I don't own Naruto.

"Talk"

'Think'

"Talk"

'Think'

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Zabuza yelled as Naruto sprung from the lake, and headbutted him in the chest forcing him to release Kakashi.

Naruto then opened his mouth and shot out some water bullets. Zabuza brought his mighty Kubikiri Haoucho (Head Cleaver) to block the bullets, however he didn't expect the force of their impact and was sent further away from Kakashi and Team Seven.

The blond chimera then transformed back into his human form. He unsheathed Hebidoshi and charged head on towards The Demon of the Mist. Zabuza saw him coming and brought his massive blade down. The two mighty swords clashed with enough force it sent the two back a few feet. Zabuza sent a downward strike but then turned it into a forward jab. Naruto caught his fist and used the momentum to lift himself off the water and over the other mans shoulder and sent a cross slash in mid air. As if sensing it Zabuza parried the move in mid air and sent a right fist. Naruto saw this so he pushed himself off of the other mans sword, did a black flip and then charged forward and sent a forward jab of his own which was block at the blunt end of the mans sword.

"Who the hell are you?" Zabuza asked his opponent as he knocked him back.

"A monster." Naruto answered rearing Hebidoshi to strike.

The two charged at each other again, and clearing was then filled with the sounds of metal clashing. Brief flashes of polished steel and flying sparks indicated where both combatants met. Only Kakashi could follow the two warriors as they traded slashes.

'This is insanity! Even I would be hard pressed to match either of them in speed! Naruto what type pf training did you go through to get this strong?' Kakashi thought.

As the fight wore on both combatants were becoming tired. However Zabuza was only panting when Naruto was breathing irregularly. While he may have been a stamina freak this was his first real fight with a man of Zabuza's caliber, and let's not forget that every time he clashed with Kubikiri Haoucho it made his arms feel like jelly.

Zabuza brought his giant cleaver over his head, and brought it down on Naruto. He blocked it but was brought to his knees under the sheer force of the zanbatou's weight. Naruto knew he wouldn't last longer so he used his remaining strength to throw Zabuza's blade away from him. He then pumped some chakra into his right leg and kicked The Demon of the Mist in the stomach, causing Zabuza to gasp out in surprise as he flew backwards.

Naruto quickly jumped to his feet and flashed through hand seals like lightning, "Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!" he shouted as a huge fountain of foam and water surged a hundred feet into the sky, causing it to rain all over the lake. The sheer force of the wave caused by the blast knocked Zabuza back over fifty feet, the only thing that stopped him from going further was a thick three. The impact stunned him, and the last thing he felt was pain in his neck, and saw was a white Hunter-nin mask with a red swirl painted on it, then everything went black.

Naruto had jumped over the tidal wave and waited for the fountain to die out. When it did, he saw a person dressed in a blue battle kimono standing over Zabuza.

"Thank you for your assistance," the masked person thanked the blond as he came out of hiding. "I was afraid that I would not be enough to take down the legendary Demon of the Bloody Mist." the person then gave them a bow.

"A Hunter-nin." Kakashi whispered.

"What's a Hunter-nin?" Sakura asked.

"They are a group that hunts down traitors that abandon their villages." the Copycat ninja responded as he walked towards the body. "They are trained to kill them, and then dispose of the body so that their village's secrets won't fall into the enemy's hands."

"That is correct," the Hunter-nin said in a very feminine voice. "now I must dispose of the body." the Hunter-nin carefully picked Zabuza's body up and the two vanished.

"Whew that was a tough fight." Naruto sighed before collapsing from exhaustion.

Tazuna's House a few hours Later

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and stared up at a woman in her mid to late twenties, she had long black hair that went to the middle of her back, and was dressed in a pale lavender kimono and an apron.

"About time you woke up." she smiled before turning her head towards a flight of stairs. "He's awake!" she said in a slightly louder voice. A moment later Naruto heard the sounds of several footsteps. Soon, he was greeted by the faces of team, and Tazuna.

Slowly, Naruto moved into a sitting position and looked around. If his guess was right, he was in the living room of house that Tazuna lived in. There was a flight of stairs that told him this was a two story building. He could see the kitchen that was empty except for a table, some cabinets, and a few modern connivance's. The furniture looked old and patched up. It looked like Tazuna wasn't kidding about being poor.

"Good to see your up." Tazuna sighed in relief. "Don't worry; you're safe here in my daughter's home. I doubt that Gato will send anyone else after you defeated that Jounin."

