Chapter 5: Zabuza

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Chapter Five: Zabuza

Tazuna, Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru and Chouji sat in the boat heading for Nami-no-Kuni while Kakashi and Asuma walked on water with Sakura and Ino on their backs, respectively.

Now Naruto could have water walked as well, but he'd already displayed enough odd abilities for the day. Kakashi and Asuma were suspicious enough as it was.

Tazuna had just finished telling them about Gato and his tyranny against Nami-no-Kuni, guilting the shinobi into staying beside him.

~They will send more dangerous shinobi after you now that they know that the Demon Brothers failed,~ Minato mused. ~Such a dangerous situation for your first mission out of the country… this is virtually A-class.~

~Oh stop grumbling, Minato. Kakashi and Asuma are still here, aren't they? They should be more than enough. If it still gets out of hand, there's you,~ Kyuubi drawled.

~Oh yes, not only would I expose Naruto to his companions but I'd scream to all the nations that I'm still alive,~ Minato shot back.

~I was only dishing out possibilities… I can always come out and have some fun. You haven't let me have any,~ Kyuubi said, eyes gleaming. She was longing for some freedom.

~We'll see,~ Minato decided.

~Thank you for trying to plan out my mission,~ Naruto quipped, sounding amused. Minato and Kyuubi had the grace to look sheepish.

Naruto returned to attention when he saw someone snapping their fingers in front of his face.

"Geez, Naruto, the least you could do was pay attention. We're already in Nami-no-Kuni and you're stupidly staring off in space!" Sakura snapped.

"I don't gripe about you and Ino drooling over Sasuke-teme now do I?" Naruto countered. "So why don't you give me the same courtesy and leave me to my thoughts."

Sakura opened and closed her mouth, not having expected the smartass statement coming from the guy who'd supposedly had a crush on her.

Ino was about to make a comment when Shikamaru groaned. "If you guys haven't noticed, we're supposed to be lying low. Don't make a scene," he declared.

They all went quiet as Tazuna led them towards his house.

"Do you think we can really pull off a mission like this, Shikamaru?" Chouji whispered to his best friend as they walked.

"If we do things correctly, then maybe," Shikamaru yawned. "All I know is that it's troublesome…"

"Everything is troublesome to you, Shikamaru," Naruto snorted as he walked beside the two Team 10 members. Shikamaru just rolled his eyes.

"What's most troublesome is you and that strange wind of yours…" the shadow user grumbled, noting how Naruto stiffened ever so slightly.

"I don't see how it's strange," Naruto murmured, not quite meeting Shikamaru's eyes.

"It's almost sentient, Naruto. It doesn't even look like you are controlling it," Shikamaru whispered so only Naruto could hear.

"You're just seeing things," Naruto lied.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," Shikamaru retorted. "We'll have to see about that now won't we?"

~The kid's too observant for his own good,~ Minato stated chagrined. ~We'll have to be careful around him.~

~Yeah…~ a rather unnerved Naruto responded.

Naruto detected movement nearby and sent a kunai into a nearby bush, startling everyone.

"Damn it, Naruto! Don't waste your weapons! You scared us!" Sakura scolded.

"Something's there," Naruto defended himself.

Frowning, Kakashi went to investigate and he saw a frightened white rabbit underneath the kunai.

"It's just a rabbit, idiot," Sakura spat out, rolling her eyes.

~A white rabbit? At this time of year?~ Minato frowned before he heard the sound of something whistling through the air. ~Duck!~

Kakashi and Asuma pushed Sakura and Ino down, Sasuke tackled Tazuna, Shikamaru pulled Chouji down and Minato shielded Naruto, sending the spinning sword that had come at them flying away into a different direction.

The Jounin were quick to get on their feet to see a man with bandages covering his mouth and nose. His hitai-ite, which lay sideways on his head, displayed the symbol of Kirigakure.

The man stared at both Kakashi and Asuma, interest gleaming in his eyes.

"Momochi Zabuza, nuke-nin of Kirigakure," Kakashi declared, staring at the man with narrowed eyes.

~He's a dangerous one… from that sword I can only deduce that he's one of the Seven Swordsmen…~ Minato realized. ~He'll be a difficult one to beat.~

"Stay back," Asuma ordered the Genin. "You won't be able to fight this one. He's beyond your level."

"For this opponent, I may have to use this…" Kakashi decided, placing a hand over his hitai-ite.

