Gatou more like Fattou haha boom bitch you done got roasted-


There was a banging on Inari's door. He gulped, hesitating, before slowly moving forwards to grab the doorknob. That was when the corner of it splintered and it was forced open. Inari screamed and staggered backwards, crashing into the umbrella stand (important things to have in a rainy country like wave) as two men walked in the door. They wielded cleavers, had missing teeth, and generally looked like they didn't have great intentions.

"Hey little kiddy." One leered. "Say, is your granddaddy home?"

"He is." Tazuna walked out from another room. "And you damn kids better get off my property."

The two brandished their weapons. "That so?" One said. "Perfect. We'd heard you would be at the bridge. Too scared?"

Tazuna said nothing. If the two had been paying more attention, or just had better eyesight, they might have noticed that he looked a little...flat.

"Heh. Well, this is a treat. Gatou will give the one who kills you a bonus."

"Well that's a shame." Said Tazuna, cracking his knuckles. "Because I'm afraid you two are about to...not...get the bonus."

They blinked at him. He sighed.

"Sorry. One liners are hard."

Then he blurred to life. He grabbed the first one's arm and brought his elbow down on it, making the cleaver drop from nerveless fingers. Then he jabbed him in the face and put a knee into his stomach. The second thug was faster, swinging his weapon towards Tazuna, who ducked it and backed up across the hallway.

"Nobody told me you could fight." He snarled. "Oh whatever. Say goodnight you wrinkly old son of a-OW!"

Inari swung the umbrella again, buckling the thug's legs at the knee. He spun round and grabbed the umbrella, glaring at the boy, in time for Tazuna to wind up and put a kick right between his legs. He stiffened and collapsed.

Tazuna poofed into Naruto, who dusted off his hands. "Wow, that was way less difficult than Zabuzza. I got the easy job."

"So your plan..." Said the real Tazuna, walking in from the kitchen now the coast was clear. "Was to have a copy of a ninja pretending to be me go to the bridge, but also have a copy of a ninja pretending to be me waiting at home in case they came here? Do you always do things this complicated?"

Naruto snorted. "We're ninja. This plan was basic. Oh yeah, great job Inari! You're a real hero!"

Inari shook his head. "Not yet. This means Gatou's also hiring petty thugs. Even if his ninja fail, he might just storm the town. We need to rally the people."

"Are you sure?" Tazuna asked. "That's a mighty different attitude to what you had yesterday."

Inari nodded. "Miss Hinata set me straight. I don't want us to die for this town, but it'd be worse if we died for nothing. We need to fight."

Naruto grinned. "Alright then! Lets go make a mob and fight a mob boss!"


Fear was not a strange thing for Haku to experience. Everyday, he was afraid that he might find himself replaced, that Zabuzza would decide him useless and abandon him. He was similarly afraid he would prove himself useless before Zabuzza realised it, and that he would disappoint his master.

Strange, to him, was fear of a thing. Doubts were ethereal; he hadn't been scared of a tangible threat since the mob that had driven him out of his first home.

He was scared of Naruto now.

The genin's eyes were locked onto him, glowing red, and the killing intent Haku felt from them was something he'd never experienced before, not even from Zabuzza, and every ounce of it was directed at him. It was the look of a hunter stalking its prey, a fox about to pounce on a rabbit. It was terrifying.

As he watched, one of his master's water clones jumped at Naruto, swinging its sword. Naruto caught it (caught the blade) and then punched the clone with his other hand. The hit indented the clone's stomach, and then it evaporated, spraying steam across the bridge. There was a small cut on Naruto's palm, but it healed before Haku's eyes. Then the fox-boy leapt.

Haku reacted on instinct, jumping backwards and bringing his hands up in front of himself. Ice formed, layering up between him and the monster. There was a moment, and then Naruto smashed through the wall just as easily as he had smashed through the ice mirrors. Haku threw some senbon but they bounced straight off the cloak of chakra surrounding what could not be a normal genin. Then there was a blur, and Haku gasped as he was backhanded another ten metres across the bridge. He gasped again as Naruto caught up to him and grabbed him by the throat before he could even hit the cobblestones. Naruto was right there, holding him up so that his toes barely scraped the floor. Haku could feel the heat from the red aura as he brought back one fist, ready to punch. But he hesitated. Haku could see the conflict in his eyes.

