Hey! Hope everyone here is having a good week! Please enjoy this penultimate chapter of this arc!

Zabuza fell face first into the ground. Those still standing looked to see Gato and his thugs surrounding him, Gato holding a crossbow in his hand. No doubt he personally mortally wounded the ninja. "You-!" Naruto growled.

"I'd have thought you'd be thanking me." Gato sneered as he reloaded it with another arrow. "But, we'll try to kill each other anyway after this is all over, so I guess this is the only way it could end."

"How dare you," Naruto growled. "You used them!"

"Yes. Yes I did." Gato sneered. "Tools are used. And ninja are supposed to be the most reliable tools of them all." He then took aim at Naruto. "I'll finish him off later. Seems you're the reason this whole operation fell apart; I think I'll hang your head in the village first!"

What he didn't know was that Zabuza was still conscious. However, he was powerless: out of chakra, minus what kept him alive. Muscles torn. He expended so much energy and took so much damage, he could feel himself slipping. Yet he burned with rage, still. He suddenly saw a bloody kunai on the ground. And that's when he got a stupid, DESPERATE idea. He lunged forward, grabbing it with his mouth. As he screamed in agony and fury, he forced himself up and ran towards Gato. "What the-?!" Gato fired, but the shock caused him to miss. A samurai intercepted, but Zabuza bent back away from the blade and slashed with his head, decapitating the samurai.

Gato quickly ran away, leaving his samurai to deal with him.

Zabuza used only his head and kunai to maneuver and fight the samurai. For a bit, he managed to keep them at bay. But one got behind him and stabbed him through his liver.

"Stop!" Naruto shouted as he reached for him. "You'll just-"

"Let him be, Naruto!" Kakashi stopped him. "He's doing the only thing he has left to live for."

Naruto looked at his mentor, and Kakashi silently looked back in understanding. What he told him must've felt like a dagger to Naruto's heart. Naruto turned back to Zabuza making his way through the samurai. He had swords stuck on his body, but he moved like they were mere acupuncture needles. Naruto clenched his fist, and ran towards him. "Then I'll at least watch him finish his last mission!" Naruto ran towards him, making sure to stay a good distance behind him.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shouted as she ran up to him. "Are you-"

"I'll be fine." Kakashi assured her. "But there are more samurai."

"Indeed." One of the samurai walked forward, pulling out his katana. "We'll take your heads as well."

Though Sakura prepared to fight, she wasn't sure she could win. "Sakura." Kakashi whispered. "You know the normal bushin, correct?"

"Yes, but I don't know how much good that will do."

"Just make as much as you can."

As the samurai prepared to charge, Kakashi and Sakura created a dozen bushin each, more than enough to outnumber the samurai. Unlike Naruto's, these bushin were corporal; as soon as they were touched they would disappear.

Hopefully, the samurai didn't know that.

It seemed to be working, as they started to back up. The head samurai then fell as a stone hit him in the head. He went down hard, his tongue hanging out. The other samurai turned to see Tazuna, Inari (who held a slingshot, no doubt the one who shot the stone) and the villagers behind him. They were battered, but alive and ready to fight. And more importantly, pissed off. "Get off of my island." Tazuna growled, holding a harpoon that he was ready to throw.

The samurai, seemingly forgetting budo was a thing, dropped their weapons and ran.

Others came ashore as Kakashi and Sakura dissipated their fell, but Tazuna caught him before he could hit the ground. "Easy, easy there." He said. "You did it."

"No." Kakashi said. "WE did it. That was brave of you."

"Stupid." Tazuna corrected him. "Wouldn't have had the balls to do it if you hadn't done most of the work for me. So…thank you." Tazuna looked down, looking solemn. "And sorry."

Tsunami walked forward, carrying Sasuke's lifeless body. "Oh no…" Kakashi's lone eye widened. Sakura turned around to hide her tears.

Gato never had to run like this; felt like something important inside him was about to burst. "This must be what adrenaline feels like." A couple of samurai ran past him to defend; there should have been more. Much more. Had these ninjas really cut his men's number down by so much?

