Naruto landed on the roof of the house as quietly as he could, clutching the basket of herbs he had stolen from the missing-nin. It hadn't been too hard to escape, considering how many Kage Bunshin he had running distraction. Kami he loved that jutsu.
"Naruto-kun? You're late." Hinata's soft voice carried through the still night's air from below him. He looked down, and saw his Hyūga teammate sitting on the steps of the front porch.
"Hinata-chan? You're supposed to be resting." He jumped down easily from the elevated roof, a mild application of chakra absorbing the jolt that ran up his knees.
"I couldn't sleep. Sai-kun said you were meant to be home before sunset, but I noticed you weren't back yet. I was worried." She remained seated, staring off somewhere into the distance.
Naruto placed the basket down, removing his sandals before taking a seat next to his childhood friend.
"Bad dream?" He asked. Hinata was still, transfixed by some unknown distant sight that Naruto could not see in the comfortable darkness that enveloped them. Only the gentle glow cast by the twinkling stars and the moon far above them illuminated the pair, the occupants in the house long asleep.
"Hinata-chan?" He asked, concern creeping into his voice, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I wasn't good enough, Naruto-kun." Soft-spoken on the best of days, the shy girl's words were barely more than a whisper.
"I thought I was ready, that I wouldn't let you, or Kakashi-sensei down. I landed half a dozen hits on him, Naruto-kun. Any Hyūga worth anything needs only half of that to put any opponent down." Her voice trembled, but her eyes remained frozen, distant.
"You..."
"How will otou-sama feel when word gets back, Naruto-kun? That his daughter that he places so much hope in failed? That his heiress wasn't good enough to finish the mission?"
"Hinata-chan..."
"Neji-niisan would have killed him in one hit, would have shattered his heart. I know he cares for me but he should be heir, not me. So what if he is from the branch and I was born to his uncle. I'm... I'm weak, Naruto-kun."
"You're being too hard on yourself."
"You saved us, Naruto-kun. Your plan worked, and then you saved my life when I let you down. Sai-kun was incredible as well. I'm just not good enough..." Her courage failed her now, and tears entered her eyes.
Naruto was thunderstruck. Was this really his teammate? He knew that she had always struggled with her father's expectations of her, that she had never been comfortable with her position as heiress of the Hyūga, but this breakdown was totally uncharacteristic. He gathered his courage, readying himself to speak.
"You don't need to..." Hinata tried to head him off, but Naruto interrupted her by putting his hand over her mouth.
"Shut up. Shut, up. I don't let anybody talk to my friends like that, not even themselves."
Hinata thanked the heavens that it was nearly totally dark, for the almost radioactive glow that had spread across her cheeks and neck at the sudden intimate contact from her blonde friend.
"Hinata, you're being stupid. You were the only one fast enough on our squad to even get near that overcompensating bastard, and the plan worked. Momochi Zabuza is an A-ranked, former Kiri ANBU. The fact that you, a twelve year old Gēnin, even touched him, is already amazing! Who cares that he got you in the end, we're Gēnin, Hinata! Amazingly strong Gēnin, yea, but we've got a long way to go." Naruto spoke faster than a speeding kunai, the words tumbling out as his conviction poured out through his mouth.
"If Hiashi..." Hinata swatted Naruto on the shoulder at the blatant disrespect.
"Hey, I'm talking here. If Hiashi even says a single bad word about you, I'll kick his ass myself. Neji-teme's a year older than you Hinata, don't beat yourself up over it. I'll bet you a hundred bowls of ramen that in a years time you'll splatter his androgynous ass all over the dojo." Naruto ground out his last words with gusto, hands still covering Hinata's mouth.
"If I hear another word out of your mouth insulting my best friend again, I'm going to be pissed, Hinata." Naruto ended, eye smiling in the dark. He wasn't prepared for the crushing hug that she hit him with.
"Strong! Very strong...!" Naruto spluttered, gasping for air as his face turned blue.
"Th-Thank you, Naruto-kun. For everything." She whispered, face buried into Naruto's chest.
"Errr... yea. No problem, Hinata-chan. That's what friends are for, no?" He chuckled nervously, feeling every inch of his sore ribs.
"Hai..." She finally released him, darkness hiding the tears but not the wetness that Naruto felt on his mesh shirt. They sat, words and emotions exhausted, comfortable in each other's presence. The moonlight's pale glow bathed the pair of not-children, filling them both with a sense of wonder, and warmth. Naruto wrapped his arm around the smaller frame of his Hyūga teammate, not hearing the muffled squeak of surprise.
