(A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.

I do not own Naruto.

NEW:

Also, I'm done with my NaruHina Christmas two-shot, plus lemons! I also added a third and fourth chapter of lemony goodness!

I also have a new poll up: For my next NaruHina fic, what scenario should I do?

PS: If you have trouble imagining Hinata's hair length in this chapter, use this:

http:// dark1408 .deviantart .com /art/WC-Hinata-53267403

(Take out spaces) The rest of her clothes is same as cannon

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

Thoughts or emphasis on certain words.

Demonic voice or evil tones

1/5/2010


Chapter 7: Battle on the Bridge

"Tatsu Kaen Danmaku! (Dragon Flame Blitz)!"

Kage shot multiple fireballs at Naruto and Hinata, who were doing their best to dodge. Together, Naruto and Hinata dodged the fireballs in tandem.

When the jutsu was over, Kage winced as he fell to his knees, winded from the jutsu he had just used. It actually wasn't really an original jutsu; he just used the Fireball Jutsu multiple times and called it something else.

Hinata and Naruto also fell to their knees, exhausted by their quick dashes and changes in directions. Even so, Kage noticed that Hinata still had the strength to glare at Naruto, and frowned. Even when they worked together, Hinata and Naruto still didn't get along, which was a major problem. Kage had no idea how to smooth things over between them, so he had decided to just let them work it out themselves.

Kage forced himself to stand. He would not give in to mere fatigue, and he would not let his family die as a result of laziness. "That's enough rest time." Kage's voice was rough; his throat parched.

"Nii-san, I want you to meditate for the next three hours. I read something interesting lately. Some cultures believe that fighting in a primal state is the most effective offense. Perhaps you will unlock your inner beast, and he will give you the power you need to survive." Kage said vaguely.

Naruto's eyes widened as he realized what his brother wanted. Kage wants me to try to contact the Kyuubi! Shit! Although, maybe it may be just what we need. After all, the Kyuubi no Kitsune is the most powerful of the tailed demons. I really should tell nee-chan soon. Naruto nodded, but said "What? Nii-san, why do you want me to do something useless like that?"

Kage had known Naruto long enough to know that his blonde brother understood the hidden meaning. "Because I'm your older brother, and I'm telling you to. Hinata-chan, come with me please. I have something I'd like to show you."

As Kage and Hinata left to do something else, Naruto pulled himself into a crossed-leg position and closed his eyes. With a spinning feeling, the Jinchuriki entered his mindscape.

This time, Naruto appeared right in front of his resident's cage. The Kyuubi was merrily singing a song to himself.

"Oh, looking at you, through the glass

When I don't know how much time has passed

I only know that it feels like forever

But no one ever tells you, that forever feels like home

When I'm sitting all alone

Inside your heeeeaaaaad."

Naruto cleared his throat, and the giant fox shot up, surprised. Naruto thought that if he was a human, the giant fox would be blushing.

"Oh, its you, kit. What do you want now?" The Kyuubi growled, more embarrassed than angry.

Naruto quickly explained the whole situation his team was in. It felt good to get things off his chest, and it's not like the demon fox would or could tell anyone else.

"Hmmm." The Kyuubi mused, stroking its chin with one of its nine tails. "Well, kit, I can understand where you're coming from. If it were my litermates I'd do anything I could to protect them. Very well, I'll lend you some of my chakra, but ONLY when you need it. Excessive use of my chakra will shorten my lifespan."

"Wait a minute, don't you mean shorten my lifespan? As in, not yours?" Naruto asked.

The Kyuubi gave him a peeved look. Kind of. What can you expect, he's a giant fox! "No, kit, my lifespan. I'm sealed in you, but we are constantly merging, becoming closer and closer to one entity. After you die, of course, I will be reincarnated; as such a large mass of chakra can simply not just stop existing. It will just take me a few centuries or so to reform. But when you use my chakra, it speeds up the unification process. I don't want to have to pull myself together so quickly, at least give me a few decades or so. Do you know how difficult it is to find the chakra manifestation of your spleen?"

Naruto sweatdropped. "Um, no."

"I thought not. Anyways, to draw my power is like using your own chakra, feel inside yourself and pull it out. Shape it to your will. I would advise against using my youkai to power any jutsus, though, the result will be unpredictable. Instead, draw it about yourself like a piece of clothing. Be warned, though: when you use my youkai, people will die. A lot of people, and in horrible ways."

"Don't use it if I don't have to. Got it." Naruto faded away, leaving his mindscape.

When his jailer was completely gone, the Kyuubi no Kitsune chuckled sadly. "No, kit, I don't think you do."

"Looking at you, through the glass…"


Elsewhere

(A/N: Remember, whenever Hinata calls Kage kimi she is being sarcastic, likewise with Kage saying Hinata-hime.)

"So what are we going to do, Kage-kimi?" Hinata asked.

"Well, you know how you can use chakra to stick to trees with your feet or your hands, thus improving your chakra control in those areas?" Kage started.

Hinata nodded, so Kage continued. "Well, there's absolutely no reason why you can't do it in the other tenketsu, right?"

To demonstrate, Kage jumped and turned in midair so that his back hit the tree. Focusing chakra through the tenketsu on his back, he stuck to the tree. (Imagine someone in a Velcro suit jumping onto a fuzzy wall).

Hinata couldn't help herself, she started cracking up. Her laughter came in fits, and the dark-blue haired girl wrapped her arms around her middle, fighting to prevent tears from coming out of her lavender eyes.

Kage scowled at Hinata, who kept laughing. As she caught her breath, she explained, "I'm sorry, that just seems like something…" Hinata starting laughing again. "…that Naruto would do!"

