AN: Sorry for the latest update ever. I had writers block and to be honest, no inspiration. It's not edited but I tried my best. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto.

Chapter 12: A Hero Will Rise

Thunderous crunch was heard throughout the forest. Branches thrown out the way and hurled behind as four ninjas made their way through the disguised pathway. From the young three ninja's position, all they could see was a blur of red that cleared their way from the branches. The darkness did not make avoiding the branches any easier. With the faint shimmering light from the moon, the three genin were barely able to dodge the flying projectile in high speed. The ringing in their ear never ceased to exist as violent winds passed by, ferocious with every step.

A loud canine whimper escaped a dog nin that ran with the team. It brought the red blur before them to a stop as she turned to look at those behind her dangerously. "Kiba…" She said absently, her appearance making her appear demented. Her eyes were bloodshot with worry and anxiety and her hair was barely placed in a high ponytail, frayed around her face.

"Kushina-san, we've been at it since we left Konoha's gate! We're all tired need to rest."Kiba whined, attempting not to complain but found it hard especially when the muscle on his leg was burning. The only reason he was able to speak up was for the rush of adrenaline that was pumping through his vein. He almost regretted it once he remembered whom he was speaking to and twitched a bit. He involuntarily took a step back and looked at his teammates. It was not like his teammates would back him up.

He was teamed up with the two calmest people he could ever meet. Shino never spoke until necessary and Hinata would only respond if a question was directed to her. Even then, Hinata would never hurt a fly.

Kushina looked at the team before glancing at them individually. Shino face was relaxed with a hint of fatigue and Hinata seemed to be fidgeting under the intense gaze of the Hokage's wife, avoiding her gaze.

Kushina couldn't help to feel guilty. The genin was right. They have been running to Land of Waves since Minato allowed her to meet up with Team 7. Her maternal instinct told her to get to her son fast as possible but it also said to take pity on the genin. They were shinobi, she acknowledged that but they were still 12 year old. Children in her eyes.

Her swollen eyes now matched her hair as she messily ran her hand through her hair and turned to gaze at Kiba, the boy who spoke up. "We'll set up camp for the night then." She said firmly and walked to the nearby tree, not waiting for a response. Leaning against it for support, she sighed tiredly and stared at the bright yellow moon. She only imagined what her son would be doing now.

She tried to so much to make him feel like any other child growing up, with not as much stress the clan heir would feel. She had seen how young and innocent Itachi was when she took care of him. Now, he is tense with responsibilities far much greater for him. She worried Naruto would face the same fate.

The villagers never made life easy, always praising and treating him differently. Naruto was humble and she was very proud of that. Her first son, carrying such a burden that she would rather die than have him carry it.

Her training was never made to kill anyone higher than chunin if he were under attack. But of course, with her luck, one of the Seven Legendary Swordsmen happened to be given the order to kill Tazuna. She trusted Naruto as a shinobi for his skills but she had the right to worry. She was his mother first, before anything else. It was too bad Minato could not say the same. She bit her bottom lip and looked back at the Team Kureani, not allowing her self to dwell on her thoughts. They were silently setting up their tent.

Kushina pursed her lips and made her way to them. "I'll make a fire before I give you guys dinner." She knelled down and conveniently began to pick up the branches she broke with her steps she made at the crown of the tree.

"We have our rationed food Kushina-san." Shino spoke, sliding his glasses up his nose.

Kushina raised her eyebrow and threw the branches and twigs at the ground. "I have a proper dinner sealed up in one of my scrolls. I knew this mission was given too quickly for you guys to prepare for so this is an apology from taking you guys."

"A-apology? W-what for Kushina-san?" Stuttered the nervous Hinata. She just finished to set up her tent and sat down on the ground besides the red haired kunoichi.

"I was ordered to assist Team 7 on their mission. I was going to go alone but Minato denied me that. He said I would only go if I had a team and you guys were the only one available. Kureani had another mission." Kushina said matter-of-factually when in reality, the reason was to go protect Naruto. Zabuza is dangerous and evil. She wouldn't be surprise if he were to warn Iwa about her son or any other village. Besides, Naruto is the jinchuriki and he had to be kept safe. Thankfully, it was a legitimate reason for her to go to her son, to protect the village.

"What kind of mission is it?" Kiba asked, intrigued as he sat beside his two other teammates.

Kushina smirked a little before reaching out for her storage seal. She carefully placed the scroll on the ground and did the hand sign of tora. Within seconds, a puff of smoke emerged and quickly disappeared, leaving behind an enchanting fragranced dinner.

