He just needed an opportunity.
"A spiral?" asked Zabuza.
"The place where the Demon Brothers were left bore an area where the same spiral was engraved in the dirt," said Haku. "I believe it was left behind by one of the Brothers in fact."
"Did it look like this?" asked Zabuza, using one finger to mark a pattern in the dirt.
"Yes, that's it," confirmed Haku.
"An Uzumaki," said Zabuza. "What do you know about them?"
"The family Uzumaki was all but wiped out, branch families scattered everywhere and in hiding," said Haku. "The family was a noble clan of the Whirlpool village - notable especially for their fuuinjutsu and for their particular behavior. Allies were benefitted, enemies met very long and painful ends. On spotting an Uzumaki, standard protocol is to retreat."
"So there's an Uzumaki in the group," mused Zabuza. "What else?"
Zabuza listened to Haku's findings, nodding once at the end to acknowledge Haku's thoroughness. "I have to check our contract."
"Zabuza-sama?" asked Haku.
"You've marked a genin team, but it includes an Uzumaki and some girl wearing training weights. Heavy enough that even with these dry conditions she's leaving signs of how much weight she's carrying. Plus some kid who is there and not there. You're right, the last genin is probably their 'dead last' - I've heard of this practice of Konohagakure. They stick their best two genin candidates with their most deadweight. Supposedly the three working together then balance out down the road or some other rubbish. Hmmm. Or maybe the Uzumaki is the girl wearing weights and not the kid who vanishes. I've never heard of a surveillance jutsu like you described, but it was an electrical discharge when you disrupted it?"
"Yes, Zabuza-sama," said Haku. "It definitely was a Lightning technique of some kind."
"I see," said Zabuza. "Yes. I'll have to check the contract. It's standard to have an Uzumaki Escape Clause - I'll just make sure it's there."
"If it is?" asked Haku.
"If it is, we'll pull up and go elsewhere. Gato isn't paying enough for facing ONE Uzumaki. We might have two here," said Zabuza.
"What if it is not in there, then?" asked Haku.
"Then we'll have to face them," said Zabuza thoughtfully. "We'll go with you in reserve with our standard Plan B. I'll face them to try and take them down quickly. Their dead last student will be the weakest link. If we manage to defeat the Uzumaki and the kunoichi and the jonin - we can avoid killing them all."
"I understand, Zabuza-sama," acknowledged Haku. He didn't WANT to kill, but it looked as if it might be necessary.
"A little chilly," commented Kakashi as the wind came off the shore.
"Tends to be at this time of year, air's cool, water's warmer," said Tazuna, pointing off in one direction. "There's a warm water current that comes up from the South. A colder water current meets it a little bit offshore."
"So the fog might be natural," said Kakashi.
"Almost certainly," agreed Tazuna. "But the materials should still get there in time, the equipment is ready, and the boat is down there."
"Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto. "Do you want me to fly above the fog?"
"How much weight can you carry?" asked Kakashi.
"Well, I dunno, I got to have one hand on Mjolnir," said Naruto. "If I'm going to go fast. Otherwise I'm looking at maybe eighty kay-pee-atch tops."
"What if the weight in question could hold on?" asked Kakashi, looking directly at Sakura.
"ME?!" asked Sakura. "Why not be in the boat with Sasuke?"
"Because, judging from the tracks you leave," said Kakashi, pointing at a footprint. "You weigh over twice what Sasuke does."
"That's..." Sakura considered the footprint and then the boat.
"Sakura, can you swim in that body?" asked Kakashi.
Sakura was silent in reply.
"So Sasuke and I will travel with Tazuna and this nice young guide by boat," said Kakashi. "Along with Kurochan."
"I was wondering why you've been so quiet," said Sakura, turning towards the cat.
"Hello?" whispered Kurochan, barely loud enough to carry to the ninja next to her. "Ninja? Hidden villages? Operating in the shadows? Not putting all your cards on the table?"
"Oh," said Sakura.
"And she's supposed to be the smart one," muttered the cat before noticing the Guide was looking in their direction. "Meow."
The door slowly creaked open, and the first thing she noticed was the smell.
Naruto's apartment smelled of... ramen. How completely and utterly unexpected.
It also smelled faintly of clean soil and forest.
A window planter had been set up, and two vases in one corner held scraggly-looking evergreens of some sort in them.
[Intruder Detected. Analyzing.]
She blinked and looked to the side. Apparently Naruto had added something since finding the collapsed Sakura-doll in his apartment.
[Identified. Hinata Hyuga. Presence Is Authorized. Standing Down.]
"Byakugan," said Hinata, turning on her bloodline. There it was. A long spindly crystal suspended between two orbs of similar crystal hovering in place in the space between the two planters.
"Uhm, hello," said Hinata, dropping the Byakugan. "I'm here to water his plants."
The crystalline alarm device didn't respond to that, apparently having no problem with her activities.
"Before we go," said Naruto, unrolling a scroll. "Here."
The ninja, the Guide, Kurochan, and Tazuna all watched as Naruto released the contents of the storage scroll.
"I picked up something for Sasuke and Sakura while I was at the hospital following that one mission," said Naruto. "I was just saving it for a special occasion. Unfortunately, we're going to be separated and it's getting dangerous."
"So what did you get me?" asked Sakura, who hadn't had the chance to go shopping.
"What I got you originally was a shield device, but I sent that back and got a repair kit instead," ignoring the way Sakura's expression went through several changes on that.
Sasuke tried to look uninterested and distant. He didn't even fool the boatman/guide.
Naruto held up Sasuke's gift, which was:
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(Posted Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:21)
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