A/N: Thank you so much for the favorites and follows and reviews! I am doing almost all of this based solely on memory, because I am writing this at work (shh…). Sorry if I make any blatant errors or skim over something important!
Kakashi felt the familiar soreness of chakra exhaustion pervading his entire body. Obito's eye was throbbing, and he had a migraine. He kept his body relaxed and his breathing even as he used his other senses to ascertain what was happening around him.
He could smell and taste the salty tang of the ocean. He could hear wood creaking below him, indicating someone walking, presumably in the kitchen, because he could hear pans and also smell a delicious meal wafting through the air. He could feel two of his students in the kitchen as well, and a total of two…no, three civilians. They must be in Tazuna's house.
His female student was kneeling next to him, and he felt a damp cloth laid down gently on his head. He opened his one eye, keeping the Sharingan firmly shut, and took in the small room they were in. He was laying on a comfortable futon in the middle of the room. Kimiko had her hand on his wrist, taking his pulse as she looked out the open window, which was letting a cool cross breeze. He must have had a fever.
He cleared his throat, uncomfortable with how weak he sounded. Kimiko's warm, brown eyes snapped to his, and he immediately felt the now familiar discomfort as his mind readily supplied Rin's face over her own, especially with the image of Kimiko taking care of him, just as Rin had. He hastily pushed it aside to focus on the living kunoichi before him, who quickly brought him water.
"Status?" He choked out as he lowered his mask to drink water. Kimiko, to his surprise, politely looked away as he drank the glass slowly. Her report was about what he expected - they made it safely to Tazuna's house, had been keeping his fever down, and had no idea Zabuza was still alive. He was just glad Gatou hadn't hired any more missing ninja to attack them while he was out of commission.
"Bring the team in." He said after she was done. She nodded and jumped to her feet. He heard the chatter in the kitchen stop, and then the pounding footsteps of his two male students as they rushed into his room.
"Kakashi-sensei, you're okay!" Naruto beamed. Sasuke tried to hide it, but he looked relieved as well.
"I used too much chakra." Kakashi explained. "I'll be ready to go in about a week. However, there are two things you need to know. One, it was extremely reckless to go against Zabuza like that. All three of you could have been killed." His Genin had the grace to look slightly shamefaced, but immediately brightened as he added, "I couldn't be more proud."
Sure, he had almost died of a heart attack, wondering if he was going to once again fail his sensei and his village. But they had, miraculously, pulled through, and they had already learned what it took him years to accomplish - teamwork. He had been worried that pushing them so hard would make them focus on things other than teamwork and bonding, but if anything, it had only made them closer. What he should have been worrying about, apparently, was his own training. He almost got them killed. He would have to work as hard as he was working his students when he got back to the village.
"The second thing," he added, "is that Zabuza is still alive."
—
After eating dinner and receiving a scolding from Tsunami about "scaring the poor children", he was ready to pass out again. But he sensed his kunoichi was waiting to talk to him, and after everyone left his room, he called her to him.
"What is it?" He asked her, trying to emulate Minato-sensei and not his socially awkward self as he spoke. She bit her lip, kneeling down by his side again so as not to look down at him.
"I was almost useless against Zabuza, and I would have been seriously injured, if not killed against the demon brothers." She said, her words spilling out in a rush. "Naruto and Sasuke came up with their plan without me, and Sasuke moved into action so fast, and I couldn't even follow your fight with Zabuza - " Kimiko seemed to realize she was rambling and took a deep breath.
"I know I'll never have as much chakra as Naruto, and I know Sasuke comes from an elite Clan and is a prodigy or whatever. And I don't mind being the support role - really, I don't." She said, "But I can't support them if I don't even know what's going on. I can't cast my genjutsu if I can't even see my target. I can't protect my teammates if I can't keep up with them."
"You performed admirably for your age and level of experience." Kakashi began, his mind mulling over her words. She was right though. If Lord Third really wanted them to be the next Sanin, Kimiko would need to step up her game. She was lucky - despite not coming from an actual Clan, she had a lineage of ninja. Her body was stronger than a civilian's and naturally had more chakra. But she wasn't anywhere near the level of an Uchiha, let alone Naruto.
"I can give you what you want." He continued. "But it will be the hardest thing you've ever gone through."
Kimiko nodded, determined. "I want to be a kunoichi. I want to be on this team. And I definitely don't want to die before I achieve my dream."
