//------------------------------// // Land of Waves II. Sharingan and Demon // Story: Sunset Shimmer: Kunoichi // by RIPoste //------------------------------// “That’s huuuuuge.” Naruto said aloud, and I got to say that I agreed with him. We were seated on a boat under the cover of fog, steered by one of Tazuna’s contacts towards one of the islands that made up the Land of Waves. On our way there, we could just see the bridge which the old man had proclaimed that he would finish. Even incomplete, it was still an impressive side. Over twenty meters tall above the water surface and about thirty meters wide, the structure that would connect the Land of Waves with The Land of Fire would definitely be an imposing sight once finished. “Quiet down!” the steersman hissed. “The mist may be keeping us hidden but not if you shout out like that. We’d be in big trouble if Gatou’s men catch us!” Naruto clamped up after that, but I sighed. This job was getting less and less appealing by the minute. Sure, after the ambush that happened on the second day, Tazuna had spilled the beans. The Land of Waves was oppressed by Gatou, who was using his shipping company’s influence to very slowly take over the cluster of islands. The situation was getting worse, if the old man was to be believed. As the shipping company took over the waters around the island, the fisherman’s livelihood around the place was ruined as the larger ships disturbed the sea, causing the fishes to migrate elsewhere. Then the restriction of trade was imposed as apparently Gatou had somehow bought over the local lord. Slowly but surely, Gatou was strangling the land, establishing his power over it. For what purposes I can only guess, but there was no doubt that this was way out of our paycheck. I glared at Kakashi-sensei, who seemed to be making a point of looking away from me. Sure, Tazuna might have fed him a sob-story and tried to guilt-trip us into helping him, but that was no reason to accept this mission. At least now I learned that Kakashi-sensei actually had a bleeding heart. Huh, you learn something new everyday. Realizing that I was getting worked up, I heaved a sigh, composing my nerves, opting to look around instead. It wouldn’t do to get that tense after all.  “I’ll be dropping you at the town past the waterway.” The steersman said, talking to Tazuna more than us. “There’s a point there covered by mangroves, it should hide your landfall easily enough.” “Thank you.” Tazuna replied gratefully. He brought us to a tunnel, which opened up  to a town built around a river. However unlike Konoha, there were no bustling sounds of life. What few people I saw, walked about on the wooden bridges with their heads kept low, as though afraid to attract attention. Guess Tazuna was correct about Gatou oppressing the locals. “Alright, we’re here.” The steersman announced as he docked his small boat near a pier covered by a number of mangrove trees. “Take care, Tazuna-san.” Tazuna thanked him, and began to tell us the directions to take to bring him to his village. As usual, the four of us took up defensive positions around our client. We kept quiet during the journey, mostly because we did not want to not gather any attention to ourselves. Soon enough, the wooden buildings gave way to the green mangrove trees, indicating that we had left the town behind. The three of us kept ourselves alert, taking note of every little detail that might spell a possible ambush. A bush suddenly rustled. Faster than I gave him credit for, Naruto let loose a shuriken into the foilage. “Oh,” Naruto straightened after awhile. “Probably a mouse.” Seriously? “Can you please be careful with the shurikens?” Kakashi-sensei said, exasperation plain in his voice. “They are not-” His voice cut off as he looked aside. I saw his eyes widen in alarm. “Everyone, take cover!” It happened so fast. I saw something flung itself out of the foilage, but did not stop to check what it could be as I pulled Naruto towards me, the object missing him by mere millimeters. Sasuke had knocked Tazuna out of harm’s way as well, while Kakashi had simply crouched down, letting the object pass over him harmlessly. With a biting sound, the object, a blade of giant proportions, struck a tree. And upon it stood a man. Not a man. A Shinobi.  “What gives?” Naruto groaned, as he picked himself off the ground where I left him. “Kakashi-sensei, orders?” I asked, even as I studied the man. The build, the outfit and most of all, the sword. They all matched with a rather distinct entry within Konoha’s bingo book. Zabuza Momochi, wielder of the Kubikiribucho, one of the weapons of the Seven Swordsman, and a Nuke-nin(missing-nin) of Kirigakure. He was wanted for attempting to assassinate the fourth mizukage. According to the book, he was almost as dangerous as Kakashi-sensei. This was most definitely outside our mission parameters. Kakashi-sensei probably recognized him too, considering how he merely held a hand out, a gesture to tell us to stay where we stand. “Manji formation around Tazuna-sensei. Now.” He replied calmly, instantly erasing the worst of the tension within us with the tone in which his order was delivered. “Don’t interfere with the fight. This one is different from the other two we have faced so far.” He turned back towards Zabuza. “Still, fancy seeing you here.” He said casually, as though greeting a neighbour, “How is life as a nuke-nin of Kirigakure, Zabuza Momochi? “Kakashi Hatake,” Zabuza rasped in reply. “So good to see you too.” He crouched on the sword, balancing expertly on the handle upon which he was perched. “Unfortunately, I am on a tight schedule. Could you surrender the old man?” “Sorry, Zabuza.” Sensei replied. He reached up with his hand and grabbed his hitai-ate. “You know how it is.” I kept my eyes trained on Sensei. Was he going to do what I think he was about to do? It appears that he was, as he pulled up his hitai-ate, revealing his other eye, an orb with a red pupil that had three tomoe within it. “Using the Sharingan so soon in our acquaintance?” Zabuza chuckled, a dry sound. “I am honored.” Sasuke started at the news. Surprise written clearly on his face. Seriously? Not only did he not know who Kakashi was, but he also did not bother to find out why Kakashi was so famous? I snorted. Talk about a lack of information. You would think that an Uchiha would know about that. “What’s a sharingan?” Naruto asked, clearly upset that he had no idea what was going on. “It’s a Bloodlimit.” Sasuke said, “a doujutsu, a technique which resides within its eyes, allowing its user to pierce any genjutsu and see the reality behind it, and reflect any technique used upon the user back at their opponent.” “Indeed,” Zabuza interjected, dark amusement ringing clearly in his voice. I could feel his excitement from where I was standing rather vividly, it appears that he was enjoying this a lot. Was he really aching for a fight so badly? “But its most terrifying ability is its ability to analyse its  opponent’s techniques for its user to duplicate. Isn’t that right?.” He looked at Kakashi-sensei. “When I was still in Kirigakure, I had read up on your entry in our bingo book.” He continued. “It was really impressive. A man we had express orders to kill on sight, the shinobi who copied over a thousand different techniques. It is a real honor to meet you, Kakashi of the Sharingan.” Wow, this man must really admire Kakashi, huh?  “Well, it was nice talking to you while it lasted.” Zabuza rasped, almost sounding regretful. “But I do have a job to do.” He looked straight at Tazuna. “The bridge builder needs to die this day.” Finishing his sentence, he leapt off the tree and with a casual motion, freed his gigantic sword from the tree. As he did so, the mist around us thickened considerably, obscuring him from our view. “The finest of Ninjutsu.” Zabuza announced, his husky voice echoing around the clearing. “The Hidden Mist technique.” “Be careful,” I whispered to the others even as I tried my best to remember our enemy’s entry on the bingo page and relay it to the two boys. “The enemy is Zabuza Momochi, a former shinobi of Kirigakure. He specializes in assassination techniques.” “Is he strong?” Sasuke asked. “As strong as Kakashi? Maybe.” I replied. It would be best to give these boys a benchmark to work with, better they know that this opponent was out of our league than fight him unwittingly and die. “What about this mist?” Naruto asked, annoyance clear in his voice. “I can’t see anything!” “It’s his favorite technique, he is known as the master of the Silent Killing Technique. Keep your eyes peeled and remember to always sound off to the rest of us.” I paused, before adding. “Don’t go dying on me now.” Morbid humor, I found, always helped in this kind of scenario to keep our nerves cooled. Unfortunately, Zabuza had other ideas. “Eight Points.” The sudden announcement nearly gave me a heart attack.  “What was that?” Naruto started as he looked around. “Throat.” The voice whispered, “Spine. Lungs. Liver. Jugular. Subclavian Artery. Kidney, and Heart.” “So many targets, what should I start with?” It muttered with barely contained glee. Sweat ran down my back as I sent out a small pulse of magic, my Life-seeker spell. I relaxed slightly when I saw his outline in my mind’s eye. At least I know where he was. Then it hit me. A huge way of killing intent. I let out a strangled sob as my body suddenly stiffened. It was terrifying, the feeling of wanting to run, to just flee and be unable to do anything because you don’t want to move, because if you did, you would catch his attention and he would kill you. Still… I took a deep breath to calm myself