A/N: Alright, I finally got around to writing the new chapter for Two Tenants now. I just didn't feel like doing it before, so a sorry for those of you that waited for this story. So, yeah, I am finally getting to write this. Also, I am sorry if this feels kinda mindless as I am really not in a very active state of mind while writing this. I have exams coming up, summatives going on and I am in the process of studying. This chapter will probably come up very late and also probably after my exams and near summer break. Here are the responses to what you guys commented:

sierra: I was going to but i got stuck figuring out what the jonin and genin could do in such a situation, Then my exams rolled around and i was tuck studying. Now, i am free and this is summer vacation, the chapters will be rolling out much faster.

Guest: I try my best, and i really hope that you guys are happy about what i write. I know exactly what you mean by being funny and serious at the same time. I try to be.

just4theheckofit98: I hope none you are. I started out fast in summer last year, dwindled to this pace with studies and i will go back to being fast now that this is summer.

splitheart1120: Yeah, they were hoping to do that.

Leaf Ranger: I do respect your opinion, and I can sort of understand your point from what you said. The thing is though, the reasons that the jonin did that was because

1) The genin needed a reality check to see what happens in a ninja's life

2) They needed to know exactly what kind of thugs and shinobi Gatou had hired

3) They needed to know how the three teams would work together

4) It was relatively safe as the jonin, especially Kakashi, was fast and could have intervened at any time.

5) I don't know if I didn't write it or you didn't read it but I think I made Kurenai put the genjutsu over the mist chuunin as well, so she could take them out at any time.

Well, that's how I think it should have gone. Anyways, I hope you like this one. There is a good chance that you may not, but still, I hope you find it an interesting turn of events.

Anyways, I am going to try to make this a big one to compensate for the wait. So, without further wait, ONWARDS!

Chapter 17: Cleavers

The next few hours of their journey were mindless the way they walked and talked to each other but inside their own heads, it was nothing but pure chaos and an unstopped hellacious barrage of questions and wonderings that they asked themselves.

The jonins were pretty proud and confident about their genin by the way that they had handled the threat of the mist pair. And the genin learned truly just how far they had progressed till this point. Naruto was happy at his friends' progress and how he handled the situation without compromising his dad or Kurama. And his own feelings toward a certain kunoichi were something he still did not want to completely get in grips with.

Sakura and Ino were, by now, arguing about who was the better one between them and deserved Sasuke more. The emo, at the time, hearing a rustle in the bushes and paranoid as heck from his past experience, threw a kunai into them, at which his fangirls gasped. The rest of the group also turned their attention towards the bushes as a small sound came from there. Sasuke parted the bushes with caution and sighed in relief when he saw that it was only a white rabbit he had hit. Sakura and Ino went immediately to check the health of the rabbit. The jonin, Minato and Kurama only got more tense as they noticed the colour and what it truly stood for.

As the tell-tale sound met their ears, the outcasts, Sasuke, and the jonin took everyone that was standing and threw them to the ground. They were missed by a giant sword almost chopping all of them in half as it rushed over them. Then they were privy to the sight of a tall man standing on the very same sword that by now was dug into a tree. The man had a frightful composure and bandages wrapped around his face. His eyes narrowed as he observed the unexpected size of the group. This would be a problem, he thought.

As Kakashi recognized the man, he signaled Asuma and Kurenai to him and the genin to guard the builder. They sprang into action immediately. Zabuza also recognized the son of the Hokage but failed to recognize the other two jonin.

"Oi, all of you guard Tazuna with your life, and stay safe while you are at it. Let us handle the brute here." That said, Kakashi's hand flew to his forehead, ready to drop at a moment's notice.

It finally clicked in Zabuza's head, Sharingan Kakashi. And, he had a faint recollection of the woman with the red eyes from the bingo book too. He had to know their skill here and now, maybe kill some of them too, to lessen the load afterwards.

Zabuza debated whether to call his apprentice here, if it was worth it to reveal all his cards at once and tackle the situation or recon for now. He decided on recon.

Zabuza replied appropriately to the jonin, "Why would you say that to your students now, Kakashi, you know as well as me that you will all die here, who comes sooner or later does not matter to me."

The jonins' eyes narrowed even more while the genins' varied in expression, but nevertheless, they all had their guard up.

Asuma replied, "Stop talking nonsense, three of us outnumber you and each of us is more skilled that three of you combined. It's fully obvious what the results of this battle will be."

