Naruto stared out over the water, a smile on his face. "Beautiful."

"I couldn't agree more. No matter how many times I see it, it always takes my breath away."

Naruto turned to see Anko. "This place reminds me of my mother's eyes. She would have loved it here."

Tazuna walked over. "My friend should be here soon to ferry us across." They heard the sound of a motor moving closer. "Speak of the devil."

The man's small boat was barely big enough for them all to sit in, but it was the best they could hope for. As they got closer to land, the mist became increasingly thicker. They docked the said farewell to the ferryman. As they walked, Naruto was on edge, he could feel a tremendous chakra source, and it was moving closer all the time. With his increased hearing he picked up a whistling sound. "Get down!" He pulled Tazuna to the ground as a large sword flew overhead.

He looked up at the sword to see a man in blue striped pants, white and black arm covers, and a strap of leather wrapped around his neck and connected to his pants. "At least someone in your group noticed. I was hoping that it wouldn't be that easy." The turned around showing his Hidden Mist headband and that lower half of his face was wrapped in bandages. "Ah, Sharingan Kakashi. For someone of your reputation, you don't seem to be worthy of it."

"Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist."

"So you have Anko Mitarashi with you as well, I'm flattered, but I'm also insulted that you brought two weak genin." Naruto burst into flames and Zabuza started looking around for him. "It seems I already scared one away."

He was hit in the mid-back and sent crashing to the ground. "Who are you calling weak?!"

Zabuza slowly got up. "I'm impressed kid, I didn't even know you were there, but you don't have what it takes to be a ninja, if you did, you would have killed me."

"I didn't want to kill you, because if I did, it wouldn't have been any fun." He stepped on to the tree and kick Zabuza's sword free. He grabbed the handle and jumped off the tree, landing in front of Zabuza. "Here catch." He threw him the sword and pull Shin'en.

Zabuza laughed. "You're a strange one kid, I'll enjoy killing you." They ran towards each other, Zabuza swinging overhead and Naruto bring his to block. Naruto punch him in the side and spun around to his backside where he swung at hit right shoulder. Zabuza spun in pace and smashed his sword against Naruto's, sending it off course. "You're not bad kid, but you're no match for me, I'm one of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu."

"Big deal, you may be called a demon, but you're still only human. Demons are powerful, and immortal, you aren't." Naruto pulled Shin'en upwards in an arch only for Zabuza to step back and take a swing at his mid-section. Quickly drawing Gesshoku, he stopped the attack. While Gesshoku was blocking Zabuza's sword, Naruto couldn't use Shin'en without being cut or stabbed by his katana. He put Shin'en back on his back and gripped Gesshoku with both hands.

When Naruto was doing this, Zabuza had moved his sword and was going for another overhead swing, but Naruto sidestepped it and plunged Gesshoku into his left shoulder. Zabuza stepped back, removing it from him, and leaped on to the surface of the nearby lake as Naruto sheathed his sword. "I under estimated you kid, but I'm going to end it now." He started doing hand signs. "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu."

A large serpent-like dragon of water rose from the lake and stared down with glowing yellow eyes. It charged Naruto as he made some seals as well. "Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu." He took a deep breath and when he released it, a flame dragon charged towards the water one Zabuza created. They collided and were canceled out as the water turned to steam. Neither could see through it, but Naruto could sense that Zabuza was using chakra. It finally dissipated to show an army of Zabuza clones. "I can do that too." He made hand seals and a fourth of the number that Zabuza had appeared next to Naruto.

He waved his hand and the clones ran out onto the water. Zabuza's clones met them and while the clones did battle, Naruto made his way towards Zabuza. "I don't need as many clones as you because mine are special, they can take a lot of damage without disappearing." One by one, Naruto's clones join him, most bruised and bloody. When they were all with him, he made them disappear. "I can already hear what people will say when they hear one of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu was killed by a genin." His right forearm started to glow as he moved closer. "This is where you die."

Naruto was hit from behind and was sent into the water. When he surfaced, Zabuza's hand was in his face and the water formed a sphere around him. He saw another Zabuza no far from them. "You missed one."

