Chapter Five – Hunters in the Snow

Kurenai stared at the letter for a long time. Eventually, she threw it in the dwindling fire and got up to wake her genin. So the Shinobu Ring of Command had sent another team as backup? That was fine, wasn't it? It wasn't like they didn't believe in her because she was a rookie jounin. If they thought she wasn't capable to lead, then she wouldn't have been appointed as a jounin-instructor in the first place. Or did they think I would fail my first team? She wondered. No, with the Hyuuga heiress, there was no question that mine would pass. If I did fail them, it would mean threats from the Hyuuga clan head.

She shook her head to clear her troubling thoughts and lifted the flap of the boys' tent. She nudged Shikamaru, waking him from an uneasy slumber, and went to the tent she shared with Hinata to do the same.

Their group began a short and efficient routine of stowing away their things and killing their fire. Tazuna, who had his own tent to dismantle, had taken a short pause and watched them work with grudging approval. Things stowed, they began to eat sandwiches and spring rolls from a storage scroll that Hinata had brought with her as they moved on.

"Sensei," Shikamaru spoke up, trailing just a few steps behind her, less than an hour after they had started walking. "There's a group of shinobi trailing after us—four o'clock, about twelve hundred feet away and gaining speed."

It must be them. Kurenai nodded serenely. "Leave a mark on one of the trees; they'll know where to look."

Shikamaru lifted both eyebrows abruptly and nodded. "They sent us backup, huh?"

"What? Seriously?" Kiba demanded. He had been listening to their brief conversation. "Do they think we're not competent enough? Stupid mutts—we can take care of ourselves."

"We don't exactly have a say in the matter." Kurenai answered gently. "Besides, the extra help is always welcome." Her gaze flickered to meet Kiba's defiant eyes, daring him to protest further. The boy pouted and stuck his chin out. He looked away sullenly.

"S-sensei," Hinata interrupted, her voice quivering. "I think I recognize them."

She looked at her student appraisingly. "You do? It's quite the skill to recognize a man simply through his chakra pathways."

The girl had blushed, "It's Naruto-kun's team, Sensei."

That boy our Hinata has her eye on? Well that would explain why she recognized him. However… Kurenai frowned. It was Tazuna who voiced out her puzzlement. "Why send more genin? Why not chuunin or jounin instead? No offense and all but, I don't exactly feel super safe with more brats running around."

"None taken," Shikamaru answered dryly. "I wouldn't feel safe either."

"Hey, Naruto and his team are pretty good, you know," Kiba replied defensively, a true pack dog.

"But they are as inexperienced as we are."

"Well, considering the amount you paid for our team, they're probably trying to compensate by sending us the best genin crop of the year. Jounin and chuunin are not exactly within your current price range," Kurenai answered icily.

Tazuna paled from her tone. He had already told them everything—his reasons, and his lack of monetary funds. From the way the three genins glanced at him, and Kurenai's rigid stance, he knew that it would take time before they could trust him again, if ever at all. He gritted his teeth, willing himself not to let his anger take control of his actions. He had already made a great many errors. He would not add more to that list. Besides, he owed these people his life, even if he did pay for their services. They could have left him to journey alone once the truth had sloppily spilled out of his mouth, but they didn't. That said a lot about their group. It meant that they deserved a bit more respect from him.

Zabuza breathed heavily, tasting the scent of his prey. He bared his teeth in a wide grin, though none could see the wide canines that curved sharply from either side of his mouth, his face masked by a simple linen cloth wrapped around his chin a few times. He tightened his grip around Kubikiribocho's handle and tilted his head a bit, his mind racing to form a course of action that would give him the highest percentage of success. The jounin was the most dangerous of them, he knew, which meant taking her down first. After that, he could keep them preoccupied with Kirigakure. He licked his lips, his eyes resting on a small mouse of a girl with lavender eyes and fidgety fingers. No. He would use that technique after he'd incapacitate the girl. No point in having mist around if a Byakugan user could tell where he was hiding anyway. Then it was just a matter of picking his targets off one at a time.

