Battle of the Bridge

Kiba was pretty cocky the morning he started training under Ziren. Kakashi was a powerful shinobi to be sure, but he wasn't a very motivated teacher. The Inuzuka was excited to see what this new jonin would bring to his training. He was confident that he could handle anything Ziren would throw at him, but maybe not everything Ziren could throw Kiba at. The thought briefly struck the dog-nin as he hung weightless at the height of his arc before slamming painfully into a tree trunk, blasting the air out of his lungs. Kiba did, however, have enough sense left in him to dive to the side in order to catch Akamaru before the dog could hit the ground. Ziren saw Kiba dive after his dog before he leaned to the side avoiding Sakura's punch. She followed up her failed attack with a textbook perfect high kick. When that failed she performed a textbook perfect fade step to put distance between them. It was well executed but incredibly boring as nothing Sakura did surprised Ziren in the slightest. Plus she was leaving a rather large opening in her defenses that Ziren decided to seize on. Snapping his hand out lightning quick he grabbed Sakura's hair and with a pull threw the genin over his shoulder and onto the ground.

Shaking pink hairs off of his hand Ziren ducked avoiding Sasuke's shuriken barrage. He heard Kiba swear as he had to dive once again in order to avoid his teammates attack. Sasuke jumped down from the tree branch he had been hiding on and charged Ziren. He launched a ferocious assault of punches and kicks trying to catch Ziren off guard. He was very talented, Ziren could at least admit that much, but still the jonin wasn't impressed. Emotion drove the Uchiha more than anything else. Sure he kept it hidden but Ziren could sense the simmer of the child's anger just beneath the surface. Ziren kicked out forcing distance between him and his opponent. And that was the problem with Team Seven, opponent not opponents. They were a team in name only and had at no point in the spar worked in tandem, in fact had he not read a report assuring him they were on the same team the ex-merchant would've laughed at the notion. These kids were in for a hard lesson, luckily he wasn't a very soft teacher.

"So you're the last Uchiha huh?" Ziren said looking Sasuke up and down. "Well if they all fought like you no wonder there's only one left." Ziren smirked, Kiba's jaw hit the floor, and Sakura eyes expanded to the size of dinner plates. Sasuke stood there sunned for a moment before his face contorted with anger and rage. Pulling out a kunai he charged at Ziren, murder in his eyes. Ziren just sighed, it was all too easy really. Sighing once more Ziren nocked Sasuke's attack aside with one hand and punched Sasuke straight in the nose with his other hand causing a sickening crunch to reverberate around the clearing. The last Uchiha did a full flip before crashing heavily into the ground.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted getting up to move to her teammate's side. She was stopped in her tracks by Ziren's glare, a glare that could put a Hyῡga to shame. He swept his gaze across the clearing towards Kiba and his pup. Akamaru tucked his tail between his legs and let out a pitiful whimper, oh wait no that one was Kiba. A moan of pain brought Ziren's attention back to Sasuke. Placing his foot underneath the genin Ziren flipped the boy onto his back, maybe using a bit more force than what was strictly necessary. Sasuke groaned again holding his hand to his face in a vain attempt to staunch the blood flowing from his nose.

"Do I have your attention? Good," Ziren said sweeping his gaze back across the clearing. "There are THREE of you! I should not be having LESS trouble than when I fight my ONE apprentice!" Ziren shouted causing Sakura and Kiba to flinch. "You three are a team, not once did any of you even remotely act like it! Sakura!" Ziren shouted turning to the girl. "You can do first-aid, congratulations that means next to nothing in the heat of battle! Learn some goddamn offensive techniques, the academy skills aren't going to cut it out here. Kiba! You are a Konoha shinobi first and an Inuzuka second. That means that you leave your top dog, alpha male BULLSHIT at the village gates! Stop trying to show off to Sakura and show-up Sasuke! And you Sasuke!" Ziren continued ranting pointing to the still prone Uchiha. "Your talented I'll give you that but that means less than nothing if you are constantly getting in your teammates way! You almost hit Kiba with your shuriken, what kind of teammate does that! I'd be more worried being your teammate than your enemy!" Ziren stopped and closed his eyes, controlling his breathing in an effort to calm himself. "As you are now the three of you will die. If you don't like that then get better, otherwise I'm not going to waste my time. Were done for now, Sakura patch him up," Ziren motioned towards the still bleeding Sasuke before turning and leaving the clearing.


Ziren walked through the door of the house and sat at the table. Kakashi had managed to get downstairs and was in the chair across from Ziren massaging his shoulder. "Would you like some tea Mr. Adair?" Tsunami asked walking into the room.

"Yes please that would be lovely," Ziren answered rubbing his face.

"Hard training exercise?" Kakashi asked as Tsunami placed a teacup in front of Ziren. At that moment the door slammed open and a fuming Sasuke stomped into the house, hand still against his nose as blood ran freely down his face.

"S-Sasuke let me look at that," Sakura said trailing behind Sasuke in a pitiful attempt to get him to stop and receive medical treatment. Kiba followed behind her, and when he saw Kakashi and Ziren sitting at the table looking at him, averted his gaze and wandered elsewhere.

"What makes you ask?" Ziren asked sarcasm oozing from his voice.

"Well you know, one of my cute genin's nose is apparently broken," Kakashi answered.

"I don't know what you were thinking giving those three a C-rank mission. With their teamwork I wouldn't trust them to clean a pool without somehow setting the thing on fire."

"Oh it's not that bad."

"Yes it is."

"Okay maybe it is," Kakashi conceded. "I was hoping that taking a C-rank would bring them closer. That and maybe seeing the real world would have a sobering effect. I think I got the latter, maybe a little too much." Ziren nodded in understanding.

"I would agree with you in normal circumstances."

"But this is anything but normal. By the way shouldn't you let him know?"

"Oh come on spare the poor man, he's gonna flip once he knows."

"Maybe, but right now all you're doing is just wasting good tea."

"Ugh, fine but don't say I didn't warn you about boss' reaction." And with that the shadow clone exploded in a puff of smoke almost giving poor Tsunami a heart attack. Kakashi looked into his now empty cup before holding it out to the shaken civilian.

"More tea please."


With Hinata's Byakugan, Shino's Kikaichῡ, and Naruto's sensory abilities Team Eight had no difficulty in avoiding trouble on the rest of the way to Tabe. And despite Kurenai's warnings to remain vigilant a sense of relief swept through the group as the city gates came into view. The team was waved past the city walls with little ceremony. "Hooo we finally made it," Naruto sighed whilst adjusting his pack.