Kakashi nodded thoughtfully. He had already seen evidence of her work ethic. She wasn't a monster like Sasuke or what Naruto was turning into, but she had a strong will. Hopefully, it would be enough. "Then I will help you. We will work on your speed." His genius mind began spiraling ahead, seeing plans and throwing them out just as quickly. First her progress in a month, then a year, then a few years on a path in front of him. Yes, he could turn her into something great. Team Seven - whole and strong, as they should be. As his team should have been. "I'll introduce you to a friend of mine - the mind behind the Training Course." Kimiko paled, but didn't back down. "Yes, sensei."
—-
Kimiko met up with her teammates and her sensei, who was on crutches, a little ways down from Tazuna's house, where an old dock stretched towards the water.
"We will be working on increasing your speed, chakra capacity, and chakra control." Kakashi explained.
"Is a week of that going to really make a difference in fighting Zabuza?"
"No, not really." Kakashi said honestly. Naruto sweat-dropped. "But it will help you against that hunter ninja. I will be the one facing Zabuza. You three will be fighting his partner."
"Good! Then after we're done with them, we'll clean up Zabuza too." Naruto brought his fist into his hand confidently.
"Yeah…sure." Kakashi said. "Anyway. The theory behind water walking is the same as tree-walking. It's just harder." Apparently, that was all the instruction they would get as Kakashi gestured for them to start.
Kimiko hesitatingly put her foot on the water with the same amount of chakra as tree-walking. She felt like she was walking on jello, but almost immediately she had to begin changing the output of her chakra as the water reacted. Slowly, she stepped, keeping the same water rhythm. It was kind of relaxing - like being on a boat, just swaying with the chakra. Her other foot soon joined her, and she tried to keep her excitement contained. She was walking on water!
"Nice job Kimiko!" Naruto shouted, and she immediately lost concentration and plunged into the icy cold water.
"Naruto!" She spluttered as she came up for air. She could have sworn she even saw Sasuke crack a smile, the jerk.
"What did I do?" Naruto wondered. "All I did was cheer you on."
"You try walking and then have someone shout at you." She pulled herself onto the dock, dripping and shivering.
"Alright! First try!" Naruto ran at the water and actually made it a few steps before he collapsed face first in the water. Kimiko laughed as Naruto surfaced shouting obscenities.
"Your turn, Sasuke." She said sweetly, interrupting his snicker.
"I think I'll train somewhere else." He said evasively, moving away from them.
"Bet you can't get as far as I did!" Naruto crowed as he pulled himself out. Sasuke stopped his retreat, eye twitching.
"I could get twice as far in my sleep." He retorted.
"Sure, sure. Let's see if your duck-butt hair helps you float!"
"I do not have duck butt hair, idiot."
"Do to!"
"Do not!"
"Do - Hahahahaha!" Kimiko had used the distraction to get behind Sasuke and push him into the water. He made a valiant last ditch effort to use his chakra to stay on the surface, which resulted in a fantastic solid belly flop before he slowly sank beneath the surface.
Her laughing was interrupted as ninja wire burst from underneath her and dragged her into the water as she screamed.
"Well, it seems like you three don't need me. I'll be back at the house." Kakashi said to nobody as his Genin began to brawl in the water.
—
Kimiko floated on her back in the water, panting. Most of her gear had long since been discarded, leaving her in her tank top and shorts. Naruto and Sasuke had also discarded their tops and weapons, and were currently standing on wobbly legs trying to push each other into the water. More often than not, they just fell and took the other person with them. She took a deep breath and flipped over to her stomach. Slowly and carefully, she got to her hands and knees. Feeling like a newborn calf, she shakily got to her feet, and walked to the shore, where she collapsed with relief.
"I did it." She said weakly.
"Oh good, now we can move on to speed training." Kakashi-sensei said, his masked face blocking out the afternoon sun as he leaned over her.
Kimiko whimpered.
—
Tsunami was the highlight of the day: one, for her amazing cooking. Two, she pulled Kimiko aside after her "speed training", and asked if Kakashi-sensei was abusing them. After she got over her giggle fit, Kimiko reassured her that they chose this life of their own free will, and he was just helping them become stronger. She wasn't entirely convinced, and Kimiko heard her muttering words like "slave-driver" and "ninjas are a cult". Silly civilian concerns.
