Heyo.

We're into Konoha Crush, and that spells neat things.

It also spells a lot of fighting, which is, I suppose, a thing I'm going to have to write.

Without further ado, you get the picture.

Chapter 29: Different Types of Crushes

In Sakura's opinion, Gaara's magical sand powers could go die in a hole someplace, because they were really starting to grate on her nerves.

The crowd behind her shouted out their disapproval, calling out for anyone to do anything that would disrupt the admittedly bland status quo. They, too, could all go die in a hole, because she had no clue what she was supposed to do, and their jeers certainly weren't helping her think.

"Get on with it!"

"Quit starin' at each other, what are you, in love!?"

Sakura took a deep, calming breath, trying to zone their voices out and come up with a strategy.

"Move! Fight! Get hit, just do something!"

"Someone tell me when this one's over!"

"Even that damned Hyuga gave us a better fight than this!"

Sakura's eye twitched ever so slightly, though she did just barely manage to hold herself back from yelling into the stands. She was fairly sure that wouldn't have helped the shouting in any way whatsoever.

Even still, there was some truth in their words. She did need to do something soon. She just… wasn't exactly sure what that something was.

From what she'd seen, Gaara's defense didn't leave very many holes.

The sand, from what she'd seen, followed a very simple rule. It blocked her attacks that aimed for Gaara's body. It didn't matter what she attacked with, either. A punch had been blocked, a kick had been repelled, and a Kunai had been absorbed into the sand itself and spat back out at her a few seconds later.

She'd been about ready to give up when she came up with something potentially interesting.

Welp, hopefully this works.

"Water Style: Water Bullet!"

A stream of water shot out from her mouth, and she directed it straight for the body of her opponent. She knew without doubt that the sand would come to block the attack, but that was what she was after.

As water and sand collided in the center of the arena, and her Jutsu's effect ended, Sakura charged forward, bringing a kunai into her left hand as she did. She saw as her opponents eyes widened minutely, trying, and failing to bring his sand up in time to block the strike to his shoulder, which, for the first time, seemed to actually wound the boy before her.

Or at least, she'd thought it had. A second later as Sakura bounced back out of the sand's threat range, she watched as a tiny piece of hardened sand fell off of Gaara's body, almost like a porcelain pot breaking apart.

I hate you. She silently cursed as she brought her blade back up, knowing now that she'd have to land more than a few good hits before this fight would come close to ending.

Just as she was planning to charge in once more, utilizing the weighed-down-sand's slower reaction speed, Gaara reached out with his hand and, seemingly on instinct, discarded half of the sand flying around him.

He then proceeded to focus a little more, and new sand joined his ranks, flowing up from the earth below them.

Somehow, all that was left was dry, agile sand, like the kind he'd been using before.

I really, really hate you.

A blade of sand cut through the air where she'd been a second before, and nearly managed to catch her as she dodged backwards as well. She practically hissed as it scraped by her arm, leaving a small wound, though nothing that needed attending.

Still, the fact that he could discard wet sand, and gain new, dry sand from the dirt below him, was a bit of a problem. At the very least, it meant her method of pouring water onto his sand in the hopes that it could be slowed down to a crawl, or even negated fully, was null and void.

Added to that, even if she could slow it down for a moment to make it inside his guard, that would, at best, work only once or twice more, before her opponent figured out her strategy and countered her.

Alright, back to the drawing board. Sakura admitted, trying to think, sometimes quite literally, on the fly. What could I hit him with that could cut through the sand, and damage the body behind him?

…I've got nothing powerful enough to pierce through his guard.

"You have the curse mark." A ghastly, almost insidious voice echoed out inside of her mind. "Why not rely on its power?"

She knew that whatever it was calling out to her was not to be trusted, and yet, somehow, she couldn't argue against those words either. Why not try the curse mark out? She'd used it without meaning to in the forest of death, and sure, it had certainly helped her go a bit out of control, but now that she knew what it could do, it couldn't do so again.

…Right?

