Well, hi everybody I'm back. Don't got much to say besides that this is the last chapter of the Land of Waves arc. So why don't we cut the chatter and skip straight to the story?
Naruto had no idea what was going on. He could hardly think, he hardly remembered what was going on around him. All he knew was what he felt. Pain, sorrow, loss, and so many other emotions that wanted to make him yank his heart out of his chest. But among these emotions were others. Vengeance, wrath, rage, and these emotions kept him going. And the more that he held onto those emotions…the better it felt. To act only on impulse and emotion instead of what his mind told him, he had never felt anything like it before. The rush it gave him was even more unreal than the power that coursed through his veins. How he was now, he could do anything.
Naruto also felt a sense of understanding now. He knew now why the villagers hated and feared him so much. They had thought that he would become exactly what he was now, a feral beast that would destroy anything that was in its path. And they had a right to do so! They should fear him! They should beg for his forgiveness for the hell that they had put him through. They should bow down and beg for his mercy!
But Konoha would have to wait at the moment. Naruto turned his head around and found Haku in the mirror behind him. When Haku saw that Naruto had spotted him, he activated his ice mirrors and attacked Naruto in all directions just like he had only minutes ago. But this time Naruto had the advantage, not Haku.
The senbon rebounded off of Naruto's body as if it was made of steel. Naruto squeezed his hands into a fist, feeling the power rush throughout his body. In his mind, Konoha didn't exist any more. He knew nothing about being Hokage. He couldn't remember who Kakashi, Shikamaru, Iruka, Zabuza, or Sasuke was. All that mattered was Haku, and making sure that his death would be as painful as humanly possible. Or in Naruto's case now, as demonly possible.
"Well, Haku," Naruto growled savagely with an evil grin on his face. "You took Hinata-chan away from me…and now you are going to die just like her!" Naruto launched himself again at Haku, breaking the mirror with his mighty punch. Naruto jumped sideways by some unknown notion that he felt. The ground where he had once stood exploded as a giant spike of ice embedded itself into the ground.
Naruto turned his head as he watched Haku jump into another mirror, a feat that was once impossible had become a whole lot easier. With faster hand seals than he had ever done before, an enormous fireball enveloped the mirror that Haku was in and destroyed it from the mere power of the attack.
What is this? Haku thought, as he jumped to another mirror while throwing as many senbon as he could at Naruto, though the transformed Genin dodged them easily. How could he become so much more powerful? This shouldn't even be possible.
Haku turned back to escape into another of his mirrors, but gasped in shock when he saw that another Naruto was waiting for him.
He was able to make a Kage Bushin so fast that I didn't even notice, Haku thought, trying to change direction but was too late, instead receiving a powerful punch into the gut. Haku could have sworn that he heard at least two ribs crack from the punch as he coughed up blood from the monstrous blow. He stumbled back a few steps slowly, but he suddenly felt a hand grip his arm while the sharp fingers dug into his skin. Haku's looked over at Naruto, who had gotten so close, and his eyes widened in fear, finally looking deep into Naruto's eyes. Haku's blood suddenly turned to ice. The boy that he had been fighting moments before had disappeared. Now, he was fighting a monster.
"You were right, Haku. Hinata-chan was the most precious person in the world to me. And the moment you took her away, you were a dead man walking!"Naruto punched Haku in the jaw with as much power as he could, sending the older Kiri nin flying and ricocheting off the side of one of his mirrors. Naruto watched as Haku rolled on the ground to a stop with satisfaction etched all over his now beast-like expression.
His smile died though when he saw Haku ever so slowly rise back to his feet, but Naruto replaced it with a demonic smirk and charged at Haku at top speed. If the kid wanted to keep getting up, that was his problem. But Naruto was getting annoyed. This time, he would make sure that Haku would not get back up.
