A Perception of Reality

by knightchaser

There is a belief that states for every action taken, the alternative action is played out in another dimension. In one reality Itachi succeeded in killing his clan, in another, he failed. This is the story of what happened when he failed.

26. Chapter 26 The Battle for the Bridge

Thanks for all the review and fav's!

I really didn't think there would be a chapter this week. It's been, like 105 degrees here this week and the pollution was so bad the sky was brown and it stank outside. But it finally cooled off last night and I actually got inspired to write. This place is supposed to be cold rainy, what's with all the sun?

Anyway, no Itachi in this chapter, it ended up being longer than expected so I didn't get around to him.

Haku – yeah, I wondered if he was really a girl pretending to be a guy too. I do get tired of the "boy wears girl's clothes" theme in anime. To me it doesn't make any sense, other than being amusing.

The Akatsuki mission will be explained in the next chapter, Itachi is going to make a rather important discovery. They're just a little disgruntled right now because Leader is being paranoid and they are "overstaffed" for simple missions. That will be explained as well.

Okay – on to the story –

Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto

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Chapter 26 – Battle for the Bridge

Early morning in the land of Waves was very familiar to the members of team seven, even if the activities of a fishing village were different from those of a land-locked ninja village. Despite their poverty, or because of it, people still got up early. Some to set fishing nets and lines, others to feed livestock, and a select few were seen walking in the direction of the nearly-completed bridge.

Fishing had always been the life-blood of Tazuna's village, but in the absence of any money the fish you pulled out of the bay that morning and the crusty bread and rice you scraped together was, more than likely all you would get to eat that day. Entire families, even toddlers, could be seen lining the shore with make-shift fishing poles. A few girls were seen walking through the water with short nets stretched between them. Many of the men and some of the older boys had left before dawn on their fishing boats and wouldn't be back until shortly before noon.

"Is there really enough fish to support this many fishermen?" Kakashi asked quietly, "it looks like the entire village is here."

"For the most part they share. Those girls you see out there will take their catch to the people who can't come down here anymore. The fishing boats sell their stuff, though. If you go down to the dock at lunch-time there'll be a fish market with several people from the mainland buying for restaurants and grocery-stores. The locals can't afford to go down there anymore. Inari and Tsunami fish off the deck of our house and most days they catch something. We have a little more money than most, so we can still go down to the market and buy food to make up for the difference.

"But… to answer your question… no, there isn't enough. Not many fish come this close to shore – for that you have to get out into the ocean. On the other hand, it is enough to stave off starvation. The bridge, of course, will change things. More people will be able to come to the land of Waves to conduct commerce. That's all these people have to hope for now."

Naruto gave Tazuna a big smile, "Then we'll protect this bridge with our lives and make your dreams come true."

"That's right!" Sakura danced in front of him then ran ahead a short ways when a young boy waved at her. Everyone recognized him as the child who had come up to her the previous day with hands outstretched begging for food. They watched as knelt down and looked inside an old wooden bucket and then hugged the boy. Returning, her smile was even bigger than before, "He caught a fish. It's little, but he said he's never caught anything before."

"Must be a good sign then." Kakashi smiled, causing the one eye not hidden by his forehead protector to crinkle shut.

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"Well, that's two more down." Tazuna walked up to the Konoha ninjas and sat down heavily on a stack of wood, wiping his sweaty face with a towel. "That Goto. He really pisses me off, you know?" Just as the shift was starting a couple of the workers had approached their boss looking sheepish and exhausted – as if they had been up all night.

"So can you still finish? Sasuke asked, concerned. He had been watching one of the workers nearby cutting boards and was amazed at how quick he could work with a simple saw. Unlike the construction workers than had come to Konoha several years earlier to rebuild after the coup, there were very few power tools being used to build the bridge. Tazuna had stated on their first day of guard duty that the country couldn't afford to pay him to use them so they were sitting in his storage shed. The fuel needed to power the equipment was beyond their means and Tazuna certainly didn't have enough of his own funds to donate any.

Tazuna's gritty, strong voice spoke with determination, "Oh yeah. No problem. I'll build this thing by myself if I have to." He stood up a moment later and returned to work.

"It makes me want to do something to help." Sakura sighed softly. "Sitting here doing nothing while they break their backs building this bridge…" her words drifted off into nothingness as she stared, unseeingly, at the partially finished deck.

