Third chapter, fresh out of my head! Wave arc continues and ends! Therefore, I won't hold you up any longer! Read and Review, please! Oh, and a picture of Naruto in his outfit is in my profile!
–
"What's wrong, sensei?" Naruto asked at Tazuna's house, where Kakashi had just woken up from what seemed like a nightmare.
"Huh?" Kakashi asked, blinking. "Oh, well, body erasing teams usually dispose of the person they killed right there."
"So what?" Sakura asked, and Kakashi sighed.
"Don't you see? How did that masked boy dispose of Zabuza's body?"
"How would we know? He took it away," Sakura said, only to get a stare from Naruto.
"Wow, and you're the smartest ninja in the class? I fear for the rest of the class..."
"Yeah, if he needed proof of his work, he could have just taken the head," Kakashi said. "And the weapon used to kill Zabuza..."
Naruto hummed, crossing his arms as he thought about it. Then, his eyes widened, and he saw that Sasuke had come to the same conclusion, muttering a "No way..."
"Yeah, exactly," Kakashi said, scratching his head in exasperation.
"What are you guys talking about?" Tazuna asked.
"Most likely... Zabuza is still alive," Kakashi said, making everyone go wide-eyed in shock.
"Kakashi-sensei, you checked and said that he was dead!" Sakura exclaimed, and Kakashi nodded.
"I did, but he was most likely merely in a near-death state. That needle that Hunter-Nin used... unless it hits a vital organ, it has a low probability of killing your opponent. It's even an item used by doctors in acupuncture therapy. Hunter-Nins know about the body's structure thoroughly. Putting a person in a near-death state is probably easy for them. First, he carried away the body of the much heavier Zabuza. Second, he used a weapon that has a low probability of killing. These two points indicate that his motive was not to kill Zabuza, but to save him. We can't ignore that possibility."
"Aren't you thinking too much?" Tazuna asked, sweating slightly. "Hunter-Nins are supposed to kill Missing-Nins..."
"You're acting under the impression that the boy really was a Hunter-Nin," Naruto said, crossing his arms. "I knew he was bad. It was just something about the way he dressed. It was an evil style of dress."
"Ignoring Naruto, we will prepare before it's too late. That's a ninja rule. Plus, whether Zabuza is dead or alive, there's no assurances that Gatou hasn't hired an even stronger ninja."
Sensei, what do you mean, preparing before it's too late? You can barely move," Sakura said, and Kakashi chuckled.
"You guys are gonna receive some training."
"Huh? Training?" Sakura asked, twitching. "S-Sensei! What's a little training going to do? Our enemy is a ninja you struggled against even with the Sharingan!"
"Sakura, who saved me while I was struggling?" Kakashi asked, smiling. "You guys are growing rapidly. Especially Naruto! You've improved the most."
"Gosh, stop it," Naruto said shyly, waving Kakashi off. "You're gonna make me blush, you."
"But, obviously, this is just training until I get better. You won't be able to defeat him without me," Kakashi said.
"But, sensei, if Zabuza is alive, he could attack at any time, so shouldn't we get training right away?"
"About that, a person put in a near death state... It should take a while before their body returns to normal."
"So, until then, we train?" Naruto asked, grinning behind his mask. "Sounds kinda fun!"
"That's not fun," a voice said, and they all looked to the doorway to see a young boy, wearing a bucket hat that almost covered his eyes, staring at them.
"Oh! Inari! Where were you?" Tazuna exclaimed happily, spreading his arms out. "Where were you?"
"Welcome home, grandpa," the boy, Inari, said as he walked up to his grandfather, hugging him. Tazuna laughed as he patted Inari on the head.
"Inari, say hello to these people," Tazuna's daughter, the beautiful Tsunami, said. "They are ninja who protected grandpa."
Inari stared at the ninja for a while. Then, he pointed at Naruto and said, "Mom... They're gonna die."
"O-Oi, why did you point at me when you said that?" Naruto demanded, blinking.
"There's no way you can win against Gatou," Inari continued, and Naruto scoffed.
"I can win against anyone," he boasted. "Listen, kid, I'm Spider-Man, the one who will one day become the greatest Hokage ever! Gatou is nothing against me!"
