Naruto: The Uchiha Chronicles

AN/ So here we are, with another chapter. This chapter will see the final battles of this arc, though there will be one more chapter in this arc that will sort of wrap everything up. We'll also see a surprise in this chapter, a jutsu a snuck a subtle hint in about in chapter six, but one I expect most won't expect Naruto to know.

I also have some bad news. I won't be posting anything for the next couple weeks at least. I've been swamped with school work for the past few weeks, and haven't had as much of a chance to finish the first four chapters on my newest story as I thought I would. I might be able to get the eleventh chapter for this story done in the next week so you aren't hanging in regards to this arc, but I can't promise anything for certain. I'll also be using the time to make some slight tweaks to Naruto and how his sword works and stuff.

Anyways, not much other news, so on with the chapter!

Normal speech: "what"

Extremely loud group/single person shouting: "WHAT!"

Thoughts/Speech taken out of context: 'what'

Letter/Book/Written text: 'What'

Demon/Summon speech: "what"

Demon/Summon thoughts: 'what

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach, that honor belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Tite Kubo respectively.

Arc III: Land of Waves Escort Mission:

Chapter 10: The Battle of the Bridge, Bloodline vs. Bloodline!

— ₪ NTUC ₪ —

The next morning, Naruto double and triple checked his equipment after he'd taken a shower and gotten dressed. His assignment today was pivotal to their overall mission, so he couldn't afford for anything to go wrong. Once he was sure he had everything he needed, he resealed his supplies, and went downstairs for breakfast. It was a quiet affair, with very little conversation. There was a tense feeling in the air, as everyone knew that today was important. Naruto himself tried to center his emotions. After all the food was eaten, and the plates put away, there was no more stalling.

Tazuna bid goodbye to his daughter and grandson, while Naruto and his team gathered outside. As they were waiting, Naruto created a half dozen clones.

The clones stood before him silently, and Naruto ordered, "Surround the house, make sure you remain unseen." He noticed the odd looks his team was giving him, and shrugged his shoulders. "Better safe than sorry, just in case Gato decides to try something," He explained. "Well, I better get going. It's a long way to Gato's mansion, even by shinobi travel."

Kakashi nodded in understanding. "Very well, good luck, and be careful."

"Yeah, make sure to get back in one piece," Sakura said encouragingly.

Lastly, Sasuki chipped in. She looked slightly concerned, although she tried to hide it. ". . . I guess I'll see you later," She said.

Naruto smiled at his team. Although they each had their own way of expressing it, it was obvious they all cared about him and were worried. Even if Sasuki had trouble expressing it. He offered them one more wave, before dashing into the forest.

— ₪ NTUC ₪ —

Naruto alighted upon a tree branch on the perimeter of Gato's property, and immediately settled into a crouch. The trip to Gato's mansion, which was fifty miles away from Tazuna's house, had taken him a half hour; even with his speed. The tree he was standing on was roughly fifty yards outside the main gate of the compound, and the height lent him a view of the inside of the walls Gato's mansion was a massive affair, easily fifty times as big as Tazuna's house, and several stories tall. It was rather modern looking, made of sturdy wood, glass, and brick, with at least a hundred rooms inside. The mansion was surrounded by a vast garden and yard, with a massive stone wall surrounding the compound, and only a single gate to enter through.

It didn't take long for Naruto to notice something was off, though.

During his observation of Gato's organization he'd noticed that there were almost always at least thirty guards on patrol. From where he stood, there was barely twenty, if that.

Something's off about this. Naruto extended his chakra sensing capabilities to try and get a feel for how many people were in the compound. It was very hard, as most of the thugs were only normal bandits, which made it difficult to sense them because their chakra networks hadn't been developed. There was the occasional bandit that had a bit of shinobi training, but they were few and far between. What Naruto sensed after he extended his senses to the limit wasn't what he'd expected. There was only a total of seventy chakra signatures in the compound. That wasn't even a quarter of Gato's army of thugs. The twenty he had counted earlier were guarding the perimeter, with two other guards outside the gates. The other forty-eight were spread out inside the mansion.

He frowned to himself. Something was definitely off here. Gato would never leave himself so under protected. It led him to one conclusion. Gato isn't here, but why? I have to find out more. Kurama, can you sense any negative feelings that would lead you to believe there's a trap? Naruto asked.

No, I can't. It's fairly obvious that these men aren't pleasant people, but there's no intent or concentration of dark feelings to suggest a trap. Kurama replied.

Naruto frowned. He had to figure out what was going on, and quickly. His hands formed the familiar cross-shaped seal for the shadow clone jutsu, and he began to create a huge amount of clones. It took him a while, since he had to create them in groups of ten, which would then immediately take off to surround the perimeter. If he made them in any larger groups, they might be spotted.

It took him a while, but as soon as Naruto knew they had the compound surrounded, he created and dispelled a clone to order the attack.

Naruto, with twenty clones flanking him, performed three quick hand seals, ending with the dragon seal. Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet!

Their chests puffed out, as air filled their lungs to nearly their bursting point. Naruto slammed his fist into his chest, and let loose a massive concussive bullet of air, which sped towards the compound gate. Nineteen more similar blasts traveled alongside his own, with something similar happening on all sides of the compound. The veritable wall of air collided with the walls of the compound with explosive force.

Naruto witnessed the gruesome sight of the two guards at the gate being crushed under the pressure of the wind, their limbs snapping and blood pouring from their mouth and eyes as their internal organs ruptured. Around them, the wall was instantly blasted into rubble, a cloud of dirt being kicked into the air. He could hear the screams of other guards as they were crushed under the wall of stone, and the startled and confused yells of those who witnessed it. Under the screen provided by the dust, Naruto and his clones charged the compound.