"Can we help?" Naruto asked expectantly.

"No." Kakashi looked down at his students, he felt the same way of course, but there was no helping it. "We aren't skilled enough to build a bridge and it would just take the remaining workers away from their jobs if they had to train us. But you know, we are helping, Naruto, Sakura. Guarding this structure and keeping Tazuna alive is just as important a job as building this bridge. If something happens to him the bridge will never be completed."

Sasuke looked up at the mist enshrouded sky and wondered if the sun would be coming out later. It had been like this for three days. No sun, only the perpetual whiteness of a fog strewn world. He strained his eyes, but even with his Sharingan he couldn't see the shore – and it wasn't that far away either.

The worst part was the disorientation. Because you couldn't see the sun you had no idea what time it was. It could have been morning or an hour before sunset. It all looked the same. And sound was different too, although Sasuke privately though that may have been more of a psychological reaction to the "blindness" the mist was causing. When a hammer rang out it seemed muffled and echoed strangely - as if the sound waves were bouncing off the suspended water droplets instead of solid surfaces. Then again, perhaps that was what was happening after all and it wasn't his imagination.

Gazing down at Sai, he wondered what was going through his friends mind. He had been strangely silent since they had arrived in the village. Well, not that he was ever really very talkative, but in the last couple days he had even stopped teasing Naruto. Sasuke had spotted Kakashi and Sai a few hours earlier before they had left the house arguing about something. Sai never argued. If he disagreed with you, he just let it hang and went on with life. It was troubling him and he suddenly decided to push his luck and try to find out what was going on.

"So… Sai… Kakashi… what were you two fighting about this morning?"

Kakashi opened his mouth to speak, but Sai beat him to it, "I want to go look for Zabuza and spy on him – find out what his plans are. Kakashi doesn't think I should be unsupervised."

Again, Kakashi was interrupted before he could say anything, this time by Naruto, "But that's a great plan! Sai's a Chuunin after all, and Sakura could go with him. She's pretty good at that stuff because of her extra training." Sakura's "extra training" had consisted of several months as an unwilling Root student, but it had given her an edge that many of her peers were still trying to catch up to.

"Yeah! I can go with Sai!" Sakura balled her fists at her side and stared petulantly up at her sensei.

"Can I speak now?" Kakashi finally muttered as he gazed at the expectant faces before him. "It would be a good idea except for two problems. Fugaku does not trust Sai and does not want him left alone. He didn't want to send him on this mission either, but since at the time we thought it was a 'C' rank he decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. This is a bit of a test for Sai, to see how loyal he is. Sakura as well, for that matter." He gazed knowingly at the young girl and she stared back unwaveringly. She had been steeling documents for the last two years and sending them back to Root – but with a twist. The documents were either altered or exchanged in order to purposely mislead the organization. She and Sai were, in effect, double agents.

"The other problem we are facing is of manpower. We already know Zabuza is going to attack. That's a given. I also know, from the bingo book and ANBU profiles that he always relies on his own power – that is Tai jutsu and his sword as well as an advanced repertoire of jutsus. So, basically, we already know what is doing and how he will do it. While the 'when' is what Sai wanted to find out I see that as secondary. There are five of us here so if he attacks that's a definite plus. If we split up and he attacks… Anyway do you understand where I'm coming from?"

"But if we know when…" Sai was not going to give up.

"It would help enormously, yes. It's just…"

Sai finished the sentence, changing Kakashi's words, "Fugaku doesn't trust me so you're going to put our mission on line." He mimicked Kakashi's voice, "Sorry Hokage, your son and foster son are dead, but rest assured, I followed you orders to the letter!"

The anger that flashed in Kakashi's one exposed eye made Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura cringe. However, Sai didn't flinch at all. "Listen to me, Sai, if I thought that breaking the rules would not only save the mission but keep you four alive I would do it in a second. But our first responsibility is the mission and often that takes precedence over our personal feelings and beliefs. I thought you understood that. Or are you testing me?"

The air around the two ninjas suddenly grew cold as they stared unflinchingly into each other's eyes. Finally Sai's emotionless face seemed to become even blanker than it usually was and he looked away into the dense wall of fog, as if he was seeing something. "I apologize. The mission is…"

"For what's it worth, Sai, I do trust you." Kakashi finally smiled and the tense atmosphere dissipated quickly. "If I didn't I wouldn't have allowed you to go on the mission or let you on the team. Just be patient. I've been doing this longer than you've been alive so I do have some experience in these things."

