TigrezzTail - How will he bring back Uzushio? You'll have to wait and see, I'm afraid.

Updates are going to become bi-monthly from here on out, since we've caught up to where I want this to be. Enjoy the last quick update for a while.

Ordinarily, it would be difficult for Toru to locate those he's meant to be helpful, because upon arriving on the shore of Nami no Kuni – the one closest to Hi no Kuni – he realises he has no idea where to go. However, he's exploring one of the small paths – clearly man-made – where an animal below him catches his attention.

Without any reason to fear any animals around, Toru flips onto the ground, startling the animal who lifts their head. "Takuma?" Toru asks, heart in his throat because there is helping a genin team and then helping Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura, (helping his family). The ninken barks. "Sasuke," Toru says immediately. "Takuma, go."

The dog sprints off, Toru easily keeping up. He might have pushed himself to make it to Nami no Kuni in a short amount of time, but he knows that you always keep some in reserve, (keeping a something in reserve can lead to you surviving when otherwise you would have died). They reach a house, and Toru steps up to the door, Takuma beside him with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

A sharp knock on the door, and then he steps back to wait, left hand resting above his weapons pouch. The door swings inward, hinges whining, and a woman with dark blue hair, (like Sasuke and where is he), looks out at him. "Are you with the other Konoha ninjas?" She asks politely. "They're upstairs with their teacher."

"I am," Toru says, mumbling his response as his head gets around that it is Sasuke and Naruto in danger. "Are they alright?"

"It's best that you ask them that," the woman responds. "I am Tsunami."

"Toru Uchiha," he responds, eyes glancing at the stairway he can see as Tsunami closes the door behind him.

"I can see you're worried, Uchiha-san, you can go upstairs," Tsunami says.

"Thank you, Tsunami-san," he responds and quickly rushes up the stairs, Takuma following after him.

There's an open door nearby, and he can sense chakra systems waiting in the room. He enters, and coughs lightly, drawing the attention of those in the room. "Toru!" Sasuke shouts, lunging across. Toru crouches down and draws the boy into a hug. Naruto is quick to join, and Toru just- breathes. He breathes, and reminds himself that he is alive and they are alive and no one is dead, (except those already dead and he can do nothing about them).

Swallowing, Toru draws back and offers a half-smile to Sakura who lurks on the edge of the group. "Hey kiddos," he says lowly. "I'm afraid I'm here on business, not just for hugs." A hint of a smile touches Naruto's face, but otherwise no reaction is given for his joke. Kakashi is still on the bed, which makes Toru frown. "Sasuke, send Takuma out scouting and find out where your client is. Naruto, can you go check if Tsunami-san needs any help?" Both boys frown, but do as Toru asks without questioning him. "Sakura-chan, could you tell me what has happened so far?"

"We left Konoha with our client, Tazunza-san," the genin reports. "We were ambushed by two Kiri missing-nin early on. Kakashi-sensei left the two missing-nins for a Konoha patrol and reported our situation back to Konoha… somehow. Tazunza-san then revealed that Gatō was trying to kill him for creating a bridge that would stop Gatō's control of Nami no Kuni and the surrounding ocean. Shortly after reaching Nami no Kuni, Zabuza Momochi attacked us. Kakashi-sensei engaged him but ended up losing and was captured briefly by Momochi. He sent water clones towards both myself and Sasuke as we were protecting Tazuna-san. During the following battles, I was knocked out and Sasuke sustained a cut to his shoulder. From there I have been told that Sasuke and Naruto worked together to break Momochi's hold of Kakashi-sensei, and Kakashi-sensei attacked Momochi and won, before the missing-nin was taken away by a Kiri hunter-nin. He collapsed shortly afterwards."

"Have you experienced any symptoms of a concussion?"

"No. There wasn't a bump or cut on my head either, and I'm aware of where I am and haven't experience any nausea or a headache or anything really. I believe that Kakashi-sensei is suffering from chakra exhaustion, and I healed Sasuke's cut a few hours after I had woken up."