"Awe man! Naruto does have it good!" Kiba yelled, ignoring his question earlier.

"Enjoy the meal and rest well. Tomorrow, I plan to get closer to the Land of Waves."Kushina said brightly, glancing at the vibrant eyes that stared at her.

A certain blonde was finding the weights around his ankles as an annoyance. He hardly knew they were on him when he was walking or training but he noticed when he was lying down on the ground. However, the weights couldn't dampen his good mood. He was lucky that he was able to fully master two jutsu that his father taught him.

At home, he learned to do Fūton: Renkūdan since he had more time and help from his dad. Kakashi was able to assist him on Fūton: Daitoppa, making the jutsu a bit stronger. Minato helped him with Futon: Daitoppa but had to stop when they were attempting to make the jutsu stronger. Naruto had mastery of his chakra but Minato worried that he was strained and exhausted from learning a jutsu before. Not to mention his seal lesson from his mom prior to his training was headache inducing at both end.

Regardless, the past week has been one of the most productive one for the Land of Waves. The bridge was close to completion with minor details needed to be looked over. It brought him a smile to witness the country villagers working together and overcoming the fear of Gato. He hoped with his team arrival, that the villagers would finally fight back and continue to push. There were moments that the villagers would get scared but it was the small things that were changing.

There was an instance when the villagers did hide at the wrath of Gato, mostly by the thugs who thought they ruled the village. It was when Naruto and Tazuna along with Sakura accompanied him to the market square.

Flashback

They were buying the essential for dinner when two men with long swords came to a store and threatened the local business owner. The young shinobi didn't notice the commotion until the two men with the swords dragged the old owner out to the street to terrorize him in front of citizens. That's when Naruto couldn't control himself.

"Hey! What do you thugs think you are doing?" Naruto yelled, raising his eyebrow in question.

The men with the sword tore their gaze from the elderly man from their grasp and looked at Naruto.

"Just lecturing this old man. He refuse to give us the food for free." The bandit smugly said, amusingly staring at the blonde boy.

"Beat it kid. Unless you want to face the same fate as this old man." The other one said, laughing.

"Let the man go or you will be the one begging for help!" Sakura answered, glaring at both men. Tazuna looked at both kid and had a small smile.

"Is a little girl going to defend this man?" The bandit asked rhetorically to the other bandit.

"Yes. If you don't let him go, then you are going to get hurt." Sakura answered with annoyance. She cracked her neck and looked at both men. It always did annoy her when other doubted her skills just because she was a woman.

The bandits broke in laughter. The taller one with a hat went to reach for the hilt of hit sword strapped at his side but Sakura beat him to it. She kicked him in his midsection and quickly went to grabbed his arms and threw him on the ground. Still holding onto his arm, she placed her foot on his back and pressed hard. "You were saying?" She said with bitterness in her voice, putting more weight against his back and arm.

The bandit holding the store owner glanced at his partner on the ground and back to the blonde boy. He considered his options. Sure, his friend got his ass handed to him but he always thought of himself to be better and stronger than him. He took a gamble and dropped the man and headed for the blonde.

Naruto raised his eyebrow when he saw the bandit head towards him, reaching for his sword like his friend. "I wouldn't do that." He called out calmly.

The man ignored the warning and unsheathed his sword and swung his blade horizontally. Naruto jumped back, bringing Tazuna to his side. Naruto jumped on the nearest roof and placed Tazuna there. "Don't complain. I'll take care of him and we'll go back to your house." Naruto interjected before Tazuna could speak, jumping in front of the swordsman.

"Huh, I thought you hid." The man said again, raising his blade and swiped down, to only have Naruto catch the blade with his palms. Terror overcame him and he was trembling with Naruto's hard stare.

Naruto looked at him and wondered what would have happened if he was under Sasuke's intense glare. Would he still be scared? Sasuke did have dark black eyes while he had vibrant blue.

Naruto shoved the sword besides him and went behind the man, hitting him once in the head to knock him unconscious. He fell backwards and Naruto caught him, placing him alongside his friend. "Do you want to tie them, Sakura-chan?"

"I guess. We can tie them to a tree and leave them without their swords." Sakura said, reaching for her bag and retrieved rope. She handed it to Naruto and together they tied them together.

The business owner stared at them in awe and could feel the weight of fear and anguish leave his body, feeling much more lighter. After several minutes, he collected his thoughts and he approached the Konoha's ninjas.

"I would like to thank for saving me from those two bandits. Please, allow me to give you my produce for free." The man said, bowing his head low in gratitude.

