"... This will mostly follow the series until post "Sasuke-Retrieval". I did say this, but it doesn't mean follow it exactly. I have plans for the future chapters, and post "Sasuke-Retieval".

Hektols: "So that it means that Naruto even with one of the strongest jutsus ever still won't be able to save Haku, the Sandaime and Sasuke will still defeat him?"

Me: Hektols, I know that you seem a bit... annoyed that this story seems to be exactly the same as the original. But I assure you, if you would please be a little more patient, you will see that some of these things you mentioned won't turn out the same way. I have given thought to my plot, so please keep following my story. Thank you.

I do not own Naruto in anyway shape or form.


talking: Ya' know

thinking: Ya' know

jutsu: Flying Raijin Jutsu!

Tailed Beast talking/slight possession: Damn you 4th Hokage

Tailed Beast thinking: Damn you 4th Hokage


Chapter 7: Training, Battle, and Personal Decision

"Aren't you thinking a little too deep into this? I mean, the guy got struck in the neck." Said Tazuna.

"Thats true. But anyone, who is highly trained using senbon, can cause a temporary death like state by aiming at the neck. None of the senbon struck the Jugular, which would be easiest to hit. And I forgot to mention, Senbon can kill if they strick vital organs. But that is difficult, if the person's body is well trained and has a thick muscle structure." Kakashi explained.

Looking at his students Kakashi notced that Sasuke seemed indifferent, Sakura was scared, but did wellish to hide it, and Naruto seemed excited. "Oh boy, Naruto seems excited about this. Well hopefully, this will provide chance to see how Naruto got the bell AND managed to hit Zabuza. *sigh* This will drive me crazy if Naruto doesn't tell me...uh... us...how he did all that." Kakashi thought.

"Anyway, we can't ignore the possibility that Zabuza is alive. Either way, even if thats not the case, we don't know if Gatou has already hired someone else to take you out Tazuna." Said Kakashi.

"But sensei, if Zabuza IS alive, then wouldn't we be at a disadvantage with you in this condition?" Asked Sakura.

"Normally, yes. But anyone put in a temperary death like state, would need about a week to recover. Which is for about the same length of time, I'll be out of commition as well. Anyway, in the mean time, you guys will be training."

"Training?! What is that goin to do for us?! We don't stand a chance against Zabuza an that maked kid!" Yelled Sakura.

"Sakura, who was it that saved me in the first place? You 3 have grown, especially you Naruto. You've grown the most." Kakashi explained, complimenting them. "By the way Naruto, how did you manage to hit Zabuza anyway?" Asked Kakashi, dying out of curiosity.

Naruto, who was enjoying the compliment, was suprised by the queston. "Uh...well I...hehe...um..." Naruto struggled to answer the question, as he didn't want to tell his teammates just yet.

"Hey grandpa!" Said a young boy, running into the room towards Tazuna. The boy has spiky black hair and dark-coloured eyes. And wore a green jumpsuit with a yellow shirt and a simple pair of sandals, he also wore a blue and white striped hat.

"Inari!" Said Tazuna, greeting his grandson. "These are the ninja that kept me safe, on the way home. Say "hi"."

While hugging his grandpa, Inari stared at the ninja. "Grandpa, don't you see these weak people are going to get killed?" Asked Inari, making it sound more like a statement then a question.

"Inari! Don't be so rude to our guests." Said Tsunami, coming back ito the room to see her son.

"It's ok, I'm rude to them too. Hahahaha." Stated Tazuna.

*Sigh* "Honestly, you 2. Anyway dinner is ready." Said Tsunami.


After dinner, Squad 7 went out into the forest. Kakashi was able to walk, but only with the help of crutches. Kakashi stopped in a small clearing, that had some very tall trees. "Ok. Here is where you 3 will be training." Kakashi said.

"Um... Kakashi sensei, what are we going to be doing exactly?" Asked Sakura.

"You will be learning how to control your chakra." Answered Kakashi.

"But how come sensei? I mean we already know how to use chakra. So how is this supposed to help us beat Zabuza?" Asked Naruto.

"Naruto's right. We know how to use chakra, in order to use ninjutsu." Said Sasuke.

Slightly supprised that Sasuke agreed with Naruto, Kakashi began to explain. "No, you bearly know the basics. Up to this point you've only guessed at the amount of chakra neccessary, and hoped that it would turn out right. Using too much or too little could cause the jutsu to not work at all. During ninja battles, a ninja must be able to use his/her chakra precisly at a moments notice. This exercise wil help you 3 do exactly that."

"Ok. So what do we have to do?" Asked Sakura.

