I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, I'm just a fan I enjoyed the anime but I love the fanfics, even more, they made me fall for the whole franchise. Whether I will have Oc's in the fic or not depends entirely on how the story goes.

Chapter 25

Sasuke saw that Haku was expending a lot of chakra keeping his ice mirrors up it was just a matter of time before the ice user ran low. Sasuke parried another barrage of kunai from his front, left and right. The barrier deterred Haku from attacking his rear.

Haku moved to another mirror while he thought about how to get the Uchiha, he had to be quick to help his master who he couldn't see anymore due to the thick mist covering the other side of the bridge. He soared out of the mirrors once more and threw more senbon only for Sasuke to see them coming with his Sharingan and he parried them away grinning.

"You're running out of chakra, you can't keep this up indefinitely." Sasuke taunted as his eyes followed his opponent's movements while he flew from one mirror to another so fast Sasuke would admit without his eyes he would have been a pincushion the moment Haku performed his first attack.

Haku didn't respond, he decided he was going for the kill there was no way for him to incapacitate the Uchiha without taking drastic measures, he just hoped his wager paid off. Haku expanded more chakra beginning his attacks once more, he moved to the mirrors on Sasuke's left throwing many senbon with Sasuke already facing that way to deflect them.

He moved to the mirrors on Sasuke's right letting loose another barrage of senbon then he moved to Sasuke's front sending another barrage then he quickly moved to the mirrors up top and sent another barrage by the time he had done all of that his senbons were still about two feet from the mirrors and they all converged around Sasuke seeming to have been thrown at the same time.

Sasuke's Sharingan told him he couldn't block them all so he decided to deflect the most life-threatening leaving five to pierce him. One on the back of his right thigh the other on his shoulder, followed by one in his left arm that he had to block by placing his arm in front of his face. The other grazed his face living a thin line there with the final senbon going to his stomach inches away from his kidney.

Haku jumped from the top mirrors and soared towards Sasuke at his fastest speed, in his hands were two senbon needles. Sasuke not seeing the approaching Haku only registered pain when he felt two sharp objects pierce his left and right shoulder blades and he screamed out in pain.

Sasuke the felt a kick to his back that moved him away from the barrier. Sasuke stumbled forward, he registered he had no feeling in his arms, and quickly turned to face behind him seeing Haku had placed an ice mirror in front of and behind the barrier.

"It's over Uchiha-San." Haku told the Uchiha while he raised his hand to his face and unhooked his mask revealing his face to Sasuke who was shocked to see it was a girl he was fighting as his eyes widened. "I'm a boy." Haku revealed as he bowed at the Uchiha.

"My name is Haku, the last living user of the ice release." Haku introduced himself looking at Sasuke in pity for what he was about to do. Sasuke seeing that look gritted his teeth in anger his blood boiling in fury.

"Why are you telling me this?" Sasuke grounded out trying and failing to get feeling in his hands.

"I don't want to kill you as a faceless individual Uchiha-San." Haku said sadly thinking that he was doing Sasuke an honor by revealing himself. Sasuke snorted and laughed.

'Is this guy serious?' Sasuke wondered as he laughed out loud but behind that laugh was anger, controlled and concentrated anger. "Don't think you've won yet, your mirrors are cracking you won't be able to hold that technique much longer." Sasuke said breathing hard and wincing whenever his shoulders rose and fell.

Haku nodded at Sasuke's words, he was right Haku couldn't keep up the jutsu anymore it ate a lot of chakra and his reserves were still developing. Haku smiled softly at Sasuke and walked back, stepping into the mirror and slinking into its surface like water before all the mirrors around them broke into particles of glass.

Sasuke grit his teeth as he faced Haku's reflection in the mirror his arms laying limp on his sides, inside the surface of the ice mirror Haku stared back at Sasuke as he drew two senbon needles before soaring at the Uchiha who he believed to be defenseless.

'I'm not dying today.' Sasuke looked to the left and bite down on the senbon sticking out of his left shoulder, yanking it out before facing Haku's approaching form and spitting the senbon directly at his face.

Haku's eyes widened because he couldn't dodge in mid-air with the speed he was traveling in. He got the senbon right on his forehead protector and he closed his eyes on reflex only to open it to find a foot head for his face.

Sasuke after spitting out the senbon leaped at Haku who had stopped in his tracks with his arms crossed in front of him showing that he had tried to block the projectile but it had slipped through his hastily thrown defense.

