-Hokage's office-
Naruto was once again sitting in front of Tsunade and Shizune, but this time, Tsunade was wearing a rather dark expression, while Shizune was smiling awkwardly by the side.
"So, about your apology" Tsunade said
"Urgh....I'm sorry" Naruto said as he shifted his gaze to the side
"About what exactly?" Tsunade placed her hands together as she smiled, but the look in her eyes made him shudder.
He couldn't look her in the eyes, like a child who was caught doing something wrong.
"I...shouldn't have beaten Sakura to the point of chakra exhaustion" Naruto replied
However, Tsunade's expression didn't ease up, as if she was waiting for something else
"Um, and for doing it for the past two days" Naruto added
Tsunade tapped the table
"Tell me, why did you do it?" She asked
Naruto gulped
"She was learning medical ninjutsu, and with her fighting style, I felt that she should be more exposed to injuries and pain so she won't show openings during decisive battles outside the village" He replied
Tsunade sighed
"Naruto, I know you do this with good intentions, however, you need to understand that you are all still young, training is fine, but to do so until she exhausts her chakra from healing herself every day, that is going too far" She said sternly
"I won't do it again" Naruto fiddled with his fingers and said
"Really now?" Tsunade asked
"nah" Naruto replied
"Hm?" Tsunade eyes became sharper, as an oppressive aura covered Naruto
"Sis, Sakura was the one who asked me to do this, you know that as well, and as much as it hurts me to do this to her, I must see it through" He said with a determined look
"Naruto...if you even feel an ounce of pain in your heart doing this to her, I'll willingly work as the Hokage, even without our prior agreement" Tsunade said with a dead serious expression
"Tch" Naruto clicked his tongue
"Fine, fine, I'm a heartless monster, happy? But I won't stop this training, I think it is necessary for her to go through this, especially if she's still in love with Sasuke Uchiha" Naruto said firmly
With Sasuke being mentioned, Tsunade's expression sunk further, but she didn't flare up
"And your reasoning?"
"Sasuke is willing to do anything to kill his brother, he's too blinded by revenge that if he were to meet Sakura one day, he might directly see her as someone trying to stop his revenge, he is studying under Orochimaru, someone who holds the same status as you, do you think I dare gamble with my teammate's life when the situation is like this?" Naruto said in a low voice
Tsunade tapped the table lightly once more, slowly falling into a deep thought. From what she has heard about Sasuke, he is indeed obsessed with power, and seems to be willing to do anything for it in order to get revenge.
What Naruto said isn't entirely false, but she still feels the training is too much for the current Sakura.
"I will later ask Sakura once she has woken up, if she is willing to continue this training, then I will have no issues" She said
"Kay~" Naruto grinned
Tsunade sighed
"Keep it in moderation" She added
"Of course, I'll make sure she can at least heal her injuries before knocking her out" Naruto smiled
"...."
"Right, how are those three doing" Naruto asked
By 'those three', Naruto means Tayuya, Haku, and Zabuza, who began taking on missions as requested by Tsunade.
Tsunade pinched between her brows, as much as she enjoys Naruto's company, when it comes to the village matters, he becomes a headache to deal with.
"They are doing well, they just recently went on an escort mission" She replied
"Fantastic, Tayuya's expression wasn't that great when I told them about this matter, but since they're doing fine, I'll be on my way then" Naruto stood up and left the office, leaving Tsunade sighing to herself once more.
"What am I going to do with a lil brother like him?" She smiled bitterly
Shizune's lips twitched, she still can't get over how Naruto calls Tsunade sis despite the massive age gap between them. She is old enough to be his grandmother after all!
--------------
-Two days ago, at night-
"So yeah, you don't have a choice" Naruto sat cross legged, across from Haku, Zabuza and Tayuya
The three of them were a little taken aback, but not overly surprised that they are required to take on missions, as it would be suspicious to just have three chunins sitting around doing nothing all day.
"Can I...not?" Tayuya groaned
"You may" Naruto replied casually
Tayuya sat up
"Seriously?" She leaned over and asked
"Of course I'm serious, you can not go, in that case, just go back to Orochimaru and explain to him why you failed as a test subject that he is looking forward to see the results of" Naruto smiled
"....I hate you" Tayuya sat back down with a depressed look
"Aw, don't worry, I don't like you either, Kimimaro is a much better test subject" Naruto grinned
"Tch"
Zabuza and Haku were much more compliant, though Haku did have some hesitation.
"Haku-nii...let me guess, you don't want to be away from the village because you want to train with Hinata?" Naruto grinned
"..."
