Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto! If I did, the final chapter of the manga would not mirror the crap-ilogue of the Harry Potter series. Hero marries fan-girl while heroine marries the guy who has deserted/betrayed her twice! Come on man!
It had been two days since Naruto had approached Kakashi and Asuma with his idea for searching for Zabuza's hideout using his Shadow Clones, and the clones had reported no success. The genins' training had quickly moved along, now all six of the genin could stand easily on the water; Sakura, Ino and Shikamaru could run across the surface while Naruto, Sasuke and Choji were able to jog. The Uchiha heir was openly jealous of the two kunoichi and Shikamaru for their seeming ease in learning the exercise but was calmed when Kakashi pulled him aside and told him that he had a larger chakra reserve than the others (aside from Naruto), making it more difficult to control.
The genin had also met Tazuna's grandson, Inari, and the young boy had done nothing to ingrain himself well with the young ninja. Inari constantly belittled or insulted the genin, always telling them that their efforts were for naught, and that they were going to die no matter what they did. Naruto's grasp on his temper was beginning to fray from the mental stress of sorting through his clones' memories, and Inari's constant snide comments were not helping matters. And finally at dinner on their third day in the Wave, Naruto finally snapped.
"Will you shut up and stop your pathetic whining?" Naruto shouted, slamming his hands down on the table. "All you've done since we got here is whine and claim that Gato is going to kill us. You don't know any of us, and yet we are here risking our lives to protect your grandfather, even though he lied to us."
Inari gave a watery glare at Naruto. "What do you know about us?" the boy shouted. "I bet you've never suffered a day in your life, sitting there always laughing or smiling…"
An oppressive feeling fell over the kitchen robbing Inari, Tazuna and Tsunami of breath, and causing Sakura, Ino and Choji to struggle for breath themselves.
"Don't you ever think you are the only one who has suffered in their lives," Naruto snarled, his blue eyes dark. "Judging from all your whining you have lost someone close to you, probably to Gato but you don't hold the monopoly on suffering. Have you ever gone to bed for weeks on end hungry and wondering why? Have you ever been on the receiving end of an entire village's worth of glares and cold looks? I bet you've rarely left this house, you don't know how lucky you have it. Have you seen the squalor and filth that people are living in the center of the village? You have a mother who makes sure you are fed and tucked in each night and a grandfather who is trying to save this country by finishing his bridge, and you are spitting in his face. You disgust me, coward!"
Tears were now streaming down Inari's cheeks by the end of Naruto's rant and he pushed off from the table and raced from the room, his sobs echoing down the hallway.
"Naruto!" Sakura snapped. "You went…" but her scolding died in her throat as Naruto looked at her with stormy eyes.
"Excuse me, I'm going to train," Naruto said and left without another word. Only once he had left the house were Tazuna and Tsunami able to take a deep breath and calm their racing hearts.
"Apologies for my student," Kakashi said. "He grew up without anyone teaching him the social niceties, and has had a difficult life. If you don't mind, I will speak with Inari to explain that Naruto doesn't actually hate him, he just is very blunt."
Tsunami nodded and Kakashi went after the young boy.
"Asuma-sensei, what about Naruto?" Ino asked. "What gave him the right to…"
"Ino," Asuma said sharply, halting the talkative Yamanaka. "Why Naruto might have overstepped his bounds, he has more right than more to speak about suffering. Even more than you Sasuke."
"What?" Team 10 said at the same time.
"It's true," Sasuke said. "Naruto has always been alone, he never knew his parents and does not have a clan to help him. He knows what it means to be strong in the face of adversity."
Team 10 was stunned to hear Sasuke's defense of Naruto. Their only interaction with the pair, before this mission, was during the Academy and there, Naruto and Sasuke were complete opposites and were always at each others' throats.
"Excuse us as well," Sakura said as she and Sasuke rose from the table. "Tsunami-san, dinner was excellent as usual."
The others watched as the final two members of Team 7 left the room in search of their teammates.
"Stupid little brat," Naruto growled as he threw a kunai at a nearby tree. The force of the throw made the kunai sink nearly an inch into the tree. "What does he know about me, my life?"
