Hi, and thanks for coming back! Is there anyone reading fanfiction over Spring Break? :)

--Jonohex


The Ice Garden

Arriving on horseback, for the lone road to the abandoned factory complex had become quite overgrown during Gato's reign, the survey crew found themselves passing unexpectedly into a dense, cold fog – unheard of at this time of year in Wave Country.

Nevertheless, the men and women decided to press on. They were being very well paid to map the area and note any alterations in the terrain made by the ninja-battle some months back that had destroyed the place, and their tight schedule suggested strongly that they didn't have time for a second trip. As things stood, the crew's transits were unusable but they were hopeful that the mist would burn off later in the day.

Like discoverers venturing upon the shores of a strange country, the team pushed slowly though the billows then goggled in astonishment at what lay beyond – a frozen world of ice and snow.

The factory ruins that sprawled, cracked open and canted at bizarre angles, half-sunk into the earth, were expected but they were populated now with strange shapes which clung to the walls or stood boldly in its courts amidst drifts of wintry white. Only after the more intrepid members of the crew dared to draw closer did they see that these surreal forms were of ice: ice in all its varieties, slick and glistening or rough and jagged, icicles hanging in scimitar draperies, bulging globes and peacock fans both cloudy and translucent. Sculptural forms of all descriptions twisted around each other in fanciful coral landscapes where some were smooth and round and inviting to the touch while others threatened with razor points.

After the survey team had gotten past the shock and exhausted all speculation about who or what might be the cause, they came together to try and decide what to do next.

Documenting all this in their report was going to be tough.


Haku


My death waits there among the leaves

In magicians' mysterious sleeves

Rabbits and dogs and the passing time.

My death waits there among the flowers,

Where the blackest shadow,

Blackest shadow cowers…

But whatever lies behind that door

There is nothing much to do.

Angel or Devil, I don't care

For in front of that door, there is you.

--David Bowie, 'My Death'


The ship, a sea and rust stained, noisy, smoking, clattering creature of drab-painted, bulky, bolted steel, swayed up and down in its berth, pulling gently against the tethers of heavy rope that restrained it to the Wave Country dock. Passengers filed up the gangway, workmen mostly with overstuffed duffle bags, en-route to vacations home from their duties with the seemingly endless construction. The view of the coastline beyond and all the many proud, new buildings underway, shining brightly in the mid-morning sun served to highlight the fruits of their efforts.

Haku, meanwhile, stood on the ship's upper deck close to the prow and cast his grey-eyed gaze seaward, ignoring diesel fumes. Involuntarily, his hands tightened on the guardrail. As passengers milled down below, the ninja let out a breath and couldn't help but wonder if this was the last time he'd ever see his adopted home.

It's just a mission, he again tried to convince himself.

Haku gave a fatalistic grin and shook his head, vowing not to dwell. Pointless speculation wasted energy and distracted from the task at hand. Master Zabuza never would have approved.

How easy it had been to write off Tohma and Tsujita as a couple of cranks with overly-developed senses of self-importance. Over the course of his association with the Demon of the Hidden Mist, The Demon's Apprentice had run into dozens and dozens of ninjas like that – men and women whose abilities fell short of their soaring, monomaniacal dreams; ninja who'd become so awestruck at their own powers that they'd succumbed to fantasies about what that power meant and what it entitled them to. And though Haku hated to admit it, Zabuza himself probably fit into that catagory. Only later did the teenager learn of the Tsujita lord's ghastly talents – a kekkei-genkai that could very well turn Tohma's plan for the destruction of Kirigakure into horrifying reality.

So now Haku was ready to set sail on a journey to murder them: these two men who, in a way, were the closest thing to flesh-and-blood relatives that he had left in the world. And where he was going was, not merely the place he wished to visit again least but, without a doubt the most dangerous place for a fugitive like Haku to trespass: Kirigakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Mist.

Just thinking about those brooding, claustrophobic streets and black-watered canals made him cringe.

It's not too late, a voice begged him, urging reconsideration. Go home, it insisted. Live your life. You have no part in this. The Mist Village has an ocean of blood on its hands. Who's to say this isn't justice?

It was times like this when the teenager really wished he had a sensei to turn to for guidance, one with a more level head and a greater breadth of experience than Zabuza Momochi.

Asking Orimi was out of a question, Haku remembered then mused: but I wonder what Kakashi Hatake would say.