"WHAT?" Kage screamed in an outraged voice. "No, this is actually useful, unlike Oiroke no Jutsu or Harem Jutsu or some other stupid thing, watch!"

The black-haired boy began to spin around the tree, keeping a part of his body in contact with the bark at all times. Hinata stopped laughing as she realized he was using almost all of his tenketsus. "Wait a minute, you mean…"

"Yeah." Kage grinned, seeing that Hinata understood the potential of this seemingly frivolous exercise. "It trains me to release chakra from all 361 tenketsu. You know what that means, don't you?"

Hinata nodded, smiling brilliantly. "Yes. Oh, and Kage?"

"Yes?"

"What's Harem Jutsu?" Kage sweatdropped. Oh, shit.

"Um, you'll have to ask Naruto. Bye!" Kage quickly rolled up the tree and out of sight.


Naruto woke up and saw an incredibly pretty girl with long, lustrous black hair and brown eyes. Wow, she's beautiful! That's probably what nii-san would look like if he used Oiroke no Jutsu…Okay, that was a disgusting thought. Eeeeeewwwww! Why would I even think of that?

The girl looked over to him and gave him a beautiful smile. "You'll catch a cold falling asleep out here. What are you doing out here, anyways?"

"Training!" Naruto replied, as he very well couldn't say Oh, the usual, just talking with the most powerful of the nine biju. "I want to become the strongest ninja in my village!"

The girl's smile lessened a little bit. "Why do you want to become strong? Is it just because you want others to acknowledge or respect you, or because you just want more power?

Naruto frowned. The way she said it, it just seemed so hollow. "No, I need to be strong so that I can protect the people close to me. Not just my nii-san and nee-chan, but every in my village. I want power so I can become Hokage, I want to be Hokage so I can protect everyone."

The girl's smile came back with its full shine. "Good. I believe a person can only truly be strong when they are protecting something precious to them." She stood up and prepared to leave. He seems like a nice enough boy. I hope I won't have to kill him, but I will do as Zabuza-sama commands.

"Oh, and by the way……I'm a boy."

Naruto face-faulted as the … androgynous something walked away. NANI?


Last night before Zabuza attacks, Tazuna's house…

Kage sighed as he looked at Naruto and Hinata. "Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that there is a 65% chance we will successfully defeat Zabuza and his accomplice with the plan I've set up. The bad news is that there is a 43% chance one of us will die. Do you two still want to go through with this?"

Hinata was the first to answer. "Y-Yes."

Naruto nodded. "I'm not going to back out now."

Kage sighed again. "I figured you two would say that. Well, here's how this is going to go down."

"You two will lure Zabuza off of the bridge before engaging him in real combat. Naruto, you should spam as many shadow clones as possible to prevent him from getting back to the water. Without a source of water, most of his jutsu will be completely ineffective. Hinata, henge yourself into Naruto and hide among the shadow clones. If, and only if, you think you have a 100% chance of hitting Zabuza with Hakke Sanjuni Sho (Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms) and getting away, do it. It should be enough to stop him, although I wouldn't be surprised if he still has the strength to stand up."

"As for myself, Zabuza probably sees me as the biggest threat with the stunt I pulled last time. I'll stand a little bit off from you guys so that I stand out like a sore thumb. I think he'll have his assistant take me out." Kage gave a small chuckle at Naruto and Hinata's shocked faces. "Don't worry, I'm hard to kill. The thing is, we've seen a little bit of how Zabuza fights with kenjutsu and taijutsu, but we haven't seen what his friend can do. I have the best reactions and analytical skills, so I am the obvious choice to face the unknown opponent."

Kakashi winced as he sat up. He was recovered enough to hobble around on crutches, but it wasn't good enough. Kakashi could throw weapons and do jutsu, but against serious opponents, it wouldn't be any good. "Kage, are you sure you want to do that? There's a difference between being confident and being arrogant."

Kage shrugged. "Well, I have a few tricks up my sleeve, Inu-san."

Kakashi rocked back, shaken. That was what Kage had called him the very first time they met. The day Kage awakened his kekkei genkai, the one he had always denied having. Kakashi understood that Kage was tacitly acknowledging that he had a blood limit. Kakashi gave his student a small nod of trust, hoping it would be enough.

Kage continued. "Okay. So this is what we're going to do tomorrow…"


After some time…

"Okay, so everyone understands the plan?" Everyone nodded. "Good, I'm going to sleep. Hopefully not for the last time." Kage said, a troubled look on his usually stoic face.

"Hey nii-san, you're looking a little worried." Naruto taunted, trying to lighten the mood.

"Hey nii-san, the sky looked a little bit blue this afternoon." Kage replied sarcastically. He gave his friends a rare smile, something he almost never did. "Don't worry, you two. We'll get though this." Hopefully. He added in his mind as he walked away.

"Well, I'm going to turn in." Kakashi said in a depressed manner, disappointed that he couldn't do anything to help. Basically, his plan was to stay with Tazuna's family in the off chance Zabuza's employer sent thugs by. He went to his bedroom.

"Well, 'night Hinata-nee-chan." Naruto said, not expecting a response.

Hinata stared at the ground. "Naruto, wait!" Naruto, who was just about to close the door on his room, stopped and turned to look at Hinata.

"In case one of us d-dies tomorrow, I just want you to know that I…" Hinata paused momentarily. "…don't h-hate you. No, let me finish." Hinata added, seeing Naruto's opening mouth.

"In the past few weeks I've been thinking about what I felt for you back at the Academy. I realized that I was sort of like a fangirl, chasing after an image of someone who didn't like me back in that way. If…When we get through this, I'd like it if we could go back to being friends."

