"Zabuza is still alive."

That's what Kakashi said.

A few months have passed since Team 7 was formed, Since then, the team had several D-ranked missions, which, for the most part, were just chores villagers wanted to be done around the village. Weed pulling, dog walking, finding a lost cat. It wasn't until Naruto complained, that was when they were given a mission to protect the master bridge villager Tazuna on his way back to the Land of Waves.

Though, on the mission, things got complicated. A mission that was supposed to be a C-Ranked mission, turned to a B-Ranked and has now unfolded to an A-Ranked. Ninjas attacked, the third being the jounin Zabuza, one of the seven swordsmen of the Hidden Mist and was on the same level as Kakashi. He was hired by Gato to kill the bridge builder so his mob may keep control over the small village isolated in the water.

Worse come to serve, Kakashi overused his Sharingan and needed a crutch to walk. Out in the nearby woods, not far from Tazuna's house, early in the morning before the dew on the grass had dried up, they trained the tree climbing technique. Or, well, Naruto and Sasuke did. Megumin took no time at all to master it.

She held her arms behind her back and gave a cheeky smile, giggling at Kakashi's annoyed expression.

"I should have known," Kakashi said, leaning against a tree. "Good thing I already had something else for you to work on."

He pulled a thin piece of paper out of his pouch and handed it to her. "And this is?" She asked.

"It's chakra paper. There are five affinities. Go ahead, push your chakra into it."

Megumin rubbed her chin as she held it up. It wrinkled and turned to dirt, crumbling away between her fingers.

"Both lightning and earth? I… hm."

"You want me to train my elemental affinities, don't you?" She asked. Truth was, she had already tried to train it, hoping to unlock her explosion release.

"That's half right. I want you to keep a watch over Tazuna as you do." Kakashi pulled a leaf off a tree. "I want you to do what you did to that paper, to this leaf."

Megumin made a downturned grin as she took it. "Fine, but if Zabuza shows up, I'm blowing him up."

Kakashi's eye gleamed. "Well, as long as you don't blow up Tazuna, he can always just rebuild the bridge."

She sighed as she looked at the boys. In terms of progress, Sasuke was way ahead of Naruto. "Guess I'll get going."

On the half-constructed bridge, Tazuna wiped the sweat off his brow as he saw Megumin walking towards him and his crew. At first, all the old man would say was that Megumin shouldn't be a ninja due to being a small girl, but his attitude changed when she made a crater in the world during their first round with Zabuza.

"I feel uneasy with you on my bridge," he said, carrying a large, metal grate. Sweat dripped around the wrinkle soft his old face, which was burnt from the sun. He truly was a hard, working man.

With the leaf in her hand, she sat on a wooden crate. "I'm just here to make sure none of Gato's goons suddenly attack."

"And where are the boys at?"

"Training in the woods, learning how to climb trees without hands."

"Ninjas…" he mumbled. "You don't have to do it, too?"

"That's child's play, I learned it in no time."

"You're that far ahead of them. Is that it?"

"In some ways, yeah…" She definitely didn't have their stamina or reflexes.

Tazuna and his workers made great progress on the bridge. Meanwhile, all day she poured chakra into the leaf, which had no change.

When some of the workers complained to Tazuna about being targeted by Gato, he called it a day and went to the market with Megumin. After they brought home groceries for his daughter Tsunami to cook, she went to check on Naruto and Sasuke's progress.

Between the trees, she saw Naruto fell to the ground, with a thin layer of dirt on his clothes. A second later, Sasuke hopped down from above, clothes none worse for wear. The difference in their carvings of the tree trunks was huge. Sasuke was more than halfway to the top; meanwhile, Naruto hasn't made any progress.

After Naruto tried and fell again, she sighed and crouched down by him. "Naruto… you've made no progress."

"Just you watch!" When he tried to sit up, Megumin pushed his head and made him lay back down. She sat by his head and massaged both sides of his noggin. "Uh... just what are you doing?"

She closed her eyes. "Listen. You need to relax more. It's about control, you're not focusing on your feet - you're just focused on running up the tree. Don't race it."