"Heh, I got it, didn't I?" Naruto leaned on one hand as he teased Haku
But he then waved his hand
"You don't need to worry, most missions don't take over a day, and even if they do, it won't happen often, most missions are just a few hours excluding travel time" Naruto said
Haku sighed
"Mn" He nodded
--------------
-Current time, outside the village-
"Urgh, I feel like I'm on baby sitting duty"
"Just shut up and act accordingly, I like keeping my mission records clean"
The said group of three were guarding a merchant group, with Tayuya complaining every now and then, while Zabuza shut her complaints with a glare.
Haku walked in front, looking a little more eager about this than he had first expected. It reminded him of the times when he travelled with Zabuza to take on assassination missions, or direct kill commissions.
Though it wasn't a bright time of his life, it was one where he didn't feel alone.
The merchant group contains a group of ten guards, as well as the owner of the merchant group, along with his son.
"What was Konoha thinking, I asked for elites, and they send me a cripple and two girls who are not even older than my son" The owner sighed.
Zabuza gave him a smile
"Please don't look down on us, we may not look like much, but our missions have all been completed without fail thus far" He said, but his smile looked terrifying to the average person, and made the owner jump a little.
He quickly pulled his head back into the carriage, and shifted his attention to his son. His son was seventeen this year, and he realised that his attention has been on Haku for quite some time now.
'He is at that age now, but he shouldn't get his hopes up' He thought to himself
"Ken-sama, we will arrive at the next town shortly" One of the guards spoke
"Mn, thank you for your hard work" He said
"Of course sir" The guard smiled and returned to duty.
Outside the carriage, Haku was walking closely beside Zabuza, and would often talk about the past with him as the current feeling reminded him of the past.
"Father, do you remember my first mission?" Haku smiled
"How can I forget?" Zabuza nodded
"You were not that great at your job, so you pricked more holes in the man than necessary, I wondered if he was even going to have a whole body after what you did" Zabuza chuckled
"N-Not that part, I mean when I captured the others alive, I did well, no?" Haku puffed his cheeks and said
"Hahaha, of course, you did very well" Zabuza's eyes curved into a crescent shape
"..." Tayuya on the other hand, was speechless
Is it really fine for them to talk about such a gruesome murder so openly? Then again, they're a Shinobi after all, so perhaps the commissioners won't ask too many questions about it.
As the trip continued, the guards felt something was off
"It's been too quiet"
"Right? Passing by this road, we usually get attacked at least once"
Even Ken found it to be quite strange, as it has been very peaceful the entire trip. Meanwhile, Tayuya sighed as she twirled a flute in her hand.
'Seriously, why do we need to do missions like this?' She grumbled
Out of the sight of the group, three monstrous figures were jumping through the forest, and viciously killed all those who approached the group with ill intent.
Tayuya wanted this mission to end as quickly as possible, so she summoned her three Doki in silence, and had those three guard from afar, so the trip would not be delayed in any way.
'Out of sight, out of mind, not what it means, but seems fitting' She thought to herself
"We've arrived" The leading guard spoke to Ken when the town came into view
Tayuya quietly retracted her Doki, and tucked her flute away. Haku caught sight of Tayuya's actions, and felt that she was related to how peaceful the trip has been thus far.
"Did you do something?" He asked her
"What?" Tayuya snapped back
Haku didn't respond and kept walking
"Oi, if you're going to start a conversation, at least end it yourself" Tayuya grumbled at him
Haku glanced back
"I did end it, just didn't do a good job" He replied
"...f**k, you're acting more and more like that blonde prick"
Haku placed a finger over his lips
"Careful about what you say, his clone is the one that will take us back home once the mission is done, if he hears you, and with how petty he is..." Haku chuckled
Tayuya covered her mouth and looked around warily, last time she annoyed Naruto, he actually ditched her despite all her confidence that he wouldn't. She didn't want to make the gamble and need to walk back as a result.
Meanwhile, Zabuza gave Haku a small pouch
"There should be enough for you to spend, if you need more, just ask" He said
"Alright" Haku received the pouch with a smile on his face, while Tayuya groaned
"When will this damn mission end" She muttered
As Haku was about to leave, Ken's son, Hiro, hopped out of the carriage.
"Can I follow you? I want to buy something in town as well" He asked Haku
Haku lifted a brow
"Sure" He responded, since protecting his employers is his mission anyway.
Ken furrowed his brows, and assigned half of the guards to follow closely behind since he wasn't fully confident in Haku's skills. The whole trip has been peaceful, so he wasn't sure if any of them had any actual skills that will be able to protect them, resulting in his worries.
What worried him even more was that his son seems to have taken a liking to Haku, which only served to give him more of a headache in this regard.
