I read all my reviews. My latest one asked me about canon divergence. I want to say that this chapter has a couple of changes that I feel are extremely important for the story moving forward. Wave Arc ends this chapter as well. I will start Chuni Exams Next update. I will skip over a good bit of it since there isn't much to be made known. I will only focus on what is important to further the story. Once more, any questions and you can PM me or Review. I will always listen.
This is where the story starts. I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 1. The Land of Waves/ Nami no Kuni
Iruka walks into the room minutes later. He gives a bland, stereotypical speech about responsibility, and hardship to the genin. No one really paid attention, but they did all hear about being in 3-man squads with a Jonin leading the team. Iruka listed the teams. A bloody Naruto wasn't paying attention until he heard his name.
"Team 7. Uzumaki Naruto. Haruno Sakura nd Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura celebrates, and Naruto sulks.
"Next, Team 8. Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino." the 3 Genin hopefuls look at each other. They shrug. Could be worse.
"Lastly, Team 10. Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji. Those are all the squads." Ino sulks. Shikamaru laughs at her.
Naruto is angry. "Iruka-sensei, why does a great ninja like me have to be in the same group with a bastard like Sasuke!?"
Iruka looks up from his clipboard. "Sasuke had the best scores of all the graduating students. Naruto, you had the worst scores besides reading. To create a balanced group, we paired the best student with the worst student."
Sasuke looks at Naruto in the corner of his eye. "Just make sure you don't get in my way, loser."
A vein pulses on Naruto's temple. "What did you just say to me?"
Sasuke smirks. "What's wrong? Hard of hearing?" The class bursts into guffaws. Damn does he hate Sasuke!
...
Sakura is searching for Sasuke. She wants to have lunch with him to get to know him better since they are on the same team.
Naruto walks up to Sakura. "Hey, Sakura-chan. Since we're in the same group and all, I was thinking we could have lunch together and get to know each other, 'ttebayo"
Sakura glares. "Why would I eat lunch with you? How could that thought even cross your mind?"
Naruto flinches but carries on. "But we're in the same group, So I just thought that, well, you know. We could even bring Sasu-"
"-Naruto. You're annoying." Sakura walks away, leaving Naruto alone.
"Sasuke-kun, where are you?" Naruto stares at the ground.
As Naruto is sitting on top of a water tank, he spots Sasuke in a building eating a tomato-stuffed rice ball. A vicious grin appears on his face as he gets an idea.
...
Sakura is sitting on a bench. She has her food on the side as she daydreams about Sasuke confessing his undying love for her. Then, in front of her, leaning on a tree, she sees Sasuke. He walks up to her.
"Sakura, your forehead is so wide and charming. Makes me feel like kissing it." Sakura blushes like crazy. "Just kidding. That's the kind of stupid thing Naruto would say. Moving on, I want to ask you something. Naruto, what do you think of him?" He sounds genuinely interested.
"He knows about my feelings and purposely tries to get in the way. He enjoys interfering and making me feel bad. Naruto… he doesn't understand one single thing about me. He is just an annoyance." Sasuke recoils hearing that, for some reason. "All I want is for you to accept me Sasuke-kun."
His eyes widen. "You just want me to accept you?"
"Yes, I do. I'd do anything for that." She leans in for a kiss.
...
Back art the building where Naruto sneak attacked Sasuke, Sasuke is tied up in rope and has his mouth tied with a cloth. He struggles to break the ropes.
'I let me guard down.' He remembers how after beating Naruto, he replaced himself with a log. Sasuke was then jumped by a legion of solid clones. Remembering that, Sasuke can't help but sneer. 'In class, he couldn't even do a single replication. How could he combine a Kawarimi no Jutsu with a fully solid clone Jutsu?' Sasuke tremors in anger. Was that damned loser hiding his true ability?
...
Back with Sasuke and Sakura, Sakura is about to kiss 'Sasuke'. Just as they are about to touch lips, Sasuke's stomach growls angrily. He holds his stomach and runs off toward the closest bathroom.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"I'll be right back!" Naruto disguised as Sasuke says. It was that milk he drank!
...
At the toilet, Naruto sulks about what happened. Sakura called him annoying. And she said it 3 times! He's been called worse, but Sakura called him that. He clenches his fist.
Naruto was able to do his business quickly. 'Let's try this one more time.' He washes his hands and dashes off to meet with Sakura.
...
Sasuke, the real one walks by where Sakura is. "Oh Sasuke-kun, you're back. Don't be so shy now, you bad boy! Are you ready now? You know, mentally prepared? Because I am. I'm raring to go."
Sasuke walks past her, completely ignoring her. He looks around. "Hey, where's Naruto?"
"Oh see, there you go changing the subject again. Anyway, Naruto-baka just picks fights with you. You know why he's so annoying? Because he wasn't raised right. He doesn't have a mother or a father. No one to teach him right from wrong. Think about it. He just does whatever comes into his head." Sasuke doesn't like where this is going. He turns around and glares at Sakura. She doesn't seem to notice. She continues on. "If I did things like Naruto, forget it. I mean, my parents would get mad, and I'd get in trouble, so of course, I don't do it." Sasuke glares deeper. His eyes practically radiate malice. Sakura continues with her rant. "But if you don't have parents to tell you, how would you know? He's selfish and bratty. He's all alone. He's-"
"-Alone. Isolated." Sasuke takes deep breaths to keep composed.
"Huh?"
"It's not about your parents scolding you. You have no idea what it means to be alone." Sakura looks as if slapped.
"Wh-Why are you saying that?" Sasuke wonders. Should he say it's because of her short-sightedness, her ignorance, her dismissiveness of both his and Naruto's emotions? Maybe her own lack of self-awareness? No, he decides the best thing to sum it all up.
"Because, you are annoying." Sakura gasps and Sasuke walks away. What neither of them realized was someone in the trees hearing and seeing everything that went on.
Naruto is that someone. He scrunches up his face to hold in any tears. No matter what he tries, the words keep playing in his head. He attempts to push down his emotions, but they only fester and bubble back to the surface. It's not his fault. Why is he always the one to be treated this way? And it was Sakura of all people. The girl he likes thinks this way about him, and that hurts him far more than he cares to admit. He remembers something else that left a mark on him from that.
He wipes his eyes and he grows determined. No matter their differences, he is moved by Sasuke's words. Grateful even. Maybe a conversation with him is due. Naruto dashes as fast as he can to the building where he left Sasuke. He needs to be there first for this to work.
...
Sasuke walks by the toilets from the building he was left at. He sees Naruto dashing from the bathroom, looking stupefied. "Sasuke? What are you doing here? How did you get loose, dattebayo?" Sasuke smirks.
"I used Nawanuke no Jutsu. No sweat. It's a very basic technique." Naruto rubs the back of his head sheepishly. How could he forget the escape technique? It's something so trivial. "Why'd you do that, transform into me?" There is no way Naruto would ever tell Sasuke the real reason.
He starts talking out of his ass. "I thought it'd be fun to try out my moves on you, so I did, dattebayo." Naruto gets defensive. He wants to talk to Sasuke, but something stops him from opening up. He is about to do the hand seal for Kage Bunshin no Jutsu on instinct, but he stops himself in the nick of time. He needs to talk to him. "Uh, hey Sasuke? I know that I did something crappy to you not even 10 minutes ago, but can we talk?" Sasuke glares at Naruto with suspicion. "I promise that this is not a prank of some sort. The clone thing was a one-time thing. I promise." Sasuke is still tense, but he decides to give Naruto the benefit of the doubt. He doesn't say anything. Only a short, stiff nod. "Follow me then."
Naruto and Sasuke walk to a random training ground. Naruto isn't sure how to say what he wants. He sees Sasuke is getting impatient, so he decides to be straightforward. "I… I was there when you talked to Sakura-cha… Sakura. I heard all the bad things she said about me. That hurt. It really did, but I'm not here to talk to you about my feelings like some girl. I just want to, no… I HAVE to know why you defended me, dattebayo?!"
Sasuke is dumbfounded. Naruto was there? He didn't know he was there at all. Even more, he claims he was there, but he saw him in the bathroom not even a few moments ago. He'll ask about that later. "I don't really care about what Sakura thinks of you. It's none of my business, but her words rubbed me the wrong way. She speaks about your experience as if she has had it worse, or if you are fortunate to be an orphan. She spoke about you with such ignorance that it hit a little close to home, you could say."
Naruto is amazed. Sasuke is… surprisingly nice. And what does he mean? "What do you mean by it hitting 'too close to home' for you?"