Zabuza continued his pursuit; he was beyond pain now. He had several swords in his body, he knew he was not long for this world. Yet even so, he pursued Gato. One samurai got lucky, and managed to cut his left arm off. Zabuza felt nothing, and twisted to cut his attacker's jugular. Another made a move to slice the ninja down the middle, but Zabuza twisted so hard he threw blood into the samurai's eyes, blinding him. Zabuza then ran forward as stabbed him directly in the heart.

Gato fell over as he desperately tried to load his crossbow, but he kept fumbling with the arrow, his hands trembling like mad. "Come one, come on-!" Zabuza nearly lost sight for a moment. When it came back, he saw Gato before him. Reaching deep for the last of his reserves, he growled, charging. Even on his last legs, to Gato, Zabuza was Death Incarnate. Finally, he got the arrow in, pulled the spring back, and fired. The arrow caught Zabuza in the knee, and it was enough for him to fall over, dropping his kunai.

Gato froze in disbelief, hesitant to believe he actually got him. Cautiously, he walked up to him, giving his head a slight kick. Zabuza groaned. Satisfied, Gato smirked, reloading his crossbow. "Pathetic. I found you and your boy, starving. I offer you a job, and this is how you repay me." Zabuza looked up as the arrow was pointed at him. "Gotta know why. Revenge?"

Zabuza breathed. "No. Gratitude. For them."

Gato's eye quirked behind his sunglasses. "What?"

"I loved that boy. To protect him, I turned him into a weapon. It had been years, I had almost forgotten why I did what I did. And now, they made me realize what could have been. At least now, I realize my mistake. Even if I will never see Haku on the other side, knowing that brings me peace…" Zabuza looked him straight in the eye. "Do with me what you will. But no matter what, you will not kill the boy."

Gato sneered as he aimed between his eyes, point blank. "We'll see."

Naruto finally caught up, and his eyes widened in horror at what he saw. "NO!" Naruto didn't think, he just acted. He reached deep into his pouch, pulling out his kunai and threw it. The blade caught Gato in the body, just slightly off from his heart.

He dropped his crossbow, gasping for breath. Panic taking hold, he backed into the guard of the bridge and fell over.

Gato fell into the water back first; it felt more like hitting the street than liquid. His body went numb from the shock as he sunk, but the water rushing into his mouth brought little comfort. There was another complication: he couldn't swim! He flailed his arms weakly, but it only served to slow his descent, however slightly. He panicked, trying to scream.

Of all the ways to die, Gato hoped he would do so with a belly full of sake and young women surrounding him. Drowning was truly hell, and it would be the last thing he would ever experience.

Naruto paid him no heed. Instead, he turned his attention to Zabuza. "Hold on-!" He tried to help Zabuza stand, but Naruto himself was exhausted at this point. As he got Zabuza off the ground, he lost his grip and the swordsman fell back to the ground.

"Leave me." He wheezed. "It's what I deserve…it's what I want."

Naruto wanted to protest, but no words came to him. Even if he tried, what could he do? What could anyone do? There was no stopping his fate now, no matter how much he willed otherwise. "I'm sorry." Naruto said.

"No, it is I who should be sorry." Zabuza sighed. "You were right. I should have never forced Haku to be a shinobi. It is…" he paused, trying to catch his breath. "It is a harsh life we lead, some more than others." Tazuna, Team 7, and the islanders then approached. Tazuna carried Sasuke's lifeless body in his arms, with Kakashi needing Tsunami to lean on.

"So…you want to be shinobi?" Zabuza suddenly asked. Naruto blinked in surprise. "I can tell from the way you fought, the way you act you have high ambitions. You may even want to be Hokage. Perhaps, you have a chance. Through nothing but sheer luck." He sneered despite the situation.

Naruto groaned. "Dying and still talking shit."