"I'll show you." Replied Kakashi. Kakash turned toward the closest tree, and focused his chakra. Once he was finished he began to walk up the tree, ofcourse with the help of his crutches.

"Whoa. He's walking up the tree. Hmmm... Now that I think about it, my lack in chakra control is probably why I can only use the "Flying Raijin Jutsu!" like 10x before I'm out of chakra. So if this training does what Kakashi sensei says, then I'll be able to use it a whole lot more. Alright, I got this! By the time I'm done, I'll probably be ableto do the jutsu like a 100x! No wait, like a 1000x.!" Naruto thought, excited at the thought of using he 4th's jutsu better than before.

"Ok, I want you to each pick a tree. Then focus your chakra to the soles of your feet. It is said that the soles or your feet is the most difficult to focus one's chakra, mastering this you can master any jutsu. Theoretically. Anyway, use your kunai to mark how high you've gotten. Then use your previous mark as your goal and surpass it." Kakashi explained, taking notice that Naruto's eyes were now more like big white saucers.

Doing as instructed, they each took out their kunai and began running toward their respective tree. Naruto only made it 2 steps before falling back onto his neck. "Ouch! Damn it!" Cursed Naruto, upon landing.

Sasuke made it about 15ft, before the bark cracked beneath his foot. Quickly marking his place, Sasuke back-flipped landing on his feet. "Tst, This is harder than I thought, the control really has to be precise." Thought Sasuke.

"Hmm, thats about what I expected from the 2." Kakashi thought.

"Hey! This is easy." Yelled Sakura, sticking out her tongue toward her sensei.

"Nice job Sakura." Said Naruto. "Damn, why is it so easy for her?!" Naruto thought, frustrated and jealous at not making it anywhere on the tree.

"Well, so much for the "future Hokage" and famed "Uchiha clan" right?" Taunted Kakashi, intending to motivate the 2 boys.

"Shut up Kakashi sensei, don't be so mean to Sasuke!" Yelled Sakura, not reading Kakashi's intent.

Either way Kakashi got the reactions he wanted, as Naruto and Sasuke seemed even more determined.


"Phew, I'm exausted. How are they still going?" Sakura asked herself, after about an hour of climbing and looking toward Naruto and Sasuke. "Ha, Naruto hasn't made any progress at all. Any minute now, he'll complain and give up." Sakura thought. And that's exactly what Naruto did. "Ha! So predictable. Huh?"

"Pst, Sakura. Do you got any hints you could give me, since you're so good at this? But please, don't tell Sasuke ok?" Asked Naruto, really wanting to get this exercise down.

"Hmm, he's asking for help. He really is growing up isn't he? Now, if only I knew what he did in order to hit Zabuza." Kakashi thought.


In a hide out in the middle of the forest, in what looked to be a giant tree house, Zabuza lay in his bed recovering. *Slam* or not. The door was slammed open by Gatou and his 2 body guards, each carrying a sword. "Licking your wounds, eh Zabuza? So much for "The Demon in the Mist", more like you got beat like a rag doll." Said Gatou, walking towards the bed. Furious Gatou reached for Zabuza, but was stopped by Haku's hand on his arm.

"Don't touch him with your filthy hands." Said Haku, tightening his grip on Gatou's arm. Hearing the sound of swords leaving their sheaths, Haku suddenly appeared next to Gatou's body guards. "You shouldn't do that! I"m really pissed off right now!" He said, holding the swords to their owner's throats.

"Alright you get 1 last chance, you better no fail!" Gatou said, leaving with his body guards.

"You didn't need to do that Haku." Said Zabuza, revealing the hidden kunai he had after Gatou left.

"I know, but killing Gatou now would cause the them to come after us again." Haku replied.

*Sigh* "You're right."


The next day, Sakura was left in charge of protecting Tazuna. Sakura *yawn*ed and stretched, since their was hardly anything to do.

"Are you always this lazy?" Tazuna asked.

Sakura just chuckled in response.

"Where are the other 2 at?"

"Oh, they're still training. Since I'm the best, sensei told me to protect you." Sakura replied.

"Uh huh, sure." Said Tazuna, with some sarcasm. This resulted in Sakura having a vein to buldge on her forehead.

"Tazuna." Called a man, to get Tazuna's attention.

"Hm, what is it Giichi?" Tazuna asked.

"Look, I've been thinking alot. And, I want out." Said the man, now known as Giichi.

"What?! But why now? We have just over a week left before the bridge is complete." Replied Tazuna, shocked at what his friend wanted.

"We've known eachother a long time, but Gatou is bound to notice us. And if you get killed, its all over. I'm sorry. Why don't we just quit building the bridge?"

