2/2

"That's not the point! Did you see what he did, just like that? Zabuza was huge and powerful like some kind of monster, and this kid who's no bigger than me brought down Zabuza with one move like it was nothing. I mean, what does that make us? We're just fumbling around, we don't know anything. How can I accept that?"

"By training and getting stronger so guys like that don't show you up and I don't have to listen to you whining like a little bitch, or Sakura over there. Besides, whether you accept it or not, the fact of the matter is that it happened. In this world, there are kids who are younger than us and probably stronger than Kakashi. In other words, get over your damn self."

The figure then went over and picked up Zabuza's body "Your struggle is over for now, I must deal with the remains. There are many secrets in this body, they must not be allowed to get into the wrong hands. Please excuse me. Farewell." and with that, he vanished.

Tatsu sighed as he heard Naruto growl "He's gone, get over it."

Naruto ignored him and started punching the ground "What are we doing here? We're nothing! I can't believe it!"

Tatsu finally grabbed his fist "As shinobi, the things we encounter are never easy. Save your anger for training, so you're ready for the next enemy. We haven't completed our mission yet, we still have to get the bridge builder. To his bridge."

Tazuna chuckled "Sorry I caused all this trouble for ya, but you can rest at my house when we get to the village."

"Alright, let's get a move on. Hey Kakashi, how long are you gonna stay conscious after using your Sharingan like that?"

"About this long." then Kakashi promptly collapsed.

"He'll be fine, just chakra exhaustion." Tatsu promptly created 3 Shadow Clones and all 4 grabbed Kakashi "Come on, let's go."

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Later, they arrived at Tazuna's house and let Kakashi sleep.

"Will he be alright?" asked Tazuna's daughter Tsunami.

"From what I can tell, it'll be a week before he can move normally." Tatsu told her "It'd be best just to let him recover until then."

"Well he did take down a powerful ninja assassin." Tazuna pointed out "So we should be safe for awhile."

"Right, but that boy with the mask, what about him?" Sakura wondered.

"He's from the elite tracking unit of the Hidden Mist." explained Tatsu "Those masks are only worn by the most elite shinobi."

"What exactly do they do?"

"They destroy all traces of a rogue ninja's corpse. The body of a shinobi contains many secrets, if his enemies find them then the people of his village will be in grave danger. For instance, if Kakashi were to die at the hands of an enemy then he would try to analyze his Sharingan. In the worse case, his entire jutsu collection could be stolen and used against the Leaf. It's the sacred duty of shinobi trackers to prevent this in order to keep the secrets of the village safe. If a ninja betrays his village, the trackers hunt him down, eliminate him, and destroy any trace of his remains. That's their specialty." then he tensed.

"What's wrong?" asked Naruto.

"Sorry, I'm just a little tense. If Zabuza is finished then why do I feel this way? Something's not right. Anyway, to finish what I was saying, tracker ninja are supposed to deal with the body immediately on the spot so there's no room for error."

"Is that really important?" asked Sakura.

"Think about it, do you remember what the tracker did with Zabuza's body?"

"We don't know what he did, I mean I guess he took it away somewhere."

"Exactly, but he should've worked on Zabuza right then and there as quickly as possible. You guys notice the weapons he used for the takedown?"

"Throwing needles." as soon as he said this, Sasuke realized what Tatsu was getting at "Hold on, you don't mean-"

"Exactly."

"What're you all yammering about?" asked Tazuna "Your sensei demolished that assassin."

"I'm gonna be blunt here. Zabuza's still alive."

"But we saw his body!" Naruto suppressed the urge to say believe it "You checked it yourself Tatsu, you said his heart stopped."

"It did, but that was just a temporary death-like state. That tracker used senbon, they can pierce deeply but rarely kill unless they hit a vital organ, not in the neck. They're modified from needles used for medical treatments like acupuncture. Trackers are trained to know every detail of the human body, causing the heart to stop for awhile and keeping the body alive is a cakewalk for them. First, he carried Zabuza's body away even though it's much heavier than he is. Second, he used senbon which have a precise effect but are rarely fatal. From these two factors, we can conclude that the tracker wasn't trying to destroy Zabuza, but actually save him."

