Kakashi breathed heavily as he clutched at his chest, trying to stop the bleeding from the cut Zabuza had given him. He was not doing as well against his opponent as he would've liked. Zabuza had made good on his promise, he wasn't falling for the same tricks as last time. Kakashi had gotten too careless, had let his guard down for just a second when Zabuza's partner had erected that strange prison of ice. And the rogue ninja had taken full advantage of it and managed to score a hit across his chest with that massive sword. If it wasn't for his sharingan, Kakashi knew he'd be dead right now.
Since then Zabuza had taken to staying out of sight, hidden in his damned mist, taunting him. "I'd forgotten about the sharingan's main strength last time Kakashi. I'd stupidly walked right into your genjutsu last time, but not this time. You can't cast a genjutsu on what you can't see."
Kakashi growled as he realized his opponent was right. In this thick fog Kakashi may as well have his eyes closed for all the good it was doing him. And Zabuza was proving to be quite the ventriloquist, throwing his voice all over the place to make sure he couldn't pin him down that way.
'I can't see him, and I can't follow the sound of his voice. I'd rather not rely on touch or taste. So that leaves smell.' It was times like these when Kakashi envied the sense of smell the Inuzuka clan possessed. Almost as strong as the ninja hounds they trained. 'However the Inuzuka aren't the only ones who can train ninja hounds. And with my blood all over his weapons, finding him shouldn't be a problem.' Reaching into a pouch on his flak jacket, Kakashi produced a small scroll. Dabbing his thumb in his wound, Kakashi opened the scroll while running the bloody finger down the length of it. Swiftly rolling it back up, Kakashi's hands flashed through a series of seals before he slammed his hands and scroll on the ground.
Moments later there was faint rumble underneath Kakashi's feet as his hounds set to tracking down Zabuza. It didn't take long for them to find their prey. The sounds of his dogs bursting from the ground and sinking their teeth into Zabuza's flesh reached Kakashi's ears. The mist around them began to disappear shortly afterward.
"Ah there you are Zabuza." Kakashi said once the rogue ninja came into view. Not too far in front of him, Zabuza stood pinned to the spot by 7 large dogs, four latched onto his legs, one on each arm, and the largest of the pack had bitten down on his shoulder. Zabuza glared at him with bloodshot eyes. "What was it I told you last time? Your future is death. And this time it'll be by my hand." As he spoke Kakashi flashed his hands through a second set of seals. "This is my one and only original technique." Kakashi informed the trapped ninja as he held his right hand in front of him. "Raikiri." He said as a large amount of lightning gathered in his palm.
"If they won't help then I'll just have to do it myself." Inari scowled as he placed the cooking pot upon his head. Once he and the small dog Pakkun had separated from Naruto, Inari had convinced the dog to follow him as he tried to rouse the village to take action against Gato. Everywhere he went however the answer was always the same. A fearful "no" through a closed and locked door. With no one to help him Inari resolved to go by himself. Grabbing the small child's crossbow his father had made for him Inari opened the door. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the large crowd of villagers outside his door, all carrying makeshift weapons. Inari smiled.
Fresh tears streamed down Sakura's face as she tried to gently lay Naruto on the ground. When Sasuke and Haku had restarted their fight, Sakura took the opportunity to escape the prison the Yuki clan member had created. Once they were away from the ice mirrors she had started towards where she had last seen Tazuna and Tsunami. However Naruto's dead weight was too much for her and she was forced to stop about half way. Carefully Sakura started removing the senbon that had claimed Naruto's life.
A part of her was hoping that Naruto would spring back to life once the final needle was pulled out of him. When Naruto didn't suddenly sit up, Sakura knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, her loudmouthed, boisterous, idiotic friend was truly dead. No longer would Naruto loudly declare his intention of becoming Konoha's greatest Hokage. Sakura sobbed as she pressed her forehead against Naruto's still chest. As she cried, the girl was unaware of the wounds in Naruto's neck sealing themselves up.
Sasuke stepped to the side to avoid Haku's attack before he struck out at the Yuki clan member with a sweeping kick. The Kiri ninja leapt over Sasuke's leg and retreated back into his mirrors. Thanks to his enhanced sharingan Sasuke was easily able to follow the movements of his opponent. Haku moved from mirror to mirror before charging forward, senbon needles held between his fingers ready to stab into Sasuke's flesh. Sasuke winced as he felt the needles dig into his shoulders as Haku tackled him to the ground.