Naruto smiled back and walked over to Hinata. He pulled the Hyuga into a hug. "I'd like that, Hinata."


The next day…

Zabuza stared at the bridge builder and the three brats from far away. "Haku," he growled, "I'm going to cover up most of the bridge with mist. Take the boy with black hair. I'll deal with the other two and the bridge builder."

Haku nodded, slipping on his mask. "Yes, Zabuza-sama."

Tazuna was anxiously looking around the middle of the bridge. Naruto was pacing back and forth on the bridge and Hinata was sitting on the ground next to Tazuna, occasionally activating her Byakugan to check for enemies before letting it drop, not wanting to use any more chakra than necessary. Kage was sitting in a meditation pose almost fifty feet away, near the end of the almost-complete bridge.

Naruto groaned. "Come on, Kage-nii-san! You said you were absolutely certain he would come by now." He called out.

"He is, right now." Kage stated, not turning around. As if on cue, a thick mist rolled onto the bridge, obscuring the front and middle of the bridge. It only covered Hinata, Naruto, and Tazuna, as Kage was on the other side. Within seconds, the mist was so thick that visibility was less than six inches.

"How do like my Kirigakure no Jutsu?" Zabuza's disembodied voice sounded like it came from all directions. "Too bad you've obviously never seen it before."

Hinata activated her Byakugan and gasped. "Naruto-kun, the mist is heavily laced with chakra! I can't see through it."

"There are eight places on the body that will result in instant death. Throat, spinal column, lungs, liver, jugular vein, subclavian artery, heart, and kidney… so many choices. Too bad I only get to pick three."

Kage stood up, intending to go help his teammates, but the hunter nin from before was standing between him and his friends. "I'm afraid your battle is with me."

Kage cursed. At least he could still see fine in his area, even if Naruto and Hinata could not in theirs.


Tazuna's house…

Tsunami was making dinner when suddenly, two rogue samurai broke through the wall. She screamed as one of the ronin cut through the dinner table.

Inari heard his mom's scream and rushed downstairs to see two scary-looking men with swords. One man, who had an eyepatch, looked at him, then his partner. "We only need one hostage. Can I?"

"No!" Tsunami warned. "If you touch my son I'll bite my tongue off and drown in my own blood! Inari, run away! Don't worry about me!"

Inari froze as the two thugs grabbed his mother and began to walk away. His hand brushed something metallic and crusty in his pocket. He remembered what Kaiza had once said, right after he had saved Inari from drowning.


Flashback…

"I was so scared I couldn't move." Inari said, sobbing. "I wanted to save Pochi, but I don't have any courage."

Kaiza reached over and ruffled Inari's hair. "Yeah… any kid your age would be afraid. But remember this: real men live a life without regrets. If there is something precious to you protect it. No matter how weak, sad, or terrified you may be, you must always try and try. Even if you die as a result, as least you died for something…"

End Flashback

"My mother is precious to me…" Inari said under his breath.


Waraji smiled as he looked at Tsunami. "Hey, Zori, I'm sure Gato-sama wouldn't mind if we took a little bit longer to deliver the hostage." He stroked her jaw with a finger and chuckled as she turned away. "In fact, he wouldn't even have to –OW!"

He hissed as he kicked a small boy away from his leg. Waraji looked at his thigh. A kunai was stuck in his thigh, going no more than half an inch in. "Stupid fucking brat! That's it, you're dead." Waraji slashed through the boy, ignoring Tsunami's screams as the boy's head flew off, letting his body crumple to the ground… making a wooden sound?

The boy's body turned into a wooden log with the top cut off.

"Sorry I'm late." Kakashi announced, holding a frightened Inari and Tsunami. "I forgot to set the alarm clock. It was a pain in the ass getting down the stairs on crutches."

"Hah, Gato told us you could barely move!" Zori said triumphantly, drawing his own sword. "Prepare to die—Hey! Don't ignore us!"

Kakashi had opened his Icha Icha book. "Hmmm. Well, you are right in that I can barely move…"

Zori and Waraji's eyes widened as a voice behind them completed the sentence. "But who said anything about jutsus?" Kakashi murmured.


Zabuza silently cut through the blonde boy's neck and followed through with a stab to the dark-blue haired girl's heart. He liked those spots the most because they squirted out so much blood! He turned around to finish off the bridge builder, but he was already gone. Zabuza could hear his footsteps as the man fled in fear.

Beneath the bandages, Zabuza grinned. There was certainly a pleasure in the hunt. He silently followed Tazuna, trusting Haku to take care of the last genin.

Zabuza let Tazuna run all the way out of the mist, letting him think that he had somehow gotten away. He allowed the man a few more seconds of life before rushing forwards and tripping him. Zabuza relished the look of surprise on the old man's face before stabbing him through the gut.


"To take some words form a friend of mine…" Kage commented as he parried Haku's senbon with a regular kunai. "This is troublesome. I've had tons of girls chase me, but to have a guy go after me with such voracity is such a drag." Kage ducked under Haku's thrust and slammed his open left palm into Haku's chest, forcing him back. He silently wished he had drawn a kunai into both hands instead of just his right.

"You can tell I'm not a girl?" Haku asked, surprised. The two ninja began circling each other.

"Yeah. You carry your body differently than a girl would, and I'm pretty sure I didn't feel any boobs with that last hit." Kage slipped the kunai back into his pouch and drew his sword. "I'm sorry, but I need to end this now."

A close combat type, huh? Haku thought. He put away his senbon. "Indeed. I am also sorry that we have to end this now. I haven't met anyone who could keep up with my speed in a while." He put his hands together in a weird seal. "The ground around us is covered in water. Makyo Hyosho (Demonic Ice Mirrors)."