"Indeed that trip was a little more exciting than I prefer," Mr. Takaki agreed.

"I-I just w-want to get off m-my feet," Hinata sighed out.

"Agreed," Shino said adjusting his glasses.

"Well let's go to where we're staying so we can rest. Mr. Takai if you could lead the way," Kurenai said gesturing to the merchant.

"Right, of course, right this way." With that the shinobi were led deeper into the heart of the large trade city.

Hinata and Shino were both a little overwhelmed at the sheer amount of people who were walking around the streets. Of course that in no way could prepare them for when Mr. Takaki led them into the market square. "I-I-Is there s-s-some sort of f-festival?" Hinata asked worriedly as she watched the writhing mass of humanity move about in some unknowable purpose.

"Hmm? No, why do you ask?" Naruto asked cocking his head.

"Th-there's so m-many people here," Konoha wasn't exactly small but the only time she had ever seen so many people in one spot before was during Konoha's biggest festivals.

"Actually we arrived during one of the bazaar's slow days," Mr. Takaki explained.

"This is a slow day?" Shino asked.

"Yeah, it's a good thing we didn't come on the weekend if you think this is a lot of people," Naruto nodded sagely.

"Anyway stay close," Mr. Takaki said moving into the crowd.

Naruto moved through the crowd with practiced efficiency following closely behind Mr. Takaki. They traveled a couple of blocks before stopping in front of a large gate, which according to the sign, led to Tabe's number one inn. Naruto recognized it as the place he and Ziren would stay while in town. Naruto turned to see Kurenai and Shino finally push their way out of the crowd and step next to Naruto and Mr. Takaki. "Hey where's Hinata?" Naruto asked looking around.

"What!?" Kurenai asked scanning the immediate vicinity.

"She was right behind me earlier," Shino said also trying to spot his missing teammate.

"It seems that she must have gotten separated in the crowd," Mr. Takaki pointed out.

"Okay you two accompany Mr. Takaki into the inn, I'm going to go look for Hinata," Kurenai said about ready to jump to higher ground.

"Um Kurenai-sensei I think that I would do better at that," Naruto pointed out.

"Naruto this is a big town and we-"

"What's the name of the street we're on?"

"What, it's…uh…" Kurenai tried stalling for time craning her neck to catch a glimpse of some sign.

"I've probably been here more times than you. We're on Main Street, there's a ramen stand down that way that always overcooks their noodles, and that stall there has the tastiest candy apples during harvest." Naruto pointed out to the jonin. Kurenai looked towards Mr. Takaki confusedly.

"I personally prefer their caramel apples but their candied ones aren't bad," Mr. Takaki answered.

"Plus I can find her easily with my chakra senses," Naruto pointed out. Kurenai thought about it for a moment before sighing dejectedly and nodding towards Naruto.

"Okay go find her but come back here immediately when you do."

"No problem Kurenai-sensei be right back!" Naruto shouted moving back into the crowd. He was weaving back and forth between the civilians when he came across a hole in the crowd, and the reason for the hole was quite apparent. In the center, being given a wide berth by the shoppers, was a man, at least Naruto assumed it was a man it was hard to tell because he was wearing a heavy black cloak covered in white whorls all along the cloth. Not only was his attire ominous but the man was also chanting something under his breath, what sounded like a mantra of some sort. Naruto looked at this figure for a moment but shrugged when he didn't feel any malice coming from the person. He walked forward and saw the man nod towards him in greeting. Naruto grinned and waved before continuing his search.

He may have fibbed a little when he told Kurenai that finding Hinata with his senses would be easy. With this many people all with their own chakra signatures the information Naruto would normally be able to glean would just fade into the white noise of the crowd. Which meant he was going to have to use a technique that Ziren didn't want him to use, but what he didn't know and all that. Naruto closed his eyes, brought his hands together to form a seal, and started to deepen and slow his breathing. Out and in, out and in, out and in. Naruto focused both his concentration and his chakra onto the rhythm created by his exhalations. Out and in, out and in, out. In and out…And on the last exhalation when his body was empty, he activated his technique. It was as if everything stopped, a moment frozen between breaths. Naruto could sense everything around him, the emotions of the street urchins trying their best to be unseen, the anticipation of the kill from a cat stalking an unwary bird, even the chakra in the dying leaves that swirled about in the wind. He cast his mind across the distances searching, seeking something familiar. And he found it, as clear as the sun in a cloudless sky he felt Hinata's chakra. She was a few blocks away from him to the east. The moment gone with Naruto's inhalation, as the world continued to move.

Naruto crouched on the ground holding his hands against his head as what felt like a marching band had decided to practice in his skull. He really hated using that technique. Naruto stood back up as the pain receded, side-effect of processing so much information at once. Breathing out heavily Naruto turned and headed in the direction he had felt Hinata's chakra.


He was depressed, again. That tends to happen when you're avoided by everyone for no discernible reason. Was it the cloak? The man thought as he looked at the black and white fabric covering his body. He didn't think black and white was particularly scary, but it could look ominous in the right light. Perhaps these people just needed to be enlightened to the truth. But the town watchmen had already gotten angry at him for preaching on the street corner, and he didn't want to seem rude.

It wasn't even the adult's looks of either confusion or distrust that really got to him. It was the kids that always hid behind their parents' legs when he was nearby that really hurt. He liked kids. He had come up with the idea to use candy to try and get the kids to open up to him, but one of the sisters told him that that was a very bad idea. He still didn't understand why, kids loved candy and what parent could say no to free treats for their precious little ones. But kids seemed to like her more so he heeded her advice. Maybe…

His head snapped up and he whipped around so quickly that the people near him started at the sudden movement.

He felt it! For a moment he had sensed its presence and then as quickly as it appeared it was gone again. Impossible! No, as Father said impossible was simply what we called something we've never encountered. Regardless this would mean putting off returning to the monastery. But how to go about investigating if he couldn't sense where it was.

He then saw out of the corner of his eye bright yellow and spiky. He grinned as an idea formed in his head.


Hinata was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She was following her team one moment and then was completely lost the next. She had initially tried using her Byakugan to orient herself, but was overloaded by all the people around her and had trouble maintaining focus. She was currently debating whether or not to climb up the side of a building to get a better vantage, but she didn't want to anger the town guards. She was starting to freak out when Naruto seemed to materialize right out of the crowd in front of her. "Hina!" Naruto shouted running up to the girl.

"N-Naruto," Hinata felt relief flood through her as Naruto approached.

"Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, just n-not used to c-crowds."

