Chapter 13

Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna reached the bridge. Went they reached they were shocked to see the workers were all knocked out. That’s when the mist began to roll in.

“So I was right. Sasuke, Sakura, take defensive positions.” He turned out toward the mist. “So you are still alive, Zabuza.”

“You didn’t think that it would be so easy now?” was Zabuza’s mocking tone.

“Get ready guys. This time there will be no holding back.” Kakashi informed.

“I see that you’re still with those brats Kakashi. Where’s the blond? I was hoping to meet him again.” He asked

“You’ll be seeing him real soon.”

“Don’t try to bluff. I know he isn’t here. A shame though, he at least showed some talent of a real ninja. Your other two won’t even concern me.” The mist began to lighten and the group was surrounded by a bunch of Zabuzas. He gave them all a glare. “The black haired one is still shaking.”

Sasuke was in fact shaking but a smirk caught Zabuza’s interest. “I’m shaking… with excitement.” Sasuke said. Zabuza smirked as well.

“Is that so?” he asked

“Go get them Sasuke.” Kakashi said with a smile. In a flash, all eight Zabuzas were turned into water. When he was finished, the mist cleared enough to show Zabuza and Haku. Sasuke glared at the hunter-nin.

“So you did trick us. Man, that just pisses me off.” He growled

“I’m somewhat impressed by that speed. You seem to have a rival Haku.” Zabuza said.

“Perhaps but I was looking forward to fighting the one who tricked you.” Haku replied

“My teammate isn’t your concern right now. I am.” Sasuke said

“Anxious, aren’t we? Well Haku, do not keep him waiting.” Zabuza said

“Yes, Zabuza-sama.” Haku pulled out a senbon needle and prepared to attack.

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Inari held his knees to his chest as he cried. Not too long ago, two men broke in a kidnapped his mother. When they found him they wanted to cut him into pieces but he mother had threaten to kill herself. He just sat there, in tears, as they took his mother away to see Gato.

‘I’m sorry mom but I don’t want to die.’ He thought

“You make me sick.” Was the voice that rang out in his head. He was remembering the words of Naruto.

“Your father stood up for what he believed in and your grandfather at least is standing up to Gato, to give you and your villagers’ happiness…” Inari began to stand.

“Stop being a brat and grow up.” Inari stopped crying and thought back to those words. He remembered what his sensei said about him. At one time, he was just like him but he grew up. With a little courage, Inari ran after the two henchmen. He reached the door and saw that they were halfway across the waterway.

“Hey,” the group stopped and looked at Inari. He shook with fear but he would no longer run away. “Let my mother go or I’ll kick your ass.” He said. The two bodyguards had an amused smile on their faces. Tsunami tried to stop her son but she was knocked out by one of the men. Inari saw this and charged at them. The two men drew their swords and sliced Inari… or so they thought.

“What the hell?” one of them said. Inari opened his eyes to realize he wasn’t dead.

“When I said stop being a brat and grow up, I meant to do that and not get killed.” Said a voice. Inari looked up to see Naruto. The two swordsmen looked at Naruto.

“Where did this brat come from?”

“You two woke me up from a nice nap. Now, did Zabuza send you or Gato?” Naruto asked

“Like we’ll tell you anything shrimp.”

“That was the wrong answer moron.” Naruto threw two shurikens at the two. They deflected it and charged at him. Naruto just smirked as the two shurikens turned into two Narutos. The thugs never saw it coming as they were both taken out with two powerful blows. Naruto quickly tied the two and destroyed their weapons. He looked at Inari for a while before patting him on his head. “You’re pretty brave for a brat.”

“Hey, I’m not a brat.” Inari yelled

“Whatever. Take care of your mother. I have to get to the bridge and help my teammates.” Naruto said

“Yeah, I got you. I’ll try and rally some of the villagers to help.”

“Good idea. Your father would be proud.” Naruto said and left.

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Kakashi growled under his mask. Things were not looking good for his student. At first, Sasuke was winning his fight against Haku with his newly acquired skill but then the mysterious Haku unleashed his trump card, a genkai kekkei. Sasuke was surrounded by ice mirrors that seem to appear out of nowhere. Suddenly, Haku entered the mirror and things just went downhill from there. The speed of the boy was incredible and Sasuke was helpless against it. He tried to help but was stopped by Zabuza. To make matters worse, Sakura ran to help Sasuke, leaving Tazuna defenseless. He luck couldn’t get any worse.

