Kakashi woke up in Tazuna's home, hurting all over. He hadn't felt like this since the morning after that failed mission. He groaned. "Finally awake, huh?" Moro asked. "You've been out for two days now."
"Damn, that long," Kakashi thought to himself. "What's the mission status?" he asked seriously.
"So far, we haven't had too many complications. We've been accompanying Tazuna to the bridge and doing what we can to help. At this rate, we should finish before the estimated mission are we going to do about Zabuza? Something didn't seem right about how he lost," Moro replied, businesslike.
"You noticed it too? Have you said anything to the others yet?" Kakashi asked.
"No. Naruto is too optimistic, and Sasuke and I aren't exactly on good terms right now, though we won't let it compromise our mission," he answered.
"Your fight after that first day?" Kakashi guessed. "I saw," he explained. "Sasuke's out for blood because of it too."
"I'll deal with that when the time comes. We need to prepare for Zabuza's return though."
"Go get the others," Kakashi sighed. "I have something in mind." Moro nodded and went to get the other three. "I have some bad news. Zabuza is still alive," he announced. "When he recovers, he is going to attack again, if not for Tazuna, for his pride. I need you four to be ready to help out in any way possible, so I have something to teach you. Follow me," he instructed, ignoring Naruto and Sakura's protests that Zabuza was dead, and grabbed a crutch that had been brought for his use when he woke up.
Kakashi led them into the forest and began to explain. "I'm want you to climb trees," he said simply.
"We can all climb trees, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto stated. "How is that going to help?"
"True, I have no doubt that you can climb trees normally, but I want you to climb them without your hands." He hobbled over to the nearest tree and began to walk up it. "You gather the chakra into the bottom of your feet and then use it to hold your feet to the tree. You may want to get a bit of a running start, and use these to mark your progress," he instructed, throwing a kunai to each of them.
They each grabbed their respective kunai and built up the chakra in their feet. Sasuke managed to get about ten feet up before being pushed off. Naruto got about seven feet up before where he was exploded, showering the area with splinters.
"Hey, this is easy," Sakura called down from the highest branch that could hold her weight. Sasuke cursed and ran at his tree again, managing to get marginally higher. Moro yawned, laying down on the underside of a tree branch.
"Hmm, seems like the only girl has the best natural chakra control," Kakashi goaded Sasuke and Naruto.
"What am I, chopped liver?" Moro asked, feigning outrage. "Nah, I've already done this exercise, and water walking, for that matter. Hey, Naruto, how many shadow clones can you make?"
"Umm, around a thousand, I think, I haven't tried to go all out recently," the blonde answered. "Why, what do you need?"
Kakashi facepalmed. "Around a thousand? Last time he checked? He's only known the jutsu for about two weeks. But then again, he did just blow a hole the size of my head in a tree."
The brunette ninja pulled out a scroll and unsealed two boken, throwing one to Naruto. "Can you make me a few hundred so we can spar while you work on this?" Moro answered nonchalantly. Naruto grinned and made the familiar ram seal. Around them the forest blurred and filled with smoke as seven hundred and fifty copies of Naruto phased into existence. One that was particularly close to where Sakura was standing asked her out, prompting her to quickly punch it in the face.
Moro nodded at his friend. "Thanks. Alright, would the seven hundred and forty nine clones follow me so that the others can practice their tree climbing please," Moro shouted, and the clone horde followed him, althoush some were reluctant.
Moro led the clones to a clearing. "Alright, I want you all to come at me, no holding back," he instructed. The clones were hesitant at first, only one or two advancing. With two quick blows they were dispersed, and the other clones grew more bold and began charging in groups. Although Moro dealt most of the punishment, he was not untouched. Some of the clones managed to land solid blows on him, but he pressed on.
Unseen, two people watched Moro's brutal sparring match. The first was Kakashi. "He's absolutely brutal in his training. I hope Gai never finds him doing something like this, or else he'll try to recruit him," he shuddered with the thought of his student in the green spandex suit.
The other ninja watching Moro was the fake hunter nin from Kiri. "Either the boy is really skilled, or really stupid and overconfident to try to fight that many kage bunshin. Even Zabuza would have trouble taking on so many," the fake pondered. Yet as he watched, Moro continually repulsed and dispersed any of the Naruto's that attacked him. If any clone struck the boy, the favor would be returned three fold. Not to say that he was vengful, but the amount of force and the location of the strikes were more severe. Angered, a large group of about fifty clones jumped up and thrusted their boken at Moro, like they had tried against Zabuza. "Surely, despite his skill with the sword, he couldn't best that many clones. Zabuza didn't even have that many jump him." The clones were violently repulsed, to the watchers' surprise. One of the Naruto's was visibly more tired than the rest. With a loud pop, he transformed into the brunette, who fell to his knees from exhaustion.
"Fuu-bunshin?" Kakashi frowned. "Thats an upper A-class jutsu, even higher than my rai-bunshin." Despite his obvious lack of chakra, Moro stood as the last few clones rushed him. With just the minimal effort, he raised his blade so that it struck the charging clones through weak points in their defenses, using their own momentum to beat them. As the last clone dispersed, Moro laughed weakly and blacked out from minor chakra exhaustion.
Back with Naruto
Since he had made the clones for Moro, the tree no longer exploded with holes in it. Strangely, it seemed easier for him to climb now as well. He was getting about as high as Sasuke now. And then it happened. As he ran up the tree, the memories of a good number of clones being dispersed violently at once caused an overload of information, and he passed out. "Baka," Sasuke muttered as Naruto stopped mid ascent and fell, hitting his head on the way down.
Sakura went to check on the unconscious blond. "Sasuke, what should we do?" she asked. "Should we wake him, or just leave him?"
Sasuke grunted. "Leave him for now."
As they were leaving, Sasuke kicked Naruto in the ribs. "Wake up, dobe, its time to go back," he ordered.