"Come on, you're overthinking this aren't you?" Tazuna commented.

"In any case of suspicion, the ninja prepares quickly. Hesitation almost always leads to disaster and usually death. Every shinobi should know this. Naruto, wipe off that grin."

Naruto did "Sorry, it's just that I'm glad I get another shot at him."

"...You got into my stash of sugar again, didn't you?"

"Tatsu, you said prepare quickly." Sakura noted "But how can we do that when Kakashi-sensei isn't even conscious?"

"In the case of a jonin of chunin being unable to perform leadership duties, the next highest ranking will take charge. Since you guys are regular genin and I'm an elite genin, I'll be taking charge until Kakashi recovers. I might not be a jonin, but I can train you just as effectively as Kakashi would."

"Hold on, a little last-minute training won't make us strong enough to fight Zabuza. Kakashi-sensei could barely defeat him even with your Sharingan. We have to be reasonable about this."

"Use your head Bubblegum textbook, why was Kakashi able to stop Zabuza? Because we helped him. You've all grown… two of you have grown. Naruto here has grown the most in the last 3 months, and Sasuke's growth isn't too shabby either."

Naruto grinned "So you noticed Tatsu."

"So did you and Sasuke master the things I taught you?"

"Yeah, I got it down in a week flat!"

"Good, then I can teach you two the good stuff. And Naruto, this is the one and only time I will ever let you say it."

"Now things are gonna get better, believe it!"

"I don't believe it, and nothing's gonna be good!" a new voice cut in.

Tatsu looked back to see a boy in the doorway "And you are?"

Tazuna grinned "Inari, where have you been?"

"Welcome back grandpa!" Inari ran over and hugged him, completely blowing off Tatsu and the others.

"Inari, that was very rude." Tsunami scolded "These ninja helped your grandpa and brought him here safely."

"It's okay it's okay, I'm rude to them too." Tazuna pointed out "And they're okay with it."

"No we're not." was the general chorus.

Inari just turned to Tsunami "Mom, don't you see? These people are gonna die. Gato and his men will come back and find them and wipe them out."

"What did you say brat?" Naruto finally had enough "Listen up, you know what a super ninja is? Well that's me, only a lot better. This Gato or Blato or whatever he's called is no match for a real hero like me."

"There's no such thing as a hero, you're just full of stupid ideas."

Tatsu put a hand over Naruto's mouth and grabbed him by the waist "If you're gonna wrap up your whole emo rant you better do it before I lose my grip on him."

"If you wanna stay alive, you should go back where you came from."

"Inari wait, where are you going?" asked Tazuna.

"To look out at the ocean, I wanna be alone." and he walked off.

"Sorry about that."

Tatsu quickly held up a scroll in Naruto's face "Naruto calm down, just let the kid be and let's get to training."

Naruto agreed, albeit very reluctantly.

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Tatsu later led Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura out into the nearby forest "Alright guys, training starts now. I'll be real with you guys for a second. Sakura, you're way behind these two. You've barely scratched the surface of your chakra, so you're gonna train so hard that controlling your chakra becomes second nature. For this to work, you've gotta be ready to put your life on the line."

"What do I have to do?" asked Sakura.

"It's actually really simple, you have to climb a tree."

"...Climb a tree?"

"Yeah that's right, but there's just one rule. No hands." he formed a hand sign and began generating chakra, then began slowly walking up the side of the tree, stopping as he walked along the bottom of a large branch "Alright, I think you get the idea. Focus the chakra toward the soles of your feet and use it to connect to the tree."

"Wait a minute, that's a nice trick how does it help usu fight Zabuza?"

"Sakura, this is the only way to fight him. That's the entire goal of your training here."

"Wait, what do you mean my training? Why am I the only one who has to do this?"

"Because Naruto, Sasuke and I already know how."

"Well you must've learned it from Sasuke you-"

"Sakura, shut up." Sasuke let out an exasperated groan and picked her up by the front of her shirt, then levelled her an annoyed glare "Sakura, I'm only saying this once. Mind your own damn business. Tatsu has spent every day of the last 4 years training under the most elite ninja our village has to offer, and the reason I'm at the level I am is because I've been training with him. So shut up, train for once in your life, and do something already."