Inari had a blow up at dinner about how they were all going to die, which was cheerful. Then they got to hear the story of how his stepdad was murdered, which only served to bring the mood up even more. By the end of the night, despite her grueling training, Kimiko was more determined than ever to build that damn bridge. Gatou's cruelty had gone on long enough. What was the point of being ninja if they couldn't help those weaker than them?
The next day, at training, Naruto pulled her aside and asked for some tips about water-walking, which she happily gave. She also reminded him to use his clones, which he sheepishly admitted he had already forgotten about. Sasuke, against such a disadvantage, also caved and asked her for a hint, and soon the boys were both able to walk back and forth on the water - unless they got distracted.
Even with crutches, Kakashi-sensei was able to spar her on the water, which was completely embarrassing. Once again, after her chakra was almost depleted, Kakashi-sensei started her on running sprints and doing muscle work to improve her speed. He mentioned she might start with weights when they get back to the village, but currently her muscle mass was still a little low to start that.
The third day, her water walking training was cut short to escort Tazuna into town for some groceries. What she saw there made her blood boil. Everyone was starving. People eyed each other with distrust. The grocery store was barren, and the foods they did have were wildly overpriced. As Tazuna haggled with the owner, Kimiko felt a hand grasp at her butt. She grabbed the hand and had the man on his knees in a second, her knee digging into his back and his hand grasped in a way that any movement would break his wrist.
"I'm twelve, you pervert." She snapped, ignoring the way Tazuna and the shopkeeper stared at her open-mouthed.
"I was going for your wallet, I swear." The man sobbed and wriggled, trying to get his wrist into a position that didn't cause him as much pain.
"Like that's much better." She snorted. Not wanting to cause even more of a scene, and mindful of the terrible circumstances the town was in, she let him go.
"Sorry about that, Tazuna-san, shopkeeper-san," she said with a respectful bow.
"Don't apologize - that was funny." Tazuna chuckled.
On the way back, she felt someone tug on her shirt. She turned and saw a small child, hands open pleadingly.
"Candy, miss?" She asked hopefully.
"Aw, sweetheart," Kimiko thought of Hikari in a situation like this, and her heart broke even more for this poor town. "I don't have any candy, but I have some money so you can try and buy some food, okay?"
"Okay!" The child chirped easily. Kimiko dug in her pouch and fished out a few notes and coins, which the child happily took back to her friends.
"You know that's only a temporary solution, right?" Tazuna said grimly as they left town.
"Yes. The permanent solution is the bridge." Kimiko said. And killing Gatou. She thought to herself.
—
At the end of the week, Naruto ended up passing out in the woods while doing his speed training, and then after a dramatic speech to Inari, he ran out into the woods to do more training, resulting in Kakashi-sensei assigning Kimiko sensory training and going to find him. While she was pleased her training was paying off, as she was able to find him and drag him back on her own, she was annoyed in the morning when he was still asleep.
"Just leave him to sleep it off. He can meet us at the bridge." Kakashi said. Now that Sasuke had mastered water-walking, and Kakashi was fully recovered from his chakra exhaustion, they would be joining Kimiko in guarding Tazuna at the bridge. It was a good thing too, because as they approached the bridge, a familiar, menacing mist hung over the area, and all of the workers were unconscious.
"My men!" Tazuna gasped as he started to run forward to check on them. Kakashi-sensei thrust a hand out to stop him. "Stay back, Tazuna."
"Yes, bridge builder, stay back." A mocking voice came from the mist. "Watch your defenders die before you perish along with them."
Zabuza appeared, and beside him walked the hunter ninja. Kakashi-sensei was right - they were working together.
"What do you say, Kakashi? Why don't we pit our students against each other?" Zabuza suggested.
"Your student?" Kakashi-sensei said, surprised. The hunter ninja inclined their head slightly. "My name is Haku." They said pleasantly, as though they were meeting over a lovely brunch. Kimiko was leaning towards female, but she wasn't sure. Their chakra was interesting. She felt the same cold as before, but the more time she spent with (her? Them? ugh), the more it reminded her of being smothered in snow. Haku's chakra felt like she was buried under piles of snow, to the point it was almost warm.
"I don't see why not." Kakashi-sensei shrugged, answering Zabuza's question. "You'll lose either way."
Zabuza chuckled. "They don't make them like Haku. He's the perfect tool." Kimiko mentally switched her gender of Haku at the use of a pronoun - thank you, Zabuza!
