The new enemy looked towards Kakashi.
"I didn't know the one and only Kakashi Hatake took up teaching a bunch of brats."
Kakashi pulled out a kunai and held it up defensively.
"You're Zabuza Momochi, correct? I'm guessing you're after the bridge builder as well?"
The ninja, Zabuza, nodded.
"Yep. If you don't mind, I just need to bring that old man's head back to Gato and I'll be on my way."
Kakashi's eye narrowed. He pulled his headband up to reveal a red eye with three black tomoe surrounding the pupil.
"I'm afraid we can't let that happen. It's kind of our mission."
Zabuza sighed to himself before hopping down and dislodging his giant sword from the tree.
"Ah, well, don't say I didn't give you a chance."
Almost instantly, the group became surrounded by a thick mist that heavily obscured their vision.
"Form up around the bridge builder!"
Before the mist could grow too dense, the four genin moved to surround Tazuna, each holding kunai out defensively.
"Well, well. It seems the brats aren't too bad at following orders. I wonder, though... What will their sensei do to protect them?"
Both Kakashi and Adrik flinched and turned to face Zabuza as he appeared, his sword already swinging to try and slash the genin along with the bridge builder. Adrik blinked and Kakashi appeared, his kunai stabbing into Zabuza. Instead of blood, however, water leaked from the wound. Zabuza laughed as he turned into water that splashed onto the ground.
All four genin's eyes widened when Kakashi was slashed in half by another Zabuza that appeared from the mist. But, just like the enemy jonin had done moments earlier, Kakashi transformed into a puddle of water. Zabuza jumped away when Kakashi reappeared to try and slash him with a kunai.
The mist cleared enough for everyone to watch as Zabuza landed a decent distance away to stand on the nearby body of water.
"You four protect the bridge builder. I'll handle this."
The four genin nodded nervously as Kakashi followed Zabuza onto the surface of the water. The jonin realized his mistake when he felt the water churn below his feet. Before he could react, he became trapped in a giant ball of water held by Zabuza's left hand.
"I honestly didn't think you'd be stupid enough to get caught by that!"
Zabuza laughed maniacally, sending shivers down the spines of the genin and Tazuna.
"Shit! You four! Get Tazuna out of here!"
Kakashi yelled out his order, surprising himself as the ball of water he was trapped in was still letting him speak, and even breathe somewhat.
"We can't do that, Kakashi Sensei! We-"
Kakashi cut Naruto off before he could argue further.
"I said get out of here! I'll find a way to escape, just get somewhere safe before-"
From the mist, another Zabuza appeared. Adrik was the first to respond, sending a spinning kunai into its chest and making it turn back into water.
"His Water Clones have a limited range! He can't chase you if you get far enough away-"
This time, Kakashi was cut off by Adrik.
"I think Naruto made his point clear! He told me the first thing you taught his team was that abandoning a mission makes you trash, but abandoning a comrade makes you worse than trash! Don't sit there and tell us that what you said doesn't apply anymore!"
Kakashi was unable to speak as his words were turned against him by a genin who had only joined them at the last minute. Adrik stepped back and looked towards the other three genin.
"I'll hold off the Water Clones. You guys try to come up with a plan."
The other three genin nodded. Another Zabuza appeared only to be taken out the same way as the last.
X
"I gave those brats too much credit. If they were actually smart, they would've followed your orders."
Zabuza looked to his left at the ball of water containing Kakashi. The jonin was slowly beginning to breathe harder and harder as the supply of oxygen was dwindling.
"You... shouldn't underestimate them..."
Zabuza chuckled and looked back up at the genin. His eyes narrowed when he saw a giant shuriken spin through the air heading straight towards him. He batted it away with his sword only for it to go up in a puff of white smoke. The smoke cleared to reveal Naruto throwing another giant shuriken at Zabuza. This caught the enemy jonin off guard and forced him to move away to avoid being hit by the throwing weapon.
Naruto was pulled back over to the land by a rope made of ash. Zabuza jumped back again to avoid being hit by Kakashi's kunai. Zabuza made a hand seal, launching a high speed ball of water at Kakashi, which the jonin narrowly avoided.
