Hand Signs [A Deaf Naruto Fanfiction]

Chapter 9: Demon of the Mist

Welcome back! There will probably be only one or two more chapters of this arc, so it's kinda long but nowhere near as long as the 13 episodes it takes up in the show. 

The Chunin Exams arc will definitely be longer though, since so much happens.

We also see a new point of view this chapter! It's brief, but it's meant to be.

Any weird spelling errors can be attributed to the plaster on my finger making it particularly hard to type effectively. Don't play with knives, kids! And if you do, at least pay attention to where your fingers are in relation to the blade. Also, if I accidentally mixed up "Zabuza" and "Tazuna" I apologize, they're really similar and I know I messed it up a few times but I don't know if I caught them all.

Anyway...

Onto the chapter!

~~~~

Chapter Nine: Demon of the Mist

~~~~

Being deaf sucked when you had a teacher who never showed his damn mouth.

This was not the first time the thought crossed Naruto's mind but the way Sasuke and Sakura were listening so intently to whatever the cyclops was saying only reiterated the point. Logically, he knew it was likely about the threat to the old man, since they were under informed, but that didn't make it any less hard. He wasn't signing so it was even worse.

Kurama told him that once they become proper partners, something they couldn't do without the key to the seal, Kurama would be able to hear what was going on and could help him. He wished he knew where to get the key. Unfortunately, Kurama didn't know where it was either and revealing their bond too soon wouldn't end well--neither he nor Naruto had any doubts on what would happen if it was. They would think that the fox was influencing hima and the seal would be tightened or added to or something that would prevent them from communicating. Neither wanted that, especially since Kurama was the only thing keeping him grounded being so far away from the family he'd created. After finally knowing what it was like to have support and a loving family, it was hard being away from them--even after only a couple days.

They were traveling from the edge of Fire Country across the water to Wave country on a gondola and visibility was low. It was unsettling when it was his primary sense. A heavy fog rolled along the water making it near impossible to see landforms in the distance.

The bridge, still incomplete, came into view as they drew close enough and it was huge. Bigger than anything Naruto had ever seen other than the Hokage monument. The heavy fog made it difficult to see details but he could already tell that it would be massive in its completion.

As they got closer to Wave Country, Tazuna finally began his story. He couldn't get every word but it was enough to understand the gist of it. He was being targeted by a man who held a lot of power and money named Gato. He had something to do with shipping but Naruto missed that part. Naruto barely recognized the name but Kakashi-sensei did, even if the blond couldn't hear his response the look in his eye was enough to speak of his recognition. It turned out the guy was into drug-trafficking and had used shinobi and gangs for it. It wasn't Naruto's area of expertise. Politics and economics were really boring when it came down to it. Anyway, Gato forced his way into Wave Country and took control of pretty much everything using his influence and money.

It clicked pretty quickly for the three genin. The chunin from before were hired by Gato to assassinate Tazuna so the completion of the bridge would never happen. The reason for withholding that information to begin with was still in question, though.