"Yeah I was like that too when I first came here. Come on I'll show you back to the place we're staying," Naruto said holding out his hand. "I don't want to lose you again," Naruto answered Hinata's questioning look. Hinata hesitated a moment before taking Naruto's hand and following him down the street. "Hey why don't we grab something to eat before we head back?" Naruto said looking over at Hinata.

"W-would Kurenai-sensei b-be okay with th-that?" Hinata asked.

"Meh," was Naruto's answer. Hinata thought for a moment before she decided that having something warm would be nice, and Naruto's hand didn't count.

"O-okay," Hinata answered gripping Naruto's hand a bit more tightly than was necessary.

"Great! This way," Naruto said pulling Hinata down another street. She smiled as she was pulled along when she spotted a man standing in front of a stall covered in a black and white cloak. One of his arms was filled with small toys and he was holding what looked like a wind-up sunflower that swayed side to side.


"Let's go do something!" Naruto whined lying on his back in the dirt of the Inn's courtyard.

"No," Shino answered not even looking at Naruto as he ran through a series of hand signs for the hundredth time.

"But we've been practicing here forever. There's a whole city out there waiting to be explored, restaurants to be eaten at, and victims to be pranked," Naruto pouted.

"Kurenai-sensei told us to stay here," Shino sighed.

"No, she just told us to stay out of trouble."

"Yes and she was looking directly at you when she spoke. Why you ask? Because of your antics during Mr. Takaki's negotiations." Yes, at first Kurenai had taken team eight out with her while escorting Mr. Takaki, but called that off when Naruto released a rafter shaking snore halfway through a business negotiation. Since then she told her students to remain at the inn and train, that was six days ago and Naruto was getting restless.

"Come on Hinata back me up," Naruto whined looking to Hinata for back up. "Hinata?" Naruto sat up when he didn't hear a reply from his teammate. The Hyῡga was kneeling on the ground her Byakugan active while she seemed to stare off in to space.

Naruto crawled over to her and waved his hand in front of her face. "Hinata?" No response. "Hinata?" Naruto continued trying to get Hinata's attention by snapping his fingers in front of her face. Naruto was growing concerned as he started thinking of something to do. He grinned devilishly as he reached out and started tickling Hinata's sides. Hinata burst out laughing as her eyes closed and her Byakugan deactivated. She swatted Naruto's hands away before she rubbed her eyes.

"W-what was that f-for?" She asked cracking a bloodshot eye open.

"Whatcha doin'?" Naruto asked deflecting Hinata's question.

"I-I'm practicing m-my Byakugan to be a-able to function in c-crowds," She explained.

"Does it not?" Shino asked looking towards the pair.

"We-well it's t-too much stimulus t-too quickly. It c-can harm our b-brain," Hinata explained. "N-normally we either s-see all a-around us a sh-short distance, or w-we see t-telescopically. I-if we did b-both we w-would be o-overwhelmed."

"Yeah, Sensei and I have this technique that expands our senses, but it makes your brain feel like mush afterwards," Naruto said adding his two cents nodding. "Hey Hinata let's go into the city and explore," Naruto said bring the conversation back around to its starting point.

"B-but Kurenai-sensei doesn't want us to."

"No she just said not to cause trouble."

"W-wasn't she looking at y-you when she s-said that?"

"Now you sound like Shino." Naruto pouted with his arms crossed. He watched Hinata rub her sore eyes before his lips quirked up in a mischievous grin. "If you're not with me, then you're against me!" Naruto shouted lunging forward and releasing a devastating tickle attack against the heiress. Hinata, not being prepared, was caught by surprise as Naruto's fingers dug into her sides. She tried to fight it off but couldn't and burst into a fit of giggles as she tried to get away from Naruto, but Naruto was relentless and wasn't about to let her get away. When suddenly it seemed as the ground beneath their feet shuddered and shifted causing the two genin to lose their balance and be thrown to the ground. "What the hell Shino!?" Naruto shouted as he tried to extricate himself from the tangled mess he and Hinata had become. Said Aburame had one knee on the ground and a hand placed in the dirt.

"Hmm seems I've finally managed to perform the jutsu," Shino said pulling his hand out of the ground.

"W-what Jutsu," Hinata asked dusting herself off.

"Since I have already perfected the low rank earth style ninjutsu that Kurenai-sensei had given us I decided to move onto one that I had found in my clan's library. It is designed to shift the ground beneath the feet of multiple adversaries and disrupt their balance," Shino explained, a hint of pride shining through his Aburame monotone. No longer would he be holding his team back.

"What you've already mastered two elemental ninjutsu?" Naruto asked stunned.

"Yes," Shino said adjusting his glasses.

"Dang it! I still need to work on mine. Come on Hinata let's train!" Naruto shouted as he started running through hand signs.

"N-nice job Shino," Hinata congratulated her teammate before she resumed her Byakugan training. Shino observed Naruto working furiously to try and catch up to him and a Naruto-esque idea entered his head.

"Naruto maybe you are right and we should go out into the city and have fun." Naruto glared at Shino before turning his back and continued working on his wind style ninjutsu.


Hiruzen sat at his desk, the dark of night cloaking his beloved village, as he worked at the ever present task of making sure the village ran like a well-oiled machine. He felt a presence outside his office window and sighed audibly when he heard it slide open. "I have a door you know."

"Meh, takes too long. Plus your secretary has one mean stink eye, and I don't think she really likes me that much," The newcomer said adjusting his red haiori and straitening his ridiculously spiky, silver hair.

"She probably wouldn't glare at you if you stopped ogling her at every opportunity, Jiraiya."

"But if I did that then I wouldn't have all the juicy secretary scenes in my books, speaking of which," Jiraiya pulled a book out of his belt pouch and placed it on the desk in front of Hiruzen.

"I don't know why you keep giving these to me, it's not like I read them," the aging man said as he took the book and slid it into his desk drawer, where he kept the others. Hiruzen then gave a hand signal and the four ANBU tasked with guarding him left, content in the knowledge that one of the three Sannin was more than enough protection. "Good to have you back Jiraiya, though considering what was in the last report I sent you I'm surprised that you didn't return sooner."

"There was trouble brewing up north that I had to take care of, plus an upstart warlord out west was causing a scene and need to be put down, and…"

"And you're just making excuses," Hiruzen said.

What did you expect me to do?" Jiraiya said plopping into one the chairs opposite the Hokage's desk.

"I thought you would have at least wanted to meet him."