"Sharingan no Kakashi and Sarutobi Asuma of the Niju Shotai…" Zabuza began before his eyes fell on Tazuna. "Sorry but the old man's mine."

'Sharingan?' Sasuke gaped, more than a little shocked. He glanced over at his teammates to see that Sakura, Ino, and Chouji looked surprised, Shikamaru looked bored and Naruto looked… expectant?

"Surround and protect Tazuna," Asuma ordered the Genin. "We'll take care of this."

"Zabuza… fight us first," Kakashi stated as he pulled up his hitai-ite to reveal his sole Sharingan eye. Asuma pulled out his blades as he got into a fighting stance.

"So I've already got to see the Sharingan eye… I'm honored," Zabuza drawled, eyes gleaming.

"When I was in the ANBU squad of Kirigakure, I read about the two of you in the Bingo Book. You're the pride of Konoha's shinobi force. It will prove to be interesting to fight you…" Zabuza drawled.

~Looks like the Uchiha's confused about Kakashi's eyes… that look suits him,~ Minato said, voice filled with spite as he gazed upon Sasuke's dumbstruck face.

~You really don't like the Uchiha clan, do you?~ Naruto commented.

~Not after the sort of hell they put Obito through back when he was still alive. The only shinobi with the Uchiha name I'd liked other than Obito was Itachi,~ Minato declared. ~That was back when he'd been just a little kid though. I'd had no clue that he would do what he had done…~

~You choose a mass murderer over Konoha's last loyal Uchiha, now that's ironic,~ Naruto snorted, eyes filled with mirth despite the situation they all were facing.

"Let's stop with the talking," Zabuza declared. "I've got to kill the old man."

The moment he said that, the Genin had leapt into a protective formation around the stunned bridge builder. Zabuza's eyes turned back to Kakashi and Asuma.

"But I have to beat the two of you first, don't I?" he realized before disappearing and reappearing on the surface of the water, his left arm held straight pointing upwards and his right hovering in front of his mouth. His fingers were twisted in the form of a seal. "Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu!"

A heavy mist surrounded the area, unnerving the Genin and putting the Jounin on edge.

"Where did he go?" a shocked Chouji exclaimed, noticing that Zabuza was no longer within viewing range.

"He'll come after either Asuma or I first," Kakashi deduced. "As a former member of Kirigakure's ANBU, he's a master of silent killing."

"You wouldn't even notice until you're dead," Asuma elaborated. "As Kakashi can't use his Sharingan perfectly, all of you should be careful."

'What a drag,' Shikamaru thought with a sigh, noting how scared Ino and Sakura looked as they inched closer together while still standing guard. His eyes fell on Naruto, surprised to see how calm the boy was despite the uncertain situation. He'd half expected the hot-headed boy to start making a ruckus.

Then again, he could feel that strange chakra surrounding Naruto again. The guardian was making its presence known to deal with the threat.

'Looks like I'll get to observe you up close and personal this time…' Shikamaru thought.

"Eight choices…" Zabuza's voice rang out through the mist, scaring Sakura and Ino even more.

"Where is he?" Sakura whispered nervously, eyes raking through the mist as she grew more jittery with every passing minute.

"Liver, lungs, spine, subclavian vein, jugular vein, brain, kidneys, heart… which one should I go after?" Zabuza hissed.

~He's using scare tactics,~ Minato pointed out, trying to ensure that his son would remain cool in the face of danger.

'What a dangerous killing intent… I feel like I'll be killed if I even move. This could drive somebody insane… The intensity of a Jounin… I can barely stand it. I feel like he's squeezing the life out of me.' Sasuke thought, trembling as he held his kunai. 'I'd rather die to get it over with…'

~Those tactics are working,~ Naruto mused as he heard Chouji's scared whimpers and saw Sasuke's fear.

"Don't worry Sasuke, Chouji… I'll protect you guys even if it kills me." Kakashi began as he turned to face them with an eye smile. "I don't let my comrades die."

"We'll see about that!" Zabuza exclaimed as he breached the Genin's formation, standing directly in front of Tazuna with his sword drawn. "It's over…" he declared gleefully, swinging his sword down towards the bridge builder but was surprised when Naruto blocked him, using an odd tri-pronged kunai that he'd pulled out from his weapons pack.

