Well, it took a couple of weeks but you are treated to a double sized (compared to normal for me) chapter. Tax season for my boss means more time spent working. Life always comes before writing since work pays the bills and this doesn't.

Chapter 14: Battle in the Wave

It was not even dawn yet and Tazuna's house was a hive of activity. Tazuna and his grandson Inari were amazed at the way most of the ninja in the place were moving around. The only one missing right now was the loud one. Tazuna knew something else was going on underneath what these people had been saying. The girls, who had arrived with the loud one Naruto, all had seemed upset at the boy for some reason. It was not so evident this morning as the girls had gotten ready in the borrowed bedroom and came out as a group.

The original team all stopped what they were doing and looked at the girls. The one with the bugs went right back to what he had been doing after a single glance. The moody one just grunted and went back to his actions as well. The smelly dog boy just gaped like a fish as the girls went and grabbed some breakfast the 2 older ones had made. He started to step toward the girls when the bug kid grabbed his arm and said something to him in a low voice. The dog boy got a look of horror on his face and just backed away from the girls in silence. The white-eyed girl merely smirked a bit but if he had not been looking at her just then, Tazuna would have missed it.

The shy one with the white eyes was dressed differently this morning. The bulky jacket she had worn yesterday was gone and replaced with a tighter black long sleeve shirt. The only odd thing Tazuna could notice was the fabric hung loosely from the elbow to the wrist. Black fingerless gloves covered the girl's delicate hands and weapons pouches were strapped to both thighs and hips. The look of worry she had the day before was gone and replaced with what he could only call a calm focus.

It appeared that the pink haired one had swapped out her red overdress for a darker maroon one. It took Tazuna a minute to realize it was simply the old one turned inside out. A single large pack hung behind her waist. She looked focused as well.

He was thinking about the exchange later on when all motion in the kitchen stopped again. All the ninja were looking past him at the bedroom the men had slept in. Tazuna turned and looked at Naruto. The boy seemed completely different from the day before. Like his teammates, he was dressed differently and had a look of focus on his face. His blue eyes had gained a small bit of life to them that had been lacking the day before and a good portion of the anger that had been surrounding him was gone as well. Instead of the eye searing orange jumpsuit, the boy wore a dark gray outfit that would blend in well with shadows. His bright blonde hair was covered by a hood of the same color and held in place by his Leaf headband. The pants and shirt were close fitting but not tight enough to restrict movement. Fingerless gloves covered his hands and the metal plate on the back was coated to appear dark and non reflective. Metal studs of a similar color showed on the knuckles. The boy also had on dual weapon holsters on his thighs and hips. The pouches, holsters and armor wrap on his thigh to stabilize the holster were the same color as his outfit. Finally, Tazuna noticed that the boy had dark color socks on under his sandals.

The overall effect of the new look for the loud boy was simple. It screamed competence just as loudly as his orange outfit seemed to draw attention to him. Having seen both, Tazuna was highly intimidated by this dark reflection of the loud boy. The boy of course ruined the entire moment when after about 10 seconds of silence he looked down and checked to make sure he was not exposed. He looked up grinning after confirming that he wasn't. The spell was broken after that and the rest of the ninja resumed their morning activities.

Anko smirked after she saw Naruto come out of the bedroom. The kids were bouncing back faster than she had hoped. All three had gotten over the largest emotional baggage from the past few days. They still needed to talk things out but for now it was not going to hinder them. She had caught something passing between Hinata and Kiba but would wait to find out why he looked spooked and she smirked about it. The smirk alone told Anko volumes about her apprentice's state of mind. Once the boy was seated at the table and eating, Anko looked over at Kakashi.

"Look at this Kakashi. It seems we are in rare company today. The Fox and Rabbit are being seen in the broad daylight." She leaned over to Kakashi and chuckled. "But I think we need to do something about Pinky there. She just seems to be lacking something in the intimidation department. Who knows? Maybe she will end up taking after her teacher and becoming a junior version of Tsunade. The old lady did not really 'bust' out of her shell until she was 17 or so."