Suddenly, after Sakura’s kunai was intercepted, Haku’s mask was nicked by a shuriken. The boy fell out of his mirror and hit the ground. Then the place was riddled with explosions and smoke.

“What the hell?” Zabuza shouted. He saw a glint in the smoke and that glint turned into a hundred glints as hundreds of kunai shot out toward Zabuza. Kakashi moved out of the way as Zabuza defended himself with his blade. He managed to survive the attack without a scratch and held his sword in defensive. That’s when he saw several figures descend upon him. He raised his sword and defended against the small army of Narutos. They each had a kunai in their hand and attempted to force it down on Zabuza.

“Hello again, you eyebrow-less freak.” Naruto said. Zabuza glared at him and used his strength to knock away the Narutos. They all exploded in a puff a smoke. Zabuza cursed under his breath. He watched as the smoke cleared to see Haku beginning to rise and Kakashi’s team, all of them safe and sound. He glared at the blond who was holding his comrade.

“I’m beginning to dislike you boy.” He growled

“I’ve been disliked since I was born. You’re just another person on the list.” Naruto said. He turned to Sakura with a glare. Sakura gulped at the anger in his eyes. “How stupid are you? How could you leave Tazuna defenseless like that?”

“This is not the time Naruto. How is Sasuke?” Kakashi asked

“He’s just scratched up.” He said. Sasuke pushed himself off Naruto.

“I didn’t need your help, dobe.” He said with a ragged breath.

“That’s thanks for you. I saved your ass and all you do is bitch.” Naruto scoffed and turned his attention to Zabuza and Haku. “So, which one of you am I suppose to fight?”

“We shouldn’t rush into things. Let’s plan first.” Kakashi said.

“Oh yeah, wasn’t it you’re idea to let Sasuke fight by himself?” he asked. Kakashi looked sheepish at his words. Zabuza chuckled at the two.

“The boy doesn’t seem to respect you or his teammates that much Kakashi. He also seems to know you very well.” He turned to Haku. “Are you still able to fight?”

“Yes, Zabuza-san. Allow me to deal with this one.” he asked

“Go ahead, I will deal with Kakashi.” He said. With that said, the mist began to get thicker.

“Sasuke, Sakura, stay with Tazuna. Naruto, the hunter-nin is yours. Watch out for him and his kekkei genkai. He uses it to create ice.” Kakashi said

“Understood.” He said and charged into the mist. Kakashi readied himself for Zabuza’s attack.

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Naruto ran through the mist, alert and aware. He came to a stop and looked around for the enemy. He suddenly dodged to his left to avoid the senbon needles. He rolled to his feet and pulled out two kunais. He deflected the incoming senbon needles and waited.

“Very good reflexes.” Said a voice. Naruto turned slightly to see the masked fighter but he had to scream in pain as he stabbed him. Haku looked on as Naruto fell and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Haku was surprised by that and looked around for Naruto, only to narrowly dodge the kunai slash to his neck. Haku flipped back to threw more needles. Naruto dodged and charged at Haku. Haku also charged and the two met in a clash of metal. The two struggled to gain control.

“You are certainly strong, stronger than your friend.” Haku said

“I can say the same for you.” Naruto said.

“It’s pointless, you know. We will kill the bridge builder.”

“Sorry, but I promise his family that I would look after him. Besides, the only one who is going to die… IS YOU!!!” Naruto roared and kneed Haku in the chest. He followed it up with a left hook that sent Haku flying. He stuck his hand out and did some one handed seals. “Sen'eijashu(Hidden Shadow Snake Hand).” A single snake shot out and wrapped around Haku’s neck. With a mighty pull, Haku came flying at Naruto. He cocked his fist back and connected with Haku, who turned into water. Naruto didn’t have a chance to curse as Haku kicked him. Naruto rolled most of the attack off but it sent him back a bit. He stood and waited for Haku to attack but was a little confused by how he was casually walking toward him. That’s when he saw that a reflection of himself in the mist. That reflection turned into his opponent. He was about to ask but Haku beat him to it.

“This is my technique, Makyō Hyō Shō(Demonic Ice Mirrors). This is where you will meet you end.” He said. Naruto watched as more images of Haku appeared in the other mirrors. Naruto sighed in frustration

“Well, this is another fine mess.” He muttered. He got into a defensive stance and waited for the attack.