Sasuke looks at Naruto in a deadpan. Is he that dull? "You remember the news a few years ago about the Uchiha massacre?" Naruto is further befuddled. What does this have to do with anything?
"Uh, yeah? What about it?" Sasuke is getting frustrated by Naruto's cluelessness.
"What is my name, you brainless baka?!" Spits Sasuke with a glower.
"Hey, there's no need to yell, 'ttebayo! Your name is Uchiha Sasuke, what of-" Naruto stops as he realizes just how dense he was. He knows he isn't the smartest, but even he is ashamed of his own obtuseness at this moment. Thinking further on it, he realizes why the massacre is so important to this conversation. "You were the only survivor of the massacre. You-You're an orphan as well, aren't you? That's why you were so bothered by Sakura-cha… Sakura's words. By ridiculing me for being an orphan, she in turn did the same to you." Naruto's eyes widen. He enters a strange trance. "She talked about me being an orphan as if it was a good thing and that being lonely is a privilege. She has no idea what it feels like to be you and I, and yet she acts as if she drew the short end of the stick. She is playing some sick game of who had it worse while disregarding our suffering like it was a contest. That is why you were so upset. You weren't defending me or yourself, but anyone who has felt our loneliness."
Sasuke can't believe it. Naruto said that. Naruto! He, the one who only 30 seconds ago didn't even know his family name's significance got his thought right on the first try! Maybe he misjudged Naruto. Maybe there is something different about him. "W-well, yeah. You got it in one, dobe." Sasuke curses himself for stuttering. Thankfully, it seems Naruto didn't notice.
A tick mark appears on Naruto's temple. "Don't call me that, Sasuke-teme, dattebayo!" A small smirk appears on Sasuke's face. The conversation is largely over, but Sasuke needs to ask a few things.
"I want to know. You say that you heard my conversation with Sakura, but I saw you at the toilets only a few minutes later. I didn't stop either, so the only way you would've gotten there is because you ran back. But why do that? Why not just… talk?" Naruto feels a little anxious saying this, but does so anyway.
"Well, you and I don't really get along too well and I wasn't very nice to you earlier, so there is no chance that you would've given me the chance to talk. I have seen the way you interact with others. You almost never respond if someone starts talking to you, and you only really pay attention when you start the conversation. The only way for us to talk is for you to ask me something since you wouldn't want to humor me if you didn't. I started with that question at first so that you would actually ask me a question in return as I doubt you would since we don't like each other. You would be too curious about why I transformed into you, so there." Naruto explains almost in a trance.
Sasuke is floored. This is Naruto? This is the type of thing he'd expect someone like Shikamaru to be able to do, not Naruto. He was able to completely figure out how the conversation would go, and what he'd do. He was able to perfectly read him and complete his task by just watching a few of his sparse interactions with others. And he spoke clearly too without using his verbal tick! What the hell is happening?
Sasuke is sure of it now. Naruto is different. There is more to him than meets the eye. After all, he is the first, and possibly the only person who has and maybe will ever understand him to any degree.
Sasuke walks off without saying anything, but he gives Naruto a lazy wave goodbye.
...
Sakura remembers Sasuke's words. "I'm annoying? That's what he said. Now I get it. This is how Naruto must feel. I shouldn't treat him like that. Next time I see him, I'm going to be nice." She sees Naruto walking back to the Academy alone. 'Ugh, Naruto. Wait, no. Be nice, smile, smile.' Sakura forces down a grimace and attempts to smile. In the end, she has an awkward, lopsided smile and a twitching eye. At least she's trying. "Hey, Naruto! Let's walk back to class together." Naruto looks at this skeptically.
He doesn't really trust Sakura all that much now, and the wounds from her words are still very fresh. He really doesn't want to be around her right now, but it'd look weird if he didn't. Naruto forces his typical foxy-grin on his face, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. It's convincing enough for people to not ask questions. They walk back to the Academy together.
A Month Later
Narrator: Team 7's first missions are D-ranked missions, which are little more than glorified grunt work. After every 'mission' they train with Kakashi in teamwork. After 2 weeks of doing the same monotonous tasks day in, day out, the entire team starts becoming restless.
Naruto eventually explodes and demands the Hokage to give them a higher-ranked mission. Fortunately for him, Kakashi concurred with him, and the Hokage trusted Kakashi, so a C-ranked mission was given to Team 7 since it was conveniently available. Kakashi knew his team wasn't ready. Why he let them go on a C-rank is anyone's guess.
Now here they are. Miles away from Konohagakure no Sato walking around with a random bridge builder to a foreign land. They got ambushed by Rogue Shinobi, and their mission went up to a B-rank.
Despite the dangers, they continued with the mission until a few hours later, they met Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of The Hidden Mist. He was their next obstacle in their mission.
Kakashi is forced to use his Sharingan to fend off the powerful Kiri Jonin. His Sharingan was a detail not missed by Sasuke.
And after a long battle, now we're here.
Zabuza sees an opening and charges at Kakashi with his cleaver. Kakashi holds him and his sword back with a kunai. The stalemate doesn't do anything, so they both back away. More hand seals are cast and Kakashi copies them at the exact moment Zabuza does it. No delays.
Now, Kakashi does a hand seal before Zabuza starts it. 'What? Is he reading his mind?'
"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu."
The technique hits Zabuza straight on. 'I was just about to create that vortex, but he created it first!' Zabuza was swept along until he hits a tree back first. Once he stops moving, Kakashi pulls out a kunai to kill Zabuza. He is about to strike him until 2 senbons come and pierce Zabuza's neck, effectively killing him. A masked shinobi is on a different tree, and it seems he (, or she?) was responsible. Kakashi approaches Zabuza and feels his neck. No pulse.
The ninja flickers toward Zabuza's body. "Thank you. I've been tracking him for a long time, waiting for the chance to take him down." Kakashi eyes the ninja critically.
"By your mask, I see that you are a tracker ninja from Kirigakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Mist. When a ninja goes rogue, they carry secrets of their people and village. In their chakra, flesh, behavior, medicine, anything at all can be deduced from their bodies, so trackers are sent to destroy their bodies to keep those secrets guarded. For example, if I were to die, foreign shinobi would examine my Sharingan. Worst case scenario, my entire Jutsu arsenal could be stolen and used by our enemies. " Observes Kakashi. He also took the chance to make this a learning opportunity for his students.
"You are well informed. Yes, I am a Kirigakure tracker and it was my duty to stop Zabuza." Naruto hears all of this and can't stop the tremors. He glares venomously at the Hunter ninja who is no older than himself.
"What is this, dattebayo? Who do you think you are?" He starts hyperventilating. "Did you hear me?!"
"Easy Naruto. He is not our enemy." Naruto turns his attention towards Kakashi.
"That is not the point. Did you see what he just did, just like that, dattebayo? Zabuza was huge and powerful like some monster, and this kid, who's no older than me, he brought down Zabuza with one move like it was nothing. I mean, what does that make us? We're just fumbling around. We don't know anything. It's like we are nothing, no less than nothing, dattebayo! All my hard work and training meant nothing! How can I accept this?" He forces out.
"Well, even if you don't accept that, still, it did happen Naruto. In this world, there are kids even younger than you, that have killed even more than me. Yes Naruto, this is a cruel world if there are children who have more blood on their hands than seasoned Jonin. I want to make this clear Naruto, no matter what stories you've heard, shinobi life isn't glamorous nor is it happy. We are killers. We have to be. We kill in order to survive and kill to serve our village and masters, and one day, if you continue on this path of a shinobi, you too will have blood on your hands."
Sasuke shivers remembering his brother and his actions. Naruto's breathing stops. He can barely handle what he just heard. Him, a killer? Isn't the Hokage the greatest of all shinobi? And if shinobi are killers, then does that make the Hokage the best killer of them all? Is Jiji a killer? Didn't the Yondaime kill a squad of 1,000 Iwagakure shinobi in a second to end the 3rd war? Does he have to kill that many people to become Hokage? Is it even worth it to be Hokage if that is the case? No, no, those are bad thoughts. Kakashi-sensei has to be wrong.
The hunter ninja flickers toward Zabuza's body, carries it up, and flickers away, presumably to dispose of it. Kakashi covers up his Sharingan with his headband. Naruto runs toward where he last saw the mist ninja. "He's gone Naruto. Let it go." Advices Kakashi.
Naruto punches the ground in overwhelming frustration. "What are we doing here, dattebayo? We're nothing! Less than that! I can't believe it! All that effort was completely worthless, dattebayo! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Naruto keeps punching to hold in his tears. His knuckles start bleeding after punching a few random rocks. Sakura look concerned for her whiskered teammate. Sasuke looks away and clenches his fists. He can't help but agree with Naruto. How much time has he wasted?