From what Naruto and Inari had told him, the leaf-jonin had wisdom (not to mention tolerance) but getting past the man's aloof nature seemed like it could be a challenge. It was as if maybe he needed distraction from the hard experiences he'd endured to gain that wisdom.

But, for reasons the young shinobi couldn't completely fathom, the man Haku really wanted to consult with most at this moment was Toru Yamashite, the ANBU pack-leader who'd hunted him so relentlessly. There was a ninja a great deal more sagacious than he let on and certainly more than he appeared.

'The future will be your epitaph' – those had been the mist-jonin's final words to him.

Looking back, Haku had to wonder maybe if Yamashite had seen this coming.


The last few hours before Haku's departure had not been spent like he'd thought and the ninja had found himself running around at the last minute packing for his mission then trying without success to find Mari, Chuuya and Inari.

The young constable had spent almost all the previous days absorbed in his training, unreachable for the most part and reluctant to talk during those rare occasions when he did surface. The brief, tense and painful conversations with Mari during that time had all given way to arguments that only frustrated and distanced them even further.

Chuuya and Inari were nowhere to be found and, when Haku thought about it, he realized he hadn't seen either of his students in awhile.

Asking after them, Chuuya's brothers claimed the two were off on some kind of camping trip. Going to Tazuna's house, Inari's mother, Tsunami told the ninja the same thing and seemed surprised that he didn't know about it. This was all a painful frustration – that he wouldn't be able to bid them a final farewell. But it was his own fault, the ninja realized, expecting them to be around just because he wanted them to be.

Having resigned himself, Haku double-checked that he'd packed everything he needed then searched the house one last time for the two boys and for Mari though without success. Of his students, Haku had no idea where they'd gone off to but he half-suspected his girlfriend might be avoiding him, so furious for what he was about to do that she couldn't even look at him anymore. Only when the slender ninja left, headed for the docks with backpack in hand, did he find Mari sitting there on the porch steps, waiting.

The girl rose as Haku stopped, brought up short.

"Mari…" the teenager offered at last in tones of pure sorrow, not knowing what else to say.

The girl shook her head. "I didn't want…I didn't want the last thing you heard from me before you went away to be me yelling at you."

"Mari --," Haku tried again in a halting voice that bordered desperation but --.

"Listen," she cut him off. "I understand what you're trying to do; I do! But as far as I'm concerned the Hidden Mist Village can look after itself. That's what it's got all those ninjas for. But there's only one of you; only one! And the only one watching out for you…is me. So I hope you'll understand --." Mari didn't finish the sentence and instead grabbed Haku hard by the shoulders before pulling him into her arms. "Just come back, Haku, ok?!"

The one-time Demon's Apprentice clung to her fiercely then forced himself to make a promise he knew he might not be able to keep: "I will."


In a flurry of activity and shouted instructions, deckhands untied the ropes from their moorings and pulled up the gangways. The smokestacks coughed grey geysers into the fumy air and the boat lurched before chugging forward in slow, purposeful motion.

Here we go, thought Haku, setting his eyes on the horizon and the uncertain future that waited beyond it. There's nothing for it now.

"WAIT! WAIT!" a voice cried suddenly from dockside, a tenor whose strident quality made it easily distinguishable even over the rumbling engines, slapping waves and ever-increasing distance. "STOP THAT BOAT!"

The young ninja spun toward the sound, his face a mask of disbelief for there was no way it could be the person whose voice that was.

"Impossible," Haku muttered to himself, shading his eyes and staring hard at the small, blond figure dressed all in orange who flew in a desperate, breathless, all-out run down the dock. "But," Haku insisted uselessly, "it can't be…it just can't."

Rather than stopping at the edge of the dock, the pursuer launched himself at the departing transport with a soaring, chakra-fueled leap. Haku stared first in wonder as the ninja vanished into the sun's glare then with alarm as he saw that the boy wasn't going to make it.

The dandelion-haired figure landed in the ship's churning wake but the rippling waves bowed concave under chakra-pressure as the genin coiled himself then sprang again from the water. On toward the boat he flew but, having pushed off such an uneven surface, the blond started slowly to spin out of control. Puzzled passengers looked back at the little stranger, some laughing, cheering and shouting.

Sailing through the air, the oncoming orange ninja's wide, expressive, blue-eyed face went in a blink from worried to panic-stricken; his arms and legs waved franticly. "Whoa…whoa! WHOA!" he cried as his twirling plunge took him below the deck-line where he slammed hard into the boat's steel hull with a loud clang that raised a chorus of shocked gasps from both passengers and Haku alike.

