tA/N: Its baaaatttle time! Well anyway, as usual I hope you all enjoy this chapter, also I have foregone my whole text description at the beginning of each chapter cuz its unnecessary by the time you have read this far (though it gives the word count a boost). Ahh yes, and I'm still looking for a beta reader, preferably someone who is willing to retroactively look over my previous chapters as well, if you wish to volunteer, or you know somebody who would be interested, please message me.

--------------------------------The As of Yet Unnamed Bridge-----------------------------------

It was a bright and sunny morning as Team Gai set out for another day of guard duty on the bridge. The few workers who stayed to complete the bridge and Tazuna himself were all in good spirits, the bridge was almost done and they seemed to be in the clear. Despite this, the Konoha shinobi remained very much on edge; they knew that a shinobi on a mission wouldn't give up that easily.

"Ohayo Tazuna-san, how much longer do you expect before the bridge is finished?" asked Gai

"Probably within the week, very soon these islands shall be freed from Gateau's oppressive grip!" replied a jubilant Tazuna

'One week… at this rate I wouldn't be surprised if Zabuza attacked today' thought Gai

"Oi sensei! How much longer do we have to watch this stinky old man?" shouted Naruto from a distance away

"Watch it kid! You're lucky I'm in such a good mood today, or I'd rearrange your face so that the only thing you would be able to smell is the inside of your own ass!" Tazuna bellowed back

"Bring it you –" began Naruto before being cut off

"As much as we all enjoy your youthful spirit, you need to be on guard Naruto." lectured Gai "You know as well as I do that Zabuza is going to be back, and this time he won't be leaving without a real fight"

"Yeah yeah, I'm ready sensei, but I still wanna kick that old man's butt!" replied Naruto

"Why you little—" began Tazuna before being cut off by the yells of an approaching villager

"Tsunami-san has been kidnapped! Some ninja wearing a mask captured her, and he threatened to kill her!" gasped out the villager in a panicked voice

"Not Tsunami, she is all I have left! You guys have to do something" cried a desperate Tazuna

"Yosh! I will stay here and—" began Gai before being interrupted by the sight of Naruto already running full tilt back towards the village

"Ahh youth… Still we need to protect Tazuna, Hinata go back up Naruto, it looks like Lee-kun and I will have to stick here." ordered Gai "But be careful! That masked ninja is likely the one who threw those senbon last time, and such accuracy would not be uncommon for a ninja of chuunin level or higher."

"Hai Sensei!" responded Hinata before heading after Naruto 'Naruto-kun… Please be careful' (that was a thought, in case you didn't notice the quote marks)

As Hinata and Naruto's figures faded into the distance, Gai readied himself. It wasn't hard to figure out that Zabuza intended to split them up, and Gai wasn't sure if he was more worried about their upcoming battle, or the challenge that Hinata and Naruto would soon face. The best training in existence is real combat experience, that is, if you manage to live long enough to reap the benefits. Just as these thoughts were flitting through Gai's mind a mysterious fog began to creep over the bridge, enveloping them all in a murky grey haze.

"Lee-kun keep close to Tazuna-san! Remember that our mission is his safety, and winning this will mean nothing if he is killed!" ordered Gai as he sensed the danger they would soon find within the fog.

"Yosh Gai-sensei! Even if this fog blinds me, I will let the burning flame of youth guide my hand." Replied Lee, excited at the chance to test his training, but still nervous about the thought of facing a jounin.

"Hmmm, so we meet again! Last time I will admit that I underestimated you, but now its different." Came a disembodied voice from the fog "You're in my domain now, and I have no doubt that Haku will make short work of your pupils."

"I wouldn't count your chickens before they hatch. I have faith in my students, they won't go down that easily!" replied Gai as he readied himself

'Trash talk is all well and good, but he didn't have to use such a corny saying!' thought Zabuza 'What's next, puns?'

