Man, I'm firing on all cylinders this month, baby! NeoShadows back with another update for all you hungry guests!

We're now at the first half of the climax of Nami no Kuni! And I got to say: I think I might need to split the climax- might.

More on that at the end of the chapter.

Lot of big things have been happening in this old bastard's life this month. Lot of meetings, lot of planning, some goodbyes, and all that real-life yadda, yadda. But despite how busy it's been, even as we near the end of March, I've been pumping out a few chapters; more than normal. I've been in a good groove, so hopefully this writing beat can continue a bit longer into April.

Last month was...a very nasty month full of stress, grief, frustration, and anger. So, it's good to see things looking up now.

Nami's ultimate clash is going to be wild; I'm so excited for you guys to read it! But we still have one last chapter before we hit the end. Don't worry it's just as good and will only leave ya wanting more- you're going to hate me for the cliffhanger.

While it's still hot, scroll away!


Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index or Naruto. All rights are reserved to both Kazuma Kamachi and Masashi Kishimoto.


Chapter 12: All-Out Battles Among Individual Waves.

What_AMBITIONS_Are_Paved_With.

[-]

Nami no Kuni's mainland was on fire.

Coiling red-hot vipers swarmed over the roofs overhead of the village. Pitch-black toxic smoke reached up to the now clouded sky like desperate hands seeking salvation from the inferno below. The crackles of popping fires consuming wood, metal, plastic, vegetation, and even the living could be heard from even a mile away. The once peaceful village on the mainland of the small nation was now painted in hues of angry red, burning orange, and pitch black.

It was like a piece of hell had been thrown over the world and let to burn. The cackles and howls of demons could be heard like a festive chorus.

Greeting Touma, Naruto, and Kyofu at the entrance of the village was a festival of carnage and destruction.

Touma bit down the back of his molars with a repressed hiss. There wasn't even an entrance anymore. Nothing but rubble and embers could be found at what the villagers had made as the gate welcoming travelers to their homes. Wild streaks of dried blood could be seen.

Gato's invasion was already underway. They were too late to stop his demons from marching in like a bunch of overexcited brats let out to recess.

All the raging flames jumping from building to building and the lethal hot smoke clouding the sky made it obvious saving the homes would be useless. What mattered were the people.

'But how are we supposed to stop these bastards? I can't put out the flames with Imagine Breaker, and running around beating up Gato's rats won't do me any good. All I'd be doing is wasting my time!'

Even if he wasn't sure what he could do to the unfolding chaos transpiring in front of his eyes, Touma couldn't stand still. He had already charged through the remains of the rubble of the entrance with a barreled fist. Whether the two ninjas who were accompanying him followed didn't matter.

At the first sight of a widely grinning thug covered in scars, wielding a metal bat, and standing over a hurt elderly couple backed into a corner, the spiky-haired boy attacked. He struck the distracted thug with a full-body tackle into the large man's side, his full weight smashing into ribs and sending the man slamming into the ground.

He didn't pause in his attack for a second. Before the gasping thug even put it together that he was being attacked, Touma drove the heel of his foot into the flinching face. Blood squirted as the man's nose was pulverized and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

From Touma's back, three more thugs approached like cockroaches crawling out from the walls. In their hands, each one wielded a spear, large knives, and a hammer. Those deadly tools were aimed at his back as he turned his attention to the elderly couple who were struggling to get back up.

"You little shit!"

"Another killjoy?"

"Kill him!"

Three orange blurs leaped into action, slamming their hard knees into the faces of the attacking thugs before they could even take another step. The strikes to the face so suddenly knocked the offenders down in instant KO's.

Not even a moment later did three more of Gato's thugs run out with deadly weapons from right around the corner. Reaching into his weapons pouch, the three blond boys fired a salvo of shurikens at the grown men, forcing them to defend with their weapons. Leaving them wide open from behind.

A quick shunshin, three swift as lightning jabs of a kunai to their vulnerable backs, and Kyofu easily put down the thugs with a twirl of her kunai.

Naruto spat at the knocked-out thugs with an ugly scowl.

"They're like cockroaches! Take one out and three more scurry out from the cracks."

Kyofu and Touma did not comment on the very spot-on comparison as they both dealt with five scurrying roaches running out into the open streets with machetes, boards, long blades, and in one hilarious case, nunchucks. An amused Kumo kunoichi couldn't help but stare at the rather obese thug swinging the two flailing sticks in a rather flashy and intricate pattern to build up centrifugal force.

She flicked an explosive tag at the deadly showman. And blew him up in a very colorful blossom of explosive force and searing red-orange. Wanting to see how her partners in crime were doing, she looked back just in time to see Touma skip back from an overreaching downward swing of a rather terrifying-looking sword from a burly mercenary and quickly counter with a hard right fist between the eyes. Being stronger and more well-built than the other roaches being squashed around him, the burly mercenary didn't go down with one hit, staring back at the spiky boy with blood dripping down his face.

A series of wild, ruthless, flashy swings descended on the sweating spiky teen. Even as the Touma evaded the onslaught of chipped steel, nicks, and the occasional cut would kiss his skin and clothes.

Kyofu clicked her tongue as she crushed the windpipe of a widely grinning one-eyed thug who thought they could sneak up on her. Kicking the now bloody gasping idiot, she reached into one of her storage scrolls in her flak jacket while also sending a high kick into the chin of a towering man raising a large club. A puff of smoke was released, allowing Kyofu to arm herself with a new weapon, one she quickly used to break the knee of the giant man and cut his throat with her kunai as he knelt with a scream of pain.

"Oi! Kamijou! Catch!"

Even with Touma out of her sight, the strange boy was somehow able to react to the item she had thrown his way. Dodging a wide swing that bit into his left shoulder, he threw his hand out and caught the hard metal with a wince.

"What is this? A baton?"

"Don't just stare at it, you dumb ass! Use it!"

In a moment of distraction, a lethal silver flash descended over the puzzled Touma. Dodging would be impossible for the boy who lacked the supernatural ability to increase his speed or evasiveness in an instant. Not even his hidden ability to respond to minuscule muscle and eye movements to evade sure-kill attacks would allow him to escape without suffering major damage.

Without even thinking, he swung his left hand against the chipped sword unworthy of being called a legitimate katana. The baton-like weapon clenched in his hand skimmed along the cheap weapon and would have cut his fingers off were it not for the odd hook along the 18-inch-long metal stick.

"Twist it!"

Before the surprised bulky mercenary could move his long blade back from the hook, Touma twisted the odd baton with all the strength he could muster in his left hand's grip. With a glass-like crack, the cheap sword's metal horn was snapped off. Touma had little time to marvel at the neat trick. Capitalizing on the mercenary's shock at losing his deadly killing tool, Touma stepped deep into the man's personal space and swung his right fist. This time he followed up the disorienting strike with a follow swing of the odd baton in his left hand. Unlike his previous hits to the face, this time, the bulky mercenary went down.

Touma panted as the sudden spike of adrenaline in countering the damaged sponge with a new tool took even him by surprise. What even was it? He was kinda reminded of the Anti-Skill baton Hamazura had beaten him with in October. Similar but different.

Hearing a war cry from his left, Touma decided it would be better to just shrug his shoulders. Taking a firm grip of the criminal deterrent weapon, he met the skinny bald man charging at him with a spear with Kyofu's 'gift'.

Bouncing orange blurs attacked Gato's men with a barrage of knuckles, foot stomps, body dives, and raining metal knives. In the storm of blond clones, lightning ninjutsu zapped and scorched the few ex-shinobi in the mix who were preparing to use supernatural techniques. The stragglers who thought they could escape both ninjas were attacked by a lone fist and a baton slipping through all the chaos. Though it was only three people, those lone fighters snapped back against the stirring demons who thought they could crash into them with deadly weapons like a pack of wolves to a bunny.

The wounded elderly couple all but forgotten by the wild and malicious demons could only stare in amazement as they watched the horned figures who had terrorized their home for years be decimated. Right before their eyes even as flames devoured the scenery with toxic smoke and snapping embers, Gato's men were being beaten into the dirt like they were merely pests.

How many was it?

10?

15?

20?

By the time those three strangers who appeared out of nowhere stopped and breathed, how many of Gato's men lay in bloody heaps around them?

"K-Kyofu-san? Do you have any nifty tricks in your ninja arsenal to deal with the flames?!" Touma said between pants as he cleaned some blood from his cut-up lip.

Getting a simple nod, Touma turned his back to the Kumo woman as she began flashing through various hand signs to perform some kind of water ninjutsu, and turned his attention to the elderly couple. He walked over to the old man and woman with his hands up to show them he meant them no harm.

"Are you two okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Can you stand?"

The elderly man shook his head. A nasty bruise could be seen on his temple but other than that, he appeared good enough to stand with the support of his wife. Shaken as he was, the old man answered back.

"No, no, we're fine, Kamijou-san?"

"You know who I am?"

"Of course we do. After all, it's because of you that our darling Reiko-chan and Itsuki-kun were returned to us! How could anyone not recognize our hero?"

Touma scratched the back of his head. Right, he almost forgot. After the whole idiotic charge of his to Sector-D that nearly killed him, the village had begun calling him out as something as ridiculous and cliché as a hero. A lot of Nami's people had been saved and rescued from the remains of the ruined encampment. Guess the elderly couple was one of those whose family returned to them too.

With his walking cane back to support him, the old man gazed at the Gato's beaten demons with distaste.

"Those damn hooligans. Who would have thought Gato would do something as stupid as to attack the village? Do we mean so little to him now? I wouldn't have thought the greedy man would grow so violent and angry as to raze the village where he reaps nothing but Ryo without any effort."'

"I've got worse words than hooligans to describe this piece of shit." Naruto spat with a kick in the groin of one of the grunts.

"How long ago did they attack?"

"An hour? Maybe a bit more. Those violent hooligans appeared out of nowhere, ran in with shouts and laughs, and began swinging their burning torches at everything in sight. A few among them must have been ex-shinobi as fireballs and explosive tags were seen tearing through our buildings and home."

'Did they begin their attack around the time the masked ninja kidnapped Tsunami then?'

Meaning Kakashi, Tazuna, Sakura, and Sasuke must have just missed the attack. Otherwise, there would be some kind of resistance and less damage. A talented and powerful shinobi like Kakashi would have probably been able to easily deal with even a small army of these violent assholes who could only swing random deadly weapons. Speaking of; where were they?

Even from Tazuna's place, smoke could be seen and the sounds of explosives could be heard. The bridge was connected to the village, so they should have noticed all the mayhem early on. Did that mean they were also dealing with Gato's thugs in greater numbers?

Or someone more powerful?

"Damn it, we got have to get you somewhere safe then. Do you have anywhere in mind that you two can hide?"

"Unfortunately, no. Not with all those hooligans running about with torches and breaking into every home to do as they please. Not to mention we can't leave the rest!"

"The rest?"

Now that he thought about it, why exactly did so many demons gather here? What exactly were those brutes running around for with such numbers? Had they been looking for something?

Behind the elderly couple, Touma could make out a rickety wooden patio to the smoking building. Broken hand-carved rockers could be seen in pieces, embers ate into the panels, a small coffee table was crushed, and the remains of a morning meal were splattered. To not only Touma's but Kyofu's and Naruto's surprise, a part of the burning and damaged wooden floor of the patio was lifted from below. An adult man with dark brown hair warily peeked out of the hidden floorboard.

"Saru-san...are the demons gone?"

The elderly man shook his head with a frown. Shouts of Gato's men could be heard even now as more of the village was being raided and burned down with every passing minute.

"No, those hooligans are still running about like brats playing with fireworks. It appears this hidden space isn't safe; the home is already beginning to creak and it won't be long until the smoke begins to waft through the cracks into the bunker. Not to mention they have a few ex-shinobi among their lot; no doubt, they can use a ninja technique to see through structures and discover our hidden bunkers."

"You guys have had bunkers this entire time?! What the hell?! Why are you guys only now using them?" Naruto shouted in annoyance.

Kyofu gave the hidden panel an eye, inspecting the hidden area beneath without the use of a supernatural power.

"It's shitty." She said bluntly, "Did you have some kind of carpet or furniture hiding the door? You can clearly make out the hinges if you were to look for anything out of place. Not to mention stepping over it would make an audible sound like you were knocking on a hollow crate. You're lucky Gato's men aren't exactly smart; any shinobi or kunoichi, even genin level, could spot your hidden bunker if they squinted. Hell, if those lousy demons came knocking and grew curious at why their prey wasn't home, they'd probably stumble upon the hidden door just by walking around the patio for a bit. Don't tell me you have more of these crappy hidden holes spread around the village too?"

The elderly man grimaced. That was enough to answer Kyofu's question.

"The bunkers are for emergencies and there are only a few. Gato's men have always patrolled the village just to harass whoever they pleased, so we had few opportunities to build what few we had. Only when a family was under threat of being taken would we use these bunkers to hide them. As you said though, if those hooligans began noticing our people were missing, they would begin to grow suspicious. Meaning...not everyone could be saved."

Bitterness could be heard in the elderly man's voice. He clenched his wooden can with regret as he spoke, knowing he and others had to make the tough choice of allowing friends and family to be attacked.

"Saru-san?"

"We must leave."

The elderly man, Saru, spoke sternly to the man peeking out of the hidden bunker. No doubt there were more villagers below, waiting for a sign of the growing flames dying out.

"Gather everyone together as quickly as you can. We can not stay. Even if we stayed put and those hooligans passed us by, the flames alone would eventually crawl below. These bunkers were never designed for others to dwell for long periods of time. The same goes for the others Tazuna-san hastily created for us at the beginning of all this mess. We must leave."

"B-but!"

"Moshi-kun, listen to Saru-san." The elderly woman by Saru's side said gently. Even as flames painted their surroundings and the cackles of giddy demons could be heard everywhere, she smiled a grandmotherly smile to the sweating adult man, "We can not hide any longer. Scary as it is, we must leave our homes behind. Cowering has never done us any good, has it? We have to be brave now. After all."

The kind and soft-spoken elderly woman gestured to Touma, Kyofu, and Naruto, shocking the nervous man at their presence.

"We have a couple of strong and courageous youngsters here to keep us safe."

The eyes of the nervous man brightened. Slowly, he began to lift the wooden door panel.

"Shit! More?!"

Immediately, the man slammed the creaky door shut as he dove back into the bunker, earning tired sighs from the elderly couple.

The brief break was cut short as the sound of running feet and shouts caught both Kyofu and Naruto's keen senses. Touma went on edge, putting himself right in front of the old couple as a protective wall. He sighed tiredly, reaffirming his grip on the Japanese baton.

"Just my luck. This poor Kamijou-san isn't used to back-to-back battles! I've already taken an explosion to the chest and had my right hand bitten by a cute shark girl! My stamina and HP can't take any more punishment!"

"Already growing tired, Kamijou-san? Come on, I expected more from the hero who saved me from my dingy cell. Don't you know stamina and endurance are important to a woman?"

"Even the old man behind you is livelier than you, Touma-nii-san. Jiji-san is even waving his cane at the approaching bastards like he's raring to go and hand out some canning."

"YOU DAMN NO GOOD HOOLIGANS! DO YOU WANT ME TO CANE YOUR BUTTS AN UGLY RED AND MAKE YOU CRY?!"

Kyofu laughed at the irritated glare Touma was giving her, all while Naruto tried to calm down the suddenly fired-up Saru who really looked as if he would run up to the gathering thugs coming into view. She patted the strange spiky teen's head with a mirthful smirk even as it looked like they would soon be surrounded on all sides.

"What? Ya wanna take a breather and leave things to this smoking hot, sexy, tight-bodied Onee-san?"

"You're not a Dorm Manager fitting all the proper and strict checkboxes, so who the hell do you think you're flirting with?" Touma groaned, doing his best not to show the teasing smoking hot, sexy, tight-bodied dark-skinned kunoichi any reaction.

Truth be told, a break did sound nice. His body felt like it had expanded like a balloon and his wounds stung. First-aid was great and all when compared to bleeding out earlier but it wasn't enough. He probably needed a doctor to inspect the hard pressure in his chest. Unfortunately, per his crappy luck, neither Gaze-san or Anmi-san and her daughter were around to patch him up.

One minute.

Sixty seconds.

He had already been given such a blessing to continue fighting, so to ask for more would be selfish. Those measly sixty seconds of rest were why Otohime had been crying and why Inari had been hurt. Like hell he would risk anyone else having to endure such shitty pain and fears just because he wanted a breather.

With a crack of his right fist and a swing of Kyofu's weapon in his left hand, Touma glared at Gato's so-called army.

"It may be a pain and something I wish I could avoid for a more peaceful solution, but I'm the kind of idiot who can only ever resolve problems with his fists. If I were to stop now and let someone else fight in my place for even a few minutes, it would leave a sick taste in my mouth."

Spears.

Daggers.

Shurikens.

Pitch forks.

Torches.

Long swords.

Kunai.

Axes.

Clubs.

Broken pipes.

Needles.

All manner of lethal weapons or tools were leveled at Touma, Kyofu, Naruto, and the elderly couple protecting the bunker's hidden door. The horns of Gato's demons cornered them in a circle, leaving no wiggle room to escape. Nasty grins were seen as what Touma could only guess were 20 off Gato's hired band of street thugs, mercenaries, ex-shinobi, criminals, and even ex-villagers who aimed their weapons with hunger.

A Kumogakure kunoichi, a Konohagakure genin, and a high school boy vs. over a dozen blades.

Quality vs. Quantity.

What would win?

Just as Touma began to ponder how to deal with the rush of demons eager to gouge them, he saw something odd appear.

Scarlet red.

A faint, wisp-like ribbon of scarlet red lazily crossed over several thugs in his view, abruptly freezing them.

"Yaku: Akatan[Matching Set: Red Poetry Ribbons]!"

Depending on the quality of the opposing force overwhelmed by sheer numbers, even the addition of one extra quality blade could turn the scales of the battle.

Three ribbon-like blades tore through those cheap army pieces from directly in front of Touma, ripping through Gato's men and colored red by the drawn blood mixing into the chakra shockwaves cutting along the ribbons. The blood-dyed blades were drawn faster than those cut-up men could react, lobbing off limb after limb. Meaty wet thuds were heard as those caught in the line of fire collapsed.

It was an attack that served only to draw large amounts of blood to color the chakra ribbons in red, its lethal ability only revealing itself if the ribbons hit a fatal point.