"Naruto!" Kakashi exclaimed out in surprise. He had been about to defend them himself and had gotten surprised by Naruto's quick movement. Due to the fog, he completely missed seeing the familiar kunai. All he knew was that his student was facing off against a very dangerous opponent.

"You're a brave little brat, aren't you?" Zabuza sneered, eyes on the feisty Jinchuuriki. "Or are you just foolish?"

He aimed to strike Naruto down, but Kakashi acted right then and there, stabbing Zabuza in the back while pushing all of the Genin and Tazuna away to produce room for the battle.

~That was reckless of you, Naruto,~ Minato scolded, watching as Naruto quickly concealed the Hiraishin kunai. ~What did you use that blade for anyways?~

~It was the easiest one to reach,~ Naruto admitted. ~And I couldn't let him kill Tazuna, no matter how annoying he is.~

He looked up just in time to see Zabuza appear behind Kakashi just as water began to pour out from where Kakashi had stabbed the Zabuza in front of him. He called out to warn Kakashi.

Kakashi turned around just in time to get sliced in half by the swordsman's blade. He dissolved into water just like the clone he'd stabbed.

'A Mizu Bunshin?' Zabuza thought in disbelief. 'He copied it in the mist?'

At that moment, Asuma went at Zabuza, infusing his chakra into his trench knives as he did.

Zabuza whirled on him, blocking with his sword and kicking Asuma away before freezing as he felt a kunai at his throat.

"Don't move," Kakashi hissed. "It's over."

"It's over?" Zabuza laughed derisively. "You just don't get it, do you? There's no way you two could beat me. I'm not that easy to beat." Kakashi's eyes widened as Zabuza appeared behind him once more.

With some quick moves, Zabuza had knocked both Kakashi and Asuma into the water.

"Something's wrong," Asuma frowned as he felt how heavy the water was.

"Got you," Zabuza sneered. "Suiton: Suiro no Jutsu."

Asuma and Kakashi were quickly caught up in a sphere of water, unable to escape.

"Sensei!" Ino and Sakura cried out in shock, worried. They couldn't believe that Kakashi and Asuma had gotten caught.

"It makes things tough if you two can move, you know?" Zabuza stated. "I'll deal with you later. Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu."

A water clone appeared in front of the shocked Genin. "Wearing hitai-ite and acting like real shinobi… but you know what? Real shinobi have already faced multiple brushes with death. Only when you get good enough to be in the Bingo Book, that will be when I see you as real shinobi. As of now, you're nothing but stupid brats!" the clone sneered before vanishing from sight.

"Where did he go?" Chouji exclaimed, sounding more than a little panicked.

~Behind you!~ Minato warned his son a little too late and Naruto got kicked hard enough that his hitai-ite fell off. Before he could land on the ground, Minato caught him, appearing as if the wind itself had cushioned the boy's fall.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out, sounding worried as the boy stayed hunched on the ground, wiping the blood from his lip.

"I'm fine," he assured her, getting up gingerly. 'The guy's really fast… I'll have to be careful.'

"You're no match for me, you should just hand over the bridge builder," Zabuza drawled, looking at the weary Genin with disdain.

"Get away from here! Take Tazuna and run!" Kakashi ordered. "There's no way you can win this! As long as he has us in this prison, he can't move. Take this chance and run!"

"But Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura protested. She didn't want to leave the two Jounins to Zabuza's mercy.

"Damn it…" Shikamaru scowled. He knew they wouldn't stand a chance on this mission without their Jounin-sensei's help. They were truly out of their league. Once Zabuza finished Kakashi and Asuma, he'd go after them and then they'd all be dead.

"Shikamaru… take everyone away from here," Naruto instructed the boy, fire burning in his eyes.

Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Shikamaru gazed at Naruto closely. "What about you?"

"I'm going to save our senseis," was the Jinchuuriki's simple reply, a confident smirk plastered on his face.

"Are you crazy? What hopes do you have of beating that guy? He just kicked your ass!" Ino protested with anger flaring in her eyes.

"Just trust me," Naruto requested. If everyone was gone, there were chances that he could break his mask and go all out. Even if he didn't stand a chance against Zabuza, he could buy some time for the others.

Sasuke snorted. "Don't act like a martyr, dobe. If you're staying, I'm staying too," he declared. No way was he going to let Naruto get one up on him.

"Then I am too," Sakura insisted, ever the loyal fangirl, even if she was scared out of her mind.

