Naruto opened his light blue eyes to see a white ceiling. It had been a few days since the events at the bridge. This was the first time he had woken up since then. His body would not let him resume consciousness until it recuperated some of the chakra it had lost. Speaking of which, his body for the first time in a long while ached. It felt as if his body had been hit with boulders. Very mean ones at that. He struggled to get up. However, it was not because of his own body but because of the two bodies that laid on him.

The first being the most natural one was Zorua. Zorua probably felt the most pain from Naruto being unconscious as he was directly intertwined with him. Naruto felt a bit guilty as he could feel the poor fox giving Naruto some of his chakra to help while it should be the other way around. The other was a surprise to him. Haku was snuggling up to him. He could feel her warmth radiated onto him. It was sensational. He must admit that her light snoring was a melody to him almost like a lullaby.

But then it hit him. Wasn't she just hit with a chidori? From what he understood about the Chidori is that when you are hit with it, no matter where, it will hit the nervous system. If you are really unlucky, it would hit your organs. In other words, her nervous system should be fried! But from the looks of things, her nervous system was fine. He had to give Sakura credit. Her medical skills are tremendous. How are they not funding this? He stroked her hair. It was softer than he expected. Well to be fair when you get hit with a literal lightning bolt, you don't expect to be in the best of shape. Before he could ponder this further, he really had to pee.

He got up wincing as the ache was still there. He stealthily moved Haku and Zorua and got out of the bed. His legs felt wobbly as he clutched onto the door frame for dear life. He slowly crept his way to the bathroom. It took a while stumbling but he made and was finally able to do what nature intended. What he didn't notice was the blue hue emitting from his wrist.

"So, you're finally awake, hmm?"

Naruto's soul nearly jumped out of his body as he crashed into the sink. Aegis' eyes went up in confusion from Naruto's reaction to his presence.

"What the hell, Aegis? You're not supposed to sneak up on someone while they're taking a leak?"

Aegis shrugged his shoulders, "I mean you are a shinobi. Aren't you supposed to be expecting the unexpected or something like that?"

Naruto clicked his tongue. Aegis was right but still no one wants to be snuck up when they are in the bathroom. It's just disgusting. He replied, "Whatever. So, what do you want?"

Aegis floated towards him as Naruto washed his hands. He said, "Well first off, it's good to see that you are okay. You've been out for a bit but that's natural. You were legitimately running on fumes."

Naruto muttered, "I figured as much."

"Yeah. Well let's just say that probably won't be happening anytime soon."

"Why do you say that?", Naruto inquired.

Aegis smiled as he replied, "Well because you won't have a clusterfuck of things trying to expel out of you." Naruto's face contorted to that of confusion. It was obvious to Aegis that Naruto wasn't catching on. Why did he have to get a dumb one? He continued, "You had like three or four things trying to form at the same time. While you were becoming a pin cushion for your lady friend." Aegis' sly look caused Naruto to blush a bit. Aegis continued, "Other bloodlines tried to form along with that fox in your gut. I won't lie. I'm thoroughly impressed you lived through all of it. You activated that spinning eye-"

"Wait I activated the Sharingan?!"

Now it was Aegis turn to be confused. Did Naruto not realize that he activated that dojutsu? He nodded slowly, "Naruto, you didn't realize that you activated it? Put some chakra into your eyes and look into the mirror."

With haste, Naruto poured some chakra into his eyes. Almost instantly, his once light blue eyes were turning purple then red with two tomoe in each eye. His vision, which was already sharp, were crystal clear. The tomoe in his eyes spun with such vigor. The blood red eyes honestly scared him. It was as if there was a taboo for him to have it. This couldn't be real. It couldn't. He cut the extra chakra in his eyes to reveal the bright blue eyes.

Aegis was satisfied that he helped his familiar. He said, "See! I told you!" However, his face began to sour as he sensed the aura of despair. He said, "So what's so wrong about having these spinning eyes? They look pretty cool when they spin."

Naruto muttered while washing his face, "I don't think I'm supposed to have them. They are the eyes of a clan that was slaughtered."

"The Uchiha Clan."

Naruto did a double take. How did Aegis know about the Uchiha Clan? He asked, "How do you know about them?"

Aegis merely shrugged his shoulders, "Word spreads around. I know that those spinning eyes are insanely powerful and can do a number of damages to people. But I never cared to find out more."

Naruto gave him a sideways stare and Aegis was notorious for omitting information. He had to keep a watchful eye with Aegis. Hopefully he could figure out some of his secrets. He said, "Well anyway my friend is of that clan and it is supposed to be passed down by blood. Does it mean that I'm part Uchiha?"

"You're asking the wrong person about that. I don't know if you are part Uchiha or not but what I do know is that you have been given a unique opportunity in using one of the strongest dojutsu along with the strongest elemental ability. Use the power to protect the ones you love. Speaking of power, I want to let you know that we are not fully bonded yet."

Naruto gave him a look of confusion, "Oh?"

Aegis replied "Wellll it's not official yet because I kinda, sort of, forced it to happen. Now there are a lot of laws and safeguards to not allow that to happen. One of the repercussions is that the bonding didn't happen. Yet."

Naruto replied with anger, "Yet? What do you mean yet?"

Aegis shrugged his shoulders, "It's weird. It should be in your book. Let me see your book really quickly."

Naruto was contemplating the avatar's words while pulling the book out of the spiral seal. He absently handed him the book. Looking in the mirror to see his eyes go from blue to red and vice versa. It was unnerving to say the least. Should he tell Sasuke? What would he say? What would Kakashi say? What would-"

"How? That's impossible!"

Naruto's head quickly went to Aegis as a shocked and slightly fearful look adorned the avatar. The avatar read the book once more and looked at Naruto. Then the book again and then Naruto. He continued this a few times causing the blond shinobi to get annoyed. He asked, "What's so impossible that it put a scared look on your face?"

Aegis turned to the page with the arrow on in it as pointed to it. He asked, "Do you know what that arrow represents?" Naruto shook his head negatively. Aegis put his hand on his head in exasperation. This kid has so much power, but he lacked so much knowledge that an Uzumaki should know. It was utterly frustrating. He said, "Gaki, this symbol is the symbol of the Avatar. Do you remember in the forest when you asked me what would happen if you were to get the five types of elements? Well congratulations! You got it!"

Naruto's eyes went wide in shock. His mouth trembled, "Wait, really! How!"

Aegis muttered more to himself, "I don't know."

"So, what happens now?"

"I-I need some time to think. I'll speak with you in a little while."

Before Naruto could catch Aegis, Aegis disappeared by evaporation. Naruto huffed as he was essentially blue balled in the form of a Kekkei Genkai. He was just told that he had the ability to control all five elements. He held onto the book and rubbed it. There were more things about this avatar state, and he needed to know about it.

The aching of his muscles and chakra had lessened allowing Naruto to come down the stairs. He could see the flash of pink that was his teammate changing the bandages of their emo teammate. Kakashi was sipping on some tea while keeping a watchful eye on the former Kiri-nin. He must admit that it was weird to see Zabuza tied up with chakra suppressing seals on both of his wrists. He had to hand it to Kakashi those seals worked like a charm. Unfortunately, due to Naruto's clumsiness mixed with getting back used to his body, he took a nice tumble down the stairs.

Crash!

The commotion caused the others to notice Naruto on the ground. Not surprisingly, Sakura was the first to get to his aid. Sakura was professional while helping him up. She asked him while activating her mystic hands, "Naruto, are you okay? Where does it hurt? You should still be in bed."

Naruto heard her rampant questions but didn't say a word. He was given the chance to see his female teammate. The first thing he noticed was the fact that some of her pink hair lost its luster and sheen. He looked into her bright jade eyes. There were faint black circles forming under her eyes. He could see the tiredness mixed with worry, and a hint of helplessness that they held. He was worried that she was overexerting herself trying to take care of probably all of Team Seven along with Zabuza and Haku.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

Her face contorted into concentration of healing a bruise on his shoulder. Naruto meanwhile gained a smile on his face. While Sakura might not have realized this, but she had started her journey into becoming a true shinobi. Naruto was proud of her. She helped him stand on the railing. He said, "I'm fine Sakura-chan. I just felt a bit woozy after laying in the bed for so long." In a surprise to absolutely no one, Sakura cocked back punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"For you being so reckless! Do you know how bad of shape you actually were?"

