Zabuza raised his left hand, and his other hand began to weave a jutsu.
Zabuza questioned, "What's going on? He's completely reading my movements?" As Kakashi imitated Zabuza, he exclaimed, "What? Did he just read my mind? That... freaky eye is irritating!" Zabuza expressed his frustration when Kakashi read his mind again.
Zabuza revealed his annoyance with a visible vein on his forehead. Both men stated simultaneously, "You can't beat me, you monkey bastard!" Zabuza became even more aggravated and began weaving hand seals rapidly, threatening to silence Kakashi.
Meanwhile, Kakashi had already completed the same hand seals as Zabuza, leaving him astonished.
He thought to himself, "I couldn't keep up? My own jutsu? Impossible!"
Kakashi materialized a large vortex of water in front of himself and captured Zabuza, sending him flying toward a tree. Using Body Flicker, Kakashi appeared on a branch in the tree and declared to Zabuza, "It's over."
Zabuza asked, "How? Can you see the future?"
Kakashi replied, "Yes, you're going to die," while holding a kunai.
Suddenly, large needles pierced Zabuza's neck.
A playful voice from the top of another tree declared, "Hehe, you're right. He's dead." Zabuza's lifeless body crashed to the ground.
Kakashi approached the body and checked Zabuza's pulse, confirming that he was really dead.
The individual perched in the treetop wearing an obscured visage expressed his gratitude, stating "I am grateful for this opportunity to eliminate Zabuza, a pursuit I have long awaited."
Kakashi responded, "That mask... You are a hidden mist hunter-nin."
The masked figure acknowledged, "Indeed, you are correct. I am a hunter-nin from the hidden mist, responsible for tracking down missing-nins as part of our team."
Naruto, with a sense of caution, pondered, "Hunter-nin?" Drawing near Zabuza's lifeless form, Naruto observed the missing-nin.
Kakashi reassured him, "Do not fret, Naruto, he is not an adversary."
Upon this assurance, Naruto nodded his understanding.
The masked individual then vanished from the tree and materialized next to Zabuza.
"Now , I must dispose this body. Since our work is to dispose bodies of Ninjas that no one can get to the secrets of them." The Hunter-Nin said while standing above Zabuza's body.
As He tried to take the body , Naruto thought something and spoke .
"If you're a hunter-nin, Shouldn't you dispose the body right here and right now." Naruto asked in a little doubtful look.
The Mask Man seemed startled by the sudden comment of the young boy, but in few seconds he calmed himself
"No... I've to take the body from here, It's....." The mask tried to finish but Naruto interrupted him...
"You're not an Hunter-Nin , Are you ?" Naruto asked with a playful smile in his face.
Both Team 7 , Kakashi and Tazuna was Startled by what Naruto said.
"What do you mean , Naruto ?" Sasuke said .
Kakashi thought for sometime and asked Naruto "Why do you think he is not a Hunter-nin ?"
"Well...." Before Naruto Could finish though.
"Heh." The Man playfully under the mask.
Naruto saw that The Mask Man was about to flew , So He used Body flicker technique and with A wind style Rasengan in his hand he appeared behind the Masked man.
But before he could do anything though the man vanished from his place with the body and suddenly appeared at the top of a tree.
"How did you know ?" The Masked man asked.
"That doesn't matter , how I know..." Naruto said .
"Well, you are interesting aren't you .... Wearing a Blindfold and still you could see through, even better than others.... " The masked man said.
Naruto just smiled and went for an attack but before he could complete it the man disappeared.
"I see, I've to see you soon than , Bye !!" The man said before disappearing from sight.
Naruto looked at the sight of the man disappearing Infront of him , "I Guess I'm not as powerful as I thought of Myself."
Naruto came to his teammates "well, I should've been more careful before jumping in with the attack , I'm sorry for letting him run away with the body." Naruto said with solemn look.
"No, It's okay . I should've been more careful but it's just that I can't move so I didn't think much that time.... " As Kakashi finished his body fell to the ground.
"Ha Ha ... I used My Sharingan too much that I completely fell for it...." Kakashi said with a laugh.
Naruto crouched down to Kakashi ,"You were awesome there fighting Zabuza, from now you're my idol." Naruto said with a smile looking at Kakashi.
Kakashi just smiled, "well that's great... But we still have to escort Tazuna-san to his house...."
"Well, My house is nearby , as you're tired you might get some rest there as well." Tazuna said.
Naruto looked at Tazuna and nodded. "Well Sasuke can you help me carry Kakashi-sensei, a little."
