Hello all, welcome to another chapter of the story.

It's a bit hard to get Orochimaru right since a lot of authors make him too weird and more of a pedophile than a scientist, lol. I'll try my best, though.

By the way, I was never a huge fan of the Reanimation Jutsu so it won't really play a big role in this story, if it even will exist. I feel like it cheapens fights and creates plot holes.

Another thing that won't be in this story is Naruto's shadow clone cheat code. I was never a fan of that either in canon and it was obvious that Kishimoto was just trying to find a quick way to give Naruto a power boost.

Just a quick reminder that most of the characters in this story are 3 years older so the rookies are 15 right now in case anyone forgot.

Any questions just review. I have nothing else to say. Let's get right into the chapter.

Naruto and Asuma stood in training ground two, practicing the Flying Swallow Technique. It was early evening so the sun wouldn't be going down for an hour or two.

Naruto had his eyes closed and was trying to channel chakra into his sword.

"My chakra blades were specially made to channel wind chakra so that's why it was easier for me to perfect the Flying Swallow Technique," Asuma told him. "Your blade isn't so it will probably be harder for you. Try not to force it. Calm yourself and let your chakra flow."

Naruto took a deep breath to calm down and get rid of his frustration. He then closed his eyes and began trying to channel chakra into his blade again. After 10 seconds, though, there had still been no results.

Naruto cursed in frustration.

"Don't get frustrated. It'll only make it harder," Asuma warned. Naruto sighed and gripped his katana tightly again before making another attempt.

Half an hour later

Naruto stabbed his katana into the dirt for the third time.

"Don't be discouraged, Naruto. It took me almost a month to perfect this technique even with my specially made blades. Don't give up if it takes you longer," Asuma said.

Naruto nodded and wiped some of the sweat from his forehead.

"So, how many D-Ranks have you guys completed? It might be enough to make a valid request for a C-Rank," Asuma said.

"We've done 21 of them total now," Naruto said as he sat down and leaned against the tree.

"That's a good amount," Asuma said. "My father also trusts Kakashi enough to take good care of you guys outside the village, even if you've only been on a team for three weeks."

"I don't even need Kakashi to protect me. I know a few Jutsu already, plus I have my sword."

"Don't think that the Shinobi outside the village will be like your classmates, Naruto," Asuma warned. "There are Shinobi out there that are cutthroat killers, murderous psychopaths, and money hungry mercenaries with no morals. Some will do anything for money and some kill just to kill. There's a reason most Genin get stuck with D-Ranks."

"You make it sound like the outside world is some type of jungle," said Naruto.

"That's because it is."

Hidden Sound Village

The Fourth Kazekage, whose name was Rasa, sat at the table in the dim room. There was something eerie about the dark room, something in the air that unnerved him, though he would never admit it. He had agreed to hold the meeting in the Hidden Sound since he was sure that they wouldn't try anything and risk war with the Sand. Just in case, though, he had brought three of his strongest Jonin with him, who were currently standing guard outside the room.

The door suddenly opened and the leader of the Hidden Sound stepped into the room. He was of average height, standing at maybe 5"8 or so, but the rest of his appearance was far from average. He had pale, silver-ish skin and golden eyes with slitted pupils. He had sharp cheekbones and long black hair.

"Hello, Lord Kazekage," he said in a snake-like voice.

"I wasn't aware that the leader of the Hidden Sound is one of the Legendary Sannin. I also would like to know why one of the Sannin has turned against his village," Rasa said.

"That's none of your business," Orochimaru said. "I believe we should begin making our plans for the Hidden Leaf invasion."

"Fine. You are entitled to your secrecy," said Rasa. "I think we should use my son as the centerpiece of the invasion. He is the Jinchūriki of the One Tails and he's unfortunately mentally unstable. If he was right in his head he would be much more useful but he isn't. We can still use him to destroy the Leaf, though. Once the One Tails is out there is nothing that would be able to stop him."

Orochimaru thought about telling the Kazekage that the Nine Tails was in the Leaf but he ultimately decided not to. It would make things more fun.

"The Chunin Exams will be when we are invading, I presume?" Orochimaru asked.

"Definitely," Rasa confirmed. "They won't even come close to expecting it. What aid will you give to the attack?"

