Chapter Text
It's dark. A distant beam of light barely illuminates a wide cavern. Everything is fuzzy; his head pounds, his leg throbs, and his chakra is draining quickly.
The ground quakes, the deep rumbling echoing as the earth breaks apart. Rocks rain down as two silhouetted figures stand defensively before him. The scent of panic fills the air, along with the scent of his own blood. Multiple voices yell as he orders the figures to run. Everything is blurry, overwhelming, and pure chaos.
Another echoing crack made him look up to see large boulders falling toward the three of them. The outside light was too far away.
They're not going to make it.
They're going to die.
And it's all his fault.
No.
I will protect them.
Using what little chakra he had left, he pushed the two silhouette figures away from harm's way. As the weight of the rocks crashed down on him, he heard a voice screaming his name.
He smiled.
Goodbye.
~~~
The darkness shifted like settling dust. It was suffocating. He could barely breathe.
No, the rocks had landed in a way that provided him a small space for his upper body, so it was not crushed. He was lying on his stomach as the tip of a large boulder pressed heavily on his entire back. His arms and legs were pinned; only his fingers and toes could move. He was trapped.
There were voices not far ahead of him. He recognized them. One was the sound of a girl crying. He tried to call out for help, to not leave him behind.
However, not even a whisper escaped his masked lips. He tried again. Nothing. Then again. Still nothing.
Then he hears the faint sound of footsteps moving away from him.
Panic starts to set in, but he is unable to move an inch. In the darkness, he looks over his shoulder at the rock on his back. It is crushing his diaphragm to the point he can barely get any air into his compressed lungs.
The voices and footsteps were gone.
No!
Please don't leave me! I'm still alive!
Sensei!
~~~
It's cold and pitch black. It must be nighttime. He can't escape. He will probably be trapped down here for three days and will most likely die of dehydration. Suddenly, a figure came out of the ground. The figure looked odd, like a man who was half black and half white. He kept his uninjured eye slitted open to appear unconscious. It's not like it really mattered if he could see or not. It's so dark, and his head has been pounding for so long that his vision is blurry.
"Aw, what a shame. It appears we caught the wrong one," a soft voice spoke in almost a singsong tone.
Wrong one?
"Unfortunate, but only a small setback. We'll just have to go through with our contingency plan if things do not work out." A deep, darker voice spoke but still came from the same humanoid figure.
"Oh, someone is coming," the first voice spoke again.
"Then let's go," the second replied, as the figure was swallowed up by the earth again.
A minute later, the rocks above his head shifted. Soon, a stream of sunlight filled the space. He peered over his shoulder again, instantly blinded by the harsh light, to see the silhouette figure's head peering into the cavern's opening.
"Hey, we got a live one over here!" A male voice yelled, just as the world around faded into darkness.
"Hey! Are you awake now?" Zabuza's gruff tone snapped, nudging the sleeping man's booted foot with his own.
Wolf's eyes snapped open, and he immediately sat up from his bedroll, panting heavily. His mismatched eyes darted rapidly around the room, searching for danger. The familiar weight of the wolf mask was still on his face. His gaze settled on Zabuza, who was now a couple of steps back from him, hands held open in front of his chest.
"Back in the land of the living now?" Zabuza questioned again.
"Yeah," Wolf answered. He used one hand to barely hold up the wolf mask, as his other hand wiped the sweat from his face.
"Must have been some nightmare," the Momochi commented before adding, "I know we have some unexpected company in the cellar, but we don't have to wear the wolf mask while up here. It's not like Deidara, Haku, and I haven't seen your face before."
"I know. I just can't risk it with them being here. If they find out, we would be hunted more than we ever have been, and that's no life for those boys," Wolf drawled out. As he got up and put his roll away, he noticed how quiet it was and asked, "Speaking of, where are the boys?"
""Down the stairs, eating breakfast with the invalid Leaf Shinobi," Zabuza answered nonchalantly, tilting his head towards the cellar door.
"Maa, there's no reason to be so mean to them," Wolf replied humorlessly as he stood up and stretched his back.
Zabuza scoffed and added, "The Fourth Hokage's brat is an impatient loudmouth. The Uchiha brat has potential but has an ego five times his height. That pink-haired girl is obviously from a civilian family. The chunin seems to have a good head on his shoulders, but he lets his emotions get the best of him. And I don't trust Obito Uchiha."
"... Fair enough. I do appreciate you helping me with them. I know you didn't want to," Wolf replied.
"Yeah, yeah." Zabuza spoke, waving away his thanks. Then added, "Come on, breakfast is at the table. We need to start planning how we're going to get your little entourage back to their village without anyone trying to kill us or them."
"Right," Wolf said as he followed Zabuza to the kitchen, even though his appetite was basically nonexistent from his nightmare.
Minato sat at his desk as Rin stood in the large window that overlooked the village in the Hokage's office. However, her gaze remained looking out past the village, past the village gate, and staring off into the great unknown. As she crossed her arms in front of her and swayed slightly from side to side, her face was pinched with worry. Not that the Fourth Hokage blamed her. He was worried about the current situation, too.
They received a letter three days ago from the Land of Waves stating that Team 7 and Iruka left their village about nine days ago. Minato had already calculated that it should have taken them at least a day to arrive in the Leaf Village, if not two days if they were taking their time. The last he'd heard from the team was Obito's letter stating that they were leaving the Land of Waves, along with a small report on the bandits who kidnapped the village children, as well as their meeting with a masked shinobi going by the name of Wolf. Minato would be lying if he wasn't surprised that the masked shinobi was traveling with two rogue Mist shinobi, one being Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Mist, and his young boy, who Obito guessed was Zabuza's student named Haku, who appeared to be between the ages of thirteen to fifteen years old.