"Oh my" Naruto's clone sat on the rooftops with a faint smile on his face
"Man, nii-san can really use a mask, with how he looks, he's going to keep attracting suitors" He chuckled and continued to observe.
Haku went around looking for different types of desserts, and finally stopped in a dango store where he ordered a plate.
Hiro had the guards stand outside, while he entered as well, and sat down on the same table as Haku silently.
"Want one?" Haku offered
"Yeah" Hiro received it, and took a bite
His face became a little red as he glanced at Haku eating the dangos elegantly.
"It's good, I should buy some for dad and Naruto" Haku smiled
"Hey Ha-" Hiro opened his mouth to speak, however, Haku pressed him aside as a metallic glimmer shot past him, landing on the table.
A kunai was embedded deeply into the table, causing Hiro to shudder. Haku glanced at the shop keeper, who was now hiding under the table as the door to the store was tore down.
*Bang*
Through the window, on of the guards was thrown in, while the others could be seen laying by the door.
"I guess I'll need to ask Naruto later for money to pay the shop owner" Haku muttered as he pressed his hand against the table, causing it to freeze before throwing it through the doorway.
-Outside-
"I ain't paying sh*t" Naruto muttered
-Back inside-
Haku froze the walls in an instant, and pulled Hiro up. He then placed the pouch of ryo he got from Zabuza onto the counter table.
"Take this as advanced payment, I'll pay back for the rest later" Haku said as he formed an ice wall behind himself, blocking projectiles that flew from the windows and door.
Soon after, multiple enemies broke through the walls and surrounded the two of them.
"Troublesome" Haku muttered as he generated spikes made of ice in the air and shot them towards the aggressors.
*Whoosh*
One of them stood in front, made a hand sign before blasting a ball of flame towards the ice, and melted it all in the air.
Haku frowned, and formed a thicker wall between themselves and the enemy before picking up Hiro. He then jumped towards the window behind them, and exited the shop where he saw over a dozen more them standing outside.
'Such a big commotion, the others must have noticed, right?' Haku thought to himself
He could take them on, but doing it while protecting Hiro will be difficult, especially when one of them is able to use fire jutsus so proficiently.
Naruto sat on the roof with his arms crossed
'I don't know who hired these shinobi, but nii-san won't have a good time fighting them, even Zabuza and Tayuya are occupied by three Jonin level shinobi, and the ones here are all at least chunin level'
Despite all this, he didn't step in, as he felt that Haku needed the experience of facing many enemies who are almost at his level.
"And if I save him when he's in danger, he'll owe me one, perhaps I can get him to call me nii-san for a bit" Naruto grinned
He had thoughts as to whether he should go help Zabuza and Tayuya resolve the issues on their side, however, when he saw Tayuya summon her three Dokis, he decided they needed no help, though he did put up a seal around so people outside won't see the battle.
He doesn't know if others know about the Dokis, but if it was linked to Orochimaru, he'd be in trouble.
"But Haku-nii is handling it quite well despite having a kid who he needs to protect" Naruto smiled
Haku had been keeping distance and throwing poisoned senbons whilst carrying Hiro on his back. Using his ice release, he turned the road into ice, which slowed down the approach of the enemies, and kept sending out needle thin icicles towards them.
His method kept the enemies back, however, Haku was also very hesitant to use any big attacks that would affect the town. At the moment, he can only freeze up certain areas, but anything that would destroy the buildings, he didn't use.
Naruto rubbed his chin when he saw this, and knew that Haku would soon be in trouble, if he cannot give it his all.
That aside, Naruto knew that the enemies are also very well coordinated, as he has seen them take out the guards outside without Haku noticing, meaning, they took out all 5 at the same time.
"I can see how this merchant group hired three chunins, not many are capable of doing so, their enemies are no joke, luckily, two of the chunins are actually Jonin level" Naruto muttered
Haku gnashed his teeth as he continued to avoid direct confrontation. The pressure he currently experienced was nothing like his usual spars, it was a real life and death battle, just like when he used to roam with Zabuza.
It slowly ignited his instincts of the past, and his attacks became more lethal as time went on. He may have targeted limbs at the start, but gradually, his target shifted to vitals.
"A-Are you alright?" Hiro asked worryingly as he knew that he was currently a burden, and Haku's breathing was also becoming more unsteady as time went on.
Naruto frowned
"Perhaps I need to step in now" He stood up
*Swoosh*
!!!!!!
Naruto felt a shiver run down his spine as he quickly rolled to the left. A blade slashed down on where he was sitting initially, cutting through the roof with ease.
He turned around, and saw lightning spark towards him.