"Wow! When did you become a ninja?" Naruto's eyes opened wide with awe.

"When I was five. Made Chuunin at six. And Jounin at thirteen."

Sasuke stepped back once in shock, "That's two years earlier than Itachi and he's still not a Jounin! Are you sure you're not exaggerating?"

"Ha ha ha!" Kakashi's laugh had an embarrassed edge to it, "Well, the war was still going when Itachi was young and if I remember right… the Academy had to close a few times because the teachers were called back to active duty. Kind of hard to graduate if there's no school."

"But why isn't he a Jounin? I mean, he's amazing!" Sakura asked.

"That's… Fugaku's business. He'll promote his son when he feels he's ready. There's a lot more to the rank than just being 'amazing'." Kakashi hoped they bought his explanation, and from the looks on their faces, they did. In reality, Itachi's "extracurricular" missions were of a very sensitive nature and as long as he remained a Chuunin he could keep conducting them without too much interference form the village. It also kept his schedule free so he could come and go when needed. A Jounin didn't have that luxury, and in fact most Chuunin didn't either, but it was easier for Itachi to get away with it as a lower rank.

"Hey Sasuke! Maybe we could make Jounin before Itachi!" Naruto was teasing, but he grinned when he saw his friend smile.

"That would be incredible wouldn't it?" Sasuke gave a short laugh, "But he'll beat me at that too, just you wait and see."

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"Hey! Midget! How would you like to run an errand for me seeing as how we're shorthanded?" Tazuna closed his lunchbox and slipped it inside his backpack. Team seven and the construction workers had developed a habit over their time together of eating lunch as a group. It was companionable and certainly eye-opening for the four young Shinobi who had rarely interacted before with anyone outside of Konoha.

"Sure. Is that okay Sensei?" Naruto was a little peeved about being called a "midget" just because he was the shortest of the four kids, but the opportunity to help out won over his anger.

Tazuna explained, "I just need him to take this letter to Tsunami. The three guys who quit today need their last paycheck. She's my accountant, you see."

"Well that's okay then. But hurry back Naruto." Kakashi laughed as Naruto grabbed the letter and took off at full speed.

Tazuna shook his head in wonder as he walked away, "I'll never get over just how quick you all run. He's probably half-way there by now."

"Kakashi!" Sakura jumped to her feet, followed quickly by Sai, causing everyone to look at her in surprise.

"I feel it." The Jounin stood up slowly as a thick fog moved in, reducing visibility to only a few feet. "Sakura, Sasuke, protect Tazuna. Sai, stand halfway between Tazuna and me."

"Yes!" All three kids ran quickly to their positions as a tall, bare-chested man carrying a large sword strode arrogantly into view. A few feet behind was a familiar face. A boy, perhaps fifteen or sixteen, wearing a Mist village headband and red and white ANBU mask.

"You!" Sakura cried out in alarm, "You were the one who carried him off!"

"Humph." Kakashi glanced quickly behind him to verify everyone was in position before returning his attention to Zabuza. "He's got some nerve showing his face around here again. What is he thinking, wearing that mask?"

"So he's pulling a scam, huh?" Tazuna growled. "I guess he's not really from Mist after all."

"What a jerk." Sakura added.

Sasuke glanced sideways at the pink-haired girl before dropping his voice an octave and adding his say, "What is he up to? Wearing a mask like a clown."

Sakura clasped her hands together and crooned, "Oh Sasuke, you're so cool!"

For some reason he didn't quite understand the young Uchiha felt his heart skip a beat and he gloated inwardly when Kakashi and Sai rolled their eyes at him.

"So the child isn't shaking anymore. How impressive." Zabuza mocked Sasuke, bringing up their previous encounter when the boy had become so panic-stricken that he had actually thought about ending his own life to escape the overwhelmingly dark and malignant chakra that was emanating from the two Jounin.

Sasuke wasn't going to let it get to him this time though and he activated his Sharingan. "I'm more than ready today."

"Ha ha ha! Well, Haku, it looks like you have yourself a rival." Zabuza's measured words were filled with humor.

Haku stepped away from his partner, "It certainly looks that way."