"Then me –," Ino began before Shikamaru wrapped an arm around her waist and began to drag her away as Chouji and Tazuna followed.

"You better make it out of this alive," Shikamaru called back at them.

"We will," Naruto promised, albeit chagrined that he wouldn't be able to do what he'd originally planned now that Sasuke and Sakura were sticking with him. Eyes falling on the hitai-ite that Zabuza was stepping on, his eyes hardened with determination.

Letting out a battle cry, he lunged forward at the nuke-nin.

"No! Don't!" Kakashi protested, eyes wide in apprehension.

"What are you doing?" Sakura exclaimed, not believing her eyes.

"Idiot," Zabuza snorted, aiming to strike the boy but as Naruto dove for the hitai-ite, the wind blocked Zabuza's blow, leaving Naruto unharmed.

Gathering wind around his fingers, making them look like claws, Naruto swung forward, digging the wind claws through the clone's body, making it disintegrate into water.

"What?" Zabuza gaped, not having expected the pitiful looking Genin to actually dispel his clone with such practiced ease.

~Thanks for the backup,~ Naruto told his dad.

~No problem,~ Minato responded with a smirk.

"He actually did it?!" Asuma gaped, looking at Kakashi. "What have you taught him?"

'Nothing of real value…' Kakashi admitted to himself. He hadn't really gotten down to training his team like one should just yet. This was a major reminder that he needed to shape up. Nevertheless, he was surprised by Naruto's ability using wind chakra. It was almost too advanced looking for a Genin.

Then again, Naruto had been doing a lot of things that surprised Kakashi. He still hadn't been able to figure out how he'd managed to pull off the Minato imitation back during his test. It seemed impossible in Kakashi's eyes that Naruto could have gotten that accurate with how Minato was, even with him idolizing the Yondaime as he did. The Taijutsu,, in particular, had been too perfect. No one should have been able to imitate somebody else's Taijutsu so perfectly. It made Kakashi wonder if that had really been his former Sensei for real but he knew that was impossible. Minato was dead. He'd seen the body himself…

'This is the dead last of the Academy? He's a lot better than I thought he would have been,' Asuma thought to himself before his eyes narrowed. 'Nevertheless, his ability with the wind is too advanced for a mere Genin…'

"So you got lucky with the clone. That doesn't change a thing," Zabuza scowled. "You still won't be able to save your senseis."

"We'll see about that," Naruto smirked before turning to Sasuke. "Lend me your ear, I've got a plan."

"We've got to go back! They're going to get killed! Sasuke-kun's going to die and it will be all your fault!" Ino shrieked as Shikamaru and Chouji dragged her off as Tazuna led them towards his home.

Shikamaru gritted his teeth. "At least you acknowledged that your precious Sasuke-kun doesn't stand a chance… and I'm well aware of the danger they're in! Naruto told me to trust him and that's what we'll have to do…" he declared. 'There's something about the look in Naruto's eyes… he really believed he could do it…'

"So we have to believe in the Academy's dead last?" Ino inquired hysterically.

"There is more to Naruto than he lets on. He's hiding something from us all. There is something protecting him… that wind of his is sentient, I'm sure of it and the chakra coming from it isn't his own. I'm sure he intends to use that to save our senseis. We'll just have to wait and see what goes on," Shikamaru said, looking more than a little intrigued. "Just do as I say."

Ino stared at Shikamaru, looking rather shocked. It was the first time she'd seen the lazy nin be so active voluntarily.

The mist had thickened, hiding Zabuza and Kakashi from the Genin's eyes but they knew that Zabuza couldn't move. However, they couldn't be certain that the nuke-nin hadn't produced another Mizu Bunshin.

"On three…" Naruto whispered to Sasuke, flashing his fingers in a silent countdown.

Three…

Two…

One…

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

"Katon: Goukyakyu no Jutsu!"

Zabuza's eyes widened in surprise as a huge flame, strengthened by wind, came flying at him.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" he cried out, dashing the flame out with a lot of water, producing a smoke screen.

There was a whistling in the air, signaling a weapon being thrown and Zabuza was quick to catch the Fuuma Shuriken that Sasuke had thrown at him.

"It will take more than that to defeat me!" the Demon of Kirigakure sneered.

His eyes widened as he saw another shuriken coming at him. Nevertheless, he still dodged it by jumping over. He smirked at Sasuke's failure… until he heard a familiar popping noise.