Kakashi has to hold Naruto back. "As shinobi, the things we encounter are never easy. They never will be, so save your anger for the next enemy." Naruto steadies his breathing and holds in his anger. His right eye flashes black and crimson and fades in a split second. He will prove Kakashi wrong. He has to.
Tazuna decides to lead them to his home for rest. On the way there, Kakashi faints from chakra exhaustion and Naruto has to carry him to the house.
Narrator: Later, once Kakashi awoke, Team 7 had a meeting discussing the possibility of Zabuza still being alive. Kakashi managed to figure out that the Hunter Ninja was in fact an accomplice of Zabuza.
In order to prepare for it, Kakashi had his students train in surface sticking so that they could improve their chakra control. It was all in an effort to get stronger.
...
That evening, after everyone falls asleep, Sasuke stays up with a lot on his mind. He seems to be struggling with something. Kakashi decides to speak with Sasuke to ease his mind. "Something on your mind, Sasuke?" Sasuke eyes Kakashi critically. He has so much he wants to say but doesn't know how to ask.
Eventually, he asks what he deems as the most pressing matter. "Where did you get that eye?"
Kakashi eye-smiles. "What do you mean Sasuke? I was born with eyes, just like everyone else."
Sasuke growls. "Don't play games with me, Kakashi! You know exactly what I mean. You are not an Uchiha, so where did you get that Sharingan? And don't say it is none of my business. The Sharingan is my birthright as the last Uchiha, so you have absolutely no right to hide this from me!"
Kakashi drops his happy appearance. Instead, an expression filled with shame, guilt, and loneliness fills what is visible on his face. Kakashi pulls up his headband and touches his scar. "I was a genin once, so just like you, I had a team at one point. Some of the most important people in my life were on my team. I could spend all day talking about my team, but I'm going to tell you about the most important person in my life. His name was Uchiha Obito." Sasuke's eyes widen. That name! "Yes, Obito was your clanmate. This was many years before the massacre, so you don't need me to tell you Uchiha weren't rare at that time. They were the largest clan in Konoha after all." Sasuke remains quiet to hear more of Kakashi's story.
"I was the genius of my generation. The prodigy, the talent, the 'rookie of the year'. I gained many promotions in record time. Obito, believe it or not, was just like Naruto. In just about every aspect. He was stupid, loud, annoying, and a terrible ninja. He was the dead-last of our class, just like Naruto. He had the exact same personality Naruto has and even shared the same dream as him. He wanted to be Hokage." Sasuke has no idea what to say. Naruto is practically the opposite of every Uchiha he has ever met. He is like a reverse Uchiha. Like a Senju. If he didn't know any better, he'd say Naruto was a Senju. He cannot fathom the possibility of an Uchiha being so…Senju.
"Shocking, I know. But he was also extremely kind like Naruto and worked as hard as Naruto does. He even had insane levels of really potent chakra, just like Naruto. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Naruto was Obito's reincarnation. Obito was also the person I could relate to the most. He was my rival and the person who understood me most." Sasuke's eye twitches. This sounds familiar.
"Anyway, one day, there was a mission. Our teammate was kidnapped and Obito wanted to save her. To keep a long story short, the enemy injured me. That is how I got the scar on my left eye. Obito awakened his Sharingan that day and we reached our teammate. The enemy set up traps in the cave they were hiding in, and that caused a cave-in. Because of my injury, I couldn't see the danger I was in. Obito pushed me as a massive rock landed on where I was. By saving me, Obito took my place." A stray tear threatens to fall from Kakashi's left eye, but he is strong enough to avoid such weakness. He closes it and rubs along his scar.
"Obito taught me many things. He gave me my philosophy, which is 'those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon a comrade are worse than scum'. Obito told me that, and Obito proved his values to me. He'd rather fail the mission than abandon our teammate, and he would rather forfeit his life than let me die. He gave his left eye to me as a parting gift. So Sasuke, Obito's life is what I mean by 'those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum'. He embodies that ideal. I hope you've learned something from this." Sasuke is amazed to hear Kakashi's story. He feels some sort of appreciation for both Kakashi and this Obito person. He can see the similarities between himself and Naruto to Kakashi and Obito. Maybe he and Naruto can be like Kakashi and Obito. After all, for the Uchiha, their eyes are the most important thing to them, so to give them up for anyone seems absurd, but the fact Obito did resonates with Sasuke. To have someone be that special to you both seems impossible and like a dream. He wants that as well.
Maybe he and Naruto can be more than just teammates. After all, as he has proven before, Naruto is the only person who understands in any capacity. "Thank you, Kakashi. I'll go to sleep now. I need to digest what I just heard." Sasuke gives a lazy wave goodbye. He had little sleep that night. This Obito seems interesting. Maybe he can be like him someday, in one way or another.
The next morning, everyone in the house starts eating breakfast, but Naruto is nowhere to be seen. Kakashi announces that he was out training. Sakura jokes that Naruto probably used too much chakra and died. "Sakura's right. Usuratonkachi. He's probably dead out there somewhere." Sasuke takes a bite from his meal and gets up. "I'm going for a walk." He leaves the house to find Naruto. He needs to make sure that the loser isn't actually dead.
Naruto is found sleeping outside by a passerby. They go to wake him up. "You'll catch a cold if you sleep here. Wake up." Naruto wakes up and sees a really pretty girl.
"Oh. Uh, uh, I mean, hi there." He blushes after seeing her. Damn, she is even prettier than Sakura-ch… Sakura. It's still hard breaking that habit. "Uh, where did you come from? I mean, what are you doing out here and all that?" He scratches his cheek like he usually does when nervous.
"Just gathering some herbs. You know, to treat illnesses and wounds." Naruto decides to help the pretty girl collect herbs. It's not just for her though. He likes gardening, and this is kinda like gardening, and he is learning stuff too! She is teaching him the names and uses of different herbs.
"So, you like to start work early huh, nee-chan?" the girl nods.
"Yes. I like it early. It's calm. But I didn't think I'd find anyone sleeping this deep in the woods. What were you doing here anyway?"
Naruto smiles. "I was training, and it got a little hectic."
She blinks. "So you are a ninja. I noticed the headband you're wearing. Or is it just a fashion statement?" Naruto blushes again.
"So you noticed. Only super-cool ninja can wear these!" He chuckles at how lame he sounded.
"But does that mean you were training for something dangerous?" She asks genuinely.
"I'm just developing my skills so I can get stronger." The girl looks contemplative.
"You seem plenty strong now. Isn't that enough?" Naruto's face becomes determined.
"No, no. I need to get stronger and stronger. I have to keep practicing so that I can become Hokage, the best ninja in my village. And everyone will know who I am. There's also a kid I have to prove something to." 'I'm Uzumaki Naruto. So what if the Hokage are killers? I will find a way to become Hokage, but I won't become a monster in the process, dattebayo!'
"So are you doing this training for this certain person or for yourself?" Seeing Naruto's confused expression, the girl can't help but giggle. She decides to elaborate. "Is there someone who is precious to you?"
"What are you saying, nee-chan? What do you mean by precious?" The girl looks away almost as if looking at something not really there.
"You see when a person has something precious that they want to protect, then they become genuinely strong." Naruto remembers Taiza's story, and the story of the Yondaime saving Konoha. And he remembers when he saved Iruka-sensei.
"I think I get it. I know exactly what you are saying." The girl gets up and smiles.
"Then you will get strong, very strong. Well then, goodbye. We'll meet again sometime. Oh, and by the way, I'm a boy." She, no HE turns around and winks at Naruto.
Naruto shivers violently. 'A BOY?! No way! He's prettier than Sakura!' As Haku walks away, she walks past Sasuke. Sasuke sees a quivering and solemnly contemplative Naruto murmuring to himself.
"You know, I've seen a lot of weird things in my life, but this one takes the cake, dattebayo." Sasuke punches him on the head.
"Ow. What was that for?"
Sasuke rolls his eyes. "Did you forget about breakfast, you midget? You're such a loser.
A few miles away, Zabuza wraps bandages around his waist. "You're almost fully recovered Zabuza-sama." The voice is soft and elegant. It's also ambiguous. It's hard to tell if it's a male or female talking.
…
Deep into the night, Naruto and Sasuke decide to make one more strong push toward the top of their respective tree. They are tired. Their bones and muscles ache, but their pride won't allow the other to beat them. They keep pushing and pushing until finally, they make it to the top at the exact same time. None of them gloat. They are just happy to complete this training. They smile at each other. They walk back to Tazuna's house for dinner holding one another up. They're both too weak to support their own weight. Once they reach the house, they tell everyone the news, but most importantly, both carry a gentle smile on their faces for the rest of the night. Naruto and Sasuke even look at each other a little differently. They look at each other with a feeling neither had for the other prior to this moment. Respect for the other.
