BRAIN MATTER

"I apologize," Sen bowed respectfully toward G, letting a smile grace his face. The alien walked up a set of stairs to the table and stood over the two men. "I needed to see Gato, an important matter came up." The man spoke with a thick accent that wasn't relative to any country.

G simply nodded his head and looked off to the side. He had his eyes on the workers down below mulling about the building while the three superiors talked, "So you're the arms dealer?" His eyes snapped back to Sen and he looked him over, still getting used to the tail that wagged back and forth.

"Yes, I supply Gato here with everything he needs," Sen smiled and looked at Gato, patting the man on the head like a pet. "I don't think a regular human could handle my presence, but Gato-kun is special." The alien didn't pay the irritated groan that came from his words any mind, still grinning at the old mob boss.

Normally Gato would have a person like Sen killed, but out of fear and respect; he let the alien talk how he wanted, "Yes, he chose me to run his underground business, I'm guessing he couldn't find a better candidate." Sen's hand was still placed firmly on his head, and Gato simply looked up at with a frown.

"I see," G watched their interactions with interest. It seemed like Sen had control over Gato to extent, and there was nothing the man could do about. The man looked over Sen's appearance once more, eyes locking onto his tail. "Where exactly are you from, Sen?" He looked up at him with a blank stare.

"I didn't come here to discuss that," Sen grinned cheekily at G and moved his hand from Gato's head to wag his finger. "I think our relationship should be strictly business, I have no interest in getting to know you."

Gato laughed at Sen and G's conversation before sticking his head into himself, "Sen, please, Genji-sama has been my number one customer for years," His smile disappeared though. "This is, however, our first time meeting in person. Something so sensitive couldn't transferred by grunts and inspected by normal shinobi."

Sen eyes shifted from Gato to G, his smile fading, "And that's exactly why I'm here, Gato-kun, I got your distress call." The alien and G locked eyes a few moments after he said that, the man immedieately realizing what he was hinting at. "This kind of advanced technology can only be released in incraments, and G-kun you're threating the balance of this world. My goal was to advance this world slowly, not destroy it."

G grit his teeth, and Sen instantly had his hand on the handle of his blade. His quickly drew it and slashed toward G, Gato ducking his head. G had drawn his weapon of choice just as quickly and blasted a beam of energy right through Sen's right bicep, but the moment he did that; his right arm had been cut clean off.

Blood splattered everywhere, from both G and Sen, and spilled all over Gato. Sen yelled out in pain before thrusting his arm outward, as it literally extended in length, and grabbed G by the throat. He threw him from the platform they were on and into a large crate, his arm retracting to normal size, as he leapt off of the platform to continue engaging G.

Gato was breathing heavily, trying to wipe the blood off of his favorite suit. His eyes moved to the battle, as numbers flew across the lense of his scouter. The scouter could barely keep up with the rate the two fighters were letting their power release.

The black haired man pushed himself off of the ground, and out of the debris from the broken crate that was full of miscellaneous weapons. There were multiple splinters stuck in his skin, but that was the least of his worries. He formed a single hand seal, taking a deep breath, as he released a large ball of fire that engulfed everything in front of him.

Sen furrowed his brow, a yellow aura covering his body. He shot forward with amazing speed, flying right through the ball of fire. The man thrust his arm forward, and it rapidly extended with his sword in grip. It shot out at G, but the man was quick on his feet. The man held his palm out, covering it in chakra, before converting it to wind chakra, and shooting it out at Sen. It grew in size, and threw off the direction of the sword.

Even Sen was thrown back violently into the wall of the factory from the strength of G's wind technique. Human or not, he knew he couldn't hold back or else G would take his life. Once he had come to a stand still, the hole on his chest began to restitch itself back to its previous state.

G's eyes twitched when he saw the alien's body regenerating after being shot, "Definitely not human." He said to himself, leaping backward, and then running to hide after another large crate while he formed a plan. G knew his time would be limited, so he looked around for a weapon that could give him an advantage. His eye was caught by Gato, who was trying to flee from the factory.

