Naruto: Rise of the Hidden Whirlpool (Rewrite)

by Black' Victor Cachat

Before dying, the Fourth Hokage and Kushina hid a special scroll for Naruto. Not long after Naruto learns of his true heritage, he is forced to flee the Leaf Village and rebuilds the Whirlpool Village. Unfortunately, he must face the wrath of both his old home and the might of the Akatsuki, while still trying to find the path to peace. Naruto/Fu; Haku/Pakura. Rewrite of old story.

4. Crouching Fox, Hidden Legacy

For better or worse, I do not own Naruto.

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Beta read by the wonderful lincoln time, BlantonM, MaskedSharingan, and OceanLord2017!

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Guest Review answers :-D

Zabzab

Oh, I totally considered just skipping right to Shippuden. I have read fics that did that too, including for rebuilding Hidden Whirlpool. For this story, I want a firm basis for some of the growing changes to come.

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

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Chapter 4: Crouching Fox, Hidden Legacy

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Previously:

While Team 7 prepares for its upcoming second round with Zabuza, Naruto has had several meetings with a mysterious boy named Haku, before befriending him. Of course, Haku let Naruto think the former was a girl for a while, just for the fun of it…

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Land of Waves

Tazuna's House

Kakashi Hatake took one more look around the perimeter, before setting off with Sasuke and Sakura to guard Tazuna for the day. Naruto had worked himself to exhaustion again last night, so it was decided to let him sleep in and rest completely.

The bridge is nearly done, so Gato and his thugs will have to make a move soon. We can't risk one of us being tired during a fight. Tonight I'll have to speak to Naruto about toning it down a bit. Even his stamina has limits.

XXX

Land of Waves

The bridge, under construction

Zabuza took one more look around the perimeter, before giving a nod towards Haku. The stage was set for the upcoming confrontation. Today he would bolster his standing in the ninja world with the death of one of the Leaf's living legends, and perhaps even take the man's sharingan. He had no interest in having such a cheap trick for himself, but if he lacked the ability to turn having it available and preserved his advantage somehow, he should just abandon his ambitions.

Haku calmly approached from behind, the last of the construction workers resting on his right shoulder. All of them were actually alive, out of deference to Haku's argument that a reputation for killing civilian bystanders would only impede Zabuza and his ambitions. Slaughtering enemy ninja, preferably adults, was a more profitable image, and not just for a steady income. Instead, the civilians had only been thrashed and then put into death like states, and left lying on the ground in staged positions to help unnerve Hatake's genin, which in turn would make their teacher more vulnerable.

"Zabuza-sama, the woods have been covered?"

"Yeah, Haku. If anyone tries to come from the shore by anywhere other than the path, we'll know about it. Heh heh."

"Are you still sure we shouldn't we put something in the water?"

"Nah. I want to keep it confined to the bridge anyways. If it does shift to the water, I still have the advantage there."

"And you'll remember to . . ."

Only long tolerance kept Zabuza from rolling his eyes. You'd think he was my mother instead of my weapon! Without turning around, he nodded, "Yes. I'll maintain hit and run against him, and work to psych him out."

"Thank you, Zabuza-sama."

XXX

A few minutes later

With a flash of kunai, Kakashi dispelled the ambush of Zabuza's Water Cones that had surrounded them. Only his incredible reflexes prevented the copies from cutting Kakashi's students and employer down with one massive coordinated swing of their oversized swords.

Seriously, Zabuza must have heard every possible variation of 'what are you overcompensating for?' crack there was.

"So," he said, letting his voice carry, "you did survive, Zabuza."

Sneering, Zabuza slowly walked out of the gathered mist. Fearless he looked Kakashi dead in the eye, while the masked Hunter from before showed his true allegiance by walking alongside the Demon of the Bloody Mist.

"That one's mine," Sasuke calmly claimed, walking to the side so that he was directly in front of his nameless foe. "That was quite a show you put on before, but we're on to you now, and I hate ham actors!"

"Sasuke's so cool!" Sakura squealed, while Kakashi sweatdropped at how hypocritically dramatic Sasuke was being. Not to mention how Sakura would challenge everything Naruto said or did, yet took Sasuke completely at face value, without question.

Accepting the 'invitation,' Haku charged forward in a blur of speed, and was surprised when the Uchiha seemed capable of matching him.

XXX

Land of Waves

Path leading to the Bridge

Naruto raced towards the bridge, desperate to help his teammates. Shortly after he had awoken, two thugs had attacked Tazuna's house. Fortunately, Naruto had seen a boar they had butchered for kicks on their way over, and had headed back. Which meant he had been there to witness the courage Inari had displayed in trying to stop those jerks.

But if Gato's going after 'em, then something must be happening at the bridge too!

XXX

Land of Waves

The bridge

Sasuke collapsed to the ground, muscles gone limp by senbon needles piercing pressure points all over his body.

When the masked boy had revealed his true power, Sasuke had been able to hold on for a little bit longer, awakening his true Uchiha heritage: the sharingan. Unfortunately, his superior vision had only allowed him to dodge the projectiles by a hair's breath, leaving him shredded from the near misses, dying by degree. Nothing he tried could make a difference, and when Sakura had broken away from protecting Tazuna to try and help, the fake Hunter had merely snatched her thrown kunai out of the air. She's seriously doing more harm than good!

Inevitably, his opponent had scored a direct hit on Sasuke's pressure points, shutting down most of his body, while still leaving him conscious.

Zabuza gloated as he faced off against Kakashi, daring the other man to leave himself exposed to try to help the Uchiha heir. "Heh heh heh. Even if by some miracle you defeat me, you still won't have what it takes to kill Haku! Since he was a toddler, I've beaten his fighting skills into him. Even in the face of unthinkable adversity, he has always prevailed. He's lost all regard for his own life and become a killing machine; a true ninja. His skills surpass even my own. And he bears within a formidable legacy of an inherited Bloodline Limit!

"Thus, I have forged and carried with me a weapon of matchless quality and skill. Entirely unlike the scraps of trash that follow at your heels."

Then, using the brief distraction while Kakashi processed the (ultimately useless) tidbits Zabuza had dropped, Zabuza prepared to activate his over-powered Water Release: Hiding in the Mist, before Kakashi had a chance to activate his sharingan.

A shuriken came flying out of nowhere, to hit Haku in the mask, distracting him, while Naruto charged loudly in, "Uzumaki Naruto! At your service! Here I am, to save the day. You know how the story goes. Things look bleak, till the hero arrives—and then POW! Bye-bye bad guys!"

Without further ado, jumped right between the gaps in the mirrors to join Sasuke in the deathtrap. "Yo! Sasuke! I'm here to rescue you!"

The reactions to Naruto's rash and foolhardy performance, and subsequently getting distracted with a yelling match with Sasuke, were telling.

Sakura and Sasuke just shouted at Naruto for continuing to be an idiot, as was their usual response. Kakashi was a little less biased against Naruto, but he too was seeing a bit too much of the attention-seeking village prankster right now for anyone's good. Exasperating little—! What we needed was an ambush. Instead, he all but paints a target on himself, and then leaps right into the line of fire! Now he's just someone else I have to save! Except the moment I try to make a move, Zabuza will just counter it, and I'll be squandering my chakra meaninglessly, if not my life!