"Which one shall I fight, Zabuza?" Haku asked, again as though they were discussing what to order.
"Take your pick." Kakashi-sensei said. Kimiko was thrilled that he was confident enough in her to pit her against Haku, and she was almost disappointed when Haku blurred forward towards Sasuke. She edged towards Tazuna - she wouldn't be caught off guard if Zabuza decided to ignore the student contest and make a play for Tazuna.
Haku moved with incredible speed towards Sasuke, and Sasuke eagerly moved to meet him. Senbon clashed with kunai, and after a few seconds, Sasuke landed a solid blow that sent Haku skidding backwards.
"Haku." Zabuza growled disapprovingly as Sasuke smirked triumphantly.
"I am sorry, Zabuza. I will have to use my jutsu."
"Really? Very well." Zabuza snorted. Kakashi lifted his headband as Haku's fingers formed a strange symbol. "Secret Art: Crystal Ice Mirrors!" All around himself and Sasuke, sheets of ice began to form, enclosing him in a dome.
At the last second, Kimiko realized they would be trapped inside too. She shoved Tazuna as the last mirror formed, hoping she didn't hurt him too badly as he tumbled to the ground just in time.
"A kekkai genkai." Kakashi realized, his voice coming to them from the other side of the mirrors. Tazuna hurriedly got to his feet, so at least he was okay for now. Unfortunately, Kimiko was trapped inside with Sasuke.
"Yes, Haku is very special. He has the ice bloodline ability. Your brats don't stand a chance." Zabuza was the one smirking now.
"We'll see about that," Kakashi-sensei said, his voice even. Kimiko stopped following their conversation as Haku began to appear in each mirror. She flexed her chakra but none of them wavered. It wasn't a genjutsu - or if it was, it was too strong for her to break out of.
"I am sorry it has come to this. I take no pleasure in killing you. But I am Zabuza's tool, and we must complete our mission." Haku said. Sasuke took the opportunity to try and dart between the mirrors, but was pushed back with a powerful kick. Kimiko barely saw Haku move, and decided against trying to escape by running.
"You could choose not to support him. Especially if he treats you like a tool." Kimiko offered. She wished Naruto were here - he was a lot more inspiring than she was.
"You do not understand." Haku sighed, raising his hand with a senbon between each knuckle. Kimiko and Sasuke pressed their backs to each other as senbon began to fly. She expected some of them to be illusions, but her kunai clashed with each needle. A couple slipped by her defenses, and she knew from Sasuke's grunt that he had also been hit. She knew Kakashi's training had made the difference, and she was fervently thankful for all those days she wished she could curl up and die - they had just prevented her from actually dying out in the field.
Before she could take any senbon out, another wave of needles descended, and another wave, and another.
"We can't keep going like this." Kimiko said to Sasuke, keeping her breathing even as her arms began to ache. She could hear the sounds of battle outside the mirror, but the mist had thickened so much she couldn't see. Kakashi-sensei wouldn't be there to rescue them for awhile.
"Cover me." Sasuke said, and dropped to a crouch. Moved by his trust in her, Kimiko stepped over his back, wincing as needles scraped her skin, but mostly blocking the onslaught on her own.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke, instead of releasing a giant fireball, released one of average size but burning with extra heat. It slammed into a mirror, which began to melt slightly at the edges. Kimiko caught a glimpse of Haku fleeing from it and threw her kunai, but she was too late to catch him. He did, however, now have a brand new mark on his robe, courtesy of Sasuke's fireball.
"Again!" Sasuke said. Kimiko was beginning to become exhausted from the onslaught of needles - seriously, where did he keep them all? - , but Sasuke's fire style attacks were their only hope of breaking out. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke's fire slammed into the same mirror, and it began to crack.
Sasuke's triumph was cut short as he heard Kimiko cry out and fall to her knees beside him. Both of them had sustained multiple needle piercings, but Kimiko looked worse off, and her limbs were twitching oddly. Even worse, the mirror had already begun to heal.
"It is no use to fight. I have impaired her ability to move her limbs. Her defense of you allowed me to focus on just her, and take her out of the equation. You do not have the chakra to keep a sustained heat hot enough to break my mirrors. I do not wish to kill you. Just accept defeat." To Sasuke, he almost sounded like he was pleading.
Before Sasuke could respond, he heard a commotion outside of the mirrors. The loud entrance could only be Naruto.
