"Yuuki-san," Pakkun suddenly said after hours of silence, "how come you knew those two rouge ninja from the Mist? " They had been jumping through the woods nonstop for nearly five hours, and though none of them were tired, they hadn't talked at all.

"Does it matter? " Yuuki answered harshly. She knew there was no point in playing dumb; Pakkun was her father's ninken after all and even though he was a dog, he had the intelligence like that of a man. When Pakkun didn't answer, Yuuki simply kept her eyes on the trees ahead of her, trying her best not to look at the pug. Though, as the time went by, Yuuki felt the knot in her stomach grow even bigger by the second.

"I... Don't like to talk about it. " She said after some time, her voice more vulnerable than usual, "please don't bring it up again, Pakkun. " Even though her face showed no sign of it, Yuuki was slowly drowning with memories. Most of them ones she would like to forget.

Placed in a small hut within the forest near the river that ran through the Land of Water was a small child. With silvery-white hair and eyes like any other, she was feared and banished from the village. Once a day, someone - usually old women - from the village would go see the child. They would feed her and take care of her, but never like a mother. No, the child's mother had been murdered one year after giving birth to the child by the exact same people who had placed her so far away from the village, believing - hoping, even - that the wild animals would dispose of her.

For four years, the villagers would send their elders to care of the child - keeping her alive, but lonely. And never would they hide the fact that none of them, not even the caretakers, liked her. In fact, they would ever so often tell her tales of why she was a monster, a misfit, someone who was better off dead. The child, nicknamed The White Demon, grew up believing that she was abandoned by her mother because she was a monster, that she had no place within this world and that she, if she wanted to do the right thing, should kill herself. The caretakers stopped coming when she was five years old - the villagers had decided that they would no longer waste energy on such monster, that she could starve to death for all they cared. Little did they know, for a man even more feared than her, a man called Zabuza Momochi, found the girl and took her with him.

"Yuuki-san. " It was Pakkun's voice that snapped her out of it.

"Hai, Pakkun. What is it? " Yuuki answered, still jumping through the woods with the small dog behind her.

"We should reach the border soon. If I am correct, Kakashi and the others have already reached the other side. According to the plan, we will meet them once we get there. It will not take long since we are traveling by foot. "

Yuuki nodded, signalizing that she heard everything he had said. They reached the border soon after that and set off across the water, but of them running on the water as if it was a hard surface. Once they reached the Land of Waves, Yuuki discovered that her father and the others were nowhere to be found.

"They must have gone to Tazuna-san's place... " Yuuki though out loud, "Pakkun. "

"Hai, Yuuki-san? "

"Thank you for assisting me. I will find my father and the others from here." And with that, Yuuki left. Pakkun sighed and disappeared with a 'poof'.

~ Meanwhile ~

Kakashi and the others were headed towards Tazuna's house, Naruto, wanting to be cool, almost killed a white rabbit when suddenly they were attacked.

"Everyone, get down! " Kakashi yelled, avoiding the sword that came flying through the air. Once everyone got up, they noticed a man standing on the sword which was now caught in a tree. Naruto, eager to prove his worth and not lose to Sasuke, looked at the man with his blue eyes.

"Oh, my, my, you are Momochi Zabuza, the exiled ninja of the Hidden Village of Mist. " Despite the tense situation, Kakashi spoke with a cheerful and carefree voice as he took a step forward towards the man, Zabuza.

Exiled ninja? Naruto thought, momentarily doubting the sitaution, but then, who cares, I won't loose to Sasuke. One, two, three... now! But just as he charged forward, Kakashi held a hand out to stop him, saying, "You're in the way. Stay back, everyone. "

"WHY?! " Naruto yelled, annoyed.

"He's way different from the guys we met before. If he's our enemy..." Kakashi said with a serious tone, his hand ready to lift his headband, "I can't win like this. "

"I'm guessing you are Kakashi the Sharingan user. " Zabuza said with a low voice. Sasuke flinched, what was this about? Sharingan?

"I'm sorry, " Zabuza said, "but I'll need you to hand over the geezer. "

Silence fell upon the group, Naruto wondered just what Sharingan was? Sakura felt scared; was this man really strong?

"Everyone, " Kakashi said, "form the swastika formation. Protect Tazuna-san. Don't join the battle. "

"Eh? " Sakura's voice was thin with fear.

"To not interfere with the battle is teamwork. " Kakashi finished, then he lifted his headband, showing a scared, red eye.

What's that eye? Naruto, who was standing besides Kakashi, wondered, his own eyes wide with shock.

"Oh? I'm honored that I can see the sharingan that I've heard so much about. " Zabuza said, turning around so that he was no longer standing with his back to the group.

"You guys have been saying Sharingan, Sharingan - but what is it? " Naruto asked, annoyed that he didn't know what was going on.

"Sharingan... " Sasuke said, "the eyes creates it, and it is the power that the pupil generates. Ones who use doujutsu are said to have eye powers that can see through all genjutsu, taijutsu and ninjutsu, and cancel their effects. Sharingan is one of the various types of eyes that those doujutsu users possesses. "

"But that's not the only ability the Sharingan possesses. " Sasuke finished.

"Correct. It isn't. " Said Zabuza. "The scary part is that Sharingan can understand how an opponents technique works, and copy it. " Suddenly, mist started to appear, making it difficult to see.

"When I was in the Hidden Mist's assassination squad, your information was listed in the bingo book I carried, asking for your capture. It also noted this... The man who copied more than 1000 techniques, Kakashi the Copy Ninja. "

What? Kakashi-Sensei is that great of a ninja? Sakura somehow felt very shocked.

"WOW! " Naruto, who had no ability whatsoever to read the situation, yelled in a fangirl-like way. Sasuke, on the other hand, was not impressed.
I don't understand... Sharingan is a special trait that appears in only a limited amount of people in the Uchiha clan. Could he be...?!

Before Sasuke had the time to ask or think further into the matter, Zabuza's voice cut through the air, "let's cut the chit-chat here. I have to kill that geezer right away! " Tazuna's eyes widened, though before he could react, Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura were creating a somewhat circle around him while Kakashi stood in front of them all.

"But, Kakashi, it seems I have to defeat you first. " In the blink of an eye, Zabuza was suddenly standing on the river not far away.

"He's there! " Naruto said, looking towards the river.

"And he's standing on top of the water...? " Sakura thought outloud, her eyes wide.

Zabuza was, indeed, standing on top of the water. His right arm was pointing towards the sky while his left arm was bended, both of his hands forming some the seal of confrontation.

"Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu. " Water release: Hidden Mist Jutsu

And with that, Zabuza disappeared.