*Sigh* "It's already noon. Lets call it a day. Giichi, you dont have to come back tomorrow." Said Tazuna, as he began to pack up and go home.


At Tazuna's home, everyone had finished eating and Tsunami started cleaning dishes. "Excuse me, why does this picture have someone ripped out of it. Youv'e been staring at it all through out dinner, Inari." Asked Sakura.

Her response was silence, after a moment Tsunami answered. "It's my late husband."

"They used to call him a "Hero" in this land" Tazuna added. The result was Inari getting up and leaving, *slam*ming the door on his way out. And ignoring his mother's question "Where are you going?"

"Father, you know not to talk about him like that in front of Inari!" Yelled Tsunami, running after her son.

"What's wrong with Inari?" Sakura asked.

"There seems to be some sort of explaination." Kakashi stated, interested in hearing the tale.

"The man that was in the picture, wasn't Inari's real father. But he loved the man as if he were. Inari's real father died when he was young, too young to remember. The man's name was Kaiza, and we proudly called him a hero." Tazuna then went on to explain how Inari and Kaiza met, how Kaiza became the hero, and how he died at the hand of Gatou and his men. "Thats how the word "courage" was stolen from this land, and how Inari changed. Inari doesn't smile or laugh anymore. He doesn't even believe in heroes anymore. It's the same with the whole country."

With a *thump* Naruto fell to the floor. "Naruto, where are you going?" Sakura asked.

"Training would be a bad idea right now, considering the state you're in." Added Kakashi.

"I'm going to prove to that brat that "heroes" DO exist!" Declared Naruto, as he headed out to train some more.


On the 6th morning before training, we find Naruto in the middle of the clearing where squad 7's (Mostly Sasuke and Naruto's though) tree climbing exercise has been all week passed out. Not far away, Haku was gathering herbs to help Zabuza recover. Looking around for more herbs, he spotted Naruto sleeping in the clearing. Haku knelt down and placed his hand over Naruto, debating whether or not to just kill him now and spare him and Zabuza the trouble. Deciding against it, Haku shook Naruto awake. "Wake up, you'll catch a cold if you sleep out here."

"Hm?" Naruto opened his eyes, and saw a beautifull young girl above him. "Oh uh, hi. What are you doing out here sis?" Naruto asked, oblivious to the fact that Haku is a guy.

"I'm gathering herbs to help a friend recover from his injuries." Haku replied.

"Oh, mind if I help?"

"Be my guest."A half hour went by and Haku's basket was almost full. "I couldn't help but notice that you're a ninja. What were you doing out here anyway?" Haku asked.

"I was training. So I can get stronger." Naruto replied.

"You look strong already. Isn't that enough?"

"No, I need to get so much stronger. I want to be acknowledged, and I gotta prove something to a little kid."

"I see, so you're doing this for someone else then."

"Huh?" Naruto responded, not understanding what haku meant.

"I believe that when you fight to protect something, then one can become genually strong." Haku clarified.

Thinking back on when he went to save Iruka and the story of Inari's father, Naruto agreed. "Yea yea. I get it now. I totally agree." Said Naruto, with his trademark smile.

"You'll become very strong someday." Stated Haku, standing up to leave.

"See ya around sis." Naruto called out.

"You might want to know, I'm a boy." Haku replied.

"WHAAAAAAAT!" "No way, he was even prettier than Sakura or Hinata. What kinda world is this?!" *Pop* "Ow, what was that for Sasuke?!"

"You missed breakfast, you loser." Sasuke replied. They 2 of them once again began training the day away.


Later that night Kakashi, Sakura and Tazuna were at the dinner table awaiting Sasuke and Naruto. "Can I ask you something?" Asked Tazuna.

"Hmm, go ahead." Kakashi replied.

"Why are you still protecting me, even though I lied about the mission?"

"To aboandon your duty is not couragous. Below the couragous there is nothing."

"Huh?"

"It's a quote from our previous Hokage. That is the way of the Shinobi. Shinobi don't move just because of money." Kakashi explained.


"It seems you're almost better." Stated Haku.

"We'll begin our attack in the morning." Said Zabuza.

"Very well."

"By the way, have you found a counter for that blonde brat?"

"No, I haven't. Without knowing how he did it, I can't find a solution to hinder it."

"I see, then we can't give the brat a chance to use whatever it is." Said Zabuza.


"So, you 2 are finally back. How'd it go?" Asked Kakashi, as Sasuke came through the door with Naruto's arm over his shoulder.

*Huff* "We did it. *huff* We made it all the way to the top." *huff* Naruto answered.

"Good, starting tomorrow you 2 will help protect Tazuna."