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Kakashi stood and waited for Zabuza to attack again. He ignored the pain going through his hand where Zabuza stabbed him. Though his Sharingan watched and analyzed everything, it was very hard with the mist so thick.

“Having trouble, Kakashi?” asked a sinister voice. Zabuza appeared in front of Kakashi with his blade in the attack position. He had a smile under all of his bandages. He heard the sounds of fighting coming from his left. “It seems that Haku led him into his mirrors. As good as he is, he won’t survive. I give him a better chance than your other student though.”

“Are you going to bore me with talk?” Kakashi asked

“Don’t be so cocky. You barely beat me the last time and I know how to defeat your Sharingan. Haku is my greatest tool. While we fought, he analyzed your Sharingan. Your techniques won’t work again.” He said. Suddenly, there was a scream of ‘Sasuke’ that distracted both men. Zabuza gave Kakashi a wicked grin before he moved back into the mist. Kakashi wondered what that was about but it suddenly hit him. He moved quickly to catch Zabuza.

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Sasuke ran through the mist to find Naruto but it wasn’t out of concern. The masked nin was his opponent, not Naruto’s. He didn’t need to have Naruto show him up again. He was an Uchiha and his pride would not allow it. He had reached the ice mirror dome and stopped. He looked in and saw Naruto. The blond was breathing hard and was riddled with senbons. His left arm hung limp and it seemed that he couldn’t move his right leg. He watched as he slashed out to defend himself from an attack. Sasuke analyzed from the outside of the dome. As he watched, he was beginning to see the ninja’s movements. He didn’t know how or why the nin was moving much slower than usual but he didn’t care. Doing a few hand seals, he took a deep breath.

“Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu(Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique).” Sasuke shouted. Haku and Naruto looked at the incoming fireball in surprise. Shaking out of it, Haku dodged the attack but his pants had gotten caught. Sasuke smirked as he noticed that he got him.

“What the hell Sasuke? You were suppose to be protecting Tazuna.” Naruto shouted

“I thought you needed help and you do, dobe.” Sasuke said

“You and your damn pride is going to get us killed.” Naruto said. He looked at Sasuke more closely. “What the hell is up with your eyes?”

“My eyes?”

“They’re red with a tomoe in each eye.” Sasuke looked surprised but his surprise was changed with glee. He had finally activated his Sharingan. He would have enjoyed it more if it wasn’t for Naruto.

“Hey stupid, get you head out of the clouds. The hell is wrong with you?” he roared. Sasuke was about to retort but then he saw that ninja making a bee line for Naruto. Using all of his chakra, Sasuke sped toward Naruto. He knocked him out of the way and countered Haku’s attack. Though he countered Haku, Haku cause major damage to him as he hit the ground with a thud. Haku skid across the ground and looked at Sasuke in surprise. Naruto rushed over to Sasuke to check on him. What he saw made his blood run cold. The senbon needles were poking out of him through out his body.

“You stupid bastard, why did you do that? I didn’t need your help.” Naruto growled

“I don’t know. It’s not that I like you or anything. My legs just moved on its own.” Sasuke moaned out. “My brother…”

“What?”

“I promised myself that I would kill that man before I died. That I would kill my brother. That was… my… dream.” Sasuke’s arm went limp and his eyes closed.

“Sasuke!? SASUKE!!!” Shouted Naruto. Haku stood behind them and watched them.

“He died a shinobi’s death. Is this the first time that someone close to you has died?” Haku asked. He walked to one of his mirrors and merged with it. “It is the life we live as shinobis.”

“Shut up.” Naruto whispered. Haku watched as steam began to rise and suddenly gave way to red chakra. “You took away his dream. That was all he lived for and you took that away from him.” Haku looked at the boy that crouched over his friend.

‘What is this? Chakra isn’t visible but I am clearly seeing it. The bloodlust and rage are overwhelming. What is he?’ Haku thought. Naruto head shot and glared right at him. Haku gasped in shock was the boy’s eyes were red, his whisker marks were more defined and his canines were longer. But it would be the next words that he would never forget.

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!” Naruto roared

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Anko sat at her favorite dango stand and sighed. That mission had been taxing on her. She barely kept her cool with that pervert of a daimyo. She sighed and reached for her cup of tea when the cup cracked. Anko looked at the crack with a serious expression. She wasn’t one for omens and stuff but something about this didn’t seem right. Her eyes shot up as it hit her.

‘Naruto.’

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Authors’ Notes: This took me a while but it is finally done.