I don't own Naruto... though I wish I did!

A/N - Thank you to all those who responded to my poll questions and the other reviews. I'm going to try to wrap up this arc pretty quickly to get into the Chunin exam arc, I think it's time to shake things up!

NSJOTL - Cp 18 Breakthrough Breakdown!

The only predictable thing in a shinobi's life is death, everything else is shadows. - Tobirama Senju

Zabuza Mamochi was mad. No, that wasn't accurate, he was worse than mad, he was insanely pissed off! The body of the messenger, Gato's assistant, on the floor in front of him showed the effects of his state. Cut to shreds by the huge blade, limbs hacked off, all in all a bloody mess. Not unusual results for a typical victim of Zabuza, but an example of the ruthless nature he possessed when agitated.

"So Gato thinks he can dismiss the Demon of the Mist so easily? Haku, I think it is time to remind our former employer it is not wise to cross one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist." Zabuza said as he removed the blade from the torso of the corpse at his feet.

"Indeed, Zabuza sensai. I am your tool to dispense your displeasure." Haku considered his next words before speaking. "Gato and his men will be little trouble, but what about the Leaf-nin, Kakashi Hatake and his team?" Haku was sure what his sensai would say, and held out little hope for the fate of the young ninja he had met in the forest.

"They will die. The Copy Ninja may have won the first match, but except for the luck he had because of his Genin he would have been dead. Now, with you to handle them, none will escape." Zabuza said coldly. "It's time for our revenge Haku, let's go!" Both Zabuza and Haku left their hideout and sped off toward their rendezvous with revenge.

Gato sat in his executive chair behind his desk, fingers of both hands arched together contemplating the deal he had struck with the Konoha Jonin.

Unlike his deal with Zabuza where no political strings were attached, the same could not be said when dealing with a representative of Konohagakure. Their prestige and power could not be bought cheaply normally. However, this agreement with them would benefit him in ways his mind was already deeply considering. The deal would give legitimacy to his actions in this pitiful land if he let the thief and his family live and treat the village residents "fairly" in the profits from the bridge. That was the Jonin's word... fairly ... but such a word could have many meanings, especially to a man like Gato. And once his competitors got wind of Gato's alliance with the leaf, well that opened up a whole avenue of opportunities! In return, the Jonin agreed to release Gato's henchmen and guards if they would no longer threaten and prey on the villagers. Of course the Mist-missing-nin would have to be handled, the Konoha nin agreed it would be necessary for the safety of everyone. The agreement was set down in contract and sealed.

Without Kakashi's knowledge, Gato sent his assistant to find Zabuza and tell him his services were no longer needed. Gato's plan was two-fold, to dispose of his assistant and hopefully incite Zabuza to attack and inflict damage to the Konoha ninja, perhaps enough to kill them or severely injure all the ninja so his henchmen could then dispose of all the ninja entirely. Their deaths could be explained as mutual destruction. The advantage was obvious, he would still have a contract legitimizing his occupation of the Land of Waves, but have no strong evidence against his own illicit dealings.

Yes, Gato was satisfied the deal was a good one. Even if he had to live up to his side of the bargain, he would be the one who gained the upper hand!

Tazuna's family was breathing their first sigh of relief in weeks. They were openly welcomed back into the village and found a place to stay while their house could be rebuilt. Meanwhile, after their release, Gato's men had become more scarce and were no longer harassing the villagers and workers on the bridge. Whether because Gato had stipulated they leave or they feared the Leaf Genin who had thrashed them soundly was unknown. Construction on the bridge had resumed with Tazuna as Foreman and everything seemed to be going according to the deal that had been set in place.

Team 7 did not waver in its duty toward Tazuna or his family. But they also added surveillance of the village and bridge to their duties. It was possible some of Gato's henchmen would renege and cause problems, and of course the threat of Zabuza and Haku was quite real. Kakashi sent the messenger frog Gana back to the Leaf with a copy of the terms of the contract and update on the general status of the mission.

A few days had passed since their deal with Gato, and the imminent dread of possible attack by the Mist hidden nin was ever-present in the minds of the Genin. Despite this Kakashi encouraged his team to find distractions during their down time to keep them from becoming too keyed up.

