A/N Hey guys, welcome back to another chapter and I don't have a lot to say right now so sit back and enjoy.
After we continued moving, I carried Kakashi while Tazuna gave me directions to his house and we kept walking until we arrived at a house that was next to the shore, then Tazuna locked on the door before a woman opened it and she looked surprised to see us before ushering us in and proceeded to berate Tazuna for doing something so risky while the rest of us, except for Kakashi, sweatdropped until the woman introduced herself as Tazuna's daughter and Tsunami told us that we could stay as long as we liked until Kakashi recovered and the mission was over.
Tsunami brought us to a guest room that was big enough for all of us and I laid Kakashi down onto a futon bed before removing his flak jacket and other ninja gear until I covered him up with a blanket and the rest of us relaxed for today so that we could wait for Kakashi to wake up as I went into my mindscape to chat with Kurama.
"So, you really believe that the cyclops will be fine?" Kurama asked while I laid against his side, something that had become normal between the two of us and I knew Kurama liked it but he was too proud to admit it so I didn't pry as I looked up at him and nodded.
"Yeah, he just passed out from chakra exhaustion so he'll wake up soon and will recover in a couple of days," I replied optimistically, causing the giant fox to huff in amusement.
"Well, at least you have faith in someone," Kurama remarked wryly and I sent him an offended look.
"Hey, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" I questioned before Kurama chuckled.
"Oh nothing, just 'shooting the breeze' as you always say and I have to admit, your world sounds very strange compared to this one since you make odd quotes every now and again," Kurama said nonchalantly and I scoffed.
"Please, my world is boring compared to this one since the people here control the elements like it's nothing, and giant animals and chakra beings in the shape of giant animals exist while my world has none of that," I commented dryly until Kurama shrugged.
"Good point, though what does interest me is how you once said that your world is much more advanced in terms of technology so I'm curious to see what your world is like if it's possible for you to go back," Kurama told me and I grimaced at that since things were not all that great in the United States at the time.
"Um, you probably wouldn't like it since the state of the world wasn't all that great, and don't get me started with the country I lived in because we voted for a racist narcissistic sociopath and he caused a lot of damage to the united states' political standing with the rest of the world while also implementing hateful policies that did more harm than good," I explained hesitantly before Kurama sent me a deadpan look.
"In other words, your world is no different than this one by being filled with stupid primates that would rather fight amongst each other and spread hate than do something meaningful with their short existence," Kurama said dryly, making me cringe before I smiled sheepishly.
"Well, they're not all that bad because there are some who are good people...like my father," I muttered quietly before Kurama's eyes softened and he sighed.
"Seth, I know that you're thinking about him most of the time and wondering if things would've been different if he had decided to cancel the flight, so I want you to understand that it wasn't your fault that your father died in the accident," Kurama reassured, taking me completely by surprise at first since he rarely does something like this until I smiled up at him.
"I know...I don't blame myself anymore but there are times I wondered what could've happened if dad didn't decide to travel to the arctic and take me with him, but thanks for the sentiment since it nice hearing that from you," I told him warmly, causing Kurama to widen his eyes before he quickly looked away.
"Bah, I was only ensuring that you didn't start ranting and complaining again about how that was a shitty moment in your life," Kurama evaded suddenly in embarrassment, but I knew that he had grown to care for me and expressed it in his own way as I sensed someone coming and I stood up.
"Hey, someone's coming so I'm gonna go," I said, though I could've sworn Kurama looked disappointed for one second, only it was gone while he nodded.
"Have fun," Kurama replied before I went to leave my mindscape.
After that, I opened my eyes and stood up just as Naruto walked over and gestured for me to follow him, then we walked together until we entered the room where Kakashi was resting and I saw that he was regaining consciousness as he opened his eyes, then Kakashi let out a weary sigh while Sakura, Sasuke, Tazuna, and Tsunami joined us.
"Aw crap...I overdid it with my Sharingan," Kakashi groaned as he went to sit up, only I made him lie back down by taking his shoulders and pushing him back onto the futon.
"Yeah, which goes to show that you need to be more careful with it or it could kill you, not to mention that you'll be out of commission for a week," I stated with my arms crossed before Kakashi grimaced from behind his mask.
