The next day dawned bright and clear, and breakfast at the Tazuna residence was done in silence, before the three ninja accompanied him to the bridge. There they found his workers, a half a dozen men who seemed wary of the three being good enough to guard them. Tazuna, knowing how to motivate his men, spun the tale of their great battle with Zabuza, leaving out no details as he described the grand fight, or at least the parts he had seen, and as he spoke, wonder, admiration, and a little bit of fear crossed their eyes as they stared at the shinobi.
The men then attacked their work, which had laid fallow while they awaited Tazuna's return. The ninja, watching them did their best to stand guard, but the instant no eyes were on them, they slumped down, nearly drained. Even the Mistress of the Mind found herself sore from the events of the day before, her body only just recovered enough to allow her to walk normally, and her 'little brothers' were not even that recovered, with Naruto winded from a simple chakra exercise, while Heero's hands refused to move correctly, meaning he couldn't form seals, though he still at least had chakra to burn.
They watched as the bridge builder and his men worked, the boys asking question of their onee while they waited, with Naruto focusing more on the tools, while Heero wanted to know the techniques of the men. Kurenai answered as best she could, but found herself having to ask one of the men during a lunch break some of the questions herself, finding that despite their rough exteriors, the men working for Tazuna were quite friendly, and very willing to discuss their work with anyone who showed an interest.
The second day, the ninja were very obviously better, with Kurenai's stride returning to confidence, and her back straighter than it had been yesterday. Naruto was better as well, having recovered at least some of that boundless chakra reserve during his sleep, and finally able to make clones again, while Heero's left hand seemed recovered enough to make basic seals. This newfound energy, and their own interest in the bridge being built before their eyes compelled them to offer assistance to the team working.
Tazuna at first refused, after all, they were just boys, but thinking back to the battle he'd seen them fight, he decided to allow them to earn their keep. He set Heero to cutting the metal needed for supports, instructing him on the precise nature of the necessary cuts, all the angles and shapes needed, while assigning Naruto's gang of a dozen clones to helping in a more brute force way. The two boys, motivated to impress their onee, performed whatever labor was assigned them well, and Tazuna whistled in astonishment as the sun set over a bridge that was already further along than he had expected.
The third day was much the same, with Naruto having had the clones the previous day 'return' the chakra to him through the medical jutsu, he was now able to make about three dozen of the things, which dove into their labor at a pace that made the other men working for Tazuna more crew chiefs than hired help, directing the various orange clad boys in their labor, while Tazuna himself had Heero's claws constantly making more cuts, not just in metal but stone and wood as well. By the time that day ended, they were at least a week farther along than had been expected.
It was day seven, mid day, with the sun high overhead when Tazuna called for a halt. In the distance, he could see the mainland. This job, which should have been months in the doing, was almost over. Watching the boys in front of him, Heero moving his two hands freely, the Bridge Builder knew who he had to thank for the speed of his work. The crew did as well, and had actually offered to take the boys to a celebration at a local bar once the work was done, an idea their onee quickly killed with a glare from those red eyes of hers.
"I must admit, this has been some of the best construction work I've ever seen. With Heero's precision and just how well Naruto listens, all the clones working as if they were one person. This bridge is probably the best built in the whole of the Elemental Nations," said Tazuna to Kurenai over a cup of coffee as they watched the two boys eating with the rest of the crew, trading stories, laughing, and otherwise enjoying themselves.
"I agree, these skills will help them later in life. I will remind you though, there will be a cost for all this," she told him, and Tazuna, rather than let that statement, the reminder of his lie, darken his mood, only smiled at her.
"Ms. Yuhi, we owe the Village Hidden in the Leaves more than we can ever repay. Ask it of Wave, and we'll do everything in our power to help," he assured her, and Kurenai, looking into his eyes, found no hint of deception in them. He truly meant the offer, the blank check he was holding out to her, and with his influence, he likely could offer them all of Wave if the Fire Daimyo wanted it. She was about to start naming a few specific trade goods that would be nice to have, when a set of sounds began to echo over the bridge.
The first sound was the tramping of feet, a lot of feet, more than even Naruto's clones, and the second was the rattling, the clear, metallic rattling of weapons and armor as they smacked against each other. Looking back, the ninja instantly went on the defense, taking their positions between the sounds and Tazuna and his crew, with Kurenai drawing a single kunai, while Naruto somehow pulled a bola from somewhere, and Heero stood with his hands obviously ready to make his claws.
"Ah, this is such a far walk, you truly are the best bridge builder in the nations, Tazuna," said a voice, and the bridge builder himself tensed at the sound, as slowly a mass of shapes resolved themselves from the distance, a huge army of men walking forward onto the bridge, their heavy metal boots clacking against the stone of the bridge's surface, before they stopped from a single motion of the man in front of them.
"Gato," growled out the old man behind the shinobi, who all took a moment to register what it was he had said, and worse, what that meant they were facing. He looked small, compared to the toughs behind him, but despite that, he had that power behind him a leader tended to. His black suit looked newly pressed, and those shades he wore over his eyes glinted wickedly in the sunlight.
