Didn't expect this one to be as long as it got but this is the second to last part, enjoy.

"Speaking".

"Thoughts"

"Jutsu"

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"Let's begin" Zabuza smirked charging.

In a flash his blade was in his hand and being swung down at Kakashi who managed to dodge to the side then swing with his kunai which Zabuza jumped back from barely missing the attack himself, he found his footing and swung the blade around which Kakashi ducked then pushed off once it passed over his head lunging straight for Zabuza's midsection, but he was able to bring the Executioners blade round to block the kunai.

"You're pretty quick with that large blade" Kakashi commented noticing all the swift actions the man had been performing with such a large blade, "You move it as if it's a knife".

"I've practised with this blade for a very long time, I see it as an extension of myself now and when I weald it, no man is my equal" Zabuza said back, a smirk appearing under his wrappings as they pushed against each other's blade trying to make it brake and so far, it looked to be in Zabuza's favour.

Kakashi realised that the Executioners blade gave Zabuza the advantage in this lockup, so he jumped back barely missing Zabuza swinging the blade around, but as Kakashi got his footing Zabuza was already charging at him so he jumped back again but the man kept coming not allowing Kakashi to prepare a defence.

Kakashi jumped back again and found his back pressed against the waist high bridge barrier where all that was below him was the ocean of the Land of Waves; Zabuza knew he had him trapped so went for the killing blow raising his blade above his head and brought his down, right onto Kakashi cutting through him.

But to his irritation he only split into water and splash onto the floor as he embedded his blade into the barrier that had been behind Kakashi, he grumbled as he turned his head to look behind him, "So you've really be preparing for me, haven't you?" he muttered to the perfectly fine Kakashi standing behind him.

Kakashi put on his lazy expression in his eyes, "Why of course I did, I've prepared in every way I can for you Zabuza, don't think I'll be as easy to take me out this time" he said obviously trying to get the man angry, so he'd make more mistakes.

Zabuza ripped his blade out from the wall leaving a large gap in it, "I have to give you credit then Kakashi, but I shouldn't be so surprised, you're the first combatant to survive me excluding your Genin of course" he muttered hoisting his blade on his shoulder, "But you should know, you're not the only one who's been preparing" he said as the mist became thicker and Zabuza disappeared.

"As I guessed you'd do eventually, just like before; this is one of your favourite techniques isn't it" Kakashi said to the mist turning around looking for any sign of the mercenary, he didn't want to admit it, but this was the one Jutsu that still provided some irritation for him as there was no real way to prepare for it, but to hone your senses.

But nothing was happening, Zabuza wasn't even trying to taunt him from the mist, which was another method of his, this was concerning Kakashi as he was stuck in suspense, having literally no idea where or when he would be attacked.

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Meanwhile, off in the mist Kalis and Sasuke were clutching tighter to their kunai as the Hunter opposite them stood still just looking at them, they had a feeling of fear go over them, but they wouldn't admit it, "Who are you?" Kalis shouted to her getting a head tilt to the side in a creepy fashion.

The silence and feeling of familiarity was getting to the blind boy, he was desperately trying to figure out how he knew her, but no names were coming to mind, "Answer me!" he snapped out of fashion for him getting a glance from Sasuke who was partially on his side, wanting to know who this person was.

But they got no answer, she just kept looking at them through the eyes of her mask irritating the both of them, "Just leave it, she's not talking willingly so we'll just have to make her gives us the answers" Sasuke said getting into his stance.

Kalis opened his mouth to speak but was cut off, "You don't know who I am…" a cold female voice muttered, both boys took in a sharp breath in slight shock at her talking, as if her voice had an effect on both of them, "…Of course you wouldn't; you monsters never cared…" she muttered again before launching off.

She was fast catching Kalis completely off guard almost getting hit with the Senbon needles she had in her hand barely scraping past him as he went to the side, but he didn't escape as she used the elbow on her other arm to smash into his chest sending his stumbling back clutching at his chest, "I'm going to make you suffer… Kochi…" she hissed out but jumped back as a few kunai launched in her direction.

Sasuke moved over to Kalis and stood next to him as he got up, "Looks like she really does know you" he muttered as his teammate readied his kunai again but rubbing his chest still.

"Yeah, but I still don't know who she is…" Kalis muttered as she turned to face them with her expressionless mask, "You could at least give us the decency of your name" he added gritting his teeth.

"I do not see any reason to share my identity with you, before the day is done, you will be dead so any knowledge you gain today will be pointless and a waste of my time" she said turning to face Sasuke, "I have no intent to kill you, but if you get in the way of my revenge, you will die alongside… him" she spat the last part.

Sasuke scoffed, "Don't treat me like a kid, I might not like this idiot but I'm not just going to run away from an opponent" he said, his pride doing the talking for him believing he wasn't afraid of this woman but a part of him was worried about the extent of her abilities.

"Kalis…" he muttered getting the boys attention who'd now taken his hand of his chest, "I'm sure you figured it out, but this woman is definitely holding something back" he said.

Kalis nodded in agreement, "Yeah… there has to be a reason Zabuza keeps her around other than faking his death" he added, "And what the hell was she on about with her revenge, what have I ever done to her?" he thought hating the racing thoughts going through his head, but he cleared them away by shaking his head, knowing he needed to focus on the opponent in front of him.

The Hunter looked at the two boys, she was slightly impressed with them both; they knew she was a far stronger opponent, but they weren't backing away from her, had one of them been any other opponent she may have let them live, simply incapacitated them instead of killing them but the Kochi had to die, and his supposed comrade was keen to get in the way of that.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but if your best friend gets in my way, I will have no choice but to kill him" she said looking at Sasuke before turning back to Kalis.

No more words were said, she charged for them again, but they were ready this time both dodged to the sides splitting her targets in two directions, but she knew who her main target was; she swiftly snapped to the right and launched three Senbon needles towards Kalis who deflected them, but the Hunter pounced thrusting the needles she had placed between her knuckles towards him.

Though using her close proximity to him to his advantage he quickly threw his kunai at her which she easily deflected but allowed him to grab a few more shuriken and throw them at her; with there being a number of them and no room she had no choice but to substitute out, so they impacted a piece of drift wood instead.

Though she didn't waste a beat and quickly reappeared behind Kalis with her needles ready but was surprised when he was able to quickly dive away from her last minute so she was face to face with an incoming fire ball; thinking quickly she hastily weaved her hands together in Tiger-Snake-Rat-Snake-Tiger, "Water Style: Water Wall" she said in her head firing out a wave of water that formed a wall in front of her, and thanks to her skill with it, the Jutsu didn't need to form from her mouth instead just in front of the mask where her mouth would be keeping her identity secret still.

As the two Jutsu's impacted there was a cloud of steam which slowly faded till you couldn't tell if it was still there or it was just the mist but stood opposite the Hunter was the two boys, "You used the one I was after as bait while the other prepared and attack, clever but it will take more than that to keep you alive" she hissed then launching a hail of needles at the boys direction which they barely got away from.

"This battle is only just beginning".

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A far way out from the bridge within the forest, jumping from branch to branch was Naruto; he was panting hard, but he wasn't sure why, he hadn't be going for exceedingly long, but he felt as if he had been moving for days on end.

It was then his body decided to start giving way so as he landed on a branch his legs didn't hold him up, so he lost his footing and tumbled into the ground rolling along it slightly before stopping on his back essentially gasping for breath, "W-What is wrong with me…" he muttered raising a hand up with a lot of effort then looking at it before letting it go limp and falling back onto the ground.

"I feel so drained, what happened to me last night…" he said raising his head up to look down his body but saw nothing out of the ordinary except his chest rising up and down is a quick fashion as he tried to get his breath back.

He tried desperately to think back to last night to anything that might have happened, maybe he'd hit his head a little hard or been stung by something that could have poisoned him like a plant as from the little he remembered from the basic survival lessons back at the academy there were some that could badly poison you, but he still couldn't remember if any plants were even around.