Once dinner was finished and Tsunami started washing the dishes, Inari was staring intently at Naruto. Noticing how exhausted he was from training, he became frustrated. "What?" Naruto asked, noticing that Inari was staring at him.

*Slam* Inari slammed his hand against the table and began yelling. "Why do you try so hard?! You'll just end up dead anyway!"

"Pffft. You maybe, but not us. Gatou can't beat a ninja by himself or with a bunch of low lives that follow him around like some lost puppies." Naruto responded. Naruto was really getting annoyed with Inari's attitude this past week.

"Yea right! You should just mind your own business! You don't know anything about this country, or what its like to suffer!"

That did it. Knowing that he has suffered from loneliness most of his life, Naruto snapped. "So its ok for you to play the victim?! Well I got news for ya. THERE ARE PLENTY OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUUFERED MORE THAN YOU, SO I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT YOU FUCKING CRAYBABY!"

Inari ran out of the house crying, *slam*ming the door on his way out. "Naruto, you had no right to yell a Inari like that! Go apologize rig..." Sakura began, before she was interrupted.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! You dont' know anything about what it means to suffer, so mind your own damn business!" While everyone was shocked that Naruto told his teammate off, Naruto went up to their room.

"Well I never thought I'd see that, I heard that Naruto had quite the crush on Sakura. Well Inari DID hit a sensitive spot, when it comes to Naruto." Thought Kakashi.

"H..he yelled at me? W...why? I mean what was that about?" Sakura asked herself.

"Hmpf... didn't think the loser had it in him to yell at Sakura." Thought Sasuke.

"What was that all about? Naruto made it sound like he went through worse than Inari, or the rest of us." Said Tazuna, wanting to know Naruto's story.

"Yea, what was that about? And if he doesn't have a good reason, I'll beat him to a pulp." Claimed Sakura.

Ignoring what Sakura said, Kakashi explained without telling the whole truth. "Well it's mostly a matter of opinion, but Naruto has suffered more than most children his age." Getting confused looks from the others, Kakashi continued. "Naruto has been alone most of his life, and is not very well liked within the Leaf Village. Because of that, Naruto has never really had any friends. Even now that seems to be the case, I doubt he doesn't even consider Sasuke or Sakura as his friends."

"But he seems like such a sweet boy, why doesn't people like him?" Asked Tsunami.

"Because he always pulls pranks on people, thats why." Explained Sakura.

"No, Naruto pulled pranks to be acknolwedged in some way. Before he started pranking people, many ignored him. They acted as if he didn't exist, that's why he pulled all those pranks. So that people would look at him, and know he was still here." Kakashi said, correcting Sakura.

"I see, but that still doesn't answer my question."

Knowing he wasn't allowed to tell them the real reason, Kakashi had no choice but to lie. "Naruto was found outside the village the day following the Nine-tails attack, so as far as we know he was born during the attack. So due to that unfortunate coincidence, Naruto is a constant reminder of that tragic day."

Kakashi's story resulted in different actions from the others in the room. Sasuke seemed indefferent. Tazuna and Tsunami felt sorry for the boy, and wished they could help him in some way. And Sakura looked like she regretted jumping to the conclusion she made earlier.

"But wait, what about his parents?" Asked Tsunami.

"Like I said, he was found. In other words he doesn't have any, and noone wanted to adopt him." Kakashi answered.

"Oh."


A few minutes later with Inari, Kakashi explained to him why Naruto yelled at him. Kakashi also told Inari that Naruto knew what it meant to be strong, like his father Kaiza.


The next morning Kakashi and squad 7, minus Naruto due to over exhaustion, left with Tazuna toward the bridge. Minutes later Naruto had woken up and aked where his teammates were. Upon hearing that they left without him, Naruto quickly got dressed and rushed out the door.

A few minutes later as Naruto was rushing through the trees, he heard a rustling noise and decided to check it out. He came across a clearing with a dead boar in the middle. "Hmm, these cuts were made from a sword. And there're cuts all over the place, and it looks like who ever did this is headed for old man Tazuna's house. Not good, I better get going!" Naruto said, jumping into the trees back the way he came.


Upon arrival at the bridge, Tazuna and squad 7, minus Naruto, coudn't believe what they saw. All the workers were dying or already dead. Tazuna rushed toward one of them and asked. "Who did this?!"

"A...a demon." Was all the answer they got, as the man passed out from blood loss.

"So, they're here already eh?" Thought Kakashi.