Since the team's disappearance, the Fourth Hokage sent two Anbu teams to search for the missing genin students and two Senseis. When they returned, they said they found signs of a skirmish, as there were a large number of bodies of what appeared to be hired bandits and henchmen, as well as the corpse of Gato, one of the wealthiest businessmen in the elemental nations. The Anbu report also states that they found one of Iruka's storage scrolls, which contained large amounts of water for some of his more advanced types of water jutsu, as well as scorch marks from the Uchiha clan's signature fireball jutsu.
However, there is so much blood staining the ground that the Inuzuka member of the Anbu team was unable to trace the scents of their missing shinobi. Any remaining scents or traces of the three students and two Senseis are drowned out by the blood-soaked earth. Minato hated waiting for more information about his son's whereabouts. If he wasn't the Hokage, Rin and him would already be out there searching for them. Fully aware that the more time they waste waiting, the more chances there are of something terrible happening to Naruto, Sasuke, Obito, and Iruka.
The sudden bang of his office door flying open, rattling on its hinges, brought him out of his darkening thoughts. He and Rin both tensed up at the sound, preparing for a fight, only for it to fade when they saw the Toad Sage and the Uchiha clan head storm into the office.
"Minato!" Jiraiya hollered upon his loud arrival, quickly strolling into the office. Meanwhile, Fugaku silently shut the door and activated the privacy seal, making sure no one outside the office could hear them.
"Master Jiraiya, Fugaku? What happened?" Minato questioned as he and Rin moved closer to the center of his office.
"We just received information about Obito, Iruka, as well as the kids!" Jiraiya announced, holding up a small scroll. The Hokage noticed that Fugaku was holding a white rabbit, which was wearing a harness, securely to his chest.
"What? What does it say, Sensei? Are they all okay?" Rin asked in rapid fire, watching Minato scan the scroll Jiraiya gave him.
Minato looked at the three others in the room before reading the scroll's contents aloud:
Dear Fourth Hokage,
I'm sorry this message has taken so long to reach you and your village. However, I needed time to think about how to word this message, as well as to heal the five Leaf Shinobi in my care.
To be honest, I still don't fully know how to word this message, so I'm going to make one thing quite clear: this is not a random note.
While traveling near the Land of Waves, my team and I came across a team of five shinobi fighting Gato and his men and decided to give them a hand. Unfortunately, they were already injured in a skirmish before we even arrived. I would strongly request you to send a skilled medical ninja to meet us in the clearing at the abandoned temple on the Land of Fire's eastern border on the last day of this month.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are safe and in good health. Iruka is still recovering from some deep cuts from a kunai. All have been properly treated and are healing steadily. However, my request for a medical ninja is for Obito Uchiha. He was seriously injured during the fight, and if I healed him to my best abilities, I fear my good intentions would be seen as an attempt to gather information on the Sharingan.
As for Obito's current condition, before treatment, he had a mild concussion, several broken ribs, as well as a bruised femur and a broken forearm. He also sustained a major injury to his left eye, which was struck with a senbon needle, and deep burns to the right side of his upper body.
After treatment, his broken bones have been fully repaired, and most of the burns on his right side have healed without scarring. However, I wasn't able to fully heal his concussion due to prioritizing his other injuries. I advise letting it heal with time and rest. However, the burns that Obito sustained on his upper right arm and the right side of his face are most likely to leave a permanent scar. When healing the burns on his face, I did not see any damage to his right eye. Although I would still advise you to get it fully checked out once you all return to your village, just in case.
As for his left eye, I cleaned and disinfected the injury before covering it with a sterile eye patch. On top of the eye patch is a modified stabilization seal tag. It will protect the eye from bacteria and infection and help prevent further damage. I had to make the difficult choice of cutting off part of the senbon, leaving it still lodged in the cornea of Obito's left eye.
Lord Hokage, I'm fully aware that you are highly skilled and knowledgeable with seals. However, I want to inform you and any medical ninja you choose to send that the stabilization seal tag is preventing it from causing further damage. As I've said to Obito, think of it as freezing the injury in time. It will not get worse or better.
Again, I am not asking for a ransom! I merely want you to come retrieve them and get them back home to your village. They would not remain safe if they were to stay with my team long-term. Please send a skilled medic-ninja along with your recovery team.
We'll be waiting for your team at the designated location.
The Wolf
After Minato finished reading the message on the small scroll, everyone remained silent. The Hokage didn't know what to think, as his thoughts started spiraling. Five shinobi from his village, including his son, were missing and currently being held hostage by a rogue shinobi. No, the message referred to them as a team, so multiple rogue shinobi. Did this team only consist of him, Zabuza, and the boy with the Mist Anbu mask, or were there more? This team seemed to be led by the Wolf, an unknown shinobi who was strong enough to take out a member of the Akatsuki and critically injure one of their strongest members. Therefore, this mysterious masked shinobi must have skill around an S-rank. However, the scroll stated he was not holding Team 7 and Iruka for ransom, so were they even hostages? If this was the same shinobi that Itachi told Jiraiya and him about, then this was the second time he had helped Konoha shinobi.
But why? What does this shinobi have to gain from helping Leaf Shinobi? There must be something else at play here, some sort of missing link, but what?
The silence was swiftly broken by Jiraiya's nonchalant comment, "Huh, I figured with his name being 'The Wolf,' he would have a canine summoning, not a little white rabbit."
"Who's 'The Wolf'?" Rin questioned, looking between the three men.
"He refers to a 'team,' so it probably belongs to one of the other members of their team," Fugaku added after giving a thoughtful hum, looking at the calm white rabbit in his arms. While the Hokage informed Rin who the Wolf was and that they were the one that saved Guy, Genma, and Ebisu. "Minato, how do you want to go about this?"