"Meet him? Meet Him!? And say what exactly!?" Jiraiya shouted jumping back to his feet. "Hey kid I'm your godfather, the man your parents asked to take care of you in case anything ever happened to them, and I failed at it so miserably that a complete stranger came along, kidnapped you, and was a better parent than I could ever hope to be! And I'm so ashamed of my failure that I can't even bring myself to stand in front of your father's grave anymore! I failed him, his father, you and the village! And you want me to just meet him!?" Jiraiya shouted. He sighed before covering his face with his hands and sunk back down to the chair.

"Sorry Sensei you didn't deserve that," he said looking so much older than when he entered the office. He removed his hands to find Hiruzen offering him a full Sake cup, an open bottle on his desk. The Sannin accepted the dink and downed it in one go, enjoying the burning sensation working its way down his throat, before holding the cup out for another.

"You were, and still are, the spymaster for Konoha and work tirelessly to protect our borders. No one can blame you," Hiruzen said refilling Jiraiya's cup.

"Now who's making excuses?" Jiraiya said sipping his drink this time.

"The truth is Jiraiya that we both failed. I could've stopped him from being taken, but I was so blind as to what was going on in my own village that I couldn't do anything." The two sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment both feeling guilty over past mistakes.

"What's he like?"

"The spitting image of his father, even down to retaining his baby fat. You swear it's like stepping back in time. Although he acts much more like his mother, including her penchant for mischief."

"Right, I heard rumors about his first day back."

"Almost had an entire platoon of Chunin hunting them down before Adair caught him."

"Them?"

"Yea he roped the Hyῡga heiress, Hinata, into helping him go on a pranking spree, almost got me too actually."

"Wait a minute, the Hyῡga heiress? Isn't that the one the clan doesn't like, not confident enough or something?"

"Yeah, both the clan and I were surprised at that turn of events. Seems Naruto has a, well maybe not a positive influence but an influence on her but she at least does seem to have a calming effect on him. The only reason I wasn't caught in one of his pranks was because she stopped him."

"So that's why you put them on a team together. What? Just because I failed at being a godfather doesn't mean I haven't been keeping tabs on him." Jiraiya answered Hiruzen's questioning eyebrow lift. "But that aside, what about this Ziren Adair? What's he like?

"He's an interesting one, a "Merchant" as he likes to call himself. Though from what I can tell he focuses not so much on physical goods, but connections. Forging deals and trade routes under the table and across borders using legal loopholes to avoid various political pitfalls."

"A 'Border Scab' you mean?"

"A what?"

"Yeah they're called Border Scabs. People who cross borders and aren't afraid of bending a few laws to do so? They're mostly used by Daimyo's who want to trade with countries whose hidden villages aren't getting along, or vice versa by kage."

"How is it I don't know all this?"

"Because you're not a hypocrite and have never needed to use them. Although the Fire Daimyo has used one a couple of times in the past?"

"Yeah from my digging that was actually Adair?"

"Really now? Anymore sake in there?"

"Afraid not Jiraiya," Hiruzen said holding the bottle upside down.

"Another question I had about Ziren Adair," Jiraiya said glumly looking at the empty bottle. "He defected over to our side didn't he? Why not just join and avoid the stigma associated with defecting?"

"In order for a non-natural born citizen of Konoha to join the ranks of our shinobi forces they must first submit an application that can take up to a month to be processed. Then they must take a practical's exam to determine their abilities, waiting for the results can also take up to a month. Afterwards they are assigned the rank of genin, no matter how well they performed on the exam. And they are unable to advance in rank or gain benefits until their probation period of six months is over. Whereas for a defection, so long as they provide something that would make the village interested in them and the Hokage approves then that's that, he's in."

"But wasn't he put under probation?"

"Yes, but that was because I decided to, not because I had to."

"So what you're saying is that it's easier for an enemy shinobi from another country to join our military than it is for a civilian from the next town over?"

"Funny, that's how Adair put it."

"Hmm…" Jiraiya mused to himself looking off into the middle distance. "And about what he provided as part of his defection?"

"It has begun to bear some fruit actually." Jiraiya looked at Hiruzen for a moment before he pulled out a scroll from inside his haiori and unrolled it out on the ground. With a few hand signs and the application of chakra the incredibly powerful silencing seals spread across the room isolating the two men. The seal was so powerful in fact that it even interfered with air flow, Hiruzen could already feel the room becoming stuffy.

"I assume you're talking about the potential Orochimaru hidden laboratory locations," Jiraiya said sitting down again.

"I am; I've sent out a couple scouts out to investigate."

"How did Adair say he found these locations again?"

"He gave me a very elaborate and convoluted answer about using how close to trade routes they are and some other such nonsense. What I took away from his explanation was that he has someone on the inside but doesn't want us to know that nor is he willing to tell us who."

"And what have the scouts reported?"

"A couple false leads, and four abandoned hideouts."

"That it?"

"I wouldn't have brought it up if that was all. We have confirmation on two active laboratories. I'm currently compiling a list of trusted shinobi to form a strike team to capture them."

"And I'm going to be leading them, right?"

"Sorry Jiraiya you're too high profile. Every movement you make in the village is monitored by somebody. If I had you leading, the mission might get leaked, and I'm sure Orochimaru still has some spies in Konoha that would tell him immediately."

"Are you sure about that?"

"One of the academy instructors was found to have ties to Orochimaru."

"An instructor!?"

"That's why we need absolute secrecy concerning this mission. This is the best chance we've had in years to learn what Orochimaru's been planning."

"Fine I understand, so if I'm not leading then who will?"

"Shikaku Nara."

"Won't the absence the Jonin Commander from the village make a few people suspicious?"

"The story is that his family is going on some much needed vacation, and no one with the desire to live will confront Yoshino about something like that?"

"What if the team encounters Orochimaru himself?"

"I have considered that. But from what you've told me any sightings of the traitor put him in the vicinity of Suna and Oto. The lab we'll be attacking first will be far away from those two."

"Not telling me where these attacks will happen?'

"Sorry but I like to think I know my students well enough to know what you'll do if I told you."

"I could still probably figure it out you know?"

"If you manage that then we didn't take the necessary precautions and should probably abandon the mission."

"You're really taking this seriously."

"This could be one of my last chances to fix my mistake."

"No I get it, so why don't you open that other bottle of Sake you've been hiding and we toast to being able to fix past mistakes?"

"Fine but can you release the seal it's getting hot in here?" Hiruzen said pulling out a bottle from his desk drawer.