Leaping down to the foredeck even before he heard the resounding splash that followed, Haku raised a hand, ready to send water clones in for a rescue, but stopped when a dripping-wet, orange-sleeved arm flopped in over the guard-wall. The arm was joined by a blue, open-toed boot at the end of an equally-orange and equally-drenched, bandage-wrapped leg. In a sudden, lurching movement, the two limbs worked in concert to haul the rest of the bright-clothed body over where it landed on the deck with a soggy 'splat' at Haku's feet.

Haku, puzzled beyond belief, looked down into what was, undeniably, Naruto Uzumaki's haggard, wet face.

The smaller ninja huffed for breath, yellow hair plastered to his head, chest heaving like bellows as his eyes of fiery, brilliant blue glared back.

"Naruto?" Haku greeted faintly then extended his hand to help him up and was surprised again when the blond swatted it away.

"I thought we were friends!" barked Naruto, his cheeks flushed, as he sat up, wiped his face then slogged to his feet.

Taken aback by the remark and the intensity of the anger in the leaf-ninja's whisker-marked face, Haku startled as Naruto's onrushing fist shot toward him.


Two Days Ago

Izumo rose from his seat at the guard kiosk, face pinched in disbelief, as two strange boys stumbled in through the East Gate accompanied by Rock Lee.

The bandana-wearing chunin shook his head while his spiky-haired, perpetually bandaged teammate, Kotetsu, chuckled at the novelty.

The skinnier of the two young arrivals clutched his floppy, white hat in hand and wiped a smiling, exhausted face as he stared in elated wonder at the vista unfolding before him radiant in the orange glory of the late afternoon sun – Konohagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"We made it!" gasped the boy who then went to brace his heavier friend who remained doubled-over like he was going to puke. "Chuuya, look! We made it!"

"Hey, that's great!" chimed Izumo, giving a hearty 'thumbs-up' as the two guards came around to have a look at the newcomers. "Now you kids can just turn your little asses around and head right back to wherever it is you came from."

"What?!" piped Rock Lee. "Mr. Kamizuki, you can't mean that. Chuuya and Inari here told me they came all the way from Wave Country."

"Come on, Lee," Izumo chastised, "you know the Leaf Village is no place for tourists."

Lee seemed like he was inclined to agree but grinned sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Actually…there's, uh, something else you should know --."

"Hey, hold on you two," cautioned Kotetsu as he moved to block the two boys from sneaking past.

The chubby one with the big head brushed the ninja's gently-restraining hand from his shoulder. "Back OFF, haircut! Let us in already!" he barked in a brassy, boat-whistle voice.

The leaf-ninja grinned in begrudging admiration but then drew himself up authoritatively. "Hey, you kids can't just --."

"SURE we can!" cried Chuuya as he thrust his hand right in front of Kotetsu's surprised face. In it he clutched a necklace – a single jade ring that the Hokage herself lent to visiting dignitaries.

Kotetsu blinked as the ring swung back and forth in steady, metronomic arcs.

"That is what I was trying to tell you," offered Lee in an awkward tone.

Izumo frowned, marched over, snatched the necklace and inspected it closely.

"See that?!" Chuuya challenged, standing proudly. "You GOT to let us in now."

The leaf-ninja narrowed his eyes. "Uh-huh. Yeah, ok," he allowed gruffly, "this is one of the Hokage's passes. I don't know how you kids got a hold of one, but there ain't no way --."

"Please, Sir," begged Inari. "We don't really need to come in. We just need to talk to Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki, for a second; just for a second. He's a ninja here – wears orange, uh, kinda spiky yellow hair, a little taller than me…"

The two ninja guards looked down at the boy then at each other.

"Naruto, huh?" muttered Izumo.

Kotetsu made a face. "How come I'm not surprised."


Haku

Caught off-guard, Haku stumbled back, feeling Naruto's furious punch graze his cheek. As the blows rained down, the Wave Country constable ducked and covered, weaving erratically until he was able to clinch. Hugging tightly, the teenager hoped the genin wasn't mad enough to knee him. After a good full minute of struggle, the leaf-ninja quieted down and the two stood there on the rocking, wind-blown deck in cautious near-embrace.

"I…I am your friend, Naruto," ventured Haku, still mystified.

The tension in Naruto's body returned as the leaf-ninja shoved the constable off.

