Battle in Wave

Chapter 23: Battle in Wave

"So, your idea of helping me relax is more paperwork?" I asked with a raised eyebrow to Sarutobi-sama, even as I sorted through the various mission request paperwork the elderly Hokage asked me to organize. "I'm thinking you don't know me as well as either of us think."

Sarutobi-sama chuckled in response, waving me off. "I never said it would be relaxing now did I?" he said with a grin. "As I recall, I said it would be a change of pace for you. And you must admit, these are not the same kind of requests and forms you have to deal with as the Clan Head of the Uchiha, correct?"

This earned him a glare from me. "True...they're even duller, more repetitive and more ridiculous than some of the things my clansmen come away with sometimes! I mean, this request from the Civilian Council for guards...who in their right mind would approve it?! They don't need guards, as they're not in command of vital military units! They run the merchants and a few of the public works projects that aren't considered vital."

"And they do know that we only provide them guards when they leave the village, and not a retinue," Sarutobi nodded in agreement with a sigh. "They have been getting rather… obstinate lately…"

I snorted in response. "Have they ever not been?"

The Civilian portion of the Council, or just the Civilian Council, did actually exist, which would have delighted a lot of Fanfiction writers back in my original world. What would have disappointed them was how little influence the Council actually had. As I had pointed out, they were strictly limited in what authority they had, and they had no say in what Shinobi did, period. What really was irritating was that they greedily hoarded what little power they had and dug their heels in at the slightest signs of that power being usurped or reduced.

It gave Sarutobi-sama headaches on a frequent basis.

I knew why Sarutobi-sama was making me help out with his paperwork; I had become increasingly edgy since Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun had left on their mission to Nami. I was filled with unease about what might happen and who may have replaced the Demon Brothers and Zabuza in this timeline, and it made me seem as if I was having an exceptionally bad time of the month.

"They weren't always like this," Sarutobi-sama in formed with a small sigh. "Unfortunately, while he was great when dealing with shinobi, Tobirama-sensei was rather at a loss when it came to civilians."

I suppressed a scoff at that. Tobirama-sama was a genius with Water Jutsu, Jutsu creation and fighting in general, but his fear of Madara had transferred to the Uchiha Clan when Madara had 'died' at the Valley of the End, resulting in the mistrust of the Uchiha Clan by most of Konoha before my brother and I had turned things around on the Day of the Kyuubi, thanks to making us the Military Police. That he was equally inept in managing civilians was of little surprise to me.

I raised an eyebrow as I looked over the next request on the pile before me. "Really? A mission request for a kunoichi to be an 'escort' to a noble party being hosted here in Konoha?" I questioned, raising the page to Sarutobi-sama to see. "Do they really ask this kind of stuff."

"In recent years, yes." Sarutobi-sama rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Despite Konoha having raised several kunoichi of excellence, such as Tsunade, Kushina-chan and yourself, some morons persist in seeing kunoichi as little better than escorts and prostitutes. I sometimes am tempted to have Medical crack open their heads to see if they actually have any brains in there or if they're just hollow."

"I'd assign Anko to the mission to teach them a lesson." I muttered as I stamped 'denied' onto the form. "And I'll volunteer to do the cracking if you do decide to look."

Sarutobi-sama laughed a bit in amusement to my disgust as a small pug bearing a leaf headband leapt through the room. "Ah, Pakkun, you have a message from Kakashi-kun?" the elderly Hokage questioned as I looked up from the paperwork in mixed curiosity and trepidation.

"I do," the small dog summon confirmed. "Team Seven is requesting reinforcements, they encountered three missing ninja from Amegakure while escorting the client to Nami no Kuni," he reported. "The team decided to continue forward to Nami no Kuni to secure the client's home as a temporary base and ensure his family isn't held hostage as collateral."

Three? From Ame? That definitely wasn't the Demon Brothers.

"Any idea who the paymaster for the three Missing Nin was?" I asked. I knew that, unlike in the original timeline, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun and Sakura-chan wouldn't hesitate to kill an enemy this early on in their careers, so I wasn't worried about them. At least, not yet.

"Kakashi and the client believe it to be Gato, of Gato Enterprises," Pakkun replied seriously.

My eyes found Sarutobi-sama who rose his hand to me. "Before you go charging off," he started, making me grimace in response. "Send a message to Kirigakure to see if they have any shinobi near Nami who can provide support to Team Seven."

Taking a deep breath, I calmed my nerves before nodding to the Hokage and flipped through the seals for the summoning and called forth one of the messenger falcons.

"You called, Yuriko-sama?" the Falcon questioned as he stood proudly before us. "Do you have a message to be delivered?"

"Yes, I need you to go to Kirigakure and ask the Mizukage if she has any shinobi near Nami no Kuni to assist one of our teams who encountered missing ninja," I told him, keeping my voice calm. "Please make all haste with this message and return with their reply."