For Zabuza and Haku, they were completely confused. On one hand, previously the kid had pulled off a brilliant example of ninja tactical deception before, and had shown mastery of some high-level jutsu. Now they were just seeing an idiot. Was it all an act to catch them off guard? Did he have some sort of brain ailment? Or was his need for attention, and his naivety regarding the lives of ninjas, truly that extreme?

So focused was everyone on this, that Kakashi, Zabuza, and Haku nearly missed the rain of kunai and letter bombs that appeared out of nowhere.

XXX

Land of Waves

Tazuna's House

Tsunami could hardly recognize her son. Her baby, her most precious person, was arming himself to raise an army of the people to march against Gato and his goons!?

Pride —and fear— swelled in her chest as she went to follow him, while she secretly prayed that Hatake-san already had whatever was happening at the bridge under control.

XXX

Land of Waves

The Bridge

Kakashi swore foully as he backpedaled, and threw out Earth Release: Earth Dome to raise a part of the bridge to shield himself, Sakura, and Tazuna from the sudden inferno of explosions.

Zabuza used Water Release: Water Prison to encircle himself in a ball of super-dense water for protection, while Haku and his own opponents were secure within the Ice Release: Crystal Ice Mirrors.

The ex-Mist ninjas' own composure faltered as everyone turned to see who was responsible for the new attack.

Charging towards the bridge, only seconds away, were eight masked men and women with the symbol of the Village Hidden in Bloody Mist on top of their foreheads. ANBU Hunters of the Mist; real ones this time.

The fact that the Mist ninja were acting in teams only underscored the threat they posed, since the majority of the ANBU Hunters acted alone. That meant that these men and women had been gathered together beforehand for a specific task, and were skilled at collaborating together.

As the eight Hunters closed in, Zabuza quickly activated his enhanced version of Water Release: Hiding in the Mist, and with an iron will clamped down on his need to curse aloud, lest he reveal how concerned he really was.

Gato must have paid attention when I mentioned Hatake, and realized he could collect not just a share of my bounty, but him too. But why did they jump in like this instead of waiting until we were more wounded? Unless . . . Of course! They want Hatake and the Uchiha brat's sharingan!

They'd slaughter all those people back home for having a Bloodline, except passing up on a sharingan, and a kid who can create more, is too tempting. The hypocrites!

They must've worried Haku and I'd kill them first. Plus capturing Hatake of all people alive to torture for information would be an incredible boon on its own.

They'll want me alive too, to learn . . . No. I'll die first!"

Kakashi and Zabuza immediately separated, silently agreeing to a temporary ceasefire while they dealt with this mutual threat. However, the enemy of my enemy was still their enemy.

Haku had no such reservations though, happy to see a chance to spare the young genin before him. He quickly turned to Naruto, "Our quarrel seems to be no more. Shall we be allies?"

If Kakashi had the concentration to spare to hear this offer, he would have yelled a definitive "No!" to what would sound like a trap to him. However, the far more inexperienced Naruto jumped at the chance to accept. Maybe they could all work this out while he came out looking totally awesome? "You got it! Let's get these rude jerks!"

XXX

With Zabuza

Knowing he had to get some distance from Hatake, Zabuza quickly jumped down to get under the bridge, with three of the Hunters following him.

Acting on memory, and trusting the mist he had created, Zabuza dodged and weaved through the support pillars despite how they were completely obscured. As expected, one of the traps that he and Haku had set went off, as one of the too hasty pursuers snagged a wire. Unfortunately, they used the Substitution technique to survive.

Possibly they even saw us setting them up, so weren't really that surprised. No matter, that momentary respite is all I need to go all out. About time they sent actual teams after me really, given all the solo acts I've killed. Heck, we even got Haku's mask from the third attempt."

Still running to grab more distance, Zabuza shifted his mouth to snag a military ration's pill hidden under his face wrappings, yet held off eating it for a few seconds. He quickly cut his thumb on his sword, and soared through the hand-signs to Summon the allies of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, infesting the waters with Sharks even as he swallowed down.

Doubtless they have some plan to deal with them, but they should've underestimated how much my chakra has grown since I defected, and how many I can summon now. Plus, with this pill I've already replenished my chakra. So now the fun begins!

The Hunter's did not disappoint the wrath of the Demon, charging forward to do battle with their foe.

XXX

With Kakashi, Sakura, and Tazuna

With Zabuza, and therefore the center of the artificial mist, having moved away, Kakashi was actually benefiting from the fringes of that concealment. The remaining mist around him was just light enough for his sharingan to see his own three opponents, while they were still suffering from impaired vision.

Unfortunately, it was also becoming pretty clear that it was possible Kakashi had gotten in over his head this time.

He had failed to consider any scenarios involving the intervention of any third parties to the conflict, and now Team 7 was out-numbered, and he was the only one with any chance of getting them out of this alive.

They have the advantage, since I have to still keep Sakura and Tazuna safe. I can't show my back to them, and judging by those explosions underneath, Zabuza's planted booby traps —which I also failed to consider—which the ANBU Hunters likely know about. So I have to keep this fight confined to here, and too close to my students. Nothing but rookie mistakes!

Ruthlessly he pulled himself out of such thoughts to coldly focus on what he needed to do to save everyone in his charge.

A quick glance with his sharingan revealed that none of his opponents were clones, which was some relief. Creating a Shadow Clone, Kakashi sent it to get the Sakura and Tazuna out, while he charged head on at his enemies, kunai drawn.

His intent was not to kill, yet, just keep them off balance by quick rapid strikes back and forth between the three. Distracting and keeping them busy, while the clone grabbed Sakura and Tazuna and hauled them to safety. Out of everyone, they were the weakest links. As he engaged the Hunters though, it became clear it would be more difficult than expected. They had good reflexes, and had predictably been taught how to fight someone using Silent Killing, meaning they could still anticipate to an extent where he was going to strike even in this artificial mist. Fortunately, even 3-on-1, his sharingan ensured he still got some strikes in, if nothing deep.

"Screw this!" one of them barked at his teammate. "Adder! Do it!"

Senses tingling, Kakashi strove to anticipate what was coming, when all of a sudden he heard heavy objects being lobbed about, and he was hit by the blast of a massive explosion.

Working to quietly retreat, Kakashi's clone had not gotten his charges far enough, and was instantly dispelled by the concussion. Neither Sakura nor Tazuna were prepared either, and were sent flying away further down the bridge, away from the shore and where Haku and Naruto were, and passed into unconsciousness.

XXX

With Haku and Naruto

The last two Hunters targeted Haku and Naruto, splitting up to take them separately. The biggest one led with a large two-handed cleaver-blade which he attacked Haku with brutally. To their shock, Haku rose to the challenge as he charged to meet them with a senbon in either hand.

Haku's speciality lay in stealth, assassination, and mid-to-long-range fighting. However, he was the prodigious student of a man who desired the best weapon. A man who was himself adept at all ranges, and was an acknowledged master at melee fighting. Of course Haku could fight up close and dirty.

Moreover, if these two were targeting him specifically as part of a pre-planned assassination, that mean they were expecting him to try and get some distance from them. That they had some strategy just for that. Thus, Haku would deny them the pleasure.

Not to mention that in the time Haku took to get to a 'safe distance,' Naruto would already be gutted.