She found herself hesitating as she broke past Gaara's sand, barely managing to land a punch inside of the boy's guard, only to find that it too had been intercepted by the barrier of particulates, and she was blown backwards by a mix of sand and gravel.

Am I willing to take that chance…?

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted as Gaara's sand threatened to slice her into bits and pieces. Another few slashes landed on her arms, and she just barely managed to avoid taking a fairly serious strike to her abdomen as she dodged out of the way.

I… I don't want to rely on the curse mark. She decided, bracing herself for the brunt of Gaara's entire pile of sand as it buffeted against her weakened guard. I want to do this with my own strength, to prove I'm the one who's strong, not Orochimaru.

I want to show those two that I can fight on the same level as them!

This time as she broke free of the stream of sand that was hunting her, she once again doused Gaara's defensive sand with her water bullet. She charged inwards, relying on the speed decrease to get a reliable hit in.

And then a second later her world went red.

For a short time, all Sakura could feel was the pain in her chest. It wasn't like anything she'd ever felt before, and briefly she wondered if this was what dying was like.

She shook that off a second later when she fell backwards onto the lukewarm, unforgiving dirt beneath her, and realized she was still very much alive.

Alive, with a gaping wound in her stomach.

She coughed a few times, trying to gain some control over her faculties, but found that she was having a hard time breathing from the shock running through her body. A moment later she was given no choice but to move her body, because Gaara's sand was once more closing in upon her.

She was able to avoid the blow by the skin of her teeth, but a pain like lightning shot across her abdomen as she twisted and jumped to dodge the boy's strike. She narrowly managed to stay on her feet as she backpedaled, dodging another two blows from Gaara as he struck out against her continuously.

What… What happened!?

I was charging towards him one second… and then…

After what seemed like an eternity, but what was probably only a second or two, Sakura conjured the memory forth. She recalled that Gaara had formed a ball around him, and then, like a porcupine, had used his sand to form spikes that jutted out at all angles.

She'd been too close to avoid it and had taken an extremely hard strike to her stomach. Even now, the wound was bleeding far too heavily, and she was already beginning to feel dizzy.

But there was a fuzziness in her head that just didn't seem to fade. A voice, almost, that cried out, desperately begged, to be unleashed.

Perhaps she was simply woozy, or she couldn't quite think correctly with the shock from her injury coursing through her, but she couldn't help but want to let whatever it was that called out to her out.

Yeah, go ahead. Sakura told the voice. Do it… go free.

Another pain, this time like that of a raging inferno, coursed across the back of her neck. It spread like a wildfire, engulfing the entirety of her upper body, and for a second, she feared that she really was on fire.

And then it faded, and she was left only with an intense feeling of power.

This…

She effortlessly dodged Gaara's incoming attack, moving forwards in an almost trance-like state as she struck Gaara's defensive wall. It was blasted away under the force of her strike.

This is…

Gaara's eyes widened as she closed the distance between them and connected with a punch for the first time that fight. He was sent spiraling backwards, landing on a floating patch of sand that carried him a few feet away, and brought him back into a standing position.

He looked upset, but most of all, he looked stunned.

This is amazing!

Sakura smiled, giggling slightly to herself as power practically flowed through her. Gone were her worries about the wound on her stomach, though it still remained, and still gushed blood on the ground below her, but she didn't have to worry about it now. She'd simply defeat the boy before her before the wound could become a problem.

It was all so simple! Why had she ever denied the curse mark's power in the first place?

Just as thoughts of her new enormous power were beginning to consume her, an odd thing began to happen.

Feathers, like those off the wings of a bird the color of snow, began to fill her field of vision.

W-what?

She began to feel an incredible drowsiness, one not unlike what she'd been feeling earlier when she'd begun losing blood rapidly. All of a sudden, the adrenaline coursing through her from the curse mark's power began to fade, and the pain from the wound on her chest began to freshly ache.