All three members of Anko's team blushed at the jokes the special jonin was making. The lighthearted teasing got a chuckle from the silver haired jonin, "Well, I have seen Fox and Rabbit at work in the past. Are you responsible for the modifications, Anko?"

"Not entirely. It was a group effort. Jiraiya, Tsunade and me all contributed something. Hinata and Naruto had the basic look down from their prank missions. We just tacked on weapons and armor to the original stealth concept the kids made. You can't see it as a routine thing but their normal clothes match in weight to their special outfits there. The weight of the armor is just as normal to them as everything else. We minimized what we could since Naruto is a whiz at dodging already. The armor he does have is more on his arms than anywhere else. Jiraiya made them both special sealing scrolls to carry it around without having to lug all the weight. Hinata's armor actually weighs less that coat of hers normally does."

Kakashi nodded at that. The concept of speed versus armor was one most ninja argued over at some point. The idea of 'speed is armor' was currently in vogue. The use of armor in the form of bandage-like wraps was the most popular concept. It would prevent scrapes and minor cuts but would do little to stop a well-thrown shuriken or a stab from a kunai. Some clans like the Akimichi held out against that idea. They were built around the concept of being able to take a few hits and still keep coming at you. No one wanted to take a hit from an Akimichi.

The members of Team 7 each had a different reaction to 'Team Apprentice'. Kiba was still bothered by Hinata's threat from the day before. Shino was just re-evaluating his opinion of Naruto and Hinata both based on their new appearance. Before, he had placed them as competent but with the sudden shift in both attitude and attire this morning meant he needed to see deeper into them to truly judge their worth as ninja. What the pair kept hidden was likely the reason they had been chosen to be apprentices in the first place.

Sasuke was just eating with his normal scowl on his face. Inside he was seething. For a brief moment there, the LOSER had intimidated him. The Loser kept advancing and getting stronger while he was saddled with bugs and dogs. 'The Loser does not deserve all this special attention. I do. I am the one who needs to avenge my clan. I am the one who needs to be stronger than everyone else. I am an Uchiha, the most elite ninja clan in history. These peons should be grateful I am with them but instead they fawn over that blonde…' Sasuke just dropped his fork, got up and left the building, waves of anger flowing off of him.

Anko watched Sasuke all but run out of the kitchen. She leaned over to Kakashi, "What is up with moody?"

"Ego problems mainly. He thinks he is better than everyone simply because he is an Uchiha. After his clan was killed, people treated him like something special because he was the last one in the village. Now that other people are maturing and getting strong, he thinks he is being slighted in his training. The problem is not in the training he is being offered; it is in his attitude towards it. All he wants is enough power to kill his brother and nothing else. The fact that he cannot compare to what his brother could do at the same age is eating away at him. Itachi was the greatest Uchiha since Madara, back when Konoha was founded. Sasuke was spoiled into thinking he is better than he truly is and now everyone is feeling the result of that."

"He is too much like … Sensei." Anko could barely speak her own former teacher's name in the best of times. She only referred to him as Sensei when she wanted to make a point.

Kakashi just nodded in agreement and finished his breakfast.

Jiraiya woke and stretched. A few more hours and he would be in the Wave. He hated camping out.

Anko and her team set out first. They took a roundabout course through the tidal swamp to get as close to the exchange point as possible. They would be slightly behind their enemies and off to one side. The day turned out to be a bright sunny one and the marsh was not a pleasant place to be. The team found some good shade under some cypress trees and began to wait. They waited in silence but it was a peaceful one. The harsh feelings that were plaguing them during their journey were gone. They were unsettled but that was more from unanswered questions and nervousness than anything else.

