Kakashi scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. Losing face in front of his juniors was hardly glorious.
"Shinsei, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked happily.
"Because you're too weak, of course, Naruto!"
"Damn it!"
Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Shinsei appear. These reversals were far too much for his heart.
Shinsei turned to Tarō Kakumoto. "Mr. Tarō Kakumoto, I'm terribly sorry I failed to keep you last time. This time, I'd like to invite you back to Konoha."
"It's you?" Recognizing Shinsei instantly by his height and hairstyle, Tarō Kakumoto turned to look around. "Your teammates didn't come?"
"I'm enough on my own," Shinsei said, signaling Kakashi with his eyes that they should take one each. "My Ninjutsu has improved a little lately. Please give me some pointers, Mr. Tarō Kakumoto."
Shinsei drew his right hand out from his left side. A crackling chakra sword extended from between two fingers, pointing at Tarō Kakumoto from afar.
"Show me what you've got!"
Tarō Kakumoto's pupils contracted. He had no desire to test the power of that crackling chakra sword with his body. His hands instantly formed hand seals.
Watching Tarō Kakumoto's sequence of hand seals, Shinsei recognized a technique he knew too: Earth Release: Subterranean Voyage!
Trying to run again? Our last fight must have left quite an impression on him. But escaping won't be that easy!
Shinsei slapped his left hand against the ground, and Lightning Release chakra rapidly spread out along the ground in every direction.
Tarō Kakumoto dared not try traveling through earth filled with Lightning Release chakra. He could only jump up and form hand seals, creating three clones that scattered in flight.
Sasuke did not stand idle. He hurled shuriken at the airborne figures, which had nothing to push off from.
Shinsei had already closed in, swinging his Lightning Sword through one of the figures. It turned into a cloud of white smoke with a pop. Bad luck-it was a Shadow Clone.
One Tarō Kakumoto turned and caught the shuriken Sasuke had thrown, then hurled them back at Shinsei.
Shinsei cut the incoming shuriken in half with his sword. He had no interest in playing guessing games about who was a Shadow Clone.
The three figures landed in three different directions and formed hand seals.
Earth Release: Earth Spear!
Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!
Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Fire!
Three Ninjutsu attacks arrived one after another, closing in from all around!
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
A wall of water rose beneath Shinsei's feet, firmly blocking all three attacks. Just Shadow Clones? I can do that too!
He formed hand seals, and two Shinseis charged toward the Tarō Kakumotos on either side, Water Swords in hand. Unfortunately, even with Lightning Swords, Shadow Clones could not stimulate their cells to increase their speed.
Meanwhile, his real body jumped onto the water, formed hand seals, and slapped his hands against its surface!
A roar rang out as a gigantic Water Kirin, forty meters tall, rose from the water!
This was Shinsei's Water Release Ninjutsu.
Water Release: Kirin!
"So cool!" Naruto stared longingly at the Kirin, wishing he could learn this Ninjutsu himself.
Sasuke's mouth fell slightly open. Had the gap between Shinsei and me already grown this wide?
Sakura watched the imposing Water Kirin. Her chakra nature was water too, and she imagined learning it herself.
The Water Kirin leaped in front of the four of them in a single bound, curled its tail around Tazuna, and placed him on its back. Ordinary people were still far too vulnerable in a battle like this.
"Get on!" Naruto and the other two hurriedly jumped onto the Water Kirin's back, where a large hollow formed. "Hold the old man steady. He can't use Water Walking!"
As they dropped into the Kirin's body, Shinsei turned to look at Tarō Kakumoto, who was still dodging.
Let's see where you can run this time!
Tarō Kakumoto kept leaping and dodging through the trees. Whenever he was about to land, a Shadow Clone on the ground used Lightning Release: Earth Flow, giving him no chance to burrow away.
The Water Kirin opened its enormous jaws and spat out a vast torrent of water, while seawater constantly replenished its body. The flood scoured everything on shore, churning up trees and mud into towering waves.
Tarō Kakumoto jumped, but there was nowhere left to land. Surging waves were everywhere! And the Water Kirin had already aimed its enormous jaws at him.
"I surren-"
Before Tarō Kakumoto could finish, the torrent from the Water Kirin's mouth abruptly narrowed into a high-speed jet. As the Kirin swung its head, the jet swept through the air, slicing a figure in two.
Finally, it was not a Shadow Clone. At last, Shinsei felt satisfied!
As if I'd give you a chance to surrender!