Back at the house, Naruto arrived just in time to see Tsunami unconsious and Inari charging the two 'wannabe' samurai. Seeing that Inari was about to get killed, Naruto decided to use the "Substitution Jutsu!" twice. The first with Inari and the second with a log, said log had a seal that the two swordman didn't notice. "Ts, a substitution." Said the man with the bandana. The two of them turned around to see Naruto glaring at them.

Just as they were about to charge, Naruto dropped a smoke bomb causing the two swordman to stop their movements and raise their guard. While in the cover of smoke and unseen to everyone, Naruto used this opportunity to use the "Flying Raijin Jutsu!" Naruto appeared behind the two and grabbed their heads, slamming them hard into one another to knock them unconsious.

Once the smoke cleared, Inari ran toward Naruto. "Wow, how'd you do that Naruto? And how'd you know they were here?" Inari asked.

"Ninja have to keep their secrets Inari. Anyway I saw a boar and trees all cut up, and they led to here. So I figured this place would come under attack, and I came to save the day. Hee hee." Answered Naruto, with a smile. "Anyway Inari, I'm sorry for calling you a "fucking crybaby". You were really brave just now. Anyway I gotta go, my team most likely needs me now. See ya later." With that Naruto was off toward the bridge.


Sasuke was in a difficult spot, althought it didn't start out that way. Sasuke managed to keep up and surpass Haku in speed, until Haku decided to use his "Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors!" Being surrounded by a dome of mirrors gave Haku quite the advantage. Sasuke had already figured that the reflections in each mirror allowed him to travel at high speeds, faster than his eyes could keep up with.

"Damn! If only I had my Sharingan, I'd be able to read his moves." Thought Sasuke. Suddenly Sasuke heard his name being called, looking over Sasuke saw a kunai thrown by Sakura in hopes of helping him. Unfortunately, Haku came from out a mirror and caught the kunai.

"I'm sorry, but you won't be needing this." Haku claimed, just before a shuriken struck his mask resulting in Haku falling out the mirror to the ground and leaving gash like mark in his mask. Haku got up and looked around to see who had thrown the shuriken, but the perp couldn't be seen. "Where did it come from? It wasn't Kakashi or the girl, Zabuza would've said something about it by now. And it wasn't this boy either, since I had him in my sights...I see now, It's that other boy. But where is he?" Haku thought, wondering where he was.

"Ggrrrrr, that blonde brat is here. But where is he?" Thought Zabuza, irritated at the interference.

"Huh, is Naruto here or something? But if he is, where is he then?" Thought Sakura and Tazuna.

*Sigh* "Good job, Naruto. Just stay out of sight, and keep distracting Haku." Thought Kakashi, glad that Naruto was using his head.

Naruto, in the mean time, has been hiding in the mist, waiting for another opportunity to strike. He had some Shadow-clones under the bridge placing seals, so he can move to a new place at a moments notice. Luckily for him the seals didnt' vanish when his Shadow-clones disperse, so it gave him the advantage. Whenever he used a seal he would just replace it with another before he attacked again, this would allow him to attack and not be caught.


About ten minutes has passed since Naruto arrived, and it has been interesting in the least. Kakashi and Zabuza had started fighting, Haku and Sasuke resumed fighting, Sakura was still protecting Tazuna. Zabuza had thickened the mist in order to hinder Naruto from helping Sasuke, but it wasn't helping. Naruto knew Kakashi wouldn't fall for tricks like last time, and would keep Zabuza too busy to go after Tazuna. So all he had to do was help Sasuke. Whenever Sasuke was being attacked, Naruto would counter by throwing kunai and shuriken hoping to hit Haku good enough to stop him. But he only managed to bring cuts into his clothes, and some managed to cut into Haku's skin. I wasn't much, but it was at least something.

"Ugh, how does he have all those weapons? Anyone else would've run out long before now." Haku asked himself. Ofcourse Sasuke wondered that himself, but didn't care right now since it was saving his ass.

Naruto knew he would run out of weapons, so every time he finished throwing he used the "Flying Raijin Jutsu!" to move in his weapons' path, catch them, place a new seal and move to a new spot. He repeated this the whole time over and over. "Hee hee! Man that training Kakashi sensei gave us really helped, I can use this jutsu almost as much as I want." Thought Naruto, grateful for the tree climbing exercise.

Haku had no choice but to adjust his tactics a bit, having taken note on the average time it took for Naruto to attack. For the next few minutes he made quicker and shorter attacks, in order to give Naruto less time to attack. Fortunately for Haku, it was working. Now all he had to do was keep it up.