"Sasuke, go ahead." Kakashi instructed as he nodded to Sai, tilting his head toward Haku, silently commanding him to step in if needed. Sai nodded back,

About fifty feet away the cries of the other construction workers was heard and two of Goto's henchmen swaggered into view. "We took out the other's Zabuza. You're safe to continue."

Zabuza pulled his sword and banged the tip heavily onto to deck of the half-finished bridge, "What are you doing here?"

"Goto's orders. Seeing as how you messed up so badly last time, he ordered us to 'clean up' if you failed again. By the way, Tazuna, your family will be joining us very soon. Since you seem so unwilling to cooperate we're just going to have to take a hostage."

"Inari! Tsunami! Don't you dare touch them!" Tazuna growled

"Naruto…" Sakura muttered with disbelief. He was walking straight into a trap, and while the girl was sure she could take out Goto's men, if the two in front of her were an example of the rest, she wasn't so sure Naruto was that skilled yet. While they would keep the hostages alive to threaten Tazuna, Naruto certainly wouldn't be needed. She heard Kakashi growl under his breath, obviously thinking the same thing she was.

"Let's just get this over with." Sasuke stepped away from Tazuna and Sakura, making his way to Haku. "You're name's Haku, right? Well I'm Sasuke Uchiha of the Uchiha clan and I'm going to take you down."

Haku adjusted his mask to make sure it was still secure and grinned. "You're awfully eager. You're first fight, huh? Too bad it'll be your last."

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Naruto jumped through the trees, eager to deliver Tazuna's message he finally felt like he was being helpful. Albeit he was helping by being a delivery boy instead of a ninja, but anything was better than sitting around waiting for something to happen. The way through the woods was faster than the road and he figured it would only take about fifteen minutes to reach his destination. However, halfway there he stopped and stared down at the forest floor in shock.

A large boar, about the size of an ox lay dead with a large gash cut through its thick hide. He looked around but didn't see anyone. "If this was one of the villagers, they would be cutting it up for meat, I'm sure of it! So this means…" His eyes opened wide and he took off again, sailing through the trees, "I hope I'm not too late!"

Reaching Tazuna's house he skidded to a halt and stared at the door that lay busted up at his feet. Cautiously he walked into the house and gasped at the sight of broken dishes, overturned furniture, and small drips of blood leading from the dining area to the entry-way, where it suddenly stopped.

"So who was injured? Its obvious Tsunami and Inari were kidnapped. He walked to the kitchen area and stared at the counter, then reached over and turned off the stove. The pot of water that had been boiling away was about half full. Naruto knew from experience (and a whack upside the head from Mikoto) that leaving a pot boiling on the stove would eventually evaporate all the water and begin the burn the metal, leaving a very bad smell and possibly starting a fire if something fell against it. Some pans, he had been told, would even begin to melt.

"I've got to find them. But where could they be?" He walked outside and stared at the water as it gently lapped against the deck. "Probably to a boat! But they could have docked here if they wanted. Or maybe down the road at the pier!" Naruto took off running down the road, glancing to the right every so often to keep an eye on the bay in case a boat with his two friends floated by. A few minutes later he skidded to halt and hid behind a building, peaking out desperately as he watched two thugs drag an unconscious Tsunami down the length of the pier toward a small rowboat. They got about halfway when a much smaller figure ran up.

Naruto gasped in shock and muttered, "Inari no…"

"Let my mom go!" The boy yelled at the top of his lungs as he pointed at them authoritatively.

The two men laughed at him, "Or what? What's a little kid going to do?"

Looking closer, Naruto saw that Tsunami had a large bruise on the side of her face and Inari was holding his left arm close to his torso, as if it hurt. He watched as the boy charged forward, screaming out his indignation.

"Now's my chance." Naruto jumped forward and while the men were laughing and stepping back to avoid the irate child he grabbed Tsunami and deposited her on the ground in front of a surprised Inari. The two thugs blinked in surprise at the sudden loss of their prized hostage.

"What?" Inari stared down at disbelief at the unconscious form of his mother. He hadn't seen anything except an orange blur and then suddenly… there she was, safe and sound on the ground in front of him.

Naruto, who was standing between Inari and the men glanced back and smiled at the boy, "Heroes always arrive at the last minute, don't they?"

Inari laughed and relief flooded through him. "Yeah!"

"Take your mom and go back home. I'll handle things from here on out."

Inari dropped down to his knees to rouse his mother, but she was already blinking her eyes, a little disoriented, but seemingly fine nonetheless. They stood up and, after grinning gratefully at their savior, limped back off the dock in the direction of their home.