Naruto sat up slowly. "Huh? What happened? Last thing I remembered, it felt like I had just been smacked really hard in the head with a boken, and then nothing," Naruto murmured. "WHAT? ITS NIGHT ALREADY? WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME?" he yelled. "OH MAN I'VE GOTTA CATCH UP NOW," he roared with a glance at where his marks stopped, and how much higher Sasuke's went. "KUSO!" he cursed. Sasuke and Sakura sweatdropped, but left him training in the forest. Realizing that he had gained the memories from the clones that had been training with Moro, he grinned before making a single hand sign. Five more Naruto's popped into existence, and all of them ran at different trees. They each got to varying heights, but none perfected the tree climbing technique.
Naruto never would have noticed, but from a distance he was being watched. Eyes peered out from behind a hunter's mask, watching until the moon, which had just risen when Naruto began, had began its descent. Even then, the watcher only left because Naruto had passed out from exhaustion. With a giggle, the watcher went to report their findings.
As Moro woke, he noticed two things. The first was the fact that it felt like Sakura had used him as a punching bag for her ungodly strength, and the second the early morning sun that shined in his eyes painfully. He didn't move at first, only groaning in agony. After a few minutes, he pushed himself into a sitting position. "Why did I ask for so many?" he thought to himself, nursing his bruised body. Eventually, he forced himself to stand and headed back to where the others had trained the day before.
Moro found Naruto passed out in the clearing, surrounded by six trees with slash marks on them, with one other further away. All six had lines about one and a half times larger than the further tree. He shambled over to Naruto and grinned sadistically.
With his less injured arm, he began rummaging through his pockets, looking for something to prank his friend with. Fortunately, he had everything he would need: a large permanent marker, an explosive tag, three sealing scrolls, one with fruit, one with cup ramen for Naruto, and one with various odds and ends that weren't useful, some blank scrolls and a brush and ink. His eyes sparkled as he got a devious idea and began drawing on the scroll and infusing it with chakra. Normally, he had Naruto make their confetti tags, but he could make them, although it wasn't as powerful as Naruto's. He finished, and began setting up his trap, starting with several ink balls taken from Naruto's pocket sealed in the confetti tag, set to detonate when he moved, and rigging a ramen cup to explode.
"I hope this works," he thought to himself as he put his hands together and built up a very small amount of chakra. "Genjutsu: Zetsubo," he whispered. He uncapped the marker and began to doodle all over Naruto's face, waking him from his sleep. Naruto quickly forced himself into a sitting position, causing him to get drenched in ink. As he wiped it out of his eyes, he heard the telltale hiss of another tag, opening them to see one of his beloved ramen cups blown to pieces, spraying him with explosive cooked instant ramen, in much less than the standard three minutes needed to cook it.
Naruto bolted upright to see the cup ramen still intact. Believing that he was still trapped in a genjutsu, Naruto put his hands together. "KAI! KAI! KAI!" he shouted futilely, ignoring the paint that sprayed him as his precious cup ramen exploded.
"Sorry Naruto, but this time it was for real," Moro laughed. Naruto screamed and ran at him with a kunai drawn. He as he was about to begin viciously attacking his friend, a giggle distracted him. He turned to see a girl in a flowery pink kimono standing next to a tree. His jaw dropped.
She giggled again. "Would you mind helping me, I'm looking for some herbs for my mother," she lied. "That was really funny," she told Moro, who had the point of a kunai pressed against his chest. Naruto mumbled something incohesive, which made her giggle more.
"We'd be glad to help you, Miss, what did you say you're name is? I'm Moro, and the baka here is Naruto." Moro answered for him.
"You will, wonderful," she cried with mock excitement, making Moro's eyes narrow. "I'm Haku," she added. As they walked around the forest, she talked to them, occasionally stopping to pick a few plants. When Naruto told her that he would one day be Hokage, she asked him if he had any precious people.
"Precious people?" he thought aloud. "Well, there's Iruka-sensei, oji-san hokage, Kakashi-sensei, Moro-kun, Sakura-chan, and the teme," he began. "So yeah, I guess I have precious people."
"Good," she informed him. "Its when you have precious people that you become truly powerful." After awhile, she said goodbye, saying that her mother was waiting and it would be rude to keep her waiting.
After she was gone, Naruto looked at Moro. "She was pretty than Sakura was," he announced.
"What, finally over your little crush?" Moro teased, making Naruto hit him in the arm. "Hey, why don't you head back to the bridgebuilder's house, I forgot something, and will be right behind you."
"Right, I'll see you later, ass," Naruto replied offhandedly before heading back towards the village.
"Show yourself, hunter-nin, or, would you prefer, Haku?" he asked to no one. "I know your there, watching for Zabuza, so don't try to hide," he called out.
"So you knew?" she answered. "I'm impressed. What now? Will you attack me?" she asked, her voice impassive and cold.
"No," he answered. "To what point and purpose? You don't know my abilities, and I don't know yours, but I do know that you are extremely skilled. But if we meet again, we may be forced to fight," he answered truthfully. "So the choice is yours? Do we do battle, will this forest be the final resting place for one of us?"
"I don't want to hurt any of you, but if you get in Zabuza-sama's way, I won't hesitate to kill all of you," she responded. "Besides, your injured, it wouldn't be fair. Which reminds me, catch." she threw him a small jar. "For your bruises, and your kindness earlier.
He nodded his gratitude. "Good day to you then, Miss Haku, and may we never have to meet on the battlefield," Moro said, bending down. He picked a few flowers from the base of a tree and threw them at the beatiful girl. They embedded themselves in her hair ornately, but she didn't even notice at first. She pulled one out and gazed at it, but when she looked back at Moro he was gone.
"What an interesting pair, they're so similar, yet so different," she thought to herself. "Who are you, Moro?" she thought with a slight blush, looking once more at the flower in her hand before returning it to her hair.
Moro hung off the side of the bridge doing pull-ups. Kakashi had asked him and Sakura to watch over the bridge and the bridgebuilder while Naruto and Sasuke mastered the tree climbing. He had offered to help the workers, but they had looked at him strange and politely declined. "Can I talk to you?" Sakura asked.