Roughly an hour later, Team 7 arrived with Tazuna at the exchange point with the sword. They could see a large group of people at the warehouse about a quarter mile away. Four people walked toward the team. Kakashi could see it was Zabuza and the Demon Brothers escorting a pretty young woman. The masked member of their group was nowhere to be seen.

"That is your daughter, Tsunami, correct?" Kakashi asked the bridge builder.

"Yes, that is her."

Shino spoke up. "Sensei, my bugs are beginning to act strangely. They sense something is amiss but cannot tell me what."

"Akamaru is nervous as well, Sensei," Kiba added. "I can feel it too, but not as clearly. It's sort of like the feeling you get when someone drags something across a chalkboard, except it is constant. It is mainly coming from the warehouse up ahead."

Kakashi nodded and waited for the group to finish walking up to them.

Zabuza noted that the girl Haku reported on was not in sight. 'Since the bridge builder was with the same ninja as before that ruled out the idea the new ninja were off guarding the man. That means an ambush is planned. Well, it seems both sides are cheating on this today. It will not matter what they plan as long as I get my sword back first. The plan is flawless.'

Zabuza stopped about 10 yards from Kakashi. "Well, well. It seems you decided to come in the nick of time. My boys here wanted you to be late. The woman has a sharp tongue and they wanted to cut it out of her mouth. However, we kept our word that she would remain unharmed until after the exchange."

"Good, good. We have you sword as you can see." 'My student did however drain off all the chakra stored in it. His bugs enjoyed the snack.'

Zabuza frowned under his mask. He had extended his chakra to ensure it was his sword. The sword did not respond normally. He immediately felt it was drained. The chakra he imbued in his sword made it easier to wield. It would cost him several minutes and about a quarter of his current reserves to recharge it. He was still not completely over the first battle and he knew Kakashi was likely not better off.

Kakashi and Zabuza walked forward with their captives and stopped close enough to touch. Zabuza put his hand on the sword and focused a moment to ensure again it was not a fake. Satisfied, he released the chakra-powered bonds on Tsunami. Kakashi escorted the woman back to his waiting team as Zabuza returned to his. Zabuza focused his chakra on recharging the reserve in his sword and spoke to Kakashi.

"Now that the official business is concluded and all parties satisfied with it, we can focus on new business, Kakashi. I still am going to kill that bridge builder and you can still walk away from this. Like I said the first time, killing you will not get me anything else. I cannot collect any bounties on your head with such a large one on mine after all. Kindly step aside."

"That will not happen, Zabuza."

"Then it seems we are going to have to deal with you first," Zabuza calmly said. He made a gesture to the Demon Brothers and one dropped a pellet that released a red cloud of smoke.

Shino, Kiba and Akamaru all flinched as the sound that was bothering them intensified a hundredfold. Zabuza chuckled, "You really have to love sonics. Stuff out of the normal human range can really mess up animal users."

Kiba stammered out, "It's coming from the warehouse." Shino looked unsteady but was rapidly regaining his composure as his bugs adjusted to the sound. "The shock of the sound affected my bugs for a moment but they are adjusting, Sensei," he reported quietly.

"Kiba, you and Akamaru escort Tazuna and Tsunami away from here. Greater distance from the source will only help the both of you," Kakashi commanded.

Kiba nodded and pulled the civilians with him as he retreated.

The Demon Brothers ran forward at a second signal from Zabuza. Both threw kunai with tags attached at Shino. He reacted by leaping backwards and sending his kikai bugs at the pair. The tags exploded into a green mist that rapidly dispersed. Shino shouted in pain again as his bugs began falling to the ground in droves. The ones that did not fall fled back into Shino's body. Once those bugs entered his body to hide, Shino collapsed in pain muttering just a single word, "Insecticide."

Zabuza chuckled, "Yup. A really nasty one too. The bugs that got back into you are spreading it all throughout your body now, Aburame. I would give your colony about 10 more minutes before it is completely dead. Damn, it is good to work for a guy with access to the latest in bug killing technology, ain't it?"