"NO!" the blond growled savagely, white teeth bared, fists balled, his eyes sapphire flames. "REAL friends depend on each other. REAL friends RELY on each other! They don't just—just—just go off and leave without a word. They don't go off to get killed like -- like nobody else exists; like nobody even cares! After everything we've BEEN through!"

How…how could he know?! Haku thought then at once remembered Mari, what she'd said and what she hadn't. A picture was staring to emerge.

In the fire of the genin's anger Haku stood, staring dumbly, until at last he blinked then hung his head. "You're right, Naruto, I didn't even think about you." The yellow-haired ninja's eyes went wide with hurt before the former Demon's Apprentice finished: "but I should have.

"I guess it's because I'm not used to having friends," the constable continued introspectively over the sound of wind, waves and growling engines, "so maybe I don't know all the rules like where the responsibilities begin or end." Turning away with a sad smile, Haku explained: "But even if I had thought about enlisting your help, Naruto, I would never, ever ask you to go where I'm going to do what I have to do."

Haku's expression shifted as he turned to level a look at the leaf-ninja, nursing a bruise then brushing ribbons of black hair from the otherwise porcelain features of his girlish face. "I know what you're thinking, Naruto, so just to be clear," he stated direly, "I am NOT Sasuke. So please don't take me for him. I'm not driven by 'inner demons' or anything like that." Frowning in thought, the teenager's brow furrowed. "And I'm not you either, Naruto. I have nothing to prove to anyone. I don't have to be a kage or hold a position of importance.

"If I could just stay in Wave Country, an ordinary constable," Haku confided, "beating up bad guys and rescuing cats from trees I could be very happy…as long as I was with Mari, and I had my students and my friends." The slender shinobi gave the young leaf-ninja a faint, heartfelt smile, "friends like you, Naruto.

"But the thing is," he added after a moment's pause, "the price for all of that...are the lives of every man, woman and child in Kirigakure."

The wind blowing past the two ninjas shifted as the sea-liner changed course slightly. Choppy waves broke over the hull, sending up occasional gusts of cool, salt-scented mist.

"I know," said Naruto firmly; sympathetic but at the same time adamant. "That's why I'M going with you."

Haku blew out a breath and gently shook his head.

"After what Mari told me," the grinning blond offered, "I don't think I have a choice."

Haku, immediately curious now, did a double-take then looked back with a troubled expression. "What…what did she say?"

The genin's cerulean eyes lifted in thought. "Well after she bitched me out for being late it was kinda like: 'if you're half as strong a ninja as he says you are or half as good a friend, you will FIX THIS SH-T!'" Naruto couldn't resist a mischievous snicker.

A lopsided grimace crossed Haku's face. Distantly, he could just remember having told the girl a little while ago that Naruto was 'one of the most powerful shinobis he'd ever known,' or something like that. Perhaps she'd taken the remark to heart.

"Sounds like her," Haku commented then stated seriously: "But I will not allow you to come along on a mission like this just because Mari browbeat you."

The blond answered him with wry grin and gently upheld hands. "Take it easy, will ya? I know the whole story. Besides, between the two of us, this mission's a piece of cake."

Haku's eyes widened at the absurdity of the remark. "Naruto, I – wait a minute," his expression went from grim to grave. "Naruto, you…you didn't go 'missing' to come here did you?"

Naruto looked at him in shock. "What, ME, a nukenin?" he cried. "No way! I love Konoha, I'd never just leave!"

"Oh, ok, then. So," the slender shinobi muttered as he tried to figure it out, "Lady Tsunade, she just let you go? I don't know her well but that doesn't sound at all like something she'd ever agree to."

Naruto smiled awkwardly. "Um, not really, but don't worry about it. I got it covered."

Haku's concerned, grey eyes leveled. "Naruto," he inquired warily, "how exactly do you 'got it covered'?"


At that moment, in Naruto's apartment in the Hidden Leaf Village, Inari sat and stared at Chuuya over the top of the genin's little dining room table.

Chuuya sat and stared back.

"So…what do you wanna do?"

Inari shrugged. "I dunno. What do you wanna do?

Chuuya shrugged, frowned then asked, "What do we do if someone shows up looking for Naruto?"

"Naruto said I should use my transformation jutsu and pretend to be him, only with a really bad cold or something."

"What about me?"

The younger boy grinned abstractly. "Use your nin-jutsu to hide, I guess."


"Oh, NO, Naruto!" wailed Haku who flinched away only to turn right back. "Chuuya and Inari are in this too?!"