Naruto yanked his kunai from the tree and stomped off ten paces from the tree. He took aim once more at the tree and hurled the kunai at the trunk. Naruto watched as once again the kunai slammed into the trunk with a thud. 'You don't know anything about how we've suffered,' Inari's voice shouted in Naruto's head.
"Argh!" Naruto shouted as he reached for more and more of his kunai. Soon all that was heard were the dull thuds of Naruto's kunai impacting the tree.
"You've gotten a lot better at throwing those kunai," an amused voice commented.
"I'm not in the mood for your commentary Sasuke," Naruto said, not looking around. "What are you two doing here?"
"We came to see if you are ok Naruto," Sakura said as she and Sasuke entered the small clearing where Naruto was practicing. "We know that Inari was really over the line but also you have to remember, he is just a child. Inari doesn't know you Naruto, he's just speaking about his own pain."
"I know that," Naruto said. "I know he's just a sheltered little kid but that gives him no right to think he has the monopoly on having a tough life."
"We know Naruto," Sakura said. "But you really scared Team 10 back there. You have to remember that they don't know you like we do."
Naruto sighed and nodded, retrieving the last of his kunai. "I know Sakura-chan," he said. "I should probably go and apologize to them."
"No," Sasuke said curtly. "You have nothing to apologize for Naruto, the brat claimed that he suffered and you could not understand his pain. Pain and suffering is unique to each person but to claim that someone has never suffered before is idiotic and arrogant beyond measure."
Naruto sat down at the base of a tree, and looked at his teammates. Sakura had taken a seat next to Naruto while Sasuke was leaning against a nearby tree.
"Can you imagine what the others would say if they saw us now?" Sakura commented.
"They would have no idea what to think," Naruto chuckled. "We have really changed since the Academy."
"This lifestyle will do that to you," Sasuke said. Naruto and Sakura nodded.
"Look you three, you all might think you are something special but you're not!" Kakashi barked as he met Team 7 a week after they had passed the true genin test. "You three are the lowest of the low, just genin. Rookie of the Year, dead last, those titles are now meaningless. You just entered a world that is a lot larger than you might think. You all need to grow up! Stop acting like children!"
"What! How dare…" Sasuke began but Kakashi cut him off. The jonin had appeared behind the Uchiha boy and had put the boy in a chokehold.
"That's what I am talking about," Kakashi growled. "You hear something that makes you angry and you fly off the handle. A shinobi does not let his or her emotions control them. You are acting like spoilt children, expecting everything to be handed to you. You must earn strength, it will not be given to you."
"But you haven't taught us anything to make us stronger!" Naruto shouted. "How are we supposed to get stronger if you don't…"
"Do you really think that just being given powerful jutsus will make you strong?" Kakashi asked. The three genin nodded. "You're wrong. Wielding powerful jutsus does not make one strong. One's strength comes from within. You can wield all the powerful jutsus in the world but be the weakest person because of it."
"Then how do I get stronger?" Sasuke growled.
"That is a question you must answer for yourselves," Kakashi said. "This team has the potential to be great perhaps as great as the Sannin but that will never happen unless you all learn to work together. And I think I know the perfect way."
Before any of the genin could even blink, Kakashi had released Sasuke and vanished. Then the world went dark.
"Where the hell are we?" Naruto shouted as he came too in the middle of a dark room. The sounds of two groans made the blonde aware that he wasn't alone. Naruto turned and could just make out the forms of Sasuke and Sakura stirring.
"What happened?" Sakura groaned. "Sasuke-kun!" she cried noticing the downed object of her affections. She quickly scrambled to her feet and rushed toward the dark haired boy, who was getting to his own feet.
"Get off me," Sasuke growled, pushing the girl aside causing her to stumble and fall.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura whispered from the floor.
"What the hell was that for bastard? Sakura-chan was only trying to help you Sasuke, you didn't need to push her," Naruto shouted.
"I don't need help, especially from weaklings like her," Sasuke snapped causing Sakura to flinch.
