Demon of the Hidden Leaf

Ch.1- Passing of the Kubikiribocho

This story is currently being edited, so any discrepancies you find while reading be assured It won't be for long. The revision is almost over.

A/N: I've read stories where Naruto takes Zabuza's sword, but only one of them has been about him honoring the mantle of Demon of the Mist. Personally, I feel like the series should have taken a major turning point there with Naruto's development...but it didn't. So, here's how I think it should have gone from the Wave mission onward. Now, there's no pairing yet, the actual pairing won't really take place until the Shippuden era. So the first half is more about setting up. I hope you guys enjoy this one.

xXx

Naruto sat on his knees, staring at the grave sites in front of him. He and his team had just finished their first C-ranked mission; although certain variables inevitably upgraded it to an A-rank. And now both of those variables lay buried in the earth: Zabuza Momochi and his partner Haku.

It had started out like any other basic escort mission, Naruto and his squad traveling slowly through the Land of Fire to get to a port that would take them to Wave country...but then everything changed when they were ambushed by a pair of Kirigakure chunin known as the Demon Brothers. The battle was short, but it foreshadowed an even greater threat laying in wait for them.

That threat came in the form of the Kiri's former Seven Swordsmen member Zabuza; Demon of the Mist, and master of the silent killing technique. After a hard fought battle, where the trio of genin were forced to face the Demon alone and save their sensei, Squad 7 managed to pull out a win.

Or so they thought.

Naruto's Jounin instructor, Kakashi, informed the team that Zabuza had survived the encounter; the hunter-ninja that had taken him out was a fake.

Estimating it would take their adversary at least a week to recover, Kakashi used that time to introduce his genin to chakra control exercises. Naruto and his team-mate's practiced the tree-climbing technique for seven days before they were back in action and ready for round two. That's where things got dicey.

The reason being?

Over the course of that week Naruto had met and made a friend, someone who taught him a valuable lesson: When you fight to protect someone, that is when you become truly strong. The young boy's words struck a chord with the blonde and left Naruto with a lot to think about.

The following day they met up again, the boy was gathering more herbs like before, to aid in his friends recovery, and Naruto was more than happy to help. After that, the two spent time talking before the older raven-haired boy said he needed to return home. Naruto said his goodbyes and went back to his training, hopeful that he would get to see his friend again tomorrow.

That 'tomorrow' happened to be the day Zabuza struck again,and when the blonde finally arrived on the scene, the Naruto found himself wishing that he hadn't been so hopeful.

Because his friend, Haku, turned out to be Zabuza's accomplice.

The feeling of betrayal weighed heavily on the young Leaf-ninja's shoulders as he did battle with his former friend. Naruto attempted to get the former Mist-ninja to withdraw, make him see that they didn't have to fight, but Haku would always just reply with the same response.

"I want to protect the person important to me...I want to work for that person. I want to fight for that person. I want to make that person's dreams come true...That is mydream."

And so they fought. But even with Sasuke awakening his Sharingan, the two genin were no match for Haku and his Crystal-Ice Mirrors.

However Haku realized that drawing out the battle any longer could result in his defeat, so with an apology to his foes, he struck. A hail of senbon rained down upon Naruto and Sasuke. It was after not feeling any pain that Naruto opened his eyes, the ones he hadn't realized he'd closed, and was greeted with a horrific sight.

Sasuke Uchiha, his team-mate and friend, lay at his feet covered in needles. His body leaking blood from every wound. Sasuke had sacrificed himself to save the blonde.

Everything went red for Naruto after that.

The blonde only remembered feeling an intense rage, almost hatred, but the events that took place after still escape him. Kakashi would later inform him of how, after subduing both Haku and Zabuza, he'd chopped the blonde in the neck.

The next thing Naruto did recall was hearing Gato clap, and then the bloodbath brought on by an angry Zabuza; who fought with only a single kunai in his mouth to avenge the recently fallen Haku. Naruto would later learn that it had been Kakashi that had done the boy in with his Raikiri.

Soon after, once Zabuza had killed Gato and the people of Wave forced out the thugs threatening their village, Naruto and his team encircled the dying Mist-ninja and the lifeless body of Haku as it started, surprisingly, to snow.

Zabuza spoke of just how much Haku meant to him, the boy's loyalty and his friendship despite the swordsman's own cruel and blunt nature. Of how he wished he could follow Haku into heaven; if only so that he could tell the young ninja in person, just once, how important he really was to Zabuza.

But it was not to be, and the powerful swordsman passed from the land of the living burdened with that regret.