-------------------------------------------Naruto & Hinata--------------------------------------------

'Kuso! Tsunami-san housed us and cooked for, hell I think she is the first person to cook for me besides Teuchi-san (from Ichiraku Ramen)' thought Naruto as he raced towards the village 'That shinobi is gonna pay dearly if he's harmed her at all'

Not too far behind, Hinata was desperately attempting to catch up to Naruto whose speed and endurance seemed even greater than normal, a pace that she could barely match nor sustain. Despite this she held out against all odds, for she knew that the ninja they were about to face was no easy adversary, and Hinata would never let the one dearest to her face such an obstacle alone. Within a short while they reached the village center, where they were greeted by a group of villagers.

"Ohh thank the kami you are here!" exclaimed one villager

"You have to save Tsunami-san!" cried another

"Woah! Slow down there, so what direction was this masked ninja headed, and did that bastard say anything?" Naruto questioned the small crowd

"He looked like he was headed south" came one reply

"Yeah, actually he told us to tell you he would be waiting at Lake Shirokai, it's a small inland lake that's not far from the village"

"Inland lake south of here… Yosh!" confirmed Naruto as he readied himself for another breakneck run

"WAIT!!" Shouted out an exhausted, and suddenly extremely embarrassed, Hinata

"Oi Oi… What is it Hinata-chan?" asked a slightly stunned Naruto

"Ano… Naruto-kun I know that, well… you want to save Tsunami-san, b-b-but if this ninja told us where he'd be, ano… it might be a trap" Hinata managed to meekly reply "A-a-also if we arrive tired from running we will be disadvantaged against an unknown shinobi who well… might even be s-s-stronger than us already" (this commemorates the longest individual string of words Hinata has spoken in my fic so far)

"Geez I guess I kinda do rush into these things." Naruto acknowledged as he scratched his head sheepishly "I don't know what I'd do without you Hinata-chan!"

"…" At this point Hinata was only holding onto consciousness through the extreme willpower she was able to muster in light of the problem at hand

"Wow, I'm not really tired but you look really red Hinata-chan! Well since I'm fine I guess I could carry you for the rest of the way, so we can save some time." Offered Naruto

"…"

Taking her half conscious silence as a yes, Naruto gently picked Hinata up and deposited her on his back before once again taking off after the masked shinobi. Such immediate contact with Naruto sent Hinata's mind, already stressed to the point of oblivion, spiralling into the void. Hinata awoke to find herself lying at the base of a tree, not far from which was the shore of a sizable lake.

"Uhh… where am I?" Hinata dazedly asked before she noticed Naruto who was looking down on her

"You must have been really tired, you slept for a good 20 minutes on the way here." Naruto noted "I know Lee-san and Gai-sensei are pretty crazy, but you should join them when they do endurance training"

Hinata was about to faint again when she realized she had been in direct contact with Naruto for the past 20 minutes, and could still feel his lingering warmth. However her sense as a shinobi kicked in, and she immediately galvanized herself for action.

"Naruto-kun have you seen this masked ninja or Tsunami-san yet?" asked Hinata

"Well I did a brief search, but this forest is pretty dense, I guess we have no choice but to go out in the open." Naruto replied "Even if it is a trap, we gotta draw this guy out of hiding if we want to rescue Tsunami-san."

"A-a-actually Naruto-kun, I could do a scan of the surroundings with my Byakugan, they can't be too far off" suggested Hinata

"That's amazing Hinata-chan, I wish I had a cool bloodline like yours." Naruto commented

'It isn't all its cracked up to be.' Hinata thought to herself as she remembered her brutal training session with her father

As she scanned the surrounding area she noticed a chakra sign in the upper boughs of an oak tree about 100 metres west of their position. Suspecting it was the masked ninja they were looking for, she immediately notified Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, I found the ninja, but I can't seem to locate Tsunami-san anywhere… wait the ninja is moving, he is headed this way!" Hinata warned

"That bastard better not have harmed her!" Naruto growled out as he prepared himself for combat

"Wait, the ninja just stopped, and it looks like he is headed for the water…" began Hinata again "Hmm this is odd, he is out in the open now, you should be able to see him now."

