Welcome back, True Believers! Now, the last time we left Naruto and the gang, Naruto had used his One-Tailed form to beat the stuffing out of Haku in retaliation to Sasuke's demise. Now, as the masked boy recovers from his blows, can anything halt Naruto's enraged rampage? Why don't we find out? Hold on to your hats folks, because from here on out, things are about to change dramatically! Now, on with the Fanfic...

Chapter 10: Snowflakes of Crimson.

As he flew erratically through the air on the force of Naruto's Kyuubi-enhanced punch, Haku looked back on everything he had been through in his life, everything he had seen and done. The good times and the bad, from the time when he was superfluous and living in mere existence to the time that Zabuza had found him and given him a purpose once again. It all lay stretched out before him now, like a field of fresh-fallen snow. Looking back on all of the things he had done, all of the lives he had ruined and destroyed, maybe this was how things were supposed to end for him. All of this weighted heavily on his mind and soul as his short-lived flight came to a painful and abrupt end. He hit the unforgiving concrete of the bridge hard, bounced for a few feet, then slid slowly to a dead stop.

'Zabuza-sama... please, forgive me,' he thought as he painfully got to his hands and knees, his splintered mask falling from his face in shards that clattered noisily to the pavement, his wrist screaming in agony from where Naruto had broken it. As he did so, he felt a massive surge of inhuman chakra heading directly for him, and he knew without a doubt that it was Naruto on his way to finish him off for killing his friend. 'I am no match for this boy. Master... I have failed you.'

It was then that an enraged Naruto, having followed his quarry's flight by sprinting after him doggedly on all-fours, seized Haku by his torn collar and hauled him into the air, suspending him there with one hand. His other hand was drawn back for the finishing blow, fingers brought together in the shape of a spade with his plasma claws unsheathed to their full length, resembling a great spear. With his haunting mask finally gone, Naruto let Haku look into his blazing red eyes up close this time, allowing him to drink all of the nauseating hatred, pain and rage that had built up behind them. As the once masked boy held his foreboding gaze, the young X-Man reached into the deep resists of his mind and let go of the power he had unlocked. Slowly, but surely, the Kyuubi's pulsing chakra cloak began to fade, until all that remained of the demon's ghastly power was the inhuman glow in Naruto's eyes. 'Yes Naruto. Do it. Kill me, for I am of use to no one now.'

Then something strange happened, something Haku didn't expect him to do. After what seemed like an eternity of unbearable silence, Naruto simply released him from his grasp and let him fall to the pavement, sheathing his claws as he did so. Confused by this act of mercy, Haku looked up at Naruto in perplexed shock. He had slain his comrade, someone precious to him, yet he didn't exact his revenge. How could he do something like this? And better yet... "Why?" Haku finally managed to stammer. "Why would you-"

"Because," Naruto curtly interrupted, his back turned to him as he spoke, pain and sorrow staining his voice. "... I may have learned the ways of the shinobi, but I'm still an X-Man, and the X-Men don't kill. Right now, I wish to Heaven that I could, but I won't. I'm not like you Haku, or your scum of a master, Zabuza. I'll do what I have to do, but I won't kill so needlessly, even though nothing would make me happier than to do so right now!"

"You are right," Haku admitted solemnly, a hint of shame in his voice as well. "Zabuza-sama does not hold such standards of honor or mercy. Any one who stands between him and his dream, their lives are forfeit in his eyes."

"That's another thing," Naruto said as he turned to stare down at the once masked boy. "Why do you such loyalty to someone like him? You and he are nothing alike at all. He butchered his entire class in like they were nothing but cattle, tried to murder the Mizukage in cold blood, and became a nuke-nin after it all failed. He's a cold-hearted hitokiri (man-slayer). Why be loyal to someone so cruel and evil like that?"