"I will handle the Hokage," Orochimaru said.

"I assumed that it would be me fighting against the Hokage," Rasa said with surprise.

"I have a bit of a bone to pick with him."

"So do I. I think that we should fight him at the same time. It would assure victory as well."

"Ganging up on an old man, Kazekage? You don't fear being called cowardly?" Orochimaru said with a chuckle.

"The best option isn't always the bravest," he responded.

"If you say so," Orochimaru said, still giving Rasa a creepy smile.

"How much of your Shinobi force will you be providing?" Rasa asked. "My Shinobi are very capable but the Leaf is one of the two strongest Hidden Villages."

"I don't need to give you an army," Orochimaru said, "all you need are my ten best Shinobi."

Rasa raised an eyebrow.

"Ten?"

"Yes," Orochimaru said with a smirk.

The Kazekage didn't know what to think. He hadn't seen anyone on his way here but he thought that everyone was just inside and didn't like spending time outside their homes. Now that he thought about it, though, he hadn't seen anything that looked like a real home on the way here. Then again, homes looked different in different Hidden Villages.

"Where are the citizens of your village?" Rasa asked.

Orochimaru just gave him a smirk. "Who said I had citizens in my village?"

Rasa wasn't sure why such a simple answer unsettled him so much. Maybe it was Orochimaru's creepy smirk. Either way he didn't want to spend much longer here.

"Are we finished here, Lord Kazekage?" Orochimaru asked.

"I believe so," he said, standing up. He extended his hand for Orochimaru to shake. Orochimaru reached out and shook his hand. Even Orochimaru's unnaturally smooth and cool hand unnerved Rasa.

"I look forward to working with you," Orochimaru said. Rasa gave him a nod and turned around, leaving the room.

When the door closed, Orochimaru's tongue slipped out of his mouth and he chuckled to himself.

The door opened up seconds later and Kabuto entered the room.

"Lord Orochimaru, how did the meeting go?" he asked.

"It went well. I had to cut my most recent search for Ryūchi Cave short but I don't mind too much. Tomorrow I will set out once more," Orochimaru said.

"What about Sasuke?" Kabuto asked. "He will likely receive his first mission out of the Leaf soon. I believe you said you wanted to observe."

"Aaah yes, Sasuke. I haven't forgotten about the Uchiha," Orochimaru said. "If you are sure that the mission will be soon then fine. I will wait to resume my search after."

"Understood, Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto said. "Two more things. First, the Eastern Hideout has been completely destroyed. The only survivor claims that it was a giant toad."

Orochimaru chuckled. "It seems as if Jiraiya has found another base. That's unfortunate. Luckily I have nothing that I care about at all there. What is the other?"

"The boy is starting to react to Hashirama's cells."

"Excellent," Orochimaru hissed. "I'll oversee his progress from here. Thank you, Kabuto."

The white haired subordinate bowed before leaving the room.

In the Hidden Rain Village

"I wonder why Pain doesn't handle this one himself. It is his village after all," Shisui said as he and Itachi walked through the wet streets. The heavy rain poured down on the two men. It never stopped raining in the Hidden Rain Village. The citizens of the village were used to it but the two Uchiha weren't.

"I don't think it would be hard for him to just summon the man to him and kill him so I don't see why he doesn't handle it himself either. Perhaps he hasn't been in his village for a while," Itachi suggested.

"There's still Konan," Shisui refuted.

"Perhaps she's out as well," Itachi countered.

Shisui sighed. "Let's just finish with this. I'm more interested in Zabuza. He's more experienced and elusive. He'll be harder to track."

"Indeed he will," Itachi said. "We can worry about Zabuza later, though. I believe our target is heading towards us 200 feet ahead. He's walking alone. Shall we take him head on or follow him to a more secluded area?"

"Head on. It's been said that he is more of a tactician than a fighter," said Shisui. Itachi nodded.

"Very well. We'll incapacitate him and I'll get one of Pain's subordinates to bring him to the Leaf for the bounty," Itachi said. Less than a minute later they approached Aoi Rokushō, a Jonin from the Hidden Rain who, years ago, had made his violent escape from the Hidden Leaf Village.