"Yes, Tazuna. I came here to see the result of your defiance of my orders. Didn't I tell you that this bridge project or yours was wasting time, time better spent getting your young ready to tend to my farms?" asked the gentleman as he stepped forward from his mercs, all of which held their weapons drawn, smirking at the guardians in front of them. They had heard these were the ones who beat Zabuza, and yet, they were a woman and two brats. Either Zabuza was as overrated as some of them thought, or these kids and their mom had taken credit for something someone else had done.
"And I told you, we won't be intimidated anymore. We refuse to live in fear of you and your company. This nation, Wave, belongs to her people, and with my bridge, I will give them the strength to fight back against you, and bring you to justice," declared the old man, holding one of the tools of his trade out towards the businessman like it was a weapon.
"Heero," whispered Kurenai as the two continued to banter, posturing at each other.
"Oneesama?" asked the silver haired boy.
"How much of the red chakra can you make?" she responded, sidling closer to him.
"Depends on what you want me to do. If you want me to punch that Gato guy so many times he resembles ground beef, I can do that," offered the young boy, and Kurenai smirked at the mental image, but shook her head subtly so no one else could see it.
"No, that comes later. These toughs toys, do you think you have enough in you to take away all their weapons and armor?" she asked, and Heero looked out over the gathering of men. They stretched away, far into the distance, farther than even a ninja could see, but none of them held their weapons tightly. They seemed to think they might not even use them, given how more than one was leaning on their sword like a cane.
"I think I can," he offered, and Kurenai turned towards Naruto, this time speaking directly into the beetle on her collar.
"Heero is going to disarm these thugs, once he does that, I want you to make as many shadow clones, first level version, as you can, and have them surround the mob," she instructed, and Naruto, nodding openly, began to stride backwards, so he was between his brother and sister and the bridge builders.
"Huh?" said the two old men simultaneously, as neither had been paying any attention to the ninjas as they'd been shouting veiled insults at each other. They watched now as both boys made their move simultaneously, the silver haired one putting his hands in front of him in some odd gesture, while the blonde got into a guard position behind them.
"Speed of the Phoenix!" shouted Heero after a second, pushing as much chakra into the reverse bird seal as he could. An explosion of red followed, and then he vanished to the view of everyone else. To Heero, the world took on a red hue, and he watched as everyone around him seemed to freeze, their eyes open, their mouths frozen, all like statues of flesh. Quick to get to work, he rushed forward, not risking burning himself out, he moved at civilian speeds, walking right up to the nearest tough, and finding that the axe in his hand was easy to pull out of his grip, and his armor was only loosely buckled, allowing the small boy to quickly disarm him.
Around them, the toughs felt wind, a lot of wind, almost like a typhoon in human form was about them, and crimson crossed their vision. The thugs tried to close ranks, gathering themselves closer together to offer each other some form of protection, but as the red wind passed, they found themselves stripped of their gear. Weapons, armor, even a hidden guns and explosives were taken from them, and after a few seconds of wind, they all looked back towards the bridge builder, where their gear was piled up behind him, with the silver haired boy standing in front of it, sweating, panting, and grinning at them.
"Kage Buushin No Jutsu!" shouted the blonde as the silver haired boy reappeared, and suddenly there was another sound around them, like a series of bombs going off, causing every one of the thugs to cry out in terror, thinking that they were dead, especially as the bridge was covered in smoke. However, that smoke did no damage, and when it cleared they realized that they had a bigger problem than just bombs, as the bridge around them, before them, and behind them was now covered with the orange clad boy, the ones in the back of the 'army' seeing him for the first time, and just staring.
The blonde boy grinned like a beast, those faces in unison going feral as half of them reached out their right hand towards the ones next to them, who made a motion with their hands. With another burst of smoke, half the boys vanished, to be replaced by a startling eclectic varity of weapons that the remaining half pointed at them. Spears, swords, shields, axes, chains, and dozens of others wicked looking armaments were pointed down at the thugs in unison, which drove them closer as they began to look for a way out.
In the front of the army, Gato stared at everything. How had this gone so wrong, so fast? And more importantly, how could he take control of the situation again. After all, they were just kids, even if there were a lot of them. His mind was still rolling around ideas when the woman stepped forward, a smirk on her lips that mimicked those of the blonde boy's clones. Her red eyes, as sharp as a blade, bored into Gato and the men beside him, before she made a single handsign, and began to speak.
"This is the woman whom you all have decided to threaten, I'm using an old ninjutsu trick to speak to you. If you want to live through the next five minutes, you had better listen," she said into her hands, and the words seemed to echo through every ear nearby, the boys included, who seemed as startled as the thugs for a moment, then stepped back, going into guard positions, with their weapons held at the ready, waiting for a command.
