Rolling Waves

They had only just lost sight of the village's gates and Adrik could already tell his team was getting bored. Naruto had already looked over his supplies twelve times. Sakura...well, she actually didn't seem to be very bored, Sasuke's brooding was apparently enough entertainment for her. Kakashi was occasionally letting out a perverted giggle. Adrik himself had occasionally been peeking into the little orange book so he could at least feel productive.

"Hey, mister Tazuna, is it alright if I ask you about Wave country?"

"Shoot for it, kid"

The team listened in on Sakura and Tazuna's conversation. Even Sasuke was paying attention, though he showed no interest outwardly.

"What made you ask the Leaf for help? Isn't there a ninja village in your country?"

"Would've been a helluva lot easier for us if we did. But, no, we don't have a hidden village. Country's still kinda new compared to others, so funds aren't at that level yet. Good plan for the future, though."

Sakura grinned and nodded, going on to ask the old man some more questions to pass the time.

X

Adrik looked back to the road, his "smoke field", as he had taken to calling it, had picked something up. The sensory technique was him letting out a breath of smoke every few minutes, using the miniscule particulates to scan his surroundings. He had based it off of Naruto's shadow clones, specifically its scouting ability. The wisps of smoke had a small radius in which anything "unnatural" could be detected. Unlike the shadow clones, the memory transfer wasn't activated via dispelling and returning the energy to the user, it instantly transferred information back to him. It could only cover a small area at a time, but Adrik was looking into making a more effective 360° sensory field with him being in the center.

It seems that the "unnatural" occurrence was a puddle on the side of the path they were walking on, a good hundred or so meters away. Adrik thought for a few seconds before he attempted to let his team know something was wrong.

"Hey, Kakashi sensei?"

"Hm? What is it, kid?"

"Say... There wouldn't happen to be a pond or a stream nearby, would there? I kinda forgot to fill my canteen before we left."

Adrik saw a flash of understanding in Kakashi's eyes, hopefully meaning the man knew what he was getting at. The puddle was now only 15 meters away. The other three genin looked at Adrik in confusion, wondering how he could forget something so simple but so important.

"Hm. None that I know of, no. You'll have to make do with some rain water. Just be careful where you get it from. We don't want you catching a disease on this mission."

The other three genin looked at the two like they were idiots. They didn't know what Kakashi and Adrik were getting at. It hadn't rained in a month, so there wouldn't be any rain water. Even so, drinking rain water was a no-go for ninjas. They all turned back to the road, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke glancing back at Kakashi and Adrik as they saw a puddle. The two just nodded as they tensed up. Moments passed as they walked next to the puddle.

"Ah, there's some rain water. I'll just fill it to halfway then we can get going again."

Before Adrik could crouch down, two ninja jumped out of the puddle, each wearing a clawed gauntlet that connected to the other's via a sharp chain. Adrik ducked down into a low crouch, the chain slicing through where his head used to be. His eyes widened as the two enemies didn't even stop, heading straight for his team.

The two ninja wrapped Kakashi in the chain and pulled, completely ripping the man to shreds as everyone watched.

"One down."

The two Shinobi spoke in unison, immediately charging in the middle of the remaining genin. Their eyes widened slightly as they were pulled back by something holding onto the chain. A smokey black chain that looked like the enemies' was wrapped around their own, keeping them from getting any further. The man on the left was punched by Naruto, using a shadow clone to boost him forward more. The other man disengaged the chain to dodge a few kunai sent at him by Sasuke.

Adrik ran up behind the one with the chain still attached, slamming a smoke covered fist into his back. The man was sent flying a few feet, landing before he could hit a tree. To the man's surprise, he was yanked forward by what appeared to be a burnt rope, only to be sent into the land of the unconsciousness when Naruto stopped his movement with a punch to the face.

The other man saw as his ally was taken out, expertly hiding his worry at the possibility of failing his mission. He shook his head as he narrowly avoided Sasuke's fireball. His sleeve was slightly singed, though.

"Water Style: Water Bullet!"

A few small orbs of water shot from the man's covered mouth, forcing Sasuke to step back and dodge them. Before he could do anything else, he saw a volley of shuriken inches away from his face. He ducked just in time to get kneed in the face, getting knocked out as soon as he hit the ground.

"Good job, my little genin. Use some ninja wire to tie them up to a tree."

Kakashi calmly walked out from behind a tree, face still buried in his book. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura looked relieved while Adrik just nodded towards him.

"Kakashi sensei! Oh man, we thought you actually died there!"