Despite this surprise, the lead ANBU Hunter went on the offensive, raining down blow after blow with his oversized sword, relying upon the strength of his arms and blade to cut through any opposition.

As if Zabuza-sama would accept such a weak tool, Haku coolly thought. My training has been not only to make myself strong, but also to provide him with a sparring partner to further his own development.

As the student of a master swordsman, in a country that idealized them, Haku had long learned how to fight against swords and other long bladed weapons. With a dancer's grace he weaved and ducked under each swing. Seeing an opening, he slapped the flat of the blade with his left-handed senbon to deflect it, and then stabbed with the other. With his knowledge of the human body, a single stab he could kill or incapacitate as necessary.

A perfect melding of his fighting style, and more merciful personality.

However his foe was an ANBU for a reason, and twisted so while senbon stabbed into his dominant hand, it missed the dominant muscles and arteries, and he held onto his sword. Recovering, he brought his oversized cleaver down to split Haku's skull, only to grunt in further disbelief as Haku blocked the heavy weapon with only one slim arm and a single senbon.

It seems they continue to focus on Zabuza-sama, and fail to learn what they need about me. Good to know that plan is still going well.

For his slim frame hid the power to crush a man's bones just by squeezing his hands. And those 'senbon' were actually icicles strengthened and hardened by his chakra. This was child's play.

The only flaw with this fighting style was that he had to use only a single senbon so that he could block, as opposed to the usual four he could hold to throw.

Fingers blurring, he had a fresh senbon in his right hand, yet the ANBU quickly recovered, and shifted to a style favouring rapid slashes, his blade was an ever moving shaft of light in the thinning mist. In turn, Haku was as firm and unmoving as a glacier, holding his ground as he dodged or parried every strike that came at him away with minimal effort, while countering with rapid stabs that prevented Bloody Mist ninja from moving his bulk too close.

At first glance it seemed Haku was stuck on the defensive, except this was nothing compared to training against Zabuza-sama himself. Senbon after senbon was starting to pierce the ANBU, and while none were significant so far, the toll was beginning to mount.

Redirecting another attack with his left senboni, Haku attempted to stab the one of the man's arms with his right, realizing too late that it was a feint as his opponent was more experienced than expected. In a lightning fast turnaround, the man burst forward again with chakra bursting out of his feet to slam his shoulder into Haku while the teenager was still repositioning himself. Whatever cuts the man received in turn were minimal as the senbon failed to cut in deep enough at that angle, and the large blade slammed down brutally on his target's right shoulder.

The feeling of victory was short-lived as Mist ninja realized that his sword had only partially cut 'Haku,' as if he was far more solid than to be expected. The real Haku, who had never been on the bridge from the beginning, activated the concealed exploding tag his Ice Clone was wearing.

BOOM!

Despite his fantastic reflexes and forewarning as he leapt back, the ANBU swordsman was still badly cut up as the explosion spewed icy shrapnel at him.

Meanwhile, the eighth and final Hunter had been hanging back, taking the measure of Haku's clone's skills, since Naruto had yet to make a move. Naruto had hesitated at first, noting how the shock from the earlier explosions had knocked the already disorientated Sasuke unconscious, leaving him curled up and looking like a pincushion.

Unfortunately, after seeing how cool that masked ninja of Zabuza's was, the knucklehead created some Shadow Clones and leapt into the fray at the last ANBU. How else could he prove himself as future Hokage material?

Even if I can't beat him, I can keep him busy enough for Kakashi-sensei to get here! Just like when I freed him from Zabuza!

The cold, hard bridge slammed into Naruto's back as reality taught him otherwise. His vision was blurred as his head rang, and he could not see out of his right eye. Straining to get up, his right arm was on fire, and he felt wet over several places. He had never even seen it coming as he was brutally taken down.

With an effort, he focused in front of himself, to see the dissipating clouds his clones made when they were killed. Suddenly in front of him was Zabuza's masked kid straining against the second attacking Hunter, before jumping back to join the downed Naruto. He had saved his life . . .

Haku, the real one, was uncharacteristically agitated as he reassessed the situation. Naruto's unpredictability and unexpected techniques had given him an edge when he had first clashed with Zabuza-sama. However, he had evidently failed to realize he had only lasted so long because Haku's master had been toying with the Leaf genin when they had first met.

The enemy jonin had shredded the clone army without effort, and the only reason his kunai had only wounded Naruto was because he had had to dodge Haku's senbon at the very last moment. And now the swordsman was now moving in. "Naruto! Grab your friends and Tazuna, and get out of here!"

Seizing the initiative, the man who had beaten down Naruto, snapped his arms forward with their long, wide sleeves. In a puff of smoke, he had a scroll in his left hand that was unfurling on its own. With another flick and burst of smoke, in his right hand was a loop of wire fitting through the pommel-holes of a long brace of kunai.

Despite himself, Naruto's only thought at Scroll!ANBU's move was, Coooool.

Then their enemy swung the rope, sending all of the knives flying at once to overwhelm them, while the Cleaver!ANBU attacked their flank.

His own arms blurring, Haku threw over a dozen senbon of his own to knock the kunai away, and then spun and ducked to kick Naruto aside, taking them both out of the path of the sword. Using his own momentum, he kept moving to then stab Cleaver!ANBU in the anterior tibial artery, aiming just so to cause extensive blood loss and take the man's left leg out of action. The rest of the kunai flew harmlessly around him.

Pushing backwards with his free hand, Haku leapt backward while keeping himself between Naurto and their foes. More senbon needles appeared between his fingers, drawn from subtle holes in clothes.

Cleaver!ANBU could only curse, tearing off part of his sleeve to act as an emergency compress against the bleeding. In the meantime, Scroll!ANBU stood guard over him (less out of loyalty to a teammate, than acknowledging the more help the better) with another string of kunai already pulled from his Sealing scroll. A temporary stalemate.

Naruto was awestruck.

That was the second time his mysterious enemy-turned-ally had saved him, and seemed to do it with such pure awesomeness that he seemed even better than Kakashi!

As it was, he could only keep staring at these rapid-fire events, unable to even consider leaving the battle, wanting to stay to see more of this super-elite ninja!

And then he remembered the promise he had made; how he had stabbed his own kunai into his hand, vowing to never run, never go back on his way. How he had maintained it even in the face of someone like Zabuza. How could he live with himself, if he ran away now?

Adrenaline rushing away his aches, and trying to brush away the blood running into his eye, Naruto walked up to stand beside his newfound-friend.

Seriously, he could not wait to tell Iruka-sensei about this! Or Haku when they met up again for that matter.

"I told you to get out of here!" snapped the masked figure who was actually Haku. The only reason he had not attacked yet while one of the Hunters was vulnerable, was because he was trying to buy time for his friend to get away to safety—as the Bloody Mist ninja were well aware.

"I'm not running away!" Naruto growled back, "I swore I would protect that old man and get this bridge built, and I'm not going back on my word! Besides," and with his Naruto made ten new clones, "if they kill you, I doubt we'll be able to get far enough away."

"He's right, you know," Scroll!ANBU spoke up. "No witnesses. Nothing personal."

XXX

With Zabuza

Behind his head-wrap, the Demon of the Bloody Mists smirked with the satisfaction of a predatory. The Hunters had indeed come with a 'plan' to deal with the sharks: depth charges.