"I guess." Naruto sighed, "Man I'm worn out."

"Sensei who exactly was that masked kid? And why does that mask look so different from the masks Konoha wears?" Sasuke asked Kakashi.

"That's the mask worn by the Hidden Mists special Hunter-nin team. And the reason their masks are different than ours is just because they're from another village. But despite our differences all Hunter-nin have one thing in common."

"What's that exactly? Naruto asked.

"Total elimination of Missing ninja. Their duty is to dispose of the body without a trace." Kakashi answered to the shock of everyone in the room. "The reason is because a ninjas body has within it secrets of the village's ninjutsu, information on different chakra types, herbs, and other things that will reveal things about the village." he continued ignoring the look of disgust going across everyone's faces.

"For example, if I died, the secrets of the Sharingan could be revealed. If you don't be careful there's the danger that the enemy will steal your jutsu. A ninjas body can reveal important information. So, by killing and disposing of the Missing-nins that have abandoned their village, the Hunter ninja protect the information from getting out. They are the specialists who guard their village's secrets. No sound, no smell...that is a ninjas end."

"So Zabuza has been chopped up and disposed of? Scary!" Sakura shuddered, with both Naruto and Sasuke actually agreeing on the same thing for once.

Meanwhile in some clearing

Elsewhere, the Hunter-nin dropped Zabuza to the ground in a mist filled clearing, and pulled out a pouch with medical tools. Pulling out a pair of scissors, she moved them to Zabuza's face.

"Okay," she whispered to herself. "first I'll cut the mouth cloth, drain a little blood, and-"

"That won't be necessary." said the revitalized Zabuza, grabbing the hand with the scissors and uncovering his mouth with the other.

"Oh you're alive."

Cursing, Zabuza pulled the senbon from his neck. "You shouldn't do that," the Hunter-nin scolded. "You could die pulling them out like that."

"How long are you going to wear that stupid mask? Take it off." Zabuza growled ignoring her.

After Zabuza said to take off the mask, she reached up and pulled it off, revealing a pretty face framed by black hair and a Mist hitai-ate. "It reminds me of the old days...and it was useful for the act. If I hadn't showed up, you would have died."

"If you were going to temporarily kill me," Zabuza retorted, massaging the entry wounds, "you could have hit me somewhere else. It didn't have to be my neck. You have the finesse of a butcher."

The Hunter-nin just smiled at the insult,"I know...I just didn't want to scar your body, and the neck doesn't have much muscle, so it's easier to hit the pressure point there. You shouldn't move for about a week, but you'll be able to move soon."

Zabuza stared at her, then chuckled. "You're so pure and clever that's what I like about you, Haku."

Haku just smiled again. "That's because I'm just a kid...look, the mist is clearing. Will you be all right next time?"

"Yes, but next time, I will not underestimate that kid."

Back at Tazuna's House

Kakashi suddenly grabbed his head like he was hit with a rock.

"What's wrong sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Huh? Well...Hunter-nins usually dispose of the body of the person they killed right then and there."

"So what?"

"Well the Hunter-nin took the body, and she could have just taken the head as proof. And the weapon she used to kill Zabuza were simple needles."

"No way!" Naruto exclaimed putting two and two together.

"What are you guys talking about?" Tazuna asked feeling a cold shiver go down his spine.

"It's most likely...Zabuza is still alive!" Kakashi said igniting frighten looks from Naruto, Sakura, Tazuna, and a confused look from Tsunami.

"What the hell do you mean? We both checked his pulse he was dead!" Naruto shouted at his sensei.

"Yes we did, but that was just most likely a momentary death. The needles that Hunter-nin used were probably senbon needles, and unless they hit a vital organ, they have a low possibility of killing your opponent. It's an item even used by doctors in acupuncture therapy. Hunter-nins know about the body's structure thoroughly. Putting a person in a momentary dead state is probably easy for them." Kakashi paused to let the information sink in. "Man I should have known it was so obvious. First, she carried away the body of a much heavier Zabuza. Second, she used a weapon that has a low probability of killing. These two points indicate that here motive was not to kill Zabuza, but save him. We can't ignore that possibility."

"Aren't you thinking too much? Hunter-nins are supposed to kill Missing-nins." Tazuna asked.

"No with all the suspicion we will prepare before it's too late. That's a shinobi rule. Plus weather Zabuza is dead or alive, there's no assurances that Gato hasn't hired an even stronger shinobi. We'll start tomorrow." Kakashi told his students.

