Chapter 15
Haku quickly jumped into a mirror as Naruto charged at him. With one punch, Naruto shattered the mirror. Surprised, Haku didn't block the kick that was thrown by Naruto. It sent the teen flying into another mirror. Haku quickly shook the cobwebs out just in time to get out of Naruto's way. He disappeared into a mirror and surrounded Naruto. He then launched a barrage of senbon at Naruto. They struck the blond but it did not drop him. He roared and forced the needles out of him. Haku was surprised and shocked at the hate and malice in his chakra.
Having enough, Naruto did some hand seals.
"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)" Naruto roared. He was surrounded by a dome of flame before the fire split up into several dragons. Because of the chakra of the Kyūbi, the fire was much more intense and strong enough to smash through the ice mirrors. Haku was able to escape the attack and landed away from his former dome. He then felt a sudden chill. He lashed out with a senbon but his wrist was caught by Naruto. Spinning him around, Naruto drove his fist into Haku's gut. He gasped but he wasn't able to register it because he was smashed in the face. He was sent flying a few feet before being stomped on.
Naruto flicked out a kunai and was about to bring it down onto the prone body but suddenly stopped himself. The punch that he landed on his face smashed the mask into pieces. It revealed a familiar face to the blond. Haku coughed up some blood before looking at the boy.
"Why did you stop your assault?" Haku asked weakly.
"What… What the hell are you doing here?" Naruto asked demandingly.
"I would think that the answer is self-explanatory." Haku said. He moved, making Naruto react and bat away the senbon. He threw another kunai and caught Haku in the leg as he moved out of the way. Haku pulled out the kunai and looked at Naruto. "You are quite good Naruto. Zabuza-sama was right about you."
"Enough of the bullshit Haku! Why are you here? Tell me!" Naruto demanded. Haku looked at him and began his story.
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Zabuza was waiting in the mist as he looked for Kakashi. That vile chakra that he felt earlier was now gone and he could barely feel Haku's chakra. He was a little worried about that. The blond kid was very skilled and could probably match Haku in skill. Still, he needed to concentrate on the task at hand. He could hear the heartbeat of one of Kakashi's brats that was near another heartbeat, which he assumed was the old man. He could hear Kakashi's ragged breathing and smirked. It seems that that wound he gave him was affecting him. He believed that it was time to end this fight.
Suddenly, he heard Kakashi's voice and something being slammed onto the ground.
"Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu! (Summoning: Earth Release: Tracking Fang Technique)" Kakashi said. Zabuza was confused by what he was doing. He suddenly heard the rumbling of ground below him. He moved his foot as a pair of teeth came out of the ground. He wasn't fast enough to avoid the other pair of fangs that dug into his ankle. He was then bitten several more times, two in each ankle, one in his knee, one in his thigh, one in his forearm and one on his shoulder. He was restrained and could not move. He was in pain but he looked around to see that he was being restrained by dogs.
"What… How…" Zabuza hissed.
"You're not the only one who can see in the mist Zabuza. My ninken (ninja hounds) can track you as well. All they needed was the blood that you have on your blade." Kakashi said. Zabuza growled. He couldn't move because the dogs would tear him apart. The mist began to clear and Zabuza could see Kakashi. "I believe it is time to end this." Zabuza watched as he did some hand seals and put his palm toward the ground. That's when Kakashi's chakra was being shown. This shocked Zabuza who watch it with a little fear. Lightning was arcing from his hand and it was blaring loudly.
'What is this? I can actually see his chakra.' Zabuza thought. Kakashi looked at Zabuza with a serious glare.
"Like I said before, your future is death." Kakashi said.
"I'm sick of your bullshit. I don't care what your stupid monkey eye could do; you can't tell me the future." Zabuza snarled.
"You went too far Zabuza. Your ambition was too great and because of it you had to attach yourself to scum like Gatō. Tazuna's dream will not be stopped by you or Gatō because he is doing things for his country. A dangerous person like yourself would not know anything about that. That's why I can show you no more mercy. You're about to die Zabuza so this country can live." Kakashi lectured before charging at Zabuza with amazing speed. He reared his hand back and prepared to kill Zabuza.
XXX
Naruto and Haku stood in front of each other. Naruto could not believe how harsh Haku's life was. He couldn't even compare to what he went through. While he never knew his parents, he would have never thought that they would kill him just because he had a kekkei genkai. To hear how the life of every kekkei genkai user in Kirigakure, was just shocking and it made his familiarize with Haku. He couldn't judge Haku for his connection to Zabuza as it was somewhat similar to his relationship with Anko.
"So, now you know why? Now, I need you finish what you started. I am a broken tool and I am no use to Zabuza-sama. You must end my life." Haku said.
"I get where you're coming from Haku but I'm not going to kill you in cold blood." Naruto snarled.
"Why not? Are you too soft to take a life? Does the death of your comrade not enrage you?" Haku taunted.
"No, you're too kind hearted to kill. I bet that's he's in the same state that you put Zabuza in. I'm not going to kill you Haku. Convince Zabuza to surrender and maybe we can do something." Naruto pleaded. Haku smiled at him but turned serious when he felt a spike of chakra. It wasn't Zabuza so he knew that it was Kakashi. He turned to Naruto.
"I wish we had met under different circumstances Naruto. We could have been very good friends. Good-bye." Haku said before he vanished. Naruto cursed and made his way over to where he believed Haku was going.
