Whoops. I thought I had posted this months ago. Then I returned to my fanfiction profile and realized I was a chapter down. Sorry for the ridiculous wait for this guys.

Honestly still be struggling with wanting to get around to writing this, but I will just let this continue to trickle out with time. In the mean time I've just been writing fanfiction that I haven't been posting for things like Warcraft, Fate/Stay Night, Harry Potter, etc. Maybe I will get the inspiration to get back into this more fully.

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The team had gathered in force within the small kitchen of the Tazuna household. The hardwood table was arrayed with a large massive steel pot with a lid still covering it as steam filled and fogged up the glass top. A mass of reddish orange liquid that smelled of garlic, onion, various exotic spices and seasonings bubbled away beneath it. Tsunami stood behind the table as a stack of bowls sat before her alongside a ladle.

"It smells delicious." Sakura muttered quietly as those surrounding the table had their mouths begin to water slightly at the scents. They hadn't had a real meal since they had departed from Konoha.

"It does." Shino said with His eyes carefully locked on the steaming pot from behind his indoor shades.

Tsunami looked over the group with a somber smile as she looked on the eagerly awaiting shinobi. "I made this dinner for you all because I wanted to show you that we all appreciate everything that you're doing for our country. If you prove yourselves successful here protecting us and risking your lives, Wave Country will owe each and every one of you an unpayable debt. Yet I just want you to know that while there are those out there like my father who see you all here as saviors, there are others that would prefer the word usurpers."

Whatever chitter chatter that had been going on between the various pairs and parties within the group of shinobi died at Tsunami's declaration began as they listened intently. Mid way through the declaration, Tazuna had stepped into the room with a young boy who would have struggled to convince anyone he was a day over nine.

"If you're telling us this, then you must have an opinion as well. What do you think of us?" Shikamaru observed. "Saviors or usurpers?"

Tsunami's shoulders stiffened and pulled themselves back as she stood upright, "How about dangerous? I don't know how else to describe the stories I hear about ninja such as you. A bunch of hired mercenaries from a distant village that have no regard for the laws or rule of the populace, and care little for the destruction left in their wake in spite of their success or failure!"

A deliberate cough from the corner of the room pulled the attention from the young woman.

"Tsunami, I think we should let these shinobi eat peacefully without our own commentary. After all they-" Tazuna began only to be cut off when the young boy standing before him pipes up pointing his finger at the group.

"Mom, they're all going to die." the boy said with all the tact and subtly of a sledgehammer on concrete.

"What was that you just said shorty?" Kiba yelled out as Akamaru gave a loud bark from atop his head.

Naruto didn't fare much better as his fists clenched tightly and growled through his grinding teeth, "You little brat."

"Hey." Ino whispered quietly in Naruto's ear as she gently laced their arms together, "Calm down Naruto, it's not worth it."

Sakura to the left of the duo raised a pink eyebrow at the pair.

"You're all going to die." Inari repeated, "There's no way any of you can win against Gato."

"Oh yeah kid? What do you know?" Kiba continued in the argument as Hinata yelped behind him before she spoke up.

"Kiba, he is just a kid don't argue with him."

Naruto took a deep breath at Ino's suggestion, "It's Inari right?" Naruto said in introduction.

The boy in question only looked back in defiance at the shinobi.

"Inari, I don't know who this Gato guy is, but he is nothing against me. I've said it my entire life. I'm going to become one of the strongest ninja there will ever be and I'm going to travel further than any of them ever will. I'm not going to die here just because some kid has problems believing in people." Naruto said steadily as Ino's grip on his arm became progressively tighter.

"What are you stupid? Believing in you? In heroes? Heroes need people to believe in them, and there's no such thing as a hero here." Inari spat back to the blonde.

Naruto nearly surged forward at the jab until Ino's grip on his arm became like a vice as the skin along his forearm raked across her nails.

Hinata wasn't that bold. "Well how about you go piss off. We'll save your country without your help!" Kiba barked.

Naruto stared down the young boy whose head was now dipped downward with his small hat casting a shadow over his eyes, "You can just watch Inari."