"That doesn't sound like fun." a voice suddenly said making the ninja took towards the source. They saw a young boy about eight years old wearing black overalls, a white t-shirt, and a white bucket hat.

"Inari where have you been?" Tazuna said happily.

Inari ran to him, and then hugged him.

"These are the people who saved your grandpa." Tazuna said, pointing at the three Genin.

"They're all gonna die." Inari stated.

"Little punk," Naruto growled, leaping to his feet. When Inari said that they would definitely lose to Gatou. "Listen up, gaki!" he said, pointing at him. "We'll not lose to a scumbag like Gato!"

Inari only snorted at that remark, "Are you an idiot? If you don't want to die, then leave while you still can..." with that, the eight year old boy turned on his heel and went to his room.

"We'll start training tomorrow." Kakashi sighed knowing he wasn't going to like this week one bit.

In some random forest clearing the next day, the one-eyed Jounin finally stopped at the location he felt suited to train them. "Okay, now we start training." Kakashi said. He had taken the Genin to a forest and was now using crutches to get around. "I assume you all know what chakra is, right?" when the three Genin nodded, he sighed in relief. "I'm gonna teach you how to harness it correctly."

"But we can already use jutsu." Sasuke said.

"Nope!" Kakashi eye-smiled at them. "You guys aren't using it correctly."

Seeing Sasuke's and Sakura's confused looks, and Naruto's bored one he continued. "To release chakra means to harness spiritual and physical energy in your body and mix them within you. Based on what jutsu you use, the type and amount of chakra that is released will be different. But you guys aren't using your chakra effectively. Even if you're able to release a high amount of chakra, it isn't worth squat if you can't control it properly...any jutsu you use will be weakened or won't work at all. So basically, you'll be screwed in a fight because of wasting energy."

"So what do you want us to do?" Sasuke asked.

"You guys are gonna learn how to control your chakra by climbing trees."

"How will tree-climbing help us?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi eye-smiled once again. "You'll be doing it without using your hands."

"How are we going to do that?" the pinkette asked after overcoming her shock.

Putting his hands in the tiger seal, Kakashi turned to his tree and walked straight up it. "You gather chakra in the soles of your feet and climb. The main purpose of this exercise is to teach you chakra control. Bringing out the right amount to the right area this is essential when using jutsu. Hell, even a skilled ninja has trouble with this exercise. The amount of chakra needed for tree-climbing is small, but it must be exact. They say that the soles of the feet are extremely difficult to gather chakra at. So basically, if you master this, then you can master any jutsu...in theory, that is." he paused to let the information sink in.

"The second purpose is to give you stamina needed for chakra control. Depending on the jutsu, controlling your chakra can be difficult as well. And a shinobi will usually be doing this while constantly moving usually in battle. These types of situations can be very stressful on you and your chakra control. That's why you'll be climbing trees."

He then threw three kunai at their feet "Use those kunai to mark how far you get up the tree, then try to get higher than you did. You guys won't be able to do it well at first, so try running to gain momentum."

Sasuke ran up his tree, bt he used too much chakra and made four steps up the tree before the wood underfoot splintered and he was forced to vault off.

'Damn!' he thought, glaring at his mark. 'Too much chakra, and the wood cracks too little, and you won't get far.'

Sakura had made it to the top of her tree and shouted down, "This is pretty easy!"

Naruto made it up his tree as well, "I'm finished too, but Kakashi-sensei can I talk to you for a minute."

"Of course follow me."

After a few minutes of walking Naruto finally asked a question that has been bugging him for sometime, "Kakashi-sensei how come Sasuke and Sakura aren't asking me questions or freaking out about what happened yesterday?"

"I told them it was a bloodline, and they bought it." Kakashi answered.

"Oh...then what happened to my jacket?"

"It's back at the house, and I put some fingerless gloves in one of its pockets since you other pair were destroyed." he indicated towards Naruto's bandaged hands.

"Yea that's the problem with my amphibian form, it destroys my gloves. Thanks for the cover up sensei, I'm going to train." Naruto said before running off towards the house.

A few days later everyone was sitting down for a peaceful dinner. Sasuke then glared at Naruto, "Where were you all day dobe? Too good to train with us?"

"Screw off." Naruto said before he continued eating.