"No, Zabuza. Please. I wish to fight him myself." Taking advantage of Haku's momentary distraction, Sasuke began to pull needles out of Kimiko.
"Thanks," She said as he helped her to her feet. Her limbs were still trembling, but she could at least stand.
"Pst, guys, I snuck in here so I could help you!"
"Naruto, you idiot, now you're trapped in here with us!" Sasuke hissed.
"That's the thanks I get for rescuing you?!" Naruto shouted back. Kimiko began to shakily press her hands together for a genjutsu behind their backs as Haku watched the boys argue.
"We have to try and melt the mirrors. You got it?" Sasuke said, pushing past the argument to focus on the problem at hand.
"Yeah, I got it." Naruto said confidently.
Haku's needles began to rain down on them as Sasuke and Naruto weaved their handsigns. To Haku's shock, the needles passed harmlessly by them or snagged in their clothing or unimportant parts of their body.
The kunoichi! Haku realized, as the two genin finished their combo attack.
"Wind Style: Palm Push Jutsu!"
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Naruto's lack of chakra control, while leaps and bounds ahead of where it used to be, actually worked in their favor, as the wild overpowered winds pushed the fireball forward, increasing the heat and damage as it raced towards Haku. Haku dodged, and at the last second as he thought about his senbon attacks, jumped to another mirror even farther by using chakra to propel himself even further away. This turned out to be a good decision, as the left half of his body still felt the edges of the impact. If he had stayed in his original mirror, he would have been hit directly.
"Damn!" Kimiko cursed. Her other genjutsu, Warped Perception, was another sight-altering genjutsu, only this one simply made the victim think everything was slightly farther to the left or right than it actually was. She felt Haku dispel the link between them, and while he was injured, it wasn't bad enough to truly inhibit his movement. The genjutsu had been a gamble - unlike some genjutsus, which created a set scenario that takes a specific amount of chakra, like her bright light one, this one continually shifts a person's view of reality. The actual application of the jutsu was simple enough, as it only targeted sight, but constantly feeding her chakra into the jutsu, while also making it difficult fof Haku to detect it, was a huge chakra drain. Her vision was a little fuzzy, and her shaking limbs were not helping her stay on her feet.
"I have to stop being gentle. Zabuza needs me. You have made your choice." Haku said to them. The mirror they had hit had almost completely shattered, and Haku poured his chakra into it to repair the damage.
"We can take it! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto's clones leaped to fight as Haku's senbon rained down. The three genin cried out as Haku, no longer pulling any punches, rained hell upon them. Naruto's clones didn't even reach the mirrors as wave upon wave of senbon shredded them as fast as he could make them.
Kimiko, unable to dodge or block properly, desperately threw her arms over her head, expecting darkness to take her any second. Instead, she felt nothing. Confused, she opened her eyes to see the Uchiha crest and a red swirl in her vision.
"That genjutsu took a lot out of you. Sit back and let us handle it, Kimiko." Naruto said confidently, despite being covered in needles.
"You covered me while I used my fire jutsu, so you're not dead weight if you take a break." Sasuke turned to her with a smirk, and Kimiko stared into swirling red eyes.
"Sasuke…your eyes." She whispered.
Flashback*
"Sasuke, what is the Sharingan?" Kimiko asked. They were both in Kakashi-sensei's room. Naruto was guarding Tazuna, and Sasuke had just brought up a new cloth and cold water for Kakashi-sensei's fever.
The Uchiha stiffened. "Why do you want to know?" He asked evasively.
"If it's affecting Kakashi-sensei's recovery, I need to know. And you seemed to know what it is, or at least heard of it." Kimiko responded reasonably. If she had demanded answers, Sasuke would have snapped at her. But she was open and honest as she always was, and Sasuke relented with a sigh.
"The Sharingan is the kekkai genkai of the Uchiha Clan - my clan." He swallowed painfully and continued to explain the different aspects. Kimiko sat and listened patiently, her eyes widening slightly at the description of its abilities and progression.
"It sounds very impressive. Do…do you have..?" Her question trailed off as Sasuke shook his head.
Come find me when you have eyes like mine, brother.
"No, I don't." He said, bitterness creeping into his voice. "Not yet. But I will. And when I do…" He let his own statement trail off. He was thankful when Kimiko didn't ask anymore questions about his Clan. She only asked, "That's when you'll kill him, right? The man you're after?"