Yet through it all, Naruto Uzumaki felt more respect for Zabuza than he had ever felt for any other person in his life.

"I thought I might find you here," a calm voice echoed from behind Naruto. The orange-clad blonde turned his head to see the form of his sensei walking up to him.

Letting out a pained sigh Naruto replied, "Yeah, I just...wanted to say goodbye one more time before we head out tomorrow."

Kakashi looked on with his one eye as his student turned back to the two makeshift graves he'd constructed for the dead Kiri shinobi. Over each mound of dirt were wooden crosses made from stakes the blonde had carved from tree branches; Zabuza's zanbato, Kubikiribocho, thrust into the ground behind his marker.

The silver-haired Jounin noticed how Naruto's gaze would linger on Zabuza's blade, as if trying to will the man back to life to take hold of it again. This surprised the elite ninja, having never seen such a look on the young boy's face.

"I know it's hard Naruto, but he died a death that was more than honorable for someone of his status," Kakashi said as he placed a hand on his student's shoulder. But he was surprised when his gesture was shrugged off.

Naruto turned and looked into Kakashi's lone eye with one of his own as he said, "Oh yeah? And now what happens, huh? Is his name just gonna fade into the wind, because I doubt Mist will put it on theirmemorial stone. I bet they're just gonna sweep all this up and paint him as some sort of...defective weapon that they couldn't control and use him as some example of what not to be!"

"So you're saying you care about the reputation of an enemy ninja, a man that attempted to end your life in pursuit of his own goals?" Kakashi asked in curiosity. He'd never heard of something like this happening before. Usually a ninja was all too happy to drag an enemy's name through the mud if it meant their own fame would increase.

The Jounin instructor was pulled from his musings by the blonde genin's voice as he replied.

"Of course I care, Zabuza was more than just some enemy ninja. He was a person; with his own ambitions and dreams. He was also a powerful ninja who deserves respect and just thinking about what's probably going to happen to his reputation makes me so mad!"

Naruto's outburst caused Kakashi to lean back a little due to the volume, but that didn't take away from the message he got: his student held the Demon of the Mist in extremely high regard, and wished for people to remember the fallen ninja with honor.

This cemented a decision he'd been turning over in his head the past few nights while the bridge was being finished.

So, standing back to his full height, Kakashi turned as if to leave and said, "You know, something I learned about the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist is that, whenever a member falls, their blade is passed down to whoever managed to slay them. And while technically Zabuza died from his wounds, I'd say youwere the one to defeat him. It was your words that changed his mind and made him put his life on the line to avenge Haku; you defeated the Demon of the Mist Naruto. Kubikiribocho belongs to you now...if you want it."

And with that, the older male walked away, leaving a wide-eyed blonde sitting with his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

Naruto closed his mouth, and then swiveled his head around to return his gaze to the giant blade buried in the earth. Did he dare take it?

While it was true he wanted the Demon of the Mist to be remembered with respect, Naruto wasn't sure he was truly good enough to carry on the name; he was after all the dead-last in the academy.

'What if...what if I just end up embarrassing myself? What if I don't have what it takes? Zabuza was a true elite ninja, a master of stealth with more kills under his belt than most of the ninja from my own village, and on top of that he was as powerful as Kakashi-sensei without using some special power! Kakashi-sensei even said that he'd need the Sharingan to battle Zabuza, can I really reach that kind of level?'

It was a glint of light that brought the blonde out of his swirling thoughts.

Blinking his shocking blue eyes rapidly Naruto turned his attention to where the gleam was coming from, and realized it was coming from the very sword he was debating about. Naruto noticed that it was now mid-day, he'd been out there all morning, and so the sun was in the center of the sky casting its light down upon all that lived beneath it. This caused Zabuza's sword to reflect the light, catching Naruto in the eye.

With his attention returned to the blade, Naruto soon found himself lost in the refection of himself that stared back at him. For what felt like hours he stared into his own blue eyes, searching for something that he couldn't identify, before breaking the trance to look upwards towards his headband.

After staring at the reflection of his headpiece, the young Uzumaki returned to looking at his own reflection. It was after another minute of silent staring that Naruto reached up, and turned his headband to the side.

xXx

Kakashi stood with two of his genin along the end of 'The Great Naruto Bridge'. All of Wave country seemed to be standing along the massive structure with the intent to see the team of ninja off.

Now they just needed their fourth member.