"Sakura-chan is not weak!" Naruto shouted. "Neither of us would have passed without her help and traps! Sakura-chan is also the smartest person in our class, just because she isn't as strong as you doesn't mean she's weak. You wouldn't be a genin without her."
"Tch," Sasuke grunted looking away from Naruto and Sakura.
"Naruto," Sakura whispered, looking at her blonde teammate in surprise.
"Where are we anyway?" Sasuke asked, looking around the dimly lit room, Sasuke was thankful for the low light as his face was flushed with embarrassment from Naruto's scolding.
"No idea, the last thing I remembered was Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto trailed off.
"Kakashi-sensei!" the trio shouted, wildly looking around for their sensei.
"Yo," the man's voice echoed around the room.
"Where are you, you bastard?" Naruto shouted. "Let us out of here!"
"Now where would be the fun in that?" Kakashi's amused voice chuckled. "You three were acting like children, so I'm treating you like children and putting you all in timeout."
"What!" the three genin cried.
"You three are going to learn to get along," Kakashi ordered. "I don't care how long it takes but you three will become a team. On and don't try and break out, I've placed chakra restricting seals on each one of you so you can't use any chakra."
"How dare you!" Sasuke roared. "How dare you take my power away!"
"So Sasuke-kun, how does it feel to be a weakling?" Kakashi asked. "You are nothing more than a civilian with a fancy last name now."
"You…you bastard!" Sasuke roared, rearing his fist back to punch the wall.
"Sasuke, that's enough!" Naruto said sharply, catching the boy's fist. "There is no sense in getting yourself hurt over a pointless venture. You punching the wall and messing up your hand is not going to get us out of here."
"What do you know dobe!" Sasuke shouted. "You are nothing but a clan less orphan!"
"Just like you," Naruto said calmly. "You might be an Uchiha but right now you are without a clan and parents, which makes us both clan less orphans. We have both lost our families; the only difference is that you at least knew your parents for years and have those memories. I never met my parents, I have always been alone so I will not let you mess this chance up."
"Naruto," Sakura whispered, feeling the weight of her actions toward Naruto from over their years at the Academy pressing down on her.
"You are nothing like me Naruto!" Sasuke snarled but Naruto thought he heard a tiny waver in the boy's voice. "You never had your family ripped away from you by the one person you most looked up too. You don't have to live with the memories of that man slicing my mother's throat right in front of me!"
Naruto and Sakura were stunned. They of course had heard about the Uchiha Massacre but they had no idea that Sasuke had witnessed it. They had thought that Sasuke had only come across the aftermath. Sasuke saw Naruto's face harden into a set expression.
"Don't you fucking pity me Naruto!" Sasuke roared, his eyes flashing in the dim lights.
"I am not pitying you Sasuke," Naruto said. "This information has only increased my respect for you Sasuke."
If Sasuke was expecting an answer, it certainly was not that.
"Sasuke, you went through something that was horrendous and the fact that you haven't become a stark raving lunatic bent on revenge is a credit to your mental fortitude," Naruto said. "I don't think that I could be able to function at all if I had to go through something like that. And it's made me want to be just like you, well without the massive pole in your ass."
Sakura gave a soft giggle at Naruto's comment, though the boys didn't know if it was because she thought it was funny or because it involved Sasuke's ass.
"You were the one I always strived to be," Naruto admitted. "You were the best in the class and everyone wanted to be around you. Me, I was always the screw-up, the fool who everyone ignored or made fun of. When I found out that we were going to be teammates, I couldn't have been happier because now, I could work my way closer to being at your level and you would see it. And then maybe…"
"It's getting late," Naruto said, looking up and noticing that the moon had risen high above the trees. "We should head back. We have a big day tomorrow."
The two other genin of Team 7 nodded and as one began the walk back to Tazuna's house, not noticing a pair of brown eyes watching the three genin walk away.
"Good morning my cute little genin," Kakashi's cheerful voice chirped. "Asuma's cut genin as well," he added as Team 10 entered the clearing where the Konoha shinobi had been training. "Now as you know, we are getting closer to the time when we believe that Zabuza will make his move. It has been three days now since we arrived and there has been no movement on Zabuza's side but it has also been long enough for him to call in reinforcements, so we are now going to rotate training and providing protection for Tazuna at the bridge."
