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Chapter 1

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It was a sunny day. Birds chirped in the sun, leaves blew in the breeze, and there were barely any clouds in the sky…

…But appearances can be deceiving.

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"Sorry, but you're coming with us."

Tsunami stared helplessly at the thug who stood before her, sword slung over his shoulder and face set into a low smirk. His haughty tone made her shudder in fear and she was afraid- for both her son's and her father's well-being. She nothing good could have come from this… and she had been right.

"No," she whispered, and one of the two fake samurai laughed cruelly. He stepped forward, a sneer on his face, and shoved her. She hit the table and crumpled, splitting the weak wood in half and knocking over all the dishes that were on it. They made a tinkling sound as the shatter on the floor, and Tsunami froze up. No… Inari could have heard that! She shook her head and thought to herself, Please don't let him have noticed, please let my son stay where he is and be safe. She gave an unwilling scream as her arm throbbed, twisted at an unnatural angle.

"Mom?"

Oh, Kami-sama, no.

And there he was, the tip of his hat peeking out of the doorway until he stood in the hall, staring in shock at the two men who had invaded their house. "Mom!" he shouted in terror, shaking in fear. The samurai just smirked at him.

"No, don't come! Run away!" Tsunami screamed desperately, but her son- my brave son- just stood his ground, still trembling. No…!

"Should we take him too?" one of the thugs asked the other, a vicious gleam in his eye.

The other one smirked. "We only need one hostage, so…"

The larger one grinned maniacally. "Then… can I kill him?"

Tsunami's heart threatened to jump out of her chest as she saw the sweat rolling down Inari's face as the two thugs advanced on him. "WAIT!" she screamed, and the two paused momentarily, though their swords were ready to swing at any moment.

"If you touch that child," she began threateningly. "Then I will bite my tongue and kill myself." She could see how her son froze, tears spilling from his eyes. "Then what will you do for a hostage?" she asked, daring them to do it.

The smaller one just shook his head and chuckled menacingly. He turned his head away as if in embarrassment. "Heh… thank your mom, kid," he said, and Inari just stood there, sobbing and the tears rolling down his cheeks as he was trapped by total fear- for both his own life and his mom's

"Damn," muttered the other thug. "I really wanted to cut something." He just walked away, mumbling to himself.

As Tsunami was led away, she ignored their talk of murder and thievery as she stared at her boy with a dead look in her eyes. Please… please don't come after me… she begged, and she was hopeful, if only for a second, that he would live. But then… she saw it: a flash of defiance.

She remembered the bravery that the small Konoha shinobi had shown at dinner and her mouth threatened to scream, to yell that courage was all well and good but useless if not backed up by power. She nearly screamed as she saw him wipe his eyes and stand resolute. For an instant, she was amazed by his resemblance to his father, to her dear Kaiza… but then it was gone again, swept up by terror.

"WAIT!" came the yell of her son, and Tsunami stiffened. No…!

"Get away from my mom!" And with that, Inari charged, the sides of his bucket-hat flapping in the wind as he ran.

"Cut him." Tsunami's heartbeat stopped.

"INARI!" she screamed and then the blade was moving, slicing through her son, and she wanted to cry and to fall and to scream at the remains of… a log?

"Kawamiri?"

And then she saw him. The whiskered blond kid from the shinobi team. And she wanted to scream, to yell for him to get away, that he had no chance- and fell silent as she looked in his eyes. There it was, dancing like a flame, yet hardened and resolute.

Hope.

And so Tsunami remained silent.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Are you going to be all right?" Inari asked, still wiping tears from his face.

"Yeah," said Naruto, hand moving toward his kunai pouch. "Don't worry, okay?" he said, grinning widely, and Inari felt some of the fear go away. He nodded and smiled softly. "Let's get this going!" Naruto exclaimed, and sped towards the two thugs, shuriken already spinning and cutting through the air.

"Heh," scoffed one of the samurai, readying his sword. "Like that'll work against us!" He raised his blade, preparing to block or deflect the throwing stars, when-

Naruto smirked at the shadows that were his kage Bunshin, jumping from behind the backs of the thugs, readying their attacks. "Idiot!" he said loudly, and the two samurai only increased their ferocity- at least until they were violently drop-kicked by the two Naruto clones.