Haku made a seal Kage had never seen before and the water on the surface of the bridge began to rise up, freezing into a dome of mirrors. Kage raised an eyebrow as an image of his enemy appeared in the mirror.

Oh shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT! Think, damn it! Kage maintained his calm façade and came up with an idea. "Very interesting…… but fire melts ice, does it not?"

"Tatsu Kaen Danmaku! (Dragon Flame Blitz)!" Kage blew a fireball at each and every mirror, just incase all the images except for one was a clone.

As the smoke died down, Kage's eyes widened. Impossible…


Kakashi's shadow clone brushed dirt off of his hands before dispelling itself.

"Well, that worked better than I expected." Kakashi commented off-handedly. "I'm going to go see if I can't go help my team." Tsunami and Inari sweatdropped as the famed Copy Ninja hobbled away on his crutches.

Tazuna walked out of his house. "Can I come out now?" He asked no one in particular.


Zabuza twisted the blade in Tazuna's stomach. "It's over, old man." Surprisingly, Tazuna grinned. "No, it's just beginning."

Tazuna disappeared in a bunch of smoke, and before Zabuza could react he felt the Hyuga girl start striking at his tenketsu on his right arm, numbing the limb completely. Zabuza jumped away right as the girl entered an odd stance, not wanting to take a chance.

Zabuza cursed as he tried to make his way back to the bridge, only to be cut off by hundreds of blonde shadow clones. A couple dozen he would have no problem rushing through and slaughtering the lot of them, but with this many there'd be so many bodies Zabuza could easily lose track of an individual kunai, fist, or foot. As a professional, Zabuza knew that all it took was one mistake, sometimes. The bandaged man growled and backed up, letting the clones form a circle around him. At least this way, they could only come at him four or five at a time without getting in each other's way.

Zabuza checked his right arm and concluded it was completely useless. He would have to use his zanbatou, a weapon intended to be used with two hands, with only his left hand. Also, he couldn't even use jutsu, as even his fingers were non-responsive. He canceled the Hidden Mist jutsu to save his chakra; perhaps after a while he would regain feeling in his left hand and be able to use jutsu again.

"I have to hand it to you kids, you've got guts and the skills to back it up. Making shadow clones is a Jonin level skill. Impressive. Having one clone henged as the bridge builder? Smart. Tricking me into thinking I killed you, then letting the last clone lure me away from the water? Brilliant." Zabuza admitted softly. "You are worthy of the title ninja. I haven't had this much trouble in a long time."

Zabuza took a ready stance. "It's a shame. Given a few more years, I'm sure you three would have made it into the Bingo Books."

There was no more talking for a while as they began to fight.


Even from this far away, Kakashi could feel the use of Momichi Zabuza's infamous technique, Kirigakure no Jutsu. He just hoped Kage's plan held up.

The legendary ninja kept hobbling closer and closer.


"W-What?" Kage stammered. "Why aren't the mirrors affected?"

"This ice is no ordinary ice." Haku explained. "I have a special kekkei genkai that allows me to form ice. The ice is held together with my chakra, and cannot be melted. It cannot be copied, as I am the last person to have the Hyoton bloodline." Until I run out of chakra. Haku thought. "You may be fast, but let me show you true speed.

Suddenly, senbon came from multiple mirrors at once, and there was no way for Kage to dodge all of them. Kage blocked or dodged as many projectiles as he could at once, but gritted his teeth as senbon hit him in his right thigh, upper back, and left forearm.

So fast! The black-haired boy thought. His dark brown eyes darted around, but all the mirror images looked alike.

Kage shifted to the side as his mind registered a single projectile behind him. He twisted to the side, and the senbon aimed at his heart flew past him. I almost didn't notice that one in time. First he through a mass of senbon, so I didn't expect him to only through a single one at my back. He pulled out the three senbon in his body.

"I'm sorry." Haku repeated. "But Zabuza-sama has ordered me to kill you." He readied more senbon in his hands.


Zabuza slashed through several clones. He had long ago lost track of what wave this was. When none of the surrounding clones attacked him, the missing nin took a quick second to assess his situation again. He had received a small stab wound to his side, but it wasn't serious.

Naruto stepped forwards and opened with mouth to speak. Zabuza cut right through him, and as expected, he too was a clone.

"Were you about to tell me to surrender, that I have no chance of wining? Do you really think you can beat me?" Zabuza asked. "I may not be fighting anywhere close to my full potential, but we're still at a complete stalemate." He gave a bloodthirsty grin as he saw his subordinate activate his most prized jutsu. By the look of surprise on their faces, Zabuza could tell they saw it too.

All the Narutos' eyes widened as they saw Kage shoot a fireball at every mirror, only to have no effect.

Zabuza smiled. "You like it? Haku has a special blood limit that allows him to form unbreakable, un-meltable ice. Your friend may be fast, but against Haku's Demonic Ice Mirrors speed means nothing. Once Haku is finished with your friend, he'll come by and help me, and then you're finished. After that, I'll hunt down the girl. Not much use besides the first sneak attack, was she?"

Surprisingly, Naruto grinned. "You're wrong on two counts. First of all, Kage has his own kekkei genkai, himself. I think it will counter your friend quite well." Zabuza's eyes widened. "Second of all…"

Zabuza heard a voice call out behind him: "Hakke Sanjuni Sho (Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms)!!!"


Haku flitted from mirror to mirror at speeds untraceable to the human eye, flinging senbon at his victim. As he settled into a mirror to pull out more senbon, he looked at his opponent, expecting him to be riddled with needles.