Inari scoffed as well. "What are you, stupid? There's no such thing as a hero!"
Naruto's fists clenched. He wasn't going to lash out at a little kid. There was just no way he could lash out at a little kid! Even if the brat deserved it for those words! Inari turned away from them.
"If you don't want to die, you should leave."
"Where are you going, Inari?" Tazuna asked as Inari walked off.
"To look at the ocean from my room."
–
"Huh? Tree climbing?" Naruto asked, getting a nod from Kakashi, who had just gone through a long-winded explanation on how to climb the tree without using ones hands. All while standing upside down on a branch. "Laaame! I've already done this, sensei!"
"You have?" Kakashi asked, blinking. "I thought it was your newfound abilities that helped you climb things?"
"It is. I used my elbows doing this, since my hands and feet can already stick to things," Naruto said. Kakashi hummed.
"Well, then, Naruto is excused from this training," he said as he started walking down the tree again. "Until the rest of you can do it, Naruto is on constant guard duty of Tazuna while he completes the bridge."
"Got it," Naruto said and jumped into the air, before firing a web into a tree and swinging away.
He really loved this, swinging through the trees, getting an indescribable feeling of freedom.
And so, Naruto found himself walking through Wave with Tazuna, who decided to stop working on the bridge at noon.
"I'm supposed to bring home food for lunch," Tazuna told Naruto, who nodded as he looked around. All around him, people were suffering. Most of them looked like they hadn't eaten properly for a long time. They reached the store, where there was hardly anything on the shelves. Naruto stood there, watching Tazuna, when he suddenly reached behind him, grabbing the hand of a man whose hand was heading for his kunai pouch. He twisted and spun around, watching the man drop to his knees from the pain.
"Don't even think about it, man," Naruto said, letting go of the man, who scrambled out of the shop.
"You sure surprised me earlier," Tazuna said later as they walked through the town again, having gotten what they needed from the shop. Naruto hummed, but stopped when he spun around again, ready to smack this thief for trying to steal from him, only for his eyes to widen when he saw a kid even younger than himself holding out her hands, looking like she was starving. Naruto reached into his pouch and took out five ration bars, giving them to the kid.
"They may not taste great, but they're nutritious," Naruto told the kid, who lit up with joy, thanking him before running off, clutching the ration bars.
"It's been like this since Gatou came," Tazuna told Naruto as they both watched the kid disappear into the crowd. "All the adults have lost hope. That's why we need that bridge. A symbol of courage... We need for the people to lose their fear and regain the desire to stand up for themselves. If that bridge... If that bridge can be completed... the city will return to that time... The people will return to how they used to be."
"Don't worry, old man," Naruto said with a grin as he turned to Tazuna. "I'll make sure the bridge is completed, even if I have to build it myself! That's a promise!"
–
"Woo! That was refreshing!" Naruto exclaimed after the seventh day of downtime. He had just come back from training. His mask was off, tucked into his pocket safely, and his hands were behind his head as he sat down for dinner. "Training before dinner, and dinner after training, there's nothing better, is there?" he asked happily, panting slightly. He really had overexerted himself during training.
He slumped down at the table, a pleased smile on his face. Inari, sitting across from him, stared hard at him, and soon, tears started building up in his eyes, within seconds pouring down his face.
"Why do you guys bother so hard?" Inari exclaimed angrily, slamming his hands down on the table. "No matter how hard you train, you're still no match for Gatou's men! No matter what glorious claims you make, or how hard you work, when facing the strong, the weak will only end up getting killed!"
Naruto raised an eyebrow as he looked at Inari. Then, he sat up straighter in his chair, only to slump backwards, an arm over the backrest.
"Listen, kid, it doesn't matter how strong they are," he said simply. "It doesn't matter if their ten times stronger, or even a hundred times stronger. This bridge has become something precious to me, you know? And no matter how tough, no matter how sad, you must try and try, and even if you lose your life, protect it with your own two arms!"
Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari all went wide-eyed when Naruto said that for some reason, but Naruto wasn't done.