Everything was quiet until Inari came in and ruined the silence, "Why do you try so hard? No matter how hard you try, you will never be able to defeat Gato's men! When the weak fight, they will always lose!" Inari shouted. Tsunami and Tazuna were glaring at Inari. While Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi all looked a little surprised at the outburst. Naruto however was not so subtle.

"Up yours kid, that fat monkey is nothing compared to the things I've seen." he spat before turning back to his dinner, Tsunami already told them the story of the of Kaiza's death. It wasn't that he didn't care, but the way the boy always wined about it just trashed his memory.

Tears formed in Inari's eyes. "SHUT UP! You have no clue about me! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE A ROUGH LIFE!" the small boy screamed the last part. The little overall-wearing boy was about to continue when he felt the temperature in the room drop by about fifteen degrees Celsius. Everyone else gasped too. Naruto looked up at Inari with pure wrath blazing in his now glowing cold dead blue eyes causing the child to shrink back in fear.

Before anyone could say anything Naruto disappeared and reappeared in front of Inari. He grabbed him by his neck and slammed him against the wall choking the air out of him. That one act got everyone to look alarmed.

The blond was glaring at Inari with so much anger that the boy almost pissed his pants. Naruto then spoke in a deadly tone, "So I don't know what it's like to have a rough life huh? Sitting on my ass crying over losing my dad to the monster called Gato when I got my mother and my grandfather still alive? Let me tell you something you little bitch I had to raise myself from shit, and went through three years of antagonizing pain! You only lost your dad. If you think for one second that this is a hard life then let me show you what real suffering is!" Naruto said as he charged chakra into his left index and middle fingers, and poked Inari in the forehead.

At first nothing happened and everyone sighed in relief. But then the young boy fell to the floor in agony. Tears flooded from his eyes, he started screaming "No stop!" over and over again, then it stopped like it never happened.

Everyone looked at Naruto for an explanation, but he was gone with an open window telling them he went out.

"Inari what did he do to you?" Tazuna asked helping up his grandson.

"Naruto...ARRGH!" Inari started as he suddenly screamed and fell down to one knee.

"Inari, whats wrong?" Tsunami asked with worry for her only son.

"It...it's-" Inari started but grew silent when a voice was heard in the back of the young boys head.

'Ah Ah Ah what you saw was a secret between us...so keep it to yourself. And always remember how lucky you are compared to me.' the voice said in Inari's subconscious mind as it let out a dark chuckle.

"I now know what Naruto said...when there were people off worse than me." Inari whispered before heading up to his room.

Later in a clearing Naruto had released his Chameleon and bat form, and mercilessly unleashed his anger on the trees in the area. What that little punk said had driven him over the edge, he needed to be away from the house for the rest of the night or someone might lose their life that very night.

A young woman with long, silky brown hair walked through the forest. She was wearing a pink flowery kimono, and her beautiful dark brown eyes were drinking in the enchanting sight of the morning forest. Currently, she was looking for herbs to help...someone recover. As she walked, she came upon a rather discontenting sight. It looked as though a huge explosion had happened right in front of her. The earth had been turned into glass here and there, and dust that was once the trees were scattered across the ground. Concerned and disturbed a little bit, the girl crept cautiously along the swath of destruction. After a moment, she came upon an interesting sight; there was a blond teen lying on the grass that came before the devastated area.

The girl suddenly realized that this wasn't just any blond; he was the one who fought against Zabuza the other day. She tilted her head, for he looked so peaceful and yet she could feel that something was off about him.

Haku then shook Naruto until he awoke. "You shouldn't sleep here," she said gently. "you might catch a cold."

Naruto grinned wearily, "I've been through worse."

Moments later we find Naruto helping Haku search for more herbs. "Is this the one?" he asked, pointing to a plant.

"Yes," Haku answered. "thank you for helping me."

"No prob. But you're up early miss." Naruto commented.

"You too," Haku replied. "what are you doing this early in the morning?"

"Training," he said as it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I wanna become stronger, so that's why I'm here."

Haku, being absolutely sincere, replied, "But you look plenty strong to me."

Naruto detected a bit of, at least what he thought, a small bit of affection. "I know." he said, squinting and grinning. "But I want to become stronger, so I can be the best shinobi in my village, and to help people who really need it."

Haku giggled, and asked, "Do you have a precious person...someone close to you?" her thoughts went back to her childhood, where she was alone and unable to help herself. But then Zabuza came. "When someone has something they're willing to lay their life down for, then they can become truly strong."