That was when the remainder of Haku's mask collapsed, and he was forced into direct eye contact with the beast.

"I'm sorry." Was all Haku could manage through the choking grip.

Naruto's eyes widened again. The red slowly disappeared from his blue irises and he dropped Haku, stumbling backwards.

"I..." Naruto got out. "You-"

"Eight trigrams, thirty two palms!"

Haku stiffened, as a series of strikes thudded into his back.

His body below the face went numb, and he collapsed.

"...what?" Asked the Hyuuga girl's voice from behind him.


"Haku!" Zabuzza yelled in a surprising show of emotion, as his student collapsed to the floor.

That distraction was his downfall.

Sasuke, with the unerring precision of the Sharingan, threw a kunai straight through the circular hole of Zabuzza's moving sword, embedding itself into the ground. Razor wire glinted, and Sasuke pulled, forcibly restraining the weapon as Kakashi made hand signs. "Chidori!" The jonin cried, as lighting coalesced around his hand with a loud chittering sound. Without further time wasting, he buried it in Zabuzza's chest.

Haku let out a gut wrenching scream.

Zabuzza coughed blood, and staggered backwards with a gaping hole in his chest. "Well." He rasped. "Guess I won't be getting that pay check."

"No, I'm afraid you won't." Called a voice from across the bridge.

Hinata gulped. "Sensei..."

Kakashi looked up. Boots stepped out of the mist. Crossing the bridge that was only barely functional was a veritable army. Dozens of thugs, armed with god knows what, and at their head was a very short man with silly hair and black glasses.

"I'm dissapointed, Zabuzza." Continued Gatou. "You made me a promise, and couldn't deliver. But I suppose that means I don't have to pay you, which is good."

"This is the guy you're working for?" Kakashi asked, incredulously.

Zabuzza gave a low chuckle. "Times have been hard." He turned to his employer. Blood dripped from the hole in his chest. "My associate" he gestured to Haku. "Is only temporarily out of action. Given your little gang would have" he coughed up some more blood. "no chance against these ninja if they weren't exhausted, I trust you will be willing to negotiate partial pay with him?"

Gatou laughed. "Partial-who do you think I am?" He turned to his thugs. "Boys. Kill them all." The men advanced.

Zabuzza sighed. "Thought so." He turned to Kakashi. "Well, copy ninja, it's been fun. Now would you be so kind as to lend me a kunai?"

From the floor, Haku gasped. "No! Don't!"

Slowly, Kakashi drew a knife from his pocket, and threw it across to Zabuzza. He caught it, testing the weight.

"Mighty kind of you. Haku," he turned to his student. "I admit to feeling a little bad about pulling you off the streets and raising you as a weapon. Just a little. But at least now you're strong enough to make your own way in the world, so perhaps some would call that a good deed."

Haku was teary eyed.

Zabuzza turned to Gatou's men, balancing the knife on one finger. "Anyway, I'm dying, and these leaf ninja are too damn soft to kill you, so I'm sure you'll be fine. Good luck. I've got a contract that needs paying, and as this spineless bastard is too shrewd to use money..." He gripped the kunai. "I'll have to take his blood."

Then Zabuzza moved.

Kakashi watched, impassively, as the missing-nin charged the mob. On deaths door he may have been, but Zabuzza moved like a man possessed, cutting left and right with reckless abandon. The terrified men swung weapons at him, burying knives and swords into his back. He killed them and kept going. In his last moments, Zabuzza earned the title 'Demon of the mist'. His rampage culminated when he finally reached Gatou. Grinning at the screaming businessman, he drove his kunai into his stomach and brought it up, gutting him where he stood. Then, with a final grunt, Zabuzza collapsed.

For a moment, all that could be heard were Haku's sobs.

Then Gatou's men started grumbling.

"Well damn."

"The boss is dead."

"There goes our payday."

"I'm not going away empty handed."

"I vote we take our money out of the town!"

"Hell yeah! They're bound to have something if the boss was spending so much crushing them!"

Kakashi rolled his eye and got into stance. "Looks like we aren't done yet kids."