Naruto chuckled nervously before replying, "Chakra exhaustion?"

The dark aura that surrounded Sakura was something that Naruto would never forget. She replied barely constraining her anger, "Chakra exhaustion? That was the least of your problems! You were a damn pin cushion to that girl. Do you know how far they penetrated your body? If they were any farther, you would have nicked a few arteries! That's not even the worst of it! Do you know what you did to your chakra points? You overloaded them! It's a miracle, a medical miracle, that you didn't pop them! How did you have so much chakra in the reserve to only, to only-". Sakura had to stop speaking as a tear nearly escaped her eyes. She said softly, "You could have died."

Naruto felt guilt once more. First was the fox, now Sakura. He was no longer just hurting himself. He was hurting others from his actions. He was too reckless. He needed to work on that. Of course, Sakura didn't know the knowledge of the Kyuubi and his bloodlines that were trying to release at the same time. But she was right. He needed to be better than this. He said softly, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Well next time, sorry isn't gonna cut it."

Kakashi interjected, "I think he gets the point." Sakura huffed as Kakashi continued, "She's right though. You need to stop being reckless. Then again, we all were. That's my bad as much as it's yours. Anyway, it's good to see that you're awake and better."

"What have I missed since being knocked out?"

Kakashi took a sip of his tea before saying, "Well you inspired a whole village so that's nice. Haku survived my Chidori by sheer luck of my chakra being low and some ice blocking the way. Still don't understand it but she lived. Zabz, here, is tied up for a bit. Still deciding what to do to him."

"What happened with Gato?"

Kakashi looked up perplexed at Naruto's question. He asked cautiously, "Don't you remember what happened?"

Naruto for his part, could not remember anything that happened after Aegis bonded with him at the dock. Everything else was a blur. By Naruto's silence, Zabuza and Kakashi both realized that Naruto didn't know what happened. Zabuza's reaction rang the highest. He let out the biggest, most ominous laugh that Naruto had ever heard.

"Gaki, you don't even know what you did!"

"Shut up, Zabuza!"

Naruto put up his hand to Kakashi. He said, "Hold on Kakashi-sensei. I want to hear what happened to make Zabuza act this way. Please."

Zabuza let out a low chuckled before saying, "Gaki, it's not every day that a monster gets to recognize another monster." Naruto winced at this. A monster, a demon; to Naruto it was all the same. He wasn't different from what the civilians had said. Zabuza said, "Gaki, you did a technique that I can assure you, I have never seen. You absolutely destroyed, no, annihilated Ichiyana's whole army with that one attack. The destruction was absolutely fascinating! The only ones to survive were Ichiyana, which was just pure unabashed luck, and Gato. But what you did to Gato, damn. Zabuza let out an unnerving shudder. Zabuza's eyes became a deathly glare. He said, "Gaki, I've seen so many ways of killing a person. I have seen decapitations, explosions, you name it. But I have never ever seen someone make another person to implode. That was without a shadow of a doubt an awesome killing move. Gaki, you earned my respect and gratitude. I owe you a life debt."

Naruto was silent for a moment. He could see the concern of his teammates and his sensei. Naruto being quiet is a dangerous Naruto. Naruto then gained one of his fake smiles. He sheepishly scratched his neck. He said, "Well, it was nothing really. Just how us shinobi are, right?"

Kakashi let out an inaudible sigh. He was worried about his student. Everything about the situation was wrong for Naruto.

Naruto was happy to leave the house.

His mind started to wander to what Zabuza had said. He killed those bandits. He knew it was bound to happen at some point. He knew he would have to kill to become a shinobi. It didn't mean it didn't bother him any less. Then there was the Gato killing. If from what Zabuza said held any type of truth, he and Aegis absolutely annihilated the man. Did he deserve it? Yes. Did it stop the unrelenting cringe that followed? Nope! It made Naruto look at his hands with a touch of fear. Just how much power did these hands hold?

"Naruto-sama, you are awake!"

Naruto's thoughts seemed to vanish in a moment as he realized he had been walking aimlessly. It wasn't until this middle-aged woman called his name that he stopped. He gave her a curt smile as the words processed in his head. The way she looked at him and spoke to him was unfamiliar. Her words, they didn't hold malice nor venom. It was admiration, happiness, joy. There were many words to describe them but none of them could be described as hate.

He was soon glomped by the lady and a few others that came out of nowhere. Naruto blushed scarlet red from all the touching. He wasn't exactly used to this type of thing.

"Naruto-sama is alive!"

"Our savior is awake!"

"Thank you for killing that monster Gato!"

Naruto was truly uncomfortable. But to hear this was nice. Naruto smiled genuinely. He was actually appreciated. Naruto was not used to this type of attention. He started to rub his neck and said, "It was no biggie. Just doing what ninjas do."

"He's so brave!"

"He's so strong!"

"Can you marry my daughter?"

Naruto started to wave his hands as he said, "While I'm sure your daughter is a very special lady, I have something I have to take care of. Ja Ne." Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"He's so cool."

Naruto huffed as a smile wouldn't move from his face. The idea of praise was so foreign, but it felt amazing. He shook his head as he waded through the pier looking for his blade. The fog was thick, but it didn't take long for him to find it. He picked it up to see there was not a scratch on it. It wasn't old and used like the Kubikiribōchō. It wasn't as swift as Neko's or Hayate, but it would do.

"So, did you enjoy the admiration?"

Naruto spun around with his sword ready to strike. He then visibly relaxed as he saw it was Kakashi. Kakashi with his pointer finger slowly moved the sword away from his face. While Kakashi could easily deflect his student's attack, it still was a bit scary on how quick Naruto was to use it. He said, "Now, now. You should never put sharp things towards your sensei's face."

Naruto muttered, "Sorry about that, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi simply gave him an eye smile and a wave. He complimented his student, "No, no. It's good to use your shinobi instincts. They are the difference between being able to live and die." Naruto grunted as he put his sword away. Kakashi gave him an eye smile before saying, "Well since you found your sword, I guess you are feeling better?"

Naruto immediately understood what he was saying. Naruto replied with a sigh, "Not really. Well yes and no."

Kakashi said softly, "I know that being it's container has been tough."

Naruto let out a mirthless laugh, "Yeah. You're preaching to the choir. "

Kakashi had to chuckle a bit. "Well you know that better than anyone. But that's beside the point. I wanted to talk to you about the monster comment." Kakashi saw his student tense up at the word. Inwardly, Kakashi seethed at what his village has done to his student. He honestly wished he could put a lightning bolt into every person that did this, but right now he had to concentrate on helping his student. He replied with a cold, steel demeanor, "Now listen to me. I'm only going to say this once. You are not a monster."

"I know I'm not-"

"No. Unfortunately you don't. It doesn't take the Sharingan to see the way you tense up when the word is said. It's not your fault and I don't blame you for it. But you are not a monster. Do you know who are monsters?" Naruto shook his head. "The monsters are the ones that don't feel anything. When you shed your humanity is when you become a monster."

Naruto muttered as his shoulders slumped further, "Doesn't make me feel any less shitty."

Kakashi replied, "Yeah. It's gonna feel shitty."

"Does it get easier?"

Kakashi sighed," For some people. Your mind is either going to numb itself from it and you'll let it out in other forms that become habits. Some are habits like gardening, or flower pressing. Some are vices like smoking, drinking, etc."

"Or reading pornography outside", Naruto cracked a smile.

Kakashi gave him an eye roll before replying, "Yes even that. The thing is that we all need coping mechanisms. Humans need it. You must find yours. Don't let it become destructive."