Haku's jaw dropped in shock behind his mask. Kage had his sword out in a striking position, and slivers of metal littered the ground around him. Not one more needle had touched him. Kage looked up and Haku saw that his eyes were now completely back, except for his sclera.

"Drugs?" Haku asked, referring to his opponents's expanded pupils. "Are you using body enhancing drugs to increase your reaction time and pain tolerance?"

Kage smiled coldly. "No. You're not the only one with good genes. I call this the Kokugan."

Haku dashed to another mirror, but felt a lancing pain in his side as a thrown kunai cut him. Instead of throwing more senbon and risk another injury, Haku hid in a mirror to analyze his opponent. Interesting. His doujutsu must not only increase his field of vision, but also increase his perceptions and reaction time to the point where he can even hit me, moving at top speed! Haku noticed that the boy's eyes were flickering from their activated state to their regular appearance and back. He must be running out of chakra, but then again, so am I. The longer I use this, the slower I'll get. I'll have to end it all with just one more move.

Kage reached into his pocket for another kunai or shuriken to throw at Haku. Damn it, that was my last one! Kage cursed himself as he remembered that he only ever carried two kunai and no shuriken. Usually, when he was trying to sneak around, his weapons pouch clanked around due to all the metal in it, so Kage usually took out almost all the weapons. Great. I'm stuck to defense for now, and I'm running out of chakra.

Haku made a decision. He flitted from each and every mirror, pushing his body far past his normal limits. If he survived, Haku knew he would be bedridden for days. But for now, he threw senbon from every mirror. Haku had heard that even the legendary all-seeing Byakugan had a small blind spot. Even if this boy's doujutsu had no blind spot, there was no way he could block or dodge every needle.

In slow motion, Kage saw all the senbon flying towards him. There's no way I can block all of them. Only one thing I can do, and I'm not sure it will work… Kage quickly sheathed his sword and began spinning around like a kid who has had too much sugar. All this happened in less than a tenth of a second.

What is he doing? Haku wondered. The senbon were milliseconds away from hitting him.

There! I have enough speed now! "HAKKESHO KAITEN (ROTATION)!!!" Kage roared. Chakra poured out of each of his 361 tenketsu, and the spinning of his body made the chakra form a protective dome around Kage. Each senbon was blasted away before it could hit its target. Kage maintained the chakra output for as long as he could, which wasn't long considering how little chakra he had left. He slowly stopped spinning and saw the ice mirrors beginning to crack and melt. His opponent fell to the ground.

So this is the end. I ran out of chakra and the mirrors collapsed. My most powerful jutsu was rendered useless by a genin. Haku thought sadly. I am sorry that I could not be a better tool, Zabuza-sama.

Kage looked at his downed opponent, feeling pity for some reason. Regardless, he drew his sword and hacked downward, severing Haku's head from his body. The black-haired boy looked down at his enemy's corpse, feeling the familiar mix of slight regret and satisfaction of the kill. He wiped his blade on the boy's clothing before walking back to his teammates.


Zabuza grunted in shock as the Hinata closed off 32 of his main tenketsu. The instant her last strike was finished, Hinata jumped away, releasing her henge, and Naruto's clones grabbed Zabuza who growled. If it weren't for everything, Zabuza could easily have thrown the clones off of him, but as it was, Zabuza was barely standing.

In horror, Zabuza heard a voice behind him. "Sorry I'm a little late, the road of life decided to almost sever my ACL tendon." Kakashi announced. "Let me introduce you to a little something I came up with in my ANBU days." The white-haired ninja went though only three seals: Ox. Rabbit. Monkey.

Chakra began to gather in his palm. There was a pop felt in the air, and the chakra started manifesting a physical appearance. Soon, it looked like Kakashi was holding pure lightning in his hand.

"Ordinarily, I'd need some speed to get any kind of penetrating power." Kakashi said. "But right now, you're a sitting duck; I can just hit a very vital spot." Zabuza tried to struggle out of the clones' grips, but couldn't.

"Raikiri (Lightning Blade)!" Kakashi brought the jutsu up and slammed it into Zabuza's throat. The electricity sizzled through the missing nin's throat.

"And so died the Demon of the Mist." Kakashi said melodramatically before he fell to his knees. I definitely pushed myself too hard there. Maybe I should have let Naruto finish him. Nah, if sensei knew I willingly let his son do that he'd come back from the dead and kill me himself.

"Is everyone okay?" Kakashi choked out.

"Kage-kun!" Hinata suddenly thought about her other friend. She looked over to see Kage spinning rapidly in a familiar fashion. Is he really…

"Kaiten!" Kage roared, executing the Hyuga's ultimate defense. Hinata and Kakashi stared in shock, while Naruto was simply impressed because he didn't know what it was. Kakashi fainted, thinking: Hinata's father would have an apoplectic fit if he learned that an outsider could execute the Hyuga clan's techniques.

The three ninja saw Kage's summary execution of his opponent.


Kage walked over to his teammates. He fell into a sitting position, Hinata and Naruto doing the same.

"You guys holding up alright?" Kage asked in a calm monotone, as if they hadn't just faced two missing nin.

"I'm around halfway out of chakra, but I have absolutely no wounds. Everyone else fine?" Hinata felt obliged to ask in the awkward silence.

"I'm mostly fine, but I'm almost completely out of chakra. Making all those clones and sustaining them, and holding a henge all day really took a lot out of me." But at least I didn't have to use the Kyuubi's chakra. Naruto added mentally.

"I have stab wounds in my legs, back, and arms, but I'll probably be fine." Kage said, pulling out a lose senbon that had gotten stuck in the folds of his clothing. "Nothing vital was hit, no muscle tissue badly damaged. I'm pretty low on chakra, too. I should have only used one fireball to test the mirrors instead of shooting a fireball at all of them." He casually used the senbon to clean out the tiny grooves in his sword before sheathing it.