Sighing in relief, Toru ruffles Sakura's hair. "You've done well, Sakura-chan. You've all done well. Why don't you go bring the other two up if Tsunami-san doesn't need any help? Make sure Tazuna-san remains in the house at all times for now." Sakura nods and leaves the room in a hurry.

Toru lays a hand on Kakashi's forehead and coaxes his chakra down his arm. Frowning, he focusses, ensuring that there's only pure chakra in his arm rather than any other type of chakra. Rather than letting the chakra rest in his arm, he channels it into Kakashi. There's a second of resistance, but with a mental shove, the chakra continues to flow. It's always strange to partake in a chakra transfusion, the feeling of your chakra leaving you and entering someone else.

After a few moments, Toru cuts off his chakra, breaking the cycle. The sensation of his chakra traversing someone else's body stays with him for a few seconds more, before he loses all connection with his chakra. Nonetheless, he knows that it's helping. Picking up the glass of water on the bedside table, he crushes a chakra pill and adds it to the drink. Then, he lifts Kakashi's head and forces the older man to drink.

Once the glass is half empty, Toru drinks the rest of the glass himself, and his chakra starts increasing at a rapid pace, rather than remaining dangerously low as it had been previously. A minute of thought, and then green chakra shrouds his hands. He runs his hands over Kakashi, and is glad to see that there are no injuries.

"Toru?" Naruto calls, and Toru turns to see the three genins hovering in the doorway. He rolls his eyes and motions them to come in. "You want us to give you a rundown of what happened?"

"Nah, Sakura-chan told me everything that matters," Toru responds. "The three of you have done well so far, and I am proud of you. Is Tazuna-san in the house?"

"Yes," Sasuke says, "He isn't dead yet. Unfortunately."

"Sasuke!" Both Toru and Sakura warn. Sasuke scowls but doesn't say anything else. "I'll set a basic ward perimeter around the building," Toru begins. "From there, we'll be escorting Tsunami-san and Tazuna-san if they leave their house. Tsunami-san is just as likely to be a target now."

"They also have a little boy," Naruto says, crossing his arms. "He's rude."

"Then you keep an eye on him as well," Toru replies. "We'll need to set up a basic guard shift for the night as well. Since we're here, we might as well work on your training as well. I'll try and gather some more information on Gatō and everything."

"You're training us?" Sasuke asks, glimmer of excitement in his eyes.

Toru grins. "Might as well, we'll step it up." A groan draws his attention away from the three genins and towards Kakashi, who is blinking blurrily. "Hatake-san," Toru calls, and the man shifts, looking up at him with a narrow-eyed glare. A memory of some sort dances in Toru's mind but he can't quite recall it. "I was sent by Konoha to give aid. I am Toru Uchiha. Your genins are with me currently and your client is within the house."

Kakashi grunts and moves so he's sitting upright. He surveys the room. "Momochi?" He asks. Before glancing at Toru, "Did you give me a chakra transfusion?"

"Momochi was apparently taken by a Kirigakure hunter-nin," Toru replies. "Do you not remember this? And yes, I did."

"I was hoping I was wrong," Kakashi says. "Hunter-nins don't take their targets."

Toru pauses, re-evaluates what he's heard, and frowns. "Very well. Then we need to prepare for an attack in the next few days. He will still have to recover like you do as well, but he will take longer to recover. There is also his unknown accomplice. Based on what I've been told, we can conclude that Momochi will be willing to leave the genins out of this, which is – I will admit – unlike what you'd think he would do."

"What?" Naruto questions loudly, looking between Toru and Kakashi. "What do you mean?"

"Momochi killed his entire graduating class for his test at the age of nine," Kakashi reveals. "Kirigakure stopped the practise as a result, but it's how he earned the name of 'demon'."

"But by knocking out Sakura-chan and not injuring either Sasuke or Naruto in their attack, it shows he's likely to be unwilling to hurt you, since you are largely seen as children due to your genin status – whether this is true or not," Toru adds. He meets the eyes of the three genins and holds their gazes. "Hatake-san has not taught you anything thus far, has he?"