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Kakashi looked at the situation with surprise. Blood was splattered over his face but it was not the blood of Momochi Zabuza. His dogs were forcefully removed from Zabuza with a bunch of senbon. A mirror of ice was between the two jōnin and a body was there as well. It was Haku who had blood running down his mouth. He had a smile on his face and a grip on Kakashi's arm, preventing it from going farther into his chest.
"Za… bu… za… sama…" Haku whispered. Zabuza's shock turned into a vicious smirk.
"That's my tool. You were always the best." Zabuza said before grabbing his blade. Kakashi reacted quickly and jumped away from Zabuza who just missed. Zabuza looked ready to push his advantage until he was struck in his knees, kidneys, shoulders and elbows. He dropped to his knees and was gasping at the pain he was in. He turned to the direction the attack came from and was facing a very angry Naruto. Kakashi was surprised as well at the shuriken that was lodged into the joints of the Kiri swordsman.
"You bastard! He gave his life for you and you try to cut his dead body in half just to kill Kakashi?!" Naruto snarled. "You don't deserve the love that he gave you!"
"Heh, so he wasn't able to kill you. He must have gotten connected to you and didn't fight with everything he had. I guess he failed after all." Zabuza scoffed. Naruto's killing intent spiked and looked like he wanted to rip his head off. That's when he heard laughter. Everyone turned to see Gatō standing in front an army of bandits.
"Well, look at the baby demon? Taken down by a little kid, how pathetic." Gatō mocked. Everyone laughed as Zabuza got to his feet.
"What is this Gatō?" Zabuza demanded.
"Well, I figure that you are too expensive to keep on my payroll. I've decided to just kill you and do the job myself. I'll cash in on your bounty." Gatō said with a smug smirk. He then looked at the dead body of the boy Kakashi laid down. "I guess I owe you a thank you for killing that brat. Stupid little shit broke my arm and I won't get to pay him back."
"You little son of a bitch," Naruto growled and was prepared to charge at the little bastard but Zabuza stepped in his path. Naruto was about to shout at the man before he watched him grab his sword. Naruto was surprised by this because he saw that his shuriken was still lodged in his joints. He shouldn't have been able to even stand. Zabuza saw his eyes and grunted.
"Next time, you should use kunai as they go deeper than shuriken." Zabuza said.
"I'll remember that the next time. What the hell are you planning now? If you think I'm going down, then you're as stupid as you look." Naruto said. The statement made Zabuza chuckle.
"I like your attitude kid. Whoever taught you did a really go job. Anyway, the little troll is mine to kill." Zabuza said. Naruto looked surprise at that. He gave Naruto a look. "Don't get the wrong idea brat; I ain't doing this for Haku. He was soft, not meant for the ninja world. I'm doing this so it will be memorized into your mind what a true shinobi is. Get ready kid, you're about to see why I'm called the Kirigakure no Kijin (Demon of the Mist)." He turned his attention back to Gatō and his army. He moved forward slowly, picking up speed as he went. Naruto watched as Zabuza tore into the bandits with his blade. Naruto had to concede that Zabuza was right. He would memorize this day.
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Naruto sat in front of the grave of Momochi Zabuza and Haku. The Kubikiribōchō (Decapitating Carving Knife) was used as Zabuza's head stone while a wooden cross draped with Haku's brown sash. Naruto watched the graves for a while before he spoke.
"You know Haku; I finally understand why you did what you did. I wasn't because you owe him; it was because he was important to you. He took you from your hellish life and gave you a purpose. I can see why you cared for him and why you saved him from Kakashi in that last moment. The same thing happened to me not to long ago when my favorite teacher took a shuriken in the back for me. He must really care for me as you did for Zabuza. While the no-brows said some stuff I didn't like, in the end, he showed that he cared for you a lot. I bet you were smiling at that." Naruto said and laughed for a bit. He stayed quiet for a few moments before he spoke again.
"You know, I think I'm going to create a nindo, a ninja way for myself. I don't think that we're tools or demons. We're humans and we have the will to never give up. I learned that from the both of you. Zabuza may have been an ass but he never gave up on going back to your village and taking control of it. You swore to protect Zabuza and you did just that. My nindo, I'm not gonna run away and I never go back on my word. That'll be my nindo." Naruto said with pride. He then stood up and looked at the graves. "Well, I have to go and pack. We leave in the morning now that the bridge is done. I hope to see you soon but not too soon."
With that said, Naruto made his way back to Tazuna's house.
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Kakashi was reading his book while his students were packing up their things. With the bridge complete, it was time to get back to Konoha. It had been a few tense days since the fight on the bridge. He was glad that everyone got out of that situation with only a few bruises and cuts. He was very happy that Sasuke was alive and only put in a death like state. Either way, everything had gone well and it was time to get back home.
He turned when he heard the door open and in came Naruto. He guessed that Naruto was visiting the graves of Zabuza and Haku. He attempted to greet Naruto but the blond just scoffed and made his way upstairs to pack. He sighed and wondered what the blonde's problem with him was. He had gotten very cold to him and Sasuke. His attitude toward Sasuke was deserved when he demanded that Naruto teach him that Suiton (water release) jutsu. It wasn't something to do since Naruto was thanking him for saving his life. However, his attitude toward him was something he didn't understand. He racked his brain, wondering what he did.
He didn't like this attitude of his student and made a note to talk to Anko about it.
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Authors' Notes: Well, the Wave Arc is done and we're on the road back to Konoha. I hope that you enjoy this chapter and the end to the arc. Enjoy the chapter.