Like a great black wave, they fell upon the compound. Through the dust, Naruto saw a figure loom. He didn't hesitate to draw Senbonzakura and cut the man in half at the waist. The man, a burly looking fellow who was shirtless, collapsed to the ground in a pile of blood and entrails. He and his clones made liberal use of shock tactics to cut down anyone that they came across.

Within a matter of minutes, they had disposed of all the guards on the outside. Around twenty of his clones were dispelled in the process, but that wasn't much compared to the hundreds he had made.

Naruto quickly regrouped his clones, and had them surround the mansion as they had the walls. "Aright, we can't destroy the mansion; there may be something to tell us where Gato is. Break the windows with kunai, and then throw in smoke bombs." He ordered. "A third of you stay back to pick off any stragglers that try to escape, the rest, scale the walls and enter through the windows. Use the cover to kill anyone you come across. I'll be headed for the main office myself, once everyone is killed, search this place for anything valuable."

He didn't wait for a response. As soon as the last word left his mouth, he unsealed a pair of kunai, and threw them through the windows on the front door. The steel knives easily shattered the glass, leaving a gaping hole. The knives of his clones did similar to the other windows, and they were quickly followed by smoke pellets/

The pellets erupted into gouts of thick black smoke. Once again Naruto and his army of clones charged Gato's mansion. The clones poured through the windows and scaled the walls, covering the outside of the mansion. Naruto himself went through the front doors, a couple clones on either side. He reinforced his leg with chakra, and kicked the oak double-doors of their hinges. The doors flew through the air, and landed with a tremendous—CRASH!

Naruto marched into the smoke, his sensing abilities extended completely, and his Sharingan blazing. With it, he was able to differentiate between the guards in the entrance hall, and his clones.

He lashed out with his sword almost immediately, and cut down one of the guards, who was coughing and stumbling about.

Without pause, he proceeded up the main staircase. Heedless of the battle around him, he continued up the stairs, and to the third floor, where he knew Gato's office was. Every once in a while he would have to cut down a guard, but for the most part his clones handled it.

Fifteen minutes after the assault began, Naruto found himself outside the doors of Gato's office. Apparently, it was where he'd kept some of his more skilled guards, as every clone that had approached had approached had been taken down. From the memories, he could tell that they were some of the few with shinobi training, as each clone was cut down before they could get a good look. All he knew was that one of them used a sword.

He narrowed his eyes at the guards that blocked his way. There were two of them. The first one was huge, tall, and bulky. He was shirtless, and had a shaved head, with several tattoos, while wielding a large steel sasumata. The other was of average height, and rather lanky. A nasty scar stretched across his face and he had short cropped brown hair. At his waist was sheathed a long katana.

"Hmm, this one is alone. He must be the original." The lanky one observed. Beside him, his companion nodded in agreement

Naruto's Sharingan picked up the slight twitch in the man's muscles, and showed him he was about to attack. Before either man could react, he raised his arms, allowed Kurama's chakra to envelope them. The bubbling red chakra burned his skin, but he ignored it. He directed it forward in the form of two clawed hands, which shot out and snared the two men in their massive grips.

The men stared at him with wide, fearful eyes at the display of power.

"Sorry, but I don't have time to mess around." He said seriously. A slight tightening of his hands caused the chakra hands to crush the two men in their grips. He then let the chakra dissipate, and the two corpses collapsed to the ground like giant sacks of potatoes.

Naruto stepped over the dead bodies gingerly, careful to avoid the expanding pool of blood, and entered the office. It was a large room, paneled in a dark red wood, with a large, sturdy desk in the center of the room. Papers were strewn haphazardly across the desk. With a frown, Naruto created a couple clones, and they quickly began rifling through the paperwork.

In the distance, he could hear the sounds of battle, the clashing of steel, and the occasional crash of collapsing wood. Pretty soon, though, they began to die off.

He frowned as he went through his stack of documents. It was pretty mundane stuff, shipping invoices, cargo logs. A few looked suspicious, but none of them gave him a hint of where Gato might be. Come on, there's got to be something here.

"Hey boss, you better take a look at this," One of his clones called. Naruto's gaze whipped in the direction of the clone, and he saw him holding up a crumpled piece of paper. "I found it in the trash can," The clone explained, as it handed the piece of paper to Naruto.

Naruto carefully unfolded the note, and stared at the contents.

Boss,

Zabuza is making his move today. He and the kid just left the place we set up for them.

If you're going to make a move to kill them, now's the time.

His mind raced from the contents of the note. Zabuza had recovered, and he was making a move! Not only that, but it seemed like Gato was planning on betraying Zabuza and his partner. Naruto felt like cursing. It's a good thing Kakashi thought to keep most of us with Tazuna. Still, I have to get there as fast as I can.

Naruto immediately began to draw on Kurama's chakra. A bubbling shroud of red chakra enveloped him, a single tail sprouted out, and waved through the air with a mind of its own. Hope you don't mind Kurama, but I'm going to need to get there as fast as possible.

Hmpf, whatever. Just don't mess up, brat. The fox growled. Naruto nodded in understanding.

Don't worry, I won't. He began to channel more chakra into his legs. Once it reached a sufficient level, he shot off using his flash step, and made his way to the bridge.

— ₪ NTUC ₪ —

Even though it only took him less than five minutes to reach the bridge, to Naruto, it felt like an eternity. The entire time he worried about his team. Were they managing to hold of Zabuza and his accomplice without him? He didn't know, and it scared him.

The first thing he noticed as he dashed down the road to the bridge was the thick fog that hung in the air, even beyond the boundary of the bridge. It was so dense he couldn't even see ten feet in front of himself, and if he hadn't made the trip to the bridge so many times, he likely wouldn't have even known that it was there. The fog wasn't just thick, though. Even without using his ability to sense chakra, he could feel that the mist was absolutely chocked full of chakra. Is this part of Zabuza's plan, to limit the effectiveness of Kakashi's Sharingan? Naruto had to grudgingly admit it was a good plan, since the chakra in the air would make it hard for Kakashi to see Zabuza's own chakra.