"I'd do it again, Hinata-chan. I'd swim to the bottom of that lake, injuries and all, to save you again. I wasn't strong enough to save Sasuke, but I swear to you I won't let another one of my friends go, not while I still draw breath." Naruto spoke quietly, slowly, each word a promise from the very depth of his soul. Heavy words from a twelve year old, but Hinata could feel the conviction, the nearly manic obesssion behind each syllable uttered.
"I'm done letting my dad, or Itachi-nii, or even Hokage-sama protect me, I'm done relying on others to save my friends. I'm a ninja now, damn it all, and I'm going to get strong enough that no one will ever have to risk themselves for me again, strong enough to protect those I care about."
"I believe in you, Naruto-kun."
"Thanks, Hinata-chan."
The pair sat in silence for a while more, enjoying the moment of peace and tranquility, the afterglow of mutually outpoured raw emotion and the intimate connection that only came with such special, lifelong familiarity.
Sai opened the door silently, gazing at the back of his two teammates illuminated so poetically by the moonlight. A slight, wistful smile crossed his pale face, hidden in shadow, before he closed the door without ever making a sound.
Team Seven sat about the table in the kitchen of Tazuna's house, quickly munching down on a breakfast that Tsunami had prepared for them.
"When did Kaka-sensei say he'd be back?" Naruto asked.
"He did not specify, Naruto-san. Kakashi-sensei only told us to keep our heads down and wait for him to return."
"The ANBU Team should be arriving tomorrow, maybe even tonight if they move quickly. We should get moving by tomorrow morning." Naruto pondered. He turned to his female teammate.
"How're you feeling, Hinata-chan? We'll be moving fast on the way back to Konoha." He didn't want to imply his teammate couldn't make the trip.
"I should be fine, Naruto-kun. I was able to complete a full kata without tiring out yesterday evening. The journey back to Konoha should not be too taxing."
Naruto nodded.
"Excellent. Then I suppose all we need to do is avoid trouble and wait for dad to get back."
A knock on the door, and the three tensed.
"Umm... Tazuna isn't due back from the bridge until evening, and Tsunami-obasan wouldn't knock."
"Your incredible prowess at deduction is noted, Naruto-san."
"When did you learn to be sassy?"
A scream from the front door sent all three gēnin into full on combat mode, scattering away from the table. Sai needed no prompting, instantly moving to the kitchen window and opening it, slipping out. Hinata's Byakugan came alive, evaluating the situation, while Naruto drew a kunai, keeping flush against the kitchen wall and inching towards the corridor where the front door opened into the house.
"Please don't hurt my son! Please!" The screaming continued.
"Hinata! What's going on!" Naruto whispered furiously.
"Looks like bandits, three of them, at the door. They have Tsunami-san's son." She reported.
"What the hell... that's bad!" Naruto hesitated.
"Do we intervene?" Hinata turned to look at her teammate.
"Damn, damn, damn! Dad told us to just get out if shit hits the fan, but Tsunami-san and that... Izami? Inari? What's his name? Doesn't matter! They're innocent, we can't just let them get kidnapped, or worse!" Naruto was terribly conflicted.
Sai rejoined them, slipping back through the window.
"Three bandits, should be easy to get away from. What's the plan?"
"We..."
"Kakashi-sensei issued us a direct order, Naruto." Sai's face remained unconcerned, but a hint of urgency entered his voice.
"They're innocent, Naruto-kun!" Hinata countered.
"No... no, please! Not in front of my son!" Tsunami's screaming grew desperate, horrified, and the laughter of the bandits left little of their actions to the imagination.
"Screw it. We take them out, then we bail. Got it?" Naruto decided. Sai's gaze lingered awhile longer, before he dipped his head in agreement.
"Very well. I'll flank on your signal." Sai ghosted back through the window easily.
"Do you trust me, Hinata-chan?" He locked eyes with the Hyūga.
"With my life, Naruto-kun." She answered, meeting his eyes with unwavering belief.
"On three... ikuzo!"
The restaurant served good salmon, Kakashi noted. Wave country was famous for its seasonal seafood based cuisine, almost as famous as Mizu no Kuni. His wide-brimmed hat obscured his features, hiding his rather distinct upper profile, while the mild genjutsu he had weaved about himself made him appear to be the most uninteresting, average passerby on the boulevard.
Opposite him, a short, rather fat man flanked by two hulking goons exited the building he had identified as Gatō's headquarters. The man himself, Kakashi surmised. He had been tracking him over the past eighteen hours, following him from his main residential mansion outside the city to his office in the downtown district of Wave's Capital. Either way, once the ANBU got here, Gatō was a dead man. Kakashi himself had finished far riskier missions on far shakier intel, but with a positive location and rudimentary schedule mapped out? Barely worth the effort.