It was an attack that reminded Touma of a far greater amount of blade-edged ribbons that were blue and could be connected along the katana to weave a greater area of destruction.

Baku-Fuda- the Wild Card.

"You look like shit."

A delinquent with tear-drop tattoos, sporting a baggy hoodie and beanie, wielding an authentic Japanese katana, stepped past the sliced-up demons. The cool-faced man stood between several stunned grunts, showing no sign of fear or anxiety at being so close to those horned bastards wielding various deadly weapons that could pierce his soft flesh with just a poke.

Touma's right fist grew tight as he met the dull gaze of the familiar ronin.

"Zori."

At his name, Zori smirked. He regarded the battered, bruised, bloodied, and unhappy-faced spiky bastard who beat him into the dirt with an ugly sort of amusement.

"Huh?! Zori?! What the fuck do you think you'r-!"

"Shut up. You weak and shivering blades are in the way."

The slash was a blur to all those who looked at Zori's hand. But everyone could perfectly see the result.

A perfect circle of thin light revolved around Zori as the click of his katana returning to his sheath signaled the shinigami's culling. The six demons moving to attack him for killing their kind found themselves cut down by the circle of death sawing through bones and slicing organs like an industrial saw.

If any of the remaining thugs wanted to strike back as well, the sight of Zori effortlessly killing a few more of their force without batting an eye made them step back.

Step back into the awaiting sharp and blunt weapons glaring at them from behind.

"Ghrk!"

"Fuck! An ambush?!"

"G-GGGGGYYYYAAAAAAH!"

"Mother fuc-!"

Mercy would not be found here. Just as those demons showed them none, spared them none, the villagers stepping up from behind those demons would treat them in kind to the same.

Just as Gato's men had crawled out of nowhere, a rather sizable group of villagers appeared with various tools and weapons held firmly in their hands. Taking advantage of Zori's surprise attack, those villagers attacked with all their might. Clangs of steel on steel were heard as the villagers and demons broke out into fights.

It was an all-out brawl. Villagers and bandits clashed in a random part of Nami no Kuni's mainland village amid smoke and fire. Striking steel rang out like harsh gongs, dirt erupted, red splashes flew about, flames were let loose, and scars tore their surroundings in the chaotic melee of fists and metal.

Naruto stood slack-jawed at what he was witnessing. Even a greenhorn ninja like himself could see those villagers who had picked up random objects and tools weren't trained warriors. Not one of them could throw a kunai and hit a mark. Each one would probably fall to their knees with one hit and die. They would easily cower to a nasty grin sent their way.

When one thought about it, the villagers were merely sheep locked up in a pen, one constantly invaded by coyotes and wolves.

Young men stood side by side to guard against a giant one-eyed thug with ugly scars slamming down a mallet like a thunder strike- they toppled that giant demon with a combined tackle of shoulders and pipes from those with roaring adolescents.

Young women evaded the cruel sickles of hungry-eyed brutes with swings of flaming boards, sticks, and torches created out of bundled clothes and oil- those perverted horned beasts were set aflame by brave flowers.

Elderly men and women utilized random kitchenware such as pots, pans, wooden chopsticks, teapots, plates, and even broken pieces of furniture to slam against the broken fangs and claws of demons- age didn't stall those now youthful men and women as they beat those lousy brats into the dirt.

Just like in Sector-D, Naruto still couldn't believe his eyes as he watched those cowering sheep bite and claw back at their predators with such frightening ferocity. And come out on top. Among those fighting back, he even spotted a few familiar faces that had escaped the destroyed encampment and had fought their way out alongside Touma and Kyofu.

"Seriously, where was all this gun-ho energy and fighting spirit back then?" he couldn't help but ask out loud.

"Yes, I dare say we were utter fools back then. Too scared, too frightened, too anxious, too weak."

The elderly with some spirit, Saru, stood by Naruto with a bitter yet proud smile. He too looked to the scene of familiar faces he had known for years fighting back tooth and nail. All without some grand hero taking charge or doing the fighting in their place.

"All along, we had the power to fight back. But we never lifted a finger. Too content with shoving all the responsibility and hardship on the brightest star we could find to grant our wish. We wished, prayed, and begged for someone to save us yet...we never tried to put in the work to make it a reality rather than a dream. It makes this old man want to cry; demons? Monsters? Pfft, all I see are damn hooligans who can be scared off with piss running down their legs."

For the old man who had seen Nami no Kuni from its early, happier days to its current shell of its halcyon days; was that all he could see in front of him? Not deadly and invincible demons they had all given up hope of ever beating but merely a gang of no-good delinquents who were more talk than show as they bullied a bunch of cowards? What was there to fear when those rowdy, destructive, loud bullies were being knocked down and sent running away with tears in their eyes when a couple of cowards finally stood up instead of waiting for a popular kid to step in?

Damn stupid.

For an old man like Saru, he must have felt damn stupid to have ever thought twice about standing up to those damn hooligans who tarnished everything he loved. It was no wonder he was ready to rush into the mix with his cane ready to dish out some harsh punishment on those lousy brats.

"Not again. Surely they all feel the same."

A pair of men suddenly found themselves knocked down to the ground by a masked face man. The bits of mesh, scrolls tied to this waist, kunai strapped around his chest, and clear combat skill told them they had met a rare type of foe among Gato's hired goons.

The cold, unfeeling, eyes of an ex-shinobi stared down the two men. Unlike the many being taken down around the ex-nin of one of the many ninja villages, he would not be struck down by mere civilians. And with a seal formed with his hands and a great inhale of air pushing his chest out, the two flinching villagers were swallowed hole by a great and terrible gale of shredding wind.

"Futon: Daitoppa(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!"

CRACK!

SHING!

The visible burst of fierce wind was shattered like glass.

The fingers of the ex-nin were severed by a ribbon of scarlet chakra tied around the digits.

A spiky-haired teen stood past the back of the stunned ex-nin with a right fist swung out with fading shards of a destructive illusion falling to the ground. A delinquent-faced ronin stood in front of the now ashen-faced ex-nin as if he had dashed past him with the click of his blade. Without a word said between the two, the spiky teen and delinquent turned back to glare at the other with clear animosity.

Fists were clenched and a new fang was bared.

A stained blade of honor shivered and released a small hiss of steel ready to be released.

Neither hesitated to charge and met in the middle as the ex-nin passed out with blood gushing out of his stumpy fingers.

"You piece of fucking shit!"

"Die, you fuck!"

The lousy demons aiming for either one's back were thrown down by a hard cross punch and drawing slash so fast it was a blur to the naked eye. Whether the other noticed the shadows lurking to kill them in what the demons believed was a moment of distraction wasn't known. Words were not exchanged between the two young men who had once stood across the other as enemies and spilled each other's blood.

Now back to back as more demons began to circle them amid the all-out brawl in the burning streets carpeted with smoke and blood, they simply chose to face the horns and claws of the mob with fierce masks to rebel against the festival of destruction.

"You done playing games?"

"Tch. Did my katana scare you so much that you got yourself a new toy?"

They were not friends.

Allies was going a bit too far.

This was nothing more than a fight in the streets where anything goes. A battlefield both were far to intimate to ever lose at. An enemy was merely whoever stood in their way.

So long as they kept their backs to one another and never stood in the other's way…

Touma and Zori pushed back against the other like springs and charged into the enemies daring to meet their eyes.

Then what reason did either have to bother with sentiments, apologies, questions, doubts, or well wishes?

[-]

With one last thud and the sound of running feet, what was once 30 scary-looking men had been cut down to nothing. Those who were actually slightly intelligent simply dropped their weapons and ran away with their tails tucked beneath their feet. In the remains of the battle-scarred street, the bodies of the knocked-out or dead demons were strewn about like garbage no one would bother picking up.

"Seriously? I mean, you know what these shit stains have done, right?"

Even if Touma had been a part of the all-out brawl and gone as far as to break bones, the high school boy of another world still resisted it.

With an annoyed huff, Kyofu went to binding the wrists, legs, and arms of those among Gato's men who had only been knocked out. She clearly had no desire to do so.

"I won't forgive them either. Personally? I...I can't even bring myself to want to save them." Just saying it out loud made Touma want to puke.

Killing was simply too far. At least, for him it was. That was cutting off any chance for people to reconcile or turn over a new leaf. Change wasn't impossible. Not even for lowly demons like Gato's hired arms.

Rancid and putrid smells.

Decomposing bodies.

Sickening sounds of flesh slapping and pounding.

Screams of mercy and cries for help.

Stains of red and gore.

Laughter and cackles blend into sadistic howls.

Touma felt something in his core shiver and his chest threatened to collapse within itself. But just like those infinite hells, he repressed it. Difficult as it was, he couldn't allow himself to wallow in those memories where his reach had been too late.

The metal baton in his left hand felt incredibly heavy.

He wasn't the executioner. If death was to be the punishment for those bastards' sins then he would leave the just decision in the hands of those they had wronged.

"Just drop those idiots over that corner there. A few of us will make sure they don't stir up any more trouble. Hell, might as well stuff them in the bunker. If the place doesn't collapse, well...guess that will mean Kami-sama isn't so forgiving after all."

The leader of the rebelling force of villagers who had appeared was a well-built man of the sea. From what others said, he was a crab fisherman. One of the many who had his hull robbed as payment by Gato's thugs and left to scavenge for scraps of his hard work.

Shio the crab fisherman gestured a thumb to the pile of demons a few of them had already restrained. To both Naruto and Kyofu's shock, the villagers didn't cut the throats of their tormentors. Instead, they gathered them up like captured animals. Seeing the questioning looks on their faces, Shio grunted.

"I want them to pay. Pay for everything they've done. Killing them would be a kindness; you saw some of them try to run away, right? They want to escape punishment. For all that they've done, for all the family and friends that they took away, we'll make sure to bleed them dry for all of the fun they had at our expense. We'll make damn sure of it."

Death was final. You could not continue punishment past the final nail in the coffin.

The people of Nami no Kuni had no desire to let those reckless idiots get away with everything they've done to stain their innocence. They would punish them. If said punishment ultimately meant death then it would be them to carry out the sentence. As if they would be happy for strangers to take such a right away from them.

With the last of the thugs shoved into Saru's bunker, they now found themselves with a bigger party. The villagers who had been hiding away from the fighting now stood out in the open of the burning village. Many were still frightened. Tears could be seen as they watched their homes being turned to cinder. Just because some of Gato's men were taken out, didn't mean they were saved or that the village wasn't on fire.

At this moment, their home was still being pillaged in all corners by those cackling horned figures commanded by a demon lord.

This was far from over.

"Now what?"

No one was sure who had said it so bluntly. But Shio crossed his arms as he looked at the now-increasing party of villagers with the addition of shinobi. It didn't seem he was used to taking such a leading role as he coughed awkwardly into his fist as all eyes turned to him.

"Tell ya the truth, I'm not sure either. I mean, we were fortunate enough to have prepared for the attack when we did."

Kyofu appeared puzzled. She looked at the gathered force of men and women standing beside Shio and struggled to understand how they had predicted the attack. Now that she thought about it, it was rather strange. While Gato's men were going about attacking and burning everything in sight, where were the people? Why wasn't she hearing the sounds of the villagers being burned alive?

Nami no Kuni was a small nation. Compared to Kumogakure, compared to Kaminari no Kuni, it was just a meager fraction of land surrounded by sea. But the mainland alone should have housed over 200-300 civilians. Yet she hadn't heard any shouts or screams from those hundreds of civilians being pillaged by giddy demons.

Why?

Had they...had they evacuated?

"How did you learn about the attack?" Kyofu pressed firmly. She looked to the awkward standing crab fisherman, her imposing aura causing the man a few inches taller than her and with visible muscles over his scarred arms to jump, "Gato pulled back his men only days ago. He'd done the same with other villages in Nami no Kuni. All to prepare for this large-scale ambush in hopes of completely crushing the nation's one and only symbol of hope. So, how could some random villager find out about the assault and even make plans to counter it?"

Seeming to be happy to turn the spotlight cast by the intimidating dark-skinned woman with scary eyes off of him, Shio gestured a finger to ronin standing a few feet away.

Zori paid the kunoichi's stare no mind. He was far too busy glaring back at the spiky-haired teen who met his glare back. It was like a tense stare-down between delinquents in the school courtyard. One could swear they saw lightning sparking between them. Seriously, it looked like the two would start swinging fists at any moment!

"Ah, well, we have Zori-san to thank. The idiot still had his radio on him and it was still active too. Despite being a killer and one of Gato's pets, Lady Luck must have some kind of affection for him; out of nowhere, the radio turned on and we both caught the message that bastard Gato sent out to everyone under his employ. We caught wind of the attack on the mainland and I knew we couldn't just ignore it. So, with his help, we went about gathering some weapons, tools, whatever we could get our hands on to fight back, and called up whoever felt tired of standing around and letting Gato do what he wanted with our lives."

After the fall of Sector-D, after witnessing a mere teenage boy stand up and fight back on his own and survive, after seeing those who they thought were long gone returned to them…

How could they not feel a fire burning in their chest?

"It was hard. But we were able to sneak under the gaze of those demons stalking about our homes and were able to evacuate those who couldn't fight out of the village just before the first fire hit our walls."

"You were able to evacuate over a hundred men, women, children, all in a matter of hours?! Wait, if you were able to do so, why are you even here? I understand if there were still a few who you weren't able to rescue in time but why are so many of you still here? Instead of wondering what you'll do next, why don't you guys just leave Nami no Kuni while you have the chance?"

Shio looked to the fox-eyed Naruto who looked like a confused kit with a rough grin.

Pride could be heard in the crab fisherman's voice as he spoke. He gestured to the crowd of men and women, young and old, who stood at his side with wounds, bruises, dirt, and blood. Each of them remained standing with tight grips over their weapons.

"You think we can just run away like those cowards? Do we look like demons? Screw that; this is our home! Just because it's burning doesn't mean we'll just jump ship at the first chance we have! I want to fight! I'm tired of just standing back and waiting for a hero to show up and save the day!"

Tired.

So.

Damn.

Tired.

In the hearts of all those gathered in the glow of their homes being burned down by wicked flames, they each felt such an ugly and exhausting weight grow too heavy to stand anymore. They'd grown tired of waiting to be saved. At some point, they had come to a startling realization that made them openly weep and despise the person they were a second ago.

I can fight back.

I can stand up.

Just like those champions, I can speak up and reject this.

"Nami no Kuni is tired of waiting to be rescued from that arrogant, greedy, shitty little demon lord! If that worm wants our homes, our people, then he better damn well prepare to fight with his all to retch our land from our cold, dead hands!"

"I'm sick of giving all my hard-earned Ryo to those fucking assholes!"

"They want to nibble on my flesh? Then I'll fucking bite off their flesh!"

"They took my wife away. H-How am I supposed to look my kids in the eyes if I don't stand up and protect them in her place?!"

"I may have robbed my share of people back then but this? Fuck off. I'm not a demon. Even a punk who doesn't know any better than to take rather than work an honest day's pay isn't so pathetic as to not fight back!"

"My days may be behind me, but I won't just stand aside and complain! Kaiza-san put his faith in us pathetic villagers to take his place and we failed. We won't make that mistake again."

"I-I don't like fighting. I don't want to fight. B-B-But! I was saved. A kind boy came to my rescue and kept me from turning into a blood-lusting demon with an ugly grin on their face! So, I won't allow anyone else to feel that kind of shame or pain ever again! What do I even have left to lose anymore?!"

They all spoke up.

They shouted.

They roared as one!

To Naruto, Kyofu, Touma, Zori, and even to the demon lord, Gato!

With my all, with nothing but my all!

I too can fight with everything I have to protect what I love most!

Naruto found himself wide-eyed with awe.

"Whoa."

Such a declaration was enough even to shake the veteran kunoichi Kyofu and leave her speechless.

'Raikage-sama...what would you say to this? To those weak and talentless civilians who had no hope of ever becoming strong like yourself?'

In her heart, surely, she believed even that stubborn and stern powerhouse of a Raikage would be grinning fiercely with pride at the fighting spirit practically roaring from those fighting men and women.

A certain someone found himself smiling, closing his eyes as he broke off from his glaring contest with Zori. Even the cool-faced delinquent looked off to the side, clicking his tongue with something akin to amusement.

For all that was said, and as impressed as she was with those villagers, Kyofu still found her eyes wandering over to the brooding ronin among their lot. Suspicion colored her face as she addressed the one thing she couldn't comprehend.

"You people I can understand fighting back- crazy as it seems. But him? Isn't he one of Gato's loyal blades? Isn't he renowned as The Champion Killer?" she sneered.

Even if the delinquent samurai, who passed the time gambling with even his victims, was the lesser of many evils in Gato's employment, Zori was still without a doubt a cruel figure. A man who had killed plenty on the order of a man who promised him luxuries with a flash of Ryo. The Champion Killer. The one seen by the entire village beheading a bloody and bruised Kaiza with a single swing of his katana.

Why would such a loyal blade seeped in blood aid the very people he antagonized? And why were those villagers not beating the killer to near death like the others? Was this some sort of illusion?

"Does he need a reason?"

"What?"

Once again, Touma found Kyofu staring at him strangely. He rubbed the back of his neck with a slight grumble. Seriously, did she think he was some kind of otherworldly freak or something? S-Stop it with the intense gaze!

It wasn't only Kyofu's eyes on him. Zori's glare fell away into a mask of annoyance. As if he really didn't want to hear what was going to be said.

"I'm just as surprised to see him here and not joining in chaos for his own benefit or safety of mind. At the first sight of him, I was already preparing my body to evade a beheading lightning slash. I was seriously about to deck him in the face until he was begging me to stop with tears in his swollen face."

"I'll cut you. I'll seriously fucking cut you, ya smug bastard!"

"Man, you're face is still kinda bruised, huh? I feel ya. I recently shut down my out-of-control desires before my heart's true desire was morphed into a new form. I mean, I wouldn't have minded. But my heart's true desire isn't so weak to be pushed aside for another; my fists were already swinging before I could even tell myself that a Kaa-san is only the final evolution of an Onee-san."

"Shio-san, let me go! That asshole is just begging me to carve him up! You mother fucker; we've been over this! Women with big tits, gambler addiction, who love to drink themselves stupid are the kind of chick you should bet on!"

...What even was going on anymore? The village was on fire, dead bodies were lying around and a bundle of unconscious thugs were stuffed into a hole in the ground, and the people of Nami no Kuni and two ninjas were watching flatly as a delinquent ex-samurai and a weird spiky-haired teen were talking about fetishes with no shame.