Karin had taken to conversing with Hinata about the similarities and differences in their sensory powers. While Karin could sense chakra signatures of relatively strong sources and even differentiate the chakra natures, her accuracy at pinpointing position was limited to a relatively short distance of 300 meters. Hinata on the other hand could accurately locate large and small signatures, but not natures, in specific directions, but had to be physically looking in that direction. However, her Byakugan did allow her to quickly assess the strengths of a target if she had a few seconds of extended observation.

Sasuke spent time with Kakashi discussing the obvious issues in the deal they had struck with Gato. He wondered why they hadn't simply eliminated Gato and chased away the men he hired. Kakashi enlightened the young Genin on the finer points of Shinobi politics. Yes, eliminating Gato and his men was convenient in the short-term, but what effect would that knowledge have on Konoha's dealings with nations who benefited from Gato's shipping business. It was possible his death at their hands would cause Konoha to lose business, or even worse, other shadow villages would spread rumors of Konoha's willingness to kill civilians. If Konoha became known as a village willing to arbitrarily kill businessmen without proof of treachery the long-term outlook would be bleak indeed. History of shadow villages and their wars were rife with conflicts which began over small incidents and escalated into long drawn out affairs that cost the lives of men, women, and children. Even the death of someone like Gato could be twisted and used as fodder, so agreements, even distasteful ones sometimes had to be forged.

While his fellow Genin spent their free time in such pursuits, Naruto had split his time between working with Inari, encouraging the youth to improve his view of the world and the reality that heroism wasn't dead, and conversing with Kinsuya about the history of the Uzumaki homeland. Such disparate acts were not as unrelated as some might think. In the great elemental nations life had been a struggle and developing civilizations was a long-term process. Families gathered into Clans. Clans gave way to villages and villages to nations. But the key in the steps from one to the next was heroism of people willing to stand in unity and face whatever odds to achieve their goals. Uzushiogakure was no different.

Dawn on the fourth day since the deal had been struck started like the others. Villagers began their daily activities. Those who would work on the bridge began to form up into work parties, Tazuna informed each group what the day's task would be and sent them on their way. Kakashi sent Naruto and Sasuke on alternating patrol of the perimeter of the village while Hinata used her Byakugan to scan for possible problems within the village itself. Kinsuya and Karin remained with Tsunami and Inari just as a precaution. Mid-morning Tazuna came back to the temporary house that had become his home and the ninja headquarters. Shortly after a man from the bridgeworks arrived at the doorstep of Tazuna's home in a hysterical state. He pounded on the door until Kinsuya opened it.

"They're dead! ... My whole work party!" The crazed man said before falling forward on the floor. Three puncture wounds were spurting blood from his back and it began to pool on the floor beneath him.

"Hinata!" Kakashi barked at the Genin, but she was already out the door and scanning in the direction of the bridge.

"It's awful sensai, I can detect several bodies under the bridge floating in the water. There are several men on top of the bridge who appear to be carrying weapons, but none have strong chakra. They appear to be some of Gato's thugs." The female ninja reported.

"Where is Naruto?" Kakashi asked, but before his student could answer Karin spoke up from inside the house.

"Naruto is to the west, he must be coming up the coast into the harbor area. But I also sense the presence of two strong chakra signatures. One is heading toward the harbor, and stronger one is headed for the bridgeworks." Karin responded.

Sasuke stood up from where he had been sitting in a chair at the table after receiving a nod from Kakashi. "I will intercept the one heading for Gato's Yacht." He quickly left the room and was already speeding along the roofline across the street in the direction of the harbor by the time Kakashi turned to the red-haired Uzumaki girl.

"Karin, can you intercept Naruto and send him to assist Sasuke?" She nodded. "Ok, do so, then get back here and rejoin your mother to protect Tazuna and his family. Hinata, you're with me. " Kinsuya didn't flinch a bit at the Jonin's instructions. It made tactical sense and she had no doubt her daughter would be fine. Karin was out the door headed for where she sensed Naruto's chakra, while Kakashi and Hinata were heading in the opposite direction toward the bridge.