"Okay Sakura just this one left," Ziren said squatting down and grabbing one end of a beam of wood, the pinkette grabbed the other end. The team plus Tazuna were doing meaningless chores around the bridge waiting for the fated moment. "Sakura act casual," Ziren whispered to Sakura as he bent over the beam. "The fog bank approaching the bridge is infused with chakra-DON'T LOOK!" Sakura gulped audibly as she kept her eyes down. "We've prepared for this. Go tell the others, I'll buy you enough time to prepare. Don't run or act like you're in a hurry in any way, so long as they think surprise is on their side it's on ours. Do you understand?" The genin nodded. "Good now lift on three…one…two…three." With a heave the two lifted the piece of construction material and moved it closer to the shore. "Why don't you go tell the others to break for lunch, I'll just get this las one."

"K-kay Ziren-sensei." Sakura walked off doing a fantastic job at appearing casual, she had a career ahead of her, assuming she lived. Ziren turned back towards the unfinished end of the bridge, which had now been covered by the unnatural fog. Ziren bent over the last log, a log he had hidden a few goodies for this moment. Lightning quick he straitened and released half a dozen explosive kunai towards the two chakra points he felt inside the mist. The mist cursed as the explosions tore through the fog revealing the silhouettes of two figures scrambling to avoid the inferno. Ziren was moving even before the bombs went off and was on top of the nearest one immediately, the masked companion. Ziren threw a dizzying array of punches and elbows at the youth, who was hard pressed to protect himself, taking a few meaty blows in the process. Eventually Ziren got his opponent off balance grabbed his shirt and threw him to the ground.

Even before the kid hit the ground Ziren had pulled a kunai from his sleeve and was bringing it down towards the kids throat. He had to abort midway through and flipped forward avoiding Zabuza's sword as it sliced into the bridge. Ziren flung his kunai at the enemy Jonin before he hit the ground in a roll. He was met with the clang of metal on metal as Ziren got to his feet. The young one was getting to his feet as Zabuza readied his weapon, the storied Kubikiribōchō "Kakashi too scared to face me again?" In answer Ziren reached up and drew his sword, although calling it a sword was being generous. It was free of rust but was pitted and scarred and looked as though it had been broken and re-forged multiple times, it was more like a twisted wedge of sharpened metal than an actual sword. Ziren charged forward aiming straight for Zabuza. The Demon of the Mist met Ziren's charge with one of his own. He swung the Kubikiribōchō in wide horizontal swing, trying to cut Ziren in half. The sensor leapt avoiding the attack and threw a handful of shuriken at point blank range.

The sound of metal striking metal filled the air as dozens of senbon needles collided with the flying shuriken. Zabuza slammed his foot on the ground and halted his swords momentum, he then twisted the blade and swung it towards his still air born foe. Without being able to land in time or be able to adjust himself he was going to take the full brunt of the attack, which left only one option. Performing another sleight of hand trick Ziren produced an exploding tag. "Shit!" Zabuza shouted stopping his attack and leaping away as the tag started glowing spraying the area he had been standing in with red paint. Zabuza looked quizzically at what should have been a smoking crater, before he realized he had been had. "Haku, get the bridge builder. That's all we're being paid for. I'll cover you."

"Yes Lord Zabuza." Immediately the younger one ran off towards the side in an attempt to avoid the enemy swordsman. Ziren wasn't having it though and moved to intercept. Haku had to leap back to avoid Ziren's blade and then duck out of Zabuza's way. The Kubikiribōchō whistled downward in an earth cleaving swing towards Ziren's head. Ziren brought his own sword up to block, but instead of taking the blow head on Ziren angled his weapon causing the massive blade to slide down, bleeding out its momentum. The Kubikiribōchō slid free of Ziren's sword and cut into the bridge, releasing the tension held in Ziren's sword straight towards Zabuza's head. The Demon leaned back and blocked the blow with his sword's handle. But even as he blocked one attack another came in the form of Ziren's boot to his gut. Luckily for him, Zabuza was already leaping back and rode the momentum of the kick rolling away from Ziren.

Zabuza rolled back to his feet, Haku behind him, and considered the opponent before him. He was holding back, fearing that Kakashi was somewhere close by waiting to strike. He wasn't going to be able to continue conserving his strength at this rate. "Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu." The fog bank closed around three ninja separating them from the rest of the world. With a nod from Zabuza, Haku disappeared into the rapidly closing clearing in the fog. Zabuza then turned his attention back to the Konoha shinobi before him. He flicked his sword in a swordsman salute that was a show of respect in Kiri "I am Zabuza Momochi." He said in the traditional greeting of two swordmasters, it had been a long time since he had fought another swordsman. He was surprised to see Ziren mirror the motion perfectly

"I am Ziren Adair." He was even more surprised when Ziren leapt back into the mist. It took Zabuza only an instant realize what was happening.

"Haku! Down!"


"Haku! Down!" Haku dropped to the ground when he heard Zabuza's shout. Not a moment too soon too as he heard the whistle of something cutting through the air and felt the bun he kept his hair in get sliced off. Before Haku could complete his fall a knee buried itself into his gut, knocking the breath out of him. Haku then felt himself lift up as Ziren grabbed his shirt and threw him across the bridge. Zabuza leapt over his flying form, sword leading to engage the Konoha shinobi. Haku tumbled across the bridge before he finally regained his feet, the sound of swords clashing in the mist. He moved away from the mist towards his target. The first obstacle to his goal was the Uchiha holding two handfuls of shuriken. He threw them but his clustering was off and Haku only had to leap to the side to avoid the missiles.

As soon as his foot hit the ground, however, it slipped out from under him sending him sprawling once more. Getting up from the greased bit of bridge was made difficult when the Inuzuka charged in, elongated nails swiping for his throat. Being unable to get up without slipping Haku scrambled back avoiding the feral boy's claws. Being fed up Kiba sprang forward fangs bared, thinking quickly Haku rolled back catching the Inuzuka on his bent legs and completed the roll throwing Kiba behind him at the Uchiha and jumping back to his feet. The next obstacle was the pink haired one, looking scared and unsure of what to do but holding her position despite that.

She held up a kunai in one shaking arm, Haku legitimately felt sorry for her. But an enemy was an enemy, and a hail of senbon would get her out of the way. Instead of piecing flesh the needles passed harmlessly through the clone dispersing the illusion. "Shannaro!" The camouflage cover hiding the hole in the bridge was thrown away as Sakura surged up and threw a haymaker punch straight at Haku's masked face, a punch that would have made Tsunade proud. The punch landed with a solid thud knocking the attacker on his butt and sent cracks spider webbing across his mask. She was about to follow up when a tendril of water wrapped around her ankle and pulled her away. Haku's mask was cracked but not broken, he had been lucky to get that jutsu up in time, that girl could throw a hell of a punch. He continued moving towards the cowering bridge builder, determined.