She recognized the feeling, though. During their battle's against Kakashi, there many, many battles as they attempted to steal a bell from him that day, Sakura had been put under the man's Genjutsu a few times. This felt eerily similar, and so she reached out her hands, putting them together, and stated simply.

"Release."

Instantly, the vision before her dissipated, and she was able to see that her opponent seemed largely unaffected by the Jutsu. Whether that meant he was somehow on the same side as the caster, or if perhaps the Tailed Beast within him gave him an advantage against Genjutsu, Sakura couldn't be sure.

Even still, from what she could immediately gather, it was affecting the people in the stands. The jeering that she'd been growing accustomed to for the last few minutes had ceased entirely, and even a few ninja that were supposed to be guarding the entrances seemed to have fallen asleep as well.

No, wait…

They weren't asleep. Not if the blood that gathered around their bodies meant what she thought it did.

We're…

"We're under attack!" Someone shouted out from the stands off to her left, where the ninjas sat. "The main gate is under attack! They've summoned a giant monster!"

A giant monster!? Sakura thought, trying to fight back her panic as she ran out of the arena, concluding that the fights were at this point over. Who the hell-

Pain shot up her entire body, and she fell forwards, just barely managing to hold herself up as she turned back around.

Gaara was still looking towards her, eyes wide with confusion.

"Why are you walking away?" The boy asked innocently. "This fight isn't over yet."

"Can't you see that something's wrong!?" Sakura screamed back, a bit of anger at the pain she was experiencing, mixing with the curse marks influence, finding its way into her voice. "The fights over!"

"The proctor did not call the match over, nor did-"

And then the world exploded with white.

/-/

"Kazekage." The Third Hokage kept his voice even as he turned towards the man sitting beside him, watching the arena below with a keen interest. "What is the meaning of this?"

"The meaning of what, Hokage?" Maybe it was all in Hiruzen's head, but the voice of the man beside him seemed raspier than it had been a minute or two ago. "I don't see why you would suspect me of doing anything. Unless, of course, you have reason to?"

His eyes widened as he put some of the pieces together, realizing just who the man beside him must be. It still didn't explain everything, though, and as Hiruzen watched the two children in the arena below them start to stagger from the effects of what seemed to be a Genjutsu, he let out a quiet sigh.

"So… this is your play then, my old student?"

"Oh, you haven't seen the half of it yet."

A second later there was a minute, almost unnoticeable crunch, like the sound of a fruit being bitten into, and Hiruzen turned a second too late to stop Orochimaru from slamming his hand down onto the floor below him.

"Summoning Jutsu!" His former student called out. "Come forth…"

"MANDA!"

The arena below them exploded into white smoke, and the sound of hissing seemed to shake the very earth itself. As the dust settled, it was to see a massive creature, standing perhaps a hundred feet tall, in the center of the coliseum below.

"Hmmm… Orochimaru." The creature's voice sounded itself like a hiss, echoing around the arena and causing those who were still awake in the stands to begin screaming in panic, running, and tripping over one another in order to get out first. "I assume these… morsels are my tribute for this summon?"

"Indeed, my friend." The Kazekage's uniform was thrown to the side, and out from under it stepped his old apprentice, clad in what had become his normal get-up ever since leaving the leaf all those years ago. "Run wild."

The snake hissed in what Hiruzen could only call satisfaction, looking down into the audience below him, darting his tongue in and out of his mouth, and letting out a sigh.

"I do so love the scent of fear." Manda spoke, before opening his maw as wide as he could, and darting forward, jaw extended, towards the stands below him. "This is just perfect!"

Hiruzen brought his hands together, trying to bring out one of his most powerful abilities to stop the snake's assault, but he was not as young as he'd once been, and his hands could not move at the blinding speed they once had. He could only watch in horror as the snake's jaws closed down upon the audience before him.

Or he would've had to, if not for the distant cry of another Summoning Jutsu, and another explosion of white smoke spreading across the arena floor. There was an impact that made the trees below bend backwards from the force, and the cry of Manda told Hiruzen all he needed to know.