"What do you mean rotate?" Naruto asked.
"Each day, two of you will go with Tazuna and either myself or Asuma to the bridge while the others will remain behind and train," Kakashi said.
"Now Naruto, have you been able to find out where Gato's hideout is?" Asuma asked. Naruto shook his head.
"Not yet but I know I'm getting close," Naruto said confidently. Suddenly the blonde paused and his eyes gained a far-off look.
"Naruto? Are you all right?" Kakashi asked.
"I just found Gato's hideout," Naruto said. "And it seems like Zabuza's back up has arrived."
"Zabuza's back up first," Kakashi said sharply. "Can you describe them?"
"Do you have a bingo book sensei?" Naruto asked. Kakashi nodded and fished one out of his pouch. He handed it to Naruto, and the blonde quickly began to flip through the pages.
"Here's one of the newcomers," Naruto said, showing Kakashi and Asuma a photo of a man with dark green hair and gray eyes.
"Aoi Rokusho," Kakashi sighed. "This just got a whole lot more troublesome."
"Who is Aoi Rokusho?" Sakura asked.
"Aoi was a chunin from Konoha before he deserted the village," Asuma explained. "Aoi believed that the village was deliberately holding him back, so he ran off but not before stealing the Nidaime's Sword of the Thunder God."
"He did what?" Naruto shouted.
"About two years ago," Kakashi confirmed. "He's listed as an A-rank bounty but that is more because of what he stole, not his skills. Aoi, when he defected, was around high-C to low-B in skills at best. But he has managed to survive this long, so we must figure that he has gotten stronger since leaving the village."
Naruto had taken the bingo book back from Kakashi and was staring at the older photo of Aoi Rokusho. Ever since learning that he was related to the Nidaime Hokage, the blonde had tried to learn as much as he possibly could about the Hokages, and to find out that this Aoi had stolen the Nidaime's prized possession sent Naruto's blood boiling.
"Naruto!" Kakashi's voice jerked Naruto back to the outside world. "Was there anyone else that came to help Zabuza?"
Naruto quickly scanned through the rest of the bingo book. "No, none of the others are in here," he said. "There were three others that came with Aoi but they all looked pretty young, around our age."
"Ok, good job Naruto," Kakashi said. "It looks like we won't be splitting up. We have to assume that Zabuza will attack sooner rather than later, so we are going to stick together and all be at the bridge."
"But sensei, what if they come here?" Sakura asked. "If we are all at the bridge, then if Gato or Zabuza sends someone to the house, there won't be anyone to protect Tsunami-san or Inari-san?"
"Good point," Kakashi said, trying to cover up his embarrassment at forgetting about the client's family. "Naruto, I want you to stay here tomorrow and watch over Tsunami and Inari. Send a Shadow Clone with us to keep up appearances. But if the situation gets too hot, bug out and hole up in a safe place with Tsunami and Inari."
"Right," Naruto nodded.
"Shikamaru, I want you to stay with Naruto as well," Asuma said.
"All right," Shikamaru agreed, looking relieved that he wasn't having to go to the bridge and possibly fight a pair of missing ninja.
The next morning saw the Konoha group, minus Naruto and Shikamaru, leave the house with Tazuna in tow. Two of Naruto's Shadow Clones went with the others to keep up the façade that Tazuna's house would be unprotected.
"Hey Naruto?" Shikamaru asked as the two boys helped Tsunami finish cleaning up breakfast.
"Yeah Shikamaru?" Naruto answered, drying his hands on a towel.
"What happened to you?" the Nara heir asked. "In the Academy, you were this, this…"
"Screw up, idiot, etcetera, right?" Shikamaru nodded. Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, I was a major moron back then, wasn't I?" he said softly. "In the Academy, all I cared about was getting attention, having someone notice me and it didn't matter if that attention was good or bad. Being alone is the worst kind of hell, Shikamaru. Everyone else except for Sasuke, has someone who they can rely on or know that will have their backs, to tuck them in at night, tell them that things will be all right. And even Sasuke had his family for at least some of his life, I've been alone my entire life."