Naruto took a few moments to think about what his sensei just told him. He stood up before saying," Thank you Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi gave him an eye smile before saying, "Good. Remember you are human. It takes time to process things. So, take the next few days off. We'll work on the bridge and villagers. Give yourself some time to clear your head." Naruto nodded his head in agreement. He got up and was ready to walk away before Kakashi stopped him. "Oh, and one more thing. You really should talk to Sasuke sooner much rather than later." Naruto could see the seriousness in Kakashi's tone. He dreaded the conversation but knew it needed to be done.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei."

"Who do you consider your rival?"

There were certain traditions that are passed down from team to team. For example, Team Seven had the Bell Test that came down from the Nidaime Hokage. This question is the same way. This question had been handed down from generations of the Sarutobi Clan and the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans. The question itself is simple enough. However, the symbolism of the question represented the team is going to next level.

It's been a few months since Team Ten became a team under Asuma. To the absolute shock of no one, their teamwork was impeccable. They naturally gelled with each other. Ino was the bossy, mind altering, manipulative one. Shikamaru was the shadow genius. Choji was the heavy hitter. It was like they had generations and generations of working together. This team was no different. With that in mind, they needed to also work on their individual techniques in order to work together and apart.

Asuma took a puff of his cigarette as he looked at his worn-out students laying on the grass. They just finished their 8th D ranked mission for the day. While the D ranked missions were essentially slave labor with a few extra steps, it did help with teamwork. It's just that Asuma absolutely hated D ranked missions. He hated having to supervise his students for things as lifting boxes. He was just happy that they will be taking C-ranked missions soon. It also helped that they were getting help from their families with their family techniques. He was proud of them as they progressed so much in a small amount of time. He thought they're ready.

"Can this wait 'til tomorrow, Asuma-sensei? We wanna go home."

Ino was the vocal one but he could tell that they all felt the same. The biggest flaw other than not having experience on the field is that they complained. A lot. The worse part was that each complained about something different. Ino complained about how their training didn't compliment her diet. Asuma could only roll his eyes about that. Shikamaru was bored. Truly bored. He was smart and only needed to use his wits to get out of situations. The only issue was that because of how smart Shikamaru was, he didn't really know how to keep the boy engaged. A slacker wasn't a good way to be in the shinobi world. Then there was Choji who would only thinking about eating and when his next meal was.

Asuma could only sigh. He said, "Bunch of slackers, I tell ya. No, it can't wait. Today, we did a lot of missions, but I think it's time to kick up your training. You're lucky that you've been progressing as well as you have. Today, you will be choosing your rival. What do you think a rival is?"

Shikamaru was surprisingly the first to answer, "Troublesome. It's someone that you're competing with in a certain field."

Asuma nodded, "Yes. It's someone you compete with. They can be enemies. They can be friends. Hell, they even can be family. The thing is that, that person must make you want to get stronger and better than them. "

"Can Shikamaru be my rival", Choji raised his hands.

Asuma nodded, "Yeah, Shikamaru can be your rival. But what in?" Asuma could see the confusion in Ino and Choji's faces. He clarified, "Ok what I mean is with a rival you have certain fields that you want to be better than them in. Like if you want to Shikamaru to be your rival in shogi or go, then so be it. If it's to be a better shinobi, it's the same way. The thing is that it must drive you to be better. That motivation must be there."

Like a light in their heads went off, Team Ten understood what Asuma was conveying. Ino raised her hand before asking, "Can you have multiple rivals?"

"Yup. You can have multiple rivals. I'll give you an example. For me, I have a few rivals. Two of them are Kakashi and Kurenai. They're my rivals in the fact that we all gained teams at the same time. Of course, we're the best." Asuma flashed a smile before continuing, "There are many types of rivals in that regard. So, is there anyone that you can think of that's like that? We'll start with Ino."

Ino looked aghast. "Me? Why me? Why don't we start with fat ass?"

"I'm not a fat ass? I 'm just a growing young man. Plus, he said you first!"

Ino let out an exasperated sigh, "Fine! You're still a fat ass. Only two come to mind. Umm, I going to say Sakura because she was the better kunoichi during school and she lucked her way into a team with Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun."

Choji teased, "Oh now it's Naruto-kun. I don't think Sasuke-kun would like that."

Ino let out a frustrated sigh, "Ugh! If you say anything, I'll make sure all your food will taste like diet pills!" Choji's face became pale white and he quickly shut up. Ino smirked while she continued, "As I was saying, Sakura is my rival. I want her to know that I always will be the best." Her voice then became quiet, "My second rival is a little weird. It's, um, Anko Miterashi." That caught Asuma by surprise. Never in a million years did Asuma think that would be Ino's rival.

Ino continued quietly, "She's my rival for a few reasons. She's so confident in herself and doesn't care what anyone thinks. I want that type of confidence. I want that girl power. She also is so talented in mind manipulation. She's able to get into people's mind without using mind jutsus. She uses her sexuality, her voice, her snakes, anything to get the info she wants. It's surreal to me. Daddy talks about her and it's like she's his daughter in that capacity. I want to be a better interrogator than her. I want to be better than her."

Asuma and the rest of Team Ten were speechless as they saw probably the most serious side of Ino they have ever seen. In addition, they didn't expect her reason for Anko to be her rival. Asuma was proud as he hoped that this would push in her mind to be better. Although he suddenly became worried about Ino trying to use mind tricks on him. He re-gathered his composure and replied, "Ino, those two really are good rivals. Maybe, you should ask Anko to be your mentor. There's nothing wrong with asking your rival to be your mentor. I'm pretty sure she would be flattered to know that you consider her your rival. Choji you're up."

Choji took a contemplative stance. He even stopped eating his chips. He said, "Well, I can think of two people. Shika, definitely. He's so much smarter than me. When I see Shika, he has this overall cool and smooth demeanor. I get a little jealous sometimes that nothing really fazes him. Like I hate being called fat. But with Shika nothing bothers him. Call him slacker, he just agrees. I-I'm just not like that." Shikamaru's eyes went up in surprise. He didn't expect to be Choji's rival. But he did bookmark that in the back of his head for future reference.

"My second rival is just like Ino's; weird. My rival is Kiba's sister, Hana."

Asuma damn near choked on his cigarette. If Ino's rival was the top of the weird rivals, then Choji's took the cake. Hana of all people? Asuma wasn't saying that she was a weakling. No, she was strong and pretty good in her field. It's just she's a tracker. A damn good one too. But Choji was not a tracker. He was a pummel first type, a little heavy on his feet.

"Oh, Choji has a crush on Hana!" Ino was giddy. She had some dirt on Choji other than his food obsession. The more knowledge you have on someone, the more blackmail you have. To be honest, she couldn't see them together. Hana was a real looker and Choji was, well, Choji.

Choji was red faced in embarrassment. He yelled at Ino, "Shut it, Ino or else I'll tell Sasuke about Naruto-kun." She grumbled about Choji having dirt on her and went silent. Choji continued, "I don't have a crush per se. But she knows a way to a man's heart. You know I'm not a tracker or anything like that. But the one thing I'm good at is food. I'm a chef that can cook amazing meals from dirt. One day, we went over to the Inuzukas for dinner. She cooked some kobe beef." Choji closed his eyes to stop a tear from coming down his eyes. He continued, "It was, without a shadow of a doubt, the best kobe beef I have ever tasted. It was moist, juicy, and mixed with so many spices that I cried. The next day my mom made some kobe beef from our supplier. It was grade A, high quality beef. I took a bite into it and almost spit it out. I felt sick! My mom asked what was wrong and I could only reply I was feeling sick. I lied to my mom because of how disappointed I was in it! It just wasn't right!

So, my goal now is to be a better cook than her. I want to be the best. To be the best, you got to beat the best!"

You could hear a pin drop as silence took over Team Ten. Asuma could only blink his eyes as he saw passion flow through Choji's tears. Hana was his rival because she made beef better than his family did. He tried his hardest not to laugh as this was the funniest thing he has ever heard. Stifling his laughter, Asuma said, "Well Choji. That's something I didn't expect. I'll just say that for you to be the best you must expand your horizons. Even if its food. Shika, you're up."