"Hm, with all the unknowns about this situation, we'll need to send a recovery team that is well-diversified," Minato muttered aloud, as he held his chin between his thumb and index finger. Then he looked at the group before him and confidently added, "Alright, Jiraiya, I want you to lead the recovery team. You already know about the mysterious masked shinobi, and you'll know if the seal has been tampered with if Naruto's seal has been affected. Rin, I'm sending you as the squad's medic specialist. Your presence there will help reassure the kids that everything is under control, and you can use the Thousand Healing Jutsu if needed to heal and stabilize the injured. Fugaku, do you want me to assign a Uchiha medic for Sasuke and Obito?"
Fugaku nodded firmly and replied, "Yes, send Mikoto. She has extensive medical knowledge on how to treat traumatic eye injuries, and with Obito being injured this badly, there is a high chance that Sasuke watched it happen. There is a good chance his Sharingan may have changed due to the high stress or traumatic situation. Having his mother there may help relieve some of the mental and emotional strain for Sasuke."
"You sure? If I'm not mistaken, Mikoto hasn't been in the field for years." The Toad Sage questioned, raising his white eyebrow. The last time he heard the Uchiha clan head's wife was in the field before she was pregnant with Sasuke, but he knows that she is still on the shinobi roster.
"Yes, Mikoto may not be actively going into battle, but she ensures she is still mission-ready fit. She mainly works with the Uchiha and Yamanaka mind healers, and Mikoto's strength and knowledge of the importance of Uchiha mental health are vital in this situation," Fugaku confidently answered, understanding Jiraiya's concern but knowing that nothing would stop his wife from protecting their sons, or Naruto and Sakura, for that matter.
"Alright, so far, we have Mikoto, Rin, and myself. Who else should we assign?" Jiraiya asked as Minato quickly grabbed the active shinobi roster.
"Let's see, I will also assign Shikaku. If this rogue group of shinobi turns hostile, he will be able to restrain them. However, if possible, I would prefer that we arrest this group of rogues before they become a problem. Let's also have Asuma join your team. He knows the genin of Team 7 and has experience working with Jiraiya, Obito, and Rin," Minato added, knowing that a group of rogue shinobi wandering the elemental nations is a dangerous thing, and the growth of the Akatsuki is already enough for them to deal with right now. Unfortunately, Tsunade, Choza, and Inoichi are unavailable for this mission. "I will also send three Anbu: Bear, Owl, and Tiger. That should be good," Minato added again, his mind racing. They only had a week to prepare, which is not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things.
"And me, Lord Hokage, Lord Fugaku, Master Jiraiya! Send me!" A familiar-sounding Crow-masked Anbu loudly announced, suddenly appearing, kneeling near the group. Shisui removed his Anbu mask as he looked up at the group with determination in his dark eyes. "If you send me, I might be able to use my Mangekyō Sharingan, the Kotoamatsukami to make the rogues surrender without fighting. Plus, I spar and work well with Obito and Sasuke, and I'm fast enough to pull our shinobi away from danger. Please, sir!" Shisui added frantically as if to prove he needed a spot on the team.
"Hmm," Minato hummed in thought. He knew that the young Anbu agent brought up good points, and his use of the Sharingan and its special ability would be useful. However, he wanted to keep Shisui, Fugaku, and Tenzo in the village in case this was a trap.
"Minato, I agree with Shisui. He should go. We have enough shinobi in the village currently to protect Konoha from any attacks," the Uchiha clan head and his advisor told the pondering Fourth Hokage.
Minato nodded in agreement, then told the unmasked Anbu, "Alright, Shisui. You're on the team."
"Yes! I mean... Thank you, Lord Fourth," Shisui corrected his eagerness with a calm demeanor, which earned amused grins from several people in the room.
"Hurry up! Just move a piece already! I'm bored!" The blonde genin groaned loudly, frustration rising as he shifted back and forth, sitting crisscross on the stone floor.
"Naruto, knock it off already. This is a strategy game. It takes time. So grow up, be patient, and wait," Sakura practically growled under her breath.
As the pink-haired kunoichi hunched over the shogi board, emerald eyes darted between the small wooden pieces strategically placed around the game board. Similar to Haku, who was cradling his chin in one hand, studying his own game pieces in deep thought, Sasuke sat next to the two senseis who sat against the stone wall.
Unlike Deidara, who sat not too far from Haku with two large bowls in front of him. One was full of mud, that the blonde teen was taking handfuls of and kneading it between the palms of his hands. Before placing the ball of condensed dirt into the empty bowl, carefully stacking each ball of mud. Occasionally, he would ask Haku for some water, and the mist shinobi obliged by creating a sphere of water out of thin air. The leaf shinobi were still amazed by it, especially when Haku demonstrated it for the first time. Deidara would direct his comrade where he wanted the water, usually into the bowl of mud when it started to dry out, or so Deidara could wash his hands before putting the dirty water back into the bowl of mud.
"Grow up, hmph," Naruto grumbled with a furious pout as he folded his arms. Then his gaze shifted to the older blonde teen and he huffed again, then added, "At least I'm not playing with mud like a little kid."
"Hmph, it's not mud, kid. It's clay," Deidara plainly replied. Flicking his head to the side to get his bangs out of his face, he continued kneading the clay in his hands.
"Why are you playing with clay?" Naruto asked, tilting his head like a curious puppy.
"I'm not playing with it! I'm removing any trapped air from the clay so I can use it," Deidara explained, looking almost offended by the idea of playing with clay in his hands.
"What are you going to use it for?" The younger blonde asked as he scooted closer to the blonde teen.
"Hm, it's for my art!" Deidara replied with pride.
"What? Art?" The three Leaf students questioned loudly in unison, while Haku chuckled into his hand as his opponent's attention slipped away from their game, as the young Uchiha moved closer and sat next to the shogi board.