He dropped his head back onto the ground with a sigh, but this was when he noticed his surroundings more; it was a small grassy clearing with not much around except one thing though Naruto could barley see is as it was directly behind his head so no matter how hard he tried to lean his head back to see it, it wasn't clear all he knew was it was something.

With a large amount of effort and pain he rolled his body over until he was on his belly making it easier to look at the now ahead of him object and it became instantly clear, it was a fairly large boar over on it's side with several blade slices cutting deep into it obviously being what caused its death.

He was going to simply cast this off as the local thugs screwing around but he then noticed the blood trail likely coming from the weapons used to kill the boar going off in a certain direction, specifically the direction he had just come from, "Why would they head that way, the town is in the opposite direction…" he though in his head but then it suddenly dawned on him, there was just one place in that direction.

Tsunami's house.

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Back at the house, Tsunami was busy washing up in the kitchen; her thoughts kept drifting to the group that had left a little while ago, she was very worried not just for her father but for Kakashi and especially his students, they were only a few years older than her own son Inari, but they were risking their young lives to save the entire village.

She sighed and looked out of the window where a bit of sun was breaking though the clouds almost as if it were a sign of sorts, that there were brighter times ahead but before her very eyes, the sun was covered again by the clouds.

She wasn't sure if that could be another sign, had the last of their light been clouded already, were they dead, "No… I'm being foolish…" she muttered to herself looking back down to the plate she was washing, "I'm sure… No I know they're fine" she added a smile going on her lips, "Dad promised, and he never breaks a promise".

Her room went dark for a second as the sun was covered again but when she looked there was nothing there, she rubbed her forehead, "I must be getting tired…" she muttered thinking she was seeing things, but she also had not been sleeping a lot lately through the fear of Gato finding their home and hurting them.

"It will be fine; Dad will build the bridge then we wont have to rely on Gato's imports and then Kakashi even said he'll take care of him just in case" she breathed a sigh of relief setting the plate down and drying her hands not noticing the front door being thrown open.

"Hello there darlin, why don't you turn around with your hands up" a cold sneer of a voice said from behind her.

Tsunami's eyes shot open as a whimper escaped her lips, she slowly looked round to see two men holding katanas, one a light skinned man with bluish-white hair and black eyes wearing a dark purple hat on his head and a blue jacket with many pockets and matching bottoms; the other was taller with brown hair and an eye patch over his right eye and seemed to be wearing a kimono without the top half on leaving him shirtless.

"W-Who are you…" she stammered out briefly casing an eye along the counter to where a knife was.

"How rude of us not to introduce ourselves" the hat wearing one said in a mocking tone, "I'm Zori and this is my friend Waraji" he said with a over the top bow clearly not seeing her as a threat.

"We're here to take you to Gato" the named Waraji said with a sneer.

"W-Why?" Tsunami asked, slowly edging across to the knife.

"You're the daughter of the bridge builder, nothings going to make him stop building that bridge so we're going to motivate him with a hostage" Waraji answer not losing his sick smirk loving the power he had.

"Just come quietly and save us some trouble" Zori said pulling his sword out slightly, so the blade glinted slightly adding to the threat.

Then the worst thing possible could happen, "Mom! Are you still home? I heard the door…" Inari said coming down the stairs and walking into the kitchen, he froze in place and looked at the two armed men in his homes doorway.

"Why hello there kiddo…" Zori said pushing his sword back into its sheath, "Why don't you stay right there and behave while we have a talk with your…"

"INARI RUN!" Tsunami screamed at him and he thankfully did as asked turning back round and bolting up the stairs, Zori indicated his head to Waraji who nodded and walk off in the direction the boy went.

"Now dear lets just keep calm…" Zori said walking over to Tsunami, but she was able to reach the knife and take a wild swing for him, one he wasn't ready for and it sliced his cheek cutting deep; he reeled back grabbing his cheek, "YOU BITCH!" he shouted but she was already coming for him again thrusting the knife straight for his chest.

He was able to move out the way and grab her wrist but she swung her fist smacking him across the face so he used his bloodied other hand to grab her other wrist to try and restrain her; Tsunami wasn't any sort of fighter but her son was in danger so she had to do want she could even if the best was swinging wildly.

Zori knew this and now she was using her legs to kick him, and he couldn't stop those with both his hands restraining her hands back and it wouldn't be long before she kicked him in a very vulnerable place, so he swiftly brought his head forward and cracked his head onto hers making her reel back slightly but as blood dripped down her head she didn't stop struggling, she was high on adrenalin at this moment, so he'd have to do more.

He headbutted her again causing a bunch of pain to himself in the process but he forced himself to do it again and this time her legs stopped kicking and arms went limp so he released her right hand and delivered a right hook to her jaw knocking her to the ground and letting the knife clatter to the ground; he stumbled backwards and leant against the table holding his head, "Fucking hell, you ruthless bitch!" he snapped looking over to her limp body but saw her eyes were still slightly open.

Tsunami's vision was very hazy, and Zori was a blur in front of her, she wasn't sure where the knife was not that she could move her fingers to pick it up anyway, she wasn't sure where Inari exactly was but prayed that he would be safe, this was her last though as Zori kicked her in the face knocking her out cold.

Meanwhile upstairs, Waraji had just exited from a room he finished searching and entered the final room on the floor this was Inari's room, the boy was hiding in a cupboard in the corner of the room. He had a small crack in the door where he could see the large man looking around, "I've torn up every other room kid, you're in here somewhere just come out and I won't break your legs" he shouted.

He grunted in annoyance and flipped over the small bed in one quick motion and threw it around before moving over to the dressing ripping out all the draws and throwing them across the floor before looking inside then yanking it away from the wall.

He checked behind the door before yanking it back open snapping the hinges before turning around and kicking through a small pile of clothes on the floor then checking the windows to see if they were open though they weren't but, in his frustration, he ripped down the curtains.

Inari covered his mouth with his hands as some tears welled in his eyes Waraji looked around before his eyes set on the cupboard in the corner, "There you are you little bastard" he said slowly walking over to the cracked open cupboard which the boy was hiding in.

Inari panicked but knew there was no where to go so he pushed back against the back of the cupboard and prayed something would save him, "Mom… Grandpa… Naruto… anyone please…" he though as he couldn't see through the crack anymore and just head the footsteps get closer and closer to him each seeming louder and louder as his heart pounded in his ear.

They stopped and the small bit of light coming from the crack in his door had gone dark showing that the large man was standing just outside; Inari couldn't move, he was paralyzed with fear as he desperately hoped there would be a way, he could escape but there was nothing.

Slowly, dirty fingers edged around the door and held tight on to the frame of it; he was going to throw it open and terrify Inari. He sunk down against the wall; he couldn't tear his eyes away from the fingers which seemed out of a nightmare just sitting there terrifying him knowing at any moment the monster would jump out.

The door began to creak.

"Waraji! Get the hell down here, leave the kid!" a voice exclaimed, the fingers retracted from the door.

"What the hell for Zori, I've got him cornered!" Waraji shouted back.

"Just get the hell down here you creep, I need help tying the mother up; Gato only wanted one hostage, the kid will still be here if we need him, and can you be arsed to carry him and his mother we don't get paid extra!" Zori shouted back earning a sigh from Waraji.

"Don't move you little shit, I'll return later for you" he hissed to the cupboard before leaving through the broken door.

Inari removed his hands from his mouth and brought them to his eyes as he began weeping uncontrollably as darkness and silence surrounded him.

Back downstairs Zori put a plaster over his cheek cut but was still a bit woozy from the headbutts as Waraji entered and looked around, "What the fuck happened" he commented look at the blood on Zori and the knocked out Tsunami with a broken nose and the messed up kitchen.