"But-" he tried to sit up again, only to be pushed back down. He looked at Sasuke, who marked the tree and reached another high record.

She smiled. "Don't focus on Sasuke. I understand you want to beat him, but remember, slow and steady wins the race."

He swallowed and nodded. She released him, letting him grab his kunai and look at the tree.

"Remember, focus - concentrate on your feet," she said.

He closed his eyes. Like an on-switch, he gained at least triple the length of his last carving before he had to give up and hop back down. This time, on his feet. After a series of heavy breaths, he smiled at Megumin and pointed at the tree. "How about that?! Now that's some progress!"

With a satisfied grin, she gave a thumbs up. All he needed was some extra guidance. He's no ninjutsu genius, but he's plenty talented.

2

After dinner, Naruto had snuck away from Tazuna's house to train some more. However, Megumin hadn't used her explosion spell in some time. She followed him through the darkening forest.

"Why are you following me?" He asked.

"You can train tomorrow. I need to have an explosion climax."

"W-what? Why do you say it like that?!"

"I need someone to carry me back."

He sighed. "Fine, but it has to be quick because I need to train! I bet Sasuke is already somewhere else training his butt off!"

She rubbed her chin. "Actually, I asked him first because I don't think he'd do anything weird when I go limp but he wanted to rest."

Naruto's lips trembled before he threatened her with his fist. "The only thing I'd do to you is throw you into the water!"

"That's a better alternative."

Naruto sighed before he waved his arm for her to follow. "Fine, come on - we need to get away from the town."

She held her staff to her body and glared at him. "What? Why? Away from the town? What are you planning?"

He punched her noggin. "Oh, shut it! We don't want to freak out the villagers, you idiot!"

The Land of Waves was an isolated island, so the other side of the forest would be a good place for her to release her explosion. They stood at the crater she made when they fought Zabuza. In short, before Naruto and Sasuke freed Kakashi from Zabuza's water prison, Megumin tried to blow him away.

She smiled and stomped her staff on the ground before she twirled it around and shot it up.

"Make it a good one," Naruto said.

"All of my explosions are a wonderful blessing on this world!"

Around them, a rest mist seeped from the trees.

"Hey, what's going on?" Naruto asked.

Megumin smirked and covered one of her eyes. "This world knows what it's about to witness."

From a distance, few might have seen something like a sun popping up for a slight moment, but in reality, it was just Megumin's explosion spell. She blew away the fog and broke a few dozen trees, but she didn't shake the world with it.

Naruto slowly clapped as Megumin slumped forward to the ground, but he rested his chin on his palm. "If only you could walk after it, then maybe it wouldn't be so useless!"

"Shut… up," she mumbled with a mouth full of dirt.

He sighed as he helped her to piggyback onto him. "Why do you gotta do it every day?"

"Because it's the best spell to ever exist," she mumbled to his back.

As Naruto took a few steps back, he saw Tsunami's son Inari poke out from behind a tree. "If she can do that, then why can't she just blow up Gato and all his goons?"

Naruto tilted his head. "Well, we don't even know where they're hiding."

With a sour face, Inari shot his arms down to his side. "When they come, she could just blow them up! Then our village would be left alone!"

Megumin's grasp around Naruto's neck tightened. "That would solve a lot of our problems."

"Oh, shut it! You can't just blow all your problems away," Naruto said.

Inari blew air out of his nose before he ran off.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked. During dinner earlier, Inari abruptly left the table at the mention of his "father," who was the "hero" of the village.

"You haven't seen what the village is really like. When I was in town helping Tazuna shop for dinner, I saw several homeless kids scavenging for scraps," she said. "Where I was from, no one lived like that. Humans rarely had conflict beyond personal issues."

"But, once Tazuna builds that bridge, things will get better."

"I don't know about that," she said. "Sure, it looks great on paper, but, who's to say Gato won't just have some of his guards block the bridge or even destroy it with explosives?"

Naruto sucked on his cheek. "I guess…"

"Maybe I should just blow up Gato and his men."

"You were probably gonna try to do that, anyway."