A Few Days Later
Narrator: The day of reckoning has come. Team 7 is on the bridge, and they face off against Zabuza and his accomplice. Kakashi is busy handling Zabuza, while the two Genin boys handle the accomplice.
However, things aren't going well.
Naruto growls in frustration. "I couldn't break through. So what? I'll keep trying over and over again because I have a dream, and no one is going to take that from me. If I lose everything, at least I'll have that. Someday, I'll be respected in my village. That is my dream. That is why I'll become Hokage, dattebayo!"
"It was never my desire to be a shinobi. I don't want to kill you, but if you advance, then I will have no choice. I will kill the kindness in my own heart and fully embrace the way of a shinobi. There will be no turning back. No mercy.
This is the battlefield where dreams collide. I must fight for my dream just like you fight for yours. Don't blame me. I only fight for someone precious to me. I live and face death for him so that his dream may come true. To see that dream happen I will embrace the way of a shinobi. Now, let's see who will have the right to keep fighting for their dreams." Naruto and Sasuke smile. Naruto decides to repeat his last attack.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" More clones are summoned, and once more, in a blink they are destroyed. Fortunately, Sasuke noticed something. He couldn't see Haku move, but he could see his trails. Naruto performs his last stunt one more time. Sasuke kicks up some water into the air, but it was all futile. Haku destroyed the clones and further injured the genin duo.
The both of them get up and Sasuke approaches things differently. Naruto summons more shadow clones. Sasuke tracks Haku's trail and does his own hand seals. He blows a fireball and Haku is forced to dodge. Defeating them takes longer than initially thought. Another fireball is spat at him. Haku dodges once more, but this time the fire was able to singe his clothing a bit.
"Damn, I almost got him." Sasuke sees that he has the timing down now.
"Naruto. Do what you just did one more time." Naruto nods in agreement and tries his hardest to hide his panting. Sasuke does the motions for a fireball once more. "Naruto, run for it. Get out of here and attack from the outside." Naruto doesn't understand but decides to take Sasuke's lead. He runs toward a gap in the mirrors.
"You cannot escape." Haku jumps out of a mirror and ushes Naruto back whenever he got too close. Naruto kept getting up. Finally, Sasuke got the timing right. He breathes out his fastest fireball, but Haku expected it. Haku dodges underneath the attack and throws a senbon at Sasuke which jabs him in the shoulder. He flickers in front of Naruto and delivers a brutal roundhouse to his jaw.
Naruto gets up by Sasuke. "That was a good job Naruto. One more time?" Naruto nods and attempts the latest plan once more. Haku becomes frustrated and decides to get serious. He throws a senbon as fast as he can to a running Sasuke's knee. Sasuke is successfully stunned. A few more needles follow suit. Sasuke's body becomes riddled with needles. Naruto hears Sasuke's screams of pain. He runs back to help him. Haku sends a barrage of needles Naruto's way. All of them hit his back.
Both children are on the ground. Naruto goes for one last push. Making a ram seal and holding it, Naruto build up his chakras. He focuses it on his legs. He runs for a gap in the mirrors. Haku waits for him at the exit. Naruto backflips to change directions. He runs as fast as he can to the other side of the mirrors. Haku struggles to catch up, so he throws more needles at Naruto. "Naruto, watch out!" Yells Sasuke. Naruto is hit dead-on by all of the needles. Naruto passes out as soon as he hits the ground. Sasuke is all alone now.
Willing himself to get up, Sasuke resolves himself to find a breakthrough. Haku throws more needles at Sasuke. Sasuke pulls out one of the needles on his body and deflects all the needles thrown at him. Sasuke gets on a knee to take a break. "Get up, Usuratonkachi!" Naruto regains consciousness. He forces himself to sit up. Haku worries about Sasuke's new surge in abilities, so he doubles the number of needles he throws. They are aimed at both Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke moves faster now to block all the needles. Both to protect himself and his frie…teammate. "Naruto. You better not pass out again! I can't keep protecting you this way!"
Naruto wills himself to stay awake. "I never asked you for any help." His eyes become heavy. Naruto passes out once more. Damn. He's reached his limit. Sasuke notices his movements have become slower, and his opponent hasn't lost his step in a while. He needs absolute focus now.
Haku pulls out as many senbon as can fit in both his hands. 'Here he comes. Stay calm. Focus. Give everything that you have. Concentrate, and see everything.' Sasuke feels a surge of chakra inside of himself, focusing on his eyes. His eyes burn and he sees every move Haku plans to do. Sasuke picks up Naruto and moves out of the way of the barrage of needles. It's like he can see in slow motion. Sasuke glares at the mirrors. Inside the mirrors, Haku stiffens at what he sees. Sasuke's eyes are crimson with black pupils. In his right eye, there are 2 tomoes spinning around the pupil, and only 1 tomoe in his left eye. Sasuke has re-awakened his Sharingan. His body can handle the strain of it now. 'It's not complete yet, but I can see through his movements.'
'The Sharingan. A pure one at that. That should be impossible. So, he has a Kekkei Genkai too. The power of a unique bloodline trait. I can't afford to attack him head-on. He'll see through any attack with his Sharingan. I'll have to throw him off guard by attacking his partner.' Haku aims his barrage of senbon at an out-of-commission Naruto. Sasuke sees the trajectory of the needles. He charges chakra to his feet to get there in time and launches a kunai at Haku.
Naruto wakes up and looks to his left. He sees Haku on the floor with a kunai by his side. Sasuke is standing in front of him protectively. "You always get in the way, Naruto. It never fails." Naruto misinterprets Sasuke's words.
"Oh. You beat him Sasuke! Good j-" Naruto stops speaking. His eyes widen in horror seeing the state Sasuke is in. His body is covered head-to-toe in needles. He is bleeding from every orifice on his body and his legs are shaky. Sasuke… protected him.
Sasuke looks at him. "You should see the look on your face. You-You, look like… Usuratonkachi." Sasuke can't even get a full quip out. Naruto is overwhelmed by what is happening. He doesn't understand.
"Why? Why did you, uh, save me? Why did you do it?" Tears prickle Naruto's eyes.
Sasuke remembers his conversation with Kakashi. Obito. His way of life. He has respected Obito since listening to his story. He wanted to be like him in a manner of speaking. He is doing the same thing Obito did. He wants to be better, and this seems like a good place to start. Sacrificing himself for the sake of a friend.
"I don't know why. I just did." Friend. So that's it. Naruto is special because he is his first friend. This is the only way he can honor Obito, and the only way he can show he cares. Not that his pride will ever let him say this out loud. Sasuke smiles remembering the fun times with Naruto. "You. I hated you. I really did, Naruto." There is no denying it. Even now Sasuke isn't the biggest fan of the blonde.
Naruto stands up. "Then why? It doesn't make sense, dattebayo! Why did you protect me? I hated you too, dammit!" Demands Naruto. Sasuke smirks. Emotions boil over in the whiskered blonde. " I didn't ask for this! I didn't ask for you to save me! So why!?"
Sasuke can feel the darkness creep in. A tear forms in the corner of his left eye. He can feel it. He is dying. He is terrified. "I don't know. My body just moved on its own. There was no time to think. Usuratonkachi." The tear falls. Sasuke falls over. His body is too weak to support his weight now. Luckily, Naruto is able to catch him.
"He… He's still out there. My aniki. I promised myself… that I'd stay alive until I killed him. He was the one who took everything from me." It's approaching. He feels cold and he can barely see now. Sasuke has never felt such fear before. He is going to die achieving nothing. Just another worthless existence in this world of utter droll. Sasuke sheds another tear. "Naruto, don't let your dream die." Sasuke goes limp. His eyes close and his chest stops rising. He is no longer breathing.
Naruto watches Sasuke. He isn't moving. He stares at Sasuke and an unimaginable pain blooms in his heart. He hugs Sasuke.
Haku observes this scene from a distance. "He found the strength he didn't realize he had. Why? Because of a certain person who was precious to him. To save that person, he rushed in even knowing it was a trap. He was a true ninja worthy of honor. Is this the first time you've seen a comrade die in battle? This is a part of what it means to be shinobi." Haku walks back into the mirror.