His genin got ready. Hinata as impassive as ever, Sasuke tired but prepared, Naruto completely out of sorts but physically the most ready of them all.

This wasn't going to be pretty.

It was a shame; Kakashi had hoped his students wouldn't have to kill for a while yet, but he didn't see a way to stop a good hundred fighters without getting his hands dirty.

That was, until he heard the shouting from behind him.

"There they are!"

"They're still holding the bridge!"

"The ninja are with us!"

"C'mon! Let's give them a hand!"

Team seven turned. The Naruto shadow clone they had left behind was running towards them alongside Tazuna and Inari. Behind them was what looked like the whole damn town of wave.

"Hey guys!" Called the Naruto clone. "Sorry I took so long, got a bit excited starting a mob and, whoa. What happened to me?"

Naruto gave his clone half a wave.

Gatou's mob took a collective step back as Wave's people formed a wall between them and the town. Everything hung in the balance. That was when Kakashi put his hands together. "Your employer is dead!" He told the hostile mob. "There is nothing else in this fight for you except combat with ninja of the leaf, and the resistance of the land of wave. Leave. Now."

When they didn't immediately turn around, he started making hand seals. The giant water dragon that appeared from beneath the bridge, roaring steam, was the tipping point. Gatou's men ran.


It was amongst the cheering and celebration of wave's citizens that feeling returned to Haku's body. The thirty-two palms was half the strikes of the sixty-four, but much less than half the effectiveness. It took only minutes before Haku's pained chakra network was up and running again. He was able to stagger to his feet. Nobody paid him any mind as he walked past the laughing, smiling townsfolk. None except the Hyuuga girl, Hinata, but Naruto held her back. Haku wondered if her eyes could spot the hole in his heart.

He approached their jonin-Sensei; Naruto had said his name was Kakashi. He looked down at Haku. Haku knelt before him. "Ninja of Konoha." He said, numbly. "Congratulations on your victory. Would you do me the service of killing me?"

Kakashi stared, impassively.

Then, "Hell no!" It wasn't the copy-ninja who had spoken.

Haku looked up and to the side. Naruto was stalking up, angrily.

"My apologies, Naruto." Haku said, sincerely. "I understand if you would rather claim my-"

"Okay, stop that." Naruto held up a hand. He knelt down so he was on Haku's level. "What, do you think I stopped the nine-tails from killing you for no reason?"

"I..." Haku didn't know what to say.

Naruto pointed a finger in his face. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Stop acting like you don't have a soul. Start taking some fucking responsibility for your actions!"

Kakashi looked across at Hinata.

"Did Naruto just-"

"I think he did-"

"Your master is dead." Naruto continued. "That's sad. I get that. But you have to move on. Decide for yourself what to do, who to care about, and decide for yourself what to do once you've screwed it up!"

"But I-" Haku cut himself off. "I don't know how." He said, simply.

Naruto put a hand on his shoulder. "Then I'll help." He replied, with a smile. "I like to think I'm pretty good at doing the right thing. Just no trying to get yourself killed again, okay?"

Despite everything, Haku managed to smile. "Okay." He stuck out his hand. "Friends?"

Naruto grinned, and shook it. "Friends."

"...And that." Kakashi added. "Is how to successfully capture and repurpose an enemy asset. Good job Naruto. I'd commend your devious charisma if I didn't know you actually meant everything you just said."

Tazuna walked up with Inari, smiling. "Well, looks like everything's sorted." He told them. "Once everyone is done spitting on Gatou we'll finish work on the bridge. It's gonna need a name, though. Something dramatic."

"How about." Naruto made a pose. "The Great...Naruto bridge!"

"Mister Tazuna." Kakashi said. "Please do not name your bridge after my genin."

"Yeah, that'd be pretty dumb." Said Sasuke.

"Guys! Come on!"

"I think it works." Hinata shyly added.

"Thank you!"

"Hey, what's that thing Kakashi used at the end?" Inari spoke up.

Kakashi tilted his head. "What, the water dragon jutsu?"

"Yeah, that!"

"You want to call it the water dragon bridge?" Sasuke snorted.

"No wait!" Naruto held up a finger. "Call it 'Bridge of the Water Dragon'."

"Ooh!" Exclaimed Inari, giggling. "I like that one!"