As Hinata and Naruto watched the masked ninja, attempting to discern what his purpose was in revealing himself, he turned in their direction.

"I know you two are in there, why don't you both stop hiding, you are definitely not gonna find that woman at this rate" yelled Haku

"That's it! This punk is going down!" bellowed Naruto as he broke cover and rushed towards Haku's position

"Wait Naruto-kun, it still could be a trap!" cried Hinata

Within a short few seconds Naruto reached Haku and executed a quick taijutsu combo, hoping to catch Haku by surprise. However much to his surprise, Haku smoothly dodged his attack and executed a flowing counter kick that threw Naruto to the ground.

"Attacking already? Most people in a hostage situation would be a bit more careful…" quipped Haku

"You better not have done anything, or you're really gonna be sorry!" retorted Naruto as he dusted himself off

"Relax, the lady you speak of is unharmed, but you won't be finding her unless you beat me, something that I can assure you is easier said than done loudmouth-san" Haku responded

Hinata, having just arrived, quickly grabbed Naruto just as he was about to execute another headlong rush at his smartmouthed adversary.

"Naruto-kun, we need to work as a team, otherwise we might not be able to beat him…" advised Hinata "He is just goading you into rushing him, I know your better than that"

"Thanks Hinata-chan, I just get pissed off when I meet guys like this." Replied Naruto as a mental image of Sasuke and Neji smirking passed through his mind.

"Well I guess if you guys aren't gonna attack me…" Haku sighed before executing a lightning fast sequence of seals

"Suiton Asaihashira no jutsu!"

From the lake behind them a spiralling column of water blasted forth, all of its crushing force directed at Naruto. Already on guard as Haku had executed the handsigns, Naruto jumped out of the way, barely dodging the sizable technique.

"Nice dodge, I guess if I can't hit you I'll just have to… Hyouketsu!"

Hinata noticed the sudden surge of chakra into the ground, but before she could warn Naruto it was too late. The displaced water from Haku's last technique suddenly froze, trapping Naruto's legs in a layer of chakra hardened ice. Before Naruto could react, Haku ripped through another series of handsigns.

"Hijutsu, Sensatsu Suishou!"

A cloud of icy needles crystallized in mid air, and flew towards the immobilised Naruto, who responded purely on instinct, forming the tora seal and activating his favourite jutsu.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

The resulting mass of clones quickly poofed out of existence as the icy needles impaled them, though not before absorbing most of the impact, leaving Naruto with only a few minor scratches.

Immediately ready on the counter attack, Naruto summoned another mass of clones to swarm Haku, who was presumably caught off guard by Naruto's quick thinking. However when one of the leading clones slipped on the ice, the once fearsome charge became nothing more than an amusing tangle of limbs.

"Kai!"

Naruto dispelled his tangled clones and turned to face Haku, who was forcibly willing herself not to burst out into laughter.

"Just give up kid, and you will get out of this unharmed." Haku offered

"Teme! I don't see you winning either, and I ain't done yet!"

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

As the smoke cleared, a veritable army of clones was visible across the icy battlefield, waiting to stage assault.

"Lets show this punk what we've learned boys!" shouted Naruto, followed by a chorus of assent from his clones, who proceeded to attempt another charge.

"You know that more of a bad thing doesn't make it better" Haku noted as she began a series of handseals, preparing to take advantage of the expected tangle.

However, though Naruto was headstrong he certainly wasn't an idiot (well sorta, but in other things), remembering his training he channelled chakra into the soles of his feet, sticking to the icy ground. After having trained his chakra control on a vertical plane, channelling it onto the horizontal now was a cinch. The result was not a tangled mess, but rather an organized attack group, prepared to overwhelm the apparently defenceless Haku. Unfortunately for Naruto, the battlefield remained in Haku's favour, who was once again firing off handseals.