"Sorry, didn't mean to worry all of you," Kakashi said weakly before Tazuna huffed.
"Well, you and Seth did take down one of the most skilled ninja assassins, so we'll be safe for a while," Tazuna commented, only I frowned since something still didn't feel right and it had been troubling for some time as Sakura started looking thoughtful.
"Right, but what about that boy with the mask?" Sakura wondered while I sighed.
"He's from a special unit in the mist village's Anbu black ops division known as hunter-nin, who are trained to hunt down and eliminate ninjas that defect from their village," I replied and Sakura hummed at that.
"I know that much, but what are their roles within their village?" Sakura asked Kakashi and he looked at her.
"The Anbu black ops, also known as the inferno squad, destroy all traces of a missing-nin's body after they kill him or her because a ninja's body contains many state secrets like ninjutsu, chakra, special medicines that had been used on their bodies.
Those are the secrets of their village, and if their enemies find them, their fellow villagers will be in serious danger so, for instance, if either Seth or I were to die at the hands of an enemy, they would try to study our remains, and everything like our jutsu or his bloodline limit could be stolen and used against the leaf village.
For hunter-nin, that's where they come in because they were formed to prevent that from ever happening so they hunt down and eliminate missing-nin before destroying the remains to prevent a village's state secrets from falling into enemy hands," Kakashi explained, but I still looked troubled while he was appearing the same way.
"Senseis, are you both okay?" Naruto inquired and I shook my head.
"No, hunter-nin are required to remove the head and destroy the rest of the body on the spot after their target is killed, but that kid didn't do it and violated many Anbu protocols when he took the body with him fully intact...also, the weapons he used to take down Zabuza were senbon needles, so think about that for a second," I said with a hardened expression, then the realization hit the three genins judging by the looks on their faces while Tazuna started looking puzzled.
"Hold on, what are you all yammering about? You killed that assassin," Tazuna chimed in with a look of confusion.
"Think about it, senbon needles can kill someone if aimed the right way at a vital area on the body, but there are certain pressure points in the neck that, when hit, can slow down someone's heartbeat to the point of simulating death," Kakashi pointed out and it made everyone freeze up at the implications of what he said.
"So, what you're saying is..." Sakura trailed off and I nodded.
"Yes, Zabuza's still alive, and considering that masked kid took him away without killing him, it proves that he is an accomplice that showed up to save Zabuza," I confirmed grimly and it caused the three genins to pale significantly while Tazuna looked like he was struggling to understand what he just heard.
"Come on, you're overthinking this, aren't you?" Tazuna questioned while Kakashi shook his head.
"No, he isn't because Seth and I used to be Anbu operatives so we know all the protocols and procedures that division has, so now we need to prepare ourselves because Zabuza will come after us again pretty soon," Kakashi said seriously and it caused the others to perk up.
"Sensei, how soon are we talking here?" Sasuke inquired and I looked at him.
"If I'm right, then Zabuza will be out of commission for a week so that gives us plenty of time to train for the upcoming confrontation, now what will happen is that Kakashi and I will have to step up your training to get you stronger.
Now, you guys worked well against Zabuza, but it doesn't hurt for a little improvement at the end of the day," I said calmly.
"It doesn't matter, none of you will be strong enough," a young male voice stated and we all turned around to see a kid standing in the doorway, but what disturbed me was the empty look in his eyes as Tazuna perked up.
"Inari, where have you been?" Tazuna asked with a warm smile as Inari ran over to him and hugged the older man.
"Welcome back, grandpa," Inari said as Tazuna looked at us.
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet my grandson, Inari. Inari, these are the ninja who kept me safe during my travel back here," Tazuna introduced, causing me, Kakashi, and the three genins to bow our heads in greeting before Inari looked at Tsunami.
"Mom, they are going to die because Gato and his men will find and wipe them out," Inari stated, shocking me greatly while the others looked stunned to hear that.
"Hey, you don't need to worry because we'll keep your grandfather safe and you don't have to be so concern for us since we can take care of ourselves," Naruto reassured, only the Inari scoffed.
"What are you, stupid? If you don't want to die, then leave," Inari retorted before he left the room, then I started looking concerned until Tazuna noticed and turned his attention to me.