'They had prepared the battlefield ahead of time, of course they did how could he and Lord Zabuza have not thought of that? Just need to kill one man and we can go.' The boy thought to himself gaining a second wind and charging the old man before the three behind him could regroup. Tazuna was too scared to move away as the masked-nin closed the distance a kunai in his hand. He lunged forward intent on stabbing the man through the heart. Tazuna fell back in a futile effort to avoid his fate, fear filling his eyes. But then his hand lashed out and grabbed Haku's arm turning the blade from his body. Then the bridge builder brought his other hand up and gouged furrows into the missing-nin's chest with his claws…claws!? Ignoring the pain Haku jumped and brought both his feet into the other man's chest. Kiba fell back, his transformation technique being dispelled as Haku landed on his feet and considered his options. Their teamwork was much more cohesive, the battlefield was booby-trapped, and Copy-nin Kakashi was hiding out there somewhere, waiting. He could not hold back any more. The three genin closed in on him as the temperature around them began dropping.


Zabuza saluted with his sword, something Ziren had not seen in a while. "I am Zabuza Momochi."

"I am Ziren Adair," Ziren said mirroring the salute as Zabuza entered into a ready stance. Ziren watched his opponent while he tracked the chakra signature of the other assailant. With a chakra fueled leap Ziren moved into the mist towards the younger enemy.

"Haku! Down!" The boy dropped just as Ziren swung, spoiling his attack. But before the youth could land Ziren brought his knee up into his stomach, grabbed the boy's shirt, and threw him at the approaching Demon. Zabuza jumped over the impromptu missile and came in swinging his blade for Ziren's neck. He sidestepped the attack and brought his own blade to bear against the missing-nin. The two swordsman engaged in a furious clash of swords, Zabuza using the width and durability of his sword as an impenetrable defense, while Ziren moved quickly and used his lighter sword not to block but to redirect the Kubikiribōchō's powerful blows.

Zabuza constantly moved in and out of the mist striking at what he thought were Ziren's blind spots, but he seemed to always know where Zabuza would come from. This confirmed Zabuza's suspicion that he had some way to see through the mist or ignore it all together. Although Ziren could sense Zabuza's movements and positions, the mist was still giving him a headache, time to do something about it. He had to wait only a moment before Zabuza vanished into his mist once more. Slamming his sword into the bridge Ziren started running through hand signs. "Water Style: Grand Compression Jutsu!" The mist began swirling and with a gesture from Ziren condensed around Zabuza. The water continued surrounding the Demon completely engulfing him. Zabuza struggled against his most powerful weapon as the pressure from the water increased, threatening to crush the man where he stood. With a primal shout Zabuza expelled a tremendous amount of chakra blasting the water away.

Even as the water was still falling Ziren was moving swinging his sword. Zabuza brought his up in time and the two locked blades, straining against each other. "Despite the circumstances, I must say it is an honor to clash blades with one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist."

"It has been a while since I've fought an actual swordsman."

"I will accept that as a compliment."

"It is, but that doesn't change the fact that I will kill the bridge builder."

"And I will stop you, Demon." Ziren disengaged from Zabuza, leaping into the air he kicked out with both legs against Zabuza's sword, staggering the demon. As Zabuza stepped back he heard something click as his foot hit the bridge. Looking down Zabuza saw chakra wire connecting five explosive tags to the pressure plate he just stepped on.

"Shit!" The tags detonated ripping the water clone apart. Zabuza was under the bridge, glad he had hidden a clone ahead of time so that he could substitute with it in case of sudden explosives. But the tags confirmed one of his fears, the bridge was trapped. He needed to draw Ziren away from his advantage and out onto the open water where he could bring his most powerful techniques to bear. It was then that Ziren dropped down dpwn in front of him confirming Zabuza's second theory, Ziren could somehow sense Zabuza's movements. "Water Style: Ripping Wave Jutsu!" Zabuza sent a powerful wave shooting towards Ziren, all he needed was to push the Konoha-nin back away from the bridge. Pumping chakra into his legs Ziren leaped back, over the wave and ran through hand signs for a jutsu of his own. Landing back on the water he saw Zabuza moving towards him swiftly, to keep control of the battle Ziren needed to get him back on the bridge.

"Water Style: Grasp of the Watery Grave Jutsu!" Slamming his hands down on the water's surface, numerous hands made of water sprung from the tranquil waves reaching for Zabuza, trying to drag him down to the murky depths. Swinging the Kubikiribōchō Zabuza cut the water hands by the dozens, only for them to be replaced by two dozen. Resigning himself the the rogue-nin jumped up onto the bridge from the water escaping Ziren's jutsu.

This did however place Zabuza on the high ground and he contemplated how he could use that to use his advantage while he watched Ziren closely. Zabuza's finely honed instincts caused his neck hairs to stand on end in dire warning. He ducked just as a sword cut the airspace his neck had just vacated. Zabuza kicked out and felt his foot connect with something squishy accompanied by the sound of air leaving a person's lungs. Glancing behind him he saw Ziren staggering back, a hand clutching his gut. Before he could capitalize on the Konoha-nin's balance the other Ziren leapt up from the water and pressed the attack on Zabuza. The one who stayed up top was the real one, due to the kick Zabuza gave him, which meant that the other one had to be a shadow clone. The two Ziren's worked in harmony and attacking Zabuza on both sides, keeping him unbalanced. As soon as he got an advantage over one the other stepped in and pushed Zabuza back preventing him from hurting Ziren or popping his clone.

The two moved constantly and jumped around too much for Zabuza to keep track of which was the real one so he had to fight under the assumption that both were real. After a particularly savage assault from the two forced Zabuza to step back his foot landed on a thin puddle causing him to lose balance. Capitalizing on their opportunity both Ziren's lunged forward aiming for the rogue-nin's heart. Smirking Zabuza pushed off with his one foot back flipping away from the attack while kicking the flat of Ziren's blades sending them up. The two were too skilled a swordsman to let go of their weapons from such an attack, but it left them wide open. Concentrating chakra to his feet Zabuza adhered himself to the ground and brought the Kubikiribōchō around in a powerful horizontal swing. One of the Ziren's dived into the way of the sword, the clone, but the Kubikiribōchō could not be stopped so easily and the blade cut right through the shadow clone. The time bought by the shadow clone's sacrifice, as brief as it was, bought the real Ziren enough time to bring his own sword into a vertical guard just as it clashed with the Kubikiribōchō. Unable to dodge or redirect the momentum Ziren took the full brunt of the attack. With a savage roar Zabuza completed his swords arc and sent the sensor flying.