It didn't take longer than a minute.

Back in the Hidden Leaf, Monday Morning

Naruto sat at his kitchen table eating breakfast. He wore a black and white shirt with black pants and black sandals. He slurped down his instant ramen and strapped his sword to his back. Today would most likely be another long day of D-Ranks.

Naruto made the short walk to the Hokage Tower in the sweltering heat. It was the end of July so the sun was beaming down on the citizens of the Leaf mercilessly.

Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura were waiting for him outside of the Hokage office. Standing next to the Hokage's door was an old-ish man with gray hair and glasses. He wore a sleeveless V-neck shirt and had a large backpack on his back.

"You're late!" Sakura damn near yelled.

"It's only a couple minutes past, sheesh," Naruto said, genuinely bemused by Sakura's extremely volatile and quick temper.

The four entered the office to see the Hokage sitting behind his desk.

"Welcome, Team 7. Naruto, before you even say anything, I've spoken to Asuma and he's convinced me to grant you a C-Rank mission," Sarutobi said.

"YES!" Naruto exclaimed. "Finally!"

Sarutobi laughed. "Of course you do know that I won't be giving you anything too serious yet. No matter how much you beg I won't intentionally put any Genin's life in danger."

Naruto, though, was too excited to care.

"What's the mission, gramps?" he asked eagerly.

"A bridge builder of the Land of Waves needs to be escorted back home so that he can finish his bridge," Sarutobi informed Team 7.

"Where is he?" Naruto asked.

"Tazuna, you may come in!" Sarutobi called. The door opened and the man that had been waiting in the hallway came inside.

"Tazuna, these are the Shinobi that will be guarding you on your way back to your home," Sarutobi told him. Tazuna raised an eyebrow as he studied Team 7.

"I didn't know that it would be children," he said. "How are they supposed to protect me?"

"Kakashi is probably the most capable Jonin in the village and your looking at 3 of the strongest and smartest Genin in the village," Sarutobi said. Naruto beamed at the Hokage's praise.

"If you say so," Tazuna said with a shrug. He probably may have argued more but it seemed like Naruto having a sword on his back convinced him that they were far from normal children.

"Let's go, we have to prepare for the trip," Kakashi said to his Genin, "the Land of Waves isn't exactly close."

"Naruto, stay back for a moment," Sarutobi said. The rest of his team and Tazuna left, leaving him and the Hokage alone in the office.

"What is it, gramps?" Naruto asked.

"Asuma told me that you're practicing the Flying Swallow Technique."

Naruto nodded. "I started a few days ago but I haven't really made any progress."

"I have something that can help you with that, Naruto," Sarutobi said. "For each chakra nature, there is an exercise that you can do with a leaf to improve your chakra molding for that nature. The Flying Swallow Technique uses wind chakra, so the exercise that you would have to do to improve your chakra molding would be trying to cut a leaf in half with your chakra."

Naruto frowned. "Trying to cut a leaf in half?"

"Yes. You hold it in your hands and try to use your chakra to cut it in half. It's an exercise that can also be used for other more advanced training but it's basically used for chakra control," Sarutobi explained.

"And this will help me do the Flying Swallow Technique?" Naruto asked.

"Among other wind style techniques," Sarutobi answered.

"Cool! I'll practice on the way," Naruto said. Sarutobi nodded.

"Yes, that is what I wanted you to do. As Kakashi said, it's a long trip to the Land of Waves and back."

Half an hour later, Hidden Leaf Gates

Team 7 and Tazuna had just passed through the giant gates of the Hidden Leaf and began walking on the large road away from the village when Naruto heard someone calling his name.

He turned around to see Hinata jogging towards him.

"Hey Hinata," he said with a bright smile. The girl blushed and reached into her pants pocket before bringing something out and holding it out to Naruto.

"What is this?" Naruto asked as he took the small container that Hinata was offering him.

"It's an ointment for wounds," Hinata said. "You're a bit of an idiot so you're bound to get hurt some way."

Naruto fake glared at her and Hinata laughed. Naruto smiled. He liked making Hinata laugh.

"Say hello to Haru for me if you see her," he said with a wave. Hinata's face fell slightly but Naruto didn't notice. He'd already turned around to rejoin his team.