With a mighty leap, Naruto hurdled himself at Haku and tackled him to the ground. After skidding for a small distance, Naruto raised his clawed hand up in the air, prepared to slice Haku's throat open with one mighty swipe. He froze though after looking at Haku's face. It held no emotion. He had the look of someone that had entirely given up on life, as if he was accepting the fact that he was about to die because he no longer had any reason to live. A sudden image of himself flashed through his mind from the time that he had not known Hinata and Sasuke. His eyes had looked so much like Haku's back then…
Naruto could now feel himself breathing once more. His heart pounded in his ears and his hand was shaking uncontrollably. He slowly pulled his arm down to his own face and looked at it, then to a small puddle of water that was on the ground. He looked at his reflection and felt himself becoming calmer. What had he become? He had allowed himself to become the exact thing that he was feared for, and he had enjoyed it. If Hinata had been around, what would she have thought?
What are you doing?! The voice of the Kyuubi yelled in his mind. Finish him! He deserves to die after all that he did to you.
No…no. I'm not a killer. I don't want to be like this, Naruto said, lifting himself off of Haku and shaking his head in confusion.
Naruto gripped his head with both hands in pain as the voice boomed in his head again. You will kill this boy! You are a shinobi and you will have to kill someone someday, why not just start now? It will be so easy. It will all be over in a second.
I'm not going to kill someone in cold blood, Naruto fought back, pushing the voice farther back in his mind. If I do kill, it'll be for the sake of protecting the ones I love.
Do not question me! I am the Kyuubi, most feared of all the Nine Great Demons and the most powerful entity that has ever walked upon this earth! And you will! Kill! Him!
I said no! Naruto cried out as loud as he could in his mind. And the voice was gone. Naruto could feel the red chakra disappearing from his body. After a little while longer, he felt normal once again. Well, perhaps normal was not the best choice of words. He could still feel the presence of that chakra, that energy that had come so close to consuming him. But it felt more like an echo now than a voice now. Too far away to see but could still be heard, but only barely. Naruto wondered now if it had always been there and he had just not ever noticed it in his life.
"Why did you stop?" Haku asked, grabbing Naruto by the wrist and forcing the younger boy to face him. "Why didn't you follow through with your attack? Kill me. I don't deserve to live anymore."
Naruto just scowled at Haku. He swiped his hand away but did not let down his gaze for a moment. "I want to kill you," Naruto said truthfully. "I want to take revenge for…for Hinata-chan. But that's not how I am. I don't kill people because I want to. I will kill them when I need to. To protect my friends."
"And you failed," Haku said, hitting a nerve in Naruto. "When Hinata was alive, you would have killed me to protect her. But now that she is gone, you will not kill the one responsible? Don't you feel a duty to rid that person for good for the pain that he put you through."
"…The truth is that I'm just a kid, Haku," Naruto said. "I can't kill someone. I think it would tear me apart. I'm just not a killer. I might be someday, but I'm not now."
"Then save me," Haku pleaded. He looked at the mask that lay a couple yards away from him, from when Naruto had punched him when Haku had foolishly let down his guard earlier in their conflict. "My reason to be alive is gone. I am a tool that has lost its edge, and must be disposed of. I can't live with myself as I am now."
Naruto gripped his hand into a fist and punched Haku in the jaw. Haku staggered back, slightly surprised.
"You're pathetic, you know that?" Naruto asked, this time grabbing Haku by the shirt. "You think that just because you failed once there is no meaning left in living? I've failed all my life, and you don't see me taking a kunai and running it through my heart."
"But the pain I feel is so much worse," Haku spoke truly. "I don't have any use anymore. I have failed the one most precious to me, and I don't deserve to live any longer."
"I failed the one most precious to me too, Haku," Naruto said. "But I'm going to go on living, because Hinata-chan would have wanted me to. No one will ever be able to replace her, I know that, but I'm going to move on. Anyways, don't you think you are being a little over dramatic here? If you lose one dream, then replace it with another."