"Hm, yeah, my jutsu is a work of art! When infusing my chakra into clay, I am able to mold it into any shape. It's how I make my art!" Deidara exclaimed with such enthusiasm that Obito and Iruka were reminded that these two rogue shinobi are still kids.
"I don't know if I would call using chakra to create explosive insects and birds art," Haku snickered at his friend, who gasped in mock offense.
"Haku, my man. How! How could you hurt me so! And here I thought we were friends!" Deidara dramatically whined, covering his eyes with the back of his forearm to prevent clay-covered hands from getting on his face. He then threw his arms dramatically into the air with a boisterous tone that matched his wide smile as he added, "My explosions are a work of art because art is an explosion!"
Haku only rolled his eyes and smiled at his friends' antics, while Obito realized what jutsu Deidara was talking about: the Explosion Release, also known as the Bakuton. The Jonin-sensei had never met an Explosion Release user before, but he had heard that the Explosion Release was incredibly difficult to master. The fact that Deidara was able to infuse his chakra into clay and already make small explosives was a testament to how skilled this boy could be. After all, this young rogue shinobi was strong enough that even the Akatsuki wanted him to join their ranks. It still sent a chill down Obito's spine just thinking how dangerous and deadly Deidara could be if he were influenced by the wrong people.
"It's a kekkei genkai, isn't it?" Sasuke asked, as if he already knew the answer. The two teens looked at the young Uchiha at the sudden question. Before Sasuke added, "You both have a kekkei genkai, don't you?"
Haku and Deidara exchanged a look and a nod before they looked at the Leaf shinobi. Haku answered, "Yes, we both possess a bloodline limit. Deidara can use Explosion Release, and I possess Ice Release."
"Why would you admit that? Aren't you concerned that we will report it to our village!" Sakura exclaimed in shock. Even from a civilian clan, she was well aware of clans keeping their bloodline limits hidden or well-guarded for their own protection from rival clans and villages.
Deidara shrugged. "Hmph, it doesn't really matter. It's already on our page in the Bingo Book, hm. And having a kekkei genkai is not all it's cracked up to be. There are so many rules and procedures to enforce 'gentle reminders' on people with bloodline limits." Deidara spoke in an annoyed tone as he made exaggerated finger quotes around "gentle reminders." Then he looked back at the two Uchihas with a solemn smile as he added, "I'm sure you two understand, hmph. You know, being Uchiha and all."
"No, I don't know what you're talking about," Sasuke replied with a tilt of his head and a pinched expression, seeing that his older cousin had a similar look.
Now Deidara looked confused as he questioned, "You know... being reprimanded for using or showing your kekkei genkia outside of missions."
"No, members of our village are not punished for having a kekkei genkai," Obito answered. He was well aware that many villages in the elemental nations despise and fear bloodline limits, even the other hidden villages that want and rely on kekkei genkai. And yet, they suppress the clans that possess them, and for some villages almost to the point of slavery. Especially during and after the Third Shinobi War, and judging by the utter shock on both the young rogue shinobi's faces, it's just as bad as he expected, maybe even more so.
"Are you not allowed to use your kekkei genkai?" Naruto asked, not liking the looks on Deidara and Haku's faces.
"No, in the Hidden Mist Village if anyone used their kekkei genkai outside of authorized missions they would be punished... s-severely," Haku answered quietly as he slightly curled in on himself.
"What do you mean by 'severely'? Why do they hate people having a kekkei genkai so much?" the raven-haired genin asked, shocked by the Mist shinobi, as a slight quiver rattled Haku's body and a haunted look filled his expression.
"Don't ask for things you don't want to know, hmph! Haku, my man, you don't have to answer these questions if you don't want to." Deidara suddenly snapped at Sasuke, with a face that was as pale as Haku's and showing a slight sign of panic.
"No, he should know. He also has a kekkei genkai, and it will be important for him, Naruto, and Sakura to know if they intend to be shinobi. He needs to understand that not all villages see bloodline limits the same, and thus people will try to hide it from him, or they will resent him for having one," Haku informed his friend, with a gentle smile, as the former Stone shinobi frowned but gave an understanding nod. Haku turned his attention back to the Leaf shinobi and softly spoke, "In the Land of Water, after the Third Great Shinobi War, people of the villages feared the power of kekkei genkai and what they could do, especially after seeing them kill so many people. Many clans actually hunted down and killed many clans with these abilities, even going as far as slaughtering entire clans as a way to exterminate their abilities."
After taking a steady breath, Haku continued, "However, some survivors were able to go into hiding as they scattered across the nation and started new lives. My mother was one of those few survivors from the Yuki clan. She kept her ice release abilities hidden from everyone, and in time, she married a poor farmer and they had me. We were a poor family, but we were happy, until I noticed I had the power to manipulate water. The excited little kid that I was, I showed my mother what I could do while she was doing the laundry outside. However, instead of being happy about my abilities, she was angry. She became violent and yelled at me not to manipulate water ever again. At the time, I thought she hated me for it, but then she started apologizing profusely for hitting me. Now I understand she was scared, and for good reason. That day, my father and some other men with him saw me using my bloodline limit from a distance. That same day, my father came home with those men and killed my mother. But when they tried to kill me, I was able to use the ice release and ended up killing everyone there in a blind attack to save my own life."
A solemn smile spread on the ice user's paling complexion. "After surviving as an orphan for a couple of months alone, Master Zabuza found me and took me in. He trained me to be a shinobi. Once he recognized my skills with using my kekkei genkai, he warned me not to use my bloodline limit in front of others unless I knew I was completely alone. Master Zabuza always told me that it was dangerous for me to show it."