Sasuke and Sakura immediately nod, Naruto copying them after half a moment. Toru nods and then turns around to look at Kakashi. "You three, leave," he states. "I need to talk to your teacher about something."

"But–"

"Naruto," Sakura hisses, "not the time!" The trio quickly leave, closing the door behind them.

"So, you are Sasuke-kun's… family member," Kakashi says slowly, running an eye over Toru. "You don't look much alike."

Meeting Kakashi's gaze evenly, Toru unravels the bandages that hide his bicep and keep his sleeves from rising. He lifts the sleeve and shows his ANBU tattoo. "I have control over this mission now," he says, rewrapping the bandages with practised motions. "Whilst I do not have jurisdiction over your genins due to my status, I do have some jurisdiction due to my role as a caretaker for both Sasuke and Naruto. Explain why you have failed at teacher them anything. Now."

Kakashi offers Toru a smile. "They're not up for it just yet!"

"Try again."

Kakashi drops the smile and stares at Toru. He doesn't speak. Toru waits, but it's clear Kakashi isn't going to say anything. Briefly, Toru is reminded of staring down another person who was meant to help with teaching. The person in charge of the Ninja Academy was changed because Toru demanded that students be taught fairly. If Kakashi isn't willing to speak, that's fine. Toru's always been willing to stand for others.

"The three that I just sent out of this room are genins. They are students. They are petty and argumentative, stubborn and naïve. They have fought for themselves and for others. They have been fighting for years, even if it wasn't the kind of fighting prodigies did when they were twelve and eleven and ten. Sakura-chan fought against her civilian-born status and made herself into something, she carved potential into her very skin and made people see her. Naruto fought against hatred and anger and found kindness and love engraved into his bones, he weathered corruption and sabotage and still laughs and smiles at everyone he sees. Sasuke found his whole family dead and remembers blood-stained walls and corpses everywhere so clearly that he still wakes up every month and thinks he's a child again; he has fought his own mind every day to get where he is now.

"They are young and they may be children, but they are genins and they are ninjas. They are students who would have been willing to learn if they had just been given the time. Instead you have belittled them and left them to train by themselves. You might not want this time, Hatake, but you are stuck with them. At this rate, you are going to get them all killed. Those ninjas fought for you against Zabuza and might have saved your damn life, and you should be willing to teach them for that alone! You shouldn't have to wait for them to prove themselves to you. You should be willing to teach them regardless because they are your students.

"Genin teams are meant to be teams, and that includes the jōnin teacher. I don't care if your genin team was ruined by whatever; I don't care if you were a ninja built and sharpened by war. You are not going to kill those kids with your own regrets and grievances. You have nothing to take out on those kids. If you have a problem, deal with it in an adult and mature manner and grow the fuck up. You sure as hell don't deserve those kids and they deserve better than you. But you know what? There's nothing that can be done about this now, so either square up or I will start changing things by myself. Either way, at this rate, you are going to lose your team."

Glaring at Kakashi, Toru waits for a response, but all the older man does is tilt his head. "Do you speak to all your friends like that?"

Toru grins, baring his teeth, "I don't think you want to cross me, Hatake."

"No," Kakashi counters, chakra flaring as he stares Toru down. "I don't think you want to cross me."

Toru laughs, (laughs because he can do nothing else when he's staring down a man who is willing to lead three genins to their deaths), the killing intent from Kakashi sliding off him, (he is an Uzukage, an ANBU Commander). "I'll see you in front of the Hokage then," he states, plain and simple. Opening the door, he leaves. The three genins are sitting on the wall opposite and had clearly heard everything. "Didn't expect anything otherwise," Toru remarks softly. "C'mon, kiddos, we've got work to get done."

After being in Nami no Kuni for a day, Toru feels comfortable leaving the kids to watch of Tazuna. He's fairly certain nothing will happen, and even Kakashi is at the bridge. He hasn't said anything to Toru, and Toru doesn't care. He has nothing to say to the jōnin anyway.

