A/N: I realize that some of you out there don't approve of my choice for a NaruHinaHaku pairing instead of just leaving it NaruHina. If you don't like what I'm doing then you don't have to read this story. It is still mainly NaruHina but I'm adding Haku because a majority even if only slight would like to see it. I myself find it interesting so I'm going on ahead. If you don't like it as I said before don't read! And for those of you how think that Naruto would be disgusted at the thought and Hinata scared, here's a newsflash THEIR PERSONALITIES ARE DIFFERENT IN THIS STORY!! deep breathe Ok enough ranting, on with the end of the Wave arc. Oh and I promise to not knock Asuma out anymore, sorry for that.
Chapter 9: New Allies and the Journey Home
Kakashi looks at Zabuza and says, "Looks like we aren't enemies anymore, eh Zabuza?" The nukenin looks at the masked Konoha Jounin and says, "Yea, it would seem for the moment we're allies." Zabuza then bites through the wrappings covering his mouth and face and looks at Naruto and says, "Hey boy, toss me a kunai." At the same time, Kakashi yells over to Sasuke and Kiba, "Kiba, Sasuke, get over here now!" The two Genin immediately run over to the new alliance of Squads 7 and 10 and Zabuza and Haku.
Asuma looks at Kakashi and asks, "Just what are you planning Kakashi? Even with all of us, we don't stand a chance against all of them." Kakashi looks at his fellow Jounin and says, "Don't worry Asuma, I bet your team alone could wipe out half of them easily, they're the main part of my plan. But we need Gatou alive." The silver-haired Jounin looks at Haku and asks, "Haku, do you think you could get Gatou if we distract all of these guys?"
Haku nods lightly, "It shouldn't prove to be a problem."
"Alright then," Kakashi starts off, "Naruto lets make the numbers a bit more even, Kiba and Sasuke can attack them as a distraction after Shikamaru binds them all down." Kakashi and Naruto then make a single hand seal and yell out in unison, "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A large puff of smoke instantly created, and when it clears there are numerous Narutos and Kakashis.
This makes many of Gatou's henchmen go wide-eyed and start shaking in fear. Gatou himself is quiet shaken as well. The real Kakashi then says, "You're up Shikamaru." The shadow user walks up scratching his head and complains, "Alright, alright just quit giving us orders Kakashi-sensei, it's troublesome when I'm ordered around by anyone other but Asuma-sensei." He then thought, "This is such a drag, we're fighting alongside two people who a minute ago were our enemies and now I'm going to have to hold down over a hundred people with my Kagemane… damn this is troublesome." After a few hand seals, Shikamaru, grumbles, "Kagemane no Jutsu." Instantly, the boy's shadow shoots outwards and latches onto the shadows of Gatou and his henchmen.
"Kiba, Sasuke, now keep them pinned down till Haku can grab Gatou," Kakashi said to his two students. Kiba pulled Akamaru out of his jacket and fed him a soldier pill. The little dog's fur suddenly started to spike up and turn red. "Ready Akamaru!?" Kiba asked his ninken partner. "Shikyaku no Jutsu!" Kiba's face soon grew more feral in appearance, and his nails seemed to grow into claws. "Now, Juujin no Bunshin!" Akamaru was now enveloped in a small cloud of smoke, which once cleared, showed that Akamaru had turned into a clone of Kiba.
Sasuke quickly reactivated his Sharingan seeing that his teammate was ready and ran towards the group of henchmen, while Kiba and Akamaru used the Gatsuga. Both deliberately avoided Gatou, which was now the only one under the control of Shikamaru's Kagemane. Without being noticed, Haku slipped into one of her ice mirrors and soon appeared behind Gatou and grabbed him. Before anyone could blink twice, Haku and Gatou were back over on the side of the bridge with the shinobi.
Gatou seeing himself surround and most likely about to be killed, pissed his pants. Naruto quickly grabbed the documents he had gotten earlier and walked over to Gatou and kneeled down so he was eye-level with the short man who was sitting down scared out of his mind. What Gatou saw, terrified the old tycoon. He didn't see a boy, he saw a demon. Naruto's face had become more feral, his canines were longer, his whisker marks darker, and his eyes were a crimson red with slits for pupils.
