So Kiba well knew that Whatever-That-Was that Naruto had summoned and set out in the water - it was there just offshore.
He'd gotten whiffs of it every so often - most notably when that boat of mercenaries had been made to vanish. Old. Metal and blood and pain and other things he couldn't quite identify. Something of the smells he could get from the kitchens of a sushi place.
When Naruto and Kakashi went to "ready" stances - the one direction he did NOT consider for a new source of danger was from the water. He wasn't SCARED of anything out there. He just wasn't going near it if he could help it.
"Duck!" called out Kakashi just as Kiba could hear something big spinning towards them. Naturally he ducked and had the presence of mind to pull the client down with him.
Odd though. The sword thunked into the tree and there was another thunk at almost exactly the same time.
"So - a mama duck and some baby ducks," said the large guy on the sword.
"Kakashi-san?" asked Naruto, indicating the guy on the sword. "Enemy?"
"Zabuza Momochi," said Kakashi. "Missing-nin from Kiri. One of the Seven Swordsman Of The Mist. He's mine. This is beyond-"
Naruto made a handseal. The tree behind Zabuza exploded.
Sasuke had ducked down, tugging Sakura with him when the sword went overhead.
Then he'd seen Naruto retracting his arm and realized that Naruto had thrown something as they'd both dropped.
When the tree blew up behind Zabuza, Naruto having made a handseal, Sasuke realized that an explosive tag had just been triggered.
He certainly didn't want to be left behind and so readied his own kunai, tagging two of the three with explosive notes.
The Zabuza that fell to the ground turned out to be some sort of clone technique using water.
Killing intent filled the air, thick and heavy, bringing memories of That Night forward.
It was sundered a moment later.
This wasn't Killing Intent as ninja used though.
This was a Hunger.
"What the-" began Zabuza, clearly off his usual game.
Kakashi stood ready but mostly relaxed. Because Zabuza Momochi was standing on the water and Kakashi himself was standing on dry land. Kakashi just wished he had a camera.
"Just to be clear," said Naruto. "That's an enemy?"
"Right," said Kakashi. "Enemy."
Zabuza's voice had trailed off earlier as he'd felt the pulse of not-quite-killing-intent. He'd looked around. Now, with a considerable feeling of regret - he looked down. As he WAS an S-Rank Assassin - he reacted instantly.
That he screamed like a little girl would be entirely depending on who was telling the story afterwards.
Zabuza leapt up, making a truly spectacular leap worthy of his rank and skill. He even brought his sword around in a blocking maneuver.
Sasuke's eyes burned as the water exploded outwards. It would only be later that he'd realized that his Sharingan had spontaneously manifested.
Thud!
And that their client had just passed out.
It was weird. It was horrible and terrible but it was less scary when she could actually see something of it.
It combined mechanical parts that looked a bit off. Tentacles from a central body that looked like of like a serpent except for the tentacles all ending in shark mouths or glassy orbs that were firing off colored beams of light that lit the mist up.
Fleshy tubes extended harpoon-like hooked blades that glistened with some sort of mucus.
There were eyes too. And a big mouth down there that had little feeder tentacles that ended in hooks and barbs.
No, on second thought, it was still pretty damn scary when she COULD see what it was.
She could tell that there was more to the creature. This was more like a third of it. Yeah, she was pretty much content with that much of it. Didn't need to see more. Nope.
"I surrender!" stated Zabuza, just before the slicing and dicing and burning and feeding could begin. He had been plucked in mid-leap as easily as if he were a falling apple.
Things went completely silent and still.
"Why should I accept?" asked Kakashi.
"I have intel on Kiri, local missing-nin, and Gato," said Zabuza. He was well aware, thank you, that there were mouths with very sharp teeth latched onto him and that one of those laser-firing tentacles was about to slice off his head.
"Oh," said Kakashi, managing to sound completely uninterested. "Still..."
"I also have an apprentice. He has Ice Release. We want to join Konohagakure." Zabuza looked into the water roiling down beneath him with a certain fascination. Almost intrigued-sounding.
"Hmmm," said Kakashi. He wasn't sure how long he could stretch this out, but he had a few questions. "Why would you want to join Konohagakure? I'm pretty sure you could have done that earlier in your career."
"You have a laser-shark-topus," pointed out Zabuza. "I've always wanted to ride a laser-shark-topus into battle, terrorizing my enemies before they were violated in all sorts of unnatural ways. Kind of a dream of mine."
"You have very strange dreams, Zabuza Momochi," said Kakashi with a sigh. Couldn't hold that against him, and the intel might be dated but would be of value. "Very well. If our watery friend is amenable, I will accept your surrender."
"I'll be sure to give you an appropriate other choice for a meal," stated Naruto to the creature who had now mostly submerged under the water.
Slowly the missing-nin was placed on the ground and the thing retreated under the waters.
"Be sure you do, human child."
Sakura thumped to the ground, the sudden release of tension finding her knees had just decided to temporarily suspend operations.
"I'll have to send a messenger bird back to Konoha," said Kakashi.
"So, this Gato is an enemy?" asked Naruto. "Does he have a ship?"
"Tazuna-san, something strange has happened!"
Tazuna put down the cup of tea and didn't even look at the workman. "Gato and his 47 mercenaries were lured onto a ship last night and tonight there's no trace of any of them."
"You knew?" asked the workman.
"I'm going to finish my bridge," said Tazuna. "And then I'm never going to use a boat again."
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(Posted Thu, 19 Mar 2015 16:47)
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