Zabuza laughed, "I am the demon of the bloody mist! You really think that a bunch of crybabies from a coddled village can beat me? And besides, it would be a foolish thing to assume that I would come here alone."

As if right on cue, as the jonin tensed, a single senbon struck the neck of the mist demon and he fell, lifeless to the floor. A few of the genin, except the Outcasts sighed and let their guard down. The jonin immediately had kunais in their hands and were turned towards the direction that the senbon came from.

The person, who threw the kunai, was apparently standing on the branch of a tree a few metres away from the group. He had blue-grey clothing and a mask with four curved slits on him. He also had two senbon clutched in his extended hand. The jonin were surprised at seeing him there. Kakashi went to check the pulse of the downed ninja.

"A hunter-nin?" Kurenai voiced the question first.

The person bowed, and tucked the senbon away. "Yes, I was chasing Zabuza for quite a while now. I do thank for delaying him for me to catch up. I am sure the Hidden Mist village is thankful for your help in helping capture and kill one of our criminals. I apologize to cut the chat short, but it is important that I take Zabuza away and dispose of him immediately."

Just like that, the hunter-nin vanished from the treetop and appeared in front of Zabuza's body. He bowed to the stunned group and departed with the body quietly. The jonin, seeing no evidence for ill operation, let him do so, even though they all got the feeling that had aided them countless times in identifying an enemy from a friend. Something did not feel right about the hunter-nin, especially as he did not dispose of the body immediately, use senbon to deliver a killing blow, and also with that speed, not caught up with Zabuza sooner. They all kept quiet as they did not have any evidence concerning their suspicions.

Naruto only had a gut feeling while the beings inside him felt much as the jonin did. So, Naruto tried to smell the boy using his enhanced senses; he surprisingly could too. Didn't Kakashi-sensei mention that the hunter-nin was an expert at hiding tracks? So why could Naruto smell him? Naruto thought something was fishy here, and Kurama's and his dad's silence along with this only furthered his doubts.

The other genin questioned the jonin on the incident that happened moments before.

"What you guys just saw was a member of the Hunter ninja, a branch of ninja in a village especially dedicated to killing or capturing missing ninja relating to the village. This particular one, judging from his height and voice, is probably not much older than you, Naruto. Also, judging by the way he disposed of Zabuza, probably more skilled than you too." The tension in the air was somewhat lifted by Naruto's squawk of protest and the genins' laughter.

"Phew," Tazuna sighed and smiled a bit, "I am glad that was over with. You guys can come with me to my place, I have rooms for you guys to stay also a fair bit of space in the mill outside. I can do this much for you guys."

So the group set off to the house of a relieved Tazuna with relieved genin and wary jonin in tow.

At the house, they met Tsunami first, Tazuna's widowed daughter. She, according to almost everyone, was really nice and welcomed them. The rest of the day passed uneventfully, as they divided the rooms and rested. The jonin would cycle every night with two in the mill and one in the house. The genin would also cycle with six of them in the mill with the other three in the house. That way, there was ample room for everyone to sleep and hang out.

At dinner, there happened to be the first drama. They first saw the third member of the family then. As there were too many people to have dinner properly at the dining table, Tazuna decided that they would all have the meal in the main room with everyone present. Tsunami was not too happy with the decision but obliged with only a smaller smile. And so it was decided that dinner would be a merry place, at the very least an effort to be rid of the gloomy atmosphere that they had gathered since leaving Konoha.

Their efforts were almost fully fruitful till a newly met child decided to throw a tantrum. Inari was a quiet child and everyone in the room could agree with that… well, before he threw the tantrum. Then he was pretty loud. Tsunami apologized profusely to the ninja after Inari had left the room while Tazuna hung his head in shame and regret. The food was pretty good, though.

After the great dinner, the ninjas regrouped for the last time before they separated for bed. They jonin had something to talk about if the look in their eyes was anything to go by, in case of Kakashi especially.

The Cyclops was the one to start the conversation. "Alright all of you, I'll first tell you what you really do not want to hear right now. Zabuza is not dead. He's alive." This was faced with gasps from some of the younger audience and a shout of "YES! I KNEW IT!" from Naruto. "Well, we are not fully sure, but in our world, the signs we got are good enough. We need to assume that Zabuza is still alive and will still try to hunt Tazuna. As for how we know that, there were plenty of signs if you were careful to look for them. Zabuza was injured with senbon, they are very precise weapons and it is harder to kill people with them. Second, if that was a true hunter-nin before being allied to Zabuza, the hunter-nin know every single part of the body and with senbon, target the most precise spots. Those spots, if hit, can trigger a near death state that looks to be a death but actually is not. Another point, hunter-nins kill and dispose of their targets wherever they find them. The fact that this one didn't do so immediately tells something about his skill and loyalty. All of these facts combined put a big question mark on the state that Zabuza is in. The safest course of action is to assume that Zabuza is alive and on task and prepare for that possibility."