Fools!

While one Hunter threw the depth charges into the air, another of them kept sending a wide burst of wind jutsu, dispelling swaths of the mist with each blast. Unfortunately (for them), it was clear that these guys had failed to actually practice as a team. The wind jutsu was a smart idea to remove Zabuza's terrain advantage, especially as he was an unparalleled master in this environment. However, if the gust was too big, it would disrupt the depth charges that were necessary to handle the Shark summons. A team that had properly practiced this could fight the proper balance, yet these chumps were too busy trying to coordinate with each other when they were supposed to be fighting. Probably just thrown together hoping it would make enough of a difference. Typical of the idiots back home. Not to mention insulting, given how much they've underestimated me.

Right now he was quickly stalking through the thick mist, dodging around their attempts to find him. For while he was the master of Silent Killing, these guys were no slouches either. Meaning he would have to actually break a drop of sweat in beating them.

Catching a faint whistling noise in the air, he noted that one of the still-airborne canisters was close by. With a quick leap he was alongside it, and had smacked the container filled with letter bombs back at his pursuers.

BOOM!

"GAAH!"

"WHA—!"

Ah good, looks like I singed them a little.

Making a judgment call on his enemies' location, he decided to forfeit some of his shuriken by unleashing a barrage. After all, even a half second deflecting his projectiles might cost a foe their life, and any wounds would only add up. Who knows? He might even get an eye or jugular.

Hmm, sounds like they were deflected . . . Wait, where's the third one of them?

Instinct made Zabuza turn at the last moment, bringing his Executioner's Blade up with the flat of it facing the attack from behind, deflecting the incoming kunai. Letter bombs attached! he snarled to himself, leaping back and hoping his blade would absorb the worst of the incoming explosion. I can always fix it later with the iron from their blood.

XXX

With Kakashi

By the sound of those explosions, Zabuza's keeping busy, Kakashi thought, as he killed his first Hunter. The moron had actually tried attacking the Copy Ninja head on, after one of his teammates had partially thinned the mist with a wind jutsu. Even worse, Moron!ANBU had done so while running through her hand-signs right in front of Kakashi.

There was a reason that Kakashi was lauded for his special eye, being distinguished from the Uchiha clan even just shortly after Obito's death, and that was while it was true that the rest of the Uchiha had sharingan too, and ones that fully compatible for their bodies at that, but Kakashi could use his better.

During the Third Great Ninja War he had wrecked such havoc that the Uchiha had never retaliated or protested an outsider using an ability that had always been theirs. Kakashi was just too valuable.

The sharingan allowed the user to perfectly copy and memorize the physical movements of their opponent, and thus learn the enemy's hand-signs, and even gain insight to the inner workings of some jutsu, but there was a lot more to learning a new ninjutsu than just knowing the proper hand-signs and what jutsu element was required. Learning to successfully mimic and actually perform the technique afterwards required, even for the Uchiha, either a lot of work, or being a genius, and Kakashi was one of the latter. Moreover, knowing hundreds of techniques was of little use if you were unsure of which was best for whatever particular situation you were in. It was just too complex for them, particularly in the heat of battle, leading most ninja to prefer mastery over a more humble assortment of jutsu. Yet even before being promoted to jonin, Kakashi had not only already learned, and created, far more techniques than many jonin three times his age, and use them all flawlessly (except for his signature technique at first), but had also studiously committed to memory every scrap of information he could about enemy ninja.

The Leaf's intelligence networks had compiled profiles on each of the most powerful ninja in rival Villages, listing their preferred tactics and specific elemental jutsu that they were capable of, past experience, mission preferences, even their personal lives, and Kakashi had memorized each and every one of their vital statistics. For each of these hundreds of individuals, he had created theoretical stratagems to neutralize each and every one of their abilities so that he could kill them. As well as precise insight into how the rest of them fought.

In summary, no matter how strong these ANBU Hunters were, Kakashi had already developed numerous plans to defeat them years ago, having already set aside dozens of jutsu that had the highest probability of success.

And yes, the white-haired menace could effortlessly sort through each and every method on the fly without any difficulty.

He was Jonin Captain Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan Eye.

Seeing the world in slow motion thanks to Obito's gift, he recognized the oncoming technique as a water release technique, and one that was most accurate when fired from the mouth as opposed to using pre-existing sources. Instantly preparing a counter, Kakashi ducked beneath the ensuing torrent of water, flew through his own hand seals, and used Lightning Release: Wave of Inspiration. The flash of electricity passed right through the water, and fried the woman inside out.

If she's not dead, she'll certainly keep still until this is over.

Aware that his earlier failed gambit with his clone had halved his chakra, he closed on the remaining two, a kunai in each hand, and his blood red eye blazing.

XXX

With Zabuza

He's gotta be a sensor! Only way someone could've found me so fast! Zabuza cursed, realizing that his enemies were not the only ones guilty of underestimating their prey. He had been lucky, yet by throbbing of his left food, he had still sustained some burns.

Sure enough, another barrage of kunai came in from that same ANBU, forcing Zabuza to shift his position. Hearing triumphant calls, he knew the other two Hunters were advancing. Although in their case, he could not only hear them, but also smell their singed uniforms.

Charging forward heedlessly, confident that Sensor!ANBU had scored a decisive hit to the traitor, the advancing Mist Ninja were startled to hear their comrade yell, "No! Stop you fools!"

Before this could register, they heard the sound of something breaking through the water all around them, and before they could scream, they were being pulled under. Choking on water, they could only thrash as the surviving Sharks viciously tore them to shreds.

"Okay . . . That's a lot better," Zabuza's voice drifted over the mist with sadistic glee. "They deserved that really, forgetting about that. Now how about you?"

XXX

With Haku and Naruto

These guys are pretty good, even if not good enough, Haku reflected. Their problem is that they're individually overspecialized, and got greedy. If the full two squads had waited, then they could support each other enough to overwhelm even Zabuza-sama. Instead, they jumped the gun trying to get the sharingan as well, and split themselves up, ruining their main advantage.

They were probably watching my clone fight the Uchiha, and assuming it was the real thing and thought I was weak enough that they could easily kill Naruto and I, then join the others fighting Hatake, and then finally swarm over Zabuza-sama.

Hubris. They know nothing of my true power, and now dare not retreat and show me their backs. I will protect Zabuza-sama and his dream, no matter the cost!

All of this passed through his mind in a split-second, his face as impassive as the mask upon it.

The man with the sealing scrolls was definitely the more dangerous of the two, especially after the man with the sword had his mobility crippled. Naruto was now keeping the latter busy with a seemingly endless barrage of Shadow Clones. Now that Cleaver!ANBU was sufficiently injured, the Leaf genin was able to serve as a satisfactory distraction. Meanwhile, Haku squared off against his own opponent, who was unsealing and throwing a seemingly endless number of weapons. Unfortunately, Haku was running low on senbon needles to attack and/or intercept with, forcing him to use Ice Release: Crafting Elegant Tools to create more.

Struck with inspiration from that observation, Haku quickly barked out the orders, "Naruto clones! Don't use your fists, just throw your weapons!" After all, every one of them should be exact copies of the original set. Obediently, the orange horde threw all of their kunai and shuriken without restraint to overwhelm their enemy.

