Hi, all! I hope you all are doing amazing on this lovely Thursday! ^_^ And what's a Thursday without an update from this story!? ^_^
Okay, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and please remember I own squat from Naruto or Dragon Ball Z! XD
The air was thick with tension as the two pairs of groups gazed at each other.
Zabuza growled as his fingers gripped his sword very intensely while glaring at Son Gohan.
"Leave him for me." Zabuza commanded to his helper.
"Right, Master Zabuza." Haku acknowledged.
"Sasuke, Sakura, you both can take Haku." Gohan began.
"But-"Sakura tried to begin before Gohan cut her off.
"You both can handle it. I believe in you two." Gohan said as Sasuke smirked while Sakura gave a small smile.
"Okay….Thanks." Sakura thanked Gohan.
"And Naruto, Kakashi and I can handle Zabuza here." Gohan said as Naruto grinned in excitement.
"Oh hell yeah!" Naruto grinned.
"Indeed." Kakashi smiled from behind his mask.
As everyone realized their assigned jobs, Sasuke decided to break the silence by throwing a three Kunai at Haku.
"Not good enough." Haku said as Sakura appeared right behind him.
"Oh yeah!? Take this!" Sakura yelled as she gave Haku a chakra pilled punch straight to the gut knocking him back.
"Not bad but I'm afraid I can stay away from my master for long. Especially with Gohan right there with him…." Haku began before making a series of hand-signs as a sheet of water from a nearby crack in the bridge begin to slowly rise up before it surrounded Haku, freezing him inside of it.
"What the? What is this!?" Sakura asked in amazement as Haku appeared from an ice mirror that hung not that far from the ground as several other ice mirrors appeared around him, completely surrounding the three.
"Is this some sort of mirror projection?" Sasuke pondered.
"That's correct…With this jutsu I can project myself onto whatever mirror I choose…." Haku began as he reached for a hand of Senbon needles, "And I'm sorry to say…but this is where you two must end…." Haku darkly finished as the two were suddenly assaulted with a barrage of needles.
"Ugh…w-what…just happened!?" Sakura asked as she rubbed the blood from her scraped cheeks.
"We got assaulted by needles…" Sasuke retorted bluntly with some annoyance before the two made sure to dodge more of an onslaught of senbon needles.
"There's no use. You both would be better giving up now." Haku said as Sasuke growled.
"Not a chance!" Sasuke refused as he made a series of hand-signs.
"Firestyle! Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled as a ball of fire came from his mouth and launched at Haku who attempted to move to another mirror only to get part of his lower outfit burned.
"Tch!" Haku chided himself for his mistake.
"Alright Sasuke!" Sakura cheered.
"Don't relax yet Sakura! Lure him away and create an opening! That way I can attack him head on." Sasuke said to his teammate.
"Right." Sakura nodded in understanding as she launched a series of Shuriken and Kunai at the masked-ninja who easily dodged with little to no effort as Sasuke made a couple of more handsigns.
"If I time this right, I can get him before he gets into another mirror!" Sasuke said as Haku noticed this.
"If I go for him, this definitely won't be a problem." Haku thought as he aimed senbon right at Sasuke's pressure points.
"Oh no! Sasuke!" Sakura yelled as she realized Sasuke's defenses were down.
"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled as she jumped over Sasuke, taking the blow of the hits meant for him on her.
Sasuke could only watch on in horror as his teammate was assaulted with various senbon needles.
Before Sakura could hit the ground, Sasuke caught her.
"S-sakura…w-why?" Sasuke could stammer as Sakura gave the last Uchiha a weakened smile.
"B-Because….I….." Sakura could barely stammer before she lost consciousness.
Again….again! Sasuke had lost someone who was important to him…Throughout their training together, Sasuke began to slowly respect Sakura…Especially since she wasn't acting like such a lovesick dog anymore….Although he had no romantic feelings for Sakura, she was still becoming a friend to him.
A friend…he lost…because of his own carelessness…
"I'm very sorry for your loss…. But just know…." Haku tried to say before Sasuke looked up at him….
However what stood out the most to Haku was his eyes….They were suddenly red with two irises….But the look in them….They were red….Red…with hatred….
"I'm going to be the one to stop you!" Sasuke roared as he lunged at Haku who attempted to move to another window before Sasuke caught his wrist.
"Too slow!" Sasuke growled as he gripped Haku's wrist with so much force that he nearly broke it.