"Very well, I shall do so, Yuriko-sama," the messenger replied, bowing his head before taking off out of the window and angled himself towards Kiri.

Letting out a gusty sigh I collapsed back into the chair and tried to soothe my nerves.

"They will be fine, Yuriko-chan," Sarutobi-sama assured me with a warm smile as I looked to him, "You prepared them as best as you could, now is the time for you to step back and let them make their own path."

"Doesn't make it any easier." I grumbled. "Was it like this for you with the Sannin?"

"Of course, I nearly had a heart attack when I learned they were engaging against Hanzo the Salamander," Sarutobi-sama confirmed with a nod. "I know it's hard, to seperate your heart from your job, but you know as well as I do, it is something we shinobi must do when the situation calls for it, so that we may look at the situation objectively and make the best decision."

Taking another breathe, I nodded in agreement. "Understood," I replied as I set aside my concerns and worries for the time being. "Is there anything else we can do for the time being?"

"At the moment, no," Sarutobi-sama shook his head regretfully. "This is the hardest part of the job, waiting."

I grimaced in response and nodded, turning my gaze back to the paperwork and continued to sort through it in an attempt to get my mind off of my siblings' mission.

It didn't work, needless to say.

Thankfully, however, my messenger proved his speed by returning to me within a couple of hours, looking out of breath, but was able to relay his message. "Mizukage-sama sends her regards to the both of you, and says that she has two shinobi in Nami no Kuni right now hunting down a former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, they will provide assistance to your team."

I let out a relieved sigh as the tension that was building up in my body relaxed a bit a that news. "Very well, did she give a name or contact point for our shinobi to meet with theirs?" Sarutobi-sama questioned.

"She did, Zabuza Momochi, Waves Bar in the main town where the bridge is being constructed," my messenger informed making me pause.

Zabuza… Momochi?

Well… I guess I don't have to worry too much about them any more, after all, he is a rather deadly shinobi and chances are the second person with him is Haku and together they formed a potent combination. And while he was a sadistic killer in the original timeline, I hoped that his new loyalty to Mei, plus Haku's presence, would stop him from going too far.

"Did you get that, Pakkun?" Sarutobi-sama questioned, looking to the pug who nodded. "Relay that to Kakashi-kun if you please."

Pakkun nodded again before leaping out of the window to return to his summoner.

"Thank you for your hard work, you may return now," I told my summon who bowed his head to me before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Have faith, Yuriko-chan," Sarutobi-sama told me kindly. "They will be fine."

"I do have faith in them," I told the Hokage firmly. "After all, I trained them, didn't I?"

The elderly Hokage chuckled in amusement as he nodded. "That you did," he confirmed, standing up from his desk. "Now, how about we go and get something to eat, I am feeling rather peckish at the moment."

I chuckled in amusement as I moved to follow him. "Sounds good, Sarutobi-sama," I agreed with a smile.

Naruto frowned a bit as he looked the house the client lived in over with a critical eye. "We should trap the docks over here," he commented, pointing the area out to Sakura as she was busy taking notes of his words. "I'm thinking some basic stuff, like false boards and tripwires, early warning stuff for the most part."

Sakura nodded. All the members of Team Seven had their own strong points aside from their assigned combat roles. In Naruto's case, he was a very skilled trapmaker. He had a natural flair for it and Yuriko had encouraged his interest in it, including having him learn to make traps that even Hyuuga had a hard time finding. It was why she bowed to the blond-haired boy's expertise in this area.

"As for the main path… that will be a bit more difficult, going to have to include some intent sensing seals with the traps to make sure random civilians aren't caught up in it," Naruto continued to comment. "But I think for the most part we'll have a few decoy and dummy traps to draw attention away from the real ones."

He hummed a bit as he tapped his chin in thought. "Right, I think I have a good idea of what to do with this place now," he said, nodding to himself before bringing his hands together to form a plus shaped seal. "[Shadow Clone Jutsu]" he muttered as he formed a dozen solid clones. "Alright guys, time to get to work on the traps!"

"Right!" the clones all chorused before leaping off to get started on the task at hand.

"Have I mentioned how useful a solid clone jutsu is?" Sakura shook her head in wonder. As of yet, her chakra reserves were too small for anything but the standard clone jutsu. And here Naruto was, pumping out a dozen at the same time without flinching.

Naruto grinned at his teammate widely. "Only about a hundred times since we became genin," he replied teasingly. "They've made set up so much easier."

"Laugh it up." Sakura rolled her eyes. She could see why Hinata was so attracted to him; the positivity rolling off of him was almost like the warmth of the sun. "Do you think Kakashi-sensei will manage to negotiate a good preliminary payment plan for Nami? I don't think the people here are going to be up for paying it even once we kick the stuffing out of this Gato character."

Naruto scowled. The state of the bridge-side town was appalling; filthy streets, boarded up shops, people scuttering and flitting around as if afraid to be seen...it was like some of the stories Yuriko-nee had told him about some places she had visited a short time after the end of the Third Great Shinobi War.