Looking around, he saw Naruto in the place of the shuriken, throwing a kunai towards his back.

Moving subtly, Zabuza managed to dodge the kunai. The nuke-nin reveled in the look of shock on Naruto's face. It meant the plan, ingenious as it was, had failed.

"You almost got me, brat… but you weren't good enough!" the bandaged man exclaimed, swinging his sword towards Naruto, who was struggling to move in the heavy water.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called out, fearing for his little brother.

A three-pronged kunai stopped the sword's descent and a spark of foreign chakra passed up Zabuza's arm.

Shaking his head to clear it, Zabuza looked forwards and he was surprised to see

someone standing there who hadn't been there before.

Livid blue eyes bore into the nuke-nin as what appeared to be an older version of the orange-clad brat protected the struggling Genin. He wore a typical Konoha Jounin uniform with an all-too-familiar flame cloak that alongside the man's spiky blonde hair and ice-like eyes meant deep trouble for Zabuza.

"Yon –," the Kiri nin began to speak only to get sucker punched by the pissed Yellow Flash.

Zabuza flew back, his hand forcibly ripped out of the water prison, freeing Kakashi and Asuma.

'Did I imagine that?' a disbelieving Zabuza thought as he skidded to halt, near Sasuke and Sakura. He looked back and saw no sign of the Yondaime Hokage who'd knocked him silly like he was a pathetic little Genin like the ones he had just faced off against. 'I didn't just see a ghost of a man who has supposedly been dead for nearly thirteen years… did I?'

'There was that wind again…' Asuma thought, frowning as he gazed at Naruto's drenched form. 'Just what's up with this kid?'

Kakashi pulled Naruto out of the water and carried him to solid ground. He frowned as he felt how heavy the boy was. 'No wonder he has difficulty in water… something's weighing him down…' he thought to himself. He'd address the situation with Naruto later. "Good job, all of you. Your plan may not have worked the way you wanted it to but you got the job done, somehow… leave the rest to us."

Zabuza glared at the two Jounin before his eyes fell on Naruto. 'There's something really weird about that kid… I'll have to keep an eye on him,' he thought before deciding it was time to deal with the real threat. If he couldn't deal with them, there was little chance he'd be able to continue on and end Tazuna's life.

Kakashi glared right back. 'The moment he decided to attack Naruto, his life was forfeit…' he thought, furious with how close Naruto had come to getting killed at the bloodthirsty nin's hands. "Asuma… take Naruto back to land and defend my Genin. I'll deal with Zabuza. Things have gotten a little… personal."

Asuma gave Kakashi a funny look but after noticing the steely glint in the ex-ANBU's eyes, quickly conceded. "Very well," he agreed, taking Naruto who had been dangling in Kakashi's grasp and going on land while Zabuza rushed at Kakashi, ready to finish things once and for all.

"You're going to wish you had allowed him to fight with you," Zabuza growled as he faced off against Kakashi.

"He won't be necessary. This battle is as good as over…" Kakashi said coldly. "Your trick was impressive but it won't work on me again…"

"You're beginning to annoy me…" Zabuza snarled and the battle recommenced…

~Something's bothering me about that hunter nin…~ Minato frowned as Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura followed Asuma, who was carrying the now unconscious Kakashi. Kakashi had completely worn himself out from fighting Zabuza. The prolonged use of the Sharingan had sapped most of his strength. Putting that thought to the side, Minato addressed Naruto's actions. ~I should be pissed, you know… that you did something so completely reckless and endangered your life.~ He gave his son a clearly disapproving look.

~Those who abandon their teammates are trash, remember?~ Naruto defended himself. ~Kakashi-sensei was in danger and I wasn't about to just let him get killed. What would you have done?~

Minato blinked and stared at Naruto with an unreadable look on his face before sighing. ~… Most likely the same thing. You really are too much like your mother…~ he mused.

~You wouldn't have me any other way, would you?~ Naruto shot back. Minato smirked.

~Not at all,~ he agreed, ruffling Naruto's hair.

~Sorry about forcing you to intervene like that,~ Naruto apologized.

~That's alright. You just need to be more careful from now on. Your plan was brilliant… Zabuza was just too good,~ the blonde Kage remarked.

~I suppose so…~ Naruto agreed.

Minato smiled at Naruto before going back to thinking about the strange sense of foreboding he kept feeling.

'Something tells me that the worst isn't over just yet…'

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