Naruto crept through the mist silently. He'd only made it about ten feet onto the bridge, when he tred on something soft. His eyes widened when he saw what it was. The body of a man, strewn across the ground, his eyes wide, and a senbon needle in his neck. Grimly, he crouched down and pressed his fingers to the man's neck. He almost wanted to sigh in release when he found a pulse. Instead, he focused his senses on his surroundings.

He could hear the sounds of battle ringing through the air, coming from two different directions. From the one that seemed closest to him, he heard the—ping ping ping—of senbon being deflected. He frowned, and extended his senses to the limit, so that he might figure out where he should help first. His eyes closed in concentration. A quick check told him that Sakura was with Tazuna a little way away from the bridge, probably underground using one of her earth jutsu. Further in, towards the middle of the bridge, he could feel Kakashi and Zabuza clashing. From what little he could tell, that battle seemed pretty even. It was the closer battle that worried him. He could feel the all too familiar signature that belonged to Sasuki, as well as an unknown one. The thing that worried him was that Sasuki seemed like she was on her last legs chakra wise, and she wasn't moving too well.

His decision was made immediately. Swiftly, and silently, he swept through the mist. Within moments he was able to see the fight, and he didn't like what he saw.

Sasuki and Haku were surrounded by a dome of gleaming rectangular mirrors. With a start, he realized it was ice! Ice? So that boy has the Ice Style kekkei genkai of the Yuki Clan? Naruto frowned as he noticed the state of Sasuki. She was panting heavily, and her body was riddled with senbon needles that had dug deep into her flesh. He couldn't count how many there were, but it was obvious that they were hindering her mobility. Not just that, but she was almost constantly having to deflect new needles from all directions.

Where are those coming from? Naruto couldn't tell what was going on. He couldn't see Haku at all, but the boy was obviously throwing them. Was he using clones? Possibly. But if so, where were they? He couldn't see any, or the original for that manner.

It took him a few moments to notice a blur of motion in the air. His eyes locked onto it instantly. He began to notice more and more blurs, and his eyes widened. He's moving incredibly fast, faster than even my Flash Step. This is NOT good.

Naruto's assessment of the situation was drawn to a brief halt, due to a sudden cry of pain from Sasuki. His heart jumped into his throat as he saw her fall to her knees, her hand clutching her left knee. A senbon had struck her in the side of the knee, probably severing the ligament. She tried to stand, but immediately fell back to her knees.

I have to do something. He wracked his brain, trying to remember all he could about the bloodline of the Yuki Clan from the Mist. The ice they made was said to be highly resilient, and nearly indestructible. Most importantly; it couldn't simply be melted. Naruto's mind raced for a solution. He couldn't simply rush in, that would get them both trapped, and he would need to guard Sasuki. My only choice is to use brute force to smash through the ice, and get her out. But I don't know if I have enough strength to smash that, even if I use Kurama's chakra. Naruto grit his teeth. He could think of only one jutsu in his repertoire that had the kind of power he needed, though he was loath to use it. It wasn't complete. There's no help for it, I guess.

Just as Naruto decided on his plan, Sasuki was suddenly hit in the neck by a senbon needle. For a second, her mouth stretched open in a silent scream, and then she slumped forward onto the ground. Like a wraith, Haku appeared within the cage of mirrors, and began to step towards Sasuki.

He couldn't help the cry that tore from his lips. "SASUKI!"

Haku's head turned in his direction. The slit eyes seemed to bore into his soul. "I'm sorry you have to see this," He said.

Naruto wasn't listening though. As soon as he had let loose his yell, he crouched down and began channeling chakra to his right hand. He'd be damned if he let Sasuki be killed; even if he had to put all his faith in an incomplete jutsu. Just to make sure he had enough power, he allowed Kurama's chakra to flood his system. Concentrate. Rotation. Power. Containment. Naruto grit his teeth, and repeated the mantra in his head.

Wisps of purple chakra spun in the palm of his hand. After a few seconds, it took the form of a sphere of spiraling chakra. The sphere fluctuated in size, but eventually stabilized. It's formed! Naruto didn't hesitate to burst forth. He knew his jutsu could fail at any second.

With the aid of his flash step, he instantly appeared before one of the mirrors. He thrust his arm forth, and his jutsu slammed into the mirrors surface. "Rasengan!"

For a five agonizing second, his jutsu grinded against the surface of the mirror. Cracks formed, but as soon as they did, they repaired themselves. Naruto growled in frustration. He poured even more chakra into the technique. It was the last nail in the ice mirrors coffin. The mirror shattered into pieces, and Naruto shot through the opening that was created.

Haku seemed frozen in shock that one of his mirrors was broken, and Naruto took advantage. He clenched his fist, and slammed it into the other boy's mask, sending him crashing into a mirror on the opposite side.

He didn't pause to make sure Haku stayed down, but instead raced to Sasuki's side.

"Sasuki, are you all right?" Naruto asked, shaking her shoulder gently.

To his relief, Sasuki groaned, and one of her eyes cracked open slightly. He briefly started upon seeing that her Sharingan had awoken, but shook it off almost immediately. Sasuki stared at him in confusion. "N-Naruto? What's going on, why're you here?"

Naruto smiled gently. "That can wait, let me get you out of here first,"

He cradled her in his arms, and used his flash step to get them out of the mirror dome. Even after they were clear, he didn't stop until he'd taken them a good twenty yards away.

Gently, he set Sasuki down on the ground, mindful of the numerous senbon sticking from her body. Nevertheless, Sasuki groaned in discomfort. Her eyes fluttered.

"What happened with Gato?" She asked weakly.