From inside the sphere, Naruto was laughing. "You think this can hold me?" He tried to move, but the water was heavy.

"You were saying." From the shore, three giant fireballs came flying towards him. Zabuza mad two more clones and they jumped in front of them. "I didn't forget about you three, I'll be there to kill you in a moment, but I have to finish with this one first."

Another water dragon rose from the lake and charged toward Zabuza. He used his sword to slice the dragon down the middle, causing the water to fall back into the lake. While he was doing so, he failed to notice that Kakashi was running towards him. When he did, he created another army of clones. When it was clear that Kakashi was having trouble dealing with all of them at once, Anko went to help him, leaving Sasuke to guard Tazuna. Before she got there, Kakashi used Shadow clones to help defeat Zabuza's clones, but Zabuza continually made more. Zabuza watch as his clones did battle with Kakashi, his clones, and Anko.

Naruto had tried again and again to escape, but to no avail. 'Only one thing left to do.' "Anko, get them out of here! I'm going to do what it takes to stop him! This is gonna be big!" The glow spread over his whole body. Anko and Kakashi both knew what that meant and ran to the shore where they grabbed Sasuke and Tazuna before using Shunshin to get away. "Boom." A white light engulfed a fifty-foot radius and lingered there for a few minutes before slowly moving back to the center. Naruto looked around, he was standing on the lake and everything was the same. Zabuza screamed in agony with his hands over his eyes.

"You brat, you blinded me!"

"I meant to kill you. Instead of a boom I got a flash. If you ever see again, you'll be seeing dots for weeks. Fortunately for you, I'm not going to let you live that long." Turning his left forearm black, he reached into Zabuza's chest to crush his heart, but when he placed his hand on it, three needles stuck into Zabuza's neck and his heart stopped beating. Naruto's hand came out of his chest when he fell into the water.

A masked ninja appeared next to the body and picked it up. Naruto had been too occupied to sense this other chakra source, but he now memorized the feel of it. This ninja wore the Mist symbol on the mask, and wore a greenish-brown bodysuit and the same color sash tied around the aquamarine shirt that was on top of the bodysuit. "Thank you for your assistance, I've been tracking him for a while now, but I could never find the right moment to strike."

"So he was a missing-nin, those other two probably were too. In any case, you're welcome, it was fun fighting him, but I would have like to killed him myself."

"If you'll excuse me, this body hold many secrets and must be disposed of." The ninja started walking away, but turned back near the trees. "May I ask the name of the one who defeated the Demon of the Hidden Mist?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"I'll remember that name." With that the hunter ninja disappeared into the trees. Naruto turned around and headed towards where he felt his teams chakra signatures.

'I don't trust that one Kit.'

'Neither do I, but I felt his heart stop.'

'A jolt of electricity could start it again.'

'We'll just have to keep a look out for those two.'

'Agreed, but be sure to relay my opinion to your team. That way they will also be keeping an eye out.'

'Not such a good idea for Kakashi, he only uses one.' Kyuubi chuckled inside his cell.

--------------------------

Thirty feet from the battlefield, Naruto found them all sitting down rubbing their eyes. He smiled at them. "Be honest, who can't see." Kakashi raised his hand. "You looked back didn't you?" He shook his head, but Anko, Sasuke, and Tazuna nodded. "At least it didn't go like I thought it would, if it had you'd all be dead. Apparently, covering my whole body only blinds instead of exploding."

"So did you finish him off?"

"I would have, expect a Mist hunter ninja got him first. I think he's dead because I felt his heart stop, but there's a small chance that he's alive. If he is, the hunter ninja is work with him and judging by the chakra, this one is somewhere between high chunin and mid jonin level. I couldn't really get a good reading, I think they was suppressing only a small amount, almost like they wanting me to know. Zabuza was definitely mid jonin, and his sword skills far surpass mine, I got lucky hitting him that once."

"Nice work kid, you have the makings of a great ninja. Let's get moving, we need to get Tazuna home. Someone will have to help Kakashi." Naruto said he would, but Kakashi wouldn't let him and Sasuke ended up doing it.

