บท 43: Unfolding

(A/N: Please reread some of the previous chapters since it was edited and some of it ended up in this chapter. There is of course added content. So basically made out of 3 chaps 2 bigger ones.)

Ice spikes that were massive in size erupted from his current spot like an epicenter. A few pillars skewered up most of Naruto's clones while Sasuke was breathing heavily and barely dodging one pillar errupting close by.

With a skilled shunshin into one of his ice pillars and out another close to Kakashi and Zabuza, Haku now tried attacking the still stuck Kakashi.

But Kaito was also still there and once again intercepted with jumping at him. Haku saw that and threw a few massive ice chunks forward and got Kakashi to jump back to evade it.

And after a small Taijutsu exchange with Kaito that obviously was disadvantageous for Haku, he slipped away into a small water puddle beneath him and vanished in the thick mist after grabbing the injured Zabuza. He did not forget his main goal.

Kaito still had plenty enough chakra left and could follow suit because tracking them down with his skill was rather easy, but Kakashi stopped him.

Looking at his Sensei he could see him panting with his left eye closed and a hand put in front of it. The crimson-colored blood from the wound slowly soaked itself into the lime green vest above it.

That got Kaito back to his senses and he knelt down to Kakashi's wound on his chest and opened the vest.

The gaping wound looked rather nasty and the massive blood loss made it not better. So Kaito went ahead with immediate first aid treatments and his mystic palm closing up the wound.

"Kakashi-sensei!" The others also came over and looked if they were okay. After a while, everyone calmed down somewhat.

And when Kaito healed all members from various wounds even he got exhausted from it and sat down beside his brother.

Sasuke also sat on the ground with a gloomy expression on his face. Sakura looked worried because she did not know what to say to heighten the mood. She was concentrating on treating everyone with bandages after Kaito healed the most critical wounds.

Even the rather cheerful Naruto was angry and had a bad mood now.

Kaito bumped his brother's shoulder after feeling the mood sink so low. "Hey, cheer up. The client is safe, so everything is fine." Looking at Tazuna that was looking like a guilty thief to their direction obviously told them he was not happy about them being in danger that much because of him.

"But how could we be beaten up so much by one single guy that is about the same age as us, damn it.", answered Naruto.

Kakashi heard that and looked over. "Naruto, there are a lot of people that are just as young as you, or even younger, that are even stronger than me. Don't let the age of your opponents fool you...Some individuals have gone through worse than us and had to adept. In the hidden village of the mist, there was once a ritual that only one genin would graduate from their academies...."

"Only one?", asked Sakura.

"The others are being killed by the one that survives that battle royale...", added Kaito now. "The sheer malevolence that Zabuza emitted was sickening. You don't just get that by killing just a few people..."

Naruto heard that and grumbled. He felt the cold aura as well. "But...Was he not just forced to do it? And is it really still the same in Kiri?", he asked with a slightly worried look. He was possibly thinking about how not to kill them.

"Actually no, they changed that barbaric ritual. But I think since Zabuza and that Haku had been hunted for so long now that they simply just don't know any better. They probably aren't aware of the change there.", said Kaito.

"Hmm, I would not bet on that. They knew about you two and that we would be here on a mission", mentioned Kakashi and was already considering abandoning the mission asap.

Kaito was also curious about that fact. Where exactly did they receive that information?

----

Someplace elsewhere Haku was carrying Zabuza and walking into a cave where he laid him down and tried to help him treat the wound.

Zabuza just coughed and looked at Haku who had now put down the mask and showed a very feminine face that had a deep frown.

"Why so sad? You glare at me as if I am already dead. You should already be used to seeing blood.", said Zabuza lightly but Haku did not answer. He was too focused on treating him.

"Heyo~~, look who came back with a beaten-up body~?", a muffled voice rang out from behind Haku and that got him to instantly let mirrors of ice appear all around the walls of the cave.

The figure that spoke a second ago started to chuckle and looked at the reflections in the mirrors while whistling.

"My, my~ You are really quick in using your Ice Demon blood..." The figure placed a finger on the mirror and showed the greyish metal surrounding his fingers and acting like claws. The pointy metal tip scratched along the surface of the ice.

The man wore a white-colored metal mask that looked like a shield that protected mainly the front of the face and was wrapped around the head with cloth at the back. The onyx eyes behind the visor observed the ice slowly scratching off.

"I told you it will be hard to get rid of them...", he added now and then stopped his action and walked over to Haku and the injured Zabuza.

"May I?", he asked and Haku still remained in a hostile stance.

"Let him, Haku...", coughed Zabuza and actually agreed to whatever the person was asking for.

Haku reluctantly made some space and let the figure with the black robe approach more closely.

The figure squatted down and placed one hand around the gaping hole of a wound at Zabuza's shoulder and a green light started to emit. Quite some time passed and the wound on Zabuza was closed up and healed.

Haku was rather confused at the action of this man.

"You know that we have not agreed to join your organization.", grumbled Haku. He was still not trusting the person even after seeing how Zabuza was healed.

"I know. I just find it boring if a promising future member would just die? The offer still stands."

"....I will think about it.", answered Zabuza now.

"Oh? What changed your mind? Not that I am not happy or anything.", asked the masked man back.

"What you said last time...I have realized with this last battle that you are right...", said Zabuza and got back to sitting and even moved his still aching shoulder.

"Good...You should keep low for about a week. The injury is still not healed completely. Now then, if this is talked over, I will go for good this time."

"Is that really why we came back? I don't think he would be suited.", commented another person now from the background.

Looking over the three could see that it was a woman with blue hair and orange eyes. Her chilling expression on the face was only fitting to the surrounding ice.

"Oh come on~ Smile~", said the masked man after going over to her and lifting her cheeks to put a smile on her face.

"Stop that nonsense!", she growled and slapped both his hands away.

"How cruel~" Then the man turned back around to Zabuza and Haku and started waving. "Don't mind her too much. Well, see you around~."

While leaving the light from outside the cave revealed that the black robes had red clouds printed on them.

"What a weird bunch these Akatsuki are..", commented Zabuza after the had left.

Some distance away the two Akatsuki members still talked about the encounter just now.

"Why is it that I had to accompany you to this place?", asked the woman.

"Nagato put us into a team. Did you forget~?", answered the man.

"That is because he wanted me to observe you and make sure you don't betray us. Also, if you ever do such nonchalant actions against me again, I will kill you."

"Hmm? Do you mean making you smile? But you look so nice when you smile~ Why always being so serious?", chuckled the man.

At that moment the woman turned around and held a white kunai in her hand. It was aimed at the man's throat but stopped before it reached there.

"Oh my...Such bad temper for such a fine lady...", said the man now and held her wrist with his own hand. "Konan, we are here to recruit Zabuza and his protegee. You know we need someone that can work for us with knowledge about Kiri. We lost Juuzou and Orochimaru and need to restock. Don't blame me for being stuck as the babysitter..."

He let her wrist go and actually patted her head lightly. After that, he fixed the blue origami rose on her head that seemed to have gotten a small part wrinkled.

"Come, we have a long way to travel.", he said and moved along.

Konan looked after him and sighed. Then the white kunai in her hand dissolved into paper sheets and disappeared under her robe.