A small burst of smoke appeared on the bridge and Sakura turned her attention to it. "Who is it?!"

"That idiot..." Sasuke turned his head slightly, wincing in pain as he saw the smoke beginning to clear. "what a showoff..."

Haku stood and his eyes rested on the latecomer. "The number one hyperactive, knucklehead Ninja..."

"Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto completed the title with a smirk as the last of the smoke cleared. "Is finally here!"

"Heh." Naruto lowered his arms and glanced at his teammates. "Now that I've come, you're all right!"

"Oh!" Sakura's eyes widened at the blond. "Naruto!"

"The hero of a story generally appears in this kind of situation and takes out the enemy in no time!" He struck a pose, pointing toward where Zabuza stood.

The assassin glanced over his shoulder and chuckled under his breath. "That brat again, eh?"

"He just won't stop talking..." Sasuke huffed as he lay on the ground where Haku had wounded him.

"Man, that idiot." Kakashi sighed and furrowed his brows. "Making such a conspicuous entrance... there's no point if you don't catch the enemy off guard!"

Haku looked up at Naruto from behind his mask, unmoving for a moment. "That boy..."

"All right, here I go! Shadow Clone Jutsu—" Naruto formed a hand sign and was interrupted by a volley of Shuriken thrown by Zabuza.

"Oh no!" Kakashi's eyes widened and Naruto looked up at the approaching needles. "Get out of the way, Naruto!"

"Huh?" Naruto yelled in surprise and raised his arms to block his face, just as Haku threw a series of Senbon at the Shuriken to stop the attack.

"Whoa!" Team Seven's eyes widened and stared dumbfoundedly at Haku's interference.

Zabuza's eyes narrowed. "What?!"

The weapons clattered to the ground and Naruto's eyes fell on them in shock.

"He's saved..." Sakura let out a short breath of relief and looked at Haku strangely.

"To think the enemy attacks would cancel each other out like that..." Tazuna blinked and adjusted his glasses. "That was super lucky..."

"What're you doing, Naruto?!" Sakura clenched her fist and furrowed her brows suddenly.

"Hey! What kind of idiot would attempt to cast a Jutsu directly in front of an opponent?!" Kakashi scolded.

"W-What?!" Naruto blinked and took a step back, looking between his teammates.

"The essence of a Ninja is deception. How you deceive your opponent. Even when casting a Jutsu, you avoid the eyes of your opponents, catch them off balance, and outsmart them..." Kakashi kept his eye on Naruto as he lectured. "The way you made your entrance, that's just you coming to be a target..."

"No way!" Naruto reeled with his face paling slightly, then he clutched his head in frustration. "Nooo! But,I went to the trouble of coming to the rescue!"

"What concerns me more than that is..." Kakashi glanced toward Haku, who was watching Naruto in silence.

"That guy..." Sasuke glared at Haku, still unable to move.

"Haku... what are you doing?" Zabuza narrowed his eyes at his protégé.

Haku stood slowly, without looking at the assassin. "Zabuza, please leave this boy to me. Please, allow me to fight this battle my own way."

Naruto turned his attention to Haku, clenching his fists. "What did you say...?"

Haku took a step toward Naruto as Zabuza kept his eye on the boy.

"Hmph. You mean no interfering?" Zabuza finally responded. "You're naive as usual..."

Haku bowed his head slightly without turning around. "I'm sorry."

"Naïve, huh?" Sasuke lifted himself to his knees, still pained with every small movement. "True enough..." He looked down at himself. "Based on these wounds, there's no mistaking that I was attacked with a Senbon, but no vital areas have been targeted so far." He lifted his gaze back to the masked boy and clenched his jaw. "Does he mean to half-kill me?"

"If so!" Naruto watched Haku and furrowed his brows as he pointed at the older boy. "As for me, I'll take you out first!"

"It's impossible..." Kakashi stood rigid with the tension heavy around them. "It's too much for Naruto..." He narrowed his gaze. "I should be the one to..."

"Hey, don't get any ideas..." Zabuza stepped into Kakashi's line of sight. "If you move, you know what'll happen to that old man, right?"

Kakashi's widened slightly and he met Zabuza's gaze with a glare. "True..." He looked at Tazuna from the corner of his eye. "If I move away from here and go towards Naruto, Zabuza will surely kill Tazuna. There's no way that Sakura could protect him by herself."

"How about it?" Zabuza spoke up, keeping his eyes trained on his opponent. "Let's just see how those youngsters fight against each other."

