"Devil!" came a call from the end of the bridge.
With a swift move, Zabuza bludgeoned Kakashi away from him with the flat of his heavy sword. It wasn't enough however and Kakashi's kunai bit into the missing-nin, disabling his other arm.
"Now both arms are useless," Kakashi declared. "You can't even perform a seal."
"Ooh," said the same voice that had spoken before. "You're getting your ass kicked. How disappointing."
Warily, the two jounin turned to look at the speaker and spotted a short middle-aged man in a business suit standing in front of a motley band of heavily armed thugs that filled the bridge from one side to the other.
"Gatou," Zabuza spat. "What are you doing here...? And what's with all these men?"
The man smirked. "You've been a missing-nin ever since you ran out of Kirigakure and you don't recognise this old chestnut?" he asked. "You don't have a village to back you up, remember. So why not hire a missing-nin on empty promises and let him wear down the opposition. Then kill whatever's left with sheer numbers. There was never any intention to pay you."
"Scumbag," Neshan growled from where he was standing.
The businessman locked his eyes on the boy. "Of course, the tactic can't be used if there are any witnesses," he concluded. "Kill them all."
The thugs burst forwards, closng in on the little cluster of ninja.
"Kakashi, I'm sorry," Zabuza told the other jounin. "This fight is over. Now that I have no reason to go after Tazuna, I have no reason to fight you."
"Ah," Kakashi observed, looking at the approaching thugs. "You're right."
Neshan glanced over at Katsu. "It's time," he called out.
"Agreed!" replied the other genin.
Then Kakashi's head snapped up and he focused his Sharingan eye upon the source of the next speaker.
"Understood," said Gatoh as the kage bushin of Shikanenai dissipated in a cloud of smoke, explaining completely how useless he'd been during the fight so far.
The thugs' charge halted completely - not due to any sudden looking beneath the underneath on their part, but due to the lines of shadow that were linking then into a single, immobile mass. Shikanenai was sweating as the henge of Gatoh dissipated - even by using the hundreds of seals that Neshan had drawn on the surface of the bridge when they planned this, using Shadow Binding on this many people at once was tiring him rapidly. Without the seals he couldn't have managed more than a dozen or so and even with them, fifty-three thugs was a strain.
Shikanenai passed a scroll across to Tazuna. "Before I forget," he said. "Our bill."
Tazuna looked at him suspiciously, and then cracked the wax seal and scanned it. "Escort from Konohagakure to Wave Country against Jounin level Opposition," he read. "A-class Mission. Securing home and workplace from Jounin-leve opposition for a month. A-class Mission. Assassination of a merchant target with Jounin level protection. A-class Mission. Neutralisation of a Corporate Entity with Jounin level protection. A-class Mission. Neutralisation of Fifty-Three Non-Ninja Opponents. B-class Mission." The old man stared at the totals being charged in utter shock. "You what!?!" he screamed. "I can't pay for four A-class Missions and a B-class Mission! I'll be in hock for the rest of Inari's life!"
The Nara member of Team Seven shook his head. "Read the rest of the scroll," he said patiently.
Tazuna glared and scrolled down through the miscellaneous expenses and the legal small print to the bottom of the scroll. "Paid in Full," he read out slowly. "Confirmation that Konohagakure has Payment, signed by... Nara Shikanenai (Genin), Bakusta Nehsan (Genin), Kirigishi Katsu (Genin)."
He stared down at Shikanenai. "Aren't you gonna get into trouble for this? I haven't paid a bent penny yet, but you've put in writing that I've paid you more ryou than I've seen in the last six years. Won't your Hokage want the money?"
"Oh, he'll have it," the ninja said breezily. "Trust me... I know what I'm doing..."
Kakashi glared at the three genin.
"What?" Shikanenai said. "Are you mad that we undermined you as team leader by settling accounts with Tazuna rather than leave it to you?"
"No."
"Mad we nicked Gatoh's slush fund and used it to pay for the mission on Tazuna's behalf?" Neshan speculated.
"No."
"Mad that we didn't tell you we'd assassinated Gatoh and that Shikanenai was impersonating him?" Katsu suggested.
"Proud of that actually."
"Then what's got you pissed off?" Katsu asked bluntly.
"I spent six hours drawing up the bill for Tazuna," Kakashi whined. "And I could have left it to you and been reading Icha Icha Paradise all that time!"