In a voice that was deeper and rougher than Naruto's normal voice because of his transformation, he said, "Listen here you bastard, sign over all the shipping rights of the Land of Waves to its people and maybe, maybe we won't kill you." Gatou stuttered, "Sh-sure, whatever y-you people want. Just d-d-don't kill me!" Gatou quickly signed the documents, making the people of the Land of Waves the official owners of all shipping rights for the nation.
Zabuza looked at Kakashi with an evil look in his eyes and said, "Can I do it now?" Kakashi only sighed and nodded. Zabuza smirked evilly and looked down at the poor corrupt business dealer. He said to him, "This is for crossing me, Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of Kirigakure!" Zabuza put the kunai Naruto had given him earlier into his mouth and ducked down low. When he swung upwards, the kunai collided into Gatou's chest, piercing his heart. When Zabuza released the kunai, Gatou flew over the side of the bridge and down into the waters below.
By now, Sasuke and Kiba and come back, just in time to see Gatou fall to his death. Seeing someone die, left Hinata and Ino visibly shaken, mostly due to the gruesome way in which he was killed.
Suddenly, there was shouting coming from the henchmen who had worked for Gatou. Kiba and Sasuke had left a good number of them in fighting condition and they looked really pissed off. One of them stepped forward and said, "Hey! Who the hell's going to pay us now that Gatou's dead, huh?!" Another said, "Since he's not around anymore, will just have to raid that village!" The group of samurai and thugs started to charge towards the shinobi.
Most of them were nearly spent for chakra, except for Ino and Hinata who had not yet fought. Naruto and Kakashi's Tajuu Kage Bunshin had left them drained, as had Shikamaru's Kagemane, Akamaru and Kiba's Gatsuga, Sasuke's Sharingan, and Zabuza's Kirigakure no Jutsu. Even Haku was drained from overusing her Ice Mirrors.
Naruto looked at Asuma and said, "There's no way we can stop them now, there just aren't enough of us!" Suddenly, a bolt landed in front of the charging group of thugs, stopping them in their tracks. The shinobi looked behind them and there were all of the villagers, with Inari at the front of the group. The little boy smiled and said, "The hero always shows up at the last minute to save the day right?" The villagers started cheering wildly, bringing a small smile to Naruto's face.
The shinobi turned back to the thugs. Naruto made a quick seal, and said, "Well I still have a small bit of chakra left and I'm not letting that crybaby have all the fun! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Suddenly there were about ten or twelve Narutos.
"Haku lets help to," Zabuza said enthusiastically. The girl nodded and the two shouted along with Kakashi, "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!" There were now about thirty Kakashis, thirty Zabuzas, and twenty Hakus. Asuma, Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru, Ino, and Sasuke joined in the clone party by adding with their Bunshin no Jutsu.
The thugs and samurai were now quaking in fear as the number of ninja they were facing went from ten, to at least a hundred fifty. In addition to the villagers, the former henchmen were scared shitless. They quickly ran for the small freighter that had docked next to bridge, many of them screaming and shouting.
As soon as the last thug was off the bridge, the villagers cheered in victory, as the shinobi dissolved their various bunshin. The shinobi didn't however. Kakashi and Zabuza looked at each other coldly, with bloodlust radiating off them. Everyone noticed this and Hinata spoke up, "Kakashi-sensei, why must you and Zabuza fight?! Why can't him and Haku-chan come with us back to Konoha?"
Hinata's question shocked everyone, especially Zabuza and Haku. Since their departure from Kirigakure years ago, the two had constantly been on the move, neither of them being wanted in a town for very long. The fact that this girl, a shinobi from Konohagakure no less, was offering to have the village shelter them, stunned Zabuza.