down, fear was a powerful weapon, but against someone who had been conditioned to it, I could still control myself. Somewhat. Unfortunately, it seemed that Naruto and Sasuke were scared witless, I noted with a small hint of sympathy. It was probably their first time being exposed to something like this, I should probably do something. Say something to help them. I opened my mouth. “Sasuke!” Kakashi-sensei’s voice sounded out before I could. That snapped the two of them our of it, though they were still probably rather scared. “Don’t worry, I will protect you.” He looked back, “There’s no way I would let my comrades die.” His voice carried over soothingly, and the two boys straightened, most of their fear banished by the words of reassurance, and yes, so was mine. I blinked, actually surprised, did I actually trust this man to protect me that much? “You sure about that?” Zabuza’s voice suddenly said behind me. How did he get here? Were the only words I could think of as I spun around, my senbons between my fingers at the ready. He was supposed to be still out on the lake! Yet again, Kakashi-sensei was faster than me. In a burst of chakra enhanced speed, he appeared before me, his kunai already plunging deep into Zabuza’s chest. I watched, mind still in a daze and on autopilot mode, trying to figure how Zabuza was here while my spell told me he was still out there. My question was answered when Zabuza collapsed upon himself in a fountain of water. A water clone! I realised. I also realized too late that there was another Zabuza behind Sensei, sword already swinging. “Sensei!” I heard Naruto shout even as I dodged out of the way of the attack. “Look out!” His warning came too late as we watched Kakashi-sensei get cut into two, before falling into a fountain of water himself. “Don’t move.” Kakashi-sensei, the real one, if my spell was to be trusted, said as he placed a kunai at Zabuza’s throat. “It’s over.” “You’d really think so?” Zabuza rasped in reply, sounding so assured and smug. Then I felt the life signature on the lake moved. “Sensei! That’s a fake!” I shouted. “The real one’s coming for you!” “A sensor huh? But wrong.” Zabuza’s voice said from behind me, even as a tremendous force gripped my throat. I gasped at the sudden loss of oxygen. Kakashi-sensei looked at me and seemed to be ready to leap to my rescue, but dodged aside at the last moment, causing the Zabuza’s sword swing from behind him to miss by mere centimeters. “Now, hand over the old man.” The Zabuza holding me said. “Or the little girl loses her vocal cords.” He was saying it to Naruto and Sasuke, as Kakashi-sensei seemed to had been sent flying by a brutal kick from the real Zabuza. He landed in the lake with a rather large splash and was in the process of climbing out of it when Zabuza disappeared and reappeared before him, handseals already in motion. “Water Release: Water Prison!” A great sphere of water formed about Kakashi-sensei, enveloping him within. From the look on his face, this was most certainly not part of the plan. “So, now what will you do?” The Zabuza holding me taunted. By the princess, he was strong. I was using my telekinesis to prevent him from choking me completely, allowing myself to breathe abit but even then I could feel my spell wavering. “Your sensei was captured, and I hold your little girlfriend hostage.” I could hear the smirk in his voice. “What are you going to do now?” I gasped, but for some reason, his grip loosened? I didn’t dwell much on it, however. Escaping this scenario takes the most priority. Even as I used my hands and telekinesis to strain against his immense strength, I reached into my senbon holder with my magic in an attempt to find my needles. “What, unable to come to a decision?” Zabuza mocked. “And you call yourself ninja? Did you think that merely wearing a hitai-ate would make you a shinobi? Hmmph, little ninja wannabes like yourself probably had never wandered the lines between life and death before.” That drew Naruto’s attention. “You! YOU! Shadow Clone Technique!” He called out in rage. “Shadow clones, huh?” Zabuza laughed. “Fine, you can have your little girl companion back. Catch!” And he proceeded to toss me none too lightly at them. I’d probably have gotten a few nasty bruises if some of the clones had not caught me in midair. “Are you okay?” Naruto, the real one, asked as his clones dashed off. “Yeah,” I replied as I looked up, seeing the water clone of Zabuza walking rather calmly over, having cleared all of the clones that Naruto had sent against him with a single swing of the Kubikiribocho. “Get Tazuna-san out of here!” Kakashi-sensei suddenly yelled. I would confess, at another time, I would probably had been amazed by the fact that he can speak, much less yell, out of that blob of water he was stuck in. Unfortunately though, the water clone before me had my utmost attention. “This is a fight you can’t win!” He continued. “He can’t leave if he wants me in this water prison! Get a certain distance away from him and his water clone will fall apart!” That would be a wise option, actually. Except that there was a high chance that we would lose Kakashi-sensei, and if Zabuza was in a condition to pursue, well that was a situation that I would not want to be in. “No.” I replied loudly. “That’s not an option.” I looked at Sasuke, and at Naruto behind me. “If we lose Kakashi-sensei here and Zabuza comes after us, we will be in a worse situation than this.”  “Yeah,” Sasuke agreed.  “True,” Naruto echoed. Having already gotten their affirmation, I looked at Kakashi-sensei. “Sorry sensei.” I looked back at the water clone, trying to formulate a plan. Priority one, protect Tazuna. That was our mission, and it would be easy to do so long as he hung back and we could prevent Zabuza and his water clones from reaching him. Priority two: free sensei. If what he said was true, there was no way we would be a match for Zabuza’s water clone, much less Zabuza himself. Hence, Sensei would be our best bet at defeating him. “Sasuke, cover me.” I whispered. “Naruto, hang back with Tazuna-san, but leave your clones here to take on the water clone.” “Still trying to play at ninja?” The water clone mocked.  “What are you doing? You need to protect the bridge builder!” Kakashi yelled. “Ignore him.” I said aloud. “Sorry about this Tazuna-san, but this is the best way to protect you.” “Yeah, I guess.” Tazuna said as he smiled regretfully. “You know, just forget about me. I kind of had it coming to me and since this mess was because of me, just do what you have to to free your sensei.” I nodded gratefully at him. Now Sensei had nothing to complain about since the client had spoken. With a flick of my hands, I sent half a dozen senbon flying at the Water Clone, who deflected them with an almost casual sweep of his greatblade. “Did you actually think that would work?” He taunted. “That attack barely had any killing intent behind it.” He huffed. “Seeing brats like you, it makes me sick. You’d probably haven’t even killed anyone at your age. Like I have.” “What?” Naruto stammered, clearly shocked. “Zabuza, the demon of the Hidden Mist.” Kakashi-sensei clarified, as if that name actually meant something. Apparently it did, as Zabuza replied. “Ah, I see that my reputation has preceded myself.” Was that… regret I heard? “What demon?” Naruto yelled from beside Tazuna. He sounded extremely irritated. “What are you talking about?” “Long ago, Kirigakure, was known as the Bloody Mist, there was an inhumane final test on one’s route to becoming a full-fledged ninja.” Kakashi said. “Ah, so you heard about our little graduation exercise.” “Inhumane how?” Sasuke asked, echoing our thoughts. “A ‘killing spree’, if you would, against classmates who had bonded with you throughout your school life.” The water clone chuckled, a very morbid sound. “Divided into pairs, you and your friend will be forced to fight each other to the death.” “But one day, they had to change the rules.” Kakashi-sensei added. At our curious yet disgusted expressions, he continued. “A small boy, not even qualified as a ninja yet, murdered over a hundred members of that year’s graduating class.” “Truly meaningful,” The water clone of Zabuza, who was no doubt the protagonist of that little tale, chuckled. “You see now, when I was your age, my hands were already drenched in blood!” He exulted, “which one of you could say the… same…?” His voice suddenly broke off, and I realised that he was staring at me. I blinked, then realised that I was scowling. Though could anyone blame me after hearing that story? Sure, killing over a hundred people was probably an achievement, but talking about killing someone at our age? I already did it before, and I fail to see what was there to be so proud of. “You,” the water clone whispered, loud enough for only me, Sasuke and the clones around me to hear. “You have killed before, haven’t you?” I felt a spike of irritation when he said that. Three things happened simultaneously. Unwittingly, I raised my hand,  and the six senbons which I had been levitating over the wateredge flung themselves at the real Zabuza. The water clone, seeing my sudden gesture, lashed out at me with a kick, but found himself beset upon by Naruto and Sasuke, who had flung themselves at him. Meanwhile, the real Zabuza, upon seeing my senbons suddenly flying to him, seemed to have realised that they were thrown in such a way that could not be dodged while stationary with an arm in the Water Prison technique, so he did the sensible thing, and pulled out. The fight that followed as Kakashi burst out of the water prison and leapt at Zabuza was on another entire level. Gone were the