"So if you want to cry and act like the star of some great tragedy, do so, but you won't stop me from making sure the bridge is completed. Even if it kills me, I will protect it!"
With that, Naruto rose from his chair and walked off.
"I'm gonna go train some more."
–
"Alright, Naruto, today, I want you to stay here," Kakashi, whose body was once more fine, told Naruto, who nodded as Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, and Tazuna walked off to continue working on the bridge.
"You can count on me!" Naruto said, before heading back inside. "Hey, Tsunami-san?"
"Yes, Naruto-kun?" Tsunami said, sitting on the floor with Inari.
"I'm going up to take a nap. If anything happens, just give a shout, alright?"
"I will, Naruto-kun."
Naruto went up to his room and promptly fell asleep. Yesterday's training was rougher on him than he had expected.
He didn't get to sleep for long, however, as a scream woke him up. He shot up in bed and put on his hoodie and mask, rushing out of the room as quietly as possible. Two swordsmen were in the kitchen, in front of Tsunami. Inari was in the doorway to the bathroom, wide-eyed.
"Mom!"
"What, there's a kid?" the swordsman with an eye patch said.
"Don't come! Run away!" Tsunami yelled.
"Should we take him too?"
"We need only one hostage."
"Then... should I kill him?" Eye patch asked, preparing to draw his sword.
Naruto was just about to jump in, when Tsunami cried, "Wait! If you touch that child, I will bite my tongue off and kill myself! You want a hostage, right?"
"Heh, thank your mom, kid," the swordsman with a wool cap said.
"Damn... I wanted to cut something..."
"Give it a rest... You just cut up a bunch of stuff. Let's hurry up and take her."
"I don't think so!" Naruto yelled loudly as he jumped down the stairs to land in front of the swordsmen. "You're not taking that woman anywhere!"
The two swordsmen drew their swords. Naruto's eyes widened behind his mask, and he flinched.
"A-Are those swords?" he asked, cowering slightly. "Are those sharp swords?"
"Yes, they're swords, brat," Eye patch said, grinning. Naruto kept cowering.
"Oh, no, my one weakness... sharp swords... Please, please, don't, I-" Naruto stopped suddenly and shot webbing from his wrists, hitting the swords and knocking them out of the swordsmen's hands, pinning them to the shelves above Tsunami. "Oh, that was just too easy!"
"What the-" Wool cap yelled and tried to move toward his sword, only for the swordsmen to get webbing shot at their feet, pinning them to the floor. Naruto then leapt at them, yelling, "Scissor kick!" while performing said move, knocking both of them out.
That was how the two swordsmen found themselves hanging upside-down from a tree branch outside the house, in a cocoon of webbing.
"Alright, if they're here, that means something is happening at the bridge as well," Naruto told Tsunami and Inari.
"Please, Naruto, don't let anything happen to my grandpa!" Inari said, apparently seeing Naruto in a whole new light. Naruto grinned behind his mask and gave him a thumbs up.
"Don't worry, Inari! No one's dying on my watch! Can I count on you here?"
"Yup!" Inari said, nodding. Tsunami smiled at him.
"Man, it's tough being a hero!" Naruto said with a grin as he ran off, getting a thumbs up from Inari.
"It sure is!"
With that, Naruto jumped into the trees, swinging away.
–
Meanwhile, Sasuke was trapped in a dome consisting of ice mirrors, created by that Haku kid. His arms and legs were bleeding, along with a cut on his cheek. This was insane. That kid had an amazing speed, almost on Naruto's level. Sasuke had seen Naruto move against Zabuza, and he was a blur, just like this kid was. Sasuke wasn't sure if even Naruto could defeat him... Sasuke hated to admit it, but Naruto was faster than him, probably stronger, too, and if Naruto wouldn't stand a chance against him, what hope did Sasuke have?
Wait... Naruto was only better in Taijutsu. Sasuke had Ninjutsu. Nodding, Sasuke flashed through seals. He was going to melt those mirrors.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Element: Grand Fireball Technique)!" he called out as he blew a massive fireball from his mouth, straight at the ice mirrors.
To his immense surprise, the fire died down, showing that the mirrors were perfectly unscathed.