"... Because, he is precious to me," Haku said softly as he remained on the pavement where Naruto had dropped him. It was then that he wanted, no needed, for Naruto to understand him and why he was loyal to Zabuza. "Once, long ago, I too was precious, for I belonged to my parents. I was born in a sleepy little village in the Land of Water, a quiet place where the snow rises deep in the winter. My parents were very poor and our life was hard, but we were content. My parents were good to one another and kind to me as well. Yes, we were happy once, but then everything changed. Because of something that happened long before I was born... everything changed."

"And why is that?" Naruto asked sincerely, his anger somewhat lost as the boy told his tale.

"My blood," Haku said sadly, what looked like tears forming in the corners of his eyes as the painful memories came flooding back to him. It took all of his control to keep from crying in sorrow from those memories. How he hated them, every last one of them. "... My, blood."

"What are you talking about?" the blonde asked, feeling both entranced and intrigued by what he meant. Yet somehow, he knew what was coming next. The sad look in the boy's eyes was the same as he'd seen before, in the eyes of countless others.

"After countless years of brutal civil war," Haku resumed sadly, "the people of the Land of Water regarded those with a Kekkei Genkai bloodline as abominations and harbingers of doom. Once useful in a life of combat and killing, they were now looked upon with fear and hatred. Many feared their presence would only bring more war and misfortune. And so it was that many clans went into hiding after the war. For years, my mother was able to keep her Kekkei Genkai hidden, but when I to came to inherit her powers, it was evident she would be discovered. And so it was that my father found her out and murdered her, then tried to do the same to me. But, my power was... different from her's, much stronger than any that had come before it. I froze him solid, then shattered him into a thousand shards of ice... killing him. Then, I fled the village, in fear for my life."

Haku was silent for a moment, lost in the pain of the memories he'd awakened. Naruto looked on sympathetically as he let him be for a time, knowing all to well how he felt. It seemed to be the defining trait of humanity: to always fear that which they did not understand. This thought remained in the back of his mind as Haku continued his story in a weary voice. "After that, once I was myself again, I realized that I was no longer truly myself. I was superfluous, unwanted, and un-necessary. I realized that I was all alone, and that if I died, no one would notice, or even care for that matter." He paused for a moment, tears coming to his eyes once more, though he bit them back. "That was when Zabuza-sama found me. He adopted me, made me feel wanted, and gave my life a purpose again, even knowing of my strange Kekkei Genkai. He saw something inside me that he needed and made me useful again. I was happy! I was needed, wanted, and precious once more! But now... now I am of no further use to him, or anyone else for that matter. I am like a broken weapon or tool, to be cast aside and forgotten. Please, kill me, Naruto."

Naruto was shocked by his impossible request. Even after he had told him he wouldn't kill him, he still wanted to die. Why would he want this? Was he really convinced in his heart that he could no longer be of use to anyone? If so, then he was wrong. "Haku, you know I won't kill you. It won't accomplish anything at all, and it certainly... won't bring Sasuke-teme back to life." Bringing up Sasuke's death like that sparked a flame of hatred in his gut, yet he quelled the feeling. It wouldn't help at all. "And you're not a tool Haku," he continued adamantly, for he couldn't help but feel his pain. "You're a person with thoughts and emotions, things that tools can never possess. You know... I honestly think that if we had met in another time and place, you and I could've been friends."

Hearing Naruto say this confounded Haku even more than when he had spared his life a moment ago. Friends? How could he say that after what he had just done to him? And why would he want to be friends with a freak like him? Before he could inquire on Naruto's statement any further, Haku felt a massive surge of chakra flare up behind him. It wasn't anything like Naruto's had been before, but it was still strong, even stronger than Zabuza's. Somehow, deep inside of him, Haku knew that his master was on its receiving end if he didn't act quickly.

Apparently, Naruto felt the energy as well. However, unlike Haku, he recognized the chakra signature the instant it went up. "Kakashi-sensei," he managed to say softly.

"Sorry Naruto, change of plan," Haku said firmly, drawing the blonde's attention back to him. "It seems I'm not ready to die just yet." With that, his hands became a blur of motion as he went through a series of intricate seals. As he finished, his image twisted and bent for a moment, as if he were but a reflection in a funhouse mirror, the he promptly vanished from sight.