What happened to the tense atmosphere?

There was a time and place for this shit but clearly, those two idiots didn't understand that.

"Whatever happened to lead that drunk gambler to stand beside the very people whose smiles he was reaping for his own comfort, doesn't matter to me. He has his reasons for fighting. And Shio-san and the rest have their reasons for trusting him enough to fight alongside them. I'm not going to bother demanding a detailed explanation of what went on between the lines. All that matters is putting an end to Gato's bullshit."

"You trust me? Even after I carved you up?"

"I trust those who are strong enough to set aside their trauma and hate to trust you to protect them."

A slight smile came over Zori's lips. As if anything more would have greatly disappointed him. If the boy with the strange right hand simply smiled at him like they were good friends and went on a speech of justice and goodwill, he would have seriously attacked him. This not-quite-enemies-not-quite-allies stance they had going on was perfect for him.

Shio grinned widely at Touma's words.

"The boy's right. What matters now is that Zori's helping us. Nothing more matters right now. And if the punk betrays us in the end, I'll take full responsibility and slice open my stomach. That's my gamble here, one I'll happily place."

Kyofu's scowl hadn't dropped nor did it show any anger or malice to the aloof-faced Zori who hadn't said a word to defend himself. At the moment, it didn't matter what Zori's reasons for helping were. What mattered now was dealing with Gato's army which continued to run rampant in search of prey.

Exasperated, she simply let the matter drop.

No skin off her nose.

"Fine, whatever. Not like I can take the guy as a threat anyway." she said with a mocking grin at the ticked-off ronin, "Anyone who gets taken out by some lame-faced boy I can probably beat off with one hand isn't scary."

Nothing else needed to be said. Everyone had made up their minds on what they wanted to do and were striving to do so.

Among everyone gathered though, Touma noticed one person had gone silent and anxious.

"Uzumaki-san?"

The spiky-blond boy wasn't looking at them anymore. He wasn't even paying the burning buildings or possible threats lurking in the shadows. Those ocean-blue eyes were glued over the roofs and staring far ahead in a certain direction where the flames had yet to reach. His hands were clenched at his side as he sought something else.

Touma didn't need to guess what the boy wanted to do.

"Go."

"Huh?"

Naruto whipped his head back at Touma, blue eyes wide and puzzled.

At this moment, everyone was fighting with their all. Hesitation was no more. As one, those faceless background characters who were deemed as sheep, as mere props for a hero to shine brighter, were all standing at the center of the spotlight and putting their all into being the heroes. Everyone was fighting for what they believed in and for what they wanted with all their heart.

Why shouldn't they?

"This is just the battle on the back of the stage. If Gato's rolling out all his pieces onto the board to crush us in one powerful play then he's not going to hesitate to throw down his strongest and most fearsome piece to clench his victory. Hatake-san had his doubts, right? That a certain demon would rise again and continue his contract with a demon lord for the head of this nation's hope?"

What was the reason for all this rampage and bloodshed? What had drawn Gato out of lounging about his stolen throw to seek the destruction of the very land he was profiting off of?

Nami no Kuni was an island nation. It was a landmass floating on the sea without any form of transportation to the other nations of the Elemental Nations without sea-faring vessels. Completely cut off from the rest of the world and left to sit in the waves without any communication. Secluded. Isolated.

What if...what if they could change that?

What if they could build a connection with the rest of the world?

What if all it would take to reach out to others was merely a bridge between them and the rest of the nations?

Tazuna The Bridge Builder had a dream. To throw a line out into the waters and see if he could hook on to a better world than the one where heroes were killed for fighting for those they loved. He decided to build a bridge to offer his people opportunities to seek better lives, build better lives, support better lives, and cherish better lives. Whether it be through trade, employment, new homes, or new people.

The Nameless Bridge was a symbol of hope.

It was a target. An annoyance. An eyesore. A symbol of resistance and rebellion in the eyes of Gato.

Razing the mainland village wouldn't be enough. No, to completely snuff out the hopes and dreams of the people, once and for all, the demon lord would seek out the death of what inspired such radical ideals. He would summon his strongest contracted demon and order him to cut down that symbol.

Right now, said demon was already on the move. Touma didn't need any kind of confirmation to know so. He was positive that if Kakashi had caught even the sniff of smoke and embers on the wind, despite his mission of simply protecting Tazuna alone, the one-eyed shinobi would have acted. If that powerful shinobi wasn't here then it could only mean he couldn't afford to move even if Tazuna had begged him to.

"Hatake-san and the rest of your team moved out with Tazuna in toll to the bridge early this morning. Before this chaos even began, they must have arrived at the construction site. If Gato had planned on burning this village to the ground then he must have planned on putting the final nail in the coffin by killing Tazuna-san and possibly demolishing the bridge. If there was to be a final stage in all this, don't you think you should be running off to ensure it ends on a note you're happy with?"

We can take it from here.

Without needing to say those words, this was what Touma was telling the bright-eyed ninja.

They had enough main characters on this stage. So, wasn't it only fair that they spared one of those protagonists for another stage needing more action?

Touma could see some hesitation in Naruto's eyes. The kid didn't want to abandon anyone. He wanted to protect others too.

"Go. Your team is probably thinking their knuckle-headed teammate is dozing off right now while they handle the big parts by themselves. Show them you haven't been slacking behind the scenes. Give them an entrance that not even that so-called Demon of The Bloody Mists will ever forget."

Cut, bloodied, rough fingers ruffled the young spiky-blond's hair.

Permission to act wasn't required at this stage. If you wanted to move then move.

That's what it meant to be a main character anyone could play at the drop of a hat.

"Okay! Then I'll leave everything else to you, Touma-nii-san!"

The wide, bright, determined grin on Naruto's face told Touma there was no need to worry about the kid. Not when he was speaking like that.

With a quick fastening of his ninja headband, the orange jumpsuit boy didn't waste another second moving. He erupted off the spot like a missile, sights set over the burning village to the next stage. He didn't look back. With his speed, he would arrive in a matter of minutes.

Touma stared off at the disappearing speck of orange until Naruto completely vanished. Content with seeing the kid off, he turned back to the large crowd of villagers contemplating their next move.

"If that's the plan, let's keep moving. We've wasted enough time explaining things. I can't say for sure how many villagers remain in hiding but we can't leave just yet while those bastards are running around. Those who are unable to fight will be regulated to putting out the flames and tending to anyone who's wounded. We'll salvage whatever we can of our homes, and rebuild from scratch if we have to. So, let's keep moving."

Nods were seen all around with no objections. It was no longer a hopeless situation. The villagers who had given up and accepted defeat were now acting to resist the nightmare they'd suffered for too long with the loss of their champion.

The very rebellion Gato had been trying to prevent was budding into a vengeful flower with thorns.

Touma moved to follow along with those all-important main characters but found himself stopped by a hand on his right shoulder.

"Kyofu-san?"

The hand belonged to the Kumo kunoichi. She held him back from taking another step as the others began moving to the sounds of cackling demons.

"Don't you think you should be taking your own words to heart?"

"What do you mean?"

"Go."

"…"

"What? Do you think we need you to tag along too? I mean, as a Kumogakure kunoichi, I don't have any reason to participate in all this fighting myself. It's not my land, my people, or my home, so what do I care? But I also really want to stick it to that fat sack of shit for thinking he could imprison me, buy me like some cheap trick, and toss me aside to be devoured by his demons, so I'll join those villagers and even help them along. I alone can do the heavy lifting for them. And it seems that ronin bastard is even lending a hand as well."

This side of the stage was crowded. Touma said so himself. So, why did he think he was automatically safe from being kicked off to move to the next event?

"We've got things handled here now. The village is in good hands now, the people are being saved and fighting back, and this is just a cleaning effort now. But there is still a far greater threat at large. That strange right hand disables ninjutsu, a very important tool in every shinobi's arsenal that can leave them weakened if used right. Even if the one fighting the infamous Kirigakure no Kijin, Momochi Zabuza, is the equally infamous Sharingan no Kakashi, that doesn't mean the battle won't go without casualties."

Casualties.

In the first battle with The Demon of The Mist, Kakashi had been captured in a prison of water, wounded, and suffered chakra exhaustion. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura could do little more than be forced to stand back and survive the attacks of a clone that Touma defeated among others. Even if Kakashi had been freed by his students and heavily wounded Zabuza, it had been a close battle.

Zabuza had recovered. He most likely had help in the form of the mysterious masked ninja Touma knew as Nee-san. Their battle wouldn't be a repeat of the last time. The Demon wouldn't underestimate them.

Just as it was entirely possible that Touma would die when he entered the battlefield against that high-level boss, it was likely that Team-7 could die.

Whether entering the battle would do any good or not, Touma couldn't bring himself to turn his back on them now.

Imagine Breaker was a strange power that only ever showed its worth when confronting supernatural abilities. It was a tool of destruction and restoration under the right circumstances. In a rescue operation like this, his right hand could do nothing more than deal with a stray mercenary who could use ninjutsu.

"I thought as much; you're the type of idiot who seems to always run headfirst into the next fight for his own reasons. You were so focused on saving others here that you nearly forgot about the people who are in desperate need of your skills right behind you. If I held my tongue, I feel that you may have blamed yourself if anything happened to those Konoha shinobi. And though things are rather...tense between our two villages right now, I have to say; I don't hate them. For a bunch of soft-hearted ninjas, they're really not so bad, especially that little orange brat. Should something happen to them, even I'd feel a bit bad."

"But!"

"What? Are you worried about someone like little old me getting hurt?" Kyofu winked with a step closer to Touma's personal space. She was so close, he could smell a faint flowery scent beneath all the iron and smoke, "I can take care of myself. We can take care of ourselves. None of us need a guy like you trailing behind our backs anymore. You've played your part here, so let us play our roles. Right now, a guy like you is better suited for the finale about to play out. Make yourself useful and rush into the scene with no regard to whatever is going on around you."

She placed her hands on his chest, caring little about the wounds he had suffered, and pushed him back from taking another step forward. She grinned roughly as Touma grimaced from the flare-up of his injuries, her eyes landing on a certain weapon still tightly gripped in his left hand.

"Jitte."

Touma blinked, tracing the Kumo woman's eyes to the strange baton she had tossed him earlier.

"That's what it's called. A nifty striking club designed for catching blades along the hook and catching onto your opponents' clothes. After fighting alongside you for a bit, I noticed you tend to suck at dealing with enemies who use sharp weapons; you're a melee fighter but you lack any discipline in anything remotely close to taijutsu. I'm not sure of your reasons for only fighting with your bare hands but if you're deadest on fighting, you have to learn to protect yourself. You won't be of any use to anyone if you keep trudging on with cuts, holes, gouges, and chunks littering your bloody body, you idiot."

"I'm not the kind of person who likes fighting with weapons." Touma said with a bit of distaste, "I've always been able to save others with just my hands. Using a killing tool would just cut off any chance of me saving the people in front of me; enemy or not."

"Then don't use it for killing?" Kyofu responded like she was talking to an idiot.

She shook her head at the naive thinking of the boy standing in front of her. One who seemed perfectly okay with beating his opponents stupid with just his bare fist just because they couldn't get along. What a violent boy.

"It's just like your hands; you can kill with those too but you chose not to. The weapon or hand doesn't make the person; the person makes the weapon or hand. However you choose to use it is entirely up to you. Who knows? That one tool in your belt may one day be able to protect someone in a way not even that weird right hand of yours could."

With an exasperated wave of her hand, Kyofu turned to face the backs of the retreating villagers. Moral quandaries weren't really her thing. She was brought up by the teachings of her Raikage to be strong and powerful, to quash weakness, and always strive to be better. She was a soldier. Such thoughts never crossed her mind.

"This is a battlefield. Saving others is noble but if you don't defend yourself properly with whatever tools or tricks you have then you're not trying your hardest, are you? Take after those brave heroes you inspired, dumbass: fight with your all. If you're holding back even one card in your deck because of personal ideals then you're not fucking trying, are you?"

Kyofu didn't wait for a response. That soldier walked in his place after the villagers to her own battlefield. One she had no intention of him joining in.

One last thing was tossed back, catching Touma by surprise as he found it hitting his face.

"Ow! What is-...where did you find it?"

"Picked it up when I went into the bridge builder's place to check things out. While I like seeing your pecs out, have some shame. You can't march into battle with those bloody rags."

Kyofe left, a smirk on her lips as she pictured the boy staring at the item in his hands like an idiot.

Touma was left alone. Surrounded by orange-red pigments lazily burning the village around and dark smoke clouding the sky above, standing in the middle of a random spot with a dark bundled-up fabric in his hand.

"...Holding back, huh."

The snaps of embers and creaking wood were all he heard back. His feet were glued to the ground, unable to make up where he would be going. Even though he knew for sure where he should have been heading towards.

He held up the strange baton, a Jitte, and found himself marveling at the tool. He recognized it. It was renowned as a bygone weapon of Japan, wielded by officers of the Daimyo's court in a time when swords were outlawed and banned even by the daimyo's own guard. A weapon created to counter katanas and other sharp weaponry, designed to capture a swinging blade and strike back with non-lethal force.

...What would they say?

What would someone like Index or Othinus, or even that bratty Misaka Mikoto, say about this Kamijou Touma wielding a weapon in his hand? Would they cringe? Would they look at him in disappointment?

Cool metal was clenched with an audible crack.

They weren't here. No one was here to judge him or criticize him. Even if they were, it wasn't as if he would let go of his grip. After all, he'd never done things because he wanted to be praised or seen as some figure of salvation or justice. Whatever form his claws took, he would always use them the way he desired in order to save others.

Touma unfolded the dark navy blue fabric. It was a jacket: his school jacket. Patched up and with a new sleeve. With his right hand, he gripped at the torn-up shirt littered with tears and burns. He ripped it off without any effort. And carefully slipped his long-missed school jacket over his bruised and burned upper body. He didn't bother to button it up.

"Right. With all my strength then!"

Strange as it was, he swung his left hand out as if to banish his own doubts with a strike of the new card slipped into his deck. There was only one way for him to face now.

[-]

Blood seeped onto the metal bridge with an ominous wet drip.

Nothing but a deep obscuring gray fog could be seen for several feet from North, South, West, and East swallowing the battlefield and sent chills down the spines of all those lost within the mist drenched in thick blood-lust. Clangs of steel could be heard among frustrated shouts and explosive bursts of fire on Nami no Kuni's future symbol of courage.

The battle for the fate of Nami no Kuni was being waged by shinobi with the life of its only hope, Tazuna, on the line.

The bodies of the bridge's workers were sprawled over the unfinished steel road, butchered by the swings of blades, crushed by blunt clubs, and torn by sharp hooks to remind the bridge builder of his death at the demon's hands. Multiple pieces of equipment were knocked to the ground, deep gouges scarred the unfinished body, and the blood of the workers painted the steel in a coat of red. It was that sight of decimation that had greeted Team-7 upon arriving at the construction site and reaching the edge of the bridge that nearly touched the mainland.

It wasn't only the villagers butchered up.

Kakashi noticed the bodies of multiple thugs, mercenaries, bandits, and ex-nin among the corpses. Was it mutual killing? Had the workers fought back as they were attacked?

Or was the answer found in the large slashes of a butchering blade seen among Gato's men?

A silent fog crawled along the Konoha ninja's feet and grew denser before rising to engulf everything in the summoning field of a Demon resurrected from his grave.

Momochi Zabuza was alive.

As suspected, The Demon of The Mist had survived their first encounter after being supposedly killed by a Kirigakure Hunter-nin tasked with disposing of the rogue ninja. He had faked his own death with the help of his killer, the masked shinobi skilled with acupuncture stabbing needles into the Demon's neck to induce a catatonic state similar to death. Both had returned to finish their previous contract and kill the bridge builder they were tasked to kill to achieve their own dreams. Within moments of the fog cast upon the entirety of that metal symbol of Nami's brighter future, those two deadly and powerful figures struck to put an end to this event that would only lead to the downfall of an entire nation that had given up.

A hooked kunai trembled, fighting to dig deeper past muscle, veins, and bone to entirely pierce through Kakashi's palm as Zabuza glared menacingly at the Konoha jonin that stood in his way of victory.

That dreaded red eyes that spun rapidly with three tomoes had been stopped in its release. There would be no copying or hypnotizing their target now. Not as long as Zabuza forced the gray-haired lazy-eyed shinobi from removing his headband. That was one annoyance out of the way.

"Are you that scared of the Sharingan? For all your talk and blood-lust reeking up the field, you're no more than a trembling child who runs away from a parent's raised hand when they've been acting naughty. I would have never thought I would ever see a Demon so terrified by a mere glare of a single eye."

Kakashi chuckled lowly, showing no signs of pain from the hooked kunai stabbed into his palm. Beneath his bandage wraps, Zabuza grinned viciously at the Copy-nin.

"You should know better that a ninja's secret weapon shouldn't be brought out so hastily with every opponent that they come upon. Don't be such a show-off. If you keep brandishing those cheating eyes at every little moment then you get rid of the suspense and fun of the fight. Learn to live a little, Hatake."

"Don't complain about witnessing my Sharingan more than twice. Feel privileged that you are one of the only living opponents I've faced with my eye twice. No one has ever lived to tell the tale and no one will ever live to speak about seeing it thrice. I've yet to even show you what I can truly do with it, so enjoy the show while you're still breathing!"

"I suppose you're right, I should count myself lucky to have escaped death by your hands. If it wasn't for Haku intervening, I would have died. Which only makes me all the more confident that if I do fall in battle, he will take my place. And I'm utterly certain that even with that nifty little tool in your eye you won't ever be able to defeat my most well-groomed tool!"

Haku, the masked ninja who appeared as old as Touma and was originally believed to be a Hunter-nin sent by Kirigakure no Sato to eliminate Momochi Zabuza. A boy whose talent and skill in combat were enough to even make Kakashi apprehensive about facing the ninja possessing a unique and terrifying Kekkei Genkai that manipulated the water molecules around him into ice.

If the masked boy had belonged to any other of the hidden villages in the Elemental Nations, he could have become Anbu just as Kakashi had in his youth.

"Haku is a tool unlike any other. I've hammered, molded, and polished the child into the finest killing tool you've ever seen. Since he was but a child, I've relentlessly beat into him the skills and instinct to fight beyond any other ninja! He's grown into a fine killing tool capable of overcoming any adversary no matter how overwhelming they may be with not just speed, strength, and ninjutsu but intellect. Coupled with his Kekkei Genkai and his disregard for his own life to accomplish the mission, he's surpassed my own skills tremendously at such a young age! Comparing such a high-quality and versatile tool to the pieces of trash you lug around isn't even worth an insult!"