Naruto thought about this. He thought of Takashi, Isaribi, Zaku, Kin, Tayuya, Dashi, Suigetsu, Arashi, and even Kimimaro the friends he left behind. Then the Sandaime who was the first to acknowledge him, then Iruka who thought of him as a surrogate brother. His thoughts then went to the Ichiraku's, Hinata, Ino, Shino, Anko, hell he even thought of Kakashi for a little bit. "Yeah," he said grinning. "I'm growing stronger to protect my friends, and I will protect all of them no matter what."

Haku smiled, and she stood about, leaving the clearing as she said, "You will become strong...let's meet again somewhere."

"I'm sure we will," Naruto said. "Tell Zabuza that I want to show him my strength."

Haku stiffened. He had known? Her thoughts were answered by Naruto's voice, "I can smell him on you. But I'm not mad...I just want to be friends...believe it."

Haku bowed her head. He truly was something else. "As do I," she said, walking away. "As do I..."

We now find our blond hero asleep passed out in his bed from training too hard last night. Kakashi said Sakura, Sasuke, and himself will accompany Tazuna to the bridge today since Zabuza would probably be showing up today.

Naruto woke up to the sound of screaming. He quickly ran down the stair to see the door had been smashed in. Naruto ran through the broken door to see Inari running towards two wannabe samurai without any fear. The two samurai tried to take a slash at Inari and surprisingly they hit nothing but air. They looked around until they saw Naruto stand at the edge of the bridge looking at the samurai. His eyes cold and unforgiving.

"What the fuck are you guys doing?" Naruto said as he put Inari down along with his mother. The samurai saw the woman and looked to see that they were holding a log instead.

"Screw off kid! Gato wants this family and I suggest you move." a mime looking man said as he angrily threw down the log.

"Or I'll just cut you down." a man with an eye-patch continued as he readied his sword.

"I don't think so." Naruto smirked as he raised his arms, and two red snakes flew out of his sleeves latching onto their necks. They fell to their knees paralyzed.

"Like it?" he asked scratching one of them the under the chin, "These rare breed of snakes are special because they inject their venom into their victims, but they can choose the type of venom to inject into them. I asked them to just paralyze you." he continued before they receded back into his sleeves.

"W-What ar u goin to do to us?" the mime man managed to slur out.

"Ahh so you can still speak, well I'll tell you what I'm going to do." Naruto said before walking up to them. With each step he took the men struggled to get their bodies to function, only for their attempts to be proved futile.

When Naruto finally reached them the could see the coldest eyes they have ever seen. "I'm going to end your existence!" he yelled raising both his arms shouting, "Splicing Sound Wave!" his gloves blew off as a great blast of wind flew from his hands striking the men head on. The aftermath wasn't pretty, because them men's heads were gone and on the ground was a mass of red goo.

"God dammit there goes another pair of gloves." Naruto complained as he looked at the exposed tubes on his hands. Now he would normally reflect on his on his first kills, but his team was in trouble. He glanced back at Inari, gave him a thumbs up, and ran towards the bridge.

The Bridge

Kakashi was currently having a highly intense fight with Zabuza. He was already wounded, and was glad that he had his Sharingan active or he was sure that he would have been dead by now. Zabuza was very unpredictable. the man had no fighting style, but using his brute strength in his blows says that this man truly earned his name as The Demon of the Mist.

Zabuza sent a downward strike with his zanbatou but then turned it into a forward jab. Kakashi dodged and used the momentum to back away from the man, and drawing a kunai.

"Is that all you got Kakashi? I guess your legendary skills aren't so great." Zabuza taunted as he took a slash at Kakashi who parried the move.

"Tell me something Zabuza. Why are you working for Gato?" Kakashi said before breaking the struggle forward. He then sent a side swipe to the mans waist.

"I'm doing my job." Zabuza retorted pushing the sword aside before throwing a left punch. Kakashi jumped back and sent one of his own.

"What kind of job is it that is so important that you would have to kill the only thing that would bring life back to something that man is trying to kill?" he asked as his punch was blocked and he was thrown over Zabuza's shoulder. He landed on his feet only to block the attack that Zabuza was sending him a left punch.

"Because I need him in order to fulfill my ambition. I must do this or all our sacrifices would be in vain." he replied still keeping the struggle. He then saw the masked man jump away into the thick mist.

"Zabuza our fight is finished! Summoning: Earth Style: Fanged Pursuit!"