Kakashi stood slowly to avoid gathering attention, before moving in a roundabout fashion to trail the shipping magnate. He considered killing the man himself, but that was terribly inconsiderate, and definitely outside his mission scope. ANBU didn't appreciate having missions stolen from them, even if by one of their former own. He cut across a street parallel to the one Gatō walked, before ducking through a side alley, emerging casually, just far enough from the self proclaimed 'richest man on the continent' to avoid suspicion. Sure he was a little rusty, but trailing a mark was like riding a bicycle. One never really forgot.
"Is my boat ready?" He overhead the man say. One of the goons answered back something unintelligible.
"Speak up, man. I don't pay you to be an oaf."
"Hai, Gatō-sama. Your transportation to Tea is ready at your private dock."
"Excellent. We leave once matters here are settled. This rural backwater is truly getting to me."
"Zabuza and his lot have gone to the bridge. They'll kill the builder and destroy the bridge as you ordered. We have prepared the payment."
"Oh that won't be necessary. I've planned to dispose of that brute once he's served his purpose. Have your boys returned with the builder's daughter?"
"Not yet, Gatō-sama. It took us awhile to wring the location of the house from the workers we kidnapped last night."
"Hmph. Very well. I suppose she'll make good entertainment on the boat ride tonight."
The fat magnate chuckled darkly, and Kakashi's disgust was only checked by the worry that filled him. Gatō was leaving the country, tonight, and his kids were in danger, again. He had to get back to the house. His team's safety was his first priority, after all. A single bound, and he was on the nearest rooftop, already moving.
Naruto stared at the blood soaked kunai, before lifting his eyes to meet the lifeless ones of the bandit that lay before him.
The fight, if it really could have been called a fight, had lasted only seconds, the ninja, augmented by chakra, moving faster than the bandits could even comprehend. The three had taken the bandits completely by surprise, Hinata putting her man down with two strikes to the chest, and Sai dropping from the roof, literally curb stomping the second bandit into the ground.
Naruto, however, had gone straight for the throat, just like his father taught him. A ninja never hesitated, always went for the kill. A good ninja never needed a second strike, for lethality above all else was prized.
He hadn't even registered his kunai burying itself in the man's exposed neck before he had rolled away, pulling his kunai laterally. The speed and the volume of the blood that burst from the man's ruptured neck arteries surprised Naruto. He never considered that the blood was under such high pressure.
For his first kill, it was a little underwhelming, Naruto reflected. He had followed his training, the countless hours spent in honing his art guiding his actions instinctively. Still, he had just taken, irreversibly ended a life, and Naruto thought that he would have felt a little more, that the weight of what he had done would feel a little less surreal. He shrugged.
"Tie 'em up. We'll let whoever's the law enforcement in these parts deal with them." Naruto spoke, quickly wiping his kunai in the grass. He stepped past the partially undressed Tsunami, and the evidently unconscious little boy that was her son, evaluating their next course of action.
"Where do we go, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, while tying up the unconscious bandit.
"We head into the woods, set up camp. Sai, can you get a note to Kaka-sensei with one of those birds of yours?"
"I'll create a Konohan sparrow. It's call is extremely distinct, and unique to Fire Country. Sensei will notice immediately." Sai pulled his artbook from his flak jacket, getting to work.
"The... the bridge. Help my father... please."
Naruto turned to look at the woman who still remained on the ground, clutching at her ruined clothes to preserve her modesty.
"If Gatō sent his thugs here... he's definitely moving on the bridge now. He's going to kill Tazuna..." She continued.
"Please... it's our country's only hope of ever being free from Gatō..."
"Naruto-san, I've prepared the message. Ready to move." Sai called out from behind him.
Naruto looked at the woman, before looking at his hands. He would be disregarding his father's, his sensei's direct orders, walking straight into danger and something they were wholly unprepared for.
'Real noble, Haku-chan.'
But that was the crux of the matter, wasn't it? Walking away now would only prove that he was no better than the missing nin that he had called scum, mercenary and selfish. Wouldn't that make him a hypocrite? What good was strength if he only used it to protect those who mattered to him, only used it as he desired, instead of protecting those that needed protecting, those that couldn't protect themselves? He gazed at the poor boy, the bridge builder's grandson who was curled up, in a fetal position. That could've been him, would've been him if he didn't have the blessing of being a Hatake, of being born in a Hidden Village.
He still remembered the screams of terror, the smell of smoke, the shaking of the earth as explosions shook the compound. The feeling of utter, complete helplessness as men far stronger than his wildest imagination fought for ideas he could barely understand, and all he could do was curl up and whimper. How could he walk away?