"You sure do love to brag about your own shitty accomplishments, don't you? Tell me, did you sick your favorite tool on the workers and Gato's men too?"

"Ha! Do you mean those worthless tools? They were getting in the way and crowding the stage. As if I'd sullied Haku's time on those weaklings; the workers were already dead and those who were still fighting were taken out by Haku out of some kind of mercy. Other than Gato's toys, I never touched them. If they got in my way though, they'd have been slaughtered like the rest."

"So, the big bad Demon does have some honor. What? Do those rebelling folk remind you of a similar scene? Tell me: do they remind you of your failed coup against a similar tyrant as well?"

Rage and fury darkened Zabuza's gaze. A nerve had been touched, one the terrible and frightening beast had worked effortlessly to conceal from his prey. Kakashi hissed, the hooked blade dug into his palm now threatening to cut right through.

With his right hand free in the struggle, Kakashi revealed his trump card with a red glare of spinning tomoe.

Jumping back, the hooked kunai stabbed into his left palm slid out with a spurt of red. Neither made a move to attack. Their eyes stared the other down apprehensively for any sign of action that would start the match to the death.

Zabuza chuckled gravely with a spin of his hooked kunai, "Apologies for the boasting. But allow me one more boast before we begin tearing into the other mercilessly; your little tricks won't work on me twice. I've already had Haku analyze that formidable little eye of yours down to the gritty detail."

The fog born of a bloodthirsty demon grew thicker so not even one's hand could be seen. Nothing but a deep gray sea could be seen swallowing what seemed to be the entirety of the bridge.

Zabuza's cold dark brown eyes eyed Kakashi one last time before his entire being was engulfed by his most infamous and deadly jutsu responsible for his famous moniker.

The Demon of The Bloody Mist.

"Kirigakure no Jutsu!"

It was almost as if the ex-Kiri ninja had faded out of existence before Kakashi's very eyes. He grew on edge knowing that an unseen blade was one of the deadliest threats to face.

"Sakura! Protect Tazuna at all cost and do not leave his side!"

Kunai spinning in one hand, Kakashi prepared himself.

The mist born from the silent killing art was incredibly thick, putting even Zabuza at a disadvantage. Even that master of the silent killing art wouldn't be able to land a clean hit in this blinding field.

The theory was laid to rest by a barrage of shuriken fired directly after Kakashi. With his kunai in hand, he deflected each death-revolving mill with swift countering strikes.

A giant buster sword was thrust out from the fog, intent on slipping through Kakashi's abdomen. It was thanks to the Copy-nin's reflexes that he evaded the ruthless stab. Kubikiribocho retreated like a beast hunting its prey in the dark, slipping away to continue hiding and awaiting its next attack.

Another barrage of shuriken was fired. Kakashi batted away the sharp metal stars with an anxious scowl as one of the metal razor disks cut the side of his cheek.

"Impressive, Hatake. You can dodge my attacks to some extent with little more than the slightest sound that should be dampened within my Kirigakure Jutsu. You really do live up to your reputation. But that matters little when I can simply continue to attack you in the dark until you slip."

Kakashi spun around at the sound of Zabuza's voice.

The Demon of The Bloody Mist stood at Kakashi's back, eyes shut in concentration as he held two fingers close to his face. He was no different than a statue unable to move an inch and made no sign of attacking now that he was found.

"Did you really believe that I wouldn't come up with my own counter-measures while I was left to recover with nothing more to do than plot my next attack? I've already learned the secret to your sharingan and its bewitching spell. You simply played with my unstable mind and heart as it was already shaken by that boy with the ninjutsu nullifying right hand to your advantage. You honestly made me believe you could read my every thought. But that was nothing more than a clever lie by another deceitful shinobi."

Fading back into the fog, Zabuza continued to speak eerily within.

The subtle whish of wind being cut cleanly warned Kakashi to duck and roll forward. Kubikiribocho's beheading wide swing missed and slunk back into the fog like the fin of a shark sinking into the thick waves.

"The Copy-Ninja, Kakashi no Sharingan of Konohagakure no Sato. That red pinwheel eye is capable of copying all sorts of actions ranging from the movement of an opponent, the thoughts of an opponent, and even the ninjutsu of an opponent. Such mirror-like forms make it so you can create fear, insecurity, anxiousness, self-doubt, and caution that bends the minds and hearts of those caught in your illusions."

A harsh kick landed against Kakashi's blocking forearms sent him skidding back. Even with his perceptive red eye, he couldn't catch a glimpse of the Demon's leg before another barrage of slicing metal was fired at him. It was growing more difficult to anticipate such silent attacks.

"Neutralizing such an ability can be rather simple. I simply need to neutralize your field of vision, keep my eyes shut to avoid your hypnotism, and remain hidden in my Kirigakure Jutsu. Oh, and don't think that just because I have my eyes closed I can't attack as well as when I have them open. I am, after all, an assassin born in the fog of deception."

Kubikiribocho's long-reaching blade cleaved a straight line down Kakashi's body from right in front of his blinded vision. A few gray hairs were lost as Kakashi evaded the guillotine drop of rending metal with a side-step. He knew better than to stay still another second and jumped back as the Kubikiribocho switched its position and lashed out with a monstrous wide swing that scratched Kakashi's flat jacket.

Kakashi felt the sweat on his body grow chill as kept calm and breathed. It had been some time since he had been forced into a corner. He had been so worried about Sasuke that he had lost focus. He was facing a ninja famous for his genius in the art of silent killing- on par with an Anbu elite. Of course, Zabuza could hunt him down in the deepest and thickest of fogs with sound alone. Kakashi had underestimated the deadly shinobi regarded as a Demon.

His ears twitched, picking up the slightest vibrations of steel singing in its swing from his left. Receiving a blow like that would do more than sever his entire arm but cut ribs, lungs, and even glance at his heart. Focusing the chakra on the sole of his feet, Kakashi evaded the fatal lash of Kubikiribochu with an explosive leap up into the air,

Even at the height of a tree top, Kakashi still found the fog produced by Zabuza's jutsu reaching up high. The amount of chakra required to create such a dense field must have taken a lot of time and preparation. It seems that Zabuza really had done more than just sleep the entire time he was healing.

So, the Demon wanted to play with tricks then. That was more than fine with Kakashi. The Sharingan wasn't the only tool he had in use right now. He had his own nasty and staggering card to play to give him the opening he needed to deal a lethal hit.

Above the widespread fog devouring the whole of the incomplete bridge, Kakashi caught a hint of hot orange. Smoke could be seen. A glance at the village revealed burning roofs and crackling fires. Seemed the bridge wasn't the only place Gato had wanted destroyed.

But amid the sight of the burning village, above the thick and deep curtain of fog, Kakashi heard it.

Footsteps. Rushed and growing closer to the bridge.

"True, you may have countered my Sharingan for the moment, you may have separated me from my students, and you may have the upper hand with your silent killing arts, but don't think that I'm as alone as you believe!"

From within the great gray low-hanging clouds of mist, Zabuza frowned uneasily.

"What are you-!"

"Kamijou-san, NOW!"

Something had entered the fog. A rush of footsteps rushed through the sea of gray with a startling ferocity that plowed through like a scrapping shovel. A head of black spiky hair was seen within Zabuza's mind with a right fist balled tightly.

Muscles had seized up in that second. Zabuza's face twisted into an ugly scowl marred with fury and shock as he paused his arm from flinging his giant buster sword like a large shuriken. He swore a foul curse, brow wet with sweat as he swore he caught the sound of two different pairs of footsteps running through his fog. He could get a lock on where the new body rushing in was coming from, swiveling his head all around as he readied himself to defend.

Without making a sound, a fist plowed through the curtain of fog right by Zabuza's face. Familiar hard knuckles missed by an inch as the contracted demon leaped back as far as he could to avoid the brutal punch. He hated how his nose, now healed, began to ache.

He'd found his nose broken a week ago by that damn fist. How could he ever forget?

Stepping through the misty gray veil was what appeared to be a teenage boy you could find anywhere else. Spiky black hair, an unassuming and lax expression, wearing a one-sleeved dark blue shirt over a white hoodie that was stylish when compared to the plain attire villagers wore. Were it not for the bold dark blue eyes set in a determined glare meeting Zabuza's murderous eyes, he would have thought nothing of the idiot standing on the blood-stained stage.

Kamijou Touma.

A confident and savage grin peeked out of the lips of the so-called average teen.

"Shall we continue where we left off, Momochi Zabuza?"

Zabuza said nothing, abandoning stealth and patience to rush straight at the smug boy with a vicious swing of Kubikiribocho.

A blue sandal heel smashed into the rage-blinded demon just as his giant sword was in line to lob off Touma's head. From the mist born of the deadly swordman's own hands, someone had utilized its gray curtain to their advantage and hadn't hesitated to strike with his own signature technique. Shock was the first thing to register in Zabuza's mind, the foot smash doing little damage other than causing his once broken nose to ache. The force wasn't even enough to make him step back.

Someone somersaulted back in the air and landed in between Zabuza and Touma.

Orange.

Irritating tangerine orange, ocean blue eyes, whisker birthmarks, and sunny blond spikes.

"The whiskered brat?!"

Uzumaki Naruto grinned back at the tall shinobi radiating a thick miasma of killer intent.

"Finally. I finally got a hit in on you, No Brows!"

Pride could be heard in the young genin's voice. Fear no longer caused the boy to step back and shiver in fright in cold sweat. Did it matter if his direct hit did any damage? Just because he hadn't succeeded in drawing blood, did he have to feel as if he was pathetic? Hell no!

He would not cower. He had learned to steel his nerves in a true life-or-death battle against an enemy who was leagues above him. His time in Nami no Kuni had toughened his heart and skin. After all that he had seen thus far, after all he had felt, after all he had heard!

Dark cold steel was spun in the young child's hand and branded with every intent to score into his enemy without fear.

"You're not welcomed on this bridge, ya lousy demon. Get lost before I have to snap those shitty horns off."

A vein throbbed on Zabuza's temple. Cheeky little boy. Seems the greenhorn had grown a bit of a big head as of late. Had he been fighting Gato's wimpy lap dogs? Did taking out some lowly grunts help to strengthen his grip and not shake in fear of a big shadow?

Kubikiribocho was swung down to the side and carved a massive scar into the country's symbol for a brighter future. Dust mixed into the curtain of gray fog to coil around the terrifying glare of the blood-craving beast.

"Wet-nosed brats should run along and leave things to the big dogs. I'm not in the mood to chop you up. I've got bigger prey to hack at." he snarled, his deathly glare now settling back onto the silent Touma.

Sharp metal, the tip as large as Naruto's chest, speared through the thick fog with incredible speed. The thrusting demonic horn reeking of blood startled Naruto who failed to properly react.

That was simply how far apart the two players on this stage were. Grit and courage could only get one so far.

Sparks lit up the gray space. A tiny metal fang interrupted the thrust, halting it from so much as even scratching the wide-eyed spiky blond. Dense as the fog was, Naruto could still make out the person who stepped up in front of him to block the giant sword.

"Touma-nii-san?!"

Touma didn't glance back, his back turned to the shocked boy as he held firm in pushing back against Zabuzu's prized sword with a meager kunai blade.

"Naruto! I'm happy to see you but this isn't your fight. You're still too green to meet Momochi Zabuza's glare. Stand aside and leave this to me."

"Come on! I mean, I did take the bastard by surprise and kick him in the face! It's not like before. Not even Sasuke was able to hit him! I can fight him too!"

"Listen to me! You can't fight him, not yet. So, I need you to take the fight to another part of this stage! Where do you think Sasuke's at? Did you already forget about Momochi Zabuza's partner? If Sakura's protecting Tazuna then it would only mean Sasuke is busying himself with fending off the masked nin who is also after our employer's head."

Naruto's eyes widened before he grit his teeth. Even if he was an idiot, he wasn't so stupid to get at what the older boy was saying.

Still...something felt off about the way Touma was speaking.

Sounds of clanging metal could be heard through the thick fog. An odd chill was felt. There was more than one battle taking place right now. Another demon, one cold and even more silent than the savage one-horned devil reeking of gore, had been summoned to the stage. Said masked assassin was fighting and aiming to take Tazuna's head, only stopped by his asshole of a rival.

"B-but I!"

"This isn't running away. It's doing your job. Don't forget, all this is meaningless if Tazuna dies! I can handle Momochi Zabuza on my own! So, I'm leaving the second demon to you and Sasuke to deal with. That is your mission!"

Zabuza's massive blade was reared back and swung down in a mighty fall. Touma knew better than to block with his kunai with such a blow. He evaded the thunderfall slash, skipping back as an explosive bang followed by an uproar of concrete and dust. With a spin of his kunai, he diverted the trajectory of the wild slashes with just enough force not to break his blade and avoid being torn apart.

All attention was directed towards the dark spiky boy deflecting Zabuza's fierce swings. In the killer's eyes, the orange genin was nothing. Not even worth worrying about scoring another lucky strike.

Naruto scowled unhappily but didn't take a further step into the fighting. His eyes scanned through the fog, searching for a sign. His ears could only catch the faint clangs of steel. Running about without any sense of direction would only waste him more time.

Orange-yellow

A faint pop of hot sparks was found a bit farther ahead.

With a frustrated growl, Naruto ran past the two fighting men, stepping further into a chilling curtain of gray. His face was marred with frustration as he disappeared.

Between the strikes of metal, Zabuza's deep chuckling could be heard.

"Ah, so you're finished playing the boring-faced fool? Did you realize I wouldn't fall for that lousy deceptive card you had in your sleeve?!"

A second kunai blade slid right out of the spiky boy's one long sleeve to counter a devastating crushing fall. The two kunai blades caught the massive hunk of severing metal-like biting jaws, halting them in place. Great force pressed down on Touma's blades, desiring nothing more than to cut through and bisect their prey in a gorey spray. Yet even as the spiky boy was caught in place and left with no other option than to hold the massive blade back, he grinned smugly up the deadly shinobi demon.

The well-crated illusion was cast aside.

Kubikiribocho slide free from the crossing blades. The tall ex-Kiri shinobi skipped back into the dense gray fog with a grave chuckle. No sound was heard but the faint strikes of steel on the other side of the battlefield. Nothing but a gray world could be seen in the tense spiky boy's gaze. A deadly shark fin swam in the gray waters he was surrounded in, darting about, circling, with a seething blood lust.

"Ah, you caught on, huh? Tell me, what gave it away?"

Like a cover set over a piece of furniture, the spiked-haired boy tore off the guise of a normal boy. He tore off his clothes to reveal his true skin: a shinobi. Just like Kakashi, he wore a forest green flak jacket over his dark-colored long-sleeve shirt. Bandage wraps were found on his right arm and a metal forehead protector identifying him as a recognized shinobi of Konohagakure was found tied to his forehead.

Just as Zabuza had suspected.

"You survived."

The fang of the deadly shark speared through the gray waters. With a skillful twirl of his kunai, Touma diverted the massive kinetic energy of the stab off to the side. A splash of hot sparks hitting his face caused him to grimace as he leaped back.

Sinking back into the fog, the shark's fin swam deep into the gray.

It struck again from Touma's left. He evaded.

It swept from left to right in a heavy cross-slash. He deflected the strikes.

It slashed up in an uppercut. He nearly lost his right arm.

Again and again, the deadly metal fin leaped out of the gray fog to strike in numerous swings. Leaving Touma to dance about the concrete bridge, sweating heavily as he evaded every sudden attack with just a hair's breadth.

"I'm not boasting. This isn't arrogance on my part: you should have died. A normal, ordinary, weak, plain civilian with no training or special abilities would not have survived the same battlefield as the one I inhabit. Those green-horned brats were shaken to their core and unable to act; you did not freeze up or so much as twitch. Even as I soaked the air with my blood lust and killer intent, you did not choke and instead chose to strike without hesitation. Every move I sent your way was not without purpose."

Again and again. This time with more of a feverish tempo. Those silent strikes now smashed into the concrete with the force of a hammer, breaking holes into the beautifully paved road of Nami's hope. With each miss, more and more of the bridge was destroyed.

"You could play it off as much as you'd like. Admittedly, I had even believed you at first. That facade of yours was clever. That alone should have given it away. After all, what is a shinobi's greatest tool? Is it their chakra? A special ability inherited by genetics? A deadly legendary weapon? No, the tool has always been greater than anything so physical or supernatural: deception."

A towering metal fin descended down on Touma's out-of-breath form without giving a sign of falling. He stamped his teeth and swore all his muscles were screaming out in agony as he just barely avoided the bisecting slash with a backstep. A rip cut through his flak jacket and blood was scored. Kukiribochou did not stop there and lashed out at the wide-eyed teen who appeared as if he wouldn't be able to dodge this time.

Deathly steel swept for Touma's left side, intent on tearing through the spleen and every other organ in the blade's path.

Were it not for the poof of smoke and wooden log replacing the boy.

"Kawarimi no Jutsu(Body Replacement Technique). Of-fucking-course."

"Honestly, the hardest part of that technique would be finding an actual log for the switch. I suppose one could use any old random object in its place. But where's the authenticity?"

Now that the deadly bloody shark was out in the open, it found several sharp hooks aimed at its back.

Zabuza gave Kukirbocho a mighty swing at the kunai. Just the sheer force alone was enough to bat the deadly ninja knives aside like they were twigs.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

The gray world was burned away by an inferno. Orange-red licking flames erupted from high above Zabuza's head as if a bit of the sun was sent down to sear him to a crisp. With an annoyed growl, he flipped through the necessary hand signs to counter the flames and fired back with his own elemental blast.

"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu!"

A torrent of water was gathered and fired back up at the blazing fireball. A roar of steam erupted as heavy volumes of water and fire collided in mid-air, both contradicting elements refusing to surrender until they both gave away to a great explosion of force and hot vapor fumes. Zabuza acted quickly and shielded himself from the crashing waves of skin-burning steam with the broadside of his blade, mentally berating himself as he suffered a few burns due to the open gaps of his prized weapon.

Where from next?

From above?

Left?

Right?

Below?

His back?

Where would the next attack come from?

"Did you forget someone?"

A familiar voice spoke from Zabuza's left. He cursed out loud as he made a foolish mistake.