Suddenly Sasuke felt a tremendous strain in his left eye as something rather bizarre occurred. Haku flew off of him, taking his senbon with him, and flowed backwards retreating back into the same mirror that he'd just attacked from. At the same time Sasuke was lifted off of his feet and found himself standing in the same position that he was in just a moment prior. Once he was back on his feet things seemed normal again. Haku once again charged out of the mirror to attack him but this time Sasuke stepped to the side and landed a solid punch to the masked boy's face. The porcelain mask shattered under Sasuke's fist as Haku rolled along the ground, leaving pieces of his trademark mask on the floor. When Haku came to a stop he pushed himself towards the nearest mirror as Sasuke threw a kunai where he had been just millisecond prior.
'What just happened?' Sasuke asked himself as he watched Haku for where Haku would strike next. His left throbbed slightly but the majority of the strain it had just experienced passed. Curious Sasuke used his temporary respite to examine his shoulders. They were unpierced. 'Did I just turn back time?'
Sasuke didn't have long to think about what had transpired however as Haku attacked once more, this time coming from above. Sasuke was able to dodge the initial attack but not Haku's follow up. Sasuke felt the senbon pierce his chest, dangerously close to his heart. The tremendous strain again befell Sasuke's left eye as time seemed to reverse its flow once more. The senbon retreated from Sasuke's chest, back to Haku's hand. From there time resumed its normal flow, and Sasuke had to turn his body to the side to avoid the senbon hitting him a second time. Haku's eyes widened in surprise as Sasuke's foot lashed out and caught him in the chest.
Sasuke smirked at the surprised look on Haku's face but could also feel his chakra level drop dramatically. Whatever the strange jutsu he had just discovered was, one thing was clear. It used a lot of chakra. As it was Sasuke had just enough to keep his sharingan active for a few more minutes. He knew he'd have to end this fight soon. Grabbing another kunai from its holster Sasuke stood ready for Haku's next attack. One way or another it would be his last.
Haku burst from his mirrors, senbon needles held between his fingers like claws. Sasuke leapt to intercept Haku and a sharp pain erupted from his chest as Haku buried the needles in him. The two of them fell to the floor with Haku on top of Sasuke. The Yuki clan member looked down at him with pity in his eyes.
Haku released the senbon in Sasuke's chest and picked a needle off the ground. "Tell your friend I'm sorry it came to this." As Haku stabbed for Sasuke's throat, Sasuke's hand shot up and caught the needle in his palm.
"Tell him yourself." Sasuke growled, plunging the kunai into Haku's throat. Blood poured onto Sasuke's face as he rolled Haku off of him. The two lay next to each other, staring into one another's eyes. Haku's eyes went dull and lifeless as his life's blood flowed freely from his wounded neck and bubbled from his mouth. Sasuke looked into Haku's eyes and didn't see accusation, anger, fear, or even sadness. All he saw in those now lifeless eyes was acceptance. Around them the ice mirrors that had set the boundaries of their battle had started to melt and shatter. Haku Yuki was dead.
Sasuke forced himself to his feet and looked down at his fallen foe. The ninja who had claimed the life of his best friend. The boy who was only a little older than himself. The person he had just killed. A sudden impulse compelled Sasuke to kneel down and close Haku's eyes. Afterwards a shiver crawled up Sasuke's spine and he forced himself to stand up walk away. He contemplated going to help Kakashi deal with Zabuza but instead found himself walking over to where Sakura had carried Naruto. His fight was over, it was time to mourn.
'Is this hell?' Naruto asked himself when he opened his eyes again. Naruto expected to find himself among the clouds with pearly white gates before him. Maybe an old guy with a beard to let him in. He was most certainly not expecting to wake up in a dark corridor with a bunch of leaky pipes overhead, all heading to a gigantic rusted iron gate. As he got closer to the gate Naruto could see that it was closed with a sheet of paper that had 'Seal' written on it. Behind the gate Naruto could only see darkness and the faintest of silhouettes. Whatever was back there was big. Really, fucking, big.
Naruto was about to turn around and leave when he felt a blast of warm air wash over him. Naruto froze where he stood as he heard loud, steady breaths directly behind him.