"Right." He agreed, watching her warily.
To his surprise, instead of recoiling from his professed desire for murder, she smiled. "Then I hope you get your Sharingan. If there's any way I can help, let me know." He nodded, and left her with their unconscious sensei.
*End Flashback*
"I guess you did help me after all." Sasuke said, referring to Kimiko's offer a week ago.
"Happy to help." Kimiko said wearily, enjoying the brief respite. It made her feel warm inside, her teammates standing strong and tall to protect her, injured and weakened though they were. But she wasn't going to sit back like a damsel in distress. She still had chakra - she could do something.
"Naruto," Sasuke said quietly, "Any ideas?"
"We can use my clones as a shield while we do the wind/fire combo again."
"That wasn't enough last time." Sasuke argued.
"It will be." Naruto said, a wild glint in his eye that reminded Kimiko of when was about to do something monstrously stupid in class. "Trust me."
Haku, seemingly deciding there was nothing he could do about Sasuke's newly awakened Sharingan, began his next attack. "I admire your willingness to defend your precious people." Haku complimented. "But it ends here."
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled, and suddenly, all Kimiko could see was black and orange. She had never seen Naruto create this many clones. There were layers of them, giving Sasuke enough time to complete his fireball jutsu as an entire wall of Naruto's popped on top of the bottom wall Naruto's.
"Wind Style: Palm Push!" Only, it wasn't just Naruto's voice - all of the remaining Naruto's shouted and thrust their hands forward in a giant wave of wind chakra, uncontrolled and full of destructive energy. It hit the back of Sasuke's fireball, and ignited.
BOOM!
The roaring wall of flames slammed into the mirrors. Haku was fast enough to avoid direct bodily damage, and he flooded his chakra to the mirrors about to bare the brunt of the blow. But to his surprise, the mirrors he had thought would be hit were undamaged, and the mirrors on the other side shattered. She managed it again, did she? He thought, feeling mildly impressed at the kunoichi's dedication and her ability to land not one, but two genjutsu on him.
A lot of things happened at once. Amidst the mirrors shattering and the jutsu being undone due to the amount of damage, Haku let out one last barrage of needles. The last of Naruto's clones popped and Kimiko tried valiantly to defend herself against the few needles that made it through, but at least one hit her through the wall of Naruto's disappearing, and she felt the feeling in her legs disappear entirely, falling to the ground as she struggled against the darkness swarming her vision from her chakra loss even as she severed her connection to the genjutsu with Haku in an attempt to cling to consciousness. Naruto's clones dispelling, along with the insane amount of chakra he used, caused him to momentarily stop in place, slumping to the floor as the rush of memories and sudden chakra loss struck him. Sasuke moved.
And the battlefield was briefly still as they all took in the aftermath of those few seconds.
"Damn. After I just got my Sharingan." Sasuke wheezed, breaking the silence from where he stood in front of Naruto. .
"Sasuke! Why…why did you…" Naruto looked in horror at Sasuke's senbon covered body, the soft tinkling of broken mirrors falling around them as Haku landed neatly a few feet away, surverying the damage of his last attack. They had broken the trap - but at what cost? Naruto's arms shot out and broke Sasuke's fall as he swayed.
"I don't know." Sasuke whispered, answering Naruto's question. "My body…just moved... on its own. I'll never defeat…him." Sasuke's last regret died on his lips as his Sharingan eyes faded to black and his eyes shut. Shaking with grief, Naruto carried Sasuke's body over to Kimiko, laying him down gently next to her, noting that she too no longer moved, laying broken on her side and also covered in needles. If Naruto had done a brief cursory inspection, he would have noticed that they were both still breathing and their hearts were beating - Kimiko was simply exhausted and had fallen unconscious and Sasuke had been pierced by Haku's Fake Death needle.
But looking at his teammates, lying helplessly on the ground - his precious people - that he had sworn to protect…something in him broke. A gate creaked open. And Naruto saw red.
A/N: Sharingan and Kyuubi - huge parts of the Naruto arc, and we are here! Small changes - they were able to break the Ice Mirrors together! Sure they still went unconscious, but hey, stronger than OG Team 7! And with the fire lit under their asses from Haku and Zabuza, we will see how they grow from here. Am I seeing a Training Montage in the future?
Do you guys want some in-depth training, or skip to Chunin Exams with a skim over their training?
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