"Jiraiya!" He called out, removing his Hokage outfit and setting it on the chair behind him. "I assume I can count on you to handle this!?"

The smoke cleared, and Hiruzen saw the massive toad known as Gamabunta sat smugly atop Manda's writhing form. On its head stood another of his former pupils, smiling widely and shooting him a thumbs-up.

"Of course! I'll have this done in a jiffy!" Jiraiya turned back towards his foe, looking down at the snake and yelling out. "Hey, Manda, you remember me, buddy?"

"I hope you enjoy your skin melting off as you digest inside of me."

"I'm fairly certain he doesn't like me."

Hiruzen turned his attention back towards Orochimaru, who looked, worryingly, quite pleased by the arrival of Jiraiya.

"I suppose, then, that you are here for me." The Third Hokage guessed, his suspicions confirmed as his old student turned towards him, eyes glinting along with his bared teeth.

"Indeed. You four!" He called out to four chakra signatures that Hiruzen sensed as they began to move. "Form the barrier!"

"Right, Lord Orochimaru!"

Hiruzen watched patiently as the four ninja around them erected a decently powerful purple barrier.

"Four Violet Flames Formation!" The children cried out as they finished, before turning their backs and forming barriers around themselves as well, effectively protecting them from anything he could try.

He couldn't help but smirk slightly. It was always so amusing to see the youth of this day and age perform so admirably, even if they were his opponents.

I always did love being a teacher. The old man found himself reminiscing. Perhaps, Sometime next year, I'll give up being the Hokage to someone younger, and teach a few more kids.

There must have been something funny in his statement, for the Third Hokage found himself laughing as he stepped up to face Orochimaru, watching as the man before him brought his hands in front of him and began signing out a Jutsu.

Hiruzen did the same, becoming oddly lost in the way his former pupils hands moved. There was something mesmerizing about how they could weave so intricately, while his hands, practically ancient fossils, could nowadays barely move when he commanded them.

Maybe that was why, in a small, silent way, he already knew what it was he was walking towards. Maybe that was why his feet felt so light, why it felt like for the first time in over a decade, his hands were moving how they used to, or his back didn't ache when he stood up straight.

When he thought of teaching more students, it was not with a look towards the future that it perhaps should've been, but instead as a longing regret towards the past. He'd been stuck behind a desk for so much of the later parts of his life that he'd forgotten what it was like to live apart from it.

I wish I'd taught more of them. Hiruzen thought with a sigh, finishing the signs with his hands, and blowing a ball of fire towards Orochimaru's own jutsu. I wish I'd gone out and interacted with the children at the academy more.

Why am I thinking of regret? Why now?

Even as he asked that question, to a certain part of him, the answer was already obvious. He didn't have to look very far at all to realize just who he was facing off against, just what the man before him represented.

He was looking his failures in the eye, facing off against them in battle.

And yet he couldn't help a small smile coming to his face.

Because perhaps, in the deepest depths of his mind, he already knew this would be his last hurrah.

/-/

By the time Naruto was able to make it down to Sakura, Kakashi and Sasuke were already patching up the wounds on her stomach. This would've made for a cute, yet admittedly rather morbid scene, if not for the giant snake and toad that fought only a few meters away, while an old, white haired man shouted obscenities down at the scaled beast.

Naruto felt like this whole scene should've seemed incredibly outlandish, but it somehow managed to feel like an honest progression of events. The fact that it didn't even seem weird was what really bothered him in the end.

"We have to go!" Kakashi shouted at Sasuke and Sakura, and the both of them nodded back to show their agreement.

Sasuke placed Sakura's arm around his shoulder, lifting her from up under her armpit and carrying her out of immediate danger. Off in the distance, Naruto watched Gaara being escorted away by his own siblings, and yet he couldn't quite help noticing something a bit odd about how they acted.

They didn't seem to be shocked by the situation. If anything, they looked to be feverishly discussing something, looking up towards the Kage's box.

Naruto turned to look himself, and his eyes widened as he witnessed one of the most impressive exchanges of Jutsu he'd ever seen.