Inari scoffed and turned to leave the room. "You don't get it! If you don't want to die, you should leave."

"Inari, where are you going?" Tazuna called out.

"To look at the ocean from my room."

"Aren't you hungry Inari?" Tsunami pressed.

"No." The young boy replied sliding the wooden door to his room shut down the hallway.

Tsunami gave a heavy sigh as she ran a hand through her blue locks as she turned to the group. "We're lucky we live on the ocean. We were able to pull in quite the catch for you today and made a seafood boil. I hope you enjoy it."

"I'm sure it will be lovely Tsunami-san." Kurenai said diplomatically trying to put the recent argument behind them.

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Despite the tense beginnings to the serving of the dinner, the dinner itself was quite the occasion.

"Man I haven't had anything like this before! It's delicious!" Kiba proclaimed boisterously as he kicked back rocking on the hind two legs of one of the few chairs the living room had to offer.

Chouji was in the middle of cracking open what could only have been a tiny lobsters as he pinched the tails between his hands ambidextrously eating tail after tail. "It's like our barbecue, eating all the food in front of you with your hands. But with seafood."

"You also don't have an excuse not to eat because of some form of diet Ino. After all this is all protein." Shikamaru remarked with a grin.

"Hey Shikamaru?" Ino said in a dreadfully sweet tone from her seat on the floor next to Sasuke whom she flanked with Sakura.

"Hm?"

"Shut up." Ino fired back as her lips wrapped around the glass of her drink.

"Come on now children, play nice." Asuma teased from his seat next to Kurenai. The jounin had taken up residence on the small table with both Tsunami and Tazuna, giving hushed apologies for the earlier outbursts.

"How about you pay more attention to your girlfriend and less on us Asuma-sensei." Ino fired back without remorse which caused the cigarette smoking chunin to sport a blush beneath his beard.

Kurenai turned to the jounin playfully, "A crush huh?" She said turning to the jounin sitting beside her.

Asuma chuckled, "Don't believe the hype."

"Oh I don't know Asuma, you both seem to be sitting awfully close." Kakashi said visibly smiling despite his mask.

Tsunami even joined in on the light teasing, "It is true." she added as Asuma's face flushed further.

"I swear Kakashi, you think I care that you're crippled right now?" Asuma spoke up much to the amusement of Kurenai who gently reached up to the Sarutobi's chin and gave the end of his beard a light pull.

"Fine I won't believe it." Kurenai grinned as she returned to her meal, her bandages dangling down the sides of the table.

In the interaction, the table hadn't noticed the young pink haired shinobi approach looking curiously past them. "Hey Tazuna, why do you have a torn picture on this wall here? I just couldn't help but notice it. Naruto was staring at it the entire dinner, but it looks like someone purposely removed the person that was in the picture?"

Naruto practically choked on his drink at being called out. He had taken up a chair quietly in the corner and found the picture interesting. However he hadn't wanted everyone to suddenly turn to him on the subject.

Ino grinned, "So what Forehead, you've been spending all dinner gazing at Naruto then?" The blonde mocked, "That's fine I will just have Sasuke-kun all to myself." The girl said as she wrapped her arm around Sasuke.

Sakura's face went red in the corner, "Hey! I'm not the one holding onto Naruto and following him around like a lost puppy Ino-pig!"

Tsunami slid her dish forward quietly on the table, "It was my husband Sakura." Tsunami answered quietly.

"And the man called the hero of the city." Tazuna added on his gaze soft at the memory.

"I take it that is Inari's issue with heroes?" Kakashi asked with a raised eyebrow from across the table.

"Inari had a father. While not related by blood, they were very close. Like real father and son, Inari was all smiles and would laugh a lot back then." Tazuna recollected as he leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "But Inari has changed since the incident with his father. It's that same incident that robbed our people of hope... of courage."

To the surprise of those around gathering the attention of the genin Sasuke stood up and walked over to stand before Naruto and the table of gathered jounin, "What happened to Inari in the incident?"

"Before I get to that I have to tell you about the man that started it all. The man who was called the hero of this city." Tazuna explained as he wiped his own eyes behind his glasses before adjusting them on his face once again.

