{Land of Waves: Tazuna's Residence}
May 2nd
Line break.
Naruto stood over the corpses of Gato's men and glared at the boat making its way out of the bay. He watched as they sailed away and scoffed; he was tempted to go after them, but leaving Tsunami and Inari would be asking for trouble.
When he turned towards the house, he realized that Gato had not sent Haku for the family as he thought he would. This meant she was on the bridge with her partner. Not good.
He ran into the house and called out to Tsunami and Inari. They practically fell out of their hiding hole when Inari kicked the trap door open and rushed to Naruto.
"Naruto! You did it! You actually beat Gato's army, and all by yourself!"
Naruto shook his head. "Not all of them. Some of them got away from me. Now, are you alright?"
They both nodded, and Tsunami sighed with relief, a tear leaving her eye as she wiped it away and thanked Naruto. "I-I didn't even h-hear them e-enter! If you hadn't been there when you were—"
"It's okay now. You can relax," Naruto said in a calming manner, trying to ease the shaken woman.
Inari looked up to Naruto in awe. 'G-Got away? They ran from him! Gato's men ran from Naruto!'
Naruto looked down and patted the kid's head. "Listen. I need you guys to clear out. I need to help my team, but I can't leave you guys vulnerable for Gato to return."
They nodded, and Tsunami took Inari's hand. "You don't have to worry about us. Go save your friends and my father."
He sighed in relief and made his way outside with haste, stopping to take a breath and focus.
He spread his senses out as far as possible and felt his team. Kakashi's chakra spiked and dipped from chakra use and combat, and the same went for Sasuke, but to a lesser extent.
'They're definitely fighting the duo,' he thought.
He went into a sprint, blurring into the treetops and disappearing from Inari and Tsunami's sight.
Inari turned to his mom with a determined look. "M-Mom! I have an idea!"
Tsunami looked confused at her son's declaration. The look he had wasn't something she'd seen since Kaiza, and she couldn't help but hear him out.
Line break.
Sasuke was on the ground, coughing as he pulled another needle from his neck.
At this point, any remaining squeamish feelings about injury had left his mind as he focused on getting up.
He got to his feet and tried to find another way around the mirrors that blocked his path.
Haku prepared another wave of senbon and saw Sasuke deflect and dodge them, slowly adapting after being pelted for the fifth time now.
Sasuke danced around the senbon, his perception becoming sharper as time went on, his vision clearer. He could tell where the senbon would land and how they would land.
During one of the volleys, he noticed something he hadn't before. Whenever she threw her senbon, she dashed into another mirror at speeds he couldn't see before. If he could intercept her between jumps, he could end this jutsu.
He winced when a senbon pricked his ankle but fought through the pain to throw shuriken back to deflect what he couldn't dodge.
'It seems he's getting better,' she thought to herself. 'I suppose it's time to... what's this?'
She looked at his eyes, which were scanning the mirrors in slight confusion until they landed on her.
She almost reeled at seeing his gaze fall on the real her, focusing intently.
'Is that what I think it is?'
Sasuke stared at his surroundings, vapor seeming to appear out of nowhere until he looked at Haku and realized that the real one was right before him.
His eyes widened before he smirked. "Finally."
His eyes were glowing red—a tomoe in one and two in the other. "I've awakened my Sharingan."
Sakura, who had been crying in a state of panic, noticed his dojutsu finally activate, and she held her breath in shock.
Sasuke nodded at Sakura and then turned to look at the mirrors.
Haku watched as his eyes focused on every little thing she did. She proceeded to throw a barrage of senbon at the boy. To her utter shock, Sasuke deflected, dodged, leaned, and countered her attacks, only receiving a few minor cuts from near misses.
Sasuke smiled and brought out two kunai. "Bring it," he spoke confidently.
Haku obliged, throwing two handfuls of senbon, and her reflections did the same.
Sasuke's eyes widened with concentration, and he ran. He deflected anything too lethal to take and received a few more senbon for his troubles, but this didn't stop him. He went through hand seals and cast the fireball jutsu at the real Haku. He saw where she would go just by how she moved, but he canceled it when he realized she was moving too fast for such a jutsu.
