"Zabuza Momochi," said Kakashi from somewhere behind him, "the 'Demon of the Mist'."

"You must be Kakashi Hatake, the Mirror-Ninja. What an honour. Unfortunately, I can't stay and play. My employer has business with the old man."

"Your employer?" queried Kakashi, "I thought you were a rogue Ninja."

"I am. I no longer have any ties to the Mizukagé, or any other Kirigakure Ninja. I work for whomever I wish."

"So who ordered the hit on Tazuna?" asked Kakashi.

"Oh, you might have heard of him. His name's Gatô."

"Gatô?! Of Gatô Shipping and Transport?! The Gatô?! He's said to be the richest man alive!"

"They're not wrong," laughed Zabuza quietly, "So since it was Gatô who ordered the hit, I can hardly ignore him."

"You are right…Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura, form up on Mr. Tazuna. Manji Battle Formation," said Kakashi, tactically not drawing attention to Adam.

"Ah, Kakashi. That won't work. Now, if you won't give me Tazuna, I'll have to take him from you. Prepare to witness the finest of Ninja arts."

When he finished talking, he leapt off the sword, leaving it impaled in Adam, and landed on the surface of the nearby lake. He summoned up his chakra as said, "Behold, the Kirigakure Jutsu. Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

With that, a massive layer of fog came down over the others, concealing Zabuza, and making almost impossible for them to see for more than a few feet in front of them.

"There are eight separate death points on the body," said Zabuza from somewhere in the mist, "Throat. Spinal Column. Lungs. Liver. Jugular Vein. Subclavian Artery. Kidneys. Heart. There are so many choices…where to aim first?"

As Zabuza was talking, Kakashi pulled the headband he wore over one eye up so it revealed it. There was a scar running from about an inch above his eyebrow to about one inch below his cheekbone. That was not what got everyone's attention, however. It was the eye itself. The iris was red and the pupil was midnight black, with three little 'commas' surrounding it.

Sasuke gasped, "The Sharingan!"

"Sharingan?" asked Naruto, "What's that?"

"The Sharingan," Sakura began, "lets the Ninja that has it copy any Nin- Gen- or Taijutsu. It can also see through any illusion, but this mist is real, so he can't see through it. The Sharingan or 'mirror-wheel' eye is…"

"The Uchiha clan's kekkei-genkai," finished Sasuke, who had gone pale at what this new development might mean.

"The Uchiha clan's whosiwhatsis?" asked Naruto, totally out of his intellect depth.

"Our genetic ability," said Sasuke, "which means…"

"No way," said Naruto, "Kakashi's part of your clan?"

"It's the only way he could have gotten it," answered Sasuke.

They all turned back, trying to see Zabuza.

Adam's hands slowly came together, just out of sight of where he saw Zabuza last. "Uma," he whispered to himself, "I, tori, tora, mi, ne, tora, hitsuji, ne, inu." As he said the last word, and made the last hand sign, the fog dropped away, revealing him standing just behind Kakashi. Kakashi was too slow, however, and Zabuza kicked him in the back, sending him reeling towards the lake, but stopped just short.

Zabuza turned, furious, "Which one of you brats removed the hidden mist?"

"Not one of them," said Adam.

"W-what?!" stammered Zabuza, turning to face Adam, who was now kneeling, the sword still in him, the hilt touching the ground, the blade pointing skywards. "What are you?" he continued, beginning to step backwards.

"Heh, you wouldn't believe how many times I'm asked that question," said Adam, "Oh, by the way, do you want your sword back?" With that, he ripped the sword out sideways through his side, and flung it at Zabuza, using Psyk to make it arc around and cut the vulnerable tendons at the back of his knees. Zabuza screamed and fell to his knees. Adam walked over to him, squatting down in front of him and looking in his eyes. He saw fear in them and he stood, disgusted at this man who lay on the ground in front of him. Adam kicked him onto his stomach and set to work healing the backs of his knees. As Adam started chanting in Psylan, he made up his mind, Zabuza doesn't deserve my blood, he thought, His muscles will have to heal at the normal rate, although the skin will be intact.

"Adam! What do you think you're doing?!" yelled Sakura.

"Everyone, everyone, deserves a chance at redemption, Sakura. Even him."

"Adam, stop this now!" yelled Kakashi, who had shaken off the effects of the kick and had started back towards Adam.

"Too late, Kakashi. He his healed," said Adam.