"That won't be necessary sir. Please, it was our pleasure to help." Naruto smiled at the man who raised his head in surprise.

"Please, return to your store safely. Your wife might be worried sick over you." Sakura calmed, sharing a warm smile with Naruto. She walked beside him as she escorted him to his shop.

"I'll go tie them to a nearby tree Sakura-chan. Oh, you should probably get Tazuna down from the roof." Naruto chuckled, before throwing the bodies over his shoulder.

End of Flashback

"Naruto." Called out a familiar voice. Naruto repressed a groan as he sat up and looked at his raven-haired teammate. "Its your turn to spar with Sakura."

Naruto nodded his head and got up, noticing Kakashi missing. "Where's sensei?"

"He went inside to look at a scroll. He said it his training plan for our team." Sakura answered him, wiping the sweat off her brow. "Come on Naruto-kun. Let's spar before we head out with Tazuna-san."

Grinning, Naruto reached for his kunai and waited for Sakura to do the same. They stared at each for a second before nodding, racing towards one another in high speed. Naruto easily blocked an attempt of an attack at his neck, pushing the kunai away along with the pinkette.

Sakura jumped back and waited for Naruto to ran towards her. Pleased, she duck a blow aimed at her head and swiped under his leg, missing as Naruto jumped behind her and jabbed her with his elbow. She grunted and somersaulted away as Naruto hurled a volley of shurikens.

She did the back bend and saw Naruto heading towards her. She quickly lifted her self up and met him halfway, punching him in the stomach. Naruto coughed but quickly laughed, bring his knee to her stomach. In a blur, he saw pale legs aimed at his head. He caught Sakura's leg and threw her across the field. In instinct, she pushed her self off the ground and landed on her feet. Not visible to her eyes, Naruto closed in and uppercut her, sending the kunoichi to the flying in the air. She landed on her back, groaning from the harsh landing. The battle ended.

"Oh shit! Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out as he ran to her side, Sasuke at her side in the instant. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sakura said feebly, rolling to her left side. She closed her eyes and felt her erratic breathing and vein pulsing at her temples. "I'm glad that you didn't hold back as much as Sasuke-kun." She spoke after a moment of silence, opening her jade eyes, accusation written all over as she stared at Sasuke. She ignored the stiffness in her movement and the throbbing pain of her muscles. She sat up, brushed passed both of them and patted herself clean.

Naruto gazed at his male teammate in wonder and got an eye roll as a response. Sasuke shrugged and headed to his tent, grabbing his holsters and pouches.

"Alright, lets get our weapons and head inside for Kakashi-sensei. I'm pretty sure Tazuna is almost done." Naruto said, heading over to his tent and grabbing his jacket, pushing his arms through the sleeves.

"Alright Naruto-kun. Give me a second to grab my gear." She smiled, heading to tent as Sasuke got out of his.

"Are you ready to fight Zabuza and that nin of his?" Naruto asked, turning to face his friend.

"Of course. Do you think Sakura is?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not fighting to the best of your ability will hold her back. She wants to be stronger and you are not helping."

"Naruto, you held back too." He retorted, crossing his arms.

"I did but not as much as you. You have cuts and scratches, all which could have been avoided. All I have is a probably bruised stomach. The more she practice and the more she gets used to the weights, then I less I would hold back. She is getting stronger and much more serious since the bell test."

"Thank you Naruto-kun. Its okay. If Sasuke-kun keeps holding back, he will get much more hurt in the future." Sakura insinuated, with a sly smile.

Internally, she was wondering whether or not is was a good idea to push Sasuke like that. If she was at the academy, she would have been thrilled to know Sasuke didn't want to hurt her but she thought back to what her mother told her and what Kakashi said after their test. They were a team, equals. She was not going to stray behind and be dead weight. She was paired with heirs from strong clans but it just proved that she had to work harder and train harder. Even if it meant coming home bruised and bloody after training.

Sasuke grunted before smiling a bit, turning away towards the house. Naruto gave a knowing smile and playfully elbowed Sakura before following his teammate inside the house.

"Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke uttered, shoving his hand in his white shorts as he saw his sensei leaning against the living room wall. "Are we ready to head out?"

The gray-haired jonin looked at his team and nodded. "Tazuna-san, are you ready to head out?"

"Yeah." Called out a gruff voice. Tazuna came from the living room dressed for the site.

"Let's go team." Kakashi said, pulling out his infamous orange book. He walked ahead and left the genin chatter about their training.

"I wonder what is written in the scroll Kakashi-sensei carries." Naruto commented as he walked in thought.