"I'm taking it that you will not follow through with my wish then?" Haku asked, his eyes still pleading Naruto. "You know not of what you are doing! You think that this is mercy? What you are doing now is worse than any other kind of torture imaginable!"
Naruto looked at his enemy once more. His hand lingered slightly on his kunai pouch. Should he just do as Haku wanted? Would he really be doing him a favor? Or would he just be killing someone that was being a little too moody at one time?
"Please, Naruto," Haku said again. "It's too much pain for me to bear any longer."
Zabuza tried once more to shake Kakashi's nin hounds off of him, but his attempts ended in vain. The mutts just wouldn't let go, and the more that he tried to wiggle free, the more painful the dogs would hold him place. He could no longer feel anything in his right arm where the largest of all the dogs held him. If he could only reach his sword…
"Now, Zabuza, let's finish this once and for all! With the only jutsu that I have that isn't a copy. My jutsu!" Kakashi yelled, starting through a series of seals once more.
Zabuza had no choice but to watch Kakashi continue to go through the seals, until he was gripping his left arm with his right and pointing it downward. All at once, lightning surrounded him in a circle. The water that was on the ground began to evaporate into the air, giving Kakashi a mystical look to him.
Yet Zabuza wasn't wasting his time by staring at wonder at Kakashi. No. He was trying to find someway out of the situation! He was as good as dead as he was now. Kakashi's chakra was so powerful that it actually began to frighten him. He hadn't seen anything like this since he left the Seven Swordsman of Kirikagure. Scratch that. He had NEVER seen this before in his life.
"Now to end it!" Kakashi shouted, crouching down to prepare his sprint toward Zabuza. "Raikari!" he yelled as the lighting that was inside his hand grew to its largest size yet. Kakashi charged as fast as he could at Zabuza as the missing nin of Kirigakure looked on in fear, with the faint sound of chirping birds sounding in the air.
Haku's eyes shot wide open all at once, feeling the sudden jump in chakra level to his left. He knew something was terribly wrong. This chakra was huge. Perhaps not as powerful as Naruto's had been, but this had something that made Naruto's chakra lacked. Control, and that was what made Haku's heart race.
This is not like any jutsu Zabuza knows, Haku thought. He must be in trouble! It looks like I'll be able to do one last thing for Zabuza-sama before I die after all.
"I'm sorry, Naruto-san," Haku said making a quick hand sign. "But I do not have time for you to make your decision. Before I die, I just want you to know that I am truly sorry for what I put you through. So very sorry…"
Before Naruto could ask what he meant, Haku disappeared and out of his sight. The blonde looked around frantically, trying to find out where Haku had gone.
Shikamaru watched hesitantly as Kakashi rushed straight at Zabuza. This would no doubt end the missing nin's life. There was no way for him to escape. Kakashi's jutsu was too powerful, and Zabuza wasn't going anywhere anytime soon with those dogs literally on his back. It finally looked like that the mission would be complete.
Shikamaru jumped in surprise when Haku suddenly appeared in front of Zabuza. The Nara couldn't believe it. Haku was going to take the blow for Zabuza. Shikamaru looked over to Kakashi. He was going to fast to veer away. He was going to hit the wrong target.
Thinking faster than he had ever done in his entire life, Shikamaru formulated the first and only plan that popped in his head. As quickly as he could, he took out from a pocket within his shirt a small ball. To anyone that would just take a quick glance at it, they would have probably guessed it to be some kind of pill, but it was really the Nara family's secret weapon. It was a light bomb, capable of making a blinding flash when it exploded. It had two uses. The first was to temporarily blind the enemy, though it also took a toll on the one using it as well. The second was exclusively for the Nara family. The flash from the bomb was able to extend the shadow more than three times the regular size, and five times faster than the original speed.