"Sorry about that, he's been through a lot," Tazuna said with a look of embarrassment and I shook my head.
"It's no trouble," I assured before I headed over to the door and left the room, hoping to find Inari and ask him why we were going to die when he didn't know what we were capable of.
"Did you see his eyes, Kurama?" I asked the giant fox and he hummed in acknowledgment.
"Yes, he holds the look of someone who's lost all hope," Kurama told me as I followed the kid by scent and arrived at a door that was slightly open a crack, only it was the sound of sobbing that caught my attention and I looked through the crack to see Inari sitting at the window while his body was trembling.
"D-Daddy," Inari choked out while he kept crying and my eyes widened before I stared at the kid sympathetically.
'Oh god, the poor kid lost his father...something I know far too well,' I thought as I quietly backed away and left Inari alone to grieve while I headed down the stairs to meet up with the others.
After that, Kakashi and I took the genin outside to begin training and had them work on their skills while also letting them spar with me since Kakashi was too weak for it as four days had gone by with Kakashi getting better until we had gone with Tazuna to the bridge so that we could guard him, then we kept our eyes and ears open for any other assassins that Gato could possibly send while Tazuna oversaw the construction.
Tazuna passed us with a nod and I let out a quiet sigh as I enjoyed the sights around me until one of the workers approached him and tried to convince Tazuna to give up on building the bridge for their own safety, only Tazuna refused and sent him some choice words before walking away as I looked at the sky and noticed that it was noon before we all met up with Tazuna as he ended things early for lunch and we went into the nearby town.
When we entered the town, I was more than shocked by the horrible conditions and the looks of hopelessness on the residents' faces while they had resorted to theft or just wandered around as we entered a grocery store to get ingredients for dinner tonight, but there was barely any food left and I couldn't believe how little there was as I quickly spotted someone about to pickpocket Sakura and grabbed his wrist before he froze.
"Whatever you're thinking of doing, better rethink it," I warned calmly with a steely glare as I let go of the thief's wrist, then the man backed up with his hands up in a gesture of surrender before he quickly left the store and Tazuna paid for the food he got.
We continued walking until someone grabbed the bottom of my flak jacket from behind, making me turn around while the rest of us stopped until I saw a little boy who was dirty and smelled filthy with his messy hair completely greasy as he looked up at me and held out his hands together.
"Please?" the kid asked politely with a smile of anticipation, then I couldn't help but feel terrible for him as I removed a sealing scroll from a pouch and opened it until I laid it down on the ground and unsealed a large container that had heated up ramen in it as the kid sniffed and his eyes widened.
"Here, you and your folks need it more than I do," I offered kindly as I handed the container to him, then the kid took it and beamed up at me.
"Bless you, mister," the kid told me gratefully before I ruffled his hair and smiled at him.
"No problem, now head on home," I said and the kid took off before I looked at Tazuna while the others were smiling at me for my kind deed.
"Tazuna, I knew that things were bad from what you told us, but this is worse than any of us could imagine..." I trailed off as the others started appearing depressed and Tazuna frowned.
"This is how it's been since Gato came here where the children suffer and the adults are afraid to stand up to him...they've lost all hope of this hell ever ending, which is why the bridge must be completed so that it can be a symbol of hope and courage, bringing life and prosperity back into this country once again.
Once the bridge is finished, the people of this country will have the strength to fight back for their freedom so we can't let a monster like Gato win," Tazuna said decisively with steely passion in his eyes.
At that moment, the rest of us looked at each other and nodded since it was clear that we needed to help these people, otherwise we wouldn't be able to live with ourselves if we just abandoned them like this.
After that, we headed back to Tazuna's house and Tsunami made dinner with my help before we ate our food and chatted for a while until we were done before Sakura got up from the table until she headed over to a picture that had the upper right corner torn off before Sakura stared at it.
"Excuse me, this picture used to have somebody in it with you three, but he was torn out so is there some reason for that?" Sakura inquired, but that appeared to be the wrong thing to say as the air became tense with Tazuna looking grim, Tsunami avoiding eye-contact, and Inari showing no expression on his face while I could tell that it was a very sore subject for them.
"Sorry, she didn't mean to pry or anything," I assured and Tazuna sighed.
