Chapter Seven: Sewing Loose Ends

Author's Note: Like always, I'd like to start by thanking everyone who has left a like, follow, comment/review, or read the story. I genuinely appreciate it.

As for this story, hopefully, I'll finish in Wave in the following few chapters to move on to the Exams. When that happens, I'll end the poll for the Konoha girls in the harem. So vote if you want to.

In addition, I got a message requesting me to write a Harry Potter and Naruto crossover. And while the suggestion sparked some ideas, I started working on a Pokemon story.

Go figure.

Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Bold: Technique Name (English Translation)

Italics: Thoughts

Horizontal Line: Flashback

(Scene Change): You know what it is

The forest was silent as the three shinobi stared at the toad; Naruto, in stunned confusion; Haku, in relief; and Kushimaru, in quiet fury. Naruto was the first to break the silence.

"You're the toad who was with that old man, Jiraiya, right?" Naruto asked as he slowly got up and into a fighting stance, keeping his eyes trained on the madman that had nearly shiskebabed him. Naruto swore he saw the man tense when Jiraiya's name left his lips.

"Yes, Naru-chan; my name is Shima, but you can call me 'Ma," the elderly toad answered kindly, as she, too, kept her eyes, as well as her sage senses, trained on the Kiri shinobi, waiting to see what his next move would be. Her eyes darted to the bound Haku and began to take in air and store it in the yellow sacs on her cheeks.

Meanwhile, Kushimaru's mind was racing. "How dare that toad lay its slimy hands on my Nuibari! When I get my hands on it, I'll string it up by its intestines!" Unconsciously, Kushimaru tensed his arms, shifting the ice needles buried in his forearms, sending shooting pains through his body, and breaking the red haze settling over his eyes.

Kushimaru took a breath and mentally assessed his situation; "The toad-summon has my sword, and they mentioned Jiraiya, so it's safe to assume that he's on his way, but why is he here?" The Kiri shinobi glanced at the boy, "Is it for the brat? Is Konoha so protective of their jinchūriki that they have their last Sannin trailing him?" Kushimaru mentally shook his head and reviewed his injuries, specifically, the two senbon embedded in his left elbow. Even now, his left arm hung limply at his side, though he could still move his fingers. "Regardless, I'm in no condition to fight Jiraiya," the madman glared at the cause of his wounds, "Nor bring Gatō his cocksleeve." He resisted the urge to lift his foot and drive it through Haku's skull, though that didn't stop him from pressing down with his foot and grinding her head into the dirt. "It does no good to kill your meat shield, but that doesn't mean you can't tenderize it!"

"Hey! Stop that!" Naruto roared, his eyes flashing red as he stepped forward, only to be stopped suddenly; "What?!" He looked down to find a small purple hand gripping his pant leg; "Old toad?"

"Don't. He'll get what he deserves soon," Shima stated firmly, her yellow eyes narrowing at Kushimaru. Her yellow vocal sacs had expanded to the size of golf balls.

"And what do I deserve? A mansion in Tsuki no Kuni?" Kushimaru joked as he looked up and continued to grind Haku's head into the dirt, receiving small grunts of pain for his efforts. "This is the least you deserve, you little mutant! If you hadn't interfered, Zabuza would be dead. Speaking of," his eyes flicked to the right where he could see Zabuza, still tied to a tree with Kubikiribōchō lying broken at his feet, the once mighty weapon now nothing more than its handle and a foot of blade, "I need to recover Kubikiribōchō and finish him off." Kushimaru focused on Nuibari; "And I might have to leave Nuibari behind, something that would make Yondaime-sama furious. Especially leaving it in an enemy village's possession." Kushimaru repressed a shudder at the thought.

"No, you deserve a good spanking!" Shima barked, "Now get yer foot off the girl and get before you get one!"