"Alright, let's go!" Naruto said. The four Shinobi and the bridge builder began walking away from the Hidden Leaf. None of the three Genin had ever been outside of the Leaf before so it was hard for them to contain their excitement. Well, besides Sasuke, who looked just as stoic as ever.

The group walked and walked for hours. Naruto, who had grabbed a leaf from a tree early in the trip, had been trying to cut it with his chakra the entire time so far. Sakura, Sasuke and Tazuna had been giving him funny looks for a while. It was Sakura who snapped first.

"What are you doing? You keep grunting and shaking your hands!"

"I'm practicing my chakra control," Naruto said, wiping sweat from his brow. "I have to try to cut this leaf in half with my chakra."

Kakashi glanced down at the leaf Naruto was holding in his hand as they walked past a huge puddle.

"Who taught you how to do that? Was it Asuma?" Kakashi asked.

"No, it was gramps when he told me to stay back," Naruto told him.

"You learned a technique from the Hokage?" Sakura said, surprised. "How did you get him to do that for you?"

Naruto opened his mouth to respond but all of a sudden, there was a shout from behind them. Naruto turned around and his eyes widened in shock. Kakashi was wrapped in spiked chains. Standing on either side of him were two Shinobi wearing weird looking a Hidden Mist Village headbands. The one on the right had black hair and wore a ragged black cape. On his right arm was a large gauntlet that held one end of the chain. He wore a black rebreather on his face. The one on the left wore a camouflage suit and had wild, dark hair. He also wore a rebreather on his face and had a gauntlet on his left arm.

All four of Kakashi's companions were frozen in shock. Naruto's heart was pounding in his chest as he stared at his Sensei with wide eyes. No matter how prepared he thought he was for a situation like this, it was still terrifying and he was only 15 years old.

The two Hidden Mist Shinobi leaped in opposite directions and, to Team 7's horror, their Sensei was ripped apart right before their eyes.

Sakura looked like she wanted to throw up at the sight but her fear overwhelmed her and stopped her from moving.

Naruto was snapped out of his shock when the Shinobi wearing the black cape charged at him. He quickly drew his sword and blocked the punch that the Shinobi aimed at him with his gauntlet, which Naruto just realized had claws.

Meanwhile, the other Shinobi had attacked Sasuke. Sasuke dodged the first gauntlet strike and then leaped in the air and delivered a heel kick to his face. The rebreather that the Shinobi wore absorbed most of the attack but his head still snapped to the side and he stumbled back. Sasuke pressed his advantage and slammed his foot into the Shinobi's stomach.

Naruto was avoiding all of the other Shinobi's attacks, either blocking the heavy gauntlet with his sword or swiftly dodging the swings. He was trying to find an opening so that he could land a strike on him without being scratched by the claws of the gauntlet, which were scarily sharp.

The Shinobi reared back and aimed a punch at Naruto's face. Naruto ducked and slashed at his thigh before rolling to the side.

The man howled in pain and grabbed his thigh with his non-gauntlet hand. Naruto saw this as an opportunity and leaped forward but the Shinobi suddenly lashed out and backhanded him with his gauntlet. Naruto was thrown back almost ten feet and landed roughly on the ground, his sword flying out of his hand.

Naruto groaned and lifted his head, expecting to see the Mist Shinobi running towards him. Instead, though, he was ran towards Tazuna. Sakura was standing in front of him looking absolutely terrified and holding a kunai in her trembling hands.

Naruto got to his feet, the entire right side of his face aching, and tried to run after him but he knew he wouldn't get there in time. Just as the Shinobi reared back to smash his gauntlet into Sakura's face, Kakashi suddenly puffed into existence in front of his student and slapped the man's arm to the side.

The Shinobi's eyes widened in surprise, shocked that Kakashi was still alive. Before he could get over his shock, Kakashi rammed his fist into his stomach and then slammed his knee into his face. The Shinobi collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

His partner was also knocked out. Sasuke stood over the motionless Shinobi who was lying face down on the ground.

"You killed him Sasuke?!" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Amazing!"

"He's not dead," Sasuke said, "I just knocked him out."

Naruto picked up his sword and trudged over to the rest of his team, rubbing the right side of his face.

