"You're getting your ass kicked? How disappointing."

The three shinobi stared in surprise at the short man and his goons. There had to be at least twenty of them!
"Gatou. What are you doing here? And what is with those men?" Zabuza growled.

"The plan has changed," Gatou chuckled. "Well, not really. I planned on doing this from the start. Zabuza, I'm going to have you killed here."

"What?"

"I never planned on paying you. Hiring a normal shinobi from a village is expensive and they might betray me. So I use missing-nins who are easy to expose of afterward. Good plan, eh? The only problem was you Zabuza. Devil of the Mist… more like a cute little devil."

"We can easily kill you now!" one of the goons cheered.

"Our fight is over, Kakashi," Zabuza said. "I have no reason to go after Tazuna now. My reason for fighting you is gone."

"Huh?"

"I guess you're right," Kakashi said.

"This is the one who broke my arm," Gatou said as he approached Haku's body. He sneered and kicked him. "Dead, huh? Good riddance!"

"What are you doing, you bastard!" Naruto charged at the short man. Kakashi grabbed him by the collar.

"Stop! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Kakashi scolded.

"Hey! Say something! Weren't you friends?" Naruto practically screamed at Zabuza.

"Shut up kid. Haku is already dead."

"Don't you feel anything?"

"Just as Gatou used me, I used Haku. That's all it was. In the world of shinobi there are only those who use and those who are used. We shinobi are tools. What I wanted was his blood, not him. I have no regrets."

"You… do you seriously mean that?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"Why do you care?" Zabuza asked. "He killed your friend didn't he?"

"You-"

"Stop, Naruto! We aren't fighting him anymore," Kakashi said.

"My enemy is still him!" Naruto yelled. "He loved you! He really loved you! DO you really feel nothing? You really… really don't feel anything? If I become as strong as you, will I really be like you? He gave up his life for you! Without fulfilling his own dream… to die as a tool… that's just too sad!"

"Hay… gaki…"

Naruto, who had began to cry again by the end of his rant, was caught off guard by Zabuza's tears.

"You… don't have to say anymore," Zabuza said. "It pained him to fight you. Haku… was too kind. I'm glad… I got to face you guys as my last opponents. You may be right. Shinobi are still humans. We may be incapable of becoming emotionless tools. I've lost."

Naruto was silent. For the first time in his life, he was at a loss as to what to say.

"Hey, lend me your kunai," Zabuza requested.

"Huh. Oh. Sure."

Naruto took one of his kunais out of his holder and tossed it to the missing-nin. Zabuza caught the kunai with his teeth.

The rest was over in less than a minute.

xxx

"It's a promise, then?" Naruto asked.

"One I have no intention of ever breaking!"

"You'd better not!" Naruto said. He was still smiling, but the smile no longer reached his eyes. "You can't go and die before then alright?"

Sasuke's smile fell.

"Naruto…"

"You… you're my first friend y'know? Everyone is nice to me because of my dad, but they still avoid me. So you can't go and leave me before you fulfill your promise, okay?" Naruto said seriously.

"I promise," Sasuke said, Naruto clasped his hands on his shoulders and looked straight into his eyes.

"I won't forgive you. If you dare give up again… If you ever try to… I won't forgive you. You got that?"

"I get it," Sasuke assured him, giving him a small smile. "You're going to be stuck with me for the rest of your life, dobe."

"I better be, teme."

xxx

Naru… to….

THe first thing he was aware of was a hand on his cheek. It didn't move; it was just resting there. It was rather warm, actually. The next he felt was the pain. He could feel the needles in his skin and the hundreds of cuts all over his body. He was tired. So tired. He just wanted to the hand moved. It wasn't much; just the thumb. It wasn't much, but it began to rouse him. He opened his eyes slowly.

"Sa.. kura?"

Saskura's eyes widened. Sasuke looked up at her is confusion. Was she crying…?

"Sasuke?" she asked softly. In the next second, she was glaring at him. There was no real heat behind her eyes.

"You… baka! You scared me!" Tears began to fall freely and Sakura sobbed. "Baka, baka, baka, BAKA!"

Sasuke groaned in pain as he sat up. Sakura stopped yelling at him and began to help him. Sasuke gave her a soft smile in thanks.

"We thought you were dead," Tazuna laughed in relief.

"Dead… Naruto!" Sasuke tried to stand, but fell back down. "Where's Naruto and the masked kid?"

"Naruto's fine. The masked kid is dead," Sakura reassured him.

"Dead? Did Naruto…?"

"No. He died protecting Zabuza," Sakura said. Sasuke tried to stand again and managed it this time with Sakura's help. "You… you should be more careful."