Kakashi stared at the white-eyed girl for a moment, then looked up at the two Kiri-nukenin and sighed, "Why would you suggest such a thing Hinata? They are ninja from-" He was cut off by Naruto who snapped, "Kakashi, they're nice people, I can tell even if you can't. Me and Hinata-chan know how nice Haku is because we met her yesterday in the forest!" Everyone but Haku and Hinata shouted, "You what?!"
As the blond, the midnight-blue, and the black were sent death glares, they slowly backed up to the railing of the bridge, side by side. Their reaction caused everyone to laugh, including Shikamaru and Zabuza, even though they only lightly chuckled. Naruto, Hinata, and Haku soon started laughing to.
For the next two weeks, while the bridge was finished being constructed, Naruto and Hinata argued with Kakashi to let Haku and Zabuza return with them to Konoha. Kakashi had happily agreed to let Haku come, but she said she would only come with Zabuza. It wasn't long before Kakashi agreed to let Zabuza come too. Before the bridge was completed, Kakashi sent one of his ninken to deliver a message to the Sandaime to inform him that Haku and Zabuza would be coming to Konoha.
The Day After the Bridge's Completion
The Konoha shinobi, Haku, and Zabuza, are all waving, or in Zabuza and Shikamaru's case, slightly smiling goodbye to the villagers of the Land of Waves as they prepare to cross to the other side of the bridge. As the group turns and leaves, Tsunami stands next to her father and asks, "You still haven't given the bridge a name yet father." Tazuna put his hand to his chin and says, "Why not name it after that boy? Yea, the Great Naruto Bridge." Tsunami giggles lightly at the name and says, "That's a pretty good name." Tazuna says back, "I'm sure that one day, the name 'Naruto' will be known all over the world."
Several Hours Later
The group has stopped in order to eat a quick lunch before continuing on. While they eat, Shikamaru and Asuma are playing a game of Shogi, Ino and Kiba are arguing, Kakashi and Zabuza are making death threats to one another, Sasuke is off on his own brooding, and Naruto, Hinata, and Haku are off by themselves in a tree above everyone else talking.
The three shinobi are surprised at how quickly they've become friends, mostly since they're from different villages. While the bridge was being built, Haku told both the blue-eyed boy and white-eyed girl about her past and how she came to meet Zabuza. During this time, Naruto also mentioned the Kyuubi being sealed inside of him, and Haku promised not to tell anyone, even Zabuza.
At the moment, the three are talking about how Naruto and Hinata became boyfriend and girlfriend and how Hinata used to be unbelievably shy. "Before I told Naruto-kun how I truly felt about him that day, I was always shy, and did nothing but stutter when I talked," the Hyuuga heiress told the ice mistress. "Thanks to Naruto-kun, I became a whole lot more confident in myself, so much so, that now I'm not even afraid to stand up to my father when he degrades me for being weaker than Neji-niisan."
"Why would your father degrade you just for losing to your cousin?" Haku asked the white-eyed girl. "I believe that as long as you try your best you should be praised." This brought a bit of light into Hinata's eyes which had grown dark from mentioning her father's treatment of her. "Well according to father, I'm supposed to be stronger than Neji since I'm from the Main Branch of the family and he is from the Side Branch," Hinata explained.
The blonde scratches his head a little and says, "You've told me this before Hinata-chan, but I still don't get the big deal between being in the Main Branch or Side Branch of your family." The midnight-blue haired girl then explained about the Hyuuga's history, and how those who were born into the "inferior" Side Branch were branded with a curse seal to keep them in line. Hinata also told about how she was once kidnapped by a ninja from Kumogakure but the kidnapper was killed by her father. She mentioned that this somehow led to the death of her cousin Neji's father. Hinata finished her story by saying that when she was five her mother died and ever since then, her father had been far crueler towards her.
When the Hyuuga heiress finished her story, Haku and Naruto had tears streaming down their faces. The two reached over to give Hinata a comforting hug, but since they were sitting on a branch this proved difficult and before they could actually hug the white-eyed girl the branch snapped and the three fell to the ground in a heap. They all land in a pile, all of them face down. Naruto was on the bottom, Haku in the middle, and Hinata on top. All three were dazed but uninjured. Everyone looked over the trio and started laughing, with the exception of Sasuke because he just continued brooding.