Naruto was getting frustrated, because now he couldn't hit Haku at all. Every time he tried, Haku ended his assault on Sasuke before he threw his weapons. "Damn it! I can't hit him anymore. I can't just throw before he attacks, or he'll just take my weapons and... THAT'S IT!" Naruto thought, coming up with a plan. Naruto began placing seals on all his kunai and shuriken, not knowing which one Haku will grab. Naruto waited for Haku to attack again, once Haku did he waited just a little longer.

Naruto threw his kunai and shuriken, confident that Haku will stop them to have him run out of weapons to use. Sure enough, Haku did exactly that. With a smoke bomb added into the mix of weapons, it went off just as Haku Knocked a kunai with a seal on it's handle. Once the smoke bomb went off, Naruto used the "Flying Raijin Jutsu!" and grabbed his left hand giving Haku the hardest kick he could muster to the gut causing Haku to fly into his ice mirror. But instead of merging, he slammed against it causing a crack and the wind to be knocked out of him.

"No way, how did he do that?" Sasuke thought. "Hey how did you do that, loser?" Sasuke asked.

"Now is not the time to worry about that Sasuke." Naruto said, as he grabbed Sasuke. Naruto threw down his last smoke bomb and disappeared from within the dome. If it weren't for Naruto, Sasuke would've fallen due to the side effects of the jutsu. "Ok, now we're outside of the dome. You ok now Sasuke?"

"Ugh, yeah. But why didn't you get me out of there earlier? We wouldn't have had to to what we've been doing then." Replied Sasuke, as he got his footing underneath the bridge.

"Um, I didn't really think of that. Probably because he would've tried to get us both in that ice dome thing if I did." Said Naruto, giving the only explaination he could've at the moment. "Anyway, that jutsu should've taken up quite a bit of chakra. So we should try and take him out now, without being caught in that dome."

"Hmpf, loser has a point for once. Guess there's a first time for everthing." "Right, just don't get in my way loser. Just back me up." Said Sasuke.

"What do you think I've been doing this whole time you idiot, waiting around sipping tea?!" Naruto hissed.

"Whatever, lets go."

Before following him Naruto noticed that Sasuke's eyes were different. The were blazing red like Kakashi's Sharingan, but in both eyes instead of one. And instead of three comma marks in them, the right eye had two while the left eye had one. Shrugging it off for now, Naruto followed after Sasuke.

Back on top, Haku had changed tactics with his jutsu since the dome no longer had any use. Haku released most of the mirrors and spread the rest around the area, hoping to catch his two opponents when they came back. He didn't have to wait long, as he saw Sasuke come back on top of the bridge. He waited to see both of them before he struck, just a few seconds later Naruto came up. He took his chance to strike, but not before Sasuke saw him coming.

Sasuke saw Haku coming after them at a very high speed, or rather after Naruto. Turning around seeing that Naruto hadn't notice the on coming attack, Sasuke jumped in the way taking the attack meant for Naruto. After taking the attack, Sasuke retaliated by grabbing Haku and throwing him back the way he came.

*Thud* "Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, seeing Sasuke hit the ground. Going to his knees and picking up Sasuke, he asked. "Why? Why did you save me? I din't need your help!"

"I...I don't know. My body just moved on it's own. M...my brother is still out there, I..I said I'd never die until I killed him. Don't you die Naruto." Sasuke said, as he fell unconsious without breath.

A few moments passed before Haku spoke. " He risked his own life to save your's, knowing it was a trap. Is this the first time you've seen someone die? I'm sure it must be difficult for you, but such is the life of a shinobi."

"Shut up. I won't forgive you! I'll kill you!" Naruto said, the Nine-tails' chakra flowing through and around his body.


"What's that, is that Kakashi? No, its much too strong to be him." Zabuza thought.

"Oh, this isn't good. The seal has loosened, I need to do something fast" "Zabuza, we're both busy men. So how about we use one last move, winner takes all." Kakashi said, wanting to end this now.

"Interesting, alright. The faster I kill you, the faster I get paid." Zabuza replied.


"What?! Chakra shouldn't be visible, but I can see it clearly! What is that boy?!" Haku thought, believing he was in some serious trouble now. (Yea, thats an understatement lol)

Standing up Naruto immediately charged Haku, Haku tried dodging but to no avail. Naruto was making him look like a snail in comparison to him. Landing a powerful punch to Haku's face, Naruto sent him flying. As Haku tried to get up Naruto began charging again. Haku's mask cracked and fell to pieces to he ground at his feet.

Naruto stopped himself just before his fist connected, seeing that it was the boy he met in the woods under that mask he asked. "So that boy in the woods, that was you?!"

From there Haku explained his life's story to Naruto, about how his father killed his mother and then him. How noone wanted him, but Zabuza. "Naruto, I want you to kill me."