"A hero?" Naruto wondered aloud as the remaining genin in the room gathered around to listen to the tale.

Tazuna looked down at the simple cup of tea that rested between his hands as he spoke. "It was about three years ago that Inari met that man. Some shit kids, ruffians, bullies whatever you want to call them had found Inari playing with his dog down on the docks. They took his dog, Pochi and threw him over into the sea. Inari doesn't like to talk about what was said, but they're young... you can imagine. I see the same insults get thrown around by the younger among you. The thing is Inari couldn't swim."

"So what happened?" Hinata asked demurely.

"Inari says that he jumped in the water whenever he told us the story. Didn't want the other kids to get blamed-" Tazuna explained as Tsunami cut in.

"He was pushed."

"Aye." Tazuna grumbled, "The thing is Pochi could dog paddle. Inari on the other hand panicked and sank like a rock. When he woke, he came to with a man who called himself Kaiza. He saved Inari and taught those ruffians a lesson all the same. He taught Inari many lessons that day and from then on."

"What did he teach him?" Sakura asked quietly. It seemed that the girls in the group had found themselves getting more and more engaged with the story once the hero was mentioned as they grew closer to the table.

"About bravery, courage, fear. He told Inari to live a life without regret. He told Inari 'That if something is precious to you, you must do anything to protect it. It doesn't matter how tough, how sad, how dangerous. You protect it with your own two arms. The idea that if you do that, even if you die, the proof of a man's life will remain forever.' Kaiza was an idealistic fisherman who came here to follow his dreams. However after that day Kaiza and Inari became very close." Tazuna explained smiling at the memory.

"It was only a matter of time before Kaiza had become part of the family. He was able to teach Inari the things I could not with these old bones. Inari and Kaiza became inseparable like a real father and son. It may have been because Inari's real father died before he got the chance to know him. However Kaiza was also the man that this city needed. The man our family needed."

Tsunami turned herself away from the table as tears lightly welled in her eyes, something that didn't go unnoticed by the older more observant shinobi of the group. Kurenai stepped up to assist Tsunami as the two began to collect dishes at the table and moved to themselves to the kitchen.

"I remember the day of a harsh rainfall where Giichi had burst into our home yelling to myself and Kaiza that the rain was overflowing the dams. Area-D was going to be wiped out. All of the men in the village were down there desperately trying to help. We knew that we would have to tie a rope to the gate to pull it closed. Rushing water and rapids threatened to claim a city that we all held so dear. It was a sure thing that anyone who entered those rapids would die, but if we did nothing then the entire area beyond would be wiped out." Tazuna explained, "I remember standing there in the crowd as if you could hear the men's frantic hearts beating over the rapids and the rainfall in those terrifying moments. But a voice spoke up. It was Kaiza."

"So here he came along with Inari. He saw the dam damaged and I remembered the men yelling:

It's not possible. It can't be done. This isn't something a man can do!

It didn't matter to Kaiza as he prepared to jump into the rapids not caring for the circumstances or the danger it might bring him against all of Inari's pleas, and the reasoning of townsfolk, he claimed himself to be invincible. He turned to the people and he said simply 'No, but it's what I'm going to do.' as he dove into the deadly waters and fought against it's powerful waves. He did what we all thought was impossible. He did it because he loved this city, and all of the people in it. But then Gato came."

"And is that the incident? What exactly happened?" Kakashi pressed on.

"In front of everyone, Kaiza was... put to death by Gato." Tazuna gained a faraway look as his knuckles briefly graced his lips as the genin in the room grew deathly silent, "From that day on Inari changed. Tsunami..." he said as he looked towards his daughter in the kitchen struggling with the dishes, "changed as did the whole city."

Naruto's fists clenched tightly as the chair underneath him scraped loudly against the hardwood floors from him springing to his feet.

"Naruto, if you're thinking of continuing your training. Take it easy, you're on the verge of chakra exhaustion. If you spend anymore you'll die." Kakashi stated bluntly as the genin in the room had their eyes go wide as they rounded on Naruto.