Moro launched himself up over Sakura, did a flip and landed on the bridge. "Sure, what do you need?" he replied.
"Um, I realize that we don't really get along, but I didn't know who else to talk to. Naruto would take it the wrong way, and Sasuke would scoff at me, and Kakashi needs to heal, but I wanna get stronger too. When Kakashi-sensei was captured by Zabuza, you three threw everything you had at him to free him, but I couldn't," she paused. "I couldn't do anything to help. I was froze by his killer intent, just like Tazuna-san." Moro nodded along with her.
"I see," he responded. "Let me see if I have anything that you can do," he said as he started going through his pack. "Ah, perfect," he exclaimed, pulling out two sheets of paper.
"I don't get it," she said confused. "How is a piece of paper supposed to help me get stronger."
"This isn't ordinary paper, this is a special paper that when you channel chakra into, it reveals you chakra nature. Watch," he explained, pouring a little bit of chakra into the paper. Sakura gasped as it split in two. "Wind cuts the paper, lightning folds it, water it gets wet, fire it burns, and earth it desinegrates. Now you try," he handed her the other piece of paper. After a moment, the paper turned to dust. "Sorry, I can't help you," he sighed. "I don't know anything about earth chakra. My nature is wind and water, and Naruto is the same. If you had either of those I could have taught the the nature manipulation. Maybe ask Kakashi-sensei later, he might know," Moro cut her off when she went to protest. He leapt back over the edge and began again with his pull ups, this time with only one hand. "One, two, three, four, ..." he began.
Over the past three days, nothing eventful had happened. Sasuke and Naruto were still working on the tree climbing, Kakashi did actually know earth manipulation and told Sakura what to do, and no one so far had threatened the bridgebuilders, though some had left. Moro was sparring with Naruto's clones every other day, using Haku's ointment to soothe the bruises. He had done all of his physical exercise for the day and was looking for something else to work on. At the wave end of the bridge, two men were cutting wood for further down. Moro smirked, having an idea. He interrupted them as they laid the next log to get cut. "I'll do this one," he told them. They looked at him weird but stepped aside. He put one hand on each side of the log and began to build up chakra when two thugs decided to ruin his mood. "Leave," he ordered them, "or I won't hesitate to kill you."
"Heh, like you could," one replied. "Besides, we just wanted to check the progress on the bridge."
"Yeah, its a free country," the second remarked. "Well, no its more of Gatou's country, but we work for him."
Moro let off a little killer intent and then sliced through the log with wind chakra. The first thug's jaw dropped, and the second fainted. He punched the first off of the bridge into the river, and then grabbed the second one and sent him after his friend. The workers gaped in awe, and began bringing him all sorts of things to slice, most that were definitely not materials for the bridge, like the fish that one man had asked him to filet. Nonetheless, Moro didn't complain, it was good practice on control.
As Kakashi, Moro, Sakura, and Tazuna and family sat down to eat, Sasuke and Naruto stumbled in, holding each other up. "We both made it, all the way to the top," Naruto panted. They collapsed next to the table and began devouring any food in sight, to the point that Tsunami and Sakura actually got up and left the table.
Kakashi sweatdropped, "While its true that they need to eat to replenish their chakra, it won't help if they just throw it up again," he thought to himself. Moro just ignored them and continued to eat.
"WHY? WHY DO YOU TRY SO HARD?" Tazuna's grandson, Inari shouted. "Gatou is just going to kill you, like he kills everyone else that stands in his way," he whined, running out of the dining room.
"I'm sorry, he's been like that since his father died," Tsunami explained.
"What, how?" Naruto asked. Sakura punched him in the head for being tactless.
"Its alright, Sakura-san," Tsunami said.
"Gatou," Tazuna spat. "Kaiza, the town, and Inari's, hero, stood up to him, because it was the right thing to do. Gatou's men killed him, in front of everyone. Since then, Inari has been cynical. His spirit, as well as the spirit of this country has been broken. I'd give almost anything to see him happy again." Naruto looked pensive as he ate after hearing the story.
"Shouldn't you be guarding the bridge?" Tsunami asked Naruto.
\ "Nah, Kakashi-sensei gave me the day off, something about me using up too much chakra lately," Naruto shrugged. "I'm gonna go take a walk." As he reached the far end of the street, there was a blood-curdling shriek. "Crap, that was from Tazuna's house," he sighed as he formed his most frequently used hand seal and ran back to the house along with three clones.
"We only need one hostage, kill the boy," the first thug said, with a lump the size of an egg in the center of his head. "That way we can have some fun with this bitch when we're done with her."
"If you harm a hair on his head, I'll bite my tongue off and bleed to death, then you won't have your hostage," she cried. The thug holding her from behind suddenly went limp.
"Like hell you will, Tsunami-chan," Naruto said cheerfully. "Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage to the rescue," he announced himself, the real one pulling the thug off Tsunami as the clones pummeled the second thug holding Inari. Looking at the wailing Inari, he said, "Look kid, you can't cry everytime you're afraid. Sometimes, despite how horrible things are, you have to hold your head held high and do everything you can to change it." Inari sniffled, but stopped crying. "Oh no, if they came after you, then, Oji-san Tazuna," Naruto swore, running out the door.
Moro put his hand on Masayoshi, ready to draw in an instant, when he saw the mist roll in. "Welcome back from the dead, Zabuza," he announced boldly. Sasuke visibly tensed as he prepared for an attack from any direction and moved to protect Tazuna with Sakura.
"Heh, smart, kid," the mist's demon answered from behind him. "But what now?" he asked, beginning the lethal arc with his greatsword. Moro parried it before spinning a kunai out and stabbed Zabuza, who turned into a puddle.
"Haven't you got any other tricks?" Moro goaded him. "Because that one's getting old."
"Stay back, Moro, I'll handle him," Kakashi instructed. "Protect Tazuna, and watch out for the "hunter nin"."