"Tch" Naruto pressed his hand against the roof, leaving a flying raijin mark before he avoided the incoming lightning.
"Yo, you avoided that, hehehe, that makes this more fun" The person who struck laughed maniacally at Naruti, wearing a creepy smile on his face.
The lightning sparked around his body, gathering at the two peculiar looking blades in his hand that had fang like blades branching off the main blade.
Naruto furrowed his brows
*Bang*
Behind him, he heard an explosion as flames burst out. Haku held Hiro and rolled across the ice to avoid the explosion, barely avoiding injuries from it.
"Haku!" Naruto's pupils shrunk, it was getting too dire for Haku, but the person in front of him wasn't someone he can take on easily.
'Zabuza, Tayuya, finish your side quickly' A drop of sweat rolled down the side of his cheeks
"Getting distracted are we? Hahaha, don't worry, after I'm done with you, I'll bury both you and that little lass down there with you, you can spend the rest of your lowly lives underground until you both suffocate" The man laughed hysterically as he swung his blade at Naruto again.
Lightning shot out at him, forcing him to avoid it once more.
Naruto slapped a seal onto himself, accessing sage mode instantly before he drew out the nine tail's chakra. However, he could only access one tail worth as he was only a clone.
'For now, I'll use the rest of my chakra to get nii-san out of his current predicament, and have the main body come help'
Naruto used everything he had to jump towards where Haku was, but the man on the roof simply smirked viciously as he raised one of the blades up.
Thunder clouds began to gather above slowly
*Bang*
Naruto landed in front of Haku
"Get out of here, things our getting out of hand" Naruto snapped
"Naruto? What's going on" Haku asked
"The f**king merchant either lied, or we got unlucky and got targeted by some rogue shinobis, we'll talk later, just go!" Naruto shouted
Haku nodded firmly, if Naruto took action and said the situation was dire, it means that even he needs to be careful.
He picked up Hiro, who was unconscious from the previous explosion, before running in the other direction.
Naruto looked around
'The town folks....they're all gone? Dammit, was it a trap? Just who is targeting this merchant group?' Naruto thought
He summoned ten rasengans and threw it at the enemies who were making their way over the iced road.
*Bang*
Each exploded with immense power, sending them all sliding back, injuring many.
*Crackle*
He began hearing strange sounds from the roof, and when he looked up, he saw lightning gathering where the man stood. Both arms raised, with lightning striking him continuously.
"Hahaha, that was some crazy firepower, let's see how it compares to me though" He laughed as he pointed both blades at Naruto.
Naruto's pupils shrunk
He was covered in golden light, about to teleport away, but...
*Bzzt*
At a speed he couldn't react to, the lightning shot out, and tore his body apart.
'Main body, get here quickly, nii-san is-'
His body was torn to shreds instantly
-Konoha-
Naruto was training with Sakura, and just as he was about to strike Sakura, Naruto's expression changed and his fist dropped.
"Naruto?" Sakura looked up, not expecting the fist to stop, after all, it never stopped even when she begged him to stop.
"I'll be right back" He said in a low voice, his expression was incredibly dark, like nothing Sakura has ever seen before.
She has never seen him reveal such a serious expression before, but if Tsunade was here, she'd have realised how serious the situation is. Naruto has only ever made such an expression when he spoke of Danzo and Kumogakure.
-Zabuza and Tayuya's side-
"Tsk, snap out of it!" Tayuya slapped Zabuza, who was momentarily dazed
Zabuza quickly snapped out of it, and avoided a fireball that was fired towards him. His expression sunk as he raised the blade and slashed at the following fireballs, cutting them in two.
"The genjutsu is strange" He muttered
"Yeah, no kidding, tch, just what is up with this mission" Tayuya groaned as she blew her flute.
Currently, two of her Dokis were guarding Ken, while the last one was keeping one of the two enemy jonin rank occupied. However, the last jonin ranked shinobi that they are dealing with is strange.
He has a large pouch like bag behind him, and although his skills are not great, there is a genjutsu that keeps striking them, leaving them helpless.
If Tayuya tries to attack, Zabuza would be sent into a genjutsu, and with her controlling the Dokis, she isn't able to properly confront the enemy.
"Can't we just ditch that f**ker back there! Our lives are not worth his!" Tayuya yelled
"..." Zabuza was silent, but he is seriously considering that option as well.
What worried him even more is the fact that Haku is currently alone, meaning, he could be in danger if the enemy had another jonin ranked shinobi on their side.
"Can you send him into a genjutsu" He asked
"I can, however, it will take some time since the Dokis require quite a bit of concentration to control, are you sure you can hold out long enough? If you get sent into a genjutsu while I'm preparing...we'll be done in" She said
Zabuza glanced at Ken, who was shaking as he hid behind the two Doki.