"I can see. I can see so much, but it doesn't matter if she's still too fast to hit. I need to knock her out of the mirror to escape this prison she's put me in," he said to himself before turning to Sakura. "Sakura, listen to me! I need you to throw shuriken right where I point—got it? I have an idea!"
Haku tilted her head curiously and decided to wrap things up with the next attack.
'This kid's Sharingan is making him a bit of a threat. Who knew that a simple change in eyesight could turn a battle, even a little?'
In a blur that caught Sasuke off guard, senbon hurled toward his vital points. To her annoyance, he deflected most of them but received a blow that stiffened his leg.
"There!" Sasuke yelled as Haku leaped to another mirror, and Sakura threw her kunai where Sasuke pointed.
Haku saw a kunai fly harmlessly to where she'd been seconds ago and resisted the urge to laugh. The girl missed completely.
"That girl is far too slow and weak to make a difference," she said in amusement as she prepared for a devastating barrage. "Coordination must come from an understanding that runs deep. Yelling out does nothing in the face of shinobi moving as fast as the wind itself. Brace yourself, Uchiha."
Sasuke moved to get up but noticed that his joint was locked from the damage done to him.
He gritted his teeth and prepared for the worst. 'Not like this! Move! MOVE!' he screamed in his head.
A barrage of senbon came hurling at him from all directions, and he closed his eyes for the end, but it didn't come.
The next thing he saw was a purple hue engulfing him and the senbon bouncing harmlessly off whatever surrounded him.
"What is this?" he spoke in confusion. He turned to see Naruto in the barrier with him, his hands clasped to hold it together.
"It seems our gamble was a bit off," Naruto said within the barrier. "Gato's men showed up at the old man's house, not Haku."
Everyone was shocked at Naruto's arrival, but some, like Kakashi, Zabuza, Sasuke, and Haku, were confused as to why Naruto didn't try to break the barrier from the outside.
'What the? What was he thinking?!' thought Kakashi, while Zabuza chuckled.
"It looks like another victim has been ensnared, and she didn't have to do much for it," said Zabuza, amused.
Haku had seen him drop in from the sky and save his comrade, but now he put himself at risk.
"Naruto!" yelled Sakura in surprise.
"Go back to the bridge builder. I have this," spoke Naruto.
"No, you could die in there; Haku is stronger than you think!" cried Sakura.
"Sakura, trust me when I say I have this handled. I need you out of harm's way. Now GO!" said Naruto in an assertive tone.
She nodded and ran away from the ice prison.
"Since when could you do this?" asked Sasuke as he inspected the barrier he found himself in.
Naruto was about to respond until he saw Sasuke's eyes. "You awakened your dojutsu?"
"Don't dodge the question, Uzumaki," demanded Sasuke.
Naruto chuckled. "Two months. Now sit tight for a minute."
Naruto manipulated the barrier so that it slipped around him and only confined Sasuke.
Sasuke looked confused and spoke. "You plan on fighting alone?"
"No. The smaller the barrier, the stronger it is. I need it to hold for what I'm about to do," said Naruto as he concentrated on what he assumed to be the real Haku.
Before Sasuke could reply, he cringed when he saw Haku throw a hail of senbon at Naruto.
Naruto deflected most of the senbon but was struck in the back and neck, suddenly falling to his knee. "Crap!" the boy yelled.
"You should listen to your friend," Haku said as she prepared to dash out of the mirror to kill him.
Naruto looked up to Haku and spoke. "In a way, I am." He then blew up in a poof of smoke, and Sasuke and Haku's eyes widened in surprise.
Sasuke then saw the real Naruto land behind the mirrors, his hands clasped together.
"Wind Style: Pressure Blast!" yelled Naruto. A concentrated blast of wind slammed into the ground just outside of Haku's mirrors, immediately bathing the area in strong and hazardous winds, cutting into even the metal parts of the bridge.
Sasuke could see nothing within the prison, only debris. When he saw the barrier crack, he began to panic. 'W-What the hell is this jutsu?! How does he have such power?! And what the hell is he thinking using it right outside of this prison?!'
