Hey, guys!

Happy New Year! And belated Merry Christmas! Sorry for the extra loooooooooong wait. Stuff happened, things were going on, etc, etc. Been very busy these past few months as you can see. So, I had decided to take responsibility and made an extra long chapter. Well, I guess it's not that long since it's only revolving around the last part of the Wave Country Arc.

Anyway, enough chit-chat! I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter! I apologize for any wrong grammar or spelling!

(Chapter 11 – The Battle In Wave)

"Okay, is everyone ready?", Kakashi asked merrily as he glanced at his young students. There were about to head towards the bridge to help and stay on guard duty. Tazuna was standing beside him, ready to finish his creation. Arashi scratched his head, glancing at his instructor with curious eyes. "Umm...Kakashi-sensei? Where's Naruto?", the redhead questioned. The scarecrow waved a dismissive hand at him and grinned under his mask.

"Don't worry, Arashi. Naruto's still sleeping in his room; he came back pretty late last night. Let him rest. I'm positive that he'll be joining us soon at the bridge. Now, let's go!", the jounin said and leads the group out of the house. Tsunami closes the door after waving goodbye to her father; she then made her way to the kitchen, where she started cleaning up the dirty dishes. The mother heard a quiet shuffle behind her and turned, there she finds her son looking down on the floor in obvious shame and sadness. Having to be a mother, Tsunami instantly got worried and concerned of her son's behavior. The woman gently puts down the dishes and walked towards her son.

"Inari, what's wrong?", Tsunami asked softly, tenderly stroking her son's head in attempt to comfort him. The little boy raised his head and gazed into his mother's loving eyes. Tsunami can clearly see the sadness in Inari's orbs, which made her furrow her eyebrows in worry. Hugging her son tightly, the woman whispered soothing words into his ear. "It's okay, honey. Everything's going to be alright. Just tell Kaa-san what's wrong", she uttered. Inari sniffled and returned his mother's hug with the same amount of force.

"Kaa-san...Was Naruto-san right?...Was what he said true?...Was I just a coward for saying those things I said last night?", the boy said. Tsunami's dark eyes softened at her baby boy's statement. It's really like he's guilty of what he has done, it also seemed that he had been thinking about it over the night. The woman gently peeled her son off of her form and held his hands tightly into her's.

"Oh, sweetie...You are not a coward, you were just scared. It's okay to be scared. But, you have to know that what Naruto-san said last night, was true. You need to move on and accept the present. That your Otou-san died, protecting us", Tsunami cautiously explained. She wiped the small tears leaking form Inari's eyes and kissed him on his forehead. Inari sniffled and nodded; he then wrapped his arms around his mother's waist and snuggled into her body. Knowing the he was still trying to seek comfort, the rave haired woman lets him squeeze her midsection and gently pats him on the head.

The heartwarming moment was suddenly disturbed when a loud banging sound resonated all over the house. The door was unexpectedly thrown open by two scruffy thugs with their respective weapons in their clutch. Tsunami immediately pushed Inari behind her and slowly backed away from the muscular men. Inari held on to his mother like a lifeline, shaking as he did so. The raven haired woman tried to stay calm and cautious, ready to run out of the house with her son in tow. The first thug smirked at Tsunami and leered at her lustfully, he nudged his companion with his elbow and pointed to her rudely. The second thug snickered, shaking his head in amusement and barely hidden glee at their luck.

"Well, look at what we have here!", the first man purred, causing the daughter and son to shiver in disgust. The second thug approached the duo and circled around them both like a predator, he ignored the boy latched on to the woman's back and continued to stare at Tsunami with lecherous eyes.

"Aren't you a pretty lady. Hmm~?", the other smirked at her. The thug grabbed her wrist and forcefully tugged her, causing Inari to lose his grip on his dear mother. Tsunami started struggling, her voice begging them to release their harsh grip on her wrist as he dragged her away from her son. The thugs just dismissed her pleads and continued to haul the raven haired woman out of the kitchen. Inari felt his fear melt away as he watched his mother get taken away from him; his small hands clenched and he gritted his teeth. Gathering all the courage he now had, he ran up to the 2 brutes and tried to pry his mother's bruised wrist out the man's grip.