"You all did a good job," Kakashi said.

"Why didn't you come sooner?" Naruto complained grumpily. "Were you just watching?"

"Well I decided to wait a few moments to see how you each would perform in the face of real life danger. You each responded well. Naruto, you did a good job fighting one of them even though you lost. He is most likely at least a Chunin so there is no shame in that. Sasuke, I'm proud and impressed that you managed to defeat one of them. Excellent job. Sakura, you did well standing in front of Tazuna and protecting him. I'm proud you followed one of the Shinobi rules."

Sasuke nodded and Sakura beamed at the praise but Naruto still looked annoyed that Sasuke managed to defeat one of the enemy Shinobi and he couldn't.

"Unfortunately, it seems as if someone didn't tell the Hokage all the details about this mission," Kakashi said, looking at Tazuna. The bridge builder gulped and looked at the ground. "Is there a reason that two Hidden Mist Shinobi are all the way in the Land of Fire trying to attack you?"

Tazuna was quiet for a moment before he said, "I may not have given all the details but I'm sorry, I can explain! We really need this bridge to be built. The corrupt businessman named Gatō controls all of our shipping routes and has isolated us from the outside world. Most of us barely have food to eat. I was going to ask if you could stay in the Wave and protect us for just a bit longer until the bridge is finished. If I could I would have just been up front about it from the start but there's no way we could afford an A-Rank mission even if we pooled our money together."

Kakashi looked at his Genin team. "It's up to you three whether you want to continue this mission. You have the right to decide whether you want to go home or not since you began this mission under false pretenses but if one of you decided you want to go home, we all have to."

"I'm staying. There's no way I'm ending my first mission outside the village after a few hours," Naruto declared. Kakashi looked at Sasuke, who just nodded.

Sakura bit her nails and looked at the unconscious bodies of the Mist Shinobi. Then she glanced at Sasuke.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, Sakura," Kakashi said.

Sasuke gave her an annoyed look and that seemed to make up her mind.

"I-I'll stay," Sakura said.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Sakura confirmed.

"Well since my students are fine with it, we'll continue," Kakashi said. Tazuna breathed a sigh of relief.

Kakashi tied the two unconscious Chunin to a tree and the group got themselves together before resuming their walk. Naruto grabbed a new leaf and began trying to cut it with his chakra but his fight with the Hidden Mist Shinobi remained at the back of his mind.

Hidden Sound

Orochimaru sat at a table in a dimly lit room poring over a bunch of scrolls. He'd been looking through them for hours, searching for any sign, clue or hint that they could give on what he was hunting for.

Orochimaru calmly rolled up yet another scroll and placed it to the side. Just as he reached for another one, the door opened and Kabuto entered.

"I didn't tell you I would be in here," Orochimaru said.

"I made an educated guess," Kabuto replied.

Orochimaru gave a raspy chuckle. "Is there a reason you're searching for me?"

"Sasuke and his team have received their first mission outside of the Leaf," Kabuto reported.

Orochimaru grinned. "Is that so?"

"Yes. They've been ordered to escort a bridge builder back to his home in the Land of Waves."

Orochimaru licked his lips and stood up. "Perfect."

With Team 7 and Tazuna, a while later

Naruto crushed another leaf in frustration for the third time and threw it into the river. His team and Tazuna were being ferried across a lake by a kind elderly man after hours of walking from the Hidden Leaf. Naruto was feeling a bit tired but Tazuna had promised that once they reached his home he would house them for as long as necessary.

As they sat on the boat, Tazuna went a bit more in depth about life in the Land of Waves. The more he listened, the more Naruto hated this Gatō man. He was a manipulative, immoral bastard and Naruto soon found himself desperately wanting to meet the prick so he could beat him senseless.

The boat finally reached the giant island known as the Land of Waves. Team 7 and Tazuna clambered out of the boat and, after thanking the ferryman, began their trek to Tazuna's home.

The group began walking on a dirt path that went through a forest. Naruto was slightly jumpy after the Mist Shinobi incident and his eyes kept flicking from bush to bush.

The sun had begun to set and the sky was darkening so it was going to become harder to see but Naruto kept one hand on his sheathed sword just in case.