A tear went through the barrier as it shattered completely, and he quickly got into a fetal position to protect himself from any further damage. By then, the winds had calmed just enough to leave no damage to Sasuke.
Zabuza was left flabbergasted at the jutsu, as was Kakashi.
'I didn't show him that jutsu! When di—how? Wha?!' yelled the Leaf Jonin in his head.
Sakura stood in awe, and Tazuna shook his head in surprise. "T-that kid is... powerful!"
Sakura nodded. "Y-yeah," she said while looking at Naruto in a new light. "He is."
Haku went tumbling, skidding across the bridge to a halt away from both Sasuke and Naruto, and her eyes narrowed at Naruto in shock. 'He's different! Any other wind jutsu may as well have been useless, but the concussive force of it and its piercing effect—that is high-level wind jutsu.'
She stood up, quite shaken at having nearly been killed, counting her lucky stars that Naruto was aiming to destroy the mirrors only and nothing else. 'It seems I'll have to take him seriously.'
Sasuke stood and checked his surroundings, coughing from the dust and wincing at his injury.
The mirror prison was completely destroyed, and Haku had been blown to the other side of the bridge from whatever attack Naruto used. Her clothes were tattered, and her mask was broken, revealing part of her face.
Naruto walked beside a shocked Sasuke, and Sasuke spoke first. "What did you do?"
"Wind Release: Pressure Blast. A pain in the ass to learn. It's B-rank in power too, and my trump card. I couldn't find a way to take her out and save you. You're welcome, by the way," replied a smirking Naruto.
Sasuke looked at Naruto like he was some kind of monster. The gap between them was greater than he thought. "How are you this strong?" he asked.
Naruto smiled softly and replied. "I'll explain everything when we're out of this mess."
Sasuke scowled and watched as Naruto made his way to where Haku was.
Meanwhile, Kakashi and Zabuza had stopped their battle briefly when the explosion went off and shook the bridge. Both were surprised at the caliber of jutsu Naruto used to destroy the mirrors.
'This is what genin from Konoha are capable of?' Zabuza thought in astonishment.
"Looks like you've underestimated my genin once again," spoke Kakashi. But deep down, he was in a state of shock as well. Naruto had put his clone in the ice prison to plant a barrier around Sasuke to protect him from the destructive jutsu he intended to use to destroy the mirrors. Naruto hit the ground in front of the mirrors, likely due to his knowledge that he would kill both Haku and Sasuke if he hit the prison directly.
Zabuza was now worried about his partner. He'd need to have a serious discussion about toying with her opponents when they got out of this mess.
Haku stood up and looked at Naruto with narrowed eyes. She prepared her senbon, and Naruto drew his kunai and prepared for battle.
She narrowed her eyes and rushed at full speed.
This caught him off guard; her speed was at least Low/Mid Jonin level.
She clashed with Naruto and began thrusting at him.
He avoided every strike she threw at him before bringing his kunai up to deflect some of them. Upon seeing an opening, he slashed at her in a cross-cutting motion, and she dashed backward while chucking senbon at him.
He weaved to the side to avoid the senbon and charged at her with a thrusting attack.
She dodged to the left and leaned to avoid a surprise slash. She then grabbed his arm and used it as leverage to flip over him and climb on top of him.
He tried to grab her leg to stop her, but she grappled hard and flipped them over so she could try to choke him out, only for him to twist his own body while holding her thigh to readjust them during the fall, and he landed on top of her. He held her wrist with one hand and had his kunai against her hidden blade aimed at her neck.
He pushed for dominance as she struggled to free herself from his grip.
She growled, and suddenly, her breath became a frosty mist. She blew it at him, causing him to release her and jump away upon realizing the danger of the fog.
"Ice Release: Frozen Mist Jutsu!" she yelled.
The air around them grew dense, cold, and misty until it became like Zabuza's jutsu from weeks ago.
He scowled as he stretched his senses and realized she had made clones of herself within the mist.
He deflected a barrage of senbon that shot from the mist before thrusting his kunai into a Haku clone that charged him, ice shards shattering against him as the clone dispersed.