"Oh, what was that last thing, you did, nii-san?" Naruto asked suddenly in childish manner. "That was freaking awesome—"

"Freaking awesome indeed." A man's voice said. Kage's sword was out in the blink of an eye, and the trio looked over to see a short man in a suit, backed up by several hundred thugs, rapists, murderers, and other hired criminals.

"I am impressed that three children like you could defeat a man like Zabuza Momochi and his assistant. His assistant alone incapacitated two of my best men in a blink." The man took off his glasses and stored them away in a pocket. "You may know of me. I am Gatou, of Gatou Shipping Corporation. I'm always looking for fresh blood and new talent to join me. Would you like to live a life of luxury in exchange for me occasionally calling on your services? So what do you say?"

"What are your intentions with the people in this village?" Kage called out, trying to stall for time.

Gatou frowned. "Well, I intend to wipe it off the map. The people of the Land of Waves are no longer of any use to me."

"We're never work for a murderous bastard like you." Naruto called out, forcing himself to his feet.

"Stupid nii-san." Kage growled, also coming to his feet. "Now he'll want to kill us now. You could have at least stalled for a while so we could regain a tiny bit of strength."

Strength… Naruto remembered that the Kyuubi had told him that many people would die if he used the demonic chakra. But if he didn't stop the crowd of thugs, the people of the Land of Waves would die instead, and Naruto, Kage, Hinata, and Kakashi would die with them. It was better for these lowlifes to die instead.

Naruto took a few steps towards the crowd. "I'm going to use it." He said, more to himself than to anyone else.

Gato laughed. "Kid, what do you think you can do? You may have helped killed the Demon of the Bloody Mist, but you're just one little brat against hundreds of well-armed men."

Naruto closed his eyes and reached deep inside himself. True to his word, the Kyuubi gave Naruto youkai, and an orange aura began to build around Naruto, forming two ears and a single tail. Naruto's eyes turned red and his pupils became slits; his whiskers became incredibly defined. Naruto could feel his fatigue disappearing, and what seemed like unlimited strength take its place.

"I'm going to show you a different kind of demon…" Naruto growled. He clenched his hands; his fingernails had lengthened into claws, each as deadly as a kunai.

Hinata gasped in fear at the sinister aura Naruto was letting off. "K-Kage-kun, w-wh-what i-is h-h-happening?"

Kage ignored her question. "No matter what you see here, remember that we are your brothers and your friends. We will protect you no matter what. Always remember that."

Speechless, Hinata could only nod. Kage and walked next to Naruto, who glanced over.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto growled.

Kage casually picked at the drying blood in the etches of his kunai-katana with his fingernail. He looked at one side: it had an etching of a nine-tailed fox. The Kyuubi no Kitsune. Kage turned the blade over to study the other side: it had an etching of a dragon spewing flames from its mouth.

"I'm your nii-san." Kage answered. "Do you ever have strange dreams, nii-san? Not the puberty dreams, and not the aspiration dreams, but really odd, inexplicable dreams?" Kage asked casually, and then continued without waiting for an answer. You know, I always thought we were brothers in more than just one way."

Kage reached into himself and tried to draw out chakra. He felt himself scraping the bottom of the well, and came up with nothing. Kage focused, delved deeper into his core and tapped into a strange, inhuman chakra.

A red aura surrounded the black-haired boy, and his body began to change. Two bulges formed in the back of his shirt. There was a tearing sound, and two scaled wings ripped through the red t-shirt and black vest, tearing the clothing to shreds. Kage, now shirtless, flexed the wing and studied it. It looked like a bat wing, but it had crimson scales, with semi-translucent membranes. At the end of the wing there was a projection of bone sticking out. It looked like a white, biological blade, around a foot long. Kage estimated the length of one of the wings to be around 10 feet.

Kage experimented with his new muscles, and the wingtip flicked out in a perfect stabbing motion. Excellent. Kage felt the strength this odd chakra was giving him. He tried to focus the chakra into his hand, forgetting that he had his sword in his hand. The edges of his kunai-katana began to glow red. Oops… Suddenly, an exact copy of his sword appeared in the air in front of him, and Kage instinctively caught it in his left hand. He looked at the blade. On one side of the blade there was the image of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

What the hell…? Kage thought. He looked back at the blade in his right hand. It had the etching of the fire-breathing dragon. The other side was blank.

Weird. It's like my sword just split itself in two. Kage thought.

It did, hatchling. A voice sounded in his head.

Kage was at least smart enough not to reply out loud. What? How? Who are you? He thought.

We'll have a nice, long conversation later, hatchling. If you survive. The voice replied.

Kage looked over to Naruto, who was staring at him with a loose, fanged jaw. "What are you looking at? Never seen a guy grow wings before?" He scowled.

Naruto shook his head. "We are going to have a talk, after this."

Kage shrugged. It seems like I'm going to have a lot of those. He activated his Kokugan and took a ready stance with his twin blades.

"K-Kill them!" Gato ordered, obviously nervous at the kids' new appearances. The mob rushed forwards. The men rushed forwards, and Kage and Naruto quickly lost sight of each other in the rush of bodies.


Naruto eviscerated men left and right, his shorter stature gave him the perfect angle. All around him, men fell dying to the ground as their guts met the floor. Most of the men didn't have any sort of armor on, and even those who did met the same fate, the protective leather or metal sheared through by the youkai enhanced claws.

Naruto laughed and licked him lips, tasting the warm, delicious blood. It tasted salty, with a hint of copper. He took pleasure in the thugs faces as he ripped through them; his orange jacket had long been stained red.