"She surprised me with a knife okay, cut my cheek surprisingly good the bitch" Zori said back looking at his partner, "Now will you help me tie her up already, my head's proper fucked up after having to headbutt her, I can hardly see straight".

"Fine you lazy ass" Waraji said grabbing some rope the brought and wrapped it around Tsunami binding her arms to her body the wrapping her legs together, "Don't see why you needed me immediately, I was about to grab the kid" he said turning back to Zori after picking up and hoisting Tsunami over his shoulder.

"I told you…" Zori began holding his nose up and gripping the bridge of it.

"Yeah, yeah we only need one hostage" Waraji cut him off, "Could have let me just kill him then, save a trip probably".

Zori stopped moving and looked at him, "What the fuck man, you butcher kids for a living before I met you or something" he snapped looking concerned.

"What? A pay checks a pay check right I don't care who I'm killing for it" Waraji said back shrugging his shoulders.

"The fuck! He's a fucking kid the furthest I'll go is knocking him out not killing him you sick fuck!" Zori exclaimed pushing past Waraji trying to get away from the psychopath who looked after him.

"Oh, grow up you're a mercenary already!"

"So, doesn't mean I don't have standards!"

Their voices slightly faded as they stepped outside, both to busy arguing with each other to notice Inari watching them from the stairs muttering to himself, "I have to be strong, just like dad… I cant lose mom too".

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Sakura watched around in the mist hoping to see anything at all but there was not even a single shadow or any other hint that her team was fighting in the mist aside from the occasional sound of metal scraping against metal as weapons impacted each other.

She brought her quivering hand holding a kunai up to be held in her other hand as she looked around terrified of what would happen, Naruto was meant to be standing along side her right now, but he was missing so she had no choice but to defend Tazuna alone.

Speaking of the man he was stood behind her also scanning around hoping to spot anything; there was no other way's off the back of the bridge so the other builders had gone back as far as they could to the edge of the bridge the only thing behind them was a massive drop into the water below.

Then they heard it, footsteps getting closer and closer through the mist, the steps were very heavy so it had to be a larger person narrowing it down to one of two people, either her Sensei or Zabuza but she wasn't sure where the noise was coming from, it seemed to be all around them, but it couldn't be.

All of a sudden it stopped, and the silence returned, had she just been hearing things, was the suspense just getting to her, had someone really been out there approaching them or were her ears messing with her; she didn't let her guard down however, she couldn't be sure, so she had to be prepared at all times for a sudden attack.

But nothing could really prepare her for a sudden appearing Zabuza who jumped out of the mist, his blade raised and swinging down at them though more aimed towards Tazuna, Sakura's eyes widened in horror as the blade got closer and closer, she could do nothing, she was no match for him, and her body wouldn't move to respond to her.

Just in time, Kakashi appeared in front of her blocking the blade with a kunai and pushing her back into Tazuna making them step back, "Keep back Sakura, just stay with Tazuna" her Sensei ordered not taking his eyes off Zabuza; Sakura nodded though he wouldn't notice and stepped back further away with Tazuna.

"So, you figured what I was planning, eh Kakashi?" Zabuza commented putting more pressure onto Kakashi.

"Zabuza, you always want a fall back plan so you wanted to take out the bridge builder so if I beat you, you'd still get your money" Kakashi grunted back, "I should say 'when' I beat you" he added getting under the skin of Zabuza playing the psychological game with the sword wielder to try and get him to slip up.

Zabuza started laughing, "So you figured me out did you" he chuckled, "I guessed you would but while you did, I was doing the same" he said back confusing Kakashi.

Out of the mist jumped a second Zabuza which Kakashi was barely able to jump to the side to avoid getting a slice along his jacket that cut deep and down to his chest getting a small blood flow to come from the cut, "Damnit" Kakashi muttered raising a hand up to the wound, "You were hiding a clone in the mist to ambush me".

He looked up to see only one Zabuza standing in front of him, likely one vanished back into the mist, "I may respect you in some fashion thanks to your skill Kakashi, but that doesn't mean I'll fight fair with you" Zabuza chuckled.

Kakashi glanced over to the retreating Sakura, Tazuna and the rest of the builders who were now vulnerable, Zabuza's clone would be going after them viciously in attempts to kill the practically unguarded Tazuna as Sakura wouldn't stand much of a chance.

"Looks like I'm fighting two battles now" Kakashi mused checking the amount of blood on his hand seeing there was little so the wound wasn't too serious, but he couldn't patch it up any time soon.

Zabuza came right at him so he rolled to the side to avoid, reaching into his pouch he pulled out five kunai and launched them at Zabuza but upon impact he simply dissolved into water making Kakashi grimace under his mask as he searched around for where the next attack would come from but there was only silence meaning only one thing.

Kakashi quickly got to his feet and bolted over to Sakura's group arriving just in time to block another attack from a suddenly appearing Zabuza from the mist with his kunai but he couldn't hold him off, so he quickly jumped back as the blade smashed into the ground.

Zabuza looked up at him, "You're a quick one Kakashi, but you'll slow down eventually, I can wait" Zabuza said disappearing back into the mist with a worried Kakashi looking around for him again, he was prepared to fight him but having to fight while defending Sakura and the rest had put him on the back foot, he had to think of a new strategy and quickly.

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Somewhere else in the mist, Kalis and Sasuke were having their own problems with the Hunter ninja who was putting the pressure on them.

Both boys jumped back as a massive explosion of water hit where they were just standing, "Damnit, her skill at Water Style is incredibly good, she is weaving signs so fast she's got her next Jutsu ready as the first one hits" Sasuke grimaced reading a new kunai and he caught his breath.

Kalis who was panting as well nodded in agreement, "Yeah, she's quick alright but it's not just her hand signs, she moves very fast two, her attacks keep coming from different directions in mere moments, being in the places where she shouldn't be" he added locating her within the mist finding her dead ahead of them.

"She's directly in front of us" he told Sasuke getting a grunt in response who'd activated his Sharingan to help him dodge her fast attacks but currently she had stopped attacking which was confusing him.

Sasuke glanced over at Kalis then back ahead of them as a plan formed in his head, "Hey Kalis I have an idea to use the mist against her" Sasuke said getting the blind boys attention.

Haku stood still in the mist, knowing exactly where the boys were thanks to the small sounds they were making, this battle had gone on for longer than she expect it to, so they had gained a tiny amount of respect from her, enough to allow them to catch their breath for a moment but only for that moment.

She knew that her vengeance would come soon enough, she'd waited many years for this moment that waiting a few more minutes didn't really matter.

She placed her hands together deciding that they'd had enough time, it was time to go for the killing blow, but she heard something odd coming from the two boys, but it wasn't talking it sounded more like something slicing through the air.

Out of the mist cut two large fuma shuriken's both heading straight for her but thanks to her years of experience she was able to dodge both of them by ducking low with both of them soring over the top of her head but as she glanced back up, she saw two wires attached and along the line was Sasuke now yanking back on the wires propelling the weapons back at the Hunter.

The first one she was barley able to avoid it hitting a fatal blow with it skimming past her slicing a cut into her mask but the second one was on a direct course for her body which she was unable to dodge so she rose her left arm outstretched with the intention of catching it in the centre but before she could it vanished into smoke.

Replacing it was Kalis who was far below her and lunged forward with a kunai in hand aiming straight for her exposed chest, she knew there was no way of blocking it now, he had gotten to close, and she wasn't prepared for this form of attack.

He pushed forwards thrusting his blade deep into her chest; Kalis grinned thinking he got her but to his shock the blade had hardly pierced the clothes but it was lodged as if it had gone in deep but what happened next shocked him, ice began to form from where the impact was supposed to happen and formed all around the Hunters body before it was a perfect cast of her before she pushed herself out the back of it completely unharmed.