He yelled in pain as bits of ice shards lodged into his side painfully. 'Fuck, that was a bad idea. No more kunai!' he thought in annoyance.
He went through hand seals but was interrupted when Haku shot out of the mist.
He turned just in time to block a flurry of senbon from her, and she flipped her weight onto him and flipped overhead, landing gracefully.
He darted forward and kicked at her, and she blocked with her arms, being sent skidding across the ground.
He leaned away from a surprise attack from another clone and dashed away from it before it could slit his throat.
Her eyes narrowed, and she went through hand signs.
"Ice Release: Frozen Mist!"
The mist around him grew denser, but what made him jump back was how everything seemed to deep freeze.
Sasuke ran/limped when he saw how close the mist was getting, and his eyes widened when he realized the fog had cornered Tazuna and Sakura.
He traversed the beams, swinging across to get around the mist. He then went to the other side of the bridge, where his teammate was, and went through hand seals.
"Fire Style: Fireball!" yelled Sasuke as he blew fire at the mist to stall its advance.
It seemed to work as the mist slowed down, and he breathed heavily, getting on one knee from exhaustion.
Sakura rushed to his side and helped him up.
"Sakura, we need to get out of this corner, or we'll freeze. We won't make it if we don't move," said Sasuke.
She nodded and turned to Tazuna. "Follow behind us and stay close," she said.
Tazuna nodded and followed the kids off the bridge, but the mist seemed to have a mind of its own and was moving faster than expected.
Naruto, who had just reached the top section of the bridge, noticed the danger his team was in and that Haku was likely aiming not just at him but also at the builder.
He went through hand seals. "Wind Style: Wind Bullets!"
He released a series of concentrated wind blasts that blew holes into whatever they came into contact with, and Haku and her clone dashed and swung their way down the bridge to avoid them.
Naruto went after them, sliding down the beam's wires. To his annoyance, he felt the clone halt mid-descent and blocked the attempted surprise attack. The clone swung off of a broken wire to kick him in his guard and send him back to ground level.
He rolled onto the ground and grunted in pain.
Haku was already before him in an instant, and he brought his defense up too late as she slammed her senbon into his shoulder and kicked him in the chest, sending him tumbling back.
The girl turned towards Tazuna and the genin and had half a mind to go after them but decided to finish Naruto off first.
Naruto stumbled to his feet and gasped in pain as he removed her senbon from his now limp right shoulder and tossed it to the floor in disgust. He tried to go through hand seals but cried out when his fingers wouldn't obey.
"It seems I put your wind style out of commission," said Haku.
He sighed. "It would seem so. Luckily, I'm ambidextrous."
She shook her head as he readied himself for more, and she raced at him with her clone.
The boy gritted his teeth and swerved under the slash of the clone at the last second and took the stab from Haku so he could thrust his palm into her chest, sending her skidding back.
The clone whirled and sent a kick to the back of his head, but he went low, sweeping it from under its feet and following up with a heel kick.
It tumbled and turned to water and ice, and he removed the senbon from his ribs, coughing up some blood. 'Fuck. I was lucky there. Really lucky.'
Haku shook her head. "You fought well, but this is the end, Uzumaki."
He sighed. "We'll see."
She dashed at him to finish him, but with a single hand sign from Naruto, she suddenly went tumbling to the floor before recovering on one knee. 'What?! Why am I so... heavy?'
Naruto laughed at her misfortune and stood up. 'Gravity seal. A very impractical fuinjutsu since it can be taken off so easily, but still useful against someone as annoying as her,' he thought to himself.
Haku's eyes widened when she saw the seal, and she went to take it off when a foot slammed into her face, breaking more of her mask off and sending her to the ground in pain.
He didn't stop there. He rushed her as she rolled to her feet, and she was forced to deflect his one-handed attacks as fast as possible. She grunted in annoyance that her footwork was now completely off with how much weight he'd put into the seal.
She managed to catch his arm, and he quickly dropped his kunai to perform a simple seal. In a flash, a barrier formed around her before she could follow up.
He ripped his hand from her grasp and shrunk the barrier as much as possible, but it had its limits.