At the docks, he pauses in the shadow cast by a moored boat. Despite the lack of trade, the docks are still busy, with people moving boxes and fishing nets and all sorts of things. However, Toru's attention isn't watching any of the shipping business, he's focussing on the people. Tazuna had said that Gatō's hold over the nation was still relatively new, which leaves Toru hopeful.

One of the people carrying boxes takes a break, sitting near Toru on a crate. Glancing at them, Toru can make out a scar travelling from the girl's ear to her jaw. But what really catches his attention is the hint of a dragon tattoo – a dragon head peeking out of the shirt and fire wrapping around the girl's neck. Standing up, Toru checks over his clothes. He's in his ninja clothing, but has dressed so he doesn't look like a ninja, and has a henge to hide his features, but there's still the worry he will give something away. He doesn't quite know if this is one of his people, but he's hopeful.

He walks over, the girl glowers up at him, but there's a careful step of space between them, so he isn't looming over her in any way. "Do you know Ryuu?" He asks softly, and her face visibly shifts.

"Yeah," she says cautiously. "I know of a Ryuu. Might not be the same person, though."

"True," Toru agrees. "But how many Ryuu's do you know that have their own Kakumau, which makes this meeting pretty ironic, doesn't it?"

The girl smiles, corner of her lips lifting upwards. "I'm Chō. I've been working on the ships for a few years."

"I'm Ryuu," Toru replies. "I want to get rid of Gatō, but I need a bit of help. You in?"

She's quick to hide her surprise. "What do you want me to help with?"

"Information," he says. "Who is Gatō and what he's done, that kind of thing."

"He's the founder and owner of Gatō Company," Chō begins. "It's known for being an import and export shipping company." She lowers her voice as she continues, "The company acts as a front for smuggling contraband and trafficking drugs. Anything that gets in his way quickly isn't. They either die or simply withdraw from society – bet you it has to do about blackmail. Most people he employs are mercenaries, but he has a few ninjas to back him up. This island's been used to grow plants for the drugs, and he's taken people from their homes across the nation to work for him. I don't know where he lives or where the people have gone."

"That's okay," Toru says. "You've gotten enough information for me. In your opinion, do we take him down or leave him be?"

"Take him down," Chō replies. "He isn't like the Underground in any way. Also, I can try to get those locations for you. If you want."

"I'd appreciate it, but don't put yourself in danger," Toru replies. "I can meet you here, same time tomorrow. Does that work?" The eighteen-year-old nods, and looks away when she's called.

Getting up, she says, "I have to go now, but I'll get that information for you."

"Stay strong and stay safe," Toru bids. The girl nods and turns away, heading to go grab another box and load the ship. Meanwhile, Toru heads back towards where the bridge is being built, body language shifting and henge dropping away. The bridge is easy to find, following sounds of construction. Pausing before the bridge, Toru searches for the genins and Kakashi.

It's easy to find Kakashi, the jōnin lounging on the railing of the bridge, seemingly reading. However, Toru caught the quick glance in his direction; Kakashi is more aware than he looks. Meanwhile, the three genins are running on the water, half-playing with each other and half-sparring.

Something like relief, but isn't relief, rushes through Toru's veins. He hadn't told the genins to try water walking, which means that Kakashi is – at the very least – attempting to teach them.

"So much for aloof," Toru mutters under his breath, continuing to watch the trio of genins. They're clearly enjoying themselves, but they also look like they're starting to get bored and tired, but refuse to stop, (Kakashi is trying and his genins are trying and it's a start).

Sparing half a moment to wonder what galvanised Kakashi to action, Toru quickly shakes off the thought and leaps onto the water. A minuscule movement is all Toru notices from Kakashi, but it's enough to make him smile since it's clearly a sign that Kakashi is watching his genins in case of danger. Ignoring the older ninja, the Uchiha increases his speed and reaches Sasuke just as the younger boy notices him. A careful application of chakra has Toru skating along the water to slide to a stop before Sasuke, who's arms windmill as he loses his balance. Toru does nothing as Sasuke falls into the water, resurfacing with a splutter seconds later.