"Withdraw the two protecting him, with how things are, Haku must be alright, I'd rather this man die than risk my son" He said in a low voice
"That's more like it" Tayuya licked her lips
The two Doki who were protecting Ken from the bombardment of enemy shinobi suddenly vanished, causing his heart to drop.
'N-No'
"S-Save me!" He yelled, but was ignored by Zabuza and Tayuya
Earth bullets and fire balls were shot towards him, senbons were thrown in the mix, all targeting his vitals.
"AHHHH!"
*Ding*
*Whoosh*
"Shut up" A low voice entered his ears
Before him, a blonde boy stood there with a dark expression.
"Naruto? If you're intervening, something big must have-"
"Shut up" Naruto cut off Zabuza as he gnashed his teeth
He took in a deep breathe
"I'm just a clone created when the main body arrived, I'll keep this man safe, finish the rest" He said
"Alright"
They didn't know why his expression was so dark, but Zabuza had a bad feeling in his heart, as if misfortune was about to befall them.
-Haku's side-
Haku ran as fast as he could to try and regroup with Zabuza and the rest, however, he saw the crackling lightning behind him, catching up rapidly.
*Bzzt*
A faint spark crackled beside him, causing him to tumble down. As he rolled, he shot out ice shards towards the man who gave chase. However, he simply swung his blade, slashing the ice to bits without slowly down.
"Hahaha, how fun, you will be fun to bury!" He laughed
Haku slide Ken aside, and stood up. He was prepared to leave Ken for dead while he ran away himself, but a feeling told him that if he turned around now, he would be killed instantly.
"Oh? You know that you can't run anymore" The man laughed as he stepped closer
Haku created numerous ice mirrors in a hurry, and leapt into one.
"Oh? What a fun jutsu, BREAK! HAHAHA" He waved his blade around, causing lightning to strike around, destroying the mirrors rapidly.
*Bang*
Right before one of the mirrors was destroyed, Haku leapt out of it, avoided the lightning strike.
He threw a metallic ball to the ground, causing a purple mist to cover the area before creating even more ice mirrors.
"What's this? Are you trying to hide again?" A smirk rose on the man's lips as he raised the blade up high
*Bzzt*
Lightning crackled once more
"Kirin!" He yelled
From above, a thick column of lightning struck down, forming the shape of a Kirin, that shot down, causing a massive explosion to go off, dispersing the purple mist, and destroying all the ice mirrors Haku created.
Haku laid in a massive crater, struggling to get up.
The man walked towards him
"Ah, you're about to die just from that? That's no fun, since you're about to die, I may as well finish you off for good, pity I don't get to bury you alive" His eyes curved into a crescent shape as he licked his lips.
His blade pointed at Haku's throat
"I hope you die knowing, you're weak" He smirked
"HAKU!"
A thunderous roar came from behind as an orange figure, completely covered in a dense black chakra stormed towards them, with five fox tails trailing behind it.
"F**ker! GET AWAY FROM HIM!" The beast roared as the five tails became claws that shot towards him
"Oh? An even more fun opponent" The man laughed, but his blade continued to slash towards Haku's neck
*Swoosh*
The blade came down, as fresh blood splattered
"B*STARD!!!!!!!"
The man laughed, as he jumped away from Haku, as the five claws smashed around him.
Naruto roared, causing the windows to crack, and the ground to shake. Anger, immense anger was contained in his roar. Naruto opened his mouth, as a beast bomb was formed.
!!!!
The man felt a strong sense of danger from the dense chakra orb, and mustered as much chakra as he could to strike at it before Naruto fired.
*Bang*
The lightning intercepted the mini beast bomb, causing a massive explosion to take place. It shook everything, and even Naruto had to take a step back, but that was enough for the man to use the chance to escape.
As he ran, he noticed something was off about his blade. When he checked, ice was covering his blade.
At this moment, Naruto released nine tail's chakra and ran towards Haku.
"Haku-nii!" He shouted as he checked on Haku
Blood was everywhere, but he noticed something. Blood covered Haku's torso, and not his neck which he though he was cut, with traces of ice around. In the moment he was about to be slashed, Haku had created ice around his body, and shifted his body slightly to the side.
So instead of slashing his neck, the blade ran across his torso. The ice was torn through with ease, but it reduce the impact just enough for it to avoid his vitals.
Naruto bit the bottom of his lips as he picked Haku up, who was still bleeding, covering Naruto's arm with his blood.
"Sis, sis can save him, she can save him" He muttered repeatedly as he teleported away