The Demon of Kirigakure
Team seven, Tazuna and Nobara embarked in a canoe. They were only two rows of bench on the boat - Tazuna had taken the one right in front the man steering the canoe, and Kakashi had taken the one in front of Tazuna - so Nobara and the three other genin were squeezed in the small open space in front. They were crossing the lake through a thick fog when Naruto pointed upwards and exclaimed, "wow! It's huge!"
Through the mist, Nobara beheld the tall, unfinished bridge above them. She never got passed the waters to Nami no Kuni, because team four was intercepted and met their fate. She wondered when Tazuna had started the construction of the bridge – if he had started construction a year ago. On her last adventure, her team had never even made it this far, the mere thought of it, evoked a familiar sense of sorrow and nostalgia, and they pinched at her heart.
"Shhh! Be quiet" the steerer scolded him in a hushed tone, almost in a panic. "Why do you think we're hiding in this thick mist and not using the engine? We'll be in deep trouble if Gâto finds us."
All of them were quiet and Naruto was nervously holding his mouth as if preventing himself from uttering another word.
Nobara recalled yesterday's conversation, when Tazuna told Kakashi the truth. "Sensei, we have to talk. It's about the mission details... and you were right, this mission is most likely outside of your duties."
Kakashi lent and ear to listen to whatever explanation the bridge builder had to say.
"It turns out that a wealthy, but dangerous man is after my life."
"'A wealthy, dangerous man'?" Kakashi replied. "...Who?"
"You've probably heard of the name before," Tazuna continued, the straw hat he was wearing darkening his eyes. He sighed heavily and said, "the wealthy shipping businessman, a man named Gâto."
And as Nobara followed the conversation, she understood by Kakashi's shocked expression that Gâto must have been an important man. "Gâto?!" Team seven's sensei queried, "from the Gâto company? He's said to be one of the few extremely wealthy people."
"Yes... officially, he runs a large shipping company, but secretly, he smuggles and sells drugs and other illegal items, using ninjas and gang members to take over businesses and countries. He's a very nasty man." Tazuna revealed, a somber expression as he added, "It was a little over a year ago that he set his eyes on Nami No Kuni. Through money and violence, he quickly seized control of the country's shipping industry. Gâto now has monopoly on all business traffic in the country. The only thing he has to fear now is the completion of the bridge."
"I see, since you're building the bridge, you're in the way." Sakura guessed thoughtfully, her thumb and fingers pinching her chin.
"So those ninjas were hired by Gâto?" Sasuke added.
Nobara was slowly putting some of the missing pieces together as she thought of the merchant they escorted last year, "then how did Asahi fit into the picture if he was only a merchant? I don't understand why he was targeted."
Tazuna sighed once again, looking ahead with a distant look. "Gâto doesn't care for Nami no Kuni's inhabitants, but he is also a man of control and power. There was no more food that was being imported in because he took over the local shipping company. Our lands don’t have enough soil to grow out veggies, as most of it is infertile. One day, Asahi volunteered along with few others to smuggle the necessities we needed. And when Gâto found out, he sent out ninjas after him and the others. They were all killed, their... corpses were brought back to my village, to turn them into examples if we were to try to go against his will again."
Nobara's stomach dropped as she learned the truth because she had left Asahi's body behind. She had placed the blame on him for the deaths of her fallen teammates and sensei. Upon these revelations, she realized all the resentment she felt towards the merchant was misplaced.
"I'm sorry for your teammates, Nobara..." Tazuna then apologized, they could tell that he was feeling guilty and shameful.
"Hm..." was all she could voice at that moment. The truth was hard to swallow. Nobara recalled that fateful night when Asahi and her own team were murdered. How he was the first to die that night. She left him there alone. How could she do this to him? Now that all of this was revealed, she couldn't bring herself to say another word; she was shocked and appalled. Yet again, she felt like a failure.