"You know full well that you have limits," Toru says as he grips Sasuke by the back of his collar and pulls him out of the water. "So watch them to make sure you're not going to hurt yourself especially on a mission."

Sasuke nods sullenly, but heads towards the shore with chattering teeth. In a flurry of leaves, Kakashi meets him there. Sakura, having seen some of what happened, is following Sasuke hesitantly towards the shore.

"Do you know why you're stopping?" Toru calls to the girl, who pauses, turning to look at him.

"Because you probably told Sasuke to take a break meaning we all need a break?"

"Not quite," Toru replies. "With your current chakra levels, what do you think would happen in half an hour or so?"

Closing her eyes, Sakura turns her attention inward with a frown. She wavers in the surface before her eyes snap open. "Oh," she says simply, sheepishly. "I understand. I didn't think to even check."

"Don't make the same mistake twice," Toru says, and Sakura continues to the shore. Toru turns, spotting Naruto and making his towards the younger boy.

Smoothly moving across the water's surface (and waiting for waves and swells that don't occur), Toru slows to a stop behind Naruto. Toru had been noticed, but had also been categorised as safe and thus is ignored by Naruto. Making a mental note to work on the issue in the future, (because someone can hide as someone else, someone you think and consider as safe, and if you're not careful it will lead to your death), Toru sweeps Naruto's feet from out under him. With a yelp, the blonde falls into the water, head emerging with a startled gasp.

"You can't afford to zone out completely," Toru says warningly. "And remember, you have limits and you can't work yourself so hard it'll become a hassle whilst you're on mission. Can you recall what happened to your teacher?"

Splashing, Naruto nods, so Toru helps him out of the water; glancing over his shoulder at the distant shore, Toru crouches. Quickly understanding, Naruto clambers onto Toru's back. Whilst Naruto can use chakra and would be able to rapidly make his way across the water, it would be even faster with Toru not having to keep pace with Naruto.

The chill of the water is hard to ignore, but a careful increase of Toru's body temperature through fire chakra enables him to stay warm and even dry the parts of his clothing where water had made it damp. He reaches the shore quickly, and stops by the other two genins and Kakashi. Slipping off his back, Naruto scrambles to his friends. Slower, Toru ambles over to join the group.

"Lunch time, I think," Kakashi says cheerfully, leading the way to a small patch of clear ground where the group was out of the way of the builders and the genins had left their packs earlier. Naruto cheered and picked up his pack, quickly starting to go through it. The other two genins are quick to repeat his actions.

Humming in agreement, Toru picks up the shunshin-quick flicker of Kakashi's lone eye. With a hand on his right shoulder, he unseals a ration bar and walks over so he's standing next to the older shinobi. The trio of genins are laughing and talking, undoubtedly poking fun at each other for some reason or another and Toru can't help but smile, (and greatly appreciate the fact he's alive and able to smile and has a family that he loves and loves him).

However, beside Kakashi there isn't such a light atmosphere. Willing to wait, Toru chews his ration bar and wishes that it they aren't bland. He's vaguely aware that there had been an attempt to make ration bars taste nice, (in another life), but it had come at the cost of nutritional value so the project had been dropped.

"Why did you stop them?" Kakashi finally asks, straight forward with a hint of accusation in his voice. Toru wonders what the man is thinking, whether he thinks that Toru stopped the training because he didn't trust Kakashi. There's no obvious sign of what Kakashi is thinking, face far too well hidden to give any of Kakashi's possible turmoil away.

"They were reaching their limits," Toru responds. "They are new, still largely inexperienced. They are still learning to listen to their bodies rather than pushing through - especially on a mission out of the village."

Kakashi nods; a simple motion that seems off, even if Toru can't quite understand why. "Do you have a plan for the mission?"

Eying Kakashi because you shouldn't talk about missions out in the open, Toru debates whether Kakashi is testing him. "Give me a day to gather information. Ask me again then."

