Naruto: Cautious Ninja

"YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" Gato roared over the bombs still discharging, the world around them shaking like they were standing on top of a large, running motor. "DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?"

"I sure do," Naruto shouted back, removing his hands from their seal position and pointing towards the big boss. "And by the way, the name is Naruto… Naruto Uzumaki! And don't you forget it!"

"FUCK!" Gato yelled, quickly turning heel and jumping onto the tram. The now panicking Zori and Waraji followed after him, taking the driver and passenger seats respectively. A quick retreat was needed now, the preparations of which gave the superior enough time to look back and curse the child for this outrage.

His eyes then fell upon the still stationary Crow, who had not moved since he was ordered forward and was still facing down the two kids.

"If you're not coming with us, finish him! I'll pay you double if you return with his head!" Gato ordered, to which the warrior returned with a single nod without even bothering to look back. The business owner then focused on the still grinning jinchuriki and his worried looking companion, "You'd better hope Crow kills you here and now Uzumaki. I guarantee that you will not like the life that will be waiting for you should you survive!"

"Looking forward to it!" Naruto shouted and waved.

The tram kicked into life and took off down the line, leaving behind the black assassin and its adolescent targets standing firmly upon the collapsing structure. With the explosions starting to fade and the barrier starting to give way, it became apparently clear to all those who were watching that it wouldn't be long now till the entire thing fell apart and allowed thousands of tons of river back into the lowlands.

This was what the jinchuriki had planned from the very beginning.

"Why aren't we falling?" Tayuya asked, grabbing the boy's sleeve and pulling on it. "You set off the bombs, didn't you? Why haven't we been blown sky high or straight down to hell?"

"For something this massive you'd need tons of explosive tags to completely level it. I only used whatever I had in my pockets, which wasn't even close to what you'd need to incinerate this thing," Naruto replied, smiling at the girl looking at him in astonishment.

"Th-Then… what you said back there…"

"Yeah. It was part bluff." He grinned warmly, "Don't worry, we're not going to die. I set the bombs off in specific places that will cut away the walls but leave the weight-bearing pillars intact. It's the same method I used to mess with one of the clans back in my village when I took away all the nails in their home and let the walls come apart on their own, but the frames were still held in place."

"S-So that means…" Tayuya's eyes widened in realization and a smile appeared on her face. "You set it up so that the water would drain through at a controlled rate and that the resulting flood wouldn't destroy the village."

That was smart. No… not smart. Brilliant. Though he didn't look it, Naruto was naturally gifted in the art of devastation. Where the hell had he been this entire time?

Speaking of which, the abovementioned blonde nodded toward the girl affirmatively before glaring back at their second and now main concern, which was the masked man staring both of them down. The shadow drew their eyes toward the obstacle in question and had both of them tense when the samurai stepped forward.

It was hard to ignore the shaking at their feet even while being confronted by Gato's last pro. With his last challenge yet to be dealt with, Naruto's fists clenched. "The barriers should let go in about twenty minutes. I can't guarantee that this platform won't give out as well, but I'm staying."

"Wait. You're not going to run?" Tayuya asked. Looking at his face, she could see how serious he was, which had her even more concerned for his safety. Between fighting the man in front of them and the impending doom of their foundations giving way, there only seemed to be one clear option available here. "No! Don't fight him! Let's get out of here while we still have the chance, Naruto!"

"If we run he'll follow. I'm not sure if I can fight him and protect you at the same time, and I most certainly am not going to let him hurt you," the jinchuriki stated while shrugging his arm out of her grip. "I swore to myself that I would never let any of these people hurt you ever again. Gato's real strength over others lies in those he has under his command, so that means that this whole nightmare will end once I kill this man right here and now. If I don't, a lot more people are going to suffer."

Tayuya remained silent as she returned his gaze. As admiral as his actions were and his words sounded, she still felt he was being awfully stubborn and was frustrated by his resolve. Why the hell was he putting his life on the line for people he didn't know? Why did he want to fight so badly? Why was he doing all of this for them? For her?

"Why do you care so much?" Tayuya finally asked.

Naruto smirked confidently, "Because I do. Because it's my choice. I want to do this. That's all you need to know." He looked back at her and nodded over his shoulder. "Go. I'll meet you on the other side of the river."

Feeling the strength behind his words and the power in his expression, the redhead was compelled to move by them. Whether it was his intensity, his determination, his will or the image he conveyed when he spoke to her she didn't know. All she knew was that she could trust him, no matter how impossible or how dangerous the situation seemed.

After a few paces back and a few moments of contemplation, Tayuya responded to his command with a few simple words. The girl smirked, "Don't you dare lose to him!"

Naruto grinned. "No problem."

With that, Tayuya turned and ran as fast as her legs would allow, looking back for one brief moment to see the jinchuriki smile at her before glancing back toward his foe. "Give him hell, shithead."

Naruto's gaze fixed squarely on his target.

Several moments of silence passed between the boy and the samurai before either side dared to say anything, which to no surprise started with the ever energetic prankster always eager to banter with his rivals. "You look really tough for a scrubby old bird. I can tell you're much different from those other jerks I fought earlier today. Hopefully that's not all for show." His only response came in the lowering of the man's head, which had the jinchuriki chuckle, "Not much of a talker huh? That's cool. But I usually like a little back and forth with my opponents. It makes fights like these more entertaining."

The ground continued to shake as more and more of the barrier beneath them gave out.

Flicking his wrist, a kunai slipped into the blonde's grip. Upon securing his weapon of choice Naruto assumed a crouching stance. His opponent had a sword and judging from how calmly he was presenting himself he definitely knew what he was doing.

This Crow had experience. The proof was in the aura.

"Well… come at me," Naruto said while smirking, "Let's see what this terrible Crow demon can do."

The samurai tilted his head, his expression hidden behind a veil of straw and shadow. Was he put off by the boy's confidence? Thrown by his smirk? Offended? Naruto couldn't tell.

Then, when it appeared as though the samurai was having second thoughts, without warning, he sprang into action.

There was about a spread of fifteen meters distance between both the jinchuriki and his foe, so it was no surprise Naruto's eyes bugged out of their sockets when, in a flash, the swordsman suddenly appeared standing directly in front of him. The black hollow slit of the basket that was his face floated directly in front of the blonde's widening eyes as the samurai's hand began to draw his sword from its scabbard in lightning fast time, alerting the shocked youngster to the danger.

"WHOA!" Naruto cried out, swaying back as far as he could when a streak of light carved through the air where his body once was. The assailant had drawn his weapon in a textbook Iai motion straight from the sheath with the intent on ending his target's life in a single blow. Only the academy student's quick reflexes and natural flexibility saved him from being bifurcated.

Naruto glared up at the man still in attack position towering over him, his body bent backwards at 90 degrees. "Holy squirrel-fucking shit, this guy is fast!"

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