"Haku, no!" Naruto yelled in concern as he sprinted off in the direction of Kakashi's chakra. If he was right, then Haku was about to do something incredibly stupid.

Meanwhile, back with Zabuza and Kakashi, the Copy-nin had just put the finishing touches on his signature jutsu, one that he hadn't copied from some other ninja... Raikiri (Lightning Blade), his ultimate finishing move. Now, as he stood before the captive nuke-nin like some silver-haired Angel of Death, nearly a thousand volts of electricity coursed through his open palm. "The man you're trying to kill is the very heart and soul of this island. The bridge he's building is the result of his dream and the dreams of his people. I won't allow you to defile them like this, that's not the true shinobi way."

"Spare my your near-sighted take on philosophy, Kakashi," growled Zabuza maliciously as the other man's ninken restrained him. "These useless little people, with their petty little dreams, why should I care about any of them? I have a dream of my own."

"Ah, but to have a dream, you need to have a future," Kakashi reasoned as he dropped into a fighter's crouch. "You don't. Your future's all used up Zabuza." With that, the Copy-nin charged the nuke-nin, the energy from his Raikiri scorching burn-marks into the pavement as he surged forward. It looked like this time, Zabuza truly was finished. Then out of thin air, a gleaming ice mirror suddenly sprouted out of the ground and from it, Haku leapt into the path of Kakashi's killer technique, his arm spread wide to protect his sensei. With the speed and force at which he was moving, the silver-haired Jounin had no way to pull back, and reluctantly plunged his hand deep into the boy's chest, obliterating his heart in seconds. The impact of the blow created a massive sonic-boom, one that worked on a much larger scale than the one Naruto had summoned earlier, clearing the mist in one fell swoop so each respective party could see one another.

'He threw himself in front of my attack,' Kakashi thought as he powered down his Raikiri and caught the boy as he fell. 'He sacrificed himself to protect Zabuza.'

"Z-Zabuza-sama," Haku managed sputter in-between the coughs that brought blood to his mouth.

"So, my future's all used up, eh?" Zabuza sneered arrogantly as the Copy-nin's ninken vanished in a burst of smoke. "Wrong again, Kakashi!"

Naruto, seeing what had happened, took a step back. He was too late. Haku had gotten his wish, one that he couldn't have given him. 'No, not like this. It shouldn't have happened this way.'

Then, just as Zabuza reached for his sword to hack through his apprentice and get to Kakashi, something strange happened that all three took notice of. Haku began to fade away, becoming as transparent and see-through as a phantom before their very eyes. Before he vanished any further, he turned to look over at Naruto and smiled. It was the same smile he had shown in the forest when they had first met, one of kindness and of a forgiving spirit. Then, he suddenly fell apart and dissolved into a soft shower of pure white snowflakes that was carried away by gentle, caressing breeze, never to be seen again. He was gone... forever.

While everyone else was still in awe of what had happened to Haku, Sakura was worried about other things at the moment. With the heavy mist finally gone, she was finally able to see that Naruto was alright and breathed a sigh of relief. "Naruto!" she called out as she waved to him, trying to get his attention. "Naruto, over here!"

'Oh, Sakura-chan,' Naruto mourned inwardly as he saw her smiling at him. Seeing her like that only made him feel worse inside than he had before. It reminded him of how great a loss they had just suffered. In all his years with the X-Men, he'd never lost a teammate, and now... 'Damnit. How... how on earth am I going to tell her he's...?'

"So you and Sasuke-kun are alright?" she asked. However, when he didn't answer her, she saw the look on his face and a slight stream of tears flowing like raindrops from the corners of both his eyes. It was then that it hit her, and a wave of sorrow and fear washed over her. Realizing what had happened, her hands shot to her lips as she stifled a gasp, tears already forming on her face. "... No."