Haku took a shaky breath, and as he fidgeted with his hands, "The first time I ever showed my bloodline limit, Master Zabuza was gone on a mission, and during a mission with my Anbu team, when I ran out of metal senbons, and in order to protect the members of my team, I used ice ones. However, as thanks for saving them, they reported me to the Mizukage, who had me arrested and punished for using a bloodline limit during an unauthorized mission. I was imprisoned for almost three weeks, with no food and was only given one cup of water every three days. By the time I was released, I couldn't even move. My body was so weak. Master Zabuza had to come into the cell and carry me out. It took a while for me to recover from the ordeal, but that same year we left the Hidden Mist Village.
"What THE HELL!?" Naruto yelled, enraged and unaware that his bright blue eyes had turned slitted in his anger. "WHY!? You saved your teammate, why would they do that to you! You saved them! Then they tortured you for it! Who cares if you have a kekkei genkai!"
"Konoha won the war; other villages had to blame someone for losing, hmph," Deidara growled, with his signature huff at the end.
Obito inwardly winced, knowing all too well how shinobi and civilians alike have to find a scapegoat for their problems, no matter who that person is, what they did beforehand or their current reasoning. Nor do they care about how it affects their families. That's how it was for the White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, and later his young son, Kakashi.
"Did they do the same thing in your village, Deidara?" Sakura asked in a slightly shaky voice, as tears filled her emerald eyes.
"Hmph, it depends on what your kekkei genkai is. For Explosion Release, I know they would sew the mouths on our hands shut with metal wire. Although I was fortunate and never had to experience it," Deidara plainly replied, as he peered down at the palm of his hand. Before grabbing some of his clay and infusing his chakra into it until the grayish-brown clay turned porcelain white, he then put it in his hip pouches. Naruto watched in awe at the change, as Deidara continued with a more upbeat tone, "but Wolf, being the world's best sensei that he is, lets me use my clay to train and use my skills for my art! Any other sensei is subpar to him. He even-"
"You're wrong! Obito-sensei and Iruka-sensei are the best in the world!" Naruto declared, as blue, slitted eyes glaring at the former stone shinobi.
"Hmph, yeah right, kid!" Deidara sneered at the genin sitting across from him, ignoring the grayish-brown clay remaining in the bowl between them. He smugly added, "Besides, Wolf-sensei is still stronger than all you Leaf shinobi combined! Especially your Uchiha-sensei, hmph."
"Obito-sensei could kick that masked guy's butt any day of the week!" Naruto sneered, almost growling as he bared his teeth.
"Pff, you only say that because you've been sheltered too long in your precious Leaf Village," Deidara argued back with a slight sneer, as he stood and stretched for a moment from sitting so long.
"Shut up! You're wrong! Obito-sensei is stronger, and we're not sheltered!" Naruto snarled again, now standing tall, sizing up the rogue shinobi in front of him, who was almost a head taller than the Uzumaki.
"Alright," Haku started, holding his hands up in a calming manner, "let's calm down-"
The upstairs door opened as Zabuza and Wolf made their way down the wooden steps into the cellar. The Mist swordsman yelled, "What the hell is all the commotion about!"
"Obito-sensei is the greatest Sensei!" Naruto yelled again.
Deidara growled, his hot temper showing as he slightly leaned down and yelled at the shorter boy, "You little punk! Just like I said, the world's greatest Sensei is Master Ka-"
"Deidara!" Wolf loudly snapped.
The sudden outburst made the quickly enraged stone shinobi's jaw snap, then after a moment his eyes widened as if realizing what he was about to say. Obito and Iruka exchanged a silent look as they realized that the teen almost said what must have been Wolf's real name. Deidara turned away from Naruto and took a few steps, but the young Uzumaki must have muttered something because the blond teen turned and flipped off the younger blonde, telling him he was nothing more than a little weak leaf. Then he started to make his way to where Wolf was standing.
However, Naruto snarled viciously and swiftly grabbed a handful of watered-down clay leftover in the bowl and hurled it at Deidara's face, who noticed at the last minute and ducked. However, the teen didn't notice that Wolf bent down to his height so he could quietly talk to him, only to get a lump of wet clay smashing into the porcelain mask on his face.
"Sensei!" Deidara exclaimed in shock, with wide blue eyes.
"Uh-oh," Naruto quietly spoke out, knowing he had just done a bad thing but not really understanding why.
"Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura yelled angrily as Sasuke looked stunned and silent, but tensed as if getting ready to jump up if needed.
"Master Wolf, are you all right!" Haku frantically questioned, face pinched with worry.
"Naruto! Have you completely lost goddamn your mind!" Obito shouted, as his Sharingan flared in his uncovered eye, swearing that Naruto had no sense of self-preservation. He told the boy that he should not try to do anything that would piss them off or attack them since he and Iruka currently lacked the strength to defend the three students and themselves. He mentally groaned, knowing that he would have to teach Naruto to control his temper and his emotions.
"I didn't mean to hit him! I just wanted to hit the girly haired jerk! But no, he decided to duck like a freaking coward!" Naruto loudly retorted in defense, while the masked shinobi gently touched his mask where the sloppy, wet clay smeared around the left eye socket.
"Who is calling a girly haired, coward! You little fox face punk! Don't forget I know how much force to put into an explosion that's not lethal, but still makes sitting a very painful experience." Deidara snapped back angrily, glaring at the blonde Leaf shinobi, making the two Leaf Senseis nearly flinch, wondering if these rogue shinobi knew what was sealed within Naruto.
"Bring it on!" The blonde Uzumaki challenged with a vicious, toothy smile, ignoring how the masked shinobi behind Deidara remained unmoving, staring at the clay smeared on his glove.