"It's alright and to answer her question, the man in that picture used to be known as a hero in this country," Tazuna replied before Inari got out of his seat and left the room, causing Tsunami to go after him and she sent a glare at Tazuna.
"Dad, you know you're not supposed to talk about him while Inari is around!" Tsunami scolded him before she also left the room and an awkward silence occurred after that until I cleared my throat uncomfortably.
"Sorry for asking, but what did you mean when you said the man who used to be in that photo was once called a hero?" I inquired, but I had an idea why as Tazuna looked at me solemnly.
Pretty soon, Tazuna began explaining how the man was named Kaiza and he arrived here three years ago before saving Inari from drowning once and they became inseparable, Kaiza becoming like a father to Inari since the kid never knew his biological one and idolized the man as he married Tsunami and became part of the family.
Tazuna continued on as he told us how the town was in trouble once with the flood gate hanging open and the lower district about to be flooded during a heavy rainstorm, but Kaiza risked his life to swim over to the flood gate and helped the residents close it before he was hailed as a hero for his good deed while I could hear the pride in Tazuna's voice.
Then Tazuna started sounding grim as he described how Gato showed up not long after and started terrorizing the town before Kaiza went to confront him one night, then I was horrified to hear how Gato had him badly beaten before publicly executing him in front of everyone in the whole town to make an example out of everyone, traumatizing Inari and everyone else before they lost hope completely as we just stared at Tazuna in shock and disbelief.
At that moment, Naruto narrowed his eyes in determination before he stood up and left the dining room/kitchen while I knew why, so that he could prove to Inari that there were still heroes in this world, even if the kid stopped believing in it as the rest of us left our seats and went to bed for tomorrow.
Tomorrow morning, we got an early start and Naruto told us he had to do some last-minute training before he would meet up with us at the bridge, then we headed to the bridge without Naruto while I conjured a shadow clone to watch over him as we arrived at the bridge and kept watch for any potential attacks until an hour had gone by before Naruto showed up as more workers started quitting, frustrating Tazuna until he looked at Naruto and perked up.
"Hey kid, are your clones able to do anything else instead of fighting?" Tazuna inquired and Naruto frowned thoughtfully before he looked around the bridge and his eyes widened in realization.
"Actually, they can," Naruto said before he summoned dozens of shadow clones and had them help with building the bridge until it was now only a few days from completion, surprising the others while I simply smiled and we went back to Tazuna's house for dinner, then we ate as we chatted for a short time until Tazuna sighed happily.
"In a few more days, the bridge will be finished so I want to thank all of you for your help...but I've been meaning to ask you why did you stay and keep me safe, even after I lied to you all?" Tazuna inquired curiously and I looked at him with a serious expression.
"A wise man once said 'the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is when good men do nothing', a famous quote where I'm originally from and what that means is that men like Gato will always win is you don't have the courage to stand up to them, but evil will never succeed as long as there are those who will fight for those in need," I said wisely, causing the others to stare at me in surprise as Inari stood up and slammed his fists onto the table.
"What's the point?! All this stupid training is just a waste of time because Gato's got a whole army that'll beat you down and kill you! These cool things you all say, they don't mean anything so no matter what you do, the strong always win and the weak always lose!" Inari shouted with tears welling up and Naruto started glaring at him.
"Listen, we are keeping your grandfather safe and helping the people of this country because it's the right thing to do, so don't talk like it's over because it's not," Naruto argued calmly and Inari gritted his teeth.
"Why don't you shut your mouth?! Looking at you makes me sick because you know nothing about this country, just laughing and joking around when you're not training so none of you know what it's like to suffer and be treated worse than dirt!" Inari screamed with anguish in his voice, then the room turned tense as Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke froze before looking at me and Naruto while the blond stood up from his seat and left the house without a word while I just sat there like a statue as flashbacks of my father's death and the alien raping me rang clearly in my mind as I held a thousand-yard stare.
Inari bolted from the room and also left the house while I remained silent until I stood up, leaving without saying anything with a look of stone as I followed Inari and found him sitting at the edge of the deck with his arms wrapped around his knees as I sat down next to him and just stared up at the night sky.
"Hey, is it alright if I talk to you?" I asked calmly as Inari looked at me, then he shrugged and resumed looking out at the water while I sighed.