"When I got there, he was gone. My clones and I tore up his office, and found a note that said Zabuza was making his move. I got here as fast as I could." Naruto frowned as he looked at her injuries. It was clear that the boy was aiming for non-vital spots, but still, the wounds were taking their toll on Sasuki; she could barely keep her eyes open. "I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner."

The response he got to his apology wasn't what he was expecting. In a very un-Sasuki-like manner, Sasuki smiled at him. "There you go again, being an idiot. It isn't your fault. That kid is strong."

Naruto shook his head at her response. Even in the state she was in, she still wanted to trade barbs. He felt tears prick his eyes, but he fought them down.

"Anyways, that's not important right now. I need to go take down that Haku boy." He replied.

By now, Sasuki was visibly straining to stay awake, but it was a fight she was losing. With the last of her strength, she fixed him with a serious look. "Don't lose," She said.

Naruto nodded, not trusting his voice with how constricted his throat was becoming. Sasuki gave him a satisfied smile, and her eyes finally fell shut, the exhaustion of her fight had caught up to her.

As soon as Sasuki's eyes closed, Naruto's expression changed. He stared at her in utter seriousness, his face a cold mask. "Don't worry. I'll beat him," He vowed.

He stood up, and turned to fix his opponent with a hard stare. To his surprise, Haku was just standing there. The boy must have been recovered for several minutes, but he'd stood by and let them have their moment. His punch earlier had shattered Haku's mask, and he could finally see his feminine facial features. This guy is an odd one. He could've easily tried to attack, but he didn't. Why?

For a few moments, they stood in silence. It was Haku that broke it.

"That girl, she is precious to you, isn't she?" He asked. There was a sad look on his face.

Naruto nodded. "Yes, she is. She's my best friend." He replied.

"I see. I apologize for hurting her. I was merely doing my duty to Master Zabuza." Haku said. There was a pleading look in his eyes. "Please, do not fight me. I don't wish to cause you anymore pain."

Even though his words were sincere, they grated on Naruto's nerves. He reigned in his anger, though, and instead stood up and looked at Haku coldly.

"You speak as if you could actually defeat me." He said. "You're skilled, I'll give you that. But you're overlooking one detail."

Haku cocked his head to the side. "Oh, what's that? I have the advantage, after all, we're surrounded by water."

Naruto chuckled. "Wrong. It's I that have the advantage. In fact, I have two," He replied. "First, you're low on chakra. That jutsu is obviously taxing on your reserves. I, on the other hand, have nearly all my chakra intact." Naruto explained. Haku looked at him wearily.

"And the second advantage?" He asked. Naruto smirked maliciously.

"The second advantage, is that we're alone, which means I don't have to hide this," Naruto answered. He activated his Sharingan, and the familiar feeling of the rest of the world moving in slow motion took over his vision.

In retrospect, he might've savored the look of shock on Haku's face a little too much.

"Yo-you have it too?" Haku asked, his voice breathless. Naruto nodded.

"Yes, I do. And unlike Sasuki, I have experience using it." He replied. "Now, let's see which one of us is faster!"

Without warning, he activated his flash step, and rushed Haku. In an instant he appeared before the boy. He could already feel the intense cold the mirrors surrounding them radiated seeping into his skin, but he ignored it, and raised Senbonzakura to slash his opponent. To his mild surprise, Haku managed to block his attack. They stood deadlocked, Naruto considered casting a genjutsu on his opponent, but Haku seemed to know better than to look him in the eyes.

They disengaged, and retreated to opposite sides of the dome. Naruto noticed that the ice mirror he had destroyed had now been replaced. He was trapped inside the dome, for better or worse.

Naruto studied his opponent. Despite how one-sided the fight between Haku and Sasuki had seemed, he noticed that Haku had not escaped unscathed. His clothes were slightly scorched. Sasuki must've hit him with a fire jutsu. Way to go. Naruto hid a fond smile.

The brief moment of inspection ended when Haku stepped backwards, and merged with the mirror behind him. Suddenly, his image was reflected on the surface of every mirror.

What in the world? Naruto didn't have any time to question his opponents jutsu. Almost immediately after Haku had merged with the mirror, Naruto's instincts flared like crazy, and he flash stepped to the center of the dome of mirror's. It was a good thing he did. Haku was leaning half way out of the mirror, clearly having been planning to cut his throat.

Naruto studied his opponent closely, and especially his jutsu. With his Sharingan, he was able to make out the bluish-white chakra that was spread throughout the ice. The frustrating part was that the chakra was spread evenly throughout the mirrors. He would've expected that the one with Haku in it would have a greater chakra concentration than the others. He must be purposefully spreading it. It might even be part of the reason he's able to merge into them completely, similar to how an earth or wood style user can merge with their element.

Of course, his vision of the chakra wasn't made any better by the constant film of Zabuza's chakra in the air.

His musing was cut short by a hail of senbon. Naruto deftly deflected them with his sword. He tried to follow up by slashing Haku out of the air, but he was too late. By the time he had deflected the last senbon, Haku had already entered a new mirror.

It quickly became apparent that, while Haku couldn't hit him, the same could be said for Naruto. Every time he deflected Haku's senbon, Haku had already entered another mirror. Even after he began to draw on Kurama's chakra, he still only managed a few slashes at Haku, that did more damage to his clothes than anything else. Alright, it's time to try a different approach.

Naruto held Senbonzakura out in front of him. He willed his chakra into the seals along the blade, which glowed white for a single instance. Haku tried to stop him, but it was already too late. Iron sand flooded forth, scattering into the air as minute particles almost invisible to the naked eye. Naruto quickly willed his sand to form into tiny razor blades, which glinted white when the light hit them. The blades gathered into a dense, billowing cloud, that surrounded Naruto like a drifting shield. Now, I can focus on actually hitting him.

The next time Haku tried to strike—a tentative throw to test out his defenses—he was ready for it. Naruto directed a tendril to snap out, and try and catch Haku. To his satisfaction, a gash was opened up on his opponent's forearm. Blood dripped from the wound, creating a dotted crimson line across the ground.