"Naruto, stop picking fights!" Iruka shouted, sitting up, eyes remaining on the Wolf. He prepared himself to get between his former student and honorary brother and the masked missing-nin that appeared to be having some sort of mental trauma episode.
"ENOUGH!!" Zabuza roared, releasing a large pulse of chakra, making everyone freeze. Naruto and Deidara raised their hands in surrender. Then the Demon of the Mist turned to Wolf, who now had more clarity in his mismatched eyes. "Go. Go wash off your mask. I'm gonna handle things here and meet you topside," he calmly but firmly ordered, assuming that the chakra pulse snapped the masked man back to reality, if not temporarily.
Wolf jerkily nodded, turning around and quickly but steadily walked up the stairs, shutting the door behind him. After a few moments of silence, Zabuza waited to hear the front door of their hideout shut before turning to the kids, giving them a disappointed glare, especially at the two blondes in the group.
"You know, kid. For being the Hokage's son, I would expect you to have more maturity," Zabuza spoke steadily, his tone firm. The statement made all the Leaf shinobi jerk in surprise that the rogue shinobi knew Naruto's identity. Then irritably added, "Oh, come on! Don't act surprised. I mean, look at you, you're spitting images of your father, Minato Namikaze, but you have the attitude of your mother, the Red Hot Habanero, Kushina Uzumaki. It's painfully obvious."
Deidara snickered at Naruto, already knowing that the boy was going to get one hell of a lecture from the Mist shinobi. This only made the rogue Mist shinobi turn to him and add, "Don't, Deidara. You knew you were antagonizing him and look what happened!" Zabuza scolded, making the former Stone shinobi wilt and mutter an apology. Before continuing, "It's one thing to taunt while fighting, but you were antagonizing a child who doesn't see the world the way we do. What point were you trying to make? As far as I could tell, there was no point. It was just a stupid, childish argument."
"So what! Even if my dad is the Hokage! I'm gonna become a strong shinobi, even better than my dad. Then I'll become Hokage through my nindo, my own ninja way!" Naruto argued. As much as he wants to be a strong ninja like his dad, he wants to be his own ninja, his own person.
Zabuza stared at the blonde Leaf shinobi before stating, "Only people who've already been acknowledged can become a Kage. The moment you forget that and try to force your way to the top through brute strength will be the moment that leads to your downfall. Believe me, kid, in this world, the cycle of hatred always continues to spin." Zabuza paused, remembering Wolf's words sometime after fleeing the Mist Village with a still-recovering Haku. While blue, slitted eyes stared at him intently, he remembered how his sensei told him that Zabuza Momochi became a rogue ninja after he failed in his attempt to overthrow the Mizukage. Momochi then continued as he started to turn away, "But if you acknowledge it and accept it, then maybe you'll find a way to break through it. And sometimes to break it, you have to walk away."
"How can you say that? After what they did! How they hurt Haku for protecting his comrades! And then they tossed him aside like he was nothing! Is that really the way of the shinobi? To be a tool and be used, only to be broken and thrown away later... that's so wrong..." Naruto muttered at the end of his outburst, as frustrated tears streamed down his whiskered-marked cheeks.
Zabuza's back was facing the group as he looked over his shoulder at Naruto and gently answered, "Your words cut deep, kid. Deeper than most blades. If you truly want to find your ninja way, then you must ask yourself, what kind of shinobi do you want to be?" Zabuza paused as he looked over his shoulder at the kids, seeing all their solemn expressions, before breaking the depressive tension by walking up the stairs and adding, "Now, I have to go check on Wolf. And, while I'm gone, you kids better find a way to get along with each other, or else I won't be Mister Nice-Guy anymore." Then he left the cellar, closing the door behind him and letting out a deep breath.
The moment the fox kid mentioned Haku's treatment at the Hidden Mist Village, it instantly told him what Haku said to the Leaf shinobi. Zabuza knew he was a monster from the moment he trained the lone orphan boy to be a shinobi. Even though Haku was too kind, too gentle, to be happy and thrive in the life of a shinobi, the opportunity to use Haku for his bloodline trait was too much of a temptation to pass up. Therefore, he made the boy into the perfect weapon: a kunai sharpened and ready to use at his disposal.
However, Zabuza did not expect to eventually grow and care for Haku as if he were his own son or younger brother. When he came back from his mission to find Haku in the prison cell, barely clinging to life, he decided from then on that he would break his own cycle of power and hate, and redeem himself and hopefully redeem Hidden Mist as well. Somehow, he will. For now though, the only thing he can do is find his humanity and take care of this ragtag team that he now knows as family, even while the others are still on their own missions around the elemental nations.
He quickly left the small wooden cabin that was surrounded by trees and covered by the forest's overgrowth, not even halting his stride as he walked through the A-rank barrier that concealed all presence of the cabin and portrayed it as nothing more than part of the tree grove. All he could think about were the memories flashing to the forefront of his mind, the emotions of those moments, the fear, the pain, and the desperate need to escape.
His pace quickened as he neared the small freshwater stream; it looked peaceful. Water shimmered as the soft current reflected the sunlight from the sun shining overhead in the clear blue sky, as small fish glided through the flow of water and dragonflies skimmed along the water's surface and rested on leaves of weeds growing along the shoreline.
He immediately dropped to his knees once he reached the shore, uncaring how his knees sank slightly into the brisk water. All the while, he looked at his gloved hands that were covered in clay slurry. He knew it was watered-down clay, but his eyes only saw the wet clay as blood instead. He winced at the thick red substance soiling his gloves, as if spreading, as he quickly remembered these gloves, almost ripping them in the process, and started washing them in the cold water.