Tazuna, acting like the parent and grandparent he was, turned to her with eyes full of understanding and comfort. Having suffered a loss like this, he knew that she would need it. "Let me take you to him Sakura," he offered meaningfully. "As long as we stick together you won't be disobeying your sensei."

"Thank you," she managed to say as she instinctively grabbed his hand. As they both ran past him to see to Sasuke's body, Naruto felt one of Sakura's tears fly and hit him on the cheek. In that moment, he swore could feel all of the sorrow and pain she felt flow into him.

Upon reaching Sasuke's body, Sakura was immediately shocked by what she saw before her. Her crush lay unmoving on the pavement, his eyes held shut in a sleep she knew he would never waken from. She ignored the gleaming senbon protruding from his still frame, but focused on his face, the face she had fell in love with what seemed like a millennia ago. Unable to bear it any longer, she knelt down beside him and gently put her hand to his lifeless face. "His body's... so cold," she observed as she lovingly caressed his face, a memory from their Bell Test popping into her head. "This isn't just one of his genjutsu tricks, is it?"

"Go ahead Sakura," Tazuna told her in a fatherly tone, "you don't need to be brave on my account. Go on and let your feelings out, it's alright." Instead of breaking down and crying like he thought she would, Sakura just sat their, silently caressing her crush's face as if he were still alive. At first, he thought she didn't hear him, or maybe was ignoring him. Then, after a moment, she said something that puzzled him greatly.

"I was the best," she finally said softy, not once looking up from Sasuke's still form. "I aced every test they gave us, the perfect student." She paused for a moment, lost in her memories of her blissful, happy days back at the academy, when she and Ino were still friends and when she first fell for Sasuke. "Did you know there are over 100 principles of shinobi conduct? I memorized every single one. I used to love it when they quizzed us on them, 'gave me a chance to show how smart I was. There was this one time they asked us to explain the twenty-fifth principle, I got it right of course." It was then, as this one, single memory came to her mind, that the full weight of her monumental grief became too much for her to bear, and she finally began to cry. "A shinobi (sob) never shows their feelings, no matter what the circumstance. Feelings are a weakness (sniffle) that only cloud their judgment and weaken their sense of duty. (Sob) Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura then lifted Sasuke's head off of the concrete and held him lovingly in her arms, all the while crying her eyes out as she buried her face in his shirt, her hear-felt tears soaking the blood-stained fabric. As he stood over her, Tazuna couldn't help but feel as if he was intruding on something sacred. Her unwavering love for Sasuke was so strong, that in his death, she felt so helpless and lost without him there to comfort her and give her a sense of hope. 'To place such an unbearable burden on a young girl's shoulders like this,' he thought solemnly as he looked away to give Sakura her privacy. 'If that truly is the shinobi way, to deny one's feelings like this, then you can have it.'

As he listened to Sakura cry out her heart and soul, Kakashi hung his head in grief. Though he did his best to hide his feelings, like a true shinobi, he too mourned for Sasuke's death. The boy was more than just his student; he was a reminder of his oath to his friends, just as the rest of his team was. He'd sworn long ago that he would never allow something like this to happen ever again. After he had lost Rin and Obito, he vowed that he would never abandon his comrades like he almost did so many years ago. And now...

"Kakashi!" barked Zabuza as he charged the Copy-nin, his Kubikiri Hocho drawn and poised to strike. "I'd stay focused if I were you!"

Rage and anguish welling up within him, Kakashi nimbly ducked underneath the sword's swing and lashed out with his foot, nailing it's wielder with a well-aimed and powerful kick to the stomach. Zabuza doubled over from the blow, and then was dealt a wicked uppercut to the chin that caused his head to snap backwards, blood streaming through the air in a high arc. Painfully regaining his balance, the nuke-nin swung at Kakashi once more, only to meet with empty air. Before he could even attempt to search for his opponent, he felt a vice-like grip latch onto his neck and heard the swish of a pair of kunai spinning through the air. "Look at you," growled Kakashi tauntingly from behind the rogue ninja, "you're falling apart at the seams. I knew you didn't have what it takes for the long haul. Game over then, you lose."