Shikamaru guessed that he had about a one in eight chance of actually getting Haku in his Shadow Bind skill, but it was this or nothing. Not only that, but if he even did hit Haku, he needed to get down fast enough to dodge Kakashi's attack. If he took control of either Zabuza or Haku and they get hit by that attack, it would be over for both him and the missing nin he was attached too. With no time at all to hestitate, Shikamaru closed his eyes hopefully and threw the light bomb behind him at the ground.
"Kagemane no Jutsu!" he yelled. Shikamaru could literally feel his shadow shoot across the ground. Suddenly, he felt his shadow hit something hard and latch onto its captive. As far as he knew, it could be one of Kakashi's dogs, but he did the only thing he could do now. He dropped to the ground as fast as he could a split second before he heard his sensei's attack make contact with whoever he had hit.
The lazy genius of the ninja academy lay there for a moment, half waiting for the light to dim and half afraid if he had missed. His hand went to his chest and face. He was fine. The target that he had captured wasn't hit by Kakashi's attack. Now all that remained to be known was who he had caught in his shadow trap. After another moment of waiting for the light to clear and hoping that he had gotten Haku, he looked up to see the results of the last five seconds.
Haku was lying on the ground, just like Shikamaru, still caught in his shadow imitation technique. The fake hunter nin wasn't looking at Shikamaru though, instead, he was looking up at Zabuza, who was staring down at the Kakashi's bloodied hand that was buried into his chest.
"Zabuza…" Haku muttered in horror at his partner.
"Well Haku…looks like this will be the one mission…that will end in failure," Zabuza said. Kakashi pulled his bloodied hand out of the Demon of the Bloody Mist and dismissed each of his ninkin. As soon as the dogs disappeared, Zabuza stumbled backwards and fell to the ground.
"Zabuza!" Haku shouted. Shikamaru closed his eyes and let Haku out of his shadow, realizing that they had finally won the battle. Haku would not put up a fight any longer. And on the off chance that he did, Kakashi would be able to take care of him easily. "Hold on," Haku pleaded to his master. "Just hold on for a little while I get some healing materials for you…"
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" a voice said from behind the ninja. Shikamaru and Kakashi looked back while Haku paid no heed, his full attention remaining on the missing Kiri nin in front of him. The man stood no taller than Shikamaru, his eyes covered in circular sunglasses. He was dressed in a very neat and business looking suit and held a cane in his left hand. Behind him stood more than thirty samurai with hands on their katanas, waiting to attack at a moment's notice.
"I presume that you are the man that has put the bounty on Tazuna...Gatou, correct?" Kakashi asked, turning to face their new arrivals.
"That's right, I'm the one who hired the failure of a ninja that's lying at your feet," the petite man said laughing. "I was told that he was the best in the business, but I guess they don't make ninjas like they used to…"
"Just like Shikamaru said," Kakashi muttered. He was getting really worried now. He was now regretting that he had perfomred the Raikari to finish off Zabuza. Even though it was powerful, it had its drawbacks since it took so much chakra. Now he felt as if he hardly had any chakra left to use to defend himself or his students.
"Well, I'm glad that you've heard of me," Gatou said snidely. "Now if you don't mind, I'm a very busy man and must be on my way. So if you would be so kind to tell me where that pesky Mr. Tazuna is…"
"He's not here, sorry to disappoint you," the taller ninja said taking out a couple kunai. He was hoping that he would be able to take out all of the samurai with mere taijutsu and what few weapons he had left, but the odds were stacked against him with how drained he was feeling.
"Is that so, such a shame," the business man said shaking his head. "If that's the case, I guess I'm just going to have to settle with killing all of you. After that, we'll just have to raid the village to find him. Sure, it may cut back profits for a little while, but that Tazuna is really becoming a pain in my ass. You understand, right?"
The samurai behind Gatou all sneered, readying their swords to charge.
"Shikamaru."