"Well, it's right between Hi no Kuni and Mizu no Kuni with a highway that goes from Kaze no Kuni up to Kaminari no Kuni and Tsuchi no Kuni which would make this a prime trading location once the bridge is completed," Naruto pointed out, the lessons on global politics from Yuriko sticking in his head. "Only reason it hasn't been so far is because of the fact that right now, you need to use a boat to get onto the island."

Sakura blinked as she looked at Naruto who shrugged. "Nee-chan's been shoving world stuff down my throat ever since I decided I wanted to be the Hokage," he admitted. "Something about needing to understand the global politics if I wanted to be the Hokage so I don't piss off some Daimyo or something."

Sakura suppressed a giggle in response as he scrunched up his face in a pout. "Sorry… it's just… the image of Yuriko-sensei forcing you to study politics," she managed to get out with a giggle.

This earned her a deeper pout.

"Naruto, Sakura." Sasuke walked over as he called out to them. "Sensei's calling."

"Really?" Naruto blinked as he looked away from Sakura with a tilt of his head. "What's going on?"

"Our reinforcements arrived," Sasuke announced with a shrug. "A pair of shinobi from Kirigakure, one of them is a pretty big name too, Zabuza Momochi."

"Wait, the Demon of the Bloody Mist?" Sakura questioned nervously. "H-He's on our side… right?"

"Apparently," Sasuke confirmed with a nod. "The Hokage reached out to the Mizukage who had already had Zabuza and his partner out here searching for a missing ninja."

"Really?" Sakura questioned with a frown as she contemplated the information. "But… isn't Zabuza supposed to be a member of the Seven Swordsmen? Why would they send a member of them after a single missing ninja?"

"I remember nee-chan telling me about the Seven Swordsmen." Naruto frowned. "She had to kill a few of them when they got pissy at her for being a famous swordswoman or something. Hope this guy isn't gonna be pissy too."

"Considering the fact that she killed several of their members, I don't think it'll be an issue," Sasuke pointed out as they walked up the path to Tazuna's house, avoiding the placed traps. "Kirigakure Ninja are bloodthirsty at the best of times and respect strength of arms, especially that of the blade. Nee-chan proved she was better than over half of the last generation of the Seven, so that'll hopefully help."

"Not to mention she killed the Yondaime Mizukage," Sakura pointed out. "If I remember correctly, didn't Zabuza attempt to assassinate him before going rogue?"

"But wasn't that a badass ninjutsu battle?" the blond boy blinked in confusion.

"It doesn't matter how the Mad Kage died, idiot." the Last Mainline Uchiha rolled his eyes. "She killed someone he couldn't so nee-chan'll get his respect."

"But that's Yuriko-sensei," Sakura pointed out. "Not us."

"I don't see why you two are so worried about it," Naruto commented as he linked his hands behind his head. "He's an ally, right? Then we just need to respect his strength, after all, he was listed as an A-rank when he was a missing ninja himself."

Sasuke and Sakura shared a look with each other before sighing. "I guess we are overthinking this," Sakura said with a sigh as they reached the front door of the home. "We're back!"

"Ah! Welcome!" the client's daughter, Tsunami called out from where she was preparing some tea, nervously glancing over to the sitting area where their sensei was sitting with two other shinobi.

"Welcome back you three," Kakashi called out lazily, although surprisingly he didn't have his Icha-Icha in hand. "These two are our reinforcements, Zabuza Momochi and Haku, and these are my genin, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno."

The pair sitting across from him turned their gaze to them, the man wearing a Kirigakure flak jacket with a pair of pants and bandages wrapped around his lower face, a downright massive sword leaning against the couch next to him.

Beside him sat a rather effeminate looking individual wearing a blue kimono-like robe that hid their figure from inspection along with a Kiri hunter ninja mask strapped to their waist.

"The brats of the Bloody Scalpel, don't look all that impressive," Zabuza announced in a deep baritone as his eyes narrowed at them.

"Neither did Yuriko-san when she earned the moniker of 'Bloody Scalpel'," Kakashi pointed out cheerfully, getting a dirty look from Zabuza. "Trust me, they are genin only in experience. In terms of skill, they are mid-chunin at least. They're also freshly blooded."

"So they've already shed blood? Good, they don't look like they're simpering about it either," Zabuza grunted as he leaned back into the couch. "Damn genin these days are usually a bunch of greenhorns still reeking of mother's milk. Nice to see you actually brought some possibly useful subordinates."

"Of course, I wouldn't have let them continue with this mission if I didn't think they were capable of at least holding their own," Kakashi informed with an eye smile.

Zabuza nodded in response. "Alright then," he announced. "From the information we've gathered, I think we have a mutual goal anyways," he said rolling his neck. "We believe that one of the missing ninja who stole some of Kiri's Seven Swords was hired by Gato as a bodyguard or perhaps an assassin."