"What did you say?!" bellowed Zabuza, narrowing his eyes in rage. "I'll split you in half!" His thoughts clouded by anger, the nuke-nin flipped his sword over and swung it at Kakashi, its point about to bury itself in his back. With agility to rival a cat's, the Copy-nin leapt high into the air, just as the blade passed over the spot he'd been in seconds ago, and loosed both of his kunai at his opponent. The knives both struck true and impaled themselves deep within a pair of pressure points in his arms, rendering them inert and useless. Unable to keep hold of his massive blade, the sword clattered to the ground, a useless tool.

"Now your arms are useless," Kakashi said as he landed cat-like by Naruto's side. "What now? You can't even make hand seals." Ignoring Zabuza for a moment, Kakashi over at Naruto, who was glaring at Zabuza for all it was worth. Judging by the look in his eyes, the boy was full of nothing but contempt and rage for the nuke-nin. He knew he had to be careful, not knowing what state the seal was in after that last burst of incredible power. "Naruto? Are you alright?"

"No, I'm far from alright," growled the blonde angrily as he glared at Zabuza.

"Well, well, well," said a voice off to the right. All eyes immediately fell on a short man with frizzy grey hair and black sunglasses, surrounded by a small army of sinister-looking mercenaries, each obviously out for blood and holding what looked to be automatic machine-guns. From the looks of the firearms, Naruto ventured a guess that most of them were Thompsons, quite fitting for the mobster aire the men projected. The midget of a man worn a black, silk business suit and had a cast on his right arm. "Did quite a job on ya, didn't he Zabuza? You look like yesterday's sashimi. 'That brat Haku still alive? I owe him for what the little freak did to my arm!"

"Gatou!" snarled Zabuza in irritation. "Why are you here? And why bring all these thugs along with you?"

"Heh," chuckled the diminutive gangster grimly as he tapped his cane on the concrete. "There's been a slight change in plans. According to the new plan, you die right here on this bridge, along with those other ninja and the bridge builder." Behind his sunglasses, the little man's eyes twinkled gleefully as he watched Zabuza's own eyes widen in horror and realization. He'd been double-crossed! "That's right, you're too expensive Zabuza, so I'm cutting my losses and taking you off the payroll. Of course, these clowns I brought along don't come cheap, so if you can manage to slaughter a few of them, I'd appreciate it. Think you can do that 'Demon of the Mist'? Heh, look at you, you look about as demonic as a drowned kitten!" At that, he and the thugs behind him had themselves a hearty laugh at the nuke-nin's expense.

"Well, Kakashi," glowered Zabuza, still irritated by Gatou's taunts, "it looks as though our fight has come to an end. As I am no longer in Gatou's employ, Tazuna is safe. We have no quarrel any longer."

"You may not have a quarrel with Kakashi-sensei, but you've got one with me," snarled Naruto angrily, unsheathing his plasma claws as he spoke. Kakashi thought of telling him to settle down, but the look in the boy's eyes was enough to convince him otherwise. "You disgust me Zabuza," the blonde continued. "After all that Haku did for you, you just write him off as one of your losses. You two spent all those years together and in the end he meant nothing to you, right?!"

"You're right," Zabuza replied in his usual monotone. "I merely used him, just as Gatou used me. Now his usefulness has reached its end. Yes, I mourn for the loss of his strength and skill; but for the boy himself, I feel nothing."

Naruto snarled audibly, flexing his clawed hands in irritation and anger. "If you really mean that," he growled, "then you're even lower than I thought before! After all he did for you... that boy lived for you! You meant everything to him, but he meant nothing to you?! While he sacrificed everything for you, you felt nothing for him?! He threw his life away, and for what? For you and your dream?! You never let him have dreams or ambitions of his own, but he didn't care all. And in the end, you toss him aside like a broken tool, that's got to be the most heartless thing I've ever heard of."