Naruto was the one to speak his mind, looking back to his sensei's "remains" only to see a destroyed log in the ground.

"Sorry for the little test there. Even with so little time to prepare, you four did great. Now, Tazuna, is there any reason why two missing ninja from the Mist were after you? And don't try to play dumb, they would've ignored my team if they didn't stop them in time."

The five ninja looked at the old man who had begun sweating. Sasuke tossed some wire to Adrik who was carrying the one he and Naruto had beaten.

"Demon Brothers of the Mist, by the way. I'll make sure you four get rewarded for their bounties. Anyways, you'd better start talking before we drop this mission. Bandits could be expected, but enemy ninja weren't part of the mission details."

The old man sighed as he relented.

"Y-Yeah they were after me. They were hired by a man named Gato."

"The shipping magnate? Why would a man like him hire missing ninja to kill you?"

"It's because of the bridge I'm building. Right now, there isn't any way to get into the village except by boat. He's scared of losing his iron grip over the people due to connections to the mainland. Since I'm leading the construction team for it, he sees me as a threat. That's why I lied about the mission. Gato has effectively drained the country dry, so it took the efforts of most of the people to barely afford a C-Rank mission. Trust me, we would've given all we had and made it an S-Rank if it meant we'd be free from the bastard."

Team 7 listened to the man's story with a bit of shock, sadness, and even anger at the thought of one man being so cruel to innocent people.

"Even so, my team isn't ready for what Gato will throw at us next. He'd send a jonin after seeing how the Demon Brothers failed. I have a feeling that it wouldn't just be any jonin either. We're way in over our heads. Team, we're going back to the village."

At the shouts of protest, Kakashi had to plug his ears. Naruto and Sakura were the ones being vocal while Sasuke just glared at the floor. Adrik, though, looked thoughtful.

"Adrik. Something you wanna tell us?"

Adrik nodded before looking back at Tazuna.

"The Hokage's very understanding. I'm sure you can work out a deal with him to protect you from Gato. Hell, he could probably send an assassination specialist to get in and get out without any risk. Even so, I don't think we should go back. Tazuna is running on his people's time just getting back to his country. If we let Tazuna go alone, he'll most certainly be killed. I don't like the thought of the Leaf letting a country be destroyed while we could do something about it."

"Yeah! Besides, us four could handle anything that bastard could throw at us! Besides, you're a jonin, sensei! We've got this!"

Naruto shouted his agreement with his teammate, Sasuke and Sakura nodding along, though Sakura looked nervous. Kakashi sighed deeply before shaking his head.

"Fine. But you'll owe us the pay of an A-Rank mission for this once you get back on your feet."

The genin smiled. They would definitely complete this mission. They didn't want their first C-Rank mission to end in failure, even if it was due to false information.

X

The team had made it to the shore, waiting for a boat to take them across to the island. A thin layer of fog could be seen off in the distance. The team and Tazuna were alerted to their new ride as the sound of a boat engine reached them. A man on a small boat rode up to them, stopping just as fast as he arrived.

"I hope you five know what you're in for. We've got some time before the fog fades. We'll use that to cover us. Hop in."

Everyone nodded as they hopped in the boat, barely having enough room for them all. The driver immediately began to drive off into the open water the moment they all got on.

"Alright, team. We'll have to be more silent once we reach the island. We don't know who or what will be after us, so be alert at all times, even after we make it to a safe place."

The four genin nodded silently. They would have to get used to silent missions eventually, best to go ahead and get some experience. They silently gasped as a huge bridge came into sight, the fog not hiding it in the slightest. They all looked back at the driver in confusion as he turned off the engine and began rowing.

"Engine's loud, don't want Gato's men to find us."

The man whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear. Adrik was having trouble with his smoke field. The smoke would mix in with the water in the air and fall back into the body of water, making him unable to move it more than a few inches off the surface. He had to constantly let out puffs of smoke from his mouth to keep it active.

The driver rowed to a stop at the shoreline of the Land of Waves, letting everyone out silently.

"Good luck, Tazuna. The people of Wave are counting on you."

The bridge builder nodded his thanks as they headed off.

X

A half hour of walking later and the team was nearing another smaller bridge. Right before they could step on it, however, Naruto sent a kunai flying into the bushes.

"Adrik, smoke field."

Adrik nodded as he moved his smoke field into where he saw the kunai go. After a few seconds of searching, he found a white rabbit scampering off with a suspicious lack of hair on the top of its head.

"It's a snow white rabbit. Sensei?"

Kakashi nodded towards his student.

"It's not the time of the year for that color of fur. Don't let your guard- GET DOWN!!"