Sasuke's foot kicked Haku's hands piercing them and his foot into the senbon on the ice user's forehead protector, grimacing in pain Sasuke put his other foot on Haku's chest kicking off him and dislodging his foot from the senbon as he flipped back he turned his face to the right biting the other senbon there and yanking it out of his shoulder.

Landing on his feet Sasuke grimaced when he put pressure on his wounded foot but ignored it to dash at Haku with the Senbon held firmly between his teeth. Haku's eyes widened when he saw Sasuke running at him he tried to jump back into his mirror behind him but it had already broken apart due to his depleted chakra and he bumped into the barrier behind him.

Sasuke grinned when he saw the look of realization and horror cross Haku's visage when he realized he had no escape. He shouldn't have removed his mask if he was smart enough, his so-called honor would get him killed Sasuke thought cynically.

Sasuke reached Haku in seconds, he saw his target and attacked it, whipping his head as fast as he could Sasuke pierced Haku's chest. The senbon cut an artery on entry before piercing the ice user's heart with the senbon in his mouth and pinning Haku between himself and the barrier.

Haku looked down in horror, his hands pinned above his head as he registered the attack and coughed out blood. He watched as Sasuke jumped back only to stumble and land on his behind in a sitting position breathing raggedly and deeply before he snickered and began laughing.

"Don't underestimate an Uchiha." He told Haku while he sat there staring at him Sharingan eyes finally deactivating. Haku pulled his hands out of the senbon on his forehead protector slowly wincing in pain, then he tried to pull the senbon on his chest only to wince in unimaginable pain the moment his hand made contact with the offending object.

"Pulling that out will only kill you quicker." Haku looked down at Sasuke's frowning face. Looking down at the wound in his chest, Haku slid down the barrier sitting against it. He was exhausted.

"W-why d-do you f-f-fight Uchiha-San?" Haku asked blood trailing down his lips, every time he breathed he felt pain.

"A dead man does not need to know that answer." Sasuke simply said facing Haku's dying form unable to move due to fatigue and low chakra levels.

Haku simply nodded and looked up letting down a tear. 'I failed Zabuza-Sama.' Haku thought as his life left him slowly.

««««"»»»»

"The heart, spine, lungs, kidney, larynx, jugular vein, collar bone, liver." Zabuza's voice came from every direction as Itachi deactivated his Sharingan due to all the chakra the mist carried blinding him even more to Zabuza's location.

"Which to attack first." Zabuza appeared behind Itachi ready to take off his head and Itachi turned immediately bringing his Tantō up straight blocking the attack but is sent skidding away from the force behind the blow.

Slowing his momentum with chakra to the soles of his feet Itachi flipped into a backflip to dodge a swipe to his midsection aimed at bisecting him down the middle, finding himself upside down in mid-air Itachi twisted bringing his blade around at Zabuza decapitating his head from his shoulders only for his form to go splash on the ground.

'A water clone.' Itachi deducted landing on his feet and dashing to the side as water bullets were shot at him from the mist. Activating his Sharingan Itachi calculated where the trajectory of the water bullets came from and traced it back to its origin.

Itachi threw a handful of Shuriken in that direction before stopping in his tracks and performing hand seals Itachi bite into his thumb and placed it on the ground calling out his Jutsu.

"Summoning Jutsu!" In a puff of smoke, a crow appeared.

"Find him." Itachi simply said and the bird nodded before it flew up, Itachi bent low like a limbo specialist watching as Zabuza's blade came out of the mist flying over his form passing him by, and heading back into the mist on the other side.

Itachi stood back up straight and placed his sword in front of him reading himself for another surprise attack, he didn't have to wait long as two Zabuzas came from the mist one up front and the other from the rear.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" Itachi called out after making hand seals and spits a volley of small fireballs into the air. The many small flames moved wildly through the area before Itachi took control of each flame with his chakra, allowing him to guide each at his targets.

He sent one volley to the Zabuza in his front and the other to the Zabuza in his rear. Zabuza seeing the volley of fire heading his way tsk'd and leaped to the side to avoid them letting them soar past him. When he looked over to his clone he saw the fires following the doppelgänger and realization dawned on him so he turned around to see the flames he had dodged before circling to try him again.