"But what I still don't understand is, if you knew that ninjas were after you, why did you hide that fact when you hired us?" Kakashi then asked, pulling the prying eyes of his own students from Nobara to him.
Tazuna lowered his head in shame, and told them, "Because Nami no Kuni is really poor, even the feudal lord has no money. So, or course, we don't have much money either, not enough to pay for the expensive B-rank missions."
Nobara bawled her hands into a fist as she stared into the thick fog and was reminded how powerless and unknowing, she truly was. Or at least, she was feeling bad for him until Tazuna played the victim card. "If you quit the mission now, I will definitely be killed, but don't worry about it! If I die, my ten years old grandson will cry just for a few days. Oh, and my daughter will live a sad life hating on Konoha's ninjas for forever." Team seven began to slouch lower, as if the misfortunes Tazuna had entrusted them with (if they terminated the mission), weighed heavier and heavier on their shoulders. "But it won't be your fault. Not one bit!"
"I guess, we have no other choice," Kakashi started, rather meekly."We will protect you, at least until you get back to your country."
It was safe to say that it was hard to feel bad for the bridge builder afterwards. But again, she understood this not-so-subtle manipulation of his – he was desperate.
Now that Nobara's suspicions were true, she couldn't help but to rethink her past emotions. How she was blinded by them. This newfound knowledge forced her feelings to change about the merchant her former team was escorting. Only her anger remained, if only Asahi had told them about his country's poverty, maybe things could have been different. She didn't know how to feel, nor process the information, so she tried suppressing her feelings.
"We'll be there soon." The steerer of the canoe spoke up, pulling Nobara's thoughts to the present moment. "Tazuna... it looks like we avoided detection so far, but just in case, we'll take the route that has vegetation. It will make the enemies harder to spot us."
Tazuna nodded in agreement before replying, "thanks."
They were nearing a bridge that intersected underneath the taller, but unfinished bridge. This much smaller bridge had many tunnels under it, and they went through one of them, granting them safe passage. The air suddenly grew darker and colder, only the dim light bulbs symmetrically placed along the tunnel lit their way for a few seconds before the light at the end of this cylindrical passage grew brighter and brighter. Once they've crossed, they were welcomed by a sight to behold. It was a village, standing above the waters. There were trees sprouting from the underwaters, making this place seem like it came straight out of a book. The fog wasn’t as heavy here as it was over the small bridge. It was something Nobara had never seen before.
"Wow." Naruto marvelled, taking in the view.
And as the canoe conductor told Tazuna, they went through the mangrove trees, quietly and unseen. And as they drifted on waters, Nobara would peer through the exposed and overgrown tree roots, to intake as much of the scenery before they disembarked. Finally, after ten minutes, the steerer had taken them to a dock and they got off the canoe. "This is it for me," the man said, "goodbye and good luck."
Tazuna gave his thanks to him and then team seven, Nobara and Tazuna left and took the small path leading to what they believed was the path to the bridge builder’s home. “Alright,” Tazuna began in a jolly tone, “now get me home safely.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Kakashi replied, not too enthused.
Nobara couldn’t help but pan at the old man. How oblivious he appeared of his own situation. If they got attacked again, she was sure that Gâto would send someone more dangerous than the previous foes – foes stronger than the two they’ve encountered. She was also certain he would send someone as strong as Kakashi-sensei.
“What are you doing?” Nobara asked Naruto, who suddenly was on a lookout stance. The whiskered boy suddenly looked to his right and threw a shuriken towards the nearby bushes. “There!” He shouted, confidently. But he was met with silence as everyone panned at him. The wind blew, filling the awkwardness of the situation.
Ridiculous, Nobara thought, wanting to laugh at him. But what made her snicker was when he straightened himself up, fixing his headband and lamely announced, “heh, just a rat.”
“Stop trying to act cool!” Sakura shouted, as she pointed a finger at him. “There was nothing there!”