Ziren hit the ground hard, he felt the impact from both Zabuza's attack and the swift meeting with the bridge in every bone in his body. But he couldn't focus on the pain as he felt Zabuza moving towards him, fast. Zabuza nearly flew across the bridge, he needed to finish this as quickly as possible. Ziren staggered to his feet he tried to take a step but his leg crumbled sending him sprawling to the side. Zabuza grinned evilly and adjusted his course for intercept. He stopped abruptly when a loop of ninja wire wrapped around his ankle and dug into his flesh. 'Another trap, DAMMIT!' He brought the Kubikiribōchō up deflecting the hail of shuriken thrown by Ziren, who still looked a little shaky but was upright and rushing towards the captured Zabuza. The Demon quickly considered his options; if he moved too much the wire would cut deeper into his leg possibly maiming him, it would take too long to untie and even if he tried to untie it would leave him vulnerable to Ziren's assault. Thinking of nothing better Zabuza plunged the Kubikiribōchō down cutting into the bridge and severing the ninja wire's anchor, freeing him. But he wasn't going to be able to pull his sword out in time to block. Thinking quickly Zabuza vaulted over his stuck weapon avoiding Ziren's slash by a hair's breadth. Not wasting his opportunity Ziren spun around and threw his elbow at the descending Zabuza. Zabuza was able to block in midair but completely threw off his balance, knowing this Ziren grabbed Zabuza and threw him with all his chakra enhanced might away from the Kubikiribōchō.

Being the consummate professional he was Zabuza was done with the hand signs for a ninjutsu before he hit the ground in a roll. "Water Style: Water Whip Jutsu!" A tendril of water rose up and whipped towards Ziren. The Konoha swordsman was already moving towards Zabuza at that point so the whip wrapped around the Kubikiribōchō instead of him. The tendril flexed pulling the sword out of the bridge and, with a flick, threw the oversized blade like an awkwardly shaped shuriken at Ziren. With that done Zabuza rushed the Konoha-nin matching charge for charge. Ziren angled his head at the last moment avoiding the spinning sword even as Zabuza reached out and grabbed the Kubikiribōchō's hilt. Riding the momentum Zabuza spun around and brought his weapon down in a diagonal slice. Ziren blocked the attack and used its momentum to spin in a full circle allowing him to lunge at Zabuza's exposed chest. Zabuza brought his hilt down redirecting the blow away from his chest, but still got stabbed in the side. He brought his head down and connected his forehead with Ziren's face with a satisfying crunch, he then moved to kick him but Ziren was already leaping away at this point.

'Enough' Zabuza thought to himself as he ran through hand signs lightning quick. "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" The water under the bridge roiled as a dragon of water emerged from its murky depths. With a roar it lashed out at Ziren, the sensor dived out of the way narrowly avoiding the dragon as it whipped by. The dragon was not done, however, as it came back around for a second run. Sheathing his sword Ziren back flipped out of the way once more, placing him on all fours. Pumping chakra to his limbs Ziren pushed off the ground hard allowing him to frog hop over the watery attacks next run, putting him right where he wanted to be.

"Water Style: Stagnant Pool Jutsu!" Forming the chakra, Ziren spat out a single small, black, brackish drop of water at the water dragon. The dragon quivered for a moment when the droplet connected before collapsing completely, leaving a stunned Zabuza to wonder what just happened.

He had hoped not to use this technique until he was ready to stage another coupe, but he just couldn't bring himself to hold back against this opponent. "Water Style: Wrath of the Kraken Jutsu!" If the water had roiled before, it now exploded as ten massive tendrils of water erupted out from under the bridge. Ziren analyzed the situation before he readied himself and charged. The tendrils came in swinging, the first came in sweeping the ground. Ziren swung his sword in an upward arc cutting the tendril. It was harder than he thought it would be and the effort to cut the jutsu cost him more time than he had as he only barely had the time to sidestep as one of the other tendrils slammed down where he had been standing, shaking the bridge. The tremors spoiled his balance and he had to leap over the next incoming attack. Too late, he realized his mistake as he saw another tendril closing in. Unable to move or position himself in midair he took the full force of the attack sending him skidding across the hard bridge surface while his sword went flying elsewhere.

Ziren slowly, shakily got to his feet, luckily he had been thrown out of Zabuza's technique's range. He scanned the battlefield and found his sword stuck in the ground a good distance away and in range of the moving tendrils. 'Dammit!' He was running out of ideas and victory seemed far away. His traps were useless so long as Zabuza remained stationary. He could sense the ongoing battle between Zabuza's companion and team seven, but it seemed like time was not on his side as the mystery youth was using some sort of high end technique. He could feel the fear and pain from the genin. He closed his eyes and expanded his senses, causing that odd time dilation when he and Naruto did that. He had another trick up his sleeve but to use it would mean to break his promise. But would he really be breaking it, what would she think if he let the subjugation of Wave continue because of his promise to her. What words would she say if he didn't do everything he could to protect the innocent. Not breaking his promise then, but bending it?

.

.

.

He could live with that. He breathed in concentrating his chakra, then released it in a whisper.

"First Step of the Traveler: Ignorance."

A black, thin mist swirled around Ziren for but a moment, had you blinked you would've missed it entirely. He felt light, lighter than he had in years. He crouched down and planned his route of attack, then smirking, dashed into the teeth of the beast. The tendrils came in fast and hard, aiming to smash Ziren entirely. The first one came in just above the ground. Ziren glided underneath it on his knees across the wet ground. He jumped to the side avoiding being smashed by the second one. The third swept along the ground, and Ziren managed to leap over it just as the fourth came in to hit him out of the air like last time. The same tactic wouldn't work twice and Ziren projected his senses into the water, examining the chakra construct that gave it shape. "Void Arts: Disrupt!" Ziren shouted extending his palm towards the column of water. The chakra holding it together was blasted apart and the water fell to the ground inert.

Ziren continued moving towards Zabuza even as the other tendrils closed in. Another came sweeping off the ground, a second from above, and a third from behind in an attempt to box him in. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted his sword, off and to the right. Ziren started running through hand signs while he continued concentrating on his favored weapon. "Void Arts: Impossible Step." One step he was trapped, boxed in by Zabuza's powerful technique, the next step he was in front of his sword his jutsu ready. "Water Style:-" Ziren grabbed his sword and cut through a descending tendril, but instead of the water from it falling to the ground it coalesced around his blade. "-Cutting River Jutsu!" With a wide horizontal arc, the water flew from Ziren's sword in a powerful high pressurized wave cutting the air and water tendrils alike. Zabuza had to break concentration on his technique and drop to the ground to avoid being cut in two by the pressurized water.