Why didn't I think of that before? No, why didn't he? It's an obvious move with clones, yet Naruto never did it. Is he that inexperienced with his own technique? I just assumed he would, and failed to prompt him.

Noting how his comrade was unable to use a proper Substitution with such a foot injury, Scroll!ANBU jumped in front, and unsealed a large metal shield to block the barrage.

Gotcha, Haku calmly thought, activating Ice Release: Crystal Ice Mirrors now that they were both so close together. Now even if Scroll!ANBU escaped, he should be so distracted by the technique that Haku could easily dispatch Cleaver!ANBU without leaving Naruto vulnerable while he was distracted.

A blast of water shook him out of his triumphant thoughts, as the obscured sword wielder burst out and unleashed a massive Water Release: Water Bullet Technique at Naruto, only for Haku to jump in the way. Dazed, he found himself on ground, and only barely rolled away from the kunai that flashed at him, but could not stop the gasp of pain that was ripped from his throat as they still found flesh.

Off to the side, Naruto could only look on in horror at what had happened to his new teammate, unable to focus on the Hunters, who were lining up more kunai to finish them both off.

His mask! It's-it's Haku! What's he—? He's-he's been trying to help me this whole time!?

"Let's finish this," Cleaver!ANBU grunted. "Then we can grab the Uchiha kid while the others finish off the rest.''

And that was the last straw.

While still confused about Haku, Naruto had considered him a friend since they had first met in the forest all those days ago. And now, Haku had literally jumped in front of Naruto to save him. Like Iruka had against Mizuki.

Like he was a real friend; more of a friend than Sasuke ever acted, despite how Naruto knew they were so much alike in their dark loneliness. With those last threatening words however, and Haku struggling to get up while spitting out blood, Naruto finally had some idea of what the life of a ninja was like.

It was a dark and violent world. Full of pain and loss. Where kids would be killed because it was convenient, and people would show no mercy to Naruto's precious people. And that was unacceptable.

If that was what life as a ninja was like, then Naruto vowed he would change it.

It was a child's dream really, an unrealistic promise to try and change the world. But sometimes, great change needs to start small. And sometimes, these idealists actually do have the power to change the world.

Especially if they are motivated.

Especially if they see those precious to them, about to be gutted.

For the first time in his life, Naruto permitted himself to fully let loose, to unshackle the rage he had never dared show the world since he was very young. Lest everyone truly rejected him . . .

For the first time in his life he could vent all the fury he was capable of feeling without fear of the consequences, and revel in it. For these masked freaks were enemy ninja. Threatening the mission.

They were the bad guys. They were evil, and had to die. It was as simple as that.

And with that exhilaration, came Power.

The world seemed to be moving slowly under an orange haze. He felt light as a feather, and bursting with energy that just wanted out. Feeling strong enough now to rend solid steel. What tore out from his mouth was between a roar and a scream, as years of pent-up emotions were finally given voice.

Haku and Naruto's prey could only stare in disbelief, as someone they had written off as a threat grew fangs and claws, and stood surrounded by swirling orange chakra which took the form of the head of a snarling beast over the little genin's head.

Haku's brain struggled to keep up, his training unable to help him cope with this shock. Impossible! His chakra is physically manifesting itself! A-and an appalling chakra it is!

A more detailed examination of Naruto's body merely added to his confusion. His arm and forehead . . . the wounds are . . . healing themselves! Who-what on Earth is he?!

And in answer, he heard a voice give a strangled whisper, "Jinchuuriki!"

"That shape it's taking…" moaned Cleaver!ANBU. "It's the Nine Tails!"

Overlooked in face of this new threat, Haku could only gape at the two immobile Bloody Mist ninja, clutching their kunai, before turning back to stare at Naruto, who was now facing them all, with red eyes and slit pupils.

Zabuza and the surviving Bloody Mist ninja shivered with dread, trying to understand what this new development was.

Horror and desperation gave new strength to Kakashi. I've to end this now! I've got to know what's happening with Naruto's seal, or this whole island'll be destroyed!

Unbeknownst to these warriors, Gato and Inari's respective armies continued to advance, their untrained senses leaving them blind to the bloodbath they were approaching.

XXX

With Zabuza

Hmm, I've got to change tactics, Zabuza thought as he continued to play cat-and-mouse with Sensor!ANBU. Keeping my mist up means he'll just stick to throwing toys at me, because just sensing me doesn't mean he can guarantee a good enough shot without his eyesight. Prolonging the fight is also draining my chakra. He can avoid my Sharks, and he avoids me every time I try to get close enough to cut him. Wait, the sounds are shifting . . .

Quickly cutting off his chakra, the mist thinned enough for Zabuza to see his enemy was creating Water Clones to fight him. Oh, so he thinks he's so clever. It's adorable really. I rely upon sound, so he's making more noise, all identical, to confuse me. But this is nothing I haven't handled before, but his bloody sensory abilities complicate things. Eh, no big deal.

Although I do have to hurry this up and find Haku. And then we can figure out what this foul new chakra is. I'm not even a Sensor and I can feel it.

Zabuza flashed his hands through similar hand-signs, and created an equal number of clones, and charged forward with them, while roaring at his Shark summons to follow suit. Their summoning time was getting close to expiring, another reason why it was necessary to end this quickly, yet the Demon of the Bloody Mist was counting on them lasting long enough to turn the tide in his favour.

If the Hunter ANBU was surprised by the sudden berserk charge, he gave no sign of it, and had his clones swarm at the original Zabuza. His own plan was simple, unlike the traitor, he could readily differentiate the original from the clones since the clones had such smaller chakra reserves. Hiding amongst his own clones, the masked man would sneak in some more letter bombs into the fray, and retreat.

Zabuza was not an idiot.

Luring in those enemy clones, he simply Substituted with one of his own clones, and was now flanking the original Sensor!ANBU, who was visibly hanging back. "Water Release: Water Shark Bullet!" Before his jutsu, water solidified to form a shark, barrelling down on its target, while Zabuza's clones threw shuriken as a distraction.

Like fish in a barrel, Zabuza smirked. His opponents had been all set to whittle him down with counters to his signature fighting style, while overlooking how he could easily fight head-on too.

Switching places with one of his clones who had gotten far enough away, the Hunter dodged the water jutsu, only to be immediately pressed as Zabuza charged forward to cut through half of his remaining clones with a single swing of his massive sword. Zabuza's Water Clones pressed the initiative, attacking their remaining enemies to prevent any more Substitutions, even as sharks attacked from below.

Realizing how completely he had underestimated his enemy, Sensor!ANBU played his last card, unfurling a scroll to deploy his own supply of depth charges. Activating them all, and waiting a few seconds to run the fuse down more, he threw most of them into the air, and then charged the original with the last one clutched in his hand.

Seeing the threat, and the smoking fuse on the explosive, Zabuza merely smirked, and cut off the chakra to his feet. Dropping below the water, and grabbing onto a nearby Shark which dived down, he knew that underwater he could merely dodge his enemy even if he chased after him. And with the falling explosives, the fool had merely turned the surface into a death trap.

Coming to the same conclusion, the increasingly desperate Hunter abandoned his kamikaze attack and threw away his depth charge, and tried to run. He nearly succeeded, but the blast from the last of the raining explosives shook him up.