Shikamaru was quiet before muttering, "Asuma-sensei, I don't know."

"Oh," Asuma replied.

Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders before replying, "Troublesome, I can't think of who a good rival for me would be. I've gotten just as good as my dad in shogi and go. I really don't compare myself to my contemporaries. Can I give my answer later?"

Asuma nodded and said, "Sure. I would suggest talking to your dad because he had the same problem but gained some rivals. Take your time to find your motivation. Actually, all of you, tell you parents about it. It will be helpful. Dismissed."

"Finally!"

While the other two members went their respective ways, Shikamaru, instead laid on the ground and look at the clouds.

Who was his rival?

Black eyes stared into blue eyes.

It had been a few hours since Naruto had his talk with his sensei. While Naruto had been slightly relieved with Kakashi's spiel, there was something that was eating at him. Ever since he activated his Sharingan, he's been feeling guilty. He had been keeping things away from his best friend. While it's normal to keep secrets, this one and the other Kekkei genkai shouldn't be. Sasuke has been alone for almost as long Naruto has known him. While he's always been there for him, there is something about losing your family that Naruto just couldn't fathom. So, for Naruto to be able to activate the very eyes that Sasuke's family was notorious for, was a shock and feelings of betrayal for the boy. Naruto played with the grass where he was picking up herbs waiting for Sasuke to say something, anything.

Unfortunately, Sasuke didn't say anything as he peered into the boy's eyes. Naruto could feel the anger running through him. Naruto sighed before saying, "Sasuke, I bet you have a lot of questions for me."

Sasuke snapped, "You're damn right I do! How do you have the Sharingan?!"

Naruto sighed as he replied, "Sasuke, I-I don't know."

Sasuke snapped, "You don't know! What do you mean you don't know? Are you part Uchiha that you never told me? Did you steal them? What is it?"

Naruto could see tears threatening to fall down Sasuke's face. He said softly, "Sasuke, you have to remember I don't know who my parents are. I don't know if I'm part Uchiha. If I am, then it must be years up. All I remember is that I thought you were dead and saw red. I-I wanted to hurt Haku. I wanted to kill her. It just activated."

Sasuke calmed down slightly. He did forget, momentarily, that Naruto was an orphan. It was something to think about that both he and Naruto activated when the other was in trouble. He took a deep breath before saying, "The last time I saw someone with a Sharingan in both eyes was when Itachi killed them all. Do you know what it felt like to first see your sensei have one of your dead relatives' eye implanted into his then not even a few months later see another person activate right after you did it yourself. It's like a big fuck you. My family is gone and it's like, 'ha, ha', your families' thing is a joke.' What's next? Sakura getting it too?"

Frustration was taking over the black-haired boy. It just didn't make sense. It just didn't. Sasuke, unconsciously, activated his Sharingan. His Sharingan displayed the tomoes that were spinning. The aura was tense as it felt as if Sasuke was begging Naruto to do something. Naruto recognized it instantly. Keeping as calm as he possibly could, Naruto poured chakra into his own eyes revealing his own red Sharingan causing the Uchiha to pause.

There it was.

Sharingan to Sharingan.

For a few minutes, silence took place. The air was tense, suffocating and killing a few birds around.

"Ahh!"

Both fell back clutching their eyes. It would be quite comical if it wasn't for the fact, they were both rolling on the ground in pain. Once the pain subsided with both, they realized their Sharingans deactivated. Naruto blinked before letting out a chuckle that went onto becoming a full-blown laugh. Sasuke suddenly glared at Naruto before angrily asking, "What's so funny?"

Naruto coughed before saying, "It's funny!"

"What?"

"Haku beat our ass so bad that we can't even hold the Sharingan for more than a few seconds."

Sasuke at first didn't register it. He looked at his hand and remembered Sakura basically lighting into him that his chakra needed time to heal after the battle. A small smile grew on his face as Naruto was right. They did get their asses handed to them. The normally stiff Uchiha let out a chuckle as only Naruto would be only one to find that funny. He muttered, "You would be the one to find that funny."

Naruto had a big smile on his face as he felt the tension start to dissipate. "True but it did make you smile though." Naruto sighed before saying, "I'm sorry that you feel that I'm disrespecting your family namesake with these eyes. I never wanted this, and I would never want to do that to you."

Sasuke in return punched the ground before saying, "I-I know that. But I'm so tired. I'm so tired of people keeping secrets from me. It just feels like everybody wants me to be in the dark. Itachi, Kakashi, the Sandaime, Chunin, Jonin. It just gets more and more frustrating. Then the person that I trust is keeping secrets. Like I haven't even talked about those scales you got. How do you get two abilities like that?"

Naruto poured a little chakra onto his arm to form one of the scales and popped it out. Sasuke almost fell over seeing that happen. There was a bit of a difference seeing it in battle versus seeing it in peacetime. He exclaimed, "Like that! What the hell is that?"

Naruto knew it was long due to show Sasuke his scales. He picked it up and said, "Well this is weird. I don't really know where the ability came from. I looked through Konoha's history and never seen anything resembling this. When I first did it, I freaked out." Sasuke listened intently. "It was when we're about 8 years old. I was working out and it popped out. Since then, I've been keeping it secret because I really don't know who I could trust. So many people hate me for things I don't know about. They already consider me a monster. So, imagine me popping scales out. Lynch mobs"

Sasuke's face softened as he started to understand Naruto a little bit better. How could he have not noticed Naruto's plight? He was so consumed by his goals of revenge; he didn't even realize it. It made more sense why people sneered at Naruto. A monster? Naruto? Please. But he did have to admit if what they said about Naruto against the bandits, he was a lot stronger than he let on. He muttered behind his hands, "That's understandable. I can see why you would want to hide them. But what do these scales do exactly?"

A large weight left Naruto's shoulder as he was finally able to talk about them. He said as he twirled the scale, "These bad boys are pretty awesome. I can summon them all around my body. Their defense is extraordinary and can take hits like no other. They don't cut per se. It's more like they shave."

"Shave? How so?"

"The scales would shave layers and layers of the person's skin. It can completely skin a person with a swipe."

"T-that's actually amazing."

"That's not the best part. The best part is it also shaves a person's chakra and store it!"

Sasuke's eyes went wide in surprise. That was overpowered! You cut the person and take their chakra. That's extraordinary! Sasuke could only say, "That's insane." Naruto passed him the scale before telling him to be careful with it.

While Sasuke inspected it, Naruto said, "Yeah, it's really cool but like I said, I had to be careful who knew about it. Now you know. I know this is asking for much, but can you keep quiet about it until I'm ready for everyone to know about it?" Sasuke looked up at Naruto with a nod. There was mutual understanding between the two that it did not even needed to be said. Naruto gained a huge smile as the burden was finally lifted. He said, "Thank you. There's one more thing. I might not know how I got the eyes, but I know what we can do with them. I promised you years ago that we'll figure out why Itachi did what he did. That hasn't changed. We're in this together. He may or may not be blood, but he was like an older brother to me. And I feel like you're mine. We'll figure it out and beat him. Together."

"Together."

It had been two days since Naruto and Sasuke had their talk. Naruto had to admit that it was a huge load off his shoulders as he was finally able to clear the air with his best friend. While he was still keeping some secrets, it was still better than nothing. He still hasn't talk to Sakura about them, but it was fine with him. He'll tell her eventually. Right now, it was nighttime and some of the memories from what Aegis did was slowly coming into his mind. Unfortunately, that meant Naruto couldn't sleep. He looked at his hands and realized just how powerful he could be. It scared him a bit. When the bloodlines first came out, he was excited but to see what they could actually do haunted him slightly.

"Naruto-sama."

Naruto blinked his eyes and saw Zoruamaru at the end of the bed with a concern face. Naruto for a moment forgot that Zorua could sense Naruto's feelings. He gave him a sad smile before giving him a head scrinch. Zorua closed his eyes as he purred in appreciation. Naruto had to admit that Zorua was clutch in the fight against Gato and he is only getting stronger. Naruto whispered, "Hey Zorua, I missed you buddy. Sorry I haven't been able to give you some chakra. How are you feeling?" Zorua simply rubbed his head on Naruto's hand. Naruto smiled before whispering, "Do you want to go for a walk?"