Having said his piece, Naruto silently awaited for Zabuza to respond in some way. He at least thought he'd tell him he was to young to understand, or something along those lines. However, what the man did surprised him. As stood there, his acute hearing picked up the sound of water falling somewhere close by. To his surprise and disbelief, the sound was coming from Zabuza... he was crying. "You talk too much," said the nuke-nin calmly. Indeed, he truly was crying tears of genuine sorrow and remorse as he spoke, sadness and regret staining his voice. "Your words cut deep, far deeper than any blade. While he fought you, his heart was breaking. You see, Haku was always too soft and too kind. He felt pain and sorrow, and now, curse him, I feel them as well! And something else... I feel content that this is the way it ends."

As everyone stood there and watched, Zabuza proceeded to bite and tear through the gauze around his mouth that had once served as his mask. Once he had finished and the bandages had fallen away, those around him gasped in a mixture of both amazement and awe at what was underneath. Gatou had assumed that something demonic lurked behind those bandages, but he was wrong. Despite the fact that his teeth were somewhat shark-like, the face beneath those bandages was human! "Well, are you all so shocked to find that I'm human?" asked Zabuza in amusement, his face fully visible for all to see. "All shinobi, no matter how hard we try and hide it or escape from it, are still human." His eyes full of renewed purpose and vigor, he turned to Naruto nodded understandingly. "Boy," he said to him, "lent me one of your kunai. There's one last thing that needs tending to before I die here."

Naruto gave a silent nod of understanding and began to take a kunai from his ningu holster. However, before he could throw the knife to Zabuza, something caught his attention. His nigh superhuman hearing had picked up the sound of footfalls coming from behind them. Wary for a second, he then relaxed and flashed his foxy grin as he got wind of the newcomer's scent. 'Heh, took him long enough,' he thought as he turned to face their new ally. "So, you finally showed up, eh? What took you so damn long?"

"I had to retrieve some vital equipment from my safe house," a gruff voice responded. "Besides, you're a tough kid. I knew you could take care of yourself until I got here." Curious as to whom Naruto was talking to so casually, both Kakashi and Zabuza turned their attention to the man who had just joined them. Immediately, they were amazed and offset by what they saw.

The man before them stood about six feet tall with piercing grey eyes, cold and merciless as the sea. He was garbed in a jet-black bodysuit with a large white belt around his waist, combat boots, white gloves, and a flowing leather trench coat. However, it was the emblem on his chest that un-nerved them the most: an ivory skull that grinned at them maliciously So frightening the symbol that even Gatou's thugs held their breath in sheer terror at the sight of the sinister Death's Head. In the man's gloved hands was a modified M16 .223 automatic rifle, outfitted with a grenade-launcher on the barrel and an ACOG (Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight). On his belt was a 14-round, 9mm Browning automatic pistol. Kakashi had heard Naruto tell stories about this man during their training, and grimaced in memory of them. This man was an ex-Marine turned ruthless vigilante, wanted by every major law-enforcement agency for questioning about his involvement in the disappearances of a large number of high-ranking Mafiosi dons and other well-known criminals.

Before them stood one of the most feared men in the criminal underworld, a man who had devoted his entire being to killing the wicked and the corrupt, and waging a brutal one-man war on crime. His name was Frank Castle, but to his enemies, to the world, he was known and revered as... the Punisher.

"N-n-no," the thug to Gatou's left stammered in fear and disbelief, pointing at the Punisher with eyes wide in terror. The poor fool was shaking so much that he almost dropped his Tommy gun. "It's not possible! Y-y-y-you can't be real! You're only supposed to be a myth!"

"Heh, I've heard that one before," Frank said darkly as he casually walked up to Naruto and Kakashi, leveling his M16 at the thugs menacingly. "The thing is clowns like you don't live long enough to say it twice." He then directed his attention to Naruto and Kakashi, who in turn, gave him their full attention as well. "Looks to me like we've got the same objective here: we all want Gatou dead. I think that justifies a temporary partnership."