"Bloody Uchihas." Zabuza sneered going through hand seals. 'Tiger, Snake, Rat, Snake, Tiger' Zabuza kneaded his chakra into water in his body and called out his Jutsu.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!" Zabuza spits out a stream of water from his mouth at the ground, which circled around him and rose upward to create a wall, defending him from the attack only for four weapons to pierce his back and he grunted in pain but kept his concentration on the water wall until the barrage finished.

Zabuza looked at his clone's previous position only to watch as it splashed getting dispelled by a stab from Itachi's Tantō from behind.

"I thought that was the real you." Itachi said as he turned his head a little to face Zabuza and the Missing-nin immediately looked down at Itachi's feet not planning on falling for the Uchiha's eye tricks only to see Itachi's feet start breaking down into crows that began flying out of him.

"Demon Illusion: Mirage Raven." Zabuza was trapped in a powerful illusion, with no necessary eye contact. He saw a torrent of crows, leaving Itachi's body cawing as the Uchiha's body dispersed into a flock of crows.

A crow came at Zabuza from above, nose-diving at him, and Zabuza swiped his blade at it cutting it in half and letting it drop to the ground. With that initial attack, all the crows cawed and began diving towards Zabuza who changed his grip on his blade and began bashing them away with the flat of his blade.

They kept on coming none stop and Zabuza gritted his teeth in frustration as he continued bashing the birds away eventually he began receiving cuts on his person.

"Show yourself Itachi!" Zabuza shouted out angrily while he became a frenzy of sword swipes and thrusts even throwing in punches and kicks to fend off the birds only to receive gashes on his arms, legs, back, chest and face.

The barrage of crows ended after 3 minutes of continuous attacks when Zabuza was breathing hard, he was bloody and his clothes were in tatters. The bandages around his mouth had fallen off revealing his sharp shark-like teeth.

"You concentrate more on the Sharingan's ability to cast genjutsu and forget all the other different ways available to cast them." Itachi rebuilt himself from a flock of crows as he pointed a finger at Zabuza and in his right hand was a bloody Tantō dripping what could only be Zabuza's blood.

"You were ensnared from the beginning of this fight." At Itachi's words, the crow he had summoned cawed and Itachi bent his left arm at a 90-degree angle parallel to his chest.

"Good crow." Itachi said when the crow landed on his arm and it cawed in appreciation when Itachi scratched it under its bloody beak.

Zabuza was outmatched he could see that now this wasn't some kind of backwater ninja he was facing. Itachi Uchiha was a master of the ninja arts he was smart, deceiving, sneaky, and elusive but worse he was a strong shinobi with too many tricks up his sleeves for Zabuza to predict what he would do next.

Zabuza hadn't noticed his hidden mist Jutsu had dispersed due to his lack of concentration during the barrage of crows that attacked him and because he was giving the battle behind him his back he didn't see as Haku attacked Sasuke one final time only to get stabbed in the heart.

"It seems your partner has lost." At Itachi's words Zabuza's heart gripped in his chest as he forgot about all his ninja training and turned around giving Itachi his back, and there laying against a barrier was Haku facing him with widening eyes.

"Zabuza-Sama." Haku whispered with new determination. He would at least trade his life for his precious person.

Itachi charged at his opponent whose guard was down Tantō glimmering under the light of the light post and Haku acted.

««««"»»»»

Hinata after more than a week of being comatose finally stirred, she felt good, great even like she just came from a very nice nap. She blinked and opened her eyes only to see nothing but darkness. She was used to that dark by now so she paid it no mind and stretched her body only to feel her hands push a fabric away from her and that's when she was hit by all kinds of different colors.

She saw shapes around her of trees, grass, and leaves. Hinata gasped as she saw the chakra flowing in the tree was dark green and the grass had a light green hue to it.

She looked forward and she felt her vision contort before expanding to cover more than 800 meters, a whole half a mile. Covering a great distance at a 360-degree angle, Hinata could somehow see herself from a bird's eye view. Her chakra was purple. She looked at all the vibrant chakra around her and smiled.

Hinata stood up slowly, wobbling on her feet as she used the tree behind her for support, she tried stepping forward only for her leg to buckle under her weight and she found herself face first on the ground eating grass.

Hinata looked up and pouted blowing out her cheeks in irritation at her stubborn legs. She saw something yellow glowing under the fabric that was covering her earlier. Letting curiosity take control she lifted the fabric and peeked under it she had to close one eye while squinting the other as a bright yellow light almost blinded her.