Zorua yipped in excitement before Naruto quickly shushed him. Zorua forgot that there were others that were sleep. Naruto discretely put on some clothes and walked downstairs where there was still a chakra constrained and handcuffed Zabuza. Naruto recognized that Zabz was put under a genjutsu seal that kept him sleep. Naruto was truly interested in how that seal worked as he's seen and done fuinjutsu with taijutsu and ninjutsu but never genjutsu. But for now, he'll let it go.

The night air was good for Naruto. The air was crisp and free. It was sublime. As he walked with Zorua, Naruto received another memory from the event. He stopped in his tracks that made Zorua to look up at him. He said, 'I remember something that Gato said before he died. All his accounts and contracts are not too far from here. Let's go check it out. But we must be careful. Gato is not one to let his treasures be out in the blue." Zorua nodded as he prepared himself.

It took Naruto and Zorua about an hour or so to get there. It was foggy and completely covered in genjutsu. Naruto recognized that this fog was like Zabuza's but instead it also causes the person to get lost and stay lost. The only way to break it is to find an opening and put chakra through it. This caused Naruto to squint his eyes trying to find it. He whispered to Zorua, "Hey Zorua, are you able to see any way of getting in?"

Zorua focused his eyes through the genjutsu. His eyes glowed red and searched the area. Zorua had to admit this was a tough genjutsu but it wasn't something he couldn't handle. "It's there! The point is on the upper east side." Naruto nodded before pouring some chakra near the spot where Zorua was pointing. In an instant, the fog dissipated to show a large mansion.

Naruto was awestruck from how massive the mansion was. He was impressed that this was as hidden as it was. To be fair, villages have been hidden for decades but still. The seal specialist needed a raise. He whispered to Zoruamaru, "Be on your guard. I highly doubt that this is the only defense mechanism Gato had." Zorua nodded as they treaded carefully into the house. Naruto was smart enough to have senbons to finick with the door and in a few moments, he opened it.

It was as Naruto imagined it to be. It was huge inside with stairs everywhere. He created twenty shadow clones. He gave each some scrolls before saying, "Ok guys check out each and every room. Inspect and collect anything you feel is good and important. If you find anything suspicious, mark it and let me know. If there is anyone that is a threat signal to me, and I'll be there. Understood?"

"Hai!"

The clones went their separate ways as Naruto looked at the main hallway. If he had to guess, this was where Gato's main office was. He carefully ran through the hall. While he didn't expect that many traps as he didn't think Gato was good enough to disarm anything that hit him, he couldn't be too careful. When he and Zorua made it to the end of the hall, he saw a 'Do not enter' sign with a seal on it. From what Naruto could tell, the seal was a blood and chakra type. Normally this would be a problem, but this seal had been worn down from constant use. It's one of the reasons why that type of seal shouldn't be used on someone's main room. It breaks down after high usage. It looked like Gato hasn't been maintaining it with the fuinjutsu specialist. Because of this, all Naruto had to do was pour some chakra into his hand before the seal fizzled away.

Naruto opened the door to see a normal office with a fantastic view. Naruto had to admit, Gato was well organized. All the papers were filed nice and neatly. There were no documents laying around. Everything was where it was supposed to be. The only issue was that the room gave off a cold feeling. It reminded him of like a hospital. He shuddered involuntarily. He said, "Zorua scope around for anything worth its salt." While Zorua looked around, Naruto sat in Gato's chair. He took the first few pages off the top of the ream of paper. It was a bunch of contracts and legal stuff. Naruto skimmed through it before something caught his eye. "Great Tree Company", the paper said. It seemed like Gato was creating a construction company that would be located near the border of Konoha.

'So, he was expanding and going towards Konoha.'

As Naruto read more of it, he actually liked the idea. The company could be a good way for him to make money on the side while also helping the community of Wave. It would also be a good way of if he had to leave Konoha, he can get by. He just needed to contact the person on the bottom of the document to push it through. It was something to take care of quickly. The problem was that he couldn't watch over the company because he couldn't always leave Konoha. Plus, there was that little thing of conflict of interest.

He put it aside for now. He skimmed some more papers and found that Gato realized his seal was breaking and was amidst of getting it repaired. The codename of the fuinjutsu specialist interested Naruto. He would like to meet this person. Probably give him some tips and pointers. The name was Sansukumi. Naruto could only scratch his head as he never heard that name before. He logged it into the back of his head. Naruto's mind wandered before it was broken out by Zorua.

"Naruto-sama, I found a locked storage area. It needs a number combination."

Naruto walked over and examined the lock. He could have let Zorua burn it open, but it would destroy the contents. Instead, he had Zorua go over and grab some papers off Gato's desk. He remembered seeing numbers on one of those pages. He quickly skimmed through the papers and tried a few numbers."

"1845? No. 7320? Nope. 1500? No. Damn. 7125? That's it!"

The safe opened to show all the contracts from Wave. This was how Gato was able to own the country. He could give it back to the people and they'll no longer be in debt. In addition, he saw enough gold to last a lifetime for him. 'This is enough to get the company started and to bring food and business back to Wave.' He quickly opened his scroll and filled the contents. All in all, it took about 8 scrolls to gather the contents of the safe. He marked each one of what it contained.

Suddenly, Naruto's head popped up. One of his clones popped and relayed a message to him. Naruto said, "Zorua, we gotta go. There's someone here."

She shook the chains as hard as she could. She needed to get free. Her chakra was low enough that she could try to get through the seals that were shackled to her hands. She didn't know how long she had been shackled. Days? Weeks? Years? To her, it didn't matter. All that did matter was escaping. She just wished she had her sword.

'Come on! Come on! You almost got this!'

Before she could move any further, she heard shuffling footsteps. While the person was light on their feet, her ears were much sharper. She cursed under her breath as she had to wait even more. She had started to lose hope about escaping. Her poor wrists were bruised, and she could have sworn it might have been broken but healed incorrectly. Looking at her wrists she can see the mark, the promise shed made. But like her, it was withering away. She sighed softly ready to accept her fate.

Soon the door that held her opened. A new interrogator. A new person to beat her. Her breath hitched as she saw an orange clothed shinobi come in. while her eyes were sensitive to the light, she could make out the hiate being from Konoha. 'They sent Konoha to finish the job?' Her will fell even further. If they got to the point where they are sending foreign shinobi to interrogate her, it was game over. Villages don't do that unless they have substantial connections with each other.

It was over.

She bent her head down as even if she were to escape from this terrible clothed shinobi, she wouldn't get past the other shinobi that were probably waiting for her.

"Hey Miss, are you okay?"

She wouldn't look up. He would not get the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

Naruto walked up cautiously to her. He created a shadow clone to get closer. He didn't know if there were any traps or anything to impede his progress. Once the shadow clone gave the okay, Naruto walked up to her. She was shackled to the wall. Her hands above her head. Her wrists bruised and withering. The shackles were loose enough but he could tell the seals were sapping her chakra slowly. Her feet were the same way. Her skin was so pale and nearly lifeless. Her hair drooped down, brittle, matted with dirt, and lack of luster to her red hair. Naruto felt terrible for her.

He would free her.

He lifted her head up to see her bare her fangs. There was still some life in her. His eyes met her and gave her an empathetic smile. He said, "Excuse me, Miss. Are you okay do you need some-"

"Just get it over with, Konoha scum", she hoarse out.

Her voice sounded so weak. She hated this. She hated how weak she was for being captured. Naruto on the other hand gained a look of confusion. He asked, "I'm sorry. I don't know what you mean. But let's figure it out once we get these off your arms." She wanted to believe that this Konoha-nin was trying to help her. But she was a shinobi. Her jadedness had kept her alive for this long. 'Once he lets go, I'll try to escape.'

