Kakashi finds out, and the training arc begins.

The prospective trainees were gathering in an empty clearing outside of town, there were mostly adults, although there were a few teenagers and two children within the crowd. They came from different walks of life, fishermen, farmers, regular workers...

Mostly an even split between women and men. Many of them looked determined, while others just seemed nervous or anxious about what might happen next.

Zabuza didn't really care either way as he watched them all gather, he had told Haku and the two idiots to go train, after years on the run, he learned that taking every opportunity to get stronger was a must. And from what he had seen, they were all the safest they had been in years.

The fucking crow was here too, it landed on top of his head and then just stayed there for some reason. He wanted to cut the thing down, just because of the stress it had caused him these past few days, but he wasn't suicidal yet.

"Once Hikari arrives, she will have a little spy tailing her." The crow spoke up from its perch atop Zabuza's head. "Kakashi Hatake, Jōnin of Konoha."

Oh, so the thing wasn't here just to piss him off, good to know.

"What am I supposed to do about that?" He asked with a grunt of annoyance, although he already had an idea...

"While outsider finding out that Wave will have its own Chakra using force is unavoidable," It answered in its usual blank tone. "The knowledge of the blessings must be kept secret to prevent greed and fear, when he arrives, 'entertain' him for a bit, but refrain from killing him."

About what he expected, the no killing part grated his nerves a bit, but a chance to test out his newfound abilities was always welcome. From what he remembers of Kakashi's Bingo Book entry, he should be a good challenge.

Not long after, Hikari arrived and Zabuza surprisingly didn't notice anyone tailing her, which meant the guy was good. Whatever, the crow will probably alert him when he makes his move.

'Throw your sword at the tree to the right of Hikari, he is about halfway up.' The fucking bird spoke directly into his mind this time. Since when can he do that?

Well, it would be rude not to do as told. He threw Kubikiribōchō just as instructed, jumping after it and landing on it, before the blade struck the tree, a shape jumped from the branches and landed on one knee. The crow flying away before he jumped.

"A shinobi." He announced loudly enough for everyone present to hear him. "How long were you watching us?"

"Long enough." Kakashi said nonchalantly. "I didn't expect to find Zabuza Momochi here, of all places."

"I could say the same for you," Zabuza said while grabbing his blade and pulling it out of the tree it was lodged in. "What would a Konoha Shinobi be doing so far away from home?"

"Just sightseeing." Kakashi shrugged before looking over at the gathered crowd, then back towards Zabuza. "Is there a reason you decided to get involved with this cult?"

"Not your business." Zabuza shot back, feeling slightly excited by the chance to test his new abilities.

"You're right, it isn't." Kakashi replied nonchalantly. "But I still want to know."

"Keep wondering then, cyclops." Zabuza growled back, annoyed by Kakashi's relaxed attitude. "How about this, I tell you if you can beat me in a fight, and if I win, you answer all of my questions."

"Mah, that sounds too troubleso-" He didn't even get to finish his sentence before Zabuza dashed forward and swung his sword at him.

Kakashi managed to block it with the kunai he had drawn from his pouch, but the force of the impact caused him to get launched deeper into the forest. They landed far away from everyone else, giving them space to fight.

***

Everyone stared at the direction in which Zabuza had just launched the Shinobi, not sure what to do. Do they wait? Do they follow them?

"Be at ease, Zabuza will handle this." The Messenger spoke up from its new perch atop Hikari's head. "While he is entertaining that intruder, I shall explain your role in our church."

Everyone was snapped out of their thoughts by hearing The Messenger speak, its voice instantly bringing calmness to all of those present.

"You will be granted power to protect," It continued after ensuring everyone was paying attention. "To allow the faithful to live their lives without worry or fear."

A heavy weight descended upon everyone's mind, causing many to shiver slightly under its pressure.

"It will not be an easy life, you will face death and violence, pain and loss, sacrifice and hardship..." As it spoke, it hopped down from Hikari's head, landing softly on the ground before everyone. Its body grew larger and longer. Its bones cracked and shifted, and its voice became deeper as it continued speaking.