subtlety, trickery and stealth that were typically employed by shinobis, and in its place were two man who fought each other as though their very lives depended on it. Zabuza began showing his mastery in using the Kubikiribocho, swinging that sword about as though it weighed no more like a feather in his hand, attacking at angles that would had been impossible if an amateur were using a weapon of that size, and mixing in a fair amount of taijutsu to cover the weak spots of his greatsword. More impressive, perhaps, was Kakashi-sensei, who matched him blow-for-blow with merely a kunai in his hands. It was as though as he had Zabuza read like a book, the way he casually deflected the swings from the Kubikiribocho. The two then broke apart, performing handseals at a speed that I had thought impossible. Both completed their jutsus at the same time, and two dragons made out of water rose out from the lake beneath their feet and smashed into each other, the body of liquid churning about them as the shockwave spread throughout the lake. Of course, we were not idle during their entire fight. The water clone was still here, after all. He seemed absolutely livid, as though he could not believe that he had been outsmarted by a bunch of kids. A dozen shadow clones fought him, with Sasuke and I darting in for a cheap strike from time to time. Of course, our teamwork was not ideal, seeing as a clone seemed to get in my way from time to time. However, slowly but surely, we chipped away at the water clone, finally downing him when Sasuke himself planted a kunai in its neck, causing the clone to drop down into a puddle of water. And barely a moment had passed when we witnessed a giant wave crash past us, leaving a gigantic gorge in the ground. And Zabuza was in the middle of it, trying to stand up. He never got the chance as four kunais planted themselves each in his limbs, causing him to collapse pathetically to the ground. Kakashi-sensei then appeared behind him with a Body Flicker technique, kunai in hand, ready to deal the finishing blow. Or he would have, if a pair of senbons had not found themselves embedded in Nuke-nin's throat. Zabuza looked almost shocked, but he rolled over nonetheless, and slumped limply onto the ground. We stared. Then Naruto looked at me, the question clear on his face, to which I shook my head. Those senbons were not mine. “Hehe~” A voice suddenly giggled. We found ourselves looking at the tree from which it originated. There we see a boy, a young boy roughly about our age wearing the traditional mask of the famous, or infamous, Kirigakure Hunter-nin corps.  “Thank you very much.” He bowed, somehow keeping his balance upon the branch he was standing upon. “I had been hunting that man for quite a long time. Please accept my thanks for helping me kill him.” “Huh,” Kakashi muttered, shifting his hitai-ate back over his sharingan eye. “You’re from Kirigakure, right? Hunter-nin corps?” He shifted his gaze back to Zabuza, knelt and placed his fingers at the man’s throat. “No pulse. He’s dead.” He declared. “Yes, though if you would please step away from the corpse?” The Hunter-nin asked politely, surprisingly genuine in his request. “I have orders to not allow anyone near it.” Kakashi-sensei merely shrugged and stepped away. When he was about ten meters away, the boy appeared next to the fallen Zabuza with the use of a Body Flicker technique. He draped the corpse over his shoulder and grabbed the Kubikiribocho with a hand before turning to us. “Now, I should be going.” He nodded politely, “Farewell.” And he was gone. “Who the heck was that?” Naruto asked, his voice incredulous. I raised an eyebrow at him. What was he annoyed about this time? “A hunter-nin from Kirigakure.” Sensei replied. “They specialized in hunting nuke-nin like that Zabuza from just now. It was just our luck that we had to help do his job for him, I suppose.”  “Are you kidding me?” Naruto cried aloud. “That kid just killed Zabuza! The shinobi that went toe to toe with you! There’s no way that that’s possible!” “Well, I can’t say that I don’t understand how you feel,” Kakashi-sensei patted Naruto on the head consolingly, “but the truth is that  there are plenty of ninjas who are stronger than me, and younger than you in this world.” The way he said it, made it seem like it was actually possible. Huh, talk about a grim premonition. He shrugged, walking forward. “Well, now let’s get moving, we have a mission to...” And collapsed. Our sensei just collapsed. That can’t be good. Thank god for shadow clones, I thought as I pushed open the door to Tazuna’s house. It was a quaint place, cozy, simple and spacious. “Tsunami, I’m home!” Tazuna announced, causing a young lady to walk out from what was probably the kitchen. “Welcome back, father.” Tsunami was a homely woman, with dark eyes and black hair