"Hyoton, Michisuji no Henkaku"

A field of glacial spikes erupted from the ground underneath the charging group, Naruto himself received a shallow cut in his leg as he barely managed to dodge, but the majority of the clones were fully impaled. Despite this he continued his attack, whipping a handful of shuriken at Haku, each of which was expertly deflected by her drawn senbon. By this point Naruto had closed the distance between them, and his drawn kunai was met with Haku's own senbon as they clashed face to face.

"Now that we are in close range, I have the advantage!" growled out Naruto as he gradually managed to push Haku back

"In power perhaps, but not necessarily in skill" noted Haku as her free hand began flipping out hand seals

Naruto however had the good sense to quickly break out of the stalemate, and just in time as a jagged pillar of ice impaled the space he had just occupied.

"Kuso! That was a bit too close there, I guess I definitely don't need these at the moment"

Rolling up his pants and sleeves, Naruto detached his weights and tossed them back, all of which left a deep impression where they landed.

"Yosh! Now I'm ready, one-handed seals or not, you are going down!" and with that ultimatum Naruto recommenced his attack.

Leaping into the air, Naruto a downward chop kick at Haku, surprised by the sudden increase in speed she was unable to dodge. The kick smashed through her skull, which suddenly burst into water along with the rest of her body, subsequently freezing onto Naruto's leg.

"Not this again!!" Naruto moaned, dodging the real Haku as she came from above

"Ohh don't worry, its different this time" responded Haku

After landing a good distance back Naruto noticed a rather odd sensation, a sort off cold creeping up his leg. Looking down at his leg he quickly found the cause, the ice frozen on his leg a second ago was now creeping around to encase his leg in its entirety.

"Ehhhh? Is this stuff alive or something!?" wondered Naruto aloud

"Not quite, but close enough for the job" Haku replied before once again leaping in to attack

As Naruto's mobility was gradually being reduced Hinata was focusing her thoughts on the situation, hoping to save Naruto from a chilling defeat. From what she could see the ice wasn't being fed any external chakra, so its growth seemed implausible, that is until she noticed another strange sight. The tenketsu in the frozen areas seemed to be drawing chakra from Naruto's central coils, as if Naruto himself was channelling it. The ice was acting as a parasite of sorts, and with that realization Hinata came up with the best course of action.

"Naruto-kun I need you to trust me, channel as much chakra as you can to your frozen leg, and don't hold back!" shouted Hinata

"Well Hinata-chan that's what I do best!" Naruto replied, grinning as forced every ounce of chakra he could into his leg

The encasing ice swelled for a moment and then exploded into a shower of shaved fine ice crystals.

'Hmm, that girl shouldn't be ignored, and as it is I'm running out of chakra… guess I'm going to have to pull out all the stops.' Thought Haku

"Well, looks like I've been targeting the wrong person!" and with that Haku sprung towards Hinata's position

"Hinata-chan!" cried out Naruto as he realized he wouldn't get there in time

Hinata however was no pushover, and even as Haku rushed for her she was prepared, sinking into a ready stance for jyuuken. Snaking her body around Haku's opening volley of senbon, she issued her own attack, attempting to seal her opponent's primary tenketsu. Unfortunately her flexibility couldn't compare with Haku's sheer speed, and her attacks repeatedly met thin air. This quick exchange was enough though, to allow Naruto the time to arrive and aid his teammate.

"Running away from me to target Hinata-chan eh? Well don't think I'm gonna let you get away!" Challenged Naruto

"Well actually I expected no less. Hijutsu, Makyou Hyoushou" replied Haku as the air around Naruto and Hinata crystallized into a dome of mirrors. Sliding effortlessly into one of the mirrors, her image soon spread to each one, a multitude of expressionless masks gazing down on the suddenly confused pair of Konoha shinobi.

"Damn fell for his trap! Hinata-chan can you tell which mirror he is in?"

"All of the mirrors are infused with chakra, I can't tell where he is, its almost like he is in all of them at once!"