Shikamaru nearly jumped out of his pants from the unexpected voice. He turned around, planning to stare daggers at Naruto, but his features softened suddenly. Naruto's body was bloodied, not much unlike the day they had first fought Zabuza at the lake. But the blonde's sapphire eyes scared Shikamaru the most. They didn't hold any of the usual joy or excitement they had that morning. They were…different. Bad different.
"What's going on?" Naruto asked looking over where Gatou and his men were standing.
"…Gatou's decided to grace us with his presence and just told us he's going to kill us all," Shikamaru deadpanned.
Naruto snorted and shook his head. "This day just keeps on getting better," the suddenly subdued hyperactive blonde said with a sigh, though he didn't seem that worried for some reason. Shikamaru decided to shrug it off for the time being, realizing that now wasn't the time to get distracted. Suddenly, he realized that Hinata was nowhere in sight. His heart began to race in worry as he turned around to ask Naruto, but Gatou began to talk again.
"I guess I should thank you though," Gatou said suddenly. "You liberated me from the biggest waste of money I've ever made. Demon of the Bloody Mist…Ha! It turns out he's just a pathetic man who…"
Gatou suddenly cried out in pain and gripped his shoulder. He looked in shock as blood began to leak out of the wound and onto his favorite suit, without a doubt staining it. And all with just a simple needle…
"Don't you dare talk down about Zabuza," Haku said, bringing everyone's attention toward him. The boy stood to his feet and looked at Gatou with such a scowl that some of the samurai behind him even stepped back in mild alarm.
"…What the hell are you waiting for?!" Gatou yelled at the men behind him. "Kill them all! I don't want any of them leaving alive!"
Gatou suddenly stopped, looking around him. Water was lifting itself off the ground, forming a complete circle of water around him. Naruto looked back at Haku and saw him making the seal that he had used against him, but this time, Haku's eyes glowed with hate that Naruto had never seen in anyone's eyes before. Naruto looked back and saw that the samurai behind Gatou were gawking at the water in confusion, none knowing what in the world was going on.
"Because of you, Zabuza died," Haku said in malice. "And now…you are going to die too!" The water around Gatou suddenly formed into several small ice needles. Before Gatou could even scream in terror, the needles flew at Gatou from all sides, skewering him. With ice needles sticking out of him from all sides, he slowly fell to his knees and dropped to the ground. The small man was dead before he knew what happened.
The samurai were shocked. Their employer had just been killed right before their very eyes before they could do anything! Each of them glanced back over at the boy that had undoubtedly caused it to happen. The boy's look of rage was all it took for them to know they were outmatched. The samurai all suddenly began to throw down their swords and ran away as fast as they could in the opposite direction of the demon boy. Within seconds, every single samurai was gone and the only ones left were the shinobi.
"I guess that takes care of that," Kakashi said looking over where Gatou's bloody corpse laid motionlessly. "Gatou's gone and Tazuna is safe…mission accomplished." Kakashi looked back to Haku in question, though the boy didn't show one bit of interest in the copy nin. The only thing the boy seemed to care about then was Zabuza's body, lying at his feet.
"You are a trained shinobi," Kakashi said as if Haku was one of his own students. "You know why it had to end like this…"
"I do," Haku responded weakly. "But the knowledge alone does not make the pain hurt any less."
"…And here I thought that I had trained you well…"
Haku's jaw dropped in shock, hearing Zabuza's voice. "You're alive!"
"Not for long…" Zabuza replied. The Demon of the Bloody Mist slowly turned his head to Kakashi. "You seemed to be more of a match than I had thought, Kakashi." The swordsman's voice and eyes held no hate or malevolence. If anything, Zabuza seemed to be calm. "You fought well."
"Just hold on," Haku still pleaded, not able to accept that his master was about to die right before his very eyes. "I have some healing supplies with me. And if you just hold on for a couple of days, we can find a medic nin and…"
"Do you really think that anybody would give a missing nin of Kiri healing?" Zabuza asked. Haku remained silent, deciding to instead hide his eyes with his hair to avoid looking at Zabuza.