Except her body gave out when Naruto unlocked the shackles. Naruto caught her carefully. Naruto remembered Sakura tell him that he needed to be careful when transporting the injured or else there can be even more issues. She was so light, so fragile. Naruto could feel moist tears on the back of his neck. He whispered to her ear, "Miss, are you hurting anywhere?"

The girl for her part could only whimper as the atrophy had set in. she was completely at the mercy of this shinobi. She wanted to not trust him. At this point, she had no other choice but to. "Okay. Save your energy. I'm going to lift you up very slowly. I'm going to carry you to the bed. I need you to put your arms around me and hold on as tight as you can. I'm going to grab your legs. Do you understand?" She nodded before holding on as tight as she could. She had to admit; the boy was very gentle with her as he put her on the bed.

Naruto was by no means a medic shinobi, but he could tell if there were any egregious broken bones. He pulled out a bottle of water and a ration bar from his survivor scroll. He said, "Okay Miss, I'm guessing you're thirsty." She nodded as she hesitantly took some sips from the bottle and a nibble from the bar. It did boost her up a little bit.

Naruto said, "Okay, we're going to try this again. Can you tell me your name?"

"Rank, Jonin. Shinobi number 09921. I request to be tried at the court of my peers."

Naruto blinked his eyes. This girl was a shinobi. Jonin at that. Then she gave him the request to be tried at a shinobi court. This was more serious than he originally thought. He said softy, "Listen I don't what going on but let me introduce myself. I am Naruto Uzumaki. Rank, Genin, shinobi number 012607. I'm from Konohagakure no Sato."

"So, Kiri and Konoha are in cahoots."

'She's from Kiri. I can work with that.' "Listen, I don't if they are or aren't. It's above my pay grade. I found this house- "

"How? The genjutsu on this thing was damn near impenetrable."

"Listen. I broke the genjutsu."

She croaked out, "Liar. There's no way a Genin could break a genjutsu like that."

Naruto sighed as he replied, "Listen, I know it's hard to believe. I'm surprised myself that I was able to do it. But it looks like the genjutsu seals are old and worn down. Gato hasn't been taking care of them."

"Who's Gato", she asked in confusion.

"Gato. The one who owns this place", Naruto replied as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"T-this is the mansion of Yondaime Mizukage."

Naruto's eyes went wide as he thought that this was Gato's. It made more sense that this would be the Mizukage's place especially with the genjutsus. He said, "Listen, I don't know if it's the Yondaime's or not. All I know is that a lot of the stuff in here is Gato's. I'm guessing you have not met Gato."

"I don't know who that is."

Naruto went on to explain who Gato was and what he was doing. Once he mentioned Zabuza's name, the girl's eyes opened in shock. She whispered, "Zabuza is alive?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head before replying, "Well yeah."

She laughed a bitter one. She replied quietly, "He was my teammate. He didn't look for me."

Naruto said, "I can take you to him. I just need your cooperation." She merely nodded. Naruto continued, "First thing I want to know is how are you still alive?"

She shuddered softly before saying, "Every week about 2-3 days someone comes in here and gives me a little bit of food and water. They were covered in shadows, so I never got to his face."

This made goosebumps to come up and down his spine. This shadowed figure could be here. If they were able to sneak in here without Gato knowing means they were pretty dangerous. They needed to get out of here. He quickly grabbed her and said, "We're gonna get out of here. Just hold on tight and be silent. Can I at least get your name?"

"Ame. Ameyuri."

"Naruto, what the hell is going on? Why did you ask me to bring Sakura and Zabuza out in the field?"

Naruto had sent a shadow clone back to the house to wake up Kakashi, Sakura, and Zabuza to come to the fields where the herbs are. The only reason that Kakashi even entertained the idea was because how frantic the clone was and the urgency in his voice. He was initially against the idea of bringing Zabuza, but they had Zabuza wrapped up in so many chakra suppressing seals, he wouldn't be able to leave even if he tried.

Naruto for his part was a little tired as he was essentially carrying dead weight. The dead weight had fallen asleep holding on tight to his neck. This was possibly for the first time in a long time that she was able to feel the open air. The rhythm of Naruto's scurrying was peaceful to her. When Naruto saw his teacher, he said, "Kakashi-sensei, I found someone that needs urgent help."

Sakura rubbed her eyes before yawning. "Is this why you woke me up? Who is it?"

Naruto gently laid Ameyuri down onto the flowers. He said, "This is her. She was shackled in Gato's mansion. I was going for a walk and found it. I don't know how long she's been there but she's in bad shape." Sakura immediately went alert. She quickly went over and started to do a diagnostic on her. She was muttering to herself while letting a green light flow through the shinobi. Naruto could only watch anxiously as he hoped that he didn't exacerbate anything getting her here.

After completing the diagnosis, Sakura said, "You're right about not being in a good state. There's some internal bleeding but I was able to stop it. There are few broken bones. I'll take care of those. Chakra exhaustion, chakra depletion. A few other things. Oxygen levels down. Malnourishment. I don't know how she survived."

Naruto asked, "Will she make it?"

Sakura replied softly, "She'll make it but if she stayed another day or week in containment, she would have died."

Naruto took a sigh of relief before seeing Kakashi giving him an expectant look. Kakashi had the ex-Kiri ninja completely tied up and sleep. It was a bit of a hassle to bring him here. There better be a damn good reason to bring him. Naruto said, "Um, Kakashi-sensei, I can explain."

"I hope you can. Why in the world would you ask me to bring Zabuza out here? We have him contained. Why risk it?"

"Because he's my teammate."

Kakashi's eyes darted down to the girl. He thought she was asleep at the least forced sleep. He said angrily, "Naruto, you didn't seal her up? What are you doing? This is how traps are made!"

Naruto looked sheepishly as he didn't think about that. Kakashi was right. He could have just sent them to their doom. He said quietly, "I wasn't thinking about it. I was more focused on getting out of the mansion safe and sound."

Kakashi slapped his head. Common sense is not so common. He turned his attention back to the girl. He motioned Sakura to put a seal on the girl's neck. It was a temporary seal that allowed Kakashi to kill her if he felt threatened by her. It only lasted a day or so. Once Sakura did so, he said, "Sorry. Preliminary precautions. You said you were Zabuza's teammate?"

Ame smiled as it was great to see that old shinobi habits haven't died out. She remembered yelling to her former pupils about the same thing. It also gave credence to Naruto saying he was a genin. Chunin and higher-level shinobi don't make that mistake. She said, "I-I was his teammate. I haven't seen him in years."

Kakashi sighed. Was he getting punished for his sensei's death? Why did the boy had to get into a bigger mess? He had time to just relax and not do anything. But no. he had to go and find this female shinobi tied up. He said softly, "Well that's all well and good. As you can see, we got Zabuza captured. He's a little out of it for now. I'll allow you talk to him if you answer my questions. Understood?"

"I can see where your student got it from", she coughed out.

Kakashi gave an eyeroll before he said, "Cute. First question. What is your name, rank, etc.?"

"Ameyuri Ringo, Jonin, formerly Kirigakure no Sato."

Kakashi's eyes went wide as he looked at the girl then at Naruto, then back at the girl. He slapped the top of his head as he could only chuckle at this. Sakura looked up at him and asked, "What's so funny, Kakashi-sensei?"

He said with a certain amount of mirth, "Of course. Of course, it had to be you, Naruto. You would be the one to find another member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."

"What! She's a member of the Seven Swordsmen?"

Naruto was surprised more than most. He knew she was a Jonin but a part of the same group as Zabuza wasn't something he expected. She was so, so weak. But looking back on it, she did have the pointy canine tooth, but still! Both Naruto and Sakura looked at her with a bit more admiration as they didn't expect a girl to be a swordsman. It was indeed a rarity.

Since being partially healed, she felt she could move so much easier. She was able to fully see who their genin leader is. She snickered, "Yeah Kid. Unfortunately, I don't have my swords. Well I'll be damned. It's Nakamagoroshi no Kakashi. The friend Killer. I didn't expect to see you with a genin team." This wasn't the first time Team Seven has heard about Kakashi being a friend killer, but this was truly getting annoying. She coughed before she continued, "I respect the hell out of you. Going through what you went through and coming out on the other side is amazing."