Asuma continued that train of thought. "All hope is not lost either. The near-death state does take a big chunk out of a person's health as well. It will take Zabuza at least a week can recover from the ordeal and train his body for taking on three jonin at once. He will also try to mobilize some forces in order to help with that, whether that force is more ninja of his level or hundreds of bandits is something that we do not know as of yet. What we do know, is that both of those options are something that the nine of you cannot take. We have already made a schedule for you guys to adhere to for the weeks of training to come."

Sakura raised her hand and interrupted him. Asuma acknowledged her with a raised eyebrow. Sakura proceeded, "Asuma-sensei, are going to be fighting the bandits or friends that Zabuza brings?"

Kurenai was the one to answer her student. "It is really likely that you will do so. However, since we are assuming that Zabuza's hunter-nin accomplice will be fighting too, you will take him as well. Also, Tazuna needs to be protected, so that will need to be taken care of as well. There are so many variables that we need to take care of, but we have not made a plan for them as of yet. We three will take the weeks to plan for any possibility. All you need to do is train as hard as you can on what we tell you and then follow the plan to the best of your abilities. As for your training, we have made a plan for the next one and a half week of heavy training and the left half of light training. You will start training right after a heavy breakfast." Knowing her female student, she added, "No Exceptions." to that.

Kurenai continued again, "After the breakfast, there will be a small warm-up run and some exercises. Then you will get to the real drills and training. There will be things assigned to you that you will have to do for this time onwards. If you finish a task, you move on to the next one and so forth. You will take a light lunch and continue. You will stop a small amount of time before dinner and rest. After you eat dinner, you are free to do as you please. Keep in mind though, that you should be careful at all times. Well, that about wraps it up. We will tell you what you will be doing tomorrow. You better get a good rest if you want to be ready for tomorrow. Stay on your guard, and good night."

Kurenai and her team departed to the mill while the others went to their respective rooms.

Sasuke slashed the tree with anger. How could he lack in this stupid exercise? This was so easy that even Naruto could do it, then how could he fail? He adjusted the amount of chakra in his feet and started back up the tree, he could do this, as he was the last Uchiha and his clan was the best of all. Most of all, he needed to do this if he was going to beat him. Sasuke was ashamed at them way he had acted when the chuunin had appeared. He remembered the memories that it brought to the surface, and slashed a bit harder this time around. He would not freeze up the next time it happened. He would get stronger and kill Itachi, no matter how long it took or what he had to do. His oh-so-holy blood boiled with the thought.

He gathered the chakra in his feet, again. He ran up the tree, again. He slashed the tree just a bit above his previous mark, again. He jumped off, again. Kiba did not even understand why they were doing this at a time like this. They had just met the demon Zabuza for kami's sake. They should be training the combat all the time, not running up a tree. Honestly, how could he not even do this? This was supposed to be so friggin' simple too. Heck, Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, Choji, Shikamaru and Shino had even gotten it on their first five tries. He hated to have to come to this, but his experiences had humbled even him and so, he went down from the tree and started walking towards the seven people levitating a leaf nearby.

Sasuke heard Kiba walking at looked at him from the corner of his eye. He was going towards the group currently on the next exercise. Had even the dog finished faster than him? He looked at the tree that Kiba had abandoned. Not finished. What was Kiba going to do? Ask for help? Not likely knowing that proud idiot. But still, he decided to listen in. He pretended to be taking a breather while he listened to Kiba talking to the seven genin who had finished the exercise and were currently trying the next.

The seven genin took notice of the boy coming towards them.

Choji stated the question in their minds, "So, Kiba, what's up? You should be finishing that exercise before you come to this."

Kiba scratched Akamaru and responded, "Yeah, uh... I saw that you guys were already done so... uh... I was hoping that you guys could give any tips on what to do..."