He could feel the presence of more figures approaching but paid them no heed. They would be taken care of.

His muscles tensed.

Blood landed on his cheek in hot, scalding droplets. He twisted his body and cut the jounin's throat with a kunai in his other hand for good measure. His stance perfectly balanced, he paused for a few seconds, eyeing the frightened kids before him. Their faces had changed from a determined expression to a shocked and fearful one—an expression he was familiar with. "Give me the old man, and none of you will get hurt," Zabuza spoke calmly. "Though really, I'd like to kill you all, so I'm hoping you'll say no."

"You're right," Shikamaru finally spoke up, after the three exchanged nervous looks. "We'd rather die than give him over, however troublesome that might be."

Zabuza smiled underneath his mask. Time for some fun. He inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement and disappeared, leaving a trail of mist. When he reappeared to slam his blade against the girl's chest he found himself incapable of moving. With a grunt, he was able to shift his muscles a little, but it was an effort.

"Now, Hinata!"

The girl glared at Zabuza with those milky lavender eyes. "Jyuuken Hou, Hakke Sanjuuni Sho."

Chakra-enhanced fingers began to cut off his chakra pathways with deft fingers. Zabuza let out a growl of annoyance and forced chakra out of those blocked paths, kicking the girl's stomach and knocking the breath out of her lungs. "Too slow," he murmured and swung his blade in a sideways sweep, forcing the feral dog boy to move off-course with his drill-like jutsu. With a twitch of his fingers, two Mizu Bunshin rose from behind him. He'd made the mistake of letting his guard down. Well, he would not make that mistake a second time. It was time to destroy these brats.

His target this time was the shadow boy who had managed to stop his movements for a brief while. He felt one of his clones capture the girl using his Suiro no Jutsu and immediately used Kirigakure to hide himself and his remaining clone. When he saw the gaki, he twisted his grip on his sword in preparation. In a matter of seconds, it would all be over.

He slammed his sword against the boy's ribcage. Shadow boy frowned and looked down at the wound. He exploded in a spray of water. Zabuza's eyes widened in surprise. He turned around and met the oncoming blade with his own. What the hell was his clone doing? Why was it attacking him? His gaze flickered downwards, and sure enough, he could see his clone's shadow connected to the shadow boy. He twisted around and beheaded his clone without a second's thought. How did they manage to—?

He'd just destroyed his two clones. That meant that the Hyuuga girl managed to break free of his Water Prison. It would be easy, of course, he reasoned, especially when one of them can manipulate the shadows.

"Gatsuuga!"

Kurenai remained hidden as part of the clearing's foliage, watching her students with an approving smile. Shikamaru was a clever boy and his two teammates were quick to follow his lead. Already, Shikamaru was able to tell where that missing-nin's priorities lied. He knew who to protect, and with a few discreet hand signals, he was able to direct his friends to defend efficiently against the man. As a genin group, however, they were incapable of doing more than defend. They didn't know enough ninjutsus to launch a strong counterattack, and even if they did, none of them had the chakra capacity to use such ninjutsus in quick succession. Already she could sense that Kiba was growing tired and Shikamaru's chakra was decreasing at an increasing rate. She had aided them of course, though she used her genjutsus subtly. She had heightened the man's arrogance and had slightly warped the man's field of vision so that his aim was slightly off.

She saw her opportunity then and immediately moved her hands to make the proper seals. The missing-nin gasped in surprise as branches began to coil around his torso, his wrists and his legs, forcing him to drop his blade. She reappeared on top of him, pressing a kunai against his neck. She smirked. Her jutsu had been a success. Her genins, who were regrouping around Tazuna cheered at the sight of her.

Before she could begin to question him, however, senbon flew from her right and slammed against the man's neck, killing him. She growled in frustration and turned to meet the eyes—or at least, the slits—of the Hunter-nin who had emerged from the trees.

"I am a Hunter-nin of Kiri. As this man is a known missing-nin from my village, I must insist that you let him go so that I may take his body back to Kiri where he will be properly disposed. Please understand, it is my job as a Hunter-nin to ensure that our secrets will remain ours."