"Ugh…." Haku grunted in pain before she was suddenly launched in the air.
"I'm not done yet!" Sasuke growled as he knocked him dead in the face, breaking his mask.
"Get back here! Lions Barrage!" Sasuke yelled as he slammed his foot dead in the chest of Haku, making Haku spit up blood as he lost consciousness.
"That's what you get…bastard…." Sasuke muttered.
Meanwhile as all this went on…..
"Listen Zabuza, I don't want to hurt you." Gohan suggested as Zabuza laughed.
"Hahaha! Boy that's amusing! You have the nerve to pity me and try to show me mercy again!? I plan on cutting you to shreds!" Zabuza roared before he lunged at Gohan as he took out a small pocket knife.
"What the?" Naruto asked with raised eyebrows.
"This is more than enough than what I need to beat you, Zabuza. Give up now." Gohan tried reasoning with the ninja whose veins popped behind his bandages.
"I'll show you to play with me boy!" Zabuza growled before he was stopped dead in his tracks. Before he could say anything, blood seeped from behind his bandages. He looked down his chest to see the pocket knife imbedded into his chest.
"Like I said, you can't beat me." Gohan said as he pulled it out.
"Whoa! Did you see that!?" Naruto yelled.
"So fast!" Kakashi thought.
"Just what is this kid? Some kind of monster?" Tazuna asked to no one in particular.
"Heh…..To think…you could do this to me…No matter!" Zabuza chuckled before a mist of fog surrounded Zabuza.
"Why don't you let me handle this?" Naruto suggested before summoning Ki on his own, making it evaporate the mist.
"What!?" Zabuza said before he was assaulted by over a dozen Naruto clones.
"Here we go!" The Naruto clones yelled as the all overwhelmed and attacked him.
"Naruto Uzumaki! 2K Barrage!" Naruto yelled as they all knocked the rogue-ninja to the ground.
"Nice work you two. Now, for me to finish him off…" Kakashi said as he was about to form the hand-seals for his famed jutsu, the Chidori before everyone noticed Haku shoot high into the sky.
"What the?" Kakashi asked as Sasuke appeared close to him.
"That's…Sasuke?" Gohan pondered before he delivered several hits to Haku in the sky before he brought him down with a very hard kick.
"Ow! That's gonna leave a mark!" Naruto winced as Sasuke breathed before deactivating his Sharingan.
While muttering profanity to himself, Naruto ran to Sasuke along with Gohan.
"Hey Sasuke!" Naruto happily greeted his friend.
"Damn it…." Sasuke cursed to himself.
"Where's Sakura?" Gohan asked as Sasuke sighed.
"She's dead." Sasuke bluntly said as the air left Naruto's and Gohan's lungs.
"W-what?" Naruto asked, visibly horrified.
"That bastard over there killed her…." Sasuke admitted in shame as Naruto felt the nine tails power in him nearly take over before he calmed himself down.
"I say finish him off…." Sasuke said as Naruto shook his head.
"No….if we do…it'll make us no better than him…." Naruto said as tears flew freely from his eyes, distraught over not being able to tell Sakura how he felt about her.
Gohan was just as distraught as he knew he couldn't do anything for her as Sasuke took it the hardest….being saved yet again…..
Kakashi sadly sighed at hearing the news as Zabuza smirked.
"Well…even though Haku failed at least he got one of you!" Zabuza smugly gloated as Kakashi gave him a death glare.
"I plan on ending this right now!" Kakashi roared as before the tapping of a cane got everyone's attention.
"Actually I say you both failed!" The harsh voice of Gato got everyone's attention.
"Gato…why the hell are you here!?" Zabuza growled in annoyance.
"Is that anyway to greet your employer?" Gato sneered before donning a smirk.
"You see…I've decided…you and that brat will die here!" Gato announced with his men cheering behind him as Zabuza was stunned.
"What!?" Zabuza yelled in a voice full of rage and hate.
"You have any idea how much it'll take to pay a normal ninja? I go with you rogue ninjas until you're of no use and then get rid of you. And I can whole-heartedly say I'm making the right choice. For crying out loud, you were getting your ass handed to you by kids! We can easily kill you now!" Gato gloated as Zabuza's eyes were shadowed.
The rest of Team Seven were started by this recent change of events.
"Heh…seeing as how I've been betrayed…I have no reason to go after that old man anymore…." Zabuza announced starting out heroes.