After the fox-boy, Hyuuga heiress, and ice mistress recovered their senses, the group continued on back to Konoha. All the while, Haku, Naruto, and Hinata walked hand in hand in said order from left to right. This was noticed only by Shikamaru, and the three Jounin, who were rather shocked to say the least. For the remainder of the trip, if one was inside Naruto's head, they would have heard the Kyuubi talking to himself. "The Kit's got a woman on each arm now… this is going to be interesting."
A Few Days Later in Konohagakure
As the group nears the main gates into Konohagakure, Zabuza and Haku are on edge since they are both considered nukenin and Zabuza is in Konoha's Bingo Book. Naruto puts a hand on the ice mistress's shoulder and says, "It'll be fine Haku-chan, Kakashi sent a message to the Sandaime days ago saying you and Zabuza were coming with us."
The black-haired girl looks at the blonde boy and says, "Thank you Naruto-kun, but are you sure he'll accept us into the village?" Naruto grins happily and replies, "If I know the old man, he'll accept you without a second thought." This quickly dispels Haku's worries, but it doesn't do the same for Zabuza.
As the group nears the check in station, the two shinobi standing guard, notice the group. One of them, who has a piece of cloth above his nose and cheeks, a dark marking on his chin, and wild raven-blue hair stands up and says, "Welcome back Kakashi-sensei, how was the mission-" The guard stops short when he notices Zabuza. He quickly draws a kunai and asks, "Kakashi what's the demon of Kirigakure doing here?!"
He is answered not by Kakashi, but by Sarutobi who has just appeared. The aging Hokage says, "Put down your weapon Kotetsu-kun, Zabuza-san is no threat. He will actually be joining the ranks of Jounin after his month long probation is done." Zabuza goes wide-eyed and looks at Kakashi and whispers to him, "You must have planned this from before we left the Land of Waves, eh Kakashi?" All he gets for an answer is a small chuckle from Kakashi.
"Zabuza-san," the Sandaime begins, "Until your probation ends a month from now, you will be a Special Jounin and participate in proctoring for the upcoming Chuunin exams. Afterwards, you will be promoted to Jounin."
Asuma now looks at his father and asks, "Is it already time for the Chuunin exams? I could've sworn we'd have more time to prepare." The chain smoker moves his cigarette from one side of his mouth to the other and continues, "We must have been away for longer than I thought."
Sarutobi takes a small puff of his pipe and says, "There will be meeting of all Jounin and Special Jounin tomorrow afternoon to discuss it. I hope to see you three there." The Professor's eyes now fall upon Haku and he says to her, "From what Kakashi has told me in the letter, you are highly skilled for someone our age and that you managed to completely overpower Sasuke-kun and Kiba-kun here." Both Genin flinch at the mention of their defeat to the ice mistress. Sarutobi continues to say, "I shall have you instated immediately as a Chuunin, and you don't have to worry about a probation period since you aren't in our Bingo book.
Haku's face immediately has a brightened glow to it as she bows respectfully and says, "Thank you, Hokage-sama for trusting me so." Before the Hokage leaves, he tells Kakashi and Asuma not to worry about any more missions for their teams till after the Chuunin exams and that their free till then. He also offers Zabuza a free apartment near one of the training grounds with a small pond, the now ex-nukenin gladly accepts. Sarutobi offered Haku an apartment in the same complex, but she declined saying that Hinata had offered for her to stay with her till she could afford a place of her own.
Once entering the village, everyone went their separate ways, except for Haku, Naruto, and Hinata, who went to go eat at Ichiraku's Ramen before parting ways.
A/N: Chuunin exams are next YAY! I've been thinking about this for a while and I'd like your guys' personal opinion. Should I just end this story after the Sasuke retrieval arc and then make a sequel with the Shippunden chapters warped a bit, or should I just leave it as one story. Please respond and no more flames please, some of those last ones got me kind of ticked off. Well, see you in the next chapter!