"Stay alive, Haku," Zabuza muttered, looking up at the clouded sky. "You are too kind and pure to die now. You are young and can change, unlike me. You have a chance to follow your own path, not another's. Live, Haku. Live and seek out a different path than the one I forced you upon. That is my final order to you."
"…Yes, Zabuza-sama," Haku said, his voice shaking.
"Good," Zabuza said nodding and closing his eyes. "I may have never told you this…but I always did look at you as if you were my son. You have my blessings, Haku. I don't know what the blessings of a demon can do for you, but I wish you luck all the same. Good bye." And Zabuza, the Demon of the Bloody Mist and one of the Seven Swordsman breathed his last breath, and was silent.
Haku sat there quietly beside his master, looking down at Zabuza's now lifeless body. Finally, he stood to his feet and looked over to face Naruto. At first the Genin just scowled at him, not wanting to give the boy any pity whatsoever. Why should he? Now he knew what it felt to lose the one most precious to you. Haku was going through the same thing that he was now. He'll recieve no sympathy from Naruto.
But then the Kiri nin looked over toward where Hinata's body lay. "You should go to her," Haku said. "She will be waking up soon."
"What?!" Naruto yelled in shock.
"I have been trained by Za…to be capable of putting people in a false death state. It has come in handy once or twice in the past. I did the same to Hinata. She should be waking up at anytime now."
Naruto stood with his mouth wide open, looking first to where Hinata was still lying, then to Haku.
"I…well…" Naruto said looking down to the ground. Haku remained where he stood, waiting for whatever Naruto wanted to say. Haku felt surprise well up inside of him as the blonde bent down into a bow. "Thank you," he said straightening back up, then running off to where Hinata's body was located.
"I should thank you as well," Kakashi said to Haku as he watched Naruto run off. "Hinata is a good girl, and killing her would…well you have no idea what it would do to Naruto."
"Actually, I do," Haku said looking down one more time at Zabuza and then closing his eyes, finally allowing the tears to fall down his face.
Shikamaru watched in silence, not knowing how to react to all of this. He had never been a sensitive guy. He was more of a realistic. But now, he couldn't help but admit that he did feel bad for Haku.
He straightened slightly when he looked up to the sky. What was this? How in the world could there be snow at this time of year? It was impossible! In the middle of summer?!
He looked over at Kakashi, who unlike him, was just looking at the sky in content. He finally slid his hitae-ate back over his Sharingan eye. I wonder, Kakashi thought as he continued to watch the snow fall, is this a reflection of the boy's soul…or is it perhaps Zabuza's remorse…?
Naruto, who was not far away, was not paying any attention to the snow. Instead, he was kneeling in front of Hinata's body, hoping with all his might for her to open her eyes. Praying that she would open her eyes. Naruto started. He could have sworn that Hinata had just moved her hand a little. He gasped next when her eyes began to flicker open for a moment. Finally, Hinata's eyes opened slightly, her purple pupils squinting from the sun that now shone through the disappearing mist even with the snow falling.
"N-Naruto-kun?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Hey, Hinata-chan," Naruto said dumbly. Without thinking next, he wrapped his arms around Hinata and held her tight, surprising the Hyuga girl greatly.
"Naruto? Am I…are we…dead?" she asked.
"No, Hinata," Naruto said pulling away and wiping the tears from his eyes. "We're alive." Hinata's eyes shone brightly and they once again embraced, with Naruto not ever wanting to let go.
Naruto and his team stood on a large cliff that overlooked sea that lay between the Land of Waves and the Land of Fire. The sun was just beginning to set, giving the sky the mysterious orange that was the twilight.
In front of him and his teammates was Haku, dressed out of his shinobi clothes and into the disguise clothing that he had used when he had first met with Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata. In front of him was Zabuza's giant sword, thrust into the ground to mark the area of the shinobi's final resting place.