"Kakashi-sensei did say he was basing it based on our individual skills and how we work together." Sasuke mused.

Sakura nodded her head and stared at their sensei for a bit. Despite reading his perverted books, she noticed his was prepared for an attack. Their guard was on full alert and Sakura knew why. Kakashi anticipated an attack from Zabuza. Her male companions were ready too, both silently humming with chatter.

"I'm sure we will know eventually." She added, smiling. "Maybe about our natural affinity."

They continued their walk to the bridge in an amiable conversation and stopped at the sight before them. Blood and corpse scatter around the bridge. A bloody crime scene in the making with the a smell of blood started to emanate.

"What the hell is this!" Tazuna yelled angrily, walking to a familiar body he saw laying amiss the chaos. Giichi... you returned... but only found your death...

Kakashi gave his genin a signal and quickly they appeared in front of a mournful Tazuna. A translucent mist crept around the Leaf ninja and instantly alerted them of their known enemy. The mist clouded their vision and breathed heavily on the ninjas. Humidity emitted from the mist and thicken along with killer intent that encircled them.

"Sakura." Sasuke called as the pinkette began her defensive jutsu after punching the ground, and held her hand in the sign of snake. "Doton: Tengai!"

Immediately pieces from the bridge and ground nearby came and formed a dome, housing in Sakura and Tazuna. Sasuke and Naruto jumped away and waited for Zabuza to appear, hopefully with his apprentice not hiding.

Sensing two chakra signature spike from a nearby location, the genin ran to the protective dome but to only jump to the railing of the bridge when senbon needles flew their way.

"This earth dome won't stand for long." Zabuza said as he raised his Kubikiribocho and struck the dome, shaking and alarming both Sakura and Tazuna. The dome cracked and pieces began falling on them.

"Tazuna-san, hold on to me as I jump out." Sakura said, her voice an octave higher with her nerviness. She grabbed Tazuna and jumped to her left, feeling the warmth from the mist that welcomed them and dove to the water.

Sakura was glad that she learned water walking but struggled with Tazuna's weight. One foot went through the water and she fell to her knee, quickly attempting to get up.

Naruto saw an opening and quickly performed one of his favorite jutsu, concerned for his teammate. "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Five clones appeared and headed in different direction, catching the attention of the enemy. Two clones went to assist Sakura and Tazuna back onto the bridge. The other two served as back up as Sasuke made his way to fight Zabuza's apprentice.

Kakashi, who had his sharingan activated, quickly made his way to the Demon of the Mist and distracted him as his genin went to retrieve Sakura and Tazuna. Once they were on the bridge safely, Kakashi prepared his jutsu. "Suiton: Suigadan!"

The water from the sides of the bridge began to swirl, taking the shape of a drill. It flew from the body of water and drove towards Zabuza and the long-haired ninja that stood beside him.

"Haku, seems like Kakashi's kids want to play." Zabuza laughed to himself as he saw Haku look at the other ninjas in question. "Suiton: Suijinheki!" He called as water surrounded him, clashing with the offensive jutsu. The water flew away from each other, drizzling everyone that was on the bridge as his protective jutsu covered him. "Haku, go take care of them."

"Hai Zabuza-sama." The masked boy quickly brought out his senbon needles and in a flash flew towards Sasuke, who pulled out his kunai and blocked the needles that dripped with poison.

"There's no point of wearing the mask if we know you are in his side." Sasuke said, holding against Haku. Sasuke stared at the mask before pushing against the ninja, finding resistance.

Haku smiled to himself and jumped back, hurling more senbon needles to the raven-haired boy. Sasuke effectively dodge a large portion of the needles and was glad that two clones help him dodge the ones in his blind spot.

"Thanks Naruto." Sasuke grumbled slightly, feeling adrenaline pumping through his vein. He ran towards Haku and bombarded him with shurikens and kunais.

Haku vanished in a blink of an eye and appeared in front of Sasuke, close to penetrating him with the needle. "I don't want to have to kill you, but you won't stand down, will you?"

"Of course not" Sasuke replied instantly, delivering a kick but stopped as his leg was pushed down. He quickly then blocked a kick to his side. He's fast.

"Are you aware that I have the advantage here despite the two clones behind you." Haku spoke, staring directly to the Uchiha eyes, wonder in his dark eyes.

"Advantage?" Sasuke asked himself as he quickly cast a look to his sensei and Zabuza. Both ceased to fight for a moment and looked at them with great interest, silently waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Actually, two advantages. The first is the water on the ground and the second is that I have occupied one of your arms. You will now be able to run from my attacks." Haku said almost in a whisper. He quickly signed with his unoccupied hand, earning looks of astonishment.