"Will they be OK?" Inari looked up into Kinsuya's face but saw no fear or doubt on it.

"Do not worry Inari, shinobi train for times like this." Kinsuya said, nodding to Tazuna and Tsunami who settled into chairs while Kinsuya moved the body of the dead worker from the doorway and closed the door and placed a Fuinjutsu on it.

Naruto was finishing the final leg of his patrol along the coastline when he saw a red-haired blur approaching him quickly. In a few moments Karin caught up with him and relayed Kakashi's instructions. Just as quickly his cousin's blurred figure left his side heading back to rejoin her mother.

"I've got to speed up and join Sasuke, hopefully he hasn't engaged the enemy yet." Naruto thought, knowing Sasuke's abilities would allow him to hold his own against an opponent for a while even if it was likely the other missing nin who saved Zabuza's life. He quickly added more chakra to his feet allowing him to increase his speed to an incredible rate, no longer worrying about scouting the area but making the best speed he could to reach the harbor quickly.

It took only a couple of minutes of the rocket like speed to bring the harbor into view and Naruto could make out Gato's large yacht anchored against one of the docks. What drew his attention most though was a strange-looking construct on the specific dock where the yacht was located. It was in the shape of a dome, but gleamed in the sunlight like a hundred mirrors lined its walls. As he got closer he could see movement inside and saw Sasuke making slashing actions with a kunai in his hand. But he couldn't see Sasuke's attacker, only occasional flashes of light. He had to help Sasuke! Studying the dome he could see it wasn't made up of real mirrors but sheets of ice that reflected almost as if they were mirrors. But these sheets were not connected, they merely floated in place as if kept there by an unseen force.

Naruto considered staying outside the dome, but saw no way he could help from outside. If he had a fire jutsu perhaps he could try to melt it, but other than a few paper bombs he had little else that might be of use. Still, he decided to give it a try. Fashioning two paper bombs around the hilts of two kunai he threw them at different points of the dome. They flashed and exploded, but there was no apparent damage. However, the explosions drew the attention of Sasuke inside. Sasuke made a hand sign Naruto recognized immediately and understood. Quickly Naruto drew on his chakra reserves and made ten clones. Each clone took up a position outside the dome surrounding it. Then simultaneously the right hand of each began to glow, the fingers of the hands creating the Five Prong Seal, and in unison those hands shot out at individual sheets of ice on the dome. The effect was immediate. The sheets of ice began to shimmer and lose form, dripping water as they melted in the sunlight.

Naruto could see the technique start to take effect and the dome began to crack as sheets started to fall from their places. An opening in the dome quickly formed and Naruto took the opportunity to dash inside to see if he could assist Sasuke against whatever opponent he was facing.

"Sasuke, you OK?" Naruto asked his teammate as he joined him inside the collapsing dome. "Wait, what the hell is this?" Naruto's attention was drawn to the interior of the dome, each ice sheet that was still intact held the image of the missing-nin who had saved Zabuza.

"He's got some kind of special kekkai genkai allowing him to create this ice dome and cast his image on the panels. He's had me in here ever since I stopped him from reaching Gato's yacht." All of the sudden Sasuke pushed Naruto away from him and turned his body. Numerous senbon struck the ground where the pair had just stood. "He's been throwing those damned senbon at me too. So far I've avoided most of them."

"So that boy has come to rescue his friend? Forgive me Naruto, but I must eliminate you for the sake of my sensai."Haku thought as his plans to eliminate Sasuke had to be modified. "Indeed you have avoided them, but what will you do when I triple the number I throw?!" The eerie young voice of their opponent said from around them. It was as if all the reflections were talking so they could not pinpoint which might be the real ninja. Suddenly a large shower of the senbon descended upon them. Though they attempted to avoid them all several found flesh and the two genin learned what a pincushin felt like. "Now to take care of your clones outside." The reflections disappeared suddenly and Naruto could feel his clones being dispelled by senbon attacks.

"Now's our chance Naruto, let's get out of here!" Sasuke shoved Naruto towards one of the openings in the dome. Before they managed three steps Haku stepped through the opening and blocked their escape.