Naruto doesn't look at Haku. "Shut up." He places Sasuke gently on the ground. "I hated you too Sasuke…And yet…"
Steam rolls off of Naruto's body. The air heats up. "You'll pay for this." The ground rumbles. Orange chakra explodes from out of Naruto's body, swirling around him in a dome. The ground cracks and breaks from the pressure of the chakra. Naruto trembles. "I'm going to kill you!" Naruto's voice sounds warped. It's like 2 people are talking at the same time, except both sound like him. His features change too. His whiskers become thicker and his hair spikier. His eyes become crimson-red with slit fox-like pupils. His canines elongate to resemble fangs and his nails grow into claws.
Haku stiffens. 'What is this chakra? I can feel the wrath and the bloodlust. This is almost evil itself. Whatever this is, it's ghastly.' The chakra coalesces into the shape of the head of a fox. Behind the fox, however, is a humanoid crimson and black mass. It smiles malevolently at him. The pressure of the chakra forces all the needles out of Naruto's body. Steam poor out of his wounds, healing them in an instant.
…
Outside the ice dome, Kakashi and Zabuza stop their fight as they feel the evil chakra in the air. Kakashi's legs shake. 'I know this chakra. There's no way. Naruto… This puts everyone in danger. Of all times for the seal to have weakened. I need to act fast. I have to stop this.'
Naruto gets on all fours. He growls at Haku. He feels anger he has never felt before. Naruto runs at Haku on all fours. Haku throws needles at him to defend himself. Naruto roars. Chakra enhances his voice, causing the air in front of him to pressurize, deflecting the needles. 'His chakra grows stronger every second. I need to act fast.' Haku travels between mirrors as fast as he can and throws faster senbons. The needles hit Naruto. Naruto builds up the chakra and releases it out of his body. The needles are forced out of his body. The chakra spreads everywhere, turning the winds.
Haku being too distracted blocking the chakra from getting in his eyes is too late in noticing Naruto charging at him. Naruto breaks the mirror Haku is inside of in one blow. Haku hides in a shard of the mirror and tries to strike Naruto from behind. Naruto senses it and flips away, avoiding all possible damage. Naruto gallops toward Haku and grabs his arm. His chakra grows further. Naruto keeps building it up. The pressure causes all the mirrors to crack. Naruto puts all the built-up chakra on his arm and he swings a wild haymaker on Haku's masked face.
Haku is sent flying and crashing into his own mirror. His body breaks the mirror from the force of the impact. He is sent tumbling dozens of meters away. His mask cracks. Now too weak to control his Jutsu, his mirrors break. Naruto sees Haku getting up. He roars and charges at him to deliver the finishing blow. Just as he is about to strike him, his mask falls off. He stops.
Naruto's features revert back to normal. His chakra returns to its normal level. "What? So that guy in the woods, that was you?" Naruto can't understand. This masked ninja is named Haku? He is his friend from the woods?
"Why do you not strike? Did you not just vow to avenge your comrade's death by killing me? Or were those just empty words?" Naruto trembles in rage. The sclera on his right eye turns black, but his iris remains blue. Yami is now listening.
He punches Haku furiously.
Haku gets up. "That level of strength just won't do. You're still holding back. You will never keep your vow that way. Perhaps he didn't mean as much to you as you pretend." Naruto doesn't move. Haku shakes his head disappointedly. "To show mercy to those who oppose those you love. To allow their enemies to live when you could strike them down. That is not compassion. It is a betrayal to those you protect. If you can't live up to your purpose, then what reason is there for you to exist? You are of no use to anyone. Your life has no meaning. That means all your struggle, day in, day out, meant nothing."
Naruto shakes. He refuses to let Haku's words affect him, though he can't deny that he is struggling to ignore them. "Yeah, well, speak for yourself."
Haku gives Naruto an empty smile. "Are you really that blind, young one? I am speaking of myself. This day has shown me that I am of no more use for Zabuza-sama."
Naruto doesn't understand. What else is new? "Zabuza. Why that guy anyway? To devote yourself to a rotten skunk who doesn't know the meaning of the word honor. If he really is the person who matters most to you, then that is the saddest thing I've ever heard."
Haku looks down. He explains everything about the bloodline purges in Mizu no Kuni and how his family was destroyed by it. He also goes into detail about his concept of existence and purpose.
"Why do you want to become Hokage? Because you want all eyes in the village to look at you? You see, it's only through the eyes of others that our lives gain any significance. When there is no one who sees you or will look at you, it's as if you don't exist. You are as good as dead." Naruto can't help but listens to Haku.
"Then Zabuza-sama came along. He looked at me and his eyes were not of hate nor fear. He did not shun me for my strangeness. In fact, my special powers were just what he wanted. He made me necessary again. He found me out on the streets in the middle of winter and gave me the option of living as his tool. Of course, having no other choice, I took it, but I was happy. My life had a purpose once more." Haku looks to the ground. "I have failed Zabuza-sama. You have defeated me. I am now like a broken weapon and is of no further use."
Haku walks up to Naruto with lifeless eyes. "Naruto-Kun. Kill me.
Kakashi pulls out a scroll from the chest of his flak jacket. He cuts his thumb on it as well. He unfurls the scroll and smears his blood on it. "Zabuza. I don't mean to spoil your fun. I know how much you like to drag these things out, but how about we put an end to this now?" Kakashi does a series of hand seals. "Ninpou Kuchiyose. Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu!" Kakashi slams the scroll on the ground. Runes and Kanji burst from the scroll and roam around the ground.
"I don't know why you bother. Of what use is your Jutsu if you can't even find me? But I can find you." Zabuza scoffs. "Blindly falling into my trap. You disappoint me, Kakashi. You are right though. It's time to put an end to this." Zabuza starts doing hand seals for a Jutsu but is stopped midway by a rumbling in the ground underneath him. The ground cracks and a dog sprouts from under him. Zabuza jumps away to dodge, but on his right, another dog sprouts from the ground and bites him. The ground all around him breaks from the sprouting of dogs, too many to count.
Kakashi stands up. "I realized that I couldn't see you. So I'd have to smell you out." The mist starts clearing up. Zabuza is immobilized by dozens of dogs holding him in place. He is bleeding from their bites. "That was a summoning Jutsu. I was calling forth my ninja hounds. They can track a scent anywhere. When you attacked me earlier, I let you get past my guard. I wanted you to cut me. You see, it's the smell of my blood on your blade that led them to you. Surprised? Looks like I wasn't the only one who was blind. You fell right into my trap. You disappoint me, Zabuza." Zabuza growls at having his words used against him.
"The mist is finally clearing. Do you know what I see? Your death. One word from me and my hounds will tear you apart. See where your ambitions got you. You pushed too far, and that will lead to your doom.
I will finish you with a jutsu that is not an imitation, nor a Sharingan technique. This is a Jutsu of my own creation." Kakashi starts with the Ox hand seal. Kakashi follows with the Rabbit sign. Finally, he ends with the monkey sign. He grips his right wrist. Electricity sparks. It flows all around him and condenses on his hand. Kakashi focuses the electricity on a point in his hand. It resembles a pointed ball of lighting. "Raikiri!"
'The chakra is so strong it's visible. If that touches me, I'll die!' Zabuza panics.
"I won't allow you to kill Tazuna. He's a brave man with a noble dream. The bridge he's building is the hope of this land and all its people. You're like a disease. By attacking one, you infect all. You don't care. That is not my way of the shinobi." Zabuza glares at Kakashi.
"You're right. I don't care. These useless little people and their petty little dreams! Why should they matter to me? I have a dream of my own!" Kakashi's Jutsu gets stronger.
"To have a dream, you need to have a future. You don't. Your future's all used up, Zabuza. You'll die by my hand." Kakashi runs toward Zabuza with his arm poised back, ready to rip any flesh that gets in its way.
Haku looks Naruto in the eyes. "Go on. Strike me. Kill me."
Naruto shakes with nerves. "Why do you hesitate? You hate him right? You want to destroy him. He took your friend away from you. Your closest friend. It's only fair you take something from him. He's practically offering." Naruto shakes his head to get rid of the depraved voices.
He jumps away from Haku. "That is the most ridiculous story I've ever heard, dattebayo! I mean, he treats you like a slave. You're a human being. Not a weapon or a tool. How can you care about someone like that?" Naruto is struggling to keep his composure.
Haku stares deep into his mismatched eyes. "For that very reason, you just said it. I care about him. When he found me, I was without purpose or reason to live. Zabuza-sama gave me both. The only thing that gave my life meaning is gone. I failed him. I am a broken tool. A blunted weapon that is of no use to anyone. There is no reason for my existence, so kill me, Naruto-kun."
Naruto backs away further from Haku. His breathing becomes ragged.
"I thought you wanted to be a mighty warrior."