She was now sitting in a dense barrier, and he could see the annoyance in her visible eye. "You really are an Uzumaki. Crafty and annoying."
Naruto chuckled as he took the time to inspect his arm. To her slight shock, he stabbed a part of it, and it was moving all over again.
He fell to his knee and grit his teeth in pain before taking a combat pill to dull it.
"Yeah, well, what can I say? It runs in my family," he said. She frowned as he sat there to catch his breath.
Zabuza, who was pushing for dominance against Kakashi, growled. "You have quite the little squad there, Kakashi. But don't get a big head. Haku has this under control."
Kakashi scoffed as he went on the defensive once again. "My squad has potential that even a demon like you wouldn't comprehend. They'll be just fine," he said confidently.
Zabuza chuckled darkly. "Let's hope they live long enough for you to prove it!"
Their clash became more aggressive in the background, and Haku took notice. "I don't have any more time to spare against you, genin."
She removed her mask, revealing ice claws on her fingers, the freezing mist that once chased after his teammates and the client creeping back in their direction.
It pooled around her barrier, forcing him to backpedal as he finally removed the last shard of ice from his side. He grimaced when he heard his barrier break within the mist.
"I think I'm in deep shit now. I'd hoped for Kakashi to finish his fight with Zabuza, but of course not," Naruto said to himself in annoyance.
Haku's silhouette became visible from the mist, and she shot toward him, claws aimed at his heart.
He stepped back and tried to side-swipe her, but she slid under his guard in a mere moment and raked her claws along his side before rolling away, causing him to gasp out at the cold and painful wounds.
She was upon him again, and he whirled around, successfully blocking one attack but failing to avoid the claw to his thigh. He yelled out.
She sent a series of chops, slashes, and punches his way. He was not prepared for the monster he was facing; he focused primarily on avoiding lethal strikes and simply trying to survive.
He bent back just in time to avoid the slash to his neck but failed to escape the thrust to his heart, twisting his body enough for it to hit his right shoulder instead.
She scowled at his resistance, and he gripped her arm tight before headbutting her hard enough to daze her. He performed a spin kick that sent her tumbling back into the freezing mist.
He stumbled back, bumping into Kakashi as the two stood back to back.
"Need a hand?" asked Kakashi, out of breath.
"Fuck no. I got this," gasped Naruto.
Kakashi chuckled. "Of course you do."
Naruto groaned. "Focus on your fight, sensei."
The boy dashed back into his fight, and Kakashi returned to his.
He stopped in his tracks when Ice Senbon came flying out of the mist. Knowing he wouldn't dodge in time due to his injury, he brought up his barrier armament, and the senbon bounced off the shield, cracking it on impact.
He sighed. 'Save for that earlier jutsu of mine, nothing I throw at her will do anything. She can freeze my water and turn most of my wind attacks against me. That really leaves only one thing left for me to do.'
He got into a stance and hoped to god that this worked on command now.
Haku stepped out of her mist and dispersed it, finding it had little use.
"It was an honor fighting you, Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto scoffed. "Such arrogance. You haven't won yet."
She shook her head and blurred towards him, but to her shock, golden jagged chains shot forth at speeds that nearly caught her off guard. She blurred to the side, zigzagging back as they followed her.
They came from his arms, then his back, then his chest, and they were fast.
'Tch. I thought I'd catch her with it on the first try. Crap,' thought Naruto.
The boy manipulated his chains to the best of his ability, increasing their size. Still, his control over them was poor, having awakened them only twice before—once by accident and once to train for this fight.
Haku got the hang of his unorthodox pattern and dashed for the chains instead, bouncing off them and heading for her kill. Naruto panicked, banishing the chains and immediately summoning his katana, swinging it out and catching her off guard.
She used the last chain to flip over his slash and clawed his back, landing on the rail behind his stumbling form, and launched off of it to slam her foot into his back, sending him sliding across the bridge.
The boy rolled and stumbled, hissing in pain.
Haku followed as he recovered, flipping back onto his feet. He sealed up his katana, not skilled enough to use it regularly, and bobbed out of her thrusting attack.