Kushimaru cocked his head, curious, as he stopped grinding Haku's face into the dirt; "And why do you care? This little freak," Kushimaru gave Haku a light stomp and jabbed his right thumb toward Zabuza, "Is the accomplice of a Kiri missing-nin, making this a Kiri matter." Kushimaru lowered his arm, resting his right hand on the two senbon in his elbow as he gauged the distance between him and Zabuza, "About fifty yards."

Shima saw Kushimaru's hand on the senbon and tightened her grip on Naruto's pant leg; "When tadpoles are in danger, I make it my matter."

"So Konoha would risk war over the lives of two criminals?" Kushimaru shook his head as he plucked the senbon out of his elbow in a spurt of blood. He kept the needles in his hand as he began channeling chakra to his legs. "Too far for a guaranteed kill shot. Distraction it is."

"No, Jiraiya wouldn't risk war over that-" Shima began, raising her voice over Naruto's protest of "Old toad! "-though Kiri isn't in the position to wage war now, nor in a few years. Now you best leave before Jiraiya gets here," Shima finished by sending a smirk that dripped with smug confidence toward the swordsman. A confidence she didn't feel as she sensed the buildup of Kushimaru's chakra, but not the approaching signatures of her husband and Jiraiya. "Where are those two?"

"Perhaps not," Kushimaru said as he raised the senbon to his face, watching drops of his blood slide down the metal to stain his fingertips, "But who's to say Kiri will stand alone? It wouldn't be the first time that Kiri has had help in destroying another nation." Kushimaru took notice of Shima's bulging cheeks; "Wind technique? Water? Probably not an area of effect. Something precise," Kushimaru looked down towards his captive, "Something that won't hit the mutant."

"Kumo and Iwa," Shima spat as she flared her chakra and glared at the madman. "Hurry up, Pa!" She thought.

Kushimaru shrugged off the look as he slipped the senbon between his fingers, "Kumo, Iwa, or maybe some of the smaller villages. Konoha is the top dog, and a pack of underdogs will always be waiting to throttle you. Though you can avoid that," Kushimaru trailed off, leaving the thought dangling there like a baited hook waiting for a bite as he continued planning; "But what's my follow-up?" Kushimaru studied Shima's stance and saw her hand grasping the jinchūriki's pant leg. "Hmm, that will work."

Shima saw the ploy for what it was but decided to bite to keep the man talking and buy more time. "And how could we do that? By letting you go?" She asked, ignoring Naruto's protests as she kept her sage senses honed on the man's chakra to predict his next move. Her eyes flicked to the left, seeing the only cover available for Naruto was some bushes near Zabuza. "No," she scolded herself, "I'm not throwing a tadpole near a wounded toad when there's a stork ne-" Shima cut off her thought when she felt Jiraiya's and Fukasaku's chakra rapidly move towards them from Zabuza's direction. "Yes," she cheered, "About time, you old coots!"

Kushimaru began kneading chakra in his stomach. "That, and allowing me to complete my mission. Then we can go our separate ways without further bloodshed. I'll even tell my Kage that Konoha helped eliminate Zabuza and capture his apprentice. I assure you that Yondaime-sama repays his debts handsomely," Kushimaru finished his offer,' lowering his right hand and rolling his wrist.

"No!" Haku yelled as she struggled against Kushimaru's foot, twisting her neck left and right, thrashing her body, feeling new cuts open up on her body as the razor wire sliced into her. "You can't let him kill Zabuza-sama!"

"Quiet," Kushimaru growled as he pushed down on her head. "You'll get yours soon," he thought darkly.

"And what about the girl? What happens to her?" Shima asked, sensing Fukasaku's chakra flare twice, "Two minutes."

"It will be serving a new role for one of Kiri's allies," he answered as he curled his left hand's pinky and ring fingers, followed by straightening his index and middle fingers, a half Rat seal.

"How about a trade? Your sword," she waved Nuibari as she kept her eyes trained on the two senbon, "For the girl? This doesn't have to be…messy." Shima felt her husband repeatedly flare his chakra, "One minute."