"I can take care of myself," Sasuke assured her. "But tha-"

"Naruto was really messed up," Sakura interrupted him. "You promised him right?"

xxx

"My dreams… I don't really have one."

xxx

"He promised," Naruto repeated. "He said… he said he was going to make me the Hokage. He said that was his dream. He said he wouldn't die until then. He promised."

xxx

"If that's the case, then you better keep it."

Sasuke was caught off guard. He smirked.

"I fully intend to," he said confidently. "Thank you."

"For what?" Sakura waved him off. "Naruto! Sasuke's fine! He's alive!"

Naruto spun around so fast Sasuke was surprised he didn't get whiplash. He still had tears streaked down his face. Naruto began to cry again, this time in relief, but stopped himself. He wiped his face off and gave him a disapproving look.

"Oi! Took you long enough, dattebayo!"

Sasuke grinned.

"I'm the future Hokage's right hand man! As if I'd die here," Sasuke scoffed.

Sakura shook her head.

"Hey, aren't you guys celebrating a bit too early?"

Their attention was drawn to the goons on the other side of the bridge.

"Hey, you damn shinobi killed our meal ticket!"

"You are so dead!"

"We're gonna pillage the village and take anything of value!"

"Let's begin!"

"This is bad," Kakashi said in a voice much too calm for the situation as the thugs began to charge.

"Kakashi! Don't you have some special jutsu that can take care of them all?" Naruto asked.

"I don't have enough chakra, not after using Raikiri and the Sharingan."

Before the thugs could even make it half the distance to them, an arrow landed on the bridge before them.

"Hey, if you come any closer to this island-" Naruto and Kakashi turned to see all the men of the village gathered with whatever they could get their hands on for weapons. In the front was Inari with the crossbow the arrow had come from. "-the citizens of this country will stop you with everything we've got!"

"Inari!" Naruto cried.

"A hero arrives at the last second, right?" Inari smirked.

"Yosh, I can help too, dattebayo!"

Kage Bushin no Jutsu!

Four more Naruto's joined the first, causing the now nervous thugs to flinch.

I can do that much at least, Kakashi thought.

Kage bushin no Jutsu!

… Kakashi style!
"You want some of this?" Kakashi and hid bushins taunted.

"NO WE DON'T!" the thugs screamed in terror before running back to the boat they had arrived on.

"Huh?" Naruto looked up as his bushins were dispelled. "Snow?"

Sure enough, it had began to snow. Movement caught Naruto's eye and he looked over to see Kakashi laying Zabuza down next to Haku. The entire village was silent as Zabuza made his final farewells to the boy he had taken under his wing so many years.

"He… Haku was born in a snowy village," Naruto managed between sobs.

"I see," Kakashi said. "He was a boy as pure as the snow."

xxx

2 weeks later…

xxx

"Kakashi-sensei…"

"What is it, Sakura?"

"Were they right?" Sakura asked. "About Shinobi."

"A shinobi isn't supposed pursue his own goals. Becoming the country's tool is the most important thing," Kakashi answered. "It's the same in Konoha."

"Is that was it really means to be a shinobi?" Naruto frowned. "I don't like it."

"Do you believe that too?" Sasuke asked.

"That's…" Kakashi fell silent for a moment. He stared at Zabuza's and Haku's graves as though he was contemplating something. "Every shinobi has to spend his life dealing with that issue."

"You didn't answer my question," Sasuke pointed out.

Kakashi didn't respond.

"I've decided," Naruto declared. "I refuse to accept that shinobi are just tools. I won't live my life like that! I'm going to be shinobi my own way!"

Both Sasuke and Kakashi smiled proudly.

"I have no doubt you will…"

xxx

"Thank you. For everything," Tazuna said. "We're going to miss you."

The shinobi stood before the new bridge as they said their farewells. Inari and Naruto were doing a horrible job trying not to cry. Sasuke rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Don't worry, we'll come to visit, dattebayo!" Naruto assured them.

"You… better…" Inari's voice cracked out.

"You… you're sad right?" Naruto asked. "It's okay to cry!"

"I'm not going to cry!" Inari shouted. "But… Naruto… you can cry too!"

"Well… later!"

Both boys burst out in tears as soon as the other wasn't looking.

They're like twins, Sakura thought.

Sasuke chuckled softly and reached out to wrap his arm around his friend's neck and ruffle his hair.

That boy changed Inari's heart and Inari changed the people's hearts. That boy gave us a bridge to hope called courage... oh yeah, we need to name the bridge. I think I have the perfect name too.

Oh? What is it?

The Great Naruto Bridge.

xxx

"Why are you back already?"

"Change in plans."

"What?"

"We ran into a couple of Kirigakure missing-nin and they told us an interesting story. Apparently they were defeated by a jounin and three genin. They described one of the genin as being a blonde boy with a loud mouth and six marks on his cheeks."

"Well, well, well. Sounds like the Yondaime finally let his boy out of his cage. Big mistake."