Zabuza tried to rush in to attack Kakashi with his giant sword but was forced to dodge a volley of spinning kunai thrown by Adrik. The jonin narrowed his eyes angrily at the teen before he had to block a kick aimed at his head. Kakashi kicked himself away using the flat of Zabuza's sword and watched with both eyes as the jonin began a long string of hand seals. He started going through the same hand seals, eventually catching up and matching the speed that Zabuza was forming them.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
Two dragons made of water shot up from the surface of the water and sped towards each other. They clashed, sending water spraying everywhere while waves threatened to knock the two off their feet.
Kakashi grit his teeth as the water that was sprayed into the air spilled and formed more mist.
"That damn Sharingan is annoying."
Kakashi turned around and met Zabuza's blade with a kunai. The two held the clash for a moment before Kakashi jumped back onto the shoreline, panting heavily. He looked down at his kunai to see the blade had been shattered, leaving only useless pieces of metal at his feet and in his hand.
"Kakashi, what's going on?"
Kakashi looked over in surprise as Adrik landed next to him.
"Adrik, you should be protecting the bridge builder!"
Kakashi looked back at Zabuza as the mist cleared once again.
"That's not what I asked."
Kakashi shook his head.
"It's my Sharingan. It takes a lot of chakra to use. Not to mention I just used the Water Dragon Jutsu for the first time without a water affinity."
"I'm just gonna assume that's short for 'I'm almost out of chakra' based on what I'm sensing."
Kakashi nodded his confirmation. Adrik nodded in response and got in a fighting stance. Zabuza walked towards them with his sword over his shoulder.
"So, one of the little genin wants to play, huh? Well, who am I to deny someone their death wish?"
Zabuza rushed forward and swung his sword down, kicking up the sand of the shoreline. He glanced to his right and his left as Kakashi and Adrik landed. The only thing keeping everyone from seeing his wicked smile was the bandages around his face.
Zabuza planted his sword in the ground to deflect Kakashi's kunai and kicked Adrik away when the teen approached. He pulled his sword back up and used it to bat away Kakashi. He turned around just in time to be met with a knee to the jaw. He recovered almost instantly, punching Adrik in the stomach, sending him flying back.
Zabuza looked up in surprise when several small fireballs rained down on him.
"Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu!"
A wall of water formed and arched over Zabuza to protect him from the fireballs. His eyes widened when the fire was extinguished only to reveal once hidden shuriken. They sliced through the water and went up in puffs of white smoke, revealing several of Naruto's Shadow Clones that all sent punches at various parts of Zabuza's body. The jonin could only block a few of the hits with his sword.
Zabuza grit his teeth and spun around while swinging his sword, dispelling the Shadow Clones. The moment the white smoke dissipated, another fireball, this one much larger than the last few, sped towards the enemy jonin. His eyes widened before he was caught in a small, fiery explosion.
A few moments passed and the smoke cleared to reveal Zabuza with his clothes slightly singed. He panted lightly as he looked around.
"So, all of you wanna take a swing at me, huh? Bring it on, then!"
Kakashi and Adrik were about to rush back in to attack the enemy jonin when he was hit in the neck by several senbon, making his lifeless body drop to the ground. From the trees appeared a masked ninja. Adrik cursed to himself as he had been too caught up in the fight to sense the new arrival.
"I appreciate your efforts in fighting Zabuza. It gave me the perfect opening. Now, I will take my leave. Again, I thank you for helping me take down my target."
The masked ninja grabbed onto Zabuza's body and disappeared as fast as they first appeared. Adrik looked off in the distance as he sensed the two signals leaving. Before he could try to chase them, Kakashi grabbed his shoulder.
"The fight is over, Adrik."
The teen stared at the jonin for a few seconds before nodding begrudgingly. The two walked over to meet back up with the three genin and Tazuna.
"Kakashi Sensei, are you alright?!"
Kakashi was holding his side while breathing heavily. He gave Sakura an eye smile before nodding.
"Nope. Say, Tazuna, could you take us to your house? It seems I am about to pass out due to a lack of chakra."
Kakashi stayed standing just long enough to see Tazuna nod before falling unconscious. He was caught by Adrik who made sure to cover Kakashi's left eye with his headband.
"Uh... Follow me, I guess..."