"Look, despite what you said, I don't hold it against you and neither does Naruto...your grandfather told us what happened to your father and you probably don't know this, but I lost my father twelve years ago while Naruto lost his when he was just a baby.
In fact, before they died, I made a promise to his parents that I would look after him like he was my own son and he struggled to make friends while growing up...still, he keeps smiling no matter how bad things get for us, and as for me, I went through something terrible after I lost my father and it took me years to come to terms with it.
Naruto wants to help others because seeing the state of this country reminds him of his current struggle to gain recognition and he doesn't want the people here to go through what he's going through but, if you ask me, he just got tired of it and decided to do something about it.
Even though he's young and still learning, he knows what it means to be strong because he has a lot to lose, as your father did...what I'm trying to say is that we both know what you're going through and we still have the strength to keep going every day, no matter how hard it gets.
So, ask yourself this, what would your father want you to do if he were here right now? I'll let you think about that," I said as I patted Inari's shoulder and stood up, heading back into the house as the kid stared at me in surprise.
Tomorrow, I woke up and got dressed before we all left with Naruto leaving a few shadow clones behind just in case and headed to the bridge, then we arrived and our eyes widened in shock at the sight of most of the workers laying on the ground either badly injured or dead while Tazuna gasped.
"Wait, what the hell is this?!" Tazuna exclaimed in horror, then the area around us started getting covered in mist and I narrowed my eyes while the others tensed up.
"They're here, now get ready," I instructed as Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and I surrounded Tazuna in a protective formation while I pulled out my sword and the other leaf ninja took out kunai as we all got into combat stances to get ready for an ambush.
"Kakashi-sensei, Seth-sensei, it's Zabuza...isn't it?" Sakura asked and Kakashi nodded as Zabuza chuckled from somewhere in the mist.
"Sorry I kept you both waiting Kakashi, Seth, and I see you two still have those little shits with you," Zabuza said before a half dozen water clones of his suddenly appeared around us with their massive swords raised to attack us.
Naruto, Sasuke, and I moved to intercept and we worked together to slice the clones apart before they splashed onto the ground as puddles of water before we got back into a protective formation around Tazuna while Zabuza hummed thoughtfully.
"So, you three wiped out my water clones easily, huh? Impressive, so it looks like you have more than one rival to contend with, Haku," Zabuza told someone as he and the masked kid from before came into view.
"So it seems," Haku agreed stoically as my eyes hardened.
"It appears my hunch was right, that masked kid was your accomplice the whole time," I said darkly before Tazuna scoffed.
"Looks like that whole thing about being a hunter-nin protecting his village was nothing but bullshit," Tazuna commented bitterly.
"Well, they look pretty chummy to me so I'd have to take a guess and say that they've been pulling that kind of con for a long time," Kakashi pitched in as I studied our enemies to come up with a strategy.
'Hmm, this fight is going to be tough, especially if Zabuza and his accomplice team up to attack together but if that kid is as skilled as Kakashi and I thought, then fighting him even after we separate him from Zabuza will be really difficult since there's a good chance that kid might be stronger than Zabuza if that's even possible.
The only thing we can do is separate and fight them separately since that would make things easier, though Zabuza is pretty tough and the masked kid is someone we need to worry about since he's an unknown,' I thought just as Haku started spinning around and I tensed up.
"Get ready, he's doing something!" I alerted as I raised my sword and Haku went to strike with two senbon needles at an unbelievable amount of speed, only Sasuke and I reacted just as fast and blocked him with our blades as Kakashi looked at Naruto.
"Naruto, assist Sasuke and Seth while Sakura and I protect the bridge builder," Kakashi ordered, then Naruto nodded and charged forward to attack Haku's side with his kunai before Haku was forced to jump back to avoid getting stabbed until we rushed at him and clashed our blades against his needles.
"We want the bridge builder, not all of you so if you back down, then I won't have to kill you three," Haku warned calmly and Sasuke scoffed.
"I'm afraid we can't do that because our mission is to protect him, no matter what," Sasuke refused and Haku sighed.
"I see, then that's a pity because I have the advantage right now," Haku stated before he did a few hand signs with a single hand, catching me off guard since I wasn't expecting that.