"He's already here watching," Sasuke stated, starting to shake with anticipation. The hunter joined Zabuza, the element of surprise ruined.
"Oh, look, the brat is scared," Zabuza sneered.
"You wish," Sasuke retorted. "I'm just excited," he finished before charging the hunter nin.
"Wait, come back," Moro called out, futilely. "She's too strong to fight one on one, Sasuke."
"Maybe for you, loser," Sasuke replied.
"Sasuke-kun is soo cool," Sakura whispered, watching as Sasuke attacked the hunter, who dodged and threw a handful of senbon at him. Everyone watched the exchange. Haku began making a series of hand signs, ending on a one handed seal that none of the konoha nin recognized.
"What sort of hand sign is that?" Kakashi asked.
"Haku is special, thats the reason why I keep her with me. You see, she has a kekkai genkai that allows her to use ice jutsu," Zabuza explained. "As it is, she's probably stronger than me, though we've never fought." The girl used a jutsu that created a bunch of ice spikes where Sasuke had been standing. Kakashi moved to aid Sasuke, but Zabuza intercepted him. "I don't think so, Sharingan Kakashi. Your fight is with me." Haku used a jutsu that created a bunch of mirrors around Sasuke. She flitted from mirror to mirror, throwing senbon at Sasuke, who couldn't dodge and block all of them. "Heh, if she's using that, its over for him. Now, allow me to explain how I'm going to kill you, you monkey. Kirigakure no jutsu," he said, and mist too thick to see through flooded the area. "Your sharingan allows you to do two things. The first is to mimic my moves at lightning fast speeds. Then, it allows you to cast a slight genjutsu to confuse and scare your opponent, but in order to do so, you have to have to have eye contact. So, in this mist, your eye is useless," he explained before appearing behind Kakashi and slashing at him.
"It was a good plan, but I'm not considered one of Konoha's best ninjas just because I happen to have a Sharingan eye," Kakashi countered as Zabuza cut through a water clone, kicking him high into the sky.
"Heh, I actually accounted for that, and modified the Kirigakure no jutsu just in case. Kiri no Kusari no jutsu," Zabuza stated. With a sickening thud, Kakashi slammed into the bridge. "I realized that you were probably stronger than me, and you said the same trick wouldn't work twice, so I made a new one," he explained.
"I can't see a thing, just like before," Sakura whispered. "What's going on?"
"Sasuke is trapped by the hunter nin, and Kakashi sensei has gotten himself captured, again," Moro sighed. "Sakura, with Naruto gone, its up to you and me."
"I'll go save Sasuke-kun," she began, but Moro interrupted her.
"We're all dead if we don't save Kakashi-sensei first, and Zabuza isn't about to let us do that," Moro began. "We're going to have to work together. If you heat the bonds on Kakashi-sensei, the mist should disperse and free him. Do you know the hand signs for the basic fire jutsu they teach in the academy? The one for warming yourself up on cold missions?" he asked.
Sakura, realizing that he was right, grimaced at the idea of leaving Sasuke trapped. "Yeah, its tora, hitsuji, tora," she answered.
"Alright, now here's the tricky part," he began, but was interrupted by Zabuza creating a large number of mizu bunshins and sending them to attack him. "Not this time, No-Brows," Moro said, dispatching all of the clones with a single slash of Masayoshi.
In the distance, Naruto announced his arrival. "What the hell, whats with that kid?" Zabuza asked.
"Who Naruto? He's unpredictable, you never know what he'll do next. He's Konoha's number one knucklehead ninja, the future Orange Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto," Moro answered with a grin, before turning back to Sakura. "Which reminds me, Sakura, catch," he threw a scroll to her. "If we make it out of this alive, give that to Naruto for me, and make him complete his end of the bet."
"Sakura, do you know integration based calculus?" he asked as Zabuza attacked from the mist. Steel clashed on stone as Moro blocked the slash. "As a ninja swordsman, I also know the silent killing technique." Zabuza cursed as he disappeared into the mist once more, only to be attacked by Moro. "You need to rotate the thickness of the band around Kakashi-sensei's neck," he began.
"What? I don't know how to do that," Sakura whined.
Moro swore. "Alright, I'll do it. Be ready to act on an istant's notice," he ordered, to which Sakura aknowledged. Around the bridge, Moro and Zabuza clashed as the assassin attempted to reach his target.
"Like hell I'll let you free Kakashi," Zabuza said through gritted teeth. "Suiryudan no jutsu." The jutsu shot out towards Sakura. Moro swore and threw Sakura out of the way, taking the blast head on.
"I got it, Sakura-chan," Moro panted. "To break Zabuza's jutsu, you need to apply 2905.526 kj of heat to burn the mist off. Too much and you could hurt Kakashi, and too little won't break the hold."
"Like I said, I can't let you free your sensei again," Zabuza sneered. " Daibakufu no jutsu," he announced, sending the wave of water crashing into Moro, who barely could stand.
"In order," Moro panted, using his sword to hold himself up. "To protect, the people I care for, I cannot, LOSE TO YOU!" Moro shouted, the sky above arcing with lightning and roaring with thunder.
Zabuza grimaced. "His kekkai genkai is awakening. At the rate this is going, I have to finish this now, otherwise I won't be able to keep up," Zabuza thought. "You know, this blade of mine, the greatsword Kubikiri houchÅ, has two special abilities. First, should it be damaged, it can repair itself using the iron in the blood of those it kills. Second, it can cut through people easier than it can cut through butter, believe me, I've tried. Although, it did cut through the next person even easier," he rambled. The missing nin charged the Moro, only to get blasted back by the lightning dancing around him. With two red flashes, the lightning struck Moro, cutting into his face, and blood splattered the bridge. Panicking, Zabuza rushed at Sakura, Tazuna and Kakashi, intending to finish his mission and retreat before things became even worse.
