I don't own Naruto nor do I claim to truly understand it
Chapter 1: The rise of a shinobi
Naruto could only watch as the senbon flew towards him to slow to move when suddenly a blur jumped in front of him. Naruto felt something warm and fluid drip on his face before he felt something hard and heavy hit him; it took him only a second before he realised that what was running down his chin was blood and the body that lay in his arms was his blood coughing teammate Sasuke.
"What's with that face, you moron?" Sasuke coughed out.
"Why?" Naruto whispered out; "I never asked for your help!"
"I don't know my body moved on his own, baka! That man, my brother; I told myself I wouldn't die until I killed him. Don't you die too!" Was all Sasuke could get out before losing consciousness.
"He landed a blow on me and without flinching died to protect you. To protect a precious person knowing it was a trap he was still willing to jump in. He is a shinobi that deserves respect. Is this your first death of a friend? This is the way of the shinobi!" The fake hunternin whispered nearly sadly before he returned into one of his mirrors.
"Shut up!" Naruto shouted before he turned to the still form of his comrade: 'I hated you too.'
"I won't forgive you!" Naruto shouted angrily at the masked ninja as he felt a warm sensations spread through his body calming him down and making him feel at peace. Suddenly something pierced through the ground, into a mirror and bound the hunter-nin to the ground.
As Naruto stepped towards the bound ninja with a kunai in his hand did he notice the mask had slipped of his face revealing the face of Zabuza's apprentice to him, what Naruto saw shocked him to the core and caused the bindings to return beneath the earth: "You? You're the guy from the forest!"
"Why don't you finish it?" Haku asked him; "I killed your precious friend, yet you can't kill me?"
Naruto looked down at the bound boy thinking about the words he told him in the forest: 'Do you have an important person? I want to protect my important person to help his dreams come true; that is my dream!'
"There are people who make this mistake you know. Not killing their enemies because of pity, letting them leave with their lives. I can see that you can understand it, not being needed by anyone, the pain of simply living. Zabuza has no need for a weak shinobi; you have taken away my reason for existing." Haku said with a sad look towards the mist in which the two Jonin were still fighting.
Naruto followed her look and with a thoughtful gaze at the twisting and ever-changing mist asked the question that ailed his mind: "When a person has something precious to protect that is when they can truly become strong; I get that now, but why him, why somebody who cares only about himself?"
Haku continued to stare into the mist watching something only he could see, before replied: "I had people very dear to me a long time ago, my parents. I was born in a small snowy village in mizu no kuni. I was happy and my parents were very kind people and they loved me dearly. But when I grew up and began to learn the way of the world something happened. My father killed my mother and then he tried to kill me!"
"What?" Naruto shouted.
"Ever since the rise of the Yondaime Mizukage has the country been ripped apart by civil war and those with kekkai genkei were hated as many blaimed them for this war, fearing their great powers and the great suffering they caused as weapons in this bloody war. My mother was from one the clans who hid from this endless bloodshed and once my discovered this did he kill my mother in front of me causing my kekkai genkai to awaken tearing him apart with an ice spear. And at that time did I realise the most painful thing; that in this world I am a person who is unwanted!"
Naruto's eyes opened wide in shock as one single thought raced through his brain: 'He's the same as me!'
Finally Haku's gaze left the mist pierced Naruto with his warm brown eyes: "You said that you wanted to become Hokage so that everyone acknowledges you. Now if someone who acknowledged you from the bottom of their heart appeared, wouldn't he become your most precious person? Zabuza-sama took me in even though he knew I had a kekkai genkai, he gave me purpose and you took that purpose away from me once you defeated me so Naruto please, kill me!"
As Naruto and Haku talked their senseis were still fighting one another until Kakashi suddenly took a scroll from his flak jacket and went through a set of handseals before shouting; "Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu" Causing numerous dogs to break out of the earth bind the surpised nuke-nin before Kakashi spoke to the struggling Zabuza: "Zabuza, went too far your ambition was too great. Even we in Konohagakure heard of your attempted coup 'de tat and your attempt at assassinating the Mizukage both failed. Your ambitions sacrifice too many people causing you to ally yourself with scum like Gatou and even trying to destroy an innocent country like Nami no Kuni. But this ends now, Raikiri!" Kakashi started to gather chakra into his hands causing lighting to appear in the palm of his hands and rushed towards the bound nuke-nin.
"What are you talking about I don't understand. Is being strong for him everything you care about?" Naruto shouted at Haku.
"The day I met you in the forest I thought you were like me; you should be able to understand me!"
"Are you sure that this is what you wish? Well then, I'm sorry Haku if we'd met under different circumstances we might have become friends!" Naruto whispered before his eyes turned steely and he rushed forward with his kunai posed to strike him down.