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata's voice came to him.
"We... we have to help these people, Hinata." He finally spoke.
"Naruto-san, think of what you're saying. Zabuza and his companion are surely leading the assault on the bridge, if Tsunami-san is right. We can't possibly help them."
"We have to do something! I can't have this on my conscience, Sai! I can't leave these innocent people to die, even if that's not how Shinobi operate!" Naruto met his stoic teammates stare with vitriol.
"Kakashi-sensei will be very unhappy, Naruto-san. Insurbodination and disregarding a superior officer's direct order can result in being expelled from the Shinobi Corps." Sai's face never changed a bit.
"What good is strength if we don't use it to help others? We'd be no better than those nuke-nin scum."
Sai remained silent, weighing Naruto's words. Hinata looked away, visibly conflicted.
"Look guys, I'm going either way. Do you trust me?" Naruto's question hung in the air, the atmosphere almost crackling with the intensity of feeling the younger Hatake was displaying. The tense silence dragged on for a little longer than Naruto was comfortable with.
Sai gave him an imperceptible nod.
"You haven't led us astray so far. I trust you, Naruto-san."
"Thanks, Sai. Tell Kaka-sensei we're heading for the bridge, ask him to hurry."
Naruto turned to look at his childhood friend.
"You, Hinata-chan?"
"I told you, Naruto-kun. With my life." Hinata finally spoke.
"Let's go, then."
Zabuza hefted Kubikiribōchō easily over his left shoulder. His right shoulder was still terribly stiff, not yet fully recovered from the injury inflicted by the copy-nin, but he had recovered enough of his strength that he was confident of butchering the bridge builder with ease.
Haku stood beside him, once more masked and clothed in the outfit of the Kiri Hunter Corps. It hid her femininity well, his ice cold secret weapon.
They approached the yet unfinished bridge, caring not for subterfuge, or discretion. What did Momochi Zabuza have to fear? Kakashi had made quite clear he was unwilling to risk his or his kids' necks for the lying filth that Tazuna had revealed himself to be, and Zabuza wasn't worried about any armed civilian rabble. He could kill all of them in his sleep, even injured.
"Haku, make yourself scarce. Ward off any fool who decides to make this their business. I don't want any interruptions to my fun." He barked, and she obeyed, vanishing in a blur of movement.
He swaggered straight onto the bridge, totally unconcerned. Workers who saw him fled instantly, self preservation kicking in. He flung a kunai, sticking it in the dirt beside a random, helpless laborer.
"You! Fetch Tazuna for me!" He shouted, pointing his massive sword at the man, who was petrified by fear.
"One... two... three..." Zabuza counted. The man didn't move, confused, and scared shitless.
"Alright then." Zabuza decapitated him. A massive fountain of blood exploded from his headless corpse, shock not yet registering on his face before his body hit the ground with a wet, meaty thump.
"Any volunteers to get me Tazuna?" His voice was predatory, dangerous. Any loyalty to their employer that the wages he paid them bought evaporated in the face of such careless brutality, and the remaining workers scrambled to flee. Several ran to search for their foreman. Zabuza smirked, grounding Kubikiribōchō and resting his arms upon it, whistling a jaunty tune. His dream was within reach now, all that remained between him and the money for his coup was the head of a rather pathetic old man. He couldn't wait to get it over with.
Tazuna came, stumbling towards him, pushed forward by the very men he had paid and employed.
"What are you doing! He'll kill me!"
"He'll kill us too! Better you than all of us!" A faceless worker shouted back at him.
Zabuza chuckled, thoroughly amused. The sound of metal scraping against concrete filled the air, a screeching wail that sent goosebumps down his prey's necks as he dragged Kubikiribōchō forward. It was thirsty, and he planned to satiate it. His killing intent began to fill the air as he grew excited at the prospect of the bloodletting, grown men's bowels releasing at the awful, murderous aura.
"How about I kill all of you?"
Tazuna cowered, flinching away, before his eyes went wide as saucers as a second, infinitely darker horror enveloped the area. Men who were paralyzed by Zabuza's Killing Intent simply lost consciousness, sanity and mind overwhelmed by the primordial, mindbreaking fear that washed over them.
Zabuza grunted, throwing off the effects of the spiritual oppression. He hadn't felt such chakra since the Sanbi had gotten loose when he had still been a young Chūnin. He faced the source of the chakra, eyes narrowed. Something had just gone very, very wrong.