"So my jailor finally decides to pay me a visit. Such a pathetic host they sealed me into." A deep, throaty, feral voice said. Slowly Naruto turned around and found himself face to face with the monstrous demon that had plagued his village for generations. The Nine-Tailed Fox. The monster Fox was on the other side of the gate, staring down at him with hateful red eyes, its fangs bared, and each of its colossal nine tails twitching in irritation. "What's the matter? Fox got your tongue?"
"What's going on?" Naruto finally asked, "I thought I was dead."
"Close, but not quite." The fox replied, "It's only thanks to my chakra that you're still alive."
"Well in that case thank you." Naruto said once he realized what fox had said.
The Fox scoffed, "Thank that blasted Fourth Hokage of yours. He's the one who put me inside of your worthless carcass." With that the fox had started to walk away from the cage door.
Naruto frowned, "Why are you so angry?" Naruto flinched and fell back as the Nine-Tails spun around and slammed itself against the cage, reaching a giant claw for Naruto. Naruto was just able to get beyond the reach of the massive limb before it could scoop him up.
"You've not earned the right to ask me anything?" The Fox growled, "A small, pathetic, little weakling like you understands nothing! Now go! Leave me to my prison." Not needing to be told twice, Naruto turned and fled from the colossal Fox. But not without wondering why his "captive" had reacted so aggressively.
Zabuza stared in disbelief as Kakashi held his fabled Raikiri in his hand. Kakashi was right, he was going to die here and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. Not with these damned dogs holding in place. Zabuza could only watch as Kakashi finished gathering his chakra and held the lightning covered hand to his side.
"Good bye Zabuza." Kakashi said before he charged forward, hand cocked back ready to impale him.
'Move you fool! You can't let yourself die here you need to move!' The thought echoed through Zabuza's mind even though he knew it was useless. He couldn't move, not without sacrificing several large chunks of his flesh to Kakashi's hounds. Even if he did that however, he would be in no fit condition to continue fight Kakashi after. "You have to know when you're beaten." Zabuza muttered to himself as he looked over to where Haku had been fighting Kakashi's genin. What he saw, or rather didn't see surprised him. Haku's ice mirrors were melting as the boy himself lay unmoving on the ground.
A roar of anger escaped Zabuza's mouth as the Kiri ninja ripped his arms free of Kakashi's mutts, tearing out chunks of meat, and reached for his sword. Without a moment to lose Zabuza held the swords flat between himself and Kakashi like a shield. The sword barely slowed Kakashi's attack as his lightning charged fist punched through the thick iron of the sword, but it was enough. Zabuza used a substitution jutsu to replace himself with a nearby crate, and before anyone knew it, Zabuza was kneeling next to his fallen apprentice. As Zabuza looked down at Haku's corpse, a memory came unbidden to his mind.
Zabuza looked down at the tiny figure huddled over on the bridge. The orphaned boy was no older than nine or ten and was clearly starving and malnourished. The jonin wondered if he should do the child of favor and end his suffering. Despite that the boy smiled when he looked up at him.
"You have the same eyes as me." He said. For some reason that struck a chord in Zabuza's heart.
"Come with me." Zabuza said holding out his hand. The child took it without hesitation. "Tell me your name child."
"I'm Haku Yuki."
Zabuza recognized the clan name as the one with the Ice Release Bloodline. The child was likely orphaned from the Mizukage's order to exterminate all those with powerful bloodlines from Kirigakure. Underneath his bandages Zabuza smiled, thrilled to have such a powerful bloodline within his reach.
Years passed and Zabuza found himself staring down upon Kirigakure, his plan having failed. He'd managed to kill the Mizukage Yagura, the jinchuriki of the Three-Tailed Turtle, but as it turned out his followers were actually loyal to him, not just afraid of him as he had assumed. He'd barely managed to escape from the village and yet despite the ANBU who were definitely giving him chase, he had to get one last look at his home. Haku, now his apprentice stood next to him looking not at the village, but at him.
"We're leaving this place Haku. But one day we shall return and take control as we should've today. I will have need of you for the foreseeable future, but I don't need you for comfort or encouragement. What I need from you is…"
"I understand Lord Zabuza." Haku interrupted him, smiling as he always did around him. "I'm your tool, a weapon to used and disposed of when necessary."