Naruto nodded his head in agreement. "I think so too, Frank," he agreed honestly as he surveyed the sheer mass of hired thugs before them. He was confident that Zabuza could take out Gatou, but the remaining thugs would be a problem, one with a lot of firepower behind it. There was no denying that Castle's experience in modern warfare and his skill with firearms would give them a considerable edge over the small army that lay before them.

"Do what you will," snarled Zabuza in irritation, "but Gatou is mine!" Frank looked at the nuke-nin hard for a moment, sizing him up and considering every possible angle for achieving his objective. Though his arms were of no use to him now, the man seemed bent on taking his vengeance on the midget mobster, something Castle knew about all too well. Finally, a look of grim seriousness came over his face and he gave his ultimatum.

"Fine," agreed the vigilante reluctantly. "He's all yours, on one condition: you tell me everything you know about his organization and its activities when this is all over. Got it?" Zabuza gave him the faintest of nods and then turned back to the task at hand. His eyes radiated an insane amount of killer intent, and his gaze never wavering from Gatou as he glared at the man before him. If he was to die here, then he would die having done something right for a change. That, and he refused to go down without taking that little rat with him first!

"Sakura, Tazuna!" Kakashi hollered over his shoulder. "Take Sasuke's body and find some cover, quick! There's about to be a lot of bullets flying, and I don't want either of you getting hit. Now, go!" Sakura and Tazuna both complied with his orders and gathered up Sasuke's still body. Though she would've rather helped Naruto and the others, Sakura knew she had absolutely no experience with guns, and it would be best for her to stick with Tazuna. Giving them one, last, reluctant glance over her shoulder, she and Tazuna ducked by behind a pile of nearby steel girders with Sasuke's corpse.

"Alright," Naruto said as he dramatically unsheathed his plasma claws. "Zabuza, here's the plan: Frank, Kakashi-sensei, and I will cover for you while you take care of Gatou. The rest is up to you." With that, he tossed the nuke-nin his kunai and readied himself to attack. Zabuza snatched the knife out of the air with his teeth, and then ran headlong towards the diminutive mobster as the little man swiftly ducked behind his private army of thugs. As he weaved in-between the mercenary's, Gatou was desperately shouting at them, ordering them to kill everyone. The thugs complied with his demands and readied their weapons, setting their sights on the approaching nuke-nin.

"I thought you X-Men didn't kill," Punisher said as he chambered a round in his M16 and dropped into a firing crouch behind a nearby crate, raising his sight to eye-level. Kakashi took up a position beside him and readied a handful of kunai.

"Yeah, we don't," Naruto confirmed with a foxy grin as he brought his claws up to a firing position. "But that doesn't mean I can't maim 'em a little. Besides, I've wanted to tryout this new jutsu I created while we were working on the tree-climbing exercise." Kakashi was just about to ask what Naruto was talking about, when Gatou's men suddenly opened fire on the approaching Zabuza. Their shots bit painfully into his already useless arms and shoulders as he bobbed and weaved around their line of fire, continuing forward all the while. He faltered only once when a shot splintered his left femur, but other than that he surged ahead with intense purpose, ignoring the shots that clipped and grazed him as he went.

One of the thugs in the front raised his AK-47 at the nuke-nin and unleashed a full round at him, a starburst pattern erupting from its muzzle. From the opposite side of the bridge, a thunderous shot rang out and a moment later the thug stiffened and dropped his piece, which clattered uselessly to the pavement followed by his lifeless corpse. In the center of his forehead was a small, smoking hole, barely visible to the naked eye; however, the back of his skull was blown wide-open in a gaping hole that revealed the spot where his brain would've normally sat. Punisher's aim struck the next five thugs with the accuracy of a seasoned sniper, his Hollowpoint bullets rupturing their skulls like watermelons, painting the pavement red with their brains, blood, and grey-matter. The M16 roared to life once more, striking the thug who had recognized Frank earlier. The merc dropped lifelessly to the ground, his heart blown clean out of his chest in a thousand pieces of bloody gore.