Naruto grabs his head. "You are a shinobi. Shinobi kill all the time. He is asking for death. Give him his due, Hikari." Naruto's iris loses its pupil. He reaches for a kunai but stops himself.
He looks back at Haku. "That's not what this is about. Do you really believe that's all there is to it? Just fighting and killing until there is only one left. There are more ways to show strength. Aren't there?" He whispers that last part to himself.
Haku smiles at Naruto. "I've had a feeling all along from the first moment we met in the woods. We are a lot alike." Naruto's eyes widen. "There's no need to tell you. I'm sure you know what I mean. I'm only sorry that it must be your hand that is tainted with my unworthy blood. This is the only way."
Naruto grabs at his kunai. He tries to resist, but he can't.
"Hikari. He asks for death. Without purpose, he is as good as dead, so put him out of his misery. Death would be a mercy. Yes, by killing him, you are being merciful. You are not the bad guy here. You are only doing your job. He took the only good thing in your life, so taking his life is only fair. It is justice." Naruto freezes. He has a searing headache. His iris finally becomes crimson. "Remember what he did to Sasuke. How he ruthlessly took him down without a second thought. Without remorse. You vowed you'd avenge Sasuke. Don't go back on your word. You'd be a liar if you didn't kill Haku. You'd spit on Sasuke's grave by sparing him. Does Sasuke's sacrifice mean so little to you? Do this for Sasuke, because he had a dream too." Rage builds inside of Naruto hearing these sweet, poisonous words. They come on thick like honey. He can never forget the image of Sasuke dying in his arms. HE isn't the bad guy. HE is the hero of this story.
Naruto loses some sensation on the right side of his body. It feels numb and like it's no longer his to control He grabs the kunai in his pouch. All the emotions he has buried have boiled over today. Rage, anger, hatred, sadness, sorrow, and toxic despair nearly drown him in their potency. Chakra surges inside of him, but it doesn't feel like the orange chakra from before. It feels like his own, but, not. Dark almost. All that extra power flows throughout his body. He sprints toward Haku, boosted by this new, dark chakra. The ground cracks under the strength of his steps.
Haku closes his eyes accepting his destiny.
Naruto growls with all his might. He throws his arm back and runs his kunai cleanly into Haku's heart. He stabs him with such strength that the kunai comes out the other side, successfully impaling the older boy on his arm.
Haku coughs up blood. He looks at Naruto, and he sees an expression that will haunt him in the afterlife. Naruto's face is horrifying. His right eye is black with crimson, pupilless irises. His left eye is his standard sapphire blue, but he knew that already. No. What makes his blood curdle is that Naruto is grinning widely seeing him skewered on his arm, but he is also sobbing uncontrollably witnessing this. His face is riddled with tears, and yet, he is smiling in unadulterated glee.
The light slowly leaves Haku's eyes, until they close, never to open again. Naruto pulls his arm out of Haku's chest. Haku's blood splashes on the right side of Naruto's face but leaves the left side of his face unblemished. His arm is stained in fresh, warm, bright-red blood. It might never wash off of his skin.
His right eye pulses. "Well done Hikari. Our friend has been avenged. You did the right thing, therefore you did nothing wrong. Haku had it coming. Even then, I never expected you to go for it. Didn't think you had it in you. I'm glad that you aren't weak. Hehehehe!
But you can't deny this. You killed someone! You took a life! You played God and deemed this boy unworthy of life! And you know just as well as I do, that it felt good! Liberating! You love the feeling of warm, crimson blood staining your skin! The smell of Iron in the air! You have consumed the essence of another, and for that, you are stronger. I cannot wait to see you gain even MORE strength!"
Naruto shivers. He runs to the railings of the bridge and vomits all the contents in his stomach. He vomits until he can't heave anymore. His right eye fades to its normal state, and Naruto cries. He cries until there are no more tears left to cry, and even then he keeps crying. He hates what he did, and he hates himself even more. He played God. What gives him the right to judge someone's existence, or to determine when a life loses its value? Worst of all is that the traitorous voice is right. No matter how much he hates what he did, or how nauseous he feels, or repulsed by what he did, he'd be a liar if he denied that a small, but still very real part of him didn't feel… satisfaction. Happiness. Fulfillment.
He killed someone, and he felt good about it. He might really be the monster that the villagers think he is, and that idea filled him with more despair than anything else ever could. Didn't he say last week that he would become Hokage without becoming a monster? Look at him now.
He let out a bloodcurdling scream filled with frustration, sorrow, and self-loathing.
Kakashi runs at Zabuza with his Raikiri. He is about to thrust his arm into Zabuza's chest until he hears an awful scream. It's Naruto! 'What happened to Naruto? Sounds like he is in trouble. I need to save him!' Unfortunately, being so focused on Naruto caused Kakashi to lose concentration on Zabuza. While initially, his arm would've struck Zabuza in the heart, his lapse in focus caused him to strike Zabuza on the left shoulder, close to his heart. Still a fatal wound, but not instant death.
Kakashi releases his summoning Jutsu but struggles to pull his hand out of Zabuza's shoulder. Zabuza takes the opportunity to try to hack at Kakashi with his cleaver. Kakashi does one last effort to pull his arm out of Zabuza's shoulder. Thankfully, he is successful and dodges in time. Kakashi avoids getting bisected by the cleaver.
Weakened, Zabuza cannot maintain his hold on the Kirigakure Jutsu. The mist starts being lifted. Though it is still foggy, there is visibility on the bridge. Kakashi looks to his right and he sees Naruto holding himself up on the railing of the bridge. Further examining him, Kakashi sees blood covering the entirety of Naruto's right arm and the right side of his face. There is more blood on him staining his clothing red, but the left side of his person is clean for some reason. His eyes are bloodshot and dried tear tracks are on his face. There is vomit on his collar. This alarms Kakashi.
'Is Naruto injured? What happened?' Looking behind Naruto, he sees Zabuza's apprentice with a large, gaping hole in his chest right where his heart should be.
'First kill, huh? So that must be the boy's blood. That also explains his dried tears and vomit. Probably couldn't handle what he did. I'll need to speak to him later to help him recover. He wasn't ready for this mission, nor was he prepared to take a life. Where is Sasuke anyway?' Kakashi regrets ever taking on this mission, but that is the least of his worries. He needs to defeat Zabuza, and then he can help his students.
Sakura sees Naruto once the mist clears up a bit. "Naruto! Over here! So, are you and Sasuke-kun alright?" The mist clears up some more. She sees the state Naruto is in.
'Oh god! So much blood!' She struggles not to vomit but is able to keep down her breakfast. She pushes through.
"Naruto, where is Sasuke-kun anyway?" She asks hopefully.
Naruto scrunches up his face. He tries not to cry, but somehow, despite his dried-up tear ducts, a stray tear falls from his right eye.
Sakura gets the message. "No…"
Tazuna grabs her shoulder. "Let me take you to him, Sakura. We'll go together so that way, you won't be disobeying your sensei's orders." Sakura grabs Tazuna's hand. They run toward the other side of the bridge together. Sakura runs past Naruto without sparing him a glance. Naruto can't stand to look at Sakura out of shame. He has had his bad moments with her, but after everything, he still wants to be her friend.
Sakura arrives at where Sasuke is. She gasps seeing his condition. Sasuke is riddled from head to toe with needles. He resembles a porcupine now. Sasuke has patches of dried blood all over his body. Tazuna looks away, feeling guilty knowing that he is partially responsible for this young boy's death. Sakura falls to her knees and caresses Sasuke's cheek. She breaks down in tears and hugs Sasuke's body toward her. "Sasuke-kun!"
Tazuna watches on in guilt and disgust. 'To put such a heavy burden on a young girl's shoulders. If that is the way of shinobi, then they can have it.' He feels sick. He is happy he is a civilian. He will not allow his grandson to become a shinobi.
His thoughts are further solidified once Sakura's crying becomes sobs and wails of anguish.
Zabuza clumsily runs toward Kakashi. "Kakashi! I'd stay focused if I were you." Zabuza holds his sword in a reverse grip. Kakashi finds a gap in Zabuza's guard, so he uses his hands to hold himself up as he delivers a mule kick toward Zabuza's face. They charge at one another. Every strike of Zabuza's blade is blocked by Kakashi.
Zabuza is punched, kicked, and any attack is blocked or countered. His blood loss slows him down. He is kicked and stabbed on his left arm in quick succession making it limp. 'Why can't I keep up with him?' Zabuza charges in once more. Kakashi is able to find an opening thanks to Zabuza's limp arm and punches him in the jaw. He follows it up with a backhand, forcing Zabuza to keep himself steady with his cleaver. Zabuza goes for a wild swing which Kakashi dodges. The cleaver is now stuck in the ground.