"Now that they're gone… Hey… Where'd you go?" Naruto looked around in disbelief, the two thugs were missing. And so was their boat. "Man… Sasuke and Sai are never going to let me forget this. And I wanted to fight them too." He kicked at a stray rock and walked half-heartedly back to the road. "Wait a minute… if they were here… then what's happening at the bridge? I've got to get back!"

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Sasuke lunged at his opponent, kicking him in the gut and sending him sailing twenty feet to land at Zabuza's feet. Haku shook his head to clear it and sat up, turning his head slightly when he heard his master mutter something in an amazed voice about how impossible it was for someone to be faster than him.

"Haku, if we keep going on like this we'll be the victims instead of them. Now get on with it!" Zabuza spoke matter-of-factly, but there was a tinge of anger in his voice that Haku couldn't ignore as he stood up and faced Sasuke.

Focusing his chakra on the air around him he pulled the water droplets from the omnipresent mists towards his body, surrounding it in a bluish-white aura. He lifted both hands and formed a series of signs then spoke sorrowfully, as if telling Sasuke his puppy had died, "I'm sorry to have to do this. Secret Jutsu – Crystal Ice Mirrors."

The aura that had surrounded the teen shot up about six feet into the air and a ring of several thin, perfectly formed ice rectangles appeared. More formed at ground level and Haku walked purposefully toward the nearest block and stepped inside. He seemed to melt into the object, as if his body were transforming from three dimensions into two.

Sasuke looked closer at the ice rectangles and saw a reflection. Awestruck he looked over the structure, "They're mirrors."

"No you don't, Kakashi." Zabuza moved to block the white-haired Jounin from moving to assist his student. "If you join this fight, you fight me."

Kakashi glanced over at Sai, who was dividing his attention between Sasuke's fight and Sakura, who in turn was keeping an eye on the handful of Goto's henchmen who were standing a little too close to Tazuna for comfort. If push came to shove, he would have to choose Tazuna over Sasuke. And Naruto wasn't back yet. In fact, he was late. Despite his words earlier about not splitting up the team, he had thought that a quit trip to Tazuna's house and back wouldn't make a difference. He hoped his mistake didn't prove fatal.

Kakashi glared at Zabuza, "Then we'd better make this quick."

Sasuke watched in wonder and alarm as Haku's visage suddenly reflected off of all the mirrors. Even with his Sharingan he wasn't sure, right off, where the teen had disappeared to. Or if he was even around at all.

"Now we begin." Haku's voice seemed to come from all the surfaces, meaning that sound couldn't be used to locate him. "I'll show you what speed really means."

A deluge of senbon shot out from the ice mirrors, cutting and piercing Sasuke's flesh until he was forced to drop his weapons. He pulled his arms forward to protect his face as he fell backwards onto his rear end.

"Sasuke!" He heard Sakura call his name in alarm and he remembered his earlier boasting and how good it had felt when she was crooning over him. So much for that. Haku was making him look like an idiot. Worse than that, if this kept up, he was going to turn into a dead idiot.

"Sai!" Sakura yelled again, but he couldn't hear the rest of what she was saying. Looking up he watched as Sai threw a Kunai at the ice structure.

"Sasuke! Catch!" Sai yelled as he jumped up and threw a kunai to replace the ones that were knocked out of his friend's hands.

Sasuke lifted a hand to catch it and watched as a hand reached out of one mirror to intercept it. Letting his hand drop to his side he sat back down on his knees and cringed as the pain from multiple senbon piercings coursed through his body. He decided that they weren't poisoned since he was still conscious, but if he lost any more blood he would probably pass out anyway.

Crack.

Looking up Sasuke watched as a rock hit the mirror that had caught the kunai. Another rock hit it and this time Haku fell out of the mirror, clutching his shoulder in pain. Looking around, everyone tried to see where the rocks were coming from when a bang and cloud of smoke erupted several feet behind the two combatants.

"The number-one, knucklehead ninja Naruto Uzumaki." Haku stated, half amused.

Standing with his arms crossed over his chest and a big grin on his face was an orange clad, blond ninja.

"Naruto Uzumaki is here!" The boy declared triumphantly. "Now that I'm here everything's going to be alright. You know how they say a hero shows up at the last minute? Well that's me!"