Before Ino and Sakura could start screaming about disrupting their focus, Shino replied hastily. "I see; we would have some conventional and generic experience seeing as we have already finished the task. It would not be an inconvenience if we do explain it, so we shall." Shino also reveled in the look on Kiba's face when he was replied by an "Uh... Thanks..." Shino was a part of the outcasts after all.

Naruto laughed as his leaf fell from his hands and he picked it up. "Ignore, Shino, Kiba. He's just flaunting his oh-so-better vocabulary. Anyways, yeah, we can help with the stupid exercise. I actually got Hinata to tell me some tips so that I could finish it, otherwise it would have taken me way longer to get it done. All you have to do is first put a little bit of chakra in your feet and put the foot on the tree. It will not stick as genin don't have much chakra to begin with. "

Kiba nodded. Sasuke inconspicuously did what was said against the part of the tree his foot was close to, which happened to be lower trunk, still breathing hard.

Naruto continued, "After you did that, keep the foot there and increase the amount of chakra in your foot. Try to sense when the pressure from the tree starts to push you away. That's where the experience you got from running up the tree for so long will come in. Try to take the pressure and reduce it fully, but this might take a while. Then, after you sort of get the feeling that your feet stick to the tree and the tree is not trying to push you off, gather you balance and just walk up the tree. Trust me, it's harder than it sounds, but you should be able to get it easily after the time that you put into it. Good luck, man."

Kiba thanked him and he others and walked off to put the strategy into effect. Meanwhile, Sasuke had gathered what the strategy was before Naruto finished, and stood short on top of the tall tree, ever frustrated. After that, he went a small distance away from the group, to which Sakura and Ino clutched their leaves and followed behind.

The outcasts smiled at each other and concentrated on their leaves. Naruto, being the ever cheerful mask, tried to balance the leaf above his nose. He was successful, but was left blinking stupidly when Hinata looked up, and blew the leaf into his eyes. She giggled, and Naruto continued to smile stupidly, only coming to his senses to poke Hinata and make her fall back on the grass with a small squeak. The rest of the outcasts and Naruto laughed with the giggling Hinata on the forest floor.

They did not, in their mirth, see the glance given to them by two other girls a small distance away. They did not see the girls' downcast eyes and nor the expression in those eyes.

Inari watched the ninja train from the window, clenched his fists, and cried some more. They would never succeed. They didn't know what Gatou was like… what he could do...

The jonin did not rest at all during their training. They had only a short time left. They could beat Zabuza as they are right now but as they were sure, they did not know the skill of the pretend-hunter-nin-boy and they did not know who Zabuza would bring along with him. So they trained.

Kakashi, with his skill in taijutsu, and stealth, practised those as he would need them a lot in this fight. He also worked towards perfecting a few earth based jutsus in order to get an advantage against Zabuza's water jutsus. He further perfected his lightning ones.

Asuma, on the other hand, to cover against any and all foes that came with Zabuza, tried to work out a strategy for any situation that befell them, be it hundred more thugs or a few more jonin. He also tried working on his chakra sensing in order to compensate for the fog and mist.

Kurenai chopped away everything she could find and jumped around like, well, a woman. She tried her best at sharpening her chakra sensing and reflexes. Also, taijutsu was high on her list. She tried her luck at multiple-level genjutsu too.

The man shed a tear at the scene they witnessed. He turned his head, "Take care of him, will ya... for me... It's already beginning." The man pointed to himself, "I can't go on like this for long. Sooner or later... just, I want to know that I can count on you."

The deep voice replied without hesitance, "There are ways to do something about it, we only need another outside influence and this won't happen. Nonetheless, I am your friend and I will live up to that title. You can count on that"

The man chuckled, "Glad to know."

A/N: So, what do you think? Was that big enough for you? I am really sorry for the wait. I hope you understand that with my exams, there was nothing there for me to do. Good news that I made this chapter pretty big. Good news, I have already started on the next chapter. This is summer holidays so it will be out pretty fast compared to the others. That last little bit was a teaser for the rest of the story. I want to keep the suspense and not share any details for that. I do want you guys to tell me your speculations, but keep in mind that the answer to your speculation is a strong maybe. So, as always, be my amazing reviewers that I know you are and leave a review telling me what you think, what should be implemented, etc. If you like the story, favourite it and if you want to read more, follow it cuz, as I am sure my reviewers can tell you, my updating speed and pattern is not good. Anyways, guys, thanks for all the support you guys give me and know that I appreciate every bit of it. You guys are awesome and I love that my stories entertain you as yours' do me.