The child started biting and scratching the man's hand, desperately trying to free Tsunami. "Let go of her!", Inari growled while he ignored his mother's shouts of "No, Inari!" and "Just run!". The thug scoffed and not-so-gently pushed the child away, causing the boy to unceremoniously fall to the floor. Tsunami gasped and struggled hardly as she tried to get back to her son, who was now shedding angry tears.

"Just f*ck off, kid! The adults are talking", the brute slurred and laughed. His partner joined in and shook his head at the "pathetic" child's display of "courage". Tsunami started to aggressively pound on the thug's back with her non-restrained hand, catching the men's attentions with her angry blows.

"Leave him alone!", she yelled furiously and kicked the male on his shin. The man slightly staggered but kept his balance as he glared malevolently at the female in his grip. He raised his hand and slapped Tsunami on the cheek, causing her to descend on the ground like Inari. Said boy hurriedly crawled over to his mother and wrapped her in his tiny arms. The second thug pointed his sword at the mother and child, his lips forming a sneer. The other thug rubbed his shin, trying to ease the pain away. He then took his own sword and aimed it the woman's slender neck. Tsunami and Inari closed their eyes and fiercely hugged each other, fearing to lose their precious ones; they shed terrified tears as they waited for their unruly demise.

"You've got some nerve, b*tch!", he screamed before bringing down his sword to slash Tsunami in half. But before the burly thug could do anymore harm, a kunai pooped out nowhere and stops his blade from touching the woman's skin. A loud metal clang made the mother and child raise their heads in shock. They were both amazed to find Naruto holding off the man's sword, keeping it at bay as he stared the thug down. His piercing blue eyes monotonously gazed at the older male before him. The thug gulped, his knees buckled with fear. The teen's icy orbs felt like it was stabbing him with that impenetrable stare.

The second goon stood, still, as he felt the thick tension in the air, he tried to move but his body did not obey him. Sweat slowly dripped down the muscular men's forehead, nervousness and unfamiliar terror squeezed them. The blonde continued to stare at the criminal in front of him before reaching into his pocket. The two older men shook as they anticipated what was about to happen. What was the kid going to pull out of his pocket? Another kunai? Poison? Shurikens? Bombs? What?! Tsunami and Inari wondered as well. The suspense killing them! Was Naruto going to kill them? Are they going to die in a painful way? Would it be really cool and awesome?!

Naruto finally ended the suspense and took out-!...A wooden sign with cartoon-ish deadpanned eyes and a chibi version of himself-shaking his head-drawing on it. "(A real gentleman would never raise his fist on a woman. But, I shouldn't bother. You men are just wasting valuable time with your "sweet moves")", the sign said. The four other people in the room fell down on the ground and sweatdropped at the blonde's actions. The thugs quickly got back up and screamed at the teen menacingly.

"You little-!", both the goons screeched before they got knocked out by the same blonde genin. Naruto took some rope and tied the men up securely, he then turned to the mother and child to check on them. Tsunami held her son tightly as she shed tears of relief. The raven haired woman raised her head and gazed into their savior's eyes with gratitude.

"Thank you, Naruto-san. We owe you our lives", she said softly. The blonde shook his head and waved his hand dismissively; he raised another ridiculously gigantic sign and stared at the small family with serious yet, emotionless eyes.

"(You don't owe me anything, Tsunami-san. I'm here to help, not collect taxes. I'm going to assist the others. Please stay here and keep each other safe. My clone will keep an eye on you)". A puff of smoke appeared near the doorway and a clone of said blonde teen stood with the same emotionless eyes. Naruto heads towards the door to assist his teammates in battle Hiding his sign in his...pocket...? Naruto heads towards the door to assist his teammates in battle. Before the blonde can even reach the doorknob, he was stopped by Inari, who ran and tugged on his shirt.