"You can't melt this ice with that level of fire," Haku said simply, then flashed out of his mirror again for another assault.
Something latched onto Sasuke's back, however, and jerked, and Sasuke found himself flying out of the dome of ice mirrors. Landing with a thud on the ground, Sasuke looked back and saw webbing attached to his back.
"Naruto..." he mumbled. He couldn't see the annoying spider boy anywhere in the mist, but he knew he was there.
Meanwhile, Naruto was hiding in the mist, having saved Sasuke and made sure that he wouldn't take anymore hits. Now, all that was left was that kid in the mask.
"Where are you?" the masked kid asked, poking his head out of one of the ice mirrors. That was his mistake. Webbing latched onto his head, and he was pulled into the air, to where Naruto was standing in a crouch on top of the dome of ice mirrors. Naruto grabbed the boy's collar when he came flying at him, and grinned.
"I'm right here," he said, then smashed his forehead into the mask with a cry of, "Forehead!"
Naruto threw the boy to the side, but the boy didn't go over the side of the bridge, and instead got stuck in mid-air, seemingly hanging from nothing. Zabuza looked over his shoulder and cleared the mist enough to see that Naruto had set up a huge spider web on either side of the bridge, connecting to two support beams. The masked boy was stuck in the center of the web, and Naruto jumped over, crawling over the web with ease.
"Welcome to my web, said the spider to the fly!"
Naruto grinned behind his mask as he started wrapping the boy up in a cocoon of webbing, as the mist got even thicker.
"Zabuza-san..." he heard the boy mutter as he struggled uselessly to get out of the cocoon.
"Don't bother," Naruto said as he took two blue cartridges out of his web-shooters, putting them in his kunai pouch and taking out two gray ones instead, replacing them in the web-shooters. "This is my strongest webbing. It's tougher than five layers of ninja wire, and won't dissolve for five days," he said and patted the boy on the head. "Just sit tight and watch the show. Er... If you can see through mist, I mean..."
–
The battle was over. The mist was clearing, and Naruto saw Zabuza standing in front of Kakashi, kept in place by a large pack of dogs, while Kakashi's hand was lit up by a ball of lightning.
"Zabuza-san!" the boy, whose name Naruto had learned was Haku, cried, straining against the webbing. Naruto was greatly surprised when, with a whistle of wind, the boy disappeared, leaving an empty cocoon behind. The boy reappeared between Zabuza and Kakashi, who punched his hand through the boy's chest, making Naruto's eyes widen in shock.
The boy... sacrificed himself for Zabuza... His arms were covered in blood, after straining so hard against the webbing...
Zabuza swung his sword, attempting to cut through both Haku and Kakashi, who grabbed Haku and jumped out of the way.
Naruto landed between Zabuza and Kakashi, glaring at the swordsman with hatred in his eyes, not that anyone could see it. Attempting to cut through the dead to get to the living? Unforgivable! Completely unforgivable!
"Naruto, stay out of this," Kakashi said, laying the boy down and pulling his hand out to glare at Zabuza. "This is my fight."
Zabuza charged at Kakashi, only to get kicked in the gut, sending him stumbling back. Something was wrong, Naruto could see that. Zabuza wasn't fighting at his best at the moment. But why?
Zabuza swung his sword at Kakashi, who rammed two kunai into his right arm, before blurring away to end up behind Zabuza.
"You can't beat me in your current state," Kakashi said simply.
"What?" Zabuza growled out.
"You haven't noticed..." Kakashi sighed as he took out two kunai. "This is goodbye, Devil!" he said and attempted to stab Zabuza in the back. Zabuza swung his sword again, and managed to maneuver so that the kunai went through his left arm instead of his back.
"Now both arms are useless," Kakashi said as Zabuza's sword went flying. "You can't even perform a seal."
"Ooh... You're getting your ass kicked," came a voice from the end of the bridge. "How disappointing."
Everyone looked to see a very short man with a cane, a business suit, and a pair of dark sunglasses standing there, in front of a large group of armed men. He was grinning menacingly.
"Gatou, why are you here? And what's with all these men?" Zabuza asked, glaring at Gatou, who grinned wider.