Tatsu sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose "Thank you Sasuke." then he threw a kunai knife at Sakura's feet "Use that to mark the highest point you can reach on the tree using only chakra control." then he leapt down "Now then Naruto, Sasuke, come with me and I'll teach you two the good stuff. But first, Shadow Clone Jutsu." he created 3 clones "Alright guys, one of them for each of you while I go keep an eye on Tazuna down at the bridge." and he took off.

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Firstly, Naruto and Shadow Clone 1.

Tatsu held out a red scroll to Naruto "Alright, here's the deal. I've been observing you and your chakra control for awhile now, and I've discovered your chakra element."

Naruto blinked "My element?"

"That's right stupid, the element of your chakra, like how Kakashi could use that water jutsu against Zabuza or how I can use my wind, lightning and fire jutsu. This is a wind style jutsu created by my brother before he died, it's basically a powerful barrage of wind slashes that changes color based on the user's chakra. Considering that chakra within you, this version of the technique will be called Crimson Wind."

"Awesome…"

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Now for Sasuke and Shadow Clone 2.

Tatsu held out a purple scroll to Sasuke "Alright, here's the deal. My brother created this along with Naruto's jutsu before he died. He already mastered Kakashi's own lightning jutsu but could only use it when he activated his eyes, though this was really taxing in terms of chakra. So to compensate for that, he created a version that focused less on the change in nature and more on the change in form, so his eyes wouldn't be necessary."

"Wait, your brother had an ability in his eyes?" asked Sasuke, astonished.

"Everyone in my clan has them, I just haven't unlocked them yet. Apparently they're awakened by the user when they're at their physical weakness yet their iron will is unwavering and my brother awakened his when our parents died during the Kyuubi attack."

"What's this ability called?"

"It's called the Tenseigan. And once you master them to their fullest extent, which hasn't been done since the age of the Hashirama Senju, the first Hokage, and Madara Uchiha. Now back to the jutsu." he channeled some lightning chakra into his hand, the lightning died down and took on the form of what looked like a crescent moon, and he fired it, slashing through several trees before it subsided "When you loosen up on the nature and focus on the form, you can create a sharp powerful slash of lightning and that change in form changes the color, hence why my brother dubbed it Purple Thunder."

"Wow."

"Yeah, you've really grown. Naruto has too, he's catching the hang of the Crimson Wind Jutsu right now. From now on, he's gonna keep getting stronger and stronger."

"How strong?"

"Who's to say? After all, he possesses more chakra than you do. In fact, he possesses more chakra than either me or Kakashi."

"Hey." a new voice cut in.

Tatsu turned to see Inari standing nearby "Yeah?"

"Mom wanted me to tell you your sensei's awake."

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As work on the bridge progressed, Tatsu, the real one that was looking after Tazuna, took note of the poverty and fear that had been instilled in the people of the Land of Waves.

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At dinner, the rivalry with Naruto and Sasuke was in full swing.

Tatsu sighed "You know guys, it was funny at first but now it's just weird."

After dinner, Sakura noticed something "Excuse me, this picture is torn. Is there some reason for that? Inari, you kept glancing at t all through dinner. It looks like there was someone else in the picture, but they got torn out. I mean, that's kind of strange isn't it?"

"It's my husband." Tsunami spoke up after a moment.

Tazuna let a sad sigh "They used to call him a hero in this land."

Tsunami noticed Inari walking out of the room "Father you can't talk about him like that in front of Inari, you know that." and she went after him.

"Something happened, didn't it?" Tatsu guessed.

"He wasn't his real father, he came into our family later." Tazuna told them "And he brought so much happiness. He and Inari were very close. In those days, Inari used to laugh all the time. But then… all that ended. He never laughs or smiles anymore, ever since the day everything changed. The word courage was stolen from this island. We were left feeling powerless, hopeless, and Inari suffered the most, ever since that day, ever since it happened."

"What happened?"