Slowly, like the demon he was, Zabuza emerged from the waves, emitting all of his Killing Intent. "So this is what the Fourth Mizukage claims to be a stronger breed of ninja?" he snarled at dead-man-standing. "You were outclassed from the beginning, and should never have been sent against me." With a single flash of the Body Flicker Technique he beheaded the Hunter.

Now for the others.

XXX

With Kakashi

"Water Release: Hiding in the Mist Technique!" Kakashi cried, startling his targets with his use of their village's own signature technique to replace this mist that Zabuza was no longer putting out. I was saving this to fight Zabuza, and I'd like to mark them first, but Naruto is the priority right now. I have to end this fast!

Knowing his enemies were also shifting their positions, Kakashi moved towards the Hunter ninja he had electrocuted before. Devoid of mercy, he slit her throat to make sure she was dead, and yanked out a scroll from his flak jacket with his other hand. Rubbing some of the gushing blood onto the scroll, Kakashi quickly went through more hand seals and slammed the scroll down on the bridge. "Summoning: Earth Release: Tracking Fang Technique!"

Screams rent the air, and Kakashi dispelled the mist, revealing each of the two Hunters with Dogs immobilizing them with fangs buried into their limbs.

Without missing a beat, Kakashi grabbed four of his remaining kunai, and threw them at his unmoving targets, spearing their throats. A quick sniff from the Dogs confirmed they Mist ANBU were dead, and no one else was hiding nearby. Satisfied, Kakashi looked towards where he could feel the corrosive chakra emanating from Naruto.

XXX

With Naruto and Haku

The Hunter with the lame foot grabbed his sword, and took up a stance. He knew he could not run, and probably could not kill the demon spawn anyways, so he would serve as a distraction while his partner grabbed his most powerful sealing scroll.

He was not disappointed in either regard.

With a roar, Naruto charged with a speed that would make a jonin proud. Slamming right into Cleaver!ANBU, the man swung with textbook perfection, yet was still wrenched from his hands as if he had struck a cliff wall and he himself was knocked onto his back. Uninjured, Naruto straddled the gasping man and tore his arm off.

The second Hunter knew he was a dead man as he watched the teenager chuckle at the howls of his prey, but he swore he would die as befitted a ninja of the Village Hidden in Mists.

Grabbing two more of his special scrolls, he unfurled them and activated specific seals, releasing a sealed version of Water Release: Hiding in the Mist, and leapt into his temporary cover. While this version of the technique would only last fifty-five seconds, it required no further chakra, leaving him the rest of his reserves for his trump card.

The sound of further tearing flesh, and a final gasp, told him the fate of his partner. And slowly, oh so slowly, he heard the sounds of someone coming near him. Weird sounds too, like . . . they were walking hunched over on their hands and feet.

Kakashi could have been there first, but he made a detour to grab Sakura and Tazuna and get them off the bridge. If the situation went belly up any further, the bridge would likely be the first casualty, and they would fall and drown. Moreover, the return of thick mist from Naruto's location was a clue that Naruto was still knee deep in a fight. Charging in carelessly was suicidal in normal circumstances, and right now Naruto could even attack him without recognizing him.

Hence, Zabuza beat the Copy Ninja to the scene, trying to puzzle out what exactly was happening.

Suddenly a burst of something broke over him, forcing him to shift his balance, while the mist came barreling at him. Was that . . . chakra!?

Such a pure blast of energy that it was physical force in itself

With the mist completely blown away, he took in the sight before him.

Haku: unmasked and injured. Probably not critically, as his tool was tough and a good medic in his own right. The Uchiha kid: lying on the ground, looking like he had been tossed about a bit while stuck full of needles.

One dead Hunter ANBU, missing an arm, and most of his throat, upper chest, and jaw.

One seriously freaked out surviving Hunter, kneeling beside an open sealing scroll, holding his hands in the tiger seal.

And one Jinchuuriki.

What.

What?

What!?

Okay, seriously, what is with this kid? What are the odds that this mission would go like this? Zabuza paused, hefting his sword while his brow furrowed in thought. No, wait, what are the odds actually? A Jinchuuriki is a Hidden Village's ultimate trump card. If he's not being kept safe back home, why are his training and skills so out of whack? Kid's got talent, but compared to Yagura, or the Jinchuuriki of the Hidden Cloud, well, there's no comparison."

He took another glance at Haku, who strangely did not seem afraid of the blonde. Indeed, he seemed more concerned for him, to the point he had missed Zabuza's approach. Also, judging by this tool's injuries, his wounds had come from the Mist ninja, not the Leaf genin.

Carefully he shifted his heel against the ground to get Haku's attention. Unfortunately, it was not subtle enough, as both kids heard it, with the Jinchuuriki pausing his prowling advanced on his hands and feet. Reading Zabuza's questioning look, Haku gave a reassuring nod.

"Hey, kid, Naruto right? You hear me?" Zabuza called out, keeping his hands to the side. "Did you make some sort of deal with Haku? Because, I gotta say, I'm calling off the whole 'trying to kill Tazuna' thing. Gato must have betrayed me if these guys showed up." Actually, Zabuza was not perfectly sure about that, but he was too worn out to risk fighting a Jinchuuriki, especially when the brief glances of the corpses he had seen on the bridge showed Kakashi was still alive, if absent. "In fact, I'll even throw in Gato's head as both an apology, and thank you for helping my follower. Sounds good?"

"You. Attacked. Me. All of us!" was the snarled response, so thick with rage that the boy was having a hard time speaking straight.

"That's water under the bridge kid. No pun intended. That's how the ninja world works, except now the situation has changed."

"No," Naruto snapped, while Zabuza fought the urge to put his sword between the two of them. "It shouldn't be! Ninja should be different! But . . . don't want to fight. You. First, this man has to die. After that, I'll—"

Steel slammed into Naruto's head, as Scroll!ANBU finally gathered the necessary amount of chakra for Sealing Technique: Infinite Constraints.

Countless numbers of spiked chains slammed out of the scroll into Naruto and everyone else present, entangling and tearing into them. The force with which the bindings were expelled made them ensnarl the Hunter ninja's enemies. Naruto fought to get out, protected by his chakra shroud, yet unable to move as his own efforts to escape kept pulling them tighter. Even bursts of chakra from his body only seemed to make the situation worse. Zabuza roared with rage, at both his pain and at how he had idiotically focused solely on the primary threat, and like a novice overlooked the others. Haku threw up a shield of ice to protect himself, while Sasuke was unharmed since the Hunter was so surprised by his good fortune he decided it was possible he could still complete his mission.

More and more chains were created, burying the Jinchuuriki and the traitors.

"Well, well, this is unexpected."

Shaking with exhaustion, the Hunter ANBU turned around to see their contact, the businessman Gato standing in front of him, with a veritable army of cheap thugs covering up the background.

Underneath the bridge, Haku popped out of an ice mirror he had created a minute ago, panting for breath as he struggled to keep himself from sinking under the surface of the water. Creating a mirror out of his line of sight was taxing, even with the mass of an ocean literally under his feet, and he had expended even more chakra creating a shield strong enough to protect him, along with all the other fighting today. A moment later, Zabuza dropped down too, covered in wounds, and holding his sword in a way which told Haku the infamous blade had been used to block the bulk of the attack. The man was fortunate he had retained the room to drop through the bridge using an earth jutsu, slipping through the concrete.