The green insecticide must have been a signal as armed mercenaries came running out of the warehouse toward Team 7. Kakashi and Sasuke moved into a position to cover Shino when Zabuza and the Demon Brothers attacked.

Anko knew something was wrong when Kiba and Shino flinched after the red smoke appeared. None of her team could hear what was being said. Once the green smoke appeared and Shino and his bugs fell, Anko knew they needed to do something. "Naruto, Hinata, You two handle the mercenaries. Use whatever means necessary to stop them. Sakura, you are with me." The team sounded out in response and jumped into action.

Sakura followed close behind Anko as the pair headed for Team 7. "Sakura, do what you can for Shino. I'll help the boys with those ninja." Before Anko could close in on the developing fight, a patch of ice appeared under her feet making her slip and fall. Sakura paused for a moment but Anko yelled, "Keep going. Follow your orders." Sakura leaped around the prone special jonin as the various combats began.

Kiba

Kiba could do little as he guided Tazuna and Tsunami away from the immediate area. He felt better as he got further away from the warehouse. The noise was dampened somewhat by the trees and bushes. He heard Akamaru bark a warning as the green smoke exploded around Team 7. He looked back but movement nearby caught his attention before he could react to Shino falling. An arrow sped down out of some nearby trees on a course to kill Tazuna. Kiba managed to deflect the shaft with a kunai but more arrows followed. Kiba realized he could only defend against the unseen attackers in the trees for the moment. If he went on the offensive or went to help his friends, Tazuna and Tsunami would die. 'Sorry guys, you have to get out of your mess without me,' he thought.

It took several minutes but Kiba got his estimate on number and position of his foes. He figured on 4 to 5 archers scattered in the trees around him. Luckily, none were behind them yet so he guided Tazuna and Tsunami toward an open area. The leaves prevented him from seeing clearly on where the snipers were so he sent Akamaru out in the bushes to spy for him as he continued to block incoming arrows. Slowly, the dog ninja was being driven away from help.

Sasuke

Sasuke knew that there would be trouble once Shino went down. He prepared a simple fire jutsu and launched it as the Demon Brothers attacked. "Fire Style: Flamethrower," he shouted as a stream of fire flowed from his lungs. The brothers split up on either side of the flames but continued to close on Sasuke. Each enemy had a short length of chain trailing and swung it at Sasuke. The Uchiha had to stop his jutsu and move or be hit by the barbed chains.

Sasuke jumped toward his foes, moving between them and drawing kunai in each hand. He was not fond of Shino but he would still not let a comrade die by doing nothing. If nothing else, it would reflect badly on him.

Sakura and Shino

Sakura reached Shino as Sasuke jumped into melee with the Demon Brothers. She knelt next to the bug user and activated her only diagnostic jutsu. The insecticide was not harming Shino yet but if the bugs died inside of him, it could kill him due to blocked chakra passages. Sakura managed to get Shino to lie flat on the ground as she talked to him. "Shino, you need to get the sick bugs out of your body. They are bringing the poison deeper into you."

Shino could barely nod as his connections with his bugs were being severed with each death. He could feel the primal fear of death as living bugs tried to keep the dying ones and the insecticide away from the colony queen.

"Sakura … queen above … left kidney. Save her … please. Colony will live … if queen … survives." After telling Sakura where his queen resided, Shino focused all his concentration on ordering all of his other living bugs out of his body. He knew Zabuza had ordered this poison so he sent them against the swordsman hoping they could get a measure of revenge before they died. His last conscious thought was how the poison was making him feel lightheaded.