"Heh…look like I was played…and no one pays me and lives to tell about it!" Zabuza said to Gohan who looked at him slightly hesitantly. If he was no longer an enemy, maybe he could be an ally.
With that, he disappeared in a flash of light and ran like a demon through the various hired ninja who tried impaling and gutting him only to get gutted and killed themselves before finally making his way to Gato who he impaled dead in the heart.
"Hey Gato….I may not die here today but I'll definitely see you in hell! Old man!" Zabuza yelled as he slashed him several times before decapitating him completely, as everyone was left stunned at the horrific display.
With that….Zabuza made his way to Haku who he picked up.
"Brat…your offer of a second chance…I may take this….Thank you…." Zabuza said before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.
Before anyone could say anything, Sakura awoke.
"W-where…Am…I?" Sakura asked as Naruto happily glomped her.
"Sakura! You're awake!" Naruto happily cried as tears fell from his eyes as she was so far out of it to notice.
"W-wait!? Where's Haku!?" Sakura yelled as she indirectly pushed Naruto off of her.
"He left…it turns out that Zabuza had a change of heart…" Gohan smiled as Sakura was too stunned for words.
Sasuke smiled at her in acknowledgement as Tazuna and Kakashi also smiled, knowing she was okay.
However…
"Hey don't forget us!" One of Gato's thugs yelled.
"Don't think we're leaving here without getting anything!" Another yelled.
"You'll get this!" A young voice yelled as he received an arrow to the shoulder.
Everyone looked to see the source of the speaker was none other than young Inari with Tsunami and all the other villagers.
"We won't let you mess with our village!" Tsunami yelled as Tazuna couldn't stop the proud smile from adorning his face. At long last the Land of Waves finally found its will of fight.
"Hey don't leave me out of the fun!" Naruto grinned as he summoned twenty shadow clones.
"Same here!" Gohan laughed as he powered up his Ki.
Sasuke merely activated his Sharingan.
"I think some Kakashi should be factored in as well." Kakahsi chuckled as he summoned twenty clones of his own.
Knowing they were outnumbered, the thugs from Gato's side ran away crying for their mommies as everyone, sans Sasuke, cheered for their victory.
At long last the bridge would finally be complete.
Three days after the Land of Waves' victory over Gato, a celebratory party was thrown.
In one part of the party, Gohan and Naruto were having an eatoff of sorts as Gohan easily won.
"Damn it! I will win one day just you wait!" Naruto yelled before he fell over in his seat.
"Haha yeah but not a day too soon!" Gohan grinned, thanking his dad for his Saiyan genes that let him eat nearly anything.
Sakura was laughing as she watched from nearby as she was healing up from her wounds from Haku when she was suddenly approached by Sasuke.
"Sasuke? What's up?" Sakura pondered as Sasuke looked away.
"Thank you for saving me." Sasuke simply said before walking away as she laughed.
Same old Sasuke.
As all this went on, Tazuna's family were scrambling for a name for their bridge nearly completed.
"Hey…why not…..the great Gohan and Naruto bridge? They were the ones who influenced us to keep fighting." Tsunami suggested.
"No…it's too long and doesn't have enough…pizzazz to it…." Tazuna said as a lightbulb appeared over Inari's head.
"Hey I've got it! Why not The Bridge of Hope!? I think it's fitting!" Inari smiled as the two adults stared at the young boy before they smiled.
"Hehe…I agree!" Tsunami giggled.
"I like it, then it's decided! The Bridge of Hope it is!" Tazuna declared.
With this, The Bridge of Hope was born…..A bridge extended to other nations only thanks to the love and hope from a pair of courageous kids…..
Chapter 12 is NOW in the books now folks! =D
I hope you liked the ending to MY version of the Land of Waves Arc! ^_^
In the next couple of chapters, we finally start the Chunin Exams! Although not in the next chapter as the following couple of chapters will be fillerish chapters! Don't worry! They won't be no more than three chapters! XP
Now…as stated in the last chapter….Chapter 13 will be coming out after I take a two month long break from this story. That way I can properly recharge and refresh so I won't be burned out from this story.
However, don't be sad! I plan on still making new stories, one-shots and etc. so it'll be like I never left! XD
Now thank you all SO MUCH for the continued support on this story!
Seriously 200+reviews on only the 12th chapter!? I have a feeling this story really will go somewhere! Thank you all again and I'll see you all again in Chapter 13 on Thursday, July 5th, 2018! ^_^
Stay awesome!
-Mimi ^_^