Kushimaru smiled behind his mask as he puffed out his chest, stepped off Haku, and walked a couple of feet to his left. "I'm a proud shinobi from the 'Village of the Bloody Mist.' I love it when things get… messy." Kushimaru tilted his head, an innocuous action that sent the toad and swordsman into a flurry of motion.

Kushimaru flicked his wrist, sending the two senbon toward the back of Haku's skull as he pushed off the ground and charged the toad and boy, feeling a burst of wind brush past him as he slid his mask to the right, revealing a pale mouth; with great pain, he raised his left hand to his lips; "Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Bomb Technique)" he thought as he fired a high-pressure stream from his lips and towards Shima and Naruto.

The toad sage threw Naruto into the bushes as she blew a strong gust of air over Haku's head, deflecting the senbon and sending the girl tumbling away, just before Shima was tumbled away by the deluge of water from Kushimaru's jutsu and crashing through a tree. However, she kept a hold of Nuibari.

Kushimaru smirked as he sent the toad crashing through the forest. He ended the jutsu and let his left arm fall limp, feeling nothing. Still, he didn't dwell on it as he placed his mask back, pivoted to his right, and turned towards Zabuza's location, only to see a dissipating cloud of chakra smoke and thirteen Narutos standing next to the bound demon. One of them went over to Kubikiribōchō, picked up the broken blade, pointed it at Kushimaru, and yelled, "Charge!" Five clones followed the order.

"This brat," Kushimaru snarled as he met the charge head-on. He dispelled the first clone with a right jab to its throat and the second with a knee to its gut; the third and fourth clones rushed him from his right and left sides with their fists cocked back. Kushimaru scoffed as he swayed to his right, grabbed the right clone's collar, and threw him into the left clone, dispelling both in a large cloud of smoke, which the fifth clone used as cover for a slide tackle aimed at the Kiri-nin's ankles. But the veteran shinobi lightly hopped over the clone, avoiding the attack and using its head as a stepping stone to propel him into the air and toward Zabuza and the eight remaining Narutos.

"Get him!" clones six through eight yelled as they launched their brethren into the air to ground the soaring madman.

Kushimaru saw the incoming clones and made his right arm go limp as he channeled chakra through both arms and spun quickly in the air, using his arms as whips to flay clones, the ice needles in the swordsman's forearms adding to his lethality. Something that the "launcher" clones soon learned when Kushimaru landed in between them, spun, and turned them all to vapor, leaving only two Narutos standing between him and Zabuza.

The armed Naruto raised the broken blade above his head, a battle cry halfway out of his lips, when he was backhanded and dispelled, leaving Kubikiribōchō to fall to the ground, only for its plummet to be halted by the hand of Kushimaru. Kushimaru twirled the blade as he stepped up to Naruto, who stood right before Zabuza, both glaring defiantly at him.

"Any last words, brat, Zabuza? And keep in mind I'm on a schedule," Kushimaru said.

"I/Loo-" They both started to speak when Kushimaru cut them off.

"Sorry, I'm out of time! Why don't you tell it to the Shinigami?!" Kushimaru cackled as he thrust the blade forward, aiming to stab through Naruto's skull and gut Zabuza. Only for Kubikiribōchō to explode in a puff of white smoke as he felt his right arm placed into an arm bar, and his fingers snapped. His mind didn't even have time to process the pain because his instincts screamed at him to move when he heard a rustling above him and saw another Naruto dropping down with Kubikiribōchō ready to cut him in half.

Kushimaru hastily sent an overpowering burst of chakra through his right arm, overloading the chakra network and exploding the tenketsu in his arm. Still, it was enough to allow him to bend and raise his limb to have the leech on it take some of the blow as Kushimaru stepped back, feeling the tip of the broken blade score his mask before he felt it slice through his forearm and his ulna bone, his vision bleeding red.