"Nice try, but you Genin have little chance of escaping my crystal ice mirror jutsu. Though you managed to damage some of its mirrors, you cannot get away!" Haku made a quick handsign and the missing mirrors reformed leaving no easy escape route. "Now let's get back to your destruction!" Haku stepped into the nearest mirror and his reflection replicated through all the mirrors in the dome.

"Damn! I thought we could make it out!" Naruto said, realizing he was now trapped inside with Sasuke.

"No kidding dobe! He moves too fast for me to see where the senbon are coming from." Sasuke was worried, it had been hard enough dodging the senbon on his own, but with both he and Naruto stuck inside they had less room to maneuver to avoid attack.

"Let me try something!" Naruto whispered hoping Haku would not hear. Making a crossed handsign Naruto whispered his activation of the Shadow Clone jutsu and created six more clones. Each Naruto held a Kunai and advanced in different directions to attack the mirrored dome. Before they could make it a few feet, senbon began flying from nearly every direction. Sasuke watched as each clone was dispelled having been struck by several senbon each. The real Naruto fell back towards the center with two senbon stuck in his forearm, not vital hits, but hits nonetheless. A heavily winded Naruto pulled the senbon out and grinned sheepishly at Sasuke. "Well it was worth a try!"

Sasuke was amazed at his teammate's resilience in creating so many Shadow Clones in just a short time. Still, that skill wouldn't help them here, unless Sasuke could detect the movement of their captor. "Naruto, can you do that again? I think I can see a pattern to his movements."

"Sure can!" Naruto said, and made the handsign and once again several clones appeared and rushed the walls.

Sasuke watched intently, looking for a pattern to Haku's attacks. He could see the senbon within a foot or two of striking Naruto and his clones, but he couldn't see where they were originating. He had Naruto repeat the attack again, this time he could actually start to see a glimpse of Haku transporting from one position to another as he attacked.

"One more time Naruto!" Naruto was able to only create two clones. At the end of that attack Naruto was barely still able to stand, his arms and legs looking like pincushions but as of yet no vital points had been hit. However, Sasuke could accurately track the attacks and fend off the senbon sent at him as well.

"One more time!" Naruto went to attack, this time without any clones.

"No, Naruto!" Sasuke shouted as his partner attempted the diversionary attack one more time.

Sasuke watched in horror as numerous senbon descended from the mirrors and struck Naruto all over his body.

"You idiot there was no reason to risk yourself for that attack!" Sasuke berated his teammate.

"Ha... I had to show you up didn't I Teme..." Naruto said and then he collapsed on the ground motionless.

"So the little ninja is all done with his clones? Pity, and I thought he really had it in him to be strong. Fine, I'll end his life now so he won't have to make any excuses for not being strong enough to be a ninja." Haku taunted as he aimed another attack directly at Naruto.

"Shut up! You have no idea what you are saying! Naruto is strong! Maybe he's a little knuckleheaded, but he's got more guts than you will show in your life!" Sasuke said. His eyes focused on the incoming attack. He could see the trajectory of each of the senbon and where they needed to be struck to deflect them from their intended points on Naruto's body. He could feel his eyes becoming sharper, clearer, focused. What he could not see was the coma of his eyes turn red and his dominant right eye gain two tome while his lesser eye gained one.

"Amazing! He deflected all my attacks! Only a seasoned ninja could do that!" As Haku looked at Sasuke with amazement he noticed his eyes. "So, you have the kekkai genkai Sharingan! You must be some prodigy to awaken such a gift in battle, but it will be of little use to you against my skills." Haku taunted Sasuke and began another attack. "Senbon Storm jutsu" Haku through a few senbon but much like the Shadow Shuriken jutsu it transformed the few senbon into so many the air was filled with them.

Even with his Sharingan active Sasuke could see no escape from the jutsu, his only choice was to try to shield Naruto from the onslaught and sacrifice his life. The senbon struck his body from head to foot, each strike driving home with force. As Sasuke fell to the ground beside Naruto, his Sharingan eyes meeting his blue eyes briefly. Sasuke's mind flashed to the first time seeing Naruto.

