Naruto: Sacred Scroll

Tazuna remained quiet after hearing what Kakashi was saying.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura spoke. "This mission is out of our league. We should return to the village for reinforcements."

Sasuke was about to say something when…

"No!" Naruto strongly interjected. "The three of us requested a more challenging mission, right? I'll be damned if we turn back now, and I'm not one who turns his back on someone in need of help! We should continue this mission!"

Kakashi spoke up, "As passionate as you are about this, Naruto, it would be best to know exactly what we're up against before we continue. And for that, we need more information."

The Jounin took out some rope and tied up the two wounded ninja before hauling them away.

"I won't be long now," Kakashi said as he walked off into the bushes until he was out of sight.

"What is he going to do?" Tazuna asked.

"Pry information out of those two," Naruto replied. "I wish I could be there to watch. I could have learned something."

Sasuke then remembered something he wanted to ask. "Naruto?"

"What is it?" Naruto replied.

"Those clones you made that exploded on those two ninja," Sasuke inquired, "they weren't your standard kage bunshin, were they?"

"Actually, they were. They just used a kinjutsu only Bunshin can use, called Bunshin Daibakuha no Jutsu," Naruto explained.

"Those weren't jutsu taught at the academy," Sakura stated.

"No, they weren't," Naruto said. "I'm the only one from our class that has the massive chakra reserves needed to use them without risk of dying from chakra exhaustion."

"When did you learn that jutsu, and who taught it to you?" Sasuke asked in a manner that showed he wanted answers.

"How I learned it doesn't concern you," Naruto replied, attempting to brush Sasuke off.

Sasuke retorted, "It does concern me, seeing as it was my brother who came up with it! No one else but him uses it! Did he teach it to you?"

"Whether or not he did is irrelevant," Naruto replied in the same tone.

"Don't play with me, Naruto!" Sasuke replied angrily. "That jutsu isn't yours!"

"If Itachi felt you were strong enough and worthy of learning that jutsu, then maybe he'd have taught it to you," Naruto replied. Sakura saw the rage that built up in Sasuke after hearing Naruto's stinging and insulting remark. The Uchiha was far from pleased to learn that Naruto was somehow learning B- and A-class kinjutsu without fear of deadly repercussions, whereas he was only adept at a few fire jutsu, some taijutsu, and other basic abilities.

Things were about to get ugly between the two male Genin, but Kakashi appeared from the bushes and went over to the group.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura called out as the others turned to see the Jounin rejoin the group.

"What did you do with those two ninja?" Sasuke asked.

"I had them tell me everything they knew," Kakashi spoke. "They'll no longer pose a threat."

It didn't take long to interpret what Kakashi meant. The two Mist ninja were dead.

"As noted earlier, Tazuna has been withholding information from us. Those Mist ninja were the Demon Brothers. Those two served a man named Momochi Zabuza, who was in turn hired by someone else. They didn't know who, but I'm sure Tazuna does. The rank of this mission is indeed higher than C-rank. It's an A-rank."

Tazuna was now noticeably sweating. "You're right. There's more to this than you all know…About a year and a half ago, Nami no Kuni was a rich and prosperous country, and everyone was happy living there. Then Gatō came."

"Gatō?" Naruto inquired.

"The president of Gatō Corporation. He's one of the wealthiest men in the world," Kakashi explained.

Tazuna nodded and continued, "Officially he's only a businessman. However, he's actually a criminal, using corruption and violence to take control and smuggle drugs, weapons, and other valuables. He took control of Nami no Kuni by buying all of our country's ports. He controls all sea travel, and on an island, that means you control the island itself. Nami no Kuni has become a poor country with no hope.

"That's why I'm building the bridge to connect Nami no Kuni with the mainland. With that bridge, my people and I can prosper again. However, Gatō fears my bridge, because it would end his tyrannical control over the country, and he wants to kill me to put a stop to its construction. Naturally, he hired a few shinobi. I traveled to Konoha to get protection, but since we're so poor, we couldn't afford anything more than a C-rank mission.

"You understand why I had to lie about the mission? It took everything our entire village could save to even afford this type of mission, and we can't pay for anything higher. Our country has been suffering through severe economic poverty."

"I see," Naruto said before turning to Kakashi and asking, "What do you think, Kakashi-sensei?"

"This mission is clearly an A-rank," Kakashi stated. "This isn't the kind of mission I've trained you three for yet. However, we'll continue with the mission on one condition, Tazuna."

"And what's that?" Tazuna asked.

"When your country gets back on its feet, you're to pay us the rightful amount of money," Kakashi said, and Tazuna nodded in agreement.

The team assumed their previous formation around Tazuna, with Kakashi in the back, Naruto in the front, and Sasuke and Sakura watching Tazuna from the sides. The group continued on their way until they found themselves at the shore, where they found a small boat and its captain waiting for them. It was evident that they would have to ride the boat across the water.

They all boarded the boat and started on their way to Nami no Kuni. The ride was spent in silence. After a while, they arrived at the shore of their destination and got off the boat to continue on their way to Tazuna's house by foot.

"All of you are welcomed to stay at my house. I've got two extra rooms for you to use and a sofa if there's not enough room," said Tazuna as he showed them the way to his house through the forest.

While walking down the dirt road to Tazuna's, Naruto remained silent, deep in thought about something. He snapped out of it when he sensed a presence. He pulled out a kunai and threw it into a bush, nearly hitting a defenseless white rabbit that was now backed up into a tree. Everyone turned to Naruto after he pulled that stunt.

"What's the deal, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Something's wrong here," Naruto pointed out while looking into the forest. "It's summer and the color of that rabbit is white."

"It was kept indoors," Sasuke realized. "Which means-"

"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" Kakashi shouted while he grabbed Tazuna. Sasuke pulled Sakura down and Naruto hit the dirt as well. Just in time, too, as a large sword barely missed removing their heads.

"It appears that this new bunch is more aware of the dangers before them. No matter, you're all going to die here," said the dark voice of the man who appeared before the group, standing with his giant sword.

"Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Bloody Mist, I presume," Kakashi calmly said as he and the others stood back up. "A former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."

Zabuza took a good look at the team in front of him. He then took a better look at Kakashi.

"Copycat Ninja Kakashi," Zabuza stated. "I've heard of you as well, though I question if what they say of your abilities is true."

Sasuke saw that Kakashi was once again called Copycat Ninja, just like what Naruto called him.

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