She sent chops, palm thrusts, and more claw attacks at him, and all he could do was parry and avoid near misses, leaving cuts and gouges in his body.
One particular slash ripped his jacket open, and she grabbed it to yank him close.
He responded by slipping and twisting out of it just as she tore her hand into it. Naruto yanked it from her and kicked her hand away, twisting himself to follow up with another kick.
She caught the follow-up but was whipped in the face with his jacket as a distraction, and he used it to jump off his remaining leg and slam his foot into her face, sending her sliding back with a huff.
He got up from his awkward landing position and glared. 'All that energy for a fucking nosebleed. I hate this chick.'
She wiped her nose and smirked. "For a genin, you're keeping up pretty well," she said softly. "I'm trying to kill you, and yet here you still stand."
Naruto felt the shallow cut on his chest and winced at the deep one on his side. "Yeah. Fight or flight is handy when dealing with someone leaps and bounds ahead of you in the physical department."
He summoned ten clones of himself to stall and went through hand signs.
She effortlessly dispatched the clones and saw the water sign, shaking her head.
"Water Style: Water Wave!" the boy yelled, and a wave of water rushed towards her at breakneck speed.
Haku didn't panic but instead leaped and sped through hand signs of her own. "Ice Release: Flash Freeze."
The water rushing towards her began freezing at a rapid rate, but Naruto anticipated this. While spewing water, he performed the lightning stream jutsu, electrifying both the water and Haku herself.
The boy dashed for her and went to slash his kunai across her throat, but she was fast enough to bring her arms up to guard herself; his kunai slashed her forearms, but to his confusion, her wounds immediately froze over in ice.
He growled and threw everything he had at her, slashing at her as she deflected with her withering ice claws until she ducked under one and slammed her palm into his injury. To her shock, there was no reaction. Instead, he kneed her in the stomach and performed a spin kick to her head that sent her rolling across the ground.
She slid and growled, flipping onto her feet. Unfortunately for her, Naruto once again used the lightning stream to electrocute her through the water sitting on the ground, and with no need for hand seals to use his chakra chains, two of them shot from his arms, racing towards her struggling form. Faster than she could react, they wrapped around her wrists and ankles.
She looked at him with eyes filled with shock and tried to break free but failed. He yanked the chains, and she was pulled toward him.
She narrowed her eyes and adjusted herself mid-air; they hit each other, Haku slamming her foot into his gut and Naruto slamming his fist into her face.
Haku was sent spinning to the ground while Naruto flipped back and landed on his stomach.
He groaned in pain as she tried everything she could to break the chains but to no avail. 'Crap!' she internally panicked. 'Getting caught in Uzumaki chakra chains is a death sentence. I'm at a loss here!'
She dashed to end him then and there, but he wasn't helpless. He clasped his hands together and spoke. "Barrier Art: Personalized Barrier," he said tiredly.
A barrier surrounded him in the form of a shield, and she slammed into it.
Naruto felt like he was going to puke blood as Haku banged her fists against the barrier with the intent of breaking it, and he saw it cracking under the strain. 'I hate barrier jutsu. I can't seem to make them stronger.'
He amplified the chain's passive effect, and she felt it immediately. Her chakra was not only sealed off from her but also slowly absorbed into Naruto—not that he needed more chakra.
Naruto chuckled as her strength dwindled, making her attempts to break the barrier feeble.
She sighed and fell to her knees as she looked at the chains, not knowing what to do. "I guess this is checkmate. Well played, Uzumaki-san."
Kakashi and Zabuza disengaged to catch their breath. Zabuza had turned out to be a much tougher opponent than Kakashi initially thought. He'd been trying to set up a sneak attack with his ninken, but Zabuza's quick reactions kept disrupting his plans. The battle was dragging on too long, and Kakashi knew it.
Zabuza glanced over at Haku and sighed. "Damn that girl. I told her not to go easy on the kids, and look at what happens."
Kakashi felt a sense of relief that Naruto managed to win. Chakra chains were an unexpected surprise but a welcome one.
"Haku, can you still hear me?" asked Zabuza, and he was relieved to see her nod.