The sun sets and darkness slips over the island, the massive bridge that's half-built becomes reduced to a mass of quiet shadows as workers return to their houses. By the edge of the trees, Toru watches the orange-red, fire-like horizon dim and disappear. A sigh breaks the silence, a disguised whisper of wind, and it's easy to slip on the jackal mask, (it is not easy to think of what is to come but that will be dealt with later).

A slip of a curtain, a simple acknowledgement, and then the face leaves the window, Kakashi turning to those inside. Jakkaru breathes, silent, impassive. Shoulders rise and drop and around him the world continues on its path.

Holding an image of a seal in his mind, Jakkaru lays it down with a flare of chakra and a life-old memory. The seal hums, a steady pulse in Jakkaru's ears and it seems like a heartbeat, (and it reminds him of another heartbeat in another life and an island beneath his feet that had been alive, once). Satisfied that the seal is indeed working, Jakkaru checks his weapons once again before calling on a henge.

From the information he's gathered - through Kakumau and his summons, he's got a plan in mind to take down Gatō and his shipping industry. There are about thirty mercenaries, who work in groups of about eight. There are a total of four watch groups. Jakkaru plans to take out the mercenaries not on watch before moving to the ones on patrol, and then Gatō. After that, he'll take care of the drug plants.

Rather than living in any town on the island, Gatō has his own private port connected to land that he's claimed - although, whether he actually owns the land is unknown. This makes life slightly easier for Jakkaru as he doesn't have to worry too much about those who aren't his targets. There is meant to be a trafficking scheme that Gatō's involved in, meaning there are civilians somewhere on the property but… Jakkaru's mission comes first, (sometimes mercy is an option but sometimes it isn't).

In the main house where Gatō lives there's only one room containing guards, but there is a nearby separate house, which is where the mercenaries are staying when they aren't in patrol. Thankfully, the ninjas don't live in the premise, meaning Jakkaru should be able to avoid them.

It's easy, (it's never easy), to take down the first sixteen mercenaries as they sleep. Jakkaru's assassination expertise, (expertise that isn't just due to memories of past missions but also because sometimes one makes their talents and sometimes spilling blood is what makes one valuable), and assassination jutsu enables him to take them out silently. Within the hour, over half of Gatō's force is dead in bed. Knowing his chakra is getting low, Jakkaru changes tactics upon reaching the last room of sleeping mercenaries.

Kunai in each hand, in a lightning-quick motion, Jakkaru kills two mercenaries, but it isn't a quiet nor a peaceful death. The others wake up, shouting and loud, going for weapons. They try, but against Jakkaru, (Konoha ANBU, Uzushio ANBU, machine, death, weapon), who is faster than they can hope to be, they are quick to die and quicker to lose.

Knowing full well he needs to move quickly, Jakkaru gathers his kunais, ignoring the blood dripping from them and the cooling bodies around him, he leaves the house. Thankfully, it appears the noise didn't gather any unwanted attention, enabling Jakkaru to catch one patrolling pair off guard.

Jakkaru is left only with his mind to figure out where the other six mercenaries are. He assumes that there are two patrolling the main building and another two guarding Gatō's room, based on how paranoid the businessman apparently is. However, that leaves two mercenaries to find.

At his feet, a radio crackles. "All quiet at the fields still. Will report again in two hours."

Beneath his mask, Jakkaru grins. This time, luck seems to be in his favour rather than against him. Chakra surges through his body as he sprints towards the building. Gatō is a civilian through and through, and it really shows in the layout of the building. After all, glass windows would never stop a small child, let alone a trained ninja.

A kunai shatters the glass and stabs deep into one of the patrolling men's shoulder. Following it, Jakkaru leaps through the window, rolls, and comes up with his katana in hand. The uninjured man is dead within seconds, his fellow mercenary is quick to follow him. Before the bodies even collapse on the floor, Jakkaru is already turning to face the next two men attacking. He seems to have chances upon the location of Gatō's bedroom.