"What, no! There has to be another way!" Naruto said.

"There isn't, I'm just merely a useless tool for Zabuza. So please, kill me." Haku replied.

Hesitant Naruto pulled out his kunai, and rushed toward Haku intent on killing him quickly.


It wasn't looking good for Zabuza, he was pinned down by Kakashi's ninja hounds. And whats worse is that Kakashi was in front of him, with what looked like lightning in the palm of his hand. "This time you won't get away Zabuza, I guarantee it." Said Kakashi, a he started his charge.


Sensing that Zabuza was in danger, Haku caught Naruto's armed hand and said. "I'm sorry, but there is one more use I can be for Zabuza." With a few one handed hand signs Haku disappeared.

Assuming what he meant Naruto used the "Flying Raijin Jutsu!", thanks to the seal he placed on Haku earlier when he first kicked him.


Kakashi was surprised when Haku suddenly appeared before him, shielding Zabuza. But not nearly as much as when Naruto appeared kicking Haku in the head away from Kakashi's target, Zabuza's heart. Naruto used the force of his kick to fall in the opposite direction of haku, allowing Kakashi to hit his target just before the ninja hounds disappeared since the scroll Kakashi used to summon them was pierced by senbon. Haku was sent flying into the bridge's side wall, hitting it with his head knocking him unconsious.

"How did he get here so fast?! Damn it! It must of been his secret jutsu, and I completely missed it! How could I miss it, I mean it happened right in front of me! *Sigh* Oh well, Zabuza is dead and the boy is unconsious by the looks of it..." Kakashi's thought were interrupted when he heard someone new come onto the scene.

"Well well, seems as though they failed again. Oh well, at least the rest of them seem pretty weakened." Said Gatou, with 50 armed men at his side.

"Gatou, so he's finally come has he? With him still alive and me worn out as I am, this is going to be difficult." Said Kakashi. He tried to think of something, but being almost out of chakra he had one option. "Naruto... Naruto?" Kakashi looked around and saw Naruto picking up his supply of weapons, from where the dome of ice mirrors once was. Kakashi was about to speak when Naruto returned to his side, but was interrupted.

"Hey you brat in the orange gettup. Is that boy still alive?" Gatou said, pointing toward Haku.

"Yea, whats it to ya'?" Naruto asked.

"I want you to bring him over her so I can teach that punk a lesson for breaking my arm." Gatou replied.

"Naruto, thats Gatou i..." Kakashi began, before he was interrupted by Naruto.

"Yea, I figured that much sensei."

"Right, listen I don't have much chakra. So I need you to us that secret jutsu of your's to at least knock out those men, I'll take care of Gatou." Kakashi explained.

"You mean kill him?" Naruto asked. Recieving a nod, Naruto asked another question. "Did you see the jutsu?" Recieving a shake of the head, Naruto asked one last question. "Do you have any smoke bombs Kakashi sensei?" Confused Kakashi nodded and handed Naruto his 15 smoke bombs.

"Seems as thought Naruto still doesn't quite trust everyone yet, to show us his jutsu. Oh well, it doesn't matter at the moment." Thought kakashi

Taking them Naruto told Kakash his plan. "Don't worry sensei, I'll take care of Gatou. He's nothing but a rotten piece of shit that needs to die, its because of him that Sasuke is dead."

That statement earned a *gasp* from Sakura. Sakura had come over to ask Naruto how Sasuke was doing when she heard him say what happened to Kakashi. Sakura and Tazuna went to Sasuke's body once she found him.

"HA! What can a little worn out kid do of a bunch fresh armed bandits huh?!" Gatou Taunted.

His response was Naruto jumping high into the air. Naruto threw all but two of his weapons and all but 1 smoke bomb at the large group of people, his weapons going toward the group and the smoke bombs in front blocking Kakashi's view from the group. Once the smoke bombs went off Naruto set off his last smok bomb as well, under the cover of smoke Naruto used his "Flying Raijin Jutsu!" to finish of everyone in the group. Gatou included.

When the smoke settled all Kakashi could see was Naruto covered in blood, surrounded by nothing but corpses. "Could it be that Naruto...No it can't be, that jutsu was lost long ago. But then how?" Kakashi thought, finally beginning to have an idea of how Naruto was able to do all the things he did, from taking a bell to hitting Zabuza to this moment here right now.

Naruto began walking back towards Kakashi's side. He was half way there before he suddently dropped his kunai and ran the the side of the bridge, once there he began throwing up over the side. "Hmm, I was wondering how long he would hold out. This isn't going to be easy for him, he's never killed before. And with his stituation, he could take it completely the wrong way." Kakashi thought. Kakashi began hearing the sound of rapid footsteps, turning around Kakashi saw the citizens of the Land of Waves. "Huh?"