"Enough with the flattery. How did you get captured? Last I heard about you, you were able to take out a hundred Chunin by yourself."

She went silent. Maybe she forgot and it has been that long. Maybe it's just a blur. She said softly, "I was captured by someone that betrayed me."

Naruto asked, "But why did they capture you in the first place?"

Before she could answer Kakashi said, "The Seven Swordsmen betrayed the Mizukage because they believed even for them, the Mizukage was too blood-thirsty. Remember the Mizukage tried to kill all those with a bloodline. The Seven Swordsmen tried to do a coup, but it failed." Kakashi put some chakra on the neck of Zabuza awakening the slumbering missing nin.

It took a few moments before Zabuza awoken. He didn't open his eyes before saying, "Heh, is it morning already Kakashi? You figured out what you're going to do with me?"

"Not yet. But I have a good idea. But before we get there, why don't you open your eyes."

Zabuza begrudgingly opened them to see that it was still dark. Still blurry, he wiped his eye to see Kakashi, the pinkette, the blond, and the other one. Seeing her caused the large shinobi to lash out at the three Konoha ninja, "How dare you! You woke me up to put me in a genjutsu! How can you show me my dead sister in arms? I'll fucking kill you!"

"Calm down, Zabuza-sensei. Blondie saved me."

An enraged Zabuza lashed out, "You are not Ame. I know you died. I saw you die! I was at your funeral! I even, I even did the eulogy! You're not Ame!" Zabuza's killing intent damn near killed all the wildlife around the area. Sakura was having a hard time breathing and was ready to faint. Ame coughed as it was directed mostly at her.

She croaked out, "Zabuza-nii, it's me. You must believe me."

Zabuza thrashed around. He wanted nothing but to get out of these cuffs and seals and kill them all. They have taken it too far. They already had him captured. Why would they mess with him when they have him? Ameyuri's death damn near broke him mentally. Seeing her in that hospital bed frail and withering away. It killed him to see her like that. He was going to kill them all!

Naruto coughed to get everyone's attention. He said, "Hey Zabuza, I don't know you and Ame's relationship but maybe we can do a compromise. You guys have history together. If she can tell you something that only she would know, would that make you believe this is her?"

Zabuza snarled in his rage but nodded. Kakashi led him to her. He didn't want to move her until Sakura gave him the okay. Ame gave such a sad smile to Zabuza. Small tears fell down her face seeing that Zabuza was alive. With her weak hand she tried to touch his face only for him to slap it away with his face. Zabuza said angrily, "Do not touch me, you wench. Do what the blondie said. Now!"

She sighed softly as she hated seeing him like this. She came up to his ear and whispered something that the others couldn't hear. With each word that passed, Zabuza's eyes went wide.

His lower lip trembled.

Tears fell down the face of the Demon of the Mist.

His sister in arms was alive!

"Ameyuri, it's really you!" Zabuza wrapped his arms around her and cried. He never cried as much as he had at this moment. He cradled her while muttering that its really her. The tension in the air dissipated. Overcoming it was a feeling of warmth. Kakashi smiled as his two genin held each other. This put a smile on Naruto and Sakura's faces. There was nothing better than reuniting families together.

Zabuza wiped his eyes before bowing down to the blond genin. He said in the humblest voice the Demon of the Mist could must, "Naruto Uzumaki, you saved my life and Haku's. Then you come back around and save the person I consider my sister. Please, I beg of you allow me to be in your debt for the rest of my life. As one of the Swordsman of the Mist, I, the Demon of the Mist request to be your sword for the rest of my life."

Kakashi nearly spit out the water he was drinking hearing this. Zabuza essentially pledged his loyalty not to any village but to Naruto. This was insane! Ameyuri wiped her tears looking at the blond hero in admiration. He saved her. He saved Zabuza allegedly. He brought them together. She was going to do the same. "Naruto Uzumaki, I, one of the Swordsmen of the Mist, pledge my loyalty to you. Let me be your sword."

Naruto for his part scratched the back of his head. He wasn't expecting this when he went into the mansion. The praise he was getting was something new to him. He chuckled nervously before saying, "I accept?"

Sakura broke the moment by saying, "So we're gonna need another bed in Tsunami's house?"

The next morning was an interesting time.

"So, you're telling me, that all of this happened last night, and you didn't wake me up?"

Sasuke couldn't believe that Naruto and the rest of Team Seven had a night adventure. He wanted a nighttime adventure too! Naruto scratched the back of his head as Haku eyed the red headed Jonin. Kakashi had explained what happened last night. Haku took it surprisingly well. She kept looking at Naruto with admiration. He helped Zabuza to reunite with his precious person. Kakashi expected the girl to be brooding like his raven-haired shinobi.

Naruto said, "Sorry Sasuke. I needed Sakura's help because Ameyuri needed medical help. I didn't want to wake you because you're still in recovery like me. We both were in no shape to do anything. And we needed someone to be here if something went awry."

Sasuke crossed his arms and huffed. "Next time, I'm going. You can't be the only one to have fun."

Tsunami let out a small laugh in her napkin. It had been a long time since this place was lively. It made her smile for their future. Even Inari was laughing at Sasuke's plight. The future was bright. Tazuna burped before saying, "Oh I meant to tell you. The bridge is finished, and it will be unveiled tomorrow morning."

This put a small damper in the mood as it meant that the Konoha ninjas needed to leave and return home. Kakashi said, "Well since the bridge has been fixed. We'll be heading out probably tomorrow."

"Wait. What about Haku, Zabuza, and Ameyuri", Naruto asked.

"Well with Zabuza and Ameyuri, they have pledged their loyalty to you. So, I guess anything you want them to do they'll do. Haku isn't a shinobi officially. That means she can do whatever she wants. By the way, Sakura, how are they doing?"

Sakura stopped chewing her food before saying, "Haku's nervous system is doing much better but she needs to take it easy from doing high-ranking attacks. Surprisingly, there wasn't as much nerve damage. Ameyuri needs to rest for another week or so. I would suggest lying low. Especially since Kiri has her marked as dead." The three non-Konoha ninjas understood their predicament. Kakashi scratched his chin before sipping his tea.

Kakashi said, "Well, since your mission is finished and you have become Naruto's swords, you are not an enemy. You're worth more alive than dead. So, we're gonna let you go and do as you please. The only conditions are that these seals stay active until we leave and that you don't attack Nami or Konoha. Is that understood?" Zabuza grunted in response.

"I'm going with Naruto-sama."

"Excuse me?"

Haku had been very silent for the last week. She had been eternally grateful for Naruto and Sakura for keeping her alive. They gave her proof that there are people that care for her. Yet she was also a tool for Zabuza. Zabuza needed her to be his senbon. But was there life after being a tool? For the first time in her life she was truly conflicted. She took the week to fully examine her dilemma.

Then Ameyuri appeared.

Ameyuri's presence affected Zabuza more than she ever could. They were like brother-sister, not user and tool. She felt a bit threatened by this woman if what the stories that were said to be true. With Ameyuri around, even in her weakened state, Zabuza didn't need Haku. She was used goods. It made her red in the face with a bit of jealousy. But maybe this was a blessing in disguise. It was like the old saying, "Another man's trash is another man's treasure".

She repeated, "I would like to go with Naruto-sama."

Naruto scratched the back of his neck as Sakura gave him a dirty look. It wasn't his fault that Haku wanted to come with them. It also didn't help that Haku was calling him '-sama'. Naruto naturally blushed red. Kakashi teased Naruto, "Ohhh. It's Naruto-sama now. Well Naruto-sama, since she isn't a shinobi, it shouldn't be that difficult to integrate her. She, of course, would need to be interrogated and would need a place to stay."

Sakura raised her hand, "She can stay with me."

"I would prefer to stay with Naruto-sama."