The man was about to act on it, but the crate he was hiding behind was smashed by the impact of Sen crash landing at a high speed right before him. The alien was once again trying to slash him to death, but the man leapt to the ground, and grabbed a gun that was abandoned by one of the workers who had just run off.

He narrowed his eyes, focusing on Gato quickly and fired off a few shots. His attention was brought back to Sen once the man tried to smash the blade through his skull, but he rolled out of the way. The man focused his aim on Sen quickly and fired off another fast shot.

G nearly smiled when he saw Sen freeze in place, a newly formed hole appearing in the middle of his forehead. Blood slowly leaked down his face, and his bright yellow eyes went pupil-less. He had intentionally aimed for the alien's brain, so he could shut him down without having to worry about him surviving.

The only thing that bothered him was the fact Sen hadn't fallen over and died yet.

. . .

(Nami No Kuni)

Another thick mist settled over the bridge once again, Zabuza not being the caster this time. He furrowed his brow, keeping his guard up, as he looked around worriedly. His eyes were sharp, and he saw every slight movement from one of his enemies. They were moving in a zig zag pattern, and a quick slash from a kunai was blocked by kubikiribocho. He pushed the attacker away and began weaving through the mist as if it were his own.

He defended himself against a few more precisely thrown kunai and shuriken, all of them flying in different directions. Zabuza rolled across the bridge and ended up using his forearm to block a powerful punch. The man was surprised that the two Konoha shinobi were working with the mist so well, to the point he couldn't tell who was attacking him.

The hunter-nin flipped backward and came to a full stand, holding his sword out to defend himself from their next move. "This mist isn't going to do you any good!" He yelled out and laughed, but it slowly faded when he heard the sound of birds chirping. After fighting Kakashi the first time, he knew what came next, but with the thick mist it was harder to track the man's movements.

It took an extreme focus of his eyes to see small glints of blue light moving in an untraceable pattern, but it was definitely coming for him. Kakashi had gotten quicker since their fight had begun, and the lightning blade smashed into his own. The two shinobi met eyes, and Zabuza was surprisingly being pushed back by Kakashi's sheer strength, "Can't see through your own mist?" Kakashi questioned with a smirk.

"Ye-" Zabuza's response was cut short after being tackled by Sasuke, who came in like a speeding bullet. They both flew right off of the bridge and into the body of water right under it. Sasuke didn't plan on letting go until they were deep.

The mist on the bridge began to fall and Kakashi jumped onto the ledge of the bridge. He looked down at the water with extreme interest, "I never taught Sasuke how to water walk, I hope he's a quick learner." The copy-nin slowly went through hand seals, holding his fingers on the last seal. "Raiton: Inazuma (Lightning Release: Lightning Bolt)." The man held his open palms outward and began concentrating lightning chakra and natural electricity in the air.

Kakashi and Sasuke had a plan, and the boy had a certain amount of time to be in the water before he got electrocuted along with Zabuza. It would be unfortunate, but he only had so much control over his technique before it overpowered itself and struck everything.

The man's head snapped upward when he saw Sasuke sent flying out of the water. The water itself began to bubble and a dragon made from the water shot out after Sasuke, closing its maw on the boy's body, and slamming him into the bridge. His body was bloody and battered after his brief bout with the Demon of The Mist, and was close to falling unconscious.

That was Kakashi's cue, raising his hands to the sky and focusing his energy even more. Before him, in the center of the air, was a very large, crackling bolt of lightning that was getting harder to control by the second. The man had shaped his chakra like a spike, but the longer he tried to control it, the more ragged it became, and it kept branching out.

No longer holding it back, he thrust his hands down, and the bolt of lightning followed his lead. It shot down at speeds neither Kakashi or Zabuza could keep up with, and even Kakashi's face cringed when he heard the loud scream of pain from Zabuza under the water. The bolt crashing down was followed by a blinding light that swallowed the immedieate area, Kakashi covering his eyes since he was so close.