"Very well." Grudgingly, Kurenai released the genjutsu she had used and slowly backed away, her hands raised in a sign of non-aggression.

She felt a pulse of chakra, and before she could react, the Hunter-nin before her had fallen to the ground where a slab of earth leapt to encircle his waist. A Konoha nin whom she was unfamiliar with appeared in front of Kurenai, crouching towards the nin and putting a pair of handcuffs on his wrists.

"Stupid boy," the Konoha nin muttered under her breath. "Think you can fool a real Hunter-nin?" To her companions, she said, "Nice shot there, Naruto. And Shino—that was some quick thinking, using a doton jutsu to trap him." Her genin team appeared besides her, their clothes having shown signs of a battle.

"Ah, hello, Kiba, Shikamaru, Hinata," Naruto greeted each one of them with a brilliant smile. "Sorry we took so long in coming here. We got a bit preoccupied with some bandits."

"They weren't much of a challenge," Ino grumbled and crossed her arms. "At least you guys fought a jounin; the bandits we fought probably didn't even know what the word 'jutsu' means."

"Tsch, at least you weren't in a life or death situation," Shikamaru spoke, scowling at the girl.

"Why did you incapacitate that Hunter-nin?" Kurenai asked the other jounin curiously.

"Because Hunter-nins are supposed to dispose of the body where it is killed," explained the jounin. "The only thing you bring back is the head of the kill to confirm that you have done your duty to your village."

Kurenai raised her eyebrows in surprise. She hadn't known about that. "So that boy is an accomplice?"

"That would be our best bet."

"Fuckit!" They both turned around and glared at Kiba who was staring behind them in surprise.

"What's wrong, Kiba?" Kurenai asked gently, her expression softening.

"I just saw that Kiri-nin melt into the ground!" They both turned to look and found that the missing-nin was already gone; in his place was a puddle of water.

"Shino, did you place a bug on him?"

"Of course, Natsuki-sensei," the boy replied tersely.

Natsuki nodded. "Then we can track him later if we have to."

"What do you mean 'later'?" Kiba demanded. "Why don't we do it now? He must be tired from fighting against us. I think it's better if we go after him while he's still recovering!"

"What is your mission?" Natsuki demanded.

"T-to protect Tazuna-san," Hinata replied.

Kiba pouted and folded his arms. "Fine! We'll protect the old man. But if that missing-nin comes back again, I want a piece of his ass!"

"Come on, Kiba," Naruto said cheerfully, patting the boy's shoulder. "Let's go escort the bridge-builder to his home. If you're right and that missing-nin is still recovering, then we won't have to worry about him for a while."

"N-naruto-kun is right," Hinata spoke soothingly. "Let's do our mission first, Kiba-kun."

Natsuki removed the doton jutsu on the younger Kiri-nin and slung him on her shoulder. Curiously, she looked at Kurenai as they began their slow walk towards Nami no Kuni once more. "You're not related to Shizuru, are you?"

Night was beginning to fall when they finally reached the boats that would bring them to Nami no Kuni. Their prisoner, a boy named Haku, was quite displeased at being held hostage. Unfortunately for him, the chakra cuffs on his wrists prevented him from forming any jutsus.

As a group, Team 8 and Team 11 worked well together despite being relatively new genin teams. In the front they had Kiba and Shino who were good scouts and trackers with bloodlines that allowed them to alert the others if a threat ever arose. Naruto and Hinata were both vital for combat and were placed in the back where they could immediately launch a defensive. Shikamaru was clever and his strategies would be vital so he was placed in the middle, along with Ino who was asking Tazuna an awful lot of questions—a true sign of a good investigator. She was also good for defence and was the closest if the old man was ever in any immediate danger.