After Moro had told her how to break the bond, Sakura had quickly completed the hand signs and began burning the mist around Kakashi off. As the shackle around his neck broke, steam hissed out. Kakashi thanked her and ordered her to free his hands. In the background she could hear Moro and Zabuza clashing, Sasuke and Naruto in pain as they fought the hunter nin, and the terrifying roar of the thunder overhead. Normally a storm wouldn't unnerve her like this, but this storm seemed to hunger for blood.
As she broke the last bond on Kakashi-sensei, she looked up to see the rapidly approaching form of Zabuza through the mist. She closed her eyes and screamed, anticipating the blade that would end her, but it never came. Instead, there was the horrid sound of steel rending flesh and bone, and then a splash. She opened her eyes to see a very irate Kakashi charging Zabuza. "DAMNIT!" he swore, hitting Zabuza hard. "I promised them, I swore, that I'd never allow one of my comrades to die in battle, and I FAILED!" Kakashi roared.
"Heh, you Konoha ninjas make me laugh," Zabuza laughed. "So noble, even to the bloody end."
Despite all of their combined effort, Naruto and Sasuke couldn't manage to escape the hunter-nin's hall of mirrors, and both were beginning to look like a pin cushion. When they heard the splash, the hunter nin apologized to them. "I'm sorry, but I have to end this now. I can't keep Zabuza-sama waiting, and he will be finished soon."
Sasuke swore. "Naruto, can you make one more round of clones? He's slowing down, I can catch him," he asked.
"Hell yeah, Sasuke-teme, I can do this all day," Naruto boasted, trying to hide his panting, making the unique hand sign before ten more of him appeared. They all dashed towards the mirrors, and the hunter nin began her deadly dance from mirror to mirror. Just as she threw the senbon to dispel the last clone, a large fireball hit her in the arm.
"How is that possible?" she thought to herself. "He shouldn't be capable of tracking my movements, let alone hitting me with all those senbon sticking out of him." The she looked at his eyes, where his sharingan had at last awakened. "Impressive, to awaken a kekkai genkai like that out on the battlefield. Sadly, it won't make a difference, because I'm going to kill you both now," she announced.
"Hang in there, dobe, we've got this," Sasuke told Naruto confidently, without looking back at his teammate.
"Heh, I told you, teme, I can do this all..." Naruto began before fainting from his injuries and chakra exhaustion. Haku began her attack once more. Sasuke swore again, pulling a senbon out of his arm, leaping in front of Naruto and trying to stop all of the needles. He grabbed the boy and threw him aside. Naruto tried to stand, "The ninja," he panted. "Who will, Hokage of the Village, Hidden in the Leaves, NEVER, GIVES. UP!" he shouted as he pushed himself to his feet. Beneath the mask, Haku smiled. She leapt out of the mirror, throwing the first batch at Sasuke to push him farther away from the blond, and then threw the second at the immobile and hardly standing blond's vital points.
Naruto watched as one of the senbon came right at his right eye. The next thing he knew, Sasuke was in front of him, taking the blows that would have killed him. As Sasuke began to fall, Naruto tried to catch him, but was dragged down to his knees. "Why, why did you save me?" he cried.
"I don't know," Sasuke mumbled. "My body just moved. I hated you, why did I save you? Now I can't possibly hope to kill my brother for what he did," he ended as his eyes glazed over.
"He died honorably," Haku said seemingly emotionlessly. "You should be proud that he gave his life to save you."
Naruto looked up at the mirror. As he saw the hunter nin, his pupil changed from the brilliant sapphire to the color of bloody rubies with a slit for a pupil. "I'LL KILL YOU!" he roared in an inhuman voice as malevolent chakra began to swirl around him. Haku darted around, nailing the boy with the long throwing needles. The boy should have been done for, but he merely roared and the needles were pushed out of his body, the holes steaming as they closed. Haku swore, trying to end the battle right then, but the possessed boy roared again, and the needles spun into the mirrors.
Like an animal, the boy leapt rabidly at the mirror she was hiding in and shattered it. Realizing that the mirrors would no longer aid her, she let the rest follow suit. The boy punched her in the face and followed her, landing before she did and viciously kicking her. She managed to stand before the monstrous kid landed in front of her and began to swing. Time slowed as his fist rushed towards her face and her mask fell off in pieces. The blow never came. "Why do you hesitate? You said you would kill me for killing your friend. Why do you hesitate? I have nothing else to live for, I failed Zabuza-sama. Please, kill me, spare me the shame of failure," Haku begged.
"What? Doesn't your life mean anything at all?" Naruto asked. "How can you just throw your life away for that guy?"
"Zabuza-sama saved me. When I was a kid, my father saw me playing with a ball of ice chakra. In Kiri, they persecute those with kekkai genkai. Soon enough a mob was at my house. They killed my mother, and were about to kill me, when I exploded. The house was impaled upon the ice. After that, I wondered alone, no one loved me, no one helped me, until he came. I was almost dead, and he took me as his apprentice, helped me heal, and taught me. He made me his tool, but now that I failed him I am a broken tool, and broken tools are discarded like trash, so please, spare me the shame," Haku explained. Naruto stared at her, when in the distance the sound of birds chirping could be heard, along with Zabuza struggling. "I'm sorry, but there is still something I must do," she ran off to save her master.
Moro sank down into the dark depths of the water beneath the bridge. "Damn, this sucks," he thought as his lungs burned from the saltwater that had flooded them and the salt burned the cut that had sliced right through his ribs, but missed all the vital organs. "Dying really sucks," he thought to himself as his eyes saw no more.
Next thing he knew, he was surrounded by darkness and there was a lady sitting by a campfire. Her dark brown hair mirrored his, but her eyes were a different color, and her cheeks were marred by a pair of lightning bolts that mirrored each other across her face. "Kaa-san?" he mumbled, still remembering his agonizing death.
She smiled sadly at him. "My son," she began. "We're proud of you, and we're sorry that we left you all alone."
He grinned back. "Well, I wasn't always alone. I always had Naruto nii-san," he told her.