Kakashi then added, “Naruto, please… stop playing around with shuriken before you injure yourself or the others, it’s dangerous.”
“Hey, midget! Stop acting like a moron!” Tazuna yelled even louder than Sakura.
“But I’m telling ya! I think I see a shadow!” Naruto tried justifying himself, still looking around. She couldn’t help but find that everything about team seven was rather comical. Even seeing Sasuke being stuck with this bunch of morons seemed funny to her. Admittedly, she took a little pleasure in seeing him look miserable among his teammates.
Nobara suddenly turned serious, as she felt something sinister then; it was brief, but it was there, and she was certain that someone was watching them. She saw how Kakashi was reacting too. Instinctively, her hand was already resting on the handle of her wakizashi blade, ready to unsheathe for any kind of threat.
“THERE!” Naruto hastily threw another weapon, this time towards where Nobara felt the ominous presence. The blonde boy was smacked behind the head by his female teammate.
Nobara followed after Kakashi, peering through the bush where Naruto had thrown a shuriken. There was an unconscious white hare, leaning limply against a tree. The shuriken had planted right above it.
Sakura and Naruto were quick to come see the rabbit. It didn’t take long for Sakura to start shouting at him once more, “What have you done?!” Naruto then apologetically held the fainted animal in his arms, apologizing profusely to it.
“Why does it still have its winter coat?” Nobara asked Kakashi, a frown marking her white eyebrows.
“That’s what I’m wondering,” Kakashi said, looking thoughtful and cautious. “It’s late Spring, yet it’s color should’ve changed to brown already.” Then he was quiet, deep in thought.
“You think it was kept indoors?”
Kakashi then turned his head to her, his eyebrow lifting in light surprise, and replied in a lowered tone, “that, or it's been kept in a cage, possibly for the purpose of body swapping. I’m impressed by your observations. I’m guessing you’re aware that we’re being watched.”
The hair behind her neck arose, suddenly the atmosphere around them grew heavier as she was suddenly hyper-aware of her surroundings. Kakashi shouted, “Everyone get down!” And she was pushed down as a long cleave flew above them, where her head had been just moments before.
The long and heavy sword had curved almost like a boomerang and planted to a tree twenty feet from them. And as Nobara looked up, a tall man was standing on its handle. His back was facing them, but she could see how muscular and intimidating he was. His head was turned, his eyes dark and imposing were glowering at them. Even the aura he gave off felt onerous. He felt evil.
“Well…” Kakashi broke the silence, hands in his pockets. “If it isn’t Kiri’s missing-nin, Momochi Zabuza.”
She knew Zabuza from the bingo-book, which she was allowed to keep. He was a dangerous foe, worth ten million ryo more than the two missing-nin she had killed a year ago. He was also known as the Demon of Kirigakure – or, as some others prefer, the Demon of the Hidden Mist. And she knew he had acquired the name for a reason, and she was about to find out why.
Nobara saw that Naruto was impatient, itching to make a move, so she grabbed him by the back of his collar. "You don't want to end up dead, do you?" She told him, and he looked back to her skeptically.
"But you saw Kakashi earlier! He took out those rogues all by himself!" He argued, until Momochi Zabuza let out a guttural and cynical laugh.
"You better listen to her, boy." Zabuza spat at him. "She knows what she's talking about." He then looked back at Nobara and the bandages on the side of his face crinkled, as if there was a grin hiding beneath it.
"Everyone, get back." Kakashi ordered them, as he locked eye with the enemy. "This one is on a whole other level." And with that, Nobara pulled Naruto back.
Even if she was told to obey Kakashi's orders the night before, even if she was told to act as if she was one of his students, she still deliberately said to him, "I want to help."
"No. I thought we had an agreement that you were to follow my orders." He replied, firmly. "I must fight this one alone. It won't be no easy feat... I have no choice, but to use this."