As Naruto watched with satisfaction, his eyes widened as he saw what appeared to be a white flash appear where his clone's limbs made contact. What the…? The two thugs dropped to the ground, blood pooling around them. Though he turned his head only after looking at the men for a moment more, his eyes missed the whitened burn of a scar that had appeared where they had been kicked, steaming and hissing.

"Inari…" Naruto said, smiling nervously. "I'm sorry about yesterday…" He ruffled the younger kid's hair. "I'm sure you'll be brave, just like your dad!" Tears of joy threatened to spill from Inari's eyes.

Naruto froze. Oh, crap! If Tsunami-san's been attacked, then that means the old man might be in trouble! "Gotta go!" he said hurriedly, and vanished down the road.

Inari smiled to himself. Good luck… Naruto-nii-san

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Sasuke breathed weakly, and opened his eyes slowly. He let out a slow hiss- there was the kid who was attacking him! Who did he think he was?

"Yo! Sasuke! I'm here to rescue you!" Sasuke erupted.

"What the hell do you mean, you're here to rescue me! Shinobi don't announce themselves to everyone, you idiot!" he yelled. Naruto glared back at him.

"Well, teme, sorry! Here I am, actually helping, and now you-"

"Excuse me," the masked ninja interrupted. "But I believe we have a fight to finish." Naruto smirked- this was something he could live with.

"Heh!" he barked. "I'll take you down easily! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he called out, and several doppelgangers of the blond leapt up to attack the ice mirrors- and were promptly slaughtered. Sasuke fumed.

"I believe it is my turn, now," the nin said tonelessly, and, like a flash, was gone, flinging senbon needles like lightning at the two genin. They struggled to block them, though Sasuke seemed to have a much easier time of it. Naruto noticed something different about his teammate.

"Yo, teme!" he called out. "What's up with your eyes?"

Sasuke froze. My… eyes? He checked his reflection in the one of the pools of water left by the enemy. Two spinning black tomoe peered lazily back at him. Sasuke smirked. Yes… Sharingan. Now I can't lose! "You cannot win," he said coldly. "My Sharingan is undefeatable."

The enemy shinobi shook his head. "I am afraid that you have no chance, Uchiha-san," he said, almost solemnly. "Now, I am afraid that I must dispose of you both." He raised his hand, ready to deliver the senbon needles, and- threw them straight at Naruto.

Sasuke froze. With his newly awakened kekkai genkai, he could see everything that was happening. But what could he do…? Damn it! With a flash, he appeared in front of Naruto and took the senbon meant for the jinchuuriki- straight to the neck.

"You know," he choked out to his shocked teammate. "I used to… hate you." He coughed up some blood.

"Why…. Sasuke?" Naruto asked, frozen in place.

"You tell me… dobe," Sasuke answered. "My body… just moved on its own." And then his eyes closed.

White light erupted from the center of the ice dome.

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"Why…" growled out a voice, stricken with pain. Naruto stood, staring down at his dead teammate. "Why…"

He glared at the enemy, who was taken aback by his opponents transformation- for the happy-go-lucky blond looked radically different.

Sun-bleached hair flowed down to his shoulders as a pale light shone from his figure. His face was… fuller, angry, and full of self-righteousness. His eyes… Haku shuddered. His eyes were full of life, full of anger, full of power… And Haku knew that whatever he was facing… was no ordinary shinobi.

Outside the dome, Kakashi visibly jerked. What…? It wasn't the Kyuubi- he would have recognized that malevolent chakra anywhere- but it somehow felt calming. The copy-nin gritted his teeth. It was unnerving, and as soon as he finished Zabuza off, he would need to find out whatever was causing this.

"Neh, Zabuza-san, what do you say to a "winner take all" final move?"

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Naruto stared emptily at his hands. They felt strong, stronger than he'd ever felt before. And now, before his eyes… they glowed. His thoughts spun, faster than they ever had in his life. How…?

And then he remembered Sasuke. He had despised, almost hated the bastard…. But to want him dead? Never. And he had sacrificed himself. Tears of fury threatened to fall.

One thought rang throughout his mind, and it was strong. How can I put this right? And he was answered.

What do you seek?

Naruto jerked at hearing the voice. Who's there?

A friend.

What do you want?

To make an offer.

What?

Why do you desire to win this battle?

Naruto's fists tightened. To win for myself… and to protect all of my friends!