"That mask..." Naruto looked at Haku, still remaining in place. "You were Zabuza's comrade after all, weren't you? You've got nerve to deceive us!"

Haku bowed his head once more slightly. "I'm sorry."

Naruto blinked at the sudden apology. "H-Huh?"

"But your teacher also said it, didn't he? Things like deceiving and catching one off-guard is a Shinobi's duty. So please don't take it personally."

Sasuke gripped his Kunai firmly and kept his eyes on Haku. "You don't have that luxury, either!"

Throwing the Kunai expertly at the boy, Sasuke's eyes widened when Haku easily dodged simply by moving his head back.

Naruto's eyes widened and he looked toward the dome of ice mirrors where Sasuke was wounded and crouching. "Sasuke?"

"I haven't forgotten about you." Haku addressed the Uchiha without turning toward him.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and glared, and Naruto watched Sasuke momentarily.

"Here I thought he had disappeared... but there he was."

Haku glanced toward Sasuke. "I would rather you had just gone down quietly... but it looks as if it won't work that way." He paused hesitantly. "Fine. I'll put an end to it quickly."

As Haku stepped back toward the closest mirror, Naruto blinked in surprise.

"H-Hey!"

"Naruto, I'll get to you later." Haku paused momentarily just before entering the mirror as he looked at the blond. Then, he stepped into his crystal creation and Naruto's eyes went wide as he watched the boy disappear.

"What with him?" Naruto furrowed his brows.

"This is it!" Sasuke narrowed his eyes and watched as Haku appeared on the mirrored surface before him. "So, the real body is right there..." He reached for the sheath on his thigh to retrieve another Kunai and Haku spoke from behind him.

"I'm over here."

Sasuke's eyes went wide and Haku held up his hand, holding three Senbon in preparation for an attack. Sasuke looked back up at the mirror before him and saw that it was empty, and began to tremble slightly.

"He moved already...? How?!" Sasuke glanced over his shoulder at the masked boy.

The mirrors filled with Haku's image and each of the doppelgangers prepared to strike. All at once, Senbon rained down at him once again from every angle. He screamed out in pain and fell back.

"Sasuke!"Sakura and Naruto called out simultaneously.

Naruto's body trembled as he stared unblinking at his teammate. "What was that just now?! Sasuke suddenly got battered... How is he doing it?!

"Tch..." Sasuke clutched his shoulder, which was bleeding, and glared as he looked all around at the mirrors. "What kind of Jutsu is he using...? It's possible that he has clones hide in the mirrors and gets them all to throw Senbons simultaneously..." He paused and looked at the mirror directly in front of him. "No, they're too fast considering... What does it mean... not even being able to see the trajectory of the weapons?"

The Haku in each mirror raised its right hand again, preparing another volley.

"Also, if it's a mere Clone Jutsu... I don't see the reason for these ice mirrors... In any case... there's no way to question that these mirrors are pivotal for his attacks." Sasuke let out a quiet breath in pain as his shoulder twinged.

"What I can do is to launch attacks... from both the outside and inside." Kakashi watched Sasuke amidst the mirror carfully with a hard look.

"The thing to do is to figure out the meaning of the mirrors!" Sakura kept her mouth in a hard line as she remained silent and watched.

"I'll take care of him!" Naruto clenched his fists.

"All there is to do is... for me to attack the inside and have Naruto try attacking the mirrors from the outside..." A plan started to form in the Uchiha's mind.

"Yo! I came to save you!" Naruto squatted in front of Sasuke with his hand up as he whispered with a grin.

Sasuke paled and his eyes widened. "W-What?!"

"You okay, Sasuke?" Naruto lowered his arm, still grinning.

Sasuke's eye twitched and he clenched his hand into a fist.

Sakura's eyes widened and her mouth gaped open. "H-Huh?!"

"Oh..." Kakashi sighed quietly and closed his eyes as he muttered under his breath. "What good will it do you to catch your ally off-guard...?"

"You idiot!" Sasuke finally blinked and yelled at the blond. "If you're really a Shinobi, you have to move more cautiously!"

"What's with you?!" Naruto scowled. "I came to your rescue, ya know!"

"Idiot! If you also come inside the mirrors..." Sasuke scowled and let out a hot breath. "Damn it! I had it, you fool!"

"Fool?! What do you mean by 'fool'?!" Naruto raised a clenched fist.

Kakashi let out a slow sigh. "As to be expected of the number one unpredictable ninja... He's doing nothing but making the situation worse and worse by coming to aid."

"Fine!" Sasuke stood and looked at the mirrors. "Since it's come to this, all that's left is to smash them!"