Kalis released the blade as ice began to form on it but stood mouth slightly agape in a shocked expression as Sasuke ran next to him with his own shocked look, "A clever strategy, you figured I couldn't directly see you through the mist, so you transformed one of you into a weapon for the other to throw tricking me into letting one of you get behind me" the Hunter said touching the cut in her mask.

"You even pushed me into using my secret techniques, my Kekkei Genkai of Ice style" she added with a bit of resentment in her voice, "Does this clear up who I could be Kochi, this demonstration should clear it up for you" she hissed at Kalis readying some more needles.

Kalis and Sasuke were lost but one was able to get some words out, "T-The Ice style Kekkei Genkai, that's…" Sasuke muttered to Kalis.

"I-I know…" Kalis muttered in response, "B-But she can't be from my clan… but if she were that familiarity, I've been feeling from her… it would start making sense…" Kalis thought his mind racing with a thousand thoughts at a time as the pieces seemed to be slowly fitting together, "Who are you… are you like me… a Kochi…".

"You dare…" she grumbled the venom clear in her voice, "You dare call me a member of your monstrous clan!" she shouted in rage directed towards Kalis her fists clenching so tight her nails dug into her palms and drew blood, "I will never be Kochi filth, my vow is to wipe your clan off the face of this planet for everything you've done!".

"Then just who are you!" Kalis fired back, "The Ice Style is unique to those of the Kochi clan, no one else can replicate it, so if your not one of my clan who the hell can you be!... Unless…" he finished with a whisper as pieces began to fit in his head.

"There's no point hiding it anymore is there…" she muttered her hand reaching up and taking a hold of her mask, "…You'll soon be dead anyway…" she added popping the mask off and lowering it down, "…I am Haku…" the mask now away from her face fully showing her identity, "…Of the Yuki clan…".

Kalis took a sharp breath in as he felt as if his heart skipped a beat, "T-The…Yuki clan…" he wheezed of keeling over onto his knees, "N-No…it can't be…not now…" he muttered to himself lost in his own minds realising that his last second suspicion was right.

Sasuke looked over to the now unmasked Haku, her eyes were filled with a look he knew all to well as he saw it everyday in the mirror; hatred but not just any hatred, one directed at someone in particular, one that fuelled their need for revenge; he ran over to his rival, Kalis who'd fallen on to his knees in pure shock, his arms limp at his sides.

"What the hells gotten into you, who the hell is the Yuki clan!" Sasuke snapped grabbing Kalis's shoulder and trying to pull him up but to no avail, the boy was frozen still; he looked over to Haku who dropped her mask to the ground, eyes hatred fuelled eyes set upon them, "Snap out of it, you're an open target here!".

"Have you never told these people who you've tricked into trusting you who you really are… who your clan really is… what they've done…" Haku hissed to Kalis making his breath more and more erratic as Sasuke looked lost while she began to move towards them, "I'll take that as a no, but from your composure now, I'm guessing you hoped this day would never have to come".

Sasuke didn't know what to do, Kalis wouldn't budge and Haku seemed to be closing in on the killing blow, "Damn it!" he hissed letting Kalis go and pulling out a kunai, "I don't care what your problem with him is, trust me I've got my own, but I can't let you kill him right now" Sasuke said narrowing his eyes at Haku.

"Why are you defending him, you're an Uchiha aren't you, the Kochi clans sworn enemy, why defend him?" Haku asked with genuine confusion in her voice as she stopped in her tracks and watched the boy defending her sworn enemy.

"It's not out of the goodness of my heart" Sasuke commented getting his stance, "But he's my main rival right now, I've got my own revenge that I want against someone else, but first I need to prove that I can beat this idiot in combat before going further so I need him alive for now" he added activating his eyes again for the little use they'd give him right now.

"I see, you too seek revenge against someone who hurt you, I understand that goal to well, but you stand in the way of my revenge and if you do not move, you will die" Haku said pulling out some Senbon needles.

"Isn't that what you've been trying to do this entire time, well give it your best shot, now I can fight you one on one" Sasuke said back with confidence in his voice, "I may be fighting directly one on one with her, but she'll look for any opportunity to slip past me and hit this idiot, so I've got to look out for him as well, at least until he gets his damn senses back" Sasuke said in his mind before refocusing on his opponent.

"Very well, I'll try and make you death quick" Haku said before swiftly weaving signs in a blur of motion and launching several tiny ice needles at Sasuke who quickly met them with his own ball of fire just in time but Haku used this time to pounce and thrusted her needles at Sasuke's head which he was able to duck just enough for them to scrape his forehead protector.

He brought his kunai round aiming straight for her chest, but she retreated back realising he wouldn't go down so easy but Sasuke knew that it was far from over and it was about to get far more difficult for him.

0000000000

"The kid is just a kid, he couldn't harm you if he tried, just knock him out so he won't be annoying" Zori said clutching at his nose again as they walked along the wooden walkway by the house.

"And I'm sure this woman wasn't at all a threat to you" Waraji commented back adjusting Tsunami over his shoulder while glancing over at his companion.

"She damn well was, I would have killed her if we didn't need her alive" Zori snapped back.

"You'd kill this one without problem?" Waraji said back.

"I would; she's not a kid and have you seen what she did to me; the bitch was like a bat out of hell, would've killed me had I not been fast enough" he said gritting his teeth at his companions comments at his actions.

"You're standards are weird, so you wont kill kids because they can't fight back but you would kill a mother if she hit you too hard" Waraji said back raising an eyebrow seeming lost.

"Why do you say as if I need a reason to not kill a kid, we've been through this, killing kids is fucked up" Zori snapped again.

Suddenly a rock hit that back of Zori's head, he clutched at the spot he was hit as he spun to face the culprit, standing where they just came from was Inari holding onto another rock ready to throw it, "You little bastard" he hissed.

Waraji chuckled, "Got a reason now".

Zori charged and grabbed a hold of Inari before he could throw again but the kid kept kicking him and fighting him off which irritated Zori but when he landed a while hit to his nose he leapt back in pain clutching his broken nose, "You fucker!" Zori snapped clenching his fists to beat the boy up.

"HEY!" a voice snapped out behind them, looking to the other side of the dock, Naruto stood at the end of the walkway glaring at them panting hard, "Put Tsunami down and eave Inari alone!" he shouted again.

The two men looked at each other, "Great now one of those Ninja to deal with too" Waraji asked.

"We might not have to do anything, the kid looks completely worn out might just keel over in front of us" Zori said back walking beside Waraji as he put Tsunami down next to them still unconscious.

Both men pulled out their weapons, "Kid just get out of our way, we really don't have the time for you" Zori shouted over to him looking him up and down noticing his hunched stance and heavy panting, "And the little bastard over there deserves the beating that's coming to him".

Naruto grimaced and he noticed them inspecting him, they obviously noticed he wasn't at his best and they could see this; he still wasn't sure what was wrong with him, but he just felt exhausted and most of his left side felt numb so was currently standing with what little might he could muster, "I'm not backing off, I can take you both out".

Zori rolled his eyes knowing this kid had far to much pride to just get out their way, so he had to take extreme measures, kneeling down he grabbed a fistful of Tsunami's hair and held her up bringing his blade against her throat, "This is your one warning, back off or I'll slice this bitches throat open right here" he threatened glancing at Waraji who smirked in agreement.

Naruto went wide eyed and gritted his teeth, he wasn't sure if he had the strength to make any clones or even move fast enough to save Tsunami's life, and any move he made would result in her death as well.

He looked behind them where Inari was standing looking on in terror not knowing what he could do now and silently begging for Naruto to do something and help his mother but there was nothing he could do.

As it was, Tsunami was going to die.

0000000000

Sasuke grunted as a needles scraped past his ear leaving a stinging sensation; the fight had become far more difficult with Kalis frozen in some sort of shock which he didn't have time to think off as while the now revealed Haku was targeting him she was also going after the frozen boy so he had to protecting him as well and he could feel the exhaustion catching up to him.