"Wait!", the child insisted. The genius genin glanced at him with questioning eyes and a raised eyebrow. Inari bowed his head in shame and bit his lip nervously.

"I-I'm really sorry for what I said before. You were right, I was too blind; too caught up to even notice that I wasn't the only one suffering. I'm really sorry, Naruto-san", Inari sincerely apologized while his hat-covered head still bowed in shame, Naruto stared at him before raising his hand. Expecting to be punished for his rude attitude, the boy tensed and braced himself for the strike. But, instead of a heavy hand inflicting him pain, he felt a gentle hand removing his hat and softly ruffling his hair.

"(It's okay, Inari-kun. I understand. I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have been too blunt, I could've hurt your feelings. Now, I have to go. You keep your mother safe, okay?)", said the sign that popped out of nowhere. Inari smiled and nodded his head with confidence, he let's go of the blonde's shirt and got his hat back on his head.

The boy saluted and stood up straight. "Got it, Naruto-nii!", he replied.

"Is there anything we can do to help?", asked Tsunami.

"(Well, it's up to you on how you could help. It's your decision. Just be alert and cautious. We'll see you soon)", Naruto answered before leaving to go see his teammates.

(At the Bridge)

Kakashi and Zabuza stared each other down while their fingers twitched, both were tense and ready to strike. They both ignored the teens in the dome of ice mirrors, a few feet away from them as they watched each others' movements. Zabuza held his zanbatou firmly, his eyes fiercely glaring into his enemy's mismatched ones. Kakashi stood stiffly in his fighting stance, his orange book tucked away safely and his Sharingan eye aimed at the swordsman at all times. The muscular swordsman chuckled dryly, rolling his shoulders slightly as if getting ready to attack.

"Heh. Well, it looks like it's just you and me, Kakashi", Zabuza smirked. Kakashi gazed at him with bored eyes and nodded in agreement.

"I guess so, Zabuza", the scarecrow replied monotonously. The two men silently waited for the other's move, trying not to expose any weak spots or openings in their stance. Before another minute can pass, Kakashi and Zabuza were caught by surprise when a familiar flash of blonde hair stood between them holding yet another ridiculously large sign.

"(Are going to just stand there and stare each other down, or are you going to kiss?)", was what the sign said. Both older shinobis sweatdropped and sagged in disappointment when the badass tension in the air, vanished. "Uhh, Naruto. Don't you mean 'Are you going to stand there and stare each other down, or fight'?", Kakashi questioned the teen. Naruto blinked and blankly turned the sign around for the others to see.

"(No. You two staring at each other didn't seem like a fight scene to me. It looked more like a really weird couple glaring angrily at each other as if the other one had done something bad and he wouldn't admit it because he didn't think he was wrong. So in conclusion, it looked, somewhat, more appropriate for you two to...You know...Smooch in the end. Because you two couldn't help but love one another. Don't you think that, that story would be better if it was published for others to enjoy? Good literature is very rare nowadays. I'm sure a lot of people would love to buy that book. The so-called "Yaoi" genre is not uncommon anymore, you know)"

'Geez, for such an unemotional kid, he sure is imaginative', both older men mentally deadpanned. 'And how did he know that we were going to ask that question to just the sign over?', they added.

"Look, kid. We're in the middle of something here. Don't you know it's rude to interrupt with adult business?", Zabuza told the blonde genin. Said teenager flipped the overly large sign, which had another set of words written on it (Magic!), and stared at the man with unblinking eyes.

"(And did you know how awkward "adult business" must have sounded from how you said it?)", was the reply. The swordsman grew a tickmark on his forehead as his patience thinned. Sensing his opponent's desire to smack his student upside the head, Kakashi grabbed Naruto's shoulder and gently pushed him towards the ice dome a few feet away from them. "How about you go and help Arashi and Sasuke out with their little problem over there. And I'll take care of Zabuza myself", the scarecrow said. The blonde quickly glanced at the swordsman with no eyebrows and nodded, the giant sign suddenly vanished and he rushes towards the dome.