"First you need to know about the man, his father. The man who taught us the word courage, who was a hero in this land. He came here about 3 years ago. Inari was being picked on by some kids and pushed into the ocean, he couldn't swim at the time, but that man saved him. The man who taught us courage. His name was Kaiza, a simple fisherman who'd come here from another land to follow his dreams. After that, Inari and Kaiza were inseparable. The boy had never known his real father, so you can imagine what it meant to have Kaiza in his life. He looked up to him and followed in his footsteps, like a real father and son. Kaiza spent more and more time with us, until he just naturally became a member of our family. And then when this town needed him, he became something more. From that time on, Kaiza was considered a hero in this land. He taught us all the meaning of courage, and Inari was so proud to be his son. But it wasn't long after that Gato showed up and took over. He terrorized the whole village. Only Kaiza stood up to him. Gato couldn't have a local hero getting in his way. It took his whole gang to stop one man. Gato had him publicly executed after that, as an example so no one would dare stand in his way again. Since then Inari has changed, so did Tsunami and all our people. We lost our will."

Naruto thought back to what Inari had said about heroes "Guys, come one." he suddenly face-planted into the ground.

"Take a breather for today, you've used up too much chakra." Tatsu told him "Sasuke, the same should probably go for you too. If you guys push any harder, it might kill you."

"I'm gonna prove it."

"Prove what?" asked Sakura.

"I'll prove that- that it's true. That in this world, there are real heroes."

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Morning came, and Haku had gone out to get some herbs to speed up Zabuza's recovery, when he noticed Naruto passed out on the ground nearby. Instantly recognizing him from before, he went over Naruto, but instead of hurting him he shook him awake "You'll catch a cold if you sleep here, wake up."

Naruto sat up and let out a groan "Who the heck are you? Oh, I mean, hi there. Where did you come from? You know, what're you doing out here and all that?"

"I'm gathering herbs, they're for treating illnesses in human wounds."

"You start work early huh sis?"

"I like it early, it's calm, but I didn't think I'd find anyone sleeping out here in the woods."

"I'm training."

"So are you a ninja? I noticed that headband you're wearing, or are you just making a fashion statement."

"You noticed that? Alright. Only super cool ninja can wear these."

"Oh really, I see. That's very impressive. But does that mean you're training for something dangerous?"

"I'm just developing my skills so I can get stronger."

"You seem very strong now, isn't that enough?"

"Nope, I need to get stronger and stronger. I've gotta keep practicing."

"How so? Why is it important?"

"So I can become the best ninja in my village, and everyone will know who I am and they'll all respect me. There's also a certain person, a kid that I have to prove something to."

"So are you doing it for this certain person, or are you doing all this training for yourself?"

"Huh?"

Haku chuckled.

"What're you laughing about? What's so funny?"

"Is there someone who's precious to you?"

"Someone who- What're you saying sis, what do you mean precious?"

Haku flashed back to the first time she met Zabuza "You see, when a person has something precious to protect that they want to protect, then they become genuinely strong."

Naruto thought back to how he protect Tatsu, Mizuki and Iruka from Aizen "Yeah I hear you, I know exactly what you're saying."

Haku stood and picked up the basket of herbs "You will get strong, very strong. Goodbye, we'll meet again sometime. Oh, by the way, I'm a boy."

'Huh?! No way, everything I know is a lie!'

That was when Tatsu showed up with Sasuke in tow and looked back at Haku's retreating form, then shared a look, before Tatsu led Sasuke over to Naruto "Alright guys, how far are you on master the jutsus I taught you?"

'We're both up to 4 uses each, almost to 5." Sasuke told him.

"Good, I want you both up to 5 uses before Zabuza gets back. Got it?"

"Right."

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Tatsu came in carrying Naruto while a Shadow Clone carried Sasuke "Sorry we're late."

"What've you been up to?" asked Tazuna "You guys look like something the cat dragged in."

"Just getting some more training in." he turned to Kakashi "They're both up to 5 uses now."

Kakashi nodded in approval "Good, now we move on. Starting tomorrow, you'll all be bodyguards for Tazuna."

"Fair enough, it's about time we get to do something interesting."

"In a few more days, the bridge will be finished." Tazuna told them "I have you to thank for that."

"You've all done great, but you've still got to be careful." Tsunami warned.