"You will sign your life away, it will seem like torture, constant training and battle, with no rest for years." Its tail elongated, it grew even bigger, to the point it stood taller than all of them, and then on its forehead a third eye opened, golden and vertical.

"There will be little reward besides the knowledge that you will keep others safe, the people might fear your power, or hate you for being different." Everyone felt a primal unease at seeing the creature before them, one they were unable to look away from, its voice boomed in their heads.

"Do you still wish to continue?"

Everyone swallowed nervously at the question asked by the beast, but nobody stepped back. They had all come too far now, and nothing would stop them from trying!

It made a pleased sound, something akin to a bird trilling, except deeper.

"Very well. You have chosen well, Hikari."

With those last words said, the sky turned dark as a familiar being appeared in everyone's sight. Its form was made of the stars themselves, its body towering over them all.

"Then by the grace of The Watcher," The Messenger spoke with reverence clear in its voice. "You shall be blessed!"

The Watcher spoke.

A BLESSING OF STRENGTH

A BLESSING OF LEARNING

PROTECT THE FAITHFUL

They felt their bodies shift and change, old scars and old pains fading for many, replaced instead by vigor and health. Their minds grew sharper, making everything seem clearer, questions they once had suddenly become obvious.

With that, the sky cleared again, The Watcher vanished from view, and The Messenger shrank into its original size once more.

It flew away, not saying anything else.

No one spoke up as silence fell over the group again.

***

Kakashi jumped back again to avoid another swing from Zabuza's sword. This was proving to be more trouble than he expected, he wasn't exactly going all out, but he also wasn't slacking off. This was a dangerous foe, he could feel it in his bones...

"What's wrong?" Zabuza asked mockingly while moving closer toward Kakashi. "Not used to fighting against someone stronger than you?"

Kakashi didn't reply, merely keeping his guard up as he watched Zabuza carefully. Suddenly, the Mist-Nin vanished completely from sight in a blur of speed. He barely managed to block another swing with his kunai, but this time he was prepared for the impact.

Using his Chakra to cling onto the ground below him, he leaned backwards with Zabuza's swing, redirection the swing upwards and over his head, before stabbing forward with his other arm, hitting Zabuza in the stomach with a kunai.

But instead of stabbing through flesh, it slid off harmlessly, phantom scales manifesting across the skin of Zabuza's body.

He had no time to be confused about what just happened, as Zabuza used the momentum from his failed attack to spin around, kicking Kakashi in the ribs, launching him into a tree.

"Oh ho, that's pretty good, not even a scratch," Zabuza spoke in an impressed tone while rubbing at where he was stabbed. "Just like advertised."

Kakashi grunted painfully as he stood back up again, looks like he would have to take this seriously...

He reached up toward his headband and pulled it up, revealing his Sharingan.

"Alright then, mind using that Jutsu again?" He asked after getting ready once more.

Zabuza chuckled before spreading his arms wide. "Be my guest."

Scales covered his body once more, their shimmering blue color reflecting the sunlight brightly around them. Kakashi stared intently at him through his Sharingan for any opening in his defense, anything he could use to his advantage.

"What..." Kakashi muttered out loud in disbelief. Zabuza wasn't using any Chakra at all, there was no flow of energy whatsoever around him or inside his body.

"Surprised?" Zabuza asked smugly. "You really should stop being such a lazy ass, you might actually be a threat if you stopped copying everyone else's tricks."

Kakashi didn't reply as he dashed towards Zabuza again, feinting another stab before going for a roundhouse kick instead. It missed, but that wasn't the point, Zabuza's counter slash went through him, cutting him in half without much resistance.

His body burst into smoke as the real Kakashi burst from the ground underneath Zabuza with his kunai covered in lighting Chakra.

Zabuza blocked it with his free hand, scales forming a barrier between the two. But this time, it wasn't enough. A small trail of blood formed on his palm, not deep enough to disable it, but still a wound.