Kakashi flickers behind Zabuza. "I knew you didn't have what it takes for the long haul. You have no idea what real strength is." Kakashi puts his hand on Zabuza's neck and pulls out 2 kunai. He goes in to stab Zabuza, but Zabuza is able to counter into a mutual strike. If Kakashi stabs him, he should be able to bisect him. Realizing this, Kakashi shifts his body and jumps away, causing the kunai to stab Zabuza's right arm. Losing functionality in his right arm, Zabuza loses hold of his cleaver. It flies across the bridge.
Before anyone can continue what they were doing, footsteps are heard at the entrance of the bridge coming toward them. "Well, well. This is how it turns out, huh? He did quite a job on you, didn't he, Zabuza? I must say, I'm disappointed." The man who speaks is a balding, short, and fat man in a suit. He walks with a cane and his left arm is in a cast. Behind him was a large gang of armed thugs.
Zabuza growls. "Gato, I don't understand. What is all this? What are you doing here? And who are these things you've brought with you?"
Gato chuckles. "You see, there's been a change of plans. According to the new plan, you die here on this bridge, Zabuza. You see, you're too expensive. So I've decided to take you off the payroll. Of course, even these thugs I've brought cost something, so if you could manage to take a few of them down with you, I'd appreciate it. Think you can manage, the demon of the mist. Look at you. You look as demonic as a wet kitten." Gato laughs.
"Well, Kakashi. It would seem that our fight is at its end. Since I am no longer in Gato's employ, Tazuna's safe." Kakashi nods in agreement. They watch as Gato walks up to Haku's corpse alone.
"That reminds me, you little punk! You grabbed me and broke my arm" He taps Haku's face with his foot. "I've been meaning to repay you for that!" He winds up his leg and punts Haku on the face repeatedly. No one can do anything but watch. "Huh. I only wish he here alive to feel that."
Tick marks bulge on Naruto's temple. He cannot stand seeing such a disgusting act. "Get away, teme!" Naruto runs toward Gato. "Get away from him you scum!"
Kakashi holds him back. "Hey, stop. Use your head." Naruto isn't able to escape Kakashi's grasp, but he can still run his mouth.
"Well, what about you Zabuza? You're just gonna let him do that?" Why is this being allowed to happen?
Zabuza doesn't look at him. "Be quiet, baka. Haku is dead. What does it matter?" He just shrugged it off.
Naruto cannot accept this. "What?! You mean, you could just stand there and watch him get treated like a dog? You and Haku were together for years! Does that mean nothing to you?"
Zabuza maintains his focus on Gato. "You don't understand the way of shinobi. I merely used him just as Gato used me. Now, it's over. His usefulness is at an end. The loss of his strength and skill, yes, that means something to me. But the boy….nothing."
Naruto glares sternly at Zabuza. "If you mean that, then you're an even bigger rat than I thought."
Kakashi intervenes before this can go too far. "Okay Naruto, that's enough. He's not the enemy here."
Naruto manages to free himself of Kakashi's grasp but doesn't leave his side. "Shut up Sensei! As far as I'm concerned, he's enemy number 1!" Naruto points at Zabuza with a blood-soaked digit from his right arm. "Why you-You ungrateful… After everything he did for you. Haku lived for you! You were the most important thing in the world to him. And he meant nothing to you? Nothing at all? While he was sacrificing everything for you, you didn't feel anything at all for him?" Tears return to Naruto's bloodshot eyes. "And if I become stronger, does that mean I'll become as coldhearted as you? He threw his life away. And for what?! For you and your dream!" Naruto starts hyperventilating. "You never let him have a dream of his own, but he didn't care. And you just toss him aside like he was nothing. A broken tool. Man, that is just…so wrong."
Zabuza faces the ground. "You talk too much." A couple of drops of clear fluid hit the ground, darkening it in its moisture. Zabuza faces the sky with tears flowing down his face. "Your words cut deep. Deeper than any blade." Zabuza looks at the ground once more. "While he fought you, his heart was breaking in two. You see, Haku was always too soft and too kind. He felt pain and sorrow, and damn him, he cursed me with those feelings too. And something else. I feel content that this is the way it ends." Zabuza uses his teeth to rip the bandages off his face. His teeth are shark-like. He looks at a stunned Naruto. "Well, are you so surprised to discover I'm human? Even shinobi are human. No matter how hard we try to escape this simple fact, we always fail. Well, at least, I have failed." He stares deep into Naruto's bloodshot blue eyes. "Boy, give me your Kunai." Naruto hesitates, but he throws him his Kunai. The same bloodied one that killed Haku.
Zabuza catches it with his teeth. Zabuza sprints toward Gato and his goons. Gato panics. "That's it. Do it! Take him down, now!" Gato hides behind his men, Zabuza comes in fast and he avoids every swing of a weapon the bandits try. He stabs them along the way with the kunai. Zabuza jumps over half the men. He swings his body around to slit the throat of each of his opponents. A man sneaks up behind Zabuza and stabs him with his spear. Zabuza keeps at it. He doesn't keel over. Zabuza finally breaks through the sea of men to reach Gato.
Gato pisses himself. Literally. 'He-he's the devil!'
Zabuza stabs Gato in the heart. The thugs he left behind catch up to him and stab him multiple times. He has a multitude of weapons sticking out of his back like a wind-up toy. "Damn you! If you're so eager to join your friend, then go ahead! But you are not taking me with you!" Rasps out, Gato.
"Nah. I won't be joining Haku. Where he's gone, I cannot follow." Zabuza stands straight and marches toward Gato. Gato trembles. "We wouldn't be welcome where Haku's gone to. Hell's where we're going, Gato!" Gato whimpers.
"I can't think of a more fitting destination for a ninja known as a demon. I'm told that there are many demons down there, of all shapes and sizes." A deranged look styles on Zabuza's face. "Oh yes. I should fit right in. You, on the other hand, Gato, well, I fear you're in for a long and very painful eternity!" Zabuza bites the Kunai in Gato's chest and pulls it out. He slashes across to slit Gato's throat. Zabuza spins to stab Gato in the chest once more. The momentum causes Gato to fall off of the bridge and into the ocean where there's no hope for salvation. All that awaits him is the deep, murky abyss.
Gato's men aren't sure of what to do. Zabuza turns to look at them. He gives them a menacing glare. The men back away and drop their weapons. They give Zabuza a wide berth. Zabuza trods slowly and clumsily toward Haku's body, his body going paler from the blood leaking from his shoulder. "I never once thanked you for all you've done for me. Forgive me, Haku." Zabuza collapses by Haku's body. "The least I can do is be beside you at the end." Zabuza closes his eyes and his breathing stops.
Naruto looks away.
Kakashi taps him on the shoulder. "Don't look away. When you live like a warrior, this is how it ends. So once more, don't look away. One day, this might be your fate." It hurts to do so, but Naruto looks at Zabuza. He will respect him enough to observe his final moments.
Sakura missed all that was happening. She was too preoccupied sobbing over Sasuke's body.
Sasuke groans. "Sakura. It's hard to breathe with you on top of me."
Sakura jumps. "Sasuke-kun?" She sees Sasuke blinking slowly. His obsidian-black eyes are dull, but he is blinking, His breathing is slow and difficult, but he is breathing nonetheless. "Sasuke-kun. Sasuke-kun!" Sakura sobs on Sasuke and hugs him. Sasuke tries to push her off, but he is far too weak to do anything, so he sucks it up ad lets her. He doesn't have a choice anyway. Eventually, Sakura lets him go.
After a few minutes, Sasuke forces himself up. "Where's Naruto? And the masked guy?"
Sakura steadies Sasuke. "Naruto is alive. I don't know if he is ok, but he is alive. But the one in the mask is dead."
Sasuke turns his head so fast you'd think he got whiplash. "Dead? How? Did Naruto do it?"
Sakura looks away. "Oh, I-I came in late. I'm not sure what happened. He was protecting Zabuza, the boy, I mean."
Sasuke stares at the kid and at Naruto. He sees the blood on Naruto's clothes and arm.
"I had faith in you, Sasuke-kun. I knew you'd pull through. You're too cool a guy to stay down for too long."
Sasuke pays Sakura no mind. He starts processing what happened. 'That masked guy. He never meant to kill me.' He stands up. Sakura calls out to Naruto to show him he is alive. Sasuke gives Naruto a lazy wave. Naruto chuckles at his attitude and looks at Haku.