"You know me so well," she whispered into his ear.

3

For the next few days, the boys trained their chakra control with the tree walking technique. Megumin continued to pour her chakra into the leaf, though nothing came to fruition. Each night, Naruto and Megumin would sneak away so she could release her explosion spell, though last night Naruto and Sasuke went all out and finally made it to the top of the tallest trees.

Naruto especially pushed himself. When the group got ready to guard Tazuna in the morning, he didn't budge. Megumin almost punched him awake but Kakashi said to let him rest. The three of them should be enough to guard Tazuna.

Or, so they thought. All of the workers were knocked to the ground when they arrived. A cool, white mist seeped from under the bridge, clouding their vision to a mere few feet. The Hidden Mist Jutsu.

"There!" Sasuke yelled, striking a kunai into the mist before them. He stabbed Zabuza right in the abdomen before he melted into water. A clone.

Like an old, tattered sheet with holes in it, through the holes of the mist, they saw Zabuza and the masked boy. "Somebody improved in the last week," the boy said.

"So, we were right," Kakashi said. "The masked boy was working with Zabuza."

"Kakashi. I have the boy," Sasuke said.

Megumin sucked in her cheek and gave an annoyed glare. "Why are you trying to act so cool?"

The mist in front of them suddenly shifted, providing a clear passage to see Zabuza on the other side. Megumin didn't even see the masked boy run at them, or Sasuke defending against the boy's senbon.

"Megumin, cover Tazuna, don't let anything happen to him," Kakashi said. "As Sasuke said, he has him."

Megumin rubbed her staff attached to her back. "I could just blow them up, save us the trouble."

"Didn't you see their speed? They would just get out of the radius before you even finish casting it."

With their other hand striking against Sasuke's kunai, the masked boy began to make hand seals with a single hand.

"Uh, Kakashi?" Megumin said.

"Yeah, I see it," he said, with his eye wide open.

Senbon made of ice formed from the vapor in the air and struck at Sasuke, but he jumped up high and threw shurikens at the masked boy. They carved into the bridge each time he hopped backward.

The mist around them chilled up, making it harder to see what was happening. Huge, rectangular ice blocks formed around Sasuke and the masked boy. Kakashi ran to help Sasuke, but Zabuza stood in his way.

"Your fight is with me," Zabuza said. "If you help him, I'll kill the girl and the bridge builder in a blink of an eye."

"Kakashi, what's happening?" Megumin asked. She couldn't see inside the dome.

"The boy, he has a Kekkei Genkai - the ice release," Kakashi said. "Trust in Sasuke to hold out until I'm finished with Zabuza."

Megumin tensed up. If only she had awakened her Kekkei Genkai, she would be much more useful right now. Her only real ability was the explosion spell, but if she destroyed the ice mirrors, Sasuke would get hurt, too.

She gripped her kunai and made a soft, annoyed growl.

"Easy, Megumin. I know you want to help, but you need to protect Tazuna. He's the mission."

She released a deep breath. "If only Naruto was here, then-" Through the gaps between the mirror, she saw his orange clothes. "That idiot!"

"Why is he in there?!" Kakashi asked.

Zabuza left out a hefty chuckle. "That brat, as unpredictable as ever."

Megumin rubbed her noggin. "Kakashi, permission to blow him up? Naruto, I mean."

"Now's not the time for your jokes, Megumin." Kakashi grabbed the headband, about to lift it up to reveal his sharingan another time.

"Your Sharingan won't be as effective as the first time," Zabuza said.

The man used a hand seal and thickened the fog even more. She could barely see a foot in front of her, it was like staring into a white void, where she could only see the red gaze of Kakashi's Sharingan. It must be Zabuza's way to fight the Sharingan. The only thing she could think to do was to keep near Tazuna.

"What's wrong? Don't want to use your explosion spell?" Zabuza asked from behind her.

She almost yelped, but he smacked his hand over her mouth. With a single hand, he waved his giant sword to attack the bridge builder - stopped at the last moment by Kakashi, holding it off with his bare hand.