Both older men sighed and stood in silence for a few seconds before Zabuza opened his mouth underneath his bandages. "What exactly have you been teaching that kid?", the bulky man asked. "Absolutely nothing", the leaf jounin replied.

(In The Ice Dome)

Arashi bit his lip, pain coursing through his veins. He held his arm that carried a gash and glared at the masked nin around them. Exhaustion weighed him down and slight fear started to eat him away. The redhead glanced to his side and saw Sasuke having the same problem, the young Uchiha was starting to sway in fatigue from the fight and it was slowly getting to him. 'We really need help here', Arashi thought.

"What's wrong? Getting a little tired? You and your friend appeared to have such vigor, earlier. What happened to your eagerness to fight me?", the masked nin mocked."Shut up! Don't underestimate us!", the young Namikaze growled at the other teen. The missing nin scoffed and threw another senbon, aiming at the redhead's neck. Arashi was caught off guard, he was about to try and dodge at the last minute when-

Crash!

Pieces of ice flew everywhere and the dome was now partially destroyed. A piece of shattered ice luckily threw the needle off its initial target and-instead- landed near Arashi's feet. Naruto dusted himself off and stared at the sight in front of him. His brother was injured and so is his other teammate. Haku was armed and garbed with the hunter nin mask he had worn earlier. The blonde tilted his head at the masked shinobi, as if saying 'Why?'. The feminine teen caught the look and tried his best to ignore the nagging voice in the back of his head saying that maybe-just maybe-what the other teen had informed him was true. It was hard to trust other people nowadays, you know. Even your own kind is nowhere near honest with their intentions.

Naruto continued staring at Haku, subconsciously asking him if he had made the right decision. The older shinobi tried to avoid the blank pools of blue that was somehow manipulating him-making him feel guilty of what he has done. The other two leaf genins watched the "interaction" silently, confused on what was going on. The blonde took out his notepad and repeated the same routine he always does: Take out his pad, write, show and repeat.

"(Haku? Is this your decision?)", he asked. The said feminine boy furrowed his eyebrows and kept silent, hoping that he can slip through this one. He stared at the other male and silently prayed that he wouldn't crack...under those unblinking, cold, blank pools of blue...acid. Sweat trickled it's way down Haku's pale cheek, nervousness getting to him. This was hard and scary, that haunting gaze made him feel like he's being stabbed with the sharpest sword in mankind. The tension only made it worse.

Finally, Haku couldn't take it anymore, he took off his mask and threw it at the blonde, who didn't mind the headgear hitting him on his chest. Quite comically, actually. But the time just wasn't in the mood for that. "No, it's not! But what am' I supposed to do, Naruto-san! You can't really expect me to do the things that you shoved down my throat! Just cause you know things, doesn't mean you know everything!", the feminine shinobi snapped.

"(You're right, Haku. I may not know everything but, I do know how you see yourself. You're not a tool. If you were that you wouldn't have the mind to think and the organic body to move. You are no object, Haku. You're a human with the right to make decisions)", replied calmly by the fair-haired teen. Haku slightly slumped, knowing deep inside that his new acquaintance was right. He always has been for the whole time they've known each other, which wasn't that long.

"But, Zabuza-sama is my master. I cannot just disobey him. He's the only one I got left", the ice-wielder muttered to himself. He knew he owed Zabuza in some way, since he has been there for him. Like family.

"(No, Haku. You have me, don''t you? We're friends, aren't we? I understand how you feel. I know that he trusts you, Haku. You're like family to him. I can see that even though he doesn't show it clearly. He'll trust your judgement; you have the right to make decisions, Haku. You have the right to speak, mostly if this decision of yours can save both your lives)"

Haku was speechless, never in his life had he known someone so wise, he knew he could trust Naruto. Why wouldn't he? The blonde could've killed him by now if he wanted to. But he didn't, he wouldn't. Because he knew what was going on here. He knew the truth. At that moment, the brunette knew what he was going to do. As Haku was just about to voice out his decision, they all heard the sound of a thousand chirping birds. The group of teens saw dancing lights from where they stood and the feminine ninja already knew what was going to happen. Not wasting any more time, he disappeared in a puff of smoke with Naruto following closely as to make sure Haku will not be putting himself in harm's way.