Kakashi, now panting from overexertion, smiled. "Well, it looks like it's just me and you now."
"Don't forget me, Kakashi," spoke a voice at the other end of the bridge.
They turned to see Gato and his army approaching. It was a refilled army, at that. "It seems you can't finish the job given to you, Zabuza."
Zabuza's eyes narrowed. "Really? You couldn't even wait until the battle was over to try and betray me, you little shit?"
Gato chuckled. "Look at what I have behind me, Zabuza."
Zabuza's eyes widened when he saw shinobi among the bandits. He growled. "You fucking bastard!"
Kakashi sighed at the sight. 'He must not want to pay Zabuza whatever amount they agreed upon. If he were prudent and really wanted control over the Land of Waves, he'd help Zabuza. Unless… he wants Zabuza's bounty as well. How greedy.'
Gato turned to his men. "Kill the demon now," he said, laughing.
The bandits charged, and Zabuza growled.
"Naruto! Let Haku go!" yelled Kakashi, shocking Naruto.
'Are you fucking serious right now?' thought an exhausted Naruto as he released his chains. Haku was at Zabuza's side in an instant.
Kakashi jumped back as the battle between Zabuza and Gato's forces erupted and grabbed Naruto. "We don't need to be here anymore. We'll keep our distance and see how this plays out."
"Don't let them get awa—damn! Get after them!" yelled Gato as Kakashi raced off the bridge with Naruto.
Zabuza let some of the men pass him before charging into the fray with Haku at his side. The duo clashed with the incoming shinobi and bandits, tearing into them with precision.
Line break.
Sasuke and Sakura had been with Inari and Tazuna, rallying the villagers for a final assault when the fight between Haku and Naruto was taking place. They expected to find a desperate, life-or-death struggle when they arrived on the bridge, but that wasn't what they saw.
Instead, they were met with what seemed to be the aftermath of a coup.
Sasuke rushed up to an unconscious Naruto and checked his pulse.
"He's alive, Sasuke, just tired," said Kakashi.
The Jonin was staring at the scene before him. Zabuza stood over Gato, who was very much alive. Whatever was being said between them was drowned out by the distance, though the whimpers echoing off the bridge indicated that things were not going in Gato's favor.
Zabuza grabbed Gato by the hair and dragged him toward the villagers.
Everyone tensed, and Kakashi became ready for anything.
Haku looked up at her partner as he made a decision. "Kakashi."
"What?" responded a wary Kakashi.
"... I want the wealth I was promised by this garbage. I'll take what's mine and leave. Do whatever you want, but if you follow me, I'll kill you."
Kakashi stared for a moment. "I don't care what you do, as long as the bridge builder and his family are safe."
Zabuza nodded, dropped Gato in front of the villagers, and began to walk away, Haku close behind.
Kakashi watched as they left, but Haku paused and turned to look at Naruto, smirking. "Well fought, Uzumaki-san. Perhaps one day we'll meet again. I'd love to see how strong you become."
Kakashi sighed and glared down at a terrified Gato.
Gato backed away and sneered at Inari. "You have no idea who you're messing with! I have powerful friends who will have you killed for this! All of you are dead at my feet!"
Inari looked at Gato with a mix of determination, anger, and pity. "No, I won't be killed. You will!" screamed the boy. "Take his arms!"
The villagers knew the symbolism of that statement. One of them shouted, "You're damn right; we're going to take his arms!"
"This isn't justice! You'll pay for this!" screamed Gato as two burly villagers pinned him to the bridge.
The man was subdued and pulled apart piece by piece, his remains thrown over the rails to the waves below.
Everyone stood in shock and relief as the man who had tormented them for so long was finally gone.
Tazuna stepped forward, gratitude and hope on his face. "Thank you for this. You have no idea how much this means to me and all of us."
The villagers murmured their agreement as Kakashi nodded. "We're just doing our job, sir."
Inari approached a sleeping Naruto with a worried Sakura. "W-will he be okay?"
Sakura nodded, though she trembled at the severity of his wounds. "H-He'll live, b-but we need to treat his injuries."
Kakashi looked at them. "I'll carry him back to the house. Let's clear off the bridge and get it cleaned up. It still needs to be finished."