He formed a series of quick hand signs, then narrowed his eyes. "Fire Style!"

Naruto blinked. "H-Hey! What're you going to do?!"

"These mirrors are made with frozen water... If so..."Sasuke took in a deep breath, then formed a circle with his thumb and forefinger, exhaling out a blast of fire. "Fireball Jutsu!"

The flames licked the mirrors, filling the area with searing heat. As the fire waned, Sasuke's eyes widened.

Naruto leapt to his feet. "That didn't work at all!"

"They won't melt with that level of firepower." Haku's voice echoed around them.

"Tch!" Sasuke shot him a glare and Haku held up another set of Senbon.

The mirrors glowed brightly, blinding them. Their arms lifted to sheidl their eyes as the light intensified and both were thrown back with an onslaught of the needles.

"Darn!" Naruto looked all around and clenched his fists. "Where'd he attack from? Are they clones?!" Hestood and looked between the mirrors. "Where's the real body?!"

"It's useless for you to even attempt following me with your eyes." Haku watched the boys from above. "You absolutely will not catch me."

"Hmph! We'll see!" Naruto narrowed his eyes and formed a hand sign. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Don't!" Sasuke turned his head quickly to Naruto, warning him too late.

Out of a large cloud of smoke leapt out clones, one each heading directly towards one of the mirrors.

"I'll find out which is the real body by hitting them all!" As the clones came close, Haku quickly jumped from mirror to mirror, faster than Naruto could see. As he moved, he struck each clone with Senbon. Inthe blink of an eye, the clones seemed to disappear simultaneously in smallpoofs.

Naruto let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground from the highest mirror and landed beside Sasuke.

"This is a teleportation Jutsu that uses mirrors that can only reflect my image." Haku explained calmly.

Naruto slowly lifted himself from the ground and looked at Haku, who stood in the mirror before them.

"Watching you from the speed I move, it seems as if you aren't even moving at all." Haku finished explaining.

"I knew it!" Kakashi's eyes widened, then he glanced toward Zabuza. "Is that Jutsu... a Kekkei Genkai?"

Zabuza chuckled deeply with a faint smirk beneath his bandaged face.

Sakura turned to looked at her teacher. "Kekkei Genkai?"

"It's the same type as my Sharingan..." Kakashi's eyes narrowed seriously. "Deep blood ties and a lineage of paranormal individuals... A Kekkei Genkai is a type of Jutsu that is passed on only through those traits..."

"Then...!" Sakura's eyes widened.

"That's right." Kakashi nodded slightly. "It's impossible even for me to copy that Jutsu. And there isn't a way to destroy that Jutsu, either!"

"Darn it..." Naruto hung his head as he clenched his jaw tightly and trembled. "So what?! I can't die here yet! 'Cause I have a dream that I have to make a reality..." He looked back up at Haku to glare at him through his mask. "The dream to have my strength acknowledged by everyone in the village and become Hokage!"

"Dream..." Haku muttered to himself, suddenly reminded of the past.

A young Haku sat with his back against the railing of a bridge overlooking a wide river. He sat on its edge and pulled his knees close in an attempt to stay warm. After some time, a man's footsteps approached and the boy glanced up to see the man that stared down at him as their eyes met.

The man chuckled as he looked down at the orphan in disdain. "Pathetic brat." He stepped closer to the child, and then knelt in front of him, resting his arm against his knee. "Brats like you aren't needed by anyone and then they die without ever knowing any freedom or dreams..."

Haku smiled broadly with his eyes crinkling shut, and Zabuza's eyes widened slightly.

"Hm?"

"You have the same eyes as I do, Niisan.." Haku giggled to himself as he smiled, and Zabuza stared at the boy with wide eyes.

Haku stared down at Sasuke and Naruto quietly for a moment, and then spoke.

"For me, becoming a Shinobi completely is difficult. If I can, I'd prefer not to kill you guys... And I also don't want to be killed by you guys... However, if you guys are going to come at me... I'll kill my feelingswith a sword and completely become a Shinobi. This bridge is the battlegroundthat connects each of us to our dreams."

Haku paused. "I, for the sake of my dream. And you, for the sake of your dreams... Please, don't hold it against me... I want to protect the person dear to me. I work for the sake of that person. I fight for that person. And, I want to make that person's dream a reality. That's what my dream is. For the sake of that dream, I will completely become a Shinobi... and kill you guys!"

Haku held up a Senbon, preparing for another strike, as Naruto smirked and the corners of Sasuke's mouth twitched in a smirk.