"Well, then," said Kakashi, drawing a kunai, "I suppose I'll have to UN-heal him."

As the kunai began its downward arc, Zabuza's sword leapt into Adam's hand, almost of its own accord. As Adam blocked the blow he snarled, "I said everyone deserves a second chance. I mean it, Kakashi. I may be but a Genin by Ninja standards, but I have seen more blood and death than any village in this country. I will stop you, should you continue the attack. I gave my word to protect him the moment I healed him. You will not make me break it."

"Then you are a traitor to your village," said Kakashi, a little triumphantly, "So you must be exiled."

"I would rather be exiled from an insignificant Ninja village than lose my Psyker powers," said Adam, aiming to make Kakashi angry. He succeeded.

"Insignificant? I'll show you insignificant, you little runt!" he yelled, disengaging from Adam and leaping backwards.

"Kakashi, think for a second," said Adam, "Which country is the biggest?"

"Hidden Leaf," said Kakashi, unsure where this was going.

"Why is it the biggest?" Adam asked, dropping the sword.

"Because we expanded our borders," said Kakashi, keeping a tight grip on his kunai.

"Whose borders did you expand into?" asked Adam.

"The other countries, but…"

"Exactly! You stole from the other villages. Instead of produce or cloth, you stole land, which is a lot more important. Did your village ask permission to take over the other villages land?"

"No, but…"

"So why did you do it?"

"Because we needed it,"

"But didn't the other villages need it as well? If they didn't, they wouldn't have put claims on it when the first territories were marked."

"I don't see where this is leading…"

"I'm saying that if I was to punish all the people who did something wrong, without giving them a chance to change, this island would be almost deserted."

"What? Why?" asked Naruto.

"Because I would've killed them all," said Adam simply.

As Zabuza began to stir, Adam walked over to him. "Zabuza, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"How do you think I'm feeling?" he snapped, "I just got the tendons in the back of my legs cut, then stitched back together by a person that has the finesse of a butcher."

"I'm glad you think so highly of me," said Adam with a smile, "However, since the Adaptus Psykarus says I'm to give everyone I defeat a second chance, I have done that. Should you attack again, though, I will have no qualms about cutting you down. Be forewarned."

"I must get the man," said Zabuza, "I already have a contract with Gatô. One hundred thousand yen for the man dead. One and a half if he's alive."

"Hmm…" said Adam, "you are in a predicament aren't you? You don't take the man, and Gatô kills you. You try to take the man, and we kill you. However…"

"However what?" Zabuza asked, "There is no however about it. Those, it seems, are my two choices."

"I have an alternative, if you would like to hear it," Adam suggested, surprising everybody.

"As long as it doesn't put any of us in danger," said Kakashi, "I think it would be ok. I still don't trust Zabuza though."

"The feeling's mutual, Kakashi, believe me," answered Zabuza.

"I suggest we…" Adam began, forming the Tori (or bird) hand sign. He then muttered, "Tori, inu, saru, I, tora, hitsuji, tori, ne…Kakashi, could you please stop copying me with your Sharingan, it's slightly disturbing."

"But the hand signs you're making," said Zabuza, "they'll use up too much of your chakra. You'll die!"

"Die? I thought we established that I can't die?" said Adam with a smile, "So let me work my magic, dammit."

He started again, "Tori, inu, saru, I, tora, hitsuji, tori, ne, ushi, mi, tora, ne, uma, TATSU!"

On the last hand sign, a huge gust of wind blew through the clearing, shaking heaps of leaves from the trees. Even though most of the leaves fell down normally, no leaves would fall within ten centimetres of Tazuna. Zabuza and Kakashi gasped, astounded that this small boy could produce so much chakra. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were, allowably, a little slow on the uptake.

"I don't get it," said Naruto, "what did you do?"

"Watch and learn," said Adam, obviously pleased with his work. He ran towards Tazuna, grasping Zabuza's six-foot-long sword as he did. He leapt into the air and made as if to cleave Tazuna from head to toe.

"Adam, wait!" yelled Kakashi, "A Protection Jutsu can't stand up to that amount of force!!"

As the huge sword just touched the invisible barrier, a massive crack ran though the sword, and it snapped in half, jarring Adam's arm from wrist to shoulder.

"Really?" he asked, "I think I worked ok. Just in case, however, it wouldn't hurt to have an extra guard…"