"I still remember the day when I first met Zabuza," Haku said to the group behind him. They all remained silent, not knowing how to reply. "It was snowing, much like it was yesterday… I was lost. I had nowhere to go. Both my mother and father were dead. My father was the one who took my mother's life…and soon after I took his."
Haku looked away from the sword and toward the setting sun in the horizon. "When Zabuza-sama first saw me, he told me that I was going die…that I wasn't strong enough to make it through the winter. But then, I think he saw something in me, perhaps my kekkae genkai. He asked me if I would follow him and sell my life to his cause…it was one of the only questions that he had ever asked me. An option that I could decide on by me alone. I agreed. And so I devoted my life to him, I lived for him. And now that he's gone, I feel as if there is nothing left that this life is able to offer."
"There are other options in life," Kakashi said seriously. "You choose to be a shinobi, and you knew that there may come a day when you had to face this."
"…I had thought I was prepared," Haku said slightly turning his head back toward them. "I was wrong. You all knew Zabuza as the Demon of the Bloody Mist. An enemy that must be disposed of and threatened your mission as well as your lives. To me though…he was a guardian, someone who watched out for me to the end. How can I expect to live when the reason I did live is now gone?"
"Stop feeling so sorry for yourself," Naruto said, catching everyone by surprise. Before anybody could do anything, he jumped forward and spun Haku around, grabbing him by the shirt. "You are pathetic," he said. "What if Zabuza was still alive and saw you now after everything he said to you before he died? What would he think?!"
"Enough, Naruto," Kakashi said behind him, but the Genin paid no attention to his sensei.
"You felt the pain too, Naruto," Haku replied looking over the blonde's shoulder toward Hinata. "If I had killed her…would you have been able to live with yourself? You weren't able to save her even though you tried your hardest. Could you really accept that?"
"I don't know," Naruto said letting go of Haku's shirt, but not letting the force in his voice drop. "But I do know that she wouldn't want me to live on in suffering." Behind him, Hinata nodded with a sad smile to Haku and Naruto.
"The pain is great, Naruto-san," Haku said stepping away from Naruto and facing all of his former enemies. "…But there is some truth to what you say."
"I know that, but do you?" Naruto asked.
Haku's closed his eyes and hung his head in silence while everyone watched him silently. Finally, he looked up with a comforting, yet still slightly sad smile. "I will follow Zabuza's last request and live on," he said, "though it will be a hard journey for me. I need to find my own way now, to find where I belong and am needed."
"Kakashi-sensei," Hinata said, "can't Haku come with us? No one will be mad, will they?"
"He's not even a registered ninja really if he was trained by Zabuza," Shikamaru added. "We just need to think of enough lies and he'll be home free…"
"No," Haku suddenly said. Everyone looked over at him in surprise, but he just shrugged in response. "I need to find out where I belong on my own. I can't accept help from any of you, I am sorry."
Naruto looked over at Haku, looking directly in the taller boy's eyes. "I still don't trust you," he said admittedly. "But still…I hope that we can someday meet again as friends." Naruto outstretched his hand toward Haku which the other boy looked at in surprise.
"Thank you, Naruto-san," Haku said grasping the hand and shaking it. "I believe that we are very much alike, you and I. But unlike me, you choose the path of a true shinobi. Promise me that you'll continue on that path and protect your friends. Make sure that nothing happens to them."
"I will," Naruto said nodding and turning back to his team, which they sent a smile back to him.
"We'll meet again, Naruto-san," Haku said from behind Naruto. When the blonde turned back around to look at Haku again, he was gone.
"We have no idea how to thank you," Tazuna said gratefully toward squad seven. "You don't know how much we people of the village owe you. By aiding us building this bridge, you have renewed our hope for ourselves."
"Ah, don't worry about it," Naruto said chuckling. "That's what we heroes do. Save a village, defeat a business running asshole, build a couple bridges…it's all in a days work. Right guys?"