Sasuke nodded and they carried Kakashi to Tazuna's place . Which was actually very close to that place.
In the house, Kakashi was resting , Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura sat down In front of him.
"Sensei, Will you be alright ?" Naruto asked Kakashi .
"Yeah , I will be , soon enough." Kakashi replied. "But the question remains, How did you know the masked man wasn't a hunter-nin ?" Kakashi asked Naruto.
"Well, I studied him, like first of all as much I read books and from other places , First of all The Hunter-nins are supposed to destroy the corpse at the very spot the body is lying. But The masked man was trying to take him with him, I felt suspicious of it."
Naruto thought a little "Than I also thought about the needles the hunter-nin used in killing Zabuza. Hunter-nin must possess a thorough and intimate knowledge of human anatomy as much of my knowledge, so if he wanted he could've targeted a vital organ or part of Zabuza's body , but he didn't, So all these theories made me realize he is a fake." Naruto said with a grin.
Kakashi looked at him with astonishment "This is his first mission like this and he already knows how to analyze opponents so quickly, even me with so much experience couldn't figure out.... Though I was tired but still he is way talented than I expected.... " Kakashi thought then smiled "Why I'm being surprised, after all he's Minato-Sensei's son... "
All the while Sasuke was sitting there silently , with a questioning face and looking down at the floor.
Naruto looked at him and knew what he was thinking immediately.
"Kakashi-sensei, May I ask You a question ?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi nodded.
"well, as much I know only the Uchiha clan members posseses the Sharingan." As Naruto spoke about Sharingan Sasuke looked up."But as much I know you're not an Uchiha so how do you have the Sharingan ?" Naruto continued.
Kakashi looked at Sasuke for a second and looked back at Naruto ..... "Well, It's a long story , actually this Sharingan eyes is not mine, it's a gift from a friend....." Kakashi said and stopped for a few seconds.
Kakashi looked at the room and thought he needed to explain it properly.....
"I was previously a member of a team that closely resembled the current one. In that team, there was another individual named Obito who possessed the Sharingan.
"He viewed me as his rival, while I considered him to be an annoyance. Our relationship was never particularly close, and if anything, I believe he was an hindrance towards my growth.
However, during the third Shinobi World War, I led a mission where I made a poor decision and almost left a teammate to die.
Obito refused to accept this and went back to save her, with me following closely behind. I managed to arrive just in time to rescue Obito from being killed, but in the process, I lost my left eye.
In the aftermath of the battle, we emerged victorious and our friend was safe. However, a cave-nin caused the cave to collapse around us, and in an act of self-sacrifice, Obito pushed me out of the cave, giving up his own life.
Sasuke continued to listen as Kakashi explained.
"That Obito's right side had been completely crushed, leaving only his left side free." As Kakashi said He recounted Obito's dying moments
"he expressed regret for not getting me a present when I , we became jonin, and instead offered me a sharingan to replace my lost eye. Despite my initial hesitation, Obito insisted that I take it and made me promise to protect our friend Rin."
Sasuke asked "what the elders said about it?"
Kakashi replied "They agreed to let me keep it, as it was Obito's dying wish that should be respected."
"Than I'm Satisfied" Sasuke said , stood and walked off, leaving Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura .
"I See... I thought you were an Uchiha too... For few seconds..." Naruto spoke .
All the while Sakura was seating alone thinking about the fight "I did nothing there, I only stood there and used the Barrier seal which is also given by Naruto...." Sakura clenched her fist in anger and frustration.
Naruto looked at her and knew what she was thinking by her face.
Tazuna's Daughter Tsunami entered the room "Sensei, Are you alright ?"
Kakashi and both team 7 members looked at Tsunami, she was a women with long dark blue-coloured hair, wearing a short-sleeved pink shirt with the end of the sleeves and the collar being red in colour with a long blue skirt.
Kakashi looked at her , "Yeah.... I'm fine
... It just may take a week or so to recover...." Kakashi replied with a smile.
"If Sharingan puts this much toll in your body than you shouldn't use it ." Sakura commented.
"So as you're not a Uchiha clan member you can't really deactivate the Sharingan and that's why your recovery would be slow .... Am I correct ? " Naruto asked
"You're on point..... " Kakashi said.
"I know of that, My eyes is also like that. I can't turn it off unlike other dojutsus and they consume lot of stamina and makes me tired .... That's Why I put these blindfolds ...." Naruto said and than looked at Kakashi "It's same for you , than ?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah , It is almost." Kakashi replied.