Team Seven moved quickly, leaping and bounding through the light forest that characterized so much of Wave. The bridge wasn't far, Sai had staked out the place during his surveillance sweep of the area and knew the way. They were rapidly approaching, Naruto steeling himself for a fight he knew he had little hope of winnng. As they drew closer to the bridge, Naruto had begun to second guess his decision.
They had only survived once against the deadly swordsman because of a one off, suicidal maneuver. Chances were they weren't going to be able to catch him in such a trick again, and this time he had backup. That Haku girl had already displayed a preternatural accuracy with those senbon needles of hers, and her brief showcase of ninjutsu had been impressive. Naruto had never heard of an ice release, but she had performed one, and one-handed too. They would be hard pressed to deal with one of the two, but together?
Naruto wracked his mind for ideas. His father had drilled the lesson over and over into his head, that no one was invincible, that even the most seasoned ninja could fall to a random no name. Still, he couldn't see an easy way to take out the enemy. All he had going for him was the hope that Zabuza was still heavily impaired by the shoulder injury.
His thoughts were banished by Sai's last minute evasive reaction, throwing himself out of the way of a hail of senbon needles. So it would be the girl first, then.
"I hoped I wouldn't be forced to fight you, Haku-chan." He called out, spinning behind a tree for cover. Hinata had already made herself scarce.
"Zabuza-sama is busy, and does not appreciate interruptions. I have instructions to stop you." Haku's voice drifted through the oddly silent woods.
"That's a shame. Still doing your master's bidding mindlessly, huh." Naruto offered, discreetly forming a squad of five Kage Bunshin who instantly spread out amongst the foliage, hunting his opponent.
Haku didn't rise to Naruto's taunting, instead focusing on zeroing in on her elusive target. She spotted a flash of blonde, and she let loose with her senbon.
"There you are!" Naruto growled as the memories of his dispelled clone came to him. His other clones instantly closed in, triangulating on the area where the needles had flown from.
"Don't be so sure, Naruto." Her voice rang out from behind him. Naruto turned. How had she flanked him?
"Hyoton: Chill Wind." She uttered her technique's name, blowing, and from her lips came a freezing wind that surged towards Naruto. The Hatake moved, dodging, but she followed him, tracing his path with the artic draft.
'Can't let her hit me with that!' Naruto grunted. The trail of frosted vegetation and earth behind him made obvious the danger that he was in. He rolled, changing direction, only to duck as a senbon whizzed over his head.
"Anytime now!" He shouted, and Sai replied with a massive Ink Lion that roared its rage, leaping at Haku. She halted the icy wind, cutting off the Jutsu and gracefully twirling away from the rampaging construct, flipping up onto a tree and releasing a barrage of senbon that pincushioned the lion.
"She's fast, Sai!" Naruto called out, already moving to engage her. His shadow clones joined him, ready to unleash his devastating taijutsu style.
"I noticed, Naruto-san." Sai's voice deadpanned from somewhere hidden in the treetops. A second construct, a monstrous Ink Ape came swinging from behind Haku, hooting. It smashed the branch that Haku stood upon, flexing its ironbound muscle. She leaped, narrowly avoiding getting pummeled, but as she neared the ground Naruto was waiting for her with his clones.
She landed, icy senbon forming between her fingers as she rolled with the impact, and she came to a kneeling position, flinging the senbon with deadly precision at Naruto's squad of clones. She didn't wait to see its effect, already moving and forming a new set of senbon. Naruto swore as his clones were annihilated by the hail of needles. He couldn't get close enough to her, not with her ability to snipe his clones from range. He cursed his lack of reach in his meager bank of techniques, he had nothing to get her with at range. The ape came crashing down behind her, rearing to strike, but a volley of senbon punctured its throat and eyes, ink collapsing as it lost its binding.
"Give it up, Naruto-san. You can't defeat me."
"Not alone!" Naruto ducked, chucking three kunai before creating another batch of clones and rushing the ice wielding ninja. She sidestepped the projectiles, but they bought Naruto the single second he needed to close the distance. Her answering volley of cryo-senbon destroyed half his clones, but that's what they were there for. They flung themselves in the path of the needles, acting as meat shields for the real Naruto who bum rushed the girl. He closed within melee range, lashing out with a devastating right hook. She palmed it away, redirecting its force, and spun with it, replying with a mule kick to Naruto's gut. The blonde simply took the hit, exhaling sharply but never giving an inch as he countered with a ferocious headbutt that smashed her mask, revealing her delicate features.
She stumbled, for the first time in the fight truly taken aback. Naruto pressed his advantage, seeking to end the engagement quickly. She didn't make it easy, weaving and parrying, never letting Naruto get a good hit in. Of course, Naruto never intended to be the fight-ender.