For several minutes, they traded shots. The battle was slowly drawing to a close. More and more, Naruto managed to cut Haku, and more and more Haku took longer and longer rest periods. Naruto could tell that his chakra was nearly to the point of depletion. His wounds too, were also hindering him. With his opponent now weak, Naruto decided to force his opponent to use the last of his chakra.

Throughout their fight, he'd noticed that every time a mirror was damaged, it would use chakra to repair itself. With that in mind, Naruto unleashed his razors of iron sand at the mirrors all at once. The tiny slivers of metal slammed into the ice mirrors, and began to shave them into dust. A tremendous screeching wail filled the air, as the metal ground at the ice. It grated harshly at Naruto's ears, but he persisted with his attack.

At first the mirrors resisted, and repaired themselves. But that began to fade. Finally, Naruto unleashed one massive pulse of chakra. The screeching reached a fever-pitch. All of a sudden, Haku threw himself backwards from the mirror he was residing in, and landed on the ground with a harsh thud. Not even a second later, the ice mirrors began to fall apart, crashing to the ground and shattering into miniscule pieces.

In the silence that followed, Naruto directed his iron sand back into the seals on his blade. He stared at his opponent, who was lying on his back, his chest heaving.

"Well, it seems our battle has reached a conclusion." He said. Quite frankly, he was amazed that it had lasted even as long as it did. That jutsu was so taxing, most ninja would have given in much earlier. It was a testament to Haku's determination.

His opponent tried to get up, but ultimately slumped to the ground. "It seems so." Haku's gaze turned to him. There was a dead look in his eyes. "Well, aren't you going to finish it?" He asked. "Go on, kill me. I don't care. I've failed in my mission. My purpose is to be Master Zabuza's tool, and I've failed. I'm nothing but a broken tool, to be discarded."

Naruto stared in disbelief, as tears began to leak from the boy's eyes. Not because he thought he was about to die, but because he'd failed someone close to him. The sheer devotion was . . . shocking. In a way, he could relate. He felt that way about several people in his life. Still, to see it inspired by someone like Zabuza was surprising. He licked his suddenly dry lips, and asked, "Why are you so willing to die for someone like Zabuza? Why would you try to cast this country into permanent despair, just for him?" Naruto just couldn't comprehend it.

Haku looked at him with sad eyes. "Surely you can understand. Zabuza helped me when I was weak. He took me in, and gave me a purpose. I would gladly give my life for him, and now that I've lost, I'm of now further use. So go on, kill me, you'd be doing me a favor."

Naruto didn't strike, though. He knew it was the smart thing to do. He'd revealed his Sharingan to this boy. Not only that, he was his enemy, he'd tried to kill Tazuna, and hurt Sasuki. It would be crazy not to kill him. And yet, something stayed his hand. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to kill Haku. Haku reminded him of someone. It was with a start, he realized who it was himself the boy reminded him of. This boy. He reminds me of myself. Grandfather took me in, gave me a family. I would've done anything for him. It's the same for him.

Their situations weren't totally similar; Naruto had been taken in by his grandfather, who gave him love. Haku, on the other hand, had been found by Zabuza, who had given him a purpose; to be his tool. Could he have turned out that way if someone had reached out to him? The thought disturbed Naruto.

In one last moment of indecision, Naruto raised his sword to finish Haku off. He fought, and warred with his emotions to try and deal the death blow; but they wouldn't budge. With a heavy sigh, Naruto sheathed his sword. He couldn't do it. Instead, he raised his hand. Yellow energy began to crackle in his palm. "Hainawa!"

The energy he was holding burst forth into a rope, which quickly snared Haku in its grasp. It wound round his body, binding him so tight he couldn't move.

"Wha-what is this?" Haku asked. He tried to struggle against the rope of energy, but it was readily apparent that he was too weak.

Naruto looked down at Haku calmly. "It's a jutsu I created myself. I guess you could say it's partially a barrier jutsu, and partially a sealing jutsu. You won't escape it."

As they spoke, the mist began to thin out. The constant haze of chakra disappeared, and it took Naruto a moment to realize what it meant. Kakashi's fight with Zabuza was probably drawing to a close. The fact that it was clearing and he could still feel both men's chakra told him all he needed to know about how it was going. Zabuza would never have let up his jutsu unless Kakashi was dead for certain, and that obviously wasn't the case.

"It seems that both fights are now over. I expect Zabuza will be dead soon," He commented. It was more to himself than anything, but it was definitely heard by Haku.

Haku began to struggle against his bindings fiercely, a sudden panicked look on his face. "Master Zabuza needs me, please, let me go!" He pleaded.

The boys wide, innocent brown eyes bored into Naruto's own eyes, and Naruto felt uncomfortable. Desperation was obvious in his eyes, as if his entire world depended on helping Zabuza. And it probably did. Naruto had lost the one who pulled him from the loneliness. The pain had been hard, but he'd had time to prepare for it. The idea of losing someone close to him suddenly and violently? He couldn't imagine how painful that would be. Could he really just stand by and allow that to happen to this boy that was so similar to him?

Don't do it. Don't give in. Naruto clenched his eyes shut tightly, trying to block out the image of the despair on Haku's face. His mind warred with his heart, even as he heard the tell-tale chirping sound of a lightning jutsu fill the air. It wasn't hard to deduce what jutsu it was, given what he knew about his sensei. Even then, he struggled with the decision. Again, it should have been easy. Yet it wasn't

Naruto was so caught up in his inner war, that he almost missed the sudden tingling at the edge of his chakra senses. Luckily, he didn't. Like tiny prickles of light, miniscule compared to that of a shinobi, dozens—even hundreds—of chakra signatures began to appear in his sensing range. This feeling. It must be Gato and his thugs! That sealed the deal for Naruto. No matter how inconsequential they seemed, with how weakened all of them were, it would be hard to deal with the thugs if they were taken unawares.