Zabuza looked down at the child, "Good boy." He said before turning his back on Kirigakure.
Zabuza came back to himself when he felt cold metal touch the back of his neck. Zabuza sighed as he reached out with his bloody hand and gently brushed Haku's cooling skin.
"Kakashi let me ask you something." Zabuza said as he rose to his feet. "We ninja are expected to murder our own emotions and become nothing but weapons for our villages and masters correct?"
"We are." Kakashi answered, allowing Zabuza to turn and face him.
"Then why do I feel sorrow for the loss of my student?"
"Because no matter how hard we try to smother our feelings, in the end we are all still just human."
"Human huh. Not demons."
"So now tell me something Zabuza. What happens now?"
A new voice answered that question. "What happens now is that everyone on this bridge will die." Both Zabuza and Kakashi turned to the source of the new voice to see a short, ugly, hairy man in a suit, with a cane in one hand and cast over his other arm, standing in front of a small army of goons. "After you guys spent all of your energy fighting each other, you should be easy pickings for my men here."
"Are you betraying me Gato?" Zabuza asked. "Because if you are you should know that you're the one who will die on this bridge."
"Oooh big talk from the little demon baby." Gato mocked before turning to his men. "Whoever brings me his head along with the fucker's who broke my arm will be making double tonight." The men behind him all cheered.
"Well Kakashi, it looks like we have no more quarrel." Zabuza said as he walked toward his damaged sword.
"Yeah." Was Kakashi's simple response.
"You should see to your children." Zabuza stated as he picked his sword off of the ground, only half of it came up. "I think Haku may have injured one of them."
"What about you?"
"I believe it's time for Gato to learn his place in the world."
Gato watched bemused as Zabuza approached him and his thugs with only half of his originally gigantic sword in his hand. "What are you going to do with that?" one of his men taunted while another shouted, "How exactly to plan to fight all of us with a broken sword?"
Zabuza just looked at his broken blade, "I wouldn't worry about that if I were you." Gato tilted his head forward and his several of his men charged forward, eager for that double pay. Zabuza stood still as his men converged on him. In a flash Zabuza's half sword struck, opening one man from groin to chest. Gato watched, terror growing as Zabuza struck down the other men who had charged forward just as easily as the first. Gato's terror only increased as he noticed Zabuza's sword seemingly repair itself with each and every cut it made. "I see plenty of replacement iron in front of me." Zabuza declared as he made a few hand gestures.
"Kill him!" Gato said, jabbing his cane forward. With a roar all of his men charged, each and every one of them ignoring the sudden fog that had come over the bridge. Gato stood in place as the battle cries of his men very quickly became screams of terror. Within seconds however it was all over and the fog cleared revealing Zabuza standing amidst bloody, severed corpses, his sword whole once again. Now for the first time Gato saw Zabuza for what he truly was. A bloody demon, hidden in mist. Gato immediately made the first wise choice he'd made in his entire life. He ran like hell.
Gato sprinted as fast as his short legs could carry him. Daring a glance over his shoulder he saw that Zabuza hadn't moved from where he stood. When Gato looked a head he saw a large group of people heading towards the bridge. The short man slid to a stop once he realized it was an angry mob of the villagers he'd been plaguing for years.
"No, no, no." Gato cried, "It can't end like this."
"And how would you like it to end?" Zabuza voice whispered in his ear. Gato turned around just in time to see Zabuza lift his massive sword. Gato only had time to blink once before the giant slab of metal cut him in two from shoulder to hip.
The first thing Naruto heard when he came back to himself was Sakura's sobs. The first thing he felt when feeling came back to him was Sakura's head against his chest, followed immediately by a dull throbbing pain in his throat. The first thing Naruto saw when he opened his eyes a few minutes later was his two teammates looking down at him with unbelieving eyes. The first thing he said was, "Did we win?"
"Naruto!" Sakura cried out as she hugged the blonde. Naruto was speechless as he looked around and found himself surrounded by the entire village. "We thought you were dead." Sakura sobbed before, out of nowhere, she stopped hugging him and hit him really hard on top of his head. "You idiot! What were you thinking?"
Naruto looked to Sasuke or Kakashi for help but Sasuke just turned his back to him, to hide a smile, and Kakashi just pulled out his book. Finding no help in either of them Naruto turned back to Sakura who was busy wiping the tears from her face.