That made the genin sit up and take notice. Anyone who had managed to get their hands on any of the Seven Swords of the Mist was not someone to be taken lightly.

"Which, considering the recent attempted assassination of our client, makes sense," Kakashi agreed, not looking fazed by the information. "Although the ninja that attempted were all Amegakure missing ninja."

Zabuza nodded. "Matches our information," he grunted. "Apparently the thief, Raiga, killed the former boss of those ninja and threatened the others into working for him or else. Did it in the middle of the village too. He only has a bare idea how to use the Kiba Swords though; the last wielder could have killed the guy in less time than it takes an Akimichi to eat a bowl of peanuts."

Kakashi snorted in response. "We speculated that the blades act as a type of focusing agent for Lighting Ninjutsu," he commented with a raised eyebrow. "Is that true?"

"Close enough," Zabuza shrugged in response. "He has about two more shinobi under his command if our intel is correct."

"So, should we have our subordinates team up to take the two on while we deal with Raiga?" Kakashi suggested.

"Pfft. Haku could deal with the pair of them by himself." the Kiri nin snorted, a note of pride in his voice. "I suppose your kids could tag along to watch how a Kiri Hunter Nin does their job."

Haku smiled lightly at the genin. "I look forward to working with you," he announced in a kind voice as he stood up and walked towards them.

"Ah, same," Naruto blinked at being addressed before the manners that Yuriko kicked into him reared their head, as he reached out to shake Haku's hand. "If you don't mind me asking, what are your abilities? I'm mostly specialized in fuuinjutsu and ninjutsu, Sasuke mostly focuses on taijutsu and ninjutsu and Sakura-chan is training to be an Iryo-nin."

"Oh? It's good to have a proper Iryo-nin on hand, even if it's one in training, doubly so since Uchiha-sama is your teacher," Haku replied, smiling at Sakura who blushed a bit from the attention. "I have some training in Iryojutsu, but only basic first aid. For the most part I use my kekkei genkai of Ice Release combined with shurikenjutsu to deal with my opponents from afar."

Naruto nodded in understanding as he closed his eyes, considering the information, tapping his foot lightly. "I think… the best option will be for you and Sakura-chan to work together," he said after several moments of contemplation. "Sakura-chan is decent when it comes to close quarters combat and would be able to help you out if anyone gets close to you. Me and Sasuke have been training together… well… forever, really, so we know how we fight."

Zabuza snorted again. "Haku's at least high-chunin himself. His taijutsu may not be his primary strength, but it's still enough to handle any punk that Raiga has licking his boots."

"Having someone to watch my back is not a bad thing to have, Zabuza-sama." the effeminate boy countered in a soft voice.

Zabuza grunted in response as he turned away from them to talk with Kakashi.

Haku chuckled a bit before turning back to Naruto. "That's a reasonable plan," he said to Naruto with a smile. "That was a rather quick assessment for a fresh genin. Have you been taught by Uchiha-sama?"

Naruto nodded a bit. "Somewhat," he replied. "Roshi-oji-san also taught me some, but I mostly learned from Hokage-jiji when it comes to strategy when he has some free time."

Haku and Zabuza paused as they turned back to the neutral faced Naruto. "You've been taught strategy by the Third God of Shinobi himself?!" Zabuza asked slowly.

"He has," Kakashi confirmed with a nod. "Hokage-sama has been taking a shine to Naruto-kun there and decided to mentor him a bit when he has some free time."

"Oh… my…" Haku replied with a shocked look. "No wonder you were able to come up with an effective team formation so easily…"

Naruto shrugged. "It's nothing much," he said calmly. "I still have a lot to learn and I don't exactly really have experience outside of training and some of Jiji's exercises."

Haku and Zabuza shared a look of bafflement with each other. The reason for their shock to who's been teaching Naruto strategy was very simple; Hiruzen Sarutobi had earned the title of God of Shinobi despite the fact that he had no bloodline abilities, or the Senjutsu training Hirashima had.

It took a level of skill almost no one else could match to make it that far with only the common jutsus of his village, a summoning contract - which, while rare, wasn't that much of a game changer on it's own - and a natural talent for tactics and strategy. No bloodline abilities, no secret family techniques, no epic weapons; just pure and unadulterated skill, tenacity and smarts.

So the fact that he 'took a shine' to someone, and a fresh genin at that, was definitely worthy of their attention. "Right… maybe they can keep up with Haku…" Zabuza corrected himself slowly.

Kakashi gave him an eye smile. "So glad you think so," he replied in a pleased tone. "So, you are alright with continuing to search while hidden?" he questioned, getting back to the business at hand. "We will keep protecting Tazuna, but acting like we believe that we've already taken out the danger to his person."

Zabuza nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a good plan," he agreed. "Haku will remain here," he announced, looking over to Tsunami. "You mind introducing him as your cousin? The two of you look similar enough that it should pass the casual inspection."

Tsunami blinked in surprise at being addressed by the scary looking man. "Ah… I guess?" she replied uncertainty. "But… why?"