"Z-Zabuza-sama, we, we have to go back."

"Haku?"

"Have to help Naruto!"

Zabuza looked Haku in the eye, and cocked his head. "You're not asking as my tool, but your own person, aren't you?"

Haku blanched at that, but Zabuza merely shrugged, "I can hear Gato's voice up there, so I have to go back anyways. If he's here, he really did betray us. It feels like your little Jinchuuriki is still alive, so there are other advantages." With that, he took off.

An enraged Kakashi Hatake shoving his hand right through the last Hunter's chest was the first thing to meet Zabuza's eye reappearing on top of the bridge. The jutsu so powerful that Zabuza could actually see the chakra in the Copy-Ninja's hand.

"So, Gato," Zabuza called out casually. "What's all this?"

Gato flinched for a moment, and then took in all the blood on both Zabuza and Kakashi, and regained his courage as he mistakenly thought it was mostly their own. "Heh heh heh. There's been a slight change of plan, Zabuza. Or of your plans, anyway. This was what I had in mind all along. You're going to die, 'Demon.' Here and now. You must have guessed. I never intended to pay you." The petty tyrant opened his mouth to say more, except the oversized sword cut off his head.

Glancing over at a simmering Kakashi, Zabuza cocked his head in a questioning manner, "My contract against Tazuna is no longer relevant, and your kid was fighting to help my apprentice. So, I have no more interest in fighting you. Kill this trash, and then see what we can do for blondie boy?"

The ensuing fight was quick and brutal, with the majority of the low class mercenaries dying from letter bombs, while the fleeing stragglers were cut down with kunai and Zabuza's Executioner's Blade.

Frankly, they were not enough to justify any more time and effort.

Kakashi glared at the pile of chains, knowing his chakra was severely exhausted, especially given how he had foolishly used a Lightning Blade in his fury at the Bloody Mist Ninja. If he was able to come up from behind like that, a simple kunai would have been sufficient.

Suddenly, another feral roar emanated from it, followed by a muted crashing nose. Quickly ducking under the bridge, Kakashi immediately jumped towards the ripple in the water signifying something had fallen in, and yanked an exhausted Naruto out. Thank goodness, the Fox's chakra has receded! Looking up, he could see the jagged hole through the bridge, with the tangling ends of torn chains hanging through, And it kept him safe from those spikes too! Long enough for it to tear its way down and out.

To his shock, when Kakashi returned to the top of the bridge, Zabuza had collapsed. In the span of less than a minute, he had gone pale, clammy, his eyes bloodshot, and it looked like he had collapsed to the ground when his shaking limbs gave away. A boy (girl?) dressed in the same outfit as the Demon's apprentice, albeit without his mask, turned to Kakashi with a desperate expression, "The chains were poisoned!" the boy (probably) cried out desperately. "Do you have anything!?"

Pausing, Kakashi shook his head in genuine regret. Someone with Zabuza's skill deserved better. For any other village, the ANBU Hunter would have the antidote in case he or his allies were accidentally poisoned, but not the Bloody Mist. Moreover, as an ex-ANBU himself, they would know exactly what inoculations Zabuza had been given, and prepared accordingly. Besides, being on the run would have deprived him of the latest counter agents to handle the newest versions of whatever poisons all the villages were constantly developing.

Not that Kakashi was complaining too much, since it looked like there was going to be one less threat. "Sorry. I don't have anything. And it doesn't look like Zabuza will last long enough for me to get something in time."

Coughing, Zabuza raised his head, "In that case, I guess I'll have to play one of my last cards, Hatake. If you seal me up, and take me back to the Leaf for recovery, I'll provide you guys with intel."

Kakashi sighed in even greater disappointment, "Sorry, but I don't have the chakra left to do it." He then indicated a hole in his weapon's pouch, "And my soldier pills were lost from some explosions." Yet he noted how exhausted and injured the younger missing-nin was, how coming back onto the bridge must have drained him of his remaining strength, and how relatively well-off Naruto was. "I'll go see if any of the other Hunters had anything useful on them." He took off, leaving Naruto alone with them, trusting that Naruto was healthy enough to defend himself if necessary, Zabuza was too weak to pull anything, and Haku too concerned.

Glaring, the dying man directed his attention to Naruto, "What about you, kid? You look strong enough to still do it!"

"Wuh? I don't know how to seal people!"

"You're a Uzumaki! Of course you know by this point!"

"Uzumaki? Wh-what do you mean?" Naruto stammered as he dealt with yet another surprise on this emotional day.

Slowly, Zabuza's attitude shifted from accusatory to disbelieving. "Kid, are you honestly telling me you've never heard of the Uzumaki clan? Of Uzushiogakure? Famous allies of the Leaf? Sealing in their blood?" Noting the growing confusion with each question, Zabuza slowly nodded his head. "Alright kid, piece of advice: start asking more questions. Look underneath the underneath more."

Even when he said this, a glint of naked calculation danced so intently in his eyes that even Naruto could see it.

Slowly, Naruto nodded in turn, trying to process what his former enemy was trying to tell him. Tears began to fall from his eyes as pent up emotions from the day leaked through. Moreover, even he could tell that Zabuza was dying; a man he had come to respect, especially since he was precious to Haku, and had apparently come to help him against the last Hunter. Who was, even now at the very end, seemed to be trying to help Naruto.

Truthfully, it was that Zabuza was just too insulted at such wasted potential, and figured it would make Hatake's life miserable.

More importantly, Naruto appeared to be literally the only one alive who genuinely cared for Haku. Except he would have to coach it in the only terms that he believed that the latter understood.

"But since I'm about to die, there is only one thing left for me. Haku!"

"Yes, Zabuza-sama," Haku said quietly, fighting the exhaustion and pain from the battle and climbing back up to the bridge.

"I have one final mission for you as my tool." Then the dying Zabuza turned his head towards Naruto, "Kid, I need you to do a man a favour."

Kakashi continued to rifle through corpses, ignorant of what was happening back with Naruto.

"Look after Haku for me," Zabuza bluntly asked, and before either Haku or Naruto could react, he turned to the former. "Follow the kid, stay by him and be his weapon. And you should know, my greatest pride was being there to take care of you and train you, my tool, my weapon…my son."

And then, tired of all the drama he had endured this day, Zabuza lowered his head, closed his eyes, and let the Grim Reaper come for him.

XXX

Land of Fire

Konohagakure

Hokage Tower

Later

The Third Hokage stared at the scroll that Kakashi's Dog summon, Pakkun, had brought him, feeling more than a little shocked as he tried to decide what to do with the information he had received.

The issue of Tazuna falsifying his mission request was easily solved, with Kakashi's assessment of Land of Wave's reactions leading him to conclude that the land would prosper and request many future missions. In fact, the solidarity shown from the people's late arriving militia led by the old man's grandson, was taken as proof that the nation was well on its way to rebuilding itself stronger than ever. The bridge builder had also agreed, without even needing any 'encouragement,' to claim that he had paid in full, up front, for the proper mission request, so as to not encourage any future clients to do the same.