"My students and I are protecting the Tazuna and all of Wave now, and we have disarmed and surrounded you, as you can clearly see. I think it would be best if you surrender to us. Any who agree, please lay down on the ground, with your hands behind your head," she instructed, and almost as one, the thugs did so, knowing when they were outmatched, and not wanting to die. Soon, the only one still standing on the bridge were Naruto and the clones, the bridge builder and his men, Kurenai, and Gato. Heero was sitting down, still breathing hard and nearly passing out from chakra exhaustion.
"This...this isn't over," said Gato, impotently, and Kurenai smiled at him. It was a cold thing, and he flinched at the sight of it, and then nearly tried to bolt when she took a step forward, but found his feet seemed to be firmly glues to the bridge, while around him, the mercenaries began to crawl away, giving him a wide berth as she strode up to face him.
"Oh, but it is," she told him as she got close, whispering only in his ear now, before she reached forward, flicked his glasses off his eyes, and then stared into the orbs. Her red eyes seemed to grow larger in his vision, becoming moons in the sky, and suddenly he found himself falling into them, screaming in terror as visions of horror began to play across his brain, while outwardly, he just stood there, shaking.
"Good, I believe that's all of you. There's a village, about half a mile from the bridge, that has been abandoned. Our troops will escort you to it, and you'll stay there tonight. In the morning, when the bridge is finished, you will be allowed to cross and exit Wave. From there, you are free to go, but remember, this Country is now under our protection, and returning here would be a very bad idea," she told them, the whisper in their ears seeming to cut directly into them.
"What about our gear?" asked one of the braver ones, and Kurenai laughed at the question, not sure which of the prone mercenaries had spoken, but deciding to answer.
"Your weapons and armor are the property of Wave now, and will be sold to cover expenses for what has been done here over the last few years. It goes without saying, your contracts with Gato are now in default, but if you have personal funds, you might be able to purchase the gear back," she told them, and she could hear some growls of dissatisfaction at those statements, but they didn't argue when she told them to rise, and Naruto's clones began to guide the army towards the village, soon leaving only them and Gato on the bridge.
"You...I'd heard a ninja was an army by themselves, but you people are just something else," said Tazuna, breathlessly.
"I'm glad you think so. Now, since we have captured this slime, I believe we can call your debt paid," she said, gesturing to the still shaking form of Gato.
"What?" asked Tazuna, barely conscious of what she was doing.
"The penalty for what Gato did in your nation, growing Dust, is the forfeit of all assets to the ones who captured you. As long as Wave is willing to back our claim, we now own Gato's Shipping Empire, and all the liquid assets he has," she explained, and Tazuna, still a bit numb, just nodded his assent to the plan. Kurenai smiled at him, warmly, and then called her boys to her side. Of course, exhausted, neither could be of any help with the bridge that day, but as close as they were, the crew was able to go a few more feet that day, before retiring.
That night, the boys slept in the bed together, as Kurenai just stared at them. Heero hadn't even argued when she'd ordered them there, telling him after doing what he had, that the silver haired boy did not have the chakra to stay all night on the ceiling. Mind, having felt the chakra he'd been using, he should have had anything left, neither should Naruto for that matter. They had used more in those few minutes that she thought anyone had in all of history, with those thousand plus clones, and maintaining the Speed of the Phoenix long enough to disarm them.
The next day, the bridge was given a temporary extension, just strong enough for the toughs to cross. In the middle of the mass exodus, two forms came the other way, with Hinata and Shino staring at the horde, and demanding answers of their sensei and the two boys, getting a full account of what they had done. Shino only nodded his approval at how everything had happened without the need to shed blood, Hinata however, having spent some time in Konoha looking up facts about Gato, went wide eyed at the statement of Gato's assets now belonging to them.
"Does this mean you three directly, or Konoha in general?" she asked, and Kurenai smiled at her.
"That is for the Hokage to decide," she said, and Hinata stared at her smile for a long moment, before she and Shino offered to help finish the bridge, and while Heero remained exhausted, Naruto set what clones remained to aid them as well, allowing the bridge to be completed by the end of the day, much to the cheers of the people in the village, who threw a lavish party, or as lavish as they could make it, for the ninja who had helped them. Food, drink, and revelry were had almost till the dawn, which saw even more cheers as the first caravan left Wave to begin trading with another nearby village for necessities.
Three days after, with the caravan returning under clone guard, having run into only one group of bandits that had been dealt with, the ninja departed quietly, hauling the still stunned Gato with them, while Naruto sent a few clones on Kurenai's instructions to gather all of Gato's belongings, and more importantly, some money caches he'd hidden in Wave. Had Kurenai been less loyal, the money they had claimed from this alone would have allowed them to live like kings anywhere in the nations for the remainder of the boys lives.
She didn't tell them that, of course, and merely instructed Naruto to have his clones bring the stuff with them, as they returned to Konoha. Behind them, an old man rose from his bed, seeing the room he'd gifted to the ninja empty. Walking out of his house, he watched a group of figures disappear into the morning fog, and silently thanked all the kami in heaven for his fortune in Konoha's choice of guards. At the same time, he felt a pang of pity for whoever it was who would go against those boys in the future.