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Sakura yelled happily as everyone else shook their heads in wonder at the boldness and very un-ninja like behavior of the boy in front of them.

"Sneaking in would have been better, Naruto." Kakashi mumbled to himself. He saw Sai give a small smile, obviously relieved that his friend was okay.

Sasuke fell to his side as the pain increased, but sat up quickly as he gathered his resolve. He looked at the scratches, realizing quickly that none of the wounds were in vital points. 'What's he getting at?' Sasuke asked himself.

Haku stepped gracefully back into the mirror as he spoke firmly to the newcomer, "You are next, Naruto, as soon as I kill this one." However, he fell back out as another rock shot forward, hitting him in the head.

"I don't think so." Sai walked forward, stepping between the ice mirrors and Haku.

Zabuza laughed, "You think one more Genin is going to change things? Haku has mastered his Kekkei Genkai. There is nothing those kids can do."

Kakashi gave a short laugh of his own, "Sai is not a Genin, Zabuza. He's Chunin, ANBU level and a member of Root. You've heard of them, of course."

"Yes." Zabuza stated under his breath. "So what's he doing here? Not that it matters of course."

Kakashi ignored the question, "Sakura over there was his subordinate until the two of them were placed on my team. The only real Genin here are Sasuke and Naruto. But then again, Sasuke is an Uchiha – the strongest clan in Konoha and Naruto is his foster brother and receiving much the same training as Sasuke." He paused, then continued, as if stating a fact he had forgotten, "Oh, and Sai and Sakura have killed before. So the fact that you said those haven't killed before are weak shouldn't apply to them."

"I… you know about that?" Sakura whispered, placing a hand over her mouth when Kakashi gave her a stern look.

"We've got to destroy the mirrors so he can't use them." Sai stated.

Sasuke nodded his head then stood up and formed the seals for a fireball jutsu, shooting a large ball of fire out of his mouth a moment later. It glanced off the mirrors with no effect. Not a single drop of water melted from the hard ice.

"That won't work." Haku explained in a measured voice. "You would have to use a fire much hotter than that to melt my ice."

Sai suddenly jumped forward intending to attack, but Haku was faster. He leaped back into the mirror, barely missing the other boy's attack. "Now you'll have to fight on my terms."

"Sasuke!" Naruto ran forward through the gap between the mirrors a second before Haku extended the ice to close them.

Sai banged his kunai against the now-solid wall futilely. "Sasuke! Naruto!"

"Ha! You should have been paying attention to me instead of them, Kakashi." The mist thickened quickly and Zabuza disappeared. Instantly on alert, the Jounin clenched his fists in anger as he attempted to detect the assassin's location. A gasp from Sakura gave him away, and Kakashi moved quickly, using a jutsu to move between Tazuna and Zabuza. Except…

"You were careless, Kakashi." Zabuza raised his kunai to display a stream of dripping blood. "Letting me cut you like that. You really are loosing focus, aren't you?"

Screaming and yelling could be heard from the enclosed ice mirrors, but Kakashi kept his eyes on his adversary. "You think so, huh?"

"Humph." Zabuza squinted his eyes, as if thinking about something, but turned his attention quickly to Haku when he felt a sudden surge of chakra imbued with so much evil and dark intent that it made him shudder. "What is that?"

"That…" Kakashi didn't finish the sentence. At least not out loud. He recognized that chakra and what it meant. Eleven years ago he had fought alongside the other Shinobi of Konoha to protect the village from the nine-tailed fox. Afterward, the monster was sealed in the newborn Naruto. And now, it looked like that seal was breaking.

A red swirl enveloped the ice mirrors and Sai stepped forward, a curious expression on his face. He reached up with his kunai, as if daring himself to touch it.

Sakura yelled out, "Sai! Get back! Get away from there!"

Blinking his eyes, as if waking from a dream, Sai looked at her and then Kakashi, but he didn't move.

"Sai!" Sakura was screaming now. "Sai! Get away!"

"What is he doing?" Kakashi said, alarmed.

"Is he trying to kill himself?" Zabuza voice was full of surprise.

The pulsating grew stronger and the structure glowed red, as if the inside was on fire. Sai stepped closer, moving his head from side to side, looking for an opening. Suddenly he jumped back, his arms coming up to protect his face.

The ice mirrors shattered, larger pieces disintigrating into smaller ones with a force that propelled the shards outward for a hundred feet. A sound, as of a thousand glasses shattering, echoed across the bridge.