Inari was the first to reach Kakashi. Curious about something, Inari asked. "What happened to Naruto? Is he sick?"

"No, you see the group of people over there?" Kakashi asked, pointing to the slain bandits. The rest of the group had just arrived next to Inari and Kakashi.

"Yea, what about it?" Inari asked, wondering where this was going.

"Well, they're all dead. And Gatou is among them, it was Naruto who killed them." Kakashi explained, earning *gasp*s from Inari and Tsunami. "This is Naruto's first time killing anyone, so its difficult for him to accept that what he did was for the right reasons. Naruto wanted to avenge Sasuke's death, and he saw Gatou as the cause. I think you can understand the rest."

Kakashi then went to Naruto to talk to him about his first kill. "Naruto, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you go and kill everyone by yourself. I just want you to know tha..." Kakashi began, before he was interrrupted.

"I know, Kakashi sensei. I won't take it the wrong way, I'm not that dumb. I just don't like killing." Naruto said.

"I see. Well you may have to kill again Naruto, just remember to kill for the right reasons." Kakashi replied.

"I know sensei. I won't kill unless its to protect the people I care about."

"Thats good. C'mon, lets go and comfort Sakura." Kakashi said.

Before they got too far they heard Sakura yelling. "Hey guys, look Sasuke's alright! He's alive!"

*Sigh* "Thats good. Don't you think Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"Yea, thats great." Naruto said, with a smile. "Oh, I gotta check on Haku."


Later on at Tazuna's house Haku had just awoken, and was sitting in Tazuna's living room. "Naruto, please kill me. I have nothing to live for." Haku said.

"What? Why would you want to die? I mean sure Zabuza's dead, bu..." Sakura began, before being interrupted.

"Exactly. My dream was to protect and serve Zabuza, until he accomplished his dream." Haku explained.

"What was his dream?" Sakura asked. It was Kakashi who answered.

"Most likely to make another attempt and succeed in killing the 4th Mizukage this time around, am I right Haku?"

"He had his reasons, I assure you." Haku answered.

"What reasons weere those?" Naruto asked.

"It was because of the 4th Mizukage that the "Bloodline Purge" even began. Zabuza wanted to put a stop to it, he knew that it was weakening the Land of Water and Hidden Mist Village. He did it for me, and others like me. He didn't say it, but I knew that was why he did it." Haku explained.

"So he wasn't really that bad a guy. Why don't you live on and continue his dream then, instead of dying?" Naruto asked.

"Huh?" Was the response Naruto got from everyone in the house, including Haku.

"Make Zabuza's dream and make it your own. I'm sure thats what he wouldn've wanted, should he have died and you survived. What do you say?" Naruto explained. "I mean it doesn't sound like a bad idea, does it Kakashi sensei?"

"Hmm, as long as he doesn't kill innocent people I suppose ti would be alright. But since he doesn't like killing, I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem." Kakashi answered with an eye smile.

"I...I suppose I could, but is it really alright with all of you." Haku asked.

"Yea, I mean sure you hurt little Sasuke pretty bad. But he's alright, he won't hold a grudge against you. Hahahaha!" Naruto responded.

*Scoff* "Who're you calling little, shorty." Sasuke taunted.

"What you say Sasuke?!

"Naruto! Knock it off, Sasuke's injured!"

And so Squad 7 argued amongst themselves until dinner time.


A few days had passed and Squad 7 was headed home. After his injuries were somewhat healed Haku left on his own. Once the bridge had been completed and after a teary farewell between Naruto and Inari, Squad 7 left. Sakura had asked Sasuke on a date, but was denied. Naruto tried his luck, and was denied along with a punch to the back of the head.


Squad 7 had just entered the village, when Kakashi said. "You guys go ahead, I'll report to the Hokage."

"Yes." Replied his team.

Going their seperate ways, Naruto headed home thinking about all that happened. "Sasuke risked his life for me, maybe if I had told them from the beginning what I could do that wouldn't have happened. I should've have trusted them, but I can trust them now as long as they don't tell anyone. But there is something I gotta do first. This mission showed me that life can be too short, and I've been way too hesitant about something. But I gotta at least take a chance, even if it doesn't work out I gotta at least try. The next time I see Hinata, I'm going to ask her out. And hope she will except the Nine-tails being inside me." Naruto thought, finally making up his mind about Hinata and his team.


Finally! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Next chapter you'll find out why I had Naruto ask out Sakura, despite wanting to be with Hinata. Anyway, I hope you all liked the twists I made. Please review.