"If you decide it is your destiny, allow me to give you some parting advice: In the end, ninja are tools. Ninja are given missions, and they are expected to carry them out to the letter, no matter how despicable the actions they take may be. The Kages are also not immune; they are merely the biggest cogs in a larger machine." Zabuza's eyes fluttered, as he struggled to stay awake. "When you put that hat on, make your choices wisely." Zabuza grunted, and forced himself to roll over. As the snow fell, surprisingly, he smiled. "Of all the ways I'd imagine I might die, this is actually quite soothing. It's…better than I expected…"

He looked over to Tazuna, and saw the seemingly dead Sasuke in his arms. "Haku's work?"

Naruto looked back at him, nodding. "He pushed me out of the way. Those strikes were meant for me."

Zabuza looked at him. "Haku, in spite of my training, always had a soft heart. Unless he was given specific orders, he would never strike to kill."

"Well, he did!"

"You…" Zabuza's eyes widened, and he coughed up blood. He was fading fast. "You're not listening, brat! He hit specific pressure points to induce a coma!"

"A…a what?"

"A coma, Naruto!" Sakura shouted. "It's a state of deep sleep! It means Sasuke-kun is still alive!"

"You have to hurry, or he'll never come out of it. You must press the correct tenkatsu points in the precise order I give you." Zabuza ordered.

Kakashi found enough strength to stand on his own, waving Tazuna over. "Bring him. I'm the only one who can do this."

They carefully set Sasuke down next to Zabuza's left. "Kote." Zabuza said. Kakashi pulled a needle from the inside of Sasuke's elbow, and swiftly jabbed the point. "Hichu." Kakashi repeated the motion near Sasuke's throat. Zabuza listed the pressure points, and Kakashi acted accordingly. After a minute, Sasuke still had several needles in him, but Kakashi dared not mess with any of them without Zabuza's directions.

"One…" Zabuza wheezed. "…more."

"Which one?" There four more. Zabuza tried to speak…but no words came out. "Zabuza, which one is it? We need you!" Zabuza tried to repeat himself, but Zabuza still could not form the words. He had lost the strength to even speak.

Naruto groaned anxiously, pulling his hair. Sakura stepped forward as she watched him move his lips. "I think…I think he's saying 'Suki'."

Kakashi looked at a needle, right over his heart. "Sakura…pray you are right..."

Kakashi pulled, and tapped the space. For a moment nothing happened, as everyone felt their hearts catch in their throats…

Sasuke found himself lying in a white void. Despite the bleak appearance, he felt at peace. "Am I…dead?" He smiled slightly. "It feels…warm…"

He felt like closing his eyes again, when a voice said "Giving up already?" Sasuke sat up, and turned to see who it was. It was a little boy. No, not just a boy. It was him, years ago! His 9-year old self's face scrunched up, as tears flowed freely. "You're not going to avenge them?!" Sasuke's eyes widened. "You're going to forget them?! You're going to forgive what he did to us?!"

The white bliss gave way to an expanding darkness which enveloped him. He was then assaulted with images. The bodies of adults lay about a neighborhood. There was hardly any blood, which meant their killer was most efficient. Then he found two others in the family dojo, his parents. It would have looked like they were sleeping; the only hints of their death was the blood pooling on the floor, and the fact that their necks were severed. He then found a silhouette above them. Sasuke felt his throat nearly close, as he dared to ask "Nii-san?"

The shadow turned, displaying a sharingan at him, but not like his. This one looked like a shuriken, and gave off a dangerous aura…

Sasuke's eyes opened, and he let out a deep gasp. Everything hurt; his muscles, his bones…even his heart. He saw Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened in shock and disbelief as they stared back at him.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura leaned down to hug him. In spite of her excitement and joy, she was mindful of his condition and the needles still in him. "Thank goodness!" Sakura began to cry again, only this time, it was tears of joy.

Naruto didn't mind; he smiled, happy that Team 7 was still whole when all hope seemed lost.

Kakashi closed his eyes as he smiled under his mask. He never showed it, but when Zabuza appeared on the scene and escalated things, Kakashi had little hope they would make it out without casualties. "Sensei…was this how you felt everyday?" Seeing that they all made it out, he now felt they could do anything.