Kakashi yelled his order as he dragged Tazuna and Sakura to the floor. Sasuke, Naruto, and Adrik ducked in time to avoid getting severed in half by a giant sword. When they all looked back up, they saw a man standing on it as it got stuck in the trunk of a tree.

"Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Mist. What a surprise for you to grace us with your ugly mug."

The man, Zabuza, laughed as he hopped down and pulled out his sword. The man had short black hair that hanged over to the right, his headband facing his left. Bandages covered from the bridge of his nose to halfway down his neck. He wore a strap for his sword in place of his shirt and light blue baggy pants. He had on matching pairs of brown and white camo arm and leg warmers along with his blue sandals. Adrik caught the fact that his Mist headband had a slash mark through it, signifying his rogue status.

"Kakashi Hatake, what a surprise. Didn't expect the Copy Ninja to be the one guarding the old man. No wonder those two dumbasses lost. Anyways, let's talk trades."

Everyone tensed as they felt the air grow heavy.

"I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you five...five? Yes, I'll let you five live as long as you leave the old man. Sound good?"

"Tempting, but my team isn't exactly keen on having their first C-Rank end in failure."

All four genin gained a look of determination that impressed the rogue ninja. That look was shot down from most of them as Killing Intent flooded the area. The genin had looks of horror on their faces as the fog grew denser, obscuring their vision. Thinking fast, Adrik slapped a smoking hand on Kakashi's kunai to coat it in ash. The two nodded at each other as Adrik reach out to reassure his teammates.

"Don't worry. Kakashi sensei won't let anything happen to us. Keep your guards up, we've got this."

The other three nodded nervously as the continued to look around.

"Heh. It really is a wonder to see how just a few words can shape someone up so fast. Sorry to cut the moment short, though."

Before anyone could blink, Zabuza's giant sword was headed for Tazuna. In a flash, Kakashi was behind the man with a kunai in his ribs. Zabuza gasped before turning into water that fell to the ground.

"Behind you, Sensei!"

Before Naruto could even get his words out, Zabuza's sword had already cleaved clean through his sensei. His sensei that became a puddle of water just like Zabuza did.

"Hm. So you copied my jutsu even with the fog obstructing your vision. That damned eye of yours really is impressive-"

Zabuza was cut off as he dispersed into water once again, Kakashi swinging his kunai at his neck. The mist cleared slightly, revealing Zabuza at the edge of the bridge with his arms crossed. He jumped back and onto the water, taunting Kakashi as he went.

"Stand back and protect the bridge builder. I'll end this as soon as I can."

Kakashi gave his orders as he jumped onto the water. His eyes immediately widened as the water felt heavy. It was heavy enough that he felt like he barely needed any chakra to stand on it. Before Kakashi could remedy his mistake, he was trapped in a ball of water.

"Water Style: Water Prison!"

Kakashi had been trapped by Zabuza who had one hand on the orb of water. With his other hand, he made a sign. A water clone appeared next to him and jumped back up on the bridge, stalking towards the genin.

"Well well, little genin. People would say it's sad you had to die here just because you were too stubborn to let an old guy die. Honestly, I could care less if you had actually left him. I did this little thing called a lie when I said I'd let you go."

Adrik raised his fists in defense, standing ahead of the other three.

"Ah, how cute. A little boy playing hero. What a brave soul. Whatever they teach in the Leaf, they shoulda given me some of that. Now I've gotta end the lives of four little kids before they can even start their career."

"We're genin of the Leaf Village, dammit! Don't you dare underestimate us!"

At that, the real Zabuza burst out laughing at Naruto.

"It's funny that you think you're even worth that title! Get some blood on your hands, bathe in it if you have to! That's the only way I'll ever call you a ninja! Right now, you're just some brats who don't know anything about how this world works!"

The man calmed his laughter as Kakashi spoke up, somehow able to speak loud and clear.

"Don't worry about me! You three take Tazuna and run! His water clone can only go so far before it dispells! Go while he's stuck holding me here!"

"Alright brats, story time! Once upon a time in the Mist Village, there was a small little boy no older than you four. He wanted to be a strong ninja when he grew up. So he killed every single one of his classmates to show them who was the strongest! The end."

The genin looked on in horror, still keeping their eyes on the water clone.

"In Mist, the graduation exam cut the number of genin hopefuls in half. It was a one on one match, last one alive. In Zabuza's graduating year, he killed each and every one of the other students. He was the only one to graduate."

Zabuza followed up on Kakashi's explanation with a laugh.