The mercenaries all died deceptively easy. For all the pain and terror and hardship Gatō has caused, the man is extremely short and doesn't wake despite the noise outside his bedroom. Underwhelming is an adjective that suits the man well. A sliced jugular vein is a simpler death than the man probably deserves, (but deciding how someone dies or whether they should be tortured isn't a decision for Jakkaru to make; besides, if there is no need for torture Jakkaru doesn't wish it on anyone, a quick death is best for everyone).

It's a few minutes run to the fields full of plants that either form drugs themselves or can be synthesised into forming drugs. Like Jakkaru had thought, the two missing mercenaries are at the fields. It's an easy takedown.

Carefully hidden in the tops of a tree, (because no one ever looks up but looks down and around and in the water), Haku watches the jackal-masked ANBU as they stare out over a field of plants now on fire. There seems to be a barrier of some sort stopping the surroundings from catching on fire. As Haku continues to watch, still concealed, the ninja twists, eyes coming to settle on Haku. Breath catching in his throat, Haku reminds himself that this unknown ninja hadn't found him earlier and still probably doesn't know where Haku is.

Nevertheless, the blood-splattered ninja seems to stare right at Haku, eyes seeing into Haku rather than seeing him. It cuts him down to the bone, like frost on warm skin or a sword sharpened with chakra. A beat of a heart later, and the LEAF – Konoha ANBU – is turning, moving away from Haku.

Touching his senbon briefly to reassure himself, Haku leaps out of the tree, landing on the ground snow-silent. Even with the LEAF running in the opposite direction, Haku restrains himself from using any chakra. Zabuza is easy to find, not having moved much since Haku had left. However, the older man had moved off of the bed and was now sharpening his sword.

"Zabuza-sama," Haku says, embedding disapproval in his tone. "You're meant to be resting."

"I am," Zabuza responds, looking up. "Do I look to be not resting?"

Withholding a sigh, Haku doesn't respond. "I saw a LEAF near Gatō's," he reports. "He was burning Gatō's fields – I expect that they had already been to Gatō's main building as well, but I was unsure whether or not they had a team."

Zabuza grunts and puts his sword down, gaze meeting Haku's evenly. "Anyone from the bingo book?"

"Not from ours, Zabuza-sama," Haku replies. "They had a jackal mask." Clearly pausing, Zabuza stands up with a grunt, slinging his sword over his back. "Zabuza-sama?" Haku questions.

"We're going," Zabuza returns, (he remembers stories of a lost village, of an Uzukage who killed and killed, of an ANBU who held back an entire fleet, of a bloodthirsty jackal-masked Uzushiogakure ANBU; maybe the jackal of Uzushio had fallen, maybe this is someone else, but-). "We've got other places to be now that our employer is dead."

"He might not be," Haku says. Zabuza only gives him a look, and Haku admits, "But it is likely."

(Haku had said one of the opposing genins was an Uzumaki, and maybe the jackal-masked LEAF is just a coincidence. Zabuza doesn't believe in ghosts, but still – Konoha would send a strong LEAF regardless, if there is no need to fight, Zabuza will avoid it. He has other places he can go; Haku too.)

"Come," Zabuza responds. "I am ready to leave this island." Standing at Zabuza's side, Haku nods, bag hefted over his shoulder. Together, the pair leave.

Coming down from being ANBU whilst still on mission is much more difficult than Toru anticipated. It's been a few hours since he had taken care of Gatō, but there's still something thrumming beneath his skin and an itch in his muscles. He's still on high alert, even though his seals are working perfectly and there's very little chance of anything happening.

Another quick patrol of the perimeters, and Toru finally enters the house through Kakashi's open window. The jōnin had clearly already seen him, but Toru hadn't been trying to hide.

"Did you encounter any issues?"

"No," Toru replies. "Gatō has been taken care of, and I've sealed the records and so forth for Konoha. No sign of Zabuza and his partner either."

Kakashi nods. "The bridge is nearing completion, so we will wait the rest of the building. We still need to speak to Tazuna-san about the falsified mission ranking and the outcome of that." Pausing, he adds, "You might want to think about getting changed."