Her smile grew. "I am glad that you could make friends in Konoha, despite it all."
Moro noticed that she was beginning to cry. "Kaa-san, what's wrong?"
"My son is growing into a fine young man, and I am glad to have met you, but its time to go back. You are not fully here, and your friends need you." Moro nodded, hugged her goodbye, and found himself back at the bottom of the river with a bolt of crimson lightning rushing towards him. As it struck, his strength was renewed.
Calming the natural panic caused by his water filled lungs, Moro gathered all the chakra he could to his legs and pushed himself up out of the water. He landed on the surface of the water and began coughing up the water. As soon as he could, he began to run up the bridge to help the others. Waiting at the unfinished end of the bridge and hidden in the mist, Gatou had a small army of thugs waiting. He jumped on one's shoulders, making him cry out, and then leapt over the remaining men towards the sound of chirping birds. Despite the mist, he could feel were everything was. He saw Kakashi preparing to finish Zabuza with a lightning jutsu, and then Haku appeared to intercept the blow. Using the rest of his strength, Moro bodily shoved the girl aside at the last minute and was struck by Kakashi's Raikiri.
Time slowed for Kakashi as his finishing move approached Zabuza's black heart. He began panicking as Zabuza's apprentice appeared to intercept the blow. Time slowed again as the girl was pushed aside just before the blow hit, and he watched as it began to burn Moro, who screamed in utter agony. Surprisingly, the vicious attack did not impale the boy like it should have. Instead, the boy slumped to the ground, unable to stand. "It's over, Kakashi-sensei, they have no reason to fight us, and we need their help," he coughed. "Zabuza-san, please dispel the mist and look towards the end of the bridge," he finished before blacking out.
Zabuza was in a daze as the girl he loved like a daughter tried to save him, and then as the boy, who by all accounts should have been dead several times over, saved her. He cursed, but then complied with the boy's wishes. As he did, he found the thugs that were waiting. "Gatou, what the hell are you doing here," he swore.
Said shady dealer stepped forward. "Well, you rogue ninjas are awfully expensive, so I figured, I'll just kill you, that way I don't have to pay you," the short fat man chuckled at his own cleverness. "And if you and your bitch of an apprentice failed, well, we were here to finish the job. But unfortunately, thanks to this brat here," he said with a kick to Moro's unconscious body, "that plan is all ruined. "
"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM, YOU SON OF A WHORE," Naruto shouted, with the kyuubi's chakra once again manifesting around him. "TAJUU KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU." Almost a thousand of Naruto's appeared on the Wave half of the bridge. "LET'S RIP THEM TO PIECES," he roared.
Gatou turned tail to run back behind his thugs, but only got about halfway before an arrow cut him off, making the man soil himself. "DON'T FORGET ABOUT US, WE WANNA HELP TOO," Inari shouted, leading an army of villagers.
"Heh, I think we've been outclassed, Kakashi," Zabuza joked. He demeanor flashed as he looked at Naruto and said, "Gatou is mine." And with that, war was fought on the bridge as Zabuza led the clones and villagers against Gatou's thugs, Kubikiri Houcho swirling around him. Some were foolish enough to try to take their chances in the water, but the storm and sea claimed their lives. In the end, none of the thugs survived the slaughter.
Sakura cried over Sasuke's needle filled pincushion of a body. The hunter nin limped over to them. "If you pull the needles out, that boy will awake, you know," she said emotionlessly. Sakura immediately wiped her eyes and began pulling the senbon out of Sasuke's body. When he stirred, Sakura screamed his name and hugged him tightly, crying more.
"Sakura, can you please stop? You're hurting me," he mumbled. He saw Haku standing above him and tensed.
"Relax, I will not harm either of you. I apologize for earlier, but as you can see, I did not aim to kill." Sasuke merely grunted and looked the other way. Haku then limped over to where Zabuza was resting, next to the exhausted Kakashi and the unconscious Moro.
"So then, what will you do now?" Kakashi asked, pulling out his favorite book, which caused Haku to blush furiously.
"You're not going to kill us?" she asked.
"Hmm, tempting. However, our mission was only to protect the bridgebuilder, and we've completed that," Kakashi replied, distracted.
"We'll have to run before the Kiri nin get here," Zabuza answered.
Beside them, Moro began to wake up, moaning in pain. He pushed himself into a sitting position. "You know, with your injuries, you really shouldn't be moving around so much," he pointed out. "We'll have to wait here until Konoha can send some medic nins to heal him," he said to Zabuza and Haku. "But we won't stop you from leaving." Zabuza nodded slightly in appreciation.
"How about we take them back with us," Moro said with a groan, now being held still by Haku. "They could join Konoha's ranks, and then Kiri couldn't hunt them anymore," he proposed.
"Yes, but as it is, we can't guarantee that Hokage-sama won't turn them over to Kiri to form an alliance," Kakashi countered.
"Then, as head of the Chiarashi clan, I'll vouch for them," Moro replied heatedly.
"You would do that for us?" Haku asked. "Zabuza almost killed you, and I almost killed your friends," she said, shocked.
"We're ninja," Moro replied. "Today's enemies may very well be tomorrow's allies. I don't mind extending a welcome hand, and I doubt Sandaime-sama minds either. Its up to you two, really," he finished before passing out once more, his head falling into Haku's lap. The girl's face went red as a beet.
Three days later the team of med nins arrived by crossing the Bridge of Salvation and immediately set out healing the injured Konoha team. They closed Sasuke's stab wounds first, as that was the easy part of their job. They ushered everyone out of Tazuna's house while they worked on Moro for three hours. They mended his cleft ribs, repaired the damage to his lungs from the saltwater, and healed the chakra burn from Kakashi's Raikiri strike. However, they could not heal where the lightning struck him on his cheeks and the skin had changed blue. They then proceeded to head back to the village immediately, despite Tsunami's hospitality. Later that night when they were alone, Haku asked him why. "Because you are too good of a person for your life to be brought crashing down around you like that," he told her. She kissed him on the cheek before turning in for the night. When he was alone, he said, "Because you're beautiful and I couldn't stand if you got hurt," to no one in particular. Two days later Kakashi deemed that it was time to return back to the village.