Nobara's disappointment and frustration was gone in an instant, and the rest of them watched as Kakashi teased the edge of his headband that was hiding his left eye. They were suddenly curious and eager to see what was concealed beneath the piece of cloth.
"Kakashi of the Sharingan, I presume?" Zabuza began, not taking his eyes off team seven's sensei. "If it's it not too much to ask..., could you surrender the old man?"
As soon as the Sharingan was mentioned, Nobara was shocked as she stared at the silver-haired man beside her. Then, her eyes locked on the Uchiha and wondered of the possibility that Kakashi and Sasuke were related to each other, because the Sharingan was a kekkei genkai that belonged only to the Uchiha bloodline. Sasuke must have felt her gaze as his onyx eyes briefly met with hers. He must've been pondering over the same thing.
"Assume the manji battle formation and protect Tazuna. Do not enter the fight. You work as a team, and that includes you, Nobara. That's the kind of teamwork this situation demands." Kakashi ordered all four genin, his fingers beginning to lift the edge of his headband. "And now, Zabuza..." He said, revealing a red eye with three tomoe around his irises. And he addressed Kiri's missing-nin once again, "shall we?"
Zabuza cooed mockingly, "ah... to face the mirror-wheel eye so early upon our meeting. This is an honor."
The tension rose between the two jonin. There was a brief silence before it was broken.
"You guys keep mentioning Sharingan and Mirror-wheel eye! What the heck is that?!" Naruto suddenly shouted in an exasperated manner.
"Shinobi who possesses the Sharingan have mastered a form of ocular ninjutsu. It enables them to penetrate and see the reality behind any genjutsu and to reflect it back to those who casts it. A mirror-wheel or Sharingan eye is one of the two known types used by ocular masters." Sasuke half-heartedly explained. "But there's more..."
Zabuza snickered. "Exactly, there is indeed more to it than meets the puny eye. What's even more formidable is the acuity with which the Sharingan can discern and duplicate its opponent's greatest jutsu." He paused before continuing with, "when I was an assassin for Kirigakure, I was given the usual bingo-book - which contained the names of dangerous foes of my country. It had quite an extensive write-up on you, including a mention of your impressive record. The man who had copied over a thousand different jutsu... Kakashi the Mirror-wheel ninja."
"Y-you the man!" Naruto complimented his sensei in admiration.
Nobara was unaware of Kakashi's fame in other foreign countries, but so did his own students it seemed. She started to wonder how truly powerful he was. But also questioning herself. How did he acquire the Sharingan if he wasn't from the Uchiha clan. Her attention kept going back to Sasuke, who seemed distraught to learn about Kakashi's possession of his clan's kekkei genkai, but she decided to brush it off - as a prompt of her past came to remind her why she couldn't sympathize with him any longer.
"As pleasant as this conversation has been, the time for talk is over." Zabuza spoke. "I have a job to finish."
It was instinct that team seven and Nobara gathered around Tazuna, protecting the old man from the foe that wanted him dead. All four of the genin held up a defensive stance, each of them holding out a kunai - Nobara unsheathed her wakizashi blade. The rising tension between the two jonin-ranked ninjas became so dense she was almost sure she could cut through it with her blade.
"But Kakashi... it seems I'm going to have to kill you first." He declared with amused eyes. And along with his cleave, he disappeared in a blink of an eye.
"Over there!" Naruto pointed towards the nearby river, where Zabuza was standing over waters.
"Is he...walking on water?!" Sakura yelped, visibly terrified.
Nobara didn't notice her heart was racing, because she was so focused on the enemy, whose feet were planted on the river, seeming weightless as he lifted his left arm, his hands represented the halves of the ram mudra. A high amount of chakra was being released from his own body. It was overwhelming, she had never felt anything like it, the man she had unalive before did not feel as heavy as he. The chasm between them was vast. She could feel Zabuza's murderous intent coming from his very core. She knew that this adversary had already assessed their weak points, and how to exploit them. It was unnerving and unsettling. She was itching to make a move, but she knew she needn't the rashness. She had to thread and think carefully, and not let this fear consume her.