When everything settled, the water was still crackling with electricity, and Zabuza's life energy was close to nonexistent.

Kakashi's attention was brought to Sasuke, who, like Zabuza, was hanging on by a thread. The man leaped from the ledge of the bridge over to his student, who was laying in a pool of his own blood. A deep slash from kubikiribocho was across his torso, but Kakashi didn't panic, "Sasuke, don't worry. You'll be treated soon."

He was completely still, and a cold feeling ran up his spine. The man turned his head and watched as an even thicker mist from before engulfed the bridge. Kakashi jumped up and drew a kunai to defend himself and Sasuke.

"Kubikiribocho: Jigoku!" Zabuza's voice was the first thing that appeared to Kakashi, and then the crazed man himself was seen flying down toward him with his sword over his head. A black chakra became visible that swallowed him and the blade, "You thought it was that easy!?" The man had a crazy smile plastered on his face, his body badly burnt, and his mask had been destroyed. There was a gaping hole in his stomach, leaking blood rapidly, and his kubikiribocho was broken in half. His razor sharp teeth were shown when he smiled, "This is why they really call me the DEMON of the mist!"

The ex-kirigakure shinobi slammed his sword against the ground, and a powerful wave of demonic-like chakra was released from the tip and tore through the mist at amazing speed. Kakashi's eyes were constantly switching between Sasuke and the blast of raw chakra coming straight at him. His speed wasn't great enough to dodge the blast and grab Sasuke like he wanted to, so he had to directly deal with it.

All of this was happening in an instant, he held his kunai out and groaned silently. His single sharingan eye morphed from the three tomoe seal, to a pinwheel, and it spun a few times, as he concentrated quickly.

. . .

(Nami no Kuni)

Naruto was leaping from tree to tree with Sakura thrown over his shoulder. He was being chased by Haku, and he was trying to get back to the bridge. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up when he felt Haku's presence quickly approaching him. He flipped forward and landed on the ground with ease, looking around, and leaping behind a tree.

The boy did his best to mask his and Sakura's chakra, and went completely still when he saw Haku walk into the open clearing. A wave of cold air was followed by Haku's entrance, and a chill ran up Naruto's spine. The kiri-nin was looking around slowly, trying to feel out the area for the genin's presence, but he got nothing.

The konoha-genin used the moment to his advantage, gently placing Sakura onto the ground. He made a cross with his fingers to perform his signature clone technique, which would instantly give away his location. The clone grabbed Sakura and took off in the direction of Tazuna's bridge.

Haku's head snapped in that direction, and immediately formed mulitple senbon made of ice that went right through the tree, forcing Naruto to duck down to the ground. Haku saw the boy run out from behind the tree with his sword drawn, and charged right him. Naruto swung his sword recklessly, trying to tear Haku apart limb by limb, while the kiri-nin dodged each stab easily.

Their fighting styles contrasted very differently, Naruto being more of a brute, and Haku thought out his every move. Haku could see it in the boy's movements and attacks, he was barely trained, and there was no true skill in any area of his fighting. The masked shinobi moved out of the way of another lethal stab and finally decided to counter, kneeing Naruto in the gut, and disarming by ripping the sword from his hands.

The boy fell over and Haku stabbed the sword into the ground next to Naruto's head, "I don't want to kill you, Naruto-kun," Haku admitted as he stood over Naruto, "but you stand between me and Zabuza-sama, and for that reason I cannot hold back." Haku held his hand out, and ice began to form out of thin air. It started to shape into a razor sharp katana, which he held above Naruto's head.

"I can't let you get to Zabuza, that would mean I lost!" Naruto held his head up and formed a cross seal, and clones began to fill the area, trying to pounce on Haku the moment they appeared. This was enough for Naruto to jump up and grab his own katana out of the ground, making himself the obvious original. None of his clones had spawned with their own weapon, so Haku was disposing them quickly.