"What a cheap trick, trying to sneak past me like that," Kakashi said. "You said your fight was with me, right?"

When Megumin was about to chomp his fingers, he quickly moved his hand to strangle her.

"Megumin!"

"Your concern for your little brats will be your downfall, Kakashi. Unlike Haku, they're just feeble little children. Come on, Kakashi - I want this to be fun! Those brats should be breathing their last breaths, and this one is about to have her neck snapped!"

Her face was almost as red as Kakashi's Sharingan, she couldn't get a breath in. "At least it won't take you long to apologize to them, you'll see them in the next life shortly."

Megumin growled as she grabbed onto Zabuza's shirt. Despite the cool mist, she started to burn up.

"You're wrong, I believe in their abilities. Naruto… unpredictable but I believe in him. And Sasuke, heir to the most powerful clan in the village."

Zabuza's grip on Megumin clamped. "That clan? The sole survivor? No wonder he advanced quickly, but it doesn't matter. No one can match Haku."

"Sasuke isn't the only one with a Kekkei Genkai in our group."

Megumin pushed chakra into her arm, resulting in a tiny explosion at the palm of her hand. Zabuza's grip relinquished as he hopped back and held his scorched stomach. "Her? Does she have one? That explosion-"

She fell to her knees and caught her breath.

"Out of my three students, Megumin advances faster than anyone. A true genius with explosive tenacity."

Fire sparkled at her palm before it faded away. Her hand was burned, but the cool mist soothed her scorched palm, and her body no longer heated up inside.

"I see. She has the same Kekkei Genkai as Iwa's explosion corps," Zabuza said.

"Good job, Megumin, but take it easy and keep watch over Tazuna."

Her arm was fatigued from such a small explosion. "Yeah… you got it."

Kakashi ran into the deep fog to fight Zabuza.

"You really are a strange kid," Tazuna said. "Still, don't blow up my bridge."

She made a small laugh. "I'll try not to."

Her heart was beating fast. She had just unlocked her ability, it was hard to keep still as she heard fighting from two directions. Naruto and Sasuke were still holding on, thankfully - and with Zabuza hurt, it shouldn't take long for Kakashi to defeat him.

Sudden thrashing and dogs barking started.

"Just what is happening?" Tazuna asked.

"Sounds like… dogs?" Megumin snapped her finger, remembering her first training session with Kakashi. "Kakashi summoning Jutsu! Because he can't see through the mist, he summoned his dogs to sniff him out."

At one point in her training with him, he sent dogs after her. With dead eyes, she rubbed her arms and stared at her feet. "I'm just glad they're not after me this time…"

Tazuna gave a worried stare. "What…?"

Megumin perked back up at the sound of birds chirping. "What's that?"

Not long after the chirping sound stopped, the mist began to lift. Through the thin parts of the fog, they could see Kakashi's hand struck through Haku, standing in front of Zabuza. "He gave his life to save Zabuza… why?"

Haku's blood splattered all around them. He held Kakashi's wrist, holding him so Zabuza could rush his giant sword through the air. In reaction, Kakashi took hold of the weak Haku and jumped back.

From the other side of them, Naruto was standing - Sasuke was on the ground.

"Sasuke?" She mouthed.

Zabuza rushed at Kakashi but got kicked in the face.

"Megumin, I'll go with you," Tazuna said. "That way, you can still keep me safe."

She nodded and they ran around to meet with Naruto. Sasuke had several senbon in his body. "What happened? Is he okay?"

"He-" Naruto swallowed. "I feel so stupid, I shouldn't have rushed into the mirrors like that."

"Oh, don't say something like that," she said. She touched Sasuke's face. "He's just unconscious."

"What?!"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you not know how to check a pulse? It's just faint… happens when you're hurt and cold."

Naruto scratched his head before he crossed his arms. "I mean, he's pretty tough! No way he would just die like that."

"What's with your sudden attitude change?"

Naruto looked beyond the jounin, at the end of the unfinished bridge. A short man with dozens of armed thugs behind him.

"It's Gato," Tazuna said. "He came with backup."