When Zabuza jumped to his feet there were four Ziren's charging him not just one. 'More Shadow Clones.' Zabuza thought to himself as he readied his weapon. Then two of the Ziren's turned around and boosted the other two into the air. As one they threw a shuriken at him and performed the same jutsu.

"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!"

"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!"

"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!"

"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!"

The four shuriken became hundreds, if not thousands. Many long and colorful words ran through Zabuza's head at the sight of the shuriken storm, many of which I cannot write here for fear of losing the T rating. Desperately Zabuza planted the Kubikiribōchō into the bridge in front of him, crouched down and performed a jutsu. "Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu." An orb of water surrounded Zabuza, and he hoped it would provide enough protection to weather the attack. The shuriken hit the orb in an angry torrent of sharpened steel. The Kubikiribōchō and the surrounding water blunted the majority of the missiles but a few got some decent hits in. He almost lost concentration on the water prison when a particularly fast moving shuriken hit him in the same place that Ziren had stabbed him. The torrent of angry whirling metal stopped and Zabuza dissipated the water prison allowing him to get some much needed air.

Looking up he saw the two air born Ziren's and one of the ground based one's pop out of existence, their chakra having been used up. The real Ziren leapt from place to place across the shuriken strewn ground and was right on top of Zabuza. "Release!" The shuriken surrounding the pair exploded into smoke obscuring the two swordsmen. Zabuza wasn't the "Demon of the Mist" for nothing and knew how to fight without his eyes, even if the situation wasn't his usual water based cover. Zabuza positioned his sword and was rewarded with a clang as he blocked Ziren's attack. His triumph was short lived, however, as a sharp pain exploded in his side. Pumping chakra to his legs he leapt back as far as he could. When he landed his left side hurt so much that his leg buckled from the pain. Looking down he saw a shuriken embedded into his abdomen, right where he got stabbed earlier. It must have been the real shuriken Ziren threw, and he had used his sword as a feint to kick it in deeper.

With a grunt and the gritting of teeth Zabuza pulled the offending piece of metal out before it could dig itself deeper into his body. Struggling to his feet he saw Ziren run out of the dissipating smoke his sword in an odd hold, he could see a thin black mist coming off of it. Hefting his own weapon Zabuza made one hand sign and ran his finger along the length of the blade infusing it with chakra. Ziren leapt into the air and brought his sword down with all his might.

"Void Arts: Impermanence!"

"Headhunters Fury!"

The two blades met in an explosive clash of steel, willpower, and chakra.


Team Seven was in a particularly sticky situation, they were huddled back to back surrounded on all sides by mirrors made of ice, the image of their attacker in every reflective surface. Senbon needles, both metal and ice, were sticking out of their bodies. Akamaru had taken the worst of it, his small body unable to handle the strain like his bigger, human compatriots. Sasuke's eyes, an unsettling red, had finally awakened the Sharingan, but it seemed too late to help as whenever he tried to use a jutsu he was attacked with a flurry of needles. "This is your final chance to surrender, my next attack will kill you," Haku said.

"Go to hell!" Kiba shouted out with more confidence than he felt.

"So be it," Haku said senbon in each hand ready to strike. He was about to leap from the mirror but paused when the sound of a thousand birds filled the air. He leapt from the mirror just as it shattered, Kakashi with a handful of electricity crashing through it. Faster than Haku thought possible Kakashi ran through the hand seals for a jutsu,

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Jutsu!" With a roar and gout of heat a dragon made of flames shot from Kakashi's mouth and completely engulfed the remaining mirrors melting them.

Sasuke, with his newly awakened Sharigan, was able to follow Haku's movement as he avoided the inferno. "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Bringing his hands to his mouth Sasuke exhaled a fireball that engulfed the mid-air ice user.

Coming out of the conflagration Haku rolled across the ground putting out any fire that stuck to his clothing. From the smoke Kiba came charging "Passing Fang!" With a twist of his body Kiba became a whirling vortex of claw and fang. Haku tried to create an ice barrier to block the attack but the air had gotten too heated from the back-to-back fire techniques and he wasn't able to complete it in time as he full force of the drilling attack slammed into his chest. While he was flying back from the attack Sakura used the now still Kiba as a springboard to leap into the air shuriken in hand, ready to deliver the final blow. Before she could, however, a wall of steam and chakra slammed into her, throwing her to the ground. Haku and Team Seven looked down the bridge to see what had caused the disruption. When they did they collectively held their breath to see what would happen next.


The steam and mist dissipated revealing Ziren standing before a kneeling Zabuza, the Kubikiribōchō lay shattered at Ziren's feet. Ziren's arms were a sickly pale, the recoil from whatever technique he had used. While Zabuza's arms were far worse, his left arm was broken and hanging at an unnatural angle while his right arm had numbed from the impact. "Any…'pant'…last words?" Ziren asked positioning his sword for the killing stroke. Zabuza looked down the bridge and saw Haku on the ground, the genin behind him and Kakashi behind them. He bowed his head in defeat, he knew he had lost.

"The young one. Spare him, he won't continue the fight if I'm dead." Ziren nodded and Zabuza closed his eyes awaiting the release. When he didn't feel the sting of steel but a small breeze he opened his eyes to the sight of Haku standing before him. What he couldn't see was Ziren's sword piercing his chest, but had been stopped before it became fatal. Had Ziren not sensed his rapid approach the boy would be dead. Even so blood was slowly leaving the wound staining the boy's shirt red. The cracked and fractured mask finally fell away revealing a boy, only a few years older than Naruto at most, who was far prettier than he had any right to be.

"What are you doing Haku!?" Zabuza shouted.

"Yes what are you doing?" Ziren also asked.

"I am Lord Zabuza's weapon, he gave me my life so I gladly give him mine."

"Dammit Haku, step aside!" Zabuza ordered. The boy's eyes were locked onto Ziren's and did not waver, even as he lost more blood.

"Zabuza is in no condition to continue the fight. All your sacrifice will accomplish is to force him to watch you die." Still Haku's eyes and resolve did not waver. "-sigh- You remind me of my own apprentice, too noble and self-sacrificing for his own good." Ziren's eyes hardened. "Forgive me Zabuza, but I cannot fulfill your final request." Ziren tightened his grip on his sword and thrust it forward.