"It seems you've just gotten lucky. Your employer Gato has arrived here, along with his army of thugs. I imagine he's here to kill all us ninja." Naruto told Haku, whose eyes widened in shock. He locked eyes with the boy, and gave him a slight nod. "Our battle is over. I'll prevent your master from dying, so that we might defeat them. You wait here, since you'll be no use in a fight,"

Naruto steadfastly ignored Haku's protests, and took off using his flash step.

I just hope I stop them in time. As he traveled, Naruto thought of how he might stop Kakashi from killing Zabuza. His strength wouldn't be enough to grab Kakashi's arm. Truth be told he wasn't very fond of the thought of getting in front of his sensei's signature Lightning Blade. He was reckless, not suicidal. No, he'd have to either knock Kakashi off target, or make sure both men were immobilized. Option two is the most doable.

Naruto squinted his eyes into the remaining mist, and focused on the two chakra's he could see, along with three much smaller signatures. One, a reddish violet color, was stuck in place, with the smaller chakra signatures hanging off them. The other, electric blue, was moving at immense speed; presumably Kakashi. It was only thanks to his own speed and Sharingan-enhanced perception that he was able to track him. Alright, I'm only going to get one shot at this, better make it count. Naruto narrowed his focus in on the two, and pointed his index fingers at them. For Kakashi, he pointed slightly ahead, so he would run into the point he planned for his jutsu to collide with him. NOW! Rikujokoro!

From his fingertips, two slivers of energy were released, and hurtled towards the fighting jonin. Naruto watched anxiously as his jutsu approached his target. Three seconds. Two seconds. One second . . .

A flash of yellow light illuminated the middle of the bridge, showing the two jonin trapped within two wheels of long, flat slivers of light that circled their waists. The dogs that Kakashi had summoned to trap Zabuza leapt clear with startled yelps.

The two were frozen in place, their heads the only thing that could move. Zabuza was stuck hunched over from the weight of the dogs that had been holding him down. His sensei was stuck in a rather awkward pose, frozen in mid-lunge with his lightning encased fist just inches from Zabuza chest. The dark blue tank-top Zabuza was wearing had actually been scorched by the lightning. After a second, his sensei's jutsu died down due to the lack of access to his chakra.

The only part of their bodies that they could move was their heads, and both men turned his way as they heard the sounds of his footsteps on the concrete. Naruto deactivated his Sharingan before either man could notice it.

"What the hell is this? Is it your doing?" Zabuza growled. Naruto saw him struggling to break free of the jutsu, not that it did any good.

Kakashi, meanwhile, turned to Naruto with narrowed eyes. "I assume you have an explanation?" He asked. Naruto nodded. Seeing that his sensei wasn't going to freak out, he went ahead and released him from the jutsu's hold. As soon as he wasn't bound by the jutsu, Kakashi stood up straight. He gave Naruto a serious look. "So, let's hear this reason."

"Now wait just a moment! Don't you ignore me, Kakashi, brat! If you're going to kill me, then do it." Zabuza interrupted.

Naruto rose an eyebrow the man. "If I wanted you dead, why would I have stopped Kakashi from dealing the final blow?" He asked, more to himself than anything. Either way, he didn't wait for a reply. "We're about to have company," He said simply.

Kakashi's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, who?"

He wasn't the only one confused, Zabuza also looked at his in surprise. In response, Naruto motioned to the unfinished side of the bridge with a jerk of his head. "Take a look for yourself."

Kakashi and Zabuza looked in the direction he was indication. As one, they scowled, and at the same time, growled, "Gato."

It was said with particular venom in Zabuza's case. Clearly, despite working for him, he didn't like the man.

From the mist, a group of people began to emerge. An army of thugs, wielding various weapons, ranging from spears, to clubs, to scythes, and even a few Naruto couldn't name. There must have been at least a couple hundred of them. All of the men looked rough and tough, with a cruel gleam in their eyes, and their wardrobe reflected that. At their head stood a man that was out of place. An extremely short man, barely even as tall as Naruto himself. The man had bushy hair and a thin mustache, and he wore an expensive business suit, with small dark glasses. Both of his hands were clutching a cane; his right hand was encased in a cast. The man was Gato, the oppressor and tiny tyrant of the Land of Waves.

While Zabuza's gaze was focused on his employer, Kakashi turned to Naruto and asked, "I thought you were going to take care of him?"

Naruto shook his head, and frowned. "When I got there, he was gone. After fighting through the guards, I found a note in his office that said Zabuza was making his move," He explained. With a subtle glance to Zabuza, Naruto kept his next words extremely quiet. "It also seemed to suggest that he planned to betray Zabuza."

Apparently his words weren't quiet enough, because Zabuza let loose another growl. "WHAT?" He exclaimed furiously.

Gato sniggered. "Hehehe, well, well, well, what do we have here? It seems you've failed again Zabuza. This is becoming a habit. And this time, you've been beaten by a brat. My how the mighty have fallen." He sneered.

"Gato, you swine, what is the meaning of this?" Zabuza growled. Once more he tried to escape his bonds, but it was no use. He seemed to settle for giving Gato his most menacing stare.

Far from being intimidated, Gato laughed. "I thought that would be obvious," He said. "Your services are too expensive; these thugs are much cheaper. I've decided that now that you ninja are weak from battling, I'll have them kill you all, and take care of the bridge builder once and for all." Gato squinted his eyes, and seemed to be looking at something behind them. "Say, isn't that the brat that broke my arm back there? This is perfect. Once you three are dead, I'll take my time teaching him a lesson before I have him killed."