Sakura cringed as a mass of dying bugs fled Shino's body in waves. She really hated bugs but she had a patient to save. Concentrating on a blood filter jutsu, she set to work making a chakra barrier around the colony queen. After a minute, the flow of living bugs ceased as all the ones that could leave Shino's motionless body did so. Dead bugs were being pushed from his body by the living ones trapped behind them making Sakura cringe but her concentration never faltered. Drops of a pale green liquid began forming on Shino's skin as the filter jutsu did its work

Anko

Anko managed to get off the patch of ice and back to her feet. She saw a masked ninja approaching and making hand signs. Water flew up from the swamp and formed into an ice spear that attempted to impale her. Anko managed to avoid the projectile but it turned and came at her again. She summoned a pair of horse-sized snakes to go after her enemy as she continued to dodge the ice and now incoming senbon needles.

Kakashi

Kakashi charged at Zabuza. He knew that he could not allow the former Mist ninja to get his giant sword into fighting condition. Zabuza grunted with effort as he flooded chakra into his blade. He was forced to jump back from Kakashi's attack and ran off toward the water. He would need to rely on water jutsu for now. Zabuza slid the sword into the harness on his back and made hand signs. A series of water bullets flew at Kakashi who countered by creating a V shaped earth wall to block and deflect them. Kakashi then leaped over his wall and descended toward Zabuza who pulled his sword from his back again to wait.

Naruto and Hinata

The pair ran toward what had originally appeared to be a dozen or so mercenaries. Naruto got worried as more and more kept streaming out of the open warehouse. Naruto stopped and made the hand sign and created a dozen shadow clones. The clones got in a line and pulled out shuriken. When the mercenaries were in range, the clones hurled the weapons at the charging men. The metal stars cut down man after man and slowed the charge as the wounded fell and blocked their comrades. The clones' shuriken all left real wounds but the weapons poofed out of existence after the chakra used to create them dispersed. Dozens of mercenaries fell but as many continued forward. Then the mercenaries swarmed over Naruto, Hinata and the clones. Kunai met swords axes and clubs. Taijutsu met fists.

One by one the clones fell under the blows but for each clone to go down three mercenaries did. Naruto could not create more, as he was too busy fending off attacks. Anko and Jiraiya would be proud of his fighting prowess. He hit vital spots, pressure points and joints to incapacitate rather than kill. In spite of their teachings, he was reluctant to strike a direct killing blow. He sidestepped a thrust from a short sword and riposted with kick to the side of the man's extended leg; tearing tendons and ligaments as it collapsed sideways, the man screaming in pain. The next opponent was in his face before he could even think about it.

The moments before Hinata engaged in battle, she cast one of the genjutsu she had developed with Anko. She could not sign the snake contract like Anko had hoped but she could fake it. "Arms of the Dancing Asp" she cried out. Her byakugan activated and her arms took on the appearance of vipers as she engaged with her own taijutsu. The sight of the girl having snakes for arms was a huge distraction for the men. What had at first seemed like easy victory against a small 13 yr old girl suddenly became a deadly fight. Hinata struck with a precision and speed that when combined with the illusion on her arms made the men think they were truly fighting snakes. She hit the first man in the stomach and throat and he folded up and fell. The second took two hits on his arm and his weapon fell to the ground from a useless hand. 'It's working,' she thought. 'I am doing it.' Her confidence increased and so did her attacks. The paralyzing poison she hit them with along with the juken strikes had the mercenaries falling before her. To anyone just watching the battle, Hinata appeared to be dancing. She moved like water under and around their guard, struck and was moving to the next man before the previous one hit the ground.

The pair tore through the remaining mercenaries like a scythe through wheat. In less than 5 minutes, nearly 100 broken men lay at the feet of Naruto and Hinata.