Hinata burst forth from the tree behind Haku, closing the gap within three steps and flowing effortlessly into her Jyūken. Naruto's eyes flashed victoriously. He had driven Haku back into a corner, and now she was trapped between Hinata's deadly Gentle Fist, and his own implacable advance. Sai took the chance, appearing as if from thin air from the shadows above them, lunging forward with his kunai.
"Hyoton: Crystal Ice Mirrors."
The tri-pronged assault was halted just as they neared the finishing blow, a crystalline mirror forming beneath Haku's feet. The girl sank through the mirror as if it was the surface of a pond, but Sai's descending kunai bounced off it like it was solid granite.
"This is new." Naruto muttered, prodding at the mirror with his foot. Definitely hard as rock.
"This is over, Naruto-san." Haku's voice echoed about them as dozens of mirrors began to materialize all around, encircling within a dome of pure ice.
"We're trapped, Naruto." Sai observed. Haku's image was suddenly projected across every mirrored surface, a Haku for each mirror in the dome.
"You will regret interfering in Zabuza-sama's business. Now, die." Haku's chilling voice was amplified within the small confines of the dome, reverberating from all the hard surfaces. Hinata's Byakugan strained, but she could spot no obvious weakness in the enclosure.
Senbon formed in each Haku's hands, and suddenly it was raining frozen needles, a piercing hail of ice that showered from all directions. There was no dodging, no Kage Bunshin meat shields this time, not when they were trapped in such a tight space. Naruto tensed as the first needles pierced his skin, embedding deep into his flesh. He tried to shield his team, but there were too many, too quick. There was nothing he could do as his team was cut down before his eyes, nothing he could try to get them out of the death trap he had led them into. The last thing he saw was Hinata's hand, reaching out to grab his, the last thing he felt was a pair of senbon impaling his chest, and then everything went dark.
Drip...
Drip...
Drip...
"Do you want to live, ningen?"
Naruto lay, face up in the water. He cared not for the voice, cared not for the words it spoke. He had failed, he had led his team, his friends to their deaths. It was all his fault, all his stupid pride's fault. If he had only listened to his father and kept his head down, none of this would have happened.
"I can help you end her." The voice boomed through his ears once more, sending ripples through the still water.
"I want to save my friends." Naruto spoke, still unmoving.
"An admirable goal."
"Who are you?" Naruto asked once more, sitting up to stare into the darkness.
"Who am I? I am the Eldest, and the End. I, child, am the Kyūbi no Kitsune, and I will be your salvation."
Naruto felt the water rising around him, felt the heat bubbling up through the sewer floor. He felt the very foundations of the place tremble and shake, felt his very soul ache and writhe, and then he felt nothing.
Haku gazed at the still bodies of the three Gēnin she had just defeated. They would die without medical treatment from the blood loss, but she hadn't had the heart to kill them outright. A curious pang of sadness ran through her. The courage they had shown, the willingness to throw themselves in the way of danger for one another, the way Naruto had shielded his teammates with his body, Haku admired. It resonated deep within her jaded, broken heart.
Would Zabuza ever do the same for her?
She stepped out of the mirror, casting one last glance at the rapidly cooling bodies. Her duty, as always, was to her master. Even if she hated what she did.
As she prepared to leave, Naruto twitched. Curiousity piqued, she faced him once more. One of her needles must've punctured a nerve cluster for his body to still be having muscular contractions. It was rare, but not unheard of.
He twitched again. She reformed a pair of senbon, eyes narrowing.
His eyes snapped open, and she reacted instantly, releasing her favored weapon at blindng speed.
He caught the senbon midflight, hand snapping up faster than her eyes could track to snatch the diminutive needles out of the air.
Was that fear she was feeling?
"That... was... unwise, girl."
Run! Get away!
Every inch, every fiber of her being screamed at her to run as fast as she could, to get away from the demonic, horrible pressure that was crushing down all around her. It was a physical weight as much as it was spiritual oppression, the very air saturated with a terrible, primordial evil that sucked the very will to live from her spirit. Her voice failed her, unable to speak a word to verbalize the terror that had overwhelmed her higher functions, only the base, primal instinct to flee remaining, a desperate urge to get away get away get away!
"I do not tolerate those who would see my host's life ended."
Naruto spoke, but it was not Naruto speaking. The voice hummed, throbbing with unbound power and unshackled rage and an eldritch hatred that surpassed all understanding.
Haku spun, leaping for her mirrors, moving faster than she had ever moved before. She entered her icy domain, a dimension apart from that supernatural horror that the charming young blonde had become.