The trek back to Konoha was fairly uneventful, except for Sasuke making Moro promise that they would fight when they were both at their max. They went to report the successful mission to the Hokage, who had been in a council meeting. Sakura and Naruto were made to wait in the hall outside by the ANBU guards. They tried to stop Moro, but with his Kekkei Genkai awakened, he was technically head of his clan. Kakashi led the two missing ninjas, Moro and Sasuke into the room.
"What is the meaning of this? ANBU, seize these children and the missing nins. Throw them in a holding cell until the council decides on their punishment," Danzo ordered.
Three ANBU with the kanji for root on their masks moved from the shadows to comply. The first made the mistake of grabbing Moro like a child. He ended up getting thrown out a window. The one that went after Sasuke was caught in a genjutsu from the Sharingan. The final one, recognizing Zabuza, aimed to kill. He was the unlucky one; Haku froze the blood in his veins. The amount of time that the blood was frozen wasn't fatal, but the root operative did have to be taken to the hospital.
"I was under the impression that the heads of the ninja clans are supposed to be invited to council meetings, even if they are under age," Moro interrupted Danzo's rant about their assault on good shinobi. "And these two here are my wards, and are awaiting the hokage's permission to join our ranks."
"Genin Nodachi," Danzo read off a report handed to him. "You claim to be of a Konoha clan, but the village has you marked as an orphan of unknown parentage. So, what clan are you from?" the war hawk sneered.
"I thought you still had one good eye, Danzo," Moro remarked. "You're old enough to recognize the clan markings on my face."
Danzo began to sweat, just noticing the twin lightning bolts on the boy's face. "The Chiarashi are no longer recognized as a Konoha clan, besides that seat is already filled," he tried to discredit Moro's claim.
"This council does not have the power to strip clan status from any group," Moro countered. "And you say that the seat is occupied, but I see an empty chair. Produce this heir of the main family you have that can lay claim to the council seat."
"One of my root ANBU hold the seat, I can send for him immediately," the old man prepared. "Besides, other than my one operative, who chose to remain loyal to the village, the rest left and committed mass suicide. Those markings are obviously fake."
Moro smiled. Outside thunder rumbled and the markings burned bright red. "Do you still doubt their authenticity?" he asked venomously. Danzo carefully rescinded his claim. Sasuke was shown to the Uchiha seat as they waited for Danzo's operative to arrive.
"The Chiarashi were known for a combination of two kekkei genkai which allow them to be told apart," Danzo began. "The first, is the pulse release, which causes chakra to radiate from their bodies constantly. It disrupts any genjutsu that would affect them and blinds doujutu users. However, it takes a heavy price on the clan. Because of the constant unconscious chakra drain, many of the infants do not survive, succumbing to chakra exhaustion. Before the first week, there is a 95% fatality. After that, it drops to 75% until they reach two years of age. By the time they turn seven, their bodies can handle the constant stress of the pulse," Danzo explained.
"Can you skip to the part where any of this is relevant, Danzo-sama," Shikaku Nara yawned.
"Hyuuga-sama, would you be kind enough to tell me which of these shinobi has the pulse release?" Hiashi Hyuuga then activated his Byakugan and pointed to the root operative. Danzo began to smile when Hiashi gasped and dropped his byakugan.
"Both have the damn pulse release," he growled, rubbing his eyes and bothering one of the other council members for some aspirin for his headache.
"The second kekkei genkai can only be activated by the main family after a life-threatening situation, and gives them a natural command over raiton in additon to their other types. Those who have awakened it are marked with the twin bolts, as the imposter claims to have. Mantis, please remove your mask," Danzo commanded. The ninja complied, revealing a pair of golden lightning bolts that framed his face.
Moro clapped. "Very well played Danzo. However, the third element, while remarkable, is not the kekkei genkai, merely a side effect. The real Kekkei Genkai is the Ranton. So then," Moro said with a faux smile. "Mantis-san, please demonstrate your control over the Ranton." When Mantis could not, Danzo sat down, glaring angrily at Moro as he took his seat. "Council, as head of the Chiarashi I enact clan right to demand the release of Mantis to my custody as the head of the clan."
Danzo, Himura and Hoharu immediately denied Moro's request. Together, Moro could not press the issue. Instead, he drew Masayoshi and instructed Mantis to commit Harikari.
Danzo protested this. "On what grounds should this member of your nigh extinct clan do this?"
"As clan head, it is my duty to enforce clan law, which supercedes even the direct protection of the Hokage by Konoha law. It is under the same law that the Hyuuga clan can not be punished for the use of the caged bird seal, even if it ends in the death of a branch member," Moro stated, and both the Hokage, who was smoking his pipe and watching Danzo humiliate himself, and Hiashi Hyuuga nodded.
Mantis motioned to speak before he completed the act. "I have disgraced the clan, Moro-sama, and for that, my cousin, I accept my fate. With this blade, I shall carry out the entire role before this council. My only regret is that I did not meet you and uphold my duty to the main family." Mantis then proceeded to slice open his stomach and then decapitate himself. Moro knelt before the corpse, wiped his blade and resheathed it. He allowed a single tear to fall for the family he never got to have, before turning to the rest of the council. "As head of the Chiarashi, I have taken Momochi Zabuza, formerly of Kiri, and Haku, who has never been a registered ninja to any nation as wards. Are there any here who protest against this action?" Several argued that doing so would provoke war with Kiri, but they were out numbered.
"Zabuza has been ranked as jonin, so he will reclaim that rank," the Hokage announced. "Haku, however will be entered into the ranks as a genin, and if her jonin sensei believes her to be ready, can nominate her for the upcoming chuunin exams. Do you protest this, Moro-san?"
"No, that is acceptable,"Moro agreed.