"Hatake?!"

Another voice spoke up from Zabuza's right.

"I'd say two against one was unfair but this isn't a fight. We're aiming to kill."

A kunai from his left.

A kunai from his right.

Utilizing his own assassination technique, Kakashi Hatake and Kamijou Touma struck from both sides of Zabuza's body, knives aimed at gouging his tense throat like snapping wolves. Dark tips pierced the jugular on both sides as Zabuza choked on his blood in a matter of seconds.

Red should have gushed out of the bandages covering his lower face. Yet instead of the dark red-colored liquid, a clear spurt was seen. Water splashed on Kakashi and Touma's kunai.

The corpse was liquefied and fell apart in a puddle of water at their feet.

Alarms rang in both their minds. The demonic shark had given them the slip and submerged back into the gray waters.

They pictured it, a tall metal fin lazily swimming, circling its prey, testing the waters, and waiting for the perfect chance to sink its teeth into their sweating meal with gusto. Kakashi and Touma turned their backs to one another, pressing against each other as they carefully looked for the slightest sign of that deadly blood-craving fin leaping out without warning.

"Now the Copy-nin is participating again. Did you enjoy a nice little break and catch your breath, Hatake? Or was this your strategy from the beginning? Had you realized you alone couldn't handle an adversary such as myself even with your neat little red eye?"

The cruel fin cut through in a decapitating swing meant to sever both their heads in one motion. Kakashi and Touma ducked low, rolling away before the next strike would surprise them. Following the more annoying of the two, Kubikiribocho swam after the spiky boy and cut him down from his shoulder to his hip.

Instead of a log of wood, a steel beam was sliced in half and sent flying off.

With a twirl of his kunai, the spiky boy flung his deadly point straight at Kakashi's face, smirking as the one-eyed nin ducked. The kunai was heard striking another metal object and a growl was let out from the hunting shark.

"I wonder if this was your true goal. Leading a green-horned team of naive children into Nami no Kuni to protect a frail old man, all on your own? Foolish even for an infamous shinobi like you. It would make sense that you had an ally of equal footing hidden among your entourage, out of sight, waiting to step in should things get out of hand. Tch, setting guard rails? I should have expected much from a softhearted village that's grown so arrogant and fat in times of peace."

Faint footstep were heard and the ever-soft parting of fog sheared by a deadly fin warned them both of the next lunge. Even if their eyes could not spy their attacker in the gray world, and all sound was dampened, their expert training in the same assassination arts as Zabuza guided their next moves.

In perfect synchronicity, the one-eyed nin and the spiky boy stepped back from the thundering great sword falling to split one or the other apart like a log. Together, they countered the sharp fin's strike with devastating jabs aimed to pierce organs. The shark barely evaded the hooks digging into its stomach, suffering the smallest prick as they dove back into their misty waves.

A small hum was heard in the water. As if the shark had caught something odd drifting in his waters.

"...Boy, you're moving differently. Your attacks feel different. Your eyes look different. Hmmm, now that I think about it even your manner of speech sounds...different. Your stance...odd."

There was a change to the flurry of strikes. Again and again, Kakashi and Touma moved to evade, deflect, counter, and guard the others' open backs as the demonic shark continued thrusting its fin to score as much blood and gore as possible. But the attacks lacked a certain ferocity to them. They became almost transparent.

As if the hunter were merely experimenting.

Suddenly, an annoyed grunt was heard. The shark seethed with irritation.

"The fog!"

Buzz.

The deathly buzz of an oversized butcher's blade tickled both men's ears reminiscent of an industrial saw whirring madly. With haste, both Kakashi and Touma leaped back just before Kubikiribocho's spinning blade tore through them like a giant shuriken.

Sweat pouring down his, Touma was unaware of the furious shark diving out of its chilling gray world.

Strong, callous, cold, and scarred finger snapped onto the surprised spiky boy's face like a bear trap clamping shut. His breath was stolen by just the mere force of the gripping large hand threatening to shatter his face and skull to gorey bits. With terrifying strength, the squirming boy was lifted with only one hand, further displaying the demonic shark's insane strength.

Zabuza's eyes were dull. As if he had grown disinterested in the very prey that had stricken him with a prick of caution.

"I should have known." he hissed with ire.

He clenched his hand and crushed Kamijou Touma's face in one motion like it were a mere fruit. An ugly squelch of bone, muscle, cartilage, and blood bursting was heard.

POOF!

Were it not for the sudden puff of smoke, the annoyed swordsman would have been showered in the bloody spray.

Zabuza should have been pissed. Livid. Steaming and raging that he was tricked by the damn illusionist of a shinobi who had played him for a fool this entire time. Kubikiribocho should have been lashing out with a deathly howl.

"Heh. Hehehe. Hehehehehehahahahahahahahahaha!"

He laughed. He laughed out loud with amusement and idly blocked a series of shuriken aimed at his back with a mere twist of his giant blade. It was as if he had just been told a complicated joke and only now got its point and couldn't stop himself from laughing at how stupid he had been not to get it right away.

A disgruntled Kakashi appeared out of thin air, kunai swung down with all his might to dig into Zabuza's roaring chest as he hadn't stopped laughing. As expected his attack was also blocked and nearly broke the tip of his ninja knife.

"I see you've finally seen through my little trick. Tell me: what gave him away?" Kakashi couldn't help but ask unhappily.

"The fog."

With a grunt, Zabuza pushed Kakashi off, sending him skidding back on his and forcing him to evade a casual swipe of his massive blade. The demonic swordsman looked at the Konoha shinobi something akin to praise mixed with annoyance.

"The one thing that stuck out the most with that inhuman bastard was that right hand. I don't understand what kind of kekkie genkai it was but it was without a doubt far more unique than Haku's. The ability to negate ninjutsu with a mere touch of his hand. I'll never forget the sensation of that thing's touch. My strongest suiton ninjutsu was destroyed with just a fucking palm! My fog was no different. It took me some time but I noticed it."

Zabuza gestured to the intense field of gray mist enveloping the bridge, turning their entire viewpoint into a giant cloud of pure gray as far as their eyes could see. Curls of thick fog swam around his open hand.

"This is my favorite and most well-used ninjutsu. No one can utilize it to the degree I can. Not even my fellow brethren from the Seven Swords. I've mastered it to the point of even being able to sense minuscule movements in my little world to better track and attack my prey. That right hand was able to destroy large pockets of my fog just by its mere presence. Whatever technique that boy uses, it must be passive; it can't be turned off. Yet I didn't sense the chilling destruction in any part of my waters. Kudos."

A grin, a nasty yet smug show of teeth hidden by his bandages, was gestured to the frowning Kakashi.

"You utilized that boy's image well. No different than brandishing a weapon to instill fear into a foe who's already felt its sting. Perhaps we're not so different after all, Hatake. I just might pocket that little trick myself for future use."

Instead of being offended, Kakashi merely spun his kunia around his finger and spoke casually to the smug demon.

"I am a shinobi. What would you expect? But does that mean what I think it does?"

"?"

Kakashi's patent-eyed smile stabbed into Zabuza's ego as he spoke.

"Is that an acknowledgment of Kamijou-san frightening even the Demon of The Bloody Mist? Did that generic spiky-haired idiot scare you that much?"

Crack!

An unpleasant crack was heard from Zabuza's neck as he glared murderously at the delighted-faced copy-nin. Instead of lashing out though, he chuckled lowly.

His deathly metal shark fin dipped low, low, low into the gray waters.

"I commend you for the little trick, Hatake. I've killed far too many fools who merely wear the skin of a shinobi. Utilizing far too many fancy and colorful colors in their ninjutsu, focusing too much on firepower, and loud explosions. You're different. You actually fight like a proper shinobi should. Like a true soldier. Underhanded tactics like yours are far too absent in today's ninja. But you have made one mistake. One far too obvious for a veteran like you to have made."

Chills traveled down Kakashi's spine. Suddenly, he felt Zabuza's faint presence, his voice, begin receding into the fog. What was that monster hinting at?

"I see that expression on your face. Confused? Don't tell me...did you forget? Oh, don't be so conceited, Hatake. Yes, you're a worthy prey. But did you really think I've set all this up just so I could play around with you? My employer may be a sleazy, greedy, ugly, fat bastard but he's not so wasteful as to pay me a large sum of Ryo just to kill one of Konohagakure's most infamous shinobi."

What was Zabuza's original goal in all this? Why was he fighting and committing such violence in the first place?

"Tazuna, Sakura!"

It was all for the purpose of beheading a certain bridge architect.

With the help of an explosive burst of chakra from his feet, Kakashi kicked off the road to run in the direct path to Sakura and Tazuna.

By the time he made it and spread his arm out to cross his kunai to block the attack, Zabuza was already in motion of swinging Kubikiribocho in a downward horizontal slash.

"Too late!"

A great splash of blood wet Zabuza's body.

Unlike before, it wasn't an illusion.

[-]

It was pointless.

POOF!

Entirely pointless.

POOF!

Hopelessly pointless.

POOF!

No matter how many orange jumpsuit clones were created and sent his way, it was undeniably pointless to attempt anything considered a fighting attempt against the likes of Haku.

It wasn't arrogance speaking, it was fact cold as the demonic mirrors of frost caging in those young Konoha shinobi who could do little more than struggle in vain as their bodies were sliced open by senbon after senbon. As a cursed being with foul blood running in his veins, Haku was simply too gifted and well-trained to be defeated by mere genin who have yet to shed blood in the name of their ideals.

It was rather pitiful to watch the boys known as Naruto and Sasuke struggle to evade his rain of deadly needles. A myriad of cuts sliced every inch of those genin's skin and tore their clothing into shreds. Nothing but red stained their colors and painted their skin.

Earlier, Haku would have to admit: the Uchiha boy had him intrigued. The way the dark-haired prodigy was able to keep up with him with such speed, tenacity, and fever was impressive. By no means did it mean the young ninja had him sweating even slightly. Simply put they were just too different in experience and combat prowess to be standing on equal footing. Without a doubt, the Uchiha showed promise far greater than when Haku had started at the hands of Zabuza's ruthless training regiments. Even Zabuza had been impressed by the speed he had utilized to eliminate his clones.

Had the dark-haired boy more experienced, dipped in more violence and bloodshed, perhaps Haku would have gotten serious enough to go for the sure-kill techniques in his pocket.

But then the quaint little martial dance the two had been caught up in had been rudely interrupted by a loud-mouthed brat.

"Haa...haa...haa...Again! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Haku felt no pleasure in his cold heart as another wall of spiky-blond clones was decimated by his blitz attack. He slipped out of his chilling mirrors and became a blur to the naked eye, diving back and forth between his Demonic Ice Mirrors while gouging every clone that attempted to smash his mirror to pieces. Poof after poof after poof signaled the death of each clone.

It had taken less than a minute to wipe out the twenty or so Narutos.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

On his return flight back to his mirrors, a massive fireball of licking flames brushed against the edge of Haku's sleeve. He could feel the heat from the destructive jutsu this time. It was almost enough to burn his skin. Nonetheless, Haku entered his demonic mirror without so much as a ripple to the cold reflective surface.

Haku remained within the ice, eyeing the panting Uchiha heir soaked in blood and marred in cuts. The senbon sticking out of his body made him and Naruto look like porcupines.

'The Uchiha's reaction time is gradually increasing with each attack. It's almost as if he can predict my every move now. That is unsettling. The battles wearing him out but he's gaining tremendous experience with every moment he's fighting for his life. If this keeps up, it won't be long until he can effectively counter my own speed.'

It had been easy keeping up with the Uchiha on his own. No doubt, if Haku had desired it, he could have killed the younger boy. What bits of the gentle heart he had been gradually wearing down had stalled his hand.

With the sudden interruption of Uzumaki Naruto, the battle had become...troublesome.

Not in battle prowess: he could kill them both without any issue.

But seeing that brightly smiling boy, falling into the battlefield with such a blinding, ferocious, and smug grin on his face.

Haku felt the tiniest bits of his gentle heart cry.

The longer this fight dragged on, the more experience those two boys would acquire.

Those two boys would have to die. Knocking them out would be out of the question. If they did not die by Haku's hand they would die by Zabuza's. Haku's master expected that he kill them both and he would never wish to displease the man who had adopted him to be his most treasured and deadly tool. Whatever it took, whatever the toll on his soul, however much blood he had to spill, if it served to please Zabuza even a bit, he would do it.

Without a moment of hesitation, Haku dashed out of his mirror with lightning speed which made it seem as if he was teleporting. His eyes were honed on both Naruto and Sasuke, prepared to put them to rest as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Yes, Haku would snuff out the life of those two boys. It would be a kindness. Better him than the likes of a demon such as his beloved mentor/master. Even the spiky-blond who had the dream of becoming Hokage, who had sat alongside him and another older boy on a nice morning, eating delicious food and resting in a field of flowers and herbs.

The crack in Haku's heart spread further yet he showed no pain.

'Yeah, we'll see you again soon, Nee-san. And I hope that when we do, there won't be any need for masks between friends.'

The senbon in Haku's clenched hands trembled.

"Kamijou-san, NOW!"

'What?!'

Sound so deafened by a demon's breath should not have traveled so far for Haku's ear to have heard it. But the young tool had the misfortune to have caught it.

Haku wasn't sure what happened but the split second his attention was disrupted by the name of someone he had no desire to see again, his body had been slammed against one of his mirrors with a crack.

Two fists had rammed into his mask and nearly shattered the durable material to pieces. Those two genin had taken advantage of his loss of concentration in a split second to attack as hard as they could. The blows had been so jarring that Haku hadn't even been able to command his body to slip back into the safety of his ice mirrors. He slumped against the cold surface but refused to let his knees hit the floor.

"Alright! How do you like that, ya masked bastard!? Did you really think you could continue hiding in your shitty ice sheets forever?!" Naruto proudly exclaimed with a bloody torn knuckle.

Sasuke didn't gloat, focused entirely on the flashing hand signs for the finishing move now that they've stunned their enemy.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

A great ball of scorching flames was spewed from Sasuke's lip to reduce Haku into a black charred corpse. Even the chilling air could not diminish the size of the fireball that towered the boy's body.

That great fire struck the cold mirror, a mirror that reflected Haku's image onto the dozens of demonic mirrors as it erupted into a plume of raging flames that died away as quickly as they came.

Sasuke clicked his teeth in annoyance. That was their only shot at defeating the older boy and it was gone.

"Damn it, I really thought we had him this time! Those damn ice mirrors are cheating! If you think you're so tough, why don't you step out of them and fight me like a man!"

"Oh, now you see me as a man?!"

"The hell are you talking about?! I've never even met you! Why does it matter if I think of you as a guy or a girl?"

"It doesn't matter! I just wanted to cement the fact that I am indeed a man, not a girl or anyone you would refer to as Nee-san!"

"Why would anyone call such a cold-blooded bastard like you Nee-san?"

"Exactly! Why would you!?"

Sasuke's expression grew into a flat stare as the cold-blooded masked ninja responsible for all their wounds shouted with a feminine fluster. What the hell happened to the tense atmosphere?

Haku blushed behind his scarred mask. Did he really just lose his composure that easily? Thank god Zabuza wasn't around to see his tool make a fool of itself.

With a scoff, Naruto cleaned the blood on his face with the back of his ripped sleeve before grinning widely.

"Whatever. We may have missed our chance to kick your ass completely but we're still standing! And if we can't beat you then we just have to wait for Touma-nii-san to break into these shitty ice mirrors and help us out! His freaky right hand should be more than enough to give us the upper hand and fight you without your cheating jutsu to keep you from our fists!"

Sasuke frowned in thought at the idea. True, if they could simply hold out until Touma arrived to help them with dealing with the demonic ice mirrors then they could fight the masked boy on even ground. They would no longer be trapped like pigs for the slaughter. All they would have to do is keep fighting and avoid any lethal hits.

It was a dent to his pride but it was their best course of action in defeating the masked boy. Even Sasuke wasn't foolish to deny help from such a person.

Kamijou Touma had already proved that he wasn't an ordinary civilian.

"Touma..."

Haku tilted his head as he slowly tried out the name.

Was that the name of the older spiky-haired boy? When did he forget it?

"That's right! Touma-nii-san may look plain and complain about being unlucky like some broken record- plus I'm beginning to think he's been putting the moves on both Tsunami and Sakura-chan- the bastard." Naruto growled irritably before expressing a strong belief in said boy, "But he's strong enough to punch your boss's face without ever using chakra! He's our friend and I know for a fact that he'll show up like the late hero he is when the time is right, datte-bayo!"

"You have such faith in such a person, don't you? Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'? He's our friend, why wouldn't I believe in him?"

"But haven't you only just met such a person? Isn't he still but a stranger who you know nothing more than his name? Why put so much stock in a stranger who may as well abandon you? The bond you have with such a person can not be any more strong or meaningful than the very people whom you are fighting to protect. Even the bridge builder can still be considered a stranger, one who is only using you for his own benefit. You speak of this bond as if it's nothing more than one person using the other: use or be used. Why bother risking your life for such weak bonds?"

"What kind of crap are you talking about? Use? Be used? Fuck off! What does it matter that I don't know much about either of them? Touma-nii-san's my friend so I trust him to come through for us in the end! Tazuna's my friend so I have to protect him just as I would his family! The bonds I've made with them may not be as strong or old as even Sasuke-teme- who I hate."

Sasuke scoffed at the raspberry Naruto sent his way, refusing to dignify the idiot as he kept his eyes on the masked ninja.

"But it doesn't make them any less meaningful. No one is using anyone: we're all doing this because we want to! Even a stranger you meet on the road can become someone precious to you and give you the strength to fight! Touma-nii-san taught me that alongside Nee-san! Even a guy like me who's regularly seen as a loser and eyesore can gain a power that he can define as the trump card to put down bastards like you who can only kill and rob people of their happiness!"

The powerful roar from Naruto's chest caused a visible change in the masked boy.

The knuckles of Haku's hands trembled and grew white, threatening to crush the metal needles in his grip.

Without knowing it, Naruto had landed the cruelest and most devastating hit in the fight.

Haku was a tool designed to kill and fulfill Zabuza's every command. For the sake of Zabuza's ideals and dreams, he would kill his own heart of all emotions and fully embrace the shinobi way. He would become a killer as cold as his ice and as deadly as his needles. If need be, he would become a shield for his master to endure all manner of violence in his name. His own life meant nothing, was worth nothing, and promised nothing but death to Zabuza's enemies.