"Heh, told him," growled the Punisher as he continued to rain death down upon the remaining mercenaries, who had diverted most of their attention on returning the vigilante's fire.

To his left, Naruto grimaced slightly as he watched Frank dispense the thugs with relative ease. The emotionless look on the seasoned vigilante's face as he effortlessly slaughtered the thugs was almost inhuman. Pushing these thoughts out of his mind and focusing on the task at hand, Naruto took advantage of the opening in the line-of-fire and leapt on top of a crate in front of him, leveling his claws at the men as he prepared his new jutsu. Having gained better control over his chakra, Naruto discovered that he could channel chakra into his claws for a variety of effects. The more potent being the ability to make the chakra unstable to the point of combustion, with the amount of chakra resulting in how much time it took for them to detonate

"Kami Hanabi (Divine Fireworks)!" Naruto roared as he launched his chakra-fueled claws at the thugs. Just before reaching the trigger-happy men, the claws shattered and exploded in a blast of energy and force, similar to a Flash-Bang grenade. Those closest to the blasts were knocked clean off their feet, their faces charred and their clothes set violently ablaze. The thugs screamed in agony and terror as they tried to extinguish the fire on their sleeves and pant legs, the ensuing confusion making them easy prey for Punisher's M16 and Kakashi's kunai. Using this jutsu with their combined efforts, the three men quickly dispatched a majority of the thugs with surprising speed and efficiency.

As Naruto and his friends continued to slaughter Gatou's mercenaries, Zabuza finally reached the forefront to their defensive line and went to work with his own weapon. His arms now useless, he used the kunai in his mouth to hack and slash at the gun-totting thugs when he got close, still rushing forward all the while. One of the men spotted him and fired off a round that struck near one of his vitals. The nuke-nin grunted in mortal pain, but continued his pace, taking the time to expertly slice through his assailant's jugular. It was soon that he neared the back of the mercenary's tightly packed formation, and it was then that he spotted Gatou, still running for his life like sniveling coward he was.

Nearing the end the bridge's current construction, Gatou was sure that he was safe from Zabuza's wrath and took a moment to catch his breath, the run having winded him. That breath was caught in his throat as a moment later, Zabuza burst through the line of men and rushed towards him with killer intent. As Gatou looked on in terror, Zabuza seemed to change before his very eyes, becoming the ghastly, sinister demon of his namesake. The demon man's eyes burned red with hatred and inhuman rage as he bore down on the frightened mobster. 'H-h-he's the Devil!!' Gatou's mind shrieked in terror.

It was then that Zabuza struck the little man with incredible force, his kunai puncturing his left lung. As Gatou staggered backwards, he slashed upwards, cutting a razor-thin line across his throat which sprayed blood in his face. Ignoring the warm liquid obscuring his right eye, the nuke-nin slammed into him again, this time rupturing the man's liver with surprising accuracy. Then, rearing back and dropping into a low crouch, Zabuza shot upwards and dealt the final blow, plunging the kunai deep into his black, little heart. The force from the hit was so powerful that it sent Gatou sailing over the edge of the bridge and into the murky drink below.

Satisfied that his work was finished, Zabuza finally allowed himself to collapse to in a broken, bloody heap on the ice cold concrete. Behind him, Naruto, Kakashi, and the Punisher finished picking off any of the remaining mercenaries. It was finally over... they'd won.

Whew, man that chapter took a long time to write. Well, what a fight, huh? Okay, for those of you how are wondering why Naruto won't kill, look at his upbringing. Sure his father was Wolverine, but he was raised on the teachings of Professor X. Anyhow, now that the Punisher has entered the mix, its a whole new ball-game! Don't tune out just yet True Believers, because this is just the beginning. Next time, join Team 7 as they discover the truth behind Gatou's operation, bid Zabuza fair-well, and see to their fallen teammate. You won't want to miss a second! Remember to R&R.