Naruto however had his fists still clenched as he approached the table, "I'm done with this! Sarutobi Hiruzen! Umino Iruka!" Naruto slammed his hands on the table, "Namikaze Minato! Heroes do exist in this world and I'm going to prove that to him whether he likes it or not." he said before he stormed off.

The gaze of the jounin in the room considerably softened as they watched the blonde haired blue eyed youth mention his final hero.

"Naruto!" Asuma called after the blonde the look in his student's eyes.

Naruto shook his head, "I'm not going to die until I accomplish my dreams!" He proclaimed loudly as he jabbed a thumb at his chest, "And I'm certainly not dying here just because somewhere along the line the people here stopped believing in one another." Naruto explained before he exited, slamming screen door behind him.

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It was the tired and sleepy shinobi that steadily entered the kitchen one by one, some more morning people than others. Sakura breached the entryway of the kitchen to catch sight of the jounin senseis gathered around the table along with some of the genin. Notably Shino sat at one end of the table next to Hinata, both of them enjoying the silence the other provided. On the other section of the table, Sasuke sat next to Ino who was doing her best to engage the dark haired boy in conversation.

"Kakashi-sensei, you no longer have crutches." Sakura noted through her yawn before her eyes locked with Ino in their electric competition for the dark haired boys affection.

"Indeed Sakura. Kurenai can be quite the medical ninja when she wants to be." Kakashi explained with a smile over to the two jounin that had taken a seat a small distance away from the rest of the genin for a bit of privacy.

Tazuna glanced about the room as his eyes followed Sakura, "Did Naruto come back last night?"

"He's probably been training ever since he heard your story last night. One thing I will say about Naruto is he can be hard headed." Ino muttered quietly.

"What if he used too much chakra and died by now? Shouldn't someone go look for him?" Sakura asked aloud repeating Kakashi's warning.

There was a light gasp from the entryway as Tsunami came in with a small plate of food, "I hope he's alright. He's just a child all alone at night in the woods. Isn't it dangerous? You're all not much older than my own son."

Ino snorted from where she sat at the table at the remark.

"Is it something I said?" Tsunami wondered in confusion.

Ino propped one arm on the table to support her chin as she dryly looked over Asuma's way. "I don't know, is it sensei?"

Asuma chuckled to himself, "I've had my students living in the wilderness nearly every day of the week since they have become genin. They have been forced to live in that environment. Whether my students will admit it or not, Naruto is currently clearly the best of them at that subject. I wouldn't worry."

"I don't know. It wouldn't surprise me if he was dead... he can be quite a moron." Sasuke muttered with his hands clasped before him.

Ino frowned at Sasuke as she leaned back to look at him clearly catching his attention, "You know... he might surprise you." Ino said seriously.

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Naruto wake up. Naruto you must wake up. Someone else is present around you. The voice of Solana continued to chime quietly in the morning air as birds fluttered away from the young shinobi's form.

Naruto peered his eyes open steadily as his blurry sight caught a mess of dark hair that cascaded into his face blocking out the sun when a familiar voice spoke, "Hey, you'll catch a cold sleeping in a place like this." The girl spoke quietly.

"Hn... what?" Naruto mumbled until his eyes fully adjusted to the light as he sat upright with the kunai in his hand jutting forward dangerously as he yelled, "Haku!"

The girl expertly caught the boy at the wrist as she went over to straddle his prone form pinning one arm to the ground beneath her knee. "I'm not here to fight you." She whispered quietly.

"What the hell do you mean you aren't-" Naruto was cut off as she used her free hand to cover his mouth.

"Don't you think if I was going to fight, I would have just killed you in your sleep rather than wake you up?" Haku questioned before she slowly removed her hand from his mouth.

The fire in Naruto's eyes remained but the words refused to come out as he looked around his surroundings. There were numerous scatter kunai knives numbering in at least a hundred that had been discarded everywhere surrounding the immediate field. "Then what is it you want?"

"How about for you not to try and kill me the moment I let you go. A truce." The girl answered.

Naruto frowned, "After that, what do you want?"