"The plan has changed... Well, I actually planned to do this from the beginning. Zabuza, I'm going to have you killed here."
"What?" Zabuza growled.
"I never planned on paying you any money. Hiring a normal ninja from a village is expensive and they may betray me... So I get you Missing-Nin who are easy to take care of afterward. I have the ninja battle each other and once they're weakened, I kill them off with numbers. It doesn't cost me anything. Good plan, don't you think? The only problem in the plan was you... Zabuza. The Kirigakure no Kijin? What a joke, if you ask me... Hehe... you're just a cute little baby devil!"
The men started jeering and laughing loudly.
"Kakashi, I'm sorry," Zabuza said. "This fight is over. Now that I have no reason to go after Tazuna, I have no reason to fight you."
"Yeah," Kakashi said, nodding. "You're right."
"Oh yeah..." Gatou said as he walked up to Haku's corpse. "I owe this one, for squeezing my arm until it broke!" he said and kicked Haku. "Heh, he's dead."
"What are you doing, you bastard?" Naruto yelled in a rage as he charged at Gatou, only to get stopped by Kakashi.
"Hey! Look at their numbers! Don't just jump in!"
Naruto growled and looked at Zabuza. "Say something! Weren't you friends?"
"Shut up, kid. Haku is already dead," Zabuza said simply, making Naruto twitch in anger.
"DON'T YOU FEEL ANYTHING AT ALL? WEREN'T YOU TWO ALWAYS TOGETHER?"
"As I was used by Gatou, I used Haku," Zabuza said. "That's all it was. I've said it already... In the world of ninja, there are only those who use, and those who are used. We ninja are simply tools. What I wanted was his blood, not him. I have no regrets."
"Bullshit!" Naruto cried, jerking free from Kakashi's grip.
"Stop, Naruto! We're not fighting him any-"
"Shut up!" Naruto yelled, making Kakashi go wide-eyed. "My enemy is still him!" he yelled and pointed at Haku's corpse. "He really loved you! He loved you enough to sacrifice himself for you! Do you really feel nothing? Do you really... really feel nothing at all? If I become as strong as you... will I really become like you?"
Naruto noticed how tears were starting to fall from his eyes, getting soaked up by his spandex mask.
"Without his own dream... to die as a tool... That's... just too sad..."
"Kid..." Zabuza muttered, and Naruto's enhanced hearing picked up the patter of drops hitting the ground at Zabuza's feet. He looked up at Zabuza, to see tears falling from his eyes.
"You don't... need to say anymore..." Zabuza muttered. "Kid... It pained him to have to fight you guys... Haku fought not only for me, but for you guys, too," he said as he started chewing on his bandages, tearing them up. "He was too kind... I'm glad I got to fight you guys in the end. Yeah, kid... you may be right. Ninja are still human. We may not be able to become emotionless tools..."
Zabuza took a deep breath, now showing his whole face, a peaceful look on his face. Then, he looked at Naruto.
"Kid! Let me borrow your kunai!"
"Huh? Oh..." Naruto said and reached into his kunai pouch, taking out a kunai and throwing it to Zabuza. "Yeah..."
Zabuza caught the kunai in his mouth, and then charged.
–
Two weeks later found Naruto and the rest of Team Seven standing in front of Zabuza and Haku's graves, where they had just given the two dead ninja an offering of food.
"But, sensei," Sakura said suddenly, adjusting the flowers at Zabuza's grave.
"Hm?"
"Were these two correct about ninja?"
"A ninja isn't supposed to pursue his own goals. Becoming the country's tool is the most important thing. That's the same for Konoha."
"Is that what it really means to become a true ninja?" Naruto asked, scoffing. His mask was off in respect to the two dead ninja. "You know what? I don't like it!"
"Do you believe in that too?" Sasuke asked Kakashi, who shrugged.
"Well, each and every ninja has to live while dealing with that issue. Just like Zabuza, and that boy."
"Alright, I've decided," Naruto said suddenly. "I'm going to become a ninja my own way!"
Kakashi's eye widened. Then, he smiled.
–
Third chapter complete! Please let me know what you think, alright?