"There's a lake just past those trees a bit up ahead," Tazuna said. "Would you all like to take a quick break?"

After 20 minutes of walking with nothing happening, Naruto was bored and he honestly just wanted to get to Tazuna's home. The rest of his team agreed to take a break, though, so Naruto just sighed and went along with it. He finally took his hand off his sword and reached up to grab a leaf from one of the trees. He froze, though, when he saw a man standing on a tree branch a few trees away.

The man was around 6 feet tall and muscular with gray-ish colored skin. He wore bandages like a mask on the bottom half of his face and wore his Shinobi headband sideways on his head. His shirt was black and had no sleeves. His pants were the same color as his shirt and he also wore striped wrist and leg warmers. The scariest thing about him, though, was the massive sword that he currently had leaning against his shoulder.

"K-Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto said.

Kakashi turned around and looked where Naruto's slightly shaky finger was pointing. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the Shinobi standing in the trees and he cursed.

"Kakashi? As in Kakashi Hatake? The copy ninja of the Hidden Leaf?" the Shinobi in the tree said in a deep voice. "This may be more interesting than I thought. Then again, the rest of you are just children."

Naruto gripped his katana and unsheathed it.

"Naruto! That is Zabuza Momochi. He is a rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist. Get behind me," Kakashi said. He stepped in front of Naruto.

Zabuza chuckled. "What's the point of trying to defend him? He'll have to fight one of us either way."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed and he glanced from left to right before scanning the branches around Zabuza.

"What are you talking about?"

"He'll be here any second now," Zabuza said casually. Naruto tightened his grip on his sword, his eyes trying to look in every direction at once.

Suddenly, another Shinobi puffed into existence on the branch of a tree on the other side of dirt path.

Kakashi's eyes widened again and this time, he actually pushed Naruto backwards.

The other Shinobi had waist length green hair and blue eyes. He wore bandages on most of his body and wore a dark-brown sleeveless vest that fell to his knees. His pants were grey and he had on black sandals. He held a slim, strange looking sword in each hand. Each sword had an upward-curved bladed prong near the tip of one side of the blade and another one near the base of the blade's other side.

"Who is that, Kakashi-Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"That's Raiga Kurosuki. He is also a rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist. Both of them are, or rather were members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist," Kakashi told him. Naruto's eyes widened.

"I've heard of them. They're supposed to be the best swordsmen in the world," he said. "Why are they here?"

"For the same reason the other Shinobi attacked us. They're most likely going for Tazuna," Kakashi said.

"So let's take them down like the others, Kakashi-Sensei," Sasuke said, stepping up beside his Sensei and his teammate.

"This won't be close to as easy, Sasuke. I don't think you understand just how skilled the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist are," Kakashi said.

Zabuza chuckled again.

"That's high praise coming from Kakashi Hatake," he said. "It's unfortunate that you'll likely have to die for us to complete our job."

Zabuza jumped down from the tree and took his huge sword off of his shoulder. His partner jumped down and landed besides him. Naruto gulped as he looked at the two men.

"Zabuza is the more dangerous of the two," Kakashi said in a low voice. "I just need you two to hold Kurosuki off until I can defeat him."

Naruto glanced behind him. Tazuna was pale and sweating while Sakura was standing in front of him, a kunai in her hand.

"When I say go, we'll attack," Kakashi said. Naruto refocused his attention on his target, Raiga Kurosuki. The man was tall, well muscled, and overall pretty dangerous looking.

"Ready?" Kakashi said. Sasuke and Naruto nodded. "Go!"

There goes another chapter of the story, I hope you all liked it.

Any questions just throw them at me and I'll answer them. We've finally hit the Wave Arc! Next chapter will be the best one yet and most likely the longest.

Raiga Kurosuki is a canon character, he is an actual member of the Seven Swordsman of the Hidden Mist. I'm fairly sure he was mostly shown in filler arcs, though he definitely is canon as he has other appearances like when Might Duy goes into eight gates mode against the Seven Swordsman.

Haku will be a female in this story. I was never comfortable with the fact that she was a male and if I make her a boy in this story I'll probably slip up and make like, 200 mistakes lol.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed. More coming soon, see you next time.