Shikamaru bowed his head. He knew that he was one of the ones who had kept away from Naruto while they were younger. Not because of his parents or anyone had told him too but because he felt it was too troublesome to approach the lonely boy. Shame licked hot and fierce at Shikamaru's innards.
"Naruto, I'm…" Shikamaru began but Naruto cut him off.
"Don't Shikamaru," the blonde said. "It's all in the past and we can't change it, so don't bother. You wanted to know what caused me to change Shikamaru. It was because I found out that I have a legacy to live up too, I made a promise to someone that I would become the pillar of strength that will shoulder the burdens of the village. And to do that, I had to change how I acted if I wanted to fulfill my promise, and I never go back on my word."
"Who?" Shikamaru asked.
"Someone very important," Naruto said. "I can't tell you more. Hokage's orders." Naruto's head suddenly snapped around to face the front door. "They are here. Tsunami-san, take Inari and go upstairs, hurry."
The dark haired woman saw the complete seriousness in the blonde's eyes and nodded. She quickly ushered Inari upstairs, though the boy didn't want to go. Once the two civilians had been moved to a secure location, Naruto and Shikamaru each used the Henge to change into Tsunami and Inari. Suddenly two swords slashed through the front door. The door fell to the floor in pieces and two men entered.
"Heh, who knew that the old man had such a looker of a daughter?" one of the men grinned nastily.
"You know what Gato said, she is to come with us, unspoiled," the other man said sharply.
"Fine," the first man growled sulkily. "All right beautiful, twerp, let's go."
"Go where?" Tsunami asked, her voice trembling. "What do you want?"
"Look babe, no questions," the second man snapped. This man was thin and muscled with a dark goatee and blue tattoos on his chest. The other man was very tall and heavily muscled, much like a body builder. He was also completely clean-shaven. "Our boss wants you and the twerp to come with us. Once the ninja are all dead, the bridge builder will have no one to protect him. He'll listen to Gato if he knows what's good for him. Now let's go!"
"You're not taking my mom anywhere!" Inari shouted.
"You know Gato never said how many hostages we needed," the bald man said with an evil glint in his eyes. "Only that the daughter was unspoiled. I bet the kid's corpse will send a real strong message to Tazuna."
The second man sighed. "Fine," he said. "Just hurry up, I don't want to miss all the fun."
The bald man's face twisted as an evil smile enveloped it. Inari shivered as he stumbled backward away from the man who was now drawing his sword. The sound of metal softly scrapping against leather filled the kitchen.
"What the hell!" the man shouted as he froze, his sword half drawn. "I can't move!"
The thinner man tried to move as well but was stuck. He noticed that Inari was kneeling in front of them with a small smile on his face, his hands in a weird shape.
"Shadow Possession Jutsu, success." Inari's voice changed, growing slightly deeper and it gained a drawling quality.
"Good work Shikamaru," Tsunami said, her voice now a male's. Two puffs of smoke later revealed Shikamaru and Naruto standing in the kitchen.
"Ninja!" the thin man realized as his struggles grew stronger but it was too late as his vision went dark and he slumped to the floor, his partner next to him.
"What should we do with them?" Shikamaru asked.
"We should kill them," Naruto said flatly. "It's what they would do."
"But we are not them," Shikamaru said, his face looking slightly queasy at the thought of killing in cold blood.
"We are ninja Shikamaru," Naruto said. "Killing is part of the way of life we've chosen."
"Yes but killing in cold blood makes us just as bad as these two," Shikamaru argued. "Let's tie them up and leave their fate for the people of the Wave to decide."
"Fine," Naruto said, though he was inwardly relieved that he didn't have to kill the men in such a cold manner. He paused as his Shadow Clone traveling with the others went pop. "Let's go, the others are in trouble."
"They're here, aren't they sensei?" Sakura asked as the Konoha group and Tazuna reached the unfinished bridge. A thick mist was blocking nearly the entire bridge from sight.