"Well, I guess it's decided then." Tazuna replied, chuckling. "Are you going to stay? These people probably want to thank you."

"We do need to get back..." Kakashi looked at his team. "But I'm sure we can stay tonight. Provided you're feeding us, of course."

"Well, I have to make up for your shoddy pay somehow." Tazuna responded, chuckling. "And now I think we just might be able to give you a real feast. You four are welcome anytime you want to stay."

"Oh by the way, since we're wrapping this whole thing up..." Sasuke started. Then he grabbed Tazuna by the lapels, activating his Sharingan. "You see this old man? Huh? You see the Sharingan? That's the Uchiha bloodline limit right there! Stop fucking doubting my heritage!"

"Alright, alright." Tazuna laughed it off. "Calm down, I believed you from the start."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I mean why would you have lied?"

"Then why?" Sasuke begged.

Tazuna shrugged. "Well, I guess I was just fucking with you."

"...I'm going to burn this bridge to the ground."

"Sasuke no-"


Ten years ago.

"I told my wife it was nothing," Sniffed the fire nation noble. "That I'd be fine with the regular security, but no, she insisted I pay for 'real ninja.' Still, I can't fault your performance against those bandits. I will ensure your fee is paid in full."

"Thank you very much, sir. I am glad we could be of use." Neji bowed, not too low, but low enough to indicate respect. Itachi mimicked him.

The noble stared down at them for a moment, trying to detect the hidden insult. Finding none, he shrugged and walked away.

"...Are we not going to tell him about the hidden stone assassination attempt?" Neji asked quietly, when he was far enough away.

"I see no reason to." Itachi said from beside him. "Not after I dealt with the one who ordered it and you stopped all the ninja. Telling him would just increase tensions between Stone and Leaf when we're trying to make a deal with them."

"You don't think it would be useful to hold that over their heads in negotiations?" Neji checked.

Itachi tilted his head. "Possibly. But bear in mind that we're after a lasting deal. Guilt from things like this fade quickly; we don't want them to break ties five or ten years down the line."

Neji nodded thoughtfully. "True...My father never taught me much in the way of politics. It was mostly just how to look good for the main branch of the family."

"I understand your clan's silly internal matters." Itachi wrinkled his nose up slightly. "Why do you think I sent you after the assassins and not the politician?"

"I chose to pursue the assassins."

"Of course you did. My apologies."

Neji shot Itachi a suspicious look. The latter just smiled innocently. The former knew damn well there hadn't been any genjutsu in play, and resolved to think on their earlier talks and check for manipulation. "Then what did you do with the Stone politician? It won't look good if his body shows up halfway through the talks."

"Oh he's fine." Itachi waved dismissively. "Over the next few weeks he will fall into a spiral of intense stress and, some may say, insanity, culminating in a very embarrassing show of social suicide."

"You're going to make him kill himself?" Neji's eyebrows rose.

"Social suicide." Itachi corrected. "He'll do something incredibly embarrasing that ruins his reputation. After which he'll have an epiphany about the meanings of true power and happiness and embark on a more honest life. I'm a pacifist, Neji."

"And you have such a wonderful way of showing it." The Hyuuga drawled. "How do you intend to manage this?"

"The seeds have already been sown. Though...it may be best if we could take some other missions in this area later so I can check up on his progress."

"I did not expect I'd have to spend time cleaning after your messes." Neji sighed. "And here I had hoped you would be precise."

"I am precise. In my destruction. Lets go; if we get back to Leaf fast enough we can watch the negotiations."

"Riveting."

"Oh fuck off, they are!"

Neji blinked. "Did you just swear?"

"...No."

"Itachi I didn't know you had such a foul mouth-"

"We are done talking. Leaf. Now." A little more relaxed around each other than before, the two genin began the walk back home


And so concludes the wave mission, as well as Neji and Itachi's first set of flashbacks. Obviously the butterfly effect changes some things; best boy Haku is still alive because Hinata touches him up (shudder) and he can't throw himself in front of Zabuzza. Expect more from him in the future. Next chapter is the aftermath, before we begin everyone's favourite arc of the show. One that lasts way longer than this one. Seriously, I have like 14 more chapters written and I'm still not done with the finals.