Kurenai couldn't help but laud their jounin-sensei mentally for Team 11's ability to integrate themselves in her group. When she mentioned as much to Natsuki, the jounin snorted derisively and explained that she was not their actual jounin-sensei. Ibiki, who was chosen to be their instructor, was too vital a figure in ANBU to leave the village. He had no time to go with his team for a mission like this, even if it had unintentionally turned into an A-rank mission. Kurenai, who had remembered seeing Ibiki in the conference room with the other jounin-instructors waiting for their assignments, realized that it was Naruto's team that the man had taken. She thought he was one of those jounins who just got fodder genin-hopefuls who had no chance of passing the Final Test in the first place.

Boy was she wrong.

Tazuna, on the other hand, marvelled at the professionalism exuding from this motley band. They were alert and tense, and though none of the children carried themselves with the same battle-readiness that their senseis did, they still appeared to be a threat to those who were looking. For once, his men looked hopeful as they began to uncoil the rope that tied their boats to the shore.

The group separated again into their original teams, as their ride to the Land of Waves could not carry all of them in one boat. Natsuki, who appeared to have an agenda of her own, gave instructions to her genin team, putting special emphasis on the fact that they must obey Kurenai in her absence, before she ran ahead of them, her footsteps light as she treaded on water.

When prompted on why their sensei was scouting ahead, the three exchanged looks and explained that their sensei was a member of ANBU. If she had gone ahead, there was a good reason behind it. They just weren't sure if it was simply an information-gathering one, or something more…bloody.

"Where is my master, Zabuza-sama?" Haku finally demanded after being silent for so long.

"He escaped," Naruto replied as he led the older boy towards the second boat.

"Good."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You don't seem too concerned about your own safety."

The effeminate boy did not reply.

"He's prolly keeping his own mouth shut so that he won't unintentionally reveal any information to us," Kiba said with a scowl directed at the Kiri-nin.

"It's the wise thing to do," Naruto murmured softly.

Their boats were pushed from the shore and began to drift across the deep waters. Shikamaru, who liked the slow pace, was staring at the stars in his usual indolent manner. Kiba and his dog were enjoying the new scents that the sea had presented to them. Hinata was talking affably with Ino even though they were in different boats, while Naruto was reading one of the jutsu scrolls he had brought with him. Shino simply stared. Haku, who was sitting near the prow of the boat, shifted uncomfortably from that inexpressive stare and tried to look away.

"Shinobi are tools," Shino spoke softly, his voice only loud enough for Haku to hear. "Does your master see you as a tool, I wonder?"

"I—what if he does?"

"Does he know how precious he is to you?"

The force of Haku's glare lessened. "Whether he knows or does not know matters not to me. As long as I can be of use to him, I can be happy." He paused and looked at Shino thoughtfully. "And you? Do you have people who are precious to you?"

Shino frowned and considered Haku's question. He cared about his parents and his clan. He cared about his teammates and his friends. He cared about the village. But were any of them truly precious to him? They were important to him, but the words 'important' and 'precious' were very much different from each other. "I'm afraid we do not share the same mindset."

"What do you mean by that?"

"There are people who are important to me, but not in the same way that Zabuza-san is important to you." Shino tilted his head slightly, choosing his words with care. "I see things from a Queen Bee – Worker perspective. The Queen is the most important of all for without the Queen, the Hive will crumble. The Workers, like my team and I, we are expendable. We can afford to die for the Queen. Yet, despite that, the lives of my teammates are very important to me and I would do my best to keep them from harm's way. If I were to see them as only expendable, the group dynamics would suffer, because I would not work so hard to try and protect them."

"That's very logical of you. So you protect them because it is beneficial to the group?"

"Yes," Shino adjusted his glasses, "and because they are my friends."

"So you care about them but you care even more for a cause higher than yourself." At Shino's nod, the older boy frowned. "And what if this higher cause will only bring pain and suffering to your friends?"

"Then it is not a worthy cause."

"So you would kill the Queen if it has deviated to a lesser path?"

"I would. A Queen left tainted will spread its taint, and the Hive will crumble anyway."

Natsuki arrived in Nami no Kuni in less than an hour. From an initial survey of the place, she could tell that its people were bone-weary and frightened. They were a people whose wills have been broken. They were a people who knew only how to obey and how to hide. They were a people oppressed by those who held power in this place. Natsuki felt disgust at those who had the gall to manipulate such a people and grind them to the current state that they were in.