"Yes, this is not a natural mist," Kakashi commented. "This is most likely the Hidden Mist Jutsu. Everyone be on guard, Zabuza is a master of the Silent Killing Technique."
A cold, cruel laugh echoed around the Konoha shinobi. "Well informed as always Kakashi," a voice said. "Hand over the bridge builder and you all can leave with your lives."
"Not going to happen Zabuza," Asuma said. "Konoha shinobi don't abandon a mission, and we sure as hell won't let you and Gato continue terrorizing this land."
The laugh turned to one of amusement. "Ah yes, the vaunted Hidden Leaf's sense of righteousness," Zabuza said. "In this world, there are those with power and those without. Those without will never be anything more than stepping-stones for those with power. Why do you think Konoha has been considered the strongest village for so long?"
"You're wrong!" Ino shouted. " The Leaf is nothing like that!"
"Such naiveté," Zabuza commented. "Let me guess girly, this is your first time outside of your village. You haven't even wet your hands in the blood of your enemies yet. We are shinobi, the weapons that the Kage point at each other. You children know nothing of the harsh realities of this world. By the time I was your age, I had already drenched these hands in blood. We are the monsters of this world, hiding in the shadows waiting for the time to strike."
As Zabuza spoke, a chill fell over the genin. They had never felt such cold that seeped into their very bones, and a bloodlust that snatched away the very air from their lungs. Ino and Sakura were struggling to stay on their feet, Choji was panting heavily while Sasuke's skin had a noticeable sheen to it."
"Looks like the only true shinobi here are Kakashi, Sarutobi, the blonde and the pineapple head," Zabuza commented. "They can stand some killing intent."
"Enough of the games Zabuza," Asuma barked. "Come out and fight us!"
"Now why would I do that? It would be so much easier to just slit all your throats," Zabuza said. "You wouldn't even know you were cut until you are already dead."
Kakashi looked to Asuma and the son of the Sandaime Hokage nodded.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Asuma shouted, exhaling a large stream of wind.
"Fire Release: Fire Stream!" Kakashi echoed. The twin jutsus collided and instead of exploding, they swirled together to form a tornado of flames that raced across the bridge evaporating the mist.
"Think that got him?" Choji asked, staring in awe at the two jonins' combination jutsu.
"I'd be a pretty piss poor shinobi if that was all it took to kill me," Zabuza commented, appearing a couple down meters away from the Konoha shinobi. And he wasn't alone, five other shinobi were standing next to the tall former Mist shinobi. One was wearing a white mask, much like an ANBU mask, a second was the Konoha missing ninja, Aoi Rokusho, but the other three were unknown to the Konoha shinobi. The three young ninja didn't look much older than the Konoha genin but wore an unfamiliar headband, the symbol was that of a musical note and all had dark camouflage pants.
"I see you brought friends," Kakashi commented lightly, giving the newcomers his patented eye-smile.
"No one said we couldn't," Zabuza answered back. "Though calling them friends would be an enormous stretch."
"Enough chit chat!" Aoi barked. "Let's wipe these weaklings out and get going."
"You certainly won't be leaving this place alive Aoi," Asuma growled. "Not after what you pulled."
"Oh come now Asuma-kun, do you really think you have chance against me while I wield this blade," Aoi chuckled, drawing a sword handle from his back. "With it, I am invincible!"
Kakashi noted that Zabuza narrowed his eyes at Aoi's bragging. 'I wonder what that's all about,' he thought.
"Look at your little genin Kakashi, Asuma, they are trembling," Aoi laughed. "They look like they are about to piss their pants, so much for the Last Uchiha and the next Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Pathetic."
Sasuke growled lowly as he drew a kunai from his pouch.
"Easy Sasuke," Kakashi said. "He's just trying to make you angry and unfocused. Control your emotions, don't let them control you."
"As much as I hate agreeing with that wannabe, its time to begin," Zabuza said, hefting his blade onto his shoulder.
"Kakashi, can you handle Zabuza? I'll take Aoi," Asuma said. "Team 19, you'll have those three ninja wearing the music headbands."