Sasuke stood up as did Tazuna. "Thank you again. I don't have the right words to show you how grateful I am, but I'll repay you somehow."
Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. "We'll work that out once your country is back on its feet. For now, let's focus on the present."
The man nodded, and the people began their journey home, but they would return the next day to help clear the bridge.
Line break.
{Land of Waves: Tazuna's Residence}
May 5th
Naruto's eyes slowly opened after what felt like days, and he found himself in the guest bed. The window was open, and the moon was high, indicating it was late at night.
He groaned and tried to sit up but felt a weight on his shoulder.
"Stay down. You're still hurt," said Sakura.
Naruto sighed and fell back against the pillow. "How bad was it?"
Sakura shook her head. "Not bad enough to worry about. I'm surprised at how fast you're healing. Kakashi must've done something to speed up the process or something."
Naruto resisted the urge to grimace. 'That's right. The fox is probably the reason I recover so quickly. Something to keep in mind.'
"How long was I out?" he asked.
The girl sighed. "A few days. I'm glad you're back, though. We were worried you might not wake up."
"Sorry for worrying you guys. That battle was insane," he said, shivering at the memory. He was sure he'd have nightmares about it.
Sakura smiled at him. "No worries, Naruto. We're just glad you're okay."
He hummed in response, and she spoke again. "You... umm... you were pretty cool out there. I can see how much you've improved since the academy. You've come a long way," she said with a slight blush and smile.
He scowled. "Thanks, but getting your ass kicked in a fight isn't what I'd call cool."
She huffed and crossed her arms. "Don't be such a downer! Learn to accept a compliment. I'm trying to give you one."
"You don't have to. I don't want it," he replied, earning himself an eye twitch from the girl.
He smirked. "Just kidding. I appreciate it."
She sighed. "I'm gonna get you something to drink, you little smartass," she said before walking away.
Naruto watched her leave and sighed in annoyance. 'Some peace would be nice, but okay.'
Line break.
{Land of Waves: Tazuna's Residence}
2 days later.
Tsunami periodically came in to help feed Naruto, and Inari visited him, staying in his room for hours at a time. Sakura did, too, though she wasn't as attentive. Kakashi would do a quick check-up, but Sasuke refused to see him. Why? Simple: he was focused.
At night, Naruto could hear Sasuke training outside, frustrated.
Naruto recovered enough to move around and travel just fine after a week. Despite his injuries being worse than Sasuke's, he was in better shape in a much shorter time.
It was two days before this full recovery that Naruto first ventured downstairs, where Sasuke finally confronted him.
Naruto was carefully walking down the stairs for breakfast when he saw Sasuke waiting at the bottom, looking up with determination and something unreadable in his eyes.
Naruto, still sore and injured, took his time descending. "What is it? What's with that look?" Naruto asked in a ragged voice.
Sasuke scowled at Naruto's lack of energy. He'd hoped for a spar, but he knew not to rush things. "How did you beat her?"
Naruto shrugged. "Luck and pity. She was demolishing me throughout the fight. When I managed to catch her in a containment technique, she went all out, and I was in real trouble for the rest of the fight. But she did give me something valuable for all that trouble."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, gritting his teeth. "And what's that?"
"Experience. Now I'm going to eat. You can ask more questions when I'm in a chair and not suffering where I stand," said Naruto.
Naruto slowly walked into the kitchen, where Tazuna and his family greeted him with surprise and joy. Sasuke stood at the bottom of the stairs, pondering. He didn't understand how he'd catch up. Naruto had obviously downplayed his victory—at least in his mind. Was he even worthy of the attention an Uzumaki commanded?
Sasuke's eyes glared, his Sharingan active with anger, the very thought irritating him.
'I have my Sharingan now. What am I complaining about? No. I can't deny it, or I'll stagnate. He's stronger than me by a lot. If I'm going to beat Itachi, I need to keep up with Naruto. My Sharingan was supposed to close the gap, but it didn't.'
Sasuke brushed a hand over his face and sighed.
'I won't be left behind, especially not by you.'
Line break.
End chapter.