The blonde's golden brows narrowed. "What are you so mad about?"

"They're just little kids, Naruto! They're not ninjas!"

"Calm DOWN, will you?" argued the genin. "All they got to do is watch my place. How hard is that? I left a note for the Hokage saying that I didn't feel good. I called in sick! She's not going to put me on any missions when I'm sick; ya' see?"

Haku huffed angrily, trying hard to stay calm. "They're trespassing in a ninja village, and covering for you. I'm sure you think it's clever but not every ninja in Konoha has a sense of humor; it's dangerous!"

"It's not THAT dangerous and anyway they volunteered!" countered Naruto.

"They're too young to volunteer!"

"Oh, really?" Naruto crossed his arms, his eyes pinching to slits. "What were YOU doing when you were ten?"

The constable's expression flickered. "That was different."

"Uh-huh. You made your choice and they made theirs – to protect those precious to them, or do I got it wrong?"

Haku frowned as he turned away and leaned on the rail, gazing down at the churning waters, hating having his own words thrown back at him like this.

"Look, stop worrying," Naruto assured him, "it's simple! It's like three days to Kirigakure. So it goes like this: three days there; one day to stop the bad guys; three days back; I double-time it back to the Leaf Village and BOOM! DONE! Inari and Chuuya go back to Wave Country and nobody'll even know I was gone!"

Feeling as if his life had been high-jacked by lunatics, Haku fumed.

Naruto added: "We kinda got to do this quick anyway 'cause I'm all outta food and only packed a couple-a changes of underwear."

That tore it. Haku whirled on the blond. "Naruto! I don't know what the h--," he began furiously then stopped short at the weary look on the leaf-ninja's face.

Underneath Naruto's buoyant optimism, Haku saw that the young ninja was aware of a lot more than he let show. He did understand that there would be consequences should his absence from the Leaf Village be discovered, for him as well as Chuuya and Inari. He understood where Haku was going and why, what lay ahead…and was STILL hopeful.

The constable stood, frozen by his yellow-haired friend's tired but generous smile as it dawned on him that Naruto had run here, all the way from the Hidden Leaf Village. A journey of several days – Naruto had done it in one, running fast all day and night without rest, pushing his body past all endurance and burning through his endless reserves of chakra. Naruto had done that for him just as Chuuya and Inari had left the only homes they'd ever known, just as Mari had sent her own little brother and his friend into the unknown.

A shiver passed through Haku and his lips trembled that he should matter that much to anyone; as much as Zabuza had meant to him. Though he couldn't help but repudiate the thoughtlessness of his friends, he stood utterly humbled by their motives.

"I guess," the young constable muttered, forcing good cheer as he set aside his misgivings, "I guess it could be as simple as you said."

Naruto smiled endearingly in return, staggered forward and hung his arm around Haku. "That's the spirit," he chirped then sagged against him. "But, um, is there anything to eat around here? I'm STARVING!"


Games of Chance

Ten miles offshore from Kirigakure, Pradesh Singh waited in The Sophae's aerie, pacing disquietedly back and forth on the textured, steel deck. Though the weather on the seas was rough that evening, all around the ship it was calm and still – the results of a jutsu-enforced sphere of perfect peace that rendered the gusting winds quiet and the white-capped waves smooth and flat as a pane of dark glass.

Within ten minutes of one another, seven strong ospreys arrived with messages tethered to their legs. While the powerful sea-birds rested, fed and preened, the mist-ninja took their scrolls then headed below-decks, past guards who parted for the swarthy mist-jonin on sight.

Entering the cryptography suite, Pradesh flipped on the lights and found, as he knew he would, eight ninjas sitting right there at their carrels with backs rigid and hands resting lightly in their laps. None looked up or gave much of any reaction at all until Lady Inoue's head of security distributed the scrolls whereupon they went right to work with grid paper and pencils.

Pradesh grunted then retired to the back of the room to wait. There was no sense in cajoling or threatening them for he knew that they were already going much faster than humanly possible. The algorithms it took to decrypt Inoue's codes were extremely complex and laborious to calculate, but with the surgeries these special shinobi had undergone and the jutsu worked upon their minds they enjoyed little else.

In less than an hour, Pradesh had his answers and a glimpse of the future more daunting than any oracle had ever prophesized. And though he was considered callous, even among Kiri-ninja, still a tremor of trepidation passed through him.