Naruto landed in a crouch, his eyes crimson and slit, his blonde dripping with Kushimaru's blood, as he reared Kubikiribōchō back to thrust it through the madman's black heart. "This is for-," he began to yell when he was cut off by a knee to the face and was thrown into the bound Zabuza, the back of his head striking the missing-nin's stomach, causing the bound demon to cough up blood and begin an extended inspection of the inside of his eyelids.

Naruto's vision darkened. He did not see Kushimaru's foot, emblazoned in a blue chakra shroud, racing for his face. Though he did hear, oddly enough, the clop of a wooden sandal as he slipped into unconsciousness.

A loud boom was heard, sending a shockwave through the forest that shook the trees and sent all its nocturnal residents fleeing. At the shockwave's epicenter was Jiraiya, wearing his usual mixture of kabuki and shinobi garb, with the unusual addition of a bulbous, warty nose, toad-like eyes, and a green toad with a mohawk riding on his right shoulder. Kushimaru wasn't in the right state of mind to comment on the Sanin's new additions as his right foot was currently in Jiraiya's right hand in a grip that could crush steel. Kushimaru knew this because he felt like all of the bones in his foot were powderized.

Before Kushimaru could beg, fight or scream, Jiraiya pulled back on the captured leg, causing the wielder of Nuibari to stumble forward as the Sanin straightened out the limb and brought his left elbow down on the kneecap. A vicious snap was heard, sounding like a breaking branch as the bones, cartilage, and tendons in Kushimaru's knee ceased to exist. Though Jiraiya wasn't finished as he channeled Katon chakra to his left hand, causing it to be engulfed in a fiery blaze, "Can't have you bleeding out, Kuriarare," Jiraiya growled, a vicious gleam in his eyes as he seared shut the wound on Kushimaru's right arm. "You have a lot to answer for."

The pain, being too much for him, sent Kushimaru into the blissful land of unconsciousness.

Jiraiya released Kushimaru, letting the man crumple to the ground. He dug into his vest and pulled out a spool of ninja wire and the seal he had made for Naruto. He placed the seal on the swordsman's chest, his eyes lighting with satisfaction when he saw the seal glow blue, signifying a good seal. "Pa, can you sense any other hostiles in the area?" Jiraiya asked as he began tying up their prisoner.

Fukasaku closed his eyes and threw out his senses, "I-"

"-What took you two so long?!-" Shima shrieked as she hopped up with an awake and silent Haku in her arms and Nuibari on her back. Haku's brown eyes focused on the forms of Naruto and Zabuza, tears of relief and joy streaming down her dirty and bruised cheeks as she saw they were bloody but breathing.

Fukasaku winced."-I sense a hostile, and I'm married to her," he said weakly.

"What'd you say?!" Shima barked.

Fukasaku's shoulders slumped as he hopped off Jiraiya's shoulder, ending the Sanin's Sage Mode. "Nothing, dear," he muttered as he landed on the ground.

"That's what I thought," Shima smirked as she placed the girl down and turned to Jiraiya, "And to answer your question, no, there's no more hostiles in the area." She then hopped over to Naruto and Zabuza to begin administering medical aid.

Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief as he finished securing Kushimaru. "That's good, and thank you for your help, Shima-sama, Fukasaku-sama," he said, looking both toads in the eye as he addressed them. "I shudder to think what would have happened without your help."

"Don't mention it, Jiraiya-boyo," Fukusaku said as he looked over at the unconscious Naruto being tended to by his wife. "That boy's family. Even if he doesn't know it yet."

"I know," Jiraiya said fondly as he gazed at Naruto. "What are the chances-"

'-You're telling him, Jiraiya. Everything," Fukusaku cut him off as he hopped over to catch Zabuza when his wife ripped the wire.

"Damn it," Jiraiya cursed under his breath as he walked over to the bound Haku and sat down cross-legged, drawing the girl's attention. "Miss, would you care to tell me who you are and why I had to save my godson from Kiri's last loyal swordsman?" He asked politely, but Haku could hear the steel hidden behind his words.

"My name is Yuki Haku and…" Haku began telling her story to the Toad Sannin and toad sages.