"Why do you still protect him!" Haku snapped getting frustrated with Sasuke her prediction of dealing with this swiftly being completely wrong, underestimating that the boy would be able to fight two defensive battles at once making her have to get more serious with her fighting realising this boy was more skilled than he let on.

Sasuke noticed her increase in attacks and the ferocity behind them and knew that he couldn't stay only on the defensive much longer; casting a risky glance over at Kalis he was still on his knees muttering something to himself that he couldn't make out, "Damnit, Kalis is an open target, I can't fight or plan properly while having to protect him" he thought looking back to where the last attack had come from.

"If I can get him away from here and over to Sakura it would free me up for a counterattack or at the very least make this job easier" he added narrowing his red eyes, he saw nothing incoming so decided this was the best time to move; he quickly got beside Kalis and slung his arm over his shoulder and began a tactical retreat in the direction he believed Sakura and her group to be.

Moving as fast as he could, he kept scanning around for any sign of Haku but there was nothing except for the sound of Kalis mutterings, now he was closer he could hear the words, "Yuki clan… it can't be…" Sasuke grimaced slightly, he'd never heard of this Yuki clan but the mere appearance of one of its members as completely broken Kalis.

"Would you snap out of it already!" Sasuke snapped, "Just who is this damn Yuki clan anyway?!" he hissed keeping his wits about him as Haku could strike at any moment but currently she seemed to be watching them from the mist, "Say something already!" Sasuke shouted now.

Kalis shook his head, the loudness of Sasuke finally getting through to him in some level, enough to get him to stop muttering the same thing over and over, "I-I'm sorry…" he whispered out, this caught Sasuke off guard, he'd never thought that he'd here Kalis say such a thing to him, "I'm sorry about this… this is my clans fault…".

Sasuke was about to shout at him again for not making sense when a large ball of water shot out at them from the mist forcing Sasuke to jump up with Kalis to avoid taking the full brunt of it and it barely skimmed past them but when they landed another was launched at them making them dodge again and again and again till they landed and almost slipped over.

Sasuke lost his grip on Kalis who fell on to his side while he himself slipped over onto his stomach and hitting his chin hard, it took him a moment to regain his senses; slowly he rose up going to put his hands on his knees, but his hands wouldn't rise in fact they wouldn't budge at all, regaining his full focus he realised that they had landed on a large floor of ice and his hands and feet were being frozen over and attached to the floor.

Looking over he saw the ice forming around Kalis's legs and arms making them both unable to move, ahead of them from the mist emerged the unmasked Haku holding Senbon needles in between her fingers in each hand, "Damnit, you lured us into this trap with the water, that's why you'd left us alone for so long, you were setting this up" Sasuke snarled struggling against the ice but noticed it began to form further up his arms and legs.

"Don't struggle, the more you do the faster the ice forms around you until you are encased" Haku warned stepping slowly towards them, "Not that it'll change, you're still about to die; this is nothing against you but you wont give up until you are killed so you leave me no choice, but I will ensure your death is quick, I will grant you that as you've impressed me like no other has before" she said almost expressionless but a hint of remorse on her face.

This immediately dropped as she looked at Kalis, a clear scowl taking over her expression, "But he will be the first I kill" there was such a distain in her voice, such hatred and even the look in her eyes conveyed to Sasuke the emotion he knew too well.

Sasuke was lost, he never got a straight answer out of Kalis as to what it was the Yuki clan had done and he currently wasn't even trying to fight against his oncoming demise instead seemly content to just lay the frozen to the ground; Sasuke tried even harder to break free, partly for Kalis but his own sake and curiosity, he had to exact his own revenge and right now needed to know why Haku hated Kalis so much.

But his restraints wouldn't budge, he was trapped there as he watched Haku increase her pace to a charge guided straight for Kalis and then him.

0000000000

"Earth Style: Mud Wall" Kakashi exclaimed putting his hands to the ground and a large wall appeared in front of him blocking the swinging Zabuza's sword which got stuck inside it just in time to protect Kakashi.

He breathed a momentary sigh of relief before the water clone diving at him from the Mist almost catching him with the blade, but he got out of the way in time and stabbed a kunai into his ribs making him melt into water and form into a pool at his feet.

But this gave Kakashi no relieve as the original smashed through his Mud Wall with a loud crack sending chucks or rock everyone, this took Kakashi off guard making him unable to block the Water Style: Water Whip that Zabuza quickly used using the puddle of his former clone beneath Kakashi which formed two whips that wrapped around Kakashi's left arm and leg as he brought up his right arm with a kunai to block Zabuza's blade.

"Well, well Kakashi… looks like I've got you trapped once again" Zabuza commented pressing harder on the blade to off put Kakashi.

"You may say that but that depends on how long you can hold this whip in place and judging by how long you've kept this mist in place and we've been fighting, your chakra will be reaching it's limit pretty soon" Kakashi said back not breaking his eye contact with Zabuza to show his confidence.

"I wont tell you if your right or not and I know that with only a leg and an arm usable you're still a threat, so I'm going to give you a choice " Zabuza sneered as a second clone appeared behind him and bolted towards Sakura and the Bridge Builder making Kakashi go wide eyed, "Either throw you're kunai to save your comrade or let them die, it's your choice".

Kakashi gritted his teeth, quickly thinking of ways to get out of this Situation but there were no other options, either he had to die or Sakura and Tazuna did "You bastard…" Kakashi muttered knowing the only right decision, he couldn't just watch his comrade die again, he knew that after this Zabuza would be running on empty so there was a chance the rest of his team could take him down, but only if they were alive to do so.

And Kakashi was going to ensure that they were.

Quickly he pushed forwards with all his might to knock Zabuza back for a moment allowing him to throw his kunai in the direction of the clone predicting it using his Sharingan to see where he would be, but the clone glanced over at him.

The clone reached round and pulled out his blade ready to deflect the attack as the original Zabuza raised his blade up and brought it down on Kakashi, who closed his eyes unable to look and Sakura and Tazuna who he couldn't and failed protect.

*CLANG*

The sound of metal catching metal, a sound Kakashi knew to well, the sound of Zabuza's clone blocking the thrown Kunai meaning he had failed in his duty, he now had to await his incoming demise; but he should have been hit by now, in fact he should have been hit well before the kunai was blocked, why was he still alive.

"You going to open your eyes Kakashi?" a familiar gruff voice said from nearby, a voice that he could only attribute to one person.

"Asuma?!" Kakashi said opening his eyes in shock, right in front of him he faced a Leaf flak jacket with the smoking, black haired and bearded man wearing it, his two unique kunai crossed with Zabuza's Executioners blade.

Quickly Kakashi then turned his head over to the water clone who had Kakashi's thrown kunai lodged into his chest but was frozen in movement; he noticed his shadow was extended from his person and following it he saw Shikamaru attached at the other end with his hands in the rat symbol, "Shadow Possession Jutsu complete" he said with a smirk.

Kakashi had a relieved expression come over his features, "You sure took your time to arrive" he commented letting out a breath as the water clone finally dissolved away.

Asuma smirked, "Sorry about that, we were the first and only mission ready team who could get here in time, only left yesterday" he revealed not breaking away from Zabuza who was giving him a death glare, "Don't worry about the rest of you squad, Team 10's here to back you up".

0000000000

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he could do nothing but watch as Haku closed in on them with the intent to kill, all his strains to pull his limps free were hopeless and he couldn't form signs to use a fire style to melt it away.

She got closer and closer as she pulled her arm back to deliver a fatal thrust into Kalis's chest but in doing this she was completely letting her guard down and not even paying attention to the world around her as only one goal was on her mind at the moment.