Sasuke

'I need to move faster,' Sasuke thought. It turned out the Demon Brothers were not as skilled individually as he feared they would be from their names. However, they were extremely good at working together in their attacks so that one would always be coming at Sasuke. 'Maybe there is something to teamwork after all,' he thought as he dodged another swing from the barbed chains. Sasuke was getting tired quickly. His head pounded as the brothers swung both chains at him at once. 'Damn, I won't be able to dodge this.' Suddenly, his head cleared up some as the chains seemed to slow in his vision. It was as if he could suddenly see where the attack would go so he could avoid it. He jumped and bent at the same time, avoiding both swings. Sasuke rolled to his feet and charged one Demon Brother with his kunai. The Mist ninja began to defend but Sasuke could tell where the block was going to be so the attack point was shifted. The kunai slid past the defense and cut through the wrist of the Demon Brother. 'It was too easy,' Sasuke thought as the blood sprayed from the man's severed hand.

A roar of anguish came from the second Brother. Sasuke saw the man begin a series of hand signs and saw the chakra being molded. 'I can see chakra! My sharingan activated!' he thought. He knew where the attack was going to hit and ran forward dodging the jutsu. A jump kick to the head laid the Brother low and Sasuke spun to see what else as happening.

Kakashi and Zabuza

Kakashi and Zabuza had been fighting to a stalemate for several minutes now. Zabuza could not wield his sword as well as he had hoped yet. Between the residual wound on his arm and the need to be pumping chakra into his weapon to counteract the still dying bugs around him, he could not get the battle to go the way he wanted. Kakashi was denying the missing ninja the chance to regain any initiative but could not press things himself, as Zabuza was too good with the blade for Kakashi to close in. The minor duel with ninjutsu was draining both down. Kakashi could keep mirroring Zabuza move for move and even with the drain his Sharingan produced would outlast the swordsman.

The cries of pain and the fall of the Demon Brothers changed the tempo of the battle completely. A glance told Kakashi of the victory of Naruto and Hinata against the cannon fodder and Anko was in a deadlock with the masked ninja who create and use ice somehow.

"Your forces are losing, Zabuza. Don't make me have to end your life to end this battle," Kakashi told him.

Zabuza sneered at Kakashi, "I would not take your mercy every if it meant I would become Mizukage. I am going to beat you. 'I need to get out of this head to head jutsu battle so I can use my sword.' "HAKU, USE YOUR ICE NEEDLES BARRAGE!!" Zabuza cried out

Anko and Haku

Anko was getting tired of this masked boy she was facing. His ice jutsu were incredible and keeping her at more than an arm's length away. She always did her best work close up relying mainly in her poisons and snake jutsu to wear down her foes. The boy was fast enough to keep out of that range but her snake summons were keeping him from getting far enough to launch any devastating attacks of his own.

The boy kept trying to create some kind of mirrors with his ice but the summons would crush them before the sheets could form. She would wear the kid down soon enough. She could see him panting and gasping as she was gaining ground and closing in.

Haku knew he was in trouble and he could not defeat this jonin he was facing. The yell from Zabuza meant a certain last ditch attack to allow them to escape. He jumped away from the snake pursuing him again and made a one-handed hand sign. Water rose up from the ground around him to form into needles of ice. They all flew away from him in a circle clearing the immediate area by driving back the Leaf jonin and her snakes. Haku then made a quick series of hand signs to produce 6 of his ice mirrors around himself in the shape of a hexagon. "Spinning Ice Mirror Bombardment"

Anko knew this was bad as the enemy ninja appeared in each mirror and drew double handfuls of senbon needles. "INCOMING!!" she shouted to her team and allies.

Needles flew outwards from the mirrors at every Konoha ninja in the area.

Sasuke saw the needles coming and knocked them away with kunai.

Sakura got between the needles and Shino, letting the senbon pepper her back rather than hit the helpless bug user. The light armor weave of her dress prevented deep wounds but the needles still hurt.

Zabuza used his sword as a shield since he knew the attack would miss him but was not completely certain. Kakashi moved so that Zabuza was between himself and the boy in the mirrors and sheltered himself from the metal storm.

Anko had her summons get between herself and the needles. The summons vanished in a cloud of smoke as the bombardment dispelled them.