"To make sure that you're being protected," Naruto answered, seeing where the Demon of the Hidden Mist was going with this. "Sakura can be here as well as your 'official' bodyguard, Haku would be able to catch anyone who gets past her and be off-guard, thinking he's just a civilian."

Tsunami blinked before taking in a careful breath and letting it out. "Very well," she replied in a firm voice as her eyes became determined. "I have family on the other side of the island, you can pose as one of them, although they are mostly females to be honest…"

"That's no worry," Haku replied with a kind smile. "It wouldn't have been the first time I posed as a woman."

"Huh… I can see it," Sasuke commented, looking Haku over. "Yeah, you can definitely pass as a woman."

"I'll return in about an hour or so," Haku informed Tsunami calmly. "Just act as naturally as you can," he instructed. "My name is sufficiently gender neutral to be either male or female, so just refer to me by it, no surname."

Tsunami nodded her understanding of his instructions. "Alright," she agreed. "I can do that."

Haku gave her a warm smile. "You and your family will be fine," he assured her kindly. "I promise you."

With that the hunter-nin vanished with a quick burst of speed.

"I'll be heading out as well," Zabuza announced as he stood up, swinging his massive sword onto his back with a single arm. "I'll send word with any concrete information I find out."

Kakashi nodded in response. "Thank you," he said appreciatively as he stood up as well. "I look forward to working with you."

"Same," Zabuza replied before vanishing himself with a small splash of water that quickly vanished.

"A water-style Body Flicker Jutsu? Never seen that before." Naruto commented.

"It's not uncommon," Kakashi informed his team with an eye smile. "It's just not done that often other than showing off one's mastery over an element really. Although I did hear a rumour about some being able to use elemental Body Flicker Jutsus offensively."

"Really?" Sasuke questioned with a raised eyebrow, his interest piqued. "Would you be able to teach us the Body Flicker Jutsu?"

Kakashi hummed in thought as he tapped his chin. "After this mission," he promised. "It's rather easy to harm yourself with the jutsu by doing it wrong, and while I am certain you three can get it down rather quickly, I would prefer not to teach you in hostile territory...no offence, Tazuna-san."

"None taken." the old bridge builder snorted. "This used to be a super village, but now it's as bad as the mainland was at the end of the Third War. Worse really because Gato's here to stay...or so he hopes."

"I'm sure we can work something out with him," Kakashi replied in a cheerful tone that had the three genin shuddering. He only broke that tone out when he had something horrible in mind.

Whatever their sensei was planning, Gato better pray the end result was death, or else he was going to be driven insane by their sensei.

"Naruto, I have a small fuinjutsu project for you!" their sensei announced to the team making Naruto freeze.

"W-what's that… sensei?" the blond questioned suspiciously.

The eye smile Kakashi sent his way did nothing to soothe his nerves.

Naruto sighed as he leaned forward to plant his elbows on his knees as he rested his chin in the palm of his hand. "Man… this is so boring," he groaned out to Sasuke who was sitting on some of the construction equipment next to him. "We already killed the ninja, what else is there for us to do?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Dobe…"

This was a show purely for the benefit of any ninja that Gato had hired who might be watching, but Sasuke really wished that didn't mean he had to listen to Naruto whine. Damn Sakura for being the best at looking harmless!

Kakashi merely looked at them from the corner of his eye from where he was leaning against an unused crane before turning his attention back to his book, his aloof attitude belaying the fact that he was watching everything around them at that moment.

Of course,he was also reading his book. Even with one eye, he was able to multitask. Now then...oh, he was at that part with Makoto!

It was at that moment that a thick fog began to roll in over the bridge, causing some of the workers to shout out in surprise as their vision was blocked by the heavy fog. "Wonderful…" Kakashi sighed as he marked his place in his book before stowing it away. "Why don't you just show yourselves?" Kakashi called out in a bored voice. "I know you've been watching for the last few days, with all the subtlety of an academy student might I add."

"Such bravado," a voice called out mockingly. "I will enjoy speaking at your funeral!"

From the mist, four figures emerged. The leader was a man with waist-length green hair, with two bangs falling down on either side of his nose and unusual blue eyes. His torso was covered in bandages and a dark-brown vest, while he wore trousers with bandages tied around his ankles and black ninja sandals on his feet. Clasped in each hand was a sword with a pair of sharp protrusions coming from the blades; one at the base of the blade facing towards their wielder and one near the top of the blades facing away from the wielder. These were the Kiba, the Thunderswords.

"Hello, Raiga, I see you're pretending to be one of the Seven Swordsmen since you weren't able to make the cut for the real thing," Kakashi noted with an eye smile. "And you weren't even brave enough to try and take those swords from the original owner in a straight up fight on top of that too."

Raiga's eyes narrowed as a scowl formed itself on his face. "You're not one to talk," he growled to Kakashi. "I know how your eye works, Sharingan Kakashi, and in this mist it'll be useless."