Haku stomped the ground and the puddles of water rose into the air, then they formed into many sharp needles as my eyes widened and the needles shot at me, Naruto, and Sasuke.
"Jump!" I ordered urgently just as Haku moved out of the way, then the two genins and I jumped into the air to avoid getting turned into pin cushions before we threw shurikens at Haku.
Haku dodged before Sasuke moved to kick him from behind, sending the masked kid forward and Naruto appeared to launch him into the air with a hit to the chin, then I finished it by doing an ax-kick that sent Haku into the ground hard until I zipped down and aimed my sword at his neck.
"Surrender, or I will kill you," I threatened coldly with a steely glare while Kakashi looked proud and Zabuza looked stunned.
"You made a big mistake underestimating those three genins and calling them little shits because Sasuke is the rookie of the year, Sakura is the brightest, and Naruto is the most adaptable ninja of the hidden leaf village," Kakashi complimented and Naruto froze for a second before scowling.
"Speaking of adapting, Gato sent two thugs after Tazuna's family but my clones took care of them so it was a good thing I left a few there when I did," Naruto notified us, causing Tazuna to pale at the thought of his daughter and grandson getting killed while I also scowled since going after someone's family was crossing a line as Zabuza huffed irritably.
"Just because they scored lucky hits, doesn't mean those kids and Seth can take Haku because he's just getting started so it's over for them now," Zabuza stated just before I was forced back from Haku by a water clone, then I sliced it apart as Haku stood up and backed away until he started making a single hand sign.
The air around me, Naruto, and Sasuke got colder as the water around us rose up and hardened into a dome of ice mirrors before Haku walked into one and his reflection appeared in all of them, making me tense up as I looked around without moving my head while Naruto and Sasuke looked stunned.
"Stay alert, kids," I said as I got into a combat stance, Naruto and Sasuke doing the same thing as we went back to back with our blades ready.
'I've never seen this kind of jutsu before so this kid must have a bloodline limit, which makes him even more dangerous,' I thought as I gazed at the mirrors and tried to come up with a strategy, not knowing what this technique Haku did is capable of and that was what worried me.
"Now, let's begin and I'll show you my real speed," Haku told us with his voice echoing all around us, making it difficult to locate him.
"Seth, watch it!" Kurama alerted urgently before I suddenly found myself getting hit with a barrage of needles with Naruto and Sasuke also being hit as we yelled in pain while I struggled to block before the barrage stopped suddenly and the three of us each fell onto one knee.
'Damn, he was so fast that I couldn't read his fucking movements,' I thought while groaning in pain, looking up with gritted teeth as my body was covered in cuts with blood trickling out while the others didn't look any better.
But, what I noticed was that Haku aimed at us non-lethally and I was confused by that, though I didn't have time to think about it as I stood up with Naruto and Sasuke doing the same as Haku shook his head.
"So, you won't surrender? Very well, do not take this personally because I have a reason for fighting alongside Zabuza," Haku stated just before we got hit again by needles, knocking me down and I barely got up as I used my sword as a crutch.
'Shit, this bastard is playing with us and we need to strike him from both sides of the mirrors to catch him off guard, but he'll intercept us if one of us tries to escape to the outside so I have no idea how we'll be able to stop him...unless,' I thought as an idea came to me and I looked at Sasuke.
Sasuke seemed to understand what I had in mind and did a few hand signs until he launched a fireball at the mirrors, only they suffered no damage but I planned for that and charged through the smoke in mid-air at the mirror I predicted Haku was in with my sword thrust forward to stab the mirror, forcing Haku to leave as he went to attack me from behind and I smirked as I conjured a few shadow clones to attack him from all sides.
Haku was taken off guard judging from his body language as my clones went in for the kill, only he moved so fast that I had no time to react as he spun around while throwing more needles and it dispelled my clones as I got hit and was sent crashing to the ground in front of the two genins.
"Sensei, are you okay?!" Naruto exclaimed in shock as I weakly sat up with a slight moan.
"Yeah...so much for that idea since he's not going to fall for that again," I groaned as I forced myself to stand up and swayed a bit as I held up my sword, then Naruto gritted his teeth and glared up at Haku.