Only to find Naruto's gloved hand wrapped around her throat, lifting her off the ground. Her mirrors, her protection from the brutality of life and her greatest defense, simply shattered like brittle glass, melting away at the blonde's very touch. A cloak of toxic, acidic chakra had formed about him, turning all he touched to ash and ruin. Her feet kicked feebly at the blonde, but could only reach air as he held her suspended off the ground with a single arm, choking the very life out of her.
The very ground beneath his feet bleached and turned colorless, as even the microbial life in the dirt not spared by the awful, awful chakra that bubbled all around the boy as if alive. Haku's skin burned like fire where the chakra touched her, and pain like no other wracked her body.
"You have led a life worthy of great sorrow, girl. Loneliness follows you like a shadow. I will end your despair for you. Go now, to the Shinigami's loving embrace."
The voice knew! It could tell! It understood her suffering, her shame, her loneliness!
Haku closed her eyes, struggling ceasing. The end had come, it seemed.
"Zabuza-sama..." She whispered with what little breath still remained within her lungs. She had only wished to serve her master, to help him fulfil his goals to repay the kindness he had shown her. Regret at her final failure brought tears to her eyes as she prepared for death, only that it did not come.
"Hands off!" Zabuza's growl reached her ears even as his massive cleaver descended. Haku's vision blurred, black spots swimming across her field of view as the lack of oxygen robbed her consciousness from her.
Zabuza had come for her, after all.
Zabuza's eyes narrowed as he took in the sight before him. Kakashi's brats had come after all, but Haku had obviously intercepted them. Judging from
the motionless bodies, the girl had already disposed of two of them. The third, however, Hatake's blonde mini doppelgänger, was evidently the source of the malevolent demon-chakra. As he had closed in the feeling had intensified, and now, standing less than ten meters from the boy, it threatened to drive him to his knees. Still, Zabuza remembered the Sanbi's rampage through Kiri all those years ago, and while this was surely bad, it didn't match up to that apocalyptic memory.
"Hands off!" Zabuza snarled, intervening before the boy could choke his pawn to death. He swung Kubikiribōchō, aiming to remove the offending limb that was choking the life out of Haku. The blonde cast her aside easily, avoiding the massive sword contemptuously.
"The Kirigakure no Kijin, Momochi Zabuza. They call you Demon."
Zabuza suppressed a shiver at the sound of that warped, ancient voice. It was beyond the comprehension of any human, any living being, and the very words pressed at his mind, tearing at the fabric of his sanity, of his subconscious mind.
"Kakashi's been training a Jinchūriki, huh." Zabuza muttered, unsettled, hefting his blade back into a ready stance.
"Come now, let me show you what a true Demon is."
Zabuza's eyes widened as the blonde moved, so incredibly fast he left only a trail of blood red chakra, the air bursting with a sonic boom at the sheer velocity at which he had accelerated to in an instant. He brought Kubikiribōcho down to shield himself from the onslaught, bracing himself for impact. And what an impact it was.
The blonde's strike, a simple straight hook with his right hand hit harder than a speeding freight train, the pure force behind it leaving an aftershock of displaced, heated air. Zabuza blocked with his blade, but the kinetic energy contained within the punch literally blew him off his feet, sending him hurtling back through several trees. His shoulder, already sore, burned with agony as the wound reopened from the shock of being hit so hard. He came to a stop, breathing ragged and clutching his shoulder as blood seeped from between his fingers. Broken ribs, definitely, and there were splinters embedded in his flesh all over his body. He had to move, get away from the...
Only his reflexes honed over a thousand duels staved off his death, bringing his sword up again to block the crimson comet that came streaking towards him once more, fist coated with more of that toxic, incendiary chakra. Kubikiribōchō absorbed the earth shaking impact once more, chakra-forged steel straining to hold. It was a blade that had decapitated hundreds of Zabuza's enemies, never once losing its edge or its lethality, and had never failed its wielder.
The metal warped, bent, spiderweb fractures spreading along the length and breadth of the blade as the demonic specter that the boy had become grabbed its edge and pulled.
Kubikiribōchō, the headtaker's blade, the butcher's cleaver, one of the priceless, legendary Seven Swords of Kirigakure, shattered with a deafening bell toll, unable to bear the duress the boy had placed it under. Zabuza barely registered his sword's catastrophic failure before he found himself staring into a pair of crimson, slitted eyes that seemed to drag his very soul to hell.
"You do not deserve mercy, for you have shown none in your cursed life."
