The Fox Summoner (Neglected fanfic)

6. Zabuza, The Swordsman Of The Mist

"You better start talking Tazuna! What the hell was that about?!" Naruto started. Anko, Kushina and Mikoto came out of their hiding spots and smiled at Naruto. Excellent work, Naruto! You must tell me where you learned that Jutsu from" Mikoto praised. "Yes, amazing job Sochi! Strong, just like your father!". Naruto frowned at Kushina's comment but turned to the Uchiha Matriarch. "Thank you, Mikoto-sensei!" he acknowledged her with a small smile. Kushina frowned in sadness as she realized that he only acknowledged Mikoto and not her, his mother.

Anko laughed as she grabbed her blonde Genin and gave him a noogie, scaring poor Naruto. "Haha! That's my cute little Genin! All powerful and shit!". However during this transaction, though, Anko was quick to pull out a kunai and threw it at the feet of the bridge builder, Tazuna. "but I believe my cute little Genin asked you an important question that I myself would like to know the answer to....". Kushina cracked her fists while Mikoto activated her Sharingan. "We agree as well...".

Tazuna began to sweat when he tried to back away but he jumped as he felt Kichiro bite the back of his foot. He shook him off into the air, where he landed right on top of Naruto's head perfectly. "Talk! What's going on, Tazuna?". The old man just watched the Shinobi in front of him with a very somber look. "Alright! Alright! I'll spill it. Jeez, you didn't have to threaten me, ya know. I'm an old man...". "Yeah, an old man who apparently likes to drink his old liver out!" Sayori made a retort but kept it to herself.

Tazuna spoke. "Have you ever heard of a man named Gato?". The Genin around remain confused but the three Jonin raised their eyebrows. "Gato? You mean the Shipping industries-Gato?" Anko asked. Tazuna nodded. "Yes that's him! He is the owner of the Gato shipping company but it turns out that his company is just a front and what he really does is smuggle in drugs and human trafficking and a butt load of other things the public doesn't know about!". "He has cut our resources dry and is holding Wave by the throat and isn't letting go. Our only response to revitalize our country is to build a bridge to connect us to the main land but Gato does not want that and threatening to kill anyone who is working on that bridge" he sobbed.

The others watched as he looked down at his feet and shook, the man was basically breaking down in front of them and they had no choice but to watch. "I-I am Wave's only hope in stopping this f-from happening to us any more! I-I-I can save the Land but I can't do so if-". "If Gato's men try and wipe you out" Sakura said with Tazuna nodding. "Well, why didn't you say so before?" Yakumo asked. "We as the Land of Waves haven't gotten the right amount to afford for a A RANK mission. We could only afford a C RANK due to our poor economy....". Kushina smiled sadly.

"Well, for starters, you could've easily told the truth, Tazuna. Whether or not you had the right amount of money is different. If you didn't, we could've talked about another way to provide the payment with our Hokage as I'm sure he'd be happy to work with you". "The mission you requested should be ranked B RANK or even A RANK...." Sai started. "We're only Genin, the smallest most inexperienced ninja in our village. We couldn't even begin to know what to do here. We're not really ready for this type of missions" Sakura said, most likely speaking for herself. Tazuna sighed in understanding. After all, they are still just kids.

Anko sighed as she looked at her two fellow Jonin and they all silently agreed that this mission is over. "Well guys, since the clientele has lied about his mission details, I'm afraid we're-". "Taking him home....". The Genin turned around to see Naruto standing by Tazuna. "Well, I'm going". Everyone turned to the Fox Summoner. "Naruto?!" Yakumo shouted but Anko stepped in. "Look gaki, it's not up to you. You're a Genin!". "Then I quit" Naruto said with a straight face, shocking everyone further.

"If I leave Tazuna here like this, then I would be a terrible person and a terrible Shinobi. I don't care if it's dangerous, being a ninja myself is all about danger and how we combat it. By turning tails from that danger, we shouldn't even be ninja. It would be against my ninja way if I gave in now! Tazuna needs help and I'll be the one to do it, even if I have to go it alone!". Sayori smiled as she walked up to her teammate.