The masked teenager was slicing through Naruto's crowd of clones easily, and as the numbers wittled down; the real Naruto came weaving through the clones. The genin leapt into the air and tried to slash down on Haku, but he parried the slash with his own blade, which was surprisingly sturdy. It didn't even crack when Naruto added more pressure into their power struggle.

Haku pushed Naruto away, and he leaped backward to put even more distance between them. He held out the katana that he forged from ice and smirked behind his mask, "Since you want to fight like a swordsman," He twisted the blade in his hand, and formed a seal of confrontation with his other hand, "I suppose it's only right you die like one as well."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched, "Wha?"

The already cold temperature around him dropped drastically, as a light mist settled over the area. Naruto was immediately on the defensive, watching in awe as thin coats of frost started to cover the environment. The greenery of the forest was slowly transitioning to a snow white, and flakes of snow had even started to fall over the area.

The sudden climate change had Naruto's teeth chattering, goosebumps forming on his skin, and each time he took a breath; he saw it when he exhaled. The boy tried to focus on Haku's body, but it slowly faded into the mist, and the only thing he could indentify with was the boy's voice resonating through the area.

"Prepare yourself, Naruto-kun," Haku had been moving wistfully through the cloudy area he had created on a whim. After giving Naruto a fair warning, he immediately moved, silently slashing at Naruto. The boy had no idea where to look, being cut all over his body at high speeds, and when Haku went to move in once more; the boy's awareness had gotten much better in a short time.

While Naruto had come off as an idiot rookie to Haku, he was something of a quick learner. His skills sharpened faster than anyone he had seen. Once he tried to move in for another attack, Naruto had gotten used to his pattern, and stabbed outward. The attack nearly went through his neck, but Haku flipped backward, and kicked Naruto's sword up into the air.

Naruto instantly formed a clone, and threw it up into the air to catch his sword. Once the clone had caught the sword, he transformed in mid air, and turned into a katana. The original Naruto grabbed both of the weapons and got into a fighting stance. He couldn't see Haku's body through the mist, so he waited for the teen to make another move.

Their was a slight standoff, but eventually Haku ripped through the mist at break neck speeds and tried to slash across Naruto's torso, but the boy blocked the strike with one of his katanas, and slashed at Haku's shoulder with the other. Naruto smirked, knowing he had drawn blood.

Haku was wide eyed, finding out what had happened to Naruto's clone in the worst way. The original Naruto used this moment to his advantage and stabbed both of blades forward, and connected with Haku's ribcage. Haku barely winced, and grabbed onto Naruto's arm with his free hand, "You're an unorthodox shinobi, Naruto-kun." He smiled at the boy, and raised his sword into the air.

"I'm not the kinda guy to play by the rules," Naruto smiled cheekily, thinking that victory was his, but his smile began to slowly fade.

Thousands of needles made from ice were beginning to form in the air around them. They were all pointed at Naruto and that made him more than uncomfortable, "Being stabbed is a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things," The masked shinobi took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, Narut-" All of the senbon made from ice fell limply to the ground and Haku's head swiveled in the direction of Tazuna's bridge.

With a sudden rush of adrenaline, Haku disappeared from Naruto's sight, and left him standing in the newly formed snowing forest in Nami no Kuni.

. . .

(Tazuna's Bridge)

The bridge under construction would be close to being destroyed after the fight between Kakashi, Sasuke, and Zabuza concluded. Only two fighters remained, bothing of them breathing heavily, and had completely battered bodies. Zabuza being the worse off of the two.

Kakashi eye's was still in the shape of a pinwheel, and it slowly leaked blood due to the overuse of it. His torso had a deep gash from Zabuza's 'Jigoku' technique across it, and he was running strictly off of adrenaline, otherwise he would have fallen out to the ground. His flak jacket was completely destroyed, and his wound was being exposed to the open air. He was taking ragged breaths, "Come at me with everything you have, Zabuza."