"My village isn't far from here, my daughter will be overjoyed to meet you all." Tazuna led them through the streets of the small village. People were everywhere, willing to work for food or anything else. The small shops and booths had little to no inventory and everyone had a gloom about them.

"You weren't kidding, this is horrible."

"That bridge is our only hope. If I can finish it, trading with other villages will become easier and the Land of Waves will thrive again."

"Why have you never risen up against Gato? Surely there are more citizens than his thugs."

"There are, but they're fishermen and shop owners, none of whom have training to fight."

"Still, you shouldn't just roll over and die. No matter how you justify it, it's cowardice. Men like Gato are tyrants, if even one child stood up to him, others would follow their example and that is what he fears most."

"The last person to stand up to him was brutally murdered in front of the village. When he died, so did the people's courage."

"As sad as that is, he died for what he believed to be right, he was a hero and died a hero's death, there is no greater honor."

"There was no honor in his death!"

"A true hero gives his life to help others. He died for you and your people in hopes that someone would finish what he started. What's funny is that it seems a hero's last wish is always easily ignored." Naruto turned a started to walk away.

"Where are you going?"

"To train, I'll be back before long."

Though he couldn't see it, he could hear what was going on. "Anko, are you really going to let him go off on his own?"

"It's not like I could stop him, besides, he can take care of himself just fine and if he does need help, he can always summon something."

'Are you sure it's wise to wonder off on your own Kit. I know you have excessive chakra reserves, but even you have limits.'

'I know, but I need to blow off some steam or I'm going to explode.'

'Alright, just don't over do it. If something happens, no one will be there to help you.'

Naruto walked into the forest a little ways and pulled out a scroll. He looked up and down the list of contents until he found what he was looking for. He bit his thumb, drawing blood and wiped it across the name of the item. In a puff of smoke, a bag of rubber balls sat before him. He shook his head. 'Yondaime sure had a thing for childish objects and making them pop.'

He picked up one of the balls and started spinning his chakra in it like he had the balloon. When nothing happened, he pushed more chakra into it. As he added more, it started shaking and he kept adding more. The ball sprung a leak and deflated. "Damn it." Although it hadn't even been a week since his clone read it, he went to Yondaime's scroll. He looked over the step he was on, he was a little agitated that he had done what it said to, and the last word was added like an after thought, 'Concentrate.'

'Concentrate, yeah that's helpful, concentrate on what?'

'Maybe the ball, try concentrating on only the ball and your chakra like you did the rock.' Naruto put the scroll back and grabbed another ball. He blocked everything but the ball and his chakra, again the ball just sprung a leak. 'Kit, what is at the center when you spin your chakra?'

'Nothing I guess, I think it's hollow.'

'Condense your chakra there as tight as you can.'

He grabbed yet another ball and tried again. Muttering 'concentrate, over and over again, he started to spin his chakra, while at the same time filling the void in the middle with more. The ball started to glow and his eyes widened. The explosion set him hurtling into the trunk of a tree where he slid down to the ground unconscious.

He woke up in front of Kyuubi's cell. "My head is gonna split open when I get up. Dad, did I use Meian or what, the ball was glowing."

Kyuubi was laughing. "No Kit, that wasn't Meian, you used quite a bit of your human chakra and it made it glow. It's quite impressive, most can't make their chakra visible."

"At least I made it pop."

"Oh yes Kit, you demolished it, I doubt you'll find any pieces." His head turned suddenly. "Kit, you need to get back out there, someone's coming." Kyuubi's red chakra shot from the cage and pushes Naruto back into the conscious world.

His eyes slowly open to see a girl in front of him wearing a pink kimono with red spirals all over it, a band around the neck, and carrying a basket. "Are you alright?"

He smiled a bit. "Yeah, just resting."

"You really shouldn't, there are many dangers out here."

"I can take care of myself. Why are you out here by yourself?"

"I was gathering herbs, could you help me, it would go faster if you did."