Sai landed and rolled until he was a few feet from Sakura. Jumping up he watched, along with the others, as Naruto stepped out of the quickly disappearing wreckage and stalked Haku, who had been flung about twenty feet onto his back and was now, slowly, standing up.

"I won't forgive you!" Naruto's voice had take on a darker edge that was deep and resonating. "I won't forgive you for what you did to Sasuke!"

"Sasuke! What happened Sai?" Sakura scanned the wreckage for her friend, but the mist was still swirling around and she couldn't see clearly enough. Which probably meant that he wasn't standing up. And if he wasn't standing…

"I couldn't see anything, but… I could hear them and it sounded like he died." Sai's matter-of-fact explanation struck Sakura with the force of a herd of stampeding oxen and she staggered back one step, trying to regain her composure. After all, she had been taught how to deal with this both in Root and at the Academy. And she had seen comrades die before. Sai's brother… a tear leaked out of her eye and she shook it away.

"That's… that's not possible…" Her words trailed off as she watched the scene unfolding in front of her. The mists cleared temporarily and everyone was given a clear view of a boy with black hair, blue shirt and white shorts lying on his back on the ground. His motionless body was covered head to toe in blood.

"I'm going to kill you!" Naruto growled as he charged at Haku. The teen staggered a little as his mask cracked fell to the ground. At the last minute Naruto got a look at Haku's face and diverted his attack, hitting the boy on the side instead of the chest. Jumping back, he stared in disbelief at the person before him. Slowly, the nine-tailed fox's chakra dissipated until Naruto was himself again.

"What's wrong? You had a clear shot. Kill me. I've failed and because of that I am no longer of any use to Zabuza." Haku's face was strangely serene as he gazed into Naruto's eyes.

"You… you're that boy from before… in the forest." Memories of the kind boy who spoke cheerfully about protecting those precious to you fought against the memories of his friend, now lying dead behind him. How could the two possibly be connected? How could that boy in the forest be the same person now standing in front of him?

"Aren't you going to kill me?"

"I..."

"I killed your friend. You're justified, you know. Go ahead."

Zabuza suddenly jumped away from Kakashi, disappearing as he did so. Kakashi pulled out a scroll, unfurling it all in one motion. "I've only got one chance, this has to work." He bit his finger to draw blood and swiped it across the scroll. He cringed inwardly as Haku continued to beg Naruto to kill him. He would have to take Zabuza down quickly before those two kids did something stupid.

There was a yelp and a couple barks as nine dogs appeared out of the ground, each taking a bite of Zabuza. Immobilized, the assassin stared unbelievingly as his adversary advanced on him.

"I let you cut me, Zabuza. I knew you would use that jutsu again and the only way to track you would be by scent. The dogs tracked my blood on the kunai you used." He stopped a scant three feet from the big man and looked him in the eye. "I've been using someone elses Jutsus on you so far… after all the Sharingan is not my birthright. But now, I will use my own jutsu to kill you."

"How noble." Zabuza spat. "You actually have something you didn't steal from someone else?"

"Yeah. I do." He formed several handsigns and held out his hand as a ball of blue lightning formed in his hand. Several long, thin bolts shot out and the sound of a thousand birds screeching drew everyone's attention. Raising his hand he started to push forward when a hand suddenly closed over his arm pulled it off course.

"Sai what?" Kakashi stepped back in shock. Haku was now standing between himself and Zabuza, shielding his master from a killing blow. If Sai hadn't pulled his hand away…

Sai took advantage of the confusion to yank Haku out of the way and punch him in the gut. As the teen fell unconscious to the ground Kakashi reactivated his jutsu, but was distracted when a short, middle-aged man stepped forward.

"So, Zabuza. We leave things to you and this is what happens."

"Goto." Kakashi said as he released his jutsu. "So you finally show your face." The dogs disappeared as well, releasing Zabuza from his restraints.

"Someone's got to clean up this mess this incompetent fool created." Goto walked up to Haku and kicked him sharply in the back. "That's for breaking my arm, you little punk."

"Leave him alone!" Naruto stepped forward and turned to Zabuza. "Are you just going to let this man kick him?"

"He's of no use to me anymore. He served his purpose."

"What do you mean? He looked up to you! Respected you! Was ready to die for you!"