Haku's eyes stared deep into Sakura's eyes. It was almost like a rivalry started to brew between the two. Naruto chuckled nervously as he said, "Well my place is pretty small…"

Kakashi said, "We can discuss it when we get back to Konoha. In the meantime, make sure all your stuff is packed up so that we can be moving out early in the morning."

Inari had tears in his eyes as he tugged onto Naruto's shirt. He asked, "Do you really have to leave Naruto-nii? You can stay here and, and," Inari started to cry into Naruto's sleeve. Naruto patted the boy's head. Surprisingly, Sasuke felt the boy's pain more than anyone. He knew what the boy was going through losing an older brother. Sasuke spoke softly, "Inari, I know it's hard to lose a big brother. But you are pretty strong, and I know Naruto would want you to be a leader to the new generation. Be their big brother like Naruto was to you."

Everyone in Team Seven looked at Sasuke with an owlish look. Naruto said, "Uhh, yeah, what Sasuke said."

Sasuke gave him a look, "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"Umm, no, never mind."

"What?"

The rest of breakfast continued with Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura arguing.

The night came quickly.

Naruto sighed as he stood outside in the fields. He was going to miss this place. Maybe it was the peace that he had here. He really didn't know. His ears perked when he heard some shuffling footsteps. He instinctively put his hand on his sword. He pulled out his blade and spun around.

"So, you're leaving without saying goodbye to her?"

In front of him was the Demon of the Mist. Zabuza smirked as he saw the sword aimed right between his eyes. The boy was getting quicker with drawing his sword. With one finger, he moved the sword away from his face. He grunted, "Much better draw, but you still need to be quicker than that." Naruto withdrew his sword and put it back into its hilt.

Naruto said, "So are you leaving without telling her goodbye?"

"Gaki, listen, I'm not good with goodbyes. It just makes it harder."

Naruto sighed, "It's not fair. She's been with you almost her whole life. The least you could do is say goodbye."

"She doesn't need me anymore. I was here for her until she could make her own decisions. She made her choice."

"So, her choosing me means you can just abandon her?"

Zabuza said bitterly, "No, no, no. She's becoming the person I hoped she would be. Before, I was alone. While she believes I gave her life meaning, it was the other way around. I was weakened by being alone again. She saved me. Our fight with you guys gave me a wakeup call. I don't want her following me and getting killed. If I were to say goodbye, then there was a chance she would just follow me. I don't want that. I want her to be free."

Naruto started to understand Zabuza a bit more. While he didn't agree with him, he understood. He said, "Fine. How about Ameyuri? Are you leaving her behind too?"

"No. I'll be back in a few days to let her heal up then I'm coming back for her." He started to rummage through his bag and pulled out a few scrolls. He threw them to Naruto. Naruto looked at the scroll and read 'Kubikiribōchō'. Naruto's eyes went wide. He asked, "Wait, is this-"

"Yes. I want you to have it. Right now, I'm not worthy to wield it. I tried to use it earlier but it didn't feel right in my hands. I thought about it long and hard. I decided to give it to you and one day you might give it to Haku when she is ready. In the other scrolls, I put how to use it and to transfer it to Haku when the time is right."

"But you don't have a weapon?"

"Don't worry about me, Gaki. I have another sword on me just in case."

Naruto looked at the scroll in awe. He couldn't believe in his hands was one of the famed swords. He gripped it with respect. He put his head down before replying, "Thank you, Zabuza."

Zabuza nodded as he knew he made the right choice. "Use it carefully, Gaki. It might take some time but it is a powerful tool."

Naruto was silent for a moment digesting what just happened. He said, "Zabuza, do you remember when you said that you are my sword?" Zabuza nodded in response. "How would you feel about going somewhat straight?"

"What do you mean", Zabuza asked in confusion.

"I want to start a business that doubles as a spy network."

"Oh? What is it?"

"The Great Tree Company."

Naruto couldn't sleep as he looked at the scroll Zabuza gave him. It was surreal to him that he was given this sword. This trip had given him a lot to think about. From Aegis, the Sharingan, Haku, the idea of precious people, Ameyuri, Zabuza, his sword. Everything came so quickly at him. This was supposed to be an easy C-ranked mission. If this is how it was going to be, he was excited for the future.

"Up and at 'em. We have a long day today."

Naruto sighed as he put the scroll away and hopped up. He saw Haku sniffling into a tissue as Zabuza had left without a trace. He understood why Zabuza did what he did. It just left a bad taste in his mouth. He saw Tsunami was consoling the girl. He went over to her and put an arm around her. He said, "Haku-chan, I'm sorry he left."

She sniffled, "He could have at least said goodbye."

He said empathetically, "Zabuza doesn't look like the type to say goodbye. He was probably scared to say it because he doesn't know how. I think he really cares about you and wants you to have a better life. He believes you can do great things and he doesn't want to get in the way."

Haku sniffled some more and rested on Naruto's chest. Sakura came down to see the scene and shook her head. This was getting weird. Kakashi turned the page in his book before saying, "Well, let's get moving. I heard there was a surprise and I want to get out of here before noon. We have a long trip ahead." Team Seven and Haku nodded.

Team Seven was shocked to see how festive Nami no Kuni had become. There was loud music, banners, balloons and confetti all over the place. This place become so joyous compared to where it was less than a month ago. It felt like they were so anxious and giddy. They were given their life back. This place knew how to party.

Tazuna said, "Welcome Team Seven! We want to thank you all for giving our lives back. You have done something that we couldn't imagine less than a month ago. We want to give you a going away present that represents the future connections between us and Konoha. Look!"

Pulling off the covers, it revealed a large and wide bridge with a guarded arch. Around the arch were engraved sakura petals, a dog on one side and a raven on the other. On top of the arch, it said, 'The Great Naruto Bridge'. All of Team Seven were represented. Naruto's eyes went wide as tears silently fell down his face. He didn't expect this at all, and he felt that he was appreciated.

"This is beautiful! ", Sakura exclaimed. She admired the how much detail they put into the sakura petals. Sasuke, for his part, did appreciate the raven on the side. He gave a genuine smile. Kakashi gave an eyeroll as Pakkun got the most respect with the dog being a pug. He was proud of his team. If this was how it was going to be as their sensei, then he would sign up every time.

Naruto walked up to Tazuna and hugged him. He said with the upmost respect, "Thank you so much, Tazuna-san. This means so much to me. "

"My boy. You have done more for this village than you'll ever know. You gave us hope. Something we haven't had in a long time. We are in your debt. This is just a small token for your help." Naruto rummaged into his bag. He pulled out a scroll and put chakra into it. He opened the scroll and said, "I have one more gift for you. In Gato's place I found something that could help. It was your contracts and some money from him. Gato was generous enough to let you have it back."

Tazuna grabbed the scroll, and his eyes watered. It was his turn to hug the boy as the crowd roared in happiness.

They were free!

It took a few moments for the crowd to calm down. It was truly a joyous occasion. They were given their lives back. Team Seven realized they changed a nation. Inari stepped up and hugged Naruto. He said, "I know you're leaving but please come back soon!"

Naruto whispered, "I will. I promise. And a ninja never breaks his promise. I also have a little gift for you in there as well. It's pretty awesome, but don't open it now. Open it after we leave. Okay?" Inari nodded.

While this was a sweet moment, they needed to get going. Kakashi said, "Thank you for this amazing gift. I will make sure Konoha reaches out to you about working together to make a better world. Unfortunately, we must be leaving." A bunch of groans were heard as the team started to leave.

"Safe travels!"

"Goodbye!"

"We'll miss you!"

Team Seven waved goodbye as the team was leaving with Haku.

This was the start to Team Seven's legacy.

A/n: Done! Wave is finally over. Haku is coming to Konoha. So how about that Ameyuri reveal. Didn't expect that. We'll be exploring more on that soon. I have plans for them and their backstory soon. Aegis will be appearing again next chapter. Speaking of next chapter. Next up is the Chunin Exams. I'm so excited for this and I hope you are too.

As always read and review.

JK10 is out.