Along the bow of the ship, Pradesh found his master looking out over the artificially-quiet sea with arms clasped behind her. The ninja waited to be recognized as was proper.

After a few moments, the old councilwoman straightened as she drew a deep breath, adjusted her shawl then spoke calmly: "So what's the word?"

Pradesh came forward. "Lady Inoue, Pack-Leader Kazu's report confirms that Noriyasu Tsujita and an unknown man are inside Kirigakure. His team spotted them crossing the Bridge of Sighs."

The kunoichi nodded. "Very good," she replied, "just as expected – to coincide with the ascension ceremonies. But we're leaving nothing to chance now, right?"

"No, my lady. The contagion has already been released. At the week's end, the blood-gifted lord and his companion will be killed in public and their identities leaked. By then, casualties from the outbreak should be in the hundreds; the week after that – in the thousands.

"When a state of emergency is declared you will have more than enough support from the Daimyo and among the Lords of Water Country to have supreme authority ceded to you here aboard The Sophae. Once the new chain of command is established and an order of quarantine imposed, three divisions of Lord Muso's, Jinsuke's, Asano's and Kusonoki's marine regulars stand ready to land south of Kirigakure while another three of Lord Kiyomori's and Lady Nimmyo's will land to the east. Five sapper companies from those same forces, protected by mist-ninja platoons recalled from the field, will destroy the causeways and aqueducts, sealing off the city."

"And it's confirmed," Inoue inquired, "that our lord Mizukage and Councilor Kisshomaru Hirai are inside?"

Pradesh swallowed hard as he skipped past the unspoken. "Yes, my Lady. They are expected to remain until the ceremonies are complete. The order of quarantine will strip them of all rank."

The councilwoman merely hummed in quiet contemplation.

"My Lady…the other Hidden Villages, the other Elemental Nations," the jonin ventured unprompted for the first time in his career, "I understand that they will stay out of the Land of Water's internal matters, but will they really sit back and do nothing when you annex Wave Country?"

"Nothing that can't be managed," explained Inoue with a slight shrug. "The only village in position, geographically, to do anything about is Konohagakure and they don't have the forces to risk. They'd be leaving themselves undefended if they attacked in numbers sufficient enough to matter." The white-haired woman shut her eyes meditatively as she continued, "We're going to lose a lot of our shinobi in this 'transition' but the numbers still favor us because we're starting with more. And," she added significantly, "I still have my Nephilim Guard should worse come to worse."

Pradesh frowned. "But the Lord of Fire Country could still order the Leaf to attack, and that country's daimyo all have their own armies and some their own navies."

"But they won't use them," clarified the councilwoman, expressing utmost confidence. "Too many people, in places low and high, have too much at stake. They'll lose it all if there's a war. In the meantime, I will guarantee a return on the money they've invested in the Land of Waves…not as much as they hoped they might get, but still, a modest, guaranteed profit looks a whole lot better than a total loss."

"I see," said the ninja, embarrassed that he'd ever harbored a doubt. "Of course you've thought everything through, Lady Inoue. Or, should I call you 'Mizukage'"?

"No, not yet…not yet," advised the kunoichi. "Even with the deck stacked it's still a game of chance, but I think things should go as planned. History will judge us, based on our success, as either heroes or devils but I've never been more hopeful. It's high time for Kirigakure to move beyond it's unfortunate past and to again take a role in the world under a new paradigm, to have a place in the sun (so to speak) closer to the action.

"And though it's not exactly 'hidden', I think Wave Country will be a fine location…for the new Kirigakure no Sato."

Pradesh grinned tightly, following his master's gaze as she looked out over the unnaturally calmed sea.

"Oh, and Pradesh?" added Inoue, though her commands were far from an afterthought. "Order the fire-tongue fleet into action. Lord Nikai's 'habitat' must be laid waste and, after that, Castle Hirai. Leave no one alive."


SO, ok...it's not Sasuke who comes to Haku's aid in this story, but THAT would've been a surprise, huh? Lol ;) Also, I'd like to explain since a couple of people have asked -- I won't be incorporating the latest revelations about the Mist Village from the manga. Hope that's ok ^^'.

Thanks for reading, I hope you like it so far and that you'll come back for the next 'arc' of Kirigakure's Shore:

The Jinchuuriki's Mandate

Haku and Naruto are on a journey to stop the Hidden Mist Village from being destroyed. But vengeful ninjas possessing forgotten powers turn out to be the least of what the two must face as present-day ambitions collide with Kirigakure's dark past.