"That's cute, boy," a deep, menacing voice rang in his ear, stopping his breath for a moment. It was so achingly familiar that it made his body shiver, and his breath only sped up. It was so close, as if it were looming right next to his ear. However, he couldn't feel the hot breath or a hand on his neck like he did years ago before he escaped. He could hear the amusement in the voice as it chuckled, adding, "You really think with just a little bit of water, you can wash the blood that stained your hands?"
"Shut up, you're not here. You're not real," he whispered, almost pleading. His mind flashed to the silhouette of a man standing behind the bruised and beaten body of a woman whose body shook with agony. Her ragged clothes were torn and bloody, and her dirty blonde hair covered the majority of her face as it sprawled against the filthy cobblestone flooring. His heart hammered in his chest as he immediately recognized the woman, Sanyu. She was the closest thing to a mother he ever had, and she protected him as if he was her own son, no matter how much pain it cost her. The memory of her lying on her left side with her left palm facing upwards. He could still remember how badly the inside of her hands were burned with thick metal wire, sewing the mouth on her palm shut. "No. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he muttered brokenly, remembering what happened when they were taken back to their cell.
Now looking at his clean hands, it felt like the voice began to dissipate in the distance, but the slight trembling of his hands had yet to cease, as he carefully tossed his soaked clean gloves onto the dry grass on shore. His breathing was still shaky as he removed his wolf mask and looked at the blood, no, clay, partly dried on the front of the mask, before plunging into the cold water.
While washing the clay from the mask, he could see the translucent, scarred hands of Sanyu holding the mask out to him as she lay propped up in her bed. "Here, now when you're running around out there, you can wear this," her voice soft from her weakening health.
"A wolf mask?" He remembered saying he gently took the mask, studying it in his smaller yet still scarred hands.
The dull blonde-haired woman chuckled as a kind smile stretched across pale, rosy lips on her already paling skin. Her right hand, scarred by burns but free from wires, slowly and shakily reached and cupped his left cheek. Even after all this time, he could still remember the feeling-the way her thumb crested along the cloth mask line just below his cheekbone, near his scarred eye. Plus, the way her umber eye sparkled as she spoke in a happy but exhausted tone, "It's not just a mask; it's made out of a durable porcelain clay that is reinforced with chakra. It may not be as strong as a diamond, but it will definitely take a lot of force for it to crack, let alone break. And with how reckless you tend to be, you might need something to protect that head of yours."
He studied the wolf mask again; it was a comfortable weight. Not too heavy, but not so light that it felt like it would just fly off at the slightest breeze. The mask's base was light gray with red diamond markings on its forehead, a red outline around its eye sockets, and a long, slight curve from the top of the eye opening to the curve of the wolf mask's muzzle. It was completed with a small, thin red line, emphasizing the slight curve of the mask's muzzle. Then he looked at the frail woman, his eyes crinkling with a smile, and spoke sincerely, "I see, thank you."
Sanyu's smile widened for a long, steady moment before lecturing him, "I may not have borne you, but you are the closest thing to a son I have ever had, and I want you to be safe." Then her translucent face held a calm expression as it faded away, leaving him remembering her words as he stared at the now clean, dripping mask in his slightly shaky grip, "I won't be in this world for much longer, so I want you to have this with you. So I can help protect you, whether you have this mask on your face or carry it on your person. I will always be with you. Do you understand-"
"Kakashi?"
Everyone was silent after Zabuza left. Obito couldn't help but feel a small sense of relief growing inside him. He hadn't been aware of how worried he was when he saw the wolf-masked shinobi starting to have what could have been a PTSD episode. If his episodes were anything like his own, he could have become agitated or even possibly violent, and there's no way he would have been able to defend his students, Iruka, or the other two young teens in the room with them.
The Uchiha looked over at the Academy sensei, whose shoulders were shaking and teeth clenched so tight that he could hear the Umino's teeth strain under the pressure. Then the man stood up and steadily walked to the two blonde boys. A concerned Haku looked like he was about to intervene before Sasuke lightly grabbed his arm, giving the ice user a quick shake of his head before motioning him to watch what was going to happen. When reaching the two boys who started glaring at each other again, Iruka quickly grabbed Naruto's right ear in his right hand, who yelped like a fox at the sudden grab of his ear. While at the same time, without hesitating, Iruka's left hand grabbed onto Deidara's left ear, who shrieked in surprise as he grabbed onto the injured man's wrist.
"Haku, my man! Help me, this guy's finally snapped! He's lost it! Save me!" Deidara dramatically whined as the chūnin dragged him and Naruto back to the clay mess on the floor. Before letting go of their ears, making both blondes kneel on the stone floor, rubbing their painful earlobes.
"What were you thinking? You should know better than to act like that! Both of you!" Iruka shouted, anger fueling his disappointment and tone. Then he turned to the young Uzumaki, "Naruto, I understand that hearing about what happens to people with bloodline limits outside the Leaf village made you upset and angry. However, you completely lost control of your emotions and allowed yourself to attack Deidara. Whether verbally or physically, Deidara was not trying to insult Obito or myself. He was referring to his own experiences with Wolf. There was no reason to become so aggressive over something that wasn't even important to fight over. Naruto, everyone has their own perspectives on other people; do not force someone to change theirs to yours." The academy Sensei's disappointed tone made Naruto look down apologetically. He didn't mean for his temper to get so out of control, but he was just so angry at what other villagers were doing to their own people. So confused and frustrated, he just couldn't help it. Then Iruka turned to Deidara, who was cradling his sore ear. "Deidara, you knew Naruto was acting out on emotion. And yet, you only instigated it! Instead of correcting Naruto, informing him that your words were nothing against his comrades, you decided to antagonize him, to the point where he lashed out-"
"Hmph, what are you talking about? I didn't even do anything wrong, hmph! As you already said, I was giving my opinion on my sensei, and how he doesn't care if I could actually use my art in fights and training! If you didn't want to hear anything, then you should just shut up and walk away, yeah!" The young former Stone shinobi declared in his defense.