Kakashi chuckled a bit as he raised his headband to show off his sharingan eye. "Are you sure you want to test that?" he questioned humorously. "After all, look at your track record against Konoha shinobi, you barely survived against Dai-san, and you ran like a coward from Yuriko-san. So why don't you exercise your true talent and run away, hmm?"

"That bitch'll get hers!" the faux-swordsman growled. "Shura, Monju, Toki, you deal with the genin and the Bridge Builder. I'll handle Kakashi."

"On it, 'boss.'" the one who was likely Shura replied with a hint of resentment in his voice. He wore a blank forehead protector, had a horizontal red stripe across the middle of his face and another red mark on his chin. His clothes were hardy and robust,but didn't look anything special. Slung across his back was a steel umbrella.

"Genin, huh? This'll be boring." Monju remarked. He was an androgynous man with shoulder-length mint-coloured hair. He wore a purple sleeveless top and grey trousers.

"Tch. We never get to have any fun." Toki groused. He wore a green armless robe and had a strange metal device on his right arm.

"Don't underestimate these genin." Raiga snapped. "They killed those three morons that I took from Suien."

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged looks before shrugging slightly. "They don't look too tough," Sasuke commented blandly. "Can't be tougher than facing off against nee-san or Roshi-san."

Naruto chuckled in agreement as he brought his hands together in preparation to form seals. "Tell me about it," he vocalized, grinning at his brother. "Bet I beat mine faster than you will."

Sasuke gave him a smirk in return. "You wish," he teased lightly before turning back to their opponents who were gritting their teeth.

"Arrogant brats!" Shura shouted angrily before he pulled an umbrella off his back and threw it into the air. "Just die! [Ninja Art: Blood Rain]!"

"[Sealing Art: Barrier]!" Naruto snapped out in response and slammed a hand down. The part of the bridge he and Sasuke were standing on became covered in jutsu formulae in seconds and a nigh-translucent barrier shimmered into existence around the two genin just in time to block a hail of senbon from the now-open umbrella.

"Pretty light rain." the blond boy remarked with a smirk.

"Definitely not bloody," Sasuke nodded with a chuckle.

Toki laughed a bit as he looked to Shura with a smirk. "Way to fail, Shura," he taunted as he revved up the large device strapped to his arm and the drill-like tip began to spin. "Lemme show you how it's done. [Ninja Art: Crimson Earth]!"

Toki launched forward, seeking to drive his device into the barrier only for Naruto to smirk in response as the barrier suddenly winked out as Sasuke finished a set of seals. "Fell for it~" Naruto sang out tauntingly.

"[Fire Release: Great Fireball]!" Sasuke shouted as he let out a steady stream of fire directly at the now decidedly vulnerable missing ninja. While the [Crimson Earth] was the perfect technique to use against solid obstacles, such as rock and even ninjutsu barriers, it offered no advantage against something without a solid form like fire.

With a shriek of pain, Toki was engulfed by the [Great Fireball] and only just managed to get out of before rolling around on the ground to put the fire out.

"Toki!" Monju shouted out as he ran forward, wires glinting in the limited light as he tried to entrap Naruto and Sasuke. "[Ninja Art: Wire Bind]!"

"[Wind Release: Cutting Blades]!" Naruto called out as he drew out his tanto before slashing it forward, his wind chakra channelling through the blade before launching forward, intercepting the wires before they could entrap the two.

Sasuke took the moment of shock Monju was showing at his attack being countered to surge forward and meet Monju with a right cross as he started engaging the androgynus looking man in a taijutsu fight.

"That… hurt you brat!" Toki shouted out as he slowly staggered to his feet and moved to attack Sasuke only to get intercepted by Naruto, who was showing no mercy as he aimed for the burned ninja's vital points.

"[Ninja Art: Mesh Cage]!" Monju intoned as he threw out his wires at Sasuke who managed to mostly dodge the wires, although his left arm was entrapped by the wires. "Got you, brat!" Monju growled angrily as he began tightening the wires. "Hope you've enjoyed your arm, because now I'm taking it!"

Sasuke smirked at him in response as he formed a set of one handed hand seals. "No," he replied simply. "I let you catch it. [Fire Release: Flame Thrower]." he announced calmly before letting out a stream of flames directly into the face of the wire user.

"Monju!" Shura called out with wide eyes as the missing ninja slumped over, his head burnt to a crisp in response to the flames. "You bastard!"

"S-Shura!" Toki called out fearfully as he desperately tried to make some distance from Naruto who wasn't letting up on him, the arm carrying his drill was useless from a particularly deep cut to that arm that was now hanging limply. "Help-!" his cry was cut off as Naruto slipped his tanto deeply into the man's chest, spearing his heart before channeling his wind nature chakra into the tanto, completely shredding his heart, lungs and a portion of his stomach.

