanwhile Naruto was sensing the position of Zabuza and had finally found him

Naruto disappeared from the midst of the group and sent fist straight to Zabuza's temple while he was still busy creating the mist.

(Whack!) the fist landed squarely.

Zabuza before he realised was already lying in the pond , now barely floating due to the buoyant force.

Haku watching nearby was alarmed as he sent needles flying to Zabuza's neck.

Naruto already knew that these guys did not have it easy, so he did nothing to interfere as he watched Haku do his fake act as a tracker ninja.

Kakashi and others stood blankly as Naruto had already dealt with Zabuza while Haku delivered the final blow.

"Your battle is over for now" Haku said as he took Zabuza away.

Sasuke felt anger rushing to his brains, he did not do anything in this fight either.

Kakashi approached Naruto as he asked "Were you able to home in on Zabuza's location during the battle earlier?"

"Yes" Naruto nodded as he went back to Tazuna.

"See, I told you we can protect you" Naruto said reassuring Tazuna's resolve once again.

The group then left for Tazuna's village.

Kakashi announced as the group kept walking "Zabuza is most likely not dead. After considering the actions that tracker nin did, I can also say that she is an accomplice of Zabuza."

" " Naruto remained indifferent as he kept walking

Sasuke then ran up to Naruto, "This time, leave all the battles to me" he said.

"You need to finish your training first", Naruto said as he continued walking.

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Later that evening the group had finally reached Tazuna's house.

A woman welcomed the group, into the house

"This here is my daughter, Tsunami" Tazuna introduced her to the group, after which a little boy ran towards Tazuna.

"Grandpa! Welcome back" Inari said as he hugged him.

"Inari, what sort of greeting is that?, These are the ninjas that escorted your grandfather back" Inari's mom reprimanded.

Inari then turned towards the trio, after observing their faces, he turned towards his mom

"Mom, these guys are going to die, There's no way they can oppose Gato and win"

Naruto smiled as he already knew Inari's past.

"Sasuke, I am going to train, you coming?" He asked.

Sasuke nodded as they both went outside....

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