If Haku were to die, it would be because he had become useless as a weapon or died protecting the only person who truly mattered to Haku.

Happiness was found through purpose. His purpose, his existence, and his meaning in life were serving Zabuza. As long as he could be of use to his master who had taken him in from the streets and raised as his own to be a weapon, Haku was happy and content.

Compared to the short purpose wielded by Naruto in defense of a stranger who meant nothing but coin and achievement to him, Haku's purpose was greater. His use kinder. More meaningful. Far stronger and more meaningful.

So why was he now finding himself hesitating?

Haku's eyes grew soft as he gazed at the determination shining in those ocean-blue eyes. Such strong will was born because of the people that the fox-eyed boy regarded as Nii-san and Nee-san during a pleasant breakfast in the woods. And because of that lesson he held close to his heart, Naruto would indeed grow strong.

Except the promising bright-eyed boy would die today.

"If this were another time, a different place, a different world, maybe..."

Naruto frowned softly at the crack in the masked boy's voice. Why did it sound familiar?

A bright gleam flashed from the demonic ice mirrors. A barrage of senbon was fired to inflict whatever mortal wounds they could inflict. At the speed they were going there was no dodging.

All those fatal needles were focused on only one of the two genin: Naruto.

Haku would kill his heart here and now. There would be no more hesitating or second thoughts. Regrets mattered little to him if they didn't concern his master's well-being and dreams.

To ensure the death of that core of conflicting emotions, he would kill the very boy who bore those rising emotions to the surface.

Every vital point on that kind boy's body was targeted, each one ensuring he died as painlessly as possible. That was Haku's gift to Naruto for showing him that at another time, he could have had a friend to consider precious.

Metal needles were fired so tightly together that the color silver blotted out the cold world. Clear and true death erupted in an inescapable roar born from a crying reflection.

Blood-red mirrors spun. A tomoe was born from vengeance and heart.

Another demon awoke on the battlefield.

[-]

Nothing but the clangs of violence, splashes of red, and the cackle of a demon could be heard and seen before Sakura's trembling green eyes.

Her team was fighting, battling with ninjas considered demons that weren't concerned with killing children who dared to enter the battlefield. Each metal clang, each grunt of pain, each sticky wet splash made her skin crawl. The very atmosphere felt as if it was crushing her like a tin can underneath a boulder. Sweat covered every inch of her skin and her clothing was damp, making her feel a chill from the cold air born from the demonic cage of ice mirror trapping two of her teammates far away.

Kakashi was busy fending off the Demon in The Mist within the gray sea. She occasionally found sparks of metal and heard grunts from both men. She could hear Zabuza's taunting from her position guarding Tazuna from said monster, his every word causing her heart to hammer against her chest. Always close, never far from his true target. She couldn't help but grip her kunai's handle tensely, gulping anxiously as Zabuza cackled in his fight to the death of her sensei.

Everyone who could fight was fighting.

Everyone but Sakura, the weakest member of Team-7.

'I...I hate it.'

Her teammates were fighting for their lives, their bodies were being pummeled and cut up, their blood was being spilled, and where was Sakura? Outside of the battlefield, left to protect their client as the last line of defense should any of them fail. The weakest link could do nothing more than cower with a knife in hand, hoping her teammates and sensei didn't fall. Because if they did, not only would she lose her friends but she would be the only one left to fight.

W-What could she do?

Other than the chakra control she had just mastered, she wasn't strong, she didn't know any other ninjutsu besides basic ninjutsu taught by the academy, her taijutsu was just average and only good for defeating civilians, and she didn't possess massive amounts of chakra, stamina, or talent like either of her teammates. Compared to Naruto who was said to be the weakest and dumbest Academy student in their year, she thought she was fine. Like everyone else, she had graduated from the Academy and been granted her headband, clear proof that she was considered a full-fledged shinobi.

It all fell apart though once they left the safety of their village and entered a world that saw such accomplishments as nothing.

Sakura was considered one of the brightest in their class, second only to Sasuke's genius. In the ninja toolbox, she was incredibly sharp. She had memorized the ninja handbook that told of all the proper conducts a ninja should exhibit on the field. Her scores were perfect on every exam she took considering their lessons on the shinobi arts. On paper, she was a model student who had a promising future as a kunoichi, a brilliant mind that would go far with the proper training and guidance.

But when the time came for Sakura to display all her hard work and training that spoke of her great skill, she fell completely short.

Uzumaki Naruto, the dumbest in their class, had shown more grit and brilliance than the model student who had frozen up and nearly fainted before bearing fangs of blood lust produced by an overwhelming enemy. She had become nothing more than a backdrop in her teammates' lives in their mission to protect the bridge architect from a man regarded as a Demon and the army of a corrupt billionaire. The boy she had considered useless, stupid, untalented, and petulant had more worth than her.

And for good reason.

Sakura felt a regrettable pang in her chest as she thought back to how harshly she had treated Naruto. For all his shouting, boasting, perverseness, and lack of a brain, he was strong. His chakra reserve was so great he could perform a kinjutsu that would kill a full-grown jonin after two or three uses multiple times without a sweat. Even when he was scared, he grit his teeth and pushed on in the face of an obstacle that would take his life with one wrong step. That idiotic loudmouth knucklehead was considered a failure on paper.

But on the field, he far outshined Sakura's own accomplishments.

And she couldn't help but be envious of that power and brilliance.

'I hate this.'

Just what exactly had she been doing this entire time to fall behind everyone else? What was the point of scoring such high marks in school when they did little to help her now? What good did memorizing the ninja handbook do her against a monster like Zabuza or the masked ninja?

Sakura was a ninja too, a proud graduate of Konohagakure no Sato's Ninja Academy.

So why was she left on the sidelines as the last line of defense that would crumble once hit?

'I hate this!'

Even a civilian had outdone her. Someone who said he wasn't trained as a shinobi, who had never been taught how to fight, who couldn't even control their chakra, and who had no use on the battlefield had shown Sakura up. A lost foreigner with no talent, no skills, no smarts had batted aside Zabuza's overwhelming killing intent without a sweat and gone as far as to defeat his clones. A civilian had punched Zabuza in the face and helped Kakashi to corner the Demon.

The very boy Sakura had been protecting had saved her life.

For god's sake, he had defeated several of Gato's mercenaries, charged his base in Sector-D, and freed the civilians all while heavily wounded. The random teenage boy was responsible for the bright-faced shark girl, Otohime, smiling widely and without fear, regarding him as a hero.

Everything she had learned in the Academy had been for naught once she made it to the real world where battles were fought until someone died, innocent people were killed, women were enslaved as toys for sick pigs to be played, heroes were slaughtered for standing up for their friends and family, and even children were cruelly killed.

If Sakura had been left in such a world without her teammates or sensei, she felt that she wouldn't have survived. And it made her sick to her stomach. Hot tears prickled her eyes as she grit her teeth in frustration.

"I hate this."

She hated it.

She despised it.

She loathed it.

Because Sakura only now realized how weak and useless she was. She was reminded again of a similar scene when she had been left to protect Tazuna from the Demon Brothers. Back then, she had questioned why she was throwing her life away. She had wondered if her life was so cheap as to sacrifice herself for a complete stranger. She had questioned why she even became a kunoichi in the first place.

Was it all really so that she would be noticed by not just her crush Sasuke but everyone else who had seen her as a quiet wallflower? Were such reasons for becoming a kunoichi why she had failed to do anymore to make herself strong? Was her will so lacking that she had no more room to grow?

Just...what was her purpose in all this other than a flimsy human shield?

"Sakura-chan, it's alright."

A kind, old, and weathered hand fell on Sakura's trembling shoulders, reminding her of a grandfather's comforting touch easing a terrified child. Tazuna smiled warmly at her. He wasn't afraid, he didn't tremble, he didn't sweat. He appeared to accept a decision he had made himself as he spoke to the girl protecting him with her life.

It was all an act to be seen as strong. Sakura could see the slightest tremble on Tazuna's arm speaking of just how terrified he was.

"I know it's scary but you shouldn't have to force yourself to play the shield for this old man. A girl like you has so much more ahead of her than a man who failed to save his village or even bring an honest smile to either his daughter or grandson."

Sakura bit her lip enough to draw blood. She had already come to realize what Tazuna was saying.

"The least I could do is make sure that a young promising kunoichi like yourself doesn't die in vain. You've done your job and you've done it well."

A steel beam was severed in two with one of the heavy halves landing close to both Sakura and Tazuna with a harsh crash that dented the floor. Sakura nearly stumbled back as she lost her grip on her weapon. Deadly metal sharpened to easily cut through flesh clattered. Her shaken hands couldn't reach the blade.

"You don't need to stick around for my account any longer. Save yourself and leave this old man to whatever fate he's got coming for him."

Sakura wanted to cry out in frustration and scream.

Was she really so useless that she couldn't even play shield for an old man? How humiliating was that?

Why was she even pretending she could do anything at all? She was useless, weak, and a pathetic excuse for a kunoichi. So why even waste their time if she was nothing more than a wallflower that faded even in the violence?

She wasn't hero material, so why was she here?

"Kamijou-san, Now!"

Emerald green eyes watered with sorrow and defeat snapped open wide in surprise.

A certain spiky-haired boy was suddenly seen in her thoughts.

The words of a lost foreigner designated a civilian and seen as useless on the battlefield spoke up.

"But if there is something I can say to a kunoichi who far surpasses this ordinary school boy who can't do anything more than resolve his troubles with violence; it's to simply fight for what you want, not what others want. To a ninja, I guess it's contradicting when you're told who to fight for, but I think if you just clench your fists for what you want, you can make up for whatever you lack as long as you don't lose faith in what it is you're fighting for. After all, if a weakling like myself can do it, shouldn't it stand to reason someone far more gifted than them should be able to do far better than them?"

Heat. A fire was kindled to sear doubt.

There was a boy who had no training, no control of his chakra, and no proper fighting skills, who could be said to be useless as her. Yet that useless civilian didn't beat himself up, he didn't complain, and he didn't cry about his lack of power. No, that idiot refused to wallow in his own pity.

She had been saved by him. She had gotten to know a bit about him. She had eaten with him, talked to him, and even lamented her own weakness with him when she had no one else to confide in.

Haruno Sakura had realized she was weak. She was useless. When others may have agreed and told her she was worthless, the spiky boy had spoken up to her with a mere smile.

And disagreed.

"You're already strong, Haruno-san. So what if you stumbled a bit? So what if you were afraid? So what if you're not as strong as others? You're here, aren't you? You're fighting however you can despite your own doubts. And I think that's worthy of strength."

Pale, weak, delicate finger shivered. A strong pulse was felt in their clean palm.

Kamijou Touma fought against the likes of Momochi Zabuza with only his fist because he couldn't ignore the people suffering in the middle of all the violence who didn't even have the strength to beg for help. Nothing else mattered, his own self-worth didn't matter, he simply did as he felt was right.

Being useless wasn't an excuse he could accept knowingly. That self-proclaimed normal boy refused to accept such a reason to abandon the person who was in danger.

The pink-haired girl's teeth clenched and she felt her heart let out a great pulse.

Shaken thoughts were banished by an older boy appearing before her with a simple smile.

"I think you're doing just fine as you are now."

Something silent and bound surged from a shivering flower.

"Tazuna-san, I...I'm not going anywhere!"

CRACK!

An audible crack startled Tazuna, greatly confusing the old man.

Had that sound originated from...the girl's fist?

"Sakura, Tazuna-san!"

The pink-haired forehead girl swallowed her fear, her green eyes growing bold with resolve as she clenched her fist tightly. The sound of her own knuckles grinding into another made her skin crawl but did not stop her from what she was focusing on.

Unseen by the naked eye, a flow of chakra began to focus on that useless girl's fist and gather on the bottom of her soles.

Was she sure of what she was doing? Did she even know what she was doing?

Sakura herself couldn't answer her own questions as she pushed Tazuna back just as Zabuza seemed to teleport to their location, his towering buster sword raised above their heads like a guillotine. She could almost make out the dark grin hidden by his mouthwraps. Blood-stained steel was swung down with no remorse.

Not a second later, Kakashi appeared in front of them, prepared to defend the useless shield that was Sakura from being harmed along with their client.

Kubikiribocho cut through Kakashi's flat jacket, drawing a large amount of blood to splash up into the air and paint Zabuza in more of his opponent's rich red. Kakashi grunted hoarsely from the blow that had cut his chest yet failed to sever bone or vital organs. It was a deep open wound oozing red with a consistency similar to syrup.

Emerald green eyes were wide with fear. Beads of warm tears gathered and glistened. She felt her heart stop. Yet she did not let go of the surge of pressure forming in her grasp.

Sakura refused to scream, focusing all of her thoughts and strength on her legs and painfully clenched fist.

All she knew was how to control her chakra. What little she possessed could be easily manipulated to the point she didn't even need to think as she walked up the bark of a tree to defy gravity. If she wanted to, she could cross large distances with an explosive step that cracked the earth below her sandals.

So why stop with her feet? Who said it could only be applied to one measly body part? Where was the rule in her trusty old handbook of tricks saying she couldn't modify the new card in her deck?

If the output of the chakra was far greater than desired, it would erupt like an explosive tag. It could strip bark off a tree and punch a hole into even the earth. If one wasn't careful, the eruption of raw energy could damage even the user if it wasn't measured correctly.

Everything she had learned from mastering a technique she had been taught in a day flooded her racing thoughts. She had learned to concentrate chakra to the bottom of her feet so she could stick to the surface of any terrain no matter the angle. And a stray thought had been caught in all the information she had retained.

Why not focus that concentration, that raw power born from chakra, into her fist instead of her feet?

Why not let go of her control and simply let it loose?

Why not make a fist and fight back for once?

The shadow of a spiky-haired boy fell into her mind. Of his strong back standing over her and making a fist.

For some reason...she pictured Touma when she narrowed her eyes and flexed her right arm muscles.

"Hehehahahaha! A little slow there, Hatake! I thought your magical eye could see all and know all! Is a little fog really all that I needed to blunt your abilities to this degree?! The thought of your own students' safety has blinded you and left you open wide for attacks! You should have just abandoned such useless tools-!"

Zabuza hadn't even bothered to pay Sakura or Tazuna any attention, seeing them both as nothing to concern himself with despite one of them being a shinobi. It was as if he had tunnel vision that only registered Hatake Kakashi and no one else of importance. The same went for Kakashi who held a hand to his bleeding chest and a weak glare at the sadistic Demon.

BOOM!

Which was why neither had seen the pink-haired girl with a large forehead launch herself forward with a clenched fist crackling with visible chakra breaking the skin of her trembling knuckles.

Not even the ferocious Demon of The Bloody Mist could react in time to those seething green eyes exploding into his personal bubble in time to evade.

"SSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNAAAAAAARRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

A mini explosive had gone off to the point the gray fog had been partially cleared around the four. Cement was shattered. Sound howled and popped ears. A flash of ghostly azure light flashed with a thunderous roar among the bark of fierce hurricane-like winds.

Zabuza was hit by a detonating tag.

Yes, that had to be it. There was no other sensible explanation for what happened.

How else could one explain the cracks running beneath Sakura's feet that sent her flying like a blazing rocket or the incredible force smashing- no, exploding into Zabuza's abdomen?

Zabuza's eyes nearly flew out of their sockets as he felt a monstrous burst of raw power strike him even as he had tried to take a step back at the last second. Flesh was sheared, muscle was torn apart, bones creaked, and his insides were rattled. Brute blunt force sunk deeply into his flesh and organs. Wild streaks of chakra flew about like raging waves. He could feel the girl's very fist imprint itself on his skin like a searing tattoo. It didn't matter as Sakura's feet had expelled a great burst of chakra to send her slamming her small weak knuckles into his muscles.

Blood bubbled up from his throat like syrup being squeezed out of a bottle.

It made no sense. It should have been impossible!

How could such a weak girl be capable of delivering such an insane punch!?

The force of the blow was far too much to handle. Zabuza's body was sent flying off his feet like he were a skipping stone on water. Stunned by such a sudden attack, he couldn't even right himself in the air as his back met a certain set of demonic ice mirrors in his flight trajectory.

As durable as those reflective sheets of ice were, they shattered to pieces as Zabuza crashed into the prison trapping a fox and a raven.

Kakashi wasn't sure what to say as he openly gaped at the display of monstrous strength that his female student had pulled out of her hat. Such an attack was similar to the feats a certain legendary sennin performed with her insane level of chakra control. There was a name for such a technique known to very few individuals.

Chakra Enhanced Strength.

It was a special form of chakra control that required refined manipulation of one's chakra and immense concentration to ensure all that gathered power didn't run rampant or destroy the user's body. It was a skill that became very useful in the art of medical ninjutsu, a practice Senju Tsunade was famous for. The legendary medic-nin was said to use such a skill to create fissures in the ground with just a tap of her heel or finger.

Earth would split apart.

Steel would be punched through.

Air would howl like a storm's beat.

To learn such a skill was an arduous task that took years of training. So how did his little student perform such an attack without being shown how to control or concentrate all that chakra safely?

The answer was simple.

She hadn't.

"I-I...I-I d...d-did it Kakashi...sensei."

Kakashi ground his teeth so fiercely he was sure they were ground to dust.

Sakura hadn't moved an inch from her punch, her right fist stretched out with smoke wafting from her limb. Her entire body was shaking as if she was suffering a great chill, her skin had grown paler than normal, and her breathing was labored. Her stance was sloppy, nothing like the katas the academy had drilled into her. It was a familiar pose, one he had seen from only one idiot who had claimed to have zero martial arts training.

Heavy plops could be heard, a red liquid hitting the bridge with a sticky plop.

Sakura's right arm was horrifically mangled.

Angry, blistering, deep red glared back at him like an overheated metal pot.

It was as if the inside of her arm had detonated, bursting from within to leave her arm with grotesque rips that revealed open muscle and hints of bone on the knuckle. The damage extended from the tip of her fingers to her shoulder, ripping her sleeve to shreds from the immense concentration of chakra that had been unleashed. Blood seeped off her quivering limb, creating a sickening sound of wet drips.

Sakura must have been in tremendous agony after suffering such a backlash over a technique she had no control over. Chakra Enhanced Strength was a high-level ability that required years of training under a professional medic-nin to control the output of chakra needed to gain superhuman strength without damaging the body. If there was no control in the output, the limb would be destroyed from the chakra recklessly released onto the target.