"What an ugly man," Megumin said, gripping her staff.

Tazuna held his hand out at her. "Whoa, hold it, girl!"

From the look of Zabuza, he was exhausted and both of his arms were broken - limp like a ragdoll. It gave Gato the confidence to stand close to him, stomping the concrete floor with his cane.

"There's been a change of plans, Zabuza," Gato said loudly. "You're too expensive. All of these guards cost less than hiring a mercenary with an ego bigger than his sword. I'm taking you off the payroll - it's time to die. Some Demon of the Mist you were when you couldn't even kill a single construction worker."

The thugs laughed as Gato stepped toward Haku's body. Zabuza's stare intensified. "Well, Kakashi, our fight has come to an end - there's no reason to fight you if I'm not going to get paid."

Gato kicked Haku's lifeless face. "Time for payback for breaking my arm," he said.

Naruto scowled. His anger made him rush ahead. Megumin didn't even have a chance to try to stop him. Thankfully, Kakashi grabbed his jacket and pulled him down. "Stop, Naruto! Don't just rush in there like that!"

He growled as he stood up. "You're just going to let him do that, Zabuza?! Even if he's dead, doesn't he matter to you at all?!"

"You don't understand what it means to be a ninja!" Zabuza yelled. "He was just a tool - like you are to your village, and how I was to Gato."

"Scum! You're not a demon, you're just a rat!" Naruto yelled. Kakashi tried to calm him down but Naruto pushed him off and pointed at Zabuza. "So ungrateful! Haku told me how important you were to him! He did so much for you! But he meant nothing to you?!"

Megumin gripped her shorts. She wasn't sure what was happening, but Naruto was very adamant about the boy he and Sasuke fought.

"Kakashi…?" Megumin asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think ninjas are just tools?"

"Zabuza… do you want to answer her?"

He looked back at her. A clear twinkle in his eye. "Even shinobis are human, even if we tried to hide that fact." With the last of his strength, he ripped off the bandages around his mouth. "The kunai."

Naruto threw his kunai up. Like a dog, Zabuza caught it in his mouth and charged at Gato and the man. In a shock, they all claimed him mad. He was like a demon ballerina as he twirled and twisted his body, slicing and cutting the thugs as he chased Gato through the crowd.

Megumin pupils dilated, almost shaking from how scary the man truly was. "What a scary dude…"

Sasuke left out a little groan as he opened his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Oh, you're awake," she said. "Zabuza just sliced Gato's thugs with a kunai."

"Huh, what?" He tried to sit up, but Megumin pushed him back down.

"You rest."

Zabuza managed to kill Gato with nothing but the kunai in his mouth. However, the thugs penetrated his back with all types of blades - making him into a reversed porcupine.

"This world is so much more brutal than I thought it would be," she said. "People being tools, betraying each other, taking advantage of weaker people."

The thugs started to come closer to them.

"Shall I blow them up, Kakashi?" She asked.

"No, I don't think that'll be necessary," he said, looking back at the bridge.

Inari, with a helmet and a crossbow at the front, led his entire village, marching them over the bridge.

"The village," Tazuna gasped. "They came."

Already the mercenaries were a little on edge, backing up little by little. After Naruto made some shadow clones, and Kakashi created several illusionary clones, they rushed to the boat hidden under the bridge and rowed away. The village cheered, but Megumin saw a great opportunity - the thugs were all in one spot.

"Kakashi, I'm going!" Megumin said, holding her staff tight.

"Wait, there's no point, Megumin!" Kakashi said, too tired to stop her.

She raced to the edge and stood at the railing, and charged up her spell.

"I've awakened my explosion release - but it's not the same!" She said, holding up her staff. "The power of the explosion spell is innumerable, a tremendous power that annihilates everything it touches! Let the lightning of crimson dawn onto me, and destroy! Ex~ PLOSION!"

She destroyed a part of the boat and sank it.

In the crossfire, she also destroyed some of the unfinished bridge. It took an extra week to finish construction.

Right now I'm basically rehashing canon, I'm calling everything within Naruto Part 1 the Prologue arc.