"We're not going to die here because we have too much to lose and I have a dream that I must succeed in achieving, no matter what!" Naruto growled while wincing from his injuries, then Haku paused at that and was silent for a short time until he sighed.
"Dreams...it was not my desire to become a shinobi because it's painful...listen, I don't want to kill you three but I won't let you kill me so if you keep advancing, I will have no choice but to eliminate my remaining humanity and embrace the path of a ninja so there will be no going back once that happens.
This bridge will be the place where we fight for our dreams so please don't hate me because I want to protect someone who is precious to me, fight for him, and make his dream come true...that is my dream and for that, I will become a shinobi and kill you if I must," Haku told us and I couldn't help but respect him for that as I got ready to defend myself while Naruto and Sasuke did the same thing.
We continued fighting and kept getting hit, then I activated my Sharingan and that's when I could finally see Haku as he moved from mirror to mirror while throwing needles at us in a slower motion thanks to my Sharingan, making me react accordingly as I successfully threw shurikens to knock the needles away while Sasuke used his Sharingan to do the same thing, feeling relieved that I had Sasuke unlock his a couple of years ago and told him to only use it in dire situations like this one as I looked at Naruto.
"Naruto, I want you to conjure up a bunch of shadow clones and attack all the mirrors," I instructed, causing Naruto to look puzzled.
"Why, sensei?" Naruto asked in confusion.
"Just trust me," I said cryptically as I got ready to implement my next strategy.
Naruto conjured up dozens of clones before he and the other clones jumped up to attack the mirrors, then Haku moved while throwing needles and that's when Sasuke sent a fireball at him and forced Haku to move out of the way, just before I appeared in front of him with my sword about to slice through him.
Haku leaned back to avoid getting decapitated and blocked more slashes with a needle before forcing me back by spinning around like a tornado until I was kicked to the ground before Haku threw more needles with me and the others getting hit, looking like pin cushions now as I breathed heavily and could barely move.
'Shit, I'm running on fumes at this rate and, pretty soon, I'll have no choice but to use Kurama's chakra to end this,' I thought with agony running through my body as I struggled to sit up, just before Sakura screamed nearby and my eyes widened in horror.
"Sakura...she's in trouble," Naruto wheezed as he laid on his stomach and Sasuke got up to one knee while I did the same thing.
"Dammit...we need to get out of here or we're all dead," I groaned weakly as Naruto struggled to stand up.
"I'll try and go for it so cover me," Naruto said as he channeled more chakra and zipped over to one of the openings while Sasuke and I went to attack Haku, only he moved too fast and knocked Naruto to the ground while Sasuke and I got pelted with more needles as we stumbled back with yells of agony.
"Naruto...are you okay?" Sasuke inquired painfully as Naruto laid on the ground and weakly lifted his head.
"I-I'll...be...fine," Naruto gasped until he slumped back onto the ground barely conscious and that's when panic started to hit me.
'Oh god, we're going to die at this rate if we don't come up with some kind of plan to end this,' I thought as Haku threw more needles at us, forcing me and Sasuke to knock them away and that's when I noticed that Haku was going for lethal areas now and I was more than scared for my adopted sons at that point.
"Naruto, you need to get up," I groaned desperately, then Naruto somehow managed to sit up with a pained grimace as Haku went to attack us again.
Sasuke and I struggled to defend ourselves and Naruto at the same time while we kept knocking needles away with our blades, only Haku suddenly disappeared and my eyes widened in alarm as I tried to locate him before Naruto fell back onto the ground completely unconscious.
"Naruto!" I exclaimed in utter terror before Sasuke and I were forced to dodge at this point until Haku went to throw needles at Naruto, pure panic hitting me as Sasuke and I hurried over to him and at that moment, the sound of someone being hit again rang through the air.
A/N I know, pretty evil of me to leave it at a cliffhanger but this chapter was getting too long so I had to end it here, now things are going to get ugly for Haku in the next chapter since he will be dealing with the fury of an enraged father so be prepared for that since things will change in a major way.
As you saw, Naruto didn't sleep in and went with the others, and while he, Sasuke, and Seth did well together, they still got overwhelmed at the near end of it since they're not overpowered and are only well-trained people who can get overwhelmed at the end of the day if they're not careful.
So, let me know what you think and stay tuned.