"Expansion Jutsu" a voice exclaimed, and a large fist hit the ground next to her launching Haku away from them and saving the boys last minute, as the fist grew smaller and the plump Choji ran out of the mist towards them his hands and arms back to normal size, "That was pretty close, you guys alright?" he asked pulling out a kunai and first beginning to chisel out Sasuke's hands.

"Choji! What are you doing here?" surprisingly Kalis said almost as if he was shook awake by the deflection of Haku and seeing a friend of his.

"It's not just me it's the rest of Team 10 as well, we were sent as your reinforcements" Choji answered with a smile as he got one of Sasuke's hands free who Choji then gave his kunai to so he could get himself out while he helped get the prone Kalis out "Who is that woman?" he asked.

"Her name is Haku? She's an associate of Zabuza, she's also really strong, using Jutsu's and Techniques I've never seen before" Sasuke answered getting his other hand free, "She also knows Kalis to a serious degree, and he seems to know her, but he isn't saying anything" he added with a scowl towards his teammate as he chipped his feet free.

Choji finally got both Kalis's hands free allowing him to sit up and work on his own feet while Choji looked out for Haku, "I…I can't say…" he muttered focusing on his feet but much slower than Sasuke was.

"Why not!?" Sasuke snapped getting furious with this getting his feet free and standing over Kalis with anger clearly present, "Who is this damn Yuki clan! And how do you know her already!" he shouted again his fists clenching and making Choji turn to them and noticed Sasuke's clenched fists.

"Hey, don't start a fight, we've got bigger problems Sasuke" Choji said getting between him and Kalis with his own questions on his mind but knew they had to keep calm heads right now and answers could come later.

Sasuke snapped his head to Choji getting angry at him now but unlike most, Choji wasn't backing down which slightly surprised Sasuke.

"Why do you both protect him…" Haku's voice came from the mist making both Choji and Sasuke go wide eyed and snapped round to where the voice came from to see her standing there not holding any weapons but partly shrouded by the mist, "After what his clan did…"

0000000000

Naruto stood motionless watching Zori holding the blade to the unconscious Tsunami's neck, if he moved even the slightest amount, he'd kill her, "Just back off kid, or this gets very bloody" he said looking right into Naruto's eyes.

He kept trying to think of anything he could do, but he still wasn't at his best so that cut his options in half and of those options available to him all ended in Tsunami's death and if he back off like he was asking they'd just kidnap her so he couldn't let that happen, "I won't let you take her!" Naruto snapped clenching his fists hoping something would come up.

"You just won't back down will you" Zori said still looking at Naruto but both his eyes twitching suddenly broke that contact making Naruto slightly confused but he didn't let it show.

Waraji rolled his eyes at the kid not giving up, "Just let me kill him Zori and we can move on, he looks half dead anyway" he said looking down at his companion for permission though he knew Zori would probably say no knowing how he viewed the killing of some people.

He scoffed standing up, "Go for it, wasting time here with him in the way" he shockingly said taking Waraji aback for a moment, but he just smirked sickly.

"Looks like your finally coming around to being a mercenary" he said with a snarl moving towards Naruto with his blade drawn.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and prepared for a fight but to his utter confusion the one called Zori looked at him and gave a wink firstly making Naruto want to throw up, but he resisted that urge but then just making him look entirely lost as Zori removed his blade from Tsunami's throat and look at Waraji.

"Now then kid, you're gonna learn why you should of…UGH" Waraji exclaimed as he was smacked very forcefully on the back off the skull by Zori knocking him to the ground, his blade was kicked away as he felt the back of his head feeling blood; a pair of feet stood in front of him, looking up he saw Zori smirking down at him with a hand his hip.

In his other hand he held his sheath with his Katana replaced into it with the hilt covered in Waraji's blood, "You bas…" but he didn't get to finish his sentence as the hilt was smashed into his head again knocking him out cold.

Zori looked round to Naruto with a kind and sweet smile on his face, "Sorry about the wait Naruto, but I'm here now" he said in a tone that disgusted Naruto that it came from this man's mouth.

"What is up with you! First you threaten to kill Tsunami then the next you're acting all buddy with me like I'm meant to know you or something" Naruto snapped getting furious as he felt some of his strength return.

Zori went wide eyes, and his mouth made an o shape, "Oh whoops, probably freaked you out didn't I" he chuckled pointing to head, "Firstly, you'll want to punch me as hard as you can right about here" he said with a smile on his face.

Naruto didn't need telling twice as he heard the man say something about 'Release' just as his fist connected sending him flying back unconscious.

Naruto stood up to his full height, lost as to what just happened just looking at the two unconscious men laid out before him. He pinched his arm to make sure he hadn't just collapsed and was hallucinating but he was fine.

"Oh Naruto…" a sweet voice said right next to his ear making jump back and almost fall in the water, but he was able to recover and turn to face where the voice had come from to see one Ino Yamanaka completely losing her composure and laughing clutching her chest, "That will never not be funny" she wheezed out.

"Oh, come on! Why must you always do that to me!" Naruto exclaimed his eyes wide, and fists clenched but only making Ino laugh harder making Naruto let out a frustrated huff in annoyance before spotting Tsunami out the corner of his eye and remembering what he was doing, "Tsunami!" he said moving over to her as Inari was crouched next to her trying to shake her awake having run over from his side of the dock after seeing the two Mercenaries being taken out.

"She's not waking up; will she be, okay?!" Inari said in a panic worried for his mother's life, he'd already lost one parent and he didn't want to lose another; Naruto checked over her himself but he wasn't the best at anything medical so he couldn't be sure but luckily for him, Ino was the one to arrive to back up for Naruto.

She hastily placed her fingers to the neck of Tsunami to find a pulse and felt it beating at a slightly faster pace likely thanks to the present broken nose, just to be sure she also leant her head over Tsunami's mouth the feel her breath brushing against her cheek, "She's alive but we should get her inside and get her faced cleaned up" she said with a smile to Inari.

Together they carried her back inside after Naruto running back out to tie Zori and Waraji up before heading back in to find Ino cleaning and patching up Tsunami's face to the best of her ability using the few basic skills they learned back in the academy to full effect the skills Naruto never paid attention to back then.

"Who's that?" Inari asked standing next to Naruto, fixated on the girl helping his mother, "Do you know her?" he added.

Naruto looked at him and grinned his foxy smile, "Yep, sure I do. She's from the Hidden Leaf too, her names Ino, we've been friend's a little while now, she's good at the medical stuff so your mom will be fine" he said never breaking his grin.

Inari let a little smile go across his lips as he watched Ino finish up with splinting his mothers nose then walk over to them, "She should be alright now, just needs to rest up, I think…" she said smiling at Inari who beamed back at her and gave her a hug.

"Thank you so much!" he exclaimed squeezing her tight before letting go.

"It was no problem" Ino replied thinking about how cute this kid was acting.

"Inari, stay with your mother; we need to get to the bridge Ino" Naruto said looking to her to which she nodded in agreement, "We'll be back as soon as we can, once we leave don't leave the house for anything and barricade yourself in this room, got it" Naruto said with a smile and ruffling Inari's hair.

"You got it Naruto" he smiled believing in the Ninja as Ino and Naruto left heading for the bridge.

As they left the building they looked out towards the bridge in the distance as Naruto suddenly remembered something, "What are you doing here Ino?" he asked only just clocking on that she shouldn't be here.

Ino giggled at his antics surprised that wasn't his first response upon seeing her but guessed he was just too shocked to reply at the time, "Me and the rest of Team 10 were sent as your reinforcements, the rest are at the bridge already, or at least they should be" she said with a thoughtful expression.

"Okay second question" Naruto said as they entered the forest running, "Did you have something to do with that guy getting all weird?" he asked as they jumped into the trees.

Ino laughed, "Of course I did, don't you know my clan Jutsu?" she asked but his lost expression said it all, "It's called the Mind Transfer Jutsu, I can take control of someone else's body for a time, that's what happened with that guy; I thought you knew so that's why I just went ahead with my plan, didn't expect you to get all freaked out" she said.