"Then he should have. Instead he's laying there unconscious. How pathetic."

"You know, I don't believe you really feel that way. Haku was a good person and I can't believe that he would just… that he would trust someone who didn't care for him back. No matter how messed up his life was… you can't really feel this way! You were everything to him!"

Zabuza knew the words were corny and absurd but for some reason, as he looked at the boy he had raised for the better part of eight years, he felt something… he couldn't really describe it. He had taught the child everything he knew, raised him to be a master assassin and a tool to be used at a whim. And Haku had rarely complained and always excelled. And now…

"You're going to die, you know that. What about him? How will he feel?" Naruto wasn't letting up and Zabuza continued to see images of the small, hungry begger he had rescued from the streets, growing up, laughing, training, going on missions. He was always there. Like a son or a little brother.

Shaking his head to clear it he pulled out a kunai and launched himself at Kakashi. There was still a chance…

Kakashi sliced into Zabuza's arm, severing the muscles and making it unusable. The man's strike time had gone down drastically and the Jounin had taken advantage of it. Crying out in alarm Zabuza lifted his other arm, only to watch in horror as Kakashi swiped across it as well.

"You now have no arms. I will finish this now." Kakashi lifted his hands, intending to create a Chidori, when Goto's voice echoed across the clearing.

"Zabuza. You're fired. You were supposed to be the best, but apparently you were the weakest. I can't believe I spent all that money on you and the boy. What a waste! You had a simple mission to kill one old man. Yet look where it has gotten you!"

"I'm fired huh? Well then Kakashi, it looks like I no longer have a reason to fight you." Zabuza relaxed a little, swaying as blood dripped down his arms.

"Seems so." Kakashi dropped his arms and stepped back. Years of experience told him that Zabuza was no longer an adversary. However, that same experience also told him that Goto was. And he had about fifty mercenaries standing behind him.

"Boy. Give me your kunai."

"Huh? What?" Naruto was a little taken aback by the request.

"Go ahead." Kakashi muttered.

"Put it in my mouth."

"Oh. Okay."

Zabuza gripped the weapon in his teeth and ran forward at Goto. Several of the mercenaries stepped forward to cover their boss but were either sliced or kicked out of the way by the stampeding ninja. After a few seconds Zabuza stood before Goto.

"I'm going to die here, Goto, and you're going with me. Hell is a great place they tell me. Full of demons like myself. I'll fit right in, I expect, but you… you will be in torment for the rest of eternity. And I'll be right there to watch." He swung his head around and sliced three times through the man's chest, then kicked him into the ocean. Goto's screams stopped suddenly when he hit the water.

Collapsing, Zabuza rolled onto his back and stared at the sky. He watched as team seven approached him, including… "So he wasn't dead after all."

"Nope. Just knocked out!" Naruto beamed as he slung an arm around Sasuke who was leaning heavily on Sai's shoulder.

"I'm glad. Haku… wouldn't have wanted to kill him. He was… always too kind hearted." Zabuza's words surprised everyone. "What will… happen to him?"

Kakashi spoke in a kind voice, "We can take him to Konoha with us. If he wants, he can become part of the village."

"He'd like that. But… you might have trouble convincing him in the beginning." Zabuza coughed and a large quantity of blood spilled from his mouth. "Look after him… he… deserves better than this. Than me. Tell him… I'm sorry… I never said thank-you…" His words drifted off as his life slipped away.

Kakashi bent down and laid a hand on his forehead. "I promise, I'll look after him."

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Next week, the mission in the Land of Waves comes to a close and just what is Akatsuki up to anyway? We find out when Itachi makes an important discovery.

I watched the anime version of the Zabuza fight a couple times to get the gist of it, then rewrote it to include Sai and the more advanced versions of Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura. You'll see more of Sakura's abilities in the next chapter. Remember, they still have all those mercenaries to deal with so I'm going to have Sakura fight some of them. Really, she's the only one left with a nearly full supply of chakra at this point anyway so it does make sense. I don't want her to be useless, I gave her a powerup for a reason and I hope I can actually show it.

Oh, and after watching the Zabuza arc – you know it really looks to me like Sasuke is flirting with Sakura, whether he knows it or not is another matter. He just likes to have his ego stroked. He is 11 you know, and despite his reserve wants to show-off and be praised and Sakura fills that void for him. So anyway, I hope you don't think that bit I added to the story was out of character.

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