"Hey, nii-san, I bet I can get more than you!" He called out. Naruto winced as someone stabbed him in the back with a knife. He spun and cut through the man's trachea, and the poor guy slumped to the ground, his head handing on by a thin thread of flesh and bone. As he spun, the knife was ripped out of Naruto's back. The blonde jinchuriki growled in pain at the wound, but it healed nearly instantly.

For a moment, Naruto was worried for his brother. Kage did not have a healing factor, like Naruto did. But then Naruto head a voice.

"You wish! I'm already at 82!" Kage called out.

Naruto frowned as he ducked under an axe swing and hamstrung its wielder.

"What? I'm already at 103!" Naruto shouted truthfully. He smiled as he heard his brother curse.

The blonde boy fought on.

104…

105…


Kage sneered at the men around him. They looked at him with fearful eyes, staring at his enhanced own. Still, they attacked him with fervor, only to die at the end of one of his four blades.

This is too easy. Kage thought. And really, it was. These common criminals were slower than an Academy student, and with Kage's Kokugan active he could easily keep track of their movements and react accordingly. He dealt death in any and all directions. Enemies in front of him would be slashed to ribbons by his swords and enemies behind him and off to the side were quickly impaled. By flicking out a wing, Kage could quickly stab an enemy as far as ten feet away and retract it in an instant. Kage winced as someone slashed at his wing with a knife, but the blade failed to cut through the scales. Kage twisted and decapitated the shocked cutpurse, and called out:

"274!" Kage yelled and waited for his brother's reply. "How about Gatou's worth 100?"

"Sounds good! 312!" He heard Naruto scream. Kage frowed. Well, not everyone could just rush in and go berserk. Kage knew that if he was wounded, he wouldn't be able heal at the advanced rate that Naruto enjoyed. A single lucky wound, if serious enough, would kill him. Kage couldn't just wade into combat; that was like testing the depth of water with your head instead of your toe. As a result, he killed his enemies at a slower pace than Naruto.

Pffft. Some people get all the lucky breaks. Kage's left wing shot out and impaled a bearded, brown haired man through the eye. The bone-blade was just long enough to puncture through the back of his skull and poke out the back of his head. With a wet squelch, Kage pulled the wing back in before anyone could attack it. And some people just die.

275…

276, 277…

Well, at least this crowd is starting to thin.

278…


Hinata popped a soldier pill into her mouth, ignoring the bitter taste. She stood over her sensei, attacking any of Gatou's men that weren't involved in the melee with Naruto and Kage. She struck at vital organs, steeling herself against the death she knew she was causing. Left and right, men fell around her clutching at their organs. Without help, they would die. The men had no chance against the Hyuga heiress. They might be strong, but they were no match Hinata's ninja speed. All it took was a slight brush from two of her fingers, and their death was assured.

The girl narrowed her lavender eyes when she heard her brothers calling out numbers like it was some sort of game. Hinata realized it was their way of desensitizing themselves from death; it gave them a cold, statistical outlook and allowed them to continue.

I guess I'll do that as well. 27…

28…

Suddenly, Hinata tripped over a corpse. She rolled onto her back and saw a man raising a rusted sword above his head, ready to strike down.

The sword may have been in poor condition, but it didn't matter. Hinata knew that she wouldn't be able to dodge in time.


Naruto plunged his clawed hand through a man's chest. It was rather sad, really. Naruto could see the shock in his victim's face. He couldn't have been more than 16.

Naruto dropped the corpse and looked around for more foes. There were none. He looked over, and 30 feet away Kage cut a man in half at the waist.

Kage looked around, and seeing that there were no more enemies he relaxed. His wings, blood red for more than one reason, began to shrivel up. They sunk into his back, merging with his skin, and disappeared. The blade in his left hand also disappeared, and Kage fell to the ground, severely weakened even though he didn't even have a scratch. Naruto ran over to his brother and turned him face up.

"Well, that was fun." Kage rasped, his voice rough. "I got 426. You?"

Naruto was glad that his brother seemed to be unharmed, but he wasn't sure with all the blood he was covered in. "525. Kicked your ass all over this bridge."

Kage's eyes widened. "Behind you!" He croaked.

Naruto had no time to react as a blade was pushed though his chest, coming out of the upper right portion of his torso. His body twitched as he slumped to the ground.

Gatou removed the blade, coming out from the end of his cane, from the blonde boy. The shipping magnate stepped on Kage's blade when he saw him reaching for it. He shook a finger at Kage. "Can't have that, can we? You've caused me a great deal of trouble, brat." Gatou said furiously.

Gatou screamed and lost his balance when he felt claws sink into his ankle, right down to the bone. "My heart is on my left side, dumbass." Naruto growled, his demonic cloak fading away.

Kage whipped his sword out from under Gatou's feet and plunged it into his chest. Unlike Gatou, he didn't miss the heart. Kage passed out, tired from the fight and his strange transformation. Naruto soon joined his brother in unconsciousness, needing rest as his body healed itself.


Hinata waited for the sword to fall and end her life.

It never did. A crossbow bolt plunged into the man's right eye, penetrating all the way through his brain. The man fell backwards, dead.

Hinata rolled over and got to her feet to see a stunned Inari, an empty crossbow in his hands. Behind him was almost the entire population of the Land of Waves, each ready to fight to the death to protect their beloved home. They were armed with kitchen knives, construction tools, and fishing nets, but they were serious.

"Holy shit…" One of the men murmured as he saw the bridge covered in corpses. "I knew there would be fighting, but this… is something else."

Hinata scrambled over to Inari and hugged him. She knew what the first kill felt like. "Thank you, Inari-kun. You saved my life."