She disappeared into the corners where shadows frequented more, though with the darkened sky, few places were lit brightly enough for her to worry about looking for cover. She moved through narrow alleyways, past containers of refuse where street urchins loitered. As she did so, she began to tie several jutsus to the basic henge that she had wrapped around herself. These jutsus would ensure that her guise was credible, and unlikely to be removed by a simple wave of chakra which was often used to expel genjutsus. By the time she arrived in a tavern, she looked like a thin, lanky youth just barely above the drinking age limit, with muddy brown hair that looked like a bird's nest and dull brown eyes.

'Shiro' walked into the room nervously, eyeing the heavily muscled mercenaries who dominated the front of the bar. He ordered some beer and found a place to sit in a corner where he began to drink the too-strong beverage with trepidation written plainly on his face. To those who cared to look, they found a boy whose notion of becoming a man included drinking heavily and getting laid.

He was about to get the latter in the form of a brunette slithering towards him, the sway of her hips making her curves more pronounced. She sat on his lap and caressed his cheek gently, kissing his stubbly jaw and whispering sweet nothings in his ear. Shiro flushed and allowed himself to be led towards one of the empty rooms upstairs, feeling the jealous gaze of many patrons in the tavern trailing after the pair.

When they reached the room, Shiro locked the door and added a seal that would keep any possible eavesdroppers from hearing anything important.

"I hope you are not always this intimate with your customers, Misaki-san," Natsuki murmured in Shiro's rough voice.

"Jealous, Natsuki-chan?" Misaki asked.

The kunoichi snorted derisively. "I just hate for us to have to keep meeting like this. And the name is Shiro tonight, Misaki-san."

"How romantic of you, Shiro-kun," Misaki replied, a smile tugging at her lips as she savoured the taste of 'his' name in her mouth. "I didn't think you were the type who'd want to rescue a pretty thing like me from my profession."

"You know what I mean, Misaki-san." Natsuki sighed. "Our meetings are always just so troublesome. Anyway, what'd you got for me?"

"Gato's almost got the entire village wrapped around his little finger by now," Misaki spoke softly. "The bridge-builder is trying his best, but if he doesn't find more workers, he'll never finish that bridge."

"Don't worry; Konoha's placed a vested interest on this place."

Misaki raised both eyebrows in mild surprise. "Replacing one master with a more benevolent one?"

"Our village has no interest in expanding its territory. Still, it would do well for both of our economies if Nami no Kuni decides to become a trading partner of Konoha."

"Even if Nami no Kuni has an ailing economy right now?"

Natsuki shrugged. "Things get worse before they get better."

"It sounds like Konoha is desperate for some allies," Misaki observed. This time, the kunoichi remained quiet. "I also have other news for you—particularly you, Na—Shiro-kun." She sat down at the edge of the bed, looking wearier than before. "Unfortunately, Gato's managed to hire more than one dangerous missing-nin for his purposes. Have you heard of the name Kanzaki before?"

"A family dedicated to the acquisition of demonic blades," Natsuki intoned, her face suddenly unreadable.

Masaki inclined her head. "The eldest son of their clan head is looking to add Gato to their numerous resources. He sent his firstborn here to do whatever nasty work Gato has for him."

"That's almost as big an investment that Konoha has on Nami no Kuni," Natsuki muttered."What can Gato give him that others can't?"

"Reach," Misaki answered simply. "Gato is a shipping magnate. With his kind of job and power, the Kanzaki clan can go to farther places than they can before. It would make acquiring those blades even easier for them."

Natsuki grunted and crossed her arms. "Smart—but not smart enough if they caught the attention of Konoha." She paused and took a deep breath. "Who else?"

"Besides a Kanzaki, I hear that he has a Swordsman of the Mist"—Misaki saw Natsuki nodding in agreement—"A Kumo-nin, and another shinobi. From what I heard, this last one doesn't even wear a hitai-ate."