"Talking will get you nowhere Kakashi, without the use of your Sharingan your noth-" he was interrupted when some dogs burst from the bridge, grabbing Zabuza and holding him tight in place.

As the mist cleared Kakashi saw Zabuza being held by a bunch of dogs. A huge bull dog bit into both of his right shoulder rendering it useless, two great dame's held his hands, two Labrador retrievers held his arms, two rottweilers bit into his thighs, two begals bit into his ankles, and a pug bit on the long cloth of his hitai-ate. "How?" Zabuza asked despite the pain.

"Earlier in the fight I let you wound me, and your weapons stink with my blood, so my hounds couldn't miss you." Kakashi replied as the fog lifted. "The fog is lifting. I can see your future, and your future is death!"

"You say my future is death? I've had enough of your bluffs!" Zabuza raged.

"Zabuza you've had your fun. You schemed your schemes, the day you deserted The Village Hidden in the Mist and became a Missing-nin, your name and your reactions were reported to every village. We all know your failed coup d'etat you and your followers staged, and the attempt to assassinate the Mizukage. Since then you've been trying to raise funds for a second attempt, and barely staying ahead of the Hunter-nins which is what brought you here. It's why you'd stoop to work for scum like Gato." Kakashi then did three hand seals and used his left hand to brace his right wrist. A ring of crackling chakra appeared around him and small bolts of electricity flowed from the ring into his hand. the bolts eventually stopped and he now held a large blue ball of lightning, which let out a terrible sound like the screeching of a thousand angry birds.

"You're are a loose cannon. The man you're trying to kill, Tazuna, is the heart and spirit of this place. And the bridge you're trying to prevent him from completing is the lands hope. You're willing to sacrifice this place and everyone in this village, just to advance your own ambitions" he continued staring hard at his opponent.

"Spare me the civics lesson and philosophy, you have no right in my affairs! Do your worst!" Zabuza roared.

"Then die! Lightning Blade!" the Copycat ninja yelled as he ran at Zabuza his right hand at his side tearing through the bridge, he then brought his hand up to plunge it into his chest. But he saw a dark shape appear before him. Too late to pull back, he surged forward, thrusting his lightening-engulfed hand at Zabuza.

In a splash of blood, he saw with horror what he actually hit.

Haku had reached Zabuza in time...but Naruto had shoved her out of the way, and taken the powerful lightning techniue in his right shoulder. "Wha...wha..." Kakashi tried to get out the words, but Naruto grinned, despite the pain he was in.

"I don't know why, but I couldn't let her die." he said, as Kakashi pulled his trembling hand free from his student. Naruto, clutching his profusely bleeding shoulder, let his healing factor take over, which would undoubtedly leave a scar. He smiled that told Kakashi that told him he would be okay.

Zabuza decided that, unknown factors or not, Uzumaki and Kakashi were going to die. He swiped at the two with his giant sword, but Kakashi reacted faster. Mad at himself for injuring his own student, he brutally jabbed a kunai into Zabuza's remaining arm, rendering it useless.

Even so, Zabuza tried to fight back, but Kakashi withdrew another kunai and held it to the injured Missing-nins throat. "You can't beat me, Zabuza I was a former Anbu captain, and you're in no shape to take me on."

"Well, well..." came a familiar voice. It was Gato, and he had brought just about all of his henchmen. "Looks like you're getting your ass kicked Zabuza."

"Gato," Zabuza growled, in no mood for this. "what do you want? And what's with those men?"

Sakura, who had brought semi-conscious and senbon filled Sasuke over. "What's going on?" she asked.

Haku grimaced. "It's our employer." she said wearily, tired from using her chakra.

"Hehehe..." Gato chuckled. "The plan's changed. At first I wasn't going to pay you, and let the Hunter-nin from Water Country know where you were." Zabuza grimaced. He knew this wasn't going to end well. "But then I saw this fight, and thought that it'd be better to kill off you guys, and give the girls to my men as part of a job well done."

Sakura gasped in horror, Haku lifted herself to her feet, and glared at the short man who dared to betray them, as the rowdy group of man behind Gato leered at the girls. While the men were looking at them with absolute hatred.

Gatou saw her, and grinned evilly. "Actually, as punishment for breaking my arm, my men can have you as their little toy, and I'll keep the pink-haired one after all, it's not every day that you find a girl with natural pink hair. I find it...exotic."