"Sure, I just need to know what I'm looking for." She reached into the basket and handed him a flower. "These are for medical treatment, hope it's nothing serious."

"Nothing too bad."

"That's good, it would be a pity if Zabuza died before I got to fight him again." She jumped back from him. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. I could sense who you were before you spoke, I'd still like to help you gather these."

"Why, we are your enemies."

"So, enemies can become allies when it suits them. And Zabuza gave me the best fight yet, I have to repay him for that."

"I still don't trust you."

"Good, you really shouldn't normally, but I'm anything but normal." He stood up and walked over to her. "Shall we?" She nodded. "Alright, follow me, I saw a field of these on my way here." Her hand twitched near her side. "I told you, I have no quarrel with you at the moment, and as a show of good faith I'll have you hold on to my weapons."

He pulled out an empty scroll and sealed both of his swords, his kunai pouch, shuriken holder, and two more kunai he hid up his sleeves. He handed it to her and smiled. "If you don't mind me asking, something's been bugging me since we met before, are you a boy or girl?"

"Which do you think?"

"I would normally be able to tell by your scent, but yours is strange, you smell of blood and seawater, but it's mostly overpowered by the smell of snow and ice these hide the distinct scent of gender. If I had to guess I would say a girl, your voice is feminine, as is your face, but your body type says boy, though you could have a wrap around your chest. I not really sure if I hope you're a boy or girl, if you're a boy, I would have no problem with fight you, it's just not right fight a girl even of they are as strong or stronger. But if you are a boy, I'm gonna feel really weird, because I think your beautiful."

He smiled at the sight of the blush. Reaching behind the head, the band was removed, revealing no Adam's apple. "You were right, I'm a girl. My name's Haku."

"Seeing as how you already asked my name, I see little point of repeating it. The field is just ahead." When they arrived, Sasuke was walking towards them. Haku gasped and stared angrily at Naruto. "Hey Sasuke, what are you doing here?"

"I came to get you, who's that."

"She's was looking for some herbs and I said I help."

"Well aren't you a nice guy, but we have to get back now."

"I'll catch up, I'll just need to show her where I saw the herbs."

"Don't take long, Anko's pissed as it is."

He shuddered. "I'll be there shortly." Sasuke turned around and walked back into the forest. "Sorry Haku, I didn't know he'd be here."

"I more surprised you didn't tell him."

"If I did, you wouldn't be able to patch up Zabuza, like I said before, I want to fight him again."

"Why?"

"Because I admit he's a better fighter than me, he far surpasses me as a swordsman, his jutsu are powerful, the only thing I have him beat at is stamina. Please tell him what I said, and that it was an honor to fight someone of his caliber." She nodded and handed him back his weapon scroll. "Thank you, but I have to get going, I've learned from experience that it's not wise nor healthy to keep Anko waiting." He smiled and waved to her as he left.

Deep within her mind a might voice sounded. 'Kyuubi.'

---------------------------------

"It about damn time brat, what the hell were you doing?"

"Helping a girl find some herbs. That what he said anyway."

"And it's true. She came across me while I was resting from training and I said I'd help."

"Whatever, since we have reason to believe that Zabuza is alive, we're going to train Sasuke in chakra control, since you know all the ones I do, I leave it up to you what you do."

"I'll protect Tazuna while he's at the bridge and go to train while you guys are here. If Zabuza shows up, I fairly confident that it won't be for a few weeks, but Gato might send others."

"Why not for a few weeks?"

"His wounds would need to heal, and like Kakashi, he's been blinded. His will probably last longer than Kakashi as he looked straight at the center of the flash."

"Alright, we start tomorrow, for now get some rest." Unfortunately for them, Naruto and Sasuke had to share a room while Anko and Kakashi each got their own.

'Hey dad, did you sense something strange about Haku?'

'She was far stronger than we first thought, she may be able to rival you. You need to tell them this.'

'Maybe in a few days, I don't want them to know it was her.'

'They'll find out sooner or later.'

'I know, and when they do I can play dumb. I got a long day ahead of me, good night dad.'

'Good night Kit.'