"I've been meaning to ask you this, but I haven't had the chance until now. Why did you stay and protect me, even after you found out I lied to bring you here?"

Tatsu shrugged "Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage, but under the wing of a strong leader cowardice cannot survive."

"Huh?"

"That's a quote by our village's founder and first leader, Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, the strongest and wisest of them all."

"But why?" Inari finally spoke up.

Naruto blinked "What was that?"

"All this stupid training is just a waste of time. Gato's got a whole army, they'll beat you down and they'll destroy you. These cool things you all say, they don't mean anything. No matter what you do, the strong always win and the weak always lose."

"Just speak for yourself, it won't be like that for me. You got that?"

"Why don't you be quiet? Looking at you makes me sick. You don't know anything about this country, you're just butting in. Always laughing and playing around. You don't know what it's like to suffer and be treated like dirt."

Naruto finally had enough and decided to put him in his place "Listen to yourself whining and complaining like some sorry little victim. You can whimper all day for all I care, you're nothing but a coward."

"Naruto, you went too far." Sakura scolded.

Naruto snorted and walked off.

Sasuke looked at Inari, then at Tatsu and Kakashi.

He would take care of this one.

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Nightfall came, and Inari was sitting out on the pier.

"You got a sec?"

Inari looked back and saw Sasuke sit down beside him "Oh, hey."

"Naruto can be harsh sometimes, but he doesn't hate you. Your grandpa told us what happened to your father. You probably don't know this, but Naruto grew up without a father too, or any parents for that matter, and he didn't have a single friend in our village. Tatsu's parents died when he was a baby, leaving him and his older brother alone, and his brother died about 5 years ago, at the hands of the same man who slaughtered my clan. Kakashi's had it rough too. His father was a respected ninja in our village, but he chose to save his friends over finishing a mission and everyone turned on him for it. He couldn't take it anymore and took his own life, and Kakashi's been on his own since then."

"What about Sakura?"

"What about her? She's been sheltered more than humanly possible. Still, Naruto had it a lot worse than any of us., but I've never seen him cry or sulk and absolutely never have I ever seen him give up. He's always eager to jump in. He wants to be respected, that's his dream and he'll put his life on the line for that in a heartbeat. My best guess is that he just got tired of crying and decided to do something about it. We're all young and still learning, but Naruto of all people knows what it means to be strong like your father did, and like Tatsu's brother. I think he knows better than any of us what you're going through. What Naruto told you earlier, as cruel as it sounded it's probably something he's told himself a thousand times."

Inari said nothing, but he had a thoughtful look in his eyes.

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"Alright then, I'll leave Naruto and Tatsu in your hands." Kakashi told Tsunami "Naruto's pushed his body to the limit, overdoing it as usual, so he may not be able to move today at all, and Tatsu's finally let the stress and tension building up in him wear him out so he probably won't move today either."

"What about you?" asked Tsunami "You're still recovering yourself."

"Why, do I look wobbly? I'll be okay." and they set off.

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At the same time, Haku and Zabuza were nearing the bridge to do their job.

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Naruto bolted awake "Why didn't somebody wake me up? Where are they? Where'd they all go?"

"They wanted us to rest."

Naruto looked to see Tatsu already geared up "I knew it, they ditched us!" he got dressed as fast as he could "Come on already!"

"Don't push your luck." Tatsu strapped his katana to his back "Alright, let's move."

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"Hold on, what the heck is this?!" Tazuna froze at the sight he saw on the bridge; the workers all lying unconscious and injured "What happened? Someone was here, someone got to them."

Kakashi froze when he saw the mist 'This mist. Sasuke, Sakura, get ready. I knew he was still alive, he just couldn't wait for round 2."

"Kakashi-sensei, it's Zabuza isn't it?" Sakura guessed "This is his Hidden Mist Jutsu."

"Sorry I kept you waiting, Kakashi." Zabuza's voice rang through the air "I see you've still got those brats with you. That one's still trembling, pitiful." then multiple Zabuza's surrounded them.