"Hey…" Sasuke wheezed as Sakura settled his head into her lap. "What happened?"

"We thought we lost you." Naruto said. He crossed his arms, looking away like he was jealous. "You…you just had to steal the show." Naruto chuckled as he turned back to face him. "Make the heroic sacrifice, get us all sad and come back. I'm the one who gets to make you all feel like fools, got it?"

Sasuke let out a pained chuckle. "Well, I do feel like I went to the worst acupuncturist if that's any consolation." He then saw Zabuza on the ground. "Is he-?"

"He's not long for this world." Kakashi assured him. "Let him go in peace."

"One more thing." Everyone turned to see Inari, carrying the dead Haku over his shoulders. They didn't know what was more impressive; that Inari was able to carry someone heavier, or that he was brave enough to get close to a fresh corpse.

Naruto's face became sad again. "Haku…"

"Can't say I like these guys much…" Inari said. Looking to the fallen Zabuza, his glare eased. "But, I think we should show them some respect. Being dead and all." Despite his anger, as he stared at Zabuza, he sighed. "Daddy was a brave man. But even I know despite his brave face, he was scared before he died. I think all he would want was his family by his side, before he passed on."

"That is very wise of you, Inari-san." Kakashi complimented him. "Naruto, help him."

Naruto did so, easing Inari's burden and bringing him over to Zabuza. Setting him down by Zabuza's right, they eased Haku's hand into his. Tears flowed from Zabuza's eyes again. "Haku, forgive me. All I ever wanted was to save you. I was not qualified to be your father. Now, all I want…"

"…is for you to be happy. At peace."

Zabuza looked at Haku, clad in his kimono but no mask. His clothes were a brighter color than he remembered, as if to signify his days as a killer was over.

"What will you do now, Zabuza-sama?"

Zabuza, back in his old jonin attire, sighed. "This…this is a journey you must take on your own. You may have killed for me. But I was the one who made those choices for you. You don't deserve to pay for my sins." Zabuza raised his hands, seeing them still stained in blood. Lowering them and accepting his face, he faced his adopted son. "I no longer have a place with you." He saw a bright light behind Haku; looking behind himself, he saw a dark place. "It is no less than I deserve." "Farewell, Haku. I'm happy I was able to see you…one last time."

As he turned to walk to his final place of rest, Haku ran forward and clasped his hand. "Haku?"

"Please, Zabuza-sama!" Haku cried, tugging at him. "Please don't go!"

Zabuza's eyes widened in shock. Telling himself he was putting Haku's needs first, he forced himself to look the other way. "Our time is over! You should go find your family!"

"YOU ARE MY FAMILY, ZABUZA BAKA!" Haku shouted. Zabuza froze: Haku never talked back to him like this! "Please." Haku said as tears fell. "Our time doesn't have to be over. No one, nothing has a right to tell us otherwise."

For a good while, he didn't respond. Then, Zabuza suddenly embraced Haku, and pulled him in. "Even in times of peace, all I knew was to be a killer." Zabuza sighed. "It…it may be nice to be something else."

Haku smiled, and took him by the hand. "Come on, Zabuza-sama! I want to see what's on the other side!"

Zabuza's and Haku's journey had come to an end. Only for a new one to begin…

Everyone gathered around the pair of fallen shinobi. In spite of all they had done, Inari put his hands together in prayer. Tazuna did the same, and Tsunami followed. Naruto followed suit, as did the rest of Team 7. Finally, the rest of the islanders present put their hands together.

Whether they were protectors or assassins, in the end all ninja were only human. And everyone deserved a blessing for peace in death.

Hope this was enjoyable for you all! I wanted Zabuza to get more closure with Haku here, and I also wanted Naruto to ultimately be the one to kill Gato. We'll acknowledge the repercussions (or lack thereof) next time

Also, I found it rather convenient in the original that Haku decided not to kill on a whim and Sasuke just came out of it. Here I made the non-fatal attack more deliberate on Haku's part. Let me know what you think of the change.