X
Adrik walked downstairs, Kakashi following behind slowly with help from the crutches that Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, told the genin their jonin sensei could use.
"Ah, I'm glad you're up in time for dinner."
Kakashi eye smiled and gave the woman a small wave.
"So am I. Adrik told me what I missed. You're Tsunami, correct? It is a pleasure to meet you, and I thank you for letting my team and I stay here at your house."
Kakashi bowed as best as he could, surprising the woman.
"Oh, you don't have to do all of that. Just consider this a 'thank you' for helping my father."
Kakashi nodded as he hobbled his way over to sit down at the table. Sasuke and Sakura greeted him as he and Adrik joined them at the table.
"Whatever you're cooking smells amazing, by the way."
Tsunami shook her head slightly.
"I'm afraid I'm only helping out in the kitchen. Naruto insisted he make us dinner."
Kakashi nodded.
"I see."
Naruto, with help from Tsunami, brought out all of the food he had cooked. They all sat down to eat in silence. Nobody seemed keen on breaking the awkward atmosphere as they couldn't really figure out how. It isn't exactly common for a group of ninja to come up to a random civilian's house to ask for a place to stay while carrying an unconscious man. That was until Sakura looked around at the house and noticed many of the family portraits had pieces missing.
"Miss Tsunami?"
The woman looked over at Sakura.
"Oh, do you need something?"
Sakura shook her head.
"No, it's just... I've noticed all the pictures around here have parts of them ripped off. Forgive me if I'm asking something personal, but was there... someone else... in those pictures?"
Tsunami set down her utensils. Tazuna looked over as he spoke.
"It's... a complicated story, kid. I can tell you about it after dinner, though."
Sakura nodded. This seemed to break most of the tension as everyone felt much more comfortable with talking after that.
Out of the corner of his eye, Adrik saw Tsunami's son, Inari, tilt his head down. The moment he finished his plate of food, he silently made his way back up the stairs to his room. Tsunami and Tazuna seemed to notice as their faces fell. Adrik couldn't help but feel like the torn pictures played a part in the kid's downtrodden mood.
X
"Alright... Where to start... I guess I'll tell you guys about the man in these pictures."
Tazuna pulled out a folded up picture from his pocket and opened it up. In the picture was the trio of Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari with a man standing next to them, all looking much happier than they seemed now.
"His name was Kaiza. A lot of people used to call him the Hero of Wave. He was a kind man who held nothing but love for the people of this country. One day, during a flood, he risked his life to help save several people, one of them being Inari. It wasn't long before he became part of the family. If anyone had a problem, he was always the guy you could rely on to help you."
Everyone gave small smiles as they heard about Kaiza. Even Tazuna and Tsunami couldn't help smiling while thinking back.
"One day, a man came along named Gato."
Instantly, everyone's smiles vanished and were replaced by frowns.
"He portrayed himself as a business man hoping to get his own company up and running in the Land of Waves. He turned on us the moment he got enough power. He took over the shipping and fishing industries and drained us of almost all of our money. With his newly acquired wealth, he hired dozens upon dozens of bandits. He started killing off those most vocal against his tyrannical reign. He killed good people all for the sake of maintaining power. Kaiza happened to be the first of his victims. It was also the most devastating to the people. Gato brought us out to watch as he publicly executed Kaiza. I won't go into detail, but... it was brutal... Gato practically tortured him for over two hours before finally ending his life. But... the worst part about it all is that Inari had to watch. Now, it's almost impossible to get a smile out of him. The bridge I'm building is dedicated to Kaiza. I hope that if I do complete it, Inari will start smiling again."
The ninjas in the room couldn't help but feel a mix of every negative emotion they knew of after listening to the story.
"Then, on behalf of the Hidden Leaf Village, allow me to say that not only will we help protect you while you build this bridge, but we will bring down Gato entirely as well."
The four genin looked at Kakashi before nodding along with determination in their eyes. Tazuna gave them a weak smile.
"That's more than I could've ever hoped for, Kakashi. Thank you."
X
"Dammit. Why did you have to go and bail me out? I was just getting started."
"Because, Master, you would have only wasted your time. It was best that you retreat since they would have outlasted you."
Zabuza sighed as the masked ninja finished replacing his bandages.