When the flames died down, it was to see Lord Third standing off against Orochimaru, looking solemn, and yet somehow smiling despite that.

"How did-"

"LOOK OUT!"

Naruto was pulled backwards by someone's hands, and it was a good thing, too, because half a second later, the massive arm of a frog came crashing down where he'd just been standing.

"Pay attention, Naruto!" Kakashi, the one who'd pulled him back, shouted angrily, seeming truly serious for what was perhaps only the second time since they'd met him. "This is a battlefield now, there's no room to be distracted."

"R-right!" Naruto nodded, swallowing down on his fear for the old man and following behind his three teammates, trying to ignore the ground shaking as Gamabunta and that giant snake fought in the center of the arena.

They made it inside of the coliseum's inner corridors, and they got their first signs of just how bad the situation was.

"Where's my son!? Has anyone seen-"

"Everyone! Please! Remain calm and exit through-"

"We're all going to die!"

"I hear the Hidden Stone is attacking! Guess that shows what the peace treaty means to them!"

"I thought it was those damned Kiri bastards!"

"Shit." Kakashi spoke without eloquence. "Things could be going better."

"What should we do, Sensei?" Sakura asked, limping but determined to walk on her own as she broke away from Sasuke's grasp. "We can't just abandon these people."

"We're not abandoning them." Kakashi explained simply. "The ninja that are escorting them out are doing the jobs they've been trained to do. We'd only be getting in the way if we tried to help out."

Sakura's eyes widened, and she looked towards the floor.

"S-sorry…"

"Don't worry about it, Sakura." Their teacher replied softly. "I know you're just concerned, but right now we need to focus on what we can do." He looked back out of the exit, towards the arena, and noticed something that Naruto had seen just a few minutes ago. "Those three… from the Sand Village… one of them is Jinchuuriki, right?"

Why would that matter?

"That's what we thought." Sasuke spoke simply. "He fit all of the signs as being Shukaku's… the One-Tail's Jinchuuriki."

Kakashi rubbed his chin, seemingly deep in thought as he watched those three run off, then looked to the stands, where their Jonin Sensei was engaged in combat with a few leaf ninja, and from the looks of things, seemed to be aiming for the kill with his strikes.

"I don't like it." Their teacher spoke simply. "There's something about this whole scenario that rubs me the wrong way."

"W-what is it, Sensei?"

"I think this whole attack on the stadium is just a diversion for something bigger." Kakashi explained, looking around for something, though Naruto couldn't exactly see what that would be. A second later, he bit into his thumb, and pushed his hand down onto the floor below him. "Summoning Jutsu!"

A small explosion and a few seconds later, a single, chocolate-colored dog emerged, sitting on his hind legs and looking a lot like a stuffed turkey.

"Yo, Kakashi." The canine spoke simply. "What did you-" The dog stopped suddenly, smelling the air rather intently as he did, and before long, he nodded. "Never mind, I guess I get the picture. I'll forego asking for my usual treats this time, since this seems like an actual emergency. What do you need?"

"See those three?" Kakashi pointed towards the Sand Genin. "I'm going to assemble you a small squad, and then you're going to follow those Genin with them in tow."

"Alright. Just say the word when you're ready." The dog concluded, before sitting down and, despite the chaos, immediately falling asleep.

Kakashi brought the four of them, minus Pakkun, outside the arena, heading over to where Asuma and Kurenai Sensei were standing with their pupils, looking a bit shell-shocked, but physically fine.

He held a brief conversation with them a distance away, and though Naruto and the rest of Team 7 missed out on the words, they got the general gist.

Kakashi was asking for help.

A minute or two later he returned with Shino, Kiba, and Shikamaru following just behind him, and gestured towards them all with a small smile.

"Sasuke, Sakura." He addressed them simply. "You two are going to be going with Shino, Kiba, and Shikamaru to chase down those three from the sand village."

Naruto's eyed widened as he turned towards his friends, feeling like there was another name missing from that list.