"Y-yeah," Hinata said smiling at the mass of people that had come to see them off. None of them had expected so many people to come, though they had a pretty good assumption that Inari and Tazuna had a little something to do about it.
"Hinata…" Tazuna spoke sadly, "I'm especially sorry about what nearly happened to you. You nearly died, and not to mention that you also lost that ability that you use with those eyes of yours. If it hadn't been for me…"
"Don't worry, Tazuna-san," Hinata said bowing. "I agreed to the risks and I took on the mission because I wanted too. I knew what I needed to do. And everything worked out in the end, so I don't think there is anything to worry about." What she said was actually very true. Though she had lost the ability to use her Byakugan, for some reason, she felt no anger towards Tazuna. In fact, she was happy that all of them had made it through the whole thing in one piece. And besides, even if she knew what would have happened in the end before she accepted the mission, she knew that she would do the whole thing all over again.
"You don't know how much it means to me that you said that," Tazuna said smiling down at the girl. "I wish you all safe travels and good luck in the future."
"You better come and visit us," Inari said, looking very close to tears.
"Well you have got to come visit us," Naruto said back, looking a little teary eyed himself.
"I don't think that would be such a bad idea," Kakashi said looking up from his book. "The Chunin Exams are coming up in a little while, and I think I know a couple of Genin that may be participating in it."
"Are you serious?!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically. "You mean that we can already try out to be Chunin?"
"Perhaps," Kakashi said placing a hand on Naruto's blonde head. "But that only depends on how hard and diligently you train beforehand."
Shikamaru sighed beside Kakashi. "Great," he complained. "If that exam is half as hard as my dad says it is, it's going to be a complete pain."
"Don't listen to him, he's just a party pooper," Naruto said waving a hand at Shikamaru dismissively. "But make sure you come and see us though. Then you'll get to see me kick even more butt!"
"We'll be there," Tazuna said nodding along with his daughter and grandson. "Just make sure you ace that exam while we're there."
"Count on it!" Naruto said punching the air. "We'll see you then!"
Squad seven then turned around and began to make their way down the soon to be named Great Naruto Bridge with many cheering people shouting goodbyes to them. Unknown to them, a lone figure stood on a high cliff, watching them leave with a smile on his face.
"Uzumaki Naruto," Haku said watching the small orange figure walk along the bridge. "There are a few people in this world that can change it forever…you are one of those people. Your allies, your beliefs, and your dreams will affect the entire world. I doubt you are fully aware of such things, and I'm unsure if you ever will. Please, stay on the right path, and keep true to your ninja way. And most of all, protect your friends, they'll make you strong. And good luck."
Haku turned away from the cliff and knelt down in front of Zabuza's sword. After a moment, he muttered his last goodbyes to his former master and stood back to his feet. Instead of walking off though, Haku grasped the hilt of Zabuza's giant sword that was still impaled into the ground. With an audible grunt, he pulled it out of the earth and held the giant blade in front of his face. With a smile, he tied the sword onto his back and walked down the path, ready to find his own ninja way.
And…cut! There we go! Finished with the Land of Waves! Took me long enough…Heheheheh. And you guys actually thought hat I would kill Hinata off. Yeah, right. By the way, hope that no one will get too angry at the slightly super-powered Naruto I had, it's only because he was using the Kyuubi's chakra at that time. It won't happen again.
Well just so you know, there's going to be a little filler stuff in the next couple of chapters before the Chunin Exams start. It might be a little while until I get all of the ideas in my head sorted together. If you want, you can also check out my Naru/Ino fic that I wrote a couple months ago. Just go to my profile to find it. Well, until the next update everybody, have a nice day and happy writing (or angsty writing if that's your style).
But just to hold you over a little while, here's a little preview (not much, but oh well)… With Hinata's Byakugan sealed inside of her, will the Hyuuga family be able to unlock it once again…? Not to mention that she has also lost the cursed seal…how will the family react? Find out next chapter…