"Alright, what's this I'm hearin' about you losin' to a one eyed freak and a bunch o' little kids?!"
Zabuza's eyes narrowed as a short man with sunglasses and a cane entered the room with two bodyguard bandits.
"I lost a fight, not the war. Now, go back upstairs to your cozy little office and sit your tiny ass down in that spinny chair, Gato. These are ninja matters, so leave."
The tiny man, Gato, growled angrily.
"You think that's any way to talk to the guy who's payin' you?! You're lucky you're better off alive than dead-"
Gato cut himself off when a large sword came dangerously close to his neck.
"Unless you want to do the job with your own two hands, I suggest you shut the fuck up. We'll uphold our end of the deal, so you just worry about paying us what you promised. You can understand that, right?"
Gato nodded before stepping back. Zabuza put his sword down as he sat back in the bed.
"As long as you bring me that bridge builder's head, I'll pay up."
Zabuza nodded and watched as the man and his two body guards left the room. He wasn't surprised to hear him cursing from the other side of the door the moment he closed it. Zabuza looked over when the masked ninja went to leave.
"Where are you going?"
They looked back at Zabuza.
"I heard there are some healing herbs that grow here naturally. I wanted to see if I could find some to help with your recovery."
Zabuza nodded with a sigh as he leaned back.
"Just don't get caught."
The masked ninja nodded as they left the room. Zabuza couldn't help but think back to the fight. There was something odd about the "genin" that helped Kakashi. The smell of smoke was stuck in his mind, and he couldn't get it out. He had a strange feeling that something was going to happen, but he couldn't place what it was. He shrugged as he tried to clear his mind to get some sleep.
X
"He's what?!"
Kakashi uncovered his ears after his students calmed down.
"That masked ninja wore the mask of a hunter nin. They're like a special task force that hunt down missing ninja from their own village specifically. Unlike the one we saw, however, they usually behead their targets on sight and put them in sealing scrolls. With the choice in weapon, I believe the ninja we encountered merely put Zabuza in a deathlike state. Think of it as putting someone in a temporary coma."
The four genin nodded at the new information.
"So, this means Zabuza will be back. I'd give him one week minimum to recover. And he may have an accomplice next time."
"Then, what are we gonna do?"
Kakashi turned to Naruto with an eye smile.
"I'm glad you asked. You see, I have this little exercise you're all going to learn called tree walking, and-"
"So, that's it?"
Kakashi looked over at Adrik with both confusion and slight irritation at being cut off.
"I'm sorry?"
"You were gonna teach us tree walking? That's the best thing you can think of to prepare us for our death match?"
"Well, I-"
Kakashi was once again cut off when both Naruto and Adrik walked up to separate trees and walked up them with ease. They walked back down and Adrik narrowed his eyes at Kakashi.
"I had to teach Naruto myself. It was pretty hard since I couldn't give a good example because I had to come up with my own way of doing it. Oh, but that's right, you started teaching Naruto the very basics of fuinjutsu. And that will just be enough to help save the day. And I noticed something else. Sasuke only started using ninjutsu besides his regular fireball some time after I started rotating between teams. It sure would be weird if you were teaching Sasuke some cool new jutsu while not even bothering with your other two students. That's not even mentioning how the only interaction between you and Sakura I've seen or even heard about is when you drag her into another team training exercise. I mean, does she even know anything outside of what she learned in the academy?"
Kakashi tried to speak again but couldn't get a word out before Adrik's rant continued.
"I've learned more from Team Ten and Team Eight in just two days than I've learned from you in an entire month, Kakashi. So, you know what? I'm taking Naruto with me to go train so we don't end up dead next week. If they aren't running up and down that tree a dozen times back to back by tomorrow, they're coming with me and Naruto. Maybe it'll help make your job easier so you don't have to get off your lazy ass as much. Screw you, and screw your training."
Everyone stared wide eyed at Adrik as he dragged Naruto further into the forest. While Kakashi wanted nothing more than to refute what the genin said, he couldn't. A genin being completely right when telling him off was bad enough, but the worst part of it was that he didn't even raise his voice once. It was like he knew very well that everything he was saying was the undeniable truth.
Kakashi looked at his two remaining students and gulped.
"W-Well... Let's just get started...."