"But Iruka-sensei, he started it and was claiming that that masked guy is stronger than you and Obito-sensei!" Naruto tried to defend his actions despite the apologetic tone in his loud voice.
"Both of you were wrong. You allowed your emotions and anger to rule your actions! Now look what happened! Deidara, you knew your sensei had PTSD, and that there was a high chance that whatever happened to that mask could be a possible trigger object for him," Iruka countered, as the blonde teen's blue eyes widened with a devastated expression. "Naruto, because you lost your temper and threw that clay, you hit one of the rogue ninja who has done nothing but been kind to you and answered your questions. Was that really what he deserved for his kindness and acknowledgment!" Iruka continued, giving the blonde Uzumaki a hard stare, making the boy shrink in shame. Then, taking a deep breath, Iruka continued, "Now, what you two are going to do is apologize to each other, and then to Wolf when he gets back. And, you're going to clean up this mess on the floor, and if you two start fighting again, I'll give you the punishment I give out to my most troublesome students. I'm sure you remember what that lesson is, right, Naruto?"
Naruto let out a scared "eep" as he nodded frantically, while the other blond pouted and nodded solemnly, looking at the ground.
Then Deidara let out a heavy sigh as he turned to the other blonde and begrudgingly spoke in an apologetic tone, "Sorry for insulting your sensei and village, hmph. I have nothing against your village or its people. I just don't like it when people insult the ones I care about. So, we're square now, yeah?" while holding his hand out to the Uzumaki.
"Sorry for lashing out, and for calling you a 'girly-haired coward,' and for throwing your clay at you," Naruto looked down, grumbling as he listed off in an apologetic tone of his own. He paused for a moment, then looked at Deidara with a wide, toothy grin and added, "We're square!" Before reaching out to Deidara's hand, he paused again and asked in a slightly disturbed tone, "That thing's not going to lick me, right?"
Deidara laughed loudly as Haku chuckled along with Sasuke and Sakura. Obito and Iruka grinned at Naruto's question, as the blonde genin stared at the closed mouth in the palm of the fifteen-year-old stone shinobi's hand with hesitation and a nervous grin.
"Hmph, no. I don't do that. That's just gross," Deidara replied with a small but sincere smile. Before, Naruto took his hand and gave it a firm but friendly shake.
Iruka smiled, knowing his work was done as he watched the two blondes clean the floor with some rags that Deidara unsealed from a scroll before making his way back to Obito's side and allowing a small hiss to escape him as he sat next to the injured Uchiha. The Umino remembered that the Wolf told him about his muscles being sore from the type of poison that was used on him, plus the injuries he received. However, he just didn't think he'd be sore this long after the fight with Gato's men. The Uchiha-sensei looked at the academy teacher as if asking if he was okay. Iruka nodded with a relieved smile as he watched the two hot-tempered boys talk about their favorite types of food stands, while Haku, Sasuke, and Sakura went back to their shoji game. As he watched the students, he couldn't help but think that even though they weren't in the best situation, he was happy that all of them were safe and sound, even if only for this moment.
Zabuza strolled up to the stream where his friend was still kneeling. The hood of his black hoodie was down, and his back was mostly to him as he stepped closer, making sure they could be heard through the forest foliage as he neared the stream's shore, careful to avoid stepping on the now clean, claw-tipped gloves. The Momochi watched his friend's silver hair sway slightly in the gentle breeze while they continued to stare at the now clean wolf mask, cradled in his hands.
He waited a moment on the stream's shore before calling out, "Kakashi?"
There was no response, no sign of recognition or acknowledgment that the silver-haired man even heard him. He tried again a little louder this time, but still in a calm tone. Still no reaction from the man still kneeling in the stream. Zabuza let a few minutes pass, seeing if Kakashi could get himself out of whatever episode he was in.
However, after a few minutes, he then tried again a bit louder this time, "Hey, Kakashi!"
The masked shinobi flinched before quickly spinning around into a defensive crouched position, a kunai in his hand. His expression immediately softened into surprise, and he lowered the weapon as he responded, "Huh? Uh, sorry, did you say something?"
Zabuza raised an eyebrow for a moment before casually crossing his arms and calmly replying, "Yeah, I've been calling for you the past five minutes." The Demon of the Mist paused, studying the shinobi before him. Then he softly asked, "Are you all right, Kakashi?"
Kakashi steps out of the stream and onto the shore, putting his kunai away before turning to face Zabuza, with slightly creased mismatched eyes and a slight smile under his cloth face mask, and lets out a deep breath as he answers, "Yeah, I'm alright. Just a little lost in thought."
Suddenly, a white rabbit wearing a thin brown harness and scroll came out of the bushes and obediently stopped right at their feet. The two men looked at the rabbit before Zabuza bent down and grabbed the scroll that was securely attached to the back of the snow rabbit's harness. Kakashi picked up his slightly damp gloves and pulled his hood back on as the former mist shinobi read the scroll's contents.
"Well?" Kakashi spoke, shaking the remaining water droplets off his wolf mask.
"Well, it looks like we got a response. A team will be there in seven days at the designated location," Zabuza replied, slightly relieved that they were going to have the Leaf shinobi out of their care soon. He didn't like the idea of having two Uchihas and the Leaf's jinchuriki staying with them long-term. Having a team of Konoha shinobi like that in their possession for too long was going to raise questions and cause more unnecessary trouble for them.
"Well, we better get on our way if we want to be there in time to secure the location before their arrival," Kakashi added, as he slipped the porcelain clay wolf mask back into place, and gently picked up Haku's rabbit summoning, carrying it back to the hideout with Zabuza one step behind.