Within seconds numerous senbon flew from seemingly all directions, and their target was Naruto, who despite his best attempts at dodging, was still hit by many. As wave after wave descended on the pair, it became quite obvious to them that Naruto was the masked ninja's sole target. Hinata's first reaction was to move in to try and help defend against the endless series of attacks. However Naruto quickly stopped that course of action with a bellow.

"Hinata-chan stay back! Its not going to help if you get hurt too, instead find some way to stop this guy's technique."

'Naruto-kun is right, but how do I stop this guy, escaping would be the best option, but unless we break these mirrors it won't be possible.' Thought Hinata as she reviewed the situation 'I could try myself, but I don't have the strength, even with my training…'

Just as she began to drift in a mental litany of self-loathing, Hinata remembered Gai's philosophy of effort, her teammate needed her help, and at the very least she could do her best. With this newfound determination came a moment of clarity where she remembered an important detail, the mirrors were infused with chakra, which also meant that they were vulnerable to disruption.

'Yes! If I can dirupt the flow of chakra the mirror will simply become a sheet of ice, which can be broken quite easily!'

Armed with this goal in mind she executed a jyuuken strike on the mirror farthest from Naruto. The result however was not ideal, as the chakra within the mirror barely altered its form at all. Looking back on her training she understood the problem, just like the bark of the log, the web of chakra was too dense to be easily penetrated. Time however was not on her side, as Naruto was barely holding up underneath Haku's continuous assault.

'I need to hurry, or Naruto-kun might be killed!' thought Hinata frantically, pausing to take a quick breath to calm herself as she readied for another attempt, quietly whispering "sharper, deeper, stronger". With those words in mind she made her second attack, this time however there was a definite response, the chakra network visibly buckled, however it did not collapse completely. Realizing that her own efforts, despite being quite tangible would not be enough given the time constraint, she did the first thing that came to mind.

"Naruto-kun I can break this, but I need your help!"

However Haku was neither blind nor deaf, she had felt the effect of Hinata's technique on her mirrors, and she wasn't about to let them escape.

'Zabuza-san advised me to incapacitate the boy first, but I don't have enough chakra to finish this if they break free'

Just as Naruto shifted his focus to his teammate, Haku did the same and launched a quick barrage against her. Although Hinata could see the attack, it was too fast for her to dodge, turning her back she protected her vitals and took the attack.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto shouted with concern as he rushed to her position

"I'm fine, but I need you to hit this mirror as hard as you can when I say so" replied Hinata

'Kuso! Looks like I didn't take them seriously enough, I cannot fail Zabuza-san!'

Knowing that she didn't have much time left, Haku channelled her remaining chakra into one final assault. The topmost mirrors suddenly shattered into hundreds of chakra-enhanced shards, which gathered the surrounding moisture and enlarged into sizable missiles.

"Naruto-kun look above us, he is going to attack!" warned Hinata as her Byakugan quickly noticed the impending threat

"I'm gonna put out everything I've got, and buy some time, just do your thing Hinata-chan." Naruto replied

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The resulting legion of clones formed a shell around the two, just as Hinata initiated her attack, and Haku's final assault began.

"Now Naruto-kun" cried Hinata just as she completed her strike

Naruto's punched with every last bit of strength he had, and with a resounding boom the mirror exploded into shards as the two Konoha nin tumbled through. Their escape was perfectly timed as Haku's attack finished ripping through the clone barrier and impaled the spot where they had been just nanoseconds earlier.

"Yatta! We got out of their Hinata, and it was all thanks to you." Beamed the exhausted but otherwise jubilant Naruto

"N-nno it wasn't just me, it would have been impossible without y-y-you" replied an embarrassed Hinata

"I guess as Gai-sensei would say, the burning flames of our youthful teamwork won the day!"

A/N: Well this chapter was a long time coming, definitely not easy to write, and I'm gonna be appreciating any feedback as this scene was a major undertaking. Sadly the text doesn't do my visualization justice, but I hope your own imaginations can compensate 