Anywhere with water was his home turf. Had my strength already improved this much? Even a Jonin couldn't last more than a few exchanges against me.
The imposing Water Kirin shook its body and bounded forward on all fours, landing behind Kakashi in two leaps. Its eyes seemed to gleam with divine light as it stared at Zabuza Momochi opposite them.
Zabuza Momochi's hands stopped forming seals.
Looking at the gigantic Water Kirin before him, he understood its power as someone proficient in Water Release Ninjutsu. He did not know what Ninjutsu he could use to break it. Meanwhile, Shinsei looked perfectly at ease inside the Water Kirin, seemingly unconcerned about his chakra consumption.
"I..." Zabuza's voice was grave and dispirited. "I abandon the mission."
Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief, his Sharingan fixed on Zabuza as he said solemnly, "If you abandon the mission, there's no longer any conflict between us. But how can we trust the word of a Kirigakure missing-nin?"
"Me." A gentle female voice came from nearby. A young man wearing a mask and a long dress emerged from behind the fallen trees. "I'll serve as a hostage."
The young man removed his mask, revealing a beautiful face, and walked steadily toward them.
"I'm Mr. Zabuza's most important tool. If I serve as a hostage, Mr. Zabuza will keep his word."
"Haku!" Zabuza's tone grew furious. "You're just my tool. Don't make decisions for me! Get lost!"
Zabuza pressed his enormous blade against Haku's neck and snarled, "Get lost, or I'll kill you!"
Haku bowed slightly to Zabuza. The movement sent blood streaming from his neck.
"Why are you being so horrible to this pretty lady?" Naruto jumped up in anger. "I'll kill you!"
"Please let me serve as a hostage for Mr. Zabuza," Haku said, turning to look at Shinsei inside the Kirin. "Besides, with this young gentleman here, what could we possibly do?"
Zabuza withdrew his enormous blade and turned away, his body trembling slightly.
Kakashi turned to Shinsei, seemingly waiting for him to decide. After all, Zabuza was technically his prisoner.
"Then, Mr. Zabuza," Shinsei said, looking at him, "you are our prisoner. While we're carrying out our mission, you may not attack us, including our client, Mr. Tazuna."
Shinsei had read the original story and still had some impression of Zabuza and Haku. He did not want to attack this ill-fated pair either.
Things went smoothly after that. Kakashi sealed Zabuza's chakra.
Sakura helped bandage Haku's wound.
Shinsei collected Tarō Kakumoto's head, planning to take it back to turn in the mission, though he suspected there would be no reward money left. After all, he had received the payment for an S-rank mission last time.
"What? Haku, you're a guy?" Naruto shouted, as though his faith had crumbled.
"Idiot!" Sasuke sneered and strode ahead.
"Damn you, Sasuke! You actually passed me!"
After that, everyone reached Tazuna's home without incident, and Naruto made a new young friend.
While the bridge was under construction, they began their daily training. Sasuke could not stop thinking about Shinsei's Lightning Sword, a Ninjutsu that required no hand seals. Shinsei did not mind teaching him, but after several attempts, Sasuke balked at the terrifying degree of chakra control it required and chose to practice his own Chidori instead. Sakura and Naruto were both deeply envious of Shinsei's Water Release: Kirin, but one had only wind-nature chakra, while the other had far too little chakra.
Kakashi, however, successfully mastered Lightning Release: Lightning Sword after a few attempts and discussed ways of increasing movement speed with Shinsei.
When Gato attacked, Shinsei did not intervene again. Naruto and Sasuke, who had grown stronger, quickly dealt with the opposition.
After discussing it with Kakashi, Shinsei decided to let Zabuza and Haku go. Haku's account of his own past had earned everyone's sympathy.
Zabuza left with Haku, and no one knew where they went. Haku had said he no longer wanted to live as a ninja. Shinsei believed that. After all, Gato had left behind a great deal of money. They divided it among themselves, and Shinsei did not object even when Naruto proposed leaving some for Tazuna. Money was not important to Shinsei now. Strength was.
Of course, Zabuza also contributed the Hidden Mist Technique. Accepting someone's gifts did leave one indebted.
As for Zabuza's status as a Kirigakure missing-nin, what did Kirigakure's affairs have to do with Konoha? Shinsei was not Danzo, sticking his nose into everything.
The bridge was finally completed, and Tazuna named it the Konoha Friendship Bridge.
Tsk, tsk. What flattery!
As the morning sun rose, everyone said their farewells at the dock.
Land of Waves, here's hoping you have a better tomorrow.