So if it is justice you seek… the voice said softly. Then it is justice you shall receive. The voice faded, and Naruto felt a sudden weight in his hands. He looked down and nearly dropped it in surprise, yelping in shock.

There in his palms lay a bow, blazing white with the fury of a thousand suns. The sheer radiance made it difficult to look at, and Naruto had to shield his eyes for a moment at the brilliance of the light. What…? he wondered, and then caught the inscription on the handle: Seidei, it read. Justice. Naruto shivered at the power present in the object- and brought it up to see closer.

It was finely wrought, every edge clean and well-made. It positively thrummed with power… and Naruto felt an instinct to use it. Without thinking, the blond raised the bow and, reaching forward, drew out an arrow of light, pulling it back as if readying a blow. The light shone from him and it blazed in radiance.

What… what is he? Haku wondered. "What are you?" he said faintly, attempting to resist the overpowering aura of power that the boy emanated. But Naruto only smirked and said one word.

"Judgment."

And with that, Naruto loosed the arrow, it shooting towards its target like a bullet. Haku raised a kunai to defend himself, but it was useless. It plunged straight toward him, and he was helpless to block it. The arrow of light pierced his side and his vision began fading. Zabuza-sama… he thought sadly. I'm sorry… for failing… you. And with that, Momochi Haku died, painlessly.

Naruto strode over to the fallen figure of his opponent, and saw that the mask over his face was cracked from the impact with the ground. What he saw froze the blood in his veins. Haku…?

No! he raged. "How… WHY?" he screamed, earning a startled glance from Kakashi, who was just removing his chidori from Zabuza's abdomen. Naruto broke down in sobs. "How… how could I… I'm a monster," he spat

He looked down at his hands, the bow having disappeared where he had thrown it aside. He clenched his fists- finding out the enemy was the soft-spoken boy that he had been friendly with but a few days before was just… too much. He broke down into tears. Soon, though, he felt a soothing presence at his back.

Do not fear, Naruto, said the voice, appearing again. For all will soon be explained.

Before he blacked out, the last image he saw was of two men: one tall, with sunny-blond shaggy hair and the other concerned, brown eyes crinkling at the sides as he peered down upon Naruto.

And then he slept.

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Sakura sobbed over the bodies of her two teammates, tears falling freely over her face. "No…" she choked, and Tazuna looked on with sympathy and sadness. No person should have to see their friends die- especially not children. If this was the life of a shinobi, he wanted no part of it.

Kakashi walked over slowly, for once not engaged in his smutty novel. He looked down at the two bodies, an old fear erupting in his eyes as he saw his dead teammates' faces appearing in his vision. I… I failed again… Minato-sensei. When he looked up, his eyes were dead and haunted.

"S-sensei," Sakura choked out. "P-please… are… are they going to be alright? Please!" she burst out, and she bent over to sob on the cold stone of the bridge. Kakashi looked down at the girl before moving over to the bodies of his other two genin. He picked up Naruto…. and heard it. A pulse.

Joy blossomed in his heart, and he moved quickly over to his Sasuke. Almost laughing with relief, he felt for the pulse on the Uchiha's wrist… and found it. He looked up at Sakura and the girl was astonished out of her crying by seeing tears in her sensei's eyes.

"It's alright… Sakura," Kakashi said softly. "They… they're going to be okay."

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Naruto opened his eyes. The light… it was blinding… but his eyes got used to it soon enough. He rubbed his head. Where am I? he thought- and then looked up. He yelped and jumped back.

There, standing in front of him, was the Yondaime. Smiling gently, with his long yellow hair trailing down the back of his flaming coat, his blue eyes glittered with mirth as he watched Naruto's awe. Naruto squeaked at seeing his idol. "H-how?" he stuttered, and the noticed the other man, standing right next to the Yondaime.

Tall and proud, with brown eyes and white-streaked brown hair, the man stood and watched Naruto with a soft smile on his face. Naruto looked into the man's eyes and saw… Wisdom. Power. Agelessness. He shivered at being under that seemingly omnipotent gaze.

"Sit down, Naruto," the strange man said softly. "And I will begin to explain everything to you.

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AN: Thanks for those who reviewed, though I'm a bit pissed that I only got 2 reviews. R&R, c'mon!

-SoS, out!