"W-what the hell are these brats!?" Shura questioned with wide, fearful, eyes as he backed away from the pair as they approached him. "N-no way you are genin…"

"We are," Naruto informed calmly as he got into a stance next to Sasuke. "We're just better trained than most genin."

Shura growled in response as he grabbed his umbrella once again. "Just die!" he shouted as he pointed the tip towards them before a stream of flames shot out towards them, making the two dart to the side in an attempt to get out of the way before charging at Shura from different sides.

"Urya!" the missing ninja shouted as he pulled back on the handle of his umbrella to pulled out a sword to slash at Sasuke with while he shot wires out from the umbrella to try and trip Naruto up as he approached from the side.

A clang sounded as Sasuke quickly drew out his chokuto to counter Shura's sword, a smirk on his face as flames began to cover the blade. "Not going to be that easy," Sasuke taunted a bit as Naruto dodged around the wires.

Shura growled as he swung the umbrella at the nimble blond only for the wind coated tanto to slash out and cut the umbrella in half as Sasuke pushed forward against Shura's sword. His burning blade melting Shura's before it snapped completely in half.

"Wow, talk about poor craftsmanship," Naruto commented with a chuckle.

"Considering Yuriko-nee only accepts the best quality workmanship from the best blacksmiths, I think we're pretty spoiled with our weapons." the Uchiha mused as he buried his sword in Shura's body up to the hilt.

Shura gasped as his eyes widened in shock, looking down at where the blade was buried into him before he slumped over.

Naruto sighed as he looked over to where a heavy fog had settled in around Kakashi and Raiga. "Guess we're waiting for them now," he said as he sat down on a stack of I-beams.

Sasuke shrugged. "So… I killed more than you did, what do I get?" he asked his brother with a wide grin.

"A 'Fuck You'," Naruto replied easily raising his middle finger in Sasuke's direction, causing the Uchiha to laugh in response.

"You know, with all of your posturing, I really was expecting more from you," Kakashi commented idly as he stood patiently in the middle of the mist, his ears and nose twitching slightly as he tracked Raiga's position. "But this… this is rather… sad to be honest…"

Raiga growled angrily inside of the mist as he shifted slightly, trying to get a good position to attack the silver haired jonin.

It was easier said than done, however, as the man, despite his relaxed demeanor, was keeping his guard up as he continued to track the swordsman's position. "You know, when I learned my opponent was to be a swordsman of the mist, I was expecting… well… more," Kakashi noted blandly. "But, I suppose I can't blame you, after all, Yuriko-san did kill off the competent ones."

Raiga growled at the obvious insult but restrained himself from attacking, he didn't become a jonin by being impulsive after all.

"I swear, I am not quite sure how Kirigakure is doing considering that Zabuza is the only half decent swordsman they have on their side," Kakashi continued with a careless shrug.

"Zabuza is a pathetic waste of space that I won't even bother having a funeral for!" Raiga snapped out angrily, his eyes flashing with anger as electricity sparked off his swords. "He is a mockery of a Seven Swordsman that should have never existed in the first place."

"Oh?" Kakashi replied in a bored fashion as he noted Raiga's distaste for the man, and how easily it riled him up. "Sounds like someone is jealous of someone else's success."

Raiga let out a scream of frustration as he leapt to attack the white haired shinobi only for Kakashi to intercept his attack with a quick strike to the missing-nin's wrist to throw the blow off target as it other hand went for a knife strike to the throat that Raiga managed to lean out of the way of before leaping back into the heavy mist surrounding them.

Kakashi chuckled a bit as he resumed his relaxed posture, feeling out Raiga's position in the mist as he smirked to himself.

'Really, guys like this are just too easy to rile up,' he thought to himself in amusement. 'Now… just need to get him into position…'

"[Lightning Release: Fangs of Lightning!]" Raiga shouted out as a crackle of electricity announced the presence of his attack.

Kakashi's eyes widened momentarily as he blurred himself out of the way of the attack and sent a small brace of shuriken to the missing-nin's position, forcing the man to abort his follow up attack.

"Well, if that's the game you want to play," Kakashi commented with an eyesmile as he flipped through some seals. "[Fire Release: Great Fireball]!" he announced as he spat out an expanding fireball through the mist with unerring accuracy.

"Dammit… how?" Raiga cursed as he tried to figure out how Kakashi knew where he was in the mist, while he was not the most proficient with it, he was still using the [Hiding in the Mist Technique].

"How am I finding you?" Kakashi finished for him as his form began to meld into the mist, his voice echoing out. "How many times has Kirigakure used this against us in the wars? Do you really think that Konoha wouldn't have made a few counters for it? Please."

Raiga let out a strangled gasp as his instinct flared at him forcing him to leap out of the way, just in time to avoid getting a kunai implanted into his spine.

"When it comes down to it, you're just a rank amateur," Kakashi informed with a cold tone.

Raiga gritted his teeth in anger as his chakra spiked. "[Lightning Release: Lightning Crash]!" he shouted out angrily as he swung his swords forward and brought down a torrent of electrified chakra onto Kakashi's position.

