A/N: Ah, the things I have floating around my hard drive.

It's amazing, the difference made by a quarter of an inch.

That was all that it took to alter the course of history, and time as we know it.

A quarter of an inch. Maybe it was the blood on Haku's hands that caused that forced the rare, rare miss, or perhaps it was the everlasting cold brought on by his ice mirrors finally getting to him. Maybe it was a bit of ice on the ground, causing Sasuke to skid to a halt a millimeter from where he intended to when he darted in front of Naruto. Whatever the case, Haku's senbon landed in Sasuke's neck a quarter inch from where he had intended for it to hit.

The result was obvious, at least to Haku. The Uchiha was not placed in the near-death state he had intended. No, the senbon went through his neck, and he fell immediately. No last thoughts. No muttered encouragement or logic to Naruto.

Uchiha Sasuke was dead before he hit the ground.

***

"Sasuke?" Naruto called in a small voice as he crawled over to the prone form of his only friend. "Sasuke?" This time, the plaintive call came out a bit louder, as if by increasing his volume, he could raise his friend from the void. "Sa-Sasuke?" This time, the question was accompanied by a hand reaching out, quivering a little, and shaking the lifeless shoulder of the rapidly cooling boy.

Naruto looked down at the only friend he'd ever known. His skin, which had always been far paler then Naruto's own, was losing color as the blood ceased moving. His eyes, which had always focused on some far away goal, now focused on everything and nothing as he stared into the void. The sudden stillness on the battlefield was broken with a cry which squeezed all the air from Naruto's lungs and brought an icy grip to Kakashi and Sakura's hearts.

"SAAASSSUUUKEEE!"

The bloodchilling scream caused Kakashi to hesitate for one moment, just one instant. That instant was all that was needed for Zabuza's massive cleaver to remove his head from his shoulders.

***

Sakura had always been sensitive to chakra. It was the one thing she stood out in, the one thing that she had honed relentlessly by following Sasuke around the village. Since joining team 7, three sources of chakra had always been around her, radiating their unique auras, soothing and comforting.

Two of them had just been extinguished within seconds of each other. Her mind immediately blanked, and when her conscious mind stopped thinking, her instincts took over.

For a pre-teen girl, Sakura had some very good instincts.

A quick jab to Tazuna's gut caused him to double over, letting Zabuza's blade pass through the empty air his head had just been in. With strength born of desperation, the small girl flung the old man over her shoulder and took off. "Naruto!" she yelled. "Withdraw!"

Maybe it was the authority in her voice, or the fact that it was his beloved Sakura that had yelled the order, but Naruto did not hesitate. With one quick movement, he scooped up Sasuke's body and took off towards the ice mirrors. "You have to know that that won't work." Haku's disembodied voice echoed out. "These mirrors are part of me, and-"

Haku was cut off as a shroud of red chakra sprang into existence around the blonde. With a wordless roar, the Ice Mirror directly in front of Naruto shattered into tiny little fragments. Haku, shock numbing his brain, leapt in front of the Konoha ninja. If he hadn't been taken aback by Naruto's dismantling of his greatest technique, he might of have done something else. He might've launched a powerful attack, taking down the monster Naruto had become. But with his slowed reaction time, he didn't have the time to do anything except gape in shock as a red-enshrouded fist went right through his chest cavity.

When the fog cleared, three things remained on the bridge: Zabuza, the headless corpse of Kakashi, and the body of Haku with a hole straight through his chest. When Zabuza's eyes settled on the last, he let out a roar of anger.

"Heh." came a chuckle from the other side of the bridge. "Did that worthless little brat get what he deserved?" asked Gato. He looked over his shoulder, where the leader of his thugs stood. "It sure looks like he did, doesn't it?"

The mercenary let out a dark chuckle of his own. "It does, Gato-sama. After all, he dared to lay hi-" The mercenary was cut off as he suddenly had no head. Gato let out a final squeak before he met the same fate.

"TRASH!" Zabuza roared, before the rest of the mercenaries were put to the sword. Then, with a shimmer, he was gone, leaving only the corpses of the fallen.

***

The headquarters for Gato Shipping International was a large building, an alabaster giant surrounded by many small, squat warehouses. In the center of it was a tower, which was somehow even whiter then the rest of the building. It was a beautiful sight to see as the sun was setting, which was made more depressing by the fact that it was paid for with the blood of innocents.

At the moment, it was also the scene of madness as Zabuza sat back in Gato's chair and put his feet up on the table. Two men, wearing dark suits and glasses, brandishing shuriken and kunai, were staring at him, their mouths set in hard lines.

Zabuza let out a little chuckle. "So. Gato was keeping some damn good ninja on retainer. Hmm.. You're… 'Flame Tongue' Shindo, Upper B-Rank missing nin from Kumo. Didn't you get exiled for burning their academy to the ground while all the classes were in session? Were there any survivors?"

As the first man stiffened, Zabuza turned his attention to the other ninja. "And who might you be?" There was a brief pause, then the mist nin snapped his fingers. "Oh, yeah! Cold Hearted Kisuke! I forgot all about you! Lower B-Rank from Kusa, given your nickname from your tendency to leave the hearts of your victims on their loved one's pillow. Creative, that."

"You'd think Gato would have had you guys with him. Seriously, what kind of moron leaves his most powerful hirelings guarding the fort?!"

"Momochi-san." The one identified as Shindo growled. "Until Gato-sama returns, we must ask you to leave."

"Gato? Oh, he's not coming back." Zabuza reached behind his back and tossed Gato's head at Kisuke. "Now, you boys have a choice. You can leave. You can fight me and be killed. Or, you could help me and receive places of power after I've conquered Kiri."

The two exchanged glances and Shindo gave a barely perceptible shrug. "Positions of power always were a weak spot of mine." Kisuke said with a small smile.

***

The conquest of Kiri had been swift and brutal.

Zabuza and his assembled army of Missing Nin paid for from the late Gato's substantial coffers had descended on Kirigakure like locusts upon a field. All civilians and any shinobi who had not immediately laid down arms were put to the sword. The Mizukage himself had been killed horribly by Zabuza, who had greatly enjoyed cutting inches off of the tyrannical leader with his sword until he reached the torso.

Kirigakure had a new Kage, and bloodthirsty warriors behind him.

But the other villages had not been idle.