"Ugh, what's taking Naruto-baka so long? We were supposed to have left hours ago Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura wailed to her superior. Beside her Sasuke just raised a questioning eyebrow.

Kakashi didn't even bother to look up from his book as he replied, "Don't worry Sakura I'm sure Naruto's on his way now; you know how he likes to spend time at the grave-sites ."

"Yeah, I guess, but the mission's over and I wanna go home. Not that I don't appreciate Tazuna-san's hospitality, but I just really miss my own bed."

"Well you'll be seeing it soon," Sasuke cut in, "here comes the dobe now."

And he was right, through the crowd of people each member of Team 7 could see a mop of blonde hair making its way towards them. Soon Naruto exited the sea of people and greeted his fellow squad-mates.

Two of the three were surprised by what greeted them.

Naruto stood before them, looking mostly the same, but there were two distinct differences. One was the fact that his headband had been turned sideways, and the other, more obvious thing, was the fact that he had the sword that belonged to Zabuza strapped to his back.

Almost immediately Sakura was in his face growling.

"Naruto-baka what do you think you're doing with that sword; what kind of ninja robs someones grave!?" She ended her interrogation with a fist to the top of Naruto's skull.

Naruto massaged the small knot on his head as he answered his crush. "I didn't steal it Sakura-chan, ask Kakashi-sensei if you want, but I heard what you said about wanting to go home so maybe we can talk about this later?" He said in a subdued tone.

The pink-haired girl was a little taken back by the low, tired voice her usually loud team-mate spoke with. She eyed him with concern for a moment, before turning to her sensei, and then saying, "You're right, I do want to go home, so let's just go."

With that, the foursome made their exit from Wave country, leaving behind a cheering crowd and taking with them each their own set of memories.

xXx

The trip back to Konoha was uneventful; no ninja hiding in puddles waiting to attack. And while Sasuke was busy flashing his newly acquired Sharinganon and off, with Sakura complimenting the Uchiha on how powerful it made him look, Naruto remained silent.

As he sped through the trees the blonde's mind was continuously going over his decision to take up Zabuza's mantle. While he'd decided that it was what he wanted, he still had to think about how best to go about it. More specifically, what he'd need to work on to be a worthy successor.

Naruto knew that his taijutsu needed work, he only knew the basics of the academy style, and even then he'd skipped classes so there were definite holes in his stance. The blonde thought back to the rogue ninja's style, and how he incorporated not just punches, but kicks, elbows, and even his sword into his attack patterns.

Next he thought about his repertoire of ninjutsu.

At the moment Naruto counted that he had three combat jutsu and one ineffective technique that, if he was going to take this seriously, he would need to throw out. 'So that leaves me with the Henge, Kawarimi, and my Kage-Bunshin.' The blonde deduced.

'If I really wanna do this, I'm gonna need to seriously step up my game. Zabuza used some pretty high level techniques, and then there's his Hidden-Mist jutsu; problem is where am I gonna get somebody to teach me it?'

Figuring he'd deal with that later the blonde then turned his thoughts towards his speed and strength.

One he lacked, the other needed work. Naruto hadn't even been able to keep up with Zabuza's movements during their first encounter, the man moved so fast it was mind-boggling. Then there was his strength, made obvious by the way he easily handled his large zanbato with just one hand; where as Naruto was forced to use both just to pull it from the ground.

Naruto knew he probably had the highest physical strength among his graduating class, having spent many nights conditioning his body, but he knew it wasn't going to be enough if he was to become the new Demon of the Mist.

'That's another thing,' Naruto thought to himself, 'Am I still the Demon of the Mist if I'm a ninja of the Hidden Leaf? Was Zabuza's title based off his village, or his jutsu?'

Shaking his head the blonde decided that, even if the title was originally coined from the man's village, he would make it based off his use of the technique itself...once he found a way to learn it.

Naruto recalled only actually seeing Zabuza do it once, and unfortunately that wasn't enough..for...him...

Suddenly Naruto's eyes widened with inspiration as he remembered an impromptu lesson he'd received on the battlefield about the Sharingan.

Turning his blue-eyed gaze in the direction of his Jounin instructor, Naruto remembered that behind the man's slanted headband was one of those famous copy-wheel eyes; and he'd seen Zabuza use the technique he wanted to learn!

With plans to speak with his sensei after reporting in to old man Sarutobi, Naruto settled down and relaxed the rest of the trip home.

xXx

"So your C-rank turned into an A-rank, and yet you continued on, knowingly putting your genin in danger?" Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime, asked the Jounin in front of him.