"Then, I believe that would be everything for this meeting gentlemen, we will reconvene the week after the chuunin exams next month. Until then, dismissed."
Zabuza approached the aged kage. "Hokage-sama, if possible I would like to be the jonin sensei for Haku."
The Sandaime nodded. "I had planned on that, now I just need to find two more members."
Danzo, ever the sneak, joined the conversation. "Excuse me, did you say you need a few people to be on a genin team, Sarutobi? I just so happen to have an operative who is almost chunin level who could fill in until the end of the exams."
The hokage considered what the old war hawk was proposing before nodding his affirmative. "Very well, then, Danzo, instruct your operative to meet at training ground seven tomorrow at seven to meet his new team." After the crippled man left, the Hokage turned back to Zabuza, who was now joined by Moro and Haku. "Moro, do you mind if I move you onto this new squad?" Moro shook his head no, and the old man smiled. "Beware, this root operative that Danzo plants will be fiercely loyal to him, and will probably pass any skills and info he can onto his master."
"We'll take that into account, Hokage-sama," Moro aknowledged, "Now, if I might be excused, I need to get some popcorn for a little show," he excused himself and walked out of the room. "Though of course you're welcome to join me," he shouted back, and all three followed him.
Elsewhere with Naruto and team
As Sakura finished her bowl of Ichiraku ramen, she began going through her pockets looking for money to pay when she grasped the scroll from Moro. "Hey, baka," she got his attention. "Moro told me to give this to you."
Naruto looked confused, but took the scroll and opened it. After a moment he yelled. "WHAT? I CAN'T DO THAT!" Sakura began reading the scroll over his shoulder. It read
Naruto,
If you're reading this, then I found a use for calculus on a mission. Therefore, you have to ask Hinata on a date. In the seal below you'll find dinner reservations, proper clothes, and money. Don't forget to get her flowers. I hear that the Yamanakas sell nice arrangements
Moro
Sakura began giggling like a schoolgirl as Naruto asked Kakashi if he had to. Kakashi replied that if he had made the bet, then he did have to, since calculus had freed him from Zabuza's jutsu. Naruto looked mortified, but said something about going to find Hinata.
Sasuke stopped him, and for a moment Naruto's hopes rose. "Wait, Kakashi-sensei, he can't ask Hinata on a date right now," he began. Naruto began thanking him very loudly and Sakura began shaking her fist at him. "I don't have my camera on me." Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura face planted.
"Did Sasuke just make a joke?" they all thought in unison. "Naruto is a bad influence on him."
From the rooftops, Moro and company watched as Naruto made a very big scene. The Hokage tried to keep a straight face as he told Moro off for betting, but even he was clutching his sides from laughing. Kakashi and Sakura kept Naruto at the ramen stand as Sasuke ran back to the Uchiha compound to get a camera to record it. While he was gone, Sakura gave Naruto tips and threatened that if he didn't quit looking so downtrodden, she would use him as a punching bag.
When Sasuke returned, Sasuke, Kakashi and Sakura jumped on the roofs so they could watch without interrupting. Moro waved them over and they watched as Naruto asked Hinata, who had been returning from training with her team, if he could talk to her for a minute. The girl went scarlet, which caused Naruto to ask if she was alright. She mumbled something that he couldn't understand, and Kurenai dragged Kiba, who didn't want to leave Hinata with Naruto, and Shino, who was curious as to what was happening away. After they were out of sight, they joined the growing party on the roofs.
"A-ano, Na-naruto-k-kun, w-what- d-did yo-you wa-nt t-to t-talk to m-me about," Hinata asked shyly.
Naruto scratched her head, not understanding why she was stumbling, but decided to get it over with. "I was wondering if maybe, you would like to go out to eat with me tomorrow night," he asked quickly.
Hinata grew three shades redder. "L-l-like on, on a-a-a d-d-date?" she asked timidly.
"Yeah, like on a date," Naruto said. Hinata never managed to answer, as she promptly fainted and Naruto had to catch her to keep her from cracking her head on the pavement.
On the roofs, everyone tried their hardest not to let Naruto hear them laughing, which wasn't too hard since he was a little preoccupied and loud about the unconscious yet smiling Hyuuga heir. "So," Kurenai asked, "Where was he going to take her for dinner?"
"They have standing reservations for Lotus," Moro answered. Kurenai and Sakura's jaws dropped.
Kakashi looked at him curiously. "That place is a five star restaurant\ and has a year and a half waiting list. How did you get them standing reservations?" Everyone turned in to glare at him.
"What, its amazing what you can get when you slip papers into the Hokage's paperwork." The Hokage facepalmed, and everyone else face planted.
OMAKE
Moro and Naruto were walking down a street when they noticed a section where the planking on the fence was going horizontal instead of vertical. "You can come on out now, Konohamaru," Naruto said.
"Damn, you caught me again, Boss," Konohamaru said. "Hey Boss, can you help me train to be stronger, like you did before?"
Naruto got a downright evil smile on his face as he began counting the days. "Well, we did develop a new training program, but it has an 89 % fatality rating." Moro was confused but decided to play along.
"YES!" Konohamaru exclaimed. "That's exactly the kind of training I need, I'll do it, what do I have to do?"
Naruto pulled out a scroll and opened it. Knicking his finger with a kunai, he spread blood across the seal and turned it toward the little child. "It's pretty simple," Naruto said. "You just run." The scroll went off and shot a bunch of catnip at Konohamaru, who looked confused.
"Run, run from what," he asked. Moro and Naruto jumped behind a merchant stand for cover. Down the street, brown blur came running and jumped on the boy's face, clawing at it mercilessly. With great effort, the boy eventually managed to remove the cat from his face and ran away screaming.
"Was that Tora, the daimyo's wife's cat?" Moro asked while laughing.
A/N: Its been a while, Cloud. No, but really, i've been kind of busy lately so this has been a little slow going. Its just under 10k words though, so I hope you enjoyed, please review, flames are good for laughs.