In the aftermath, Kakashi had given careful counseling to his students, working to help them deal with the events. Or what he claimed was appropriate therapy at least. With that man it could be hard to tell. The attack from the Hunters, and the massacred corpses that had lain around the bridge, had helped drive home to the kid the true, gritty world of being a ninja. Even a ninja of Konoha.

According to the report, Sakura was apparently shaken, yet Kakashi wanted to wait a little longer to see how well the message sunk in.

Sasuke had seen worse as a child, so he was not as affected, but Kakashi was concerned about how much the Uchiha's pride had been injured from losing.

As for Naruto, while initially feeling vindicated over the deaths of so many 'bad guys,' the boy had eventually broken down. It had taken Kakashi some work to help Naruto, except it was mainly thanks to their new companion. On a related note, Naruto was also surprisingly desolate over Zabuza's death.

That Zabuza's body had been burned, and the ashes then buried, instead of brought back for examination by the medical experts for any of the Mist's secrets was a little surprising. However, Kakashi had decided to respect Naruto's wishes on the matter, lest the boy become angry again.

It had not been until afterwards, that Kakashi had had the opportunity to covertly look at Naruto's seal. While nowhere close to his dead sensei's level, Kakashi still possessed enough skill to tell when even a high level seal was breaking down, and had fortunately been able to confirm that there was no sign the seal was weakening. However, that did not explain how some of the Fox's chakra had still slipped through. That little tidbit alone made the Hokage decide to classify the entire mission as beyond top secret. A fake mission report would be written by Kakashi, with only the Hokage knowing the full details. The genin of Team 7 would be unable to say otherwise, having been unconscious or . . . confused (i.e. influenced or partially possessed, it was still unclear) when the Kyuubi had slipped through a little.

No, the real quandary lay with the mysterious Haku, who had sworn himself to be Naruto's servant.

Kakashi, and his Dogs, believed that he was being honest, which was a strong character reference given the experience they had. Yet letting a foreign shinobi spend time with the village's Jinchuuriki? One who was an extremely emotionally vulnerable teenager? Hiruzen Sarutobi, as the supreme military dictator by the appointment of the Daimyo, had the authority to concede to this, but should he?

Then a thought struck him like a thunderbolt. Kakashi's report also says that he knows about the Kyuubi, and doesn't care. This is a boy who is accepting Naruto for who he is. Someone who will be there for him.

The Hokage bitterly remembered the oath he had sworn to Naruto on the day he was born, except nothing he did seemed to stick. The cesspool of contention that had arisen was staggering, and Naruto's fate had become the focus of much of the backroom politics over the years. The Professor was the ruler of Village Hidden in Leaves, but Naruto was unknowingly the center of a quiet war that had plagued the village for years as all too many people resisted his orders.

The Third Hokage still remembered that dreadful day vividly, as he rushed through the collapsing barrier as Kushina passed on. Crumpled to the ground beside his wife, most of his organs torn out by the Fox's fang and his soul about to be consumed by the God of Death, Minato had still coughed out between his blood for the Hiruzen to promise that his son would be treated as a hero, and not be seen as the prison for the monster, nor blamed for its crimes.

Is he maybe ready for the full truth? Naruto almost died on an A-ranked mission at age twelve. He fought against one of the Seven Swordsmen, and eight Hunters of the Bloody Mist, all of whom are famous for their bloodlust, without ever knowing the whole truth. Who he is. Who his parents were. No more. He deserves to know.

Haku may be too dangerous to have around him, but I will see how Naruto has developed, and then make my decision of whether or not he is ready for the full truth of his heritage.

XXX

Land of Waves

The bridge, nearly finished

Haku knew he only had a minute at most away from Kakashi's watchful eye, so he quickly stepped under the bridge and focused his sight on the other side of the distant shore of the mainland, at a distinctive outcropping of rocks visible even from the Land of Waves. Forming a mirror beside him, and at the designated meeting place, Haku quickly travelled through his mirrors to appear across the ocean, and addressed the kneeling ninja before him.

"Zabuza Momochi-sama is dead." His blunt words sent a ripple through his former master's followers. "But he gave me a final order in his death. He has assigned me to a young boy from Konoha, with great potential. If the boy is willing, he will be of significant help to us. Enough to be decisive in our war. Regardless, I am now sworn into his service."

The representatives of the now-former members of Zabuza's small revolutionary army just stared at Haku in disbelief. Yet they knew any outcry would come with repercussions, for they had no delusions where they stood in the pecking order when compared to the likes of Haku. The wrong word about his new decision or new master would be painful. Finally one asked, "And if he is not willing to help us cast down the Fourth Mizukage?"

"We have already gathered ample supplies and equipment to last you a while. Go to base three, and wait for me there for six months. Train hard. I will send further word then. If you do not hear from me, I ask that you go try and join Mei Temuri's rebel group, as I will most likely be dead." With that, the Ice user stepped back into his mirror and vanished back through his mirror.

My apologies Zabuza-sama, but I will be still working towards accomplishing your ambition.

Helping Naruto–sama will be my priority, except I will use my time in the Leaf to see if I can aid our homeland. I know you thought I only helped you fight against the Mizukage for your own ambitions, but in truth, it was in no small way my goal as well.

To end the Purges, and prevent any more children having to kill their own families in self-defense.

XXX

Omake:

"Zabuza Momochi-sama is dead," Haku announced, his blunt words sending a ripple through his former master's followers. "But he gave me a final order in his death. He has assigned me to a young boy from Konoha, with great potential. If the boy is willing, he will be of significant help to us. Regardless, I am now sworn into his service."

The representatives of the now-former members of Zabuza's small revolutionary army just stared at Haku in disbelief. Yet they knew any outcry would come with repercussions, for they had no delusions where they stood in the pecking order when compared to the likes of Haku. That had been drilled into them from the very start.

[Flashback]

Not wanting to be bothered by the initial training of these new recruits, Zabuza was off to the side, enjoying his morning routine as he busily fixed up his sword by running the corpses of fish against it so that the blade could absorb their blood.

Haku was addressing the kneeling men and women on the ship's deck before him, his face calm yet serious. "Alright maggots, listen up. Haku's 'bout to teach you the pecking order: it goes you, the dirt, the worms inside the dirt, Haku's stool, Zabuza, and Haku. Any questions?"

One nameless ninja held up his hand, "Uh, yeah, I—"

The next thing the man knew he was being thrown off the moving ship to land in the water.

Shaking with fear, the remaining recruits watched as Haku called back to the unfortunate man, "Enjoy the swim back to ship," suddenly flashing a sickening smile, "bitch!"

Back to his straight face in the blink of an eye, "Any more questions?" Silence was the answer he received, and he brought back that same deranged grin, "Good. Then we can begin."

[Flashback end]

Yes, the assembled rebels had no wish to challenge the pecking order.

XXX

Author Notes:

Remember those kneeling guys in similar outfits to the Demon Brothers, when Gato and Zabuza were first introduced in canon, way back in chapter 10? What happened to them? And how was Zabuza supposed to launch a coup on his own? Hence why I decided to add in an extra army to this story. An army that obeys Haku! :-)

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The omake is based upon the Dragon Ball Z Abridged series.

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Next chapter is a monster one where I take my old story and compress anything vaguely important from here to the end of the Chunin Exam. So yeah, several chapters in one . . .

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Please Review, and I will get back to you!