Naruto tensed at the man's words. He briefly considered letting Haku out of the jutsu, but ultimately let it go. Even if he released him, Haku wouldn't really be able to defend himself. Instead, he created a few clones with orders to go form a barrier around him, and Sasuki as well.

"Well, since Gato has broken our agreement, we no longer have reason to fight Copy Ninja." Zabuza said to Kakashi. He then turned to Naruto. "You can release me now, boy,"

Despite Zabuza's assurance, Naruto first looked to Kakashi for permission. His sensei gave him a small nod. Naruto sighed, and—reluctantly—released his jutsu that bound Zabuza.

The Demon of the Mist straightened up. "I'll take my leave," He told them.

Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief. "What, that's it? After he used you, and planned to betray you? Aren't you going to help us fight?" He asked incredulously. "What about Haku?"

Zabuza rose a none-existent eyebrow. "What of him?"

Naruto felt like decking him. In his fight, it had been readily apparent how devoted to Zabuza Haku was, and here his loyalty was being spit on. "You'd just sit there and allow Gato to get away with threatening to torture and kill him?" Naruto growled. Zabuza scoffed at him.

"We're ninja. Gato used me, and I used Haku. That's how life is for people like us." Zabuza answered dismissively. Naruto's face twisted in anger. Kakashi tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't have any of it.

"Haku has devoted his life to you. He lives for you. When he lost to me, all he could think of is how he failed you! Are you so selfish that that means nothing to you, do you feel nothing for him?" He asked accusingly.

Zabuza turned his back to him. Naruto was going to continue to lay into him, but then he heard the sound of something wet dripping onto the ground. Tiny circles of dark gray dotted the ground at Zabuza's feet. He was crying! If he thought that was the strangest thing that would happen, it wasn't. What happened next was even more shocking.

"Your words . . . cut deep boy. Deeper than any knife." Zabuza told him. The shock he was feeling must have shown on his face. "What, are you so surprised to learn that the Demon of the Mist is human?" Asked Zabuza. "Haku . . . he isn't cut out to be a ninja. Even as he fights, his heart breaks. He cares more than anyone else, and damn him, now I care too."

Zabuza turned to face Naruto and his sensei, a fierce gleam in his eyes. "Very well boy, I'll fight with you two. Let's finish this."

Apparently, Gato had had enough waiting. "This is all very touching, but I'm going to have to cut this love fest short. Time is money, and you're wasting mine." He called. To his thugs, he ordered, "Go get'em boys. The one who brings me the bridge builders head gets double. Triple to the one who gives me Zabuza's."

The army of thugs let loose a set of savage roars, and began to charge, parting around their boss as they made their way towards them, and then forming into one solid mass again. Their weapons waved in the air; Axes, spears, scythes. Despite their impressive numbers, Naruto's lip curled in disgust. They had no order or discipline, merely individuals. It was no band of warriors, but a rabble of cavemen, trying to beat them with sticks. More than ever, he knew why Gato chose a country with no shinobi presence to take over. Against even a single team, they'd be slaughtered. And that was exactly what was about to happen. He and Zabuza, both drew their swords, while Kakashi armed himself with a pair of kunai.

"No use waiting for them to come to us," He commented. "Come on, let's get this over with." With that, Kakashi began to charge towards the enemy.

Naruto nodded in agreement with his sensei's command. "You don't have to tell me twice." He muttered as he followed his sensei.

On Kakashi's other side, he could see Zabuza doing the same. His sword was trailing behind him, as he prepared to deliver a massive blow when he met the enemy. Naruto himself sped ahead of the other two using his flash step.

The first thug he killed—a massive brute wielding a kanabo—didn't even know what happened. Naruto coated his sword in wind chakra, and used it to slice cleanly through the man and his club. He felt the disgusting wet warm spray of blood across his face, but pushed it aside. Like a scythe cutting through a field of wheat, Naruto swept through the thugs. With his speed; the thugs never stood a chance. He weaved in and out of the mass of limbs and weapons, cutting down anyone who crossed his path.

Quickly, the surface of the bridge became slick with blood, and clogged with bodies. Everywhere he stepped, it seemed, he was treading on dead bodies and severed limbs. It made it difficult for him to keep up his speed, and he eventually had to activate his Sharingan so that he could see where he was treading better. In the periphery of his vision, he could see Kakashi and Zabuza carving similar paths of death and destruction. Although, unlike him they were taking more damage due to their exhausting fight beforehand; especially Zabuza.

Before Naruto knew it, the last thug had been slain. By then his clothes and hair were soaked in blood. From the feel of it, his skin was two. Anyone who saw him at the time would've thought that he had been in some horrific accident.

Standing a little farther away, Kakashi and Zabuza were both covered in a similar gory red stain.

"Hah . . . hah . . . what now, Gato?" Zabuza growled. His breath came in pants, but it did nothing to detract from his furious eyes glaring daggers through the short Tyrant.

Naruto noticed that Zabuza seemed like he was in pretty bad shape. He was no longer holding his sword, and his arms hung loosely at his sides, with several knives stuck into them and deep gashes in the muscles. That wasn't even mentioning the spears that were stuck deep into his shoulders and upper back. That doesn't look good. Even if he survives, he'll never be the same.

Gato stood near the end of the bridge, his face stretched wide in horror. He couldn't seem to move.

"Wh-what are you people? St-stay away!" Gato stuttered.

The bloodthirsty grin Zabuza gave the man almost caused Naruto himself to shiver. In the fight, the bandages covering the lower part of his face had come off, allowing them to see his shark-like teeth. The blood trickling from his mouth did nothing to lessen the image.

"Stay away? Now why would I do that?" Zabuza asked. He advanced on Gato menacingly. "I told you I'd kill you, and I plan to deliver."