Kakashi nervously scratched behind his head as he replied. "Well, I asked them if they wanted to return home, but each of them was hellbent on aiding the people of Wave. They said something about 'not being able to turn away from a country in need', it was really quite noble Lord Hokage."

Hiruzen steepled his fingers and eyed each of the three genin that stood in his office. When his eyes landed on Naruto he spoke up again. "And is the reason you've brought the famed 'Head Cleaver' home, so that you could collect the bounty on Zabuza's head?"

The old man hid his surprise when the blonde shot him a disgusted look; as if such a thing were a form of blasphemy.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but Kakashi beat him to it.

"Actually, Lord Hokage, Naruto thought it'd be interesting to learn how to use the sword. He saw the way Zabuza almost defeated me with it, and figured if he could get as good he'd be that much more likely to take that hat from you."

The elderly Kage eyed his Jounin suspiciously but didn't say any more on the subject. Instead, he let out a sigh and said, "Very well then, mission accomplished Squad 7, you may pick up your paychecks tomorrow after we've recalculated the amounts to hand out. For now, you are dismissed."

After bidding goodbye to their leader the members of Squad 7 left the Hokage's office and began exiting the building. Once outside, Sasuke ignored Sakura's request to walk her home and began the trek to his clan compound.

Naruto, seeing the young girl's sad eyes, attempted to cheer her up.

"Hey Sakura-chan, if you want, I'll walk you home after I'm done talking to Kakashi-sensei."

The sadness in Sakura's green eyes quickly turned to annoyance as she turned to look at her other team-mate.

"Naruto-baka how many times do I have to tell you, I don't wanna go out with you, and I don't wanna spend time with you outside of team stuff. You're annoying."

With that the young kunoichi huffed and walked off, leaving Naruto to slump a little in defeat.

Sighing in resignation the blonde turned his attention to his sensei, who had stopped and waited after hearing that his student wanted to talk to him. Naruto then asked, "Kakashi-sensei your Sharingan can copy pretty much any jutsu right?"

"Just about, yes, unless it's a technique tailored specifically for that ninja; like Haku's mirrors. Why?"

"Because I was hoping you were able to copy Zabuza's Hidden-Mistjutsu, and that you could tell me how to do it."

The older man was a little shocked at his student's request. What he'd said back in the Hokage's office was actually pretty close to what he thought was the truth; leaving out the admiration Naruto had for Zabuza for obvious reasons. So the fact that he asked to learn one of another village's signature jutsu threw him off.

Eyeing the blonde curiously he asked, "I did actually, why, what do you want with it?"

"Your genin student asks you for help and your first instinct is to question him?" Naruto asked with an attitude.

"It is when I don't see any reason to teach him what he wants to know."

Naruto turned his eyes away for a few moments, mulling over whether or not to reveal his true intentions before finally looking to Kakashi again.

"...I want to become the next Demon of the Mist and, to do that, I need to know the technique that helped make Zabuza so famous."

Now Kakashi's eye was wide, his eyebrow disappearing into his slanted headband. His masked mouth hung open in shock before he replied.

"N-Naruto do you understand what you just said? Do you understand what it means to take on that mantle because I don't think you do."

The blonde in question just lowered his head, blue eyes hidden by shadows as he answered.

"Actually, I do. That mission opened my eyes Kakashi-sensei, it helped me realize that being a ninja is more than just flashy moves and a fancy nicknames. I learned that being a ninja is about stealth, and being able to think ahead, to be able to shed the blood of another human being because when it comes down to it it's either you or them. I understand that, to truly honor Zabuza, I have to become a real shinobi."

Naruto's speech hit the Copy-ninja hard. He'd never met a genin that spoke with such passion or understanding of what it meant to take up the title of 'ninja'. It was more than just putting on a headband; it was forging yourself into something beyond human.

However, Kakashi needed to know one more thing before making his decision.

"Naruto, do you think you're ready to become the next Demon of the Mist?"

"...No." Naruto answered. "I'm not ready, but that's why I'm going to train, for real this time. On the way back to the village I went over the basics of what I need to improve on, and now it's time that I get to work. I'm not ready now, but I will be."

That was all Kakashi needed to hear. "Okay Naruto, come with me and I'll teach you how to use the Hidden-Mist jutsu."

xXx

A/N: And there it is, the first chapter. In my first story I got a review about Naruto becoming strong way too fast, and looking back, yeah I messed that up. In fact I noticed a lot of things that I could have done better. So, this story will be my attempt at learning from my mistakes and applying my new understanding.