Hinata and Naruto had been busy pulling weapons away from some of the downed but still moving mercenaries when a mirror of ice rose up behind them. Naruto caught a glimpse of it when he heard Anko shout and raised an arm up to his face. He took a barrage of needles on his side, shoulder and arm. Hinata had been facing away and took the hits on her back and neck. A soft whimper from her was all Naruto heard once the attack stopped.

He looked to see Hinata wide eyed and staring as the whisper of an exhaled breath sounded. Then her eyes seemed to darken but remained staring out at him as she fell forward limply. Naruto caught her before she hit the ground. "Hinata? HINATA!!" he cried out. She just lay limp and boneless in his arms and her open yet empty eyes stared into his.

Everything else seemed to disappear to Naruto. All he saw was Hinata in his arms, motionless, not breathing. His heartbeat echoed in his chest but it suddenly felt emptier than it had the day before.

"no."

The softest of whispers from his mouth as he voiced his disbelief. He shook her gently but got no response.

"no"

The sound of feet running past him brought Naruto out of his stupor. He saw Zabuza and Haku run past. 'The person in the ice. He did this. He hurt Hinata!!'

"YOU!!" shouted Naruto at the fleeing ninja. He laid Hinata's still form on the ground and ran a few steps after the pair. They stopped just past the fallen mercenaries.

"Aww, is your little girlfriend hurt boy? Be glad those jonin are coming or you would be joining her in death," Zabuza taunted.

Death. The word echoed in Naruto's head. All he could see was scenes of the past year and a half he had spent with Hinata. Her laughing, smiling, blushing. All the things that made her special to him. Anger rose in him at the taunt and something inside of him snapped.

'Yes, time to push.' A tendril of red energy pulsed out of the cage as Naruto's anger tugged at the Fox's chakra. The Kyuubi felt the connection to Naruto's mind form through the energy. 'He is not pulling enough for me to control him, but it's enough of a connection to send him a message.' The Kyuubi pushed a thought through the demonic chakra into Naruto's mind. It was whispering into the back of his mind. 'Make them pay. You have the power to make them pay, if you only use it.'

Naruto began sweating as he trembled, summoning power from within him. He would make them pay for taking away his Hinata. The ground shook as red energy appeared and swirled around Naruto. Zabuza and Haku both looked at each other then began backing away. Kakashi and Anko stopped and got in defensive positions as the red energy rose up around Naruto.

'This is bad,' thought Kakashi. 'That is Kyuubi's chakra.'

Naruto's eyes snapped open and glared at Zabuza and Haku. His normally blue eyes took on a slitted red hue. The look on his face became warped into a feral snarl as the demonic chakra fed his rage. He ran forward at a speed he had never attained before and hit Haku hard in the stomach. The kimono-wearing boy skidded backwards and tried to defend himself. Naruto rained blows down faster than Haku could block. Lefts, Rights, Kicks, Haku was pummeled badly before Zabuza could even react. The snapping of bones sounded in quick succession as Haku's shins and forearms snapped under the assault. Haku dropped his arms in pain and was rewarded with an uppercut to the face that shattered his mask and lifted him off the ground before he fell flat on his back in agony.

Naruto stalked over to Haku; his face full of anger. The red energy gathered in his right hand took on the appearance of a claw as he stood over Haku and prepared to finish things.

"Naruto, NO!" shouted Anko.

"Naruto, don't do it!" put in Kakashi.

The blow was falling when Naruto saw Haku's eyes. Eyes full of pain and fear. Fear of Naruto. In the moment before the blow struck Haku's stomach, Naruto relented and stopped focusing the chakra into his blow. The red glow lessened as it hit and Haku gasped deeply and stopped moving but he was still breathing. Naruto stood over the boy looking down and watched the slow up and down of Haku's breathing in silence as the red chakra dispersed.

Zabuza was shaken out of his viewing the scene and sprung at Naruto, sword raised high to cut Naruto to bits when a chirping sound stopped him. Kakashi was running at Zabuza from behind shouting "Chidori!" Lightning energy crackled around Kakashi's fist as he struck. Zabuza took the blow in his left shoulder and crumpled to the ground next to Haku.

Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and smirked; 'Now THAT is a jutsu worth copying.'

Naruto stood looking down at the slowly breathing Haku. Slowly, he turned and walked on unsteady legs back to where Hinata lay on the ground. He fell to his knees beside the girl and with great care plucked all the senbon from her back and neck. He did not notice the tears running down his face the whole time. Once the needles were removed, he sat down and cradled her still form onto his lap. A trembling hand reached up to massage her eyelids closed and as the tears fell harder he hugged Hinata close and softly sang a lullaby.

Anko saw Kakashi take down Zabuza and had been heading toward the enemy when a trio of explosions rocked the woods nearby. "That is where Kiba went," she told Kakashi. Kakashi looked at Sasuke and gestured for him to follow and the pair ran off after Kiba.

Kiba

Kiba found it easier to defend Tazuna and Tsunami in the clearing. The enemies remained hidden in the trees around it. He was too busy deflecting arrows to focus on where they were coming from. Luckily, Akamaru had located three archers already and determined there were only five in total firing. He returned to Kiba and growled out the locations of the ones he found. Kiba grinned and pulled out three kunai tagged with explosives. He activated the tags and hurled at the locations Akamaru identified. Screams of pain followed in the explosions. The rain of arrows lessened and Akamaru ran back to find the last 2 men.

Kiba pulled out another pair of tagged kunai and waited for a signal. He could watch the trees now for the snipers instead of focusing on the incoming arrows. A bit of motion got his attention before an arrow burst out of the leaves. A kunai was sent toward the spot as he knocked another arrow down. The explosion was followed by the thud of a falling body. Akamaru barked under the tree of the last archer. Kiba prepared to throw the last kunai when the archer surrendered. He saw that all his comrades were injured or dead. And figured he would rather face prison that get blown to bits.

Kiba was tying the man when Kakashi and Sasuke reached them. The trio escorted Tazuna, Tsunami and the wounded prisoners back to the warehouse.

Sakura leaned back from her work. It had only taken a total of 10 minutes for her to help Shino but the battle had raged around her and finished in less than that. She was exhausted but proud. She had saved the queen for Shino's kikai colony and about 5 percent of the drones survived as well. Shino stirred and listened as the pain of his colony dying had stopped overwhelming him. "Sakura-san. Arigato." Shino opened his eyes and got unsteadily to his feet as he listened to his remaining bugs.

Anko and some of her largest snake summons guarded over the mercenaries, Zabuza and Haku, and the Demon Brothers. The men were all beaten and she was not in the mood to deal with any trouble. "The first one to even BREATHE funny will be lunch. Understood?" She made her point. She was very upset with what happened to Hinata but she could not show the weakness right now. She had to keep herself together until she got somewhere private. No one could be allowed to see the hard ass bitch cry.

Naruto just sat holding onto Hinata. He had cried himself out of tears and just sat rocking slowly. He was tired, his chakra exhausted from his stunt with Haku and the red chakra he had used made him feel sick. He was not sure what to do next when a soft voice sounded in his ear

"na … ru … to"

Next Chapter: Toads, Gatos, and Discussions, Oh My

End Notes: It is sad that I cannot provide all kinds of cool visuals and the music Naruto anime has to really drag out that fight and the downing of Hinata. your imagination will have to fill that in. Words alone can only convey so much and I think that is the only point the chapter is weak.

Review Notes:
Sasuke bashing is not my main focus here. Yes, I have him painted in no good terms but he is just another background person here.
The main focus remains on the true star, Naruto. It is his story and things that do not affect him remain happening 'off scene'. To a lesser extent it has Hinata as a secondary focus as she is the love interest.
Sections tend to be seen from the point of view of one of the characters currently active like the opening scene was from Tazuna's point of view.