"Where are you aiming?" Kakashi questioned from behind the missing-nin. "I'm right behind you."

"Rraaahh!" Raiga roared as he swung around, his swords only cutting through the mist as a cut opened up on his side.

"Mm, you have peculiar instincts," Kakashi noted within the mist as Raiga tried to locate the silver haired jonin. "I would say like a dog… but I don't want to insult the Inuzuka Clan or my summons by comparing you to them."

"[Lightning Release: Fangs of Lightning]!" Raiga called out as he sent his jutsu out, only for it to hit nothing but the bridge.

"A swing and a miss," Kakashi noted in a bored tone, his voice coming from behind Raiga as he swung around again, only to hit nothing as another cut opened on his body. "I guess I would compare your instincts to a cornered rat, dangerous… but ineffective."

"I'll show you… who the rat is!" Raiga roared as his chakra flared. "[Lightning Release: Lightning Strike Armor]!" he announced as a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky directly onto Raiga, covering his body in electricity. "With this, you can't even touch me!"

"Oh?" Kakashi noted, his tone slightly interested. "Care to test that theory?" the man questioned as the deafening sound of a thousand chirping birds filled the air, the mist parting just enough for Raiga to see the silver haired jonin gathering lightning natured chakra into his hand as the sound began to shift to that of thunder. "Go ahead and try to stop me Raiga, I have seen your future, and only death awaits you."

Raiga roared in challenge as his chakra surged again. "I will cremate you before I bury you!" he shouted angrily as he raised his swords up to begin surging chakra into them. "[Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Tornado]!" he announced as he launched his 'finishing move' against Kakashi who surged forward, his hand digging into the ground as the chakra tore up the bridge.

"[Raikiri]" it wasn't a shout, it wasn't a declaration, it was the simple statement of a foregone conclusion as the enhanced [Chidori] live up to its name and cut straight through Raiga's technique with ease, the missing ninja unable to move from his shock as Kakashi broke through, his sharingan spinning as his hand began to stretch out for him. "Die."

Kakashi's words, to Raiga, were like a divine proclamation handed down from the Kami as he couldn't move out of the way of Kakashi's outstretched hand before it stabbed clean though his chest, gouging out his heart as he slumped forward. "D-dammit…" he managed to choke out as the strength left his body before Kakashi ripped his hand from Raiga's chest and allowed the man to drop to the bridge.

The silver haired jonin panted lightly as he pulled his hitai-ate down to cover his sharingan once again. Using [Raikiri] in conjunction with his Sharingan was always draining, to the point that he was very certain he'd almost tapped out his chakra reserves with that. He'd played with the idiot too much.

"Well damn, I had heard rumors about you cutting a lightning bolt before, but I didn't think that was actually real," a new voice commented as Zabuza walked out of the dissipating mist, eyeing Kakashi warily. "To cut through both that attack and his defense with a single strike… I thought the only one who could've done that was Kisame."

Kakashi chuckled slightly as he played off his light exhaustion. "I can't allow Yuriko-san to be the only name from Konoha that people recognize," he informed in a light hearted manner. "I take it your part is done?"

Zabuza snorted in response. "Yup, Gato and all of his goons are dead," he informed with a bloodthirsty look in his eyes. "They were actually preparing to come of here to try and kill off the winner. Idiot."

The Hero of the Sharingan snorted in agreement, even in his tired state he could've worked his way through Gato's little 'army' by himself, let alone with the relatively fresh Naruto and Sasuke as backup.

"Y'know, I'm glad I'm alive and everything, and you all did a super job of protecting me and the village… but now my workload has tripled with trying to fix the damage you did to the bridge!" Tazuna cried out from the sidelines as he looked at the damage that was done.

Kakashi blinked before looking at the bridge for a moment before looking back to Tazuna and pointing at the dead Raiga. "He's the one who did the majority of it," he countered in a deadpan, judiciously ignoring the fact that his Raikiri cut through two of the support beams during his charge.

Zabuza couldn't help but laugh as Kakashi defended himself from Tazuna's accusations of destroying his bridge. Before moving over to Raiga and picked up the Kiba Blades and placed them into a sealing scroll along with Raiga. Just another day in the life of a shinobi, and just another job that was finished.

END CHAPTER!

Yuriko's Stats

Name: Yuriko

Level: 79

EXP: 9,047/39,500

Age: 20

Gender: Female

Title: Uchiha Clan head (+50% to all reputation gains, command of the Uchiha Clan)

Secondary Title: Equal to the Clan Killer (+50% to all stats, +200 HP & CP per level, Reputation with Konohagakure and Uchiha Clan is set to [Exalted])

STATS - Current

HP - 12,000

CP - 38,500

STR - 100 (175)

INT - 140 (210)

DEX - 160 (280)

VIT - 100 (175)

WIS -135 (202)

LUK - 41 (61)

Ryo - 39,115,254