Her heart skipped a beat at the comfort that light brought her and she slowly opened her eyes as they adjusted to the harsh light under the fabric, lifting the cloth she reached under and grabbed the source of light and pulled it out as she raised herself into a sitting position.

'Naruto-Kun.' Hinata thought while she stared at the 'Now you see me, Now you can't' tag or more specifically the chakra flowing in the kanji strokes and hugged it close to her chest pushing herself up on her feet, she might have felt great mentally but physically she felt like noodles.

Hinata looked around and still couldn't believe all the colors she saw, they were all so vibrant and so bright.

'How am I seeing all this?' Hinata wondered as she scanned the immediate area around her, concentrating on a particular tree she gasped when she saw right through it and continued seeing through them as her vision got tunnel-visioned.

Hinata stood still but her vision moved forward she didn't know how to explain it as her vision covered a kilometer.

"Naruto-Kun!" Hinata gasped when she saw Naruto's outline in a clearing in the distance his chakra was still yellow like the tag but it had one fundamental difference, it was ginormous it came in such abundance that it leaked out of Naruto's every tenkentsu like solar waves, spreading into the environment.

'Is this the Byakugan?' Hinata's eyes widened and she slowly raised her shaking hand to her face and felt at the edges before her hands came to cover her mouth as it quivered.

"I have the Byakugan." Hinata whispered in no small amount of shock and awe as she smiled, that smile twitched in her face a few times before it turned into a full-blown grin that showed all her pearly whites and Hinata began fidgeting in excitement.

"I have to show Naruto-Kun." Just as she thought that she saw another chakra signature it was so small compared to Naruto's that she would have missed it if it kept itself behind Naruto's chakra.

Concentrating on something she had a better handle on than her eyes which was her sensory ability. Hinata dashed towards the clearing and the closer she got the better her sensory abilities began picking up on the two signatures up ahead.

'I'm coming Naruto-Kun.' Hinata thought dashing through the foliage at her top speed.

««««"»»»»

'I'll kill you! KILL KILL KILL KILL!!' Naruto jumped away from the ark of electricity sent his way by his opponent. Everything he did went sideways fast and stayed that way.

"Calm down man, you can always go to an Iryō-nin to get it fixed, I think." Rokushō growled at the blonde's words what got to him the most was the fact he didn't know if the blonde was sincere or taunting him.

'It doesn't matter he still dies today, I offered him a chance and he laughed.' Rokushō dashed at Naruto his speed severely decreased due to the blow he took.

'I'm gonna kill him, I have to kill him.' Rokushō became a man of focus, he didn't care about the money, Zabuza, the Byakugan, or that short fool he just wanted the blonde in front of him dead.

Reaching Naruto who was also worse for wear, Rokushō brought his sword down on the blonde who even though he dodged by jumping back still got tased by random arks of electricity from the sword of the thunder god.

Naruto grimaced when his left arm twitched a little. He was at an impasse, his shadow clones couldn't get close to Rokushō since the electric arks wouldn't let them. His barriers were only helping in his defense and he would be running out of those soon he needed to work on stronger barriers.

"Mmmiiiieeee!" Rokushō screamed as he charged at Naruto shooting two arks of electricity on both sides of the blond to keep him rooted to the spot as he reached him and swung at the Jinchuriki.

Naruto jumped back once more only for the sword to cut a straight line through his clothes, his mesh shirt, and finally his flesh.

"Aghhhh!!!" Naruto screamed in pain at the electric shock that followed after the flesh wound, stumbling on his feet and falling on a hip Naruto felt himself get lifted upwards with the pain coming back to haunt him.

Rokushō raised his sword that produced rings of electricity that paralyzed his blonde enemy while continuously shocking him as he magnetically suspend the jinchuriki in mid-air.

"Aghhhh." Naruto's cries were a continued melody to Rokushō. He felt like he was at an Oprah with his uncle in Konoha once again, he wondered if the old fool had kicked the bucket yet but he shrugged.

"Mie mou stupid blat…….MIIEEE!" Rokushō intensified his attack increasing the intensity of the rings surrounding and suspending Naruto in mid-air.

"AGHHHHHHHHHHH!!"Naruto screamed out before gritting his teeth and glaring at Rokushō mouthing the words 'loser' at him. The man saw red he threw his sword up subsequently throwing Naruto up in the air and Rokushō jumped after him aiming to maim the blonde.