"So that's the catch," Kakashi commented calmly while jumping backwards again. "Not all attacks are equal, huh?"

Zabuza merely grinned under his mask at this observation. "It looks like you finally decided to take me seriously."

"I guess I should do the same." He replied back confidently before raising one arm, sword in hand, above himself and forming a single-handed sign. "Water Style: Hiding in Mist Technique!"

Almost Instantly, the surrounding area was filled with dense white fog that obscured vision completely, even Kakashi's Sharingan could barely see anything past five feet ahead of him.

"I am curious," Zabuza called out through the mist. "What will prevail? Your Sharingan or my Silent Killing technique?"

Kakashi didn't respond as he focused his senses on tracking down his opponent. Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound nearby, followed by what sounded like footsteps running across leaves. Without hesitation, he threw three shuriken at where the noise came from, hitting nothing but air.

"Too slow!" A voice whispered right next to his ear as pain exploded throughout his left shoulder, causing him to grunt loudly in surprise. He tried to turn around quickly enough to face whoever attacked him, however, all he saw was more empty space within the fog.

Another attack came, this time aimed directly for his heart. Kakashi twisted out of the way, just barely avoiding it completely. The blade scraped against his vest, leaving a long gash across its side instead.

He threw himself away from the source of the attack, creating some distance between them once again. His breathing became heavier as adrenaline pumped through his veins.

He jumped high in the air and started weaving hand signs. "Wind Release: Great Balloon!"

A twister formed beneath him that began expanding outward rapidly until it blew away most of the mist covering the forest floor below him. When he landed back down onto solid ground, however, there was no sign of Zabuza anywhere nearby.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked aloud while scanning the area carefully. "Running scared already?"

Zabuza chuckled somewhere off to his right. "Hardly..."

Kakashi instantly turned around to face the direction the sound came from, readying himself for another surprise attack. Instead, however, what he received was a hailstorm of shuriken flying toward him at high speeds.

He easily deflected them with his kunai, but it left him wide open for a second, allowing Zabuza to appear right beside him and slash down vertically. Kakashi blocked it with his kunai once again, but he forced to kneel down to do so, leaving him completely vulnerable.

"You really need better situational awareness," Zabuza commented as he pressed harder against Kakashi's guard. "I expect more from the famed Copy-Nin."

Kakashi smirked behind his mask, "I don't think you should lecture me about awareness..."

"Clone Great Explosion!" A voice spoke from behind Zabuza, before the Kakashi in front of him exploded violently. He tried to jump away, but it was too late, his entire body was blown into the air and sent crashing into a nearby tree.

But he got back up almost immediately afterward, not seeming to be wounded in any way by the explosion. Scales fading away again.

"Interesting trick." Zabuza mused while cracking his neck with his non-wounded hand. "I was wondering why you used such a big wind jutsu, you wasted so much Chakra just to trick me into getting close to your clone?"

"Well, anyway, I have a job to do." He raised his free arm and made a few hand seals. "Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique."

Another wall of thick white mist covered the area instantly, this time even thicker than before. Kakashi was really starting to hate this Jutsu...

He mentally ran down all the ways he could think of to get rid of the fog again, but everything seemed like a waste of Chakra for very little gain. Especially considering that Zabuza would just make it come back.

The scales were annoying too, although they could be penetrated by a sufficiently powerful attack, as he discovered when he tried to stab him with his Lightning coated kunai. It seemed the defense was also internal, unlike the earth-based armor techniques he knew, since the explosion did nothing.

Genjutsu then? He waited patiently for Zabuza to make his move, his Sharingan keeping track of the surroundings.

And then he waited some more.

And even more.

...This guy sure does take his time...

After waiting another couple of minutes, the fog finally cleared away completely, revealing an empty forest once again.

Did... did he just leave?

He frowned slightly before glancing around cautiously one last time, just to make sure. Nope, no one else here besides him now...

He let out a sigh as he slowly relaxed himself. This job was really turning out to be annoying.