Both clones quickly signed their jutsu before yelling, "Fūton: Daitoppa!" A large gust of wind blew the ice needles and redirected themselves towards Haku in a frightening speed.

Haku simply jumped back and avoided the attack in a haste. Feeling a presence behind him, he turned to find a pair of blue eyes staring at him before flying back with a swift boot to the face.

Sasuke jumped to Naruto's side and looked as Haku landed on the bridge with a thud. "We might be in a slight disadvantage." Sasuke whispered to his blonde friend.

"He can use only one hand to sign." Naruto finished, looking at the clones beside Sakura and the pair who had Haku by their feet.

"Haku, at this rate we will be driven back." Zabuza stated, his voice full with irritation. He glanced back at the gray-haired jonin and pulled out his blade that rode on his back. "Kakashi, I will make sure your death is swift."

"That won't be necessary" Kakashi said, lifting up his headband to reveal his sharingan.

Zabuza smirked and glanced at the female ninja that stood with the clones. "I doubt she will stand for long." He laughed as he made a dash toward the earth user and lifted his sword to swing but found nothing but the air.

"Moving the kid along with the old man will slow you down, not to mention prolong your death." Zabuza mused at Kakashi who moved both Sakura and Tazuna near the end of the bridge. "Your bastard of genin will die within the minute." He added with no response from Kakashi.

"Zabuza-sama, do not worry about them. I have it under control." He hollered back as he thew kunai at the shadow clone and heard a poof. Pleased, Haku jumped to his feet to call out his specialized jutsu.

"Makyō Hyōshō" Instantaneously, mirror rose from the ground, spinning around the genin in an alarming speed before settling, encasing in both Konoha ninja. Haku gracefully leaped into the mirror, his reflection appearing all around them, startling the spectators.

"He must be hiding inside there." Naruto told himself as he looked at the mirrors nervously. Naruto turned to Sasuke and began to sign.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

"Fūton: Daitoppa!"

Sasuke breathed out fire, waiting patiently as Naruto gently intermingled his wind jutsu into his before amplifying the width and strength. The massive orb of fire engulfed the mirrors, licking its smooth surface until it a large cater was all that was left as the fire extinguished itself.

"It won't melt." Sasuke deadpanned as he quickly scanned the mirrors. He paused and looked at Naruto. Naruto had a strained face and stared at one of the mirrors. "What's wrong Naruto?"

"Memories. Nothing much." He spoke, glancing at the reflection of Haku as he held his head a bit. The wind user switched to his taijutsu stance and waited for Sasuke to follow his lead. "We are going to need to be faster than him. We won't know where he comes from."

Sasuke nodded his head and quickly jumped back as needles made their way. Both genin avoided a direct hit but got a few cuts. Thinking the attack of needles was not going to happen again, both boys dropped their arms from their face to only have winds of them blown at them.

"Gah!" Yelled an annoyed Naruto. He wiped the dripping blood and stared at one of the reflection. "You don't mean to kill us yet all you do is hide!"

"Its my job to distract you guys as Zabuza-sama deals with your sensei. Afterward, you will die." Haku answered matter-of-factually.

"Why are you even attacking a simple village? The people have done nothing to you or Zabuza!"

"I am Zabuza-sama's tool. I will do what he tells me. A true shinobi, taking orders and following them. A dream of mine is to follow them."

"A true shinobi," muttered Sasuke, starting at the ninja with shock. He had once talk with his brother about the meaning of a true shinobi. In his eyes, a true shinobi was a ninja who fought and train to do their best for the sake of their village, even if it meant making sacrifices. When he was on good terms with Naruto, they spoke of the qualities of a true shinobi and agreed with Itachi. They would train and get stronger for their family too that meant the world to them.

Now, Sasuke and Naruto looked at the boy in question. Naruto thought of the last statement, the mention of a dream. "What are your dreams?" He found himself asking, earning a bewildered look from Sasuke.

"To follow Zabuza-sama's dream." He answered quickly, stepping out of the mirror to expose his head. "A shinobi is a tool that once sharpened, must be used to the best of its ability. Once its dull, it can be thrown away. Until I become dull, I will continue to follow orders."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and directed his gaze to his teammate who was begin to shake a little. "Naruto?" He called out, alarmed from his lack of control.

Naruto ignored Sasuke and raised his fist to Haku and smiled at him. "My dream will to be the best Hokage there is. I will protect my friends, family and village. I will change your dream!"