to match. Truth be told, she looked a little young to be married, but considering that this was the Land of Waves, I refrained from asking that aloud. As a girl, I can attest that asking a lady’s age was very rude. “Sorry to interrupt your reunion, Tsunami-san, Tazuna-san.” I interjected, clearing my throat to get their attention. “But is it possible if we could have a place for our sensei to rest?” “Oh!” Tsunami started as she took in the four of us. Well, seven if you count the clones carrying Kakashi-sensei. “Sure, I’ll get a futon out.” Once Sensei was tucked in, I turned to Naruto and Sasuke. “Sorry guys, but can I trouble the two of you a little? Sensei’s out of commision from chakra deprivation, and while Zabuza is dead, we can’t be sure if Gatou is going to send anymore assassins after Tazuna-san.” “Don’t worry, Kyoku-chan, I’m ready!” Naruto said, pumped as usual. Sasuke was silent, but he nodded. I smiled a little at their vote of confidence. “Right, here’s what we’ll do. Naruto-kun, please send a clone to each corner of the house as a lookout.” Naruto grinned and nodded in response. “Sasuke-kun, stay here with Sensei, rest up while you can, but keep an ear out in case we call for you.” “Right.” He nodded. “Yeah, rest up, Sasuke-chan! You clearly need it.” I rolled my eyes at Naruto’s comment. Could he not needle Sasuke now? “Naruto…” I muttered warningly, pinching the bridge of my nose as I did so, taking a deep breath to calm myself. I so do not have time for this. “Sorry…”  He apologised sheepishly, in a manner which suggests that he was not apologetic at all. “Just go.” I sighed. “Please.” I turned to Sasuke as Naruto clambered out of the house. “Call us if Sensei wakes up.” I said, “I’ll be up on the roof if you need me.” Sasuke nodded, an inscrutable expression upon his face. That’ll have to do, I suppose. “Hey, Kyoku.” I turned to face him. He fixed his eyes upon me, meeting my gaze. Like his passive expressions, they were guarded, unreadable. “That…” His look flickered, and he gazed aside, as though suddenly unwilling to say what was on his mind. “Nothing.” He finished, in a tone that suggests that he would not expand on the topic. I was too tired to check however, and merely shrugged before following after Naruto. Sasuke looked at the retreating back of Kyoku, a frown upon his face. “Huh,” Tazuna commented, “Never pegged her as the leader of the three of you.” “Hn,” Sasuke huffed indignantly. “She’s not our leader. But she’s good enough.” He added as an afterthought. “Well, must be great to be friends with her, eh?” Tazuna grinned at Sasuke, who merely quirked an eyebrow in response. “Bah, kids these days.” Tazuna snorted. “Well, I think I’m long overdue for a good rest in a proper bed.” He let out a yawn as he stretched. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Sasuke nodded in response, though his mind was  awhirl with other thoughts. Specifically, thoughts about the kunoichi on his team. Kyoku Asagami was a person that he had thought would be inconsequential. Just another stepping stone on his journey to avenge his clan and kill his brother. But surprisingly, the girl had shown herself to be quite unlike the others of her gender in his class. Not only had she displayed a lack of interest in him, at least romantically, but she had also proven herself a skilled shinobi, for a genin, and a reliable partner. Not to mention her drive to improve herself. It was not just her. In fact, at the start, he had thought that this team would drag him down, but even the dead last had proven himself quite dependable. Not that Sasuke would ever admit it to his face, of course. Sasuke had grown rather tolerant of this team, especially since he had found that his skills had improved rather drastically over the short time in which they were acquainted. Still… He had thought that he had understood his teammates, even just a little, but the most recent revelation had thrown his own evaluation of one of them out of the loop.  You had killed before, haven’t you? Zabuza had asked. And she had merely answered with an irritated gaze. There was apparently more to his teammate than meets the eye. Still, there was no time to dwell on such things. Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes. Kakashi-sensei was down, and Kyoku was right, there was the chance that Gatou may attack Tazuna in his own house. Not to brag, but Sasuke knows that the reason why Kyoku wanted him to rest up was because he was the next hardest hitter on their team, after Kakashi-sensei. He drifted off into light sleep for who knows how long when a voice suddenly woke him up. “Sasuke-kun.” His eyes sprang open and he looked at the man lying down on the bed beside him. “Get Kyoku and Naruto in here, we need to talk.” Kakashi rasped, and fixed him with his single eye. “Zabuza is alive.”