After sometimes they explained Tazuna and his daughter about what happened and as well as Zabuza was still alive.
Tazuna was little confused "But you yourself checked that he was dead ..." Tazuna asked Kakashi .
"Well, Ninjas use techniques which allows them to completely stop there breathing just like a dead man." Kakashi said.
Sasuke was sitting there who was intrigued by the fact that Zabuza was alive and gave a slight smile thinking next time he will fight that man and prove that he is stronger than Naruto.
Kakashi looked at Sasuke "He's not afraid that Zabuza is alive but he is happy that he will get to fight Zabuza...." Kakashi thought and looked at Naruto "You're not getting stronger yourself only buy you're making Sasuke stronger too....." Kakashi let out a smile.
"Than we've to face that Zabuza guy again ?" Sakura asked with a shaky voice.
"well , yeah with that masked man or women , I don't know really. " Kakashi replied.
"Well, anyways we will defeat them." Naruto said with a smile.
As they were speaking, suddenly a young boy entered the room "You are not ...." The boy said.
"Who is this kid now ?" Naruto asked .
"This kid is Inari my grandson. " Tazuna replied.
"Oh , Inari huh ?" Naruto said.
Inari greeted his grandfather.
Tsunami walked to the side of Inari and Tazuna "Inari, why don't you meet with these people, they are ninjas who protected your grandfather to here."
Inari looked at them as he leave his grandfather "Mom..... These people will die." Inari said while pointing his finger towards Naruto and others.
Naruto just ignored his comment like nothing has happened and looked away.
Inari was flustered by this scene as Naruto ignored him "You can't defeat Gatou , they are going to kill all of you, so just go away." Inari said loudly as almost screaming.
Naruto chuckles a little. Naruto looked at Inari.
"What do you know about us, that makes you so sure that we're going to die ?" Naruto asked.
"There's no way you can win against Gatou." Inari said.
"Well , We'll see about that when we meet them...." Naruto said.
"What are you ? Stupid ? Even The Person who was once received as a hero in our country died in his hand while fighting against him." Inari said.
"The person you're talking about, I don't know him in anyway. But just because he couldn't do it that doesn't mean no one can. We are strong and we are way more capable." Naruto said.....
"My dad is not strong like you're but he still fought people stronger than him and you'll never be as strong as my dad !" Inari shouted as he ran away with tears dropping from his eyes.
"What a nuisance kid." Naruto said as he looked back to everyone.
"Anyway, Who is this hero he was just talking about now ? He said his dad and hero and all." Naruto asked.
"It was my husband." Tsunami replied while sipping tea.
Tazuna sat down with them and continued "Listen closely," Tazuna began, voice rugged like the bark of the trees that bordered his home, "for this is the story of a man who was a tower of strength, a beacon of courage: my son, Kaiza."
He paused, eyes glinting with the reflection of the past, as if conjuring the image of Kaiza through the mists of memory.
"Kaiza, he was not just strong of body, but of heart as well. In a time when our home was gripped by the tyranny of Gatou , it was Kaiza who stood unflinching against the rapacious tide. He was a fisherman, simple and honest, not one you'd pin tales of heroism on. But, oh, he had a spirit that not even the fiercest storm could drown."
Tazuna's voice dipped, "The bridges we tried to build, Gatou would destroy, believing our isolation to be the vessel of our submission. But Kaiza, he believed in connection, in reaching across divides that seemed unbridgeable."
The shinobi were silent, honoring the gravity of Tazuna's story.
"One day," Tazuna continued, "when darkness threatened to swallow our hopes, Kaiza did the unthinkable. With his own hands, brazen and firm, he saved a child from the wrath of the turbulent sea, an act that engraved his name in our hearts as a hero."
Tazuna sighed, a great burden lifting with the telling. "But Gatou would not have it. He captured Kaiza, labeling him a troublemaker, an example to those who dared defy him. The punishment was merciless... In front of the very people he had strived to unite, his life was cut short."
A somber silence befell the room, the weight of sacrifice and loss as heavy as the chains that once bound Kaiza.
"His passing," whispered Tazuna, "kindled a flame of resistance within us. Inari saw in his father the hero he yearned to become. Kaiza's ending was not in vain; it was the beginning of our awakening."
His gaze met each of Team 7's members. "My son's legacy is the bridge you're helping me complete. The bridge that will reclaim our future from darkness. That's strength, young Naruto. True strength."
[A.T: Ending The chapter here, Thanks for reading . If you like my writing, drop some Power stone as it will motivate me to write more and put more effort at writing.
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