Naruto, at this point, had had enough. It was bad enough that he insulted Haku, and even though he didn't care much for Sakura he couldn't help but be pissed about it. He drew out two kunai, both with exploding tags, and threw them at Gato. Due to his still-recovering injuries, he missed and hit some of the men instead, the explosion killing thirteen of them. "I think you'll be deader faster than you can scream out your last words!" he roared.

"I think so, too," Zabuza said, his eyes filled with rage. "kid, gimme a kunai!"

Naruto tossed him a kunai with his left hand, and Zabuza loosened his mouth bandages, catching it with his teeth. "Goodbye, Haku," The Demon of the Mist said, and ignoring Haku's calls for him to stop, he rushed towards his opponents.

Gato saw him coming and ran behind the ranks of his men, ordering them to kill him. They responded enthusiastically, but as Zabuza approached, they saw his aura surrounding him. "A true demon!" one bandit screamed before Zabuza cut through him, and before long the men were dropping like flies.

Gato was sure that Zabuza was dead, but Zabuza proved him wrong. He appeared before Gato, swords sticking out of his back, and stabbed the short man with the kunai. Some of Gato's man stabbed him in the back when he was standing still, but Zabuza was single-minded in his mission. "Hope you like the heat," he said, his eyes now shining with madness, "because where you and I are going, it's gonna be HOT!" with that, he severed Gato's head from his body.

His mission done, he fell to the ground, his wounds kicking in at last. Gato's men stood around the dying Missing-nin, then turned to Team Seven and Haku. "You guys are dead!" one bandit shouted.

"Ransack the village!" another one yelled.

Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke were on their feet, facing the oncoming hordes.

"We're screwed." Sasuke simply said.

"Yes we are." Naruto agreed unsheathing Hebidoshi. "But I'm not going down without a fight. They can have Haku-chan and this village over my dead body!"

Despite the situation, Haku blushed slightly, but she and the others were caught by surprise when an arrow landed in front of the gang of henchmen. "If you come on our island," shouted Inari, at the head of a group of vengeful villagers, "we'll stop you with everything we've got!"

At this point, Naruto grinned slightly and did the only thing he could. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" ten Naruto's flickered into existence, and Kakashi did the same as well, creating twenty Kakashi's.

This was too much for the henchmen, and they took off, screaming and piling onto Gatou's boat, to the joy of the villagers. "We did it!" they shouted.

As the shadow clones poofed out of existence, Kakashi turned to Naruto. "Naruto I'm sorry about the Lightning Blade to your shoulder-"

"It's okay sensei," Naruto said. "I've been through worse remember?"

Kakashi nodded, not sure if he should still check over Naruto.

Haku fell to her knees beside the dying Zabuza, and let her tears stream down. "Zabuza..."

Zabuza wearily looked up. "Haku...you've become a fine shinobi, and a fine young woman." coughing up blood, he knew his time was short. "You don't need me anymore...grow up strong, go with the Uzumaki kid...he seems decent enough." he couldn't help but smirk when Haku blushed a tiny bit.

Haku sniffled and nodded. When Zabuza called over Naruto, "Kid...you did good I can see that Haku is in good hands now...you make her cry though, and I'll come back from the dead all for the express purpose of kicking your ass!" Zabuza coughed up more blood, and he knew his end was near. "Kid I want you to have Kubikiri Haoucho."

Naruto was clearly shocked hearing that. "But...I...it's your mark. Your legacy."

"And I'm giving it to you." Zabuza responded, closing his eyes. "Think of it as...a parting gift for one warrior asking another one...to keep a promise." Zabuza felt himself grow cold, and knew his time was now up.

"I'll do that, but when I'm strong enough to wield it to its full potential I'll come back for it. I promise." Naruto promised the dying Demon of the Mist.

"Fair enough..." and with that Zabuza Momochi, the former fourth seat of The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, A-rank Missing-nin of The Village Hidden in the Mist, and nicknamed The Demon of the Mist passed from this world into the next.

As it began to snow, Haku sobbed into her master's lifeless chest, crying his name over and over. Naruto knelt down from behind, and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Haku turned around and sobbed into his shoulder, and Naruto gently rubbed his hand up and down her back.

Two weeks later, after giving Zabuza a formal burial, Team Seven plus Haku departed Wave Country, with the bridge completed. As the four shinobi left, Tazuna realized what he'd call the bridge. "In honor of the boy who gave us back our hearts, and our courage, we'll call this The Great Naruto Bridge."