"Team 7, you have Zabuza's accomplice," Kakashi ordered. "Sakura, you have Tazuna."
"Right sensei," the six genin barked.
"Now we are talking," one of the unfamiliar ninja, a boy with dark hair and a headband much like the Nidaime Hokage, said with an arrogant air.
The two sides watched each other for a moment as a breeze blew across the bridge, acting as an unspoken starting bell. The two groups charged forward, each ninja angling for their opponent.
"Shuriken Shadow Multiplication Jutsu!" a voice rang out from behind the Konoha shinobi, a voice that they all knew very well. A shower of shuriken pierced the bridge just in front of the enemy ninja, halting their advance in its tracks.
"Naruto!" Sakura cried as Naruto and Shikamaru appeared next to their respective teams.
"So Tsunami and Inari are ok?" Kakashi asked.
"Of course, what sort of heroes would we be if we didn't rescue the women and children?" Naruto asked.
"Don't drag me into this," Shikamaru groaned. "Sensei, the two thugs that came after Tsunami and Inari said something about Gato betraying Zabuza."
"What?" Zabuza shouted. "Speak boy, what's this about that little midget betraying me?"
"Yeah, yeah, the two thugs said that the plan was for us to either kill or tire each other out and then he'd show up and clean house," Naruto said, nodding."
"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Zabuza snarled. "If Gato even tries to betray me, he'll end up being a good head shorter then he already is. Now, Hatake and Sarutobi's heads will bring quite the bounties, and who knows how much people will pay for an Uchiha."
"It's the truth," Naruto shouted. "Why would we lie to you?"
"How about the fact that you have no chance of beating all of us?" Zabuza countered. "The only threats here are Hatake and Sarutobi, the rest of you are just babies trying to play ninja. So you are trying to save yourselves by trying to trick me into letting my guard down. Now enough talking, let's fight!"
A/N: Well there's that, the newest chapter of this fine tale. Hope you all enjoyed it. Now I've been seeing some rumors about "Naruto: The Last" and it's kind of making me sick. Full disclaimer, I have had a problem with Naruto/Hinata for a while, mainly because there has been so little interaction between the two characters in the manga. To me, Hinata is a Naruto fan-girl through and through. Her main reason for trying to become strong is Naruto, sounds a lot like Sakura in how she acts toward Sasuke. Kishimoto, IMO, followed JKR in her thoughts of pairings, he didn't want the hero and lead female character to be together in fear of being too cliche, so he put the hero with a fan girl who has very little character development. A lot of Sakura haters say she abused Naruto while they were kids, and it is true, she does hit Naruto. Though it is usually when Naruto does something stupid, mirroring Tsunade and Jiraiya and a bit of Kushina and Minato.
Honestly, throughout the manga, what does Hinata bring to the table for Naruto? She tells him she loves him during the Pein battle, but does she really feel love or just obsessive admiration? She would always watch Naruto, what him struggle to get something or struggle to gain acceptance and recognition, and yet she never does anything about that. Hinata never sticks her neck out for Naruto, she didn't go comfort him when he was lonely, when he was struggling for recognition and acceptance. This rant will probably bring down the Hinata lovers on me but I am just pointing out Hinata's flaws, Sakura has her own flaws. She and Hinata are, IMO, very similar people just that Sakura had Ino help Sakura gain some confidence when they were younger, Hinata didn't get that chance. I'll most likely watch "Naruto: The Last" just to see how Kishimoto bridges the gap between chapter 699 and 700. Also, I think he wanted to balance Sakura and Hinata by letting them each have a major role in a film, and according to the Naruto wikia, Hinata gets captured by the mysterious enemy in the film and Naruto has to rescue her, just like he did in "Road to a Ninja" for Sakura. Well, there's my rant.
A/N 2: I have hand written out several chapters in advance, at this point, I am just finishing up chapter 7 but I am reaching an impasse, what to do with Sasuke? Should I have him follow his path in the manga, or do I have him blaze his own path? Let me know what you all would like to see by voting in the poll that is on my profile page. Now, I'm done, til next time
SlytherinKnight