Sasuke smirked "You've got the wrong idea Zabuza, I'm trembling with excitement." he formed several hand seals "Lightning Style: Purple Thunder!" he unleashed a blast of purple lightning that circled around and destroyed every clone in mere seconds 'I can see it.'

"So you could see they were water clones, huh?" the real Zabuza showed up "And with that blast of lightning you took them all out at once. The brat's improving. Looks like you've got a rival Haku."

"So it seems." Haku agreed.

"Well well, so I had it right." Kakashi noted "It was all an act, with a cute little mask."

Sasuke smirked "Complete fake, I guess all that about being a tracker ninja protecting his village was a complete load. You guys look pretty close to me, I'd say you've been pulling scams like that for awhile. You've got a lot of nerve facing us again after pulling that."

"And hiding behind that mask, who does he think he's fooling?"

"First of all, speak for yourself. Second, I'm taking him out. Who does he think he's fooling, hiding behind that mask like some sort of clown?"

"Sasuke, you're so cool." Sakura squealed.

"You're hopeless."

"He's impressive." Haku noted "Even though they were just 1/10 of the strength of the original Water Clone Jutsu, he did destroy them all."

"That move still gave us the first advantage, now use it." Zabuza ordered.

"Right." Haku suddenly blitzed towards him like a tornado.

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At the same time, two of Gato's thugs had shown up to kidnap Tsunami, but Inari, mustering what courage he could, charged at them in an attempt to stop them.

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Sasuke was barely able to block Haku's senbon with his own kunai 'Damn, he's fast.'

'So he can keep up with Haku's speed, huh?' Zabuza noted.

"Sakura, cover Tazuna and stay close to me." Kakashi ordered "Let Sasuke handle this."

"We want the bridge builder not you, if you back down I won't have to kill you." Haku offered.

Sasuke smirked "Save it."

"You're making a mistake, you won't be able to keep up with my speed. I've gained 2 key advantages."

"And they would be?"

"First, we're surrounded by water. Second, I've blocked one of your hands and therefore you only have one free hand to defend yourself." he began forming hand signs.

'What? Using one hand? Hand signs with only one hand? That's a thing?'

"Secret Jutsu, 1,000 Needles of Death." Haku stomped his foot in the water, which began levitating around them and forming hundreds of water needles.

'Remember your training, focus. Summon my chakra at once.'

The needles closed in.

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The thugs only slashed a log with their swords a "A Substitution Jutsu!"

"The woman, she's gone."

"Sorry we're a little late."

They looked to see Tatsu and Naruto laying Tsunami down close by.

"You know, heroes usually showed up." Naruto gave a foxy grin "Inari, you did great. When you charged, they forgot about your mom for a minute. That gave me a chance to use a cool jutsu to get her away from them."

"Wait, how'd you know these samurai guys were coming here?" asked Inari.

"We found a wounded boar in the forest." explained Tatsu "It and the trees all had a bunch of slash marks and followed them back here."

"That was really smart."

"Blah blah." the thugs grumbled "It's just a few of those puny ninja brats Tazuna hired. Let's get him." they charged.

Naruto stood "Wind Style: Crimson Wind." he fired a sharp blast of red wind, hitting each of them square in the chest, leaving them unconscious on the ground bleeding heavily "And that's now it's done, believe it."

Tatsu smacked him on the head and tied the thugs up "Alright, let's go."

A/N:

Purple Thunder is basically the same as Purple Lightning, a jutsu that was created by Kakashi after the 4th Great Ninja War to in order to compensate for no longer being able to use his Lightning Blade due to the loss of his Sharingan. Seeing what it did to Nue in the Boruto series, I think Sasuke could make some use out of it, at least for a little while.

I figured there's Purple Thunder and Naruto has the Kyuubi's chakra, so I made up the colorful wind attack that changes the name based on the wielder's chakra. I call it Color Wind, but in Naruto's case it'll be Crimson Wind due to him using the crimson colored chakra of the Kyuubi.

It's never said exactly when Yagura died, so I just said about 3 years before Part I took place, in order to make the Itachi Shinden arc canon, since Yagura fought Juzo and Itachi after the massacre.

I, like many others, despise that catchphrase "Believe it", so I'm making it a running joke that Tatsu hates it as well.