Flashback

The classroom was crowded with noisy young students. Those who knew each other were talking among their groups waiting on the instructor to come into the room. Sasuke sat next to the window taking in the scene. He'd already had a few girls come up and ask him his name before running off giggling and whispering to other girls in the class.

He noticed a young blonde boy walk into the room and look around. The boy was smaller than most others by a good couple inches, but what caught Sasuke's attention was his eyes. The blue eyes were bright and deep and took in everything around them. The smile on the boy's face lessened to almost a grimace and then suddenly returned to an even bigger smile as some of the other students looked in his direction. When Sasuke turned to look at the rest of the class he could see several of them with stares of loathing and disgust all directed at the blonde. "Why? Why the stares? He's just another student at the Academy isn't he?" And the boy, he had seen the stares but quickly hid the effect they had on him.

When he asked his mother about the boy she was pleasant, "Oh, so you and Naruto are in the same class? He's Kushina Uzumaki's son!"

"But mother, why do some of the children look on him with almost hate?" He asked her.

"It's because of Kushina, she carries the demon fox in her, and some people hate her because the Fox destroyed part of the village before the 4th Hokage sealed it back inside her."

"But why hate him? I don't understand mom! Why hate a boy because of his parents?"

"Oh Sasuke, you're such a good boy! Some people carry hate too far, transferring it from parent to child, don't ever be like that my son. I bet if you got to know Naruto you could both be great friends!" His mother hugged him.

The next day he watched again the face of the blonde as he came into the room, and saw the same reactions from the others and from Naruto himself. "He's strong enough to overcome their stares, I bet he'll be a strong ninja one day."

End Flashback

Sasuke thought "No, Naruto is strong, you are wrong just like those students were wrong." And Sasuke's Sharingan eyes faded as his chakra levels dropped and the senbon did their deadly work on his body.

Naruto's blue eyes focused on Sasuke's Sharingan and watched as the comas reverted back to normal and the light in the eyes faded and closed. "SASUKE! SASUKE!" Naruto's mind reeled taking in limp body next to him with all the senbon protruding. He mumbled "You saved me? Why? Why Sasuke?" The young blonde's mind raced. "He sacrificed his life for me?" Naruto's mind went into overdrive and he appeared before Kurama in his mindscape.

"Why Kurama? Why must ninja die? Sasuke was protecting me, he gave his life for me! I can't stand it! That ninja must pay! Give me some of your chakra, mine is all out! I have to avenge Sasuke!"

Without meaning to, some of the Kyuubi's chakra flowed from the seal and raced towards Naruto, enveloping him.

"Naruto! Wait! You're not ready to handle my chakra yet!" But Kurama's words fell on unresponsive ears. Naruto's mind had already made a plan for revenge and despite all his chakra power, Kurama was merely a guest inside Naruto. The seal kept him from interacting more directly and its most important design, to allow chakra to flow to the host wasn't something he could simply cut off.

Haku surveyed his work. The gifted genin lay motionless on the ground, senbon having eliminated him from the equation. The other young genin, the one who he thought was strong was luckier, though he still had a number of the deadly projectiles stuck in his body. Haku stepped from the crystal ice mirror he had used and began to walk toward his victim to deliver the killing blow. His eyes focused on the pair, but then he noticed and felt a wave of pure hate strike him. It was killing intent! And it wasn't some small intent, it was huge, larger than any he had felt, even Zabuza's worst day was nothing compared to this feeling. The feeling increased to a stifling level, choking Haku's own chakra pressure. He looked around to see where it might be coming from, but the only source had to be the young ninja. As he looked closer he was shocked to see the senbon which had been embedded in the boy were being forced out and dropping to the ground as if some unseen hand were pushing from the in inside of the body. Even worse was an eerie red glow that began to emanate from the body.

Soon that glow began to turn into tendrils coming from the boy's back that knit together into chains. The chains of chakra, for that's the only thing that Haku could think they could be, began to lengthen and add link upon link. More chains grew from the body until there were four of them about 15 feet long each with a hook at the far end, rattling like real chains, snaking across the floor of the dome. Haku jumped back into the closest mirror as one chain took a swing at him. Haku's mind reeled as the body of the boy began to stand up, first getting on one knee, then the other. Then swinging his hip around and driving his right leg to the ground and finally standing, his head and back slightly bowed looking at the ground.