The blood splatter has grown dry and gross on his ANBU gear, and Toru grimaces. He'll have to take care of it when he gets back to Konoha, as there are no supplies on him as his mission was meant to be an easy one. By the time he's finished, Kakashi has already left to go downstairs.

Tilting his head, Toru listens for the sounds of genins. From the sleepy murmurs he can hear, it sounds like they're all still in their bedroom, half-asleep and on the verge of waking up. Padding into the genins' room, Toru waits in the door for one moment, and then another. When the genins still don't wake up, the chūnin focusses on his chakra, (draw on your chakra slowly, remember to search for the water chakra, pull on it gently, gently, and ask it – do not demand of it, and pull it up, let it sit on your fingers, resting on your palm, and there you go), a quick flicker of an old (Uzushio) memory playing in his mind. When he stops pulling on his chakra, a handful of water rests on his palm, his chakra containing it and keeping it from going everywhere.

A half-smile on his face, Toru throws the water, a flick of his wrist to spread the water so it lands on all three genins. The genins awake with loud noises of complaint, and Toru leaves with a laugh.

(It might not be easy to revert from ANBU to normal chūnin, but with a reminder of who he is and his human nature, it's slightly easier.)

Missions go wrong, but sometimes there's a family-orientated ANBU nearby to lend a helping hand (or kunai). Kakashi learns that doing his best to ignore his team will not work out well, and is reminded that sometimes it is worth it to try. Toru (Jakkaru) finds his information network to be much further reaching than he ever thought. With the knowledge he gains, Gatō and his enterprise is ruined. Team Kakashi remains safe and out of harm, all four members learning from one another and from themselves. Toru watches over them all, willing to help and not waiting to be asked.

This is the last chapter of more-or-less daily updating, and now I'm returning to a twice a month update schedule.

I... don't know what to write for the note. This chapter did take quite a bit of effort. I'm not entirely happy with how it got towards the ending - I think it became much more stilted with Jakkaru's section?

ALSO, AS A SIDENOTE, HAKU IS BIGENDER. It didn't show up here, unfortunately, but I want to make people aware of what Haku's gender is here. I'm hoping I'll do an interlude later with characters that appeared and then disappeared, especially because you guys don't know what Zabuza and Haku are now up to.

Anyway, onto the actual chapter, I suppose. I still don't know what to write, I don't think I have much to say. Or maybe my head just isn't working. I blame not getting the kind of sleep I want (like eight or nine hours would be Perfect) in the past week. Toru did his best to talk sense into Kakashi because he cares so deeply, and he brushed the genins' off initially, but they were right and he was wrong and he made a mistake and he hates that they could've died and he would've been able to do something, but didn't. Thankfully, it seems like his message got through to Kakashi - somehow - but I can definitely confirm we will be seeing some more Kakashi and Toru interaction in the future (especially as Toru is an ANBU and Kakashi knows and has Opinions), because Toru is planning to keep a close eye on the genins.

Kakumau - those street kids - comes up here, and you can really see some of the ninja aspects of the group. It's largely to help, but also Toru is definitely using it to his advantage as well. He's a ninja, remember? Also, favours and debts are a huge thing.

Jakkaru was dangerous because he couldn't afford to be anything else. So far, a lot of what we've seen of Jakkaru is his mercy and that he can be kind, but he's also quite dangerous and willing to kill for others. We've seen this come up once or twice, especially back in Sea Dreams where Jakkaru relived his memories, but here he killed 32 people who couldn't fight back along with Gato. It was a very short writing for it, but I think I'll be writing the aftermath better (I hope so).

Also Zabuza's thoughts on Jakkaru? He's born in Kirigakure, he's not going to have heard nice things about Jakkaru. They'd have completely different perspectives, it's also why Haku uses certain comparison - because of how he was brought up. I had fun playing around with that. You can see his upbringing in phrases like 'frost on warm skin' and 'looks ... in the water' and 'snow-silent' and 'sword sharpened with chakra'. Thanks for reading guys, I'll do my best to write a good next chapter! It's likely to be a filler (or the next two may be fillers), before we get into the Chunin Arc.