"Ah, too bad they changed it, though! I'd do it all over again just to see their faces! So, there you have it. Zabuza Momochi, the man who killed to become a ninja. Do you get it now? None of you will ever claim the title of ninja without getting your hands dirty."

Zabuza looked back up and saw his water clone dispelled in a blur of motion.

"Hm? Looks like one of you is actually halfway decent. Let's see... Couldn't be pinky, she's been quivering this whole time. Duck ass is too far away, the clown in orange has been standing there with his eyes on me this whole time...which leaves you."

Zabuza pointed his sword at Adrik, whose long, spikey hair shadowed his eyes. The man laughed when he noticed the boy shaking. He stopped and looked on curiously as he saw black smoke beginning to rise from his form.

Zabuza's eyes widened as the boy turned his head to look at him. The boy's eyes were widened, the irises shrinking to half their original size. His eyes had changed in color. A bronze ring surrounded a pitch black center, small embers flickering violently throughout them.

Smoke billowed from the corners of Adrik's mouth, a strange silhouette forming behind him out of the black cloud.

The silhouette had revealed itself slowly. It was some sort of canine or something similar, completely black in color with solid, glowing yellow eyes, a short snout, teeth like points of molten steel, grinning maniacally, a pitch black void being its mouth, ashes leaking from its maw as it cackled madly. It had black horns like that of a ram's on top of its head with pointed ears. Its fur was the same color as the boy's hair, the same embers violently crackling and dancing across it. As its form continued to emerge, everyone could see the creature had an uncountable number of swishing tails that seems to have no beginning or end.

The sight of this creature made everyone go stiff. Their muscles locked up as an ungodly pressure weighed them down. They didn't speak as they continued to gaze into the creature's molten yellow eyes that seemed to never let them go. The cackling grew louder as its grin stretched further. It tilted its head back and let out a sickeningly insane laugh before slowly vanishing back into a cloud of black smoke.

Before Zabuza could move, Adrik vanished from sight. He reappeared at speeds rivaling even elite jonin. He delivered a bone shattering punch to the man's stomach, making him clutch himself as he folded over. Kakashi jumped back to his team and covered his eye.

"I need the three of you to stay here. Don't you dare think about jumping down there. I've never seen anything like this, but there isn't a chance in hell I want to find out myself. For now, Zabuza is our test dummy until Adrik gets tired."

The other three nodded in shock and worry. Whatever is happening is putting Kakashi in a state of fear, something they had never even seen a hint of during his fight with the Mist ninja.

Zabuza pushed himself back, staring in shock at the boy standing on the water, which was turning black as some ashes fell into it. Zabuza ran through hand seals as he saw the boy just standing there.

"Water Style: Water Bomb!"

A large ball of water shot quickly towards Adrik, who didn't even move. He put his hand up at the last second. In a flash of orange and black, the water instantly turned to steam. Once the steam cleared, Zabuza no longer saw the boy. He looked behind himself to find a chain with a spear tip racing forward. He only had enough time to make sure it only hit him in the calf, but to his surprise, it didn't stab him, instead wrapping around its target and pulling him at unnatural speeds. Zabuza was yanked into an ash covered fist courtesy of Adrik. He could swear he felt most of his ribs crack and one or two break. He didn't have time to register the pain from said injuries before he was sent flying and slammed into a tree at the shoreline. He did all he could to stay awake.

Zabuza painfully sat up against the tree, cradling his ribs as he saw Adrik rushing forward with his fist now glowing orange and black. Moments before Adrik could land his attack, two senbon flew from the trees at Zabuza.

Shifting his position, Adrik caught the two senbon. They melted in his hand after a few seconds, the layer of ash keeping the metal from touching his skin. Before Adrik could move again, Zabuza was taken away by a masked teenager.

From the bridge, Kakashi, his team, and Tazuna heard an inhuman roar. The fog cleared completely, revealing a billowing cloud of black smoke. Kakashi rushed down and across the water to get to Adrik. The boy had gone limp mid yell.

"Naruto! Help me carry him! Tazuna, take us to your home, now!"

Even with Kakashi somewhat low on chakra due to the drain of his left eye, he would keep standing until they were safe. Naruto followed Kakashi's path to the shore and created two shadow clones, one transforming into a stretcher for his teammate. Naruto and his remaining clone gently place the unconscious boy onto the stretcher and ran along the shoreline to get back up to the bridge. Kakashi ran alongside Naruto and the others, slightly limping as he did so.

The entire trip to Tazuna's house was silent. Not a single person dared to speak about anything that happened. The whole time, though, one thought ran through Naruto's head.

'Is he...like me?'