Without even truly understanding what she had done, Sakura threw an enhanced punch heavily concentrated with as much chakra as she could gather into her fist. This was the cost. Pure force and chakra popped out of flesh like bombs planted in her limb.

Kakashi didn't care about the body ragdoll that was Zabuza crashing into the prison of ice mirrors as he rushed over to catch Sakura's swaying figure.

"Sakura!"

Her right arm hung at her side limply, the fingers of her arm twitching occasionally. He held the deeply wounded girl close to his bleeding chest, patting her pale white face for a response.

All he got from Sakura was a proud smile as her green eyes fluttered.

"I...protected you...sensei. R-Right?"

Kakashi gripped the foolish girl's shoulder tightly, blood coursing from Sakura's torn arm through his own bloody hand as he nodded.

"Yes, you did Sakura. You protected both Tazuna-san's and my own. You punched an Anbu class ninja and sent him flying with one hit. Not even I could have performed such an impressive attack. I'm...incredibly proud."

Kakashi gave his wounded student a patented eye smile even as he ground his teeth with barely restrained fury.

"You've truly grown into a fine kunoichi since your time in the Academy. And you'll only continue to grow stronger after taking the first step. Out of my sight...you grew, didn't you? I wish I had been there to help. You've done your part now- you delivered what is no doubt a major critical blow to our enemy. So, please, leave it to your proud sensie to keep the fight going strong."

Sakura weakly smiled.

She didn't have the strength to argue after the self-mutilating attack she had thrown. She truly had no idea what she was doing other than taking what she had mastered in her tree climbing exercise and applying it to her fist instead of the chakra coils on the bottom of her feet. Then she had simply allowed all that stored chakra she had in her body to run rampant upon making contact with Zabuza with a burst of speed. She had tossed aside the types of techniques her instructors had taught her would better harm her target and simply thrown a fist.

All while picturing a certain boy's image.

To think she could send the Demon knocked off his feet with such distance.

Useless, huh? She'd like to see a useless girl do what she had just done.

'I didn't run away. I didn't cower like some scared little girl. I actually fought back. Because...because Tazuna-san was trembling behind me. He was willing to sacrifice himself for my safety despite fearing for his own life. I couldn't remain scared anymore, I couldn't pity myself anymore, I couldn't freeze up anymore! Because-!'

A certain dark spiky-haired teen flashed by Sakura's fading thoughts as she grinned happily before losing consciousness due to the incredible pain she was under.

'I'm enough. Because you said I'm strong enough to try, right?'

To think such a boring pervert who didn't stand a candle to her precious Sasuke could cause such a change in her. If she hadn't passed out, Sakura would have giggled.

[-]

The raid of needles paused as one of Haku's demonic ice mirrors was shattered by a heavy object breaking through like a cannon.

Sasuke winced, struggling to remain standing as he panted wearily with a body littered with senbon. His newly awakened sharingan spun slowly, flickering as the toll he had taken was proving too much. Pushing his body any further would only serve to worsen his wounds.

At least he was better off than Naruto.

"Ow...I can taste purple."

"How the hell can you taste purple? Isn't that just grape?" Sasuke spat a glob of blood to the side as he eyed the unknown object that crashed through the mirrors caging them in. Whatever it was destroyed at least five mirrors- they could probably escape through the opening if they tried.

Naruto flinched as he slowly pushed himself up to stand back on wobbling feet, "Y-You'd think so but no. It kinda reminds me of bitter medicine mixed with that copper taste you wake up with in the morning. Pretty sure one of these stupid needles pierced some kind of nerve that's messing with my taste buds." he complained with a stick of his tongue.

The lightning-speed attacks stopped as an eerie silence settled over the broken cage of ice mirrors. The foreign object that crashed in had landed outside the masked boy's prison with a deep grunt that sounded familiar to both genin.

"The hell was that anyway? It just broke through a bunch of mirrors like they were actually glass. Not even your fireball could do a thing." Naruto questioned as he gingerly turned his sore and stinging body around to see what had caused the stop in the masked boy's needle barrage.

"ZABUZA-SAMA!"

Naruto blinked stupidly. The dozens of remaining demonic ice mirrors cracked, shattering to pieces. The cold shards of devilish ice fell to the floor with crackling breaks, freeing them from their chilling prison of needles.

"Sasuke-teme, tell me: was that cannonball that broke through suspiciously resemble No-Brows?"

Sasuke uncharacteristically tilted his head with his newly awakened sharingan staring at the strange sight that was Momochi Zabuza staggered on his feet with a hand gripping his bloody and bruised abdomen.

"I'm pretty sure it was Zabuza, Naruto-dope. My sharingan is capable of seeing past illusions so I know what I'm seeing isn't a genjutsu."

"Why do I feel like you're just showing off those creepy red eyes now?"

"Call my family's Kekkei Genkai creepy again and I'll cast a genjutsu trapping you in an illusion of oil slick muscled men with a taste for blonds."

"...That's just sick, Sasuke-teme."

"Don't test me."

Having called off his ninjutsu, Haku quickly went to Zabuza's side to help his master steady himself. He frowned in concern at the grotesque coloration of bruises and the small knuckle stamp on Zabuza's abdomen. It was a blunt wound that had surely done some internal damage if the blood staining his master's mouth bandages were any clue to go by.

"Zabuza-sama, are you alright!?"

Zabuza grunted deeply as he let go of his wound. His cold dark brown eyes regarded Haku briefly.

"Why did you drop your Makyo Hyosho[Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors]? I tasked you with dealing with those brats, not toying with them!" he spat bloodily with a grimace.

Haku didn't mind being scalded, working quickly to treat the deep blunt trauma Zabuza had suffered. He settled his left palm on the sprained muscle to relieve the pain with his Ice Nature numbing the damaged cells and muscle. Immediately he noticed Zabuza's breathing grow steady and his face relax.

Most of the pain had been dulled by the crawling ice forming a makeshift wrap over his abdomen, helping to temporarily treat his injury until Haku could treat his wound. Meaning he was good enough to fight.

"That damn pink-haired little bitch! I underestimated her and paid the fucking price. If I had known she could hit harder than I can, I would have been more careful."

Haku wasn't sure what to make of what he heard.

"You mean the girl with the cherry blossom hair? She did this to you?" he said in disbelief.

"It was as if I was struck by a chibi-Tsunade. If the girl had any real control of that kind of raw strength, she could have run her fist straight through me. But I suppose I won't have to worry about her again." Zabuza smirked cruelly, "That lack of control must have cost her arm!"

A chill far colder and crueler than any Haku's ice could produce ran down both Naruto and Sasuke's spines with a terrifying ache at Zabuza's words.

"S-Sakura-chan?"

What did Zabuza mean by costing her arm?

Sasuke openly grit his teeth before glancing back to the deep fog obscuring their vision. Damn, even with his sharingan awakened he couldn't see where Kakashi and the rest were. He didn't like what he had heard about Sakura any more than Naruto.

"Naruto, let's go!"

"Right!"

Their opponents were busy licking their wounds, leaving them a chance to go see what had happened to their teammates while they were caged in by mirrors of ice.

Luckily they weren't far from their original spot and quickly made it to Kakashi, Tazuna, and Sakura.

Both boys found themselves frozen still as they arrived to find Kakashi cradling Sakura's silent body close to his chest. Their eyes were drawn to her right arm, horribly torn by what appeared to be an explosion from within that lightly smoked. Blood seeped down her mangled arm slowly, dripping with a plop.

Their hearts were caught in a vice.

It was Sasuke who spoke first as he glared hatefully at no one in particular. He found himself surprised at the emotion now boiling in his chest like hot bile.

"What the hell happened to Sakura?!"

Naruto's blue eyes were stuck on the girl's right hand as he whispered lowly. His eyes began to dilate into dots and darken.

"Kakashi-sensei, is she…?"

An unseen pressure began to leak from the spiky-blond's body with the ferocity of angry buzzing bees.

Kakashi shook his head with a tired sigh.

"Don't worry, she's simply passed out from both pain and low blood pressure. Her wounds are deep but not yet life-threatening. She just needs to have them dressed. As for how," Kakashi smiled lightly beneath his mask, "She did it to herself by using a physical enhancing technique she couldn't control. The backlash was no different than an explosion going off in her arm but the damage she dealt to Zabuza was enough to launch him over to you boys."

Sasuke wound up staring at the passed-out girl who wore a satisfied grin on her face despite the torn-up arm.

"Sakura was the one to deal that monstrous blow to Zabuza?"

"Holy shit- I always knew she hit hard but I didn't think she could hit that hard! Remind me not to piss her off again."

"Tch, as if that will stop you from acting like a bigger idiot. I may as well buy you a casket now."

"Don't think you're immune from her either! Now you've got a chick with monster strength following you around! Trying saying no to her now that she can snap a tree in half with a punch!"

Kakashi watched the two boys argue with a sigh. At least they were no longer on the verge of losing themselves to anger. Such emotions blinded even the best shinobi.

And they were all still in the middle of a fight.

"Tazuna-san, would you mind dressing Sakura's wounds and watching over her?"

Handing the pink-haired girl to Tazuna who readily nodded and, the old man went to work using a first-aid scroll Kakashi handed him. Even Tazuna knew how to patch up wounds due to his line of work.

The Copy-nin set his sights on the deep fog before them.

Zabuza had most likely recovered by now. Even a blow as strong as Sakura's wouldn't be enough to take out an elite who endured hellish endurance training. Worse, now the Demon had his protegee standing at his side.

Their battles had been separated out of nothing more than testing the others students while the adults fought. It wasn't so anymore. There would be no messing around as both sides were wounded. And wounded beasts never fought fair or kindly. Instincts would evolve into those of wild beasts.

Already the very air began to crackle with a cold front released from within the fog. This would now be a team fight, an all-out assault from both sides charging at the other with everything they had.

"Naruto, Sasuke! Prepare yourselves! The fight's far from over!"

Both boys scowled, lightly wincing from their own wounds suffered from their fight. They couldn't even pull out the needles stabbed into their bodies in fear of aggravating whatever muscles or veins were hit.

The fight suddenly became personal for both of them as their teammate was knocked out from delivering her own contributing hit to a fearsome Demon. As far as they were concerned, it was Zabuza who was at fault for the wounds crawling over Sakura's arm. For the girl who believed she was useless and proved she was just as capable as them, Naruto and Sasuke would finish what Sakura started. They would keep the chain of agony going and even add to it.

Even if they were both drained and on the verge of collapsing from the loss of blood and debilitating needles, they both refused to collapse.

Kakashi readied his kunai with a deep scowl of concern as he observed the light sway in Naruto's and Sasuke's stances.

'They're both spent. Anymore and they'll trip up to suffer a fatal hit by either Haku or Zabuza. At the same time, I can't have them leave the fight. I need all the help I can in distracting them both from Sakura and Tazuna.'

Essentially they were pushed into a corner, one that could easily spell death for anyone on the team.

There was no time for recovery or planning as the sea of fog was churned viciously by a cold buffeting wind from deep within the fog. Ice crystals could be seen dancing in the gray clouds as the hairs on the back of Kakashi's neck stood upright. Something big was coming, a terrible and fierce attack melded by two shinobi who were all but demons in their own right.

Snow dust speckled the gray sea of mist.

Sheets of ice formed on the concrete.

Like dry ice, the air crackled.

From the obscuring fog, a narrow-headed beast poked its head out. Its body was made of water torrents with a snake-like figure and rows of tearing teeth. It was regarded as a mythical being that was worshipped by many and feared by many. They had seen its mighty form before.

A dragon. The lord of the sea, a crushing force, wielding cruel teeth, and overwhelming might.

The cold chill in the air began to affect the water dragon, freezing its liquid scales to turn it into a living ice dragon with sharp protruding scales that breathed a fine breath of powdered ice. Compared to the Suiryudan Jutsu seen before, the new dragon was twice its size and far more menacing with its glowing red eyes. Its very presence froze the surrounding world. Red light beamed from the reptile's glaring eyes.

At the bottom of that majestic beast of chilling ice stood Zabuza alongside Haku who laid his hand on his master's shoulder to aid in the new dragon's cold birth.

"Hyoton: Hyoshoryudan[Ice Release: Ice Crystal Dragon Bullet]!"

The towering ice crystal dragon cracked its jaw open, revealing the glimmer of knife-like teeth that would utterly shred its targets to mince meat. It didn't spare a second as it roared before rushing with incredible speed at Team-7.

Such an attack would not only kill the Konoha shinobi but also the bridge builder they were protecting. It was a one-shot kill born of both Zabuza's and Haku's respected affinities. It could be controlled remotely even if it missed. There was no escaping such an attack.

Zabuza grinned in victory. He could see the two genin struggle to even stand up straight and Kakashi wouldn't move in fear of leaving his other student and the bridge builder open. Nothing would save them now!

The ice crystal dragon widened its ravaging jaw for a fell swoop crunch as it reached its latest meal and snapped its jaw with a meaty crunch.

...At least that was what was supposed to happen.

CRACK!

"...No."

A unique whine was heard suddenly with the sound of shattering glass Zabuza would never forget. The heavy body of ice sculpted as a dragon cracked, the fissures spreading to crawl over its entire form. Like pipes bursting from within those cracks released pressured cold air akin to bursting blood vessels. Chunks of heavy ice fell to the bridge with loud bangs as the dragon lost its great shadow.

Crumbling to a pile of cold rubble, Zabuza saw him.

A boy as old as Haku with black spiky hair, a determined scowl etched on his blood-dried face, wearing only an open dark long-sleeved jacket over his burnt chest, and dark blue eyes practically glowing with intensity. His right fist remained raised after punching the solid and sharp-scaled ice dragon that would have surely killed anyone stupid enough to meet it head-on without the use of a jutsu or chakra.

Kamijou Touma swiped his right fist, clearing off the last of the frost born from a supernatural power as the chunks of cold rubble shattered back into water.

This time.

For certain.

Without a doubt, the boy now facing Momochi Zabuza with a fierce grin and a cracking of his knuckles was not an illusion.

"I'm sorry I'm late but how about we finish what we started, Momochi-san?"

[-]

Between The Lines-6.

Gato's army of hired mercenaries was no more.

All over the village centered in the main port of Nami no Kuni, those cruel, violent, depraved, twisted armed figures were sprawled out on the streets and roofs without a sound. They were painted in colors of red, blue, green, blue, and purple via various wounds dealt by not only an above-average quality blade and a high-quality blade but ordinary blades that had grown fed up with cowering and lamenting the loss of their happiness.

It had been a hard-fought fight, but Shio, Kyofu, and Zori had successfully evacuated the majority of the mainland's people. With the people safe outside the smoldering village, the party gathered by the crab fisherman had prepared to march on to the next stage. They no longer needed to worry about those terrified men and women, believing they would stay put and wait out the invasion.

Except they didn't.

The villagers who had been evacuated to safety outside didn't stay put as they were expected to. They had grabbed whatever weapons they could find, make, or use as weapons and taken arms against the very thugs who stole from them, killed them, threatened them, violated them, and mocked them. By the time the second wave of reinforcements arrived to pillage their homes, a village militia had formed to greet those hired mercenaries with a far greater number of weapons and manpower.

Small battles had erupted.

A large-scale battle had filled the streets of the village.

Personal fights had been found in tiny pockets here and there.

Kyofu had seen them all.

It was almost something out of some fairy tale in her opinion. Seeing all those weak civilians pick up weapons they would have never touched to rebel against the tyrant's men after suffering great tragedy. All inspired by a hero or heroes to discover their own strength. Courage had blossomed in those worn-out and scarred hearts. A great flame now burned in their cores, commanding them to stand up for their own smiles.

And at the head of that brave army of civilians was an odd little figure that stumped both Kyofu, Shio, and Zori with slacked jaws.

Yes, those small, large-scale, and tiny personal battles hadn't been carried out by them. At the path leading to the Nami no Kuni's future road into a better tomorrow, where the Konhohagakure ninja and Gato's strongest demons were fighting, they found that great militia ready to charge in at the command of their leader.

"I-Inari-kun?!"

Kyofu couldn't believe it herself and she was positive nothing was wrong with her eyes.

Standing as the de facto leader of the civilian army of normal villagers was a child of eight years old in simple overalls, a makeshift metal helmet that was obviously a pot, and a crossbow made out of wood with several bolts carried in a quiver on his back. The small child was wounded. Kyofu could see a few rips in his clothing and even a bit of faded blood streaking down his tiny chin. Unlike a boy his age though, there were no tears in his fierce eyes.

Adults four times the boy's age stood behind him, armed and ready to follow his order with firm determination born anew. A woman who appeared to be the boy's mother stood beside him, dumbfounded by what was happening. With an awed stare, the shark/fish(?) girl by the woman's side appeared equally astonished by the scene.

Last Kyofu had seen the small group they were in tears. They had to be rescued. Now? Just what the hell had those afraid sheep been up to since they were out of her sight?

The boy named Inari stared at her small group, recognizing Shio from the party they had gathered to deal with the leftover mercenaries and rescue any villagers left behind.

"Shio-san!" the boy cried happily as he made to run over.

Inari stopped before taking another step, his small dark eyes landing on a certain someone in their group who was supposedly once a loyal blade of Gato. He narrowed his eyes hatefully.

The crossbow was loaded and aimed at the stiff face of Zori.

Hatred all but erupted on Inari's face as he spat with dark emotions no child should have ever possessed.

"You! Y-You're...YOU'RE THE BASTARD WHO KILLED MY TOU-SAN!"

To his credit, Zori didn't show fear or nervousness to the lethal hastily made arrow capable of piercing his skull. He shut his eyes in resignation with a thin, thin smile on the face of the boy whose father he had stolen.

Many in the newly formed militia gasped and grew agitated at the sight of the very man who killed their champion years ago. Weapons were raised, threats were shouted, and it looked as if a wave of violence was about to crash into one man.

Shio grew conflicted with the scene. He knew of Zori's past deeds in the village. He had been there with many of the villagers to see Gato executed by the gambling samurai. He understood that the boy in his eyes would have to sooner or later pay for his crimes even if they were at the order of someone else. But like this?

It just seemed far too cruel.

"That's right, I'm one of Gato's shitty tools. I'm the cheap bastard who cut your Tou-san's head off with one swing. It appears you missed out on one of those monsters in your clean-up, gaki. So why not clean up the last of the trash and be praised as a hero?"