Zabuza looked down at the hand protruding through his chest, looking back up to stare at the boy who had killed him. He opened his mouth to speak, but only blood splattered forth, dribbling down his chin and neck as his voice failed him, the pernicious chakra already eating away at his insides, burning away at his lifeblood. Not-Naruto pulled his hand free, soaked with Zabuza's steaming blood that quickly boiled away, evaporating from the contact with his chakra cloak.
Zabuza's body crumpled, dead before it hit the ground.
Kakashi flew through the trees, moving faster than he thought he could. The Jōnin pushed himself, willing his legs and chakra to propel him just a little faster, just a little further. Everything had gone to shit, the whole mission had fallen apart. He had read the letter his kids had sent with Sai's bird, and had instantly broken out for the bridge.
He had no time to be angry, no time to process the magnitude of his son's folly. He had to get to the bridge before them, before they got killed. Damn his son's naive nobility and misplaced altruism. Such idiocy only got good men killed in their line of work. Kakashi only hoped he wouldn't be too late.
He was only a minute away from the bridge when he felt it, that same feeling he had felt twelve years ago, and panic gripped his mind. The Kyūbi was loose, judging from the breathtakingly evil atmosphere that had blanketed the entire area for kilometers around. It was that same malevolence that could drive a man to insanity, to suicide, just to get away, and Kakashi could only feel absolute fear for his son.
He burst through the trees, and the sight that confronted his eyes nearly drove him mad. His son, coated with a cloak of fiery, crimson demon-chakra, eyes aglow with an epochal hatred, blood soaked fist protruding from Zabuza's chest. His son pulled his hand from the Nuke-nin's body, allowing the body to fall to the ground.
"Naruto!" Kakashi all but screamed, landing just five meters from his possessed son.
"What have you done with my son, Kyūbi!" Kakashi snarled, incandescent chakra already gathering in the shape of his Raikiri in his right hand.
"I have saved him. Take better care of my host, Hatake Kakashi."
To hear the Kyūbi speak, to say his name, almost broke Kakashi's mind. His human sanity simply was not built to speak with the almost-divine, supremely demonic entity that dwelled within his beloved son.
"He's alive?" Kakashi managed to get out.
"Only by my intervention. He will need healing. His body is not yet ready to harness my power. I relinquish him to your care."
The chakra coat about his son receded, and those deep, beautiful cerulean pools once more looked upon the world, the demon's smouldering gaze fading away. Naruto went limp, body slumping to the ground. Kakashi caught him, cradling his son.
"D-Dad?"
"I'm here, I'm here Naruto."
"S-save... them..." Naruto whispered, pointing at the motionless bodies of his team, before passing out.
Hatake Kakashi had led one of the most distinguished and illustrious careers in the Konoha Shinobi Corps history. He had served with distinction in the Third War, carving out a reputation of ruthless dedication to finishing his missions. He had become an ANBU Captain after the war, and in that short stint had become a legend for never failing a mission, and never losing a teammate. He was one of the strongest men in Konoha, and one of its foremost Shinobi.
Confronted with the nightmare before him, with all three of students critically injured, including his son, Kakashi just didn't know what to do.
A/N
A monster chapter, in more ways than one. I rewrote this many times, but I still feel rather unsatisfied with how it turned out. Hope that it's still of a satisfactory quality.
A few things to address,
Some of you may be surprised that Naruto was able to lay the smack down on both Haku and Zabuza so easily. Naruto will bear the consequences of this, don't worry. Power doesn't come free. Also, the Kyūbi is meant to be the most powerful demon in existence since the Juubi was split up, and Naruto wasn't just drawing on the Kyūbi's chakra, he was basically possessed by the demon. Think of Naruto fighting Pain in Cannon, it's something like that, except not as far gone.
This Kyūbi is different from the one in Cannon, both in power and character. We'll get to explore it more in the future, but one distinction is that the whole Kyūbi is sealed in Naruto, no ying-yang bullshit. I've also played up its power by quite abit, because I just feel like for the supposed literal harbinger of the apocalypse that it's meant to be in Cannon, the Kyūbi sort of gets shat on lol. Expect a very, very, very ancient and powerful Kyūbi.
Naruto's decision to help the people of Wave stems a lot from the trauma that he endured after the Uchiha Massacre, and how much he hates feeling helpless. Whether or not what he did was the right thing to do is something I look forward to exploring next chapter. Expect the significant bump in the road for our dear Father-Son relationship. Naruto's idealism and desire to protect people is going to clash horribly with Kakashi's professionalism and rather selfish desire to keep his son safe at all costs.
A big thank you to everyone who's kept up with this story so far, and as always, I appreciate the feedback, it's what helps me push through writing the difficult chapters like this one.
Till the next chapter,
Read and Review!