Zabuza gripped the handle of kubikiribocho tightly, "Your body should be split in half!" He complained out loud as he focused his eyes on Kakashi fully, "I won't let you leave here, you're a dead man!" His blade was still broken in half, using it to deflect Kakashi's lightning technique earlier, and it was barely successful, since he still had the major burns to prove it.

The Konoha Jounin drew a single kunai and prepared himself for Zabuza. He had nothing to say to him at this point, just wanting to end the battle, and continue on with his life.

The mercenary was highly frustrated and took off in running Kakashi's direction, and Kakashi did the same. The two met in the middle of the bridge, Zabuza crouching low and stabbing straight through Kakashi's stomach, while Kakashi himself stabbed down into Zabuza's forehead. The man cringed lightly when blood splattered onto his face, and watched as the 'Demon of The Mist' eyes went lifeless.

He could barely stand at that point, falling over next to the dead body of Zabuza. The two were laying adjacent to each other, and Kakashi had yet to pass out.

"ZABUZA!" Haku appeared on the bridge running straight to the man's corpse and nearly fell over from the shock. His eyes locked onto the copy ninja laying next to him, with Kubikiribocho stabbed through his gut. The teenager reached over and ripped the blade from his back, getting a scream of pain in response.

Kakashi looked up at Haku with a blank stare, noticing Naruto's sword embedded into his ribcage, and the boy seemed more worried about Zabuza than anything else, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry," Kakashi offered, "but you as a shinobi knows that I couldn't let him interfere with my mission."

Haku raised Kubikiribocho into the air, as it slowly regenerated after absorbing the iron from Kakashi's blood. His mask had fallen down to the ground, revealing his soft features, which had tensed up, and his brown eyes were staring a hole through Kakashi. "I should kill you, copy-ninja," Haku grit his teeth as a tear rolled down his face, "But I can't."

The weakened copy ninja was in utter shock, nearly expecting his death after Haku had appeared, "W-Why?"

"Zabuza and I have been working tirelessly under Gato for so long, I know deep down this is what he truly wanted," Haku lowered the famous blade and looked at it deeply. "He desired freedom more than anything else, and he deserved it."

Zabuza's former team mate kneeled down and shut the man's eyes, so he could rest peacefully.

. . .

(Tsuchi No Kuni)

Goku was sitting on a slab of a large rock, quietly meditating with his sensei. He opened his eyes and took in the sight, after he and K had climbed a large mountain for this exact feeling.

The duo was right outside of Iwagakure, looking at the large village from the top of the mountain, his their bodies being completely relaxed. Everything about was cool, but Goku didn't see the importance of what K called 'spiritual training,' looking over at his sensei who had his eyes still shut.

"Sensei, this type of stuff feels good and everything, but you still haven't taught me one real jutsu yet," Goku complained, closing his eyes once again when he felt K's eye lids open and lock onto him. He had broken the man's meditation, and it was one of the worst things he could possibly do. "Like I said, it's cool, but come on. How can I kill somebody by meditating?"

The natural feeling K had been searching for when he climbed this mountain had nearly been destroyed by Goku's complaints. He was expecting to feel at ease, but now he felt the need to lecture Goku about what made their trip so important, "A big part of chakra control is a sound mind," K explained, closing his eyes once more and taking a deep breath. "I'm not doing this for leisure."

"All you do is come up here take deep breaths," Goku unintentionally insulted K's routines, shutting his lips when K's cold aura nearly made him shiver.

"Don't be foolish, Goku," K hissed quietly.

"But maybe it is important," Goku smiled, his eyes still closed as the two continued to meditate.

He would be glad when they could finally go inside Iwagakure.

. . .

Just like that, the filler is over, and we're back with Goku. I don't feel like I did the Haku and Zabuza fights justice, but it'll make things better later on. Next Chapter: Old Man Onoki