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
With a swift move, Zabuza bludgeoned Kakashi away from him with the flat of his heavy sword. It wasn't enough however and Kakashi's kunai bit into the missing-nin, disabling his other arm.
"Now both arms are useless," Kakashi declared. "You can't even perform a seal."
"Ooh," said the same voice that had spoken before. "You're getting your ass kicked. How disappointing."
Warily, the two jounin turned to look at the speaker and spotted a short middle-aged man in a business suit standing in front of a motley band of heavily armed thugs that filled the bridge from one side to the other.
"Gatou," Zabuza spat. "What are you doing here...? And what's with all these men?"
The man smirked. "You've been a missing-nin ever since you ran out of Kirigakure and you don't recognise this old chestnut?" he asked. "You don't have a village to back you up, remember. So why not hire a missing-nin on empty promises and let him wear down the opposition. Then kill whatever's left with sheer numbers. There was never any intention to pay you."
"Scumbag," Neshan growled from where he was standing.
The businessman locked his eyes on the boy. "Of course, the tactic can't be used if there are any witnesses," he concluded. "Kill them all."
The thugs burst forwards, closng in on the little cluster of ninja.
"Kakashi, I'm sorry," Zabuza told the other jounin. "This fight is over. Now that I have no reason to go after Tazuna, I have no reason to fight you."
"Ah," Kakashi observed, looking at the approaching thugs. "You're right."
Neshan glanced over at Katsu. "It's time," he called out.
"Agreed!" replied the other genin.
Then Kakashi's head snapped up and he focused his Sharingan eye upon the source of the next speaker.
"Understood," said Gatoh as the kage bushin of Shikanenai dissipated in a cloud of smoke, explaining completely how useless he'd been during the fight so far.
The thugs' charge halted completely - not due to any sudden looking beneath the underneath on their part, but due to the lines of shadow that were linking then into a single, immobile mass. Shikanenai was sweating as the henge of Gatoh dissipated - even by using the hundreds of seals that Neshan had drawn on the surface of the bridge when they planned this, using Shadow Binding on this many people at once was tiring him rapidly. Without the seals he couldn't have managed more than a dozen or so and even with them, fifty-three thugs was a strain.
Shikanenai passed a scroll across to Tazuna. "Before I forget," he said. "Our bill."
Tazuna looked at him suspiciously, and then cracked the wax seal and scanned it. "Escort from Konohagakure to Wave Country against Jounin level Opposition," he read. "A-class Mission. Securing home and workplace from Jounin-leve opposition for a month. A-class Mission. Assassination of a merchant target with Jounin level protection. A-class Mission. Neutralisation of a Corporate Entity with Jounin level protection. A-class Mission. Neutralisation of Fifty-Three Non-Ninja Opponents. B-class Mission." The old man stared at the totals being charged in utter shock. "You what!?!" he screamed. "I can't pay for four A-class Missions and a B-class Mission! I'll be in hock for the rest of Inari's life!"
The Nara member of Team Seven shook his head. "Read the rest of the scroll," he said patiently.
Tazuna glared and scrolled down through the miscellaneous expenses and the legal small print to the bottom of the scroll. "Paid in Full," he read out slowly. "Confirmation that Konohagakure has Payment, signed by... Nara Shikanenai (Genin), Bakusta Nehsan (Genin), Kirigishi Katsu (Genin)."
He stared down at Shikanenai. "Aren't you gonna get into trouble for this? I haven't paid a bent penny yet, but you've put in writing that I've paid you more ryou than I've seen in the last six years. Won't your Hokage want the money?"
"Oh, he'll have it," the ninja said breezily. "Trust me... I know what I'm doing..."
Kakashi glared at the three genin.
"What?" Shikanenai said. "Are you mad that we undermined you as team leader by settling accounts with Tazuna rather than leave it to you?"
"No."
"Mad we nicked Gatoh's slush fund and used it to pay for the mission on Tazuna's behalf?" Neshan speculated.
"No."
"Mad that we didn't tell you we'd assassinated Gatoh and that Shikanenai was impersonating him?" Katsu suggested.
"Proud of that actually."
"Then what's got you pissed off?" Katsu asked bluntly.
"I spent six hours drawing up the bill for Tazuna," Kakashi whined. "And I could have left it to you and been reading Icha Icha Paradise all that time!"
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.