"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!" Rokushō registered an impact on his right cheek making him spit blood and more teeth as he got blasted away from his opponent and dropped to the ground turning and twisting.

Hinata rushed under Naruto's airborne form and caught him in her arms bridal style which didn't take her a second to deduct and she blushed 3 different shades of pink dropping the blond on his sore body too abruptly.

"Ow ow ow…." Naruto complained rubbing his sore bum he hadn't even registered what had happened or who caught him and saved his life.

"Oh no, Naruto-Kun!" Hinata said in shock at what she did and kneeled in front of him. "Are you okay, I didn't hurt you did I?" Hinata kept fretting on and on about him while Naruto stared at her dumbfounded.

"Hime?" He asked slowly.

Hinata stopped what she was doing and looked over at Naruto's face she could see his outline and the chakra in and surrounding him she could feel its warmth exuding from him.

"Yes, Naruto-Kun." She asked confused, Hinata didn't know or realize she had just woken up from a week-long sleep. Naruto raised his hands and placed them on Hinata's cheeks slowly hands trembling as he felt her cheeks and the veins bulging from her eyes.

"You have the Byakugan?" He asked. Naruto was no longer in the world of the elemental nations he was in someplace called Hinata Ville where all he registered in his mind was everything to do with her.

"Yes.." Hinata smiled replying as she giggled in happiness. "It seems like I do." Hinata said placing her hand on top of the one on her cheeks and smiling lovingly at the blonde tilting her head to the side.

"C-can you s-see m m me?" Naruto asked with hope in his voice and Hinata shook her head in the negative crushing that hope, Naruto looked down in sadness and Hinata smiled bringing his face up.

"I see your chakra, we will talk about this later promise." Hinata promised and stood up her sword coming out of her seal from tip to hilt before grabbing it in her hand.

Hinata made some practice swings before turning back to Naruto and blinking at him. The blonde was looking at her like she was some kind of treasure he lucked out finding in a kid's sandbox.

"Are you coming Naruto-Kun?" She asked confused as to why he was still sitting around and Naruto quickly stood up. He walked up to her and raised his thumb rubbing the eye crust from the corner of her eyes.

"Beautiful." Naruto whispered in a trance-like state. He said that but Hinata was a mess her hair was everywhere with some leaves sticking out of it, and she still had grim and dirt on her face from the earlier fall she took. She wore a dark blue two-piece Pajamas that consisted of ankle-length pants that hugged her curves nicely and a long sleeve button up shirt that was loose and yet hugged her body where it mattered.

"N-Naruto-K-Kun." Hinata blushed, poking her index fingers together as she was flustered and Naruto's eyes widened at the realization of what he said. Wanting to say something, anything he was disrupted or saved by Rokushō making his presence known.

Rokushō didn't say a thing, he decided speaking wasn't his thing anymore. Aoi Rokushō from this day onward would become a silent ninja no more talking big he was gonna act it and the first victims of the new him were going to be the two brats in front of him.

"Be careful Hinata-Hime that blade of his is dangerous." Naruto warned his best friend and she nodded breathing deeply in and deeply out before focusing on her opponent.

His chakra networks became visible to her including the 361 tenkentsu available to him.

"Can you keep up?" Hinata asked her best friend smiling at him and he grinned back with a thumbs up.

"Bring it!" Naruto said his battle cry loud and clear for the whole world to hear. Hinata giggled at his enthusiasm, it was like he hadn't sustained serious injuries with the way he seemed ready to jump at the chance to fight again.

"Ready Naruto-Kun" Hinata asked and Naruto nodded.

"Ready Hime." At those words Hinata dashed forward, she saw as Rokushō pushed chakra to his blade and sent an electric bolt at her approaching form. Hinata threw her katana at the approaching electricity bold.

The blade is then embedded in the grass, grounding the electric current while she dashed forward and beside her Naruto dashed along side his best friend.

AN

part two!!!

Hinata's got the Byakugan she's still blind but she has finally unlocked her dojutsu and has all its abilities with little twitches here and there.

Sasuke was on fire at the end there adrenaline no Jutsu had Haku beat.

Zabuza is going through some things now, I wanna kill Haku but Zabuza I got plans for but there are a lot of people who can play that same part...it's nothing PG rated like friendship but yeah we will see.

Next chapter is the climax of the bridge battles then another chapter concluding the ark and we fly back to Konoha.