The area was lightened by the shine of electricity, which danced in Kakashi's hand. Zabuza struggled and thrashed as he tried to escape the dogs' hold on him. Kakashi's ninken held the muscular man down as their summoner got ready to end this fight. The jounin instructor took a deep breath and charged at his opponent with incredible speed.

The swordsman assumed that he was going to die here, killed by one of Konoha's finest and strongest shinobis. It was an honorable way to die, at the hands of someone worth dueling. The swordsman admitted silently that he was surely going to miss his young companion, as he treated him like family and a close friend. After mentally praying for Haku to have a better future after this, he awaited the numbing feeling of pain and death and Kakashi expected the sound of frying flesh and crunching bones. But-surprise, surprise!-none came. Nothing happened.

Haku hoped that he wasn't too late. Please, let him get there without error. Let him save his friend, his companion for the longest time. Steam rose from the ground and a wall of ice formed just beside the muscular nin at the very last seconds. Haku stood in front of Zabuza, ready to die of for his friend, his only family. Death would be bittersweet, as it always was. He was going to save Zabuza but he'll disappoint Naruto with his lost. He cherished the last few seconds before he dies. The ice-wielder waited and braced for his passing, mentally bidding his old and new friend a goodbye...Unfortunately, nothing happened...Well, except for one.

Kakashi didn't know what happened, he blinked both his eyes that were filled with confusion and disbelief. What the hell just happened? What the hell?! One minute, he was just about to kill Zabuza and end this whole mess and then the nest second, he was lying on his back-flipped by whatever unseen force that decided that it was amusing to watch a full-out fight get interrupted without reason!

Everyone in the area stood, frozen, as they all stared at the copy nin lying on the ground in a fetal position. The ninken, Zabuza, Haku and everyone else near enough to see what just happened stood there in silence; trying to comprehend what just occurred. Naruto, on the other hand, sighed in exasperation. Enough drama! The Great Kakashi got "pushed" out of the way in the middle of one of lethal jutsus. Big deal! Get over it! There's more sh*t to be done!

At that moment, a small pudgy man decided to break the (awkward) silence by dramatically clapping in a slow pace. The mist slowly cleared and revealed the group of thugs that stood by the midget. The people in the area faced the large number of thugs and watched as they tried to make themselves look intimidating. Sensing the new vibe, the ninken pack dispersed on by one, slightly speechless as to what has occurred a few seconds ago. All that was left was the stunned bundle of shinobis and the blonde kid who was mentally shaking his head in slight amusement.

"Well, well, well. Quite the party you got here, Zabuza", the small pudgy man laughed evilly. The now slightly dazed swordsman woke up from his shock and glared at the tyrant. "Gato, what are you doing here?", he growled.

"Oh, well, you see. I knew you couldn't properly dispose of your prey, just like I hired you to. So, I hired more people to get rid of the old man, you and that pretty little toy of yours", Gato smirked; making Zabuza sneer. Haku frowned in disgust at the man, thinking that the blonde was right and that he should have listened in the first place.

The swordsman intensified his glare before facing Kakashi, who was now standing up."Listen, Copy Cat. We'll have a temporary truce for now. Let me take care of this little a**hole and I'll get right back to you. Deal?", the muscular man proposed. The leaf nin glanced at the small man with the group of mercenaries then slowly nodded."Deal", he answered casually. Haku stepped away from his master as blood-lust filled his eyes like water in a glass. Zabuza lifted his sword and rushed towards the other "fighters". Gato tried to swallow the swelling fear down his throat. But the sight of the charging mist demon didn't let him keep his pride. The pudgy man quickly hid behind his men, hoping that they would kill the sword-wielding missing nin before he gets to him. The band of mercenaries screamed their own battles cries and dived into chaos, oblivious of the oncoming death.