To the surprise of the small group that had fought beside Zori, the gambling samurai stepped forward. He didn't flinch at the many blades, farmers' tools and random items turned weapons that glared at him as he stopped in front of the tear-streaked boy. Zori didn't pay attention to any of those villagers he had also hassled. The only ones who had his attention were the little boy who had lost faith in heroes and the widowed mother who had lost her husband.

Kyofo only then noticed that Zori's katana was missing. Beside her, she found that speedy killing tool laid out next to her where the samurai had previously stood. He was defenseless.

With the thinnest smile she had ever seen, Zori sat on his knees, lining his head to the crossbow's bolt that wouldn't miss once fired. His hands were laid to rest behind his waist as if some invisible rope were binding him.

"I've done what I've done for nothing more than Ryo and my own luxury. There's no apologizing for shit I've done with no regret, no excuse, and no remorse. If it wasn't for a certain spiky-haired idiot punching my lights out, I would have continued taking all your money to gamble away and kill any of you to remain on Gato's payroll. Helping out Shio-san has been nothing more than repaying a chip of kindness, nothing more. No amount of regret could absolve me of my crimes: I've accepted that. I'd rather spit in Kami-sama's lovely face if I were forgiven. A killing tool like myself has no other worth now, so feel free of disposing of the very blade that ended your Tou-san's life."

Inari's crossbow shook. His burning hot tears continued pouring out of his eyes. His index finger creaked as it strained on its desire to pull the simple trigger that would avenge his father.

"What are you waiting for, brat? Kill me and be praised as a hero for taking out the last of Gato's cheap tools."

Be a hero.

With a single pull of a trigger, Inari would become a hero who rid his home of one of Gato's deadliest blades. For all the atrocities the samurai committed this was the lesser of all evils that he would be punished with. No one would blame even a child as young as Inari for taking revenge in the name of his father.

This was justice.

This wasn't evil.

It was rightful judgment.

You would call this vengeance, right?

So...why couldn't he pull the trigger in the face of his father's killer?

"You...you don't get to take the easy way out."

"What?"

"YOU DON'T GET TO TAKE THE EASY WAY OUT!" Inari cried angrily.

The little boy grit his teeth as his body was wracked with sobs he fought desperately to contain as he glared at his father's killer who believed he could simply pay for his crimes so easily.

The rejection of his punishment, of his rightfully deserved just deserts, caused Zori to snap. Livid anger painted his face as he spat.

"So what do you expect me to do!? I've killed, stolen, and hurt far too many people to do any more than die at one of your hands! What other punishment would be acceptable other than a death sentence?! Doesn't it bother you that your Tou-san's killer is standing right in front of you!? Are you really okay with just leaving a bastard like me alive?!"

A beat.

A small beat of silence was heard as Inari's voice was caught in his throat.

Inari's lips quivered with raw emotion as he felt his weak heart thump a powerful pulse.

As the young child bowed his head, metal pot shadowing his face, he spoke softly.

"Of course, it bothers me."

He said it.

He finally said it out loud this time.

"What?"

"I SAID, OF COURSE, IT BOTHERS MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Erupting from Inari's throat were the words, feelings, hurt, suffering, misery, and loss accumulating all these years, now spilling out without restraint.

"Of course, it bothers me, you idiot! You think I like this?! You think I want to be staring my beloved Tou-san's killer straight in the eye right now?! Do you know how much I've dreamed of just killing you? Choking you out? Stabbing you in the heart over and over again!? You think I like you? The only person I hate more than you is Gato! All of this. All of this pain. All of the destruction around us. All of the dead bodies piling up on the streets. It's all your fucking fault. None of what's going on right now is fucking fair! Look at me! I'm only eight years old. Do you think I want to be fighting right now? I was cut up by scary men who didn't care if they were attacking a kid. I nearly died to a bunch of demons who were licking my Kaa-san's face and laughing about it. I'm just a kid! So, why are you looking at me like I have the answers you're looking for?! What do you expect me to do? What do you expect me to say? My Tou-san's killer is standing right in front of me, bowing his head, asking me to kill him because it's justice? Am I supposed to feel sorry for you? Am I supposed to feel happy that you finally feel remorse, saved my friends and neighbors, turned your back on Gato, killed your former comrades, protected the island's people, and now want to seek retribution? I want to kill you, I want to make you pay, I want to make you bleed and drown in your gagging blood! But...b-but...w-why are you looking at me l-like that? Where are your horns? You're supposed to be a demon. W-why are you asking me to kill you if you won't even bother looking like my Tou-san's killer!? What the fuck's wrong with you!?"

Shivers ran along the heavy bolt in Inari's crossbow. Cold metal fell out of the belt. Tear after tear followed the bolt as it hit the ground with a solemn thud.

Inari panted tiredly amid his explosive burst. Idly, he felt his mother's caring touch on his shoulder, hoping to support him as he let it all out. Everyone was staring at him, surprised, baffled, stunned, and gaping as the young boy glared at a man infamously known to have cut Kaiza's head off.

Zori's face was twisted in an odd expression. No emotion could be discerned from his features.

It took great strength but Inari continued with a gnash of frustrated teeth.

"I don't care if you feel bad about killing my Tou-san or anyone else, I don't care if it was an order you couldn't refuse, I don't care how many people you may have saved; you don't get to absolve all your crimes and regrets so easily! That's not fair! That's what really bothers me! You think I can absolve you of everything you've done? You think you can go to your grave and leave this all behind you? Fuck off! You don't get to die an ugly death and then kick your feet back in hell! I don't have the answer you're looking for. I refuse to let you go off without having to live every day with the regret of the people whose lives you destroyed just because Gato told you to. I won't be like you. I won't be like Gato!"

No more.

No more tears. No more fear. No more excuses. No more cynicism. No more wallowing in grief as everyone else suffered.

Small, cut up, bruised, shaking fingers lunged forward and caught the scowling Zori's collar. And pulled the killer's face up to his own and shouted.

"YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DIE, YOU HEAR ME?! YOU HAVE TO LIVE! LIVE AND MAKE UP FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE! Even if I have to be the one to do it, I'll save you and force you to continue living with the regret hammered into your heart. I'll fight the shinigami myself if that's what it takes! You want punishment? You want me to be the one to deliver it? Then that's your punishment! Help me protect Nami no Kuni. Help me knock that damn pompous and ugly, fat Demon Lord off this stolen throne! Only once we've drowned that demon, can you get out of my nation. And live with your sins etched into your back!"

Nothing kind could be found in the little boy's rant. His words were harsh. Cruel. They tore into the heart far greater than a bolt could have. A normal man would have crumbled to such a verbal beating and cried.

Zori was unlike ordinary men. He flinched, eyes widening incredibly wide for a few seconds at the end of the fierce rant, but eventually settled into expressing deep remorse and frustration. One could see his teeth biting into the inner lining of his lower cheek.

No one defended him. Not even the people he had saved personally or even Shio. Weirdly, Zori was glad for that. Because everyone knew he deserved far worse.

He turned his eyes to the silent woman standing protectively at Inari's side. Kaiza's wife. Last he had seen her, she had been a broken mess of tears. In the woman's right hand, he couldn't help but notice a chipped cleaver.

Perfect for cutting through the jugular.

"What about you? Do you agree with the kid? Don't you want to kill me for cutting the head off your husband like he were a gutted fish?" he asked tensely.

Tsunami shut her eyes with a shaky breath to calm her nerves. Her fingers tightened over the handle of the cleaver in hand, her knuckles popping out.

The fish girl next to the woman flinched as a hand was raised high.

She then slapped Zori across the face as hard as she could. An audible smack was heard and could probably be heard across the village. Something white flew out of the gasping ronin's bloody mouth. Most likely a tooth.

"Fuck! You bitch!"

The furious glare on the widow's face shut Zori's mouth as held his swollen cheek with an anxious gulp.

"If I had been given the option weeks ago, I would have killed you myself."

Deep-seated hatred shadowed Tsunami's eyes. It flickered after a second of being allowed to breathe. As if she had just dropped a massive weight off her back, her shoulders sagged and she breathed a long sigh of exhaustion. Bitterness could still be seen clinging in her eyes but she met the scowling ronin's eyes.

"You broke this family with your own hand. You hurt my son more than any weapon ever could. You deserve whatever comes your way. But," Tsunami tiredly smiled, "I can't call myself Kaiza-kun's wife if I become a killer. We...we all have to live on with what happened. I'm done with living in a past that's weighed my heart and left me hopeless for a brighter future for my family. A future like that can't be born with any more blood. I can't forgive you for what you've done, I will never be able to. But that's fine. Just as Inari said: you have to continue living with your sins. Killing you won't heal anyone. And I won't allow such anger to poison me into a woman Kaiza-kun could never love. Kamijou-kun would feel the same."

"Kamijou, huh?

Zori spat the name without any venom as if it would be pointless to. His brows knitted together with a sullen frustration.

'Hey, ya bratty punk with the sorry excuse of a festival demon's mask. Don't you think it's time you threw that ugly facade away, stop playing games, and started acting like a human again? Don't you have any honor left in that cool samurai blade of yours anymore? Or are you truly happy with living as some cheap tool to be hanged below the pompously fat gut of a wormy midget who pays you with money he most likely rubbed himself off with?'

Even if he hated it, he would have to accept the consequences of his crappy hand no matter what form they took. The punishment wasn't his to choose. No other option was available for him but to accept whatever debt his victims handed to him.

The toll to be paid was to live with the shame, the regret, the disgust, he had brought himself and atone for his shitty past crimes without ever being absolved by the very people whose smiles he had robbed.

Because whether he accepted it, denied it, scorned it, forgot it, or despised it, Zori...wasn't as bad as he seemed. Otherwise, he would have never accepted such shitty cards.

Two heroic idiots, one dead and one living, had been harmed by his own blade. They had said he wasn't a cruel blade but one that had lost its way. They had seen he was more than Gato's killing tool.

And it was only now Zori realized it himself.

Zori clicked his teeth as he stood up, hand still pressed against the bright red slap that stung like hell. Tomorrow morning would not be pretty. And did she really knock a tooth out? A feel of the inside of his mouth with tongue said yes: she did knock a molar out- holy shit.

"If that's how you feel, fine. I got no other way to make up for all the shit I've done but the least I can do is help you all take out the last of Gato's mercenaries. After that, I'm gone." Zori turned his back on mother and son to return to Shio and Kyofu. He picked up his katana, clipping the sheath to his waist with his dark eyes facing forward, "There's no reason for a thug like me to continue living in a nation he's had a hand in hallowing out. I'll do my part in fixing the mess I made but I refuse to stick around and be reminded of that shitty hand I played all these years."

"And you'll live, right?"

Zori growled in frustration to the glare on the face of Inari. He could feel those eyes just stabbing him from behind.

"Fucking fine! Is that what you really want? You want me to say it? I'll live. I won't die! Not until I've run this lousy debt-ridden body into the ground trying to make up for all the misery I've spread!"

Whatever lay in wait for Zori after the dust settled was a mystery. One he would have to face and define on his own.

He had to live with that great unknown. All while regretting the known. That would be his cross to bear.

But first, there was one more fight left.

"This isn't the last of Gato's mercenaries. He'll be arriving by boat to the bridge that the architect's been working on with an army of his strongest men. Don't know where exactly he got them, but he's scrounged up more shitty grunts to build up his numbers. From what I heard on the radio channel feed, he's planning on taking advantage of the wounds left by the winner to finish them off. It doesn't matter if Zabuza succeeds in killing the shinobi and Tazuna, it doesn't matter if the shinobi take out Zabuza and his masked helper, it doesn't matter if both sides are still somehow standing. Everyone on that bridge will be slaughtered just so he can save himself the trouble and money. Once he's done ridding himself of those thorns in his way, he will declare himself the winner and take all of Nami no Kuni for himself by buying off the local Daimyo of the shitty land he rules and declaring himself the new lord."

"We won't let him!"

"Good." Zori smirked back at the brave-faced little boy, "Because I refuse to bow down to that bastard again. Hate me as you like, I don't care anymore. But for now, we'll have to get along and drown that little mole-man in his own shitty waters."

Inari nodded his head firmly. A real hero could set aside his differences with someone regarded as a villain to take out a much crueler, evil, and vile villain that put them to shame.

After all, he couldn't allow Naruto and Touma to fight by themselves anymore. It was time for Nami no Kuni to clench their fists and fight back for their home.

The army of civilians grew bigger. All because a little boy had the courage to speak up and call them all cowards as he went off to fight monsters that wouldn't think twice about mutilating a child. That seed that had been planted in the hearts of slackers, cowards, and quitters had finally blossomed into a hardened flower that would not be trampled on again.

Kyofu found herself admiring that courage and bravery now found in every citizen of Nami no Kuni. It wasn't often that one would witness a nation that had been suffering under a tyrant's rule rise up and fight for their home. Much less stand a chance.

'You really showed them, huh?'

Was this picture she was seeing because of a certain spiky-haired boy?

No doubt that average boy was busy fighting a Demon that had defeated her easily. Alongside those Konohagakure shinobi that weren't as bad as she first believed, he had been the one to inspire even a little boy to encourage an entire village to get off their asses and do something worthwhile.

Hell, she found herself infected by Kamijou Touma's example and decided to help out. It was more than just a favor to the boy for saving her. This was her decision to risk her own life for strangers she had never met.

Alongside civilians, a little eight-year-old boy, and a gambling samurai, Kyofu readied herself and took a step forward in the direction of Nami no Kuni's future.


And at last.

Finally, at long last.

All the pieces have fallen into place. All the characters are about to be accounted for. No more build-up is left to be seen.

On Nami no Kuni's Nameless Bridge, let the roar of the people crash out:

"Why?"

"I'll fight you until neither of us can lift a single finger but...is this really the only way either of us can move forward? Is what you're fighting for really worth robbing the smiles and hopes of innocent people who have nothing to do with rotten bastards like us?!"

"My mission is to kill Tazuna The Bridge Builder. The price on his head is far too great for me to pass on. Get in my way and I will kill you."

"You won't back down, will you? Despite your purpose being little more than brief and brittle. Is that your ninja way? Is it so desirable, that you would continue on to your dying breath for nothing more than strangers who would never mirror your ambitions so simply?"

"It has nothing to do with what you call a 'ninja way'. I don't need a set of prerequisites to challenge the likes of Gato without hesitation. If someone's suffering right in front of you, why would you put in only half the work to save them? If you're going to step up, step up."

"Is this part of your tactics too? You did this with Zabuza-sama as well. Are you purposely attempting to know me in order to feel out for any cracks in my emotional state to take advantage of?"

"How...how could such a kind and gentle soul be raised to paint themselves in blood?"

"Kamijou! Just a few more seconds; hold one of them off! Buy me just a few more seconds and we can deliver a deep blow to their strength in an instant!"

"Why can't you just lay down and die?!"

"How could such a selfish dumb ass like you raise such a gentle boy?"

"H-Haku...you idiot."

"...Zabuza-sama...kill me."

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

"Am I...a-am I going to turn out like you too? Are you even human…?"

"800,000Ryo."

"Kill Kamijou Touma. Focus all your might on cutting down that one boy and you'll be rewarded a daimyo's piggy bank to fund your next coup."

"I'll fucking kill you if you ever get in my way of being useful to the man who gave me strength to live on!"

When you find yourself at the end...what card will you play?

And that's that! Man, was this a hell of a cliffhanger, huh? Do ya hate me? Do ya? Do ya? Do ya?

This chapter was meant to build everything up for the big climax. Literally, it was designed as a cliffhanger of sorts while also functioning as the setup for a few important scenes and moments in the next chapter. When typing up this chapter, I knew I didn't want to just rush straight into the finale and have things end here; not when I had much more to give out.

Originally, this chapter was titled Shinobi Path. It was supposed to serve as a chapter detailing Team-7s struggles against Zabuza and Haku. A strictly ninja-focused set of scenes meant to act as the setup for Touma's arrival. But the doc was a few years old and I felt I could touch it up more.

And cut it up more.

And season it more.

And put it back on the stove to cook more.

I can never stop saying this: I'm happy to have taken so long to push these chapters out and focus on editing them more. I'd have missed out on so many great lines and scenes if I had simply served up what I cooked up at the very beginning all those years ago.

Though Touma had his few moments to shine as the star in this chapter, I'd like to think some of the best scenes were played out by others here. Like the villagers. That would probably be one of the biggest changes I had implanted when going back to rewrite these chapters: the villagers and their parts. I wanted these chapters involving the great climax to have more of those background characters saying their piece and taking the stage too, showing that they had grown past their cowardly selves.

Oh, what I also loved about this chapter would have to be the battles on the bridge. Seeing as Touma had unnerved Zabuza in their first fight, Kakashi decided to play on the demon's uncertainty with his greatest card: deception. If you were to face an opponent like Touma again, you'd naturally grow wary and anxious. Tiny clues were there to see through the illusion copy from the beginning of the Kage Bunshin borrowing Touma's face but just seeing that spiky-boy was enough to throw Zabuza off his game for a bit.

However, the biggest change to the battle on the bridge would have to be Sakura's part. From the start of all this, I had been trying to build up to this moment of uncertainty, anxiety, and helplessness. I always felt our forehead girl's part in all this was too small, so I wanted her to have her own moment like Naruto and Sasuke. To be just as reckless and brave as the shadows she's always staring after. It was only thanks to meeting the strange boy with terrible luck that she found her own fist tightening as she recalled his words.

You're here; you're strong enough. So, why waste time thinking about such useless doubts when you can act too?

And last but not least, we have on final Between The Lines before we hit the gas. Starring our boy, Inari! We have our confrontation with Zori and Inari, and man! What an explosive one at that. All those pent-up emotions have finally been let loose. All those doubts, fears, frustrations, and grief have now been expelled from his scarred heart, leaving only courage to guide his way forward: straight to the battlefield!

Touma has finally arrived at the bridge. There's no more waiting around. All that's left is to fight with your all! Use every card in your possession to clench victory!

Speaking of which: what did you think of the odd card Kyofu slipped into his deck? Do you approve or believe possessing such a card is a sign of him losing his way?

The finale is moving along very smoothly. Hell, all I got are 2-3 scenes left to go. If all goes well, we'll be seeing this story updated next month! If you're a top tier on my P a treon than you'll be lucky enough to get a taste of the next chapter before the weekend is over...if I can get over this damn cold. Been coughing nonstop for the last two days. It's a struggle to even get these last few touch-ups done and type up the ANs. When the hell do these pills start kicking in?

Read and Review! It's common courtesy.

NeoShadows fading in and out.

P a treon . com (slash) NeoShadows.