The boy gave her a small smile, but couldn't seem to find words.

"Ironic, isn't it?" Tazuna, who was holding a handax, commented. "The day we get the courage to defend ourselves is the day we no longer need to."

"No, grampa." Inari suddenly spoke up. "We will always need to be ready to defend ourselves. We can never let our home ever sink this low again."

The crowd nodded at the child's wise words. Suddenly, Hinata turned around. "Naruto-nii-san! Kake-kun!" She ran over to the bridge, and shouted over her shoulder. "Please get Kakashi-sensei back to the village, he's just exhausted."

The crowd slowly began to disperse, going back to their homes now that they knew their village was safe. About a tenth of the crowd stayed on the bridge to see the massacre and to check over the bodies. Hinata just cared about finding Naruto and Kage.

"Byakugan!" Hinata used the last of her chakra to flicker on her Byakugan; it failed a few seconds later. However, she saw what she needed to saw. She ran over to the side.

Tazuna and his friend, Giichi, helped Hinata lift other bodies to the side, eventually revealing two blood covered boys. Both were unconscious. Giichi's eyes widened. "These two boys slaughtered all these men? These two can't just be regular kids."

Hinata shook her head, remembering Naruto and Kage's previous appearances. You're closer to the truth than you realize. "No. They're ninja."

At the sound of Hinata's voice, Kage mumbled. "Heh, I beat Naruto… I got more…526." He fell back into unconsciousness.

Tazuna nodded his head in solemn respect.

"From now on, Team 7 will always be known to the people of the Land of Waves as Kakashi of the Red Eye, Naruto of the Red Bridge, Kage of the Red Wave, and Hinata of the Red Road." Tazuna declared solemnly. "You will always be heroes to us. Come on, let's get these two back to the village and check them over for injuries."


A/N: Okay, just so you get it Kakashi is named after his Sharingan eye, Naruto is named because he spilled so much blood that the bridge appeared red, the blood of Kage's victims spilled over the edge of the bridge and turned the water red, and Hinata killed hers on the road in front of the bridge.

Here's an Omake!

Omake- Please remember, Omake are separate from the plot, they have no effect on the storyline. For future events, pretend like the Omake never happened.

"Nee-chan, can we go into town?" Naruto whined. "Pleeeeeeeease?"

"Fine." Hinata said, not really paying attention.

"Don't even ask my opinion." Kage grumbled.

The three friends walked into town, and once again, Kage and Naruto were arguing. Hinata rolled her eyes. Of all things, they were arguing who was sexier.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto said. "They only reason why the girls back in Konoha liked you was because you were dark and mysterious. Whereas I, on the other hand, am the pure essence of male attraction."

Kage scoffed. "Please, don't make me laugh. I bet I haven't lost my touch, I can still get any girl I wanted."

"Prove it."

Kage loosened his hair and adopted a cocky swagger. He walked up to a pretty blonde girl and activated his Bishonen mode. He pulled out a red rose from his vest and drew his sword, hiding the sheath.

Kage offered the rose to her. "Excuse me, miss, but I saw this rose and I plucked it to give it to the first beautiful woman I saw." Speechless, the girl accepted the flower. "Incidentally, I seem to have lost my katana sheath."

Kage gestured to his hip area. "Would you happen to have something I could sheath my sword in?" The dark-brown eyed boy looked at the girl suggestively, leaning his hips forward enough so that she got his meaning but not enough that she felt uncomfortable.

A trickle of blood seeped from the poor girl's nose, and she sank to the floor, unconscious. Kage caught her and set her in a nearby chair, then walked back to his friends.

"Just the right mixture of romance and danger." Kage declared. "Beat that." He dared his brother.

Naruto smirked. "No problem. Hinata-chan, can you please pretend to hit me?"

Hinata nodded and slammed her leg into Naruto's crotch. He crumpled to the ground. Kage just kept walking, and Hinata ran to catch up with him.

Naruto groaned, and a pretty blonde girl with green eyes ran to him. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" She said, shaking Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto moaned and opened his eyes. "I see an angel, so I must be in heaven." He said, and pulled the girl into a mind-numbing kiss. When they finally broke apart, Naruto grinned. "You wouldn't happen to be a virgin, also, would you?" The girl had a nosebleed and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She passed out, too.

Naruto grinned and got up, limping over to Kage and Hinata, who were watching. "Tada! That's the 'playing the unfortunate guy' act. But really, Hinata-chan, did you have kick me in the crotch?"

Hinata glared at him. "Yes. And for future reference, this is how you do it."

Hinata activated her Bishojo mode, taking off her jacket to reveal a black, form fitting t-shirt. Every male in eyesight stared at her well-developed figure before having rocket-jet nosebleeds and passing out.

The dark-blue haired girl shrugged at everyone's reactions before putting her jacket back on. "That's the 'eye-candy' routine, and I still kept my shirt on. See?" She told Naruto and Kage, but they were out cold on the ground, blood coming from their noses also.

Flames danced in Hinata's lavender eyes as she prepared to Juken strike Naruto and Kage in a place that would render them sterile.


High-pitched screams were heard throughout the Land of Waves.


A/N: Fin.

We all know what Naruto holds, but who or what was the odd voice that spoke to Kage? Find out next chapter, and in the meantime, review!

Remember, all the thugs on the bridge had absolutely no weapons training. They were just regular people with weapons, so its not really surprising that genin could defeat them.

Love it or leave it, but you gotta review it! I mean, hell, you've obviously spent some time reading it. Can't you spend 30 seconds to review it?

Or is that too 'troublesome' for you?

Shikamaru: I resent that.

Jaytang: Shut up. No one cares what you think.