"Ninpō: Kirigakure no Jutsu." Zabuza voiced, before he disappeared into a thick mist that seemed to propagate from where he stood. It looked as if he evaporated along with the mist.
"He's gone!" Sakura yelled in a panic.
"He's going to come after me first," Kakashi told them, trying to reassure his proteges. "This man we're facing is an infamous master in the art of silent killing. If you let your guard down by a mere second, you're buying yourself a trip to heaven. I haven't mastered all aspects of the Sharingan, so all f you, stay on your toes."
There was an audible gulp from his students as the fog around them seem to thicken. It was so dense that they could barely see Kakashi's silhouette in front of them.
"What's with all this fog?!" Naruto shouted, his eyes widening as a futile attempt to see through the mist.
Zabuza was gone but, you could feel him all around, causing the anticipation to cross a new threshold none of the genin had ever felt.
"There are eight weak points exposed on each target," they could hear the foe speak, they couldn't tell where he was because his voice seemed to come from all around them.
"Wh-what's happening?" Sakura whimpered, holding her kunai close.
"Throat. Spinal column. Lungs. Liver. Jugular vein. Subclavian artery. Kidney. Heart." Zabuza enumerated, teasingly. "So many choices... what vital, vulnerable points shall I choose?" He sniggered.
No one even dared to talk, nor move from their positions. Being faced with a similar situation before, Nobara had to keep her cool. There would be no use for action if they couldn't even see their opponent.
Kakashi brings up his hands, his fingers entwining into the Hitsuji (Ram) mudra. There was another surge of chakra released into the air, this time coming from Team Seven's sensei. And the tense atmosphere seemed to have doubled in density, doubled in murderous intent. The silence was almost deafening as the anticipation kept rising higher by the second. Nobara wanted to say something to break the silence but, she hesitated, knowing she shouldn't do so. She needed to wait until the right moment to make any sort of move. She was aware that both the jonin level nin were well prepared to make a kill, it felt like they were caught in the crossfire, the suspense was enough to render anyone mad, and she felt the fearful ripples of energy coming from the Uchiha behind her. But she didn't dare to turn her head towards him, she was sure that if she let her guard down even for a second, she was going to die. Every fibre in her muscles tensed up from the anticipation.
"Sasuke," they hear Kakashi call out to him. "Calm down. Even if he gets me, I'll still protect you."
Even if Nobara couldn't see him, she could tell that he was being sincere.
"I will never let my comrades die." Kakashi promised, and there was conviction in his tone. A silence followed as they were reassured by their sensei.
"Oh, I wouldn't bet on that." Zabuza's hoarse voice resonated through the thick mist.
Before Team Seven could even react, the demon of the mist infiltrated their formation, standing amid Kakashi's students and Tazuna. His hand was ready to unsheathe his sword, whilst his other hand formed a mudra and the mist around them became clear. "Game over." Were his words as he lifted his sword for the final execution.
But there was another ripple in the air, another release of chakra, that happened right before Zabuza could do anything; he was halted by Kakashi, who pushed all four genin and Tazuna out of the foe's reach. A kunai was jabbed into Zabuza's chest, right under the costal cartilage. But instead of blood leaking out of his wound, it was water.
Nobara's eyes widened she realized the one that Kakashi stabbed was only a clone, and the real Zabuza materialized from a liquid form right behind him, ready to swing his large cleave. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to warn him, it was as if she was frozen.
"Sensei! Behind you!" Naruto shouted, pointing at the foe. But too late, Zabuza had already swung, and Sakura screamed as she saw her sensei getting cut in half. All of them, expected to see blood splashing, but water rained down on them. And behind him appeared Kakashi, holding a kunai against Zabuza's neck.
"Don't move." The jonin of Team Seven ordered the foe, surprising the rogue of Kirigakure. "Game over."