"I'm here for medicinal herbs." Haku replied honestly.

"For Zabuza." Naruto clarified with narrowed eyes.

Haku's lips pursed into a frown as she stood up with her basket in hand. "Perhaps I should go look elsewhere. I don't want any trouble fr-"

Naruto sighed as he held up his hand, "It's fine. What is it you need?"

Haku reached into her open basket and pulled out four flowers. "These are what I am looking for."

Naruto looked carefully at the four flowers, one of white petals, one of yellow, one of red, and the last one of pink.

"You mean like this one." Naruto rolled to the side, revealing underneath his leg a flower of red petals.

Haku smiled, "Exactly." She explained calmly as she reached underneath Naruto and plucked the partially crushed flower.

"I'll help you on one condition." Naruto said as he looked at the dark haired girl with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"You explain to me why you didn't just kill me."

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"You sure decided to come out early to work for a ninja." Naruto remarked casually as he continued to pick the flowers through the small but beautiful field in the forest before them.

"You too. What was it that you were out here doing at this time of morning?" Haku pressed.

"Training." Naruto shrugged.

"On what?" Haku questioned.

Naruto frowned, "I'll pass on that one. We may have a truce, but we are still enemies." Naruto explained as he looked the girl over with a sigh. "Even if your cute." Naruto mumbled the last bit quietly.

"What was that last part?" The girl asked in the middle of plucking a flower.

"Nothing." Naruto flushed as he suddenly tried to hide his face in his work. Although the girl's smile out of the corner of his eye told him he wasn't entirely succeeding in the attempt.

"Okay." She replied with a smile. However from that point forward it seemed like her own work was gradually bringing her closer to Naruto.

As the time went by and she continued to grow closer, Naruto's cheeks turning redder all the while the blonde finally piped up, "You know... there is a patch of flowers over there I think you may have missed, I can take care-"

"You want to know why I didn't choose to kill you?" The girl said quietly no differently than if she was talking about the blue skies overhead.

Naruto remained silent and nodded as he stopped his work.

"I don't like fighting. I don't enjoy killing or cruelty. Why are you training?" she asked abruptly.

Naruto frowned, "To learn new abilities, to become stronger. Why?"

"Sure, but you already seem plenty strong." Haku commented.

"Stronger." Naruto returned plainly as he attempted to continue his work.

"But why is that?" Haku asked seriously as her hand stopped over Naruto's grabbing his attention.

Naruto frowned at the line of questioning. 'If I had been asked that just a couple months ago it would have been so I could become Hokage. I guess I still sort of want that... But now... I can't tell her about Solana or the ship.' "I just have to become stronger. I want to become Hokage."

The girl's gaze remained solid on him, "Somehow I don't believe that."

Naruto forced himself to keep a stern face, "It's true."

"For someone else, or for yourself?" Haku continued to press on.

Naruto's opened his mouth slowly as words failed to come out for the moment. "I guess it's complicated."

"That's what I thought." The girl chuckled, "Do you have someone important to you? Someone you hold close? Someone dear?" Haku asked as she pulled back resting her hands on her legs as she sat across from Naruto who looked at her curiously.

"You see when people have something important to protect, that's when they can become truly strong." Haku explained.

Naruto's mind immediately flashed to a different time.

Iruka protecting him from Mizuki the night he stole the scroll.

The story of Kaiza protecting the city because he loved it and everyone within it.

The memory of Natsuhi willing to do whatever it took to win justice for her people.

The moment he beheaded Aoi to protect his own dreams and secrets.

"I suppose I understand that very well." Naruto conceded.

Haku smiled, "I would do anything to protect Zabuza. Everything that I am I owe to him. He saved me when no one else would."

Naruto snorted, "Yeah, sounds like a nice guy when he's not chopping people's heads off."

Haku chuckled, "I guess it's complicated." she returned his own words.

Naruto huffed with a frown as he crossed his arms not quite liking the girl running around him verbally. "So what do you want from me? Why the truce? Why spare me? Temari said that you would have killed me without hesitation."

Haku's eyebrow raised, "She did? We haven't seen Temari in days. Is she..." the sentence lingered in the air between the two.