"What about me, Kakashi Sensei?"

"You're coming with me." His teacher responded, his mask crinkling slightly as he smiled down at him. "Asuma filled me in, apparently there's a giant hydra wreaking havoc near the main gate. If we let it get inside the city limits, then it's light's out."

"W-what am I supposed to do about that, though!?"

Naruto felt his indignation was fair, given that a giant hydra sounded like something he wouldn't exactly be much help in dealing with, but Kakashi merely smiled at him again, ruffling his hair and speaking simply.

"Hasn't Lord Jiraiya been teaching you the summoning Jutsu this last month?" Kakashi asked him with a smirk. "You said you summoned a giant toad after all. I figured you'd be all for the chance to test your skills."

Naruto's eyes lit up, and even if he tried to hide it, everyone around him seemed to catch on, because they all began to giggle quietly.

"W-what!?" He lashed out without any real anger.

"Nothing, nothing." Sakura mediated, putting her hands in the air as if surrendering. "Honestly, I just think it's funny how easy you are to read."

Naruto grumbled something under his breath that even he didn't catch the meaning of, before begrudgingly following behind Kakashi as he assembled a squad of his own to go assault the monster attacking the front gate.

"We're going to need people with a lot of stopping power. I'd ask Asuma or Kurenai to do it, but I assume…"

"Yeah, I've got an assigned area already." The man nodded, apologizing as he bowed ever so slightly. "Defending the area around the arena is my priority. Besides, I'm not really cut out for fighting something big. I'm pretty anti-personnel in terms of skillset."

"And I'm tied to Hinata for the moment." Kurenai sensei spoke up. "Until she's recovered enough to escape, I'm not leaving her by herself in the medical bay. If she's able to heal up, then I promise I'll join you all."

"Yeah, I suppose that's fair." Kakashi admitted, turning not towards Choji, who was stood alongside Asuma and seemed a bit unsure of himself, but towards an entirely different instructor, stood beside his three students, all of whom seemed remarkably calm given the situation.

"Hey, Guy!" Naruto's teacher called out. "Can I borrow Tenten?"

The man tilted his head to the side in confusion, talked for a second or two with the girl in question, and then shrugged, sending her off towards the two of them and waving as he did.

"Uhm, you asked for me, Kakashi Sensei?" Tenten bowed respectfully, though she seemed incredibly confused as to just what she was supposed to be doing. "What is it you need me for?"

"I'm going to need your help with zone control." Kakashi explained simply. "In a one-on-one, your skillset may not be perfect, but when dealing with a large group of enemies, or a huge one, like we are, there's practically no one better."

Naruto noticed Tenten's face light up, and he could tell the praise meant a lot to her. Tenten had never been one that struck him as incredibly confident, and he hazarded a guess that she wasn't exactly that well respected among her peers, or perhaps even her teammates.

"I'll do my best, Sir!" Tenten spoke, giving a small salute, but her stoic visage cracked as Kakashi's did, and she looked a bit annoyed as he patted the top of her head.

"Lighten up a bit, I get this is a war-zone, but I'm no general."

"R-right, sorry."

"No worries." Kakashi dismissed easily. "Now, The three of us are going to head off to deal with that Hydra, Guy!" The man called out once more. "Can I count on you and your two students to get us there undisturbed?"

Guy Sensei smiled widely, his pearly teeth gleaming in the sunny weather.

"Of course!"

"Right, Sasuke, Sakura, Shino, Kiba, Shikamaru," The man turned once more, looking over towards where the five he'd called for stood, waiting on his command. "Go and speak with Pakkun, he'll be able to guide you to the three sand Genin you're following."

"Uhm… sir?" Shikamaru raised his hand half-heartedly. "Why exactly am I here?"

"Because you didn't look very busy." Kakashi concluded. "By the way, I do mean following. We don't know if those kids were in on this plot. It's entirely possible they're innocent. If they don't display any reason for you to engage them, then by all means, disengage and report back to me. This mission is not a failure if nothing happens at all."