"How does that work?" he asked his head tilted.

"I'll explain it in detail to you later, Naruto, it's quite complicated" she said focusing ahead, "Nice clothes by they way" she lightly laughed only just noticing the assortment he had thrown on before Team 7 left, she knew they were the clothes she had bought him but she still found it amusing.

Naruto gained a shocked expression but quickly shook it away, only now realising that he was moving a lot easier, whatever was messed up with him must have worn off now though it was still worrying him that he may feel worse again at anytime but if not, he still didn't know what was wrong.

But right now, he needed to focus on getting to the bridge, and hoping his team was okay.

0000000000

"Shikamaru, go help the others, me and Kakashi will handle this guy" Asuma ordered still locked up with Zabuza, the lazy boy nodded and ran off into the mist to find Choji and the rest.

Seeing Zabuza locked up and the other one likely tied up with the other ninja, Tazuna decided to use this opportunity to get his builders out of there, quickly he ordered all the builders to run past and down to the other end of the bridge and escape.

Sakura turned to look at him as the last of the builders left, "You should go to Tazuna" she said doing her best to hide her own fear, but he simply put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm not going anywhere, you are in this mess because of me, so I won't leave you alone now" he said smiling at her, Sakura smiled back but she knew what he really meant, he wasn't referring to all of them, but was referring to her.

Kakashi glanced over as the builders fled to leave the bridge, "Give up Zabuza, you won't win now" he said feeling his restraints beginning to loosen so would soon break apart, "You'll be fighting with almost no chakra against two Jonin".

Zabuza laughed, "Not a chance Kakashi, this just makes it more fun, now I have a challenge" he chuckled before focusing on Asuma, "Asuma Sarutobi, you've got quite a bounty on you head, might cash in on that".

"I'd like to see you try" Asuma smirked pushing against Zabuza's blade, "There's a reason why my bounty's so high".

The sound of metal scraping metal was all that occupied the area before the water whips restraining Kakashi broke so Zabuza immediately relented and leapt back into the mist only to be met with Kakashi charging forward kunai drawn almost hitting him in the chest, but he barely dodged to the side only to be met with slice to the side form Asuma.

Zabuza grabbed his side looking at his own blood on his hand, "Impressive…" he muttered before re-gripping his blade, "This really will be a challenge" he smirked under his bandages.

0000000000

"Why do you both protect him" Haku asked indicating towards Kalis standing behind both Choji and Sasuke, "He's a Kochi… he's done nothing for you… just like all his clan he's evil" she added.

This confused both boys slightly, "What do you mean, he's done nothing for us?" Choji asked, "He's been my friend for ages, he's stood by and helped me for years!" he exclaimed to Haku giving her own look of confusion.

"I might not like this idiot, but I know he not this evil guy you set him up as, he's far too soft to be that I'm the only whose ever gotten him to even shout" Sasuke said narrowing his eyes trying to figure out Haku's game, was she really just making things up to try and make them abandon Kalis so she can get whatever revenge against him she was looking for but going by the look on her face she was being genuine in her statement.

"You see him as a friend…" she muttered in a lost voice, the tone made Choji and Sasuke glance at each other both wondering if this was some kind of trick but Haku wasn't moving an inch just looking at them before shaking her head, "Tricks… these are all lies and tricks, you're trying to make me lose focus by telling me that that Kochi is a good person, I know for a fact no Kochi is good, they are all monsters" she snapped.

Both boys watched her very confused expressions, Choji had never encountered any reasons to 'hate' the Kochi clan, Sasuke meanwhile held his own hatred for the Kochi clan shared only by Uchiha and their reasons were more psychical reasons not whatever Haku's problems were.

A shadow shot out of the mist from the left side of Haku almost colliding with her own, but she was able to focus and leap back further until it stopped having reached the limit and retreated back to the mist as it cleared to show Shikamaru crouched panting slightly but as his shadow returned to him, he stood and made his way over to the others, "You're pretty quick" he muttered pulling out a Kunai as he stood with the other boys.

"Yet another person defends a Kochi, what has he done to trick you or are you really still trying to trick me with lies" Haku snapped her eyes filled with hate.

Shikamaru raised his eyebrow and glanced at the others, "Want to fill me in?" he asked totally lost.

"Haku over there hates all Kochi and seems to think we're lying that we don't hate him, well not all of us anyway" Sasuke answered glaring at Kalis showing that they still weren't really friends or anything close to that, "Her full name is Haku Yuki, when she revealed that it put Kalis into this shocked state but he's not saying what his history is with the clan!" he added snapping to glance at the boy who was on his knees again.

"Why don't we just ask her?" Shikamaru said looking back to Haku, "Why don't you tell us then, why we are meant to hate Kalis, all the Kochi; tell us what this history between the Kochi and the Yuki clan is!" he said to her narrowing his eyes.

There was silence between them all just staring at each other, "Very well…" she said eventually.

"The Kochi clan are not native to the Hidden Leaf, many years ago the were part of the Hidden Mist Village" she stared immediately holding all their attention, "They were not just part of the Mist but a prominent and respected clan totalling almost 300 members… 300 pure members at the least".

"You see the Kochi are one of the most unique clans thanks to possessing the impossible, they hold two Kekkei Genkai unique genetic deformities that provide special abilities to those who hold them; the Uchiha there holds one, his form of Sharingan is unique to only his clan" she said indicating to Sasuke, "Till this day no one knows how they came to possess two but it granted them the respect from the Mist, though it came from the fear of what they could do instead of any actions they performed you see both Kekkei Genkai were extremely dangerous in their own ways on the battle field".

"The first was their Ice Style, by mixing Water and Wind natures it allowed them to create Ice Jutsu's unique to them and them alone and the more advanced the Kochi the more dangerous these Jutsu's would become as they could freeze any source of water solid within moments and even manipulate it to bring an entire underground reservoir to the surface making any battlefield their domain" she said looking at the ice around them that she had formed herself, "What you've seen here is nothing to what veterans of the Kochi's could do; now their second Kekkei Genkai, I'm sure you can guess what it is".

Choji and Shikamaru looked at Kalis's bandages, "They possess an ocular Jutsu, which can be incredibly powerful should the user be skilled enough to use it; it is also incredibly feared, for it's ability to put people into a Genjutsu with the slightest of eye contact depending on the mental fortitude of who it's being used on at the skill of the Kochi".

"The eyes are incredibly powerful even without the Genjutsu, they can see their opponents next move always giving them the edge in and fight and almost impossible to fake out with attacks, and again, the more advanced the Kochi is, the more dangerous they are as they can utilise that ability more skilfully" she revealed, "But those eyes are the reason of my hate".

"You see a Kochi wears those bandages to protect their eyes as they are present the second they are born if they are lucky; you see while in the Mist any Kochi born will be checked to see if they possessed the eyes as though its unique to their clan, for unexplained reasons not all Kochi born will possess the eyes and those that did not were banished from the clan and forced into the servitude of the Kochi clan and treated as lesser people for simply being born wrong in their minds" she spat the last part brining her hands up and ripping the Mist forehead protector and bandages from her head.

In the centre of her head was a symbol of a large snowflake with the centre of it being circled and emptied out with a tiny, opened Snowdrop flower in the centre, "Any member of these outcasts were branded with this mark so any children they bore would be marked with this and any child given to this clan would be branded too, the mark is a sign of disgrace and a sign of servitude towards the Kochi clan, those given this mark were branded with the name… Yuki".

Everyone's eyes went wide, the Kochi outcasted members who weren't born to their version of correct, "The Yuki weren't simply killed however, though they didn't posses the eyes of the Kochi, they still were able to use the Ice Style after training so in the eyes of their enslavers they provided some use and would be allowed to live, train and have children as long as they would always remember that the Kochi ruled them and thus the symbol was created to mark us all and control us".