Slowly sneaking away from the fray, Gato thought he was home-free. He thought that Zabuza and the mercenaries will kill each other, and he could keep his money and glory. The man smiled cruelly. Best plan he ever had! Now, he was going to stay rich and he gets to keep terrorizing Wave. Unfortunately for him, there was on flaw to his plan. And it was in a form of a blonde teenager known as Naruto Namikaze.

Gato finally saw the chance to completely bolt since the others were far too occupied with the ongoing battle. What he didn't notice, though, was the silent genin that stood behind as he was just about to run. The tyrant turned and suddenly bumped on to something standing in his way. He rubbed his nose and sluggishly raised his head to see what he had bumped into. Blue orbs of cold steel stared back at him blankly, as if daring him to move one more inch before he kills the small creature in front of him. The tyrant felt a shiver of uncensored fear run down his spine as those cold pools pierce into his skull. Gato instinctively knew that this kid was bad news so he tried to strike up a deal with the teen to let him off the hook.

"H-Hey there, kid. Need anything? You know, I could get you anything you desire, just tell me what you want. A-And I'll give it to you. Just don't tell anybody that you saw me, okay?", Gato stuttered and tried to smile. But, he found himself trembling instead when the stormy orbs turned to glaciers. He felt relieved when a second passed by and the kid finally nodded, accepting his proposition.

"A-Alright then, kid. What do you want? Money? Fame? Girls?", asked Gato. Finally! He was done! No more pain the neck! He just has to con this kid and he'll be gone before you can even say "Sucker". The man waited for the teen's answer but all he got was the chilling stare. Suddenly, cold air passed by and it made the tyrant shudder. The breeze felt like the cold blade of a sword pressing against his neck. Fear consumed Gato's form as the wind seemed to whisper the last words he would ever hear before death came to seek him.

I want you dead

The wind hissed into his ear before mind-numbing pain erupted all over his body. And then...pitch black darkness.

Team 7, Haku and Zabuza watched in interest as Inari cried his heart out. The child clung to Naruto while he tried to bid them goodbye. Yup, it's been 3 days since what was left of the thugs were chased away by the villagers. Zabuza, who was practically half dead when he had finished, killed the majority of the thugs. Gato had suddenly and mysteriously vanished. And Wave was finally free from the evil little maniac's clutches. Team 7 had helped with the construction of the bridge while Zabuza was again tended to by Haku.

Now, the Konoha nins and the missing nins (Well, missing nin and Haku) were now leaving. Everyone in Wave came out to say goodbye to their saviors. Tazuna and his family had thanked the group wholeheartedly, grateful for their service. Inari's tears started welling up when it was his turn to say goodbye, he hugged the blonde teen who had given him hope and a way to be strong. The small boy smiled and made Naruto promise to come back again, and visit. To which Naruto answered with a nod and a silent pat at Inari's head. Off they go now, back to to the village hidden in the leaves. Zabuza and Haku had figured that life on the road was not the ideal life for them. So, they decided to stick with Team 7 and head to Konoha as well to live a much better life as leaf nins.

As the group disappeared into the paths, Tazuna pondered on the new bridge's name. "Hmmm...How about the Great Tazuna Bridge!", the old man laughed in pride. His daughter and grandson sweatdropped at his exclamation before sighing. Inari's eyes then lit up, an idea popping into his mind.

"Grandpa! Let's name it, The Great Naruto Bridge!", the child offered. The citizens seemed to like that idea, cheering and shouting in agreement. Tazuna slightly sulked but reluctantly said yes to his grandson's idea. From then on, it was called The Great Naruto bridge; dedicated to the teen that gave them hope and strength to fight back!

Finished!

Finally done! Oh yeah! One more thing, guys. I might not be updating for awhile again 'cause school is complete torture right now. Even in the Holiday Vacations, they expect us to get everything done! So, again I might not be updating anytime soon. Please, bear with me here! I really am trying to update as soon as I can. Other than that message, we're good!

I'll see you guys later!