Naruto shook his head, "No, but she isn't doing good. I can't heal her by myself."

"What about your team? She's a prisoner of war is she not?" Haku questioned.

Naruto frowned, unable to mask his feelings on the subject.

"You haven't told your team..." Haku read into him, "Why?" she wondered aloud searching his eyes for the answers until Naruto's gaze came back to her rather defiantly.

"It's-" Naruto was cut off by Haku whose smile refused to leave her face.

"Complicated?" She supplied.

Naruto sighed, "Yeah."

"I didn't kill you not just because I wanted a truce. I wanted your team's help." Haku said as reached into the bottom of her basket and pulled out an object that brought a deal of surprise to Naruto's eyes.

"That's a-"

"Radio, yes. It also functions as a recording device. Gato ensures the best and most advanced electronics the Elemental Nations can offer to do his jobs. It's how he is able to control Wave Country so effortlessly." Haku began to explain as she lifted up the device.

"The way the device functions is by picking up waves in our very surroundings imperceptible to the common eye. These waves allow communication over great distances, listen." Haku explained as she turned on the radio.

Naruto didn't have the heart to tell her that it was an overly simplistic explanation of the device.

"Gato. Nothing wrong in Area-B, but we did hear about some commotion starting in Area-C. We are heading that way now to get it under control." A voice spoke over the radio line.

"Good. Ensure that they learn a lesson to keep things under control themselves. A riot is the last thing we need with these shinobi running about."

"Understood."

Naruto stared at the device plainly his mind going through a whirl of thoughts as Haku quickly explained to him the rundown of how the device worked. However he soon stopped her, "So you want us to use this to what? Spy on Gato? Why? And who is to say that my team will even agree to do this, and not assume it's just a trap? Your 'reason for living' tried to kill more than half of us only a week ago."

"Did they not try to do the same? None them suffered any permanent injury. I'm giving you the tools to accomplish your mission and we both leave this country behind us for good." Haku explained.

"You must really be desperate if you're coming to me for help." Naruto muttered as he grabbed the radio carefully as Gato was there giving out another order while Naruto turned down the volume, which Haku smiled at.

"Quick study." She noted.

"I've seen something like it before." Naruto admitted as he set the radio aside.

A silence fell over them as Naruto held the radio in his grasp while Haku began to look around through the clearing. "So what do you think?"

"I think... that Gato is cruel, evil, unjust, and a murderer. And who is to say Zabuza is any different?"

"The view is different from where you stand." Haku reasoned.

"Not that different." Naruto fired back.

"Naruto, I see a lot of him in you. I doubt you and him are that far from being alike." Haku said sternly as her eyes narrowed at the boy across from her.

"You what!" Naruto exclaimed, but Haku pressed on raising her voice.

"Have you not kept secrets. Have you not killed people to protect those secrets? Killed people that were in your way? Killed people to serve your own ends at the cost of others. You are a ninja, as are we all." Haku explained harshly.

Naruto's shoulders slumped as Haku's words hit a bit too close to home.

Haku shook her head, "But I can tell you're a good person Naruto. Like I said, you're only similar to Zabuza, but different all the same. I'm asking you to do something that I haven't seen Zabuza do since I was a young" she paused with a sigh, "girl."

"What?" Naruto asked numbly as ocean eyes met Haku's chocolate ones.

"To help a stranger. To trust in a stranger." Haku pleaded as she reached and grabbed Naruto's hand on the radio.

"Fine. I will help you. Gato needs to be stopped. I can't let this village end up like the last one." Naruto spoke more to himself than to Haku. "However if we're going to do this and I'm going to try and get my team to help you. I have three conditions."

Haku nodded her head, "I only have one. That when all of this is said and done, you and your team let Zabuza and I go free. No strings attached. We don't want trouble."

Naruto frowned but nodded his head, "Fine, that's fair. My first condition is that I need to know all of your abilities. I want to know if you'll at least be honest about that." Naruto asked pointedly.

Haku's eyes grew tense for a moment as she carefully looked at Naruto, "And I can trust you will keep your word."