'So this is what Zabuza meant by saying Haku was too soft.' Naruto's chuckles turn into small laughs, and from there into hysterical cackling. He is crying once more. Oh God, he just killed someone innocent. He laughs at the irony, but he has never felt worse in his life. He hasn't ever hated anyone as much as he hates himself.
There is a tapping on the bridge.
"Oi, oi. Now that Gato's gone, who's going to pay us? That was our meal ticket right there. No way we're gonna leave here empty-handed. We'll just go and hit that village over there. And see what they have for us." The men charge at team 7. Before they can get too far, an arrow lands in front of them. They follow the trajectory. They see on the other side of the bridge a massive group of people.
"You're forgetting one thing. Before you can set foot in our village, You'll have to go through all of us." The entire village is on the bridge ready to defend their home. Naruto pushes down his emotions to summons shadow clones to support, and Kakashi summons a few illusionary clones with the amount of chakra he has left.
"So, still want to fight?" The bandits drop their weapons and evacuate the bridge. The battle is over. Gato is dead, Zabuza and Haku are no more, and Wave has learned to defend itself.
Team 7 returned to Tazuna's home to get freshened up. Naruto is outside the house taking off all of his clothes. He burns his jacket and his pants. He doubts he can wash off the blood from them. It's not like he wants to keep those clothes anyway.
After destroying his clothes, he takes a shower. He washes as normal until he gets to his arm. His pupils dilate seeing it and his breathing becomes ragged. He scours the bathroom for soap. He finds a fresh bottle of shampoo. Pouring an excessive amount on his arm, he grabs the sponge he brought from the kitchen and scrubs his arm with the rough side. He doesn't see much besides the dried blood being cleaned up. He pours another large dollop of shampoo on his arm and another squirt on the sponge.
He scrubs harder and faster. Naruto scrubs and scrubs until his skin becomes raw. Even then he keeps going. He goes on for another half-hour until he has essentially scrubbed his skin off. His arm trembles in pain, but he keeps scrubbing. Finally, he rinses his arm. He sees the exposed flesh and can't help but hyperventilate seeing his blood dripping from it. Steam pours out of his arm, healing it to a fresh, healed state. There are no signs of blood. Good. He'd rather take his arm off than keep the blood on it.
After his shower, Naruto goes to change into fresh clothes. He puts on his clothes like normal until he reaches for his spare customary orange jumpsuit. Just seeing the thing makes him nauseous. This was the clothing he wore when he took the life of an innocent. He can't bear to watch it, much less touch it. In the end, Naruto decides to wear his undershirt and shorts.
...
That night, Naruto doesn't sleep. He is on the roof looking at the stars. He hears footsteps on his left. He looks to see who else is on the roof with him.
It's Kakashi sensei. Naruto looks away to face the sky once more.
Kakashi sits next to him. "Hey, Naruto. How are you doing?" No response. "I wanted to congratulate you on a good job today. You did a few mistakes, but in the end, we couldn't complete the mission without you." Still no response.
Kakashi sighs and decides to get to the point. "Listen. I, uh, saw what you did. You took a life today, and you weren't anywhere near ready to do that, and I take full responsibility for that." Naruto stiffens but still refuses to look at Kakashi. Kakashi gives up and gets up to leave.
He stops when he heard a whimper. Then, came a sniffle. Listening more closely, Kakashi hears a few sobs. "I-I killed someone sensei! I judged someone's existence, and I took their life away. I've worked so hard, harder than anybody else to prove my humanity. To prove that I am a good person. The villagers call me a demon, a freak, a monster. A few even called me a murderer. I guess I shouldn't have made any effort at all. They were right. I am a freak. I am a demon. I am a monster. Worse of all, I am a MURDERER! I don't know what to do!" That wasn't Naruto's voice just now.
Kakashi is saddened to hear this. He should've prepared his students better. He should've never taken on this mission. He should've helped them learn to cope with taking life. No matter what he should've, could've, would've done is a non-factor. He can't change the past and he has made his decisions. Now, all he can do is make sure the future turns out better. "Taking a life is always hard, Naruto. I've been a shinobi for nearly my entire life. I've taken so many lives that I can no longer count, but no matter how experienced I am, I have never enjoyed taking a life. I hate killing. I do it because it's my job and to protect those that I love. Tell me, why did you kill Haku?"
Naruto is surprised Kakashi has killed so many, and he is further surprised that Kakashi hates it. He would've assumed that killing doesn't mean much to Kakashi because of his experience. Pushing past that, he focuses on the question. "I killed Haku because he killed Sasuke, well, I thought he killed Sasuke. I was just so hurt and angry, so unbelievably angry at him for that. I was also angry at myself because my mistakes caused that to happen. If it weren't for my stupidity, Sasuke wouldn't even be in that position."
Kakashi nods and thinks about what to say. He isn't good with words, but he is wise enough to help Naruto out. "So you realize where you went wrong. That is good. That'll help you learn to avoid that in the future. That is why we live, Naruto. We live and we learn. Please learn from this. We got lucky today. If your opponent had been anyone other than Haku, Sasuke would be dead. And this part about you killing Haku for Sasuke. Did you kill Haku in revenge?"
Naruto nods. Kakashi sighs. "I won't tell you to avoid vengeance. I have taken my fair amount of vengeance out on others and it's not my place to tell you how to live your life, or even avoid vengeance since I'd be a hypocrite to say that. All I can say is be careful with vengeance. It is a dangerous emotion because it is so easy to lose yourself in it, but it isn't a bad emotion, just very hard to control. Please remember who you are, and you should be okay. And as long as you don't enjoy taking life, then everything should be okay."
Tears roll down Naruto's cheeks. "I want so bad to be a good person. I hate what I did so much, but at the same time, I enjoyed killing him, sensei! No good person nor anything resembling a human would enjoy taking a life! Only a monster would enjoy killing. I took joy out of it!" Kakashi freezes in shock. A chill goes down his spine. Naruto enjoyed killing? This is more serious than he thought.
"Naruto, don't ever enjoy killing. Life is sacred and to enjoy taking it is truly evil. I understand that you probably felt a sense of satisfaction from avenging Sasuke, but don't take it any further than that. You said that you hate what you did and that you feel awful about it. Focus on that. That part of you reminds you of your humanity. Listen to it and try as hard as you can to remain yourself. Just-Just try to be more careful, and don't lose yourself to your darkness, okay?" Naruto nods. He got the message.
"Thank you, sensei. I feel better now. I will listen to your advice. I'd like to be alone now to gather my thoughts." Kakashi nods. He pats Naruto on the head and goes back inside to sleep.
A few days later, Team 7 is by a cliff looking over Nami no Kuni. There is a grave on it, and the grave is marked by a giant cleaver.
Sakura looks at the grave. "Is that really the shinobi way? To use and be used as tools?"
Kakashi ponders for a minute. "All shinobi are merely tools in the hands of destiny. No point in wondering whether it's right or wrong. It just is. It's the same in Konohagakure no Sato."
Naruto looks at Kakashi. "Well, if you ask me if that's what being a ninja is all about, then something is wrong. Is that why we go through all this training? Just to end up like Zabuza and Haku?"
Sasuke looks at Kakashi now. "What is the reason for all of this?"
Kakashi sighs. "Well, that's a question without an answer. And that is something we ninja must deal with every day of our lives. Just like Zabuza and the kid." Everyone remains quiet.
"Alright then. From now on, I'm finding my own nindo, my own ninja way. A way that is straight and true, without any regrets. From now on, I'm following the way of Naruto, dattebayo! I hope all of you can find your own way of the shinobi as well. We can change the way shinobi live." Everyone smiles.
…
A week later, Team 7 is on the now completed bridge getting ready to leave. The entire village came to see them off. Kakashi puts the finishing touches on a payment plan for Tazuna since far more money is owed than a C-rank payment. This is an A-rank mission. Naruto, dressed in only a black tee and orange shorts, says goodbye to Inari. Sasuke looks toward the cliff where Zabuza's grave is, and Sakura is busy talking to a nonresponsive Sasuke.
After finishing his dealings with Tazuna, Kakashi whispers something in Tsunami's ear, causing her to blush and Tazuna to glare at him. Finally done with their urgent matters, Naruto and the rest of Team 7 depart to the mainland of Hi no Kuni.
A few minutes after they leave, the villagers of the Wave country get together to decide the name of the bridge. They decide to name it after the ninja that helped defeat the great evil of this land and gave their people their strength back, They named it, The Great Naruto Bridge. Because just like the bridge, that name will soon be known by everyone.
Fuck me, was that long. I had fun. Chapter 1 is over, and chapter 2 will be the Chunin exams. Thank you for reading. Review if you enjoyed, or if you have request or complaints.
Have a good day. This is Zippy, out.