The five of them nodded, even Shikamaru, although his was a tad more stunted than the others, and he wore an annoyed expression as he followed the others back into the arena.

"Alright, for you two, we're going through the city to get to the front gate. Stick close to me, I'll keep any stray Jutsu or enemy ninja from hitting you, but I will need you to stay on your toes. I can't protect both of you at once."

Naruto and Tenten both nodded, but there was definitely some hesitance as they thought of what could happen to them if they let their guards slip.

"Okay, let's get going. We're letting Guy's team lead the way, while we're on reserve for active combat." Kakashi explained. "Basically, they're punching a hole for us, and we're going through it. Make sense?"

"Yeah!"

"Yes sir."

"Alright then…"

"Let's begin the operation."

/-/

By the time Haku noticed where his feet were carrying him, he was far too worried to turn and walk away.

He'd been enjoying the festival activities on his own, apart from Zabuza for the first time in what may've been a month or two. They'd been doing their best to stay… not incognito, but to avoid attracting attention. This had been the first time that Zabuza had given him express permission to do whatever he wanted, as he'd been assigned to watch the civilian population in the backside of the village, along with protecting the canyon-wall hideouts in the event of an emergency.

Haku had decided to make of today what he could, using some of the pocket money Zabuza had given him and trying to enjoy himself. Idly, in the back of his mind, he'd really done nothing but think of Ino.

Which was beginning to become more and more of a theme for him, lately. From what master Zabuza had told him, which had included terrible, horrible things, he knew now that he had a 'crush' on the girl.

That was all well and good to say, but it was a pain to deal with. Every time he was around her he went and made an absolute buffoon of himself, hell, he could barely even speak to the girl. His own idiocy was really beginning to get on his nerves.

He'd heard the first explosions while he was lost in thought.

His eyes had widened, and briefly, he was brought back to his times as an assassin, serving faithfully under his master as nothing more than a tool. Those times had been worse than the peace and quiet he enjoyed now, but they had undoubtedly been simpler. There were no crushes to worry about, or social standings to be concerned with.

There was only the enemy, and his ability to kill them.

He watched as the wall in the distance was overrun, and a massive, multi-headed beast broke through it, roaring into the sky. There were other figures that from his distance looked almost like ants, but he could tell, based on the way they collided with others, that they must've been enemy ninja.

And they were coming his way.

No, that wasn't a concern. Haku could defend his own life from some pesky ninja, hell, even an average Jonin wouldn't be able to harm him, but that didn't mean that level of apathy extended towards others in the village.

After all, Ino's flower shop was in their way as well, even closer to the entrance to the village than he currently was.

She wouldn't be there. A logical part of his mind reasoned. She would go and see her friends compete in the Chuunin Exams. She's not going to be at her parents flower shop at a time like this.

That made sense. It really, truly did make sense.

So why can't I stop my legs? Haku wondered as he ran, rushing ahead at a full sprint, towards the flower shop where Ino surely wasn't.

Because on the off chance I'm wrong, she'd be in danger.

And it really was that simple. Perhaps it was just a schoolyard crush, as Zabuza had so annoyingly put it, but that didn't mean he would sit by and let someone he liked get hurt. He may very well have been charging into the belly of the beast…

But he'd do it, on the off chance that she was in danger.

When he finally rounded the corner to Ino's shop, his eyes bulged in his head as he saw the door knocked off its hinges.

Without Haku even thinking about it, Ice gathered on the tips of his fingers.

End Chapter 29

Alright, into the land of cliffhangers once more.

I'd apologize, but honestly, at this point, I think you all get the picture.

I could complain for several paragraphs about North American League of Legends, and how bad they are, but I won't.

Next chapter, what will Haku find within Ino's flower shop? Is she alright? Is she even there? Will Sasuke and Sakura be able to overcome the Sand Genin? And can Naruto use the summoning Jutsu on command like Kakashi thinks?

Find out next episode of Dragon Ball Z!

Probably... Wait did I make that joke already?

See you all next week.