Haku watched as Naruto came towards him before he suddenly felt a strange chakra spike that rushed towards his precious person. Gathering all the chakra he had left he vanished in a shunshin and all that remained of him was only a whispered: "Goodbye my friend!"
The hunternin appeared again just as Kakashi tried to pierce Zabuza with his Raikiri only to thrust his arm through the boy who had just jumped between the two opponents.
Suddenly the mist cleared allowing Naruto to see his friend dead by his sensei's hand and Zabuza trying to rip through both Kakashi as well as his own apprentice's dead body only for Kakashi to jump out of the way of the mighty swing of Kubikiribocho.
Naruto angered by gruesome act of the nuke-nin readied his kunai once again ready to charge at the devil of Kirigakure only to be stopped by the shout of his sensei, who himself charged at the sword wielding ninja starting their bloody dance anew.
Once Sakura could see what was happening on the bridge and catching a glimpse of her loud-mouthed teammate tried to find out what happened to her long-time crush only to see the anguished look that wormed his way onto the uncommonly quiet ninja; causing her to rush towards the place where her teammates battled the fake hunternin. Once she reached the demolished battlefield did see her love interest lying on the ground with dozens of senbon piercing his body causing her to rush towards him and cradling his cooling body in his arms, breaking the twenty-fifth shinobi rule and allowed her tears to fall freely onto the ground.
Meanwhile the fight between the two shinobi by a new person who appeared out of the mist; the crime lord Gatou had entered the stage and with him came his mercenaries, hundreds of them all armed to the teeth causing all fighting on the bridge to stop.
"Well, well what do we have here how disappointing! The mighty demon of Kirigakure defeated by a few kids and their keeper; how sad." Gatou taunted.
"Gatou why are you here? And what's with all these men?!" Zabuza shouted while fixing Gatou with a suspicious glare.
"Hehehe well the plan has changed! No actually I planned to do this from the very beginning. Hiring ninja is so expensive you now, so I thought of a cheaper solution. You would kill my enemies and then once you are weakened from your fight my men would take care of you! Well what do you think effective and much cheaper huh? But you had to ruin my carefully laid plan huh; the devil of Kirigakure what a joke, if you ask me you're just a cute little baby devil!" Gatoe taunted before looking at the dead form of the boy who once dared to hurt him and him a strong thrust sent the corpse sliding towards the furious shinobi.
The wounded Zabuza turned to Kakashi calmly declaring their fight over. Causing Naruto to angrily turn the nukenin: "Say something! How can you allow him to desecrate Haku's body he was your friend, he loved you like a father and you do nothing?"
Zabuza could only look away when he answered Naruto's question: "As I was used by Gatou, I used Haku that was all it was. I've said it already in the world of the shinobi there are only those who use, and those who are used. We shinobi are simply tools, what I want was his blood, hot him; I have no regrets."
"Bullshit I remember Haku's words, when a person has something precious to protect, that is when then they can truly become strong. He gave his life for you, he loved you that much, so look me into the eyes and tell me that you feel nothing, that you truly don't care!" Naruto shouted only to be taken aback once Zabuza's face turned to him, allowing him to see the tears that freely running down his face.
"Enough brat, you don't have to say anything more. I don't know how but the kid wormed his way into my heart and became the son I never had. In the end I only regret that he never knew how I felt, well it seems that even a devil like feels something. Thank you brat for being his friend and maybe you are right a shinobi is still a human; we may not be able to become emotionless tools. Kid, let me me borrow your kunai!" Zabuza whispered before catching Naruto's kunai with his mouth and rushing towards the crimelord cutting down all the mercenaries who tried to block his path.
Dozens lay dead on the ground once Zabuza reached his goal and with the last of his strength ended the life of Gatou freeing the Nami no kuni from their tyrant, before succumbing to his wounds. The wind carried the fallen devils last words across the battlefield: "I will not be able to follow you to heaven, so this is goodbye Haku. Thank you for everything and I'm sorry!"
Once the mercenaries recovered they tried to rush at the shinobi for causing the death of their meal ticket only to be scared away by the entrance of the village, who encouraged by Inari took up their weapons ready to defend their freedom until death. In this whole chaos only Sakura saw as Sasuke started to move.
Two weeks later team seven stud at the graves of their former opponents mourning the death of two great men as it seems not only have they helped freeing this country in the end, but Haku has also spared sasuke's life having only put him in the same deathlike state she had once put Zabuza in.
Finally they turned away from the graves and moved towards the now finished bridge and under the cheers of the villagers made their way home all they heard before they left hearing range was the name of the bridge; The Great Naruto bridge.