Gato backpedaled rapidly, a terrified look on his face. Unfortunately for him, he tripped over his own feet, and fell on his rear. That didn't deter him though. He tried to crawl away, whimpering in fear. Finally he couldn't crawl any further. At the edge of the bridge, he was forced to stand up. He was shaking like a leaf, and began to plead with Zabuza. "No, no, please, stay back! I'll pay you double, triple what I said," He offered desperately. Zabuza didn't stop, increasing Gato's desperation. "What is it you want, money, women? I'll give you anything!"

Zabuza just grinned wider. "Money? Come now Gato, the place that men like us go, there's no use for money." He replied. There was a sick gleam in his eyes, and he began to exude killing intent so thick Naruto actually began to see the image of a demon form behind him. "No, when we die, we'll go to Hell. Can you think of a better place for a demon ninja like me? Oh, I'll fit in very nicely. I've heard there are many demons in Hell. You, on the other hand," Zabuza paused, and gave Gato one last, supremely menacing, insane glare. "I'M AFRAID YOU'RE IN FOR A VERY LONG AND PAINFUL ETERNITY!"

Without warning, Zabuza twisted his neck down, and tore one of the knives from his arms. He lunged forward, and began to carve into Gato. Zabuza slashed and slashed. Blood was sent flying through the air. It ended with Zabuza cutting deep into Gato's throat, to the bone, and spinning around his body.

Gato's severed head fell to the ground with a sick—thump. There was a permanent look of agony etched onto his face.

Naruto was slightly shocked by how brutal Zabuza had been. As much as he hated to admit it, it scared him a little. All thoughts of fear were driven from his mind, though, when Zabuza suddenly collapsed to his knees. His breathing was ragged.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked. He cautiously approached Zabuza. As he did, he took a closer look at Zabuza's wounds. With a start, he realized that several of them were in the location of arteries in the arm. None of them were major, but they were arteries, and thus hard to close and fast to bleed.

"Heh . . . heh. Depends on your definition," Zabuza replied. "Seems like I'm dying for real this time. I've been on the edge so many times, it's strange for it to be real this time." Zabuza fixed Naruto with his gaze. "Boy, will you help me? Take me to Haku . . . I want to see him one last time before I die. There are things . . . I need . . . to say." Naruto hesitated for a moment. Truth be told, he was still wary about Zabuza. Still . . . he wasn't one to deny such a request. He looked to Kakashi briefly, silently asking if it was ok.

Kakashi gave him a subtle nod.

"Hehhh, alright." Naruto sighed. He crouched down, and pulled one of Zabuza's ruined arms over his shoulders. To his credit, Zabuza didn't so much as grunt in pain.

Instead of going through the time wasting process of hauling him across the bridge normally, Naruto used his flash step to transport Zabuza to the other side of the bridge, where he had left Haku.

Haku was still there, in the exact same place Naruto had left him. As soon as Haku laid eyes on Zabuza, he began to struggle fiercely. "Master Zabuza!" He cried. His gaze turned to Naruto. "What happened, I heard fighting earlier? Who did this to him?"

Before Naruto could reply to the rapid fire questions, Zabuza let out a wet cough, which unleashed a spray of red mist from his mouth. "Settle down, Haku," He growled. Haku looked at him with wide eyes, but kept silent. "We got in a fight with Gato and his army. He planned to betray us, and we dealt with him." He explained. His next words were directed at Naruto. "Boy, set me down."

Naruto eased Zabuza onto the ground gently. He laid him on his stomach, so as not to agitate any of his wounds with weapons sticking from them. For a moment after he had gotten Zabuza situated, he stood awkwardly

"I'll leave you two alone, so you can talk," Naruto said. He walked away from them, so as to give them privacy. As an afterthought, he released the jutsu he had holding Haku in place, so he could kneel by his master's side.

Briefly, Naruto felt tempted to try and listen in or read their lips. Ultimately, he decided against it. When he thought of how he would have felt if someone had intruded on him when he had been at his Grandfather's side upon his death, he realized he had no right. Instead, he decided to go and check on Sasuki.

She was deathly still. Once could almost believe she was dead. But he knew better. He could still feel her chakra presence. Idly, he used his control over magnetic forces to gently remove the senbon from her body.

He stayed there for quite a while, just thinking about the events of the day. It was just starting to hit him just how many men he'd killed today. Unbidden, a nauseous feeling welled up inside of him, and he had to fight it down. Even if he'd made peace with that aspect of their job, it never weighed on his conscience any less, the burden of taking a life. There was some comfort in the fact that it was such horrible men. And when you considered that they had helped to oppress and terrorize the people of Wave, the world was really better off without them, simply because of the hundreds of lives the men might've taken in the future.

From his place at Sasuki's side, he saw tears begin to pour down Haku's face. Clearly, Zabuza had told him the bad news.

Naruto let out a sigh. This life as shinobi. It never gets any easier. It seems that it's inevitable that we lose the people we care about. He looked down at Sasuki, who by this point looked as if she was sleeping peacefully. It hardened his resolve.

No matter what, I won't lose you.

— ₪ NTUC ₪ —

AN/ So this ended up being the longest chapter so far. I wanted to end the arc here, but I found that it was just too long already, so there will be one more chapter, that will be considered basically a run-off and lead into the next arc. Next time, we'll see whether Zabuza lives or dies.

Oh, surprise, Naruto knows the Rasengan! Or at least, partially knows. Like his Byakurai, he doesn't have it totally mastered to where it's effortless. Hope I don't get too much backlash for it, but I figured it's reasonable since he has A) A tailed-beast who knows the technique it's based off of. And B) Madara as a teacher, who himself is extremely skilled at chakra control, which the Rasengan is basically a highly advanced form of.

Anyways, there may or may not be a chapter next week, we'll see. It's very likely there won't, and you'll have to wait a couple weeks for the next one. Sorry about that, but there's really no way around it.

Not much else to say.

Next Time: Zabuza's Fate, and Haku's Choice!

So, til next time,

RinneTaicho, Signing off!