"I just wanted to protect you guys." Naruto said before he remembered. Naruto jerked his head around. "Where's Zabuza and the masked kid." The change in the mood around them was palpable.
"After Haku almost killed you," Sakura started only to be interrupted.
"I killed Haku." Sasuke said turning around. "I thought he'd taken your life, so I took his." There was a long silence as Naruto looked up at his friend, who seemed to be ashamed that he killed someone. He wouldn't meet Naruto's eyes. "I'm glad you're ok Naruto."
Naruto smiled, "Glad I was able to get here in time." Despite everything the Uchiha smiled. "And what about Zabuza?"
This time it was Kakashi who responded, "During the battle Gato showed up and betrayed Zabuza. Zabuza killed him and fled with Haku's body. Said he would give him a proper burial."
"So Zabuza's still out there somewhere?"
"Yes but I wouldn't worry about having to fight him a third time. Once his contract with Gato was terminated he ceased being our enemy."
"I wonder where he went." Sakura said to no one in particular.
Mei Terumi yawned rather loudly as she sat in her office, ruefully looking at the mountain of paperwork in front of her. She was just about to get down to business when a knock came at her door.
"Lady Mizukage, may I please enter?" a male voice called from the other side.
"Come on in Ao." The Fifth Mizukage said, picking up a piece of paper to look busy. The door swung open to reveal Mei's ANBU captain Ao, wearing his green haori over his striped grey uniform. His right eye was covered by an eyepatch, but not to cover up the fact that he didn't have a right eye like many assumed but rather to hide the Byakugan eye that he had acquired while on a mission a long time ago. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
"I've just received reports from my men that they've spotted an intruder near the village."
"Have they captured or killed him or her?" Mei asked.
"They dared not approach this one."
"Why not?" Only really half listening to her captain.
"It's Zabuza Momochi."
Immediately Mei was on her feet and heading out the door. "He's back? How many does he have with him?"
"Just him Ma'am." Ao responded following her down the hall.
"Where was he sighted?"
"Approaching the main gate of the Village."
"Bring me Chojuro." The Mizukage ordered.
"I'll see if I can find him. Damn bastard can be difficult to find he's so small." Mei stopped on the spot and Ao had to stop to or else he'd run into her.
"What was that about me having difficulty finding a husband?" Mei asked her voice low and threatening.
"What…" Was all Ao was able to get out of his mouth before Mei spun around and knocked him through a wall. "Every damn time I open my mouth." The ANBU captain grumbled as Mei stormed off.
A few minutes later Mei was walking through the streets of Kirigakure with one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, Chojuro, to her left and a bruised Ao to her right. Off in the distance they saw Zabuza Momochi approaching them his giant sword in hand.
"So I take it you became the Mizukage then Mei?" Zabuza asked, stopping a few yards away from them.
"I have Zabuza, and I must admit I wasn't expecting you to return." Mei responded. "At least not without a small army."
"I haven't." Zabuza stated, "This is just a shadow clone, something I learned in my travels. I've come to deliver you something."
"Oh what's that?" Mei asked, readying herself for an attack.
"This." Zabuza stated while plunging his sword, the Kubikiribocho, into the ground by his feet. "I hereby surrender my place as a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist and my blade the Kubikiribocho." And just like that the shadow clone dispersed.
Zabuza sighed as he finished filling Haku's grave with dirt. He hoped that he would like it here as he looked over the same sight he had when he had left the village years before. Kirigakure lay before him. As he looked the memories of the clone he sent to the village came back to him. His tasks completed Zabuza looked at the unmarked grave of his student, no that wasn't right, his friend, still no, of his son, yeah that felt right.
"Good bye Haku." Zabuza said, "Thank you for everything." And with that Zabuza turned away from his home for the last time.
The mission to protect Tazuna the Bridge Builder is a success. What new challenges await Naruto and his team. Next Time: The Next Level
Author's Note: So yeah that was fun. And with that the Land of Waves arc finally comes to a close. God feels like I've been working on this forever. Anyway I hope you liked this chapter. Hopefully I can finish the next one soon. Just a heads up prepare to see some red hair. Anyway please Read and enjoy. Oh and I hoped you all liked what I did for Sasuke's Mangekyo powers. Just kinda hit me while playing Prince of Persia.
