The next morning a thick fog rolled in from the sea covering the unfinished bridge in a blanket of white.
Tazuna the bridge builder stood nervously near the edge of the construction site. Beside him Sakura Haruno gripped a kunai tightly her knuckles white. Sasuke Uchiha stood a few paces ahead his dark eyes scanning the mist for any movement. Kakashi Hatake stood relaxed with his hands in his pockets but his headband was already tilted up revealing the Sharingan.
"Be careful everyone" Kakashi said his voice low. "This mist... it feels heavy. Zabuza is coming."
"But Sensei" Sakura whispered "you said he was dead! You said the Hunter Nin killed him!"
"I suspected it was a trick" Kakashi replied. "But I didn't expect him to return so soon. Usually a fake death state takes a week to recover from."
Suddenly a deep laughter echoed from all directions.
"You are sharp Kakashi. But not sharp enough."
Whoosh!
A massive spinning blade flew out of the mist.
"Get down!" Kakashi shouted.
The group dropped to the deck of the bridge. The Executioner's Blade sailed over their heads embedding itself in the concrete with a loud crunch.
A figure landed on the hilt of the sword. Zabuza Momochi stood tall looking down at them. But unlike the last time he wasn't injured or exhausted. His skin was flush with vitality and his chakra felt overwhelming.
"He looks... completely healed?" Kakashi narrowed his eye. "How is that possible?"
"I have a good doctor" Zabuza smirked. "And a very generous sponsor."
Beside Zabuza the masked boy Haku appeared from a swirl of ice leaves.
"I see" Kakashi stood up. "So the boy was your accomplice after all."
"Sorry Kakashi san" Haku said politely. "But I fight for Zabuza san."
"Enough talk!" Zabuza roared. "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
He didn't waste time. He wove signs instantly. A dragon of water rose from the sea below the bridge crashing over the railing to strike Kakashi.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!" Kakashi copied the jutsu perfectly.
The two water dragons collided in mid air exploding into a massive torrent that soaked the bridge.
While the Jonin fought Haku dashed forward towards Sasuke.
"Your opponent is me" Haku said throwing senbon needles.
Sasuke deflected them with his kunai a smirk appearing on his face. "I have been waiting for this."
High above the bridge sitting on one of the steel support beams Uehara Naraku watched the chaos unfold.
He was dangling his legs eating a rice ball he had packed for breakfast.
"Excellent" Uehara chewed happily. "The animation quality is top tier. Seeing it in real life is much better than on a screen."
He looked at his system interface.
[Main Mission Progress: The Battle of the Great Naruto Bridge.]
[Current Status: Observing.]
Behind Uehara climbing up the maintenance ladders a group of fifty mercenaries appeared. They were the former employees of Gato now wearing purple armbands to signify their allegiance to the Akatsuki (or rather to Uehara).
"Boss!" the mercenary captain panted climbing onto the beam. "We are here! Should we attack?"
"Shh" Uehara put a finger to his lips. "Don't interrupt the performance. We are the audience right now."
"But... they are ninjas" the captain looked down at the exploding water and ice. "If we go down there we will die!"
"Exactly" Uehara nodded. "That is why we wait. Let them tire each other out. When everyone is exhausted we swoop in and claim the glory. It is called kill stealing. Learn it."
Below on the bridge the battle was intensifying.
Sasuke and Haku were trading blows at high speed. Sasuke's speed had improved drastically after the tree climbing training. He was managing to keep up with Haku's movements.
"You are fast" Haku noted leaping back. "But not fast enough."
Haku began to form a peculiar hand seal. The air temperature dropped rapidly.
"Secret Art: Crystal Ice Mirrors."
Walls of ice rose from the ground surrounding Sasuke. They formed a dome of mirrors trapping the Uchiha inside. Haku stepped into one of the mirrors and his reflection appeared in all of them.
"Now" Haku's voice echoed from every reflection. "Let me show you true speed."
"Damn it!" Sasuke looked around frantically.
At that moment a loud explosion of smoke occurred at the entrance of the bridge.
"The Hero usually appears late!"
Naruto Uzumaki struck a pose in the clearing smoke. He looked around expecting applause.
"Naruto!" Sakura screamed. "Don't just stand there! Help Sasuke!"
"Oh right!" Naruto charged forward running straight towards the ice mirrors.
"Idiot!" Sasuke yelled. "Don't come inside! Attack from the outsi-"
Too late. Naruto slipped inside the dome of mirrors and stood back to back with Sasuke.
"I am here to save you Sasuke!" Naruto grinned.
"You moron!" Sasuke bonked him on the head. "Now we are both trapped! You were supposed to break the mirrors from the outside!"
High above Uehara almost choked on his rice ball.
"Classic" Uehara wiped a tear from his eye. "Absolute classic. Their teamwork is so bad it is actually impressive."
He looked at Haku who was preparing to unleash hell on the two boys.
"System" Uehara whispered. "Scan Haku."
[Target: Haku]
[Status: Determined.]
[Attributes: Ice Release Speed Dexterity.]
"Haku is strong" Uehara analyzed. "But he is holding back. He doesn't want to kill them. That is his weakness. If I were down there I would have dropped a Red Card and ended it in two seconds."
The mercenary captain looked at Uehara nervously. "Boss... are you talking to yourself?"
"I am strategizing" Uehara corrected.
He stood up on the narrow beam the wind whipping his raincoat.
"Alright boys. Get ready. The climax is approaching. Kakashi is about to use the Lightning Blade. Naruto is about to get angry. And we..."
Uehara drew a deck of cards from his pouch. The cards glowed with a menacing purple light fueled by the Nashor's Tooth.
"We are going to make sure no one leaves this bridge without paying a toll."
Below the sound of a thousand birds began to chirp as Kakashi charged his chakra into his hand.
Chidori.
"Here we go" Uehara grinned. "Lights camera action."
.….
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfiction.
I wanted to let you know that I'll be releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
15 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
30 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
50 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!