"This lasted for many years while the Kochi existed in the Mist but one day, the leaders of the Mist became concerned about how strong the Kochi were becoming, the strength they possessed had gotten to the point where if they wanted no one could stop them from performing a Coup and taking control of the Mist village; you see the Mist is the smallest of the five great nations being made of a series of islands instead of one solid landmass so their military might is also the lowest but also intrinsically linked with the Kochi, many of them holding high positions thanks to their skills".

"Realising that the Kochi could essentially do what they want, the village began to make plans for their removal, but they couldn't simply expel them from the village as this would prompt them into attack so instead they decided to begin by sending them exclusively on dangerous assignments where casualties were guaranteed or making them solo Hunter ninja to go after the most deadly of Missing Ninja to be killed, no matter how strong a Kochi is, they are not invincible and are still human susceptible to making mistakes and getting tired which is how they began being killed off".

"But still, Kochi numbers were not dropping fast enough so the Mist began getting desperate and making fake S-Rank missions for Kochi teams to go complete only for it to be a trap where Mist ANBU would ambush them and ensuring none would survive, after all no one expects to be betrayed by their own village" Haku said, "One day however, they slipped up and used a fake S-rank on member of the clan leaders family who used his summoning to relay a message back to the clan leader before he died, alerting them of the Mist's betrayal but by this time it was too late".

"The clan had been weakened as planned and a Coup was unlikely to go in the Kochi clans' favour, so it left them only one choice; to flee from the Mist. The Mizukage however, was informed that the Kochi clan was planning to flee the village as they knew of the Mist's betrayal, which left him with a dilemma, let them go as they wouldn't bother the Mist again for a few years at least but would likely be taken in by another village or have them all killed as soon as possible, you can guess which one they chose".

"A few days later, at night the Mist forces launched an attack at that Kochi clan's district but they didn't account for the Yuki clan; the Kochi clan had mostly fled by the time of the attack but had left the entire Yuki clan behind to be slaughtered by the Mist buying them time to reach the border where the Mist could no longer follow them; the Yuki were annihilated but a few managed to escape including a member of my family who tried to start a new life but the mark on their head would never go away being on the heads of any children born from that ancestor, until me the last of the Yuki clan".

"The Kochi meanwhile made it to the leaf who took them in with open arms more than happy to have another clan with extreme visual prowess and abilities though the other reason was that they never knew of the Kochi clans disgrace of using their own people who were born different as slaves, as to buy them time wasn't the only reason the Kochi left them behind, it was to cleanse their plates of any misdeeds so the Leaf would simply think they were betrayed and as for any Kochi who were then born without the visual prowess were then taken into the clan forced to wear the bandages to hide they didn't have the eyes as the Kochi had only 50 members upon reaching the Leaf meaning they were desperate for an increase".

Haku sighed, "My parents were killed when local villagers found out who me and my mother descended from and the danger we could bring, I was left alone with only one thing to guide me; my lust for revenge against every Kochi!" she snapped, "Over the corpses of my parents I vowed to avenge them and the cruelty my clan went through by killing all the Kochi of this world to cleanse it of their monstrosity!".

The boys were stunned silent just processing all the information Haku had just thrown at them, learning that the Kochi used to be this monstrous clan, treating those born different like scum, "Y-You must be lying…" Choji tried to say but a single voice cut them off, making this far worse.

"It's true…" Kalis muttered his head hung low in shame making them all snap towards him, "All of it is true… that's what the Kochi clan was… monsters…" he said sounding drained and defeated, "Now you see why Haku shook me, it's a ghost from a regrettable past…".

No one knew what to say, even Sasuke was stunned, he'd never expected the past of the Kochi to be so brutal and bloody while Shikamaru and Choji were just lost learning that this friend they'd known for years descended from this.

"This doesn't matter!" Choji suddenly exclaimed re-focusing upon Haku with a fierce expression and making her reel back for a second from his sudden outburst.

"How does it not matter!" Haku shouted her shock turning to rage in a flash, "His clan took advantage of mine for genetic differences, treated us like dirt and left us to die and marking us so our children could never live happy lives always haunted by the past of the Kochi!".

"Exactly that!" Choji fired back, "The past! The Kochi of this past did this to you but what did Kalis here ever do to you!? The Kalis I know stands by his friend no matter what, he never takes anyone for granted and is one of the nicest people I've ever met, nothing like the Kochi of the past you're telling me about" he snapped making Kalis turn his head up to Choji his mouth slightly parted.

Before he could say anything, another voice spoke, "Yeah, the way I see it we're in the present all the Kochi that harmed your family are long since dead, you've already won by surviving until now so there's no reason to hate Kalis, for something he never did to you, simply blaming him for the sins of the past" Shikamaru added.

Kalis was taken aback as was Haku, both because neither expected the others to still take the side of Kalis after learning what they did but then Sasuke decided to say something, "I seek my own revenge someone hurt me just as they hurt you Haku" he started it not being clear who's side he was on till he spoke again.

"But I've watched this idiot from the day I met him I've hated him and his clan for my own reasons but seeing what he does for other people, how he acts all kind and generous always happy to help others out and stand by those who are treated like scum makes him nothing like the past you describe, he's the exact opposite of that in fact" he said making Kalis mouth go agape.

"S-Sasuke, you…" Kalis began but was swiftly cut off by him.

"He's still a complete and utter idiot who's far too soft and I still hate him" he said making Kalis snap his head back down in frustration, "But… as a squad mate I can't let you kill him for something he didn't do himself" he added making Kalis face up again.

Haku turned her head down looking as if she was processing this information then slowly rose her head back up and letting out at breath, "Very well…" she muttered regaining her composure, "If you will continue to stand with him… you'll leave me no choice… I'll have to kill you all" she hissed Senbon needles retaking the placing in her hands as she got into a fighting stance.

The boys all readied them selves for her first attack while Kalis stayed where he was, "They haven't abandoned me, even after finding out about the history of my clan, even Sasuke stood by me, being my squadmate" he thought sensing all around him, all three of their signature in front of him when memory popped into his head.

"Your Nindo is something you truly want to achieve not simply a mission but a promise".

"A promise…" Kalis said thinking back to Soruki's words to him what felt like on long ago, "I finally understand… a Nindo is a promise to yourself and those around you… a vow…" he whispered to himself standing up, "My friends and comrade are standing up for me right now against an enemy far stronger who could kill them… I won't let them be harmed, I refuse!".

"This is your last chance, retreat or die" Haku said her eyes focusing on her first points of attack on the boys, "I'll let you live if you leave…"

"No…" a voice no one had heard in a little while spoke up, looking around Choji, Shikamaru and Sasuke saw Kalis standing up his head downturned but his fists clenched.

"What do you…" Haku tried to say but was cut off.

"I said NO…" he exclaimed turning his head up, a look on his visible face that they'd never seen before; anger, "You can hate me all you want Haku, but you not them, never them!" he snapped stepping forwards past the others.

"If you will harm them, I will protect them!" he reached behind is head and began untying his wrappings, "They are important to me and I refuse to lose anyone like that again!" they came loose and were now lightly held on, "Those I care about, my friends, comrades and family, I will defend them even at the cost of my life… because that…"

He gripped the bandages and ripped them off to show his eyelids closed which he then snapped open, "Is my Ninja Way!".

Everyone gasped and looked at his eyes, they were blue in colour with the pupil being small in the centre of the eye with two tomoe that rotated around the pupil before setting them selves diagonal to it in both eyes.

"NEO-SHARINGAN!"

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That's all for this chapter, as I said at the top, the next one will be the last part of the land of waves stuff.

I'll be doing going back and rewriting Chapter 1 after the next chapter cause it is heavily scripted and it's putting a lot of people off which is fair, so look forward to that.

Might look at getting a beta reader, could be handy.

Thank you for reading.