Naruto frowned, "I won't break it. Not to you. Not on this. Gato needs to be stopped."

Haku sighed, "I have a kekkei genkai. Do you know what that is?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Mine allows me to combine the elemental natures of both wind and water easily to form ice." Haku explained.

Naruto raised an eyebrow as curiosity got the better of him, "How do you do it? Is it possible for anyone to learn these powers?"

Haku frowned, "It is, but without a kekkei genkai, their bodies aren't innately developed to do such chakra manipulation. It would require a considerable amount of training to do such a thing. You have to be able to manipulate both elements fluidly at the same time to produce the desired result."

Naruto nodded in understanding, "Can you show me."

Haku carefully looked over Naruto with a degree of hesitation, "I am trusting you. I am putting Zabuza's trust in you. Do not betray me."

Naruto's eyes softened as he beckoned the older girl to continue. "Be honest with me then."

Haku held out her hand as water began to pull itself out of the air as area grew cold as a small handful of needles formed in the girl's hand from ice.

"What else?" Naruto asked as he took in the girl manipulating her chakra to do wonders he hadn't thought possible.

"And this. I can only make one using the perspiration here. Not it's full scope." She explained as she motioned for Naruto to stand at her side.

Naruto made his way off to the side, not taking his eyes off Haku all the while, who rolled her eyes.

"Remember I could have killed you while you were sleeping." Haku chimed in as she focused her chakra.

"You could always change your mind." Naruto reasoned.

"I will keep my word to you, I hope you will do the same." Haku said calmly as she watched Naruto's eyes grow wide in surprise as she began to go through a series of one handed hand signs and a single mirror rose from the ground made of ice.

"How... one handed?" Naruto mumbled in surprise.

"Like I said, it comes naturally to those like me." Haku explained as she pressed her hand up to the mirror before she seemed to become a part of it. Naruto watched as her reflection in the mirror held up the needles before they rained down into the dirt before her and embedded themselves into the ground deeply on impact. "Your other conditions?" she asked as she gracefully stepped out of the mirror as it crumbled into the ground behind her.

"How do I know that you can speak for Zabuza? Who is to say he won't just ignore the deal you and I make now, and kill one of my teammates who was assuming him to be an ally? He is a Missing Ninja that turned his back on the Mizukage, who is to say he won't do the same with us? Or worse." Naruto wondered with his arms crossed.

"I will speak to him. But you have the radio. Gato is currently located on Gataro's ship and under the protection of his pirates. Yet if you kill Gato, none of those that he employs will have reason to follow him. You team can end his reign of terror before you ever even encounter us. Without payment, we will have no reason to fight you." Haku explained. "So third?" she asked confidently.

Naruto frowned, "No more comparing me with Zabuza. We're not alike." Naruto said seriously.

Haku looked at Naruto incredulously. "That was one of your conditions?" she said in a bit of surprise.

Naruto nodded his head with a shrug.

"Naruto when I compared you to Zabuza, I meant it as a compliment. Not an insult. When I was a young girl Zabuza told me not to worry about comparing my own upbringing and life to the ones that others more fortunate than me had lived. There's no comparison between the sun and the moon. They shine when it's their time." Haku explained to Naruto with a smile.

Naruto smiled lightly at the memory of the days he would go through the academy, his rivalry with Sasuke a burning passions that drove him forward. Now his passion burned for the stars. "Really, Zabuza said that?" Naruto asked with a chuckle at the thought.

Haku smiled lightly at the effect it seemed to have had on Naruto, "Does it matter? It doesn't change what was said."

Naruto chuckled further, "No, I suppose not."

"Then Naruto, I'm trusting you." Haku said as she held out her hand.

"Help me end Gato's reign of terror on this village." Naruto said as he accepted the girl's hand.

Haku let go and picked up her basket, "Be sure to hide that until you get to your team. If one of Gato's men see it-" Haku's words died off as she watched Naruto seal the radio into a simple sealing scroll that he stored in a jacket pocket. "Good."

"Haku, there is one more thing I need to ask of you. One more condition. It's regarding your abilities."