The chakra chains began to swing wildly around the dome, striking one mirror and then another, shattering them into little shards that rained down onto the ground. More and more mirrors were shattered as the boy lifted his head. Haku's memory of the face before him altered. Where there had been the face of a boy, it was replaced with the face of a demon. The eye's flickered red, while the teeth had grown canines that protruded from the mouth like some saber-toothed animal. His cheeks appeared sunken with wisps of chakra like hairs extending to either side. The hair on his head seemed like it was afire and alive, alternating waves of yellows and reds like a fire crackling above his forehead protector. His hands too had changed, the fingers had grown longer and 3 inch claws extended from each. As his head came up it was as if Haku was staring at the face of an animal ready to attack its helpless prey.

"You! You will pay! You will pay for Sasuke!" In an instant the four chains shot at one mirror in particular, the one holding Haku.

"How? He shouldn't be able to tell where I am!" Haku was astonished at the power of this boy, no this demon! As he flashed from mirror to mirror the chains became quicker and quicker, finally in a flicker between two of the remaining mirrors the chains caught up with him. They wrapped around his body and pulled him from the mirror he was trying to enter. The chains slammed Haku's body to the ground, temporarily knocking the wind out of him. He quickly recovered though and threw another set of senbon at Naruto and quickly made the handsign for the Senbon Storm jutsu. The senbon sped towards Naruto, striking his body, but NO, they fell harmless never hitting their marks. "He has some kind of barrier protecting him? This is bad!"

Haku was again thrown by the chains, this time outside the severely damaged crystal ice dome. But they had done their job too well and the force of the throw had cause his body to be released at the end of the throw. As his body was flung Haku channeled his chakra into his legs and somersaulted back onto his feet. He looked on as the chains arced across the dome dismantling what was left of the mirrors. Now Haku was out in the open and so was Naruto and the body of Sasuke, all three on the dock outside Gato's yacht.

"Kill him boy! Kill him!" The voice was Gato's from the upper deck of the yacht. He had watched the battle since the beginning, only now willing to show his face with the victory nearly won.

Naruto looked toward the voice, but the eyes were not seeing the man, they still burned with a hate that had to be quenched. The chains shot out again towards Haku but he managed to escape them. He then made a quick handsign "Ice Barrage jutsu" Haku mouthed, concentrating his mental image and chakra to produce a hundred ice spikes that sped at his target.

Naruto dodged the incoming attack, catapulting himself into the air by force using the chakra chains. A hook from one chain caught a nearby light pole and Naruto whipped his body around it like a sling shot and his body headed feet first for Haku at unimaginable speed. The kick landed with great force sending the ninja backwards into a stack of crates. Before he could recover Naruto advance on him with a massive punch directly to the face mask. The mask began to crumble and half of it fell from Haku's face revealing his identity to Naruto.

"Naruto! Stop Naruto!" It was Kurama's voice trying to reach the young boy. "You must stop! Don't you see who that is? Come to your senses!"

Naruto's mind slowly ticked recognition. The memory from the forest the week before flooded back into his mind. Naruto's actions slowed, the chains attached to his body began to dissipate and the feral features his body had taken on receded as the Kyuubi chakra drained from Naruto's chakra network. Naruto grabbed Haku with both hands by the boy's shoulders. The returned blue eyes looked into Haku's own eyes. Haku's body was wracked with pain from several broken bones, his mouth dripped blood.

"Why? Why did you do this?" Naruto's head hung, his eyes slowing losing contact with Haku's own.

"Ninja live to serve, and that sometimes mean others must die. To serve as a ninja is to kill and be killed. Those who are strong survive, but one day someone stronger will kill them. It is the cycle of the shinobi world. "

A/N - Well there's the latest chapter of Naruto Splendid Jinchuriki of the Leaf. I will be winding up the arc in the next chapter, so stick with me. Look for some shake-ups in the Narutoverse coming soon to a chapter near you!